The life of David Hume, Esq; the philosopher and historian, written by himself. ; To which are added, The travels of a philosopher, containing observations on the manners and arts of various nations, in Africa and Asia. From the French of M. Le Poivre, late envoy to the King of Cochin-China, and now intendant of the isles of Bourbon and Mauritius.

TRAVELS OF A PHILOSOPHER. PART SECOND.

INTRODUCTION.

I Last year began to give you a sketch of my inquiries into the state of agriculture among differ|ent nations of Africa and Asia. I observed, that scarce a vestige of it could be traced amongst the stupid, the indolent negroes, who inhabit the western coast of Afri|ca; whilst it flourished, under the shade of liberty, amongst the Holanders at the Cape of Good Hope. I pointed out the happy abundance which reigned in the fertile island of Madagascar, in|habited by a people governed by the greatest simplicity of manners, and unacquainted with other laws than those of nature. Whilst I did justice also to the system of cultivation that prevailed at the isle of Bourbon, which, having no port, and of consequence little or no intercourse with Europe, the colonists have preserved an uncorrupted system of manners, ever favourable for agriculture, I was at the same time, under the necessity of acknowledging, that this art, which requires persever|ance and simplicity, was greatly

neglected at the isle of France, which, having two excellent ports, and being much frequented by European ships, was more influ|enced by the inconstant and vola|tile manners of our quarter of the world; and that, in consequence, though the soil, in point of ferti|lity, was equal to Madagascar and Bourbon; their harvest ge|nerally failed, and an almost per|petual scarcity prevailed over the island.—I passed from thence to the great peninsula of the Indies, where agriculture, however op|pressed by the barbarous laws of the Mogul conquerors, is still honoured and supported by the religion, the manners, and the perseverance of the conquered Malabars.—At Siam, under the happiest climate, and blessed with a soil inferior in fertility to no country in the world, agriculture we have observed debased by the indignities of tyranny, and aban|doned by a race of slaves, whom nothing can interest, after the loss of liberty.—I have represented it almost in the same condition a|mongst the Malais, who inhabit immense dominions, and innu|merable islands, where nature has distributed her choicest trea|sures, and lavished her bounties with a profusion unknown to o|ther regions. The destructive genius of the feudal laws, which keep this people in a perpetual ferment, permits not their appli|cation to the culture of the finest soil in the world. Nature alone does all. I am convinced, that if the other nations of the earth, who have the misfortune to be govern|ed by the feudal system, inhabit|ed a climate equally happy, and lands equally fertile with those of the Malais, their agriculture would be equally neglected: necessity alone could force the plough into their hands.

In my last discourse I endea|voured to give you an idea of the most interesting modes of local a|griculture which came under my observation: my principal object, however, was to enable you to remark, that in every country, in every quarter of the world, the state of agriculture depends en|tirely on the established laws, and, consequently, on the manners, customs, and prejudices from which these laws derived their origin. I now proceed.

The POWER of AGRICULTURE. Origin of the Kingdom of Ponthiamas.

DEPARTING from the pe|ninsula of Malacca, and the islands of the Malais, towards the north, I fell in with a small ter|ritory called Cancar, but known, on the marine charts, under the name of Ponthiamas. Surrounded by the kingdom of Siam, where despotism and depopulation go hand in hand; the dominions of Camboya, where no idea of esta|blished government subsists; and the territories of the Malais, whose genius, perpetually agitated by their feudal laws, can endure peace neither at home nor abroad: This charming country, about fifty years ago, was uncultivated,

and almost destitute of inhabi|tants.

A chinese merchant, comman|der of a vessel which he employed in commerce, frequented these coasts. Being a man of that in|telligent reflective genius, which so characteristically marks his na|tion, he could not, without pain, behold immense tracts of ground condemned to sterility, though naturally more fertile than those which formed the riches of his own country: he formed, there|fore, a plan for their improve|ment. With this view, having first of all hired a number of la|bourers, some Chinese, others from the neigbouring nations, he, with great address, insinuated himself into the favour of the most powerful princes, who, for a certain subsidy, assigned him a guard for his protection.

In the course of his voyage to Batavia, and the Philippine I|slands, he borrowed from the Eu|ropeans their improvements, par|ticularly the art of fortification and defence; with regard to in|ternal police, he gave the prefer|ence to the Chinese. The profits of his commerce soon enabled him to raise ramparts, sink ditches, and provide artillery. These pre|liminary precautions secured him from a coup de main, and pro|tected him from the enterprizes of the surrounding nations of bar|barians.

He distributed the lands to his labourers, without the least reser|vation of any of those duties or taxes known by the names of ser|vice or fines of alienation; duties, which by allowing no real pro|perty, become the most fatal scourge to agriculture, and is an idea which revolts against the common sense of every wise na|tion. He provided his colonists, at the same time, with all sorts of instruments proper for the la|bour and improvement of their grounds.

In forming a labouring and commercial people, he thought, that no laws ought to be framed, but those which nature has esta|blished for the human race in e|very climate: he made these laws respected by obeying them first himself, and exhibiting an exam|ple of simplicity, industry, fruga|lity, humanity, and good faith: —he formed, then, no system of laws—he did more—he establish|ed morals.

His territories soon became the country of every industrious man, who wished to settle there. The woods were cleared; the grounds judiciously labo••••ed, and sown with rice; canals, cut from the rivers, watered their fields; and plentiful harvests, after supplying them with subsistence, furnished an object of commerce.

The barbarians of the neigh|bourhood, amazed to see abun|dance so suddenly succeed to ste|rility, flocked for subsistence to the magazines of Ponthiamas; whose dominions, at this day, are considered as the most plentiful granary of that eastern party of Asia; the Malais, the Cochin-chinese, the Siamese, whose coun|tries are naturally so fertile, con|sidering this little territory as the most certain resource against fa|mine.

Had the Chinese founder of this colony of mercantile labour|ers, in imitation of the sovereigns of Asia, established arbitrary im|posts; if by the introduction of a feudal system, of which he had

examples amongst the neighbour|ing nations, he had vested in him|self the sole property of the lands, under the specious pretence of giving them away to his colonists; if he had made luxury reign in his palace, in place of that sim|plicity which distinguished his humble dwelling; had he placed his ambition in a brilliant court, and crowds of sawning slaves; had he preferred the agreeable to the useful arts, despising the industri|ous, who labour the ground with the sweat of their brow, and pro|vide sustenance for themselves and their fellow-creatures; had he treated his associates as slaves; had he received into his port strangers in any other shape than as friends; his fields had still been barren, his dominions un peopled; and the wretched inha|bitants must have died of hunger, notwithstanding all the assistance they could derive from the most useful instruments either for till|ing or sowing their grounds.— But the sage Kiang-••••e, (the name of this judicious Chinese) persua+ded that he should be always rich, if his labourers were so, establish'd only a very moderate duty on all the merchandize entered at his port; the produce of his lands appearing to him sufficient to render him powerful and great. His integrity, his moderation, and his humanity made him re|spected. He never wished to reign; but only to establish the empire of reason. His son, who now fills his place, inherits his virtu••s as well as his possessions: by agriculture, and the commerce he carries on with the produce of his lands, he has become so pow|erful, that the barbarians, his neighbours▪ stile him King,—a title which he despises. He pre|tends to no right of sovereignty, but the noblest of all, that of do|ing good; happy in being the first labourer, and the first mer|chant of his country, he merits, as well as his father, a title more glorious than that of king—the friend of mankind.

