his corn, likewife, John is a little whimfical. The full of his bat is the ftandard of his corn-measures; and, unluckily, though John has but one head he has four hats, all differing fomewhat in their fize; and as John's farmers also use their hats for their corn-measures, the weavers are often hurt by thefe practices. Indeed it is a thing well known, that John's bye-laws at first were fimple and wife: but they are now both more numerous and more obfcure. All these things hurt the interests of his people. Nay, what is more remarkable, their riches have hurt their health and their virtue. Some of his farmers are become so effeminate, that they will not work in all weathers. His weavers drink pretty freely; and one of them actually fwallowed a bank note, to fhow that he defpifed money. Hence they become bankrupts; and fometimes help themselves out of John's granaries or ftore-houses. John employs a phyfician, a furgeon, and an apothecary, and he has built an infirmary; but he has been unfortunate and ill-advised in this affair. The health of his people has not generally mended; but many of them have contracted the jail disease in the close rooms of his infirmary; his phyfician is too partial to botany, and his furgeon deals too much in performing operations.

Farther, as before remarked, John is really a friend to liberty; yet fome difcontented perfons infift, that he has of late been favourable to corruption, and has even fometimes been a little arbitrary. "His people," it is faid, are not regularly, or fo often as formerly, convened to tell him what they want. They dare not fpeak their minds, as they might formerly do, to his overfeer; nor meet, as before, to talk over their affairs. They are not allowed to do as they please with their property, though they pay their rent."-And it is even alleged, "that John has once or twice broken his word." It must be acknowledged, that while any of

the above abuses prevail, there will be no economy in John's affairs; and that with all his extenfive and well-cultivated farms, and with all the exertions of his manufacturers and his watermen, John has got himfelf deeply in debt. He was at firft put to a good deal of expenfe in getting rid of a wrong-headed overfeer, who, because he fucceeded John's tutor, and was called the Steward, fancied he was the proprietor of all John's eftates. In order to punifh that quarrel fome old fellow, who, as already mentioned, endeavoured to compel him to take back his overfeer, John entered into an agreement with fome neighbouring gentlemen, which coft him a great deal of money, but gained him fome reputation. But this reputation did him no real fervice; for his old paffion for tilts and tournaments was not extinguished, but revived in another form. Though his own marches and boundaries were perfectly clear, yet thofe of his new friends and other neighbours were difputable; and John became a felfcreated juftice of the peace; and often engaged with all his watermen, and many of his landmen or centinels, in fettling the marches of his neighbours. He gave great fums of money to thofe who would accept of his arbitration. Inftead of receiving, he actually gave, what is very unufual, high fees merely to be employed as an advocate, where he was no judge at all. Had he ftaid at home, and improved his fields, and attended to his manufactures, he would have acquired great riches; but by this imprudent conduct he got himfelf deeply in debt. And here one circumftance deferves to be particularly mentioned, as adding to his difficulties: his men of bufinefs, in order to get money of John, and fometimes to get a little to themfelves, when they get only 60l. write down 100l. and when they got 100/. fometimes wrote 180l. and even fometimes 200l. in John's books. This made it extremely difficult for John to pay his debts; and when

he

he happened to pay off any of his bonds, his agent told -him, that the more money he paid to redeem one of them, it was fo much the better, and a proof that he was getting rich. By all these methods he is fo much involved in debt, that he is obliged to fqueeze both his farmers and his weavers, and to do many odd things to get money. And after all, fome think he never can retrieve his affairs.

But this opinion has been formed without duly confidering John's refources. He has extenfive and wellcultivated fields, populous villages, inhabited by thriving manufacturers, formerly called weavers, and boats manned with excellent watermen. If he keep at home within his own marches, and (were he once out of the prefent fcrape he is in) leave his neighbours to fettle their boundaries as they please, there is no fear of him. Let him only cultivate his fields, encourage his weavers and his watermen, and attend to whatever can make his people strong, rich, healthy, virtuous, and free; and I will undertake that all shall yet be well with honeft John Bull.

He muft, however, change his measures, and make an effort to retrieve his affairs. Particularly as he cannot, in any preffing exigency, do without his watermen, let him command their fervices in the most gentle manner. Let all his young men be centinels or landwaiters in their turn. Let no man be hindered from catching moles, except in the harvest season, when all fhould be employed in cutting down their corn. Let all his fhepherds on his paternal estate be well paid for taking care of his flock; but let their wages be fixed, and not paid in fuch a way as to hurt his farmers. no man be encouraged to be indclent; though his poor labourers fhould be treated kindly. Let no man, who cannot cultivate his field or pay his debts, be allowed to keep his farm on John's northern eftate, because the man's grandfather or great uncle willed it fo, or be

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Let

caufe

10

caufe fuch a custom has prevailed formerly; nor let'there be any bye-laws or farming regulations on his wife's eftate that are not on his paternal farms. Let John's ploughmen, his weavers, and his watermen, charge what they please for their wages, provided no man is bound to employ them. Let John alter the regulations both about the price and measure of his corn; and let all his bye-laws be plain and fimple, that every ploughman, every waterman, and every weaver, may underftand them. Let John reward every industrious fervant, and difcourage every spendthrift, and every filly fellow who will not work in all weathers. And where the health of his people is hurt by their own folly, let him trust more to proper diet, and to air and exercise, than to quack medicines or keeping his people confined in clofe rooms. Let his people be regularly called to lay open their cafe to him; and let his overfeer be obeyed, but refpected and loved rather than dreaded. Let his people be allowed to manage their property as they pleafe; and let John's word be always facred. But efpecially let John take proper fteps for paying off his load of debt. Until this be done, his farmers will be difpirited, his weavers difcontented, and his watermen oppreffed and ill-treated. His debts are now fo great, that they cannot be paid at once; otherwife his people would find their intereft in paying them. But, inftead of paying John for every drop of fpirits, ale, and even fmall beer, which they drink, and every hat-full of malt or yard of cloth which they make, and a number of little articles about their clothes, their fhoes and hats, for the houses in which they dwell, for their windows which admit light in the daytime, or the candle which they use at night, for foap to fhave their beards, and for powder to conceal their want of hair on their heads, let John Bull's people fhow their attachment to one of the best fellows in the world, by paying every man a fmall portion

portion of his income to clear off all the debts which John has promised to pay, whether juft debts or not; only let the people who pay the money choose proper men to manage it to the best account; and let John Bull's overfeers and his clerks be all tied up in future from booking 200l. or 180l. or 1127. 10s. where John only got 971. And where this falfe reckoning has been already made, let them get up John's bonds as cheaply as they can; and let John's managers, whether, farmers, weavers, or watermen, be chofen by those who give a confiderable fum annually to discharge his debts.

If fuch measures be adopted, honeft John will be relieved from all his difficulties. His ploughmen shall again whistle at their ploughs; his weavers fhall dance at their looms; and his watermen shall give him three cheers from their boats.

SIR,

A DREAM.

[From the True Briton.]

LIVE in a small cottage in the weft of England, and have been able by my labour to maintain myfelf and bring up a large family, without ever having had affiftance from the parifh, except in cafe of fickness. It does not become men in my station to trouble our heads much about public affairs; but notice having been given lately, that a meeting would be held in our veftry to fubfcribe to keep away the French, a good deal of converfation has arifen upon that fubject in the neighbourhood. Moft people feemed to think, all fhould contribute in proportion to their means; but a young man lately come from London, who faid he belonged to fome clubs there, which met for no other purpofe than to confider the state of the nation, told me and fome more labouring men, as if in confidence,

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that