The republic., 1851-03-20
From the Neo Orleans Picayune.
Farms for Nothing.

The people of this country blessed, or per-
haps it would be better to use another word, and
say cursed, with great many self-anontcd lead
ers prophets who continually telling them OF
dreadful expressions they enduring, but cannot
discover for themselves, and awful calnmitcs that
going to happen to their postcrity, unless some
pet scheme for the reformation of society and the
salvation Of unborn millions be adopted immediate
ly, if not sooner. They constantly discovering
dangerous flaws in the very constitution of society
which they only have the skill to close up safe
ly. They malice, corruption, and danger in
every act Of the men they do not like, and they
dislike all men who stand in the way of their am
btion or their desires. The simplest function Of
Government becomes, to their distorted vision, part
of scheme for robbery oppression. The exc
cution of the law is parcel Of a mediated dcspot-
ism; the neglect to administer it proof Of dema-
gogical arts. We are daily ruined, by everybody
but themselves. although VIC do not know it; and
some day they tell US, posterity will find
ourselves wretched slaves Of somo hard masters,
unless we rouse and model every thing anew to
suit these alarmed theorists or designing dema-
gogues. They go about prophesying evil, and pro-
claiming wo till the public s filled with their
clamor; and some people actually believe that we
have fallen upon the worst age Of the world, and
that there will not be found many righteous men
the doom of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Among those who are the busiest in trying to
convince happy and contented people that we
are in terrible danger, and ought to be very un-
happy, arc the philosophers Of the Land Reform
school, Of which Senator Seward, OF New York,
and his friend Greedy, Of the Tribune, leaders
and oracles. They diligently engaged in
striving to prove that the Government of the
United States is the hardest OF task masters, and
most remorseless of tyrants, in asking any price
whatever for the public lands. They weep over
the inhumanity of man in keeping any title in the
public lands, when there are many poor, home
less people to whom II might be given for nothing.
They find that there are good many landless peo-
pie, who want something to do, and they think it a
cruel hardship these should not have fine farm.
and go to work TO raise II does not occur to
them that these lands common property of all
the people, and that there would be manifest injus-
tice in dividing it among the ngriculturists only,
when the farmer has better right to the public
bounty than the mechanic artisan, who would
be useless to drive the plough as the rural la
borcr would be to handle edged tools, and make
machinery, or clothes, or houses, or wagons, for
himself. They consider the small sum charged
for land, bushel or two per from the crop of
the first year, dreadful tax upon the industry Of
the poor settler-as grinding oppression against
which revolution would be almost iustifiable
They therefore want the public lands thrown open,
in small quantities, to every man who chooses TO
cultivate them-a very small class, comparatively,
for of the whole population Of the United States,
the real owners Of the soil thus proposed to be
squandered, but very magnificent portion could
avail themselves of the benefit by entering upon the
actual cultivation.
We do not propose to enumerate all the objections
to this scheme. They innumcrable, and SO
strong that they will justify its opponents in waiv-
ing strong scruplcs in order to unite strength
enough to secure the interests which will be over
thrown or destroyed by the ascendency of this pol
icy. But one observation suggests itself which we
cannot omit. II is this: that happy indeed must be
the condition Of that people, in which, from the lack
OF present and tangible grievances, dcmagogucs
are constrained to make a terrible hardship out of
the necessity Of giving little labor, the product
ofa little labor, for fertile farm Il will be hard
work to get up any dangerous discontents such
a ground, though the clause may help to gain few
votes to turn doubtful election, or mend The
chances of dccaying politician.