WHILE the zeal of our citizens in Scotland is at present directed to reform in the sets of their boroughs, that of our villagers and country people seems to be not a little occupied by reform in the music of their churches. Presbyterians are no doubt the more jealous of their right to join in the psalmody, because this is the only part of our public worship in which they are allowed a voice. Whatever renders the exercise of this right troublesome or expensive, many of our people are apt to consider as a grievance, and some of them to resent as an insalt. Those of them who many years ago studied what was then called the new singing under Professor A, which was afterwards corrected and enlarged by Professor B, do not relish being sent back to school along with their children to acquire the swells and flourishes of Professor C, which may soon give place to the shakes and quavers of Professor D. But there is happily in every thing a ne plus ultra; and if a scientific retreat from the last mentioned mode of church music is not quickly sounded by Professor E, it must soon bring our country people once more round to those "wood notes wild," which, till the middle of last century, were chanted in our churches with much general satisfaction and complacency.

The music of a country church depends almost altogether upon the precentor. The promoters of alterations in psalmody ought therefore to take into their consideration, not only how the proposed reformation shall be introduced, but also, how it shall be carried on for several years to come. Till the latter part of the business is fully arranged and provided for, it is childish and hazardous to proceed in the former. Even after every proper precaution has been used, the ignorance and prejudices of country people point out the expediency of introducing alterations in their church music, as gradually and imperceptibly, and with as little fuss and fracas as possible. Now the least alarming, as well as the least expensive plan in such cases, seems to be, to employ, as teacher, the person who is to be precentor, even though

VOL. V.

the expense of his previous attendance upon the lessons of a singing-master or precentor of known character, should be defrayed by his employers. Were this plan adopted, it is presumed, that with much less inconvenience to any of the parties concerned, as much progress may be made by attending the lessons and practisings of the precentor, before and after public worship on the Sundays, for twelve months, as may be made by more frequent attendance upon the lessons of a singingmaster brought from a distance for three months; and this too, with a more rational prospect of permanence as well as peace. Indeed, the introduction of an itinerant teacher of church-music, is often the same as sounding the tocsin; and the consequences of bringing the youth of both sexes together, twice or thrice a week, to his singing matches, where they meet under little restraint, and from which they must often find their way to their homes, in all directions, in twilight or the dark, need not be particularized.

If the schoolmaster is not qualified to act as precentor, (a case which must very frequently occur), he cannot grudge to transfer part of his salary as session-clerk, to the person chosen to supply his place in the desk. As to the remainder of the expense of introducing and supporting the proposed reformation, it is very desireable that it should be wholly provided for by the heritors and minister, and more respectable parishioners; together with a small sum from the parish funds, if absolutely necessary;-nothing being required or accepted from others, but their regular and discreet attendance upon the lessons of the teacher, who must have the power of receiving, rejecting, and dismissing pupils as he shall see cause. If the heritors are disposed to encourage the improvement of psalmody, they will also find means to set apart a few convenient pews for singers, to be placed and removed by the precentor.

In most country parishes, the greater part of the rising generation might be initiated in the rudiments of churchmusic before they leave school; and the

Y

schoolmaster ought to discourage those who are deficient in any of the requisite capabilities from persevering. This rule ought to be sternly followed out by the precentor, in the admission of pupils to his lessons and practisingsbut the reverse of this must be expected to take place when the emoluments of the teacher are made to depend upon the number of his scholars. If these observations are in any mea sure just, we can be at no loss to discover the principal causes of that spirit of peevishness and turbulence which is so frequently excited by alterations in the psalmody of country churches. 1. Instead of gradual and moderate reformation by a well chosen precentor, a total revolution is at once under taken by an itinerant jobber, who, either from a want of sense and know ledge, or from a desire to protract the job, and to render frequent repairs necessary, instead of confining himself to a moderate number of easy tunes, introduces, in endless variety, new and difficult ones, which he ought to know will be at best but bunglingly performed by his pupils, and very ill relished by the rest of the congregation; for they are not of Scotch extraction, and they recall none of those consecrated associations which render the tunes of our childhood and youth, venerable and pleasing. It is, perhaps, in some measure, owing to this that singing of all kinds is getting into disuse among our common people. 2. By permitting, and even soliciting those of the lowest ranks to purchase their tune books and tickets (to many of whom this expense appears no small sacrifice), a spirit of self-importance is engendered among persons, from all of whom, the discreet exercise of newly acquired consequence ought not to be expected, and liberty and equality become the order of the day.

