The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-11-21

U u
acres. Shall we be guilty Of the folly of
throwing away, not only the advantages Of
the division of labor and Of cultivated intel
lect In directing affairs, but all the improve
ments OF modern science and art, and Of
returning to that state Of rude simplicity
in which "Adan, delved and Eve span,"
which preceded the age of gentlemen
II there was nothing In the advanced
state of art and civilization opposed to the
system of small farms, there is that in the
condition of the country which renders the
idea preposterous and absurd. We have
in Virginia a population of about thirty to
the square mile, and Of these nearly one
half are freedmen; and in all the States
and territories of the Union about eight to
the square mile. Yet, with these facts star
ing us in the face, we talk of small farms
If the existing population of Virginia was
SO concentrated as to cultivate small farms
without the use Of machinery, which is
only suited to large ones, not only would
the ancient halls of hospitality be deserted,
but three -fourths of her territory would
become a bowling wilderness, inhabited
only by beasts Of prey or of the chase.
Goldsmith, indulging freely the license
Of his art, tells us:
"a time there was, ere England's griefs began,
When every rood OF ground maintained Its man."
7 confess to no fancy for such Utopian
state. A dense population may add to the
wealth and power of nation, but it brings
in its train crime, want, wretchedness, and
suffering in all its forms. Could there be
folly more supreme than to divide into
little patches Shirley, Westover, the Bran
dons, and thousands Of other farms that
might be mentioned, where the plow now
runs without obstruction, in order that
crowded population of half-starved Flemish
Doors might extort from the soil little
more produce by delving with the spade
For my part, desire space-ample space,
for the. development of the individual
man.
These arguments, which seem to be the
natural suggestions of common sense, and
are irresistible when applied to country
Of vast extent and sparse population, are
fortified by the practice and opinions of
the most enlightened people on earth.
Why is the agriculture of Great Britain
confessedly superior to that of all the
world 1t is mainly attributable to largo
farms, on which manure, capital, labor,
and machinery are applied without stint.
This is the concurrent opinion of the great
lights of British husbandry-Coke, Sinclair,
Arthur Young, and Brown Of Markle, the
author of the article agriculture" in
the EdinJ,rg Encyclopedia, a treatise of
extraordinary merit, and scarcely equal
led by any similar publication. l re-
fer in general terms to the writings
of these distinguished authors for
confirmation of my opinions, but | cannot
forbear to quote from TOungS Travels in
France a single comprehensive remark,
which embraces the whole subject: " Eng
land has made, upon the whole, greater
progress in agriculture than any country
in Europe; and great farms have abso-
lutely done the whole; insomuch that we
have not a capital improvement that is ever
found upon a small one."
Count Chaptal was, in France, the great
advocate of small farms, but he surrenders
the whole question when he says "that we
nowhere see small proprietorshipsin in places
favorable to high cultivation, and the large,
undivided domains are the granaries of
France"
Some distinguished gentlemen among us
seem to suppose that, the institution o.
slavery having been abolished, there will
soon be little difference between us and
the people of the North, and that in few
years we shall be assimilated to them in
manners, habits, and tastes. 1t is quite
certain that we shall find it expedient to
initiate many of their economical practices,
which the existence Of slavery seemed
heretofore to render unnecessary, but 1t
would be unphilosophical to suppose that
the mere absence of slavery will so change
the people of the South as to obliterate the
essential characteristics of the two races.
I will not enlarge upon this topic, which
has SO often been treated with learning and
ability by others.
History teaches us that nothing is more
difficult than to change the habits, tastes,
and social and civil institutions inherited
by people from long line of ancestors.
Conquest cannot affect the change, unless
it be attended with the utter subjugatlon
or determination of the people-such as
marked the irruptions of the northern bar
barians into the province of the Roman
Empire. The battle of Hastings and the
death of Harold brought England to the
feet of the conqueror, yet all his efforts to
introduce the Norman language, laws,
manners, and institutions, were unavailing.
Military power impressed itself upon the
system of tenures, and an unintelllglble
iargon became the vehicle of the law; but
the language, laws, social and civil institu-
tions, of the AngIo-Saxons, including jury
trial and the county courts, which they in
herited from the great Alfred, still sur
vived; and all these, with the love OF true
liberty, and that attachment to the soil
which is virtue peculiarly Anglo-Saxon,
they transmitted to us, their descendants.
The terrible events of the last six years
have tried the foundations of our social
system, but they yet stand firm. Fire and
sword, battle and murder, have swept over
the land civil rights have been trampled
under foot, property has been wantonly
DESTROYED, and the institution which many
supposed was necessary part of the frame
work of our society has been abolished.
Yet Virginia still remains firm and un-
moved as her everlasting hills. The whirl-
wind of war has not shaken the deep founda-
tons of her social fabric. Law and order
still prevail true religion and sound morals
have lost none Of their respect. Our men
are still brave, our women virtuOus. A
sense of honor, like yestal fire, still guards
the purity of our people. That genuine
hospitality which springs from the kindness
of the heart still continues, without ostenta-
ton or display, to "welcomc the coming
and speed the parting guest" And the
appearance of this large and enlightened
assembly gives assurance that the race of
country gentlemen is not extinct; and
permit me to say, farmers Of Virginia, if