that, in sweeping away these functionaries, you burst asunder no ties, you destroy no institutions, you injure no interests, you leave no blank to be filled up. There is centralization of power in Turkey, but not of administration. The community administers itself." (P. 7.)

The work itself must be consulted, for the details of this projected reform, of which it is said,

"This plan for the reorganization of the administration, so admirably simple, so practicable, so advantageous to the government and the people, (of Roumelia,) is now placed beyond all danger as to its ultimate success, by the overthrow, in the provinces, of the bodies interested in the continuance of misrule. It may be more or less retarded by the intrigues of the Porte itself, or by the failure of the organization of the new troops on which it depends.” (P. 9.)

As a farther example and incitement for the adoption of this form of government, and of its practical applicability, the author details at length the history of the prosperity of Ambelakia, a village of Thessaly. We can only extract one passage from this highly interesting statement. After describing its opulence, the author says,

"Had an old commercial emporium, had a conveniently situated seaport, or a provincial chief town, possessing capital, connexions, and influence, extended thus rapidly its commerce and prosperity, it would have been cited, and justly so, as a proof of the good administration which ruled it. What then shall we say of the administration that has thus elevated an unknown, a weak and insignificant hamlet, that has not a single field in its vicinity, that had no local industry, that had no commercial connexion, no advantage of position, was in the vicinity of no manufacturing movement, was on the track of no transit commerce, was not situated either on a navigable river, or on the sea, had no harbour even in its vicinity, and was accessible by no road save a goat's path among precipices? With all these local disadvantages, it possessed no local advantage whatever over the thousand other villages of Thessaly; neither did its industry receive its impulse from new discoveries, secrets of chemistry, or combination of mechanical powers. It supplied industrious Germany, not by the perfection of its jennies, but by the industry of its spindle and distaff. It taught Montpelier the art of dyeing, not from Experimental Chairs, but because dyeing was with it a domestic and culinary operation, subject to daily operation in every kitchen; and, by the simplicity and honesty, not the science of its system, it reads a lesson to commercial associations, and holds up an example, unparalleled in the commercial history of Europe, of a joint-stock-and-labour company, economically and successfully administered, in which the interests of industry and capital were long equally represented. Yet, the system of administration with which all this is connected, is common to the thousand hamlets of Thessaly that have not emerged from their insignifi. cance. But Ambelakia was left alone for twenty years. In this short sentence lies the secret of its prosperity, and the promise of the regeneration both of Turkey and Greece." (P. 53.)

When will those legislating for commerce learn wisdom from the maxim and moral here emphatically recorded?

The future prospects of Turkey, under the proper use of municipalities, are thus represented :

"In Turkey we see provinces escaped from servitude, coalescing, combining, governing themselves. Turkey found her European subjects in the most degraded condition; they have gained under her wing the power of unlocking her talons' grasp. Give Turkey herself but moderate time and a fair field, and I see nothing in her political constitution to make us despair of a great, and a happy, and, I may add, a speedy change but without some exertion from without, she cannot have the requisite time, and far less honourable lists." (P. 293.)

:

We have thus given a short, and, we fear, because of our limits, an imperfect outline of the municipal system of Turkey; of the benefits it has conferred on its raya population, in spite of the errors and crimes of

• "Servia, released from Turkish oppression, is quietly organizing itself, unheeded in its happy obscurity."

the central government,—and of its practical applicability to the future regeneration of the country. The work on which we have been engaged must be examined for a thorough understanding of the numerous bearings and workings of the system. We shall only add our conviction to the author's testimony, that, humble as the system is, it forms the sole bond of union between the governed and governors, where the impassable barrier of religion prevents it from developing itself in higher political combinations. In the words of the author:

"We have traced these institutions in the character of the people; we have shewn how they have preserved the raya population among whom they prevailed, and perpetuated uniformity of creed, doctrines, and opinions; of language, disposition, and character; while they have kept them distinct from all other races that live under the same general government; and, while other races, less oppressed but less strongly knit together, have been swallowed up by Islamism, we have seen how the activity they called forth furnished resources to the Turkish empire, and how the submission they inculcated and produced, allowed that supremacy so long to exist: we have then followed them in the powerful impulse they gave to communities under different circumstances; engaged in commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, relieved from all other jurisdiction than their own: we have seen an unknown village of Pelion conducting vast commercial speculations on the Elbe, the Danube, the Rhine; the barren rocks of Magnesia furnishing the fertile but enslaved plains of Thessaly with fruits and vegetables in their season: we have seen remote and unfrequented rocks, sprinkled over the Egean and Ionian seas, rising to the possession of a marine and a commercial prosperity, next to miraculous; and all, independent of any political institution whatever, and under no other influence save that of the municipal system, which is common to the rest of the fertile land and heavenly climate, whose neglected spots have displayed examples of unparalleled prosperity. What would that country then become if left to itself? If the disregarded seeds fallen among stones and briers have produced sixty and a hundred fold, what harvest might be expected from the deep soil, if allowed to bring forth the seed slumbering in its breast?” (P. 77.)

