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of the commons, at least for making the new constitution; and 

 when I urge the great probability that, should they once unite, 

 there will remain no power of ever separating them, and that 

 in such case they will have a ver}^ questionable constitution, 

 perhaps a very bad one, I am always told that the first object 

 must be for the people to get the power of doing good ; and that 

 it is no argument against such a conduct to urge that an ill use 

 may be made of it. But among such men, the common idea is, 

 that anything tending towards a separate order, like our house 

 of lords, is absolutely inconsistent with liberty; all which seems 

 perfectly vyild and unfounded. 



12th. To the royal society of agriculture, which meets at the 

 liotel de ville, and of which being an associe I voted and received 

 ■A jetton, which is a small medal given to the members every time 

 they attend, in order to induce them to mind the business of 

 their institution; it is the same at all royal academies, etc., and 

 amounts, in a year, to a considerable and ill-judged expense; 

 for what good is to be expected from men who would go only to 

 receive their jetton ? Whatever the motive may be it seems 

 well attended: near thirty were present; among them Parmen- 

 tier, vice-president. Cadet de Vaux, Fourcroy, Tillet, Desmarets, 

 Broussonet, secretary, and Crete de Palieul, at whose farm Iwas 

 two years ago and who is the only practical farmer in the society. 

 The secretary reads the titles of the papers presented and gives 

 some little account of them ; but they are not read unless par- 

 ticularly interesting, then memoirs are read by the members or 

 reports'of references; and when they discuss or debate there is 

 no order, but all speak together as in a warm private conversa- 

 tion. The Abbe Reynal has given them 1200 li\Tes (£52 los.) 

 for a premium on some important subject; and my opinion was 

 asked what it should be given for. Give it, I replied, in some 

 way for the introduction of turnips. But that they conceive to 

 be an object of impossible attainment; they have done so much 

 and the government so much more, and all in vain, that they 

 consider it as a hopeless object. I did not tell them that all 

 hitherto done has been absolute folly ; and that the right way to 

 begin was to undo everything done. I am never present at any 

 societies of agriculture, either in France or England, but I am 

 much in doubt with myself whether, when best conducted, they 

 do most good or mischief; that is, whether the benefits a national 

 agriculture may by great chance owe to them are not more than 

 counterbalanced by the harm thfey effect; by turning the public 

 attention to frivolous objects instead of important ones, or 



