The American patriot., 1855-11-10

II is the first duty OF every good govern
mept, and especially Of every free government,
"a nrotect the rights of the poor. Legislation
for the benefit Of the rich is the peculiar fact
If monarchcal dynasties; the promotion Of
the aristocratic principle by encouraging the
accumulation of large Estates especially in
lands, has been the chief cause Of the destitu-
t;on and consequent enslavement of the people
Of the old European monarchies. The process
there may be briefly described under the ope
ration of the feudal system; the lands Of the
State we're generally divided among the chief
vassals of the crown, or those, in other words,
who had most signalized themselves by. the
robbery and oppression of the people, by the
laws of entail, the laws against alienation and
ofnrimoccnture, three immense landed estates
bo;nr certain to remain in the hands of the
privileged few, and the competition in the sale
being thus circumscribed, the great body of the
land being in the hands of limited number
the consequence has been that the prices de-
manded for it have been so enormous as abso.
lutey to exclude the poor from any interest in
the soil They and their children, from age to
age, have thus been compelled to till the lands
of the rich at such prices as the latter might
choose to give A bare subsistence, won by
painful toll from day to day, and passed amidst
miserable restitution and stupid ignorance, has
been their lot for ages.
In the United States, this state of things has
been happily heretofore impossible. The price
Of lands has been so moderate that the poorest
man has been able to secure enough in his own
right Of his native soil to employ the labor Of
himself and children /; thus has he remained a
freeman. The cause of this has been that the
government, the largest landholdcr in the
world, has by placing low price upon the
public land, enabled the poorest of its citizens
to become particpators in the ownership Of
the soil.-Largc landholders nave been unable
to exact their own prices because the competi
ton of the government has controlled the value
of land, and so long as this state of things shall
exist the children of the poor will remain in
dependent; when it shall cease to exist, which
it inevitably will do when the government has
parted with its great territorial possessions,
they will forced to pay the enormous prices
demanded by the private landholder to become
his tenants, or in other words, the slaves ofthe
owners Of the soil.
The prodgate waste of the public land has
been begun by the present Administration, in
stead of being reserved for the poor Of our
own country, whose valor won it or whose
taxes purchased it. 1t is to be squandered by
reckless and ambitious politicians as fee to
purchase the votes of foreigners. Twice has
the attempt been made by the so-called Demo.
cratic Congressman, to establish the policy of
giving away the public lands to foreigners, and
that policy was actually engrafted on the le
gislation Of The country at the last session of
Congress. The second section of can act to
establish the offices of Surveyor General of
New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska, to grant
donations to actual settlers therein, and for
other purposes approved by Mr.. Pierce, on
the 22d July, 1854, is as follows
SEC. 2. Ind be at further
enacted, That to every white
male citizen of the U. States,
white male above the age of
twenty-one years, who has de-
clared his intention to become
a citizen, and who was residing
in said Territory prior to the
first day of January, eighteen
hundred and fifty--three, and
who may still reside there, shall
be and hereby is donated one
quarter section or one hundred
and sixty acres of land. And
to every white male citizen Of
the U. States, or erery achite
male ADORE the age Of taoenty-
one gears aoho has declared
his intention to become a citi-
zen, and who shall have remo-
we'd to and settled in said Ter
ritory between the first day of
January, eighteen hundred and
fifty-three, and the first day of
January, eighteen hundred and
fifty-eight, there shall in like
manner be donated one quar-
ter section or one hundred and
sixty acres, on condition of ac-