Jackson, which bas enjoyed greater benefit from the pre-emption laws than any other, has also furnished a greater number of soldiers for the defence of the State than any other county; she has now (unless they have recently returned) about four hundred of her brave and patriotic citizens, breasting the perils of the Indian war in Florida, and, what I fear is more appalling to them than the dangers of war, the unhealthy climate which is the scene of their operations. These are volunteers, not draughted men. As soon as the call for men was made known, more volunteered than were required; and, in this county, I have heard it said that, "if any draught should ever be resorted to, it would be a draught to see who should stay at home." But it has been intimated by the honorable Senator from Georgia [Mr. KING] that this class of our fellow-citizens have, by their disorderly and criminal deportment, provoked the Indian wars in which the Government has been and yet is involved. Mr. President, as regards the Black Hawk war, I know nothing, and therefore I say nothing; but, sir, as relates to the Indian war in the South, I think I hazard nothing in saying this can be traced to a different origin; this has originated from the manner in which your Indian treaties have been made, and the bad faith, yes, sir, the bad faith, in which their requirements have been executed. One circumstance which has contributed greatly in exciting that ill-blood which finally resulted in open depredations on the part of the Indians, has been the countenance given to the most gross and flagrant frauds practised upon them by unprincipled land speculators, in the pretended purchase of their reservations. And, sir, I think I may assume the responsibility of saying that some of the constituents of the Senator from Georgia participated largely in these speculations. Well, sir, the war having been brought about by the means to which I have referred, who, except that very class of our fellowcitizens, so much abused, to whom the opprobrious epithet of "squatters" has been applied, first shouldered their muskets to do the fighting? The silk-and-purple gentry, unless they can be so fortunate as to obtain the command of a regiment or battalion, find it more convenient to enjoy their ease upon their cotton farm. If they contribute any thing, it is by way of substitute; their person is too sacred to be exposed to the cruel hardships of a campaign; they therefore do all their fighting by substitute. Yes, sir, although this "traduced class" do not, as has been charged, originate the war, they are truly active and principal agents in bringing it to a close. But it has been alleged by the honorable Senator "that they pay no taxes to the Government," &c. Now, sir, I demand to know if this be so? I desire to know of the Senator from Georgia [Mr. KING] whether the tax imposed by the tariff does not operate upon this class of our fellow-citizens as well as any other? By what means are they exempted from its influence? Sir, does not the poor man pay a tax for the hat upon his head, the coat (although it may be a coarse one) upon his back, and the shoes upon his feet? Is he not required to pay a tax for the plough and weeding hoe, the axe, and other farming utensils with which he cultivates his little cornfield? The sugar with which he sweetens his coffee, and the salt that is put in his bread? Yes, sir, he pays a tax almost for every thing he and his family either cat or wear; and this is not all, for he is taxed for the very last nail that is driven in his coffin, or the coffin made for any branch of his family. And yet we are to be told that "they pay no tax!" I am willing to admit that they may not pay as much in amount as the man who wears a beaver hat, a broadcloth cloak, a ruffle shirt, and silk stockings, and who uses his wines and other luxuries; yet I will venture the assertion that VOL. XIII.-43 [SENATE. the tax paid by the poor man, who may have a large family to support, falls as heavy and is as oppressive upon him as the tax paid by any other class of the community. Well, now, a few words as regards the amendment submitted for the consideration of the Senate. Its op eration is confined to lands that have been in market for ten, fifteen, and twenty years, and which the Government has not been able to sell at the minimum price, and which, I hesitate not to say, will never be sold unless the price be reduced. This provision will enure mainly to the benefit of that class for whom it is more imperiously our duty to legislate; those in indigent circumstances, who have heretofore been driven out of the public land market, by the wealthy, the capitalist, and land speculator; for, sir, it cannot be disguised that these have heretofore possessed themselves of all the most valuable, rich, and fertile lands, to the entire exclusion of those who have been unable to compete with them. And now, when they have picked and culled it over and over again, until nothing remains but the refuse lands, which they will not purchase, but which a poor man is both willing and able to purchase at its fair value, you refuse, and unreasonably insist that this is worth as much as you sell the cotton and sugar land and best Mississippi low grounds for. This policy is as inconsistent as it is adverse to the interest of the new States. What, let me ask, would be the course of an intelligent individual, under similar circumstances, who, having obtained a large quantity of public lands, and having sold out the