The government of the convention the author defcribes as owing its ftrength to its weakness; as being able to continue in power because it has not dared to enforce the payment of taxes ; instead of which it has fcandalously feized on and diffipated the national capital. Vernier on the 12th of June ventured to acknowlege that there was due to the treafury, of unpaid taxes, the immenfe fum of twelve hundred millions of livres. M. d'l. boldly afferts that the whole value of direct taxes paid in a year is not equal to 100,000 Louis d'ors; that is to fay, to about the 164th part of the revenue of Great Britain, (he might have faid the 180th,) and that the revenue of a whole year does not fuffice for the expence of a day under the rule of these republican leaders.

After having given fuch a defcription of the state of the affignats as we have laid before our readers, the author fays it was by means of this paper-money that France had been enabled hitherto to maintain and keep in pay 14 armies, confifting of more than 1200 battalions, 500 fquadrons, and 60,000 artillery-men; that the provinces which they conquered, and which they conquered only because they invaded them with forces twice as numerous as thofe that defended them, at first received these affignats with open arms, but that now they reject them as of no value; that the depreciation which they fuffer at home fhews that even the people of France view them in no better light; that the charm by which these aftonishing armies have been kept together is confequently diffolving fast, and that with the illusion will país away the power of the convention.

Having stated that the taxes paid now to the republican treafury, or the whole of the republican revenues arifing from taxes, do not exceed the value of 100,000 Louis d'ors, he by way of contraft gives an account of part of the revenue raised with the greateft facility under the monarchy, and then paid in hard cash, but now completely loft to the country.

Effective revenue arifing from the West India trade, now fufpended,

235

Ditto arifing from the manufactures of Lyons, now completely annihilated,

90

Ditto from the Levant trade, now interrupted,

30

355

millions of livres.

Thus, without reckoning the ruin of their fisheries, and of many other valuable branches of induftry, have the French loft an annual income of 355 millions of livres, or upwards of 15,530,000l. fterling. The author gives the heads of a fpeech, fuch as he thinks an honeft member of the convention ought to addrefs to his colleagues on the ftate of the nation. He RAY. OCT, 1795.

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makes the speaker propose, as abfolutely neceffary to the falvation of France, that all the fales of national property made during their administration should be declared null and void, as fraudulent in the extreme*. Another measure which is thus to be propofed, as equally neceffary with the former, is an immediate restoration of the forfeited eftates to the emigrants their lawful owners, retaining nothing but what were heretofore called national domaines, and not felling nor otherwise alienating any of them till after the peace. M. d'I. having proved, from the mouths of many of the leading members, or at least endeavoured to prove, that the present system cannot laft, he concludes by obferving that the objects, which ought first and principally to engage the attention of the affembly that is to fucceed the convention, are the restoration of the morals of the nation, the establishment of a juft but ftrong and severe government, and the termination of the war by a lasting peace. All this, he fays, ought to be accomplished before any attempt is made to restore the finances. He afferts that the new legiflators cannot form a juft, ftrong, and fevere government, without going back to monarchy; that they cannot revive the morality of the nation, without caufing reftitution to be made of the eftates taken from the rightful owners by confiscations, which they all know to have been downright robberies; and that it would be impoffible for them to obtain a lafting peace, otherwife than by reftoring all their conquefts. He then repeats his affertions, that, as the invention of affignats had brought on the war, fo their annihilation would produce peace; and that the republic would perish by the fame means which had deftroyed the monarchy, viz. the finances.

Of M. d'Ivernois's principles and talents we will fay nothing more, both being already fo well known, than that, though a native of the republic of Geneva, he is a determined advocate for a limited monarchy; and that he poffeffes abilities not only to make a good caufe triumph in the eye of reafon, but to make even the bad appear the better cause in the eye of the million. His great object, however, feems to be the peace and happiness of mankind; which, he thinks, would be beft promoted by the reftoration of monarchy in France. It is our fincere with that the government, whatever may be its form, by which these great objects may be beft attained, may fpeedily be eftablished in that country; and that thus, all grounds for war being removed, Europe may foon be restored to the bleffings of peace.

• We do not find that he makes any provifion for the reftitution of the money paid by the purchasers at fuch fales: how can he reconcile this omiffion to principles of juftice?

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We must take the liberty of obferving, at parting, that M. d'I. feems fond of fwelling his publications, by reprinting in one what he had already given to the world in another; for inftance, the firft chapter in the work before us. To thew that he has not yet done, he tells us in an addrefs which he puts into the mouth of his editors, that these two chapters are part of a collection which they expect to give to the public in the course of the prefent month, and which will unite the two works, le Tableau de la Revolution Françoise à Genève, and les Reflexions fur la Guerre." We also learn, from the fame quarter, that the author intends to favour the public, in that collection, with an examination of the plan of the new French conftitution.

ART. IV. The Hiftory of Dahomy, an inland Kingdom of Africa; compiled from authentic Memoirs, with an Introduction and Notes. By Archibald Dalzel, formerly Governor at Whydah and now at Cape Coast Castle. 4to. pp. 230. 15s. Boards. J. Evans.

