CHAPTER XV.
"I tell thee, Jack Cade, the clothier means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and put a new nap upon it."--_King Henry VI._
As I knew Mary must have communicated to her father my real name, I didnot hesitate, as I ought to have done in my actual dress and in myassumed character, about following them, in order to inquire if I couldbe of any service. I never saw distress more strongly painted in anyman's countenance than it was in that of Mr. Warren, when I approached.So very obvious, indeed, was his emotion, that I did not venture toobtrude myself on him, but followed in silence; and he and Mary slowlywalked, side by side, across the street to the stoop of a house, ofwhich all the usual inmates had probably gone in the other direction.Here Mr. Warren took a seat, Mary still at his side, while I drew near,standing before him.
"I thank you, Mr. Littlepage," the divine at length said, with a smileso painful it was almost haggard, "for, so Mary tells me you should becalled--I thank you for this attention, sir--but, it will be over inanother minute--I feel better now, and shall be able to command myself."
No more was then said, concerning the reason of this distress; but Maryhas since explained to me its cause. When her father went into themeeting-house, he had not the smallest idea that anything like areligious service would be dragged into the ceremonies of such a day.The two ministers on the stage first gave him the alarm; when a mostpainful struggle occurred in his mind, whether or not he should remain,and be a party to the mockery of addressing God in prayer, in anassembly collected to set at naught one of the plainest of hislaws--nay, with banded felons drawn up around the building, as principalactors in the whole mummery. The alternative was for him, a minister ofthe altar, to seem to quit those who were about to join in prayer, andto do this moreover under circumstances which might appear to others asif he rejected all worship but that which was in accordance with his ownviews of right, a notion that would be certain to spread far and near,greatly to the prejudice of his own people. But the first, as he viewedthe matter, involved a species of blasphemy; and yielding to hisfeelings, he took the decided step he had, intending to remain out ofthe building, until the more regular business of the day commenced.
It is certain Mr. Warren, who acted under the best impulse of Christianfeeling, a reverence for God, and a profound wish not to be a party inoffending him with the mockery of worship under such circumstances, haslost much influence, and made many enemies, by the step he then took.The very same feeling which has raised the cry of aristocracy againstevery gentleman who dwells in sufficiently near contact with the massesto distinguish his habits from those around him; which induces theeastern emigrant, who comes from a state of society where there are nolandlords, to fancy those he finds here ought to be pulled down, becausehe is not a landlord himself; which enables the legislator to stand upin his place, and unblushingly talk about feudal usages, at the veryinstant he is demonstrating that equal rights are denied to those hewould fain stigmatize as feudal lords, has extended to religion, and theChurch of which Mr. Warren was a minister, is very generally accused ofbeing aristocratic, too! This charge is brought because it has claimswhich other Churches affect to renounce and reject as forming no part ofthe faith; but the last cannot remain easy under their own decision; andwhile they shout, and sing that they have found "a Church without abishop," they hate the Church that has a bishop, because it hassomething they do not possess themselves, instead of pitying its deludedmembers, if they believe them wrong. This will not be admittedgenerally, but it is nevertheless true; and betrays itself in a hundredways. It is seen in the attempt to _call_ their own priests bishops, inthe feeling so manifest whenever a cry can be raised against theirexistence, and in the _general_ character of these theological rallies,whenever they do occur.
