St. Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1861-01-11

| violate and .pDdlminished A., .-.v --n,ur---
This provision, the substance of which
is found in the organic laws Of all the
Northwestern States, is an explicit decAr-
alton that the grant Of school lands isto
be regarded as a.perPetual provision fos
Education; thus indelibly registering in
the ,extos the Constitution the primary
| intention OF the grant, as interpreted by
the ordinance, Of 1857, in that noblest
maxim ot political science hat Religion,
Morality, and knowledge being necessary
| to good government, Schools, and the Means
| of Education shall forever be encOurag-
ed" -ys<Ytgrs s-g,g
! It is the, necessary logical Implication OF
tie Constitutional provision, that the
school .lslds should be administered with
view. to the permanent interests Of the
school fund. 1t is only by sdhering to this
as q fundamental principle of legislation,
by regarding the school lands not as a tenn
porary source Of relief from present bur-
deus, bat as a provision for the permanent
interests Of Education sthat.xe can right
| ly discharge the sacred obligations to pos
| terity which this trust imposes upon u.s. or
i htie ttSbtfJtO ~ ttC SiVFotOG oha pttbSi hai
| policy Of the general Government.
There has always been disposition in
| the new states TO hurry the school lands
prematurely into market, partly original.
ing in the desire of interested parties to
obtain possession of these lands at low
prices, and partly from. the inpatient ca
gerness Of the pioneer to realize an imme
diate income therefrom, for the support of
schools There are indeed some plausible
| reasons why the pioneer should. ask that
| the school lands should be used for his
benefit. His are all the struggles and
privations incident to the carly colonial
ton of the wilderness. Bg the sweat Of
| his brow, are laid the foundations of that
wealth, which is - yield the future reve-
nues of the State. The expense and dif
| fculty Of maintaining schools in our pres
ent sparse and poor settlements, it Is spe-
ciously alleged, renders local taxation
more burdensome aud Legislative aid more
welcome now than at any subsequent pc
riod.
1t will at once be perceived that if such
views were to govern the disposition Of
the school lands, the object OF the
grant would be almost wholly defeated,
and it's prospective benefits lost that in
tact the argument derives its whole force
from the necessary condition of things in
4 a stage Of frontier life. when these
lands are almost wholly valueless and
| that if all their resources were exhausted
to meet the present transient emergency
the income would be wasted n the vain
attempt to anticipate the laws of progress,
and remedy Inconvenience which can
| only be oatgrown." FL" -''''-. los =.
It would perhaps be difficult to prove
that the hardships and poverty of the first
settlers in new State are OF such a pecu.
liar character as TO constitute aspecial claim
| to enjoy the benefit of the school grant
to the prejudice of posterity. And it will
not be overlooked, as against a preteDsion
so greedy in It's motive and so subverSive
| in ITS consequences of the welfare of the
State, that If the first settler endures
some pr;vations, he also enjoys great ad
yantages which are denied to his succes
sors.- II he turrs'the first furrow, he also
reaps the richest harvest. He does not ac
cept the ragged lot of the. pioneer as q
personal sacrifice for the good of the State
From which he therefore claims speca
bounty, but from shrewd calculation o
its prospective benefits to himself The
rapid rise in the value of lands which at
tepds the FIRST stages Of the growth o
new settlements, turns principally to the
| advantage Of the first settler, who has had
the choice of the best locations and thai
which he is so apt to claim as the t;.rdy
fruit of his own toll, more often results
without his agency, from the increase ir
population and capital around him. With
what justice then, can the incoming thous
ands Of men who shall complete the socia
4 superstructure about him, and swell The
i sources of HIS. prosperity, be deprived OF
the benefits Of the enhanced value which
they will give the school lands? -, '' I
| Nor has this policy which would impov
erish the future for the benefit of the pres
ent, any support in the sentiment of pi
ternal solicitude. Our children, we may b
sure, would be any thing but grateful To-
the benefits of an education procured a
the selfish sacrifice of the noble heritage
of which Providence has made lis tn,
trustees for their benefit, and the benefi
of all those that come after them, and viii
scarcely build monuments TO the memoir,
OF those men, who, to enjoy an IMMUNITY
from temporary taxation, entailed treb!
burden OF the education of their posteri
ty for all time to come. ' ''' Exit
Let it not be forgotten that the childrel
who eat our bread are to be our judges
aud before we shall pass away, they vii
rise up Id the places now occupied by us
and require Of you and me an account o
our stewardship. ,.....
am, however, very far from urgin,
that the school lands shall only be dis
posed of with view solely to realIzin,
theretrom the largest ultimate fund. Sucl
principle would imply an indefnate post
poreman: Of The sale of the lands to tn
prejudice not only OF Education, but Of al
collateral public interests. 1t is to th
general and permanent utility of the fun'
and not It's mere accumulation as pecunl
| ary Investment that you are to look, and i
is for you to Judge how far the public in
terests may be best subserved in the lOnI
run by encroaching ON the school reserve
for the means Of education in the infancy
of the State. ... .,. .....
| The Constitution places no check upol
legislative action in this matter, except il
the provision that not more than one-thirt
OF the school lands shall be sold in tw'
| years, one third in five years, and one
third in ten years; and that the mos
valuable shall be sold first,-an obviousl,
insufficient safeguard against irnproviden
legislation. ...: ........
Looking, then, at the ultimate fund to b
derived from the school lands as per
manent resource of education for all timt
to come---it is for you to decide, what thi.
magnificent endowment is to be worth a!
an instrument Of socia. development to the
unborn millions of the future. The esti
mate now placed upon it will be the wit
ness to posterity Of the loftiness or tht
meanness of the views which actuate US
I THIS estimate will be expressed first of al
in the minimum price which you shall
affix to the lands. ........ ..
The question Of a minimum,you will per
ceive, is in fact the cardinal point to De es
tablished. s... Kan .....
There is one general principle in. the
adjustment of minimum which, l doubt
not, will meet with general concurrence: Ii
/, should not be so high as to exclude the
the present generation from the benefits OF
| the res ulting revenue, nor 80 low as to
impoyerish the permanent fund, How
then, shall the permanent interests Of the
| school fund be reconciled with the just
| claims of the present generation The
school lands represent not an actual but
a latent and prospective value, depending
upon the general growth Of the State for
| its s'develoninent. Lands that might be