1832. Critical Notices. the well directed fire of their artillery, had nearly effected the dispersion of his whole force; and our arrival in the rear of the rebels was only in time to save that wing of the royal army. "The confusion of their cavalry, and the capture of their artillery, was seen by the parliamentary generals, as soon as by the cavaliers; and while a small body of our friends came down to support me, a large mass of pikemen and a regiment of cavalry began to rise over the slope, which concealed the main body of the Roundheads from my sight. "The situation was critical; but a moment's panse would have been ruin. The only hope was, to cut through the Londoners before the others could come up, and ordering the trumpeters to sound a charge, we dashed in amongst them. They were taken by surprise: their line was extended, and shallow; ours was narrow and deep; and our whole purpose being to force our passage, we poured our squadrons at once upon their centre, and cleared ourselves a way Not that the by the very impetus of our course. citizens fought amiss. Not a man attempted to turn his bridle, as they had done in the first regiment we attacked; and I do believe, that the two troops with which we came in contact, were annihilated where they stood,-a great part cut down, and many trodden under the horses' feet. Nor did we ourselves suffer a little; for we afterwards found that nearly a hundred men had fallen in our ranks, during the brief moment which was required to cut our way through. I was slightly wounded myself in the face, and in the arm; but not so much so as to disable me in any degree; and we continued the same rapid pace with which we had advanced, till we reach ed the foot of the hill from which Lord Goring was directing the efforts of the cavalry that remained upon the field. The last companies of infantry were now retreating easily along the high road; and the firing had ceased on both parts. But dense masses of the Parliamentary horse were seen coming up in all directions; and it seemed evident, that we should still have a very severe and difficult task to effect our retreat before so superior an enemy." Observations on the Law and Constitution, and Present Government of India, on the Nature of Landed Tenures and Financial Resources, as recognized by the Moohummudan Law and Moghul Government. With an Inquiry into the Administration of Justice, Revenue, and Police, at present existing in Bengal. By Lieutenant-Colonel Galloway, of the Hon. East India Company's Service. This very comprehensive title presents the reader with his bill of fare. It is a practical work by a practical man, and is entitled to a candid and serious perusal. This second edition makes its appearance at a seasonable time. The writer is a friend to the renewal of the Hon. Company's charter. We are afraid he is something of a "bit by bit Reformer." Our opinions are far from coinciding with all that he has ad. vanced on this subject. In a commercial point of view, what have the Company and the nation at large gained by monopoly? Even Lieutenant 293 Colonel Galloway admits that there are many evils in the administration of Indian affairs; and in the present system it is difficult, if not impossible, to apply an efficient remedy. While we refer with pleasure to the work itself, which is nowhere disgraced by dogmatical assumption or overweening partiality, we quote the following paragraph from the preface to the present edition, which throws a glimpse of light upon the Author's views: "It is the want of knowledge experimentally of India which betrays many into the egregious error of propounding schemes for the better government of that country; some of them, indeed, in the abstract, excellent, but inapplicable, perhaps, on account of their very excellence. To produce good fruit, the soil as well as the seed must be suitable. The very best of our English institutions could no more prosper in India, in her present condition, than they could have done in England in the days of Canute the Dane. To fit them for such institutions, the people of India must be carefully led ont of their present con. dition, and by degrees; but no nation was ever driven out of a state of intellectual darkness. The ephemeral tenure of our supreme rulers, both in India and in England, is of itself capable of retarding the improvement of India. In India, the bead of the Government is usually withdrawn about the time he has, by personal experience, acquired sufficient knowledge and sufficient confidence in himself to do any thing; and in England the superiors there rest on the fate of the Minister of the day. The consequence is, that some, and those the very best men, impelled by their very virtues to hasten amelioration, fall upon inappropriate remedies, which rather aggravate than assuage the evils they would remove. Others, again, looking to their transient sojourn, despair of doing much good, and attempt none. inen are too apt to identify every thing with themselves. They are anxious to do good, but it must be done quickly; yet who does not know that, in national affairs, nothing but the most For the trivial matters can be so managed. government of India, he who lays down one good principle, need hardly require greater praise. The road to the improvement of India must not be precipitous. The acclivity, gentle yet uniform, must