be thereby loft; a

whatever may Circumftance of great advantage indeed; for,

whatever may be the popular or prevailing opinion, it is demonftrably true, that a broken bone cannot be too foon put to rights as muft appear to every one who will for a moment confider the necefiary ftate of the mufcles, tendons and membranes furrounding, and the medullary organs contained within a large bone broken and unfet; that is, lying in an uneven irregular manner. Can any truth be more clear, than that if the fracture, tenfion and tumefaction be fuch that the muscles cannot bear to be ftretched out in the manner neceffary for fetting the broken bone, without caufing great pain, and perhaps bring on ftill worse fymptoms, the more the pofition of that limb makes its muscles approach toward a ftate of tenfion, the lefs likely it must be that fuch fymptoms fhould remit, and the longer it must be before the wished-for alteration can happen; and confequently, that while the accomplishment of fuch purpose is by every other means aimed at, the pofition of the limb ought most certainly to contribute to, and not to counteract it? In fhort, if the experiment of change of pofture be fairly and properly made, the objections to immediate reduction, from tenfion, tumour, &c. will moft frequently be found to be groundless, and the fracture will be capable of being put to rights, as well at firft as at any diftance of time afterward.

Mr. Pott applies the fame principle of the pofture of an injured member moft proper for its reduction, to diflocations, as to fractures: but our limits not permitting us to be more copious in quotations, we recommend to all furgeons the perufal of the treatise itself, as rational, ingenious, and animated, and tending to introduce an important innovation in their art. noilasi odi to istoma

X. The prefent State of the Nation: particularly with respect to its Trade, Finances, &c. &c. Addreffed to the King and both Houses of Parliament. 8vo. Pr. 2 s. Almon to alésasa,

H

Iftorians tell us, that at the battle of Agincourt, after the English had difcharged all their arrows, they gained the victory by returning upon their enemies thofe arrows which had been fhot against themfelves. An accurate obferver may fee that the fuppofed right honourable author of this pamphlet, has furnished himself with artillery from the Budget, and other publications against his own miniftry.

10 3

The pamphlet before us is a capital performance in the political way. The author reviews our fucceffes during the late war with the greateft candour, and admits of all the advanta ges that at were derived from them; but ftates the facts and

See Vol. xvii. p. 448.

reafons

4

reafons which juftified our making the peace of Paris just at the crifis when we were in danger of being tickled to death by glory and conqueft. He fhews the advantages arifing to our country from that peace, with the ruinous expences entailed on the nation by the war; and he is of opinion, that our financing minifters raised the supplies at too great an expence. For inftance, (fays he in a note) had an intereft of fix per cent. redeemable by parliament, been given for the 12 millions in 1762, theadditional three per cent. would have amounted to 360,000 1. per ann, but parliament could have begun redeeming it almoft as foon as peace was made; and it would probably have been all redeemed in the five years fince the peace; in which case it would not have amounted to one million, instead of 5,820,000l. which the premium that was given now ftands the nation in."

This writer thinks that the war was not near fo ruinous to France as to Great-Britain; and his reafons for adopting that' opinion are strong and convincing. He gives a plain authentic state of the diminution of the British commercial marine during the war; and thinks that the balance of trade in favour of Great-Britain, is no way adequate to the fum of very near five millions fterling, (which was paid for intereft of the national debt at the conclufion of the late war), because it cannot be eftimated so high as two millions and a half, of which the sum of one million five hundred and fixty thousand pounds annually is due to foreigners. He illuftrates the danger which must impend over Great-Britain, if ever her foreign trade should decay, so as to reduce our balance under that fum. 'E sagulat ay di noqu To do juftice to our author, he is far from writing in the exaggerating ftile of party. He forbears all perfonal reflections; and from perufing his performance we can fcarcely fufpect him to a gentleman who has gone through almost all the departments of public bufinefs, from a feat in the admiralty to the head of the treafury. He lays down in a clear and perfpicuous manner the general principles upon which the public debts may yet be reduced, and the public welfare eftablished. He then takes a view of the measures which have been pursued fince the peace, in which he exhibits a very modeft view of his own adminiftration. After ftating the rent charge brought upon Britain by the late war, he thus proceeds.

F

It was, however, a confolatory reflection to Great-Britain,' that the members of her empire were in much happier circum- " stances than herself. Ireland had contracted a debt of no more than one million, and fome additional duties to pay the intereft, amounting to eighty thousand pounds, was the only burden the war had occafioned her to lay upon her people. The Ames! rican colonies, at the end of the war, ftood charged with debts

