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THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

During the course of the last century, taking one year withanother, grain was dearer in both parts of the united kingdomthan during that of the present. This is a matter of factwhich cannot now admit of any reasonable doubt; and theproof of it is, if possible, still more decisive with regard toScotland than with regard to England. It is in Scotland supported by the evidence of the public fiars, annual valua-tions made upon oath, according to the actual state of themarkets, of all the different sorts of grain in every differentcounty of Scotland . If such direct proof could require anycollateral evidence to confirm it, I would observe that thishas likewise been the case in France , and probably in mostother parts of Europe. With regard to France there is theclearest proof. But though it. is certain that in both partsof the united kingdom grain was somewhat dearer in the lastcentury than in the present, it is equally certain that labourwas much cheaper. If the labouring poor, therefore, couldbring up their families then, they must be much more at theirease now. In the last century, the most usual day-wages ofcommon labour through the greater part of Scotland weresix-pence in summer, and five-pence in winter. Three shil-lings a week, the same price very nearly, still continues tobe paid in some parts of the Highlands and Western Islands .Through the greater part of the low country the most usualwages of common labour are now eightpence a day; ten-pence, sometimes a shilling about Edinburgh , in the coun-ties which border upon England, probably on account ofthat neighbourhood, and in a few other places where therehas lately been a considerable rise in the demand for labour,about Glasgow , Carron, Ayrshire, &c. In England the im-provements of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, be-gan much earlier than in Scotland . The demand for labour,and consequently its price, must necessarily have increasedwith those improvements. In tire last century, accordingly,as well as in the present, the wages of labour were higher inEngland than in Scotland . They have risen too consider-ably since that time, though on account of the greater varietyof wages paid there in different places, it is more difficult toascertain how much. In 1614, the pay of a f oot soldier wasthe same as in the present times, eight-pence a day. Whenit was first established, it would naturally be regulated bythe usual wages of common labourers, the rank of people fromwhich foot soldiers are commonly drawn. Lord Chief Jus-