362 
labourers’ dwellings. 
building must be so placed that a line running north and south will 
be a diagonal of the parallelogramatical form of the ground plan; 
and, above all, in a situation w'here there is an abundance of good 
spring water. A dial may be very properly placed on the South 
East side of the building shewn in the perspective view ; and the gar¬ 
dens to be well fenced in by a thorny hedge, as exhibited by the 
drawings. 
THE CONDITION OF THE BRITISH PEASANTRY - , AND THE MANNER OF IMPROV¬ 
ING THAT CONDITION CONSIDERED. 
The first thing necesssary to the comfort and happiness of man¬ 
kind, after food and clothing are provided, is a comfortable home; 
but until the former are supplied the labourer’s dwelling can afford 
him but little pleasure, however neat and commodious it may be. It 
is, therefore, the duty of those who have it in their power, to forward 
every measure that may tend to the support of their fellow beings ; 
because, the law of Nature and that of reason have recognised the 
principle that every individual has a right to a share for his sustain- 
ance of the products of the soil he inhabits; and those who deny this 
principle by pertinaciously withholding the means by which their 
peasantry might be brought from a state of starvation and misery, to 
that of comfort and happiness, enter as it were a protest against that 
power which sustains nature for the joint benefit of all. 
As every man, with the exception of the aged and infirm, is capa¬ 
ble of producing more than what is necessary for his own support, it 
is for the privilege of his being allowed fully to exercise his capacity, 
for doing so that I implore the landowner of Britain in behalf of my 
fellow labourers. The want of employment is the great drawback to 
the comfort and happiness of agricultural labourers; and, consequently, 
their want of means greatly affects the operative manufacturer, as the 
former would, were they able, be great consumers of the productions 
of the latter. While we see that this want of exercise to dormant la¬ 
bour increases the poor’s rates, and prevents the increase of the coun¬ 
try’s wealth, is there no remedy for the evil ? Is the science of agri¬ 
culture perfect, which, under the present existing laws, is our only 
refuge from starvation ? Is the country sufficiently broken by hedge 
rows to mark out the divisions of property, to preserve it, and prevent 
encroachment ? Are there no drains, ditches, or fences wanted, 
which would enhance the value of the land, and make it more pro¬ 
ductive P Are there no waste lands that might advantageously be 
reclaimed from rivers, by deepening their bed and narrowing their 
width? Are there no small canals that might be profitably made 
