HEMP. 227 



tity of land, from a rood to half an acre, for 

 his own cultivation." He adds, " Their com- 

 fortable supply of linen is remarkable ; there 

 are few of the labouring classes without many 

 changes. In riding with a landed proprietor 

 through a part of the country in which his 

 property was situated, a neat cottage pre- 

 sented itself : the clipped hedge which sur- 

 rounded the garden, covered with linen, very 

 white, suggested an inquiry, ' whether it did 

 not belong to a washerwoman ?' The answer 

 was, that it was occupied by a labourer and 

 his family, and that the linen was all their 

 own. In common times a beggar is scarcely 

 to be seen, except in the towns, and but few 

 there." 



Every circumstance that is connected with 

 the comforts of the lower classes, and every 

 device that can be invented to keep them 

 from receiving parochial relief, should be 

 adopted ; for when once they have become 

 familiar to this aid, their natural pride for- 

 sakes them, and few are the instances of their 

 ever endeavouring to become independent of* 

 the agriculturist, on whom they now weigh so 

 heavily as to endanger the prosperity of their 

 support. 



Frugality disappears the moment the la- 



y 2 



