Book II. ECONOMY OF AGRICULTURISTS. 1231 



7963. The Northumberland ploughman is the happiest of labour 



trie tact mat toe wages of labour are never paid out of the poor's rate t he enviah e ,. V ti, v V? 

 brian labourer is to be attributed. It appears to operate as a pretentne check m. n ™ , V °" !'"'"' 

 tifuUy illustrates Mr. Malthus's theory 'or, in the words of Bmns it Cachet en/to' k,'2 '&£*"' 

 dent cautious se/^controlh wisdom's root." They are all anxious' o give the ch Idren such education 

 as they can command. \\ hen they are within the reach of a charity-school tofflhiSflS? 



.es^mfolLoK^^^ 



laws and parish n^mi^which ^^^^^ 



at improvmg h,s condition. If, as Slaney observes, " bf unremitted industry" he* hafbMn eMoled todo 

 Z\llJT Ch,al re < ' ef ; a " d bri " g , Up his Children tiecclltl >-' !t is as ™»ch a 'could be expec ed for an 

 rr. ,ch £ «? ' ° r * e tc ™ P ° rary loss of employment, he is in general totally unprepared he think "no 

 S. «nn f mor V» "»d. m " stands, it is perhaps well for him that he does not anticipate evils whu 

 vidn ,1 »h P h reVCn V „ EvCry °," e k " 0WS how be » efi " a l t» the community, how advaiita^ous tc the ind 

 vidual the hope of bettering his condition in life is : it cheers him in adversity encourages his Indus •" 



TcK h ;neTtofMnde e P / r i ra f tl r iS ^ "S maj ° r part °'" the ^culSaW^ol SgKS 

 exciua a, they toil indeed, but it is to continue, not to better their existence" f F^au „„ **J T*" 



Siienr^ayf) ^ **««-* * ™ i see — the succeeding 6 chlpte^s of ih^udicious^nd 



,„ 796 ?' i 2 ^ c " n <>''<°\of the labouring classes has lately been considered by the editor of the Scotsman in 

 an artic e in his xivth volume (Nos. 1131, and 1132.1, which is also published sedately in a tra^nUtlea 



lhe Scotsman's Advice to the Labouring Classes Th e rnnrfit;™ „V n,„ i_i £ _,Z. 



in 

 di 

 its 

 for 



^ss^js^ssrn^^^^^ with pmvers which> itright,y used> w ou,=; 



obligations it lays upon them. This applies to the middle ranks a! well as to the lower " Thousand! 



~~ ...... .^», lu icguiaie our connuct, aim m most ot the common concerns of life has enabled us to 



,or ,f. ee the consequences of our acts. After making all the use of our reason that we can, enough will 

 still be left for chances, which may turn out, as every day shows, as much against us as for us " To 

 neglect the admonitions of reason, and then trust to Providence to free us from the evils induced' bv our 

 own thoughtlessness, is to call upon the Deity to work a miracle in our favour : and this, instead of pro 

 moting our improvement, is only to harden us in our folly." ' p 



'967. There are two truths of vast importance to the well-being of the labouring classes : the first is 

 that as no efforts ot legislation can lift them out of their misery, their happiness must ahvavs depend 

 on their own habits ot prudence, forethought, and self-control. The second is, that no man has a right to 

 bring human beings into the world, who is not able to provide for their support and education The law 

 punishes severely the act of exposing a child ; but the man who marries and becomes the father of 

 cniiuren without having any reasonable prospect of being able to keep them from beggarv with all its 

 attendant miseries, is guilty of the same crime in a lower degree. ' 



1968. To convert the burthens which marriage brings with it into money, the Scotsman suggests th*- 

 loiiowmg scheme: he takes the case of an industrious mechanic beginning to earn 16s per week at the 

 age ot eighteen, and he shows what he could accomplish bv living economically, and deferring marriage 

 till he was twenty-eight: he supposes him able to live upon 12*. 6d. per week, and to place 3* 6d per 

 week in a savings' bank, by which his stock, including interest, will amount in ten years to about 'lib/ 

 At his marriage he is supposed to spend 30/. of this 100/. in furnishing a house, &c. and to dispose of the 

 remaining ,0/. to provide against the following casualties. 



7969. The first casualty after marriage which he has to provide against is sickness, which may be done 

 by a weekly contribution of id. for himself and his wife. 



<9/0. The second casualty is the infirmity of old age. This is to be provided against by an annuit- 

 from government, or a benefit society; and 17/. 1*. 90. paid at once, or an annual payment of 9s. C,d by a 

 man at the age ol twenty-eight, will obtain an annuity for him of 20/ per annum for whatever number of 

 j ears he may live beyond the age of sixty-eight 



7971. The third casualty to be provided for is the possible widowhood of his wife: this he may do by 

 pawng down o2/. 12*., for which a man of twenty-eight mav secure for his wife, supposing her age to be 

 tne same, an annuity of K /. for life, in the event of her being left a widow, at whatever period it may 

 happen. On this subject the benevolent and philosophic author of the scheme observes, " When society 

 is more enlightened, it appears to me that a provision against the chance of widowhood will be con. 

 sidered as indispensable at marriage as a suit of wedding clothes. 



•♦ ip The fourth casualty is the chance of the death of the father before his child is able to shift for 

 itselt ; that is, before it is fifteen or sixteen years of age. To ensure each child against this casualty it ;s 

 proposed to secure a small annuity to it in the event of his death, of say 3*. per week, up to its fifteenth 

 >' ea !"- * h,s > the lather being aged thirty, he calculates may be purchased for 51. paid down the tir*t year 

 ot the child's life. " A similar deposit "of 51. would be requisite at each addition made to the family ; "arid 

 3S 3 ma . rr ' age .,' S ass,lmetl to produce on an average four children, the whole sum expended under this head 

 would be •-('/ " Those who have more than four children must make extraordinary exertions. 



