much cheaper in any market than they can do at prefent; which is the great point that ought ever to be aimed at. The law ought to aim at encouraging every ceconomical faving, and should therefore ftudiously remove every unnecellary bar out of the way of the ad

venturers.

If this liberty fhould be granted, it would be a ftrong encouragement to every adventurer; but it would be in a particular manner favourable to thofe employed in the Greenland fishery. For they would be at perfect liberty to remain in the northern feas as long as they found it profitable and fafe for themfelves to continue there; and as foon as they could unload at home, and take on board their fhing-tackle, could proceed immediately to the herring-fishery without losing a day, (and the lofs of time to them who are obliged to have fuch a number of hands is of great moment). There they could employ themfelves till they had completed their loading, or till the time was elapfed which entitled them to the bounty, and then would be at liberty to proceed on any profitable voyage without loss of time.

To facilitate both thefe trades, it would be found extremely convenient to establish a fort of entrepoft or staple at Braffa found in Shetland, which would be directly in the road of the Greenland fhips to the herring-fifhery. There they might conveniently unload their whale fins, blubber, &c. where it might be refined by the natives, while the fhips were employed in the fishery. This would give spirit and activity to the natives of thefe northern ifles; and would foon make that a great and flourishing place, as it would be here that the Greenland herring fifhers could molt economically take on board their nets and ftores for the herring fishery; and here alfo it would be moft convenient for the Greenland fhips univerfally to rendezvous, and to take on board their ftores before they proceeded on their voyage. I need not point out the manifold advantages that would refult to that part of the country from this arrangement.

According to this plan, not an hour would be loft from the time that the Greenland men proceeded on their voyage to the northern feas, till they had completed their herring fishery for the feafon. And whenever that fifhing was over, thefe ftout veffels would be immediately at liberty to take on board a cargo of herrings, and, without returning home, they might (having put on fhore their fuperfluous hands, who could during winter be employed in mending nets, repairing their fishing tackle, harpoons, &c. to be ready by the time the veffel returned) proceed directly to Portugal, Spain, or the Straits, to difpofe of it. From whence they could return with their loading juft in time to take in their flores, and proceed again on their Greenland voyage.

Thus would begin anew their never ceafing round of useful employment, which could not fail to benefit the country in the highest degree, and breed up an amazing number of hardy feamen, who would be ready to carry the British thunder 'round the globe whenever the exigencies of the ftate might require it, and make our little fpot the cavy, the aftonishment, and the terror of all furrounding

nations.'

In

9

which/

In this manner does our beneficent Author, forgetting for a time the many obftacles that unavoidably clog the way of every generous undertaking, indulge himfelf in contemplating the pleafing profpect that this propofal fuggefts; but quickly recollecting himself he clofes the volume with the following pathetic reflections:

• Would to God fhe (the British nation) could thus acquire power without ambition; and that, contented with her own territories, and with availing herself to the utmost of her own internal advantages, fhe fhould neither covet the dominions of another, nor endeavour to cramp their trade by unjust reftrictions, or to disturb their quiet by unneceffary exertions of power. Then would he be beloved and revered by all mankind, and promote in the highest degree the common felicity of the whole inhabitants of the globe! But vain are thefe wishes. Sooner fhall the fhadow be driven from its fubftance, than the heart of man, when elated by power, fubmit to be circumfcribed by the feeble dictates of beneficence and humanity. Pride will ever trample the weak in the dufl; and ambition afpire at extended dominion. Thus does man pervert the bleffings of Heaven, and employ them on all occafions to the hurt of his fellow-creatures. The fympathetic heart turns with averfion from this fcene of criminal enjoyments, and unfatisfactory delight, and fays to itself, If this is the perfection of that rational nature which exalts man above the other creatures of God, all is indeed vanity and vexation of spirit.'

