j m .. n - - - -
n
, f
iainst heat and damn.: The cosiora almost at
y'lhejsarne time was introduced into Ireland.
r rf l A monr; l h a nrH m ham nf Hnr VIIL. is mie
w .j a -. . : - .
Wl.". 1 I I . . . . . f
wnicn prohibits more man one manuiaciurerci
spirituous liquors to estalisb himself inlbe
1 1 towns. i in the reigo oi wary, an am oi rar-
liament. which describes a liquor or which it Is
injurious t drink for daily use, ' prohibit entire-1 tbatrrurnpbant resalt of the vote of Not em
j j any distilling, vv e, nowever,-una,- some i ber last, and bate continued loose m, pow-
years after, the Knglisn soldiers who supported
t because of Holland, in Low Countries, drink-
I'
contrary tfoelrina be admitted to be s sound
one, then, as has been shown by calcula
tion which 1 bate seep the Emperor of
Rossis', by a proper distribution of. 17.000
of his serfs among the States of this Union
(of the Slates would have permitted them
to vote) might have chanced the glorious.
i
(alaii'U,
demand I
tbe space nn
h limf
and illimitable ai
in ihe sinneritv H
8 cao profession., they
14 new law, boondjeas'tn
'.jo operate, or
er, who, by the full decided, sod toanly ex
pression ol; the public will, bavo been de
clared on worthy to b$ the depositaries of
it any longer. .ilt' ;
Bat it is with another subtect that I hare
risen now to deal the fearful extension
now proposed to be givenf to the. Pre-emption
System. We bav4ow bid a land sys-
ime excessive? I f-j hHVH of fnrtr wears.
Smollei says, thai the retailer, of brandy joy- . thm .... in orzeticM eflect of
over tnetr shops, --r r - r I JLL ,u u "
fngfii as a cordial, iota is the commencement
of the period from which is dated fits manofac
lore brr a large scale both in England and on the
Continent. In England, however; the osej of
beer prevailed wiih the "people till the reijnj of
William and Mary when, the government bay
ing encouraged distillation by varioos measures,
thai coisorription of apiriis' became exceastve.
mtiicted
ublic lands themselves,
. fyow with ' regatd
fession of log; cab! j flplesj; (ib oogh I. am ve
ry glad to .'sai ti-.vfy hate profited 1y7the'
vry salutary lesson a Curded tbem within two
or three months past.) I like to test-their nro-
feasion by ibeir votes. - When my colleagne,
(tur. rifienoenj onerea an amendment, tne ef
fect of which rwoold be to confine the operation
ot their bill loreal log cabin men, to the vena-
old either at aoction or Jbypri rale f ale ; bot ow-
inr to coetsion, to tiolence, to combinations, ano
be'open cuntemp'.of he law, (a state of things
whien has grown wnn tne moiupticauon oi prr-
e nntron laws.) the proceeds of Jbe aoction sales
are now mucn Jess man iuraieiiy,v i cannnt u
lieve with the benaWtr from Missouri, (Mr.Lmn,;
that the jieMpIe-of the United baus are incom
petent to protect jueir own . property' I beliete
that it can be done, by a steady; firmrand eprighi
administration ot the GoTernmenU I believe
that the people of the United Slates are capable
of protecting their rights against all who assail
them, -whether, from within or irora witnoat.
ble poor, who could make oath that their entire AssaredlyJf the Gotrernment cannot protect what
is its own, it must be Incompetent to protect us
and oars. Bat, I ask. how is the six cents ex
cess of sales over the minimem":price referred
ly, be the practirjkt operation o? snch a law t
Will a widow in . Maine, travel all ine way in
Missoati that the may receive the boon proposed
in bfi given her by this law ? 'A Will not its ben
efits be cor: fined to the widows of the locality ?
In terms, to be sure i proposes to confer the pre-.
emption on all widows ana minors. ' Dal win
not the benefit, in fact, be limited to widows
and minors residing in J be state within which
the lands lie f : Sorely, . That, then is the ex
tent of your cliarily. -
aca oot very w ell and I . do ,not - feel very
much encoarased bv past experience in opposi
tion to this bill. : My hope is elsewhere tboogh period Ilea
From th Dcm!
IIOPEYEI
Will onr trot!.- r
Carolinian (Sal;::
he thinks of Gov. .
fiist great move ir.
audacions spirit cf I
for some-years p
over the North ..
If nee every da) i
threatening to sun :
TV... in Arlnte ih trifle of ft Dennv.- addincr. that
for two! pence they could make thvmielves dricnk
and they could furnish, with straw those .who
wet in that slate, to lie opon.untii ,tbey should
It
t-
1 1 i 1
I
recover.'
