ference to any paffage in their works, which might serve to elucidate or confirm any of the aphorifms in the text. Thus, to give only one inftance, the controverted and important queftion, whether the Placenta should be extracted foon after delivery, or whether its expullion fhould be left to nature? is decided in two Aphorifms, and in the compafs of little more than a fingle page; but without giving the Tyro the leaft hint that any doubts have been entertained on the fubject, or any reafon for his decifion and directions concerning it. An implicit obedience to thefe directions would, in certain cafes, prove not only injurious, but fatal, to the patient, as we have had the misfortune, on more than one occafion, to observe. A few of the Author's aphorifms, or fections, are fomewhat longer and more circumftantial; and a few others are perhaps new: but thefe laft might furely, with more propriety, have been given as a fmall pamphlet, than laid as the foundation of a general treatife, of which they conftitute a very fmall part. At the fame time, we cannot help obferving, that fome of the Author's practical aphorifms appear to us juftly reprehenfible; particularly where he directs the ufe of the forceps, even when the head of the child is ftill fo high, that its most bulky part is not fairly entered into the brim of the pelvis. The danger of the mother, or child, it may be faid, will justify the practice-but, without dwelling on the vaguenefs of the term, and the great and falutary powers of nature-furely the art of Midwifery has generally, in this cafe, other refources, lefs difficult, precarious, and injurious,-not to give this practice much harsher epithets. Further, we should not have expected, at this time, to fee the accoucheur fo often incited and directed to handle his formidable inftrumental apparatus. Not only the forceps, but the crotchet, is much too frequently called into the fervice; together with the sciffars, employed in the office of cutting off the arms, or other parts, of the child within the womb. In fhort, the operative or inftrumental part of Midwifery appears to have been the author's principal favourite; nor do we recollect to have feen, in this general fyftem of Midwifery, even a fingle fhort aphorifm employed in recommending to his Tyro the virtues of patience and forbearance:-virtues, the exercise of which will, upon the whole, be more productive of good to his patient, and credit to himself, than the most dextrous application of the crotchet and fciffars. Art. 17. Some Obfervations on the prefent Epidemic Dyfentery. By Francis Geach, F. R. S. and Surgeon of the Royal Hoipital at Plymouth, 8vo. 1 S. Baldwin. 1781. We have too long, through mere accident, overlooked this per⚫ formance. It is not, however, too late to take notice of it: for though its title indicates it to be of a temporary and local nature, the obfervations contained in it may, in our opinion, be of ufe in future, and elsewhere, on the appearance of a diforder fimilar to that which is the fubject of it. We are rather furprized, however, to find a writer, in general fo judicious, affigning the influence of the planets as one of the poffible caufes of epidemic diforders. Speaking of the Influenza, which prevailed throughout England, and on the Continent, fome years ago, he fays, The origin of this was, with reafon perhaps, deduced from the winds, and from the planets, or from 302 Planetary, or atmosphefrom fubterraneous vapours, &c.' Again, rical, or fubterranean infection, firft falling on fome, m y be followed by a communication of the diforder to others, by contact, ty cohabiting, &c.' After owning that no abfolute proof can be brought for any of thefe notions, or if there could, the mode of treating the diforder would be much the fame, he acds, We may correct the atmosphere of a fick chamber, but we cannot alter the courfe of the winds to flop the fpreading contagion, check the influence of the planets, &c.'-What kind of influence, and what planets the Author here alludes to, we cannot conjecture. Only one planet, the moon, can reasonably be fuppofed to have any fenfible influence on the earth, and that only on its atmosphere, in railing tides there, which fome obfervers abroad have very lately affirmed that they have actually perceived, by means of their barometers. The epidemic dyfentery, which is the fubje&t of this performance, was fuccefsfully treated by the Author, by the plentiful exhibition of calomel and other evacuants downwards, preceded by an emetic, and occafionally by bleeding. No attention was paid to irritation, nor any laudanum given to take off the fpafms. On procuring a proper and fufficient difcharge from the inteftines, both the irritation, and the painful dejection of blood and mucus, attended with tenefmus, very foon ceafed.-But we recommend to our medical readers the perufal of the pamphlet itfelf, which contains many ufeful hints relative to the diforder of which it treats. Art. 18. An Enquiry into the Nature, Caufes, and Method of At the beginning of this letter, we are informed that it was written at the urgent request of a friend: but as it contains nothing that can be new even to the generality of medical Readers; we cannot conceive what could induce the Writer to print and publish it, Art. 19. A Medical and Philofophical Effay on the Theory of the Gout; to which are fubjoined fome practical Obje vations on the Is. Elmily. 1781. Effects of Negative Electricity. 