the legislative power with Four fhillings in the pound, yet, even during. the War, have paid, upon an average, fcarcely more than Two fhillings in the pound, of their true rents.

For this reafon, Equity dictated, that this inequality fhould, in fome measure, be rectified, before any new tax was laid on to burthen their fellow fubjects; who, from their perfonal eftates, and various branches of commerce in which they are engaged, have paid their real proportions of the public burdens; and there is no just argument to be aligned, why the Landed Gentlemen fhould elcape with fmaller payments than are demanded by the Legislature, out of the true yearly returns of their estates.

This point, the Miniftry, out of tenderness to the Landholders, did not care rigidly to infift upon, till it appeared that the kingdom, in general, could not be otherwife relieved. But now that the Adminiftration are obliged, in their own juftification, to lay the ftate of the Landed Interelt, in this refpect, before the whole Community, the Budget, not the Miniller, is anfwerable for any disagreeable confequences that may enfue from the people's being fully apprised of this important truth! If the nation fhall now infift on a thorough reform in this almost universally interefting cafe, and require a new and perfect account of the real rents of the ellates all over the kingdom, the Club in Albemarle ftreet, that fet the Budget to work, muft answer it to those who may fuffer by this delicate enquiry! Then it will appear, whofe friendship was greatest to the Landholders. Then it will be feen, whether the Minifter, whofe tenderness induced him to wink at this inadequate tax, or the Patrons of the Budget, who compelled him to his vindication, are most to be blamed for the confequences that may fall, from thence, on the Landed Gentlemen in general.'

The Author finally takes leave of his Antagonist, with an encomium on the prefent Miniftry; which if they do not deferve, will prove as fevere an arraignment of their conduct, as could poffibly have flowed from the united pens of every Writer on the other fide the question, viz.

Thus, fays he, from an impartial view of our prefent and past circumflances, I have laid before the public, what, I doubt not, will be found, a fufficient juftification of the Advertisement that gave rife to this difpure; and a full and compleat Answer to the afperfions, thrown by the Writer of the Budget, on a Miniftry whose oeconomical conduct is the only falve that can be laid to the public fores; whofe candour places them above every fufpicion of falfity; and whofe fteady pursuits of the welfare of their country, amidst a load of the most virulent calumny, will one day exalt their fame beyond the reach of thofe who, by a pqdigal diffipation of our treasures, laid a foundation for a national bankruptcy; from which, nothing but a timely itop to the prodigal fchemes they had formed, could have poflibly refcued us.'

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 12. India Tracts. By Mr. Holwell and Friends. Containing, I. An Addrefs to the Proprietors of Eat-India Stock; fetting forth, the unavoidable Neceffity, and real Motives, for the Revolution in Bengal, 1760. II. A Refutation of a Letter from certain Gentlemen of the Council at Bengal, to

the

the Honourable the Secret Committee. III. Important Facts regarding the Eaft-India Company's Affairs in Bengal, from the Years 1752 to 1760, with Copies of feveral very interefting Letters. IV. A Narrative of the deplorable Deaths of the English Gentlemen who were fuffocated in the Black Hole in Fort William, at Calcutta, June 1756. V. A Defence of Mr. Vanfittart's Conduct. Illuftrated with a Frontifpiece, reprefenting the Monument erected at Calcutta, in Memory of the Sufferers in the Black-Hole Prifon. The Second Edition, revifed and corrected, with Additions. 4to. 6s. Boards. Becket and De Hondt.

As the pieces contained in this volume have been already mentioned in our Review, as they feverally came out, it is unneceffary for us to enter into any particulars concerning them, on occafion of their prefent collective republication, Our Readers, however, will not be difpleafed to hear what Mr. Holwell himfelf has faid of them, in his Dedication to Sir William Baker, Knt, William Mabbot, and 'John Payne, Efqrs.

The following fmall tracts, in confequence of unprovoked injuries, were hastily thrown together, fays Mr. Holwell, during the late clamorous difputes between Directors, Proprietors, and Candidates for the management of Eat-India affairs at home and abroad.How they came to be fo hastily produced, and as hastily published, it seems requifite I fhould explain a little more at large.

At the beginning of these inteftine broils, I was determined to avoid engaging on either fide; and, to fhun folicitation, I difpofed of all the flock I ftood poffeffed of, without retaining as much as might entitle me to a fingle vote; fo truly defirous I was to enjoy in quiet that peaceful retirement I had dearly purchased at the expence of fo many difficulties, miferies, and heavy misfortunes as fell to my lot, while in the fervice of the Company.

