Art. XIII. Peace without Dishonour-War without Hope; An Argu ment against War with Great Britain, recently published at Boston. By an American Farmer. 8vo. pp. 43. Price Is. 6d. Butterworth. 1807. THIS pamphlet contains a clear and accurate statement of the affair of the Chesapeak American frigate; plausibly vindicating the conduct of our officers, and exposing the incorrectness both of Commodore Barron's answer to the request of Captain Humphreys that the five British seamen on board the Chesapeak should be delivered up, and of President Jefferson's proclamation when one of those seamen had been forcibly reclaimed. We are glad to find that so able a defence of the British Admiral and Captain has been produced on the other side of the water. After proving that there is no ground for war with Great Britain, the writer exposes in very forcible terms the inexpediency of waging even a just war, in the existing circumstances of America. He enlarges with much ability on the destruction of the revenue, (at present 10 millions of dollars) nine tenths of which are derived from commerce, the ruin of 250,000 merchants, the imposition of sixteen times the present amount of the State-tax on landholders, the impossibility of America carrying on with advantage or with success a war of territorial conquest, or of maritime depredation, the futility of expecting to ruin Great Britain by shutting out her manufactures from America, or to starve her West India Islands now she is mistress of the sea, now that Nova Scotia is a thriving country, and Buenos Ayres (we substitute the Brazils) can supply them with every kind of provision. On one of the menaced modes of making war on Great Britain, that of confiscating private debts, there are some very excellent It is of itself dishonest, it will bring no money into the public treasury, the debts must be paid as in the last war at the conclusion of a peace, it is directly in violation of a solemn article of agreement between the two countries in Mr. Jay's treaty, that in all future wars there should be no confiscation on either side; if such a measure is adopted, says the writer, "no other nation will ever trust us without adding to the price of the goods a premium for the risk of fraudulent confiscation; and as all such risks are over estimated, we shall probably pay ten times over, for the paltry and wicked satisfaction of robbing her private citizens, who have trusted their property to ours." comments. The causes of alarm that America would have in the maritime prepon derance of France, and in her possession of Louisiana and Canada, are briefly referred to; and the alledged predilection of the present rulers of America in favour of France is boldly reprobated. It is pretty evident that the writer is something more than "a Yankee farmer," as he is styled in the original pamphlet printed at Bos ton; we are almost assured by his use of two technical law phrases, "protesting," (p. 16) and fresh pursuit" (p. 23), that he is to be sought for in that profession. His pamphlet, however, is likely to be of use among his countrymen, and will be read by ours with advantage, though they should not entirely assent to all his reasoning, 2 [8] Art. XIV. A Letter to the Right Rev. Dr. Beilby Porteus, Lord Bishop of London, on the Subject of his Citation of the Writer before the Spiritual Court, on an unfounded Charge respecting certain Doctrines contained in his Visitation Discourse, preached before Dr. Gretton, Archdeacon of Essex, at Danbury, July 8, 1806. By Francis Stone, M.A. F S A. Rector of Cold Norton, Essex. pp. 42. Price 1s. 6d. Eaton, 1807. OUR readers undoubtedly remember the very remarkable Sermon against the doctrines of the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, and the Atonement, which Mr. Stone had the audacity to preach at the Visitation of Dr. Gretton, Archdeacon of Essex. (Ecl Rev. Vol II. p. 837.) For this offence, he has been cited, it seems, " to appear before the Spiritual Court, in answer to charges of revolting fron, impugning, and depraving, some one or more of the thirty-nine articles,' and of opposing' the old obsolete statute of the 13th of Elizabeth,' enacted two or three centuries ago." p. 3. 6 Mr. S. pretends that he is not bound by the Articles which he acknowledges to have subscribed, because they do not constitute any part of the form for ordination of priests; but by the 13th of Eliz. c. 12, § 3. Fe must since that time have publicly read, and declared his unfeigned assent to the Articles within two months after his induction, otherwise he was liable, ipso facto, to be deprived. if there be any force in the quibble by which he attempts to justify himself, it will be allowed in the proper place; the tribunal of public opinion will not admit of quibbles. The very appeal, indeed, to such a tribunal, by publishing a letter to his Diocesan, on such an occasion, setting aside the remarkable futility of the excuse and impertinence of the manner, we deem a gross outrage of decorum in a Clergyman of the Established Church. The dishonesty of preaching down its acknowledged doctrines, while he feeds on its bounty, is clearly incapable of defence; depriving such an offender, is only dismissing an unfaithful servant, who has been too long betraying the interests of his employer. We do not apprehend, however, that Mr. Stone will find his objections of any weight in the Spiritual Cont: the 2d Section of the same Act is perfectly explicit, as to the deprivation of any ecclesiastical person, who, on citation before the Bishop for advisedly maintaining any doctrine directly contrary or repugnant to any of the Articles, shall persist therein, or, after revoking his error, shall "eftsoons affirm it." Art. XV. Outlines of English History in Verse. By Elizabeth Rowse. 