The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1864-05-24


serve and protect the property of tn
enemy, to be turned over 10 them ur
harmed at the end Of the war ? Is ther
anything in the character of this reyo
that requires US to exercise clemency to
ward the slaveholdiug, land holding elias
who were its instigators, and who no,
control and direct it?
No act of the Government could b
pointed out treating this people with in
justice. So far from it they ruled ant
controlled it for long series Of years t,
uphold and maintain slavery. Fearing
that the General Government could ne
longer be used Tor the exclusive benei
Of the shareholders, they instigated thi:
revolt. to establish out Of the territory oil
the United States slave empire, to make
perpetual an aristocracy founded upon
the idea that capital should own labor
Since Satan, with his internal peers, re-
volted against Deity, history or poetry
furnishes no example of revolt so cause
less, and having for its object SO diabol-
ical purpose.
The dictates Of justice and humanity
alike require that the fomenters Of this
rebellion, those who infused into it Or.
ganization and life blood, shall be pun.
ished TO the extent permissible by the
laws OF war. The great body of the peo.
pie Of the South are entitled to be treat.
ed with leniency, and should be so treat
ed. Those who from ignorance, were in
duced to enlist, those who by force were
conscripted, should in the end receive
the clemency of the Government but
for the leaders expatriation, annihilation,
or death is the only remedy. 1t has
been truely said that this is a landhold-
er's as well as shareholders rebellion.
1t is estimated, by careful computations
from the census tables of 1860, that four
ffths of all the lands in the rebelious
States are owned by Shareholders. and
that one third of the shareholders own
two thirds of these lands. About one
in fifty of the whole population of the
South holds slaves. So that if the lands
of the leading conspirators were seized
by the Government and wrested from
them, not more than one out of every
hundred in the South would be affected
by it. / ask Representatives, shall eve.
rything else be destroyed that these few
thousand shareholders with their i'm.
mense plantations shall live Justice
demands that the diabolical spirit which
famed into flames this revolution, and
now keeps il burning, shall expiate its
crime by forfeiture Of all it has 10 the
Government il seeks TO overthrow These
estates of malignant and unrepenting reb
els, confiscated to the Government un
der the laws oe war, or seized under the
revenue laws because abandoned by
their owners, becoming the property OF
the United Statas, what shall be done
with them =? We are entitled to use them
so as to best promote the interests of the
whole country. We should not sell
them, for they would be purchased in
large tracts by spectators who have
grown rich by the war, and who would
use them as did their masters WHO have
abandoned them. They are the rightful
Inheritance of those who have fought our
battles and reclaimed them from the con
troll of the usurpation that now makes
war upon us. They have the first right,
and this bill secures that right TO them.
But the opponents Of this bill say we
propose TO divide that which we have
not, and which We cannot acquire. They
forget that large tracts are already with.
in the jurisdiction of the Government
under the direct tax, which will 90 into
The hands Of spectators unless bid in
by the Government and awarded to our
soldiers under this bill, or some one
with similar provisions.
Mr.. Speaker, do not believe this ma.
ton will be so unjust TO itself as not to
seize absolutely The property. including
The lands. Of malignant rebels. There.
fore assume that confiscation in fee
will be our policy with reference TO these
lands. We progress slowly, | admi, :;
but TO this we must come At last.
l will not take the time Of the House
to explain in detail the provision of the
bill under consideration. Ny colleague
on the committee has done so. and the
bill ia printed on the files Of members.
1t extends our general land system. and
extends the homestead policy TO
this class OF lands. contining its provis-
ions. however. for the fret five wears
after its passage 10 the soldiers and sail
ors who have borne arms in defense Of
the nation.
| will not stop here TO vindicats. the
homestead law. Although long delay
ed. il may Tow be considered as part
OF the settled policy of the Government
in its disposition of the public domain.
Experience has fully demonstrated that
the Government realizes more revenue
from its public lands by offering liberal
inducements for their settlement than il
does by Offering them for sale The de
mand for public lands is limited to the
demands Of actual settlers except during
times OF great land speculation. as in
1887 and 1856, Although the Govern.
ment realized millions OF dollars from
sales in 1856, yet those sales were pos
tive evil. Whole townships. and iu
some instances counties. ia my State
Iowa, were taken up by spectators, and
have been held Is them al such prices