of the ftony rock-notwithftanding they had heard his voice, and feen his glory at the Mount; yet, after all this, they had not eyes to fee, nor hearts to underftand; but ftill erred and fell away in the day of temptation: the light had shined unto them, but they loved darknefs rather; and from their whole conduct we may infer, that as they justly might, fo they really were, judicially blinded in the end: or, as the apoftle expreffes it, guarded or referved under chains of darkness unto judgment -to which they were at length delivered; for thofe men, " even thofe men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord *."

Our limits will not allow us to extract the notes by which Our Author endeavours to juftify this novel and feemingly harth interpretation of the text in queftion,-except in one inftance only; to which we are chiefly induced for the fake of that seemingly pious fentiment with which it is concluded. I understand the word TaρTapwras, tartarized, to be expreffive of the gloomy borrors of their own minds; they fhrunk at every difficulty, were always defponding, and never faw any thing before their eyes but deftruction and death: whereas faith, as a grain of muftard-feed, would have filled them with the most lively hope, and have been an anchor to their fouls. Modern unbelievers might learn from thefe, their brethren of old, to retreat in time, left their bands be made ftrong-left chains of darkness be judi cially laid on.'

Neither are we at liberty to follow our Author in his application of the fame principles, to the interpretation of the other text, in St. Jude, which, confidering the fimilarity of fentiment, is not, perhaps, an omiffion of much importance.

Upon the whole, fays this Writer, nothing can be more evident than that the perfons who finned, mentioned by St. Pe ter, and those who watched not duly over their principalities, mentioned by St. Jude, are the fame; and we conclude, from the foregoing obfervations, that they were juft as much angels as thofe received by Rahab the harlot, who we certainly know were neither more nor lefs than meffengers +. This interpre tation is not only more countenanced by the language of the apostles-is not only more fuitable to the connection and argument; but it refts on a much better foundation, on a more clear and undoubted authority, than that which is commonly received.

See Numb. xiv. 37.

+ James ii. 25. "Was not Rahab the harlot juftified by works, when he had received re; ayyes, the meffengers,"-fent by Joshua to fpy fecretly, and to view the land, 'even Jericho. JOSHUA, ch. ii.

• St.

St. Jude fays, he put the people in mind of what they once knew; but fuppofing him to fpeak of "angels which kept not their firft eftate, but left their own habitation, and are referved in everlasting chains under darknefs unto the judgment of a great day, yet future," as in our tranflation-fuppofing Jude to fpeak thus, and whence fhould the people once have known it? The Old Teftament fays not a word of any fuch thing; and the whole fect of the Sadducees, in our Saviour's time, believed neither angel nor spirit to exift; but confined their faith to one God only apprehending, I fuppofe, that the angels and fpirits, mentioned in the Old Teftament, were mere imaginary beings, introduced for the fake of reprefentation.

The Pharifees, it is true, confeffed both angels and fpirits; and the fcriptures, doubtlefs, countenance fuch a belief; but as we are cautioned not to intrude into things not seen, and told that fecret things belong to the Lord, we thall do well not to be wife above the reach of reafon and fenfe, and what is written or revealed. What can fairly be collected from the fcriptures, on this head, is, in fum, nearly as follows:

name.

Angels are reprefented unto us as a fuperior order of beings, employed as the messengers of God; and hence they derived their The Old and New Teftaments both favour the idea of a local heaven, where God is more peculiarly present, where the angels behold his face, and receive his commands: from hence they are faid to be dispatched on fome particular occafions, to reveal or to execute the will of God: and once in the Old Teftament we read, that God fent evil angels among the Egyptians as alfo of the deftroying angel; but this is fpoken only in refpect of their commiffion, which was to hurt and deftroy; for both were perfectly fubject and obedient unto God: fo that, on the whole, there is not the leaft ground to believe that any angel, or angels, were fuppofed to have fallen from their original dignity and allegiance to God.

But there is great reafon to believe, that the notion of fallen angels first arofe from a mifconftruction of the very paffages we have been confidering. The Gentiles, when they came to preach the gofpel, not being fufficiently read and fkilled in the Jewish fcriptures, that is, in the Old Teftament, might eafily overlook the reference, and lay hold of the texts in question to account for the evil' fpirits, mentioned in both the Old and New Teftaments-and for the Devil and his angels, mentioned in the gospel of Matthew.

And when once thofe texts came to be mifconftrued of fallen angels, and that interpretation came to be received, it is no more to be wondered at that it hath continued a received doctrine, than that the doctrines of purgatory, tranfubftantiation,

and

and others, fhould ftill continue, and be received, in the church of Rome. When error is once fubftituted and established for truth, it is afterwards taken for granted, without examination: fo the fyftem of fallen angels, once wrought up, and gloffed over, hath for ages been fwallowed without ceremony.

There is reason, therefore, to ftand in doubt, whether Satan be a fallen angel and upon the fuppofition that he may not, it is propofed to fearch the fcriptures: a clofe attention to what is written therein concerning him, will, moft probably, lead us to the true idea which we ought to annex to that for midable name.'

Our Author having in this manner prepared his way, formally enters upon the propofed fubject of inquiry; and has given us, in the remaining part of the prefent publication, an orderly view of all the paffages in the Old Teftament, in which the word Satan is ufually understood in the theological and popular fenfe, with his own interpretation of them; in which we find no matter of objection, and can readily agree with him, that the commonly received opinion concerning the fall of angels does not, feem to be neceffarily taught or implied in them, But how this ingenious Writer will be able to keep clear of that opinion when he fhall proceed to the confideration of the texts in the New Teftament, which are to be the fubject of fome future publication, and in which we fhould imagine that he would meet with much greater difficulties, we are not able to conjecture. We fhall therefore hope to be favoured with that part of his work in due feafon.