For one, I see a close analogy between my own Church, as it exists inthis country, and comparing it with that from which it sprung, and tothose which surround it, and the true political circumstances of the twohemispheres. In discarding a vast amount of surplusage, in reducing theorders of the ministry, in practice as well as in theory, to theirprimitive number, three, and in rejecting all connection with the state,the American branch of the Episcopal Church has assumed the position itwas desirous to fill; restoring, as near as may be, the simplicity ofthe apostolical ages, while it does not disregard the precepts andpractices of the apostles themselves. It has not set itself aboveantiquity and authority, but merely endeavored to sustain them, withoutthe encumbrances of more modern abuses. Thus, too, has it been inpolitical things. No attempt has been made to create new organic socialdistinctions in this country, but solely to disencumber those that areinseparable from the existence of all civilized society, of the clumsymachinery with which the expedients of military oppressors had investedthem. The real sages of this country, in founding its institutions, nomore thought of getting rid of the landlords of the country, than theChurch thought of getting rid of its bishops. The first knew that thegradations of property were an inevitable incident of civilization; thatit would not be wise, if it were possible, to prevent the affluent frommaking large investments in the soil; and that this could not be done inpractice, without leaving the relation of landlord and tenant. Becauselandlords, in other parts of the world, possessed privileges that werenot necessary to the natural or simple existence of the character, wasno reason for destroying the character itself; any more than the factthat the bishops of England possess an authority the apostles knewnothing of, rendered it proper for the American branch of the Church todo away with an office that came from the apostles. But envy andjealousy do not pause to reflect on such things; it is enough for_them_, in the one case, that you and yours have estates and occupysocial positions, that I and mine do not, and cannot easily, occupy andpossess; _therefore_ I will oppose you, and join my voice to the cry ofthose who wish to get their farms for nothing; and in the other, thatyou have bishops when we can have none, without abandoning our presentorganization and doctrines.
I dwell on these points at some little length, because the movement ofMr. Warren and myself, at that moment, had a direct influence on thecircumstances that will soon be related. It is probable that fullyone-half of those collected in the Little Nest meeting-house, thatmorning, as they stood up, and lent a sort of one-sided and listlessattention to the prayer, were thinking of the scandalous andaristocratical conduct of Mr. Warren, in "goin' out o' meetin' just asmeetin' went to prayers!" Few, indeed, were they who would be likely toascribe any charitable motive for the act; and probably not one of thosepresent thought of the true and conscientious feeling that had inducedit. So the world wags! It is certain that a malignant and bitter feelingwas got up against the worthy rector on that occasion, and for that act,which has not yet abated, and which will not abate in many hundreds,until the near approach of death shall lay bare to them the truecharacter of so many of their own feelings.
It was some minutes before Mr. Warren entirely regained his composure.At length he spoke to me, in his usual benevolent and mild way, saying afew words that were complimentary, on the subject of my return, while heexpressed his fears that my uncle Ro and myself had been imprudent inthus placing ourselves, as it might be, in the lion's jaws.
"You have certainly made your disguises so complete," he added, smiling,"as to have escaped wonderfully well so far. That you should deceiveMary and myself is no great matter, since neither of us ever saw youbefore; but, the manner in which your nearest relatives have beenmisled, is surprising. Nevertheless, you have every inducement to becautious, for hatred and jealousy have a penetration that does notbelong even to love."
"We think we are safe, sir," I answered, "for we are certainly withinthe statute. We are too well aware of our miserable aristocraticalcondition to place ourselves within the grasp of the law, for such areour eminent privileges as a landed nobility, that we are morally certaineither of us would not only be sent to the State's prison were he to beguilty of the felony those Injins are committing, and will commit, witha perfe
ct impunity, but that he would be kept there, as long as a singletear of anguish could be wrung from one of those who are classed withthe aristocracy. Democracy alone finds any sympathy in the ordinaryadministration of American justice."
"I am afraid that your irony has only too much truth in it. But themovement around the building would seem to say that the real business ofthe day is about to commence, and we had better return to the church."
"Those men in disguise are watching us, in a most unpleasant andalarming manner," said Mary Warren, delighting me far more by thevigilance she thus manifested in my behalf, than alarming me by thefact.
That we were watched, however, became obviously apparent, as we walkedtoward the building, by the actions of some of the Injins. They had leftthe side of the church where they had posted themselves during theprayer, and head was going to head, among those nearest to us; or, itwould be nearer to appearances, were I to say bunch of calico was goingto bunch of calico, for nothing in the form of a head was visible amongthem. Nothing was said to Mr. Warren and Mary, however, who werepermitted to go into the meeting-house, unmolested; but two of thesedisguised gentry placed themselves before me, laying their rifles acrossmy path, and completely intercepting my advance.
"Who you?" abruptly demanded one of the two;--"where go--where comefrom?"
The answer was ready, and I trust was sufficiently steady.
"I coomes from Charmany, und I goes into der kerch, as dey say in minecoontry; what might be callet a meetin'-'us, here."
