can we think of his propriety where he' alks "And why is doctor Riach, doctor Mafon, and all the rest of them, &c. Doctor Riach, or doctor Any-body, can tell him, that, two or more 'nouns, tho' of the fingular number, coupled together, require a verb plural, and that, had he known any thing of propriety or grammar, he would have written are instead of is. Again, the elegance of his ftyle may juftiy be queftioned. Thus, in his very firft fentence, we find the word language thrice within the compafs of fix lines, and that without the leaft neceffity. Would it not read better thus In the fourth number of your fecond volume, it is obferved on the English language, that nothing has detracted more from its dignity, than our affecting foreign tongues, by admiring, praifing, and ftudying them beyond measure; and, I add,-by wholly neglecting our own." Or, ftill better thus (preferving the sense, tho' not the very words of the paffage alluded to) In the fourth number of your fecond volume, it is juftly obferved, that, nothing has fo much detracted from the dignity of the English language, as our immoderate fondness for, and ftudying of, foreign tongues; to which I may add the fatal neglect and contempt paid to our own." The reft is of a piece with the introduction; but I fhall not take up your time in pointing out the many inelegancies to be found in the ftile of this advocate for propriety and grace, as every reader of tafte cannot but remark them. That School-mafters pay no great attention to the pronunciation of their fcholars in common difcourfe, cannot be denied. Nor need they blush to own it. In fact, it is impoffible. To gain a decent livelihood, the mafter is obliged to take in fuch a number of icholars, that the school hours are hardly fufficient for hearing them their leffons; how, then, is he to attend to their difcourfe? Or, fuppofing it poffible to obferve their pronunciation in fchool, what would it avail? Let us not fill PROPOSALS for Establishing more Accurate and Comprehenfive BILLS of MORTALITY. From the Second Volume of Effays Medical and Experimental, lately published by Thomas Percival. M. D. F. R. S. and S. A. HE establishment of a judicious THE and accurate register of the births and burials, in every town and parish, would be attended with the most important advantages, medical, political, and moral. By fuch an inftitution, the increase or decrease of certain difeafes, the comparative healthiness of different fituations, climates, and feafons; the influence of particular trades and manufactures on longevity; with many other curious circumftances, not more interefting to phyficians, than beneficial to mankind; would be afcertained with tolerable precifion. In a political view, exact registers of human mortality are of ftill greater confequence, as the number of people, and the progrefs of population in the king. dom, may in the most easy and unexceptionable manner be deduced from them. They are the foundation, likewife, of all calculations concerning the values of infurances on lives, reverfionary payments, and of every scheme for providing annuities for widows, and perfons in old age. In a moral light, alfo, fuch tables are of evident utility, as the increafe of vice or virtue may be determined, by obferving the propor tion which the diseases arifing from luxury, intemperance, and other fimilar caufes, bear to the reft; and in what particular places diftempers of this clafs are found to be most fatal. 21; A few examples may, perhaps, confirm and illustrate these observations. In the Pias de Vaud, a diftrict of the province of Bern, in Switzerland, and in a country parish in Brandenburgh, I in 45 of the inhabitants die annually; and at Stoke Damarell, in Devonshire, 1 in 54; whereas in Vienna, and, Edinburgh, the yearly mortality appears to be in 20; in London 1 in in Amsterdam and Rome 1 in 22; in Northampton 1 in 26; and in the parish of Holly Cross, near Shrewsbury, 1 in 33. In the Pais de Vaud, the proportion of inhabitants who attain the age of eighty, is I in 21; in Brandenburgh 1 in 22; in Norwich 1 in 27; in Manchefter 1 in 30; in London 1 in 40; and in Edinburgh I in 42. These facts afford a striking, but melancholy proof, of the unfavourable influence of large towns on the duration of life.