The persons who composed that law had had before their eyes such a recent proof of the abuse that had been made of the charitable benificence of individuals that they seem to have been chiefly solicitous to obviate similar abuses in future; and to guard against that partial kind of seduction, they rather chose to establish a despotic power which should be authorised to wrest from every individual in the nation what ever sums it might think proper to call for, trusting to a few feeble devices which they

liament instituted an inquiry into the amount of the poors rates in England and Wales; and again in 1783. On comparing these together, the rise during that short period was found to be upwards of eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds per annum ; in England this being nearly in the proportion of one third of the rate at the first period. In Wales during the same period of time the rates were more than doubled. Nor was this a temporary start, but a part only of a gradual progref, sion. Mr Wenderdon-in his View of England, observes that," in the year 1680 the poors rates produced no more than 665,390 l. in 1764, they stood at 1,200,000 1. and in 1773 they were estimated at 3,000,000 l." It is a known fact, says Mr Beaufoy, in the debate on Mr Gilberts poor bill, April 17th 1788, that within the last nine years, the poors rates have increased one third, and should they continue increasing in the same proportion for fifty or fifty three years, they would amount to the enormous sum of 11,230,cool. a burden which the country could not pofsibly bear. It was therefore, he added, highly necessary that something should be attempted to prevent this alarming adition if not to annihilate the present glaring misconduct in the management of the poor." Such has been the language of thirking men in parliament for near a century backwards. And many have been the regulations attempted with a view to check this alarming evil; but so far are these from proving effectul, that things, it appears, go only from bad to worse. It is a disease that baffles the power of political remedies to correct, and will only end as it would seem in the total ruin of the community upon which its destruc tive operations are exerted.

Nov. 6, contrived, for curbing that power, which was virtually armed with force sufficient to set all these aside when ever it pleased. They were not aware that when they entrusted the cloak bag, firmly closed and locked with a key, to the Highland man, who had a knife in his pocket he would soon discover that the cloak bag was only made of leather, and of consequence the contents of it within his power whenever he pleased. The result has in this case been precisely the same: the locks have been disre garded, but the bag has been ripped up and pillaged at pleasure. The sums taken from thence were at first small, but they are now enormous, and the demands are increasing in such a rapid manner as to give rise to the most serious apprehensions, though it seems to be impossible to provide any means of effectually removing the evil.*

*It is a common error in prospective legislation to grant, by words, a right of controul where the power of enforcing obedience is withheld. It was this kind of ineffective veto which was given to the late king of France and which proved his ruin. Checks of the same inefficatious nature have been devised as bars to an evil respecting the poor laws, which was foreseen as pofsible tho' scarcely thought probable at the beginning. Now the actual powers of the different parties have been tried, and their respective value appreciated. The administrators of the poors funds, like the executors of a will in the west Indies, care not where the right is vested so that they have the management of the funds. Make whom you please your heir, is the common language in the west Indies, provided you make me your executor. The fact is that when a small body of men, whose interest serves to unite them have the administration of public funds entrus ged to them, and have an individual to contend with at law, who must in this country fight every inch he advances by means of his own funds, whatever right of coutroul be vested in that individual, he finds that it will cost him so much before he can make his right effectual

Such has been the fate of England with regard to poor laws.

In Scotland, the reformation having been carried forward with a still more violent precipitancy than

and that after all he is only fighting the battles of others who are often more interested in the contest than himself, that prudence forbids him to challenge what he knows he could correct only to his own prejudice. In these circumstances a legal right is in fact nearly the same thing as a nullity.

To give an example of the operation of this principle. The wri ter of this article had the misfortune to be a residenter in the parish of South Leith, when an attempt was made to establish an involuntary poors rate in that parish. A poors rate was actually imposed, according to forms that some inattentive reasoners believed tó be legal, to the amount of 800l. per annum. The demand from him on this account, he himself, to avoid caviling, did pay for one year. But seeing evident and glaring abuses already commenced, and aware of the inevitable destruction that this poor country must undergo, should this ruinous system be incautiously admitted; conscious, at the same time, of the illegality of the whole proceedings he resolved to oppose it. On applying to different individuals to join him in this public cause, he scarcely found one who did not exprefs in strong terms their abhorence of a poors-rate, and their great desire to have it abolished ; but from among the whole number of perhaps ten thousand householders, he got precisely two guineas to afsist him in bearing the expence of the prosecution. Aware, however, of the immense importance of this cause to the country, though thus left to stand alone, he stood an action before the court of session, and finally did prevail; and of course the 'poors-rate was there abolished. He has thus had the satisfaction of being able to say that in one instance, at least, he has had it in his power to serve his country; for the broad ground he stood upon was, "that there is no law IN FORCE in Scotland by which an involuntary poors-rate can be established in any parish.” And he hopes it will not be deemed an unbecoming exultation in him, thus to state this fact for the information of his countrymen; many of whom, who wishing to oppose the poor-rates, by first admitting the principle in law, as established, and resting their defences on doubtful pleas, have been cast, which by another mode of conduct might have been avoided.

in England, and the funds of the regular clergy being more entirely alienated, the case of the poor there became still more seemingly desperate, and the clamours were also there considerable at that time. Then also it was that the Scottish court, imitating as usual at that time, the practice of England, made several feeble attemps to introduce a system of compulsory poors-rates into this country, but never digested that system so thoroughly as to form a law that could, in any case, be carried into effect. Many crude laws on this head were indeed enacted; but all of these so evidently inadequate for the purpose, that they never were, even in one instance, that I have heard of, attempted, at the time, to be carried into effect. Of these laws I fhall afterwards have occasion to speak more fully; it is here only necefsary to say that they were all so absurd, as to have been evidently neglected from the moment they were framed, though they have been suffered to remain upon the statute book as a disgrace to the times when they were formed, and as a stumbling block to those that were to follow,

It will not, however, be uselefs labour here to advert to the circumstances that occasioned such a discrepancy between the fate of England and of Scotland on this very momentous subject, as it will give us an opportunity of tracing to their sources the systems that have been adopted in both countries, with regard to the maintenance of the poor, and to deveJope some other historical facts that produce a considerable effect at present on the manners and customs of both nations.

The reformation in England was entirely a secular work. The king took that tafk solely upon his own fhoulders; and he conducted it in the precise manner that seemed good unto himself. The regular clergy, many of whom concurred in the opinion, that the monasteries might be safely supprefsed, and some other alterations be adopted without danger, gave no opposition to him; provided their own situation was not to be materially altered. This was not the case in Scotland it was a kind of religious phrenzy that there produced the reformation; and the whole clerical order, regular and secular, were sweeped away with one indiscriminate crash. A new order of clergy sprung up in their place, who owed their popularity entirely to the sanctity of their lives, real or supposed. Religious zeal, and a purer morality of conduct, were the principal recommendations for them; and as the lives of the apostles were the great models they wished to imitate, they were of course earnest in recommending to their hearers the practice of Christian charity, especially almsgiving, as one of the most acceptable deeds in the eyes of the most high God. And as it was of much importance that they should guard against any appearance of an interested conduct on their own part, they were cautious to put the evil thing away from them; and instead of receiving private donations themselves, un、 der the name of almoners, they instituted a tribunal of elders, men chosen from among the people on account of the distinguished regularity of their behaviour, and strictly moral conduct, who fhould have the sole administration of all monies given in alms, un