lukewarmness and enthusiasm, let me be considered a fanatic, if I declare it still possesses charms for religious retirement, where man can study selfknowledge, learn how to live, and, still a more important lesson, how to die. But men like to run from themselves, and in the bustle of business, or roaming from object to object, strive to forget themselves, and all their duties. As a residence, it contains every requisite for a genteel family; but this, like most of our mansions, seems built for any other proprietor but the real one : the domestics of our nobility and gentry seem to be the only rightful owners and proprietors: they enjoy the grounds and houses of their masters without interruption or care: possession without enjoyment adds nothing to real happiness- the bountiful and merciful Author of nature, who diversifies the face of the earth with every luxury and beauty, makes him the rightful possessor who has taste to relish them: the mere reference to meum et tuum, affords no more interest than a doll or a toy to a child. Nothing in nature can be finer, than the view you enjoy from this place on a summer's evening: when the bay is filled with fishing-boats, taking their departure for their several destinations, the appearance now and then of a large sail in the offing forms an agreeable contrast to the dark brown two sail fishing-boats, with here and there a smack that crowd the scene. This view, so tranquil and serene, of a calm, is filled with most fearful and appalling dangers when agitated by a storm. The sandy beach which stretches with a plane three miles in extent to wards Penzance, of a fine summer's evening, is covered with carriages, equestrians, and pedestrians, inhaling the cooling breezes of the evening. The mansion which crowns the Mount, like the inaccessible position of the nest of an eagle on the top of a rock, seems almost to deny the approach of the visitor it has a chapel with a tower, and a very pretty ring of eight bells. The southern wall of the building fearfully hangs over a large granite rock; beneath is a sally port, the puzzle of local antiquaries: from the circumstance of the building having been at different times a convent and a garrison, accounts for the combination of its martial and religious architecture. From the chapel, through a very small winding stairs, you ascend to the leads of the tower, which gives you a com, Looks tow'rd Namancos and Bayona's Fearful as it stands hanging over a tremendous precipice, adventurers are found to sit in it; and ladies who wish to rule their lords will sometimes hazard a sitting. It is placed near the turret of the tower, and consists of two arms projecting in a perpendicular position out of the wall, composed of the same gra nite with which the tower is built; the feet of the chair rest on corbels: there is a pedestal likewise projecting from the wall, on which those who chuse to risk their necks place their feet. This chair, I am apt to think, formed the nich where formerly stood the statue of St. Michael, displaced probably by the iconoclast puritans, who displayed their vengeance on the stony records of our ancient saints and kings: the statue itself was no other than "The great vision of the guarded Mount, looking toward Namancos," &c. of the poet. It is a fact, that the Mount was besieged and taken by the Cromwellians in the great Rebellion. Mount's Bay is a favoured spot, hewn out of surrounding barrenness, to prove what industry can do with a sterile soil, when excited by a proper stimulus. The ocean is no less a source of wealth to the agriculturist than to the fisherman, but it is so in reality as well as in commulation success in fisheries invites the speculator to carry his superfluous fish to foreign markets, where be har. ters or sells them, for commodities that are marketable at home: this enables him to rear his villa, and lay out his gardens and plantations, and to enjoy his snug box in the vicinity where he earned his wealth: this has much oroa. mented the neighbourhood of Penzance, and added grace and beauty to the surrounding scenery. The fisheries have failed much of late years; the sanguine seem to hope, as they began to disappear about the beginning of the war, that their disappearance is owing to so much firing of cannon in the channel; others fear it is some other cause, with which they are unacquainted, which forbids them to hope a return of their old occupation of late years, ling has totally quitted the Scilly Islands; which has deprived our markets of that fish in a dried state, and the inhabitants of those islands of the means of support; which, together with the storms of last year, has reduced them to poverty.-On the eastern side of the bay is a villa of a castellated form, built by Mr. John Stackhouse, well known in these parts as a polite scholar and an excellent magistrate. About ten miles to the east of this stands Helston, a borough town, very busily engaged in the election of two representatives to serve in Parliament; it is a neat place, and has a coinage for tin.