for it will fometimes be fo chilly at this period, that one fhall perfectly quake with cold. About the middle of April, the north wind, which hitherto had blown continually, fometimes with great violence, at other times more gently, and again at other times fo as hardly to be perceived, takes its leave with juft fuch another dreadful ftorm as it came with. Directly upon this, the fouth wind blows with fuch force, that one finds it very difficult to keep on one's legs. In fandy diftricts it raifes clouds of light fand, fo that one is obliged to keep one's eyes, nofe, and mouth fhut. This fouth wind remains till the middle of October: other winds there are not. I recollect, that at the rainy feafon, by reafon of the heavy rains, I have not been able to fee fun, moon, or ftars, for fourteen days confecutively: from this it may be imagined, what a quantity of water muft. be brought by this rain. The inhabitant of this country gets his quota almost all at once; with this portion he must be content for himself, family, and cattle: for which reafon he is obliged to be a very great œconomift of it, and for this purpose he makes use of the dykes, which he has both natural and artificial in his fields, befides large vats, which are hollowed out" of a tree with a red-hot iron, and contain more than a hundred runlets of water. In places where there is a free and uninterrupted paffage for the air, the climate is tolerable for an European. But in fuch fpots as the wind cannot arrive at, or thoroughly ventilate, by reafon of their being fituated in the neighbourhood of high mountains or thick forefts, the air is very unfriendly to any new-comer from Europe. There are, however, many posts, which it is neceffary to occupy with Europeans: fome of thefe wretches I have often feen (not without compaffion) in the moft miferable condition, who, were it but poffible, would willingly have been in their own country, begging at other men's doors; but a poor finner is often made to repent in this country, the crimes he has committed in his

own.

With regard to the interefting, and apparently faithful account of Ceylon, contained in this work, we have only to add, that, though it exhibits the honeft plainnefs of an unaffected voyager, it might have been more elegantly tranflated.

The Hiftory of the Public Revenue of the British Empire. By John Sinclair, Esq. 4to. 10s. 6d. in Boards. Cadell.

ΤΗ

HIS refpectable writer has formerly exerted his political abilities on fubjects of great national importance; and we cannot but feel much fatisfaction at finding him now engaged in another enquiry, for which, by an indefatigable fpirit of investigation, and historical knowlege, he appears to be particularly well qualified. A Hiftory of the Revenue of the British Empire, executed with judgment, is a work not only calculated

to

to trace the various refources of the nation, but to ascertain the wisdom or imprudence of government at the different periods of its existence. Mr. Sinclair informs us, that when this work was undertaken, he had no conception of the immenfe difficulties attending it. The acknowledgement is entirely conformable to repeated experience in every laborious enquiry. In the original formation of any plan, the mind at first attends only to the principal objects, and haftens in imagination to the accomplishment of its defign, without being able to comprife in a general view the various obftructions which must retard the progrefs of the writer, when he profecutes the fubject in detail. But, whatever may have been our author's original ideas of the labour before him, he has not receded from the undertaking, when, on a nearer inspection of its conftituent parts, they prefented themfelves to his confideration in their natural magnitude and importance; for a volume of this kind, begun in Auguft laft, and published in the prefent month, affords no doubtful proof of the ardor with which the author has been animated.

The work commences with an account of the modes made ufe of by the ancient Britons for raifing a public revenue; after which our author confiders the revenues of Britain under the Roman government. In the next chapter he treats of the revenue of England, during the government of the Saxons ; taking afterwards a general view of the ancient revenue of the crown of England, as confifting of crown-lands, forefts, mines, right of feigniory, efcuage, quit-rents, aids, relief, wardships, &c. Our author concludes his account of the various exactions during this period with the following obfervation, which is doubtlefs juftified by the most faithful hiftorical evidence.

• Such were the burdens to which the inhabitants of England were formerly fubject. It is certain, that they did not exist at once; and that fometimes one mode of exaction prevailed, which, in procefs of time, was abandoned in favour of another. But, whatever the laudatores temporis adli may fay, it must be evident to every impartial perfon, that our anceflors had great reafon to be diffatisfied with their political fituation, even in the article of taxation; and perhaps the prefent æra is, in that, as well as in many other refpects, as defirable a period to live in, as any that can be pointed out in the history of this country; our additional weight of taxes being fully compensated, by a more extended commerce, by improvements in every branch of fcience and of art, and by great acceffions to our wealth, our fecurity, and our freedom.'

In the fifth chapter the author treats of the revenue of England under the government of the Norman line. He obferves that the amount of William the Conqueror's income has been

much

much difputed. Ordericus Vitalis fays, that, befides all the calual profits of his feudal prerogatives, he enjoyed a revenue of about four hundred thousand pounds per annum. This fum is thought perfectly incredible by two celebrated hiftorians, Hume and Voltaire. The former remarks, that a pound of filver in that age contained three times the weight that it does at prefent; confequently four hundred thousand pounds then were equal to one million two hundred thousand pounds of our fpecie; and as any given fum of money would then purchafe about ten times more of the neceffaries of life than at prefent, the Conqueror, according to this calculation, must have enjoyed an unincumbered annual income, equal to nine or ten millions of the prefent currency. Voltaire, though he converts the Conqueror's income only into five millions of modern money, alfo contends that ancient writers must have beengreatly mistaken in their account of his wealth. For the revenue of England, he fays, including Scotland and Ireland, does not yield fo much, if we deduct what is levied for pay, ment of the national debt. On this remark Mr. Sinclair justly obferves, that the fubtraction of any thing on account of the interest paid to the public creditors, is a very inaccu rate pofition, because it arifes from taxes levied on the subject, as much as any other part of the national income.

