others, he notices the history of Matteo Menari, whose name spread terror for a long time along the coasts of Chili and Peru. A Genoese by birth, whilst yet a boy he fled from his home, and entered a ship bound for the Pacific Ocean. When the ship reached Peru, he deserted her, and finally settled at Callao, where he married a native, and opened a dram-shop, which he conducted on the most depraved principles. His daring disposition pointed him out to the authorities as a useful ally, and he was appointed one of the crew of the harbour boat; he was there promoted, and at last able to possess himself of a small vessel, with which he traded. In one of his voyages he happened to be captured, with several other small craft, by Lord Cochrane, at the mouth of the river Guayaquil; the arrest took place at night, and there was no doubt that in the morning the whole would have been liberated, as the measure, commanded by Lord Cochrane, was one merely of security. But the indignation of Menari knew no bounds, and in the night he attempted to murder one of the men who were sent on board to watch him. He was placed in irons, and tied up to the gangway, where he was well flogged, besides being deprived of his vessel. These proceedings so strongly operated on his mind as to induce him to vow eternal hatred to the English name. He joined an outlaw called General Benavides, who carried devastation amongst the Chilians wherever he went, with a body of Indians, who readily flocked to his standard. Menari joined this man as a naval officer, and in this capacity he committed many murders and robberies on the neighbouring seas. An expedition was sent against Aranca, the district infested by this lawless band, and at the head of it was Jock Roberton, a Scotchman, who had come out with others to join Lord Cochrane. A great battle ensued, in which Roberton was successful, routing Benavides, and leaving Menari for dead on the field. The latter, however, survived, and being brought to Valparaiso a prisoner, was ultimately released through the influence of a powerful friend. Not only was he liberated, but was put on board a schooner, belonging to a captain of Guayaquil, where he behaved so well as to induce the latter to make him an officer of the ship. Menari took the first opportunity to act the traitor to his benefactor; at the head of five of the crew, he rose one night, and turned the captain and some others adrift, and proceeded with the valuable cargo to Chiloe, which was then in possession of the Spaniards. In the meantime, Roberton had abandoned the service of the Chili government, and had fixed himself with some followers in the island of Mocha, a few leagues only from the Chili coast. Menari heard of the fact, and he resolved upon avenging the victory which Robertou had formerly gained over him. He proceeded to Mocha, and succeeded in decoying the poor Roberton to his ship, where he kept him, squeezed up in a hencoop, on bread and water. He would have readily taken the life of the prisoner, if

he did not feel some enjoyment in torturing him. Whilst Roberton was still on board, Menari had many encounters with different ships, which at last very considerably diminished the number of his men. In this extremity he forced Roberton to become his first lieutenant, and it was chiefly through the assistance of the latter that Menari was able to capture the Lieutenant's brig. Menari was at last taken by a French corvette, and brought prisoner to France, and after many adventures was appointed to the command of the port at Corunna. The Lieutenant informs us that this villain is now in Valadolid, living on the half-pay of a lieutenant in the Spanish service.

The reverses which the royal cause had met with in South America considerably changed the prospects of Lieutenant Bowers for the worse, inasmuch as his principal speculations were founded on entirely opposite expectations.

The concluding chapters of this work are principally occupied with remarks on the navigation of the seas round the coast, and it is needless to say that the practical information arising from such experience as Lieutenant Bowers has had in those seas, must be well worthy the attention of sailors. After twelve years acquaintance with the navigation of the Pacific, he bears honourable testimony to the admirable conduct of the British captains who have been engaged in the protection of our commerce in those seas. He then calls the earnest attention of all the friends of humanity to the question of the improvement of seamen. He offers a variety of suggestions for effecting the moral amelioration of this singularly neglected class; in a comparison of some length he shows how much better off the American sailors are than the British, the condition of many of the latter being altogether deplorable. The whole of this portion of the volume is particularly deserving the attention of the legislature, as containing hints of the most serious consequence for their guidance in the adoption of commercial measures. The style of the Lieutenant is highly creditable to his talents and acquirements, and will surprise those who, like ourselves, will have learned to comprehend the extent of the attention which he was under the necessity of devoting to very different

matters.

ART. III.-A Treatise on Roads; wherein the Principles on which Roads should be made are explained and illustrated, by the Plans, Specifications, and Contracts, made use of by Thomas Talford, Esq., on the Holyhead Road. By the Right Hon. Sir H. PARNELL, Bart., Honorary Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London. London: Longman, Rees, and Co. 1833.

We do not know the character in which a public man deserves more to be respected and admired, than when he directs his abi

lities to the promotion of some purpose connected with the domestic economy of the people; because in the sphere to which he thus transfers his exertions, little of that recompense awaits him which usually forms the attraction that leads men to take a part in political life. With such performances as Sir Henry Parnell has now furnished a specimen of, we usually associate the very best and most disinterested motives; for it is impossible to suppose that a selfish or a careless man would interrupt the tranquillity of a life which fortune had rendered so easy, in order that he might serve by his voluntary labours the interests of his fellow-men.

The subject of the present volume forms one which, to the people of Great Britain, presents itself with very peculiar features of recommendation. The roads of England are the first and most striking features by which all travellers are taught to estimate the degree of our social refinement. Of all apparent indications by which a country can be judged, the state of the roads is the criterion the most unequivocal and the most ample. When the condition of the highways, as well as their number, are on a scale of superiority in any given country, the fact at once announces that amongst its people will be found the high moral qualifications which correspond with such a state of improvement; for if the subject be carefully studied, it will appear that convenient and good roads cannot be formed except where the public good is preferred to private interests, where the few must yield to the wishes of the many, and where neither feudal selfishness nor caprice can interfere with such arrangements as the general accommodation may demand. Hence the roads of any territory will generally afford to travellers some insight into the character of the government which holds jurisdiction over it; and not a few foreign visitors of England have recorded their opinion that she proved herself the freest country by having the best roads.

