malignant paffions, fees the opportunities of invading rights, and is the vice of the coward or the oppreffor. The one, by mean artifices, felects an unguarded moment to injure the rights of an opponent; the other, confcious of power, has the meanness to use it in bringing fufferings on the defencelefs: anguish and remorfe are their accompaniments.

4. Eumity is a fpecies of reciprocal ilTiberality. A bad office is returned by a bad office. The paffions are kindled, deceit may for a moment conceal them, illiberality may await the moment of fure revenge; but enmity once confirm ed, leads to the crimes which, with root. ed and deliberate paffion, violate the rights of human nature. When the pafsions terminate in deeds, they lofe their force. In its formation, enmity is accompanied with anxiety, in its gratifica tion, with anguith.

The fum of the obligations to probity are, on the one hand, the enjoyments which refult from innocence, candour, liberality, friendship, and of the fufferings confequent to violence, diffimulation, illiberality, and enmity; both shew the effects of the law of nature in actual life; and, united, form the obligation to obferve it."

Mr Bruce having thus exemplified the fcale of virtues and vices which marks the moral obligation to probity, proceeds to consider those which mark the moral obligation to justice.

"JUSTICE, or the difpofition to maintain the rights of mankind, will exhibit a fcale of virtues with their accompanying pleasures, and of vices with their accompanying pains, which, united, will mark the obligation to this branch of the law.

To maintain the rights of others requires ftrength and vigour of conftitution, wifdom in the conduct of affairs, and the firmnefs which can baffle difficulties and dangers. The difpofition indeed might exift in theory in a mind that was defective in the virtues which it owed itself, but the effe@s of the law in practice cannot appear if thefe virtues are wanting. The ancients very properly divided the virtues into thofe which a man owes to himfelf, and thofe which he owes to others; but they adverted not to the fact, that temperance, prudence, and fortitude, which compres hend the former, were neceffary to practife juftice, the virtue which compre. bends the latter.

We shall avail ourselves of this relation, and, borrowing the terms of the ancient cardinal virtues, mark the effects of the law which enables a man to be juft, or to maintain the rights of mankind.

1. Temperance fignifies the difpofition to preferve the conftitution of the body and the powers of the mind in the found ftate in which they are conferred by nature. If either are impaired, a man is unable to maintain his place in fociety either in the moment of fervice or difficulty. "Your hands are like the hands of a child, (faid a Cherokee to an European prifoner), they are unfit for the chace or for war. In the winter's fnow you muft burn a fire, and in the fummer's heat you faint in the shade. The Cherokee can always lift the hatchet; the fnow does not freeze him, nor the fun make him faint. We are men." The favage, in comparing his own manners with thofe of a polished people, defcribes the temperance which fits a man for maintaining the rights of fociety, or for being juft.

The faculties of the mind require their natural exertions; if they are neglected, or if they are directed to improper objects, like the powers of the body, they lofe their vigour, and fink into inaction.

The health of the body, and the capacity of the mind, give the independence and the confcious approbation of itself, which fit a man for maintaining the rights of others and receiving their deferved confidence.

2. Prudence fignifies the capacity to examine in what the rights of human nature confift, and to felect the means which are beft fitted to preferve them. When Cicero faw the confpiracy of Catiline ripening; when he compared with the danger the value of the liberties of Rome; when, inftead of a rafh effort to fave them, he drew together all the evidence of the criminality, and feized the moment when the effrontery of the confpirator led him to the senate, whom he was about to massacre; catching at this inftant the fire of patriotifm, and roufing the paffions by the fenfe of danger, he expofed the fcheme, its author, and the deftruction intended their country, and led them to arms and revenge. He had the capacity to discern in what the rights of country confifted, and to select the fureft means for their prefervation. His reward, belides that of conscious merit,

was

the gratitude of the Romans, and theglorious epithet of Father of his coun

Fortitude fignifies the firmness which bears fufferings, or meets dangers unanted. If temperance fits for active imes, and prudence diftinguishes the moment proper for fuccefs, there must ta frmnefs of mind during this prowhich the paffions in vain affail, and intrepidity which danger in vain attempts to turn from the defence of ts. Adverfity may tempt the infeat to violate the life or property of a individual, the paffions of ambition and avarice to infringe on the rights of ations; but thefe are only proofs of dekes is the virtues which fit for the private or public stations of fociety, and few that unless fortitude is poffeffed, man cannot be juft, or maintain the nights of mankind.