What might have followed, it is not easy to say, had not the loud,declamatory voice of the lecturer just then been heard, as he commencedhis address. This appeared to be a signal for the tribe to make somemovement, for the two fellows who had stopped me, walked silently away,though bag of calico went to bag of calico, as they trotted offtogether, seemingly communicating to each other their suspicions. I tookadvantage of the opening, and passed into the church, where I worked myway through the throng, and got a seat at my uncle's side.
I have neither time, room, nor inclination to give anything like ananalysis of the lecture. The speaker was fluent, inflated, and anythingbut logical. Not only did he contradict himself, but he contradicted thelaws of nature. The intelligent reader will not require to be remindedof the general character of a speech that was addressed to the passionsand interests of such an audience, rather than to their reason. Hecommented, at first, on the particular covenants of the leases on theold estates of the colony, alluding to the quarter-sales, chickens,days' work, and durable tenures, in the customary way. The reservationof the mines, too, was mentioned as a tyrannical covenant, precisely asif a landlord were obliged to convey any more of the rights that werevested in him, than he saw fit; or the tenant could justly claim morethan he had hired! This man treated all these branches of the subject,as if the tenants had acquired certain mysterious interests by time andoccupation, overlooking the fact that the one party got just as good atitle as the other by this process; the lease being the instrumentbetween them, that was getting to be venerable. If one party grew old asa tenant, so did the other as a landlord. I thought that this lecturerwould have been glad to confine himself to the Manor leases, that beingthe particular branch of the subject he had been accustomed to treat;but, such was not the precise nature of the job he was now employed toexecute. At Ravensnest, he could not flourish the feudal grievance ofthe quarter-sales, the "four fat fowls," the "days' works," and the_length_ of the leases. Here it was clearly his cue to say nothing ofthe three first, and to complain of the _shortness_ of the leases, asmine were about to fall in, in considerable numbers. Finding it wasnecessary to take new ground, he determined it should be bold ground,and such as would give him the least trouble to get along with.
As soon as the lecturer had got through with his general heads, and feltthe necessity of coming down to particulars, he opened upon the familyof Littlepage, in a very declamatory way. What had _they_ ever done forthe country, he demanded, that they should be lords in the land? By someprocess known to himself, he had converted landlords into lords in theland, and was now aiming to make the tenants occupy the latterstation--nay, both stations. Of course, some services of a publiccharacter, of which the Littlepages might boast, were not touched uponat all, everything of that nature being compressed into what thelecturer and his audience deemed serving the people, by helping toindulge them in all their desires, however rapacious or wicked. Aseverybody who knows anything of the actual state of matters among us,must be aware how rarely the "people" hear the truth, when their ownpower and interests are in question, it is not surprising that a veryshallow reasoner was enabled to draw wool over the eyes of the audienceof Ravensnest on that particular subject.
But my interest was most awakened when this man came to speak of myself.It is not often that a man enjoys the same opportunity as that I thenpossessed to hear his own character delineated, and his most privatemotives analyzed. In the first place, the audience were told that this"young Hugh Littlepage had never done anything for the land that heproudly, and like a great European noble, calls his 'estate.' Most ofyou, fellow-citizens, can show your hard hands, and recall the burningsuns under which you have opened the swath, through those then lovelymeadows yonder, as _your_ titles to these farms. But Hugh Littlepagenever did a day's work in his life"--ten minutes before he had beencomplaining of the "days' work" in the Manor leases as indignities thata freeman ought not to submit to--"no, fellow-citizens, he never hadthat honor, and never will have it, until by a just division of hisproperty, or what he now _calls_ his property, you reduce him to thenecessity of laboring to raise the crops he wants to consume."
"Where is this Hugh Littlepage at this very moment? In Paris,squandering _your_ hard earnings in riotous living, according to thebest standards of aristocracy. He lives in the midst of abundance,dresses richly and fares richly, while _you_ and _yours_ are eating thesweat of your brows. He is no man for a pewter spoon and two-prongedfork! No, my countrymen! He must have a _gold_ spoon for some of hisdishes, and you will find it hard to believe--plain, unpretending,republican farmers as you are, but it is not the less true--he must haveforks of _silver_! Fellow-citizens, Hugh Littlepage would not put hisknife into his mouth, as you and I do, in eating--as all plain,unpretending republicans do--for the world. It would choke him; no, hekeeps _silver_ forks to touch his anointed lips!" Here there was anattempt to get up something like applause, but it totally failed. Themen of Ravensnest had been accustomed all their lives to see theLittlepages in the social station they occupied; and, after all, it didnot seem so very extraordinary that we should have silver forks, anymore than that others should have silver spoons. The lecturer had thetact to see that he had failed on this point and he turned to another.
