what is highly ridiculous when feen in a fpeculative point of view, becomes infinitely dangerous when placed in a political light and our contempt of its principles is almoft loft in our dread of its confequences.

To enter into the arguments that have been advanced on both fides of the question, would lead us beyond the limits of our journal: we thall therefore content ourselves with offering to our readers a brief outline of the present performance.

The first fection contains, thoughts on Toleration, and how far it is confiftent with our civil conftitution, and the prefervation of the Proteftant religion, to extend it to the Papifts." Under this head, the perfecuting fpirit of the Church of Rome, from one period to another, is expofed; and the doctrine of the Pope's fupremacy is particularly confidered as derogatory to the effential maxims of a free ftate. From a view of the inherent nature and invariable tendency of Popery, the gentlemen of the Affociation infer, that to tolerate its opinions, is to infult the natural and moral perfections of that God who gave us reafon and immortality, and to encourage the practice of idolatry, by law, in a Chriftian country. To tolerate Popery, is to be inftrumental to the perdition of immortal fouls now exifting, and of millions of fpirits that at prefent have no existence but in the prescience of God; and is the direct way to provoke the vengeance of an holy and jealous God, to bring down deftruction upon our fleets and armies, and ruin on ourselves and our pofterity.'

This was the language of Bonner when he gave orders for the fires in Smithfield-of Calvin when he fent Servetus to the stake-and of Laud when he condemned Leighton to the pillory. Shall we tolerate opinions (faid they) which are inftrumental to the perdition of immortal fouls?"

So far as any religious fyftem refpects the worship of God, and a future state, fo far it hath an undoubted claim to every poffible indulgence. As a fyftem of opinions, no ftate under heaven hath any concern with it. The matter wholly relates to the all-feeing God, and the dictates of private confcience. It is not the business of government to provide for men's fafety in a future ftate, any farther than by guarding their morals and fitting them for the offices of civil life. Of what remains to be done to qualify the foul for Heaven, every man must judge for himself.

The fecond fection prefents the reader with a view of the principal laws that were in force against Papifts before they were altered by the late act; and of the fpirit in which they were executed.

: Section the third offers Confiderations on the late Act of Parliament; and the alterations made thereby in the penal laws

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against Papifts.' Under this head, we meet with the following remarks: If we attend to the form of the oath to be now taken, by the Papifts, in the laft Act of Parliament, we shall obferve a very ftriking variation between that and the oath of fupremacy. of Geo. I. Stat. II. Cap. 13. By that, every Proteftant, and all other perfons, are required, on their oath, to declare, that nơ foreign prince, perfon, prelate, ftate, or potentate, bath, or ought to have, any jurifdiction, power, fuperiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclefiaftical or spiritual, within these realms.. But in the laft ftatute, to accommodate the Papifts, and to avoid encroaching on their obedience, and fubmiffion to their spiritual father, the words " ecclefiaftical or fpiritual" are omitted, and, the words "temporal or civil" fubftituted; by which it is plainly declared, that the legislature, conscious of the jurisdiction of the Pope over every Papift within this realm, and that the Papists, as fuch, could never confcientiously abjure the fame; have defignedly changed those material words, and thereby recognized, within thefe, realms, the ecclefiaftical and spiritual jurisdiction of the Pope, and all in authority under him.' This circumstance feems to affect Dr. Ibbetson moft ftrongly; who having publicly avowed his approbation of the plan, adopted by the members of the Proteftant Affociation, expreffes his doubts relating to the propriety of a Proteftant's taking the oath of fupremacy, in the form in which it is at prefent adminiftered. He feems to think, that the authority of the Roman pontiff in matters of an ecclefi afiical and fpiritual nature is, at leaft, virtually acknowledged by the legiflature, from the omiffion of the words Spiritual and ecclefiaftical] in the oath that hath been framed to accommodate the Papilts. We do not fee the matter in the ferious light in which it is viewed by the learned Archdeacon. A Proteftant may juftly fwear, that no prince, power, ftate, &c. hath any authority in Great Britain. The Pope hath, in fact, no more power than he had before the late indulgence granted to the Papifts took place. No authority hath been explicitly delegated to the fee of Rome : and all the claim it hath, exifts only (as it did before) in the creed of the Papift. To a Proteftant, it is a mere negation; and cannot in the leaft affect his confcience in the matter of the oath, which difavows the active, positive right and legal existence of the Pope's fupremacy over the ecclefiaftical conftitution of these lands.

