near the martial glory of Captain Pafley, let others attempt to define it. In the concluding Chapter, Captain Pafley, ftill true to his fyftem, fays, "that if we act in future with greater energy and perfeverance, Great Britain has a fufficient military force, and a favourable opportunity, for deftroying the French empire" He animadverts to the defpondency hitherto evinced in our operations by land, and to the valuable poffeffions which we have confequently abandoned without neceffity." Many unparalleled and brilliant achievements in Spain ftand on record to grace future hiftory, and to hand down to an admiring pofterity the deeds of a Wellington, the firft Captain of this or perhaps of any age. These fplendid victories evince the energy and perfeverance recommended, and hold out hopes of, at least, reducing the French empire. We truft they will convince this author, that if defpondency has exifted, it is now no more; and that, in all probability, we shall again recover (Zealand he muft mean) fuch valuable poffeffions as ought not to have been abandoned. The writer feems aware that it may be urged, that we cannot furnish troops enough to make an impreffion on the French empire; and that the enemy can oppose us in the proportion of five to one. He is of opinion, that though Buonaparté may have double the number of our army, he cannot, from financial difficulties, and a want of provisions, bring above half his army to act in the fame coun try. The French bulletins, not at all remarkable for perfpicuity or precision, describe their armies as irresistible; and yet, contrary to known facts, they always, when describing victories, ftate the French as inferior in number. To their number, combined with treachery, and the political cowardice of the continental governments, we may now fately afcribe their victories. The talents of their Generals have of late been certainly not very confpicuous. Menou was termed a stupid fellow by Regnier, because he did not destroy the English at Alexandria. Sir John Stewart taught the lat ter in Calabria, that he had little right to cenfure Menou. Buonaparté faid Soult was no General, because he did not cut the English army to pieces at Corunna. The Moniteur faid, that nothing faved Lord Wellington at Talavera but the errors of the French General Officers. We have heard and feen enough to convince us, that their Generals are less fcientific, and their foldiers lefs courageous, than our own. A turn of the revolutionary wheel has raifed the Dukes, and Counts, and prefent Marfhals of France from menial and low fituations in life to command arinies, and to defolate na tions. tions. Science cannot be acquired intuitively; there is no imperial road to it; and therefore, how fhould theie men poflefs its knowledge. The Condés, Turennes, and Markboroughs of past times, mul, in this refpect at least, be deemed their fuperiors; and we cannot have a better proof of the fact in modern times, than that the first army ever fent out from France, after boatings abroad, and prophecies at home, that we fhould be driven into the fea or on board of our fhips, has been actually most difgracefully expelled out of Portugal, and, will be out of Spain if we vigorously perfevere in the glorious conteft. Buonaparte tells us, that the time for oppofing him is gone by. This really means that it is arrived, and his fears and anxiety are ftrongly betrayed by the very expreffion. He tells us ufeful truths, which we muft profit by, as they bear precifely on the expected con*teft between France and Ruflia. He faid, that thirty or forty thousand men would have ruined him when he was encountering the Ruffians on the,banks of the Viftula; and that infead of athiling our allies, we were occupied in infular and colonial conquefts. He tells us, that the army fent to Walcheren to take a few fhips could not poffibly have been worle or more difadvantageously, employed; that had this force been fent to Spain, it might have decided the conteft; and that even in Germany or in Italy, a well-timed expedition might have injured him ferioully. Fas eft ab hefte doceri with a vengeance. Captain Paley, after mentioning the frength of the various branches of our forces, ftates our disposable army at 120,000, which he thinks may be employed on conftant fervice against the enemy, without the fmalleft danger to our fafety at home or in our colonies. The author takes a rapid view of our fucceffes and conquefts, with a defign of pointing out our folly in not retaining fome or all of them; and this, he terms our evacuating fyftem, which he ridicules with equal force and truth. He inftances the offenfive operations of the Carthaginians and Venetians 10 illuftrate his former propofition, that "a feeble martial policy is by no means a necellaty concomitant of commerce.' The attack and deftruction of all our enemies is the reiterated and favourite topic of this fpirited author, whofe concluding fentence promifes gratitude and applaufe which we now ought to feel and offer, looking at recent transactions. "To the merits of thofe ftatefmen" [and moft deeply do we lament the untimely fate of one of the beft of men and ableft of ftatefmen]" and Generals amongst us who fhall have been the first to adopt, and to perfevere in, this falutary fyftem, the grati tude tude of nations and the applalife of pofterity will do ample juftice." The ftyle of the work is energetic, animated, and flowing; but fome of the chapters are tedious and diffufe. Without any injury to the interefts of the fubject, the work might have been reduced, and the fubftance condenfed to two-thirds of its prefent, volume. The author's zeal to maintain and eftablish his politions has frequently led him into repetitions of the fame arguments, varioufly modified and put, but not adding materially to the conviction already produced in the mind of the reader. The vigorous martial policy we have feen frongly recommended in a military work publifhed in 1807; but as the fubject was confined there, neceffarily, to the limits of the preface, it was briefly treated. We are glad to find fo highly interesting a fubject taken up by the prefent well-informed writer. We hope that when he comes to handle the remaining part, he will ftrongly recommend the inflitution of a Board of Tactics and of Military Profefforfhips in every University, as a certain means of eftablishing and