Imatges de pàgina
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truly fay, I fcarce miffed hearing a fyllable of it; fo that I was en abled to take down, with the greatest accuracy, notes of the most ftriking paffages of the different arguments made ufe of that day; fome few of which, as delivered by Mr. S. I will fend you exactly as they ftand on my paper; they may perhaps enable you to judge which publication correfponds moft with truth. As it is impoffible, for want of space, to fend the whole of his arguments, 1 will fend you the notes of fuch parts only as have been the principal caufe of public animadverfion; premifing, at the fame time, that they are fuch as are of obvious meaning, and which were nowife lowered or qualified in the delivery, nor taken as inferences from the general tenor of his argument.. "His (the King's) influence is not exorbi"tant-his hands ought to be ftrengthened-inftances his inability *to prevent being irreverently spoken of in every company and eve86 ry ftreet-not able to prevent being in the public news-papers"the proceedings of this day introductive of confufion, as they aim "at putting the King under the guardianship of parliament, as they call upon it illegally to interfere with his prerogative, and inquire into the expenditure of money granted him for his pri66 vate ufe-want to withdraw the facred veil that hides from the people the splendors of majesty-Royalty without influence no "better than a lifeless skeleton-infifts much on the immortality "and impeccability of the King-declares the laft is the only fafety "of the people-defines liberty to be no more than protection and " fecurity-the protection of the King is the liberty of the fubject "the Whigs actuated by felfifhnefs-Sir R. Walpole, a leader of "that party, of opinion, that every man had his price-l fear, alas! "I mult fubfcribe to his opinion-they ufurped the power, but left "the name only to the King-made themselves a fourth part of the "conftitution—were bold enough to declare the neceffity for fo "doing-have always, till this very time, conducted themselves "with a little, illiberal, selfish policy-they are the cause of the war in America, and fomented the difturbances in Ireland-the greatest misfortune to this country is, that no minifter has hitherto been bold enough to keep up the taxes in the time of peace to the highest pitch of a war-establishment, not even Lord Chat"ham, who, though he glared a meteor in a ftorm, had not the qualifications proper for a minister in times of peace a violent oppofition to all public meafures has ftrengthened and fupported. "the rebellion in America—the fame oppofition have folicited Ire"land to violence-the calamities of the country do not originate "from the influence of the King, but from his not poffeffing in"fluence enough-do not proceed from the influence of the King, "but from the felfifhnefs of the people-I know no man' that is free "from the influence of felfishness and party-I do not believe there "is at this time a fingle patriot in Britain-if there is one, he now "fits on the throne-I fear I must fay the King is the only patriot "this country produces-on what falfe principle do we call on the "parliament to interfere with the prerogative of the crown-on "the falfe idea, that the King is the fervant of the people-it is a mean idea, he is not their fervant, but their foul; he is the life, the foul, the very existence of the constitution."

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Till I faw the Review, I had not heard of the publication by Mr. Smelt; but how great was my amazement, on a careful perufal, to find fo much in fome parts added, fo much left out in others, and where I difcovered fomething of the original fentiment, it was fo much lowered and qualified from the very pointed and decided terms in which it was actually delivered, as fcarce to be known again. All thofe paffages in his publication which refer to the fubfequent refolutions of the meeting, to the forming a committee, &c. are added; it being impoffible that Mr. S. who spoke early in the debates of the day, could refer to them, because it is impoffible that a committee to fupport the petition could be moved for, or refolved upon, till the petition itself had met with the approbation of the meeting. But Mr. S. forgets this, and is guilty of a very unfortunate inaccuracy, by introducing as part of his fpeech, an account of the hafte with which the refolutions were paffed; whereas, as I obferved before, the refolutions were not noticed till fome hours after he fpoke, and when proposed, were neither introduced in hafte, nor with an appearance of not being meant to be deliberately confidered; as at least two gentlemen fpoke concerning them, and that too for fome time, though not for an hour and five minutes each, as Mr. S. did, through all which time he was heard with the moft filent attention, fave only in one inftance, when he well knows the members of that committee, who, according to his account, Speak in thunder, raised their voices, to fupprefs the indignation of fome of his hearers, which was fhewn at a time highly improper.-Under the fame predicament, likewife, are thofe two parts of his publication, in which he affures us, that a real great plan of national economy will undoubtedly come forward as foon as there is temper and leisure for it ; -and that at this time the true principles of trade are beginning to be underflood; that the navigation-act in America, and the refraints in Ireland, will be judged as prejudicial to the whole empire, as if they exifted in London. I am certain, had these two points made a part of the actual speech, they would have had the greatest weight with an auditory confifting entirely of country-gentlemen and merchants, efpecially knowing whofe authority the speaker had; but unfortunately they never were touched upon.