How different such men from those conquerors so celebrated, who amaze and desolate the earth! who, abusing the right of con|quest, have established laws which, even after the world has been de|livered from these tyrants, has perpetuated, for ages, the mise|ries of the human race.

CAMBOYA and TSIAMPA.

TO the northward of Ponthi|amas we find the countries of Camboya and Tsiampa. They are naturally fertile, (Camboya in particular) and appear, in former times, to have been well cultivated; but the government of these two little states, having no settled form, the inhabitants being perpetually employed in destroying tyrants, only to receive others in their place, have aban|doned the culture of their grounds. Their fields, which might be co|vered with rice, with herds, and with flocks, are deserts; and the natives are reduced to feed on a ••••w wretched roots, which they gather from amidst the brambles, which overspread their lands.

Travellers are surprised to find, at a little distance from the wretched canton of Camboya, the ruins of an old city, built with stone, the architecture of which has some resemblance to that of Europe. The neighbouring fields too still preserve the traces of ridges: every thing shews that a|griculture and the other arts have once flourished there; but they have now disappeared, with the nation who cultivated them.— Those who at present inhabit this country have no history, no tra|dition even, which can throw the faintest light upon the subject.

COCHIN-CHINA.

THE Cochin-chinese, who border on Camboya to the north, observing the lands of this kingdom desolate and abandoned, some years ago took possession of such tracts as were most conveni|ent, and have there introduced an excellent culture. The pro|vince of Donnay, usurped in this manner from Camboya, is at pre|sent the granary of Cochin-china. This kingdom, one of the greatest in Eastern Asia, about one hun|dred and fifty years ago, was in|habited by an inconsiderable na|tion, barbarous and savage, known by the name of Loi, who, living partly by fishing, partly on roots, and the wild fruits of the country, paid little regard to agriculture.

A Tonquinese prince, unsuc|cessful in a war he carried on a|gainst the king of Tonquin, (un|der whom he enjoyed an office somewhat resembling the maires de palais, under the Merovingian race of the kings of France) re|tired with his soldiers and adher|ents across the river which divides that kingdom from Cochin-china. The savages, who then possessed this country, fled before these strangers, and took refuge among the mountains of Tsiampa. Af|ter a long war with their old ene|mies, who pursued them, the Tonquinese fugitives remained at length peaceable possessors of the country known under the name of Cochin-china: it extends a|bout two hundred leagues from north to south, but narrow and unequal from east to west. These then applied themselves entirely to the cultivation of rice, which, being the ordinary food of the in|habitants of Asia, is to them an object of the greatest importance. They separated into little canton|ments, and established themselves on the plains, which extend a|long the banks of the rivers.

The fertility of the soil, which had lain long uncultivated, soon recompensed their labours by a|bundance: population increased in proportion to the culture; and their cantons extended in such a manner, that all the plains of this vast country being put into a state of improvement, they were temp|ted to make encroachments on those of Camboya, which were in a manner totally abandoned. I never saw any country where the progress of population was so re|markable as in Cochin-china, which must be attributed not only to the climate, and the fertility of the soil, but to the simplicity

of their manners, to the prudence and industry of the women as well as the men, and to the variety of excellent fish, which, with rice, is their ordinary food.

CULTURE of different Kinds of RICE in COCHIN-CHINA.

THE Cochin-chinese culti|vate six different kinds of rice: the Little Rice, the grain of which is small, oblong and tran|sparent; that is by far the most delicate; it is generally admini|nistered to the sick: The Great Long Rice is that whose form is round: The Red Rice, so called because the grain is enveloped in a husk of a reddish colour, which adheres so closely, that it requires a very uncommon operation to se|parate it. These three kinds are produced in the greatest abun|dance, and form the principal subsistence of the natives. They require water, it being necessary to overflow the grounds where they are cultivated.

They raise also two other sorts of dry rice, which grow in dry foil, and, like our wheat, re|quire no other watering but what they receive from the clouds.— One of these species of rice has a grain as white as snow; when dressed it is of a slimy viscous sub|stance; they make of it different kinds of paste, such as vermicelli. Both these kinds form a consider|able article in their commerce to China. They cultivate them on|ly on the mountains and rising grounds, which they labour with the spade. They sow these grains as we do wheat, about the end of December or beginning of Janu|ary, when the rainy season ends: they are not above three months in the ground, and yield a plen|tiful crop.

I am induced to believe, that the culture of this valuable grain would succeed extremely well in France. In the years 1749 and 1750 I often travelled over the mountains of Cochin-china, where this rice is cultivated; they are very high, and the temperature of the air cold: in the month of January, 1750, I observed that the rice was very green, and a|bove three inches high, although the liquor in Reaumur's thermo|meter was only about four degrees above the freezing point.

I carried some quintals of this grain to the isle of France, where it was sown with success, and pro|duced a greater crop than any o|ther species. The colonists re|ceived my present with the great|est eagerness, as, exclusive of its superior increase, it has a finer taste, is attended with less trou|ble, there being no necessity for overflowing the fields; and, as it ripens fifteen or twenty days sooner than the other kinds, it can be reaped and secured before the hurricane season, which fre|quently makes dreadful havock with their later harv••sts. The other kinds of rice, being of a slower growth, require their grounds to be laid under water, after the manner of the Coroman|del

coast;* 1.1 but our colonists pay so little attention to agriculture, that they have never hitherto in|troduced it.

One might have imagined, that the advantages flowing from the cultivation of dry rice, would have engaged the colonists to at|tend to it with the greatest care; and that, from the isle of France, it might have been with ease in|troduced into Europe: but I have in vain endeavoured to produce it from this island; those to whom I have applied, have sent me only common rice, which demands water and warmth. The culture of dry rice has, like every other species of agriculture, been a|bandoned to the unexperienced ignorance of slaves, who have mixed all the different kinds to|gether, in such a manner, that the rice of Cochin-china being ripe long before the others, the grains have dropt from the ears before they were reaped, and the species, in this manner, has been, by degrees entirely lost in that island. Would any traveller, whom business or curiosity might lead to Cochin-china, send over but a few pounds of this excellent grain, he would deserve our warmest acknowledgements.

The Cochin chinese cultivate the common rice nearly in the same manner with the Malabars on the Coromandel coast. After having twice ploughed their ground, they sow the rice in a little field which has been well laboured with the spade; the sur|face of this little field they just cover with water, to the height only of a few lines; and as soon as the rice is about five or six inches high, they harrow over their large fields, and overflow them with water; then pulling up the rice plants in the seed plots, transplant them into these grounds thus prepared, in small parcels of four or five stalks, about the dis|tance of six inches the one from the other. Women and children are generally employed in this work.

The Cochin-chinese have no machine for overflowing their grounds, nor have they any occa|sion: their plains, from one end of the kingdom to the other, are commanded by a chain of high mountains, plentifully supplied with springs and rivulets, which naturally overflow the grounds, according as their course is di|rected.

