before the Revolution, he joined the Scottish refugees in Holland; and, after that event had taken place, returned to his own country, and resumed possession of his estate; but, says Cunningham, in his History of Great Britain, he would not do it by any law but his own, and that without asking leave of kings or parliaments. As a member of the convention for the settlement of the new government in Scotland, he acted with the same independent spirit, and shewed himself a most disinterested and zealous assertor of the liberties of the people.

In 1698, he published, together, two political pieces, entitled, respectively, A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militias, and Two Discourses concerning the Affairs of Scotland. His jealousy of kings is strongly apparent in the first, in which he has brought forward many forcible observations, to prove how essential it is, towards the limitation of a monarchy, for the people to keep the power of the sword in their own hands. The second of these pieces will hardly be thought to proceed from a lover of liberty, containing, as it does, a proposal of providing for the poor by domestic slavery. When the bill was brought into the Scotch parliament for a supply to the crown, he proposed various limitations of the prerogative, which were received into the Act of Security, and passed, through his exertions, into a law. They were, however,

He

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rendered nugatory by the union, a measure which he vehemently opposed, as subversive of the interests of Scotland. His speeches on the subject were particularly spirited and forcible; and, if eloquence could have carried his point, he must have succeeded. also published, in 1706, A State of the Controversy between United and Separate Parliaments, in which he displayed the usual characteristics of all his writings; great learning, a style at once elegant, energetic, and perspicuous, and a knowledge of every thing requisite to form the complete politician. He died in London, in 1716. character has been ably sketched by Macky, who said of him, whilst Fletcher was still living, "He is a gentleman, steady in his principles, of nice honour, with abundance of learning; brave as the sword he wears, and bold as a lion; a sure friend, but an irreconcileable enemy: would lose his life readily to serve his country, and would not do a base thing to save it. His thoughts are large as to religion, and could never be brought within the bounds of any particular sect; nor will he be under the distinction of Whig or Tory, saying these names are only used to cloak the knavery of both parties." His publications, and some of his speeches, will be found in a volume, published in 1732, under the title of The Political Works of Andrew Fletcher, Esq., and his life has been written by Lord Buchan.

THIS nobleman, the son of George Home, of Kames, in the county of Berwick, descended from a noble family, was born in 1696, and educated at home, under a private tutor. He subsequently studied law, at the University of Edinburgh, where he was apprenticed to a writer of the signet, but did not serve the whole of his time, in consequence of his determination to go to the bar, to which he was called in 1724. His studies were not confined to his profession; for, besides improving his classical education, he devoted himself, with success, to mathematics, ethics,

and metaphysics, and carried on a correspondence with the celebrated Andrew Baxter and Dr. Clarke, relating to those subjects. His deficiency as an orator formed some impediment to his professional employment; but of his legal learning and the acuteness of his genius, he afforded proof by a number of successive publications, which gained him great reputation; and, in 1752, procured him the appointment of a judge of session, when he assumed the title of Lord Kames. The writings which he had given to the world previous to this period, were entitled

Remarkable Decisions of the Court of Session, from the year 1716, down to 1728; Essays upon several Subjects in Law; The Decisions of the Court of Session, from its Institution to 1741, abridged and digested under proper heads, in the form of a Dictionary; and Essays upon several Subjects concerning British Antiquities; which last he composed, whilst in a country retreat, during the troubles that agitated Scotland, in 1745 and 1746.

