622 REVIEW.--Pratt on Savings Banks. ary character. Savages, even though cannibals, are grades higher than either of the wild men mentioned. Ghost Seer (from the German of Schiller), Vol. I.-The story, as far as we can judge from the first volume, is full of plot and cabal. The Ghostmakers are only Thaumaturgists, striv ing to entrap a German Prince. Occasionally coruscations of Schiller's genius; e. g." Beauty is born a queen,' appear with great brilliancy; but the German novels are of very different construction to those of the English; and a pettifogger or swindler among us, would be incapable of such able Machiavelism as is here described. For our parts, we deem it essential that the materials of a novel should be found in real life. Ficta voluptatis causa sit proxima veris. From what we have read of Italy (and Venice) Schiller's novel may be a warning to foreigners, who are the fittest subjects, through ignorance of national manners, for plunder, and perhaps assassination, from that cause, or revenge. [VOL. CL The Savings Banks in England, Wales, and Ireland; arranged according to Counts; with the period of the establishment of each institution, and the increase or decrease of each class of Depositors, &c. since Notember 1829, from the latest official returns, &c. &c. By John Tidd Pratt, Esq. Barrister-at-Law, appointed to certify the Rules of Savings Banks and of Friendly Societies in England and Wales, &c. &c. THERE is no surer indication of the increase of moral character in the mass of the people, than that of the increase of economists: and what wise man would not rather see England a warm hive, populated by honest industrious bees, than a cheese, composed of felonious political mites? But further introduction is unnecessary, because proverbs form the useful copper coin of prudence, and every man knows, as well as he does the Britannia on a half-penny, that "a penny saved is a penny got,” and that“ every little makes a mickle." We shall therefore proceed to the following summary, from page 71 : SUMMARY OF SAVINGS BANKS, &c. IN ENGLAND, WALES, AND IRELAND. In England, Wales, and Ireland, there were, on the 20th November, 1830, four hundred and seventy-seven Savings Banks; from twenty-three no returns have been made.—The remaining Banks contain : It is remarkable, that in England, Wales, and Ireland, the average amount of each depositor under 20l. is the same, viz. 7.; while the total of such depositors is in England, 187,770; in Wales, 5,117; and in Ireland, 17,360. The total amount of investments in England is 13,080,2551. and the increase 81,0847.; in Wales, 340,7211. and 8,515. decrease; in Ireland, 945,991., and 59,721 increase. The increase of depositors under 201. is in England 7,082; in Wales, the decrease is 104; in Ireland, the increase is 1,948. Now, as political economy 34 is more often lighted up with "Wills o'-the-Wisp" than with gas, we think it right to observe, that Ireland is certainly in a state of greater distress than Wales; and that the Savings Banks deposits under 201. in general show little more than that a fewer number of servants are kept in the Principality than in Ireland. The mass of such small depositors consists chiefly of celibates in service, who thus hoard a certain portion of their wages; the married families commonly expend their savings upon the purchase of cottages and pieces of land; ; PART II.] REVIEW.-Mutiny of H. M. S. Bounty. sometimes upon a stock for a small trade. To recommend the important blessing of this institution by a common-place eulogy would be unnecessary; but not so, if we observe that it would be greatly benefited by masters insisting upon a strict observation of sobriety, industry, and prudence in their dependents; because he who gets drunk is expensive, idle, and imprudent, even if he does not become dishonest. The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: its cause and consequences. (Family Library, No. XXV.) THE interest which is almost proverbially attached to the history of Robinson Crusoe, and which has tempted so many imitations of that fascinating tale, must be multiplied in the perusal of the present volume, when it is felt that all the hazardous adventures, all the perilous escapes, and all the resources and contrivances attendant on the domestic economy of a solitary island, here related, are matters of fact and actual occurrence. If there ever was a romance of real life, this is one; not deficient even in that integral part (as the fashion goes) of a fictitious romance-a tale of love; but it is the pure flame of fraternal affection, though burning with an unusual and enthusiastic intensity. The great charm is, that all is true and we have the best satisfaction not only for the authenticity of the narrative, but that the most perfect information has been procured, when we learn that the author is Mr. Barrow, the Secretary to the Admiralty. The volume is divided into eight chapters. The first contains a brief description of Otaheite, as it was at the time of its first discovery by Capt. Wallis, and when subsequently visited by Captain Cook. In the perusal of this we cannot but imagine that credit is given to Capt. Cook for many of the reflections of Dr. Hawkesworth, and feel that the natural and unsophisticated narrative of the navigator, though it might not have so well pleased the public at first, would now (were it preserved) be considered more interesting than the well-formed sentences of the scholar. It appears that Captain Cook very erroneously calculated the population of Otaheite at 204,000. 