They cultivate likewise differ|ent kinds of grain, such as the mahis, millets of different sorts, several species of the French bean, potatoes, yams, and a variety of roots proper for the subsistence of men and animals. But the cul|ture of most important advantage to them, next to the rice, is the sugar cane; and no country in Asia produces it in greater abun|dance than Cochin-china.

SUGAR-CANES.

THE sugar-canes of this country are of two kinds; the first grows thick and tall, the joints at a considerable distance from one another, the colour al|ways green, the juice abundant, with very little of the salt in it. This species of cane is in general use for feeding and fattening of cattle; and experience teaches them, that no kind of food fat|tens sooner or better the human species, as well as animals, than this sugar cane, eat while green, and the sugar which is extracted from it.

The second species is smaller in every respect, with its joints approaching nearer together:— when ripe it assumes a yellow co|lour; and contains less water, and more salt, than the other.

The Cochin-chinese, when preparing the ground for the su|gar-cane, turn it up to the depth of two feet; this operation is per|formed with a plank. They then plant joints or eyes of the cane, three and three together, in a ho|rizontal position, in the same manner almost as they plant vines in several provinces of France— These slips are planted ch••quer|wise about eighteen inches deep in the ground, distant six feet from one another; this operation they perform near the end of the rainy season, in order that the slips may be sufficiently watered, till such time as they have taken root. During the first six months, they give them two dressings with a kind of pick-axe, in order to destroy the weeds, and preserve a moisture about the roots of the canes, by heaping the earth a|round them.

Twelve and sometimes fourteen months after the plantation, they gather the first crop. By this time the canes, though planted at the distance of six feet, become so bushy that it is impossible to enter the field, without the assist|ance of a hatchet to clear your way.

The canes being cut, and tied up into bundles, are carried to their mills, in order to extract their juice. I shall not here de|scribe the form of these machines, which resemble in a great mea|sure those of the West-Indies:— instead of water, they employ horned cattle or mules to set in motion the two cylinders, be|tween which the sugar canes are pressed. These engines have been described by numbers of travel|lers.

The juice being extracted, they boil it some hours in large kettles, in order to evaporate part of its water: it is then transported to the neighbouring market, and sold in that condition. Here ends the industry and the profits of the Cochin chinese planter.— The merchants purchase the juice, which resembles pure water; they boil it again, throwing into the kettles some alkaline substance, such as the ashes of the leaves of the musa or bananier, and shell-lime; they are acquainted with no other; these ingredients throw up a thick scum, which the refin|er carefully skims off; the action of the alkali hastens the separation of the salt from the water, and,

by the force of ebullition, reduces the juice of the cane to the con|sistence of syrup. As soon as this syrup begins to granulate, they decant it into a great earthen ves|sel, where they cool it about an hour; when a kind of crust, still soft, and of a yellowish colour, appeals on the surface of the sy|rup; they lose not a moment then to empty it into a vessel of a co|nic shape, which they call a form. Without this intermediate opera|tion of cooling the syrup, it would harden into a mass, and not being granulated, would con|sequently want one essential qua|lity of sugar.

These sugar-cones, or forms in Cochin-china are, like those of our West-India colonies, of baked earth, about three feet high, pierced at their narrow extremi|ties, and contain in general about forty or fifty pounds of sugar.— These forms, when full, are pla|ced on another earthen vessel, the mouth of which is proportioned to receive the narrow end of the cone, and must be large enough to contain the coarse syrup, which distils from the sugar, through some straw which imperfectly stops up the little opening in the bottom of the form.

When they suppose the syrup has acquired the consistence of salt in every part of the cone, they then proceed to whiten and purify it. They dilute, in a trough, a fine sort of whitish clay, with such a quantity of water as, when thus prepared, prevents it from having too much consistence; with a truel they then lay it upon the surface of the sugar to the thick|ness of about two inches, in the void space left at the top of the form by the condensing of the sugar, after purging itself of the coarser syrup or melasses. The water contained in the clay pene|trating by degrees into the mass, washes it, and carries off insensi|bly the remaining syrup, and e|very foreign particle that adheres most closely to the sugar. When the clay hardens, they replace it with a fresh quantity, diluted as the first: This operation, which lasts about twelve or fifteen days, is the same here as in our West-India colonies. Some refiners of Cochin-china, however, have a|nother method. In place of clay, tempered thus with water, they cut into small pieces the trunk of the musa or bananier, which they place upon the sugar: The trunk of this tree is very watery; the water of a detergent quality; and distils from the fibres, which en|velope it, in very small drops.— Those who follow this method pretend, that the operation is thereby rendered less tedious, and that the sugar acquires a finer colour.

The process of the Cochin-chinese, in refining their sugar, goes no further: They are unac|quainted with the stoves in use in the West-Indies. After having clayed their sugars sufficiently, they sell them in the public mar|kets, particularly to the Chinese, and other strangers, who are in|vited to their ports by the mode|rate price of this commodity, which is cheaper at Cochin-china than any where in India.

The white sugar of the best quality is generally sold at the port of Faiso, in exchange for o|ther merchandize, at the rate of three piastres (about fourteen shillings) the Cochin-china quin|tal, which weighs from one hun|dred

and fifty to two hundred pounds French.† 1.2 The trade in this commodity is immense.— The Chinese alone, whose lands do not produce enough for their own consumpt, purchase annually from Cochin-china about forty thousand barrels, weighing about two thousand pounds per barrel.

This country, it should be ob|served, which produces this com|modity in such abundance, and at so low a price, being a new king|dom, ought to be considered, in some measure, as a colony: it is worthy observation too, that the sugar-cane is there cultivated by free men, and all the process of preparation and refining, the work of free hands. Compare then the price of the Cochin-chi|nese production with the same commodity which is cultivated and prepared by the wretched slaves of our European colonies, and judge if, to procure sugar from our colonies, it was necessa|ry to authorize by law the slavery of the unhappy Africans trans|ported to America. From what I have observed at Cochin-china, I cannot entertain a doubt, but that our West-India colonies, had they been distributed without re|servation amongst a free people, would have produced double the quantity that is now procured from the labour of the unfortu|nate negroes.

What advantage, then, has ac|crued to Europe, civilized as it is, and thoroughly versed in the laws of nature, and the rights of mankind, by legally authorising in our colonies the daily outrages against human nature, permitting them to debase man almost below the level of the beasts of the field? These slavish laws have proved as opposite to its interest as they are to its honour, and to the laws of humanity. This remark I have often made.

Liberty and property form the basis of abundance, and good a|griculture: I never observed it to flourish where those rights of mankind were not firmly esta|blished. The earth, which mul|tiplies her productions with a kind of profusion, under the hands of the free-born labourer, seems to shrink into barrenness under the sweat of the slave. Such is the will of the great author of our nature, who has created man free, and assigned to him the earth, that he might cultivate his possession with the sweat of his brow; but still should enjoy his liberty.

The Cochin-chinese, exclusive of the sugar-cane, employ them|selves in the culture of a variety of other productions, of great im|portance both to their interior fabrics, and external commerce.

