Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-07-26
Land CHARACTERIZATION

hohssA VI 0Wb0--Ahn0hSostVos
It appears from the Pension Oilic'
reports, that some time since, lani war
rants had been issued for the location o
0.035, 800 acres Of government land, By
virtue Of the laws granting bounty land'
TO soldiers. The magnitude Of the sub
ject suggests some speculations as to ,ht
probable results Of so extensive an issue
Of land warrants; sufficient TO secure on
area Of land nearly equal 10 the fouI
smallest states-Dclaware, Rhode Is
land Connecticut, and Massachusetts
Would give homestead of so acres
each, 10 l23,lOl individuals, mos, o.
whom would doubtless be heads Of fnmi'
lies. Allowing four 10 each family, il
would place a population Of 4ae,7G4
persons beyond the reach Of the ava
ricious, that buy tho poor mans labor
in market, anl sell its product at 2 OF
800 per cen, profit,
Contrast these estimates, an the 70.
suits that might spring from them, with
tie facts as they exist. Instead OF entire
new states Of (reemen .prineing up upon
our borders, where each settler. woul |
be landed proprietor, (,hou Ii he mi III
have to pay for the lan, which never
ou h, to be the case of unoccfpiel an /
uncultivaIeI sol,) We are III, cr the
painful necessity of seeing those i'm.
mense tracts Of Ian! pass into the han is
oflhe Ian mon po!ists by townships,
and even by counties. The poor soldier
unable perhaps to remove Immediately,
anil locate his warrant i'm hopes Of bet.
tering his condition, has sold his title s'
= .fscnunt while others ,ha, were en- "a
eel in business, have sold their efIec
tive capital AMI thus the speeulaiof has
gathered them in, until he has becom
tls lesal owner Of ,housan Is Of acres,
IN | himself an his successors will not
only control the soil. but TO very grea,
extern, the settlers upon it, for genera
tions TO come.
Look to the nn,i.rent movements in
N. York. ami you will see The conviction
Of the injustice Of an individual arqui
ring title to vuoccup'ed lands, sn,
claiminga compensation from actual
settlers SO strongly developed in THEN
education, that they resist the collec
ton Of rents, even to blool. And Off
GERS and citizens involved in mob. law,
have been repeatedly slain; and the
peace Of ncishbolhools. and Of counties.
and the statutes Of the state havs been
VIOLATED, in the excessive advocacy oil
justice against legal oppression. The
injustice ofallowing the Landlords claim
ing under those old titles 10 retain the
immense amount Of lands they have
controlled for scores Of years, is easily
dcducable from. the manner in which
they were obtained.
The time is not far in the past when
land was considered the mos, abundant
commodity a, the disposal Of govern.
ment, and for slight services, was be.
slowed upon favori,es in almost unlim.
tied quantities; ct leas, with an utter
disregard 10 the comforts wants, and
conNefiencespf future generations.
Almost the entire soil Of some six OF
sieh, counties in the north pm Of the
State Of Pennsylvania was bouyh, by
one man, for less than one mill 10 the
a re, and has been resold at from 2 10
10 per acre to the settler, and many
men have toiled there fifteen or twenty
years past. to psy in,eres. and principal,
to secure homes to their children
While millions Of dollars wrung- from
the hard earnings Of the yecmanry Of
nor,he.n Pennsylvania, has gone to swell
the enormous hoard Of the Bari ,gs and
others in London. And although the
government receives a greater compcn.
sation now perhaps than then, for the
csssion Of those lands, yet there should
bssa 4 s,sic. Limitation to the number Of
acsss any msn may acquire. which
would necessarily place an industrious
faAsiiy upon each quarter section that
passed from under the control Of the
government. I. q s
Then instead oflargc portions Of land
being retained In its natural ststs IN.
ill ssR8sss around have enhanced its
value TO sea fold i,s 6rst cost. retsfling
ihs growth Of tho country, aud degrs.
ding portion Of our population, that
will Ia the form Of renters become setfs
xoi,heir lnn.llords and shsy frequently
residing 10 foreign lands, il would sll BE-
psrcellstl on. ia homostssie lcf . fies.