We have thus, in a curfory manner, given a flight sketch of the principal matters contained in this volume, and are forry that the nature of our journal will not allow us to be more particular. It is at all times our defire to extend our remarks in proportion to the utility of the works that come before us, but our plan, which we muft endeavour, as much as poffible, to adhere to, will not permit us, invariably, to follow that rule. Had we ftrictly obferved it, in the prefent inftance, this article would have been extended to a length which muft neceffarily have excluded many other publications. We must therefore conclude with our thanks to the ingenious Author for the pleasure and information which he has afforded us. In return, we warmly recommend his book to fuch of our readers as have a defire to contribute to the ease and felicity of their fellowcreatures, being affured that they will find themfelves both entertained and inftructed by the perufal of it.

The language of this performance, though interfperfed with idiomatical expreffions, or what we commonly underftand by Scotticifms, is in general intelligible, in fome places flowing, frequently energetic, and fometimes pathetic and tender. The ftyle is, indeed, far from faultlefs. It is extremely unequal, fometimes prolix and embarraffed, often too highly figurative, and in general careless and inaccurate. Of these defects we

take notice in this place, because we are apprehenfive that the Author may have deemed this inattention very pardonable in an epiftolary correfpondence, and becaufe we are fatisfied that with a fmall degree of care, thefe blemishes might have been avoided. We would not, however, recommend that extreme and ftudied attention to an eafy flow of language which begins to be difcoverable among the literati of the prefent age, as we think this produces a fmooth monotony of uniformly rounded periods, which is contrary to the rules of judicious compofition, and diverts the attention from matters of greater importance. Where the thoughts are bold, the language naturally will and ought to be strong, and in fome degree unequal. The mind, when fully intent upon the fubject, ought not to facrifice too much time to all the minutia of ornament: but there is a correctnefs of outline, to borrow a figure from the painter, that will be always obfervable in works of true tafte; and it requires much time and affiduity to give an artift fuch facility in practice as to ensure correctnefs while he works with rapidity: if he attempts it before his hand has been fufficiently exercifed, even where genius is not wanting, inftead of the graceful eafe of a Raphael, we fhall find, at beft, the harfher touches of a Julio Romano. Yet these bold touches, though in fome degree imperfect, are infinitely fuperior to the faultlefs unmeaning labours of inferior artists. Ruricola

ART. XI. Reply to Mr. Wales's Remarks. By George Forfer, F. R S. Naturalift on the late Voyage round the World, by the King's Appointment. 4to. 1 s. 6d. White. 178.

N this Reply to Mr. Wales's pamphlet *, Mr. Forfter fets off with infinuating that envy-becaufe Dr. Forfter's falary exceeded his own,'-added to, what he calls, another weighty confideration, of a yellow complexion, fuggefted to him by a certain nobleman-have been the principal motives of Mr. Wales's attack on his father and himself: though Mr. Wales chose to avow a very different motive, or a certain perfonal provocation, as the caufe which produced his Remarks. He likewife, in contradiction to Mr. Wales, afferts that every line' of the Account of the Voyage round the World, which Mr. W. in his " Remarks," confiders as the undoubted production of his father, was undoubtedly drawn up by himself, according to his own circumfcribed ideas;' and immediately fubjoins, though furely fomewhat unneceflarily, that the manner of writing, and the turn of the expreffions, is [are] likewife intirely his own,' excepting certain grammatical and other corrections furnished by

• Of which fome account was given in our Review for February.

a friend.'

-nces

a friend.'—The world, he adds, will foon be in poffeffion of another proof, more decifive than his fimple affertion, of the difference between his own and his father's manner of expreffing himself, by the publication of those Obfervations which his father has drawn up,- and which were intended to be printed along with Capt. Cook's narrative, but rejected by the Earl of Sandwich, with a fuperiority of knowledge, and an equity, of which his Lordship alone can determine the propriety.'

It would afford very little entertainment or edification to our urcumtha: Readers were we to enter into the particulars of this controversy. Juftice however, feems to require that we fhould give the Author's answer to those particular charges against him which we happened to extract from Mr. Wales's Remarks; in the first of which we fe-however obferve, we our felves happened to be fomewhat interested.

it

Suppofing our Readers to recollect, or to have reperufed, our extract of Mr. Forfter's relation of the horrid adventure of the boat-hook, at the Friendly Ifles, given in our Review for June, 1777, p. 462, and Mr. Wales's very different account of the fame tranfaction, contained in our Review for February, 1778, p. 128-we fhall fimply, and without any comment, give them Mr. Forfter's reply to the charge, in his own words.

