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- a 'w* v*'5 ?~1 * ^ 'Hr' - " Kb * ' *1 * ^k- %*"' -v % ; j 512 PER ANNUM. A? ro\^rri^b^rl,?., ?nT. IN ADVANCE , NEUTRAL IK POLITICS?DEVOTED TO LITERARY, COMMERCIAL, AGRICULTURAL, SCIENTIFIC, GENERAL AND LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. ' ^ YLUME Ifl. LANCASTER, C. H? SOUTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY MORNING, JULY 12. 1854. NUM BER 22 d romp it i clc of tfio CoMtilutiou, which rou<J$ hs | the riizhts of hiiv hi>n!iriiiu si?i * I UDIllUALl. . Speech HON-P. S. BROOKS, OF SO. CA, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June, 14, 1884. The House being in the Comin:tt? ol the Whole on the state of the Union? Mr. BROOKS said: Mr. Ciiaikmak; The disposal made yesterday of the bill to aid in th? construction of a railroad to the Pacific had reference to the final action of the House, ' and was not inteoded to check discussion, but to give time to the friends tjf the road to increase their numbers, and to disseminate a more general information on the subject. It is apparent to the slowest observer, that in no place throughout the country is lea* attention given to speeches, <or have they less influence and effect, than lien); and it die House will bear with rue in die delivery of my remark*, I promise not again to trespass upon its time during die remainder of this scsion. s If the paternity of a bill could recommend it to my judgement as strongly as it does to my feelings, I fear that my regard for my friend from California who introduced it, together with my sympathy with, and interests in behalf of his State, would commit me to a vote which iny understanding cannot approve, or my interpretation of die powers of the Constitution justify. The affections of my heart have been kindled into a glowiug warmth towards that distant State, whose entire delegaliou in either branch of this Congress have recently passed through the * crucible of constitutional trial, and proved y themselves to be?like its staple cotninod v- . ity?pure tfold. I yearn to fold this youngest of our sister States in a closer and tinner embrace, and will cast my vote for any measure which will effect it, provided 1 ain not required to compromise belweeo my conscience and the Constitution. with care, and re-read it with greater care ; and it is with sincere regret that I am constrained to oppose its passage. Wo are asked to donate alternate sections of ' die public lands (which are no less a part of the commoiu treasure ol all the States than the money in the vaults of the Treasury) on either side of a line yet to tie rle trruiined, to some joint slock company Vet to be crested, for the purpise of sid mg in the construction of ? railroad and telegraphic communication from the city of San Fmnciaco to some point, yet to I* located, on the Mia.ds.Mppi river, Anywhere between the thirty-seventh parrailei of north latitude *ud the boundary line of Mexico. We are asked to extend the sections so donated l<? a distance of fifteen miles on either side >f tlie road, from ' the Mississippi river to the one hundred and sixth degree of longitude west of Greenwich, (? point in the Kocky Mountains ; from thence to the eastern loun birr of the State ofCulifornis, that alternate sections shall l>e donated on either side to a distance of twenty-five miles; and from that point, through the .State of California to the western terminus, the company's right to lund shall reach ngain^Io fifteen miles on either side of the proposed road. 1*11 vileges of earth, gravel, stone, and timber, to be used in it* construction, are eitend cdto any of the adjaount lands of the United States. A maximum bonus of aix^buudred dollars per mile per annum ia proposed for the use of the road and telegraphic line by the United States, for postal, military, naval, and other Government purpose*, and the control, management, and profits of the road, together with its casemenfii. privileges, and rights guaranteed to the eotiitacting company for a quarter of a century. The road and ita furniture ia then to revert to the General Government; and such sections of it as lie within the limits of a State M shall vest in and become the property of the rotate ' or States within which the same ia located, subject to the use of the United States fee postal, military, ml all oib?r Government service, and subject, also, to stu b reg ulaiions ae Congress may impose, rvstric? ting the charge for transportation thereon. And all other States organised thereafter, upon the line of said road, shall