[1]
I understand by the law of descent all those laws
whose principal object is to regulate the distribution of
property after the death of its owner. The law of entail is of
this number; it certainly prevents the owner from disposing of
his possessions before his death; but this is solely with the
view of preserving them entire for the heir. The principal
object, therefore, of the law of entail is to regulate the
descent of property after the death of its owner: its other
provisions are merely means to this end.
[2]
I do not mean to say that the small proprietor
cultivates his land better, but he cultivates it with more ardor
and care; so that he makes up by his labor for his want of
skill.
[3]
Land being the most stable kind of property, we
find, from time to time, rich individuals who are disposed to
make great sacrifices in order to obtain it, and who willingly
forfeit a considerable part of their income to make sure of the
rest. But these are accidental cases. The preference for landed
property is no longer found habitually in any class but among the
poor. The small landowner, who has less information, less
imagination, and fewer passions than the great one, is generally
occupied with the desire of increasing his estate: and it often
happens that by inheritance, by marriage, or by the chances of
trade, he is gradually furnished with the means. Thus, to
balance the tendency which leads men to divide their estates,
there exists another, which incites them to add to them. This
tendency, which is sufficient to prevent estates from being
divided ad infinitum, is not strong enough to create great
territorial possessions, certainly not to keep them up in the
same family.
[5]
This may have been true in 1832, but is not so in
1874, when great cities like Chicago and San Francisco have
sprung up in the Western States. But as yet the Western States
exert no powerful influence on American society. -Translator's
Note.