diffeminating what is now indifpenfable knowledge, that of warfare and military policy. To Captain Pafley the gratitude of his country is due, for having, at an eventful and awful period, taught this nation to think of itself as it onght. He has ably made out his pofition, that not to be conquered, we must conquer. Antiquated fyftems of military policy are no longer applicable to exifting circumstances. They are fuperfeded by a work where genius and patriotifm are happily united. That ftatesmen will duly appreciate the labours of this enlightened writer we doubt not, and that his precepts may aid them in fecuring independence and national profperity is our fervent wish. * ART. X. Sermons preached on public Occafions, Sc. &e. (Concluded from our last, p. 513,) THE HE fecond volume of this publication is only an Appendix to the firft, and comprises but eleven articles, intended to illuftrate certain paffages in the Sermons. The After the first half of this Review went to prefs, we had the fatisfaction of being credibly informed, that the Ministry, of which Mr. Perceval was the head, with a magnanimity highly. honourable to them, had communicated with Captain Pafley, with, a view of carrying into effect fuch of his plans as might be found practicable. We are convinced that the reader will be much grarified by this information. firft firft of these is on the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables, concerning infolvent debtors, in which the author appears irrefragably to maintain the fact afferted in the Sermon, that the unfortunate debtor might be legally torn limb from limb to fatisfy his unrelenting creditor." This, it is well known, had been denied by fome eminent jurists, particularly our eminent Dr. John Taylor, the editor of Demofthenes; but the argument for the literal interpretation of the law feems too ftrong to be refifted. We find here an important correction of Gibbon, in whofe note 178, on his 44th chapter, (vol. 8.) Favonius is mentioned as one of the authorities for this law; but he meant doubtless, as Dr. V. fuggefts, Favorinus, who is introduced by A. Gellius as declaring his opinion on the fubject. The fecond article of this Appendix is an acute argument to prove, that a republican government would never be permanently established in France. As this was written and * published before the laft change took place, the author must be allowed the full credit for his fagacity, in fo determining a queftion at that time undecided. He argues chiefly from the local fituation of the country, and the long experience of the peculiar character of the French people afforded by history. The third article, and the longeft, is on the much-agitated CATHOLIC QUESTION. This is not, like the preceding, a note on the text of the first volume, but is the fubftance of a fpeech delivered by the author on a public occafion, at the Town-hall in Reading, and is itself illuftrated by very copious notes. Dr. Valpy here appears as a zealous, and, to fay the truth, an able and eloquent advocate for the Roman Catholics, earnestly defirous to give them all the power and influence to which they have been long afpiring, under the artful and delufive name of emancipation*, That the fpeech had the effect of bringing over the majority of a mixed and not very profound affembly, to the opinion of the orator, isnot to be wondered; but we must beg to be excufed if, after having long and anxiously viewed the subject in all its bearings, we cannot fo eafily yield our affent. The Doctor attempts, in a note at page 89, to justify the ufe of this term, alledging that it has no reference to flavery. But mancipium furely means a flave; and it may be remembered, that the term was firft applied to the Romanifts after the difcuffions on the emancipation of the Negroes, and was evidently intended to fuggeft that the Papifts in Ireland were in a ftate fomething fimilar, at leaft, to them. The The first point urged by Dr. V. is, that "the tenets of the Catholics are mifunderflood, and their principles mifreprefented." * "From a long and near acquaintance with the Catholics" he fays "I can confidently affert this. Their tenets are misunder. ftood. It is true that in the formation of many creeds ftrong denunciations of reprobation are used against those who diffent from them, in order to fix the wavering and to check the natural tendency to innovation: but the Catholics of the present time are taa liberal, and too enlightened, to harbour thefe uncharitable exclufions." P. 71. That a great part of the Catholic nobility and gentry are thus liberal and enlightened we can very readily believe. But that their priefls are little if at all more liberal than they : were at the Council of Trent, (though they may be more enlightened) we know from the declarations of Dr. Troy, Dr. Milner and others, concerning the immutability of their tenets. Liberality is eafy to thofe whofe religion fits light upon them, as is the cafe with a large part, perhaps a majority, of the laity under all perfuafions: but by the very nature of the Romish ecclefiaftical power, the opinions of the laity muft ultimately return to thofe of the Church, whatever deviations they may have made; and all their deviations into liberality must be renounced as errors, before falvation can or will be promised by the priest. Dr. V. continues to argue for his point on the grounds of liberality, of policy, and even of Chriftianity. To prove the iHiberality with which the Catholics are treated, he gives in the notes an abftract of the penal laws against them in our ftatutes. Was it then illiberality in our ancestors which produced thofe ftatutes? or was it not rather felf-defence? It has been proved by various ftatefmen, from Lord Burghley downwards, that all the feverities exercifed against them were for treason and difaffection, not for religion: and though that law against them by which they were excluded from the two houses of Parliament was paffed, as Dr. V. juflly obferves, "while the ferment of Oates's plot was at the higheft,' (p. 112.) yet it was continued at the Revolution, and, in the 7 and 8 of William 3, it was followed up by another statute difqualifying them from voting at elections. The truth is, * We use Catholics as he does, as a convenient and not reproachful term, but by no means allowing that their faith is fo truly CATHOLIC as our own. that |