ART. III. De l'Influence d'une grande Revolution, &c.; i. e. On the Influence of a Great Revolution over Commerce, Agriculture, and the Arts. A discourse crowned by the Academy of Lyons, and dedicated to His Majesty the King of Holland. By P. LA BOULINIERE, Principal Secretary to the Prefecture of the Department of the Upper Pyrenees. 8vo. pp. 312. Hague. 1808. Imported by Dulau and Co.

THE writer, who undertakes to describe the influence of a Revolution on the state of civil society, attempts a very difficult task. He ought to possess a full and accurate knowlege of history, an intimate acquaintance with the human mind, and a capacity of drawing, from these sources, profound and comprehensive conclusions. To give interest to so difficult a subject requires also no small degree of facility and skill in composition; as well as a length of time in application, which is seldom compatible with attention to other pursuits. Of these various requisites, a knowledge of history is perhaps the only one, which M. LABOULINIERE sufficiently possesses. His official duties occupy, he informs us, a considerable portion of his time, and permitted him to allot only three months to the composition of this discourse. Although we have reason to believe that, like Cicero's oration for Milo, this essay sees the light in a more finished state than that in which it was first produced, it still bears many marks of a crude and ill-digested performance. The reasoning is neither well arranged nor sufficiently subdivided; the choice of words is not accurate; the sentences are long and complicated; and the reader is deprived of the aid of a table of contents throughout the most difficult part of the book, in which it is hardly possible for memory to supply the defect. Still, however, the author s intitled to praise for the extent of his erudition and the liberality of his views; and though the execution is defective, the spirit and tendency of the work have a claim to approbation.

Mons. LABOULINIERE divides his essay into three parts; the first of which is a history of the origin and progress of civilization, as connected with the progress of industry; the se cond, an account of the effects of a revolution on the state of society; and the third, a series of historical comments in support of his mode of reasoning. He has avoided all attempts to paint the shock of the revolutionary crisis, and has confined his observations to the calm which succeeds the storm. To endeavour to guide à nation during the continuance of the ferment would be a fruitless effort; events must have their course, and must be left, in a great measure, to work their own cure it is only after the tempest has subsided, that the voice of instruction can be heard.

The

The author remarks, (page 59,) in regard to the plan of his essay, that

The question proposed may be considered under two points of view; either as restrained to one particular revolution, or as general, and applicable to all times and places. The former would be attended, in the discussion of facts, with a degree of precision of which the latter is scarcely capable; and I acknowlege that this accordingly was the point of view in which I first thought of treating it: but I have since judged it advisable to adopt the latter plan, and to lay down principles which, by their general nature, have a reference to all places and periods. Without adverting, then, to any particular country, or to any revolution of which it may have been the theatre, I shall treat of the means which every government may employ to advance agriculture, commerce, and the arts, whenever the state of the public mind is favourable to these philanthropic views.'

He then proceeds as follows:

The most effectual means of favouring the progress of industry are, first, liberty, which calls forth the exercise of all human faculties: next, equality in law, which confers complete and entire security; and thirdly, justice on the part of government. If, under these circumstances, governments are really desirous to turn to account the disposition of their subjects, we know not any prodigy in the way of public improvement which they may not perform. The existence of a great man at the head of a government is in itself a revolution; which stamps an energy on the surrounding characters, and paves the way for the most beneficial changes. It deserves to be remarked that improvements are promoted less by action on the part of the ruler, than by a free permission to act granted to the people; and that regulating enactments are less wanted than a well secured independence. Let government avoid intermeddling with the interior of families, who will subsist without its interference, and who require nothing at its hands but protection and tranquillity. Rulers of nations! only remove the obstacles to the display of human industry, and you will soon perceive it take the most advantageous direction. If, farther, we provide a system of education fitted to enlighten mankind, to make them comprehend the dignity of their nature, and to banish pernicious superstitions; if we reward the authors of useful discoveries, and revere those men who are truly great; we shall have done all in our power for the promotion of industry, and shall find ourselves amply rewarded by the rapidity of its progress.

After some more general arguments of this kind, the writer lays down a principle for the fundamental institutions of a well-governed state. He remarks that a political society can have no other aim than the advantage of the whole through the medium of the advantage of each individual; and that such must be the motive for establishing a government. It is of consequence, therefore, to make a distinction between the government and the state; a distinction which is not sufficiently observed by political writers. A state may be republican,

though

though the form of government be monarchical, if we admit Rousseau's definition of a republic, namely "that it is that system under which the rights of all are defined, and the free exercise of these rights is secured." In this way, and in this way alone, there exists a res publica, a common interest. Every other system is more or less a departure from this community of interest. If a particular class alone enjoys a free exercise of rights, the state is aristocratical; if one person alone enjoy this, the state is despotic. The attachment of a people to their government will naturally be greater or less, in porportion as this community of interest is possessed; and the political virtue, that has been characteristic of republics, will very speedily arise in any country to which this community of right shall be extended. This discovery, that a state may enjoy liberty under a monarchical form of government, is very convenient for the author; who is evidently a sincere advocate for freedom, but, amid all his zeal, does not forget that he holds a place under Bonaparte.

