very great and very refpectable. It contains four or five hundred thou fand perfons: yet fuch is the fertility of the neighbouring foil, that provifions abound, and are very cheap. Among these are reckoned ices; and a fcarcity of them would occafion popular commotions. In food and drink, the common Neapolitans, and indeed all Italians, are very temperate. They would rather forego the conveniencies of life than earn them by labour. This appears to be natural. In a hot country, what convenience can vie with rest in the fhade? the repeated aftonishment of travellers at the indolence of this people favours of a fuperficial, if not of an ill-tempcred obferver. That the confequences of indolence may be corruption may perhaps be true; but that the man who, in order to procure himself some artificial conveniencies of life, works feveral hours the longer, fhould be preferable to another who fatisfies the most natural of all tastes, the love of repofe in the heat, is what I cannot difcover. Whatever the Neapoli. tan wants is thrown into his lap by the bounty of nature, almoft without his flirring a finger, Moderate in eating and drinking, needing few clothes and no fuel, he fcarcely covets a house. The number of Lazaroni (fans culottes or blackguards) who have no habitation, who fleep in the open air, and, in bad weather, under a portico or 2 penthoufe, is faid to amount to forty thoufand. They do not willingly undertake any work while they have a halfpenny left. For to-morrow they take no thought. The fame mild fky, which here fertilizes the lap of the ever-teeming and ever-fuckling earth, beftows alfo a cheerful spirit. A light blood flows in their veins, and they know no care. Propofe to fuch men a jobb when they are not preffed by want, they whisk the back of the hand acrofs the chin, and throw back the head in fign of rejection, too lazy even to

fpeak. If any thing ftimulates them (I do not mean their paffions, which, like ftraw-fires blaze up and extin guish, but fome feebler motive) no men are more loquacious or gefticulative. Thefe people have wives and children. There is a man among them, of confiderable influence, whom they call Capo degli Lazaroni, chief of the Lazaroni. He goes barefoot, and in tatters, like the others. He is their fpokefman, when they have occafion to addrefs the government. He prefents himself, on thefe occafions, to the Elleto del Popolo, a popu lar magiftrate, or tribune of the peo. ple, as far as fuch a one can exist under an unlimited monarch. Sometimes he applies to the king in per fon. The claims of the Lazaroni are moderate. They have an internal fenfe of right and wrong, which the multitude feldom wants when left to itself. It would be dangerous to flight a juft reprefentation from this quarter, or to refuse their de mands without affigning a reafon. They love the prefent king, and would, I am affured, in cafe of need, lend him the support of their arms: but he has no fuch preffure to fear.

་

cola

colo Sabbato used to call on the princes and princeffes, in order, as he faid, to have news of the king's wel fare to carry to the people. He alfo frequently called upon the prime minister Acton. Once he went to him in a great ferment, and required audience: I have feen,' faid he, a man clad as a pilgrim in the marketplace, who diftributes French handbills, which I and my fellows do not understand; and who offers a stone to be kiffed, as a remnant of the Baftile. No doubt, he means to excite infur. rection. We were about toffing him into the fea; but I chofe to hear your opinion fift: it will be right, wont it to fling him into the fea;' The minifter had fome difficulty in convincing him that examinations would first be neceffary. He perfifted in the propriety of hurling the infurgent into the fea. When the minifter faid he would fend foldiers to conduct the man to prifon, Sabbato answered, That I take upon my felf, and, in fact, the foreigner was led to gaol by Lazaroni. The hand

bills were full of incendiary matter; and the diftributor of them was one of those miffionaries whom the overweening zeal of the French clubs fent out into Europe, in order to enlighten, to ameliorate, to bless the nations; he had affumed the disguise of a pilgrim. According to the received law of nations, his life was forfeited: but the government was contented to banish him to the island of Maritima, off the western coast of Sicily.

To the prefent fevereign the Lazaroni are much attached. A troop of many thousands, who have nothing to lofe, may be very formidable; may keep a tyrannic prince in wholefome awe. A defpotic conftitution needs fuch an antidote to counterpoile the danger of its blind force, by a force equally blind: but a free conftitution requires order; for freedom can be found in order only. In a nation truly free, there are no attroo-pents of houfelefs Lazaroni, as at Napies; nor of Megæra-like fishwomen, as at Paris.

