The reign of Elizabeth, in the courfe of the last century, is remarkable, on account of her abolishing the use of torture, and governing her fubjects for twenty years without inflicting a single capital punishment. The late Emprefs Catharine employed her felf in founding a number of fchools, for the education of the lower claffes of her fubjects, throughout the beft inhabited parts of the empire; an inftitution of the most beneficial tendency. She died in 1797, and was fucceeded by her fon Paul; fince dead, and fucceeded by Alexander I. GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Between 49° and 58° 50' North latitude, and 2° Eaft, and 6° 20' Weft longitude. ENGLA Divifions. fq. miles. population. capital. inhabitants. ENGLAND and Wales, 54,1227,000,000 LONDON, 800,000 25,100 1,300,000 | Edinburg, 80,000 21,216 | 2,161,514 | Dublin, Scotland, Ireland, 160,000 Scotland, 31 and 2 stewardships. British Poffeffions beyond the Seas. 1. In EUROPE, the fortrefs of Gibraltar, on the coaft of Spain; 3,200 inhabitants.. 2. In AFRICA, Cabo Corfe, on the coaft of Guinea, and fome other forts there near the Gambia, and the ifland of St. Helena. 3. In Asia, the extenfive countries of Bengal, Bahar, and part of Orixa. 1. The capital of Bengal is Calcutta, or Fort William, the refidence of the Governor General of the Eaft India fettlements. These territories are computed to contain 10,000,000 inhabitants, and to be in extent nearly 150,000 fquare miles. 2. Large fettlements on the coaft of Coromandel, of which Madras Madras is the capital, containing to eco inhabitants. 3. The fettlements of Bombay and Su.at, on the Malabar cat, and many other forts and factories on the continent of India, and the ili ds of Sumatra, Bally, and Banca; and the ifland of Ceylon. 4. IN AMERICA, the extentive provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brufwick and Novi Sectia ; fettlements in Labrador and Huston's Bay, the illu ds of -Newfoundland, Cape Bretor, and St. J hr. 2. In the West Indies; the illanos mentioned in page 294. Wealth and Commerce.] The two divit. as et Great Britain, England and Scotland, differ widely with respect to their natural fertility, and to the wealth of their inhabitants. South Britain, or England, abounds with all the useful productions of thofe countries of Europe which are in parallel latitudes, wine, filk, and fome wild animals ex.epted. Agriculture, gardening, the cultivation of all these plants which are moft niful for feeding cattle, and breeding horfes and theep, are carried on in E and to an artishing height. Ot about 42,000,000 acres, which England contains, only 8.500,000 produce corn; the rest is either covered with wood, or laid out in meadows, gardens, parks, &c. and a confiderable part is ftill wafte land. Yet out of the crops obtained from the fifth part of the lands, there have been exported, during the face of five years from 1745 to 1750, quantities of corn to the value of 7,600 cocl. Sterling. The nut produce of the Englith corn lard, is eltimated at 9,20occo lering. The rents of pefture ground, meadows, &. at 7,605,cos. The number of people engaged in, and maintained by farming, is fuppofed to be 2,8; 5,000. Erglind abounds in excel lent cattle and theep. In the beginning of the last century there were fuppofed to be 12,0ca,cco of fheep, and their number has fince been increafing. Ia the year, 1769, 1770, and 1771, the value of the woollens exported from England, including thofe of Yorkfhire, amounted to upwards of 13,500,000l. ferling. Copper, tin, lead and iron are found in great abundance in Great Britain, where there is made every year from 50 to 60,000 tons of pig iron, and from 20 to 30,000 tons of bar iron. England England poffeffes a great treafure in its inexhaustible coal mines, which are worked chiefly in the northern counties, whence the coal is conveyed by fea, and by the inland canals to every part of the kingdom. The mines of Northumberland alone, fend every year upwards of 600,000 chaldrons of coals to Londor, and 1,500 veffels are employed in carrying them along the eaftern coast of England. SCOTLAND'S natural productions are greatly inferior to thofe of England, both with refpect to plenty and variety. It produces chiefly flax, hemp, coals, fome iron, and much lead. The trade of this country confifts chiefly in linen, thread, and coals; they have lately begun to manufacture cloth, capets, fugar, &c. IRELAND is, in most of its provinces, not inferior in fertility to England. The chief articles of its produce are cattle, fheep, hogs, and flax; large quantities of excellent falted pork, beef and butter are annually exported.. The Irish wool is very fine. The principal manufacture of Ireland, is that of linen, which at prefent