182]. J 



Critical Notices of Books of the Munth. 



75 



bo imputed. The Bishop of Calcutta has 

 laboured with mueh ability to impress the 

 propriety of Siinctioning a project of educa- 

 tion to this end. He recommends that some 

 of tha half caste descripliou be employed as 

 schoolmasters. But though muuy able cha- 

 racters of this species have appeared in In- 

 dia, they have always been excluded from 

 the civil and military services, it is now 

 allowed that uuaided by some regular plan, 

 such as the Bishop of Calcutta has laid 

 down, the missionary cause may be laboured 

 on inadequately forceuturies. Colonel Mac- 

 donald adds his testimouy to this iiiipovtant 

 fact, and sufficiently proves that the perma- 

 nent security and stability of British power 

 depends on the establishment of Christianity 

 iu India. 



The Dejeune, or Companion for the Break- 

 fast Tal)le, Vol I. consists of light diurnal 

 essays published under this title, which hiive 

 at length reached the size and form of a vo- 

 lume. The literary morceaus thus furnished 

 to the table of taste, constitute a very agree- 

 able addition to the slock of amusement de- 

 rived from the imitators of the Taller and its 

 kindred publications. The authors, who 

 have written under the quaint title of the 

 Dejeune (half French, half Knglish) have kept 

 before th?m (he best standards of composi- 

 tion, and iu many instances their lucubra- 

 tions entitle the writers to very high praise 

 as essayist^ and delineators of human man 

 ners. An abundance of wit, information on 

 almost all the topics and ways of life, a 

 knowledge of all the haunts of character, and 

 B happy talent for humourous description, are 

 Indispensible togive the preserving charms of 

 novelty and interest to such fugitive produc- 

 tions. The collection before us has consi- 

 derable merit in this respect: there is much 

 to entertain as well as to inform in it ; but 

 there are articles which might have been 

 omitted from thair temporary character or 

 jiersonal allusion. These however are few — 

 they are tha " evil results of a daily pro- 

 duction," and form but a slight drawback 

 from the well-founded claims to approbation 

 which the work in g,-;n8ral possesses. 



Es.mgs on Money, E.cchanoes and Poli- 

 Heal Economy, (fc.by Henry James, Esq. 

 forms a work of peculiar value and useful- 

 ness at the presnit moment. It displays an 

 intimate acquaintance with that branch of 

 political and commsrcial scien^-e which re- 

 lates to money and paper currency, and ex- 

 hibits in a concise and lucid manner the cause 

 of the fluctuation in prices, and of th-^ depre- 

 ciation in the value of property of late years. 

 The measures hitherto adopted by ministers 

 have been of the must inconsistent kind : in 

 many cases they have been marked by in- 

 justice as well as impolicy, such as attempt- 

 ing to relieve one class of the community at 

 the expense of another, and arbitrarily on- 

 dMavouring to regulate the wages of labour. 

 The forced attempt unnaturally to hold up 

 [irices in a time of peace to th(^ level of war 

 prices, in money ut 50 per cent, increased 



value, is very properly viewed by the author 

 of these essays as a principal cause of the 

 stagnation of trade, and the ruin and misery 

 of thousands. How many have been totally 

 ruined by the weight of taxation pressing 

 upon them iu an increased ratio on all the 

 necessaries of life! Mr. James has many 

 excellent remarks on the present system of 

 government and literature of the country, 

 and his work is elucidated by tables of com- 

 parative value, wbich must be of use to those 

 who are desirous of becoming acquainted 

 wKli the history of our currency. 



Anti-Sceptiti^m, or an Inquiry into the 

 Katurc and Philosophy o/Lanyuaye, as con- 

 nected teith the. Sacred Scriptures, has a 

 philosophical as w ell as pious object in view, 

 and the discussions which it contains on the 

 principles of language, the progressive state of 

 tiie human faculties, and the reasoning with 

 respect to the doctrine of the scriptures, 

 agree with the best authorities. The work is 

 of an able, though mixed description, and 

 may prove of much utility. 



yl P'ieic of the Intellecfwal Powers of 

 Man, withohsenationson their cultivniion, 

 adapted to the present state of the country, 

 has another and a Greek title (ZHTHMATA 

 AIANOHTIKA,) but as we dislike Greek 

 titles to English books, we give the preference 

 to the more intelligible designation. The 

 best proofs we think of the intellectual 

 powers of man that have bsen exhibited, are 

 the many books that have been written and 

 published by the help of his genius, and the 

 perfection which science, philosophy, and the 

 arts have attained. It is a very prai-eworihy 

 labour to endeavour to cjmbine in small 

 compass the leading ideas of writers of emi-/ 

 nenee, ancient and modern, on the subject of 

 human intelleci ; and to this en I the author 

 of the present essay modestly directs his aim. 

 The writer himself is evidently endowed with 

 acute and ratiouating powers of mind, and 

 his well condensed view of the huinau facul- 

 ties and the modes of improving them cannot 

 but be greatly conducive to theeulii\ation of 

 intellect, especially where scientific ideas 

 were much wanted in the education of the 

 young. 



l-i-m an examination of Tlie Student's 

 ManU'j.' we rise with feelings of satisfaction. 

 This little work, designed as a sequel to our 

 Englishdictionaries, consists of resolutions of 

 words derived from the Greek, into their ori- 

 ginal coin;)onent parts, arrayed both themati- 

 cally and in alphabetical order. The col- 

 lection is not, we conceive, complete ; never- 

 theless to all persons unacquainted with the 

 language of Homer, we do not hesitate to 

 recommend it, as constituting a very useful 

 litt e book of reference. 



The ii3rd and last number of the Journal 

 of New Voyages, gave Mr. .Seholcnift's Tra- 

 vels in the unexplored countries watered by 

 the Missouri and its branches; and also a 

 Voyage to Cochin China, by Capt. Rey of the 

 I'Vench navy. This work I'roceods with con- 

 stantly increasing int«re»L ; but br'iiig read 

 cu-cxt«uMvel)r 



