Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1847-03-17

guards against the commission OF fraud al
s5e same time that it does away witt, many,
very many inducements TO its commIss
ion. :,
Until so informed by Mr.. s. and other
onnonen,s of this righteous provision,
never heard that competency and the sure
~ Fan honest livelihood tended 10 licen-
,;onsness and immortality, but on the other
land all statistical accounts which have
over seen locate it amongst, and attn
bu,e to extreme poverty where the means
| 10 sustain life was the main motive 10 the
crime and so with all crimes. If the ar
eument will hold good in one case If must
IN another. and il surety for decent clio.
hing and a plenty Of food is to debase and
degrade the highminded NATIONS OF our
land. the same cause must have the same
tendency upon the man. If it is necessa-
nv ina, women should be kept in state oil
dependence TO keep them from vice, go
W tn men;and tie stern arm ofthe law shod
intervene and take from each and every
one Of us, our home, our. food. fuel, cloth
ING. our daily earnings, and our all, and
mace it in the hands OF an hereditary trus-
lee. who we must be taught TO consiuer
as one of higher grade than ourselves,
how much soever inferior he may
be in mind or stature, TO be delt out as lie
| NAV see fit No, but that won't do. Men
has the power, and many arc selfish enough
| TO make all laws tend to their Cwn partlcu-
lar benefit. In the cases cited by the gen.
,lemen the reader will observe that The laws
have tho tendency TO center the whole
! landed interest in the hands OF few, aad
that thousands upon thousands are driven
into crime to prevent starvation, whilst all
around them lies unc cultivated land which
if they were allow ed to improve would fur
sh them with useful employment and the
means of a livelihood. Where there is the
most continued desitution. hunger AMI
suffering, there is usually the mos, crime.
as The want of means of sustaining life
will induce an infracton of all and any
laws to obtain il ifwIthin reach. have
! noticed that in all the talent which the N.
York Convention afforded, no argument
was brought TO bear upon this question:
Nothing was said by lis opponents but the
defamation of immaginary evils, which,
| as admitted by the speakers themselves ap-
peared frivolous enough. Why, if those
objections were we'll founded, did not these
! SO called giants in intellect produce some
Argument as a reason Tor their objections!
Why not urge some reason tor Their pc.
sit on which they could have pronounced
sound and stable, instead of being Obliged
to style them what they were !:lvIous
enough" The reason is. that the opposi-
ton arose from prejudice, aye, prejudice,
thu, stumbling block to all reforms, and
from no other source. Reason was called
to It's aid, but it was incompetent 10 the
task, and refused compliance. Then
p eIudice, unaded by reason, must degrade
the man to the traducing of female charac.
ter to accompl sh its ends. In N. York
il had its desired effect. la Wisconsin the
same speeches were rehearsed, but
they did no, avail them any thing. The
people are not to be SO deceived
TO urge that Wisconsin should not take
this or that step in procession because N.
York refuses 10 do i! is as consistent as the
federalists of old who were opposed to the
adoption Of free Representative re govern
,nent, because England was governed by
|
progression 10 perfection cannot and Will
not be stayed by prejudice. Reason, cam
dor, and truth. are on the alott. anu must
prevail. 1t is urged that ii will create or
cause dssenlions in fammilies. Eut lie;
US see whence arises the greatest fhcul-
ties. Look in upon the family where the
husband has been unfortunate and lost his
all and they have fallen down upon the
property which has been protected 10 the
wife, see them gathered around the frugal
meel with cheerful countenances with the
little ones praltling over their simple
food, and then turn the picture and look
upon the family where The husband has
squandered in ,ioting and inlemperance,
the little donuted to the wife by the father:
see the wife with anxious fear looking upon
her little ones, eating their crust of bread
over a few dying embers: look in upon
{ these families and tell me IN which case
there are the greatest dlssenions-see
which wife and husband enjoy the most
connubial happines.
But let us now to the exemption Of the
homestead. AS an answer TO the obJec-
tons urged against this feature of the con.
stitution, | would ask what is the true basis
Of credit? Is it the soil Of Wisconsin,, or
| is il the praducts? We all know thai the
SOIL cannot be converted into a circulating
medium-ihat the land is worthless with
out it will produce. The tue foundtion Of
credit, then, is that which the country pro
duccs, and the moment we over-step that
limit, there is a downward tendency. The
same rule applies equally to individuals
and 10 nations. AS soon as we bay more
than we produce we contract debt which
we have no means of paying. 1t is true
that the landed interest can be sold and