"We afterwards tried this lake several times, but could not get a rise, from which I inferred that there were few, if any, large pike

the quantity of food so large an animal must require every year, it cannot be expected that any piece of water can supply many such fish,"

་་

AMONG the improvements of a gentleman's estate, I think there can be none more grateful to the feelings of the owner, than an attention to the habitations of the labouring poor residing upon it. Few things, however, are less at tended to, if one may form a judge ment from their general appearance, than such cottages; which are, for the most part, sordid and miser. able to the last degree, equally injurious to the health and morals of the inhabitants, and not less so to the ideas that we are led to form of the humanity of the man, who, while living in all the luxury and ease that a splendid habitation and a well-furnished table afford, can calmly pass the squalid dwelling of his lowly tenant, and not feel himself inclined to repair a monument that reflects such indelible disgrace upon his philanthropy.

"Where the inclination to perform a good action is wanting, arguments, such as they are, will always be readily found to answer the purpose: those made use of in defence of this neglect are, the ingratitude with which acts of kindness are too frequently repaid, and the natural tendency to filth and sloth which prevails among the lower classes of the people.

"Without endeavouring here to determine how far truth does really exist in these arguments, I beg leave to ask, with respect to the first position, What gratitude is due to a man who exacts an exorbitant rent for a hovel, that frequently will not defend its inhabitants fron the inclemency of the seasons? And, secondly, as to cleanliness; How is it in the power of a family, consisting perhaps of from eight to ten, or a dozen persons, crammed into a wretched hovel, seldom comprising more than two, and some, times only one apartment, to be otherwise than dirty? They have not the opportunity to be clean; and, this allowed, Is it to be wondered at that filth becomes habitual? Of this melancholy truth there needs no proof to those whose business, or charitable inclinations, lead them frequently into the ha bitations of the poor. Let not the man of large fortune suffer the spectre Ingratitude to haunt his imagination, and prevent a trial. Let him, overflowing with the milk of human kindness, hope to meet a suitable return; yet, if disappointed, consider that ingratitude is a vice, not wholly confined to the poor.

"After mature reflection upon this subject, I am inclined to think,

that

that the general condition of the labouring poor might be materially bettered; and that the landlord, independent of the satisfaction which must ever arise from conferring happiness on others, would ultimately be a gainer.

"But it is not a comfortable habitation alone that can produce this beneficial consequence. While the whole of the land is engrossed by the farmer, little is to be expected. With the exception of a few instances, the cottager pays to the full amount for every thing that he purchases from that quarter; therefore, unless placed in a certain degree beyond the farmer's power, yet without making him independent, all exertion to improve his situation, and, as far as is connected with it, that of the community, will be ineffectual.

"In the disposal of farms, it is certainly in the land-owner's power to reserve any proportion that he pleases, which might be allotted to cottages; we will say, for instance, four acres to each; less would scarcely be sufficient for the proper maintenance of a cow or two, that grand source of happiness and real comfort to the poor man's family. Instead of which, both land and cottages are let to the farmer, who becomes responsible for the whole, without any further trouble or interest to the landlord, and who knows too well the sweets arising from its produce to part with it again on any terms. Even the cottager's garden has not unfrequently fallen a sacrifice to his rapacity: this is by no means an uncommon case, and calls for serious consideration. The peasant may indeed well exclaim,

Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, cold? Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes

behoki?

"The advantages of a cow or two, under the before-mentioned circum stances, are real blessings: health, comfort, cleanliness, and, above all, the ability to act honestly, by being placed in some measure out of the reach of temptation, urged by actual necessity, may certainly be classed among the foremost of those blessings, which it is in the power of every man of fortune to bestow.

"Such resources would not only enable the poor tenant to pay his rent, and ease his mind of that heavy burden; but at the same time stimulate him and his family to industry, by giving him an idea that he held some rank in society, and that he was not created merely for the felicity of others..

"My profession, daily leading me into the habitations of the poor, has occasioned me to regard their situations with accuracy, and to ob

serve the difference arising between them from favourable or adverse circumstances; and hence I can speak with some confidence upon the subject.

"In one particular village which has fallen under my notice, where the cottages are remarkably comfortable, and where most of the tenants have the advantage of an orchard, there is very little poverty; and I have invariably found, that where the greatest degree of poverty did prevail, this accommodation was denied. Among the many instances of comfort which were to be found in this village, I shall relate one of a poor man, who brought up a very large family (I believe ten children), and was enabled to pay a yearly rent of eight pounds for his cottage and orchard; from the produce of which, and the cow that it enabled him to keep, he alone derived the comforts that he enjoyed beyond the produce of his labour.

"Whatever is an incitement to industry is also a stimulus to cleanliness; and few things teach the latter virtue in greater perfection, than the management of a dairy. It also affords constant employ ment to the younger branches of a family; and is of infinite use, by giving them early habits of industry, which is the surest guide to virtue and happiness.

"Infancy passed in sloth and filth will, most probably, end in poverty and immorality; against which nothing can be so effectual a guard, as the early period of life being actively and properly employed.

"We are apt to deprecate idle ness, without giving a sufficient degree of encouragement to industry; and, indeed, it too often happens, that the idle and the cla

morous, generally combined, are attended to, while the quiet and industrious person too frequently goes unregarded:

-Choosing, rather far, A dry but independent crust, hard earn' And eaten with a sigh, than to endure The rugged frowns and insolent rebuifs Of knaves in office, partial in the work Of distribution; liberal of their aid To clam'rous importunity in rags; But oft'times deaf to suppliants who would To wear a tatter'd garb however coarse, Whom famine cannot reconcile to fikh: These ask with painful shyness, and, refus'd

blush

Because deserving, silently retire.'