They cultivate the cotton-tree, the mulberry, the pepper, the varnish-tree, the date, the tea, the indigo, and the ••••ffron, to|gether with a plant peculiar to the country, called Tjai, which, being fermented like indigo, fur|nishes in great plenty a flower of a green colour, which, in dying, gives a durable tincture of a fine emerald colour. This plant would undoubtedly be a most valuable present to our West-India colonies.

I must at present decline enter|ing into a description of the va|rious

processes attending these different cultures. They will af|ford subject for some future me|moirs.

The soil, in general, of Co|chin-china, is excellent, and they cultivate it well. Their moun|tains in general are fallow, as population is not even sufficiently considerable for the cultivation of all the plain grounds they have taken possession of in Camboya: These mountains produce, how|ever, the eagle or aloe-wood, which is the most precious per|fume in the world; the sapan-wood, the same with that of Bra|sil; and the cinnamon, in small quantities indeed, but much su|perior in quality to that of Cey|lon▪—The Chinese pay three or four times more for it than for that which the Dutch import from that island. They have several sorts likewise of admirable wood for joyner and cabinet work, par|ticularly the rose wood; the tea-wood is excellent for building, and is preferred to all others in the construction of the royal gal|leys, having every pr••perty that can be wished for either for beauty or solidity. From their moun|tains also, and from the forests with which they are covered, they procure ivory, musk, wax, iron, and gold in great abundance — These mountains too are full of game, such as deer, antelopes, wild goats, peacocks pheasants, &c. The chace is free to all, but dangerous from the number of tygers, elephants, rhinoceros, and other carnivorous and de|structive animals, with which the forests abound.

The sea, which washes their coasts, as well as the rivers, are well supplied with excellent fish. Every one has the liberty of fish|ing; and in this the Cochin-chinese take great delight. I have already observed, that they live chiefly on fish and rice.

Their domestic animals are, the horse for the road, the buffalo for labour, and the cow, the hog, the goat, the goose, the duck, and hens of various kinds, for the table. These animals thrive ex|tremely well, and are in great a|bundance. The king alone re|serves to himself the exclusive right of breeding elephants for the war; and this is a reservation which no man envies him. He maintains generally four hundred of them: he could maintain four thousand men at a much less ex|pence. The Cochin-chinese have few good fruits; the pine apple, and oranges of different kinds, are the best their country produces. They do not cultivate the vine, though it is one of the native pro|ductions of their lands. They are but indifferently provided with pulse. In a word, their or|chards and their gardens are very inconsiderable.—They attach themselves to the more essential branches of agriculture.

Although this art is not yet ar|rived at that degree of perfection in Cochin-China, to which it might be carried, with the ad|vantage of such an excellent soil, yet the manners of the people be|ing very favourable, it flourishes greatly. The Cochin-chinese are gentle, hospitable, frugal, and industrious. There is not a beg|gar in the country; and robbery and murder absolutely unknown. A stranger may wander over the kingdom, from one end to ano|ther, (the capital excepted) with|out meeting the slightest insult:

he will be every where received with a most eager curiosity, but, at th•• same t••me, with great be|nevolence I have here remarked a custom singular indeed, but ex|pr••ssive of their goodness of heart. A Cochin-chinese Traveller, who has not mo••ey sufficient to defray his expences at an inn, enters the first house of the town or village h•• arrives at: no body inquires his business; he speaks to none, but wait in silence the hour of dinner; so s••oa as the rice is served up, be modestly approach|es, places himself at table along with the family, eat••, drinks, and departs, without pronouncing a single word, or any person's put|ting to him a single question; it was enough th••y saw he was a man, a brother in di••••res••: Th••y asked no further information

The six first kings, founders of this monarchy, governed the ra|tion as a father governs his fami|ly: They established the laws of nature alone: They themselves paid the first obedience to them. C••iefs of an immense family of lab••urers, they gave the first ex|ample of labour: They honoured and encouraged agriculture, as the most useful and honourable employment of mankind. They required from their subjects only a small annual free-gift, to def••ay the expence of their defensive war against their To••quinese enemies.

This imposition was regulated, by way of p••ll tax, with the greatest equity Every man, able to labour the ground, paid in to the magistrate. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 account of the prince, a small sum proporti••ned to the strength of his constitution, and the vigour of his arm; and nothing more. It was under their reign that this nation multiplied so surprisingly, in consequence of the plenty furnished by the cul|ture of their fields Whilst they reigned, the Treaties entered in|to, on the banks of the river which separates Tonquin from Cochin china, between the chiefs of their family and hose who fol|lowed them in th••ir retreat, were most religiously observ••d It is to this reciprocal fidelity that Co|chin china owes its present flou|rishing state, with regard to pow|er, population, and agriculture. Their successor, who now reigns, inherits their goodness of heart, but has the weakness to suffer himself to be governed by his slaves. These have acquired the art of separating the in••erest of the prince from that of his people.— They have inspired him with the thirst after per••onal riches. The vast quantity of gold which they have dug from the mines, during this reign, has already proved de|trimental to industry and agri|culture. In the palace it has been productive of luxury and corrup|tion, its never failing attendants.

This prince has been insensibly led to despise the simp••e habita|tions of his ancestors. He has built a supe••b palace, a league in circumference, surrounded by a wall of brick, on the model of that of Pekin. Sixteen hundred pieces of canno•• mounted around the palace, announce to the peo|ple the approaching l••ss of their liberties and rights.

He found a necessity too for a winter palace, a summer palace, and an autumn palace. The old Taxes we••e by no means suffici|ent to defray these expences:— They were augmented; and new impositions d••v••••ed. which, be|ing no longer voluntary contribu|tions,

could not be levied but by force, and tyrannical oppression▪ His courtiers, who found their interest in the corruption of their prince, have given him the Title of King of Heaven: Vous Tjoi, hearing himself often so stiled, at length thought he might assume it—"Why," addressing himself one day to me,

don't you come oftner to day your court to the King of Heaven?

These designing sycophants, who guard every avenue to the royal ear, have had the address to over-awe the ordinary administra|tion of justice; and, taking ad|vantage of exemption from pu|nishment, have pillaged the la|bourers, and filled the provinces with oppression and distress.

All along the high roads I have seen whole villages newly aban|doned by their inhabitants, har|rassed by fruitless toil, and never ending exactions, and their fields, in consequence, falling back to their first uncultivated state.

In the midst of all this growing disorder, the prince, whose mind has been surprised by faw••ing flatterers, and who alone is igno|rant of the villainy of those around him, still preserves a respect for the manners of his ancestors; he does not, indeed, like his fore|fathers, give an example of per|sonal l••bour, but still his desire is to protect agriculture

I have seen him, at the com|mencement of the new year, pre|side with all the simplicity of his predecessors, at the general as|sembly of the nation, which is annually held on that day, in the open field, in order to renew the reciprocal oath for observation of the primordial contract, which established him father of his peo|ple, at the same time that they invested him alone with the pow|er, the noblest indeed of all, of making his people happy.

When he speaks of his subjects, he calls them still by no other name than that of his children. I have seen him too assist, like a simple individu••l, in the annual ass••mbly of his family, according to the ancient usage of the nation; an assembly where the most aged always presid••, without regard to the dignities of th••se of younger years. This however, seemed to me only a formality venerable from custom; for what is man, where the King of Heaven appears.

