PREFACE. IX 



was required to be enlightened. Thence meet- 

 ings upon meetings, in all the counties, petitions 

 on petitions, projects upon projects ; then the Par- 

 liament, and principally the House of Commons, 

 was obliged to form committees upon committees, 

 and institute inquiries upon inquiries. 



Each of the parties, of which agriculture, arti- 

 sanship, manufactures, commerce, navigation, pub- 

 lic works are composed, had special committees and 

 commissions, and in short passed through all the 

 proceedings of an inquiry. 



These Inquiries have not all been conducted with 

 the same forms : those respecting Ireland, and the 

 poor in England, differed from the usual forms. 

 These changes will be pointed out, as we proceed 

 to give the extracts from each different inquiry. 

 It suffices to say, that in Ireland they were all 

 conducted publicly, that every inhabitant had the 

 power of co-operating, either by questions or re- 

 plies, and that the number of those who availed 

 themselves of this permission was immense. It was 

 no longer the administrators who spoke, but the 

 governed, every one expressing his approbation or 

 his disapprobation of all that had been done, that 

 was doing, and that was intended to be done. All 

 these documents have been printed, in large folio 

 volumes, in number without end, and these labours 

 have cost considerable sums. 



