41 On Emigialiorij and tljc sJcans cf Preventifig It, Feb< 



-vvere driven, like as many Scots or Irifh bullocks, to market, and 

 fold, like flavcs, to the highefl bidder, for the time mentioned in 

 the indentures. What became of them afterwards, God onlj 

 knows : The poor and the opprelTed have no biographers. But 

 as the pcrfons who cf.vried them out were net oblioed to account 

 for them to any perfon here, they mufc, at the expiry of the terno, 

 have i>een much in the mercy of their opprellbrs. Now that (laves 

 from Africa give L. 80 ahead, it is clear, this kidnapping of white 

 people, in the Highlands of Scotland, and in Ireland, will be prac- 

 tifed v.rth avidity. I am not clear, however, but that a perfon 

 reducing away Britiih fubjecls might be profecuted, or obliged to 

 defift, and bound over to his good beliaviour, as, by the laws of 

 Ood and of nature, the f,ealing and felling the fubjeds of any Hate 

 is highly punilliable. Thus, by the Jew! Hi law : — *' He that Iteal- 

 ^* etli a man, and IcUeth him, or if he be found in his hand, fhall 

 ^' furely be put to death*.-' So, likevvife in the civil law Cwhich^ 

 let it be oblerved, is held to be the law of Scotland, where our 

 own is deficient), the offence cf fpiritiKg away and ftealing men 

 and children, which ivas c^M^d plagium, and the offenders, plagiarii, 

 was punilhed with death; Tit, 48. 15. 1. This (fays Judge 

 Blackftone) t is unqueflicnably a very heinous crime, as it robs 

 the king of his fubje&s, banifbes a man from his country, and 

 xnay, in its confequences, be produ£live of the molt cruel and dif- 

 agreeable hardfhips ; and therefore the com.mon lav/ of England 

 has puuifned it with line, imprifonment, and pillory. On the 

 other hand, no fucli contract can be actionable here againft the 

 ■perfcn engaging to emigrate, becaule it is founded on fra,ud, or 

 dele, a contrivance or machination to deceive.; which is a fuilicient 

 ikfence. At any rate, it is every perl'on's duty, who either loves 

 Lis country^ or has any humanity, to point out to thofc, who are 

 in danger of emigration, the bad fuccefs they may lay their ac- 

 count to meet with. 



A great deal of excellent poetry has been compnfcd, to prov; 

 •that die opuleiT-t proprietors building fine houfes, ard making beau- 

 tiful policies, felting large farms, and introducing better farm- 

 management, have caufed emigratiom This I, in plain profe, very 

 inucb doubt: and if I had the fame poetical talents, 1 could give 

 a deicription of many fine new villages, almolt entirely ereifed 

 within thefe 30 years, by per Tons fund of building fine houfes, &^c. 

 for themfclves ; in which a court-houfe, without attornies, — a 

 cotton-mil), — a church, where there was none before, — an acade- 

 my, — a daily pofl and a coffee-room, wouki make no defpicable fi- 

 gure : In addition to all whichj labour for every perfgn who in- 

 clined 



* JEz'vius sxi. 1$. 4- E. iv. c. i?. § ult. 



