mp farther without being
in foot-irons, or strike harder without being hand-cuffed, so it was
equally apparent that a merchant would make a better bargain for himself
when he could have things all his own way than when his enterprise and
industry were shackled by the impertinent and selfish interposition of
the interests of others. In conclusion there was an eloquent description
of the demoralizing consequences of smuggling, and a pungent attack on
the tendencies of taxation in general. I have written and said some good
things in my time, as several of my dependents have sworn to me in a way
that even my natural modesty cannot repudiate; but I shall be excused
for the weakness if I now add that I believe this letter to Lord Pledge
contained some as clever points as anything I remember in their way; the
last paragraph in particular being positively the neatest and the best
turned moral I ever produced.

Letter fourth was from the steward of the Householder estate. He spoke
of the difficulty of getting the rents; a difficulty that he imputed
altogether to the low price of corn. He said that it would soon be
necessary to relet certain farms; and he feared that the unthinking cry
against the corn-laws would affect the conditions. It was incumbent
on the landed interest to keep an eye on the popular tendencies as
respected this subject, for any material variation from the present
system would lower the rental of all the grain-growing counties in
England thirty per cent, at least at a blow. He concluded with a very
hard rap at the agrarians, a party that was just coming a little into
notice in Great Britain, and by a very ingenious turn, in which he
completely demonstrated that the protection of the landlord and the
support of the Protestant religion were indissolubly connected. There
was also a vigorous appeal to the common sense of the subject on the
danger to be apprehended by the people from themselves; which he treated
in a way that, a little more expanded, would have made a delightful
homily on the rights of man.

I believe I meditated on the contents of this letter fully an hour. Its
writer, John Dobbs, was as worthy and upright a fellow as ever breathed;
and I could not but admire the surprising knowledge of men which shone
through every line he had indited. Something must be done it was clear;
and at length I determined to take the bull by the horns and to address
Mr. Huskisson at once, as the shortest way of coming