Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-05-16
Communication.
Arkansas.


Editor Obserrer-DEAR SIF
II studiously avoid parading
myself before the public as a
Tprancing patriot, but | have been
busily engaged in examining
the political affairs in this State
during my residence here, and
[ take pleasure in making an
abstract of the same for the OBJ
SERVER. L he Forty-fourth
Congress withdrew all public
lands from market and not sub
ject TO sale or entry, except
homesteads in the States of AL
ALBANIA, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Arkansas-foriy acre en-
tries were, however, graciously
permitted under the act Of '66.
Arkansas is to-day the only
State in the Union where all
the public lands are open to sale
and settlement under the gener-
al laws of the Z. S. Hon. l..
@. Cause, of our State, intro
duced the first bill to repeal the
iron-clad oath on jurors in the
courts of the Z. S. State lines
are obliterated by the ''nation,"
and State courts swallowed up
by the u. S. courts. The insid-
ious acts of many Of our legis-
lators are tending toward GEN.
tralization, and all patriotic yo-
ters should meet it with a de-
termined resistance. Nothing
is more dangerous to the well
fare Of the Republic. When
Arkansas was admitted to the
Union, a compact was entered
into by the U. S. and the State
whereby the State agreed not to
tax government lands and to
tax non-residents the same as
residents and no more, in con-
sidcratlon Of which the u. S.
agreed to pay the State five per
icent. Of the sales Of the public
lands within her territory. Ar
kansas has observed her part
OF the compact, the Z. S. has
not. Several hundred thousand
dollars due this State is held by
the government and the Sec
retary of the Interior refuses to
pay it, although the money was
obtained by the sale of said
Hands. The extension of mail
service in the Southern States
is a matter of great interest to
the people, but even this has
been greatly neglected by the
general government. Something
should be done at once to cor
rect this much needed affair, and
our legislators should look to it
Immediately. Hon. i. c. Cause
introduced a bill in the last Con-
gress granting one additional
section Of each township of
public land in tbs State for ed
ucational purposes. 1T passed
the Committee without objec-
ton, but the electoral court alb
sorbed all other business and no
action was had on it; the Com
lmittee instructed Mr.. Cause to
put it before the House at the
next general Congress. Should
it become a law the State School
Fund will receive a million acres
of land, which at the minimum
price Of public land, would a.
mount to million and a quar-
ter of dollars.
The weather has been as tickle
as my Lincoln county sweet
heart for the past week. 1t has
been raining almost incessantly
for the past thirty-six hours.
IThundcr-cIoud after thunder
. cloud has passed over in rapid
succession and the greater por-
ton of the low lands is already
under water. All last night the
rain poured down in torrents
the low black clouds accompa.
MED with wind, thunder anc
: lightning rendered it impossi'
! BILE to sleep. l sat up smoking
: my pipe and found my life al
! cherries as the sky and as star
less, too. But the butter-cup
and clover-blOoms will soon b.
around me, and / will try t.
i, worship my bride, nature. Th
Q crimson bars bedecked witt
: gold-the red and yellow will
t flowers are perfuming the swee