He has not, however, even intimated in what situation he stood, nor how far he is interested in giving those attractive colours in which he has painted slavery. He has not informed us that he is either a planter, or one hired by the colonial proprietors to plead their cause; and consequently, we have no right to ask his terms of remuneration. But whatever might have been his station or character in the land of cartwhips and groans, one thing is obvious, that he attempts to persuade the good people of England, that nearly all the tales they have heard respecting slavery are totally false, that the condition of the negroes is not only comfortable, but even to be envied, and that the planters, attorneys, overseers, and drivers, are almost worthy of being exhibited to the world as examples of humanity. These facts, we have no doubt, that he can fully establish, by the evidence of nearly all the slaveholders in the island, and he well knows that negro testimony must not be received.

It, however, unfortunately happens, that some rays of light beam upon us through the chinks which accident has left in his pages; and we cannot proceed far in the perusal of this volume, without suspecting that zeal, rather than integrity, has rendered the author much assistance in his composition. For corporeal punishments he strenuously contends, observing, that "it is unreasonable to look for the disuse of the whip among a people just emerging from barbarism. The disuse of the whip ought to keep pace with the advances in civilization, and let those who have seen, say, if it has not done so in the colonies."—p. 43.

Here then we have a criterion laid down by the author himself. Now we would ask, what methods have ever been adopted to advance civilization among the negroes? He well knows that a microscope would be necessary to discern them: and the conse. quence is obvious; if no methods are adopted to promote civilization, and it cannot be supposed to grow spontaneously in their degraded state, no civilization is to be expected, and therefore the whip must continue while slavery remains.

Mr. Barclay observes, "As far as my observation goes, there is not now one punishment inflicted, for twenty that were, at the

time I went to Jamaica in 1808." This is nothing more than saying, that the present race of planters are not so bad as their predecessors; but it is no great compliment to congratulate a race of men for not being the worst that ever were in the world. The amount is this, the negroes are exempted from the whip when the masters and drivers

think proper. This is their only security, but for any violation of law or justice they have no redress.

"Records of punishment have long been kept on many plantations; but to make the manager swear to them, seems a measure of doubtful utility. A man capable of inflicting an improper punishment would scarcely stick at an oath." p. 45. It appears from hence, that on some plantations no records of punishments are kept; and on those where they are, no dependence can be placed on their accuracy.

In such a state of things, where " arbitrary power is necessary," from the condition of the slaves, it is useless to enumerate among their luxuries, "rich crabs and pungent pepper." Power that is arbitrary will be abused; and the author well knows, that even the dictates of interest are sometimes unable to withstand the sallies of outrageous passion. The fundamental principles on which the system is founded, are radically unjust, and no consequence growing out of them can admit of a rational defence. The author may nibble at a few solitary expressions which the foes of slavery have used, but the great question he durst not meet. This he leaves as black as he found it; and triumphs in his apology, which amounts to this, that some planters are not so bad as others.

We are, however, willing to give the author credit for his talents as a writer, and have only to lament that they had not been employed on a subject more creditable to himself and to the cause of humanity. He tugs against a stiff hill, drawing a heavy load, and the numerous slips, and the little progress which he makes, carry a conviction, that he is seriously oppressed with the severity of his undertaking. In the meanwhile we would recommend his book to the perusal of all who wish to know on what principles slavery is defended; but we shall be astonished to learn, that where interest is out of the question, he has made one convert to the cause of inhumanity; persuading ourselves that his readers will exclaim, as with one voice, This abominable system ought for ever to be abolished.

REVIEW.-Scripture Natural History, or a Descriptive Account of the Zoology, Botany, and Geology of the Bible, illustrated with Engravings. By William Carpenter. 8vo. pp. 634. Wightman and Cramp. London. 1828. NATURAL history, whether applied to inanimate matter, to vegetable, to animal, or

REVIEW.-Essays on the Nature, Causes, and Effects of National Antipathies, Credulity and Enthusiasm, &c. By R. Otley. 12mo. pp. 335. Fisher and Co. London.

THESE Essays dive deeply into the regions of antiquity, and, while calling from their dread repose the heroes, philosophers, and legislators of departed years, they expatiate on the ethics, antipathies, credulity, enthusiasm, and superstitions, by which remote nations and communities were distinguished, as they floated on the stream of time.

From distant periods, on which the author takes his stand, he comes downward to more modern days, and observes, or fancies that he observes, the same causes still in operation, though under the mask of other names. He has not, indeed, openly branded Christianity with being a branch of the same family, but from the principles that he has laid down, much ingenuity is not required to make the obvious inference. He has cut his roads through the thickets of antiquity, and brought them to the margins of the sacred enclosure, and, placing the tempting field before his readers, has prosecuted his march in another direction.

In these essays the author has given luminous proof, that he is well acquainted with the records of ancient times. He ranges through their varied departments, like one well acquainted with their connexions and bearings. They abound with historical facts, and are enlivened with many pleasing incidents; but in several instances we are not disposed to admire his reasonings, or to adopt his inferences. On some occasions, the foundations are involved in the mists of fiction; and whenever this is the case, they can do nothing more than support hypothetical propositions, while these can only lead to dubious consequences.

