very good, yet hallways been thought greatly inferior to that made in Cneihire in England. Howev r, theßlock-lQand cheeses. which were carried out, in the fame ship Brothers, provea, on companfou, to-be no ways inferior to the £n jl:fh ones on board ; but bore the heat of Chun, and the vicilfitudes of the weather, equally with ihat imported.' It is with the greaicft plafure that a friend to American manu fa&urcs communcates these which can be read'.ly attested by all on ship- They will serve to show, that the fup ]hA d infcriv>rity of those capital articles of American production, chcefe and porter, is a mere designing pretence. Critique on the different Englijh hijiorians, by Dr. C''o:r, p-efixed to th: fir ft r-A:nm of his Uijlo'-y r,f Fpghra'd, lately publijfied. HUME, as an hiilorian, lias long enjoyed an extraordinary fliare of popularity; and liis performance feerrvs to be conlldered, by the ma jority of readers, as the belf account of the as- fairs of this nation. His abilities were compe tent to t he prod utftion of an history which might have far furpafled all the efforts of iiis Britifli predeceflbrs; and if his talents had been exerted ■with a jnit regard to candor and impartiality, nnd with the sole view of exhibiting a fair and accurate delineation of the trail factions of for mer days, his liiftoric fame would have retted on a more solid bnfis than that which now supports it—The spirit of philosophy which animates his work, gives it a manifeft fuperioriry over moil of the Lnglifh hiflories by which it was preceded. His style is elegant, without affectation ; and nervous, without an appearance of labour. His arguments in defence of a favorite hypothesis, poUeis all the actutenefs of sophistry, tho' their force is difirmed by the application of found lo g:c, and the addutSion of undiftorted facfts.— Under the pretext of exposing the delusions of fanatkifm, the weakness of bigotry, and the arts cffelfilh and deligning ecclefiaflics, he indirectly endeavors to sap the fabric of religion itfelf, and undermine the dearest imerelts of society. His political principles are adverse to the claims of freedom ; and under the cloak of impartial discussion, he vilifies the exertions of the patriot, and depresses the generous flame of liberty. The reputation of Rapin is now in the wane. The multiplicity of his errors, his want of ani /rnation, and his injudicious use of his materials, llisive occafioncd the decline of that eminence which he once enjoyed, and which produced an ■unprecedented sale of his voluminous work. His general impartiality was the original cause of the success of his history ; but that quality is not so conspicuous in this author ns his advocates pretend ; nor, on the other hand, is his perfor mance so defective in this refpetfi:, as some later hiiioi ians have iniinunted. Though Carte is supposed to have employed more time and labour on his history than any preceding or fubfequeiit writer, his fnccefs did rot correspond with his hopes. The well known prejudices entertained by him, precluded the :ob'«i«nts reqwifite which such a work demands ; ajiii the public could not be expected to cherish a'verv high opinion of the sagacity or penetra tion of thaV author, who, in an enlightened age could decisively attribute the imaginary cure of the fcrophula by the royal touch, to a fanarive virtue conferred by heaven on anointed sove reignty. Carte, however, where his preposses sions do not intervene, is a faithful and accurate writer: but he rarely displays any portion of the graces or the energy of composition. Guthrie was a good claflical scholar, and an ingenious author. His liiflory of England is no contemptible work; but it appears to have been written with too great rapidity, and too little at tention of the mind. His remarks too frequently disgust by the vanity with which they are offered', or merit cenfnre by the want of a deliberate ex amination of that point on which he confidently pronounces his sentiments. The charge of harte and inaccuracy, which the prefenc critic has ventured to fix on Guthrie is more jufily imputable tohis countryman Smol let, as the history compiled by the latter, is solely borrowed from modern writers, whose misre presentations he has copied, and whose errors he has multiplied. A companion of his work with the historical labours of Rapin, Carte, and Guth jie, will perhaps convince the examinant, that he did not consult one of the original authors whom he has quoted in his margin. Hut his defects as an historian are in some measure palliated by that nevons elegance which often appears in his diction, and that judgment which prevents him from dwelling on occurrences of inferior moment. Goldsmith wrote wiih spirit and ability; but his history of this kingdom is a mere ep'ttnme, and is calculated rather for the amtifementof an idle hour, than for the improvement of those who aspire to a