To complete the 365 days of the common year, five Jours Complémentaires, which were considered as festivals, were added,

The common method of dating is by means of the number of the day of each month; thus, they say, that such an event took place on the first Brumaire, &c. the second Fructidor, &c. year 1-23, &c. This calendar commenced on the 26th of November, 1793, and ended on the 31st of December, 1805, when the Gregorian was revived.

The selections which we have made from this valuable work form a small portion of its useful contents, which include some tables connected with history of the most elaborate kind. It gives the Cycles, the Golden Number, Concurrents, Regulars, and Epact; Tables, Calendars, Festivals, Saints' Days, &c. Periods of time, such as Lustrorums, Generations, Reigns, Canonical Hours, Chronological List of Popes, of Councils, of the Regnal Years of Sovereigns, of the Regnal Years of the Sovereigns of England, of the Saxon Kings, and Cotemporary Kings of several countries of Europe. The work is really a model of the convenience which results from a well-arranged system, acting on a chaos of details hitherto lying in scattered confusion in libraries and musty cabinets... ed spir

ART. XI.—England and America; a Comparion of the Social and Political State of both Nations. In 2 Vols. 8vo. London: Bentley. 1833.

IT has always been our opinion, that no two countries in the world have a greater interest in maintaining a mutual friendship than this country and America, not merely from the ties of kindred which ought so closely to unite them, but from that bond which is infinitely more binding, the common advantages to their own interests. Inasmuch as this book illustrates the propriety of such a notion, it should be hailed with respect by at least every Englishman, for it is destined to assist in the promotion of a system which will secure a creditable and thriving addition to the commercial resources of Great Britain.

Nothing surprises more the American, when he lands amongst us, than the manifestations of abundant wealth which meet his eye from the first moment of his arrival on our shores. The roads traversing the surface in every direction, the well-kept foot-paths, the vehicles of all sorts, combining strength and proportion, in

pleasing combination, the horses and harness, and the very whips of England, the speed of the public conveyances all these no velties make Jonathan stare with surprise that things should be so much better in Europe than on the other side of the Atlantic. Such are the impressions which the provincial tour from the coast will give the American traveller, but it is in London that he will really find matter for admiration. No one, much less an American, will examine the state of supply of London, without at once acknowledging that that capital is better supplied with every description of material which man is prone to seek, either for his necessity or his luxury, than any city in the world. The quantity of meat and flour consumed, as the author thinks, in proportion to the population, would not be much greater in London than in Paris, whilst, perhaps, it would be less even than that at New York, where the working classes are certainly better acquainted with the taste of beef and mutton than the same order in the British metropolis. But then, in the latter, one meets with every thing the immediate produce of agriculture, such as meat, bread, sugar, and tea, of the very finest quality. Of manufactured objects used in London, scarce one can be mentioned which is not brought to greater perfection than similar objects used in other capital cities, whilst the variety of such objects is yet more striking. The fittings and furniture of a third-rate house in London are of a better quality than those of a palace in France or Germany; the doors and windows answer their purpose better; the chairs are stronger, lighter, and more convenient to sit upon; the tables, if not more useful, are far more beautiful; the glass is more transparent, the knives cut better, the fastenings of all sorts, the corkscrew and the toasting-fork, are better suited to their purpose, and composed of superior materials. In every London house, excepting those of the poorest order, one finds many useful and agreeable objects which are either scarce or unknown in Paris, New York, and Vienna. The inhabitants of London pay, it has been reckoned, about 50,000l. a year, being the fourth of 200,000 which the nation pays, for what? for blacking advertisements—that is, for the facility of choosing between different kinds of blacking. The number of kinds of horses used in London, though very striking to a foreigner, is less remarkable than the fore-thought, pains, and skill required for making each variety-the Lincolnshire drayhorse, for example, the Cleveland coach-horse, the high-bred nag, the cob, and the trotting hackney-so obviously distinct from all the others. The variety of carriages, whether for business or pleasure, and the fitness of each sort for its peculiar purpose, whether that purpose be determined by the weather, by the fortune of him who owns the carriage, or the business of him who uses it, are equally deserving of admiration. At night, when other great cities are in darkness, all London is brilliantly illumii morsogong Lak Bayborg

nated; nay, the beautiful gas-lights extend for some miles into the country in all directions.

The foreigner who contemplates London on this narrow scale, and who takes into account the general items which constitute the apparent property deposited in London, will be apt to conclude that the principal wealth of England is gathered in the metropolis. Such a misconception, however, will only occupy his mind until he has visited some of the provincial cities or towns, as Bath, Liverpool, or Leeds. In America there is nothing whatever to set against such a piece of machinery as the town of Leeds, nor such an elysium as Bath; the same can be said of France, so far as Bath is concerned, but Lyons may certainly be regarded as a Leeds or a Manchester. But it is not to one such specimen that we are confined, for our towns that are nearly upon a par with Leeds are numerous. There are some Liverpools in America; but any thing like the mixed character of a Norwich and a Glasgow, is not to be found in that continent, or even in France. But the most signal proof of the abundance of capital in England, is the facility with which money is advanced in commercial or other enterprizes, on the shortest notice. Here, then, is another of the broad distinctions subsisting between the two countries: in America, where there is so much room for the investment of capital, because so little capital has been invested, innumerable works, holding out the certainty of large profits, are projected, but, for want of capital, are not begun; while in England, where, by reason of the vast masses of capital already invested, there seems but little room for the profitable investment of more, millions accumulate so rapidly, that funds are never wanted for even the most hazardous undertakings. How to obtain capital is the question in America; what to do with their capital is the puzzle of the English. In this difficulty, the English build Waterloobridges which yield no profit, send goods to be sold in distant countries at less than prime cost, squander millions on South American speculations, lay out immense sums in the purchase of foreign securities, and lend money, by tens of millions at a time, to North American States, South American anarchies, and European tyrants, great or small. If the wealth of a society depend on the proportion which capital bears to numbers, then, it is clear, the English are the richest people in the world.

