136 Memoirs of John Vockburn Efq. AprU 



Indeed, Cmce I came into the world, I never fjw a feafon which 

 {0 much favoured thofe who are glad of excuies for lloth and a 

 lazy dreaming way of going en, without exerting themfelves and 

 eii nloyin^ their thoughts and hands in endeavouring to help and 

 impiove nature, to the advantage of themfch'es and famiUes, 

 God Almighty has endued mankind with the valuable faculty of 

 thought, or reafon, with a defign that they fliouid ufe it for 

 rhcjr own advantage, not that they fhould lock it up, and jog on, 

 as do the brutes, without confidering why or wherefore they go 

 r.bout the common actions of life, further than that they have 

 icen others, as llupid as themfelves, do fo before them. I am 

 very glad to find you have another way of thinking, and that, 

 "when a bad fealbn comes, you make juft allowances for it, and, 

 when a reafonable experiment has been tried, and does not fuc- 

 ceed to the full of what could be wiilied, you confider what 

 caufes may be for its not fucceeding, and what can be done to 

 redlify any omifhon in the former trial, or what improvement, 

 in reafon, can be made in the next, from whence better fuccefs 

 can be hoped for •, and th^t you do not entirely rejecl: v/hat rea- 

 son teaches you to be right in the main, becauie, from a bad 

 feafon, fome neglect in the management, or for want of i'omc 

 further things being done, it did not, with you, come up to the 

 full of what it has done with others in a good feafon, and who, 

 from more experience in the pra61:ice, have had it dp better than 

 it did with you the firft time. 



' I am not for having you venture too much, rallily, before 

 you have confidered well the reafonablenefs of the experiment, 

 and made trials of it. Allowances mud be made tor different 

 ibils, climates, and other circumilances ; and thofe things being 

 jobferved, I am ilill convinced that by thought, adivity and in- 

 duftry, our hufbandry may be improved vailly, and laborious, iri- 

 .duflrious people, may ftnd better living in our country than the 

 generality of them have yet found ; and none, in whom I. am 

 any way concerned, iliall want for all the encouragement a maf- 

 fer can give to their jufl and honed endeavours for promonn.g 

 their own advantage •, for ao father can haYe more iatibiaclioa 

 in the profperity of his children, than I have in the welfare of 

 perfons fituated upon my eilate. I hate tyranny in every fliape, 

 and Tnall always have greater pleafure jn feeing my tenants mak- 

 ing fomething under me, which they can call their own, than in 

 getting a little more money myfeli, by fqucezing a hundred poor 

 families, till their neceiiities make them rny flavts. I hope my 

 actions have convinced you all of this, and that I have hitherto 

 iludied your advantage equal, at lead, to tiie making the eftate 



better 



