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


violate and ,pnd diminished. v-.s ----usur--
This provision, the substance of whch
is found mi the organic Jaws Of all tbe
Northwestern States is 90 explicit decAr-
atioh that tie grant Of school lands is to
be regarded as a.peFpetual provision fos
Education; thus indelibly registering in
the taxtos the Constitution the primary
intention of the grant, as interpreted by
the ordiaancs, Of 17S7,o in that noblest
maxim of political scienceL'That Religion,
Morality, and knowledge being necessary
to good government, Schools, and the Means
of Education shall forever be encourag-
II. is thelnscesasanfy i logical implieeatioD OF
tie Constitutional provision, that the
school. lands should be administered with
view to the permanent interests Of the
school ,fa,sd. 1t is only by adheripg to this
as q fundamental principle of legislation,
by lrsgarding the school lands not as tenn
porary source Of relief from present bur
sdens, bat as pnayision fer the permanent
interests Of Education sthat-xe can right
ly discharge the sacred obligations to pos
terty which this trust imposes upon US, or
itly respond to the elevated and paternal
policy Of the general Government.
There has always been disposition in
the new states to hurry the school lands
prenaturefy into market, partly original.
ing in the desire of interested parties to
obtain possession of these lands at low
prices, and partly from the impatient ca,
gerness of the pioneer to realize an imme-
date 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. By the sweat Of
his brow, are laid the foundations of that
wealth, which is 10 yield the future reye-
nues of the State. The expense and dir
ficulty Of maintaining schools in our pres
ent sparse andipoor settlements, it is spe-
ciously alleged, arsnders local taxation
more bardensone and 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 its prospective benefits lost; that in
fact the argument derives its whole force
from the necessary condition. Of jthingsi in
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.@ g. r." a'i'''as 573.<-
t. It would perhaps be difficult TO prove
that the hardships and poverty Of the frs,
settlers In new State are OF such a pecu-
liar character as to constitute aspeciai claim
| to enjoy the benefit Of the school grant
to the prejudice of posterity. And it will
not be overlooked, as against "a pretensior
| 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 lprivations, he also enjoys great ad
| yantayes which are denied to his succes
! sors. If he turns'the first flrrow, he also
reaps the richest harvest. He does not &C
Ecept the rugged lot of the, pioneer as {
personal sacrifice for the good of the State
From which he therefore claims Specia
bounty, but from shrewd calculation o
hts prospective benefits to himself 'Th,
rapid rise in the value of lands which 1T
tepds the FIRST stages Of the growth o
new settlements, turns principally to tn,
advantage Of the first settler, who has hac
the choice of the best locations and tina
which he is SO apt to claim as the tardy
fruit Of his own toll, more often results
without his agency, from the increase IL
population and capital around him. Witt
what justice then, can the incoming thous
ands Of men who shall complete the socia
superstricttnre about him, 'ahd swell th,
sources of HIS, prosperity, be deprived Of
the benefits Of the enhanced value which
they will give the school lands? - - ="
- Nor has this policy which would impov
| erisii the future for the benefit of the pres
ent, any support in the sentiment of pa
1 ternal solicitude. Our children, we may b
sure, would be any thing but grateful TO
/ the benefits of an education procured a
i the selfish sacrifice Of the noble hertag
| Of which Providence has made us tn
trustees for their benefit, and the benefi
of.al those that come after them, and Wi
scarcely build monuments to the memoir
Of those men, who, to enjoy an imfnunit.
from temporary taxation, entailed a trebi
burden OF the education of their POSTER
| ty fUr all time to come. -''' ."'' 49,
Let it not be forgotteb that the childre
who eat our bread are to be our judges
and before, we shall pass away, they vii
rise up 10 the places now occupied by us
and require Of you and me an account 0
our stewardship. ,.s... -.
am, however, very far from urgin
that the school lands shall only be dis
posed Of with a view solely to realizin
therefrom the largest ultimate fund. Sue
! principle would imply an indefinate post
pore eniens Of The sale of the lands to th
prejudice, not only OF Education, but Of a
collateral public interests. 1t is to th
general and permanent utility of the fun
and not It's mere accumulation as a pecuni
| ary Investment that you are to look, and
is for you to Judge how far the public il
terests may be best subserved in the Ion
run by encroaching ON the school reserve
for the means of education in the infanc
Of the State. .., a., ...,... ~, -.,., -. ....-.
! The Constitution places no check upo
legislative action in this matter, except i
the provision that not more than one-thir
of the school lands shall be sold in tw
| years, ore third in five years, and one
third in ten years; and that the mos
valuable shall be sold first,--an obviousl
insufficient safeguard against inproviden
legislation. .s. ~. r.... :. .,...s
| Looking, then, at the ultimate fund to b
derived from the school lands as q per
manent resource of education for all tim
to come---it is for you to decide, what thi
magnificent endowment is to be worth a
an instrument of social development to tn
unborn millions of the future. The esti
mate now placed upon it will be the wit
:. ness to posterity Of the loftiness or tn
meanness of the views which actuate US
4 This estimate will be expressed first Of al
4 in the minimum price. which you shal
affix to the lands. ,g .. ...,. "a.
| The question Of a minimum you will per
ceive, is in fact the cardinal point to De es
tablished. .s.a z.i LII. ..~. -
| There, is one general principle in. thu
adjustment of minimum which, doub
/ not, will meet with general concurrence: L
| should not be so high as to exclude. th'
| the present generation from the benefits o
| the res ultipg revenue, nor so. low as t.
| impoyerish the permanent fund, How
then, shall the permanent interests of the
| school fund be reconciled with the JUS
claims of the present generation T? The
school lands represent not an actual bu
| a latent and prospective value, depending
1 upon the general growth of the State fol
/ lis .develoninent.. Lands that might BIZ