one great part of the North American's complaint; that is, to find a market for their lumber : application fhall be made to parliament to obtain a bounty to encourage the importation of their lumber into this kingdom, which would prevent our taking it from Norway, encourage navigation, and it would go in aid to the payment of their debts here; and as to their want of rum and molaffes, the Granades will be fome immediate fupply, and the other conquered islands an increafing one;

and both a market for their provifions.

But every North American would furely deteit the diabolical trade with the French islands, if the duty on fuch French productions fhould be appropriated to the keeping and maintaining among them a ftanding army, whereby their useful husbandmen would be turned into foldiers. For these reasons, I think, we ought unanimoufly to declare against any trade from North America to the French islands. I am, Your's

over one of the volumes of your Magazine, I met with an article that engaged my attention in a particular manner; I mean remarks upon the fpirit of laws, in which the futility of the celebrated Monf. de Montefquicu in affigning Fear, Virtue, and Honour, as the principles of the three different forms of government, is put in the ftrongeft light. Indeed, as the words Virtue and Honour have a different fignification in the mouth of almost every man that pronounces them, to call them the principles of certain forms of government, is altogether inconfiftent with found philofophy; and when falfe principles are laid down, all the deductions of reafon derived from them muft be fufpicious.

As fo great an author as Monf. de Montefquieu had failed in an attempt to trace out the principles of the three forms of government, for me to afpire to the difcovery may appear prefumptuous; however, as I think I have made it by a fudden thought, in the fame manner as the compafs was found out, and indeed moft great difcoveries made, I fhall beg leave to communicate it to the public thro'

have been fuccessfal, it will doubtlefs be acceptable to your readers, if the contrary, the difficulty of the undertaking will, in fome measure, excuse my ill fuccefs, and magna tamen excidit audis, will be faid in mitigation of my temerity, as it was in the cafe of Phaeton.

In every government there is a defpotic power fomewhere; for when a government ceafes to have power to enforce the execution of its laws, it may properly be faid to be diffolved. It is the manner in which this power is placed which makes the difference between the different forms of government; when it is entirely in the hands of a fingle perfon, as it is in most parts of Afia, the government is defpotic; when it is intrufted to one perfon, but not without limitations and reftriction, as is the cafe in France, and ftill more in England, the government is monarchical; when it is diftributed in different portions to several perfons, in fuch a manner that no perfon in the state is fo powerful as not to have an equal, the government is republican.

This being premifed, the bufiness is to determine the principle of each form,

form, that is, what is it that characterifes each, and makes it effentially different from the reft; what is it that influences a people to adopt and retain any one particular form of government in preference to all others? In order to elucidate this fubject, I must repeat what I mentioned before, that the fource of all government is fuperiority of power. After having long meditated upon this fubject, it appears to me, that all the fuperioity that one human being can have over another, may be reduced to one or other of these three articles, name ly, fuperiority of bodily ftrength, fuperiority of beauty, and fuperiority of understanding; and these three articles, I apprehend, to be the foundation of the feveral forms of government; fuperior bodily frength is the bafis of the defpotic, fuperior beauty of the monarchical, and fuperior understanding of the republican. This may at firft fight appear fomewhat paradoxical, but I doubt not but I fhall be able to prove it to the fatisfaction of every reader.

page to a flation in which he ruled the whole nation, and even the King himself. In delpotic tates, beauty or perfonal qualifications give liule diftinction to those who poffefs them, and neither retard nor accelerate the motion of the wheels of government. A barbous Turk or Tartar, by excelling in warlike prowefs and bodily ftrength, is railed to the royal dignity by the banditti, whom he helped to difcipline and train to arms, fabdues the nations all around, and governs them according to the imperious diftates of his will; his fubjects, like his foldiers, have no other law but his command, a fuperior force is always ready at his nod, and his arbitrary decifions admit of no controul.