acquire the same rights, subject to the like provisions and restriction*. V - ' - i win mt nothing or the damwrous impolicy of making donations tc^^Apa* tracting with, any road whichSHRpot been even located, and which, owBftbe present bill, may lie indefinitely st-etched in angular lines from one region of fertile . Uada to another; for I assume Uiat the most direct practicable route would be adopted. Hnl I approach the question directly, ami propose to disease it as 1 would delilerate upon a private project of my own, or of a corporate company, which 1, in part, w*a called on to represent Trie first consideration would be, the plenitude of my euthoritv to contract The sereud. the propriety and aspedi rncy of the cmilfMt, iu apoetflc term* awl eowUtioM. roK^lfVIHWJ4c AWWQltfTY, Tlio pow#r of C^urrtm to dUpom of lb# trnbJlc domain m bona ooftftihwl and limit* J h. to lk*d mete fib* * i " ** -' " s .'* > - a IUIIUW6 m "The Congress shall have power to ' dispose of, afH make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution ' shall be so constructed as to prejudice any claims of the United Slates, or of any particoUr State." r My interpretation of this section is, that Congress has no power to dispose of the pub!to lands in any way that will not in, sure to the benefit of all the Slates cvllec- i . beefy, in as equal a ratio as |MMwible; and this general benefit so resulting from 1 each particular legislative enactment, is > what I understand to have been meant by the frainers of the Constitution as the , " general welfare." ! Without this limitation of power, and the condition that the disposal by Congress of the common territory and " other property of the United States," shall uot be so constructed " as to prejudice any claims of the United Slates, or ol any particular State,'' the door for local internal improvements, the wildest and most extravagant, is thrown wide open, and almost resistless temptations ottered to a coalition of large State* to enter it, to the exhaustion of all the pecuniary resources of the Government, and to the oppression oi the smaller Slater. Unlimited acquisitions of moro territory, whether by conquests or purchase, would find zealous advocates in llie very men who would profeu to be restrained by constitutional scruI'les, from putting their hands into the Federal Tieaaury for the benefit of their respective States. This interpretation of the power of Congress over the public lands is corroborated by the language of every deed of cession of lands by the Slates to I he General Gov ernment. Virginia ceded her public lands in 1784, under the conditions which nppcnr in the following extract from her act of cession : "That all the lands within the territory, as ceded to the United Status, and not reserved for, not appropriated t?s any of ed of in bounties to the officers and soldier* of the American army, shall be conxidercd ax a common fund Jvr the use and benefit of xuch of the lint led Statex ax have become, or tthai I become, Humbert of thix Confederation or Federal alliance of mid Statex, Virginia inclaeive, according to their rexpectire and utual jirojxrtionx in the general charge, ami expeiuliture, and thai I be faithfully and bona fide ditjtoted of for that pu rj tote, and for no other ute or purpose whateoecer In the same year, Massachusetts relinquished her lands " to be disposed of for the common benefit of the United States." In 1780, Connecticut relinquished her lands to the United Slates tor the common use and Iteiictil of said Slates, Connecticut incltifive. In 1787, South Carolina made 44 a liberal cession to the United Slates of her claim* (to land) for the common benefit of tho Union." In 1700, North Carolina coded her I vacant lands in the following woida: 44 That all the lauds intended to be cud' ed, by virtue of this act, to the United Slates of America, and not appropriated as beforemeiilioncd, shall be considered aa a common fnnd, fur the use and l*u efit of tho Uuited States of America, North Carolina inclusive, aocording to their respective and usual proportion in the general charge and expenditure, and shall be faithfully disposed of for that purpose, and for uo other use whatsoever." Georgia ceded her lands in 1802 for the same purpoae and almost in idoutical language. It is said that the words " prejudice any claim " (Sec. 3, Art. 4 of the Constitution! liar* ?