In 1752, he published a work entitled Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion, in which he endeavoured to establish general principles of action, in opposition to those metaphysicians who deduce all actions from some single principle. It was received with considerable applause, but subjected the author to many attacks, in consequence of his having maintained the doctrine of philosophical necessity. He next produced, in succession, his Historical Law Tracts, and Principles of Equity; and a valuable work for young persons, entitled An Introduction to the Art of Thinking. In 1762, his Elements of Criticism appeared, in three volumes, a work that has since passed through several editions, with increasing approbation; and which, though open to some objections, from which new theories are seldom free, has decidedly contributed to the improvement of the art on which it treats. In 1765, he published a pamphlet on the progress of Flaxhusbandry, in Scotland; and in 1774, his Sketches of the History of Man, in two quarto volumes, a publication next in merit and importance to his Elements of Criticism. The work, however, which entitles him to a. place in the present class of writers was not published till 1776, when it appeared under the title of The Gentleman Farmer; being an attempt to improve Agriculture, by subjecting it to the test of Rational Principles. Agriculture had, for some time previously, been with him a favourite pursuit; and both theory and experience had suggested to him the ideas contained in The Gentleman Farmer. "In this performance," says a writer in The Monthly Review, "almost every branch of the

farmer's business is discussed; nor are all of them treated with equal skill and judgment. The book, nevertheless, contains so many useful precepts, the result of experience, that it may be considered, on the whole, as a valuable addition to the general stock of agricultural knowledge." The last work of the subject of our memoir, entitled Loose Hints upon Education, chiefly concerning the Heart, appeared in 1781, the year previous to his death, which occurred on the 27th of December, 1782.

The character of Lord Kames was estimable in every point of view, and no one had a larger circle of friends and admirers. He was a delightful companion to the latest hour almost of his existence; and is said to have been unable to restrain the vivacity of his natural spirits, even on the bench. He was particularly fond of the society of females, whom he addressed in a style of innocent gallantry, though not quite compatible with his judicial dignity. His biographer, Lord Woodhouselee, describes him as a greater friend to revealed religion than his writings would lead his readers to suppose: he was certainly a warm assertor of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator; and some sparks of literary jealousy, with a little partiality to flattery, are the sole defects which have been pointed out in one who appears to have been habitually pious, and a constant friend to morality. He was married, in 1741, to a Miss Drummond; and his wife, having a very expensive predilection for old china, he put a will into her hands, in which he had left her nothing but the collection of her favourite article, of which, from that time, she grew less enamoured. Besides the works above mentioned, Lord Kames was the author of The Statute Law of Scotland Abridged, with Historical Notes; Remarkable Decisions of the Court of Session, from 1730 to 1752; Elucidations respecting the Common and Statute Law of Scotland; Select Decisions of the Court of Session; a paper on the advantages of shallow ploughing, which, with two others, was printed in The Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions,

THIS eminent writer on political conomy, the son of Sir James Steuart, Bart., of Goosetrees, in Scotland, and solicitor-general for that kingdom, was born at Edinburgh, on the 10th of October, 1713, and was educated at North Berwick, in East Lothian, and the university of his native city. Here he studied law, with a view to following it as a profession; but, shortly after, having been called to the bar, he went abroad, and remained on the continent, for five years. In 1740, he returned to Scotland, and again made his appearance at the bar; but his sentiments in favour of the Pretender, with whom he had formed an intimacy, when at Rome, gave a tone to his speeches that rendered his success, as an advocate, impossible. Under this impression, he retired to his seat in the country, where he employed his pen in behalf of Charles Edward; and, on the failure of that prince's attempt to place himself upon the throne, in 1745, Sir James, not being included in the bill of indemnity, went over to France, and resided at Sedan, till 1754, when he removed to Frankfort-on-the-Main. His exile was not passed in idleness; he applied himself with great assiduity to the study of finance; and, in 1757, published, at the town last-mentioned, A Vindication of Newton's Chronology, written in French. In the same year, he removed to Tubingen, in Germany, and there published, in the language of the country, A Treatise on German Coins; which was followed, in 1761, by a Dissertation on the principles of Money, as applied to the German Coin. He next proceeded to Antwerp and Spa; and, whilst at the latter place, became an object of suspicion, in consequence of some letters being wrongly addressed to him, and he was, in consequence, for some time a prisoner. On an assurance that he should remain unmolested, he repaired to Edinburgh, in 1763, and soon after settled at Coltness; but it was not till eight years afterwards that he received a full pardon under the

great seal. In was in the retirement of the latter place that he put the last hand to his celebrated Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy, the work, it is said, of eighteen years' diligent and laborious research. Directing his attention to the improvement of the county in which he resided, he published, in 1769, under the name of Robert Trame, Considerations on the Interests of the County of Lanark, and had the satisfaction of seeing many of his suggestions publicly adopted.

