Wabash Express, Volume 19, Number 17, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 28 March 1860 — Page 1

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rin FY BO a . m a m a am w m i m WHOLE NO. 916. TERRMAUTE, INDIANA. MARCH 28, 1860, VOL. XIX. NO. 17

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WABAS

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FREE HOMES FOR FREE MEN.

SPEECH OF HON. 0. A. GEOW, OF rZSKSTLTAXIA. Delivered in the Home, February 29, 1860. Ma CmuxAS : At the close of the RevolutioD the colonies claimed dominion, baaed upon their respective colonial grant from the Crown of Great Britain, orer an uninhabited wilderness of two hundred and twenty million acres ef land, extending to the Mississippi on the west, and the Cansdai on the north. The disposition of these lands became a subject of controversy be twecn the colonies eveu before the Confed eration, tod was an early ebstacle to lie .organisation of any government Air the protection of their com: on interests. . The propriety and the justice of ceding these lands to the Confederation, to be par celed out into free and independent States, having become the topic of discussion Terj where in the colonies, Congress, in rder to allajr the controversy and remove the only remaining obstacle lo a final ratification of the Articles of Confederation, declared by resolution, on the lOih of October, 1780: "That the unappropriated lands which may be ceded or relinquished to the Uni ted States by any particular State" "shall be disposed of for the com mon benefit of the United States ; and be settled and formed into distinct Republican States, which shall become member of the Federal Unioa, and hart the tame rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence, as the other States, Ac. That the laid lands shall be granted or settled at such times, and under such regulations, M shall hereafter be azreed on by the Uni ted States in Congress assembled, or nine ; or more of them." i la pursuance of the previsions of this resolution , New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Cafelina, Xorth Carolina, and Georgia, ceded their claims, including title and jurisdiction, to the waste lands, aa they were called, outaide of their respective State limits; all of them, except Georgia and North Carolina, without any conditions annexed to their respective grants, save those contained in the resolution of Coogres. just referred to. The reservation in the grants of Georgia and North Carolina were est, however, as to the future disposition of the lands; but j condition that slavery ahould not be pro hibited therein by Congress. The territory thus conditionally granted is contained within the Statea of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. With the exception of the grants of North Carolina and Georgia, (and the reservations even in those relating only to the form of their future government,) the publie lands claimed by the colonies at the close of the Revolution, were ceded to the General Government to be aettled and disposed of "under such regulations as shall hereafter be agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled." Since that time the Government has acquired, by treaty, of France, the Louisiana purchase; of Spain, the Floridas; of Mexico, Utah, New Mexico, and California; containing, altogether, over twelve hundred million acres of land. So the General Government, by cessions from the original States and purchases from other nations, has acquired, exclusive of water, as computed by the Commissioner of the Land Office, 1,450,000,000 acres of public lands; of which there have been sold, to September 30th, 1859, 147,063,274 acres ; and otherwise disposed of in grants and donations to individuals, corporations, companies, and States, as per annexed table, including grants since 30th June, 1857, 941,770,052 acres; leaving of public lands belonging to the Government undisposed ef ou the 30th September, 1859, 1,061,141, C75 acres. What disposition shall be made of this vast inheritance 1 is a question of no small magnitude. Three times, within seven vein, i homestead bill hit pissed this House, and been defeated each time by the Democratic majority in the Senate. On the vote on the homestead bill in the House, last Congress, out of 130 Democrats, but 31 voted for it; and in the Senate, on the teat vote between takiog up the homestead bill, after it had passed the House, and only required the vote ef the Senate to make it a law, so far as Congress was concerned, or to take up the bill for the purchase of Cuba, but one Democrat voted for the homestead. aDdcnlaiz at any time; .while every Republican in the Senate, and every one in the House, with a single ex ception, was for the homestead. Of all the Representatives of the slave States, bat three in the House voted for It; and bat two, at any time, in the Senate. So the Democratic party, as a party, arrayed itself in opposition to this beneficent policy. .The Republican f arty, on the other band, is committed to this measure by its votes in Congress, by its resolves io State Conventions, and by its devotion to the great central idea of its existence the rights aod , interest of free labor. Early io this session I intredoeed a bill, which now awaits the action of the House providing that any - person who is twenty one years, or more, old; or who is the head of a family, miy enter 160 acrea or any land subject to pre-emption, or upon which he may have a pre-emption claim; and, by cultivating the earns f5r five years. shall be entitled to a patent from the Gov eminent, on the payment of the usual fees of the land office, and ten dollars to cover (he eost of surveying and rasoagiog. The land policy, as now conducted, per mite the Presideat, in his discretion, te expose to public sale, by proclamation, any or all of the public lands, after the same are surveyed. . Every person settled on 'the lands so advertised for ssle, must, be Core the day fixed la the proclamation o the President, pay for his lands, or they reliable to be sold to any bidder who of fers on dollar and twenty-five ceots, or more, per aere. During the days of aale fixed by the President, soy one can pur chase, at one dollar and twenty-fire cents 'per acre, as many acres of lsnd, not before pre-empted, aa be desires, selecting bis own locatisn. The Isnds that remain on old at the expiration of the days of ssle fixed by the President, are subject to pri yate entry; that is, any person can enter at the land office any or all of the lands, that era at that time unsold, at one dollar and twenty five cents per acre, if the same have net been offered for sale more than ten years; if for a loogsr period, then at a leas price, according to the length of time they may bare been is the markst. Thus, on. 4r the existing policy, there is no restraint

