In such a state of things, property has lost its character
of being a resource for debts. Highland in Bedford, which, in the days
of our plethory, sold readily for from fifty to one hundred dollars the
acre (and such sales were many then), would not now sell for more than
from ten to twenty dollars, or one quarter or one fifth of its former
price. Reflecting on these things, the practice occurred to me, of
selling, on fair valuation, and by way of lottery, often resorted to
before the Revolution to effect large sales, and still in constant usage
in every State for individual as well as corporation purposes. If it is
permitted in my case, my lands here alone, with the mills, he, will pay
every thing, and leave me Monticello and a farm free. If refused, I must
sell every thing here, perhaps considerably in Bedford, move thither
with my family, where I have not even a log hut to put my head into, and
whether ground for burial, will depend on the depredations which,
under the form of sales, shall have been committed on my property. The
question then with me was, _Utrum horum?_ But why afflict you with
these details? Indeed, I cannot tell, unless pains are lessened by
communication with a friend. The friendship which has subsisted between
us, now half a century, and the harmony of our political principles and
pursuits, have been sources of constant happiness to me through that
long period.
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