In 1771, he offered his services to the East India Company, in considering the most likely means for regulating the coin in their various settlements; and. at their request, in the following year, printed the result of his labours, in a treatise, entitled The Principles of Money, applied to the present state of the Coin of Bengal. He died, from the effects of a mortification, on the 26th of November, 1780. In 1800, appeared, in six volumes, octavo, an account of his life and works, which, in addition to those before-mentioned, consisted of A Plan for introducing the Uniformity of Weights and Measures; Observations on Beattie's Essay on Truth; Critical Remarks on the Atheistical Falsehoods of Mirabeau's System of Nature; and A Dissertation concerning the Motive of Obedience to the Laws of God.

Sir James, who was married, in 1742, to a daughter of the Earl of Wemyss, and left one son, appears to have been highly amiable in all his private relations, as well as being an active and spirited promoter of whatever he thought conducive to the public good. Of his talent in pleading, a remarkable instance is recorded. Having brought an action against Judge (commonly called Lord) Armiston, he pleaded his own cause, with such extraordinary eloquence, that Lord Armiston came down from the bench, and defended himself at the bar. As a writer, he possessed considerable ability. Respecting the merits of his Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy, considerable

difference of opinion has prevailed; and Dr. Adam Smith used to say, that he understood Sir James's system better from his conversation than from his volumes. This sarcasm will, however, lose its force, if we consider that he who uttered it was the rival and

competitor of the subject of our memoir, who had to treat of a matter, at that time, no less uncommon than difficult; and in endeavouring, therefore, to please as well as to instruct, it is not to be wondered at that he should have fallen into many defects.

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THOMAS POWNALL was born in Lincolnshire, about the year 1720, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., in 1743. 1745, he was appointed secretary to the commissioners of trade and plantations; and, in 1753, he went out to America, as secretary to Sir Danvers Osborne, Bart., whom he succeeded in his office of lieutenant-governor of New Jersey, in 1755. The information he rendered government, with respect to the colonies, recommended him to promotion; and he was, in 1757, appointed captaingeneral and governor of Massachussets Bay. He resigned this situation in two years, and resumed his government of New Jersey, whence he was removed to that of South Carolina, which he held till 1761, when he was recalled at his own request. Upon his arrival in London, he was appointed directorgeneral of the office of control, with the rank of colonel in the army, under the command of Prince Ferdinand, in Germany, where he remained tilĺ 1763. In 1765, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society; and, at the general election of 1768, was returned to the British parliament, for the borough of Tregony, in Cornwall. Here he strenuously opposed the measures of the British cabinet with respect to America, and made his first oratorical essay against the bill for suspending the legislature of New York; during the debate on which, he declared "that it was a fact, of which the house ought to be apprised in all its extent, that the people of America, universally, unitedly, and unalterably, are resolved not to submit to any internal tax imposed upon them by any legislature in which they had not a share by representatives

of their own election." This timely warning he followed up by others equally cogent and explicit; and his several speeches, made at this important crisis, which were all printed by Almon, in his Parliamentary Register, may be said to form an invaluable comment upon the mistaken policy of the times. He had, the year previously to his entering parliament, (1767,) published the first edition of his Administration of the Colonies, a work which at once placed him on high ground as a financier. Some parts, observed the Critical Reviewer, "particularly with regard to paper currency, are rational and practicable, and deserve the most serious attention of government." In this edition he urged the necessity for appointing a distinct state-secretary for the colonies, which he had the gratification of seeing afterwards done; he also particularly recommended a revision of the trade laws and the navigation acts; and gave, as a reason for adopting a paper currency, that it was impossible for the colonists and merchants to create a silver currency, even if they were permitted to trade with France and Spain. This work at once became popular, and, in a short space of time, went through numerous editions.

