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■council of state, ami a commissioner for managing the army. Atthat very time he had engaged in a secret correspondence for re-storing Charles II. and, upon the king’s coming over, was swornof his privy council, lie was one of the commissioners for the-trial of the" regicides ; and was soon after made chancellor of theexchequer, then a commissioner of the treasury ; in 1672 was•created earl of Shaftesbury ; and soon after was raised to the postof lord chancellor. He Idled this office with great ability, andthough the short time he was at the helm was in a tempestuousseason, nothing could either distract or affright him. The greatseal was taken from him in 1673, twelve months lifter his receivingit; hut, though out of office, he still made a distinguished figurein parliament. He drew upon himself the implacable hatred ofthe duke of York, by steadily promoting, if not originally invent-ing, the famous exclusion bill. When his enemies came intopower, he retired into Holland, where he died six weeks after hisarrival, in 1683. Ilis great abilities are confessed by all, thoughButler has given a verv severe character of him in his “ Iludi-bras.” - '

Cooper, Anthony-Ashley, third earl of Shaftesbury, wasson of Anthony the second, and grandson of Anthony the firstearl. He was horn in 1071, at Exeter house in London, wherehis grandfather lived, who from his birth conceived so great an af-fection for him, that lie undertook the care of his education ;wherein he made such progress that he could read with ease bothLatin and Greek, when only eleven years old. In 16x3, his father•carried him to Winchester school, where being insulted on hisgrandfather’s account, bv the zealots for despotism, he prevailedwith his father to consent to his going abroad, in 1686. lie re-turned to England in 1689, and was offered a seat in parliament,but did not accept it, that he might not be interrupted in thecourse of his studies, which he prosecuted five years with greatsuccess; till, on Sir John Trenchard’s death, he was elected M.1’. for Pool. Soon after his coming into parliament, In* had anopportunity of expressing that spirit of liberty, which uniformlydirected his conduct, bv bringing in “ the bill for regulating trialsin cases of high treason.” After the dissolution of parliament in1698, he went to Holland, where the conversation of Mr. Bavie,M. le Clerc, and several other learned men, induced him to re-side a year. During this time, there was printed at London, inSvo. an imperfect edition of lord Ashley’s “ Inquiry concerningVirtue.” It had been surreptitiously taken (by Mr. 'Poland, it issaid,) from a rough draught, sketched when he was only twentyyears of age. Ilis lordship immediately bought up the impres-sion before many hooks were sold, and completed the treatise, asit afterwards appeared in the second volume of his “ Charac-teristics.” In 1703, he made a second journey to Holland, andreturned to England in 1704. Ilis “ Letter concerning Enthu-siasm,” was published in 1708. Mis “Moralist, a philosophicalllliapsody, being a recital of certain Conversations on natural andmoral Subjects,” appeared in Jan. 1709 ; and in May following,his “ Sensus Communis,” an Essay upon the Freedom of \Y itand Humour, in a Letter to a Friend. In 1710, his “ Soliloquy,or Advice to an Author,” was published at London in Svo.While he was thus employing himself in literary composition, hishealth declined so fast, that he was advised to go to a wanner cli-mate. Accordingly, in July 1711, he set out for Naples, andtook his journey by way of France. After having resided at Naplesabout a year anti a half', he died the 4th Feb. O. S. 1712-13, aged42. The only pieces which he finished at Naples, were “ TheJudgement or Hercules,” and the “ Letter concerning Design.”In 1711, the first edition was published of all the characteristicstogether, and in the order in which they now stand. But a moreelegant edition was given to the world in 1713, soon after his de-cease. The several prints that were then first interspersed throughthe volumes were all invented by himself, and designed under hisimmediate inspection ; and for this purpose he drew up a mostaccurate set of instructions, the MS. ot which is still preserved inthe family: To prevent mistakes, the earl corrected the presshimself. In the three volumes of the “ Characteristics of Men,Manners, Opinions, and 'Limes,” he completed the whole of hisworks which he intended for the public eye. lie had a fine tastein painting and sculpture, and had thoughts of writing on thesesubjects; which his premature decease prevented. By many au-thors lord Shaftesbury is ranked among the deists, while othersthink that lie ought not to be reckoned among the deistical w riters.

