SCOTS MAGAZINE. MARCH, 1780. CONTENT S. ******* On COLONIZING at home 113. HISTORY 1778. Germany: Pruffians pe- PARLIAMENT. Lords on dismissions from -Thanks to Admiral Rodney by the On the cultivation of FLAX 117. Books. William and Lucy 147. Letter to amining the accounts of the expenditure of millions, you may be able to strike off a few thousands. But I will venture to foretell (and my predictions, for these thirty years paft, have not proved altogether fallacious), that as long as you have diftant colonies, and are involved in distant wars, either for their defence or their recovery, you will never effect a radical cure of this growing evil. Little, triffing palliations, or preventions, will be the ultimatum of all your endeavours; so that, in these respects, the mountain in labour will be delivered of a mouse. Can you doubt of these affertions? If you do, try the matter on a smaller scale, and mark the consequence. You have, we will suppose, a large eftate, so situated that you never can vitit it; it is likewise some hundreds of miles distant from you. Repairs are continually called for. You employ stewards, bailiffs, surveyors, &c. &c.; and you find yourself cheated: you turn them off, and take another fet; who commit the fame faults. A fea-wall, you are told, is absolutely necessary to keep off high tides; you contract, and are defrauded; the fum is enormous, the wall is wrong placed, or the materials are bad. Ditches, trenches, gutters, drains, and various kinds of improvements, are suggested to be so much wanted, that, without them, the tenants cannot pay their rents. You comply, and are at a vast expence, in hopes that affairs at last will take a better turn: but, instead of removing the old complaints, your a gents and your tenants combine toge ther to introduce new ones; your trenches are filled up, your hedges and fences are broken down, woods cut and de stroyed, landmarks removed; and the neighbouring gentlemen, freeholders, cottagers, &c. &c. knowing that you never can come in perfon to oppose them, encroach upon you every where. At laft, provoked by fuch ill usage, you go to law for the recovery of your right: they unite in a confederacy, make a common purse, corrupt some of the witneffes, intimidate others, influence the jury, and gain the cause. Now if this is a true picture of what happens, more or less, every day, in private life, what are you to expect where the public is concerned? Will there be more economy, honesty, and frugality, at the diftance of three or four thousand miles, where (N. B.) the culprits are fure, if they are detected under one shape, they may conceal themselves under another, and where every one thinks he has a kind of prescriptive right to cheat the public as much as he can; will there, I fay, be more economy, ho nesty, and frugality, in this case than in the former? The very supposition is in credible; therefore the conclufion of the whole is this, Do whatever you can, and try as many expedients as you please, ftill the event will clearly shew, that distant colonies, and diftant wars, are HOT-BEDS for JOBS. If you really mean to serve your distressed country, and not to amuse us with fine speeches and vifionary schemes, the method is obvious, and the way plain before you. 1. Strike at the root of the evil, by striking off the great continent of America; rica; and never think any more of conquering that continent, either in Germany, or any where else. Nothing less than national infanity could excuse our proceedings in the last war. 2. Raise the qualifications of perfons intitled to vote either as freemen or freeholders, to the height it ought to be, according to modern times and manners, and in proportion to the value of money, the price of provifions, and the modes of living. This single circumstance (I appeal to your own confciences for the truth of what I fay) would cut off three fourths of the bribery and corruption, venality, prostitution, and debauchery, fo much, and so justly, now complained of in all populous elections. 3. Repeal the 5th of Q. Elifabeth, which obliges persons to serve apprenticeships of seven years to several trades which require not seven weeks to learn : A most iniquitous and vexatious law, which gives to dunces and blockheads a power to tyrannize over the most ingenions, useful, and industrious members of fociety. 4. Give universal freedom to trade, and do not confine it by guilds, or companies, or corporations, or fetters of any kind. Why should not a man be as free to open a shop in London as in Westminster? - in Bristol as at Bath? - in Glocefter, Worcester, or Hereford, as at Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, or Halifax? And why should not a poor man go to feek for labour where-ever it may be found ? - Is there justice, found policy, or even common sense in those restraints? 5. Pass a law to enable, - I say enable, but not compel, merchant-importers to warehouse their goods, and to pay the duties by degrees, when wanted for home consumption, according to the example of the East-India company respecting teas, &c. and of the importers of rum. By a regulation of this nature, you would erect G. Britain into a general magazine or storehouse for almost all the nations of the world. Our large capital's convenient fituation, and enterprising spirit, would foon attract the produce and manufactures of other countries into our own, here to remain till the demands of fome foreign market. should call for re-exportations. need I add, that this is the fureft me And thod 6. Pass a law to enable, but not to compel, every person, or body-corporate, who has a right of common, to demand a special jury of the sheriff of the county, for inquiring into the nature and extent of this right, and to allot him a piece of land out of the said common, in compenfation of it. As soon as one man should begin this practice, all the reft would follow of course, so that the whole kingdom