parte has said, that he did not want territory, but ships, colonies, and commerce; with the view, no doubt, of creating a navy. It is by the powerful and respectable navy of Great Britain that he is arrested in his ambitious project of universal dominion, and that Great Britain, it is hoped, will always continue mistress of the sea, and prevent all the world from invading and subduing her.

I now come to the great object I had in view. This is the means by which Britain may get a supply of young and skilful seamen.

In the first place, Bonaparte has, to a certain degree, curtailed our commerce, altho' many sources of ships and seamen are left to us in spite of all he has done, or can do; such as the trade to the East and West Indies, and the new communication with the Brazils and South America. There is also an inexhaustible fund of riches and employment in the greater and lesser fisheries all over the sea. It has been said, that in consequence of the non-importation laws, a great many of the manufacturing servants have been discarded by their masters. I should humbly be of opinion, that the Navy-board should advertise, and offer employment to these on board car ships of war. It is well known we have plenty of ships, but want men a man them. Now, such men, at ast the young, or far greater part of the young, would soon learn to be ful on board of ship, and could be distributed in 10, 20, or even greater umbers on board different vessels, to ist the seamen. The older manuacturers discarded, or those not so fit the sea, could be employed at home, in the cultivation of the waste nds, making roads, canals, and other public works, or in the army.

Britain should have a sufficiency of ps of war mann'd, not only to meet the enemy's fleet in battle, and guard coasts, but also to protect her coes abroad, the convoys for the tra

ding vessels, and the ships at the whale, cod, and other fisheries; as no doubt Bonaparte, and our other ene mies, will, by stealth, endeavour to annoy us in all these quarters.

But what I chiefly had in view, was to observe, that it is believed the nation in general, and Scotland, my native country, have always had a superabundant population. In consequence whereof, the Scots, in former ages, travelled much, and pushed their fortunes in foreign parts. They were to be found in every country over the globe. There even existed a regiment of Scots soldiers in Holland, and something similar to it, joined with Irish, in France. In Edinburgh, we see many of the young boys, sons of the poor, as porters, chairmen, carmen or carters, and others, very ill clothed, often without shoes or stockings, in cold and wet weather, and, no doubt, very poorly fed; in consequence of which, it is believed, many useful lives are lost, and of those who live, very many are brought up to idleness, pilfering, and every vice; partly from their parents, or those having charge of them, wanting means to provide, and fit them out in any way of employment, and partly from their igno rance; and we hear almost daily of these young boys taken up by the of ficers of justice, for petty thefts, and even robberies.

Now, if Parliament would establish and endow some marine hospitals, (suppose one at Leith, the port of Edinburgh, another at Glasgow, and a third at Aberdeen,) such as the marine hospital in Bishopgate-Street, London, to take in these boys, or the healthy boys of all poor people willing to have them fitted out for the sea, it would be an act of great humanity, and also of great utility to the nation. Some of the superannuated masters of the navy could be put in to superintend their education, and have masters under them to teach reading, writing, and some arithmetic ; who, at

such as the barracks for soldiers. In most cities near the sea coast, there are common links, or public property; and for so good a purpose, and to ease the community of prosecuting and punishing the young culprits, and to provide for the children of the poor, thereby relieving the public so far, it is thought the magistrates would at least grant as much of such public property as would afford room to build an hospital, or perhaps they might get some cheap house to purchase and convert to such a purpose.

As to money, there is no want of it when any particular object is wanted, such as a foundling hospital, money to make roads, Ramsgate harbour, and many other public works, which no doubt are all very proper; but none are more so than what has been suggested, and indeed I will be bold to say, none are nearly 'so useful.

