fame time that he facilitates the acquifition of the Latin tongue, has chofen fuch quotations as tend to infpire and cherish good moral principles; fo that he has done no inconfiderable fervice to the public. POLITICAL. ART. 23. The Letter of Dion Caffius, and its Anfwer, on the Subject of Reform in the Burghs of Scotland. 12mo. Aberdeen. The writer of the letter, figned Caffius, defends the prefent mode of election in the burghs of Scotland; by which the magiftrates elect one another, and the burgeffes are reduced to mere cyphers in the community. He very properly takes the fignature of Dion Caffius, who was patronized and rewarded by the Roman emperors, under whom he lived, for being the apologift of their tyranny; for inculcating paffive obedience on the people; and for writing his history in order to establish thefe opinions into a fyftem. The Anfwer, by a burgefs of Aberdeen, is a manly and fpirited performance; and the author difcovers equal zeal and knowledge in the cause of freedom, which he defends,, A reform, in the election of burghs, has long been in agitation among the enlightened and fpirited citizens of Scotland; and nothing but public fpirit and perfeverance is requifite to obtain it. It may be worth while to remark, that Aberdeen hath fet the example, to the other counties in Scotland, of many improvements, which have highly contributed to the power of that city, and to the benefit of the kingdom. ART. 24, A Reply to the Answer to a Short Efay on the Modes of Defence beft adapted to the Situation and Circumstances of this Island, &c. In a Letter to his Grace the Duke of Richmond. Is. 6d. Wilkie, 1785. The author of the Reply to the Anfwer, who we prefume to be the author of the Short Effay, juftly obferves the glaring inconfiftency of which the mafter-general of the ordnance is guilty, when, in his Anfwer to the Short Effay, he charges him with mifrepresentation, while, at the fame time, he allows to his obfervations the force of demonftration. He complains, that the mafter-general examined his effay not fairly, but by detached fentences; and clearly convicts him of inconclufive reafoning; and alto, by an appeal to facts, and living witnesses of credit, of a dereliction, in manifold inftances, of his former profeffions, and avowed principles. If your Grace,' fays our author, would confider the Short Effay candidly and impartially, you would eafily perceive, that the author admits a fyftem of defence, both as proper, expedient, and neceffary; but he recommends one adapted to our infular fituation and military eftablishment. Men, who have diftinguifhed themfelves in every branch of the military profeffion, should, and ought to be, confulted. Naval officers are undoubtedly the beft judges or the practicability of landing on particular fpots; they are the oeft judges of the nature of the coast; how near fhips of the line, or frigates, can approach the hore, to cover and protect the landing of troops; and of the proba P 2 ble ble effects of a fire judiciously directed from batteries erected on fhore, to oppose the enemy's fhipping, and to annoy the troops on their approach. General officers, who have commanded in the field, who are acquainted, by experience, both with the attack and defence of lines, fhould be confulted on their fituation and expediency; and determine, with fome degree of accuracy and precifion, on the number of troops abfolutely requifite to maintain them; otherwife the ftrength of our works will become relative weakness. • When a plan, combined, arranged, and methodized, in all its parts, has once been fixed on, it fhould be invariably and progref fively pursued, and the uninterrupted execution fubmitted to engineers, who are certainly the best qualified for conftructing the works, though their opinion should not be implicitly and exclufively adopted. No man, I am confident, who has a fincere regard for the honour and welfare of his country, would ever wish to fee a matter of this importance folely intrufted to the control and direction of a mastergeneral, who, from party and politics, may be thrown into that fituation, by a desertion of his friends, and a dereliction of his principles. If this fhould ever be the cafe, we might fee fuch a man, with mediocrity of parts, and half-educated talents, labouring to diftinguish himself, by tampering in a fcience he does not comprehend. and in which he has never been profeffionally inftructed, or even derived the least knowledge from experience or fervice. We should fee fuch a man puzzling himself, and perplexing others; obtruding his own plan and fyftem of defence, founded on whim, caprice, and prefumption; and who, by indulging the native propensity of a turbulent, yet trifling difpofition, may at last mistake the restlessness of folly for the activity of genius.' This Reply, as well as the fhort Effay, difcover great ability in our author, both as a military man, and as a writer. ART. 25. A Letter from a distinguished English Commoner to a Peer of Ireland, on the Repeal of a Part of the Penal Laws against the Irish Catholics. 12mo. 6d. Keating. 