*oliuii'? - ? ? VI* VIIVA] IU UUU* tracts relative to their lands, which were made by some of the older 8utw before tbe Adoption of the Constitution. I ennim>t tiiink so; and it seems to me, if this construction is correct, tlial tbe restrictions in tbe ditforenl deeds of cession " for tbe common benefit,"" common fund," u general charge and expenditure," are idle and silly. If tbe contract made by a Btgto relative to its vacant lands, prior to tbe adoption of tbe Federal Constitution, was tben perfect, it required no support from future legislation, and acquired none from any restriction in a deed of evasion. If, on tbe oilier band, tlie contract was itn|?erfect, Mid tbe State subsequently nnide a perfect contract with the United Siatea, then tbe argument ujkjo the meaning of the word rlaiwa lalla to the ground. It la hardly supposablo that iLfkate which has been creeled out of teripbry lying M between the Hudson and M Mississippi Hrsn," th#territory of which was ceded j before the adoption of the Federal Consti-1 Uitioo, woukl admit any claim to bar oil which MaaaacbuMtta might now produe*. In my judgment, it ia mora raaaonabla ami juat to condade that the word " claim* * waa need in tha aetme of ri</t, and li nt the true moaning of tha entire claim* ia, thai the right .if tha United Statin Government to dhpoaa of the pub Snlamla fear the * general w*Hbra"of all tha 8tatoa, ahail not he prejudiced, a*r "?Jpu 1 f T^*"t "dlf _ J g UWK piVJUU1C- 1C eJ by such a disposal as does noi confer IE upon it tho same benefit* which are thus 16 derived by the other States of the Union. IE One tiling is certain, that Nortli Carolina and Georgia, which Slates ceded their va- Tc cant hfcpds after "the adoptu n of the Constitution, never would have ceded them, qq had the construction which has since been 0f |a1 given to the third section (which construetion makes tho power of Congress over tan,| the public lands absolute) then obtained ; 1852 for Mr. Madison, who was the ruling snir- ^.rvii it ol the convention, has declared that Whe " in all the various amendment projrosed by the States last'oio the ratification of the t],,3 | Constitution, and after, every one of them ^ j, proposed to limit, and not extend, the pow- jn)pr er of tho General Government." wit|, llut it may t>e said that this argument, tltcrc even if just, does not apply to territory ac- row.r <pured by purchase or conquest. It occurs to me that it upplies with as" much jn,r j force in one instance as the other. What ev?*r, is the General Government but the agent elltri, of the Sutes of the Union I With whoso w|lur money Las territory been puichased, if t|,Q ] uot with the mouey of the Slates ! By Htanc w hom has the comment of t?rri??r? !?*?.... -- J V^v.. t|,e ^ made, if not by the brave heart* and stur- or |e| <1V arms of the citizens of all the States ? Why, then, a difference of tenure, or a enirj< more uuliuiitcd power by the General were Goveruiuent over territory t>ought or con- 2* quered I Where can you better repair >?pph lor instructions as to the powers of Con- |jc j grcss over the public lands, acquired in work any manner, than to the deeds of cession, g^tt! made at or al>out the time of the adoption of the Constitnt on, or to him who, 0f ^ aUjvo ail others, we may regard as its |,ave father? Now, sir, the orly plausible argument?I say plausible, because it is ^ 1 more specious than correct?which has ^ ever been adduced in support of the con- ' stitutionality of th6 acts of Congress, cumj wliereby ? part of the common territory ?n,|e which this Government, as a trusted. fre4) holds, 44 for the common benefit of all the States," has been given to individual States, or to incorporated 00111 panics, is, " that the reserved section^ at the price of J uiWftie common ifreastiry, and at an ear- , V lier day, under the impulse of enterprise . )l1^ thus fostered, as if the whole were sold at 18 $1 25 per acre. Eveu if this was the ' fact, 1 cannot perceive how it atfecls the 8vrve constitutional question. \85S The argument is based 011 the assump- ^ tion that tlie General Government is. the acrt,g proprietor of the public lands, and that in the character of a prudent proprietor, . * has the right, and that it is its duty to a llon> dopt aany measure in regard to its do- "wl c main which will facilitate the sale ol its ,ore ' surplus lands, and bring ill the treasury ^ the precise amount of money had all the a lands been sold at the pnee prescribed coml by law. It seeeins to me that tiere is a r correct conclusion deduced from false *t!r M premises. The Government is not a pro- y0 " pritor, but a trustee, holding lands for the "'j4 (! omun wiuvu vroiuu u. i roprieiornhip implies absolute control?a fee-simple *nue title ; and if the government i? the pro- ' c proprietor of the public lands, iu power '!