The language in which these essays are written, is strong and nervous, in which flowers and bombast but rarely appear. The masculine and dignified march of history, is happily blended with the more flexible turns of expression, which characterize the easy flow of dissertation. The sentences are short and pointed, each fully containing the ideas it was intended to convey, without being so connected with those which precede and follow, as to render a recollection of the whole necessary to their being comprehended.

By those who delight to be introduced to demi-gods and heroes, to behold war, conquest, and tyranny, in their most forbid

114. VOL. X.

THIS engraving is copied from an original, and much celebrated picture, that has long been a striking ornament of Burleigh House. On the countenance of the Saviour, meekness, placidity, innocence, and devotion, are so strongly depicted, that they seem to form its most distinguishing characteristics. The eyebrows are finely arched, and the neck appears to great advantage. The hair, falling gracefully in ringlets on the shoulders, coincide with the formation of the lips, and the general features of the face, to suggest the idea of youthful manhood, though, perhaps, on the whole, it has rather too much of a feminine aspect. The engraving is highly finished in the dotted style; and, from its being printed in gold, is calculated to excite particular attention. The paper on which it is printed is thick, stiff, and finely glossed, which cannot fail to add to its general beauty. When properly mounted, this picture will be an ornament to any room, not only from the subject exhibited, but from the manner of its execution, and as being a delicate specimen of the graphic art.

BRIEF SURVEY OF BOOKS.

1. A Letter to the King, on the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Laws, as it affects our Christian Monarchy, by the Rev. Edward Irving M. A. (Nisbet, London,) appears to have been written in a paroxysm of mental fever, a disorder with which this gentleman is occasionally afflicted. It is a fine specimen of ecclesiastical toryism, delivered with all the solemnity of prediction, and all the authority of inspiration, in a strain of conscious infallibility, that seems to assume the right of dictating to the world. In Italy, if the subject had been reversed, the principles on which it is founded, might have procured for the au

2 N

thor a cardinal's hat, if not the triple crown; but we suspect that in this country it will be destined

"To waste its sweetness in the desert air."

2. Christian Experience, or a Guide to the Perplexed, by Robert Philip, of Maberly Chapel, (Westley, London,) is a treatise of about two hundred and thirty pages, written in a plain familiar style, which can be easily comprehended by every reader. The subject is divided into thirteen sections, each of which has a strong bearing on experimental religion. The author enters with much discernment into the views and solicitudes of the perplexed, and furnishes satisfactory replies to such objections as are most frequently urged by the earnest seekers for salvation. We think it is likely to be rendered useful, and therefore give it our hearty recommendation.

3. A Help to the Duty of Self-examination, containing a Section for each Day in the Month, (Mason, London,) appears without the author's name. It consists almost exclusively of interrogatories, and many of the questions are of a very heart-searching description. In some instances they are carried to an extreme, and many pious persons, we fear, will be disheartened on perusing them, while others will be ready to ask, if none but Christians answering these questions in the affirmative can enter heaven, "Who then can be saved?"

4. Public Characters, Biographical and Characteristic Sketches, with Portraits of the most Distinguished Personages of the Present Age, Vol. I., (Knight and Lacey, London,) is highly deserving of the patronage it solicits. Its biographical sketches, though short, will be found very interesting, because they apply to such public characters as at this moment figure on the great theatre of the British empire. For a work sold at a moderate price, the engravings, twenty-seven in number, are well executed, and every one will be pleased to see the countenances, and read the history, of individuals with whose names fame has made them long familiar.

5. Rudiments of the Greek Language, (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, and Whittaker, London,) was first published for the use of the Edinburgh Academy. The value of this elementary volume has, however, made it known in other places, and a second edition, improved and enlarged, is now in circulation. Combining within reasonable limits the requisites of a first and second Greek grammar, we can hardly

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doubt that it will have an extensive sale, of which we consider it to be highly deserving.

6. A Complete Treatise on Practical Arithmetic and Book-keeping_both_by Single and Double Entry, by Charles Hutton, LL. D. F. R. S., edited by Alex. Ingram, (Whittaker, London,) brings its passport to attention and respect in the names of its author and present editor. It has been long before the world in former editions, so that its value and importance are well known in most seminaries throughout the united kingdom. Mr. Hutton is one of those authors who has deserved well of his country, and with his name the present edition will associate that of Mr. Ingram.

7. The Englishman's Polar Star, &c. being a Preface to a New Interpretation of the Apocalypse, by the Rev. G. Croly, A. M., (Rivington, London,) gives a strong and distinguished light, from which the traveller, perplexed and benighted amidst the gloom of contending factions, may obtain a knowledge of his situation, and the bearing of the port which he wishes attain. This treatise is decidedly hostile to what has been called "Catholic Emancipation," and the reasons assigned by the author are too ponderous to be blown aside with the hectic of contempt. The language is perspicuous and energetic, and the writer seems fully competent to the subject he has taken in hand, but the truth of his presages time must develop.