1785. The author of this letter is at a lofs to determine, whether it was wife, for the fake of expunging the black letter of laws, which, menacing as they were in the language, were every day fading into difufe, folemnly to re-affirm the principles, and to re-enact the provi fions of a code of statutes, by which the catholics are totally excluded from the privileges of the commonwealth; from the highest to the lowest; from the most material of the civil profeffions; from the army; and even from education, where alone education is to be had. He looks on the bill, in the abftract, as neither more nor less than • A renewed act of univerfal, unmitigated, indifpenfable, exceptionlefs difqualification. One would imagine, that a bill, inflicting fuch a multitude of incapacities, had followed on the heels of a conqueft, made by a very fierce enemy, under the impreffion of recent animofity and resentment. No man, on reading that bill, could imagine he was reading an a& of amnesty and indulgence, following a recital of the good beha. viour of those who are the objects of it; which recital stood at the head head of the bill, as it was firft introduced: but, I fuppofe, from its incongruity with the body of the piece, was afterwards omitted. This I fay on memory. It, however, ftill recites the oath, and that Catholics ought to be confidered as good and loyal fubjects to his majesty, his crown, and government: then follows an univerfal ex. clufion of thofe good and loyal fubjects from every, even the lowest office of truft and profit, or from any vote at an election; from any privilege in a town corporate; from being even a freeman of such corporations, from ferving on grand juries; from a vote at a veftry; from having a gun in his houfe; from being a barrifter, attorney, folicitor, or, &c. This has furely much more the air of a table of profcription, than an act of grace. What muft we fuppofe the laws, concerning thofe good fubjects, to have been, of which this is a relaxation? I know well that there is a cant current about the difference between an exclufion from employments, even to the moft rigorous extent, and an exclufion from the natural benefits arifing from a man's own industry. I allow, that, under fome circumftances, the difference is very material, in point of justice; and that there are confiderations which may render it adviseable for a wife government to keep the leading parts of every branch of civil and military administration in hands of the beft truft: but a total exclufion from the commonwealth is a very different thing.-When a government fubfifts, as governments formerly did, on an eftate of its own, with but few and inconfiderable revenues drawn from the subject, then the few offices which fubfifted were naturally at the difpofal of those who paid the falaries out of their own pockets; and there an exclufive preference could hardly merit the name of profcription: almoft the whole produce of a man's Industry remained in his own purfe to maintain his family. When a very great portion of the labour of individuals goes to the ftate, and is by the ftate again refunded to individuals through the medium of offices; and in this circuitous progrefs, from the public to the private fund, indemnifies the families from whom it is taken, an equitable balance between the government and the fubject is established. But if a great body of the people, who contribute to this ftate lottery, are excluded from all the prizes, the stopping the circulation, with regard to them, must be a molt cruel hardship, amounting, in effect, to being double and treble taxed, and will be felt as fuch, to the very quick, by all the families, high and low, of thofe hundreds of thousands who are denied their chance in the returned fruits of their own industry. This is the thing meant by thofe who look on the public revenue only as a spoil; and will naturally with to have as few as poffible concerned in the divifion of the booty. If a state should be fo unhappy as to think it cannot fubfift without fuch a barbarous profcription, the perfons fo profcribed ought to be indemnified by the remiffion of a large part of their taxes; by an immunity from the offices of public burden; and by an exemption from being pressed into any military or naval fervice.' This gentleman writes with ability and moderation; and represents the injuries and hardships inflicted ftill by the proteftants on the catholics, the great body of the people of Ireland, with ustness, clearness, and energy. P 3 ARTI ART. 26. Oppofition Politics exemplified. By the Editor of the Beauties of Fox, North, and Burke. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Stockdale. 