duction would leave little to be distributed; and that, if distribution were made of the gross proceeds, it would be equivalent to taking so much from the customs revenue to divide among the states under the name of proceeds of land sales, — a scheme against which Clay himself had loudly protested as utterly unwarranted by the Constitution. This criticism was undoubtedly correct, and Clay could not controvert it. The Land Committee further recommended a reduction of the price of land from $1.25 to $1.00 per acre; the offering of lands remaining unsold for five years after having been offered once, at fifty cents per acre; fifteen per cent of the proceeds of land sales to be set apart for the benefit of the new states.
A debate followed, in the course of which Clay made some predictions proving how little a mind even so large as his, and so intent upon grasping the proportions of the rapid growth of this Republic, was able to form a just estimate of future developments. He said: “Long after we shall cease to be agitated by the tariff, ages after our manufactures shall have acquired a stability and perfection which will enable them successfully to cope with the manufactures of any other country, the public lands will remain a subject of deep and enduring interest. We may safely anticipate that long, if not centuries, after the present day, the representatives of our children's children may be deliberating in the halls of Congress on laws relating to the public lands.” He did not foresee — as
