pofition at firft gratuitoufly, he hesitates not, in all the fubfe quent parts of the pamphlet, to refer to it as an actual demonftration.

This author, adventurous as he is in affertion, and not void of ingenuity in argument, has not attempted to affign any rea fon for the deficiency of the excife during the period abovementioned being evidently defirous of afcribing it to a declining state of the nation, rather than to any other cause not reconcileable with that object. We think, however, that the deficiency may be accounted for from the following confideration. The commercial treaty with France, and the excife on wines, having both taken place the year immediately preceding, the duties in that department of the revenue had, in confequence of this great derivation into its channel, and likewife, perhaps, of the inexperience of dealers in their new fituation, rifen to a higher pitch than could be maintained during the year immediately fubfequent. No conclufion, therefore, unfavourable to the profperity of the nation, can with any degree of propriety be drawn from the amount of the excife during the year fubfequent to the 5th of April 1788, being greatly below the ftandard of the year preceding that period.

The author, in fupport of his propofition, makes the following obfervations:

If people have confumed lefs in the latter than in the former year, and it is only upon confumption that the excife can attach, it proves one of two things, viz. cither that they are retrenching their expences, and, to ufe the phrafe in its literal fignification, living upon lefs from motives of economy; or elfe, it proves that lefs industry has been employed in the latter than in the former year, and confequently that the defect of confumption has arifen from the defect of ability to confume. Now, any one who will take the trouble for a moment of reflecting how greatly extravagance and diffipation of every kind has for fome time back been fpreading among all orders and ranks of people, will not readily perfuade himself to believe, that motives of economy have occafioned the defect of confumption; of which I very much fear that the other caufe, viz. the defect of ability to confume has been the true one.'

We will not take upon us to affirm, that the decrease of the excife has proceeded from an abatement of extravagance and diffipation among the people; though, had we not already affigned a probable caufe for the deficiency, we fhould have no fcruple in declaring it to be our opinion, that a diminution of the excife is by no means incompatible with a profperous ftate of the nation; and that, in fact, it might be produced by fuch a ftate, without fuppofing any other change to have taken place

place in the habits of the people than fuch as would naturally refult from an encrease of industry, under the animating influence of a great and encreasing commerce. People who are excited to employment by a conftant demand for their labour, will find little time, and lefs inclination, to indulge themselves in the confumption of excifeable commodities, than they had formerly done, when there was not the fame encouragement to industry.

The author now before us, conscious that he could not intprefs the idea of a declining state of the nation, from a deficiency in the revenues of the excife, while those arifing from the customs are far more than usually productive, endeavours to represent the statement of the latter as particularly liable to exaggeration.

We all with, fays he, to appear to do a great deal in whatever line we are engaged in; and we even ruin ourselves, very often, for the fake of an oftentatious difplay of importance, beyond what our fituation or circumftances, fhould entitle us to affect but the merchant exporter, may indulge this fpecies of vanity, at very little or no expence. He may eftimate his trade, and appear upon the custom-house books to any amount he thinks fit, and thus fwell his importance, without injuring his circumftances. He will, therefore, upon many occafions, do this; and the exports, taking them in general, will have been estimated at a higher, than their real, value. What is to be deducted, upon this account, from their nominal amount, it is not poffible to calculate; to calculate this, it were necefLary to eftimate human vanity and folly, which have been at all times inestimable: but fince human vanity and folly have been, at all times, the fame, the fame the deduction upon their account, in the comparison between the balance of trade of one period, in the history of a nation, and the balance of trade, of another period, will leave the proportion of the remainders the fame, as the proportion of the integrals.'

The philofophy of this author appears to be of a species extremely accommodating to his purpose. He had on a former occafion, and indeed repeatedly, afferted the experience of dealers, with regard to the extent of confumption, as an undeniable principle; yet he hefitates not to reverse this propofition, when it favours the establishment of his doctrine. Whatever may be the extent of human folly and vanity in other particulars, we cannot fo readily admit of their operation in the article of trade; much lefs can we admit, that in this department of human action their operation is really ineftimable. The great object of all dealers, whether in excifable commodities or in those annexed to the customs, is avowedly profit, which, it is not to be fuppofed that men, zealous in the profecution of

their interefts, will ever facrifice, in any great degree, to the fuggeftions of vanity and folly. When the revenue of the culloms, therefore, continues at a high rate through fucceflive years, and much more when it annually encreafes, we may confidently pronounce, in contradiction to this author, that the nation, notwithstanding a cafual deficiency of the excife, enjoys a high degree of profperity; that, be the confumption what it may, both the induftry and ability of the people are far from declining; and that the produce of the land and labour, the real wealth of the country, is accumulating rapidly amongst them.

The author afterwards attempts to confirm his favourite propofition of the declining state of the country, by a kind of logical induction, in which all the erroneous obfervations, and gratuitous affertions, which he had formerly advanced, are again brought forth into fervice; where he profecutes a tedious and fuperfluous explanation of the nature of capitals, and endeavours to feduce his readers into an abfurd perfuafion, that, though the balance of trade should be avowedly in our favour, yet there is pofitively no capital, in any shape in which it can either exift or operate, actually added to the stock of the nation.

In the courfe of these three years, fays he, 3,250,000l. have been inlued for the purchafe of flock by the public commiffioners. It is very certain, that this artificial demand has rather kept up the price of stock beyond what, it would have been if left to the natural demand; but be this as it may, there is, or fhould be, a capital of 3,250,000l. which exiled, before, in the fhape of public debt, transferred from that employment of it, to (ome other employment.

