wear two fuch fabres, one of their own, and the other the sword of office, as it is called; the latter is always the longer. Both are worn in the belt on the fame fide, and fo difpofed as to cross each other. When they are fitting, they have their sword of office laid on one fide or before them. The Dutch and Chinese are the only nations allowed to traffic in Japan. The Dutch at prefent fend but two fhips annually, which are fitted out at Batavia, and fail in June, and return at the end of the year. The chief merchandife is Japanese copper, and raw camphor. Varnished wood, porcelain, filk, rice, facki, and foia, conftitute but an inconfiderable part, and thefe articles are in the hands of private perfons. The copper, which is finer, and contains more gold than any other, is caft in pieces of the length of fix inches and a finger's thickness. It is put on board in parcels of 120 pounds, 12 ounces to the pound; and every ship's lading confifts of fix or seven thousand fuch parcels. The wares, which the Dutch company import, are coarse sugar, ivory, a great quantity of tin and lead, a little caft iron, various kinds of fine chintzes, Dutch cloth, of different colours and fineness, ferge, wood for dyeing, tortoife-fhell, and coftus Arabicus. The little merchandise brought by the officers on their own account, confifts of faffron, theriaca, fealing-wax, glafs beads, watches, &c. &c. About the time when the Dutch fhips are expected, feveral outpofts are ftationed on the highest hills by the government; thay are provided with telescopes, and long before their arrival give the governor of Nagasaki notice. As foon as they anchor in the harbour, the upper and under officers of the Japanese immediately betake themselves on board, together with interpreters, to whom is delivered a cheft, in which all the failors' books, the mufter-roll of the whole crew, fix fmall barrels of powder, fix barrels of balls, fix mufkets, fix bayonets, fix piftols, and fix fwords are depofited; this is fuppofed to be the whole remaining ammunition, after the imperial garrifon has been faluted. These things are conveyed on fhore, and preferved in a separate warehoufe, nor are they returned before the day the hip quits the harbour. Duties are quite unknown as well in the inland parts as on the coaft, nor are there any cuftoms required, either for exported or imported goods; an advantage enjoyed by few nations. But, to prevent the importation of any forbidden wares, the utmost vigilance is obferved; then the men and things are examined with the eyes of Argus. When any European goes on fhore, he is exami ned before he leaves the fhip, and afterwards on his landing. This double fearch is exceedingly ftrict; to that not only the pockets and clothes are ftroaked with the hands, but the pudenda of the meaner fort are preffed, and the hair of the flaves. All the Japanese, who come on board, are fearched in like man ner, ner, except only their fuperior officers: fo also are the wares either exported or imported, first on board, and then at the factory, except the great chefts, which are opened at the factory, and fo carefully examined that they ftrike the very fides left they should be hollow. The bed clothes are often opened, and the feathers examined: rods of iron are run into the pots of butter and confections: a fquare hole is made in the cheese, and a long-pointed iron is thruft fnto it in all directions. Their fufpicion is carried fo far, that they take out and break one or two of the eggs brought from Batavia. The fame strictnefs is obferved when any one goes from the factory on ship-board, into the factory, or out of it, from Nagasaki to the factory on the ifle of Dezima. The watch must be infpected and marked at going or returning. The hat is fometimes examined. No private perfon may introduce money; it is generally taken into cuftody till the time of departure. Sealed letters are not allowed to be fent from or to the fhips, but they are opened, and required fometimes to be read by the interpreters, as are other manuscripts. All religious books, in particular fuch as contain plates, are very dangerous to import. Latin, German, French, and Swedish books pass more eafily, fince the interpreters do not understand them. Arms may not be imported, but it was permitted to us to carry our swords to the factory. The Dutch have themselves occafioned this ftrict fearch, which has gradually increased on several occafions to its present severity. The wide coats and breeches of the captains, and an hundred other means, have been tried to fmuggle goods to the factory; and the interpreters, who formerly were not fearched, carried contraband wares to the city, where they fold them for ready money. Much cunning