® 
258 
king, and the prince of Wales, in conse- 
quence of the declaration already made, the 
right of succession to the crown devolved 
upon the princess of Orange, the king's 
eldest iauehter: who had been educated in 
the protestant religion, and was thought to 
be under no disqualification from holding 
the reins of government. ‘There was no 
intention of converting the constitution ito 
an elective monarchy, or of deviating fur- 
ther from the lineal course of inheritance 
than the present exigence required. The 
same circumstances, however, which de- 
nuinded the adyancement of the princess of 
Orange to the throne, made it also neces- 
sary that the rega} authority should be com- 
municated to her husband. It would have 
been absurd to banish an arbitrary and de- 
spotical prince, to break the line of descent, 
by which the crown was commonly trans- 
mitted, and, for promoting the great ends of 
society, to run the hazards always attendant 
on the correcting former abuses, without 
making, at the same time, a suitable pro- 
vision for maintaining the new settitment. 
But the state of Britain, and of Europe, 
rendered this a difficult matter. From the 
efforts of the popish party at home, from the 
power of Lewis XIV. and the machinations 
of the whole Ruman catholic interest abroad ; 
not to mention the prepossessions ot the po- 
pulace in favour of that hereditary succes- 
sion to the crown which old usage had ren- 
dered venerable, there was every reason to 
fear a second restoration, with consequences 
more fatal than those which had attended 
the former. Against those impending cala- 
mities, nothing less than the abilities, and 
the authority of the prince of Orange, the 
head of the protestant interest in Europe, 
could be deemed a sufficient guard; and 
it was happy for the liberties of mankind, 
that the matrimonial connection of Mary 
with a person so eminent, and so circum- 
stanced, had, by suggesting his participation 
of her throne, provided a barrier so natural, 
and so effectual. 
«© From these considerations, the ptince 
and princess of Orange were declared, by 
the convention, to. be king and queen of 
England; but the administration of the 
government, was committed solely to the 
prince. After determining this great point, 
the convention, in imitation of the mode of 
procedure at the restoration, was, by a bill 
passing through the two houses, and obtain- 
ing the royal assent, conyerted into a parlia- 
ment; and that assembly proceeded imme- 
diately to a redress of grievances.” 
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS, 
The fourth volume contains a review 
of the government of Ireland; an esti- 
mate of the political consequences of the 
revolution; a discussion of the conse-— 
quences to civil libetty arising from the ~ 
advancement of commerce and manufac- 
tures; a disquisition on the separation ~ 
ot the different branches of knowledge, 
and on the progress and influence of the 
liberal arts, and of fine literature. ‘ 
These chapters do not comprehend 
much original matter: they are chiefly 
selected from favourite writers, such as 
Adam Smith ; and seem to contain the — 
arranged pebbles of the future mosaic, 
but to await the glue, or cement, which 
was to consolidate and to give a homo- 
geneous tinge to the delineation. ‘They 
abound with incorrectnesses, probably of 
the press, especially where proper names | 
cr quotations from the foreign ra ee. 2 
occur. A quarto impression of this addi- — 
tional matter will, no doubt, be underta- | 
ken, in order to accommodate the purcha- — 
sers of the former edition: we trust that 
care will be taken to request some man 
of letters to overlook the proofs, and to 
consecrate a biographical monument to 
the remembrance of talents, which have — 
given esteem to liberty and lustre to his — 
country. ‘The dissertation on the origin 
of ranks might be included in the col- 
lection. 
This department of speculation is far 
from exhausted: it is to be wished that 
every leading train of historical event 
had thus its theoretical commentator. 
The moral of history is often more sens 
sible to the reader than to the annalist. 
The office of the philosopher may expe- 
diently be separated from that of the 
historian. The investigation of fact will 
be more impartial, if no theoretical in- 
ferences are kept in view; and theore- — 
tical inferences will be more ‘equitable, 
if derived from an equally attentive sur- 
vey ot the whole mass of event, than if 
rivetted to particular periods and cir- 
cumstances by those occasional appli- 
cations of research, which the necessity 
of local and incidental investigation 
often imposes on the professed chroni- 
cler. 
Art. IX. The History of the Wars which arose ont of the French Revolution. Ta 
which is prefixed, a Review of the Causes of that Event. Gy ALEXANDER STEPHENS, 
4to, 2 vols. pp» about 1300. 
THE first duty of an historian is in- beauty. Hehas no pretensions to write 
furmation, the second fidelity, the third at all, who has not something’ more to 
7 