*. ? over them and over the money proceeding , , from their sale* ia unlimited ; and it may donate oi.hvr land or money to a State, n4^ 1,1 a corporation or an individual. Dut aa a . i*6 trustee, with a power over the the public c1PllJ lands and their proceeds, limited to the 'l",le execution of other enumerated power*, r and to the euirying them into operation, '"otthese danger* and abuse* are avoided, and the rights aud interest* of all the Pro" States preocrved. In the language of u moul Senator from Virginia, [Mr. hunter,] the CftUW daily beauty of wbo?? iifo adonis intel- It lectual endowment and scholarly attain- nM' < menu which remind u* of the vigor of ov?r Jefferson and the accomplishments of he w Wirt, *give this construction and you l'erri make the whole system of the Coiistitu- prop< tion harmonious; you hring no two pro- main visions into conflict. Give it any other w?tl?i construction and you destroy one part at bene! the expense of the other." a pai A prudent trustee, however, may exer ' cis? a wien discretion in the management ct|lu* of an estate, as well as a proprietor; and ntl>r? so far as the Application of the power in P"'*" the bill under consideration is concerned ?*c u it is not material to iny views in what character we may tegard the General Go- * **. verninent. It i* not necessary to my W purjxjse to show that the argument in lt reference to the appreciation of the value, ol the reserved sections is uniformly falla- "1,nw ci?>ns; but, as one of the ap|>ointed tru*te a, ^rwT*, trusteos of the Htstee of this Union, hold H. ing property of which the States are the real owners, and which it is iacuni f'1 Ml bent upon, me in part, to manage (or iheir common good; it becomes proper .?J\ that I should show, by statements taken **T Trum the reports of the Cominieeioneni lo"?1 of (be Lend office, that en increase of ti>e sale* of the public lands ie not always thus effected; and that, moreover, it is w|**c' somelimea a loosing speculation. In the w . year 1836, was sold ??f the public lands, r,,on twenty 'million, seventy-four thousand, eight hundred and seventy-one acr ?. Io 1841 1,164,796 m* ' 1842 1,129,217 1646 1,606.264 Tt 1844 1,7*4,763 as it 4846 1.843 627 Nort 644 2,26? ,7*1 from 1*47 2, *21, *06 rngg [ 184* 1,067,66* haU ? ?" * 1,: 92.902 1*0 . 1,400.83# *31 * 2,005.920 532 894,719 >tnl for twelve years, 19,858,000 ip habit of donating alternate sections nd for railroad purposes was contracI believe in 1848 ; yet there was less sold n twelve years, from 1141 to I inclusive, than under the old connive habit in the single }ear, 1830. in alternate sections of land are donait is the stereotyped language of tills that the reserved sections <*li?|| eld at double price, which leaves the ession on the public mind that, the difference of the odd section, i is an equal number of sections re veil and granted, and that, the half C sold at the price of the whole, nolhs lost to the treasury. Such, howis not always the fact; for private as are informally resjiectcd, and i they fall within the line to which rights of the donees in the first ine extend, then authority is given to lonees to go still further, to the right ft, and take another amount of land I to the amount taken bv the private as, though such private entries were made at the Government price of > per acre. I quote from thj act to t certain alternate sections of the pnblomain towards the completion of s of internal improvement in the t of Michigan, the following cause: ind as somq of the sections, and parts ctions, within the limits aforesaid, been heretofore sold or otherwise (lis1 I- i - -e - i oi, or eucumueren, mi uiat canlie so applied, it is furthermore enacliat a quantity of land equal to that Id, or otherwise disposed of or onHired, shall he selected by said agent, r the direction of the* Secretary of I he *urv, from the public lands, near the >f said railroad, on either side therolis fact explains why it is that while ?w(wwl> le price but 1,679,461 acres which 3,981 acres h-ss than half the ntitnlonated by tlie (Government. Thered sections were offered forsalo in Jii852, and on the 30th of September I, there had been sold in Illinois, at loublc price, ($2 50,) but 284,080 le practice of donating alternate sec of land, particularly in the States, is inly unequal and unjust, and lliereii..wise, l>ul is generally injurious to e Treasury. Tbo recipients of the ted sections are thrown into direct letition with the Government. It is