The next onset was made against our title. Whence did it come? demandedthe lecturer. From the King of England; and the people had conquered thecountry from that sovereign, and put themselves in his place. Now, is itnot a good principle in politics, that to the victors belong the spoils?He believed it was; and that in conquering America, he was of opinionthat the people of America had conquered the land, and that they had aright to take the land, and to keep it. Titles from kings he did notrespect much; and he believed the American people, generally, did notthink much of them. If Hugh Littlepage wished an "estate," as he calledit, let him come to the people and "starve _them_" and see what sort ofan estate _they_ would give him.
But there was one portion of his speech which was so remarkable, that Imust attempt to give it as it was uttered. It was while the lecturer wasexpatiating on this subject of titles, that he broke out in thefollowing language:--"Don't talk to me," he bellowed--for by thistime his voice had risen to the pitch of a Methodist's in acamp-meeting--"Don't talk to me of antiquity, and time, and length ofpossession, as things to be respected. They're nawthin'--jest nawthin'at all. Possession's good in law, I'll admit; and I contind that's jestwhat the tenants has. They've got the lawful possession of this veryproperty, that layeth (not eggs, but) up
and down, far and near, and allaround; a rich and goodly heritage, when divided up among hard-workingand honest folks; but too much, by tens of thousands of acres, for ayoung chap, who is wasting his substance in foreign lands, to hold. Icontind that the tenants has this very precise, lawful possession, atthis blessed moment, only the law won't let 'em enj'y it. It's all owingto that accursed law, that the tenant can't set up a title ag'in hislandlord. You see by this one fact, fellow-citizens, that they are aprivileged class, and ought to be brought down to the level of gin'ralhumanity. You can set up title ag'in anybody else, but you shan't set uptitle ag'in a landlord. I know what is said in the primisis," shakinghis head, in derision of any arguments on the other side of thisparticular point; "I know that circumstances alter cases. I can see thehardship of one neighbor's coming to another, and asking to borrow orhire his horse for a day, and then pretendin' to hold him on some otherketch. But horses isn't land; you must all allow _that_. No, if horses_was_ land, the case would be altered. Land is an element, and so isfire, and so is water, and so is air. Now who will say that a freemanhasn't a right to air, hasn't a right to water, and, on the sameprocess, hasn't a right to land? He _has_, fellow-citizens--he _has_.These are what are called in philosophy elementary rights; which is thesame thing as a right to the elements, of which land is one, and aprincipal one. I say a principal one; for, if there was no land to standon, we should drop away from air, and couldn't enj'y _that_; we shouldlose all our water in vapor, and couldn't put it to millin' andmanafacterin' purposes; and where could we build our fires? No; land isthe _first_ elementary right, and connected with it comes the first andmost sacred right to the elements.
"I do not altogether disregard antiquity, neither. No; I respect andrevere pre-emption rights; for they fortify and sustain the right to theelements. Now I do not condemn squattin' as some does. It's actin'accordin' to natur', and natur' is right. I respect and venerate asquatter's possession; for it's held under the sacred principle ofusefulness. It says, 'Go and make the wilderness blossom as the rose,'and means 'progress.' That's an antiquity I respect. I respect theantiquity of your possessions here, _as tenants_; for it is ahard-working and useful antiquity--an antiquity that increases andmultiplies. If it be said that Hugh Littlepage's ancestors--your noblehas his 'ancestors,' while us 'common folks' are satisfied withforefathers"--[this hit took with a great many present, raising a verygeneral laugh]--"but if this Hugh's ancestors did pay anything for theland, if I was you, fellow-citizens, I'd be gin'rous, and let him haveit back ag'in. Perhaps his forefathers gave a cent an acre to theking--may be two; or say sixpence, if you will. I'd let him have hissixpence an acre back again, by way of shutting his mouth. No; I'm fornawthin' that's ungin'rous.
