against the prejudices of the learned, that as lately as 1718, the paradox so clearly explained and refuted by Descartes, appears to have kept some footing in that University from which, about thirty years before, Mr. Locke had been expelled, In a paper of the Guardian, giving an account of a visit paid by Jack Lizard to his mother and sisters, after a year and a half's residence at Oxford, the following precis is given of his logical attainment. "For the first week (it is said) Jack dealt wholly in paradoxes. It was a common jest with him to pinch one of his sister's lap-dogs and afterwards prove he could not feel it. When the girls were sorting a set of knots, he would demonstrate to them that all the ribbons were of the same colour; or rather, says Jack, of no colour at all. My Lady Lizard herself, though she was not a little pleased with her son's improvement, was one day almost angry with him; for having accidentally burnt her finger as she was lighting the lamp of her tea-pot, in the midst of her anguish, Jack laid hold of the opportunity to instruct her, that there was no such thing as heat in the fire."-p. 97.

What the state of logical science may have been at the university of Oxford in the year 1718, we do not pretend to know, nor are we solicitous to inquire; but that a writer so much above the influence of vulgar feelings as the author before us generally is, should nevertheless, in a grave dissertation upon the progress of philosophy, venture to deduce any conclusion whatever upon the subject on such slight grounds as are here stated, has, we confess, made us also moralize' upon the slow progress of good sense when it has to struggle with the prejudices of the learned.'

In the first place, the metaphysical opinions with which Jack Lizard amused his mother and sisters, are surely not given by Mr. Addison as a precis of the attainments to be made by those who were educated at the University of Oxford at the time when he was writing; and supposing them to be the only acquisitions which, after a year and a half's residence, Jack had obtained, this would only prove how little proficiency he must have made in the philosophy which he had been taught. For we think we may take upon ourselves to say, that neither Aristotle nor the schoolmen, nor any sect of philosophers as yet heard of, ever maintained that lap-dogs when pinched feel no pain. As to the young philosopher's belief that the colour was not in the ribbon, nor the heat in the fire, we apprehend it to be sound doctrine, and obviously borrowed more immediately from that writer whom, Mr. Stewart takes an opportunity of sarcastically observing, the University of Oxford had expelled thirty years before. As if the University of Oxford had any exclusive reason to blush for having yielded in common with the rest of the nation to the violence of an arbitrary ruler! The act itself was not the act of the University, but of James the Second, by whose express command, and

under

under the peremptory authority of whose written warrant, as Visitor of Christ-church, the expulsion took place. Whether James could legally insist upon compliance we are not sufficiently acquainted with the subject to decide. It is however evident, from the correspondence which took place, that the college unwillingly submitted as to a measure which it could not resist without obviously compromising the peace and safety of its members; and under such circumstances to designate Oxford, not by its proper name, nor by any epithet of civility, but, periphrastically, as the University which expelled Locke, is we really think neither candid nor

courteous.

The writers who next pass in review are Gassendi, Malebranche, and the author* of the Art de Penser. The criticisms which Mr. Stewart passes upon their writings are lively and elegant, and such as will probably conduce to render his essay more acceptable to the general reader, than a graver view of his subject might have done. But his subject is, a review of the progress of Philosophy in Europe; and on this account, whatever pleasure we may have received from the characteristic observations which he extracts from the writings of his authors, and the literary anecdotes with which he intersperses his strictures, still we cannot help saying, that they take up room which might have been occupied by more appropriate matter. It is the absence of this of which we complain, and not the presence of the other. Those who have read the works of Malebranche and Gassendi, will learn nothing more of their philosophy than they were previously acquainted with; and those who have not read them, will find it difficult, we think, even to understand the exact scope of many of our author's observations. In saying this, we speak from experience of the fact; for we have read Malebranche and have not read Gassendi; and as our knowledge of the philosophical tenets of the former was in no respect increased, so neither was our ignorance of the writings of the latter at all removed, by the view which our author has taken of them. In the praise which he bestows upon the Recherche de la Vérité, we heartily acquiesce; with the exception, perhaps, of the Art de Penser, it is, we think, the best philosophical work in the French language, and, with the exception of the Essay upon the Human Understanding, at least equal to any metaphysical production that is to be found in ours. The arguments by which Malebranche endeavours to shew that our knowledge of a material world is only occasional and intermediate, is founded, we think, upon a much more philosophical view of the subject than Berkeley's

* The author of this admirable treatise is commonly supposed to be Anthony Arnauld, to whom our author ascribes it; we may, however, just notice that Baillet, in his Jugemens des Savans, vol. i. p. 52, imputes it to a person of the name of le Bon.

E 4

theory,

theory, to which it very nearly approaches; and although the arguments by which he supports his opinons are not put into so logical a shape and kept so close together as in the writings of the latter, yet Malebranche reasons much the more accurately of the two, and exhibits a much more comprehensive acquaintance with the real grounds of his argument. This, however, is a subject upon which we hope to have an opportunity of speaking more at large on a future occasion; Mr. Stewart promises us a sequel to the Dissertation now before us, in which the writings of Berkeley and Hume will probably occupy a prominent situation.

With the expectation of being shortly gratified by the fulfilment of this promise, we shall now bring our remarks to a close. We owe Mr. Stewart many thanks for the amusement which he has afforded us to make any apologies for the freedom which we have taken of differing from him in opinion on so many occasions, would be paying him a compliment, which, we are persuaded, he himself would think unnecessary.