casouahle to suppose that a purcharill pay 2 50 per acre to the the Gonent when he can buy lands adjoinU a less price from others. The ic lands are one of the source* of rev, and a reduction of the revenue of ountry is thus wrought by excluding wn lands from the market. Nor can be denied by the warmest advocate e theory that the Government loses oney, because the price of the reacrvcton* is doubted, without being preited into another dilemma which is i as fatal to his theory. The value of eserved sections is increased, or it is If it is increased the donees can unill the Government and at a heavy t. If it is not increased the argu: is gone. A pressure for funds will t the donees to sell at any price, is my faith that there is a tnalelifference in the powers of Congress such parts of the public domain as itliin States Miid in Territories. A lory continue* to l?e the common srty of all the State* so long a* it re* a Territory ; and any improvement 11 it* limit* redounds to the common fit of its common owners. But when rt of liie public domain lie* within toundaries of a State, it is difficult to live of any improvement of sucliTerr will not result to the t?enefil of that Hilar Stale, and, it may be, to the aion of all lienefit to the remaining a. Such a case might occur, as if a i was surrounded by Territories, ft has never yet happened, but is virf approached by the geographical ion of California. Again, the Terr ii have but such as is given by ConThey are in a Jepcndont oonditinti, look to Congress for revenue, protecand for law. This is the.'r only Leure, and we should legislate for their , precisely as a Stats Legislature mav le good of the State?f?oth being *nl?lo lite provisions of their respective itutiona. itertaining these views, I cannot eonitlv cut my vote for donating lands h Ik* within the limils of a Stale; but i the lands asked for, lie within Teres, organize*) or not organized, I bare mati'.uipual scruples; and tl? quet*llten 'at|(p as to the expediency of ng eweFghiiiU sa are sought. SXPBDIBNOY. e isolated position of California, lying does, on the western verge of the b American continent, bar separation her sister Statu by dreary t assets, ed mountains, and larg.* territories inted by ontaraod Indians, ber natural ? v B I resources, and tlic adventurous spirit of li ' people, leave but little doubt in ll minds of rellucting men that she must 1 brought into more direct and irnrnedia communion with the heart of the Confe eracy, or ultimately dissolve her connc tion with it. This separation would enUi the loss of every foot of American territoi west of tho Rocky Mountains, togeth with all the property of the Governmei found there at that time. A railroad con munication betw en the Atlantic and P cifie oceans would secure that entire r gion to us forever, together with its unto mineral wealth, and, which is more val ble still, our pioneer breth.cn, who are lustrating to the world American self-r liance and American enterprise. It wou scatter broa- cast in our midst tho trea ures of Asia, Oeoanica, and give to us commercial power which would make th Government the upire of every nation u| on earth. Its commercial advantages hi incalculable, and its political effects, stra the imagination. San Francisco woul become the commercial emporium of tl eastern world, and with lavish han pour out the wealth of the remotest par of the globe ou every section of our coui try, upon which Heaven has benignant and continually smiled. A continuoi line of railroads between the two great t ceans would become the highway of tl nations of the earth. Our carrying trat in the Pacific, now amounting to abui three hundred thousand tons, andeiiiplo; ing upwards of an hundred millions < dollars, would be augmented by the op ration of this road immeasurably be von tbe proportional increase resulting froi the mineral wealth of California and Au tralia combined ; and the whistle of a l< couiotive heard on the shore of the Pat lie would do more towards opening tl ports<>f China and Japan than bavone and squadrons. These results are as nea ly curtain as may bo approached by ortl nary human reasoning. Hut there a other considerations and advantages of a domestic character which need no spt illation or theory to recommend the e?ta bailment of this road by means of the d Mexico, which 1 regard Hi"f~-)r.a; other territory as has already been, will be,secured under the Gadsden treat The more rapid transmission of t! mails for which service the Governing ia now paying annually $ 1,000,000, w bring our distant friends into close