Such, I fay, were my refolutions, to which I fhould most strictly have adhered, if I had not found my character first indirectly, after·wards openly attacked, by the bafeft calumnies, which were levelled against me in a manner, fudden, unmerited, and unexpected.

Under these circumftances, there was a neceffity of fpeaking for myfelf, and, which was ftill more unpleafing, I found myself likewife contrained to enter upon my vindication without delay.-The pungency of thefe accufations-the precipitancy of the times, and a difpofition to take every thing for granted that was not immediately refuted, obliged me not only to dispatch them as quickly as was poffible, but also to produce them in like hurry to the public eye.

It was from thefe accidents, which I could not either forefee or avoid, that they came into the world not fo well digefted, and with much lefs accuracy, than the candid part of mankind have a right to expect in every production that claims their confideration, and is fubmitted to their judgment.

To the fame caufes I may very justly refer thofe errors of the prefs, which were in fome of them fo numerous, as fcarce to leave the fenfe intelligible; to fay nothing of other mistakes in orthography and diction, all arifing from the utter impoffibility of allowing me time requilite to revife and correct the proof sheets.

It is from a juft fenfe of thefe involuntary imperfections, that I have been led to review, to reform, and to caft into fomewhat a different fhape thefe little pieces, that were thus expofed; and to render them ftill clearer and more fatisfactory, I have added some other Tracts, which, however feafonable, I had not the leifure to prepare, and which, from my obferving the obfcurity arifing from their omiffion, I conceived it my duty to add as foon as opportunity would permit.

6

My Narrative of the fatal catastrophe at Calcutta, and that unexampled fcene of horror to which fo many fubjects of Great Britain were expofed, in the prifon of the Black-Hole, has fo clofe a connection with one of the pieces that precede it, as fcarce to require an apology for reprinting it in this edition; prefixing, as a frontispiece to the volume, a print of the monument which I erected, at my own expence, to the memory of thofe unhappy fufferers.'

Art. 13. The Life of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, and King of England. By Andrew Henderson, Author of the Life of the Earl of Stair. 12mo. 2s. 6d. fewed.

Nicoll.

Mr. Henderson, of whofe literary talents we have already given fufficient fpecimen, here labours to dress up the character of the celebrated Norman, as that of a finished Hero; and certainly William is, to fay the leaft, as much entitled to that character, as either Macedonia's madman, or the Swede.' Thofe who are not poffeffed of the original authorities from whence this industrious Compiler has drawn his materials, may find fome entertainment in the perufal of this volume; in which are many particulars not to be met with in the general Hiftories of England; and fome too, which will make the good-natured Reader fmile.

Art. 14. An Effay on Temporal Affection. In a Letter to a noble Lord. To which are added, certain Rules for Health and long Life. By the most celebrated Genius of the Age. 8vo. 6d. Wilfon and Fell.

The Author endeavours to be wittily obfcene, and is indeed obfcene enough. He has alfo too much wit to stand excused for making fo fcandalous a use of it.

Art. 15. An Account of the Southern Maritime Provinces of France; reprefenting the Distress to which they were reduced at the Conclu fion of the War in 1748. And in what Manner they may again be diftreffed, upon any future renewal of Hoftilities. With a Supplement, containing Obfervations on the three principal Cities of Provence, namely, Aix, Marfeilles, and Toulon. To which are added, fome Remarks on the Marine of France. 4to. 4$. fewed. Harrison.

Had this book been published in France, we should have thought it the effect of a commendable zeal in fome patriotic Frenchman, desirous of preventing his native country from being diftreffed by its enemies. Its publication in England, however, juft after the conclufion of the

Peace,

Peace, carries with it a very equivocal appearance: doth its Author imagine the French may not profit by it, as well as the English? And, if they do, its utility to them will be immediate, and may effectually fuperfede the advantages we might otherwife have taken, in cafe of a renewal of hoftilities. The more juft and important, therefore, the obfervations contained in this pamphlet may be, the lefs reafon can we conceive for its prefent publication.

Art. 16. The Succeffion of Parliaments. Being exact Lifts of the Members chofen at each general Election, from the Refloration, to the general Election, 1761; with other feful Matters. By Charles Whitworth, Efq; Member of Parliament. 12mo. 3s. Newbery, &c.

