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Show • 110 EMIGRAN"T'S GUIDE. tbe northeast corner of Hancock county, as well as he cottld recollect. In con equence of this petition , thP bill was recommitted , and the wbole question put at risk. It was on this occasion, observes M. L., that he attendeJ closely the proceedings of the Senate. The bill was repo1 ted ag<~in without amendmept; but wbf!n .the senate acted upon it for the last time, some 'Of t~e. members, t~Jfl.uenced by the Beutiatents of the jnd~e , strenuously JO!t:-.ted on makmg the Pascttgola river the line. To preserve t.he bill from the danger of this opposition, anJ of the objections to tbe line proposed, .the . gentl~man on whom its support chiefly depended, moved that the ltne rmght run due south from the northwe"t corner of Washington county to the gulf of Mtxico. This motion succeeded. In the house, as well as in the senate, a strong disposition was manifested in favour of making the Pasca~ola the Jine. This disposition, Mr. L. said, he bad to overcome ; and though great efforts bad been made to attach blame to him in relation to this suhject, it was to his ex-ertions, solely, that the line was not established much farther west. Having stated these facts, Mr. Lattimore proceeded to inquire into the expediency of dividing the territory. A gentleman from Jefftrson had endeavoured to show the advantage we should derive from a state with our entire li-mits, in the greater number of representatives in congress, and in ;he consequent influence it would give us in tbe choice of president of the UniteJ States. But, Mr. L. saiJ, he woulrl unclertake to prove the converse of this proposition to be true. He had seen the members from the same state as mucb divideJ on many questions, as memhers from different stales. If tbc territory should form two states, their respective representatires would probably agree as well with each other on local questions, :tS if tLey were all the representatives of but one state, with one entire limit. In relation to the senate, said Mr. L., the advantage.~ of division were very obvious. By having two st;1tes instead of one, we should have four senators intead of two. Tbe 1rovosed western state would then certainly have two senators to itself, and two electors of pre· sident and vice presiJent. But without division, tbe western part of the state would not have even one senator, nor governor. nor seat of government. nor any general officer, except one representative to congress, unless bestowed upon us by the liberality of the eastern part of the state, which, having a decided preponderance in populatiou and representation , would contnJl us at will. Such a control nuuld doubtless be exercised over us for many years. The western part of the state might, in its turn, have the same contrQ) over the eastern part, whenever tbe entire extinguishment of Indian' titles should take place. But such changes of power and preponderance were nut all desirable in a state, and he was in favour of division to prevent ocal jarrings and strife. Division, continueJ Mr. L , would give to this section of the un ion an additional sta te, and of course two adJitioual electors of president, to maintain its political influence and rights. It was thi. conside~a ~ tion alone, said he, that t1a~ determined his opinion in favour of di- EMIGRANT'S OUIDE. 111 ·vi's ion as contemplated by the act of congres3, as prefera b1e to an union with Louisiana, which was a very reasonable proposition in many points of view. By such an union, thi~ section of the Unittd Statt>s would lose a state. By the plan of diviiion proposed, a state would be gaineJ. As to the scheme of uniting the waters of the Tennessee. with those of the Mobile, he would htJpe tbat it was a practicable one, and would be glad to see it carried into e:xecution. But who, he askPd, would derive the benefit of such a measure? No one in the we 'teru part of the territory. The memorialists plainly intimated that theresources o~· tbe we _tern part were necessary to accomplish this object. although 1t was evtJPnt. that. the eastern part would enjoy, exclusivt-ly, ,all the advantages whtcb 1t would produce. He saiJ, that he consi dered this reason of the memoriali ·ts altogether in tavour of division when appli ed to the interest of the wcstcr~1 part of the territory. ' There were olher re <1sons in favour of division, contiuued 1\'lr. L. He ?egged the ~~t e ~ti un of_ the con~ enr.ion to certain provi sions in the act for our admtSSJt> IJ, wh1 ch appe ared not to have be~n uuticed. Here Mr. L. read ' the proposed coutract between the United States an~ the state to b~ r~)fl!led, as related to the provision fur roads, from wh1ch he dr1~ w th1s mlereuce,-· t~a t the western part of the territory would ~~ scarcely able to bear 1ts share of the buruens of govern· ment, It th~ whole were admitted as one state; and al ·o the advantage w~ slu.ul_d derive from separatiou, in having much more ample funds lor makmg roads through the proposed wes.tern state, as well as the probability of obtaining a great road from some part of the elder western states. In the .'Jth se~tion of the act for our admission, it is provided " that five-yer cent. ol _the nett proceeds of tbe land lying within the said ternto~y, and wh1cb shall be sold by Congress from and after the first day of December next, after deducting all expenses incident to the same, s~al~ be reserved for making ·public roads and canals; of which three-fitths s_ball . be a rplic~d to those ohjects within the saiJ :;tate, und~r the dJTectJon of the legislature thereof, and two-fifths to the . ~a~m~ of a road or road5i leading to the said state, under the directwn of_ congress." Such a provision as this, saiJ Mr. L., has been m~de m favour of all th e new state s, and he had him~elf seen s.omethmg of ~he advantages of it, in the great road now making from Cum· ~)erla.nd, m M.ary land, to the state of Ohio. The expense of this road IS patd out ot th~ twentieth part of tbe proceeds of the lands in that · tate, set apart tor purposes similar to those above mentioned. He ba_d travelled this road about thirty miles, over the Aleghany moun .. ~ ms, wherf:? one might now drive a carriage full speed at midnight. ,._; Uch advantages in roaJs were held out to us also; but jt must be t~~.~ers_tood ~ha~ there was a. quid. pro quo contemplated in this pro· :/s1on · for It 1s also provJded m the 4th section of the same act, t~1at each and every tract of land sold, Congress sbaJI be and r~ .. mam exempt from any tax laid by the order or_ under the authority of the state, whe th~r for state, county, townsb1p, parish, or other !Jurp~se whatev~r, lor the term of five years fH;)ffi and. after t.ne re· .~. ective days ot the sales thereof." · ·· |