LETTER TO 



them disregarded by your English readers, who, sitting by their 

 fire-sides, and feeling nothing but the gripe of the Borough- 

 mongers and the tax-gatherer, merely cast a glance at your hard 

 ships and fully participate in all your enthusiasm. You do indeed 

 fairly describe the rugged roads, the dirty hovels, the fire in the 

 woods to sleep by, the pathless ways through the wildernesses, 

 the dangerous crossings of the rivers ; but, there are the beautiful 

 meadows and rich lands at last : there is the fine freehold domain 

 at the end ! There are the giants and the enchanters to encounter, 

 the slashings and the rib-roas,tings to undergo ; but then, there 

 is, at last, the lovely languishing damsel to repay the adventurer. 



972. The whole of your writings relative to your undertaking, 

 address themselves directly to English Farmers, who have property 

 to the amount of two or three thousand pounds, or upwards. 

 Persons of this description are, not by your express words, but 

 by the natural tendency of your writings, invited, nay, strongly 

 invited, to emigrate with their property to the Illinois Territory. 

 Many have already acted upon the invitation. Many others are 

 about to follow them. I am convinced, that their doing this is 

 unwise, and greatly injurious, not only to them, but to the 

 character of America as a country to emigrate to, and, as I have, 

 in the first Part of this work, promised to give, as far as I am able, 

 a true account of America, it is my duty to state the reasons on 

 which this conviction is founded ; and, I address the statement 

 to you, in order, that, if you find it erroneous, you may, in the like 

 public manner, show wherein I have committed error. 



973. We are speaking, my dear Sir, of English farmers possessing 

 each two or three thousand pounds sterling. And, before we 

 proceed to inquire, whether such persons ought to emigrate to 

 the West or to the East, it may not be amiss to inquire a little, 

 whether they ought to emigrate at all I Do not start, now ! 

 For, while I am very certain that the emigration of such persons 

 is not, in the end, calculated to produce benefit to America, as a 

 nation, I greatly doubt of its being generally speaking, of any 

 benefit to the emigrants themselves, if we take into view the 

 chances of their speedy relief at home. 



974. Persons of advanced age, of settled habits, of deep rooted 

 prejudices, of settled acquaintances, of contracted sphere of 

 movement, do not, to use Mr. GEORGE FLOWER S expression, 

 &quot; transplant well&quot; Of all such persons, Farmers transplant 

 worst ; and, of all Farmers, English Farmers are the worst to 

 transplant. Of some of the tears, shed in the ILLINOIS, an account 

 reached me several months ago, through an eye-witness of perfect 

 veracity, and a very sincere friend of freedom, and of you, and 

 whose information was given me, unasked for, and in the presence 

 of several Englishmen, every one of whom, as well as myself, 

 most ardently wished you success. 



975. It is nothing, my dear Sir, to say, as you do, in the Preface 

 to the Letters from the Illinois, &quot; that as little would I encourage 



236 