SPEECH OF MR; CLAY,
.!
E
v rl 1 j
i ill
this old and long-med system which should
induce os to repudiate it for a oew, untried
and wild experiment ? ,W bit have been its
results ? It commenced, abuut forty years
ago, or a little more, jn one of the great
Western members of the Confederacy, (the
State of Ohio, the settlement of which took
ON THE I uiavc ,3 Uiutu aa iwciui jcais uici lusu in
ritOSPECTIVE PR-i'-EiMPTIUN HILL.! the case of her, sister iinc neighbor, wn-
' : c- " ; tucky. And what 13 her population now f
; . i freuHc.uujr.w-if v, i j f oro Ino returns otjjis new census is
i: The order of the day being the bill to es-1 found to amount to a million and a half of
' tabltsh a permanent prospective pre-emption j souls nearly double that of my own State,
s stem in favor of settlers on the public although Kentucky -had preceeded hei by
;. lands who shall inhabit and cultivate the 1 such a great length of time. And if we then
same nd raise a log cabin thereon ; and go to Indiana, a still younger sister in the
the q lestion being on the amendment ofTer- great family of States, we shall find that she
i ef oy oir. rrenuss, oi Vermont, as a suosti
; lute for the whole bill, Js TollIows:
: " Strike oot all after ihe enacting clause, and
; inserr the ful!ovinr: Tbatevery actual settler
- on any of ihe public lands to which the lodiin
; tide ba3 been, extinguished, except such aslaire
herein a fier reserved, being the head of a family;
orcjreo twenty One 'years of-age. who was! (in
possession and a house-keeper, by personal resi
dence thereon, at the time of the passing of his
, and fur .lour months next preceding, shall
be entitled to a pre emption in ihe purchase of
property was not worth more than' 500 dollars.
where did we find these new proselytes to log
cabin' doctrine? (Jl laueU. XV eta the v rea
dy to go with ns in thus restricting- the bill ?
Were tbey prepared: by adopting this amend
ment, to shot oot frum the privileges the bill
the rich men the ' barons -the owners of
manors ihe greedy speculator and restrict it
to bv the President, made unf It is got by run
ning Tan average over the total amoont of sales,,
both bv auction and bv private entry. Now, the
amount sold at auction Is fiot one-forirth, no, I
believe not one tenth Dart of the whole. 1 1
- - -
manifested 1 an c:.
of the better days s
it well becomes t!
this vitally import:
4 coweted under t! :
mitted to wronsr sn
to the hardy settler who sought a home for him- j Secretary takes the auction sales, where Abe
sett ana children i ISo, sir no ; every man tt
loem woieo n aowa.
Let us now pause a moment, and iook a lit
tle at the distinctive provisions of the bill.
Heretofore pre-emption bills bare been retro
spective only : this - is, in its operation both re
trospective and prospective. Heretofore pre
emption bills have been limited at no time yi his
is unlimited in point of time so long as there re
mains a foot of public land for it to operate on.
Heretofore pre-emption bills, were operative
practically only with; reference to some' new
land! recently surveyed and brought into the
market : this bill is a proclamation to the whole
universe, native or foreign, naturalized or unna
toralized, that the moment the Indian tide is
to $-20 an acre, and spreads revenue will be diminished instead of increased
?s over the remaining nine- by it ; for the amount vested in ihe public lands
lands brought from $5
that amount of excesses
tenths of the total amount sold by private entry,
and then be makes an average abd draws the
inference that the whole gain; in , selling the
pablic lands in the established customary meth
od over what they bring onder the pre emption
laws, amounts to six cents an acre. Is this fair
Bat even this amount of six cents, under a prop
ei administration of the system would cover the
whole expense of survey and sale. But is that
all ? Yon are to add two years interest on the
minimum price, which on a credit of two years,
amounts to fifteen cents. If one years credit
alone is gi ven, it will be seven and a half cents,
wbich. added to six cents makes thirteen and a
exhibits a oonulation of between six and 7
hundred thousand, nearly equal to that of a
State which has her predecessor inlbeeslab
lishraent of independent Slate sovereignty
by thirty years. I will not go through the
list. All the members of the Senate are
doubtless familiar with the returns of the
late census All these creat and astonish
ing results, have taken place under that sys
tem wbich we are now asked to change. Is
it wise- is it prudenl-ts it statesmanlike,
extirignished to any portion of the land held Sy I half cents on every acre of the public domain,
the United States, tbev may all rush and take
just as roach of it as they please, without even
waitingar a survey j and that all other sur
veyed public lands of the United States,amjuoi-
iog to about one hundred and twenty millions of
acres, no matter howi long they nave been in
which, would be gained by the con tin nance of
tbe old system.
