fore if we mean to live in peace with their fubjects, we must take the neceffary fecurities, that, in time of peace, their fubjects fhall not, as they have hitherto done, make directly, or indirectly, war upon ours. A That the retaining the island of Cape Bre ton was abfolutely neceffary, for the general fecurity of our plantations in America, is most evident. The French gained great advantage, and we received infinite detriment, in fpite of feveral good laws made to prevent it, by the lumber, furnished by the inhabitants of our Northern plantations, to their fugar colonies: but they were not contented with this; they faw that it increased the fhipping and navigation of thofe colonies which carried on this trade with theiriflands, and they could not bear that. Instead, therefore, of fuffering us to carry our lumber as formerly, they refolved to carry it themselves; and with this view they caufed the inhabitants C of their islands to bring their molaffes, and other goods, to Cape Breton, where they were exchanged for lumber brought thither by our trading veffels; and this lumber they again tranfported, in their own fhips, to their own iflands; in which navigation they employed feveral thousand feamen, D to their great emolument, and apparently to our great lofs. This trade, as foon as they are restored to the poffeflion of this ifland, there is no doubt will be revived; and therefore, to prevent the revival of it, we ought not to part with Cape Breton. ber of labouring men are inticed from their daily labour, and our livery fervants negle& their houshold and other service, to spend their time at thofe houfes: I have myself experienced this with a fervant for whom I had a particular regard, but who being expert at thofe games, could not be kept from thefe houses. Suppofing an act was made, authorising and obliging the Beadle of the Parish to infpect and vilit every public-house therein from time to time, to fee if they had any Shuffleboard, nine-pin, or skittle-ground, &c. &c. B and to make his report at every quarter feffions; and if any should be found in his diftrict or perambulation not reported by him, that he fhould thereupon, without remiffion, lofe his place. Thus he would be compelled to discharge that truft faithfully; and no Publican, knowing the neceflity of his being diligent, would blame him for it; and thus would that law against Gaming, among the Common People, have been easily and ftrictly put in execution, and probably with very few incurring the penalty, as the Publicans would know the almost certainty of their being difcovered. I know it has been objected, when fomething like this was proposed to be inserted in the last act, that it was compelling a man to the odious neceffity of being an Informer; but I hope no fuch trifling playing with words will have any force with our Senators. What are our laws made for, but to be inforced and put in execution? If fo, why fhould the inforcing of a law, which the Parliament has thought neceffary to be enacted for the Publick Good, be an odious and contemptible action? I fhould rather think it a commendable matter, chiefly when no pecuniary reward attends it; which, in this cafe, I would not have granted. The objection is more than frivolous; for the fame might be faid (at least with as much propriety) against the enforcing almost any law §; fo that on that footing we should become a lawless people. This grievance of Gaming is really great; it is attended with many bad confe quences, and I hope will be again taken notice of more effectually this feflions of Parliament. It is not, therefore, caprice, humour, or E vanity, which induces the people of Great Britain to infift fo warmly upon this point: on the contrary the French themfelves have, by their own conduct, made it neceffary for us to infit upon it for our own fafety; and therefore, if there be any hardship in it, they must thank themselves. Of gaming in publick houses. The damage done by broad wheels on fome roads. now F G Tof the community, has been lately HE legiflature, attentive to the good more than once taken up to prevent Gaming among the Common People, and yet it is * near as frequent very as before the laft act against it took place, owing, I judge, to the not compelling fome perfon to infpect, as part of his office, the execution of this law. In the village where I live we have five public-houfes, two of which have Nine-pin H grounds and Shuffleboards; by which a num Notice has been taken in the public papers of damage done by broad-wheel carriages upon fome turnpike roads. It requires little application to understand that the larger the furface of any thing is, the lefs it will ink in clay, mud, or any foft body; the damage I faw lately an advertisement