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The message informs us that in the years 1837, 1838, 1839, of the $5,925,900 received from sales in each year, the sum of $384,268 was taken in this Territory, equal to a little less than one-fifteenth of the whole amount received from sales in the United States. Assuming this proportion to be nearly correct, the amount per annum to be received from sales in Wisconsin would be

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The five per centum," next alluded to in the message "of all the public lands in her (our) boundaries to place us on equal footing with the other new States, and to be applied to the making of roads, harbors, &c. &c." will, upon the principles of the above calculation, amount to $6,878 05 per annnm.

The last of the "pecuniary advantages" enumerated by his Excellency is our "proportion of the nett proceeds of all the public lands in the United States, sold after the 31st of Dec. next," in the general distribution with all the other States, Territories, and District of Columbia:-this sum is to depend upon our federal representative population as ascertained by the last census.

Nett proceeds per annum on gross amonnt of sales, $2,063,430 10 Deduct ten per cent. to new States; also 5 per cent. by

virtue of the compacts, equal to 15 per cent.,

Leaves the sum of,

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309,514 50

$1,773,915 50

to be distributed among the several States, Territories, and the District of Columbia according to the federal population: and being divided among 17 millions of inhabitants, gives $103 20 cents to every thousand inhabitants; and supposing us to have 30,000 will amount per annum to the sum of

To which, if we add the ten per cent.

Will give us the sum of

$3,096 00

13,756 10

$16,852 10

as the sum total of all that could be expected to accrue to us from this act which can be set apart annually for the ordinary expenses of State Government.

Adding the 5 per cent. expected under the compact to

be applied to works of internal improvement,

Will give the sum total of

$6,878 05

$23,730 15

which we can receive in cash for all purposes under this act.

If to this we add the 360,000 acres of land, and suppose the whole to be sold at the minimum Congress price, and the sum invested at 6 per cent. per annnm we should from this source derive $27,000 00 per annum,

Making an aggregate of

$50,730 15

as the sum total that can under the most favorable circumstances bé expected from this act for all purposes whatever.

$33,878 10 cents of this sum (of which $27,000 is supposed to acerue from interest of our sales of 360,000 acres of land. $6,878 05 to accrue from the 5 per cent. fund under compact) must be applied to purposes of internal improvement, and the sum of $16,842 10 only can be applied at the discretion of the Legislature to the ordinary expenses of State Government.

Such then constitutes, upon the estimates and calculations of your committee, the "pecuniary advantages" which the "provisions of the act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of public lands and grant pre-emption rights," hold out to induce us to change our form of government."

The committee now turn to consider the advantages which we shall have to surrender on taking the step advised by the Executive, together with the additional burdens to be assumed.

Under the present Territorial government, Congress has appropriated and paid for the expenses of the Legislative Assembly, the sum of $180,358 for the six years of our existence, (including the year 1841) equal to the sum per annum of

$30,075

The appropriations annually for the same term for our Executive and Judicial departments, have equaled

And for the exepnses of courts and jurors,

Total appropriations per annum,

$10,500

10,000

$50,575

It is but reasonable to suppose that like sums will be appropriated

for us in time to come.

Various estimates are put forth as to the expenses of a State Government; on this point the committee can only give their opinion, which must on a candid consideration of the whole matter, be made up, not as to what such expenses might, in a spirit of rigid economy be made; but upon what they will in all probability in the issue, really come up to. They submit them, the following, to wit: A Legislative Assembly with 48 members in the lower, and 26 in the upper branch-74 in all, with a per diem allowance of $2 50, and a session of sixty days, is Mileage for the same at an average of $30 for each member, Printing and stationery,

$11,100

2,220

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8,500

Officers of the two Houses, say 7 to each House, at $2 00

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A Governor with a salary of
A Lieut. Governor with a salary of
A Secretary of State with a salary of
An Attorney General with a salary of
An Adjutant General with a salary of
Auditor and Treasurer with a salary of $300 each

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$1,500

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1,200

1,000

350

400

600

Total,

$50,050

The above, it is believed, is the least sum on which it would be possible to effect a State organization.

It seems then that the sum of

in specie or its equivalent is now paid us per annum by the General Government; and after banishing this

$50,575 00

sum from our limits, we should have to raise from our own resources to pay the expenses of the proposed State Government, the sum of

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50,050 00

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As an offset to this we should receive from the distribution act per annum, available for the purposes of State Government the sum of

$16,825 10

But the committee do not think they have yet set forth all the causes which militate against the policy of the message: they therefore submit further, that should we enter the Union, and receive our 360,000 acres of land, locate them well, and throw them into market, the sales would lessen those of the government within our limits, and thereby produce a corresponding diminution in our shares of the ten per cent. and of the general distribution.

They also submit-that on entering the Union we shall be expected to surrender our right to tax United States lands and those sold by the Government till five years after the issuing of the patents; this arrangement would seriously diminish the amount of taxable property in the Territory and render the necessity unavoidable of laying onerous and insufferable burdens on the people.

It is conceived furthermore, that all the benefits proposed to us under the "act of Congress, to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, &c." are liable on certain contingencies to totally fail-these contingencies are as follows, to wit:

1st. Upon the United States being involved in a war with a foreign

power.

2nd. Upon the price of the public lands being increased beyond the present price of $1 25 per acre.

3rd. Upon an increase of duties upon imports so as to conflict with the act of Congress of March 2, 1833, generally known as the "compromise act."

4th. Upon the construction which may be given to the first section of the act, which is liable to be so literal as to require a deduction of the original cost of purchase as well as the expenses of surveying and sales, which would leave but little or nothing for distribution; and

5th. Upon a repeal of the act.

Your committee are then entirely unable to discover in the "act to appropriate the proceeds of the public land," sufficient inducement to Wisconsin to change her form of government.

They will now proceed briefly to state some general objections which suggest themselves against such a step at present.

1st. The People have not asked at our hands any action on the subject.

2nd. Our population is small, scattered over a large district of country, and but illy able to endure the expenses even of town and county government.

3rd. The expense which would be necessary for the framing and adopting a new constitution, must be estimated at some40 or 50 thousand dollars, all to fall upon the people.

4th. The experience of our neighbors of Illinois and Michigan, admonishes us of the fearful risk new States run, by a premature assumption of those high responsibilities, of bankruptcy and ruin.

5th. A change of our form of government would at once be a surrender of the strong claims which we now have on the General Government for appropriations for harbors and other works of internal improvement.

6th. Should we go into State Government before we have the requisite population to entitle us to one Representative on the floor of Congress, we become supplicants before that body, can ask nothing as matter of right, and forego all chance of making terms for ourselves.

The committee would here have gladly taken leave of this subject: but one other suggestion of his Excellency the Governor demands consideration.

This suggestion is contained in the following language of the message, to wit:

"And if the section of country now under the jurisdiction of Illinois, should sustain her claim to be made a part of the State of Wisconsinand it seems to me to be a question which may very properly be left to the decision of the people who inhabit the disputed tract—and the boundaries prescribed by the ordinance of 1787, and subsequent acts of Congress for the 5th of the Northwestern States be established as

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