The fame impartiality and regard for truth which compelled me to make these obfervations on Mr. S.'s publication, induce me likewife to do him justice in faying, that I have always heard he bore an amiable character in every inftance of private life; but I must leave you and the world to judge, how far in his public character he is, or is not, the abject tool of defpotifm he has been reprefented by his violent commentators.As no ill-will to Mr. S. but a real regard for truth, and a wish that the public may not be misled by a publication which appears to me, and all I have converfed with, to be far from accurate, or by an undeferved severity upon the speech published at York, is the fole caufe of my troubling you with this, I hope it will find room in the conclusion of your next Review. If you have any doubts of the accuracy of these observations, I will, with the fame regard to the invelligation of truth, anfwer any queries you may choose to put to me, in the most explicit manner I am able.

I am yours,

A YORKSHIREMAN.

** Mr. Chath taken exceptions at fome paffages in the Monthly Review for May, which, in his opinion, were defigned to throw a ridicule, or fix a ftrong mark of cenfure, on the puritans and old non-conformists. We meant no offence to the liberal Diffenters of the prefent day: and we think fuch Diffenters will not be offended either at our ridicule or our cenfure. • Slaves to no fe&,” we can see the follies and vices of all: and when we fee them we will not fail to expofe and chastise them.

Mr. C. notwithstanding his warm attachment to the cause of nonconformity, pretends not to undertake the defence of that fpiritual committee which acted under Oliver Cromwell's authority, in the trial of fouls, and were deputed to give in their verdict-grace or no grace! I have nothing to fay with refpect to Stephen Marshall, Philip Nye, Jofeph Caryl, and Hugh Peters, excepting, that even the last never appeared more ridiculous during the whole courfe of his life than Archbishop Laud did, when confecrating the St. Catherine Cree's church: nor could the tyrant Cromwell himself, ever look more odious to the eye of humanity than that fame Archbishop did, at the time when fentence was paffed upon Dr. Leighton! The farce of confecration at St. Catherine Cree's church (which is a precious fubject of ridicule to the Diffenters, and is generally made the moft of) exhibited the Archbishop in a light that did little honour to his understanding: and the affair of the Star-Chamber ftill lefs credited his heart than the former his head.

Mr. C. entirely mistakes our defign, if he imagines that we attempt to depreciate one clafs of tyrants in order to exalt another:—and we will farther add, that Mr. C. mistakes his own abilities, if he imagines that by attempting to make the bishops appear odious, he can make the nonconformists appear lovely.

To convince our Correspondent of our impartiality, we will grati fy him by publishing his counterpart to what he calls, our fevere cenfure on the puritanical divines.'

" And we trust also, that not many in thefe more liberal days, will be found among the members of the Church of England, who can, on ferious conviction, and without a blush, vindicate that farce of mockery to God, and infult and tyranny to man, exhibited by a fet of proud, injolent ecclefiaftics, and dark defigning politicians, who were deputed by Charles I. to fit in judgment on those minifters of the Church of England, who refused to submit to their illegal impofitions, and who infolently affumed to themselves the name of fucceffors of the Apoftles. The grand object of their enquiry was, whether minifters Jubmitted to every thing which they on their own authority faw fit to appoint? The names which thone moft illuftriously in this fpiritual committee, were thofe of Wren, Pearce, Manwaring, and above all Archbishop Laud-their very names carrying tyranny with them: for, at that time of day, they were regarded with an abhorrence bordering on deteftation, by all the true lovers of their country, though these mock fucceffors of the Apostles were exalted to the very highest rank among ft the great ones of the earth.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For AUGUST, 1780..

