4. CORN LAWS. These laws form a peculiar feature in the system of British legislation. They prohibit the importation of foreign grain, and allow the exportation of English grain only when it is sold under a certain price in the home market. This price is determined by the average sales in certain specified places for a given time. Corn also may be imported when the home market is above a certain price. The design of these laws is to bring the poor lands of the kingdom into cultivation, and free the cultivator from foreign competition while corn is at a moderate price. The operation of these laws however is often oppressive to the poorer classes, and the distress which occasionally exists in the country is in a great measure attributed to them.

5. ARMY AND NAVY. At the close of the war, in 1814, the British army, including subsidiary troops, exceeded a million of men; this embraced the army in India, the local militia, volunteers &c. In the army estimates for 1829, the total land forces of Great Britain were 109,442 men; of whom 19,719 were employed in the East India Company's territories. The only means employed for raising regular troops, is that of voluntary enlistment. But in the defence of the country, the militia, comprising all able bodied men, between 18 and 45, are drafted by ballot.

The marine force of Great Britain, during the late war with France, included more than 1000 vessels, manned by 184,000 seamen. This force is much reduced, and there are now less than 200 ships in commission. Sailors are enlisted like soldiers; but during war, when seamen are in high demand, the odious press-gang is resorted to; that is, sailors are taken by force, in the streets, and from on board merchant ships, and compelled to serve on board the men of war. The royal navy employed in 1829, 30,000 men.

6. REVENUE. The revenues of Great Britain are immense. The first source of income is the customs, which in 1828, yielded £17,957,669. The second is the excise, or duties upon the internal consumption of various articles, as tea, beer, spirits, soap, candles, &c. These produced in 1829, £17,904,978. Next are stamps, and taxes of various sorts, the poundage on pensions, salaries, &c, with the post office, all of which, in 1828, yielded £1,650,000. The total revenue for 1829 amounted to £55,187,220. The greatest sum ever raised in a single year was in 1813; this was £98,000,000.

7. DEBT. The national debt of Great Britain is £804,860,188 sterling. This enormous amount has been accumulated by borrowing money, and anticipating each year's revenue to pay the interest. The debt is of two kinds, funded and unfunded. The unfunded debt consists of deficiencies in the £238,000. The salaries, pensions, sinecures, allowances, &c, amount to £9,457,985, annually.

Sinecures. These are offices without employment but with salaries. They consist in the first place, of employments fallen into disuse, as the chief justices in Eyre, who enjoy salaries of £4,566; the Vice Admiral of Scotland; the keeper of the Privy Seals of Scotland; and Chancellor and Justice General of Scotland; the keeper of the Signet in Ireland; all which have salaries of 1500 to 5000 pounds. The master of the hawks in the royal household has £1500. In the second place are the offices, with salaries vastly disproportioned to the employments, and in which the duties are wholly discharged by deputies. Some of these exceed £10,000. Some are nominal duties of a menial nature. A right honorable lady, a Baroness, has held the office of sweeper of the Mall in the Park. Noble lords hold the offices of wine-tasters, store-keepers, packers, craners &c. The sinecures amount in the whole to £356,555.

Pensions, &c. There are about 1500 pensioners, who receive £777,556 per annum. This is exclusive of colonial pensions, grants, allowances, half pay and superannuations for civil, military and naval services. Pensions are granted for all sorts of service. Almost every high public functionary on retiring from office enjoys a pension from £4,000 downward. The Duke of Wellington has received successively under the title of national rewards' the sum of £700,000. He had, while premier, £13,140 yearly. Lord Maryborough, his brother, as master of the hounds, had £3,000. Lord Cowley, and Marquis Wellesley, also brothers, had £12,000 and £4,000. A natural son of the last £1,200. Another brother in the church £7,000. Lady Mornington, a cousin £1,000. Lady Anna Smith, a sister £800. Her husband £1,200. Lord Burghersh, a nephew £4,000. Lord Fitzroy Somerset, a nephew £2,000. Sir Charles Bagot, a nephew £12,000. Thus the whole family of the Duke of Wellington received £62,000 annually.

payments of government, for which no regular security has been given, and which bear no interest; and of bills or promissory notes issued by the exchequer to defray occasional expenses. When debts of this kind have accumu lated, and payment is demanded, it becomes necessary to satisfy the demand, either by paying the debt, or affording the creditors a security for the principal and regular payment of the interest. Recourse has been always had to the latter method, and a particular branch of the actual revenue is mortgaged for the interest of the debt. Money borrowed in this manner is said to be bor rowed by funding. The public funds, or stocks are nothing more than the public debts; and to have a share in these stocks, is to be a creditor of the nation. There are 300,000 holders of public stock in Great Britain. Three fifths of the current yearly expenditure are taken up in the payment of the interest of the national debt.

