Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-05-09
From the Wisconsin Free Democrat.
Land Limitation NCmeS For All.

Land Limitation NCmes For All.
Land Limitation follows from the prin-
ciple that all havea right to Home For
as the earth is of a limited area, aud is in
capable of increase, if all have a right 10 ;.
LONE, it TO- lows that no one has right to
appropriate to himself all homes
The right to home, 10 place to live,
is as alieDable as The right 10 life, liberty,
and the pursuit OF happiness. If all the
people on the earth were TO release to one
person their right 10 home, so that one
person should posses, by titles derived from
deeds, the exclusive legal properly on the
earth, the deeds would be Of no avail a
gainst the natural, ,inaltenable right of man
to home. Or il one generation we're to
make partition Of the glote among them
selves, so that all persons then alive might
have an equal area. yet such a Iartition
would be Of no validity egains. the equal
rights of generation coming upon the
stage of existence at a subsequent period:
for the earth belongs to man through ali
generations. No one has a right to
greater urea Of earth than he con use con.
sislently with tle equal rights Of all others.
10 SUPPOSE that the earth, in true
christian state Of society, would be insult.
licient for the comfortable subsistence Of
the human family, or inadequate 10 the
enjoyment Of each persons right TO home
is to arra'gn the providence Of the Most
High. He has not created man under a.
ny law of nature, that parents should ex.
pose their children to death, nor children
their parents, nor that the strong and cum
ming should slay or starve the weak and
unsuspecting; for if so, then such acts
would not be crimes against nature, but
conformities with her inlunctions. But
we know that such acts are crimes, aud
deep crimes, crying for vengeance fer the
Just One. Unqueslionably in true state
Of society, where the rights Of ali are rec
ognized and secured, it will be seen that
there is law of, hnppy and harmonious
equilibrium, between the ability of lhe earll,
to support population and the amount oil
population and the amount Of population
that vii ever be in existence,at.. ..one time
1t becomes the people Of this country
well TO consider the false bearing Of books
on Political Economy and Morals, written
by the subjects of monarchs and by tho
m:nions OF arstocrucy and wealth. We
should suspect that authors, corrupted by
the influences ofa false society, and BY
an ed ucation received in conservative co..
leges and universities. would shed the
poison Of their minds into their prod uclions.
| Malthus holds the doctrine that the world
must be finally over-peopled, us the hu-
man family may increase geometricaly,
that is, double themselves, within every
period oftwenty years; while he asserts,
that within the same circle of lime, cap.
tol or the means of subsistence, cannot in.
crease faster than in ariihmelical ratio,
that is, as the numbers, l,2, 8, &c. The
inapplcation Of his theory of population
for the purposes for which he uses it,
is evident from the facts that the popula.
tion Of the starving European countries has
not increased even in an arthmetical ratio;
while capital, at only four per cent per
annum, would double itself, that is, in
crease geometrically, within every period
of tw enty Five years. His premisesshould
be reversed; and yet in false st,te of
society, arising from land monopoly. the
fact stares US in the face, that millions OF
people, able and willing to work, are per. i.
ishing from lack Of employment.
II you take ten miles square and bring
it into square inches, and divide the sum
by 324, (the number of square inches in
Is inches square, you will find the quo.
tient to be 1899, ,0OO,O5O areas each of Is
inches square. The population of Europe
is 23l, ,OO0,0 900; and the entire population
of the globe does not exceed l,00O,O 100000;
so that you might take the entire popula-
lion OF the globe and add it to the population
of Europe, thus equivalent altogether 10 /,
234,O0O,OO0 of people, and stand them on
the ten miles square in the District Of Co
lnmbia, allowing each person an area ~et
Is inches square; and you would have 81
600, 900 Of such areas TO spare for other
people. 1000, 100000 acres Of land in
The United States and Territories, would
be ample for the comfortable subsistence
of the entire population Of the globe, CIV
ing at the rate oftwo acres TO every man,
woman, and child, or ten acres for every
family Of five persons. The earth has
scarcely begun to be peopled; and yet, un-
der the effects of Land Monopoly, the
masses are perishing from the want of land.
They have no homes.
The population of Ireland is 5000, 900.
Her area is 2O,000,000 acres; enough for
every man woman and child to have 81
acres apiece. The area of France is l3O,
100000 acres; her population about 3d.
000,00O; so that every inhabitant OF
France might enjoy the area OF at least
acres of ground, making 20 acres Tor ev.
cry family of 5. But each inhabltant OF
country does not require so much ground:
for many would engage in mocha nical or
manufacturing occupations and other pur-
suits, needing lots in villages, towns or
cities. Under a just land Limitation law,
there would be no paupers in France or
Ireland, but those countries would be the
abodes Of peace, general wealth, liberty,
and happiness. All would have homes.
Is it not apparent, then, that country
is free and happy, or oppressed and miser,,
able, in proportion as the land is possessed
by the people, under safeguards against
land monopoly? We must not neglect
this lesson taught by experience ana oy
the history of centuries. And II Lana
Mononoly he the blight of the old Worlo,