Such, then, being the character of the subject, it is pleasant to see that it is reserved for one so competent as Sir Henry Parnell to treat it, particularly as his qualifications are entirely practical, having been derived from his experience in the enterprize for establishing the great work, the Holyhead road. The object of the book is to state, in a familiar manner, and to illustrate by graphic representations, the best methods of constructing public roads, so as that they should admit of being travelled upon with safety and rapidity, and of being rendered the medium for the conveyance of goods at the lowest possible point of

expense.

After an introduction, which is chiefly occupied with historical matter, the author commences by laying down rules for tracing the line of a new road. He insists upon the propriety of always having recourse, in the first instance, to an actual survey by instruments of the country, and not to trust to the cye alone. A

surveyor should, therefore, be employed, and he should take the levels of all the various lines that appear most favourable. A map should then be made, and so shaded as to show the exact nature of the country in respect of high grounds and valleys, streams, ponds, houses, churches, &c. A section of the soil should also be made, for the purpose of exhibiting the nature of the strata. The golden rule in the formation of a road is to take the line between two points-that is, the shortest has the greatest level, and which demands the smallest amount of expense. But the nature of the country must always be considered, and the numerous obstructions to be surmounted in many places constitute an important part of the science of road-making. Sir Henry accordingly has a long chapter on hills, and gives some curious information on the descent of those of certain heights by common vehicles. He shows that an inclination of 1 in 35 is found by experience to be just such an inclination as admits of horses being driven in a stage-coach with perfect safety, when descending in as fast a trot as they can go; because, in such a case, the coachman can preserve his command over them, and guide and stop them as he pleases. A practical illustration that this rate of inclination is not too great, may be seen on a part of the Holyhead road, lately made by the Parliamentary Commissioners, to the north of the city of Coventry, where the inclinations are at this rate, and are found to present no difficulty to fast driving, either in ascending or descending. For this reason it may be taken as a general rule, in laying out a line of new road, never, if possible, to have a greater inclination than that of 1 in 35.

Sir Henry, with good reason, complains that the great mistake of road-making in hilly countries has been this-that after the roads ascend a considerable height on one side, they are sure to descend again on the other side, before they gain the summit of the country through which they pass; so that the ascent is greatly multiplied, and the delay of travellers is in proportion. Thus, on the London and Barnet road, the number of perpendicular feet which the horses must ascend is upwards of 1300, though Barnet is only 500 feet higher than London; but then in coming from Barnet to London-that is to say, making a total descent of 500 feet-it actually happens that a horse has to make an ascent of nearly 800 feet. Sir Henry concludes that several hundred feet might be saved by judicious improvements in these roads.

He next considers the necessity of surmounting the obstacles of rivers, and appears to be of opinion that a great deal too much timidity is felt about the expense of bridges, when the line of a road would naturally be shortened by them. People do not imagine, when they are called on to pay for the building of a bridge, for the purpose just mentioned, how much they may save in time, and in the cost of materials and repair for many years to come.

In reference to bogs and marshy ground, Sir Henry is of opinion

that it is always best to avoid them; for let the artificial road be ever so well constructed, still it is upon a soft foundation, which yields; and in another chapter, the author shows how much the burden of horses is increased by carrying loads over an elastic road. If, however, it be unavoidable to carry the course of the road over such a soil, then the expense of proper drainage must be incurred and a high embankment, in order to compress the porous sub-soil, is a measure of absolute economy. In all cases a good indication for the line of a road will be afforded by the existence of proper materials in a given locality; and another general rule is, that a road should be so directed as to secure to it an uninterrupted exposure to two atmospheric influences, namely the sun and the wind. Water allowed to remain on the materials of roads wears them away very rapidly, particularly when they are crushed by vehicles.

In the second chapter, Sir Henry enters at large into the prin ciples of the art of constructing roads, and he commences by stating that the first and most obvious principle of all, is that which is most commonly violated. The quantity of hard materials at present employed never exceeds scarcely a thickness of five or six inches; whereas that very depth of small stones, to make a good road, should be laid on a regular foundation constructed of large stones, and set as a rough pavement; and in the illustration of his views, he applies the mechanical principle of Sir Isaac Newton to roads. He then considers and estimates the kinds of external force which operate against the momentum or tendency to move in a straight line by carriages travelling over those roads. Copious directions are then given for laying the foundation of, and for forming a road, and several of the specifications actually carried into effect on the Holyhead road, are quoted by Sir Henry, for the purpose of exhibiting the value of observing the regulations contained in them. The subject of drainage is next considered at length.

The author describes seven kinds of roads, which have each their particular use and application. He enters into the history of iron railways, the period of the first employment, of which he considers as by no means clearly ascertained. In the course of his remarks on this class of roads, we find an estimate of the comparative expense of transferring goods by canals, by railways, and by common roads: as a curious calculation it deserves attention. From various observations which have been made on the work actually performed by horses on several railways, it may be assumed, that the greatest effect produced by horses is twelve tons gross, drawn over a space of twenty miles per day; and, as the waggons employed on railways are generally one-third of the gross weight, the net weight of the goods carried will be eight tons over twenty miles per day, by one horse, or 160 tons over one mile, at the average velocity of two miles per hour. The