out considerable attention; but nothing could exceed the ease and felicity with which he illustrated and explained the most refined and delicate questions of Political Economy, both in private conversation and in his speeches. Without being forcible, his style of speaking was easy, fluent, and agreeable. It was impossible to take him off his guard. To those who were not familiar with his speculations, some of his positions were apt to appear paradoxical; but the paradox was only in appearance. He never advanced an opinion on which he had not deeply reflected, and without examining it in every point of view; and the readiness with which he met and overthrew the most specious objections that the ablest men in the house could state to his doc trines, is the best proof of their correctness, and of the superiority and acuteness of his understanding. That there were greater orators, and men of more varied and general acquirements in Parliament than Mr Ricardo, we readily allow; but we are bold to say, that in point of deep, clear, and comprehensive intellect, he had no superiors, and very few, if any, equals either in Parliament or the country.

Mr Ricardo was as generous as intelligent; he was never slow to come forward to the relief of the poor and the distressed; and while he contributed to almost every charitable institution in the metropolis, he supported, at his own expense, an alms-house for the poor, and two schools for the instruction of the young in the vicinity of his seat in the country.

Besides the publications previously enumerated, Mr Ricardo left several manuscripts. Among others, a" Plan for the Establishment of a National Bank," was found in a finished state, and has since been published. In this pamphlet, he has shewn that the power of issuing paper money might be safely placed in the hands of commissioners

appointed by government; and that, while such a plan would be productive of no inconvenience, it would most probably save the public not less than 750.000l. a-year.

Mr Ricardo has also left very full "Notes" on Mr Malthus' Principles of Political Economy, which we trust will be published. They contain a most able vindication of his own doctrines from the objections of Mr Malthus, and an exposition of the mistakes into which he conceives Mr Malthus has fallen.

Though not properly belonging to the Whig party, Mr Ricardo voted almost uniformly with the OppositionHe was fully impressed with a conviction of the many advantages that would result from giving the people a greater influence over the choice of their representatives in the House of Commons; and was so far a friend to the system of the radical reformers, as to give his cordial support to the plan of voting by ballot; for he thought that such was the only way in which the mass of the electors could be secured against improper solicitations, and enabled to vote in favour of the candidates of whom they really approved. He did not, however, agree with the radical reformers in their plan of universal suffrage; he thought the elective franchise should be given to all who possessed a certain amount of property; but he was of opinion, that while it would be a very hazardous experiment, no practical good would result from giving the franchise indiscriminately to all.

Of the value and importance of the services rendered by Mr Ricardo to the science of Political Economy, there can be, and we believe there now is, among intelligent men, only one opinion. His works have made a very great addition to the mass of useful and universally interesting truths, and afford some of the finest examples to be met with, of discriminating analysis, and profound

and refined discussion. The brevity with which he has stated and illustrated some of his most important propositions; their close and intimate dependence on each other; and the mathematical cast he has given to his reasonings, render it sometimes a little difficult to follow him. But we can venture to assure those who will give to his works the attention of which they are so worthy, that they will find them to be no less logical and conclusive, than they are profound and important.Quintilian said, that the students of eloquence who were highly delighted with Cicero, had made no inconsiderable progress in their art; and we have no hesitation in saying the same of the students of Political Economy, who are highly pleased with the works of Mr Ricardo Sciat se non parum profecisse cui Ricardo valde placebit.

When the circumstances under which the greater part of the life of Mr Ricardo was spent, are brought under view, and when it is also recollected that he died at the early age of fiftyone, it will not perhaps be too much to say, that no man ever achieved so much. His industry was quite unrivalled, or if rivalled, it was only by his sagacity, his integrity, and his candour.

"The history of Mr Ricardo," to use the words of his friend Mr Mill, "holds out a bright and inspiring example. Mr Ricardo had everything to do for himself; and he did everything. Let not the generous youth, whose aspirations are higher than his circumstances, despair of attaining either the highest intellectual excellence, or the highest influence on the welfare of his species, when he recollects in what circumstances Mr Ricardo opened, and in what he closed his memorable life; he had his fortune to make, his mind to form; he had even his education to commence and conduct. In a field of the most intense competition, he realized a large fortune, with the universal esteem and affection of those who could best judge of the honour and purity of his acts. Amid this scene of active exertion and practical detail, he cultivated and he acquired habits of intense, and patient, and comprehensive think ing; such as have been rarely equalled, and never excelled."

Mr Ricardo left a widow, three sons, and four daughters; one of his daughters died a few years ago, shortly after her marriage.

THE expedition which, at this time, took full precedence in the public mind of every other, was that of Captain Parry to the northern seas of America. In the autumn of 1823, a considerable gloom involved the public mind as to its fate. Two years and a half had now elapsed since they had entered the northern regions of ice, out of which not even the faintest rumour had come as to their progress; and the time was fast approaching, beyond which there was no provision, or even hope, that they could continue with safety. The dreadful evils which had beset another expedition, which had only narrowly and partially escaped entire destruction, gave a still more formidable impression of the peril of those regions. It was therefore a jubilee to the whole nation, when it was announced, that the ships had been seen off the coast of Shetland; and this general joy was scarcely damped by the intelligence which soon followed, that the voyage, as to its main object, had been a failure; though it had made discoveries, which, under circumstances of humbler expectation,

would have been considered of no mean importance.

