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 I have been, My Lords, two or three times going to addres the Nobility in this Humble manner, that your Lordhips would be pleaed to condecend to double your Etates.

Indeed my thought was by the Extravagance of the Title, to gain your more evere Attention to the Novelty of the Propoal.

But I freely appeal to this augut Aembly, for the jutnes of what I am going to ay.

'Tis plain, and it would be trifling with you to enter into the particulars, That Scotland is capable of great Imrpovement [sic]—. I cannot enter into Methods particular, or Schemes for the performance here, being alo preparing for your View, a mall Dicoure on that particular Subject, which I hall call an Eay at the improvement of the Lands and Trade of Scotland, with or without an Union, to which I refer.

But the Reaon of this Dicoure, is to examine who are the Objects of this Improvement, who the Perons mut do it, to whom Scotland looks for the Advantages and Helps of Art, how the Indutry of the People mut be revived, the poor ruin'd Farmer retored, the Husband-Mans Diligence encouraged, and the whole Kingdom recovered.

And this, My Lords and Gentlemen, mut be your Part; you alone can put your Hands to the healing the Wounds, Time, Negligence, unhappy Contitutions, civil dientions, and all the State Broils of the Nation have made upon your Properity.

'Tis too evident the Tenant cannot do it, he is poor, and a Slave, he is dejected, dicouraged, and abolutely depriv'd of Means to do it.

Nor hall I take upon me to ay, as ome do, that this is wholly owing to the high Rents you take; for if you hould lower the Rent, and conequently ink the Value of the Free-hold in the whole Kingdom; yet is the Poverty and Miery of the Tenant, uch at this time, that it would be many Ages before they could recover enough, to be able to make coniderable Steps this way; and if they could, I believe there may be ome Reaon to doubt their Inclination, omething unqualified by diue, to improve for the Land-Lord.

But if Scotland mut be improv'd, it mut be done by you that are the Land-Lords, whoe Property in the Freehold gives you a Jut Concern in the Quality of it, to be very willing to have it made better.

The Landed Men are the only proper Perons to help forwards this General Bleing, 'tis their own before, and the Improvement is their own: As no Men but they are able to do it, o no Men but themelves have a Paternal Concern in it—. They are Fathers of their Countrey; becaue Owners of their Countrey. Improving your Lands, Gentlemen, is like Educating your Children, not a Duty only, but has omething of a Natural Obligation in it, which you cannot reit.

I have not room here to enter into Methods, and I hall be the lat Man in Scotland upon Project—. The only Caution I take leave to give, is this— That Gentlemen being firt well advied from the Nature of the Land, the Method of its Management, the Produce of the Earth, and the Cattel, would be pleaed by little and little; for to attempt it all at once, is