asso< ation with our Government and ourselvt and thus diffuse into those far-off region* social and political sympathy, and an e painled intelligence, which are the clii elements of national strength and nation prosperity. The prompt transportation troops and munitions of w ar will strengtl en our national defenses, and give coi tidenee and security to the western pi neers, whose cottages will llank eitli side of the road, and constitute thein i efficient guards, while they may derive present support from the employments would offer for their honest labor. Tl diminution of the number of Uovernme: officials, the reduction of the number troops necessary to protect our reino property and possessions, the greater s curity and rapidity in conveying Gover ment stores and munitions of war, t gelher with the saving of time and expense incident to the extension of cii nllil militiirv nriler* wiwl ?l?n irmuiut /i ; J ' h v lerity given to their execution, inak it a measure of unquestionable econom The contemplated increase of the Arn by the organization of three addition regiments, and which ihe wants of tl country will otherwise require, will tin be dispense*! with. My friend from California, (Mr.McDo gal,) who seems to have examined tli branch of the subject with unusual car estimates the cost to the Government military transportation to New Mcxii i and the Pacific at >1.730,014, and tl cost of keeping up its whole "naval cor munication with tlio Pacific by theC<q>e Good Hope, of <ml filing, discharging, ar supplying everything required for tl. service, and the loss of service to the Go erumcnt during these long voyages" another million of dollars per annum.Were we to become involved in war wi England, California, as the most expose the most defenseless, and the richest pc lion of our country, would he the fir attacked. Such portions of her standir army as are on aorvice in India con b? transferred to our Pacific shore whi we were enlisting men to defend it. SI has 607 war vessels, carrying 17/ 30 gnr while we have hut 00 vessels of war, hi 2,020 guna all told. Should she form i aliance with France with s view to pr vent the acquisition of Cuba by the I't ted States, France could bring to ftear u on us 7,144 guns which are carried I 328 vossels of war. Could we in hon or in law stand aloof and see Caliform the fairest and youngest of the sister Stat* pillaged and ruined without an effort rescue her t And what would it cost march or to transport by sea, an adequa army for her relief f But, sir, it is in the name of hnmanit that this enterprise makes its strongest a peels to us for support. It avoids tl perils of the sea, and makes thai app? eloquent bv suggesting an example of dangers. What worldly considerate eon compensate for all the agony end* ed by those rho were appelled, and wl dtsdme board the ill-fat ed Sen Francirt 4fT er Tilts heart sickens and bleeds when conic templating the miseries which cncompaaa>o ed the men wlio encountered tlieui By te order of Government, and the woman who d- shared tlieni by the commands affection, c- And, sir, if, by "robbing the exchequer" til of every dollar in its vaults, I could have ry prevented their sufferings, and preserved er their lives, my vote should never have prent vented their salvation. n* TERMS AND CONDITIONS. _ Having satisfied myself thai Congress has the constitutional power to make donations of lands which lie in the Territo i ri>?s, and that, in the case under consideration, it is expedient to make them, the reU maining considerations have reference to s_ the terms and conditions of the relinqtiirlitneut. The liill provides as follows: js "That for the pnrposo of aiding andsecuring the constrution of a railroad and re telegraphic line from the Mississippi liver at a point not north of the thirty-seventh I j parallel of north latitude, to the city of )0 San Francisco, in the State of California, Kj shore shall he, and hereby is, appropriated t8 | and set apart a quantity of land, equal i to the alternate sections to the width of I fifteen miles on each side of such road from the terminus thereof, on the Mississippi river, 10 the one hundred and sixth ie degree of longitude west from Greenwich; je and Irom tlieticc westerly to the eastern l(l line of the State of California, alternate sections to the width of twinty-fivo miles on each side of such road: and iVum il........ h rough the said State of California, to uj lie western terminus of such road, alter[tl tiate sections to the width of fifteen miles on eaeli side thereof; such lauds to be 0 