scarcely any man goes thither without some degree of partiality, or comes back without being tainted with some little matter, at least, of self-interest. Yet, it was desirable to make an attempt, at least, towards settling the question: "Whether the Atlantic, or the Western, Countries were the best for English Farmers to settle in." Therefore, when Mr. Hulme proposed to make a Western Tour, I was very {262} much pleased, seeing that, of all the men I knew, he was the most likely to bring us back an impartial account of what he should see. His great knowledge of farming as well as of manufacturing affairs; his capacity of estimating local advantages and disadvantages; the natural turn of his mind for discovering the means of applying to the use of man all that is furnished by the earth, the air, and water; the patience and perseverance with which he pursues all his inquiries; the urbanity of his manners, which opens to him all the sources of information; his inflexible adherence to truth: all these marked him out as the man on whom the public might safely rely.

I, therefore, give his Journal, made during his tour. He offers no opinion as to the question above stated. That I shall do; and when the reader has gone through the Journal he will find my opinions as to that question, which opinions I have stated in a Letter addressed to Mr. Birkbeck.

The American reader will perceive, that this Letter is intended principally for the perusal of Englishmen; and, therefore, he must not be surprised if he finds a little bickering in a group so much of a family cast.

Wm. COBBETT

North Hempstead,
10th December, 1818.

{263} INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNAL

Philadelphia, 30th Sept. 1818.

It seems necessary, by way of Introduction to the following Journal, to say some little matter respecting the author of it, and also respecting his motives for wishing it to be published.

As to the first, I am an Englishman by birth and parentage; and am of the county of Lancaster. I was bred and brought up at farming work, and became an apprentice to the business of Bleacher, at the age of 14 years. My own industry made me a master-bleacher, in which state I lived many years at Great Lever, near Bolton, where I employed about 140 men, women, and children, and had generally about 40 apprentices. By this business, pursued with incessant application, I had acquired, several years ago, property to an amount sufficient to satisfy any man of moderate desires.

But, along with my money my children had come and had gone on increasing to the number of nine. New duties now arose, and demanded my best attention. It was not sufficient that I was likely to have a decent fortune for each child. I was bound to provide, if possible, against my children being stripped of what I had earned for them. I, therefore, looked seriously at the situation of England; and, I saw, that the incomes of my children were all pawned (as my friend Cobbett1 truly calls it) to pay the Debts of the Borough, or seat, owners. I saw that, of whatever I might be able to {264} give to my children, as well as of what they might be able to earn, more than one half would be taken away to feed pensioned Lords and Ladies, Soldiers to shoot at us, Parsons to persecute us, and Fundholders, who had lent their money to be applied to purposes of enslaving us. This view of the matter was sufficient to induce the father of nine children to think of the means of rescuing them from the consequences, which common sense taught him to apprehend. But, there were other considerations, which operated with me in producing my emigration to America.

In the year 1811 and 1812 the part of the country, in which I lived, was placed under a new sort of law; or, in other words, it was placed out of the protection of the old law of the land.2 Men were seized, dragged to prison, treated like convicts, many transported and put to death, without having committed any thing, which the law of the land deems a crime. It was then that the infamous Spy-System was again set to work in Lancashire, in which horrid system Fletcher of Bolton was one of the principal actors, or, rather, organizers and promoters. At this time I endeavoured to detect the machinations of these dealers in human blood; and, I narrowly escaped being sacrificed myself on the testimony of two men, who had their pardon offered them on condition of their swearing against me. The men refused, and were transported, leaving wives and children to starve.

Upon this occasion, my friend Doctor Taylor, most humanely, and with his usual zeal and talent, laboured to counteract the works of Fletcher and his associates. The Doctor published a pamphlet on the subject, in 1812, which every Englishman should read. I, as far as I was able, co-operated with him. We went to London, laid the real facts before several members of the two houses of Parliament; and, in some degree, checked the progress of the dealers in blood. I had an interview with Lord Holland, and told him, that, if he would pledge himself to cause the secret-service money to be kept in London, I would pledge myself for the keeping of the peace in Lancashire. In {265} short, it was necessary, in order to support the tyranny of the seat-sellers, that terror should prevail in the populous districts. Blood was wanted to flow; and money was given to spies to tempt men into what the new law had made crimes.

From this time I resolved not to leave my children in such a state of things, unless I should be taken off very suddenly. I saw no hope of obtaining a Reform of the Parliament, without which it was clear to me, that the people of England must continue to work solely for the benefit of the great insolent families, whom I hated for their injustice and rapacity, and despised for their meanness and ignorance. I saw, in them, a mass of debauched and worthless beings, having at their command an army to compel the people to surrender to them the fruits of their industry; and in addition, a body existing under the garb of religion, almost as despicable in point of character, and still more malignant.

I could not have died in peace, leaving my children the slaves of such a set of beings; and I could not live in peace, knowing, that at any hour, I might die and so leave my family. Therefore I resolved, like the Lark in the fable, to remove my brood, which was still more numerous than that of the Lark. While the war was going on between England and America, I could not come to this country. Besides, I had great affairs to arrange. In 1816, having made my preparations, I set off, not with my family; for that I did not think a prudent step. It was necessary for me to see what America really was. I therefore, came for that purpose.

I was well pleased with America, over a considerable part of which I travelled. I saw an absence of human misery. I saw a government taking away a very small portion of men's earnings. I saw ease and happiness