punctuation of the characters, or in the language itself, no one could be found capable of rendering it into English. This statement, however unaccountable it may appear to many, was afterwards farther confirmed, by passports and other papers in African Arabic being sent to me for translations, the want of which had detained vessels in our ports, and caused merchants in London to suffer from a loss of markets."

An academy of commerce was instituted by the emperor Joseph II. at Vienna; at which academy the pupils were instructed in a variety of foreign languages, and in the art of drawing. Such an academy might be founded by the British government, without imposing any burthen on the public, at Malta. The whole property in this islands, formerly belonging to the knights of St. John, has devolved to the crown of Great Britain. This property might be converted into a fund for the support of proper masters, who could be procured from the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, and a certain number of scholars. In this seminary young men might be trained up to act in the capacities of consuls, commercial interpreters, and agents, and as travellers under the patronage of literary and liberal individuals or societies, for the exploration of unknown regions, and the improvement of both natural and civil history. From the islands and the countries on the Mediterranean, as well as from Great Britain and Ireland, young

men, besides those on the foundation, might be attracted to the college of Malta, so finely situated for such a rendevous, and the acquisition of the living languages facilitated by social converse among ingenious youths of different nations. If this project of a college at Malta should come under the eye, and meet with the approbation of Mr. Jackson, it would be well if he would take it up. There is no one we know of better qualified to point out its advantages, and the arrangements proper for carrying it into execution.

State of the Foreign Affairs of Great Britain for the Year 1809. By Gould Francis Leckie, Esq.

The grand political measure of opposing a kind of maritime empire to the overgrown, and still growing empire, of France, on the continent of Europe, touched on in our last article, is so ingeniously and ably recommended to the British government in the writings of Mr. Leckie, that we do not hesitate to give this small pamphlet a place among the books we have selected as favourable specimens of 1809. It exhibits a happy and rare union of patriotism, learning, genius, comprehensive views, and solid sense.* The spirit and tendency of the pamphlet is briefly stated in the conclusion:

"From all that we have hitherto experienced of the views of Buonaparté, from his undertaking and accomplishing

accomplishing what he promises, from his negotiations in Turkey and Persia, and the threat he has expressed of invading our Indian provinces, are we authorized to hold him so cheap as to feel no solicitude on the subject? We must by this time be satisfied that the means we have hitherto employed to oppose his ambition, are insufficient and nugatory; and our ministers cannot flatter themselves that by perseverance in their old maxims they can work effects contrary to those which they have over and over again experienced, and that they can still claim the confidence of the nation which they have so often disappointed.

"It is evident that the taking part with the old established governments, or the new ones that act on their principles, has only shown our ministers that they deceive themselves, while they have overlooked, in every part of the world, those materials which Buonaparté has used, and of which they would not even deign to acknowledge the existence. Will

they, after what every one knows of Turkey and Persia, disregard these facts, and take those broken and heterogeneous masses for homogeneous and integral states? Will they continue to act on this principle, and send troops and subsidies to those countries, with out being conscious that they send them to the assistance of nobody, and to attain no object but disgrace? Are they so hardened in ignorance of facts, and stupidity to events, as to be totally unable to comprehend the elements of Buonaparte's progress? Are they determined to shut their eyes against that which every one sees, and to

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defend themselves from the acknowledgment of their errors by invincible obstinacy? Are they determined to continue the war, while they reject the only obvious means by which it can be waged with success? Would it not be more consistent to recommend submission, than to deprive us both of the advantages resulting from war, and the tranquillity of peace? But they are entangled in difficulties from which they cannot extricate themselves. They see that peace and submission are synonimous terms. The bad success they have experienced makes them consider war as a dismal alternative. They have not candour enough to acknowledge their errors, and act on a better system; and they have just enough ambition to wish to keep their places. They are sensible of the disgrace which awaits their half-digested counsels, and the fear of shame has not sufficient influence over them, to induce them either to act on more rational principles, or to retire from situations to which they are unequal.

"Two lines of conduct are open before us-either we may submit to Buonaparté, and become a part of his immense empire, give up our laws and institutions, our personal freedom, the security of property, the dominion of the seas, the commerce of the world, and what is more than all, the high character we have hitherto borne as a great people, or we must contend with him in earnest, and oppose the greatness of his projects, by the magnitude of our own. continue blockading ports, taking possession of here and there a rock and a harbour, defending Spanish juntas and Sicilian trbunals,

Το

and

and pursuing other partial objects which do not for a moment arrest the progress of the enemy, nor increase our own strength, is wasting our time and resources in a feverish attempt to put off the day of our destruction a little longer. Unless we become ambitious like our enemy, unless we follow the maxims we have so much enlarged upon, we must finally submit. We

have no alternative but to increase our own empire, or become a part of that of France."

If we could yield to our inclina. tion, we would present to our readers the whole of this little treatise, without dread of being called to account by Mr. Leckie, whose views appear to be merely patriotic, for invading his literary property.