623 "By a survey of the first missionaries, and a census of the inhabitants taken in 1797, the population was estimated at 16,050 souls; Captain Waldegrave, in 1830, states it, on the authority of a census as taken by the missionaries, to amount only to 5000and there is but too much reason to ascribe this diminution to praying, psalm-singing, and dram-drinking. "The island of Otaheite is in shape two circles, united by a low and narrow isthmus. The larger circle is named Otaheité Mooé, and is about thirty miles in diameter; the lesser, named Tiaraboo, about ten miles in diameter. A belt of low land, terminating in numerous valleys, ascending by geutle slopes to the central mountain, which is about seven thousand feet high, surrounds the larger circle, and the same is the case with the smaller circle on a proportionate scale. Down these valleys flow streams and rivulets of clear water, and the most luxuriant and verdant foliage fills their sides and the hilly ridges that separate them, among which were once scattered the smiling cottages and little plantations of the natives. All these are now destroyed, and the remnant of the population has crept down to the flats and swampy ground on the sea-shore, completely subservient to the seven establishments of missionaries, who have taken from them what little trade they used to carry on, to possess themselves of it; who have their warehouses, act as agents, and monopolize all the cattle on the island-but, in return, they have given them a new religion and a parliament (risum teneatis?) and reduced them to a state of complete pauperismand all, as they say, and probably have persuaded themselves, for the honour of God, and the salvation of their souls!", The second chapter relates the expedition of the Bounty, commanded by Capt. Bligh, to convey the breadfruit tree from Otaheite to the West India islands. The Bread-tree, which without the ploughshare, yields The unreap'd harvest of unfurrowed fields, And bakes its unadulterated loaves, Without a furnace in unpurchas'd groves, And flings off famine from its fertile breast, A priceless market for the gathering guest. These lines, which do not exaggerate the well-furnished state of Otaheite in its "golden age," are from Lord Byron's "Island;" in which he partially treated the subject of this volume, which is so well adapted for an epic poem; but, by blending two incongruous stories, and leaving them both imperfect, and by mixing up truth with fiction, Byron was on the whole less felicitous than usual. 624 REVIEW.-Mutiny of H. M. S. Bounty. In the third chapter are related the momentous events of the Mutiny. It was evidently in great measure occasioned by the overbearing conduct and brutal abuse employed by Capt. Bligh to his officers, particularly towards the high-spirited Christian. It is impossible not to admire the adroit seamanship and great moral courage which enabled Captain Bligh to perform his unparalleled voyage of four thousand miles, with seventeen other persons, in an open boat (which forms the subject of the next chapter); yet we are convinced that the impartial and feeling reader will regret, that a man who had been guilty of such cruelties, and whose heartless severity was the occasion of so much crime and so much suffering, should ever have had so completely the power of making ex-parte statements, and have carried the government and the country so far with him, as not only to escape censure, but to receive consolation and reward. The present author, with all his official and honourable horror of naval insubordination, is forced by a sense of justice to censure Bligh. There is some satisfaction, after reading the unparalleled sufferings of Mr. Heywood when on board the Pandora, and after its shipwreck, to know that to him at least reparation was made, and that he afterwards run a successful and honourable career in his profession; but what a long train of persecution have we first to peruse in the chapters entitled the Pandora, the Court Martial, and the King's Warrant! We lately gave a brief sketch of these circumstances in our memoir of Capt. Heywood. To the Captain's widow, "the Editor is indebted for those beautiful and affectionate letters, written by a beloved sister to her unfortunate brother, while a prisoner and under sentence of death; as well as for some occasional poetry, which displays an intensity of feeling, a tenderness * *A memoir of Capt. Heywood, who died on the 10th of February last, will be found in our last Supplement, p. 540. Sir Thomas Staines's narrative of the state in which he discovered the Pitcairn islanders, was inserted in our vol. LXXXV. ii. 597; also Lieut. Shillibeer's, who was with Capt. Staines, in our vol. LXXXVII. ii. 340. Some interesting particulars of the family of John Adams, were communicated to our vol. LXXXVIII. ii. 37, by our late intelligent correspondent Mr. Walters. [VOL.CI. of expression, and a high tone of sentiment, that do honour to the head and heart of this amiable and accomplished lady. Those letters also from the brother to his deeply afflicted family, will be read with peculiar interest." Intensely interesting as the whole volume is, perhaps the most pleasing chapter is the last, which describes the simple and virtuous manners of the descendants of the uncaptured Mutineers, accidentally discovered in 1814 on Pitcairn's island; and subse quently visited by Captain Beechey in 1825, and Captain Waldegrave in 1830, besides a few other private