If the firft Romans could not have hed on fimple fare, they would not have been fitted for the hardships of a campaign without refources: if they had tot, amid freedom, had the prudence to be obedient in the field, they could not have conquered their enemies: if they had not poffeffed firmness in adverfity, and been ready to die in the caufe of their country, they could not have been , nor have maintained its rights either inft treacherous citizens or public memies. Self enjoyment and the confidence of mankind accompany the vir tue of fortitude.

The virtues comprehended in juftice, confidered as the difpofition to maintain the rights of mankind, carry with them tach its obligation. Temperance has health and unimpaired talents to enjoy rights; prudence, capacity to difcern and fecure them; fortitude, fafety amid the viciffitudes of life, and the honour of preferving the rights of a people.

The oppofite vices have their fpecific fafferings, which doubles the obligation to maintain the rights of mankind.

1. Intemperance fignifies the debilita fing the powers of the body and of the mind by excess and improper objects. The appetites and paffions which have bodily pleafure for their objects, terminate in fuality, accompanied with languor and difeafe. If the faculties of the mind are directed to invent and employ means which injure, inftead of maintaining the rights of human nature, they terminate in debafement and incapacity. "How

(faid Zeno) can the debauchee speak of pleafure? he has loft the mind that could feel it. Awife man indeed will live agree ably to nature, but nature requires that we are able to difcern the rights of freemen, and fitted to defend them." Intemperance, or the vice which unfits men for maintaining their rights, these philofophers confidered as the greatest injuftice to fociety, and that imbecility and contempt were its natural confequences.

2. Imprudence fignifies the directing the faculties of the mind to mean or improper objects. If to the firft, it debafes them; if to the fecond, it perverts them. "The gamblers of Athens (faid Demofthenes) are more active than the magiftrates, and the Athenians are ruined by the selfishness of the one and the indolence of the other." Disappoint ment accompanies the one vice, contempt the other.

3. Pufillanimity fignifies incapacity to endure the accidents of life, or to repel the dangers which threaten our own or the rights of mankind. When pufillani. mity is conftitutional, like every other deficiency from Nature, it is not a fubject of praife or blame; it appears in the habitual prevalence of the depreffing paffions. When pufillanimity is the fruit of vicious habits, thefe depreffing paffions are all that remain of the impaired faculties of the foul. "How (faid Cato) can the Romans continue men, when they wafte the hours which fit for war, in learning the Grecian effeminacies?" This republican thought, that every cir cumftance which tended to leffen the vigour of a foldier's conftitution, had an influence on his mind, and unfitted him for the hardships of the field. The improvement of tafte and understanding, on the contrary, has a tendency to correct the paffions which engender pufillanimity. Scipio Africanus was as brave and virtuous as Cato, and far more amiable in his character. Dejection and despair are the confequences of pufillanimity; mankind treat it with fcorn and derifion.

The fum of the enjoyments from the virtues of temperance, prudence, and fortitude, which enable us to maintain the rights of mankind, and the fum of the fufferings from the oppofite vices, conftitute the obligation to the virtue of juftice."

[To be continued.]

The

The Commercial and Political Atlas; reprefenting, by means of ftained Copperplate Charts, the Exports, Imports, and general Trade of England; the national Debt; and other public Accounts; with Obfervations and remarks. By William Playfair, (Author of Regulations for the Intereft of money). To which are added, Charts of the Revenue and Debts of Ireland, done in the fame manner, by James Corry, Efq; The commercial part is taken from the Customhouse bvoki, and the public Accounts, from the Fournals of the Houfe of Commons, and other papers belonging to that Houfe, not yet published. 4to. Il. Sewell.

THAT a concife, clear, and accurate view of the fubjects mentioned in the title-page is of the greatest importance to every individual of this country, cannot admit of a doubt.

That our author has fucceeded in giving to his performance the two firft of these qualifications, we will without fcruple venture to affirm; nor can we well suspect his accuracy, confidering the fources from which he drew his information. The plan on which he has proceeded, of reprefenting the various fluctuations of our commerce, and the increase or decrease of our expenditure, by charts, is, ́ we believe, novel, and to fome may appear whimfical; but they will perhaps change their opinions when they hear his reafons for adopting it.

