The History and Present State of the British Empire, is
com- prised in the Second Volume of CHAMBERS'S " Educational Course." It commences with the invasion of the Romans, and comes down to the Reform Bill, and the great measures which followed,—the abolition of Slavery, the Poor-Law Amendment, the alterations in the Bank and East India Company's Charters, and English and Scottish Corporation Reform. After which, some brief views of the statistical, economical, financial, and legislative condition of the British Empire, are presented ; so as to convey a notion of its actual extent, wealth, and modes of government. The form adopted in the literary execution is judicious ; epochs or subjects being considered as of primary importance, and the agents noticed only as they were connected with or influenced the events. The volume contains a vast quantity of matter ; and the informa- tion on Irish matters is apt, and altogether new to the class of readers for whom the book is designed. Notwithstanding all this, and allowing for size and price to boot, the volume neither equals our expectations nor fully sustains the promises of the prospectus of Messrs.CH AMBERS : it is only a compilation, and the compilers do not seem to have possessed historical minds.
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