by the benevolence of the king; and it is now boasted that it 'is restored to the nation, though it exifts in no part of the kingdom.'

Thirdly, the decrees are inconfiflent with the instruction, in what relates to the property of the provinces, the clergy, nobility, magistracy, and every clafs of citizens. The property of the provinces is violated by the abolition of rights and general privileges; of the clergy by the contifcation of their poffeffions; of the nobility by the violation of their manerial rights, their privileges, and the deftruction of their titles; acts particularly improper, as contrary to the orders of the electors, and ungrateful to those whofe military fpirit the kingdom has in adverfity owed her falvation to, and at other times her glory. The property of the magistracy has been violated by depriving them of their profits, while the promised indemnity has not yet been decreed; of the citizens by the former acts, which have rendered the clergy and nobility incapable of paying their debts, or of clearing the fums to which the estates were liable. Penfions alfo the moft trifling, and the most merited, have been refused. I have been,' faid an old officer, covered with wounds, I have been to the committee to demand payment of my penfion, which is only 700 francs; I have stated that it is neceffary to my exiflence. Go, faid they, go and ask it of your relations. The fum amounted to 30l. and the officer could difplay nine wounds received in the fervice of his country. The pentions our author in fome degree defends, and obferves that, in M. Necker's account, in 1781, they amounted to 28 millions; in M. de Calonne's ministry, in 1787, to 27 mil lions: in 1788, the fum was the fame, and in 1789 it was faid they would be reduced to 26 millions and a half; but, from M. Necker's account, on the 1ft of May 1789, they were very near 30 millions. It is impoffible to follow our author particularly in his defence; but, instead of near 59 millions, as has been alJedged to be diftributed annually in largeffes, he endeavours to how, that the whole of the penfions, and every other pe cuniary favour, capable of being confidered in this light, from whatever fund they may come, amounts to very_little more than 32 millions. Even the Red Book, if the different parts are brought together, and fairly confidered, is, he thinks, more in favour than adverse to the French administration.

The laft inconfiftency of the decrees, compared with the inftructions, relates to the administration of justice. We shall mention only our author's remarks on the decrees refpecting the trials by jury, because we think they have been mifunder tood. The affembly has followed the general opinion of the nation, in adopting the conftitution of juries, in criminal procefies; and it has acted wifely, he thinks, in not urging their admision in civil caufes; their utility in thefe not being equally certain in the prefent state of French jurifprudence. But the aflembly has exceeded its inftructions, and the example of England,

: when

when it extended the jury to military offences, which required painful punishments, and were of fuch a nature as to be judged only by a council of war. One cannot read without attonithment, in the decrces of the 16th of October, concerning the marine, that acts of difobedience to the captain, mutiny in the crew, the most important breaches of difcipline, fome inftances of treafon, could not be repreffed and punished, till after a military jury, till the comrades of the culprits had found them guilty.

M. de Calonne then proceeds to another queftion, and examines, whether the affembly is a national convention? Has it, with this title, a power to create a new government, to annal the unanimous inftructions of the electors, to forbid future affemblies from changing any of the decrces, which it fhall have adjuded to be conftitutional? The difcuffion of this queftion is tedious and uninterefting, nor is it difficult to guefs at the answer. The next fubject relates to the immediate electors of the legislative body, who are alfo at the fame time entrusted with the choice of provincial adminiftrations, judges and bishops, having a power to act without orders, on their own fuggeftion only. Thefe affemblies are 83 in number, and each is compoled of about 600 citizens. It is not difficult to fee, in our author's opinion, that each of these may differ from the national affembly; and they may become, in the end, a number of petty independent republics. The first principle of policy, in allowing them to begin their offices at pleature, has undoubtedly been overlooked.

The confequence of thefe errors and of the effects is, that the whole ftare of affairs must be changed, not by a civil war, but by recurring again to the fenfe of the people, and adhering to their inftructions, which feem to have been full of moderate and judicious plans. Thofe circumitan es, which they overlooked, or had not provided for, fhould be again confidered. The plans which principally relate to the contitution are next fhortly added, and, in the margin, it is feen how far the affembly has adhered to them. It certainly has oppofed them in the most effe ntial particulars; and what, adds our author, is the confequence? Flame, fire, difcord and robbery have laid waste the kingdom; the throne is infolted, all orders of people fuffer, the fortunes of individuals and the finances are crushed, the nation is miferable, and the names of Frenchmen fullied.'

You have fworn,' he o' ferves, to be faithful to the nation, the law and the king, to maintain, fo far as is in your power, the conftitution decreed by the national affembly and accepted by the king. In this you have already violated that part of your oath which regards the king, and have fworn to obferve what does not exist, tor the fytem of the convention does not exist as a conflitution; it is not decreed by the affembly er accepted by the king. What is the conclufion then? There mull be a counter-revolution.' But M. de Calonne takes great

6

pains

pains to show, that he means not to refiore defpotifm, but to model the conflitution according to the national inftructions, which the affembly has effentially departed from.

Such is nearly the work of M. de Calonne, warm, animated, and fometimes violent, but not without traits of just reasoning, reflection, and political knowledge. At this time, we thought it neceffary to enlarge on the production of a man, who with the best opportunities of information, was able to convey his remarks with peculiar energy. His bias was well known, and he could not, on that account, mislead a reader of judgment. His reprefentations are often undoubtedly too warm; but, on the whole, they are not very incorrect. It is incumbent on the eager friends of reformation, in this kingdom, to weigh the undoubted facts with care, to examine the real state of France with attention, and then seriously ask themselves, if. fuch a regeneration is to be wifhed for, if fuch a revolution fhould be attempted in this country?

