Mr. COiness. When this bill was called up the other day I submitted a few remarks in opposition to it. I regard it as one of the most mischievous acts that could possibly be put upon our statutes. I say so with great respect to the honorable Senator who has it in charge and to the committee who have re iorted it. this the introduction of a policy that in my opinion never on ht to prevail in this republic. It is founded, in the 1st place, upon the monarchical idea and policyt at all that is valuable in lands, pnrticu arly in the way of minerals, either the precious metals or otherwise, belongs to the sovereign and not to the subject. In other words, that whatever is val uable should be taxed as high as possible to the subject. Our system is not the one to attach, particularly by statutory enactment, this principle to, in my judgment. I do not know anything that is of sufficient value, either above the earth or in the earth or under the earth, not to be worthy of possession by an American citizen. With us we not only own the land but we own the Government, too. We own the sovereignty; the sovereignty does not own us; we are the sovereigns in the aggregate; and so we propose to provide for leasing to our selves a thing because it has value. Why should not the ownership of that thing pass into the hands of the citizen? Is there an body in the world, is there any power on earth which can find the value or develop the value of a thing faster and more certainly than its owner, and can there be any Ownership of a higher character than that of the American citizen? the holc system seems to me to be wrong. You are going to institute in one of your Depts a power to lease and let a part of My impression is that the public property to your own 'citizens, and no such lease, the bill provides, shall be for a longer period than 25 years, and then during the 25 years the lease is to be subject R) readjustment every 5 years, by “disinterested referees.” The Interior Dept or the Land Office is to a point ref erees every 5 years. Where sha l they go? Shall they act in regard to a piece of property that they know noting about except as they get information from the Land Office, that information coming through abureau that perhaps knows nothing whatever about it? he readjustment is to etermiue the rental to be charged. It appears to me to be a very small business for this Government to on go in. It is especiall provided, it will he ofigorved, thatthis bill shalfnot up 1y to the section of the country from which flcome. We are not to be made tenants, and, for one, I am very much obli ed to the committee for releasing us from such a vassalage; but why shall we be released from this vassalage and the people east of the Rocky mountains subjected to it? I do not. understand it., As I said, when up the'other day, this is one of noises of measures originatin in the Land Office, in my opinion not cre itable to the Land Office, not founded in good policy, not consistent With our system or scheme of government. 4 Sir, it is hard to be called upon to discuss a measure of this kind when the thermometer stands as high as it does this morning in the Senate Chamber; but I feel as though my duty would be ill performed if such a measure should be allowed the ffiass without calling public attention to it. If the salinelands and the mineral springs belonging to the Government are to be lease, why not lease the gold and silver mines 7 They are of infinitely greater value; they at tract the attention of mankind to a greater extent and concentrate the edort of man and the capital that man can bring to the development of natural resources to a greater extent than these more ordinary classes of property. But it is not in our time proposed to make tenants of the people who mine for gold or silver or copper or lead or iron or coal. There is indeed upon our statutes an not passed recently which proposes to sell coal lands, or lands suspected of containing coal, at a very high rate a rate that they are not worth; and the way iLacts is that it prevents operations in coal mining. No man can mine upon coal lands, or lands suspected to contain coal, u, on. the public domain, without paying 20 01 lars peracre for the land, while he may.go into Pennsylvania, into Illinois, into NewJersey, and other States of the Union and buy the best coal lands for from $2 60 to 5 dollars an acre, containing real coal mines of valuable coal. There is no set now that cells so much for repeal asthe socalled coal lan'd act. Occasionally we see alittle paragraph in the papers stating that the Treasury has received a certain amount of money from the sale of coal lands; It is an absolute robbery in every case. That is what it is. We by statute propose that certain persons who fancy there is coal in a particular place shall not try to obtain it until they have paid an amount for the land which it is in no manner worth. The 2nd section of this bill provides that “the SecyInterior shall prescribe all necessary rules and regulations for the leas ilig, preserving, and developing said salinelands and mineral Springs, and for the securing and collection of the rental revenues due the government therefrom; provided, that such rules and regulations may e subject to revision by Congress.”' You are to have a code of rules adopted in the Interior Dept, and Congress is to have the privilege of revising them; and those rules are for the leasing and the preserving of mineral springs. I suppose the rules will be in the nature of ordinances which shall inflict fines and punishment if anybody fills a bottle of miner water from mineral springs Without paying the U.S. for it, without getting a permit from the SecyInterior. Now, Mr. President, if any Senator who can advocate this measure will give us facts, state to us the extent of this property, and what the U.S. is goin to gain by instituting this system, I should dike very much to hear it. If the Land Office is able to state it, I should like very much to hear it. I am very certain that this bill had its origi nation in some cases that came up in my State, wher'e citizens of ours bave expended as high as $150,000 of their proper and means in developing mineral sprin s. [here is nothing in the value of a miners. spring that should induce the Government to become its peculiar custodian. It is proposed now to made such a man but we are exempted from the operations of this act; but if there be a like case on this side of the mountains it is proposed to make such a man a tenant. But, Mr. President, I have said enough at present to call the attention of the Senate to the ill. I regret very much that the honorable Senfrom NewYork, so enlightened, so liberal and so generous upon all subjects, should undertake the advocacy of this bill.