תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

and most of a fummer, fays Dr. Baillie, at Hanover, at two different times, with that amiable Prince, the late Prince of Wales, who juftly deferved the character given to Titus the Roman Emperor, Delicia humani generis. There never was a better heart in a human breast, than he poffeffed; and he often faid to me, that if he lived to be King of Britain, he would look upon any man who wifhed to fee him an abfolute Prince, as an enemy to him and his family, for two reafons: first, becaufe the prefervation of the liberties and religion of Great Britain were the causes of establishing his family on the throne: Secondly, becaufe he was convinced, that the King of a free people was twice as powerful as a King of flaves to his arbitrary will.'

K.

ART. VIII. An Effay on the fundamental or most important Doctrines of natural and revealed Religion. By J. Wood, B. D. 8vo. 2 S. Exeter printed; London, fold by Law. 1774.

A

MONG other ftrictures which were made on a former * publication of Mr. Wood's, we obferved that he had. adopted the most ridiculous peculiarities with regard to his or. thography, and that his innovations in this refpect went far beyond the ufual line of pedantry and affectation, fo as to dif credit both his taste and understanding. In anfwer to this cenfure, our Author, fpeaking of the refpectable corps of Reviewers, expreffes himself as follows: I am wantonly charged, in their ufual spirit of infallibility, with a pedantic kind of kakography; but let these heroic vulgar fcribes have a little patience, and they fhall foon be informed of feveral things relative to the nature and fixed rules of fpelling and orthography, of which at prefent they are as ignorant as they are of the conftitution and figure of the inhabitants of the moon or of Saturn.' Notwithftanding this pompous denunciation, we have the pleasure of finding that Mr. Wood has exhibited some marks of fear, and even of docility. In fact, he has humbled himself under the rod, and hath learned, from our correction of him, to orthographife in a decent and proper manner.

Having been fo happy as to have taught our Author to fpell, we fhould rejoice to be capable of informing our Readers that we had been equally fuccefsful in teaching him to write. But we must confefs, with grief, that, in this respect, we have found him a very unapt fcholar. We cannot yet congratulate him upon his having rendered himself complete mafter of his English grammar.

Neither is it in our power to pafs a high encomium upon Mr. Wood's improvement with regard to the matter of his

* See Review, June 1773, P. 511.

compofition.

compofition. He ftill continues to exhibit a strange mixture of fenfe and folly, of liberality and prejudice; though, we think, not altogether with fo unhappy a preponderancy on the fide of abfurdity and bigotry as appeared in his former work. His profeffed defign is to treat on the fundamental doctrines of natural and revealed religion; but he frequently deviates from his main fubject, and introduces fomething either very abfurd or very trifling. Without being deftitute of natural abilities, and with a confiderable fhare of learning, he betrays fuch a flagrant want of order and judgment, and fuch a falfe and pedantic tafte in writing, as cannot fail of giving perpetual disgust to bis readers.

The Author's fentiments concerning the nature and defign of religion, and the terms of falvation, are just and rational. In treating on the Trinity he affumes the appearance of being very orthodox; but his explication of that doctrine contains the most direct Sabellianifm that we have met with a long time, and in ages more zealous for the purity of the faith_than_the prefent he would have been deemed a capital heretic. The Diffenters are treated by Mr. Wood, with great contempt and feverity; and yet he acknowledges the reasonableness and equity of their late bill for a more extended toleration.

We Reviewers are the objects of our Author's peculiar refentment. He has devoted to us no less than two Appendixes, in which the fury of the poor Gentleman's paffion has quite overpowered his reafon : fuch is the ingratitude of mankind to their best benefactors! Nevertheless, we fhall ftill continue our benevolent chastisements; for though we have too much cause to defpair of fuccefs, we cannot tell what effect the persevering efforts of criticism may have, even on fuch an unpromising fubject as Mr. John Wood.

K.

ART. IX. An Essay on Circulation and Credit, in four Parts; and a Letter on the jealousy of Commerce; from the French of Mon fieur De Pinto. Tranflated, with Annotations, by the Rev. S. Baggs. M. A. 4to. 10s. 6d. in Boards. Ridley, &c. 1774.

