Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-06-11

Rock River Canal Company, is so full OF con-
fusion and error, that beg to correct it for
the benefit of your readers
Your correspondent says;
An able and extended report has been made to
the senate by Mr. Hendricks, from the committee
on public lands in relation to the ire per cent.
fund due the State of Wisconsin; by which u Is
clearly established that the canal lands cnargeu 20
the state at 81. so per acre should be reduced 10
81 % and the balance paid to the state te deaact
| ing the amount due the canal company [or near
exDeIditures and C'isbursen The conclusions
are irresistible and resolution is now before the
| Senate in accordance Herewith. Thus is demon
strated the folly of the legislators of Wisconsin, In
/ refusing to listen to the proposals OF the Canal
Company when il offered to cancel its obligations
for s25 600 and allow the state to receive the full
amount Of the proceeds OF sne S anu be anS
| unanswerabIe argument in behalf OF the resolu-
/ ton of the committee, and 1t viii undoubtedly
pass.
The facts in brief are these:
The act of Congress admitting Wisconsin
into the Union, granted to the State for the
use of schools, .fve per eentama of the net pro-
ceeds of public lands thereafter sold in the
State. No part of this money, now amount
ing to some $4,000, has ever been paid to
the State, and Senator Howe's resolution
seeks to enforce the payment. 1t is with
held by the accounting officers of the United
States, who charge this State with the sum
of $3.50, 900, as a set-off. being the price OF
| 100000 acres of land granted by an act OF
Congress to the Territory of Wisconsin IN
1883 to aid in the construction OF canal
from Milwaukee to the Rock River That
act provided that the granted lands should be
sold at 50 so pei acre, and that if the canal
should not be completed within ten years,
the State should be responsible for the pay
ment into the United States treasury of the
proceeds thereof, at not less than 81 80 per
acre; also, that in order to render effectual
these provisions, the State legislature should
PASS an act asserting to it. The State was
not admitted until the ten years had nearly
elapsed, and it neuer dSSented to tie foregoing
terms. Senator Howe therefore argues, and
the committee fully agrees: First, that the
State ought to have the five per cent. fund ;
and, second, that it ought not to pay 81 %
an acre for the lands, which is now ex-
acted, notwithstanding but one mile OF
the canal was ever completed. The Ter
rtory did sell part of the lands and apply the
proceeds to the construction of the canal, be-
sides making great but Intellectual exertions
to borrow money for the same object. In
1912, the funds and credit of the company
being exhausted, the best lands being sold,
and the others selling very slowly, and the
canal company having expended its last dol
lar and completely drained its resources, and
the canal being, in the view of the Legisla-
ture, for these and other reasons utterly i'm
practicable, and perhaps not very desirable,
the territorial government abandoned the
work Subsequent legislatures cOncurred in
these opinions, and repeatedly petitiOned
Congress to take back the grant, and to re-
duce the price of the lands 20 the usual rate,
81 % per acre. This was not done. In 1916,
and afterwards, the territory sold most ofthe
remaining lands for 81 25 per acre, and re-
funded to former purchasers the excess paid
beyond that rate. Thus the Territory got
only dollar and quarter an acre for about
125, 900 acres of land, the remaining $4,000
acres of the canal grant being taken by con-
sent of Congress as part of the 100000 acres
granted to Wisconsin for the use of schools,
on its admission. From the amount so re-
ceived, should be deducted the expenses of
sale and collection, which were considerable.
Now Senator Howe's resolution, which he
has very ably supported in his argument be-
fore the Senate, provides that an account
shall be taken between the State and the Unit
ed States on these equitable principles namely:
credit the State with the five per cent. fund
withheld; charge to the State the money ae-
tually received and used By tie Territory for It's
own benefit; and pay over to the State the
difference. Thus the expenses of selling the
lands and making the collections, and the
large sums mot less than $4,000 in alD paid
by the Territory towards the construction of
the canal, would be deducted from the gross
proceeds of the canal land sales charged to
the State. In other words, the 1856, 900,
gross proceeds of sales, would be reduced by
these deductions to about 100000, and that
sum subtracted from the $3.50, 900, five per cent
fund, would leave remainder of some $780,
900 to be added to our school fund.
So far the report Of the committee and
the substitute resolution introduced by them
do not dissent from the proposed terms of
settlement; and the State may thus be said
to have the committees appreciation of its
entire demands, with one exception, Sena-
tor Howe's resolution directs that the State
be also credited "with all other sums dis
bursed by the Territory to defray the expens-
es which by law were chargeable upon the
treasury of the United States" 1t has been
claimed for our State-with how much JUS
tice 1 do not know-that the expenses of the
constitutional conventions, which were paid
by the Territory in part out of the canal land
funds, should have been paid by the United
States, and should therefore now be allowed
by the United States. This allowance, if
proper, could have been made under the
clause quoted from the resolution. The COM
mittee, without abiding to the matter at all,
have omitted this clause from the substitute
they report. This action, if sanctioned by
Congress, does not reject the claim of the
State, merely putting it aside for the present,
but it would certainly be desirable that all
the questions should have been passed upon
together, and all the items of the account
| LII