Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-05-23


aust be vlrtuous landiess poor; and must
20 eptirely free from the vice Of drinking
liquors. Moreover they must
n each county. be taken from the sexes in
equal numbers.
Along with each gift of land, there will
be- gift Of ten dollars in money. Where
he land is worth removing 10, and where
there is disposition to remove to it, this
money will defray the expenses of remov'
al. In perhaps, every case, it will be sui
6cient to pay the two or three years taxes
now due, and also the taxes for number
of years to come.'
After stating the number of ofbenefciaries
to be selected in each county in the State,
he proceeds to say to the county committee:
The next thing in this letter is to say,
that have great favor to ask of you.-
1t is, that you 60 to the pains of selecting
the bene6ciaries in your County; and that
YOU QOs Dy Isl vi I'll hCAt3 lCt tII0 huO"
their names and residences.
To guard the bene6ciaties of your Coun-
" against disappointment, | wish you
would inform them, that most Of the land
is of an inferior quality; that it is probable,
that in some instances, it will prove to be
unfit for farming; in some of little or no
value either for farming or timber; and
tha, it is possible Il trust but barely possi-
ble) that, in some instances, my title will
fail. You will, moreover, inform, them,
that in the event Of my not having land
enough to give each of the thousand a par
Gel, some of those chosen in your County
may be left unsupptied. You are, howev-
er authorized to say TO them that whoever
of the thousand shall fail to get a parcel
of land from me, shall get instead thereof
forty dollars in money-and, this too, in
addition to the ten dollars. The fifty dol
lars will enable its possessor TO buy forty
acres of Government land hope, that
it will be expended in some land or other;
for one of my deepest convictions is, that
every person, who can should make him.
self the acknowledged owner of piece of
land. His doing SO would hasten the day,
when the right 10 the soil shall be, every
where, acknowledged to be as absolute.
universal, and equal, as the right to the
light and the air. May that blessed day
come quickly!-lor until it does come, our
world will be one of disorder, oppression,
poverty, vice:-and, lei ME add, that it new.
er will come, until the religion and poll.
tics, the Churches and Governments of the
world shall be so imbued with the spirit of
justice and brolherly love, as to call for
the coming that day.
The parcel for each beneficiary will,
probably, vary from 80 to 60 acres. In
n few instances, it may exceed 60; and in a
few where its value may be far above the
average of the parcels, it may be less than
half of 80.
All the land is in the State of New York.
Respectfully, your friend,
GERRIT SMITH.
Other men Of great wealth, as Stephen
Girard, and others, have wllled away their
property at their decease, and generally to
their relations, rich and poor, or some pop
ular or wealthy institution. But Mr.. Smith
chooses to see his distribution himself, and
to make it TO the needy and worthy,
where it will most tend to alleviate human
suffering, and promote the happiness of his
fellow beings. Thousands of the wealthy
people of this Union might thus help and
happily the poor, by at least partial distri-
buttons Of their wealth, ho1perer obtained;
and may do SO in their prime, and thus live
to enjoy the pleasure of witnessing the
happiness it would produce. Wealth law
ished upon heirs, nine times out Of ten is n
damage to them, and generally promotes
intemperance, idleness, and extravaganza.