Indiana Republican, Volume 2, Number 67, Madison, Jefferson County, 21 March 1818 — Page 1

"WUE RE LIBERTY DWELLS, THERE IS MY COUNTRY.. it II. No. 15 MADISON, (INDIANA) -SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1818. ( Whole No. 67.

UBUSHED BY

UN LODGL,

BUY SATURDAY.

"osiiiTions. , " ivillbedcltvered

ivo, hilar per annum, ''''' :e Tinthin two

7 nu' I Vu'iU

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, 1,, iCf.'"" . , ... r if not, pud until the ,, ,n.-I( 6p discontinued until

Utt art paid. .

1 SUOSCriuer unto

responsible for another years

!" t.

..-.1 u i-wiM for n dollar.;

I in proportion, and if the

insr.rtions oeaei-

Off conunnm ai m I - . jI mm J a. sir?

'4e advertiser ,1111,1 ii uucti

:tters to the ltdiior rmisr

bid.

JONGRKSS.

SENATE Feb. 18.

Barbor submitted the fol-

resolution "for considera-

1 red, That the committee :ry affairs be instructed c into the expediency of

the mode of supplying

pos of the United States

act. mid substituting one and more efficient, by

ir. the parties undertak-

oiity to military, law, in delinquency.

I HF REPRESENTATIVES.

yeaiiesaay, I'co. 10. Hugh Nelson, from the

te on the judiciary, re

ft bill for the more conveprganization of the courts

pitcd States, and for the

flent of circuit iudffes.

fc that the judges of the

fe court shall, from and

tpnl next, cease to perform

ics ot circuit ludes : that

kerne court shall consist

''fitly of one chief iustice

r associate judges, whenemcies shall reduce it to

rober ; that this court shall

en in mav nnd December.

that there he annoint-

j r , 1 1 't circuit judges, to hold

wurts twice a year in the. ; districts, in coniunction

F district judges, &c The

twice read and committed.

lu .

7

nate having vesterdav

(from its amendment to cral military appropriation nrw requires on the signa

ge president to become a Nat. Intel. Feb. 1 7. following report of the

:t,cc on public lands, we

FiC) will be read with a con-

sidcrable degree of interest ; not only on account of the intimate relation that subject bears to the citizens of the West, but because the honorable William Hendricks, our representative in congress, is one of that committee. ' la. Gaz. The committee on the public lands, to whom was referred a resolution, instructing them to. inquire into the expediency of increasing the price at which the public lands shall be sold hereafter, have had the same under consideration, and respectfully REPORT: That the lands of the United States are carefully surveyed and divided into sections of . 640 acres, quarter sections, and in certain cases, eighths of , sections, that they are advertised for, and set up at public sale, and disposed of to the highest bidder, at any price above two dollars per acre ; if they are not sold, they are returned to the register's office, and may be entered for, in the office, at two dollars per acre, with a credit, after the payment of one fourth, of two, three, and four years ; the effects of this part of the system has1 been heretofore deemed beneficial, both to the public and to individuals. It i3 beneficial to individuals because the price is so moderate, that the poorest citizen may place himself in the most useful and honorable situation in society, by becoming i cultivator of his own land ; & the fixed value is so high, connected with the abundance of our vacant territory, as to prevent individuals from purchasing, with a hope of advantage, unreasonably extensive & numerous tracts, to be held for the purposes of speculation ; that this is the case, that the lands sold by the United States, are not held by speculators, may be fairly inferred by a consideration of the following facts : From the opening of the land offices in the north west territory, as it was then called, to the 30th September 1810, 3,167,829 acres cf land were sold ; this amount compared with the population in 1810, is in the ratio of something less than 1 2 acres for each individual ; the white inhabitants of Virginia in 1800 amountcd to 518,674, the lands of that state, valued in 1798, amounted 1040,458,644 acres, this divided among the inhabitants, gives to each individual, upwards of 76 acres of land, but it will not be contended that the lands

of Virginia arc held by speculators ; and with much less truth can it be so said, of the lands northwest of the Ohio. Again to show by inference, that the public lands are not disposed of at too Iowa price, the committee