12mo. pp. 115. Price 3s. 6d. extra bds. Burditt, Darton and Co. Harris, &c. 1809. THE design of this publication is to familiarize the learner with the more obvious events of English history. We have often occasion to observe, not only in this, but in other studies, the advantage of sometimes consulting a large and free outline of the subject; and this advantage the pupil will doubtless derive from committing these lines to memory. The dates are very properly introduced into the yerse; the candid reader will impute its blemishes, in point of elegance and accuracy, to this circumstance, as well as to the embarrassing nature of the subject; it is nevertheJess flowing, lively, and sometimes spirited. The chief use of learning. these verses, in our opinion, will be found to consist in strengthening the youthful memory; it is certainly desirable to render that discipline amusing and instructive, which is adapted to answer so valuable an end. The work is very neatly printed; it is embellished with an allegorical frontispiece, alluding to the abolition of the slave trade, engraved by Freeman, from a design of Masquerier; and is accompanied by a brief Geographical List of the Places mentioned in the course of the history. Art. XVI. Jesus the Son of Joseph. A Sermon delivered before the General Baptist Assembly, at their Annual Meeting in Worship Street, London, May 19th, 1807. By Abraham Bennet (Ditchling, Sussex) 12mo. pp. 35. Johnson, 1807. IF Socinianism, like other offences, must come, let it always come in such a form as this! unsupported even by the semblance of a sound argument; in sentiment so imbecile, and in language so beggarly. It would be paying the author too high a compliment to refute his wretched and abortive attempts at reasoning: and respect for the feelings of our readers forbids us exposing his indecency. We shall content ourselves with quoting two passages unprecedented, we believe, for stupidity. "It is all in vain," he says, " to tell us, that Mary was of the family of David, unless it can be proved, that the Jews reckoned and kept genealogies in the female line, but this, I believe, is known not to be the case." p. 19. The only possible supposition on which this sentence can rest is, that all Mary's ancestors were females!-that she had no father! "Every error in Christian doctrine," says this Mr. Bennet, "may be considered as a dead weight, impeding the progress of the Gospel. I have no scruple in saying, that the deification of Christ, and the doctrine of the Trinity, have been more injurious to divine truth than all the persecutions of Christians by the Roman Emperors, from Nero to Dioclesian!!" A few instances of Deists converted and profligates reclaimed by Socinianism, would be rather more convincing than this assertion: but perhaps the true reason why this kind of proof is withheld from us may be, that Socinianism is of too dignified a character to undertake the task of converting and reclaiming, till such tenets as the Deity of Christ and the Trinity are universally exploded as absurd mysteries! It is unfortunate that a scruple of delicacy, or indeed of pride, should leave this task entirely in the hands of" Enthusiasts," and that persons of such illiberal views should perform all the moral miracles which are performed, while Socinians could, if they would, perform them so much oftener and so much better ! Art. XVII. Funeral Oration to the Memory and in Honour of the late Margrave of Brandenburg, &c. &c. &c. &c. Translated from the Latin Tongue, in which it was composed and recited at the University of Erlanzen in Franconia, by Charles Henry Gros, Vice-President of the said University, in the Year 1806. Published in English, with explanatory Notes and Illustrations, by the Margravine of Anspach. Folio, pp. 41. Price 15s. Southampton, Baker and Fletcher. 