on land monopoly. The Rothschilds, the

Barings, or any other of the world's millionaires, may become the owners of untold acres ef our public domain, to be re sold to the sdller, or to be held as an investment for future speculation. ' Congress, the trustee of the whole people is vested, by the condition of the greats from the States and by the Constitution itself, with .the sole discretionery power of disposing of these lands. But, in the exercise of a sound discretion, it becomes its duty to dispose of them in the way that will beft promote the greatness and 'glory of the Republic. And how can that be accomplished so well as by a policy that will secure them in limited quantities to the ac tual cultivator, at the least possible cost, and thus prevent the evils of a system of land monopoly one of the direst, deadliest curses, that ever paralyzed the energies of a nation or palsied, the arm uf in dustry t It needs no lengthy dissertation to portray its evils. Its history in the Old World it written in sighs and tears. Under its blighting influence yeu behold industry in rags, and patience in despair. Sach are some of the frails of land monopoly in the Old World; and shall we permit its seed s to vegetate in the virgin soil of the Newt Our present system is subject to 'ike evils, not so grest in magnitude per haps, but similar in kind Of the 388,838.325 seres of land disposed of by the Government to September 30, 859, 147,088,27 acre were sold for cash, and 241,770,052 acres were donated iu grants to individuals, corporations, aod States. The Government had received from the aales of the publie lands, as appears from the report of the Commissioner of the Land Office, to June 30, 1853, $142,233,478, to which add $38,336.160.90, received since that time, would make the gross amount received from the lands to September 30, 1859, $1?0 ,619,033,90; while thentire cost including purchase money, extinguishing of Indisn title, surveying, and managelog, has been, for the same period, $91,994,013, leaving a net revenue to the Government, OTer d aboTe all C08t of $88,725.6250; with 1 '6,970,941 acres surveyed but'un sold, of which 80,000,000 aeres are subject (0 private entry. Of the 147.088. 273 acres sold by the Gov ernmect, not more than one half of it, prob ably, was bought at Government rates by the actual cultivator; the ether half, I assume, cost the cultivator, on an average, at least four dollars per acre over the Government price. So he would pay, on 73,544, 136 acres, being one-half the quantity sold by the Government. $294,176,544. On the 241,773,052 acres donated to individuals. companies, and States, including over seventy Trillion acrea for school purposes, and over ftv million acres for railrosrf. internal improvements, I assume that the cultivator must dst on an aver. for th.landa at least five dollars per acre, making the sum of tl.208.850.2G0. The actual cultivator, then, will have lo pay to the Government and to the soeculator for these

landa, if the foregoing estimate of prices be evils necessarily grow out of their enactcorrett, at least $1,633,640,442.90, of which menlars R25 on h Kpp r,.M nt In OTT o cure to labcer its earnings, so

into the Treasuryo f the United States; the balance to be absorbed by the speculator. Tho Government.br its existing lan1 policy has thus caused tobe abstracted from'the earning of its hardy pioneers almost t.700.0e0.000 for the mere nrivil, n ii l . of enjoying oue of God a bounties to man. This large amount has been abstracted from that sainsi rt i nil irVirtut vnsl : 1 equivalent, save a permit from the State to occupy a wilderness, to which not a day or hour of man's labor had been applied to change it from the condition in which the God of nature made it. Why ahould Gov- I a. ic Bai.. nnjn anv sfTnA nnnntina nr v-v v-. God to man, and make them a source ol re renn? While the earth wan created for I . . . .. . I the whole human family, and was made iu abidinglplace through the pilgrimage of this life and since the hour of the primal curse, "In the aweat of thy face ahalt thou eat bread," man has been forced to the caltivation of the soil to obtain subsistence for himself and the means ef promoting the welfare of the race, why should Governmeets wrest from him the rijht to apply his labor to auch unoccupied portion of the

arth's surface as may be necessary for hislcate its honor, are deserving, it 19 true, of

support until he has contributed to the reve-I nue of the Stae. any more than to permit him to breathe the air, enjoy the sunlight, ornuaff from the rills and rivers of the carJ.? It would be just as rightful, were it DOfrsible to be done, to survey the atmoa- . . . . - pneroouiuio quafir Bev.wwu3,auu wauBier . WW 1 ft - . . r it by parchement title.; divide the sun into quantum of rays, and dole it out to groping mortals at a price; or arch overtho waters of the earth into vast reservoirs, and sell It todyingmen. In the language of remarks heretofore made on thie subject, why ha mis ci&iiQ m mau to uaonoprMize unj oi me ffitts of God to mao been conhned, by legal . - . a mm m . codes, to the soil alone? Is there any othei reason inanmai his a nguiwuicn, naving iU origin in feudal times under a system that regarded man but as an appendage of the soil that he tilled, and whose life, liborty, and happineas were but means of inereasinir the pleasures. Damperinff the psssiousand appetites of his liege lord aid, having once found a place in the books o - it has been retained by the reverence which man is wont to pay to the past and to time honored precedents? The human mind is aoconstituted that it is prone to regard as rizht what has come down to us approved by long usage, and hallowed by gray age. v a a ltis a claim that had its origin with the kindred idealthat roval blood flows onlv in Iba ri.ni nt an exclusive fw. vhoae aoula .... . are more ethereal, because born amid the glitter of courts, and cradled amid the pomp jf lords and courtiers; and, therefore, they are to be installed as rulers and lawgivers of the race. Most of the evils that afflict socio tv have had their orein in violence and wrong enacted into law by the experience of the past, and retained by the prejudices of ttsa sis .sslsaaa f atatutal book iU still lingering relics of feudalism? blotted out the principles ingrafted upon it bv the narrow minded policy of othertimea, . 1 i nvi sataa j env aa vim j - t and adapted the legislation of the country to the spirit of the age, aud to the true ideas f an a rijrbta and relations tO his Govern' j ment? Bnj For if a man has a right on earth, he has a right to land enough to rear a habiUtion ... . . i -L . on Ii ne aas a ngouo live, e uae ngui to the free use Of whatever natura ha proidi for his uiUaeoes-air te breathe,

