THE BRITISH COLONIES. 261 



sions, or as regards that on our colonies in the Atlantic ; but this we 

 may affirm with the most perfect safety that these two volumes are 

 the most ample in their information of any which have ever come 

 under our notice. We will say more, especially with regard to that 

 which relates to the West Indies, that we have derived as much in- 

 formation from the volumes before us, as from all the works taken 

 together on the same subjects which have previously fallen into our 

 hands. 



Mr. Martin's plan is in a great measure original ; at least it is, so 

 far as we are aware, with regard to the Colonies. Instead of weary- 

 ing the reader with tedious historical accounts, the one half of which 

 in the case of most barbarous, or at least but semi-civilized countries, 

 must be no better than mere romance, he occupies his pages with 

 facts and figures, which are not only stern things, but which in this 

 case come home with a greater or less degree of force to every man's 

 business and bosom ; for which of us are not either directly or in- 

 directly interested in our colonial possessions. The quantity of in- 

 formation on every conceiveable topic of importance connected with 

 the Indies, which is scattered throughout these volumes, is immense, 

 and could only have been acquired after many months, years, we will 

 add, of unwearied and most diligent research. Mr. Martin's work 

 might with very great propriety have been entitled " An Encyclo- 

 paedia of the British Colonies ;" a title which would have given a 

 much more accurate idea of the variety of its contents than that 

 which the author has chosen. By the way, we may as well mention, 

 in order that our readers may have a better'idea of the nature of Mr. 

 Martin's work, that the plan, in a great measure, resembles that which 

 is usually adopted in Encyclopaedias in giving an account of any 

 country a plan which, unquestionably, for purposes of utility, is 

 far preferable to that of the ordinary formal historical manner. 



But while we are thus loud in our praises of the excellencies of the 

 volumes before us, we must not shut our eyes to their defects. In 

 some instances, the style might have been improved ; and in others, 

 there might have been a happier arrangement or classification of the 

 matter. These are the only faults we find in the work : a sense of 

 justice to the public, induces us to point them out ; and Mr. Mar- 

 tin, we are sure, will think more highly of our commendation, from 

 the circumstance of its not being indiscriminate. 



It is strange enough, that, in an age when both authors and pub- 

 lishers are racking their brains to discover something new in the way 

 of publication, no one should before now have hit on the happy idea 

 of a " History of the British Colonies." We have Histories of Eng- 

 land and of Scotland separately, and also conjointly, in abundance ; 

 and we have detached works on the various colonies without number ; 

 but a corrected and comprehensive history of all our colonial pos- 

 sessions is what we have never had. We trust Mr. Martin will, with 

 his usual unweariedness, prosecute his arduous undertaking, until 

 the desideratum be supplied ; and the public, we are sure, will join 

 with us in congratulating him on the completion of so Herculean a 

 task. 



We have not much space for quotation, though the volumes before 



M.M. No. 105. 2 M 