to

to the amount of 2,600,0001, but as only a small part carried intereft, and funds had been provided for paying off the whole by inftallments in five years, the debts of the colonies were more properly to be confidered as anticipations of their revenue for five years, than as funded debts. As Great Britain, therefore, was alone to carry, in future, the burdens of the war, fhe had the highest reafon to expect, that the unmortgaged parts of her dominions would willingly take upon them the expence of a confiderable part of the peace establishment. Their own intereft, it was to be hoped, would ftrongly prompt them to contribute, to the utmost of their ability, to put Great-Britain in a condition, not only to maintain her public credit, by a regular payment of the intereft of her debt, and a gradual reduction of the capital, but to have funds unappropriated, and a revenue exceeding her expences fufficient to mortgage for new loans, fhould the hoftile preparations of any European state make a new war unavoidable. Should Great-Britain be unable to raise money at fuch a joncture, it would be vain for them to hope to do it. Their want of extenfive public credit among foreigners, and of wealthy individuals among themselves, are infuperable obstacles to their raifing a large fum, by way of loan, on any emergency, but more especially at a time when their particular fafety might be in hazard. Feeble, therefore, must the efforts of thefe great members of her empire be for their own defence, or the aid of England in time of war: and what wifer measure could either purfue, than for each to take upon them as large a fhare of the expence of the peace establishment as their circumstances could well bear, and leave GreatBritain to make good the reft; and, while peace continued, to free herself from fome part of her enormous debt, and the oppreffive weight of her taxes. It was, however, only demanded of Ireland to keep up her ufual military guard, from which five regiments were taken for the garrifons of Gibraltar and Minorca. The American colonies were next called upon for their contingent. They had no military eftablishment of their own; and, as Great Britain furnished them with troops, they were required to fupply her with revenue for their payment. The expence of the military fervice in the colonies, amounted to near 500,000l. and yet Great-Britain laid no heavier taxes on the colonies for defraying it, than were estimated to produce 160,000 1. the deficiency fhe was content to make good out of her own revenue. It is not neceflary for me to give a detail of the domestic arrangements, or finance operations of this year; that has been already done, to the fatisfaction of mankind, in the Confiderations upon the Trade and Finances of this Kingdom, and to that I refer the reader; it is fufficient to fay here, upon that

authority,

authority, that in every tranfaction of government, the augmentation of the public revenue, and the reduction of the national expence, were preferred to the gratification of individuals. The laws of trade were carried into strict execution, and clandeftine importations univerfally checked; a confiderable part of the unfunded debt was discharged, and the remainder placed in fituations that leffened its weight upon the national credit; and fuch part of it as was funded, was charged upon taxes which could not affect the fubjects of Great-Britain. Even a reduction of the funded debt was begun, and public credit was fo far re vived, by these operations, that government already found itself in a condition to change a part of her redeemable debt from an intereft of 4 to 3 per cent.

Occafions prefently offered for manifefting to foreign courts, the fpirit with which the affairs of Great Britain were to be conducted. The king of Pruffia had detained some magazines, which had been left in his dominions, when the British troops were brought from Germany, as hoftages for the payment of debts contracted by our commiffaries with his fubjects. That monarch was told, that no demands of his fubjects would be confidered, no payments would be made to them, nor any memorial received from his minifters, fo long as he with-held any part of the public property, or doubted of the juftice, or integrity, of the British nation. The magazines were accordingly reftored, and compenfation made for loffes occafioned by their detention, and the Pruffian accounts were then liquidated and difcharged. The Spanish governor of Campeachy had given fome disturbance to our people in the settlements they were making on the peninfula of Jucatan, and some French fhips of war had erected the ftandard of France upon Turks-Ifland, and drove away the British subjects who were employed in raking falt from the rocks on its thores. Thefe in fractions of the treaty were no fooner known in England, than the British minifters, with temper and refolution, infifted upon immediate reparation, and a fleet was instantly equipped to give efficacy to their demands. Both courts difavowed the behaviour of their officers by written declarations, and put into the hands of the British minifters duplicates of their orders to their gover nors of Campeachy and Domingo, Turks-lfland was accordingly evacuated by France, and the British fubjects were reinftated in their poffeffions in Jucatan, and full fatisfaction was made by both courts for the loffes our people had sustained.

It is not my intention to arraign or applaud any minifter: I am neither writing an eulogium upon one, nor making a charge against another. My only purpofe is to lay before my

countrymen

countrymen a candid ftate of the national affairs, and I leave it' to them to applaud or cenfure, as the feveral measures fhall appear to them to promote or retard the reftoration of the national ftrength, to provide for the public fafery and affert its honour, or to leffen its fecurity and debafe its dignity. I have been happy in the review of the measures which immediately followed the peace,, because they appeared to me to flow from a right understanding of the circumftances of the ftate, and to have the present fafery and future profperity of the whole em pire for their object. Equally happy fhould I be to find the fucceeding measures attended with confequences alike advanta geous for the nation. d to ting a speeds of po

This able writer next fhews to a demonftration the mistaken policy, the falfe facts, and pernicious confequence of humouring the Americans in their obstinacy by repealing the ftampact. He touches upon the affairs of the Eaft-India company, and their agreement with government the management of the finances during the prefent and last administrations; and feems to think, that we have been too tame in our conduct of foreign affairs; or rather, that we have almoft entirely neglect ed them for thefe laft two years. He inftances our negociations with Ruffia, as well as with the courts of Verfailles and Madrid, in the affair of the Canada bills and, the Manilla raufom. He fears, that when the accounts come to be made up to the tenth of October this year, they will be found in arrear a fum equal to the funded debt, difcharged in the courfe of the prefent year, He proves this by figures, which can admit of no abbreviation, and d therefore we must omit them. He next enters upon the prefent circumftances of the nation in a perfpicuous, plain, or der, and fhews that the standing public revenue has been aug mented by the produce of new, taxes, fince the peace, a hundred and fixty-nine thousand pounds, of which, only two thou fand pounds has been produced by taxes impofed fince Midfum mer 1765

He recommends every true lover of his country to turn his eyes to the increase of the finking fund, and the reduction of the public debt, as the beft criterions of financeabilities; and he proves, by figures, that in the fix years of peace, there has been taken from the finking fund to the amount of twelve millions eight hundred ninety one thou fand two hundred and forty-nine pounds, being the exceedings of the produce of the feveral taxes appropriated to the pay ment of the public debt, after paying the intereft accruing thereon. He then ftates the particulars of three millions thirty thousand two hundred and fifty-five pounds, which have Vol. XXVI. Oa. 1768. X been