and not till then, reports of unfair proceedings will cease to circulate, because they will cease to find believers. To this wholesome state must the establishment come, ere its great capabilities can be developed by the unrestricted application of the capital and unparalleled mechanical skill of this country.

In conclusion, we must explicitly disavow any intention to reflect on the conduct and qualifications of the Company's engineer. In the respect which is generally entertained for the talents of Mr Stephenson, sen., we participate; and we trust, that the account which we have given in the former article of the progressive improvement of railway locomotives under the auspices of Mr Stephenson, jun., sufficiently attests the high estimation in which we hold the genius of that engineer. We repeat, that to the improvements effected by the latter gentleman, in the mechanism of locomotives, is mainly due the success of the Liverpool Railway. At the same time, we are bound to declare, that the perusal of the Answer published by the Directors, has confirmed us in the conviction, that the progress of the undertaking has been shackled and retarded by the causes which we assigned,-causes which competent witnesses declare to be such as to excite in the public very general disgust, and 'such as no honest public writer can speak of otherwise than in ' terms of strong condemnation.'

The situation in which the engineers have been placed is not of their own seeking, but one into which they have been forced by circumstances which should have been controlled by the Directors. We therefore repeat, that, while every praise is due to the engineers for what they have effected, as well on the road itself, as in the machinery which works upon it, no part of the blame arising from the defects in the system pointed out by us attaches to them: the fault lies with those who allowed to spring up in the bosom of the establishment that predominant faction' mentioned by Mr Earle, whose strength he speaks of as having outgrown the power of the Board of Directors to control. That faction' must be suppressed, or it may ultimately be the means of destroying the concern in which it has been engendered.

In as far as we are concerned, this discussion must here close: we have devoted to it fully as much space as its public interest demands. If we have been obliged to state what may not be agreeable to the Directors, we are sorry for it; but they forced us to return to the subject, and must not blame us for the result.

Having dismissed this unpleasant matter, we gladly avail ourselves of the present occasion to notice the continued success of the Railway Company. Notwithstanding the injurious

effects of the prevalent epidemic, which affected the revenue of the Railway more perhaps than that of any other establishment, the Directors have been enabled to declare a dividend out of the profits of the half year ending 31st December last, of L.4, 4s. per L.100 share. During the quarter ending 30th September last, when the cholera prevailed at Dublin and Liverpool, the falling off in the receipts from passengers, compared with the corresponding quarter in the preceding year, amounted to L.15,000. The receipts for the transport of merchandise and coals have, however, increased. In the latter half of 1831, the receipts for merchandise amounted to L.30,764, and for coals to L.695. In the latter half of 1832, the receipts for merchandise amounted to L.34,977, and for coals, to L.2804. The increased revenue from the transport of coals is very remarkable; the receipts having in a single year quadrupled their amount. The expenses of locomotive power still continue unabated. On this the Directors state that

'They will freely confess that in this branch of their expenditure they have met with unexpected discouragement, and with difficulties, which they have not yet been able to overcome. The principal items of excessive expenditure in this department, have arisen from the frequent renewal of the tubes and fireplaces, which in most of the engines have been found to burn very rapidly away. To this general result, however, there have been some exceptions; for the Company have engines which have run between twenty and thirty thousand miles, with very inconsiderable repairs, either to the fireplaces or tubes. In mechanical operations, what has been effected, may be effected; the Directors, therefore, feel confident, that the difficulty is not insurmountable. Their attention is unceasingly turned to the subject-they are making experiments on the material of the tubes and of the fireplaces, (with reference to the heat to which they are exposed,) and on the circulation of the water in different portions of the boiler. They earnestly invite the attention of scientific men to the subject; and they assure the proprietors that they are resolved not to desist from their efforts till they have accomplished their object.'

The Directors notice, for the purpose of contradicting it, an absurd allegation which obtained some credit, that they were about to abandon steam power, and to return to horses!

Their Report also contradicts and refutes a charge which had been advanced, that the dividends were made, not from the profits, but from the capital of the Company. It is almost impossible to suppose that the propagators of this calumny were not aware of its falsehood. A reference to the half-yearly printed statements would at once have made that falsehood apparent.

It has been said, however, with more appearance of truth, that in the anxiety of the Directors to make large dividends, they

have neglected to reserve any part of their profits to form a fund for replacing that portion of their works which, being subject to slow but certain wear, must in the course of time be reconstructed. The permanency of profit to every shareholder is as important as its magnitude; and large present dividends would afford but a weak apology for a call for additional capital at a future period. Although it seems probable that the improvements which must take place in the locomotive power will so far reduce the expenses as to enable the Company, at a future time, to set apart such a reserved fund, without lowering the amount of their dividends, still we do not see that any good reason can be given why such a contingency, however likely, should be waited for.*

ART. IV. Journal of Voyages and Travels by the Rev. DANIEL TYERMAN, and GEORGE BENNET, Esq., deputed from the London Missionary Society, to visit their various Stations in the South Sea Islands, China, India, &c. between the years 1821 and 1829. Compiled from the Original Documents by JAMES MONTGOMERY. 2 vols. 8vo. London: 1831.

