superior value of Native property submitted to the cognizance of the English code, so modified, compared with the like property under a different system, speaks more than volumes can do on the subject. I have been informed by persons of intelligence, that the Hindoos of the upper provinces had lately expected the extension of the English law, in the sense I have mentioned, to all parts of Hindoostan, and were much disappointed that it did not take place. Mode of administering the Criminal Code. The only difficulty, I am aware of, would arise from the mode of administering the criminal law, rather than from the law itself; a difficulty, however, which already exists in full force. British juries could not be found out of the different capitals of the Indian Governments; and a jury of Natives in the country would, in their present consideration, be practically wise. But do not reject a partial good because the entirety cannot be obtained. Let the Mofussil Magistrates in the provinces continue, as before, to administer the laws criminal as well as civil, (subject, however, still to the reversion of the superior tribunals in cases of weight, which the measure of punishment would sufficiently define for all practical purposes,)* until present conviction or growing experience shall point out the necessity of an improved system of administration: for, let the subject be what it may, any substantial benefit to the subject can only be looked for from the employment of persons well trained and well instructed in judicial knowledge. The general measures of punishment of the English criminal code would of course be adopted, if not already in use, unless in cases where a special provision has been made for India, (and also subject to any local ordinances of this Government made or to be made ;) and, in lieu of transportation, which is hardly applicable to many parts of the country without great inconvenience and expense, and which is often found either disproportionately heavy, or nearly inoperative to its purpose, sentence of imprisonment might be passed for any time, not exceeding any periods fixed for transportation, and with or without hard labour, in or out of doors, and personal chastisement, as might be deemed expedient. But a precise charge in writing, to be preferred by the accuser, is never to be omitted: and the substantial form of the English judicature (freed from its local peculiarities) has the pre-eminent merit of simplifying every charge, and rendering it single and distinct. As the law is now administered in the Mofussil, the charge is most general, so that the accused cannot know what he is called upon to answer, and man may be con I speak this under correction, for I am not entirely satisfied whether a British Magistrate in the zillah courts might not advantageously be instructed to advise with a few well-informed Natives on matters of fact in criminal cases. victed of an offence quite different from the general complexion of the charge. This leads to excessive perjury. The policy appears obvious of weaving the British into the Native laws in all general points not purely local, and of retaining the direction of the judicial administration in British hands as much as is consistent with an economical and, what is no less essential, with an expeditious decision of every matter, according to its frequency and its importance. Political Judicial Policy. If further experience be wanted, and more caution necessary, let the experiment be gradually tried in small districts adjoining to Calcutta, and the other capitals extending or contracting the system as it shall be found to answer in practice. * SONG.-BY MRS. GORE.* He said my brow was fair, 'tis true ;- He said my step was light, I own ;- He said my cheek looked pale with thought; He said that bright with hopes divine He said-but wherefore should I tell THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION, AND LEDYARD THE AMERICAN A SINGLE unpublished volume, under the title of Memoirs and Travels of John Ledyard,' has been just received from America, for the purpose of being printed in England; and as the publisher to whom it has been addressed for this purpose, has kindly permitted us to examine it before it is sent to the English Press, we have selected from its pages the following original and interesting notice of the African Association, and the Traveller employed by them, hoping to be able to give a more extended account of his extraor dinary undertakings in our next : 'The Society, in whose service Ledyard was now engaged, had its origin with a few individuals in London, but the number of its members soon increased to about two hundred, among whom were some of the most eminent men in the kingdom. Their immediate object was to promote discoveries in the interior of Africa, and a fund was raised by a subscription from each member, for the purpose of effecting that object. The Society was denominated the African Association, and was patronized by the king. A committee was to be annually chosen by ballot, whose duty it was to transact the affairs of the Society, by taking charge of the funds, employing persons to travel, collecting intelligence, and keeping up a correspondence with various parts of Africa. The first committee appointed, and that with which Ledyard made his arrangements, consisted of Lord Rawdon, the Bishop of Landaff, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Beaufoy, and Mr. Steuart. Among the other members who joined the Society at the beginning, were Mr. Addington, the Earl of Bute, General Conway, the Duke of Grafton, Edward Gibbon, John Hunter, Dr. Lettsom, the Earl of Moira, the Duke of Northumberland, Lord Sheffield, Benjamin Vaughan, and Mr. Wilberforce. An institution, supported by names of such weight and respectability, would naturally attract public attention, and ensure all the success of which the nature of its