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SIR,

T would be acceptable to many of your readers, if you could give them any information relative to a fociety of Jesuits which met at Avignon about nine years fince; a fociety, which Mirabeau, in his "History of the Illuminees," conjectured had fome dark political schemes in agitation. Rumour afferts, that many princes of Europe were connected with them, that their schemes are involved in almost impenetrable obscurity. Perhaps the Abbe BARUEL, who, if I am informed light, is the only perfon in England who poffeffes the work of Mirabeau, before alluded to, may be able to inform you more of their defigns than he deems prudent to do, especially as he afferts that most of the prevailing infidelity in Europe arifes from the fuppreffion of the order of the Jefuits. I am, Sir, your's,

I

SCRUTATOR.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

BEG leave, through the channel of your liberal and most valuable mifcellany, to make a few observations upon the following passage in Dr. Robertson's "History of America," lately published. After enumerating feveral instances of the address and ambition of the colonists in the northern provinces, the hiftorian goes on:

"These were followed by an indication still less ambiguous of the afpiring spirit prevalent among the people of the Massachufetts. Under every form of government the right of coining money, has been confidered as a prerogative peculiar to sovereignty, and which no fubordinate member of a state is entitled to claim. Regardless of this established maxim, the general court ordered a coinage

of filver money at Boston, stamped with the name of the colony, and a tree, as an apt. fymbol of its progreffive vigour. Even this ufurpation paffed without notice."

From the above passage, it seems to be the opinion of Dr. Robertson, that the people of the Massachusetts affumed this " peculiar prerogative of fovereignty," in defiance of, or at least in oppofition to the

royal authority. But it ought to be particularly noticed, that the first coinage was made in the year 1652. Instead therefore of afcribing this measure to "the afpiring fpirit of the people of Maffachusetts, the Doctor might justly have faid, that the colonists being nearly deferted at this time by the rulers at home, on account of the civil wars, and the various forms of government which afterwards followed, were obliged to coin money from absolute neceffity. The following extract from the Memoirs of the late truly patriotic Thomas Hollis, will prove this to have been the principal, if not the only cause, and confequently point out the mistake which Dr. Robertson has inadvertently fallen into.

"Sir Thomas Temple, brother to Sir William Temple, refided several years in New

England during the interregnum. After the re

storation when he returned to England, the king fent for him, and difcoursed with him on the state of affairs in the Maffachusetts, and dif. covered great warmth againft that colony. Among other things, he faid they had in vaded his prerogative by coining money. Sir Thomas, who was a real friend to the colony, told his majesty that the colonists had but little acquaintance with law, and that they thought it no crime to make money for their own use. In the course of the conversation, Sir Thomas took fome of the money out of his pocket, and presented it to the king. On one fide of the coin was a pine-tree, of that kind which is thick and bushy at the top. Charles asked what tree that was? Sir Thomas informed him it was the royal oak, which preferved his majesty's life. This account of the matter brought the king inte good humour, and disposed him to hear what. Sir Thomas had to fay in their favour-calling them a " parcel of honest dogs."

The jocular turn which Sir Thomas. gave to the story, was evidently calculated. to amuse the monarch in his own way, and had the defired effect, in difpofing him to hear with good humour that just defence of the colonies which Sir Thomas was so well qualified to make. We find he pleaded that the colonists thought it no crime to make money for their own ufe at a time too when the confusions in the mother country prevented them from receiving those occafional supplies of coin which were abfolutely neceffary for common circulation. Such an uncommon exigency required an uncommon expedient; and this will account for the proceedings of the people of Massachusetts in a much more rational manner than Dr. Robertfon has done for it is highly improbable that they should aspire after independence at a

:

1799]

Sea-Sickness. Income Tax..

time when their historians represent them as few in number, difcordant, and scarely able to defend themselves against their faVage enemies.

A writer of fuch diftinguished talents as the late Dr. Robertson, will always enjoy the good opinion and confidence of his readers: his mistakes, therefore, will be of more confequence, and deserving of being amended. That our eloquent hiftorian is under a mistake, though, no doubt an inadvertent one, in the present inftance, is next to certain; nor will his candid readers be difpleased with any respectful attempt to fet this mistake in a clear light. It may be added too, as fome kind of proof in this cafe, that, during the late unhappy American war, when the whole tribe of hireling scribblers and afpiring priests were, with "profligate industry," ransacking every dirty corner to difcover and accumulate charges against the colonists, in order to stimulate the credulous John Bull to bleed freely, the coinage business was never, to the best of my recollection, enumerated in the black catalogue of their high crimes and mifdemeanors. Your constant reader,

A FRIEND TO TRUTH.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.
SIR,

IN your entertaining and useful Maga

zine for September last, Nauticus writes sensibly upon fea fickness. In addition, however, I should place, as the. first and greatest of all preventives, the acquiring the habit of being able to walk and stand upright, without reeling to and fro: for it is my opinion, and I speak from experience in my own person, that the continual reeling motion of the body is the real cause of fea fickness.