8. BANKS AND CURRENCY. The banking system is very extensive, and in no country in the world is the circulation of money so quick and effective. The Bank of England was chartered by William and Mary, in 1693, and was at first an engine of government, rather than a commercial establishment. It is still connected with the government by large loans. The concerns of the public debt, and the collection of the revenue are in the hands of the bank. It has an available loaning capital, of about £20,000,000.

The system of private banking and discounting is also very extensive. There are in London above 70 private banking houses. These hold in deposit a large proportion of the active capital of the country. The daily payments made to these bankers amount on an average to £4,700,000.

9. TAXES. Almost every article of use, convenience, or luxury, is taxed in Great Britain. The annual average tax of every individual in England, including women and children is £3, 2s. That of each individual in England, Scotland, and Wales, taken together, is £2, 15s.

10. COLONIES. The British colonial possessions are found in every quarter of the globe, and it is the boast of that nation as it formerly was of the

* The value of public stock depends upon the stability of the government, and fluctuates in a small degree according to the accidents of war, or political changes. There are many persons in London whose occupation it is to watch these fluctuations, and by buying and selling as they foresee a rise or fall of the stocks, realize great profits. These are called stock jobbers. When the government by a new loan, contracts an additional debt bearing a certain fixed interest, it is usual to add this capital to that part of the public debt which bears the same interest, and to unite the taxes raised for the payment of the interest of both. These bear the name of consolidated annuities, or consols.

The contract between the government and the original subscribers to a loan, generally consists of different proportions of 3 or 4 per cent stock, and terminable annuities. All the articles included in the contract, bear the denomination of omnium.

Taxes upon every article which enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot. Taxes upon everything which it is pleasant to see, hear, feel, smell or taste. Taxes upon warmth, light and locomotion. Taxes on everything on earth and the waters under the earth; on everything that comes from abroad or is grown at home. Taxes on the raw material; taxes on every fresh value that is added to it by the industry of man. Taxes on the sauce which pampers a man's appetite, and the drug that restores him to health; on the ermine which decorates the judge, and the rope which hangs the criminal; on the poor man's salt, and the rich man's spice; on the brass nails of the coffin, and the ribands of the bride. At bed or board, couchant or levant, we must pay. The schoolboy whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed bridle on a taxed road. The dying Englishman pours his medicine which has paid 7 per cent, into a spoon that has paid 15 per cent; flings himself back upon his chintz bed which has paid 22 per cent; makes his will on an eight pound stamp, and expires in the arms of an apothecary who has paid a license of a hundred pounds for the privilege of putting him to death. His whole property is then immediately taxed from 2 to 10 per cent. Besides the probate, large fees are demanded for burying him in the chancel; his virtues are handed down to posterity on taxed marble, and he is then gathered to his fathers to be taxed no more.' - Edinburgh Review, vol. 33.

These are- IN EUROPE. Heligoland, Gibraltar, Malta, Gozzo and Comino, Ionian

Islands.

ASIA. Hindostan, Ceylon, Prince of Wales Island, Sincapore.

AFRICA. Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Fernando Po, Cape of Good Hope, Isle of France, Seychelles, St Helena, Ascension.

Spanish, that on their dominions the sun never sets. The most important are the East India possessions, which comprise above a million square miles of territory, and a population of 120 millions. These are under the sway of a mercantile association in London, called the English East India Company. This company has existed for above two centuries. Their charter will expire in 1834. Their revenue exceeds that of any European state, except France and England. In 1829, it was estimated at £23,350,317. The taxable population under the control of the company, amounts to £83,000,000. They have 40,000,000 additional inhabitants at their command, under dependent native princes, and an army of 200,000 men. They formerly enjoyed a monopoly of the trade between India and England, but since 1813, all British subjects are allowed to trade thither, under restrictions favorable to the company. They still however enjoy the exclusive commerce in tea. The general concerns of the company are subjected to the authority of a board of control, who are appointed by the crown, and are under the direction of the ministry. The particular concerns are directed by the company.*

AUSTRALASIA. New Holland, Van Diemen's Land.

