poor will bear a great deal, if the rich will set them an example.

"The distillery from all sorts of grain, and the starch manufactory, should be stopped immediately. All useless animals should be destroyed. Dogs eat a vast quantity of wheat, barley, and oats. The labourer's dog can only live by eating the children's bread, or by thieving. The destruction of sheep and lambs by dogs, and the disturbance they give to fatting sheep, and ewes big with lamb, is a very great annual loss to the nation. An additional tax should be laid on all dogs and horses, without any exception, and a large additional tax on all kept for pleasure; and the produce of these taxes should go in aid of the poor rates: this would ensure the rigid collection, and thus produce the main end proposed, viz. the lessening their number. Horses should now be fed on such barley as won't make malt; on such oats as are not fit to grind for meal; on buck wheat, beans, hay, &c. &c. All oats fit to grind should be secured for Scotland, where they are essential to the preserving the lives of the common people. The culture of potatoes should be encouraged; but the early potatoe is only a delicacy, and not useful as a nutritious food; and the digging up the common potatoes before they have attained their full growth would be ruinous.

"Let the strictest economy be recommended, not only of bread, but of every sort of food. Let all the liquor in which meat is boiled be saved to make broth.

"Let public feasts be suspended, as also great private entertainments, suppers, and the like. And let no soups or sauces be allowed which require coarse meat to make them.

"Let all useless animals be immediately destroyed.

"Let no food which a human creature will eat, be given

to any other animal; particularly, let all persons be exhorted to give or sell their skim milk to the poor; bread itself is not more useful to them.

"Let a large quantity of good oats be secured by government for the supply of Scotland.

"Let it be strongly recommended to all persons, not to to buy fine oats for their horses.

"Let as much rice as possible be secured immediately. "Let measures be taken for securing a large importation of wheat, oats, rice, &c. immediately after the ensuing harvest.

"Let returns be procured of the quantity of food in each district of Great Britain and Ireland, and all the adjacent islands; and let those districts which are most deficient be assisted without delay.

"Let all gentlemen, who are magistrates, be urged to return to their country residences, and reside there during the next six months; and to pay the closest attention to the peace and order of their neighbourhoods.

"The clergy, also, should be strongly pressed to repair to their respective parishes, and superintend the distribution of the relief afforded to the poor.

"Farmers should be warned to take in their wheat stacks, and millers to keep no large quantities of corn or meal in their mills. And all should be apprized, that the best of all charities is the finding work for every man, woman, and child, who want work.

"The volunteer corps should be exercised, and shown to be in readiness, in case of any tumult. And in stationing the regulars and militia, attention should be paid to those populous manufacturing towns where disorders are most likely to arise.

"Newspapers should be watched, and mischievous paragraphs about artificial scarcity, combinations to keep up the price of corn, &c. be punished, if punishable; and counteracted by other paragraphs calculated to sooth the minds of the populace.

"There is often great oppression in the manner of paying the common people. Either they are not paid regularly, or they are compelled to go to a public house to be paid, and so are tempted, if not compelled, to spend some of their money in liquor; or, instead of being paid on Saturday evening*, (as they always should be) they are obliged to walk a mile or two on Sunday morning to receive their money, and are kept waiting, till they are prevented buying their Sunday's food, or going to church. Sometimes two or more are paid by one bank note, which they cannot divide without paying some body for changing it.

"Lastly, unless some effectual measures be taken to check the progress of vice, all our other efforts must be ineffectual.

"The non-residence of the clergy;

"The profanation of the Lord's day;

"Lotteries and gaming houses;

"Too many public houses;

"The publication of trials for adultery, and other lewd pamphlets, or prints;

"The vast number of beggars and idle vagrants, who live by pilfering;

"All these call loudly for the attention of our governors and legislators."

*Mr. Bowdler's custom was to pay his labourers on Friday Evening; and this has been introduced in some places with manifest advantage to the poor.

It may be pleasing and instructive even when the state of the country is extremely different, to read the opinions of a sensible man, who was distinguished by a remarkably practical and useful turn of mind. With the same view, some hints are here added respecting loan and taxes, which were committed to paper about the same period.

"If the intrinsic value of any coin be greater than its nominal value, it is obvious that such coin will not remain long in circulation, since it is the interest of individuals to melt it. If the intrinsic value of our coin be greater in other parts of Europe than its current value in Britain, it is equally obvious that such coin will not remain long in Britain. The English gold and silver coins, being liable to both these objections, are not well calculated for a permanent circulating medium. This inconvenience might be remedied by altering the standard of our gold and silver coin; but this would have an ill effect on our exchange with foreign countries, where the standard of our coin is well known, and where it is bought and sold by weight. The same end may as easily be obtained by lessening the weight of our coin. The guinea, when coined, now weighs 5 dwts. 9 grs., and passes current weighing 5 dwts. 8 grs., for 21 shillings. Fix a time by act of parliament, after which the present guineas and half-guineas shall not pass current; and in their stead, coin similar pieces, to be called pounds and half-pounds, let the pound weigh when coined 5dwts., and pass current for 20 shillings; let the half-pound weigh 2 dwts. 12grs., and pass current for 10 shillings; let crown pieces be coined of silver, weighing 18 dwts.; half-crowns

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weighing 9 dwts.; shillings weighing 3 dwts. 14 grs.; and sixpences, 1 dwt. 19 grs. By making the pound piece or guinea pass for 20 shillings, and the half-pound or halfguinea for 10 shillings, all accounts would be much simplified, and the changing gold for silver rendered more easy. By altering the weight as proposed above, a saving would be made to the public, which would pay all the expences of the re-coinage, &c. Especially if the fees of the officers of the mint were reduced, or commuted for a fixed sum; which they ought to be, if they are as great as commonly supposed.”

Mr. Bowdler was, as has been before observed, an excellent arithmetician. He was particularly fond of decimals, and often regretted that this mode of calculation was not more in use. This led him to suggest that all our weights and measures should be divided in this manner, which has actually been, at least in some degree, effected in a neighbouring country. The simplicity and uniformity which might be thus introduced, would undoubtedly be very desirable. But long esta

blished custom is too strong to be subdued even by absolute power.

"Let money be borrowed upon annuities, of which as many as possible should be for one, two, three, or four lives in being; the rest for different terms of years, none longer than 80. Thus, this debt would pay itself off in that space, except, perhaps, a very few of the life annu