THE TENANT FARMS. 81 



farming was deemed to be a slavery too oppressive to 

 be endured. But a more perfect picture of the condi- 

 tions under which much the larger portion of the ten- 

 ant farmers in our country hold their places could not 

 well be drawn. The only points of difference between 

 the tenures of the Metayers of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury, under the government of the United States, and 

 those under the feudal lords, are, that now, in some 

 cases the proprietors do not furnish the entire stock, 

 or capital ; that the tenants often furnish all, or a 

 portion, of the farm implements, or work stock, or 

 both, and also of the seed ; but still the proprietors, 

 like their feudal brethren, assuredly claim and take 

 one half^of the product. But the share now received 

 by the proprietors is not absolutely uniform, it rang- 

 ing between one and two thirds, still averaging about 

 one half. Yet in all the points in which the Ameri- 

 can system of villanage differs from that of the feudal 

 ages in Europe, the present tenant slave suffers. The 

 only advantage which the Metayer of to-day has over 

 his brother of a thousand years ago, is not in a modi- 

 fication of the system, but in the fact that the tools 

 now used are more effective, and he can produce a 

 greater quantity to be divided, and thus obtain more 

 subsistence for himself, though no greater share of the 

 product. But for this only advantage the tenant is 

 in no way indebted to the proprietor. 



It is true that there have been cases where tenants, 

 farming on shares and paying one half of their crops 

 for rent, have been able to so improve their conditions 

 as to become themselves proprietors. But such cases 

 are found only under the most favorable circumstances 



