Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1857-05-05
For the spirit Of Ietfsr...oS,,,T

tion bf this subject can but express INV a,,,.-a.
the indifference and ethargy of the people ofthe
ton and interest that has arisen or been at stake
since the war of the revolution question. and
interest of the first magnitude, not only tn 9he,n
selves but their childrea and chiIdrens
for generations to comel
Indeed, the true question, the great question:
what should be done with the public lands and in
what way they be best disposed of for the conn
mon benefit pts, entirely kept out of view: and
the whole discussion is made TO turn on the petty
question of what shall be done with the insienif-
cant sums for which this vast and immeasurahla
property is sold, and sacrificed 2
Public attention is thus beguiled, and turned
away from the true question, and all the FEELINGS
and passions of the people aroused and enlisted ia
the success of one candidate the other when II
matters not which is elected and which oninion ne
walls to the disposition of the proceeds of sale
the lands themselves in either case are sacrificed
and the people, and their poseriy, Invested onsted
and despoiled, of an empire, stretching from the
Mississippi! &c the Pacific ocean,
The great question, and repeat it, is should these
lands be sold at all and is sale the best DISPOSE
ton of them, for the common benefit" of the real
and common owners-the people?
Into this question no inquiry is made; nor do the
people seem to comprehend that they have any in
terest individually; but suffer themselves as in a
mesmerc dream, to be obfuscated by vague and pur-
blind ideas that these lands belong to the govern
ment or to the States ard that they as Individuals
have no interest in them, or anything to do with
| them desire to call the attention of each man,
or woman, who may read what write, to tn home
TACT, that each has, for himself and his posterty,a
deep, direct and personal interest in this the mot
splendid inheritance that people possessed
and, that he must look to it, it will be Sold and
pass out of his aud their possession foreyerl
These lands, belong 10 the people to the thirty
| millions who constitute this nation and tn their
posterity, theirAheirs Each one fthem as equal
individual rights, In this mighty proPertyl The
United States government so far from owning these
lands or any thing else is ITSELF the subject Of own
ership, and belongs to the thirty millions people,
aud to their posterity, who equally the owners
OF the government and of the lands: The Govern
| meut is but a tool. an
hands of its masters dispose of the lands for the
common benefit ofthese masters and owners
The question, then, recurs, in what way can the
| agent-the United States government-dispose of
the public lands, most equitably, for the common
| benefit" of its common owners?
In my former article, pointed out the plan noted
| upon by mankind, of disposing of such Joint and
common property, by division and apportionment.
as more just and equitable than our plan of sale
And shall continue that view of the subject by
| further instances
Let US turn our minds for q moment to the mode
of ascertainng, and fixing the rights of common
owners in private landed estate, and we find the
plan of division and apportionment recognised and
adopted as the general rule and wherever practica-
| bic. If father dies leaving family of children
and landed estate, nine times in ten the surveyor is
called in, and the estate divided and appor TONED
among themi And why !? First, that each child
may have home; secondly, that If he chooses to
sell it, he may place his terms and price on II
and not another for him and lastly, to avoid the
possibility of the sacrifice of his interest," if he is
not as rich aud able, of the brothers to lid
! for, and buy the whole tractI
Take the case of three common and ioint ovvpers
| OF tract of nine hundred acres of land where
| two of the common owners own no property but
the third of this land and the third owner is rich
man and, then you may be'able 10 see that divis-
| ion and superintendent, in such case would he
equal and just and could wrong neither of the o:nt
owners, when sale of the property would be more
unequal, unjust and unfair for the two WHO had the
crime Tin the estimation and practice of the worldly
| OF poverty cleaving to them. For we read that
"the rich mans wealth is his strong city; the des.
tructon of the poor is their poverty /" For if you
mt a n fha
become bidders for nine hundred acres of land and
here emphatcay the obstruction of the poor is their
poverty !" The rich co owner them buys it at his
own prlce-the two poor men must be content with
their share of this price-tho "a pittance-and the
rich man may place them in the condition of his
| menials, 10 work for him the land-the identical
land-of which they were his Joint and equal own
ersl But divide the land, and each of these poor
men has his homestead OF three hundred acres, to
| Work on his own account; and no injury ia
| done to the rich man for, he too, gets three hun
dred acres; all he is entitled to. Nay have not
stated the case strong enoughl Let me take an in
stance-let me quote 1t from daily lifs-to show you
| how poor, and how wretched, some of these com.
mon owners of this great estate in the public lands
are; how unable TO contend with the rich and to
protect their equal rights if you persist in putting
their Inheritance up to the highest bidderI do ii
that there is one drop of justice mercy or char
ly, left in our common nature unexhausted by hea IT.
less and grinding avarice, the rich-but still the
l. joint owners only, of, this public property-mav
blush with shame-if the tear of bataEe, OF piSy,
and remorse, does not start to the eye-when they
see dying before them, the helpless victims of their
spoliations and injustice! quote from the National
lnteligencer of the 2lst inst as ouoted from, The
| N. Y Times
The New York Times presents the record of a case
OF misery which has recently been brought to light
there We extract from it the testimony OF little
girl of eight years.
HTbat is my mother" she said, pointing TO the
corpse "Tne night before last two men came into
our house and turned my father and mother and me
and my two little brothers out: We had No where
| to go. We then went to sleep in an entry Nobody
turned MS away all night In the morning father
went away to look for another place. He was gone
| all day. We had nothing to eat and were yerv
hungry. Father came back at six o'clock and then
went away again. Nobody would let us into their
house, because they said if they did the landlord
would turn them out. The folks we hired the house
OF hired 1t of somebody else. So we went into the
yard Mother said she was very sick she had been
sick long time before, and my little brothers cried
! Mother lay down and put some rags on her to
keep her warm, because she said her head ached SO
| bad. When it got dark my two little brothers lav
down and put some things over them, and got
some rags to put under them too and then sat up
TO wctch. By and by policeman came along, and
then ne went away and got another one, and they
lifted her up and put her in to cart and took us
! all here. Mother didn't want to leave the Yard
She said 10 the policeman that she wanted 10 stav
| where she was"
These people, each of them, are units of the thirty
Millions who, own jointly and in common This vast
property-the public land How dare we how can
we, how have we the heart to rob them: ave mur
der them How can we do it without the sin of
souls Will you tell me tina: 81 * ner acre ia
moderate price, and that ell may buy if thew will?
Can people in this condition buy, ave- buv even a
portion OF their own property But tell them if
they VIII go TO 1t II they work their way to it.
II they can beg their way to it, that the common
government IS bound to give them common bea-
eht OF common property, and leave you to Jude
whether, they will not flee it, as 10 a city of
refuge with the avengers of hunger and want ard
destitutlop and death, TO hurry them on their wav
here then, is the picture of the sale of public