great hardship, as they were often obliged to carry the grain great
distances, or pay a bribe to be excused. This oppressive law was
altered by Julius Agricola.

The Romans patronized agriculture--Cato says, "When the Romans
designed to bestow the highest praise on a good man, they used to
say he understood agriculture well, and is an excellent husbandman,
for this was esteemed the greatest and most honorable character."
Their system produced a great alteration in Britain, and converted
it into the most plentiful province of the empire; it produced
sufficient corn for its own inhabitants, for the Roman legions, and
also afforded a great surplus, which was sent up the Rhine. The
Emperor Julian built new granaries in Germany, in which he stored
the corn brought from Britain. Agriculture had greatly improved in
England under the Romans.

The Romans do not appear to have established in England any
military tenures of land, such as those they created along the
Danube and the Rhine; nor do they appear to have taken possession
of the land; the tax they imposed upon it, though paid in kind, was
more of the nature of a tribute than a rent. Though some of the
best of the soldiers in the Roman legions were Britons, yet their
rule completely enervated the aboriginal inhabitants--they were
left without leaders, without cohesion. Their land was held by
permission of the conquerors. The wall erected at so much labor in
the north of England proved a less effectual barrier against the
incursions of the Picts and Scots than the living barrier of armed
men which, at a later period, successfully repelled their
invasions. The Roman rule affords another example that material
prosperity cannot secure the liberties of a people, that they must