1789.] 
lican inftitutions, and the ere&tion of 
monuments. 
As all public eftablifhments require 
the fuperintendence and occafional cor- 
rection of the legiflature, in addition to 
that of their own immediate executive 
authority, it has been deemed neceffary 
to appoint @ permanent committee of in- 
JSiruciion in the legiflateve body, to provide 
fuch fums as may be neceffary for the 
prefervation and improvement of this fub- 
lime fyitem of inftruétion. This legiflative. 
committee are invefted with due authority 
for thefe purpofes. Their objeéts are 
precifely the fame as thofe of the commif- 
fion of public inftru€tion, above deicribed, 
only with this difference, that the latter 
fuperintends the execution of exifting 
Jaws, whilft the former receives and im- 
proves them, er propofes new ones. This 
committee is. divided into three depart- 
ments, as is the commiition, with exaét- 
ly the fame arrangement of their refpec- 
tive labours. The committee being 
charged with the enattion of all new laws, 
its members, with a view to obtain ac- 
curately all the requifite information re- 
lative to the numerous branches of the 
arts, have procured from the legiflative 
body the ees of a commiffion tem-_ 
peraire des arts to be annexed to them, 
and to meet in the fame houie with them ; 
which temporary commiffion is divided 
into fixteen claffes: viz. 1. For Zoology; 
2. Botany; 3. Mineralogy; 4. Physics ; 
§-Chemiftry ; 6. Anatomy ; 7.Machinery; 
8. Geography; 9. Artillery and Fortifi- 
. cation: 10. Medals and Antiquities ; 
11. Bibliography ; 12. Painting; 13. Ar- 
chiteCture ; 14. see 5 15. Bridges 
and Caufeways; and, 16. Mufical inftru- 
ments. 
This ftatement may evince how well 
adapted the republican form of go- 
vernment proves itfelf, in promoting ici- 
entific improvements, by means of gene- 
ral inftruétion, of publie funds appro- 
priated to literary purfuits, and the con- 
-tinual infpection of a popular legiflature. 
But a-view of what has actually been ef- 
feted by thefe eftablifhments, or rather 
by the revolution itfelf, will evince the 
rapid progrefs of the fciences in the re- 
public of France. 
As early as the year *7945)-2 report of 
Gregoire, of the gth Vendemiaire, proves 
that about feventeen new inventions had 
been happily made. The extragtion of 
kah and falt-petre—the prefervation of 
gunpowder and iteel—the cadaftre—the 
new weights and mealures—the air-bal- 
loon—the te lege aph, &e. &c. 6° Lamu- 
Jique méme,” iays the elegant reporter, ‘4 
French Syftem of Public Inftru€tion. 
85 
fait des conquétes: et desinfiruenents tiran- 
gers ou antiques, le tantam, le bucciui, la 
tuba cerva font venus embelir nos fetes 1° 
The improvements of the national lite- 
rary and icientific eftablifhments are nu- 
merous and important. 
ift. By adecree of the convention of the 
zith Praiial, in the fecond year, it was 
enaéted, that means fhould be adopted by 
which every poffible advantage might be 
derived from the botanic gardens of the 
republic, in Turkey and other foreign 
countries. This wile decree clearly tend- 
ed to render France, in the language of 
the reporter, *¢ L’abregé de tous les ch- 
mats; etl entrepot del Kurope*.” ‘Thote 
plants which thrive between the tropics _ 
may be cultivated in the fouth of France, 
and thofe which are the produce of 
northern climates, may be cultivated in. 
the northern departments; by which 
means,-. France will be in poffeffion of all 
foreign plants and drugs, without the ex- 
portation of fpecie. 
2d. The National Bibliography was de- 
creed in the fitting of 22d Germuual, in the 
fecond year. It confilts of a complete ca- 
talogue of books of ail delcriptions, the — 
property of the nation; it was then alcer- 
tained, that the republic poffeffed more 
than ten millions of books. The titles 
of them were to be adjufted by adctual 
comparifons ; the manufcripts to be re- 
giftered feparately ;- anonymous produc~ 
tions were to be arranged according to 
their fubjeéts; and thofe of known au- 
thors in the alphabetical order of the 
names. The feveral editions to be claffed 
according to their dates: and what may 
be deemed more important, this French 
National Bibliography will contain a 
dictionary of anonymous books, as weli 
as thofe publiflied under A€titious names, 
adefideratum in the republic of letters. 
It will alfo contain a genealogical map 
or tree of human knowledge; the fubdi- 
vifions of which will be more extenfive 
and at the fame time more ccencife than 
_the {cientific pedigree of Bacon, as reéti- 
fied by the learned editors of the *£z- 
cyclopedia.”” 
3d. The annihilation of all paivis, or 
diakesus, decreed in the fitting of the 16th 
Prairial, in the fecond year. Notwith- 
ftanding the univerlality of the French 
language, and that it _Was exciulively 
fpoken i in the majority of the iniand de- 
partments, yet there exifted thirty various 
dialegts in France. It is more aftonifhing 
that Rozier had remarked, that betweea 


* The epitome of every climate, and tne 
magazine of Europe. 

