by the laws of divorce, which multiply the victims of libertinism, and weaken the connubial band; by the liberty allowed to minors of marrying without the confent of parents or guardians, whence refults a multitude of hafty connections, which rather refemble a state of concubinage than a state of matrimony; by the admiffion of baftards to an equal participation of property with lawful children, which must tend to diminish the number of the latter; by the toleration given to inceft, from the total filence of the penal code, and the encouragement of rapes, by the flight punishment inflicted on those who commit them:-all thefe moral caufes are but too well calculated to prevent the effect of the revolutionary means of restoring the population of France.

It must, however, be acknowledged, from the teftimony of perfons of undoubted veracity, who have recently left the country, that the population of France, in children under eight or nine years of age, appears to have encreased in fome degree. This is afcribed to the multiplication of marriages, which are contracted for the purpose of procuring exemption from the military requifitions, and which lead young men to marry the moment they become marriageable. Yet this caufe of re-population counteracts, but in a very small degree, the effects of fo many other revolutionary caufes of depopulation.

In his obfervations on the ftate of agriculture in France before the revolution, Sir F. D'I. denies that France is one of the most fertile or beft cultivated countries in Europe. On this head he has already been reproached, and juftly too, with having forgotten, that the reafon for giving a preference to the foil of France, is, that the contains, within herself, every fpecies of culture, and every fpecies of produce, together with the most abundant crops, when the industry of the farmer, and the fertility of the foil, are not repreffed by a vicious or oppreffive government.

In difcuffing the principal advantages which it was faid agriculture must derive from the revolution, he estimates the annual amount of the tithes at feventy millions, which did not exceed a forty-fourth part of the produce, rated at about three thousand millions. On the abolition of tithes by the revolutionary reformers, an impoft of feventy millions was levied as a fubftitute, deftined to pay the falaries of the clergy.

* This remark is taken from a very able analyfis of Sir Francis D'Ivernois' work, which appeared in the Mercure Britannique, and was the production of the mafterly pen of M. Malouet.REVIEWER.

The

The magnitude of this fum aftonishes our author; but all aftonishment must furely ceafe, when it is confidered that the impoft, fo pompously proclaimed, was deftined foon to become nugatory, by the annihilation of all religious worship, which constituted one of the primary objects of the leaders of the Constituent Affembly.

But Sir F. D'1. avows himfelf a determined enemy to tithes. themselves; and he wishes to fee a pecuniary modus established in their stead. We fhall not ftop to enquire whether he contracted this enmity from the prevalence of a too-fashionable opinion in the prefent day, or whether he imbibed the false and dangerous prejudice on which it is founded in his native republic. But, furely, having paid fuch attention to the progrefs of this dreadful conflict between reforming anarchists and the fupporters of regular governments, he might have recollected, that the meafure which he recommends was the very bait held out to the deluded peafantry of France, the fource of whofe attachment to the revolution was the promised abolition of tithes. Befides, we would afk him, what fpecies of property is more facred than tithes Putting their divine origin out of the queftion, (for there are minds fo ftrangely formed, in this age, that it fuffices to give the epithet divine to any inftitution, to excite their ridicule, and to incur their averfion,) do not tithes reft on the fame civil bafis as all other kinds of property-and can the one be attacked without fhaking the other? They are a fpecies of impoft the mos diftinguifhed for their antiquity, and the most generally adopted! 'Tis true, indeed, the whole tribe of economists (like fome other fectaries,) declared war against them; but the author acknowledges, that thefe men diffeminated many revolutionary ideas, and none more dangerous, as was proved by the event, than this. Were the Monarchy of France to be restored, we truft, the government would take fpecial care not to enter into any kind of compromife, with the moderate party, on this fubject. Acquiefcence, in fuch a reform, would be, to fanction the existence of a revolutionary leaven, which would not fail, fooner or later, to ferment, and once more to endanger, the monarchy. The example of France, in the hour of her infanity, has been wifely holden out as a warning to England; let, then, the example of England, in the days of her wifdom, be now holden out as a Teffon to France. The French have abolished their tithes, their hierarchy, and their monarchy; the English, thank Heaven! has preferved them all.

Befides, tithes, confidered in a more contracted point of view, are the most equitable of all impofts, fince they natu

rally

rally follow the progreffion of the income on which they are levied; whereas a pecuniary modus would, in times of scarcity, be extremely burdenfome to the farmer, while, in the courfe of time, it might be infufficient for the fubfiftence of the clergyman. It is certain, that the greater part of the French farmers paid tithes without expence and without a murmur ;while the flighteft impoft in money expofed them to confiderable expence, and was not extorted from them without infinite trouble; that the barn of the ecclefiaftical tithe-gatherer was a certain refource to the parish in times of fcarcity; that the poor had a right to profit by it, which was fanctioned by religion; and the paftor found in it à falutary means of fecuring the confidence of his flock.

