The weekly Butte record. [volume] (Oroville [Calif.]) 1866-1887, 1866-07-14
Land Grants for Railroad Purposes.

IT NAV be of some interest to our readers to know
something about the extent of the lands granted by
the General Government for railroad pu poses, and
the compensating reasons that prompted them. and
yet remains iu favor of such grants. The first
grant of land by the General Government for sach
purposes. was made by Congress in 1850, under
the recommendation and advocacy of the immortal
DOUGLAS. It conveyed TO the State of Illinois for
the purpose of aiding in the construction of rail
roads, ? 595 ,053 acres, which have been valued as
high as thirty millions of dollars, resulting in an
extraordinary impulse to the settlement and pros
pe,itv of the State. At the date of the grant
nearly half the public land within the limits of H.
linois was vacant and undisposed of. Now, after
the lapse of only fifteen years, the United States
have virtually retired as landholder from that
State. Congress have likewise granted lands for
similar purposes to Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri,
Arkansas Iowa Florida, Michigan, Louisiana, Wis
consin. Minnesota and Kansas. These, together
with the concessions to Illinois, cover au area by
estimate in round numbers, of forty million seven
hundred and forty-fve thousand six hundred acres,
half of which has already been certified and the
titles vested. These grants are however, seeonda-
~ iu SAteuN " iiiS SioHS' III lawn VI e'S SiN1
Pacific railway routes, which are designed by two
lines some eight degrees of latitude from each 9TH
er to span the the territories of the Union from
near the geographical centre OF the Republic to the
Pacific ocean. These immense railroad grants by
estimate embrace the quantity of one hundred and
twenty-five millions of acres, exceeding by eight
millions of acres the aggregate area of the States
of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu-
sets, Rhode Island Connecticut, New York, Penn
sylgania, Delaware and Maryland. These enor
nous grauts are within about a fourth of being
twice the united area of England, Scotland. Wales,
Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man. and
Islands of the British seas and less than tenth Of
being equal to the French empire proper, with its
eighty Departments and its 81 $40 commnnes.
The reason why the Congress of the United States
as the national trustee charged der the Constiru
ton with the disposal of the public lands, have
made grants on such stupendous scale as this, is
found not merely in the indemnfying principle of
duplicating the price of the reserved sections, and
in the rapid settlement and advancement of the
country through the railroads may be built, but in
the higher purpose of opening speedy communica-
ton by the iron railway across the continent to
slope, and of the Valley of the Mississippi, with
the mineral wealth of the declivity from the Rocky
mountains to the Pacific coast. The people on the
shores of the western ocean are advancing towards
the interior, whilst the people from the Atlantic
are overrunnng the Valley Of the Mississippi, and
progressing westward-oeeupied in building houses
in founding cities in opening new territories form
ing new States. suhjugating nature; on all sides
are heard the blows of the blows of the axe, the
blasts of the forge, and the busy hum of industry,
from the quartz mills of Montana to the cottongin
of Texas ancient forests are being given to the
flames and the plough is passing over their ashes,
and smiling cities, and temples and palaces, are
trespassing upon reserved Indian territories, and
forcing upon Mormondom glimpse Of the civili-
zation and enlightenment of the age. It IS for the
purpose of uniting these great interests and ce-
menting distant communities in one prosperous ma
ton that Congress has made these stupendous
grants for railroad purposes. foreseeiDg with true
and correct statemanship. that the nation would
be more prosperous and happy with the railroads
in practical use. than VII hin unoccupied lands 1t
has however remained for California to cheat the
lust expectations of the nation with sham and
impacticable railway across the mountains, for
the profits arising from the subsidies and grants Of
the nation. California. that most of all felt the
need of such communication as these grants were
designed to open is the first to render them null
litv BY fraud that renders them comparatively
futile. It is not the heart of the people of
California that has done this great wrong. They
would have met did meet the lberality of Congress
with Ike liberality but it is being effected by men
Of sham pstrietism-unprincipled and selish-vho
have seized upon the nbersity of the people, de-
signed for the advancement and prosperity OF the
nation. to enrich themselves.