lished as far west as the Mississippi, by the sword. The title to a vast portion of the United States, originated in them; and it is not for courts in this country to question the validity of this title, or to sustain one incompatible with it.

"However extravagant the pretensions of converting the discovery of an inhabited country into a conquest may appear, if the principle has been asserted in the first instance; if a country has been acquired and held under it; if the property of the great mass of the community originates in it; it becomes the law of the land, and cannot be questioned. "In England all vacant lands are vested in the crown, as representing the nation. In this country, all vacant lands are vested in the United States. In England, the title of the crown, whatever it might be, could be acquired, only by a conveyance from the crown. If an individual then purchased of the Indians, he acquired their title only. The purchaser incorporates himself with them, so far as respects the property purchased, and held their title under their protection, and subject to their laws. If they annul the grant, (and convey to a person having authority to purchase,) we know of no tribunal which can revise or set aside the proceeding. We know of no principle which can distinguish this case from a grant made by a native Indian, authorizing him to hold a particular tract of land in severalty.

"The proclamation of the king, above referred to, forbade all British subjects from making any purchase, or settlement whatever, or taking possession of the lands.' It was contended, however, on the authority of Campbell against Hall, (Cowper's Reports,) that the king had transcended his constitutional power, and therefore the proclamation was a nullity. That since the expulsion of the Stuart family from the throne, such authority had never been recognized. It would seem, however, that the power of granting, or refusing to grant, vacant lands, and of restraining encroachments on the Indians, has always been asserted and admitted; has never been denied ; and as it respects lands in this country, has always been sustained by our courts. The grant of lands to the crown, for the use of individuals, as in this case, seems also to admit the royal assent necessary to its validity. The opinion, therefore, given by York and Pratt, one of them the attorney, and the other the solicitor-general of England, notwithstanding its great authority, is not only against the uniform practice of the crown, and the opinions given by its great law officers, but repugnant also to our practice, since we have been a nation. The court, therefore, are decidedly of opinion that the plaintiffs have not exhibited a title which can be sustained; and that there is no error in the judgment which has been rendered in the district court of Illinois."

The decision being final, all claims under the Indian deeds before mentioned, were immediately abandoned, and a patent from the United States regarded by the whole community as perfectly conclusive.

The relation which now exists (however unpleasant) between the civilized and the savage man, is perfectly natural. When the former first landed

on the American Continent, they were received by the savage with uniform kindness; that kindness was at first reciprocal. The European, however, required lands for culture. Those lands were bought and paid for; all were satisfied-and all was harmony; difficulties at length arose, and having no common umpire for their adjustment, recourse was had to arms. The industry and persevering valor, however, of the white man, bore everything before it. The forests fell, the game retired, the savage followed, and the country, deprived of all that was valuable in the eyes of the latter, became to them of but little use. Other cessions were made, and the same process was repeated, till the savage saw, and felt, his danger. He sought next to repossess himself of the lands he had granted; was met on the threshold by the European, in arms; and at last driven from river to river, and from forest to forest, until an abiding place has scarcely been left. Such, however, was, and still is, nature's law. Mind governs matter, as sure as the sparks fly upward.

The question has often been asked, whether our public lands have been a source of profit, or of loss to the nation? The answer to the inquiry depends upon the view taken of the subject by the inquirer.

When cession after cession was made by the several States, and by the numerous Indian tribes within our limits, of those lands to the nation, and the lands thus ceded were pledged in payment of our public debt, they ⚫ were supposed, and believed by many, adequate to the purpose. Experience, however, soon proved its fallacy. Regarding Government merely as a land speculator, and charging the fifteen million dollars paid for Louisiana, the five millions paid for Florida, the expenses of the general land office, appropriations for surveying, commissions to registers and receivers, moneys paid for extinguishing Indian titles, annuities to Indians, the expenses paid for their removal, and interest on the above several items, and crediting all the money received at public and private sales, a balance (though not large,) would, probably, be found in favor of the public lands. But if to this, the expenses attending Indian treaties, the moneys expended in the prosecution and defence of Indian wars, which constitute an equitable charge upon the fund, from Harman's fatal expedition down to the Black Hawk, including also the Creek, the Cherokee, Seminole, and lastly, the Florida war, the balance would be several millions against the public lands; after deducting, too, such as were given for military bounties, for schools and seminaries, and for canals, and internal improvements. So far then from contributing to sustain the credit of the nation, and adding to its resources, they have not, as yet, contributed a shilling toward either.* The above facts, however, illustrate the following position: That a landed estate is the very worst which a Government can possess; that

* A committee on public lands, in Congress, May 18th, 1832, estimated their cost at $48,077,551 40, including interest and charges, and the receipts at $37,272,713,31, leaving a balance due the Government of $10,804,838,09. Several large errors, however, crept into this statement, and its accuracy cannot be depended upon. The receipts since have also been large.

lands are of a nature more proper for private management, than for public administration; better fitted for the care of a frugal land-agent than of an officer in the State; that whenever any property is transferred from hands which are not fit to hold it, to hands that are, the buyer and seller are mutually benefitted by the exchange.

When these lands were acquired by the United States, many sup. posed they would pay off the public debt immediately; defray the ordinary expenses of Government, and furnish a large surplus for distribution. Their subsequent history, however, presents to us, and to the world, another instructive lesson on the utility of public lands to a country, and the fallacy of large calculations. Fifty years of practical experience has exhibited a negative quantity. Had their sale been continued much longer upon credit, a severance of the Union would unquestionably have followed.