would be cultivated, inclosed, improved, and inhabited, in a few years. Now these are the colonies which you ought to have planted, and no others. Whereas, to depopulate the moiher-country, in order to people the wilds of America, and to call fuch fatal mistakes valuable acquisitions (which some of you have lately done), is a folecism against common sense, and an utter perversion of the use of language. There fore colonize at home. 7. País a law to enable, but not to compel, all rectors and vicars (with the confent of their ordinaries and patrons) to exchange their tithe, both great and fmall, for portions of land, with fuch land-holders who would prefer this method to the present one of paying tithes. The advantages of such a scheme are so clearly understood already, that need not be said about it.. more 8. Pass a ław to enable, but not to compel, all holders of stock in the three percents. (now at bol, or thereabouts), to take and receive ten notes, or tickets, of 101. each, for every hundred pounds flock; each note to have a fixpenny stamp, as a fecurity against counterfeits; and each to carry an annual interest of fix thillings, payable half-yearly to bearer, like an East-India bond. And when a great quantity of such notes are in circulation, it would be right to allot a place or two in each county for the regular payment of the interest thereof; in order to save the trouble and expence of fending such notes half-yearly up to Lon don. N. B. The produce of the stamps, and other circumstances which I need not mention, would more than discharge the expence of these new-erected offices; not to mention, that as the interest-money would not be called for all at once, (fome of the holders of these notes living in one place, and some in another), any banker would be glad of the privilege of keeping an office of this kind, where fuch fums of money would lie in his hands uncalled for. By these means, every man in the kingdom, from the highest to the lowest, who had 101. to spare for ever so short a time, would get after the rate of 3 per cent. per annum for that money which otherwise must have lain dead. And poor men, in particular, journeymen, labourers, menfervants, and maid-fervants, would then have a fafe depofit for their little savings, and a regular interest, in order to induce them to fave more. How different from this is the cafe at present! My LORDS and GENTLEMEN, both in town and country, These are the plans now humbly offered to your unbiaffed confideration, and ferious attention, by a truly independent man. They require no new taxes, no places, no penfions, no governors, guards, garrifons, flects, tranfpoits, contracts, &c. &c. &c. for carrying them into execution. Add to this, that they would neither create wars abroad, nor require any alarming affociations at home. Now, are such schemes as these the end and aim of all your labours? are you in earneft? and have you nothing else but the good of your country really in view? Here then are the very objects which you wish for plainly laid before you. And till these defirable ends are accomplished, you need look no farther. Thefe, therefore, are the things which, ought principally to be done as foon as poffible: but alas! these are the things which some among you (I much fear) never mean to do. CASSANDRA. Glocester, Feb. 22. 1780. A remarkable instance of FANATICISM. From An hiftorical account of the rife and progress of the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. 2 vols. IOS. THE family of Dutartres, confifting of four fons and four daughters, were defcendents of French refugees, who came into Carolina after the revocation of the edict of Nantz. They lived in Orange quarter; and, though in low circumstances, always maintained an honest character, and were esteemed by their neighbours persons of blameless and irreproachable lives. But at this time a strolling Moravian preacher happening to come to that quarter where they lived, infinuated himself into their family, P2 116 family, and, partly by conversation, and partly by the writings of Jacob Behmen, which he put into their hands, filled their heads with wild and fantastic ideas. Unhappily for the poor family, those strange notions gained ground on them; infomuch that in one year they began to withdraw themselves from the ordinances of public worship, and all conversation with the world around them, and strongly to imagine they were the only family upon earth who had the knowledge of the true God, and whom he vouchsafed to inftruct, either by the immediate impulses of his Spirit, or by figns and tokens from heaven. At length it came to open vifions and revelations. God raised up a prophet among them, like unto Mofes, to whom he taught them to hearken. This prophet was Peter Rombert, who had married the eldest daughter of the family when a widow. To this man the Author and Governor of the world deigned to reveal, in the plainest manner, that the wickedness of man was again so great in the world, that, as in the days of Noah, he was determined to destroy all men from off the face of it, except one family, whom he would fave for raising up a godly feed upon earth. This revelation Peter Rombert was fure of, and felt it as plain as the wind blowing on his body; and the reft of the family, with equal confidence and prefumption, firmly believed it. fatal discovery, and introduced the Those deluded wretches were fo far her onsequence of a law of the province framed for preventing bastardy. The conftable having received his warrants, and being jealous of meeting with no good usage in the execution of his office, prevailed on two or three of his neighbours to go along with him. The family observing the conftable coming, and being apprised of his errand, confulted their prophet; who foon told them, that God commanded them to arm, and defend themselves against persecution, and their substance against the robberies of ungodly men; assuring them at