and expenfive undertaking fhall be dropt or profecuted, is left to the determination of the public.'

When we confider the application, labour, and expence, which must attend the execution of fo great a defign; we almost wonder that any thing less than a SOCIETY, of able, industrious, experienced, and philofophical chemifts, fhould have been hardy enough to enter into fo wide a field. Such a work, however, we fee, has been planned, entered upon, and in part executed, by an INDIVIDUAL: executed too in such a manner, as to be at once entertaining, interefting, and very extensively useful for Dr. Lewis not only relates his own experiments and obfervations, together with the common practices in the respective arts, but refers likewife to fuch improvements as have been made by the best authors who have turned their chemical inquiries towards thefe fubjects.As the continuance therefore of that amazing power and grandeur, to which this nation has arrived, strictly and neceffarily depends upon the perfection, vigour, and extent of our arts, manufactures, and commerce; we trust that the Author of the Commercium Philofophico-Technicum, will not be left, UNENCOURAGED, UNPATRONIZED.

Twenty-two Sermons on the following Subjects: The Explication and Proof of the Divine Goodness.-The Goodness of God illustrated in Creation, particularly in the Frame of Man, in Providence, and Redemption.-The principal Properties of the Divine Goodness.The Objections drawn from moral and natural Evil, and future Punifhments, anfwered.-The Evidences of a future State.-The Neceffity of Holiness.-The proper Temper for enquiring after eternal Life, and Jefus Chrift the best Guide to it. By Thomas Amory. 8vo. 6s. bound. Becket and De Hondt.

S the belief of a Deity is the foundation of all religion,

A juft and honourable fentiments concerning the Deity are,

confequently, of the utmost importance in every inquiry wherein religion is concerned. GOODNESS, in particular, is that perfection of the Divine nature, of which, above all others, it most concerns us, to have juft conceptions, and fatisfactory evidence. Without the belief of the divine goodnefs, indeed, there can be no true religion, and the universe must appear a dark, uncomfortable wafte. Neceffary existence, eternity, independence, immenfity, unerring wifdom, and confummate rectitude, can only fill the mind with awe and admiration it is GOODNESS alone that can excite love and reverence. When this glorious attribute is added to the other perfections of

Deity, the face of nature affumes a bright and chearful afpect, omnipotence is difarmed of all its terrors, the awful fplendors of eternity and independence are foftened into the milder glories of kindness and condefcenfion; the tribunal of impartial justice becomes the feat of mercy; the mind of man is reconciled to all events; his heart is filled with joy and confidence; and he can look up to the dread fovereign of the universe as to a kind and gracious Father.

There cannot therefore be a more important or a more delightful fubject of enquiry than that of the goodness of God; and to the unspeakable comfort of every rational being, there is no truth of which there is clearer evidence. The traces of the divine power are not more striking or more numerous than those of his bounty; nor is any thing wanting in order to be convinced of this, but due attention and confideration.

The fubject has been often treated by many able writers; but the beft of thefe, as the judicious Author of the difcourfes now before us obferves in his preface, have aimed more at the fatiffaction of the thoughtful and ftudious, than the inftruction and conviction of the main body of Chriftians, who yet are equally interested in this important doctrine.

They have alfo omitted, continues he, a diftinct and animating representation of the practical confequences. The author of the following difcourfes hath therefore endeavoured to fet the evidences of this great doctrine in a light easy to the understandings of the generality, ftill preferving their clearness and ftrength; and to affift perfons in regarding the works of God in a view, proper to raise their apprehenfions of the divine good.. nefs, and to warm their hearts with an habitual fenfe of it, and engage them to live as always furrounded with the presence and kindness of the beft of Parents, well affected to their brethren, alike children of the great Father of Spirits, chearfully refigned amidst the trials of life, and ferene and full of hope at death.

This the Author can fay, that to the firm belief, and frequent meditation of thofe interefting truths, which are included in the boundless benevolence of our Creator and Governor, he himself hath been obliged for the most valuable fatisfaction he hath known in life; and to these he owes it, that he can look forward to a future ftate with the nobleft hopes. And if the publication of the following difcourfes fhall make these truths more cordially received, and their beneficial intereft more felt, he shall greatly rejoice in the time and thought employed for these purpofes.'

As Mr. Amory has purfued the main fubject of his fermons thro' feveral difcourfes, and proved and illuftrated the great doctrine of the divine goodnefs from a variety of important topics, a regular abftract of what he has advanced cannot be expected from

from us. We fhall content ourselves, therefore, with seriously recommending his work; which is, indeed, one of the moft ufeful and important, of the kind, that we are acquainted with. The fubjects of the feveral difcourfes are extremely interesting, and they are treated with perfpicuity and judgment. From the great variety of arguments which may be produced in fupport of the divine benevolence, the Author hath felected fuch as are beft calculated to carry conviction into the minds of the generality of readers; and he has placed thefe arguments in fuch a light as feems beft adapted to ftrike and imprefs them. Through the whole of his work too there runs a vein of rational and wellfounded piety, which cannot fail to recommend it to every welldifpofed reader.

A General View of England; respecting its Policy, Trade, Commerce, Taxes, Debts, Produce of Lands, Colonies, Manners, &c. &c. argumentatively flated; from the Year 1600, to the Year 1762. Tranflated from the French, firft printed in 1762. 8vo. 2s. 6d. fewed. Robfon.