vessels. Capt. Waldegrave was sent by his Majesty's government to supply these interesting people with a few cattle and other stores. Mr. Barrow remarks: "It is impossible not to feel a deep inte rest in the welfare of this little society, and at the same time an apprehension that something may happen to disturb that harmony and destroy that simplicity of manners which have hitherto characterized it. It is to be feared, indeed, that the seeds of discord are already sown.' It appears that Capt. Waldegrave found three Englishmen had made their way into this happy society; and that one of them was an idle and impudent fellow, calling himself “ "pastor, registrar, and schoolmaster," and thus infringing on the capacities which had been already well supplied, first by the venerable patriarchi Adams, and afterwards by John Buffet, an industrious and harmless seaman, the first stranger who arrived. "Just as the last sheet came from the press, the editor has noticed, with a feeling of deep and sincere regret, a paragraph in the newspapers, said to be extracted from an American paper, stating that a vessel sent to Pitcairn's island by the missionaries of Otaheite, has carried off the whole of the settlers to the latter island. If this be true, -and the mention of the name of Nott gives a colour to the transaction-the cherubin' must have slept, the flaming sword' have been sheathed, and another Eden has been lost and, what is worse than all, that native simplicity of manners, that purity of morals, and that singleness of heart, which so peculiarly distinguished this little interesting society, are all lost. They will now be dispersed among the missionary stations as humble dependants, where Kitty Quintal and the rest of them may get food for their souls,' such as it is, in exchange for the substantial blessings they enjoyed on Pitcairn's Island." PART II.] REVIEW.-Treatise on Silk Manufacture. Alas, the evanescent happiness of mortal man! the brief duration of his golden ages! The history of Pitcairn's Island is begun and concluded in one brief volume; and, as usual, the busy fanatic has spoiled what the philanthropist and philosopher have admired, and a paternal government has cherished and assisted. We are sure this volume will be very popular, particularly with the naval profession. It is embellished with six interesting plates etched by Lieut.-Col. Batty. A Treatise on the origin, progressive improvement, and present state of the Silk Manufacture. (Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia.) WHENEVER we are at a loss as to the origin and early history of arts or manufactures, we refer to the manners and customs of savage nations. From these we find that felting or beating the inner barks of trees, to fabricate a cloth, is still practised in Polynesia; accordingly, we presume this practice to be antecedent to spinning, as spinning is to weaving. The utility of entwining suitable plants, as initiatory substitutes for cords and ropes, (mythology hints observation of spiders,) may (necessity being the mother of invention,) have given birth to some method of spinning; and the easy conversion of the threads or lines into cloth by crossing them, may have suggested weaving; and when these arts, however rude, are known, it will of course occur, that matters of fibrous texture may be used as materials. We of course speak hypothetically; and presume that some ingenious person, unknown, having noticed the outward or floss silk of the worm, and the continuity of the filaments, conceived the idea of making it useful and attractive for garments, by applying it to the apparatus for spinning and weaving. That the Chinese are eminent for ingenuity, beauty, and delicacy of workmanship in various articles of mechanism, is well known, and he who does well is naturally impelled to do better. Accordingly, silk is described by the ancients, as first coming from Sereinda, a word compounded of Seres, the Chinese, and Indi, a vague term, applied without precise application, as India is now by Europeans. The commercial pursuits of various nations inGENT. MAG. Suppl. VOL. CI. PARTII. G 625 troduced from China the manufactured silk; and importation of the raw material gave employment to extensive manufactories in Persia, Tyre, Berytus, and elsewhere. In ancient Italy the labours of the silk-worm were unknown; and Pliny and various writers confounded what they had heard or read of silk-worms feeding on mulberry leaves, with cotton, growing upon shrubs, with flax, and with coir, or the inner rind of the cocoa-nut. The introduction of the manufacture by Justinian into Italy is in all its particulars familiarized; but the proFirst, King of Sicily, led into captigress was very slow, until Roger the vity from Greece numerous silk-weav ers, and obliged them to instruct his subjects. By degrees, the knowledge of the several processes was diffused over the greater part of Italy, and carried into Spain; but it did not take root in France till the time of Francis the First, and still later in England, though the use of it, as an imported article, was far earlier. To continue the abstract any further we deem unnecessary; and for details we have not room. We shall therefore only add, that the book is curious, and very satisfactorily executed; and that all such works tend to suggest other inventions, and also improvements in those already known. Considerations addressed to all Classes, on the necessity and equity of a National Banking and Annuity System. 