ART. V. Political Effays concerning the prefent State of the British Em pire. 4to. 11. 1 s. Concluded.

TH

HE fpecimens already given, in two former Articles, of our Author's induftry and judgment in collecting facts, and reasoning upon them, will, we doubt not, excite the attention of all who are duly fenfible of the great importance of the fubjects treated in this performance; of all whole minds are engaged in fpeculations, in which the interefts of mankind are fo deeply concerned.

In his fourth Effay our Author proceeds to take a view of the prefent State of Manufactures in the British Dominions, under the following heads: 1. Thofe from our own products. 26 Thofe from foreign products. 3. Population. 4. Comparifon between thofe of Britain and other countries. 5. Means of promoting them.

The Author is duly fenfible of the deficiency of his materials relating to this subject, and not without reafon; for except the article Wool, which has been more difcuffed, and more particularly inquired into by former writers, than any other branch of

Our

our manufactures, and from whom we have here very large extracts, we meet with little or no fatisfaction: and we appre hend our Author could not have fupplied this deficiency from books, there being none extent that give any accurate account of thefe fubjects. Indeed, fuch accounts cannot be procured unlefs an Author will give much of his time and attention to them, and apply to the moft intelligent and skilful manufacturers, in every feparate branch, for their affiftance and information.

The manufactures from our own products are wool, leather, lead, tin, iron and copper, flax, hemp, glass, paper, porcelain : to which he might have added the brewery, diftillery, and fome others. Manufactures from foreign products are, in our Author's enumeration, only thofe of Jilk and cotton. The amount of these manufactures he estimates as follows: Amount of the woollen manufacture,

Leather

Flax and hemp,

Glafs, paper, and porcellain,

Silk,

Cotton,

£. 15,700,529

11,725,000

2,500,000

1,500,000

3,025,000

900,000

I apprehend the number employed by lead, tin, iron, &c. to be about 900,000; if they earn, one with another *, 10. a head, the amount will be

9,000,000

44,350,529

But the materials on which thefe calculations are founded are fo imperfect that we cannot depend much upon the refult; though the magnitude of the fum total, fuppofing it not to be extremely wide of the truth, is fufficient to demonftrate the vast importance of our manufactures, and to convince all persons that too much attention cannot be paid to the encouragement and improvement of them.

In the fifth fection of this Effay, our Author inquires into the Means of promoting the British Manufactures. Here the Reader will meet with fome ftriking facts, and many excellent obfer vations upon this fubject; including a full difcuffion of the queftion concerning the policy and expediency of ufing machines to fhorten and diminish the price of labour; and we are perfuaded that the Author's conclufion in favour of machines is fupported by found policy, and a full experience of their utility, wherever they have been applied.

We have known many inftances in which a branch of manufacture, and the people employed in. it, have been greatly

Confidering the nature of thefe manufactures, a much larger fum must be allowed to them than to any others, a much greater propor tion of grown people being employed in them.'

increased

increased by the introduction of machines; but not one in which they have been diminished.

We have been well informed that a few years ago Wheels were invented at Blackbourne in Lancashire, by means of which one perfon could spin feveral threads of cotton at the fame time; that at the first appearance of these wheels, mobs arose, and the military were called in to preserve the lives of the ingenious inventors and encouragers of this valuable machine; that afterwards they were introduced into the neighbourhood of Boulton, another manufacturing town in the fame county, and had the fame effect as before, to raife violent commotions amongst the people, who were apprehenfive they fhould all be ruined and ftarved by thefe new inventions: but here, by the well-timed, fpirited, and fenfible exertion of a worthy magiftrate, the peoples terrors were abated, and confequently their tumultuous behaviour; they recovered their fenfes; they applied their ge niufes to the improvement of thefe machines; they adopted them univerfally; and have been fo fenfible of their good effects, as to leave no room for doubt that, the taking these machines from them would now probably make a much greater disturbance than what was produced by their introduction. The machine has lately been improved, in various ways, by feveral ingenious mechanics in thofe parts; and we hear that buildings are erecting at Matlock, in Derbyshire, and other places, for fpinning cotton upon large machines, that are to be worked like filk-mills, by water and by horfes, whereby the price of cotton yarn will probably be fo much reduced as to occafion a vaft increase of demand for cotton manufactures; and, confequently, of employment for the people concerned in that branch of bufinefs:-and we beg leave to intimate to our woollen manufacturers, that the application of fuch machines to the spinning of woollen yarn feems to be an object of national confequence, and well deferving their ferious attention.

On the mention of the application of thefe new machines in the woollen manufactory, we are aware that the first question will be, What must become of the spinners? The answer is furnifhed to us by the example of Lancashire. They will be provided with wheels to fpin five or fix times as much as they spin now their employers can afford to pay them better for their week's work; the goods will be made better and cheaper; the demand will confequently increafe; all the hands in the country will be fully employed in using or attending the machines, and other branches of the manufactory; the nation will foon recover thofe foreign markets it has loft; and our manufacturers will make fuch rapid advances as their competitors will not foon be able to overtake.

REV. Sept. 1772.

P

Our