Chap. XVII. Appendix.

411

summate his ruin, he has nothing to pay his rent, nor any pro-vender to support this superabundant stock through the winter.

Whereas, if the duty on salt were removed, all these ruinousconsequences might have been prevented. For, in such a stag-nation of the market, the grazier might cause his cattle to bekilled, in place of being carried home to starve; and, when salt-ed and barrelled up for the market, they might either be pre-served, or sold off for ready cash.

Besides, as many cattle, even in these Northern districts, arefound in good order for the butcher, in place of selling these offto the graziers of the South, they might be killed and salted nearthe spot where they were fed, and barrelled up for the market.The saving to tire feeder, in such cases, including the offal,which might, be useful to his family,'may be safely stated at muchmore than 20 per cent.

2. The landholders ought to establish villages, and the Legis-lature should encourage the inhabitants of the Highlands andHebrides to settle in them. There are many advantages that ac-crue to the public from such establishments ; and they are in manyrespects preferable to large and populous cities. The health ofthe inhabitants of any country is better secured, when they areScattered over the face of it in villages, than when cooped up inlarge cities—an amicable intercourse is kept up between husband-men and manufacturers, by a mutual interchange of kind offices.—the operative class of the community, too, are in less dangerof entering into cabals and combinations—living is generally cheap-er, and house rents much lower in villages than in cities—aboveall, the interests of agriculture, and the improvement of thecountry, may be thus more generally promoted—and emigrationmay, in a great measure, be prevented from the Highlands andHebrides , especially if employment were found for the inhabi-tants.

As a proof that this great end may be accomplished, many ofthe manufacturers in Glasgow and Paisley have employed weavers-at the distance of thirty, forty, and fifty miles; and, not manyyears ago, a considerable part of the linen manufacture of Edin-burgh was executed by weavers in the county of Inverness . Ifvillages were established over a great part of the Highlands, andespecially along the sea-shores and banks of the Caledonian andCrinan canals; and if small branches of our manufactures werethus spread over the country, in place of being altogether limit-ed to one or two populous cities or counties, all the above advan-tages might be attained ; and it becomes the Legislature to giveevery possible encouragement to such a plan.

3. Fisheries, if also encouraged, would furnish employment tothe inhabitants of such villages, and would promote agriculturein their neighbourhood. To point out the precise situations forsuch establishments, is not necessary here to dwell on. Suffice