ations. Having heard much of the land in Lancaster county, we returned that way; but we were foon fatisfied refpecting the land in that and the other counties through which we paffed; as the price of it was from fix to twenty pounds per acre, even at a confiderable diftance from the Sufquehanna."

Concerning the fate of parties in America, Dr. Jardine writes that political debates run pretty high; that the federalift party have much the fame difpofition as the court party in England, but that the antifederalifts are too numerous and strong to fuffer any encroachments on the liberties of the people. He adds that both equally rejoice in the fucceffes of the French. Several other remarks and details are given in this letter; from which it pretty clearly appears that the difficulties, attending emigration to America, are greater than many have fuppofed.

POLITICS, &c.

Art. 45. The Natural and Conftitutional Right of Britons to Annual Parliaments, Univerfal Suffrage, and the Freedom of Popular Affocia tion: being a Vindication of the Motives and Political Conduct of John Thelwall, and of the London Corresponding Society in general. Intended to have been delivered at the Bar of the Old Bailey, in Confutation of the late Charges of High Treafon. 8vo. pp. 95. 25. Symonds, 1795.

It is the unquestionable right of free born Britons, when legally accused of any crime, to be heard in their own defence :-but experience has fully proved that it is more advantageous to the party accufed, as well as more eligible for the public, that his defence fhall be made by proxy, than in his own proper perfon. Weighty reasons might be aligned for this;-even in the cafe in which the perfon, against whom the charge is brought, poffeffes talents which might well enable him to become his own advocate. Notwithstanding Mr. Thelwall's eloquence, improved by a habit of popular speaking, we apprehend he has no reafon to complain that his caufe was transferred from his own hands to those of the able and upright pleaders who fo eminently distinguished themselves, on the part of the prifoners, in the late ftate trials for high treafon. Perhaps, too, the public may be of opinion that, after the full report which has been given of their pleadings, and of the whole procefs of the trials, it is not probable that much important matter refpe&ting these profecutions can yet remain to be disclosed. Mr. Thelwall, however, thinks it right, after his honourable acquittal, again to prefent himself before the bar of the public in his own perfon, by publishing the fpeech which he intended to have delivered on his trial; and his vindication will be found to exhibit many things refpecting both the general cause and individual cafe of Mr. Thelwall, with a degree of force and energy which, while it difplays in a favourable light the writer's oratorical talents, may ferve to establish in the public mind the fullest conviction of the equity of the verdicts in queftion, and of their importance to the prefervation of public freedom. Circumflanced as Mr. T. has been, it is not to be expected that, with his ardour of temper and command of language, he fhould be capable of writing without fome

H 4

portion

portion of acrimony. The work, however, not only has confiderable merit as a political oration, but states, with great ftrength of argument, feveral important points in which British freedom is effentially interested; particularly the queftion concerning parliamentary reform.

Art. 46. Two Letters addreffed to Sir William Delben on the Subje&t of the Sunday Bill, now pending in Parliament. To which is fubjoined another Letter containing Heads of a Bill for the Repeal of the Ten Commandments. 8vo. PP. 50. Is. 6d. Bew.

1795:

The incongruity of inftituting a law for the ftricter obfervance of the Sabbath among the lower orders of the people, while the neglec of the public offices of religion is rapidly increafing among the great, is a very fair fubject of ridicule. The writer of these letters feizes the occafion of the Sunday-bill, lately brought into parliament, to expofe this inconfiftency. His propofal is, a general tax on abfence from divine fervice, which fhould fall on the rich in proportion to their property, with an option of compounding for a certain fum; every perfon to be affefied for the whole fifty-two Sundays, that the proof may be thrown on him on the teftimony of the minifter of the parish; or, in cafe of fickness, of two domeftics. Reasonable as this plan may appear to thofe good old fashioned people, in whose brains the two ideas of Sunday and going to Church have been fo long associated as to appear naturally infeparable, we are apprehenfive that thofe free fpirits, who feel themfelves difencumbered of thefe vulgar fhackles, would deem fuch a tax an intolerable infringement of natural liberty.

The wit of this publication will be chiefly found in the third letter, which is a republication of an ironical propofal for fetting afide the obligations of the ten commandments, drawn up in the form of a bill for their repeal.

