The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-03-31

State did, in 1853 have a settlement with
said company, in which she acknowledge an
indebtness, after deducting damages for non :
compliance Of contract by the company, of
nearly all the lands that had been approved
and certified to the Stite and not sold to
others, being 266,10s acres, only 53,s67 OF
which were below the Fork, the balance,
212.741 acres, (that now in controversy be-
ing above the Fork--that tn, State agreed
in settlement of this acknowledged indebt-
edness to convey bv patent to the company
these lands upon the payment bv them to
the State Of $50 900, which was accordingly
paid bv the company and the land patented
to it; that at the date Of this settlement the
State and the companv believed that the
title to these lands was good; that the comps-
nv and its grantees have paid to the State
taxes upon these lanls to the amount Of shout
ss5 900; and last Of all, that in the work of
improvement the State. while prosecuting It
before her contract with the company. ex-
pended more and ACCOMPLISHED much less
than this much abused company.
I, therefore in view of all these facts,
take the position. that If the Navigation
company today owned undisposed Of. every
acre Of these lands. its equities would be
far superior to those Of the railroad com :
panies. One paid consideration for and
ex ,ects to receive the lands; the State ac-
knowledged, the consideration and granted
the lands in satisfaction thereof. believing
she had good title. On tn. other hand,
the railroad companies raid no consideration
did not expect to receive nor did the State,
intend to grant them the lands.
But to 20 farther, il is not the c.se that
the navigation company nov owns the
most Of these lands Since the time Of the
first certiEcation ofa portion Of them bv
the State to the company, it has sub-so III
| the largest portion Of the amount conveyed
to it bv the State. to individuals who have
purchased in good faith, some Of whom are
sctual settlers and others not Eow.I ask
upon what principle Of justice or right can
you draw . distinction between this class Of
individuals; cen you LfHord protection to
tie grantee who is in sctusl possession
and deny it to the grantee who is not in
actual possession. In my opinion, sir,
such distinction would be a most hagrant
violation of every principle ofjustice, equity
and law, an outrage upon TIE citizen, dis-
grace to the honor and dignity Of the State.
History informs us that the old Roman,
when he realized that he was Roman citi-
en-, felt his bosom swell With the proudest
emotions, but sir if we draw this invidious
distinction against grantee Who is citi-
zen Of our State, holding under its patent
sttested with it's sovereign seal, he would
have good cause to realize that he was cit.
izen of Iowa with feelings of indignation
and contempt I cannot believe that we
will be so recreant to the honor ofonr State:
that we will thu tarnish its fair escutcheon
! frightened as it is with the valor Of fifty
| thousand Of her sturdy sons. who have
l
who have met the enemy on MANY a hotIy
contested field and overcome him in victor
les the most splendid the world has ever
seen. All honor and protection to these
brave and patriotic men! And vet doubt
not, but that some. If not many Of these no
BILE citizen soldiers are those grantees not
in actual possession a,ainst whom this m
just distinction is proposed to be drawn i.
Never shall It be drawn with nv consent;
to me the path Of duty is plain, unmistak-
able. And vet, in view Of all this, with all
these facts before us, the gentleman from
Dubuque, has sc en- at to state that those
who opposed his views and favored resump-
ton were actusted bv son,e local or private
motive or else had lost their senses.-
When he made this charge wondered If he
had ever read those lines Of Burns:
go wsd some power IN giftie gle us,
To see oursels as ithers see us; ,.....
It vad frae mony blunder free us,
And mony silly notion" s-..r -rr.
It strikes me that such remarks come
with verv poor grace from him to whom
such universal courtesy has been extended
by this House; belonging to an Insignificant
" small minority upon this floor his situ.-
ton and ability have elected towards him
the almost partial courtesy of generous gen.
tleman.
TMr Stiles here proceeded at length to an
swer some of the statements made by the
gentleman from Dubuque. (Mr. Richsrds)
and referred to the opinion and sdvice OF
the Attorney General and in this connec-
tlcn vindicated the Attorney General
against the stack that the gentleman from
Dubuque and others had made upon him,
and concluded .s follows:1
Having IS conceive shown the necess-
ity of resumption let me for q moment in
ouire what would be its effects? The result
of resumption would be in my opinion, and
it is granted bv the oppos ition, immediate
" cure the defective titles of all the gran
tees of the State to the River lands, under
the legal doctrine Of entrance and by force
of the Joint Resolution Of Congress in
1851, and by the act Of Congress OF 1862,
to which have before alluded and explain
ed at length. By so doing we viii carry
out the intention and maintain the good
faith Of the State bv giving to her, grantees
that which she intended to give them, which
they expected to get and paid consider
Al u. Al Il ~