Wabash express., 1860-03-28

development, and decline of agriculture
Hooke. in describing the condition OF ag
, riculture among the Romans more than tw
thousand years ago, the process of absorp
ton of the lands by the rich, and thei
consequent cultivation by slaves, furnishe
} the student Of history with the secret caus
that undermined the empire and destroyed
its liberties. read from book six, chap
ter seven, of his History of Rome, volumI
two, page 500:
From the earliest times Of Rome, it haC
been the custom of the Romans, when they
subdued any of the nations in Italy, to de
prive them of part Of their territory.
portion of these lands was sold, and the
rest given to the poorer citizens; on con.
dition. says Appan. of their paying annu-
ally tenth of the corn aud fifth of the
fruits Of trees, besides certain number oi
great and small cattle. In process Of time,
the rich. by uarious means. got possession oi
the lands destined for the subsistence of The
poor.
THE rich and the mighty contrived to
possess theEaelves of the lands Of their
poor neighbors. At first they held these
! acquisitions under borrowed names; after
wards openly in their own. To cultivate
the farms they employed foreign slaves; so
that Italy was in danger of losing its in
habitants OF free condition, (who had no
encouragement 10 marry, no means to edu
cate children, } and of being overrun with
slaves and barbarians, that had neither af.
fection for the republic, nor interest in her
preservation.
| "Tiberius Gracious, now a tribune of
the people, undertook to remedy these dis
ORDERS"
Never, says Plutarch, was proposed
law more mild and gentle against iniquity
and oppression; yet the rich made a nigh.
! ty clamor about the har ishIp of being
stript OF their houses, their lands, their in,
heritances, the burial places of their auces.
tors.
"The poor, on the other hand, COMPLAIN
ed of the extreme indigence to which they
were reduced, and OF their inability to
bring up children. They enumerated the
battles where they had fought in defense
OF the Republic; Notwithstanding which
"they were allowed no share Of the public
lands; nay, the usurpers, to cultivate tn EN-
chose rather to employ foreigners and
slaves than citizens of Rome" Gracious
view was not to make poor men rich but
to strengthen the Republic. by an increase
Of useful members. upon which he thought
the welfare of Italy depended. The insur-
rection and war of the slaves in Sicily,
who were not yet quelled, furnished him
with sufficient argument for expatiating
on the danger of filing Italy with slaves"
"He asked the rich whether they prefer.
red slave to a citizen; man unqualified
to serve in war to soldier; an alien 10 a
member of the. Republic: and which they
thought would be mere Jealous for its in
terest2 Then, as to the misery of the poor:
"The wild beasts of Italy have caves and
dens to shelter them; but the people, who
expose their lives for the defense of Italy,
are allowed nothing but the light and air;
and children, tcifhout homes and pitkout hab-
itation. Our generals mock the soldiers,
when, in battle, they exhort them 10 fight
| for their sepulchres and their household
| gods; for, amongst all that great number
of Romans, there is not one who has either
domestic altar, or sepulchre of his an
cestors. They fight and die, solely to main
tain the riches aud luxury of others; and
are styled lords of the universe, while they
have not single foot of ground in their
possession"
Smith, in the second volume, page 26l
of his Greek and Roman biographical die
tionary, speaking of Tiberius Gracious,
and the reasons for his proposed legisla-
ton, says:
"His brother Ca;us related in some OF
his works, that Tiberius, on his march to
Spain, in (B. C.) 1877, as he was passing
through Etruria, observed with grief and
indignation the deserted state of that fer
tile country; thousands Of foreign slaves
in chains were employed in cultivating
the land and tending the flocks upon the
immense estates of the wealthy, willie the
poorer classes Of Roman citizens, who
were thus thus thrown out of emplo oyment,
had scarcely their daily bread, or a clod ot
earth to call their own. He is said to
have been reused through that circum.
stance to exert himself in endeavoring to
remedy this evil"
Had the policy advocated by Gracious
of distributing the public lands among the
landless citizens of the nation, been adopt
ed, the Roman fields would have been cul
tivated by free men instead of slaves and
there would have been race of men tc
stay the ravages OF the barbarian. Tht
Eternal City would not then have fallen al
easy prey to the Goth aud Vandal; but TIT
star of her empire might have waved il
triumph long after the ivy twined her col
umss.
With homes and fresides to defend, tn,
arms and hearts of an independent yeo
manry are a surer and more impregnabl
defense than battlement, wall, or tower
: While the population of a country are tn
!, proprietors of the land which they till
they have an interest 10 surround their fire
sides with comfort and make their home
happy-the great incentive TO industry
! frugality. aud sobriety. 1t is such habit
: alone that give security to government
and form the real elements OF nstiona
greatness and power.
National disasters are not the growth c
day. but the fruit Of long years Of injus
: tice and wrong. The seeds planted b
: false, pernIcious legislation. often requiI
8 ages to germinste aud ripen into their har
Z vests o. ruin and death. The mos
D pernicious of all the baleful seeds of ni
: tional existence, is policy that degrade
u its labor. Whenever agricultural labor o,
t comes dishonorable. it will, of course, b
,. confined to those who have no interest j
u the soil they till; aud when the LAHORE
It ceases to have any interest in the land b
e cultivates, he ceases to have stake in III
o advancement and good order of societ.
k for he has nothing to lose, nothing to d.
l fend, nothing to hope for. The associ
tions of an independent freehold are EN-
g Gently calculated to enable and eeva
e, the possessor. 1t is the fe-spring of
st manly national character, and Of gene
70 Gus patriotism; a patriotism that rushes
lie the defense of the country and the vindic
Is ton of its honor, with the same zeal at
r alacrity that it guards the hearthstone at
is the freside. Wherever Freedom has U
e, furled her banner, the men who have rs
OF lied around to sustain and uphold II ha