New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-30

agraement to pay him a royalty. which, in the
absence Of any international copyrighl, u ee1
them honor 1t kept In continuous c Sro ,ne
| 10 time several prefaces and notes. But neither
in this nor in any other way did Mr., Spencer
ever indicate that ne had IN the slightest DE-
gree changed his views. until In lSSZ. on ms re-
| turn from this country. he suddenly 1ouho uia'
something Of his denial of the validity OF prop
erty in land had reached even Mayfair or was
beginning to do Besides some reference III
| the high Tory organ THE ST. James's Gazette.
THE Edinburgh Review" which had evidently
learned Of Social States through prosr onS
| and Poverty" had bracketed the two BOOKS ana
| the two men together. and denounced us as
writer's at not only with the nrst prih,
! ciples Of political economy and OF law. OF sociai
order and domestic lfe. but with the elements 0.
| human nature These are the doctrines or
communism. fatal alike to the welfare OF society
and the moral character OF man
No one alive knew better than MT. spencer, or
was in a better position to show to the English
public that these are not the doctrines or COM
munism. and involve no DENIAL but IN realty a
more scrupuous respect for the true right or
| property But he replied through the 81
Jamess Gazette IN a confusing letter In when
| ne conveyed the impression that all ne had
said was to express a by no means positive
opinion that possibly at some future time the
| primitive ownership OF rhe land by the COM
munity may perhaps be revived and merely al
| luded to Social States" as "a book OF mine pub
lished thirty-two years ago. which have With
drawn from circulation in England. and OF which
/ have interdicted TRANSACTIONS"
As a matter of fact. Social Statics was at
that moment being published and circulated In
this country by Appleton & Co. Mr.. Spencers
authorized publishers but that English Pubic
with which he was evidently concerned knew
nothing OF this They took his letter for de-
NAL that he had ever condemned property IN
land, and for a declaration that he had with
drawn everywhere the book against which thE
was charged. This, combined with the pubca-
ton Of The Man and the State" which the
Liberty and Property Defence League society
formed In London for defending private property
in land became active in circulating. placing its
author on their lists behind a long row of titled
landowners, gave Mr.. Spencer temporary peace.
But even In Man and the State" there was no
denial Of the principles he was still disseminating
in America. unless the false assumption that I
am Socialist and a Communist may be con-
sidered such.
In 1889 trouble came to Mr. Spencer again. for
The London Times" gave report OF meeting
held by John Morlsy In Newcastle in which
the heart Of Mayfair" Mr.. Spencer immed.
Which eis "The Tines , editorially said:
So without denying that ne ola once say some
was forty yesrs age and ha for the last
years he has been doing all that he can to suppress
meant his words to have any bearing upon practical
questions
This lead to a long correspondence In the
columns OF THE Times" In which, although |
none Of them seemed to know what ne lad |
really said in Social States" or that ne
still having that book published in America. the |
poor philosopher wofully heckled by Fred |
erick Greenwood, Professor Huxley Sir Louis |
Maet and others for the admissions he had |
made In The Tines letters. and the New
castle brickayer got in a brief abstract OF Chap |
ter TX Of Social States" asking Mr.. Spencer |
to tell us specifically what deductions he has
abandoned and why he has abandoned them"
Thus driven into corner Mr. Spencer could
th J..
hounds and forced to cut out OF
Social States" published by Appleton &
Co. the vital parts relating to tho land ques-
ton. and to insert as an appendix in the end Of
his book Justice" an Endorsement OF land
ownership. which. compared with his utteranccs
in Social Statcs" is the most ridiculous and
the most shameful pretence OF reasoning
put in print by any man assuming phllosophic
acumen and intellectual honesty In this Mr..
Spencer actually endeavors to pacate Sir John
and His Grace BY saying that in Social Sta
ties which deduces the equal right to land from
the fact Of existence and SCOTS at the possibility
of any exclusive right being derived from decent
or purchase or use or prescription. he had
omitted to consider that the existing descendants
Of the appropriations Of land could not be dstin-
gulshed from the existing descendants Of those
who were originally robbed OF their natural
rights. and that the landowners Of England
have during the last three centuries paid In
poor rates a sum larger than the original prairie
value OF England-by which he means II he
means anything at all. the value Of the land be-
fore there were any people.
l have In "a Perplexed Philosopher" char
acterized this new light Of the Evolutionary
Philosopher. as alone II can be fifty character
lied. by the parable Of Professor Brown. the
Qa AIMS no fpI{
and feathers at Vicksburg previous to the war
through the discovery that in early life he had
spoken In favor OF abolition. made his peace by
declaring that the negroes had really been en-
shaved by their own people. and. counting the
cost OF bringing them here from the early DAYS
Of the slave trade and Of supporting and keep
Ing them since. were really in debt to their own /
ers $4,000 apiece
But even now. after Mr.. Spencer led on step
by step. has drunk the cup Of Intellectual de- |
basement and moral degradation to the last
iregs In the effort TO apologize for and hide the
memory of his early advocacy Of a great truth.
ne finds again that though a man may announce !
!. truth he cannot fury 1t. In the newspaper ,
discussion Of which Mr.. Smaey speaks so
cial States has come up to trouble him again
Will venture to say that II Mr.. Spencer will
permit 1t, the English Land Restoration League ,
will publish what he has said on the right TO >
and in Social States" with what he has said =
n Justice" But that Is the last thing he really
wants. @
l have printed In "A Perpexed Phosopher'' O
I'll that Mr.. Spencer has had to say on the land r
question from Social St4tcs' to Justice" In :
esponse to inquiries addressed 10 Mr.. Spencer :,
~ hitherto warm admirers to that book he \
las replied that his friends in New York have in
heir hands materials for proving that my v
harges are baseless and my alleged facts ilc- 4
Ions. but that they. knowing and knowing !
American opinion, have decided to say nothing.
That they have decided tc say nothing is UNI (