The number expelled was more than six hundred thousand,besides those who died by the sword,by famine,or by thesentences of The Inquisition.The principal charge brought against them was their obstinate adherence to the Mahometanreligion:the political reason assigned for their expulsion was,that by their industry,temperance,and frugality,they wereable to work cheaper than the Spaniards,whilst by their sobriety they contributed little to the public revenue:but the realcause of this impolitic measure was an order from the Pope,that these infidels should be converted at the expence of theSpanish clergy.The Archbishop of Valentia was to pay three thousand six hundred ducats yearly,and the other bishops inproportion to their incomes,for the support of an Arabic mission.(6)Thus the temperate,the frugal,and the industrious,being banished from the kingdom,whilst the indolent found a constant influx of gold and silver from abroad,the wholenation sunk by degrees into the present state of torpid inactivity.It is more than one hundred and seventy years since thisevent,and yet in all that time Spain has not recovered her population.The quantity of gold and silver imported annuallyinto Cadiz and Lisbon has been reckoned six millions sterling.(7)Here we find a sufficient cause for the decay of theirindustry and arts.
Our poor began only to appear in numbers after the dissolution of the monasteries.Then it was they first attracted notice;but they had existed long before,always most abundant in the vicinity of the religious houses.At the present moment weare told,that in Naples six thousand Lazaroni are daily fed by the monastic orders,under the specious name of charity,notupon a sudden emergency,but statedly,and as the only means of their subsistence.As a peace offering this may be politicand wise,well calculated to conciliate the good opinion of the unthinking mind,and to command the admiration of thevulgar;but at the same time it is inconsistent with the most established principles of political economy:for as industry andfrugality are the only foundation of national prosperity;so temperance and labour are the only source of happiness andwealth to individuals.A learned Jesuit,who has lately written and is now publishing an elegant defence of that society,assumes great merit from this circumstance,that instead of extorting for themselves a scanty pittance from the vitals of thepeople,such was the benevolence of these holy fathers,and such the abundant wealth of their establishments,that theyrelieved all in the surrounding villages,who made application to their charity.Their intentions,no doubt,were good,buttheir bounty must have been misapplied.He,who statedly employs the poor in useful labour,is their only friend;he,whoonly feeds them,is their greatest enemy.Their hopes and fears should centre in themselves:they should have no hope butfrom their own sobriety,diligence,fidelity,and from the well-earnt friendship of their employers;and then their only fearwould be the fear of forfeiting by their misconduct,that fayour and protection which would be their principal resource intimes of sickness and distress.
