The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1870-10-08

Il IA bat natural that the leaders Of the
Radical party should desire 70 explain
away the policy which the representatives
OF that party In Congress initiated, and
pursued with astonishing vigor, in regard
TO the deposition OF the public domain.
II ia certainly Zone OF the most important
questions remaining 20 be settled BY
American craftsmanship" Bat how hap.
pens Il TO be h remaining question "
Prior to the accession of the Radical
party TO power, 1t was practically a set.
ued question. Democratic legislation had
established tho foundation Of a liberal
and popular policy, looking 10 the cape.
cial benefit OF the poor and landless,- "a
vast fraction Of the social body. The
Democratic policy Of granting lands, in
reasonable qnsntltics, TO the new States,
TO hii In the development Of their Internal
commerce and material resources, was a
policy whose beneficial results to the in.
habisants generally of such States were
attested by the experience Of thirty years
Unth The Radical party came into power,
no considerable number Of public men
ever proposed a departure from this most
b%cnehccnt Democratic policy.
Ills proper 10 designate II as the Demo.
cratic policy, because, although a consid.
cradle number Of Wing Congrtssmen SUP.
ported Il by their votes. II was the Demo.
crstc party which un'fJrmly shaped the
plllclts OF The government upon this and
other metters Of pablo concern. The re.
aponsibllity Of administrative success or
administrative failure rested wholly upon
that ptrty, as for the last Ten years II has
rested upon the Radical party.
The Democratic policy regarding the
disposition Of the public lands WAS de.
clared, and may be said to have been es.
tahlished, under the Administration of
Andrew jackson. The defeat Of Mr.
Clay's famous distribution scheme in 1882.
and again by the veto Of President Jack
son In the following session, was the mi
tiation Of q policy founded upon the
principle declared In that message that
the lands "should be disposed of Tor the
common benefit Of he States !" that the
price " should be reduced and graduated,
and that after they have been offered for
a number OF years the lands remaining
nnsold should ha abandoned to the States
I'm which they he)lnd the machinery of
our land system be entirely withdrawn.n
The policy of granting lands to the
States was an application of the principle
that the public lands should be disposed
Of for the common benefit OF the States
for, as was ably demonstrated in the 70.
port Of the Committee on Public Lands,
against Mr, Clay's scheme, 1.-The science
OF political economy has ascertained such
q domain 10 be chiefly ii not exclusively
valuable under the aspect of population
and cultivation, and the eventual extrsc.
ton OF revenue from the people in its
customary modes" And from all the
Congressional records upon this SUBJ
1eol 1t plainly appears that this scasa marty
pohcy-the policy adopted by the Dem.
oofatlo party, as opposed to the projected
distribution of the proceeds of the sales OF
the public land among the States of which
Henry Clay was the progenitor ard The
Wing party the sponsors. In all its deal.
ings with the public domain, the Demo.
cratic party never departed from this pol,
icy. II reduced ard graduated the price
OF lands; II enacted presumption and frre
homestead laws; II made grants, in reason.
able quantities, 10 the e States, to aid
In the development Of their material and
commercial prosperity ell tending, under
lhn aspect OF population and cultivation,
TO the common benefit.
In the decade ending with 1860, the ar.
gregaie of land grants made by Demo.
cratic Congressman to the States was A
little under 100000 acres. This com.
pretended all tho grants of public land
made by Congress within that period.
The Radical party ~also,duting the ten years
Otis political ascendency, has made grants
OF land 10 States, amounting, in all, 10
e9,C00,0N acres. But this il a
small moiety OF the public domain which
Radical party has granted away, and
IS far from being that part of the Radical
record which demonstrates the pol.
~ Of that party ON this important ques.
ion. In addition 10 these grants 10 the
the Radical party has given away
more than l6S, 000,OO0 acres OF the public
tomain 70 private NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. /,
Of land spectators 1t has diverted
rom tho common benefit of the States TO /,
he special benefit Of . few favored parti. i
ans an area Of public land equal 10 more {