Among the other advantages of the revolution, we were furprized to find the fuppreffion of the corvées mentioned. The author has fallen into a grofs error, in fuppofing that the abolition of the corvées was only begun and prepared by Louis XVI. At the acceffion of that Prince to the throne, they were already fuppreffed in nine generalities out of thirtytwo; and, at the beginning of his reign, the fuppreflion was rendered general throughout the kingdom. But as the government had not taken the precaution to provide an adequate substitute, the greatest inconveniencies enfued, and they were obliged to revoke, provifionally, the edicts by which they had been fuppreffed. In 1785 a commiffion, compofed of eight Intendants, among whom were M. de la Galiliere and M. Daine, who are now in London, was appointed to examine the means of finally abolishing the corvée, without incurring the inconveniencies which had refulted from its former fuppreffion. The confequence of their inveftigation was a general regulation, confirmed by letters patent, which fupprefled the corvée throughout France, and fubftituted an impoft in its place, which, though confiderable, excited no complaint, but was, on the contrary, received with general applause and, the very next year, the roads were repaired from the produce of this tax. So that the abolition of the corvée must be erafed from the catalogue of pretended advantages conferred by the revolution.

The other advantages confift in the fuppreffion of the duties on wine and fpirits on their entrance into the towns, of feudal rights, and of manorial privileges; but were these as subftantial as they are illufive, they would afford but a very poor compenfation for the numerous evils which the revolution has

The exaction of perfonal labour for the repair of the roads.-REVIEWER.

brought

brought down upon France. From the combination of aff thefe evils, of which the author draws a picture not less juft than it is frightful, we find that the landed income of France has been reduced from fix hundred million (25,000,000 fterling) to three hundred (twelve million and a half sterling); that of the tax of three hundred millions impofed on this revenue, and distributed in the most ridiculous manner, it has been found impoffible to collect more than one-third. Hence arife an enormous deficit in the receipts, numberlefs profecutions of the defaulters, and the adoption of most harth and oppreffive measures against them, fuch as quartering foldiers in their houfes to be kept and paid by them, the fale of their furniture and effects, of the implements of husbandry, and the produce of farms, at a very low price; all which tend to render the country deferted.

The author exclaims loudly against the multiplicity of small proprietors, which has accrued from the divifion of the eftates of the Clergy and Emigrants, as infinitely prejudicial to agriculture, although he admits that it is favourable to population. He alfo pleads the caufe of the farmers against the Metayers. But no general rule can be established in matters of this kind, which cannot be regulated by local circumstances. We believe, in England now, as formerly in France, the best informed perfons are convinced that there ought to be both large farms and fmall farms, according to the nature of the land and the ability of the farmer.

From agriculture, Sir F. paffes to the colonies, the annual produce of which amounted to about two hundred millions. St. Domingo alone fupplied two-thirds of it; one half of the produce was exported to foreign countries, which gave an immenfe balance in favour of the French commerce. The mother country sent out merchandize to the colonies to the amount of feventy-eight millions yearly; of which, articles of home manufacture amounted to forty millions, wine and fpirits to fix or seven, and flour to as much. The numerous veffels which were thus kept in conftant employment supplied the kingdom with a nursery for feamen, and gave her the rank of a fecond-rate maritime power.

This is a fpecies of occupant unknown in this country. The Metayer is a farmer whofe farm is ftocked by the landlord, who divides the profits of it with him, agreeably to ftipulations specified in their contract. The Metayer generally occupied a fmall farm; the farmer a large one. So that, in fact, the point in difpute is, whether large farms or fmall ones are moft beneficial to the community.

REVIEWER.

Of

Of all the fettlements formerly poffeffed by France in either India, St. Domingo is the only one worthy of notice. "Perhaps" (fays the author) it would not be difficult to prove that this fettleinent alone was as productive to France as the whole trade and tributes of the Eaft Indies are to Great Britain." But in the state to which it has been reduced by the revolution, he much doubts whether it can yield a tenth part of its former produce, and that will scarcely fuffice to purchase the ftuffs which the colonilts are obliged to import from England, and the corn which they buy of the Americans. And he is of opinion that it never can recover its ancient profperity, even hould a government be eftablished fufficiently powerful to difarm the Negroes, to bring them back to their work, and to restore the real owners to the poffeffion of their eftates.

The chapter on the deftruction of industry in France contains a variety of interefting particulars and calculations. We there learn that filks formed a more confiderable article of exportation than all other produce of French industry united; that the French bought raw filks, in foreign countries, to the amount of twenty-feven millions annually, which they mixed with their own filks, and exported a part of them after increafing their value to three times the prime coft; that, now, having loft their manufacturers, their capital, and their machines, they fell their own filks to foreign manufacturers, as raw materials; that Lyon, which alone exported manufactured filks to the amount of ninety millions, has fcarcely three thoufand looms left, out of eighteen thousand which it had in 1788; and that the other towns where lks are manufactured, have experienced a fimilar decay. It was, no doubt, by mistake, that the author placed Orleans and Nantes among towns of this defcription; fince there never were any filk manufactories in either of them.

The fplendid manufactures of tapestry, at the Gobelins, and at Savonieres; and of porcelaine at Sevres, no longer fupported by the neceffary funds, have partaken of the common difafter. The manufactories of cloth, at Sedan, Louviers, Elbeuf, Abbeville, Carcaffonne, &c. have been replaced by the produce of English manufactories. An exorbitant duty of feventy-five per cent. which has been laid on all white linens and cottons imported, has done fuch injury to the manufactories of printed linens, &c. which the ancient government took fo much pains to establish, that four-fifths of the quantity formerly fupplied at home are now drawn from England.

The author finds the firft obftacle to the re-establishment of the national manufacturers in the exceffive rate of intereft,