342 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY . 
have a clear case of the working of this principle in political 
economy as between the Southern and Middle States and the 
Northern and Eastern States, and in Europe as between Ireland 
and the Netherlands. Had congress confiscated all the land and 
properties belonging to all who held office under the confederate 
states, and divided it into small portions, putting such a price and 
terms upon it as would have made it accessible to the laborer, and 
prohibited its sale to all but actual settlers, a large fund would 
have gone into the national treasury to have reimbursed largely 
the expenditures incident to subduing the rebellion, and what 
was far more desirable, would have solved immediately the prob¬ 
lem of the pacification and recuperation of that section of our 
common country. 
The Autocrat of the Russias emancipated twenty millions of 
serfs that they might become citizens and proprietors, be edu¬ 
cated and civilized, so that he might hold an equal race for 
power with the states of Western Europe. 
The astounding spectacle witnessed within the year just passed, 
of a nation across the Atlantic, after being engaged in a bloody, 
exhaustive war, paying an indemnity of billions to her conqueror 
within a space of two or three years; and the most remarkable 
thing about it is that the mighty stream of gold which flowed into 
the coffers of Germany was made up from millions of rivulets 
having their rise in the small peasant properties of ten, fifteen, 
twenty or more acres. 
But refraining from citing further from the history of nations, 
which is full of striking examples to confirm our proposition, we 
will proceed to indicate the direction which laws affecting the se¬ 
curing of titles, the levying of taxes, testamentary disposition, 
and all laws which affect the distribution of land among its citi¬ 
zens should take. 
While it might not be practicable to fix a limit to the number 
of acres which individuals or corporations might purchase of gov¬ 
ernment lands, it might be eminently proper to fix the amount 
which one deed should convey ; and also fix a graduated scale of 
prices, making the maximum fee commence with the largest 
amount conveyed, diminishing pro rata to the minimum of 40 
acres. The same principle should apply to fees for recording and 
