counterbalance the reputation of the Italians, whose music was every day gaining new partifans amongst the French: upon this occafion a controverfy was fet on foot concerning the comparative merits of the mufic of both nations, and managed with as much warmth as if the intereft of church or ftate was concerned. Rouffeau at this juncture pursued a conduct which appeared to be diametrically oppofite to his intereft; but this heteroclite genius was in all his actions influenced by motives different from those that actuate other people: he warmly e fpoufed the cause of the Italian mufic, and his zeal even carried him fo far, that he often headed a party of Italianists, and joined with them in hiffing his own opera,

'Not contented with running down the French music in all the coffee-houses of Paris, he published a most virulent invective against it; whereupon the director of the opera deprived him of the freedom of the house, which, as an author, he was before entitled to. His invectives made him fo odious, that he was more than once knocked down in the streets by ruffians hired by the partisans of the opera; and durft not so much as venture into a coffee-houfe, or any place of public refort, without being accompanied by a mufqueteer of his acquaintance, who was ready to take his part in cafe any one infulted him.

Such perfecutions as thefe would have appeared to a rational man in the light of misfortunes; but the vanity of Rouffeau's heart made him fecretly rejoice in them, as they, in his opinion, proved his importance, and feemed to render his claim to the title of Great Man indisputable. He once wrote a fhort piece of two acts, entitled Hippolitus, or The Lover of Himself; he did not own it till it was damned, and then he went to Procope's coffee-houfe, and declared before all the company, which there confifts of critics, perfons of taste, and pretenders to tafte, and declared that he was the author of the piece which had just then been damned; that he wrote on purpofe to be damned; and that if his piece had met with the approbation of the public, he would never have owned it. This rhodomontade was looked upon by many as a proof of his exalted genius; for fuch is the whimsical and capricious temper of the French, that the oddest and most extravagant cha racters are generally the most admired by them. But these affected fingularities, which have caufed people of no difcernment, of whom a great majority of the public is composed, to look upon him in the light of an extraordinary genius, prove him to be actuated by a vanity which must render him contemptible to all perfoas of understanding.

1

• The formal perfonage who harangued fo learnedly against the existence of a Deity, is the celebrated Diderot: no one can deny him to be a man of profound erudition, and some genius: but by adopting the abfurd fyftem of atheism, he forfeits all title to the reputation of a true philofopher. This is, however, known only to those who converse with him, for in his writings he affects to believe what he denies in his discourse, in order to fave appearances, and escape public cenfure.

The little dramatic author ftill writes on in fpight of common fenfe, though all the pieces he ever offered to the ftage were damned; his last new tragedy was fo ill received by the public, that after the first act was over, all the gentlemen in the pit turned their backs to the ftage, and converfed juft as if they had been in a coffee-houfe, without taking any further notice of the play.

• The alchymift is a downright madman; he was formerly chymift to the duke of Orleans, and worked in his laboratory; he has fince been the ruin of several who were mad enough to spend vaft fums in fearch of the philofopher's ftone, by which they impoverished themselves and their families."

Upon the whole, Miss Beverly is a mere French goffip. In love she is infenfible, in morals abandoned. She is wicked by constitution, and a frumpet through principle; yet none of her adventures are applicable even to thofe modes of life which belong to the infamous profeffion fhe embraces and owns. Το crown the abfurdities of her hiftory, fhe is miraculously rewarded, by obtaining a generous husband and a large fortune.

XI. The Adminiftration of the Colonies. (The fourth Edition.) Wherein their Rights and Conftitution are difcuffed and flated. By Thomas Pownal, late Governor and Commander in Chief of his Majefty's Provinces, Maffachufett's-Bay and South-Carolina, and Lieutenant-Governor of New-Jersey. 8vo. Pr. 55. Walter.

MA

ANY great and important revolutions and alterations. have taken place in the British colonies of North America fince the first publication of this performance (see vol. xvii. p. 281); and the author has seen his propofal of a new fecretaryfhip for that department virtually carried into execution. We shall not resume any of his obfervations, which we have already quoted or animadverted upon, but confine ourselves here to the new matter presented in the edition before us. The firft is a propofal for fending a new commiffioner, or rather a superintendant-general to America, in order to fix the basis of an esta

blished

blished, permanent, and effective fyftem of government for the mother-country in the colonies.

To obtain this with truth and certainty, and to engage the colonists to co-operate in this view with that confidence which a free people must have, if they co-operate at all.... government would send out to America, fome very confiderable perfon, under commission and instructions, to hear and examine on the spot the state of things there, and by fuch proper reprefentations and affiftance as can nowhere be had but upon the spot, and from the people themselves, to form such authentic matter of information for the king in council, as may become the solid basis of real government, established by the principles of real liberty.

To fuch confiderable person, and to fuch commiffion only, would the colonists give their confidence: they would know that there was no spirit of party or faction, that there could be no job.... They would be convinced that the government was in earneft, and meant to act fairly and honourably with them. .They would meet such person in the abundance of their loyalty, with difpofitions of real business in their temper, and with the fpirit of real union in their hearts.