be such as to lead the people in the easiest manner out of the cherished track of ancient error. It must commence there, and terminate by the most gradual ascent in that eminence, both of moral and religious elevation, to which we desire to raise them." But The Author passes a high compliment upon the Government as it now is: we do not feel in unison with him. We think there are crying and hideous enormities in India, which long ere now might have been totally banished from that land of idolatry. A heavy responsibility rests upon those who, with all the power in their hands to annihilate them for ever, have suffered them to continue undiminished to the present hour. A Tour in Switzerland and France. By the Rev. W. Liddiard. Mr. Liddiard possesses so many of the qualities which constitute the agreeable and amusing tourist, that although the route he has pursued has been frequently traversed, and long made familiar to the public, we find enough in his work to justify an anticipation of its proving a welcome companion to those who may be inclined to follow the same track, as well as a fund of entertainment to readers at home. The Vale of Chamouni, the Bernese Alps, and the Lakes of Uri and Lucerne, form the principal subjects of his remarks and descriptions, which are exactly of the character which might be expected from a correct and refined taste, combined with a deep perception of what is most beautiful and imposing in the mountain aspect of nature. In addition to his merits as a writer, Mr. Liddiard possesses a pencil as competent to present the magnificent scenery he has visited to the outward eye, as his words are to pourtray its features to the imagination. He has also the advantage of a vein of poetry, which, if not entitling him to rank among the first lyrists of the day, forms, at least, an ornament to the graver prose it accompanies. Above all, he seems to enjoy that indispensable requisite for every traveller who is desirous of leaving a favourable impression upon the minds of those who listen to his narration-a constant supply of good humour, and a desire of looking upon all occurrences in the best light. He does not brood vainly over evils which are past, nor morosely set himself to attack all existing institutions which do not exactly square with his own views. Political theories and questions are wisely abandoned as useless incumbrances before crossing the Channel, and on arriving in the country the best calculated to inspire an indifference to the topics which agitate and harass the abodes of more artificial and less life, he turns his attention solely to the kingly mountain, the dashing torrent, the chamois peering from its inaccessible rock, or the lighthearted inhabitant of the valley below. Nature, and Nature in her dress of sunshine, is the great object of bis pursuit and adiniration; and the language in which he comments upon her most striking exhibition of majesty or grace, is evidently the transcript of feelings unassumed for any inere purpose of display. The reader must be fastidious indeed, who, after having closed his volume, does not feel some regret at parting with a companion who possesses the twofold recommendation of information free from parade, and the power of conferring amusement without the slightest tinge of affectation. lessness of printers and the inattention or incompetency of editors. Every quotation that is important either for sense or expression, has been carefully searched out, and the true reference inserted. The quotations have sometimes been extended from one clause to two or three, that a sentiment or definition might not be left imperfect. The orthography has been modernized and improved, and all variety in spelling the same words has been avoided. Many obsolete words and phrases have been omitted, and those only retained which occur in the books of exercises used in schools. In the Latin-English department the Hebrew and other etymologies have been retained. Latin paraphrases are also given, because they have a place in all other Dictionaries. The inconvenience of a double Index is avoided, the words and authorities being ranged under one general title, whether appertaining to the Augustan Age or not. But by far the most numerous and important improvements are to be found in the table of proper names. The geographical part has been enlarged by inserting many new articles, and by adding farther particulars where the original was found to be imperfect. The biographical and historical division has also been extended, and many additions made to it. The chronology has undergone the same careful revision; and though perfection is not attainable by human research and industry, yet the editors have laboured meritoriously in their vocation, and have produced a work of indispensable importance and unrivalled excellence. The Canadas. By Andrew Picken, Among the impediments which have hitherto stood in the way of emigrants to British America, the want of a work, comprising within a reasonable space all the information likely to prove of real benefit to the mechanic or agriculturist, who may be regarding that part of the world as the scene of his future exertions, may be reckoned as far from the least considerable. Canada has of late been truly known as a country in which, although settlers must at first necessarily be exposed to some privations, there is, at any rate, no fear of the absence of those cominon necessaries of life, which are often with difficulty obtained by the poorer classes among the denser population at home. The tide of emigration has consequently been for some years setting in that direction, and Reprint- titudes from every county in England to the every season is found to convey additional mul Thesaurus Lingua Latina Compendiarius. Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary. ed from the folio edition of MDCCLII. with numerous Additions, Emendations, and Improvements. By the Rev. B. W. Beatson, A.M. Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Revised and corrected by William Ellis, Esq. A.M. of King's College, Aberdeen. This edition of Ainsworth's well known and justly esteemed Dictionary has peculiar claims on the scholar, and we doubt not will gain admission into all the public and private seminaries in the three kingdoms where it can legitimately be introduced. Immense pains have been taken to correct the numbers and to amend ail the false quotations which had crept into former impressions through the care banks of the St. Lawrence or Ottowa. Of the crowds who thus, often relying merely upon one or two points of general information, throw themselves at once upon the resources of a foreign land, many, no doubt, are subject to disappointment; and this is natural enough, considering the few opportunities the settler has of previously ascertaining where his efforts will be most likely to be attended with success. The evil, however, is not to be attributed to any fault of the system of colonization itself, and is one which, as the intercourse between the two countries becomes more extensive, every day has a tendency to diminish. The work, compiled by Mr. Picken for the purpose of presenting to the prior consideration of the emigrant all particulars which can prove of service to assist him in the determination of his plans, appears well qualified to effect its object. He has selected with great care the most important documents printed under the authority of Government, as well as by the British American Land Company, and accompanied his useful advice to settlers with a description of the soil, situation, and various advantages of the seve ral allotted and yet unassigned districts, which seem to afford a field for successful cultivation. An admirable map of Upper and Lower Canada, with their numerous divisions minutely laid down from actual survey, is an addition to the volume, which, even if the accompanying matter were less valuable than it is, would form a most valuable improvement upon the existent means of information. We have not space to notice the contents of the Appendix, although, from the evidence it brings to bear upon many points, it is well worthy of the most careful attention. We merely observe, that it contains highly favourable accounts of their present condition, from many who have gone out to the Canadas in a state of destitution, and in some instances, of pauperism itself. Mr. Picken's principal object, however, seems to be, to induce capitalists to embark to a greater extent than they have hitherto doue in the undertaking of settling and cultivating our transatlantic possessions. Such an investment of money appears to offer a very fair prospect of advantage to all concerned in it; and the establishment of a few spirited individuals possessed of transferable property near any of the great lakes, would place the country in their neighbour. hood at once a century in advance, in point of civilization, and in all probability speedily ensure those profits which the more limited exertions of independent and individual labour must necessarily be long in acquiring. To all who are in any way interested in the subject we recommend the result of Mr. Picken's labours as an almost indispensable book of reference, as well as a work displaying a great deal of good sense, just discrimination, and proper feeling, applied to a highly beneficial and important practical end. available for the purposes they were originally intended to answer. To speak of the utility of a work, therefore, which purposes to give as accurately reported an account as possible of the great State Trials from the time of Queen Mary, might well be deemed superfluous; and assuming it as conceded that the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge could not have bestowed their patronage upon a publication combining to a greater extent instruction with deep interest, we proceed to notice the contents of the first volume, which has recently issued from the press. This contains, as the earliest arraignment for High Treason respecting which any thing is known with accuracy, that of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, accused of a participation in Wyatt's rebellion, which has been principally extracted from Holinshed. The trial of the Duke of Norfolk in 1576 follows, accompanied by the singular indictment and conviction, upon his own confession, of Dr. Parry, executed in 1584; and these, together with the proceedings against the Earls of Essex and Southampton, form very fair specimens of our criminal jurisprudence in the Elizabethan era. The latter and most interesting part of the volume is occupied by the details of the iniquitous trial of Sir Walter Raleigh, in consequence of which, after having