ART. III.-The History of Java. By Thomas Stamford Raffles, Esq. late Lieut.-Governor of that Island and its Dependencies, F. R. S. and A. S. &c. In two Volumes, with a Map and Plates. pp. 1072. London. 1817.

FEELINGS of regret have accompanied us through the perusal

of much the greater part of these two bulky volumes—that one of the finest islands in the world should, with so little ceremony as it would seem, have been consigned over to its former oppressors. Perhaps, however, on this point neither Governor Raffles nor ourselves will be admitted as competent judges; there may have been, and doubtless were, substantial reasons on general principles of policy for forcing on the Dutch the re-possession of an island, the loss of which was no immediate or positive evil to them.'

'For many years' (it is Mr. Raffles who speaks)' prior to the British expedition, Holland had derived little or no advantage from the nominal sovereignty which she continued to exercise over its internal affairs. All trade and intercourse between Java and Europe was interrupted and nearly destroyed; it added nothing to the commercial wealth or the naval means of the mother country; the controul of the latter over the agents she employed had proportionally diminished; she continued to send out governors, counsellors, and commissioners, but she gained from their inquiries little information on the causes of her failure, and no aid from their exertions in improving her resources, or retarding the approach of ruin. The colony became a burthen on the mother country instead of assisting her, and the Company which had so long

governed

governed it, being itself ruined, threw the load of its debts and obligations on the rest of the nation.'

The Commission which, in 1790, was sent out to ascertain the real state of the Company's finances, reported the arrears of their debt to amount to about eighty-five millions of florins; and they

observe

'When we take a view of our chief possession and establishment, and when we attend to the real situation of the internal trade of India, the still increasing and exorbitant rates of the expenses, the incessant want of cash, the mass of paper money in circulation, the unrestrained peculations and faithlessness of many of the Company's servants, the consequent clandestine trade of foreign nations, the perfidy of the native princes, the weakness and connivance of the Indian government, the excessive expenses in the military department and for the public defence; in a word, when we take a view of all this collectively, we should almost despair of being able to fulfil our task, if some persons of great talents and ability among the Directors had not stepped forward to devise means by which, if not to eradicate, at least to stop the further progress of corruption, and to prevent the total ruin of the Company?-Introd. p. xxxi.

As these Commissioners did not consider the affairs of the Company to be quite hopeless, the Directors, men of great talents and ability, among other sagacious measures, curtailed the salaries of their civil servants, which were already far too small to enable them to live honestly, and keep up that appearance which is so essentially necessary where a few hundreds are to lord it over as many millions-as if men, who had fled from a state of poverty in Europe, would submit to remain in the same state among the tepid swamps of Batavia and Bantam, and to sweat and groan under velvet coats and plush breeches in an equinoctial climate and under a vertical sun, with the daily dread and monthly certainty of a fever, a flux, or a quotidian ague! The evils which must have resulted from this economical system are fully stated by Mr. Raffles; (Introd. p. xli ;) but the final expiration of the Company followed so closely on the heels of these sage regulations, as not to allow them time to operate. Another plan was then adopted: the councils of the French prevailed in Holland, and Daendels, the creature of Buonaparte, was sent out to see whether any and what spoils could be collected from this once splendid seat of the Oriental empire of the Batavian republic. This man succeeded in raising a larger revenue from the island than any of his predecessors had been able to do, but it was effected by forced services and contingents, and all the tyranny which they render necessary.' He tells his employers, indeed, that, in the midst of the disastrous circumstances with which he was surrounded, he found it necessary to place himself above the usual formalities, and to disregard every law, but that which en

joined the preservation of the colony entrusted to his management:'-the meaning of which cannot be misunderstood, and will not easily be forgotten by those who were the victims of its practical application.

It was from a knowledge of the wretched state to which the Dutch dependencies in India had been reduced, that we were disposed to call in question the splendid prospects of an augmentation of British power and prosperity,' held forth by Lord Minto on its capture in 1810; and induced to think that, having dispossessed the enemy, the wisest and most profitable policy would be that of delivering the island into the hands of the natives.'* The perusal of Mr. Raffles's book has tended to confirm us in that opinion; the more so, as we are given to understand, that the Dutch are rapidly falling into their old state of misgovernment, and have it in contemplation not only to forbid all foreigners from frequenting the ports of Java; but, under some antiquated treaties, to prohibit the sovereigns of several of the great islands of the archipelago from admitting foreign ships into their ports, and to compel them to trade exclusively with themselves. Such preposterous pretensions should be resisted in limine. If, however, the Dutch can be so utterly regardless of their own interests, after the experience which the Javans have had of a better government, as to renew their odious imposts, and forced services, we shall hear, without surprize, that the native chiefs have at length united with the determination of driving them from the island. Men who have felt the mild and equitable sway of the British government; who have been relieved from all forced services,' from all undefined and vexatious imposts, and not only allowed, but encouraged, to bring their commodities to a free and open market, will not easily be persuaded to place their necks again under the galling yoke from which they had so recently escaped. They heard of the restitution of the island to the Dutch with terror and dismay, and nothing but the strong assurance of the continuance of the system adopted by the British government, and steadily pursued by Mr. Raffles to their entire satisfaction, was able to tranquillize their fears. For the sake then of this amiable and ingenuous,' this mild, generous, and warmhearted people,' as Governor Raffles terms the Javanese, more than for that of any fancied augmentation of British power and prosperity,' we could wish, as it was not surrendered to the natives, that we had kept possession of the island.

Of the vast mass of information respecting Java, which Mr. Raffles has collected on the spot, and thrown somewhat hastily together, we must content ourselves with a very brief analysis; and

* No. XII. Art. X.

we