Mr. C NNESS. This is a bill to make the Government of the U.S. alandlord and the citizens of the U.S. tenants. It ori nated, I believe, in the Land Office, and, singu arly enough, it is not made to apply to the cases that gave it its origination or its birth. Some cases came up recently in the State of California where persons had settled upon land containing soda springs and sulphur springs. In some instances they were claimed In connection with land adjacent to them by eason of land warrants issued by the State 0 California and laid upon those lands; and as against such claimants there were preemptors claiming the same quarter section of land. The contest in those cases came up to the Land Office, and the decision of that wise tribunal was that neither of those parties could have the land. Now, let me inform the honorable Senator who has reported this bill, whom I understand so well, and whose motives I know to be so good, that in a single case improvements upon a quarter section connected with one of those springs had been made by a citizen of California amounting to over $150,000, and yet this Land Office decided that this was of a class of property that could not go to the citizen in fee. Why? because there was a law of the U.S. again it? Not a scratch nor a word; but because of the assumption of an official that a property which he thought of great value was too valuable to pass into the hands of a citizen. Why, sir, there is nothing in this country nor in this world that is too good for an American citizen; and it is time that officials were taught that simple fact. But the bill as reported does not appl to our country at all, and hence the honorable Senator who reports the bill will see that I have no motive coming from loeality in opposing the bill. It has been amended by the committee so that it shall not have application west of a certain meridian. Why? A citizen of Iowa cannot take a piece of saline land or a soda or sulphur spring, but he must become the tenant of the Government of the U.S. forever, while the citizen of California can. What is to be done in the mean time by the decisions made at the Land Office in regard to the cases arising in our State I know.not. The bill was intended to apply to them also, but the committee have excluded its application from our country. I am very glad they have done that. They want. but to 1 step further to do the wisest thing, am? that is, to exclude such an act from the Senate. Sir, it is too late in the day to’teach the doctrine. by proposin an act here, that government is in its most egitimate capacity when it undertakes to be a landlord over the people. It is too late in the day to teach the doctrine that the citizen is in his proper relations to the Government when he is made a tenant of the Government. Does the Senfrom NewYork propose to re'establish upon a small scale, or upon a large scale, the Van Reussclaer estate system, simply substitutin the Government for the Van Ilcnssclaers, and give to us a war such as that which in the State of NewYork was called the antirent war, 25 or 50 years hence? I hope that no bill of this kind will secure the attention of the Senate. It is kindred with a measure that was passed here in 1864, that never ought to have received the sanction of conress, but which went through without muc consideration. I refer to a bill for the sale of coal lands, fixing as the minimum price for coal lands upon the public domain of the U.S. 20 dollars an acre, while you can go into the State of Pennsylvania and into the State of Illinois and buy the most valuable coal lands in the world for a 3rd of that sum. What is the result of that act passed in 1864? Where the Land Office suspects not knows, but suspects that coal exists in Oregon, in California. in' a whole district, they issue an order withdrawing all that land from sale, and the citizen cannot buy it unless he pays 20 dollars an acre. which is the minimum price; but it is 1st to be sold at public auction for a higher rate, if that can be obtained. There is not on the entire Pacific coast a single coal mine of greatvalue. There are small strata of coal, of not a valuable quality, in different places on the Pacific coast, but no valuable coal mines; and our people are prevented from undertaking to mine or to look for coal until they 1st buy the fee of the land at 20 dollars an acre. Now, we are to have added to that an act from the Land office which proposes to make the Government a landlord and the citizens tenants wherever a iece of saline land or a soda or sulphur spring is found. I hope, sir, that there will be no more of such legislation.