best at the highest price it would command, would hold up the refuse with the view of obtaining the same price for this? What has been the practice of every State in the Union which has sold its public lands? Have they dot reduced the price according to its qual ity? And what would be the course of any other individual who might put in market any other commodity? Suppose he be a tobacco planter, or a flour merchant: would either of these, baving made sale of all the prime, think of holding up the ground leaf tobacco, or the old and sour flour, with any reasonable hope of ever obtaining the same price for this? Or would he not reduce the price of this article to its fair market value? This, it seems to me, would be the dictate of prudence and common sense. But, sir, we claim, and with great propriety, too, a reduction, upon the ground and principle upon which you have reduced the tariff, in order to reduce the amount of surplus revenue, and to bring down the rate of taxation to the actual, economical wants of the Government. The public domain is the article in which the people of the new States deal mostly; and while you have extended a scale of reduction to every other article of consumption, this has been left, alone, untouched, at its original high price-a price fixed when the Government had a large public debt unliquidated, for the payment of which the public domain was pledged. This pledge is now redeemed, and the citizens of the new States have the right to demand a reduction in the price of the public domain in a ratio corresponding with that applied by the tariff to other articles. But there are other and higher considerations which should influence gentlemen in the support of this meas ure. The citizens of the new States, although they pay their equal proportion of the tax collected, have no interest in the large appropriations of thousands and millions that are made annually out of the public treasure for harbors, fortifications, breakwaters, forts, &c., on the seaboard. This amendment also proposes to place the means in the hands of thousands of our fellow-citizens to become freeholders, and thus increase their pride and independence, their attachment to the soil and to the Government, and at the same time remove that odious relation that exists between landlord and tenant. But some gentlemen have argued in opposition to this measure, as if it were confined in its operation alone to the citizens of the new States, and as if the citizens of no other State had any interest in the matter whatever. But gentlemen should recollect that the population of the new States is composed of the good people from every other State in this Union, and that emigrants from every quarter are to participate in the wholesome provisions proposed to be incorporated in this bill. (FEB. 2, 1837. [Mr. KING, of Georgia, in a subsequent stage in the debate, having submitted two amendments to the bill, Sir, I was surprised to hear the honorable Senator viz: one requiring "that the applicant for a pre-empfrom Delaware [Mr. BAYARD] repudiate these enact- tion shall make oath before the register and receiver ments because they hold out extravagant inducement to that he has not received the benefit of any pre-emption emigration from the old to the new States. And I law heretofore passed by the Congress of the United would submit it to the honorable Senator whether this States;" and the other providing "that no pre-emption is not a very contracted view of the subject; and wheth-shall be granted to lands from which the Indians had not er it is not our duty to legislate here upon the broad been removed at the commencement of such occupan principle of promoting the interest and prosperity of all; cy"-] and whether he does justice to his constituents in withholding his support to the project on account of the extravagant advantages it tenders them for emigration. And ought not the State he so ably represented be willing to part with that portion of her population who, seeing the avenue opened wide for the improvement of their fortunes in the West and Southwest, feel desirous of availing themselves of it? And ought he not rather to be inclined to lend his aid in giving them encouragement than to impede their progress? What, suppose some rich landlord lose a tenant, and some of the manufactories some of their hands, who labor for a mere pittance for support, when, by emigration to the new States, they become independent freeholders and landlords themselves. Sir, I will repeat what I intimated on a former occasion, that the people of the new States have a right to appeal to the justice of the majority on this floor and in the other branch of the National Legislature, who are now dominant, and hold the power, for their aid in support of this measure. They have done much for the administration, and particularly has Alabama done every thing, and more than could have been expected; she has sacrificed her feelings and her principles; her citizens have sacrificed their attachment for an individual pure and spotless, whose deportment either in the private walks of life or the public councils of his country no honorable man will dare assail or impeach. Yet they bave sacrificed their attachment for him, their neighbor, their friend, to gratify General Jackson. And I think I have the right now, in behalf of my constituents, to make the appeal to the friends of the administration for aid in favor of a measure more intimately connected with their interest than any other provision