The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-06-19

OF ireland. Taking all Sreat Dria'n .oso'"o''
about four-ffths Of the profitable soil ts owned
By 1000 individuals. and the other nNh oy
| about 100000 This concentration OF land
I, A few hands has heen due to causes which
have been in operation for centuries. First
among these was the law Of primogeniture.
under which. In case OF intestacy. all the real
estate went to the oldest male heir. Next
etonds the system Of transfer OF land among
tn. living. which clogs It's alienation ana rem
ders its purchase by the poor almost tmpossi-
BILE. Every American knows how simple
cheap, and expeditions is our system OF record
ing deeds and mortgages. In England. eS-
cent. in some small sections OF the country
where this system has boon lately intro
duced. nothing OF this kind exists. In
no other civilized country In tho world DO sales
aud mortgages Of land hatituaiiy ako 40
long a time to transact and nowhere else are
the charges 10 tho case OF small prope ties SO
great Time and time again from the days OF
Cromwell down have attempts been made TO
introduce recording system such as prevails
in tho Unitod States and in most Continental
countries, but always without success The
result has been that the great class OF yeo-
men, or smnll landowners filling their own
firms. has almost wholly disappeared. and
has given place to a race OF peasants well ntGh
the most ignorant and brutalized among the
ostensibly civilized peoples on the globe. NOT
content with making the purchase OF LAND III
ncult and expensive. the ruling classes have
gone ono step further Formerly large part
OF the soil OF England was owned In common.
each village community holding it's great
tract OPEN to all the inhabitants for purposes
Of pueturagc. But since the beginning OF the
Last century nine million acres OF these COM
mon lands. or more than one-eishth ofthe whole
- -. haAnN IN ban % a.
sion OF by private individuals and enclosed
under acts OF Parliament
Turning from England to America Mr..
Campbell invites us to survey a very different
picture The census OF 1880 showed that the
farms in tho United States numbered over
100000. Of which only about 25.0OO con-
tanned more than 1000 acres each. or the
whole number nearly three-fourths were
worked By the owners while OF the remainder
the larger part were worked on shares. In
1880 before slavery waa abolished. the farms
mum hsred only about 1.50O,00O. and they nv
eragad 2o3 acres EACH In 1870 the average
had sunk to l34 acres. so TINT. although tho
amount OF land under cultivation had largely
increased. tho process " subdivision had heen
still more rapid. The above figures take no
account Of city or village lots for building
purposes. for the American lahorer. except
in few largo cities. In which Philad.lphta is
not included. usually owns his own dwelling
and thu. is a proprietor oi the soil. Such Is
the tremendous difference between England
and America as to the distribution of land
The whole matter was sum mod IN ~ Daniel
Webster 10 q passage quoted In the book he
fore us from his great speech at Plymouth.
when he snii OF tho New Eng and settlers that
the character OF their 20 tioal tnsti utions
was determined By the fun,la nents.i laws re-
spectng property. These laws. he said. pro-
vided for the equal division OF the estate OF an
interstate among MS children. while tho cstab-
lishment Of public registration and the SIM
p.icity Of the forms OF conveyance had far'll-
tatod tho exchange Of land among the living.
Next comes the subject OF popular education
which some persons. although Mr. Campbell is
scarcely ono of them. MAJ cunsi Ter more i'm
portant than any question Of tho distribution
OF property. Tho history OF pnpu ar education
in America is surriurtly outlined. When the
pilgrims from Holland landed at Plymouth.
one of their first acts was to establish a COM
mon school The New England Pur!tans
speedily followed their example In lh41 the
Massachusetts, colony passed law providing
that every township OF atty householders
should appoint a schoolmastsr to teach tho
children to road anil wrlte In Connecticut
every town that did not keep sch mol for three
months in the year was liable to hns. Mem
while the Dutch had esta Jlished FREQ
schools In New York. This WAS the begin
ming OF the educational system OF tho
United States. Going forward to the close
of thu Revolution we I'm the Congress OF the
Confederation passing in l7S5 an act reserv-
ing for educational purposes the sixteenth
section OF each township In the public terri
tory OF the United States north Of the Ohio and
west Of the Alleghaniea The policy then es-
tabiished has been pursued In regard t. all
subsequent acquisitions. and In 1858 an addt-
tional section was granted by tho Govern ment
Up to tho present Ct NO these grants aggregate
over 78O0O 90 acres. territory larger than
the whole OF Great Britain and Ireland ootn-
bined. In 1870 the United States spent on
popular edu alton over 100000. 900. .whlle
the common schools have Increased to 2l6.OG0
The census of 1880 shows that in the Northern
States only Ave per cent OF the native-born
population were unable to read or w:ite.
Now. II any one imagines that America Is in
debted to England for it's free school system
let him mark tho facts collected by Mr. Camp
bell on the other side. During tho reign OF
Edward vi. some grammar schools. or what
we should now call Latin schools eighteen
for the whole k;ngdom-were established by
the reformers Of his Government. Eton and
Winchester were OF older foundation and at
various times q few more Latin schools were
endowed ny private individuals. The Eng
lish Government did nothing further III the
cause OF education for nearly three centuries
until the year 1882. when Parliament
made for this object the appropriation Of
100000. Since tho time OF Edward VI
this WAS tho first official recognition
In England Of the principle that tho
State owes any educational duty to its chill
dren. In 1880 the annu /! grant was raised to
100000 and then was increased from time to
time until 1851. when It amounted to half o
million pounds. about one-nfth as much aB
the SUN spent annually by tho State OF New
York alone. This sum was used. moreover.
not to support free schools. but to nid those OF
voluntary character 1t WIS in 1870 that
England for the first time entered upon % sys-
tenn OF national education by establishing
common schools for the masses. Even now
the instruction is OF only an elementary char
meter and Is not wholly free. Connected with
the subject OF popular education some other
interesting facts are brought out In the book
before U.s. Thus In Septem or. 1880. the report