including its new limits, possessing three milliards of livres in coin, should not endeavour to augment this sum, while an adjoining state, possessing only two milliards should double that sum, this thriving state would become richer than France by one fourth part; might on occasion exert superior means of attack and defence, and might, especially, by the high price which it could afford to pay, deprive France of those commodities, the productions of foreign parts, which circumstances rendered indispensably necessary. The difference of the balance of trade is paid ultimately in the precious metals; this payment is indicated by the course of exchange: if this is against France, she is debtor: a few exceptions rather establish the general application of this rule, than destroy it. It is therefore of the utmost importance, that Government should be informed of the true state of the exchange, and the causes of its variations, and should use its efforts to direct them constantly to the advantage of the state.

By this method, England and Holland have acquired a distinction which nature had denied them, but which their industry has effected. In those countries the state of exchange is regarded as an important department of the public administration; those who are in olice never forget that their measures ought not to fail of those results which they consider as important, and they study them even in their manner of paying those subsidies which they furnish to their allies.

In Holland, and at Hamburgh, France regulates its accounts with the north of Europe: is the exchange against us in those marts? what is the cause of this disadvantage? It was formerly otherwise.

The great increase of our naval power requires more timber, and more cordage: their price is higher than formerly. Ought we to continue our purchases in order to prevent our rivals from procuring on too favourable terms what they stand in need of, or ought we to procure from our own forests those supplies which now we import, and encourage the cultivation of hemp on our own soil? Are the productions of our own growth equal in quality to what we purchase abroad?

Sweden furnishes us copper; have we no mines which could supply this article? We purchase also Swedish iron; is not the iron of the ci-devant Berry equally good? If it cost somewhat more, ought we not to consider the higher price as compensated by the advantage of giving employment to our own citizens, and thereby of retaining our coin within ourselves? We formerly furnished colonial productions to the north of Europe; now we go there to fetch them; while our political situation forbids us from cultivating those possessions which produce them, why should

we not offer to neutral powers those advan. tages which by inducing them to frequent our ports, may relieve us from paying in addition to the value of the commodiues, the expenses not only of brokerage, but of a second voyage?

We formerly exported the productions of our industry to the north; the vessels which now come to us from thence, return in ballast, formed often of our precious metals; why do not our manufacturers direct their labours to such articles as might please those people, who are still partial to us? What goods do they prefer ? -can we not imitate, or even surpass them? Our fashions were formerly sought after in those countries; by what means may we enable them to regain their ascendancy? Holland lends us its capital : but why have we recourse to such torrowings?

Are the reciprocal exchanges with the Levant against us? Why have they changed their former character? The ci-devant Languedoc sent thither formerly cloths to the amount of more than 50 millions of livres, which were consumed in the Ottoman dominions; what power has deprived us of this profitable market? Colbert had wrested it from Holland; who has now scized it? Why have our manufactures suspended their intercourse with most of the factories? Have our agents lost that confidence which formerly they enjoyed in transacting business?

Do

Have the inhabitants on the shores of the Bosphorus been deceived? Let the public authority re-establish those regulations which formerly gave us a constant superiority. our rivals better understand the taste of their customers? How may we in our turn give them satisfaction? Do foreign dealers vend their productions cheaper? Let us be instructed by what means they accomplish

this.

Our relations with Spain are advantageous: but is it not in respect to exchange rather in appearance than in reality?

Are the advantages which result from our intercourse with America, reciprocal? Do their vessels quit our ports loaded with our merchandize, as they enter them heavily laden with their own ?

Our industry and manufactures have not been able to maintain the contest with those who borrowing capitals at 5 per cent. deliver their commodities 10, 12, and 15 per cent. cheaper than ours.

The fatal increase of luxury, and the increasing dearness of articles of consumption, have not been in France consequences of a larger circulating nedium, which always contribute to diminish its value; but effects of the sales of those valuable decorations which formerly belonged to opulent families; and

of a desire more general and extended than formerly for articles of pure superfluity.

With a kind of fury, the French people, quitting those employments which confer distinction only, throw themselves into those that promise wealth; and rush into the profession of agent, banker, merchant, manufacturer, or speculator. We have seen so many shops and warehouses opened that we may say, there are more dealers than purchasers; more places of public resort, such as coffee-houses, in a single street, than there formerly were in the whole city; more clerks than letters to be written; more brokers at the Exchange than

transfers to be made.