THE

HE Tranflator's preface contains the following account of the plan and execution of this elaborate performance, which the attentive and impartial Reader, however he may differ from the Author, will not think at all exaggerated:

The great propofition maintained by the Author of the following effays, that the national debt has been the chief fource of the prefent wealth and power of Great Britain, though not, as he apprehends, intirely new in this country, had novelty enough however to attract my attention. The book had been favourably received upon the continent, and I understood that the Author was a man of character and reputation in Holland. I was curious to fee in what

D 3

manner,

[ocr errors]

manner, and with what degree of accuracy, fuch a fubject could be
treated by a foreigner. Though no great adept in the mystery of
finance, I was fatis fied, that, with regard at leaft to the debts and
refources of England, I must know more of the matter than he did,
This opinion will not appear very prefumptuous to any man, who
has had an opportunity of converfing with foreigners, especially the
French, upon the internal ftate of our affairs, and who knows how
ignorant they are in general of a subject, on which they nevertheless
are at all times ready to decide. This, however, I found was not
the cafe with the work before me. The Author appeared to be a
man of abilities, who had taken confiderable pains to be informed.
His principal object feems to have been to fupport the credit of the
English funds against the prejudices, the ignorance, and the malig
nity of the French. At the fame time, though he takes part with
England upon this queftion, it is evidently not from partial or in-
terefted motives, but from a thorough conviction of the truth of his
doctrine. In other inftances he is the friend of France. In all in-
ftances he is the friend of mankind. This favourable character is
not meant to include the idea of infallible. The fyftem he supports
may be true in the main, though not logically demonftrated; or it
may be utterly falfe, though ingenioufly defended. At any rate,
confidering the quantity of foreign property vested in our funds,
and how much it behoves us to fupport the reputation of parliamen
tary faith, and national fecurity, in the eyes of foreigners, a work
of this nature cannot be indifferent to the public. Every argument,
that tends to maintain the juft fuperiority of our credit over that
of other European nations, particularly of France, deferves to be
encouraged; and this is a fubject, on which a foreigner will be more
readily believed abroad than an Englishman; with refpect to the
English reader, I will not venture to promife him much information
in matters of fact; but his mind will probably be led to a new train
of thought upon a question of infinite national importance, and
which hitherto feems hardly ever to have been confidered but in one
point of view. The declamations against the pernicious effects of
the national debt have not been confined to the difcourfes of the
vulgar, or to the wisdom of the news-papers.
Some of the ablest
men in the kingdom have treated the fubject with as much popular
violence and paffion, as if it would not bear an argument, or as if
truth and reafon were unquestionably on their fide, and nothing but
ignorance and madness on the other.'

How far this laft reflection is well founded, we leave the Public, before whom the evidence lies, to determine and shall proceed to give a general abftract of our Author's fyftem and reafoning. The following anecdote relating to the Author may be new to fome of our Readers; and we fhall therefore tranfcribe it:

A miflake in that article of the preliminaries of the laft treaty with France, which relates to the poffeffions of the two Eaft-India companies, was fortunately obferved by Monfieur De Pinto, and communicated to the late duke of Bedford. This anecdote is highly honourable to the duke's memory. He faw, and acknowledged the

importance

importance of Monfieur de Pinto's obfervation, and, with a fpirit infinitely more honourable to him than any diligence that might have prevented the mistake, he infifted peremptorily upon its being corrected in the definitive treaty. The French minifter fhrugged his fhoulders, refifted, cavilled, remonftrated, complained, grimaced, and fubmitted. Monfieur de Pinto's fervices on this important occafion were recommended by the duke, and rewarded by the company. They gave him five hundred pounds a year, which he now enjoys, and which, it is to be prefumed, their gratitude and justice will always continue to him.'

In the first part of this work, the ingenious Author undertakes to obviate the principal objections that have been urged against our enormous national debt, and to evince the advantages arifing from it under certain limitations and restrictions.

