1820.} Memoirs of the Literary Society of Maiickeste-. 209 



means of living better than the same class of persons in England. 

 It is true that his style of living is different He does not 

 indulge in the large draughts of beer which an English hind 

 cannot do without, and which in reality constitutes the greatest 

 part of his food ; but he has a liberal supply of milk, which, in 

 my opinion at least, is a far better beverage. He is not in the 

 habit of wasting the whole of his income upon his immediate 

 subsistence. He endeavours to lay up a little for old age, and 

 he has frequently an old father or mother whose support has 

 devolved upon him. Now I leave our author to determine which 

 of these two modes of living is likely to foster the most indus- 

 trious habits and the most independence of spirit. In the south 

 of England at least, for I have not had the means of witnessing 

 what IS the practice in the north of England, the wages of the 

 farm servants are so low that the deficiency is partly made up 

 by the parish, and farmers are not in the habit of hiring them by 

 the year but for very short periods. Now if living upon the 

 parish be the way to acquire independence of mind and a sense 

 of one's own dignity, it must be acknowledged at least that the 

 medicine in general is very unpalatable. 



Our author says that the poor rates lower the wages of 

 labourers, and enable the manufacturers to produce their cotton 

 and their calicoes at a cheaper rate than they otherwise could 

 do. Of course, says he, it is the interest of the manufacturers' 

 to uphold the poor rates. Now as far as the manufacturers are 

 concerned there is something in this argument. When turned 

 into plain Enghsh, it will stand thus : Part of the wages of 

 manufacturing labourers is paid by the country in general (by 

 manufacturers, landed proprietors, farmers. Sec.) whereas, if 

 there were no poor rates, they would be all paid by the manufac- 

 turers themselves. Therefore it is for the interest of the 

 manufacturer that the poor rates should continue ; so that the 

 poor rates act as a bounty on manufactures. So far they are 

 really injurious to the country by enabling manufacturer to 

 persist in making several articles after they have ceased to 

 be profitable. In reality, as far as the labourers of nianufac- 

 'turers are paid by means of the poor rates, the money so 

 bestowed is given away to those foreign countries who purchase 

 our manufactures ; and England would be just as much richer as 

 she is by the amount of the poor rates thus given to the labouring 

 manufacturers, if these manufactures were not cultivated in the 

 country at all. 



XXIII. Memoir on Sn/p/iiiric El/ier, By John Dalton. 



XXIV. Observations on t/it Jiaromeler, Thermonwlcr, ami 

 Rain, at Nunc kcHtcr, from 1794 to 1818 inclusive. By John 

 Dalton. 



The first of these articles was given c:v.tlre in our last number ; 

 the second is reserved for our next. 

 Vol. XV. N° III. O 