water to drink, and land enough to culti

vatc for his subsistence; for these are the necessary and indispensable means for the enjoyment of his inalienable rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And hitor a Government that claims to dispense equal aud exact justice to all classes of men, and that has laid down cor rect principles in its great chart ef human rights, to violate those principles, and its solemn declarations in iU legislative enact ments? The struggle between capital and labor is aa unequal one at best. It is a struggle between the bones and sinews of men and dollars and cents. And in that struggle, it it for the Government to stretch forth its arm to aid the strong against the weak? Shall it continue, by its legislation, to elevate and enrich idleness on the wail and the woe of industry? For if the lule be correct aa applied to Gov ernments as well as individuals, that whatever a person permits another to do, having the right and means te prevent it, he does himself, then indeed is the Government responsible for all the evils that may result from speculation aud land monopoly in your public domain. For it is not denied that Congress has the power to make any regulations for the disposal of these lands, not injurious to the general welfare. Now, when a new tract is surveyed, and you open your land office and expose it to sale, the man with the most money is the largest purchaser. The most desirable and available locations are seized upon by the capitalists of the country, who seek that kind of investment . Tour settler who chances no to have a pre-emption right, or to be there at the time of sale, when he cornea to seek a home for himself and his family, must pay the speculator three or four hundred per cent, on his investment, or encounter the trials and hardships of a still more remote border life. And thus, under the operation of laws that you call equal and just, you take from the settler three or four dollars per acre, and put it in the pockea of the speculator thus, by the operation of your law, abstracting so much ofbis hard earnings for the benefit of capital; for not an hour's labor has been applied to the land since it was sold by the Government, nor is it more valuable to tho settler Has not the laborer a right to complain of legislation that compels him to endure greater toils and hardships, cr contribute a portion of his earnings for the benefit of the capitalist But not upon the capitalist or the speculator is it proper that the blame should fall. Man mnst seek a livelihood, and do business under the laws of the country; and whatever rights he may acquire under the laws, theugh they may be wrong, yet the well-being of society requires that they be respected and faithfully observed. w P"on engage in a business legalised d regulated by the laws, and uses no fraud or deception in its pursuit, and evils result to the 7. let them aPP the remedy to the proper source; that is, to the law-making power. The laws and the law-makeis are responsible for whatever far a8 is P0SiWe b7 legislative action, and w 6ireDSluen lQ0 e trae nauon" ness and power, why ahould not the legi sla tion of the country be so changed as to prevent for the futurc the cvils of land monopoly, by setting apart the vaat and unoccupied territories of the Union, and con- . g men wrever in tree aomes lor iree men? . . Tl II I . I I Mr. Mayxaid. Aiayioe auowea to as my menu irqia reuDViii JueiQn I Mr.Gaow. Certainly. . . . vi iV!.. L.t. t, : l Mr. 3i AT aäu. wneim uc in faror, or otherwise, of allowing the old inMiar AT hit HlffnMrl livsrjt nil Iftfld Vllr. 1 rant on me puouc uuiunnu Mr. Oao . I would provide in our land , . , policy for secunn j homesteads to actual st tiers; and whatever bounties the LrOVem- . . . . . t n roent should grant to the eld aoildiers, I would have made in money and not in land warrant, which are bought in most cases by the speculator as an eaaier and cheaper mode of acquiring the public landa So they only facilitate land monopoly The men who go forth at the call of their j country to uphold ita standard and vindia more substatial reward than tears to tho bead and tnanics to mo nvmg; ou, mere are soldiers of peace as well as of war, and though no waving plumo beckons them on to glory or to death, their dying scene is of a crimson one. I Hey laii leading tne van l. I 0 : iinfmitdall Tofha mmt

. n T.1II..ILIjl .lUIl. 11 11 ftJUUK, u ft 1. 1 KJ . J..B..1. - - . T

- 0 , . . are ouriea .0 umns. no monureeoi. rara. uc 1 aeaoiy iruo, v r-. the winds signing tnrougu mo orancnes 01 the loiest none sign taeir iu.cn,. they are me meritorious u.eu wi iuu i e... v,wa- - j rsv - - I . f . a L Ä J a mm lkt 4S saa 41 Aira IS si Ir I anny, iroui tu uy wiuj uiv" the Indian tribea from the Atlantic ewai mi-r.v. - achievments of science and civilization over the elements, tne wuaerness, ana tne savge. If rewarda or bounties are ta be granted for true heroism in the progres.f the race, !. . . t none is more deserving man me pioneer wno expels the savage and the wild beast, and opens in the wilderness a home for science I and a pathway for civilization. "Peace hath her victories ao less renowneu inau war. The path a of glory no longer lead over I . smoking towns and crimsoned helds, but long the lanes and by-ways oi human m8erJ woc wuero uou" mua I . IT IV 1 ewe ol men are struggling- nuiue eis ments, with the unrelenting obstacles of r"", . . , ..... a isise civiuzstiou. ut huu.hi bcuictc ment in this world's pilgrimage is to raise thefalleo from their degredation -soothe the broken-hearted, dry the tears of woe. and slleviste the sufferings of the unfor tunate in their pathway to the tomb. If you would Jead the erring back from the paths of vice and crime to virtue aud hoaor. eiva him home give him hearthstone, and he will surround it with household gods. If you would mske mea wiser and better, relieve your slmshouses, .1... it. Jaa. nf nnr rton i tanf uri.o and j "ose mc . . r - break in piecea your gallows, purify the influences Ol ineaomesticnresiae, lorin I f IBB SCOOOI III wuiku UHuiau vu.rn.vci ii formed, and there Its destiny is sbsped j there the soul receives its nrsi impress, ana 1 1.1. l.itnn . and thav oa with him nnum!-1 j for weal or for woe through life. For purlfying the sintiments, testing the