But more. This bill amounts toa virtual re
peal of the anction system- -That system ap
plies only to new lands recently brought into
market. But of what avail is an auction if yon
I would trust that Honorable Senators would at
least pause before ibey take each a leap. ;
There are other consequences on which I might
dwell. We have heard that this bill and another
allied lo it, are to increase the revenue ; and
believe that one of them was, pro forma, sent
to the Committee on Finance on thai ground:
The oew plan is, to increase ihe resources of the ding up for the rt
. ... - j j. m m . . -
now jmpovemhed exchequer; bat l nave at- j Constitution, as I
ready shown thai, for ihe present at least, ti'jcutive Mawistra
wealthr
We will be ell!
a straight-forwsrd .
and pertinent ini:
hand is in at rt:
ntm wun anotner
he have said of z
shouldghive vetc?
Democratic Iegifl;
Once more and
allied with the At
Democratic Goverr
lure of Georgia X
If brother Fids
bout an alliance I
ana ivortnern acc:
now or for evt r sfi
market, and althoosh they may be purchased ai proclaim to the whole world that they may get
ilie land so settled uron, not exceeding oneqnar. I to reject a plan from which have prooceed-
ier sectlon, at the minimum price now establish-1 ed such glorious fruits fr an untried, snd.
ed by law. J I l as 1 believe, a most hazirdous experiment ?
Mr. Clay, of Kentucky,rose and address- . What is the history bf these pre-emptioo
. - v - , v- - . .,,1 ill . mi ill.,. L ' .L.
ed the Senate nearly as follows :
.The amendment now offered
laws ? They arose, I think, in the first in
. a iia. n a n
; j I stance in tne case ot iwnai is cauea ssvmes
friend from Vermont, by drawing a line1 be- 7oho Cleves ymes purchased from
tween , the legislation heretofore pursued ho . ?CDvral ?0,lrWnt ? . are l"ct..of
. with relation to the pre-emptions, and the
the moderate price of lone dollar and a quarter
per acre, are to be subject to the right of pre
emption. This, it isobvions, involves a com
plete change in our whole land system ; a tho
rough, radical, enure change. It opens at once
all the public land?,! surveyed and unsurveyed,
to the operation of a pre empiiou law.
And here let me stop and look for an instant,
at what are said to be tbe sole advantages gran
ted to tbe pre-empt or by this bill ; a point on
the land at minimum price, if they will -only
come settle on it, and that before survey f
Tbe enure existing system is superseded by the
introduction of this ' wooden horse," with all
the means of injury with which it is fraught,
I have now described, but not with all that
force iu which the circumstances of the case
would warrant me, the difference between the
old and long-established land system of this coon-
m m m m
try and the new and tearful experiment now
ft- -i-
new, comprehensive, and interminable (leg
islation proposed by the present bill, opens
the wole question for discussion ; and I a
vail myself of the opportunity thus afforded,
to present to the Senate some of the gener
al views I have taken of this subject, and 1
invite, in the outset, the serious, arid, I
would say, tho solemn intention of tbe Ben-
myself. The whole practical difference which
this bill 19 to work in our receipts from the-pub
tic domain, is said to be eome two or three cents
per acre only. Here is a Message nf Ihe Presi
dent of the United Siates, sent by him lo Con
rTfoea in I lAMAm ynw i i w 7 a: im .mmm
r.. T t " f l j:iv.oij aas icuivcu a sjj 1 a ill siiaisv IC-
aoie to pay lor it, but nnaiiy maae a com-1 spects, a discreet. and sensible paper, so far as it
promise With the Government, and took a I treats on the subject of the public lands. I be
which there exist the greatest possible mi scon- proposed. Von must have seen tfeat the change
ception. either on the nart of other gentlemen or is thorough and radical. Now I put it to the
land between the Gtcait snd the Little Mi
ami Rivers, in Ohio,' including the spot
where Cincinnati now stands. He was un-
Administration Senators in this body to their
candor to tbeir patriotism lo their sense of
justice is it right, on the close of the adminis
tration of a dismissed Ministry, to introduce a
new and totally different policy in regard to one
of the greatest interests of the country? Is it
right, is it fair, that tbe policy of the existing
Administration now passing out of power, shall
less amount ot land. ) lie nad in tne mean
time, sold out to numerous sub-purchasers,
who, being innocent third parties, and hav
ing purchased, in good faith, were suppos
ed to have a fair title! to pre-emption for inl
ander this law will bf on a credit of one or two
years, and , cannot come into the Treasury
til! the end of that time. And as those disposed
to make such investments will avail themselves
( of the credit, there will he sales to but an incon
siderable amount for cash, and a consequent dim
inution of the proceeds daring the present year.
