508 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Sir: ; 
yd Mee adventurous ‘spirit of inquiry 
and improvement which is abroad, 
affords. a- curious -and, splendid » spec- 
tacle to the philanthropist and the. phi- 
losopher, as well.as the man of business ; 
but especially: to him who has ‘the skill 
to look pon. the bee-hive of society, 
without disturbing the tenants in their 
various and unwearied © occupations. 
The timid stand aloof, and ask how 
long this’ fearful stretching of all. the 
sinews of the country will. endure ? 
What will be the result of this ap- 
parent overtasking of the physical and 
intellectual, machine ?, Shall we  be- 
come demons or demi-gods? Shall 
our pinions bear «us to.a region beyond 
the retracting efficacy of | material 
agency, or the re-action of over-excited 
force-lay us prostrate for ever? To us 
there is a splendid glow of ambitious 
beauty, and. proportion of colossal 
strength, in the midst of the perilous 
awfulness of the energy of the age, 
which, clothes; the genius of English 
commerce with the:sublimest attributes 
of permanence and power, of invincible 
vitality,.and, inexhaustible resources. 
It is to philosophy: that we must turn); 
to .the. equally «rapid; and’ concurrent 
march of; educated enlightenment—to 
the axiom that.“ knowledge is’ power,” 
for shelter, fromthe; too) dizzy, bright- 
ness.of the magnificent, images of com- 
mercial ‘prosperity... The temperance 
which knowledge and industry. suggest, 
will:impart celestial temper'to the over 
fiery and. brittle character of enthu- 
siastic speculation. . It will furnish, at 
once, both oar and rudder; it will sup- 
ply. wind to swell the sail of improve- 
ment, and ballast to steady and-secure 
the vessel, of | state, in| the. bright sun- 
gilded track, along, which itis now:ca- 
reering towards;unprecedented and illi- 
mitable.prosperity. 
Among,» the:) numerous. plans)» now 
afloat. for local improvement, the: pro- 
posed, canal, for effecting a junction be- 
tween the English and Bristol Channels, 
is entitled to peculiar attention from 
the prospect it affords of public benefit. 
At a period when England is emerging, 
with, renewed vigour, from her. diffi- 
culties, when Jabour is cheap and capi- 
tal ‘abundant; when, at home, the ma- 
nufacturer. and the, agriculturist' are 
equally» sharing the! advantages of 
oe and when, abroad, her navies 
thave opened, to the» remotest extre- 
mities of the globe, new paths to her 
Modern Improvements : — Bristol Candl ; 
[July 1, 
commerce; it is a grand, novel, and 
cheering spectacle to behold a society 
of individuals accomplishing a design of 
national importance, and citizens rear- 
ing, to the glory of the state, a monu- 
ment, of which kings might be proud, 
The breadth of the Isthmus of Suez is, 
perhaps, somewhat greater than the 
distance in this case to be cut through ; 
but the attempts of the predecessors of 
the Ptolemies were abortive, and those 
intelligent monarchs themselves never 
contemplated a project on a scale so 
magnificent as this. The zeal with 
which the design has been taken up is 
a sure test. of its merit. We hail the 
increased activity of its proprietors as 
an omen of success, and congratulate 
the public at large on a work, the com- 
mencement of which may well be con- 
sidered as a triumph of national in- 
dustry and energy. 
The woollens of South Wales in ge- 
neral, the slate and coal of Glamorgan- 
shire, the copper of Swansea, the iron 
of Merthyr Tydevil and Aberdare, and 
the groceries of Bristol, will then be 
supplied to the whole of the south 
coast of England; and to that which, 
after all, must be the great emporium 
of commerce, a London market. The 
stone coal, which abounds in such pro- 
fusion in Pembroke, Caermarthen, and 
Glamorganshire, where it is found in 
beds of twenty-three feet in thickness, 
and within a yard of the surface, will 
be brought into extensive use, by the 
various steam-engines and manufactories 
of London. South Wales will then 
have its chief want supplied—that of 
an extensive market. The internal 
navigation will enable the west of Eng- 
land to participate in the prosperity of 
the north—and no part of England re- 
quires it more. It is full of labouring 
poor ; an overstocked population, un- 
employed in manufactures, and ex+ 
posed, in hard winters, to all the 
miseries of a deficiency of fuel; this 
the canal will remedy. Extensive lime 
quarries exist along the banks of the 
canal; large quantities of pottery, 
bricks, and tiles, are now made in its 
vicinity ; potter’s clay, and materials 
for brick-making, will be raised by the 
work itself. Means of transport for 
the beautiful beer-stone, for ornamental 
work, and the useful blue lias-stone, for 
paving, will be provided; and extensive 
employment thus found for the whole 
internal population of Dorset, Somer- 
set, and. Deyon; while the manufac- 
turing towns of Bridgewater and Taun- 
ton 