Art. 47. The Spirit of John Locke on Civil Government, revived by the Conflitutional Society of Sheffield. 12mo. 1s. 6d. Symonds. The difcourfes of the celebrated Locke, on Government, when they first appeared, contributed greatly towards the fupport of the revolution in 1681. This publication, with others written in the fame spirit, were at that time thought fo valuable, that the author was promoted by King William to the office of matter of the Mint; and a pension of a thousand pounds per annum was conferred on him by parliament. Notwithstanding the contempt with which fome writers have of late affected to treat the name of Locke, this work has ever fince flood high in the estimation of all confiitent friends to the British conflitution, which owes its existence to the political principles maintained in this and other fimilar writings. The conflitutional fociety at Sheffield, whatever other occalions of offence they may have given, certainly cannot offend the rulers of a free people by the circulation which they give to the knowlege of fuch principles, by publishing in a cheap form an abridgement of Locke on Government.

Art. 48. A Letter to the Friends of the People, at the Free Mafons' Tavern, affociated for the Purpofe of obtaining a Parliamentary Reform, 8vo. 6d. Symonds.

This letter bears date Feb. 24, 1795. We know not the precife time of its publication, but it did not fall into our hands till Auguft. Its defign was to expoftulate with the leading members of the fociety, on account of the fufpenfion of their patriotic proceedings at that critical season, and to rouze and animate them to a vigorous prosecution of the grand purpose of their affociation. The writer difcuffes the fubject with becoming ferioufnefs, warmth, and energy. The fociety have fince publicly accounted, very fatisfactorily, in our opinion, for the pause which excited fo much alarm in the mind of this their apprehenfive correfpondent. They have now, with a proper fpirit and due decorum, resumed their deliberations, &c. and have laid before the public their Plan of Parliamentary Reform;-of which we intend, at a future opportunity, to take more particular notice. Art. 49. An Appeal to the Manufacturers, on the prefent State of Trade, &c. 8vo. 6d. Printed at Birmingham, 1795.

Calculated to evince the alarming decline of our manufactures, and the decrease of trade, particularly at Birmingham, &c.; whence this obvious conclufion is drawn, that peace is the one thing needful for the promotion and preservation of the profperity of this kingdom.' It also appears (facts being the only data for fuch inferences,) that in the Welt-riding of Yorkshire, 1,453,758 yards of cloth were manufactured less in the year 1793, than in 1792.' If our readers require any comment on this unwelcome report, we refer them to what the author of this appeal here offers in fupport of the reprefentation which he has made, refpecting the prefent diftreffes of our poor, unemployed, mechanics and manufacturers. In the courfe of his remarks, the patriotic appellant glances at thofe ftatefmen, and others in power, who, in their eagernefs for the juftification of ministerial measures, have profeffed to difcredit the melancholy accounts of the decay of our trade, that have lately been brought forwards by the advocates for Peace, the great fource and nursery of trade, of the arts which make fociety comfortable, and of the wealth by which governments are fupported.

Art. 50. Obfervations on the Life and Character of Alfred the Great. 8vo. 6d. Eaton. 1794.

A course of Lectures on English history was read, fome time ago, at Lyon's Inn. This pamphlet contains nearly the fubftance of two of thofe lectures, and exhibits a well-merited eulogium on the truly illuftrious Alfred; who was indeed an honour to fovereignty, and to human nature! He alone, fays this writer, is entitled to the character of a great monarch, who makes the happiness of his people the grand aim and ultimate end of his administration:' but the character of ALFRED (notwithstanding what is obferved in our Review for last August, p. 441.) fands too high in the records of TRUTH and VIRTUE, to receive any addition from us, or from the author of the little tract now before us.-Yet it may be very right that the memory and example of fo excellent a prince fhould be repeatedly prefented to the notice and admiration of mankind.-How fuperior does HIS conduct, both as a Man and a Magistrate, appear to that dishonest arti. fice and chicanery which often pafs on the world as political wisdom!

MEDICA L.

MEDICAL, &c.

Art. 51. Thefaurus Medicaminum. A new Collection of Medical Prefcriptions, diftributed into twelve Claffes, and accompanied with pharmaceutical and practical Remarks, exhibiting a View of the Materia Medica, and Practice of Phyfic, both at home and abroad. The fecond Edition, with an Appendix and other Additions. By a Member of the London College of Phyficians. 8vo. pp. 412. 6s. 6d. Boards. Baldwin. 1794.