HAMPSHIRE.

By Meffeurs Driver.

Waste E cannot take this fub Lands. ject into confideration, without expreffing our aftonifhment, that century after century fhould be fuffered to elapfe, without fome efficient meafures being taken to cultivate the wafte lands of this kingdom, particularly thole belonging to the crown, when it is a very clear cafe, that if they were properly managed, they would produce fufficient to pay a very confiderable part of the intereft of the national debt., In treating upon this fubject, we do not mean to confine ourselves to this county, as the fame argument will hold good in

every part of the kingdom, and altho there is a vast quantity in Hampshire, yet we apprehend more will be found in other counties, particularly in the adjoining county of Dorset, which now literally produces nothing but heath, befides the Downs, which are but little better. Surely, then, it is a national confideration, and no more time ought to be loft, without purfuing fuch means as will obtain fo defirable an end, the execution of which does not appear to us to be attended with many difficulties; indeed, none, but what may be easily furmounted.

A general act of parliament, empowering commiffioners to adjuft the rights of individuals, and make allotments accordingly, as in common in

clofure

closure bills, the whole management of which might be under the commiffioners of the land revenue, who are fully competent to the fubject, having already furveys and reports upon most, if not all, the crown lands and forefts in the kingdom. As foon as private claims are adjufted, the remainder, of courfe, will belong to government, and it requires very little argument to prove, that it will procure an immenfe income to the nation, for there is fcarce an acre but will produce fomething confiderable. The richest may be applied to agriculture, and the reft for planting. Land, in its prefent ftate, not worth a fhilling per acre, will produce good firs, which if reckoned only at fir wood price, will yield a wonderful profit; but they will produce much more, as we can afcertain from repeated obfervations and experiments, that fir of English growth is nearly as good as foreign, for rough ufes, fuch as joifts, rafters, girders, &c. which is the grand confumption. We do not expect to produce fine clean deals, but thofe are a very fmall part in comparison of the whole, Surely, then, if we can fupply our felves, from our poorest land, with a fufficiency of fir timber for home confumption, without being at the enormous expence of importing it from abroad, we are guilty of the groffeft neglect in not doing it, and more particularly, as we do not rerurn goods, but hard cash in lieu of it, which must be a constant drain to this country.

What we have hitherto faid upon this subject, relates to the wafte lands belonging to government. We shall now briefly state our opinion on that which is private property, of which there is an immenfe quantity throughout this kingdom. The fame argument will nearly apply to this as to the other, excepting that it is in general poor land; in which cafe, the general observation is, that it produ

ces nothing when inclofed. This argument may hold good when applied to agriculture, but cannot with refpect to planting, as we can easily prove, that each acre, at the end of twenty-five years, will yield at least 100l, worth of timber and firewood, fuppofing the whole cut down at that period; or if properly thinned, the remainder will continue to improve in the fame proportion, We should therefore hope, the great advantages arifing therefrom, would be a fufficient inducement to gentlemen, poffeffing that fpecies of property, to pursue it upon an extenfive fcale: indeed, we cannot conceive that any gentleman can fit down eafy, and fay he has difcharged his duty to his family, when he is confcious he has neglected to pursue those measures, which in a few years would increase his property fo amazingly.

Under this article we fhall mention commonable land, which belongs to the parishioners in general, which being uninclofed, may be confidered as very little better than the waste land before mentioned, as it is felf-evident, that cultivated land will produce more than that which is totally uncultivated, and left for nature to purfue her own courfe; and with this difadvantage, that each one is endeavouring to exhauft it of every valuable production, without paying the leaft attention to its fupport and improvement. The very staple itself, does not even efcape its ungenerous neighbour. All this would be easily remedied by a general inclosure bill, which would reduce the expence of inclofures, and would be a fpur to that improvement. Perhaps it may be faid, that inclofing commons, would decreafe the number of fheep, and thereby injure the produce of wool: but this objection will not hold good, when it is confidered, that every acre of land that is cultivated will produce double the number of fheep or other cattle, than that which

is