rubbing pretty fmartly with the finger upon the ulcer, gave no pain.'

Next morning the patient being carried to the operation-room, I began the compreffion of the nerves, at a quarter before eleven o'clock. The numbnets of the limb followed at the ufual time.

At a quarter before twelve, I gave him one grain of opium, to diminish the fmarting of the wound after the operation, when the the compreffion fhould be taken off. A few minutes after twelve, the tourniquet was applied, and the amputation performed by Mr. Hunter, at the ufual place below the knee.

At the circular incifion through the fkin, the patient did not cry out, change a muscle of his face, or fhew any symptom of pain. At the fubfequent parts of the operation, particularly during the faving of the bones, he fhewed marks of uneafinefs in his counte nance, but did not cry out.

As it was thought neceffary to take up no less than five arteries, the operation lafted a longer time than is usual, and towards the latter end he grew faintish, and defired to have some water, and afterwards afked if they were nearly done.

When the operation feemed to be over, and the bleeding stopt, the tourniquet was relaxed, and I also removed the compreffor. But a fmall veffel bleeding unexpectedly, it was thought neceffary to tie it alfo. Here the patient fhewed very ftrong marks of pain, and afterwards declared, the tying of this last veffel gave him much more pain than all the others, although the great nerves had been included in the ligatures.

When he was put to bed, the wound smarted, as is usual after amputations, the compreffor being now entirely removed, this was to be expected. But fome time after being queftioned concerning the pain he had fuffered during the operation, he declared that he had felt hardly any, except, as he himself expreffed it, at the rasping of the bones, which he added had fhaken his whole limb. This feems a little extraordinary, as fawing the bones is ufually the least painful part of amputations.

Although I expected that the nunaftomofing veffels would carry on a certain degree of circulation, notwithstanding the obftruction of the great trunk, yet I had no idea that it would have been fo ftrong as it was; for on flackening the tourniquet, the arteries bled per faltum, though the compreffing inftrument remained in full force on the crural artery.

This trial had all the fuccefs I expected; there was evidently a most remarkable diminution of pain, particularly during the first incifions through the skin and mufcles, which are generally by far the moft fevere parts of the operation. And I am convinced that what pain the patient felt, was chiefly owing to fome small branches of the Jumbar nerves which extend below the knee, and were not compreffed.'

So far our author: the reft of the pamphlet confifts in obfervations upon a compreffor adapted to the axillary plexus, which he thinks, with reafon, will act more completely on the arm, than this inftrument can poffibly do on the thigh:

in

in remarks upon the probable advantages that may arise from compreffing the nerves in many operations; and in foliciting the members of the profeffion, to make a fair and candid trial of the method here fuggefted, that the certainty of its utility or inutility may be properly afcertained.

We have thus endeavoured to do juftice to this ingenious idéa by giving a fhort account of the manner in which it was firft fuggefted to the author's mind; by tracing his gradual improvement of it; and, by tranfcribing from himfelf the account of the only experiment made in confequence of it on the living body, in the inftance of operation.

It is a matter of fo much importance to the profeffors, and to the practice of the healing art, to afcertain the utility of Mr. Moore's discovery, that we earnestly hope with him, that all the faculty will ftrenuoufly and candidly exert their efforts for this purpofe. In the mean while, we concur with our author in the opinion, that one experiment can never bẹ decifive upon any point. There are fo many circumstances which may render an experiment fallacious, that we ought to be much upon our guard in entertaining too fanguine expectations. At the fame time, let us be allowed to ob serve, that the experiment in queftion, as related by the au thor, feems very far from being conclufive. The marks of pain which the patient manifefted, at thofe parts of the operation which are generally the least painful, the anxiety he expreffed for its being foon over, are circumstances which feem either to be inconfiftent in themfelves, or with the fubfequent declaration, that he had hardly felt any pain during the operation. At the fame time, there is one circum ftance much in favour of the experiment, which is the much greater degree of pain which the patient declared he felt at the tying of the fingle veffel after the compreffing inftrument was removed, than he had felt upon the fecuring

of all the other veffels.

But there is another point which occurs as proper to be ascertained, in order fully to establish the utility of this dif covery; which is, to obferve carefully, the state of the patient after operation. It is a doubt naturally arifing in our minds, whether upon the return of fenfation to the numbed limb, after it has been fo long deprived of it, the irritable ftate of the part may not be increafed in proportion as it has been previously diminished; and thus the fmarting and pain fubfequent to all operations, which is always very terrible to bear, may be fo much increafed, as to become more infup portable. These are doubts which, in the difcuffion of this matter, we have thought it our duty to mention, with a fincere hope that they may not be realized; but that the expediency of the method, in the inftant of the pain of opera

tion,

tion, may be confirmed by repeated trials; that it may be unattended with any troublefome or injurious confequences after operation; and that the author may enjoy the full credit, and honour which will be fo júftly due to him for fo import, ant a difcovery. If even the experiment fhould hereafter prove unfuccefsful, Mr. Moore will ftill deferve the warmest commendations for his laudable attempts to alleviate the miferies of mankind.

0.

FOREIGN

ART. XII.

LITERATURE.

