The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1864-03-22
Resumption.
c. II. LEWIS.

GH Below we publish the speech o
Hon. D. D. HoLpRIDGE, delivered ir
the House Of Representatives. on tie 4tl
inst. 1t was an able effort, and, al
though we do not fully endorse the ar
gument Of the gentleman, believing, a.
we do, that the Railroad companies
should be held to a strict performance o
their contracts. Yet we lay his speech
before our readers with pleasure, fol
them to pass their owr opinion upon il
The Resumption Bill being under con
sideration, Mr.. HoLDRIDGE spoke as fol
lows:
Mr.. SPEAKER The object of going
into Committee Of the Whole is to give
wide range 10 discussion-to allow 4
free expression Of opinion. and if posi-
bic, to settle upon definite line of poll
cy to present to the House for adoption
II cannot be inferred, therefore, that
because | am following the gentleman
from Mills that | disagree with him in
everything he has said, or that | am in
favor Of everything that has been said on
the other side of the question. shall
have little or nothing to say of the
Swamp Lands in his county, or of the B
& NJ Railroad will leave that branch
of the subject to those who live on that
line, and shall confne myself to dis
cussion Of the difficulties with the 70 ads
in the Northern part Of the State. | will
simply remark here that | have no doubt
it will be proven that the "ravag es" in
Mills and other counties have not all been
committed by The Railroad. and that the
sturdy yeomanry" our friend speaks
of, amiable Christian men though they
be, have been guilty of faults. No sub
ject has come before this Assembly so
intricate and Of such magnitude as the
one now under consideration. The in.
terests are so vast. the parties interested
so numerous, SO many conflicting
claims are setup, so many conflicting de-
cisions have been rendered at different
times by supposed competent authority,
and the evidence upon these various
points is so voluminous, that even TO be.
come acquainted with the facts requires
long and careful inves,i CATION and
when this is accomplished we have but
taken the iniatory step-we must then
decide all the nicely balanced questions
Of law and equity, aud deal justly by all
concerned. We should approach this
subject free from a)lprejudice ola personal
or local character. For myself, l have
no plejudice for or against any of the
parties interested, but wish to do right,
regardless of who shall be the winning
or the losing party. We are the guar.
dians OF the interests of the State, but
our fidelity to her does not demand of us
a sacrifice of the rights of individuals or
corporations to FL her treasury. We
cannot legislate for the State. or compa.
ny, or an individual, at the expense oil
any other interest.
| shall confne myself to discussion
of tie conflicting claims 10 lands above
the Raccoon Fork. without committing
myself to any policy in reference to any
other branch Of the subject. Very large
tracts Of land on the Des Moines. North
OF the Raccoon Fork. are now in the
hands of actual settlers; other large
tracts Ct land are in the hands of specu
lators--boih settlers and spectators sup
posing they had received good title tc
their lands from the Stale or Navigation
Company. The Railroad Companie,
now claim these lands BY subsequent
grant from Congress. To quiet The til,