-Six miles to the south of this, within the Lizard Point, lies Trelowarren, the ancient seat of the Vyvyans: the present head of the family wisely prefers the elegance of hospitable and independent retirement, to the servile attendance on a court, or the sinok'y bustle of a city: here remains something like old British hospitality, respectful domestics, and good old British cheer. The house built according to the Gothic style prevailing about three centuries ago; the windows square and spacious, with stone mullions and hexagonal panes, are worthy of the spacious rooms they light; the master, Solutus omni fœnore Forum vital, et superba civium Potentiorum limina. He sullies not the memory of his ancestors by unnecessary absence from home but engaged in planting and improving his grounds, and farming a large estate, which the poverty of the times has induced him rather to enlarge than diminish, for the employment of the poor: the satisfaction of the work-people around proves that he has neither mistaken nor forgotten his duty; and he is amply repaid by the tribute such conduct pays into its ⚫wn bosom. There were a great number of people employed in repairing the house, and making additions to it. About Trelowarren are several large encampments, possibly Roman, and a Roman catacomb, into which you can easily descend, and view the ashes of our former masters. On your road from Helston to Falmouth, you pass a fine Tolmin, a druidical remain: the artificial position in which it is placed, evinces the art and mechanical power which put it there to be of no common or ordinary description; it is 97 feet in circumference, and 60 across the middle, weighing it is supposed no less than 750 tons of stone; it is a granite pebble, standing on two pillars sufficiently separated for a person to pass between them. It is commonly called Constantine Maine Rock. In point of situation next to Penzance is Falmouth, with its land-locked harbour, to attract the attention of The Fal's importance the traveller. is denoted by the two towns, and three boroughs, that equally pay tribute to her for the commercial wealth she pours into them: the boroughs are, Truro, Penryn, and St. Mawes, equally immaculate in providing legislators for the great council of the nation, pay equal attention to the professions of democrats turned aristocrats, and aristocrats turned democrats, who in vowing eternal obligation and devotion to the interests of their constituents, laugh at the people, who swallow their nonsense. Falmouth and Flushing lie opposite to each other on the branch of the river that comes down from Penryn. The people of Falmouth are strenuous in asserting the pretensions of their barbour to be made a naval depot and a dock; and when its space, with its fine anchorage, and land-locked position, is considered, it is wonderful Government has not given it some attention: here the packets harbour, and our transports and West India fleets rendezvous in war time, to have a quick run down the channel, and to clear Scilly before the wind varies, which a longer course might prevent; and which so often retards our navies down the channel; which would not be the case if they started from this port. The country around Falmouth is very fine. Trefusis Point divides the two arms of the tide which wash Truro and Penryn: a little within this point stands the mansion of that name, the property of Lord Clinton. At the head of that arm of the sea on which Falmouth and Flushing are situate, is Penryn, rendered in days of yore famous for its collegiate church of Glasenith, founded by Walter Bronecomb, in 1270, to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thomas of Canterbury. It consisted of a provost, a sacrist, eleven prebendaries, seven vicars, and six choristers: Catholic zeal and interest have long since been absorbed in the consistorial indolence of a chapter: the Bishop of Exeter and the chapter enjoy now the lucra : tive domains of the Provost of Glasenith and chapels numerous, and meeting-houses many, dedicated to St. Wesley, St. Whitfield, St. Socinus, and St. Fox of quaking memory, abound in the greatest luxuriance in the western parts of Cornwall. We found Penryn in a flame of electioneering contest: abounding with every excess, drunkenness, abuse, and fighting: a scene teeming with so many evils; what reasonable man, who has the least respect for morality, order, or decency, cau wish to see oftener repeated than every seven years? a more frequent return of our elections would only create a more fre quent repetition of these excesses: which would demoralize the people, and sow interminable quarrels among the superior ranks of society, and plunge this country from the pinnacle of happiness in which it is at present placed, into the lowest abyss of national misery. Your's, &c. VIATOR. ERRATUM in our Number for November last, page 419, col. 2, lines 31, 46, and 62, for Trengore, read Trengove. For the EUROPEAN MAGAZINE. An Essay on the ADVANTAGES or DisADVANTAGES of MACHINERY in general, as applied to MANUFACTURES; and that of the THRASHING MACHINE particularly in HUSBANDRY. (Continued from page 21.) I to which we have already alluded, NDEPENDENT of those advantages there are some others which we may perhaps notice more properly here than in any other place: and still putting the subject upon the broad basis of general good, as being of much more Importance than any minor considerations, we will point out some effects which the adoption of machinery has produced, and thus endeavour to place this argument in a more forcible point of view. And here it is not our intention to dwell upon the vast accession of revenue which has been the result of the improvements in our manufactures, or on the great increase of na. tional wealth which has been produced by them these need only to be hinted at to carry conviction with them. Our object is rather to allude to some colla teral benefits which have risen from the adoption of machinery, prior to our endeavouring to obviate such objections as are urged against its particular application. And, in the first place, the price of every article has been so considerably lowered by the facilities of production