Therefore, with an exhausted tieasury, with a
vast national debt,' ascertained and unascertained.
besides a large amount, to be soon redeemed, of
Treasury notes outstanding and running on in
terest, it is now proposed, instead of replenish
ing the empty coflars of Mr. Secretary Wood
bury, by an imposition at once of duties on luxu
ries, to increase, instead, pf removing, the exist
ing deficit in our pecuniary resources.
Our land system heretofore hes been the ad
miration of the world for oneof its best and no
blest eat ares, viz : the perfect security it gave
as to the land titles of our new settlements. No
man who had eyes to see the marks upon a cor
nor tree, or upon a stone standing in a prairie.
could possibly mistake the limits of his own tract;
and no other man coald have color of right to j centPresidential c!
L l : .L 1 L!. .Sato U.. II :
oisiuro mm on me giounu ui uu hup. wctuu-1 oase anu Illicit c:
ty absolute security in lands4iues has been l c 'capi ta"l to c
nna nf 1K0 K!rrhl hlaea intra in the new State9. 1 . " . '
""wr'Tr:rM.-X:tI";VJlv.l" I gumoie portion ci
dui are you sure mai mis win coduuqb iu ub me i j - n-
nnpr vnnr new mA-emntion lawJiDo bull CCSperate efforts t
enneeive how it will work. Imaame thlt a new f '6 dynasty to
,iatrit of riph hA ohnice !and had i us t been I has the bold efirc:
thrown open. TLe Indian title has been extjn-1 party with enter!
: 1- ',. . t . .5l-I l-I.. -l. . l-. . 1
guisnea, oat tne iresn ana ieruie iauu uave n i nosuiuv against o;
vet been snrveved. Thev are ODen. however, I tKn indintini
j J - J W . tJ ...l. '
to the operation of this bill ; and, In the course
of a few weeks, may become worth from fifteen
to twenty dollars per acre. You proclaim to all
who come rushing in torrents upon tbe new ac
quisition, crowding, contending, scrambling, for
the fairest spots and the beat situations, that
they shall have a pre-emption. What scene of
confusion, contention, heart-burning,' ay, of
It has not been :
pant hero of the E:
party at a round r
being bribed by I
nte in tfiA hill KpfnrA it. RpfrirA lntvr
I proceecd to examine its provisions, allow 9"i9 lhc7 bad made, and the farms
m. in nain(r. In nr.t.r mnt nnt.l VnA had opened to Cultivation. Congress,
r - .l. .i - u. . ..
surprising doctrine advanced yesterday! by B'7. Scupp iucu . wm w pur-
President here praises tbe old land system as it I be made to lap over on the new Administration, j hinnHh mni namrallv onsnp. When a na-
uc9civc9. no ucifvi lues iuusB who enier ine i v urioui consuiun? ineui ur payms uic icosi ic-
public domain, without title or pretence of tide, I gard to their judgement in the matter ! The
as M trespassers," f intruders," and he recom- J progress of the administration of the American
1 - . i . n .. i i i : ... .: i
uieuas ine passage .oi one more pre-emption law, t uovernmeni nas aevetopeu in ine practical oper
and one only, and after thai the adoption : of 1 ation of our system a new feature, and one of
stronger measures for tbe purpose, (in his own j the most profound importance. A different po-
language) of pieyenting these tnirwiorw.' j luteal phenomenon takes place here from any
The Senitor from Missouri, (Mr. BenionJ spoke I thing which exists in Europe. In European
gress of a di?pc :;t;
that Gbvernoent :
esce in the outre :
ties on an Acieri
politician, surely, i
of the Enquirer !
loo, is Monsieur
not
the
add
1
the Senator from New York ; l Mr Wright;)
not that I purpose to discuss, at this time,
Ihe I position be assumed, but that 1 may
here enter my public protest against it, lest
should 1 remain silent, it might be thought
by anyUbat I yield ray assent to it. IFbe
Senator's positior. is, that it is competent to
a Slate, under the Constitution, to admit an
unaturalized -foreigner to vote in our elec
tions. 1 wage Inn war against foreigners.