The expedition sailed on the 7th of May,and about the middle of that month passed through the Pentland Firth, between the north of Scotland and the Orkneys. Soon after they encountered a long series of contrary winds, which rendered it impossible to begin their voyage across the Atlantic, till the 7th or 8th of June. A month being consumed in this passage, July was somewhat advanced, before they entered Hudson's Bay, and August had begun when they reached the north-eastern part of Southampton Island, where their career of discovery was to open.

In determining upon the information by which he was now to be guided, Captain Parry was a good deal embarrassed. Middleton had been sent to this quarter, on a voyage of discovery, in 1742, and had published a narrative of his observations; but Mr Dobbs had afterwards written a large book, to prove that there was not a word of truth in anything that Middleton had said. The fact, however,

proved to be, that, notwithstanding a few partial slips, Middleton was right in the main. Captain Parry was not yet fully aware of this, and was much at a loss whether to take the Frozen Strait of Middleton, which Dobbs had spent half a volume in proving to have no existence, or whether to make the great circuit around Southampton Island, and by Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome. He preferred the authority of Middleton to that of his speculative commentator, and found himself right. A fine opening, however, appearing on the left, they entered, but soon found themselves completely embayed the mere circumstance of the absence of "old ice" being sufficient to prove, that these shores could have no communication with the great northern ocean. They formed, how ever, a very fine bay, to which was given the name of the Duke of York. The expedition now made their way with tolerable ease through Frozen Strait, and entered the Repulse Bay of Middleton. This had been a subject of great controversy, Dobbs maintaining that it was no bay, but the entrance into the ocean. A very short inspection, however, satisfied Captain Parry, that here too Middleton had been perfectly correct. He now made it his business to proceed northward along the coast, beating at every point for a passage. Commodious anchorage was found in Duckett's Cove; and near it were three small islands, called Bushnan, Rouse, and Georgiana, and one large island named Vansittart, between which and the land was Hurd Channel, through which they passed. A very deep and most promising inlet now appeared, stretching far to the north-west; and Captain Parry went to explore it in boats; but, after spending nearly a month in examining it, and a smaller one called Hoppner's Inlet, everything was found closed in by land.

When this examination terminated, October was begun, and all the phenomena of polar winter appearingthe sea covered with masses of old ice, a thin cake of new ice forming on its surface; the thermometer 30 degrees below the freezing point, and twelve hours of darkness. All these were features warning them to look out for winter quarters; and they found them very conveniently at an island which they called Winter Island, though they had to saw through 700 or 800 feet of ice before they were properly lodged.

During the long and tedious confinement of nine months, Captain Parry made every exertion to keep up the spirits of the crew. Variety was afforded by musical parties, and little dramatic pieces, in which the officers appeared as amateur performers. Out of their stores of fresh meat, occasional festivals were afforded. As a still more laudable occupation, the sailors who could not read were put to their alphabet; and before they returned to England, there was not one of them who could not read his Bible. A good deal of friendly and social intercourse was carried on with an Esquimaux village, established in their close vicinity, and whose tenants sometimes favoured them with more of their company than was exactly desired. From them, however, and especially from a "wise woman" called Iliglick, they obtained information deeply interesting, and calculated to inspire them with sanguine hopes. The natives not only gave descriptions of the coast, but after a little training, embodied them into rude sketches. These exhibited, after a considerable extent of northerly coast, a strait running westward; at the opposite end of which appeared a boundless expanse of sea. This sea could be only the great ocean, of which the expedition were in search.

Notwithstanding the eager wish of

the navigators to depart, they could not extricate themselves from the ice till the beginning of July. By the middle of that month, they had sailed nearly three degrees along the eastern coast of a large tract of land, which they called Melville Peninsula. They then came to the mouth of the expected strait, which they named the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. Before, however, they had fully ascertained it to be a strait, they were arrested by a fixed and impassable barrier of ice, Against this they continued beating for the rest of the short summer; and though they found a channel through which they worked a little way, they never could make the least approach to getting beyond the barrier. Their only farther information was obtained by a land journey along the south shore of the strait. Lieutenant Reid, who was at the head of this party, completely ascertained the opening of this strait into the Polar sea, though his

narrative of this discovery does not give all the details that could be wished of this most interesting point of the expedition.

The expedition soon after found, that it was high time to go into winter quarters; and they were again very comfortably accommodated in the island of Igloolik. Next year, Captain Parry seriously contemplated to take all the stores and provisions out of the Fury into the Hecla, send the former home, and prosecute discovery with the lat ter. On a careful examination of circumstances, however, he found very good reasons for giving up such an idea, and for seeking his next winter quarters within the limits of his native country.

As the stations on this voyage were considerably lower in latitude than Melville Island, where Captain Parry formerly wintered, the cold was by no means quite so intense, as will appear by the following table :

Igloolik, Lat. 6930

+12.79 -19.37 -27.80

-17.07

February,

-32.19

-20.41

-24.97