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Show ,, 192 A POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK FOR 1860. This bill g' vcs t 0 every citizen of the United States, I carefully li!Jllted, but wlthout any limitation In res~-« "who is the head of a family," and to every per:~on of io tho pubhc lands. " ,, foreign birth re~i,ling in th e country, who hns d eclared 1 llut I cannot eo read the words" ~11Rposcd of "as to hi 1 t •nt ion to twcomc a citizen though he mny 110t Le make them embrace tho idea of g1vlng away. The th~ ~e~td of a f;Liully, the privil~ge of nppropriating to I tru~ meaning of words Is always to be ascertained hy the h' ~elf one hundred 1111 (1 ~ i xtv a r res of Go,·ernment suhJect to which they arc applied, and the known general ~~~<l of settling nnd re~iding up'on it for live J'e!tr::l ; and intent of the lawgiver. Congress is. trustee under the ~houid hi~ rc~idenl'e l'o nt iuu'e until the en<! or thiH period, Constlt~~ion :or the p eople of the Umtcd States to u ell.._ lie ~:> Inti! then receive 11 paten t on tlt t• paymeut of twent.'- pose of the1r J?llhlic lanlls, and I think I may nntme to On: cent!:! per a crl', o . onl·-fifth of the prcseut Go vern- ns·ert with conli<lcn.cc that no case can be found In which rnent p in•. !Juri lt ).i this pc. iod, the land is )'rotectcd a trust.ee in the p osttion of Co!lgress ha t~ been authorized r.·o111 all the rl chts of the ~e ttlcr. to " d1NJJOii6 of" prop erty by 1ls owner, wl1ere it hAs ever This hill abo contains a cession to the ."tat cs of all the heen held that tl!ese words authorized suc}l trustee to !live puhl.c lauds within their re~p c etiv e limits •· which have 11WitY t.he fuud Intrusted to his care. No tru~tce , when uecn suhject to sale at. pr:vttt,: entry, nt11! ~~· l,lich rc~u~tin culled upon to ~cco~mt for the 1l1S~)O~ltlo n of_ tl 1~ .rr0p~rty un::,old after the lup~ c or tllirty y e ar~." '1l11s p ro vtt~to rt pbtONI unrlcr l11s m.tnagcment bdo1c HllY,JUlhdnl tnl 1 uemhraccR a presen t donatiort to the :-tut.cli! of twelve mil- nal, would ventt!rc to present such n pil•a m his <h· f.: n~e. lions two ltutHlrl'rl anll tw enty -uine UtOUiittn!l SC\' L'II hun- 'l'he true mc ~,111ng of th ~:~e ~v o rds Is <: l ~arly statPil by dred und thirty-one acreH, and will, from time to time, Chl•f Ju~tlce 1 !UH';Y in cll'hvntn.g the opu11on of the Court transfer to them large bodies of ~uch Ia nels which, frout (1 9 Howard,, p. _436)i, lie s~y s , Ill rcfct'L'IICC to lhl~ clu ue~ peculiar cirenmst nnces, I lillY not be au:;orucd by private of the Const~tut JO_n, It be!(IOS its CIIUIIH' ra.tion or )lO W l~l'S purchase and settlement. hy that of dL~p osmg; in other won is, t~H\klllg ~ale of the To the actual settler, th is bill docs not make an abso- h1ndl:l, or rnlslng money. frolll th em, winch, a~ \\ c hnvc allute donation; but the price Is so small that It can rendy said, was the mam ohjcct of the cr~!ll nn (from lite scarcely be called a SAle. It Is nominally twenty -flvc Stntell), nod which Is the first thing provlt! L•d for In the Gents per acre; but considering this is n ot to be paid uo- <\rticle." It is. unucccsllury to r ef 'r to th ~ hil:ltory of the t.il the end of five years, it It~, in fact, reduced to about t1mcs to es tablish U1e known fn ct that th1:1 ~:>tu tcment of eighteen cents per acre, o1· one-seventh of the present the Chic•! Justice Is perfectly well fonndt>!L ~'hnt It ne,·er minimum price of the pub He lanrls. In r egard to the wns Intended hy t.hc framers of \.he Con8tltutlon that th~ States It is nn absolute and unquallfied gift. lands should be giVen Ltway uy Congref;fl is llHIJtlfcst from I. 