M. LABOULINIERE's sentiments on the principles of commercial intercourse, between nation and nation, are just and liberal. He considers that spirit of rivalship, which creates a long list of exclusions and prohibitions, as disadvantageous to all parties. Similar obstacles to intercourse formerly subsisted between the different counties of the same kingdom: but they have been abolished; and experience has shewn the good effects of an unrestrained communication. A correspondent benefit would ensue to those nations which might abrogate the restrictions on their respective imports and exports. Different nations, like different provinces, have particular branches of commerce in which they are fitted to excel; and it is idle to aim at success in every branch, because each country has its inherent advantages which bid defiance to foreign competition. Nature has parcelled out her gifts in this manner, to establish among mankind a community of wants and enjoy. ments, and to inspire a fraternal feeling among us.

The true method, repeats the author, to create patriotism in a people is to grant them the free exercise of their industry. The heroism common in republics has no other source than this. It would arise everywhere under a similar system; everywhere men will be active, intrepid, and industrious, if the fruits of their labour arc insured to them.

In the first part of this Essay, namely the account of the progress of civilization, much unnecessary argument is employed to prove what in reality requires no proof, that a civil state of society is preferable to the savage state. The author As studied Rousseau's works, and is desirous of shewing that

he can detect error in that popular writer. The third division of the essay, the historical illustrations, is the best arranged part of the book, and evinces that, as far as the preliminary requisite of historical knowlege was concerned, Mr. LABOULINIERE was not inadequately prepared for his task.

In the second part of the essay, (from page 52 to 110,) the influence of a Revolution on civilization is discussed. The extracts which we have given are taken from this part, and will serve to convey an idea of the spirit in which it is written. To go farther than this, and to attempt an analysis of the author's principles, would, we apprehend, be impractiable, since they do not seem to have existed in a distinct shape in his own mind. By relinquishing all allusion to the French Revolution, and venturing to discuss the subject on general, views, he trode on very difficult ground; over which the profound philosopher alone can travel with advantage. All that we can communicate to our readers, therefore, as useful in this portion of the work, are the two general conclusions at which the writer arrives; the first, already explained, is that agriculture, commerce, and the arts flourish in a state in propor tion as that state enjoys freedom; - the second, that the mode, in which a revolution operates beneficially, is in the overthrow of antient prejudices, and in enabling governments to introduce bold and extensive improvements into the national system.

The academicians of Lyons, in assigning the prize to this essay, lay particular stress on the importance of political freedom. This expression of their feelings is one proof among many, which have been communicated to us, that the more enlightened part of the French nation are not duped by the artifices of Bonaparte; nor disposed permanently to resign, in favour of him and his family, the dear-bought advantages of the Revolution.-So far, we think, the gentlemen of Lyons are in the right but in another passage of their report, in which they encroach on our department, and act the part of critics, we are less disposed to agree with them. They pronounce M. LABOULINIERE's style to be "natural, clear, and precise, but interspersed with very few figures." Now to us it appears rather the reverse of clearness and precision; and so far from being deficient in figurative language, it abounds with apostrophe, which, to our Northern imaginations, seems a rather bold figure for prose composition.

It will be inferred, from our remarks, that we consider this work as by no means a complete disquisition on the influence of a Revolution on Civil Society. The subject is of such great importance to the happiness of mankind, and so worthy of

the

the talents of a first-rate writer, that it would afford us much pleasure to learn that it had attracted the attention of some author of celebrity.

ART. IV. Voyage dans le Tyrol, &c; i. e. A Tour in the Tyrol, to the Salt-mines of Salzburg and of Reichenhall, and through Part of Bavaria. By the Chevalier DE BRAY, Privy Counsellor of State to H. M. the King of Bavaria, &c. 12mo. pp. 254. Paris. 1808. Imported by Dulau and Co. Price 5s. sewed.

A

MONG the Alpine regions of Europe, the Tyrol stands preeminent for the rich variety of its picturesque scenery. Swisserland, it is true, presents objects that are more stupendous but, if the masses are more vast, the outline is not so broken, nor are the most impressive features of landscape so much blended and so fully brought within the range of the eye, as in the Tyrolean district. Here the traveller who delights in the union of the sublime and the beautiful is sure to receive the highest gratification: here mountains and defiles of the boldest character, glaciers, cataracts, and lakes of the most singular kind, with woods and valleys of a peculiar physiognomy, constitute a tout ensemble, within the scope also of distinct vision, which overwhelms the beholder with such impressions and feelings as no words can express. To the striking grandeur of the scenery is added a peculiarity of character in the inhabitants; who possess all the manly virtues of mountaineers; who are hardy, frugal, and industrious; who are at once ingenious, brave, and superstitious; and who cherish an ardent love of liberty, and the most enthusiastic attachment to their native hills.

In the Tyrol, then, nature and man both urge the most forcible claims to the attention of the philosopher, and open an ample fund from which he can richly repay himself. Often, therefore, as we have been summoned by travellers to repeat this journey, we are never sorry to receive a fresh invitation. By the account which the French editor gives of the work of M. DE BRAY, we were induced to expect much gratification from it; though the small size and humble appearance of the volume did not seem to justify so high an eulogy on the author, as that he had in his account omitted nothing, that he had said every thing in a few words, and said every thing well.' Yet, notwithstanding this declaration, by which we were prepared for something worth reading, we did not enter on the perusal of this little book with prepossessions that were fatal to the result. M. DE BRAT has indeed condensed much information and amusement in a very narrow space,