The National Assembly has given the most undeniable testimony of its strong and deep sense of this truth, by the solemn vote which it has directed me to communicate to you.

Accept the assurance of those sentiments with which I have the honour to be,

My Lord,

Your most humble,

And most obedient servant,

THE ARCHBISHOP OF AIX, President of the National Assembly.

To Lord Stanhope, Chairman of the

Revolution Society in England.

105. Fox's EULOGY OF WASHINGTON (1794).

Fox's eulogy of Washington (which forms part of a speech on the relations between England and France) bespeaks the Whig leader. It is, moreover, the honest utterance of one who believed in liberal ideals. During the early wars of the French Revolution the Whigs consistently advocated a neutral policy, and those of them who were not driven by Jacobin excesses into conservatism, remained true to this principle until Napoleon and England were pitted against each other beyond hope of reconciliation.

SOURCE.-Hansard's Parliamentary History. London, 1817. Vol. xxx., p. 1274.

And here, sir, I cannot help alluding to the president of the United States, General Washington; a character whose conduct has been so different from that which has been pursued by the ministers of this country. How infinitely wiser must appear the spirit and principles manifested in his late address to congress than the policy of modern European courts! Illustrious man! deriving honour less from the splendour of his situation than from the dignity of his mind, before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe (excepting the members of our own royal family) become little and contemptible! He has had no occasion to have recourse to any tricks of policy or arts of alarm: his authority has been sufficiently supported by the same means by which it was acquired, and his conduct has uniformly been characterised by wisdom, moderation and firmness. Feeling gratitude to

France for the assistance received from her in that great contest which secured the independence of America, he, nevertheless, did not choose to give up the system of neutrality. Having once laid down that line of conduct which both gratitude and policy pointed out as most proper to be pursued, not all the insults or provocations of the French minister Genet1 could turn him from his purpose. Intrusted with the welfare of a great people, he did not allow the misconduct of another, with respect to himself, for one moment to withdraw his attention from their interests. He had no fear of the Jacobins; he felt no alarm from their principles, and considered no precaution as necessary in order to stop their progress. The people over whom he presided he knew to be acquainted with their rights and their duties. He trusted to their own good sense to defeat the effect of those arts which might be employed to inflame or mislead their minds; and was sensible that a government could be in no danger while it retained the attachment and confidence of its subjects; attachment, in this instance, not blindly adopted, confidence not implicitly given, but arising from the conviction of its excellence and the experience of its blessings. I cannot, indeed, help admiring the wisdom and the fortune of this great man; by the phrase "fortune," I mean not in the smallest degree to derogate from his merit; but, notwithstanding his extraordinary talents and exalted integrity, it must be considered as singularly fortunate, that he should have experienced a lot which so seldom falls to the portion of humanity, and have passed through such a variety of scenes without stain and without reproach. It must, indeed, create astonishment, that, placed in circumstances so critical, and filling for a series of years a station so conspicuous, his character should never once have been called in question; that he should in no one instance have been accused either of improper insolence, or of mean submission, in his transactions with foreign nations. For him it has been reserved to run the race of glory without experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career. But, sir, if the maxims now held out were adopted, the man who now ranks as the assertor of his country's freedom, and the guardian of its interests and its honour, would be deemed to have betrayed that country and entailed upon himself indelible reproach. How, sir, did he act

1 Or Genest, Edmond C. French Ambassador in the United States. Sent over in Dec., 1792. He tried in America to stir up feeling against Great Britain, but was firmly resisted by Washington.

when insulted by Genet? Did he consider it as necessary to avenge himself for the misconduct or madness of an individual, by involving a whole continent in the horrors of war? No; he contented himself with procuring satisfaction for the insult, by causing Genet to be recalled; and thus at once consulted his own dignity and the interests of his country. Happy Americans! while the whirlwind spreads desolation over one quarter of the globe, you remain protected from its baneful effects by your own virtues and the wisdom of your government! Separated from Europe by an immense ocean, you feel not the effect of those prejudices and passions which convert the boasted seats of civilisation into scenes of horror and bloodshed! You profit by the folly and madness of contending nations, and afford in your more congenial clime an asylum to those blessings and virtues which they wantonly contemn, or wickedly exclude from their bosom! Cultivating the arts of peace under the influence of freedom, you advance by rapid strides to opulence and distinction: and if by any accident you should be compelled to take part in the present unhappy contest, if you should find it necessary to avenge insult or repel injury, the world will bear witness to the equity of your sentiments and the moderation of your views, and the success of your arms will, no doubt, be proportioned to the justice of your cause!