In people of delicate conftitutions, as there is a chance of being fick before the habit of walking upright is acquired (in tshort voyages in particular) I would recommend lying in bed with the eyes for the most part shut. Another circumstance is, that in the intervals of vomiting, small draughts only of fea water, or, in preference, an infufion of camomile or ginger should be taken. As a further confirmation of the truth of the above opinion, it may be proper to conclude, by adding, that any motion long continued, whether in a boat on fresh water, or on dry land, is liable to induce the fame kind of fickhefs. I am, Sir, your's, &c, Nov. 5, 1798.

I. A.

For the Monthly Magazine.

a

31

EXPENDITURE is tolerably fair

criterion of individual means: the

annuitant is expected to live more humbly than the capitalift of equal income, the father of many children more humbly than the father of fewer children: the profeffional man, whose resources are perfonal, than he who has a business, or machinery, or a farm to bequeath to his fucceffors. Society eftimates with tacit equity these relative circumstances, and pursues with efficient difapprobation, both the miser and spendthrift. The taxation of income confounds all these distinctions:

it extorts from the proprietor of short annuities as much as from the proprietor of an equal income in perpetual stock: frons the profeffional man as much as from the manufacturer of equal earnings. On the mifer, whom it is the interest of the state to encourage, it bears very hard on the spendthrift, whom it is the intereft of the state to discourage, it bears very foft.

If income be made a criterion of taxation, the scale of contribution should rife in arithmetical as that of income does in geometrical proportion: elfe the burden of preffure will fall very heavily on men of fmall incomes, and very lightly on men of large incomes, which would be flagrant injuftice.

Thus, if £200 yearly pays 5 per cent.

400

800

1600

3200

And fo on.

7 per cent. 10 per cent. 124 per cent.

15 per cent.

This is fo manifest, as to be always asted upon in the affeffinent of the numerous classes.

But all tax on income must be attended with a vexatious inquifition, inconvenient, if not fatal to commerce, with an annual mutability of expensive afcertainment, and highly favourable to fraud in the collectors, and with a fubornation of perjury oppressive precisely to the virtuous and meritorious. Ten per cent. may be the first demand, but all taxation is progreffive; a fimilar requifition in Holland has been extended to 37 per cent. on the capital, and has destroyed all motive to industry, by convincing every one of the impoffibility of getting forward.

When taxes are univerfal, and affect all the members of a community, the interest to throw them off becomes universal also, Such taxes are most likely to ftimulate violent means of riddance. It was against a poll-tax that Walter Tyler provoked

provoked the people of England, and againft a rent-tax that Wilhelm Tell provoked the people of Switzerland to rife, by an affault on the tax-gatherers. Such taxes have, therefore, the further demerit of insecurity: the bow-string of taxation is least apt to snap when composed of many threads.

TOUR OF ENGLAND.

(Continued from page 276.)

Journal of a Tour through almost every county in England, and part of Wales, by Mr. Jonn HOUSMAN, of Corby, near Carlifle; who was engaged to make the Tour by a gentleman of distinction, for the purpose of collecting authentic information relative to the state of the poor. The Journal comprises an account of the general appearance of the country, of the foil, furface, buildings, &c. with observations agricultural, commercial, &c.

N

OVEMBER 4,

went from Mon

mouth to Trestray, in Monmouthshire, 13 miles. The foil of this district is generally a dryish gravelly loam, the furface very hilly, but the country extremely pleafant, and the road good; pieces of wood-land on the fides of hills; farms and fields small; neat cottages here and there; fruit in abundance. I frequently saw 60 or 80 bushels of apples lying in heaps previous to their being made into cyder: many of these apples are redstreaks. Besides the regular orchards, apple and pear trees are often planted on hedges, and their fruit drops into the road, of which the proprietor seem very careless. The farmers here plough much with oxen, and these animals are often yoked to a plough along with horfes, fometimes three or four horses and two or more oxen in one draught; they are busy sowing wheat on three or four bout ridges. The narrowness of these ridges is, in my opinion, a great difadvantage; nor is that system at all necessary in such land, where no water can hurt it; and even where it is subject to that inconvenience, water-furrows cut in the hollow parts would effectually screen it, at least, as well as small ridges. In this day's journey I miftook the road a little, and therefore was under the neceffity of crolling the country a few miles along by roads in order to reach the place I wanted to be at. The villages and places I was directed to enquire for, have all Welfh names, and the cottagers and farmers moftly speaking in that language, I found fome difficulty in obtaining proper directions. This part of the country produces a good

deal of corn and turnips, but the latter are sown broad-caft, very thin, feem unhoed, and are bad crops. Trestray is a finall straggling village, where there is an iron forge belonging to Harford, efq. of Brittol. -Jones, eiq. has an elegant feat in this neighbourhood.

