[ 82]

There seems to be a method of obtaining 1n-

formation free from these great objections.

Public Boards that are instituted for nation- al purposes, those of conducting, inquiring 1n- to, or encouraging any branch of revenue or industry, are the proper bodies for reporting on the state of the kingdom respecting, or nearly respeCting their business and ordinary inquiries, The Board of Agriculture is singularly proper for such objects as concern cultivation, products, the labouring poor, and the manufacture of wheat; every inquiry into the last of these objects, shouid be as much as possible by actual experiments, easy and not expensive to make. By their very extensive correspondence with every part of the kingdom, they would be able to make inquiries silently, and consequently without‘creating any alarm; and they might easily, by repeating such

inquiries annually, a nd registering the result, be able to discover how far their information was ac- curate, by comparing it with the prices of the year. But if more sudden knowledge was want- ing, it would not be difficult at any time to pro- cure it, without the least probability of exciting

e

that sort of alarm which might be made an ill use of by interested individuals. When such an in- stitution is established at the public expence, it seems to be no more than reasonable to have some degree of confidence in. capability of being essentially useful in inquiries so intimately

connected with its immediate business.

Upon