So much real evil, (see Statistical Account of Scotland), and so little apparent good, have been found to result from frequent alterations of the psalmody of our country churches, that the admonitions of elders, and other

friends of experience, are now generally sufficient to check the zeal of a young minister or schoolmaster, for farther innovation. The serious difficulty at present is, how ministers and kirk-sessions shall encounter that musical mania which vagrant singingmasters, and their emissaries, are often so woefully successful in exciting among our villagers and country people. If an act of the General Assembly of the Church, for uniformity of tunes, as well as of psalms and paraphrases, cannot be obtained, surely presbyterial concert and co-operation might be resorted to, in a matter in which the order of public worship, and the peace of the people under their charge, are so much concerned; and ministers and kirk-sessions might be inhibited from giving any countenance to alterations in the psalmody, until the state of the case shall be fully represented to the pres bytery of the bounds, and the teacher proposed to be employed shall receive their approbation. This, it is presumed, is a regulation which clergymen would often wish they had it in their power to quote, and which would in fact, be the means of quashing many attempts at unnecessary and mischievous innovation.

These loose hints are addressed only to those promoters of the reformation of our church-music, who do not aim at "things too high for us"-who do not expect that the psalmody of our country congregation, especially without the aid of an organ, can ever be made gratifying to ears accustomed to correct musical performances; and who are not disposed to pursue the ideal perfectibility of vocal harmony, at the expense of "unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace."

As your Magazine is pretty generally read by ecclesiastical persons and others who take an interest in the decorum of public worship in our country churches, the insertion of this may produce communications upon the subject, more pertinent and edifying than the thoughts of

A COUNTRY ELDER,

MR EDITOR, THE interest and importance that at tach to questions connected with political economy, render it unnecessary to offer any apology for the following remarks, on a doctrine which has been lately advanced, and strongly insisted on in Mr Ricardo's work on that subject.

This doctrine is, that such a relation exists between the funds which supply the wages of labour, and those which constitute the profits of stock, that any increase in the one necessarily occasions, and is accompanied by, a diminution of the other; or, in other words, that whenever wages rise, the rate of profits must fall, and conversely, that when wages fall, profits rise. Upon this principle, if we hear that the circumstances of the farmer and manufacturer are flourishing, we may conclude that the peasantry are suffering by the prosperity of their masters; and, on the other hand, if the condition of the labouring classes improve, it can only be by the impoverishment of others. If this theory to its full extent be maintainable, a theory which teaches, that by the nature of human society, there is a constant and irremediable contrariety of interest between its different members, and that a general amelioration, in which all should participate alike, is impossible, -we could only regret that such an obstacle to national harmony should exist, and that men should be constrained to repine at the good fortune of one another. A little consideration of the subject will however shew, that this opinion ought only to be admitted with several qualifications, and that it has probably arisen from too hastily generalizing the result of a particular inquiry, and extending a proposition partially true beyond the proper limits of its application.

