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power, that of making an entail! But men will always be mending; and when a lawgiver ventures to tamper with the laws of nature, he hazards much mischief. We have a pregnant instance above, of an attempt to mend the laws of God in many abfurd regulations for the poor; and that the law authorifing entails is another inftance of the fame kind, will be evident from what follows.

The mischievous effects of English entails were foon difcovered: they occafioned fuch injuftice and oppreffion, that even the judges ventured to relieve the nation from them, by an artificial form, termed fine and recovery. And yet, though no moderate man would defire more power over his eftate than he has by common law, the legiflature of Scotland enabled every land-proprietor to fetter his eftate for ever; to tyrannize over his heirs; and to reduce their property to a fhadow, by prohibiting them to alien, and by prohibiting them to contract debt were it even to redeem them from death or flavery. Thus many a man, fonder of his eftate than of his wife and children, grudges the ufe of it to his natural heirs, reducing them to

the

the state of mere liferenters. Behold the confequences. A number of noblemen and gentlemen among us, lie in wait for every parcel of land that comes to market. Intent upon aggrandizing their family, or rather their eftate which is the favourite object, they fecure every purchase by an entail; and the fame courfe will be followed, till no land be left to be purchased. Thus every entailed eftate in Scotland becomes in effect a mortmain, admitting additions without end, but abfolutely barring alienation; and if the legislature interpofe not, the period is not distant, when all the land in Scotland will be locked up by entails, and withdrawn from com

merce.

The purpose of the prefent effay, is to fet before our legislature, coolly and impartially, the deftructive effects of a Scotch entail. I am not fo fanguine as to hope, that men, who convert means into an end and avariciously covet land for its own fake, will be prevailed upon to regard, either the intereft of their country or of their posterity but I would gladly hope, that the legislature may be roufed to give at

tention

tention to a national object of no flight importance.

I begin with effects of a private or domestic nature. To the poffeffor, an entail is a constant source of difcontent, by fubverting that liberty and independence, which all men covet with refpect to their goods as well as their perfons. What can be more vexatious to a proprietor of a great land-eftate, than to be barred from the most laudable acts, fuitable provifions for example to a wife or children? not to mention numberlefs acts of benevolence, that endear individuals to each other, and fweeten fociety. A great proportion of the land in Scotland is in fuch a state, that by laying out a thousand pounds or fo, an intelligent proprietor may add a hundred pounds yearly to his rent-roll. But an entail effectually bars that improvement: it affords the proprietor no credit ; and fuppofing him to have the command of money independent of the eftate, he will be ill-fated if he have not means to employ it more profitably for his own interest. An entail, at the fame time, is no better than a trap for an improvident poffeffor: to avoid altogether the contracting

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debt,

debt, is impracticable; and if a young man be guided more by pleafure than by prudence, which commonly is the cafe of young men ; a vigilant and rapacious substitute, taking advantage of a forfeiting claufe, turns him out of poffeffion, and delivers him over to want and mifery.

I beg indulgence for introducing a cafe, which though particular, may frequently happen. A gentleman, who has a familyfeat finely fituated, but in the state of nature, is tempted to lay out great fums upon improvements and embellishments, having a numerous iffue to benefit by his operations. They all fail; and a stranger, perhaps his enemy, becomes the heir of entail. Fond however of his darling feat, he is willing to preferve all entire, upon procuring to his heirs a reasonable fum for his improvements; which is refufed. Averfe to lay wafte the work of his own. hands, he reftricts his demand to the real value of the growing timber-All in vain. Provoked at the obftinacy of the heir of entail, he cuts down every tree, difmantles the place; and with a fad heart abandons his beloved habitation. In a bare country 3 K

VOL. IV.

like

like Scotland, is it not cruel to deter proprietors by an entail, from improving their land and embellifhing their familyfeats? Is it not still more cruel, to force a proprietor, who has no heir of his own blood, to lay all wafte, inftead of leaving behind him a monument of his tafte and industry?

But an entail is productive of confequences ftill more difmal, even with refpect to heirs. A young man upon whom the family-eftate is entailed without any power referved to the father, is not commonly obfequious to advice, nor patiently submissive to the fatigues of education; he abandons himself to pleafure, and indulges his paffions without control. In one word, there is no fituation more fubverfive of morals, than that of a young man, bred up from infancy in the certainty of inheriting an opulent fortune.

The condition of the other children, daughters especially, is commonly deplorable. The proprietor of a large entailed eftate, leaves at his death children who have acquired a tafte for fumptuous living. The fons drop off one by one, and a number of daughters remain, with a fcanty

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