COWPER.

"If small portions of land were more generally allotted to the cottages of the poor, I am persuaded that the most beneficial consequences would be extended far and wide. It would then be the labourer's own fault, if, with such advantages, (unless illness, or any great misfortune befel him) he did not provide comfortably for his family by the fruits of his labour; and I have not a doubt, but that a considerable reduction in the poors' rates would be the consequence of a plan of this nature. Magistrates would not then be so frequently troubled with complaints; or, if they were, they would not have the same reason for attending to them.

"In order to the forming some idea of the utility of this plan, I beg leave to submit the following calculation; which, though only a general idea, is perhaps not far from the truth. I will suppose the labourer to pay, for four acres of land, the annual rent of six pounds; for his cottage forty shillings; and the necessary expenses of tillage, &c. without including his own labour, to amount to forty shillings more: this would make his out

goings amount to ten pounds. I will now suppose the produce of this land, with the assistance of a couple of cows, pigs, &c. to amount to thirty pounds, from which is to be deducted the above ten pounds for rent and expenses; leaving a ba lance in favour of the tenant of no less a sum than twenty pounds, or eight shillings a week; equal at least to the value or two-thirds of his daily labour.

After these remarks were write ten, Mr. Kent's Agricultural Report of Kent fell into my hands. Never having made rural economics my study, farther than as they relate to buildings, woods, and grounds in a picturesque point of view, combined with a sincere wish to see happiness as well as beauty equally diffused around, I could not but be highly gratified in finding arguments deduced, with so much good sense, from experience so exactly corresponding with my own.

"The poors' rates have increased in this county in a full proportion to others; and, with a view of stopping this increase, several houses of industry have been established; but they are grievous things in the eyes of the poor, and, I am afraid, are not found to answer the end that was expected from them. I know of no law that can enforce industry; it may be encouraged, and great good will result from it; but it can never be effected by compulsion.

"There are two principles which should be kept alive, as much as possible, in the minds of the poor ; pride and shame. The former will lead them to the attainment of comfort by honest means; and the latter will keep them from becoming burthensome to their neighbours. But many of the modern

plans for making provisions for them have tended to destroy these principles.

"A man born to no inheritance, who assiduously devotes his whole life to labour, when nature declines, has as great a claim upon the neighbourhood where the labours of his youth have been devoted, as the worn-out soldier or sailor has to Chelsea or Greenwich; and this reward ought to be as honourable as it is comfortable; and not to be administered in a way that is re pugnant to the natural love of ra tional freedom, which every human mind sympathizes in the enjoyment of. Such a man as I have characterized ought to be distinguished from the lazy and profigate wretch who has seldom work ed but by force. The one ought not to be crowded into the same habitation with the other: but in houses of industry there can be no distinction.

"There is one thing which is incumbent on all great farmers to do; and that is, to provide comfortable cottages for two or three of their most industrious labourers, and to lay two or three acres of grass land to each, to enable such labourers to keep a cow and a pig. Such a man is always a faithful servant to the farmer who employs him; he has a stake in the common interest of the country, and is never prompt to riot in time of sedition, like the man who has nothing to lose; on the contrary, he is a strong link in the chain of national security.

"There are but few great farmers, however, who are inclined to accommodate cottagers with these little portions of land; and when they do let them any, it is generally at double the rent they give for it.. But I am persuaded,

that

that if there were a certain number of cottages of this description, in proportion to the size of the estates, and they were accommodated in this manner, and those places were bestowed as a reward to labourers of particular good conduct, it would do wonders toward the reduction of the rates, and the preservation of order; for I have been witness to several striking proofs of this, in two or three labourers who have been thus favoured, whose attachment to their masters was exem

plary, as they were not only steady in themselves, but by their example kept others from running into excess. There cannot well be too many of these places attached to large farms; they would be the most prolific cradles of the best sort of population.'

"Mr. Kent seems to be truly sensible of the principle, that self is the first object, not only with the farmer, but with mankind in general. The comforts of the cottage ought not, however, to be left at the disposal of the farmer. If the land-owner, as is often the case, happen to be a gentleman with a liberal mind, he is the most likely person, not only to see the propriety of such a plan, but to carry it into execution with effect.

"The cottage system, I am persuaded, need only be carried to its extent to render England indeed a paradise. Its influence would not be confined to the tenants themselves, or to the country. Large and populous towns would soon be sensible of the advantages resulting from it. The overplus (for an overplus there would ever be, and that no inconsiderable one) would tend to supply the neighbourhood, if not the public markets; and even if it did neither, the cottages would have a supply within themselves, and not, as

Charity is never so well bestowed as when it tends to promote industry; and if the reasoning that has been made use of is founded in truth, the neglect is the more unpardonable, as it may be dispensed without being felt by the bestower. The entire gift of a cow would be of far less advantage, than the letting of land, even at the highest rent; it would, in my opinion, with no other advantage than the ordinary feed of cottager's cows, be rather injurious than bene. ficial. Those commons which still remain uninclosed (and in a short time, I fear, there will be but few even of them) are in general so overstocked, that they afford ·little more than stowage; and to purchase feed of the farmer (for I have known the enormous sum of seven shillings a week paid for the winter feed of one cow) is more than the labourer can afford; the deficiency must therefore be made up in some way or other; too frequently, I fear, at the expense of some more wealthy neighbour; or, if this be not the case, the poor animal lingers through the winter with barely sufficient to keep her in ex

istence: