hie ie ae sat Ssetee = 4 i e/ eT - il ty, | _ ’ wy : +4 : D \ : ‘ me ie an THESE ANNUAL REGISTER, orn AVIEW ME l|) o.1.5-T ORY, r OG 12 tC S, AND PITrERAT.UR &, For the YEAR 1790. se Re ~~? SI eS ams GOO PE A Rati a, V ~ Ver r- - \ eae ¢ JUL 1981 } | x | 4 ’ : if ~ \ ’ j ‘ : Zé ff Vina UD O Ns Printed for J. Dopstey, in PalleMall, 1793, Baie es, ie ‘oda ize} ago 4 Yaa gat ahaha: tal ed i ea fates Se ho eter #4 wc arn ‘Wwetey toe wah bs me Biase sida HO vaccGiuik HE great importance to all nations p . and people of the moft extraordi- nary Revolution which ever yet marked the various hiftory of mankind, a Revolu- tion which has already produced effects that are fenfibly and unfortunately felt in every quarter of the globe, and which is {till capable, in its poflible confequences, of mocking all calculations framed. by wifdom, or founded on experience, with refpect to their extent and duration, has, in our prefent Work, called forth our ut- moft powers of diligence, enquiry, and at- tention, to trace and delineate the circum- ftances attending fo great and fo fingular an event. Nor was this by any means an eafy tafk. For, though the fources of in- formation were beyond all example and meafure redundant and voluminous, yet they poffefled properties little favourable to the formation of hiftory ; being gene- rally framed and calculated merely for the purpofes of mifreprefentation and decep- tion; their variety, contradictions, and number, all tended to increafe the difh- culty of difcovering the truth. From fuch _ heaps’of inert or doubtful matter, where the iV ’ Pde FA ee, the clearing away of whole buthels of chaff, was frequently not rewarded. bya finele feed of wholefome grain, we have Mepesensiad to comprefs within the nar- row compa{s of our prefcribed limits, fuch, an abfira& of the Hiftory of the French Revolution, as we truft will not prove un- acceptable or unfatisfactory to the Public: requefiing our Readers to bear in mind, that it would require an ample folio vo. lume to do full juftice to all the parts of which we have here traced the outline. The time and room taken up by this momentous fubject, has of neceflity pre- cluded our entering into the detail of other foreign tranfa@ions, which, in the ufual — flate of things; would have been deemed objeG&s of principal importance. The eonclufion of that ferocious and bloody: war between the great powers of the North and. Eaft. (of the opening, and progres, of which, through the two firft campaigns, _ we gave fo particular an account in our preceding volumes) fhall, with the death of the Emperer Jofeph, oad fome other matters, form a retro{pective article in our enfuing volume, :) bits THE T-H-E ANNUAL REGISTER, For the YEAR 1790. CELESTE WDC MDOVOHOND THE S15 TORY: Su R OP E Gin Ey, “Ane PB: I. Retrofpedive view of the affairs of France towards the clofe of the year 1789. State of Paris. Sudden and frequent revolutions in the government and conftitution of that metropolis. Body of electors appointed for the prefent, to fupply the place of the former regal and municipal authorities. Laudable condud of the eleétors, and great benefits derived from it, in preferving Some degree of order and peace in that city. Incidents avhich led to their being expofed to imminent danger, through the caprice and the fufpicious difpofition of the people. Seemingly apprebenfive of this change of temper, they had the fortune previoufly to fecure a retreat, by inducing the pecple to eleeE 120 deputies, who were to be their temporary fuccefors. The divi- fion of Paris into fixty diftri@s, for the better conducting of the late elec- tions for deputies to the fiates, productive of many confequeaces favourable to the revolution, as well as to the efablifoment of form and order. In each of thefe diftricts general affemblies were held, whofe refolutions carried the effect of laws, and the moft fovereign ads of authority for the govern- ment of the diftrict, were difpenfed by its own adminifiration, Thus, Paris avas rather to be confidered as a confederacy, compofed of fixty independent democratical republics, than as one commonwealth. “A few demagogues alfume the lead in all thefe diftrids, and being fupported by the lower orders, Joon oblige people of character to abfent themfelves from thefe affemblies. Inflances of the noife, diforder, and tumult, which prevailed at thefe mext- ings. New republican clubs, who have their appendant focieties in every town of France, fon become rulers of the mobs and demagogues of Paris, aud at the fame time dictators to the national affimbly, Liflances from a Vou. XXX, [ 4 writer / 2] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. awriter of credit, that falfthoods and forgeries were the great and conftant refources of the cabals in Paris. Parifians noted for credulity, Gnd at the fame time for the extreme fufpicioufne/s of their nature, Similar inftances of credulity in the provinces. The exceffive liberty and unbounded licen- tioufnefs of the prefs, a powerful infirument of the revolution, The literati of Paris eftimated at 20,000, and thefe dictated to the reft of the nation. maccountable and indefenfible fupinene/s of the minifters, with refpe@ te the prefs. Strange and fatal blindne/s of the two firft orders of the frate. Famine, as a caufe of general difcontent, another powerful inftrument of the revolution. Real or imputed condudé of the duke of Orleans. National affembly ferioufly alarmed at the conflagrations and maffacres which were Jpreading defolation and ruin through many parts of the kingdom, the nobi- lity being hunted down like wild beafts in feveral of the provinces. This impreffion of terror, produces the extraordinary events of the 4th of Auguft. The vifcount Noailles, and the duke d’ Aiguillon, make fpeeches in the af* Jembly, in which they propofe fubftantial redrefs and relief to the peafantry, by relinguifbing and abolifbing thofe parts of the feudal rights and duties, which lay the heavieft on, or were the moft complained of by, that order of men, We are to obferve, ‘that through © the unaccountable and unexampled rapidity with which fach a, vatt mafs of bufinefs, had been carried through ia the night of the 4th of Augut, fixteen refo'utions of the greatelt importance being pafied in a few hours, moft of which fingly would require the cool, deliberation of more than one day, afifted by much knowledge aad judement, for Rs due determina- tion, from this circumfiance, as well as from the continual difar-. rangement of thonght, occafioned by .the general clamour and acclama- tion, it became extremely dificult for — the moft comprehenfive mind te. catch the nature or objec& of the fubjects which were unexpectedly brought on, and hurried through with little difcuffion or explanation, The clergy are reprefented as hav- ing been in this flate of blindnefs or ignorance, when the queftion in which they were fo much interefted relative to tithes was on that night. brought forward. They had gene- rally conceived, from whatever caufe it proceeded, that they were to re- ceive a juft, or at leaft a reafonable pecuniary compenfation, an idea which afforded the higheit gratifica- tion to them, as they would thereby. be relieved from that cdiocus ne- ceffity of taking tithes in kind, which above all things they withed to be exonerated from, and for that purpofe would willingly have fub- mitted to no fmall fubftraétion from their value on the iuppofition of a:;commatation., But when they found that they were to be ftripped of their only means of living, and deftined to look for fome undefined compen{a- tion, which.was to depend entirely upon the future degree of benevo- [B 3] lence 22] lence that might happen to operate upon the nation or affembly, no- thing could exceed their fenfe of the wrong, or their indignation at the injury. Nor did the contemptuous treatment which the abbé Sieyes had juft experienced, nor the cla- mour which was oppofed to their own arguments and remonttrances, nor even the galling ridicule which otcafionally intervened, and would pafs a fubje&, to them much too ferious for merriment, off asa jeft, at all deter them from contending vi- goroufly for their rights, and ftur- dily defending their daily bread. It was upon this occafion that one of the country vicars, in the bitter- nefs of his heart, addreffed himfelf to the commons; and calling out, with the higheft and moft marked indignation, afked, « Was it then to «: devour us, that you invited us to « join you in the name of the God “« of peace?” It cannot be doubted that a fenfe of their own condué in abandoning the nobility, with a re- collection of the means ufed to draw them to that meafure, and a galling comparifon between the fraternal embraces, along with the flattering title of faviours of their country, which they had fo lately received, and the immediate ingratitude of thofe very men by whom they had been fo highly carefled and bepraif- ed, and to whom they had in reality done fuch effential fervice, muft ail together have ferved to embitter the prefent fcene in the moft ex- treme degree. The debate, if a continued fcene of tumult, noife and confufion might be allowed to ufurp that name, was continued through the whole day. In vain did a number of the depu- | ties, who wifhed to get quit of fo tirefome a. difcuffion, by that fhort ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. decifion which confifted only in the counting of heads, and in which they were certain of a majority of two or three to one, call loudly and re- peatedly for the queftion. The diforder was too great, and the paf- fions on both fides too much inflam- ed, to admit of the coolnefs and re- gularity neceflary even for a divi- fion; fa that the bufinefs was by common ‘confent adjourned to the following day. The popular writers not only ac- knowledge, but feem to mention it as an inftance of the activity and abi- | lity of the leaders on their fide, that the night of the 5th of Augutft, which was that immediately fuc- ceeding the debate on tithes, was by no means idly or ineffectively fpent. Every engine was fet to work, to overcome the obftinacy, or to mollify the minds of the clergy. Hope, terror, and flattery were al- | ternately tried, and each in its turn found a foil fit for its reception, and produced its proper effet. ‘The object in view was to obtain from themfelves a formal, and at the fame time an apparently voluntary fur- render of tithes. In fa&, the clergy could not but fee, that the union of the nobles and commons againit them muft of neceflity render all their efforts abortive; and it re- quired no great trouble to deter- mine, whether it was not better to fubmit with a good grace to an in- evitable evil, than by a vain, and what would be deemed a pertina- cious refiftance, to exafperate that power on which they were ftill def- tined to rely for fupport and protec- tion. In thefe circumftances, and under thefe and fimilar impreffions, the point.was gained in the courfe of the night; and at the rT Cy) HISTORY OF EUROPE. of the fitting on the next morning, the archbifhop of Paris, in the name of his brethren, furrendered all the tithes of the church into the ‘hands of the nation ; accompanying the furrender with the following fhort fpeech: « Let the gofpel be « preached ; let divine worthip be “ celebrated with decency and dig- « nity; let the church be provided “ with virtuous and zealous paftors; « let the poor amongft the people “ be fuccoured. This is the defti- “nation of our riches; thefe are “< the objects of our miniftry, and «< of our wifhes: we truft ourielves, « without referve, to a juft and ge- “ nerous nation.”? This facrifice was received with an affected accla- mation of applaufe, as if any one could be perfuaded that it was a free and voluntary gift. It was not an incurious circumftance to obferve ‘the fudden change which took place in the countenance and manner of the affembly. That body, fo agi- tated, fo noify, fo tumultuous and violent on the preceding day and night, was now fo calm, fo tranquil and placid, that it was difficult to fup- pofe it compofed of the fime men. It coft the affembly feveral days to digeft and frame into laws the refolutions paffed on the night of the 4th of Auguft and the tranf- actions and debates of that night are fo intermixed, in the publifhed re- Jations, with thofe which fucceeded, and that without any mark of dif- tinction, that it is not eafy to aflign their proper time or place to fome of them. It feems, however, to have been on that night that the deputies from Dauphiny reminded the aflembly of the with declared by that province, that France fhould no longer remain parcelled out a- mongit Bretons, Dauphinois, and a 4 [23 Provengaux, but fhould for the fu- ture’ be inhabited by French citi« zens only. It was ftated, in fupport of this propofal, that the French had not hitherto been properly a nation, but rather an incoherent and fantaftical aflemblage of different people, who had fortuitouily pail- ed under the fame monarchy; fome, by virtue of a will, bequeathing them as property; others, in con- fequence of a marriage, which transferred them as a daughter’s portion ; and all by different titles, ‘and upon different conditions; all preferving their diftinét laws and cuftoms, and having nothing in common, but the difadvantage of fuffering all the miferies of fervi- tude, without the folitary recom- pence of poflefling uniform laws and fimilar interefts. ‘This application was received with great and yniverfai applaufe ; and it was probably upon this oc- cafion that the deputies of feveral privileged towns and diftritts made a furrender, as we have alreaiy feen, of the charters and municipal documents of the places they repre- fented. But many other of the de- puties, being more fcrupulous, did not chdofe to furrender the local privileges of their conftituents with- out confulting them ; and although the aflembly had already declared or decreed, that no pofitive intructions from the conftituents fhould be con- fidered as binding; yet apon this occafion they allowed time for their communicating with them. But for the intermediate time a provi- fional furrender was however made of all exclufive privileges, and it was underftood and announced, that there Should be one common contti- tution throughout the kingdom, and that no privilege, or fuppofed right, [2 4] fhould 24] fhould be admitted to obftruét the attainment of that defired «bject. The final refult was, that every ex- clufive right and privilege through- out the kingdom was at length re- figned. 'The provinces which pof- feifed a right of taxing themfelves, renounced that right, and their ftates, together; and the parlia- ments, which had fo long been the boait of France, and confidered as the able and inflexible guardians of the public rights, were {oon anni- hilated, as well as the provincial ftates. Al] the ancient fyftems of theology and of the {chools, toge- ther with the canon, political, and _ecclefiaftical bodies cf law, were fwept away like cobwehs ; as were, with ftill greater eafe, all the claims er fuppofed rights of the court of Rome, and all fees or taxes here- tofore paid to it for ever abolifhed. In a word, every thing changed its ancient form and afpect. It was oblerved, by men of fhrewd obfervation, that however brilliant the generous enthufiafm of the 4th of Auguft appeared, and whatever honour the great facrifices made by the nobility and clergy to the people conferred on the parties, yet that this new mode of hattily pafling the moft important laws by acclamation, was fraught with much inconvenience and evil; that it took away from that refpeét, from that opinion of wifdom, which ever fhould attend the proceedings of a great deliberative aflembly ; more particularly the prefent, engaged as it was in the moft arduous tafk that ever had been committed to the hands of a fimilar body of men, that of correcting all the abufes accumulated in the courfé of a long series of paft ages, and of framing a new and perfect conftitution for the ANNUAL - REGISTER, 1790. government of a great and power~ ful empire, gs if it had now been only commencing its exiftence. They held, that one effential law coolly paffed in favour of the people, marked with its proper character- ifticks of due deliberation, difcuf- fion and enquiry, would have pro- duced better effects upon their tem- per and dijpofition, and inipired them with .higher fentiments of gratitude, than the’ whole bundle of laws thus precipitately hurried through by the voice of clamour and acclamation. ‘That fuch ator. rent of benefits coming upon them at once, was more culculated to turn theirheads, to loofen all the bands of {ubordination, to eradicate every fenfe of their re{pective duties, and to indifpofe them to every form ‘whatever of government, than to render them good citizens, and ufe- ful members of the fociety, in their proper iphere of life. That thefe laws fhould have been promulged, and thefe benefits communicated ” gradually, to give them proper ef- tect, and thereby to render them ufeful; but that in the prefent ill- chofen feaion of pafling the one, and no lefs ill: mode of-difpenfing the other, the people mutt naturally attribute them either to a fudden paroxyim of fear or of madnefs ; and that under this impreffion, their gratitude on the one hand, and all the good effeéts which were hoped ‘to proceed from theie prodigious conceffions, on the other, wouid be equally fuperfeded. They fartne infifted, that independently ofall ex- trinfic confiderations, fo important and fo intricate a body of laws, which went to change the whole law and policy of the nation, to difarrange or difpofe of near half its property, and to draw eternal a ; lines t - His FOR Y OF ines of demarcation between the rights and claims of the rich and ‘the poor, the great and the fmall, required, whether with regard to their ftability, or to the character of the leguiilators, that none’ of them feparately, much lefs the whole, fhould have been paifled, without deep thought, calm deli- beration, long difcuiion, clofe en- quiry into facts and contequences, and a vigorous exertion of all the human forefight in looking to pof~ fible or probable confequences. The event was, that the nobility and clergy in the provinces, feeling no part of that enthufiafm whica~ operated on their brethen upon the ‘4th of Auguft, and being, on the con- trary, in the higheft degree irritated by the devaftation and-ruin-which they were enduring, were much diflatisfied with, and very generaily condemned the conduct of their de- legates, in thus haftily facrificing their rights and property, without their*concurrence, and without ob- taining the f{maileft fecurity, either prefent or future, for their perfons, or for whatever itill remained of their ’-poffeffions. On the other hand, the illiterate peafantry, hav- ing received only very. imperfect accounts, and forming very confufed ideas of what had paffed in the af- fembly, yet the mixture of truth and falfehood which’ reached them, that the feudal fyftem was entirely overthrown, all privileges and dii- tinétions between men for ever a- bolithed, that all open lands were the property of the nation (by which they underftood themfelves) with that addition, which was re- ceived more ‘greedily than ‘any Otlicr, that no rents were in future tobe paic, thefe things they thought ‘Mot only afforded ’a full jultification EUROPE. {25 cf their paft violence, but fufficient authority for its continuance; nor is it much to be wondered at, that they ihouid confider thefe fudden and extraordinary beneits as either the reward or the effect of their own cutrages. Under this perfuafion they accordingly renewed them with greater violence than ever, being now . freed from the dread which had hitherto attended the peryetration of fimilarcrimes. The national affembly paffed very fevere laws to prévent thele diforders, and to punish the offenders; but they not being fupported. with vigour, and no proper force affigned for carrying them into execution, they produced little effect. But the proprietaries at length, whofe fupinenefs hitherto had been a matter of general aftonifhment, took up arms in their own defence, ‘and checked the barbarous ravages of the peafantry. To this late-dif- covered vigour on their fide Rabaut attributes the falvation of France ; for he obferves, that that clafs of men who had nothing to lofe, and every thing to gain in the confufion of revolutions, was thereby deterred from aflembling. I As an appearance of fome tran- quillity and good-temper now pre- vailed in the court and affembly, the king ventured upon the appoint- ment of anew miniftry. ‘The great feal was given to the archbifhop of Bourdeaux; the nominationof bene- fices to the archbifhop of Vienne; the war department was committed to M. dela Tour du Pin; while St. Prieft and Montmorin, who had beea recalled with Neckar, were reinftated in their former offices. The three former were members cf the affembly, but they ceafed from fitting or voting there after their appointment, 26] Appointment. The affembly ex- prefled great fatisfattion at the choice of thefe minifters, which the king had immediately commu- “nicated to them by letter. It happened unfortunately, that ‘the fame evil, which had already ge fo fatal to the king and to is adminiftrations, ftillf[continued to prefS upon the executive govern- ment with greater weight than it even had done before. Thc pay- ment of the taxes was generally re- fufed or evaded in moft parts of the ‘kingdom, and there was no money to fupport government or carry on the public buifinefs. In this flate of things the new minifters demand- ed an audience of the affembly; and the archbifhop of Bourdeaux, as keeper of the feal, having expa- tiated largely on the difordered and melancholy ftate of public affairs, M. Neckar, as minifter of finance, ‘demanded that the affembly fhould give its fanétion to a loan of thirty millions of livres, as a meafure in- difpentably neceflary. The neceffity was too evident to admit of a dif- cuffion; but fome objections were made on account of the inftructions which the delegates had received from their conftituents, not to grant any fubfidies until they had com- pleted the conftitution. Thefe ob- jyections, however, gave way to the inftant and extreme diftrels of the ftate for want of money ; but ‘this occafion afforded the firf inftance of the total change which had taken place in the countenance of the af- fembly With refpect to Neckar. Inftead of + adopting the fcheme formed by the financial minifter, whofe abilities and integrity they had fo often extolled in a degree which approached to the hyperbole, they now ceclaéed their total want ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. of confidence in him, by altering his plan, and narrowing the terms which he propofed as an induce- ment to the lenders for fubfcribing to the loan. ‘The confequence was natural ; the monied men would not part with their cafb; and no body fubfcribed; and by this very ill- judged management the weaknefs or failure of public credit, which might otherwile have been kept in the dark, was expofed to all Eu- rope. This conduct, however, drew a degree of unpopularity, and even of odium,upon the national affembly, which it did not eafily get quit of ; for as Neckar did not fcruple licly to vindicate himfelf, the whole blame fell upon that body, to whom in reality it properly belong- ed. Upon ‘this failure, the neceffity for money every hour increafing, Neckar was permitted to prefcribe fuch terms as he thought wou'd an- {wer the purpofe, for raifing a loan of eighty millions of livres, at five per cent. on the credit of a vote pafled by the affembly. But the fortunate moment was paft, and could not be regained; although ~ the propofals were fufficiently al- — luring, the fubfcription hung too heavily on hand to produce the de- fired effe&t, and, im fine, was not half filled. In the mean time a © {cheme of promoting and receiving patriottc conrributions was adopt- ed; and, like other novelties in that country, raged for its time as am epidemic. Silver buckles and gold rings were the moft common con- tributions to the affembly ; fo that in a few days not a filver buckle was to be feen, nor probably many wedding rings to be. found, any where in or near Paris. The na~- tional aflembly themfelves, in a fudden — pub- — ' HISTORY OF ‘EUROPE. fudden fit of enthufiafm, difman- tled all their own fhoes one day in a moment. Such was the rage of fafhion while it lafted, that the pooreft people, even thofe who were little better than living On charity, prefented their offer- [27 eminently diftinguifhed for. their patriotifm on this occafion, freely offering a fhare of their earnings’ to the fupport of the public.—It was undoubtedly the moi difpraceful meafure, with refpect both to the nation and to themfelves, that ever ings. The loweft as well as the was adopted by any body of mica higher orders of courtezans were in fimilar circumftances. fo Nae PA kee? ~ King and queen fend their gold and filver plate to the mint. Patriotic doa tions incapable of relieving the neceffities of the fiate. Extraordinary tax decreed, under the name of a patriotic contribution, by which each wan was to contribute one fourth of his annual revenue to the exigencies of the ftate. Loud complaints and violent animofities excited by this partial tax. Em- barraffnents and difficulties which the national affembly experienced in fram~ ing the néw declaration of rights. Great debates upon the propriety or inexpedience of adopting the meafure. Declaration at length paffed and pro- mulgated. Saying of Mirabeau upon the fubjed. Affembly divided into a _ number of Jections or committees, to each of which is affigned fome fpecified part of the new conftitution, on which it is to make a report. Grand queftion arifes, What fhare of authority it was fitting the king fFould po/- JSefs in the new legiflature? This operates like a touchflone in trying every man’s principles, and compelling him to an open avowal of them. Afjembly arranged, face to face, in two great hoftile divifions, apparently equal in ftrength and numbers. . Violent contefts enfue, and are fo long cons tinued, that the people without, and at length the whole nation, become parties in them. State of the parties within and without, who thus di- vided the affembly and the nation, King’s veto, or negative, with refpet to the paffing of laws, one of the fubjecis moft violently and generally agi- tated. Populace of Paris interfere openly in the queftion of the veto; while the crowds in the galleries of the afembly become fo daringly auda- cious, as by hootings and revilings to endeavour to drown the voices, and by infults and menaces to deter from giving their votes all thofe members who Supported the rights of the crown. Long lifts of members who were marked Sor profeription, and deftined to be victims to the vengeance of the people, publifoed in Paris, and diftributed through every part of the kingdom. Po _ pular fermentation in Paris rifen nearly to its highe/t pitch. The notorious St. Huruge, attempts to have the king, the dauphin, and the national afem- bly, brought to Paris; but by the spirited exertions of La Fayette, Bailly, and the Hotel de Ville, the leaders are committed to prifon, and the fedition quelled. Heavy complaints made to the affémbly by feveral of its members of thofe treafinable attempts againft the freedom of the king, as well as of that body itfelf; and likewife of the lifts of profcription which were pub- lifbed, and of the incendiary letters by which they were continually menaced with deftruction; but Mirabeau with his fa@ion turn the whole complaint into ridicule. Numberlefs charges of Juppofed plots and confpirccies now ‘made againft the royalifts; which effectually anfwer one purpofe, in exciting 1 ; @ general 28] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. | a general alarm and ferment through the nation. The Parifians, in parti-. cular, become again aungereufly outrageous, and every thing bears the fame. . ofped asin the preceding mouths of Fune and Fuly. In this fate of affairs, the king, ever wifbing io preferve or refiore tranquillity, fends Neckar with a@ propofal to the affeimbly, declaring that be would be contented with a Jifpenpve veto, whofe cperation fioid not laft longer than one or two legif- latures. This propofal received with fatisfadiion; and it was decreed, 1 that the royal fufpenfion fooxld continue during tawo legiflatures, Great dew | bates on the quefiion, whether the national ajembly fbould be compofed of one | or tavo chambers. Queffion at length carried for a fingle chamber by a pro- | digious majority: Members cbliged to procure certificates how they had given their votes, to preferve their houfes and families from deftrudion. Affembly decree, that the legifiative body foall be renewed every iwo years by elections. Receive a setier from the king, containing his objections to certain parts of fome of the netv laws, which occasions much difcontent in the'affembly. King obliyed to give his faction fimply, and wthout comment, to the laws in queftion. Things tending faft to an extraordinary crifis beth 4 in Paris and Verfailies. Affembly, however, confirm the hereditary fuc- . ceffion of the crown; and declare the king’s perfon facred and inviolable. Arrival of the regiment of Flanders at Ver/ailles, the caufe or prétence of ihe enfuing mifehiefs. Entertainment given by the officers of the king’s life guards to thofe of the new corps, productive of much licentioufacls and Sally. This banquet occafions a violent ferment both at Paris and Verfailles. Nu- | merous army of xvomen, after plundering the tora houfe, and fupplying i themfelves with arms and artillery, march from Paris to Verfailles. Are followed by unnumbered bands of ruffians. And not long after by La Fayetie, at the head of a confiderable ariny of the national guards. Events of the 5th and 6th of Odober. King and royal family led captive to Paris. Tumult in Paris, and the murder of a baker, foon after the arrival of the national affimbly, occafion the greateft alarm and apprehenfion in that body. Severe decree paffed, by which the magiftrates are empowered to pro- claim martial law, and to proceed to the laft extremities in repreffing the fu- ture outrages of the mob. La Fayette procures the Duke of Orleans’ departure to England. N the pinching fcarcity of mo- ney which now prevailed, the king and queen fent their gold and fiver plate to the mini for coinage. a * in the royal perfonages, who were obliged to deftine the plate to be converted into current coin for the relief of their immediate necefli- We had originally underttood this to have been, in the prefent {pirit of the time, a patriotic donation, intended to cive’a fan@ion and countenance to the offerings of fil- ver trinkets, {mall fums of money and pieces of plate which were continually made. But it appears from Neckar, who could not be miitaken, that this meafure pro- ceeded from mere abfolute poverty ties. it foon appeared, and might have been eafily forefeen, that the pa- triotic offerings were totally inca- pable of relieving the public necef- fities, which were of too vatt -a magnitude to be at all affeéted by fuch trifling refources: fo that the danger of a public bankruptcy, and of a total ceflation of all the opera- tions cf government, could not-but ; » ftrike Hist ORM LOOP EAR OP £- ftrike every mind with apprehen- fion; the taxes being almoit en- tirely unproductive, and no means appearing for fupplying their place with an adequate fubiitute. It was inthis ftate of hard and trying difficulty, when the greatneis of the meceflity feemed almoft to afford a -fanétion to any meafure that might be purfued for obtaining relief, that Neckar ventured to lay before the aflembly the fcheme for a fupply, which the boldeft minifter that ever lived, and. in the moft defpotic go-’ vernment, would perhaps have he- fitated at adopting. This was the extraordinary contribution of the fourth part of each man’s yearly revenue, to be paid at different af- figned periods during the courfe [29 however, neceflary to make the decree pafs glibly through the af- fembly ; although he took care to infinuatepin a manner which could not be mifunderftood, that Neckar poiicfied neither his confidence ‘nor efteem.—It was too late now for the affembly to refle@, that much of the public diltrefs proceeded from their own extraordinary, and as it proved'unfortunate declaration, which taught the people to conifi- der all the prefent taxes as illegal, from their not being laid on by their reprefentatives. Nothing was, however, left an- done by the afflembly, ‘whieh could tend to render this fcheme -of fupply. palatable; and to pre- vent its afluming the odious deno- ) of three years. ‘The eftimate of _ each man’s income, and confequent- ly the amount of the fum which he ‘was to contribute to the ftate, being -left to his own honour. : mination of a tax, it was repre- fented entirely as a patriotic con- tribution, or donation. An addrefs -to the nation was likewife paffed, It was furely a fingular cafe, that a tax almoit without example in the moft arbitrary governments, fhould have been pafied by .a body of men, not only highly republican, ‘but who were the avowed aflertors of liberty. The peculiar fituation of the affembly will, however, ex- plain this circumftance. They-were ‘already labouring under great and ftating the neceflity of her making great facrifices in cafes of great emergency. But neither thefe meéa- res, nor a knowledce tha’ = fure © knowledge that “th {cheme of this tax originated with Neckar, could prevent a great number of t#ofe who were expofed to its eect from confidering this ages ake F ae decree, as the refult of a combina- tion, formed by men without pro- perty, to firip chofe who full re- 5 general odium on account of the failure of Neckar’s firit fcheme for _ #aifing money by a loan, which was | entirely and juftly charged to their Anjudicious and wanton interference - inthe bufinefs. At the fame time, __inftant bankruptcy, with all its fa- _ *tal confequences, were ftaring them tained any, of the laf farthing they poflefied. For the example being once fet, of thus partially taxing @ part of the community, and con- demning them to bear all the bur- thens of the ftate, who could pre- tend to define the extent to which the injury and oppreffion might not be carried under the fanction of fuch a precedent; efpecially as all power was lodged, and liable to continue, in the hands of thofe very men who had committed the original wrong ? * fall in the face; and if they re- : sig the prefent plan, they would have made themfelves thereby an- eee for all the evils that might © follow. Mirabeau’s eloquence was, 4 30] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. If ftate neceflity was pleaded as the colour or pretence, they obferved, that it was at beft the plea only of tyrants, and that the fame pretence would anfwer the fame purpofe, while they had any thing left to lofe. If the total failure of the cuftomary taxes was brought as an argument, the queftion was readily put, why the people were armed to refit their payment, until better, Or at leait other taxes were provid- ed, to fupply the deficiency ? They faid that the landed proprietors had already facrificed a great part of their rights and property to the public good; that another great portion had been totally deftroyed, by the cruel devaftations commit- ted on their eflates and houles, by thofe very people en whom they were fhowering benefits; and that tiow, in the feafon of their humi- liation and diftrefs, fcarcely breath- ing from the horrors and ruin which they had experienced, to condemn them to the fupport of all the ex- pences of the nation, was a meafure of {uch injuftice and cruelty, as to be without example in all the an- fals of tyranny. Ner did the fan- ¢tine and adtive part which Mira- beau had taken in pafling this de- éree, ferve in any degree to leflen theie. impreffions, or to render the meature more pleafing.—Upon the whole, nothing had yet taken place in the courfe of the revolution, which ferved fo much to embitter the fuinds of men, to increafe the ani- tofity and malignity of parties, and that through the violence of their collifion produced fuch unfor- tunate and difgraceful confequences, as this meafure of partial taxation. During thefe endeavotrs to re« medy the diftrefes o¢cafioned by the difordered ftate of the finances, (which took up no {mall fpace of time) the national affembly was bufily occupied in forming different parts of the new conftitution, and particularly in framing their cele- brated declaration of the rights of men and of citizens. On this laft fubject the aflembly feemed greatly to bewilder themfelves in abftraé queftions and metaphyfical difqui- fitions. La Fayette, whofe princi- ples were truly and entirely Ame- rican, brought forward a declara- tion, which was little more or lefs than an epitome of all thofe that had been adopted by the different members of the united flates. This might poflibly have been fo far received as to become in fome de- gree a fort of ground-work to their own, if the abbé Sieyes had noe compofed an abftraét and difficult work, in which he defined and traced the rights of man to their firft principles. Though the abbé’s friends and admirers were unfuc- cefsful in their fupport of this pro- duction, they, however, procured the overthrow of La Fayette’s fy tem; but this double failure, in- ftead of operating as a difcourage- ment, was fucceeded by fuch a multitude of plans of new declara- tions, that the afiembly, embarraf- fed by the variety of choice, feund ~ it neceflary to appoint a committees; — in order to reduce the fubftance of — thofe numerous plans into one di- geft, which they might refer to, as _ a text book in their deliberations. This digeft was as far from af fording fatisfaction as the feparaté plans, of individuals. In the mean time eflays were every day written upon the fubjeét, and ‘every man — feemed to think it the eafielt is a His.T-ORY¥ .0.F. EU R,0,P.E, in the world to do, that which none did. Opinions multiplied. upon opiniors in the «ffzmbly, every time the fubjeét was canvafled; every line teemed with new diffi- culties; the mutual jealoufies and diitrufts of the parties led them to fulpect fome dangerous myftery or hidden fraud to be involved in the moft fimple and obvious axioms ; and while they reciprocally accufed each other without ceremony, ei- ther of intending to give the reins entirely to licentjoufnefs, or of with- ing to check the progrefs of liber- ty, cool debate and difpaffionate dif- cuffion were in fuch circumftances things to be wifhed for but not ex- pected, A declaration which was pro- ofed by one of the fections into which the aflembly was divided, was at length fo far received, as to become the fubject of general de- bate, with a view to its affording the foundations for the grand fu- perftructure, Every article became a fubjec&t of much difcuffion, and was not unfrequently produttive of great heat and bjtternefs. The debates were exceedingly tedious and yninterefting: being in many cafes a mere war of words, running much into metaphyfical abftraCtions, grammatical niceties, and verbal difputes of no yalue. They were rendered ftill more irkfome and dif- ficult from its being fcarcely poffi- ble to arrange any number of words in fuch a form, as would equally ftrike the ears, and be received with the fame degree of compre- henfion, by fo great an affemblage of men as twelve hundred, even fuppofing that they were all equally fincere in thejr purfuit of the truth,’ and tbat none were prompted by Patticular motives to deviate from (34 the right line of direction. It be- came indeed now evident, if it had been before doubted, that fo nume- rous a body was by no means pro- perly calculated for a deliberative affembly. The debates were not, how- ‘ever, entirely confined ta the fub~ je or compofition of the declara~ tion, for one of the. mof& confider- able, and perhaps the moft intere- ing with regard to matter, arofe upon the queftion of adopting the meafure, confidered with refpect to its expedience and propriety. It was faid, by thofe who oppofed the meafure, that this American idea, was, in fact, more brilliant than folid; that it originated from a new. and peculiar ftate of things, which did not exift with refpect to Frances but that whether it. fuited or not, the circumftances and condition of thofe by whom it was firft adopt- ed, was not the queltion to be con. fidered, but whether it fuited their own? ‘This they endeavoured to difprove. They ftated in the firft place, that fuch a declaration, in the prefent ftate aad temper of the nation, would not only be inexpe-. dient, but might probably prove dangerous, from an impyoper ufe being made of it; that the people, jut Mtetet a from oppreffion, and indulging themfelyes in a momen~ tary licentioufnefs, were unprepared for fuch new doétrines; that when they were intoxicated with the un-~ accultomed fpirit of independence, they would no longer acknowledge the authority of the Jaws, but would he too apt to confider them only as remaining appendages of that {yf, tem of ancient tyranny, from whofe other fhackles they had fo lately fet themfelves free; and under this blind delusion they would eagerly exert 32] exert their new liberty in enforcing _ by violence every claim which ca- price, folly, or the worit paflions might fucgett. They added, that in order to avoid thele mifchiefs and dangers, which were too obvious to be over- looked by any body, the affembly, after involving itfelf in a tafk of great moment and_ expectation, would be afraid to execute, con- fiftently and properly, that difficult bufinefs which it bad fo needlefsly and wantonly undertaken; for that under thefe fhackles it could only form a patched up, imperfeét, in- confiftent work, under the name of a declaration of rights, which would be a difgrace to the authors as well as to the fubject, the parts militat- ing againit each other, and contra- dicting the title, from the number of reftraints and limitations with which, in fuch untoward circum- flances, it muft of neceflity abound ; and thus the mighty whole, when it came forth, inftead of'a political creed, which fhould convert- all mankind by the juftnefs and fim- plicity of its principles, would prove an infignificant, incoherent, ‘ con- tradictory jargon. They faid, the afflembly, by this premature attempt, would find itfelf involved in other difficulties which it did not feem aware of, with refpe& to the great caution which was to be ufed .in not confining its own powers of legiflation, and the danger of a contradiction between general prin- ciples and particular laws; this mutt cccafion’ their declaration of thofe principles to be timid and circumfpe&, if not equivocal; and the production ‘will appear to be merely the offspring of their pre- fent neceffities, and of the ruling prejudices of the moment. ANNUAL REGTS PER; 17m Were it not better, therefore, faid they, to defer your declaration of rights, untif the conftitution is completed and eftablifhed? We fhall then have it in our power to appropriate the one to the other, * and to make them harmonize to- gether.—A fhrewd queftion was put by Malouet’: “ Why,” faid he, « fhould we tranfport men to the « ideal fummit of a mountain, and « fhew them the extenfive domain “of their rights beneath, when we “ fhall moft affuredly be obliged to «« make them defcend, and to bring «them into the real world, where «* they will find every ftep fettered “with reftraints.” The much more numerous party . who fupported the meafure, hooted at and {coffed the idea of fuppofing danger in enlightening the public, and communicating to them a knowledge of their rights. It was not difficult, efpecially in the pre- fent ftate of things, to find a circle of common place arguments upon this head—That it had been the old trick of defpotifm in all ages and places to keep the people igno- rant, in order to rivet their chains the more firmly, and to render their flavery eternal. They talked in lofty language, but not always eafily underitood, about the native rights of man, which, they faid, are eternal, inalienable, and impre- fcriptible; that their fource is in nature itfelf; that they are equal and unchangeable in every age and every country, and can never yield to any reafon of convenience or neceflity. That, as the fole objec of fociety is the prefervation of thefe rights, to declare what they are, is an indifpenfable preliminary to the eftablifhment of a political conftitution, That the reprefenta- - tives _ them. HISTORY OF EUWROPE. tives of the people are {pecially called upon. to declare them, be- caufe it is their duty to lay the foundations before they raife the edifice ; to eftablifh principles be- - fore they draw conclufions; to fix upon a determinate and invariable end, before they make choice of the means by which it is to be ob- tained. That it is neceflary to-de- clare them, in order that the people may underftand and decide upon the motives of their legiflators ; that our fucceflors may tread in our footiteps, and, feeing clearly our ob- ject, and comprehending fully the fcope of our defign, may be ena- bled-to bring our work to perfec- tion; and that other nations may be made fenfible by our precepts of the injuries they fuffer, and may learn by our example how to redreis It. is a debt which France owes to mankind. This celebrated declaration of rights-has been fo long before the world, and has every where, parti- tularly in this country, been already fo much difcuffed, that any obfer- Vation now upon it would not only be needlefs, but could fcarcely avoid being a repetition of what has been already faid. It was allowed by all parties, even. in France, to contain. much good matter, and the nobles and clergy acknowledged that many of its articles were excellent. Con- _fidered as a compofition, it bears _ evident marks of hafte, and is by no means a regular and homo- genecus work. Sometimes it an- nounces rights; again it prefcribes reftraints: here it anticipates the objects of legiflation; and there it direéts and attack againft defpotifm, which it could not confiftently fup- pofe to exift. It was not till the y Vou. XXXII. [33 end of Auguft that the produétion was finifhed. if Perkaps there was fearcely lefs truth than wit in Mirabeau’s obfer- vation on this declaration, « That it ** would anfwer no other purpofe * than that of a political almanack ‘© for the current year.” Through this whole courfe, the affembly was divided into a number of fe&tions or commitieés, to each of which was affigned {cmz {pecified part of the new conftitution, on which it was to give its opinion and advice in a report, which thenbe- came a fubjeét of general difcuffion, But in thus fettling the conftitution, a queftion (as all things were now unhinged) neceffarily arofe, which ferved more to divide the opinions and to agitate the minds of men than any other; this was the grand queftion, What fhare of a2utho- rity it was fitting the king fhould poffefs in the new legiflature ? This operated like a touchflone. In other matters, the different orders and parties were conftantly divided among themfelves, but now, every man found himfelf under a necef- fity of avowing and fupporting his principles, or of giving them up’ for ever. What had never hap- pened before, the prefident now faw, on his right hand and on his left, — the whole affembly arranged in two grand hoftile divifions, and théfe fo: nearly poifed in point of number, that the moft experienced eye could not determine on which fide the advantage might lie. The conflicts were fo hard fought on both: fides; fo often reneWed, and fo long con- tinued, and the fubjeét of debate fo induftrioufly fpread and univerfally known, that the whole nation be- came parties in the conteft, and the Cc * diffention 34] diffention and agitation was not lefs among the people at large, than it was within the walls of the affem- bly. All the paffions which had hitherto been in fome degree {mo- thered, now burft forth with greater force from their reftraint, and many fprung from recent caufes, appear- ed in all the ardour of juvenility. Rabaut owns, that every debate in the affembly was now a quarrel ; and the! heat and violence without was ftill greater. On the one fide were arranged, in the firft inftance, thofe who had at all times confidered the fovereign as the fole and rightful legiflator ; with thefe were joined thofe who, without entering into the abftract principle, were from habit or opi- nion attached to monarchy, and who were ftruck with dread and horror at the fudden torrent of re- publicanifm which now fo fuddenly overfpread the land; to thefe were to be added the fmaller band, who felt themfelves attached by affection to the king’s perfon, and that much more numerous, which, from in- terefted motives, found itfelf bound at all events to the fupport of king- ly government. But the great force on that fide was a new acceflion ; being compofed of the nobility and clergy, who, though reduced in pow- er, were {till refpeétable, if not for- midable, from their number, as well as from what {till remained of their influence. Thefe, become at length fenfible of the baleful effect of their patt tergiverfation, reflecting in bit- ¢ernefs of heart upon the manner in which both’ orders had been al- ternately duped by the commons, and led blindly to play their own game into their hands, and clearly perceiving now that nothing leis Fe ek ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. than their final ruin was intended, were equally convinced that nothing could avert that ruin, but the re- taining of fo much power in the hands of the king, as might prove fome check to the prevailing fy tem; and enable him to interpofe with effect in their prefervation. On the other fide was oppofed, in much clofer and firmer array, and much better officered and command.~ ed, the whole body of republicans throughout the kingdom ; who, net- withftanding the innumerable divi- fions into which they were formed, and the great diftances by which the parts were feparated, were fo intimately conneéted, and_ their correfpondence and union fo per- fetly eftablifhed, that their general movements difplayed the facility which might have been expected from thofe of a fingle individual. With thefe were joined no {mall number of men, who ftood in the very odd predicament, that though they joined the republicans in every thing, they were notwithftanding attached to fome undefined or un- known fpecies of monarchy, but were unable to decide in themfelves what that fhould be; thefe having no other principle of union or ac- tion than one common fear, that the crown might recover its former preponderance and power, could fee’ no other evil or danger whatever ;. but that was fo ftrongly fixed in their minds, that it feemed difficult to affign what degree of humiliation or weaknefs it could be reduced to, which would prove fufficient to re- move their apprehenfions. Under this impreffion, although they were dire&tly adverfe to republicanifm in principle, their conduét produced the fame effect as if they had been the | HISTORY OF EU:ROPE, the warmeft and moft determined Zealots in the caufe; nor were they awakened from this delufion till the bufinefs was over, when their opi- nion and action were become as ~ nfelefs as their repentance. But that great power which over- ruled all others in the kingdom, that turbulent metropolis which contain- ed within its old walls a very nu- merous and a moit peculiar nation, was not only fufficient to turn but directed the management of the {cale in all cafes as it liked. Paris, therefore, little needed the aid of Rennes in Brittany, and feveral other of the more confiderable cities and towns, which having received the fame republican bias, were, how- ever inferior in ftrength, fcarcely lefs zealous in the caufe. _ One of the queftions which arofe upon this fubject, and which was the longeft and the moft violently agi- tated, both within and without the aflembly, was that relative to the king’s veto, or negative, upon the pafling of laws. between the two parties upon this queftion was fo wide, that it feemed fearcely poflible they could ever meet or unite; for while one brought ftrong reafons to fhew that this au- thority in the crown was indifpen- fably neceflary to the public intereft, in order to preferve a check upon the tumultuary nature of public af- femblies, and prevent their pafling not only without due confideration, but under the influence perhaps of the moft fudden and outrageous paf- fions, laws, which from their abfur- _dity, their iniquity, or impolicy, might draw on national difgrace, public injuftice, or even foreign danger. On the other fide, the re- taining of this power in the king’s hands, it was reprefented, would be The difference. [35 the means of overthrowing every thing that had yet been done for the liberty and good of the people; that by this negative, without af- figning reafon or motive for his conduét, he might obftrué thofe meafures which were of the higheft utility to the people, merely to fa- vour the intrigues of his court, or the machinations of his minifters 5 that by thus impeding or arrefting the operations of the aflembly, the great work of regeneration, which the people now fo confi- dently expected, would be ren- dered impracticable, and all their hopes fruftrated ; that if the ill effects of this dangerous power did not even immediately take place, they would not be the lefs certain when the proper feafon arrived for their operation ; that when the pre- fent vigilance of the people and their reprefentatives was relaxed, and means ufed to lull them into a fatal fecurity, then the king might fuddenly, at his pleafure, inflict a paralytic ftroke upon the legiflative body, which would difable and ren- der it totally ufelefs. And that, in fact, this veto was a never-failing inftrument of tyranny, and the moit odious and dangerous relick of an- cient defpotifm which could poffibly be retained. The queftion was -branched out into feveral parts. After they had been occupied in the firft inftance to make fuch provifion as fhould prevent the operation of the veto with refpect to the aéts of the pre- fent affembly, the clear difcernment of Mounier fhewed that this was mere waite of time, the fubject not admitting of a queftion; for the prefent affembly being appointed by the nation, for the {pecial purpoi: of framing a conflitution, it was [C2] thereby 36] thereby placed in a fituation dif- ferent, with refpect to the royal negative, from what its fucceffors might be; the real fact being, that the royal power, during their per- formance of that duty, was, of ne-- ceffity, virtually though not formal- ly fufpended: fo that their confti- tuent aéts were not to depend upon the king’s pleafure or fanétion—-they required his direct acceptance, which could not be refufed. The firft part of the fubje&t be- ing thus difpofed of, the poffible or probable future confequence of the royal fanétion’s being retained or abolifhed, became” the fubject of difcuffion; and another queftion fprung from this, If the king is al- lowed to have a negative upon laws, fhall that negative be final, or fhall it only be {ufpenfive for a limited time? In the mean time, the fecondary agents or leaders of the populace in Paris began to interfere openly on the queftion of the vero, and on all the other points relative to the con- ftitution, which were then agitated by the affembly; while the crowds in their own galleries became every day more infolent and outrageous, drowning the voice of thofe mem- bers whom they did not like, by hootings and revilings, and endea- vouring to over-awe them by infult and menace; while long lifts of members who were marked to be profcribed, were difperfed not only in the capital, but through every part of the kingdom. The popular fermentation in Paris was rifing to the higheft pitch. All the old manceuvres which had produced fuch extraordinary effect in the preceding months of June and July, were renewed in the gar- dens of the palais royal, and in ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the adjoining political coffee-houfes. The turbulent St. Huruge (for- merly an Officer in the king’s fer- vice) but noted for the great fhare which he had held in all the dif- turbances of the capital, propofed fo fend a deputation to Verfailles, to infift that the king, the dauphin, and the national ailembly, fhould refide at Paris; and fent deputies to the Hotel de Ville, to demand the approbation of the reprefentae tives affembled there to this mea- _ fure. The Hotel de Viile, under the influence of M, Bailly, the mayor, together with La Fayette, ‘behaved with fenfe and {pirit upon this occafion: the former ftrongly prohibited all tumultuous affemblies; - and La Fayette, by the afliftance of his national guards, gave effect to the decree, by committing St, Huruge, Tinlot, and fome of the molt violent motion - makers and agitators to prifon.—Thus was {fe- dition fora fhort {pace checked. The counts of Clermont 'Ton- nere, Lally ollendal, with Mous — nier, and other men of eminence, . made heavy complaints in the na- tional affembly of thofe rebellious attempts againft the freedom of the king, and of that body itfelf; as well as thofe lifts of profcription which were every where fpread, in cluding the names of all thofe mem- bers who wifhed well to the projeé of two chambers, or who fupported the royal negative; and of the ano- ~ nymous letters which they daily re- ceived, threatening them with de- ~ ftruction. Mirabeau, ane fome of his friends, faid they had received letters equal~ ly violent and threatening, for vet- ing againft tithes; and the firft af-, fected to treat with the greatelt con- tempt and ridicule the panic terrors © fa _ Cipal figure. HISTORY-OF EUROPE. to which certain cowardly members were liable. T'he affembly, accord- ing to its eftablifhed cuitom in all cafes relative to that people, pafied ~ over the infults of the Parifians, Without thewing the {malleft fpirit, ~and thereby became liable to the neceflary confequence, of being ex- pofed to ftill greater infults in future. For fome tme paft, but particu- larly fince the late animofities which had arifen among the parties, flories of plots and confpiracies had been moft unaccountably fpread through every part of the kingdom, and deeply affeéted the minds of the people. Some of thefe were charg- ed direétly: upon the court, among which the intended efcape of the king and the royal family from Veriailles to Metz, formed the prin- ration of the king to his former power, merely to render him an in- itrument for the attainment of their own ends, ‘and for further fecuring _ what they attained. How far thefe plots were real or pretended, it is ampoffible at prefent to decide. ‘There certainly never was a period r a country in which fabrications of this fort, however falfe, and however palpably inconfiftent and abfurd, would have been received _ with greater avidity, or credited with lefs enquiry, than France at this time.’ prevailing party ; and we have feen, that they poflefled means, which have not often been equalled, of making fuch impreffions on the pub-" lic mind ‘as they deemed neceflary. On the other hand, it would be idle to fuppofe, that the multitude bd Others were charged’ ‘upon the ariftocratic party, who - were fuppofed to intend the refte- It is likewife to be-re-- _ membered, that ideas of plots were at this time highly neceflary to the (37 of men, whofe fituation and condi- tion in life had been fo fuddenly and totally changed, muft not be ‘much difcontented, and that they would not readily embrace any well- founded {cheme for the recovery of what they had loft; fo that we may take it for granted, that there would have been an abundance of piotters, if there had been any feafible plot formed. But the total defect of evidence to prove the exiftence of ahy, at a time when the difcovery was fo eagerly fought, and fo much depended on the proof, ftrongly in- dicate that thefe reports and alarms were mere political fabrications, calculated to anfwer certain pur- pofes, and to produce certain ob- vious effects. Indeed the ftate of public affairs, the temper that pre- -vailed throughout the country, and ‘the arms in the hands of the pea- fantry, all concurred in rendering it impoffible for the ariftocrates to form any rational and well-founded {cheme, for the prefent recovery of their affairs. It is not.to be doubted but that they were guilty of great indifcretions; and that in their cups, through their habitual loofe- nefs.of fpeech, and natural turn for boafting, they faid many things which they never thought of when fober. This-was in character, and to be expected. The reports, however, produced the fame effeé&t in one refpedt, as. if the plots had been real, by exciting a great and general ferment through the nation. It was not to be ex- pected that the Parifians, ever cre- dulous, and ever. fufpicious, fhould be the laft that were thus affected. Every thing began to bear a moft darigerous appearance ‘in that city, and all who had witnefled their late ~ violences, had eyery thing now to [C 3] * apprehend ; 38] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. apprehend ; and a fecond explofion like that of the Baftile feemed al- readv in view. The king’s veto was, however, the prefent oftenfible caufe of tumult. If that was al- lowed, the clergy and nobles, they cried, will renew all their power; —** We mutt att, and inftantly too, « elfe, in three days, France will « be enflaved.”” In the height of this ferment, two violent refolutions, which were’ tranfmitted from the towns of Rennes and Dinant, pro- duced a fimilar effet to what a large quantity of oil poured upon a fire already raging might have done. . In this ftate of things the king, ever difpofed to accommodate and conciliate, in the hope of reftoring quiet, and if poffible of eftablifh- ing good temper, determined to foften matters with refpect to the veto; a conceffion which came the better from him, as the affembly were involved in a fort of a dilem- ma from their own paft declaration, that his fanétion was neceflary to the pafling of laws, fo that they could not with any propriety pro- ceed to thofe extremities on the fubje&, which the moft violent of the republican party wifhed. Neck- ar was accordingly difpatched to the affembly with a memoire, pro- pofing a veto which fhould only have the power of fufpending laws during one or two legiflatures. ‘This was received with evident fatisfac- tion, excepting by fome of the moft violent of thofe who fupported (not the king, but) the fovereignty, who would not admit any modifica- tion of the vero, and infifted that he had been ill advifed by his minifters in propofing the conceffion. They being, however, over-ruled, it was at length agreed, that the king fhould have the power to fufpend 2 law during two legiflatures; but, that if the third aflembly perfifted in it, he fhould then be obliged to give his fanétion. ba It was a curious circumftance in Mirabeau’s conduét, that while he fupported the royal veto with the utmoft vehemence of his character, | and that one of the beft fpeeches he ever made was upon that ground, © his emiflaries in Paris were in- ftru€ted to perfuade the people that he oppofed it with all his might; and to fupport the delufion, he took care to quit the affembly juft before the divifion, that his vote might not appear as a record againtft it. Another bufinefs of not lefs im- portance underwent at the fame time a courfe of long and great difcuffion. This was, “whether the national — “«< aflembly fhould be compofed of “one or two chambers?” The committee of conftitution had al- ready given their opinion upon this fubjeét, by recommending a fenate and a houfe of reprefentatives, each _ of which fhould poffefs a negative upon the proceedings of the other. This, or fomething like it, bearing © fome refemblance to the Britifh conftitution, was, as we have for- merly feen, the favourite fcheme with Lally, Clermont, and the — other leaders of the moderate party, who, equally zealous with the republicans, for the eftablifh- | ment of a free government, confi- — dered a limited monarchy, with a | conftitution fo formed as that the — principal parts fhould opesate as — mutual and perpetual checks upon each other, as affording the faireft profpect for the attainment and per- — manence of that objet. It may be eafily underftood, that — the party who now held all power exclulively HiS TORY OF “EUV ROPE, exclufively in their own hands, and ruled the nation as they willed, without any refponfibility upon their conduét, were little difpofed to fubmit to the laying of any checks or reftraints upon their proceedings. It would have been as if the long parliament inEngland, after abolifh- ing the houfe of lords, had then appointed another body to be its fubftitute in controlling their own arts. Itis faid, and the fact is af- ' firmed to be now publicly known, that the influence, public opinion, and patriotic difinterefted chara¢ter of the leaders of the moderate party, having rendered their fanc- tion and countenance highly necef- fary in many of the late arrange- ments, they had been artfully amufed and led along with an idea that their favourite fcheme of two cham- bers and of mutual checks was fo rational and neceflary a meafure, that in fettling the conftitution it muft be generally agreed to. It is not to be forgotten, that the minds of the people had been al- ready poifoned in an extreme degree upon the fubjeét of the three cham- bers, which they were taught to confider as the great land-marks of defpotifm, and as utterly incompa- tible with every fcheme of reform, and every principle and hope of liberty. This prejudice was eafily direéted againft any plurality of chambers; againft two, as well as epant any greater number. It was like the cry of « A mad dog!” The people accordingly took a moft de- cided part in the bufinefs ; efpecially thofein the galleries, and the Pari- fians. They muft be fceptical in- deed who are in any great doubt, whether prefent means were want- ing to excite this fermentation. Liven in the afiembly, every power [39 diftin from that of the reprefenta- tives of the people at large was branded with the name of ariftocra- cy; and fenates were rendered odious by being ‘indifcriminately compared to that of Venice. A ichifm like- wife arofe, as ufual, among thofe parties, who were bound by every principle of reafon and policy to have aéted with one accord; mott of the nobility and clergy voting againft the meafure, becaufe they thought it would entirely preclude the renewal at any future time, of their old favourite fyftem of fitting ' in three orders. The very reafon, if it had been valid, why the friends ‘ of the new conftitution fhould have fupported the meafure. Under all thefe circumftances, within and without, the gueftion of one or two chambers was finally put to the vote, when only eighty-nine members voted for two chambers, againfta majority ofabove nine hun-’ dred. Although itis @ident that the meafure muit have been rejetted without any external violence, yet it is not incurious to fee the freedom of fuffrage which prevailed in this new temple of liberty. Of this, exclufive of lifts of profcription and incendiary letters, we have two fpe- cific inftances: The firft is from Lally Tolendal, who aflerts, that feveral members of the popular fide faid to him individually, « Would’ you have me expofe my wife and children to be murdered by the mob ?””——The fecond is from Mou- nier, who declares, that different members came to him to beg cer- tificates that they had not given un- popular votes, as they had heard their country feats were to be burnt. The affembly likewife decreed, that the legiflative body fhould be {C 4] } renewed. Sept. 10, 1789. 