Thoughts on the Commencement of a New Parliament. With an Appendix, containing Remarks on the Letter of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, on the Revolution in France. By Jojeph Towers, LL. D. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Dilly.

IT

T has often been our misfortune to differ from Dr. Towers, either from different habits, different views, or fome other caufe; we find it difficult to coincide with him on political fubjects, and we must now refume some points, of which we have already had occafion to exprefs our difapprobation in other works.

In thefe Thoughts, with great propriety addreffed to the New Parliament, we find a long lift of errors imputed to the minister and to the last parliament. We do not think them faultlefs, and will join with Dr. Towers in his fevere reprobation of the extension of the excife on the subject of tobacco. The excife was always an unpopular attempt; and though we think the manufacturers have in a great measure brought this inconvenience on themselves, and if they alone bore the burden we should scarcely complain; yet the arbitrary vifits of excife officers, and the extenfion of the powers of justices of the peace, independent of a trial by jury, render this new mode of collection not lefs injudicious and impolitic at this time, than inconfiftent at any period with the liberties of an Englishman. The minister would have acted with spirit and ability if he had lowered the duties beneath temptation, and come to parliament for a compenfation if the revenue had fallen fhort. No one, who valued liberty, would have refused to pay his proportional quota. The wine-merchant, at least the honeft merchant, was compenfated by the fuppreffion, in fome de

gree,

gree, of adulterated liquors; but the extenfion of the excife is, in this inftance, almost equally odious.

In fome other refpects, Dr. Towers' complaints have a lefs ftable fupport. In all his reafoning against continental connections, this contradiction is, we think, evident: Avoid war by depriving yourself of the power of carrying it on with fuccefs. If in our continental treaties we have exposed ourselves to fome contingencies we might have avoided, by their af fiftance we are enabled to oppose almost every attack. At the end of the last war, where, for instance, should we look for a naval ally? not in France or Spain, who were then purfuing the plans of aggrandifement, formed in confequence of the family-compact; not in Sweden, at that time a penfionary of France; not in the weak, enfeebled, and disjointed state of Denmark; not in Ruffia, which it was known could be gained only by facrificing the navigation-act. Holland alone remained, who was to be drawn from the power of France, and her alliance was infeparable from that of Pruffia, a formidable counterpoife alfo to the efforts of France on the continent. On this fubject Dr. Towers does not differ from the hiftorian of the New Annual Regifter; and we are now told that the Dutch should have been permitted to fettle their own conftitution. This we may allow, if it were poffible; but the alternative was, whether they should settle their conftitution with the affistance of France in a manner inimical to England, or with our affistance in favour of this kingdom.-We have no hesitation in saying, that every part of the pamphlet which relates to foreign connections is weak, inconclufive, and contradictory. In other refpects, a moft violent oppofition, we had almost said an apparent enmity to Mr. Pitt, feems to have dictated the pages before us.

The commutation-act has failed of its effect in the principal inftance: teas are not lowered in proportion to the price paid for this purpose in the additional tax on windows. This fubject the minister should attend to, because, by the failure, he has in fome degree forfeited his contract; but in other respects the commutation-act has been highly advantageous. Thofe who see the operations of the fmuggler on the fpot, will think no facrifice fhort of an extenfion of the excife, too great to be put in competition with his deftruction. The filver and copper coin is another fubject of which our author neither fees the extent nor the foundation. Silver and copper are only employed in internal circulation; and in one view, it is of little confequence if they have a nominal, whether they have an intrinfic value. But no fum of filver coined would continue many months in the kingdom, because, from the varied value Vol. LXX. Dec. 1799. A a a

of

of filver, the gold is too dear, that is, too many legal fhillings are allowed for a guinea. This leads to the confideration of external circulation, or a different arrangement of all the subordinate coins; a circumftance which must be touched with a ender hand, and not touched at all but after mature confideration.

Of Mr. Pitt's conduct during the regency, Dr. Towers Speaks with fome applaufe; indeed he could not, confiftently with his own fyftem, difapprove of an appeal to the people, from whom all power is derived. But not to lofe every opportunity of blame, he ftyles the appointment of a commiffion under the great feal, to give the royal affent to the regency bill, a miferable fiction. If, however, the law or the conftitution has given fuch power to the chancellor, that, should he put the great feal to any grant, though not impowered to do fo, the grant is ftill valid, and he only punishable for a high crime and mifdemeanor, it was furely allowable to take advantage of the custom, and give the appearance of regularity to a measure which had the fubftantial foundation of general confent. We have no objection to admit that this gives too much power to an ignorant, an ambitious, or a turbulent individual, and that it fhould no longer exift, but while it does exift, there was no reason that in fuch peculiar circumftances it should not be employed.

The Appendix relates to Mr. Burke's Reflections; and Dr. Towers combats his obfervations on the conftitutional ard re volution focieties, on the hereditary right of kings, on the clergy of France, and fome other mifcellaneous topics relative to the revolution. On the first point we really fufpected that Mr. Burke had been too metaphorical, and that he had indulged a poetical vein, in a little enlargement; but the whole appears to be true,, At what time, and with what perfeverance, were the works of Locke, Sidney, Trenchard, and lord Somers circulated gratis? and what authors have affumed their place?

The most fuccefsful part of Dr. Towers' oppofition relates to the clergy of France, and the power of the people to cafhier kings for their misconduct; but it is a little inconfiftent to anfwer Mr. Burke's argument refpecting the hereditary rights of kings, by examples from hiftory previous to the period when this mode of inherited fucceffion was adopted by parliament. Every thing is to be done when the conftitution is finally fettled; and at that epoch, an æra we fear far diftant, we may again refume the fubject. Dr. Towers' Appendix contains nothing very flriking or conclufive; nór will his work be long diftinguished in the hoft of Mr. Burke's anfwerers.

Preface