selected from die sections which shall be designated in the public surveys of said laud (when made) by odd numbers, and ,s to be held and conveyed as herein p ovir J,d;" i* Now, sir, my principal objections to the rt> bill are to be found in tbe passage of it a which 1 have read, though there are minor points in its details to which my asient e could never yield. (> My first objection tlien, is, tliat reason.. able conjecture can even approximate the 0'r as'afi' 'iWyM/STfrf-t* cnlirtJH 'aVriii agent, make any bargain so loose and illj* definite. I have said I take it as granted |)t tbat tlio most direct practicable route HI would Ik? pursued ;^^ut by tbe terms of tbe bill there is to prevent this " road making a civilizing sprawl from tbe ^ mouth of the Ohio river, via the great American desert, down to the Camauche f sctlleiuent, and from thence hack to that I point in the Koekey Mountains where the senior member from Missouri (Mr. Hen ton] insists that "Colonel Fremont's mule died, hut not his men, and not of cold." 0. Again, it is verv well understood that (ir the city of San l* ran cisco and the point Ik, where the Oliio empties into the MisstssipH pi river, are to be tbe leriuitii of the road it should it ever be built under this bill.? I |lo Now, sir, it so happens that a line run u? from San Francisco to the mouth of the 0f Ohio river is the very longest air-line t0 which can be run from the city of San o- Francisco to the Mississippi river, any where from St. Paul, in the Territory of (y. Mmesota, to Hatou Kongo, in the Stale cf of Louisiana. What will justify me, as ri| one of the trustees of tbe public interests, o in granting alternate sections of land upon os ibis vriy long line, estimated to be at y, least two thousand miles in length, when iy by giving to tbe road a different location H| 1 can reduce its length, and liasteu the io completion of the woik, secure a route which is comparatively unobstructed? altogether so by ice and snow?and at u au infinitely less cos. ol Government land* j9 than are to be transferred and relinquishe ed by this bill. I hold that, in so great I an en .erprise as a connection between the >0 Atlantic and Pacific oceans, it is truepat|# riotiism to disregard all sectional interests, n_ and suppress all sectional feeling. 8ecaf tioual jealousies are the bane of national ,,j as individuals j? ilousies are of all local a, advancement. From the operations of a v road to the Pacific, good enough will aoRl crue to every State in the Union propri i unto mo i#vor ??i i'iicu ; ami u is unmanly t|, ! ami illiberal to wrangle over the relative ,1 value ot the different share*. In so great ,r. an undertaking, our choice of a route 9,1 should he determined by no other considorations than its feasibility and cost, told gelher with our authority to aid in ita |,, completiou in a way, and by the means ic ' l?roj?o?ed. is, 1 hav?- remarked thai, in mv judgment id there wan a material difference in the in powers of Congress over such parts of the 'e- public domain as lie within State and in li Territories; and it strikes lue that the p- power to donate alternate sections of the :>y public lands which lie in the Territory of or New Mexico may be derive^ troin the is, tenth section, first article of the Consiliums, tion, which authorizes Congress "to proto vide for the common defence and general to welfare of the United States." I have te shown that the rapid communication over thh road, with the most distant portion y, of our country, would add more to the p- "ootmnon defence" than forts, magazines, he and arsenals, and at a coat infinitely less at than would be incurred by the wtabliahits mcnt of (tout defenses, with all their span pliuuces of men, munitions of war, sml ir- military stores, on such a footing as will bo promise reasonable security to persons and rot property. Tl'e authority may also be derived from the power of Congress "to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several Stales," under which power Congress has ebtablished light-houses, beacons. buoys, harbors of protection, and public piers; and with reverential respect for the great author of the argument, in the celebrated report on the memorial of the Memphis convention, I submit that the argument more justly applies to tho donation of lands in tho Territories towards the construction of this road, than it did to the improvement, hy authority of Congress, of the navigation of the Mississippi ri\or. The d.stance from the Atlantic to tho western boundary of Tex;is is estimated to be about sixteun hundred tniles. In this direction railroads are in successful operation as far as Montgomery, in the State of Alabama. Two companies have been chartered to continue this line through Solum, to the eastern boundary of Mississippi, both roads having beeu surveyed, and one is progressing uuder contract. From this poiut the southern railroad is chartered, a part of it built, and the residue uuder coutract, the State of Mississippi having guarantied a bonus of four hundred thousand dollars towards its construction.