The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-08-31
THE WEEKLY PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT

POiICCt IiIlC, ouu tuO OSuSu'o Va 49, ~
were open to American citizens, over twen'
ty.one, to widows, and the heads of families,
and all foreigners who had declared their
intention to become citizens.
At the same session of Congress-that of
ls49- 5O-Mr. WEBSTER, Of Massachusetts,
and Gen. Houston, Of Texas, introduced res
olutions of inquiry, booking to the passage of
Homestead law, and Mr.. SEWARD, of New
York, offered resolution instructing the
Committee on Public Lands
"To report on the propriety of setting
apart portion of the public domain to be
granted, free of all charge, to the exlles OF
Hungary, already arrived and heretofore to
arrive in the United States, as well as to
exiIes fleeing from oppression in other Euro
pean countries.
On the 3Oth of January, 1850, a debate
sprung up in the Senate, on the various
propositions of Messrs. DOUGLAS, SEWARD,
WEBSTER and HoUsroN. See Congress-
ionaI Globe, LIST sess. XXI Cong. lS49-
So. As this was probably the first dis.
cussion that ever took place in the Senate,
on Homestead bill, we make rather ex.
tended quotations.
Mr.. FoorE, of Mississippi, deemed all
these measures mere bids for public fa'
vors and popularity.
MIR. Stewards resolution, it will be noted,
was for the benefit Of foreigners alone, and
not of american citizens. To this, and to
Mr.. FooTE's assertion that all such meas.
ures were mere BIDS" Mr.. DOUGLAS re-
sponded in the following remarks:
Mr.. DOUGLAS. Mr.. President, I do not
rise to discuss this question. I have been
gratiied to see these various propositions on
this subject. 1t shows that the attention
of Senators from the whole country, and
from the extremes of the country, is being
favorably called to this question; and l
think when it shall have been fairly inves.
tigated, it will be found that it is policy
OF wise and serious legislation, and not q
mere "bid," in the manner 10 which the
honorable Senator from Mississippi has
facetiously represented it. l believe it is
the true policy of this Government to grant
the public lands, in limited quantities, to
actual settlers who shall reside on it for some
years. am glad to see the Senator from
Texas coming forward and showing will
lingness to carry out the same policy which
has been carried out in his own State; and
l am the more gratifed. because be comes
from State not interested, or, if interested,
the interest is in conflict with this policy;
showing that nothing but sense of justice,
and magnanimity, and conviction that the
policy is right, could have induced him to
bring it forward The same remark is true
with regard to the honorable Senator from
Massachusetts, who brought forward SINH
lar resolution.
1t is true, sir, that, on
an early day of the session, I brought in a
bill providing for the granting of one hum
dred and sixty acres OF land to the actual
settler who should reside upon and cultivate
portion of such tract for the period of four
years in succession. That bill was read
Public Lands, and printed. l introduced
that bill believing that it embraced the true
principle upon which the public lands should
be disposed OF; believing that the justice of
it would commend itself to the appreciation
OF the people of every portion OF the coun
try; believing that the man who goes into
the Wilderness, and makes the first settle
ment, who erects bis house, who makes his
Improvements, who undergoes the privation
to which pioneers are subject, is entitled to
the preference over him who purchases the
land merely for purposes of speculation, and
waits for the price to rise to make his for
tune from those who are to come after him.
believe, sir, that that is the true princi-
pie on which the public lands should be dis
posed ola principle which is of as much
Importance to the South as it is to the
North, to one portion Of the new States as
to another-when the recently acquired ter
ritory is to be disposed of; and, sir, drew
that bill with reference to liberality of &C
tion upon the question, so far as foreigners
and emigrants were concerned, in order that
both the foreigner and the emigrant should
be put upon an equal footing with citizens
of the United States. And when the Sena-
tor from Massachusetts (Mr. Webster)
brought forward resolution substantially
the same, and containing similar provision,
I rejoiced to see it, because it was in all
respects confirmation by him, of the corr
rectness of the principle involved and it
showed that when he had bis attention called
to the subject, and had given to it the sane
ton of his powerful intellect and his power
ful name, those wishing to become actual
settlers might hope that something was
going to be done for them.
And when the distinguished Senator from
Texas comes forward in the same way, and
makes similar proposition, it still further
increases the hope; and If the honorable
Senator from New Y ork had only embraced
the same principle in bis resolution, should
have rejoiced still more in the hope of the
passage of bill 10 accomplish the object
proposed.
But, Mr.. President, deeply regret that
this is not the case in regard to the resolu
ton proposed by the Senator from New
York; l deeply regret that, while he pro-
poses to provide for the fore gner who may
emigrate to this country, be leaves the native
born American unprovided for. He thus
proposes, MIR. President, to elevate the for
eigner over the native; he proposes to give
" bid" to the foreigner over the native
American; for when the foreigner goes to
any State where these public lands lie and
take his land, be is to have it free from all