Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1858-10-27

4 Cd Syraeu's, January 20 le4s, on Land
Reform.
E Happy, thrice happy, will il be, whsr
l land shall be no more bought and soId!-
/, when like salvation It shall be free with
out money and without prieel-sBd when
every person shall have lis own needed
share, neither more nor less, Of bis mother
earhl How much more equal than bow
will be the circumstances Of men, and toe
wealth Of men, when the propbelicaily-
foretold happy period ihAll have arrived,
and every msn shall sit under Biz own
vine and fig tree--or 10 other words have
bis own home to dwell in. How much
more common and honorable then, than
now, will be manual TOLL How much less
general the system Of wages, with ell It's
degradation and unhappy beariDgsl How
much more general, then, than now, will
be the spirit Of manly independence -
How much weakened the reign Of vice!
How much strengthened the reign OF Tf-
tue! How much more common will Be
early marriages, when invited BY a free
soil, than when delayed, as now, by tfe
necessity Of earning money 10 Fay for
land Then too, there will be no slavery.
Before the reduced-to-prsctice theories of
land reform, slavery would disappear as
surely and as speedily, as the mists OF
morning befoIe the rising sun. Appor.
tien the soil equally among its equal owns
ers. and where would there be room for
slaveryl Yol could not work il 10 edge
ways. Often within the last few years.
has my heart ached, when have heard
abOlitionists speak contemporary Of land |
reform. They know not what it is Of
which theJ speak contemptuously. They
know not that It is one Of the most effec.
tive anti-slayery measurss,-most effective,
not only to overthrow present slavery, and
make impossible its recussitation and rep.
etition. And then too, how difficult it
will be to carry on war, II, indeed, the
spirit Of war shall be able 20 survive sncb
demonstration Of practical Justice, and
such recognition Of the equality and
brotherhood OF men, as the success Of land
reform will be? say, how difficult it
will it will be to carry on WARRIOR then
few will be without homes; and you can
not draw men from the substantial com.
forts cf home TO the unhonored and poor
ly-paid services Of private soldiers. War
finds its recruits among the homeless
among the vagabonds. Then too, what a
victory for the canse OF temperance for
intempersnce, as well as war, finds its re.
cruits among the bomeless-among vaga-
bonds Then too, what q victory for re.
ligioBl--when millions, now robbed of
homes by systems of land monopoly, shall
have homes TO thank God for; and homes
in which 10 cultivate the home>bred vir-
tues, and the sweet and solid enjoymedts !!
of religion. .
One thing more ere I close: We ell }
love 10 feed the hungry, clothe the naked
and none of us can turn the destitute hun
CRY empty away. Nevertheless. such i
charity, Notwithstanding We cannot refrain Z
from iudulging in it, is not free from the
most peruiciOuG effects. 1t cures not, and t
it often aggraVates the disease to which ii t
ministers. Its temporary relief is but too b
generally followed by permanent Injury. s
How much better to provile the pour With C
homes; or to speak more correctly, to let Il
them provide themselves with homes up u
on their God given shares of this goodly &
green earth, than, by robbiDg item Of 7,
these shares, to keep them mendicants,
aud to hold them in dependence upon our
charity Delivered from this dependence, n
by having-as they would have had they a
homes--tbe means of subsistence within eC
they are no longer a burden p
lpOn the community, and no longer d
hsme to themselves. They are re longer b
legrsdsd, either in the eyes af others, or "
10 their own eyes. The world respects "
hem. They respect themselves. They
ire in circumstances TO be both useful and
happy. u
Deep and dependant poverty is great 1t
.vil. Among the poorest of men there 81
Ire, indeed, some of the Doblest specimens bt
# manhood; for the very poor man, who, p
mid the numerous and mighty tcmpta>
ions to compromise his independence of
pirit, yet maintains it. is assuredIy above VI
Il praise. Nevertheless it must be ad- WI
nitted, that the dependence created by 0"
eep poverty is much 10 the Say, and very 60
ften fatally in the way. of the maint0.
ance Of an independenl spirit. How un-
Apply then--how worthy of all condem Gu
ation--arS the laws, arrangements, usa. m
es. which have the effect to multiply tho ed
eeply poor. on
Let then the soil be free !-be free as wi
lod made it free. This is the grand REM tic
dy for poverty. For this, instead of
,aying the poor under the necessity of
eing ever helped. and of, therefore, being ou
YER poor. enables them to help themselves, sn
Dd to emerge from their poverty. III
We are not doing our whole or even on
ur chief dnty to the poor, when we help ha
le poor. Even proud aristocracy will th
onsent to help the poor. Nay, it abOunds
sef-compIacent and gracious condecend-
ons to the poor. Bui it will not let the an
oor come up by its side and help them y,
slves. Onegreat duty to the poor is to ul
smove from their way the distractions yc
Ihich false social arrangements have sa
lrown into it and TO suffer them to tb
se to that level ofmanhool from which "
ley have been SO cruelty thrust down
nd to welcome them into that brother
ood In which every human being is en- ;.
tiled to a place with every other hu- - !,
nan being. .I sr -.--rs = =