Whatever advantages we might derive from our national industry;-You destroy those advantages; you, who, undervaluing all the useful classes, esteem only idlers, parasites; and surround yourselves only with their inutility, you, trangomanes, who only commend as handsome what is brought you from a distance, who are vain of your furnitures bought of our enemies, and take a pride in your connections with them, as if they were the most honourable; you, pompous cits, of the lower classes, who despising the potteries of our own manufacture, amass those metals in your dining-rooms of which you deprive the circulation; you, French wonen, who domincer over the fashions of our neighbours, yet at the same time set no value on your own dresses, unless they have been woven on the banks of the Ganges; who think yourselves not protected from the inclemency of the seasons, unless they be trimmed with ermine and sable, or the hammer-cloths of your equipapes are Siberian bear skins; who think yourselves decently clad only when wrapped in Cashinire shawls of the most grotesque patterns, while our own manufactures offer you the chefs-d'œuvres of human industry; you, above all, destroy these advantages, you, detestable smugglers, who seduce by a few ounces of silver those wretches who risque their lives and their liberty to effect the introduction of prohibited articles, and who, in your warehouses, decorated most elegantly with foreign productions, introduce our own with expressions of contempt, but are voluble in commendation of whatever has been bought of

our rivals.

We are somewhat mistaken if this work had not other sanction than that of its ostensible author, and other purposes to answer than those dependent on calculations of interest, remittances, and agencies. The description it presents of the difficulties under which the commerce of France labours, and is likely to labour, will not surprise any intelligent Briton who knows how wain it is to expect that commerce should flourish by the exportation of manufactures

on one side only. This jealously of receiving the productions of others while she endeavours to force the sale of her own, per fas et nefas, restrains the commerce of France to its present disadvantageous condition. When she shall be willing to act with equity and probity, to give and take, to admit into her ports, those articles which others may wish to exchange for her productions, as she also exchanges her productions for the commodi

ties of other countries :-When a more

liberal spirit shall animate her rulers, and principles of good faith shall be established in immoveable supremacy throughout her government, and among her merchants, then may she hope for that favourable turn in the course of her exchange, which till that period, every writer in her pay may labour in vain to effect. Till then, visionary, merely visionary are her expectations of any great accessions to her SHIPS, COLONIES and COMMERCE!

A Voyage to Cochin China, in the Years 1792, 1793. Containing a general View of the valuable Productions and political Importance of that flourishing Kingdom, &c. To which is annexed an Account of a Journey in 1801, 1802, to the Residence of the Chief of the Booshuana Nation, being the remotest Point in the Interior of Southern Africa to which Europeans have penetrated. By John Barrow, Esq. F. R. S. qto. pp. 450. Price £3. 13s. 6d. Cadell and Davies, 1806.

MR. BARROW is already well known to the public, by his travels in Southern Africa, and his voyage to China. The former were undertaken by command of the government, at the Cape of Good Hope; the latter was performed in the embassy which accompanied Lord Macartney to the Court of Pekin. The favourable reception of both these works, which we perused with pleasure long ago, contributed, we suppose, to promote the appearance of the present volume. In size, subject, and execution, it forms a proper companion to them.

The author has not merely given a journal of his voyage, and of the events which occurred in its course; but has dis tinguished himself as a man of observation, and has thrown out a variety of suggestions intended for the advantage of his country. We do not affirm, that no part

of his reasoning is unexceptionable, but we freely acknowledge our obligations to him; and confess that his volume abounds with proofs of sound judgement, and vigorous understanding: with novelty, amusement, and information.

The track pursued by the little squadron charged with the British embassy to China, was nearly coincident with that usually adopted by our Indiamen: from England to Madeira, and Teneriffe, to Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope, the Straits of Sunda, Batavia, and from thence to China: avoiding, however, in this instance Canton, and landing at a port much nearer to Pekin.

Without attempting a particular analysis of this work: we shall insert for public benefit a selection of passages which may enable our readers to estimate the consideration due to the labours of Mr. Barrow. If we cannot on every subject regard them as complete, yet we consider their author as much more deserving of commendation, for what he has communicated, than of censure for deficiencies, which, whatever be our wishes, his insufficient opportunities forbad him the means of supplying.

The Island of Madeira is so well known, that we shall merely state the proportion of its exports taken by different countries:

very few, perhaps not more than a dozen on the whole island.

A very interesting description of Rio de Janeiro, is given by Mr. B. He has also favoured us with a plan of the harbour, and two views of the coast around the town. From the present state of public report, we attach uncommon importance to these documents, and shall transcribe a part of their contents.

The first remarkable object after passing Cape Frio, is a gap or rent in the verdant ridge of mountains which skirts the sea-coast. This chasm appears from a distance, like a narrow portal between two cheeks of solid stone. The cheek on the left or western side, is a solid stone of a sugar loaf form. A sold mass

of hard sparkling granite, 680 feet high above the surface out of which it rises. The opposite check is of the same material; but has a regu lar and easy slope from the water's edge to the summit.