I respect tbem when their character entitles
them tp respect. il well knew especially ihe
. value of ; the German yeomanry ; a better
stt of husbandmen does no! exist ola i ihe
face of the earth honest, industrious, econ
omical, admirable judges of the soil,!he
Jjcsi judges of land m alt the country, f de
votedly attached to their Tamilie? -that is
the chatacter of cur German population! as
I bave become acquainted with it in
- - own immediate neigbborhood; 1 will
jiowjstbp to speak of the character of
- gallajit lnsh, whose virtues, and, 1 will
whose defects of character (the virtues far
overbalancing the defects) are so well known
throughout the world.. I am hot tbe enemy
of - foreigners : but the opinion expressed
by the honorable Senator from New York
is one pf immense practical Vmportar)ce ;
for, if I am not greatly misinformed JPresi-
dcntjVn Buren owes the vote of one Slate
of this .Confederacy, I mean the State bf Il
Imoi?, to the fact of unnaturalized foreigners
"voting in our late election, snd casting their
' r votes for him. wjll not, however, enter
- on jhat subject, and I have adverted tp' h
wowt merely that oc conclusion may! be
drawn from my silence that I approve 6r
tolerate the doctrine advanced by the Sena
tor from New York. I here publicly express
an Opinion decidedly opposite. I think that
the exercise of the election franchise always
implies citizenship, though citizenship does
not imply the right to the exercise of Ihe
elective franchise. 1 bold that a vofer,
whose voice may effect or change the eniife
prdicy of ihe country, may alter or subvert
the Lonstitution
chase from the Government the lands thev 1 10 03 T'sterday of the Piesident as being a cap j constitutional Governments, when a Ministry is
held at the minim orb prescribed by law.
Then came the cession of Louisiana, many
oi tne occupanta or which had settled on
tbeir farms while that Territory belonged
to the Spanish and the French Governments
under grants freely made, while others bad
entered on tbeir lands with confidence that
according to the established usages and cus
toms of the country, donations of land
would be obtained, totally unaware of the
change of sovereignty which bad passed up
on the country without consulting tbem,
Tbe question then arose, what ought, in e
quity to be done in their case r And the
American Government came to tbe conclo
; n fi.i
sion, tnai an wuo naa tnus come into pos
8essiou,of their land Jwere equitably entitled
io ine ngni oi pre-emption, wnicn was ac
coraingiy extenaea to inem. f0SrJoe 8
third case that of the Kahokia, fvastaskia,
and St, Vincent settlers in Illinois and In.
diana. These inhabited French villages
were settled In some cases more than a cen
tury ago, and were not drawn within the
action of our land system till about 50 years
ri . i
siusc. r a ijcao pcupje, iiaviug seiueu unuer
like circumstances to those in Louisiana,
were held to have claims equally equitable,
and pre-emption was granted to tbem also.
Thus the system stood till 1830, onder
Gen. Jackson's Administration. Then, for
the first time, was introduced an entirely
new principle,, and it is that which is con
tained in tbe substitute for ibis bill proposed
by the Senator from Vermont; There is,
however, wide difference between what
this bill proposes and Ihe practice introduc
ed under Gen. Jackson's Administration.
The pre emption laws, as altered in 1830,
allowed a right of pre-emption to all settlers on
public lands from a specified dav. who would
assert their rights befoW the expiration of the
law, the operation of ylhich was limited to two
years. J his new principle continued to be pe
riodically re-enacted fill some seven or eight
years ago, wnenit encountered a gallant resis
tance from a friend, jyfho I regret to say is not
now by my side, bat who has passed from this
ital pre emptioner now, although when he was I dismissed or goes out of ffice,the King or Queen,
here as a Senator, he was decidedly opposed to I as the case rmy be, yields to tbe change ot sen-
. l . I I . . I .1.1 t . .
no wiioie system, aua aiinnii.ry when he came
into office he talked about trespassers." and
intruders' on tbe Ddblic landa. and recom
. :
menued us to adopt; measures io put a stop to
these " intrusions" in future. It would seem
that the President is an attentive listener to the
timent, and comes round with the nation. -But
here, an Administration may be dismissed, and
still remain four months in power. What, in
such a case, is it their duty to do f 1 will tell
gentlemen what 1 would do in the like circum
stances. I would institute no new measures of
tion, heretofore esteemed wise and prudent in
tbe management of its public domain, proclaims
to all the world that the first man who comes
and seizes on it shall have it, who can calculate.
who can conceive the confusion, disorder, and
mischief which must ensue? Who can esti
mate the effects of the broard foundations that
will be laid for uncertaint v. controversy, and lit-
. .. w w m '
igation in land titles?
