116 
He admits, that he has been a promoter 
of the war; but declines, from modefty, 
‘the charge of being the author of it. 
That he confiders as too high an honour. 
« It would,” he fays, ** be a moft arro- 
‘‘ gant prefumption in me, to affume to 
“ myfelf THE GLORY of what be- 
«< longs to his Majefty, and to his minif- 
“ ters, and to his parliament, and to the 
‘‘ far greater majority of his faithful 
“¢ people.”’ Ease 

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
A® your Publication profefles to have 
for its objeét, the circulation as well 
of what may be produétive of utility, as 
of amufement only, I make no apology 
for requefting the infertion of a few hints 
towards the relief of the labouring poor. 
And, as the neceffity of fuch relief in 
thefe times of hunger and of hardfhip, 
is prefling and immediate, you may pro- 
bably be induced to give them an earlier 
place in your Magazine than you other- 
wife would have done. 
The wages of labour feem to be inti- 
mately connected with the prolperity of 
a people, and their attachment to the go- 
vernment under which they live; unlefs 
the lower claffes of fociety have the prof- 
pect of bringing up their children with 
decency and comfort, they are deterred 
from marriage, and thus check the popu- 
Jation, and confequent profperity, of 
their country ; and unlefs they have fuch 
profpeét, they can feel but little intereft- 
ed in the fupport of that government, 
which does not afford it them. But 
there are two objections, which, in the 
prefent feafon of emergency, may be 
urged againft encreafing the wages of la- 
bour: Firft, there is no diftinétion made 
-between the bachelor, and the man who 
has a wife and large family—their relief 
does not run parallel with their refpec- 
tive neceffities ; an addition which would 
make the former comfortable, might 
tend bur htthe to ameliorate the condi- 
tion of the latter. Secondly, if the wages 
of labour be encrealed, the healthy and 
ftrong will always be preferred to the 
fickly, and weak; the debility of age 
muff yield to the vigour of youth: they 
who want the moft, therefore, would 
have the leaft affiftance: the latter 
would flarve for want of employment ; 
the former might injure their health by 
an unremitted and overftrained exertion. 
I hear it afferted, however, that every 
man has arig4t to live by his labour ; 
Provifion for the Poor. 
{ March: 
that it ought to preferve him independ-~ 
ent; that he ought not to rely on the 
precarious bounty of a parifh for his” 
{ubfiftence. J hope, Sir, 1 fliould not be 
averle to vindicate the dignity and im- 
portance of the labouring order.—Sir, I 
fhould not feel much relu€tance in ac- 
knowledging, nor much difficulty in’ 
proving their fuperior dignity, and their 
fuperior importance in fociety, to the 
greater part of their employers ; but we 
muft not difpute about words; it appears 
to me an equal exercile of bounty, whe- 
ther farmers meet in their veftry, to en- 
creafe the wages of their labourers, vo- 
luntarily, or whether, voluntarily they 
adopt any other method of relieving the 
neceffitous, which may be exempt from 
the objeétions which I have juft urged 
againft raifing the price of labour---it is 
a diftin@ion without much difference ; 
the relief in both cafes is equally gratui- 
tous. 
Thefe obfervations are introdu€tory to — 
the communication of a plan which has 
been adopted in the village where I re- 
fide ; and which plan, through the me— 
dium of your Magazine, I hope may be 
circulated with good effect. The bef 
recommendation I can give it, Is this, 
THAT, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOW- 
LEDGE, WE HAVE NOT ONE DISCON- 
TENTED MAN IN THE PARISH. 
Tt is now about fixteen weeks fince we, 
agreed, at a veftry meeting, to allow to 
every perfon belonging to the parith, 
whote poverty required it, the difference 
between the price of meal at 1s. 6d. a 
ftone, and the current price of that arti- 
cle, whatever it might be; allotting to 
each in a family, from the full-grown 
man to the infant at the breaft, the por-~ 
tion of half a ftoné per week; and that - 
we might not induce them to purchale a — 
larger quantity of meal than they fhould 
have oceafion for, they do not buy it at 
a reduced price, but receive the differ- 
ence of its value at different times, in 
money: for the diftribution of which 
money, an officer is direéted to attend an 
hour at an appointed place, every Sunday 
before fervice. At prefent, the price of 
meal, I believe, is 3s. od. a -ftone ; 
from this we dedu& 1s. 6d. and allow 
half the difference to each ‘perfon per 
week; ‘that is, “rs. 2d. to every one ina 
family. If fome fuch plan as this were 
univerfally adopted, and adopted for per- 
petuity, \t would certainly operate as an 
incentive to marriage. I havea workman 
whohasawife and eight children: thisman; 
befides his wages, which are os. a week 
receives 