thoughts, and developing the noblest im' puUes of man's nature, the influences o

a rural fireside and an agricultural life are the noblest and the best. In the obscurity of the cottage, far removed from the aedue tive influence of rank and affluence, are nourished the virtues that counteract the decay of human institutions, the eoursge that defends the national independence, and the industry that supports all classes of the State. It was said by Lord Catham, in his ap peal to the Bouse of Commons, in 1775, to withdraw the British troops from Boston, thst "trade, indeed, increases the glory and wealth of a country ; but its true strength and slamiaa are to be looked for in the cultivators of the land. In the simplicity of their lives is found the simple ness of virtue, the integrity aod courage of freedom. These true, genuine sons of the soil are invincible." The history of the American prowess has recorded these words as prophetic Man, io defense of his hearthstone andereside, is invincible against a-world of mer ceuariea. Let us adopt' the policy eberisbed by Jackson, snd Indicated in his annnsl message to Congress in 1832, in which he says: "It cannot be deuied that the speedy set tlement of these lands constitutes the true interest of the Republic The wealth and strength f a country are its population, and the bot part of the population are the cultivators of the soil. Independent far triers sre everywhere the bssis ofeociety and true friends of liberty." "To put an end forever to all partial and inter ested legislation on this subject, and to afford to every American citizen of enterprise the opportunity of securing an inde pendent freehold, it seems to me, therelore, best to abandon the idea of raising a future revenue out ol the public lands." This advice by one of the country's no blest patriots, though unheeded at the time, is among the richest legacies he has ever bequeathed to his country. Why should the Government hold the public domain longer as a source of revenue, when it has already more than paid all cost and expenses incurred in acquistien and management ? Even if the Government had a right, based in the nature of things ihua to hold these lands, it would be adve setoa sound national policy to do so; for the real wealth of a country con sists not in the sums of money paid into the tr.unr. but in its flocka . hferds. and cultivated fields. Nor does its real strength .... consists m neeis nnu miuici, uun -" bones and sinews of an independent yeo-1 msnrv and the comfort of its laborine j . - classes. Its real glory consists not in the splendid palace, lofty spire or towering dome; but in the intellegence, comfort and 1 happiness of the firesides of its citiaens. The posterity pf- the State depends not tun..... srosHh hut its d fr hn mn. VMVUW I , , , . . , , . ,- I u fcuuunj i. B s I in which mere is tne greatest numoer oi bappy firesides. And if you would make the fireside bapy, raise the fallen from their degredation, elevate the servile from their groveling pursuits to the rights and dignity of men, you must first place within their reach the means for supplying their press ins physical 'wants, so that religion can I exert its influence on the soul and soothe ...... . the weary pilgrim in his pathway to the tomb. What justice can there be in legislation of a country by which the earnings of its l.k - .k.M r,r .n. m,rnn.. with, i-Auui fticauouauvMiwi -mj r r I I out returning an equivalent! iui as a I oneation of revenue, merelv. it would be to I ,l j t4 tufl Gorernmcnt to erant " tl, landa in homaateada to actual ,n!ti. -ators. if thereb- it was to induce the set- . tlemcnt of the wilderness, instead of sellingthem to the speculator without settle- . I ment. The revenue to the Government from the lands, if considered annual, is the interest on the purchase money; which loteresi on me purcnase money: wnicn be on g er section ftt one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the interest on two hundred dollars, equal, at six per cent., to twelve dollars per year. But as the revenue of the General Government (with the exception of the sales of lands) is derived almost wholly from duties on important articles consumed in the country; the amount collected depends up n the quantity consumed. On an average each individual consumes of imported articles about eleven dollars worth per year, (see statements of Register of the Treaaury, appended.) and calling seven the average number of a family, then each family consumes annually seventy-fire dollars worth of imported articles, upon which a duty ol not less man twenty aoi lar.waspaid. tb Government would be the gainer of wghl doiurs per year 00 eacn quarter MCtioDf by giving it away to a settler in preferece to selling it without settlement. In addiUon, t9 you cheapen the necessa-

i ries and comions oi iuef or increase rnensi..eg

I m . I Irueaasiopay ior tnem, you increase tneir consumption; and in the same proportion aa you increase me means to pay ier importt, you increase the consumption of j,ome products and manufactures; ao that the settlement of the wilderness by athnv,ng pop.,Ution is ss much the interest of ,h jj States as of the new. The amount l -.1 B0W rece;Tf(j by the Government of the Lettitr for the land, would enable him to 1 furnish himself with the necessary stock land implements ta commence its cultiva tion. for the purposes of educetion, building J rajlroadB, opening all the avenues of trade, i - tnd nf Bubduiog the wilderness, the best disposition to be made of these lands is to grant them in limited quautitiea to the settler, snd thus secure him in his earnings

by which he would have the meana to aur- alacrity that it guarda the hearthstone and round himself with comfort and make his the fireside. Wherever Freedom has unfireside bappy; lo erect the school house, furled her banner, the men who have ral

