terror of innocent travellers; their parishes groaning under a burden of poor creatures crammed together in places mifcalled workhouses, where they linger out an indolent nafty existence: their numbers increasing yearly to fuch a degree, that it has long engaged the attention of the legiflature, and exercised the ingenuity of individuals, hitherto in vain, to find a remedy adequate to fo deplorable à political diforder!

Such a reprefentation would hardly obtain credit, had we not too fenfible evidences of its reality in the heavy rates yearly collected for the fubfiftence of the parish poor; in the importunity we meet with, and in the violence we frequently fuftain in the public highways.'

In his general view of the hardships fuftained by thofe who are obliged to contribute towards the maintenance of the poor, he endeavours to fhew how individuals in the fame parish are comparatively affected by the poor's rates; and then proceeds in like manner to examine how parishes are affected, compared with each other collectively. Here we have a variety of ftriking remarks, particularly on workhouses; of the ill-conduct of which he gives a very affecting defcription: for which, however, we must refer to his performance.

Among the causes affigned by our Author, for the general distress of the community, by the continual increase of the poor, he has introduced a fubject of the utmoft confequence.

Land (fays he) is held in England by various tenures; founded on abfurd principles and obfolete ufages. It is needlefs to enter into a particular examination of the laws and cuftoms of defcent, and the different kinds of entails and limitations in fucceffion: the most general entailment being from eldest fon to eldest fon, an examination into the merits and tendency of this mode of facceffion, on the principles of humanity and policy, will open an important field of difquifition, and inform us fully on the fubject of the prefent eflay.

According to this tenure the whole inheritance of a father who dies, leaving perhaps fix children, is vefted in that ONE, who, by claim of primogeniture, is in law conftituted his father's heir! which is alfo the cafe where the owner of a freehold eftate dies inteftate. The fecond fon cannot inherit unless the first die without iffue, or his iffue be extinct. The third cannot inherit, until fuch failure of the first and second; and fo through the whole collateral line, daughters excluded, who, poor girls, have no other dependence than the cafual perfonal provifion their father may have made for them; or an unportioned de. pendance on their lordly elder brother. Where is juftice, where is humanity, where is found policy all this while? Voces et preterea nihil!

The entailment of eftates, which arofe from the ancient feodal or military tenures of knight-fervice, is now jultified from the principle of keeping up the dignity of families, which the eldest fon is enabled to do by fucceeding to the inheritance preferved entire. In fact this is not upholding families, but a partial fondness for upholding the first shoots of family ftems; for the fake of which, families are difinembered; all the other equally vigorous and valuable branches being lopped off and thrown afide, to confine the fap to the nourishment of this one.

Thus in every family all the other children are facrificed, caft on a cafual trifling dependence, to veft the whole patrimony in that one, for the fake of a falfe punctilio.

• All these excluded children, from pride of families from which abey

Cca

they derive little but the honour of claiming kindred with them; whatever their flender means may be, emulate the rank of the elder branch. This induces a general extravagance and tafte for luxury, which from this fource becomes univerfally contagious. This must be upheld; therefore fathers and brothers, that their children and relations may not difgrace them by finking from their own rank, nor hang upon them for fubfiftence; are eternally gaping for places and penfions for them, which are fhamefully multiplied to answer thefe laudable ends.

However the name and appearance of the thing may be qualified, is not the cafting the genteel Poor thus upon their country for a mainte nance, mutato nomine, analogous to the vulgar Poor being cast upon a parish?

• Hence arifes all the danger our liberties (fuch as they are) are conti nually in, and the progreffive retrenchment of them. These are the men whose attention is continually turned to the enflaving their country. It is a natural confequence, arifing from the circumstances they are in. which, if they do not amount to a juftification, yet must be admitted in alleviation. What is a country to those who inherit from it nothing but an obligation to uphold an empty rank? When fuch therefore are attached to the government for bread, what is more natural than that they should exert their talents to render their dependence as permahent as poffible? and endeavour by all devifeable methods to strengthen and enlarge the power of the administration over the people. As families increafe, the number of political geniufes fo fubfitted and fo employed, and who fo employ themfelves in order to be fo fubfifted, vaftly out number thofe attached to the cause of their country by their landed poffeffions, who are but the units of their respective families. Nor do even thele tell for their number; for thofe whofe real interefts call for their counteracting the machinations of the minions of power, are too frequently rendered indolent by their affluent eflates, if not drawn over to the oppofite intereft by their own extravagance, and by the glare of honours and court favour.

