fpirit of Burns, admirably appropriate to the occafion for which it was written, and too animated to leave any doubt of the fincerity of the honest and generous, though deluded poet. "THE DUMFRIES VOLUNTEERS, APRIL, 1795- The Nith fhali run to Corfineon, Our father's blude¶¶ the kettle bought, The wretch that wad a tyrant own, And the wretch his true born brother; We'll ne'er forget the people." Vol. iv, p. 385. Vigour and animation are qualities fo effential to original genius, that we scarcely wonder at difcovering them, even under the most disadvantageous circumftances in fuch a man as Burns. But it is truly wonderful that we find fo much tender hefs, and even fo much elegance, in the writings of this uninftructed and unpolished ruftic. The roughness of his education, and the ftill more fatal groffnefs of his debauchery, had not deftroyed the fenfibility and native gracefulnefs of his mind. Several of his poems, especially fome of his polthumous fongs, fhow not only that fplendour of fancy and vivacity of comic power, which attracted the admiration of men of taste to his first publication; but demonftrate alfo a tenderness and delicacy, which are seldom found in laborious poverty, and scarcely ever in tumultuous diffipation. Our felections have already afforded ample proof of the spirit and grandeur of the concep tions of this great poet. The following Song will show that his talent was not confined to the higher poetry. 66 THE BONNIE WEET THING. Bonny wee thing, canniet wee thing, In ae conftellation fhine; To adore thee is my duty, Goddess of this foul o' mine." Vol. iv, p. 314. The fimplicity of tenderness is as much difplayed in this little Song, as the fimplicity of vehemence in the general odes, which we have formerly quoted. One Song in this collection has a peculiar intereft. It is the last which the unfortunate poet lived to finish. "Here's a health to ane¶ I lo'e** dear, Here's a health to ane I lo'e dear; Thou art sweet as the fmile when fond lovers meet, Although thou maun never be mine, I guess by the dear angel smile, 1 guefs by the love-rolling e'e*; But why urge the cruel confeffion, 'Gainft fortune's fell cruel decree?-Jeffy!" Vol. iv, p. 261. The full merit of this excellent Song will be most felt by those who have had the misfortune to load their memory with taftelefs unfeeling common places, which, by the help of fmooth verfification, have ufurped the title of amorous poetry. Let any paffage of the most tolerable of these cold triflers be compared with the third and fourth lines of this Song, the comparison will affuredly leave no doubt of the great fuperiority of Burns. Our Scottish readers would fcarcely pardon us, if we were not to infert the following proof of the patriotifm of our poet. "The groves o'fweet myrtle let foreign-lands reckon, Though rich is the breeze in their gay funny vallies, He wanders as free as the winds of his mountains, It would be eafy to multiply extracts, but enough has been cited to juffity our opinion, and that of the public is already declared. We will venture to pronounce that the judgment of the prefent age will, in this cafe, be confirmed by the remotelt pofterity; who, among British poets of the end of the eighteenth century, may indeed hefitate between Burns and Cowper; but will fee no other competitors for the throne of poetical genius. We conûne this obfervation to the dead. The claims of the living cannot yet be determined with perfect impartiality. * Eye. oft. + fern. ** cold. rivulet. § daify. among. ART. ART. XII. An Inquiry into the Neceffity, Juftice, and Policy of a Commutation of Tithes. By Morgan Cove, LL. B. Prebendary of Hereford, and Rector of Eaton-Bishop, Herefordfbire. 8vo. 121 pp. 3s. Rivingtons, &c. 1800. THIS HIS Inquiry, the writer informs us, is to be confidered as a fupplement to his Effay on the Revenues of the Church of England; a work, the importance and merit of which, we formerly pointed out *. Before he goes into the various heads of the fubject, he ftates the occafion which drew him into this examination. It is of fuch a nature as to call univerfal attention to it at this time and a sketch of that occafion will be a proper preface to what we have to remark on the other parts of this tract. The Grand Jury of the county of York publifhed certain refolutions on the neceflity and means of the improvement of agriculture. The principal fuggeftion they contain, is the neceflity of a fair and permanent compenfation in lieu of tithes. This propofal is fomewhat difguifed by being mixed with certain œconomical recommendations of inferior objects, fuch as reducing the fees of folicitors and attorneys, and other charges on inclofing bills: fome other counties followed the example of that of York. This fuited admirably the views of a certain public board; where fome parties having a great afcendancy in its deliberations, it could not be expected to decline following a fuit led into its hand. This remonstrance against the provifion for the established church they circulated throughout the kingdom: and of the reporters of the ftate of agriculture of the English counties, they compelled nearly one fourth to appropriate a chapter to the confideration of tithes, if not abfolutely to point them out as an obstacle to agricultural improvements." The circulation of thefe refolutions refembles the whispering of evidence by the court; "which, however, does not confider itself as refponfible for any fact or obfervation therein contained." By thefe preparatory steps, the circumstance under which this project might be brought forward with fuccefs, feem matured; and "it was publicly announced, that in the next feffion of Parliament (that now holden) certain refolutions, including thofe of the county of York, would be brought forward in the Houfe of Commons.” Mr. Cove, therefore, in this period of urgency, fets himfelf to inquire into the neceflity, the juftice, and the policy of fuch a commutation. * Published then anonymously. See British Critic, vol. vii, p. 494. Το To prove its neceflity, it is urged, by the advocates of the commutation, that the payment of tithe in kind, or compofitions fubject to increase, is an infuperable obstacle to the cultivation of the wafte lands of the kingdom. This, it is faid, and the reftraint it lays upon the beft modes of treating the lands already under cultivation, is the caufe that our former excefs of production, fupporting a great export trade of corn, is turned into a deficiency, requiring an importation in every year, railing its price conftantly, and fometimes to the rates of abfolute dearth. To the first of thefe arguments Mr. Cove thus replies: the payment of tithes has not prevented a great quantity of land, formerly wafte, from being brought into cultivation. He cites the Weftmoreland Agricultural Report, to fhow that, in 1689, the former amounted to eleven millions of acres, and a report 'of the Commons, to prove that, in 1795, it was reduced to eight millions: the lands under cultivation were, therefore, increased three millions of acres-even this is confiderable: but the paffage cited from the report to the Board for the county of Westmoreland contains a great error. The reporter had, evidently, lying before him King's account of the land of England it is in eight articles-the 5th, 7th, and 8th, amounting to eleven millions of acres of uncultivated land, form his total; but the 4th, including the contents of all the commons, he has totally omitted; which, at least, are to be taken as half its amount, or one and a half million; and half a million, part of the land of the 6th article, fhould have been added to his total. Thus the uncultivated land in 1689 will appear to have been thirteen millions; and eight only remaining fo in 1795, the land brought into cultivation between thefe two periods was five millions of acres. Now making the leaft probable allowance for waters, roads, moors, mountains, and other barren tracts, it does not appear that there remained in England, in 1689, eight millions capable of being ever reduced to cultivation and that the quantity remaining can now amount to more than three. And, the parishes in England being 10,000 nearly, of which, perhaps, one tenth are in cities and great towns; à person who fhould maintain the contrary mult, at the fame time, affirm, that in every parith, upon an average throughout the kingdom, there now remain 333 acres of wafte land capable of being brought into cultivation, which is abfurd. * It is faid here, that in various public documents, England is flated to contain nearly 47 millions of acres; thefe are all copies of the vague approximation of Grew: that of Dr. Halley agreeing with King is the beft we poffefs: of King's mode of approximation we know nothing; but there are others of great facility, more accurate than that of Halley, which we could with to fee applied, I The |
