444 INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNAL. 



quired, several years ago, property to an amount 

 sufficient to satisfy any man of moderate desires. 

 855. But, along with my money my children 

 had come and had gone on increasing to the 

 number of nine. New duties now arose, and 

 demanded my best attention. It was not suffi 

 cient that I was likely to have a decent fortune 

 for each child. I was bound to provide, if 

 possible, against my children being stripped 

 of what I had earned for them. I, therefore, 

 looked seriously at the situation of England ; 

 and, I saw, that the incomes of my children 

 were all pawned (as my friend Cobbett truly 

 calls it) to pay the Debts of the Borough, or 

 seat, owners. I saw, that, of whatever I 

 might be able to give to my children, as well as 

 of what they might be able to earn, more than 

 one half would be taken away to feed pen 

 sioned Lords and Ladies, Soldiers to shoot at 

 us, Parsons to persecute us, and Fundholders, 

 who had lent their money to be applied to pur 

 poses of enslaving us. This view of the matter 

 was sufficient to induce the father of nine child 

 ren to think of the means of rescuing them from 

 the consequences, which common sense taught 

 him to apprehend. But, there were other con 

 siderations, which operated with me in pro 

 ducing my emigration to America. 