"Fellow-citizens, I profess to be what is called a democrat. I know thatmany of you be what is called whigs; but I apprehend there isn't muchdifference between us on the subject of this system of leasing land. Weare all republicans, and leasing farms is anti-republican. Then, I wishto be liberal even to them I commonly oppose at elections, and I willfreely admit, then, on the whull, the whigs have rather outdone usdemocrats, on the subject of this anti-rentism. I am sorry to be obligedto own in it, but it must be confessed that, while in the way ofgovernors there hasn't been much difference--yes, put 'em in a bag, andshake 'em up, and you'd hardly know which would come out first--whichhas done himself the most immortal honor, which has shown himself themost comprehensive, profound, and safe statesman; I know that some ofour people complain of the governors for ordering out troops ag'in theInjins, but they could not _help_ that--they wouldn't have done it, inmy judgment, had there been any way of getting round it; but the law wastoo strong for them, so they druv' in the Injins, and now they join usin putting down aristocracy, and in raising up gin'ral humanity. No; Idon't go ag'in the governors, though many does.
"But I profess to be a democrat, and I'll give an outline of myprinciples, that all may see why they can't, and don't, and never willagree with aristocracy or nobility, in any form or shape. I believe oneman is as good as another in all things. Neither birth, nor law, noredication, nor riches, nor poverty, nor anything else, can ever make anydifference in this principle, which is sacred and fundamental, and isthe chief stone of the corner in true democracy. One man is as good asanother, I say, and has just the same right to the enj'yment of 'arthand its privileges, as any other man. I think the majority ought to rulein all things, and that it is the duty of the minority to submit. NowI've had this here sentiment thrown back upon me, in some places where Ihave spoken, and been asked, 'how is this--the majority must rule, andthe minority must submit--in that case, the minority isn't as good asthe majority in practice, and hasn't the same right. They are made toown what they think ought not to be done?' The answer to this is soplain, I wonder a sensible man can ask the question, for all theminority has to do, is to join the majority, to have things as they want'em. The road is free, and it is this open road that makes true liberty.Any man can fall in with the majority, and sensible folks commonly do,when they can find it, and that makes a person not only a man, as thesaying is, but a FREEMAN, a still more honorable title.
"Fellow-citizens, a great movement is in progress. 'Go ahead!' is thecry, and the march is onward; our thoughts already fly about on thewings of the lightning, and our bodies move but little slower, on thevapor of steam--soon our principles will rush ahead of all, and let inthe radiance of a glorious day of universal reform, and loveliness, andvirtue and charity, when the odious sound of _rent_ will never be heard,when every man will sit down under his own apple, or cherry tree, if notunder his own fig-tree.
"I am a democrat--yes, a democrat. Glorious appellation! I delight init! It is my pride, my boast, my very virtue. Let but the people trulyrule, and all must come well. The people has no temptation to do wrong.If they hurt the State, they hurt themselves, for they are the State. Isa man likely to hurt himself? Equality is my axiom. Nor, by equality, doI mean your narrow pitiful equality before the law, as it is sometimestarmed, for that may be no equality at all; but I mean an equality thatis substantial, and which must be restored, when the working of the lawhas deranged it. Fellow-citizens, do you know what leap-year means? Idare say some of you don't, the ladies in partic'lar not giving muchattention to astronomy. Well, I have inquired, and it is this: The 'arthrevolves around the sun in a year, as we all know. And we count threehundred and sixty-five days in a year, we all know. But the 'arth is afew hours longer than three hundred and sixty-five days in making itscircuit--nearly six hours longer. Now everybody knows that four timessix makes twenty-four, and so a twenty-ninth day is put into February,every fourth year, to restore the lost time; another change being to bemade a long distance ahead to settle the fractions. Thus will it be withdemocracy. Human natur' can't devise laws yet, that will keep all thingson an exactly equal footing, and political leap-years must be introducedinto the political calendar, to restore the equilibrium. In astronomy wemust divide up anew the hours and minutes; in humanity, we must, fromtime to time, divide up the land."