Again, this must work a vast increase of , the
Executive power : for all disputed pre-emption
' MAGNIFIC
A corres ponder-,:
er, writing from V.
importance io the .'
says, it is rumour
Mr Calhoun hss c
haps at this scr.
scheme, subservi,'
rights which, according to the cautious policy of I Bank, fostering t'
ot the otates and s
advice of bis friends and always open to convic I policy. I would simply keep the political ma
lion. I most admit that he has exhibited not a I chine in motioo. 1 would grease the wheels-and
little flexibility in yielding to the sunrestions of 1 repair and preserve all its parts in a state of pre
some of those who have bis ear. I will take I paration for tbe performance of those high duties
my position more general. I think that both the I for which the whole was constructed; but 1
Secretary of lbs Treasury and tbe President would attempt nothing new in the permanent
have sbowoucrnarkable ease in opening their 1 policy of the country, foreign or domestic. By
ears iqJ rl erentlemen who are strong such a moderate course alone, can ire evils oi
aq Sion laws, and for the mac the anomaly to which I hare adverted be pre-
Jibe public domain to the vented. I would not ask gentlemen to deny
S?e Secretary has brought
the public lands to three
jhey were three millions
d tbe Verr next vear tbev rose to se
.r lit . .
veoTuiiiions. i ne; receipts irom this source
have been subject to great fluctuation : the past
year a lime aoove sinree minions, i hey are
now sinking; aed it seems that the more thev
themselves a fair exercise of the Executive pat
n nage from now till the 4th of March next. 1
do not ask them to do what was dune when Mr.
Adams was expelled from the Presidency I
should say, lost his election. What did they
do then ? The Senate refused to pass on im
portant Executive nominations till after tbe 4th
of March, and then several of them were with-
t he more he calls oat for pre-emption laws H drawn, and substitutes sent in by the new Presi-
sink
pre-emption laws ! ' graduation laws! to save I dent. The Senate refused him the constitution-
him from that impending ruin in (he administra 1 al exercise of bis official right from tbe time of
lion of ihe public domain which his system is a- I his lost election till he went out of office.
t- . !-. : . s r. .it . I rr.1 t J TT ?
uum .o.nu ii i o If possible mat tiny i in i oo noi asK. i oareio say uan. nam- ,he Judicia from the other departments of
man what shall I say ? that any man in his I son, when he comes, will look at those whom he ,l , ... .:u. k ,
senses can be superbly ridiculous as to suppose finds in office, and, if be finds that they are hon-
that! by reducing the price of tbe public lands 1 est and capable and faithful, that they have not
from; a dollar and a quarter to twenty five cents, I been noisy and forward politicians, nor brought
ti ; . T r . . i .l.i rr r 1 . . ' a- r . i . i e
ur, ip seme instances, io ou cents, you win gei i tneir omciai inuuFnce id conntci wun meiree-
roore money for tbem ? Yet that is the princi-1 dom of elect ions,(if any such there be,) a laugh.
pie assumed by the secretary of tbe leasury, 1 hope be will let them stand (though I tear
and it shows lbs opinion which operates in his I there will be hut fenjL as monuments of the lib
erality of a Whig Administration, acting on pa
triotic I p.incipls. (Sensation and remarks of
"Thatts fair." But if gentlemen expect that
General Harrison, because they choose to rush
on and make appointments, with a view to thwart
his administration, will when he comes here, fear
mind, and in the minds of the friends of the
graduation and pre-emption laws. 1 will not at
tempt to describe tbe whole of tbe consequences
of this law. Oneof its effects is to convert the
existing cash system into a credit system. Do
you not see it t What is the fact as to the pre
emption laws heretofore granted f 1 hey gave 1 to do bis duty, either they or I have mistaken
n and laws of the country is place, and, according lo public"
i tor the political power j of ed to more useful, if nt a higl
a competent pa
iuo kvuuiij. i uqiq mat tue power over
the subject of naturalization has been con
fided by the Conslitution exclusively to the
General Government and that no State can
copsriiutionally exercise that power ; and
therffrc ho State can confer those privilege
esjand immunities, or grant those rights
which proceed from naturalization. This
is my opinion, and I advance it here merely
rumor, isdestio
higher sphere than
even that of a seat in ithis body, august as it
may be. Great frauds: and abuses were detected
in the execution of tbe pre emption laws
a i . a
uiators i reel y used them, floats eapeei
were found to be fraugit wj:b iniquity. With
the efficient aid ot my friend, fMr. Ewing.) we
succeeded in arrestinarifor a time, these pre-emp
tion laws. We succeeded in putting au end to
special and an lawful! privileges. We succeeded
in restoring tbe principle of fair equality in ihe
the pre emptioner a credit for two years. Tbe
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Clay) now limits
his credit to one year ; but, whether- tbe credit
be one, two or three years, it changes our land
system from a sale for cash to a sale for credit.
And thus tbe whole 120 millions of acres of the
public domain will all pass under this newly re
vived credit system.
And who are thiey! who propose this change ?