It is not foreigners only, (fays our Author) who are unacquainted with the nature of the national debt in England; the natives themfelves mistake the matter. Many Englishmen, as well as foreigners, confider the debt as a counterpoife to all their fucceffes. Supported by the authority of Lord Bolingbroke, Sir Robert Walpole, Sir John Barnard, and other great men, they look upon the national debt as an unwieldy burthen, that oppreffes the kingdom, and enervates the power of the state. Their apprehenfions, I believe, are founded on the following principles.-The more a government is indebted, the more the nation must be loaded with taxes to fatisfy the intereft only; this of itfelf is a great inconvenience. The fecond refulting from the firft, is, that increase of taxes raifes the price of labour, and injures manufactures. the third is the tribute paid to foreigners, who have property in the funds. The fourth, which has been much and long infifted on, is the fpirit of idleness, gaming, and ftock-jobbing introduced into the nation by the traffic carried on in the funds. Thefe four objections feem, at firft fight, to juftify every declamation against the national debt; yet I think I can demonftrate, from fpeculation and experience, that what has been faid upon this fubject is more fpecious than folid; and that people have talked, without entering thoroughly into the question.'

In answer to the first objection, our Author endeavours to prove, by a method of reafoning which, in our judgment, is far from being conclufive and fatisfactory, that the national debt has enriched the nation:

- On every new loan the government of England mortgages a portion of taxes to pay the intereft, and creates a new artificial capital, which did not exist before, which becomes permanent, fixed, and folid, and by means of credit circulates to the advantage of the public, as if it were in effect so much real treasure, that had en riched the kingdom. Let us take for an example the twelve millions borrowed in the year 1760, and fee what became of them. Is it not true, that the greatest part of that money was spent within the nation? Nothing but the fubfidies, and a part of the fums expended in Germany, can be confidered as loft. I fay a part, for, even in a war upon the continent, the nation profits by furnishing a variety of articles, as well as by the individuals, who are employed there.

D 4

When

1

When they water Germany, they only fertilife a foil, of which their commerce reaps the benefit. The riches of Germany always turn to the account of trading nations. But I content myself with obferving, that it is indifputable that a great part of the above loan was employed and circulated within the nation. England then will have preferved a confiderable fhare of these twelve millions, dispersed and abforbed in the nation itfelf; at the fame time that the numerary riches of her creditors, who are chiefly English, are aug mented by twelve millions, which did not exist before.'

As a farther proof of the propofition here advanced, the Author asks, in what the numerary wealth of about a hundred and thirty millions, which the English nation poffeffes in annuities and other factitious funds, would have confifted, if the funds had never been?

In anfwer to this question (fays the tranflator) it may fafely be affirmed, that the money, lent to government for the support of wars deftructive of agriculture, commerce, and population might have been in a great measure abforbed in the cultivation of immenfe tracts of wafte-lands both in Great Britain and Iteland, in the encouragement of induftrious foreigners to fettle among us, and in the improvement of our colonies, ad infinitum. Light taxes would have encouraged population, because they do not load the means of subfiftence. The price of labour would have been reduced; manufac, tures found an eafy, vent abroad; or, if the foreign market failed, the demands of the colonies would have employed all the industry of the nation. Population and confumption would have increased ra pidly together. Confidering the colonies as confolidated with the mother country, and their mutual advantages improved as far as they might be, the British empire might fubfift alone, and maintain its greatnefs, without any dependance on foreign trade. This is the tate of political perfection, to which, as the Author himself acknowledges, every great kingdom fhould afpire. Instead of being employed to thefe falutary purposes, the hundred and thirty millions Tent to the ftate have fupported a conftant war against population, and prevented the existence of millions of ufeful fubjects,'

Our Author's reafoning is grounded on thefe two principles, viz. that a light tax is drawn from the nation, into whose hands it returns, with a general benefit to the whole; and that the fame piece of money may on one day pafs through twenty different hands, and reprefent twenty times fucceffively its nus merary value as a fign.

Taxes, for the most part, return into the hand that gives them. It is always the rich, or those who spend money, that pay taxes in the last refort, as well from their own expences, as by enabling

*By the word numerary the Author means the fictitious value of flocks, effects, and property of every kind, fuppofed to be reduced into fpecie. As long as this reduction is performed partially and fuccefively, the numerary has a real value equivalent to fpecie. An attempt to relieve the whole at once would reduce its value to nothing, Tranflator's Note..

others.

« הקודםהמשך »