A SHORT HISTORY. 1. Some forty years ago, the State of Georgia possessed the soil from the Atlantic to the Mississippi river, from east to west; and from the Spanish line of demarkation to the line of 35 North latitude-embracing what constitutes now the States of Alaba ma and Mississippi. 2. But a man by the name of Cox, excited an object of speculation, by the association of a party to electioneer for such men to fill the Legislature, as by fraud and bribes could be induced to sell the western lands for a mere song in point of value, known by the name of the Yazoo speculation. 3. The people discovering the fraud in swindling the public land, caused another election to the legislature, who repealed the old law and burnt the records thereof, and ordered the purchasers to take back their money. 4. Some obeyed, and others said the sale was good, and they would rather have the land than the money, and hung on for the purchase. 5. Georgia offered to sell the land to the Government of the United States.-Hence General Congress had Commissioners appointed to meet the Commissioners of Georgia for a treaty of sale and purchase, if they could agree. 6. The conditions were-for the lands that constitute the two above named States, viz. Alabama and Mississippi, Georgia should receive $1,250,000, and the extinction of the Indian titles to the remaining lands in certain limits or lines still within the boundary of Georgia, as soon as it could be done reasonably and peaceably; at the U. States expense, &c. 7. This agreement was ratified by the Governments on both sides, in their legislative capacity. 8. When any of the lands were ceded by treaty (it being State and not national property, Georgia would dispose of it by lottery) every white male, 21 years of age, for twenty-five cents should be entitled to a ticket-that a poor man should have as good and equal chance to obtain a lot of land as the rich-hence all the citizens of Georgia were mutually interested in those lands, as a common, personal and State interest. 9. Now it must be remembered, that at the close of the Revolutionary War, there were some old tories and 'scape gallows, |