Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1864-06-16

c the laws of war. The great body
e the people of the South are entitled
:. be treated with leniency, and shou|
g be SO treated. Those who, from ign
y rance, were induced to enlist, thos
s who by force were conscripted, shou
in the end receive the clemency Of Il
G Government but for the leaders e:
). patriation. humiliation, or death 10 Il
5 only remedy. 1t has been truly sal
e that this il laidholder's as well Q
. Shareholders rebellion. 1t is estim;
ted, by careful computations from tn
, census tables of 1850, that four-fiftb
Of all the lands in the rebellious State
; are owned by Shareholders. and tina
. onc-third of the Shareholders own two
, thirds of these lands. About one il
I fifty of the whole population OF tn
South hold slaves. So that 1t tn
lands Of the leading conspirators wer
seized by the Government and wrest
ed from them, not more than one on
Of every hundred in the Sonth woult
be affected by it. l ask Representa-
tives, shall everything else be de
stroycd that these few thousand slave
holders with their immense planta
tions shall liver Justice demands
that the diabolical spirit which famed
into flame this revolution and now
keeps it burning shall expiate its
crime by forfeiture of all it has to
the Government it seeks to overthrow.
These estates of malignant and unre.
penting rebels, coniscated to the Gov.
eminent under the laws of war, or
seized under the revenue laws because
abandoned by their owners, becoming
the property of the United States,
what shall be done with them ? We
arc entitled to use them so as to best
promote the interests of the whole
country. We should not sell them, be-
cause they would be purchased in
large tracts by spectators who have
grown rich by the war, and who would
use them as did the masters who have
abandoned them. They are the right.
ful inheritance of those who have
fought our battles and reclaimed them
from the control Of the nsurpation
that now makes war upon us. They
have the first right, and this bill sc.
cures 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 for
get that large tracts are already with
in the jurisdiction Of the Government
under the direct tax, which will GO in
to 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
nation will be so unjust to itself as
not to seize absolutely the property
including the lands, Of malignant rcb
els. Therefore l assume that confis
cation in fee will be our policy will
reference to these lands. We pro
gress slowly, l admit but to this We
must come at last.
/ will not take the time of the House
to explain in detail the provisions OF
the bill under consideration. My col
league on the committee has done 90
and the bill is printed and on the files
of members. II extends our genera
land system, and virtually extends tn,
homestead policy to this class Of lands
combining it's provisions, however, fo1
the first five years after its passage
to the soldiers and sailors who have
borne arms in defense of the nation.
| will not stop here TO vindicate tht
homestead law. Although long de
layed, it may now be considered as
part of the settled policy of the Go,
eminent in its disposition Of the pub
lie domain. Experience has fully dc
monstrated that the Government reali
yes more revenue from its public lands
by offering liberal inducements fol
their settlement than it docs by offer
ing them for sale. The demand fol
public lands is limited 10 the demands
of actual settlers except during times
of great land speculation, as in 1887
and 1856. Although Government re.
allied millions of dollars from sales
in 1856, yet those sales were posi-
tive evil. Whole townships, and in
some instances counties, in my State,
Iowa, were taken up by spectators,
and have been held by them at such
prices as to preclude their settlement.
Ii there had been no sales except to
actual settlers, or If the beneicent
principles Of the homestead law had
then prevailed, these localities would
doubtless now be occupied by prosper
Gus and extensive communities, who
would annually contribute in taxes
far more to the support OF the Gov
eminent than was realized from those
sales. Our public lands are valueless
to the Government without cultiva'
ton. Any other policy is unjust tow
ard the hardy pioneer Of civilization
injurious to the public interests, anG
would present serious obstacle tt
the growth, development, prosperity
and greatness Of our common coun
try.
By this policy the oppressed poor o
the Old World are invited to happy
and independent homes in the New
They in turn contribute to the growth
wealth, aud greatness Of the nation
In the midst of this desolating civil
war more than two hundred Thousand
of the poor of other lands within ,h,
last year have sought an asylum
among US, invited by our free institu
tions and liberal policy, aud it is es
tlmated that during the coming yea
nearly double that number will seel
our hospitable shores. Hon. Rober
j. Walker, in q recent article, ha.
shown that if we compute the annua
immigration for the next ten years a,
during the decade from 1850 to 1860
and estimate the value of the labor O
each immigrant at thirty-three cent,
per day, it would give us a grand to
tai in 1870 of $l.430,000,000, O
enough in twenty years to pay our en-
tire national war debt. We need thei
labor to till our fields, to replenish on
Treasury, and enrich our commerce
and therefore should, by our laws an,
our policy, give them encouragement
Land monopoly, with its attendan
Il oytlS ha~ nva. I,ocu <bo lono oc -.