of this bill. Now, sir, one word more as to the other amendment proposed as an additional section to the bill. Mr. President, the provisions embraced by this are so obviously just and proper, that I cannot anticipate opposition from any quarter. In this there is no principle the propriety of which will be considered doubtful by gentlemen coming from either the old or new States. It will be seen that this amendment proposes to secure to an individual the pre-emptive right in the purchase of one quarter section, that he has improved and cultivated, at one dollar per acre, of the land subject to be entered at private sale at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. This will be of little or no service to other new States, which will enjoy a more important advantage from that section in the bill which secures to occupants the right of pre-emption in the purchase of the best lands in the country. But, as regards Alabama, these golden days have passed; the good lands have long since been sold. I have known many worthy and respectable citizens who had made improvements upon the public lands, who were able to give from five to ten, fifteen, and twenty dollars per acre; yet were unable to secure Mr. MOORE said he had already declared that the interest which the State of Alabama would have in this law, compared with that which other new States and Territories would enjoy, was very inconsiderable. Yet he had given the bill his hearty support, from principle. He was willing to do justice to other citizens, the early emigrants, in whatever quarter they may be located. But now the honorable Senator from Georgia [Mr. KING] proposes so to modify the bill as to destroy even that small interest which the State from which he came might claim to have, and to exclude his constituents from any participation in its wholesome provisions whatever. Mr. M. solemnly protested against the adoption of any such amendment; he hoped the Senate would not gratify the Senator from Georgia in effecting such manifest injustice to the citizens of his State. That Senator had again renewed his unwarranted denunciations against that meritorious class of our fellowcitizens, whom he again reproaches by calling them "professional squatters;" and by this amendment proposes to break up and destroy what he is pleased to call "their profession and livelihood." And, sir, he is desi rous also to put an end to the improper treatment and cruelty with which "the poor Indians" have been made to suffer, and are liable to be treated, by these early emigrants, many of whom he has intimated "have left Geor gia because they were no better than they ought to be." Mr. M. said he would not vouch for the correct deportment of the people of Georgia in any manner; but, for the consolation of the Senator from Georgia, he would inform him that the salubrious climate of Alabama had a most happy influence upon those who emigrated from that quarter; as soon as they crossed the line and became acclimated, they then cease to be "professional squatters," and become honest and respectable citizens, and were worthy the protection this bill proposes to give them. But if the Senator succeeds in his proposed amendment, his (Mr. M's) constituents, few as they were, who have obtained any pre-emption under any former law, are now to be excluded from any benefit or protection given by the pre-emption clause in this bill, and left entirely at the tender mercies of the land speculator. Now, sir, where is the propriety of this? Where the propriety of excluding a poor man from a pre-emption under this law, merely because he has been compelled to make sale of his land heretofore paid for, in order to improve his condition and provide more effectually for the permanent prosperity of his family? Sir, the gen tleman can with much more propriety change the character of his amendment, by medi'ying it in such manner as to exclude and render the land speculator incompetent, instead of the pre-emptioner, to purchase in any future sale; and with such a modification Mr. M. would vote for it. Again: another portion of his constituents were to be made step-children of and excluded from the provisions of this law, because they have made their settlements before the Indians are removed from the territory they have sold. And the gentleman had stated correctly when he said his amendments would only apply to that portion of country recently acquired from the Cherokees, situated in the State of Alabama. And he would inform that Senator that, small as " this slip" of country was, the General Assembly had organized three new counties out of it, which were settled by honest and respectable citizens, in every manner worthy the favo able consideration of Congress. The treaty had been ratified long since; many had gone there since the purchase and since the ratification; and yet the Indians are not removed, and no one can tell precisely when they will be entirely removed. The people, nevertheless, are subject to all the restraints, responsibilities, payment of taxes, &c., in the same manner that others are in any other part of the State, and were entitled to equal participation in the important provisions of this bill. But Mr. M. said he had felt the peculiar force of that argument of the Senator from Georgia resulting from his tender sympathies and compassion for the poor Indians, which inspired his bosom with such a strong and laudable desire to put a stop to those cruelties heretofore practised upon them. Mr. M. thought, looking