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the Oyapock of the north, can only agree 
with the Oyapock of the fouth. Citizen 
Buache founds his opinion, firft, on the 
authentic relations of the voyage of Vin- 
cent-Pinfon, which prove that the navi- 
gator, whofe name the river has taken, 
did not really land on any part of the 
coaft north of the equator, and that he 
arrived on the fouthern coaft at the very 
place where the fecond river Oyapock is 
found: fecondly, on the authority of the 
antient charts, which in general agree to 
place the river Vincent Pinfon clofe by 
the mouth of that of Amazons; and 
finally, on the obfervations made on this 
matter, both by. Ferrolles, governor of 
Guiana, in 1694, and by La Conda- 
mine in 1743. Citizen Buache thinks 
with Ferrolles, that the true river of Vin- 
cent Pinfon is the Oyapock of the ifle of 
Juanes, fituated between the embouchures 
of the river of Amazons. 
Portugal has been the objeét of a me- 
moir of Citizen ANQUETIL.. After 
having fummarily retraced the hiftory of 
the expeditions of the Portuguefe in Afri- 
ca, of their conquefts in America, and 
their eftablifhments in Afia, the author 
enters into a particular imveitigation of 
their commerce formerly fo aétive with 
France, the caufes of its decay, and the 
treaties which caufed it to be transferred . 
to England. He then confiders the po- 
litical relations which ought to re-eftablith 
between France and Portugal the refpec- 
tive interefts of thefe two nations, their 
geographical pofition in Europe, and the 
contiguity of their colenies. 
Yn another memoir Citizen Anguetil 
cifcuffes this queftion : What conduct is _ 
to be purfued in order to fecnre and gua- 
rantee aghinf& ali reclamations and de- 
mands on the part of the Germanic body, 
the acquifitions, ceflions and permutations 
agreed upon between the co-eftates of Ger- 
many, or with the princes cn the confines, 
‘This examination leads the author into the 
hiftory of the different tribunals where 
thefe political caufes.are brought, the 
chamber of Wetztaer, the Aulic council, 
and the diet of Ratifbon; he explains the 
object and extent of the jurifdiction of 
each of thefe diplomatic tribunals, the 
degrees of {ubordination they have to 
each other, and the forms of procefs.re- 
uired to the prefent time to efface a ftate 
hears the matricula of the Empire. 
Citizen LEVEsQUE read a memoir on 
the private life of the Czar Peter I. He 
bas collected in it a number of anecdotes, 
which perhaps difplay the character and 
National Inftitue, 15th Nivofe, 1708. 
[Now 
fix the meafure of that prince’s greatnef€ 
and glory. ‘Thefe details depi& him as 
great indeed, but lefs fngular than edd, 
defpotic yet popular, humane yet fero- 
cious, equitable yet cruel, prodigal yet 
parfimonious, {paring no expences for his 
wars, nor even for the arts, and weating 
apparel mended with his own hands ; affo- 
ciating with artifts, as their pupil or even 
theirrival, and claiming among them the 
ftipend of his perfonal labours; diffufing 
initruction and letters through his empire 
by the tranflations which he ordered or. 
compofed himfelf ; always rude in {pite 
of fo many means employed to polith 
himfelf; fill fuperftitious after having 
fhaken off the yoke of a number of pre= 
judices, and retaining intolerance in his 
manners when it was no longer in his 
opinions; for his virtues, owing fome- 
thing to nature, much to his own efforts ; 
owing all his vices to education, and thus 
only efcaping from a part of the caufes 
and influences which concur to deprave 
kings, and to pervert hereditary power. — 
Citizen PaPoN read the firit part of a 
work on the Cifalpine and Tranfalpine re- 
publics of the middle ages. On one fide, 
the exceiles of the governors of provinces 
and their lieutenants, the yoke of feoda- 
lity aggravated by them without meafure ; 
on the other, the Roman colonies, the 
laws and the manners which they intro- 
duced into the fouth of France, and into 
Lombardy ; fuch have been the principal 
.caufes of the efbablifhment ‘of the repub- 
lican government in thofe countries and 
thofe ages. We muft add to this, efpe- 
cially tor Provence, the influence of the 
{ciences, the letters, and the arts of 
Greece, which propagated in this part 
of Gaul the germs of true civilization, of 
that which is, founded on the knowledge 
of the rights of man, and on the {enti- 
ment of his dignity. Such was the aétion 
of thofe different caufes, that Pliny and 
Tacitus found with the Gauls of the 
fouth, not only the laws, the language 
and the inftitutions of Rome, but the 
energy of its antient chara¢ter. It is this 
character which aftewards, under the Of- 
trogoeths and Franks, banifhed fervitude 
from lands and from perfons, perpetuated 
the franc-aleu, which has made 4 part of 
the public law of Provence, and finally 
gave birth to the republican government 
in cities which found themfelves powerful 
enough to eftablith it, as Avignon, Arles, 
Nice, and Maritilles. Citizen Papon ter- 
-‘minates this memoir by feme refleCtions 
on the means proper to forma character 
: anes Sete é truly 
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