Year: 1859

on with that until we get through with it, and
then take up the appropriation bills and get
through with them. Let US take up one meas
ure at time, as we reach it. voted to give
the homestead bill priority over the Cuba bill
but this being up, as friend of the homestead
measure, think the surest way to pass it is to
stand by this bill until we dispose of it, and
then take up the homestead bill.


Mr.. CLARK. As a friend of the Homestead
Bill do not want to lose any votes for it by
this is an unreasonable hour to press that or any
other bill Fifteen minutes past nine o'clock
therefore move that the Senate adjourn, and
on that motion ask the yeas and nays.


The yeas and nays were ordered.


Mr.. RICE. If there is any one measure before
the Senate that desire to pass it is the Home
stead Bill but believe that every effort made
by those who advocate it to call it up on an
occasion like this. will but weaken the measure.
1t is certain that it cannot be brought'up now !;
it has not the votes here to do it and the ten
dency of every effort which is made, and which
results in a failure, is to weaken the measure.
hope. therefore, the Senator from Wisconsin
will withdraw his motion. l ask this as friend
of the measure and believing him to be a
friend Of it, ask him to withdraw his motion.


Mr.. BROWN. There is no necessary antago.
nism between these two measures. The Cuba
question is row before the Senate, and its
friends mean to press it to vote. There ought
not to be, therefore, any purpose on the part
of the friends of the Homestead Bill to thrust
it in at this stage of proceedings. | shall not
vote for the Homestead Bill, although am not
particularly unfriendly to it. will say 10 my
friend from Wisconsin, that if he will now with
draw his motion. will, as soon as the Cuba
Bill is disposed of, vote with him to take up the
Homestead Bill. l want to get along with one
thing at time. am willing to bring it before
the Senate on proper occasion, and let the
70 &c = 14kzr
hope the friends of that measure will not press
it now, nor frtter away our time by making
one measure clash with another.


MIR. JOHNSON. of Tennessee. I make an
appeal to the Senator from Wisconsin, as a
friend of the Homestead measure, to withdraw
his proposition for the present.


Yet, Notwithstanding these appeals, Mr..
DooLIrrLE pushed his motion to vote, thus
doing all in bis power to strangle the bill.


l voted against postponing the business
then before the Senate. I was in duty
bound so to do, and did it believing that
it was the most certain course to pursue to
reach the Homestead Bill-as by reference
to the journal it must appear clear to every
one that the only object our opponents had
was to embarrass, delay, and put over every
important measure, for the purpose of secur-
ing an extra session of Congress, insto topes
thereby to secure the organization OF the
House.


On the first day of March, Mr.. PUcH, a
Democratic Senator, moved to postpone a
private bill for the purpose of taking up the
Homestead, and upon that occasion both
my colleague and self voted with the other
friends of the bill. 1 do not see that the
Republicans have given US credit for this
on the contrary they say that we " stood
nobly by the bill up the 26th of February,
and then deserted it." BY reference to the
Gltbe of March lst, page 1433, vol. %, last
session, they will find that both SHIELDS and
RICE were then, the last time the measure
was up, supporting it.


l was anxious that action should
have been taken, yet l did not like all
the details of the bill !; and Mr.. GROW,
the author, was either insincere in his pro.
fessions to aid the landless, or most blindly
ignorant of our land system. The bill
only gave to the settler lands that had been
surveyed and had been put into market,
thus depriviDg them of all except those that
speculators would not have, and to effectu-
ally keep the best lands from going into the
hands of the landiess,' and to keep them
until the Republicans shall be strong enough
to appropriate them for agricultural colleges,
canals, and like purposes. Mr.. Grow movec
to amend the pre-emption bill, so as to pre-.
vent the President from putting any lands
into market until ten years after the sur
vey. See Globe, Part lst, last session, page
493. Mr.. GROW will not say that the pro-
visions of his bill extended to any other
than the lands now subject. to private entry,
and regret to learn that any other person
of intelligence should attempt to make the
laboring men of Minnesota believe other
wise. l trust that the re cords will show
that the Republicans in Congress, as party,
were opposed to a Homestead Bill-not
openly like men, but secretly-and in proof
of this l beg to call your attention to a few
facts, to show what real disposition that
party wished to make of the public lands
and then leave not only the IandIess of Min
ncsota, but the thousands now in want of
work and of bread, to judge for themselves.


On tue 2lst day of December, 1857, Ser
ator WILSON, of Massachusetts,, one of the
Republican leaders, gave notice to the Sem
ate that he would introduce bill "appropri
ating one million of acres Of the public lands
of the United States for the benefit of free
public schools in the District of Columbia" !"
Was this giving land to the landless .? was
this giving land to the freemen of the north
to educate their children? No! it was
taking from the North lands made valuable
by the labor of the landless, and giving them
to the rich OF the South. On Tuesday, the
28th day of December, 1858, this same
Senator WILSON gave notice that he would
introduce a bill for the same purpose.
Turning back to 18th December, 1857, I
find that he then gave similar notice of bis
intention to ask one million of acres of land
to aid in educating the children Of the cities
of Washington and Georgetown. How