The reviewer is more anxious at this moment to bring the present subject before the public, and has therefore treated it at some length, because he believes that having improved the higher and central portion of our administration, we cannot long leave in the state in which it now is, its elements and basis-local administration. England's Representative Chamber is now a half-reformed portion of the state, but her Burgh Constitution is not yet remodelled. Even the Parliament that effected the greater change, has halted in its progress towards the lesser. How opposite the case in the East. There the foundation is good, the superstructure bad. The central government is weak, profligate, hateful; but the original principles are admirable, and the elementary municipal institutions have such inherent excellence, that they preserve the nation in spite of the badness of the central government, the common enemy of the empire. Corruption and oppression conceal from the distant observer and passing traveller many points of excellence in the state. The discredit of the government attaches to all its parts, perverting curiosity even from being directed to the examination of institutions that alone have hitherto preserved to the empire even its present bulk. Year after year has brought predictions of its fall; all the disorders, all the evils that lead or ever have led to a nation's annihilation, are in active operation in Turkey,-yet Turkey still exists; nay, the repetition of destruction proves the faculty of reproduction. A province left to itself-Servia, for instance-rapidly rises to prosperity; and why? because taxation does not press on industry. There are no privileges, because there are no privileged classes; no fictitious interests, because there is no tyranny of law in municipal affairs. A local administration,

chosen by the whole people, distributes equally the burdens to be supported; unites them in compact bodies to bear up under the tyranny of their masters; and reduces that tyranny to exactions on each individual according to his means. In a word, the municipal institution has relieved the raya subject from spies, police, tax-gatherers, custom-house officers, and the other innumerable means of oppression employed by governments less frankly despotic than Turkey.

In a future number we shall resume the examination of the other topics discussed by Mr. Urquhart; and we again candidly recommend the work to the careful perusal of our readers.

JUNIUS REDIVIVUS ON THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

TO THE EDITOR OF TAIT'S MAGAZINE.

SIR, It is not the least gratifying "sign of the times," that "Auld Reekie," so long the indisputed stronghold of the insolent dominating few, has at last awakened from her slumbers; and, like a giant refreshed with wine, has put forth her energies in behalf of the oppressed many, with a might which may not be resisted. The periodical you conduct has, like the Examiner amongst newspapers, set an example of plain speaking, to the exclusion of all conventional cant, which cannot but be productive of immense good, by operating beneficially upon the public morality. When persons and things are called by their right names, political dishonesty bids fair to become as disreputable as private dishonesty. He who robs the public, will be regarded as a "false thief," just as much as he who robs his neighbour; and the assertor of a falsehood will be branded as dishonourable, whether that falsehood be for the interest of his party, or for his own private gain. We are on the verge of a new era, during which a beneficial change will be wrought on mankind, whose amount of good no man living can calculate.

In one of your former numbers you say, "We are free!" Would that it were so; but, alas! the shout of victory is even yet premature. A victory has been gained, for joy whereof we have shouted loudly, and deemed that it was conclusive; but though the struggle is no longer of the same character, there is still a struggle, which must be warily maintained. The dream of brute force has vanished, like a baseless shadow, the Irish bill notwithstanding ;-the giant put forth his strength, and the green withes were burst; but now comes the contest of chicanery. The gate of freedom is open before us, but there are many pitfalls in the pathway to it. To drop the metaphor. Though men are entitled to vote for the legislators who are to rule over them, the freedom of those votes, the privilege of voting according to conscience, is still denied. Voters are still liable to be made puppets in the hands of their taskmasters; and so long as this state of things shall endure, it is a mockery to tell men they are free. The fight which commenced in the reign of John must still be pursued; and the seat of legislation must continue to be a battleground, until the absolute control of the people over their rulers be definitely fixed, legally as well as morally. Until that be finally determined, until the good principle shall triumph over the evil one, until the rulers shall be made responsible for their acts, by a legal and peaceable process, there can be no hope for public quietude, no rational expectation that wise laws shall be enacted, that mischievous laws shall be abolished.