ART. I. Biographia Britannica: or, the Lives of the most eminent Perfons who have flourished in Great Britain and Ireland, from the earliest Ages to the prefent Times, collected from the best Authorities, printed and manufcript, and digefted in the Manner of Mr. Bayle's Historical and Critical Dictionary. The Second Edition, with Corrections, Enlargements, and the Addition of new Lives. By Andrew Kippis, D. D. F. R. S. and S. A. With the AffiRance of the Rev.. Jofeph Towers, LL. D. and other Gentlemen. Volume the Second Folio. 11. 11s. 6d. Sheets. Bathurst, &c.. 1780.

THE

HE particular improvements which the Public is to expect in this edition of the Biographia Britannica, having been already enumerated in our account of the firft volume (See Rev. for Oct. 1778), it is at prefent neceffary only to obferve, in general, that the Editors appear to profecute their de-, fign with all the judgment, affiduity, and fidelity, which are, requifite to entitle the work to a favourable reception. The new lives in this volume are confiderably more numerous, and the additions to the old articles more copious, than in the former. Above a third part of the volume confifts of entirely fresh

matter.

The additions to many of the lives are exceedingly valuable; and in fome inftances are intended to correct the mistakes or partialities which had crept into the original work, and to remove every ground for the charge which has fometimes been brought against it, as confifting of apologies and panegyrics rather than impartial narrations; on which account Mr. Walpole faid, he could not help calling the work Vindicatio Britannica. The Editors have particularly taken pains to fet the characters of the Earl of Arlington and the Earl of Portland in their true light. We must, however, restrain ourselves from giving any VOL. LXIII.

G

extracts

extracts from thefe incidental additions to the former articles, in order to make room for fome interefting particulars which we fhall felect from the new lives inferted in this volume.

The following fhort account of a most ingenious and much lamented youth will be fo interefting to those who are engaged in the pursuit of natural knowledge, that we shall make no apology for laying it before our Readers entire.

John Bradby Blake, a young perfon who was cut off early in life, but whofe improvements in natural knowledge were fo great, and his defire to promote it fo zealous and fuccessful, that he is juftly entitled to an honourable place in this work, was the fon of John Blake, Efq; of Parliament-ftreet, Weftminster, and was born in Great Marlborough-street, London, on the 4th of November, in the year 1745. His grammatical education he received at Westminster School, then under the care of Dr. Markham, the prefent Archbishop of York; and Dr. Cooper was his private tutor. In mathematical learning he was inftructed by Mr. John Canton of Spittal-fquare, M. A. a diftinguished member of the Royal Society; and he acquired an acquaintance with chemistry from Mr. Read, Mr. More, hereafter mentioned, and the late ingenious Mr. Henry Baker. To render him complete in drawing, he was put under the best mafters; and his progrefs, in every respect, was equal to the hopes and wifhes of his father and his friends. In botany, which was his favourite ftudy, he obtained no fmall degree of fkill before he went abroad. With all these advantages of education, Mr. Blake ftruck at once into life, being fent out, in the latter end of the year 1766, when he was fomething more than twenty-one years of age, as one of the East India Company's Supercargoes at Canton in China. No fooner was he fixed in this place, than he refolved to employ every moment of his time, which could be spared from the immediate duties of his ftation, to the advancement of natural fcience, and the benefit of his country. His plan was to procure the feeds of all the vegetables found in China, which are used in medicine, manufactures, or food; or are in any shape serviceable to mankind; and to fend into Europe not only fuch feeds, but the plants by which they were produced. His view in this was, that they might be propagated either in Great Britain and Ireland, or in thofe colonies of America, the foil and climate of which might best fuit them. As thefe colonies on the Continent, as well as the Weft-India iflands, lie in fimilar latitudes with the respective provinces of China, &c. Mr. Blake had reason to hope, that the feeds and plants he fent over would all fucceed in one or other of them, if conveyed thither in a vegetable ftate. Nor did he confine himself folely to the produce of the Chinefe Empire. He established, likewife, (by means of the Junks) an intercourfe with Japan and' Cochin China; and his endeavours were attended with fuccefs. The feeds fent by him to John Ellis, Efq; of

a For the materials of this Article, we are indebted to John Blake, Efq; of Parlia ment-ftreet, Weftminster, and to the Annual Regifter for 1776, Vol. xviii. p. 30→→ 35. Part. ii. The authenticity of the account in the Annual Register is confirmed by Mr. Blake.

Gray's

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