from the pious and extenfive efforts of that refpectable body; and have good reason to expect the hearty concurrence of many of its members in their private capacity; but it must have appeared from what has been said, that such a Propofal as the present cannot be brought to effect, but by due recourse to several expedients, which do not lie within the limits of their general plan.

LONDON, Jan. 1, 1792.

Something farther will be laid before the Public, when the Gentlemen who now have this business under their confideration, fhall be ready to offer it.

No II.

A SEQUEL to the Propofal for a Reformation of

Principles.

SOME Gentlemen, who are undoubted friends to our civil and ecclefiaftical Conftitution as by Law established, having farther confidered the ftate of things, as fet forth in a late Proposal for a Reformation of Principles; and feeing how many ill-affected and feditious affociations are formed and forming amongst us, to the corruption of Religion, Learning, and good Manners; the difturbing of the public peace, the endangering of life and property, and of every thing that can be dear to Englishmen and Chriftians, do refolve, to the utmost of their power, to take fuch measures, in a literary way only, as fhall be thought moft conducive to the preservation of our Religion, Government, and Laws. And they do most earnestly and affectionately call upon all perfons, who are difpofed as they are, to affist them herein; as conceiving that there is not, at this time, an object of greater importance than that which they are now recommending to the attention and fupport of their countrymen.

For the promoting of which, they judge it necessary, in the first place, to provide that a just and impartial account be given of all confiderable works in Divinity, Literature and Politics; with a faithful hiftory of facts and occurrences in Europe, as well literary as civil, military and political. For the compiling of which, under the form of a Periodical Review, Gentlemen of the first Character have offered their services, with no view but that of acting faithfully for the benefit of their country; duly confidering how grossly it hath been abufed and impofed upon by falfe and interefted reports of things and perfons: infomuch that we have reason to wonder and be thankful, that the times have not thereby been rendered even worse than we find them.

They judge it another neceffary measure to publish and disperse works of fuch good principles as may enlighten those who are uninformed, or rectify those who have been falfely taught; and of fuch excellence, as may defervedly engage their attention of which a Collection is already forming, to be approved and adopted

by this Society: who will repeatedly have recourse to the fame expedient on every future occafion.

This Society will confift of three Claffes, all uniting their powers and employing their intereft to the fame great and laudable effect, under the patronage and inspection of a Committee: that is to fay;

1. Of Acting Members, who will be refponfible for the monthly publication of a Review, &c. and of their occafional Affiftants.

2. Of a Committee, who will meet at regular times for the tranfaction of bufinefs, and to fuperintend fuch publications as the Society fhall direct.

3. Of Annual Subscribers, at not lefs than one Guinea each, to be paid at the time of fubfcribing. Which money fo collected will be applied, under the direction of the Committee, to the general purposes of the Society: and when the fubscribers fhall amount to a fufficient number, and a competent fum fhall be fubfcribed, the Society will begin to act.

All persons of the Nobility, Gentry, and Clergy, who wish to concur in the defign of this Society, are requested to direct their letters to Meffrs. Rivingtons, St. Paul's Church-yard, to be laid before the next meeting; and the faid Meffrs. Rivingtons are alfo empowered to receive fubfcriptions and benefactions, and to regifter the names of the fubfcribers.

The members prefent at this meeting have the fatisfaction of being informed, that fimilar meetings will be held at Oxford and Bath; and we truft, when this plan fhall have been farther made known, at many other confiderable places in Great Britain and -Ireland: and they obferve with pleasure how nearly their design, ftarted by a few private perfons about fix months ago, accords with his Majefty's most gracious intention for promoting the peace and prosperity of this kingdom in his late proclamation.

LONDON, June 11, 1792.

(N° III.)

WHEN the two preceding Numbers of this Propofal were offered to the Public, it was juftly apprehended, that a more impartial account of Literary Publications, though effential to the plan of the Society, would give more trouble than any other object that they had in view: but that difficulty is now in a great measure removed: and though the British Critic doth not pretend to perfection, or to fo near an approach to perfection, as may attain hereafter, its claim to candour and impartiality has never been difputed.

But there are other objects in view, which should by no means be neglected. When the principles of a nation are changed, as hath been too much the cafe in this nation within the prefent century, it is a certain fign that there hath been fome change in the ftudies of those perfons, who are educated to learned profeffions and if fo, there can be no profpect of any amendment till a new and better course of study fhall take place. Of this the Society being fully perfuaded, have determined to collect, and with the affiftance and intereft of all good men, whom they conjure to give attention to the cafe, will recommend to young students (efpecially ftudents in divinity) fuch Tracts as may furnish their minds with good principles, and with fuch fober and strong reafons as may (with the Divine Bleffing) enable them not only to maintain their own ground for themselves, but to recover to the truth those who have departed from it. They apprehend, that withcait this ftep, all the good that may be done by other means will be flow and precarious. Sermons upon fingle texts are found to do little good to thofe, who never learned their Catechism; fuch perfons having no rule of judgment in their minds to diftinguish between good and evil. The British Critic, if honeftly and impartially conducted, may ferve in its department to keep us from growing worfe; but it cannot reach to the root of the evil. Learned as we are in the prefent age, there are many and great fubjects in which we are to begin again. And though corruption

VOL. I.

1

is powerful and infectious, and falfehood is overbearing; let us hope the opportunity is not loft. None of us can fay how foon it may be and therefore we should work while some day-light is left, left the night overtake us. By fome fuch expedient as that now proposed, we may be furnished with a new generation of fkilful Critics, who may prevail to the preservation of the age in which they fhall live; unless the time is come, when the Light we have fo long neglected and abused shall be removed from us: which may God, in his infinite mercy, avert!

The first thing wanting is, a general and correct Idea of the Chriftian Plan; which is furnished in an incomparable piece by the great Lord Verulam. We would next attend to the Truth of Revelation, as proved by its proper Evidences; which have never been laid down more clearly and briefly, than by that eminent controversialist Mr. C. Leflie, in his Short Method with the Deifts, and his Truth of Christianity demonftrated.

Errors concerning the nature of Civil Government endanger the peace of mankind, and were never more current than at prefent: that fubject, therefore, demands our attention; and for this purpose we prefer a Difcourse on the English Government, extracted from the late Roger North, Efq; an eminent writer of the Guildford family; who goes through the subject in a clear and masterly way; and, having been a Lawyer by profeffion, his judgment may be liable to lefs exception. The late Soame Jenyns having well expofed the abfurdity of fome modern false Ideas of civil Government; we would extract this piece from his works, if it may be permitted: and to this we mean to add a Sermon from the works of the late Bishop Horne, on the Origin of Civil Government; who has confidered the fubject, as it ought always to be confidered, by Divines of the Church of England. A wild fectarian spirit would not prevail so much as it does if the fin and danger of schifm were better understood by the learned, and more diligently taught among the people. Nothing can be more excellent upon the, fubject than the three Letters of the Rev. W. Law against Bishop Hoadley, in what was called the Bangorian Controerfy which is now in a manner forgotten, though every Clergyman ought to be acquainted with it; for it was an occurrence of great concern, not to the peace of this church only, but to the very being and subsistence of Chriftianity in the world. To thefe Letters we would add an Effay on the Nature and Conflitution of