they were reprinted by foreign editors, both at Leipfic and at Tubingen. In this republication of the work at Tubingen, it feems, certain additions, omiffions, and alterations, have been made, evidently for the purpofe of difguiling rather than improving the edition. The Leipfic edir, however, in his title page, protefies ray that his work is ad editionem Oxendorfém emendatius exprefa; and one of ur English Reviews* fome time fie on the authority, it fhould feem, o' this German tide-page, thought proper to alert, that "the publifher of mis edition was entitled to equal credit and prete, as i was remarkably correct; that the numerous errata of the Oxford edition had been carefully avoided; and that other errors had no escaped the vigilance of the anonvenous editor." Now I forbear to comment, Mr. Urban, on the propriety of thus invading the rights and property of others, by beginning to reprit, in fo early a flage of the bufineis, especially a voluminous edition as yet unfinished, on / which fo large a fum of money has been already expended, and in which too fuch ample provifion has ftudioufly been made for the accommodation of the publick, both at home and abroad. But I cannot forbear to fuggeft, that, by inferting in your valuable Mifcellany the following curious and interefting extract from Profeffor Wyttenbach's preface to his Notes on Plutarch, now printing at the Clarendon prefs, you will at once contribute highly to the gratification of many of your readers, and materially affift in correcting a very injurious mifreprefentation of the Oxford edition, at the fame time that you will greatly oblige your conftant reader, ACADEMICUS. "Ex præfatione Dan. Wyttenbachii ad Animadverfiones fuas in Plutarchi Opera Moralia, de repetitione fuæ Editionis iftius libri apud Germancs. "-Bifariam fit hæc librorum repetitio. Nam Bibliopola vel fimpliciter librum recudit, ne verbo quidem mutato: quo in genere eft Lipfienfis, qui hanc notiram editionem reddere inftituit forma octava, inficetum prorfus et fordidum negotium, cum charta, tum literarum formulis; et gloriatur etiam fe plurima noftræ editionis typographica menda correxiffe : quod quale fit poftea videbimus. Vel hominem conducit, qui quafi novam recenfionem faciat : hic fuo ipfe judicio mutat, addit, on ittit, *See the Appendix to vol. VI, of the Anti Jacobin Review, p. 520. quæ vult, notas animadverfionefque edito- plane ut ani in eamdem prædam inci- Obfervations on the Importance of a firict Adherence to the NAVIGATION LAWS of Great Britain. Addreffed to the Shipping Intereft of Great Britain. IT is the fate of Great Britain, a fate peculiarly her own, to depend upon her navy and her commerce for a continuance of the fuperiority fhe enjoys over the other nations of Europe. This truth has frequently influenced the deJiberations of her legislators from an early period of her hiftory; and to appreciate its influence, we have only to regard the unremitting attention that has been paid to the establishment and fecurity of her maritime rights from the moment their value was felt up to the prefent hour, an hour in which thofe rights, as they have derived from various caufes unprecedented importance, demand at our hands unprecedented care. This attention to the grand fource of our wealth and glory has been rendered worthy of the wisdom that beftowed it; it has not evaporated in empty eulogiums, it has been embodied and concentrated in statutes enact ed by fucceflive parliaments, that have at length formed themfelves into a fyftem of navigation laws, which, if its operations are not counteracted by unforeseen circumflances, must continue to produce, as it has hitherto produced, to this country, an unfailing fource of wealth and glory. In its progrefs towards its prefent folidity, for the courfe of near five centuries, and amidst numberlefs fubordinate regulations, it has been the undeviating aim of the wife framers of this fyftem, to render the commerce of the country the medium of the increase of its fhipping; and therefore, except where policy or neceffity have compelled a contrary conduct, confiderations of temporary advantages have fometimes been made to yield to the lefs dazzling, but more permanent acquifition of naval power. To effect this falutary end, thevarious actsabove alluded to have beenframed and worded with great confideration and care, for the purpofe of confining certain portions of our trade with foreign countries, and the whole of our coafting and plantation trade, to British-built fhips alone, and to fecuring to fuch fhips, commanded, and threefourths manned with British fubjects, certain advantages, in which the vetfels of foreigners could not, and ought not, to participate. So early as the reign of Richard the Second, at a time when our shipping and commerce were in their infancy, the advantages, not to fay the neceflity, of fuch a fyftem, prefented themselves fo ftrongly to our ancestors, that in the fifth year of his reign an act of parliament was paffed, by which it was ordained, that no merchandize fhould be shipped into, or out of the realma, but in Britifh fhips, on pain of forfeiture. This