446 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



As an illustration — while England has unwisely permitted her lands to 

 fall into the hands of the few (a landed estate in England is about nine 

 hundred acres), and turned her attention to commerce, until her sails do 

 now, and have for a long time dotted every sea: overspreads the ocean 

 with her fleets, and plants her colonies in every part of the globe, her whole 

 commerce does not equal in value the Indian corn, oats, and bean crop of 

 the United States. 



The system of land tenure has much to do with agricultural prosperity, 

 and it will only be left for those governments which have attained to the 

 greater perfection in that respect to maintain their civilization and power. 



History has furnished us with too many examples of peoples who have 

 advanced to great power and splendor, to fall back to darkness and igno- 

 rance, for us not to be ever on the alert and active in advancement. 



May I submit some axioms which I believe no thinking man will deny: 

 No people will ever be free, intelligent, powerful, happy, self-governing, unless 

 the soil cultivated by their farmers belong to those farmers. To have assured 

 success, the tiller of the soil must be the owner of the soil. 



No people can maintain a free Government unless the land belongs to the 

 people. 



Patriotism is a sentiment; like love for a mother it can never go to but 

 one, can never be transplanted or diverted. It is the love one bears for the 

 soil upon which he was born. This sentiment can never, in its genuine- 

 ness and purity, go out to any country or land other than the one upon 

 which you were born. Any supposed love for any other country is like 

 affection for a stepmother, and never the genuine sentiment of patriotism. 



The man of martial spirit may fight -for the country of his adoption, but 

 not against the country of his birth. Even the Bruce repented of having 

 commenced to do so. And I venture the assertion that no man is a true 

 Datriot in the broadest meaning, who is not owner of soil in the country of 

 lis birth. The adopted denizen may have fealty to the country of his 

 adoption and serve and defend it faithfully and well, but his patriotism 

 goes out to the country of his birth, the land of his fathers. And 'tis the 

 land owner who rules the country. I care not where } r ou go in this broad 

 world the rule is without an exception. 



Tell me who are the owners of the soil of a nation, and I will tell you 

 who are the rulers of that nation. As has been said by one of the ablest 

 philosophers of America: " It is a principle of political philosophy, first 

 announced by Harrington, and much insisted upon by Lowman, and the 

 elder Adams, that property in the soil is the natural foundation of power, 

 and consequently, of authority." 



The principle will not be disputed. Hence the natural foundation of 

 every Government may be said to be laid in the distribution of its territo- 

 ries. And here three classes are supposable, viz.: the ownership of the 

 soil by one, the few, or the many. First, if the prince own the land he 

 will be absolute for all who cultivate the soil holding of him, and, at his 

 pleasure, must be so subject to his will that they will be in the condition 

 of slaves, rather than of freemen. Secondhy, if the landed property of a 

 country be shared among a few men, the rest holding as vassals under 

 them, the real power of government will be in the hands of an aristocracy, 

 or nobility, whatever authority may be lodged in one or more persons for 

 the sake of greater unity in counsel and action. But, thirdly, if the lands 

 be divided among all those who compose the society, the true power and 

 authority of government will reside in all the members of that society; and 

 the society itself will constitute a real democracy, whatever form of union 

 may be adopted for the better direction of the whole, as a political body. 



