The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1901-08-14

enacted statute, commonly called the
statute de-donis, by which an estate
might be entailed ad-infinitum, so that
it could never be sold for debt, or con-
veyedby the tenant in possession so as
to defeat the estate of the heir in tail.
BY an act known as the Six Articles.
in the reign of Henry Will, was es
tablished a new form of religion, with
the King as the head instead of the
Pope; this church was known as the
Church of England. To this church
each citizen was compelled to pay an
nually a certain amount as tithes, heth-
er he was an adherent OF that faith or
not, In the reign of Elizabeth many
severe laws were passed for the punish
ment OF both Catholics and Protestant
disesuters, all persons being required to
conform to the Church OF England.
On the Goth day of June, 1919, in the |
little village of jamestown, was assem-
bled by Governor Yeardly,the first leg
islative body that ever met in America. |
This body enacted that all laws then
existing in England, as far as they were
applicable to this country, should be-
come laws of Virginia. In this way
they adopted tie law Of primogeniture
and entailed estates. AT the same time |
they adopted the Church of England |
as the established church of Virginia |
For over $50 years these laws -four
ished in Virginia with increasing
strength and vigor, until they were
attacked by jefferson in l776, when at
one blow they came tunIbling down
The example set by the disestablish-
ment of the Church of England by the
Virginia Legislature was soon followed
by all the other States, that had an
established form religion; so that in a
short while freedom of religion was es-
tablished in all the infant States of the
republic.
OF the ten amendments of the Con- !
stitution, proposed to the Legislatures
of the different States by the fist Con-
gress, on September %, 1888. the begin
ming of the first article provides that
Congress shall make no laws respecting |
an establishment of religion, or pro-
hibiting the free exercise thereof"
This provision is enormously supposed
by some to be the abolished church |
had been abolished in most all of the
States several years before. This pro-
vision was simply a guarantee to the
people that the Federal government
would never impose upon them the
yoke of religious oppression.
On the 10Th day of April, 1892, in
convention held in this town, was
adopted the first Constitution of Ken
lucky, Article s, Section 6, OF which
provides, THAT all laws now in force
in the State OF Virginia, not inconsis-
tent with this Constitution, which are
of general nature, and not local to
the Eastern part of that State, shall be
in force in this State until they shall
be altered or repealed by the Legisla-
ture." 1t is, therefore, plain that had
not the established church, and the
laws of primogeniture and entailed es-
tates been abolished before the adop-
ton of the Constitution Of Kentucky,
they would have been in full force in
this State, with all their injurious con
sequences. The freedom of religion is
just as important as the freedom of
speech. To be compelled to pay tithes
10 church in which a person has no
connection OF belief, is as much tyranny
as the laws that brought on the RevOlu-
ton. 1t took France forty years OF
war and bloodshed to accomplish the
freedom OF religion; while in Virginia
it was accomplished in short time bv
the energy and craftsmanship Of one
man, leaving as it has TO future genera
lions the right to worship God as they
see fit.
In the repeal of the laws of primo
geniture and entailed estate, we have
the greatest safeguard against the es-
adjustment of a nobility in this coun-
try. For If the property is eqally
divided between all the heirs, without
the privilege of entailing the estate to
the eldest son, it is impossible for nc
bility to exist; proof of which is
shown by the fact that prior to the
repeal of these laws, there had sprung
mp in Virginia quasi nobility. COM
posed of the wealthiest planters of the
country, whose estates were entailed to
their eldest sons, but after the repeal Cf
these laws this nobility completely
disappeared.
There were other laws passed in the
Virginia Legislature through the guild
ance Of Mr.. Jefferson of scarcely less
Importance than these; among which
were bills for the establishing of a
public school system, and, also for es-
tablishing courts of justice throughout
the country. 1t would barely be an
refrigeration to say that the statute
book of Virginia. was Jeffersonian
code.
But in on great attempt at legisla-
ton he utterly failed, and had lac sue
ceded it wonld have saved Virginia and
Kentucky thousands of their noblest
sons This was a law to emancipate
the slaves
In his autobiography written in 1921.
speaking of the attempted legislation,
he said: at was found the public
mind would not vet bear the PROPOSE
ton, nor will it bear it even to this day,
| yet the day is not distant when it must
bear it and adopt it, or worse will fol-
low. Nothing is more certainly written
in the book of fate, than that these peo-
pie are to be free"
This prophecy was fulfilled more
than forty years later. What Won
derful foresight Had Virginia given
heed to her son, wise beyond his time,
the slaughter Of Gettysburg and An
tietam might have been averted; aud,
too, the heart-break of Appomattox,
where Lee with his remnant OF footsore,
but devoted followers, saw their fondesi
hopes disappear beyond the horizon Of
an everlasting impossibility. Had she