'l' 1 hls state of the facts raises the question whether the concludlug portion of the Mille dnu~~· lly it, Con· Congt·ess under the Constitution has the powc1· to give gress has power not only "to diHJlOHC of the lerrit.ory, ll.WILY the' public lands either t~ States or Individuals. but of the II other property or the United Stall's." In the· On this question, I CXJlrcssed n. decltle<l opinion in my language or the Cltief Justice (p. 437), II Aucl tit~ Mme message to the House of Ucprcsentatives, of the 24th power of making needful rules resp ecting the temlor.r Is February, 1$59, r eturning the agricultural college bilL In precisely the same langul\gC applic(l to the other proThis opinion remains unchanged. The argument then perty of the United ~tatcs, nssoclatlng the power over LlJe aseu applies, n~ n constitutional objection, with the territory, In this reipcct, with tltc p ower over lllOVILhle or greater for·cc to the present bill. 'I'here It had the plea personal property-that is, the sh1ps, nrms, or munlllons of consitleration, growing out of a. specific beneficial pur- of war, which tbcu belonged la common to the .'tate S0 \'6- pose; here, it Is :tn absolute gratuity to the State without reign tics." , the pretext of consideration. 1 am compelled, for want The question L~ still clrnrrr In l'C'g:trd to the p~hhc Jan!!~ of time, in thl'SC last hours of the session, to quote In the tntes and Territories wltltln th l' Lou1~inuu nnd largely from thi~ mes~ngc Florida. purchasl's. These ll\nds were paltl flll' out _or I~ 1 presume the general Jropo$ition will be ndmlttccl, public Treasury from monl'y rnl~cd by taxation. ow, it that Congress tloc:; not JW:sse~d the power to make do- Congrc'!s hnd no power to appropriate the money witll nations of mouey, already iu the 'l'r ea:;ury, rai:;erl by wltich these funds were purchase(! , ill it not clear that the taxes on the people, eith er to ~tares Ol' individual~. power over the lands Is cqnnlly IIUlitct!? 'file mere con· But it it! contended that the public lands nrc placed version of this money Into lnnd coulll not co nfer upon upon a. different footing from money raised by taxat.ion, Congross new power over tho djsposltion of land wltl.ch and that the proceeds arising from their sale arc not they hatl not possc11scd over money. If lt coultl, then a subject to the limitations of the Constitutio n, but may truMtec, hy changing the cl1arncter of the fw1t1 lutrust.ed bo appropriated or given uwny hy Congress, at its own to hiH care for special objects from money Into land, mlp:M discretion, to Stnt cs, corpo ration~, or individwlls, fo1· glvo the lautl awny, or devote it to any purpose he thoug~ any purpose they may d eem cxpellient. p ropl'r, however foreign from the trust. The inference IS The advocates of this bill att empt to sustain their po- itT ·sisllhlc that this land partakes or the v ery 8ame chasl. tion UJlOil the langungc of tlte !:!t!Contl cl ause or Lhc ra ct l•r with the money paid for lt, and can be devoted to third section or the fourth article of the Conl:!titution, no objects diO'crent from those to which the money could which declares that "the Congress !lhall IHwe power to have b een ch-votcc.l. If this were n ot the case, then, IJy dispose of, and ruake all n eedful rule::~ and r~gulatlon~ the purcha!<e of a n c'v 'l'erritory from a foreign govern· :especting the territory or other property uelongin).i to mont out of the puhllc Treasury, Congress could enlarge the United tates." 