PREFACE. vii 



and in some of the smaller States, the civil struggle has 

 commenced : what will be the final result it is impos- 

 sible to foresee : probably by no party, and in no state, 

 will the question be set at rest by the rude and open 

 interference of the sword ; and there seems reason to 

 hope, that the changes which may result, will upon the 

 whole be for the general benefit of the community in 

 which they take place. 



The prodigious exertions, during the late war, which 

 this country was enabled to make in proportion to its 

 population, are attributed pretty generally on the con- 

 tinent, to the enterprize of our merchants, and the 

 activity and diligence of our manufacturers and capi- 

 talists ; overlooking the liberality of our political in- 

 stitutions, the cause and consequence of that public 

 spirit, and private integrity, on which the prosperity of 

 the British "Empire essentially depends. Hence great 

 pains have been taken, particularly by Russia, to obtain 

 copies of our machinery, and to seduce our artisans. 

 The times have been favourable to these attempts, 

 which have been prosecuted with an openness and 

 success, that has excited the jealousy and alarm of our 

 manufacturers, though not of the Government. Pro- 

 bably most of these projects, like other similar ones, 

 will prove abortive: those who would raise oaks must 

 be content to plant acorns in the soil adapted to their 

 growth, and to wait in hope, in faith, and in patience, 

 for their late and robust maturity. 