The former edition of this volume, published in 1791, unaccountably escaped us; and we are glad to have an opportunity of repairing that deficiency in noticing the fecond edition of what we think an ufeful work. It is true that collections of formule do not rank highly among medical works, because a perfon who is properly acquainted with medicines, and with their pharmaceutical as well as medicinal qualities, will generally be able to direct their application according to his own particular intentions, better than can be done by a general prefcription; and as to the inftruction given by the arrangement of fuch a work under the different heads of medicinal operation, it must be trivial indeed to the well-informed practitioner, and hazardous to the medicalter. Nevertheless, the fuggeftions of uncommon and efficacious remedies taken from authors of credit, together with information concerning the dofing and mixture of the lefs ufual articles of materia medica, cannot but be occafionably useful even to the most experienced of the faculty; and a copia of elegant and efficacious compofitions, even of the most common medicines, is but too much a defideratum with many when they affume the highest department of the profeffion. All these things are afforded by the publication before us; which likewife contains many valuable remarks with respect to the ufe and exhibition of medicines, and, as far as we have examined, may be fafely praised for its accuracy and judgment. Its arrange ment feems as little liable to exception as could easily be devised."

The circumftance of all the formulæ being given in English only is defended, in the preface, in a manner that fhows a confcioufnefs of fome need of defence. As the author difclaims' every idea of having made his collection for the use of good women and empirics, and limits it to fuch as are regularly brought up to the medical profeffion,' we think his leading confideration ought to have been, what mode would be most useful to them? and the uniformity arising from having the prefcriptions, as well as the remarks, in English, was little to the purpofe. We do not quite agree with him that no one who has gone through the accidence will be at a lofs to turn them, at the bed-fide of the fick, into medical Latin' ;—on the contrary, we believe that very tolerable claffical scholars would often be at a lofs for clear and authorized expreffions relative to the compofition and administration of medicines. A more serious objection is, that the English names of fome articles give not the least infight into their Latin names; and the reader is therefore left to find out the latter as well as he can from fome other book. For inftance, if he wants to adopt the infufion of hedge-byop, copied from Haftmann, why fhould he be obliged to go to his Lewis, or other work on Materia Medica, for the

word

word gratiola, which he muft employ in his prefcription? How far the continued ufe of the Latin language for medical purposes be right or wrong, is another queftion: but, while it is the language of prefcriptions, the prefcriber fhould be made as familiar with it as poffi ble; and the prefent collector must excufe us if we be not perfectly convinced that, in giving all his formulæ in English, he had no other clafs of readers in view than those regularly brought up to the medical profeffion.'

The appendix fubjoined to this edition contains fome chemical preparations not given in our difpenfatories. Many of the additional articles in the body of the work are derived from the Difpenfatorium Fuldenfe. See Rev. vol. lxxix. p. 684.

Art. 52. Formula Mediçamentorum Selecta. By the Author of Maniacal Obfervations. 12mo. pp. 58. 1s. 6d. Murray, &c. 1795. This work is in fome degree connected with the preceding, fince it refers to it, and profeffes to be compiled for the purpose of obviating the defect of the former in being written in English instead of Latin. Concerning that defect we have given our opinion; and we can by no means accede to the tragical denunciation of mifchievous confequences likely to refult from it, which the preface of the prefent work contains. Be this, however, as it may, the fmall publication before ps can claim very little of the merit of the former, being a bare tranfcript of common formulæ, without a fingle remark or authority. Its claffification is likewife very imperfect, and even abfurd. What fhould we understand by the title Pyretica from its etymology? and who would expect to fee under it fome of the very fame articles as appear under the fubfequent clafs of refrigerantia? That of lithontriptica contains uva urfi, and some of the balfamics: feveral of them are of the old fchool, denoting fecondary inftead of primary operations. As to the Latin, it is as bald as any on the apothecary's file, and in many places incorrect; as it would be eafy to point out, were it worth while. In fhort, if it be the fault of the former work to teach too much, it is certainly that of this to teach little, or nothing. Art. 53. A Differtation on the Difeafes of Prifons and Poor-houfes; publifhed at the Requeft of the Medical Society of London, having obtained the Premium offered by the Society for the best Effay on this Subject. To which is added a fingular Cafe of Præternatural Fotation, with Remarks on the Phenomena that occurred. By John Mafon Good, F. M. S. 12mo. pp. 180. 2s. 6d. Boards. Dilly. 1795.

This is a plain practical treatife on a fubject of much importance, in which the writer feems to have had confiderable perfonal experience. After fome preliminary obfervations, with a brief literary hiftory (as it is oddly called) of the establishments in question, the writer proceeds to divide the diseases on which he is to treat into thofe which are introduced into prifons and poor-houses, and thofe which are generated there. Of the former, the chief are stated to be

* We suppose the author means Obfervations on Maniacal Diforders,' by William Pargeter, M. D. See Rev. N. S. vol. xiv. p. 334. ulcers,

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