'l'hey contcnclthat, by 11 fair inter- their own po wer~< nnd appropriate the proceeds of the pretation of the word:~ "di:~pooo of" In ~his clause, sal es of tbc land Lims purchased, at their own discretion, Congress possessci:S the power to mnkc tl1i:1 gift of pub- to other and far ditferent objects from what they c~uld lie la.nds to the States fo r purposes of education. lin vc appli ed the purchase money which had IJecn rnlsed It would rc11uirc clear and ~trong evidence to induce by taxation. . the belief that the framers or the Constitution, after JI. It wilt prove uneqnnlnnd unjust in its opcrnt1on having limited t.he power:> of Congre~s to cert.a in, pre- ILI11orl~ th ·actual St'ttl erl:! themselveR. . cise, and specific object~, int en de<l, by employing the The first !efl le r~ of a new countt·y nrc a m o~t ment<> words 11 dispose of,". to give. that body unlimited power ri ous ria~~. Tl1cy brave the tlanp;crs of sav~ge warfare, over the va11t pul.Jhc do1u:un. It would be a strange sun·,·r the privationc; of a frontier lift·, an(l, With the hnnd anomaly iudeed, to have created two funds, th o one IJy of toil hriucr Ute wild erness into cultivation. '!'he ''old taxation, confined to the cxccu~ion of the enumerated setller~,·· a~"tltl·y art: everywhore c:\lled, arc public bene· powers delegated to Congre~s, and the other from factor,;, 'J'Il is cJa~s have all paid for their lands, the tbe public lands, applicable to all ::,ulojects, foreign and government ]>!'leu, r•r ~1 25 p er a cre. 'J'h ey have coodomestic, which Congre:>s mi~ht de:;iglll\tc. Tl1at this ,;t ructed r oad:< c~·ht hli,lt e<l schools ~Uld laid the foundu· fund sh?uld be 11 di~po::.~~ of," not to pay the debt.s of tion of pro~p.~rons Co11Huonwealths. Is it ~ust, is It the Untted StateA, nor to raise and support nrn11es," t qual that 1tfler they have a ccomplisl1ed ail tl11s hy their nor 11 to provide aud maintain a navy," nor to accom- labor' new 'settlers ~houlu come In among them ar,HI repllsh any .one of the other. great objects enumerated In celve 'tlleir farms a.t the price of twenty-five or tightet'n U1e Constitution, uut be d•verted from them to pn.y the ccntR per acre? Surely tile old se ttler~, n~ a cla~s, nre debts or the States, to educate their people, and to entitled to at least equal benefits with the new. If you cnr;y Into errect any other meu.surc of their domestic give the new settlet·s their lands for a comprtrativt:ly }loltcy- thls would be to. confer upon Congress a vast nominal p1·lce, upon every principle of equality and and lrrespo~slble authortty, utterly at war with the justice, you will be obliged to refund out of the_ common we_ll-known Jealousy of the Federal power which pre- '1'1·ensury the dilfl!rence which the old have pa1d above vatled at the formation of the Constitution. 'l'he na- the new settler! for their land. tural intendment would be that, as ~he Constitution III. This bill will clo great Injustice to the old s_oldlers confined Congress to well-defi.ne<l specific powers, the who haTe received land warrants for their acrv1ces in funds placed at their command, whether in land or O.ghtlng the battles of their country. It will greatly money, should be appropriated to the performance of recluctl the marktlt value of these wannnts. Alread1 the duties corre11pondlng with these powers. If not, a their value has ~unk, for one htmdred and sixty acre Government h&u been created, wil.h all Its other powers warrauta, to sixty-seven cents per a cre, under nn appro· MR. BUCllj.NAN'S V:ETO OF TilE ITOMESTEAD DILL. U3 hension thll\ such n measure ns til ls might become n. law. I tinction was nn in a d vertence· but IL is n evert hele s a \'rll a t price would tltey coulutatHI, wh ~n any head of a part of the bi ll. ' ' ' ' family ttt a,y IItke po~~~~:slo ll of It qu arter sect ton of land, VllL 'J'he bi ll creates an u nj u11t distinction between and uut pay fo~ 11 un ttl the cr.Hl of five years, illld '!