pid pen of an author, big with the future glory of his country, and the many happy confequences of his fingular capacity. The volume confifts of no less than four hundred and fiftyfour pages. It is divided into two parts; the first contains the hiftory of all the conjunct expeditions that have been formed by, or against this kingdom, from that of Julius Cæfar to the prefent year. The account of those to the end of the last reign, is chiefly taken from Campbell's Naval History, and where the compiler has fuffered that writer to speak his own language, the work is, confequently, entertaining, and may be inftructive to many readers. The expeditions of the prefent reign, says the author, we compiled from general history, and authentic papers. The second part of this rare performance is, a commentary on a littoral war. • We have endeavoured, fays the preface, with the ftrictest uprightness and truth, to adhere to our principal defign, which was to give a fair impartial account of the expeditions in the firit part of the work; that our readers may <form a good judgment themselves of the nature, as well as the general imperfection of the prefent method pursued to carry them into execution. It is natural to fuppofe, by having the history of the expeditions first before them, they will also be more capable of making a truer decifion on the remarks and obfervations, as well as the new fyftem which is (with great fubmiffion to our fuperiors) offered in the fecond part, which we call a commentary on a littoral • war.' We imagine our readers will excufe our tranfcribing any of the first part, as it contains nothing original; but we cannot pafs it entirely over, without declaring our difagreement with the author, in his criticism on the conftruction of the flat-bottom'd boat which was firft ufed n the expedition against St. Malo's, commanded by the late Duke of Marlborough. It differed only in thefe refpects (fays Mr. Molyneux), • from the common boats of the fleet; it was constructed to go in fhallower waters, and being, all of a fize, they contained the like numbers (this is the very language of the author). Each had two fails and was full of benches; < one, if not two, was made along the whole length of the center of the boat, with little ones branching to the right and left, like fo many ribs, with little benches also round the edge. There were ten rowers on each fide. Between Littoral from Littus, as the learned author kindly informs the illiterate reader, in the beginning of the 4th chap. part 2. • every every rower and the edge of the boat, fat a mufketeer to defend him; by which method each was deprived of the liberty neceffary in his occupation, that a few foldiers on the fides might be in a pofition to fire very bad, the rowers were obliged only to paddle. The contrivance of this piece of mechanifm feemed, as if one main aim had been," to render it as difficult as poffible for the foldiers, when they reached the fhore, to get out of it; during which performance, the oars being tied with cordage, floped down the outfide of the boat like the fins of a fifh; which, was the ⚫ ingenious part of the conftruction. Each boat when freighted to the utmost, contained seventy foldiers, befides the twenty rowers,' In juftice to him who gave the model of these boats, we muft infer that Mr. Molyneux never faw them, or, at least that he did not conceive their use. He fuppofes, that the foldier, feated between the rower and the edge (as he ftiles it) of the boat, is placed there to defend the man at the oar. Now, we beg leave to affure Mr. Molyneux, that he is mistaken in this fuppofition; the boats in queftion never having been defigned to land troops in the face of an enemy, fufficiently powerful to difpute our dif-embarkation: this musketeer, therefore, was never intended to fire either bad, or good, fo long as he continued in the boat. We must alfo inform him, that this faid musketeer did not, in the least, impede the stroke of the oar, and that the foldiers performed the performance of ftepping out of the boat with very great facility. We do not fpeak this from what we have heard, but from experience and obfervation.-But we will detain our impatient readers no longer, from the principal part of a work, which promifes things of fuch importance to the honour and glory of our country. In the first chapter of the second part, the author propofes to discover his thoughts and inventions,' refulting from the ignorance and ftupidity of our forefathers; and to reduce this amphibious kind of warfare, to fome fafe regular fyftem-the conducting of a military naval, littoral enter⚫ prize never having been rightly purfued.' To this end, he first gives us the following lifts of our feveral expeditions, fince the reign of Queen Elizabeth. But before we transcribe them, we must inform the reader, that by Great Expeditions he is to understand thofe in which at leaft four thoufand foldiers, or marines, were employed; and by Small Expeditions, all under that number, Great Conjunct Expeditions that have mifcarried fince Queen ELIZABETH. A Lift of the fmall Conjunct Expeditions that have miscarried fince the Reign of Queen ELIZABETH. A Lift of the great Conjunct Expeditions that have fucceeded fince NORTH AMERICA and the WEST-INDIES. Queen ELIZABETH. Jamaica, Cape Breton, HOLLAND. Brandaris in the Ifle of Schilling, r SPAIN. EUROPE. Vigo, Total 7 A Lift of the fmall Conjunt Expeditions, that have fucceeded fince Queen ELIZABETH. Santa Cruz, in the Ifle of Teneriff, Tunis, From these lifts the author makes the following obfervations, which are not undeferving the attention of the publick. Out of the thirty-eight expeditions which miscarried, it O 3 appears, appears, that eleven only were fmall, and twenty-feven great. What inferences are to be drawn from this? Why, first, this amphibious war is not reduced to a perfection fufficient to give us an even chance, whether we fhall • fucceed, or not: nothing proves this imperfection more, than our defeats out-numbering our fucceffes; and our better management of the fmall enterprizes, than great. Secondly, we have seldom known how, to proportion our forces, according to the fize of the object. We have scarce • ever made a right diftinction in regard to our numbers, • and ftrength of our armaments deftined for different parts "of the world; as Africa, America, and Europe; as be⚫tween the American iflands and the American continent; the European islands and European continent. The con⚫ fequences of this has been, we have fucceeded oftner in Africa, than America; oftner in America than Europe; <oftner in the American islands, than on the American con⚫tinent; oftner on the European islands, than on the con⚫tinent of Europe; oftner on any part of Europe where ⚫ attempts have been made, than on the coaft of France.' It is further obfervable, that we have failed in almoft all ⚫ our great attempts; in feveral of them, the miscarriage has < been attributed to the having not a fufficient number of ⚫ troops; for two thousand men upon an American ifland, is a greater force than eight thoufand upon the continent of France, nay, we may fay than twelve: that coaft ought never to be infulted with less than twice eight thousand, C we may add sometimes another eight thousand to that number. If this fyftem then be admitted, we have no reason to be furprized that out of fifteen conjunct expeditions to the French coaft, no more than two were fuccefsful. The author, having in the first chapter produced feveral inftances of our want of fyftem and understanding, in the management of conjunct expeditions, proceeds in the fecond, to remind our commanders of feveral provifions and precautions on which their fuccefs will, in a great meafure depend. In the third chapter he begins to difplay his new plan of operation, which is intended to reduce our method of dif-embarkation to rule, form and order.' He purposes to land three regiments at a time, the boats to be regimentally diftinguished by their colour and other vifible marks, and that each boat fhould contain an exact fub-divifion, befides a certain numher of irregulars who are to be employed in managing the fails, &c. In the fourth chapter, he contrives another kind of boats, which he calls, artillery rangers: they are intended to protect the others, and are to carry two pieces of can non,* |