8vo. pp. 71. He FINANCIAL speculations, like various minerals and vegetables, can only be classed among medicines, or poisons, by experiment; and as no such experiment has been made with regard to our author's proposition, we shall state it, and there leave it. proposes the establishment of Governmental Banks and Annuity Offices, in every parish; by the profits of which said banks and annuitories, a sinking fund of five millions would, he says, be annually raised towards redemption of the national debt. That the savings banks and friendly society institutions might be extended with benefit both to the state and people is probable, because they have worked well; but our author (p. 60) calls the saving institution an embargo upon industry; because, as we assume his meaning, the money is not laid out upon speculations, and so produces less interest. But the former implies a certainty, and the latter a lottery; nor would we advise a man worth only 51., to risk it, as at a gamingtable, under the hope of doubling it. He ought not to run before he can walk; but if he risks only a little time and labour, and is a prudent, managing, and calculating fellow, he cannot do better than follow our author's methods of " turning a penny," mentioned in pp. 19, 20. Our author says, p. 65, that the ope ration of the free-trade system," is to diminish the wages of the workmen, but not the prices of the articles; to augment the profits of the capitalist out of the property of the poor. He says, "Many an article of primary use by the rich and poor, articles too on which there is no limitation, are as costly now as they were when wages were double the present rate. Since we first gave way to the clamour for free trade, wages have fallen 60 per cent.; in 1828, about 15 per cent.; in 1829 to 35 per cent.; in 1830, they had fallen below 60 per cent., with a prospect of farther depression."-p. 65. Rules for improving the Health of the Delicate. By W. Henderson, M.D. Post 8vo. Pp. 328. DR. HENDERSON, a person of the delicate health described, has written this book for the purpose of recommending a "Stomachic Vegetable Elixir," prepared by himself, from which he has derived great benefit. Books upon health are considered by the profession to do, in the hands of Color Images in the Brain; with a view of the bearings of their detection on Philosophy; to which are annexed strictures on the Abstract of the subject printed by the Royal Society. 8vo. pp. 39.-By color images, our author means (see p. 10), visible objects detected in the head; and he states it, as a truth, "that over and above the gift of two external or cranial eyes, man has, by his adorable Creator, been endowed with an internal and cerebral organ, which performs the office of a THIRD EYE, by being the common recipient of impressious, propagated either from one or both the cranial eyes; and that the mind, in its presence-room, perceives by means of images, and steers with regard to external objects, on the same principle, as the captain mariner, sitting below in his cabin, perceives, by means of his mariner's compass, that his ship is steering [VOL. CT. We the public at large, more harm than good, and we are sure, that no man ought to adopt new rules, without previous medical approbation. shall therefore not enter into the subject further than to quote an extraordinary cerebellum case. "Upon examination of the head after death, the brain was found to be remarkably softened throughout its whole substance. Four ounces of limpid fluid were found in the ventricles; and a tumour embedded in the centre of the left hemisphere of the cerebellum, or little brain, measuring one inch in the transverse diameter, and weigh ing 1 oz. 3 dr. "The most remarkable feature in this case is, that although the sight, hearing, and the power of volition, or latterly the influence which the will possessed over the voluntary muscles, were completely destroyed, yet the reasoning faculties remained unaf fected, and digestion and nutrition went in, with very little interruption, to the last."p. 33. Hence we may infer that, (1) as Phrenologists allegate, the brain is compartmental, each compartment having its own peculiar modes of action, independent of and unaffected by the others; (2) that such compartments have their own peculiar sets of nerves; (3) that volition has an action distinct from the reasoning faculties; (4) that the latter has an intimate connection with the organs of digestion and nutrition, which are not subjected to volition; (5) if so, that there may be compartments, which especially belong to the senses and volition; and others, which as especially appertain to the involuntary parts. Other deductions may be made, for which we have not room. towards the pole, or in any other direction." That animation or self-agency implies an accompaniment of mind to direct it, is obvious; but we do not believe, that any language which we possess, or any knowledge which we can acquire, can elucidate the processes of mental action. The reason may be that the processes and results, though real, are insubstantial, possibly for this cause. Upon insubstantiality may partly depend the accumulation of ideas, because by this means they have no bulk, and require no room, which must be necessary if they were material. How vision can be presumed to penetrate an impermeable medium, and how insubstantiality can have the properties of organization, we know not; and without disputing the talents of Mr. Fearn, we class insubstantials with infinites, of which nulla sit ars. |