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taxes, by various immunities, is partial, oppreffive, and with difficulty examined. The third chapter is more general, and contains Obfervations on the Duties on Importation and Exportation; with Reflections and Researches on the Ballance of the Commerce of France.' In confidering this fubject our author, in fome inftancès, makes the proper allowances; but in others he is deficient. The following obfervations deferve attention.

I will fuppofe that, either from fixed ideas, or from conjectures, a general ftatement is made of the importations and exportations of a kingdom; a valuation in money must neceffarily be made of each part of this double commerce, if we wish to know the amount of the balance of the commercial. exchanges; now this valuation, as it is usually made, is cxtremely imperfect.

Let us apply this propofition in the first place, to merchan. dife imported, and let us take France for an example, that we may avoid the confufion that would arife from the generical words of country, or kingdom.

Let a valuation then be made in France, of the merchandife of foreign countries, according to the current price of thofe commodities in the centre of the kingdom, or in one of its principal commercial towns; the debt contracted by the state will, by this method, be greatly exaggerated; for the current price of foreign commodities in France, is composed not only. of the fum paid for them to the nation who has fold them, but likewife of the duties of entry exacted at the different customhoufes; and lastly, of the profit or intereft on the advances. made by the French merchants, who have imported them as objects of trade: yet, of thefe three articles jutt recapitulated,, only the fum paid to the foreign feller is a debt of the king

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The expences of carriage, or of freight, are likewife com. prifed in the current value of foreign merchandife; now if this freight has been gained by the national fhipping, a ftill greater deception will happen in the statement of the balance of commerce, if the merchandize imported is valued according to the current price in the kingdom.'

The facts on which his eftimates are founded, are not very particularly and accurately ftated; but he estimates the balance in favour of the kingdom at feventy millions of livres. This balance chiefly arifes from the products of their West India iflands, and the foreign fale of their manufactures. This is infist. ed on with fome force; but it must be very evident, without any particular affiftance from the cuftom-house books. We allow France to be an ingenious and flourishing nation; but, if the fubject were examined with a critical eye, we fufpect that the balance would be fomewhat leffened. Many deductions occur

to us, which the author has not made. We ought to add that, in monf. Necker's opinion, the ftate of exchange is but a fuperficial and erroneous method of judging of the favourable balance in the commerce of a nation.

The fourth chapter contains general ideas on the reform of the customs; and the four following ones relate to the conftitution of, and the arrangements in, the provincial affemblies. The obfervations on thefe fubjects are chiefly local.

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The next object of attention is the clergy. They are exempt from most of the taxes, and their fubfidies are in general free gifts; but they tax themfelves for this purpofe, and they raife above ten millions of livres annually. About two hundred and fifty thousand of thefe are appropriated to the Royal Hofpital of Invalids. The king adds two millions five hundred thoufand livres to the refidue; and the whole is applied to the general debt, occafioned by the free gifts, and to other public works. The whole income of the clergy is estimated at one hundred and ten millions of livres. Some very juft and humane reflections, on the difpofal of benefices,' conclude this fubject. "The eleventh chapter contains Refearches and Reflections on the national Debt of France, and the Means of paying it.' Schemes of this kind are fo often vifionary, and, from various caufes, fo feldom practicable, that we fhall only obferve, that monf. Necker proposes to convert the funds into life-annuities. The ftate of the public expences in France, is ftill lefs an object of our attention; but the facts are the more curious, fince they have not been before published; and they will afford fome valuable information refpecting the state of the kingdom, and a comparison of the French and English finances. The volume concludes with a fupplement, relating to fome little differences between our author's account, and that in the French edict, in 1784.

The first part of the third volume relates to the weight of money, and circumftances relative to the coinage. The fubject is complicated, and too long for our investigation at prèfent that part of it which relates to the profit of the fovereign on coinage, is in a great measure new, and, with a few restrictions, we believe very correct. The quantity of specie in France is faid to amount to two thoufand two hundred mil

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lions of livres. The increase of fpecie during the last peace, was confiderable, and it is calculated by our author with fome accuracy: the increafe in other nations is examined and calculated; but with fo few foundations in fact, that we shall not follow the detail. The advantages and inconveniencies, arifing from an increafe of the fpecie, and the progress of luxury, are connected with the former fubject, and examined, at fome length, with great propriety.

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The three next chapters are miscellaneous; on the Fortunes of Financiers ;' Reflections on the Solicitations of the Great, and the Neceffity of refifting them with Firmness;' and on the Places which enoble the Poffeffers:' the number of the last excites our author's attention; and he labours to fhew. that these kinds of rewards have been mifapplied, and are injurious to the kingdom.

Monf Necker then proceeds to work-houfes, hofpitals, and prifons. All these were much improved during his fuperintendance; but he candidly allows, that farther improvements are fti neceffary. There are, we find, above feven hundred public hofpitals, and about one hundred private smaller ones : the number accommodated are from one hundred to one hundred and ten thousand perfons: the incomes (of which nearly one-fourth belongs to the Hotel Dieu, and the great hofpital in Paris), exceed eighteen millions of livres. For the army and navy, there are about feventy inftitutions of this kind; and the ufual number of fick is about fix thousand. After fome obfervations on the neceffary reformation, monf. Necker procured the establishment of one, under the stricteft regulations ; and the weekly expence of each patient was, in 1779, equal to four fhillings and eleven pence sterling; but it gradually increafed; though in 1783, is was only five fhillings and three pence. We mention thefe facts, for the example of the different hofpitals in this kingdom. The very neceffary reforms in the Hotel-Dieu were made by monf. Necker; and the new regulations fuperintended by madame Necker, who was also very inftrumental in the improved management of the new institutions. Monf. Necker alfo reformed the prifons; and his regulations are very useful and humane: they may be attended to, and imitated with advantage; but is the Battile in its former ftate? it is not mentioned in this work, except to enumerate expences requifite to its fupport.