We every day see our great and rich men struggling for places, and to obtain the direction of the public measures, purposely to have the disposal of places of emolument. If they would employ their time and talents in framing and executing a plan such as is here suggested, this would be real patriotism; and if they are in want of money or funds to proceed upon, let them abolish many of the sinecure places, and retrench the enormous salaries and emoluments annexed to others within reasonable bounds, such as tellers of the Exchequer, the places about the Duchy of Lancaster, and many others; and let them take the money so saved for these purposes. This would shew more regard for the good of the country than struggling about productions of orders and papers from the East Indies, or even at Copenhagen. As we are in some degree struggling for existence, every econo mical plan ought to be adopted, and even the crown lands might be taken and applied to so good a purpose, rather than be of so little, or no benefit, to the nation as they now are.

The French, it is said, and most of the nations on the continent, Austrians, Prussians, and even Russians, have academies for teaching and instructing soldiers in the art military. If we were to take a lesson from them in this, besides the military schools at Woolwich for engineers and artillery, we should have a military professor in every university to teach the soldiers of the line.

And what seems rather astonishing, we have not in Britain any schools, or classes in the universities, or professors there, for teaching navigation, and more particularly the art of conducting and fighting our ships of war, and our fleets all that can be said is, the sooner they are now got, the better. It is by our fleets that we have always been protected, and raised to the character and respectability the nation clains and enjoys. And it is by a respectable fleet, skilful and brave seamen, that we shall preserve this honour and respect to posterity, who will blame us as a pusillanimous, mercenary set of beings, if we neglect the hints here given.

Before concluding, I would suggest that the names of the young seamen, brought up and fitted out from the different hospitals, should be registered and kept in record. Then in case of peace, which it is to be hoped will in time take place, and of the consequent dismissal of these seamen from the service, they might, in case of

new

war breaking out, be again called upon to serve their king and country, and be obliged either to come themselves, or furnish a substitute in their place equally able to serve.

It will perhaps be said, that these things were all known and thought of before. . To this it may be observed, the author has never scen any thing yet published on the subject. And he further begs leave to add, he nei ther publishes for the sake of money, or the love of fame, but entirely with a view, in the rst place, to the chari

ty and humanity of taking care of, and preserving many young persons either from death, or a vicious and idle life; and, secondly, of making them of essential use to the nation, either in war or peace.

Si quid novisti rectius istis
Gandidus imperti :-

On different Species of National Improvement, particularly in SCOTLAND.

WE

E live at a period, not only of greater interest in respect to the events which take place upon the political theatre, but more pleasingly interesting than any former epoch, from the rapid and steady course with which we advance towards perfection in agriculture, and those improvements which are calculated to encourage it. The last 30 years have indeed been the commencement of a new era to Scotland; and a person who left it 25 years ago, will no doubt be very agreeably surprised at the prosperous and handsome appearance, both of the country and of the towns. The time is not remote, when the nakedness of our mountains and valleys was almost proverbial; and our cities, if we except Glasgow, presented little better than meanness and decay. With all our partiality as Scotchmen, we cannot help admitting, that those who remember the state of filth, in the midst of which they passed their lives in the towns, can hardly escape some emotions of disgust at the recollection. These days are however past; and perhaps the greatest change which has ever, in so short a time, taken place in any part of the earth, has been produced in general over Scotland.

Those who knew Edinburgh and Leith 30 years ago, can best contrast their appearance and comforts at that period with the present splendid and imposing aspect of the Caledonian capital and its sea-port. The mind is almost bewildered in trying to trace the

causes of such a change from the excess of meanness to the height of magnificence; and when we survey the country, we are equally surprised by the improvement of its cultivation, and the extent of the thriving planta-> tions which shelter and adorn it in every direction. Had Dr Johnson visited the kingdom in the state it now exhibits, his prejudices would have received little room for triumph; and he

would have been forced to withhold his sarcasins.

