of 
convened in the three clafles of Bards, 
Driuid:, and Owates. ; 
6¢ The cemplaint of the people, and the 
wince; the complaint of the world; the com- 
siaint of the bards of the ifland of Britam, par- 
ticipating in the grievances of the black in- 
bobitants of Africa, who being ignorant and 
helplefs, are therefore entitied to the rights 
and privileges of brothers; and to protection 
againft all aflaults. But men, who know, 
and ought to have done better, have with 
war and depredation afiailed thefe poor people ; 
have capturedthem; have torn them forcibly 
from their country; from their deareft rela- 
tives; and, inftead of affording tothem the 
prote&ion due to brothers, have enflaved 
them; havesleprived them of all property; 
ef all that was dear'to therm; and of their 
fiberty; fo that they are unable to ef{cape 
from the circle of neceffity and evil; or to at- 
tach themfelves to any thing that 1s good; 
and of the circle of felicity; and, by reaton of 
fuch opprefficus and depredations, they are mi- 
ferable in this qorld; and, in death, muft 
meceflarily fall lower into the circle of evil 
wad neceffity though they ought to have been 
left in pofleffion of their Lberty, which is 
the natural right of humen nature, fo as to 
he able to chufe for themfelves, and to aé& ac- 
er aig to choice,—~Their opprefiors have been 
seprehended; but they have not repented 5 
nor will they defift from their opprelions and 
éepredations for this reafon it is lamentably 
secefary, though a matter of great reluczance 
for us, to wage the affault of war againr the 
axnmerciful oppreffors ?” 
é{Ep THAT KILLS MUST BE KILLED!” 
The proclamation, as above modified, 
was made during the agitation of the 
gueftion refpeting the Slave- Trade, bya 
few perfons, who held a meeting near 
London, for the“fake of keeping up their 
venerated fyftem of bardifm. The leading 
formality obierved, in pronouncing the 
excommunication, confifts in this: three 
bards affift in raifing the fheathed fword 
from the fioue of covenant 5 anc, unfheath- 
ing it, one lifts it up, and repeats three 
times the words — The fwword is naked 
againft * * * men attached to anarchy and 
éevafiation. J remain, fir, yours, &c. 
August 7. MeiRION. 
For the Monibly Magazime. 
MEMOIR ON RESPIRATION AND ANI- 
oe OMSL PEAT. 
By ARMAND SEGUIN. : 
eae comprehends in- 
AN. fpiration and expiration. 
it does not appear that the ancient 
phylicians had clear ideas of this indil- 
pentible funStion to our exiftence. Em- 
pedocles had vague notions of that, and 
et 
the alternate motion of the blocd; and 
Bardic Excommunication of Slave-Dealers. 
[ dug. 
Ariftotle declared, that the air introduced 
into the lungs ferved only to relieve the 
animal of fuperabundant heat; and he 
confidered the opinion as very abfurd 
which attributed the production of heat 
to ref{piration. : 
Hippocrates, Galen, Defcartes, Van- 
helmont, Stevenfon, Malpighi, Lifter, 
Vienfon, Robinfon, Lower, Whytt, 
Boerhaave, Hales, Cigna, and many 
other phyfiologifts, have given the like 
opinions on the caufe of refpiration; 
which, from not being founded on real 
facts, can only be held in the light of hy- 
pothefis. ex 
They knew indeed, that re{fpiring 
animals can only live a given time in a 
certain quantity of atmofpheric air; that 
they fcon grow languid and fall afleep in 
it; that this fleep, at firft eafy, is fuc- 
ceeded by great agitation ; that vefoira- 
tion becomes quick and diffieult; and 
that they die im convulfions, But the 
difficult problems neceflary to be folved 
previous to forming juit conclufions, are 
as follow: What are the effects of in- 
{pired air? what are its neceflary quali- 
ties for producing thofe effects? what its 
changes during infpiration? and what 
the caufe of animal heat? 
Lavoifier, to whom the fciences are fo 
much indebted, demonftrated, in 1776, 
that the pureit atmofpheric air, except- 
ing the little quantity of water and car- 
bonic acid gas which it keeps almoft 
always in a ftate of folution, is a compo- 
{ition of two diftinét fubftances, oxygene 
and azote, both fluidified by the caloric, 
and then forming a furcompofed homo- 
gene. 
"in 379775 the: laute philofopher an- 
pounced, that in the a&t of refpiration, 2 
great part of the oxygene which enters the 
compofition of atmofpheric air 1s changed 
in our lungs into carbonic acid gas; 
which is afterwards expelled during ex- 
piration. It was he, in fhort, that after 
having demonitrated the campofition of 
water, firft furmifed that fome water 1s 
formed during infpiration: the refult of 
which he prefented in a memoir to the 
Medical Society in 1785. 
Having introduced a Guinea-pig intaa 
bell-glals filled with atmofpheric air, and 
whelmed-it over quickfilver, he collected 
the carbonic acid gas which was produced 
during this operation; and after having 
determined the quantity of vital air which 
entered into its compofition, he found 
that it formed not more than four-fifths 
of the volume of air which had been con- 
famed: it is then evident, faid he, that 
y independent 