AMERICA. New Britain, Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, or Edward's Island, Bermudas, Bahamas, Jamaica, Tortola and Anguilla, St Christopher, Nevis, Montserrat, Barbuda, Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia, Barbadoes, St Vincent, Grenada and the Grenadilles, Tobago, Trinadad, Honduras, Guiana, Hopparo.

* MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS. National Income and Capital. The new property annually created within the kingdom and its dependencies, or in other words, the annual income of the kingdom, was estimated by Colqhoun in 1812 as follows:

Agriculture

Mines and Minerals

Manufactures

Inland Trade

British Colonies and Dependencies in Asia

£216,817,624

9,000,000

114,230,000

31,500,000

46,373,748

2,000,000

2,100,000

3,500,000

5,000,000

1,818,000

£432,339,372

13,215,474

28,712,466

-41,927,940 800,300

6 194,230

--218,160,724

Territorial possessions under the management of the E. I. Co. 211,966,494

The whole amount of property in the British Empire is estimated at £4,096,000,000 stg. Commerce and Shipping. The imports into Great Britain in 1825 amounted to £43,137,482. The exports to £57,335,513. Two thirds of the commerce of the kingdom is carried on at the port of London, and one sixth of the shipping belongs to that port. In 1827, there belonged to the British empire 23,199 vessels, amounting to 2,460,500 tons. The number of merchant ships built in 1828, was 1185.

Manufactures. The cotton manufactures of Great Britain absorb about one fourth of the whole industry of the country. The yearly manufactures of cotton are valued at £20,000,000; those of woolen at 18,000,000; of silk at 10,000,000; and the linen exported at 2,000,000. The iron made in Great Britain in 1827, was 690,000 tons. The value of hardware and cutlery exported in 1824, was £1,090,880, and of tin plates, £254,514.

Newspapers. In 1828, there were 143 newspapers in Great Britain, 19 of which were daily. In London, the different papers print 50,000 per day. The whole number printed yearly is 27,827,000. In the United States, there are about two and a half times this number. The influence of the newspaper press in England is prodigious, and not easily conceivable by an American, who is acquainted only with the journals of his own country. The most powerful newspaper in England is the Times, which is thus estimated in the Extraordinary Black Book of 1831. Had we the option whether we should prefer the return of 100 honest members to parliament from the unrepresented towns, or to have the Times at our beck, we should unhesitatingly say—give us the beldame of Printing House Square, with her good name, her Medusean front, her quivers of poisoned arrows, her subtlety, literary tact, and experience in all the springs of life and action.'

11. CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT. The income of the established clergy of Great Britain is £8,896,000 sterling, being more than that of the established clergy of the whole christian world beside. The amount of church tithes is £6,844,800 per annum. The income of the bishops varies in different years, according to the number of fines, leases, &c. It was stated in 1830 in the House of Commons, that the income of the Bishop of London would shortly amount to £100,000 a year. That of the Bishop of Winchester is about 50,000.*

Population. The latest enumeration of the inhabitants of Great Britain was made in 1821. The returns were as follows:

The total population of the British Empire, is estimated by the Almanach de Gotha and Balbi as follows:

Territory. The amount of territory under the British dominion is as follows, in English square miles.

The difference in the above computations arises principally from the manner of estimating the continent of New Holland by the two authorities. The former considers those districts only, as belonging to Great Britain, where settlements have been formed. The latter regards the whole as British territory.

The number of individuals able to bear arms from the age of 15 to 60 in Great Britain, is 2,744,847. There is one soldier for every 229 inhabitants; one ship of the line or frigate, for every 82,979 inhabitants: one representative in parliament for every 35,455 inhabitants; one scholar to every 15, and one journal to every 46,000.

Taxable Income. The taxable income of the various classes in Great Britain, distinct from Ireland, is estimated as follows:

Agriculturists, whether landlords, farmers or laborers

70,000,000

Manufacturers

46,000,000

Mechanics

23,000,000

The professional classes, as lawyers, clergy, medical men, artists, teach

ers, and domestic servants.

39,000,000

The army, navy, civil servants of government; annuities deriving an in

come from public dividends, &c,

46,000,000

The classes receiving parish support and other charitable aid,

6,000,000

Total,

230,000,000

The proportion paid by each of the above classes toward the national income is as follows: the Agriculturists 30 per cent; the Manufacturers 20; the Mechanics 10; the Army, Navy, &c, 20; and the class receiving charitable aid 3 per cent.