The fourth fection contains, Obfervations on the manner in which the late Act was obtained; on the principal arguments in its favour; and on the fatal confequences which will moft probably refult from it.'

The conclufion treats of the abfolute neceffity of an application to Parliament for redrefs; and the constitutional mode of obtaining it.'

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⚫ Nothing

Nothing (fays the Affociation) but a law to repeal and qualify the late Act, can keep the Papifts within the bounds of allegiance and decency.- Our conftitution hath marked out the mode of obtaining redrefs; and declares it to be the right of the fubject to petition. Let petitions be circulated throughout the kingdom; let the clergy of the established church, and Proteftant minifters of every denomination, and all who are zealous for the welfare and fafety of the Proteftant religion, cordially unite, and ftrenuously exert themselves on this important occafion. Let petitions against the Popith bill be fent to Parliament, with numerous fignatures from every county, city, and corporation, and from other refpectable bodies of people. Let our reprefent atives be inftructed by their conftituents, to fupport thefe peti tions in the houfe; and as the eve of a general election is approaching, we have reafon to hope that thefe inftructions will be attended to. Should they be neglected, we foon fhall have an opportunity of electing members more attentive to the voice of the people, and the prefervation of the Proteftant intereft.We prefume, it would be better if the late Act of Parliament were totally repealed, and the laws against the Papifts placed on their former footing; but if that cannot be obtained, a qualify ing Act, with fome reftrictions, feems abfolutely neceffary. Thus the Papifts would be curbed, but not crufhed; they would not be perfecuted, nor could they perfecute: the grand objects of this ASSOCIATION Would be obtained; the Protestant religion would be preferved; the British conftitution would be fecured, and the Hanoverian fucceffion eftablished, upon the firmeft bafis."

Toberni Bergman, Chemia Profefforis, &c. Opufcula Phyfica & Che mica, Philofophical and Chemical Effays, collected and revifed by the Author, with Additions. By Tobern Bergman, Pro feffor of Chemistry, F. R. S. &c Illuftrated with Plates, Vol. I. Upfal, &c, 1779. Svo. 7 s. 6 d. fewed. London, imported by Lowndes.

IN

N this valuable publication, the philofophical world are prefented with a collection of excellent chemical eflays, on feveral curious and interefting fubjects. Some of them have for merly been publifhed feparately, in the Swedish, French, or Latin languages. After having been revifed by the Author, they are here collected into one volume; which, we are affured, will be followed by feveral others. We fhall confider them in the order in which the Author has prefented them: extracting fuch particulars as may be moft acceptable to our philofophical Readers.

Differtation

Differtation I. On the Aerial Acid,

This effay contains an experimental inveftigation of Fixed Air, first published in 1775, in one of the volumes of the Tranfactions of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. One of the principal defigns of the Author is to prove the acidity of fixed air;" to which he gives the name of the Aerial Acid. Among the various proofs of this quality, exhibited by M. Bergman, it is rather remarkable that, though he obferved its property of readily combining with alcaline falts, rendering them milder, and cryf: tallizable (in which laft cafe he erroneously confiders them as faturated with that acid); yet he seems not to have proceeded to a ftill more decifive proof of that quality, which had occurred to another inquirer.into the fame fubject; who has fhewn that folutions of alcaline falts may be completely neutralifed by fixed air, or the mephitic acid, and may even be rendered fubacid; in the very fame manner as the neutral folutions of Glauber's falt, nitre, or fea falt, may be rendered acidulous, by a few additional, drops of vitriolic, nitrous, or marine acid.

