Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1844-08-20
From the Christian Citizen.
starvation not Unavailable
BY AMASA WALKER. ESQ.

Talk with an Englishman of The suffer.
ing and starvation OF his coun,rymen, and
1t he admits the fact that such DO exist, as
he generally will, unless he be high
Tory, he will nevertheless, in the next
breath, assure you, with great deal of
emphasis, and not little complacency.
that all this is unavoidabie.n The bopu.
lation is so dense, there is so little land.
and SO many mouths, that ii must be so.-
He will proceed to congratulate the Anne
rican, that in his own country there is a
plenty of land, and consequently of bread
Having said this, his conscience is satisfi-
ed, and he acquiesces very coolly in that
necessity which he has told you is the
cause Of all his countrymcn suffer He
sees nothing wrong ard. although there
are many things TO regret, yet they are
unavoidable, and cannot be helped, being
the misfortune no; the fault OF England
Such is the reply, aud now is il true +?
Is it in any degree true That is the
question. We answer then, that however
plausible the assertion is, there is no truth
in it. Ii is not the fact that the people Of
England do not every year produce
education, and all the comforts of civilI-
life. True it is, England does not pro
duce food enough TO give full supply 10
her population but does she not produce
enough value every year 10 supply all the
wants of he. population p! Unquestiona-
by she does. Ii the value created every
year were every year tarv distributed,
giving TO labor and capital their respective
shares, there would be no more want, no
more suffering IN England than in the u.
States. England can raise corn as cheap
rs Ohio, but by different process Eng
and can produce corn IN the workshop rs
cheap as America can on the prairie aud
if there was perfect free trade, rs there
should be, and as there always would have
been bu, for the English corn laws, she
would no more suffer for good than we do.
The difficulty is not tina; the English as
people are poor; no, far from it-but il
is not rightly distributed. All the difficult
ty is in distribution and not in production.
The country may be said 10 groan under
It's load of wealth, and yet half of the ma
ton are starving What a solecism -
Capital is lavished with a degree Of ex-
trayagance unparalleled in any part Of the
world, on all useful or useless undertak-
ings; on Railroads, Thames Tunnels,
&c, and yet millions upon millions Of la
borers suffer for want Of comfortable habi
tations as well as daily bread
n greater delusion never existed than
that there is any natural necessity for all
thu! the misfrye aJp d Is pEysdiieap Pagfsa d in os
like it, This seems TO US Americans some-
tn ng almost inexplicable. We can hardly
conceive by what legerdemain or legisla-
ton and government in church and state.
all this could be so eiTsctually brought
about. yet it is done and if we would pa
tiently study British institutions and thread
the labyrinth of fraud and injustice which
class legislation has framed for that I'M
happy country-lt we would trace the
bearings oil It's almost innumerable mono
poles and discover the true and ultimate
bearing OF them all, we should see, that it
is TO these, TO her institutions, and TO her
limited territory that England should trace
81 her miseres. The de!usion Of which
we speak is not an innocent one. 1t is a
great practical evil, inasmuch as itparay-
Zes all efforts TO remove the true cause it
is forever putting men upon the wrong
track. 1t is the trick Of the aristocracy
to keep the people from looking to the
true source Of their mistortunes. But,
thank God, numbers begin to look at the
matter Alright. The spirit of enquiry and
reform is aroused and will never sleep
The anti-corn law and ol.cr kiuIred move
ments are opening the eyes Of tho people
to their true condition and making them
acquainted with their real oppressors.-
The mask is being stripped off and the
monster will be at last exposed 10 the full
gaze and deteStation of the people Of Eng
lard and the world, and it will then be
found that there is none too dense popu-
lation in England TO get a plenty Of bread
even were the present population doubled.
And this is Il matter IN which Ameri-
cans are not interested. Not only as phi
lanthropists who are bound to regard the
world as their country, and all mankind
as their brethren, but as citizens OF this re-
public we are deeply concerned in the
great question whether man has right TO
the fruits oil his own toll; whether he shall
enjoy the privilege Of selling his products
in the dearest markets and buy his COM
nodIics in the cheapest market he can find.
The same false principles are propa gated
in this country, and but too generally re-
ceiycd. which have brought England to her
present state of misery and starvation.--I
We do not intend to moo, the great 9ues-
ton of commercial freedom, but say this
much fha: those who read NAV reflect on
this deeply interesting subject and argue
the point in their own breasts. In New
England at least we generally maiatain
that no man or body of men have a right
TO rob human beng of all the fruits of
his toll, and may il not be fair question
whether government has any right 10 rob
him Of any part oil his own earning, un-
der any pFeleAt whatever ?