• What commiffion could be more honourable and glorious, even to the higheft character, than that of acting for the rights and liberties of a whole people, fo as to be the means of establishing thofe rights and liberties, by an adequate fyftem of freedom and government, extended to the whole? What can be more fuited to the most elevated character, than to be the great reconciler between the mother-country and her colonies, mif-reprefented to, and mif-informed of each other?'

Here Mr. Pownall acts the part of godfather and godmother for the colonists, and promises and vows in their name, that they will meet fuch a person with the spirit of real union in their hearts. A few lines after the above quotation he acts a similar part, but in a reverse direction, by foreseeing and foretelling that this falutary propofal never will take place; that it has been already rejected; and that there never will be any systematical union of government between the mother-country and the colonies. The latter, he thinks, will for fome time belong to fome faction here, and be the tool of it, until they become powerful enough to hold a party for themselves. - Has not that already happened?

Mr. Pownall thinks that government should give the fuperintendant he mentions a council to affift him, under a commiffion and inftructions, to call a congrefs of commiffioners from the feveral colonies.-He fhould have power and be instructed to call to his aid and affistance, the governors, or any other his Majefty's fervants, as occafion fhould require. P 3

• By

By the reprefentations and affiftance of this congrefs and these persons, he fhould inquire into the actual state of the crown's authority, as capable of being executed by the king, and by his governor, and other the immediate executors of the power of the crown.

He fhould inquire into the extent of the exercise and claim of the legislative powers, and examine difpaflionately and without prejudice on what grounds of neceffity or expediency any precedents which ftretch beyond perhaps the ftrict line of the commiffions er charters, are founded.

He fhould enquire into the ftate of their laws, as to their conformity to the laws of Great-Britain, and examine the real ftate of the facts or bufinefs which may have made any deviation neceffary or not.

He should examine into the powers and practice of their courts of judicature; whether, on one hand, they have not extended their authority beyond their due powers; or whether, on the other hand, they have not been reftrained by inftructions, or by the acts of the colony legiflatures, within bounds too narrowly circumfcribed to anfwer the ends for which fuch courts are erected.

He should, which can only be known upon the spot, inquire into and examine the actual state of their commerce, that where it deviates unneceffarily from the laws of trade, it may be restrained by proper regulations. . . or where the laws of trade are found to be inconfiftent with the intereft of a commercial country having colonies which have arifen from, and depend upon trade, a revision may be made of thofe laws, fo as that the fyftem of our laws may be made conform to the system of our commerce, and not deftructive of it.

• Under all these various heads, he may hear all the grievances which the officers of the crown, or the people, complain of, in order to form a juft and actual reprefentation for the king in council.

He fhould inquire into the state of the king's revenues, his lands, his naval ftores; and he thould review the state of the military fervice, the forts, garrifons and forces. . . . With the afliftance of proper commiflioners from the provinces and colonies concerned, he should fettle the feveral difputes of the colonies amongst themselves, particularly as to their boundary lines. He fhould alfo inquire into all fraudulent grants.

All these matters duly examined and inquired into, a report of the whole business should be drawn up, and being authenticated by the original documents, should be laid before the king in council: thofe points which were of the special department of any of the boards or offices under government, would

be

be referred from thence to thofe refpective offices, for them to report their opinion upon the matter. . . And when the whole, both of matter and of opinion, was by the most authentic representations, and by the best advice, thus drawn together, the king in council would be enabled to form, and by and with the advice and authority of parliament to establish, the only system of government and commercial laws, which would form GreatBritain and her colonies into a one united commercial dominion.'

Mr. Pownall is of opinion, that were this measure adopted, the colonies muft depend upon Great Britain as their center; but that they must be guarded by this union, against having or forming any principle of coherence with each other, above that whereby they cohere to this center, this first mover.' Thus we are presented with a plan of political gravitation, of action and re-action, upon Newtonian principles. Though it would be the highest presumption in us to pretend to talk experimentally upon colonial affairs, of which we have formerly obferved our author is certainly an excellent judge; yet we think there are certain principles of government, and even colonization, which any man of common fenfe may judge of, though without experience in the subject. In the firft place, we are no friends to systems, especially in trade: they are calculated for arbitrary governments, and even there they feldom fucceed. If we look into the history of the French dominions in America, we shall find that the establishing and pursuing commercial and governmental fyftems, coft the French crown and people ten times more money than their colonies ever brought them in ; and there is some reason for believing, that the wifeft part of the French nation was glad to get rid of them, after they faw an end of all their endeavours to enlarge their commerce at the expence of Great-Britain.

In the next place, we cannot help thinking that if, as Mr. Pownall intimates, government has already rejected his plan of fuperintendency, it did wifely. The truft is too great to be vefted in any one man, be he who he will, confidering the difpofition of our colonies fince the late peace; and the more popular, the more beloved, and the more trusty such a superintendant would be in America, the greater would be the danger,

As to the propofal of a congrefs of the colonies, was not fuch a propofal carried into execution? Was it attended with any beneficial confequences to Great Britain? Did it not ferve to make the colonists feel, perhaps over-rate, their own weight and importance; and are not both they and their mother-country smarting under the effects of their conduct? In short, we may reverse the observation which Mr. Pope makes upon Providence, when we apply it to commerce; for the latter

Acts not by general, but by partial laws.