for that purpose; and they have accordingly, in partnership with their fons (to whole activity, genius, and judgement, it must be attributed, that this great work was begun and finished in the courfe of three winter months), erected; at a convenient distance and contiguous to the same stream, at Smethwick, a great and complete manufactory and foundery, into which a branch from the Birmingham canal enters; and thereby the coals, pig-iron, bricks, fand, &c. are brought, and their engines, or other heavy goods, are tranfported in boats to every part of the kingdom, there being a wet dock within their walls for four boats to lie.

The plan of this work being well digefted and fettled previous to laying the firft ftone, the whole is thereby rendered more complete than fuch works as generally arife gradu. ally from disjointed ideas. And, from the great experience of the proprietors, they have applied the power of steam to the boring of cylenders, pumps, &c.; to drilling, to turning, to blowing their melting furnaces, and whatever tends to abridge human labour, and obtain accuracy; for, by the fuperiority of all their tools, they are enabled to attain expedition and perfection in a higher degree than heretofore.

In a national view, Mr. Boulton's undertakings are highly valuable and important. By collecting around him artifts of various defcriptions, rival talents have been called forth, and by fucceffive competition have been multiplied to an extent highly beneficial to the public. A barren heath has been covered with plenty and population; and thefe works, which in their infancy were little

known and attended to, now cover feveral acres, give employment to more than 600 perfons, and are said to be the firft of their kind in Europe.

Every precaution has been always taken, and in the moft judicious manner, by the proprietors, to diminifh the poor's levies, and keep their numerous workmen from becoming troublesome to the parish, &c. One great inftance of which, is a long-established society for the fick and fame, &c. for the better management of which they are printed on a large sheet;

"Rules for conducting the Infurance Society, belonging to the Solo Manufactory."

Thefe confift of 25 articles: fome of which are these :

"1. That every perfon employed in the Soho manufactory fhall be a member of this fociety, who can earn from 2s. 6d. per week, or upwards.

« II. Each member shall pay to the treafure-box, agreeable to the following table, which is divided into eight parts; viz. the member who is fet down at 2s. 6d. per week fall pay d per week; 5s. 1d.; and fo on, in like proportion, to 20s. 4d.; and none to exceed that fum.

"VI. If any member is fick, lame, and incapable of work, he fhall receive, after three days notice to the committee, as follows, during his illness, viz. if he pays in the box, for 2s. 6d. he fhall receive 2s. per week; and for 5s. 4s.; and fo on in like proportion;" &c.

The rules of this manufactory have certainly been productive of the moft laudable and falutary effects.

And

And, befides the great attention to cleanliness and wholefome air, &c. this manufactory has always been diftinguifhed for its order and good behaviour, and particularly during the great riots at Birmingham.

No expenfe has been fpared to render these works uniform and handsome in architecture, as well as neat and commodious. The fame liberal spirit and tafte has the great and worthy proprietor gradually exercifed in the adjoining gardens, groves, and pleasure-grounds, which, at the fame time that they form an agreeable feparation from his own refidence, render Soho a much admired scene of picturesque beauty. Wandering through thefe fecluded walks, or on the banks of the feveral fine lakes and waterfalls which adorn them, we may here enjoy the fweets of folitude and retirement, as if far diftant from the bufy hum of men.

In feenes like these the ftudious and philofophic mind occafionally finds a moft agreeable and falutary afylum.

That the poet has likewife felt their influence appears by the following tribute to the memory of a departed friend.

At the termination of the walk beyond the cottage, in the fecluded grove, where nothing intrudes upon the eye but the new church at Birmingham, where Dr. Small was buried, is erected a tribute to his memory, on which are the following elegant lines, by Dr. Darwin:

" M. S. GULIELMI SMALL, M. D. QUI OB. FEB. XXV.

M.DCC.LXXV.

This is one of the oldest groves between the house and manufactory. Let us now turn our attention to the more recent improvements on the oppofite fide; where, in the extenfive new plantations, we fee the most extraordinary effects produced by irrigation, with the pow erful aid of the fteam-engine, which, when at liberty from its other la bours, forces up water by pipes to the fummit of thele grounds; fo that, in the dryeft feafon, when all other vegetation was perifhing for want of rain and water, thefe plantations were amply fupplied, and now as amply reward the igenious contriver by their flourishing foliage. Here alfo we fee the New Hydraulie Ram, which is a telf-moving water-work applicable to agricultural purposes, and, conftructed with great ingenuity and fimplicity,

The houfe, which was before much too fmall for the hofpitable parpofes of its generous owner, has DJ 4 been

