We are quite convinced this instructor confounds together the chemist of the shops and the philosophical chemist: he may be assured, however (whatever he may hear to the contrary), that they are two distinct classes of persons; and that there are actually many ingenious persons engaged in investigating the properties of bodies, who never sold a mercurial powder, or an ounce of glaubers salts, in their lives. By way of exercise, we would wish this writer to reflect, fasting, upon the alteration produced in human affairs by glass and by gunpowder-and then to consider whether chemistry is solely occupied with the bodily wants of mankind, and with the improvement of manufactures: and though we are aware that his first guess will be, that the invention of these two substances has made it more easy to drink port wine, and to kill partridges, yet we can assure him, they have produced effects of still greater importance to mankind. We are not in dulging in any pleasantry for the mere sake of misleading him, but honestly stating the plain truth.

The moment an envious pedant fees any thing written with pleafantry, he comforts himfelf that it must be fuperficial. Whether the Reviewer is or is not confidered as a fuperficial perfon by competent judges, he neither knows nor cares; but fays what he has to fay after his own manner,-always confident, that whatever he may be, he fhall be found out, and claffed as he deferves. The Oxford tutor may very poffibly have given a just account of him; but his reafons for that judgment are certainly wrong: for it is by no means impoffible to be entertaining and inftructive at the fame time; and the readers of this pamphlet (if any) can never doubt, after fuch a fpecimen, how easy it is to be, in one fmall production, both very frivolous and very tire fome.

Certainly we do not wifh that fceptical doctrines fhould be entertained in Oxford, or in any place whatfoever; and we are ob liged to the tutor for not imputing to us any fuch motives. In his charity and liberality, he only makes it a fuppofition,-not an al fertion by any means! This is bafe enough; but we are thankful to him for not being more base. Would we could thank him for any occafional abatement of dulnefs, impudence, or pomp! But his fault is to love extremes.

For his University lectures, if he really wishes to be honest, let him give to the public, ift, a lift of lecturers who receive falaries and do nothing for them; 2d, a lift of the lecturers who do read; dly, the average number of their pupils for three years paft; 4thly, the number of lectures read in the year; 5thly, the whole number of under-graduates and bachelors in the Univerfity. We care nothing about the lectures; but as he has thought fit to flir the queftion, this (we must tell him) would be the honeft and

bufinets

bufinefs-like method of handling it. Let this lift be published, and figned by four or five refpectable names. If it is good, the Reviewers are better answered than by any abuse; if it is not, he may be as eloquent as he pleases about watering pupils: he will do no good, and had better be quiet.

On the new plan of Oxford education, we shall offer no remarks. It has many defects; but it is very honourable to the Univerfity to have made fuch an experiment. The improvement upon the old plan is certainly very great; and we moft fincerely and honestly wish to it every fpecies of fuccefs,-hoping that it will produce many young men who will adorn the University with works of genius, and none who would not blush to defile it with the vulgar and ignominious trafh which this unhappy pedant has poured forth for its defence.

We had almoft forgotten to ftate, that this author's substitutes for lectures in moral philofophy, are fermons delivered from the University pulpit. He appears totally ignorant of what the terms moral philosophy mean. But enough of him and of his ignorance. We leave him now to his longs and shorts.

I nunc, et versus tecum meditare canoros.

ART. VIII. Observations respecting the Public Expenditure and the Influence of the Crown. By the Right Honourable George Rose. Third Edition. Svo. pp. 83. London, Cadell & Davies. 1810.

THIS HIS work was undertaken by Mr Rose, with the laudable view of quieting those alarms which had seized many timorous persons in this country respecting the growing influence of the Crown. The increase of the revenue, and the enormous augmentation of the national debt-not to mention the extension of all the establishments which this both requires and supports-had seemed, to superficial observers, to afford some reason for sus pecting an increase of patronage in the hands of the Executive, from which an extension of indirect power in the Crown and its ministers was, it appears, rashly and idly inferred. Mr Rose, a veteran in office-well skilled in the secrets of place-knowing much concerning the revenue from study, and somewhat from experience-aiter a life spent in the sunshine of ministerial favour, and in the nearest views of the influence of the Crown-nav, in the active dispensation of its gifts-in the very handling (if we may so speak) of his subject,-steps forward to undeceive his countrymen, and to prove all the alarms connected with such topics, quite groundless and romantic.

It must be confessed, however, that should his success in this attempt be as complete as he imagines, he would leave his admiring readers in a puzzle somewhat greater than the one he had removed For if the influence of government really has not increased, how can those things be explained which are daily before our eyes, and which we only believe on the evidence of our senses? How else account for the continuance of such a ministry as now rules the country-weak at all times-begotten in cabal, treachery and intrigue-in cant, persecution and fanaticism-familiar with defeat and disgrace from the hour of its birth-distracted by unexampled dissensions, and acts even of personal violence-but, of late, deprived of all the little merit it ever had, by losing the only talents of which it could boast, and still continuing to enjoy the support of parliament, with the voice of the people quite unanimous against it? How else explain, we might almost say believe, that such a thing as this, ricketty from its infancy and now emasculated, should stand a series of shocks, the very slightest of which would have sufficed to overthrow the strongest governments of former times? and should still be able to cling to place, when daily giving proofs that it is devoid of all power-should fail in every measure-be convicted of bringing ruin on our arms-be felt as a scourge by almost every family in the country-be abandoned by the persons most prone to support all ministries-have no voice raised, in palliation of its misconduct, from one extremity of England (or even of Scotland) to the other-receive daily marks of contempt from its friends, almost as bitter as the taunts of its enemies-and yet not merely preserve its station, but rise up again from the dirt, every time it is kicked down, and wriggle and crawl on more actively and more noxiously than before? How explain such things as these, but by supposing that there is some hidden fountain of life-some secret source of strength which bears the creature up -some principle of vitality which, in former times, no government possessed in any thing like an equal degree!

