Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-01-06
Letter from a Farmer

PRINCE W LILLIAN w.. y. Jan. T.. u.
have the beginning of another OF the y.,..
of whirling time: therefore. ! hay" only. }.
this connection. to wish You many happy To-.
turns of the season; hoping the year Of l,.Y
may prove more proptious 10 us all, than
the one Just closed. Whilst | am NO, .I.,
posed to grumJie at the ways of Proyiier,.
belong 10 that class of men who ], /.
said, are proeerJGd gJumLi,rS, .th" Far.
mers, but who, | beg leave L. say. are. +,
this respect, grossly slandercd; for di,cog..
aging as has been the past season. and r...
sequentlv indifferent aS have been tn" crop
in this section have heard no yrUmLIa.
but, Of course, much dmeatiRg. which !,
very different thing. \ poor crop of whra'
oats, and corn, all at once, under the best oil.
circumstance, is bad enough; but with
never-ending, and evcr-recurring annual tax.
bill TO meet, which in many eases amounts o.
nearly, or quite, one-third Of the value Of tUe
farmers entire crop, it produces a state o.
things, the degradation Of which no one lis.
ing out of the United States could belize
after all our run-mad Wanting of liberty.
have seen something of Earopc and Ash.
and am free to declare. upon my honor
have seen nothing more burdensomc, in b.,
way of taxes, in any of the well established
Governments of those countries, than ,ha.
now expressing the citizens of the Old y"
minion. If our Revolutionary fathers hal
good cause for resisting at the point of rhn
/ bayonet the edicts Of the Mother Couur.
| because of tax of .. 6d. per pound Up.
| Tea. and By 80 doing covered themselves VI.
! imperishahlc glory. then how much Nor
| glorious would it be on the part OF the rr.-
| ple to shake the powers that be from them
and the vile strength they Weld a. tn.
mighty Lion shakes the morning dew from
his flowing mane-"b loodless, but complete
Their" money enough indirectly collectoj
of IN .,,,ople by the General Government,
to pay amply for all the Legislation and all
the administration of all parts of our couu-
! try. both general and local, to say nothing Cd,
! the thirty-twO wheels within wheels. and, q,
/ in the case of Virginia with racks attached
( bv which the free citizens are being NOR.
| gricvously and sorely oppressed than the ir-r
! subjects of Europe and who, | hazard hG'
little in saving, in the absence of a chang.
must. in the end. be ruined and enSaved.
There can be no liberty or safety Is long "a,
Chief Magistrate of Nation ddrs$ T. H.
his executive. his corrupt monied power AMI
influence, in the controlling of elections; AM
SO long rs An irresponsible Legislature
il il a farce. nav, Il talsehood, 10 say there !,
now responsibility--hall,w without tho fr..
and direct sanction of the people ut the polls
grant the power To such Legislature I" ra>'
the taxes upon themselves. Our sad exp.
rience shows that the legislation III this Stat
within the last decade. has had no such check.
but has proven conclusiveIy and imp"r.
lively the absolute necessity of such cheek
being given. The present condition Of ,hm-'
and Governmental machinery are wholly Dr.
adequate 10 the protection oi ia" vital inter-.
ests and sacred liberties of the people, %.
guaranteed by the Bill of Rights: and II NJ
in the Bill of Rights. it is in their MATURE.
Right and sovereign power. DO any ,ur
pose for Il moment, that if the question ha.
been left for the people the whole pcopI".
not party yotel To decide, that authurIn
would have been granted Ia the Legislaturr.
Il few wears ago Ia raise the taxes. G"H, f.
swoop, an time Of p,gt"Wnd ptdc', on" han.
drcd per cent; and then. again, by mean, "
a re-assessment. Ia add Ia that from fifty o.
one hundred per cent. more, making AN Oh
crease of one hundred and fifty to tw" has.
bred per cent. higher tax than was e'rr
known here since Virginia had name. All
is not this grieyously oppressive: And Nhoui
the people allow any set OF men or any Cos.
eminent to thus Cypress them? Talk Of mt
nat improvements, Why, sir. suppose such
language was very common To the Pharoah,
Of Egypt. while Cheops and Cephren, and a.
their compeers in folly, were being reared.
but it does not answer for Il free people, IN,
IN so far as they may chOoSe 10 wW IL, y
man in his senses, or who has amy resp"
for truth, would pretend to say. that u.
people have sanctioned, or ever would ha..
sanctioned, upon direct appeal, one half .
the Railroad PROJECTS now in a miSerob', tai.
! of progress. The priHcipie Is ~r""g. ~.
! must be reversed. But this j. not all VIM
is the effect of high take. upon the g"n"f'
prosperity of the State? Why. will rep"a'
now what stated three year, ago, when a..
Railroad mdR.d; and the poor land, the be.
MANU-: and the Guano m0Hid; and the Herr.
A. Wise grooming and sweating MANIA, rag.
to say nothing of your Town-lot and otia-
mdnias:-"The effect of high taxes WON'T
t0rce more land in the market than Won
find profitable sale for the next twenty year
and, ~ a matter Of course. knock the pm
down very much"--as is now the ease, AZ.
no sale ut that. The system Of Virginia b..
been, alb initio, the large farm system Ihr~
is therefore. scarcely man who i not ana
ious to reduce the size of his farm. il he cou
find purchaser, in order to reduce hIs taAr
within a figure that shall not be positive
oppressive 10 him. But here lies III" a."
Guilty! Who is there to buy? Not the "n.
sional New Yorker or Pennsylvania u.
may come among Us. These give no rc.r
so as to be felt. The disease is now 90
demic, and nothing short Of an uurer'
remedy will do any good or there ar" .
few estates that will not. sooner or later.
come insolvent, (thcy must bow to III" b.
taxes, high labor, and low prices Of graz.
besides that other much to be deplor"d r",..
the driving out Of our Virginia populan.r'
the South Western States and Tcrrl'1'
leaving their places barren wastes, or r'
occupied by nOn-saveholdimg popuIa,
Here, may remark, en- pass0"t, that thc'n'
thing that sustains the individual at pre,'.
is the occasional sale Of slave. But wia