Corruption, it is true, has not yet infected the general b••dy of the people: They still preserve their primitive manners: it is hitherto confined to the palace, and the capital: its source, how|ever, is too elevated to prevent its poisoned streams from flowing to the plains. It is from the great that the corruption of a peo|ple ever derives its origin.

When it shall have infected e|very ••ank; when the foundations of agriculture, liberty and pro|perty, already attacked by the great, shall be overthrown; when the pr••fession of the farmer shall bec••me the most contemptible, and the least lucrative, what must be the fate of agriculture? With|out a flourishing agriculture, what must be the fate of those mul••i|tudes, fostered under its wing!— What must be the fate of prince and people!—It will resemble that of the nation who p••ssessed the country before them; perhaps that of the savages, who yielded it to that nation: of them there are no remains, but the ru••••s of an immense wall, near the capi|tal,

which appears to have been part of a great city: it is of brick, and of a ••o••m ••e••y different from what is to be s••en in the other countries of Asia: no history, however, no tradition has pre|se••ved he memory of the builders.

Upon the whole I conclude, from the general corruption which threatens the manners of the Co|chin chinese, that agriculture is on the decline, and that whatever efforts they may make to support it, it has now ••••ss••d its meridian, and must infallibly degenerate.

CHINA.

I Now approach the period of my Travels. Departing from the coasts of Cochin-china, and directing my course towards the north-east, I proceeded for China, which the Cochin chinese call, with great respect, Nuse d' ai Ming—the Kingdom of the Great Luminary. After s••me days na|vigation, before there was any appearance of land, I perceived along the horizon a forest of masts, and soon after an innumerable multitude of boats, which covered the surface of the water. These were Thousands of fishermen, whose industry drew from the deeps subsistence for numbers.— The land ••ow began to rise to my view; I advanced to the mouth of the river, still amidst crowds of fishers, throwing out their lines on every side. I entered the river of Canton; it is peopled like the land; its banks lined with ships at a chor; a prodigious number of small craft are continually gliding along in every direction, some with sails, others wi••h oars, vanishing often suddenly from the sight, as they enter the number|less canals, dug with amazing la|bour, across extensive plains, which they water and fertilize. Immense fields, covered with all the glory of the harvest, with stately villages rising to the eye on every side, adorn the remo••er view, whilst mountains, covered with verdure, cut into terrasses, and shaped into amphitheatres, form the back ground of this no|ble land••cape.

I arrive at Canton, where new subjects for admiration arise:— The noise, the motion, the crowd augments: The water, as well as land, being every where covered with multitudes. Astonished at the amazing app••arance, I en|quire into the numbers of inhabi|tants of this city and suburbs; and, after comparing different accounts, find that they must a|mount at last to eight hundred thousand souls. My surprize, however, is greatly increased, when I learn, that, to the north|ward of Canton, about five leagues up the river, is a village named Fuchan, which contains a million of inhabitants, and that every part of this great empire, extend|ing about six hundred leagues from north to south, and as much from east to west, was peopled in the same proportion.

By what art can the earth pro|duce subsistence for such numb••rs? Do the Chinese possess any sec••et art of multiplying the grain and provisions necessary for the nou|rishment

of mankind? To solve my doubts I tray••••s••d the fie••d, I in••r••d••c••d myself amon•• the labo••••••rs, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••re in general ea|sy, poli••e, and aff••ble, with some share ••f ••earning, and knowlege of the world. I examine, and pursue them through all their o+per••••ions, and ••bse••ve that their secret co••sists simply in ma••uri••g their fields judiciously, plou••h••••g them to a considerable depth, sowing them in the prop••r season, turning to advantage every inch of ground which can produce ••he most inconsiderable crop, and preferring to every other species of culture that of grain, as by far the most important

This system of culture, the last article excepted, appears to be the same that is recommended in all our best authors, ancient and mo|dern, who have wrote on this subject: our common labourers are acquainted with it; but h••w much must our European farmers be su••prized, when they are in|form••d, ••hat the Chinese have no me••d••ws, natural or artificial, and have not the least c••••c••pt on of fallowing, never allowing their lands th•• slightest repose.

The Chi••ese la••ourer would consider meadows, of every deno|mination, as lands in a state of natu••e: They s••w their lands all w••••h grain, and give the prefer|ence to such grounds as we gene|rally lay out in meadows, wh••ch, lying low, and being properly si|tuated with respect to water, are consequently by far the most fer|tile. They affirm, that a fi••ld sown with grain, will yield as much straw for the nou••ishment of cattle, as it would have pro|duced of hay, besides the additi+onal advantage of the grain for the sustenance of man, of which they can spare too, in plentiful se••sons, a small portion for the a••imal creation.

Such is the system adhered to from one extremity of their ••m|pire to the other, and c••nfi••med by the experience of four thousand years, amongst a people, of all the nation•• in the world, the m••st attentive to their inte••••st

That which must render this plan of agricu••ture the more in|conceivable to Europeans, is the idea of their never allowing th••ir lands to lie one season unlaboured. Those who for some years ha••e endeavoured, with such public-spirited zeal, to re animate a|mongst us this neglected art, have considered, as the fi••st and most important obj••ct, the multiplica|tion of artifici••l meadows, to sup|ply the d••fect of natural ones, for the fattening of cattle; wi••h••ut once venturing to think of sup|pressing the mode of fallowi••g the ground••, how••v••r f••r they c••••ried their system of incre••sing the number of artific••al pa••••u••••s.

〈◊〉〈◊〉, which appears the most plausi••le of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••hey h••ve p••••j••••t••d a••d is received wi••h the g••eatest partialit•• by our far|mer••, is, never 〈◊〉〈◊〉, contra|dicted by ••he consta••t experie••ce of the grea••est and the most a••ci|ent la••d-labou••ing 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in the world, who r••gard the practice of meadow••, a••d f••l••owing g••ou••ds, as an abu••e, destructive of plenty and p••pula••ion, w••ich are the only important objects of agri|culture.

A Chinese labourer could not but smile, if you informed him, that the earth has ••ccasion for re|pose at a certain fixed p••riod of time: he certainly would say,

that we deviated greatly from the point in view, could he read our treatises ancient and modern, our marvellous speculations on agri|culture: what would he say, if he saw our lands, part of them fallow, part of them employed in useless cultures, and the remain|der wretchedly laboured? What would he say, what must be his feelings, if, in travelli••g over our fields, he observed the ex|treme misery and barbarism of their wretched cultivators?

The Chinese lands, in general, are not superior to ours: you see there, as with us, s••me excellent grounds, others middling, the rest bad: some soils strong, o|thers light: lands where clay, and lands where sand, gravel, and flint every where predomi|nate.

All these grounds, even in the northern provinces, yield annu|ally two crops, and in those to|wa••ds the s••uth often five in two years, without one singl•• fallow season, during the many thou|sand•• of yea••s that they have been converted to the purposes of a|griculture.