In a

In the Afiatic governments, which make the nearest approach to defpotifm, for, as Monf. de Monte!quieu justly obferves, a compleat defpotifm never had any existence, women are fhut up in feraglios, and being reduced to the condition of flaves, can have no influence in the ftate. monarchy like that of France, beauty confers power on its poffeffor; war or peace is often made, armies march, Aeets fail, and the most im portant affairs are determined by the capricious will of a miftrefs or a favorite. Though the English monarchs make a near approch to the republican form. Queen Anne's transferring her affection from the Duchefs of Marlborough to Mrs. Maham, put an end to a war at a time that there was the greatest apparent reafon for continuing it; and in the reign of James the First, the great perfonal beauty of George Villars, occafioned his being raifed from a

In fuch a government, there is nothing to temper or mitigate the difpofition, no qualifications are valaed, but thofe that depend on bones and finews; there is no room for favour or application, they are not to be foftened by the allurements of the fair fex, his wives he treats as his flaves, they are fhut up in a feraglio, and guarded like prifoners by eunuchs, the outcasts of human kind. It feems probable, that if the women were fet at liberty in Turkey, Perfia, and other regi ons of the Eaft, the goveraments of thofe countries would be foon new modelled, and reduced to the form of an European monarchy. That the confinement of women is in a great measure the caufe of the abandoned difpofition that obtained in the Eat, is evident from this circumftance, that amongst the ftates of Europe, thofe are the freeft where the women are under leaft restraint. Thus we find, that the Spanish m narchy comes much nearer to a defpotifm than that of France; and in Spain the women are treated much in the fame manner as in the East; the Duennas of Spain are as watchful as the eunuchs of Afta, whilit the women of France a e indulged

mo

Bellfield,

Blunt,

Wifely,

La Jeuneffe,

Crib,

Brazen,

Hortenfia, Lucinda,

Mr. Smith.
Mr. Clarke,
Mr. Rofs.
Mr. Holtom.
Mr. Coftollo.
Mr. Cushing.
Mrs. Ward.
Mifs Elliot,

The Scene WINDSOR,

THE moral tendency of this comedy is, to inculcate that the want of difcretion, and a due restraint upon a man's own thoughts concerning his affairs and projects in life, will, for the moft part, be attended with difappointment, and in general with ridiculous embarrassments. To throw this doctrine into an action resembling human life, and to enforce it more by example than precept, the following dramatic fory has been formed by the poet.

CARELESS, Who has ever been impotent of fpeech, and is fenfible that his propenfity to talk of his own fecrets has frequently thwarted his best concerted schemes, fets out in the opening of the play with an acknowledgment of his former errors, and boafts to his friend Blunt, who gives him friendly advice, that he is now become a new man, and has attained a proper referve in relation to his own bufinefs. His character, however, is unfolded by degrees, and it is plain that whatever fecrets he has, are Aill labouring for a vent. In confequence of this rooted habit of communicating every thing, his private defigns all come out, one after January, 1764.

the other. Blunt imagined that Careless was to be married to Lucinda; but to fhew that he can keep a fecret, the latter tells his friend that he had no fuch defign for fome time; that he is to be married to another; but fecrecy is fo requifite, that he will not reveal any thing more. His fancy then dwells with plea fure upon the idea of this new project; and in proportion as he is delighted with it, we fee him ftruggling to keep the fecret, and itching to gratify his talkative difpofition, At length it burfts out from him that the widow Hortenfia is the perfon. Hortenfia is remarkable for prudence, and, it seems, hast broke off feveral matches, because her lover had made her the towntalk.

Careless then mentions the abfolute neceffity of being cautious, and entreats Blunt to be upon his guard. Blunt fteps into the next room to write a letter, while Carelefs is employed with his peruke-maker and taylor from London. With these fellows he enters into conversation relative to his marriage; speaks difrefpectfully of Lucinda, and is upon the point of difcovering his contract with the widow, when the return of Blunt prevents him. To them foon enters Wifely, who is in love with Hortenfia; but knowing her character, and being of a referved turn himfelf, he has hitherto loved her in fecret.

Careless had juft found a letter from Hortenfia, which through inadvertency he knew not what he had done with, when Wifely entered the room. Notwithstanding all Blunt's remonftrances, he perfifts to read it