THE HESE are very interesting volumes. Considered merely as a Journal of Voyages and Travels,' they are well worthy the attention of those whose imaginations are delighted with pictures of other lands; but they may fairly lay claim to a higher character. They relate some very remarkable phenomena in the history and condition of rude nations, and give a more striking view of the existing state of the Heathen world, and of its dawning day of civilisation, science, and religion, than has been furnished from any other quarter.

The work is substantially the Report of a deputation, sent by the London Missionary Society to ascertain the state of their missions throughout the world. The members of it were the Reverend Daniel Tyerman, a clergyman, previously residing in the Isle of Wight, and Mr George Bennet, a gentleman of Sheffield. The constitution of this Society is peculiarly

*The last dividend has only left a balance of L.693 to be carried to the next half-yearly account. Indeed, this dividend, strictly speaking, exceeded the half year's profits; a part of it being made from the balance of L.1538, which remained over and above the preceding dividend.

Catholic-it has no restrictions-it gives itself no distinctive name-it professes to combine all denominations of Christians in the great work of imparting Christianity to the Heathen world. These gentlemen, who appear to have carried the liberal spirit of their Society into all their dealings with the missionaries of other associations, were its voluntary and gratuitous agents. They left England in May, 1821; and the survivor (for Mr Tyerman did not live to revisit his native land) returned in June, 1829. They were thus absent eight years, during which period they circumnavigated the globe, and examined the state of the Missions in the South Sea Islands, the Islands of British India, the Mauritius, Madagascar, and South Africa.

The first volume, and several chapters of the second, consist of their observations in the Islands of the South Sea-a portion of the globe peculiarly interesting at present, as offering to our view some of the most remarkable moral improvements that the world has seen since the early diffusion of Christianity. At Tahiti, where they arrived and landed on the 25th of September, 1821, they were received by two missionaries, Messrs Nott and Wilson. Pomare, the king, was absent when they arrived; but they heard many interesting particulars of this ruler, in some respects as remarkably emancipated from the habits of savage life, as in others he was still their slave. We shall extract a few passages illustrative of his character, and progress in improvement.

- Near a large shed there was a smaller dwelling, the walls of which were framed of slight bamboos fixed perpendicularly in the ground; and there was a door at each end. When the king is here, it is in this small place of retirement that Mr Nott and he meet for the purpose of translating parts of the Scriptures; and here, from day to day, have they often been employed, in settling the text and copying out the completed portions, from morning till night. The king is remarkably fond of writing; he was the first who learned the art, and is, probably, the greatest proficient in it among all his countrymen : when he writes, he lies down on the floor, with a support for his chest, and a desk before him.'-I. 62.

of

'Mr Nott, among other curiosities, showed us a manuscript copy the translated Gospel of St Luke, executed by King Pomare in a very neat, small hand. It was from this copy that the first edition of that Evangelist was printed. Mr Nott stated that he had been greatly aided by Pomare in making that version; the king being better acquainted with the Tahitian language, and its capabilities, than most of his subjects. This is probably an unparalleled instance of a princeand that no mean one, for he had the power of life and death, and his will was law in all cases throughout his dominions-devoting time and talents to the slow and painful labour of translating the Scriptures,

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and copying out the work for the press with his own hand, that he might be the means of bestowing them upon his people.-I. 66.

Not content with being the greatest scholar and finest copyist among his subjects, Pomare was also their schoolmaster.

He has sometimes twenty and more of his chiefs sitting around him, reading aloud by turns. Of these he has himself taught several to read, and he delights to improve others. He learned to read in the year 1802, and began to write about the same time. He may be said in a great measure to have taught himself both these accomplishments, which were never acquired by a South Sea Islander before. He engaged the missionaries to furnish him with lessons, consisting of syllables, words, sentences, and paragraphs, in gradation, upon slips of paper: these he took with him when travelling from place to place, and copied at his leisure, with unwearying diligence and application; thus reading and writing at the same time, and giving his instructors very little trouble.-I. 79.

What a pity that such a man should be unable to resist the temptation of a glass of gin! Such, however, was the case. Pomare was sufficiently enlightened to perceive the bad consequences of indulging in ardent spirits. He forbad their use, and had even the resolution to destroy all the stills in the island, and to prohibit the manufacture, though his subjects have ample materials both in the sugar-cane and the tea plant, and are well acquainted with the art of distilling; and yet, when temptation was thrown in his own way by foreign ships, he yielded to it in spite of his better judgment, and is said to have fallen a victim at last to intemperance. He was, nevertheless, a man of strong understanding. When he ultimately attained to a conviction of the truth and utility of the doctrines and improvements taught and recommended by the missionaries, his measures were decisive. A great part of the religion of these islands consisted in absurd restrictions on certain articles of food, which were considered sacred, and not allowed to be touched till presented to the idol. Among these were turtles. On a certain occasion, a turtle being caught, Pomare declared, to the horror of his attendants, that it should be dressed for him without the previous ceremony of offering a part to the god, When the banquet was prepared, no one but himself had the hardihood to taste of it. The chiefs sat looking at him, momentarily expecting to see divine vengeance overtake the sacrilegious prince. By this experiment Pomare was confirmed in his previous suspicions of the impotence of his native deities; and he immediately declared that he no longer believed in any but the God of the missionaries. He left all, however, at liberty to follow his example or not as they pleased; but the newly