Here we have 2,187,496 square miles, or 1,399,997,440 acres of territory, which is for the most part unsold. To show the extent of the whole Republic, we will complete the above table with the following:

Making a Grand Total of 3,288,436 square miles, or of 2,104,599,040 acres. The following shows the number of acres that have been sold:

Previous to 1820 the land was sold on credit at $2 per acre. Much land was purchased on time in 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818 and 1819, with the view of making large speculations. But many of its purchasers found themselves unable to pay for the lands, and Congress permitted their relinquishment. In 1820 the credit system was abolished, and the price fixed at $1 25 per acre. From 1810 to 1839 there was a gradual increase in the annual sales from about 600,000 acres in 1820 to 1,344,860 acres in 1829. From 1828 the sales were as follows:

The acres for 1846, 1847 and 1848 are calculated from the aggregate values of the sales of those years, being for 1846, $2,405,871; for 1847, three quarters, $2,337,584; and for 1848, $3,520,000.

The number of acres sold from 1833 to 1848, inclusive, is, in whole numbers, 72,000,000. To this, if we add the amount sold between 1820 and 1833, in part estimated, we have a grand total of acres sold between 1820 and 1848, inclusive, of 83,000,000 acres. Previous to 1820 much land was sold on credit, a large part of which was restored to the Government. Calculating from the gross amount of value received, we have 26,000,000 acres sold previous to 1820, which makes an aggregate of 109,000,000 acres disposed of by the United States. to purchasers. To this we must add the donations to the States for internal improvements, school purposes, &c., 17,318,623 acres, and given as military bounties in 1812, 9,750,000 acres, and, given on account of the Mexican war, 6,000,000 acres, making a grand aggregate of 142,068,623 acres. If we subtract this from the number of acres the Republic once owned, and exclusive of the old thirteen States, amounting to 1,877,949,440 acres, we shall have 1,735,880,817 acres remaining unsold.

The question here is, shall this amount of land be consecrated to Human Happiness, or shall it be the prey of speculators, jobbers and heartless capitalists? Enough has already been squandered. How much of all that has thus far been sold have mere speculators purchased? Since 1830, we may safely estimate the amount sold to actual settlers, per annum, at 1,500,000 acres, which would be for the ten years, 15,000,000 acres. This amount subtracted from the actual sales, leaves 44,833,772 acres, which went into the speculators' hands during the ten years immediately preceding 1840. We shall estimate the whole amount purchased by non-residents from the time the first National Land-office was opened to the present time, at 50,000,000 of acres, or nearly one-half the whole amount of sales that have been taken by capitalists, for the purpose of re-sale, at a profit. At the lowest calculation, these speculators have doubled the money they paid the Government, in selling the lands to the poor pioneer; that is, they have made out of the toil and sweat of the poor who go into the wilderness to prepare the way for the march of civilization, at least $60,000,000. If they realize $5 per acre, which is not an extrav

agant estimate, they make more than $180,000,000 out of the hardy settler who swings his axe in the wilderness, while his speculator reposes in an easy home, making money out of every blow struck by the industrious man.

This is the manner in which the soil is monopolized, and the practical working of the laws which thus favor the capitalist and injure the poor. This is the disposition that is made of the Lord's Free Earth, which he has given as much to one as to another of the Race.

To show the evils of this Land Monopoly, we will refer to examples in our own State. When Connecticut ceded to the General Government her Western Lands, she reserved for special purposes that portion of Ohio known as the Western Reserve; being eleven counties in the North and North-western part of the State. Two Counties, Huron and Erie, were granted by the Legislature of Connecticut to the sufferers by fire in the time of the war. It was then considered so far out of the world that the grantees sold their claims for a trifle per acre. The consequence was, that the settlers were occasionally visited by robust Yankees, who bore either the title of Judge, General, or Honorable, for the purpose of making collections or resuming the possession of lands on which the amount paid was forfeited. The settlers paid the land speculator $5 per acre, when there were not people enough in a Township to support a School, and before the Erie Canal was built to open a market for produce. The writer of this does know, that many, with small means, settled upon these lands, paying all they could spare down, and agreeing to pay at certain times, but failing in their payments, were compelled to lose all they had paid, all the improvements they had made, and leave the premises they had fondly hoped to make a home.

