The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1880-03-11
Governor Seymour on Agriculture.

Governor Seymour on Agriculture.
The following are the most striking
portions Of Horatio seymour's address
before the New York State Agricultur-
al Society last week. They are we'll
worth reading, as everything Mr.. Sey-
mour has to say upon the usually unin
terestlng subject Of agriculture. He is
one Of the few men in the country
who can talk upon farming, ard confine
himself to his subject, and make
his talk Of sufficient interest to hold the
attention Of his audience. People who
have heard him will endorse this.
"if all the statements have made are
correct, still the facts remain that the
people OF Europe have heretofore been
able to raise most Of the food they need.
Why can they not hereafter, with the
same labor, on the same soil, raise enough
to supply their wants, except for the
small amount which they have heretofore
imported? Why can We expect, with
ordinary Seasons, that we can sell them
moro than We have done in past years;
that, although we may raise grain and
make provisions for less than they can,
will not the effect Of this be merely to re-
euce the price which farmers will get
and not the amount of food they will pro-
duce? These questions bring into views
some facts of great interest in many re-
lspccts. In the first place, where farmers
own their lands, as they do with us, all
they can get for what they sell goes to
those who labor upon the soil. But, as
rule, in Europe, and particularly in Great
Britain, what is made upoB farms mus:
support at least two and sometimes four
classes of pcrsons-the tenant, who does
the work: the landlord and usually some
agents or middlemen, who hire and sub
let to tenants. Church rates and many
and many other charges must also be
paid. When our cheap grains reached
their markets, as they will hereafter and
govern the price of produce, they disturb
the existing arrangements. The tenant
must have enough to live upon then rs
now, taxes and tithes must be paid and
only what is left will 60 to the owners.
This class arc to suffer. II you read tho
debates in Parliament you will see that
an attempt is made to excite sympathy
for British farmers. But the parties who
are really affected are British landlords.
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and British farmers, but American and
British landlords. If the cost of produce
falls rents must come down, for tenants
can pay no more and landlords will get
no more than prices will give. The ten
ants share cannot be less than 1t now is
the loss must fal' upon the owners.
Beyond this diminution of the rcvc-
MUGS ;:crc is a difficulty which affects the
struc;, K =! poll: cal and social organi-
| zations. tic n:':'ility arc landlords. In
Britain i:4:y arc recognized as one of the
| estates oi the government. A class Of
| them constitutes the House OF Lords
The theory OF most of the European Gov
crnments is, that these families who have
personal and political rights beyond the
mass of people, to uphold the dignity
and power of his political rank, should
| have large estates, and these must in the
main consist of lands. At this rank is
hereditary it must be strengthened by
hereditary cstates.-Persenal wealth is
evancscent, too clangcable, to admit of
it being secured by entails. But the ten
ures Of land can be so arranged that they
may be held by families, and made safe
from divisions by laws of entail and of
|
said; Inequality Of condition and hered-
| ity of estates are not SO much the crea-
| ton OF English laws as the scource of
their political institution
Our cheap and fertile lands and the
low cost of sending our products to Eu.
rope may work great changes in the con-
| dition OF the higher classes and the ten
ures of real estate. This explains the
| uncasiness they have shown when We send
teod to relieve the hunger of their pco-
pie. IT is not this mcrclful work, but
| the fear that hereafter we may reduce
their resources, which disturbsithem. If
! We do, their large estates cannot lie held
| by their present tenures; they must be
sold or divided. 1t is not necessary to
owcll on the great changes this would
make in the social and political aspect of
Great Britain. The fear of this has al
| ready given birth to plans for taxing all
food brought fiom other countries. This
has led to a controversy between the land
ed and manufacturing interests. Britain
was called the workshop Of the world, but
its artisans are now pressed by competi-
ton from many quarters and are suffer
ing from the low wages they get. How.
then, can Government tax their tood9
If this harsh plan is adopted it Will send
many of its skilled workmen to US, while
they are subjected to sharp competition
by the very workmcn driven 20 this
country, where all the necessaries cf life
will be SO much cheaper. In the end
they must take our grain or give up
classes of their people. We cannot fore
see what course they will take, for no
one can read the debates IN Parliament
without beng struck with the ignorance
of members, not only with respect to our
States, but their Canadian colonies. If
their statesmen are as ignorant with re-
gard to their dependencies in Asia and
Africa as they are about those on the
continent, the British Empire is in great
peril Of dishonor and disaster. The result
probably will be that the landowners will
find that they must not only reduce their
rents, but they must also change the char
acter Of their farm products and buy
most of their grain and many of their
provisions from us, and our markets in
future will be thus enlarged.
If they tax imported food, they will
break down their manufactures, destroy
their home markets, end bring disaster
upon their country. If the continental
nations tax food, in addition to military
and other burdens they will drive away
their yousg and active citizens and re-
ducc their military strength. Monarchs
will be safer from bullets when food is
cheap and abundant.
Cutdone by . Boy.
A lad in Boston, rather small for his
years, worked as an errand boy for four
gentlemen who did business there. One
day the gentlemen were chatting him =
little about being 80 small, and said to
him:
"You never v,ill amount to much:
you never can dc much business; you
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