has fometimes been ufed to effect this. A few years ago, a parrot was found concealed in the breeches of one of the lower officers, in confe→ quence of its beginning to prate during the examination. In 1775, several rix-dollars and ducats were detected in the drawers of an affiftant. These circumftances have led the Japanese, year after year, to limit the privileges of the Dutch traders more and more, and to fearch more strictly, fo that all their cuuning fcarce enables them to deceive this vigilant people. This fcru tiny prevents only imuggling and not private trade. Every one is at liberty to import whatever he can fell, or is in request, even fuch things as are permitted to be fold, only it must not be. done privately. The reason why private perfons are so defirous of fmuggling fuch wares as are not forbidden, is, because, when goods are fold by auction, they do not receive money, but other goods in return. Thefe goods, which are either porcelain or japanned goods, are fo cheap at Batavia, in confequence of the annual traffic, that they are fometimes fold under prime coft. Hence Hence, for goods privately fold they get ready money, and often double the price. The company's goods are not examined on fhip-board, but are carried ftraight to the warehoufe, where they are fealed by the Japanese. The interpreters are all natives; they fpeak Dutch in different degrees of purity. The government permits no foreigner to learn their language, left they fhould by means of this acquire the knowledge of the manufactures of the country; but 40 or 50 interpreters are provided to ferve the Dutch in their trade, or on any other occafion. These interpreters are divided into three claffes. The eldeft, who speak beft, are called upper-interpreters, the fecond under, and the third pupils. Formerly the Dutch taught the Japanese Dutch; it was in particular the doctor's bufinefs; but they now learn of the other interpreters. Some of the fenior interpreters fpeak Dutch pretty intelligibly; but, as their language in phrafes and conftruétion differs fo widely from the European, one has often occafion to hear strange expreffions. Many never learn to fpeak properly at all. In writing Dutch, they use instead of a pen their common pencil, and their own paper, but they write from left to right, generally in very beautiful Italian letters. The interpreters are very inquifitive after European books, and generally provide themfelves with fome from the Dutch merchants. They peruse them with care, and remember what they learn. They befides endeavour to get inftruction from the Europeans, for which purpose they afk numberless questions, particularly refpecting medicine, phyfics and natural hiftory. Most of 'them apply to medicine, and are the only physicians of their nation who practise in the European manner, and with European medicines, which they procure from the Dutch phyficians. Hence they are able to acquire money and to make themselves respected. They fometimes take pupils.. MONTHLY CATALOGUE. [ For MAY, 1786. 1 POLITICAL. ART. 14. Two Leters addreffed to the Right Hon. W. Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, for obtaining an equal Syftem of Taxation, and for reducing the National Debt. By P. Barfoot, Efq. 1s, Debrett. 1786. London. I taxing trading and N thefe fenfible and well written letters an important diftinction is landed landed intereft. The impolicy of encouraging the one and fuppreffing the other, our author urges with confiderable earnestness and perfpicuity. To avert or alleviate this evil, he thinks the reduction of the impofts upon malt, fope, falt, and candles, as bearing peculiarly hard on this useful and induftrious part of the community, abfolutely neceffary. He propoíes an equal land-tax, a disposal of the wafte and crown lands, a dog tax, and a tax of ten per cent. on all church livings above one hundred pounds in the king's books. His fyftem of liquidating the national debt is by an univerfal parochial tax, which he prefumes might realize twenty-fix millions fterling annually. All the revenue officers of every description would confequently be rendered unneceffary, and an immenfe fum faved to the public by their difmiffion. But, however fimple and defireable fuch a plan may appear to rational and difinterested minds, we doubt no reasoning will ever make it eligible to individuals of fuperior rank, who are in fome degree, and for the most part, pledged to fupport the prefent fyftem of intereft, venality, and intrigue. ART. 15. The Debate upon the establishing a Fund for_the_Discharge of the National Debt, Wednesday, March 29th, 1786. To which is added, the Report from the Select Committee, relating to the Public Income and Expenditure, March 21ft. 8vo. 