competent knowledge of En E lifh af fairs. b Henry is an accurateandjiidicious author ; but his plan is too detached and disjointed to please the general reader; and that divifon of his work which comprehends the civil and military hiftorv of Great-Britain, is too concise to be fat it fac tory. A Friend to American Minufafiures. Advantages of pnfcrvbig Parsnirs by drying. [By the Rev. J. Belknap.] AMONG the number of esculent roots, the parsnip lias two singular good qualities. One is, rhat it will *ndtire the feverell froll, and may be taken out of the ground in the spring, as sweet as in autumn ; the other is, that it may be preserved, by drying, to any defiied length of rime. The fir(t of tbefe advantages has been knoyn v for many years pnft ; the people in the most northerly parts of New-England, where winter reigns with great severity, and the ground is often frozen to the dep:h of two or three feet, for four months, leave their parsnips in the ground till it thaws in the spring, and think them much better preserved than in cellars. The other advantage never occurred to me till this winter, when one of my neighbours put into my hands a substance which had the appearance of a piece of buck's horn. This was part of a pat snip, which had been drawn out of the ground ]a!t April, and had lain negle<fted in a dry closet for ten months. It was so hard, as to require considerable strength tovforce a knife through it cross-wise; but being soaked in warm water, for about an hour, it became tender ; and was as sweet to the taste, as if it had been frefli drawn from rhe ground. As many ufeful discoveries owe their origin to accident, this may fugged a method of prjfferv ingfo pleaf.tnt and wholesome a vegetable for the life of seamen in long voyages, to prevent the fctirvy and other disorders incident to a fea-far ing life, which 55 ofren rendered tedious and diftrefling for want of vegetable food ; since I am persuaded that parfiiips, dried to such a de gree as above related, and packed in tight casks, may be tranfporred round the globe, without any loss of their flavour, or diminution of their nutritive quality. Asylum. St. J O H N, July j Lad night about tr o'clock, a Smoke House belonging to Mr. Tl'.oims Barker,on York-Point, was difcotered to be on fire ; the flames almost instantaneously bnrft out in a tremendous man ner, which soon rendered it impofl'ible to be ex tinguished—The whole town was instantly a larmed, and great numbers aftembled—The en gines were set to work with all poifible expedi tion, but no efforts could prevent the flames from communicating to the dwelling house of jVlr.Bar ker—a dwelling honfe, blacki'mith's (hop, and two other buildings the property of Mr. Thomas Jennings, which were soon reduced to a/lies, when fortunately a flop was put to the threat - ning progress of this diftrefling calamity.—The united efforts of the Naval and military officers and men (who kindly afforded every poflible as fiftance) together with all ranks of the inhabi tants to prevent the conflagration from spread ing, mull: otherwise have proved ineffectual, and the whole ra-nge of buildings, together with the Ordnance flore, which contained a quantity of powder and other combustible materials would inevitably have been consumed. Recent accounts from. Quebec, brought by a gentleman who arrived at the Great-Falls, a few Hays since, inform us, that His Royal Highness Prince Edward, with the 7th regiment had ar rived, and that the 65th were under orders for this place, to relieve the 54th stationed here, who will then embark for England. The fame accounts add, that his Excellency Lord Dorchester intends shortly for Europe. PORTSMOUTH, (N. H.) July 27. Arrived here, brig Elizabeth, Capt. Hooper, in 52 days from Greenock, in Scotland. At the time of Capt. Hooper's failing, (June 2d) prepa rations were still making for war, theimpreffing of seamen in England, Scotland and Ireland, was carried on with ipirit, See'. But it was generally imagined, by persons of difcermnent, that these preparations were only defined to divert the attention of the people from revolution princi ples—The British fleet had not failed.—The brig ABC, from the Potowmac was at Port Glaf g;>w, waiting for freight, expected to fail 15th July. The ihip Duchess of Haddington failed 14 dqys before Capt. Hooper, for Boston. CONCORD, (N. H.) July 20 We hear from Warner, that on Thursday last a barn belonging to Mr. Jonathan Straw, was taken up by a whirlwind, from the ciUs, and torn to pieces. There was a yoke of oxen in the barn at the time, but they were left ftandino without injury. On Friday last, in the severe thunder storm there was a heavy gale of wind about a mile and an half wide, which patted through the fout'n weftern part of this town. It tore up many trees, and did confioerable other damage. Deacon Her nek and Mr. Sleeper had each of them a cow killed by the falling