fore, that in this cafe occupied his own lands, and cultivated them by his own bondmen. This fpecies of flavery ftill fubfifts in Ruffia, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, and other parts of Germany. It is in the western and fouthwestern provinces of Europe that it has gradually been abolished.

"To the flave cultivators of ancient times, gradually fucceeded a fpecies of farmers, known at prefent in France by the name of Metayers. They called in Latin Coloni Patiarii. They have been fo long in difufe in England, that at prefent I know no English name for them. The proprietor furnithed them with the feed, cattle, and inftruments of huibandry; the whole ftock, in fhort, neceflary for cultivating the farm. The produce was divided equally between the proprietor and the farmer, after fetting afide what was judged neceffary for keeping up the 1tock, which was restored to the proprietor when the farmer either quitted or was turned out of the farm.

"Land occupied by fuch tenants is properly cultivated at the expence of the proprietor, as much as that occupied by flaves. There is, however, one effential difference between them. Such tenants, being freemen, are capable of acquiring property; and having a certain proportion of the produce of the land, they have a plain intereft that the whole produce fhould be as great as poffible, in order that their own proportion may be fo. A flave, on the contrary, who can acquire nothing but his maintenance, confults his own eafe, by making the land produce as little as poffible over and above that maintenance. It is probable that it was partly upon account of this advantage, and partly upon account of the encroach ments which the Sovereign, always jealous of the great Lords, gradually encouraged their villeins to make upon their authority, and which feem at laft to have been fuch as rendered this fpecies of fervitude altogether inconvenient, that tenure in villenage gradually wore out through the greater part of Europe. The Church of Kome claims great merit in it; and it is certain that fo early as the twelfth century, Alexander the Third published a Buil for the general emancipa tion of flaves. It feems, however, to have been rather a pious exhortation than a law to which exact obedience was required from the faithful. Slavery continued to take place almoft univerfally for feveral centuries afterwards, till it was gradually abolished by the joint operation of the two

interests abovementioned-that of the proprietor on the one hand, and that of the Sovereign on the other. A villein enfranchifed, and at the fame time allowed to continue in poffeffion of the land, having no flock of his own, could cultivate it only by means of what the landlord advanced to him, and must therefore have been what the French call a Me. tayer."

Thus far the hiftorical.--What follows are reasons why the labour of flaves is dearer than the labour of freemen.

"The wear and tear of a flave, it has been faid, is at the expence of his mafter; but that of a free fervant is at his own expence. The wear and tear of the latter, however, is in reality as much at the expence of his master as that of the former. But though the wear and tear of a free fervant be equally at the expence of his mafter, it generally cofts him much less than that of a flave. The fund deftined for replacing or repairing, if I may fo fay, the wear and tear of the flave, is commonly managed by a negligent mafter or carelefs overfeer that deftined for performing the fame office with regard to the free man, is managed by the free man himself. The diforders which generally prevail in the œconomy of the rich, naturally introduce themfelves into the management of the former. The strict frugality and parfimonious attention of the poor naturally establish themselves in that of the latter. Under fuch different management, the fame purpose must require very different degrees of expence to execute it. It appears accordingly, from the experience of all ages and nations, I believe, that the work done by freemen comes cheaper in the end than that performed by faves.-It is found to do fo even at bolton, New York, and Philadelphia, where the wages of common labour are so very high.

"Slaves are very feldom inventive; and all the most important improvements, either in machinery or in the arrangement and distribution of work which facilitate and abridge labour, have been the ditcoveries of freemen. Should a flave propofe any improvement of this kind, his mafter would be very apt to confider the propofal as the fuggeftion of laziness, and of a defire to fave his own labour at the mater's expence. The poor flave, inftead of reward, would probably meet with much abute; perhaps with tome punifhment. In the manufactures carried on by flaves, therefore, more labour must generally have been employed than in

those

thofe carried on by freemen. The work of the former muft, upon that account, generally have been dearer than that of the latter. The Hungarian Mines, it is remarked by M. Montefquieu, though not richer, have always been wrought with lefs expence, and therefore with more profit, than the Turkish Mines in their neighbourhood. The Turkish Mines are wrought by flave, and the arms of those flaves are the only machines which the Turks have ever thought of employing. The Hungarian Mines are wrought by freemen, who employ a great deal of machinery, by which they facilitate and abridge their own labour.

"The experience of all ages and na. tions, I believe, demonftrates, that the

work done by flaves, though it appear to coft only their maintenance, is in the end the dearest of any, A perfon who can acquire no property, can have no other intereft but to eat as much, and to labour as little as posible. Whatever work he does beyond what is fufficient to purchase his maintenance, can be fqueezed out of him by violence only, and not by any intereft of his own. In ancient Italy how much the cultivation of corn degenerated-how unprofitable it became to the malter, when it fell under the manage. ment of floves, is remarked by both Pliny and Columella. In the time of Ariftotle it was not much better in ancient Greece."

LETTER 1.

Havre de Grace, May

IT is scarcely poffible to convey to you the delicious fenfation we experienced when, after a fhort but tempestuous paffage, during which we had all made our libations to the Gods of the Sea, we found ourfelves fuddenly under cover of the land, and gliding gently through a peaceful water. It feemed the effect of enchantment, and that fome benevolent Fairy, in pity of our fufferings, had compofed the jarring elements around us, and conjured the merciless Magician that tormented us.— We refuned our health and spirits on the inftant, and found ourfelves collected by a fudden and common movement on the deck. The morning breaking in upon us, prefented to our eyes the majestic cliffs of Havre, which he had painted with all her dyes, and which feemed feparated by the hand of Nature just to make room for the beautiful port, and the reception of the Seine, who, after flowing through five hundred miles of the finest and molt varied country in Europe, and beholding his banks crowned with vineyards, cornfields, and noble cities, enters here with all his state into the mighty element which fcarce knows a richer tributary than himfelf.

