plete picture, a fingle expreffion, a word, is tantamount*, in force, to a whole fentence. From his fupereminence in thefe perfections, Virgil becomes an author moft difficult to tranflate or imitate; and the fame may be faid of Apollonius. It is next to impoffible to transfer into another language that exquifite poetical colouring, thofe graces which feem to be inimitable hues.-What tints, what art of the painter, can fully imitate the delightful carnation of nature, where the pure and eloquent blood fpeaks in the cheek?-Many great and illuftrious painters have arifen--the hand only of Titian could rival nature in this refpect.

Yet, even here, we muft, in great measure, withhold from Virgil the palm of originality. In his diction, as well as in his other excellencies, he is very much the child of imitation. It must be owned, however, that in what he has borrowed from preceding poets, he difplays a tafte and judgment which claim a praife nearly equal to that of original invention. Apollonius, the favourite poet of Virgil, was his great mafter, in elaborate correctnefs, and in picturefque and poetic diction.". P. 228.

We fhould willingly add what he fays, in the next place, reSpecting Homer, Apollonius, and Virgil; but that we cannot fo far extend our account. The whole Effay is addressed rather to the learned than the common reader, but has much ingenuity and merit.

The two remaining Effays are fhort; the fixth, on the Geography of Apollonius, is very neceffary to the right comprehenfion of the poet, particularly the return of his heroes; and the feventh, on the Gardens of the Hefperides, affords a very pleafing illuftration of a particular part of the Argonautics. Thefe Effays, befides doing honour to the learning and ingenuity of the writer, muft tend to make Apollonius more known, and his poetical character more confidered. In our next Review, we fhall more particularly examine the tranflation itself, with the accompanying notes, and thus conclude our account of the work.

(To be concluded in our next.)

* Tantamount is an awkward word; but we fee with more regret fome till lefs authorized words, fuch as germs, p. 124; verbiage, p. 130; recherchée, pp. 159 and 230, an unn ceffary French term; role, the fame, p. 217; and other inttances. Mr. Pretton is too good a writer to be allowed to disfigure his Engli

ART.

ART. IX. A Commercial Dictionary: containing the prefent State of Mercantile Law, Practice, and Cuffom. Intended for the Ufe of the Cabinet, the Counting-Houfe, and the Library. By Joshua Montefiore, Author of Commercial Precedents, &c.&c. 4to. 21. 28. to Subfcribers; 21. 12s. 6d. to Non-Subfcribers. London, printed for the Author. 1803. ཀྱ བ ོང 9.

IN

83

IN a nation which derives fo much of its importance from commerce, every publication relating to mercantile affairs excites confiderable intereft. The merit of Mr. Montefiore's former book,Commercial Precedents," being generally acknowledged, fecured a favourable reception to the prefent work. It must however be allowed, that the prefent is by no means equal to his former publication. As a repertory of commercial law, it may be of confiderable ufe; in the other departments of mercantile knowledge, it is very defective; while, at the fame time, it contains many articles which relate only indirectly to commerce. Mr. Montefiore does not appear to have duly weighed the extent of knowledge required in a general commercial dictionary: or to have appreciated, with fufficient exactnefs, the difference between mercantile law, and the other branches of commercial knowledge, which, although related to it, are ftill perfectly diflint. This will plainly appear from the following obfervations.

In a preliminary Effay, he gives a historical sketch of the growth of commerce in Great Britain. This is, as he juftly ftyles it," a rapid furvey," being, by no means, fufficient to enable us to form a distinct idea of the feveral fteps by which the trade of this country has attained its prefent flate.

That portion of the laws of Great Britain which relates to mercantile affairs, is profeffedly the principal object of the work; and has, of courfe, engroffed a large fhare of Mr. Montefiore's attention. As this fubject has of late received much illuftration (feveral treatifes having been profeffedly written on different parts of commercial law) the articles that relate to it appear to much advantage among the others. The laws of bills of exchange and promillory notes, of arbitrations, bankruptcies, and agencies, as well as the regulations to which the legislature has thought fit to fubject the importation or exportation of commodities, are minutely and copiously detailed. We cannot do better than give a fpecimen of one of thefe articles, which our limits oblige us to choofe for its brevity.

Nnz

"AUTHO

AUTHORITY is a delegated power, by which one perfon anthorizes another to act generally or fpecially in his name; and by whofe acts, where the authority is Atrialy parfued, the party delegating fuch power will be bound. An authority may be given either verbally or in writing, but the latter is the most ufual and regular.

"If the perfon who undertakes for another have no authority, he is guilty of fraad, and the party undertaking ought to be perfonally Hable; but where fuch authority is given, it is only acting for another; like the case of a factor or broker afting for their principals, who were never held to be liable perfonally. But where one undertakes for another, under an authority, he muft, in order to protect himself from being perfonally bound by fuch undertaking, strictly. purfue his authority.

"Wherever there is a general authority coupled with an interest, that authority may be executed by attorney. But if the attorney execute it contrary to the effect of his authority, this is utterly void and if he execute his authority, and go beyond the limits of his warrant, it is void for that part only wherein he exceeds his authority.

"Where one is delegated to act for another, he must not use his own name only, but the name alfo of the perfon who gave the autho rity, 9 Rep. 76. So on the execution of a deed, the agent should fign the name of the principal coupled with his own.

A perfon is not bound to accept of a conveyance execated under a power of attorney. 1 Esp. 115.

Although it is a rale that every authority fhall be countermandable, and determined by the death of him that gives it; yet when an intereft is coupled with an authority, it cannot then be countermanded or determined. Dyer, 190.

"Where an authority is given by law, it must be ftrictly purfued; and if a perfon acting under fuch authority exceeds it, he will be liable to an action for the excess.