- A road has been many years in operation from Jackson to Vickshurg, which, including a section east of Jackson to Brandon, is sixty miles long. From Vicksburg to the Texas line the Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas road is chartered, and stock taken to the amount of $800,000 by the State of Louisiana.? Other stock, to the amount of $960,000 has been taken by individuals, parishes, and the city of Shreveport, giviug a present reliable capilaloof $1,700,000 to that road. It is thus perceived that the eastern boundary of Texas is reached l?y a comparatively straight line of railroads completed, or in progress of completion by individual and State enterprise, and all lying between the thirty-second and thirty-third parallels of north latitude. The Legislature of Texas, as if anticipating a connection between the two oceans by raidroads, and also their locations, have 1 ? " * land per mile for the construction of a road through that State from a point on her eastern to her western boundary, in the direction of Rt Basso. The length of the road through Texas is estimated to be seven hundred and fifty miles?the lands granted upwards of ten millions of acres which will be worth, at a reasonable valuation, when the road is finished, five dollars per acre?giving the handsome sum of filly millions of dollars. Now, if we estimate the entire cost of this road at forty thousand dollars per mile, ^whick is a high estimate,) hut thirty millions of dollars of its rcsourcos will have been exhausted in its construction. This will leave twenty millions of dollars to cover accidents; none o-eur, may he applied in aid o' the extension of the road to the Pacific ocean, a distance of six hundred and filly miles from the western verge of Tex " If 1 e t - h-. now niueu oi trie remainder ol too line lies in the State of CalifdHtia, (to which section I am unwilling that the Federal Government shall make any contribution towards the construction of a road,) or how much of it lies within tho Territory of New Mexico, (to which I am wining that the Government shall make liberal and even munificent donations,) I have been unable accurately to ascertain, but am inclined to think that one hundred And fifty miles will reach across the southern extremity of California. Liberal donation* of lands in New Mexico will be greedily accepted by some one of tho companies before mentioned? inost prol ably by tho Vicksburg and Kl I'asso company, or by combination of companies?and thus a railroad communication be Boomed from the Atlantic to the eastern boundary of California, somewhere near the confluence of the Colorado and Gila rivers. When a road is there, the necessities ef commerce and self-interest will perfect tho connection between the two great oceans. The work is thus accomplished by private enterprise, and all ex(>ericnce teaches us that any work thus performed is always better, and sooner done, than if undertaken by the Government, which is uniformly plundered whenever it becomes a contractor. All Government patronage and ita corruptions are thus avoided, and security given against profligate extravagance. Among the other reasons for donating lands in the Territory cA New Mexico to wan Is obstructing a railroad between the thirty-second and thirty-third parallels of latitude, nlnd those which are oogent, in ths fact that it will be adding a necoassrv link to what i> to Im> come a continuous line; tlist it ? probable such donation* will give impulse And energy to the individual and State enter- * prise upon this line, which the want* of the country urge to a speedy establishment, and in the comforting possibility of its relieving the Congress from the ntttnerons applications tor the donation of lan<'a which lie within the limits of difiar? ent States. Another consideration In the toeitfo* ef ,* ; this road, and one of great men teat, is, that we aretcl he Mormons e sect toward which the religious rent I meets of the sew* try will never he rseeeeilwt, and wMah to [ destined to be the fruitful eeuiee <4 te*i 9 9