106. THE RATE OF WAGES IN 1795 (1795.)

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) gave a marked impetus to economic studies in Great Britain, and Sir Frederick Eden may be included among his most useful disciples. The circumstances which suggested The State of the Poor are thus stated in its preface. "The difficulties which the labouring classes experience, from the high price of grain and of provisions in general, as well as of clothing and fuel, during the years 1794 and 1795, induced me, from motives both of benevolence and personal curiosity, to investigate their condition in various parts of the kingdom." Eden was wealthy, and he collected much trustworthy information; partly by personal visits, but quite as much by the deputies whom he employed. His work is a model of timely research, and is quoted with confidence by all serious historians of this period. When comparing the wage

rates in Eden's book with those of the present time, it must be remembered that the purchasing power of about double then what it is now.

money was

SOURCE.-The State of the Poor. Sir F. Eden. (1766-1809). London, 1797. Vol. i., pp. 571, 572, and 574.

Northumberland.

About 60 years ago, reapers, in this county, received 4d. a day and victuals; 40 years ago, they received 6d. a day, and diet these wages continued for several years much the same. A. Young, in his Northern Tour, states agricultural wages to have been, 30 years ago, from 5s. 2d. to 8s. 9d.—(Lett. xxxi.). Wages kept advancing, irregularly, till last year, when they were generally 2s. a day, without victuals. An old tailor, in

the neighbourhood of Morpeth, who is now upwards of 90, says, that when he was between 20 and 30 years of age, 4d. per day were the common wages for men in his line of business, with diet: that, a few years afterwards, they rose to 6d., which were the highest day-wages he ever took for sewing: common tailors, in Morpeth, now receive ls. a day, and their victuals. He adds, that although the usual day's pay for a reaper, when he was young, was 4d., he and a partner, being remarkably good reapers, demanded 6d. the day, which their employer at last agreed to give, although his wife grumbled at what she thought was extravagance however, to reconcile matters, the tailor proposed that he and his partner should do as much work in a day as three of the farmer's best reapers usually performed; which was assented to. Common labourers, 60 years ago, barely received 4d. a day, and victuals: they have now 10s. a week, with a house and fuel, but no board. Spinners of wool, 30 years ago, had 2d. a day, and board: they have now 4d. a day, and victuals. About 50 years ago, they only received 9d. a week, and diet. Women, working in the fields, as weeders, etc., 30 years ago, had 4d. a day, without diet: they have now double that sum. Masons, in Newcastle, 40 years ago, were paid 1s. 4d. and 1s. 6d. a day: they now receive 2s. 6d. and 2s. 9d. A mason's labourer, 40 years ago, had 1s.; he has now 1s. 6d. a day.

Oxfordshire.

Nuneham.—The ordinary wages of labourers are: for men, 8s. the week; and 12s. the week in harvest, together with three

pints of beer: women, in common, have 3s. the week; and 6s. in harvest children, above 9 years of age, can earn from 1s. to 3s. the week. Men, by ordinary work, can earn from 10s. to 12s. the week; and from 16s. to 18s. in harvest. Each cottage nas a small garden, which supplies the family with potatoes. A considerable quantity is also distributed among the poor, every winter, by Lord Harcourt. He likewise allows such families as behave well, a guinea a year, for every fourth child, till the child is ten years old; and when it goes to service, some clothes are usually given. Poor families are also enabled to send their children to school, without any expense: and various other charities are bestowed by Lord and Lady Harcourt on the parish. Every parishioner is allowed to purchase flour, one-third of barley, and two-thirds of wheat, at 7d. the quarternloaf; and to buy at this price as many half-peck loaves, every week, as there are persons in the family. Such flour, as the above, is sold them at 2s. 4d. the peck: potatoes cost 2s. the bushel; bacon, 9d. the lb.; and meat, 5d. the lb.

Yorkshire.

East Riding-Neighbourhood of Hornsey.-Common wages, with diet, from Martinmas to Lady-day, 5s. the week; ditto, from Lady-day to Midsummer, 6s.; ditto, from Midsummer to Michaelmas, 9s.; ditto, from Michaelmas to Martinmas, 6s. Common wages, without diet, 9s. the week, in winter; and 12s. in summer. In harvest, men receive 12s. and 14s. the week, and victuals; and women, 6s. and 7s. the week, with beer, but no meat. There is very constant employment in the winter. The labourers are, in general, supplied by their employers with corn, etc., much below the market price. The rents of cottages vary according to the quantity of land annexed; and are from £1 to £1 10s. Many of the cottages on this coast are miserable hovels; built of mud and straw. Such habitations are sometimes granted by the parish to poor families; and sometimes the parishes supply their poor inhabitants with fuel. Many cottagers cultivate potatoes in their garths and gardens: some have a pig; and a few keep cows.

From the preceding statements, the reader will, I trust, be enabled to form some general idea of the present condition and circumstances of the labouring classes of the community. That they have, during the last two years, been subjected to great distress, from a rise, unexampled within the present century, in the price of the necessaries of life, every one will readily