But I cannot follow this inflated fool any longer; for he was quite asmuch of fool as of knave, though partaking largely of the lattercharacter. It was plain that he carried many of his notions much furtherthan a good portion of his audience carried theirs; though, whenever hetouched upon anti-rentism, he hit a chord that vibrated through thewhole assembly. That the tenants ought to own their farms, and pay nomore rents, AND POCKET ALL THE BENEFITS OF THEIR OWN PREVIOUS LABORS,THOUGH THESE LABORS HAD BEEN CONSIDERED IN THE EARLIER RENTS, AND WERE,INDEED, STILL CONSIDERED IN THE LOW RATES AT WHICH THE LANDS WERE LET,was a doctrine all could understand; and few were they, I am sorry tosay, who did not betray how much self-love and self-interest hadobscured the sense of right.
The lecture, such as it was, lasted more than two hours; and when it wasdone, an individual rose, in the character of a chairman--when did threeAmericans ever get together to discuss anything, that they had not achairman and secretary, and all the parliamentary forms?--an
d invitedany one present, who might entertain views different from the speaker,to give his opinion. Never before did I feel so tempted to speak inpublic. My first impulse was to throw away the wig, and come out in myown person, and expose the shallow trash that had just been uttered. Ibelieve even I, unaccustomed as I was to public speaking, could easilyhave done this, and I whispered as much to my uncle, who was actually onhis feet, to perform the office for me, when the sound of "Mr.Chairman," from a different part of the church, anticipated him. Lookinground, I recognized at once the face of the intelligent mechanic, namedHall, whom we had met at Mooseridge, on our way to the Nest. I took myseat at once, perfectly satisfied that the subject was in good hands.
This speaker commenced with great moderation, both of manner and tone,and, indeed, he preserved them throughout. His utterance, accent, andlanguage, of course, were all tinctured by his habits and associations;but his good sense and his good principles were equally gifts fromabove. More of the "true image of his Maker" was to be found in that oneindividual than existed in fifty common men. He saw clearly, spokeclearly, and demonstrated effectively. As he was well known in thatvicinity and generally respected, he was listened to with profoundattention, and spoke like a man who stood in no dread of tar andfeathers. Had the same sentiments been delivered by one in a fine coat,and a stranger, or even by myself, who had so much at stake, very manyof them would have been incontinently set down as aristocratic, and notto be tolerated, the most sublimated lover of equality occasionallyfalling into these little contradictions.
Hall commenced by reminding the audience that they all knew him, andknew he was no landlord. He was a mechanic, and a laboring man, likemost of themselves, and had no interest that could be separated from thegeneral good of society. This opening was a little homage to prejudice,since reason is reason, and right right, let them come whence they will."I, too, am a democrat," he went on to say, "but I do not understanddemocracy to mean anything like that which has been described by thelast speaker. I tell that gentleman plainly, that if he is a democrat, Iam none, and if I am a democrat, he is none. By democracy I understand agovernment in which the sovereign power resides in the body of thenation; and not in a few, or in one. But this principle no more givesthe body of the people authority to act wrong, than in a monarchy, inwhich the sovereign power resides in one man, that one man has a rightto act wrong. By equality, I do not understand anything more thanequality before the law--now if the law had said that when the lateMalbone Littlepage died, his farms should go not to his next of kin, orto his devisee, but to his neighbors, then that would have been the lawto be obeyed, although it would be a law destructive of civilization,since men would never accumulate property to go to the public. Somethingnearer home is necessary to make men work, and deny themselves what theylike.
"The gentleman has told us of a sort of a political leap-year that is toregulate the social calendar. I understand him to mean that whenproperty has got to be unequal, it must be divided up, in order that menmay make a new start. I fear he will have to dispense with leap-years,and come to leap-months, or leap-weeks, ay, or even to leap-days; for,was the property of this township divided up this very morning, and inthis meetin'-'us, it would get to be unequal before night. Some folkscan't keep money when they have it; and others can't keep their handsoff it.
