from all the interefts from this center, to be to diftribute its directio of ftate fhall determine t fixed; from whatever de executive adminiftration fixed, known, of record partial, it ought to exten plication, all communica mediately and solely in fpring of all nominations, little confequence where t fo that the department be of its bufinefs-is fpecial ceffary to it-and officially executing it. Whether t Board of Trade and Plant ought to be intirely in eith power for the direction i ledge of the department to and military, all fervants of dies or private perfons oug this department, whether it of Trade. While the mili State, the civil in one part State, in another with the correfpond in matters not while the engineers correfpor cers of the revenue with the have no communication wi ought to have, the general d great Atlantic and America who is to collect? who doe view, all thefe matters of in department ever had, or cou it, as to difcufs, compare, re real ufe?. In the firft place, th ment form'd for this purpofe let any one acquainted with tempt of fuch department wo others. Whenever, therefore certainly it will, fome time or form fuch department, it mu be fovereign and fupreme, as to fpeak plainly out, must be a When fuch is form'd, althou Guld revenue officers, fhould cos refpective duties, with the departments of government to which they are more immediately fubordinate and refponfible, yet, in general matters of information, or points which are matters of government, and the department of this ftate office, they should be inftructed to correfpond and communicate with this minifter. Suppofe that fome fuch minifter or office now exifted, is it not of confequence that he fhould be acquainted with the Geography of our new acquifitions? If, therefore, there have been any actual furveys made of them, fhould not fuch, or copies of fuch, be fent to this minifter, or office? If a due and official information of any particular conduct in our colonies, as to their trade, might lead to proper regulations therein, or might point out the neceffity of a revifion of the old laws, or the making further provifion by new ones, would it not be proper that the cuftoin-houfe officers fettled there fhould be directed to correfpond and communicate with this minifler, or office, on thefe points? Would it interfere with their due fubordination, as officers of the revenue, to the commiflioners of the cuftoms!!f there were any events arifing, or any circumftances exifting, that might affect the ftate of war or peace, wherein the immediate application of military operations were not neceflary or proper, fhould not the military and naval of ficers be directed to communicate on these matters with this minifter, or office? Should not, I fay, all these matters of information come officially before this minifter, if any fuch ftate minifter, or office, was eftablished?' The Writer in the next place obferves, that the power of executing fhould alio fpring from one undivided departinent. He then, with great candour and precifion, ftates the grounds of the differences between the colonies and their mother-country, and fhews the neceffity of fettling the points in difpute by proper legiflative authority. The next fubject of his confideration regards the paper currency of the colonies, and he examines with great accuracy how far fuch currency is neceffary, how far it is admiflible, and under what regulations it ought to be admitted. His obfervations on this head re ext mely judicious and fatisfactory. It,' fays he, inftead of prohibiting the Colonies in general from making paper money, the Government would, from a precife and adequate knowledge of the nature of money, whether paper or filver, fix fome general rules for the Colonies in this point, there could more beneficial mcafure taken for the welfare of the Colonies, or the inte eft of the mother country. These rules would turn upon regulating the FUND, the USES, and the QUANTITY of fuch medium.' He enforces his own fentiments on this article by quotations from a very judicious tract, which not be he intitles CONSIDERATIONS ON A PAPER CURRENCY: and upon the whole concludes, that in Colonies the effence of whofe nature requires a progreffive increase of settlements and trade, and yet who, from the balance of trade with the mother-country being against them, must fuffer a conftantly decreafing quantity of filver money, a certain quantity of paper money is neceflary. The Writer, in the next place, confiders the laws of trade, with refpect to the Colonies. The general principle of the laws of trade, he obferves, is, that the Colonies fhall not, on one hand, be fupplied with any thing but from a British Market, nor export their produce any where but to a British Market In the application of this principle, he continues, the prefent laws direct, except in fome fpecial particulars, that the Colonies fhall import all their fupplies from Britain, and carry all their produce to Britain. If now, inftead of confining this market for the Colonies to Britain only, which is a partial and defective application of the general principle whereon the act of navigation is founded; this Colony trade was made, amidst other courses of trade, an occafion of establishing British markets even in other countries, the true ufe would be derived to the general intereft from thefe advantageous circumftances, while in particular the Colonies and the mother-country would be mutually accommodated. • In the fame manner, fome revision of the state of the trade of the Colonies of the feveral maritime powers amongst each other will be neceffary. The laws and ordonnances of thefe do in general prohibit all trade of foreign Colonies with their own; and yet, without fome fuch trade as fupplies the Spanifh provinces with Britifh goods and provifions, as fupplies the British