A little island strongly fortified, just within the entrance, contracts the passage to the width of about three-fourths of a mile. Having cleared this channel, one of the most magnificent scenes in nature bursts upon the enraptured eye. Let any one imagine to himself an immense sheet of water running back into the heart of a beautiful country, to the distance of about thirty miles, where it is bounded by a screen of lofty mountains, always majestic, whether their rugged and shapeless summits are tinged with azure or purple, or buried in the clouds. Let him imagine this sheet of water gradually to expand, from the narrow portal through which it communicates with the sea, to the width of twelve or fourteen miles, to be every where studded with innumerable little islands, scattered over its surface in every diversity of shape, and exhibiting every variety of trait that an exuberant and incessant vegetation is capable of affording. Let him conceive the shores of these islands to be so fringed with fragrant and beautiful shrubs, not planted by man, but scattered by the easy and liberal hand of nature, as completely to be concealed in their verdant covering. Let him figure to himself this beautiful sheet of water, with its numerous islands, to be encompassed on every side by hills of a moderate height, rising in gradual succession above each other, all profusely clad in lively green, and crowned with groupes of the noblest trees, while thei shores are indented with numberless inlets, shooting their arms across the most delightful their waters into the vast and common reservallies, to meet the murmuring rills, and bear

voir of all. In short, let him imagine to himself a succession of Mount Edgecumbes to be continued along the shores of a magnificent lake, not less in circuit than a hundred miles; and having placed these in a climate where

The town of Rio, or, to speak with becoming dignity of the capital of the Brazils, the city of St. Sebastian, is charmingly situated, on a projecting quadrangular promontory, of an irregular form, three of whose sides are opposed to the harbour, and the fourth sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds by a screen of high hills well covered with wood. The side of the town, which is next to that part of the harbour where the shipping usually lie at anchor, is nearly a mile and a half in length; and the depth inwards about threefourths of a mile. The northern angle of the promontory is a bold broken eminence, on one point of which there is a regular fortification, and on the other a convent of Benedictine monks, which, being also surrounded with lines of defence, is actually, as well as metaphorically, a church militant. The heights completely command the town, and the anchorage; and they appear to command also, at least they are on a level with, the strongest work in the harbour, on which the defence of the place is thought principally to depend. This is the Ilha dos Cobras, or Snake Island, a rock of about eighty feet high at the point on which the citadel stands, and slanting to eight at the opposite end; its length is 300 yards; and it is detached by a narrow but very deep channel from the eminence on which the Benedictine convent is situated. Round every side of this strongly fortified island, and close to its shores, ships of the greatest draught of water may lie in perfect security. Here also are a commodious dockyard, an arsenal of naval stores, a sheer hulk, and a wharf for heaving down and careening shipping. The largest fleets, however, may anchor in this capacious harbour, intirely out of the reach of any of the guns that are mounted on the forts.

The government allows no stranger to remain on shore after sun-set: nor even to walk the street in the day-time, without a soldier at his heels. Though the sun was nearly vertical, yet the heat was not insupportable. Thermometer in the day from 76 to 84° of Fahrenheit. The nights were most disagreeable; and the torment occasioned by insects, especially the musquito, was intolerable. The state of manners is extremely lamentable. Mr. B. abandons the gentlemen to unqua

lified censure; but he endeavours to vindicate the ladies; nevertheless, if the testimony of their confessors may be taken as evidence, the gallantry of Mr. B. is more conspicuous than his success in this attempt. The political speculations of our author, incline to the opinion, that the Portuguese Brazilians are discontented, and would without much reluctance hazard the interruption of their present tranquillity, in hopes of those improvements in their circumstances which might be promised them by an enterprising revolutionist, of popular manners and address, and derived from among their European ancestry.

How far the exactions and monopolies of the mother country might justify such an extremity, we give no opinion; but we may safely affirm, that a more liberal policy in Portugal, as a mother country, towards its colonies, would find an ample reward in their prosperity, which would ultinately centre in itself.

