of the Valley, is the residence of the bailiff or governor, who is elected to this office by the Canton of Uri, or who, rather agreeably to the established mode of election in these democracies, purchases the place of his fellow citizens, who know too well the value of money not to make a good bargain of their rights. Once in four years the inhabitants of this Valley behold the cortege of their new sovereign descending from St. Gothard, perhaps with somewhat of the same sensations as the defenceless timid bird views the downward flight of the pouncing hawk, darting on his prey.

These rustic monarchs of Uri, in coming to govern a people, of whose language, manners and customs they are ignorant, do not appear to be animated by the ambition, which led Cæsar to wish rather to be the first man in a village than the second at Rome. They have more solid views than those of power; that of replenishing their treasty, exhausted in rewards to their brother sovereigns for their free suffrages; and no sooner are they installed at Barataria, than fines, exactions, and rapacities of every kind follow in their train, and every resistance to lawful authority meets with condign punishment: as the history of each of these subject vallies can tell, the hearts of whose inhabitants have sometimes swelled beyond endurance at the extortion of their harpy governors.

• The people of the Valley revolted against their sovereign of Uri in the beginning of this century, and obtained certain privileges, which their descendants, by another revolt, thirty or forty years since, have imprudently forfeited. Stung into disobedience by some act of proconsular tyranny, they took up arms against their sovereign, and put themselves into a most open and daring insurrection. The Canton of Schweitz had, on a former occasion, undertaken to reduce the insurgents, and had succeeded; but the present rebellion bore symp. toms so alarming, that the whole of the Cantons armed to bring the Valley to obedience. Agreeably to the maxims of most governments, that the governors are always in the right, and the governed in the wrong, no Canton can interfere in any disputes between the sovereign and the subjects, unless to punish the presumption of the latter.

• The whole Helvetic body felt the cause of the sovereign of Uri to be their own, and with heart and hand, with an alacrity worthy of the cause, coalesced together to put put a decisive stop to such heretical and dangerous pretensions. Had the rebels only had to contend with their masters of Uri, it is possible they might have shaken their authority; but when the insurgents beheld the cohorts of every regular government in Switzerland pouring down from the mountains in warlike array; heard the loud blast of their trumpets, repeated by a thousand echoes amidst their cliffs and rocks; saw terror in the van, and annihilation in the rear; they very prudently gave up a contest, which must have ended in their utter destruction.

• The grievances of the insurgents were redressed in the mode that might rationally be expected: their form of government and all their laws were abolished, and they were deprived of every privilege, municipal, civil, and judicial: the use of arms, to which every Swiss is accustomed, however low his rank in the scale of society, was strictly forbidden, and this sage precaution has perpetuated their dominion,

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minion, by destroying, not only the means, but the knowlege of resistance, since he who never handles arms must remain ignorant of the exercise.'

Having traced a short sketch of the manner in which the democratic Cantons govern their subjects, Miss Williams proceeds to relate, in a few words, the mode in which they govern themselves. This she exemplifies in a view of the govern•ment of Uri, vol. i. p. 206, &c.; and in a sketch of the government of the Grisons, vol. ii. p. 36, &c. The former illustration contains a great deal of history, which has been frequently repeated; the latter is confined to a detail of the present, or rather the recent condition of the Grisons. We therefore select it for the edification of those readers, (if there be any such,) who regard democracy as the only arrangement that is productive of political liberty.

• The government of this country is democratic, that is a Swiss democracy, where, under the name of liberty, the greasest outrages are committed against the principle. How, or when the Grisons first shook off the yoke of their former governors, is not well known; but the union of the three leagues, of which the Grison government is composed, took place in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The point of contact between the thousand and one republics of this country, for every community is a separate state, and has a different form of government, is a general diet of their chiefs, held once a year in the capital of one of the three leagues; which diet is formed of sixty-three deputies, sent from the various communities in proportion to their extent or influence.

A disjointed government like this, must necessarily be subject to the influence of political intrigue. The deputy named to the diet by a sovereign peasant of fourteen years of age, or in the direct and unqualified manner in which he is elected by the sovereign fathers, is most commonly either a noisy intriguer, whose pretensions have abashed the man of modest merit, or what is more likely to happen, the wealthy Lord who has corrupted his constituents; bribing being a practice universally admitted amongst the rights of the people in Swiss democracies.

• Thus by intrigue and corruption these democracies become not aristrocracies, composed of citizens skilled in legislation, and endowed with principles that tend to the amelioration of society, but oligarchies framed of individuals who consider the rights of the people as their own privileges, and who encourage those vices in the community by which they increase their revenues, instead of checking them by wise regulations, and salutary laws.

• These evils would probably have been longer borne without remonstrance, had not the imprudent excess of avarice in the governors at length awakened the resentment of the plundered. In former times, the cupidity of the magistrate had been checked by the fear of the suminary punishment of the Strafgericht, a kind of starchamber, where not only the guilt of the rich man was sure to meet with expiation, but where even wealthy innocence was insecure; since the Rhadamanthus' of this inexorable tribunal were sharers in the arbitrary penalties they imposed.

The ascendency of the opulent citizens in the affairs of government has long since brought this tribunal into disuse. It was, indeed, often made the instrument of private hatred, and factious vengeance; but as it was also a terror to evil doers, answered some of the purposes for which it was intended. Since its abolition, says a writer on this subject, "the chiefs make treaties with foreign powers without the consent of their constituents, and sell justice by auction, and ruin those whom they suspect to have interests hostile to their own." This accusation was made against the fathers of the last generation; and it is to be lamented, that their sons not having the fear of the star-chamber before their eyes, or the love of any thing but money in their hearts, have left this fatal propensity to their children, the Grison governors of the present day.

