ture's efforts, afterwards completely cured by a very bold and frequent ufe of the fcarrificator.

XX. An Account of a Difeafe, occafioned by transplanting a Tooth. By William Watson, M. D.-This is a remarkable hiftory, and ought to be made public. A tooth was transplanted from a perfon, in every respect, fo far as exami nation could ascertain, quite healthy, into the focket of another healty person. Soon afterwards, the latter was affected with spreading ulcers of the mouth, and carious jaws, which yielded only to mercury. The tooth too, before it was tranfplanted, was foaked in warm water, and wiped quite dry. At the fame time we must remark, that the new tooth was not first affected, nor did it firft fall out. The cafe is very curious; but, if all the circumstances have been related, it is inexplicable. If there has been no concealment, we think the tooth had no share as a caufe: we must add too, for the fake of the furviving relations, that we have feen more than one fpreading ulcer, where there was not the leaft reafon to fufpect venereal infection, yield only to mercury.

XXI. An Account of an extraordinary Conformation of the Heart. By Richard Pulteney, M. D.-The patient had almost a total inability of exerting his mufcular powers, on account of the faintness and difficulty of breathing which enfued. This appeared owing to a canal from the aorta, through the feptum, which divides the ventricles. The canal was near the base of the heart, at which the feptum feemed to terminate. The ring too, at the entrance of the pulmonary artery, was fmaller and more firm than ufual. The effects of

this ftructure will be obvious.

XXII. Obfervations on the Difeafe, commonly called the Jail or Hofpital Fever. By John Hunter, M. D.-This feems to be a faithful account of a peculiar epidemic; and the method of cure, though little varied, is judicious. The author errs only in looking on this epidemic as the general form of jail fever; for it frequently affumes a very different appear.

ance.

XXIII. Two Cafes of obftructed Liver, followed by Dropfy, fuccefsfully treated by Mercurial Friction. By Francis Knight, Surgeon.-The title gives ample information of the contents of this article.

XXIV. An Account of a divifion of the Liver, occafioned by a Fall. By George Pearfon, M. D.-The patient fell with his right hypocondrium and epigaftrium on the edge of a pail, from the fixth ftep of a ladder. The pain was excruciating in the abdomen and shoulders; but cold fweats and fymptoms of

irri

irritation foon came on, which proved fatal within ten hours after the accident.

• The blood being removed by a sponge, the right lobe of the liver appeared divided, in an oblique direction, through it's whole fubftance, from it's extremity, on the right fide, to the border of the left lobe; the two portions being only connected by the vena cava, and the trunks of the vena cava hepatica. The inferior portion was a ger mafs than the other part, being about three-fifths of right lobe. Under this larger portion the arteria hepatica, the vena portarum, the gallbladder, and the bile-ducts, were found not injured.'

In many respects this cafe is curious and important. It is illuftrated by a plate.

XXV. An Account of a fingular Fact, in the Practice of Inoculation of the Small-pox. By Mr. John Dawson, Surgeon. This fact deferves attention. Two children were in oculated; the arms fuppurated, and patients, inoculated from that purulent matter, were infected properly; but thefe children had no fever, and, in a fubfequent inoculation, had the disease regularly. The fever is, however, the criterion by which we now judge, and, as that did not appear, the dif eafe, at a fubfequent period, might have been expected.

XXVI. Of the Meafles. By William Heberden, M. D.This very just and accurate description of a disorder, fufficiently attended to in practical authors, cannot be abridged. The practical remarks are also useful.

the cure.

XXVII. Additional Obfervatlons concerning the Colic of Poitou. By Sir George Baker.-Sir George Baker defcribes. the Colic, in this paper, and gives fome directions relating to He fubjoins fome remarks on the way in which lead may be the unfufpected caufe of the complaint. Much has been faid of glazed earthen veffels; but many manufacturers ufe no lead in the glazing: at least in many glazed earthen veffels, if there is any faith in the famous liquor, made and ufed with more precautions than are commonly employed, no lead is diffolved by the vinegar which has stood in them fortyeight hours in a moderate heat. As the author has told us, that vitriolated lead is infoluble in water, we were furprifed to find him examining the lixive with his tormentor, the leaden nquifitor. We may juft hint to fir George, that this falt is really foluble, in a small degree, in pure rain water; but his teft is incapable of discovering it: if he doubts it, we refer him to his table of affinities, for the foundation of the change in confequence of the prefence of faccharum faturni. We clearly perceive the effects of lead in the cafes fubjoined;

Ff 2

but

but we are not fo fully convinced that lead is the fole efficient cause of the Poitou colic..

We have thus fhortly examined this volume, in the order of the articles. If we have been obliged to fpeak more flightly of the greater number of the papers than may appear confiitent with the refpect due to a royal college, we must, as usual, plead our duty and the ftricteft impartiality is no where more neceffary than when the weight of names, and the splendour of titles, may contribute to mislead the inexperienced reader.

An Anfwer to the Rev. James Ramfay's Effay, on the Treatment and Converfion of Slaves, in the British Sugar Colonies. By fome Gentlemen of St. Chriftopher. 410. Two Dollars. Printed at St. Christopher's.