to the history of the times, and reviewing the legislative action of the State of Georgia, (prompted, doubtless, by none other than the most tender and humane considerations for the poor Indians, for whom the Senator would make us believe he also feels much sympathy,) that such arguments came with very bad grace from that quarter. That Georgia should feel more than other States for the welfare of the Indans, and that her delegation should be disposed to withhold from honest occupants pre-emption rights in the purchase of the public lands, lest encouragement should be given to improper treatment to the poor Indians, was among the very last arguments he had supposed the Senator from Georgia would have resorted to in support of his proposition. When Mr. MoORE Concluded, The question was taken on the adoption of the amendment by yeas and nays, and it was rejected: Yeas 16, nays 23. The question then recurred on the adoption of the second clause of the proposed amendment; which was, "that any person who has resided on and purchased land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, during the year 1836, and who shall be in possession of such land at the passage of this act, shall be allowed to enter one quarter section until 1838, provided he shall have proved his right before July next, before the register and receiver of the proper land office." The amendment was negatived by a vote of 27 to 15. Mr. WHITE said he was not satisfied with the bill in its present shape, nor did he know that any amendment could be offered to it which would reconcile him to its provisions. He had voted with the friends of the bill as far as he could, in order that it might be so amended as to meet with the approval of a majority of the Senate. Mr. W. proceeded to examine and comment on the provisions of the bill. He went on to say the bill was partial in its character, for it gave a preference to one portion of society over another in the purchase of the public lands. He argued that the bill in its present shape went to change the whole land system of the country, and excluded from becoming purchasers the great mass of society, in order to induce more emigration to the West. According to this bill, persons might obtain land, and that, too, without intending to become occupiers of it. Now, he thought it was not sound policy to do this; nor could [SENATE. any good reason be given why it should be done. If the bill was to remain in its present form, he could not consent to give his vote for it. Yet he must confess that he should regret, after the subject had been so long under consideration, if nothing were done that would prove beneficial to the new States, while at the same time no injustice should be perpetrated against the old. With regard to the large amount of revenue which had been derived from the sales of the public lands during the past year, he would tell gentlemen how it happened to be so much greater than at any former time. Why, a short time before the Indian title had been extinguished, a large portion of the finest lands were brought into the market; and the consequence was, that almost every man who wished to procure some of them, and yet not having the means, obtained accommodation at the banks, and then purchased. Afterwards, they sold to great advantage, and repaid what they borrowed. And this had been the course pursued in regard to the public lands, which some gentlemen might call "speculating." Now, the moment the money deposited with the States should be withdrawn, an end would be put to this state of things. In fact, even at this time, the best lands in the South and Southwest were gone; and yet Congress was about to legislate to prevent speculation and preserve the public lands! After some further remarks, Mr. W. observed, let justice be done to the new States; but let no radical change be made in the laws, unless gentlemen were quite sure that that change was made upon a principle which the people of the whole Union would approve of. If that course were not pursued, the result might be that two parties would be gotten up, of the old States on one side, and the new on the other, and then no man could foretell what would happen to the liberties and prosperity of the confederacy. If the amendment he proposed to offer should be adopted, our land system would be preserved, while, at the same time, it would prevent, as much as any scheme could, the frauds known to be committed, as regarded the public lands. Mr. W. concluded his remarks by offering the following, as a substitute for the amendment reported by the Committee on the Public Lands: Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert the following: "That every settler or occupant of the public lands prior to the passage of this act, who was in possession on the first day of December last, and cultivated any part thereof in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-six, shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges provided by an aci entitled 'Act to grant pre-emption rights to settlers on the public lands,' approved May twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty; and the said act is hereby revived, and shall continue in force one year: Provided, That, where more than one person may have settled upon and cultivated any one quarter section of land, each one of them shall have an equal share or interest in the same quarter section, but shall have no claim to any other land: And provided, always, That the provisions of this act