Now, Mr Rose would deprive us of the benefit of this supposi tion. He would deny the existence of any such secret stamina ;he would make us believe that the creature is of the ordinary race of vermin-a mere common reptile; and consequently, we must either doubt the evidence of our senses, or believe in a miracle-nay, in a succession of miracles-or disbelieve Mr Rose's statements. Painful as the alternative is, we confess we are reduced to adopt the latter course-admitting that it is for the first time-granting that Mr Rose is a word quite synonymous with accuracy-acknowledging that his assertion forms one of the highest species of evidencethat it comes immediately after the evidence of the senses, and

would

would satisfy any reasonable man of any thing not perfectly im possible.

Mr Rofe fets out with general remarks, in the ordinary and res gular manner they are praifes of the conftitution, but more efpecially of the popular part of it; and, of all the functions of that branch, Mr Rofe is moft enamoured of its inquifitorial office; the wholefome as well as habitual jealoufy' refpecting the conduct of the minifters; the fpirit of fcratiny' which, he feelingly obferves, occafionally proves inconvenient, but which is a falutary guard of our freedom. If there be any department of Parliamentary jealoufy which our ingenious author is difpofed to prefer, it is what regards public expenditure and the influence of the Crown; and he paffes a warm enconium on Me Pitt, for having fo anxioufly provided checks upon that very expenditure, of which he was the organ. The general fyftem of checks which the conftitution affords, is, he obferves, infufficient; and there is a necefhty for inftituting fpecial inquiries from time to time into particular abuses. Thefe, he exclaims, with the warmth of friendship and of truth, are one of the legacies our lamented statesman has left us, not more creditable to his memory, than useful to his country.' Indeed, in reading this and other paffages of the prefent tract, one is tempted to think, that, in the fervour of enthufiafm, the author confounds Mr Pitt with Lord St Vincent, Mr Addington, and others, who fet themselves in goot earnest about correcting abufes. Certain it is, that we have yet to learn what public delinquents were ever brought to light by al Mr Pitt's Boards; and that, as far as the real increase of econo→ my goes, his legacy is one which the country cannot afford pay ing the duty for while the naval inquiry of Lord St Vincent, and the Finance Committee of the late ministry, are fo well known by their fruits, and fo nearly felt in all the offices, that we fufpect they fuggefted to Mr Rofe the term inconvenient,' which, he admits, is occasionally' applicable to the spirit of scrutiny.' As for the Board of military inquiry, its labours have been ufeful and honourable to themfelves-though far lefs fo than they might have been, with a better choice of commiffioners; but it was no more the work of our late lamented statesman,' than it was of the Speaker who put the question on it, or the clerk who recorded the vote, or Mr Rofe himfelf, who, in virtue of his large finecure of Clerk of the Parliament, figned it ;-but Lord Grey having given notice of a motion to this effect, Mr Pitt came down and anticipated him in what he had previously ascertained must be carried whether he would or no. The Committee of Finance of 1797, was forced on Mr Pitt by the clamours of the country, after he and shut up the bank, and it was found that he was not likely

to

to conquer France, according to his promife. It was compofed entirely of his nearest friends and dependants; and it ended in making voluminous reports, many of which are proverbially inaccurate, and none of which led either to the detection of a single delinquent, or to the correction of any confiderable abuse. Indeed, it would have been rather a delicate matter for Boards fo conftituted as Mr Pitt's Finance Committee, and Lord Melville's famous and feeble Board of Naval Revifion, which fucceeded the inconvenient' commiffions of Naval Inquiry of Lord St Vincent-it would have been rather awkward for thofe flender bodies to have examined, too fharply, and denounced too bluntly. They might have got into puzzling fcrapes ;-they might, with all their virtue, have found it mighty unpleafant to report upon Mr Pitt's bofom friends, Lord Melville, Mr Steele, and Mr Hunt (his private secretary), Mr Trotter, General Delancey and Mr Villars. They were too • convenient' to relifh fuch fervice.

After preliminary remarks bearing fuch a stamp of fairness and accuracy, we are prepared for the body of the work itfelf. The author proceeds to detail the offices abolished, or regulated, fince the end of the American war; and to fet before his readers, in glowing colours, the numbers of places reduced, and the amount of falaries faved to the public by fucceffive reforms. The general refult is this:-There have been abolifhed (in departments unconnected with the revenue) 416 places, having falaries of 275,7481. and there have been added 197 with falaries of 77,000l. If,' (exclaims Mr Rofe, paufing upon fo comfortable a itatement, and giving vent to the feelings which it excites within him), If we were to stop here, it might not unreafonably be afked, whether any candid man can refufe to admit, that much has been done for keeping down the official charge upon the public, and towards temperately diminishing the influence of the Crown. Mr Pitt, however, (he adds) did not confine his views to what might be ⚫ done by official arrangements, but, looking anxiously to reforms wherever they could be made, he effected many more confiderable favings to the public than those we have enumerated;'-and fo forth. (p. 25.) And here, que too muft pause, and subject fuch statements to a more rigorous examination than the ingenious author has thought it neceflary to beftow. The above are the whole of the places actually reduced;-the remaining heads confift either of favings of money, or of increase of places in the revenue department.

And, first of all, we must remark on the panegyric into which the author's tender regard for his deceased friend has betrayed him, at the expense of his accustomed accuracy. The hasty reader would, from the foregoing passage (and many

others)