HE Tranflator, in his preface, fays, that the Author of the following treatife (which appears in the form of a letter) is fuppofed to be a French gentleman who refided fome time in England. During his refidence here, he was extremely affiduous in obtaining all the information he could procure with regard to our conftitution, laws, finances, tillage, manners and commerce; and the following work fhews what ufe he has made of the information he got, and of his obfervations thereupon; how accurate, and well-founded they both are, is fubmitted to the confideration of the reader; the tranflator neither adopting, nor being answerable for the author's fentiments; which, partial, and groundless, as fome of them may be, do many of them, however, convey hints that may prove extremely falutary and beneficial to this kingdom.'

After a long chain of argumentation upon the different topics enumerated in the title, the Author proceeds to draw the following conclufions; feveral of which must be allowed to have the appearance of too much truth;-though, as Englishmen, we could with fome of them had lefs of it for their fupport, viz.

That a nation may have a foreign and limited trade, and yet gain confiderably by exchange; as on the contrary, it may have a foreign and very extenfive trade, and yet lofe confiderably by its exchange.

That a nation can only gain by its foreign trade, while it

fells

fells more than it buys, whereas it lofes by buying-more than it fells.

That a nation can never fell more than it buys, but by a judicious cultivation of its lands, and by obferving fuch frugality in its manners as neceffarily fets bounds to its foreign pur

chafes.

That any nation that cultivates its lands fufficiently, and yet, at the fame time, gives itself up to useless and foreign extravagance, does in truth increase its foreign trade, but it is by increafing at the fame time its purchases abroad; and from that moment it begins to live upon its capital, and makes great ftrides towards its ruin.

That a nation that pays great interefts to foreigners for fums borrowed, ought to be more frugal in its manners than any other, and should fell in proportion, a great deal more than it buys, in order to be able, from its favings, not only to pay the intereft-money, but likewife gradually to pay off the capital of its debt; from whence it neceflarily follows, that it behoves any nation that is debtor abroad, to contract the extent of its foreign commerce, feeing the ought to contract the extent of her foreign purchases.

That England once had a very great balance in her favour, borrowed little, made good the intereft of what she did borrow abroad, and alfo paid off a part of the capital fums borrowed, whilst she was prudent and frugal, and while fhe had not carried her foreign trade to fo great an extent, as I have made appear was the cafe, during the epoch of King William's reign.

That England has had a much lefs balance in her favour; that she has borrowed great fums of money, that she has hardly been able to make good the interefts due to foreigners; and that fhe has paid off no part of the capital of her debt from the time that the became lefs frugal, and that her foreign commerce extended itfelf further and further: the lucrative branches acquired by the treaty of Utrecht, and the increase in the exportation of corn, not having been fufficient, to counterpoise the want of frugality in manners, and the increase of her purchases abroad.

That at this very time the balance of the foreign trade of England is against her, that fhe borrows a great deal, that she borrows even to make good the intereft due to foreigners; and that this is actually fo, and that this evil goes on, increasing ever fince fhe gave herself up to every kind of trifling diffipation, and has been extending her commerce to all quarters of the globe.

This Writer, elsewhere, ftiles the export corn trade a capital article to England, (p. 74,)—the principal fource of her riches, (p. 165,)-power and firength; p. 203.

• That

That confequently the payment of the interefts due abroad, cannot be placed to the account of the extention and profits arifing from foreign trade; fince, without breaking in upon the main ftock, they have only been paid when England did not carry on fo much of this fame trade, but that this payment has arifen folely from oeconomy and the national favings, feeing from that moment, that this oeconomy and these favings no longer took place, the aforefaid payment could no longer be made, any other way, but by breaking in upon the main stock, and borrowing in order to pay it, which is always the cafe with those who spend more than they have coming in."

What follows, certainly deferves to be noticed:

The riches of nations, like thofe of individuals, should be confidered both as realities and relatives. An individual who has an income of 100,000 livres a-year is really richer, than one who has but 50,000; but if the latter fpends no more than 48,000 livres, and the other spends 102,000; the last* becomes relatively the richeft of the two, and is in fact more and more fo, till at last he ceafes to be relatively fo, and then becomes really fo. This is pretty nearly the cafe of England, comparing it at different times with itfelf. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and till the revolution of 1688, its lands were much lefs cultivated, it had much lefs territorial income, few objects of barter, and but little trade either foreign or domeftic; now, without being really rich, at that time, the was however relatively fo, compared with what he has been fince, and the actually became really fo, more and more every day. Since that revolution, her lands have been greatly improved, fhe has made great augmentations in her territorial income, in a variety of objects of barter, and alfo in her foreign and domeftic trade; in fhort, fhe has become really rich.-But then, from that very moment, she began to fpend, in fome fhape or other, more than the had coming in, and has become relatively poor, compared with what she was formerly, till at laft, by continually increas ing her expence, and going fuch lengths as even to borrow mo ney, to pay for her luxurious importation of baubles, and the fupport of her trade, fhe has become really poar. The grofs of her territorial income, that in the beginning I fixed at 810 millions ferlingt, is at prefent merely nominal, for it is

very far

Somewhat inaccurately expreffed;-but, by the laft, we fuppofe he means him who fpends no more than 48,000 livres, though here mentioned before the other.

⚫t Thus it stands at p. 164: but, in the beginning, viz, at p. 10, this fame territorial income is really fixed at 810 millions of heures only. This, we apprehend, is what the Author means; though the Translator has, above, changed the fum (a little inadvertently) into pounds ftr.ing.

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