•.en j p ~r·son.s claiming tho uon cfit of tho p rei:mption In.w 8 • a t t ll_e n n e ot only r wen ty-ltvc ccu IM pl'r ucre f . 111e \\ hilc 1t. n ·dut: ttli the p rice of t lte land to ex isting preC 111 p. magn tt utle of tile tut cn:11t to be alfcctc.d wtll appea r tn the tors to 02i cent!! per n.crc, a 1111 gh·es them ncrodito 11 thie fact tl.ta t tlt erc a rc ouh ta ndi ng u u~al t hfied laud_ w~trran t !l RUlli for two .)'<.'a r1:1 from tlle p re~cnt date, no matter how rC<Lclt tng b;~ c.k to t il~ la~<t war w ~ tlt ~rent Jlnta 111, a nd long they m:ty luwo J1itite1·to enjoyed the Itwd, futu re even HevoluttOnury ".me~, :t ll10l11JlltJg HI round numhen;, pret·mptorl:l will be compelled to pny douhlc t lt is 1 d ce to :seven ttt •d a lw II mt lllo n:s HCrt'll. p er acre. There is no reason or j ustice in this discriUJ ,- IV. 'l'hi:-~ bill will prove lln l:q ualand unj uRt in Its oper :t- natiou. tlou , benwse, from its n:tt ure, it ill con fi ned to oue class IX. The elfect of this bill on the public revenue 11, u~ t of our peu ple. ll is a huon exp rct~~ly co11 fc rred UJIOn the be npp:u·tnt to all. ~ houl d it beco 111 e a law 1 he reduccultlv: L LU rl! of the so il. While it Is cheer fully ad tuitted tlon ol the J•ri t c of Ja udB to a ct ual setllcrs \. 0 ~5 c<-nt ll t11at Lltc:;e are the ru odt numerous und ust:ful cla !IS uf our p er Rcre with a nedit of th t' .rears, IUl tl tho reduction or f~: llnw- ct t ize ns, aud e minently tlc:;erve all the nd vautuges its llrico t.o c;d stiug pn· ,, 1 ,10 rs to li~ i <>Cil tll 11 e 1 • ncrc, which our la ws l1 a ve a lre1Hiy ex te nded to them, yet t he re with u. credit (If two ycnrs ,, ill so d imini!lh the Aale of sh? uld be no n ew legl ~ htl!o n whtrh woul!l opera te to the other p ulJiiC lands as to 1 en(lcr the expectation or futn 1 t• InJury or emlHlrras~rn en t of the !urge body of rt:Rpectnblc revenue from that source IJeyond the e;-. pen,.;es of ~un ry artisans !lllll laborers . . 'J'he ~n cch :lllic wlto emigrates to an(ltnttnagement illuson ·. 'J'hc ~l'crctary of the Jnterit;r the West, llnd pur~ ues Ins callmg,_ m u~t !:thor loug l.>cfore ~i:St imat ed the revenue ft om the public lands for tltc ne:l>. t ftc can purclt !.tSc tt quart er-sel'liOt ~ or l.111_cl; \\!tile the fiscal y ear at $4,000,000 orr the presumption that •he till er or the sotl who a ccOill JHill ies him outams a farm a t pr<:::ll'llt land systeru wou ld remain unch:.tnl{ed. ~h ou ld o.ncc hy the bour~t y of the U overnt~1~nt. The numt rous th.is hill become a law, ltc docs not believe that :j;l ,UOU,f ttO body of n.cchan tC'i In our largl! Ct tles cannot, even l.ly wtll he derived from tltk. t-ource. emlgr_ntiug t~ the West, take advantage of the pro.vlsio n~ 'fh is bill lays the n.x at the root of our p 1 ·cs<.'nt :ulmiru ltle of th1s !.Ji ll wt thout e ut c r lug upon a new occupllllon, fur lan<lliystem. The }HII.