Colonies with Spanish filver, as fupplies the French iflands with British lumber, fish, provifions, horfes, and live ftack, as fupplies the British Colonies with French moloffes, the trade and culture of thefe Colonies would be greatly obftructed and impaired; and yet notwithstanding this fact, our laws of trade, by an impracticable duty, extend to the prohibiting the importation of French moloffes into our Colonies.If the government, under this law, could prevent effectually this importation, not only into the northern Colonies, but into the British ifles alfo, the reward of that pains would be the destruction of a beneficial branch of trade, perhaps of driving the British American diftillery into the French, Dutch, or Danish ifles, or of forcing the French, contrary to their own false policy, into a profitable manufacture of that produce which they now fell as refufe materials. I need not point out here the very effential change that this would make in the Colony trade. -On the contrary, it is the duty of government to permit, Day nay even to encourage, under proper regulations, these branches of trade; in the first place, in order to extract out of the foreign Colonies, to the benefit of the British commerce, as much as poffible the profits of these Colonies, and which is more material, in order to create a neceffary dependance in the trade and culture of those Colonies for their fupplies on the British commerce.When it is remembered that the law, which lays a duty equal to a prohibition, on the importation of French moloffes into the British Colonies, was obtained at the folicitation of the British ifles, it will be feen, that the obtaining this law is not so much meant to prohibit totally the introduction of French moloffes into the British trade, as to determine a ftruggle between the Weft India and North American traders, who fhould have the profits of it. And thus, from the predominant interest of these partial views, has government been led to embarrass the general courses of its trade.-But as the West India traders fee that this law has not, never had, and never will have the effect propofed, they will be better reconciled to its ceafing; and as government must now, after the experiment, fee the falfe policy of it, there is no doubt but that it will cease, so far as to reduce the duty to a moderate and practicable charge, fuch as will be paid, and fuch as will raise to the crown a very confiderable revenue thus paid.' Lastly, this judicious Author remarks, that fome revision also will be neceffary in the laws about naval ftores, especially that respecting the masts. But we have already ftretched this article to cur utmoft limits; and can only exprefs our wishes, that while the business of the Colonies was under confideration of the legiflature, they had been at leifure to have extended their views, and have made proper provifions with regard to the several effential articles difcuffed in this very fenfible and well-timed 'treatise. I Original Poems, on feveral Occafions. By Mifs Whateley. 8vo. 5s. fewed. Dodfley. T never can be a difpute with the liberal, whether the fine arts are the proper province for the exercife of female genius?-Nothing, certainly, but the jealousy of our fex, and the envy of their own, would urge the leaft pretence for excluding the Ladies from any of thofe elegant and happy amufements which the arts of Imitation may afford them. Some of thefe, however, are more generally allowed them than othersYet, for what reafon? Why allow them mufic, and debar them them from poetry?-As well might we allow them friendship, and exclude them from love; for thofe arts are as much allied as thefe affections; and there is no more reafon why a woman of genius fhould not be indulged with the polished amusements of poetry, than that a woman of fenfibility fhould be refufed the tender connections of love. We can hardly apprehend from our sex such a want of politencfs, as to cenfure a Lady for writing verfes; and we would recommend it to our fair Readers, always to exprefs a charity of opinion upon fuch occafions, fince, by a contrary behaviour, they muft expofe themselves to the imputation either of ignorance or envy. There are fome fpecies of poetry, in which the Ladies, from their peculiar fenfibility, feem qualified to. excel. Where the tender interefts of the heart are the fubject-in the elegant complainings of elegy-and the fimplicity of paftoral imagery, they appear to have a natural fuperiority. We have a récent inftance of the fuccefs with which fome of thefe fubjects have been treated by a Lady, in the volume before us. Mifs Whateley, in a very elegant and genteel dedication, to Lady Wrottefly, fpeaking of her poems, fays, In regard to the fubject of the following Effays, I do not flatter myself that there will be much novelty found in them. I never ftudiously ranged through the regions of imagination, to feek for paths unexplored by former Writers; but fat down content to employ my humble abilities on fuch themes-as friendship, gratitude, and native freedom of fancy prefented to my thoughts.' In another place, the profeffes, If the pieces addressed to particular perfons may tranfmit my friendship, gratitude and regard beyond the limits of my own breast, and the period of a day, all my hopes are gratified.' With fo much modefty of expectation, and goodness of heart united, it is, furely, impo.lible, even for malignity itfelf to be diffatisfied. This young Lady's poems, as fhe herfelf has obferved, turn chiefly on fuch fubjects as the tenderness of friendship, and the native freedom of fancy might fuggeft, and she has facrificed, in many pretty rural pieces, to the graces of fimple and beautiful Nature. The following Ode to MAY, is an inftance of that elegant rural fimplicity we have admired in these poems: Faireft daughter of the year, |