experienced a capricious lenity much resembling that sometimes shown for a while by the more treacherous beasts of prey to their powerless victims, he was at length called upon to expiate with his blood a crime alleged to have been committed fifteen years previously. The circumstances of all these causes resemble each other to a melancholy and revolting extent. There is the same overbearing insolence on the part of the Judges and Crown Counsel; the same prohibition of testimony to the advantage of the prisoner; the same forensic adulation of reigning authority; and the same claim to the virtues of justice and mercy put forth in behalf of the Sovereign, to which, with cruel mockery, an open and palpable contradiction is at the same time given. We have reason to be thankful that such days are past; and certainly not the least merit of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge. sombre records of misery before us consists in State Trials. Vol. I. To every individual living under the operation of a body of laws like the British code, which, if still unaltered in the letter, is constantly changing as to its received meaning, and which, if often unjustly disparaged on the one hand, is as fre. quently the subject of unqualified and ill-judged panegyric on the other, no instance of its, practical application can or ought to be a matter of unconcern-no case, more especially, for which the magnitude of interest involved, the high eminence of the parties engaged, or the peculiar character of the questions to be decided, claims a more than ordinary share of attention. The trials which have at various periods taken place at the suit of the Crown upon charges of High Treason, possess these titles to the general notice in the greatest degree. The actors are often the most eminent in their age for talent or station; the points at issue, in many instances, such as to involve the well-being of the whole state; and the laws themselves appealed to either to aid the prosecution or defence, those which require the most equitable adjustment of the balance, and the nicest exercise of the judgment to be rendered their stripping the houses of Tudor and Stuart of the fictitious ornaments with which the prejudices of some writers and the self-interest of others have often invested them. These tyrannical oppres sors have, it is true, by a marked exercise of Divine Justice, no longer on earth "a local habitation and a name," but it is to the advantage of every generation to come, that their true characters should stand revealed through the qualities of their judicial minions, from the cold-hearted scurrility and venom of Sir Edward Coke, to the vulgar brutality of the Lord Chancellor Jeffries. Mr. Jardine, the Editor of the work, has performed bis part most satisfactorily. Brief memoirs of the characters implicated are prefixed to their several trials, which are followed by reflections upon the nature of the evidence brought forward, and the opinions of the judges upon questions arising from it. Many valuable documents deposited in the State Paper office have been for the first time printed, and several, before published upon Court authority, compared with their still existing originals, for the purpose of pointing out discrepancies or contradictions. The remarks, wherever they occur, discover an accurate acquaintance with the labyrinth of criminal as well as general law, in its past and present condition; and there is a spirit of impartiality conspicuous, which, in the contemplation of subjects so much calculated to call every indignant feeling into action, we apprehend it is much more easy to admire than to imitate. If the State Trials are carried on in the manner of which the first volume furnishes at once a specimen and a promise, there is no doubt of their constituting a standard work, to which both the legal student, and the reader who seeks a knowledge of history by examining its most genuine materials, will hereafter refer with equal pleasure and advantage. The Annual Historian; a Sketch of the Chief Historical Events of the World for the Year 1831: principally designed for Young Persons. By Ingram Cobbin, A.M. This is a little elegant Annual Register, written, however, in one stream of narrative, and in a style well adapted to awaken the attention of the youthful mind. Every thing is explained as well as told, and yet the interest is kept up from page to page, and much useful knowledge is imparted. Mr. Cobbin's books are all excellently suited to the capacities of those for whose benefit he writes, and we hope, in more senses than one, he will have his reward. the decent habits and respectability of a gentleman. And that while we have millions at home who are living in total alienation from the sanctions and comforts of religion, we should sow beside all waters' except those whose borders have the first claims to our culture. "These things ought not so to be;' and if there were no overgrown and unwieldy endow ments in the Church-if there were no sinecures, the existence of which brings discredit on the Establishment, no payments utterly disproportionate to any service that is rendered for themthese details would have established a right to require the Legislature to devote a grant, or a series of annual grants, to this great exigency. And if ever the time shall have arrived when no revenues are paid, except