690 



FARiMERS' REGISTER 



No. 11 



evil are left open for our selection, and the absen- 

 tee furnishes an instance of the liberty often taken 

 in making the choice. Residence cannot he en- 

 forced by legal authority, but landed properly may 

 be considered as a benefice, on which residence is 

 morally required. The right to property is an in- 

 stitution of society, founded indeed in justice and 

 essential to the prosperity ol" mankind. But some 

 Bpecies of property confer greater privileges, and 

 possess advantages, which do not so eminently 

 belong to others. 'J'he owners of land are invesi- 

 ed with a power, influence, and consideration, 

 which do not flow, in the same degree, from pecu- 

 niary and commercial wealth. They possess the 

 signal advantage of being able to contribute to 

 the prosperity of the persons necessarily depen- 

 dent on them for a portion of their happiness, 

 without sacrificing any essential interest. They 

 can, by a wise distribution of their propertj', 

 equally promote its improvement and the comf)rt 

 of the laborer. They can remove some of the 

 causes wiiich corrupr his morals and repress his 

 industry. They can protect him by advice against 

 his ignorance and prejadicies, expose the arts by 

 which he is commonly defrauded of the full bene- 

 fit of hiseariiings, and be his leader and his friend. 

 If landed property confers such powers of doir'g 



food, the neglect to exert them is a breach of 

 uty. 



Marriagp.. — Whatever schemes rrjay he pro- 

 posed for diaiinishing the wants of the agricultural 

 poor, none must be built on enforcing the supposed 

 virtues of the cloister. The promiscuous inter- 

 course of the sexes and habits of incontinence 

 may be corrected, but the right of marriage can- 

 not be controlled, except by the prudence of the 

 parties, or even discountenanced amongst the poor 

 with safety. The poor-laws are supposed to af- 

 ford an inducement to the laborerto enter into the 

 marriage state, by the resource they hold out in 

 maintaining his children. But the passion im- 

 planted in him by nature, and motives arising !i"om 

 convenience, present irresistable temptations. The 

 want of a helpmate is felt tar more by the poor than 

 the affluent: tlieir meals, their cleanliness, their phy- 

 sical comforts depend on the assistance of a wile. 

 The increase of ex|)ense is generally compensated 

 by better management and economy: they contract 

 habits of abstinence from love to their children, 

 for whose benefit they v.'ill refuse induliiencps 

 within their reach. Marriage with themis the 

 eource of many virtues, the preventive of many 

 disorders, springs from their wants, is sanctioned 

 by religion and policy, and by the inestimable 

 benefits it coalers on the different sexes in their 

 rank. Few of them meditate, on contracting this 

 connexion, the assistance of the poor-laws. They 

 engage in it with the hope of happiness natural 

 to youth, and with the short views of futurity, in- 

 cident to their station no doubt, but in some de- 

 gree incident to their species. The prospect of 

 an allowance extorted from the reluctant hand of 

 the overseer and magistrate rarely Ibrms any part 

 of their allusions. 



The increase of the agricultural poor within the 

 last thirty or thirty-five years was the efl'ect of an 

 enormous expenditure of the public captal, and of 

 the facility with which the farmers obtained mo- 

 ney from the country banks. These causes gave 

 Hill activity to their employment, worl: to every 

 hand, and subsistence to every family. The ex- 



cess of population, compared with the means of 

 employment, only became apparent, when the ex- 

 penditure ceased, and the currency approached 

 to its former value. The -revulsion which took 

 place was sudden, and deprived a large portion of 

 the community, at once, of the means of exist- 

 ence. No outlet could be immediately found for 

 this mass of destitute laborers and their families, 

 fn ordinary circumstances, whenever a pressure 

 from the density of population became inconve- 

 nient, a drain to other countries would easily re- 

 lieve the brethren. Time only can now restore 

 the population to its proper bidance, either by an 

 increase of the means of employment at home, 

 or by its slow and gradual effluxion to the colo- 

 nies. 



TO SUBSCRIBERS IN ARREAR. ERASURES OP 

 NAaiES — DISCOUKT ON UNCURRENT NOTES 

 POSTAGE ON LETTERS. 



In conformity to tlie general regulations, in regard to 

 subscribers, adopted by the late Editorial Convention, 

 (copied on pp. 669, 670, &.c. of this No.) — and whicfi 

 regulations will hereafter form a part of the standing 

 conditions of this publication — every subscriber who 

 remains indebted for two volumes, and whose respon- 

 sibility is not known to the editor, will have his .name 

 erased from the li?t before the issuing of the first No. 

 of the next (6th) volume of the Farmers' Register. 

 To enable each subscriber to know precisely the state 

 of his account, and to afford means for correction of 

 any existing error, a statement of the amount which 

 stands charged as due, will, as heretofore, be printed 

 on the cover of No. 12, which will be issued on March 

 1st. When no sum is written in the blank left for that 

 insertion, it will show that no charge stands against 

 the subscriber, to the end of the 5th volume. Mistakes, 

 however, are unavoidable. Some, no doubt, now ex- 

 ist in the accounts — and perhaps others (especially of 

 omission) may even be made in filling the blanks on 

 No. 12; as that must be done during the hurried busi- 

 ness of directing the copies for the mail. We can 

 only beg to be informed in every case of error, whe- 

 ther of omission or commissson, and the proper cor- 

 rections will always be readily and promptly made. 

 We may lose by mistakes of account; but cannot 

 possibly gain an)' thing, if subscribers will merel}' no- 

 tice the printed receipts and notifications, relating to 

 their payments, and furnish the necessaiy corrections 

 of any omission, or other mistake. 



In thus striking from the list the names of indebted 

 subscribers, many may, and probably will, be included, 

 who are both honorable and responsible men, and safe 

 and profitable customers, though forgetful and careless 

 of business matters, and therefore slow-payingdebtors. 

 This is much to be regretted — but cannot be avoided. 

 The f'actof discontinuance will serve to remind all sub 

 scribers of this description of the necessity of their 

 not permitting themselves to be confounded with others 

 whose subscription debts are either very doubtful, or 

 desperate. It is presumed that no one, whose continued 

 patronage is worth having, will take offence at the era- 

 sure of his name under such circumstances; and of 

 course, it will minister both to our pleasure and profit 



