An Epoch in the History of our Public Domain. 307 
would enable the government to dispose quickly of the remain¬ 
ing public lands along the road. On the other hand, its 
opponents saw a bargain with a corporation, especially as the 
grant was made directly to the company. It failed of passage 
by a vote of 11 to 23. 1 Various attempts were made to pass 
this bill after it had been amended so that the grant was made 
to the state and not to the company, but all were unsucessfui. 
In 1845 the attempts to obtain a land grant began again, this 
time from Mississippi. A bill granting lands to this state 
for a railroad passed the Senate by the decisive vote of 
28 to 8 . 2 In the House, however, it was entirely ignored. The 
greater favor which land grants have always received in the 
Senate was due, doubtless, to the proportionately greater rep¬ 
resentation of the newer states, in which the public lands were 
situated. 3 
How far the Senate would go in the disposal of the public 
lands in aid of railroads was shown in the next Congress when 
a veritable “omnibus ” land grant bill passed that body. The 
original bill had been for a grant to Alabama and Mississippi 
for a road from Mobile to the mouth of the Ohio. 4 This was 
successively amended so as to include grants for a road from Jack- 
son, Mississippi, to the Alabama state line, and a road from 
Hannibal to St. Joseph, Missouri. 5 When the bill reached the 
House it almost slipped through, apparently unnoticed. It was 
ordered to a third reading after some slight discussion and with¬ 
out a division.® But the next day the House seems to have dis¬ 
covered what it had done, the vote was reconsidered, and the 
bill laid on the table, 102 ayes to 79 noes. 7 
1 Globe , 2nd Sess., 25th Cong., 434. This was on a motion to strike out 
all after the enacting clause. 
2 Globe , 1st Sess., 29th Cong., 752. 
3 This fact is noticeable throughout the history of the land grants. In 
general, the votes on which the ayes and noes were taken show the new 
states in favor of and the old states against the land grants. However, 
conclusions in regard to the matter are uncertain as the ayes and noes 
were seldom taken in the Senate. 
4 Globe , 1st Ses3., 30th Cong., 999. 
6 Ibid., 1051. The vote on the third reading of the bill was 34 to 15. 
6 Ibid., 1059. 
7 Ibid., 1062. 