The general character of the elections, for what has been called the "first Reformed Parliament," has served to mark the disposition of the Ministry, as being desirous of retaining influence, and as being not too scrupulous as to the means used in the pursuit of that desire. They have talked loudly enough against influence, but it was only the influence which was opposed to them; and the transactions at Bath have served to impress upon the inhabitants of at least one city, the necessity there is, not to place too much confidence in the professions of men, who hold, or aim at holding, lucrative places. Strong endeavours have been made on the part of the Ministry, and their adherents, to throw discredit on the increasing custom of demanding pledges; and much dishonest casuistry was used, for the purpose of blinking the real question at issue. That many persons, who were ignorant of the causes of the evils they laboured under, should entertain especial confidence in the efficacy of abolishing certain taxes, was natural enough; and that each should be anxious to remove the tax which he found to press hardest upon himself, was also perfectly natural; but this was not the object of the main body. The fact was, that whether from design or from intention, the change or reform of the constitution brought about by the Reform Bill, was not efficient enough; and the people were as much entitled to demand pledges to effect a further and efficient change, as they were to demand the original pledge, without which the Reform Bill would not have been carried. To talk, as some of the Ministers have done, of the Reform Bill being a final measure, is either absurd or dishonest. The professed object of the bill is to make the people the legal source of all power; and the denial of the details necessary for securing that power, is a species of legal quibble which cannot be permitted. The Ministers and their creatures alleged that the object of demanding pledges was to make the people the real legislators, and the members merely attorneys. This is a false allegation. The people do not want to interfere in legislation,-they merely wish to hold a control over their legislators; they wish to take bail for their good behaviour, by electing them for short periods, and they wish to be uncontrolled by influence while electing them. This is a constitutional change; which species of change must ever emanate from the people out of the House, and not from the representatives in the House. The ballot is absolutely necessary to the freedom of election; and triennial, or-still better-annual Parliaments, are a security for the good behaviour of the legislator when elected. Whatever person in the Government may object to these salutary changes, may fairly be suspected of a wish to hold irresponsible power, and should be watched like a man bent on mischief. It is to be feared that the pledges on the subject of the ballot and short Parliaments have not been sufficiently insisted upon at the elections. It is not the less certain that those two desirable objects will ultimately be attained; but they must probably be attained through a fresh public excitement, and with a considerable quantity of delay, which might have been avoided. Until all motives for public excitement shall have been put an end to,—until the people at large shall be absolutely free to choose their legislators according to their own judgment, unswayed by any power but opinion, there will be no chance for wise deliberation on the part of those who are elected. The House of Commons must continue the arena for party struggles, and not for deliberating wisdom, in which the object sought would be the constantly progressing happiness of the human race. But whatever be the length, or the violence of

the contest, the absolute responsibility of the rulers to the ruled must be obtained; and to obtain which, no sacrifice can be too great. The ballot and short Parliaments are the most immediate steps to this. If they are not obtained from the present Parliament, the people have themselves alone to blame, for not taking better security at the polling booths.

Of the men composing the present Parliament-I speak not of the "hereditary," whose house has yet to be set in order, but of the men elected to the Lower House, which now bids fair to be the Upper-there are very few known to the public who possess the qualities requisite in legislators. A scant dozen will probably comprise all those who possess that combination of moral and intellectual qualities which men should possess who aspire to change the face of a nation from evil to good. There are amongst them-and the heart of the patriot leaps in his breast at the thought—there are amongst them men who would die at the stake rather than abandon the holy cause they have taken in hand; men utterly unswayed by any of the baser motives too commonly found amongst those who seek public stations; men with moral qualities equal to those of Hampden and Marvell, and with intellects far exceeding. But these men are few. That they are not more numerous, has principally arisen from the want of a public standard of high and ennobling virtue. But the example will be set; and even as the crystal of salt thrown into the seething salt-pan, sets the type for other crystals to form by, so will new aspirants for better things than have for ages been the object of public ambition crowd around, and imitate the moral models on whom men's eyes will be fixed. Man is an imitative animal, and takes to good more readily than to evil, when the gain is equal. The advocates of brute force, who call themselves "Conservatives," have now become a very small minority in the House; but the Waiters on Providence, who adhere to the present Ministry simply because they are the ruling power, are many in number. Those who really mean the welfare of the nation, without regard to self, are comparatively few; and those capable of comprehending its real welfare, still fewer. The men who combine moral and intellectual power in the greatest perfection, are never very numerous, and they are just the people who are the most likely to keep away from election struggles, as elections have hitherto been conducted. Such men never make a parade of their qualifications, and they are above the hires of paltry ambition. They must be diligently sought before they can be found; but when found they are invaluable. In numerous cases, bodies of electors have taken men with whom they were not satisfied simply because they could find no better; and, consequently, the class of trading politicians is very numerous amongst the mob of whom the House of Commons is composed. I say mob; because no body which is composed of six hundred and fifty members can be a deliberative assembly, unless a portion of them stop away, or are silent; and, in such case, they might as well not be elected. There is little probability that the present Parliament can be of long endurance. The honest men in it will bring forward motions for the Ballot, Triennial or Annual Parliaments, and the abolition of the Taxes on Knowledge. They will be tests for the honesty of Ministers, and if they break not down under them, then must come the clash with that body whose hereditary absurdities preclude all chance of rationality. In the meantime, the electors generally should cast about for the honestest and wisest men they know, amongst the few whose pecuniary circumstances allow them to be selected under the present system, and