Hence arifes the neceffity of multiplying taxes, which however refined and plaufible the pleas for them may appear, fpring in great meafure from the obligation of providing for the numerous branches thus lopped off, and denied any thare of nourishment from the family ftems. The borrowing great fums from individuals, for thefe and the current exigencies of ftate, and giving them nominal capitals in ideal funds, the interest of which is paid by taxes impofed for thofe purposes; thefe, and all the intricate fchemes depending on fuch refources, have given rife to a fpecies of artificial traffic with fuppofititious property, as pernicious to the nation, as all tranfactions founded on falfe principles muft neceffarily be.'

This, indeed, is a conftitutional evil, confeffedly productive of the wort inconveniences to the flate; but where is the political phyfician who will take upon him to prefcribe a ratical cure for a disorder of fuch long ftanding Our Author, indeed, hints at the remedy; but an adequate difcuffion of fo important a point would exceed the limits of his pamphlet.

This Writer's remarks on the national debt are no lefs just and acute, than his thoughts of inheritance by primogeniture; but we have not room for further extracts.-He goes on to confider the confequences of

the

the inordinate paffion of our country gentlemen for town-refidence; the monstrous increase of our capital city; the monopoly of farms; the dif proportion, in the employments of the people, between the cultivators of land and the workers at our various manufactories; the monopoly of trade; and various other political evils, which equally call for redrefsIn the latter pages of his very fenfible tract, he enlarges on the probable good confequences that would follow from an equal inheritance, which he wishes might be enacted to commence with the children of the prefent generation, to the landed poffeffions of their parents-that the eldest fon may no longer devour his brethren. He briefly anfwers fome objections that would naturally be made to a measure of this kind; but whether it would answer all the valuable ends which the public-fpirited Writer, in the glow of his heart for the good of his country, fo fondly predicts, time only could fhew:-that time alas! which neither our Author nor his Reviewers can ever hope to fee!

Art. 5. Confiderations on Taxes, as they are fuppofed to affect the Price of Labour in our Manufacturies-Alfo fome Reflections on the general Behaviour and Difpofition of the Manufacturing Populace of this Kingdom; fhewing by Arguments drawn from Experience, that nothing but Neceffity will enforce Labour; and that no State ever did, or ever can, make any confiderable Figure in Trade, where the Neceffaries of Life are at a low Price. In a Letter to a Friend. 8vo. Is. 6d. Johnson.

We have here the pleasure to find a very fenfible Writer agree with us, in fome hints which we threw out in our Review of Dr. Brown's late performance. His Idea of the difpofition of the manufacturing Populace, especially with regard to their motives and inducements to labour and industry, is exactly the fame with our own: but we believe there are many readers who will not fcruple to charge both him and us with downright herefy in politics, and unfound principles of trade and commerce. Herefy, however, is not always fo far diftant from Truch, as thofe who deem themfelves orthodox may imagine.

The prefent Letter-writer appears to have drawn many of his notions from experience in bufinefs, as well as from theoretical fpeculation; and his principles are ftrengthened by the concurrent arguments of Sir William Temple, Sir William Petty, Sir Jofiah Child, Mr Pollafen, Mr. Gee, and others who have all concurred in the fame obfervation, that Trade can never be greatly extended, where the neceffaries of Life are very cheap.

:

That Taxes or the neceffaries of Life are not injurious to trade, but that they have, on the contrary, a natural tendency to im rove and

This Gentleman differs in fome very capital points, from the Author of the foregoing article; but this will not be wondered at, when we confider the difficulty and perplexity of fuch Subjects; entangled as they are with a furprizing multitude of relations.' and depending on Facts with which very few are well acquainted. Befides, it is not uncommon to fee even men of the belt abilities drawing different conclufions from the fame premifes.

extend it, is not a very popular kind of doctrine; and no doubt, will be warmly contested by many; yet this is a point which our Author feems to have fully proved, by arguments derived from experience. And tho' many things advanced in this ingenious performance may carry a paradoxical appearance,, we imagine they will be found, on an impartial and attentive perufal, to merit the ferious confideration of the Public. The Subject is of the utmost importance to every ftate, and cannot be too much attended to. Our very being, as a nation, especially as a maritime, commercial nation, depends, in great meafure, on a right understanding of the Principles here investigated; and therefore we cannot but think, that every one who contributes to give us real information, in matters of fuch great confequence, is entitled to the thanks of his country, and the grateful efteem of every good Citizen. Writers on thefe truly useful Subjects, will do more fervice to fociety, than all the tribe of thofe political wranglers, who are eternally amufing us with their fquabbles about ministerial or anti-ministerial proceedings with the Jargon of a Party, or the cant of a Patriot.