"The giving form and fhape" fays he, "to what otherwise would only have been an abstract idea, has, in many cafes, been attended with much advantage; it has often rendered easy and accurate a conception that was in itself imperfect, and acquired with difficulty.

Figures and letters may exprefs with accuracy, but they never can reprefent either number or fpace. A map of the river Thames, or of a large town, expreffed in figures, would give but a very imperfect notion of either, though they might be perfectly exact in every dimenfion: moft people would prefer reprefentations, though very indifferent ones, to fuch a mode of painting.

Information that is imperfectly acquired, is generally as imperfectly retained; and a man who has carefully investigated a printed table, finds when done that he has only a very imperfect idea of what he has

To this we fhall add what our author

fays in his advertisement, on the propriety and juftness of reprefenting fums of money by parts of space. "Suppofe," fays he, the money that we pay in any one year for the expence of the navy were in guineas, and that thefe guineas were laid down upon a table in a straight line and touching each other, and those paid next year were laid down in another ftraight line, and the fame continued for a number of years; thefe lines would be of different lengths, as there were fewer or more guineas; and they would make a fhape, the dimensions of which would agree exactly with the amount of the fums; and the value of a guinea would be reprefented by the part of space which it covered. The charts are exactly this upon a small scale, and one divifion reprefents the breadth or value of ten thoufand or a hundred thousand guineas, as marked, with the fame exactness that a fquare inch upon a map may represent a fquare mile of a country."

To each chart are fubjoined general obfervations on the matters reprefented in it; and he has besides given fummaries of the exports and imports in figures, which were certainly in a great degree neceffary, confidering the small scale on which his charts are conftructed, in fome of which the line allotted to a million is fo fhort that were it divided intoten parts, the divifions would be almoft imperceptible.

We annex the first plate, (which shows the general trade of England), as a specimen, and give the obfervations upon it, and upon our trade with America.

In the plate, the divifions that pass from top to bottom are ten years each; those from right to left, one million of pounds each; and the progrefs of trade is reprefented by a line, like the track of a voyage upon an ordinary map.

Contents

1740. 1750. 7,250,000 2760. 10,300,000 14,250,000 3,950,000 1770. 11,650,000 16,300,000 4,650,000 1780. 10,750,000 12,400,000 1,650,000

7.550,000 12,000,000 4,450,000 12,650,000 5,400,000

Obfervations upon the general Trade of England.

"In the general chart of exports and imports, which may be faid to reprefent the income of the nation, the ideas excited by obferving, at one view, the progreffive increase of commerce for a period of feventy years, are pleafing as well as ufeful. It is agreeable to comprehend, at a fingle glance, the affairs of a nation as completely as we can thofe of an individual, and to observe, that, in the year 1771, our commerce had increased nearly to three times what it was in the beginning of this century.

It is not, indeed, equally pleafing to obferve, that, in the fhort period of ten following years, the fame commerce had decreased as much as the industry of men had raised it in forty-four preceding ones. In the year 1781 the exports were only as great as they had been in the year 1727. The imports, it is true, were greater; but then they were alfo greater than our exports in the fame year.

It is not to the prefent purpose to explain caufes, but to reprefent effects as they really are. If, however, a conjecture were to be hazarded, it might be obferved, that, till about the year 1750, our riches bad increased more rapidly than our luxury; but that ever since, till the year 1771, our luxury or expences at home increased above their ufual proportion. The increase of luxury did not, however, affect our welfare, nor impede our fuccefs; for at that time the exports were greater than they had been at any former period.

Then it was that our affairs fuffered a reverse, by the artifical capital of our merchants being fuddenly withdrawn *,

• This artificial capital was preserved at a greater expence than 5 per cent. per annum, often at more than 10 per cent. but still it encouraged trade. It must be a mistake to fup

owing to the imprudent conduct and speculations of fome remarkable men; fpeculations which deftroyed in a great meafure that mutual confidence which in re. ality made every private merchant a private bank, and enabled us to give longer credits than any other nation in the world. On this event did trade inftantly decline; but, as the evil was partly imaginary, and men became more diftruftful than they had any good reafon to be, as remembrance of it became lefs ftrong, the effects began to be less felt; and the evil would foon have been effaced, had not a more lafting and a greater misfortune then commenced, under the name of a REBELLION IN AMERICA; which, in fact, was no more than the total mifgiving of a great mercantile project, that had never answered, and which, had the abandonment been lefs expenfively managed, we were well quit of. It was the expence of abandoning the fcheme, and not the failure of the project itself, that precipitated evil on the commerce of England.