When the oleum tartari per deliquium is expofed to fixed air,› the cryftals which very foon appear, and which have been ob-, ferved by the Author, the Duc de Chaulnes, and others, are by. no means neutral. The fact is, that the neutral mephitic falt is not equally foluble in water, as the mild alcali; fo that, in their experiments, when the infide of a receiver wetted with ol. tantar, or a faturated folution of, mild alcali, is expofed to fixed air, crystals are formed. before they alcali can have acquired a fufficient quantity of the mephitic acid to neutralife it; because there is not water enough to hold the falt, though yet. only partially neutralifed, in a ftate of folution. To render, the alcaling flution, therefore, perfectly neutral, or fubacid; the fal. tartar. thould be diffolved in a larger quantity of water than will barely diffolve it.

In the paper above referred to, it has been fatisfactorily, fhewn, that the marks of acidity exhibited, by fixed air are not, to be afcribed to the vitriolic or any other acid, employed in, the ufal procefles for procuring it; as was fuppofed by fome fo- : reign philofophers. In the prefent differtation, however, we, rpeet with an obfervation, which, if not explained, might throw; fome doubt on the intrinsic acidity of fixed air, and which therefore deferves fome notice.

It is well known, that when a weak infufion of litmus has been made red, by being impregnated with fixed air, the rednefs gradually difappears on expofing the liquor to the common,

See Experiments and Obfervations on Fixed Air, &c, by Mr. Bewley, in Dr. Prielley's Second Volume of Experiments on Air, pag. 337, &c. of pika 1 F 4

air.

air. It has been alleged that this circumftance is not peculiar to fixed air; for that the colour given to this infufion is equally fugitive, when the water has been weakly impregnated even with the mineral acids. The Author has detected the fallacy. of this experiment, by obferving that the prepared litmus ufually contains alcaline matter; that the mineral acid come bines with this laft, and expels from it its fixed air, which enters the infufion. So that, in this cafe, it is not the diluted: mineral acid which gives the liquor its rednefs, and which afterwards flies off, so as to cause the infufion to reaffume its bluet colour; but it is the fixed air expelled by it from the alcaline fubftance that produces both these appearances: the mineral: acid remaining combined with the alcali in the litmus; and having no other concern in the appearances than diflodging the mephitic acid from the litmus. Suppofe the alcali to require the quantity m of mineral acid before it is perfectly faturated; it is evident that the quantity of acid may be added 10 times fuc

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ceffively, fo as to produce as many fucceffive appearances of this fugitive rednefs: one portion more added will render the redness permanent.

Of the numerous combinations of fixed air (or rather of wa ter faturated with this acid) with various fubftances, which are here defcribed by the Author, we fhall mention only a few. He affirms that spirit of wine will abforb double its bulk of this fluid; and that the fame is nearly true of oil of turpentine; which, at first, abforbs it with great avidity. Nay, he affirms that a portion of oil of olives will absorb almost an equal bulk of fixed air. The impregnated water diffolves zinc, and a femimetal which he calls Magneftum, as well as iron. It diffolves likewise a notable quantity of magnefia; dth part, the Author fays, of its weight. We have formerly diffolved nearly an ounce of magnefia, reduced to the state of a moft fubtile powder, in three pints of water, which was fupplied from time to time with fixed air. The folution, when faturated, had a faline, earthy, and, at the fame time, a bitter tafte, like that of the fal cathart. amarus: from which it only differs with refpect to the acid wherein the earth is diffolved. This preparation appears to us well adapted to answer various medical intentions, where the defign is to introduce a large quantity of fixed air into the fyftem.

The Author, who appears to have been one of the firft what difcovered the method of impregnating water with fixed air, and thereby imitating the Pyrmont, Spa, Seltzer, and other waters, fpeaks highly of the benefits he has derived from the use of the artificial Seltzer water in particular, during eight years, in the cure of what he calls an hoemorrhoidal colic, to which he has