Popular Objections to Indosures. 31 



Industry, and the wealth derived from agricul- 

 ture, have bestowed the like comfort on the 

 Flemings. The riches acquired by trade have 

 also had a powerful effect at home ; and the 

 comforts derivable from cleanliness in the cot- 

 tage, have extended to cities and towns, in the 

 indulgence of all the elegance and luxuries 

 which the combined ability and contrivance of 

 man in society can produce. 



The account given of the state of Dumfries- 

 shire sixty years ago, by the late Mr. Maxwell, 

 of Munches, forms a striking contrast with its 

 present flourishing condition. He states the 

 country to have been entirely uninclosed. Few 

 as the cattle then were, many perished from the 

 want of provender to support them through the 

 winter ; and of those which survived, many 

 in the spring were unable to rise without help. 

 Thinly as the country was then peopled, they 

 depended on England for wheaten bread. In 

 this extreme state of poverty an inclosure was 

 proposed, and acceded to by the proprietors. 

 But so strange is the perversity of man, the 

 tenants and laborers rose and demolished the 

 fences, under an impression that the inclosure 

 of the lands would reduce the product of human 

 subsistence. 