>lic laud is an iuher itancc ol vadl which tlt l'ir ha bit s of life ha l'e rendered tb em ut• ti t. value to us and to out· descenda nts. It is a. lC:lOurce to V. This bill is unjust to t he old St~tcs of the lJJtion in which we can resort in the hour of 11i tli cult.y and dan/(cr, many resJH'cts ; and among these Staks1 S'l fur a.'l the Jt, has L>eenm !\ll:tgctll tcn~to fore 1~ilh Lh c grente:.~t wb dom pul.Jllc land::! are co_n cer~led , w ~ mny euume; a tc cv~~·y under cx ist.ing laws. Jn t h!;; management, Ute righLs of tltatc cast of tho ~llslSI:>~Ippl, \\'Jlh the ex cevuon of \\ c;- actual settler~ lm,·e been concilia ted wi th the iuterc~t s com;in and a po~tiou of Minnl·sota. of 1 he U ovemutcnt. 'J'hc pri ce to all has been n •d nrl!cl H L'l a cotumon hclil•f, witltiu tlidr lirnll8, thut the OI!ICr from $2 per acre to :til \l5 for fresh lattus, a nd the cl aims ~tates of th~ Confcdcmcy d? not c!t-ri~·.e. th.eir proJJO r- of llclual settlers ltave been secured by our preo 'nt pt.ion t10o:tte bcueht from the p uhhc land::~ J l11s 1::1 not a JU~t l:twH. Any mau t llll now acquire a title in fee-15inq .J·~ Lo opinion. Jt Is douhtful '' ltetlte1· tht-y could be n·rHien.;d LL !Jome:.teud of , U a cres <Lt t he.lllinimum price of :Ill ~ more btn cfld~tl to thl'se 't:ttl·s under any other ~;ysto·m per acre ffJ r $ 100. ::i!J o~rld the present system tcma iu titan that wltich at, present cx bts. 'l'ltdr J•roc·l·eds go i!tto 11 c sha ll derh·e a revenue from the public lands of the coutmon 'l'rea ·ury to aceontplit~h the ohjtcts of tit · ljiJ O,ouu,ooo per ann unt, 11 l1en t he hounty tnntlw1u·raots Uovcrument, a nd ir1 this man ne1· aJI the ~t at e:; are berw- are ~a t i:-.tied , 11it!Jou t op pression te a ny h uruan heing. flted in just propor tion. l~ ut to give ti,Lo.; couuttou lnher it- lu the ti nte of 11 ar wlte11 all other som cei:S of re,·cnHe are :w ee a way woulcl ucprivc t ltc old ~·t a t('!! of their j n ·t ~:~crionsly itli!J:tirccl: t llis will rctnain intact. Jt t11ny beproportion of tiJis revenue, without holding ont a uy , the cotn\: the bc~t. bCCurity for p ublic loans h ereafter in least, corresponuing acl vant11ge. \\'! tile It hl our ('Otumou t tut e:; of dilli culty an<l danger, :u1 it has uecn h creto f~rc. glory tha t the n ew ::ltutci:S ltnve hcconJc so prOSjH:rous nnd Wily should we itnpair or dest1 oy this system at the prepopulous, th ere Is no goo1l n·a~on why tht• old ::)tatts :;cut. motnenl? \\'l t<LL neces:;it.v cxi ts for it? should otfcr premiums to the!t· own citlzl' tlS lo c111 igrale 'file p eople of the Uuited l:it a tes have ad va nc:ecl with from t hem to the West. ]'lmt land of pwmbc pn·sentH in itteady IHIL rapid ~;tri<.le:; to t hl'ir present conuition <J f il.l!eit' sullicieut allur •111en te to our .vou11g a nd euterplising pow~:r !Llld 111 o)»pcrity. They have been guided in th eir ci tizens, wit l10ut any udveutiUous a iel. 'J'Ite oll'cr of free wogre~s l!y the lix e(l p riuciplo of pr otcctiug tlw equal farms would probal.Jiy have a powt·rful elft·ct In encourag- rig ltts of all, whether tltey be rich or p oor. No agrarinn iug emigmtion, e!lpeci:dly front 8tates like Illinois! Ten- ::.cutimeu t lias e1 er prevailed among tlrcm. The ho ne!'~ nessee, and Kent ucky , to tl1e west of the l\I!s~b~ip p, aut! poo r man, hy frugiilily and ind ustry can, in any part uf could not fail to r educe t he price of propt·rty wltltiu their our· country, UCIJIIII e a cotnpetence for h imself aud ills limits. Au individual in StaLes titus situated would uot fami ly , n ud in clu ing tlti~ lte fe el!! t hat he cats the l.lrend Jray its fair value fo1· land whtn, by crossing Lite ?tlissbsip- of iudcpcmlence. Jlc def:\i rcs no ch:trity, either from the pi, he could go upon the p u blic la uds, a ud oiJLaiu a fa rm ~oven 11nent or fr·on lltis neighbors. 