afforded to the cotton and woollen manufactures, and their extension to linen, silk, and hosiery, that the wearer has been able to purchase them at so low a rate, that the comforts attendant upon their possession have been very con siderably extended. Those articles of clothing which were formerly confined to the opulent, are now within the reach of the poorer classes of the community; and however ludicrous it may seem to our cotemporaries, that in the reign of Henry the VIIIth a penalty should be incurred by such as were below the degree of gentlemen who wore frills and ruffles to their shirts, yet regarding it in a national poist of view, it should undoubtedly be a source of congratulation, that together with the abolishment of vassal servi tude have ceased such restrictions upon dress; and that this has not only been effected by the repeal of those penalties which attached to the adoption of its ornamental parts, but by the more effectual mode of cheapening the price of its necessary constituents. Decency in the labouring classes is a cardinal virtue; and by putting it in their power to procure its essential requisites, we exalt the character, and meliorate the condition, of a very large proportion of the community. Another great benefit which has been the result of the introduction of machinery is, that the immense surplus of capital which it has thrown into the hands of the manufacturer, and which he may not have had occasion to continue employed as before, has been turned to the cultivation and improvement of land: and though this may not at first sight appear to be of any great importance in the scale, yet we rest assured that, from the opportunities of observation which many of our readers have had, they will well know what importance ought to be affixed to this consideration. We here merely allude to the fact, as in our concluding observations on the thrashing machine, we may have to speak more particularly of the advancement of agriculture considered as a science. A third and very material circumstance is, that by the perfection to which the woollen manufactures have been brought, and the consequent increase of demand that has been created for them, a very evident result has followed. The improvements of the articles of clothing, and the increase of their supply, are connected very closely with the agricultural interests of the country. Great as may be the benefit which arises from the perfection of the produce in any particular departments of commercial speculation, this is very much increased, when, by its operation, it extends itself to those that are more or less connected with it. The greater the consumption of cloth, the greater, necessarily, must be the consumption of, and demand for, wool. And the same wheel which by its rapid evolutions is adding to the capital of the manufacturer, is benefitting, and giving encouragement to, the farmer, and, through the instrumentality of both, increasing the public revenue of the state. Nor let it be forgotten, however trivial it may be considered (though things are in reality only trifling according to their application, and here it is of consequence), that the price of meat is very considerably lowered by the necessity that is created for wool to afford the raw material for our manufactures. Every man must receive a fair equivalent for the commodities he offers. If the grazier is obliged to throw away the covering of the carcase as useless, its former value must be added to the meat which the poor are to consume; but if the value of that covering be raised, those who purchase the meat will be greatly the gainers. The less the feeder procures for the one, the more will he naturally expect for the other; and the greater the demand for the former, the less must be the price of the latter. And surely we need not fear that of those who differ in opinion from us on the main point at issue between us, whose anxiety for the labouring classes has led them to view the subject through what we cannot but consider a false medium, will deny that precisely in such a ratio as food is lowered in price. the misery of the starving will be alleviated, and their own objections will be obviated. Having thus rapidly glanced at some general principles which appeared to be material considerations, and having alluded to a few of the collateral benefits arising from the use of machinery, we Europ. Mag. Vol. LXXIV. Aug. 1818. will now endeavour, in as brief a manner as possible, to prove that its immediate effect even upon the labouring classes has not been so prejudicial as is alledged. And here, perhaps, we may be assailed with the apparently overwhelming assertion, “that the result of the abridgment of labour must be self-evident; and that the abridgment of labour is the constant result, and only design, of the use of machinery is equally demonstrable." But however conclusive this may appear to many, we consider that the inference yet remains to be proved. We may very likely be told, that we need only go to any manufacturing town in the kingdom, and that this will be sufficient. It is very true, that there are thousands at present out of employ; but it is equally true, that the introduction of the mechanical contrivances which have been adopted has not been the cause of it. The manufacturer can at certain times find no market for his produce, his capital is therefore unemployed: and had there never been a single machine invented, the workman would be in the same, or rather in a much worse condition, than he is at present. If it be a fact, that the capitalist can bring his manufacture to perfection from the