the church, and all the other ornaments a higher civilization, and rear hia children educated and respected members of society, This policy will not only add to the revenues of the General Government and the to taxable property of the new States, but will a increase the productive industry and com merceofthe whole country, while strengthening all the elementa of national greatneM. TL. Ct l.n Ik. (..linn .nin, i imu....-. u,"iu' i lis the neglect of their agricultural interests, aBd Vlin u, ueCay crumo.es national I power. I, II UIC JJICIIiIOI., tllUJiCU UU 111 the ruins that atrsw the pathway of civiliistien. vtnen tne worm s unwritten libI tiM Via nrrp'll darmherod th ra. vi; ---i cord of the lise, progress, and fall of empirts will be but the history of the rise,

development, snd decline of agriculture

Hook p. in describing the condition of ag riculture among the Romans more than two thousand years ago, the process of absorp tion of the lands by the rich, and their consequent cultivation by slaves, furnishes the student of history with the secret cause that undermined the empire and destroyed its liberties. I read from book six, chapter seven, of his History of Rome, volume twe, page 522: ' From the earliest times of Rome, it had been the custom of the Romans, when they subdued any of the nations in Italy, to de prive them of a part of their territory. A portion of these lands was sold, and the rest given to tue poorer citizens; ou cuu dition, says Appsn, of their paying annu ally a tenth of the corn and a fifth of the fruits of trees, besides a certain number of great and small cattle. In process of time, the rick, by tariout means, yot po$tt$ion of the lande detltntd for the subsistence of the poor. "The rich and the mighty contrived to possess thexaelves of the lands of their poor neighbors. At first they held these acquisitions under borrowed names; afterwards Openly in their own. To cultivate the farms they employed foreign slaves: so that Italy was in danger of losing its in habitants of free condition, (who had no encoorageuent to marry, no means to educate children,) and of being overrun with slaves aid barbarians, that had neither af fection for the republic, nor interest in her preservation. "liberius Gracchus, now a tribune of the people, undertook to Temcdv these disorders.'' "Never. savs Plutarrh. was nronncad a law more mild and gentle against iniquity and oppression; yet tho rich made a mighty clamor about the harishiD of Keiner stript of their houses, their lands, their inneritances, the burial places of their ances tors. The poor, on the other hand, rnmnl.in. ed of the extreme indigence to which they were reduced, and of their inabilitv to bring up children. Thev enumerate th battles where they had fought in defense of the Republic: notwithstanding which "they were allowed no share of the public lands; nay, the usurpers, to cultivate them, chose rather to employ foreimera and slaves than citizens of Rome." Gracchus' view was not to make poor men rich but to Strengthen the Rerjublic. bv an increase of useful members, upon which he thought the welfare of Italy depended. The insurrection and war of the slaves in Sicily, who were not yet quelled, furnished him with sufficient argument for expatiating on the danger of filling Italy with slaves." t "He asked the rich whether thev prefer red a slave to a citizen; a man unqualified to serve in war to a soldier; an alien to a member of thejtepublic; and which they thought would be mere zealous for its in terestf Then, as to the misery of the poor: "The wild beasts of Italv have caves and deo8 to .8e.U" them bl ih? PeoP,e. w,ho expose their lives for the defense of Italy, are allowed nothing but the light aud air; they wander up and down with their wires "?.cn,lt"8n' awaÄoat ois.e. wttkou thab--luaimn. uur irenerais mark theeoMiora when, in battle, they exhort them lo fight Tor their sepulchres and their household ??J8! for maiigst U great number At KnmoiB thorn tat nnf nna trhA It a ait h as a domestic altar, or a sepulchre of his ancestors. They fight and die, solely to main win neues uu iuury vi omers; ana . . ... T are siyiea toras oi tne universe, wuiielhey have not a single foot of ground in their possession. Smith, in the second volume, page 2GI, 0f his Greek and Roman biographical die tionary, speaking of Tiberius Gracchus, an(j the reasons for his proposed legislation, says: "His brother Ca:us related in some of his works, that Tiberius, on his march to lo .--.. nm t .l- W " ,ne pVs,n1 inrougn r-iruna, oDservea wun gnei ana indigSation the deserted state of that fer tile country; thousands of foreign slaves in chains were employed in cultivating the land and tending the flocks upon the immense estates of the wealthy, while the vsnnrmr rintpa nF Hitman rit.izpi.4- vhn werc thu9 thu9 thrown outof employment. harl ar.arr.pl flivir tai! hmnrl nr a Mxl rt . J -I-'" " "- earlü 10 caa löe,r own' ,le 19 B.aid to U"B ueeu luuaeu mrouu tuai, tutuui

stance to exert himself in endeavoring to j yeas to C5 nays. But the Express, in givremedv this evil." J ing the vote, leaves out the names of eight - 1 1 l l r l t.:tt T . 1 .1