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Over this community ignorance holds its leaden sceptre, not the ignorance of simplicity, arising from the want of communication with the world, but from a state of social degradation. In vain some Eurylochus, who had escaped the contagion, endeavoured to reclaim his countrymen by introducing amongst them those arts which soften our manners, and exalt our nature, instituting a college for the instruction of youth at a considerable expence; the generous attempt failed, after a trial of some years, and the day of reformation and knowledge was deferred to a more convenient season, In the mean time, the places of authority are bestowed on the highest bidder; the judges divide amongst them the monies extorted from the tortured prisoner; in some districts the trials of criminals are days of festivals to the judges, at the expence of the wretches they condemn; and crimes over which a regard to public morals should throw a veil, are made to flaunt in the face of day, in order that the number of convicts may swell the purse of the tribunal.'

Our excerpts from this work have, perhaps, been already too ample. We can therefore only refer the reader to the charming description of the Abbey of Engelberg, situated in the heart of Switzerland between the democratical Cantons of Uri and Unterwald. This happy valley, encompassed by lofty hills, is governed by an Abbot, who is sovereign lord of Engelberg, and a prince of the empire. The form of government, though not composed in the newest style of political organization, renders its subjects virtuous and happy. The prelatic sovereign is considered as father of his people he has ren. dered tribunals, civil and criminal, little requisite, by cherish ing in his subjects the spirit of equity and forbearance; and he has introduced a system of wealth and comfort among the lower classes, by employing them in manufactures which beguile the severity of the winters.

In examining this agreeable work with attention, we have observed several inaccuracies that ought to be corrected in a subsequent

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sequent edition. Throughout, the authoress is too inattentive to perspicuity, particularly in regard to chronology and geography. Her descriptions would be more graceful and more impressive, were they liberated from a cumbersome load of superfluous words; and did she possess more skill in arrangement, and more moderation in ornament. She is too fond of common-place flourishes, and too careless of grammatical accuracy and logical precision. The account of the Canton of Basil is indistinct, ill written, and ungrammatical. Her fondness for metaphor betrays her into absurd expressions: 'silent discordance' for example, vol. ii. p. 12. Her phraseology is too often Gallic:- thus the word ' salary' is used as a verb, vol. ii. p. 170. In page 149 of the same volume, she confounds Marischal Keith with his elder brother, the Earl Marischal of Scotland. These, however, are but petty blemishes. The greatest fault of the work is a prevalence of sound over sense, with a recurrence of the same images; yet this fault, great as it appears, is compensated by very considerable beauties, to which we have endeavoured to do ample justice.

ART. III. A Review of Mr. Wilberforce's Treatise entitled "А practical View of the prevailing religious System of professed Christians, &c." in Letters to a Lady. By Thomas Belsham, 8vo. pp. 277. 4 s. Boards. Johnson. 1798.

CORDIALLY subscribing to the opinion of Archbishop New

come, prefixed as a motto to this work, that "Christianity can never have its free course among men of improved understandings, and even among rational creatures in general, while gross misrepresentations of it are substituted in the place of the simple and perfect original;" we think it of infinite importance to enable and to excite men to distinguish between genuine Christianity and that which is often honoured with this august appellation. Owing to the bias of education, the influence of received systems, and the power of habit (with its attendant prejudices) over the operations of the mind, it is a more difficult task than is generally supposed, to induce professing Christians to make this distinction. Theologians have favourite words, to which, though not of scriptural extraction, they are as much attached as to the very language of Christ and his apostles; and they would deem their creed imperfectly exhibited, were these words omitted. Their particular system is, in a sort, the bed of Procrustes; and the Gospel must be shortened or stretched to the required size. Thus unfairly dealing both with themselves and the professed object object of their veneration, that which is called Inquiry serves only to attach them more strongly to their prejudices, and to close their eyes more effectually against the fair image of real Christianity.

Having seen much of this in the course of our critical labours, we may admire the writings of those who endeavour to correct the misapprehensions of men respecting the Christian religion, but we can scarcely expect that their effect will be very extensive, at least for the present. The march of Truth is slow; and Error, though conscious of defeat, disputes every inch of ground.

Yet, with all the reluctance of the professing Christian world to admit the fact, it must be confessed, on a direct appeal to the Scriptures, that the picture of Christianity, as delineated by our Saviour himself, is as simple as it is captivating; -that it is not a system generating abstruse speculation, but prompting the noblest conduct; - and that its sum and substance, its Alpha and Omega, are love towards Gad, and love towards man. If we compare it with Judaism, out of which it may be said to have sprung, its simplicity will be wonderfully striking. It sanctions no burdensome ceremonial, nor lays down any precise rules as to the arrangements of public worship. In nothing of this kind does its effence-consist. Officiat ing priests, splendid temples and rites, and other appointments which may be deemed requisite in religious instruction and social worship, are not indeed prohibited; and communities are left to settle these points as they think proper among themselves: but they should take care not to confound these matters with real Christianity, the seat of which is the heart, and the object of which is to form the sentiments and the temper on the purest models of virtue and piety. Its creed is simple, and accommodated to the apprehension of the great mass of mankind. Inquisitive and reflecting minds may de, duce a number of inferences from it: but these ought to be distinguished as corollaries of Christianity, and must not be deemed the necessary faith of " a Christian man."

On considering Mr. Wilberforce's late treatise, together with the present Review of it by Mr. Belsham, we have been induced to offer these observations, in order to lead the way to the important discussion to which we are here invited.

Mr. Wilberforce endeavours to prepossess his readers in his favour, by appearing as the advocate for "the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel:" but, before he be admitted in this high character, it will be necessary to examine whether his " peculiar" be the immediate and express doctrines of the Gospel; or whether they be only his inferences or deductions from Scrip