of a public-houfe to be lett, and, as an advantage, that it had a good shuffle-board. How would our Cuftoms, &c. be managed, if the fame argument was to be carried through? And yet I fee no greater reason for it in one part than in another. there Method for destroying the Fly in Turneps. therefore is not done by the width of the 1 wheels, but by the great weight thofe broad wheel carriages are fuffered to carry; for eight horfes will undoubtedly draw a weight which crushes the ballast to powder as it rolls over it; whereas, were they allowed but fix horses, the weight drawn by them would prefs the ballaft into the road, and thereby harden them. = Receipt to deftroy the Fly which takes the Turnep in the leaf. A The Society for the encouraging arts, &c. having offered a premium for an effectual me- B thod to prevent, or destroy the fly which takes the turnep in the leaf; and as mercury is the most effectual killer of infects that we know; the following prefcriptions are offered to the examination of any gentlemen who have opportunity, and a turn of mind, for experiments, who may try if either of them can be of fervice. TAK AKE one ounce of pure quickfilver; Two ounces of Glauber's fpirits of nitre (or as much double aqua fortis, made with nitre) mix these in a phial glass that can hold fix or eight ounces; fet the glafs in a warm place, or hang it by a pack-thread above the fire, till the mercury be diffolved. Pour the folution into warm water, and fteep the feeds in it fome hours before fowing. The quantity of water, and time of infufing, must be determined by experiment, left vegetation be destroyed by too strong liquor, or too long steeping. Two grains of mercury to each ounce of water feems a moderate proportion; which is about an ounce of quickfilver to two gallons of water. If on trial, this be found too weak, use but one gallon, lefs or more. C D E Note, the aqua fortis, or fpirits, muft have no fea-falt in their compofition, other- F wife the folution will not be complete; but a criftalline calx remain at bottom, which will not mix with the water. The water must be mixed in a stone or China bowl, or timber vessel, but not in any metai; nor is an earthen veffel glaz'd with lead altogether proper. Or 21 A new Plan for relieving, employing, and Firft... HAT the charge of maintaining poor of England and Wales fhould be equally borne by the wealthy and the fubftantial inhabitants thereof; that the fame fhould be affeffed by the rents of houses, lands, &c. and that each perfon's quota fhould be determined by a pound-rate upon the full annual rent or value of his or her house, land, &c. Second--That every poor perfon who shall want relief, fhould be equally intitled thereto, in any city, town, parish, or extraparochial place in England or Wales; without regarding where fuch person was born, or had lived. Many Objections will probably be made against this Propofition, but every Perfon will be fure to find out the equity of it, by bringing the matter home to himself; for hunger, ficknefs, and infirmity, are great helps to the understanding in thefe cafes, and make men competent judges of what is fitting to be done for other people, in the like Circumstances. Third--In order univerfally and effectually to provide fuch relief, it is necessary that there be eftablished in every country, a competent number of houfes of maintenance and employment, for the reception of all poor people within each county refpectively. Fourth---That the Poor who are maintained by their parishes, or otherwise, and those people who shall become poor, fhould be all removed into fuch houses of maintenance and employment, there to be maintained and employed fo long as they fhall want relief. Fifth--That all diftreffed perfons, whether natives or foreigners, who thall apply to be received into any boufe of maintenance and employment, fhould be immediately admitted, and hospitably treated therein, fo long as they behaved well, without warrant, direction, or recommendation, from any magiftrate, officer, or other perfon whatever; but that no fuch perfon fhould be permitted to leave any house of maintenance or employment, without an order in writing from the principal officer therein. G Sixth---That fuch of the faid poor people as fhall at the time be capable of working, fhould be chiefly employed in forwing, reaping, dreffing, &c. of hemp or flax, or in fpinning that or other hemp or flax into fuch forts of yarn, or in manufacturing the fame into fuch forts of linen cloth, as are, or fhall at the time H'be imported into Great Britain, from fome countries or country which do not belong to the British crown :---and that whenever there fhall be a want of people in the neighbourhood of any houfe of maintenance and