To place the matter in a fair point of view, our author gives us, we doubt not, a very faithful account how negroes are treated in the West-Indies. When we contraft with this the ftate of the labouring poor in our own island, we must admit with him the hard fate of the latter. But though the negro is better fed, and better attended in fickness, there are certain wants peculiar to climate and temperament, in the satisfying of which he is confiderably abridged. Between the tropics labour is every where painful to the human race, and moft other animals. The native inhabitants of these islands lived on the fpontaneous productions of the earth, and paffed a life of indolence, and the few enjoyments it brings with it. The fucceffion of daily labour, at ftated hours, in fuch a climate, and to men accuffomed to a quick fucceffion of events, may be the most painful of punishments. But when our author relates the state of the female flave during pregnancy, and the manner in which the husband and wife live together, he very candidly acknowledges the backwardness of the planters to purchase females. We learn farther that of flaves brought over, not so much as a third part are females, and among them many are past childbearing. Mr. Francklyn furely will not contend that the state of an uninformed negro in the torrid zone can be happy under these restraints.

The affertion that the negroes ate neglected in their religious concerns, is next warmly confuted; and the want of increased population is referred not to severity of treatment, but to a paucity of females, their confequent promifcuous intercourses, and a habit of fuckling their children for two years.

The affertion of the Dean of Middleham, that the merchant is answerable for all the blood fpilt in the wars among the negroes in Africa, is we think got rid of, rather than answered. It is not for us to determine what would be the fate of captives, did not the English purchase them; but we cannot easily believe, where the principal fource of wealth is the human race, that an uncultivated people will not make war for the purpose of making slaves, as the Europeans do, to extend their commerce. As juftice is fuperior to all other confiderations, we shall take no notice of our author's prudential cautions to GreatBritain, if the wishes to preserve her iflands. But his claim of retribution in behalf of himself and fellow-islanders is so fair that we shall conclude by transcribing it :

• If the flaves at present in the islands are fet, free, their ruin will be immediate. If the flave-trade is abolished, their produce will in a few years be annihilated. The planter knows too well the impoffibility of inducing white men to attempt fupporting the labours of the field in this part of the world, to confent to the experiment

I 2

being

being tried at his expence. If the petitioners or the public are wifling to run the risk, the planters will not, I dare fay, make any objections to it, but cede their property to be conducted according to any new mode which fhall be adopted, on being paid a reasonable price for their property. Should fuch propofal be approved of, it may not be improper to ftate what will probably be the amount of the planters claims on the public:

It is generally believed that the number of negroes, and other flaves, in the several British sugar iflands, are about 450,000, which, at 50l. ferling per head,

amounts to

The land they cultivate, with the buildings thereon, is
moderately estimated at double the value of the
flaves
The land in wood, which in fome of the islands govern-
ment has fold for confiderable fums of money, and
which is particularly valuable for fupplying timber
for repairs of fugar-works, mills, houfes, &c. and
which the prefent poffeffors have paid large fums for;
houfes in the towns, in the feveral islands, cattle,
horfes, mules, carts, &c. &c. will not be furely con
fidered as estimated highly at

Total

22,500,000

45,000,000

2,500,000

70,000,000

The whole then will amount to the fum of about feventy millions fterling. It may be difficult for the public to find means, at this juncture, to raise fo large a fum of money, especially as the abolition of the West India commerce, if the new plan of cultivation fhould fail, will occafion a very confiderable diminution of the national revenues. But the wealth of this world is unworthy the regard of fuch pious men as our petitioners; fiat juftitia, ruat cœlum;' fays the Dean of Middleham.'"

There is certainly juftice in this requifition; for if the British legislature conceives itself empowered to restrain the commerce, and annihilate the wealth of her colonies, they have a right to expect an indemnity in proportion to their loffes, and the fccurity with which they firft hazarded their capitals and lives.

ART. XIII. An Inquiry into the Origin, Progrefs, and prefent State of Slavery, with a Plan for the gradual, reasonable, and fecure Emancipation of Slaves. By a Member of the Society of Univerfal Goodwill in London and Norwich. 8vo. 1s. Murray. London, 1789.

ONE peculiar circumftańce feems to mark all reformations, whether in politics, morals, or religion. In proportion as the inhabitants of any country are by climate, cuftom, or other circumstances, more or lefs generally addicted to the old prac

5

tice,

tice, is the spirit of reformation greater or lefs. Perhaps to climate and cuftom, rather than any original purity of manners, we fhould afcribe the almoft univerfal abhorrence in which fome very degrading vices are held in this and other northern countries. To the fecurity in which those who have never been in a fimilar fituation feel themselves, we may often trace the general obloquy in which the wealthy Afiatic adventurers are involved, and the inconfiderable number who are engaged in the flave-trade, compared to the community at large, may be at least among the caufes of the general outcry in favour of our fable brethren. It muft, however, be confeffed that few are fair judges in their own caufes; and this fpirit of criminating others is often useful, by inducing the accufed parties to remind their accufers of fimilar inconfiftencies in their own conduct. Moft cordially were it to be wifhed that not only the state of the negro flave may be meliorated by favourable inftitutions, but that their advocates would be convinced how much remains to be done at home; how much the ftate of fociety among the labouring poor might be improved by the example of their betters, a proper encouragement to laudable industry, by a patronage which might teach them the true bleffings of life, and that temperance, diligence, and economy, are in all stations equally neceffary, and the only means of true happiness.