8vo. In this fhort effay, eked out with quotations from Haller, Priestley, Won, Dr. Loftus Wood, the Monthly Review, and Celfus, the Author declares his opinion, that the gout proceeds from an excess of phlogiston, or electric fluid in the body; and expreffes his hopes, that a negative electric machine may be invented, capable of difcharging this accumulated and peccant electric fluid, or phlogifton. He conceives that it is not impollible that fixed air enters into the compofition of the nervous fluid;' and he afks- Might not the wool or flannel,' to which the gouty patient fo often has recourfe, be effectually impregnated with the fumes or fubftance of negative electricity-Becaufe, it feems, the gout made a very fudden difappearance from the arm of a relation of his, after it had been wrapt in a The certain blue flannel nine times dipped, fold in London. gentleman himself, our Author owns, was not fo fuperftitious as to attribute this fortunate event to the flannel. Notwithstanding this, I must own,' fays the Author, I wish to know the compofition of its dye.' Credulity cannot well go much further. Art. Art. 20. The Phyfician's Vade Mecum, or a concife Syftem of the Practice of Phyfic. Extracted from the Writings of the most eminert Phyficians. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Robinson. 1781. In the preface to this compilation, we are told, that notwithflanding the numerous late improvements in phyfic, nothing is yet fo much wanted as a judicious compendium of practice. The only treatife of this kind is the Proceffus integri of Sydenham; a work which, however valuable, is now, on account of the progrefs of obfervation, become in a great measure obfolete.'-At what æra the prefent compiler lived, or whether he now lives, we know not: but furely, we recollect the publication of many works of this kind, much pofterior to the days of Sydenham, and the publication of his Proceffus integri. We need only mention the well known performance of Dr. Buchan. We need not fay more of this Shandean volun.e; in which, all that is faid of the diarrhea, for instance, is comprehended in a page; and the cure of the droply is fettled in twelve line-Converfant as we may be fuppofed to be in the mysteries of the prefs; we own we cannot conceive who are the perfons who find their account in publishing the numerous works of this kind that come before us; or who are the perfons who finally pay for the expences of paper and print. POLITICAL. Art. 21. A Letter to the Author of the Lucubrations during a Short Recefs. 8vo. 1 s. Stockdale. The writer here referred to, giving up the idea of shortening the duration of Parliaments, as open to great objections; propofed a plan for reforming, if not of equalizing, the reprefentation of the people. The prefent writer combats the idea of more equal reprefentation of the people as a fpeculative principle, impracticable. to effect, and very dangerous to attempt. Syftems of government, he obferves, are feldom dictated by philofophy upon fpeculative and abstract reafonings. Neceflity, which first united mankind in focieties, points out to them, from time to time, those establishments which they think likely to contribute to their profperity. Prefent inconvenience gives birth to immediate remedy; which often producing unlocked for inconvenience, calls for new remedies in its turn; and thus fyftems are formed and changed ad infinitum. It is with political inflitutions as it is with language; chance, inconvenience, and circumftance, are the inventors of both; grammar and theory are formed from the contemplation of them, but are feldom or never the parents of either. In both cafes the exceptions are almost as numerous as the rules; and they both attain their end, whatever philofophers may think of them, if by the one we make ourselves underflood, and by the other enjoy the benefits of good government.' Accordingly, he fhews, from the act of Henry VI. for regulating elections, that the object in view was not to extend the right of reprefentation, but to contract it, to prevent knights of the thire being chofen by outrageous and exceffive numbers of people, and of imall fubftance.' In a plan that ranked the counties of York and Rusland as of equal importance, what fhadow was there of equality in representation? In See Rev. May, p. 383. fummoning fummoning the boroughs, he contends, that no proportion, no uni form rule was obferved, they were fummoned capricioufly, and the right of voting in them fometimes extended to the inhabitants at large, and fometimes the majority of the inhabitants excluded from partaking of it. All this being admitted, the question arises, whether we are not at liberty to new-model our conftitution, and make a more perfect flyftem of reprefentation? Not fuppofing this would be attempted to the full extent, but only as far as may be found practicable; he fhews how we should be embarraffed by the difcordance between theory and fact: Upon the whole, permit me to obferve, that it seems as if our principal mistake was in fuppofing that an alteration in the mode of election will alter the hearts of the electors or the elected. We have feen county members, under the influence of contracts, voting for the Court, and repeatedly returned, whilft members for the most exceptionable boroughs have been in the oppofite fcale.' As this is a curious part of the pamphlet, it deferves fome attention; the Author's ideas of the rotten parts