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Some farther reflections on the Commerce of Corn;' inquiries on the clearing of Waste Lands,' then follow; but they prefent nothing of fufficient importance to induce us to enlarge. Reflections on the Interest of Money, the Maintenance of Public Credit, and the Circulation of Specie, are of more importance; but our article is already extenfive. A great part of this chapter is employed in arguments to eftablish the credit of the French funds; but, though many of the circumstances fuppofed neceffary for this purpose, concurred in 1782, the loan of that year was not filled. Monf. Necker fays, because one of the conditions was a reimburse. ment, which was diftrufted,a distrust always fatal where, in the best fituation, the lender depends on the life of the mo narch. Our author contrafts the facility with which the loans

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were filled in England, and gives many good reafons for the different events, but the first and greatest is general public confidence, which occasions a struggle to be in the first lists, because the fubfcriptions may be again immediately fold with advantage. The great number of fubfcribers is therefore a little fallacious.

We next receive an account of an inftitution established at Paris, instead of the pawn-brokers, called Mont de Piété ; and afterwards fome obfervations on, or rather a defence of, the mode of borrowing on life-annuities. The moft ufeful method of receiving the affiftance which the liberality of patriotism may offer, is then explained, and the impolicy of the droits d'aubane clearly pointed out. The twenty-fixth chapter is on Banks, particularly the Bank of England, and its illegi timate child, the Caffe d'Efcompte, which is perhaps not fo firmly re-established as monf. Necker fuppofes. This chapter, however, contains fome very valuable information. The rest of the work is fo mifcellaneous, that we must content ourselves with transcribing the titles of the feveral chapters: Regularity in the Royal Exchequer; Ideas of the Establishment of a general Board, for Researches and Information; on the Economy of Time; the Spirit of Syftem; the Nomination to the Offices of Intendants of Provinces; the Change of Principles and Perfons in the Administration of the Finances; a concife Enumeration of the Sources of the Power of France; and a Declamation against War, with Arguments against it in a political View, and Anfwers to its Apologifts,' The volume concludes with the author's reasons for undertaking the work ; and this part resembles too much the introduction.

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We cannot conclude this article, without our commendations of the tranflator, who has executed this uncommonly difficult task with great clearness and precifion. Thofe will best understand his merits who have looked into the original, which, to ordinary readers, is fcarcely intelligible, from the numerous terms feldom met with in the ufual publications,

The Structure and Phyfiology of Fishes explained, and compared with thofe of Man and other Animals. Illuftrated with Figures. By Alexander Monro, M. D. of Edinburgh. Large Folio. 21. 2s. in Boards. Robinson.

THIS is another attempt of the induftrious profeffor, (whose • Obfervations on the Nervous Syftem,' we reviewed in our fifty-fixth volume), to illuftrate a fubject hitherto imperfectly understoood. This work, however, may be confidered

as anatomical rather than phyfiological; for we have very little fatisfactory information relating to the different functions. of thefe animals. The ftructure is illuftrated with plates; but, with a very few exceptions, they do not deferve a better character than thofe which deformed Dr. Monro's laft work. A few of thefe plates, engraved by J. Beugo, have a clearness and brilliancy which are strongly contrafted by the black indiftinct engravings of Mr. Donaldfon: yet a few of this laft gentleman's works feem to be rifing into a kind of relief: we hope they are the dawnings of improvement.

The anatomy of fishes was not wholly unknown. About the latter end of the laft century, Dr. Samuel Collins publifhed two volumes in folio, on the anatomy, physiology, and pathology, of the human body, illuftrated by that of different animals. Fishes contribute to the illuftration: many feem to have been diffected, and numerous reprefentations of their ftructure are fubjoined. The plates are engraved by Faithorne, a man of no mean abilities, and they are executed with great strength and clearness. The inaccuracies in the human anatomy have leffened the character of that work; and it is now in little credit, or almost unknown. Yet the ftructure of animals is delineated with tolerabie fidelity; and we must confefs that we have been indebted to it for more clearly comprehending fome of Dr. Monro's defcriptions. The part of the work before us, which defcribes the lymphatics and lacteals of aquatic animals, is entirely new, and more certainly original.

Our author begins with defcribing the heart, veffels, and circulation of fishes. The diftribution of the blood in the gills is aftonishingly extenfive, and every particle must be expofed to the water.

For in each fide of the body of a fkate there are four double gills, or gills with two fides each, and one fingle gill; or there are in all eighteen fides or furfaces on which the branchial artery is fpread out. On each of thefe fides there are about fifty divifions, or doublings of the membrane of the gills. Each divifion has on each fide of it one hundred and fixty fubdivifions, doublings, or folds of its membrane; the length of each of which, in a very large fkate, is about one-eighth of an inch, and its breadth about one-fixteenth of an inch. So that in the whole gills there are one hundred and forty-four thoufand fubdivifions or folds, the two fides of each of which are equal to the fixty-fourth part of a fquare inch; or the furface of the whole gills in a large skate is equal to two thoufand two hundred and fifty fquare inches, that is, to more than fifteen fquare feet, which have been fuppofed equal to the whole external furface of the human body. When, after a good injection

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