tuous qualities greatly diminished; and the ink formed with fuch oil dries expeditioufly, and proves fufficiently adhesive. The oil thus prepared is called drying oil, and the process is as follows: Ten or twelve gallons of oil are exposed to the action of the fire in an iron pot, large enough to make room for the fwell of the oil during the boiling:- while boiling, the oil is to be conftantly stirred with an iron ladle; and if it does not flame itself, it is to be kindled with a piece of lighted paper, or burning wood:-after half an hour or more the flame is extinguished, and the boiling continued till the oil is of a proper confiftence. By this method, the most inflammable parts are consumed, and the fatnefs and greafinefs, which are noxious qualities in printing-ink or paints, are diffipated.-The oil in this state is called printer's varnish.-This varnifh is viscous and tenacious, like the foft refinous juices; it is not soluble in water or spirit of wine; mixes readily with fresh oil; and united with mucilages, diffolves in water into a milky liquor; with strong alkaline ley it forms a foapy compound, eafily wiped or brushed away; and hence types are cleaned after an impreffion, by brushing them with hot ley.

The linfeed and nut oils are made choice of for this use; the other expreffed oils, it is faid, cannot be fufficiently freed from their unctuous quality; the ink made from these oils dries flowly, finks into the paper beyond the mark of the type, and forms a yellow ftain; it comes off and fmears the paper, during the beating and preffing in the book-binders hands.

Some workmen are accustomed, after the flame is extinguished, to throw in onions and crufts of bread, upon a suppofition that the greafinefs is, by thefe additions, more effectually destroyed.- Our Author however fays, that a good varnish may be prepared by fire alone:- others, to give a greater body, and to increase the drying quality of the oil, add a quantity of turpentine, boiled to a due confiftence:-others again ufe litharge, with the fame intention.-It is obferved in the French encyclopedie, that when the oil is very old, neither of these additions is neceflary; and when the oil is new, the fpreading and daubing of the ink can only be prevented by the addition of fome boiled turpentine that it is more eligible to ufe old oil, than to have recourse to these corrections; for the new oils thus prepared, especially with the addition of litharge, adhere fo firmly to the types, that it is not eafily diffolved by the alkaline ley, and confequently the eye of the letter is foon clogged up.

For the rolling-prefs ink, it is neceffary that the oil be fo managed as to be left of a more fluid confiftence; and the colouring matter employed is commonly called Frankfort black, which appears from our Author's experiments to be a vegetable charcoal; fome fuppofe it to be prepared from vine-twigs, others

from

from the kernels of fruits and wine-lees burnt together. The coal from vine-twigs is nearly the fame with that from the small branches of other trees; but from the kernels of fruits, a coal confiderably more foft and mellow is obtained.-There is this difference with respect to the rolling-prefs and the printing-press work; in the former the impreffion is received from figures hollowed in a copper-plate, in the latter from prominent types: the rolling-prefs ink therefore must be made with thinner oil, and fo affifted by the heat of the plate, as readily to fink into the cavities, and eafily be wiped from those smooth parts of the plate which leave the paper white.

[To be continued.]

Bp. Ellys's Tracts on the Temporal Liberty of Subjects on England. Concluded.

I

N the Appendix to the laft volume of our Review, published in January, we entered upon an examination of this work : and as it is a fubject of great importance, in which every Briton is immediately interested, we confined ourselves, in that article, to our Author's first tract, wherein he confiders the legal provifions made in favour of the liberty of the subject in judicial proceedings, as to matters both criminal and civil. We fhall now lay before our Readers fome account of the remaining part of this useful work, and felect fuch specimens as appear to be most generally inftructive and entertaining.

His Lordship, in the fecond effay, treats of the manner of impofing taxes; and the other privileges of parliament: and represents the illegal attempts of our ancient kings to levy money without the confent of parliament. William the Conqueror, contrary to a charter granted in the latter part of his reign, and feveral of his fucceffors, revived and levied various taxes in an arbitrary manner, and in too high proportions, by their own bare authosity, or with only the advice of their privy council. A variety of inftances of oppreffions of this kind are mentioned as practifed by almost all our kings from the Conqueft down to the happy Revolution, when the fole right of raising money was finally vested in the parliament. But, fays our Author, the most exprefs and avowed claim of right to this prerogative, was in the reign of Charles I. who infifted that tonnage and poundage were due to the crown by hereditary right, without any grant from the fubjects; that he could, by his own authority, not only make impofitions upon merchandizes, but also could, in cafes of danger, of which he was the fole judge, oblige the maritime, and even the inland counties, to find a proper number of Ships

for the defence of the feas, or levy the fums of money upor them, that fhould be requifite for the fame purpose. But in opposition to these practices, the house of commons made strong remonftrances, founded upon evident and ancient facts; and the king, in his answer to the petition of right, found himself obliged to acknowledge, that the Crown had no right to levy any money, without the consent of the Lords and Commons in parliament.'