In support of his Lordship’s having been'a believer in our holyreligion, have been urged his “ Preface to Whicbcol’s Sermons,”and his “ Letters to a Student at the University:” in both whichworks he expresses himself in such language as seems to indicatethat he believed the sacred scriptures. Nevertheless, there are inthe “ Characteristics” so many sceptical passages, that he must heconsidered as having been a doubter at least, if not an absolutedisbeliever, with respect to revelation.

Cooper, John Gilbert, a polite writer, hern in 1723. Af-ter studying at Westminster school under Dr. John Nieoll, he be-came in 1743, a Fellow Commoner of Trinity college, Cam-bridge; hut quitted the university on his marriage with Susannathe daughter of William Wrighte, Esq. Beeorder of Leicester.In 1743 he published “ The Bower of Harmony,” a poem in 4tu.and in 1746 and 1747, several Essays and Poems, signed Phila-lellies, in Mr. Dodsley’s “ Muwuin.” With the assistance of theBev. John Jackson of Leicester, lie published with his name,“ The Life of Socrates, collected from the Memorabilia of Xeno-phon and the Dialogues of Plato,” and illustrated by Aristotle,Diodorus Siculus, Cicero, Proclus, Apuleius, Maximus Tyrius,Boethius, Diogenes, Laertius Aldus, Geliius, and others, 174p,Svo. In this work Mr. Cooper gave evident marks of superiorgenius. In 1754, he published his “ Letters on Taste,” Svo. ;an elegant volume, on which no small share of his reputation isfounded; and in 17.55, “The Tomb of Shakespeare, a Vision,’*4to. hi 1756, lie assisted Mr. Moore, by writing some numbersof “ The World ;” and attempted to rouse the indignation of hiscountrymen against the Hessians, then brought over to defend thenation, in a poem called “ The Genius of Britain,” addressed toMr. Pitt. In 1758, he published “ Epistles to the Great, fromAristippus in Retirement,” 4to.; and “ The Call of Aristippus,”Epistle IV. to Mark Akenside, M. D. Also, “ A Father’s Ad-vice to his Son,” in 4to. In the Annual Register of 1758, is hisTranslation of an Epistle from the King of Prussia to MonsieurVoltaire. In 1759, lie published “ Ver Vert; or, the NunneryParrot;” an Heroic Poem, in four cantos ; inscribed to the Ab-bess of I)*** ; 4to.; and, in 1764, “ Poems on several Subjects,by the Author of the Life of Socrates;” with a prefatory Adver-tisement by Mr. Dodsley. lie died at bis father’s house in May-Fair, after a long and excruciating illness arising from the stone,April 14, 1769.

Cooper, in geography, a large navigable river of the UnitedStates, which unites the Ashley below Charleston city, in SouthCarolina.

Cooper, one w ho manufactures casks, tubs-, pails, and someother similar articles used in domestic concerns. These are madegenerally of oak timber; a great part of which comes from Ame-rica, cut up into narrow pieces or staves ; they are sometimes bentand sometimes straight, according to the purposes for -which theyare wanted. The staves are kept together by means of hoops,made from hazel or ash, or of iron. To make them hold wateror other liquids, split flags are inserted, which swell by moisture,and effectually prevent the vessels from leaking. Coopers, by23 Hen. VIII. c. 4, shall make their vessels of seasonable wood ;and make them with their own marks, on forfeiture of 3.v. Ad. :and the contents of vessels are appointed to be observed under alike penalty.

Cooper, King’s, an officer in every ciislom-house and exciseoffice.

Cooper, on board a ship, lie that looks to the casks, and allother vessels for beer, water, or any other liquor. He has a mateunder him.

Cooper’s Island, an island on the N. coast of the isle of Java,near Batavia.

Cooper’s Island, an island in the South Pacific Ocean, nearSouth Georgia.

Cooper’s Island, one of the lesser Virgin Isles in the WestIndies.

Cooper’s Town, a post town of New York, in Otsegocounty.

Cooper’s Town, a town of Pennsylvania, situated on the Sus-quehanna.

COOS, or COS, an island in the Archipelago, 56 miles N.W. of Rhodes.

Coos, or Cohos, a territory of New Hampshire, on the Con-necticut.

COOSACTEES,