40] renewed every two years by elec- tions, and that. this biennial period fhould be denominated a legiflature. This meafure of limiting the term of each convention to two years, was founded on the prejudices de- rived from that numerous body of Englifh ‘writers, who conftantly re- preient our feptennial parliaments as fraught with the greateft dan- gers to the ftate, and as adtually productive of all our public evils. The effects produced by the adoption of this guarded meafure in France will appear in its time. It was about this time, that the aflembly received a letter, written directly in the king’s name, in which, after approving of the general {pirit of their determinations, he, how- ever, declared, that there were a few articles to which-he could give only a conditional affent; _ promifing, however, to modify or renounce his own opinions, if convinced by: the obfervations of the nationalaffembly. He then remarked on the hardfhip of abolifhing, without any compen-. fation to the landlord, thofe rents, which had once, indeed, been paid as a compenfation for perfonal fer- vitude, but which, having been fet- tled between the lords and their vaf- fals ages ago, had fince frequently changed hands, had been exchang- ed, or bought and fold for a valua-: ble confideration, without the pur- chafers obferving or thinking of the odious origin of their tities. _ The king then took notice in his Jetter of the danger of offending, and the impropriety of offering wrong and injury to feveral of the German princes, who held creat feudal pofleffions in .Alface, and fome of the neighbouring territo- ries, which were guaranteed to them by the.mof folemn treaties; but ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. whofe eftates-and property were all indifcriminately involved in the ge- neral effeé&t of the decree for the reform of the feudal fyftem. He concluded by obferving the va- rious difficulties which would at- tend the unconditional abolition of tythes, without making an honoura- ble provifion for the clergy, and laying the burden of their fubfift- ence equally upon all clafles of the citizens. This letter was ill received, and occafioned much general difcontent ; not on account of its matter, which, whether agreed to or not, none could. ‘pretend. to be unreafonable, but on account of the interference of the executive power in attempting to influence the legiflative, by en- which it was only called upon to give a fanftion-to; or, in this in- ftance, as being parts of the new conftitution, merely to accept., The confequence may be eafily judged. The.king was obliged to give his fanétion fimply, without obfervation or comment ;. and the principle was eftablifhed or avowed, that fo far from fuipending, he could not even offer his advice upon, much lefs cri- ticife the meafures of the prefent le- giflature.. The aflembly, however, paid fo much attention to him as to fend word, that in the future difcuffion or carrying into a& the principles to which he objected, they would confider, and pay a pro- per. regard to the opinions he had given. ruil aPivriad In the mean time, things were teriding faft to an unexampled cri-. fis, which was to produce a new and extraordinary face of affairs. The violent republicans, both within and without the aflembly, had it long in contemplation, and were now deier= mined, _ tering into a difcuffion of laws , \ HISTORY OF EUROPE. [48 mined, that by fome means or other, * the refidence both of the court and of the national affembly fhould be ' transferred from Verfailles to Paris, This defign being known, the court, and particularly the queen, were ‘ftrack with horror at the idea of being compelled to refide among fo _ tumultuous a people, who from their _ bloody acts of cruelty had already been ftigmatized in the public prints by the name of the cannibals of Pa- tis. At the fame time, that the no- bility might have no doubt remain- ing as to their impending and abfo- lute ruin, they were regaled in every coffee-houfe with writings, in which the ftrongeft hopes were exprefied, _ that ina very fhort time, the term _‘nobility’ would fr ever be banifhed from the French language. Under thefe circumftances 6n both fides, it is not to be doubted (although the fact hasin no degree been proved) that the queep liftened eagerly to any propoial os removing the court ‘to fome reafonable diftance, which _- might prevent that, to her, moft _ dreadful of all events, the being _ committed to the jealous and dan- gerous cuftody of the frantic, un- controlled, and ever {ufpicious Pa- _- fifians; nor will it be doubted, on the other hand, their character con- fidered, that many rath and impru- _ dent things, were faid or propofed __ by the difcontented nobles. ._ . As correlative to this ftate of _ things, the moft atrocious accufa- tions, which the bittereft rancour _ could imagine, were uniparingly _ laid by each party againit the other. + The nobles and clergy were every day charged with new confpiracies againit the revoluvion; and each ees! with its peculiar circum- © fances of alarm or of horror. It was _ AMerioufly and confidently afferted, an * ~ as if the writer had himfelf feen it, that a fubfcription was fecretly opened for the murder of all good citizens ; and that priefts and nobles were the fubfciibers to this bloody inftrument of profcription.. It was further faid, that it was refolved once more to inveft Paris and Ver- failles with an army, to diffolve, {word in hand, the national af- fembly, and to kindle in every part of the empire the flames of civil war. On the. other fide a charge was openly laid, by men of emi- nence, who didnot fhrink from fup- porting it, that the violent repub- licans were refolved, at the hazard of murder and civil war, to compel the king and the national affembly to refide within the walls of Paris, and thus render both, and through them the whole nation, fubfervient to the influence, and inftruments to the caprice of that turbulent ca- pital. The rebellious French guards, who had deferted and fought a- gainft their fovereign, and who were now in the actual pay of the city of Paris, under the denomina- tion of center companies, were feized (unlefs it proceeded from fome hidaen caufe) with a moft unaccountable fit of ambition, to have again the honour of attending and guarding the king’s perfon, which they claimed as an undoubted right, and even talked of marching to Verfailles to enforce the claim. St. Huruge, who was now at li- berty, was the chief inftigator and caballer in this matter. It will be eafily judged that, exclufive of the apparent danger of entrulting the king’s perfon in fuch hands, nothing could be more perfonally odious or mortifying to him, than to be com- pelled to endure the fight and at- tendance 42] tendance of men, who had already fo fhamefully trampled upon their oaths, and violated all the bonds of military fubordination, duty as fol- diers, and loyalty as fubjects. The only proteétion the king could rely on in cafe of any fudden incurfion from Paris, or of any fud- den attack from the rabble of Ver- failles (who were only fecond to their brethren in the capital in all aéts of violence and cruelty) refted in his gardes des corps, a regiment formed upon the fame’ principles with our ancient Englifh life guards, being compofed entirely of gentle- men; upon which account, . they were at this time peculiarly de- tefted by the people. He was likewife attended by the national guards of Verfailles, who had placed themfelves for that purpofe under the command of D’Eftaing; but their principles were known to be too deeply infected by thofe of the coramunity to which they belonged, to warrant the fimalleft confidence being placed in their protection. It appears that letters from La Fayette to D’Eftaing, indicative of fome approaching or apprehended danger, had been communicated by the latter to the municipal commit- tee of Verfailles, who were accord- ingly perfuaded to demand an ad- ditional regiment, in order to pro- te& the town from any fudden vi- olence. The compliance with this requeft, which was not obtained without difficulty, and the confe- quent fending for the regiment of Flanders to perform that duty, were the common, and, in all other cafes, indifferent and innocent circum- ftances, which, under the fatality of the prefent times, opened the way to all the horrid mifchiefs which fo fpeedily enfued. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. In the mean time, the affembly had confirmed the hereditary fucceffion of the’ crown in its ancient form, and ac- cording to the Salic law; and feem- ed difpofed to recur to ancient loy- alty, by declaring the king’s perfor facred and inviolable. The duke of Orleans and his party brought on a violent debate upon the fubject of the ficceffion, in which Mira- beau took an eager part, and whick was produétive of words and cir- cumftances that ferved to open the eyes of many, who had not before difcerned the operative motives of many parts of their conduét, and the grand obje&t of their views. They eagerly contended, that the aflembly fhould confirm the renun- ciations made by Philip the Vth of Spain, of his right of fucceffion to the French crown, by declaring them to be valid and legal; and of courfe that the Orleans branch would be the next in fucceffion, after the failure of the prefent royal line. The affembly, how- ever, deemed it too imprudent and dangerous a meafure, in the prefent ftate of affairs, for them to enter at all upon the fubje& of the Spanifh renunciations ; and that it would be equally idle and ridiculous to agi- tate queftions now upon events which might never take place, Mirabeau, who was the moft un- guarded of mankind in his expref- fions, feemed to count as nothing all the lives now exifttng, which muft, fome how or other, be dif- pofed of, before any difpute could arife upon the ground of fucceffion 5 he faid openly, that fuch a fubjec& of difcuffion mightarife much fooner than was expected; that the corpu- lence of the king and of Monfieur — afforded little caufe for Pe their — Sept. 15. me eee eee if - HISTORY OF EUROPE. - their lives to be lafting; that the .and the court ftrove which fhould dauphin was only a weakly infant; and as to the count d’Artois, and his two fons, he affected {carcely to confider them as exifting with re- fpeét to that queftion, reprefenting them not only as fugitives, but nearly as outlaws. The arrival of the regiment of Flanders caufed as great a ferment at Paris and Verfailles, as that of a powerful foreign invading army could have done. The uiual bag- gage, ftores, and fix-pounders of a regiment, were immediately {welled into magazines of warlike ftores and trains of artillery. All the orators of the palais royal were fet to work, and feemed infpired with new vigour in their fuccefsful efforts to inflame the minds of the people ; affluring them, as a matter of fact of which they had direct knowledge, that the king intended to make his efcape under the efcort of this re- giment; and ftating in dreadful co- lours the confequences which mutt neceffarily take place from the ac- complifhment of this defign. In the mean time, numerous ‘de- tachments of thofe zealous and in- defatigable fupporters of Parifian liberty, the women of pleafure, were “d ge to Verfailles, in order to e converts and eftablifh their influence among the new-comers ; one of their principal objects being to embroil the private foldiers and their officers, by continually leading the former into thofe petty neglects of duty, which, though apparently trivial in themfelves, are fo totally fubveriive of all military difcipline and order, that no relaxation of them can be admitted in any army. We are informed by Rabaut, that on the arrival of the regiment of Flanders, the citizens of Verfailles [43 fhower moft careffes upon it; the former on the foldiers, the latter on the officers. It is evident that this regiment, for the fhort period that the funfhine lafted, needed not to have envied any other in Chriften- dom for the goodnefs of its quarters; the foldiers, from the firft day, being in fuch a ftate of fraternity with the inhabitants, that they feemed incor- porated in one body; and {uch a continual fcene of feafting and good chear prevailing, as left little time or difpofition for recalling to remembrance the feverity of mili- tary duties. Before we enter into the particu- lars of the fucceeding convulfions, perhaps it may not be difpleafing to many of our readers, to take a view of that picture of the ftate of public affairs at this time which was drawn by Rabaut; which he affures us was faithfully done; and which in- cludes the pre-difpofing caufes which operated upon the Parifians in their conduct. He fays, that “« Paris was a prey to all the mife- ries of famine, even in the midft of abundance; bread was dear, and of a bad quality; the inhabitants were knocking at the doors of the bakers, in order to ‘obtain relief; it feemed that meafures had been taken to exafperate the people againft the new popular powers; and perfons, evidently paid for occafioning dif- turbances, befieged the fhops of the bakers, carried away the bread, threw it into the river, and returned for the purpofe of renewing this practice. The provinces were af- frighted by a circulated whifper, of the approaching flight of the king, and of a counter-revolution; and the party which defired it, already vaunted of it.loudly, and with that overweening 44] overweening confidence, which it hath fhewn upon every new confpi- tacy. At length, the alarmtd ca- pital faw no other means of termi- nating its fears, both for France and for the deputies, than by poflefling the national aflembly and the king within her walls, where a hundred thoufand arms were ready to defend them, where fix hundred thoufand perfons were continually on the watch againft confpiracies.”’ A queftion, which fhould never be out of mind in reading this ac- count is, In whofe hands was the government of Paris at that time placed? and, as derived from the fame, Who were the perfons em- ployed to provide the capital with corn; and if they did not fulfl their duty, why were they not removed? It might have been fuppofed, that the rabble of Paris in that feafon of famine, would have been muchmore profitably employed along the Seine, in angling for the loaves newly thrown into the river, than in raifing ufelefs riots in the itreets, and about the bakers fhops, Jt will perhaps be a matter of fur- prize to fome, that of the fix hun- dred thoufand pairs of jealous and fufpicious eyes which were ever Watching Confpiracies in Paris, they fhould all look fo dire&tly one way, as never to take a view of the banks of the river, nor of the paflages lead- ing thereto; and that neither chance or fortune fhould fo far befriend them, as to enable them in a fingle inflance to deteét any of that atro- cious gang of confpirators, who thus wantonly robbed them of the means of fubfiftance and life. We cannot help obferving, that the abundant plenty of which Rabaut fpeaks, ac- cords but badly with the immenfe fums of money which were foon ANNUAL REGISTER, 1490. after difpofed of to foreign nations, in order to induce them to tranfport corn or grain of any ‘kind into France; a meafure which was not, however, fuilicient to preferve that country from all the bitterhefs of famme. ; But whether the picture be cor- rect or not, it was at the period which it intends to defcribe, that the officers of the King’s October 1. life guards at Verfailies gave an entertainment to thofe of the regiment of Flanders; it being, according to the writers on one fide of the queftion, the ufual etiquette in the jervice, for the officers in garrifon to entertain the new-comers upon their being joined by ftran- gers;but Rabautafierts, that this was the firft banquet which the king’s. guards, as a corps, ‘had-ever yet given. He farther afferts, that the great objeft of this feaft was, to at- tach the military to the king; and that, in purfuance of endeavours which had been ufed for fome days to gain over the national guards of Verfailles, feveral of their officers — were invited upon this feftive oc- cafion. Rabaut feems to”confider it in every refpect as the effect of a fettled plan, contrived. by the court. However that was, the pro- ceedings of this extraordinary day and night were too ridiculoufly contemptible, to merit any enquiry, whether they were the effect. of de- liberative folly, or of cafual intem- perance and madnefs. The king and queen were moft injudicioufly advifed to vifit thefe bacchanals after dinner, and to bring the infant dauphin with them. The extravagance of the joy that pre- vailed upon their appearance was beyond all defcription, and the whole company feemed te be oni ° ma a HISTORY OF EUROPE, mad with loyalty. A loyal air, waich, with a fong appropriated to it, “© O Richard, O mon Rail’: &ce. had till very lately been highly po- pular; being -now played by the muiic, excited» the general fever to the higheit pitch. Kabaut fays that the dauphin was carried by. his ia mother completely round the table; that enthufiafm then taking poffeiion of the gueits, they, fword in hand, drank the aueult healths of all the family, while the court, bowing and curtfeying, retired. - YVhe » banquet was continued through the greater part of the night, and ended in the mof com- plete drunkennefs, It will be no. great matter of furprize, that the moft imprudent and the rafhett things were faid or done. It 1s faid on one fide, that after repeated li- bations to, the royal family, one of the prefent faihionable toatts, either _ the nation, the new conttitution, or the afiembly, being propofed by one _ of the Verfaillian oificers, it was re- jected with the greateft marks of contempt. It appears that the an- cient white cockade had never been quitted by the royal life guards, who had conffantly refufed adopting _ the new itriped one of the Parifians; and that the officers of Flanders, in one of the freaks of their feftivity. having adopted a fimilar determi- i nation, {tripped the national. cock- _ ades out of their hats, and, it is _ faid, were fupplied by the court la- ee dies with white ones, as falt as they _ gould make, or procure them to be: made; Jt was likewife added, and had a prodigious effect in inflaming _ the populace, that ‘the national _ cockades had been torn, trampled: _ Mpon, and treated with every mark __ 0f contempt which folly or outrage Gould infpire. This, however, aps ’ . - § [45 pears to have been one of thofe nu- merous calumnies which were now fo fuccefsfully propagated, on every, occafion in which the court was any way concerned; the charge being abfolutely refuted by the folemn tefimony on oath of all or mof of | the officers. who were that night prefent. 4 -Nothing could exceed the rage which the account of this ill-fated banquet, loaded with - all the ad- ditional circumitances which malice and invention could fupply, pro- duced upon tne populace of Paris, The famine which preffed fo forely. upon fo vaft a multitude, would in itfelf, indeperdent of all political caufes, have been fufficient to dif- pofe amuch more temperate and better-conditioned people to out- rage and violence. ‘They immedj- ately charged the queen with being at the head cf a con{piracy forcarry= ing off the king and exciting a civil war; and they reprefented this af- fair at Verfailles as the opening of the plot; this they faid was too ma- nifeft to admit of a queftion; and the contempt fhewn for the national cockade, with the refufal to drink profperity to, the nation, were to he confidered as a declaration of war 3. that it was time to terminate at once all thefe inquietudes; and that as fome were defirous of carrying off the king to place him at the head of a party,. they had no other courfe to take, than to be beforer hand with them, by fecuring his. perfon in the capital..-We pafs over the {currilitjes and motives td im- mediate violence which were thrown out by the caballers and demagogues, At the fame time, the ,ftarying mul- titude, having been taught to believe that the famine proceeded from th court, and had been particularly ex~ cited 46] cited by the fchemes for carrying off the king, were loud in their out- cries for proceeding to Verfailles, in order to demand bread from him, and for bringing him to Paris, and keeping him there, as the only means for re-producing plenty to that city. It needs fearcely to be obferved, that accounts of the recent excefles at a banquet, cannot tend much to tranquillize the minds of hungry men. Nothing feemed more unlucky than that the king fhould at this cri- tical period have involved himfelfin a difpute with the national affem- bly. It appears that fome of the firit articles of the conftitution, par- ticularly that which enacted the in- divifibility of the aflembly, the fut penfion on the royal veto, with the declaration of rights of men, had not yet received, the king’s fanétion ; and he feemed now, in the moft dan- gerous feafon which could pofibly have been chofen, toaflume an air of confidence, and fome difpofition to preferve his rights, which, though now totally out of time, might have long fince been exerted to great ad- vantage. Being now preffed for the fanétion, the king entered into adort of an argumentative written difguition with the affembly, in which the following words were particu- larly marked as affording great eaufe of offence: “ I grant, ac- ** cording to your defire, my ac- “ ceffion to thefe articles; but on “the pofitive condition, which I “« will never depart from, that by « the general refult of your deli- “ berations, the executive power «« fhail have its entire effect in the « hands of the monarch.” » ‘This capitulary meflage or an- fwer was delivered on the morning of the sth of Otober, and immedi- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ately produced the moft violent de- bates: in the courfe of thefe, Pe- tion having inveighed againft the late imprudent feaft of the- life guards, and afferting that it had been attended both with criminal words and actions, a member on the other fide afked, whether he would venture to denounce. (that is to im- peach) any particular perfon, and feemed to dare him to it? With that Mirabeau ftarted up, and with the utmoft fury in his looks and man- ner, cried out, “ Declare that the “« king’s perfon alone is /acred, and « J will bring forward the impeach- “ment mytelf”? When he fat down, he informed the people near him, that the queen and the duke de Guiche, colonel of the life guards, were the objects he had in view. Mounier happened to be prefident, and values himfelf highly for thofe laft but powerful exer- . tions of his official authority, by which he prevented the agitation of a queftion, which moft probably would have led to the maflacre of the unfortunate queen. The de- bate on the king’s anfwer was re- fumed, in which it was declared, that the aflembly ought not to be con- _ tented with any thing lefs than his entire acceptation; that this pre- tended affent, including its caufes, amounted toa real proteft ; and that the rights of nations had exifted long before kings’ were ever thought of. The prefident was deputed to ftate this matter to the king; but a new fet of legiflators from Paris were deftined to intervene, and to throw all things into confufion. The king, however, in the courfe of all the tumults and dangers of the fucceed- ing day and night, was obliged to find leifure for retraéting, as ufual, his own pofitions ; and for giving a y ull Hrs TORY OF | EUR OPE; fullacceptance, pure and unmixed, without comment or referve, to all the decrees of the aflembly. The ferment in Paris had rifen to its higheft pitch on that very day, and the flame which had for fome days been rather {mothering than lighting, burft out in its utmoit vio- lence. There are the ftrongeit rea- fons for fuppofing, that the Orleans cabal, though affifted and fupported by the republicans on very different grounds, were the immediate and principal authors of the prefent » difturbances ; none other could, in any degree, equally influence and _ command the rabble of that city, as the faction in queftion. An univerfal cry was raifed in the morning to go to Verfailles, to demand bread of _ the king and the affembly, and to take vengeance on the gardes du corps. It was deemed fitting that the women fhould take the lead in this infurreGtion; and fitter inftru- ments could not have been chofen. _ Befides the Dames du Halle, and all the other clafles of female auxilia- Ties to Parifian liberty which we have heretofore defcribed, and of which the lanes, allies, cellars and _garrets, poured out fo vaft an abundance, they are faid to have prefled every woman they met with into the fervice. It may be confi- dered as fome fort of concurrent teftimony that this {cheme was pre- concerted, and that the cabal had more prudence than to truft the bu- finefs entirely to the conduét of thefe heroines, that a great number of men, difguifed in women’s clothes, ere intermixed in the ranks of this fipota female army. Bread, was at firft the watch word and the uni- Werfal cry of this ftrange aflemblage, Which Rabautdefcribes as compofed @f mothers frantic with deipair, - 3 . [47 through the dreadful circumftance of not having bread to give to their famifhed children. Arms were, however, thought ne- ceffary, as affording more effectual means for the obtaining of bread than mere fupplication. ‘T'hey ac- cordingly proceeded to the Hotel de Ville, or Town Houfe, which they broke open and plundered ; and gave an early fpecimen of their courage in paffing thither, by mak- ing their way boldly through feveral battalions of Parifian guards who were drawn up armed in the open {pace before that building. Having met on the ftairs of the Town Houfe an unfortunate ecclefiattic, they, as an eflay in the bufinefs of death, immediately hung him up by the neck. Some of their miale fol- lowers, whether it was through mer- cy, or by way of varying the paftime, cut the prieft down before he was quite dead; and then {fo effectually kicked and tofled his carcafe about, that in a fhort time he fully reco- vered his fenfibility, and was moft unexpectedly permitted to get home ashe could. After plundering the Hotel de Ville, feizing a magazine of arms, gathering the artillery to- gether, and forcing open the prifons, with tumult undefcribable, this her- maphrodite army fet out about- noon, for Verfailles, the cannon be- ing dragged behind as a rear-guard. The vociferous cries for bread were now changed into loud threats and horrid imprecations againft the queen, the, life guards, and the clergy, all of whom they devoted as victims to their vengeance. One Maillard, in the proper garb and characcer of a man, appeared now as their leader; on whom Rabaut be- {tows hig praife for the difcipline, order, and government which he : eftablifhed 48] eftablifhed among them; at the fame time that he feems to think, no limits could otherwife have been affigned to the effeéts of their capri- cious uproar. A fecond army of Amazons was preparing to follow the firft, who were with much difficulty difperfed by La Fayette, the national guards telling their general that they could not fre upon, or ufe any force againft their fellow-citizens who were afking for bread. At the fame time, the rage for going to Verfailles, which had for fome days been induftrioufly fomentgd among the people, was now become gene- ral, and fo ftrongly infeéted the na- tional troops, that they rather com- manded than defired their officers to lead them thither. Upon this oc- ¢afion fome of the grenadiers told La Fayette without referve, that un- derfianding the king was an idiot, there was no doubt but matters would goon much better by the appointment of a council of regency. As this was not only the peculiar language and do&trine of Mirabeau, and of thofe other leaders of the cabal who were initiated in its moft fecret mytteries, but as it was publicly known that the eftablifhment of a council of re- gency was the moft immediate ob- ject of their ambition, none could be at a lofs to determine from what fource the grenadiers had derived this idea, _La Fayette, who feemed aftonith- ed at even the idea of offering any violence to the king’s perfon, or laying any teftraint upon his’ in- clination with refpe& to refidence, endeavoured to allay this fermenta- tion, and temporized with the troops as long as poflible; but they be- coming évery inftant moré outrage- ous, and at length dirééting their ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. menaces againft himfelf, he and his principal officers, under an imme- diate apprelienfion for their lives, were compelled to fubmit to the de- mands of the foldiery: but in order to legalize his proceedings as much as he could, he firft required and obtained an order from the mayor and council of Paris, to lay before the king the uneafinefs of his peo- ple. This done, he began his march from Paris, at the head of the na- tional army, accompanied by its artillery, and with every difplay of military pomp and parade, about — five o’clock in the afternoon. Ra- - baut obferves, “ No pencil can de- “« piét the frantic joy of Paris, ‘on « beholding her militia march; ‘ with the intention of feeking “and bringing away the king. ‘The © “ capital is aflured that hér diftrefs «* fhaii at length be terminated.” ° Notwithftanding the boafted dif- cipline and order which Maillard © was {aid to have fo fuddenly, and it might almo{t be faid miraculoufly, ” eltablithed in his Amazon army, it appears their march to Verfailles — was marked by fuch. circumftances of outrage, {uch brutality, and grofs obfcenity of language, and fuch horrid and profane curfes, oaths and imprecations, as were without — example in any country under the — name or character of civilization.’ — lt was currently reported at the time, and we never heard it contra’ dicted, that having hung up to death two unfortunate paffengers whom they met on the way, they had the audacity to boaft to the na-’ tional affembly of thefe wanton and. horrid murders, which, it feems, no — member would venture to reprove* them for. Maillard prevailed on the women, which certainly could have been no eafy tafk, to permirhim to be” their | a HISTORY OF EUROPE. f their fpokefman to the affembly ; but they frequently, notwithftand- ing, interrupted him by their oaths and menaces. The orator inveighed againit the ariftocrates as the au- thors of the famine, and for infult- ing the national cockade; and he complained of thel\ ife guards, for avearing white cockades. ‘The af- fembly fenta deputation of the moft decent of the women, with their orator Maillard, accompanied by their own prefident, M. Mounier, to wait upon the king: the fubje& of the deputation being confined to _ the fearcity of provifions only. The king, who was juft returned from the chace, received them kindly, and iffued the ftrongeft orders in _ his power to give, for the imme- diate fupply of Paris with pro- vifions. __ In the mean time no words could -deferibe, if the recital of fuch a de- Meription could even be endured, the _ €xtravagance of the fcenes which _ the women exhibited at the national _affembly. They not only filled the galleries, and all the open parts of the hall, but in proportion as they Became intoxicated, which they ‘were not at all flow in doing, they mixed with the members, crouded into their feats, overwhelmed them with their vociferation and noife, and at length, upon the abfence of the prefident with the king, in pro- curing the royal {anétion to the de- _ erees, they mounted into and took pofleffion of his chair. Such was the fcene of confufion, and fuch was e fociety, in which the moft awful | and momentous biufinefs that per- was ever tranfatted by any | dy of men, the eftablifhment of | i conftitution in a vaft country, whe went to the total overthrow | Of the old, and of all its appendant | | Vou. XXXII. | rights, laws, and inftitutions, which had been confirmed by the fanétion of untold ages, was completed and promulgated. It is reported, that Mounier, as an a&t of duty to his fovereign, and independent of his official fituation, advifed the king to fubmit fo far to the neceflity of the time, as to give his pure and fimple acceptation to the conftitu- tional articles, although he acknow- ledged that they were in {feveral parts extremely faulty, with refpect both to policy and to. juftice; but that he at the fame time advifed the king to refif’ courageoufly, and to the utmoft, the infolent and. violent attempts of the Parifians; and to call on the national affembly, that at the time he was facrificing every thing to their defire, they would exert themfelves in afferting their-own freedom and that of their foveréign: It is likewife faid, that the king wa difpofed to adopt this counfel, but that the danger to which the queen was expofed clogged his meafures and defigns; to remedy this evil he fent for the royal carriages, in order that fhe might be removed to fome place of greater fafety than the pre- {ent, but the carriages were ftopped and feized by the rabble... The queen, however, as foon as fhe heard of the defign, put an end to all far- ther thought of it, by nobly refuf= ing to abandon her hufband in the hour of danger ; declaring, with a magnanimity worthy the dadghter of Maria Therefa, that, * fhe would « ftay and die at the king’s feet.”” The events of this day, night, and the enfuing morning, could {carcely be more irregular and éon- fufed, than the narratives of thent which have been laid before the public. Scarcely any two of them agree, in time, fack, or Circume D By y “gel “ guards.” ‘«¢4eeond army of invaders, came: ftance, as to any thing; fo that it is hardly poflible in fome inftances to trace, what was the preceding ‘or the fubfequent att; and we mult trult more to opinion than know- ledge for placing them tm their pro- per and natural order. We are informed ‘by Rabaut, that ‘after Maillard, with his female ‘army,’ had fet cut from Parts, « there iffued forth alfo a multitude «of men, armed with pikes, battle- « aves, and fharpened ftakes, men «-whofe hatred was principally di- “'yefted againit’ the queen, and * againit the warriors ‘of the life That, ©“ with this *< feyeral perfons, whofe appearance « betokened that they were foreign- “< ets, and who feemed to have been * fummoned for the'oceafion; for “the men\of Paris have a caft of ‘« countenance peculiar to them- « felves, and thofe who are ac- “ quainted with it are well able to « diftinguifh fuch ftrangers as mtx “among them. ‘Thefé ferocious “& battalions had taken'the lead of “s* the national ‘guards, with whom « we mutt be caretul to avaid con- * founding them. They proved “ the caufe of all the difturbance © which enfued on‘ the following “day.” This ftrange flery~of imaginary foreigners, feems-calcu- lated merely to remove from _ his favourite Parifians fome part of the odium attached to thé enfuing atro- ‘cities, and. to perfuade his readers that an infufion of foreign ferocity into the.milky difpofition of thofe peaceful citizens, was abfolutely ne- ceflary to their prodn¢tion. While the extraordinary appear- ance and conduct of thefe unnum- bered hofts of male and female ruf- fians ftruck terror into all beholders, 5 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. and each of their movements feemed calculated to overwhelm every ob- ject that ‘came in their way, the firft ~meaiure adopted by, the king was ‘an order to the troops not ‘to fire by any means upon the people. The next'was naturally an enquiry into ‘the means of protection and fafety which he poflefed; and ‘thefe were found muerably defeétive indeed. The dragoons of Flanders had al- ready been as thoroughly debauched . at Verfailles, and as totally fedaced from their duty, as the French guards had before been at Paris. The national guards of Verfailles, who amounted to about four thou- fand, and who might have been ex- pected to be the natural and zealous protectors of theirfovereign, who had fpent his life amoneft them, were in fa his molt determined enemies, and vied with the Parifians, if they ‘did ‘not exceed them, in their‘invete- racy againit the whole royal family. As if this had not been fufficient, they likewife bore a long and par- ticular animofity to the life guards, which one Lé Cointre, of Verfailles, had for feveral days ‘been equally inceflant and fuccefsful im his en- deavours to. increafe ‘to the highett poffible pitch. In thefe circam- ftances, the king ordered the dra- goons to retire from Verfailles, re- tainmg only a fmall number, who -acted as centinels in the interior parts_of the palace. Thus his whole means offecurity and “defence, en- vironed ‘on ‘every fide, as he ‘was, with enemies and danger, was at length reduced to the fingle body of the gardes du corps: and thefe, whole courage and fidelity were un- doubted, were, however, far from being numerous; and were at’ the _ fame time furrounded by private as well as by public enemies. ; HISTORY OF EUROPE. _ It is impoffible to fpeak with any aceuracy as to the manner in which the firft {cuffle originated at Ver- failles; nor would it be eafily fet- tled, at what particular time even it took place, any farther than that it was in fome part of the evening, and probably before it was dark. ‘The democratic accounts fay, that the life guards fired wantonly upon the national guards of Verlfailles, and ‘having wounded fome of them, oc- ‘cafioned a return of their fire. This appears fo contrary to all reafon and probability, that it would require the ftrongeit and moft pofitive evi- dence to render it credible. Ano- ther account, which feems much more probable, ftates, that an inha- bitant of Verfailles, whofe name is mentioned, having mixed with the rabble, and endeavouring with them to force his way through the iron gates, was wounded by the life guards who defended the entrance, and that this being refented by the national guards as an attack upon the whole corps, immediately drew on their fire. However it happened, it was produttive of lefs mifchief than could have been expected; a few were wounded on both fides, but we do not learn that any perfon was killed. The hoitile parties came to fome explanations; and it _ feems as if fomething like an ar- niftice was concluded between them r the prefent. As foon as the king’s ratification of the conttitutional articles, which was about ten at night, was received ‘by the affembly, molt of the mem- [st that the hall and the feats of legif- lation were literally abandoned to them. In the mean time, the fu- rious banditti without, who filed every place, excepting the interior of the caftle or palace, which they furrounded and befieged, {oread ter- ror and confufion through the whole city, as it was impoffible even for their friends to determine to what objeéts the rapine or fury of fo law- lefs and frantic a rabble might chance to be direéted. The deputics had f{carcely time to efcape from the noife and tumult in their hall, and to feek for retire- ment and qiict in their refpective apartments, when a new.alarm was given, which occafioned their im- mediate recal, and appeared more formidable than any that had yet taken place. ‘This proceeded from the unexpeéted news, that Fayette was marching, at the head of an army of 30,000 men, to Verfailles; and this intelligence was foon con- firmed by figns!s of mufquetry and rockets which were feen ard heard at a diflance. ‘To expedite the march, and for the better prefervae tion of order, he had divided his army into three columns, each of which proceeded by a. feparate route; but adjufted their movements with fo much regularity, that they all arrived about the fame time. As no intelligence had yet been received of the caufes or objeéts of this march, it could not fail to excite doubt, and fome degree of alarm, in all the different parties. It is feriqufy told, that Fayette _ bers, if not all, were glad to make _ their efcape from the capricious rage _ and eternal clamour of the frantic female bacchanals, by whom they _ were fill accompanied, furrounded, | _, and in every fenfe incommoded: fo be . made his troops {top in the avenue of Verfailles, and {wear fidelity to the king and to the laws. Who can avoid being furprifed that the fa- bricators of this abfurd ftory fhould not once have reficéted; how many {D2} hours . 52] hours it would coft, even in open day light, toadminifter an oath to an army of 30,000 men? nor how ex- tenfive a plain would have been ne- ceffary for the purpofe; or at leat for the troops who were fworn to file off to and form on, while their remaining fellows were undergoing the ceremony. It is, indeed, not impoflible, that Fayette, and thofe principal officers who were immedi- ately about his perfon, might, at the awful appearance of the ealtle, to which they were approaching, and perhaps fome recollection of former greatnefs and {plendour, have entered into fame {uch com- pact or oath. However that was, La Fayette certainly fhewed the moft pacific difpofition. He prefented himéelf firlt before the king, and then before the aflembly, and behaved to both with every appearance of the great- eft refpeé¥and even fubmiffion. He lamented to Mounier, the meafures which a powerful cabal had forced him into; and it was underitood from his difcourfe, that by a few fub- mifiions from the gardes du corps, and their adoption of the national cockade, all the exiting differences would be reconciled, and all jea- loufies removed. This was excel- lent, and fpeaking like a man of honour; without facrificing’ any prt of his principles, or deviating in any de¢ree from his duty, with refpect to the caufe which he efpoufed.. And if it had not been for the fubfequent error, miftake, imprudence, or whateyer it may be called, which he fell into, the event might .pofibly have been happy, much, if not the whole, of the fuc- ceeding evils prevented, and ‘his naine long rememberéd with praife.. lt was about midnight when La a . : ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Fayette arrived at Verfailles: be- tween two and three in the morning, he moft unfortunately and fatally perfuaded Mounier to break up the aflembly and retire to reft; an ad- vice which opened the way to all the ruin which enfued. It is not to be doubted, but that, through the bultle, fatigues, and fears ef the pre- ceding day, Fayette muit have been greatly exhaufted, and fleep highly neceffary to him; but he fhould have remembered, particu- larly asa foldier, that im cafes of great emergency, moment, and danger, it was his duty to refit to the utmoft, and even to over- come, if poflible, the calls of nature. He well knew the cruel and bloody difpofition of that uncountable crew of male and female ruf fians, who filled and furrounded the whole city and its environs; and if he thoaght at all, he could not but expeét, knowing fo well as he did the motives and objeéts of their coming, that they would take fome fatal advantage of his going to reit. Nor were the national affembly at all excufable, in purfuing his ad- vice; they could not but perceive the preffure of the motive on his part which produced it; and as they had fo lately made no difficulty of fitting up and watching a night for their own protection, they fhould not have hefitated in paying a fimi- lar attention to tke fafety of theig fovereion at this moment of fuch imminent danger, when his own life, and the lives of his whole fa-, mily, were evidently at ftake. Notwithftanding the horrors of the fituation, the hearing her lifé repeatedly threatened, and * her blood howled for, ‘the queen pof- feffed fuch a flock of intrepidity and cooinefi, that fhe retired to reff at _ ‘ toe two. cee _ dragged HISTORY OF EUROPE, tivo o’clock, and if we credit the atteftations of her bed-chamber wo- men, flept foundly. At fix o’clock, 2 numerous body of thofe ruffians who had arrived the day before ftom Paris, broke, with furious me- aces, into the courts of the palace, where they feized Monfrs. de Huttes and Varicourt, two of the life guards, them from their pofts, and murdered them in the mott cruel manner; their heads being, with many blows, fevered from their bodies/by the bungling hands and blunt axe of one Nicolas, a felf- conftituted executioner, who had from liking taken up this bufinefs, and from the beginning of the trou- bles gloried in mangling and be, heading all the fufpeéted royalifts _, that were put into his hands. Another party rufhed into the queen’s apartments, with loud out- ¢ries, execrations, and threats, too horrid to be related or endured, by any bat the moft favage minds, in the recital. "The centinel, M. de Miomandre, after bravely refitting fora few minutes, finding himfelf ‘entirely overpowered, opened the queen’s door, and called out with 3 a loud voice, “ Save the queen, her “life is aimed at! Z fland alone _ * againtt tevo thoujand tigers !”” He ‘Yoon after funk down covered with wounds, and was left for dead; but ‘oming again to the ufe of his . fenfes, he had the fortune to creep | away unobdferved through the crowd: it will afford pleafure to all admir- rs of courage and fidelity to know ‘that he was afterwards cured of his dunds, The unhappy queen ‘Hew almoft naked through the apart- lents, ftarting at the Bund of the ftols which were continually fired the courts, and calling eagerly fuch guards as fhe happened to “meet, “O my friends! fave my [53 “life, fave my children!” From whatever caufe it proceeded, fome inftantaneous impulfe feemed to fix a perfuafion in the minds of the attendants, that the life of the poor: young prince, the heir to the crown, - was particularly aimed at; and this operated fo ftrongly, that without Waiting for orders, they ran #n- flantly, as if by a common fympa- thy, to the children’s apartments, and brought them away half- naked, to place them under the protection of their royal father. Such being the force of ancient prejudice and opinton, that they ftill thought Frenchmen could not but pay fome reverence to the per- fon of their king. The king, awakened by the noife, flew through a private paflage to the queen’s apartment, in order to fave her life, er to perifh along with her. He was met by fore of his guards, who efcorted him back to his own apartment, where the queen was already artived, and the children {peedily after, The guards were in the mean time hunted from place to place, through all the pur- lieus of the palace, much in the fame manner that the proteltants had ~ been after the maflacre of St. Bar- tholomew. A confiderable party of thofe who had been on duty in the in- terior palace had only time to barri- cade themfelves in fome of the rooms adjoining to the royal apartments ; and being there completely enclofed, the parfuing murderers were in the act of forcing open the doors. At this critical moment La Fayette and his officers fortunately appeared, and with muck perfuafion and in- treaty induced them to defift. It would feem ftrange in any other poffible cafe, that a general at the head of a powerful army, inftead of immediately applying the force in his 54] his hands to difperfe, if not to pu- nifh, a body of ruffians, whom he had detected in the very acts of murder and treafon, fhould degrade himfelf to intreaty and fupplica- tion to procure their forbearance. _ But fuch was the prefent unexam- pled itate of affairs, that Fayette could not act otherwife. His faith- ful foldiers, the Parifian or national guards, had already declared that they would not ufe force againit their fellow citizens, in which de- {cription they included all the ban- dittt who were now in and about Verfailles; and a few of them had this very morning afforded a {peci- men of the difpofition and conduct to be expected from the whole; for being on duty near the {pot where MM. de Huttes and Varicourt were fo barbaroufly murdered, and in full fight of that inhuman tranf- .action, no principle of generofity or fympathy could induce them to interfere, or make the {malleft at- tempt to fave them. It cannot but excite furprize that a man who, like Rabaut, had fome character to fypport and preferve, fhould have fo difguifed, altered, and miftated the tranfaétions of this night and morning, that no one, acquainted with them, could, with- out referring to the date, judge, from his account, what period he alluded to, or what events he was deicribing. In the face of the moft irrefragable teftimonies, and in fome initances of fa¢ts corroborated upon ath before a tribunal of juftice, he flates things directly contrary. In particular, with refpeét to the conduct of the national troops and the banditti, he ftates feveral ren- counters ta have taken place be- tween them; that the former, by force, not only foon cleared the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. palace and its environs of the ruf. fians, but that they likewife com- pelled them to leave all the plun- der which they had feized behind; that, upon fome new occafion, they purfued and routed them again; and they feem at length to have driven them quite away, and ob- liged them to purfue a new route to Paris. So that by this ftatement, the national troops would have merited high praife for the zeal and activity with which they quelled and difperfed this rabble. ie But it is time to return, and to fee things as they really were. The king, accompanied and protetted by La Fayette, went through the ese his mind being fo occupied y the danger of the guards, that it could dwell upon no other fubject than that of recommending them to the mercy of the crowd, with af- furances to all that they were un- juftly accufed. He then went to a balcony, where he repeated the fame interceflion ‘to the crowd who filled ” the courts below; but the mob, in- ftead of paying any attention to the {upplication of their fovereign, roar- ed out with the utmoft violence and indecency for the queen. Fay- ette accordingly went for her. She hefitated a moment, and afked if her prefence was neceflary to appeafe the people? He affured her it was. « Then,” faid the, «I will go, even 16 « Twas {ure that I wenttoexecution,”* She accordingly appeared in the bal- cony, with the dauphin in her arms ; and the popular fury feemed in fome degree to fubfide; although in the depofitions given before the chate- let it is teflified, that mufkets were at that very time feen levelled in the crowd, which appeared to the deponents to be pointed direttly at the queen, Some fort of calm, how- ott, aq HISTORY, OF EUROPE, ever, took place for a few minutes, which was fuddenly interrupted by an univerfal cry, directed to the royal pair, “ ‘To Paris, to Paris!” There was no refuling nor remon- Mrating ; the whole royal family Were. at the mercy of the rabble; nor-could Fayette have infured their lives for a moment, if they appear- ed only to heiitate. The king’s aflent was foon noti- fied to ail the parts of the crowd by s immediately difperfed for the purpofe; and. after a preparation not much longer than that of chang- ~ ing horfes on an Englith poft road, one of the mott degrading and me- Jancholy proceffions commenced, of which there is any record in hiftory. _ The fovereign of one. of the great- _ eft, moft powerful, and mot fplendid narchies in the univerfe, govern- ang a people long and far renowned for arriving near the {ummit of ci- vilization, learning, arts, and {cience, a nation likewife particularly re- nowned for the valour, generofity, and nice attention to honour which has dittinguithed its nobi'ity through a courfe of age’; and yet this fove- Teign, without foreign invafion or War, without any avowed domettic competitor for bis throne, and even without any, acknowledged rebellion his fubjeéts, is, in the face of day, ith his queen and family, dragged theix palace, and led captives im favage triumph, by. bands of the meaneit and moit contemptible rué fians in his dominions, and by thofe modern furies the abandoned women Paris, who, for every degree of in, y and wickednefs, but particu- y for ferocity and thirft of blood, not, molt fortunately for man- , their fimilitudes upon ahy part f the face of the: globe.. ‘To ren- : the triumph more complete, or, ve - L55 as if it were to infult fallen great- nefs by mockery,,a party ofthe ob- noxious life guards, deprived of, their arms, and weated: as. prifoners of wary were, with drooping heads, and revolting hearts, appointed, un- der the name of an efcort, to attend their fovereigns. ‘That the procef- fion, however deplorable, might, in, _ all its parts be charatteriftic, the ». mangled and bloody heads of the two guards who had been murdered, in the morning were carried along on pikes to grace the fpectacle; ‘and, it is faid, were frequently and defignedly exhibited before the win- dows of the carriage which convyey- ed the royal captives. We thall not defile our page, nor infult the deli- cacy, or fhock the feelings of our readers, by repeating any of the obftene, favage, and horrid expref- fions, which the beafts of women ufed in the heariug of the queen, and direéted to her hearing. Such was the mournful . proceffion, which attended cee the removal of LouisXVI. 17°9- King of France, from his palace at Verfailles, to his prifon in Paris. As time brings out many of thofe hidden circumitances, in cafes of plots and confpiracies, which are not at firlt known, or perhaps fuf- pected, fo it has for fame time been reported, both on the continent and here, and we find is credited by perfons who have more than com- mon means of information, that the too great and overgrown {ubjett, who is now, confidered as the prin- cipal author and caufe of thofe dit turbances which. have ruined France, was himfelf prefent in. difguife among the mob. who, were deitined in the morning to the attack of the palace; that he was revealed, not- withanding his, difguife, to the [D 4] leaders, 56] leaders, by certain prefixed marks or fignals; that the principal fer- | vice which: he intended was, from his intimate knowledge of the in- . terior of the palace, to lead the banditti by the neareft way to the royal apartments, in which cafe it is fuppofed, that all that part of the royal family would have been in- ftantly facrificed. That fortunately his heart, according to its ufual cuf- tom, failed when he arrived at the fcene of action; and that he accord- ingly flunk away from his affociates, whofe numbers, violence, and fero- city, were poflibly among the caufes of his terror. It is likewife told, as a part and confirmation of the fame ftory, ‘that Mirabeau, in his rage at what he confidered fuch fhameful conduét, threw out the following © extraordinary farcafm: 4 That man conftantly carries a * cocked piftol loaded with mifchief «in his hand, but his cowardice is “se {9 extreme that he never can draw « the trigger.” Mounier, who had relied too much upon La Fayette’s vigilance, and upon the order of fafety which had he eftablifhed for the night, when 2wakened late by an account of the horrid tranfactions which were tak- ing place, at ‘once augured the downfall both of liberty and mo- narchy, to each of which he was moft zealoufly attached. He haf- tened to the aflembly, and propofed that they fhould immediately pro- ceed to the palace, hold ‘their meet- ing in the grand faloon of Verfailles, and aft the king with their advice, as well as with their affiftance and protection, at this momentous cri- fis. But it did not ‘at all fuit the views of the patriots in any degree to impede, much lefs to prevent, the difmal preceffion to Paris: Mi- . ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. rabeau anfwered, in his ufual cha- racter, that it was beneath their dignity to meet in the king’s palace; and this anfwer was received by the reft of the party, as a full and fuffi- cient reafon for continuing as they were. joy of Mirabeau, Barnave, and others of the moft violent leaders, was fo extreme, as to become indecently apparent; whilft the members on ee other fide, expe€ting every mo- ment to be furrounded by an armed rabble, trembled for their lives, and dared not utter a word. To while away time it was voted, that the national affembly was infe- parable from the king; after which any trifling bufinefs that could be thought of was brought forward, to afford fome appearance of debating antil the bufinefs at the palace was entirely over. 'y The broken remnants of the mid- dle or moderate party, of whom Mounier was the head, and who had ever endeavoured. to: eftablifh, what they conceived to be the fafeft and moft permanent fyftem of liber- ty for the people, under the form of a limited monarchy, to be regu- lated and kept within proper bounds by a conftitution fomewhat refem- bling that of England, held a meet- - f to themfelves, difcharged ~ ing in the evening, at which it was ftated, that having long, with great peril their duty as honeft men, in en- deavouring to ftem the torrent of republicanifm, to defeat the una- vowed, and therefore more dange- rous defigns of fome of the factious - leaders,. to eftablifh the liberty of the people, and at the fame time to preferve the proper and neceflary rights of the monarchy inviolate; that after this long and virtuous ftruggle, it was now a matter of grievous © Mounier declares, that the — A | 4 “TRIS TORI” OF EUROPE. [57 grievous refle€tion to perceive, not being otherwife under the prefent only that all their efforts ware fruit- fyftem, they fhould, notwithftand- lefs, but that a directly contraryand ing, perfevere in the fame fruitlefs moft dangerous ftate of affairs had toil, and devote their lives, with- taken place. They faw the mo- outa compe aap» by placing narchy overthrown; the king a them in the hands of the Parifians; rifoner, not merely to his-own or whether they fhould at once fe- Fibjects, confidered generally as cede from the affembly, and fubmit fuch, but to the rabble of Paris; their conduct in every thing, along while his iife hung fufpended by a with the caufes of this procedure, hair, which it was in the power of to their conftituents, as well as to every ruffian to fnap orto cut in a the public at large? moment. They faw that liberty for The greater part of the member, which they had fo much contended, prefent, notwithftanding thefe rea~ now placed in fuchatrain, that if fons, in the veracity of which they caufes produced their proper effects, all equally agreed, were yet unwil- it was likely to be deftroyed before ling to abandon their feats. Mou- it was formed. ‘The national af- nier and Lally Tolendal were at fembly muft now remove to Paris, the head ofthe feceders. which had for fome time been the —_ But before Mounier had quitted | prime with,and chief objectin view, the prefident’s chair, he had the with fome of the moit dangerous of addrefs, with the fervent aid of his thé fattious leaders who ruled that friends, to carry a very important _ body. In Paris, the reprefentatives refolution, and which there was lit- of the people would become as ab- tle reafon to expect could have been folute prifoners as the king; and pafled. This was an order for an France would be-governed by laws, enquiry into the horrid mafflacre, framed by thefe leaders, and en- intended and aétua!ly commenced forced on the affembly by the ter- -on the 6th of Otober, and for pro- ror of their inftruments, the cabals fecuting the authors thereof. ‘This ‘and mobs of the capital. As for was the foundation of all the pro- themfelves, the purity of their views ceedings which were condutted in “and the integrity of their conduct the chatelet upon the fubject ; and z Id not preferve them from con- though fubftantial juftice was not wal danger and menace to their obtained, nor probably could be s; indeed it was unhappily too expected, yet it could not be with- Clearly thewn, that thefe were qua- out fome good effect, by letting ities now fo little regarded, that wanton murderers fee, that they ‘they could procure neither efteem might not always be fafe in the nor fafety. The queftion now for gratification of that horrid pro- ‘them to confider was, Whether, penfity ; and reminding them, that ‘having fulfilled the duty which they public enquiries, and public prefe- ‘Owed to the public to the utmoft cutions, were not pleafant matters, their power, but without effect, to play with. It would have done finding affairs now ina ftate much honour to the national aflem- thich not only rendered them to- bly, would have prevented much ; ufelefs for the prefent, but well-founded reproach, which will hich cut off all hope of their ever not wear off while the memory of " : amy 58] any of their aéts continue, and would have prevented atts which will be an eternal ftain to their country, if they had pafied, and fupported with vigour, many fimi- lar refolytions ; initead of turning accounts of the moft inhuman mur- ders to, ridicule, and fhamefully joking upon the purity or impurity, of the blood thus fhed. Nothing at the fame time can af- ford a itronger demonttration of the homage paid to’ Mounier’s charac- ter, and of the awful afcendancy which virtue holds over thoie even who abhor its namé, than that he fhould have been able to carry a refolution fo abherent to. the likings of all the principal leaders of the faGions; — they evidently fhrunk before it. Hehas declared himfelf, that the reflection of his having carried this meafure of humanity and juftice, was no {mall folace to him in his fubfequent troubles and misfortunes. This was his laft public at: and he, who had not long fince been one of the mott popular men in the kingdom, was, at no diftant period, deftined to fly from his country, and to retire to Geneva for the prefervation of his life. ‘This obligation he owed to Barnave and others of his brother deputies, who, unable to refift or en- dure his virtue when prefent, took care to prepoffefs the minds of the people fo effectually againft him, as to prevent the poflibility of his being ever again troublefome. Mounier was, with refped to ftri€tnefs of in- tegrity, purity of principle, love ani admiration of virtue, undoubt- edly the fir’ man in the affembly, and féemed to belong to another age rather than to the prefent. In talents and abilities he was fecond to none in that body; but they were ANNUAL REGFSTER, regular one, fenced in with infu. diforders and violence. 1790. not fhowy, nor calculated to catch the vulgar; fo that his popularity arofe from the general fenfe enter- tained of his virtue. He was an enthufiaftic lover of liberty, and as determined a foe to tyranny in every thape and form; but the li- © berty which he adored, and wifhed . © to eftablifh, was a rational and © perable reftraints againft its dege- nerating into licention{nefs and a- | narchy, as well as with impaffable q mounds againft the inroads of def- ~ potifm. In political affairs his | faults were, being too refined and © fpeculative, and fometimes being | immoveable in his opinions, o We thought it both becoming and a part of our duty, to fay thus © much ofa fallen and unfortunate, | but a very eminent man; and the ~ more {o, as there is little probabilt- ty that he will ever again come ~ within our obfervation. Mounier declared to a few par- — ticular friends, at his quitting Paris, — how much he was opprefled by the melancholy reflection, that all his — efforts in favour of liberty had only ended in enflaving France to the — defpotifm of faction, inftead. of the defpotifm of royalty. "Two factions, with views totally different and incompatible, had an equal fhare in promoting the late — The re-— publican levellers intended, by the removal to Paris, to place the un- happy fovereign {o entirely im their — own power, and by the aid of th Parifians to purge the affembly f totally of all who oppofed them, that neither the king, the nebles, nor the clergy, could find it poflibh afterwards to defend any of their rights, not only, by arms, but even by legal refiltance. And they be aw HISTORY, OF, EURGQFE. faw that the bare name of the king, which did not produce the fmalleft benefit to himielf, might be turned 0 great account by aitording fome fanction to their proceedings, and thereby become-a moit ufeful initru- ment in the confirmation of their Borer. Upon thefe principles no lefigns that affected the king’s life ‘could originate or be received in this party. The other fagtion, of which Mi- tabeau was, at lealt, the oltenfible head, and the leaders of which were generally called the cabal, held very different views, though they pur- fued the fame means, and nfed the fame initruments, the mobs of Paris, for their attainment. The firit, as we have feen, wifhed to confine the king, perhaps for life, within ‘the walls of that capital; but the fecond hoped to terrify him into “a flight; in which cafe they would Have proceeded to depofition ; and ey the circumftances of the f ight might have afforded an op- ‘portunity for greater and more de- ‘cifive violence. Though thefe af- Go the character of republicans, ‘and generally afed along with them, yet fo far were they from withing the overthrow of the fove- ‘Feignty, that they very reluctantly ea even the reductions that ‘Were made in its authority; they “withed it to continue perfect, and Whole, but wanted to change the ands in which it was placed; fo hat having fet up a phantom of power, which, from its weaknefs, they knew they could manage as they pleafed, 4 very few of their principal leaders would be enabled fterwards to govern with fupreme authority. two caules partitularly dangerous ; was the extreme protligacy, and ‘“ . This party was from , [59 total want of principle, joined with uncommon abilities, of fome of its leaders ; the other was the profound fecrecy with which its ultimate views were kept concealed, fo that the real objects of its purfuit and conduét were never apparent. The republican party were tri. umphant upon this occafion; and the views of the cabal, if not en- tirely feen through, were at leaft fo far underftood, as to excite much miftruft, and draw no fmall degree of odivm upon their leaders. Though the revolution was now completed, and no_vifible obftacle remaining which could check the republicans in their future career, yet the idea of fhutting themfelves up within the walls of the turbu- lent city of Paris, where 100,c00 pair of jealous and fufpicious eyes were to be an eternal watch upon their conduét and aétions; where they were to be fubjected to the ca- price of a frantic and bloody popu- lace, who had conitituted themfelves both judges and executioners of the law in all cafes of life and death; and where the moft zealous patriot was liable to become an initanta- neous victim to the falfeft report, or to the moft unfounded fufpicion ; thefe confiderations, acting altoge- ther, could not but ftrike a great part of the affembly with the moit ferious and alarming apprehenfions, and thereby ferve much to leffen that fatisfaction and exultation of pride and fuccefs, which their fignal triumph over the crown, and that extreme and abje& ftate of degra- dation to which it was reduced, might otherwife have afforded. in order, by every means in their power, to guard againft this danger, which, however unayowed, was equally ¢bvious to all, the aflembly ; immediately go] ANNUAL REGISTER, 190. immediately paffed the ftrongeft re- folutions that could be framed, re- fpe&ting the facrednefs and inviola- bility of their perfons. But thele being in no degree fufficient to re- move the general impreflion of dan-. ger which had taken place, fo great a humber of members were conti- nually applying for leave of ab- fence, that it feemed at length as if the aflembly would be entirely eeferted; and it was found necei- Jary, as a remedy for the evil, to pafs an order or refolution, that. no farther applications for leave fhould bé received, ! Thefe. appréhenfions had not, however, time to wear off before an event took place which fufficiently dhewed that they were by no means ill-founded, For the aflembly had not been long in Paris, when thofe, loyal and peaceable citizens, being perhaps apprehenfive that their tights and authority might, with- out frequent exertion, becepie dor- mant, and lapfe into what the law- yérs call a ftate of defuetuds, deter- mined to give their new viittants of the afflembly an early fpecimen of what thofe rights and that authority were, fo as to prevent all future miftakes about their nature and extent, and at the fame time toafford a ftriking inflaice of their own due qualification, from the eafe and fa- cility with which they adminiftered fummary juilice. There could be no want of an object on which to dif- play their juftice and dexterity, while there remained. a baker full in exiftence. The lot accordingly fell upon an unfortunate member of that fraternity, who happened to be totally innecent ef any known crime, or of any breach whatever of the laws; but the pithy death-term ef ‘monopolizer’ being fuddenly ‘from the town houfe, as a formida= founded in his ears, he was, at noon day, dragged out of his own houfe, — and jnftantly hanged before the door, in the fight of his wife and fa= mily. While the affembly wete at a ~ diftance, matters of this fort were pafied over without concern or no- — tice; but this tumult taking place under their eyes, and the danger feeming already at their own doors, the alarm and apprehenfion excited — by it were beyond defcription. This paroxyfm of terror, however, pro- jj duced an excellent effect, it rouzed J the affembly into a degree of exer- Jj tion, the want of which had been © long and lamentably felt; -and its very excefs proved the means of in- | fpiring them with courage. They — likewife could not but feel how much their authority and dignity were {ct at nought and degraded, and that public opinion, upon which © every thing depended, would be fhaken, if fo violent an outrage, committed almoft in their prefence, and as if it had been to fhew whp- were in future to be their mafters, had been fuffered to pafs with im- punity. Under thefe, and fimilar impreffions, the affembly imme: diately paffed a very effective and fevere law, founded much upon the principle of the Englith riot aét, by which the municipa] magiftrateg | were obliged to proclaim arta law whenever the mob proceeded ta. outrage; and were befides farnithed with a red, or, as it is called by feae men, a bloody flag, which, upon fuch occafions, was to be difplayed ble emblem of the confequences which would enfue. In the fame fpirit, the Parifiaa rabble were con- demned to the inexpreflible mortifi- catign ef beholding twe or three oe the His CORY Of EUROPE, the mof notorious of their brethren, who were ‘concerned in the late tu- mult and murder, publicly. hanged. Thefe vigorous meafures produced #n- immediate happy effect; and or- der and quiet were for fome time eftablifhed. . An event now took place which ‘eould not fail to aftonifh all thofe who were not admitted deeply into the fecrets of affairs. This was the extraordinary meafure of fending the duke of Orleans out of the king- dom. To underftand this we are to obferve, that nothing eould ex- ceed the indignation of La Fayette at the unexpected difobedience which he experienced. from his troops on the 5th of October. All athe mutual ties which fhould unite @ general and his-army feemed at once diffolyed; and, befides the dif- ‘appointment, and wound to his ide, the perfonal fecurity of a ommander feemed in a very pre- ‘Garious ftate, whofe troops difdained to obey, and who made no fcruple of flying in the face of his authori- ‘ty and command, He well knew thit their difebedience and mutiny did not originate with themfelves, ut were produced by the machina- ‘tions of the cabal; and he directed all his indignation and refentment to their proper object, the fuppofed Father of that faction. For, what- Wer La Fayette’s private political tws might have been, there cer- ly-was nothing farther removed m them, or which he abhorred re, even in idea, than that the ike of Orleans, through any con- aifion, or change of circumftances, r under any denomination, of re- t or otherwife, fhould ever be at the head of public affairs. faw that the feafon was highly oyrable to the gratification of his [64 enmity; that the views of the cabal were thoroughly feen through, and they had confequently loft all in- fluence, weight, and confidence in the aflembly; that Mirabeau had not been more unfortunate in his views to aggrandize his principal than himfelf; and that his late de- fign of forcing himfelf into the royal adminiftration, was fo well undertftood, that his preparatory mg-= tion was rejected, with every mark not only of difguft but abhor- rence. ; Tt is faid, that the leading party in the aflembly had already derived all the benefits from the duke which they wifhed, or at any time in- tended: his pecuniary aid had from the beginning been indifpenfably neceflary to their fuccefs, witheut it they could haye done nothing; but now things were totally chang- ed: if his treafures had not even been pretty well exhaufted, they were not, however, in that ftate of neceffity which rendered them once indifpenfable; he had been as long the inftrument to their purpofes as was neceflary, to continue it longer would be folly. Befides that his fervices were no longer wanted, his prefence was becoming trouble- fome ; and might, under certain circumftances, through his influence with the rabble, pofhbly prove dan- gerous. oe - Whether the opinion that thefe motives operated upon the aflembly be well founded or not, it feems evident that La Fayette mut hyve had a certainty of being well fup-- ported when he ventured upon ‘fo bold, and feemingly fo dangereas a meafure. He fettled the bufinefs like a foldier, with little ceremony but peremptory effect, Ina fhort and fudden conference with the duke, 62] duke, he informed him in a few words, that his prefence in France was at this junéture incompatible with the good of the nation; that England, where he was well ac- quainted, was deemed the country moft fitting for him to retire to; that a paiiport from the king was ready for him; and that, to cover the matter, he fhould be apparently fent to execute a private commil- fion from his majeity in that coun- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790: and accompanied with an air of — fuch decifive authority, that the duke, furprized and (ubdued, fhrunk — under its effect; and, every thing ~ being prepared, was difpatched to Engiand. Mirabeau’s rage was unbounded at this cowardly fubmiffion, as he — termed it, of the duke, lt was given in evidence before the chatelet, that he concluded a torvent of the grof- 7 feft abuie by exclaiming, “ He does « not deierve the trouble that has | «< been taken for his fake!”? tty. The mandate was fo peremp- tory, delivered with fuch firmneis, Crea Ps Iii. Effects of the tranfafions in France upon the minds of the people of Great» — Britain. General difpofition in their favour at the commencement of the revolution. Various political fpeculations thereon. The evils which followed | forcfeen by more accurate objervers, and particularly foretold in the celebrated | avork of Mr. Burke. The interef? which the French leaders had in in= © volving the furrounding fiates in the fame aifiractions. Their attempts, and — the effects of thei, particularly in Great-Britain-and Ireland. Meeting of — parliament. Speech from the throne. dddv¢/s voted in both houfes without & debate. AF of indemnity relative to the order of council for flopping the & exportation, of corn. . Military. efimates animadverted upon by Sir Grey © Cooper, Mr. Marfoam, aud Mr. Fox 5 and defended by Mr. Grenville and Mr: Pitt. Scme exprefions of Mr. Fcx, applauding the French revolution, ond the conduct of the French army on that occafion, cenfured by Col. Phipps. — The fame fubject taken up by Mr. Burke. His fpcech upon the fpirit and ~ confequences of ihat event, and bis regret at dujering in opinion from Mr. — ox. His opinion cencerning the conduct of the French army, and con» ‘cerning the comparifen betsween the French revolution, and the revolution of — 1688. His /peech received with general applaufe. Mr. Fox, in reply, la- ments the difference of opinion byaveen them. His encomium upon Mr.— Burke. Explains his oven fentiments refpeciing the French revolution. Pro- Sefes bis political principles, His opinion of the revolution of 1688. His — apology for the excefjes of the French patriots. Mr. Sheridan’ s Jpeech upon — the Jame occafior,, Declares his entire difference of opinion from Mr. Burke. | Defends the French revolution. Apologizes for its exceffes. “Charges Mr. © Burke with being an advocate for dejpotijn:, Compliments the marguis de~ ba Fayette, and other French patriots. His opinion of the revolution of 1688. — Mr. Pitt, and other members, rife to expre/s their obligations and gratitude | to Mr. Burke for the fentiments he had expreffed during the debate. e7 fi HISTORY OF EUROPE. T was impoffible that tranfaCtions of the kind we have juft been re- Tating, fhould not, in every point of view, forcibly attract the attention ‘of all the furrounding nations of Europe. But, to the people of thefe kingdoms, they became, at an early period, from feveral peculiar circum- Rances, a fubject matter of a more “direét, as well as ferious intereft. Betore we proceed, therefore, to the ~ detail of our parliamentary proceed- ings, it will be neceflary to give a fhort account of the general impref- fion which the tranfactions of France made upon the public mind; to point out the diiferent views they fuggefted to political parties, and the + firlt appearance of a defign to form -a common caufe between the {pe- -culative reformers of our own na- ‘tion, and the levelling party, which . Yoon became all-powerful, in France. The reader will have remarked * the many favourable circumftances, under which the ftates-gencral of France were at firft aflembied, and which feemed to require but an ordi- nary degtee of public virtue-and poli- tical prudence to improve them into the moftimportantadvantages. With a fpirit of conceffion tending to faci- lity, the reprefentatives of the two firtt orders, the clergy and the nobility, ” were empowered, by the infructions - of their refpective conftituents, to concede upon almoft all the points, Which had ever been confidered as invidious, or were then in difpute, and particularly thofe of pecuniary ee. Every thing that could € required from a prince, to whom the happinefs of his people had ever “been the object neareft his heart, ~ Was to be reckoned upon as certain; * and, amongtt the reft, the future pe- riodical meetings of the ftates, by _ which the gradual improvement of [63. the conftitution, without convulfion, perhaps without conteft, was almoft a necefiary confequence. Whilft the affairs of France wore this promiling afpeé, the Englith nation feemed difpofed to congratu- late, with fincerity, its ancient rival upon the dawn of its liberty. A laudable partiality for their own country had, indeed, excited appre-~ henfions in fome, that France, by availing itfelf of the advantages of a free conititution, might become .a mgre powerful, and confequently a more dangerous neighbour: -whilft others, led away by the fathionable theories of the day, conceived, that whatever temptations to ambition France might derive from its future profperity, they would be more than counterbalanced by thofe principles of equity and moderation, which might be expected to prevail under its new fyitem of government, in proportion to the predominance of the popular intereftsin it. ‘This latter o- pinion had its advocates particularly among ft thofe, who were admirers of republican forms of government,and willing to caft an odium upon mo- narchy by attributing all the wars which have defolated the world, to the ambition and avarice of princes, Such, in general, were the opini- ons which floated upon. the public mind; and rather as matter of cu- rious {peculation, than of national! concern. But upon what a fuperf- cial view of things thefe opinions were formed, in all their parts, the events, that have fince happened, have fully evinced. The evils, however, which at that time exiited only in their principles, or in fuch effects as. might be fuppofed occa~ fional or collateral, did not even then efcape more experienced ,ob- fervers, They were developed and purfued 64] purfued to the dreadful confequences, which have fince enfued. Before the clofe of the year 1789, a cele- brated member of the Britifh par- liament, in a work, which will re- main to the lateft pofterity as a mo- nument of énlightened patriotifm and unrivalled political judgment, not only warned the French nation of the dreadful precipice, upon which it ftood, but foretold, witha circum- ftantial exa€tnefs, thefe horrors, which, though fince acted almoft un- der our eyes, we hefitate to believe. At the fame time, he laid open to the view of all Europe, the defigns of a faction, which aimed direétly, both from policy and upon prin- ciple, at the total fubverfion of all its eftablithed governments. Tt was evident to the projectors of the French revolution, that their plan mutt neceflarily exceed the li- mits of their own territory. Con- {cious of the defperate lengths to which their fyftem led, and refolved to pufh it to its utmoft extent, they could not expect, that cither the po- ey or generofity of the neighbour- ing ftates would fuffer them to re- main unconcerned fpefators of the fcenes they were preparing to att, or inattentive to the principles efta- blifhed, in order to juftify or produce them. They faw, that it was not lefs neceflary to the fuccefs of the general plan, than to the execution of that part, in which they were im- amediately engaged, to involve the other nations, without delay, in the fame diftractions. _ And notwith- ftanding they failed, for the moft part; in this attempt, yet it isnot to be doubted, but that the countenance they received amongft individuals in foreign countMes, though not at- tehded with fatal confequences to thofe sounwies themfelves, yet by ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the credit it gave to the exaggerated accounts given by their journalifts of the general prevalence of their prin- ciples, contributed, in no fmall-de- gree, to encourage the prevalent faction to the perpetration of thofe dreadful excefles, which they were afterwards wrought up to commit. Such were the zeal and activity of the French agitators, and fuch the extent and boldnefs of their plans, that it is notorious, that there was no part of Europe in which their agents were not eftablifhed for the purpofe of diffeminating their per- nicious principles. | Great-Britain and Ireland offered, upon many ob- vious accounts, the faireft field’to the induftry of thefe democratic miffion- aries. It was not neglected, and was cultivated not without fuccefs, Active and zealous partizans were found ready to co-operate with them. Nor wasthis confined to in- dividuals: but various political fo- cieties, of more or lefs ancient de- nomination, made it their bufine(s to propagate their principles, and recommend theirexamplé.. The no- bility of France had not been long proferibed and the church plunder- ed, nor the king many days led cap- tive to Paris, before letters of con- gratulation were fent from feveral of thefe focieties in both kingdoms, and a regular official correfpondence o- pened between them and the leaders in France. In the tranfactions of thefe focieties, the means by which the revolution was carried on and _ effected, if not always praifed, were yet pronounced to be fanétified by the end; the example was recom- mended asa glorious pattern for the imitation of mankind, and fan-— guine expectations were held out, that it was but the firit, though an effential and leading ftep to the gene- ral HATSTORY OF EUROPE. talemancipation of Europe. That thefe public declarations might not _mifs their effect upon the minds of the people, they were accompanied with plaintive comparifons between the augui perfection of the new _ French conftitution, and the imper- _ feétions of our own; and the palm of having fo foon outitripped their ancient rivals, in. the glorious race of freedom, was conceded with af- fected regret and humiliation. At the fame time the prefs teemed with the moit daring libels upon the | conititution of this country, and all its conftituent parts. ‘They were diftributed gratis, and circulated with altonifhing induftry, not only a- mongtt the loweft clafs of the com- munity, but through the army and _ the navy. In thefe writings the peo- ple were invited to form themfelves into clubs and focieties, after the manner of the French; and many _ were actually formed in a great num- ber of the moft populous towns of the kingdom, avowedly affiliated (to ufe an expreffion of their own) by the democratic clubs in France. _ ___ Such was the flate of things pre- vious to the meeting of parliament, _ which took place on Thurfday the zift day of January. a __, Inthe fpeech from the throne, his _ Majefty, after exprefling his concern atthe continuance of the war on'the ‘Continent, and lamenting the inter- al commotions which difturbed the anquillity of different parts of Eu- “Tope, informed the two houfes, that he continued to receive affurances “of the good difpofition of all foreign ywers towards thefe kingdoms; and it he was perfuaded they would tertain with him a deep and grate- | fenfe of the favour of providence tinuing to his fubjeéts the in- g advantages of peace; and ov, XXXIL. [65 the uninterrupted enjoyment of thofe invaluable bleffings which they had fo long derived from our excellent conttitution. After the ufual demand of fupplies for the fervices of the year, he in- formed them of the meafures he had been under the necefflity of taking; during the recefs of parliament, tor preventing the exportation and fa- cilitating the importation of corn, and that he had directed a copy of the order iffued for that purpofe to be laid before them. 4 Before the houfe of lords proceed= ed to take -his majeity’s {peech into confideration, the marquis of Bath, the marquis of Salifbury, the earl of Mount Edgecumbe, and the earl of Fortefcue, who had been advanced; during the recefs of parliament, to their feveral refpective ranks in the peerage, took their feats with the accuftomed folemnities. The ufual addreffes were moved; and feconded in the houfe of lords by lord vifcount Falmouth and lord Cathcart; and in the houfe of com- mons by the vifcount Valletort and Mr. Cawthorne, and voted without oppofition or debate. The topics chiefly infifted upon by the feveral {peakers, were the notoriety of the facts mentioned or alluded to in the {peech from the throne, and theftrik= ing contraft which the happinefs and profperity of this nation exhibited, When compared with the fituation of almoft every other power in Eu- rope; circumftances which, they’ faid, were to be attributed, in the firft place, to the {uperior excellence of our conititution, and, in the fe- cond, to the wife and prudent ad- miniftration of the executive go- vefnment.—In the-houfe of com- mons, as foon as the addrefs was voted, an act of indemnity was order- [EZ] ed 66] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. ed to be brought in; refpeéting the orders of council alluded to in the fpeech from the throne. The eftimates for the military eftablifhments were nearly the fame with thofe of the preceding year, and were not voted without fome objec- tions from the fide of oppofition. It was obferved by Sir Grey Coo- per, Mr. Mariham, and Mr. Fox, that eight years of peace had elap/- ed, and that the military eftimates were not yet reduced even to the peace eitablithment of 1775, though the committee of finance, which fat im the year 1786, had prefumed upon a ftill greater reduction. That there was nothing in the atual fituation of affairs that called for this extra- ordinary military force: but, on the contrary, that his Majefty had af- fured them of the pacific difpofition of all the foreign powers; that our antient rival and enemy, in confe- quence of her internal difturbances, would probably be difabled from giving us any moleftation for a long courfe of years ; and, laftly, that the alliances we had made, and the fub- fidiary treaties we had entered into on the continent, inafmuch as they roultiplied the chances of our being involved in war, were proportiona- biy mifchievous, if they did not en- able us to reduce our expences in time of peace. To thefe arguments it was an- fwered in general by Mr. Grenville and Mr. Pitt, that though there was no reafon at prefent to apprehend that we thould he engaged in hoiti- lities with any foreign power; yet the uniettled ftate of Europe, and the internal Situation. of feveral parts of it, made it neceflary for us to keep ourfelves in {uch a ftate, as might enable us to ac. with vigour and effet, if occafion thould require: ‘That it was a prepoferous economy to tempt an attack by our weaknefs, and for a miferable prefent faving, to hazard a great future expence. That our foreign alliances, which had been approved of by all parties as neceflary for the prefervation of — that balance of power in Europe, upon which the permanence of its: tranquillity depended, could only be © rendered effectual for that purpofe, by our being able to fupport them with an adequate force ; ‘and, laftly, that it would be found upon an exa- mination of the detail of all our mi- litary eftablifhments, that they could not with common prudence be re- duced to a narrower {eale. In the courfe of the debate upon this fubje&t, Mr. Fox took occafion to remark, that the conduc of the French foldiers, during the late com- motions, tended greatly to remove one of the objections, which he had always entertained againft ftanding armies. That army, by refufing to — obey the diétates of the court, had _ fet a glorious example to all the mi- litary of Europe, and had fhewn, that inen, by becoming foldiers, did not ceafe to be citizens. | This remark did not pafs without — animadverfion at the time it: was - made. Colonel Phipps begged leave — to enter his proteft againft the com- pliment which had been paid tothe © profeffion, to which he had the ho- © nour to belong, fo far as it was con- nected with any approbation of the © proceedings of the ‘French army. — He covceived, that the conduét of — the Britith army in the year 1780, — might have furnifned the right ho- — nourable gentleman with a much — more unexceptionable ground of © panegyric. He would there have — found the foldiery of this nation not — joiningitthor, who were riotoufly Giiturbing the public peace ‘and* feattering ruin among individus «HISTORY OF EUROPE. hot the firft, in violation of their oaths and of their allegiance, to head anarchy and rebellion; but men really feeling as citizens and fol- iers, patiently fubmitting to the in- ‘falts of the populace, and, in fpite of | provocation, maintaining the laws _and acting under the conilituted au- thorities of the realm. On the gth of February, when “the military eftimates were reported from the committee, a further debate took place; in which Mr. Fox hav- ing again let fall fome expreffions of applaufe of the French revolution, ‘Mr. Burke rofe, and after a few ob- fervations upon the general ftate of Europe, as it affected the queftion of encreafing or diminifhing the mi- _litary force of Great Britain; he _adverted, in a more particular man- _ner, to the fituation of France. That “country, he remarked, by the mere ‘circumftance of its vicinity, ought to be the firft object of our vigilance, hot only with regard to her actual _ power, but alfo to her influence and example, which had once been, and might again become, more danger- ous to us than her worft hoftility. He inftanced the earlier part of the _Teign of Louis the Fourteenth, and the difficulty, with which the patriots of that day ftruggled in this country ‘againft the influence of an example, * which, by its fplendor and fuccefs, ot only captivated our then fo- but gained fomething upon all ranks of people. ‘The danger, in the laft age, he obferved, was from _ anexample of defpotifm in govern- Ment, and of intolerance in reli- In the prefent the difeafe s altered, but it was fe ore ly to be contagious; it was on fide of religion, athe n, and, egard to government, anar- was the danger of being led on. s king Charles and king - Vig [57 through an admiration of fuccefsful fraud and violence, to an imitation of the exceffes of an irrational, un- principled, profcribing, confifcating, plundering, ferocious, bloody; and tyrannical democracy. He then proceeded to obferve, that the very worit part of the ex- ample fet us in France was, in hig opinion, the late aflumption of citi- zenfhip by the army, As this opi- nion was in dire&t oppofition to the’ fentiments of Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke: exprefied the great regret he felt in differing from his right honourable friend; and after pronouncing a fine: panegyric upon his fuperior abili- ties, and bearing teftimony to the natural moderation, difinterefted- nefs, and benevolence of his difpofi- tion, he begged the houfe to judge from his coming forward to marls an exprefiion or two of his bett frierid, how anxious he was to keep the diitemper of France from the leaft countenance in England, whete, he was fure, fome wicked perfons had fhewn a ftrong difpofition to recom- mend an imitation of the French {pi- rit of reform; fo ftrengly, he faid, was he oppofed to any the leaft ten« dency towards the means of intro- ducing a democracy like theirs, as well as to the end itfelf, that he would abandon his beft friends, and join with his worft enemies, to op-— pofe either the means or the end. Mr. Burke then took a. concife view of what had been lately done in France. ‘That nation, he obferv= ed, had gloried (and foine people in England had thought fit to take fhare in that glory) in making a re- volution; as if revolutions were good things in themfelyes. All the horrors and all the crimes of the anarchy, which led to their revolu- tion, which attend its progrefs, and which may virtually attend it in its {£] 2 eftablifhment, 68] ‘ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. eftablifhment, pafs for nothing with the lovers of revolutions. The French have made their way, thro’ the deftrutien of their country, to a bad conftitution, when they were ab-. folutely in poffeffion of a good one. ‘They were in poffeffion of it the day the States met in feparate orders. ‘Their bufinefs, had they been either virtuous, or wife, or had been left to their own judgment, was to fecure the ftability and independence of the States, according to thofe orders, under the monarch on the throne. It was then their duty to redrefs grievances. ; Inftead of redreffing grievances, and improving the fabric of their ftate, to which they were called by their monarch, and fent by their country, they were made to take a very differerit courfe. They firft deftroyed all the balances and coun- terpoifes, which ferve to fix the ftate and to give it a fteady direction, and which furnifh fure correctives to any violent fpirit which may pre- vail in any of the orders. Thefe balances exifted i their oldeft con- ftitution, and in the conftitution of this country, and in the conftitution of ali the countries in Europe. Thefe they rafhly deftroyed, and then they » melted down the whole into one in- congruous, ill-connected mafs. * When they had done this, they fnftantly, with the moft atrocious perfidy and breach of all faith among men, laid the axe to the root of all property, and confequently of all national profperity, by the princi- ples they eftablifhed, and the exam- ple they fet, in confifcating all the poffefions of the church, They made and recorded a fort of infti- tute and digeft of anarchy, called the rights of man, in fuch ‘a pedantic abufe of elementary principles as would have difgraced boys at {chool; but this declaration of rights was worfe than trifling and pedantic in’ them; as by their name and autho- rity, they fyftematically deftroyed every hoid of authority by opinion, — religious or civil, on the minds of — the people. By this mad declara- | tion, they fubverted the flate, and | brought on fuch calamities as no country, without a long war, has © ever been known to fuffer, and which may in the end produce fuch ~ a war, and, perhaps, many fuch. © Should they even perfectly fucceed in what they propofe, as they were likely enough to do, and eftablifh a | democracy, or a mob of democra- | cies, ina country circumftanced like | France, they would eftablifh a very ~ bad government—a very bad fpecies of tyranny. A But the worft effect of all their — proceedings, he faid, was on their — military. If the queftion was, whe- — ther foldiers were to forget they were citizens, as an abftract propo- — fition, he could have no difference about it; though, as it is ufual,” when abftraét principles are to be” applied, much was to be thought on’ the manner of uniting the character of citizen and foldier. But as ap-” plied to the events which had hap- pened in France, where the abftract” principle was clothed with its cir- cumftances, he thought that his friend would agree with him, that what was done there furnifhed nov | matter of exultation, either in Jt was not an ftrange thing, called a Revolut in France, fhould be compared w the glorious event, commonly called the Revolution in England ; and the conduc of the foldiery, on that oc- cafion, compared with the behaviour of fome of the troops of France in ‘the prefent inftance. At that pe- siod, the prince of Orange, a prince of the blood royal in England, was called in by the flower of the Eng- ith ariftocracy to defend its ancient conttitution, and not to level all dif- tinétions. To this prince, fo in- vited, the ariftocratic leaders who ‘commanded the troops, went over with their feveral corps, in bodies, to the deliverer of their country. Military obedience changed its ob- “ject; but military difcipline was not for a moment interrupted in its prin- ciple. 4 ' But asthe conduct of the Englith armies was different, fo was that of ‘the whole Englifh nation at that time. In truth, the circumftances of our revolution (as it is called) and that of France, are juft the re- verfe of each other in almoft every particular, and in the whole fpirit of the tranfaGtion. What we did was in truth and {ubftance, and ina con- Aitutional light, a revolution, not made, but prevented. We took fo- lid fecurities; we fettled doubtful ftions; we correéted anomalies m our law. In the ftable, funda- ‘Mental parts of our’ conftitution we de no revolution; no, nor any ration at all. We did not im- € monarchy: perhaps it might be fhewn, that we ftrengthened it wery confiderably. The church was Hot impaired. The nation kept the fame ranks, the fame privileges, the franchifes, the fame rules for property. The church and the ftate re the fame after the ion they were before, but b fe- every part. dingly the fate floprithed, HISTIORY OF EUROPE. [69 Inftead of lying as dead, in a fort of trance, or expofed, as fome others, in an epileptic fit, tothe pity or de- rifion of the world, for her wild, ri- diculous, convulfive movements, im- potent to every purpofe but that of dafhing out her brains againft the pavement, Great Britain rofe above the ftandard, even of her former felf, An era of a more improved domef- tic profperity then commenced, and ftiJl continues, not oniy unimpaired, but growing, under the waiting hand of time. This fpeech of Mr. Burke was received with great and general ap- plaufe. As foon as he fat down; Mr. Fox rofe and faid, that his right ho- nourable friend had mixed his re- marks upon what he had {zid with fo much perfonal kindnefs towards him, that he felt himfelf under a dif ficulty in making any return, left the houfe fhould doubt his fincerity, and confider what he might fay as ‘a mere difcharge of a debt of com- pliments. He mutt, however, de- clare, that fuch was his fenfe of the judgment of his right honourable friend, and fuch the eflimation in which he held his friendfhip, that if he were to put all the political in- formation which he had learnt from books, all which he had gained from feience, and all which any know- ledge’ of the world and its affairs had taught him, into one feale, a the improvement, which he had de- rived from his right honourable friend’s inftruction and converfation, were placed in the other, he fhould be at a lofs to decide, to which to give the preference. With refpect to the approbation he had expreffed of the late conduct of the French military, and his ex- , ultation upon the revolution, which had taken place in that country, Mr. Fox faid, he fhonld ftill main- [Z] 3 tain 70) tain that he was not wrong in fo do- ing. But he hoped that no perfon would thence infer, either that he was a friend to democracy, or ap- proved of the exceffes which had been committed in France. With refpect to the former point, he de- clared himfelf equally the enemy of all abfolute forms of government, wether an abfolute monarchy, an abfolute ariitocracy, or an abfolute democracy, and approved only of a inixed government, like our own. But though he fhould never lend himfelf to fupport any cabal or {cheme, formed in order to intro duce dangerous innovations into our excellent conftitution; he would not, however, run the length of de- claring, that he was an enemy to every {pecies of innovation, becaufe that conftitution, which we all -re- vered, owed its perfection to inno- vation. He differed greatly from Mr. Burke in his opinion of the re- volution cf 1688, 1n which he con- ecived that many innovations had taken place, and he thought that cafe was certainly more parallel to- the revolution in France than his right honourable friend feemed willing to allow. With regard to the fcenes of bloodfhed and cruelty which had -been agted in France, no man could have heard of them without lament- ing them; but {till when the fevere gy: under which that people ad fo long groaned, was confidered, the exccfles which they committed, in their endeavour to fhake off the yoke of defpotifm, might, he thought, | be fpoken of with fome degree of compafion; and.he was perfuaded that, unfettled as their prefent flate appeared, it was preferable to their former condition, and that ultimate- ly it would be for the advantage of that country. 1 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. a perfon of fuch principles, or for | After a fhort explanation from — Mr. Burke, Mr. Sheridan rofe and faid, that the very reafons ‘which Mr. Burke had given for exprefling the fentiments, which he had thatday ~ uttered, namely, an apprehenfion of | being {fuppoled to acquiefce in the © opinions of thofe, for whom he en- — tertained the higheft regard and with whom he had uniformly a€ted, 7 operated alfo on his mind, and made ~ him feel it a duty to declare, that he | differed decidedly from that right. ~ honourable gentleman in almoft every word that he had uttered re- {pecting the French revolution. 7 Mr. Sheridan added fome warm | compliments to Mr. Burke’s general — principles; but faid, that he could — not conceive how it was poftible for || any man who valued our own con- | ftitution, and revered the revolution — that obtained. it for us, to unite with — fuch feelings an indignant and un= | qualified abhorrence of all the .pro- — ceedings of the- patriotic party in — France. j Fi He conceived, he faid, theirs to — be as juft a revolution as ours, pro- — ceeding upon as found a principle ~ and a greater provocation, and ve-— hemently defended the generalviews and conduct of the national affem- | bly. He joined with Mr. Burke in — abhorring the cruelties that had been — committed; but what, he faid, was the awful leffoh that was to be ga thered from the outrages of the po. pulace? What, but an abhorrence 5 of that accurfed fyftem of defpotic gevernment, which fets an example — of depravity to the flaves it rules over: and if a day of power comes cy) to the wretched populace, is it to be’ vere at, however it is to be regretted, that they aét without an of thofe feelings of juftice or hu- manity, manity, which the principles and practice of the governors had ftrip- ped them of? _ Mr. Sheridan went into feveral other topics refpecting the French ‘revolution, and charged Mr. Burke with being an advocate for detpo- tifm, and with having fpoken of the national aflembly with an unwar- rantable freedom of {peech. After paying fome high compli- ments to the marquis de la Fayette, monfieur Baily, and others ofthe French patriots, Mr. Sheridan con- cluded, with exprefling a farther difference with Mr. Burke with re- fpeét to our own revolution of 1688, He had ever been accu‘tomed to confider it as the glorious zra that ‘gave real and efficient freedom to “: ; CHA A hy their application. of France. _ ward upon every future occafon. ba titled to indulgence. or a reform in parliaments sprefentation. thoufehkecpers. HISTORY OF EUROPE. of 294 to 105. tes the inadequacy of the prefent mode of Propofes one hundred additional members to be rbafen by re- His arguments to prove the meceffity of a reform, An- rs obiections. The motion oppofed by Mr. Wyndham. He afferts that . [E] « aK [71 this country, and eftablifhed, on a permanent bafis, thofe facred prin- ciples of government, and reve- rence for the rights of men, which he, for one, could. not value here, without wifhing to fee them diffufed throughout the world. Mr. Burke made a fhort reply to Mr, Sheridan, after which Mr. Pitt and feveral other members expreffed their concurrence with Mr. Burke in the fentiments he had delivered, and their fenfe of the obligation he had conferred upon his country by the part he had that day taken. The eftimates delivered in for the fervice of the army and ordnasice, were then voted by the houfe with- out alteration. y Pe IV. The diffenters encouraged, by the fmall majority by which the motion for the _ repeal of the teft and corporation adi was rejected the laf? feffion, to renew Steps taken by them to fupport it. of the cfablifbed church. Mr. Fox's /peech upon moving for the repeal. His | general principles of toleration. His opinion of the impolicy and injuftice of | the teft laws. Argues from the merits of rhe diffenters. Cenfures the conduét of the bifbop of St. David's. with declaring his determination to fupport the queftion he had brought for- Motion oppofed by Mr. Pitt. | 40 its extent, and the principles on which it was fupported. Is of opinion it 4 might affect the fecurity of the church. a. réftraints on the prerogative of the crown. ‘the diffenters to influence members of parliament. Thinks it would be dan- gerous to truft them with power. And that tefts, the feverity of which could accafionally mitigated, were necefjary to enable government to ward off danger in cafes of necefity. Mr. Burke concars with Mr. Fox in his prin- 5 of toleration ; but thinks the diffenters, at the prefent moment, not in- Charges them with factious and dangerous practices, and reads various papers in fupport of his charge. Suggefts the propriety of anew tefl, and of a committee to enquire into their recent conduét, Mr. ‘ox’s motion rejected by a "hae Alarm of the friends Urges the example Concludes He objects He confiders the teft acts as proper Animadverts on the attempts of 4 Motion by Mr. Flood Yes 42] ANNUAL REGISTER; 1790 the houfe of commons, as at prefent conftituted, is adequate for all beneficial » purpofes. Anfwersthe objetions relative to the American war. - innovations founded upon’ theories. Deprecates Objeds to the time as dangerous. Mr, ~ Pitt objects. to the motion as ill-timed. Sir Fames Fobnftone’s objeBions. » Mr. Fox. fupports the motion, and anfwers the objection of its being ill- . timed. Mr. Burke in reply. The motion agreed to be withdrawn. WS ELE very {mall majority by . Which Mr. Beaufoy’s motion for the relief of proteftant diffenters had been rejected laft year *, jufti- fied the perfeverance of that body in renewing their application to par- liament, and could not fail of giving them, fanguine hopes of fuccefs. Another application was immediate- ly determined upon, to be made in the prefent feflions, and the interval was employed, with indefatigable in- duftry, in making every poffible ex- ertion to fortify their caufe, both by general appeals to the people, and by an ative canvas of individual members of parliament. The cir- cumitance of an approaching gene- ral election was alfo thought fa- vourable to their attempt, on ac- count of their great weight and influence in many counties and cor- porations, and their avowed deter- mination to exert them, on the en- fuing occafion, in the fupport of fuch candidates only, as were known, or fhould. promife, to be their fup-. porters, At the fame time it ap- pears, that they wifhed to confoli- date with their own, the intereft of the Roman. catholic diffenters, and probably expected, that they fhould derive fome acceflion of; ftrength from that quarter, by extending their application fo as to include in it the members of that perfuafion. Their caufe, thus promifing and thus fup- ported, it was refolved to entruft, in the house of commons, to the zeal and talents of Mr. Fox. Other /peakers on both fides the queftion. @n the other hand, the friends of © the eftablifhed church,’ alarmed by — the activity and confidence of their opponents, exhibited fome fymptoms of vigour in preparing for its de- fence. Appeals were anfwered by appeals, and in one inftance, at leaft, an eminent prelate of the church was found to have ufed his influence | amongtt his clergy in oppofition to a. parliamentary candidate,exprefsly on- account of his having veted for the repeal of thecorporationand teft acts. But what contributed moft efpecially , to prejudice the public mind againft the claims of the diffenters, was the violence with which fome of their | leaders engaged in the politics of the times, their known correfpondence with France, and their openavowal, » that the repeal of the offenfive act was not foucht for as their main ob- ject, but as a ftep towards a total demolition of all church eftablith- ments. Even fome of the moft mo- derate and moft refpectable of their own party, alarmed or difguited at the fpitit of their proceedings, re-~ fufed to concur in. the propofed ap- plication. ; On Tuefday the fecond'of March, Mi, Fox, agreeably to the notice he — had given, brought the fubje@& be-. — fore. the houfe of commons, which was one of the falle# that had been for fome time affembled. He be- gan his fpeech with obferving, that he had not obtruded himfelf upon the-occafion, but that he came for- wardvat the exprefs with and folici- * See Annual Regifter for the vear 17%9, page 148, tation HAS hOR¥ 7 OF c EV ROPE. tation of the perfons moft interefted in the fuccefs of the motion he was about to make: that it was a fubje of fome triumph and exultation to him, to fee thofe men, who on former occafions had acted with the - moft violent hoftility towards him, ’ defirous, notwithftanding, ofentrult- ’ ing their deareft interefts to him. ~ ‘The argument which Mr. Fox chiefly laboured to eftablifh was of this kind: that religious tefts were juftifable only upon a fuppofition, that men who entertained certain fpeculative opinions, would be led by thofe opinions to commit actions _ that were in themfelves immoral and hurtful tofociety. Now it was un- _ warrantable, he contended, to infer @ priori, and contrary to the profef- fions and declarations of the perfons holding fuch opinions, that their _ opinions would produce acts injuri- ous to the commonweal. ‘To pre- fume to judge of other men’s opi- nions, and to know the confequences _ of them better than themfelves, was the conftant pra@tice, and was of the very effence, of perfecution. How little {peculative opinions were, in _ fact, to be confidered as difqualifi- cations for being admitted into civil _ employments, was evident from va- _ rious inftances. Thofe who were % the moft ftrongly attached to the Pprefent conftitution of the houfe ot commons, would not contend, that ar : “ait of Richmond ought to, be ualified from being matter-genc- _ ral of the ordnance, or Mr. Pitt from being firftlord of thetreafury, becaufe __ they were of opinion that the pre- ~ fent mode of reprefentation was de- eCtive and called for amendment. why the church fhould be fuppofed 0 be in danger, though Dr. Prieftley felf were at the head of it. The object of the teft laws, at firft, had or the fame reafon, he did not fee’ [73 been to exclude anti-monarchical men from civil offices; but he would ever reprobate fuch a procedure ; it was acting under falfe pretences ; its tendency led to hypocrify, and ferved as a reftraint upon the good and confcientious only. Inftead of a formal and direét oath of allegi- ance, there was an indirect, politi- cal teft reforted to, by means of a religious teft; although the obliga- tion of all direét political tefts had been juftly exploded by the practice ofthe country. Why not have pro- pofed a monarchical teft at once ? It would have anfwered the end by far more effectually than the prefent teft; for the teft now given went only to guefs. at a man’s opinion > it might admit thofe whofe political fentiments might be inimical to the conftitution, while it operated di- recily again{ft others who were a- mongft its ftauncheft friends. With re{pect to the church, the ridiculed the opinion, that it might be endan- gered by the repeal of the atts, as of all others the moft unfounded and abfurd. The only danger that the church had to apprehend, was from the fupine indolence of the clergy, and the fuperior activity and zeal of the diflenters in the difcharge of the duties of their facred funétions. Mr. Fox then argued from they merits of the diffenters, firft hiftori- cally; and thencontended generally, that the political principles they were fuppofed to entertain were lefs ini- mical to the Britith conflitution, than thofe of the high churchmen. With refpe& to French politics, he did not fee what the prefent quef- tion had to do with them. He re- probated the injuftice of imputing to any body*of men the exception- able conduct of a few individuals amongft them, and contended, that his motion ought to be decided upon - general 74] general principles. Yet he faw no yeafon but the example of France ought to have its influence; the church there was now fuffering for its former intolerance. However he might rejoice in the emancipation of near thirty millions of his fel- low-creatures, and in'the fpirit which gave rife to the revolution; yet he was free to own there were fome acts of the new government which he could not applaud. The fum- mary and indifcriminate forfeiture of the property of the church came under this defcription. But the vio- lence of this proceeding might, in fome meafure, be attributed to form- er ecclefiaftical oppreffions ; and, in particular, to the impolitic revoca- tion of the edi& of Nantes. Before that period, there exifted no teft in France; proteftants and catholics were indiicriminately admitted into civil and military offices: but by that rafh meafure, liberality and to- leration were thrown away; the arts and manufactures were driven into other countries, to fléurifh in a more genial {oil, and under a milder form of government! This fhould ferve as a caution to the church of England; perfecution may prevail for a time, but it generally termi- nates in the punifhment of its abet- sors. After animadverting upon the condutt of the bifhop of St. David’s, who had, about that time, fent a cir- cular letter to the clergy of his dio- cefe, difluading them, in the ftron get terms, from giving their votes for a certain member of the houfe of com- mons, on account of his having fup- ported the petition of the diffenters, and thereby attempted to overthrow our ecclefiaftical conftitttion; Mr. Fox concluded an able, temperate, and judicious {peech, by declaring, that he was fufficiently aware of the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. unpopularity of the caufe he had un- dertaken ; that he knew that fome of the perfons, whom he moft va- lued and refpected, differed with him in opinion upon the fubje&ts that he had no particular connexion with the parties, who confidered them- felves as aggrieved, but, on the con- trary, that they had been amongft his moft violent: political enemies ; but regarding their caufe. as the caufe of truth and liberty, he fhould give -it his warmeft fupport both. upon the prefent and on every fu- ture occafion. The att of the 13th of Charles II. « for the well governing and regu- «« lating corporations, &c.”” and the aét of the 25th of Charles I]. * for *« preventing dangers which may “« arife from popith recufants, &c.” having been previoufly read at the table, Mr. Fox moved,—* That this houfe will immediately refolve itfelf into a committee of the whole houfe, to confider of fo much of the faid acts as requires perfons, before they are admitted to any office, civil or military, or any place of truft under the crown, to receive the facrament of the Lord’s {upper according to the rites of the church of Eng- land,” The motion was feconded by Sir Henry Hoghton, and oppofed in a long and able {peech by Mr, Pitt. ‘ He began by exprefling his obliga: tions to Mr. Fox for his clear and candid ftatement of the precife objet of the diffenters in their prefent ap-- } plication, and of the full extent to_ which his motion was intended to. be carried. Whatever doubts he might before have entertained rela- tive to the expediency of admitting any alteration in the atts, which had been read, he certainly could not hefitate a moment in oppofing their | direét and total abolition. K HISTORY OF EUROPE. If the principle that had been laid down by Mr. Fox was admitted, that _ aétions were the only teft. that ought to be reforted to in cafes like the prefent, there would be an end of _what had always been efteemed one of the tefts of political wifdom, the policy of prevention. He confidered the church of England, as by law eftablithed, to be fo effential a part of the conftitution, that whatever endangered it, would neceflarily affect the fecurity of the whole ; and therefore that it ought to be guarded with the moft watchful jea- loufy. It was for this reafon, he conceived, that the legiflature had thought fit even to abridge one of the undoubted prerogatives of the _ crown, by preventing the fovereign _ from employing perfons in offices of ' trait, who could not give a certain pledge of their attachment to the _ eftablifhed government in church and ftate. And he reminded the houfe, that our conftitution owed its prefent exiftence to the fanction of thofe laws; that had they not ex- ifted, the family of Stuart might have been at that time in poffeflion _ of the throne, and that houfe de- ai of the privilege even of de- iberating upon the queftion then before them. The conftitution, he faid, by ' invefting the executive power with the fole appointment to offices of troft, and making it ultimately re- fponfible for their execution, mutt _ be fuppofed to have joined to it the _ power of judging of the fitnefs or “unfitnefs of individuals to occupy thofe ftations. In the exercife of this diferetionary authority, the ex- ecutive power might poflibly be in- uced, by peculiar circumftances, to _ exclude fome certain defcriptions of “people ; and furely what the exe- cutive government might adopt as [75 a meafure of neceflary policy, the fupreme legiflative power might enact upon the fame. grounds of ex- pediency. ‘The claim as of right to civil offices, appeared to him per- fe&tly abfurd and ridiculous, unlefs it were agreed, that the offices in queftion were created for the ad- vantage of thofe who occupied them, and not as trufts for the benefit of the public, and that they ought to be diftributed upon the principle of public lottery, in which every man ought to have an equal chance for a prize. ; Having argued the queftion of right, Mr. Pitt proceeded to confi- fider that of expediency. And here he gave it as his decided opinion, that the aéts in queftion were ne- ceflary to the fecurity of the efta- blifhed church. He could not, he faid, avoid remarking a little on the conduét of the diffenters, who, at the moment they were reprobat- ing a teit, had pretty publicly indi- , cated an intention of forming affo- ciations throughout the whole coun- try, for the purpofe of putting the members of that houfe to a telt, and .of refolving to judge of their fit- nefs to fill their feats by their votes on this fingle queftion. They had explained themielves fince indeed, and declared, that they never meant to put a teft to any one; in the ex- planation, however, it appeared that they had retained the fubffance, though they had done away the word: for in the refolutions of their meeting, figned by Mr. Jeffe- ries, it was declared, that they meant to give their fupport to fuch mem- bers as proved themfelves to be friends to religious and civil liberty, the true meaning of which general terms muft ftrike every man. It was evident, that the diffenters would not confider any one a friend te 76] to religious and civil liberty, who did not vote for the repeal of the teft and corporation aéts. In _ his opinion, therefore, they came with an ill grace to, folicit the repeal of a teft, when at the fame moment they threatened the houfe with one. He need not, he faid, trouble the houfe to prove, that the diffenters would exercife power, if put in pof- feffion of it, fince the pofleflion of power always produced the inclina- tion to exercife it; and, without » meaning to throw any ftigma on the on diffenters, he could not hefitate a moment in fuppofing it probable, that they might feel inclined to ex- ercife their power to the fubverfion of the eftablifhed church ; it would be fo far from reprehenfible in them, that, pofleffing the principles they profefs, and acting confcientioufly upon thofe principles, it would be- come their duty, as honeft men, to make the endeavour; for thofe who confidered the eftablifhed church to be finful and bordering on idolatry, would not act conf{cientioufly nor confiftently, unlefs they exercifed all the legal means in their power to do away that idolatry. ' The teft Jaws had been declared inefficacious and nugatory, as the legiflature. had been obliged every feffion to pafs an act of indemnity. If the fact was fo, the complaint of oppreffion muft ceafe; for, from the right honourable gentleman’s own argument it was obvious, that the laws were not inforced. Al- though the temperate forbearance of government from the execu- tion of the laws was truly laudable, when the danger was neither immi- nent nor alarming to the church, whofe permanent fafety was their object; yet, to repeal the laws in queftion, becaufe their execution was not always neceflary, would be ANNUAL REGISTER, top. impolitic in the extreme; as the legiflature, if it once fuffered the remedy againft fuch danger to be © taken out of the hands of the execu- tive government, might not be able to place it there again when the exigence of the times might render it abfolutely neceffary for the fafety of the church, Mr. Burke concurred with Mr, Fox upon the general ground of many of his arguments reipecting tolera- tion, and declared, that had the re- peal been moved for ten years ago, he fhould probably have joined him in fupporting it; but he had the itrongeft reaions to believe, that many of the perfons now calling themfelves difenters, and who ftood the moft forward in the prefent ap- plication for relief, were men of fa€tious and dangerous principles, afuated by no motives of religion or confcience, to which toleration could in any rational fenfe be ap- plied. upon the dapger and abfurdity, of recurring tg abftract original nights in determining | civil regulations, upon their incompatibility with each other, and upon the advantages which men derived in exchange for the rights of nature from the efta- blifhments of civil fociety, and of its neceflary concomitant, religion. Mr. Burke alfo agreed with Mr. Fox, that men were not to be judg~ ed merely by their {peculative opi- nions, but by their opinions and condué& taken together.» It was by thefe that he fhould judge how far the petitioners were entitled to the indulgence they requefted ;, by their acts, their declarations, and their avowed intentions. Mr. Burke then produced and) read to the houfe, feveral-authentic, documents to fubftantiate the alle- gations he had before. made :— Amongit This led him to remark — _ Amongft thefe was a catechifm cir- culated amongift the diffenters, ex- _ prefsly adopted by forne and pub- ficly condemned by none, which, _ inftead of teaching the principles of " revealed religion, was full of the _ moft audacious libels upon the na- ~ tional eftablifhments and continued invettives upon kings and bifhops.. ' Another was a letter written by ’ Mr. Fletcher, a diffenter, from a meeting of diffenting ‘minifters, holden at Bolton, in Lancafhire. Mr. Fletcher ftated in his letter, "that the meeting avowed fuch vio- lent principles, that he would not | fay, but came away with fome other moderate men. It afferted, that ‘one member, on being afked what ) Was their object, and whether they meant to feek for any thing more than the repeal of the teft and cor- - poration atts, anfwered, in the lan- ” guage of our Saviour, « We know ‘ thofe'things, which ye are not yet “fable to bear.” Ard on another "“member’s faying, “« Give them a ) # little light into what we intend,” | they informed him, that they did not care the nip of a ftraw for the repeal of the teft and corporation ats, but "that they defigned to try for the abo- lition of the tythes and liturgy. In ‘addition to thefe documents, he read Several well-known extraéts from le writings of Doctor Prieftley and oftor Price, expreffive of their hot~ tility to all eftablifhments, their per- fgafion that thofe of religion were fini ul and idolatrous, and their de- ‘rmination to procecd ftep by ftep till they were demolithed. _ Mr. Burke concluded his fpeech by declaring it to be his opinion, DN account of the many alarming and fufpicious circumftances, under Which the prefent application came parliament, that if the teft and “Sorporation atts were sepealed, fone a HISTORY OF EUROPE. [77 other teft ought to be fubftituted, He faid he had a draft of another teft in his pocket, and he -had form- ed an idea of moving the previous queition, with a view afterwards to move for a committee’ to examine into the recent conduct of the dif- ferters. He did not wifh the houfe to rely on his faéts before he had eftablithed them by proof, of which he knew them to be capable. If however, they fhould, upon invefti- gation, not appear to be founded, he would hold himfelf bound te vote for the repeal of the teft and corpo- ration acts. Jf they fhould think the beft way of laying the queftion at refit, would be by coming to a. vote upon the motion, he would fub- mit. Mr. Fox mad¢ a ‘long reply; in which he partic ularly urged the in- juftice of deciuing a general quef- tion of right upon the condu& of a few individuals: after which the houfe divided, for the motion 105, againit it 294. The next queftion of importance which engaged the confideration of the houfe of commons, was a motion made by Mr. Flood, on the 4th of March, for leave to bring in a bill to amend the reprefentation of the people in parliament. The grounds upon which Mr. Flood proceeded were thefe: That as, by the general law of the confti- tution, the majority is to decide for the whole, the reprefentative muit be chofen by a body of conftituents, whereof the elective franchife may extend to the majority of the peo- ple. For, if the conftituent body confifted of but one thoufand for the whole nation, the reprefentatives chofen by that thoufand could net. in any rational fenfe, be the actual reprefentative of the people —That nothing lefs than a contftituent bo- va 78] dy, formed on a principle that ex~ tends to the majority, can be con- ftitutionally adequate to the return of an attual reprefentative of the people ; and that unlefs the people be actually reprefented, they are not conftitutionally reprefented at all. He admitted that property, to a certain degree, is a neceflary ingre- dient to the elective power ; that is to fay, that franchife ought not to go beyond property ; but at the fame time it ought to be as nearly com- menfurate to it as poflible. Pro- perty, by the original principle of the conftitution, was the fource of all power, both elective and legifla- tive; the /ideri tenentes, including at that time, in effect, the whole property of the country, and ex- tending to the mats of the people, were the elective body. ‘The per- fons whom they chofe to reprefent them in parliament, fat in right of the property of their electors; and the barons fat in right of their own baronies ; thatis to fay, of their own property. .At that time the latter were not creatures of royal patent as now. But now that the lords are creatures of royal patent merely, and that freehold property is but a part of the property of the nation, the na- tional property is not as fully repre- fented as it was originally, and as it ought to be fill by the conftitu- tion.—That the contftituent body is alfo defective in point ‘of number, as well as in point of property; the whole number of electors being in- finitely fhort of what it ought to be, and, what is worfe, the majority of the reprefentatives who decide for the whole, chofén by a number of eleftors not exceeding fix or eight thoufand ; though thefe reprefen- tatives are to act for eight millions of people —That a new body of conitituents is therefore wanting ; a ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. and in their appointment two things are to be confidered ; one, that they fhould be numerous enough, becaufe numbers are neceflary to the fpirit of liberty ; .the other, that they fhould have a competent degree of property, becaufe that is conducive to the fpirit of order. To fupply this deficiency, both in the reprefentative and conftituent body, Mr. Flood propofed, that one hundred members fhould be added, and that they fhould be ele&ted by the refident houfeholders inevery county —refident: firft, becaufe they muft) be beft acquainted with every local circumitance; and next, becaufe they can attend at every place of elec- tion, with the leaft inconvenience and expence to themfelves, or to the candidate :—Honufeholders, be- caufe being matters of families, they muft be fuiliciently refponfible to be _ entitled to franchife. There is no country in the world, he faid, in which the houfeholders of it aré ~ confidered as the rabble—no ¢oun-* try can be faid to be free, where they are not allowed to be efficient citizens; they are, exclufive of the rabble, the great mafs of the peo- ple ; they are the natural guards of popular liberty in the firk flages of it—-without them it cannot be retained ; as long as they have this conftitutional influence, and till they — ¢ become generally corrupt, popular — liberty cannot be taken away. In order to evince the neceffity of the reform propofed, Mr. Flood ufed the following argument: The. confiitution, he faid, confifts of three orders, one monarchical, one ariftocratic, and one popular; the: balance confifts in maintaining thé. equipoife between them. This ba- | lance was loft-in the firft part of the Norman zra; it was recovered itt — fome degree afterwards; it was im= ~ paired — 4 ) a pei again in the period of the udors and Stuarts ; at the revolu- ‘tion it is fuppoted to have been again ‘Tecoyered. Let us fee whether it has not been impaired fince. The “lords have been the moft ftationary ‘part; yet, by 2 great increafe of their numbers of late, the upper houfe has obtained a great many Batrimonial and private boroughs ; hereby obtaining an influence over hhoufe of commons, which does t conftitutionally belong to them. But the great alteration has hap- pened on the part of the crown. On this point he quoted the autho- ‘rity of Mr. juftice Blackftone and Mr. Hume ; and, laftly, the memo- ‘able revolution of the houfe of ommons.—* that the influence of “the crown had increafed, was *increafins, and ought to be di- “ minifhed.” Does any man, he faid, doubt this authority? Were ot they who voted it witneffes of he fact, as well as judges of the ropofition? But it does not reft on their anthority ; an act of the fhole legiflature has fince con- fmed their words—they have been fade ftatvte by the act of reform hat pafied afterwards. But what as happened fince? An Eaft India Ml has paffed, and a declaratory Taw. And what is the confequence ? No man who has any modefty, or Who ever expects to be credited, will deny, that by thofe laws more Mfluence has been conveyed to the frown, or the minifter, than was tracted by that act of reform. if.er anfwering the objections that ght be made to his motion as ill- = n, and tending to excite difcon- fents among the people, Mr. bod concluded to the following By Mlontefquiew has faid, that a free wal / fe I SMORY OF HURO PE. led, innovating on the conftitu-’ {79 people will pay more taxes with greater alacrity, than a people that are not free; and he adds the rea- fon, becaufe they have a compenfa- tion in the rights they enjoy. The people of England pay fitteen mil- lions and a half annuajly, to the revenue. ‘This purchafe they pay for the conftitution. Shall they not have the benefit of it? Every indi- vidual pays fifty fhillings a year— How many enjoyments muft every inferior individual relinguifh, and how much labour muf he undergo, to enable him to make this contri- bution? No people ever deferved better of government than the peo- ple of this country, at this moment ; they have not only fubmitted with alacrity to this enormous mafs of , taxation, but when the health or the rights of their fovereign were at flake, they gathered around the throne with unexampled zeal: Can fuch a people be denied their privi- leges? Can their privileges be a fubject of indifference or remifinefs to this honfe? I cannot believe it ; and therefore I move for leave to bring in a bill to amend the repre- fentation of the peagle in parlia- ment. The motion was feconded by Mr. Grigby, and oppofed by Mr, | Wyndham, who obferved, that, in his opinion, before the houfe could receive the motion, the right ho- nourable gentleman ought firft to make out fome fpecific grievance, arifing out of the prefent mode of reprefentation, and then propofe his remedy; and when the houte were put in poffeffion of both, it would be for them to judge how far the firft.was afcertained and the fecond proportionate, and to decide whe- ther the remedy ought to be adopt- edornot. Mr. Flood had faid, that the reprefentation was inadequate, ‘without So] without producing any fact in proof of the allegation, except an arith- metical calculation, which only prov- ed it to be, what needed no proof, unequal. The right honourable gentleman feemed to have con- founded the end with the means. Experience had convinced them, that the reprefentation was not ina- dequate, but that the houfe of com- mons, conftituted as it was, anfwered all the beneficial purpofes that could poflibly be defired. ‘This was a cafe in which we might lofe every thing and could gain nothing. The liberty of the country ftood in need of no fpeculative fecurity, it could not be better fecured than it was. . Mr. Flood having adduced the fupport given in parliament to the American war, contrary to the fenfe of the people, as a proof of the ne- ceffity of a reform, Mr. Wyndham denied, that the ‘continuance of the American war had been owing to the inadequacy of reprefentation ; on the contrary, he faid, it was the war of the people: a better proof of which need not be defired, than what had happened to the member e Briftol, a raght honourable friend fF his (Mr. Burke), who had been ti iinet out for oppofing its continu- ance. Towards the clofe of that war, which had been undertaken with no better reafons, he was afraid, than the hope of faving themfelves by taxing America, a clamour .indeed was faifed on account. of the expence and ill fuccefS attending it, and the cry was for a reform of .reprefen- tation in parliament, as a remedy for the evils, which the people had at leaft their fhare in bringing upon themfelves. He had hoped, that the wild notions which were generated during that war, had hap- pily fubfided, never to rife again: and he was forry to find, tha ty like a ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. locufts, they had only lain torpid, and had been brought to life again © by the heat and fermentation which prevailed in the affairs of the conti- nent. He was forry to, hear them’ © again buzzing abroad, and dara it t portended no good to the verdure: and beauty of the Brituth conftitu-— ’ tion. But if he had approved ever ds much of the right honourable gen- tleman’s propofition for a parlia- mentary reform, he fhould obje& to it on account of che time at which he had thought proper to introduce it. What, he faid, would he advife them to repair their houfe in the hurvicane feafon? Speculatifts and vifionaries enough were at work in © a neighbouring country 3 there was project againft project, and theory — againit theory, frontibus adverfis pugnantia; he intreated the houfe to wait a little for the event, and in’ | the mean time to guard with all © pofiible care againft catching from them the infeétion. Mr. Pitt followed Mr. Wyndham, and faid, that after the extraordi- nary difplay of ingenuity and wif. dom which the houfe had juft heard, little remained to be faid upon the © merits of the motion, What he fhould fay, therefore, would relate to — the queftion, fo far as he might be — thought perfonally concerned in ity He had brought forward, fome years back, a propofition of the fame na- ture; to which the oppofition had been fuccefsful, though the times, and a variety of other circumftances, were then more favourable than at prefent. The chief objection, then, © was, the danger of innovation; and © it was a knowledge of the impref ” | fion that argument t had made, which — rendered him defirous of waiting till fome more favourable moment than the prefent fhould offer itfelf, when — “ , 7 hen he moft certainly fhould again ubmit his ideas upon the fubject to ourable gentleman would con- to withdraw his motion, he fhould move to adjourn. Wir. Pitt leclared, that if he were forced to fome to a fpecific vote upon the ight honourable gentleman’s plan r amending the coattitution, he re his own propofition, he fhould “aét in the fame manner, feeling that the caufe of reform might fuffer dif- @race and lofe ground from being brought forward at an improper mo- Dn ent. * Sir James Johnftone contended, that if the propofitions of the right honourable gentleman were com- plied with, the act of union would be violated, and in that cafe the two tries muft be placed in the fame fuation in which they itood before aid be to bring them together ain. By the union England was have 313 members in that houfe, d Scotland 45. Ifthe act of uni- were diffolved, probably that ife would think eight members m Scotland enow, but the Scotch iliament might infift upon haviag 60 at leait. The parliament had me extremely well for fome years Mt; he hoped, therefore, that the ght honourable gentleman would ffer them to try the experimett for Other century, and then, if it did it anfwer, he would be glad to fe- ad his motion. Mir. Pox argued ia favour of the tion; but, ac the fame time, can- ly fgid, that he believed the pion he fupported was not that - aes | Wo. XXXIL © HISTORY OF EUROPE. the houfe ; at prefent, unlefs the right 1 be againit it; and even if it - © union, and then the difficulty - [sr ofthe majority either within or with- out the doors of parliament... He dif= fered from Mr. Wyndham .on the point of the American war, and was of opinion, that had the honfe cf commons been differently conititut- ed at that time, it would have put an end to that war much earlier. Sure alfo he was, that what had happened in 1784, would never, in that cafe, have taken place. He differed to- tally from Mr. Wyndham in the fen- timents, he had expreffed relative to France. That gentleman had afk- ed, would any man repair his houfe in the hurricane? Mr. Fox faid, he would be glad to know what feafon was more proper to fet about a re- pair in, than when an hurricane was near, and might poflibly burft forth? He concluded with declaring, that he thought the reform propofed by Mr. Flood the beft of all he had yet heard fuggefted. i Mr. Burke combated the various arguments that had been urged in favour of the motion: He particu- larly contended, that the people did -not with for any reform, and that fuch attempts did not originate with, or were countenanced bythem. He contended, that the American war was a war of the people, and that it was put an end to by the virtue of the houfe of commons, with ftarce any interfereace of the people, and almeft without their confent. Mr. Powis, Mr. Wilberforce, and Mr, Secretary Grenville, fpoke on the fame fide; and Mr. Courtney, Sir jofepbh Mawbey, Mr. Martin, Mr. Duncombe, and others, for the motion, At length.Mr. Flood a-' greed that it fhould be withdrawa, (F] CN AP, go) ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790 CHA FB. va Motion by Mr. Moatagu for increafing the falary of the fpeaker of the houfe’ of commons. He ftates his prefint emoluments, argues upon their infuffi-~ ciency, and propofes that they fhould be advanced to £5,000 per annum.- Motion oppofed by Mr. Huffy, as tending to encreafe the influence of the crown. Supported by Mr. Marfbam and other gentlemen. Amendment pro- poled in the committee that the Jalary fhould be £.6000 per anhum, and carried by a@ large majority. India budget cpened by Mr. Dundas. Comparative fiatement of the revenues and charges in India. Flourifbing frate of the company’s affairs in gencral. Doubts exprefed by Mr. Huffy Speech of Mr. Francis upon the affairs of India. pany’s difiress. 4 Proofs of the com=- Obfervations on the duty on falt.. Remarks on the letter oft Lord Cornwallis. Mr. Devaynes in reply to Mr. Francis. Mr. Dundas” ‘afferts the falfbood of Mr. Francis’s ftatement. Refolutions paffed hy the committce. Sir J. R. Miller’s account of the proceedings of the committee om aweizhts and measures, to be inferted entire in the article of ufeful projects. * Petitions prefented for the repeal of the tobacco excife ad. Motion upon that. fubje? by Mr. Sheridan, aferts that the act had endangered the foreign trade, encouraged Juggling, and laid the manufaiurer under infuper~ able hardjoips. Mr. Pitt in reply. Sir Grey Cooter, Mr. Wyndham, and” Mr. Fox, for the motion. Rejected by a majority of 19% to 147. Bill paffed to explain and amend the tobacco ad, Claufe to grant trial by juries” rejected. Budget for the year 1790. Flourifhing flate of the finances and growing profperity of the country. Remarks on the budget by Mr. Sheridan, Meffage fiom the king to both houfes of parliament relative to the difputes with Spain. Addreffes voted unanimoufly, _ Motions for papers and debates thereon. Vote of credit for a million, Committee on American claims. Caje of Mr. Penn. Compenfation voted for the loffes of his family. Penfion, granted to Dr. Willis. Aimendment of the tontine act. Account of pro- ceedings relative to the flave trade. Proceedings relative to the trial of Mr. Haftings. Speech from the throne. of the proceedings of the Irifh parliament. a Parliament prorogued. Summary N the roth of March, tlie right honourable Frederick Mon- tagu rofe and requefted the atten- tion of the houfe to a fubjeét in which he conceived their honour and dignity, and the dignity and intereft of’ all the people of Great Britain to be effentially concerned ; —he meant, the due fupport of the office of the fpeaker of that houfe. He then ftated, that the emoluments hitherto enjoyed by a fpeaker of the houfe of commons were exceeding- ly anageqnate to the maantenance of the dignity of fuch a ftation, and- contended that this great officer» ought to be enabled to appear and @ live, wherever he was, and at alk ® times, not only while he was in- town, and pending the continuance,” of the feffion of parliament, but in the country, or wherever he might — chufe to go, during the recefs, with the {plendor and importance becom~ | ing, what he undoubtedly was, the — firft commoner im the kingdom, Upon an inquiry into the amount _ and nature of the profits of his” Places PY } & BISTORY OF EUROPE. place, he had been given to under- ftand, that the fpeaker’s fees, com- munibus annis, might be computed, on an average of ten years, at the fum of 1,232/. and on anaverage of twelve years, at the fum of 1,266/. and that the allowance to the {peak- er from the exchequer was about 1,680/., fo that putting the two fums together, the emoluments of the Ba er did not amount to 3000/.*, a fum by no means adequate to the dignity of the office, which he and very member of that houfe muft to fee properly fuftained, It Was on this account that the prede- ceffors of the prefent {peaker had generally holden places under the crown. Sir Spencer Compton had filled the office of pay-mafter of the army; and Mr. Onflow, a name mever to be mentioned in that houfe but with reverence, had been trea- furer of the navy. He did not like that the fpeaker of that houfe thould be under the neceffity of looking for the favours of the crown, and, there- fore, he wifhed the houfe itfelf to make an adequate provifion for him. % related the following anecdote 4n confirmation of his argument. nen Mr. Onflow was fpeaker, and held the office of treafurer of the Mavy, upon a warm difcuffion of a Gertain political point, the queftion came to be decided by the calting ote of the {peaker, which Mr. On- flow gave in oppofition to the court. for conduét was refented by the Ourt party, and the place which he eld was thrown in his teeth. - Mr. nflow, being a high-fpirited man, le very next day refigned his [83 place; and though he held the office of {peaker for eighteen years afterwards, to the difgrace of the houfe, he received no more than the afual income, of the amountof which - the houfe was now apprized, ‘The confequence was, that when he re- figned, Mr, Onflow muft have re- tired in a very uncomfortable ftate, indeed, had not the houfe, aware of the circumftance, and feeling its own credit or difgrace involved in its conduct on the occafion, voted Mr. Onflow a penfion of 3000/. a year. With regard to fees arifing out of the bufinefs of the houfe, he thought they fhould be left exaétly as. they were, asa check upon frivolous appli- cations. Ifthe fees were abolifhed, the houfe would be overwhelmed with fuch a deluge of private bufinefs, that it would be impoffible to get through the whole of it. With re- {pect to the other part of the fpeak- er’s emoluments, he fhould propofe that fo much might be added out of the finking fundyas to make up the whole 5,coo/. a year at leaft. Such an addition might be confider- ed as the price paid for the purchafe of the fpeaker’s independence ; and. the public (he conceived) would chearfully pay for a purchafe, in which they had fo great an intereft. Having explained what he meant. ~ to fuggeft, when the houfe fhould be in a committee, Mr. Montagu begged leave to addrefs himfelf per- fonally to the chair, and to affure the fpeaker, that he had heard-his manly addrefs at the commencement of the feflion with great pleafure, and that __* Mr. Montagu afterwards ftated to the committee, that, befides thefe emolu- ments, the {peaker was prefented at the commencement of a new parliament with 900 /, for equipment money, 2000 ounces of plate, 100/. for ftationary, and two ogtheads of claret annually. [F 2) he * - voice: ' ‘ 84], he had witneffed, with infinite fatis- faction, fince he had" feld his. high office, his great pohtenefs and affa- bility, his frie impartiality, his great attention to bufinef both pub- lic and private, and, above all, his care and attention to the forms of the houfe, and forms, he mult be al- lowed to fay, were the very ¢ffence of a popular affembly like the houfe of commons. Mr. Montagu, i in con- clufion, moved, «© That this houfe will, on Mon- « day next, refolve itfelf into a com- «&. mittee of the whole houfe, to con- « fider of an allowance to be made « to the fpeaker of the houfe of «“ commons for the time being, “© more adequate to the dignity of «< the faid office, and to the expence «neceflarily attending the fame.” The mation being feconded by the honourable Mr. Marfham, and the Chancellor of the exch equer hav.- ing fignified his majefty’s confent, Mr. Hufley rofe to expres his -dif- approbation of the mea{ure, as tend- ing to increale the influence of the crown, by annexing fo large a f1- lary-to an ofirce undeniably in the ditpofal.of its miniiters. He was of opinion that it would add nothing to the independence of their fpeaker. _ Thofe who had formerly held offices under the crown had net been com- plained of ;,and he had no doubt but that the worthy gentleman who now filled, and thofe whe fhould be call- ed to the chair, would be equally independent with or without a plgce. The arguments Of Mr. Huffey ap- pear to°have made no imorefion upon the houfe, and the motion was carried without any other difentient In the committee which fat on the rsth, Mr. Mortaga moved, « "That it is the opinion of this com- * ANNUAL REG ISTER, 1790: % « mittee, that for more’ effeAtually « fupporting the dignity of the fpealer of the houfe ef commons of Great Britain, the lords com-_ miffioners of hismajefty’s treafury be directed to iffve from the ex- chequer fuch fum as, tugether « with she falary of the faid office of 5 2. per day, and the fees there= a upon private bills, will make « the whole socol/, A motion being made by sir jameon Johnftone, that “inftead of 5000 /, fhould ‘be inferted 6o0o/. the fame was carried by a majority of 154 to 28. On the 31ft of March Mr, Dun- das opened the India budget. He began with the ftate of Bengal, the revenues of which, he faid, exceed the charges by a fum of 2,136,711/. This excefs of revenne was 178,000/. above the eftimate of the lat year, and he accounted for the increafe _ from a better collection of the land revenues, and an increafe on that of falt. This great increafe of revenue he confidered to be a ftrong proof of the profperity of the country, which was fo rapidly increafing, that: he doubted not but in a very few years, the company would be en-_ abled to pay off the whole of aici arrears; and that the Britifh poftef- © ; fions of India would be more flou- rifhing in wealth, in commerce, ina- nufactures, and in every enjoyment, — than any other part of the whole continent of Hindottan. He then took a review of the §- nances of Madras, the eftablifhment of which, he faid, exceeded the in- come; but he was of opimion, that meafures might be taken to bring the expenditure within the revenue. Of Bombay, he faid, he had not re+ “4 ceived later accounts than thofe, on which he had grourieet the refoloe, uon | “e oe “ce iemrbametliscats A = Se ee HISTORY OF EUROPE. | y tion of laft year, Of Bencoolen and the Prince of Wales’s Ifland, he faid, he had latt year eftimated the ex- pence too low by s5oo00/.; as he now a by accounts received fince that time, that inftead of 60,000/. "he ought to have eftimated them at ah Upon. the whole ftate- however, there was a very , es The Revenues of a Pe. Bengal 5,619,994 phat. Madras 1,212,229 ES Bombay 138,228 The Charges of £- Bengal 3,183,250 my Madras. 1,302,037 : Bombay 568,710 ‘Leaving a clear furplus of from which was to be dedu&t-d, for fencoolen and the Prince of Wales’s land, 65,0007. which would leave “nett revenue of 1,552,454/. and e an exceeding over the Jai elti- Of 336.3354 - To the before mentioned nett re- venue of 1,852,454/. was to be add- d for exports, 230,361/. which pild make a fum of 2,147,815 /. plicable to the difcharge of debts, | and purchafe ef invettments. | The debts of the company for the t year, were 7,604,754/. thofe of prefent year, 6,501,385 /. giving afe of 1,103,369/. Hattered himielf that by the ment he had juit made, the com- ittee would be enabled to judge eorately and fatistactorily of the enues of {ndia, which were in a flourifhing ftate, and had been- dually improving for fome years. ' confidered the increafe on the | revenue to be permanent; he d not, however, fay the fame of [85 confiderable excefs. He laft year eftimated the furplus at 1,516,119/4. but the accounts for 1788-9, prove a confiderable increafe of clear re- venue. ’ The whole of the revenues and charges, with their totals, from the accounts of 1788-9; itopd as fol- lows: 6,971,451 Total Revenuc. 5,05 3,997 Total of Charges. 159179454 that on falt, nor did he wifh an jp- creafe of revenue from that article, if it was occafioned, as he believed it was, from arife of price on the con- fumer, which, he faid, muft be an opprefiion on the natives, to whom falt was an abfolute neceflary of life, ard tea whofe eafe he fhould confi- der a decreafe in the revenue on that, article a very good facrifice. He, gave itas his opinion, that our efta- blifhments might be confiderably lowered, and the furplufies thereby increated, This couatry, he faid, was likely, fromea variety of cir-, cumitances, long to enjoy an undif- turbed peace at home and abroad. When her fituation was compared. with that of other European na-, tions; and when our conneétion with, Holland, a power of great confe- quenge in India, was alfo remem- bered, he hoped he'fhould not be, confidered as tce languine in the opinion he entertained, that Eng- land had no danger to apprehend [¥ 3] from . 86] from any European rival in India ; and he was confident that we fhould have nothing there to fear from the combination of any Indian powers, fo long as we continued to preferve our prefent good faith toward them, and trod in the path we were now in, that of moderation. It was well known, he obferved, that there was a prince, who, inheriting all the ambitious and turbulent views of his father, pofleffed the fame rancorous fpirit againft the Englith, whom he ever had, and moft likely ever would endeavour to extirpate from India, That prince had, however, loft no in- confiderable portion of the confe- quence he formerly was poffeffed of; and his opinion was, that our efta- blifhments had for fome time been more than fufficient to repel any at- tack he could make. Other circum- ftances had recently occurred, which fill rendered us more formidable, and our eftablifhments fill more competent to bear a reduction, with- out endangering the public fafety. Thecircumftances he alluded to were, the ftate of the French fettlement at Pondicherry, and a requifition which had been made from the king of the T avancore country (one of the old -{t and beft allies of the Englith in India) for a confiderable body of our troops to be taken into his pay, for the purpofe of covering the fron- tier of his territory to the weftward, which requifition would be complied with, and orders fent out for the purpofe in the courfe of the prefent year. By this arrangement our military eftablifhment at'Tellichery, would in a great meafure be fuper- feded; and thofe of Madras and Bombay might fafely be diminifh- ed. He concluded by ftating, as an additional proof of the prof- perity of the affairs of the company ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. | _all the right honourable gentleman’s — see in India, that the difcount on their bonds at Bengal, which were at eight per cent. on the commence~ — ment of the government of Lord — Cornwallis, had fallen to the incon- , fiderable difcount of lefs than one and a half. Mr. Huffey was of opinion, -that — to judge fairly of the Company’s — fituation, their affairs at home and abroad ought to be confidered toge-~ ther; he could not confider their af- fairs at home to be in a profperous way, while. they were continually — borrowing; and had borrowed from | the year 1781, no lefs a fum than — 5»800,000], | Mr. Francis made a long reply @ to Mr. Dundas. He infifted that ~ the true, the proper, and the only f intelligible proof of the propofitions _ in queftion, would have been to have © produced a fhort and fimple account — of debts paid off, ofan inveftment pur-— chafed with a furplus of reyenue, of nett profit upon that inveftment, and — of a thriving, happy, induftrious people in the Indian provinces un- der our dominion. What fignified — arithmetic, when the notorious facts — were, that we had no return from India, but a return or transfer of © debts, which the Company could not — pay, and which fooner or later muft | fall upon the fhoulders of England — when the Company, inftead of difs 7 charging their bonds, and clearing © themfelves from the burthen of their ~ debts at home, were every year coming to parliament for affiftance, for leave to borrow more and more — money, for an authority to increafe their capital, or for the direct power of the legiflature to protect them againift their creditors, either by au- thorifing them not to accept, or not to pay the bills they had aR BLES Fy and, \ HISTORY OF EUROPE. [87 and, finally, when the letters from Lord Cornwallis, now lving on the table, defcribed Bengal as a declin- ning and almoft reined country. . As a proof of the diltreis of the company’s affairs at home, and the poverty of their treafury, he ftated. that they were then taking up fil- ver, tin, and copper upen credit, _ which formerly they ufed to pay tor with ready money. The difcount upon their Bengal bonds ‘he. alfo -confidered as another fymptom of diftrefs. ~~ With regard to Bengal, Mr. - Dundas had faid, that the jumma’s _ being collected entire was a proof of the profperity of a country, and _ that therefore Bengal was mott prof- perous. Neither the premifes nor the inference were founded on fact, fince an oppreflive government “might get their revenue entire, and ‘the country be neverthelefs rapidly going to ruin. _ Mr. Francis proceeded to take _ motice of what Mr. Dundas had faid _sefpecting the revenue arifing from falt. He had truly ftated falt to be _ a neceflary of life in Bengal more than in any other country. — It ac- - tually was fo; and nature feemed to have confidered the circumttance, as at hath made falt one of the cheap- eft manufactures of the country. _ They could get it there for next to nothing, if an oppreflive revenue _ were not derived from it. ‘The late Lord Clive, who was acculed of hav- ‘ing eftablifhed a monopoly offalt, had -exprefsly provided, “ ‘That the price _ of falt, fold by the Society of _ Trade, fhould never exceed 200 -** rupees per 100 maunds;” and _ Mr. Bolts, who ftretched every thing to the utmoft that could be wien to bear again{t the government of - Lord Clive, flated s00 rupees per roo maunds, as the higheft price to the confumer. The felling price of the company at Calcutta, a:peared to have been in Auguft, 1789, about 300 Sicca rupees per 100 maunds. At one pe- riod within thefe two years, the price, at the company’s fale, had got up to the enormous amount of 700 Sicca rupees; upon which there was alfo to be a proportionate increafe for profit and charges on the re- tail. siaiaaia 4 But fuppofing the final retail price of falt, in the provinces, to be 700 Sicca rupees per 100 maunds, it would then colt the confumer two- pence three-farthings per pound Englifh. Every individual native would, as long as it is poffible for him to get it, confume half a chit- tac, or one ounce per day; confe- quently a family of five perfons, liv- ing on the labour of one man, muft fpend 5-16ths of two-pence three- farthings in falt, or about three-far- things a day. The medium price of labour throughout Bengal, is one anna and half per day, or three- pence halfpenny Englifh, Confequently, when he has paid for the falt, with- out which his vegetable food would be poifon to him, ‘he has juft feven farthings a day left to provide him- felf, a wife, and three children, with every other neceflary of life, and to pay fome rent for a.mud-houfe; not to mention any allowance for falt for his cow, if he has one; for without falt the' cattle in that country cannot exift for any ufeful purpoie. Mr. Francis concluded with fome obfervations upon the. letter of Lord Cornwallis, dated 2d Auguft 1789. “The firit paflagehe remark- ed upon was the following—*< ‘The « {ecurity of property, however, and “ the certainty which each indivi- [F 4] dual $3] * dual will now feel of being allow- “ed to enjoy the fruits of his own « Jabours, muft operate uniformly «€ as incitements to exertion and in- « duftry.”’—This, Mr. Francis faid, was a pretty plain confeflion of the mifery and oppreffion the inhabi-. tants had Jong fuffered. The letter proceeded thus: «I «have purpofely, in thefe fettle- «ments, propofed to withdraw the « gunges irom the zemindars, and «to place: them in the hands of government, in order that it may power to raife or lower the in-' ternal taxes or duties on par- ticular articles of produce of ma- nufactures, as may be found moft fuitable to the geneval interefts of commerce; but, above all, as the land revenue,- when the jumma is once fixed, cannot en- creafe, that the company may, «through the medium of duties *< upon an encreafed confumption of the neceffaries and luxuries of life, participate in the wealth and advantages, which, I truft, will be the confequences of a permanent revenue fettlement to the inhabi- tants of this country,’ Upon this he remarked, that Lord Cornwallis gave the people of the country a guietus in an effential point, viz. in a-permanent reveaue fettlement, or fixed land-tax, and at the fame time advifed the company to tax the ne- ceffaries and luxuries of life. Would ke have them encreafe the tax on alt? and as to luxuries, what were the luxuries of life to a Hindoo? ‘Did they expect to get any thing by a duty on betel-nut and tohacco? Or would they tax oil and ghee? Tn the next fection of the letter, Lord Cornwallis affures the direc- tors, “ that it-will be of the utmoft importance, that the principal land- ANNUAL REGISTER, at all times have an unreltrained: _ ago, 17 GQ. holders and traders in the interior parts of the country fhould be re- ftored to fuch circumftances »as to Bier them to fupport their families. with decéncy.”? Had the right ho- nourable gentleman been year after year. boaiting of the profperity of the province of Bengal, (atked Mr. Francis) and wasit only in the year 1790, that it was recommended that the principal Jand-holders:and trad- °° ers in the provinces fhould be re-: ftored to the power of {fupporting their families with decency ? Thiss was a frefh proof of the miferable 9 ruinous ftate of Bengal. t paragraph confefied, that agri- culture and internal commerce had for many years been gradually de- clining, and that at prefent, except-— ing the clafs of Shrofts and Ban-) yans, the inhabitants of thefe pro- vinces were advancing haftily toa general ftate of poverty and wretch- ednefs; and Lord Cornivallis faid, ‘The- acta ee lm a i, Yet BF at og os «in that defcription he muft alfo» M include almoft every zemindar in the» company’s territories.””. Thefe facts, Mr. Francis faid, he told them long. and therefore he concurred « with Lord Cornwallis, when he faid, » in the fame paragraph, “ that thefe miferable effects. were owing to the” bad management of the late pores ment.”” Mr. Franeis next : mentioned, ihe paragraph relative to opium; “ he. (Lord Cornwallis) doubted not but the relief given to the Ryots, may occafion fome increafe of price en: the offers that will be made by dew candidates for the contraét; but he was periuaded, that the lofs would be more than compeniated to the: company, by the encouragement that. - would be given to the Ryots to out tend the cultivation of the poppy.” Thus, faid Mr. Francis, Lord Sami wallis dares not tell the company || of a . of a lols without always offering a compeuiation. Mr. Fraxcis re- probated the extenfion of the cul- tivation of opium: poppies, he faid, were the mott noxious weeds that Brews had it been an exten- ‘fion of the cultivation of grain, he - fhould have thought the fuggeftion - a laudable one. In anfwer to Mr. Francis, -Mr. Devaynes, the chairman of the com- pany, declared, that the company _ were in no need whatever of cre- dit ; it was not true that they were fending out their filver and other ex- ports upon credit; they had already paid for their ufual quantity of fil- ver, and were ready to pay to-mor- for the quantity now in treaty, fair price was agreed upon. Mr. Dundas declared his afto- _ nifhment, that any man could fo wil- fully have attempted to pervert eve- ry line he had quoted of the letters from Lord Cornwallis; and by fe- leéting paflages partially, and de- » i aching them from the context, _ pervert their fenfe, mifapply their ihe - teference, and deftroy’ their mean- ing. He hoped gentlemen would _ carefully perufe thofe letters in their : clofets, and he was confident that ry candid man would be con- inced, that the honourable gentle- man’s aflertions were unfounded, The faéts-ftated by Mr. Dundas were then moved in the form of re- lutions, and agreed to by the: committee.” On the 15th of April, Sir John: iggs Miller informed the houle of the proceedings of the committee pee to take into confideration fubje&t of weights and meafures. ~ His fpeech, upon this occafion, ton- a tained a full and accurate detail of the various means which had been fuggefted for obtaining a true and + HISTORY OF EUROPE, [89 fixed ftandard of meafure: but as,’ from the nature of the inveftigation, it does not admit of an abridgmeny, we conceive it will be more accept’ able to our readers to have it entire in our next volume, under the ar-~ ticle of Ujeful Projeds. During the courfe of the fefion, a great number of petitions from va- rious pates of Great-Britain, had been prefenteds- praying for the re-— peal of the act for fubjecting dealers in tobacco to the excife, which had’ pafled in the lat feffion of parlia- ment. Thefe petitions were, onthe motion of Mr. Sheridan, referred to’ a committee of the whole houfe;’ and the 16th of April was fixed for ’ taking them into confideration. On that day Mr. Sheridan begana long and eloquent fpeech, with an invec- tive againit the whole fyitem of the excife laws; im which he illuftrated ' and urged with great force all the’ ufual topics which have been em-_ ployed upon that popular thefis. He’ then adverted to the peculiar hard- fhips of the tobacco bill; and pie 3 the objections which had been made laft year, by anumber of allegations taken from the petitions, which had- been prefented, and information he had received from the manufacturers themfelves. From the mafs of evidence which had been given on the fubject of this act, Mr. Sheridan drew the ‘follow- ing concluiions. Firft, that the ex- port trade to foreign countries muit be greatly injured, “if not totally de- ftroyed, by theatt. “The price paid for licences was proportioned to the’ quantity of tobacco manufactured, and, confequently, it ought to be confidered asa tax, which niuft ratfe the price ot the wrticle' im the fo- reign markets ‘Tins was contrary to every found principle of trade, which \ 90] \ which condemned all burdens laid, without abfolute neceffity, on ar- ticles of exportation. Again, if a tobacconift was in the act of getting ready to execute an order from a- broad, he muit fufpend his work, if the excife officer fhould come to. take a furvey; he mpit attend him whilft weighing the ftock ; and ma- ny hours, perhaps fome. days, being loft in this bufinefs, the veflel in which he was to fhip the goods or- dered by his foreign correfpondent, probably might be obliged to put to fea in the mean time, and thus the order.would be loft, and perhaps the cuftomer, for ever. As to the en- couragement which the act gave to fmuggling, though its avowed ob- je was to fupprefs it, he obferved, that formerly, one difficulty which attended the fmuggling of tobacco ‘was, that even after it was landed and honied, it was ftill hable to feizure. But this difficulty was completely removed by the prefent act; for, the moment it got under the roof of the tobacconitt, it was as facred as if it had paid duty. ’ Among'the many hardfhips of the manufaCurers under this act,. there were two of a very ferious nature. One,, that the tobacco during the procefs of ‘its manufacture might, from the meiiture or drynefs of the air, lofe or gain more in weight, than the table laid down in the aét “allowed. What, then, was the ma- ~ nufaéturer to do? He could not an- fwer for the ftate of the atmofphere ;, and if his goods had decreajed in weight through heat, or increafed through moifture, without.any act of his, to a degree beyond the ttand- ard eftablifhed by the att, then was he liable to ruinous fines and penal- ties. The commiffioners, before they could, in juitice, levy thefe ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. fines, ought to afcertain that .the weather will always be in that pre- cife ftate of heat or cold which-the act fuppofed it would be. .'They ought to.make Chriftmas give fecu- ._ rity for froit; take a bond for hot weather from Auguft, and oblige damps and fogs to take out permits. It was true, that where the increafe or decreafe, beyond the allowed table, appeared to have been really the effect of the weather, and net of any intention in the manufacturer to defraud the revenue, the commif- fioners ordered the goods, if feized, to.be reftored, and the penalty re- mitted. But he had two ftrong ob- jections to this exercife of illegal mercy by the commiffioners. Firit, it gave them a difpenfing power, which parliament had not thought proper to allow even to the king, And, fecondly, this difpenfing power might be ufed to very bad purpotes, When the law was harfh and fevere, and the executive power indulgent, and willing to fofcen its rigour, the . people would be led to diflike their own reprefentatives, who could pafsa rigorous law, and to fly to the crown for relief againftit, If adifpenfipg power could be tolerated, it muft be when the benefit of it was general, .— and exten@ed, without exception, to every clafs of fubjects without dif- tinction. Butin the cafe of remit- ting fines. to manufacturers who fhould have incurred them, an in- quifition might be fet on foot into ~ the life and political principles of ~ each individual, and thofe only might feel the indulgence of the commiffioners who fhould be found — to be the friends and fupporters of ~ the fubfifting adminiftration. , The fecond hardfhip, perhaps greater than any other, confidered in a mere conunercial light, was, thag BIS EFORY)cOF) LUROPE, that the myfteries of their trade were laid open, to the irreparable injury of their families and fortunes. ~ Of the value of fome of thefe myf- teries the committee might form an “idea, when they recolleéted that it had been proved in evidence, thatone manufacturer had refufed 20,0001. for the difclofure of a fecret in the manufaCturing of tobacco that was peculiar to himielf. When the manufacturers were un- der examination at the bar, they had not let fall any expreffion, which ~ might intimate, that it was their in- tention to quit the trade if the act _ was not repealed ; they thought that fuch an intimation would not be ecent in them, as it would appear i. a threat; but what their refpe& for parliament would not{uifer them to utter at the bar, they had faid to him in private; and he believed he might aflure the committee, if the bill was not yepealed, the tobacco manufatture would be loft, to this country. Mr. Sheridan now afked the chan- cellor of the exchequer, what were ' the mighty advantages gained by _ the revenue, which could be .con- fidered as a compenfation for fuch hardfhips and encroachments upon the liberty of the fubje&t? The produce was but 25,000/. more than was collected on tobacco. be- _ fore this act paffed, and. the duty was raifed from 113d. per lb. to1gd. Would any man, to whom the rights of the people were dear, for fo in- fignificant an increafe of revenue ~ invade thofe rights; but, above all, would he, for fuch an increafe, rifk the lofs of the whole? which he ve- rily believed would happen if the act was not repealed. Mr. Sheridan ¢oncluded his remarks by moving the following refolution; « That =? [9x “ the furvey. of the excife is inap- «plicable to the manufactory of to- «* bacco.”’ fe ‘ The chancellor of the exchequer, in reply to Mr. Sheridan, obferved, that the chief turn of his argument had been direéted againit the whole fyftem of excife, a fyftem which raifed no lefs a fum annually than fix millions and a half of the reve- nue, and without which. fyftem, he believed, neither the refources of the country, nor the ingenuity of man, would be competent to raife fo confiderable a.fum. In his mo- tion, however, he ftopped fhort, and objected barely to the excife on to- bacco. He was willing toleave the manufacturer of malt, the manufac- turer of foap,. the manufacturer of arch, the manufacturer of candles, -and the dealers in wine and {piritu- ous liquors, {ubjeé to all that into- lerable tyranny and oppreflion which he had defcribed with fo much ener- gy and eloguence. If the tobacco act were to be taken up on general principles, the chancellor of the ex- chequer faid, he was at a lofs to know how it applied to the confti- tution more than any other excife bill, pafied at any former period, and therefore {topping fhort, as the ho- nourable gentleman had done, and confining himfelf folely to the to- bacco att, his general argument was inconfiftent and contradictory. The chancellor of the exchequer next obferved, that it was his duty, and the duty of that houfe, to re- ceive, with a confiderable degree of caution and doubt, the evidence de- livered at their bar; he meant no reflection on the gentlemen; he be- lieved they were very worthy men, but they might have been aétuated confiderably by prejudices, which naturally might be expected to have arifen 92] arifen in the minds’ of perfons obvi- oully interefted. ‘The bon. gentle- man himfelf had flated that the ma- pufacturers were, before the act, the only medium for conveying the illi- cit tobacco from the imuggler to the confumer3 and taking this for granted, and the ftatement of the tobacconiits themfelves, that eight millions of pounds weight were an- nually fmuggled, the confequence would then evidently appear, that fer years they had diyided among them 400,000 pounds fterling, of which fum the revenue had been de- frauded; and, if an average could be taken, each man’s fhare of this plunder was more than a thoufand pounds annually, The houfe being in poffeffion of this notorious and dire& fraud, he was fure it was not afking too much of them to weigh well the evidence before they de- cided againit the remedy already provided for the evil. As to the argument about the difcovery of the myfteries, and the great danger of the manufacturers fecrets being ex- ofed, upon which fo much ftrefs had been laid; if the fecrets were fo eafily difcoverable by an excile- man upon a mere view, they muft un- doubtedly be known to the manu- facturers workmen, and confequent- ly at all timés liable to be divulged. Mr. Pitt concluded with obferving, that during the exiftence of the act, the confumption had very confider- ably encreafed, which was a com- plete refutation, and a conclufive aniwer to the affertion of the act’s being likely to drive the mannfac- _turer from this country. The pub- lic had already, in the two leaft pro- ductive quarters of the year, receiv- ed 130,600/. over and above the wonted income of revenue from to- bacco in the fame quarters before ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the act pafied; and in all probabig lity, the difference. on the next two quarters of- excife would make the whole produce of the difference 300,000/, at the leaft. The motion was powerfully fup-' ported by Sir Grey Cooper, Mr. Wyndham, and Mr, Fox. ‘The firit contended, that the évidence of the manufacturers and officers of excife had uncontrovertibly eftablifhed the following propofitions: 1.°'That there is no mode by which the fure vey can be made, fave only b taking the whole ftock of each ma- nufacturer. 2. That ftock cannot be taken by any other manner than by weight. 3. That itis abfolutely neceflary to except from being weighed, all that part, of the ftock, that is in the atual operation of manufacture. 4. That this excep- tion deftroys the rule. Mr. Wyndham reprobated the fpeech of the chancellor of the ex- chequer, as a laboured and indecent panegyric upon the whole fyftem of excife laws, and fuch as had never betore been heard in that houfe. No one would venture to affert, thar the excife was not adverfe to the principles of the conititation. It _ was an evil which, perhaps, circum- ftances had made neceflary to pre- vent.a greater; but neceflity alone — 7 could juttify it. It might itfelf be- corse the greateft of all evils. ‘Con- fidered even as a neceflary meafure; it fhould be ufed with caution: it might be puthed beyond its due ex- tent; it might be difgraced by be- — ing injudicioully managed ; itmight, like a tool, be fpoiit by being worked with too much. It had been avowed; — that it was to be limited only juft as the ftate of our fnances may admit; He lamented that the nation feemed fo much difpofed to facrifice every other PR age ao ee Vee sre HISTORY OF EUROPE. other confide eration to revenue, and exprefied his fears that the monied -interefts had fo totally corrupted all ranks of people, that they ‘feemed Me ~ ehtirely to have changed and al- ' tered their notions.upon great po- Titical fubjects, on which | formerly every man felt alarm and jealoufy. _ Mr. Secretary Grenville ftrongly " piotefted againft the manner ar’ which the quefton had been ar- ed, as tending to raife a clamour - Sgaint laws, upon which, as thole gentlemen well new, the whole _ national credit, and with it the very exiftence of the empire de- _ pended. x _ . The members for the city of Lon- don and for Southwark {poke in fayour of the motion; and Mr. heridan, after a long: reply, hav- ng altered the quettion to a motion for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the tobacco aét, the committee at Mngth divided —ayes 147 —noes 191. ¥ An aé& was afterwards pafied to periain and amend the act of the daft year, and to relieve the manti- ~ faéturers from certain hardthips - therein. Upon the third reading bs ~ of this ast, Sir Watkin Lewis mov- ed that a claufe fhould be inferted, giving the right of a trial by jury all the perions fubje& to the aét. The Attorney General objected to the claufe, as‘a cangerous expe- timent upon what conilituted one- ird of the revenue . the king- He remarked, t t the mode collecting. the oni tee “had ftood OW near acentury anda half; yet Was never, during that time, cif- vered that any danger arofe to : conftitution from it. He con- a; —— he w%--* Wsaes aoe er ons t. Beaufay replied, and in took x: ftrong terms reprobated the encroach- ments which the excife was making on the liberty of the people, and con‘ended for the neceffity of in- ferting the claafe: as did Mr. She- ridan, Mr. Watfon, Mr. Sawbridge, and Mr. Martin; but upon a divifi- on of the Houfe,the noes were 100, ayes 22—-majority againft the claufe 78. On the rgth of April the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer opened the budget for the year 1790, the par- ticulars of which our readers wit find in its ufwal place. He began by congratulating the committee upon the profperous ftate of the f- nances of the country, which he was that day enabled to lay before them, not upon {peculation and from conjefture, but upon fats. Arter ftating the items of the fupplies voted, and of the w ays and means, he cailed the attention of the com- mittee to the fum ftated as the furplus of the confolidated fund—This he faid was eftimated upon an average of the three laft years, which would give an average of 500,000l. lefs than the produce of the laft year,» and which, confequently, could not» be confidered as an unfair one; and, by that eftimate, it would appear that the growing furplus of the con- folidated. fund was 1,903,000l.; to this was to be added an encreaie on taxes not taken into that efti- mate, amounting to 60,cool. He- for balances of arrears 100,000]. and: for an increafe on the tobacco duties another 103,000], He was fanguine in his expectation of the produce from the arrears of afleffed taxes, which in the laft year amounted to 240,0ocol, over the permanent aff-ifment; there fill remained out-flanding arrears to the amount of 600,001, which gradu. ally gt ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790.’ ally were to be drawn in; and, from the exertions made for that purpofe, he conceived he might juftly reckon upon 150,000l. being brought in during the prefent year; all which fums added together, would give a total of ways and means of 5,996,c0ool. which fum was more than fuihcient to meet the fupply, and afforded fair ground to eftimate the growing produce of the confolidated fund for the next’ year, at 2,300,000]. Mr. Pitt then proceeded to ftate the extraordinary expences which had been defrayed fince the year 1786, with the aflift- ance only of a loan of a fingle mil- lion, which had been borrowed laft year. He recapitulated the unfore- feen increafe of the peace eftablith- ment from various caufes, {uch as the aggravated extraordinaries of the navy, arifing from large pur- chafes of timber, and other ftores ; the extraordinaries of the army, owing to the unliquidated demands at the end of the war; the expence! of the armament in.1787, the charge which the generofity of Parliament had incurred on account of the loy- alifts; the debts of the Prince of Wales; all of which, with the re- duétion of the national debt, would be found to amount to fix millions. The increafe of revenue, which had enabled the public thus to meet the various charges he had mentioned, he regarded as permanent, and as ori- ginating in two caufes; the fup- preflion of {muggling, and the in- creafe of the commerce of the country. The exports, as valued by the cuftom-houfe entries, for lait year, amounted ‘to no lefs a fum than 18,513,0001.; of-which the Britifh manufactured goods ex-- ported amounted to ¥3,494,0001: ; upon an. average of the exports 5 fix years prior to the Americdit: war, which average he took on ac- count of thofe years being the pe- riod in which our commerce flou- rifhed moft; it appeared, that the Britifh manufactured goods export- ed, amounted to no more than 10,342,000l.- The imports for the *Jaft year, amounted to a higher fum . than was ever before known, being valued at 17,828,000], At firit fight, this increafe of import might appear difadvantageous, as it would feem to leflen the balance of trade in favour of the country; this the committee, however, would per- ceive, upon inveftigation, not to be the cafe, but that the increafe of imports arofe from circumftances which demonftrated the increafe of the wealth and profperity of the country ; it iffued from remittances of fortunes of the Eaft and Wek Indies; from the increafe of im- portations from Ireland, which gen- tlemen would recolle&t was a proof. of the increafing profperity of that valuable part of the empire; from the Greenland and South Wales fifheries, the imports from: which’ were to be confidered as adding to the ftock of the country, being wealth poured in from the ocean. Our navigation had increafed in proportion to the increafe of our commerce. In the year 1773, there belonged to Britifh ports 9,224 vef-+ ¥ fels, and 63,000 feamen; and in: the year 1788, 11,085 veflels, and $3,000 feamen; fhewing 4dn_in-: creafe of feamen in 1788, above the number in 1773, of no lefs than’ orie- third. Mr. Pitt concluded with an en- comium-upon the Britifh conftitu- tion; to which, under Providence, the profperous fate of the nation. was to be afcribed, and which it was is Ww oe, 7 fe ee HISTORY OF EUROPE. was therefore their moft facred duty to maintain inviolate and to de- fend againft all innovations. Mr. Sheridan difered from the, chancellor of the exchequer with refpect to the actual receipt, and the actual expenditure.’ If the averages of 1786 -7-8, were taken, it would ap- pear that the receipt for thofe three years feverally had been 15,1 40,0001. and the expenditure 17,140,000l. making a deficiency of fix millions on the whole. From the five mil- lions and a half of three per cents. redeemed, was to be dedutted the additional million of exchequer bills -iffued, the money. borrowed lait year, the increafe of the navy debt, _ and one quarter’s revenue antici- _ pated, which was every fhilling debt incurred, as much as if it had been _ aétually borrowed, making in all 3,500,0001. The average income of four years, including the laft year, would be found to be fhort of what ' the revenue committee had taken it at, though annual taxes to the _ amount of 200,000l. had been laid ‘fince they made their calculation ; and regulations for improving the ‘collection of. old taxes adopted, which the committee had pointed out as a refource to ‘provide for contingencies, and not as neceflary to make good their eftimate.—He contended that there was not a fin- gle pound applicable to the reduc- tion of the national debt, and de- clared that nothing would put the finances into a proper iftate, but either raifing the income to the ex- _ penditure, or lowering the expendi- - ture to the income; at prefent there exited a plain deficiency of one n. , _ The-chancellor of the exchequer [95 faid, Mr. Sheridan went for an average to.a period which had no analogy to the prefent, in order to take in the year 1786, before the commercial treaty was pafled, the new taxes rendered produttive, or the regulations for an improved colle&ion adopted; and then com- pared the permanent revenue with the temporary expenditure. He ftruck out the produce of the lot- tery, merely becaufe he difliked a lottery, and retained the temporary expence of the American loyalifts, which it was intended to meet. He admitted that the receipt and the ex- penditure could not be brought to a permament balance without a con- fiderable reduction of expence ; but the time when the revenue commit- tee had calculated that fuch a ba- lance would be effected, was the end of the year'1799, not the beginning, and was not, therefore, matter: for the difcuffion of that day. On the 5th of May Mr. Pitt de- livered to the houfe a meflage from his majefty *, in which he informed them of the violence that had beer committed upon two veffels belong- ing to his majefty’s fubjects, on the north-weftern coaft of America, by an officer commanding two Spanith fhips of war: of his applications to the court of Spain for fatisfadtion : of its claims to an exclufive right of navigation-in thofe feas, and its hoftile preparations: and of his ma- jeity’s determination to fupport the honour of his crown, and ¢he rights and interefts of his people. ‘The meflage being read, Mr. Pitt mov- ed that it fhould be taken into con- fideration the following day. On the 6th the meffage having been again read, Mr. Pitt rofe and % Sce S:ate Papcis, remarked, / 96] ANNUAL RE remarked, that however natural it might be to look with concern upon the circumftances ftated in his ma- jefty’s meflage, and ail the fature pof- &ble occurrences to which it might lead, he conceived that he fhould pot do juftice to the feelings and public {pirit of that honfe, if he en- tertained, for a moment, an idea that there could arife any difference of opinion as to the meafures which fuch circumftances would make it neceflary to-adopt. ‘I‘here was no occafion for him to enlarge upon the facts ftated in his majefly’s mef- faze; the bare mention of them (he was perfuaded) would prove fufficient to induce the honfe to give their concurrence to the addrefs with which he fhould move. Thefe faéts were: that his majelty’s fubjeéts had been forcibly interrupted in a trade which they had carried on, for years, without moleftaticn, in parts of America where they ‘had an incontrovertible right of trad- ing, and in) places to which no country could claim an exclufive right of. commerce and navigation : that this interruption had been made by a feizure of two fhips, their cargo and companies, without any previcus notice : that the oificers and crews of thofe vefiels had been carried to a Spanifh port as prifon- ers of war, and.the cargoes of the vefiels appropriated to the ufe of the capters, without even the form ef condemnation. er judicature, which has always been deemed ne- ecflary, even _im ‘times of war.—He wifhed to abftain from every word of aggravation; the ftatement of thefe fats was. fiifficient.to induce a Britith howe of commons to de- mand ample refitution to the-indi- GISTER, 1796.., viduals injured, and full fatisfattion to the nation for its infulted he- nour. 4t was true, that one of the veflels had beén delivered up by the viceroy of Mexico, but no fatisfac- tion to the nation had thereby been given; on the contrary, the court of Madrid had advanced a claim to the exclufive right of navigation in thofe feas, that ‘was unfounded and exorbitant, indefinite in its confe- quences, aiming deftruétion to our valuable fifheries in the fouthern ocean, and tending to the annihi- lation of a commerce in its infancy, which we were juit beginning to carry on to the profit of the coun- | try, in hitherto unfrequented parts of the globe; it was therefore ne- ceflary and incumbent’ upon the nation to adopt fuch meafures as might in future prevent any fuch difputes. When, in addition to this condu& on the part of Spain, the houfe were alfo acquainted, by the mefiage, of the vigorous preparations making in the dif-_ ferent fea-ports of that kingdom, there could not be a doubt of the propriety of our preparing to act with vigour and effect in fupport of the honour of his majefty’s crown, land the interefts of his people. At the fame time the houfe, he was confident, would heartily agree in © his majelly’s with, that the prefent ~ difpute micht be terminated amica- _ bly, and that we fhould not be © driven to the neceffity of having re-— courié te meafures of hoftihity. i Mr. Pitt concluded by moving an addrefs in the ufual form *, which being feconded by Mr. Grenville, Mr. Fox .rofe, and faid, he fhould give his vote moft heartily-for the addrefs, in which he believed the | ® Sée Siaté Papers, HISTORY OF EUROPE. houfe would be unanimons. At the _~ fametime, he could not avoid expref- fing a with that the mefiage had been more full; and particularly that it ought to have acquainted the houfe what our fhips were doing in thofe parts of America, when they were feized. Mr. Fox then remarked, that the minifter had given that houfe the _ moft flattering account of the pro- fperous ftate of the country ; and in ho part of his fpeech did he feem more confident, than in the affur- ances he gave the houfe of the prof- a of the continuance of peace. He knew at that time that the hips had been feized, and that the crews had been fent to a Spanish port pri- foners of war; he underftood that the Spanifi ambaffador had not only avowed the capture, but ac- _ companied it with a complaint and - requifition that his majefty would | * not fuffer his fubjects to trade on . thofe coafts, and fith in the fouthern | ocean. It was generally known _ that Spain was carrying on great | armaments. ‘The right honourable gentleman had better opportunities of knowing what the extent of the . armament was, than he could pre- | tend to; but when Spain was arm- ing, it was rot very reafonable to : think that we fhould be long at peace. He mentioned thefe cir- * cumftances not only as proofs of a ftrange inconfiltency in the minif- ter’s language, but becaufe the ex- travagance of the hopes holden out _ by mimifters had added greatly to the difappointment, the alarm, and the fears of the public, when they Suddenly found thofe hopes falfi- ied. Had not fuch fallacious ex- pettations been excited, he trufted that his majefty’s meffage wauld not Vou, XXXII. of it was now fcarcely a fortnight finee’ {97 have had the effect on the public funds, and the minds of men, which it had produced. Mr. Pitt replied, that the right honourable gentleman was miftaken in his ftatement of the circumftances to which he had referred. He had faid; « We knew every thing when the budget was opened, that we know now.” The cafe was dire€tly the reverfe. We knew nothing of the facts in queftion, but what we had learned from the ftatement of the Spanifh ambaffador, whofe commu- nication was extremely vague and general, and related only to the capture of one of the veffels, and that without the particdlars. He had faid, we then knew the whole of the claim of Spain; whereas we did not know it diftinély, till at a period fubfequent to the budget- day. Neither did we know the extent of the preparations of the court of Spain in her feveral ports, till a very few days fince. But the right honourable gentleman would give him leave, in his turn, tomake a fingle remark on what had fallen from him. The right honourable gentleman had affirmed, that he for months had known of the arma- ments of Spain, and yet, in the courfe of the prefent feflion, he had argued on the spropriety of dimi- nijhing the forces of the country, and had exprefsly contended that we had nothing to. apprehend from the court of Spain. Several motions for papers rela- tive to the difpute with Spain were afterwards made by the members of oppolition, the objects of which were to afcertain, firft, the precife nature of the tranfaétion at Nootka Sound, and the value of the trade which ir was intended to ¢ftablith in tha: [ej past 98] | part of the world; and; fecondly, the dates of the. communication made by the court of Madrid of the feizure of the Englifh, ships, and of its grounds for having fo done; and _ after, the dates of the intelligence re- _ceived of the hoftile preparations of tiat power, Thefe motions were m.ide with a view to cenfure the con-_ duct of the chancellor of the exche- . quer, who, it was faid, in his {peech | “upon the opening of the budget, had held fo th the great advantages of the fout :-featrade, at the time he © knew it to be both infignificant and precarious: and the profpeét of a continuance of peace, when he knew we wére upon the point of beipg-, embroiled with Spain. Thefe motions were refifted by adminifiration, as tending to a dif- -elofure of circumftances, which, in the prefent ‘con'udture, it would be, dangerous to divulge; and the im- putations they were itended to convey, were met with,ageneral de- nial of their truth, and declarations that they fhould be ready to meet the charges fully and direétly, as foon as it could be done with pro- pricty. Upona divifion, there ap- _ eared for the production of papers — 421, again{lit 213. A motion was alfo made by Mr. © Francis, for an account of all the appointments of ambafladors to Ma- * drid fince the laft peace, the faiarics — _ paid them, and the periods of their “ yefidence.. This motion being ac- ceded to, and the papers. laid be- fore the houfe, Mr. Francis moved a refoliiiion grounded upon them, that it appearing, “ that ince the year 1783, four ambaflatiors had been ap- ' pointed to the court of Madrid, "an expence incurred on their ac- count of 35,002/. and that no am- bafladors had refided there but for ’ ) ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ‘ fhip obferved, that for his own part, 7 “he fhould not hefitate to declare, * per, therefore, to move for the da and — thirteen months, his majefty fhould be ‘requefted to give directions for ~ the due performance in future of the fervices belonging to thofe ap- pointments.”” Inanfwer to thecharge implied in Mr. Francis’s motion, a 7 circum/tantial account was giyen of — the caufes, which had prevented the refidence of the ambaffadors in Spain; and the order of the day being call- ed for, the houfe divided, for the © order 95, againft it 59. In the houfe of lords, the addrefs, 7 in anfwer to the meflage, was moved by the duke of Leeds, and feconded by lord Rawdon, afd a motion for the production of papers relative to the capture of the veiiels, and to the ~ armaments preparing in Spain, was _ negatived without a divifion. On the 12th of May, another motion was made by the earl of Kinnoul | upon the fame fubject. His lord- that he ftrongly fufpe&ed the mi-- nifter of having, for purpofes beft ~ known to himfelf, kept back, for a’ | confiderable time, the information | given to the houfe by his majefty’s © meflage. He fufpected adminiftra- 7 tion alio of having neglected to | make a timely preparation, propor- | tioned to the armaments of Spain by which negle& that country had been encouraged to defend the ag- greffion complained of. He con-¥) demned his majeity’s fervants having deluded txe country by hold ing out a profpect of permanent peace, when they muft have known ~ of the probable grounds of an ap= proaching war. He judged it pro-— of the firt oficial information re- ceived. He wifhed not to move for any paper that could be objected on the grounds of ftate fecrecy. The i ~ fubftance, fubftance of the information given in the remonttrance of the Spanith ambaflador had been ftated in his _ majefty’s meflage ; he defired only to have the date of the receipt of that information. ‘This could in no Ways prove injurious to the interefts of the country, and he thought it would neither be candid to the houfe; ; hor honourable to the minifter, to re- fufe it. In conclufion, Lord Kinnoul moved for « An humble addrefs to his Majefty, that he would be gra- cioufly pleafed to order to be laid before the houfe, the date of the _ teceipt of the remonttrance prefent- ed by the Spanith ambaflador to his _ Majefty’s minifters, by order of his court.” _ Lord Walfingham then rofe, and - faid, that the motion of the noble ~ lord could not be agreed to, unlefs the houfe departed from a rule which they had invariably and wife- ~ ly obferved; that of never. fuffering papers to be produced relative to a _ hegociation with a foreign power, pending fuch a negociation. __ The motionwas fupported by lord Portchefter, lord Carlifle, and lord _ Stormont :— fect. : The fubject of the flave trade was again moved by Mr. Wilberforce early in the feflion. The evidence “produced by the planters was not Sie through till near the clofe, and “the remaining time was employed on examining fome additional wit- neffes in favour of the abolition. “The further conjideration cf the “fubje& was then adjourned. _~ Upon the 16th day of February, “the trial of Mr. Haltings re-com- “menced in Weitn#intter-hall, being ‘the fifty-fifth day of the fitting of the court. The court fate in this feffion but thirteen days, in which * the managers of the houfe of com- ‘mons went through the charge re- lative to the, receipt of prefents, ‘which was opened by Mr. Antftru- er, and the evidence fummed up obferved upon, ina fpeech which d two days, by Mr, Fox. The HISTORY OF EUROPE. [ror court adjourned on Wednefday the gth of June, being the fixty-eighth day. On the 11th day of May, Mr. Burke called the attention of the houfe to a motion he had to offer upon the fubjeét of the protracted continuance of the trial. After fome obfervations upon the petition pre- fented by Mr. Haftings to the houfe of Lords, he adverted to what he conceived to be the principal caufes of its not having been brought to a fpeedier conclufion: the firit was, the determination of the houfe of Lords, obtained at the inftance of Mr. Haftings, to proceed upon all the articles of charge before they came to any decifion; another was, that the counfel for Mr. Haf- tings had infifted upon reading pa- pers at large inftead of extracts: but what occalioned, perhaps, the great- elt delay, was, that the managers were not made acquainted with the grounds and extent of the princi- pies on which the decifions of the houfe of Lords were made refpecting the admiffibility of evidence. - This made it impotlible for them to know how far the next queftions, which they intended to put, might, or might not, militate againft thofe principles. He concluded by mov- ing the following refolutions =: «“ That this houfe, taking into “ confideration the interruptions « occafioned by the occupations of « the judges and the houfe of Lords, «as alfo the impediments which « have occurred, or may occur, in « the courfe of the trial of the im- “ peachment of Warren Haftings, « kfg; doth, without meaning to « abandon the truth cr importance “ of the charges, authorife the ma- « nagers of their faid impeachment, “to infill only upon fuch and fo [G 3} many 102] many of the faid charges as fhall appear to them the moft condu- *-eive to the obtaining {peedy and « effeCtual juftice againft the faid « Warren Haftings.” 2d, “ That the commons of Great ‘* Britain in parliament affembled, « ‘from a regard to their own ho- « nour, and from the duty which « they owe to all the commons of Great Britain, in whofe name, as « well as in their own, they act in « the public profecutions by them « carried on before the houfe of Lords, are bound to perfevere in *« their impeachment againit War- _ “ ren Haftings, Efq; late governor- ** general of Bengal, until judgment «« may be obtained upon the moft bbl important articles in the fame.’ On the 17th of May complaint was made to the houle by general Burgoyne of -a libellous publication inferted in one of the morning papers with the fignature of John Scott, a member of the houfe of commons, grofsly reflecting upon the condutt of the managers of the impeachment, and upon the juftice of that houfe. The letter was then read by the clerk, and major Scott being called to an- fwer this complaint, avowed himfelf to be the author of the letter in queftion ; and at the fame time de- clared, that no man livi ing had a higher refpect for the rules of the houfe than he had; and if he had broken them, he haa done fo unin- tentionally, and was forry for it. The honourabte major then entered into a general juRincation of his letter, and declared, that if he had been guilty of an error in his con- duét, he had been drawn into it by great examples. He then entered into a variety cf publications by Mr. Burke, Mr. Sheridan, and ge- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. neral Burgoyne, which he confi-” dered to be by far ftronger libels than he had ever written. Major Scott, according to the practice of the houfe, having given in his defence, immediately with- drew. General Burgoyne then moved, «That it is againft the law and ufage of parliament, and a high breach of the privilege of this houie, — to write or publifh, or caufe to be written or publifhed, any feandalous — or libellous reflections on the honour and juftice of this houfe, in any of the impeachments or profecutions i In which i it is engaged,” Which be- — ing voted without a divifion, he ~ next moved, “ That it appears tq — this houfe, that the letter now deli- vered in, is a {candalous and libel- — lous paper reflecting on the honour and juftice of this houfe, and on the | conduét of the managers appointed | to conduc the impeachment now ~ proceeding againit Warren Hatt! efq. 2? ings, € aon the fuggeftion of the chan- cellor of the exchequer, that in a matter relative to their own privi- © leges, and efpecially as a great laxity of prattice had of late years _ obtained with refpeét to publica- tions upon the proceedings of par- liament, the houfe ought to proceed. He then with all poflible caution. moved, that ‘the debate be adjourn- ed to Thaurfday, the 27th of May. It was then refumed, and after a Jong converfation, in which, the prevailing abufes of the freedom of , the prefs were pointedly difeufted, | 4 the motion was adopted. It was then moved, “ That John Scott, efq. a member of that houfe, © in publilhing the faid letter, was 4 rtctctons. guilty ofa grols and icandalous re 4 4 bel, tel, reflecting upon the houfe of com- moxs, and upon the managers of the impeachment.” The motion was. oppofed by Mr. _ Wigley, who thought that the houfe, } in its juftice, ought not to proceed - ima fevere manner againit the ho- _ wourable member; who, he faid, had already made the moft fatisfac- 4 tory and fufficient apology for what he ftood acenfed of. He then made a number of obfervations cn fe- _ veral pamphlets written by gentle- 8 men on the fide of oppofition; and . honourable member accufed, had a ‘ight to enquire into the nature of upon them in the fame manner as _ the houfe is now doing in the pre- fent cafe. _ pofed by different members, it was _ agreed that the motion fhould fand _ as follows: « That John Scott, efq. _ having avowed himfelf tobe the wri- ter of the faid letter, was guilty of a violation of his duty as a member of _ that houfe, and of refleting upon the managers of the impeachment.” agreed to. _ ~ General Burgoyne then moved, « the fcene’ by new matter, and by fome appearance of {pecific charge, againtt fuch objects as feemed beit calculated, for anfwering the purpote. There was no difficulty in finding thefe objects; for the king’s mini- fters, who were ftill fuffered to retain their offices, and who full tranfacted ‘all bafinefs in his name, whether _ qualified or not for difcharging the functions of the high places to which: they were appointed, were, from ‘their fituation, eminently calculated for this purpofe. A violent outcry was accordingly raifed, and a num- ber of charges laid again them ; though no attempt was made to bring them to the point of trial or impeachment. If fome of thefe __charges were fo loofe and indefinite, | that they would as exactly fuit any other pody of men as thofe againft ‘whom they were particularly di- rected, it is to be obferved, that this was the current political language, both in writing and fpeaking, and the eftablifhed fafhion of the time; if others of them feemed incempre- henfible or impofiible, let it be re- coliected, that the people on whom ae were intended to operate, were uch more likely to be fafcinated by thofe things which weve unintel- > oy or incomprehenfible, than by ofe fimple facts, narrated in plain language, which came home to every man’s underftanding. [117 The minifters were charged, with ferving the caule of the difaftected by their ina¢tion ; and that, by res tarding the tran{miffion.and the ex.‘ ecution of the new laws, they there- ' by defignedly prolonged the \exiit-* ence of anarchy; indulging them- felves in the fond hope, that the people, difguited with continual feenes of endiefs confufion, would call loudly for the old governmenty under which they had enjoyed a) ftupid ‘tranquillity. ‘That, at thes fame time; thefe foes to liberty, had inidioufly created. a fearcity? of: grain; that they likewife had infi2 dioufly created a {carcity of fpecie;' and, that they had: infidionfly:re- fuied to give employment to the ar-- tifans, in the hone, that every clafs, of men becoming diflatisfied, the people would, at length,. ‘grow: weary of their own courage. Thefe: were among the principal charges: laid againft the minifters: our read» ers are to bear in mind, though it feems to have been totally fergottea by the fiamersof thefe accufations, that long’ fince; and at the» very: commencement of the revolution, all prefent and ‘future adminiftra-! tions were rendered dire@tly anfwer— able, and perfonally: refponfible to the national affembly, for every part: of their conduct; fo that neither, the king’s name would afford fanction, nor his direé&t orders a juftification, for their adopting any meafure con~ trary to the fentiments of that body; even fuppoiing the king: to be now, a free agent, and capable -of trant{- acting any bufinefs. ) ak The charges againft the arifto- crates in general, or more particu- larly againit the moft confiderable and active members of the two ruin- ed orders, were more abundant than thofe againft the minifters. ‘Theis [H 3] male» irs] ANNUAL REGISTER, i796. malecontents were faid to be dif- perfed through every court in Bu- rope, and were faid to be feconded in almoft all, by the French ambaf- fadors at thofe refpective courts; their joint endeavours being to dif< feminate every where their own in- vincible hatred againft their native country. That in thofe courts they Jaid the foundations of a general confederacy of all the powers of Chriftendom againft France. That their object was, to perfuade the fe- veral crowned heads, that this caufe was the caufe of all kings, and, that it behoved them all equally to unite their common ftrength, in order to reftore the arbitrary authority of Lewis) XVI. Imprudent men! (Rabaut exclaims) whenever per- ceived, that they were, at the fame time, teaching Europe that this was aAlfo the. caufe of nations, That, two princes, who had taken refuge at Turin, affembled there fome of the gentry, and threatened France with an invafion by the way of Nice, and by the way of Savoy; and had dent emiflaries into Provence, to Wifes, and: to Isyons, while the king of Sardinia put his army in motion on the frontiers, It cannot eicape the memory of moft of our readers, how totally unprovided for war, or even for any degree of de- fence; that king was long after, when his dominions were fo violently in- vaded and over-run by the Freneh ; and when his moft ancient dukedom of Savoy was, fo far as a decree could give permanence to the wrong, for ever annexed to the majelty of _ the people in the new republic. The laft charge was extremely welb defigned, and could not but produce its intended effeét. It was to this purpofe, that, it was then publicly declared; that Paris was no longer worthy of the prefence of her king: and that Lyons deferved the honour of being the capital of the em pire: In the mean time, the animofities between the democratieal’ leaders; and the remainder of the nobles who {till continued in the afilembly, were grown fo violent and, inveterate; that duels became frequent between the enraged parties; and as the lat appeal is made to the fword in’ the great political debates of na- tions; fo here, the fmaller politi- cal differences between parties and individuals, were referred to the fame arbitrary decifion. And as it has been long and often obferved; that a change of coridition frequent- ly produces a great change in the manners; and even, apparently, in the nature of men, fo it feemed now; that as. the democrates had already ftripped the nobility of all power; fo that, intending to be their fuccef= fors in every thing, they would now deprive them of the. only exclufive claim of diftinétion which was ftilk left untouched, and which they had poffefled unrivalled for fo many ages; that of a decided fuperiority in all the hardy deeds of arms and chivalry, ry To counterbalance all thofe dan- gers, real or fuppofed, with which France was faid to be environed, we are informed that the nation at large was. unanimous in fupporting the — aflembly : that its table was covered with addrefles from every town and city; expreflive of their affection, of their admiration, and of their grati-_ tude ; promifing it three millions of foldiers for the defence of the con ftitution, and encouraging it to per= fevere in its patriotifm. It might well be imagined that with fo pro- digious a mafs of ftrengths ie as HiSTORY OF EUROPE, [rig has. in no degree been equalled fince. the days of Xerxes, they had little caufe to be apprehenfive, of either oreign invafion or domeftic confpi- wacy,: and yet they feem to have been tremblingly alive to,both. _ The admirers. of a flowery and eloquent ityle may not be diipleafed at feeing the manner in which our author, Rabaut, defcribes the con- duct and proceedings of the. new fole power of the empire under thefe circumftances. ‘¢ The national af- fembly, occupied in parrying tkefe attacks, was {till advancing with eat ftrides, trampling upon the ruins of defpotifm, combating every Brejusice, difcomfiting every etror, aking. war on every abufe, de- fosing ufurped rights, and re-efla- ifhing that precious equality, which gives anew to nations the ro- buft benefits of youth, and regene- ‘rates them, by reftoring them to their primitive ftate of purity.” We know fome cavillers might afk, How that equality could be re-efta- blithed which never before fubfitt- ed? and might likewifle perverfely aquire, In what period of the gol- oh age that primitive purity exift- ed, to which the people were now fo pappily reftored? But it might well be anfwered, That fuch men, who would wifh to manacle eloquence, and to fhackle flowery defcription, mutt be by nature adverfe to all the beauties of ftyle, and graces of com- pofition; and mutt likewife labour under fome fatal prejudices, which would lead them to quettion the le- _ gitimacy of the new philofophy. We have yet taken no fpecific _motice of the fituation of the king and the royal family from the time ff their removal to Paris,, The pa- face of the Thuilleries, which was A@eitined to be their prifon, had been fo long uninhabited, was fo much, out of repair, the rooms were fo cold and damp, and the furniture, either removed or totally ruined, that there was not a fingle apart- ment in the whole, which, with re- fpect even to. health, independent of appearance or convenience, was fit for the reception af any perfon what- ever. Thefe were not, however, times for the wafting of muchthought, in the contemplation of {mall evils, when the greateft that could occur were conftantly, to be apprehended, if not actually expected. There is no doubt but the apartments, fo far as was immediately neceflary to the convenience of the royal family, were foon furnifhed, and rendered otherwife habitable. STE, ~ The beft and moft authentic ac- count which we have feen of the {tate of the king’s confinement is given by an Englifhman, whofe ve- facity 1s unimpeachable, and whe from the extenfivenefs of his con- nections and acquaintance with per- fons at that time of the frit rank in France, as well as from his mixin much with perfons of all claffes Ea condition in life, had opportunities of informatien which feldom occur to foreigners. For we are to ob- ferve, that in perufing Rabaut and others of the democratical writers, it would never occur to any reader, who was not otherwife acquainted with the fubjeét, that the king had been at any time under the {mallet degree whatever of reftraint or du- refs. It appears from this authority, that early in the year 1790, but when, it being near three months after the proceffion from Verfailles, the violence and fufpicion of the peo- ple might be fuppofed confiderably abated, that, at that period,a body of [14] 800 ! ro] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ¥ 800 men, with two pieces of cannon, mounted guard every morning at January 4th the Thuilleries. That, Y 4%) ona day fpecified, the re: writer beheld the ex- traordinary fpectacle of the king of France walking in the gardens with fix grenadiers of the bourgeoife mi- litia. ‘That the doors of the gar- dens were kept fhut while he walk- ed in them, in ord-r to exclude all perfons but deputies, or thofe who precured admiffion tickets, from en- tering. ‘That when he re-entered the palace, the doors of the gardens were thrown open to.all perfons Without diftinétien, although the queen, with a lady of her court, was ftill walking in them. That fhe was likewife attendéd fo clofely by the pads bourgeoife, that fhe muft have poken very low not to be overheard by them. That the dauphin (who is defcribed as a pretty, well-coun- tenanced boy, of five or fix years old) was at work, with a little hoe and rake, in a fmall garden which had been railed off for hisamufement; bat that even_he was not without a guard of two grenadiers upon him. Our author, who was then a ftrong advocate for the revolution, acknowlédges that it was a fhock- ing fpectacle, to behold the royal family thus fhut up clofe prifon- ero. The affembly felt no fmall uneafi- niefs at the ill effeét which the con- finement of the king (however it was attempted to be denied or pal- liated) produced upon the public opinions in other countries as well as at home; and of the ftrong handle which it aiipided to their enemies for calling in queftion the validity ef thofe laws to which his fandtion * See Young’s Tour, pp. 264, 265. was extorted, under a ftate of ‘re-* ftraint, which, depriving him of all free agency, rendered him, by the” laws and confent of all_nations, in-- capable of any legal aét, or ‘that~ could be binding «#n himfelf, any’ longer than the compulfion which | produced it continued’ to operate. To remove this difficulty was juftly confidered an objeét of the greateft importance; and no means were accordingly to be fpared for its attainment. This could only be accomplithed by perfuafion; and the facility of the king’s nature feemed to afford no {mall hope of fuccefs, in any thing that depended upon that mode of proceeding. The defign was to induce the fovereign to go fuddenly, and apparently of his ewn’ mere motion, to the national aflem- bly, and there, in a fet fpeech, to declare himfelf perfectly fatisfied with all their proceedings, and like- wife, that he confidered himfelf as being at the head’ of the revolution, in terms fo explicit, as to take away all idea or pretence of his being in a ftate of coercion or confinement. La Fayette was either the framer of ~ this plan, or one of thofe. who was mott fanguine in its purfuit, and who placed the greateft Rotiienice’t in‘its © fuccefs. The aflembly had juft aiqstayaa an unexpected act of liberality and «- attention with refpeé to the king’s perfon, which could not but produce the greater effect from its being un- expected ; and which could not fail to make a ftrong impreffion on a mind fo very fufceptible of gratitude as his was known to be. For, on the queftion being propofed, juft at the opening of the year, what annual fum it would be fitting to affign for the s HISTORY OF EUROPE. whe royal expences and fupport of the. ehold, or what is ufually. called the civil lit, the affembly, in- ftead of debating the™fubject, or forming any refolution on the quef- _ ‘tion, adopted the liberal meafure of fending a deputation to the fove- reign, with an addrefs, requeiting? _ that he would himfelf name the tum’ that would be fufficient for the pur- pofe, and praying, that in fo doing, _ he woald confule lefs his: fpirit of . economy, than a fenfe of that dig-. Nity; which ought to environ the throne with a becoming {plendour. | The liberality of this condué gain- ed «the aflembly great credit, and brought them abundant praife from _ all forts of people; the molt furious of the ewragés would’ have -been a- fhamed to\condemn the generofity of the ation; and the bittereft of their enemies among the royalitts found it dificultto refrain from fome - commendation. Yet, notwithftanding the apparent effect with refpect to other matters, which this attention fhewn by the aflembly to the perfonal eafe and dignity of the fovereign produced on his mind, he totally rejected, and _ ¢dntinued with great firmnefs to re- ject, all the periuafions which were ufed, and all the inducements held out, to compafs his wihed-for vifit, and the making of his intended fpeechto that body. This obftinacy; as. it was termed, was, as’ ufual in all cafes, where his condué did not exactly {uit the wifhes of the pre- vailing party, attributed entirely to the machinations of the ‘queen, who was thereby, if poffible, rendered more odious than before. Notwithftanding the great and numberlefs benefits which had been _thowered upon the people, notwith- Panding the remiffion of taxes, or, {12 what produced the fame effeét, the refufal of paying thofe that were not remitted, and notwithftanding thofe innumerable and‘unfpeakable blef-' fings which were fuppofed to be in- cluded in the magical term of rege- mefation, yet, fuch is the perverfe- nefs at certain times incident to'the affairs of mankind, that every clafs of men in the kingdom was the di-’ rect reverfe of being happy, pro-' {perous, or contented. There were’ at this time above fix thowfand land ed eftates, a great number of them very confiderable, publicly adver- tized for fale in France, and fearce- ly a purchafer to be found upon any terms. Inthe capital, trading, and manufacturine city of Lyons, fo long the feat of induftry and opu- lence, no lefs than 20,000 ‘people were fupported and fed by charity. Things were no better in Norman- dy, where the famous woollen cloth manufactory at Louviers, which was fearcely equalled in Europe, and where the celebrated M. Decretor gained fo mach honour by the un- paralleled beauty and excellence of his fabricks, was already tending faft to abfolute ruin. \ A great cor- ton manufacture, at the fame place, and, as we apprehend, conducted by the fame director, was fill ina worie {tate than the woollen. ; There were not many circum- flances. attending the revolution more fingular, or which afforded a more ftriking inftance of the degrees of turpitude and atrocity, to which mankind, under the dominion ‘of certain operating caufes, which are not always obvious nor eafily traced to their fource, is capable of arriv- ing, than the conduét of the inhabi- tants of Verfailles. ‘That place had firtt rifen from being an obfcure vil= lage, through the immenfe fums of money zo) ANNUAL REGI STER, 1790. money which Lewis XIV. {quan- dered in raifing its fuperb palace,, and ‘in forming thofe prodigious gardens and water - works, whoie magnificence and greatnefs long ex- cited the admiration and aftonifh- ment of all Europe. The fupere - fluity and watte which neceflarily at-, tended the expenditure of two hun- dred millions of livres, difpofed of in fuch a manner, and under the conduét ef fuch a man, could not but afford abundant means for nourifh- ing and foftering the growth of a young city. ‘The continual, refi- dence, for more than a century, of the moft magnificent, expentive, and by many degrees the moit munifi- cent court in-Chriftendom, as well as of all the firft nobility in that vaft kingdom, effectually completed what was thus begun; and Verfailles, with a population of 60,000 perfons, had rifen to fuch a degree of confidera- tion and opulence, as to ftand at the head of what may be called the fe- ¢ond-rate cities of the kingdom. Yet this people, thus originating, growing, thriving, and arriving at maturity, who it might be faid, without much hyperbole, had for more than a century palt been con- ftantly fed by the court, and all wearing its livery, had, from the commencement of his troubles, been among the foremoft of the prefent fovereign’s moft implacable ene- mies, extending their malevolence to every part of the royal family, “and feeming emulous to exceed the Parifians in their animofity and ma- lice. Like them too, they had con- ftituted themfelves fole judges, dif- penfers, and executors of the laws. So that the fame men being judges, accufers, witnefles, and executioners, much time was faved in all criminal profecutions. It remains, however, to be lamented, that this career of patriotif{m in purfuit of fummary, juttice, was, in Verfailles, productive, of fome horrid murders, although the voice and majefty of the people. gave them the fanction of legality ; and thefe feemed the more unlucky, as they occurred in private family, cafes, where no party or political motives could fiave any concern. The felicity of the Verfaillians received a mortal blow by the re-. moval of the court to Paris; the danger of which they feemed totally. blind to until it was given, By that they not only lof the conftant butt and object of all their amufements, along with the delicious pleafure.of continually infulting fallen majetty; but they loft thereby their eftablith- ed ground and pretext for riots and tumults, without which it was fearce- ly poffible for them now to exift. They likewife felt, with inexpref- fible mortification, that they had in- ftantaneoufly loft all their paft con- fequence; that inftead of being looked up to as competitors in alé deeds of renown with the proud Pa- rifians, they were now no longer either named or thought of; while the voracious capital, along with the king, would gorge itfelf with all the praife and fame appertainmg to others, In fuch a ftate of difcontent, and with fuch inherent difpofitions, they could never want pretences for riots and tumults; the dearnefs of bread, and {carcity of all kinds of provi- fions, independent of all the other grounds of complaint which inge- nuity coald be at no lofs in devifing, afforded an abundant ftock of com- buétible matter to feed the rage of an enflamed populace; who were at the fame time peculiarly agitated by a hidden fource og difcontent which they HISTORY OF EUROPE. [12% they could not avow; but which did not operate with the lefs force from its being concealed; this was the want and private diftrefs they al- ready forely felt in their families, “through the lofs of thofe pecuniary and other reliefs they conitantly drew from that court, which they could not endure, nor would fuffer to exift among them, at the time that ic was affording them all thefz benefits. From thefe, and other caufes, Verfailles continued in a-itate of the greateit infubordination and diforder from the time of the king’s removal to Paris; but this flate of _ things was fo common, and it being hefides a generaily received doétrine, that tumults and diforders were the a. effeéts. of patriotifm, and t their worft confequences, fuch as conflagrations and mafiacres, were the natural refult and legitimate iffue of revolutions; while fuch par- tial evils were not worth a confide- ration, when oppofed to that im- menfe maf of benefits by which they were produced; under all thefe cir- cumiftances and confiderations, to- gether with a fenfe of their paft fer- vices, and a full confidence in the purity of their intentions, however miltaken or mifguided they might be in the mode of expreflion, thé exorbitances of the Veriaillians pafi- ed for a long time without any par- “ticular notice. ’ It happened, howéver, in procefs of time, that the national affernbly became ferioufly apprehenfive, that thefe people, whom they had conii- dered only as noify and riotous _ friends, were, after all their intem- perance and violence on the other fide of the queftion, become fecret and dangerous enemies. In fine; they came to be confidered as no Wetter than a generation. of plotters and confpirators ; and were ftrongly- fufpetted of a criminality, which, it. any other feafon, and with refpe& to: any other nation, would-have ap- peared incredible, that of leaguing with the ariftocrates for the over- throw of thé new conititution, and’ the eftablifhment of a counter-revo-» lution, About the feaion of Chrift- mas thefe {uipicions and charges ran fo high; that nothmg was talked of but Veriaillian plots. and confpira~ cies; and the alarm became very general. One of the ridiculous fto~ ries then believed and circulated! was, that a body of men was in rea- dinefs to march from Verfailles ta Paris; in order to murder La Fay- ette, Bailiy, Neckar, and fome other popular characters. Thisamprobable tale, deficient in every circumitance whieh could give it the moft diftant appearance of credibility, produced, however, the effect, of occafioning fome confiderable increafe of the guards in Paris, as well as fome al- terations in théir arrangement. An- other much more probable ftory was, that a great number of the rabble of Vertaillés. had intermixed with their brethren at Paris, in order to excite them to diforders and tumults. All thefe plots, like fo many hundred others which were hourly diffemi- nated, came, however, at length to nothing ; and it was not long before Veriailles and its inhabitants were funk in a ftate of utter oblivion. Before we entirely difmifs this people, who are not likely ever again to afford any occafion for coming within our notice, altheugh it muft be attended with fome anticipation in point of chronology, we think it may afford no fmall fatisfaétion to many of our readers to be informed of a certain fort of poetical juftice, whieb, in the common courfe of eVENtss * _ tah ANIDUAL REGISTER, v0. events, left apparently to, their na-; tural operation, fortune has admi. > niftered to fo perverfe a. generation of men... It is then.to-be obferved, - that, from the ftate of population, rank,.and, opulence which we have defcribed, there is {carcely, at the time we are writing, in the whole kingdom of France, {fo fallen, fo re- duced, fo beggarly a.town as Ver- failles ; while want and diftrefs ope- Tating upon a, proper -difpofition of mind, have rendered the inhabitants: fo notorious for fharping and impo- fition, that ‘their lodgings,. which might afford them {ome tolerable means of fupport,, generally lie, through this caufe, untenanted upon their hands ; although the purity of, the air, the,excellency of the fitua- tion, the quiet and filence which, now reign there, along. with that penfive pleafure which men. derive from contemplating the ruins of fallen greatnefs, would otherwife have rendered it, both’to natives.and foreigners, one.of the moft delight- ful places of retirement that could any where be found... The populace of. Paris, notwith- flanding tite feverity of the late law againit.riets, and the. terrors to, be apprehended from the hoifting. of the bloody flag, began to give ftrong indications of their difpofition to re- new their. ufual courfe of tumults, about the very time that their neigh- bours of Verfailles. were fo fedu- loufly forcing themfelves into no- tice, and. had excited fo much fuf- picion and trouble. One. of. the af- figned caufes for thefe movemients among the Parifians was the price of bread. This efiential article of life, without any regard to the prices ef grain, or confideration with re- fpect to the famine which then fo feverely prefied all others, infitted that the price of bread fhould be unalterably fixed im Paris at the very low, rate of two fous per pound. ‘his demand will appear the more fingular and curious, when it’ is known, that: the Parifians were at this time fupplied withibread at a rate which would, ceteris, paribus, prove an expence or lofs to the na- tion of twenty-two.millions of livres a \year;-they confuming -bread >to: that amount cheaper than it could be procured. by any other men ins ~ the kingdom. But the Parifians felt’ another caufe of discontent, which operated much more grievoufly upon their: imaginations than the price of bread, however interefling that might: ap- pear. "The proceedings of the court of chatelet had given, the greateft- , offence to the body of the populace. That court having been conftituted by the national aflembly a tempo- rary judicature for the. trial and pu-! nifiment of all treaions, againtt the nation, had accordingly proceeded through, what we fhould have called here, a courfe of itate trials, They began .their,procets withthe baren: de; Bezenval,; the Swifs veneral, whole life, as we have before feen, had been, preferved with fo much difiiculty from the fury of the Pari- fians.. ‘They accordingly watched the iffue of this trial with the deep- eft anxiety; till flattering them- felves. that the court would not dare to acquit a man who they had fo long and fo often condemned; and ~ warmly hoping, that fo long and” grievous a ceflation from aétion and amufementas they had now endured, would be clofed by a {portive holi- day, on which the baron’s mangied carcafe,dragged in procefiionthrough the ftreets, and his head exalted om a pike, would renew a pleafing re- membrance a 4 HISTORY OF ‘EUROPE: membrance of all their pat tri ‘umphs. . The fturdy Switzer faced his trial witha degree of compofure, firm- nefs, and refolution which aitonifhed the beholders; and repelled the ac- cufations brought againtt him with fuch judgment and {pirit, that the court could not, either with regard to juftice, or to their own dhara@er, poilibly avoid acquitting him ; at the fame time, that the iuperior con- _ tempt which he fhewed for any dan- ‘? of the inherent right of fummary ger that might accrue from a due “difcharge of his military duties, feemed to overawe even his enc- mies. It is however to be obferved, that the Swifs cantons took fo {pi- rited a part in behalf of their fuf- fering commander, that it is thought _ the national affembly did not with “matters to be carried to extremity -againft him; fo that the violence of the mob was. poffibly the greateft danger, which he apprehended he had to encounter. © . Although the court had not yet declared the fentence, yet every body being now convinced of his acquittal, nothing could exceed th- rage and indignation of the popu- lace; who confidered the boafted benefits of the revolution as nothing but deceptions, if the majeity of the people was to be thus flagrantly in- fulted, and their-authority grofsly invaded, by attempting to {trip them _ and_executive juftice. They. ac- cordingly determined to force the _ prifon in which Bezenval was con- _ fined by the chatelet, and to exhibit inhis perfon a memorable and bloody _inftance to mankind of that inexor= able» juftice by which they were guided; the execution of which an not be prevented or diverted, by at laws or by any authority, am 4. [125 The 12th of January was fixed upon for the execution of this de- fign; and the expectation and cruel hopes of the rabble were rifen to the higheft point at’ which they were capable of arriving. But things weré much ‘changed in this refpect, cand they were not able in their pre- fent ftate to: conduct {chemes of this ‘nature with that fecrecy and con- cealment, which are fo neceflary to their fuccefs, and which’ afforded them fuch infinite advantages in their paft conflicts with the court. Bailly, La Fayette, the chatelet, the national’ affémbly, and in a word, every part of government, became matlers of the whole defign, before it could be carried into execution, and all: adopted’ fuch meafures as feemed beft calculated for its: pre- ventio or defeat. La Fayette acted with great vigour, diligence, and effect; but one circumftance in ‘his condu& occafioned much furprifé, and afforded no {mall room for fpe- culation. This was his 'placing the fecurity of Paris, and the preferva- tion of ber tranquillity, in the hands of the bourgeoife militia, inftead of entrufting them to the regular fland- ing forces, who received conftant pay, and of whom the late French guards formed fo confpicuous a part. Nothing-could be-more ftattering to the militia than this diftinction, and mark of unlimited confidence, in a cafe of fo much fuppofed danger; they accordingly aéted their part inimitably well; but nothing could be a more galling affront to. the re- gular troops than this preference gi- ven to men whom they defpifed. Though the immediate defigns of the plotters were thus overthrown, yet the capital continued in a ftate of great diforder for two or three days, Cabals and meetings were continually x x so6] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ‘continually taking place, and all the af indications of mifchief were re- mewed, and feemed to appear in ftronger colours than ufual, The Verfaillians were again fuppofed formidable, and thoufands of them were {aid to be mixed with the Pa- rifians. Mifchiefs of every kind, and accompanied with every degree of horror and ruin, were generally expected ; and even thofe the beft informed, fuppofed fome great, and sprobably dreadful event. The arif- tocrates were charged with being the authors of -all this evil, jn their endeavours to carry off the king, and to bring about a counter-revo- Jution. -It would only have expofed .aftranger to mockery or fufpicion, af he attempted to fhow the glaring improbability of fo unnatural .and imonftrous a coalition or alliance, as ‘that fuppofed between the royalitts ,and the rabble of Paris or Vertuilles, awho feemed by fome inherent ip- _ftin& deftined to be their morta] and ‘implacable;enemies. At the fame -time, it-was openly faid on all fides, that the king’s life would be the im- mediate facrifice to any attempt to refcue his perfon; and that the -whole-royal family would probably eperifh at the fame initant. ~All fo- "-reigners, who hed any knowledge of the former, and even very late cha- rater of the people, were aftonifhed -at the:coolnefs and indifference with which the immolation of the fove- reign, in fuch a circumftance, was publicly talked of,in all companies, trom the highelt to the loweft, as,an act whith of courfe muft take lace. Jn the mean time, La Fayette and his militia, by a vigorous act of ex- ertion; putan end to the combuiftion »4n-Paris. :He’ fuddenly furrounded ‘ap night, a body-of 1399 9f the mu- tineers, who were aflembled in the © Champs Elyfées, of whom he made.z00 -prifoners ; the reftbeing fo terrified, that they feemed to confider them- felyes happy in efcaping with their lives. On fearching the, prifoners, they were found well furnifhed.with powder and ball, made up into car- tridges, but ngt-a-fingle mufket was found or feen in the whole party. This put a ftop for the prefent to nocturnal meetings, as well as to riots by day, Yet fuch was the ge- nius of the:time for: the fabrication of plots, for the difcovery of mytte- ries in the moft common. and. obvi- ous occurrences, and for the belief of the -moft incredible fables, that this was {till infifted upon, and that -by men otherwife of good fenfe and well informed, to be, the. beginning of a grand ariftocratical plot, deeply’ laid for the fubverfion of the coniti- tution and prefent government, A troublefome queftion, however, {till remained to be folved, who: thofe ‘immediate inftraments. of the plot, «thofe actual rioters were ? With the evidence af z00.prifoners before .them, this feemed..a queftign eafily: _refolved; but it would be too much to fuppofe the patriotic Parifians the authors. of fuch a crime ; and asta the Verfaillians, befides that they -had' borne their full thare-of »re- ‘proach already,, they were: too-near neighbours to-be legded:with all the infamy. In thisodifficulty, the term of brigands, which had alreadysan- -{wered fo excellent-apurpofes in de- -ftroying the:-cattles of the nobility, lugisily occurred ; but; as if queftions multiplied in propertion -as they. were refolved, it filbremained to be -anfwered, who thefe-brigqnds were? if. they were ‘men like jothers, and not totally imaginary beings, :their exiflence might furely . be -eafily sige identified, | | HISTORY OF EUROPE: Gdentified. The only folvtion that ‘could be found to this quefticn, was ‘the fuppofition, that they were com- jofed of Germans and other fo- _ “yeigners, who had come to aris for the purpofe of raifing tumults, in order to facilitate the carrying of “this incomprehenfible plot into exe- “cution. Bezenval being acquitted, and “fafely difcharged from Paris, the ‘chatelet how ventured upon what _ before would have feemed a moft ‘dangerous tafk, that of proceeding _ to the trial of the prince of Lam- ‘befc, of marfhal Broglio, and of fome ‘others of thofe principal fugitives, _ who had been long accufed of that ‘real or fuppofed plot, for the de- “firuétion of the city of Paris, of the national affembly, for governing the __ kingdom entirely by the fword, and _ ‘placing the king in a ftate of more unbridled defpotifm, than even the “its fupport. B “wort of his predeceffors had poffef- _ $ed orattempted;and which had laid ‘the foundation of the revolution in _ the preceding month of July, as well ‘as of all its fubfequent confequences, *to the prefentday. As the event of *thefe trials feemed to include in no ~fmall degree the grand queftion on , the neceflity, juitnefs, or fitnefs of the revolution, which derived its “birth from this fuppofed plot, fo no “taufe ‘could “be more interefting, or _ “excite greater expectation ; and the “Yeveral parts of it had been fo long, “fo° often, and fo peremptorily re- "peated and afferted, that it was fup- on fuch a body of evidence 4s Othing could ‘refit or controvert, ~' would now be brought forward in the inexpreflible _ “furprize of every body, excepting, sik thofe, ‘who Were’ in the im- +) Mediate fecret of thihgs, no” evi- Pabhce beyond Conjegtyre,' ference, [129 vague reports, and hearfay conver- fations, appeared on the fide of the profecution; fo that the plot fill lay in its original ftate of darknefs, and ‘Broglio,with the other fugitives,were of couyfe acquitted of the crime of leze nation. It will always be found difficult in many cafes, to reconcile or ac- count for the various contradictions ‘and inconfiftencies, which appear in the conduct and aétions of men. Although this bufinefs undoubtedly ftood foremott in point of importance of all thofe which had been prefcrib- ed to the cognizance of the chatelet, yet there are good reafons for be~ lieving that its being bronght for- ward was highly difagreeable to the principal rulers; who could not with that the weaknefs which now ap- peared in fo effential a point, through the total failure of all evidence in its fupport, fhould have been thas nakedly expofed to all the worjd, It was probably imagined, that this was an affair which carried fuch ap- pearances of danger on whatever fide it was examined, that the cha- telet would not venture to meddle With it; and it was pofibly intend- ed, that no great apology would be neceflary to juftify the omiffion, However that was, the chatelet foon ‘became an object of conftant abufe ‘with the democratical writers, and was treated with a coldnefs and-in- ‘difference by the aflembly, which ftrongly indicated that its new pow- ers were not likely to be lafting. It would feem'as if this itate of things produced in one inftance’ a difpofition to temporize, and accom- modate matters to the occafion, ‘in that court, which ill accorded with that high charatter of honour and inflexible integrity, which through ‘a long courte of pat’ years ir had, in 9 128] Bictance of power, fo juflly merit- ed, and, fo often nobly fuftained. ‘This was in the cafe of one Favras, who, if we miftake not, was a mem- ber.of the national aflembly. . This man was charged with being con- - cerned in a plot for overthrowing the new conftitution, and for bring- ing about a counter-revolution. The -evidence againit him was fo weak _and defective, that it has been com- sared with that which has heretofore ie received, and brought fo much ‘difgrace upon’ the courfe of legal juftice in our own country, in thofe unfortunate periods of its hiftory, when Titus Oates and fimilar vil- lains were allowed to flourifh,and fuch men as Jefferies were the difpenfers _of our laws. Favras was condemned and executed; and this unfortunace man was gencrally confidered as a _ victim deftined to be a peace-offer- ing to the Parifians; in the vain hope of reconciling them to the lofs _of thof others on whom their detire was much more ftrongly fixed. It was a curious circumftance, and “worthy of notice, that the condué of the chateiet, inftead of procuring the end propofed, was equally re- _ probated and condemned by both _ parties; and that that court was everwhelmed with fuch torrents of reproach coming from all quarters, as it had never before in the courfe "of its exiftence experienced. Convinced as they undoubtedly were of its juftnefs, the chatelet did _not fink under the weight of the re- proach; but feemed defirous of re- trieving their character by the vi- goar with which they profecuted the _ enquiry after the authors of the plot, murders, and intended maflacre of the 6th of O@ober;. being thofe - worthy citizens, who had. been re- preiented by the democratical wri- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. of their ations, they entered deep- 7 “tution. enquiries ; until at length becoming nefs in rejecting ters as totally innocent of all crime, — and as acting purely in their own ~ defence. Not content, however, With this inftance of independence~ and {pi.tt, as if it were to afford a | demonilration that the love of juf-— tice was the only operative motive — ly and with the utmoff earneftnefs — into that, evidently, moft critical and “_ dangerous bufine/s, an enquiry into o the conduct, defigns and proceedings of the duke of Orleans, and of Mi- — rabeau, who acting apparently as his ~ inftrument, was in fact the framer ~ of every thing that fhewed genius — in his plans, and that went beyond 4s cunning in his. projects. It requir- ~ ed no infpiration, nor even much ~ fagacity, to have feen, that whether thefe enquiries came within the let- ter of their inftrutions or not, the could not at all accord with their fpi- rit and defign; and were widely dif- ferent from the purpofes to wah that court owed its temporary infti- They were, however, ad- mitted to proceed to a certain de- cent and confiderable length in their ¥ too troublefome, bringing matters to light which there was no occafion fhould be publicly known, and the » prefervation of thofe appearances which operated to their inftitution being no longer neceflary, their powers were fuddenly withdrawn, their enquiries left unfinifhed, and the chatelet for ever laid by. This was foon followed by the total anni- hilation of that, and of all the other ancient courts of law and juftice in the kingdom. ‘ eagini: In the mean tie the king’s firm- e propoted vilit and coalition, was, through means or motives of which we are not in- formed, at length overcome. It is not ‘account as his own. HISTORY OF EUROPE. pot to be fuppofed that he could be totally indifferent to the menaces againtt his life which were continu- ally thrown out in cafe of any at- tempt to refcue his perfon, (an event hourly to be looked for, without his concurrence or knowledge, in the preéent ftate of temper and difcon- “tent which prevailed through {o great a part of the nation) and con - fidering his remarkable affection for ’ the queen and children, whofe lives, he knew, hung by the fame hair with his own, it is not to be fuppofed but he was as deeply affected on their Perhaps other motives might have operated. Whatever they were, pr 4th, the king appeared fud- Pe denly at the national affembly, where he complained of _ the attempts which were made to fhake the bafis of the new conftitu- tion; and declared it to be his defire, that it fhould be univerfally known, that the monarch and the reprefene tatives of the nation were entirely united; that their wifhes were the fame; that he would defend the conititutional liberty, the principles of which the general with, in con- cert with his own, had coniecrated; and that, conjointly with the queen, _ he would early form the heart and the fentiments of his fon, for that new order of things, which the cir- -cumftances of the empire had intro- duced-and fanttified, As foon as the king was with- drawn, the affembly voted an ad- drefs of thanks to him; and per- ceiving at once the deep difmay and _ confternation with which this unex - pected meafure feemed nearly to overwhelm the minority, they in- flantly determined to take advan- tage of their confufion and aftonith- ~, VoL, XXXII. a [129 ment, and immédiately iffued a de- cree, which, in that ftate, none had the courage to oppofe, and by which; every member was obliged to take the newly-devifed civic oath, under the penalty of being exclud- ed from giving his vote on any oc» cafion. ‘This teft was of fuch a na- ture, that they had reafon for con- ceiving it would prove effectual in purging the affembly of moft,if not all of thote, whofe names or coun- tenance they no longer wanted, and whofe company they no farther wilhed to be troubled with. The aftembly then decreed a general ads drefs to the provisces, reminding them of all it had done for the fake of public liberty, laying before them what it propofed farther to do, for the complete regeneration of the empire, and holding out proper rea= fons and arguments to prepoflefs them, again{ft thofe -unfavourable impreffions which evil minded per- fons were endeavouring to infufe upon their minds. Soon after the exhibition of this ftate farce, this flrange and extra- ordinary coalition, by which the king without gaining one new fricnd loft many of the old, and much of the confidence and confideration which he held wich all, the nationa] aflembly refumed the affairs of the clergy, a bufinefs which they juftly confidered of the lait importance, as their eflates and property were to — fupply that pledge and fecurity, which was to be offered to the na- tion for the diicharge of their im- menfe debts, as well as to make good the current deficiencies which arofe, from the failure of payment of the remaining taxes, and the to- tal lofs of the moft produttive, which had been gengrally repealed. [4] aS 130] | Feb. 13th, ra ee a 1790." embly fuppreiied a monaitic eftablifhments for ever, and confifcated all their lands; allowing, however, the pre- 4ent friars and nuns ‘to continue in the obfervance of their monaftic vows; granting them fome mode- rate ftipends for maintenance; and to the nuns, the fpecial favour and privilege, (which was indeed an act ef great humanity, independent of its juftice) that they fhould not be removed from the convents in which they then refided, without their own eonfent and free choice. \ As the bufinefs of the clergy was now brought nearly to a conclufion, at leaft with refpect to fact, though not entirely as to time, we fhall pur- fue it to the end, leaving thofe in- termediate matters which occurred in its courfe fubject to further eb- fervation. In the fucceeding month ef April, the aflembly completed their plan. They voted away, in purfuance of their prior refolution of November, all the territorial pol- feflions of the church, defining them in general, but not {pecific terms, to the payment of the public debt. They affigned to the church- men, in return, certain fixed pen- fions, which though much finalier than their former revenues, were, perhaps, barely fufficient for their exiftence ; although nat in any de- gree fuitable to their patt habits, condition, or modes of living; many of them heing neceflarily of the firtt families in the kingdom,and long ufed to {plendour, refpeét, and opulence, The afiembly likewife, at this time, began to iffue to the creditors of the ftate a new kind ¢f paper money ANNUAL REGISTER, 179°. under the name of affignations, that is aflignats, on the church lands thus confileated, which were to be the general fecurity for all the paper thus iffyed. From hence originated, that inundation of aflignats which have fince deluged France and the neighbouring countries ; and which have excited the aftonifhment of Europe, through the extraordinary exertions which they have enabled her to make. It was a curious circumftance that Mirabeau, who had fo lately pub- lifhed a fevere Philippic againft the emperor Jofeph for the injuftice of his claim on the Scheldt, and in which he particularly reprobated his — conduc with refpect to the plunder of the monafteries and convents in the Low Countries,;fhould now, in fo fhort a period of time, have fo totally departed from the fentiments which he then avowed, that through the whole progrefs of the. prefent. bufinef., he was, on every occafion, the Itrongeft and moft determined leader in, or fupporter of all the vio- lent proceedings carried on againft the French clergy. The following fentence, addrefied to the emperor, in. the treatife we have mentioned, will ferve to illuftrate this conduét as well as to jultify the obfervation : « Defpile the monks as muchas you pleafe, but do not rob them; for it is unlawful te rob either the moft determined atheift or the moft ¢cre- dulous capuchin friar”? So much® — .do inen’s {zntiments vary with cif- | cumftances, even in queitions of Tight or wrong, of juftice or injufs — ich it might bes tice! qucttions,. fuppoted did netadmit ofany change ~ of opinion, - a with England, which fettled the dif- ferences bétween the two nations. - Thus was prevented a war, which “Might, poffibly, in its courfe and ~ confequences, have greatly changed, _ 4 not totally altered, the ftate of in- _ ternal affairs in France. It is no - great prefumption then to’ fuppofe, -or even conclude, that neither the - King; the court, nor the royalifts in general, could have been by any -Means averfe to the war’s taking » place at this juncture. During thefe tranfactions the vio- ‘tent republican party found them- elves fo much increafed in ftrength - and in’ number, both within and without the/affernbly, and believing »thé’new fyftem to! be fo firmly efta- - blithed as to bid defiance to all das- + ger, did not deem it neceffary to ubniit any longer to the reftraint of _ obferving any terms with the nobi- » lity, but thought they might venture béldly to bring forward their grand and long-concerted fcheme for the - total extirpation of that‘body ; and even, fo far as it was.poffiblé to be » done, to erafe and obliterate the very mame, along with» all memorials and * gemembrance of their paft exiftence. — [147 We are to obferve; that many of the moft eminent of the French, nobi- lity, whethér with refp2é to family, fortune, character; or influence, (a- mong whom, we fhall only mention as inftances, the dukes de Roche- foucault and de Liancourt) although ‘they abhorred. fome of the..violeat acts of the affembly, were ftill,zea- lous adherents to the revolution, fo far as its originally avowed -prin- ciples went; for they. were no Jlefs averfe to the ancient’ defpotifm of the crown, than the democrates, but then they idetefted republicanifm, ‘perhaps, even more than;déf{potifm, as the greater evil of the,two.. Their object was a rational, moderate, li- mited) monarchy, . whofe .. powers fhould be precifely defined, which, with full fecurity to the perfons.and property of the people, with all the liberty that was compatible with good government, fhould at the fame time have its own rights as firmly fecured, and as well guarded, as theirs. It will be eafily drawn from a recollection of paft circumftances, that had it not been for the fupport and influence of fuch men as théfe, in different feafons of great difficul-. ty, the bufinefs of the revolution could fearcely, if at all, have been _accomplifhed.. But they were now no longer deemied neceflary, and they experienced, to their grief and coft, that from the beginning they had been made inftruments and tools to the defigns of that faftion, which they abhorred and detefted beyond all others. ; , This occafion obliges us to brin forward an adventurer with a ftrange name, and of a {till ftranger charac- ter, AnacharGis Clootz, a malcon- tent Pruffian; who wanted to com- municate the’ .knowledge of that lie berty_to the French, which He dared [X 2] net “¥48)] “not to'talk about at home. “He was “one of thofe men, who, excepting ‘by the commiffion of fome extraor- “dinary ehorimity, could never have _ been called into notice, under any *“other ftate of things than fuch ‘as ‘now prevailed in France; but hav- ‘ing received fo much education in Germany, as was futhcient to exalt Chis. natural extravagarice to its ut- ~moft pitch, his felf-confidence fuf- ‘ fered him to mifs no opportunity of exhibiting his talents to the public. * As declamation, philofophy, and the negative quality of infidelity, were the points in which he fuppofed ‘himfelf principally to excel, the -confufions of Paris had for feveral months opened the faireft field to «him for the difplay, at leaft, of the - former of thefe talents, that he could have wifhed; but whether it was that the people thought they had “orators and philofophers enough of ‘their own, and that infidelity was ‘too common to bear any value, or that the bombaft which loaded his / eloquence was incomprehenfible even to the Parifians, fo it was, that all his-exertions were unable to pufh him forward into any. degree of par- “ticular notice. P Wah The modern Anacharfis, thus foil- ‘ ed in his hopes, that eloquence and * philofophy would have opened the ‘way to fame and to fortune, fhrewd- ly conceived, that extravagance ‘might *poffibly fucceed where they ‘ failed. Having procured a number of thofe’ vagabonds who filled and -infefted the ftreets of Paris, and hir- > ed alf the foreign, ancient, and gro- ' “tefque drefles, which the opera and ~ «play-houfes could furnifh, in order - to difeuife them, he mafqueraded at - the head.of this motley crew. to the ‘“ national affembly, where he intro- duced them as ftrangers arrived from: ANNUAL REGISTER, f7o. all or moft of the nations of the globe, being the virtual ambafladors of all thofe enflaved nations whe wifhed to be free, and were there- fore difpofed to enter into fraternity with France, for the glorious pur- pote of eftablifhing liberty through - out the world. The orator, to give a full difplay to his talents, delivered a {peech in the name of his dumb gang of ambafladors, which, for ab- furdity and bombaft, equalled any thing that ever was or can be fpo~ g Pp ken. In this he reprefented the am- baffadors of all exifting govern- ments, as being themfelves flaves, the reprefentatives of tyrants, and therefore unfitting to be received in that honourable public charaéter which they affumed: that thofe citizens by whom he was accompa-~ nied were the real reprefentatives andambafladors of mankind, and had conftituted him, in their name, to demand places for them, fuitable to their rank and character, at the en- {uing grand confederation of the na- tion. So barefaced, fo impudent, fo ri- diculous a farce, was never before played off before any public affem- bly; or before any collection ‘of men fuppofed to be in poffeffion of their rational faculties. To heighten, if any thing could fo do, the ridicn- loufnefs of the fcene, it was affiirm- ed, that feveral of the Afiatic ambaf~ fadors, {tripped of their hired robes and plumes, were feen at the doors of the aflembly, in their proper garb and character, humbly foliciting the payment of their wages; a trifling matter, which, it would feem, the fublime ideas of their orator had ren- dered him inattentive to. It feems, however, probable, if we judge from the immediate con- fequences, that this exhibition was’ not MISTOR Y! 0'F not to be entirely attributed to the extravagance or inianity of Clootz; but was calculated to anfwer a moft ferious and important pnrpofe. But to underfiand this, it may be ne- ceffary to obferve, that from the bad, and too often fhameful effects, which the wine drank at dinner had frequently produced on the debates of the affembly, it had long become ‘a ftanding rule, though without any particular order for it, that no bufi- nefs of moment fhould be brought forward at the evening fittings. On this account they were generalty very thinly attended, moft of the members gladly feizing the opportu- nity of indulging thofe purfuits of private bufinefs or pleafure, from which they had been withheld by the morning fitting. The exhibi- _ tion we have defcribed was prefent- ed at an evening fit- : ting; when the houfe Was not, indeed, fo thin as ufual, but, however it happened, fo it was, that the moft violent of the demo- cratic headers, and that party in ge- neral, were thofe who principally attended. ' When the ambaffadors had acted their part, and were withdrawn, it feemed as if the affembly thoucht it neceffary likewife to act theirs. As if they had believed the mockery which they juft beheld to be a reality, and that the ambaffadors of all mankind were in fact prefent, and fupplicating .their protection, they were all at once, as if it had been an electric fhock, ftruck with the moft violent fit of enthufiafm for liberty, which it was poflible to deferibe or imagine. The firft ef- fufion of this paflion was laudable: it was a decree to deftroy or remove thofe figures of chained flaves, in- tended to reprefent proftrate and June roth. BUROPE: [149 conquered nations, which fur-” rounded the ftatue fo much cele-~ brated, and fo often condemned and“ ridiculed, of Louis XIV. and which, if it had not been for this decree, might kave long continued fhame- ful. memorials of the .infufferable vanity and. arrogance of that mo-~ narch. The fucceeding effect of this en- thufiafm was not fo blamelefs. The refolution for abolifhing: hereditary - nobility for ever, was, in this fame evening’s fitting, introduced, de- bated in a certain manner, and paf- fed into an irrevocable ‘law: before their rifing. It was to little purpofe - that the nobility, all the royalifts; and many others, who were not ab- folute republicans, cried out, in the: midft of their diitrefs or aftonifh- ment, againft the-unfairnefs and dif- honefty of this proceeding, which they faid openly was carried by ftratagem and furprize. The law was paffed, and there was no re- medy! there was no houfe of lords’ to check the exorbitance of a houfe of commons; there was no king, with freedom or power to curb the enornuities of either, or both; and, to crown the evil, the affembly it- felf was unfortunately not bound by any of the wholefome and ne- ceflary regulations which fo happily prevail in the Englifh parliament; by which previous notice is given of the introduction of a new law; by which every bill muft go through a certain number of readings, and a reafonable time is allotted for due confideration, before it can be paf- fed; and by which, in cafes of mo- ment, a general call of one or both houfes takes place, and all the members are obliged, under penalty,’ to give their attendance ona day* appointed. All thefe forms, fo: ne~ [K 3] ceflary tso] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790, eeflary to cool and: wife delibera- ticn, all thefe checks and powers of controul, were here wanting. In this extraordinary decree, not contented with declaring in its pre- amble that hereditary nobility was iocompatible with the liberty of France, they declare, in general terms, with peculiar arrogance, that hereditary nobility is incompatible with a free ftate; thereby implicat- ing all the reft of Europe, excepting a very few petty democratic repub- lics, to be in a ftate of flavery. It abolifhes for ever ail titles exifting in France, from the prince to the lowelt, equivalent to:our elquire ; and, with a precifion which rather indicated a long and well-concerted defign, than a fudden ft of paffion, it forbids the application of all terms of diftinétion or trary to fend back his exprefs difap-. © ~ probation to the affembly. Being over-ruled .in. his attempt. by. the, joint qpeainian of the other mi-. nifters, he immerliately publifhed 2 pamphlet, contgining a number. of: very judicious. obfervations on the. decree, and informing the. public of, be neinns, Wiieh OReTabee nih ~ HISTORY; QF EUROPE, | him in advifing the king to refufe his fanftion. It. would feem idle to offer any comments on the juftice or the po- ‘licy of this decree: it {peaks for “itfelf. The language held by the democratic writers, of the abfurdity and folly of being angry at the lofs of fuch baubles and trifles as titles and friyolous diftin€tions, would -, rather to corre{pond with the ideas which we might fuppofe be- ~ ings juit dropped from another pla- net to conceive, than thofe of men, who, it might be fuppofed, mutt of neceility know fomething of the af- _fairsof this world. = _ _ A grand confederation “had for fome time been announced by the national affembly, which was to take place on the celebrated 14th of Ju- ly, the anniverfary of the memora- ble taking of the Baftile in the pre- ceding year, and which was now . deftined ‘to be rendered facred ' ugh ail fucceeding ages. The ? objects of this grand, national meet- ing were Pare edie andthe de- fign well calculated for its purpofes, Tt was in no. fmall degree, by this appearance of the general fulitage of the people, to legalize, as well as to conirm the revolution, It was _ to bind the king, the affembly, and the -people together, by new, fo- an,- and public oaths, And, : what was pot the leaft in confidera- tion, it was hoped; that it might be .zpeaas af reforming the, licentious “mutinous difpofition, of the toops, which was every day break- “Mg, out into acts of the utmoft dif- o: ane violence, to. the no tal i finels, and even. apprehenfion » ia aflerbly. ag their own. favourites, the national aie much more to be commended for their order, On thigaccount, every [1sx. regiment throughout the kingdone Was obliged to fend a delegation of their foldiers' and officers, who were to {wear in behalf of the whole regiment; and the battalions of na+ tional guards were obliged to cont form to the fame regulation. : The duke of Orleans, who now found the frft fruits of his crooked politics, to be a degradation from the higheft rank and title of princes to the humble ftation of a common citizen, had Jong felt with impa- tience and grief, that_exile in Eng- land, which fo painfully withheld him from partaking in the factions and turbulence of the grand fcene of action at the Palais Royale and in Paris. He accordingly applied to the affembly for Jeave to: return, in order to affift, and to be fworn at the confederation; this was granted, notwithitanding the jealoufy of La Fayette, who ufed every poffible means to prevent his return, The preparations, for this’ new and extraordinary {peétacle were at- tended with’ immenfe labour. No lefs. than 12,000 hired’ workmen were employed, and the work would not have been finifhed any thing nearly within the time, if it had not been for the extraordinary exertions of the Parifians, who, with their wives and children, were to be feen from morning to night in the hots teft weather, with fpades, fhovels, pick-axes, and barrows, labouring in digging and removing the mould frem the great field of the Chainp de Mars, which was deftined ever more to be diftinguifhed by the name of the Field of the Confede- ration. It was neceflary to remove fevefal feet of earth from the fur- face of this field, which was about half an Englith mile in length, and wide in proportion, in erder to fur- See Uh wound 12] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. found it with feats rifing in the form of an amphitheatre, for the purpofe of accommodating fome- thing towards half a million of peo- ple, who were expected to behold the fpectacle. A vaft fcaffold was erected in the center, where the Ring and the national affembly were to be placed, and where, the nation- al altar being likewife erected, they were to take the prefcribed oath in the fight of all the people ; who, in their feveral claffes, were all to go through the fame rite, or ceremo- nial, whichever it may be called. Nothing was omitted, nor no ex- pence fpared, which could afford fplendor to this {peétacle; mufic, incenfe, flags, ftreamers, military pomp, every thing that could daz- zle the eyes or fafcinate the imagi- nation of a vain and frivolous peo- ple, ever addiéted to fhows, and aptivated by trifles, was here exhi- bited. It fortunately happened, though contrary to expectation, that no dif- order or mifchief attended, or pro- ceeded from, this accumulation of fo extraordinary a multitude. The king, the affembly, the army, and the’ people, were all reciprocally fworn. The purport of the oath was the maintenance of the contfti- tution againft all oppugners; to which was added, “ to continue free or to perifh.” ‘Fhe fame oath was taken on the fame day throughout the whole kingdom; and all the troops of every fort, new and old, were perfonally fworn at their re- fpective ftations, as well as by dele- gation at Paris. The troops were, however, too far advanced in licentioufnefs, to be cured or reftrained by oaths; they claimed great merit from their fer- vices in redrefling the - alledged grievances of the nation ; and they prefumed that they were well au- thorized to redrefs their own. They pretended that their officers cheated them, for in the prefent ftate of things it fcarcely feems probable that it could have been more than a pretence, and under that colour fe- veral regiments plundered their mi- litary chefts. The averfion and contempt in which they were taught to regard their officers, led to accu-_ {ations of this nature, as well as to a total contempt of every degree of fubordination and difcipline. But this was only a fall part of the enormities which they were guilty of. The fraternal feafts and inti- mate connections between the inha- bitants and the foldiery, which had been fo much encouraged and pro- moted in the beginning of the revo- lution, for the purpofe of debauch- ing the army from its allegiance, befides producing that effect, pro-. duced others which either were not forefeen, or which, if they were, it was determined to fubmit to for the attainment of the grand object. The foldiers, as might be expected, vain of the new appellation of citi- zens, proud of their confraternity, and of thé new company into which: they were admitted, and their heads {till farther turned by the fhare which they expected to hold in that new fovereignty, which was to be fhattered into fo many divifions, became all at once politicians, ca- ballers, and reformers. They be-_ came every where members of thofe clubs where they were ftationed, — and naturally embracing their opi- nions, formed as many _ political feéts, and were as zealous partizans _ in all the great bufinefs of reform and government, as thofe with whom they lived. By thefe means they €ame HISTORY OF EUROPE. same to bear a great, and in many places a principal fhare, in all thole dreadful tumults and diforders which were continually breaking out, and fpreading every degree of outrage and violence in the greater towns and cities. Thefe were, in general, kindly confidered as the genuine marks and effects of patriotifm, and if at all regarded as evils, were only deemed to be the neceflary appen- dages of revolutions, in which cer- tain degrees of wrong and violence paved the way for the attainment of the great end. . At Nancy, the capital of Lor- rain, thefe exceffes were carried by the troops, and by the ruling party of the townfmen, who feemed jointly to fet the affembly at defiance, to fo extraordinary a pitch, that-they were _ deemed, if not declared, to be in a | ‘ftate of abfolute rebellion. The mar- quis de Bouille, (who, we have for- mertly feen, had been fo much diftin- oe by the honour and humani- , as well as by the ability which he difplayed in the Weft Indies, dur- ing the late war with England) then commanded the troops at Metz, and 4 that quarter; and received an order from the affembly to fupprefs the infurgents at Nancy by force of arms. ‘This order was repented al- moft as foon as it was iffued; for befides its being contrary to the ‘eftablifhed practice of never punifh- ing democratic criminals, they fuf- petted Bouille of being an arifto- / rat, and were apprehenfive that he Might direct the army which he had thus colleéted to the purpofe of a counter-revolution. Under this im- preffion they were debating about recalling the decree, and fending commiffioners to pacify, inftead of troops to reduce the infurgents. “Gut De Bonille was too alert and [53 active a commander, and knew the duties of his profeffion too well, to lofe any time in the execution of his orders. He, as it were inftarit- ly, colleéted a confiderable force, compofed partly of national troops, and partly of thofe of the line ; and the officers being particularly at- tached to him, as were even the common foldiery of the old troops, in no fmall degree, he appeared be- fore Nancy with an_ expedition which furprifed every body elfe as well as the infurgents. He. found the latter, however, prepared for, and determined on a vigorous de- fence. A bloody conteft took place, in which the infurgents were re- duced with confiderable flaughter, and with no {mall lofs to the affail- ants. The embarraffinent of the affem- bly on Bouille’s fuccefs feemed ra- ther ridiculous. They could not but apparently approve the conduét of an officer, wha had difplayed great fpirit and extraordinary dif- patch in the execution of their or- ders; at the fame time that they were in fact forry for the event, and not a little uneafy at placing fo much power in the hands of a man who they unjuftly fufpeéted would ap- ply it to dangerous purpofes. But the rage of the Parifians at the fhed- ding of fo much patriotic blood was beyond all defcription, They confidered and reprefented all the infurgents who were flain as mar- tyrs to the caufe of liberty, and Bouille with his troops as niurder. ing ariftocrates, who were endea- vouring to commence a counter-re- volution.’ They furrounded the houfe of affembly in great bodies, and loudly and peremptorily de- manded the head of Bouille, and the heads of all the minifters who hadany I concern eo % 154] @oncern in the tranfattion, The ferment was fo violent, that nothing lefs'than the refolution and firinriels of the national guards, could have revented their proceeding to the bie extremities. ' This ferment unexrectedly pro- duced, or at leaft haftened, the re-’ fignation of Mr. Neckar, and_his final departure from France. ‘That minifter, who had fo long been the idol of the people at Paris and Ver- failles, having, on the night of that tumult, réceived intelligence that he was deftined to be made a victim to the fury of the mob, he fled from his houfe, and fpent many hours imder the greatet apprehenfion and terror in the fields near Paris. He iow at once perceived, that he had not.only held his place too long for his fafety, but for his honour. He had long felt his credit with the affembly declining ; but ever fincé the removal of that body to Paris, he experienced fuch repeated inftances of flight and indifference, as made him feel to the heart, that he was now only confidered as the tool ofa party, who having done its bufinefs was no longer thought ne- ceflary, arid might be laid by with- out ceremony. Camus, and feve- yal other of their members, feemed to make it a point continually to ceavil at his plans, and to bring cap- tious charges and accufations upon trifling or contemptible matters againft him; nor was this ungra- cious’ and unworthy condu& ever in the fmatlleft degree difcounte- nanced. Jn return for this treat- imeitt, he frequently told the affem- bly home and blunt truths, which did not by any means tend to con- ciliate favour. On this recent affair’ at’ Paris, he fent a letter with his refignation to ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. the national affembly, who having read it, called, with the moft care- lefs and contémptuous indifference, for the order of the day, without taking the fmalleft notice of it. Pierced through and through by this difdainful treatment, this un- grateful. return to all his paft ac- knowledged fervices, which, un- déubtediy, was not the lefs felt from a Véxatious recollection of the fulfome flatteries with which they had hetetofore fo often bedawbed him, thé unhappy minifter fet’ out directly for Swifferland. . But he foo found that the bitter cup of his humiliation was not yet exhauft- ed, and that the dregs were among ~ the moft odious parts of the potion, Mr. Neckar was {topped at a little town called Arci-fur-Aube by the national guard, who being now all ftatefmen, and in.a certain degree — fovereigns, wifely determined, that — it was by no means fitting a finan- cial minifter fhould be permitted to ~ quit the country until he had made a fair fettlement, and undergone a ftri& fcrutiny as to his accounts, — and they accordingly confined him asa prifoner. He was now toun- dergo the mortification of a fecond — application to the national aflembly, — in which he ftated, that above © 160,000], fterling of his property — being lodged in the French, funds, and confequently within their cog- — nizance, that fum, which he had depofited there through the pactictic * motive of fupporting the public cre- dit, would be an ample fecurity for, any error or deficiency which BS poffibly appear in his accounts; and therefore requefting, that hts health, in its prefent precarious flate, fhould no longer be injured, either by confinement, or by detention from the falubtious air of his native | country. ountry. The affembly returned a dry anfwet, but ordered his releafe ; and he at length arrived fafely in his own country, -Such’.was the fate of a minifter, ‘who had paffed through fuch courfes of popularity, as, perhaps, have fearcely been equalled by any -fo- reigner in any country. Yet, fo uncertain is the ftate of public fa- your, and fo rapid the decline of ‘popularity, that he now retired to his native. country without the \ fmalléft mark of honour, efteem,, or _ regret from that nation, which had an the preceding year, commenced a rebellion againit its foyereign on hi§ account.” Whatever Mr, Neck- at’s politi¢al’ faults or_errors might have been as.a minifter, he poffefied Hich. excellent qualities as a man, as -muft ever entitle him, to refpect- Ais integrity was in both charac- ters beyond doubt or fufpicion; and his ftri&t attention to the difcharge _ and practice of all the moral duties _ and virtues was never called in quef- tion by his enemies. Happy he May now confider that concurrence of circumftances and caufes which ‘obliged him to quit France at fo ‘garly and timely a period; and his family may confole themfelves in his prefent exiftence for that, now, hopelefs property which he left be- hind. ‘ -_ New contefts with the clergy af- forded the principal objects of bufi- ‘nefs in which the national affembly were engaged for the remainder of the year. Thefe arofe from the va- tious meafures adopted, and decrees ‘pafled, for, what was called, the or- ae of the church. One of “thefe was, the rendering every be- Wefice in the kingdom, from a cu- | | ge se acy toa bifhopric, elective. Ano- . ther was, the admitting people of MISTORY OF EUROPE. [155 all religions, not excepting Jews, to vote at thefe elections. And ano- ther was, the totally altering the an- ciently eftablifhed extent and liniits of diocefes. The clergy became. troublefeme upon thefe accounts. They faid that whatever right the nation might “have to feize their revenues,. it nei- ther could have any right or ~pre- tence. to interfere or to muke any alteration in the difcipline or fpiri- tual government of the church; they therefore demanded'the convea- cation ofa national council to fettle thefe matters, as they could not pof- fibly without that determination fubmit to the prefent decrees. As nothing could be more oppofite. to the ideas or liking of the national affeémbly than to admit. by means of the calling together fuch an, aflembly, they were. highly, in- cenfed at, thefe objections made by the clergy, to. their decrees,and-in that .{pirit determined at once to punifh their re‘raétorinefs, and to cut off the means of all future difz putes, by impofing a new oath on them, by which they were bound to obferve and fubmit to the conftitu- . tion as decreed by the affembly, in all cafes whatever. Vaft numbers of the clergy re- fufed to take this oath, and among them many who had in the begin- ning been firmly attached to the commons, and furthered the revo- lution by every means in their pow- er, But fuch aids were not now wanted. , Many offered to take the oath if they were allowed, as a fal- vo, that it did not extend to admit of any {piritual authority in the af- fembly ; but though that bedy had generally difclaimed all interference in the fpiritual part of religion, yet they would not allow of any referve 2 ia 156—192] ANNUAL in the oath, or admit any explana- tion of it. All the clergy, without exception or diftinction, who re- fufed to take the oath, were imme, diately ejected from their benefices, _ and others placed in their room ; the bifhoprics were filled up by cu- rates. ‘The oath being confidered as no lefs than perjury, being a di- rect breach of that taken at ordina- tion, it may not be difficult to form fome judgment of the charaéter of thofe men who were now to in- ftruét the people in the duties of re- ligion and morality. It afforded a glorious inftance of the integrity of ‘the French clergy, that of 131 bi- fhops, only three were found fervile enough to betray their confcience and their honour, in ftooping to take the oath for the prefervation of their bifhoprics. This meafure occafioned a fchifm among the people as well as the ‘clergy; for the more devout and {crupulous, who were ftill not a few REGIS TER,:1790. in the kingdom, refufed to acknow- ledge thefe new paftors, and parti- cularly to receive the facraments at their hands; which, according to their religious perfuafion, it was the ‘height of prophanation, if not fa- crilege, for them to. adminifter. They were the farther confirmed in this opinion, by the utter difappro- — bation of the oath which the pope had publicly expreffed. Thus did France produce in an inftant the moft numerous body of nonjuring clergy which ever exifted in any country: and fuch was the defpo- tifm which prevailed in a republi- can affembly, that would compel men’s perfons, minds, and confci- ences, to bend in all things, without referve, to its almighty will. Even the more moderate of the democra- tical writers, regretted and condemn- ~ ed, as a harfh and imprudent mes- — fure, the forcing of fuch an oath at — once upon minds unprepared to re- Ceive it. : CHRONICLE: . ar «JANUARY. ft. “ee day there was no Bey. court either at Windfor or St. James’s, as ufual on New “Year’s day, confequently the Lau- eat’s ode was omitted. The New Year’s ode not being performed as ufual, has occafioned much {pecu- ~Tation—It may not be unacceptable _ to our readers to give them the fol- Towing pafiage from Mr. Gibbon’s aft volume of the Hiftory of the ? Empire: “ The title of Poet Lau- feat, which cuftom rather than va- ' ity perpetuates in the Englith ‘court, was firft invented by the Cz- ars of Germany. From Auguttus to Louis, the mufe has been too often falfe and venal; but I much doubt whether any age or court can ‘produce a fimilar eftablifhment of a ipendiary poet, who in every reign, and. at all events, is bound to fur- mith, twice a year, a meafure of praife and verfe, fuch as may be am the prefence of the fovereign. fpeak the more freely, as the beft for abolifhing this ridiculous uftom is while the prince is a man virtue, and the poet a man of ius,” The Oxford Canal was this » " day opened by the arrival of Vor. XXXII. rcPowse }. ang in the chapel, and, I believe,’ CHRONICLE. upwards of 200 tons of coals, be- fides corn and other effects. ‘The firft boat entered the bafon a few minutes before twelve o’clock, dif- playing the union flag, and having on board the band belonging to the Oxfordfhire militia. At a meeting, lately held, of the truftees of John Stock, efg. late of Hampitead, who bequeathed z00/, a year to be divided among ten curates of the church of England, whofe incomes did not exceed 40/. per ann. ¢hirty-eight petitions were prefented and received from poor curates to partake of this benevo- lence, many of whofe ftipends were not more than 25/. a year, with which they had to fupport large families. The prifoners, convicted at the Admiralty Seflions, were executed at Execution Dock pur- fuant to their feveral fentences, viz. John Clark and Edward Hob- bins, for ftealing off the Land’s End a boat, feveral fails, and a wooden compafs, the property of Meff. Hurry and Co.; John Wil- liams and Hugh Wilfon, fora mutiny on board the Gregfon of Liver- pool, at Duke’s Cove, off the coaft of Africa; and Thomas Brett, for ftealing from a Dutch hoy, at Dun- genels Roads, three cafks of gene- va, 16 bales, and other merchan- dee property of perfons un- ] 4th, known, fog] ANNUAL. REGISTER, 1790. known. They are all ordered to be hung in chains. The bankrupts in 1788 were 709 ; in 1752 were 116. Thefe were the moft and leaft numerous fince 1740 ; in 178g there were 584. The Severn flooded a few 16th. at ays ago higher than has been known for thefe twenty years. At Shrewfbury and its environs, particularly at the Abbey Forgate, Frankwell, and cotton-mill, there was no pafling without a boat. On the lakes and high moun- tainous land of Cumberland and Weltmoreland, there has been .{carcely any fnow, and not any ice two inches thick. The wind and rain have exceeded, as much as the fnow and ice fall fhort of, the ufual proportions. Both are unexampled in the memory of man., The feffions ended at the Old Bailey, when fentence of death was paffed upon 13 con- victs ; one was fentenced to be tranf- ported for 14 years, 29 to be tranf- * ported for feven years, feven to be imprifoned in Newgate, 18 in ’ Clerkenwell Bridewell, 21 to be igth. publickly whipped, and 16 were _ delivered by proclamation. As his majefty was going "in ftate to the houfe of peers, - on pafling the corner oppofite Carle- ton Honfe, in St. James’s Park, a ftone was thrown at the coach by a tall man drefled in a {carlet coat, black breeches, a ftriped wailtcoat, a cocked hat, with an orange-co- ‘loured cockade; he was imme- - diately apprehended and taken to Mr. Grenville’s office, in the trea- fury, Whitehall, where he under- ~ went an examination by the attorney general and fir Sampfon Wright, before Mr. Pitt, Mr. Grenville, the @uke of Leeds, Earl of Chatham, 2it &c. which lafted four hours, when he was committed to prifon for fur- __ ther examination. He proves to be the fame perfon who wrote a libel againft his majefty, and ftuck ~ it on the whalebone in the court- yard, St. James’s, about a fortnight ) fince, and figned his name John © Frith, lieutenant ef the fecond bate | talion of royals. After undergoing — feveral other examinations, he was — committed to Newgate for trial om — a charge of high treafon. i The accounts relative to be 4 the earl earance of gift. ape fpring this year are too numerous to be particularized. Almoft every — preduétion that the month of April” ufually exhibits in the garden, and in the field, were to be feen at the” clofe of this month in various parts — of the kingdom. wy Diep, at Horteley, county of Der- by, at the age of 107, Mrs, Frances Barton. It is faid fhe well remem=_ bered the revojution in 1688, and | that fhe danced at a merry-making y on that glorious occafion. Her hut- band had been fexton of the parifh church 70 years; and this antient pair frequently boafted that fhe hz d brought into the world, and he hag buried, the parifh twice over. v At Miles-court, Bath, aged 79, Mrs. Burr, grand-niece of fir aac Newton, by a daughter of his mo- | ther, who married, for her fecond hufband, the Rev. Mr. Smith. She- had a perfect recollection of thagy) great philofopher, and remembered - pafling much time at his houfe in St Martin’s-lane ; and that, when a child, fhe had fpent whole evenings” in his ftudy, as he was remarkably fond of children. She remembered, alfo, the ftrength of his fight, his examining old coins, and ccading | the fmalleit print witheut {pectas cles 3. | cles; the ftri& ceconomy of his ex- pences, with the regularity of his domeftic arrangements, and that he feldom dined. without company, with whom he was remarkably plea- fant and chearful. ‘A Portuguefe woman, who, fome ‘days before her death, had attained the age of 109. - Lately, at, Rome, aged 43, Bro- ther Barnabas, of St. Nicholas, a religious queftor, of the order of the barefooted Auguftines. A great multitude of people vifited the con- vent where his body was expofed for four days. A number of mira- cles are faid to have been performed | by him both before and after his | death. Aged 128, John Jacob, the cele- | brated patriarch of Mount Jura, | who came to pay his compliments | “to the national afiembly lait year. Aged 104, at Cropton near Pic- kering, Mrs. Mary Jackfon. _ At Lean Cadwallader, in the “115th year of his age, the cele- brated Hugh Llewellyn, well known ‘in the neighbouring counties for his mufical fkill, particularly on the _ Welfh-harp, which he played until within a fortnight of his death. FEBRUARY. The two annual premiums of 25/: each, bequeathed by _ the late Dr. Smith, of Cambridge, _to the two junior bachelors of arts, who fhall appear to be the beft pro- ficients in mathematics and na- tural philofophy, were, on Friday the 2gth, adjudged to Mr, Bridge, of Peterhoufe College, and Mr. _ Wrangham, of Trinity-Hall. The printer of The Times % 54. was brought up from Newgate . of -€HR OWN I CLE: _Lr95 to the king’s bench to receive judg- ment for two libels of which he had been convicted. He was fentenced for the firft, which was on the prince of Wales and the duke of York (charging their royal highneffes with having fo demeaned them- felves as to incur the juft difappro- tion of his majefty) to pay a fine of roo /, and be imprifoned in New- gate one year after the expiration of his prefent confinement ;—and for the fecond, which was on the duke of Clarence, he was fined. 100/. ; The libel againft the duke of Clarence afferted that his royal highnefs returned from his ftation withoat authority from the admi- ralty or the commanding officer. His royal highnefs the prince 8th of Wales had a ftate levee, for x the firft time, at his palace of Carl- ton-houfe. Sir Jofhua Reynolds, who has honourably filled for 22 years the chair of the royal acade- my, formally notified to the councif his refignation as prefident. Aman of the name of Edward Derick, who either is, or, affects to be, a maniack; went to St. James’s this evening, and defired the mar- fhalmen to introduce him to his majefty ; he was of courfe informed. that his requeft could not be com- plied with. He then faid, that he had letters of the utmoft import- ance for the queen, and mu/? be ad- mitted. The marfhalmen ftopped him; and his behaviour in confe-, quence was fo riotous, that they were under the neceflity of taking him into cuftody. He fays he was born at Caldecot in Chefhiréy and that he flept on Tuefday near Rum- ford in Effex, He is about 24 years [V2] eae! toth. 196] ANNUAL REGISTER, of age, very mean in his appearance, and difcourfes in the ftile of a quaker. He was committed to Tothill-fields Bridewell. Lately a cafe was argued and de- termined in the ‘court of king’s bench, of fome importance to the mercantile world. ‘The queftion was, ‘* Whether a payment made in bank notes can legally be deemed a payment made in money?” The ‘court faid, that the judges had not yet gone to the extent of deciding that the tender of a debt in bank notes was a good tender, unlefs the party accepted them as cafh. A payment, however, made in bank notes might certainly be deemed a payment made in money, and might be fo ftyled in a deed or other in- ftrament by which any fum is ftated to be given or paid. Bank notes were unqueftionably called money, and fo confidered by the world. A young woman, of the name of Finch, took the fatal refolution of putting an end to her prefent ex- utence, by fwallowing a quantity of arfenic. What renders this moft remarkable is, fhe prevailed upon the fervant maid of Mr. Huddy, a paitry-cook, to accompany her in the fatal refolution, .They tock to the amount of two ounces between them; in confequence of which, Mifs Grace Finch ftruggled with the drug in violent: convulfions. about three hours, and then ex- pired. The muaid fervant conti- nued in a moft miferable ftate till she next morning, when fhe expired alfo. The ck elebrated Phillidor played three games at chefs blindfolded, with three different perfons at once: two with Dr. Rolet, and Capt. Smith, he gained; and tlie thd 1790- with count Bruhl was a drawn game. Dicp, at Sutton, near Bingham,. in the 103d year of her age, Han- nah Jenk, a widow of that village, who remained her faculties in the moft perfect manner till a very fhort time previous to her death. At Edinburgh, aged upwards of 80, the celebrated William Cullen, M.D. firft phyfician to his majefty for Scotland.—Notwithftanding the number of years he read letures. there, he has not left property enough to fupport his daughters. His tiiftaken notions of farming contributed not a little to reduce his income. At Iflington, aged 68, John ; Hyacinth de Magelhaens, low F.R.S. member of many foreign academies, formerly an Auguftine monk at Lifbon, and great erandfon of the celebrated navigator, Ferdi- nando M. who gave his name to: the ftraight difcovered by him in- 151g. He was alfo related to the jetuit M, who travelled over China from 1640 to 1648, till he was car- ried to the court at Pekin, where he refided zg years, and died in 1677. He was a ftudious, inge- nicus, and learned man, particu- larly diftinguifhed among the lite- rati in this and other enlight- ened countries. for his intimate ac- quaintance with moft branches of natural philofophy, and no lefs in- genious in his experiments therein, particularly in mechanics. At his houfe in Hereford, at the age of 105 years, the Rev. William Davies, who took his degree of M.A. at Chrift Church, Oxford, in 1715. He retained his faculties in a great degree till within a few years of his death. roth. MARCH. et: te — io Gr ROL NoL € LBs MARCH. A bill of indi€tment was und by the grand jury againit John Frith, for high treafon, in af. fo _ compafling the life of the king, by throwing a ftone againit his coach, ashe went to the parliament houfe. The following convicts re- 2¢- ceived fentence of death at the Ojd Bailey, viz. James Eaft, Wil- liam Willon, James Betts, Samuel Dring, Jofeph Phillips, Thomas Alexander, and Henry Jones, alias Denton. © Three were fentenced to be tranfported for 14 years, 21 for feven years, feven fined and impri- foned, {even publickly whipped, and 24 difcharged by proclama- tion. This afternoon another ma- * niac went to St. James’s, where he feized the colofrs belonging to the firi regiment, who were on guard, which were placed in the court yard as ufual. The fentry _who guarded the colours not ob- ferving him, he made his efcape to the whalebone, where he was feized by another feniry, who fecured him till he got other affiftance; the maniac immediately threw down the ftandard, when he was taken into cuftody by two of the marfhalmen, who conveyed him in a hackney coach to the public office, Bow Street, where he underwentan exa- mination oefore fir Sampfon Wright. On fir Sampfon’s afking him his reafon for taking away the colours, he faid he was a native of the Ifle -of Man; that his name was Tho- mas Cannon; that he went yefter- day morning to Kenfington Palace in expectation of feging his majetty oo? to Windfor, and on his return he had completed his point, which L197 he had in view for fome time back, by throwing down the royal ftand- ard of England. His reafon, he faid; he would not give, unlefs he was introduced *to the king, the prince of Wales, and Mr. Pitt. He was committed to Covent Garden watch-houfe. The difagreeable intelligence “fe was received of the lofs of the 4°" company’s fhip Vanfittart, in the ftreights of Billoton, in November laft. No lives were loft either a- mong the officers or fhip’s company the affiftance they received from two country fhips enabled them to fave great part of the filver on board, and fome other part of the cargo. The two gold medals, value fi teen guineas each, given annually by his grace the duke of Grafton, — chancellor of the univeriity of Cam- bridge, for the encouragement of claffical learning, are this year ad- judged to Mr. Francis Wrancham, B.A. of Trinity Hall, and Mr. John Tweddell, B.A. of Trinity Col- lege. e Somerfet Houfz—The cRimates, as delivered to the houfe of commons, are as follow: Expended 334,703 /.5 to be expended; 33,500/. A grant to earl Stanhope, for his new-invented method of con- dutting veflels without fails againit wind, waves, current, and tide, has paficd the great feal. On Sunday the 14th infant, four ° men were*feen on the oiler fide Staines, walking towards that town. They had the appearance of fo- reigners, were drefied as failors, and one rather better than the reft. In the evening of the fame day, they went to the fhop of a barber. at Staines, and were fhaved, and the man who was befl drefied paid for {N 3] the 198] the reft. .He had a large bag of money; but whether of gold or Milver, is not known. From this fhop they went to the White Lion, fupped, and flept; and at four on Sunday morning rofe, had each a glafs of brandy, for which the beft- dreffed man ftill paid for his com- panions, and having drunk it, they all fet out together on the road ta London. Shiatt On Monday morning, as a man was diiving his cows in a field near Belfont-lane, about thirteen miles from London, he difcovered in a ditch a number of brambles with a quantity of new-raifed earth thrown over them, which curiofity led him to examine, when, to his furprize, he difcovered the dead body of # man, mangled in a moit inhuman manner, the throat cut, the fkull fraétured, one arm broke, and one hand almoft cut in pieces. At this time the duke of Cumberland -being out with his hounds, the dogs took the {cent, and traced the blood from the road to the fpot where the body was “found, which by his royal highnefs’s order was removed to the Black Dog at Belfont, where the coroner’s inqueft was after- wards fummoned to fit; and at which place the barber by whom the four men were fhaved, and the people at the White Lion, where they flept, were fummoned to appear, and all agree that the deceafed is one of thofe four men, and the identical perfon who paid for all the ref. Thefe particulars were communicat- ed to fir Sampfon Wright by his roy- .al highnefs the duke of Cumberland, who has taken uncommon pains to bring the murderers to juftice. On Friday night the 19th they were found on board a Portuguefe ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790: veffel, where, after fome refiftance, they were hand-cuffed, and commit- ted to different prifons till the 2oth, when, at the defire of the duke of Cumberland, they were examined at the public office in Baw Street, where the officer who took , them gave a particular account of the ar- ticles found at their lodgings, con- fifting, among other things, of a relick which the deceafed ufed to wear about his neck, and a coat. The firft evidence called was Fre- derico Solaro, a Genoefe. He de- pofed, that the name of the deceafed was Jofeph, but could not teil his other name ; ‘that he, this deponent, Antonio Murina, a Venetian; Ja- chin-Phayao, a Genoefe; and Ste- . phan- Apologie, a Ruflian; came home in the fhip Crown Prince, captain Nicondia, from the ifland of Sardiniay that they all left the fhip at the fame time at Portf mouth; that they received their pay before they fet off for London. He: walked with them about three miles farther than Gofport, and wanting to get to London as foon. as he could, he turned back ahd came by the coach. He heard nothing more of them till Wed-, nefday laft, when, hearing of the murder, he had fome ftrong fuf- picion of the prifoners; and ac- cordingly came to this office, and gave what defcription of them he could; that, on fir Sampfon Wright fending him to Staines to examine the deceafed, he knew him. The officers then produced the relick mounted with filver, and the other articles they had taken from the prifoners. He had feen them on board of the fhip, and likewife faw -the deceafed with the relick. He certainly would have parted ry, ; is CHRONICLE, his life rather than the relick. The prifoners were examined apart, and al] denied committing the murder. They were committed to differ- ent gaols, in order for re-examina- tien. ‘ A very curious difcovery has lately taken place at Blackwall, near the river Thames, where Mr. Perry, the fhip-builder, had appro- priated about feven acres of land for the purpofe of making a wet dock. In digging the ground, re- gular ftrata of fand, clay, &c. have been found, proper for making bricks; and, 12 feet below the fur- face, hazle-trees, with the nuts upon them. Diep, in the ifle of Sky, Mrs, Flora. Macdonald, famed in the annals of the late pretender. in the 19th year of his age Geo. Haftings, efq. only fon of Mr. Haf- tings of Folkftone, to whom the title of earl of Huntingdon is fup- pofed to have lately devolved. At Ipfwich, in his 1coth year, Alexander Dean, efq. In her 108th year, and in full . of all her faculties, Mrs. ridget Scaver, late of Treay, ~ county of Armagh. Se APRIL. A duel was lately fought in uttrelftown between Mr. Cor- ran, M.P. and major Hobart, fe- cretary to the lord lieutenant, oc- cafioned by fome words fpoken in parliament. The meeting was at the Hermitage, one of lord Car- hampton’s feats; Mr. Corran was attended by Mr. Egan; major Ho- bart by lord Carhampton, Being put to their ground, and agreed to fire as they: chofe, Mr. Corran fired rf. L [199 firft, without effeft; whereupon ma- jor Hobart faid, « He hoped Mr. Corran was fatisfed.” Mr. Egan than called out to major Hobart that he had not fired, as did Mr. Corran. The major, advancing a ftep or two towards Mr. Corran, repeated what he had faid before. Mr. Corran replied, “ 1 am forry, fir, you have taken this ad- vantage; but you haye made it impoffible for me not to be fatif- HEE Sere oat 14) On the 14th inft. advice was re- ceived at Edinburgh, f-om William Pulteney, efq. who has inftituted a profeflorfhip for agriculture in the univerfity there, that he had fixed upon Dr. Andrew Coventry to fill that office. Leétures are to be delivered an- nually.—The fubjeéts are, refpect- ing the nature of foils and manures, the conftruétion of implements of hufbandry, the beft and moft fuc- cefsful known prattices, the man- ner of inftituting experiments to afcertain the effect of a practice in any given foil or climate, and the beft manner of introducing or train- ing fkilful labourers and country artificers, where thefe may be want- ing. ‘The patronage of this inftitution,~ after the deceafe of the founder, is vefted jointly in, 1, The judges of the courts of feflion and exchequer 5 z. The magiftrates and town coun- cil of Edinburgh, 3. The univer- fity of Edinburgh. One delegate from each of thefe bodies is to meet in a hall in the univerfity; and a majority determine the election, in cafe of a yacancy. A duel was fought at Muffelbo- rough Links, near Edinburgh, on the 14th inft. between fir George Ramfay, and captain Macrae; the [N 4] circum 20] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. circumftances ftated are precifely as follows : A fervant of fir George, keeping a chair at the door of the Edin- burgh theatre, was ordered by capt. Macrae to remove it; on his ob- jecting, fome words enfued, and the fracas concluded in captain Macrae’s chaftifing the fervant very feverely. Meeting the next day with fir George Ramfay, he infifted on his difmiffing the man from his fervice. This was refufed, on the ground, that whatever was the mifconduct of the fervant, he had already re- ceived a fufficient punifhment. A challenge was the immediate confequence of this refufal. The parties met on Muffelborough Links ; fir George Ramfay accompanied by fir William Maxwell of Moncrief; and capt. Macrae by Mr. Hay. The former fired firft, but without effet. Capt. Macrae returned the fire, and lodged his ball fo near the heart of his antagonift, that every art to extract it was fruitlefs. Sir George languifhed in much agony until Friday morning, when he ex- ired, The deceafed was a gentleman of the moft amiable charaéter and dif- pofition, and had but lately married a beautiful young lady, the fifter of lord Saltoun. The lord chancellor com- 17th. mitted the rev. Mr. Stevens to the fleet prifon, for carrying a young lady of the name of Jefferies to Gretna-Green, where he was married to her, fhe being a ward of the court of chancery. ‘The mo- ther, aunt, and other relations and friends of the lady, all bore honour- able teftimony, by their affidavits, to the character of Mr. Stevens, and depofed that they approved of the marriage, although it was contract- ed without their privity. The lord chancellor faid, there could be no excufe for a clergyman of the eftab- ‘lifhed church carrying a ward of the court to Scotland, and there being married by ablackfmith. The pro- teCtion of the wards of that court was of gteatimportance. His lord- fhip, however, paid due attention to the affidayits, which he faid might become a fubject of future confide~ ration. Stephano Apologi, Antonio th Marini, and Jacintha Farari, 2 . for the murder of their companion near Belfont; and Thomas Hewet Matters, for the murder of his mif- trefs‘s daughter, Marv Loveden, near Whitechapel, were executed before the debtor’s door at New~ gate, purfuant to their fentence, The three former having received the Sacrament according to the ce- remonies of the Romifh church, about fix o’clock they made a full confeffion of the horrid deed. An- tonio Marini (who profeffed him- felf to be the fon of one of the Ve- ‘“netian noblefle, and fpoke Latin, Spanifh, French, and Italian very elegantly and fluently) declared to the prieft who attended them, that they had all agreed to kill their comrade as he flept in his bed two nights before the murder was com- mitted; but that he, Marini, was fo fhocked at the idea of it on re- fleftion, that he determined to a- bandon it, and from that time never failed to pray fome hours each day, that the deity would ftrengthen him in this refolution. That at the time the murder was perpetrated, he was walking more than a hundred yards before them, when he heard the de- ceafed cry aloud, « Antonio—Oh Antonio!” That he ran back and found him lifelefs, with one arm broken, ‘¢harge in the indictment. € HyRON bk Crh E broken, and his fkull fra€tured, which he learnt was done by Apologi in knocking him down; and that his throat was cut in two places by Farari with a knife which he had borrowed of him that morning. That he was in great horror at the fight of fuch a fpectacle! but affifted in burying the body, for fear of a difcovery, and that he fhould be deemed an acceflary in the murder. Apologi and Farari acknow- ledged all he thus faid was ftriftly true. On afcending the {caffold, Apologi and Fararidifcovered great perturbation of mind, and wept a- bundantly. Marini deported him- felf with more fortitude, and yet with becoming decency. Thomas Hewet Maiters likewife fhewed a becoming contrition. After a few minutes {pent in devotion with their refpective minifters, the drop fell, when they expiated (it is hoped) their offences, in the prefence of an incredible number of {pectators. After hanging the ufual time, their hodies were cut down, and fent to furgeons’ hall for difleCtion. At Warwick affizes a perfon was indifted for ftealing a horfe. It was proved, that he hired the horfe at London, to go a fhort journey ; that he rode him to Birmingham, and there fold him, and converted the money to his own ufe. Thefe circumftances were fubmitted to the confideration of the jury; who brought in their verdiét, “ guilty of feliing the horfe.” The judge told them, he’ knew no law that made the felling a horfe a capital crime; and referred back to the They then laid their heads togetheragain, and, after mature confideration, brought in their final verdict, « not guilty,” . [201 Mr. Erfkine on the part of fir James Marriot, judge of the bigh court of admiralty, moved the court of kinz’s bench for a cri- minal information againft David Parry, efq; governor of the ifland of Barbadoes, for an infult offered to fir James in his character as a judge. A caufe had been tried in the court of admiralty, in which the governor was concerned, and, in giving judgment in that caufe, fir James made feveral obfervations on the conduct of the governor, which the governor refented, and called upon fir james iz the charaZer of a gentleman, The rule was granted. But on the 8th of May, the go- vernor, by his counfel, fignified his defire of apologizing to fir James for his warmth. ‘The apology was accepted ; the rule difcharged. Diep, 16th, at the houfe of a relation near Paris, in the diocefe of Bayonne, M. Bourgelais, author of fome very curious remarks on me- taphyfical and hiftorical chronology. He was born a cripple, and fpent his life in ftudy. ‘The various fy{- tems of facred chronology he treated upon with great ability. He was well verfedin moft of the European languages. With all his abilities, however, he exifted in the fhade of poverty. At Philadelphia, aged 34 oth, years and 3 months, Benjamin ha Franklin, efq. LL.D. and F.R.S. He was born in 1706, and brought up in the profeffion of a printer; in which capacity he worked fome years as a journeyman with the late Mr. Watts. His love of {cience can be traced from an early period. A letter of his to Sir Hans Sloane, dated June 2, 1725, is printed in vol. L. p. 459, of tie Gentleman’s Magazine. 25th, He 202] He appeared here in the line of his bufinefs; but had procured letters to, and was well received by, Mar- tin Folkes, efq. afterwards Preti- dent of the Royal Society, and, through him, was known to Dr. Ciarke. In 1735, Mr. Franklin had a fevere pleurify, which termi- nated in an abfcefs on the left lobe of his lungs, and he was then al- moft fuffocated with the quantity and fuddennefs of the difcharge. A fecond attack of a fimilar nature happened fome years after this, from which he. foon recovered, and did not appear to fuffer any incon- venience in his refpiration from thefe difeafes. In 1759, he publithed « An Hifto- rical Review of the Government of Penfylvania;” and in 1760, ‘* The intereits of Great Britain confider- ed, with regard to her colonies.” In 1773 he attracted the public no- tice by a letter on the duel between Nr, Whateley and Mr. Temple.— Onthe 29th of January, 1774, he was heard before the privy council, on a petition he had long before prefented, as agent for Maiiachulets Bay, againft their governor, Mr. Hutchinfon ; when the petition was abruptly difmiffed, and Mr. Frank- lin removed from the office of de- puty poftmatter-general for the Co- lonies. Previous to this period, it is a teftimony té truth, and bare juttice to his memory, to obferve, that he ufed his utmoft endeavours to prevent a breach between Great Britain and America; and it is perhaps to be lamented that his counfels were difregarded. He from this time entertained fo ardent a refentment, that neither politenefs nor moderation could reftrain the moft pointed and bitter farcafms againft the condu& of England in mixed companies. In the fummer ~ ANNUAL REGISTER, ‘1790. of 1775, he returned to Philadef- phia, and was immediately eleéted one of their delegates to the Con- tinental Congreis. In December that year, being now near 70 years of age, he arrived at Paris, and foon after took the houfe which Lord Stormont had occupied. i In February, 1777, he had the regular appointment of plenipoten- tiary from the Congrefs to the French court; but obtained leave ofdifmifiion in 1780. His pafiport to Capt. Cook bears date March 1oth, 1779. In 1783 he caufed a medal to be ftruck to commemorate the independence of America. July 24th, 1785, he embarked at Havre, and on the fame day landed at Southampton; whence, after a flight refrefhment, he failed for Cowes, where a veilel was ready to convey him to Philadelphia. He was re- ceived there, Sept. 15th, with uni- verfal acclamation. ‘[he memories of the aged are not fuppofed to be retentive. Franklin was an excep- tion to this rule; he acquired French after feventy; he fpoke flu- ently, and even {cientifically, in that language. In his French embafly Dr. Franklin became. the soz, the fafhionable topic of modifh conver- fation; the Jadies had hats a-/a- Franklin; and crowds of belles and beaux often fluttered after him in the garden of the Thuilleries. * The tone, with which Dr. Frank. lin had “been affiéted for feveral vears, had for the laft 12 months confined him chiefly to his bed; and during the extreme painful parox- yims he was obliged to take lauda- num, to mitigate his tortures; ftill, in the intervals of pain, he not only amufed himfelf with reading, and converfing chearfully with his fami- Jy, and a few friends who vifited him, but was often employed ia doing CHRONICLE. doing bufinefs of a public as well as private nature; and in every in- ftance diplayed, not only a readj- nefs and difpofition of doing good, dat the fulleft and cleareft pofieffion of his mental abilities. About fix- teen days before his death, he was feized with a feverifh indifpofition, without any particular fymptoms attending it till the third or fourth day, when he complained of a pain in his left breaft, which increafed until it became extremely acute, with a cough, and !aborious breath- ing. In this frame of body and mind he continued till five days be- fore his death, when his pain and difhculty of breathing entirely left him, and his family were flattering themfelves with the hopes of his recovery; but an impofthumation, which had formed itfelf in his lungs, fuddenly burft, and difcharged a great quantity of matter, which he continued to throw up while he had fufficient ftrength to. do it, but as that failed, the organs of refpira- tion became gradually oppreffed, a calm lethargic ftate fucceeded, and on the 17th of April, about eleven o’clock at night, he quietly clofeda long and ufeful life. He has left iflue one fon, Governor William Franklin, who was a zealous and attive loyalift during the late prunes, and new refides in ondon; and a daughter married to Mr. Richard Bache, ‘a merchant in Philadelphia. 'To the two latter _ he has bequeathed the chief part of his eftate, during their refpective lives, and afterwards to be divided equally among theirchildren. Tohis grandfon, William Temple Franklin, efq. he leaves a grant of fome lands in the ftate of Georgia, the greateft part of his library, and all his papers, [203 befides fomething additional in cafe of his marriage. He has alfo made various bequefts and donations to cities, public bodies, and individu- als; and has requeited that the fol- lowing epitaph, which he compofed for himfelf fome years ago, may bé infcribed on his tomibftone: «¢ The body of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer, (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and ftript ofits lettering and gilding) lies here food for worms: yet the work itfelf fhall not be loft,” but will (as he believed) appear once more im a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by THE AUTHOR.” Philedelphia never difplayed a fcene of greater grandeur than was exhibited at his funeral. ‘ His re- mains were interred on the 21tt; and the concourfe of people affem- bled on the occafion was immenfe. The body was attended to the grave by thirty clergymen, and men of all ranks and profeflions, arranged in the greateft order. the city were tolled muffled, and there was a difcharge of artillery. Nothing was omitted that cou'd fhew the refpect and veneration of his fellow-citizens for {@ exalted a character. The Congrefs have or- dered a general mourning for one month throughout the United States ; and the national affembly of France have alfo decreed a general mourn- ing of three days. The principles and qualities of electricity were fcarcely known in the laft age. The eleétric fluid was barely mentioned at the end of Newton’s Optics. It was referved for All the beils in | pe ‘\soa] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. for Franklin to inveftigate its pro- perties; andof that branch of{cience he may be confidered as the father. Theory was advanced to practiceand. utility by the invention of the cpn- duétor. Nor were his obfervations confined to this fcience. ‘There were few:fubje&ts of common utility upon which he did not comment, none were touched by him which he did not improve and illuftrate ; of this, his Advice to Servants—to Tradefmen—to Settlers in America —on the Cure of Smoky Chimnies —Rules for Clubs and for Converfa- tion—Maxims to convert a great into a {mall Empire, written with the cauftic {pirit of Swift, are abund- ant proofs. MA Y. 7 The Marfhal of the King’s Bench Prifon having com- plained to the court of certain ir- regularities, which he had not pow- er to reprefs, that court, in order to prevent .thefe irregularities, has made the following orders: Firft—That no prifoner, after the firft day of next Trinity term, fhall have any rule for being abfent from his confinement, for a longer {pace than three days during each term. Secondly—That the New Prifon fhall be within the rules of the King’s Bench. Thirdly—That the rules fhall be circumfcribed according to the li- mits mentioned in the order; and particularly, that every public houfe locally fituated within the rules, fhall be confidered as without the rules; fo that every prifoner-who is feen at any public houfe within the rules, will render the marfhal liable to an adtion for an efcape—The Dog and Duck, the Circus, and the other places of public entertainment in that neighbourhood, will in con- fequence be without the rules. George Franklin, a licutenant in the marines, received judgment of the court of king’s bench, for fend- ing achallenge to his fuperior offi- cer.—He was fentenced to a twelve- month’s imprifonment in the king’s bench prifon, and to find fecurity for keeping the peace for two years, himfelfin 1ool. and two fecuritiés in sol. each. James Chapman was brought dh from Newgate to the court of 2" ~ King’s Bench, to receive judgment for the confpiracy in carrying-off the countefs of Strathmore. He was fentenced to be imprifoned in Newgate for the term of two years, and duiing that time to ftand once in the pillory at Charing-crofs, The recorder made his re- / ‘ port to the king in council of : the. prifoners’ under fentence of death in Newgate, convicted at the laft fefiions, when the following were ordered for execution on the rgth, viz. Thomas Parker and Sophia Girton, for coining and counterfeit- ing the filver coin of this realm call- eda fhilling ; Edward Humphreys, for robbing James Cumberland Bentley, in the Strand, of a cam- brick handkerchief; and Guinard Villoni, for ftealing, in the honfe of James Daubigny, an iron cheft con- taining about zoool..in cafh and notes.—The three men were exe- cuted accordingly; but the woman has been refpited, Frith was this morning | 4 tried at the Old Bailey for 7*"* high treafon, in throwing a ftone at the king, when in his coach, going to the parliament houfe.—The jury acquitted him, being fatisfied, a Ae C*H R°O'N* IC L*E: the proof produced, that he is a lunatic. He was tried in the moft folemn manner; and the attorney and folicitor general behaved on the occafion with becoming humanity. Great riots happened about this time in feveral parts of the kingdom of Ireland, in confequence of the elec- tion of members to the new partia- ment. Colonel Maffey being re- turned for the county of Limerick, the mob inftantly attacked him and his friends, and it was with dificul- ty they efcaped with their lives. They afterwards razed to the ground the houfes of many gen- the men who voted for him; among others, the beautiful feat of fir D. Burgh, although lady Burgh, on her knees, prayed them to {pare it. Mr. Power, fon to Richard Pow- .er, efq. one of the candidates for the county of Waterford, in confe- quence of an election difpute with captain Grumbleton of the 13th regiment of dragoons, went out with that gentleman on the 4th inftant, and was fhot dead on the field. We learn from New York, that in the reprefentative houfe of the united ftates, the report of the fe- cretary of the treafury was read in full aflembly ; when it appeared that the whole debt of the ftates a- mounted, with the intereft due thereon, to 25,750,0001. fterling; the annual intereft to 1,320,075 |. which will be provided for by the propofed new duties on fpirits, Wines, tea, coffee, &c. The report recommended an inland excife, which it was judged would fully eftablith the national credit. Diep, at Epfom, after a fhort illnefs, aged 64, the Rev. Martin Madan, M.A. author of “ The- lyphthora,”’ of a late literal tranfla- tion of Juvenal and Perfius, and of feveral other publications. [205 At his apartments in the Britith Mufeum, the Rev. Charles Godfrey Woide, D.D. F.R. and A.SS. rea- cer and chaplain at the Dutch cha- pel in the Savoy, and one of the af- fittant librarians of the Britifh Mu- feum; who publifhed, in 1779, 2 grammar and lexicon of the Egyp- tian language, both in quarto, and in 1736 the famous Alexandrian New Teftament, in folio. At Norwich, in his 64th year, h. Lloyd, D.D. 25 years dean of that cathedral. At Trinity colle ge, Oxford, a aged 62, the Rev. Thomas 7** Warton, B. D. fenior fellow of that college, Camden’s reader of antient hiftory, poet laureat (in which he fucceeded the late Mr. Whitehead in 1785), and formerly profeflor of poetry in that univer- fity. His focial qualities had Jong endeared him to the members of his own fociety, among whom he con- ftantly refided. The brilliancy of his wit, the folidity of his judgment, and the affability of his temper, give to all who had the happinefs of his acquaintance the moft poig- nant regret for his irreparable lofs, His literary produétions have ren- dered him peculiarly eminent as an annotator, a biographer, an an- tiquary, and a poet; and he may be defervedly confidered as the orna- ment, not only of the univerfity, but ofthe literary world at large. Such, indeed, was the vigour of his mind, the claffical purity of his tafte, the extentand che variety of his learning, that his memory will be for ever revered as a_ profound fcholar, and a man of true genius. Learning muft deplore him as one of her beft and moft valuable or- naments. ‘The fame which his « Hiftory of Englith Poetry” has- obtained will remain an immortal ornament 206] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. ornament of his induftry, the cor- re€tnefs of his judgment, and the penetration of his underftanding ; and whoever reads the odes which loyalty diated at two periods of the year, will fhed a tear when he finds that the benevolence and phi- lanthropy of the monarch are no longer to receive their merited pa- negyricks from the pen of a lover of the mufes, who {corned to flatter, and who detefted mercenary adulation. Anthony Warton, vicar of Go- dalming, Surrey, from 1682 to 1715, and buried in the chancel there, with a monument, ‘was fon of An- thony, vicar of Breamore, Hants, (younger brother of the family of Michael W. efg. of Beverley, but originally of Warton-hall, in the county of Lancafter) and was ad~ mitted of Trinity college, Oxford, afterwards became gentieman-com- moner of Magdalen cvilege, where he took the degree of LL.B. 1673. He was the father of Thomas War- ton, B.D. fellow of Magdalen col- lege, Oxford, and afterwards pro- feifor of poetry in that univeriity, and vicar of Bafingftoke, Hants, and of Cobham, Surrey, who, by Eliza- beth, daughter of the Rev. Joieph Richardfon, reGior of Dunsfold, had two fons, John, the prefent able and worthy matter of Wiachefter {chool, and Thomas, the fubject of this ar- ticle, and one daughter, Jane. Thomas proceeded M.A. 1750; B.D. 1767; was elected poetry profeflor on the death of Hawkins, 1756, which he refigned before 1771, when he was elected F, A.S. and Camdenian profeffor, 1785, on the refignation of Dr. Scott. In 1768 he was prefented to the vica- rage of Shalfield, Wilts; and, 1782, to the donative of Hill Farrance, Somertfet. The profeffor’s writings are, « A Companion to the Guide, and a Guide to the Companion; being a complete fupplement to all the accounts of Oxford hitherto publifhed, 1760. ; “« The Triumph of Ifis, 1753,” in anfwer to Mr. Mafon’s « Ifis, an Elegy, 1748.” « The Life and Literary Re- mains of RalphBathurit, M.D. dean of Wells, and prefident of Trinity college, Oxford, 1761,” $vo. « The life of fir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity college, Oxford, 1772,” 8vo. g « A Defcription of the city, col- lege, and cathedral of Winchetter,” without date or name. «© Newmarket, a Satire,’ 1751. 4to. In Dodfley’s colleétion we have by him, vol. LV. p. 253, “ The Progrefs of Difcontent;” VI. 258, « A Panegyrick on Ale;’’ ibid. « The Pleafures of Melancholy.” His other poetical effufions were all collected together in a {mall oc- tavo volume, 1777. ‘To thefe fhould now be added the odes writ- ten in the years 1785, 6, 7, and 8, fince his appointment to the place of poet laureat, 1785. Thefe were only the lighter productions of Mr. Warton’s genius. In 1754, he publifhed « Obfervations on. the Faerie Queene of Spenfer,” which, after he was eleéted profeffor of poetry in the univerfity of Oxford, he correéted and enlarged, in z vols. 1zmo. 1760. He communicated ma- ny excellent notes to the varioruzm edition of Shakefpeare, 1786. But his chief d’auvre was, * The Hif- tory of Englith Poetry, from the clofe of the eleventh to the com- mencement of the eighteenth cen- tury. To which are prefixed, Two Diflertations, aa . smical honours. Yiffertations, on tle Origin of Ro- antic Fi¢tion in Europe, and on e Introduction of Learning into England.” _ Mr. W. engaged, as might natu- rally be expected, in the Rowleian controverfy ; and his “ Enquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems attri- buted to Thomas Rowley, 1782,” carries conviction with every unpre- judiced mind. ; His lait publication was, “ Poems on feveral Occafions, Englifh, La- tin, and Italian, with Tranflations, by John Milton; with notes criti- eal and explanatory, and other il- luitrations, 1785,”? 8vo. Mr. Warton’s “ Hiftory of Kid- _ dington Parifh,” to the rectory of which he was prefented in1771, by the earl of Litchfield, printed for private ufe, 1781, and afterwards “made public, is an admirable {peci- men of patuchial hiftory, and of his general idea of fuch hiltory, which jerves but to make us regret that he had not opportunity to execute more of {uch a plan. In the afternoon of May 27th, -his remains were interred in the ante-chapel of Trinity college, near thofe of Dr. Huddesford, their late prefident, with the higheft acade- The vice chancel- lor, the heads of houfes, the profef- fors, and the prottors, had previ- ‘oufly requefted permiffion of the prefident and fellows, to attend the funcral. In digging Mr, Warton’s grave, at the depth of about fix feet, were found fome few remains of a body, which appeared to have been inter- red with his boots and other appa- re], though they had been evidently inclofed in a coflin.s A_ girdle- buckle, about the bignels of a crown-pi¢ce, was alfo dug up; and HOCER.O WN C LB. [207 there were found about the middle of the body fome fine filver thread, which might probably have belong- ved to the fringe of the girdle; but no conje¢tures can be formed either as to the date or perfonage. JUNE. Yefterday the feffions at the | Old Bailey ended, when the a following convicts received fertence of death, viz. Thomas Hopkins, Richard Turner. Elizabeth Afker, Henry White, William Read, and William Jenkinfon; two were fen- tenced to be tranfported for four- teen years; thirty-eight for feven years; five were fined, and to be imprifoned in Newgate; one in Wood-ftreet Compter;. four in Clerkenwell Bridewell; ten to be publickly whipped; and thirteen were difcharged by proclamation. This being the king’s birth day, when his majefty entered Coke the 53d year of his age, there was a very numerous and brilliant draw- ing-room at St. James’s palace. A duel was lately fought at Brid- lington, between Mr. Macduff, cap- tain’s clerk of the Racehorfe floop of war, and Mr. Prince, midihip- man, in which the latter was killed, This day the parliament was diffolved by proclama- tion, During the courfe of the two laft and of the prefent months, the ftreets of the metropo- lis were infefted by,a villain of a fpecies that has hitherto been nan- defcript. It was his practice to fol- low fome well-dreffed lady, whom he found unaccompanied by a man, and fometimes after ufing grofs lan- guage, fometimes without faying a rt ~word, 12th, 13th. 208] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. word, to give her a cut with a fharp inftrument he held concealed in his hand, either through her ftays or through her petticoats behind. —Sc- veral ladies were attacked by him in this manner, and feveral wounded, and the wretch had always the addrefs to efcape undetected. At length, on the 13th inft. in the afternoon, as Mifs Porter was walking in the park, accompanied by Mr. Col- man, fhe faw a man whom fhe in- formed Mr. Colman was the per- fon who had aflaulted her in the manner fo often mentioned in the news-papers. Mr. Colman immediately fol- lowed him, in order, if poffible, to find out his place of abode; and in- fitted upon his going to Mifs Por- ter’s houfe, where all the Mifs Por- ters declared they perfectly well recollected him to be the perfon who had affaulted them: He was confined in St. James’s watch-houfe that night, and yefterday was /brought up to the public office in Bow-ttreet. The four Mifs Porters, Mifs Ann Froft, and the two Mifs Vaughans, fwore pofitively to the prifoner having aflaulted them ons two dif- ferent days, namely, the lord may- or’s day, and the queen’s birth- day. The prifoner’s name is Renwick Williams; he was originally edu- cated for a dancing-maiter, but has for fome time followed the bufinefs of artificial fhower-making ; he was committed to New Prifon, Clerk- enwell, for further examination. [See his trial in the Appendix to the Chronicle. ] The high bailiff, confla- bles, &c. of Weftminfter, proceeded to the huftings before the portico of St..Paul’s, Covent Gar- 6 44th. den, for the purpofe of commencing the election of members to ferve in the enfuing parliament; when the right hon. lord Hood, and the right hon. Charles James Fox, foon ap- peared, with a numerous retinue, and were nominated as candidates ; the former, by captain Berkeley ; the latter, by Mr. Serjeant Adair, And prefently, totally unexpected, Mr. Horne Tooke ftood up, and af- ter a fhort fpeech, nominated him- felf as a candidate for their choice ; to give, he faid, the electors of Weltminfter an opportunity to affert their independence, and not to be bartered away by minifterial in- fluence, or the man of tranfcendant abilities; pledging himfelf, at the fame time, to pay all honourable expences attending the election. Both the candidates embraced the opportunity of vindicating their charaéters from any fintfter views, and protefting to ftand each on his own particular merit. Being feverally heard, about twelve at noon the poll commenced, and was not finally clofed till the 2d of July; when the numbers were, For Mr. Fox «1 apnG For Lord Hood - 3217 For Mr. Horne Tooke 1697 The poll being declared, Mr, Fox, in a fhort fpeech, returned his thanks to the electors for their fup- port. Capt. Hood next addreffed the electors; and, for his father, lord Hood, exprefled a ftrong fenfe of gratitude for the return of his lord- . fhip to reprefent them in pazrlia- ment, Mr. Horne Tooke alfo attracted the attention of the populace by a very patriotic harangue, in which he complimented thofe worthy in- dependent ~ affifted to his carriage. “« J am fatisfied.” CHRONICLE. dependent ele&tors, who had gene- roufly fupported his caufe, the caufe -of the people, which he fhould evér maintain whilft he had a fhilling left. nell The heat of the weather * was more intenfe than is com- monly felt in the Weft Indies. In Fahrenheit’s thermometer the mer- cury rofe to 80°, and was fucceeded -in many places by ftorms of thun- der and lightning that were very deftructive, particularly in its courte to the fouth-weftward. At Yeovil a man was torn to pieces by the lightning. At Upway, in Dorfet.. fhire, a dairy-houfe was burned down. And at Wincanton, Frome, and Bradford, the ftorm-was very alarming. A duel was fought be- tween capt. Harvey Afton and lieut. Fitzgerald of the 6oth regiment of foot. The caufe of the difpute happened at Ranelagh, but fo long before the challenge; that it was imagined all idea of hoftility had ceafed. A field belonging to Chalk-lodge farm, near Hampitead, was the chofen fpot, and break of day the-time appointed. Lord Charles Fitzroy was fecond to capt. Afton; and Mr. Wood was fecond to lieut. Fitzgerald. Ten yards was the ground meafured; and Mr. Fitzgerald had the firft fire. He refted his piftol on his left arm, and took aim accordingly. The ball took a direétion fo as to glance on Mr. Afton’s wrift, and pafled from thence under his right cheek-bone, 25th. and through the neck. On receiv- ing this wound, capt. Afton called to his antagonilt, « Are you fatif- fied?” the anfwer returned was, Mr. Afton then retired from the ground, and was Happily Vou. XXX. * [209 the wound is not likely to prove mortal. Diep, at Kingfvood near Bath, aged 101, Mary Rofe. At Fintry Mill, Edinburgh, aged 113, John Buchanan. He retained all his faculties. At Dundee, aged 107, James Peters, a travelling packman. UTk Us ¥. In confequence of a difpute d which happened during the 3° election at Guildford, Mr. John Alcock (nephew.to fir Jofeph Maw- bey) called upon Mr. Sewell; and they met, at feven o’clock this morning, in a field behind Kilburn Wells; the former attended .by capt. Burnell, and the latter by capt. Newgeil. As foon as they had taken their ground, they both fired together, without effect,. Mr. Sew- ell’s fecond piftol went off acci- dentally, and the ball lodged in his own foot. Mr. Alcock then fired, and his ball pafled through the fkirt of Mr. Sewell’s coat.—'The feconds interpofed, and the affair termi- nated to mutual {atisfaction. A young whale, of the Greenland fpecies, was found this evening among the rocks near Liverpool. Tt meafured 18 feet 6 inches in length, and 10 feet 4 inches in cir- cumference in the largeft part. It had been left on fhore by the tide, and was nearly dead when difco- vered, Was commencement day at Cambridge. On the preced- ing evening his royal highnefs the duke of Gloacefter arrived at Tri- nity Lodge; and the next morning was waited upon by the vice. chan- cellor, noblemen, heads of houfes, [0] dottore, 6th. Se * ato] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. doétors, profeffors, &c. in their re- {peftive robes, who conducted him to the fenate-houfe, where his royal highnefs prince William Frederick, being introduced by Mr. Manel, the public orator, was admitted to the degree of matter of arts. - The company affembled upon the occafion was exceedingly numerous: among others prefent were Mr. Pitt, the marquis of Huntley, earl of Eufton, earl of Hardwicke, lord George Thynne, bifhop of Ey, matter of the rolls, &c. The junction of the Birmingham and Coventry canals being com- pleated, boats are preparing to pafs twice a week between London and Birmingham. The eftabliihment of water-carriage between places that have fuch an extenfive trade, muft greatly affift the commercial intereits of the kingdom. In a peat-bog at Donnadea, near the feat of fir Fitzgerald Aylmer, bart. was lately difcovered the fe- pulchre of fome Irifh chieftain, at the depth of feventeen ‘feet below the furface of the giround.—In it they found a coffin, 10 feet 4 inches in ‘length, containing a fkeleton ® feet 22 in length, with a fpear 7 feet long by the fide of it; but the handle mouldered away, when expofed to the air, and touched. ‘There were befides in the coffin two {mall urns of brafs, on which were engraven the figures of the fun and moon, of exquifite work- manfhip, though very antique. This fepulchre is fuppofed to have been built, and the coffin depofited in it, before the introduction of Chriftia- nity into Ireland. Two duels have lately been foight near Dublin; one between two lieutenants of the 56th regi- ment of foot; and the other between a gentleman of Rathfarnham and his attorney. No life was loft in either; but one of the parties in each rencontre was feverely wounded. This day the feffions at the Old Bailey ended, when one capital convict, viz. John Dyer, for ~ forgery, received fentence of death. At this feflion, John Stymack was indicted, upon the profecution of his own father, for felony —Adam Stymack, the father, faid, his fon had often robbed him, and he felt himfelf under the painful neceffity of bringing him before the court, to fave him, if he could, from the gallows. At this feflion was tried alfo Ro- bert, Jaques, for a mifdemeanor, in having entered into a confpiracy, with one Stanley and others, a- gainft the warden of the Fleet pri- ion, by having the faid Stanley ar- refted for a fictitious debt of 800 /, and afterwards affifting him to make his efcape. He was convitted on the cleareft evidence; and the crime appeared fo heinous, that the judge pronounced fentence upon him with peculiar energy : “ Robert Jaques, you have been convicted of the blackeft crime that ever came be- fore a court of juftice under the denomination of a mifdemeanor, &c. &c.: therefore the fentence of the court is, That you be imprifoned in his majelty’s gaol of Newgate for three years, and that, during that time, you do ftand in and on the pillory for one hour, between twelve and three in the day-time, at the Royal Exchange.” This evening, two young ss the gentlemen, having engaged ; a boat at Vauxhall to take’ them to London Bridge; about twelve at night, when they entered the boat, they roth. CHRONICLE. they found another man in it be- fides the waterman, who, pretend- ing only to want-to crofs the water, Was permitted to remain: but, after a fhort time, he, with the affiftance of the waterman, dragged the young gentlemen afhore, and robbed them of their watches and money. The election of a common * ferjeant came on; and Mr. Sylvefter being the only candidate, after fome converfation concerning the duties of his office, was unani- moufly chofen during plea/ure. But this being thought inconfiftent with the nature of his office, part of which is to act as a judge in the firft criminal court in the kingdom, it was refcinded next court-day. The following cafes were lately decided in the court of king’s- ench, €af 1. Brown againft Allen — _This action was brought to recover a large fum for the board, lodging, and maintenance of the defendant’s wife. ; On the part of the plaintiff it was proved, that the defendant’s wife had lodged and boarded three years in the houfe of the plaintiff, during which time he had provided her with money to buy clothes; that fhe came to his houfe, as he underftood, in confequence of the ill treatment fhe had received from her hufband, who had forcibly turned her out of doors. The counfel for the defendant Gave a quite different account. his cafe, he faid, was marked with the greateft enormity that ever dif-- graced a court; that the defendant’s Wife, without any caufe, eloped from his houfe, and deferted her three infant children, and ever fince * . ived in adultery, and had even at imes gone by the plaintifl’s name, fart If caufes like this were fuccefsful, the condition of a hufband would be miferable indeed; for every in- continent wife, after deferting her hufband, would call upon him to defray the expences of a life of in- famy and proftitution. ‘The plain- tiff was non-fuited. The judge faid, the law was clear on this fubject. If a man turned his wife out of doors, whoever received her into his houfe might bring an action, and recover the fum expended for her neceflary maintenance; but if fhe elopes, he is not liable to any debts fhe may contract. Cafe 2. An indiétment preferred by the relations of the late earl Cowper againft Edward Topham, efq. proprietor of “ The World,” for a libel, which appeared in that paper on the 17th of February laft, againft the late earl Cowper. Mr. Erfkine, on the part of the profecution, admitted that the de- fendant was only refponfible in his reJative fituation as proprietor of the paper; in which charatter, how- ever, he muft be anfwerable for every thing inferted “in it, even though it was without his know- ledge; and, he faid, this libel was the more unjutftifiable, as it flander- ed the character of a perfon de- ceafed, and therefore incapable of protecting his own reputation. Mr, Topham’s property in the paper was proved beyond a doubt; and the charge fuppofed to be li- bellous was contained under the title of « Memoirs of Earl Cow- per;’’ in which it was faid, that, while at Venice, and in Italy, he - led a very diffipated life. Mr. Mingay, counfel for the de- fendant, obferved, that, however honourable the motives might be of the relations of earl Cowper, who [9 2] preferred a2] ANNUALGOREGISTER, preferred the indiétment, yet he _ thought there ought to be fome meafure to their vengeance. They had firft profecuted the printer, who had let judgment go by default ; the author was then oifered to them, and yet they were not fatisfied : ’ but the defendant, though totally ignorant of the bufinefs, muit be dragged forward to be made a fa- crifice at the immaculate tomb of earl Cowper. The jury, after fome confideration, found the defendant guilty. y The counfel for the defendant took two exceptions: 1. That the charge could not be a libel, because it defamed no one perfon /iwing. 2. ‘That the defendant, as proprie- tor, could not be anfwerable; unlefs it was proved that he knew of the infertion. Diep, at his houfe in Argyle- Street, after two hours illnefs, ma- jor-general William Roy, deputy quarter-maiter-general, colonel of the 30th regiment of foot, furveyor- general of the coafts, F.R. and A.SS, He was traniacting bufinefs at the war-office till. eight o’clock the preceding evening. While co- lonel of artillery, he and his engi- neers, under colonel Watfon, in the winter of 1746, made an actual furvey of Scotland, which goes un- der the name of the Duke of Cum- berland’s Map,'on a very large feale, moft accurately pointing out every the fmaflleft fpot, with the Roman camps, &c. the original of which is in the ordnance-office. He reduced it, and engraved a few for prefents, under the title of “ Mappa Britanniz Septentrionalis facies Ro- mana fecundam fidem monumento- rum perveterum depicta ex Ricardo Corinenfi, monacho Weftmonafterii, emendata, & recentioribus geome- me 1790. tricis atque aftronomicis obferva- tionibus accommodata. J. Chee- vers, fc.” a fingle fheet, 18 inches by 233; drawn by colonels Watfon and Roy, and called the King’s Map. It has many camps, a good number of Roman names, a few modern ones of towns, and all the rivers and hills properly laid down. His experiments to obtain a rule for meafuring heights with baro- meters may be feen in the «* Philo- fophieal 'Tranfaétions,” vol. Ixvii. ; his curious account of the meafure- ment of a bafe on Hounflow Heath, in vol. Ixxv. for which he was com- plimented with the Copley medal; his account of the mode propofed to be followed in determining the re- lative fituations of the royal obfer- vatories of Greenwich and Paris, in vol. xxviii. By command of his majefty, he had lately undertaken, and had juft completed, a moft cu- rious, accurate, and elaborate fet of trigonometrical experiments and ob- fervations to determine the true and exact latitude and longitude of the two royal obfervatories of Green~ wich and Paris; an account of which, illuitrated by tables com- puted from aétual meafurements (to take which, his majefty had furnifh- ed him with fome very expenfive trigonometrical inftruments), he had drawn up and prefented to the royal fociety, and was {uperintending the printing of it in their “ Tranfac- © tions” at the time of his death. | At Edinburgh, Adam Smith, efq. LL.D. and F.R.S. of London and Edinburgh, one of the commiffion- ers of the cuitoms in Scotland, and formerly profeffor of moral philo- fophy in the univerfity of Glafgow, which he gave up to travel with the prefent duke of Buccleugh. In 1759 he, pyblithed « The as of Moral Sentiments,” 8vo; and in 1776, “The Wealth of Nations,” 2 vols. 4to. _ In Newgate, the Rev. Mr. Withers, confined there ever fince November laft, for a libel on Mrs. Fitzher- bert. AN G-U 'S -T An uncommonly dreadful and deftructive florm has fallen, on the 30th of July, at Menymuck, the feat of fir Archibald Grant, and its neighbourhood. About ten o’clock in the morning the fky was overcatt, and a thick, dark cloud fettled to ‘the eaftward. Some flathes of light- ning foon appeared, which were fol- lowed by a dreadful clap of thun- der, that feemed to burft juft over- head, and then to roll along for fome minutes in a direction from north to fouth. This affrighting’ clap was fucceeded by feveral o- thers, before the clouds rent, and let fall {uch fhowers of ice and hail, as no man in that part of the coun- try was ever witnefs to before. _ The hail was of the fize of a mufket- ball, with an angular point gene- rally, and cut, or rather cruthed, every thing they fell upon. The potatoes, turneps, and greens of every kind growing in the gardens, were laid flat and covered with its weight, which in fome places lay three feet deep. On that day fir Archibald Grant filled his ice-houfe; though, what is remarkable, during the whole courfe of the winter, he was unable to colle& a quantity of fnow fufficient for the purpofe. It is not eafy to conceive the general ‘confternation of the country people on'this occafion. Some feared for their fheep and cattle ; fome for qpemielyes and children, left they CHRONICLE. [213 fhould all be fmothered together in the ruins of their houfes; while others trembled, thinking the great day come, when ail things were to be at an end, and the world de. ftroyed by fire. The important event of open- ‘ing the Forth and Clyde naviga- tion from fea to fea took place, on the z8th of the lait month, by the failing of a track-barge, from the bafon of the canal near Glafgow to the river Clyde at Bowling Bay, defcending thereby 150 feet. In the courfe of her voyage fhe pafled along that ftupendous aqueduct over the Kelvin, a new object to pailen- gers below, exhibiting a veilel na- vigating 70 feet over their heads. The following are the fums bought by the commiffioners for re- ducing the national debt. Confol. 3 percent. £.2,509,800 Reduced ditto - — 1,540,700 Old South Sea - 994,909 New ditto - = 7253500 South Sea, 1751 - 227,000 529972999 Francis Fonton, one of the ” clerks in the 3 per cent. bank *°* annuity office at the bank of Eng- land, was brought before William Addington, efq. at the public office in Bow Street, and underwent a long examination. He was charged on the oaths of William Edwards, efq. accomptant- general of the bank, John Beard, and Robert Hands, fer knowingly and wilfully uttering, forging, and counterfeit- ing the name of William Baker, as the proprietor of a fum of 550/. in ‘the 3 per cent, annuity, and thereby transferring the faid fum of s5o/. and receiving, or endeavouring to receive, the fame, as his own pro- perty, with an intent to cheat and defraud the governor and company [0 3] of 2144] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ofthe bank of England. The fa& being clearly proved, he was fully committed to New Prifon, Clerk- enwell, for trial, and the parties bound over to profecute. He has been a clerk in the bank near twenty years, and bore the belt of charac- ters. Same morning, at half paft feven ‘o'clock, John Dyer, for forgery, was brought out of Newgate, and, after the ufual folemnities, was executed before the debtors gate in the Old Bailey, purfuant to his fentence. He was only 22 years of age, and was brought up at Weitminfter- {chool. Parliament met, and was aot prorogued to the 12th of Otober. 28:h Mr. Powell, the celebrated * pedeftrian, arrived in Lon- don from York. He fet out on the 22d from the monument in London to walk to York and back again in five days and eighteen hours, which is the fame time he performed this journey in- the year 1773; the wager 10 guineas to 13. On Mon- day night he, reached Stamford, where he flept; on Tuefday night, at twelve, he reached Doncafter, and arrived in York at 25 minutes after one on Wednefday noon; fet out on his return a quarter after four in ‘ the afternoon, reached Ferrybridge that evening, paffed through Don- cafter at eight o’clock on Thurfday morning, and arrived at Grantham in the evening, where he flept; at five o’clock on Friday morning he purfued his journey, and arrived at Bigeleiwade that evening, where he alfo flept; fet out at half pait four o’clock on Saturday morning, _and arrived at the monument at ten minutes paft four in the afternoon (being one hour and fifty minutes within the time), amidft the accla- mations of a vait concourfe of peo- _ a! Mr. Spellard, for many years quarter -mafter in the 16th (or queen’s) regiment of light dragoons, known by the name of Burgoyne’s, and who was captured with that general and lord Cornwallis in America, has lately arrived at Bof- ton from Gibraltar; and is an in- ftance of the: good effects that walk- ing has upon the health. ‘This gen- tleman is confidered as one of the firft walkers in Europe—he has late- ly walked through every county 1n England and Ireland, through France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and a great part of the Barbary States, - particularly from Tangiers to Me- quinez and Fez in Morocco, and through the Arabs country; he has alfo walked about 790 miles fince he arrived in America. ‘ Diep, in Ruffia, aged 31, James Trevenen, efq. a lieutenant in the Britifh navy, and a poft-captain in the Ruffian fervice. In the action with the Swedifh fleet off Wyburg, on the 4th of July, he carried a com- modore’s pendant, and, after hav- ing gallantly diftinguifhed himfelf, was mortally wounded by the Jaft fhot fired by the enemy, and died on the gth, He was a native of Cornwall, and of a very refpeétable family in that county. He received his education at the royal academy of Portfmouth; and in the year 1776 embarked as a midfhipman with capt. Cook, on his laf voyage to the South Seas. In taking aftro- nomical obferyations, and furveying the various coafts, he proved an able affiftant to that great naviga- tor, who juftly confidered him as a young gentleman of ample promife to do honour to the fervice and ey ; ¢ : $ Gn R:O Ni. C, L-E, his country. On his return from that expedition, in 1780, he was promoted by the earl of Sandwich to the rank of lieutenant; in which capacity he failed, till the conclufion of the war, with capt. King, who had the higheft efteem and friend- fhip for him. Being impatient of an inattive life, in the year 1787 he folicited employment of lord Howe, then at the head of the admiralty ; but, unfortunately for the naval fer- vice of this country, his application proved ineffectual. This refufal anduced him to draw up a plan of difcovery, and a propofal for open- ing an intercourfe by fea between -Kamtfchatka and Japan, and’ the northern parts of China ; which was laid before the- emprefs of Ruffia, and fo well approved of by her, that fhe immediately fent an officer exprefs to invite him over to carry it intoexecution. He arrived at Peterfburgh the latter end of 1787; but the war with the Turks breaking out, puta ftop to’the in- tended expedition, and he was pre- vailed upon to accept the command of a fhip of the line. In the various engagements that have taken place in the Baltic, fince the commence- ment of hoftilities between Ruffia and Sweden, he has borne a very active part, and has been honoured with repeated marks of the em- prefs’s favour; and doubtlefs, had he lived, would foon have arrived at the firft rank in her fervice. He Was a man of ftrong natural abili- ties, greatly improved by cultiva- tion; and poflefled a high fenfe of honour, and a liberal enlightened mind, To the manly courage, and the open generofity of a Britifh failor, he united, in an eminent de- gree, the education and the man- ners of a gentleman, To thofe who L215 had the pléafure of knowing him, his death is deeply diftrefling ; and to his country the lofs of fo accom- plithed an officer will not eafily be repaired. : At his head-quarters in Moravia, of a fever, in con- fequence of an operation he under- went for an obftruction in the ure- thra, Field-marfhal Laudohn, com- mander in chief of the Auftrian forces. His impatience under the medical applications, the impetuous ardour of his character, and the knowledge, above all, of his im- portance in the war, contributed to irritate his mind, and promote the violence of the fever. He refifted the application of cataplaims, before and after the incifions were made, with a fatal obftinacy, which raifed the inflammation to fuch an height, that he expired under the acceffion of the fever. He was born in 1716; was a native of Livonia; and defcended from a Scottifh fa- mily. 14th. SEPTEMBER. We have at length had, in the perfon of Prince Poninfki, Grand Trea- furer of the Crown, a ftriking in- ftance of the inftability of fortune, ' or more properly fpeaking, of the certain retribution which fooner or later awaits thofe who build their own greatnefs at the expence of the reputation of their country. It is unneceflary to recount either the un- limited power he poffeffed at the famous Diet of Delegation, of which he was Marfhall, and of the Divi- fion of Poland, or the inal pro- cefs inftituted againft him, after an interval of fixteen years, for having [90 4] at Warfaw, Sept. 1. 216] at the above period betrayed (owing to perfonal’ views) the deareft in- terefts of the fate. The bufinefs, ‘it was thought, would by degrees have died away, but was on a fud- den refumed again ; and on the re- fumption of it at the feffion of the Diet of the roth ult. very ftrong de- bates took place. The Grand Trea- furer, forefeeing the refult of them, refolved to avoid the confequences of it by a fecond flight; and though releafed for the firft offence on his parole, he fecretly quitted: Warfaw on Sunday the 2gth of laft month, ‘but was met on the road by the fame Captain who guarded him the fir time he made his efcape, and who was near paying fo very dear for it. This officer met him fifteen leagues from this place, feized him, and brought him back to Warfaw. ‘This day thedelinquent was brought before the tribunal of the Diet, which was afiembled on Saturday and Sunday. Jaft, from the morning till late at night. ‘The fentence, which was read to him, declares him “< @ traitor to his country,’ of courfe divefted of his nobility, dignities, fun@ions, and employments; con- demns him ‘to be {tripped of the or- ders with which he has been deco- rated; that he fhall quit Warfaw within twenty-four hours, and the country within four weeks; after which, any Judge or Jurifdiction, who finds him on the territory of the Republic may arreft him, and punith him with death. Prince Po- ninfki, who heard the ' judgment pronounced at the bar of the tribu- nal, muft further fubmit to the de- grading mortification of affiting at its publication before all the people aflembled on the fquare before the Town-hall, where the infignia of the orders with which he has, been \ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. decorated are to-be torn from him, and from whence he is afterwards to be conducted through the princi- pal ftreets, accompanied by a cri- er, who is to proclaim, “ Such is the fate of traitors to their country.” ‘However, the punifhment of the culprit will be perfonal, and will not affeét his confort, children, bro- thers, or any of his family or pof- terity. # , At the Old Bailey, Barring- ton was put to the bar, indict- ed for ftealing a gold watch, the property of H.H. Townfend, efg. at- Enfield races. He was ‘ver genteelly dreffed. He challenged one of the»jury, a Mr. Mitt, pe- remptorily, which was allowed. Mr. Townfend gave a very clear and decifive evidence of his lofing the watch from his wailtcoat pocket —that as he was leading his horfe to the poft, fome perfon pufhed by him in a violent manner, twice. That on being fhewn him, by a Mr. Baades, as Barrington, he re- cognized him as the perfon who had pufhed by him, and immediate- ly fecured and carried him to a booth. Here it was proved by fe- veral witneffes that Barrington dropt a watch behind him, which was taken up immediately, and proved to be Mr. Townfend’s. Some of the witneffes faw the watch fall- ing from him, and were pofitive it could come from no other quarter. Before he pleaded in his defence, he requefted to be. heard; which being granted, he addreffed thé court as follows: ** My lords! At the time of my apprehenfion I had in my pocket a filk purfe, containing twenty-two guineas awd filver. “This property was forcibly taken from me, and although I have applied to have it returned, ¥7th. ae -of his watch. CHRONICLE. retorned, it is ftill detained; under what pretext, I am totally at a lofs to know. PerhapsI fhare, in com- mon with other miferable men in my fituation, this hardfhip, I had almoft faid cruelty; becaufe, to de- prive prifoners of their property, is tantamount towithholding the means -of their defence, and the chance of proving their innocence. 1] am ad- vifed, my lord, that fuch proceed- ings are illegal, and direétly con- trary to a pofitive act of parliament (11th Henry VII). I therefore leave it to your lordfhips, who, I am convinced, will give fuch direc- tions as are confiftent with facred law and ftri& juftice.” The judges ordered the money to be returned; which was according- ly done, in open court. Being now called upon for his defence, he faid, «I am placed in a very diftrefiing fituation; if 1 am filent, it may lead to an opinion of my guilt; if I fpeak too boldly, it may occafion the jury to ‘diftruit -any thing which 1 may advance; on either fide 1 am likely to be in- volved in fome danger. I hope, however, that the gentlemen of the jury, adverting only to the prefent affair, will indulge me with fome fa- vour, and credit that which wears the femblance of truth. *« The evidence adduced againft me is, in many parts, defective and inconfiftent; and that of Mary Danby I am inclined to think ra- ther unfair, as it never was heard of ‘until this day. When Mr. Town- fend came up to me at Enfield races, he faid my name was Bar- rington, and that I had robbed him I anfwered him, that in the firft he was right, but that as to the robbery he was perfectly Wrong. I was then, amidita great [217 tumult, conveyed to the booth; and a very great misfortune it is for me that you have not feen that booth, and might thereby be ena- bled to judge how probable it is that another perfon might drop the watch over the rails. *¢ T was flanding clofe to the rails when the watch was claimed, and am forry that this material part fhould be varied by the evidence. —The coachman faid before juttice Hubbard, that he did not fee it fall, ‘and the probability that he would have called out if he had, tended very much to invalidate his evi- dence. He was afked before Mr. Hubbard, whether he could fwear to the watch; and although he at that time declined it, yet he now comes forward, and pofitively af- firms what he had before doubted. « From Mr. Townfend’s fitua- tion, who was anxious, amid a crowd, to carefs a winning horfe, it is more than probable that in the {queezing his watch might either have tumbled out of his pocket, or might have been taken by fome perfon, who, feeling for my fitua- tion when forcibly detained in the booth, might have thrown it at my feet, to fave an innocent man. << T am fenfible that common re- port has injured my charaéter, and it may well be expected that the affertions in newfpapers have confi- derably hurt my reputation for in- tegrity: of this I am confcious that many: now prefent are convinced; but [ can, however, truft my fate to the noble nature of a Britith court. Life is the gift of God— liberty the greateft blefling ; and ‘they cannot reft more fecure than in the breaft of an Englith jury, who delight not in blood, but whofe only failing is—Humanity. ~ se Tt 218] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. « It is probably expected that I fhall make an appeal to the paffions —andif Ican be thought with juftice to appeal to them, I will think my- ’ Aelf fortunate; for to the paffions we owe benevolence, the beft of virtues. « Tam now juft thirty-two years of age, and from the enjoyments of my pait life I am not very impa- tient about the other thirty-two years which I may reafonably {up- ofe to come:—the uncertainty of eat happinefs I have often re- marked, and have always confidered a tranquil heart as the greatef ' blefling: —the thought of death may appal the rich, but it is not fo hideous in my eyes, who have been continually involved in mifery. « T have an affectionate compa- nion, and an infant offspring, whofe countenances have cheered me through all my misfortunes: my good name is loft in this land; but fhould I be fo happy as to over- come the prefent accufation, I will retire to fome far diftant land, where fimplicity of manners will not render me a fubjeét of {ufpicion, and rather ftarve upon the pavement ‘than be brought into this predica- ment again. « If the gentlemen of the jury think me innocent of the prefent accufation, I pledge myfelf to en- deavour to recover my loft charac- ~ ter;-and I hope, that by my con- du& my future life will as largely Aeferve applaufe,.as my paft has been fubject to cenfure and fufpi- cion,”” Baron Eyre then proceeded (no evidence whatever being offered on behalf of the prifener) to recapi- tulate the evidence, which he did with the utmoft precifion and im- partiality ; and the jury, with little or no hefitation, brought in their © . verdit—Guilty ! The lord chief. Baron then ad- drefled Barrington in a manner that reflected the higheft honour upon him. He obferved to him, that during the whole of his trial he had behaved to him with the fame im- partiality as if he had never hefore feen him at that bar. The event; however, being over, and there be- ing no danger of prejudicing him in the minds of thofe who heard him, he could not help reminding him that, he had juft efcaped, by the lenity of his profecutor, that fate which the offended laws of his coun- try had richly demanded. He was forry to fee talents fuch as he pof- feffed fo bafely and fo fhamefully proftituted; and he could not help exprefling his fears, that from the many ineffectual warnings he had had, both in his own perion, and a thoufand other inftances, he would, notwithitanding, perfilt in his evil courfes, till he fhould meet with a fhameful and ignominious termina- tion of his exiftence. Barrington bowed, and retired. On the.z2d, upon receiving his fentence, he called the attention of the court to the following fpeech: « My Lord, « | have much to fay in extenua- tion of the crime for which I ftand convicted; but, upon confideration, I will not arreft the.attention of the court toolong. Amongft the extra- ordinary. viciflitudes incident to hu- man nature, it is the peculiar and unfortunate lot of fome perfons to have their beft wifhes and moft earneft endeavours to deferve the good opinion of fociety entirely fruf- trated; whatever they fay or do, every action and its motive is mif- interpreted and twilted from ni rea €H RON 1, CLE real intention. That this has been my fate, does not ftand in need of any confirmation. Every effort to deferve well of mankind, that my heart bore witnefs to its retitude, has been conftantly thwartéd, and fendered abortive. Many of the circumftances of my life have there- fore happened in {pite of myfelf. ' « The world has given me credit for abilities, indeed much more than I deferved: but I have found no kind hand to fofter thofe abilities, I might afk, Where was the gene- rous and powerful hand that was ' ftretched forth to refcue George Barrington from infamy? Jn an age like this, which in many refpects is fo juftly famed for liberal ienti- ments, it was my hard lot that no noble-minded gentleman ftepped forward and faid, «* You are pof- « feffed of abilities which may be « ufeful to fociety. I feel for your « fituation, and as long as you act ** the part of a good citizen I wiil « be your protector; you will then « have time and opportunity to ref- * cue yourtelf from the obloquy of f* your former conduét.” Alas! my lord! George Barrington had never the fupreme felicity of having fach comfort adminiftered to his ‘wounded {pirit. ' © As it is, the die is caft, and I bend to ‘my fate without one mur- ‘mur or complaint.” ’ On the zoth inft. another duel was fought at Margate, between Mr. Stephens, a young gentleman of twenty years of age, only fur- viving fon of Philip Stephens, efq. of the Admiralty; and Mr. Ander- Yon, an attorney. The parties met at Kingsgate, and, after exchang- ing fhots without effeét, the feconds interpofed. Mr. Stephens infifted _ing for the aflizes. [219 on an apology. Mr. Anderfon faid, he could not apologize for words he had never ufed. - They again took their ground, and, firing together, Mr. Anderfon’s ball entered the head of Mr, Stephens, and killed him on the fpot. Mr. Anderfon was apprehended; and, .as the of- fence was committed within the ju- rifdiction of the Cinque Ports, he will, by a law peculiar to that port, be immediately tried, without wait- The coroner’s inqueft have brought it in « Man- * flaughter.”’ Being Michaelmas-day, a Common, Hall was convened 29th, at Guildhall, as ufual, for the choice of a Lord Mayor for the year enfu- ing; when alderman John Boydell was chofen without oppofition. Diep, roth. at his apartments in Greenwich hofpital, fincerely regretted by all who had the plea- fure of his acquaintance, Capt. John Gore, one of the captains of Green- wich hofpital, a moft. experienced feaman, and an honour ta his pro- ° feffion. He had failed four times round the world; ii, with Comm. Byron; 2dly, with Capt. Wallace; and the two laf times with Capt. James Cook. ‘ At Richmond, in the county of York, aged 105, Mrs. Todd. Near Havant, Hants, aged 102 years, 6 months, and 8 days, Mr. Johr Coomer. At Imley hall, the feat of Jord Dudley and Ward, Charles Norris, Muf. Bac. whofe name will hold a re{fpectable rank in the annals of Englifh mufic, while his mild vir- tues and inoffenfive difpofition will be remembered with regret by all who knew him. David Rofs, Efq; late patentee 0 ’ of the theatre-royal at Edinbureh, and well known over the three king- doms for his merit asana@tor. OC T'O BER. A letter has been received from Samuel Burt, the perfon convicted of forgery, but pardoned on condition of going to New SouthWales; dated from on board the Scarborough tranfport, Falfe Bay, which contains the following account: « On the 12th of February, our fhip having feparated from the Sur- prize tranfport, the Neptune being a great way a-head, and the fea per- feétly calm, the conviéts began to whifper from one to the other their mutinous intentions; the plot being ¢ommunicated to myfelf, I readily agreed to the {cheme, aflenting to every propofal ef plunder and mur- der, until fuch time as I became completely matter of the confpiracy, and the ringleaders of it. I then apprifed the captain of the fhip, and the military officers, of the danger they were likely to encounter; and fo thoroughly did my information prepare them for the bufineis, that with little or no trouble the ring- leaders were fecured, and the fcheme entirely fruftrated.. The particulars being enquired into, they made fuch confeffions that human nature would almoft fhudder at the thoughts of. Several of them have been flogged with the greateft feverity, and others of more dangerous defcription are at this time chained to the deck, and it is fuppofed will be tried and executed immediately on their ar- rival in New South Wales.” The circumftances of Burt’s cafe were rather remarkable. Being re- 220] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. jected by 2 woman whom he wifhed to marry, he committed a forgery, and immediately afterwards furren- dered himfelf at Bow-ftreet, for the purpofe of getting hanged. Being confidered as an objeét of compat- fion, he was offered his majefty’s moit gracious pardon, which he twice or thrice refufed. ‘The lady at length confented to marry him, and he then-beeame as folicitous to live, as he had before been anxious for death: but, during her repeated vifits to him in Newgate, fhe caught the gaol fever, and died. ; Macleod, the Scotchman, azed 102, walked ten miles on the Hammerfmith road, for a wager of 100 guineas.” Two hours and a half was the time given, but he co- vered the ground in two hours and twenty-three minutes. A Spaniard, calling himfelf Jofe Seylink, was apprehended at Ply- mouth by two boatmen, on fu/picion of being a fpy. He was carried be- fore admiral Greaves, who fent him to the mayor of that town for exa- mination.—His papers being in- _ fpeéted, it appeared he came from London on the 1ft of O&ober, and went to Oxford, Bath, Briftol, and Exeter, and from thence to Ply- mouth, and wifhed to go to Fal- mouth. He was anxious to know how many fhips were there, wifhed to view the dock, magazine, &c, He feems an intelligent, fenfible — man, and had many fhrewd remarks on the government and police of Great Britain in his journal, which Was written in French, | Jofe Seylink, the Spaniard, underwent another examina- tion—but nothing material came out againft him. He fays he came hither to view the arfenal, fleet, citadel, — y x ‘ ma-~= g gth. 10th. magazines, &c. as he had at Portf- mouth. He faid he was wae Citoyen du Monde; that his pafiport was Pargent (fhewing fome filver), and that his companions were his books. On being queftioned why he came by way of Oxford, &c. he faid to fee the country, and that he came here to goto Falmouth to embark for Liibon—faid he knew none of his own nation in London—that he _ wifhed not to be recognized by them, and that he was a man of no note in his own country. _He had a good map of the coaft ' with him; but perfifted that he had no other object than curiofity—to gratify his wifh to know the man- ners and cuftoms of England. _ It is fomewhat remarkable that he _ + Was averfe to write to the Spanifh »ambaflador in London, which oc- cafions a conjecture that he is not a _ Spaniard, but a Frenchman. ’ On Tuefday the 12th inft. the people of Dartford and its neigh- bourhood were terribly alarmed by _ within a fhort mile of that town. No certain account can be given ofthe manner by which the fatal _ fpark was communicated tothe gun- powder in the corning-houfe, which was the firft building that blew up. No work was carrying on in that lace at the time the fatal accident Benet: it is therefore fuppofed that fome electric fire had entered the building, and ignited the loofe % Berercer: From hence the explo- _ fon inftantly communicated itfelf to the ftoves, to five powder-mills, and toaclofe magazine containing 25 barrels of gunpowder, which from their confined ftate, fpread dreadful devaftation around. The ftoves, €orning-houfe and magazines, were initant'y levelled with the earth; the wh ° : ead RO, Na G Ly F; the blowing-up of the powder-mills’ [aan {trong beams were fhivered in pieces, and thrown every where around to a confiderable diftance; and broken bricks, tiles, and pieces of wood, fhowered ruin on the neighbouring fields. ; The doors of a magazine which flands at a fmall diftance from the works, to the S.W. up the river, and which contains near 200 barrels of gunpowder, were forced open by the explofion; but the wind blowing with great violence from that quar-~ ter, providentially prevented the flath from reaching it: for had it communicated with this laft, the whole town of Dartford wauld pro« bably have been Jaid in ruins. Six men were deftroyed in the dreadful havock, moft of whom have: left wives and families behind them. The foreman of the works has left a wife and feven children. A caufe came on in the fhe- a. riff’s court at Guildhall, in?"* which John Wilkes, efq. as chamber- lain of the city of London, was plain- tiff, and John Pardoe, efq. defendant. The action was brought to recover the fum of 6ool. being the penalty which is ordained by a bye-law of the court of Common Council, to be paid for declining to ferve the office’ of fheriff of London, to which office the defendant had been’ elected in the year 1783; but refufed to ferve, on the ground of his being incapa- citated, It appeared that Mr. Par- doe, when he was chofen fheriff, was fixty-nine years of age, in an infirm ftate of health, and totally unfit to ferve the office of fheriff. The jury, which was fpecial, gave a verdict for the defendant. Canterbury, Of. 28. Yefterday morning, at ten o’clock, Mr. Fofter Powell, the celebrated pedeftrian, fet off from the Talbot inn, in this city, te 222] to walk to St. George’s church, Southwark, and back again, which he had engaged to perform in 24 hours, for a wager of 60 euineas. At ten o’clock this morning he teached Canterbury within two miles, and confequently loft his wager. His failure was occafioned by miftaking the road throxgh the darknefs of the night, and go- ing round by Greenwich, where he fell down feveral times. Hé was brought the remainder of the way in a carriage, very much exhaufted. th, _O2 Monday laft, two troops 39M oF the Oxford blues, from Pe- terborough, marched into Notting- . ham, intimation having been given of an intended riot among the frame- work knitters there. On Tuefday an outrageous mob colleéted,-and proceeded to fuch atts of violence, that the military were under the neceffity of firing upon them; by which many were wound- ed, and upwards of forty of the riot- €rs were feized and fent to prifon. The difturbance had not fubfided on Wednefday, on which day one of the officers was much hurt by fome glafs bottles thrown at him. Intelligence is arrived that Mr. M‘Kendrie, who undertook, between two and three years ago, to pene- trate from Montreal to the ocean, has performed his enterprize. He took a courfe north-weftward from Montreal, and he reached the ocean, according to his obfervation, about the 69th degree of northern latitude. In his track he found the country very unpromifing for trade, and very uninviting otherways. u This day is made memora- 30% blein the annals of London, by the tral of two incendiaries (the moft dangerous fet of villains that ever entered into combination for the de- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. vaftation of a great and populous city), namely Edward Lowe, and William Jobbins; the firft in the 23d year of his age; the other only in his rgth year. Thefe mifcreants, in concert with James Flindall, an old offender, and Catherine the wife of Lowe, conceived the horrid de- fign of fetting fire to the houfes of their opulent neighbours, not from _ malice to their perfons, or any diflike of their characters, but merely for the fake of plunder. Fortunately, they were detected while they were yet but young in this villainy. Had they lived to become proficients, it is not eafy to fay to what an extent of devaftation they might have carried their mif- chievous machinations. At their outfet, it appeared upon this trial, that they had deftroyed property to the value of forty thoufand pounds, though all the plunder they had been able to realize, at the rifque of their lives, did not exceed half fo many pence. Flindall, being afked by the pri- foners’ counfel how he had main- tained himfelf before this affair hap- pened, made aniwer, with aftonifh- ing affurance in the face of the whole court, by robbery and thieving. This fellow being further afked, by the fame counfel, Did you not fear that the plan of burning houfes might be fatal to the lives of many people? plainly fhewed by his an- {wer, that it was the very principle he went upon, that, when men were waked from their fleep with their houfes on fire, they would have lit- tle concern about their property, while under the terror of perifhing in the flames; fo that the incendia- ries might enrich themfelves with the plunder before the owners had recovered their confternation. Diep, . J ; CHRON T CLE Drep, at Bourn, in the county of _ Lincoln, aged 102, James Quan- borcugh. At Battyready, near Rofs, Ire- land, aged 107, William Butler. At the Hague, in the 84th year of his age, and 6oth of his miniftry, Henry Fagel, greffier to the States General. He is fucceeded in his office by his grandfon. ~ Mr, John Edwin, the Comair NOVEMBER. Advices have been received at Madrid, that the city of Oran, on - the coaft of Africa, has béen almoft entirely demolifhed by a violent ‘ earthquake ; that twenty fucceflive __fhocks were felt at fhort intervals. _ The whole’ city is deftroyed, and a _ great part of the inhabitants and of the garrifon are buried under the ruins, Almoft all the forts which cover that place and its diftri€t are _ open or deftroyed, fo as not to be in a fituation to refift an attack. ‘The interior part of the garrifon is in + ruins in many places, and the con- fiderable number of people, who were wounded and not actually killed by this difafter, remained Without affiftance. Accounts have alfo been received from Carthagena, of a fire which hap- ed a fhort time ago in that dock- yard, and which, besides doing other damage, has entirely confumed a néw fhip of the line. a A violent ftorm blew from 5% the fouth-weft, Among*the many accidents by falls of chimnies in the metropolis, the moft remarka- bie happened at the houfe of J. An- geritein, efq. in Pall-Mall. A ftack ‘in the center of the houfe broke : * [223 through the roof, and carried before _ it the floors ofall the ftories, leaving the hall open to the roof. Mrs. Angerftein, who was at breakfaft in her drefling-room, was left behind on the rgmains of its floor, with her maid: the men-fervants had juft be- fore quitted the hall. At Serjeant’s-inn-hall, ele- ven of the Judges confulted upon the cafe refervedat the Old-Bai- ley feffion, refpecting the indictment againit Renwick Williams, the fup- pofed Mox/ter. The quettions were, fir, Whether his having an intention to cut the perfon of Mifs Porter, and in carry- ing that intention into execution, cutting the garments of that lady, is an offence, within the ftatute of 6 Geo. I. c. 23. f. 11, on which he was convicted; the jury giving in’ their verdict, found, that in cutting her perfon he had thereby an in- tention to cut her garments? Se- condly, Whether the ftatute being in the conjunfive, “ That if.any perfon fhall affault another with an intent to cut the garment of fuch perfon, aud thall cut the garment of fuch perfon, then the offender fhail be guilty of felony;”? and the in- diétment, in ftating the intention, not having connected it with the act, by inferting the words that he “ hex and there” did cut her garment, could be fupported in point ef form ? Nine of the eleven judges were of opinion, that the’offence, notwith- ftanding the finding of the jury, was not within the ftatute, and that the indictment was bad in point of form. This determination declares the offenge to be only a mifdemeanor, for which, in all probahility, Wil- liams will be inditted at the nex® feffions at Hicks’s-hall, 17th, 18th. The 224] 13th The Recorder of London * made his report of the convicts in Newgate, at the two laft feffions, when Edward Lowe and William Jobbins, the two incendiaries, were ordered for execution in Alderfgate- ftreet, which has fince taken place, over-againft the ruins of Mr. Gild- ing’s houfe.’ At the fame time the fol- lowing were ordered for execution,- at the ufual place, viz. Francis Fon- ton, and ‘Thomas Tyler, for forge- ‘ries; and James Royer, James Smith, and Edward Ivory, for coun- tefeiting the current coin of the kingdom; thefe have likewife been executed. But William Slaughter, _ James Sullivan, William Burbridge, and Thomas Durkin, for burglaries, were ordered for tranfportation; as was Thomas Brown, for privately ftealing. Jane Norton, for fhoplift- ing, was ordered to be imprifoned for twelve months. And Jofeph Biggs, George Storey,and ThomasDunken, for breaking a houfe with intent to rob, were refpited during pleafure. art, . Avery fevere form of thun- * der, lightning, and rain, came on at London, but nothing like that which took place in the fouthern parts of Hampfhire and Wilts. The Elephant, of 74 guns, was ftruck in Portfmouth harbour, in a manner fcarcely to be deferibed. The light- ning feemed firft to have ftruck the heel of the main top-maft, and from thence to have defcended down the body ofthe maft, which, though a ftick of immenfe fize, is fhivered to {fplinters. "The iron hoops that fur- rounded it, and the woldings, were every one broke in {mall pieces, and parts thereof driven to the extreme parts of the fhip, both fore and aft; the fulphurgous fmell, when the fhip was firft ftruck, was fo very power- ful, that it was difficult the people “night. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. below could breathe. This caufed an alarm that the fhip was on fire, than which nothing can be more dread- ful on board a man-of-war. In this fearful moment of fufpence, an im- menfe fhower of the largeft hail ever feen, added to the terrors of the But the greateft part of the officers and crew being in bed (it being year eleven o’clock at night) or ufider cover; the direful ettects that might have been expected from this difafter were hardly felt by many on board. Was folemnly argued and determined, in Bi: Roi of 26th. King’s Bench, a queftion of corifi- derable importance to the mercan=" tile world. It came before the court upon a motion for a new trial, ina caufe, in which a Mr. Mead was. eee: and Meff. Young and Co. efendants. The action was brought againft the defendants, and the ac- ceptors of a bill ofexchange, under the following circumftances. ‘The bill was drawn by a Mr. Chriftian, whois refi- dent at Dunkirk, and dated from that place. Itwas fentto the defend- ants, who live in London, and made payable to a Mr. Henry Davis. The defendants, knowing it to be a bill of their correfpondent, accord- ingly accepted it. The bill after- wards furreptitioufly got into the hands of another Henry Davis, who fraudulently: put his name on the back, and carried it to the plaintiff, who, finding the acceptors were men of refponfibility, gave him the value of it, not entertaining the leaft doubt but that he was the fame Hen- ry Davis to whom it was payable. After hearing the counfel on both fides, lord Kenyon faid, he was then of the fame opinion as he entertain- ed when he directed the jury to find a verdict for the plaintiff, upon the trials CHRONICLE trial. His lordfhip conceived that, no fraud having been imputed to the plaintiff, there was no legal groand’ to preclude him from the right of recovering upon this bill ; atid he was of opinion, that if any man took a bill payable to a certain name, and it is indorfed by the per- fon of that name, fuch indorfement was a legal transfer, although it might afterwards turn out that the indorfer was not the fame petfon to whom it was made payable. Unlefs. this do&trine were admitted, an in- fuperable clog would be introduced to the negociation of bills of ex- change, which muit deftroy the whole of that fpecies of paper credit. Juftices Afhurft, Buller, and Grofe, totally differed from the Lord Chief Juftice, and ftated their reafons with great deference in oppofition to fo high an authority. All thefe learned judges faid, that the indorfement of the bill in queftion was unqueftion- ably a capital forgery, and that no legal right could be derived under forgery or fraud. It were better ‘that a clog fhould be put to bills of exchange, than they fhould be ne- gaciated by means of forgery; but they conceived that no inconveni- ence to.trade would accrue to mer- _ eantile tranfactions by depriving the plaintiff. Salifbury, Nov. 27.. The inhabi- tants of this city were vifited laft Sunday evening with a very tre- mendous ftorm of lightning and . thunder, accompanied with a very heavy fall of rain. The high im- pending clouds were fo highly charged with the eleétric matter, that the lightning, which was unufu- aliy vivid and ftrong, appeared to ~ roll along the ground like a body of liquid fire, and its frequent fathes ‘Vor. XXXII. [225 were fo inftantaneoufly fucceeded by fach terrible burits of thunder, that many perfons were exceedingly alarmed, and almoft every houfe felt an infantaneous {hock from its pow- erful effeéts. At the Three Swans inn a ftack of chimnies was thrown down with great violence; and much damage was done to two rooms within the houfe, the windows of whieh were broken, and much of the furniture deftroyed. By ac- counts from different parts of the country, we learn, that this ftorm, which began at Portfmouth, con- tinued from Saturday noon, the 21f, to Monday nignt, and that its ef- fe&s were equally awful and de- ftructive in many places. i It has been laid down as a law in the court of King’s Bench this term, that a wager, in itfelf /egal, is not recoverable if laid on an illegal objet; for inftance, no winnings can be recovered on the event of a boxisig-match, becaufe the objeé&t of a bet in the cafe is a breath of the peace; and fo it will operate with a wager laid on a horfe-race, provided the fum raced for is below what the aét of parlia- ment flipulates. Tt has likewife been laid down as law this term, that the keeper of a livery-ftable cannot detain a horfe for his keep, though an inn-keeper can. The livery-ftable keeper is fuppofed to know the perfon from whom he receives a horfe, and to make a bargain for his keep; but “an inn-keeper- is from neceflity” obliged to receive all that come; and without fuch a remedy, he would be fubjeét to many impofie tions, which the prudent livery-fta- ble-keeper may avoid if he pleafes; at leaft fo fays Lord Kenyon. Disp, The Rey. Michael Lort, [?] D,D.- s 30th. 226] D.D. F.R.S. and F. A. S. well known to the literati. of this and other countries, as a man of learn- ing, and a colleétor of curious and valuable books. At Vagg farm (near Veuvt, in the county of Somerfet), which he’ had rented 60 years, Thomas slabs aged fol. “Hannah Wilkinfon, aged 108, In Jamaica,*aged 100, Mrs. E. Gibbon, a native of Port Royal. i Maryport, Cumberland, aged 7, Jofeph Peale. i Aberdeen, aged 105; Ann Bannerman. At Crumlin, Ireland, anedia 100, Mrs. Mary Tench. At Athely, Lancafhire, aged 102: years 15 months, Ifaac Hyde. Mr. Kendal, the celebrated con- ftructor of time-keepers. DECEMBER. The wrecked veffels on the French and Flemifh coatts ex- hibit at this time too many melan- choly effects of the late hurricane. No lefs than twenty-five fail of vefiels were loft between Holland and Cherbourg; and more than 400 bodies have been picked up on the fands between Oftend and Bou- logne. rf. d On Friday laft lord vifcount 3° Falkland attended: the court of king’s bench, to receive his fen- tence, for an aflault on Mr. Henry Seymour, an ironmonger at Maiden- head, Mr. juftice Afhhurit obferved to his lord{hip, that the law, ‘much to its honour, regarded the meaneft fubjects as much as thofe of the higheit rank, and that no elevation gould place a man beyond the reach of juftice, He then fentenced the * ANN UAL?TR BGI STE Ry1790. right hon, lord to pay a fine of 20/. Francis Fonton and Thomas Tyler, .for forgery ; James Royer, James Smith, and Edward Ivory, for coining ; were executed in the Old Bailey, purfuant to their fentences, At ten o’clock this morning the feffion at the Old Bailey was open- ed by the lord mayor, judges Buller ‘and Atbhurft, and the aldermen Newnham and Newman. Renwick Williams was put to the bar. Judge Afhhurft fpoke nearly to the following purport: Prifoner, You have been capitally indicted upon the flatute of the 6th - of Geo. I. for that you did on the ‘18th of January lait, in the parifh «— of St. James’s, wilfully and mali-— cioufly aflault Ann Porter, and that you did, with foree and arms, tear, fpoil, cut, and deface her garment, namely, a filk gown, and other ap- parel ; and the jury have found you guilty ; but your counfel have ar- © refted the judgment upon two ‘grounds ; fr/?, to the form of the in- dictment; /econdly, to the applica- bility fe the act of parliament to your particular offence. A majo- rity of the judges have, after fo- lemn confideration, determined that ° both the objections in arreft of judgment are well founded. The objection to the words of the in- dictment, . that you did then and there make an affau!lt, and cut and tear Ann Porter’s garment, being {tated to be done both at one and the fame time, is bad in law, for the aflault might be made at one time and place, and the cutting and tear- ° ing at another. In framing indict- , ents upon z as of parliament which ae life, the law requires that the . -utmaft C-H:R'ON T CEE utmo.l precifion fhould be obferved. With refpect to the fecond objec- tion, namely, that your crime is not ‘within the intent of the act, it is confidered that the aft is made for a particular purpofe, that of wan- tonly cutting, tearing, &c. for the mere fake of mifchiet, and not with any previous malicious intention. “Now an affault, cutting, &c. mut have fuch a premeditated intention, . and therefore the indiétment is not within the purview of the act. But although the Jénity of the law has fo far judged favourably of your cafe, yet God forbid that the com- mon law of the land fhould not reach fuch an enormity as you have committed, and that you fhould not be punifhed for your temerity: you are therefore to be remanded, to take your trial for the mifdemeanour at common law.”’ or Renwick Williams was a brought from Newgate to the feffions houfe on Clerkenwell Green, and put on his trial. Mr. Pigott opened on behalf of the crown, and told the jury that the indiétment was for an afau/t and battery only. ‘The evidence of Mifs Ann Por- ter and her fifter was then given. It was in fubftance the fame as that delivered on the former tria!. All the other evidence was in the fame flate. At half paft one next morning she caufe ended ; and the jury, after confulting ten minutes, found him Guilty. He was conviéted on two other in- dictments, and has been fentenced to fix years imprifonment. 14th A chapter of the moft noble * order of the garter was held after the levee broke up, at which were prefent the king, prince of Wales, dukes of York and Gloucef- tes, and marquis of Stafford, when his [227 ferene highnefs the duke of Saxe Gotha, his grace the duke of Leeds, and the earl of Chatham, were chofen to fill up the vacant ftalls. The. duke of Leeds and earl Chatham were feverally introduced, and, af-. ter being knighted, were invetted with the blue ribbon, with the ufual ceremonies. ; = Sunday morning laft. the inhabi- tants of Banbury were alarmed by the fudden falling in of the princi- pal aifle of the church, for the tak- ing down and rebuilding of which an act had paffed in the laft par- . liament. Providentially feveral per- ‘fons had jult left church; and had it not fallen, it was intended thht the workmen fhould have begun. taking it down on the morrow, in which cafe many lives would pro- bably have been loft. The crath was heard near two miles from the fpot. On the following day the tower likewife fell. The adjourned feffion at the Old Bailey ended, when 35 men and 4 women, ¢apitally convitted, received his majeity’s pardon on conditios-of being tran{ ported during their natural lives; three were pardoned on condition of being tranfported for 14 years ; and twofor7 years. Mary Talbot refnfed to accept his majefty’s pardon. She faid her return from tranfportation 18th, was on account of three dear infants, - and that as fhe could not take them with her, fhe had rather die. ‘The recorder pointed out the dread- ful precipice on which the ftood ; as it was mott likely, when her refufal was reported to his majeity, fhe would be ordered for execution. She hil] perfilted, and was taken from the bar in {trong convulfions, _The be- haviour of fome of the convicts upon the above occafion was? extren:ely ’ riotous, infolent, and noify, [? 2] " 2eth, 218] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. At Dover, the indictment preferred againft Mr. An-. derfon, for killing Mr. Stephens, in a duel at Margate, was returned by the grand jury, Not found. Lieut. King, of his majefty’s “navy, arrived yefterday from Harwich at the admiralty, with difpatches from Governor Phillip, dated at Sydney Cove, the 13th of April laft. The colony had very much extehded its agriculture, and in particular the fpots laid out for garden ground; but the produce had been rather fcanty. Very to- lerable harmony had been ‘pre- ferved among the fettlers. Dublin, Dec. 22. It is with a very fenfible concern we are ob- liged to announce to our readers the lofs of the Charlemont packet. This veffel failed on Wednefday, and had reached the bay of Dublin, when the was driven back by a vio- 20th. zit lent gale of wind; not long after a . Jarge Weft Indiaman went to the bettom with her crew at the en- trance of that harbour. On Friday the weather became. favourable, and the captain again proceeded to fea, having, during this interval, increafed his paflengers to the num- ber of about 120. He again had nearly made the port of Dublin, when a fecond time he was forced to put back. By this time the unea- finefs of the people became general, and the cabin paffengers were very Importunate with the mafter to land them at Holyhead, although he declared himfelf imperfectly ac- quainted with the coaft, and ex- horted them to: relinquifh their in- fentions. His mate, however, con- fident of his own intimate know-. hedge, fucceeded in carrying the favourite point of the paffengers, and- they accordingly fteered thi- ther; the confequences were fataly the mate, deceived by fome lights, miftook his courfe; the veffel ftruck on one of the rocks which fkirt the Weich coaft, foon after’ went to pieces, and fixteen perfons only eicaped the mercilefs element. Among thofe providentially fav- ed is the hon. capt. Jones, fon to lord Ranelagh, who, when the vef- fel ftruck, fprang from her on the rock, and received no injury; through the intrepidity of this gen- tleman, and at an imminent hazard to himfelf, a perfon belonging to Mr. Aftley’s company was reicued from a moft perilous fituation, be- ing caught by capt. Jones on the return of the wave which wafhed him from the fame rock, on which he had alfo leaped from the packet. About twelve ladies were on board, fome of whom, in expecta- tion of affiftance, and under the horrors of death impending over them. in fo terrible a form, clung round the fteward of the fhip, who, thus prevented from the poffibility of making any efforts for his own ' hah ays perifhed in their em- races.—Among other paflengers were two Romith clergymen, one of whom efcaped. The captain, by afcending the fhrouds, was landed in a place of fafety on the heeling of the veffel; and the mate has alfo efcaped, but, we are informed, is imprifoned, for fome negligence of information,: fatal, as is faid, to many who might have been faved on an earlier knowledge of the ftate of the veflel, ; The circumftances of thofe who furvived this dreadful event (every article but what remained on their backs being lost) were. confiderably alleviated by the generous and hu- mane attention of capt. Jones, whofe bounty CR OOW fC LE, ounty and benevolence were as con{picuous in the hour of diftrefs, as his fortitude was apparent in the moment of danger. d Between four and five 23% o'clock in~ the morning, 2 violent ftorm. blew from the fouth- weit, attended with fucceflive flafhes of lightning, and continued rolls of loud thunder, fucceeded by heavy fhowers of hail and rain. Part of the copper roofing of the new ftone buildinss in Lincoln’s-inn was blown over the Six Clerks’ office into Chancery-lane, and fome part of it over the roofs of the op- pofite houfes in the lane, into a yard, and part pafled througha gar- ret window of one of thofe houfes, inhabited by Mr. White; fo that it muft have been raifed near a hundred feet into the air, Thir- teen trees were blown down in Lincoln’s-inn gardens. A maid- fervant of counfellor Graham’s was killed in her bed,, by the falling of a ftack of chimnies, at his cham- bers on the fouth fide of Lincoln’s- inn New-fquare: his man-fervant fortunately efcaped, by quitting his bed-on the firft alarm. Several trees were blown down in Moorfields. Many houfes were unroofed, and others fuffered confiderably. The high piles of wood in moft of the timber-yards round the metro- polis were blown down. At Walthamftow, a large harn, feveral flacks of chimnies, and fe- veral trees were blown down. At Windfor, the ftorm was very dreadful; the fentinels on guard upon the terrace defcribe the air to have been fo Juminous, that they could for a minute fee at very eat diftances ; and inftantly after it cao dark fn the extreme, with a [229 {mell refembling the frefh difcharge of cannon. The drivers on the road from Sa- - lifbury, and the paflengers, corro- borate the teftimony, that the light- ning was rather like a ftream of fluid from a glafs-houfe furnace ; and the horfes were fo generally terrified, that with difficulty they got on. At Purfleet and Erith, which are on the oppofite fides of the river, a few miles above Gravefend, the in- habitants were in one continued alarm the greater part of the night, for fear of the gunpowder maga- zine taking fire by the continued | lightning. At Harrow-on-the-Hill and St. Alban’s, beth elevated fituations, the electrical fhock was very fenfi- bly felt, but no mifchief done; though at the latter the fire was feen to play through and about the abbey fteeple in a fingular manner. Asa proof that the ferm was as wide and extenfive as awefully dreadful, at Springfield near Col- chefter, the hail-ftones were very heavy, the lightning continual, and, with the thunder, refembled the be- fieging of a fortrefs by the moft formidable enemy. At the Nore, a floop, that caft anchor during the tempelt, had her fails torn frorn the mafts, but na- body hurt. The fteeple of Beckenham church in Kent, a fpire built of thingles, was fired, and a part deftroyed. The fhingles of the {pire of Hor- fham church, in Suffex, were fet on fire, but were extinguifhed ~by the rain. A hovel belonging to Mr. Grant, of Towcefter, was blown down by the violence of the wind, by which [P 3} accident, i 230] accident, four cows that were under it at the time were killed. A barn at Blifworth was likewife blown down. ‘T'rees were blown up by the roots, the thatch {tripped off cot- tages, and many chimnies blown down, in different parts of the country. ' A very large elm tree, by the fide of the road about a mile from Brent- ‘wood, was ftruck down by the light- ning, about two yards from the bot- tom, and fell acrofs the road, about five yards before the leaders of the Ipfwich mailcoach. All the horfes turned round, fnapped the pole, overfet the coach, and tore the har- nefs to pieces. By the conftrnétion of the mail coach, the paflengers efcaped unhurt; but the guard re- ceived a bruife in his leg. The driver of the Liverpool ftage- coach was terribly fcorched by the lightning; and the drivers of the different mails had the utmoft dif- ficulty to make, their horfes keep the road. At Whitehaven, in the night it became tempeftuous; the wind raged dreadfully; there was much thunder and lightning, and a great deal of hail and fleet fell. The tide in the harbour flowed much earlier than the ufual time, and rofe to an afto- nifhing height, Several of the . fhips (there were a great number in port) broke adrift in_ the courfe of ‘the‘night, and’ many of them were damaged, but none materially. The profpect of the fea, with the coming tide, was alarming beyond defcrip- tion; the huge billows, chafing each other, broke with irrefiftible fury over the outer works of the harbour, and all was whitened with the foam. | © ~ rt : ’ Accounts from North Wales are full of melancholy events. ‘Trees in ‘many parts ‘of France. hhoufes at Dunkirk were thrown ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. feveral parts were torn up by thie roots; and in one place a cottage was blown down, by which'a man, his wife, and four boys, were killed in their beds, In another place the wind quite unroofed the houfe of a gentleman, and blew the bell, &c. which ftood on his coach-houfe, fe- veral yards, fhattered the gable end of the ftables, in which were fix fine coach-horfes and five hunters: they all, however, efcaped unhurt, except two hunters that were inthe ftalls neareft the weft end, one of which was killed on the fpot, the other maimed fo much, that it was neceflary to fhoot it immediately. A very fine large hot-houfe, built the laft fum- mer, was alfo entirely levelled with the ground; and the gardener, who lived clofe to it, fuffered very much, fome bricks, tiles, &c. falling through the roof and top of the bed, ‘which broke his left arm, and bruifed his thigh exceedingly. The ftorm was feverely felt in Several down, and much damage done among the fhipping. Diep, near Biarney, inthe county of Cork, in Ireland, aged 84, Owen M he had left flanding for that purpofe - more than fifty years before. When Mr. Thickneffe arrived at this plea- fant remnant of hofpitality and goodne(fs, fituated in the midit of a noble park, he found a good fire . burning upon all the hearths in the houfe; his binns filled with wines, and an annuity upon his table, the - -donation of the generous owner: but alas! before the revolution _ of one year, while Mr. Thickneffe and he were at dinner together, the ood old man threw his head back in his chair, and died without a” groan. At Alderwafley, Derby hire, aged 102, Dorothy Fletcher. _ At Carlmywark, Galloway, aged 108, lane Walker. At Limerick, aged 102, Mrs, Magee. Near Donaghadee, aged107, Mr. - James Cree. At Uttoxeter, in Staffordhire, a perfon of the name of Raulin, aged $2, nearly equal in weight to the _¢elebrated Mr. Bright, of Effex, viz. 34 ftone. Though but 5 feet 6 inches and an half high, he mea- [231 fured 6 feet 4 mches round the wailt. BIRTHS for the Year 1790. Jan. 1. Lady Compton, a fon and heir. 21. Lady-of Sir Tho. Which- cote, bart: a fon. Feb. g. Lady of Reg. Pole Carew, efq. M. P. a daughter. 13. Lady Warren, of Staple- ford-hall, a daughter. 24. Right hon. lady Charlotte ‘ Dundas, a daughter. Lady Herbert, a daughter. Lady Apfley, a fon and heir. March 16. Lady of fir John Frede- rick, bart. a daughter. 19. Hon. Mrs. Finch Hatton, a daughter. _ ee April 5. Lady of the bifhop of Lin- coln, a fon, 11. Lady vifcount Falmouth, a fon. 23. Lady of W. Baker, efq. M. P. a daughter. Lady Louvaine, a fon. Lady Willoughby of Eref- by, a daughter. 28. Lady of hon. colonel Fane, ‘ ” .. Satone May 8. Rt. hon, lady John Ruffel, a fon, 10. Lady of fir John Rous, bart. a daughter, a1. At Paris, the duchefs of Devonthire, a fon and heir. Hon. Mrs. Clifford, of New Park, a fon and heir, 28. Lady of fir Wm, Foulis, bart, a fon. ~-June 14. Lady Haddo, a fon. 24. Lady of fir Alex. Jarvis, bart.-@ fon. [P 4} 28. Lady 232) ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 28. Lady of fir Geo. Rumbold, Nov. 18. Countefs of Carysfort, a bart. a fon. fon. July z. Her Sicilian majefty, a Dec. 5. Lady of Geo. bok. prince. 7. Rt. hon. lady Louifa Mac- donald, a daughter, Countefs of Glaigew, 2 daughter. 19. Lady of the right hon. Thomas Steele, M.P. a daughter. Countefs of Caithneis, a fon. Ang. 5. Se of Harrington, a on 4. Lady of hon. Lewis Wat- fon, a daughter. 15. Rt. hon. lady Charlotte Lenox, a daughter. 16. Lady of J. Cox Hippifley, efq. M. P. a fon and heir, 20. Tady of col. North, a fon, Right hon, lady Arden, a daughter. Lady of Sam. Smith, efq, ' M.P. a daughter. Sept. 18. Lady of fir David Carne- gie, bart, a daughter. Lady. of fir John Ingilby, bart. a daughter. 25. Lady of John Anftruther, efq. M. P. a fon. 30. Lady of hon. col. Rodney, a fon. O&. 4. Countefs of Tandeyale, a daughter. 6. Lady of fir Geo, A. Ww. Shuckburgh, baronet, a daughter. 8. Lady of fir Wm. Cunning- ham, bart. a fon.. g. Lady Grace Douglas, of Cavers, a fon. 15. Lady of fir fames Col- quhoun, bart. a daughter. ~ Rt. hon, lady Charles So- merfet, a daugiiter. 3}. Lady of fir Henry Dath- wood, bart. a daughter. . efq. M. P. a daughter. 6. Re. hon. lady Stourton, a fon 29. Lady of J. Blackburne, efq. M. P. a-fon, Right hon, lady Compton, a fon. MARRIAGES for the Year 1790, Jan. 4. Duke of Dorfet to Mifs Cope, eldeft daughter of lady Hawkefbury. Hon. Hen. Fitzroy, to Rt, hon. lady Ann Weftley. Hon. Mr. Digby to Mifs Gunning, one of her ma- jefty’s maids of honour. Thomas Langford Brooke, efq. of More, to Mifs Boughton, eldeft daughter of fir Th. Boughton, bart, Rev. J. Jones, D. D. to the -dowager vifcountefs Afh- brook. Earl of Errol to Mifs Blake, eldett daughter of J. Blake, of Ardfry, county of ¢ Galway, efq. Owen Wynne, efq. M. P, to lady Sarah Cole. Edw. Jeron Rickets, efq. ta the han. Mifs Twifle- ton. Hon. John Spencer to lady ~ Eliz. Spencer. Miles Sandys, Efg. to Mifs _ Dalrymple, daughter of fir Ji ‘Dalrymple, bart. _ 24. Hen. Otway, efg. to Mifs Cave, fitter of fir Thomas Cave. March 3. Hon. Mr, Montagu, fon of vifcount Feb, ~ June. CH RONTC LE; yifcount Hinchinbrook, to Mis Buckingham. §- John Calcraft, efg. M. P. ~ to Mifs Hales, daughter of fir Pym Hales, bart. 22.Hon. Ed. Foley to Mifs Hodgetts. 27. Col. Freemantle to the hon. Mifs Ongley. In Italy, earl of Home -to > Mifs Coutts. April, Rev. J. Eyre to Mifs Char- lotte Armytage, daughter of the late fir George Armytage, bart, 13. Hon. Mr. Townfhend to ~ the hon. Mifs Southwell. William Elliott, eldeft fon _of fic Francis Elliott, bart. of Stobbo, to Milfs Ruffell, 24.Hon. Henry Dillon to Mifs Grant. May. Col. Loftus to the righthon. ‘Jady Eliz. Townfhend. Ch. Hoare, efq. to Muifs Robinfon, danghter of fir Geo. Robinfon, bart. Edw. Hay, efq. to the hon, Mifs Maria Murray, daughter of lord Ehbank, Col. Hotham to Mifs Dyke, daughter of fir J. Dixon Dyke, bart. Hon. and Rey. Arch. Ham, » Catheart to Mifs Fr, Henry Freemantle. Eben. Oliphant, efq. to Mifs Mary Stirling, daughter of fir W. Stirling, of Ar- dock, bart. Wyndham Knatchbull, efq. to Mifs Knatchbull, fil- ter of fir Edward Knatch- bull, bart. Edw. Southwood Percival, efq. to Mis Sutton, . daughter of the late lord Geo. Manners Sutton, [233 Wm. Hen. Beaughamp, efq. fon of fir W. Beauchamp Proctor, bart. to Mis Frances Davis. Hen. Methold, efg. to Mifs Eden, daughter of fir J. Eden, bart. ’ July. Ch. Yorke, efq. M. P. to Milfs Harriet Manning~ ham. : " Humph, Prideaux, efq. to Milfs St. Aubyn, daughs ter of the late fir J. St, Aubyn, bart. Marquis of Graham to lady Caroline Montagu, fifter of the duke of Manchef, ter. W.P. Hamond, efq.to Milfs Carr, daughter of fir Rob. Carr, bart. Sir Wm. Wake, bart. to Mifs Sitwell. Hon. capt. Townthend to Mifs Gladwyn. Wm. Trenchard, efq. to lady Helter Amelia de Burch, fifter of the mar- quis of Clanricarde. _ “Sir Grifith Boyntun, - bart, to Mifs Parkhurft. Hon. Spencer Perrival to Mifs Jane Wilfon, daugh- ter of fir Tho. Spencer Wilfon, bart. k Benj. Jennings, efq. to the dow. vifcountels Dudley and Ward. _ Cap. Ch. Irvine to Mifs Diana Gordon, daughter of the late fir. Alexander Gordon of Leflmoor, bart. Sir Ch. Afgill, bart. to Mils Jemima SophiaOgle, daughter of fir Chaloner Ogle, bart. Rey, Str, Mafler to Mifs “Aug, 234] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Eliz. Mofley, daughter of fir John Parker Mofley, bart. Rev. Mr. Palmer to Mifs _ Eh. Payne, daughter of fir Gillies Payne, bart. Sept. 4. James Lowther, efq. to lady -- Eliz. Fane, fitter of the earl of Weitmorland. 5. Hon. Geo. Annefley, fon . of vifcount Valentia to the hon. Mifs Anne Court- nay. Sir Edward Hales, bart. to Mifs Palmer. ; 9. Hon. John Eliot to Mifs York, fifter of the earl of Hardwicke. Dr. Stewart, of Southamp- ton, to lady Shelley. 27- Jac. Bofanquet, efq. to Mrs. Grady, fifter of fir Geo. Armytage, bart. Peter Godfrey, efq. to Mifs Rowley, daughter of the late fir Jofhua Rowley, bart. Andrew Stuart, efq. M.P. to Mifs Stirling, daugh- ter of fir W. Stirling, of Ardock, bart. Rowland Bateman, efq. to Mifs Arabella Denny, daughter of fir Barry Denny, bart. O&. 6. John Wigtten, efq. to Mifs Lake,daughter of fir James Winter Lake, bart. Chrift. Mufgrave, efq. fe- cond fon of fir Philip Muf- grave, to the hon. Mifs Archer. tz. Earl of Donegall to Mifs Barbara Godfrey. John Wharton, efg. M. P. to Mifs Sufan Lambton, daughter of gen. Lamb- ton. Geo. Vefey, efq. to Mifs La- touch, daughter of the right hon. dow. Latouch. Hon. John Colvill, eldeft fon of Jord Colvill, to Milfs Ford. SiN Nov, Tho. Bligh, efq. to lady Theodofia Bligh. 13. Col. Couflmaker to the hon. Mifs Southwell. 23. Nich. Ridley, efq. brother of fir Matthew White Ridley, bart. to Mifs Le- titia Atkins, Dec. 5. Capt. Clive to the hon. Mifs Archer... |: Sir Edw. Wm. Crofbie to Mrs. Dodd, daughter of lady Hefter Weltenra. Wm. Manfel, efq. eldeft fon of fir Wm. Manfel, bart, to Mifs Bell. Barry Denny, efq. fon of — fir B. Denny, bart. to Mifs Morgell. PROMOTIONS for the @ Year 1790. January. Alan Gardner, efq. ap- pointed one of the commiffioners for executing the office of high ad- _miral of Great Britain and Ireland, vice Gower, refigned, Hon. Mifs Julia Digby, appointed one of the maids of honour to her majefty, vice Gunning, refigned. Wm. Bellingham, efg. appointed one of the commiffioners in quality of a principal officer of his majefty’s navy, vice Campbell, deceafed. Francis Stephens, efq. appointed a.commiffioner for victualling his majefty’s navy, vice Bellingham reigned, ° Henry Hamilton, efq. appointed governor CATR QA CiE BH _ governor and commander in chief ‘of the Bermuda or Somers Iflands, vice Browne. Febr. Major - general Thomas ~ Stirling to be colonel of the gif regiment of foot, vice major-general Mé‘Nab, deceafed. i The earl of Chefterfield to be joint poftmafter-general, vice the earl of Weftmoreland, lord lieut. of _ Treland. The right hon. John Charles’ Villiers to be chief jultice in Eyre North of Trent. ‘ The hon. Dudley Ryder to be comptrolier of his majeity’s houfe- hold, in the room of the right hon. John Charles Villiers, refigned. George Autt, efq. to be joint unden fecretary of itate with Mr. Burges, vice the hon. Mr. Ryder. March. The earl of Leicefter to _ be matter of the mint, vice the earl of Chefterfield ; and vifcount Fal- _ mouth to be captain of the ‘band of gentiemen penfioners, vice the earl of Leicefter. ; Earl Harcourt to be mafter of the -horfe to her majefty, vice the earl '= of Waldegrave, deceafed. Doétor William Black to be firft phytician to, his majeity in Scot- Jand.. . . "John Hunter, efq. to be furgeon- eneral of his majetty’s forces, and infpector of the regimental hofp1- tals, vice Robert Adair, deceafed. Surgeon J’homas Keate, of the aft reg. of foot guards, to be fur- ’ geon of Cheliea-hofpital. e ~ ae Sir William Scott, to be matter, ~ of the faculties, in the room of the late bifhop of St. Afaph. ‘Commifiioner Martin, of the _ dock-yard at Portfmouth, to be comptroller of the navy, vice fir , Charles Middleton, refigned, [235 The right hon. Dudley Ryder, to be one,of his majefty’s commiffion- ers for the affairs of India. Mr. Nicholas, member for Crick-~ lade, and Mr. Buller, to be com. miffioners of excife. , April. "The right hon. ford Henry John Spencer, his majetty’s fecretary of embafly to the ftates-general of the United Provinces, to the cha- racter of his majefty’s minifter ple- nipotentiary to their high mighti- nefleés. : James Duff, efq. to be his ma- jefty’s conful at Cadiz. Sir Alexander Hood, to be rear admiral. of Great Britain, in the room of admiral Darby, deceafed. George Hammond, efq. to be {fe- cretary of legaticn at-the court of Copenhagen. Charles Henry. Talbot, of Belfaft, efq. to the dignity of a baronet of Treland. : The right Rev. Father in God Lewis lerd bifhop of Norwich tranf{- lated to the fee of St. Afaph.§ June. Colonel George Hotham, David Dundas, Adam Williamfon, Robett Abercfomby, Gerard Lake, Thomas Mufgrave, Jofeph Gore- ham, Guftavus Guydickens, John Manfell, George Morgan, Alex- ander Stewart, James Coates, Ralph Dundas, Richard Whyte, Alured Clarke, and James Hugonin, to be major-generals in the army. Right hon. John James earl of Abercorn, to be governor of the counties of Donegal and Tyrone, in Ireland. The Rev. Charles Morgan, A.M. to the deanry of his majefty’s ca- thedral church of St. Patrick, in the diocefe of Ardagh, in Ireland. The Rev. John Horne, D. D. dean of Canterbury, to the bifhop- rick 236] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. rick of Norwich, vice Dr. Bagot, tranflated to St. Afaph. Earl Gower to be his majefty’s ambaflador extraordinary and ple- hipotentiary to the moft chriftian king. Right hon. George Granville Le- vefon Earl Gower, to be one of his majefty’s moft hon. privy council. Charles Oakeley, of Shrewfbury, efg. to be a baronet of the king- dom of Great Britain, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten. Archibald Cockburn, efq. to be one of the barons of his majefty’s exchequer in Scotland, vice the late David Stewart Moncrieffe, efq. de- ceafed. ; _. George Buchan Hepburn, efq. to be judge of the admiralty court of Scotland, on the refignation of Archibald Cockburn, efg. late judge thereof. The right hon. George Henry earl of Eufton to be lord lieutenant of the county of Suffolk. The right hon. James marquis of, Graham to be lord lieutenant of the county of Huntingdon. The right hon. Philip earl of Hardwicke to be lord lieutenant of the county of Cambridge, The Rev. William Buller to be dean of Canterbury, vice Dr. John Horne, promoted to the bifhopric of Norwich. Rev. Ch. Harward, D.D. to be dean of Exeter, vice Dr. William Buller, promoted. The Rev. Jofeph Turner, D. D. to be dean of Norwich, vice the Rev. Dr. Philip Lloyd, deceafed. The dignity of a Baron of the Kingdom of Jreland to the fol- lowing perfons and their heirs male, by the names, ftiles, and titles under mentioned, viz. Fhe Right Rey, William Cecil Pery, D.D. bifhop of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghdadoe, — baron Glentworth, of Mallow, in Cork, Mrs, Margaretta Fofter, wife of the right hon. John Foiter, baronefs Oriel, of Collon, in Louth; and to the heirs male of her body lawfully begotten by the faid John Fofter, _ the dignity of baron Oriel, of Col- lon aforefaid. Right hon. George Agar, baron Callan, of Callan, in Kilkenny. Robert Dillon, of Clonbrock, in Galway, efq. baron Clonbrock, of Clonbrock aforefaid. James Alexander, of Caledon, in Tyrone, efq, baron Caledon, of Ca- ledon aforefaid. The dignity of a Baron of the Kingdgm of Great Britain to the feveral Noblemen and Gentle- men following, and the heirs male of their refpective bodies lawfully begotten, by the names, ftiles, and titles under mentioned, viz. The right hon, -Arthur earl of Donegall, of the kingdom of Ire- land, baron Fifherwick, of Fifher- wick, in Staffordthire. The right hon, James earl of Fife, of the kingdom of Ireland, baron of Fife, in the county of Fife. The right hon. fames Bucknall Grimiton, vifcount Grimiton, of the kingdom of Ireland, baron Vert- Jam, of Gorhambury, in the county of Hertford. The right hon. Conftantine John — lord Mulgrave, of the kingdom. of Ireland, baron Mulgrave, of Mul- grave, in Yorkfhire. | Archibald Douglas, efq. baron Douglas, of Douglas, in the county of Lanerk; and Edwin Lafcelles, efq. baron Harewood, of Harewood, in York- fhire. c Ret, €C HR OON. FC.L oF, Rt. rev. Dr. George Lewis Jones, bifhop of Kilmore, tranflated to the bifhoprick of Kildare, and to hold _ the deanry of Chrift Church, Dub- lin, 7z commendam, vice Jackfon, dee ceafed. Rt. rev. William Fofter, bifhop of Cork and Rofs, tranflated to Kalmore, vice Jones. Rev. William Bennet, D. D. pre- moted to the bifhoprick of Cork and Rofs. Right hon. William Pitt, elected high iteward of the univerfity of Cambridge, vice earl Hardwicke, deceafed. July. Rev. Combe Miller, M. A. appointed dean of the cathedral church of Chichetter, vice Harward, refigned. John Orde, efq. governor of the _ ifland of Dominica, and captain in the royal navy, created a baronet. Henry James Pye, efq. appointed poet laureat to his majelty, vice Warton, deceafed. Paul Deugenan, efq. LL.D. to be king’s advocate in the court of admiralty in Ireland. John Sylvefter, efq. to be com- mon ferjeant of the city of London. Auguit. Rev. Mr. Winitanley, of Hertford College, Oxford, ap- pointed Camden profeflor of an- tient hiftory ; vice Warton, de- eeafed. 