the same time, that no weapon formed against them should profper. Accordingly they did fo; and, laying hold of their arms, fired on the conftable and his followers, and drove them out of their plantation. Such behaviour was not to be tolerated, and therefore Capt. Simmons gathered a party of militia, and went to protect the conftable in the execution of his office. When the deluded family faw the justice and his party apbut proaching, they shut themselves up A few days after this, God was pleased to reveal himself a fecond time to the prophet, saying, "Put away the woman whom thou hast for thy wife; and when I have destroyed this wicked generation, I will raise up her first hufband from the dead, and they shall be man and wife as before: and go thou and take to wife her youngest sifter, who is a virgin; so shall the chofen family be reftored entire, and the holy feed preferved pure and undefiled in it." At first the father, when he heard of this revelation, was staggered at so extraordinary a command from heaven; the prophet affured him that God would in their house, and firing from it like furies, shot Capt. Simmons dead on the spot, and wounded several of his party. The militia returned the fire, killed one woman within the house, and afterwards forcibly entering it, took the rest prifoners, fix in number, and brought them to Charlestown, At the court of general fessions, held brought in September 1724, three of them were brought to trial, found guilty, and condemned. Alas! miferable creatures, what amazing infatuation poffefsed them! They pretended they had the Spirit of God leading them to all truth; they knew it, and felt it: but this spirit, inftead of influencing them to obedience, purity, and peace, commanded them to commit rebellion, incest, and murder. What is still more astonishing, the principal persons among them, I mean the prophet, the father of the family, and Michael Boneau, never were convinced of their delufion, but persisted in it until their last breath. During their trial they appeared altogether unconcerned and se cure, affirming that God was on their fide, and therefore they feared not what man could do unto them. They freely told the incestuous story in open court in all its circumftances and aggravations, with a good countenance; and very readily confeffed the facts respecting their rebel. lion and murder, with which they stood charged; but pled their authority from God in vindication of themselves, and infifted they had done nothing in either cafe but by his express command. As it is commonly the duty of clergymen to vifit persons under fentence of death, both to convince them of their error and danger, and prepare them for death by bringing them to a penitent difpofition; Alexander Garden, the Epifcopal minifter of Charlestown, to whom we are indebted for this account, attended those condemned persons with great diligence and concern. What they had affirmed in the court of justice, they repeated and confeffed to him in like manner in the prison. When he began to reason with them, and to explain the heinous nature of their crimes, they treated him with disdain. Their motto was, Answer him not a word; who is he that should prefume to teach them, who had the Spirit of God speaking inwardly to their fouls? In all they had done, they faid they had obeyed the voice of God, and were now about to foffer martyrdom for his religion. But God had affured them, that he would either work a deliverance for them, or raife them up from the dead on the third day. Thefe things the three men continued confidently to believe; and, notwithstanding all the means used to convince them of their mistake, persisted in the fame belief until the moment they expired. At their execution they told the spectators with seeming triumph, they should foon fee them again, for they were certain they should "ise from the dead on the third day. With respect to the other three, the daughter Judith being with child, was not tried; and the two fons, David and John Dutartre, about eighteen and twenty years of age, having been also tried and condemned, continued fullen and referved, in hopes of feeing those that were executed rise from the dead : but being disappointed, they became, or at least seemed to become, sensible of their error, and were both pardoned. Yet not long afterwards one of them relapsed into the same snare, and murdered an innocent person, without either provocation or previous quarrel, and for no other reason, as he confeffed, but that God had commanded him so to do. Being a second time brought to trial, he was found guilty of murder, and condemned. Mr Garden attended him again under the second sentence, and acknowledged, with great appearance of fuccefs. No man could appear more deeply sensible of his error and delufion, or could die a more fincere, and hearty penitent on account of his horrid crimes. With great attention he listened to Mr Garden, while he explained to him the terms of pardon and salvation proposed in the gospel; and seemed to die in the humble hopes of mercy, through the all-fufficient merits of a Redeemer. Thus ended that tragical scene of fanaticism, in which seven perfons loft their lives; one was killed, two were murdered, and four executed for the mur ders: A fignal and melancholy instance of the weakness and frailty of human nature, and to what giddy heights of extravagance and madness an inflamed imagination will carry unfortunate mortals. SIR, March 1780. WE have, till of late, been only dabbling in the culture of flax; little fown, and that small quantity badly managed. Time has now done away difficulties. The plan of winning the feed, by keeping it upon the flax, has been introduced; and the greateft fuccefs has attended this method. Laft feafon, a very confiderable quantity of lintseed was sown. In four parishes in East Lothian, I know of more than one hundred acres of this commodity. It has turned out well; -the feed is |