Labor and Subsistence. A day's labor in England will purchase 20 pounds of wheat; in France 16; in American 64. In England it will purchase 34 pounds of beef; in France 3 pounds; in America 12 pounds. In England it will purchase 15 grains of gold; in France 6; in America 24. A cotton weaver in England earns about 12 shillings a week; a tailor 188.; a hatter 278.; a shoemaker 168.; a carpenter 258.; a mason 22s. A cottager, or common husbandman lives at an expense of £37 a year.

* Ecclesiastical Patronage. The king's patronage is the bishoprics; all the deaneries; 30 prebends; 23 canonries; the mastership of the Temple &c, and 1048 livings. The

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. France is bounded north by the English Channel and the Netherlands; east by Germany, Switzerland and Italy; south by the Mediterranean and Spain; and west by the Atlantic, or rather an open gulf called the Bay of Biscay. From Switzerland, Italy and Spain, it is separated by mountains. It extends from 425 30′ to 51° 2′N. lat. and from 70 40′ E. to 5° 4′ W. lon. Its greatest length from north to south is 590 miles, and its breadth is about the same. It contains 204,000 square miles.

2. MOUNTAINS. The Cevennes form the central chain. They rise in the south, on the west of the Rhone, and extend northerly between that river and the Loire. They diverge into various branches easterly and westerly. About the head streams of the Loire, west of the main chain, is a branch called the Puy de Dome, which contains some extinct volcanoes. The southern branch is called the Cantal, and between these are the Monts d'Or, the highest mountains in France. These branches are called the mountains of Auvergne. The highest point is the Puy de Sausi, 6,330 feet above the level of the sea, which approaches within 98 feet of the height of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. This group of mountains covers an extent of 120 miles, and is composed chiefly of basaltic rocks. In winter they are exposed to dreadful hurricanes of snow, which fill up the ravines and confine the inhabitants to their houses. Sometimes communications throughout a neighborhood are effected by means of long arches under the vast masses of snow. In summer, thunder-storms with torrents of hail are frequent.

On the eastern borders of France are the Vosges, a chain of low and rounded elevations running north and south. They are covered with rich pastures, and on the southern and eastern slope with vines. They abound in minerals, and one of the valleys affords a precious green granite. The highest summit of these mountains is 4,580 feet. On the borders of Switzerland is a range called the Jura; and farther south are the Alps, which separate France from Switzerland and Italy; some of them are granitic, and others calcareous.

In the south are the Pyrenees, separating France from Spain. They run nearly east and west, and the western extremity of the range extends into Spain. They will be described in the chapter on that country.

3. VALLEYS. The valley of the Garonne is formed by the Pyrenees on the south, the Cevennes on the east, and the Cantal and some other ranges on the

Lord Chancellor presents to all livings under the value of £20 in the king's book, which are 780, also 21 prebendal stalls. 1600 places of church preferment are in the hands of the bishops; above 600 in the presentation of the two universities; 57 in the colleges of Eton and Winchester; 1000 in the gift of cathedrals and collegiate establishments, and the remainder in the gift of the aristocracy and gentry.

Ecclesiastical Sinecures. The Parochial Clergy are for the most part a mass of sinecurists. In 1814, it was ascertained that there were 6,311 church livings held by non-residents. Of these 1,523 employed resident curates, leaving 4,788 totally neglected.

Revenues of the Established Clergy. It is impossible to produce a complete and accurate statement of the revenues of the clergy. The bulk of the ecclesiastical revenues consists of tithes, but besides these an immense income is drawn from other sources. ** The clergy are in almost entire possession of the revenues of the charitable foundations. They hold exclusively the professorships, fellowships, tutorships, and masterships of the universities and public schools.

Immense landed property is attached to the sees, cathedrals, and collegiate churches. There is also a considerable income from glebe_lands, surplice fees, preacherships in the royal chapels, teacherships, town assessments, Easter offerings, ents of pews, stipends of chapels of ease, chaplainships in the army and navy, embassies, corporate bodies, commercial companies, &c. Besides which they monopolize nearly all profitable offices in public institutions, as trustees, librarians, secretaries, &c. A member of the established church in Yorkshire has received a yearly income of 900 pounds for teaching one scholar.