such as are fit for the just and legitimate dignity of the hierarchy, and when no stipend is received but in return for some adequate amount of service done to the cause of religion, then, and not till then, may Parliament properly be called upon to supply all deficiencies. "In the mean time, we must remember that the endowments of the Church are property given for a special purpose. They are the subject of a great trust for the maintenance and service of religion. And whether we regard the Church in the abstract as one vast corporation, or in a technical point of view, as an aggregate of corporations, she must equally be considered as a trustee invested with the management and control of A Plan of Church Reform. By Lord funds given for the discharge of a duty of the very Henley. The subject of this ably-written pamphlet is of too extensive and important a nature to receive justice under the head of notices of books. We shall, doubtless, shortly be called upon to discuss it at length-soberly, but firmly-with discretion, but with energy. There are, it appears by a Parliamentary return, 4361 livings in England and Wales under the annual value of 150l. and therefore unable to maintain a resident clergyman. There are 2626 livings where there is no parsonage-house, and 2183 more where there are houses rented at 21. or 31. a year, unfit for the residence of a clergyman. It is to provide a necessary clerical income, and a habitable parsonage-house in every parish, so as to render residence possible, and to wipe off this blot from our Church Establishment, that Lord Henley proposes to appropriate the revenues of the Deans and Chapters, after deducting the sum necessary for the due performance of the cathedral service. The whole of this sinecure revenue he calculates at 300,000l. a year; and leaving a sufficient income for the Deans and their Chapters, he would appropriate the remainder to increase small livings and build clerical dwellings, under a proposed board of management. On the necessity of Church Reform, Lord Henley makes the following remarks: "It seems astonishing that this great and understanding nation should permit such a continual violation of the spirit and letter of Christianity to exist in its very bosom. That while so many thousands are annually raised by voluntary subscriptions to send forth inissionaries to the remotest corners of the world, we should dole out the revenues of the National Church in so unequal a manner, that more than four thousand of its districts are unable to support a minister in highest and holiest nature. And if by time, or accident, or neglect, or by the rise or improvement of property, or by the increase of popula tion, any material impediment shall have arisen to prevent the due performance of this trust, it is the clear right and bounden duty of the Legislature to enforce its faithful execution. And if this cannot be effected, except by some change in the channel through which the fund is transmitted, notwithstanding all objections to extensive alterations, yet such alteration must inevitably be effected. It would indeed be injustice and tyranny to abridge the life-income of any individual; but when the highest interests of the community, and the strong call of religion, unite with the clear will of the donor in pointing out the necessity of an alteration in the specific mode of effecting his intentions, there should no longer be any doubt of the justice, or of the propriety, of varying any existing mode of distribution as to all subsequent objects of his bounty. No one now maintains the inviolability of corporate rights, where a clear case of public necessity or expediency demands their sacrifice. And when the first of all duties, and the most urgent of all necessities, call for an alteration in the application of public property, it would be preposterous to contend that the embryo rights of any number of unborn functionaries can legitimately interpose to prevent a just or ne cessary measure of reform." History of Van Diemen's Land. By James Bischoff, Esq. As the "history of Van Diemen's Land" comprises only the few uninteresting events which have occurred in that country during the last thirty years, and its animal and vegetable productions are too few or too imperfectly known to constitute objects of attraction to the naturalist, those who may be led to expect from the pages under the above title much which can contribute either to their stock of knowledge or means of entertainment, will necessarily find themselves mistaken. A History, in fact, might be equally well written on the subject of our own Sussex Downs or Salisbury Plain. It would be the height of injustice, however, to attribute a fault necessarily the consequence of the paucity of his materials to any want of industry or ability on the part of the Author. As far as we are enabled to judge, he has made the best of the information he has been able to gather; and although his work is certainly little qualified to attract the attention of the general reader, there is little doubt of its proving a source of great interest to many for whom the chances of profitable speculation possess a much stronger charm than any pleasures in the power of the more barren departments of science or literature to confer. The work is published under the auspices of the Van Diemen's Land Company, and may