The aggregate annual produce of the land and labour of a nation constitutes what may be termed the national income. It is from this fund that the income of every individual inhabitant is derived; for whatever may be each person's nominal wealth estimated in money, he is in fact richer or poorer according as he is able to command a greater or less quantity of the necessaries and comforts annually

brought into being by the labour of the nation. This fund is distributed in certain proportions amongst the different classes of which the society is composed. One share becomes the property of the land-owners under the denomination of rent; another is devoted to the owners of capital, and forms the profits of stock; and the third goes to the working classes as the wages of their labour. The proportions which these shares bear to one another, and to the whole mass, will be liable to continual fluctuation, according to various causes which regulate them. Thus, at one time, rent will be higher, and wages lower, than at another; at another time wages may rise, and profits may fall; but the rent, profits, and wages together, must always be the same as the total amount of the national produce. This amount itself is seldom the same, in any one year, that it was in the preceding year, but generally experiences some increase or diminution, and these changes in the total amount will occasion corresponding changes in the shares allotted to each class, besides those changes which arise from the variations of their mutual proportions. We will examine separately the effects of some of these changes.

Let us first suppose that the whole amount of the annual produce, the number of labourers, and the quantity of capital in employment, remain unaltered. Under these circumstances, as the demand and the supply of labour would be the same, no natural cause would affect the rate of wages, and they would probably remain the same. But it would be possible, that by some legislative enactment, or by the liber ality of their employers, the condition of the labourers might be improved, and they enabled to procure to themselves a greater portion of the ne cessaries and comforts of life. such should happen to be the case, as the number of the labouring class is the same, and the receipts of each are increased, it is clear that the share of the national income which is devoted to that class is increased. We have supposed the amount of this income not to have been altered; and it follows, that the part which remains as the income of the owners of land

If

and capital must be diminished as much as the other part is increased. Hence, under the circumstances we have supposed, the rent of land and the profits of stock will fall.

If, on the other hand, from any opposite cause, the condition of the labourers be rendered inferior to what it was before, the part which they receive of the produce of the year becomes less, and rent and profits will be proportionally increased. We may observe, that here the rise or the fall of wages must be occasioned by some arbitrary cause, and not by the operation of any of those circumstances which usually and naturally influence them. If the labourer receive more, it is not because his labour is really of greater value, and the employer has to pay a higher price for that which yields to him only the same advantages, and is therefore unable to reimburse himself the additional expense, at which the labourer's services are procured. In such circumstances as these, the doctrine of Mr Ricardo may safely be trusted to. While the income of the nation remains the same, it is impossible for general improvement to take place, and any additional emolument given to one class must be taken from another.

Let us next suppose, that while the number of labourers, and the quantity of capital in employment remain the same, a new stimulus is given to commerce, the fertility of the soil is increased, or some improved modes of applying labour to agriculture or manufactures are devised. Any of these circumstances will render the labour that is employed more effective, and the quantity of its produce will increase. Thus the whole national income will be augmented, and each of the three classes into which society is divided, may, without injuring the others, receive for its share a greater portion of that income, a greater portion of the whole annual growth of necessaries and comforts than it enjoyed before. The labour of a man becomes more valuable from being more productive, and, although its price in money may not be altered, yet he receives, in return for it, a greater portion of those commodities, which have become more plentiful, and therefore cheaper. At the same time, the receipts of the owners of land, and of stock, though they will perhaps preserve the same propor

tion as before to the receipts of the labourers, will be increased in quantity, and thus every member of the society will be benefited.

If, on the contrary, by any unfortunate change of circumstances, the produce of the land and labour should become less, while the quantity of capital, and the number of labourers continued unaltered, the calamity would not be confined to one class, but would extend its influence to all alike. The labourer would suffer by the scarcity and consequent high price of every article, and by the slackened demand for his labour, which the stagnation of trade would occasion, while the farmer and the manufacturer would be equally impoverished, by the diminution of the quantity of the produce yielded by their capitals. It seems, then, that all the inhabitants of a country will profit, at the same time, by an extension of its powers of production; and, on the other hand, that they will all suffer by a contradiction of those powers. In changes of either nature, there is no opposition of interests among the different ranks of society, but it is for the advantage of all, and ought to be the object of all, to promote, as much as possible, the former, and to avert the latter.