'litis bill, which Jli'O)rO ·u almost without money autl without price. lO give h im laud at an al lllost nomiual p r ice, out of the \'J. 'fhill bill will open one va>~t fi eld for specul ation. property of tiH~ governrnent., 11 ill go fa r to demoral ize Men will not pay $1 25 for lands, when they cau p ur- the people, and rep ress this noule spirit of indcpcndenco. chase them for one-fifth of that price. l.a rge n ut uiJe rs of lt may iu troduco a tnoug 11::1 t h o~ c p emicious social actual settlers will be carried out h.v l'apita lb ts upon theories which have p roYed so tlisu:;trous iu other couu-agree m eut~:~ t.o glvc litem Jw lf of Ute land for t.lte impro l'e- tr ieH. J .~M~:~ ll u<:IJ ANAN. wont of the oth er hal f. 'l'hi1:1 Cilnnot be a voided. ::lccret. W A RH rN GTON, June !!Z, l 860. u~reements of this kind wi ll he_ n u u1ero u~;. ln the t?n~r.v 1 1 1 Ito '<• n :t tC' the q uestion hall t h is hill ot graduated Iandi:!, the expen c:ucc of tltc J,;wd Olh ce 1 • o...: • • '. < > Ju~t!lies lltii:S objection. pas llOL\\' l tlts ta n dlllg the ObJ<' <.:ttOll. of t he l rc. Vll. We ought e ver to maintain the most p erfect t;i(knt? wa · put and lo.·t a· follows: eq)lality between native nud uaturaltzed cit izeus. They ' arc equal, n11d ought always to r enutiu eq ual, ueforc t.he Y~: A s-:ll c~srs. Ant hony , JJrmNI-, Chandler, Ciatlc, law!!. Our Jaws welcome for eignct s to our bhor cs, and Doolittle, Durkee, FeKsenuen , .Fitl'!t, :Foot, l~usLl'r, (,' lcin, their rights will ever be resp ected. While these are the Ha le, Jlamlin, Ha rla n, K ing, Lrwe, Latltam, .A'idwl .-(•n, sentilllents on which I have a cted through life, it is Hot, P olk, l'uylt, H·it·e, 'ltumons, ~ nmner, 'l'on J~:yck, TruJU· in my opinion, cxpcdi ellt to proclaim to all the n atious of uull, Wade, \\' ilkimson, and Wih!On. the eanh that whoever shall a rrive in this couulry from lte pub lica tt in R o m an, l !J ; Demoernt'l in a foreign shore, a.nd decla re hi:~ lut entiou to become n z L · '} 'T t 1 n 't' ct •zen , s I1 a 11 rccei ve a f arm o f 1 GO ncrCB, at a cost o c 2v' ta ics, . . o n. , ~ . or ~U ceuts per ncrc, If he will only r eside ou it and cul ti- N.\YS-Mcssrs. Bragg, Cltcsnut, CnrTTJ(NDKN, D:tvis, vate it. 'l'he invitation cxtcndi:S to all; and if this bill F itzpu.t.rlck, Urccn, ll((lllpltlll, lluntor, l ver~on , J ohn. oo becomes a law, we may have numerou:~ actual suttl cr~ ('l'crm.), J ohnson (Ar k.), Mallory, blUBOIJ, Pearce, Powell, from Ullin a, aoc.l other Ea ~teru nal.ions, enjoying its uene- tle l.Jasti~Lil, Wlg fu.ll, Yuloo- 18. tits on the groat l'acific slope. 'l'he bill makes IL distiuc- All ft·om tho South, nncl all Dcmocr·nts, cx- ~ion in favor of such per~:~oos over native and wt•.uralized f citi~ens. When applied to such citizens, it is confined to ccp t i\Jr; Cl'ittc n ucn (~m. ) , o. Ken tuc ky. such as are the head$ of families; buL when nppllcubltl to ~c vt•ral •untor were p:ul'cd, wl11eh ncconn ts p ersons of foreign bir~h ~ecently arrived ou our shores, for the lig ht vote. So the bill failed, n o t hav. there is no such restrtct10n. Such persons need n ot be . . d } · · t t tl · ·d t , the lumds of famili es PI'QVlded th y have fil ed a d eclara.- jlllg !'CCCI vc . t 10 rcq Ul81 e wo-. lli s vo c llCCCS• Lion of intention to bcco1ue citi:.tt!ns. Perhaps thi.s dis .!1 ry to pass 1t over tile Execut1ve Veto. |