the greatest veneration for the church of England and its government, as by law established; holding her liturgy as the pureit and moft perfect form of public worship in any established church in Christendom: but, though he gave it the preference in compariton with other churches, which, with Grotius, he thought had departed from the inftitutions of the more primi tive Christian church, yet he thought that alterations and amendments might be made in it, which would render it more perfect than it is in its prefent ftate, and which he earnestly defired to have teen accomplished by thofe who were properly authorized. But though fuch was his difpofition, fuch his defire, he at the fame time expreffed his most ardent with that it might remain in its prefent form, until the alterations propofed to be made therein were all agreed upon and finally fettled; for. he wifely forefaw the dangerous confequences that may arise to a long-established religious or civil government, from altering or doing away any part of it, however warranted by reafon or found policy, before it is abfolutely determined what fhall in future be adopted.' We are not difcuffing at this time what may be right or expedient: we are copying the features of a mind without enquiring whether they are beautiful or well proportioned; fo that we shall add no remarks, though we wish not to be confidered as implicitly adopting the opinions, we copy without animadverfion. Again: 'He always confidered the British empire as enlarged beyond the bounds dictated by found policy; that thofe parts of it fituated beyond the Atlantic Ocean to the weft, beyond the Cape of Good Hope to the east, were at too great a distance to be governed as they ought to be; that the American colonies were too kindly fostered by the mother country; that the millions expended in promoting their growth would, at laft, rear them to a height at which they would think themselves entitled to afk for emancipation from their parent ftate: an observation he of ten made before the event happened, and he lived to fee with regret his prophecy, with consequences he did not forefee, become true history. • He always beheld our conquefts in the East Indies with a real concern, and confidered the great influx of wealth, brought thence into this country, by the individuals who had there acquired it, as an ample revenge for the unjuft depredations committed on the territorial poffeffions of their princes, ever confidering those depredations as being the most enormous acts of injuftice that could be fhewn from one ftate to another, and that this was heightened by a moft flagrant act of ingratitude for the original. permiffion of commercial establishments made on their coafts, in order that trade might be carried on to more advantage; for which permiffion the natives were entitled to the most perfect anity, and every public focial intercourfe fhewn to the most favoured favoured nations. Sometimes he would add, that though Afiz had in her turn been often conquered by all who attacked her, yet that the wealth brought from thence by the conquerors into their refpective dominions, had always introduced with it fo great luxury, that thereby thofe virtues by which they became conquerors, were at last enfeebled and done away, infomuch that Afia in her turn became the conqueror; of which he inftanced, amongst others, the decline and fall of the Roman empire as a lafting evidence. He confidered the East Indies and America as two immenfe difproportionate wings to the fmall body of the ifland, and expreffed his fears left, at fome time or other, they might fly away with the British empire.' These volumes contain our author's mifcellaneous poems, and his different profe works already published, to which are added a few short poetical attempts in the last years of his life, an effay on the national debt, and fome curfory obfervations on different paffages in the New Teftament. The firft volume contains the Poems almost exclufively, the translation of Mr. Hawkins Browne's Poem, de Animi Immortalitate," only excepted, which occurs in the fecond. In the fecond alfo are the papers in the World, written by Mr. Jenyns, viz. number 125, 153, 157, 163, 178; and our author's different political tracts. The third volume contains the Effay on Evil, and the Difquifitions on different fubjects; the fourth, the View of the internal Evidence of the Christian Religion, and the Obfervations on various Paffages of the New Testament. It will be obvious from what we have faid, that we purpose only to notice thofe parts of our author's works which are now first published. The poetical attempts, though like Mr. Jenyns' poetry in general, eafy, elegant, and pointed, are inferior, as may be expected, to thofe which he wrote in early life; and though they do not tarnish the luftre of his fame, they do not add to it. We fhall clofe, therefore, the firft volume without farther notice.. Among the mifcellaneous contents of the fecond volume, we do not remember to have feen our author's Reflections on 'feveral Subjects.' As we have not the former editions of his works in our hands, we cannot ascertain whether this is their frit appearance, but they are not mentioned among the novelties of this edition. We have read them with fome pleasure; they difplay a found judgment and a benevolent heart; but if we may difcriminate by example, they refemble Shenstone's reflections rather than Swift's. They have not that penetrating acutenefs, that nervous energy of thought and style, which we admire in the dean of St. Patrick's. Yet there are a few which deferve to be diftinguished on this account. • As As property always produces power, fo power is always convertible into property: therefore it is demonftrable, that the corruption of parliaments must ever increase with the increase of their power, and can be leffened only by the diminution of their importance. How abfurd, therefore, are those, who labour at the fame time to increase liberty, and to destroy corruption; that is, who endeavour to give the people more power to carry to market, and at the fame time to hinder them from felling it?' It is a certain, though a strange truth, that in politics almost all principles that are fpeculatively right are practically wrong the reason of which is, that they proceed on a fup pofition that men act rationally; which being by no means true, all that is built on fo falfe a foundation, on experiment falls to the ground.' The Thoughts on the National Debt appear like fome late French publications, a little paradoxical: indeed fome of the leading ideas we remember to have quoted from a fpeculative financier of that nation. We shall, however, follow shortly Mr. Jenyns. The error which has fo often pervaded the reafonings on this fubject, arises from confidering the debt of the nation as that of an individual, a debt contracted from neceffity, and in fome future time to be paid. The lender, on the contrary, finks his money for an annuity, not