Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

which, fince that time, has been rent afunder by earthquakes, and parcelled out into fmall islands, as it appears at prefent. Forming hypothefes is one great trait in our Author's character; and there is a way of doing thefe things which is well enough; but Dr. F.'s are generally on a fcale too vaft to come within our comprehenfion, the narrowness of which may, perhaps, be the caufe of our averfion to the practice of calling in the grand and terrible operations of nature to reconcile the petty differences of opinion between men of fcience, or to account for the ordinary occurrences which país under their obfervation, Not a fingle circumfiance, fimilar to what must have happened here, is to be met with in hiftory. The moft dreadful ravages by earthquakes which are on record, are thofe of Lima, Lisbon, and the late one in Italy: but notwithstanding the effects of thefe are as dreadful as can well be conceived, they will not bear any degree of comparifon with the confequences of that which Mr. Muller and Dr. Forfter fuppofe to have taken place to the North-east of Japan. But granting that earthquakes had happened, as dreadful in their confequences as that must have been which thefe gentlemen call in to their affiftance, it may, we think, be afked, with great propriety, why we have recourse to these extraordinary means of refolving a difficulty, while others, much more fimple and equally efficacious, are at hand? Captain King, who, we make no doubt, had Witzen, the firft, as far as we know, who published the account of this voyage, before him, though we have not, fays, p. 388 of the Continuation of Capt. Cook's Account of his laft Voyage, that the Caftricom "failed along the South-eaft coaft [of this land] about fixty leagues, in a conflant fog." Can any thing farther be wanting to convince perfons, who have been in fuch a fituation, how eafy it was for the people of the Caftricom to be deceived, and to take that for a continued land, which, had it been clear weather, they would have seen confifted of a number of islands lying near one another, as the Kuriles do?

XI. The account of a Dutch ship which was fent to Smearemberg for train oil; this article being then manufactured there, and brought home afterwards. Not finding a fufficient quantity of oil ready for her, fhe failed, as it is faid, "ftraight on to the northward, and at the diftance of two degrees from it *, went twice round it." Of another Dutch fhip which "had navigated under the very Pole, and found the weather as warm there as it used to be at Amfterdam in fummer." And, laftly, of two other Dutch fhips which had failed to the 89th degree of Jatitude, and found no ice; and that the variation of the compafs was there 5 degrees.

*We fuppofe the Pole is meant, but the word is omitted.

The

'The Doctor concludes this chapter with obferving, that we often meet with fhort hints, in books and charts, relative to lands which are faid to have been difcovered formerly, without being able to find more circumftantial accounts concerning them; though, most probably, fuch accounts may exift in obicure or fcarce authors; and he gives a number of inftances of this kind which are faid to have been Dutch difcoveries, requesting from the learned of all nations fuch farther information concerning them as they may be able to give him. But notwithstanding fome of the very difficulties which are bere mentioned, together with feveral others of the like kind, have occurred to ourselves, and though we have read a great deal on these subjects, we are not able, as we could with we were, to afford him a fingle hint relative to any of the points he mentions. In addition to the inftances of this kind given by our Author, we fhall add, because it is in the quarter to which his work relates, that in the map annexed to Foxe's North-west Fox, three islands are inferted to the North of Spitzbergen, in latitude 82° North, and called there Shefferde Orcades; but we have never met with a fingle hint any where elfe concerning them.

The third chapter, Of the Voyages and Difcoveries made by France in the North,' begins with acknowledging the paucity of French difcoveries; more especially toward this quarter of the world. The first he mentions are rather reports than accounts of two voyages, faid to be made in 1506 and 1508, by Jean Denis and Thomas Hubert, to Newfoundland.

II. A voyage made by John Verarrani, a Florentine, but in the fervice of Francis I. to the coafts of North America, in 1524. Dr. Forster fays, that Verarrani failed along the Eaft coaft of America from 30 to 56 degrees of North latitude, and was abfent from the 17th of January to the 8th of July.

