dged form as first
proposed. It will be an improved edition.

THE GREAT LAND QUESTION.

AGITATED BY HENRY GEORGE, MICHAEL DAVITT, PROF. WALLACE, DR. EADON AND
REFORMATORY SOCIETIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY.

They who in the fearless pursuit of truth attain ideas for which the
age is not prepared are recognized as Utopians. The dullards who have
not the desire, and _therefore_ have not the capacity to seek new
truth, languidly regard as dreamers the men who talk of things so
foreign to their own habits. The more dogmatic class, inspired by the
dogmatism of the colleges, array themselves in scorn to repel new
thought. But, fortunately, as men die they fail to transmit _all_ of
their bigotry to posterity, and new men come in with new ideas.

In that new world of thought to which anthropology belongs, the basis
of social order is understood, and I felt it my duty in 1847 to
present the law of justice in relation to "The Land and the People,"
with very little hope that the doctrine presented would ever become in
my own lifetime a basis of political action, since other ideas equally
true and equally demonstrable have to bide their time. But the toilers
who suffer from the lack of employment have furnished an eager
audience to the land reformers, and the great land question is
destined to agitate the nations for a century to come. The _Boston
Globe_ recently called attention to the original presentation of this
subject at Cincinnati, in the following editorial:--

"There seems to be a notion prevalent that the ideas advocated by Mr.
George are novel. But they are not. They once more illustrate the
familiar fact that there is nothing new under the sun. Much the same
doctrines were urged here in America at least forty years ago, and
were the subject of comment in the papers of the day.

"Dr. J. R. Buchanan, now of Boston, presented the case at Cincinnati
in 1847 much as it is now put by Mr. George and Mr. Davitt. The
Memphis _Appeal_ of September 23 of that year, gave an elaborate
review of Dr. Buchanan's essay, in which it said:

"'The Land and the People' is the title of a well-written
pamphlet from the pen of Dr. J. R. Buchanan of Cincinnati,
formerly known to our citizens as an able and accomplished
lecturer on the science of neurology. It is quite plain from
the production in question that the doctor has not confined
himself to the study of the physiological system, of which we