shall not extend to any person who made his settlement or occupancy before the extinguishment of the Indian title to the land on which he settled, or to which he claims a right of occupancy. "SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in cases where individuals were entitled to the benefits of the pre-emption act of June, eighteen hundred and thirtyfour, and were deprived of said rights by the location of Indian reservations having been placed on their improvements, after such settlements were made, the persons baving been so entitled shall be allowed to enter one quarter section of any of the public lands (not reserved from sale) in the State in which such persons resided: Provided, That such persons shall produce satisfactory proof before the proper land officers, and make their selections of said quarter sections, before the first day of June next. "SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all lands which have been offered for sale twenty or more years, and remain unsold, shall hereafter be sold at fifty cents per acre; all lands which have been offered fifteen or more years, and less than twenty years, shall be hereaf ter sold at seventy-five cents per acre; and all lands which have been offered ten or more years, and less than fifteen years, shall hereafter be sold at one dollar per acre: Provided, That not more than one hundred and sixty acres shall be sold to any one purchaser, nor to any other than actual settlers, at such reduced prices. "SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the consent of the United States shall be, and hereby is, given to the States within which the public lands are situate, to impose and levy a tax on all lands which may hereafter be sold by the United States within their respective limits." Mr. SEVIER demanded the yeas and nays on this amendment, and they were ordered. Mr. WALKER opposed the amendment, as likely to insure the defeat of the bill, inasmuch as there were the most decided indications of a settled majority in the Senate opposed to the graduation principle. He argued to show that the principle of taxation had proved insufficient to keep down speculation; and, as to the pre-emption clause, it was so little better than the present system as to confer no valuable boon on the new States. [FEB. 2, 1837. against it. As the bill stands, the cases of those who have settled on lands since last December are not reached. The bill gives pre emption only to the emigrants between June, 1834, and December, 1836. Is that the great boon that you offer us? But, even then, the settler must have cultivated the land for three months next before December; that is, during the months of September, October, and November. Can any man get a preemption right on such terms? Not one. He is required to cultivate, and every one knows there can be no cultivation. He must cultivate just at the time when we are picking our crop. Pre-emption right, therefore, as the bill now stands, I reckon as nothing; for, in practice, it will come to that. The restriction upon oaths, too, was a bitter pill to me; but I did not mind that so much. But the settler must reside upon his land two years, or he must clear up one tenth part of it, before he can get a title. Now, take out the pre-emption principle, and put in this provision, and how many will vote for your bili? Is there a man here who will vote for this alone? There is not one. But here is a bill which strikes out all these, and gives us just what we want. Shall we hesitate to give it our support? I feel no hesitation in the matter. I shall vote for it. As to the committee's bill, it has got to be a little worse since I determined to vote against it. There is a clause in it now that I myself, out of old friendship for the Senator from Pennsylvania, helped him to get inserted-allowing a man to purchase for his children at private sale; but when I voted for that clause, I thought that the whole amount any man could enter under it was one section. But last night it was extended to all the public lands, and a citizen of the old States was allowed to enter a section for each of his children; and one gentleman wanted to extend it to all his nephews, and neices, and grandchildren; but that would not go down. But the section, as it stands, is bad enough; it gives a non-resident threefold the advantage which is enjoyed by the actual settler. He may enter more land; he is exempt from the necessity of cultivation or resi dence, and he has a patent mode of freeing himself from all his debts. He has only to invest the money that ought to go to his creditors in the public land, and he has an estate for his children, and is beyond the reach of any one. Mr. SEVIER said: I am glad that the Senator from Tennessee has offered this amendment. I shall vote for it; and I ask if there is a single Senator representing one of the new States who will vote against it? Would any such Senator vote against the right of pre-emption, if that stood alone in the bill? Or if the principle of graduation stood alone, would any Western Senator vote against it? Not one. Or if the bill contained only the provision for the taxation of land as soon as it is entered, is there one who would vote against it? I am sure there is none. Now, here are these three great features of graduation, pre-emption, and taxation-the three chief objects of desire to Western men-all united in this amendment. We all know that one or the other of these principles must be in any land bill brought forward here, or