II 



1 am always glad to hear of landed proprietors occupying 

 a liltle of their land ; this gives an additional interest to 

 country residence. Farmers, five-and-twenty years ago, 

 were a litlle jealous of this; they thought it enabled their 

 landlords to know too much. There might be something in 

 this, then, for at that time there were, in farming, secrets 

 worth knowing, and which the farmers might think worth 

 keeping to themselves ; but now there are none. Landlords 

 who from experience know the necessary great expenses of 

 farming, are much more likely to be liberal to their tenants, 

 than those who know nothing of farming, and are not aware 

 of these expenses, and who, therefore, bel'eve their land to 

 be worth a greater rent than it actually and fairly is. 



The habits of village poor are more orderly where there 

 is an influential good moral person constantly residing 

 amongst them, whose displeasure they are fearful of 

 incurring. Where there is such a person in a village, 

 and there is also a pious, pains-taking officiating minister, 

 although there may be, from the defect of human nature, 

 some bad individuals, it is pretty certain that the chief part 

 of the poor of such a village will be orderly, good people. 

 Many large sums are spent by the wealthy in London, 

 which afford only momentary, if any, real gratification, to 

 those for whom they have been expended ; the amounts of 

 such expenditure get into channels that do little or no goori 

 to the community. Were these same amounts circulated in 

 alms, amongst the poor of the parishes from whence these 

 wealthy persons derive their incomes, this would be pro- 

 ductive of infinite good in the country population, and be a 

 lasting source of gratifying feelings to those who so appro- 

 priated a portion of their wealth. The poor receive relief 

 by alms, with gratitude parish relief with feelings only of 

 right. As the generality of farmers have, for many years 

 past, been paying distressingly large sums for the support 

 of the poor, and have seen that all has been received with- 

 out the least idea of thankfulness, it cannot be surprising if 

 they should not have taken that interest in their village 

 poor, which they otherwise would have done. But now, 

 when in most parishes, the poor-rates are reduced to about 

 one-half, and it is believed a better spirit exists amongst the 

 poor, it may be expected that farmers and their wive 