employment, to perform occafional Work, and espe I cially . cially harveft work, fuch of the aforefaid poor people as fhall be capable of doing the fame, and fhall be applied for to affift therein, fhould be hired, or permitted to hire themfelves, at the customary or reasonable wages, for the times they shall be so wanted. people there are in other counties, and therefore they ought not to remove them at random." Of this plan it will be fufficient to obferve, that if it is not all practicable or adviseable, there nevertheless are ample materials with which to furnish the work of reformation: Seventh--That to each houfe of main- A the miferable condition of the Poor in this tenance and employment there fhould be ap- Eighth That all perfons who beg fhould be immediately, or as foon as may be, conveyed by conftables, or other proper officers, to the nearest houses of maintenance and employment within the counties where fuch begging fhall be; that if any of thofe perfons hall refufe to be fo conveyed, or fhall run away from the officers who have the charge of them, they fhould, if retaken, be carried there by force, and be committed to the keeping of thofe officers who take charge of idle, refractory, and suspected persons ; and that if any fuch perfon be not retaken, an Advertifement defcribing his or her perfon, &c. fhould be inferted in fome of the London evening news papers. Ninth That two or more of the fubfantial houfholders in each parifh fhould be annually appointed collectors of the poor'srates, in the fame manner as overfeers of the foor are now appointed; and that fuch collectors fhould receive, pay, and account for the monies railed toward maintaining and otherwife providing for the poor, according to affeffments, orders, and forms, which shall be made, given, or prefcribed, by proper authority; but that they fhould not overfee the poor, nor have any power to direct in what manner poor people are to be maintained or employed. Tenth--That neither parish officers nor juftices of the peace, fhould have power to remove any poor perfon, whether native or foreigner, farther than to the next, or to fome other boufe of maintenance and employment within the fame county, without express direction for that purpofe, from proper authority-because the Juftices of Peace in one county cannot tell what proportions of poor C D E F wealthy city being really deplorable. A In order to open the eyes of the Powers of Continent to the defigns of Auftria and France, the following piece has been published under the title of Letter from a Secretary of Count Caunitz to a Secretary of Count Cobentzel. + Tranf lated from the German. it regard to the conduct of Count CauAm forry, my dear friend, for your error nitz in the prefent troubles: I afcribe it to your diftance from Vienna; to the falfe ideas of perfons with whom you live, and to fome old notions by which you are misled. You imagine that the Diet at Ratisbon hath acted with too much precipitation against the King of Pruffia; and you wish it had not published its Citations and Avocatoria; you moreover think that our alliance with France is far from being a folid bond; that it is a forced union contrary to our mutual interest, and that we ought to be apprehensive, especially fince the taking of Cape Breton, left the miniftry of Verfailles fhould play us fome fly trick. I must set you right in these points; and convince you that Count Caunitz's conduct, inftead of being reprchenfible, deferves the highest commendation. Many reafons induce us not to spare the King of Pruffia: one of the most confiderable undoubtedly is, that it becomes the Imperial Dignity to give proof of its fuperiority; and that by this rough treatment of the most powerful Prince in Germany, we fhall draw to us all the others from a principle of fear. The King of Pruffia is not only a dangerous enemy to the Houfe of Auftria; but he is alfo a formidable rival in Germany; fo that all who are faithful fubjects of our incompa rable Empress ought to facrifice the last drop G of their blood to reduce his power. Since the laft peace, all our attention, all our measures, in fhort, our whole fyftem, has had no other object but the recovery of Silefia. That country would ferve to make our dominions more round; it would furnish troops, and money and places for many lords, whom the Empress hath at prefent no way to fatisfy. Our defign, however, never was to confine ourfelves to the conquest H *Prime minifter to the Emprefs Queen. Defigns of Auftria. Conqueft of Silefia; but entirely to crush the King of Pruffia, that the Imperial Court, finding no power in Germany capable of oppofing it, might establish a permanent dominion. All the Ecclefiaftical Princes are our creatures; the Seculars