Loix Pénales: or, Obfervations on Penal Laws. By M. Du Friche de Valazé; dedicated to the King of France's Brother.

IN

N the preliminary difcourfe prefixed to this ingenious work, the author after having flightly noticed the origin of legiflation in general, proceeds to that of penal laws in particular, and to the principles upon which they have been founded. He then fhews that penal codes have been as various, as the different forms of government which have adopted them; and have even in many inftances been modified by the nature of the climate.

He lays it down as a rule that univerfal morality ought always to be the bafis of penal laws; and from hence deduces certain and general rules by which the penal laws of all nations may be comprehended.

Accordingly, wherever feverity is ufelefs, the penal law which enjoins it, is a bad one.

Severity is ufelefs, when the end which it propofes can be obtained without it.

The end which it propofes is the public fafety and tranquillity.* Such are the principles upon which this work is founded, and from which our author concludes, that it is neceffary that every nation upon earth fhould reform its code of penal laws.

The writer then proceeds to give an account of the plan of his work, which is divided into fix books.

In the first book he describes the nature and analysis of human actions; of virtues, duties, vices, and crimes.

*Ainfi par-tout où la févérité eft inutile, la loi pénale qui la preferit eft mauvaife.

La feverité eft inutile, quand la fin quèlle fe propose, peut être obtenue fans elle.

La fin quelle fa propose, est la fûreté & la tranquilité publiques.

H:

He divides all human actions into claffes; these he divides again into genera, in the inveftigation of which, he indicates the fpecies.

He computes eight different claffes of human actions.

Thofe which concern the government or the body politic he calls political actions.

Thofe which concern man in general, independant of his privileges as a member of the body politic; he calls actions from man to man.

Thofe which concern man in his connections with civil actions; he calls civil actions.

Thofe which relate to the city or fpot where he has fixed his refidence; he calls municipal actions.

Thofe which refult from a particular affociation made in the state, without any neceffary connection with the state itself; he calls actions of a private fociety..

Those which relate only to the natural members of a family; he calls natural domeftic actions.

Thofe which relate only to the natural and accidental members of a family fubject to focial institutions; he calls civil domeftic actions.,

Thofe which may arife from the different occupations of men, he calls profeffional actions.

The writer having thus determined the claffes of human actions, proceeds to confider their genera; in doing which, he gives a lift of the crimes peculiar to each genus, which he contrafts with another lift of the oppofite virtues and duties, and compares them with the vices of the fame genus.

In the fecond book the author ranges the claffes and genera, of actions of the fame nature, in their proper order; by which the reader fees at once thofe virtues which are the moft ufeful, and thofe duties which are the moft neceflary; at the fame time that he is fhewn the vices which he ought most to deteft.

The third book prefents the moral and political examination of the heinoufnefs of each particular crime.

The fourth book points out the method of preventing

crimes.

The fifth book contains the analyfis of thofe natural connections of mankind which have brought on civilization, together with the origin, nature and progress of society.

The fixth book after having treated of the origin and nature of penal laws; proceeds to ftate which of them are to be entirely rejected, and which are to be preferved, with proper

alterations.

Such is the writers plan', let us now follow him in the execution of it.

The five first books are all defigned to pave the way for the fixth, which is the grand object of the work, fince it I contains the author's proposals for the reformation of penal laws. We shall therefore only speak in general terms of the five first books, that we may give a more particular account of the laft.

The catalogue of virtues and vices, duties and crimes, as opposed to each other, feems very judiciously arranged, and we fhall find many things in it that are put in a new light. Nor is the examination of the heinousness of each particular crime lefs inftructive and ufeful. There is a fpirit of virtue, integrity, and humanity, which manifefts itself throughout the whole work; a proper fympathy for those who are un fortunate enough to offend against the laws of the state, or of fociety; and yet at the fame time the crimes and vices they are guilty of are brought to view, and exposed in their proper colours. The good man cannot fail to meet with powerful incentives to perfevere in a virtuous line of conduct by the perufal of this book; and the man who may be tempted to go aftray, will be aware of the fnare, by having actions prefented to his view as vices, which in the delufion of his mind, he might not perhaps have confidered in fo reprehenfible a light. In the fourth book on the modes of preventing crimes, which the author judiciously obferves, is much better than punishing them when they are committed; there are fome new precautions added to thofe which have been already thought of by moft legiflatures for this purpose. He thinks for inftance, that the best way of preventing the crime of embezzling the public money, is to fhorten as much as poffible the making up of the public accounts. He thinks that the receivers of the public revenue are allowed to keep the money in their hands for too long a time, which very circumftance, renders all the other precautions that have been taken against them useless.

The fifth book is entirely preparatory to the fixth, fince it treats of the difference there is between fociety at prefent, and when it was firft inftituted, with refpect to what conftitutes the duties of a citizen, and of the difference which that muft neceffarily occafion in the penal laws.

The fixth book which we mean to analife, more particu larly treats of the penal laws.

The firft chapter speaks of the origin and neceffity of pe

nal laws.

The writer contends that penal laws, are, or ought to be, in exact proportion to the intereft we have in the order or fociety established; but in the origin of fociety, thefe laws were baftily made, and only with a view to remedy the pre

fent