ABSTRACT
In the early stages of society, men are widely scattered over the land, and with difficulty they obtain, by the cultivation of the superior soils, scanty supplies of indifferent food. Laws are instituted for the purpose of determining and securing the enjoyment of the rights of person and property. Their political condition is improved, in consequence of union of action, the result of an increase of population and capital. Increase of wealth enables men to draw nearer together, and to associate for the maintenance of peace and for securing each other in the enjoyment of the rights of person and property, thus improving their political condition. Peace and security tend to promote the growth of wealth, and the further improvement of the physical, moral, and political condition of man. Decrease of wealth, by diminishing the power of obtaining the means of subsistence, compels men to disperse themselves over the land.