In proceeding northward from Edinburgh, Perth first attracts the attention. A few years ago, it was an ugly, mean place, with nothing to excite admiration, except the beauty of its situation, and the grandeur of its bridge. At present, it is one of the prettiest towns in Europe, and displays all the fascination of architecture, and all the elegance of regularity. Aberdeen has likewise greatly increased, both in beauty and population. Peterhead, from a trifling village, has become a handsome town. Every other town in the north has both increased in size, and in cleanliness and beauty; and even Inverness is fast emerging from its dusky hue into regularity and splendour. In every other part of Scotland, similar advances have been made; and Glasgow, so long supereminent in beauty, still, by new exertions, maintains her superiority.

But those improvements which are of most importance to the farmer, are the new roads and bridges, which not only facilitate the labours of the traveller, but must add, in a very great degree, to the comfort of the farmer. Every thing which the farmer requires for the produce of his crop, and every step which he must take for the disposal of it and of his cattle, must be subject to the direct influences of easy or difficult communication: and the richest country, without easy means of communication, must soon yield the palm of fertility and value to districts naturally sterile, but enjoying those

ad

advantages. Travelling upon the old lines of road in the Highlands, was 'pain and woe,' and must have often suggested the idea, that the persons who laid them out were actuated with a rooted hatred to the country. It is impossible to conceive what other cause, except the grossest ignorance, could have induced them to follow the tops of the mountains instead of the sides of them; and prefer a constant ascent and descent, to the level which the new lines of road follow. The want of bridges, over rapid and deep streams, made all communication very precarious; and little short of absolute necessity will induce a man to run the risk of disappointment, when the reward of success is not both certain and important.

The bridges over the Spey and the Findhorn have been finished for some time, and are both works of the greatest beauty and utility. The noble bridge at Dunkeld is far advanced towards completion; and, united with the superb scenery at that romantic place, will surpass any thing of the kind in Britain. Bridges are soon to be commenced over the rivers to the north of Inverness; so that, in a short time, the whole rivers of the north may be said to present no obstacle to communication; and, in that view, to cease to exist, in the same manner that Louis the Fourteenth imagined the Pyrenean mountains to have been removed. These improvements, and those likewise carrying forward in England and Ireland, are the more encouraging to the lover of his country, from the solicitude which our neighbours the French display in pushing forward similar works in every part of their empire. In some respects, they certainly surpass us in the nobleness of their works; such as, in the grandeur of their public roads, and in the beautiful wharfs which adorn many of their maritime and inland cities; while in bridges and caals they fall far below us. There are

very few cities in France which admit of decoration along the rivers, or the sea, which are not rendered extremely interesting by the nobleness of the architecture and the spaciousness of the wharfs. Paris, Bourdeaux Lyons, Tours, Marseilles, Orleans, and many others, are examples of this. At Orleans, where I resided some time, the fronts of the houses alone, along the Loire, were uniformly and beautifully constructed by the city, and dis posed of with the ground, for the purchasers to add every other part of the building. In this country, this plan is totally neglected; and nothing can exceed the meanness, in point of appearance, of most of our wharfs.Our roads are probably as convenient as those of France; but, in point of spaciousness and durability, they cannot be compared to theirs. France has no bridges to boast of, any way comparable to those belonging to London and Westminster. The bridges of Paris are not of such dimensions as to admit of grandeur in the design.Those of Orleans and Tours are neat ; but nowise worthy of the admiration which has been bestowed upon them. At Toulouse, a very plain bridge, of few arches and moderate dimensions, is decorated with a triumphal arch, and an inscription, describing it as the octavum miraculum mundi. The Pont de Saint Esprit, over the Rhone, is a long, mean-looking bridge. If Bonaparte succeeds in establishing a stone bridge over the Garonne at Bourdeaux, it will indeed be a noble and useful monument of his reign. The Romans have left an aqueduct in the south of France, over the river Gard, to which every other specimen of communication by arches in Europe must yield. I cannot convey any idea equal to the sensation with which this stupendous work inspired me ;-rapture, wonder, thoughtfulness, and regret, were all united. The harmony and nobleness of its simplicity; its proud defiance of the ravages of so many

cen