of our Conftitution having at least novelty to recommend them. The cities and great towns fland by themselves, nobody wishing to interfere with them. The other boroughs may be thrown into three claffes: thofe where there is a popular election, fuch as housekeepers not receiving alms, &c. the right of election in a corporation only, to the exclufion of the rest of the inhabitants; and the burgage tenures. The two laft are more frequently what are called family boroughs, being generally, more or lefs, under the influence of fome neighbouring gentlemen or noblemen, in fome few inftances under their command: the first is under no influence or command whatever; and being extended to every inhabitant not receiving alms, approaches the nearest to that mode of reprefentation that is moft in fashion In these open and uninfluenced boroughs, you would, according to theory, expect to find the pure and moft perfect fpecimen of reprefentation. Every candidate who offers for their favour ftands upon equal advantage; and the merits alone of each individual must be fuppofed to determine the free choice of the electors I need not tell you what thofe merits generally are, or in what manner fuch elections are commonly decided. These are the rotten boroughs of the Conftitution in the most eminent degree, and the fure refuge for every pilferer and betrayer of his truft, who brings home fufficient fruits of his peculation to purchase fecurity for his malverfations. Thefe Sir, if any franchife must be taken away, seem to be the most obnoxious, whatever be the numbers of voters or inhabitants amongst them, unless indeed it were poffible to fingle out fuch as are called Government boroughs, like that which a late Secretary to the Treasury bondly called, upon his legs the other day, a Treasury borough. As to those who, though their franchise be confined to a imall number of voters, are more or less under the influence of men of property, if I am to fpeak the truth, I have no great app ehentions from them. It is to them we owe the first production of the talents of the late Lord Cha ham, and that fun who promises to emulate his father's fame, as re already does his eloquence; Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, Mr. Barré, Mr. Dunning, and, in fhort, almost all the characters the most eminently distinguished for abilities abilities and public fpirit. In fhort, to enjoy a pure form of government, depends as much upon the human as the political conftitution: the paffions of mankind being continually poifoning the wifeft inftiturions. In conclufion, the Author warns his correfpondent, on the best of all authorities, recent and bitter experience, against applying abstract and fpeculative principles to government. This, he affirms, has ftripped Great Britain of her dependencies, and left her fcarcely any evidence of her former greatnefs, but the burden of debt, which, with the dimunition of our refources, is left a load upon us alone and upon our pofterity; and having mutilated our empire, has now found its way into our own bofom, to throw this ifland itfelf into confufion. Art 22. An Enquiry whether the abfolute Independence of America is not to be preferred to her partial Dependance, as moft agreeable to the real Interefts of Great Britain. Addreffed to the People of Great Britain, by One of themselves. 8vo. Is. Bew. The Author, after many fenfible obfervations, candid arguments, and just conclufions from the principles and premises which he lays down, determines this great question in the affirmative. AFFAIRS OF IRELAND. Art. 23. A Letter to the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, concerning the Juftice and Expediency of a total Renunciation on the Part of Great Britain of the Right to bind Ireland by Acts of the British Parliament, either internally or externally, from a Student of Lincoln's Inn. 8vo. 1s. Kearfley. The defign of this liberal and well-written pamphlet is to prove that a total renunciation, on the part of England, of every claim of a right to bind Ireland, in any cafe whatever, by the decrees of a Parliament, in which she is not represented, will not only give complete fatiffaction to the Irish, but will prove alfo a permanent bond of union and affection between the two nations; and this pofition he maintains by afferting, that the renunciation for which he pleads is equally expedient and juft: an affertion in which every difpaffionate mind, we are of opinion, will agree with him. Indeed nothing that is not flrictly juft can be (though fhort-fighted politicians and moralifts are apt to think otherwife) truly expedient. POETICAL. Art. 24. The Maid of Orleans. Written by M. Voltaire. Tranflated from the French. Canto the Firft. 4to. No Bookfeller's Name. 1782. Whatever depends more on the manner than the matter, will be ever found difficult to tranflate. Voltaire's La Pucelle, if divested of its happy peculiarities, which in most instances are owing to the language in which it is written, will be found uninterefting or indecent. To infufe thefe peculiarities into another language, may perhaps be impoffible. The undertaking appearing to us fo difficult, of courfe pleads its own excufe if it fails. This tranflation hits off a paffage now and then with tolerable fuccefs; but the Author hath taken a liberty not only in omitting, but in amplifying, which will not be readily granted him by the admirers of Voltaire. And in fome inftances, Rev. 08. 1782. X where |