"Then, again, if Hugh Littlepage's property is to be divided, theproperty of all of Hugh Littlepage's neighbors ought to be divided too,to make even an _appearance_ of equality; though it would be but an_appearance_ of equality, admitting that were done, since HughLittlepage has more than all the rest of the town put together. Yes,fellow-citizens, Hugh Littlepage pays, at this moment, one-twentieth ofthe taxes of this whole county. That is about the proportion ofRavensnest; and that tax, in reality, comes out of his pockets, as muchas the greater part of the taxes of Rensselaer and Albany Counties, ifyou will except the cities they contain, are paid by the Rensselaers. Itwun't do to tell me the tenants pay the taxes, for I know better. We allknow that the probable amount of the taxes is estimated in the originalbargain, and is so much deducted from the rent, and comes out of thelandlord if it comes out of anybody. There is a good reason why thetenant should pay it, and a reason that is altogether in his interest;because the law would make his oxen, and horses, and carts liable forthe taxes, should the landlord neglect to pay the taxes. The collectoralways sells personals for a tax if he can find them on the property;and by deducting it from the rent, and paying it himself, the tenantmakes himself secure against that loss. To say that a tenant don't takeany account of the taxes he will be likely to pay, in making hisbargain, is as if one should say he is _non com._, and not fit to betrusted with his own affairs. There are men in this community, I amsorry to say, who wish a law passed to tax the rents on durable leases,or on all leases, in order to choke the landlords off from their claims,but such men are true friends to neither justice nor their country. Sucha law would be a tax on the incomes of a particular class of society,and on no other. It is a law that would justify the aggrieved parties intaking up arms to resist it, unless the law would give 'em relief, as Irather think it would. By removing into another State, however, theywould escape the tax completely, laugh at those who framed it, who wouldincur the odium of doing an impotent wrong, and get laughed at as wellas despised, besides injuring the State by drawing away its money to bespent out of its limits. Think, for one moment, of the impression thatwould be made of New York justice, if a hundred citizens of note andstanding were to be found living in Philadelphia or Paris, andcirculating to the world the report that they were exiles to escape aspecial taxation! The more the matter was inquired into, the worse itmust appear; for men may say what they please, to be ready ag'inelection time, as there is but one piece or parcel of property to tax,it is an income tax, and nothing else. What makes the matter still worseis, that every man of sense will know that it is taxing the same persontwice, substantially for the same thing, since the landlord has thedirect land-tax deducted from the rent in the original bargain.
"As for all this cry about aristocracy, I don't understand it. HughLittlepage has just as good a right to his ways as I have to mine. Thegentleman says he needs gold spoons and silver forks to eat with. Well,what of that? I dare say the gentleman himself finds a steel knife andfork useful, and has no objection to silver, or, at least, to a pewterspoon. Now, there are folks that use wooden forks, or no forks, and whoare glad to get horn spoons; and _they_ might call that gentlemanhimself an aristocrat. This setting of ourselves up as the standard inall things is anything but liberty. If I don't like to eat my dinnerwith a man who uses a silver fork, no man in this country can compel me.On the other hand, if young Mr. Littlepage don't like a companion whochews tobacco, as I do, he ought to be left to follow his owninclination.
"Then, this doctrine that one man's as good as another has got two sidesto it. One man ought to have the same general rights as another, I amready to allow; but if one man is as _good_ as another, why do we havethe trouble and cost of elections? We might draw lots, as we do forjurors, and save a good deal of time and money. We all know there isch'ice in men, and I think that so long as the people have their ch'icein sayin' who shall and who shall not be their agents, they've got allthey have any right to. So long as this is done, the rest of the worldmay be left to follow their own ways, provided they obey the laws.
"Then, I am no great admirer of them that are always telling the peoplethey're parfect. I know this county pretty well, as well as most in it;and if there be a parfect man in Washington County, I have not yetfallen in with him. Ten millions of imparfect men won't make one parfectman, and so I don't look for parfection in the people any more than I doin princes. All I look for in democracy is to keep the reins in so manyhands as to prevent a few from turning everything to their own account;still, we must'nt forget that when a great many do go wrong, it is muchworse than when a few go wrong.
"If my son didn't inherit the property of Malbone Littlepage, neitherwill Malbone Littlepage's
son inherit mine. We are on a footing in thatrespect. As to paying rent, which some persons think so hard, what wouldthey do if they had no house to live in, or farm to work? If folks wishto purchase houses and farms, no one can prevent them if they have moneyto do it with; and if they have not, is it expected other people have toprovide them with such things out of their own----"
Here the speaker was interrupted by a sudden whooping, and the Injinscame pressing into the house, in a way to drive all in the aisles beforethem. Men, women and children leaped from the windows, the distancebeing trifling, while others made their escape by the two side-doors,the Injins coming in only by the main entrance. In less time than ittakes to record the fact, the audience had nearly all dispersed.