3༽

the climate of Ireland differ much from that of England. But the bogs and moraffes, which conftitute the peculiar characteristic of the country, occafion extraordinary moif ture and dampnefs of the atmof phere. Ireland may be justly called, in the words of Tacitus, terra paludibus fœda. I may even carry on the parallel with the defcription which that admirable writer proceeds in giving of ancient Germany, Its lands are almost entirely paftarage, and of course afford fuftenance to prodigious flocks and herds. The perennial greennefs of the country is therefore, on these two accounts, justly proverbial. But in the article of timber, there is an uncommon deficiency. I have heard it eftimated, and I think with fome appearance of truth, that there is as much wood in our fingle county of Kent, as in the whole kingdom of Ireland. When I add to thefe phyfical peculiarities, that the bays and harbours of Ireland are uncommonly picturefque, as well as commodious; that the Shannon is a moft noble river; that the lakes of Killarney are the most enchanting in the world; and that Dublin, in population, magnitude, and the fplendour of its public edifices, is the fecond city in his majesty's dominions; you know all that is neceflary to learn, or perhaps that is worth knowing, of the general appearance of the country.

Leaving, therefore, the detailed defcription of thefe particulars to thofe whofe difpofitions or leifure it may fuit with to make them, I proceed to the more important talk of inquiring into the character of the Irish people. I am fenfible, however, that a difcuffion of this fort is attended with great difficulties. I

truft you will, therefore, give me credit for entering upon it with becoming diffidence. He who flatters himfelf that the character either of an individual, or of a nation, may afford an uniformity of virtuous and honourable qualities, without the alloy of any faults or defects, will find himself in the refult greatly difappointed. To fuch a man therefore I do not addrefs myself. The web of our life (as Shakespeare fomewhere remarks) is of mingled yarn, good and ill together. Our virtues would be too proud, if they were not counterbalanced by our vices; and our vices would be intolerable, if they were not chaftifed by our virtues,'

The characters, then, both of individuals and of nations, are alike chequered with beauties and deformities, with virtues and with vices, If we inquire into the caufes from which thefe peculiarities flow, we thall find that it neceffarily must be fo. The infirmity of human nature is a plea broad enough to palliate almost the greatest defects. But philofophers, when inquiring into the caufes of national characters, have pushed their researches ftill farther. Though the most accomplifhed politicians, both of ancient and modern times, have been divided in opinion with respect to thefe caufes; yet they all agree that the effects are neceflary, invariable, and unalterable. Phyfical caufes and moral ones have been alternately cried up. Mankind flood long contented with the authorities of Ariftotle and his difciple Montefquien, who laid great firefs upon the for iner; but that opinion has been at length arraigned by the cool feepticilm of Hume. That philofopher doubts altogether of the influence

of

of phyfical causes.* It is far from my intention to declare myself the advocate of either party, or to decide dogmatically on their refpective merits. I fhould be happy were I able to reconcile them. It is a miffortune to mankind, when the great oracles of human wisdom contradict each other. Perhaps, however, in this cafe, as in most others, truth will be found in the medium, equally apart from both the extremes; and in choofing this courfe I am fupported by confiderable authori

ties.

The phyfical qualities of climate, air, and food, may certainly produce fome effects on the national character; but I am inclined to confider them as very inconfiderable. By working infenfibly on the tone and habit of the body, thefe peculiarities may perhaps influence in a fmall degree the temper and the paffions.' But whoever confiders that the most oppofite and inconfiftent characters are often to be found under the fame climate, and that, on the other hand, an uniformity of difpofition and manners is fometimes feen in the most oppofite extremes of heat and cold, will I truft, be inclined to afcribe only a trifling effect to phyfical caufes in producing national characters.-It is, then, to moral caufes that we must principal ly refort, in accounting for the manners of a nation. These are enumerated by Hume to be the nature of the government; the revolutions of public affairs; the religion, the laws, the plenty or penury in which the people live; the fituation of

the country with refpect to its neighbours; and fuch like particulars. These are the circumftances which move the thoughts and the paffions of men.

Hence their fentiments and their habits are formed; and from hence their actions proceed. It is, therefore, from these fources that the general fpirit of every civilized nation must principally tak its rife.

In order to give you a distinct idea of this national character in the fifter kingdom, it will be necellary to apprize you of a diftinction of ranks unknown in England. It is not merely that ftrong line of demarcation which in all countries divides the rich from the poor: it is fomething more. The emigrations from Great Britain to Ireland have given rife to two claffes of people in it, the colonists with their defcendants, and the native Irish, the original inhabitants of the country. To the firft of thefe ranks is confined all the civil power of the state, both fupreme and fubordinate; all the property in it both landed and commercial; and all the education and refinement. It is not neceffary that I fhould point out to you, how much the other clafs of the people muft be feparated from this firft, when deprived of all thefe advantages. But the government, the established religion, and the laws, have added weight and force to this already formidable barrier. Referving the general difcuffion of thele particulars to a future opportunity, I fhall content myself with remarking, that, notwithstanding thefe diftinctions

between