Hadthepolicy advocated by Gracchus, f distributing the public lands anions the landless citizens of the i.ation, beu adopt ed, the Roman fields would have been culI t.rated bv free men instead of slave n.l i tivated bv free tbere wo jM fc ave been a race of men to stay the ravages of the barbarian. The Eternal City would not then have fallen an easy prey to the Goth and Vandal; but the J star of her empire might have waved in triumph long after the ivy twined her columH9. With homes and firesides lo defiend,the arms and hearts of an independent yeomanry are a aurer and more impregnable defense than battlemett, wall, or tower. While the population of a country are the proprietors of the laud which they till, they have an interest to surround their fireI side with comfort and make their homes happy the great incentive lo industry, frugality, aid sobriety. It is such habits alone that give security to a government ftnd form the real elements of national -reatnc8, and power. National disasters are not the growih of a da- but lhe fruit 0f oos years of inius tice and w r0D The eeed9 pl,ntcd by falle penucions legislation, often require i .r ruin and dealh. Th. pernicious of all the baleful seed of nai:onal existence .is a policy thatdesrades jl8 iabor. Whenever agricultural labor be comes dishonorable, it will, of course, be j confined to those who have no interest in the soil they till; and when the laborer ceases to have anv interest in the land he CQltivates, he ceases to have a stake in the advancement and good order of society. for he has nothing to lose, nothing to de - fend, nothing to hope for. The associa lions of an independent freehold are emi cently calculated to enable and elevate the possessor. It is the lifesprini? of a ia w manly national character, andofagener 0us patriotism; a patriotism that rushes to the defense of the country and the vindica tion of its honor, with the Käme zeal and of lied around to sustain and uphold it have coojc from the workshop an I the ti.-UI, where, inuted to heat snd to col. I, and t all the inclemeocies of the seasons, they (1e acquired the hardihood necessary lo endare the trials and privations of the - camp. An independent yeomanry, scattered over our vast domain, is the best and surest guarantee for the perpetuity of our liberties; fer their arms are the citadel of a - - tl.:. I, ,,A l.,U..l. diuuuij)wwu,,uch ucan ., Lf liberty. Let the public domain, theu, be aet apart aa the patrimony oi laoor, oy preTCUtlug l.9 auoui jjiiuu iuw -- - by capital, and iu cousequent cultivation by "tenants ana siaves, iusieu I npndent frssholdera. r . The proposition to change our land policy, so as to aecotvplish so desirable a

a result, by securing to the pioneer a home

on the public domain at the bare cost o survey and transfer, is often rt-jected by those who have given but little thought lo the subject s leveling and agrarian. When was there ever an effort made, since the world began, to wrest from power its ill gotten gains, or to restore to man his ina lienable rights, but it has beeu met with tLe shout of leveling and agrarian ? That is the alarm cry of the devotee of the past, witu which be ever strives to prevent all reforms or innovations upon established usages. Behind such a bulwark, old abu ses entrench themselves, and attempt to maintain their position by hurling against every assailant terms of odium and re proach, made so by the coloring of the ad herents of prerogative and power. Until within a very recent period the cbroni clers of the race have been, for the most part, sycophsnts of power; and being the allies of the State, have glossed over its cotemporaneous despotism and wrongs. while they have written down the true de fenders of the rights of the people and the champions of honorable labor as the outaws of history. Bee ause the Roman Gracchi proposed to elevate the Roman citizen, bv dizuifrin? - W aT 9 bis labor and restoring him to the right ot which he had been unjustly deprived by 1 the oligarchy who controlled the State, thirname was made synonymous with infamy; as arch disturbers of all that was good in society, till Niebuhr tore off the vail of two thousand years of obloquy, and vindicated to future times their memories as true defenders of the rights of the people, and advocates of the best interests and glory of their country. Such has been the ale of the world's reformers. Is it not time that we learned wisdom from the chronicles of the past, and ceased a blind rever ence for customs or institutions, because of their gray age? Why should not the American statesmen adapt the legislation of the country to the development of ita material resources, the promotion of its industrial interests, and thereby dignify its labor, and make strong the prime elements of national power. Let this vast domain, then, be set apart and consecrated forever a patrimony to the sons of toil; close jour land office forever against the speculator, and thereby prevent the capital of the country from seeking that kind of investment, of absorbing the hard earnings of labor, without rendering an equivalent. While the laborer is thas crushed by this system 06tabli&hed by the Government, which abstracts so targe an amount from his earnings for the benefit of the speculator, in addition to all the other ad vantages that ever beset the unequal struggle between the bones and sin ewsofmenand dollars and cents, what wonder is it that misery aud wast 6o often sit at his fireside, and penury and sorrow surround his deathbed. While the pioneer spirit goes forth into the wilderness, snatching new areas from the wild beasts and bequoathing them a legacy to civilized mau, let not the Government dampen his ardor and palsy his arm by legislation that places him in the power of soulless capital and grasping speculation; for upon his wild battle field these are the only foes that his own stern heart and right arm cannot vanquish. - .. The Homestead Bill. The Wabaäh Expre$, with its characteristic disposition for misrepresentation, first stated that all the Democrats of the House bad voted against the Homestead bill, and then that all the Democrats of the Southern States, save one, had voted against it. It is as easy to state the whole truth, as to attempt to do a wrong by withholding a part. The bill passed the House by 115 inclUUcia wuvtuicu iur tue um. Iii wuuiu not do justice in evt u that regard. Statt Sentinel. The editor of the State Sentinel is very i reckless in rehtion to what he says. He I . i , 1 k:,,.ir r. it, i ir,i, .ni vtli.nrniiu.iinrMili truthI --, ml I r - -- telling to others. First fast the beam out of your own eve, Mr Bingbam, and then you may be more able to see the mote in your neighbor's. We never said that "all the Democrata of the House voted against the Homestead bill." Here is our precise language: "This measure is a Republican measure, it having received the vole of every Republican member of the House who was present, and was voted against by sixty-six Democrats, every Southern Democrat vo. tin? against it but one. Whether it will pass the Democratic senate remains to oe aeen, yet we have no doubt but if it doe it will be so modified and incumbered that its beneficent object will be destroyed." This is all we said upon the subject of how the Democratic party voted on this bill, and how the editor of the Sentinel could draw from this that we said "aZthe Democrats of the House voted against the Homestead bill," it puxzles us to know, ex cept simply to gratify his inordinate desire to misrepresent. Ve said the Homestead bill had received the votes of every Republican member of the House who was present we ask the editor of the Sentinel if this is not true? We said it was voted against by sixty six Democrats is not this also true ? We said every Southern Democrat voted against the biU but onedoes the editor of the Slate Sentinel tay this is false ? The leaving out the names of "eight members who voted for the bill," was the omission of our compositor and we did not dst:t it in reading the proof. It is rather pleasant to occasionally shiver a Isnce with a cotetaporary, but when that cotemporary misrepresents your plain language, then the tilt becomes unpleasant. The State Sentinel cannot divert the minds of the people from the fact, that the Democratic party proper, is opposed to the Homestead bill. That the Democratic President is opposed to it, aid that the Democratic South, the place where this ilisunion administration is sustained, al most unanimously opposed it. The State Sentinel koowa that if the House bill passes the Senate, the President of the United States stands ready to veto it, and he knows further, that the Democratic par ty intend to sustain that veto. J a Circuit Cocrt. The trial of J. W Stratton for murder, will take place at the special term, to commence on the first Wednesday after the third Monday in April EaLT. O. W. Kendall writing to the ricayune, from Texas, on the 4th of March says: "I expect to finish plaiting corn to morrow.

