Whoever lays hands upon it, against the proprietor's will, does violence to the latter's personality.

And yet, when an administrative committee saw fit to declare that public utility required it, property had to give way to the general will.

Soon, in the name of public utility, methods of cultivation and conditions of enjoyment will be prescribed; inspectors of agriculture and manufactures will be appointed; property will be taken away from unskilful hands, and entrusted to laborers who are more deserving of it; and a general superintendence of production will be established.

It is not two years since I saw a proprietor destroy a forest more than five hundred acres in extent.

If public utility had interfered, that forest--the only one for miles around--would still be standing.
But, it is said, expropriation on the ground of public utility is only an exception which confirms the principle, and bears testimony in favor of the right.