In 1772, he printed an ironical pamphlet, entitled Considerations on the Indignity suffered by the Crown, and Dishonour brought upon the Nation, by the Marriage of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, with a Subject; after which, he printed and circulated amongst his friends, but never published, Observations on his own Bread Bill. In 1776, he addressed his Letter to Adam Smith, being an Examination of several points of Doctrine, laid down

in his Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations; this was followed, during the same year, by his memoir, entitled Drainage and Navigation; and, at the same time, he published his Topographical Designation of such parts of North America as are contained in the annexed Map (that of Lewis Evans, corrected and continued to 1775) of the middle British colonies, &c. At this time he was the representative of the borough of Minehead, in Somersetshire, for which he had been returned at the general election of 1775; and as such, delivered a variety of speeches on all questions relative to America.

At the general election of 1780 he retired from parliament, though he continued his connexion and friendship with Almon; and removed from Richmond, to his seat, Everton House, in Bedfordshire, where he devoted himself principally to antiquarian and literary pursuits. In 1782, he published A Treatise on the Study of Antiquities; and having, in that year, addressed A Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, followed it up, in 1783, by Two Memorials, with an explanatory preface. He, at the same time, printed A Memorial, addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe and the Atlantic; and, in 1786, printed, in the fifty-sixth volume of The Gentleman's Magazine, his Proposal for founding Professorships for Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture. In the same volume appeared his Answer to a Letter on the Jutæ, or Viti; and, in 1787, he published, in one volume, quarto, Notices and Description of the Antiquities of the Provincia Romana of Gaul, now Provence, Languedoc, and Dauphiny; with dissertations on the subjects, of which those are examples; and an appendix, describing the Roman Baths Thermæ, discovered, in 1784, at Badenweiler. In 1795, he printed, in quarto, Descriptions and Explanations of the Remains of some Roman Antiquities, dug up in the City of Bath; with an engraving of the same, from a drawing made on the spot; and, in the same year, he produced his Antiquarian Romance; endeavouring to mark a line, by which the most ancient people, and the processions of the earliest inhabitants of Europe, may be in

and

vestigated; to which was annexed some Remarks on the learned Whitaker's Criticisms. In 1796, he printed, (first published in The Cambridge Chronicle, in the form of letters,) Considerations on the Scarcity and High Prices of Bread Corn and Bread, at the Markets, suggesting the Remedies. He died, during his residence at Bath, on the 25th of February, 1805; according to some, in the eighty-fifth,-to others, in the eighty-third, year of his age, having no issue, though he had been twice married: first, in 1765, to the widow of Sir Evered Fawkener; secondly, in 1784, to Mrs. Astell, of Everton House, Bedfordshire.

Governor Pownall, in every station through life, seems to have sustained a high character for ability, zeal, and rectitude of conduct. He was the true friend of America, without sacrificing what was due to the dignity of the mother country; and as such, he is said to have lived upon terms of sincere friendship with Dr. Franklin, and other distinguished scientific, literary, and political characters, in both countries. Aided by a liberal education, and a constant cultivation of it during a long series of years, his mind, naturally vigorous and comprehensive, amassed an uncommon fund and variety of knowledge, as a financier, politician, political and domestic economist, and an antiquarian writer; though, in all of these characters, it is observed, he may be said to have entertained some singular opinions.

In speaking of the fourth edition of his great work, The Administration of the Colonies, The Critical Review, of 1768, observes, "it would be very easy to shew how much our author has misapplied his classical reading in other instances; but, in the publication before us, he has proved that he possesses qualifications far more valuable to the public than those of scholarship or classical learning. The proposal drawn up by him and Mr. Franklin, for a paper currency, and the disquisitions on the state of the American trade," it is added, "with other articles, must be lasting monuments of his abilities as a colonial magistrate and financier." addition to the works before-mentioned, he published several others relating to antiquities, both separately, and in the

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