8. A Report of the Proceedings at a Meeting of the Cork Reformation Society, held at Wesley Chapel, Cork, January, 1828, (Houlston, London,) is rendered particularly interesting by containing a discussion of the more important topics on which Catholics and Protestants differ from each other. The objections urged by Mr. Hennessy, a Catholic, concentrate in an embodied form the most formidable weapons with which Protestantism can be assailed. To these objections, specific replies are given by Mr. Walker, who triumphantly disarms his opponent, and in return carries his forces into the enemy's territories. To such persons as are exposed to Popish sophistry, we would most earnestly recommend this report, as being at once argumentative, scriptural, entertaining, and instructive.

9. Claims of British India; an appeal to the Society of Friends for their Cooperation in promoting Christianity in India, by J. Peggs, (Wightman, London,) bears, in some degree, a resemblance to The Suttee's Cry to Britain," by the same

author, which we reviewed in our last number. In some respects, however, they greatly differ. The Suttee's Cry delineated the cruelties practised in India under the prostituted name of religion; while this "Appeal" leads us more immediately into the domestic moral character of the Hindoos. In both cases the picture is truly deplorable; but the evidence seems decisive, that, without any danger, Britain might banish these inhumanities from her Indian possessions, and raise the vast population in the scale of moral, social, and civilized life.

10. A Treatise on Diseases connected with Indigestion, &c. by David Uwins, M. D. (Underwood, London,) reminds us that we never tread more dangerous ground than when we venture on the territories of Esculapius. It is a neatly printed volume, the intrinsic merits of which, medical gentlemen, for whose use it is primarily intended, are alone competent to estimate. However, the language being but little obscured with technicalities, we have been able to ascertain that it is always rational, and that the author advances strong and commanding reasons to justify his conclusions; and having reached a second edition, we cannot but infer, that it has found a station in the libraries of the faculty.

11. Essays to do Good, by Cotton Mather, D. D. F.R. S. with an Introductory Essay, by Andrew Thomson, D. D. (Whittaker, London,) is a reprint of a work, of which the reputation has been long established. It is another valuable volume belonging to the Series of select Christian Authors, published by Chalmers and Collins, Glasgow, several of which we have noticed in cur former numbers. It need only to be read to be admired, and he who reduces its precepts to experience and practice, will not be far from the kingdom of heaven. The value of this work is enhanced by the well-written essay which precedes it.

12. Tracts by the Rev. Thomas Scott, with an Introductory Essay by Dr. Chalmers, (Whittaker, London,) belong to the same class with the preceding article, and is highly deserving of that station in a Christian library, to which it aspires. Few publishers have done more in modern days to furnish a series of valuable select Christian authors than Chalmers and Collins, and few works are more deserving of public patronage than those which they have, under this generic title, sent into the world.

13. The Paan of Oxford, a Poem, to which is prefixed a Reply to the Charges

adduced against the University in the recent Numbers of the Edinburgh and Westminster Reviews, by William C. Townsend, B. A. (Longman, London,) is a work deserving of more time and attention than we can now devote to its merits. The repulse given to the attacks of the reviewers is strong and manly, evincing much reading, and an intimate acquaintance with the subject. The reviewers must have felt, in Mr. Townsend's strictures, that they cannot insult with impunity. The Pæan of Oxford is an eulogy on that venerable seminary, painted in glowing colours, and adorned with the enchanting diction of heroic verse. It contains much historical information, illustrated with innumerable classical allusions. The notes are a valuable appendage, which confirm its general character.

14. Discourses translated from Nicole's Essays, by John Locke, &c., (Harvey and Darton, London,) are sure to command respect from the name of their celebrated translator. The abilities of John Locke being well known, it will naturally occur to every reader, that if these discourses had not contained some intrinsic excellence, he would never have devoted his time and talents to the translation of them. In this, the reasoning is supported by facts; for though in profundity of thought, and expansion of intellect, they may not equal those sanguine expectations which the name of Locke is calculated to excite, they contain much sound argument and solid sense; the first in particular, conducting us into a region of abstraction, in which the mind of Locke would naturally find itself at home. The preface is rendered interesting by tracing the history of the manuscript; and the discourses, though intrinsically valuable in themselves, will be found additionally important from that vigour of thought which the renowned translator has infused into them.

15. A Word to the Members of the Mechanic's Institutes, by R. Burnet, (Johns, Devenport,) is a strange medley of learning and ignorance, of wisdom and folly, of sense and nonsense, to which may be ascribed any meaning, or no meaning, just as the reader fancies. It has just as much to do with the members of the Mechanic's Institute, as with the crew of a ship of war. In short, there would be no great difficulty in rendering its application as universal as it will be found to be inefficacious. The author seems to have much wild intellectual vigour, but it is either crazy, or run to seed; yet from its towering aspect it will serve to

"Amaze th' unlearned, and make the learned smile."