1s 6d. Stockdale, 1786. London. The reduction of a debt, the moft enormous and complicated that ever burthened any community, occafioned this interesting debate. The minifter brought forward his plan with all that con fidence and brilliancy of elocution by which his parliamentary exertions are diftinguished. The house was in fome degree dazzled and overwhelmed by the fplendour, the magnitude, and the novelty of the idea on its first appearance. Their opinion of the measure in point of neceffity and importance was unanimous. The only grounds of difference were, whether there is at prefent an existing furplus ? whether the report of the committee for the purpose of facilitating a fanguine project does not exaggerate the income, and extenuate the expenditure; whether the resources of the country are not exhibited in a light too flattering, and magnified by a prospect partial to the wishes of administration? and whether too much stress is not obviously placed on the hypothetical permanency of a peace eftablishment. These were the points chiefly agitated in this debate. The report of it in the publication before us is a mere compilation from the newspapers. And the best account given there has not even been preferred. We refer the report on which the Premier builds his fyftem, and which is here added, to the criticisms of a Sheridan, a Stanhope, and Blake, ART. 16. The present State of Great Britain confidered, and the National Is. 6d. In a country groaning under a debt of above two hundred and Exty millions fterling, it is natural for individuals of all denominations to fpeculate on means of relief. And we confefs, in attending the progrefs of political difquifition, to have met with project: full as romantic as the prefent. The author wishes to abolish entirely the prefent mode of taxation; to annihilate all immunities conferred by charters; to abrogate all our custom and excife laws; and to lay every species of trade, manufacture, or mechanifm, open. Having brought us to this ftate of equalization, he adverts to the po pulation of the country, which he estimates at feven millions. From these he deducts three millions, as one woman and two children are generally allotted for every man. Of the four millions remaining, he fuppofes two to confift of handycraft-men, manufacturers, and peasants. And he thinks, chandler fhop-keepers, failors foldiers, and fervants, may amount to another million. He therefore reduces those who ought to bear the whole burthen of the state to one million. These are the nobility, baronets, knights, efquires, merchants, bankers, wholefale warehouse-men, manufacturers, employing weavers, or others, clergymen, and farmers. By a duty of ten per cent. on the property of this large body of the community, he conceives the whole of our national debt might be liquidated in the fpace of four years, and the exigencies of every fubfequent year might be raised by parifh-rates. We have no other objection to the scheme than that it feems impracticable, ART. 17. An authentic Account of the Debate in the House of Commons, on Monday, February 27th, and Tuesday February 28th, 1786, on the propofed Plan of Fortifications by his Grace the Duke of Richmond, when the Speaker gave the cafting Vote; with a correct Lift of the Divifion; and an Appendix, confifting of the Report made to his Majefty by the Board of Land and Sea Officers; Copies of Letters from Lord Sidney to the Duke of Richmond, &c. &c. 2s. 6d. Ridgeway. London. This important debate is detailed with more than ordinary correctness. Mr Sheridan's famous fpeech, fo imperfectly reported in the prints of the day, is given here with confiderable accuracy, and at fome length. It was not the first time the wit and genius of this able fenator had been displayed in fupport of those conftitutional principles which regulate his politics, but it was the first time he committed himself in a speech of above two hours in length. He was liftened to throughout with the most profound and eager attention. Dry as the fubject was, and wearied as the house evidently were at fo late an hour, by the fingular ingenuity and addrefs, with which he affailed the fyftem of fortifications, he not only roufed the folicitude of his auditors, and interested them in the fate of a queftion thus important, but certainly contributed not a little to affect the division which took place. ART 18. Obfervations on Mr. Haftings' Narrative of his Tranfactions at Benaris in the year 1781. 8vo. is. 6d. Ridgeway. London. We recommend the perufal of this ingenious pamphlet to all who have read the Narrative on which it obferves. Here the governor general's paffions, politics, and motives of action are expofed ENG. REV. Vol. VI. May 1786. B b with |