--From the moft accurate computation, London is found to contain 601,750 inhabitants; and from 1759 to 1768, the burials have exceeded the chriftenings every year upwards of 7000; which is the recruit the metropolis requires annually from the country, to fupport the prefent number of its people. In 1757, a furvey was made of Manchester and Salford. The number of inhabitants then amounted to 19,839; and the burials, exclufive of those amongft Diffenters, were 778. But fince that time the populoufnefs of Manchefter has confiderably increased. Half of all that are born in this town die under five years old. The island of Madeira is fo remarkably healthy, that two thirds of all who are born in it live to be married. Autumn is the most healthy, and fummer the most fickly feafon there. The mortality of spring and fummer, is to that of autumn and winter, as 115 to 100. In Manchester, difeafes are moft frequent and fatal in the months of January, February, and March; and leaft fo in July, Auguft, and September. This mortality of thefe two feasons is as 11 to 8; and of the firft fix months of the year, compared with the laft fix months, as 7 to 6. Hr Muret, Secretary to the Oeconomical Society of Bern, informs us, that he had the curiofity to examine the regifter of mortality in one town, and to mark thofe whofe deaths might be imputed to intemperance. And he found the number fo great, as to incline him to believe that drunkennefs is more deftructive to mankind than pleurifies, fevers, or the moft malignant diftempers*. Such are the important uses to which Tables of Human Mortality have been applied. The following plan of a more exact and comprehenfive regifter, than has hitherto been kept, is fubmitted to the confideration and correction of thofe who undertake the charge of the bills of Mortality in Manchester. 1. Let a table of chriftenings, marriages, and burials, be kept in every church, chapel, and place of religious worship in the town, and delivered at certain ftated times, to the clerk of the parifh-church, to be formed into one general bill, and quarterly or annually publifhed. It is of importance that the fill-born childreu, and those who die before baptism, thould also be regiftered; and the midwives should be defired to deliver an account of them. Perhaps, the fextons may afsist in afcertaining their number, as they are ufually. * Vid. a very valuable Treatife on Reverfionary Payments, by the Rev. Dr. Price; the Bern Obfervations for the year 1766; Philofophical Tranfactions, vel. 57 and 59; and Dr. Short's New Obfervations. interred in church-yards, or oblic burial-grounds. et the table of christenings fpeemales and females who are d; and the table of deaths exhe males who die, under the denominations of children, ors, married-men, and widowe females who die under the onding denominations of chilmaidens, married women, and . An obfervance of thefe difs will determine the comparamber of males and females who n; the difference between the the expectation of life; and portion which the annual births, and marriages, bear to each oThus by the Bills of Mortality have been kept at Vienna, Brerefden, Leipfic, Ratisbon, and owns in Germany, it appears = proportion of males to the fewho are born is as 19 to 18: proportion of boys to girls who er ten years of age, is as 7 to of married men to married woBreslaw as 5 to 3; in Drefden 1. At Vevey, in Switzerland, years, ending in 1764, there the first month 135 males to les; and in the first year 225, The fame accounts fhew likeat, both at Vevey and Berlin, born males are to the fill-born as 30 to 21. In the parish of rofs, Salop, an account was y the Vicar. A. D. 1760, of the of males and females of the eventy and upwards: The latunted to thirty-five, the former eight. At Paris, and in Sweas been obferved, that women live longer than men, but that women live longer than fingle and in Switzerland it appears arly, from the calculations of et, that of equal numbers of d married women, between the 5 and 25, more of the former died than of the latter, in the propor tion of 2 to I t. 3. Let the ages of the dead under five, be fpecified by fingle years; and afterwards, by the periods of five or ten years. 4. Let the Bills of Mortality contain not only a lift of the difcafes of which all die, but also exprefs particularly the number dying of each disease, in the feveral difeafes of life and different feafons of the year. To accomplish this, it will be neceffary for the Phyficians of the town, to confider the prefent lift of distempers; to reject all fynonymous and obfolete terms; and to give a fhort and eafy explanation of those which are retained: and whenever a perfon dies, who has been attended by any of the Faculty, the phyfician, Surgeon, or Apothecary, thould be defired to certify in writing the age and diftemper of the deceased. It appears to be unnecessary, and in many inftances would be exceptionable, to infert the names of the deceased: Their denomination and difeafe, therefore, may be expreffed, in the columns allotted for each, by dots or units, which are to be fummed up at the end of every three months, and fet down in figures. The LIST of marriages and chriftenings may be kept in the common method. The additional trouble which