Important Presidential Document

IiKTTER PROM HON. EDWARD BATES OF MISSOURI. Vlewa ou the Leading: Questions of me umy Below is the reply of the Hon. Edward liates to certain interrogatories propounded by Missouri delegates to the Chicago Convention : Gestlexex : I have received yourletter propounding te me certain questions, seven in number, which you suppose will cover most, if not all of the grounds of controver sy in the approaching Presidential election. rmixixAir ximxiTiox. With pleasure I will answer your ques tions. Before doing so, allow roe to glance at the peculiar circumstances in which I sm placed, and the strangeness of the fact that I, a mere private man, am called upon to make avowals and explanations with any view to take me from the bhades of private life, and place me al the head of the Nation. I came to this frontier in my youth and settled in St. Louis when it was a mere village. All my manhood has been spent in Missouri, and during all this time have followed a profession which left my character and conduct open to the observa tion of society, and while it has been my constant habit freely to express my opinion of public measures and publie men, the people of Missouri, of all parlies, will bear me witness that I have never obtrusively thrust myself forward in pursuit of official honors. I have held no political office, and sought none for more than twenty five years, under these circumstances, 1 con fess the gratification which I feel in receivog the recent manifestations of the respect and confidence of my fellow-citizeos. First, the Opposition members of the Missouri gislature declared their preference for me as a candidate. Then followed my Domination by a Convention composed of j all the elements of the Opposition in this State. And now. the Republicans of Mis souri, in their separate Convention just held in St. Louis, have reaffirmed the nomination, and proposed, by their delegates, to present me to the National Convention, soon to beheld at Chicago, as a candidate for the first office in the nation. These various demonstrations in my own State are doubly gratifying to me, because they afford the strongest proof that my name has been nut forward nnlv in a emri'f of harmony and peace, and with a hope of I preventing all division and controversy among those who.for their own safety and good, ought to be united in their action. For all this I am deeply grateful, and as far as concerns me personally, I must de clare, in simple truth, that if the movement go no farther, and produce no personal results, still I am paid aud overpaid for a life of labor, and for whatever of zealous effort and patient watching I have been able to bestow in support of a line of governmental policy which I believe to be for the present and permanent good of the country. Now, gentlemen, I proceed to answer your questions, briefly indeed, but fully, j

plainly, and with all possible frankness; other States, the sole judge of her own and 1 do this the more willingly, because I Constitution. I have received from individuals many j Thus, gentlemen, I believe I have anletters too many to be separately auswer- j swered all your inquiries in a plain, inteled and have eeeu in many public journals Ügible manner, and I hope to your satisarticles making urgent calls upon me fer 'action. I have not attempted to support such a statement of my views. my answers by argument, for that could , . . . . i not be doBe in a abort letter; and rettrainItt Slavery and Ut Extension m the Ttm- f. . , .... mg myself from going into general polities, j I have confined my remarka to the panicOu this subject, in the States and in the jular subjects upon which yoa requested Territories, I have no new opinions no me to write. opinions formed in relatiou to the present your obliged fellow citiaen, array of parties. I am coeral with the; EDWARD BATKS. Missouri question of 1819-20, having be- - nn gun my political life iu the midst of that ' Edwara Bates. druggie. 1 The telegraph of yesterday gave 01

At that time my position required me to seeek all the means of knowledge within my reach, and to study the principles involved with all the power of my mind. and I arrived at the conclusions which no I subsequent events hare induced me to change. The existence of negro slavery in our country had its beginning in the early time of the colony, and was imposed by the mother country, against the will of most of the colonists. At the time of the Revolution, and long after, it was commonly regarded as an evil, temporary in its nature, and likely to disappear iu the course of time; yet while it continued, a misfortune to the couutry, socially and pf.1 it iaq It u TKntt U79tl T' t-illrrKt hff 1 1 1 .1 k. . UWIIk.lk.ailJ. uua " " - . t,uv.u uvov who made our Government, and neither the li,.ht of modern civilization nnr tha discovery of a new system of consiitn-1 tional law and social philosophy has en abled meto detect the error of their teaching. Slavery is a social relation, a domestic institution. Within the States it exists by the local la-v, and the Federal Government has no control over it there. The Territo- . .1 I - ries, wnetner acquireu y conquest or peaceable purchase, are subject and subordinate, tot sovereign, like the Siatcs The nation is supreme over them, and the National Government has the power lo per mit or forbid Slavery within them. En tertaining tbese views, 1 am opposod to the extension of Slavery, and in my opiuion the spirit and the policy of the Gov ernment ought to be agitinsl its extension. 2dDoe$ the Conetitution Carry Slavery into the Tcrritoriee ? I answer no! The Corstitution of the United States does not carry Slavery into the Territories. With much more thow.of reason, may it be said that it carries Sla very into all the Sutes. But it does not carry Slavery anywhere. It only acts upon it where it finds it established by the local law. In connection with tlwis point, I am asked to state my views of the Dred Scott case, and what was really determined by the Supreme Court io that ease. It is my opinion, carefully considered, that the Court determined one single point of law only. That is, that Scott, the plaintiff, being a negro, of African deeceut, not ne cessarilya slave, could not be a citizen of Missouri, and therefore could not ue in the Federal Court, and that for this rest-on and this alone, the Circuit Court had no jurisdiction of the cause and no power to give judgment between the partiea. The only jurisdiction which tho Supreme Court had of the cause was for the purpose of correcting the errsr of the Circuit Court in assuming the power to decide on the merits of the case. Thia power the Supreme Court did exercise by letting aside the judgment of tho Circuit Court upon the merits, aod by dismissing ths suit without

