420 _ JAMES WATT. 
lors of princes to the paths of wisdom, of moderation, of 
humanity? Was it ever pretended that they would turn 
Pitt from unceasingly meddling in the affairs of neigh- 
bouring countries? from annually raising enemies to 
France in every part of Europe?* from paying them 
large subsidies, in short, from loading England with a 
debt of many hundred millions? There, there is the 
reason why the poor’s-rate has increased so fast, and so 
prodigiously. Machines have not, and could not, pro- 
duce this evil. I dare even assert that they much dimin- 
ish it; and I will prove it ina few words. The county 
of Lancashire carries on more manufactures than any 
other in England. It is there that we find the cities 
of Manchester, Preston, Bolton, Warrington, and Liver- 
pool ; it is in that county that machines were most quickly 
and most generally introduced. Well, let us distribute 
the entire annual amount of the poor-rates of Lancashire 
among the whole of its population; in other words, let 
us learn what would be the quotient for each individual ; 
and we shall find a result nearly three times smaller than 
the mean of all the other counties! You see, numbers 
are pitiless towards the inventors of theories. 
Moreover, let not these large words of poor-rates make 
us believe, on the faith of some declaimers, that the labour- 
ing classes among our neighbours are entirely devoid of 
* It is to be regretted that our author should allow his prejudices, 
which we happen personally to know were very strong, thus again to 
run him off the rail, and forget his promise to enter upon “ ce swjet 
avec la ferme volunté d étre impartial.” While he assails “ Pitt’? he con- 
trives to omit the provocation and necessity of the case: but assuredly 
it was not Pitt who broke loose, and among other wild and unprece- 
dented phantasies, invited all the nations of Europe to demolish their 
governments. ‘Yet what has all this to do with James Watt ?— 7Zrans- 
lator. 
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