"A power granted to feveral perfons may be executed by the majority of them. Withnell v. Gartham, 6 T. R. 388.

"On the diffolution of a partnership between A, B, and C, a power given to A, to receive all debts owing to, and to pay all thofe owing by the late partnership, will not authorize him to indorfe a bill of exchange in the name of the partnership, though drawn by him in that name, and accepted by a debtor to the partnership after the diffolution, fo that the indorfee cannot maintain an action on the bill againft A, B, and C, as partners. Kilgour and Finlayfen, Galbreach and Harper, 1 H. B. 155. See Agent, Bills of Exchange, Broker, Facson, Power"

Next to mercantile law, properly fo called, the laws relating to marine affairs, as thofe of thipping, infurance, loans upon bottomry or refpondentia, are the parts most accurately difcuffed by Mr. Montefiore. These two portions of law are ecrtainly intimately related, but they are here intermixed with other articles which belong to the rights of individuals in ge⚫neral, and have but a flight connection with mercantile affairs.

OF

Of the latter kind are, administrator, bail, courts, deed, defamation, defeafance, diftrefs, evidence, executors, habeas corpus, judgment, jury, legacies, libels, maintenance, mines (a very defective article), neceffity, nuifance, offence, office, outlawry, pardons, perfonate, prifons, property, recaption, trover, verdict, will and teftament, witnefs, and feveral others of lefs

extent.

The above relate exclufively to the law of England; but the fame obfervation may be made refpecting the articles, amballador, foreign courts, foreign ftate, government, law of nations, meflengers, ftate, neutrality, peace, fate-conducts and pafiports, treaties, war. Thefe are certainly fuperfluous in a work of this kind. They relate to all conditions of mankind, and affect the landed proprietor, or the cottager, as well as the merchant. They merit, however, the attention of those any way concerned in them, as they appear to be carefully extracted from the best authorities.

To the theory of commerce, although a most important fubject, Mr. Montefiore has been lefs attentive; we find, however, a few good articles on this fubje&; and extract the following as one of the best. But in this he has been led, from local circumftances, to confound value of account, or the common meafure of value, with the value of coin. The firft is of a fixed and immutable nature; the other variable, at the pleasure of the government. In England, of late, the current coin does, for the most part, bear a fixed value in account; but, in fome foreign countries, this value varies every day, according to the plenty or fearcity of each particular fpecies, and the wants, or fpeculations, of individuals.

"VALUE has two different meanings. It fometimes expresses the utility of an object, and fometimes the power of purchasing other goods with it. The firft may be called value in ufe, the other value in exchange. The value in ufe may be very great, when the value in exchange is little or nothing. Water, for instance, is of great value in ufe, and of almost none in exchange. A diamond or a pearl has a great value in exchange, but very little in ufe.

Value in ufe is a mere fimple effect, arifing from the nature of an object, and its being more or lefs conducive to the neceffities, the comforts, or enjoyments of men. The other value is of a compound nature, compofed of the value in ufe, and the labour neceffary to procure the object in queftion. Values are measured by money, which has become a common standard of comparison for all different commodities. The value of this common standard measure is itself rather value of exchange than of ufe; for the precious metals are of lefs utility than iron, brass, and steel, which have, in comparison, a small value in exchange.

"In addition to these two fpecies of permanent value, there is to be taken into account, a floating or changeable value, which arifes

from

from circumstances, from the value in ufe, and the difficulty of obtaining the quantity neceffary. The value in exchange then rifes, independent of any other caufes but these two. All articles that have a great value in ufe are liable, more or lefs, to thefe variations of value in exchange. Corn and butchers' meat are most liable to these variations; but even water, on particular occafions, has been exchanged for its weight in filver, and a pound of bread for its weight in gold. In 'a: commercial fenfe, the expence of producing an object fettles its value. in exchange; and where the value in ufe is not of that degree that procures for an article the appellation of an article of neceffity, values find their level; but they do not always do fo with objects which have a great value in ufe. See Maximum, Money."

Both here and elsewhere, the author appears partial to the establishment of a maximum, in articles of the first neceffity; attributing the ill effects which followed the introduction of a fimilar law in France, to other caufes. A maximum upon provifions bears, to the inhabitants of towns, an impofing afpect at first view; but, on a clofer examination, the appearance is much altered. It might at first be conceived, that the fimple ftate of the difpute was, whether the profits of the agriculturift fhould be diminished, in order to enable the townfman to live better, at the fame expence. The effects, however, of this policy are fo extremely injurious to the public welfare, that its reaction upon the towns is of more detriment to the economy of individuals, than can be compenfated by the benefits arifing from it in the firft inftance.

Although, by means of a maximum, the inhabitants may pay lefs for the provifions they confume, their expences will, in the end, be much greater. Government must of courfe be obliged to pay the charges of bringing the greateft part of the provifions to market, or fupply the cities by requifitions from the furrounding country. Of this we have ample experience in the Ronan empire. Rome was obliged to be provifioned by government; and the cafe is, to this day, the fame in the Eaftern empire; the neighbouring villages being unable to furnish the neceffary fupplies, and the price, calculated only for them, not allowing diftant farmers to fupply the market at a heavy expence of carriage.

A maximum, as experience fhows, must ever be a predifpofing caufe of famine; both from the difcouragement it throws upon hufbandry, and the wafte it occafions in expendi ture... The ancient Roman laws on this fubject, which the Ottoman dynasty has not abrogated, are probably the principal caufe of the prefent inferiority of the countries under its dominion; although thefe provinces, before they were conquered by the Romans, were extremely productive. This decline has indeed been attempted to be explained other