Had America been funk in the Atlantic ocean, it would not have had half the bad confequences that have enfued to this country.

The fame fort of circumstances that occafioned the fudden fall in 1772, now occafioned a much greater; for the capital employed in the English trade confifts partly in money and partly in credit, not from foreigners, but among ourselves. This laft portion of our capital was nearly deftroyed in the year 1772. But the immenfe expence of lofing America destroyed the more fubftantial capital in a great degree alfo. We had 100 millions more employed in trade in 1771 than in 1782: The leaft profit that fum could bring was eight millions a year. One cause of the decline of trade is therefore very evident.

Informer wars, the capital has also been withdrawn; but, during former wars, there was a circumftance that prevented the effects from being fo much felt. The artificial capital raifed by credit was not fo great, and had not been stretched to the utmoft, as in latter times; it there

1776.

It is probable that, unless a long peace intervenes, to enable us to increase our capitals, every future loan will be attended with the fame decay of trade.

Without making ufelefs reflections on what is past, our bufinefs is, to take as expanded a view as poffible, of all circumftances, and to confider, from the paft and the prefent complexion and appearance of things, what probably it may be beft to do, not forgetting that the politics of a nation acquiring wealth by commerce, is widely different from that of a nation getting riches either by con. queft or colonies. The first of these we have it not in our power to enjoy ; and experience has taught us the fatality and uncertainty of the latter. Industry and attention feem much more deferving of our dependence, as they are the only real fources of wealth, and caufes of profperity.

It is to be remarked, that the real balance in our favour is fomething greater than it appears to be: for the Eaft and Weft India trades are against us, though, in the end, a great part of that returns with thofe individuals who come home to fettle, and bring their wealth with them. The information contained in thefe charts is as accurate as can well be obtained. The information must all be derived from the papers and books belonging to the cuftomhouse; and, did it not require fo long a time to bring them up, we might have the fatisfaction of feeing the charts continued to the laft year. The plan is not much different from that of Lord Sheffield's, in his useful and ingenious work, as far as it relates to exports and imports.

Small variations in the exports and imports must be confidered merely as matters of chance; it is only from confiderable alterations that any weighty conclufion is to be drawn."

Contents of the Chart reprefenting the Trade with America.

Years. Imports. Exports. Balance. 1770. £. 1,480,000 £.4,550,000 £3,070,000 1771. 1,430,000 4,630,000 3,200,000

1777.

1778.

265,000

1,150,000 885,000

1779.

295,000

1,370,000 1,075,000

Obfervations on the Trade with America. "The commerce of England has not in any inftance experienced so rapid a decline as in its trade to America.

Perhaps no kingdom ever formed a more great or noble scheme, than that of peopling, governing, and protecting an eight part of the known world; and the honour of having attempted it is all that now remains to England. The thing was in itself impoffible, it was too great a project, and its principles were unfound. We expected that obedience from a child, that has only fometimes been exacted from a flave.

1

There are particular spots on the earth that are rich by nature, and feem to court the yoke from the inhabitants of poorer countries. Such are the Spice Inlands, and other places in the Eaft Indies, the Weft India Inlands, and fome parts of South America; and great riches are derived from extending dominion over fuch, and importing their produce. The Romans, indeed, acquired riches by dominion over poor 'nations; but then it was by a tributary revenue, it was not a commercial one, neither were the nations founded and nurfed at their expence.

The British empire followed a different plan from either of these in peopling America. It was at the expence of peopling, protecting, and governing a diftant country, the fituation, extent, and nature of which were fuch as infured it liberty whenever it thought proper to make the demand.

Things took their natural course; and America, always a very expenfive poffeffion, at laft afferted its own liberty, and was fuccefsful. It has often been faid, that America was too impatient, and threw off the yoke too soon for its own welfare. It might perhaps have been better for America, but it would probably have been worse for Britain, had it been lefs ambitious of independence: thofe ex pences, which have already been so prejudicial, would ftill have continued, and the expence of lofing the whole would have come at a time when perhaps we might have been lefs able to fupport it.

Not