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F we confider the enterprifing fpirit of the prefent age, joined to that curiofity and love of information which characterise a powerful, learned, and enlightened nation, it seems wonderful that we should know fo little of the interior parts of Africa; especially as that quarter of the globe appears, from the confused and imperfect accounts that have been delivered to us, to be highly favoured by nature, as abounding in many rare and valuable productions, and watered by a number of noble rivers. If, in fome parts, the country be overspred with barren fands and ftagnant marfhes, this defect is more than compenfated by the extraordinary fertility of others. That the northern part of the great African continent was once the feat of learning and the arts, the hiftory of antient Egypt will inform us; and the extenfive commerce of the Carthaginian Republic, with its confequent greatness and fplendor, are well known. With all that tract of country which reaches from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Atlas, the Romans appear to have been well acquainted: but it was referved for the Portuguese, in the fifteenth century, to circumnavigate the eastern and western coafts of this great peninfula; fince which time, the Europeans have carried on an extenfive trade with the inhabitants: but the mafters of the fhips employed in this trade, intent chiefly on the acquifition of wealth, have paid little attention to the nature of the country, or to the manners and difpofitions of the people; and perhaps the greater part of them, from habit and education, might be very ill qualified for fuch a task. It has, however, been the policy of the commercial ftates

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ftates of Europe to erect forts along the coaft for the protec tion of their trade, and it fometimes happens that the Governors of these forts are men of enlightened and liberal minds. In this number we are happy to include the author of the work before us; and from a man who has refided fo many years in the neighbourhood of the country which he makes the fubject of his history, who had the best means of information, and who does not appear to have been sparing of his labour, nor defective in ability and candour, we may certainly expect a fair account of the character, manners, and difpofition of a people little known in Europe.

In a well written preface, the editor obferves that it may be neceffary to fay fomething concerning the prefent work, in order to fhew the ground of credibility on which it stands, and to give the reader fufficient confidence in the truth and candour with which the facts are reprefented.

For this purpose, (fays he,) the names of the authors alone would be fufficient to thofe acquainted with them; to others it will be necessary to mention that the late Mr. Robert Norris of Liverpool, whofe death, fince the writing of this book, is jully regretted by all who knew him, was eighteen years in the African trade, was well acquainted with the language and cuftoms of the people, and was indefatigable in obtaining, from both blacks and whites, the memoirs from which his part of the work was written; befides, his own obfervation furnished many curious and interesting facts, as will be found in his History of Ahadee*, and his Journey to Abomey in 1772, which are here a fecond time printed, with many corrections and emendations, finished during his last illness.

The life of Adahoonzou II. and the beginning of the reign of Whenoohew, the prefent king of Dahomy, are collected from the communications of Lionel Abfon, Efq. the prefent British Governor at Whydah; of whom we need only fay that he has been 27 years refident on the coaft, and upwards of 20 in the prefent government; where, from his fituation, and a thorough acquaintance with the people and their language, he has been enabled to obtain every information he could defire, or they afford; and this the more readily, as his great knowlege is found no less useful to them than to his em ployers.

Mr. Dalzel had collected these materials, and written the introduction, when, his duty calling him to Cape Coaft, he was obliged to leave the care of the prefs to a friend; a circumftance the more to be regretted, as his great intelligence in the fubject, had he been prefent, might have afforded it a higher degree of perfection than it has now to boaft: his competence to fuch a tak cannot be doubted after having read the introduction just mentioned, the result of nearly thirty years of observation, seven of which he was refident in Guinea,

• See M. Rev. vol. lxxx. p. 329.

and

and four of thofe governor at Whydah, in which government he was fucceeded by Mr. Abfon.'

The Introduction contains a description of the foil and productions of Dahomy. The land is faid to be uncommonly fertile and luxuriant. We have also an account of the religion, government, manners, and general character of the inhabitants. Like other barbarous nations, these Africans feem to have a confused notion of a fupreme, intellectual Being, the maker of the universe: but they pay their devotions to a variety of created objects, fuch as the fun, moon, living animals, trees, &c. They are fond of amulets, or charms, the chief of which is a fcrap of parchment, containing a sentence of the Koran, which the natives purchase from the Moors who vifit this country. This amulet they hang up in their apartments, which are likewife decorated with crude, mif-fhapen images, tinged with blood, befmeared with palm-oil, ftuck with feathers, bedaubed with eggs, and other abfurdities, of which a particular account would be both tedious and disgustful.

We fhall not, (continues our author,) dwell on the religion, [indeed it was not worth while] but pass to the government and man. ners of the Dahomans, which deferve more particularly to be confidered. The former is the most perfect defpotifm that exifts, perhaps, on the face of the earth. The policy of the country admits of no intermediate degree of fubordination between king and flave, at leaft in the royal prefence, where the prime minifter is obliged to proftrate himself with as much abject fubmiffion as the meaneft fubject. All acknowledge the right of the fovereign to difpofe of their perfons and property at pleasure. Beyond the precincts of the palace, indeed, ministers enjoy very eminent privileges.'

The king's fons, not excepting the heir apparent, have no rank, being obliged to falute the minifters with clapping of hands, in a kneeling attitude: on fuch occafions, however, thofe officers, out of refpect to the blood royal, haften to take them by the hand, and raise them from fuch an humble posture. The king, and all his fubjects, receive ftrangers with the most remarkable courtesy. Ambaffadors, from whatever state, are not put to the neceffity of learning the Dahoman etiquette from the mafter of the ceremonies; every one falutes the fovereign, according to the fashion practised in his own country. Chairs are placed for European governors, or masters of ships, upon which they fit, covered, till the king makes his appearance, when they make a bow, ftanding and uncovered; after which, they refume their feats, and put on their hats. Sometimes the Dahoman monarch has been known to fhake hands with an European; but this is a very uncommon mark of royal condefcenfion, and bestowed only on fome great favourite.'

So great is the veneration of the Dahomans for their fovereign, that their history produces no inftance of a depofition; the doctrine of paffive obedience and non-refiftance is universal among them, and the

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