New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-02-25
The Illinois Homestead Act.

n
! Of Illinois, Represented IA the General Asserlbly,
That in addition TO the property now exempt by
law from sale under execution, there shall be ex-
empt from levy and forced sale, under any process
| or order from any court OF law or equity In this
State, for debts contracted from and after the
fourth day Of July, A. D. 1851, the lot of ground
and the buildings thereon occupied as a residence,
and owned by the debtor, being a householder
and having family, to the value of one thousand
/ dollars Such exemption shall continue after the
Cesth of such householder, for the benefit of the
/ widow and family, some or one of them continu-
| ing to occupy such homestead until the Youngest
! child shall become twenty. one years Of age, and
until the death of such widow; and no release or
waiver of such exemption shall be valid, unless
/ the same shall be in writing, subscribed by such
householder and acknowledged in the same man
ner as conveyances Of real estate are, by law re-
/ quired to be acknowledged.
Sec. 2 No property shall, by virtue of this act
! be exempt from sales for nOn.payment OF taxes
on assessments, for debt or liability incurred
! for the purchase or improvement thereof or prior
to the recording of the aforesaid conveyance or
notice.
Sec. B. If in the opinion Of the creditors or OIL
Ger holding an execution against such household
er, the premises claimed by him or her as exempt
are worth more than one thousand dollars such
officer shall summon six qualified jurors OF his
country who shall upon oath, to be administered
to them by the officer, appraise said premises and
If, in their opinion, the property may be divided
without Jury to the interest of the parties they
shall set Oft so much of said premises, including
the dwelling house, as In their opinion shall be
worth one thousand dollars, and the residue Of said
premises be advertised and sold by such officer.
SEC. 4. In case the value of the premises shall,
in the opinion of the jury, be more than one thou.
sand dollars, and cannot be divided az is provid.
ed for in this act, they shall make and sign ap-
prsisal of the value thereof, and deliver the
TO the officer who shall deliver a copy thereof to
H. JoLf t,o of fo,,
lily OF suitable age to understand the nature there
Of with notice thereto attached, that unless the
execution debtor shall pay to said officer the sur
plus over and above the one thousand dollars, on
the amount due on said execution, within sixty
DAYS thereafter that such premises will be sold.
SEC. s. in case such surplus, or the amount due
on said execution, shall not be paid within the said
sixty day g. it shall be lawful for the officer to adj
vertise and sell the said premises, and out OF the
proceeds of such sale to pay, to such execution
debtor the said sum of one thousand dollars,
which shall be exempt from execution for one
year thereafter, and apply the balance on such
execution Py0vlded That no sale shall be made
unless a greater sum than one thousand dollars
shall be bid therefor; in which case the officer
may return the execution for the want of property
SEC 6. The costs and expenses of setting off
such homestead, as provided herein, shall be
charged and included in the officers bill OF costs
upon such execution.
SEC. 7. This act shall take effect on the fourth
day of July. A. d. 1851.
Report of the Committee on Land Limitation
to the Wisconsin House of Representa-
tIves.
The Committee on Land Limitation" have introduced
Bill entitled d" A Bill TO Limit the Quantity OF Land
hereafter to be Held Owned by any One Person.
ask leave to present their views the subject in the
following -
Nothing is more important for the prosperity
of a nation, especially Republic, than to have
the Lands of a nation divided among the peo-
pie in Freeholds of reasonable extent, and that
a limit be affixed to the quantity of Land which
any one person may acquire In fact history will
inform us that nations have been happy and pros
porous in proportion ms this rule mas Oeen con-
formed to. The accumulation OF Lands In the
hands of the Patricisns in Rome, destroyed the
Republic, and the accumulation OF lands IN the
hands of usurers, in the Roman Empire, destroyed,
finally, the Western Empire of Rome.
St. Pierre, an able and popular French writer,
in his Studies Of Nature translated by Hun
ter at pages ll9 and l20, says; have often
beer astonished that there is no law in France TO
prevent the unbounded accumulation of landed
property" He says many fine things IN favor OF
such law and shows the influence oil land mo-
nopoly, in producing endorsements among the
working people, and in cOrrupting public morals.
His work was published in 1884. In truth land
monopoly in France was one main cause OF the
terrors Of the Revolution 10 that country, and the
more eQuAi uleLTiDutlou VI lhhun ny SVuuSOhhiOh
and sales, prepared the way for the subsequent
strength of France against all her enemies
IL is false supposition that some make, that
in true state OF society, time Will ever arrive
when the earth will not present homes for the en-
tire family OF man, that may exist at one time
A very small space perhaps about 45O miles
square would afford standing room for all the
people that have existed in the 5000 years since
the creation Reduce ten miles square to inches,
and divide this area by Z inches square, lvlZ by
1874 So niche S, and the quotent is 1929 100000
of areas, each of Ia inches square. There are not
more than 900 millions Of people on the face OF
the globe and as there are 1889 millions areas OF
Is inches square in ten miles square, you might
collect the whole population OF the globe, and one
half more, if you could find them, and thrust thus
entire population on the District OF Columbia
allowing to every man, woman and child, includ'
ing the infant In the mothers arms, 10 Inches
square, as place for standing and all the spaces
would not be occupied. So mere handful are
the people of the globe, compared with the space
which Providence has prepared for them.
AS the Public lands OF our country, OF which no
vented title has yet been obtained, exceed AGO..
OOO 900 square acres, you might IN iraserna
state of society subsst the population OF the globe
on these lands, leaving the rest OF the world un'
occupied. And yet, under the effects OF land mo-
nopoly men and nations are starving and perish
ing from the want of lands, notwithstanding the
abundance of provision for all, which the Deity
has ere ated The deprivation ofthe natural rights
of man to the soil, must be injurious to all classes
of society. The workingmeD, born without an ln-
heritance of land, or money, are thrown into an
over crowded market Of labor into competition
with their brethren, and under the necessity OF
selling their labor or mechanical skill for rate OF
wages barely adequate to snstaln HE Inc sur
plus aborers unemploye ed are deprived oil the rlgnt
Of life, except upon chsrity-and thus their minds
are degraded by ignorance, and their morals by
misery and crime. TBOse who have some prop
erty, and who live by manufactures or commerce.
are exposed to the ruinous operation OF sPecula-
tion and competition, by over grown capitalists