the most serious mischief; since he is
not only led to neglect the duties he has undertaken to perform,
but gradually becomes independent in his feelings and opinions,
and substitutes insolence of conduct for the respect which ought
to mark his behaviour. The value of an article also becomes
greatly enhanced to the consumer, when it is permitted to pass
through so many hands, each individual of whom must place upon it
a profit which he deems adequate to his labour or his ingenuity.
Allowing liberty to a prisoner to pursue this kind of avocation
is productive of another evil; it leads him, by gradual steps,
from becoming careless of his proper duty, to the assumption of a
degree of importance and independence which induces him to place
himself above his master, and thus controverts the natural and
necessary distinctions of society. This traffic has also
originated numerous frauds of a pecuniary description, amongst
which may be mentioned, as the most notorious, the custom of
indorsing notes of hand over to persons, without receiving any
consideration for the same, and thus making them the plaintiffs
in the suits which they were permitted to institute. From all
these practices it has resulted, that numerous settlers have been
induced to neglect or quit their farms, which, with industrious
management, were competent to the supply of all their necessary
wants, and thus to diminish the means of procuring subsistence
for the colony; and they have become dissatisfied with a country,
which is capable of being made the most lovely and prolific in
the world. Amongst the inhabitants, also, was introduced the vice
of gaming--a natural consequence of the astonishing increase of
wealth in men of little principle and no economy; drunkenness was
the ready way to this crime, and so addicted were many of every
class of society to it, that they scrupled not, after losing the
property which they possessed, to stake that which they did not
possess. Some persons, however, either favoured by fortune, or
possessing more prudence than their unfortunate companions,
contrived to retain the property they had gained, and by applying
it to traffic are now in a state of affluence of which few
persons can form an accurate conception.

The 9th item of expense is to be found in the provisions and
spirits issued to parties on command; a custom which has been
esteemed proper and necessary in cases where such parties have
been employed in particular ser