November 5. Trestray to Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, seven miles.. The country as before described, except in the quantity of fruit which is less here. The method of ploughing as mentioned in yesterday's journal. I to-day obferved. a Abergavenny

farmer

wheat near fowing

a yoke of eight oxen were drawing one plough, which were attended by two men, one to drive the cattle, and the other to manage the plough; another yoke of eight oxen were drove up and down the ridges after ploughing, in order to fadden or compress the earth; an unnecessary operation. The farmer valued these oxen at 111. each, one with another; their motion was extremely flow, and consequently litthe work was done in a day. In the fame field one man was fowing wheat, and another harrowing with three horfes, while the master fat on horfeback directing the several operations of this poffe. This field had grown clover one year; the foil a fine and rather light loam. Thus here are five men, fixteen oxen, and three horfes, doing what in Cumberland or Norfolk would be done to equal perfection, and almost in as little time by one man and two horses. I in vain endeavoured to laugh or reason this farmer out of his abfurd system; custom and prejudice had taken too deep root in his mind. Abergavenny is an ordinary built market town, containing about 2500 inhabitants, and is a place of no trade nor manufacture. Farms in the vicinity are generally small, about 40l. to sol. a year; rent 10s. to 31. 10s. per acre. The town stands on a level, but several hills furround it at a small distance, fome of which are covered with the smaller forts of wood.

November 7. I went from Abergavenny to Hereford, 24 miles, in this part of my tour I came in fight of Glamorganshire, and was nearly touching Brecknockshire, both of which seem rather mountainous or hilly. About fourteen or fifteen miles the country is very hilly, and the road, which in general is good, passes along narrow vallies. The foil is rather light and gravelly; fields small; hedges planted with thorn and hazel, but most of the latter corn of all forts raifed in great quantities, but the ground does

not

1799.]

Mr. Houfman's Tour continued in Herefordshire, &c.

hot seem to produce weighty crops. The hills are many of them planted with hazel and other fimall forts of wood; fimall farmhouses and cottages appear on the hill fides, and the whole has very much the cast of fome of the western parts of Cum berland, only in the latter place there are not those large orehards to be seen which here prefent themselves at every turn.In the other district of this day's journey the scene changes: the furface is level, foil contains much clay, and is very fertile in the production of grain. Monmouthshire feems to possess plenty of fine transparent brooks; a good air; dry foil; and naturally produces fern. Here are alfo much wood, and a great many fruittrees : the face of the country is extremely uneven, and in fome places mountainous: both parishes and churches are fmall. Sheep are of various forts, but rather small than otherwife; cattle large, and pretty well made. Corn seems the farmers' principal dependence; they are now bufied in fowing wheat, the ridges for which are generally no more than four times about: turnips are also cultivated; they are fown broad-cast, and never afterwards touched, and confequently the crops are very poor. Hereford stands in a fine, level, fertile country; is a clean, open, well-built, and pleasant town, containing about 7,500 inhabitants: the river Wye passes close to it. This town carries on no manufacture of confequence,

nor does it feem to have much trade: many of its streets are spacious, and the houses well built. I spent the Sunday afternoon in walking down the fide of the river Wye to Holm Lacey, five miles. Holm Lacey is a feat of the Duke of Norfolk, who has a very large estate here. The house is small, but beautifully fituated in a pleasant and large park; and in the neighbourhood of feveral other fine feats and parks. The vale formed by the river is exquifitely beautiful, and very fertile. A great quantity of large timber grows in his Grace's parks, and other grounds; but this country, in general, is very woody, and contains an immenfe number of fruit-trees. The Duke has got two fine elks in one of his parks. All the country round Hereford, fo tar as I have seen, is pleasant, the foil a fertile loam, and produces much wheat and other grain. The river fometimes overflows its banks, and does damage.

November 11, went from Hereford to Presteign, in Radnorshire, 23 miles-A fruitful and pleasant country; the foil a clayey loan, and produces much wheat MONTHLY MAG. NO. XI.