have thought proper tov inquire into the estimated value of the lands in several of the states, and they find that in the year 1798, the lands of New Hampshire, amounting to 3,749,961 acres, were valued ut 1 9,08, 1 08 dollars,

or dons. 5 7 per acre; In Pennsylvania, 11,959,865 acres were valued at 72,824,852, dollars, or dolls. 6 9 per acre. In Maryland 5,444,272 acres were valued at dolls 21,734,004, or dolls. 3 77 per acre. In Virginia, 40,458,641 acres were valued at 59,976,860 dollars, or dolls, 1 48 cents per acre : and finally, in the sixteen states, at that time composing the United States, the land amounted to 163,746,686 'acres, valued at 479,293,263 dollars, or 2 dollars 92 cents per acre ; now if the lands of the United States, settled . and peopled as they were, have been thus valued, it may safely be concluded that the uninhabited wilds of our forests are not disposed of at too low a price. Indeed, the committee feel somewhat apprehensive that the United States, so far from being enabled to increase, will find themselves compelled to lessen the price of the public lands, or to forego the golden dreams they indulge in, of enormous revenue to arise from their sale. It will be recollected by the house, that heretofore, the public has been the monopolist of land; that, notwithstanding this advantage, not more than eight or nine millions of acres have been disposed of, for a sum less than 19,000,000 dollars, and that too, during a space of 18 or 20 years. " They will now take into consideratioh, the fact, that five or six millions of acres have been given as bounty to the soldiers of tlie late war, and now are, or soon will be in the market, to meet the demand which the United States alone, could heretofore supply. The committee will not obtrude upon the house, the deductions or reflections which grow out of this state of things ; they content themselves with the justification it affords of the resolution which they respectfully submit: Resolved, That is inexpedient, at the present time, to increase the price of the public lands are required to be sold. Washington City, Teb. 21. A question has been at length taken on the principle of the bill to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy ; and a majority ot seven votes appeared against strikout the first section of the bill, which would have been equivalent to the rejection of it. This measure has stood the shock of the first encounter : it remains to be seen whether its strength is to

be frittered away in skirmishes respecting, the details. It has unquestionably gained friends in the debate; and if it was supported even by all the representatives of the commercial districts, we should not doubt its passage. Our impressions on this subject, we confess, are reflected not original. We find an important portion of the community earnestly desiring a measure, rendered necessary, they say, as well by conflicting decisions of judicial tribunals respecting state insolvent acts, as by the interest of the commercial community. We find opposed to it a viriety of general -objections,-principally of detail. It cannot be said, for instance, that the measure is'un constitutional, for the constitution expressly sanctions it. For the accommodation of the community, a bank has been incorporated, not expressly auttV rised. After that measure, wh refuse, on general objections, which alterations ot mere detail will obviate, an object recognized by the constitution in such a manner as to shew that it was expected to be adopted and the policy of which is considered even less questionable ? We have a higher respect for . the agricultural than for any other class of the community. If wc thought its interests were in jeopardy, the earnest prayers of the merchants and traders of the United States would have less ef, feet on us. But we have not , been able to realize this argument, which is greatly weakened in our view, when we find many able representatives of districts exclusively agricultural favoring ihii bill. They act on the sanie spirit-' V;; of compromise, which produced' ' the introduction, intotheconstitution of the provision respecting an uniform system of bankruptcy; &c without the recognition ot which spirit the proceedings of t he govern -ment must be perpetually embarrassed. They find the mercantile interest urging the adoption of this measure ; The discover no evil with which it is to afflict the rest of the community: they lay aside the jealousy of habit, and with a frankness which the maritime states ought never to forget, 'the agriculturist . in congress stretches forth his hand to the suffering merchant. In short if this bill teem with those blessings attributed to it in anticipation ; if it be that balm to the sufferings of the unfortunate merchant that it is represented to be; if it be pregnant with no evil to the other important classes of society, let those, who with us have neither prejudice nor prepossession on the subject, say, let it pass ! "Nat. Intel. The bill for the relief of major