Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1860-07-20

~ uAul tt Nii NoiIllnsVhe nRll8.
"Timc only made the condition of things worse Capt.
tai waEel rnp1u lab0r,-that i' hc frccdom 0f the
unrsnu.vafs. NJ course, under tlc seycir. frms of
tv but mo- longer hy the indecent means VI r,iunt the
cc an to slavery 0f his debts but f1u the
outset with slaves lawfully bought and paid or tHc cty
u~nrer of old umcs appeared u appropriate .ei7cH0'sJ
Iorn us owner If plantation. Bni the final result
100 both cases hc same The decay oi The Italian pra,auf
w. thc croUdng out OF small hushaudry, first iu part
nf hc Provinces, ihcn BOO laly y the cultivation of large
estates he lreplndcauuE tendency ui ucse also in
Italy towards grazing, and the cultivation of oil aud
winci finally thc substitution of sluycs cree ah1rcrs in
the provinces well as in ltsyi5td Vol u p. ~.
In this manner capital possessed itself of
the whole field of Roman agriculture and
Italy was devoted to the increase, not of
"high-minded men, but of wealth. II the
process had stopped here, the ruin would have
been certain; republcanism was doomed -
But another step hastoned the ruin and de-
stroyed civilization as well as ropublicansm.
This was the abandoning agriculture over a
large part of Italy, and converting the arabic
soil into pasture-ground As the former step
had substituted a few slaves for more than
double the number of frecmen. this expelled
slave labor itself, and few herdsmen were
now seen in place Of large gangs Of chained
slaves This change is a remarkable ono, and.
deserves examination. Profitable grazing re-
quires that land should be abundant and cheap
anu HbluAdliOu hpNiNts L nus ~ tut litNtHb
day the great grazing rogions-Texas, Ken
lucky, and Vermont, for instance-aro remote
from the commercial centres. But in Italy.
at the period we are considering, although it
was a long-settled country, to all appearance
increasing every day in power and wealth, it
was found more profitable to raise cattle than
to cultivate the land. OF course this was not
universal. The immediate noghborhood of
Rome was no doubt still occupied by villas
and market-gardens. 1t is the fact of the
change that is noteworthy change that il
illustrates perhaps better than anything else
the decay of Roman civilization. 1t was
movement toward barbarism; for it substi-
tuted wild lands for cultivated, superseded
the systematic and laborious life Of the farmer
10y the indoleut, roaming life of the herds
man. and finished the work begun by the
iatypRdia in absorbing little homestoads into
large estates. proposition at the present
day to turn Norfolk County wholly into pas
ture lands would excite only smile but It.
ally, B. c. 2j0, was more fertile than Norfolk
County, and more donsely peopled.
Is is interesting to know how this funda-
mental charge not only could be afforded, but
could be so lucrative that Cato, when asked
what was the most profitable pursuit for
man, answered, ITO be good gralier \"cne
pascoro); what next, "to be a pretty good
gra1ior;' what next, "to be poor grazior;
aud fourthly, to cultivate (Cic. dc on, H.
25). In the first place, the way had been
prepared by the i1tJ,mdio, which had depop-
ulated large tracts of land, driving their in
habitants to the cities. The free population
of Italy, which had recovered by its inherent
vitality from the deyastations OF the second
Punic war, was now rapidly decreasing
"From the cud of the with Hannibal TO BIC 1872,
says Mpnmsen, "thc number of citizens s constantly
rising the of which Is 90 be sought n the cpnant
and extensive distributions Of domain land after b G.
l5J az which time the census reported i2'OI ciHrns
capable N bearing arms there is exhibited un the other
hand regular decrease since the register shows Is. q.
l5i, 32l l00j, Il. c. l, 322OO, B g.. 49, 3l0tOl able
bodied ctzene,a fearful result for period Of deep
peace within and without Vol II. p 70
f Imagine England with is lords ia squircs,
and especially s city, but with is rooholdcs ana iarm
changed nn paupcrs, ts workmcn ana sailors into
slaves shall form tolcrahY good image nl NE popu-
ation Of the Italian peninsula At this time Vol III.
p. 800
This fact would perhaps be enough in itself
to explain even change SO momentous as that
from a higher to lower grade OF agricultu-
At least nineteen colonies were planted during this
period within the limits N modern Italy and in all lots
Of land were distributed Among nuube Of poor citizens,
policy precisely analogous No that OF ouf Homestead
Bill, anil which had the same object IN view