The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-02-05

Last Sundays New York sun has very
nattoring review, three columns in length
of Mr.. Philip 4. Bruce's Economic His
tory of Virginia I'm the Seventeenth Cen
Jury" We have not yet examined this
work. though we expect shortly to have
a rum review of il from the pen OF Hon.
William Writ Henry. but it is plain from
the suns account Of ii is a work Of ex-
1aordnary value. that has been prepared
with great labor and deep research. The
san says.
Enormous is the quantity of the orgi-
nal manuscripts which have been ram
sacked by the author. The mere cnumer-
alton Of them would fatigue the reader.
We Will only mention that they include
among other data nine large folio volumes
Of land patents OF the seventeenth CEN
fury and seycnty-five or more volumes,
folio and qGartO. OF tho records for the
Same period OF the counties of Hcnrico,
York. lower Norfolk. Elizabeth City, Sur
ry. Mlddlcscx. Lancaster. Rappahannock,
Acoomac. and Northampton. a complete
list Of the authorities consulted is APP
pended TO the preface. The mere inspec-
tiOn and analysis OF such a vast store
Of data mn 81 have required years. but the
authors industry is not more noteworthy
than the skill with which the facts are
distributed and set forth
According 10 the Sun. Mr.. Bruce dcduces
the dominating and masterful charac-
terstics of the Virginians of the latter
part of the last century from the fact
that they were large landowners, and
upon their landed estates they were prac-
ucally barons. Having ransacked the
records. he concludes that the average
holdings of the higher class of land
owners was about 5000 acres. and ne
quotes from q speech Of Edmund Burke
to show how slavery elevates the charac-
ter of the slave-owner the following pas
sage
"There u.s." said Burke. "a circumstance
attending these southern colonies which
makes the spirit of liberty still more high
and naughty than In those to the north
ward. II rs that. lin Virginia and the
Carolinas. they have a vast multitude OF
slaves. Where this is the case i'm any
part of the world, those who are free are
by far the most proud and jealous of
their freedom. Freedom is TO them not
Oily an ENJOY ihriN. Jill a. KIM OF rank
and privilege Not seeing there that free
dom. as i'm countries where IL is a common
blessing and as broad and general as the
air. may be united with much abject toll
with great misery, with all the exterior Of
seryitude. liberty looks among them Ike
something that is more noble and liberal
! do not mean 10 commend the superior
morality of this sentiment. which has at
least as much pride as virtue in 70. but
cannot alter the nature of man. The fact
is so. and these people of the southern
colonies are much more strongly. and
with a higher and more stubborn spirit.
attached 20 liberty than those TO the
northward. Such were all the ancient
commemorative. such were our Gothic
ancestors. such, i'm our days. were the
Poles. and such will be all masters of
slaves who are not slaves themselves
ln such people. the haughtiness OF
domination combines with The spirit of
freedom, fortihes it. and renders il in
Ninciblc"
We judge from the Suns review of MI.
Bruce's work that De has made a real
contribution TO the history of this coun-
try.