be considered a general summary of their proceedings from their first establishment, as well as an enumeration of the grounds for encouragement which the results of their labours appear to furnish. Whether the report of Mr. Bischoff, who, we see, is appointed Managing Director, is to be considered as ex-parte evidence, we do not pretend to determine; but, judging from ourselves, we think it likely that the general impression will be, that he has fairly and candidly stated existing facts to the best of his power. The Company of which he is a member have certainly hitherto proceeded in a manner calculated to remove all suspicion of an intention to deceive by holding out fictitious advantages as an inducement to purchasers or sub. scribers. It appears, upon the face of experiment, that Van Diemen's Land is daily assuming an aspect more inviting to the agriculturist. The export of wool has latterly been much upon the increase, and the wheat produced is of so superior a quality as to be sold in Mark-lane at the price of 80s. per quarter. These two circumstances are sufficient to attract notice to the capabilities of a country for improvement, which repays so well the first attempts at cultivation; and considering the decreasing value of landed property in Eng. land, we should not be surprised if the regions of the Southern Ocean, free from every demand in the shape of tax, rent, or tithe, were very speedily the objects of anxious consideration with many, who are at present sadly puzzled in what manner to invest their capital without the fear of a dead loss, in consequence of some of those curious alternations in the national balance, by which their estates and comforts are so constantly and widely affected. The Church of God. A Series of Sermons. By the Rev. W. Evans, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. We have perused this volume with great satisfaction; it is sound in doctrine, zealous in piety, and judicious as well as earnest in its views of Christian obligation. When we add, that it is the production of the Author of the "Rectory of Valehead," a work so deservedly popular that we had recently occasion to speak in laudatory terms of the sixth edition, we are sure that those acquainted with the merits of the former, will July, VOL. XXXVI. NO. CXXXIX. need no farther recommendation of the present work. The volume consists of sixteen sermons, on the objects of Revelation, and on the spirit in which it ought to be received; on the Origin and Constitution of the Church of God; on the Priesthood; on Prophecy; on Scripture; on Sacrifice, Prayer, Repentance, Obedience, Regeneration, Gospel Morality, the Profession of a Member of the Church of God, &c. The true model of the' Christian character is here well pourtrayed; his graces and acquirements set forth; his pure and unworldly thoughts suggested; his unceasing homage of praise and prayer to God; his unwearied and ever active charity to man; his meekness, patience, hope, faith, and fortitude, crowned with the hope of everlasting peace and glory in the world to come. Manual for Emigrants to America. By Calvin Colton, A.M. of America. The history of this very useful work, as briefly stated by the Author, is simply as follows: "The Author has received numerous letters of inquiry concerning the United States since he has been in England, which demanded information in so many particulars, and to such an extent, that he concluded it would be the shortest way to answer them by writing a book." The work may be read with advantage by all persons who contemplate emigration to the United States. The Author is evidently a man of devout sentiments, who, to a cultivated mind, has united a heart warmed with the social affections. Though a citizen of the world, he is a Christian patriot: he loves his country and mankind. Contarini Fleming; a Psychological Autobiography. 4 vols. We remember hearing it asserted, that it was a high compliment paid to a writer, when his book left the impression that he was himself much cleverer than his work. This is precisely the compliment we feel inclined to pay to the writer before us. "Contarini Fleming" is a very singular production, singular because it is original, It is the history of a youth, the developement of whose character is just-a vivid imagination acted upon by a still more vivid love of glory; and of such materiel we believe heroes, poets, actors, &c. are made, all of whom the hope of present applause and future fame has stimulated to exertion, till that exertion has been rewarded by success. All have a certain portion of imagination, but in very few is it the preponderating quality; hence to many, much that is painted in these pages will appear exaggerated; and yet we verily believe Contarini's childhood is a faithful picture of the early feelings of many a youthful poet and painter. "Contarini Fleming" is one of those works of which criticism can give but a faint idea. The superficial reader will perhaps lay the work down with an exclamation of, "How extravagant → absurd!" while he who is led by a truer feeling, will dwell with delight on many a touch of beauty, and many a vein of deep and intense emotion. The hero is the great error of the book. We can scarcely imagine the author was aware how repulsive a personage be had drawn. Sullen, even brutal in his childhood; vain and arrogant in his 2 Q |