Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1843-06-20
THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY.

THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY.
large meeting was recently held in the City
of Boston, for the purpose of considering plan for
the new organization of Society," and the best
means for bringing about an entire change in
Social system. The bold and somewhat extraordi-
nary position taken, may be inferred from the fol-
lowing remarks of one of the principal speakers:-
n. II. Whiting, stated that the meeting
had assembled to consider the rights of pro-
perty and the rights Of men and the rem
edy for those evils as we'll as for all the
ether evils which inhict human society,",
He gave his assent to the axiom that man
has natural and unalienable right &" to
life, liberty, and the pursuits of happiness"
and from this ground he reasoned something
as follows: If a man has the right to live,
he has, in consequence, q right to sufficient
of the products of the earth to support life,
and the men who occupy more Of the earth
than is necessary for the supply Of their
own wants and refuse to share their surplus
with their needy fellows, are robbers and
murderers. The rights Of all men in rela-
ton to the earth from which they have
sprung, are equal, and nothing can give any
man rightful claim to any particular por-
ton of it except the evidence required by
the Vermont Judge in the case Of the man
who was brought before him claimed as a
slaye-a title-deed signed, sealed, and de-
livered by the hand Of the great Father Of
the Universe--and he never could recog-
nize the right Of any man to single inch
of Gods foot-stoo until that evidence was
lad before him. From this wrongful claim
which some men have set up to the pos
session of property, he conten3ed, have
sprung all the evils which in6ict humanity.
1t has introduced an unnatural and unholy
motive the hope of gain-to rule all the
actions Of men, until man seems to exist
only by the misfortunes Of his brother, to
whom he is arrayed in an attitude of fierce
hostility. The lawyer lives by the quar-
rels Of his neighbors, and it is for his in
tcrest to keep UP litigation: the doctor lives
upon their bodily diseases, consequently
ii is profitable to him to keep men sick; the
priest lives bv the sins of mankind, it is
therefore for his interest to make men as
bad as possible. and hence, through all ages
they have written down man rs totally de-
PRAYED. lie extended the same process Of
reasoning to merchants, carpenters, shoe
makers, and other professions in society,
and then went on to argue that the holding
Of property brought slavery into existence;
that the common system Of labor for wa
ges is but 4 modification of slavery that
the modification never took place until the
capitalists found that they could in That
manner make the greatest profits; and that
labor for wages, for the reason that it bears
upon its face some semblance Of humanity,
is as much more destructive to the happi-
ness Of man than unqualified slavery. as sa-
tan is more dangerous when arrayed as an
angel Of light. than when appearing, in his
own proper shape, as a demon from the bot
tomless pit. The evils OF the existing svs-
en-, he said in conclusion, are CRYING aloud
to heaven, and some reform must take place
which shall secure to man all the rights and
privileges necessary for the perfect devel-
opcmcnt of his nature. 1t is deep libel
both upon man and his Maker, to say that
he came into the world with the stamp Of
depravity upon han. Had that been the
case, the influences to which he has been
subjected would have made him a demon.
Mans nature is good-he can love his fell
low-he desires to do it-ond place him in
a position whore he can delvelope the prn-
ciples Of his nature and he rW do it !; but
in the present state Of society he cannot.
Only. my friends. go out INTO the streets
and attempt TO Do as Christ commanded
to love your ncighbor as vourselr-and YOU
will not live as long as the horse which the
Frenchman tried to make exist without eat
ing