The very men who'! will decry all credit, who
clamor for hard money, who inveigh against
gec banks, and denounce! tbe credit system as the
ill I great source ot our woes ; and yet here, now,
Virginia, were referred to the decision of the
Judiciary by caveat, or ejectment, or bill in
chancery, are now ultimately cast on the Execu
tive of the United States j for the bill provides
that they shall be settled ' summarily" and den
finitely by the Register and Receiver of the
land district in which the dispute arises, these
officers to decide under instructions Irom the
Commissioners of the General Land Office;
So, ihe dipputant is put under the Register and
Receiver ; the Register and Jteeeiver are coder
the Commissioner ; tha Commissioner is under
IUO UGVICI.IT UI UIC 1ICS9UIJ, aUU Hit UCVIO I , . . .
tary is under the President. Thus, you add im demption of which
mensely to tbe mass of Executive power, by puouc laws are iu
dnnino wiihin its vnriPT nil th Hianntpri clims 1 OarU W6 numblV CC
through all the land districts. And now, I ask,
what right have you and I put the inquiry
more especially to that portion of the Senate
who have been in the habit of esteeming it as
their more peculiar province and duty to guard
and defend the Constitution of the U. States,
(and who, perhaps, have sometimes poshed tbeir
zeal on that subject a little loo far) what right
have you, and under what piinciple, or provi
sion of tbe Constiiotion, especially after the
clear and distinct seperation io the Constiiotion
Mitutional ohjecu
is to advance to t'
whose lines mainly
a sum so large, zi
equal to the cost of
it is to issue scrip,
loan irredeemable
public dues, and re
public obligations-;
-XIDUglJ UI gUTCIIIl.i
Rftren dvnastv
y
tbe Government what right have you to give
to the Register and Receiver of one of your land
districts this indisputable judicial power to de
cide a question of title to real estate "summa-
n3;s counter project to that. cxnresaftih disposal of the public hinds. But those inter-
ll.L f? It S ilvT m i - , . X " I . - ; 14 . m a a
me penaior iroro weir lork When a for
rjgner has once been naturalized, I regard
himfas a brother, as a member of our politi
C4I community, and as entitled, with stfme
fewf constitutional exceptions, to all the
rignis oi native born citizens, and to the pro
teclion and defence of thn nm.n. ..
home and abroad;, but until he has renoun
ced his aillegiarice to bis foreign Sovereign,
and sworn fidelity to our country, I cannot
and will notand I was utterly amazed io
hear the gentleman from New York express
a different opinion look upon him as in
corporated in our society, and authorized,
by the exercise of the elective franchise, to
cxerlian influence in unsettling or changing
our enure ..political policy, whilst as a Ub-
. v... n ,jj i yWCr, ne ues unaer mi
ests, speculative and others, wbich ate always
awake, always watjrliul, always on the alert,
to get up the pre emption laws, under the con
venient and plausible jj guise of benefiting the
poor, made a rally iri! 1938. We were thn
told thai thirty thousand settlers had entered the
1 erritorv of Iowa. The Senate wa assured
that these persona could not be removed from
the public domain ;! that all military force of tbe
Union would be insufficient to remove them ;
and thus, onder a species of moral duresse, yoo
were induced to pass the law of 1339; and it
has now been in opeiaiion for two years. But.
not contented with) aljf tbe victoiies heretofore
achieved, not satisfied with the pre-emption
laws restricted in point of time, and limited as
to the theatre on which they were to operate,
gentlemen row come forward with a oew and
bolder and more extensive demand. Tbey have
suddenly become coo Verts to log cabin doctrine
under the name of a pre-emption law. they pro
pose to revive the whole credit system! Uan
it be doubted that! such will be the result of tbe
bill? Will any man, who can get his land on
a credit of one or two years, buy it for cash ?
especially when he can dispose of his cash at a
rate of 1$ per cent interest, as prevailed in Illi
nois and some other new States?
I his is a grave feature in this new experi
ment, and deserves the serious consideration of
the Senate. To what will such a system lead ?
Have we no experience on this subject ? When
you have parted with your land from year to
year thus on credit, you will at length have
accumulated a mass of debtors, on whose behalf
petition after petition will be presented here,
and their inability to pay will be most patheti
the man. Gen Harrison means to be tbe Pres
ident on the 4th of March next, which his fel
low citizens have elected him to be. And no pre
mature bill, no stretching out of tbe policy of tha
into the next administration, is going to restrain
him from looking at those in office, and deciding
for himself whether tbey possess the requisite
qualifications for tbe discharge of their official
duty.