Art. 6. A full and free Enquiry into the Merits of the Peace; with fome, Strictures on the Spirit of Party. 8vo. 2s. T. Payne.

Candor must confefs that the Writers on the fide of administration, during the political contefts that, for thefe two or three years paft, have engaged the attention of the public, have, in general, had the advan tage over their opponents, in point of capacity, and in the powers of compofition. The prefent Author, however, appears to excel rather in declamation than in argument; and feems to be a more accomplished Writer than Statefman-a better Chriftian than Politician.--The Sum of his doctrine is this:-That whoever will, with temper and candor, review and examine this peace, with refpect to the motives of the war, the fair, uniform, confiftent fentiment of the people; the application of the immutable principle of right and wrong; the indifpenfible and capital intereft of the kingdom; the true genuine merits of the two several negociations of 1761 and 1762; and the national affent and approbation expreffed by the almoft unanimous voice of Parliament; will naturally and neceffarily acknowledge it to be an honorable, fafe, and advantageous peace, molt fuperlatively adequate to the motives and caufes of the war, and a peace of immenfe acquifitions, which in their very nature contain a full indemnification. The oppofition, therefore, made to this peace, and the fpirit, temper, and conduct with which it has been carried on, being duly confidered, and contrafted with the equitable, generous, conftitutional plan of his Majesty, for embracing and comprehending all his people, and uniting all the partial, detached, and paffionate interefts of parties into one general public intereft; muft appear to be unconftitutional, private, and selfish-tending to divide the people, promote faction, embarras government, enervate and weaken the power and importance of the nation, and to lose all the inestimable advantages fo lately acquired by fo vigorous a war, and secured by fo equitable a peace.'-This equity of the peace appears to be a favorite point with our very candid and difinterefted Author; but the epithets advantageous, ficure, permanent, we conceive, would be more triking to the generality of his ENGLISH Readers:-Nor, indeed, are

thofe

thofe circumftances overlooked, in our Author's inquiry into the merits of the two feveral negociations of 1761 and 1762.

Art. 7. A Poftcript to the Letter on Libels, Warrants, &c. in Anfwer to a Poffcript in the Defence of the Majority; and another Pamphlet, intitled, Confiderations on the Legality of General Warrants. 8vo. 6d. Almon.

The letter to which this is a poftfcript has been very generally read, and, we believe, as generally approved. The fpirited Writer does not appear to have been in the leaft intimidated by the proceedings which have been carried on in confequence of his letter, for he ftill maintains the fame manly freedom and intrepidity; and even ventures to make an addition to the number of fignificant Ifs, which have given such offence, in the former pamphlet.

L A W.

Art. 8. A new Treatife on the Laws for Prefervation of the Game: Containing all the Statutes, Cafes at Large, Arguments, Refolutions, and Judgments concerning it; equally useful to the Gentleman and Farmer; as the Gentleman may learn how far his Privilege extends, and the Farmer may be enabled to know when the Gentleman exceeds the Limits prefcribed by Law, and the proper Methods of Redress. Together with all the Acts of Parliament relating to the Sale of Fish in the Cities of London and Westminster. By a Gentleman of the Middle-Temple. 8vo. 3s. 6d. Thrush.

When vaffalage was a tenure recognized in this country; when our monarchs were the great Nimrods of the land; when the liberty of the chace was one of the foremost privileges of nobility; when villages and towns were turned into forests, that the mighty hunters might have a fpacious round for pursuing their favourite fport.-In thofe days of rude and favage policy, one would not wonder at the abfurdity and cruelty of certain regulations, called Game Laws. But now that the darling sport of kings, and of king-like lords, is become the pastime of ruftic efquires, and of prodigal mechanics, and that the meaneft tenant is, by law, as free as his landlord, we cannot but express our furprize that fuch flavish and unequal laws are not only enacted, but fupported by oppreffive and unconftitutional affociations. It is hard that the first born booby of a qualified bumpkin fhould ride over hedge and ditch in purfuit of poor animals perhaps more fagacious than himself, while the honeft farmer dares not touch the game which is sheltered and fed on the very ground

he rents.

With regard to this compilation, which is called a Treatife, we wil only fay, that it may be of fervice to those who have occafion to make themselves acquainted with thofe laws, but we could wish that no fuch laws had ever existed, and that the industry and patience of this Compiler had been exercifed in fome more profitable pursuit.