33

and other grain. This is about the mid. dle of the wheat feed-time, and the farmers are bufily employed in that business; they plough with three or four horfes; but I observed two ploughs going in one field in a fingular manner; they were each drawn by three horfes, and had each one man only attending them. This ingenious farmer, although he had no notion of yoking two horfes a-breast, contrived to fix wheels to the plough in such a way that after being placed in the furrow at every turn, it will go regularly of itself, and the ploughman has nothing more to do than guide the horfes. By that means the expence of a driver is saved; however, the improvement can only be adopted where there are few stones, and on level, loose ground. The furface is pretty level, till I come near Wales, where a hilly country again commences: most of those hills are beautifully covered with wood. Farms along this district appear pretty large, and the foil productive. The turnip culture, however, is most wretched; the crops are never thinned nor hoed, and are bad in the extreme.-Here I saw several small fields of hops. The produce of the orchards is what many of the farmers chiefly depend on for the payment of their rents: in this day's journey I met with more fruit ground than I had feen in any other district; and the crops of apples and pears seem to have been pretty good this year. The people now pulling them and making cyder and perry, which operation is very fimple. The fruit is first laid in heaps a few days, then mashed or bruised with a large ftone turned by a horse; it is afterwards put into a hair press, which is screwed down with a long lever, and the liquor runs out into a fort of trough from which it is immediately taken in that state and put into the hogshead, where it remains till it clears, and becomes fit for ufe. Among several large heaps of apples there was one which I eftimated to contain 400 bushels. Buildings are rather old fashioned, particularly towards Wales, where they are generally of wood or lath and plaster: I passed through one large village, or rather, I believe, a small market town, where I did not fee a fingle stone or brick house. I suppose a want of freestone, and the great abundance of wood in these parts in former times, has given rife to this system of building. This is even yet a very woody country. The sheep frmall, want horns, and are whitefaced. Herefordshire seems, in general, to enjoy a falubrious and temperate air, and

are

E

t

and plenty of fine water: it is level, very fertile, and woody, and produces every fort of grain, particularly wheat, in abundance: farms are rather larger than in fome counties that I have lately paffed. But this county is most noted for the great quantity and good quality of its cyder and perry: it is felling this year at from 30s. to 40s. per hogshead of 110 to 120 gallons; it is found cheaper than malt liquor, and forms the common drink of all ranks of people. It is certainly an overfight i in the people of landed property that apples, &c. are not more cultivated in other parts of the kingdom: the notion of their not fucceeding is in my opinion a great mistake. Presteign is a small, ancient looking market town; the furtounding country hilly, but pleasant enough, and the foil good. Farms are from 30l. to 300l. a year, and rent per acre ros. to 60s.: it is neither a manufacturing nor a commercial country but chiefly inhabited by farmers.

(To be continued.)

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

T

SIR,

HROUGH the medium of your widely extended Magazine, I heg leave to make known to the proprietors and projectors of canal navigations, that I have invented a lock, by which vessels may be conveyed through any fall with half, and, in some instanees, one fourth of the water that is used upon the present plan. The improvement is upon a fimple hydrostatic principle, and I shall be able to demonstrate the truth of it in one minute, to any gentleman or company, who are defirous of purchasing the invention. FREDERICK HILL.

Loughborough, Jan. 20, 1799.

Y

For the Monthly Magazine.

OUR Magazine, Mr. Editor, is, I hope, devoted to fimple, in oppofition to convenient truths. The truth of an historical fact, more particularly when it involves important moral confiderations, must always be an interesting object of Should the characters of in

enquiry.

dividuals, or bodies of men, stand impli. cated, the path of honourable exculpation is open; the genuine friends to freedom of enquiry, having neither the defire, nor the need, of those little arts which mark the conduct of their opponents. For the fake of poor humanity, so often outraged,

and the character of the French clergy, many of whom were among the most enlightened and humane of men, it were to be hoped the following corrected statement will prove falfe; and it is recommended to the Abbe BARUEL, or fome one of his friends, to prove its falfehood.

It is related in Moore's Narrative, and elsewhere, that in the reign of Louis the 15th, the young Chevalier De la Bar, a youth under twenty years of age, was beheaded at Amiens, for ftriking the statue of the holy Virgin with a fabre, in a fit of inebriety. For what reasons I do not immediately recollect, but an English literary gentleman suspecting the truth of the relation, as it regarded the mode of the Chevalier's execution, made it his business, some years ago, to enquire on the spot; the result, which was as fol lows, he communicated to me. The unfortunate young man was condemned to the horrid punishment of being broken alive upon the wheel. Great interceffion was made with the King, on the score of, the culprit's youth, his noble extraction, and the intoxicated state in which he was, during the commiffion of the supposed crime; and his Majesty was beginning to relent, when a certain bishop, near fourscore years of age, hastening to the royal prefence, intreated, or rather infifted, that his majesty meddled not in the affair, but that he should fuffer the law to have its course; vehemently urging, that the dearest interests of religion were concerned. The King, on this, supposed himself bound in confcience, to facrifice the duties of humanity to those of religion; and the pious patriarch, dreading the effect of farther powerful folicitation on the mind of his royal disciple, departed with all speed for Amiens, and caufed the dread ful fentence to be immediately executed; and was even perfonally present, while the coup de grace was delayed, and the miferable wretch kept in the most excruciating torture, an hour and half!

VERUS DEMOCRATICUS.

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