determinable but perpetual. The annuity is transferable, and while the credit of government continues, a fufficient number will always be ready to purchase it. Mr. Pitt's late plan has had, in this view, fome confequences which were by many unfuspected. While an annual million fluctuates in the alley, even though, as oppofition contends, it should be borrowed with one hand and paid with the other, good effects must refult, for there will be always money to pay the needy and fufpicious creditor who could wish, in a moment of national distress, to tranffer his annuity almost at any rate; and government with this engine in its hand, can always borrow money more advantageously than it has formerly done. What was it, but the operation of this engine, which kept stocks at 74 even on the eve of a war, and navy bills at a moderate premium? The fame management might have operated, and perhaps will operate, in reducing the terms of a future loan. But to return: The effects of a debt, in our author's opinion, are advantageous. While the money borrowed is spent in this kingdom, it again finds its way in circulation, and the fum paid for intereft is added to it. Thus in the loan of a million, the fum circulates twice in the fame time; and its intereft, fifty thou fand pounds, circulates twice alfo. The money is undoubt 1 edly edly paid by the subject in taxes; but the confequence is, that as money is more plenty, its value is lefs, the price of com. modities proportionally rife, and we derive even from our loads a power of bearing greater. A public debt then, is a fpring whofe elafticity is increafed from the weight laid on it: what, therefore, fhould impede its being extended yet farther; and to be tripled or quadrupled to make our profperity great ́er? The question is almost fatal to the fyftem, but a little reflection will fuggeft an answer that will contribute to fupport it. The reafoning can reach only manufactures: neither the value of land nor of mere labour can extend in the fame pro-portion. The diftreffes of the leffer land owner and of the labouring poor will check the fpeculative progrefs. We have nearly, therefore, reached the utmost limit, and if it were not for the effects of the annual million, fhould have lately expe rienced a great deterioration of property. With this correction, therefore, the fyftem is jutt, and there is only one flight error in the reafoning, too inconfiderable to influence the general conclufion; viz. that the money is not wholly spent among ourfelves; but while raw materials are only imported, the employment of our labourers prevents this circumftance from having a powerful effect. Our author's reasoning, though confined to the national debt, may be employed to elucidate other circumstances of our political fituation: but we muft not expatiate beyond the limits he has prefcribed. The Obfervations on different pafiages of the New Teltament,' are expreffed in Mr. Jenyns' ufual, elegant, and perfpicuous language. They are not critically minute or learnedly recondite, but plain, judicious, and practical. The paffages from St. Matthew are v. 3, 5, 7.—vi. 16.-X. 29, 34, 35 41.xi. 25. — xvi. 18.-xix. 4, 5. xx. 15, 16.— xxii. 21.- xxvi. 39. We find nothing particularly interefting in the obfervations on these paffages. From the 29th verfe of the tenth chapter, Mr. Jenyns thinks it evident that all the motions of the heavenly bodies, every tranfaction of the moral and material world is effected by the continual direc tion and conftant interpofition of fome omnipotent hand, an opinion that has had able supporters, and yet is not fufficiently established by phenomena, which feem to show that the Deity, in the regulations of this world, acts by fecond caufes through the medium of properties originally impreffed on different bodies. Our Lord, in Matthew x. 34, 35. is not supposed by our author to prophecy the calamities which have refulted from the perverĥon of the Gofpel. The doctrine of Chrift was mild and peaceful; but its beneficent effects, he faw, would be for a while retarded by wars and deftructive events. The The wife and prudent, in the fubfequent chapter, oppofed to babes, Mr. Jenyns thinks are felf fufficient philofophers, and the worldly-minded followers of objects of intereft or ambition opposed to the meek and humble, the teachable and the innocent. Some of the obfervations on Matthew xvi. 18. we shall transcribe:` He (our lord) inflituted a church, becaufe, without fome infitution of that kind, his religion must quickly have been banished from the world, and known no where but in the clofets of a few fpeculative philofophers, and therefore had little influence on the general conduct of mankind; but he chofe rather to truft the form and regulations of it to the nature of man, and the nature of government, than to any politive command. He did not ordain that when his religion fhould have spread over every quarter of the globe, this church fhould become equally ex tenfive, and be governed by one fupreme head, his fucceffor and reprefentative. He did not command, that in every refpective country this church fhould be placed under the domi nion of bishops or prefbyters, of councils, convocations, or fynods. He has prefcribed no forms of worship, except one fhort prayer; no particular habits for the minifters who officiate; no places fet apart for the performance of religious daties, or decorations for those places to excite reverence and devotion in the performers. All these he has left to the decifion of future ages, to be ordered by different communities, in different countries, in a manner that shall beft fuit the tempers of the people, the genius of their government, and the opinions of the times; provided nothing is introduced inconfiftent with the purity of his original inftitution. From hence evidently, appears the ignoranee and abfurdity of thefe who reject all ec clefiaftical authority as human impofitions, and deny the very existence of any Christian church, in contradiction to the exprefs declarations of its founder; and not lefs of those who refufe compliance with any national religious establishment, because they cannot find the form and ceremonies of it exactly delineated and prefcribed in any part of the New Teftament. 'Chrift has inftituted ecclefiaftical, in the fame manner that God has civil government, that is, by making it neceffary, without directing the mode of its administration; becaufe, though the thing itfelf is neceffary, the mode is not fo.' We cannot understand how any thing, as our author alledges, p. 171. can be impoffible to Omnipotence, or, in other words, cannot be prevented without the admiffion of greater evils, or the lofs of good more than equivalent. This feems to be curbing the power of the deity by our own finite views; but the fubject is a very extenfive one, and too intimately connected with Mr. Jenyns' doctrine of evil, to be pursued at this time. The paffages noticed from Mark's Gospel, are ii. 27; viii. 38; |