1

The only merit a compilation of this kind can boat, is Correctnefs; which, as far as we have had opportunities of examining, is the charafterilic of the prefent Lifts.

Art. 17. The Hiflory of St. Kilda; containing a Defcription of this remarkable Ifland; the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants; the religious and pagan Antiquities found there; with many other curious and interefting Particulars. By the Rev. Kenneth Macauley, Minifter of Ardnamurchan, Miffionary to the Ifland, from the Society for propagating Chriftian Knowlege. 8vo. 4s. boards. Becket.

." I

This appears to be the most authentic account yet published of this famous little western ifland. It is lefs marvellous than Martin's celebrated Description; and is written with a confiderable degree of judgment, learning, and good fenfe. It is impoffible to perufe it without conceiving a favourable opinion of the Author; to whom the public is really indebted for this very entertaining account of of a place which, as he juftly remarks, may be ranked among the greatest Curiofities of the British Empire.

Art. 18. An Essay on the bad Confequences attending the prefent Marriage-Act. Alfo the prefent pernicious System of Matrimonial Treaties and Contracts, &c. By a Gentleman of the InnerTemple. 8vo. Is. Hooper.

After endeavouring to fhew, that the reftrictions impofed by the Marriage at have already produced the most fatal effects to this nation; and that, if not repealed, it will, in the courfe of half a century more, in fome degree, depopulate the kingdom;-our Author, in the true projecting fpirit of the age, recommends a fcheme which, he tells us, is actually now carrying into execution, by a fociety of Gentlemen, of unqueftionable repute and probity, (no doubt !) whereby all ranks and degrees of people, of both fexes, who otherwife might end their days in a state of celibacy, may accommodate themselves in the matrimonial way, and be rendered happy for life. This is to be done by a REGIS•TER-OFFICE; the benevolent Managers of which will be fo obliging, as to bring together fuch Maids and Batchelors, Widows and Widow

ers,

ers, as otherwise may be totally at a lofs how, or in what manner, to find out an agreeable Companion to join in the facred ties of wedlock.' For the particulars of this notable device, we refer to the pamphlet ; of which we here take leave, with our hearty wishes, that the unknown patriot Undertakers may be able to carry their design into execution, and to fupport it effectually, without the leaft injury to that unquestionable repute and probity they are hereby going to hazard, in the moft effential fervice of their country.

Art. 19. A new and compleat General History of the World; from the Creation to the prefent Time. By Queftion and Anfwer. By the Rev. George Reeves, A. M. Author of the History of London, and of the Hiftory of the Holy Bible, both by Question and Answer. 12mo. 3s. Kearfly.

Compilations like this, intended for the entertainment and inftruction of Youth, vary fo little from each other, that what has been faid of one, will ferve for one thoufand, viz. That the plan is undoubtedly ufeful; and if the work be but tolerably executed, it cannot fail of anfwering, in fome measure, the end propofed.

Art. 20. C. Cornelius Tacitus a falfo impietatis crimine vindicatus: Oratio ex inftituto viri Cl. Francifci Bridgman militis habita in Sacello Collegii Onei Nafi Oxon. 12. Kalendas Januarias, A. D. 1762. A. Joanne Kynafton, A. M. Collegii ejufdem Socio. 4to. Is. Flexney.

This is a candid and generous attempt to vindicate Tacitus from the fevere cenfure of Famianus Strada, and particularly from the charge of impiety.Mr. Kynafton's language is elegant, and his manner fpirited and liberal.

SERMON S.

1. BEFORE the Sons of the Clergy, at St. Paul's. By Richard Hind, D. D. Rector of Shering in Effex, and Chaplain to the Bishop of London. To which is annexed a list of the annual amount of this charity, from the year 1731. Bathurst.

2. Sin reigns not, nor shall reign, in the Saints.-At a monthly exercife of Prayer, April 20, 1764. By John Brine. Keith.

3. At the anniverfary meeting of the Governors of the City of London Lying-Inn Hofpital for married women, May 17, 1764. To which is added, an account of the Hofpital. By Glocefter Ridley, L. L. B. Minister of Poplar. Brotherton.

4. The serious confideration of a future judgment, a very powerful argument to diffuade youth from the purfuit of unlawful pleafures.at Warwick, on a Lord's Day Evening Lecture, 1763. By John Knight.

Fuller.

5. At the Cathedral church at Norwich, June 19, 1764; being the Guild-day. By John Green, M. A. Minifter of St. George's, in Norwich. Crowder, &c.