III. IV. V. The three voyages of James Cartier to Newfoundland, and the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence, in 1534, 1535, 1540, the two first under the immediate patronage of Francis the Firft, and the latter under the direction of Francis de la Roque, Lord of Roberval, who was created Lieutenant Gene ral and Viceroy of Canada, and the countries and islands which are in the neighbourhood of it.

VI. A voyage to the fame places, undertaken by Roberval and his brother, in 1549, in which both are faid to have perifhed.

VII. A voyage undertaken by the Marquis de la Roche, in quality of Lord Lieutenant to thefe countries. He took with him about 40 criminals, out of the different prifons in France, whom he landed on the Ile de Sable, and ftood away for the coaft of Nova Scotia, then called Acadia. After making fuch researches. as he thought proper, he returned to France, without haying it

in his power to take back with him the poor wretches he had left on the Ile de Sable. They remained on that wretched and defolate ifland until the reign of Henry IV. who being informed of their fituation, fent a fhip to bring them away, after they had been seven years on the island. Only 12 of the 40 were found alive.

VIII. Account of a fhip which is faid to have failed from China to California, in 1709.

The fourth chapter confits of nine articles.

I. and II. contain a few hints relative to four voyages made by the Spaniards in fearch of a North-weft paffage to the Eaft Indies, in 1524, 1537, 1540, and 1542. The firft was from Spain, by the direction of the Emperor Charles V.; the second from New Spain by direction of the celebrated Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico; the third and fourth from the fame place, by direction of the Viceroy Antonio de Mendoça; but nothing was done to the purpofe in any of these voyages.

III. An account of a pretended difcovery of the Straits of Anian, by Andreas Urdanietti, in 1556 or 1557.

IV. and V. The voyage of Francifco Gualle, to examine the Straits between Afia and America, 1582, which proved ufelefs; alfo an account of the pretended discovery of Juan de Fuca.

VI. Another impotent attempt from New Spain, on the North-weft coaft of America.

VII. The voyage of Sebaftian Vizcaino, in fearch of a harbour on the Weft coast of North America, 1602, as far as Cape Blanco.

VIII. The ftory of Admiral de Fonte's discovery of a paffage from the Pacific to the Western Ocean.

IX. The voyage from New Spain, in 1775, under the direction of Don Antonio de Buccarelli, for making difcoveries on the Weft coast of North America.

The fifth chapter, on the Voyages and Difcoveries made by the Portuguese in the North,' contains fix articles.

I. The voyages of Gafpur de Cortereal and his brother Michael, in 1500 or 1501, to Newfoundland, and the coafts of Labrador; in which Dr. Forfter fuppofes he difcovered the mouth of Hudfon's Straits: both brothers were loft in future voyages.

II. Dr. Forfter infifts on the priority of right which the French, Spaniards, and Portuguese have to fifh on the Banks of Newfoundland. He had difcuffed this matter at great length in the chapter of English voyages; and he has added nothing new on the fubject in this article. If it be their right, they muft take it-if they can.

III. Contains a long ftory of an English failor, who "fwore, in 1579, that he had heard a Portuguese mariner, fix years be

[blocks in formation]

fore, who read in a book, which he had written himself, fetting forth the time of writing it, that 12 years before, coming from India (the Weft Indies no doubt), he had failed through a gulf near Newfoundland until he came, by his reckoning, to 59 degrees of North latitude; and after having fhot the faid gulph, he faw no more land until he fell in with the West coast of Ireland." And what of all this! the gulf was, undoubtedly, the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and he had made a fmall miftake in his reckoning, as to latitude, in running along the Eaft coaft of Labrador. IV. Some hints relative to the land of Jefo, from the Portuguefe Jefuit De Angelis, and Father Jacob Caravallio.

V. Conjectures relating to the land, first inferted in the map of Peter Texeira, between Afia and America, and called the land of Fcas de Gama.