Befides actual impofitions, there were other methods of accomplishing the fame end, more indirect, but in their confequences equally oppreffive and injurious, which were practised by our kings, and which have generally been deemed illegal, and destructive of the liberties of the people. Of this kind the Bishop mentions the king's debafing the coin, fo as to endanger the property of his fubjects, without their confent in parliament. This was done by Henry I, Stephen, Henry III, and several other of our ancient kings. "One of the most remarkable alterations in the coin was made in Edward III's reign, by the Bp. of Winchester, then treasurer of England, who caufed new groats and half-groats to be coined, lefs by five fhillings in the pound than the fterling value; whereby victuals and merchandizes became dearer through the whole realm. Henry VIII. abased his coin more than one half of its value. Several procla mations were iflued out in the reign of Edward VI. for finking the value of the coin one third part, and fometimes one-half. And in Queen Mary's reign, a proclamation was issued for raifing the currency of the teftoons above their intrinfic value. Q. Elizabeth altered and debated the Irish coin, which was greatly. complained of; and the Mirror of Justice says, that, according to the ancient Saxon conftitution, changes of this fort in the coin ought not to be made, without the affent of parliament (a); and Lord Coke was alfo of the fame opinion (b). Sir Thomas Smith, in his Treatife on the English Commonwealth, reprefents it to be the king's right, to put what value he pleases upon his coin. And Sir Robert Cotton was not of opinion with the Mirror of Juftice, that the king cannot abafe his coin without affent of parliament. Even Lord Chief-Juftice Hales fays (c) it is true the embafing of money, in point of allay, hath not been very frequently practifed in England; and it would be a difhonour if it should; neither is it fafe to be attempted without parliamentary advice: but furely if we refpect the right of the thing, it is in the king's power to do it."-" Hence therefore, as our Author well obferves, it is highly probable, that by our ancient conftitution, the crown was trufted with the executive

(a) Chap. 1. Se&t. 3. Pl. of Crown, Vol. I. p. 193.

(6) 2d Inft. p. 576.

(c) Hift.

power

power of afcertaining the value of money: but then it was undoubtedly intended, that the king fhould do it for the benefit, and not for the ruin of his people. For it was always a maxim in law, as Lord Coke fays (d), that the law hath fo admeasured the prerogative of the crown, that it cannot justly injure any one, unless doing fo may be for the public fervice.' -Dr. Blackftone acknowledges that the denomination, or the value for which the coin is to pass current, is in the breast of the king, but that his prerogative doth not extend to the debafing or inhancing the value of the coin, above or below the sterling value(). But whatever debate there may be among the lawyers about the extent of the royal prerogative in this respect, it hath been made use of as a mode of oppreffion and imposition in this and other nations; and is what no administration will now attempt unless supported by parliamentary authority, which it would be vain to expect.

Another method of breaking in upon the property of fubjects without their confent, was, by granting patents for monopolies. Lord Coke defines a monopoly to be "an inftitution by the king, by his grant or commiffion, or otherwife, to any perfon or corporation, of and for the fole buying, felling, making, working, or ufing of any thing, whereby any person or corporation are fought to be restrained of any freedom or liberty they had before, or hindered in their lawful trade." Of this practice we have innumerable instances from the reign of Edward III. to much later times in the reign of Elizabeth there were great and repeated complaints on this fubject, which occafioned many petitions and debates in parliament relating to the prerogative of the crown and the liberty of the people. James continued the fame practice, in whofe reign, however, an act was made to put an end to all grievances of this kind, by which it is declared, That all monopolies are contrary to the laws of this realm; and fo are, and fhall be, utterly void, and of none effect, and in no wife be put in ufe or execution. And that all fuch grants of monopolies fhall be ever hereafter tried according to the common laws of this realm, and not otherwife. The party grieved, by fuch grants or monopolies, fhall recover treble damages and double cofts, by action in the courts at Weftminster. And whoever ftays, or procures judgment to be ftayed or delayed upon fuch actions, fhall incur a præmunire: and that the crown fhall only grant exclufive patents for fourteen years, to new manufactures and inventions.' One would have imagined that this ftatute would have put an entire end to fuch oppreffiye and injurious measures; but in the reigns of Charles I. and Charles

(d) 2d Inft. p. 36.

Pook I. Ch. 7.

(e) Comment. on Laws of England,