of the trees. The earth is now well watered, and the pro duce on the farms appears to be rapidly ap 114 preaching to maturity, with profpe&s of al„ Tn riant h3rve(t. »«iuxn- Died, at Haverhill, MaflLchufctts, on W e( l„.r day the 6th instant, JOHN THAX I KR Efooir attorney at law. It is but just, to obfc™ e rh his character marked him an ornament L .if' profeffion : by his death the public are deprived of a ufeful man ; h,s acquaintance, of an ka re able companion ; his afibciates, „f a gj *' friena ; and his bereaved consort and an n„i child, of a tender hnlband and an afFedtiona parent. ,e In 1779, when Mr. Adams was appointed Mi nifter Plenipotentiary, to make a treaty of peace and also a treaty of commerce with Great-Britain' Mr. Tbaxter accompanied him to Europe in the character of Private Secretary. In that fituatioi, he obtained the fnendfliip of Judge Dana, who at that time was Secretary to the Conmiiflioners With Mr. Adams he resided in France and Hoi' land : And while his tafle for Literature render ed him an agreeable companion—his integrity and perfect fidelity, in the duties of his Ration claimed and received the ntmoft confidence of that patriotic Statesman, and his great antTfaith fnl aflociate, the present Chief Tuftice of th* United States. Peace being confirmed, in 178?, the Commif fioneis Pent him to America, with the charge of presenting the Definitive Treaty to Congress:— He was received with attention and refpedt. W ORCESTER, July 28. We hear from Royalfton, that on Tuesday e vening the 12th inft. a barn belonging to Mr. Benjamin May, of that town, was fee on fire bV lightning and entirely contained, together with fibout seven tons of hay, and a quantity of flax. By the extraordinary exertions of the inhabit tants, the frame of another barn, 36 feet by 30, was eredted on the fame spot by sun-set the next day. N E W - Y O R K, August 3. The Directors of the Bank of New-York, yes terday forenoon, appropriated three hundred (hares of that Bank, which were unfnbfcribed to be offered to the Bank of the United States. This vote of the Directors being made public, the re maining vacant (hares of the Bank (about three hundred) were all fubferibed in the space of twelve minutes after the opening of the Bank in the afternoon. W I N D H A M, July 23. Died, in New-London, Monday the 11th inft. Mrs. Eliza- BETH ne Bracei onci, widow of Mr. Lemerieu Dt Com demanche, aged 56 years. She arrived at New-London from Guadaloupe about lix weeks since, in a declining state of health. In conformity to the requefi: of the friends of the deceased, the Rev. Hcvry tharning, Prelbyterian Minister of the firft Proteftan: Church in that city, attended at the funeral, and officiated, reading the butial service of the Epifcopa! Churcli in the United States.— This attention to the feelings of the afflicted, in the true spirit of the Gospel, rauft be pleasing to every benevolent and chriftiaa mind.—One Lord, one Faith, and one Baptism. Philadelphia, August 6. James Barry, Esq. is appointed Vice-Consul within the States of Virginia and Maryland, for her Most Faithful Maiefty the Queen of Portugal, and has been recognized as such by the Supreme Executive of the United States. In the Supreme Court ot the United States, on Tnefday last, in the cafe of William Weft, plain tiff, in error, versus David Leonard Barnes and others, defendants. Mr- Bradford offered to the court a writ, pur porting to be a writ of error iff'ued out of the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court for Rliode- Island, directing to that court, and commanding the return of the judgment and proceedings by them rendered in this cause to this court with such returns. On motion of Mr. Bradford, counsel for Wil liam Weft, the said writ and papers annexed thereto, were read. Mr. Bradford then moved for a rule, that the defendant rejoin to the errors afligned by the plaintiff in this cause. Mr. David Leonard Barnes, one of the defen dants, and a counfcllor of this court objected t® the validity of the writ in question, and on that principle, to the rule moved for. The arguments 011 both fides being heard, the Court informed the parties that they would con sider the question. Adjourned. Wednesday the Court refufed to grant the rule moved for on Tnefdav, in the above cause ; being unanimously of opinion that writsof error to remove causes to this court from inferior ones, can regularly issue from the clerk's office, of this court The attorney-general of the United States in formed the court that there were several persons now confined in the jail of Philadelphia, charged with crimes committed again ft the United States. He then read a letter on the fubjeifl, from Wil liam Lewis, Esq. diftricft judge,to Wil 1 iam Rawle. Esq. attorney for the fame, informing, that fede ral of those persons had been confined for a
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