The Chinese use the same ma|nures as we do, in order to re|store to their grounds those salts and ju••ce, which an unintermit|ting production is perpetu••lly consuming. They are acquaint|ed with mar••: They employ also common sal••, lime, ashes, and all sorts of animal dung, but a|bove all that which we throw in to our rivers: They make great use of urine, which is carefully preserved in every house, and sold to advantage: in a word, e|very t••ing p••••duced by the earth is re conv••yed to it with the greatest care, into whatever shape the operations of nature or art may have transformed it.

When their manures are at any time scarce, they supply the defi|ciency, by turning up the ground with the spade, to a great depth, wh••ch brings up to the surface of the field a new soil, enriched with the juices of that which de|scends in its room.

Without meadows the Chinese maintain a number of horses, buf|faloes, and other animals of every species necessary for labour, for sustenance, and for manure — These animals are fed, some with straw, others with roots, beans, and grain of every kind. It is true, they have fewer horses, and horned cattle, in proportion, than we have, yet it is not necessary that they should have more.

The whole country is cut into canals, dug by the industry of the inhabitants, extending from river to river which divide and water this vast empire, like a garden. —Travelli••g, transporting of goods, almost every species of carriage is performed on these canals, with great ease, and small expence: They do not even use ho••ses to drag their boats; every thing is done by the sail or the car, which they manage with sin|gular dexterity, even in going up the rivers. Where any kind of labour can be performed, at a moderate price by m••n, it is a maxim with them never to em|p••oy animals. In consequence of th••s, the banks of thei•• canals are cul••ivated almost to the water's edge: They lose not an inch of ground: Their public roads re|semble our foot-paths: Their ca|nals, however, are infinitely more useful than highways: They convey fertility every where, and

furnish the people great part of their subsistence in fish.—There is no comparison between the weight which can b•• transported in a boat, and that which can be conveyed by any kind of land-carriage; no proportion between the expence.

The Chinese are still less ac|quainted with the use, or rather the luxury of chariots, and equi|pages of every kind, which croud the principal cities of Europe.— The horses necessary for these, assembled in thousands in our ca|pitals, consume the produce of numberless acres of our best grounds, which, if cultivated with grain, would afford subsist|ence for multitudes, who are dy|ing of hunger. The Chinese wish rather to maintain men than horses.

The emperor and chief magi|strates are carried through their cities by men, with safety, and with dignity: Their march is se|date and m••jestic, it threatens not with dang••r those who walk on foot: They travel in a kind of galleys, safer, more commo|dious, equally magnificent, and less expensive than equipages.

I have before observed, that the Chinese lose not an inch of ground. They are very far, therefore, from alloting immense parks, of the finest ground, for the maintenance alone of deer, in contempt of the human race — The emperors, even those of the Tartar line, have never hitherto dreamed of forming these parks; still less the grandees, that is, the magistrates and the learned: such an idea could never find place in the mind of a Chinese. Even their country houses, and boxes of pleasure, present nothing to the eye all around, but us••ful cultures, agreeably div••rsified — That which constitutes their prin|cipal beauty, is their d••lightful situation, j••diciously improved, where, in the disp••si••ion of the various parts which form the whole, there every where reigns a h••ppy imitation of tha•• beauti|ful disorder of nature, from whence art has borrowed all her charms.

The most rocky hills, which, in France, and other places of Europe, they turn into vineyards, or totally neglect, are there com|pelled, by dint of industry, to produce grain. The Chinese are acquainted, indeed, with the vine, which here and there they plant in arbours; but they con|sider it as a luxury, and the wine it produces as an unnecessary su|perfluity: They would imagine it a sin against humanity, to endea|vour to procure, by cultivation, an agreeable liquo••, whilst, from the want of that grain which this vineyard might have produced, some individual perhaps might be in danger of perishing of hunger.

The steepest mountains, even, are rendered accessible: at ••an|ton, and from one extremity of the empire to anothe••, you ob|serve mountains cut into terrasses representing, at a distance, im|mense pyramids divided into dif|ferent stages, which seem to rear their heads to heaven Every one of these terrasse: yields annually a crop of some kind of grain, even of rice; and you cannot withold your admiration, when you be|hold the water of the river, the canal, or the fountain, which glides, by the foot of the moun|tain, rai••ed from terrass to ter|rass, even to the summit, by

means of a simple portable ma|chine, which two men with ease transpo••t and put in motion.

The sea itself, which seems to threaten the solid globe it sur+rounds, has been compelled, by industry and labour, to yield part of its dominions to the Chinese cultivator

The two finest provinces of the empire, Na••king and Tché-ki|ang, formerly covered with wa|ter, have been united to the con|tinent some thousands of years ago, with an art infinitely supe|rior to that which is so much ••d|mired in the mod••rn works of Holla••d.

The Chinese had to struggle with a sea, whose na••ural flux from east to west urge•• it co••tinu|ally towards the coasts of these two provinces; whilst the Dutch have had ••••t••ing to oppose but a sea, which, by the same natu••al motion, always avoids their west|ern shores.

The Chinese nation is capable of the most stupendous works; in point of labour I never observed their equals in the world. Every day in the year is a working day, except the first, destined for pay|ing reciprocal visit••, and the last, which is consec••ated to the cere|monial duties they pay to their ancestors.

An idle man would be treated with the most s••vereign contempt, and regarded as a paralytic mem|ber, a load to the b••dy of which he made a part: The ••overnment wou••d in no manner per••••it it. — How opposite f••••m the ideas of other Anatics, where none are admi••ted to any degree of estima|tio••, but those wh••, from ••heir si••ua••ion in life, have noth••••g to do.—An ancient emperor of China, in a public instruction, exhorting the people to labour, observed, that if in one corner of the empire there was one man who did nothing, there must, in some other quarter, be another who suffers on that account, de|prived of the necessaries of life. This wise maxim is fixed in the breast of every Chinese; and, with this people so open to rea|son, he who pronounces a wise maxim pronounces a law.

Behold, gentlemen, a slight sketch of the general picture of Chinese agriculture, with the pe|culiar genius of that people for this art. The limits of my dis|course will not permit me at pre|sent to enter into a detail of the different cultures I have seen in this country: I shall only observe, that they are such as abundantly supply all the wants, and conve|niences of the most populous na|tion in the world, and furnish, with their superfluity, an impor|tant article for foreign commerce.

From these observations it is obvious, that agriculture flou|rishes in China more than in any other country in the world: yet it is not to any process peculiar to their labour, it is not to the form of their plough, or their method of sowing, that this happy state, and the plenty consequent on it, is to be attributed; it must chief|ly be derived from their mode of Government, the immoveable foundations of which have been laid deep, by the hand of reason alone, coeval almost with the be|ginning of time; and from their laws, dictated by nature to the first of the human race, and sa|cred••y preserved from generation to generation, engraved in the united hearts of a great peo••le,

not in obscure codes, devised by chicanery and deceit.—In a word, China owes the prosperity of her agriculture to the simplicity of her manners, and to her laws, which are the laws of nature and reason.

This empire was founded by labourers, in those happy times when the laws of the great Crea|tor were still held in remembrance and the culture of the earth con|sidered as the noblest of all em|ployments, the most worthy of mankind, and the general occu|pation of all. From Fou hi (who was the first chief of this nation, some hundreds of years after the deluge, if we follow the version of the Septuagint, and in this quality p••esided over agriculture) all the emperors, without excep|tion, even to this day, glory in being the first labourers of their empire.