Until 1829, their minimum price was two dollars per acre; large tracts were sold to individuals at that rate on credit, and a portion only of the purchase money having been paid on the execution of the contract, the consequence was, an immense accumulation of debt to the United States, annual relief laws, and great danger to our country and its institutions.

Fortunately, however, the whole system was afterward changed. Lands were sold in small parcels, to suit the purchaser, at reduced prices, (one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre,) and for cash; the wisdom of this measure was immediately apparent. Speculation in wild lands had become unprofitable; many who indulged in dreams of principalities, woke up and found themselves without a home. The expenses incurred in their management; the infidelity, sometimes, of agents; and the consuming moth of taxation, devoured frequently their available means, and delivered over the residue to the sheriff or the marshal.

We have already remarked, that the State of Illinois

Of this, one thirty-sixth part of the whole has been granted for the support of public schools, making

Two townships for a University,

For military bounties,

For the Illinois and Michigan canal,

For other purposes,

For the seat of Government, four sections,

When the State was admitted into the Union, the Sa

line reserves were granted to the State, (say) Lands sold at all the public offices in the State previous to the 31st of March, 1841,

2,831,840

289,867," 210,132,"

2,560 66

Since that time, probably,

nearly one-half of the whole. Sales, during the last three years, have

been greater in Illinois than in any State in the Union,* and are now rapidly progressing.

Sales upon easy terms, liberal donations, and a cession of the inferior lands to the State for beneficial and meritorious objects, will accomplish, it is hoped, a transfer of the remaining lands in a reasonable time, from hands that are not fit to hold them, to hands that are. 'Tis not the paltry sum of one dollar and a quarter per acre, paid into the treasury, but the use of these lands, reduced to private property, occupied by independent yeomanry, improved and improving, that gives them all their value.

When General Hamilton was secretary of the treasury, during the administration of President Washington, he was charged with treachery, and threatened with impeachment for the opinions he gave in relation to the public lands. His predictions, however, have been verified. No one, it is believed, anticipates at the present time a large accession to the public revenue from thence. Whether that amount, though small, shall hereafter be distributed among the States, or become a part of the public revenue, are questions for the politician and statesman, and not for the historian.

Small amounts in other countries have corrupted the public mind, degraded the public morals, and debased the public character; why not then in our own? To anticipate this, however, would be to write our history in advance.

Moneys obtained by fraud, gambling, speculation, or piracy, seldom profit their possessor. Moneys never earned, seldom endure-and not unfrequently ruin their possessor. To suppose that a few thousand dollars will tend to corrupt a legislative body, is only to suppose that man is frail; to suppose the contrary, is to discard the wisdom of ages, and reject the lessons of experience.

During the first, second, and third quarters of the year 1842, 386,414,71-100dths acres, were sold in this State for $483 46 75.

CHAPTER XXII.

Canal policy-Illinois and Michigan canal-Its importance-Boats passed from Lake Michigan to the Illinois river a hundred years ago-New-York canals-Languedoc canal-Holstein canal-English canals-Middlesex canal-Canal commissioners appointed by the Legislature of Illinois, February 14, 1823-And six thousand dollars appropriated for surveys-A Company incorporated for its completion, January 17, 1825-Act repealed-Congress make a donation of lands, March 2, 1827-A Board of Commissioners appointed to explore, in 1829-Act amended, February 15, 1829— Office of Canal Commissioners abolished, March 1, 1833-Act for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal, passed January 9, 1836-Railroad, etc.-Canal commenced, July 4, 1836-Speculation-Whole expense of the canal, estimated at eight millions, six hundred and fifty-four thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven dollars-First contracts, price of provisions and labor-Road along the route-Loans, etc.-Canal Fund-State then in debt-Work on canal ceases-Claims liquidated at two hundred and thirty thousand dollars-Lands and lots sold-Amount of sales- Of receipts, seven hundred and fifty thousand five hundred and thirty dollarsAmount of bonds issued-Resources-Their payment, etc.-Its future prospects—South more interested than the North in its completion-Internal improvement sys. tem-Loan of eight hundred thousand dollars authorized-Credit of the State pledged, etc.-Governor Ford's message-Work suspended for want of funds.

No principle in political economy is better established, than "that after the formation of a good government, the best and highest interest of a nation is, to adopt such a system of internal policy as will enable its whole population to enjoy, as soon as practicable, all the natural advan tages of their position." A mere glance at the map of Illinois, must convince even the most casual observer, that the union of Lake Michigan and the Illinois river by a canal, is an object not only of easy accom. plishment, but of great practical importance.

The attention of the first settlers of this country, at an early day, was directed to this subject, and trading establishments were erected by the French on its route. The importance of Canada and Louisiana was enhanced by the measure, and when the country passed into other hands, when the power of France had ceased, and the once proud lords of the soil had retired at the bidding of civilization and the arts, the project was re newed; and hopes are now fondly cherished, that in a few more years Lake Michigan will mingle its tributary flood with the great "father of waters."

The importance of this measure, not only to the State, but to the nation, in a civil, a military, and political point of view, can hardly be appreciated. The history and progress of other States, is full of instruction. Holland, by her industry and enterprise, robbed the ocean of its legitimate domain; and intersected her whole surface with navigable canals. A few years since, she was mistress of the seas. China, England, New.