this more comprehenfive and accurate REGISTER will occafion to the clerks of the feveral churches, &c. may be compenfated by diftributing amongst them, at the difcretion of any judicious clergy-man, the money which arifes from the fale of the quarterly Bills. If a hundred of these be subscribed for, or fold at the price of one fhilling each, the fum of twenty pounds per annum will thus be raifed, without impofing any new burthens on the town. Every fecond, third, fourth, or fifth year, the bills may be collected into a volume, † Vid. Dr. Price's Obfervations on Reverfionary Payments. and and published, under the direction of two or more Phyficians, with obferva tions on the state of the weather, the prevalence of epidemic difeafes, their fymptoms and method of cure, and the increase or decrease of population du ring that period. Such a work will afford the most important inftruction to the public; and from the profits of it, a fund may be established for the benefit of the clerks, and the fupport of the inftitution. N. B. It is obvious that the plan here propofed is not local, and that it may be executed with equal facility and advantage in every town and parish in the kingdom.-Bills of Mortality might be rendered more useful in a political view, by taking fometimes the number of houfes and inhabitants, under and above particular ages, whereever fuch registers are established. A Chop-Houfe ANECDOTE. going to a little chop-houfe in a Grave citizen, worth a Plumb, dark alley behind the 'Change, ordered a two penny mefs of broth, with a boiled chop in it: when it was brought him, he fcooped the crumb out of a half-penny roll, and foaked i in the porridge for his prefent meal: then, carefully placing the chop between the upper and under cruft, he wrapped it up in a checked handkerchief, and carried it off for the next day's repast. POETRY. A SONG, wrote by the late celebrated Mr CHURCHILL: Addreffed to a young Lady. Dull pris'ner of eternal night, WHEN youth, my Celia,'s in the In bloom of youth, when beauty glows With rapture feize the joyous time; Be blefs'd to-day, perhaps to-morrow MAGAZINE. The MISFORTUNE. Dull Winter comes with dreary froft, To the PUBLISHER of the PERTH Creation droops, her beauty's loft; But Spring renews the jocund fcene, And wakes to life the new-born green. When men's gay Summer once is o'er, The genial Spring returns no more; All then is void of fweet delight, One dreary, taftelefs Winter's night. How fweet to feel Loves foft alarms, When warm in blood,and full of charms! The fun declines, and yields to night, W HILE others, jocund, hail re turning fpring, Of blooming trees, or gentle zephy fing, Of birds melodious warbling forth the loves, Of meadows green, or of enchantin Unhappy I a dire mifchief deplore; Fo For, mufing late one eve by candle light, (Was ever mortal in fuch a dreadful plight?) Sleep by degrees o'ercame my weary brain, But foon I wak'd to feel my lofs and pain; For ah! the cruel flame had feiz'd my Giz, And round my ears it burnt with awful whiz! Rous'd by the heat, and ftartl'd by the noife, Amaz'd I fprung, and op'd my fright" ed eyes: What could I do? inflam'd with vengeful ire, Iftamp'd, I ftorm'd, and-flung it in the fire. Ill fated wig! thy lofs I must deplore, My fav'rite once; but now, alas! no more ! Oft has it added luftre to my face, While high above the rifing top afcends And in a point the hairy structure ends! The MINUTES of the Select Committee, appointed by the House of COMMONS, to enquire into EASTINDIA Affairs. (Continuation of Mr Cooke's Examination from page 84, VOL. IV.) It is very eafy to imagine the confternation and confufion that was difcovered in every countenance, when it was known, that in one day the enemy had obliged us to abandon thofe works a which we had placed our principal dependence, and had flattered ourselves we could have defended till a reinforcement arrived from Madrafs. The nability of our military affairs appeared now too evident to expect much good from them; and as the Governor VOL. IV. was as little qualified to act in fuch a fituation as the officers, it could not but follow that all command must have been in a manner at an end for want of a proper confidence in thofe who were to be obeyed. This was actually the cafe; and, from the time we were confined to the defence of the fort itself, nothing was to be feen but diforder, riot, and confufion. Every body was officious in advifing, yet no one was properly qualified to give advice. The factory was fo crouded with Portuguese women, and unneceffary people, that it would have been impoffible to have found provifions enough for one week, even had our walls and garrison been able to refift the efforts of the enemy. In this fituation it was lucky for us, P the |