will likewife be forced to become fo; and to carry the Emperor's orders into execution, the bare miffion of a commiffary will be fufficient. Thofe of the Augsbourg confeffion will fuffer the more, as the King of Pruffia is their fole fupport. But as this Sect is visibly declining, it scarce de. ferves our notice. I must, however, acknowledge that the Proteftants have done us more fervice than the Roman Catholicks. We talked at Rome of extirpating the hereticks; and held out this profpect to the clergy; which was worth to us a Peruvian mine. You know we fometimes happened to be ftraitened for money on all thefe occations the Proteftants were a more fure and copious recourse than the Emperor Charles VI. found in the bank of Vienna. : A from thence that the French have no fyftem or regular plan of conduct, and that all their actions will partake of this inftability. Conclude from thence alfo, that the abilities and conduct of Count Caunitz cannot be too much admired. The Count always maintained, that by taking the French by their Vanity, you might lead them where you pleafed. Ac cordingly, in the beginning of this war, he acted the part of a fuppliant. The Queen of Hungary, it was faid, was not able, by her own ftrength, to make head against the King of Pruffia; but placed all her confidence in B the fuccours and good faith of the Moft Chrif tian King; acknowledging that to him alone fhe would owe her prefervation. This was the language we held at Verlailles. Count Caunitz made all poffible conceffions to the French he yielded to them in trifles, and led them in great things. We fet the Saxons to weep and make lamentation: We filled Paris and Verfailles with news which we took care to adapt to the conjuncture. In fine, the felf-love of the French, their eagerness to meddle in every thing, the favourite pretext of the peace of Weftphalia, which at fuch a conjuncture we were not difpofed to call in C Imperial Houfe and that of Saxony; and above all the hope of acting the part of Arbitrators in Germany; in fine the Empreis's letters to... (you know whom I mean) all thefe together put the change upon the French; and after they had taken one step, it was eafy for us to make them proceed. You fee how they are led by Count Caunitz. What disbursements in money, in fubfidies, and what a number of troops, doth he oblige them to employ for the fervice of our auguft Sovereign! Our Court laboured for fifty years to pull down the Houfe of Bavaria: which, you know, was at laft accomplished. Should it require more time and labour to ruin the power of Prussia, it must be patiently endured.queftion; a vanity to be protectors of the One great advantage we have over all the Powers of Europe, is, that our ministry wifely follow one fyftem without deviation; and what doth not fucceed at firft is brought to maturity by time. This, my dear friend, makes me never to defpair. How is it, then, that when all our Allies are in motion; when our armies are executing the finest plan of a campaign that ever was formed; when the fuperiority and great abilities of our generals promise the greatest advantages; how is it, I fay, that at a time when every thing confpires for our glory, you think it strange that the Diet should speak out with dignity? Would you not have it dart its thunders at Rebels? It is but too much to be deplored that the event hath not answered our expectation; otherwise you would have feen the two Kings and all their adherents put under the Ban of the Empire. What a glorious time would that have been for Vienna! nothing would have remained to obftruct or eclipse the grandeur, the glory, and the power of our incomparable Miftrefs? This may fuffife to justify our conduct towards the King of Prussia. I hope ftill more easily to remove your fcruples about our alliance with the Court of France. You were aftonished to fee France, which in its war against England had refolved to make all its efforts by fea, fo fuddenly change its conduct; and intermeddle, contrary to its intereft, in a land war, which properly regarded the Imperial House only. Conclude F You fay, the French are our eternal enemies. So much the better for Count Caunitz. Could he ftrike a greater blow, could there be a finer ftroke of policy, than to employ the enemies of the houfe of Austria in labouring for the aggrandifement of that very houfe: Could he have done any thing better, than to exhaust France of men and money, in G order to reduce it to fuch a state of abjection, that it fhall be little formidable for the future? H You are difpleafed that fome ceffions have been made in Flanders to France. On that head I dare not answer you. But, fuppofing it was fo, don't you perceive the art in that of gaining new allies? Whenever