raw material at a much less expense than he formerly could have done, and that, with so little drain upon his resources, he does not find an inducement sufficient to lead him to employ even those cheaper means, what but the most disinterested generosity, and the most philanthropical benevolence, could possibly lead him to diminish his property by spending it in a manner that would never repay him? Hence present distress affords no tenable argument against that side of the question we are endeavouring to maintain. But we will even venture to go farther, and will not hesitate to affirm, that the condition of the poor has been materiafly alleviated by the adoption of those measures which have been the cause of their complaints. At a time when the immediate effects of the performance of work by fewer hands were not so much felt as at present, and when those whose services were no longer needed in one brauca of employment were gladly accepted in another (and we hope we are not too sanguine in anticipating our rapidly returning again to that desirable state' R the rendering the application of the work man less laborious than before was conferring a very material benefit on him. Much as employment is to be desired, slavery is always, in a moral and political point of view, to be reprehended; and the particular nature of the occupations of some men, amounts almost to this state. Who that shares in common the feelings of humanity, would wish to see a fellow creature, and a fellow Briton, toiling at the drudgery which the beast performs? Before the ox was yoked to the plough, man bore the fatigue which is now assigned to the brute that he commands; and in proportion as we can render the physical energies of man, when employed without any reference to the powers of mind, less necessary, do we exalt him towards that state of intellectual enjoyment, which raises him so far above every other part of the creation and we do not hesitate to say, that the introduction of such machinery as has tended to supersede the toil of the labourer, has added very materially to his comfort, by preventing, in many instances, that injury to his health which he was before exposed to, and thus rendering him till a later period of life able to continue his exertions. : But a view of the subject which we would more particularly press upon the objector is, that though we are willing to grant that the immediate and striking effect of the introduction of machinery is the throwing of many out of employ (and the same argument might be urged with equal force against our returning to a state of peace, because thousands of soldiers and sailors will be discharged), yet its ultimate and more remote effect is very different. If six men can, by any new invention, perform the work of twenty, the four teen are immediately dismissed; but if it can be shewn, that the necessity for work, and the demand for labour, are by any means increased in an equal or greater ratio that its diminution is effected, the situation of the labourer will be as good as it was before, except ing any temporary inconvenience which may ensue, which is scarcely worth alluding to. And we think that in the former part of these remarks we have demonstrated, that the increase of produce has been necessarily greatly extended, and its consumption vastly increased, by the use of machinery. If in a national point of view the preference to our manufactures has been most decidedly marked; if that preference still continue even after that originality of invention which in the first instance secured it has ceased to operate; if our long established repu tation has been by experience proved to have been well founded; if the fabric of the different articles has been considerably improved; if their consumption has been much augmented; and if. by the low price at which they are offered, thousands are enabled to procure them who must otherwise have been destitute of them; all these causes have been separately and collectively operating to demand a proportionate increase in the number of hands, and have been infinitely more than compensating for those earlier inconve niences which may have been the result of having recourse to those resources which have so amply recom pensed us. Nor let it be forgotten, that it is only by the use of machinery that many articles can be brought to that perfection which is necessary to insure their consumption. This it is which, in many instances, has been the means of converting an otherwise useless raw material into a valuable and serviceable fabric: and the greater the variety and the larger the quantity of the goods that are carried to the mar ket, the more labour will there be required in order to satisfy their de mand. And if the labourer who is receiving his daily wages can, by the assistance of such aids as from their nature are requiring neither rest from their employment, food to satisfy their hunger, nor rewards for their diligence, produce such commodities as are calcu lated to please their purchasers, which otherwise never could have been offered to their notice, the adoption of such aids by the application of machinery is materially benefiting in the very respect, and that identical class, whom it is alledged it injures. And in addition to this, it is to be recollected, that not only does the use of ma chinery produce what must have been otherwise unknown, but that by its so materially raising the value and adding to the price of what had be fore been manufactured by increasing its fineness, that a much greater profit is affixed to the article, and the strongest of all inducements for its |