The Chinese history has care|fully preserved an anecdote of ge|nerosity in two of the ancient em|perors, who, not perceiving a|mong their children any one worthy to mount a throne, which virtue alone ought to inherit, na|med, as their successors, two sim|ple labourers. These labourers, according to the Chinese annals, advanced the happiness of man|kind, during very long reigns: Their memory is still held in the hi••hest veneration. It is unne|c••ss••ry to obs••rve how much ex|amples, such as these, honour and anim••te ag••iculture.

The Chinese nation has ever been governed like a fam••ly, of which the emperor is father: his subjects are hi•• child••en, w••••hout any other i••equality but that which is established by talents, and by merit▪ Those pueri••e di|stincti••ns of nobl••sse, and plebeians, men of family, and men of me••n birth, are no where to be found but in the ja••gon of new p••o••le, sti••l ba••bar••us, who, having for|got the common origin of all men, insult without reflection, and deb••se the whole human race; whilst that nat••on wh••se govern|ment is ancient, dating it com|mencement with the first ages of the world, are sensible that all men are born equal, all brothers, all noble▪ Their language has not even hi••herto invented a te••m for expressing this pretended di|stinction of birth. The Chinese, who have pres••rved their annals from the remotest times, and who are all equally the children of the emperor, have never so much as suspected an inequality of origin amongst them.

From this principle, that the emp••ror is fa••her, and th•• people his children, spring all the duties of society, all the duties of mora|lity, every virtue of humanity, the union of every wish for the common good of the family, con|sequently an attachment to lab••ur, and above all to agriculture.

This art is honoured, protect|ed, and practised by the emperor, and the great magistrates, who generally are the sons of plain la|bouring men, whom merit has ra••sed to the fi••st dignities of the empi••e; and, in a w••rd, by the w••••le nation, who h••ve the good s••nse to honour an art the most useful to mankind, in preference to ot••ers more ••rivolous, and less impor••ant.

Ceremony of opening the Grounds.

ON the fifteenth day of the first moon, in every year, which generally corresponds to the beginning of March, the emperor in person performs the ceremony of opening the grounds. This prince, in great pomp, pro|ceeds to the field appointed for the ceremony: the princes of the imperial family, the presidents of the five great tribunals, and an infinite number of mandarins ac|company him. Two sides of the field are occupied by the empe|ror's officers, and guards; the third is allotted for all the labour|ers of the province, who repair thither to behold their art ho|noured and practised by the head of their empire; the fourth is re|served for the mandarins.

The emperor enters the field alone, prostrates himself, and nine times strikes his head against the ground, in adoration of Tien, the God of heaven; he pro|nounces, with a loud voice, a prayer appointed by the tribunal of rites, invoking the blessing of the almighty sovereign on his labour, and on the labour of his people, who form his family; he then, in quality of sovereign pontiff of the empire, sacrifices a bullock, which he offers up to heaven, as the source of every blessing: whilst they cut the vic|tim in pieces, and place them on the altar, they bring to the em|peror a plough, in which are yoked a pair of bullocks, mag|nificently adorned. The empe|ror then, laying aside his royal robes, takes hold of the handle of the plough, and turns up se|veral furrows the whole length of the field; then, with a complai|sant air, having delivered the plough to the mandarins, they successively follow his example, emulating one another in per|forming this honourable labour with the greatest dexterity. The ceremony concludes with the dis|tribution of money, and pieces of stuff, among the labourers there present; the most active of whom finish the remaining labour, in presence of the emperor, with great agility and address.

Some time after, when they have sufficiently laboured and manured their grounds, the em|peror repairs again, in procession, and begins the sowing of the field, always accompanied with ceremony, and attended by the labourers of the province.

The same ceremonies are per|formed, on the same days, in all the provinces of the empire, by the viceroys, assisted by all the magistrates of their departments, in presence of a great number of the labourers of their respective provinces. I have seen this o|pening of the grounds at Canton, and never remember to have be|held any of the ceremonies in|vented by men, with half the pleasure and satisfaction with which I observed this.

The encouragement of Agriculture.

THE Chinese agriculture has, at the same tim••, o|ther encouragements. Every year the viceroys of the provinces send to court the names of such la|bourers as have chiefly distin|guished themselves in their em|ployments, either by cultiva••ing grounds till then c••nsidered as barren, or, by a superior culture, improving the production of such lands as forme••ly had bore grain. These names are presented to the emperor, who confers on them honorary titles, to distinguish them above their fellow labour|ers. If any man has made an important discovery, which may influence the improvement of a|griculture, or should he, in any manner, deserve more distinguish|ed marks of regard than the rest, the emperor invites him to Pekin, de••ray••ng his journey, with dig|nity, at the expence of the em|pire; he receives him into his palace, interrogates him with regard to his abilities, his age, the numb••r of his children, the extent and quality of his lands; then dismisses him to his plough, distinguished by honourable titles and loaded with benefits and fa|vours.

Who is happiest, gentlemen, the prince who conducts himself in this manner, or the nation who is thus governed? Amongst a people where all are equal, where every one aspires after dis|t••••ctions, such encouragements cannot fail to inspire a love for labour, and an emulation for the cultivation of the ground.

Attention of the CHINESE Government.

THE whole attention, in general, of the Chinese government, is directed towards agriculture. The principal ob|ject of the father of a family, ought to be the sub••••stence of his children. The state of the fields, in consequence, forms the great object of the toils, the cares, and the solicitudes of the magistrates. It may be easily conceived, that, with such dispositions, the go|vernment has not neglected to se|cure to the labourers that liberty, property, and indulgence which are the great springs for the im|provement of agriculture.

The Chinese enjoy, undisturb|ed, their private possessions, as well as those which, being by their nature indivisible, belong to all, such as the sea, the rivers, the canals, the fish which they contain, and the beasts of the forest: naviga••ion, fishing, and the chace are free to every one; and he who buys a field, or re|ceives it by inheritance from his ancestors, is of course the sole lord and master.

The lands are free as the peo|ple; no feudal services, and no fines of alienation; none of those men interested in the misfortunes of the public; none of those far|mers who never amass more ex|orbitant fortunes, than when an unfavourable season has ruined

the country, and reduced the un|happy labourer to perish for want, after having toiled the year round for the sustenance of his fellow subjects; none of that destructive profession, ••atched in the delirium of the feudal system, under whose auspices arise milli|ons of processes, which drag the labourer from his plough into the obscure and dangerous mazes of chicane, and thereby rob him, while defending his rights, of that time which would have been importantly employed in the ge|neral service of mankind.

The IMPOSTS established in CHINA invariable.

IN China there is no other lord, no other superior, who has power to levy taxes, but the common father of the family, the emperor. The bonzes [priests of the sect of Fo-hi] accustomed to receive alms from a charitable people, would be very indiffer|ently received, should they pre|tend that this alms is a right which heaven has bestowed upon them.

The Imposts called the Tenth.

