Year: 1860



 which hope will become law.

 The House bill it is true, requires settle ment for five years as 8 condition It gives the land in the first place as gratuity' anu then requires five years settlement, pu' permits inc settler to sell or to abandon It for two wears, and yet at the explratlon ol two wears after the five, at the expense ot any intervening rights of parties who may have s.nad settled on those very lands wh \e found abandoned, the gov err give the first settler legal fee F'Tle, upon his paying ten dollars for the patent and the office fees. These are the privileges offered by tLe House bill; and they are equally offered, and were in fact specially provided, unless l have utter- ly misconstrued the bill for the benefit Of those aliens who had or might come here and who might fail to go on at once prompt ly and comply with the first requlsltlons, which were to naturalize themselves and become citizens.

 lhis bill of the Senate committee ignores the other two wears that the House bill ad- ded to the five years of settlement, and re- ouires payment to be made at the end of five wears He who will not on credit of five wears. and reduction of the price of the land to the actual cost of it, come for ward and perfect his title and receive pa tent, is to forfeit the land. This bill re- fuses to grant more time, either to the native citizen or to the alien.

 The bill of the House of Representatives contained provision which, Twill frankly Say, 1 do not believe that House ever de- signed. do not think they could have de- signed to effect what, in my judgment at least, one provision of the bill does effect. It was passed in that body under the pre- vious question, without discussion and without consideration, and 1t undoubtedly contains a provision which was not intend ed by the House It makes the mostcom- plete homestead, if 1t does not come Tn con- fict with the constitution of the United States: but imagine there would be very little difference of opinion upon that point. It declares that the homestead granted shall in no event be liable to any debt ot the settler contracted prior to the seven years; that after he has gone upon 1t, and whilst he is upon it, and even after he has per facted his title, the land shall in no event be liable to any debt ofthe settlercontracted priorto the issuing of the patent. That eX- emption lasts forever. The construction of the language must be, that the land Is forever hereafter exculpated from all anteriordebts TsOn that point, this bill of the Senate com 1nittee simply declares, what | believe the House of Representatives originally intend" ed, that the land upon which the settler may have located shall not be sold for his debts until the United States has parted with her title and issued her patent. " hen the United States has parted with title, and has no longer any interest in 1t, It IS to be liable for the debts of the party, whether they have been heretofore or may be here after created. That, also, is a very distinct difference between the two bills.

 Again, as to aliens specially, the House bill allows an alien two years after the ex- piration of his five years settlement to per feet his naturalization, and to obtain gra- tuitious homestead under its provlslons.- The presumption laws, which have been in xeistence from twenty to thirty years, also allow an alien to go on any and all pubic lands, surveyed or unsurveyed, without any prior declaration ofintention to become nat u,alized; and then they allow the alien, after he,has gone upon them, and does not comply, and cannot comply with the ordinary terms to enter the land, to purchase 1t, and to re- ceivc a'patent. without ever becoming cltl- zen at all. That is the existing general land law; and, accordingly, State may be en- tered up entirely by one alien, if he chooses to go to your land office, present his cash, and pay the minimum price. The House bill. in this respect, and the general laws, are in conflict with the bill which IS now before the Senate, and beg Senators to note the difference. This Senate bill re- stricts the alien, in the first place, so far as its benefits are concerned, to lands that are subject to entry at private sale, lands that have been surveyed, that hnve been offered at publict sale to the highest bidder, that are then standing subject to sale at private en- try-whether it be one year, five years, or forty years. That is the class of land upon which he is authorized to go for the pur- pose of securing to himself the benefits of this act Then he Is required to declare his intention to become natuHllzed before he can take the first step to do that, and It Is onlv after he has made his declaration of intention 10 become naturalized that he IS 10 be permitted. to file in the office his dec laration of intention to claim the benefits of this act, and to settle on the land; and from that time only is his settlement to commence to run for the term of five years required by the bill.

 The next point in the same section is, that after the alien has done this, and after he has made his declaration of intention to be a1uraIjz,l, and has made his declaration ot intention to settle upon piece of land, and take the benefits of this act, and af- ter he has gone upon it, and settled and continued 10 live upon 1t for five years, be- fore being permitted to receive 9 fee-simple title or to purchase the land, he is to pre- sent at the land office his certificate of citi- zenship of the United States. l think l may very well say that the terms of this bill are such that there is but one class of people who will receive its benefits; and they are citizens of the United States and heads of families The Senate will here preceive a great difference between the House bill and the pre-emption laws on the one hand and the bill which is now report ed on the other hand If it shall hereafter be determined that it ought .p be extended still further. it will he for those who feel an interest in the measure to propose to extend it, to enlarge the class, to extend it hereafter, if you please, to all those over the age of twentv-one years, without reference to the question whether they have any incumbrance in the shape of family, or whether they are naturalized citizens or not. do not think the terms of the bill in that respect can really and consistently and wisely be objected to-.

 Again: the Senate bill now reported IS consistent with our entire land system, and IS promotive of revenue. There are features in this that are more, perhaps, matter ot ar gument than statement offact, and am not disposed to go into the argument now, for It would open very large field of discussion; but l think the point is capable of entire and satisfactory demonstration. ltis consistent with our system. It establishes no gratui- ties. It rejects the idea of gratuities as un- wise. It rejects the whole system of dona- tions, and provides that when the govern ment extends the benefits it does by this