VI. The ftory of the Portuguese ship which is faid to have failed from Japan, through Behring's Straits, and round the northern Capes of Afia and Europe, to Portugal.

Chapter VI. on the Voyages and Difcoveries of the Danes in the North,' contains feven articles:

I. The first is an account, given by a Monk of Iceland, of a voyage which had been undertaken from that place, with a view of dilcovering a North-eaft paffage to China; but which proved fruitless.

II. III. and IV. The voyages which Hall and Knight, two Englishmen, made in the fervice of the King of Denmark, and under the direction of Count Lindenau, in 1605, 1606, and 1607, to West Greenland. Hall reached the latitude of 69° North, in his first voyage, on the Weft coaft of Greenland. It is not faid how far Lindenau went up the Eaft coaft of that country; but he appears to have made very free with the natives, and meets with no cenfure.

V. The voyage of Jens Munck to Hudfon's Bay, 1619. He wintered fomewhere about Churchill river; and, in the course of the winter, the whole company, confifting of fixty-four perfons, died, except himfelf and two more, who, in the fummer following, made fhift to bring one of the flips home.

VI. Contains the account of a voyage made by the Danish Greenland Company, 1636.

VII. Is an account of a letter fent to the Editors of the Journal de Sçavans, by M de la Lande, and inferted in that publication, for Nov. 1773; giving an account of a voyage, faid to be made by a Danifh fhip that failed from Bornholm (which does not exift) in Norway, through Hudfon's Bay, into the Pacific Ocean, above California; and thence round Cape Horn, through the Straits of Le Maire, home. It is difficult to conceive what view M. de la Lande could have in putting his name to fuch

a fable:

a fable: few who know him will believe that he could himself be imposed on by it.

Chapter VII. is rather an account of the several nations which compofe the vaft empire of Ruffia, or from which its prefent inhabitants are defcended, than a hiftory of the voyages and difcoveries made by them; for which our Author refers to the collections of Muller and Pallas. He concludes his work with • General Remarks on the difcoveries made in the North; together with phyfical, anthropological, zoological, botanical, and mineralogical reflections on the objects which occur in those regions.

On the whole, though this work, like all the Author's other publications, contains much hypothefis and conjecture, as well as fome mistakes, and many peevish and ill-natured reflections, particularly on the English; yet it includes alfo, a great deal of ufeful information, which is, in general, well felected; and we make no doubt this publication will afford a large fund of amufement to a multitude of readers. Wai

ART. XII. ESSAY IV. On the Nature and Principles of Public Credit. Containing Obfervations on a Syftem of Redemption laid down in the late Act of Parliament; and on the Means of preferving the Sinking Fund in its proper Line of Service: together with a brief Account of the Rife, Progrefs, and prefent State of the Public Debts. 8vo. 2 s. 6d. White. 1787.

MR.

R. Gale divides this Effay into four fections; in the first of which he confiders the contents of the late Act for difcharging the public debt. By this Act, one million per ann. together with fuch annuities for lives or years as fhall from time to time elapfe or expire, and alfo the interefts and dividends on fuch parts of the debt as fhall therewith be redeemed, fhall be carried to the account of the Commiffioners of the Sinking Fund, to be by them laid out in the purchase of Stocks; and that, in cafe new loans fhould render it expedient, fuch fums carried to the account of the Commiffioners fhall be applied toward fuch new loans, the intereft of which is to be provided for by new taxes, as if the loan had been made by private individuals.

The original intention of the Act was to apply the Sinking Fund facredly and inviolabiy to the redemption of the debt, as well during war as peace. But, by applying the Sinking Fund to the new loans, the actual redemptions can take place only in time of peace: therefore the laft mentioned claufe of the Act defeats its original purpofe; and fuch parts of the debt as fhall be redeemed during peace muft inevitably be again incurred during war. This is the fubftance of Mr. Gale's general objection to the Act in its prefent form: he adds alfo other reasons to prove

that

« ПредишнаНапред »