Show XI THE possessory RIGHT EIGHT OF successive wherever the children of men be cievo or can be induced or taught to believe in the fatherhood of one god and the brotherhood of all men the principles inculcated by thomas jefferson Jeffer eoa bid fair to dominate the political and social relations of ct the near future one of the reasons urged bybia by him against the creation of a national debt is ia of special in deregt at the present timp time in a letter written by him in august 1813 from W which bich tho the subjoined sub joined quotation is made he demonstrates the possessory right of successive generations thus the goner generations actions of men may be considered as aa bodies or corporations each generate gene rati on has the usufruct of the earth during the period of its continuance when it ceases to exist that usufruct passes on to the succeeding generation free andi and and to so on successively from one generation to another forever we may consider each generation as a distinct nation with a right by the will of its majority to bind themselves but none gobind to bind the succeeding generation ROne ration more than the inhabitants of another country or the case may be likened to the 0 ordinary one of a tenant for life who may hypothecate the land for his debts during the continuance of his big usufruct but at his bis death the who is also tenant for life only receives it exonerated from all burthen the period of a generation or the term of its life lifa is determined by the laws of mortality I 1 find that of the numbers of all ages living at any oue one moment half will be dead in 24 years and 8 months but leaving out minors who have not the power of self government of the adults living lying at one moment a majority of ahorn not act for the society one halt half will be dead in IS 18 years and 8 months at 19 years then from the date of a contract the majority of the contractors are dead and their contract with them lot let this general theory be applied to a particular case suppose the annual births in ia tile the state of now york tort to be the whole number of its inhabitants will be of all figes ages of these there would constantly bo be minors and adults of which lat will be a majority Sup suppose posit that majority ou on the first day of tile he year 1794 lind had borrowed a sum of money equal to tile the fee simple value of the imato alid to have consumed it in eating dr ising and making barrry iu in their day or it if you yon please in quarrel ling find aud fighting with their unoffending noigh bora within 18 years and 8 months one half of 0 tho the adult citizens were dead I 1 lill ill then being the majority they might rightfully levy the interest of their debt annually on themselves and their follow fellow levelers or fel ellow champions but nt at that period say at this moment it a new majority have come into place iu ill their own right and aad not under the rights the tha conditions condition or laws lawa of their predecessors are they bound to acknowledge tile tha debt to consider the preceding generation ai having had a right to eat up op the whole roil of their country in the course of I 1 life to alienate it from them tor it would be an alienation to the credi tors tora and would they think themselves them selve either legally or morally bound to giva up their country and to emigrate to another for subsistence subi stence every one ona will say bay no that the soil is tile the gift of god the to 0 the living as much as it had bad been to the deceased generation and that the laws of nature impose no obligation on OD them to pay this debt and altho although like some eoma other natural rights right this bail 1118 1 not yet entered into any declaration of rights it is no less a law and ought to be acted on by honest h 0 ast governments the reader whon who will ivill carefully berlise bernab the series of letters from one of which the foregoing extract is made and who will then look around him at the maladjustment of existing social conditions will find cumulative evidence tending to prove that in those closing y years ears ut of the nineteenth century the th soul that is marching on is not that of john job brown whose body etc but is rather the soul lof of the patriot statesman thorn is jefferson GEO 0 worta st louis february 1896 |