it would not be discussed for a single hour. There is not a Senator from any one of the new States who dare vote for a bill that did not contain one or more of them. But here is a bill that contains them all. As to the provision in the bill from the committee to restrain the sales of the public land, it is all nonsense. Has not the President of the United States the power of restric-imposed by our Legislature is one third of one per cent. tion in his own hands? Has not the incumbent now in office bad that power at any time he chose to And will not his successor have the same? withhold the lands from sale whenever he pleases. They cannot be brought into market but by his proclamation. But the truth is, he has never offered them fast use it? He can enough for our prosperity in the West. We have had to petition him again and again, before he would do it. If the great objection is, that the money for the new lands comes too fast into the Treasury, the President can stop the sales at pleasure. No proclamation, no sale. The graduation principle has been struck out of the bill; and, without that principle, dare any Senator from the new States to vote in favor of it? You know they dare not. But here, as I said, is a bill which contains the three principal things we have been endeavoring to obtain. For my part, if I cannot get all three, I will take two, and if I cannot get two, I will take one. This restriction was put into the land bill to get it friends; but, when we lost the graduation principle, I was then against the bill. Then it was proposed to provide for a perpetual pre-emption. As long as that was in the bill, I went for it; but when that too was stricken out, I was But the Senator from Mississippi [Mr. WALKER] wants us to believe that a power to tax the land would operate as no check upon speculation. In Arkansas, we have not taxed our entered lands yet, but the lists are furnished and the law will speedily go into effect. The tax upon the value of the land. Assessors are appointed; they go and examine the land of the squatters, and ascer tain what it is worth, and then the law taxes it one third of one per cent. Now, a speculator will sometimes hold land enough to cover a whole county; and when this tax is laid upon the land that he is holding up for better prices, he cannot stand it, but is compelled to sell the land to pay the taxes. And I say that this will always operate as an effectual security against the excess of speculation. On the whole, I shall vote for this amend ment with pleasure. It takes away the bitter dose that made the bill from the committee so nauseous; and, if any danger is apprehended from excessive sales, and a consequent surplus in the Treasury, the President has power to stop the sales. I should be glad to know how speculators are going to get hold of the land under this amendment. There is but one way for them; and that is, to turn squatters themselves. I shall vote for the whole amendment as it stands; and, if it is amended by striking out any part of it, I shall still vote for it, as long as it retains either one of the three great features which recommend it to me. But I conclude with repeating what I have already said, that any land bill must have in it one or other of these features, or it does not get my vote. Mr. BLACK expressed his approbation of many parts of the amendment, but thought, as there was no prospect of the most material parts of them being adopted, that their discussion would delay the bill. The attempt to introduce the graduating principle had been made several times, and failed, and it was useless, he thought, to try it again. As he preferred going on with the bill, faulty as it was, he must vote against the amendment. Mr. BENTON thought that one of the main objects of the bill had been almost taken away by the principle introduced by the aniendment of the Senator from Pennsylvania. He was in favor of all the objects embraced by the amendment of the Senator from Tennessee, but he despaired of seeing them adopted, the votes on the graduation princíple having been so often taken and decided against them that he had no hopes of seeing it introduced for at least two or three years to come. Mr. B. took a review of the speculations in the public lands several years ago, which had resulted in so much ruin and distress, and likened the present rage for speculation to that in the above period. He did not, however, despair of seeing the graduation principle in time introduced, though it could not be done now-the darkest hour in the night being that just before the morning. Though he approved of the objects embraced in the amendment of the Senator from Tennessee, he must be compelled to vote against it, as he wished the bill to go on. Mr. WHITE said he was gratified to find that the principles of his amendment were approved of by several gentlemen, and he was the more gratified that no one had been able to offer any argument against it. Mr. BENTON then observed that as he considered it of importance that the Senate should act with a full understanding of the amendment just offered, so much of which he approved of, he would do what he had not before been willing to consent to since the land bill was under discussion; that is, he would move that the bill be laid over for the present, in order that the amendment might be printed, and laid on their tables in the morning. Mr. EWING, of Illinois, rose and addressed the Chair as follows: Mr. President: I hoped that no circumstance would have