The prefent little performance is written, as its title profeffes, with a view of tracing the origin, progrefs, and prefent ftate, of flavery, and of propofing a gradual abolition of this traffic. The firft part of the work we fhall pafs over, becaufe, admitting that the negroes are the children of Canaan, against whom a curfe was pronounced by the Almighty, that flavery is coëval with fociety, and the general confequence of conqueft, the author is himself ready to admit that it is not the business of men to make themselves the executioners of divine vengeance, and that as knowledge and morality increase, all the inftitutions of a barbarous age fhould cease.

On the very interesting and important subject of a safe emancipation of the flaves, we are much pleafed with the obfervations and plans propofed, and fincerely recommend the perufal of the performance to all fuch as are engaged in this benevolent undertaking, both in and out of parliament. An immediate emancipation our author dreads, as an evil not only to the planters, but to the blacks themselves; nor does he feem to require an inftant abolition of the trade. For fuch as are already in a ftate of flavery, he propofes the establishment of a police for their benefit, that a profpect fhould be open to them of fome period to their fervitude, according to their degree of induftry, honefty, and fidelity; that they fhould all be taught fo

I 3

much

much of the English language as to enable them to converse with one another, with the whites, and to teach the fresh imported flaves enough to render their fituation more tolerable by the advantage of mutual intercourse. In order to improve ftill farther this laft advantage, he advises that such flaves as have fulfilled the period of their fervitude, fhould be transported, if they wished it, to their own country, that the prejudice entertained by the Africans against the merchants may be removed; that a degree of improvement and civilifation may be begun in Africa, and even fomething like the cultivation of a foil very fit to produce fugars and other Weft-India commodities. These proposals are at leaft worthy the attention of the legislature, and thofe difinterested individuals who have fo generously undertaken the cause of the negroes. There is only one part of our author's plan we cannot immediately coincide with-to further the improvement of the negroes, without injury to their masters, he propofes a Sunday's School. It is well known that the space from Saturday noon to Monday has hitherto been invariably left to the difpofal of the flave; part is ufually employed in cultivating a small spot of earth, part in carrying his commodities to market, and the remainder in thofe recreations which in Africa probably made the whole of his employment. Surely this space is not too much for all these purposes; and the dull business of learning a language, how useful foever it might be in the end, would, we apprehend, be an unwelcome exchange.

ART. XIV. Sylva Critica: five in Auctores facros profanofque Commentarius Philologus: concinnavit Gilbertus Wakefield, A. B. et Coll. Jefu apud Cantab. nuper Socius. 8vo. 4s. boards. Merril, Cambridge; Deighton, London. 1789.

THAT

HAT the writings of the ancients have suffered much from the inaccuracy of copyifts, there needs no other proof than the numerous variations which occur in different manuscripts of one and the fame work. To examine such paffages in them as appear to be fufpicious, to collate the various readings attentively with each other, and thence endeavour to afcertain what was probably the original expreffion; these objects have given rife to the arduous office of commentators, who, during fome ages fubfequent to the the revival of learning, and the invention of the art of printing, overspread almost all Europe with their annotations. A great portion of knowledge, and indefatigable induftry, are accomplishments which we cannot refuse those fcholiafts in general to have poffeffed; but, if we except fome men of distinguished abilities, they were far from being equally

endowed

endowed with other collateral and effential requifites of criticifm. Void of elegance of tafte, and acutenefs of difcernment, they seldom entered into the fpirit, or comprehended the beauties, of the authors on whom they commented; and they often miftook, for the sense of the author, the conceits of their own imagination. Many, on this account, are the paffages in ancient writers, concerning which a judicious reader will diffent from, or hesitate at leaft to adopt, the opinion of the fcholiaft. Of this class of independent critics appears to have been the author now before us. He feems to have devoted his attention chiefly to the examination of the fcriptures; but partly for the better afcertaining the sense of thofe facred oracles, by occafionally collating them with parallel paffages in other writings, and partly likewife for the fake of variety, he has interfperfed his commentaries on the Old and New Teftament with remarks on the ancient poets. His obfervations, in general, are judicious, and place him in a very favourable light, both as a claffical scholar of extenfive erudition, and a man of an elegant and correct taste. We shall select a few examples of the emendations which he fuggefts.

1

Whatever may be the propriety of fubftituting lafe for laffe, in the fecond line following, we think the change is a real improvement in the laft line of the quotation:

• Purpureus veluti cùm flos fuccifus aratro
Lauguefcit moriens; LASSOve papavera collo
Demifere caput, pluviâ cùm fortè gravantur.

Varietas lectionis eft in hoc loco-la-laxo-lapfo: quarum nulla quidèm videtur contemnenda, et temerè repudianda; nullam autèm genuinam judico. Dedit fcilicèt limatiffimus poeta, et Græcarum elegantiarum fervantiffimus,

-LESOve papavera collo.

Pari venuftate nofter vii. 808.

Illa vel intacta fegetis per fumma volaret
Gramina, nec teneras curfu LÆSISSET ariftas.

Et eadem reftitutio mihi prorsùs neceffaria videtur ad Æn. vi. 310. ne bis idem dicendi ignominiâ notetur Maro:

Quam multa in filvis autumni frigore primo
LESA cadunt folia.'

We should likewife be inclined to adopt Mr. Wakefield's alteration of obtundem, with a point of interrogation, after aures, for obturem, in the following paffage of Horace :

4.

• Multa