But, to come back. I put it lo gentlemen
whether it is right and fair to make this great
change in the land system of the country
at such a time? Would you like us to do it it
conditions were reversed t
But there are other considerations which ad
monish os against legislating on this subject at
the present time. We have not officially re
ceived the results of tbe census for the last ten
years; we cannot, therefore see whether the
new States have filled op as rapidly as we
could wish. Let us first see what is the num
ber of their population ; so that we may judge
whether any further stimulant is needed toquick
en the rate at which their numbers increase. I
know, indeed, that the rtfsult will show directly
the contrary. From tables which I caused to
be carefully consrructed nine years ago. it is
shown that the population of the new States in
creases at a rate vastly over that of the old.
Take a single example. The population of Illi-
ois doubles itself in six years. What, then i
cally set forth, till at last your compassion will nois doubles itself in six years. hat, then is
be moved, and you will forgive these poor debt- the ground for tbe adoption of this new system ?
ors the entire amount of their debt, and consent Does it consist in some notions of charity to ibe
! original and native obligations. If
the i
Understood to be the Hod. John Davis.
! I i
io lake remuneration for their land in some other
form of advantage to tbe public service.
It is not correct, though it has been said and
repeated by some grntlemen heTe, that tbe sole
difference effected by the pre-emption law in the
price yoo receive for tbe public land is some two
mi f 9 . . a t"a
or tnree cents per acre, r irst, there is toe ati-
furehce of six cental which the President states;
at'd how is this
made out ? Tbe publicJand is
poor t I have formerly adverted to that subjfd,
Where do the gentlemen get their right to set
op elemosionary laws for the benefit of the poor
er portions of ihe community t But if tbey
have, what wilhbe tbe operation of the system
in this revpect? It is pretended to be. for the
advantage of widows and orphans, (orphans over
eighteen" years, however.) Is any gentleman
here knorant of what will and most of oecesti
rily" without appeal, and without the interven
tion of a jury ? And then what a temptation
do you not present to public officers so situated ?
Why, if I am rightly informed, there was not
long since a single preemption right near the
town of Chicago, the value of which was at
one time estimated se high as $200,000; and
the right to such a property is to be entrusted
to a Register and a Receiver absolutely and
without appeal I Can there be greater danger
if Corruption, or, at least, of favoritism! The
power is tremendous.
, Mr. President, I have said much more than I
intended. Both your comfort and my own re
quire that I should here stop; and I will stop
with repealing my most anxious entreaty to
those honorable geotlemen whom in political
sentiment I have the misfortune to oppose, that
tbey will pause before they sanction an untried
experiment of such enormous magnitude. 1
ask them to wait for the results of the late cen
sus ; to compare the population of tbe new and
the old States, and ihe relative rate at which
both are increasing; and before tbey part with
a land system which is at ibis boor the pride
and ornament of the legislation of the Congress
of the United States, and which ha brought to
the nation such rich and invaluable fruit, to
pause to pause! and if they will not aban
don the plan, that they will at least con
sent to embark on these new experiments with
greater light to guide their coarse than that
which they now have. t
Hon. Edward .SVant. The reader will
perceive from two Letters, which we pub
lish to-day, from Washington, that there
is a current rumor prevalent in tbe Metrop
olis, that our distinguished young States
man, Mr. Stanly, is to be appointed Sec
retary of the Navy. What degree of
credit is to be attached to the Report, we
cannot say ; we only know that it is the
common talk in the political circles at
Washington. Register.
MiWAaWaliBWiaW4WWWWWWlaW1aWaWW
JVrw Post Office. A Post Office has
been established at Davidinn's River, and
Samuel Hefner appointed Poitmaster.
Rarhelnrs. '
souls, take advice z:
dily as possible, s:. '
V-h " t
une oi ine iraten; :
bled past our doer
we thought the crc :
. a m t
i;uk uuci j u i i ; .
receptacle, we four
pence, which we '
the frail thing ; v.;
cation, we recon;:
far gone to seed
From the United .c:
HESU
Yesterday men.:
merous persons v, :
of tbe United Si:.:
of opening, theso . '.
the banking roc .
merely a single lei:
provided to recch
in specie. The l.
chiefly in small t
specie by such jr.'
rable, though pre I
institutions were !
large and small, c!l
8u nidi muss v
went away with r
of tho3 who no
l.i i. r . -
piugiuir iruci s
vaiue oi tne net::.
follows the price t '.
Most of the citv
their own note?, ;
ry handsome. I
these will be ret
small bills will r;c
is a natural dem::
place, and this c
from the tanks.
- According to t
American, it is cc
that city paid out c
dollars in rpecie, ;
ana tiosion accc i
ing furnished th
soma time met. f '
( 1 i
next, the bank cf I
77ie Flag Cc:
rens County ir
imous vote for G
turn was 552 fur
nont.