The lofty mountain which crowns the town is covered with woods, gardens, inclotures, and country-houtes, and filled our imagination with a thousand pleafing ideas, which had not their fource folely in the luxuriance of the landicape.-We beheld one town in France where industry and good habits have reftrained the people

from the guilty exceffes of their indolent and corrupted countrymen-we contemplated cats that were fuffered to fmile over the country-the overflowings of uieful wealth that enriched and beautified the fields-the repofe or induftry and the relaxation of labou-the relations of feciety are preferved the proprietor fleeps unme naced in his villa-it is no crime to be fort nate-it is no danger to be rich.

There were the thoughts that employed us during our approach to HAVRE. We were obliged, the tide being almost out, to land upon the beach; but we walked along the quay, which is truly magnifi cent, and prefented fuch an appearance of activity and commerce as made it difficult for us to believe, that the town had thared fo much as we were told in the common misfortunes which have abforbed the trade of the kingdom. The commerce with St. Domingo and the other Welt India islandə muft, no doubt, have experienced a confiderable diminution; but the fuccours which have been from time to time fent to thofe unfortunate plantations--the increafed fpeculation which their danger has occafioned, and the great activity communicated to their export trade by the circumstances of their paper money and exchange, feem greatly to counte: balance, or at least to fufpend, its effects. In the mean time it carries on a fi urifhing commerce with the Thirteen Colonies, and the quay is lined with large veffels from Bolton, New York, Philadelphia, and the other principal mercantile towns of the new States. It icems alfo to be in almoft exclufive poffeffion of the trade to the Coaft of Guinea. We faw a veffel of confiderable

confiderable tonnage, and about thirty guns, fail out of the harbour on this difgulting, but, I fear, necellary traffic; and the merchants of Havre, fo far from difcovering any intention of abandoning or modifying it, did not fcruple to inform , that they looked upon what had been voted by the Houfe of Commons on that fubject as a fare fpread for France, and that in every other point of view they con flered it as impolitic and ridiculous in the extreme.

We found the people in high spirits on account of news hich had just arrived, that the late dif races of the French arms were entely wiped away by the brilliant foccefles of the General de la Fayette, who had taken Dinant, and formed the fiege of Namur with an army of fortyeight thousand men. But this intelligence, which would have caused a day of riot and intemperance, and poffibly of crimes, in fo many other cities of France where the people are unemployed, had no improper effect upon the fober and induftrious inhabitants of Havre-no labour was interrupted-no employment deferted; and they celebrated their victory only by a few fongs, which did not for a moment fufpend their industry.

The public buildings at Havre are handfome, as, indeed, they are in all the French towns which I have seen; while in England, where there is not a cathedral or a new jail, there is nothing I know of worth vifiting for architecture. But this is an evident confequence of the different principles of the two Governments; for the extravagance of the ancient Adminiftration in France, always inclined to works of fplendour and magnificence, and the vanity of Princes and Statelinen, eager after this species of diftinction, has embellished moft of their cities with public edifices of expence and magnificence, while the more pardonable fpirit of fome of our impofitions has deformed the ha. bitations of private men, and taxed not only elegance and tafte, but even health and convenience. If I have called this fpirit more pardonable than the other, it is not that I approve it; but I cannot compare the excels of a good principle, though it be not totally unblameable, with that unfeeling and abominable fpirit which led the French Government to infult the mifery of the people by so much public prodigality, and to erect arches and obelisks, and fo many idle monuments of to many questionable victories, but of fo much undoubted vanity and infolence, with the produce of gabelles and

corvees. But fuch, perhaps, is the na. tural difpofition of a filly and trifling peo ple, that their vanity might be brought in aid of their mifery-that the pomp and fplendour of their Governors might be onered as a confolation to individual diftrefs, and the feftivities of a voluptuous Count be a theme of rapture at a famished board.

With us, the few works of raagnincence we poffefs are proofs, in fome degree, of our profperity and wealth at the time they were erected, and are not merely monuments of fome man's vanity and profufion, nor have they been constructed at the expence of happinets, or the priva tion of any enjoyments to the people. Our roads, our bridges, maintain themfelves, and, utility being the great mover of every public undertaking, they are happily no more magnificent than they need be. The ufeful and productive labour of the kingdom is not diverted in too broad a stream from the just channels of agriculture and manufactures, which do not indeed ftrike and astonish the eye like palaces and pyramids, but neither do they exhauft the land nor opprefs the inhabitant; but difperfing the returns of industry and the produce of the earth with a perpetual giving hand, they are the juftett monuments of the glory of its Governors and the happiness of a Nation.

Adieu! we are fummoned to the Town, Hall to provide ourfelves with Passports. Your's fincerely, D. G.

LETTER II.

Rouen, June

WE met with no finall difficulty in providing ourfelves with Pfsports—We had not all of us procured them from the Secretary of State; and the Municipality, to fupply this defect, infifted upon our producing fome refponfible Citizens of Havre to answer for us. Fortunately this assistance was in our power, by means of our general credit upon the Banker, who very obligingly accompanied us to the Town Houle, where, after about two hours delay, we were furnished with this, the moit neceflary of all viaticums. You will afk naturally, what retarded us fo long? I will tell you :--The new Paffport Law was just put in activity, and it was indifpenfible for us to undergo a strict examination with regard to our bulinets and intentions in France; to give in our age, our defcription, and our hand-writing; to have our features minuted down with

great