any judgment for or against either party. This is all that the Supreme Coort did, and all that it had lawful power to do. I consider it a great public misfortune that eeverel of the lesrned Judges should have thought that their duty required them to

discuss and give opiniona upon variooa questions outside of the case, as the caac was actually disposed of br the CourtAll such opinions are extra-judicial and tJ no authority. But, besides this, it appears to me that several of the Questions so discussed by the Judges are political questions, and therefore, beyond the iuris. diction of the judiciary, and proper only to be considered and disposed of by the political departmeute. If I am riht ia this, and it seems to me plain, the precedent ia most unfortunate, because it may lead to a dangeroua conflict of authority among the co ordinate branches of the Got ernaneat. 3o Xf ( the Colonititicn $f th Pre BUtlt. For many years I have been connected with the American Colonisation Sociatv. of which the rising young State of Liberia is the first fruit. I consider the object both humane and wise, beneficent alike to the free blacks who emigrate, and to the whites whom they leave behind. But At rica is distant, and presents so many obstacles to rapid settlement that we cannot indulge the hope of drawing off in that di. rection the growing numbers of our free black population. The tropical'regiona of America, I think offer a far better proipec, both fer as and for them . ilhAt tt toy inequality f ri$ht$ tnof A meriea it CUiseue. I recogniie no distinctions among Araer! ican citizens, but such as are laid down io the Constitution ; and I hold that oar Government is bound to protect all the cit izens in the enjoyment of all their rights everywhere, and against all assailacti; and as to these rights there is bo difference between citizens born, 'and citizens mad such by law. 5tkAm I in favor of the come-tructio of m Railroad from the talley of the Miuittipft to the Pacific Ocean, under the antpicee of the General Government f Yes, thoroughly. I do net only believe such a road lo be of vast importance as the means of increasing th. population, wealth u Fwer 01 p,a ß "ey. butneceee at xrmw . lt.. . " ,ueaos 01 nauoa" ceand of Prerving the integrity of the Union, Am I in favor of the mea$urt called lie Ihmeitead Bill T Yes. 1 am for guarding the public lands as well as possible from the danger of bceomjog the subject of common trade and speculation ; for keeping them for the actual use of the people, and for granting tracts of auitable sixe to those who will actually inhabit and improve them. 7fÄ Am I infatorof the immediate admittion of Konsat under the Wyandotte Ceattitulion ? I think that Kansas ought to be admitted without delay, leaving her, like all the ' synopsis of a letter addressed by Judge Bates to the Missoari delegate to the Chi cago Convention. He is opposed to the exUnsion of slavery and believes the Federal Constitution doe not carry slavery inlo the Territories, or iDy where ein. These are the cardinal doctrines of tho Republican party all others are subordinate. These are the great issues upon nhich th campaign of I860 is to be fought. It ia upon these questions that the Republican and Democratic parties take issue. Mr. Bates has declared himself firmly acd positively with the Republicans, and having done so becomes at once, in our judgment the most promioent caadidate for the Chi cago nomination. o Republican, cow- - i . !"r ttllr h! V be CStl refüS hlO III 1 "PP0. n1 wiU "7 SWJnd him the conservative men of the entire nation. If his letter is truly represented by the ttT dispatches before us, be stands upon a Republican platform that meets our entire approbation. There are many things which commend Edward Bates to us. He has shown his faith by his worka, and living ia a slave Slate, he has witnessed the withering, blighting curse of human slavery and he takes a bold stand against its being extended into Free Territory. It matters not to ua whether Mr. Bates was a Republican prior to 185G, or at that ti me. The question is, is he a Republican how? We find him such he is a man o( great truth and integrity of spotless private character of distinguished ability of vast experience as a statesman incorruptible, without bitter prejudices boaest, and sufficiently cnarabitioas a West ern msn and familiar with the wants of this active, growing people an available Republican candidate for the Presidency, and whose nomination in our jujgmeat ought to be secured at Chicago. . Mr. Bales looms up above the political horizon prominent, and as he has tpokea an I $poken right his prospects will brigbUn rith each passing hour. Sisce writing the ab)ve we have teceived Mr. BkUs' leUer. It is fully ani clearly Republican and must commend itself to patriot everywhere. We give it in an other column and ask for it a can ful perusal. IS m cp Johk L. Robiitsox. The teles;r iph this morning announces the death of Hen. John L. Robinson, United SUUs Marshal for the SUte of Indiana, which loob. plsce at Rushville on Wedneedsy evening. Mr. Robinson was a gentleman of fine abilities, and was highly esteemed by hia intimate acquaintances for his maay social virtuci. Rivta News. The steamer Science, from Pittsburg lo this port, retched Viaesunes ysstsrdsy mernlog.

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