designs was susceptible. For many ages the continent of Africa had been a neglected portion of the globe, of which the rest of the world had taken little account. The learning, and splendour, and prowess of Egypt were departed; Carthage, with all its glory, had sunk into the dust; the proud monuments of Numidian greatness had been blotted from the face of the earth, and almost from the memory of man. The gloom of this scene was heightened, not more by the ravages of time in destroying what had been, than by the contrasts which succeed ing changes had produced. A semi-barbarous population, gathered from the wrecks of fallen nations, enemies to the arts and to the best social interests of man, had gradually spread themselves over the whole northern borders of Africa, and presented a barrier to the hazards of enterprise, no less than to the inroads of civilization. Whatever might be the ardour for discovery and the disregard of danger, nobody cared to penetrate into these regions, where all was uncertainty, and where the chance of success bore no proportion to the perils that must be encountered. 'There is no question, that the northern half of Africa was better known to the Romans, at the time of Julius Cæsar, than to the Europeans in the middle of the eighteenth century. A few scattered names of rivers, towns, and nations, occupied the map of the interior, traced there by a hesitating hand, on the dubious authority of the Nubian geographer, Edressi, and the Spanish traveller, Leo Africanus. The rhymes of Swift on this subject were not more witty than true : "Geographers, in Afric maps, With savage pictures fill their gaps, Place elephants for want of towns." At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Leo penetrated as far as Timbuctoo and the Niger, but so imperfect were his descriptions even of what he saw, that very little geographical knowledge was communicated by them. He was on the banks of the Niger, but it could not be ascertained from his account, whether this river ran to the east or west, nor, indeed, whether it existed as a separate stream. In short, down to the time when the African Association was formed, almost the whole of this vast continent, its geography and physical resources, its inhabitants, governments, languages, were a desideratum in the history of nature and of man. It could not be doubted, that many millions of human beings inhabited these hidden regions. Nor were the character and condition of these people, their institutions and social advancement, mere matters of curiosity; they had a relation to the people of other parts of the globe, and, when discovered and understood, might be turned to the common advantage of the great human family. There are no nations that may not profit by an intercourse between each other, either by an exchange of products peculiar to each, or by a reciprocal moral influence, or by both. On these broad and benevolent principles the Society for promoting discoveries in Africa was instituted, and the scheme was worthy of the enlightened philanthropists by whom it was devised. Ledyard's instructions were few, simple, and direct. He was to repair first to Egypt, travel thence across the continent, make such observations as he could, and report the results to the Association. Every thing was left to his discretion. His past experience, the extraordinary energy of his character, his disinterestedness, and the enthusiasm with which he engaged in the present undertaking, were all such as to ensure the confidence of his employers, and inspire them with sanguine hopes. 'As for himself, at no period of his life had he reflected with so much satisfaction on his condition or his prospects. Heretofore he had always been alone, oppressed with poverty, and contending with an adverse fate. But now he was free from want, patronized by the first men in Great Britain, and engaged at their solicitation, and under their auspices, in an enterprise fraught, it is true, with many dangers, but promising the glory of which he had ever been ambitious, and opening to him a field of adventure, which his imagination had pictured to him as the first to be chosen, after he had discharged what he deemed a paramount duty, in exploring the unknown parts of the continent to which he owed his birth. When he was departing from London for Egypt, he may be said to have been, for the first time in his life, at the summit of his wishes. All previous cares, defeats, and disasters, appear to have been forgotten, or swallowed up in the deep interests of the present, and the cherished anticipations of the future. A letter written to his mother at this time will indicate the tone of his spirits: "Truly is it written, that the ways of God are past finding out, and his decrees unsearchable. Is the Lord thus great? So also is he good. I am an instance of it. I have trampled the world under my feet, laughed at fear, and derided danger. Through millions of fierce savages, over parching deserts, the freezing north, the everlasting ice, and stormy seas, have I passed without harm. How good is my God! What rich subjects have I for praise, love, and adoration! "I am but just returned to England from my travels of two years, and am going away into Africa to examine that continent. I expect to be absent three years. I shall be in Egypt as soon as I can get there, and after that go into unknown parts. I have full and perfect health. Remember me to my brothers and sisters. Desire them to remember me, for, if Heaven permits, I shall see them again. I pray God to bless and comfort you all. Farewell." At length the preparations for his departure were completed. He had become well acquainted with the views of the committee: and a sufficient amount of money had been raised, by the subscriptions, to provide for the expenses of his journey to Egypt, and to purchase such articles of merchandise as might be found neces |