PRACTICAL FARMER 



153 



this enlightened sentiuicnt that may be traced ail 

 that there is of freedom in that flourisiiing empire. 

 It was in consequence of this coniUtion of society, 

 that civil liberty was there so early esiablishcd, 

 and has been so gloriously maintained, while it 

 has either never been enjoyed, or been f^peedily 

 eloven down, in all the other portions of the easl- 

 »rn continent. It was the J»o!d and independent 

 land-holders who compelled the tyrant John to 

 sijn the great Charter of England ; and they have 

 stood ever since, in the midst of the nation, a 

 colossal political Janus — opposing, with stern 

 fjf fiance, the attempted encroachments of the mon- 

 arch on the one side, and restraining the licen- 

 tiousness of the stormy multitude on the other — 

 obliging each to respect the Constitution and the 

 laws. The proj)rietors of the soil have ever pri- 

 ded themselves in partici])ating in the useful avo- 

 cations, comforts, embelliishments and amusements 

 of 51 country life. 'J here thej' expend their vast 

 incomes in a manner which gives the greatest 

 encouragement to rural industry. The experi- 

 ments which they have made in field cultivation, 

 for improving the breeds of domestic aninials, 

 extending the bounds of horticulture and orna- 

 mental planting — their lil)eral expen litures in 

 tJio erection of private and public edifices, in the 

 eonstruction of roads and canals, and their gene- 

 rous endeavors to alleviate the condition, elevate 

 the cliaracter, and promote the prosperity and 

 happiness of all classes, in their multifarious voca- 

 tions, and to advance the public wea', haye had a 

 jtowerftil tendency to excite emulation, and give 

 an activity, detcrmintition and elevrtion of char- 

 acter to the entire poj ulation, unj recedented in 

 the annals of the world. There we be'iold the 

 indis|)ensable and useful, studiously combined 

 with the ornamental, from the baronial establish- 

 ment to the thatched roof cottage. A taste uni- 

 versally j)revails for giving either a more magnifi- 

 cent, picturesque, beautiful or neat appearance to 

 every estate, while the necessary and profitable 

 lal)ors receive the most careful consideration and 

 exact attention. The refinements of the arts are 

 blended with a!I the possible comforts of each 

 ha!)itation, whether it rises in antiquated battle- 

 ments, iron) the heights of a princely domain, or 

 is the dearly cherished home of him, 'vho is but 

 the tenant out of a rood of land. 



What more interesting iuriuiry can there be 

 presented to the statesman, than the intimate 

 connexion which exists between the political and 

 agricultural histories of England. Are the'y not 

 striking illustrations of the reciprocal influence of 

 each, upon the character and condition of the 

 people, in their domesiic and national relations. 

 We have only to look into the annals of the past, 

 and examine the present condition of Great Brit- 

 ain, Spain and France, for a lull solution of the 



])roblem, how and why it is, that the two latter 

 are so far in the fear of the former, in their in- 

 stitutions of government, and the general aspect 

 of the country. 



lt\ Spain, the rich proprietors of the soil were 

 comp^Mled to live at Madrid, from an aj)pr«hen- 

 sioii of the sovereign, that their residence in the 

 midst of their numerous tenants would be dan- 

 gerous to his power ; and the disastrous conse- 

 quences have been despotism, an ignorant and 

 imi'overished iioiulaiion, and an uncnltivcited 

 kingdom. In France, especially after the acces- 

 sion of Henry IV. to the throne, if the nobles 

 were not required to abandon their estates to the 

 management of the ])easantry, they were induced 

 to concentre round the court, froni the splendor 

 with wiiich it was maintained, the prestiges which 

 deluded the ambitious, the statiqjis which were 

 conferred on many of the most powerful, and the 

 hope of royal lavor in all. , if the country wat- not 

 as badly cultivated as that beyond the I'yrennees, 

 the peo;;le were nearly as ini}!Overi_shcd and de- 

 graded in character. 



IIow often, in our day, have we seen those na- 

 tions convulsed by revolution, when the only mea- 

 sure required for producing a change of govern- 

 ment, cv of dynasty, was t'le unfurling a new 

 banner on the Palaco Real, or tiie Thuilleries. 

 Paris and Pladrid, like Rome, when in the pleni- 

 tude of its glory, have each l)ecoine tht; state of 

 their respective kingdoms, insolently uniting the 

 } rerogatives of tlie senate and the forum, and 

 whoever can wield the physical and moral | ower 

 of either, niay dictate law to all the other pro- 

 vinces, as to so !!iany distant colonies. 



How different is the situation of Great Britain. 

 The tower may be stormed, the, palace of St James 

 razed to the ground, and Lontlon controlled by 

 a mob, the myrmidons of a tyrant, the arn"ly of an 

 usurjier. or the legions of invasion, — still EnglaiKl 

 would no more be conquered, or its government 

 subverted, than by tlie destrtiction of Dover castle, 

 or one of lier ships of the line. Her mighty 

 power is in the owners and cultivators of the soil 

 scattered broad cast over the whole surfiice of the 

 island, where every yeoman is a champion of lib- 

 erty, and every house a fortress. 'J here the whole 

 people must be consulted for change or reforma- 

 tion, and every gallant Briton must be cut down 

 in battle, or subdued by overwhelming numbers, 

 frpm Cornwall to Caithness, before the govern- 

 ment can h' abrogated, or tlic nation yielded tip 

 to foreign conquest. 



Who will ask the caufee of this intense atta<h- 

 ment to their homes and firesides, — of this lofty 

 and ardent patriotism, when there is not ;in acre of 

 land in England, lliat has not been rendered l"a- 

 mous in history, or dear to the inhabitants by 

 some remarka!)le event, some drxd of valor, souk* 