arisen, pending the discussion of this most pertinaciously contested subject, which would make it necessary for me to solicit the attention of the Senate for a single moment; that hope, however, has proved a vain one. Honorable Senators (especially the gentleman on my left, from Ohio) seem to have taken the interest of a portion of my constituents into their especial care and keeping. Whenever gentlemen are at a loss for a case of fraud and perjury whereby to elucidate their objections to the bill on your table, they conjure up a creation of the imagi nation, and give it a local habitation in the northern part of Illinois; but more particularly do we have reiterated recurrence to the far-famed, much-talked-of, and littleunderstood, Beaubien claim. Sir, if we were to take for granted all we have heard about this celebrated claim, we would be forced to the conclusion that the whole matter, from its very inception to the present moment, has been involved in mystery, fraud, and perjury; that the claimants, officers, and all in any wise concerned, have scted dishonest parts in relation to it. Now, sir, what does the honorable Senator [Mr. MORRIS] know about the subject? Nothing, sir, literally nothing. Col. Beaubien has occupied the place he claims the last twenty consecutive years; he occupied it at the time when the Senator would not have ventured within a hundred miles of it; he occupied it in times of great peril, in times of adversity, and in times of prosperity; he occupied it when it was totally without value, when not a Senator [SENATE. would have given a cent an acre for it; and he now has possession of it, when it is worth a million of money. How was this tract of land entered? Why, sir, as I have reason to believe, in the manner that all pre-emption claims should be. Beaubien's papers were regularly and legally made out, and proven, according to the prescribed forms, in the presence of the community; presented to the officers, accepted, the money received, and the certificate issued. The tract was advertised and proclaimed for sale as other lands were, at the same time and place; was not marked (as I am informed) on the plats furnished by the General Land Office to the officers at Chicago, as the other reserved lands were. Open and proclaimed for sale, what course was left for the officers to pursue but that which they did, fearless of the clamors and shouts of collusion and fraud, which were raised by the avaricious and interested about their ears? Of the officers I am prepared to say-and what I do say I hope will put an end to all reference to them hereafter-I repeat, that I am prepared to assume the responsibility of saying, in relation to the register and receiver at Chicago, that any imputation against their official integrity would be foul injustice; and that such was the malignity of their enemies-I mean those seeking their places--that had they conceived it possible to give tangibility and substance to the many rumors of which themselves were the authors, they would have at least made the attempt; but, having failed even to make that attempt, I hold the officers not guilty until it is otherwise shown. It is not my purpose, Mr. President, to argue this case. It has been, and is now, before the judicial tribunals of the country. Its discussion here might in some respect affect the ultimate decision of the case, and prejudice the just rights of the weaker party; for all know, that in a contest between an individual and the United States, his must be a plain case, and he of much forbearance and long suffering, before he can expect to have common justice done him, especially if it be an arithmetical calculation of dollars and cents. Since, however, I have taken the floor, I hope I may be excused for occupying the attention of the Senate for a few minutes longer, which shall be devoted to the subject now under consideration, especially when it is recollected that any question touching the sale of the public lands is deeply interesting to the Western people, and that the peculiar circumstances of the State of Illinois at this time render the subject particularly important to my constit uents. The recent influx of population into the State has been great beyond all precedent. During the period of my own residence in Illinois, I have seen the number of people swell from 40,000 to nearly 400,000; and those immense prairies, which at one period were supposed to be doomed to lie for ages an unproductive wilderness, are now beginning to be covered with an industrious, honest, and enterprising race of farmers. The last three years, especially, have been distinguished by the unexampled rapidity with which this interesting process has been carried forward, and is still in progress. The tide continues to sweep on with undiminished force; and it will swell and roll on, until the plains of that fertile region shall be peopled with American citizens. The largest portion of this active emigration are farmers-persons seeking homes and a soil from which to earn a livelihood, and, of course, purchasers of public lands. Their relations to the Government, therefore, in reference to the public lands, are of the most intimate character. It is impossible to legislate on the subject without affecting their interest; and Congress cannot touch the question, in the most unimportant particular, without awakening the liveliest attention on the part of those whom I have the honor in part to represent. Sir, there never has been a session of the Legislature |