Now would it not be an object of very reafonable curio. fity, to enquire, what other employment, this capital, certainTy no very inconfiderable one, has been transferred to? If it had been transferred to the land of the country, the price of and would increafe from the greater competition of capitals which would be directed to the purchase of land: but the price of land is, if any thing, lower, now, than it was three years ago, and before any part of this capital began to be transferred at all. Capital, therefore, muft rather have gone from, than gone to,, land, during this period. It cannot have been tranfferred to the maintenance of more labour in the country, fince more labour cannot be maintained, without increafing the confumption of the great body of the people; but we find that in the last year, when if more capital had been fo directed, we Thould, peculiarly, have began to perceive its effects in this particular, our confumption has decreafed, and decreased in no common degree; capital therefore, muft rather have gone from,

from, than gone to, the maintenance of industry, in the coun try during this period. It has not been transferred to the trading interest, fince the great profits which are made by fome, in trade, and the frequent bankruptcies which are allotted to others, prove inconteftibly, in the one instance, a defect of competition, that great reducer of the rate of profit, arifing from the general defect of capital in the country, and in the other instance, a defect of particular capital, in thofe who are the unfortunate victims of a fpirit of enterprize, unfupported by fufficient funds. Shall we look for it in our colonies? there too we should be difappointed of finding it, as thofe colonists, who have had occafion for affiftance of this kind, can very fafely teftify certain it is, that during this period, much more debt has been discharged than created by them: capital, therefore, has rather come from, than gone to, our colonies, during this period. What then has become of this capital? have we spent it in tea? or by what ingenious device have we fo completely got rid of it, as that not a trace of it should remain behind? We know that it once existed, but we know not that it is any where, now, fince we know that it does not exist in any of thofe employments, where it could poffibly be difpofed of as a capital.'

This author, whofe ingenuity, through the whole of the pamphlet, is chiefly exerted in endeavouring to perplex the enquiry, has, at laft, by a curious tranfmutation, converted a capital of no less than 3,250,000l. into a substance of mere nominal existence, which, after having annihilated it by a fallacy of his own conception, he challenges the nation to produce. It is fufficient for us to obferve, that the capital which the author feems fo anxious to difcover, has been applied to the purposes of public utility and expedience, of which, we doubt not, he may be satisfied by an investigation of the subject; if indeed any thing less than a tangible proof of the reality of the capital can fatisfy fo fceptical, or rather, fo dogmatical an enquirer.

A variety of collateral obfervations are adduced by this au thor, to corroborate the doctrine which he maintains; but being founded, in general, in erroneous principles, and drawn from fome of the most doubtful refources of political fpeculation, they can afford no just conclufion in favour of his visionary hypothefis. Let him, instead of wrefting arguments to the purpose of mifreprefentation, and of forming his judgment upon a partial, and probably a tranfient circumftance in the state of the country, reflect with candour and impartiality on the whole of its prefent fitnation, and he will find reafon to acknowledge that Great Britain never enjoyed a higher degree of profperity, or a more certain profpect of the long continuance of fuch a ftate, than the happily does at this moment.

VOL. LXIX. Jan. 1790.

The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. To which are added, the Journals of Lieuts Shortland, Watts, Ball, and capt. Marshall; with an Account of their New Difcoveries. Embellished with fifty-five Copper-plates. 4to. 1. 11s. 6d. in Boards. Stockdale. Voyage from New South Wales to Canton, in the Year 1788, with Views of the Ifands difcovered. By Thomas Gilbert, Efq. 4to. 6s. Debrett.

VARIOUS have been the fentiments respecting the pro

priety and the policy of this new attempt. We have had occafion to give our opinion fully that it was a disadvantageous one; but in another view we truft it may be very beneficial: we hope we fhall not purchafe the benefit too dear. The advantages arifing from a new establishment on the western fhores of the Pacific Ocean, confift probably in its peculiar fituation, its foil, climate, and productions. A country which appears infulated, and distant from the old continent, remotely connected with iflands which have lately rifen to our view, ard destined perhaps to be the medium of our communication with the oppofite coafts of America, muft, in the eye of the naturalist and politician, be an object of no little importance. Its establishment forms an epoch which future ages will view with admiration or deteftation. In the mean time, if from it we can derive advantages which our own productions cannot afford, and much may be expected from the interior parts of so vaft an ifland; if we endeavour in this new eftablishment to avoid the inconveniencies which have attended the fimilar employment of criminals, philofophy and humanity may be, for the prefent, gainers by the plan, while we attempt to make it useful alfo for future ages.

This is the light in which it will be now expedient to confider a defign which cannot be with propriety changed; and we turn with fome curiofity to the work before us, the first which has given a diftinct account of the various objects of natural history found in this new excurfion. We had very early a modeft and judicious account of this voyage by captain Tench; which occurs in our LXVIIth volume, p. 336. The prefent editor has had the advantage of captain Phillip's journal, to which he has added the journals of other officers, varying partly in the circumstances, and frequently in the places vifited. This article muft, therefore, be fubfervient to that we have quoted, for we cannot even now find room for repetitions.

To this work are prefixed the memoirs of commodore Phillip, written with a few of the peculiarities of naval language. It is enough