116 SPEECH OF HON. JUSTIN S. MORKILL. 



all this we give the land States five per cent, on all sales of lands 

 within their borders, after they are admitted as States. This is 

 not treating these States as step-children. The four States of Cal- 

 ifornia, Minnesota, Oregon and Kansas, are entitled to 15,632,635 

 acres for school purposes alone. Beyond all we have passed the 

 homestead law. 



All the bounty land warrants and scrip issued under different 

 acts of Congress, embrace an aggregate of 71,71'7,1'I2 acres. Of 

 this amount, all the warrants have been located except 7,454,720 

 acres. If the present bill should pass, it would only about double 

 the quantity now afloat, and scarcely exceed the amount allotted 

 to some single States. The total amount of unsold and unappro- 

 priated lands, is 1,046,290,093 acres ; and, after deducting the pro- 

 posed donation to these colleges, we could quadruple the amount, 

 and still retain over 1,000,000,000 acres to be disposed of under 

 the homestead act. Not so much as one per cent, will be ab- 

 stracted. 



This heritage may be so heedlessly overrun as to be soon wasted 

 leaving behind nothing but the estate of a prodigal, or it may be 

 so managed as to hold all comers and give them unsurpassed pros- 

 perity for centuries. 



As soon as lands pass from the hands of the Government, they 

 become subject to local taxation, and that is clearly to be desired 

 by land States and Territories. The scrip issued will go into the 

 hands of bona fide settlers, because such will be the only purchas- 

 ers to be found, unless at a depreciation of price, and these will 

 be obtained by the several States disposing of their scrip on a 

 credit, and retaining a lien on the land. Such an arrangement 

 will not certainly be to the disadvantage of the land States. 



Saying nothing of what might be due from the new States to 

 the old on the score of reciprocal generosity, by the present bill 

 the land States will obtain their just proportion according to pop- 

 ulation, and it is not too much to say at the same time, that more 

 young men will be beneficiaries of these institutions in other States 

 who will become residents of, than will be educated bxj the land 

 States themselves. These States, therefore, should be more deep- 

 ly interested in the measure than all others, and I invoke their 

 Representatives to its just appreciation. 



In a speech I had the honor to make in this House (April 20, 

 1858,) prior to the passage of a bill of which this is mainly a copy, 