The native Brazilians maintain a vio lent antipathy to the Portuguese. Brazil affords an inexhaustible supply of the finest timber, suitable for all the purposes of civil and naval architecture: and ships equal in size to an English 74 gun ship, have been built in the country. We learn also that

In addition to the timber for naval purposes, which every where abounds, the forests of the Brazils supply a number of valuable woods for dyeing, as the Casalpina Braziliensis or Brazilletta, the Hæmatoxylum Campechianum or logwood, and the Morus Tinctoria or fustic wood, all of which, however, are royal monopolies. Of medicinal plants they have the bark, the jalap, the ipecacuanna root, the palma christi, and many others, with a great variety of odoriferous plants, and trees that yield turpentine, gums, and resins. Tobacco and pepper may be cultivated to any extent, and the fields and forests afford an inexhaustible supply of wax and honey. The tropical fruits of every description, whether of the castern or western hemisphere, are good in quality and abundantly plentiful. The oranges, pine apples, and mangoes are exquisite. All kinds of vegetables are plentiful. The fish market is well supplied.

The town and district of Rio de Janeiro is not favourable to "an apparent vigour of health!"

The account given by Mr. B. of the "labours of the table," at Batavia, is extremely amusing: and contributes to explain the reasons of that excessive waste

of life for which this city is famous. The number of inhabitants within the walls is 5,270. And, including the adjoining vil lages, about 150,000. But the total population within the extent of the government of Batavia is reckoned at 115,000 souls; that of all the Dutch settlements en Java, collectively, at 230,000, that of the whole island is guessed at 2,000,000. The mortality is about 4000 per annum at Batavia. A detachment of Wirtemburgh troops in 1791 consisting of six officers and 270 men, lost in one year five officers and 150 privates.

At the period of Mr. B's. visit the government in Cochin China, was in a very unsettled state; and not the least interesting portion of his volume is that which narrates the history and character of its King: whose family having been driven from the throne, by an usurper, himself exiled, and during many years obliged to study concealment, yet, by wise measures, by personal valour, by indefatigable persererance, aided by good fortune, and the councils of a sagacious French missionary, with whom he had visited Europe, this prince not only regained all he had lost, but had the prospect of enlarging his dominions. While in Europe, by a treaty with France, he assigned to that politic power an establishment, which, had it succeeded, would have placed our China trade, if not our Indian empire, in great jeopardy. Such, at least, is the opinion of Mr. B. It is fit that the name of this bero, at once a sovereign, legislator, general, admiral, naval architect, and a gentleman, should be known and respected among us; it is Caun-shung. He is, in 1806, nearly fifty years of age. He venerates the character of the English: and admits our ships into his ports free of duties. He has an army of 113,000 men: a numerous navy; and 139,000 sailors and naval artificers. We must acknowledge, that his treaty with France, and the possibility of its being rendered effective under some diversity of form, together with the European science acquired by this monarch, imparts to Cochin China an importance which we had not before attributed to it.

Cochin China appears to be a plentiful Country: it lies in the direct course of our China fleets: it possesses secure and capacious harbours; capable of perfect priacy, with respect to the operations of

which they might be the scenes. The reception of the embassy was favourable, though guarded; and the visitors were entertained with music, shows, interludes, and good cheer. The manners of the people closely resemble those of the Chinese; but they seem to have more liberty in some of their principles, and more licentiousness in others. Their religious rites, their writings, and their dresses, conform to those of China.

The drudgeries of life, are laid on the women. They perform the labours of tillage: they superintend the details of commerce: they assist in constructing and keeping in repair their mud built cottages; they manage boats: manufacture earthen ware; and spin cotton wool, which they also dye and make up into dresses for themselves and their families. The beauty of the sex is mentioned in terms of contempt by our author: perhaps those of brighter complexions were less exposed to his observation. His general opinion, however, is, that "nothing met the eye which could impress the mind of a stranger with high notions of the happy condition of this people." Mr. B. has a chapter expressly on the commercial advantage derivable from an intercourse with this kingdom. He observes, that

Cochin China furnishes many valuable artieles suitable for the China market, and would open a new and very considerable vent for many of our manufactures; and its situation in the direct route from England to China is an unexceptionable consideration. The forests of Cochin China produce, for instance, a variety of scented woods, as the rose wood, eagle wood, and sandal wood; all of which are highly acceptable in the China markets, and bear most extravagant prices. The Cochin Chinese cinnamon, though of a coarse grain and a strong pungent flavour, is preferred by the Chinese to that of Ceylon. It is said to be a species of Cassia, and not of the Laurus. For rice there is a never failing demand in the populous city of Canton, and sugar and pepper are equally acceptable; all of which are most abundantly produced in the fertile vallies of Cochin China. The price of sugar at Turon was about three dollars for 133 lb.; of pepper, six or eight dollars for the same quantity, and of rice, only half a dollar. To these productions may be added the arua nut, cardamomis, ginger, and other spices; swallows' nests, which are collected in great abundance on the large cluster of islands running parallel with the coast, and known in the charts by the name of the Paracels; the Bichos do Mar, or sea-snakes,