Reasoning similar to that made use of above, may be applied to any other fluctuations of price occasioned by any other causes. If the labourer, while he does the same work as before, and while that work is not more productive, or of greater real value than before, nevertheless receives greater wages in return, his condition is improved, and the profits of his master are abridged, and, whenever this is the case, high wages will occasion low profits. But when, by any improvement in our system, the labour of an individual becomes more effective, or the actual produce of his labour becomes greater; then, if the increase of his wages only keep pace with the increase in the real value and utility of his services, what he gains is no more than a just share of the general profit that has accrued from the improvement, and a share which leaves sufficient to afford to his employer an equal participation.

The circumstances that have a tendency to increase the productive power of labour, and thus to occasion a simultaneous advance of wages and pro

fits, are more numerous, and of more frequent occurrence, than might, at a first glance, be imagined. They comprize amongst them almost every thing that can contribute to the wealth and prosperity of a country, and will be found to exist wherever that prosperity is increasing.

Thus, if any article that is manufactured for exportation, experience an advance of price in the foreign market, the quantity of foreign produce that is received in exchange for it is increased. Thus foreign produce is acquired by the labour of those who are employed in the manufacture of the article in question, and the produce of that labour is therefore in fact increased. This increases, at the same time, the value of the labour, and the profits of the stock employed in that branch of trade; and, as such an increase in one branch necessarily communicates itself to others, the consequence will be a general rise of wages and profits, to an extent proportioned to the amount of the manufacture in which the advance of price had taken place, and to the amount of that advance.

If, by the application of improved machinery, the labour devoted either to agriculture, or to any species of manufacture, be enabled to effect more than it could before, the productive

power of that labour is increased. It is not, however, in these two cases only, that the same effect takes place. Every new road or canal that is made, every wise legislative regulation, the institution of banks and post offices; and, in short, every conceivable domestic improvement, by saving labour, by encouraging enterprise and industry, and by quickening the circulation of capital, enables the nation to acquire, with the same expenditure of capital and labour, a greater income, and, therefore, affords a more liberal allowance both for wages and for profits.

The preceding remarks are sufficient to shew, that the cases in which profits and wages advance and fall together, are far too numerous, and too important to be left out of the calculation, in establishing a general rule. It would be difficult to decide, whether high or low profits are most frequently the concomitants of high wages; but it is clear, that there is no such necessary and invariable relation between them as has been imagined; and, that in a country where national industry is progressive, there is ample scope for the improvement of the condition of the labouring orders, without devoting to them so much as to impoverish the holders of capital, or to check the spirit of commercial enterprize.

It is one of the many bad results from a system thoroughly bad-that no exaggeration of its evils is held extravagant.-Upon a pure question of degrees there is nothing which can much stimulate the superficial observer to any accurate research; and there is a proportionable facility presented for misrepresentation-for disguise-and for wholesale exaggeration. The consciousness that the most favourable statement must terminate in confessing a very large amount of evil-encourages the ill-disposed to obtrude upon the public ear the grossest mis-statements; whilst the same consciousness dis heartens the patriotic from stepping forward to rebut them.-From this cause it is that we find so many exaggerations of the evils connected with the Poor Laws. One part (and that unfortunately the greatest part) is indeed not susceptible of much exaggeration; the tendency of these laws to

degrade the most numerous class of the English population-cannot be rated too high: but their direct action upon the national wealth, and more especially their pressure upon the landed interest, is doubtless very greatly overrated; indeed often so greatly that it is easy to read, in the expressions used, and in the numerical estimates assumed, a disposition to inflame and irritate the public mind as by a picture of oppression rather than to direct the attention and the cares of the enlightened upon a national misfortune.With respect to the number of those who receive parish assistance, (that is to say, inclusive of those who receive the smallest occasional assistance no less than of those who derive their whole support from their parish) it is estimated, upon better warrant than any contradiction can claim, at nine hundred thousand persons. The a mount of assistance given is estimated