, 1866-06-21
FROM WASHINGTON.
Passage of q Practical Reconstruc-
ton Measure,

Passage of u Practical Reconstruc-
Hon Measure.
7he Public Lands in the Sonlh !
ThrDwu Vpen-fft~torT Of the Rssl-
II. pr"bnblc Influence upon the south
Tho Niagara sfstr Cauaa Rths
From uur own couespondent1
WAsnts11oA, June 10.
Day before yesterday bill very no'selsssly
became Law, than which no more Important |
measure has been passed this session. Direct |
ard practical in Its bearing upon the recon- |
structiou question, It will prove In due course
OF time most powerful and bcnefcent ele- |
ment In the solution Of the great social and |
political problem In the South. I refer to the
act, supplementary to the great Homestead
bill, throwing open the public lands In the
States Of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Arkansas and Florida, to the poor whites
nnd co1ored people Of the south. It became
Law, as stated, by the concurrence Of both
Houses In the report Of the Conference Com
mittee, appointed 10 harmonlze the conflict
Ing action Of the HouEe and Senate upon 1t.
The bill was introduced In the House by
Mr.. Rice Of Maine, and referred to the Com
mittce On Public Lands, whose Chairman
{A1r. Jullan,) after long Investigation Of the
subject, reported 1t back with certain modia-
cations and secured its passage. As passed by
the Ronse, 1t provided that the whole Of tho
public lands In tie Statesn named should be SUBJ
5ect TO actual settlement, under the provisions
of the Homestead Law, but that the quantity
Of. land 10 be selected by any one person
should not exceed eighty acres, instead of one
hundred aud sixty, as authorized By the
the bill were adopted, striking out the pro-
vision limiting the right Of actuai settlers to
eighty acres, and making imperative the
second section Of the Homestead Act, pro-
viding that none Of thoss who have partfcl-
pa,ed In tho rebellion shall enter any puhlic
land Whatever, the object Of the Senate
being not to exclude the poor whites Of the
| South that had been led into the rebellion By
| unscrupulots leaders, from the benefits of the
act The House refusing to coucur In the
Senate amendment, q committee Of con-
ference was called for and appointed. After
mary meetings and protractcd deliberations
OF the committee, in which the relative
positions Of both parties TO the question at
issue were pertinaciously defended, COM
promise WAS finally made, 10 order not to
dcieat the bill altogether, according to which
the Limitation Of the right to enter public
lands In the States mentioned, to eighty
acres, WIS to cease at the end Of two Years
after the passage Of the act, and the exclu-
sion oil those, actively engaged IN rebs1llon,
from The benefits Of the act with the fret Of
January, 1867,
Such Is bnef history Of the bill. That 1t
will produce the most beneficial results, ad-
mits of not the least doubt. It will break
down the land monopoly Of the CT. cx.slavehold-
Ing classes Of tho South, that has been the
| root Of slavery mud rebellion. 1t will, BY en-
ablipg the poor whites and emancipated slaves
to become possessors Of land In their own
| right, and to tursue the road to independence
and Weatth, work complete regeneration Of
the South in few years. 1t will redeem the
immense wastes Of that favored land, aud, BY
developing It's Immense, untold resources, add
vastly TO the national afluence and pros
peIity.
Tie qnautity Of surveyed unsold public
land in the hse States referred to, all Of which
will become subject to entry by actual SET
tiers under the bill, Was, In February last
IN Attaneas. ssagl2-d9
,s's:9,sS sl
a'eei.sinpi -. sS!ss 5sSSes 8
or total ef ID, SIS, ,5ii aeres. Of course, not
al Of this domain Is capable Of cultivation.
But taoe Of II Is, according to the records Of
the General Land Office, and It will afford
It L. estimated indeed TINT no less than thutJ
millions Of actes of ar1ble land will be thrown
open TO the 1andless people of the South.
This Will give 5000 homesteads, allow
Ing five persons to a family. Means Of inde-
pendent support Will be thus Afforded to no
less than ,6s5, 200 persons.
According to the ccu5us Of 1850, there were
in the States Of Alabama, Arkansas, FLORIDA.
Mississippi, and Louisiana In that year, l60,-
SLY farms, covering an area of So, IS8. .7ss9
acres, only 1919, liz Of which were In:
proved. The n1ea, not included n farms and
nnlmproved, consisted Of 103, TO-. 861 acsea.
The total number Of acres was 1GO, al COO, SO
that 1t appears that in the year mentioned
only one IN every sixteen acres OF the aggre-
gate area was improved. These figures de-
material development Of those States the
Homestead bill Is, aud how beuefcially II
will result to their landless inhabitants. Un-
der its operation, they will, In less than q
generation, teen with thrifty population,
| like their Northern sisters.
The mnpagers on the part of the House tu
the Conference Committee, would not have
cousented to the Limitation Of the e1clu.
sion ot active rebels from the benefits OF The
! act to the next six months, but for The as'
surance OF the Freedncn's Bureau. that this
space OF time would he sufficient 10 ac.
complish the object OF the bill, that
Ii 10 enable the loyal people Of the Eve
States to enter land under It. Gen. How
nrd. ~ eoon as the President has signed the
bill, will send out special Instructions to The
inform the colorsd people Of the act aud to
induce them TO exercise the right Of selecting
homesteads on tho public lands conferred
upon them by It. The Freedmn's Bureau
hah had no better opportuully ior tnesti1nA
bic usefulness since its Establishment.
r.
TIE NIAGARA SHIP CANAL.
Since my last have learned some p2rtlcu-
lars relative 10 the cause OF the Imposition 0l
tie fatal tncnbus upon the Niagara Ship
Canal bill in the torm OF the section added By
the Senate Committee OF Commerce, making
The execution oi this great national enter.
| prise dependent upon the pleasure Of the
Legislature Of the Siate Of New York 1t seems
that Int for the consent OF tho three mcmb
ofthe committee In favor OF the construction
Of The canal thcssrs:. Chandler, Howe and
Edmunds) to the addition Of that objections
bic section, the bill would not hare been re-
!. ported at alt, but slept in the committee till
the end o. the session. Messrs. Morgan, Nor
rili md Creswcl stubhorulY retased to per
NIT the bill to he reported without 1t, and az
Fcsmlth, would hare gone with them =. \
present. there was no other way OF getting II
before the Senate. Tie contest In the Senate
upon the bill will no doubt be re1y warm
: | and the vote very close. 1t IL, regret t1
snr, probable that majority Of the Sen
ate will concur In the amendment of tht
: committee. But the House never will. and
:. then there will be some hope Of favorable &C
i t1on by Conference Committee. A1r. Nor
gan is opposed to the bill from sympathy
with certain New York interests. Mr. Nor
ri'l, the traditional champion Of the New
jersey Railroad monopoly, has not ret beer
able to e,nancipate himself from the notion
OF State rights tn questions Of this kind thai
he acquired during his long adilial'on will
the Democratic party. Mr., CresNelf op
: posed the bill because he Thought 1t wonlt
establish precedent dangerous to the rallroat
monopolies of his State. The Western Sena
tors On the committee, Aeesra. Howard ant
Howe, worked hard, though vainly, to prcVen
the innusIicious result. The pressure upol
the committee was mainly in opposition tt
! the bill. The whole canal board Of NeF
York besct it at one time. The great North
west Was by no means Us strongly Represented
as It should haye been.
From MEXICO.
From Merida to Orizaya.