[Footnote: During the discussion, which was exciting almost beyond precedent, Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, made some severe reflections upon Senator Butler, of South Carolina. For this he was assailed by Preston S. Brooks, a nephew of Senator Butler and a South Carolina representative, and so severely injured that for three years he could not resume his seat. Mr. Brooks was censured for this act, but, having resigned his seat, was immediately returned without opposition.] [Footnote: The public lands have often threatened the peace of the nation. (1.) The question of their ownership was one of the greatest obstacles to the Union of the States. In 1781, New York was the first to present her western territory to the general government. Virginia followed her example in 1784, donating tho great Northwestern Territory--a princely domain, which, if retained, would have made her the richest of the States; she reserved only 3,700,000 acres in Ohio, which she subsequently sold in small tracts to settlers. Massachusetts, in 1785, relinquished her claim, retaining a proprietary right over large tracts in New York. Connecticut, in 1786, did the same, and from the sale of her lands in Ohio laid the foundation of her school fund of $2,000,000. Georgia and the Carolinas gave up their right to territory from which have since been carved the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. (2.) Since these lands became the property of the general government, a most perplexing question has been, Shall they be free? Upon it has hinged largely the politics of the country. The admission of Missouri, Texas, California, and Kansas has each been the signal for the reopening of this vexed question.--Though the public lands have been the cause of intestine strife, they have been a great source of national wealth. Their sale has brought large sums into the treasury. They have been given to settlers as a stimulus to emigration. They have been granted to endow colleges and schools, to build railroads, to reward the soldiers and support their widows and orphans. In every township to be incorporated hereafter in the great west, a portion of the land must be reserved for school purposes. By the Homestead Act of 1862, any citizen may secure one hundred and sixty acres.] _"Border Warfare." _--The struggle was now taken from Congress to Kansas. A bitter contest arose between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery men--the former anxious to secure the State for slavery; the latter, for freedom. Each party sent bodies of armed emigrants to the Territory and civil war ensued. Bands of "armed men" crossed over from Missouri, took possession of the polls, and controlled the elections. Houses were attacked and pillaged, and men murdered in cold blood. For several years Kansas was a scene of lawless violence.