penfed with. But I have rather wondered to hear fuch hopes as thefe thus far encouraged, or even entertained, on the part of the prifoner; with confidence enough to make it worth her while to avow, in this ftage of the bufinefs, that she had rather have every thing prefumed against her, than hear any thing proved; and to difclofe to your lordships, not an anxiety to clear her injured innocence, but a dread of the enquiry."

The editor then states the questions which were submitted to the judges, with their opinions, as delivered by the chief juftice of the common pleas.

What follows is a very full, accurate and entertaining note on the fubjugation of the Welfh.

Though Wales, fays the editor, unconquered and uncultivated, for ages preferved its independence against the continued attempts of a great, and of a powerful people, to fubje&t it; yet whether this may with greater propriety be afcribed to courage, to the fituation of the country, or to a want of that, whatever it may be, which ftimulates the ambition of conquerors, is not perhaps fo easy to determine; certain however it is, that the Saxons, infligated more by revenge, than by any solid advantage which could poffibly have been derived from the conqueft of fuch a country, continually exerted every effort to fubdue it.

At what period the Britons were firft called Welsh, or from whence the word Wallia is derived, is not, I believe, as yet afcertained laborious may have been the researches, various, no doubt, are the conjectures. From whatever origin the word may have been derived, it is not, however, unreafonable to fuppofe that it was at firft a term of reproach applied by the Saxons; the Welsh having almost invariably denominated themfelves Cymry,'

He then proceeds to controvert the opinion of Mr. juftice Blackstone, that "the king of England's eldest fon became, as a MATTER OF COURSE, their titular prince."

As to the expreffion jure feodale fubje&a, in the statute of Rhudlan, the editor confiders it to be very remarkable.

As it is believed that no infiance can be found of a jusfeodale prevailing IN ENGLAND; we hear indeed of the word feodum, and the diftinction between the feodum novum and the feodum antiquum; but of a REGULAR SYSTEM of feodal law, which this expreffion feems to indicate, there are but very flight traces. Edward however was a conqueror, and had a right to make ufe of his own words in the preamble to his own law..

It may not be impertinent to obferve that though of late years fome very ingenious attempts have been made to explain our ancient common law, by feodal principles, yet it is evident, that neither Littleton nor his learned and laborious commentator,

feem

feem to have known that fuch a law had ever had any prevalence in any part of Europe.'

In treating of the union of Wales with England, Mr. Runnington remarks that,

In the reign of Henry the VIIth. who was defcended from the princes of North Wales, the Welsh experienced greater favour; and by his fon and fucceffor Henry VIII. the union of England and Wales was happily and politically effected. Previous steps having been taken to introduce a union of laws between the two countries, the finishing ftroke to the independency of the Welsh was, as Dr. Blackftone remarks, given by the ftat. 27 Hen. VIII. cap. 26. which at the fame time gave the utmost advancement to their civil profperity.-The ftatutes 34 and 35 Hen. VIII. cap. 26. confirms the fame. This act not only adds farther but alfo contains a more complete code of regulations, for the administration of juftice, with fuch precifion, and fuch accuracy, that no one claufe of it, according to Mr. Barrington, hath ever yet occafioned a doubt, or required an explanation.

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Thus were united a people hitherto diftracted with continual animofity, and thus, (to use the words of the elegant commentator,) were this brave people gradually conquered into the enjoyment of true liberty; being infenfibly put upon the fame footing, and made fellow-citizens with their conquerors.

With the greatest deference to fuch refpectable authorities as Mr. juftice Blackstone, and Mr. Barrington, the ftatute of 34 and 35 Henry VIII. cannot now be deemed a complete code of regulations for the adminiftration of juftice in Wales; in truth, whoever attentively confiders the mode of judicial proceedings as conducted in Wales, compared with that which is purfued in this kingdom, muft immediately acknowledge the manifeft fuperiority of the latter. It is true that they have in Wales a court which is fomewhat improperly nominated the court of grand feffions, in which is tranfacted, all profeffional bufinefs, either at law, or in equity. It is equally true that in general the learned judge, in the trial of a caufe, will deliver an elaborate fpeech to the jury, all this is true; but if it is apparent, that the common people are in general ignorant of the English language-that in Wales they are not, as I apprehend, permitted to try caufes by fpecial juries-that where the cause of action exceeds ten pounds, the parties may try it at the next English county, by which means either the plaintiff or the defendant is frequently obliged, at a great expence, and at great trouble, to bring witneffes from a very disant part, to try a very trifling caufe, and by fuch means affording to the opulent too frequent opportunities to harrafs and opprefs the indigentit must be obvious that what was originally intended as a benefit, is now become a grievance and that as the reafon for trying caufes in the next English county has long fince ceased, the prac. tice should ceafe alfo.-Were the judicial proceedings in every

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refpect the fame as in England, and Wales joined to the English circuits, there would not then, perhaps, exift any partial diftinction between the inhabitants of England and of Walesthey would then have the fame laws, the fame juftice, the fame government, and, in time, the fame language. It is true that the natives of this country are fomewhat untractable in their difpofitions, and to which it may be attributed that they feldom, however deferving, rife to eminence in any department;—it may, however, be the most pleafing reflection to the gentlemen of Wales, that, unplaced and unpenfioned, they are perhaps the only part of the ftate, who have not had fome fhare in the profits of government, and enjoyed fome part of the public' fpoils. On the whole, it is to be hoped by every one who underftands, and understanding wishes to promote the real intereft of the principality, that every diftinction between England and Wales, whether arifing from a difference of manners and of customs-from the mode of adminiftering justice, or even from the language itself, may be entirely done away.'

The Hiftory and Practice of Civil Actions, particularly in the Court. of Common Pleas. By the late Lord Chief Baron Gilbert. The Third Edition. 8vo. 5. Uriel.