we fhall want to make war on France, the bare mention of recou quering thofe places will found the alarm in Holland and England; it will fet the Maitime Powers in a commotion, and oblige them to facrifice their troops and money for our interest. Don't therefore be too precipi tate tate in your judgment; and be affured that the conduct of my lord the Count is most exactly regulated; that all his fteps are meafured, and all his projects maturely confidered and weighed. Don't therefore be any longer afraid of thefe French, who are blinded by their felf-love, and who whilft they think themselves moft refined, fuffer themfelves to be played upon. We know their fort and foible: and when circumstances change, you will fee how little formidable to us they will appear. To the EDITOR, &c. SIR, N the vacation I took a trip into the fideration, I plainly fee the bad confequence of these lectures, and am clearly of opinion, that they ought to be difcountenanced, at leaft in our univerfities. I well remember that this new branch of learning, now in ufe among the dogs and horfes, was first introA duced into thefe kingdoms by Le Chien Savant, and as he came from our natural, as well as declared enemies, this circumstance affords juft ground for fufpicion - Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. The fufpicion is ftrengthened, if we recollect the time when he was imported, which B was, while the French court was endeavouring to cajole and juggle with our ministry about the limits of our fettlements in America; and was actually fowing the feeds of discord, which have furnished fuel for the flames now raging in the prefent war. This led me to confider the learned brutes in a political view. our universities, where I had often admired time. In the good days of yore, the chief- ufe that was made of brutes in our publick spectacles, was, in bull-baiting and cock fighting, and in both with good effect. In the latter, each bird with a spirit ftill fubfifting among the antient Britons in Wales, refenting his wrongs at the peril of his life, and thirsting D after glory, and refufing quarter, at last, one, rather than own himself vanquished, died on the fpot. In the former fport, the bellowing and fwaggering bull did well enough reprefent the French King, whom our brave dogs, regardless of the wounds and bruifes they received, with an intrepidity which did honour to their country, never failed to affault with repeated attacks, till they had tamed and brought him to reafon. Nay, in modern times, Mother Midnight's dogs might fire the emulation of our common foldiers, and inspire fentiments which might facilitate the conqueft of Louifbourgh. But thefe fly learned quadru peds teach our British youth base and abject principles. All the moral that can be deduced from their performances, can amount to no more than this, viz. That great emoluments may be acquired by learning to do as we are bidden. And what a dangerous tendency fuch leffons must have in a country of liberty need not mention. Reflecting on the lives of thefe learned animals, I could not help confidering them as E enjoying a fort of travelling fellowships, and after computing their profits, it was not without fome degree of envy, that I found, upon a fair calculation, each of them did acquire a more comfortable, and much larger revenue, than most of the members in either of our univerfities do receive from the stated income of their refpectiye fellowships. F After examining the dog and horfe, upon comparing the capacity and proficiency of each, I was obliged to give the preference to the former. The horje is no better than a blundering, learning pedant: But in the dog I obferved a modefty, which ufually attends GI perfons really learned, and was particularly pleased with his advertisement, where, though he can read, write, and cafts accompts very well, yet he obferves a caution which might well become many much bolder writers, for he profeffes in his publick performances to ufe fuch words only, as are not too difficult to H Spell. At first, I was agreeably amused with the fagacity of the beats, fo much fuperior to that of the dancing-bears, or even of the almof rational elephant. But on further con Le Chien Savant might very well read lectures to the flaves of his own country; and I am ready to acknowledge, that the lectures of the matchlefs, learned English deg might have their ufe upon the parade in the Park: But fuch flavish and fervile notions ought not to be inculcated in places of liberal education, left they should poifon the minds of our generous youth; who, hitherto, I have the pleasure to obferve, are fuficiently impatient of restraint, and extremely jealous of their liberties. I hope, therefore, to prevail with thofe |