is a very valuable article of exportation. Fifteen hundred perfons are employed in the filk manufactures at Dublin. With the increafe of liberty and induftry, this kingdom will foon rife to the commercial confequence to which it is entitled by its fertility and fituation. The total value of the exports from Ireland to Great Britain, in 1779 and 1780, at an average, was 2,300,000l.. The balance is greatly in favour of Ireland. The manufactures in England, are, confeffedly, with very few exceptions, fuperior to thofe of other countries. For this fuperiority, they are nearly equally indebted to national character, to the fituation of their country, and to their excellent conftitution.. The English government, favourable to every exertion of genius, has provided, by wife and excellent laws, for the fecure enjoyment of property acquired by ingenuity and labour, and has removed obftacles to induftry, by prohibiting the importation of fuch articles from abroad, which could be manufactured at home. The The British iflands, among other advantages for navigation, have coafts, the fea line of which, including both Great Britain and Ireland, extends nearly 3,800 miles. The commerce of Great Britain is immenfe and increafing. In the years 1783 and 1784, the fhips cleared outwards, amounting to 950,000 tons, exceeded the number of tons of the thips employed in 1760, (24 years before) by upwards of 400,000 tons. The value of the cargoes exported in 1784 amounted to upwards of 15,000,000!. fterling; and the net cuitoms paid by them into the exchequer were upwards of 3,000,000. fterling; and even this fum was exceeded the following year, 1785, by upwards of 1,000,000/ fterling. The balance of trade in favour of England is eftinated at 3,000,cool. The inland trade is valued at 42,000,000, fterling. The fisheries of Great Britain are numerous and very productive. The privileged trading companies, of which the Eaft India Company, chartered in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, is the principal, carry on the most important foreign com merce. The -Government.] The government of Great Britain may be called a limited monarchy. It is a combination of a monarchical and popular government. king has only the executive power; the legislative is fhared by him and the parliament, or more properly bythe people. The crown is hereditary; both male and female defcendants are capable of fucceflion. The king mua profefs the Protellant religion. Religion. The established religion, in that part of Great Britain called England, is the Epifcopal church ef England, of which the king, without any fpiritual power, is the head. The revenues of the church of England are fuppofed to be about 3,000,000l. fterling. All other denominations of Chriftians, called Dif fenters, and Jews, are tolerated. Four fifths of the peo. ple of Ireland are Roman Catholics, and are confequently excluded from all places of trust and profit. Their clergy are numerous. The Scotch are Prefbyterians, and are Calvinifts, in doctrine and form of ecclefiaftical government. The other most confiderable reDD 2 ligious ligious fects in England, are Unitárians, Baptifts, Quakers (60,000) Methodists, Roman Catholics (60,000) 12,000 families of Jews, and French and German Lutherans and Calvinifts. History.] Britain was first inhabited by a tribe of Gauls. Fifty-two years before the birth of Christ, Julius Cæfar fubjected them to the Roman empire. The Romans remained mafters of Britain 500 years, till they were called home in defence of their native country against the invafion of the Goths and Vandals. The Picts, Scots, and Saxons then took poffeffion of the ifland. In 1606, William, Duke of Normandy, obtained a complete victory over Harold, King of England,. which is called the Norman Conqueft. Magna Charta was figned by John 1216. This is called the bulwark of English liberty. In 1485, the houfes of York and Lancafter were united in Henry VII. after a long and bloody conteft. In 1603, King James VI. of Scotland, who fucceeded Queen Elizabeth, united both kingdoms, the name of Great Britain. The ufurpation of well took place in 1547. The revolution (fo called on account of James the fecond's abdicating the throne, to whom William and Mary fucceeded) happened 1688. Queen Ann fucceeded William and Mary in 1702, in whom ended the Proteftant line of Charles I, George I. of the houfe of Hanover, afcended the throne in 1714, and the fucceffion has fince been regular in this line. George III. is the prefent King. The Union of Ireland with Great Britain took place, after a warm oppofition, in 1800. B OUNDED north, by the German Ocean, Denmark and the Baltic; eaft, by Poland and Hungary ; fouth, by Switzerland and the Alps, which divide it from |