THIS impost, which is not exactly the tenth part of the produce, is regulated accord|ing to the nature of the grounds: in bad soils it is perhaps only the thirtieth part, and so in propor|tion. This impost, however, of the tenth part of the produce of the earth, which belongs to the emperor, is the only tax on the lands, the only tribute known in China since the origin of the mo|narchy; and such is the happy respect which the Chinese have for their ancient customs, that an emperor of China would never entertain the most distant thought of augmenting it, nor his sub|jects the least apprehension of such augmentation. The people pay it, in kind, not to avaricious farmers-generals, but to upright magistrates, their proper and na|tural governors. The amount of this tribute, though apparently trifling, must be immense, when we consider that it is levied on e|very foot of ground of the most extensive and best cultivated em|pire in the world. This tax is paid with the gr••atest fidelity, as they kn••w the purposes to which it is applied. They know, that part of it is laid up in immense magazines, distributed over every province of the empire, and al|lotted for the maintenance of the magistrates and soldi••ry: they know, that, in the event of scar|city, these magazines are open to all, and the wants of the peo|ple supplied with part of that which was received from them in times of abundance: they know too, that the remainder of this import is sold in the public mar|kets, and the produce of it faith|fully carried to the treasury of the empire, the custody of which is intrusted to the respectable tribu|nal of Ho-pou, from whence it never is issued but to supply the general wants of the family.

COMPARISON of the AGRICULTURE of AFRICA and ASIA with that of CHINA.

RECOLLECT, gentlemen, what I have said of the laws, the manners, and the customs of the different nations of Africa and Asia, the state of whose a|griculture I have examined:— compare nation with nation, and then judge, if the unfortunate Malabar, without property, sub|jected to the tyrannical govern|ment of the Moguls; judge if a race of slaves, under the iron scepter of the despot of Siam;— judge if the Malais, ever turbu|lent, and fettered by their feudal laws; judge, I say, if these na|tions, though possessing the finest grounds in the world, can possi|bly ever make agriculture to flou|rish like the Chinese, governed as a family, and subjected to the laws of reason alone — I shall a|gain repeat, therefore, with con|fidence, that, in every country in the world, the fate of agriculture depends solely on the laws there established, on the manners of the people, and even on the preju|dices which derive their origin from those laws.

What industry have the inha|bitants of the earth displayed, from one extremity of the globe to the other, in rendering them|selves unhappy! Created to live in society, to cultivate the earth, and enjoy from their labour the infinite blessings of the great Creator, they had only to listen to the voice of nature who would have taught them happiness be|low: in place of which, they have strained their faculties in the invention of barbarous insti|tutions, and perplexing legisla|tions, which being ill adapted to the feelings of mankind, and dis|cordant with that law which is engraved in every man's breast, their establishment could only be eff••cted by force, deluging the world with blood; and which, once established, have continued to desolate the earth, checking population by the oppression of agriculture.

The STATE of AGRICULTURE in EUROPE.

WHAT an object for an attentive traveller, to ob|serve the state of agriculture a|mongst the various people who divide the globe! In Europe be|hold it at present flourishing, in a country which, during many preceding ages, was reduced to the necessity of begging subsistence amongst the neighbouring nati|ons, who possessed a happier cli|mate, and a greater extent of territory. During those ages of barbarism, their loss of liberty and right of property brought a|long with them the ruin of culti|vation; nor has she recovered those natural rights of mankind, and re-established the foundations of drooping agriculture, but through seas of blood, and out|rages shocking to humanity.

In AFRICA.

AFRICA, in general, whose regions, known to the an|cients, were considered as the granaries of the world, now pre|sent nothing to the view but grounds entirely neglected, or wretchedly cultivated by the la|bour of slaves.

In AMERICA.

SOUTH-AMERICA, covered with marshes, brambles, and woods, beholds her extensive tracks hardened even by the sweat of her labourers in chains. The northern regions of that quarter of the world, before the arrival of the Europeans, was inhabited by inconsiderable tribes of savages, miserable, and with|out culture; yet free, and, in consequence, less wretched per|haps than those nations who pre|tend to be civilized; but who, being farther removed from the laws of nature, by the privation of those rights which she bestow, make ineffectual efforts to pro|cure that happiness, which a good agriculture alone can produce.— Since the Europeans arrived, and began in earnest to cultivate the lands, they have, by their great diligence in agriculture, wonder|fully improved the climate as well as the soil; by continuing their attachment to agriculture, North-America will probably, in a few years, extend her commerce over the greatest part of the globe.

In ASIA.

THE vast continent of Asia offers to your consideration in one quarter, an immense un|cultivated region, peopled by a race of banditti, more intent on plunder than the cultivation of their grounds; in another, a great empire, formerly flourish|ing, and excellently laboured, now inhabited by the poor re|mains of a wretched people, pe|rishing with hunger from the neglect of agriculture, and shed|ding their blood, not for liberty, but for a change of tyrants — This charming fertile quarter of the world (the cradle of the hu|man race) now beholds her lands in slavery, her labourers in chains, subjected either to the blind des|potism of unfeeling tyrants, or the destructive yoke of the feudal system.

But turn your eyes to the east|ern extremity of the Asiatic con|tinent, inhabited by the Chinese, and there you will conceive a ra|vishing idea of the happiness the world might enjoy, were the laws of this empire the model of those of other countries. This great nation unites under the shade of agriculture, founded on liberty and reason, all the advantages

possessed by whatever nation, ci|vilized o•• savage. The blessing pronounced on man, at the mo|ment of his creation, seems not to have had its full effect, but in favour of this people, who have multiplied as the sands on the shore.

Princes, who rule over nati|ons! arbiters of their fate! view well this perspective; it is worthy your attention. Would you wish abundance to flourish in your dominions, would you favour po|pulation, and make your people happy; behold those innumera|ble multitudes which over spread the territories of China, who leave not a shred of ground un|cultivated; it is liberty, it is their undisturbed right of proper|ty that has established a cultivati+on so flour••sh••ng, under the aus+pices of which this people have increased as the grains which cover their fi••lds.

Does the glory of being the most p••werful, the richest, and the happiest of sovereigns touch your ambition, turn your eyes towards Pekin, and behold the most powerful of mortal beings seated on the throne of reason:— he does not command, he in|structs; — his words are not de|crees, they are the maxims of justice and wisdom; — his people obey him, because his orders are dictated by equity alone.

He is the most powerful of men, reigning over the hearts of the most numerous society in the world, who constitute his family. — He is the richest of sovereigns, drawing from an extent of terri|tory six hundred leagues square, cultivated even to the summits of the mountains, the tenth of those abundant harvests it incessantly produces: this he considers as the wealth of his children, and he husbands it with care.—To sum up all, he is the happiest of mo|narchs, tasting every d••y the in|expressible pleasure of giving hap|piness to millions, and alone en|joying, undivided, that satisfac|tion which his subjects share— his children! all to him equally dear; all living like brothers, in freedom and abundance, under hi•• protection.

He is called the son of Tien, as the true and most perfect image of heaven, whose benevolence he imitates; and his grateful people adore him as a God, because his conduct is worthy of a man.

THE END.

Notes

• * 1.1

  See Page 28.
• † 1.2

  Ninety one pounds eight ounces French make one hundred pounds English.