act was recognized, and its provifions enforced, by other acis of parliament in after-times, during the reigns of Henry the Seventh, and Henry the Eighth; and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an act of parliament paffed, which, although in words it repealed the ftatute of Richard the Second, was in the fame fpirit, and calculated to produce fimilar effects. But in procefs of time, and as the country began to difcern with more clearness the policy of regulations that naturally tended to awaken the industry, and increafe the wealth of its inhabitants, the defire to fecure their obfervance, and extend their influence, became proportionably powerful, till at length, in the year 1651, an act was pafled, which exprefly prohibited all fhips of foreign nations from trading with Eugland, or with any English plantations; and no goods were fuffered to be imported into England, or any of its dependencies, in any other than English bottoms, or in the fhips of that European nation of which the merchandize imported was the genuine growth or manufacture. The ftatute of the 12th Charles II. chap. 18, corroborates, if, after the experience we have had, any thing were wanting to corroborate, the witdom of the principle in which the act of 1651, and the preceding navigation. acts, were founded; for by this act, which was paffed foon after the Retioration, not only were the provisions of the act of 1651 continued (with some alterations as to the European trade), but a farther provifion made, that the mafter and three fourths of the ma riners fhould also be English fubjects, under forfeiture of the fhip, and of all goods imported or exported therein. During the fucceeding reigns up to the time of palling the 26th of his prefent Majefty, commonly called Lord Liverpool's act, the fpirit of commerce continued to rife, and with it the con comitant conviction, that to continue and fecure the advantages granted by preceding ftatutes to British-built fhips and their owners, in the carrying on the commerce of the country, was the only method by which Great Britain could long remain in the poffeffion of that proud pre-eminence which diftin guilhes her as a maritime nation; the act, therefore, of the feventh and eighth of William the Third, and others that cannot here be particularized, were all in various ways conducive to the confirmation of the exclufive rights of British owners, and the privileges of British-built fhips. Experience has thewn the correctnefs and importance of the views of thofe, who from time to time have fupported this fyftem of Navigation laws, which it is fo much the intereft of British owners to uphold. The act of the 26th of his prefent Majefty, and many other ftatutes, clearly demonftrate the anxiety of the country to guard this fyftem, by a fteady adherence to which we have been enabled, during the most arduous conteft in which this country was ever engaged, to triumph over all the naval powers of Europe; and to the continuance of which alone we can look for the fecurity and fruits of that triumph." After this experience," fays an able writer on this fyftem of navigation laws, "no one can doubt but that it is the real intereft of Great Britain to give her principal attention to maritime affairs, to carry on her own trade in her own fhips directly to all parts of the world, and to encourage her fisheries in every fea. From thefe fources fhe may always hope to obtain a naval force adequate to guard her fhores from hofiile invafion, and to fecure her domeftic felicity, both public and private, firm and unfhaken as the foundations of the island.”, On the other hand, fhould the wifdom and labours of fucceffive ages be rendered unavailing by the blindness and indifference of the prefent day fhould thefe boafted laws of navigation, framed for the increase and the protection of Briufh-built fhips and Britifh owners, have been enacted in vain fhould ftrangers and foreigners be permitted to fnatch from their hands the privileges which belong, and which have been folemnly affured by the country, to British owners alone-it will be a task not lefs difficult than it will be melancholy, to calculate the GENT. MAG. February, 1898 mifchiefs that muft enfue to the maritime and the commercial interest of Britain. It is with the deepest regret the fhipping intereft of this country obferve, that the fufpenfion of the navigation laws, during the laft two years, has already been attended with ferious inconvenience and lofs; and they fear the continuance of it, unless thofe laws are again fpeedily permitted to have their free and natural operation; and if by new regulations, or by any further relaxation of the prefent navigation laws, new and foreign competi tors fhould be admitted to fhare in the advantages refulting from them, they apprehend that the maritime fpi rit of the country will decline—that the capital of British owners will lie unemployed, or be employed ufeleffly while the fhipping of Great Britain will lie rotting in her harbours, and her feamen emigrate to foreign countries in fearch of employment; it is therefore, particularly at this time, the