IT

T is a circumftance much to be lamented, that those books which are neceffary to the ftudy of the law, are in general worfe edited, than any others. Of this remark, there cannot be a stronger inftance, than the prefent edition of "The Hiftory of Civil Actions."-Though this was originally a posthumous publication, yet there is not a doubt but the greatest part of the work was compofed by the learned judge whofe name it bears, and to whofe genius and ability it is an high and indifputable teftimony.-The imperfect and unconnected ftate in which the author left it, induced a very probable, indeed we may say, an incontrovertible conjecture, that he never intended it for publication.-After his decease, however, it unluckily fell into the hands of perfons who were totally unacquainted with either its merits or its defects; who, in hopes of acquiring fomething from the fanction of his name, foon after published it, "with all its imperfections on its head.”— Its errors were foon difcovered-and the temerity and ignorance of the publisher were univerfally reprobated and condemned. The first edition going off, a fecond was publifhed; - in this indeed, fome, but very few, errors were corrected; and, ftrange to tell! the greater and more palpable ones were fuffered to remain: notwithstanding which, in the courfe of a few years, the fecond edition was entirely

difpofed of. Such being the case, the profeffion were not too fanguine in hoping that as the glaring as well as the trivial errors of the book had been repeatedly pointed out, that it would be minutely corrected; and the third edition be what, in honour to the author, and in juftice to the profeffion it ought to have been, as near perfection as poffible. The third edition is now published. On this edition we have bestowed the most serious perufal, and are forry to inform our readers. that it is equally deficient as the preceding one; with this. unpleafing circumftance, that it is burthened with a number of unneceffary and inelegant intrufions, which the editor is pleased to term notes.'-Grammatical inaccuracies, impertinent authorities, ftrange pofitions, and unwarrantable conclufions, are too apparent to escape the notice of an attentive editor. Errors of this complection, however, ftill continue to difguft the learned and judicious; and though more than one half of the chapters ought to have been tranfpofed, yet they still remain in their original ftate of impropriety and diforder.

The Universal Gardener and Botanist; or, a General Dictionary of Gardening and Botany. Exhibiting in Botanical Arrangement, according to the Linnæan Syftem, every Tree, Shrub, and Herbaceous Plant, that merit Culture, either for Ufe, Ornament, or Curiofity, in every Department of Gardening. Together with Practical Directions for performing the various Mechanical Operations of Gardening in general. By Thomas Mawe, Gardener to bis Grace the Duke of Leeds; and John Abercrombie, Authors of Every Man bis Own Gardener, &c. 410. 11. 7s, bound. Robinfon. [Concluded from p. 193.]

IN

N our laft Review we entered on the examination of this comprehenfive fyftem of practical gardening and botany, which abounds with a valt variety of useful matter, and appears evidently to be the work of men of great experience in thofe departments.

From the operative part of gardening, where the most plain and explicit directions are every where given by these authors, we fhall present our readers with fome paffages relative to Pruning.

• Pruning is an operation of the knife performed upon trees occafionally, in order both to give them any defired form, and to retrench or reduce irregular and redundant or fuperfluous growths, or whatever creates confufion and diforder.

• But

But this operation is particularly neceffary to be practifed on many forts of fruit-trees, more efpecially the dwarf forts, such as all kinds of wall and efpalier fruit-trees; it is alfo neceffary to be performed occafionally upon ftandard trees, both dwarfs and half and full ftandards, to all of which proper pruning is neceffary; fome forts annually, as all kinds of wall trees, efpaliers, and most other dwarf or trained fruit-trees; which being requifite in order to preferve the proper figure, and to keep them within their limited bounds, as well as to promote fruitfulness; but as to common ftandards whofe heads having full fcope of growth every way, they require but very little pruning, except juft to retrench any occafional redundancy, ill-growing branch, and dead wood. Wall trees and efpaliers however, require a general regulation of pruning twice every year, in fummer to retrench the evidently fuperfluous and ill-placed shoots of the year, and to train in a fupply of the moft regular ones; and in winter to give a general regulation both to the fupply of young wood left in fummer and to the old branches where neceffary.

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For in pruning wall trees and efpaliers it is to be obferved, that as thefe trees having their branches arranged with great regularity to the right and left one above another parallelly, about five or fix inches afunder, forming a regular spread, fo as the branches of each tree completely covers a certain fpace of walling, &c. and as the whole fpread of branches conftantly fend forth every year a great number of unneceffary and useless fhoots; and that as each tree being limited to a certain space, as just observed, an annual pruning is confequently most neceffary to retrench the redundancies, and all irregular and bad fhoots to give the proper bearing branches due room, as well as to enable us to confine each tree within its allotted limits, confiftent with its regular form.

-We must therefore be careful to ease the trees of every thing that is either fuperfluous, irregular, or hurtful, by pruning twice every year, a fummer and a winter pruning. We call that fuperfluous which though good and well placed, yet are more than are wanted or can be properly laid in, and that irregular which is fo ill placed as it cannot be trained with regularity to the wall or espalier, fuch as all fore-right fhoots, being fuch as grow immediately from the front or back of the branches in a fore-right direction, which though good of themfelves, yet their fituation renders them irregular or unfit for training; and we call that hurtful which is in itself of bad growth, fuch as all very rank or fingularly luxuriant rude fhoots; fo that the superfluous or redundant growths fhould be thinned by pruning out all that feem to caufe confufion, and the irregular and hurtful rank shoots should be difplaced, cutting every thing of all these forts off quite close to the place from whence they proceed, leaving however a proper fupply, more or lefs, of the regular or best placed fide fhoots where neceffary, fo as to preferve every part

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well