Our author is of opinion, that the two above mentioned hiftorians have carried their fcepticism too far, in the inftance which has been fpecified. He thinks it probable that both of them would have been equally incredulous, had they been told thirty years ago, that Great Britain and Ireland could have raised in the year 1784, a revenue of above fourteen millions per annum; and that it is impoffible totally to difcredit the accounts of Vitalis, a historian who was born only nine years after the Conquest, and confequently must have enjoyed better accefs to information than any modern can pretend to. author's opinion is ftrongly countenanced by the fubfequent obfervations; that, without fuch an income, it would have been impoffible for the kings of England to have lived with fuch magnificence; to have beftowed fuch liberal donations, on the church; to have carried on fo many public works; to have engaged in fo many expensive wars; and, after all, to have left behind them fo great treasures.

Our

In the fixth chapter our author delivers an account of the revenue of England, under the princes of the house of Plantagenet. In this period the public revenue was first increased by the introduction of customs, a fpecies of taxation which Edward I. had obferved in foreign countries, during his expedition to Palestine. From the Conquest to the time of this

7

prince,

prince, the ufual mode of levying money for the extraordinary expences of the crown, was by fcutages, or pecuniary commutation for perfonal fervice; but a variety of circumstances, our author obferves, contributed to render fuch a fyftem no longer effectual.

Scutages, fays he, were levied in proportion to the number of knights fees which each perfon poffeffed. But, in confequence of the fluctuation of private property, and of many evafions which it was impoffible to forefee, and difficult to check, joined to the inaccurate manner in which the rolls of knights fees were kept, it became impracticable to afcertain the number of fees with which each perfon ought to be charged. And when a fmall number was once accepted of, it was confidered to be a binding precedent for the future. Thus the crown was deprived of the military fervices of its vaffals; was defrauded of the compenfation to which it was juftiy entitled; and was reduced to the neceffity of providing fome other means for the public defence. Some fcutages, however, were levied during the reign of Edward: indeed fo prudent a monarch could never have entirely relinquished an old and established mode of taxation, until he had known, by experience, that a more productive fyftem of revenue could be carried into effect." It appears from our author's detail, that under the government of the house of Plantagenet, a confiderable progress was made in the knowlege of finance. At this period was difcovered the neceflity of converting military fervices into pecuniary aids. Taxes began to be laid upon perfonal as well as real property. The customs formed a confiderable branch of the public revenue, and the clergy were compelled to furnish contributions for the public fervice; nor was the fanction of the pope any longer accounted neceffary for that purpose.

The feventh chapter contains an account of the revenue, during the government of the houfes of Lancafter and York. The bloodshed and confufion which prevailed during this pe riod, admitted not of fufficient attention to any branch of the civil department. But through the whole of the contest between the two houses, there is not one inftance of any tax being impofed without the fanction of parliament, the different parties finding it neceffary to facrifice to the intereft of the nation the privileges which had been ufurped by former fovereigns.

In the eighth chapter the author traces the hiftory of the revenue, under the government of the houfe of Tudor. How much it was increafed by the exertions of Henry VII. are fufficiently well known; nor were the means practised for improving it by Henry VIII. more juftifiable. From the Conqueft to the reign of this prince, the old standard fineness of

the

the coin had been generally preferved; and, though some base metal had occafionally been mixed with it, the adulteration was gradual, and confequently lefs pernicious. But Henry, befides enhancing the price of gold and filver to a confiderable degree, violated fo far the faith of a sovereign as to coin base money, and to order it to be current by proclamation. Amongst the methods which he practifed for raising money was also that tyrannical resource named Benevolence, or an • Amicable Graunte;' under which falfe title he extorted great fums by compulfion, and punished fuch of his fubjects as ventured to oppofe thofe illegal and oppreffive exactions. Even the great princefs Elizabeth is faid to have exacted, every new-year'sday, above fixty thousand crowns, by granting licence to Roman Catholics and nonconformists, exempting them from the penalties which the law impofed upon fuch as neglected to attend the public fervice of the established church. She alfo continued the practice, of which many examples had been shown by her predeceffors, of extorting loans from her fubjects, and of imprisoning fuch as dared to refufe. She afterwards indeed repaid them when it was in her power; but the money that was borrowed lay in the hands of the crown, without intereft, and confequently fuch loans were productive of confiderable lofs to those from whom they were exacted. This reign is distinguished for the laft example in the English hiftory, of a fubfidy being rejected by the fovereign, when offered by the people.

During the government of the houfe of Tudor, fays our author, fome progrefs was made in finance; the advantages of public credit, and of a strict adherence to public faith, were difcovered by the politic and fagacious minifters of Elizabeth; and the customs, and other branches of the revenue, were rendered more productive. But the period is particularly remarkable, for laying the true foundation of the poverty of the crown, and of the confequent power and importance of the commons. When the emperor Charles V. was told, that Henry had fuppreffed the monafteries, he judiciously remarked, that the king of England had killed the hen that laid him the golden eggs. In fact, the opulence of the church was always a fure resource for the crown to look up to. The clergy could hardly evade any burden the king thought proper to impofe. When, in addition therefore to the royal domains, the property of the church was fquandered, the fovereign had nothing to depend upon but the affiftance of the nation at large, through the medium of its reprefentatives; and Elizabeth's fucceflors found, that fuch affiftance could not be procured, without redreffing. the grievances of the people, aud agreeing to fuch farther fecurity for their rights and privileges, as they thought proper to demand.'

The