An interesting question is raised by the author as to the point, -what is the cause of this enormous wealth having accumulated in the hands of the English? But he solves it to the great satisfaction of the Americans, by promising to shew them why the English are so much richer than themselves, and, afterwards, how the Americans might become even richer than the English. This, we own, is a declaration that has considerably spurred up our curiosity, and we are all attention to catch an idea of the nature of the new philosopher's stone.

The author supposes, that each of the members of a givent society is possessed of equal proportions of capital with the rest. If this state of things were to last, there would be no improvement in the productive powers of industry, for no man would have a motive for accumulating more capital than he could use with his own hands. In the new American settlements this seems pretty much to be the case: there, a passion for owning land prevents the existence of a class of labourers for hire, and, in consequence, half the crop is left to rot sometimes on the ground. The only contrivance whereby capital can be accumulated, so as to be ready for any great enterprise that might spring up, is by the particular society dividing itself into owners of capital, and owners of labour. In this way is it that the exertions of men are combined; and in this way too is that combination of capital and labour effected. Every member in the society, under such a system, will devote himself to some single production, trusting to the labours of others for every thing else that he wants; one man will grow tea for him, another digs his metals, and a third will build his ship. Here there is an interchange, or rather a union of labour, which wonderfully favours the improvement of the productive power. This, in fact, is the state of England, and in this respect does she differ from America. Thus, if we take the agricultural department, we shall find that no part of the population of America is exclusively agricultural, excepting slaves and their employers, who combine capital and labour in particular works. Free Americans, who cultivate the soil, follow many other occupations. Some portion of the furniture and tools which they use is commonly made by themselves. They frequently build their own houses and carry to market, at whatever distance, the produce of their own industry. They are spinners and weavers ; they make soap and candles, as well as, in many cases, shoes and clothes for their own use. In America the cultivation of land is often the secondary pursuit of a blacksmith, a miller or a shopkeeper.

Now, what is the case in England? It is that the farmer is, generally speaking, nothing but a farmer, and an agricultural labourer works no where but on the farm. The English farm labourer is a miserable wretch, no doubt, because he obtains but a very small share of the produce of his labour; but this is a question, not of distribution, but of production. In England the agricultural class seems to have come to an understanding with the other classes to separate its employment from those of the manufacturer and dealer. Except in some of the wildest and worst cultivated districts, the practice, which is so common in France and America, of spinning wool by those who keep flocks, is gone quite out of fashion. Whatever manufactured object or mechanical work is required on an English farm, is procured at some shop in the nearest town, or performed by some mechanic who

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lives in the town. The mixed produce of American or French agriculture is, for the most part, sold in the nearest market, by those who raise it, to those who consume, it; while in England there is, between the producers and consumers, a distinct class of dealers, subdivided again into particular classes, such as cattle jobbers, dealers in corn, in hops and in wool. An English farmer seldom deals, even with his own labourers, for any part of the produce of his farm; be pays for their labour with money, which they lay out, either directly in the nearest town, or through the medium of village shopkeepers. Thus the farmer and his men are occupied almost exclusively with the business of the farm.

The consequences of this are manifold, for particular classes of farmers give themselves up to particular branches of cultivation; and it is needless to say, that the effect of such a division must be a continued improvement in each. Another invaluable result from this is, that the food of the whole people of England is raised by about one-third of her population, so that the remaining two-thirds are set free, and can with impunity engage in manufactures, and that to such a degree as to make this country the greatest comInercial nation in the world. And in these manufactures, the same principle of division of employments bringing about a union of labour, prevails as in agriculture, and is attended with the same proportion of benefit.

Contrasted with this bright picture of England, a description succeeds in the subsequent chapters, of the misery of the bulk of the people of England. The author enters at great length upon the political state of England in the last century, dwelling on the recent history of this country particularly during the agitation of the question of reform. We really are unable to see the motives for this digression; nor does the author in the least enlighten us as to his object in this very long and most tedious recital of events and proceedings, of which we are already so heartily tired. However, having shewn that the working classes of England are in a deplorable state, and that the middling classes are really no better off, the author proceeds to point out some remedies whereby ample redress may be obtained. He devotes a chapter, therefore, to the illustration of this position, that a free trade in corn should be established in England, as a means of enlarging the field of employment for English capital and labour. Throughout the chapters on English misery, and on the redress which the people of this country require, the author completely loses sight of his text, which bound him to continue his comparison between England and America. He wanders wholly from his subject, dives into the very depths of the metaphysics of political economy, and at last loses every recollection both of one country and the other. In truth, as we proceeded through this portion of the volumes, we were inclined to suspect that some enthusiastic speculator of the day in political economy, had put up false colours to entice seovn, Lyh oa baitang 51 fo

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