1807. THE Margravine of Anspach is well known to the fashionable, and even to the literary world. She once more appears before the public, as the Editor of a funeral oration on the death of the late Margrave. Not having seen the original, we cannot judge of the accuracy of the trans lation. The eulogist, however, ascribes to the late illustrious Prince of the House of Brandenburgh, " every virtue under heaven ;" and had it not been for the officious loquacity of his beloved rib, we might perhaps have given full credit to the orator, and ranked his Serene Highness at least among the Demi-gods, though he did forsake his country in the hour of danger, and sell his princely dignity for pelf. But the no less illustrious Margravine tells us, with modish sang-froid," that he had mistresses of all countries, except Germany;" that he was quite a man of gallantry, and by no means that good-for-nothing virtuous thing which the oration might have led us to imagine. What a melancholy reflection it is, that a dull and depraved old man cannot creep secretly into his bed of corruption, but that his wife may revenge herself upon him when he is past resistance, and gibbet him on a lofty folio! Who would not prefer a wife from Hindoostan, that would rather burn on the pile with the remains of her deceased lord, than expose his memory to insult! It is by no means our intention, however, to insinuate, that her Serene Highness does not actually feel a propensity to burn, or to dissuade her from obeying the apostolic precept, in such cases, of entering once more into the holy state of matrimony *. Art. XVIII. Remarks on the Injustice and Impolicy of our Attack upon Denmark. 8vo. pp. 70. Price 2s. Matthews and Leigh. 1807. THE HE whole case, with respect to the attack on Copenhagen, is not yet before the public; unless, indeed, we might safely allow to the assertions on which its justification has been officially rested, the authority of absolute proofs. The discussion of this measure in the pamphlet now on our table, is therefore premature; and we are also compelled to remark, that it exhibits more symptoms of honesty and good intention in the author, than of enlarged views or strong reasoning powers. When this transaction comes properly into public examination, at the meeting of Parliament, we shall hope to find more candour, discrimination, and sound philosophy exerted upon it, than we have yet had the satisfaction of ob serving in any of the disputants. Art. XIX. The Fifth of November; a Drama, in Three Acts. Written for Schools. By Edmund Philip Bride!, LL. D. 12mo. pp. 48. Richardson. 1807. WE notice this trifling performance, rather to condemn the use for which it was designed, than to censure the puerility manifest in the exce cution. It is truly pitiable, that instructors of youth should suppose either the faculties or morals of those under their care to be improved, by forcing them to a mimicry of scenes of which it is one of the great securities of virtue, at a more advanced age, that they should even refrain from being spectators. To us this seems an anomaly which equally shocks common sense and moral feeling. While, however, the theatrical imitations of school-boys are restricted to the learned languages, the evil, great as it may intrinsically be, cannot be very extensive; but if permitted, as in the present instance, to descend to the first step above the nursery, they ought to be vigorously resisted. * 1.Cor. vii. 9. We learn from this insignificant production, a lesson of some consequence that the plays of Lilliput, as well as of Brobdignag, are insipid without their oaths; and we have to admire the adroitness of the Doctor in filing down great ones, so as to fit little mouths. Faith, and by pronounced by the urchin, might, in spite of the extacy excited by the child's talents, alarm the most stupid parent; but " Fegs," and "by Jingo," are charmingly constructed, so as to hide their deformity, from all but Puritans and Methodists, under the veil of nonsense. DOCTOR BRIDEL announces that, "should this trifle meet with a favourable reception, two or three more original subjects of a similar tendency, are in readiness for the press;" we sincerely hope that our warning may influence some considerate parents to oppose their veto to the further progress of these suckling "Dramas," beyond the margin of their author's manuscript, at least toward the memories of their children. Could our advice so far avail, they would be committed to the Care of the flames. Art. XX. The Water of Bethesda; a Sermon, preached in the Parish Church of St. John, Margate, in the isle of Thanet, on Sunday, Aug. the 30th, 1807, for the General Sea Bathing Infirmary, at Margate. By the Rev. James Plumptree, M.A. Published for the Benefit of the Charity. pp. 19. Price 1s. Rivingtons, 1807. MR. Plumptree had a most excellent institution to recommend, and, Art. XXI. Questiones Grace; or Questions adapted to the Eton Greek notice of all tutors, and to the adoption of those who use the Eton Greek Grammar. It is formed on the plan of Mr. Morgan's Questions on the Eton Latin Grammar; and the utility of both works, we are persuaded, will be evident on a very short trial. Mr. S. does not pretend to remove any part of that labour inseparable from committing to memory dry grammatical principles," but chiefly aims to put into the hands of his pupils that form of examination for which they are expected to be prepared." We should have been very far from applauding his performance, if it had given the Answers to the Questions, and consequently relieved the understanding of the pupil from all concern in the examination. On the contrary, the questions only are given, to which a competent knowledge of the rules, and tolerable attention to their meaning, will readily suggest the answers. Mr. S. properly observes, that "bring |