THE flavery of the Negroes in the West India islands, how

ever repugnant to humanity, and derogatory to the Christian religion, is too ftrongly connected with perfonal confiderations, to be voluntarily relinquished by the planters. It might naturally be expected, therefore, that Mr. Kamfay's Essay, in which he contended with great and laudable zeal for the abolition of this practice*, would excite a general alarm among that clafs of men whofe interests must be particularly affected by fuck an event. Some gentlemen of the island of St. Chriftopher are the first who have engaged in attempting to refute the arguments, and contradict the most effential facts; advanced on this important fubject by the above mentioned author. But we are forry to obferve, that in the prosecution of their defign, they difcover a degree of prejudice inconfiftent with impartial enquiry; and where the defence of the practice for which they argue ought to be explicit and well fupported, they rather endeavour to evade or palliate than repel the charges exhibited by the author of the Effay. Thefe gentlemen fet out with urging the merits of their own conduct, reSpecting the fums of money which they contributed towards the defence of Brimstone-hill, and other purposes, during the late war. We have no inclination to depreciate the efforts made by the inhabitants of St. Chriftopher against the enemies of Great Britain on the contrary, we confider them as deferving of praife for every act of loyal attachment manifefted on the invafion of the island. But thefe allegations, however juft and recommendatory, have no connection with the slavery of the Negroes.

The conduct of thofe gentlemen as authors, however, is more liable to animadverfion with regard to another circum

*See Crit. Rev. vol. lvii. p. 381, 449.

ftance:

flance; which is their unbecoming attempt to injure the eftablished reputation of the author of the Effay. This is fuch a proceeding as can be afcribed only to refentment; and instead of fupporting, never fails to wound the cause where it is employed.

The authors of the Anfwer endeavour afterwards to justify the slavery of the Negroes, by examples in other ages and countries, and even by the authority of Scripture. But arguments drawn from political inftitutions, fupported by custom, and accommodated to particular fituations of fociety, can give no fanction to the continuance of a practice, which more enlarged views of the rights of mankind have at length abolished in civilized nations. Having examined the relation between mafter and slave in ancient times, in Gothic times, and as propofed for Scotland, in the year 1698, they proceed to confider it in its prefent form, in the British colonies. as may well be fuppofed, they give the most favourable reprefentation. But we cannot fay that any of the obfervations or arguments which they have advanced, either in the smallest degree invalidate Mr. Ramfay's authority, or can reconcile the mind of a liberal enquirer to the doctrine which they en deavour to fupport.

Of this,

Curfory Remarks upon the Rev. Mr. Ramfay's Essay on the Treatment and Converfion of African Slaves in the Sugar Colonies. 800. 25. Wilkie.

T

HE author of thefe Remarks follows as an auxiliary to the Gentlemen of St. Chriftopher, whofe caufe he maintains with greater appearance of investigation. For the most part, however, his obfervations deferye to be confidered rather as minute than important; and on a subject in which facts alone are concerned, he too frequently beftows his attention on fpeculative topics. But that our readers may be enabled to form an opinion for themfelves, with regard to a controversy maintained by oppofite affertions, we fhall lay before them a short extract, taken from a part of the Remarks, the credit due to which, when weighed with that of the Effay, muft depend entirely upon the comparative authority of the different au thors.

Page 69. At four o'clock in the morning the plantation bell rings to call the flaves into the field."-Now every Tyro in geography knows, that in the latitude of most of our fugar flands, it is not light, even when the days are longeft, till after five o'clock. For what purpose, therefore, the Negroes

Ff3

fhould

fhould be collected in the field by four, Mr. Ramfay alone can tell.

Pages 69, 70, &c.-In the author's account of the plantation duty of the flaves, he employs the greatest part of four or five pages, in expatiating on the toil of picking grafs. This is a department of their duty, which is certainly attended with more trouble in the island where he lived (from the peculiarity of its foil) than in any other in the West Indies; yet, there, it is not half fo tire fome as he endeavours to reprefent it; for in feafonable weather, and particularly when the flaves are employed in weeding, they have little to do more than to collect the grafs into bundles, which they have already hoed off the ground; in the drieft parts of the ifland, this is the cafe near half the year and in the mountainous and feasonable parts, even of St. Chriftopher, the grafs and other food for cattle, which grows among the canes, is in fuch plenty as to become a nuifance. The author muft likewife well know, that in wet feafons, the flaves are not only able to procure the grafs required of them for the eflate, but that they frequently bring large bundles to town to fell on their own account, both at noon and in the evening. In most of the other iflands, this terrible task is a mere nothing, except now and then, during a fpell of uncommon drought,

By Mr. Ramfay's account the Negroes do not get to fleep till midnight, and are roufed again by four in the morning. The abfurdity of fuppofing any fet of beings could undergo a regular life of labour, with only four hours reft out of the twenty-four, efpecially when fed fo indifferently, as he pretends, is too glaring to need any comment.-The real fact is, that the whole work expected from the flaves is over by seven or eight o'clock; except in crop-time, when fuch as attend the mill, and boiling houfe (perhaps fifteen or twenty out of a hundred) continue their attendance an hour or two later; and on plantations where there are only cattle mills, this divifion remains fometimes employed, with proper relief, moft part of the night. So that it is a Negro's own fault, if he does not get a much larger portion of fleep, during a year, than falls to the fhare of an officer in garrifon, or on board a fhip of war.

Page 75.-After prailing the skill of the overfeers, in being able to take out flakes of kin with a whip, the author fays, the wretch in this mangled condition, is turned out to work in dry or wet weather, which laft, now and then, brings on the cramp, and ends his fufferings and flavery together."-So far is this from being the practice, that our planters are remarkably careful to prevent even their unmangled Negroes from being expofed in wet weather; they are permitted, during rain, to retire from the field to the nearest fhelter; nor is it uncommon, for temporary fheds to be erected for that purpose: and it is almost an unvaried cuftom, to supply fuch flaves as have been

un