sesses, must necessarily be derived either directly or indirectly from the same source. If the government acquires title by purchase or conquest, it can only be regarded as a depository, a trustee, possessing no right to the usufruct without the consent of its constituents. In a pecuniary point of view, the wealth of the nation would be increased as much by giving the public lands to settlers as by selling them at any price whatsoever to our own citizens. But, nevertheless, it may not be the best policy to dispose of them in that way; nor would such a measure be just; for if the lands possess any pecuniary value in their unimproved condition, the individual who should obtain a tract by donation would receive that much more of the common property of the people than he who might be prevented by circumstances from enjoying a similar privilege.

That our present land system is not in conformity with the genius of our institutions, is manifested by the desire of change. which prevails in almost every part of the Union, and also from the many schemes proposed in Congress for its modification.

We have, heretofore, discussed the merits of a Bill introduced by Senator Douglass, at the first session of the thirty-first Congress, proposing to grant "one hundred and sixty acres of the public lands to the actual settler, who shall reside thereon and shall cultivate a portion thereof, for the period of four years," and in the same paper we submitted our own views in respect to a change in the existing laws concerning the public domain. We now propose to examine some of the measures presented during the session of Congress which has recently closed.

The Homestead Bill of the late session is based upon the leading idea of Senator Douglass's Bill of the preceding Congress; but differs materially in its details. We copy it entire, as we find it published in the Evansville Journal, for the benefit of our readers.

HOMESTEAD BILL.

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who is the head of a family and a citizen of the United States, or any person who is the head of a family, and had become a citizen prior to the first day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-two, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be entitled to

enter, free of cost, one quarter section of vacant and unappropriated public lands, or a quantity equal thereto, to be located in a body in conformity with the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register that he or she is the head of a family, and is not the owner of any estate in land at the time of such application, and has not disposed of any estate in land to obtain the benefits of this act; and, upon making the affidavit as above required, and filing the affidavit with the register, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land already specified. Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, the person making such entry, be dead, his wilow, or, in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or, in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have continued to reside upon and cultivate said land, and still reside upon the same, have not alienated the same, or any part thereof, then in such case, he, she, or they shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided for by law. And provided further, That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under fourteen years of age, the right and the fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, sell said land for the benefit of such infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the register of the land office shall note all such applications on the tract books and plats of the office, and keep a register of all such entries, and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all land acquired under the provisions of this act shall in no event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing the patent therefor.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, any time after filing the affidavit as required in the second section of this act, and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proven by two or more respectable witnesses, upon oath, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her residence, or abandoned the said entry for more than six months at any one

time, then, and in that event, the land so entered shali revert back to the Government, and be disposed of as other public lands are now by law.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That if any individual, now a resident of any one of the States or Territories, and not a citizen of the United States, but at the time of making such application for the benefit of this act shall have filed a declaration of intention as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and shall become a citizen of the same before the issuance of the patent, as made and provided in this act, shall be placed upon an equal footing with the native born citizen of the United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That no individual shall be permitted to make more than one entry under the provisions of this act; and that the Commissioner of the General Land Office is hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations consistent with this act as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the same compensation for any lands patented under the provisions of this act, that they are now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with money, to be paid by the party to whom the patent shall be issued; Provided, however, That all persons entering land under the provisions of this act, shall, as near as may practicable, in making such entries, be confined to each alternate quarter section, and on land subject to private entry; And provided further, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to impair or interfere in any matter whatever with existing preemption rights.

The bill was then passed-yeas 107, nays 55."

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The large vote by which this bill passed in the House of Representatives warrants the belief that the measure will be brought up again at the next session, and hence the propriety of discussing the subject at the present time. Now with due deference to the one hundred and seven members of Congress who voted for this Bill, we are compelled to say that to our view it appears more like a popular movement on the part of its advocates, than a measure originating in the patriotic and wise conceptions of statesmen whose minds are capable of comprehending the subject in all its bearings. If the settlement and cultivation of the public lands were the chief objects aimed at they should have been opened to the occupation of all classes without restriction; or, if the object was to assist the poor, none should have been entitled to a grant who were able to purchase. The Bill contemplates a division of the citizens of the United States into two classes: landholders and

non-landholders. An individual possessed of a few acres of poor land which, with all the labor he can bestow upon it, scarcely yields bread sufficient to support his family, can take nothing by the provisions of this law unless he gives his land away; while one whose estate consists in personal property only is entitled to one hundred and sixty acres, though he may possess money to the amount of a million dollars. Besides, a large portion of those who own no land in the old States, do not possess means which will enable them to remove their families five hundred or a thousand miles, and sustain them in a new country, until they can build a shelter, open a farm, and raise a crop; therefore, that class which of all others stands in most need of assistance will receive no benefit.

Again, more than one million of foreigners have landed in the United States within the last four years, and but a small portion of these, we imagine, have purchased land: many of them possess money, and are able to purchase. Hence it is doubtless true that a much larger proportion of our foreign than of our native population would be benefitted by the measure under consideration. This is an incidental discrimination, it is true, but it proves the want of statesmanship on the part of those who framed and voted for the Bill.

Another instance of incidental discrimination is found in the fourth section of the Bill, which declares that "all lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall in no event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing the patent therefor." Now there is no provision in the Bill requiring the occupant to apply for his patent at the end of the five years; hence he may hold the land during his life without a patent, and may devise it, or it will descend to his heirs exempt from the operation of all contracts made by their ancestor; nor would it be subject to taxation, we imagine, until the patent was issued.

It may be admitted that Congress possesses the right of donating the public land to individuals upon such conditions as it may deem proper to annex; but we hold that it has no power to exempt the land thus donated from the operations of the laws of the State in which it is located, after the donee has complied with the conditions and received a title. By the laws of Missouri the real estate which an individual acquires, no matter from what source, is liable to the satisfaction of contracts entered into before as well after such

acquisition; and we cannot assent to the proposition that Congress possesses the power of modifying this rule in a sovereign State. With equal propriety it might exempt lands purchased at public sale from being liable to the satisfaction of debts previously con. tracted by the purchaser. Under this provision an individual possessing large means, but in failing circumstances, may take possession of one hundred and sixty acres of public land, build a palace on it, and make other expensive improvements; and then setting his creditors at defiance, spend his days in luxurious indulgence, provided he is not the owner of land elsewhere, or has not sold other lands with a view to the benefits to be derived from this law. But should he be so unfortunate as to possess other land, it would require but little ingenuity to procure it to be sold for the payment of his debts, and thus remove his disability.

It is impossible to establish any data from which we can estimate the quantity of land that will be taken by the beneficiaries contemplated in this bill. That every acre of the public domain, not otherwise disposed of, is liable to be taken under its provisions. there is no doubt. For according to our construction the first proviso of the 7th section does not limit the grants to alternate quarter sections merely. Certain persons described in the bill are entitled to land which shall, "as near as may be practicable," be taken in alternate quarter sections, but the right to enter does not cease. when all the alternate sections shall have been occupied: that right will still continue under the law as long as any public land remains. Nor can any calculation be made that could be regarded as approximating the truth in respect to the number of persons composing the class provided for by the bill; for like waters flowing from an exhaustless fountain, the absorption of the stream will not reduce the source from which it springs. The unceasing changes in the condition of men will continually add to the nonlandholding class. It may be fairly assumed that not more than one man in five in the United States is the owner of land at the time of his marriage, and from this source alone the number of claimants will continually be increased until all the lands worth owning are occupied.

To enable the reader to form some idea of the number of persons composing the class entitled to claim lands under this bill, and also to show how little time it will require to dispose of the public domain by virtue of its provisions, we have assumed the