intereft of Great Britain, and the duty of her government, to encourage her maritime purfuits. The events of the late war fhew, that many nations look with a jealous eye on the fuperiority we have gained by our carrying trade, and that they are ready to ufe every ef fort to participate in the benefits of our navigation, and to rival us, if poffible, on our native element. To counteract thefe efforts with fuccefs, we must not lofe the recollection that without an extenfive naval cómmerce, carried on in British bottoms, we can neither rear nor retain our seamen, the grand fupport of our prefent pre-eminence; nor preferve our country from falling even below the level of furrounding nations. Impreffed with thefe fentiments, and in order more effectually to protect the fhipping interest of Great Britain, and to prevent any infringement of of the navigation laws as now eftablifhed, it is moft feriously recommended to the owners of Britith-built fhips to form an affociation for the purpofe of preferving thofe rights, which the Legislature has, in its wif dom, been pleased to confer on them * Since the publication of thele obiervations, an affo iation has been entered into by feveral respectab'e ship-owners 'in London; and which has been adopted at fome of the out-ports. exclufively; Olfervations on the Importance of a It is the flyt of Own, to depend upon her navy and her commerce for a continuance of the fuperiority fhe enjoys over the other nations of Europe. This truth has frequently influenced the deJiberations of her legislators from an early period of her hiftory; and to appreciate its influence, we have only to regard the unremitting attention that has been paid to the establishment and fecurity of her maritime rights from the moment their value was felt up to the prefent hour, an hour in which thofe rights, as they have derived from various caufes unprecedented importance, demand at our hands unprecedented care. This attention to the grand fource of our wealth and glory has been rendered worthy of the wifdom that beftowed it; it has not evaporated in empty eulogiums, it has been embodied and concentrated in ftatutes enacted by fucceflive parliaments, that have at length formed themfelves into a fyftem of navigation laws, which, if its operations are not counteracted by unforeseen circumfiances, muft continue to produce, as it has hitherto produced, to this country, an unfailing fource of wealth and glory. In its progress towards its prefent folidity, for the course of near five centuries, and amidft numberlefs fubordinate regulations, it has been the undeviating aim of the wife framers of this fyftem, to render the commerce of the country the medium of the increafe of its fhipping; and therefore, except where policy or neceflity have compelled a contrary conduct, confiderations of temporary advantages have fometimes been made to yield to the lefs dazzling, but more permanent acquifition of naval power. To effect this falutary end, thevarious actsabove alluded to have beenframed and worded with great confideration and care, for the purpose of confining certain portions of our trade with foreign countries, and the whole of our coafting and plantation trade, to Britifh-built fhips alone, and to fecuring to fuch fhips, commanded, and threefourths manned with British fubjects, certain advantages, in which the veffels of foreigners could not, and ought not, to participate. So early as the reign of Richard the Second, at a time when our fhipping and commerce were in their infancy, the advantages, not to fay the neceflity, of fuch a fyftem, prefented themselves fifth year of his reign an act of pare fo ftrongly to our ancestors, that in the liament was paffed, by which it was ordained, that no merchandize should be shipped into, or out of the realma, but in Britifh fhips, on pain of forfeiture. This act was recognized, and its provifions enforced, by other acts of parliament in after-times, during the reigns of Henry the Seventh, and Heury the Eighth; and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an act of parliament paffed, which, although in words it repealed the ftatute of Richard the Second, was in the fame fpirit, and calculated to produce fimilar effects. But in procefs of time, and as the country began to difcern with more clearness the policy of regulations that naturally tended to awaken the induftry, and increafe the wealth of its inhabitants, the defire to fecure their obfervance, and extend their influence, became proportionably powerful, till at length, in the year 1651, an act was paffed, which exprefly prohibited all fhips of foreign nations from trading with Eugland, or with any English plantations; and no goods were fuffered to be inported into England, or any of its dependencies, in any other than Enghth bottoms, or in the fhips of that European nation of which the merchandize imported was the genuine growth or manufacture. The statute of the 12th Charles II. chap. 18, corroborates, if, after the experience we have had, any thing were wanting to corroborate, the wifdom of the principle in which the act of 1651, and the preceding navigation