This is but an illustration of the monster evil of Land Monopoly every where. Shall the free Earth be longer the scene of such cruel oppressions?

But let us make more arithmetical calculations. Figures tell the truth, and cannot be denounced as visionary. Let us calculate the benefit of Free Soil, and the curse of Land Monopoly for ages to come.

The extent of Great Britain, at home, including England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is 119,924 square miles, or 78,76,751,608 acres. England alone contains about 37,000,000 acres, 29,000,000 of which are under cultivation; the difference

being parks and barrens, of which 6,000,000 may be estimated as susceptible of profitable culture, but which is occupied to please the luxury of the wealthy. These facts we get from McCulloch's great work on the condition of Great Britain. Mr. Coleman, one of our own citizens of distinction, in the agricultural world, has recently been traveling in the "fast anchored Isle," and says that the land of England is held by 30,000 proprietors, the number being, in 1775, 24,000. This vast increase in Land Monopoly being made in the short space of seventy years, it being in 1845 when Coleman wrote on this subject. McCulloch puts the whole value of the wealth of Great Britain at $10,560,000,000,-- of which $5,760,000,000 are estimated as the value of the land. Under the principle of Free Soil and anti-rent, this latter amount, more than half the gross sum, would be cancelled-stricken out. There being no value on the soil, as nature designed there should be none, it would be distributed among all the people, for no one would have any inducement to hold more than was necessary to supply his demands. Instead of the 37,000,000 acres in England being held by 30,000 proprietors, it would be owned by at least 1,500,000, who, with their families, would make 7,500,000 happy people getting their living from the cultivation of their own fields. The remainder of the people would find ample employment in the other pursuits. There would be no such thing as rents, and consequently the fifth of the whole population, which Lowe sets down as non-producers, or drones, would be earning their own living.

Under the operation of the principles for which we contend, there would not not now be a homeless person in the British Isles, nor one whose wants are not all supplied.

Out

It is calculated that, in the present state of Agricultural Science, Great Britain could feed from her own soil 60,000,000 of people were the best interests of such a population consulted. How is it under the system of Land Monopoly? of a population of 28,000,000, 20,000,000 have no capital; at least, 27,700,000 have no title in fee to a foot of ground, and 5,000,000 are absolute paupers! My God! what a perversion of the bounties of Providence! What a crime is Land Monopoly against Humanity!

If Great Britain can sustain 60,000,000 of people with 75,000,000 acres, how many can our Republic support with 2,100,000,000 acres? Nearly 1,690,000,000 of people! But

how many can the lands of the Republic support if the present system continues? We may put it down as a fact, that all the old settled States are now full. Indeed, they have been running over into the West for many years, and are as thickly settled as is consistent with the good of all under the present system. Calculating from the condition of the people in the old States, the whole Republic will not be able to maintain over 120,000,000 of people, or one-eighth of the number she should support! And not more than half of the 120,000,000 will get as good a support under the present system, as will the most poorly sustained portion of the 690,000,000 under the true Land System; the absolute freedom of the soil from all price whatever. Is not this a calculation which should startle every friend of man into action on this subject?

On a foregoing page we estimated the number of acres squandered upon speculators at 50,000,000. To this we may add 21,000,000 of acres given to soldiers for service in killing men in the war of 1812, and in the recent Mexican butchery. This latter amount we call wasted, because the soldiers sell their claims to Land Jobbers at a mere trifle. Every city is now full of offices having for a sign, "Soldiers' claims wanted!" and few escape without either selling their rights voluntarily, or being persuaded to sell them. This, it may be said, is not an entire waste; but it will be found that it is worse than a complete waste of 71,000,000 of acres, as far as any consideration of benefit to the settler is concerned. In this item of waste, we have 71,000,000 out of 148,000,000 acres disposed of which are wasted; 71,000,000 designed for the free use of those who need homes for themselves and little ones, squandered upon heartless speculators! Shall this work of devastation continue?

For the purpose of showing where the principal portion of the public lands have been sold, as well as to illustrate the progress of Monopoly, we will introduce the following table of the amounts received in the treasury on account of sales from 1833 to 1840, inclusive. It will be seen that sales increased to speculators, in proportion as the currency of the country increased, the largest sales being when there was the largest bank-expansion.