1786. The compiler of this collection from the newspapers, after making various trite obfervations on the nature of the British conftitution, and of parties and factions, affirms, that the end of the leaders of oppofition is merely to get into power; and their means are the various arts of circumvention; continual fault-finding in parliament; and conftant circulation through the country of fictions, mifreprefentations, and detraction of every kind. The monthly pamphlet circulates within a circumference too narrow to do fufficient mifchief, at whatever expence to the dukes this circulation is peformed. The diurnal papers convey the poifon, through every vein of the flate, much more effectually. And the Morning Herald is felected for its fatire; while the Gazetteer is employed for its audacity of falfehood, and contempt of fhame. It is from these two papers that the following examples of oppofition politics are, therefore, taken; the first column, in the following pages, contains the factious paragraphs; the oppofite column points the factious purpose: it is from a comparison of the whole, that the oppofition politics are exemplified: And judge, by the pernicious fruit, the tree: The fruit produced in the fpecimens before us, is, indeed, for the most part, four, rotten, naufeous, and unwholefome: but does it wholly grow on the tree of oppofition? Is any party, faction, or denomination of men, refponfible for the falfe, and futile, and foolish fcribbling of unlettered and unprincipled volunteers in their fervice? The paragraphs produced in this publication are not certainly all of them published at the inftigation, or even with the privity and approbation, of the LEADERS of oppofition, however they may be applauded by their weak partizans. The engine of barefaced falfehood, however it may be fharpened and pointed, recoils, at the long run, against those who ufe it. Nor is there the leaft merit in faying cutting things againft men in public office, when they are not founded in truth, any more than there is wit in retailing JoE MILLER'S jefs. It is an eafy matter to ranfack the writings of the most eloquent partymen, and keen fatyrills, of former times; and to apply affertions, concerning other in, and other times, to the prefent. Oppofition, therefore, must be very weak indeed, if they countenance fuch miferable attempts to fupport their caufe. ART. 27. 'Tis All my Eye. Addreffed to Archibald Macdonald, Esq. By a Gentleman of Lincoln's-Inn. 8vo. Is. Wilkie, 1786. The author of this pamphlet thinks that it would be much better to prevent the commiflion of crimes, than to punish offenders. He is not for creating new jurifdiétions, nor for enlarging any inferior ones. The old English laws are good enough for our author, and would, he thinks, if well enforced, be found to answer all the good purpofes purposes for which they were formed. In Gloucefter, as foon as a beggar is feen publicly afking charity in the ftreets, he is that inftant taken up, and carried before a magiftrate; if an object, he is relieved. and fent home; if not, he is afked, whether he will be whipped out of the north, the fouth, eaft, or weft gate; and the punishment is immediately inflicted. By this fummary mode of proceeding, all beggars are banished from Gloucester. Whether this fyftem is worthy of your notice, I am not able to determine; but it feems to me fo replete with good fenfe, that I should be happy to fee it adopted in every part of the kingdom. And as Westminster has more rogues in it than any other place, 1 fee no reafon why you should not make it a part of your plan. It is a wellknown fact, that begging is reduced to a fyftem, and become as much a trade, as any other carried on in London and Westminster. I believe, too, it is a very profitable one; for, if I am not mifinformed, there are many common beggars, in this metropolis, who get four or five fhillings a day. And is not this a great reproach to the English nation, where fo many honeft and ufeful means may be found to employ thofe idle people? There are many, very many, hard-working, induftrious, fober perfons in London, who do not live half fo comfortably as thefe diffolute wretches. The common beggars of this great town have their walks and stands as regular as the day; and are as fure to be found in them, at particular hours, days, and weeks, as the moft regular merchant upon Change, To thefe places they punctually refort, to attract your notice, excite your pity, and impofe upon your understanding. Tabernacles and preachinghoufes are admirable ftands; and happy is that man who can fix himself there first; he is fure to live well. Many of them, like ShakeSpeare's juftice, look fleek, and as if their bellies were with good capon lined. There is no fet of thefe common beggars who hurt me more than thofe, who, having any bodily infirmity, expofe it to awaken your feelings. Is it not fhocking, in a cold frofty day, to fee a great ftrapping fellow with a fore leg, without a plaifter or any thing upon it, lying down upon the ground, and making wry faces for hours together to gain a livelihood? If you were to fend, or propofe to fend, one of these people to an hofpital he might thank you, but he would not accept your offer. He looks upon his fore leg as an eftate for life-the rent-the hap of the day.' In the fame lively manner our author difplays the bad confequences of idleness, and the wife policy of employing the poor, and enforcing rather than multiplying the laws. DIVINITY. ART. 28. Sermons by D. Grant. Angus, Newcastle. Mr David Grant is what, by the courtefy of Scotland, is called "a gofpel-preacher," that is, he delivers doctrines, of which there is not the imallest trace or veftage to be found in the four gofpels. His indeed a little more cautious and guarded than many of the P 4 orthodox |