Having spoken to a preceding accufation, he adds- Close to this follows a fecond inftance of my fuppofed malevolence, poffible yet more cruel than the former. Another thief was obferved eicaping out of the fhip, and purfued. Mr. Wales fpends three pages to prove that the boat-hook was not darted at the man. but thrown over him, and fo hooked him afterwards; and that he was but flightly wounded by accident. The barb of the boat-hook is as blunt, fays he, as one's finger; and thence follows that the thief could not be much hurt by it. Mr. Wales might have remembered that one of our feamen was wounded in the cheek at Irromanga by a dart, the point of which, according to Capt. Cook's own words, "was as thick as his finger, and yet it entered above two inches." The truth is, that this action was owing to a moft unpardonable want of reflection, if it be not more properly called wanton cruelty. One who was in the boat affirmed that the poor man bled very much. Upon the whole, I prefume to hope, that whoever confiders my book, without prepoffeffion, will fee no impropriety in my remark, prefixed to thefe two tranfactions: the harmlefs difpofition of thefe good people (of Tonga-Tabu) could not fecure them against those misfortunes, which are too often attendant upon all voyages of difcovery."-The natives were doubtless a harmless good-tempered people, but addicted to pilfering. The voyagers indeed could not be blamed if the natives were thieves; but the latter were to be pitied, as perfons

fuddenly

fuddenly led into temptations greater than they ever felt before, but too feverely refented by the ftrangers.'

The other fubject of which we took notice, was the confinement of Dr. Forfter, twice in the courfe of the voyage; in consequence of wanton and unprovoked acts of cruelty to the natives, very inconfiftent with his repeated profeffions of humanity [M. R. Feb. 1778. pag. 130.]. From the Author's account of the firft of thefe incidents, all that we can learn is, that in confequence of a converfation between Captain Cook and Dr. Forfter, at Uliatea, at or before fupper, the purport of which however is not here mentioned, and in the courfe of which, as was not unusual, both parties fupported their opinion with warmth, till the difpute became very violent'-Captain Cook very rafhly infifted on Dr. Forster's leaving his apartThis was fo far from implying a confinement, that my father went to the island of O-Taha the next morning at five o'clock, &c.'

ment.

The ftory of the second confinement, fays the Author, is not better fupported. While Dr. Forfter was expreffing his indignation at one of the natives of Tanna, for having attempted to deceive him, by fhewing him a pretended nutmeg-tree ;'Lieutenant Clerke,' fays the Author, hearing the natives about us very loud, afked my father, rafhly, "What disturbance he was raifing?" The answer was re-echoed in the fame tone, "that he made no difturbance." Whether Mr. Clerke had previously conceived fome animofity against my father, or whether his difagreeable duty, on an unfheltered beach in the heat of noon, made that good-humoured man extremely wapish at the time; true it is, he forgot himself so far, as to command my father to leave off making a difturbance, which did not exift, nor had ever exifted. A free man is not fo easily commanded: my father denied the Lieutenant's power over him. "If you difobey my orders, was Mr. Clerke's reply, I fhall bid the fentry to SHOOT you. A piftol, which my father drew from his pocket, and levelled at the man who thus defied him, put an end to these extravagant heroics, and finally closed the whole difpute.'

ور

Having done this piece of juftice to the Author, we shall make no farther extracts from his pamphlet, in which we must fay, we have found very few traces of that animated fentiment and diction which we obferved, and commended, in the account of his Voyage round the World. Accordingly we think we cannot more properly conclude the present Article than by faying,in the very words of the Author, at the end of an advertisement prefixed to this Reply- The paths of controverfy lead through a defart: they are dry, uninterefting, and uninstructive.'

B... ART.