geographical situation of the British islands-Dr. Chalmers condemns a system of poor-laws-The church establishments of England and Scotland-Dr. Chalmers reprobates our whole system of taxation, and recommends a commutation to a general graduated tax on rents and ARISTOCRACY, OR MONOPOLISM, WOULD CHECK THE BOUNTY OF NATURE, AND Refutation of the doctrine that there is no room at nature's feast for a vast ARISTOCRATIC WEALTH AND NATIONAL MISERY-RETRIBUTIVE TAXATION, OR Principles applied to persons-Synopsis of national wealth and income- ARISTOCRATIC INSOLVENCY, AND THE MIDDLE CLASSES. 343 Contrast between the very wealthy portion of the aristocracy and the poor THE LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL EYE. The natural eye is placed in front-Motion is the order of nature-Man 403 ANALOGIES FROM THE INFERIOR ANIMALS, USEFUL TO MAN IN HIS SOCIAL CONDITION.-THE INFERIOR ANIMALS LIVE, AND LET LIVE. Ir might have pleased the Almighty Creator to have caused the sentient beings that he placed on the earth, to derive the nourishment for their bodies from particles of matter inhaled along with the breath of life. But this arrangement would have altered the nature, pursuits, and character of the creatures thus sustained, and have made them altogether different from what they are under the existing system. Their bodies are furnished with organs. to convey into them food produced in the earth and water, and they are preserved and strengthened by means of substances daily incorporated. The necessity of providing daily food stimulates to active exertion every race of animals, from the elephant to the ant, and from the sprat to the whale; and each in its respective sphere obeys the B law of self-preservation. It has been adduced, as an instance of the benevolence of the Creating Mind, that the necessity to which the animal is thus exposed, is followed by great enjoyment in the act of satisfying the appetite. The pleasure that animals receive in the process of feeding is obvious to every person; the ever-eating cow in the act of rumination-the sheep nibbling the grass-the deer browsing in the forest-the rabbit munching its blade—and the horse over its heap of corn, are objects of quiet enjoyment. The clucking hen appears in an extacy of delight as she scrapes the ground, and gathers the grain for her joyous brood of chickens and herself-the honest household dog lying at the door with a bone between his paws, is the very picture of contentment; * but the energy of delight in the enjoyment of food is to be witnessed in the fierce carnivorous animals-the lion, or the tiger, or the wolf, seen in his iron-barred den, inspires terror in the spectator, by the very fierceness of his pleasure. All animals dislike to be disturbed while eating; but the carnivorous species are excited to a furious state by any attempt to deprive them of their food. This is a principle of animal nature which appears to be very much overlooked in human legislation. There is, among the various races of animals, by their members, in their search of food, a strict adherence to the principle of "live and let live." It is true that it is decreed that one species of animals shall live upon the bodies of another sort; this strikes our senses as an evil permitted in the physical world; but the cruelty is more apparent than real for the irrational animals have not the faculty The epithet "honest" is here applied, as a well-educated domestic dog never steals. of looking before and after, and consequently their terror of death is only felt in the pain of dying; and perhaps they suffer less agony by being devoured than by the lingering decay from hunger or disease. "A hare, notwithstanding the number of its dangers and enemies, is as playful an animal as any other." * Although the lion and the wolf fall on and devour the ox and the sheep, still each lion and each wolf pursues his game unmolested by his fellows. It does not appear that there is any disposition, still less any power, in any one lion to appropriate to himself a herd of cattle, and to keep others of his race from touching the prey. So it is through all the races of wild animals. The finny nations, as they migrate through the ocean from pole to pole, preserve order in their progress. Among the herbivorous and gregarious animals, what a friendly feeling exists in their wanderings in the wilderness or the field in quest of their daily subsistence !—each pursues his course undisturbed by his neighbour, and there is a social harmony in the herd or the flock, which it would be well for a nobler being to imitate. This harmony is, however, sometimes broken; but the quarrels which arise, have not for their object the exclusion of the weak and the old from the pastures of the common herd, but they have their origin in the passions of love, jealousy, or revenge, which, either in animal or human nature, disturb the social system. A proverb or simile, current in the English language, would appear to make an exception to this disposition to "live and let live," of an animal that has been expressively denominated the companion of man. Can it be possible that evil communications have corrupted the faithful creature, or that its name has been used to carry off from its * Paley. protector the imputation of selfishly engrossing an article, and keeping all others from the enjoyment of it? Surely, the satirist of human nature, in choosing an illustration of his views, selected the case of an aged or infirm dog, coiled up in a corner where he considered himself free from intrusion, and therefore naturally became irritated by the patient horse approaching his food. It is due to the character of the dog to clear it from the imputed snarlish disposition, described in a sentiment more truly applied to man in his grasping appropriation of the surface of the earth. No! all races of animals on the earth and in the waters, in their respective communities, follow the instinct of their nature, and live in harmony while in search of their subsistence; and, in proportion to the abundance of their food, they increase in numbers, and improve in condition. Hunger first excites and infuriates the wild animals, but afterwards tames their temper. Man, the master and tyrant of this earth, thus subdues them to his purposes; the domestic animals become his servants and companions. "The ass knows his master's crib," and "the cow chews her cud ayont the hallan." Before concluding this part of the subject, I will dispose of an argument in support of despotic power among men, drawn from the habits of inferior animals. It has been stated that nature designed that mankind should be under the rule or control of one individual possessed of arbitrary power; and that we perceive this principle in operation among the herds, the flocks, and the studs of animals grazing in the fields, or roaming through the forests. Certain it is, that the fiercest bull, the strongest ram, or the swiftest horse, is to be seen generally in the front of the multitude in moving from pasture to pasture. |