chemifts; every member of which committee fhall take an oath not to divulge any of the fecrets fubmitted to him as a judge in this cafe, farther than he shall be permitted to do by the difcoverer, or the manufactur ers on whose joint account he acts.

When this committee had made the neceffary expe riments to afcertain the facts fubmitted to their cogniz ance, and had judged of the importance of each, in regard to their employers, and had afcertained the premium they thought proper to affign to each, they ought, before they came to any final determination, to fend a fealed note to each candidate, mentioning the precife fum they were willing to bestow on him for the difcovery.If, after this, the candidate made no objection, it should be understood, that he acquiefced, and actually fold his discovery to the affociation for the fam mentioned, making oath, at the fame time, that he had not communicated it to any other perfon, nor fhould communicate it, without the permiffion of the affociation. But if the difcoverer was diffatisfied with the fum offered, it fhould be in his power to retain his fecret, to withdraw it from that affociation, and to dif pofe of it, to the beft account he could, to any other.

Could a committee be found, who would act, in this cafe, with candour and liberality, the affociates would thus obtain a great number of important new proceffes, every year, which they could retain among themfelves

for a certain time ;-and which would, of courfe, enable them to fell their goods, at foreign markets, cheaper than others. Thefe fecrets, no doubt, would in time take air: But the new ones, that this affociated body of artists would always be in poffeflion of, would give them a perpetual advantage over all their competitors.

This method, I think preferable to patents for the difcoverers, -as it would be lefs expenfive, lefs troublesome, and the returns more immediate. It would be greatly preferable to patents, in respect to the affociated manufacturers, as they would be freed from

a great many troublesome restraints, that any patent article muft engender. It would be greatly preferable as to the nation at large, because every patent must be laid open to foreigners, who have nothing else to do than to get fome perfon in Britain to infpect the patent, on their account. Thus can foreigners be better benefited by any patent difcovery in Britain, than the people of this nation itself.

If bleachers, callicoe printers, dyers, fmelters of metals, glafs-makers, foap-makers, and all others who are employed in chemical arts, were to form feparate affociations for this purpose, and could they be brought to act with candour and liberality, it is impoffible to form an idea of the improvements that might thus be made in a few years in the manufactures of this country.

In this fketch, I have confined myself to the chemical arts, because, in that line, most remains to be done and because chemical proceffes can be more eafily kept fecret than any others. But there are, no doubt, other departments that might be improved by the fame

means.

Before an inftitution of this nature could be carried into effect, a great many particulars would require to be adjusted, that I have not here mentioned. My object, in this difquifition, is merely to fuggeft a hint that may be afterwards improved upon.

The above having been communicated to a friend be. fore it was fent to the prefs, he infifted, that it would be proper to be a little more particular, were it only with regard to one branch, fo as the better to fhew the practicability of the fcheme. In a general affociation among many manufacturers, faid he, it does not feem to be easy to fix upon any standard by which the amount of the contributions of each individual member or company could be nearly proportioned to the benefits that each individual might derive from the fecret

communicated to the whole. To obviate this difficulty, the following cafe may be confidered.

Let us confine ourselves, in the prefent inftance, to bleachers only. In that business, each affociated partner has only to give in a fair account of the number of yards he bleaches annually, (this, I believe, is done already, as to all cloth for sale), and let the contribution be made, at a certain rate, for every hundred yards manufactured. In this way, each perfon could contribute to the common fund, always in proportion to the actual extent of his business;-and in proportion to the actual extent of his business, he must also be benefited by every improvement the affociation acquireth right to.-Nothing, therefore, feems to be more fair than this mode of procedure, as both the expence of the contribution, and the benefit refulting from it, would be exactly proportioned to the quantity of bufinefs carried on by each of the affociated members. This may serve as an example of what may be done in other cafes, which it is unneceffary farther to enlarge

upon.

J. A.

A detached Thought.

THE wifeft of those who live, is he who believes him self the nearest to death, and who regulates all his actions by that thought.

The most fenfible, on the contrary, among those who make scientific researches, is he who believes himself the farthest from the goal, and who, whatever knowledge he may have acquired, whatever advances he may have made in his road, studies as if he yet knew nothing, and marches as if he were only yet beginning to make his firft advances.

VOL. III.

To Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster. SINCLAIR! Thou phoenix of the frozen Thule! O fhape thy courfe to Tweda's lovely stream, Whofe lucid, fparkling, gently flowing course, Winds like Iliffus through a land of fong: Not as of old, when like the Theban twins Her rival children tore each others breasts, And ftained her filver wave with kindred blood. But proudly glitt'ring through a happy land, The yellow harvests bend along her fields; The golden orchards glow with blushing fruits; Green are her past'ral banks, white are her flocks, That fafely ftray, where barb'rous Edward rag'd And where the din of clafhing arms was heard, We hear the carrols of the happy fwains; Free as their lords, and with the purring looms,Hark! hark the weaver's merry roundelay!

The charming fong of Scotland's better day. "Tis liberty, fweet liberty alone,

Can give a luftre to the northern fun.

"Come when the virgin gives the beauteous days,
"And Libra weighs in equal scales the year :"
Come, and to Thomfon's gentle fhade repair,
And pour libations to his virtuous mufe,
Where first he drew the flame of vital air;
"Where first his feet did prefs the virgin fnow;
"And where he tun'd his charming Doric reed."
Perhaps where Thomson fired the foul of song,
Some rays divine may flicker round his haunts,
Some voice may whisper in Eolian strains
To him, who wand'ring near his parent stream,
Shall o'er the placid blue profound of air,
Receive the genius of his paffing fhade.
Come then, my Sinclair, leave empiric Pitt,
And raging Burke, and all the hodge podge fry
Of Tory whigs, and whigish Tory knaves,
And bathe thy genius in thy country's fame.
Let Burke write pamphlets, and let Pitt declaim;
Let us feek honour in our countries weal.

ALBÁNICUS

.

The Cold, or Colin and Cynthia, a ballad.
WHEN furly winter frown'd on all,
When hail beat hard and fnow did fall,

And cattle lingered in the fold ;
When Boreas blafts fevere did fcoull,
And whitling loud with angry houl,

All ravaged o'er, and kill'd with peircing cold;

Young Colin then was called away,

His king and country to obey,

And fight for glitt'ring baneful gold:

Without a murmur or repine,

He ftole away his corps to join,

And wander'd penfive through the piercing cold.

He beauteous Cynthia long had woo'd,

Nor long in vain had he pursued,

Not e'en to her his tale he told,

But left the lovely maid forlorn,

To weep, to languish and to mourn,

And wander'd penfive onward through the cold.

'Twas night; the rain in torrents pour'd, And boift'rous whirlwinds loudly roar'd.

No meteor did the darksome path unfold, The stars their twinkling heads did fhrowd, The moon was hid behind a cloud;

'Twas dark, 'twas chill, 'twas piercing cold.

When Cynthia left her father's home,
After her faithlefs love to roam,

Ah thoughtless fair, too rafhly bold,
All night she wandered through the fnow,
Through tractless waftes fhe did not know,
Driv'n by the wind, and stiffen'd by the cold.

But who can tell the anguifh of the maid,
When glimmering morn appear'd in fable fhade,
And nought but fnow around fhe did behold:
A while in filent agony fhe ftood,
And bowed her head, and fhed a pearly flood,
Then laid her down to perifh in the cold.

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