106 



A wonderful Narrative of Two Families. 



[March I, 



The broker remarked, that he would 

 Lave forgiven the defendant the whole 

 of the debt if ho had not abused him ; 

 so that personal pique had soinetlihig 

 to do witli it : but who can wonder at a 

 man's being a little (or even more than 

 a little,) abusive, who sees his beds 

 taken from under himself and his 

 family, and is turned out, with "all 

 the world before him, where to cimsc 

 his place of rest." Surely, goods so 

 seized should be put up to public auc- 

 tion ; I know, it is held out, that this 

 would add greatly to the expense : 

 granted,— but would it not add in a 

 much greater degree to the nett pro- 

 duce of the goods ? I think it would. 



Besides, in the present mode, all that 

 government gets by these transactions, 

 is the half-crown for the stamp ; and 

 surely it might forego, without mueii 

 loss of revenue, the auetion-duty of five 

 per cent, on all goods seized for rent, 

 whicli did not amount to more than 

 10/. : I repeat that tlie government, 

 fond as it is said to be of taxation, 

 miglit give up this item without much 

 loss. Another tiling 1 think ought to 

 be done, whicli is, that the oath sliould 

 be taken before a magistrate, and not 

 in the loose public-house sort of way 

 that it is now ; or it should be taken 

 before the cliurehwarden or rector of 

 tlie parish where the seizure is made, 

 or one of the overseers ; for these per- 

 sons would be likely to know some- 

 thing of the parties, and in all proba- 

 bility would interest themselves to see 

 something like justice done between 

 them. 



1'liere is another circumstance con- 

 nected witli these, and indeed with 

 almost all seizures for rent, which is 

 abominable ; it is the seizing of infi- 

 nitely more goods than will cover the 

 rent due, selling them all, and then re- 

 turning the overplus of money to the 

 party seized uj)oii. This is, 1 believe, 

 the law ; but, by wliat sophistry can it 

 be shewn, that the money returned is 

 at all equal to the portion of goods 

 sacrificed to produce it? Suppose it 

 to be 10/. that is to be returned : 40/. 

 would A'(Ty likely not re-instale the 

 furniture sold for that sum as it stood 

 before. This should not be. 



I have thrown out these few hints, 

 doubting not that some of your corre- 

 spondents can suggest a better mode 

 tlian mine of getting rid of, or at least 

 remedying, this evil, which certainly 

 it wants exceedingly ; the poor, from 

 their purchasing in small quantities. 



always pay more for what they get 

 than their more aflluent neighbours ; 

 but, in nothing are they more oppres- 

 sed than in the rent they pay : houses, 

 that are let to speculating men (fre- 

 quently themselves brokers, or jobbing 

 carpenters,) at 26/. or 30/. a-year, pro- 

 duce to them, when let oifin separate 

 rooms, and even cellars, about 801. a- 

 year. In addition to tliis, when the 

 poor are overwhelmed, as I have 

 shewn they are, by the customary 

 mode of seizing for their rent, it really 

 becomes a crying evil, which should be 

 attended to and corrected. 



January 2, 1823. J. M. Lacey. 



For the Blonthly Magazine. 



A WONDERFUL NARRATIVE of TWO 

 FAMILIES, in FIVE LETTERS tO a 

 FRIEND in GREAT BRITAIN, by an 

 AMERICAN. 



LETTER I. 



Dear Sir, 



1HAVE been much interested in 

 reading the accounts given of the 

 people of Loo Choo by two of your 

 countrymen. Captain Hall and Dr. 

 M'Leod. As those people were igno- 

 rant of the gospel of peace when these 

 gentlemen were among them, it is won- 

 derful that they should so far surpass 

 the inhabitants of Christian countries, 

 in the display of the mild and benignant 

 virtues, and in the art of preserving 

 peace among themselves, and with 

 neighbouring nations. That you may 

 the better understand what there was 

 in the accounts of this extraordinary 

 people, which has been so interesting 

 to me, I will collect a few passages 

 from the journals referred to; and 

 then, as a contrast, I will give you a 

 concise account of two large families 

 of Christians, with whose history I 

 have been made acquainted in the 

 course of my pilgrimage. 



Relating to the inhabitants of the 

 island called Loo Choo, or Lewchew, 

 your countrymen have furnished tlie 

 following paragraphs: — 



" Many of these islanders displayed 

 a spirit of intelligence and genius. 

 They all seemed to be gifted with a 

 sort of politeness, which had the lair- 

 cstelaim to be termed natural, lor there 

 M as nothing constrained, nothing stiff 

 or studied in it. 



" It was interesting to observe, in- 

 deed, how early the genlleandengaging 

 manners of all classes here, won upon 

 the sailors no less than upon the 

 officers. The natives from the first 



were 



