The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-05-04
From Current Comment and Legal Miscellany.
TITLE-DEEDS FOR LANDS.
RY HoN. w. NJ. RAPsHER.

The Hittites of the Bible were probably the
irstln all the worlds history, in at least several
OF the great commercial aud leading acts of civil
lization. We find the Hlttites engaged in
memorable transaction with Abraham when he
purchased from them the cave OF MachDelah,
for buryng-place tor Sarah. 1t being the first
making out OF tite-deeds for the first transfer Uf
land with photographic evidence of title. AS
eorroDorative OF this, refer To what Perrot the
historian says, substantially. After the great
battle at KadeSh not much later in their his
tory, King Khita-sra sent his ambassadors down
to Egypt to negotiate treaty OF peace and ALI
ance. They made silver plate upon which
was engraved in the Hittite language the text of
the treaty they proposed to, enter into. This,
says Perrot, is the most ancient diplomatic act
which has come down to u.s."
The most ancient foundation for a chain of
title In deed, that has fallen under my obser-
va,ion contains INTER ALA the following:
whereas the Creator OF the earth, by parole
and livery OF seizin, did enfeoff the parents OF
mankind, to wit, Adam and Eve, of ali that GER
tain tract OF land called and known as the plane
tary system by the name of the earth, to
have and to hold TO them, said Adam and Eve,
and the heirs OF their bodies lawfully to be be-
gotten, in fee-tall general forever, AS by SAID
feoffment recorded by Moses, in the first chapter
OF the first book OF his records, commonly called
Genesis, more fully and at large appears"
Moses was followed and strongly sustained by
Blackstone and many other noted legal writer's,
IN u " the earth, therefore, and all things there
IN, are the general property OF all mankind, .
the immediate gilt of the Creator"
Assimilation advances and the globe becomes
more pOpulOus, these venerable authorities that
hold that the earth is the general property OF all
mankind, !. e. that land should, rs a matter OF
Inherent right, be held III common, are forgot
ten, or else regarded merely as quaint old tic-
| tons OF the law. 1t may, however, be observed,
that in an age of greed, selashness and mercen
airy combinations, the Single Tax Party under
| the leadership OF Henry George has recently be-
come potential political force upon the stage
| of politics. A voice comes from the people which
| has for several centuries been stfed so that il
could not make itself heard.
mol Z .,lE
strongly felt, and it forcefully contends that to
| stay the persistence of poverty, amid advancing
wealth, laDor.Saying machinery and the highest
development IN the arts and sciences, the just
| and only remedy, Is to rest on the common and
natural right TO land to the people, ana so as to
cause as little political disturbance as possible,
| IL proposes TO do this by the simple method of
gradually placing all taxation upon land values.
Ihls new party rightly insists that there is
sohething radically wrong Ia governmental or
| leads 10 such an unequal distribution OF wealth
with such unequal opportunities as everywhere
stare us in the face. The moral, economic and
| legal obstacles which the new movement has to
encounter, are but slight, in comparison with
the dlinculty OF getting the people to understand
| lts tneory ana practical application, and to make
| common cause TO right their wrongs. IL demands
| " the abolition OF all taxes upon Industry, and
lhe taking, by taxation upon land values, ire
| SpectNe OF improvement, OF the annual rental
value OF all those various forms of natural op-
| pOrtuntieS embraced under the general term,
landi 80. and that as result, Involuntary
poverty VIII De abolished, and the greed, inten-
peranee ana vice that spring from poverty and
| lne DREAD OF POVERTY, Will q swept away. "
Ihls policy, II carried out to its logical conclu-
| sion, rs It's advocates warmly urge, would wipe
out oil existence all land titles, as they are now
/ understood.
II would practically restore the earth to all the
| people IN common. The fundamental argument
| IN support of this position, may be condensed in
brief space by using some OF the language o.
| us leading advocate. Upon the question of land
all nave the same equal rights to te elements
| necessary which Nature has provided for the
sustaining ot llte-tO air, to wafer and 10 land,
| For, 10 deny the equal right TO the elements
necessary 10 the maintaining of life; is 10 deny
| the equal right TO life.
| It, therefore, follows from the very fact of
their existence, that the right of each one Of the
people 10 an equal share in the land Is equal and
lnallenable that is to say that the use and bene-
nj OF the land belong rghtfully TO the whole
people, 10 each one AS much as to every other: to
no one more than TO any other-not 70 sonle in
diyiduals, TO the exclusion OF other individuals;
not 10 one class TO the exclusion of otner classes
not 10 landlords, not to tenants, not TO cultya-
| tors, but 10 the whole people. This right is ire
| futable and indefeasible. II pertains to and
springs from the fact oI existence. the right TO
i've. NO law, no covenant, no agreement, can
bar Il. One generation cannot stipnlate away
the rights OF another generation. IL the whole
people were 10 unite In bargaining away the
| right In the land, how could they Justly bargain
| away the right Of the child who the next mo-
| ment is bornp No one can bargain away what
Is not his; no one can stipulate away the rights
of another. And II the new born infant has an
equal right to life, then has II an equal right "a
| land. Its warrant which comes direct from Ma.
ture, and which sets aside all human laws OF
ttle-deeds, Is the fact that 1t is born The land
belongs to the whole people who at the time
exist upon IL. Is 1t probable that land titles
will be abolished?