acts, were founded; for by this act, which was paffed foon after the Retio ration, not only were the provisions of the act of 1651 continued (with fome alterations as to the European trade), but a farther provifion made, that the mafter and three fourths of the mariners fhould also be English fubjects, under forfeiture of the thip, and of all goods imported or exported therein. During the fucceeding reigns up to the time of palling the 26th of his prefent Majefty, commonly called Lord Liverpool's act, the fpirit of commerce continued to rife, and with it the con comitant conviction, that to continue and fecure the advantages granted by preceding ftatutes to British-built fhips and their owners, in the carrying on the commerce of the country, was the only method by which Great Britain could long remain in the poffeffion of that proud pre-eminence which diftin guilhes her as a maritime nation; the act, therefore, of the feventh and eighth of William the Third, and others that cannot here be particularized, were all in various ways conducive to the confirmation of the exclufive rights of British owners, and the privileges of British-built fhips. Experience has thewn the correctnefs and importance of the views of thofe, who from time to time have fupported this fyftem of Navigation laws, which it is fo much the intereft of British owners to uphold. The act of the 26th of his prefent Majefty, and many other ftatutes, clearly demonftrate the anxiety of the country to guard this fytem, by a fleady adherence to which we have been enabled, during the most arduous contest in which this country was ever engaged, to triumph over all the naval powers of Europe; and to the continuance of which alone we can look for the fecurity and fruits of that triumph. After this experience," fays an able writer on this fyftem of navigation laws," no one can doubt but that it is the real intereft of Great Britain to give her principal attention to maritime affairs, to carry on her own trade in her own fhips directly to all parts of the world, and to encourage her fisheries in every fea. From thefe fources fhe may always hope to obtain a naval force adequate to guard her fhores from hoftile invafion, and to fecure her domestic felicity, both public and private, firm and unfhaken as the foundations of the island." On the other hand, fhould the wifdom and labours of fucceffive ages be rendered unavailing by the blindness and indifference of the prefent day fhould thefe boafted laws of navigation, framed for the increafe and the protection of Briush-built fhips and Britifh owners, have been enacted in vain -fhould ftrangers and foreigners be permitted to fnatch from their hands the privileges which belong, and which have been folemnly affured by the country, to British owners alone-it will be a tafk not lefs difficult than it will be melancholy, to calculate the GENT. MAG. February, 1899 mifchiefs that muft enfue to the maritime and the commercial intereft of Britain. It is with the deepest regret the fhipping intereft of this country obferve, that the fufpenfion of the navigation laws, during the last two years, has already been attended with ferious inconvenience and lofs; and they fear the continuance of it, unless thofe laws are again fpeedily permitted to have their free and natural operation; and if by new regulations, or by any further relaxation of the prefent navigation laws, new and foreign competi tors fhould be admitted to fhare in the advantages refulting from them, they apprehend that the maritime fpi rit of the country will decline-that the capital of British owners will lie unemployed, or be employed ufeleffly while the shipping of Great Britain will lie rotting in her harbours, and her feamen emigrate to foreign countries in fearch of employment; it is therefore, particularly at this time, the intereft of Great Britain, and the duty of her government, to encourage her maritime purfuits. The events of the late war fhew, that many nations look with a jealous eye on the fuperiority we have gained by our carrying trade, and that they are ready to ufe every effort to participate in the benefits of our navigation, and to rival us, if poffible, on our native element. To counteract these efforts with fuccefs, we must not lofe the recollection that without an extenfive naval cómmerce, carried on in British bottoms, we can neither rear nor retain our feamen, the grand fupport of our prefent pre-eminence; nor preferve our country from falling even below the level of furrounding nations. Impreffed with thefe fentiments, and in order more effectually to protect the fhipping interest of Great Britain, and to prevent any infringement of of the navigation laws as now establifhed, it is moft feriously recommended to the owners of British-built fhips to form an affociation for the purpofe of preferving thofe rights, which the Legislature has, in its wil dom, been pleafed to confer on them * Since the publication of thele oblervations, an affo:iation has been entered into by feveral respectab'o fhip-owners 'in London; and which has been adopted at fome of the out-ports. exclufively; |