advancing. Thus many of the estates, which for tire 

 first twenty years could easily discharge the demands 

 upon them, are now become utterly unable to meet 

 those demands. I had heard so many tales of the dis- 

 tress occasioned by this course of events, that I wished 

 to ascertain the extent of it as accurately as possible. 

 Having found in Mr. Rothe, the President of West 

 Prussia, as well a disposition to communicate in- 

 formation of every kind, as the qualities of accuracy 

 and discrimination, I was induced to submit to him, 

 in writing, some Queries on this, as well as on some 

 other subjects, which he very politely and speedily 

 answered. 



The replies in Appendix, Xo. 11, (A.) show, that of 

 262 estates, within the limits of the Landschaft's 

 authority, 195 are encumbered with mortgages, and 

 only 67 (about a quarter) are free from those incum- 

 brances. Of the 195 estates so incumbered, 71 were 

 already in a state of sequestration, a remedy to which 

 none of the mortgagees would have recourse but in 

 cases of extremity. I was more than once told, with 

 what truth I would hesitate to say, that most of the 

 (J7 large estates not appearing in the Hypothecation 

 books to be incumbered, had been prevented by 

 testamentary, or other family settlements, from being 

 brought within the circle of the Landschaft's valua- 

 tion. I was informed by an intelligent man, who 

 is a member of the States, that many estates have 

 been suffered to remain in the possession of the 

 nominal proprietors, because the interest of the money 

 lent on them ceases as soon as a process is com- 

 menced, and because they cannot be sold for so 

 much as has been advanced on them ; besides which, 

 when in a state of sequestration, they are so carelessly 

 managed by officers of the Government, that they 

 become from bad to worse. 



The mortgagees are thus induced to leave them in 

 the hands of the apparent owners in the hope of a 