64th regiment of foot. Major- general John Leland to be colonel, Vice lieut. gen. Pomeroy, deceafed, Lieut. col. Oliver De Lancey, of the 17th regiment of (light) dra- goons, to be deputy adjutant-gen. of the forces in South Britain, vice major-general Williamfon, promoted to the command of the 47th regi- ment, 47th regiment of foot. Major- general Adam Williamfon to be colone], vice Guy lord Dorchetter. [237 Lieut. col. James Moncrief, of the corps of royal engineers, to be deputy quarter-mafter-general of his majefty’s forces, vice major- general William Rey, deceafed.” Charles Henry Frater, efq. to be his majefty’s minifter plenipoten- tiary to the circle of Lower Sax- ony, and refident with the Hanfe Towns, vice Emanuel Mathias, efq. deceafed. William Hanbury, efq. to be his majeity’s agent conful in the circle of Lower Saxony, and the free cities of Hamburgh, Bremen, and Lubeck, Admiralty Office, Sept. 21. This day, in purfuance of the king’s pleafure, the following flag- ofcers of his majefty’s fleet were promoted, viz. Sir Edward Hughes, K.B. John Evans, and Mark Milbanke, efqrs. vice admirals of the white, te be vice admirals of the red. ‘Thomas Graves, Robert Digby, and Benjamin Marlow, efqrs. and fir Alexander Hood, K:B. vice- admirals of the blue, to be vice-ad- mirals of the white. Sir Richard Hughes, knt. John Elliott, and William Hotham, efqrs, rear-admirals of the red, and Jofeph Peyton, efq. rear-admiral of the white, to be vice-admirals of the blue. John Carter Allen; efq. fir Charles Middleton, and fir John Laforey, barts. John Dalrymple, efq. Herbert Sawyer, efq. fir Rich. King, knt. and Jonathan Faulknor, efq. rear-admirals of the white, to be rear-admirals of the red. Phillip Affeck, efg. fir Richard Bickerton, hart. the hon.. J. Leve- fon Gower, fir John Jervis, K. B. and Adam Duncan, efq. rear-admi- rals of the blue, to be rear-admirals of the white, The following captains were alfo appointed 238] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. appointed flag-officers of his ma- jelty’s fleet, viz. Richard Braithwaite, ‘and Phil- lips Colby, efqrs, to be rear-admirals of the white. Thomas Fitzherbert, Samuel Cor- nifh, John Brifbane, John Houlton, | Charles Woolfeley, Charles. Inglis, and Sam. Cranfton Goodall, efqrs. to be rear-admirals of the blue. ‘And the following further pro- motions of fea-oflicers have alfo been made, viz. ‘Twenty mafters and command- ers, taken from the lift of thofe who were made before the end of 1782, to be poit captains. Twenty lieutenants, taken from the litt of thofe who were made be- fore the end of 1780, to be mafters , and commanders. ~Twenty midthipmen, formerly appointed lieutenants by command- ers inchief, which appointment, from particular circumitances, could not be confirmed, to be lieutenants. Oober. The dignity of a mar- quis of the kingdom of Great Bri- tain, to the right hon. John James Hamilton, earl of Abercorn, and the heirs male of his body: lawfully be- gotten, by the name, ftyle, and title of marquis of Abercorn. The hon. capt. Keith Stewart to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue f{quadron of his majefty’s fleet. John Cowflade, efq. to be gentle- man ufher of the privy chamber to her majefty, vice the late general Wynyard; John Smith, efg. to be gentleman’ ufher daily waiter, vice John Cowflade, efq. ;, and ——— Molef{worth, efg. to be gentleman ufher quarter waiter, vice John Smith, efq. The right hon..John Charles Vil- liers to be warden and chief juftice in eyre of all his majefty’s forefts, parks, chaces, and warrens beyond e's Trent, vice the right hon. George Evelyn, vifcount Fe almouth. Lieutenant - general fir Robert Boyd, K. B. to be governor of Gib- _ raltar, vice right hans general lord Heathfield, deceafed ; ‘and major- » general fir Henry Calder, bart. to be lheut. governor of Gibraltar, vice lieut. gen. fir Robert Boyd. , The right hon. Dudley Ryder to be’ prefident of the committee of : privy council appointed for the - confideration of all matters relating to trade and foreign plantations, © in, the abfence of the right hon. Charles lord Hawketfbury. Lord vifcount Wentworth to be one of the lords of his majefty’s bed-chamber. Joffiua Johnfon, efq. to be con- ful for the united ftates of Ame- a rica at the port of London, and the places adjacent. Novem. Right hon. Henry baron Digby, created vifcount Colefhill, | county of Warwick, and earl of: Digby, county of Lincoln. Right hon. Algernon Percy, lord Louvaine and bzron of Alnwick, created earl of Beverley, in the county of York, Right hon, William Hall Gage, vifeount Gage of the kingdom of ° Ireland, and feton Gage of Firle, i in the kingdom of Great Britain, creat- ed baron Gage of Highmeadows, county of Gloucefter; with remain- der to hisnephew, Henry Gage, efq. © ~ Right hon. William Wyndham » Grenville, created baron Grenviile, of Wotton under Bernewood, in the county of Buckingham. His grace the duke of Montrofe, appointed mafter of the horfe to the ‘king, vice, the duke of Montagu, a -deceafed, a Decem, Geo. Hammond, efq. ap= «pointed coaertl of ha at the court of, Madrid, ’ Francis oe | Cn R-OW-PC Lk. Francis Drake, efq. appointed fecretary of legation at the court of Copenhagen. George Auguftus F rederick Lake, efg. appointed one of the pages of honour to the prince of Wales. Alex. Shaw, efq. appointed lieut. governor of the lile of Man, vice Dawfon, refigned. His royal highnefs prince Wil- liam Henry duke of Clarence, pro- moted to the rank of rear-admiral ef the blue. . DEATHS for the Year 1790. Jan. At Lyons, fir Wm. Mere- dith, bart. He was elected.a repre- fentative in parliament. for Wigan ' in 1755, and for Liverpool in 1762. In 1764 he was appointed a lord commifiicner of the admiralty, which he refigned the year following, on the diimiflion of the marquis of Roekingham. In 1768, he was again elected for Liverpool, and was afterwards appointed comp- troller of the hotfehold, from which office he was difmifled feve- ral years before his death. os At his feat at Killrudery, county of Wicklow, the right hon. Anthony _Brabazon, earl of "Meath. _ He was ~ born in February, 1721; married, 1758, Grace, daughter of, Jn. Leigh, efg. of Rofs Garland, county of Wexford, and had iffue four fons and fix daughters. His third fur- viving fon, William, lord Ardee, born 1769, lately elected knight of the fhire for the county of Dublin, fucceeds him in his honours and eftates. se Feb. In her 32d year, lady Hof- kyns, wife of fir Hungerford Hof- kyns, bart. only daughter of Edwin ~———_- [239 Francis Stanhope, efq. groom of the chambers to her majefty. Geo. Darby, efq. rear-admiral of England, and an elder brother of the T'rinity-houfe, in which he is fucceeded by the right hon. William Pitt. March. Aged near 60, of a fe. ver and ftone in his bladder, Dr.* Samuel Hallifax, bifhop and arch- deacon of St. Afaph, to which fee he was-tranilated from Gloucefter, in March, 1789.—He was a prelate of great knowledge, and of great a~ bility; an incomparable civilian, and an extremely acute public fpeaker. His fermons at bifhop Warburton’s leétures and other writings are much efteemed, and are written with great _ elegance of ftyle, as well as with .much profundity of thinking. Sir John Coghill, bart. of ‘Cog hill-hall, in the county of York, - In his 19th year, Mr. Richard Green, of Minfterley. At Cambro, in Scotland, fir Charles Erfkine, bart. At Leinfter-houfe, Dublin, lady Augufta Fitzgerald, youngeftdaugh-~ ter of the duke of Leintter. Right Rey. Dr. Ch. Jackfon, lord bifhop of Kildare. April... Charlotte Countefs of Fauconberg. She was daughter of .the late fir Matthew Lambe, bart. and fifter of the prefent lord Mel- bourne ; ‘and: was married, May 29, 1766, to Henry earl Fauconberg, by whom fhe had fowr daugh- ters. - Sidi Mahomet, emperor of Mo- roceo, Whilft taking the air on horfeback, he. was feized with a- pain near his heart; and-a ftorm fuddenly arifing, he called, with fome exertion, for his coach; was .placed in it, and inftantly expired. ° His 240] ANNUAL BEGISTER; 1790. -His remains have been depofited in one of the towers of Rabat. His fon Muli el Zezid was, on the 15th, proclaimed emperor in his room; and, as it is faid, began his reign with wreaking his vengeance on the Spanifh conful, to whom he has be- haved with uscxampled feverity. The hon. Mrs. Walfingham, re- Hi@ of the late hon. commodore Robert Boyle Walfingham, who was loft in the Thunderer man of war, fome years ago. She was the daughter and coheirefs of fir Charles Hanbury Williams, K.B. and of the lady Frances, daughter of the late ear] Coningfby. At Munich, in her 68th year, after two days ilinefs, her ferene highnefs the duchefs dowager of Bavaria, widow of duke Clement. Right hon. Hugh lord Mafiey, fon of Hugh, created lord Mafley 1776. He married Catherine, eld- eft daughter of Edw. Taylor, efq. of Ballynort, 1760, by whom he had iffue three fons and four daugh- ters, and fucceeded his father in 1788. / “At Roftellan, county of Corke, the countefs of Orkney and Inchi- quin. She was the grand-daughter of George the firft earl, who was the fifth fon of William and Anne duke and duchefs of Hamilton, and field-marfhal of his majefty’s forces. Both this lady and her mother mar- ried earls of Inchiquin. Neither of them having male iffue, the titles of Orkney have ever gone to fe- males, ‘The prefent countefs is married to Mr. Fitzmaurice (bro- ther to the marquis of Lanfdowne), who has a fon, now vifcount Kirk- wall, and the firft heir male of the family. At Briftol, the hon. Mifs Elizab. Hewitt, youngeit daughter of the late lord chancellor of Ireland. May. At his houfe in St, James’s« {quare, the right hon. Philip Yorke, earl of Hardwicke, vifcount Royfton; and lord Hardwicke, one of the tel- lers of his majefty’s. exchequer, lord lieutenant and cuftos roetuloram of the county of Cambridge, and high fteward of that univerfity, a truitee of the Britihh Mufeum, LL.D. F.R.S. London,. and’ F.S.A. of Scotland. His Jord{hip was born Dec. 20, N.S. 1720, and fuceeeded his father, the late lord chancellor Hard- wicke, in March 1764. The titles, and fuch parts of the eftate as de- feended from the chancellor, are devolved on Philip Yorke, efq. ‘eldeit fon of the late Mr. Charles Yorke. During his refidence in Bennet college, a work was under- taken by his lordthip, affifted by fome of his contemporaries, inti- tuled, “ Vhe Athenian Letters ;’” and though it has not hitherto beem printed with’a view to publication, yet it has been circulated amongit fo many of his lordfhip’s friends and acquaintance, that it is well known as a work of confiderable merit. He publithed the Corre- fpondence of Sir Dudley Carleton, embaffador to the ftates general during the reign of James I. and prefixed to it an hiftorical preface, containing an account of the many important negociations that were carried on during that interefting period. In 1779 he publithed two volumes of ftate papers, felected from the colleftions at the Paper- office and the Britifh Mufeum, as well as from his own valuable col- letion.—His lordthip was married, in May 1741, to Jemima, daughter of the late earl of Breadalbane, who inherited from her grandfather, the late duke of Kent, eftates in the counties of Bedford, Effex, and Wiltfhire, and the antient bardnies of | ) CHRON fF CLE. Of Lircas and Crudwell. The title df marquis of Grey, which was con- ferred upon the duke of Kent; with remainder to his eldeft grand-daugh-+ ter, and her heirs-male, will now become extiné; but.the barony of Lucas (being limited to heirs gene- ral) will defcend, upon the death of the marchionefs Grey, to her eldeit daughter, lady Amabell Polwarth, widow of lord Polwarth. His lord- fhip’s perfonal property, and the eftates of the duke of Kent, will devolve upon his immediate de- {cendants, Lately, the right hen. Stephen ‘Moore, earl and vifcount Mountca- ‘fhell, baron Kilworth, and one of his majefty’s moft honourable privy - council. His lordfhip married, in the ‘month of June, 1769, lady. Helen Rawdon, fecond daughter of the earl of Moira, by whom he had iffue Stephen lord Kilworth (now earl of Mountcafhell), born March 9, 1770, at prefent on his travels ; as alfo two other fons, John and William, born in 1772 and 1775, and a daughter, lady Helen, born in 1773. ~ At his houfe in privy-gardens, ‘George Montagu duke of Monta- gu, marquis Monthermer, earl~of Cardigan, baron Brudenell of Stan- ton Wivil, and baron Montagu of Boughton, matter of the horfe to the king, governor and captain of ‘Windfor Caftle, lord lieutenant of ‘the county of Huntingdon, prefi- dent of St. Luke’s Hofpital, vice- prefident of St. George’s Hofpital, ‘and prefident of the fociety for the ‘encouragement of arts; F.R. S. ba- ronet, and knight of the moft noble ‘orders of the garter and bath. Dying without male iffue, the duke- ‘dom and’ marquifate become ex- ‘tinét. The earldom of Cardigan defcends to his brother, lord Brude- Vor. XXXil. [241 nell. The barony of Montagu of Boughton comes to lord Henry Montage Scott; fecond fon of the duke of Buccleugh, who is married to the late duke’s only daughter.— His gracé was born July 26, 17125 and fucceeded his father, the late earl of Cardigan, in 1723. He was created duke of Montagu, and marquis Monthermer, in 1760. On July 7, 1730, he married a daugh- ter of the late duke of Montagu, who died in 1775, by whom he had iffae John marquis of Monther- met, who was created baron Mon- tagu of Boughton in 1762,.and died April 11, 1770, unmarried; and Elizabeth, the prefent duchefs of Buccleugh. . June. In his 66th year, right hon. J. Pomeroy, lieutenant-general of his majetty’s forces; colonel of the 64th regiment of foot, of which he was commander 24 years, M. P. in the prefent Irifh parliament for the borough of Trim, and one of his majefty’s moft honourable privy council. At his hoafe in Portinan-fquare, of a pleurify in his fide, his excel- lency the count de Lucchefi, envoy extraordinary frorh the king of Na- ples to otir court, which office he had filled fome years. His re- mains were interred in the burying- ground at Pancras, with the ufual Roman Catholic ceremonies, All the foreign ambafladors, minifters, and envoys, went in proceffion; the duke of Leds’s coach and fervants followed the hearfe, the former in their full livery; but his grace was not there, on account of public bu- finefs. Maria Therefa, countefs of Il- chetter. July. At Caleutta, the fon of fir Rd. Aftley, bart. In Dublin, Mrs. Molyneux, fifter [2] of 242] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. of the right hon. fir Capel Moly- neux, bart. Hon. Mifs Fitzgibbon, eldeft daughter of the lord chancellor. At hischateau at Aix-la-Chapelle, of a fecond ftroke of the palfy, in his 73d year, the right hon. Geo. Auguftus Eliott, lord Heathfield, K. B.. governor of Gibraltar, and colonel of the 15th regiment of light dragoons.—He was born in 1718; and received the firft rudi- ments of his education under a pri- vate tutor, and at an early time of life’ was fent to the univerfity of Leyden, where he made confider- able progrefs in elaffical learning, and {poke with fluency and elegance the German and French languages. Being defigned for a military life, he was fent from thence to the cele- brated Ecole Royale du Genie Mi- litaire, at La Fere in Picardy, where he laid the foundation of what he fo confpicuoufly exhibited at the defence of Gibraltar. In 1735, he became a volunteer in the 23d regiment of foot, or Royal Welch Fuzileers, and foon after was admitted into the engineer corps ‘at Woolwich; from whence he purchafed the adjutancy of the 2d troop of hoffe -grenadiers, in which he became a captain and major, as well as lieutenant-colonel, when he refigned his commiffion as an engineer. In 1759 he quitted the horfe-guards; and was feleéted to raife, form, and difcipiine the 1ft regiment of light~horfe, which bore his name. Having gone through various departments in different fer- vices with the greateft marks of bravery and military knowledge, in #775 he was-appointed Commander in chief in Ireland, which he foon relinguiihed,- and was appointed to the command of Gibraltar, in a for- tunate hour for the fafety of that im- portant fortrefs ; where he, by a cool and temperate demeanour, main- tained his ftation for three years of conftant inveftment, in which all the powers of Spain were employed, and where he never fpent his am- munition in ufelefs parade, but feiz- ed on the proper moment, with the keeneft perfpection, to make his at- tack with fuccefs, which ever crown- ed his endeavours. All the eyes of Europe were on‘ this garrifon; and his conduét as juftly exalted him to the moft elevated rank in the mili- tary annals of the day. On his re- turn to England, the gratitude of the Britifh fenate was as forward as the public voice in giving him that diftinguifhed mark his, merit de- ferved, to which his majefty. was pleafed to add that of the peerage, by the title of lord Heathfield, baron Gibraltar, on June \14, 1787, and permitting his lordfhip to take alfo the arms of the fortrefs he had fo bravely defended, to perpetuate to futurity his noble condu&.—He married Anne, daughter of fir Fran- cis Drake, of Devonfhire, and had by her (who died in 1769) Francis Auguitus, now lord Heathfield, lieu- tenant-colonel of the 6th regiment of horfe. Lady Anne Paterfon, reli& of fir John Paterfon, bart. of Eccles, near Kelfo, and daughter of the earl of Marchmont. Sir Tho. Geo. Shipwith, bart. the © ~ title is-{uppofed to defcend to a relation in Virginia. Sir Peter Heyman, bart. of So- merfield, Kent. He was formerly in the navy; and at the age of 17 married Mifs Kempe, daughter and fole heirefs of —--—- Kempe, efq. of Plymouth, by whom he had three children, who, as well as_his lady, are long fince dead; and he leaving no iflue, the title devolves to the + Rev. Citi Ky O. Wisk: Ors, B. Rev. Henry Pixe Heyman, M. A. of Canterbury, fellow of Emanuel col- ledge, Cambridge, grandfon of his father’s fecond brother. | Augult 4. In the 87th year of his age, the right honourable Fran- cis North, earl of Guildford, lord Worth and Guildford, treafurer to the queen’s houfehold, high fteward of Banbury, and a vice-prefident of St. George’s hofpital. His lordfhip was born April 13th, 1704, and fuc- ceeded his father in 1729, as lord Guildford: October 311, 1734, he fucceeded to the title of lord North, by the death of William lord North and Grey; and on March 8th, 1752, was created earl of Guildford. His lordthip married, June 16th, 1728, Lucy, daughter of George earl of Halifax, by which lady, who died May 7th, 1734, he had iflue Fre- derick, the prefent lord North (now earl of Guildford), who was born April 13th, 1732. By his fecond lady, relict of George lord vifcount Lewifham, and only daughter of fir Arthur Kaye, of Woodfome in York- fhire, bart. he had three daughters, whom he furvived, and a fon, Brown- low, born in July, 1741, the prefent bifhop of Winchefter. His fecond lady died April 21f, 17455 and in June, 1751, his lordfhip married ‘Anne, relict of Lewis Watfon, earl of Rockingham, who died without iffue in December, 1776. Katherine, counteis dowager of Plymouth, relict of Other Lewis, 4th earl, to whom fhe was married in 1750. She was eldeft daughter of Thomas lord Archer, by whom She had twelve children. 13. At Kirklees, the feat of fir George Armitage, bart. his lady, eldett daughter of lord Suffield. Lady Mawbey, wife of fir Jofeph [243 Mawbey, bart. She was the daugh-' ter, and (on the death of her bro- ther, Jofeph Pratt, efq. in 1766) heirefs of Richard Pratt, efq. of Vauxhall, in the county of Surrey. In Dublin,* lady Blaney, mother of the countefs of Clermont. Sept. The countefs of Clarene don. Archibald lord vifcount Gosford, baron Gosford, of Market-hill, ba- ronet of Nova Scotia, and one of his majefty’s moft honourable privy council. His jordfhip was born in the year 1718, and chofen M. P. for the univerfity of Dublinin 1741. He fucceeded his father, the late fir Arthur Achefon, in title and eftate in 1748. In1761, he was chofen to reprefent the county of Armagh; and in 1770, during the admini- ftration of lord Townfend, he was made a privy counfellor, On July 20, 1776, he was advanced to the eerage, by the title of baron Gos- ford, of Market-hill; and in the year 1785 was created vifcount Gosford. —In 1740 he married Mary, youngeft daughter of John Richardfon, efq. of Richill, county of Armagh; and by her ladyfhip, who is ftill living, he has left'the following furviving iffue: one fon, the hon. Arthur Achefon, member in the prefent parliament for the borough of ‘Old Leighlin, and now lord vifcount. Gosford; and -fix daughters: Anna-Maria, married to the Rev. Henry Maxwell; Ni- cola; to Michael Obins, elq. of Port- adown; Julia-Henrietta, to Alex. Mac Aulay, efq. of Glenville; Lu- cinda, to Jeremiah French, efq.5 Mary, to Hugh Montgomery, efq. of Caftle Hume; and Sophia, un- married. The lady of fir John Orde, bart. Q2)] Hon, 244] Hon. lieut. gen. Philip Sherard. He commanded as major-general in the campaign of 1762, and ac- quired great credit in the affair of Brucker Muhl, where he was at the head of the 1ft reginient of British guards, 3 At his houfe in Pall-mall, his royal highnefs prince Henry-Fre- derick, duke of Cumberland and Strathern, earl of Dublin, in Ire- land, knight of the moft honourable order of the garter, one of his ma- jefty’s moft honourabie privy coun- cil, an admiral of the white, and ranger of Windfor Great Park. His royal highnefs was born Nov. 7th, 1745; and was created an admiral in 1788. He married the honour- able Anne Horton, widow of Chrif- topher Horton, efq. daughter of the Jate, and fifter of the prefent earl of Carhampton, by whom he has left no iffue.—After laying in ftate two days, the body was depofited, with great folemnity and pomp, ‘in the vault of the chapel of Henry the Viith, in Weftminiter-abbey, on the 28th inftant, at ten o’clock at night. 23. At his feat at Twickenham, after a long and painful illnefs, the moft noble William Graham, duke, marquis, and earl of Montrofe, mar- quis and baron Graham, Dundaff, Kincarn, Mindock, and Kinabor, in Scotland, and earl and baron Gra- _ ham of Belford, county of North- umberland, in England.—His grace married, in Odtober, 1742, Lucy Manners, daughter~of John fecond duke of Rutland, by whom (who died June 18th, 1780) he had iflue, one, James, marquis Graham, born February 8th, 1755+ (married, firft, _ March sth, 1785, Jemima Eliza- beth, daughter of the earl of Afh- burnham, by whom he had ulue a ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. fon, born September 4th, 1786: the marchionefs died fourteen days af- ter fhe was delivered, and the child died April 23d, 1787; and the mar- quis married, fecondly, July, 1790, lady Caroline Maria Montagu, eldeft daughter of the late, and fif- ter to the prefent duke of Manchef- ter) ;—2z. Lucy, born July, 1751; and married June, 1771, to Archi- bald Douglas, efq. now lord Dov- glas of Douglas, and heir to the late duke of Douglas, by whom fhe has iffue. His grace had loft his eye- fight many years before his death. He is fucceeded in his titles and eltates by his only fon James, mar- quis Graham, Sir John Moore, bart.. He is fucceeded in title and eftate by his only brother, now fir Thomas Moore, bart. ae Honourable Mrs. Eliza Gran- ville, daughter of the late celebrat- ed vifcount Lanfdowne, aunt to the marquis of Bath. Oober. In his 65th year, Ed- ward Harley earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, lord Harley, a lord of the bed-chamber to his majefty, lord-lieutenant of the county of Rad- nor, one of the curators of the Bri- tifh Mufeum, LL.D. and F.R.S. He was born September 2d, 1726; and was married, in 1751, to Mifs Sufannah Archer, who is now liv- ing. Not having any iflue, his lordfhip will be fucceeded in titles and eftates by his nephew Edward Harley, efq. eldeft fon of his lord- fhip’s late brother, the bifhop of Hereford. _Sir James Wemyfs, bart. of Bo- gie. Sir Tho. Barnewell, bart, The right honourable dowager vifcountefs Wallingford, aurit to the prefent earl of Banbury, and daugh- ter . CATRIONA Crib E. ter of John Law, efq. (who was comptroller-general of the finances of France in 1719) by lady Ca- therine Knollys, daughter of Nicho- las earl of Banbury. Her late huf- band William vifcount Wallingford, was her coufin-german, being the eldeft fon of Charles the fourth earl of Banbury, and major im the firft troop of horfe-guards, M. P. for the borough of Banbury, and at the time of his deceafe a patent was making out to call him up to the houfe of peers, his father, the earl of Banbury, being then living. She furyived her hufband (by whom fhe had no iffue) fifty years. Novemb. In his 71ft year, right honourable lord James Manners, youngeit brother to the late John duke of Rutland, uncle to the ce- lebrated marquis of Granby, and ‘great uncle to the laft duke. Sir Hildebrand Jacob, bart. ~ Aged go, Mrs. Barbara Slingfby, a maiden lady, aunt to fir Thomas Turner Slingfby, bart. The honourable John George Montagu, eldeft fon of lord vifcount Hinchinbrook, and M.P. for the borough of Huntingdon. } Dorothy vifcountefs Lifburne, re- lict of John fecond vifcount, by whofe death’a large property in that county devolves to his nephew Wil- mot, the prefent vifcount. She was daughter of Richard Hill, efq. of Henblas, county of Montgomery ; married 1725, and had one daugh- ter, born 1727, and fince deceafed. Decemb. In his gift year, right honourable John Bourke, earl of Mayo. He was fon of Richard Bourke, LL. D. who died in 1727, ~ and was created baron Naas, of Naas, county of Kildare, 1776, vif- _count Mayo, 1781, and earl of the county of Mayo, 1785. He mar- [245 ried Mary, daughter of the right honourable Jofeph Deane, lord chief baron of the exchequer, and by her, who died in 1774, had feven daugh- ters, now all deceafed, and three fons; the eldeft and three youngeit daughters died young; the fecond, John, vifcount Naas, iucceeds to his title and eftate; and the third, Jo- feph Deane, bifhop of Leighlin and ‘Ferns, 1772, was tranflated to the archbifhoprick of Tuam, 1782. The moft noble Jane duchefs of Athol. She was fifter to lord Cath- cart, and married to the duke of Athol Dec. 26th, 1774, by whom fhe has had iffue four fons and four daughters. t The lady of fir Nigel Bowyer Grefley, bart. of Drakelow, county of Derby. She was the only daugh- ter and heirefs of the late fir Tho- mas Grefley, bart. of that place, and was married to his nephew, the prefent baronet, about the year 1776, Sir Samuel Hannay, bart. M.P, in the laft and prefent parliaments for Camelford, Wilts. He was for- merly an eminent chemift in Lon- don, and fucceeded to the baronet- age on the death of the laft baronet, of Mochrum, in Scotland, fo creat+ ed in 1630. SHERIFES appointed by bis Majefty in Council, for the Year 17903 Viz, Berks. Al. Cobham, of Shinfield Place, efq. Bucks. John Hicks, of Bradden- ham, efq. Cambridge and Huntingdon, T. Ground, of Wittlefea, efg. Cumberl. W, Browne, of Tal- lentire-hall, efq. {23] Chefhires 946] Chefbire. John Arden, of Arden, efq. Devonf>. Peter Perring, of Hal- berton, efq. - Dorferfh. HH. W. Fitch, of High Hall, efq. Derbyfo. T. Wilfon, of Derby, efq. Efex. T.Nottage, of Bocking, efq. Gloucefterf>. J. Blagdon Hale, of Alderley, efq. Yerts. §. R. Gauflen, of North Mims, efq. Herefordfbire. John Cotterell, of Garnons, efq. Kent. Leo. Bartholomew, of Ad- dington, efq. Leicefterfo. EK. Hartop Wigley, of Little Dalby, efq. Lincolnfh. Sir'T. Whichcote, of Afwarby, bart.’ Monmouth/bire. W. Dinwoody, of Abergavenny, efq. Northumberlani. Ridley-hall, efq. Northamptonfh. J. Ereke Willes, of Aiftrop, efq. Norfolk. James Pell, of Snare-hill, J. Lowes, of efq. Nottingham. G. Chaworth, of Annefley, efq. Oxford. David Fell, of Caver- fham, e/q. Rutland. ". O’Brien, of Tix- over, efq. Salop. St. J. Charlton, of Charl- ton, efq. Somerfetjo. J. Stephenfon, of Bay- ford, cig. Siaffordfe. J. Sparrow, of Bifh- ton, elq. Suffolk. Miles Barne, of Satter- ley, efq. Co. Southampton. G. Dacre, jun. of Marwell, efq. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Surrey. S. Long, of Carfhalton, efq. Sufex. H. Manning, of South- over, efq. Warwickire. FH. Clay, of Bir- mingham, efq. Worcefterfo. Ph. Grefley, of Sal- warpe Court, efq. Wiltfbire. Gifford Warrener, of Conock, efq. SOUTH WALES. Caerm. W. Paxton, of Middle- ton-hall, efq. Pemb. W. Philips, of Hull, efq. Cardig. Matt. Davies, of Wi- leirog, efq. Glam. W. Lewis, of Greenmea- dow, efq. Brecon. §S. Hughes, of 'Tregun- ter, efq.: Radu, F. Garbet, of Knill, efg. NORTH WALES. Anglefey. 'T. Williams, of Lani- dan, efq.. Carnarv. R. Lloyd, of Geflelgy- farch, efq. Merioneth. J. Wynn Pugh, of Garthmaelen, efq. Montgemery/>. Maurice Stephens, of Birthdw, efq. Denbigh. E. Lioyd, of Cefn; efq. Flinthire. C. Brown, of Llwyne- grin, efq. SHERIFF ‘appoisted By bir Royal i Highne/s the Prince of Wales ix Council, for the Year 1799. County of Cornwall. R. Hichens, of Poltair, efq. APPENDIX Dr. Johnfon’s Monument. T a meeting of the friends to the memory of the late Dr. Samuel fohnfon, held at Thomas’s tavern, in Dover-ftreet, purfuant to public advertifement, on Tuefday, January 5th, 1790. Sir Jofeph Banks, bart. in the chair, The following refolutions were entered into: I. That a fum of fix hundred guineas will be requifite to erect a monument, in Weitminfter-Abbey, to the memory of Dr. Samuel John- fon; confifting of a fingle ftatue, according to the plan and eftimate made by Mr. Bacon, fculptor, and approved of by fir Jofhua Reynolds. IJ. That the meafures which have hitherto been taken to procure fub- {criptions for this purpofe have prov- ed ineffectual; the total amount of the fums already received not ex- ceeding two hundred pounds. _ Ii. That a committee of eight perfons be appointed (of which fir William Scott and Sir Jofhua Rey- nolds, the furviving executors of Dr. Johnfon, thall be two), to con- fider of the moft proper meafures to be taken to procure contributions to etie¢tuate fo defirable an object ; and that the faid committee be re- quefted to apply, by letter, in the names of any four of them, to fuch APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. — perfons as may be thought likely to aid and patronize this undertaking. IV. That the following fix gen- tlemen, in conjunétion with Dr. Johnfon’s two furviving executors, be the committee : Sir JosepH Banks, bart. The Rt. Hon. W. WinDHAMy The Rt. Hon. Ep. Burke, |, Epmonp Matong, efq. Puitie Mercatr, efq. and, James BoswE Lt, ef. V. That the foregoing refolu- tions be publifhed in the news- papers. VI. That the thanks of this meet- ing be given to the chairman. JoserH Banks, Report of perfons appointed by a Com- mittee of the Houfe of Commons, to infped the feveral Houfes and other Buildings immediately joining to Weitminfter-hall, aud the two Houfes of Parliament, and the Of~ Jices thereto belonging, &c. N obedience to your refolution of the 17th inftant, that we fhould infpett all the buildings of the houfe of lords, the houfe of commons, of- fice of exchequer, the different of- fices belonging to the fame, and the other buildings contiguous to Weit- minfter-hall, and to report our opi- [24] nyon 248] nion of the prefent ftate of the fame, and their fecurity from fire and other accidents; we beg leave to make the following report, in which we are unanimous, after having inlpect- ed the fame with care and atten- tion. The houfe of lords, prince’s cham- ber, and painted chamber, are build- ings of great antiquity, in many parts defective; and have been al- tered and repaired fo very much, from time to time, that, though they may ftand many years, are in- capable of ufeful repair and im- provement; and there are cellars under the whole, varioufly occupied, only one of which is fecured by arches from the communication of fire. All the buildings eaft of the houfe of lords are in fo bad a ftate, that many of them are in immediate danger of falling down, and are therefore unoccupied and fhut up; and the others would coft more to repair than rebuild them. The build- ing weit of the houfe of lords, con- taining the entrance thereto, and the ftaircafe and committee room, is a fubftantial modern building ; and the other buildings adjoining, comprif- ing the paflages, black rod and privy feal rooms, are part built with timber, liable to rapid decay, and accidents from fire; and the re- mainder extremely old and -ruin- ous. The houfe of commons, though an ancient building, has “been fo continually repaired, that it is ina ftate to remain a great many years ; but is fo conneéted with.the ‘auditor of the exchequer’s houfe and offices, and furrounded by a’ great number of other buildings, applied to va- rious purpoles, and in various occu- pations, as to expofe the whole to a general conflagration, fhould an ac- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. cidental fire happen in any one of them. The dwelling-houfe in Cotton- garden, belonging to the principal clerk of the houfe of commons, com+ municating therewith, erected with- in thirty years paft, is defective in feveral places, from the infecurity of the foundations. The buildings eaft of Weftmin- fter-hall, between it and the river, are the pell-office and chambers over it in the eaft tower, and the offices of the exchequer, contiguous ahd connected with the hall, and fituate between New Palace-yard and St, Stephen’s court: thofe of the four tellers are moft inconveniently ar- ranged, and liable to immediate de- ftruction.in cafe of fire, being placed in the upper ftory, without any walls of divifion, or arched floors; are fe- parated only by timber partitions, furrounded by combuftible build- ings, ftables, coach-houfes, hay-lofts, fervants lodging-rooms, and kit- chens: the dutchy court of Lan- cafter, a flight building of one room, and over it the dytchy chamber, with garrets above; the kitchen of the clerk to the deputy ufher of the exchequer, a low fhed, between thefe rooms and the eafternmoft tower, and immediately conneéted’ with them. The houfe inhabited by the ufher of the exchequer, in New Pa- lace-yard, eaftward of the dutchy court of Lancafter, has a brick front, and its rear js entirely of timber, lathed and plaiftered, forming two fides of a narrow court, from which it receives light, and which commu- nicates with the windows of the tellers office, cafh rooms, and of the dutchy court; and moft of the kitchen offices belonging to the de-~ puty-ufher and his clerk, are im- mediately under thofe offices, and 4 thg . wa BT yi ‘ is | APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE, [249 the fmall wood ftaircafes in the centre of them, and leading thereto. The buildings on the eaft fide of New Palace-yard, from the king’s bridge or water-gate, to the houte in poffeffion of Mr. Roberts, tenant to the. Marquis of Buckingham, as teller of the exchequer, contain the late cofferer’s office, the ofhce of the auditor of the land revenue, the lottery office, tne examiner’s office, the tellers for the payment of Ame- rican claims, the pells American of- fice, the exchequer-bill book-binders office, the office of the auditor of the principality of Wales, the an- nuity pell-office, the firit and fecond annuity offices, and the 14 per cent. annuity office, which are principally conitruéted with timber, lath and plaiftered, or weather-boarded ; in many places propt up, and in others contiguous to low fheds, equally combuftible. The adjoining building fouthward is Mr. Roberts’s houfe, which, with the garden, occupies all the fpace from St. Stephen’s court to the river, and is immediately con-~ neéted with the laft-mentioned of- fices; it has been lately repaired, and fome additional {mall buildings erected thereto. The next houfe, adjoining fouthward to the laft-men tioned, belongs to lord vifcount Bay- ham as teller of the exchequer ; the buildings and garden likewife ex- tend to the Thames, and are at pre- fent unoccupied, being in a very di- japidated ftate. On the weit fide of St. Stephen’s court, again{t the eaft wall of Weit- minfter-hall, are the coach-houles and ftables of the auditor of the exchequer, having hay-lofts and fervants lodging-rooms over them, which adjoin to and come clofe un- der the windows of the office and ¢ath-rcom of one of the tellers, On- - the fouth of this court is the auditor of the exchequer’s houfe, extending fouthward to the houfe of commons, and under part of it; the garden extends to the river. The buildings are fubftantial, and extend under two of the committee-rooms of the houfe of commons. ’ The court of exchequer, and ex- chequer chamber, contiguous to, and connected “with, Weftmintter-hall, are very old, but not in a ftate of actual ruin. On the ground-floor, under the court of exchequer, is the cuftos brevium of the court of com- mon pleas, and treafurer’s office be- longing; the cieling and walls of them are lined with deal, are infe-~ cure from fire, and very damp. Ad- joining weftward to thefe, and pro- jecting into the ftreet, to the great obftruGion and imminent danger of perfons and carriages pafling to and from the houfes of parliament, is fi- tuated an old brick building, occu- pied on the ground-floor by the de- puty-ufher of the court of exchequer, moit of his. rooms containing a fire- place, and the cielings are Hat and low ; over thefe, on the one-pair of fairs, is the king’s remembrancer’s office, and over that the augmenta- tion oftice. We underftand, that, fo long ago as the paffing of the act of parliament for building Weftminfter bridge, a claufe was inferted, em- powering the commiflioners under that a& to remove this nuifance, the roof of which is immediately connected with the court of ex- chequer. The public-houfes and cof- fee-houfes on the ‘outh fide of New palace-yard, immediately adjoining the cuftos brevium of the court of common pleas, are particularly dan- gerous, as they have feveral chim- nies and coppers; the roofs are un- der, and clofe to, the windows of the sso] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1990. the cuftos brevium, and fome of them covered with fail-cloth pitch- ed; the fmoke-of one of the chim- nies is conveyed by a flight tin fun- nel, and, as well as the flues, are near the windows of Weftminfter- hall, of the towers, and of the court of exchequer. Next to St. Margaret’s-ftreet, and adjoining fouthward to the old brick building before- mentioned, is a building of the fame kind, contain- ing the tally office, being a depofi- tary for the tallies belonging to the exchequer. Adjoining fouthward thereto is the coach-houfe for the judges, a flight tumber-building, co- vered with tiles. The ftone building next St. Mar- garet-ftreet, comprizing commit- tee-rooms, and other apartments oc- cupied by officers of the houfe of commons, cuftos brevium of the court of king’s bench, and the exchequer bill office, is of recent date, and very fubftantial. Behind that build- ing, and contiguous to Weftmintter- hall, are the court of common pleas, judges chambers, and record office, which are in tolerably good condi- tion; to them are annexed fundry excrefcences, moftly of timber, which fhould be removed, as they increafe the danger of fire and its communi- cation. The court of requefts is m itfelf a fecure fubftantial building, buat communicates with, and isfurround- ed on the fouth and weft by, a va- ficty of houfes, which are private property, part of them timber; which muft very much endanger the whole as long as they remain. We beg leave to fubmit-to’ this bkonourable committee, that, from the very circumftantial detail we have entered into of the ftate of the va- rious parts of the buildings which the committee requefted we might examine, it is almoft fuperfluous and unneceflary to declare our unani- mous opinion, that the hazard they have been, and ftill are, expofed to from fire, are fo great, that we can- not help being aftonifhed at their having fo long and fo shappily efcaped (with but one late and for- tunate exception) from the moft imminent danger. Unprotected by walls of either brick or ftone, con- nected and joined together by board- ed or Jath and plaiftered partitions ; with iron bars to defend the win- dows of the moft confequential of- fices, which ferve to attraét the lightaing, to the deftruétion of their valuable contents, with funnels and chimnies running into old decayed piers, in the very bofom of thefe combuftible materials, in many of which fire from a negleéted chim- ney might confume the whole; with- out the poffibility of bringing fuf- ficient water to extinguifh the flames, fuch aid being hitherto overlooked, or deemed unneceflary, and not more than one engine kept near the moft effential offices in this king- dom. All which is hambly fub- mitted. Rost. ApamM, Geo. Dance, J. P. CockERELL, H. Hotianv, Joun YENN, Joun Soane, Rost. BROWNE, Tuo. TILDESLEY, Jounx Woo.re, Jun. R. Apam, for R. Myiwne. Tuos. FuLLinG, Cua. Avex. Crare, James WyYArr. goth July, 1789: ; Particulars APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. Particulars refpeéting the laff Ilnefs and Death of the Emperor. Or the sth of February very unfavourable fymptoms began to alarm his phyficians. On the 6th his majefty was thought*to be rather better. Dr. Querin, his firft phyfician, was creat- ed a baron; and, as a proof of his ' majefty’s confidence in his fkill, re- ceived a prefent of ten thoufand florins. Tt was on the 7th that the emperor was made fully acquainted with the danger of his diforder. It wason that day that the emperor fent for Que- rin, and infifted on knowing the doftor’s real opinion of his cafe. The dottor replied, with tears in his eyes, “ Sire, your diforder is incurable.”—The monarch, feem- ingly not at all affected, faid, « I have mighty affairs on my mind that I with to fettle. Do you think I may be able to hold out a few weeks longer ??—*« Your majeity may, it is poffible,” {aid the doctor ; « but fuch is the nature of your / complaint, that I fhould conceal from your majefty the truth, if I did not tell you, that, in cafes like ours, the patients are every minute in danger of being carried off.””— The emperor, on hearing this, was filent for {ome moments. He then figned a difpatch which his minif- ters had prepared for him. It was direéted to his brother, the grand duke of Tufcany: the object was, to apprize his brother of his ap- een diffolution, and to prefs is highnefs’s prefence at Vienna. The difpatch was inftantly fent off. A thort time after this interview, the emperor feemed more compoted, and inclined to reft. _ He continued for fome days in a [25x ftate of great compofure, did bufi. nefs with his five fecretaries, rofe in the morning, was drefied, and walk- ed about; but his cough was fre- quently violent, and at thofe times he feemed in danger of fuffocation. On the 13th he received the holy facrament in the royal apartments; at which time he called all his fe- cretaries before him, fpoke to each with great condefcenfion, recom- mending fidelity in their feveral de- partments to his fucceffor, and, as a proof of his approbation of their condué to himfelf, ordered each a thoufand ducats. On the 14th he continued in the fame ftate of contemplative ferenity in which he had remained for fome days before. But on the 15th he grew worfe; and at eight in the morning, being thought by his phy- ficians to be in great danger, he re- ceived the extreme unéction. On the 16th he fall continued ftruggling with death, as loath to leave a country convulfed and em- barraffed as his dominions were, without being able to recommend to his fucceffor any practicable plan for their arrangement. On the 17th his favourite niece, the archduchefs Elizabeth, who did not expect to be delivered till March, being an eye-witnefs of the near approach of the emperor’s death, was fuddenly taken in labour in the morning ; at fix in the evening fhe was feized, with ftrong convulfions ; at nine was delivered; and at fix next morning expired. The emperor, who had a truly paternal affection for this amiable princefs, whom he himfelf had cha. fen as a fit confort for his nephew, was inceflantly making enquiries af- ter her health, after hearing fhe was in labour ; and it was thought pro- per ° as2] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790 per at laft, that his majefty’s con- feflor fhould break to him the me- lancholy event, which probably accelerated his death by fome hours. His majefty, the day after the death of the archduchefs, fent to the countefs de Chancos an order for 100,000 florins, as a mark of gratitude for the attention which fhe had fhewn to this beloved princefs. ‘The countefs had been at the head of her royal highnefs’s houfehold. About the fame time, finding death drawing near, his majeity fent for cardinal Migazi, archbifhop of Vienna. When he arrived, « My Jord,” faid the Emperor, my life is drawing faft to an end: it is fit that I fhould die in Chiiftian peace with all men. IfI have of- fended you, J intreat your forgive- nefs; and through you the forgive- nefs of all mankind.”’ “ Sire,”’ faid his eminence, with tears in his eyes, «« the offences you have committed againft man, your death will expi- ate. For thofe accountable to God, God is merciful.” From ten o’clock at night on the roth, till half after five on the zoth, his majefty continued in the agonies of death, and at that hour expired, in the 4gth year of his age, and in the 26th year of his reign as empercr of the Romans, and the rothas king of Hungary and Bohemia. He fucceeded to the imperial crown, on the demife of his father Francis, the 18th of Au- guit, 1765; and to the hereditary dominions of the houfe of Auftria, on the death of his mother Maria Therefa, Nov. 29, 1780. He was twice married: firit, to a princefs of Parma, and, again, to a princefs of Bavaria; but, having left no iffue, the hereditary honours of his houfe devolve on his brother, Peter. Leopold Jofeph, grand duke of ‘Tufcany. Two days before his death, he wrote with his own hand a farewell letter to the emprefs of Ruflia, who, it is faid, lies dangeroufly ill. He wrote likewife to prince Potemkin ; as it is fuppofed recommending peace. / Account of the miraculous Efcape of Captain Bligh, of the Bounty Sloop. HIS thip failed from England F in the autumn of 1787, on a voyage to the Society Iflands, for bread-fruit-trees, intended for our Weltt-India fettlements; in which climate, it was the opinion of Sir Jo- feph Banks, they might be fuccefs- fully cultivated, and prove a fucce- daneum for other provifions in times of {carcity. The Bounty had made good the object of her voyage, fo far as to have received on board a great num- ber of thefe trees in various ftages of growth; and there was every pro{pect of there being capable of prefervation. The fhip, thus Jaden, quitted Ota- . heite, on the 4th of April, 1789, and continued her courfe in a wefterly direCtion, touching at one more ifland, and then meditating her pro- grefs through the Pacific Ocean, towards the Moluccas. { The fhip loft fight of the Friendly iflands on the 27th of that month, and every thing like good order was fuppofed to prevail on board; even the mid-watch was relieved without - the leaft apparent diforder: but, at day-break on the 28th, the cabin of Captain Bligh, who commanded the Bounty, was forcibly entered by the officer “APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. eficer of the watch, affifted by three others upon the watch, who dragged him inftantly on the deck, menacing his life if he attempted to fpeak. His endeavours to exhort and bring back the con{fpirators to their duty proved of no avail. Each of the def- peradoes was armed with a drawn » cutlafs, or fixed bayonet; and all their mufquets wereavowed to becharged. Captain Bligh difcovered, when he came upon deck, feveral of the crew, and moft of the officers, pi- nioned; and whilé he was thus con- templating their perilous itate, the fhip’s boat was let over her fide, and all who were not on the part of the confpirators, to the number of eigh- teen, befides the Captain, were com- mitted to the boat, and no other nourifhment afforded to them than about 140 pounds of bread, 30 pounds of meat, one gallon and a half of rum, a like portion of wine, and a few gallons of water. A com- pafs and quadrant were fecured by one of thefe devoted victims, as he was ftepping into the boat: and thus abandoned, the mutineers, after giv- ing them a cheer, ftood away, as they faid, for Otaheite. _ ‘The captain, in this dreadful f- tuation, found his boatfwain, car- penter, gunner, furgeon’s mate, twa midthipmen, and one mafter’s mate, with Mr. Nelfon the botanift, and a few inferior officers, among thofe who were likely to fhare his fate. After a fhort confultation, it was deemed expedient to put back to the FriendJy Iflands; and accord- ‘ingly they landed on one of thefe, in hopes they might improve their eet ftock of provifions, on the 3oth ‘of April; but were driven off by the ‘Natives two days after, and purfued with fuch hoftility, that one man was killed, and feveral wounded. [253 It was then deliberated, whether they fhould return to Otaheite, and throw themfelves on the clemency of the natives; but the apprehenfion of falling-in with the Bounty, de- termined them, with one aflent, to make the beft of their way to Ti- mor; and, to effect this enterprize, aftonifhing to relate! they calcu- lated the diftance near 4000 miles ; and, in order that their wretched fupply of provifions might endure till they reached the place of defti- nation, they agreed to apportion their food to one ounce of bread and one jill of water a day for each man. Wo other nourifhment did they receive till the sth or 6th of June, when they made the coaft of New Holland, and colleSted a few fhell-fth; and with this fcanty re- lief they held on their courfe to Ti- mor, which they reached on the 12th, after having been forty-fix days in a crazy open boat, too con- fined in dimenfions to fuffer any of them to lie down for repofe, and without the leaft awning to protec them from the rain, which almoft incefiantly fell for forty days. A heavy fea and fqually weather, for great part of their courfe, augment. ed their mifery. ! The governor of this fettlement, which belongs to the Dutch, afford- ed them every fuccour they re- quired. They remained here, -to recruit their ftrength and fpirits, till the zoth of Auputt, when they pro- cured a veffel to carry them to Ba- tavia. They reached Batavia on the 2d of Oétober laft; and from thence captain Bligh and two of the crew embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, and the reft of the crew were preparing to follow as foon as a pailage could be ob- tained, Captain os4] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Captain Bligh reached the Cape about the middle of December; and foon after took his paflage for Eng— Jand, which he reached on the even- ing ofthe 13th of March, and ar- rived in London on the 14th. The leader of the mutineers is named Fletcher Chrifian; a man of refpectable family and connec- tions, and confidered a good feaman: he was of the rank of mafter’s mate of the Bounty, and ferved regularly the watch from the time the fhip failed from England. The com- mand of the Bounty thus devolving upon him, there was no poflibility of defeating his purpofe; as not the lealt previous circumftance could be traced, from the teftimonies of the faithtul part of the crew after they were in the boat, of a mutiny be- ing on foot. The mutineers were to the number of z5 ; and thofe who remained firm to their duty 19; confequently, had the flighteft fuf- picion been entertained of the defign, it might have been eafily fruitrated, as all the principal officers remained faithful to their commander. A conjeGture not improbable is, that the plot was projected while captain Bligh was engaged on fhore at Otaheite and other iflands, col- lecting plants, and making charts. This othcer only holds the rank of lieutenant in our navy. His merit pointed him out to the Admiralty as highly qualified for this expedi- tion; and the diftrefles he has un- dergone entitle him to every re- ward. In navigating his little fkiff through fo dangerous a fea, his fea- manhip appears as matchlefs as the undertaking feems beyond the verge of probability. We felicitate thofe who were companions in this hazardous voy- age, that in the. prefent Admi- ralty board exilts a difpofition to fofter and protect fuffering merit; and our dock-yards, it is hoped, will prove an afylum to moft of them to the end of their lives. We are forry to add, that Mr. Nelfon, the botanift, died foon after the boat reached Timor. This gen- tleman went out with his majefty’s particular approval: and a fecondary object of the voyage was to collect curious plants for the botanic garden at Kew. ” Account of the Difafter that befel his Majefty’s Ship Guardian, Lieu- | tenant Riou, Commander. HIS fhip was fitted out in a moft expenfive manner, and furnifhed with all forts of ftores and provifions for the new fettle- ment at Botany-bay, and had a very profperous voyage till fhe arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where fhe recruited her provifions, and in- creafed the number of her live- ftock, beyond any former prece- dent. On the 24th of December, 1789, being in lat. 44° S. and long. 41° 30° E. of London, the weather extreme- ly foggy, we faw an ifland of ice about three miles to the S.W. Lieutenant Riou gave direétions te itand towards it, in order to colleé lumps of ice to fupply the fhip with water. This proceeding was judged highly expedient, as the daily de- mand of water was prodigious, owing to the great quantity of cat- | tle on board. As the thip ap- proached the ifland, the boats were , hoifted out and manned, and feveral lumps collected. During this time the fhip lay-to, and on the tupply of water being brought on board, fire x APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [255 attempted to ftand away. Very lit. tle apprehenfion was at this time en- tertained of her fafety, although the monttrous bulk of the ifland occa- fioned an unfavourable current, and, in fome meafure, gave a partial di- rection to the wind. On a fudden the bafe of the ifland, which projected under water con- fiderably beyond the limits of the vifible part, ftruck the bow of the fhip ; fhe inftantly fwung round, and her head cleared; but her ftern coming on the fhoal, ftruck repeat- edly, and the fea being very heavy, her rudder broke away, and all her works abaft were fhivered. The fhip in this fituation became in a degree embayed under the terrific balk of ice; the height of which was twice that of the main-maft of a fhip of the line. At this critical moment, the cap- tain and officers retaining their fpirit, their example and vigorous exer- tion led the people to their duty; but it was with difficulty they were prevailed on to overcome the firit panic, and lend their affitance to trim and fill the fails. ‘This being at laft effected, and the fore top- gailant-fail and ftay-fails between the fore and main-maft being fet on the fhip, fhe began to forge-off, and . the fame initant ftruck with greater force, if poffible, than before, nearly a-breaft of the main chains, kept crafhing for fome time a!ong the ice under her, and at laft thot entirely clear of it. The weather continued very fogey, and the wind blowin ftrong, Soon loft fight of the nar our {pirits then gained new vigour, and ferved to fupply frefh ftrength, and to fupport us under the afilic- stions which were yet in embryo. _ From the commencement of thefe misfortunes to this fhort interval of better hope, includes about the {pace of haJf an hour; and the cheering profpect again vanifhed as a flath of lighting. At about a quarter paft eight the carpenter eame up from founding the well, and reported two feet wa- ter in the hold, and that it was in- creafing very fait. The pumps were ordered to be rigged, and got to work, and all the officers and peo- ple joined in a diligent and fpirited compliance therewith. ‘The chain- pumps were at firft found to be much out of order, which caufed fome de- lay. Meantime all the hands that could be fpared were fet to work to clear the deck of the cattle, &c. holding themfelves in readinefs, however, to man the pumps, which about nine o’clock were all at work ; and three or four of the people weré left between decks, to hoift up, and heave overboard, whatever they could manage. The water had at this time increafed to three feet and’ a holf, and was ftill gaining on all the pumps. The few hands left be- tween decks did almoft more than their ftrength could be expected to effect: in the courfe of half an hour, they got up and heve overboard — moit of the bags of flour, peafe, wheat, barley, &c. received at the Cape of Good Hope, befides two hogfheads of tobacco. At about ten, water had increafed to five feet. Since the firft of our misfortunes, there had not been an officer or man’ unemployed. It was, however, im- poffible that the few hands we had could hold out much longer, if em- ployed together; a refervation was therefore made, by dividing the whole of the officers, feamen, con- vitts, &c. into two watches, to re- lieve alternately. About half pat ln, 256] ten, the firlt divifion went to the pumps. At this time the captain ordered refrefhments to be allotted to each man, taking particular care that the grog fhould not be made too ftrong. Every man received a dram for the firft fupply, with bifs cuit and cheefe, which feemed-to give them frefh fpirits. The rum above was foon nearly expended ; but the captain thought it would be extremely dangerous to open the hold to get at more, for fear of the men’s getting at it. Wine and water was accordingly given in lieu, At midnight, the water had in- creafed to fix feet, and it was then blowing a very ftrong gale. At day-break a few hands were fet about filling one of the lower ftud- ding-fails with oakum, and the off- watch were ordered to get it under the fhip’s bottom, which was found to be extremely diticult. The leak, however, gained upon us near a foot of water during this applica- tion. By unwearied exertiors at the pumps it became reduced, and con- tinued diminifhing till near eleven o’clock, when the water was reduced to only nineteen inches. At half paft eleven we were, how- ever, unhappily informed that the leak -had again gained upon us fome inches, and continued to do fo, more or lefs, for a fhort time.— Another fail was then prepared fora fecond fothering, which again en- couraged our hopes. At noon the wa- ter was 27 inches,the fhip’s head about W. the wind blowing very hard. Dec. 25. It ftill continued to blow a ftrong gale, the fea running extremely high, often breaking over the fhip with great violence. Be- tween one and three in the after- noon, the fecond fothering was got ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. under the fhip’s bottom. About this time feveral of the crew became almoft unable to perform any duty. The weather was likewife uncom-< monly piercing. At four the water again gained on us; when Mr. Cle ments went down by the way of the rudder into the gun-room, and from thence into the bread and {pirit rooms, to endeavour to difcover the leak, but without effeét. Jt was then thought fit to endeavour to {cuttle the deck clofe aft, which, being out of the roll of the water; would en- able us to get up and heave over- board fome more of the cargo. Accordingly, the captain, the chaplain, the purfer, and two men; were employed in this bufinefs, but unfortunately endeavouring to heave up a cafk, it fell back on the cap~ tain, and bruifed his hand in fo fhocking a manner, as to difable kim from giving any farther af- fiftance. ‘This endeavour was then given up, and all hands were again fet to the pumps. At five the water increafed to four feet, and at midnight to four feet and ahalf. At this time the ftarboard pump became difabled, from the wrench breaking; and the leak from that time gained upon us very faft. At four in the morning the water was reported to have ticreafed to fix feet, and at fix to feven feet. About this time the people began to break off occafionaily from the pumps, and to fecrete themielves, and could only be kept to their duty by threatening to have them thrown overboard. During the night, the - fore and main-top-fails were fhiver- ed by the violence of the wind, and the fhip left entirely at the merey of a moft tremendous fea, the dread= > ee eer, \ APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [257, ful profpeét being rendered- fill _ more difmal by the thick, black, _ ftormy clouds, which appeared as if collected to hide our -misfortunes from the compaffionate eye of Pro- oe ae. The people till- now had been Kept unacquainted with the true fate of the fhip, which, had hi- therto been reported favourable ; when one of the carpenters ftationed to found.the well, came ep, and re- ported that the water was as high as the hallop-deck,. and gaining above a foot every half hour. The officers could not poflibly fupprefs this report; and many of the peo- ple, who were really unable to bear the fatigue any longer, immediately defponded, and gave themfelves ‘up to perifh with the fhip. A part of thofe who had got any ftrength: left, feeing that their utmoft efforts to fave the hip were likely to be in vain, applied to the officers for the _ boats, which were promifed to be -.meceffaries were " pet in readinefs for them, and the oat{wain was direttly ordered to , put the mafts, fails, and compafs, in each. ‘The. cooper was alfo fet to work to fill a few quarter-catks of _water out of fome of. the butts on deck, and provifions and other got up from the hold. : _ Many hours previous to - this, Lieutenant Riou had privately de- # _clared to his officers, that he faw the * final lofs of the fhip was inevitable, and could not help regretting the -lofs of fo many brave fellows. «“ As for me,” faid he, “I have deter- mined to remain in the fhip, and Mhall endeavour to make my pre- fence ufeful as long as there is any e¢cafion for it.” ._ He was intreated, and even fup- Vou, XXX. plicated, to give up this fatal refo- lution, and -try for fafety in the boats. It was even hinted to him how highly ‘criminal it was to. per- fevere in {uch a determination; but he was.not to be moved by any in- treaties. He was, notwithftanding, as active in providing for the fafety of the boats,.as if he intended to take the opportunity of fecuring his own efcape. He was throughout as calm and collected as in the happier mo- ments of his life. At feven o’clock fhe had fettled confiderably abaft, and ‘the water was coming in at the rudder-cafe in great quantities, At half paft feven, the water in the hold obliged the people below to come upon deck; the fhip appeared to be ina finking flate, and fettling bodily:down, it was therefore almoft immediately agreed to have recourfe to the boats. While engaged in confultation on this melancholy bifinefs, Mr. Rion wrote a letter to the Admiralty, which he delivered to Mr. Clements. It wasas follows: = 9 «< HM. 8. Guardiai, : ‘Dec. 25, 1789, Jf any part of the officers or crew of the Guardian>fhould ever sfarvjve ‘to get home, I have only to fay, their conduct after the fatal ftroke againft an ifland of ice was admirable and ‘wonderful in every thing that relates to their duty, con- fidered-either a3 private men, or in his majefty’s fervice. << As there feems to be no poffi- bility of my remaining many hours in .this world; I beg leave to re- commend to the coufideration of the Admiralty a fifter, who, if my conduct or fervice Thould be found deferving any memory, theit favour [R] mighi ass] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. might be fhewn to, together with a widowed mother. «¢ J am, Sir, « Remaining with great refpect, « Your ever obedient fervant, (Signed), © EB. Riou.” “© Phil. Stephens, eq.” He then ordered the boats to be hoifted out, in order to afford a chance of fafety to as many as he could with propriety. The people who were able were accordingly col- lected together, and the cutter hoifted out on the lee-fide, and after- wards the other boats on the booms. They were fortunately all got into the water with very little damage; but, the fea running immenfely high, it was with difficulty they were kept from being ftove along-fide. The launch being forced to drop on the quarter, to make room for the two cutters, was nearly drawn under the quarter and funk, and at laft obliged to caft adrift from the fhip, with only feven or eight men on board, and without any provifion or water. A coil of rope was then handed from the quarter-gallery, and pafled over to Mr. Somerville, the gunner, in the jolly-boat which hung over the ftern. ‘This boat, on being low-~ ered down, was drawn under and funk.- As foon as the launch had again rowed a little nearer to the fhip, one of the people in her caught hold ef a rope, until the cutters brought them provifions, &c. ‘and veered to a good diftance aftern. A fmall quantity of bifcuit, and an eighteen gallon cafk of water, was then let down between the main and mizen chains into the {mall cutter, which was the laft thing taken in. ‘The purfer then got into the main- chains, and from thence leaped into her; Mr. Wadman and Mr. Trem- ? lett likewife fortunately got into the boat from the mizen-chains. It was with great difficulty rowed clear of the. fhip, and fteered for the launch. The agitation of mind on this melancholy occafion may be better imagined than defcribed. Mr. Riow was at this moment walking the quarter-deck, and feemed happy the boat had got fafe from along- fide, The fhip was drifting aftern, and gradually finking in the water. Mr. Clements began to be afraid fhe would drive upon the launch; he therefore called to the crew, to cut the tow-rope, and row out of the fhip’s wake. Mr. Somerville, the gunner, who was looking over the fhip’s ftern, hearing the order, prayed them to hold faf a moment, and he would jump overboard, and fwim to them: he did fo, and was followed by John Spearman, feaman, who were both received fafe, and the boat then cut, and rowed out of the fhip’s track. About three quarters paft eight we got along-fide the cutter, and Mr. Clements, Mr. Wadman, Mr. Trem- lett, and the purfer, with one or two more of the men, went on board, and took two bags of bif- cuit and a cafk of water. The crew were ordered back to the fhip, for further fupplies, and to receive as many of the pedple as could with fafety be taken on board. x They were not, however, to be prevailed on to return, but rowed off to fome diftance, and lay-by to obferve our motions. The Rev. Mr. Crowther left the fhip in the cutter, and-got an opportunity of joining the launch, while making the ex. change. ‘There were then left on > board the cutter, Mr. Brady, mid- thipman, Mr. Fletcher, captain’s clerk, and five feamen. By .Y APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [259 By this time the jolly-boat had hearly come within hail, and we lay-by till informed of her fituation: fhe brought with her neither pro- vifion, water, compafs, or quadrant. Hence we were reduced to the fad medium of confulting our fafety alone; and perhaps never did the human mind ftruggle under greater difficulties than we experienced in being obliged to leave fo many be- hind, in all probability to perith: but it was evident that more people could not, with propriety, be re- ceived on board the launch, from our quantity of provifions, viz. two bags of buifcuit, of about r1oolb. each, two mutton hams of five pounds each, a goofe, two fowls, about twelve pounds of butter, a _cheefe, a fmall keg of rum contain- ing about four gallons, and a {mall rum cafk of water, marked on,the head twenty gallons. This was a very inadequate fuftenance for fifteen fouls already in the boat, who had to traverfe the vat diltance of 411 leagues in a boifterous ocean, without any means of relief, There being yet a {pare compafs and quadrant in the launch, they were, by Mr. Clements’s direction, handed into the jolly-boat. At this time one of the convicts attempted to get on board us, but was oppoled by all, and pufhed into the fea. The fellow in the itruggle caught hold of Mr. Clements, who was with difficulty faved from being. pulled out of the boat along with him. The people in the jolly-boat picked the man up again, and then took to their oars, and rowed clofe upen our quarter, as if determined to board us by force. ‘To prevent therefore any f{cuffle, it was immedi- ately agreed to make fail; and we Vy Peal: our final departure from this fcene of mifery and diftrefs, at about nine o’clock. ‘he fhip at this tim: appeared funk down to her upper- deck ports. The large cutter, which was watehing our motions; immediately made fail after us, but in a fhort time feil much to leeward : Mr. Clements thought they intend- ed making for Prince Edward’s, or Marien’s and Crozet’s ifland. The finall cutter remained hanging on at a diftance from the fhip. They alfo ftepped their maft in the jolly-boat, and made fail after us; but, difap- pearing almoft at the fame moment, we think the boat filled and went down. ; At ten o’clock we had a hard fquall of wind, with a heavy fall of rain; at half pait eleven loft fight of the thip and -fmall cutter. At noon obferved the latitude to be 44 deg. 7 min. S.; the boat was kept as much to the northward as the fea would allow. The wind at this time was about N. W. Dec. 26. Sirong gales, fgually and cloudy weather, with remarkas bly high feas. We were this night very muchnumbed and chilled with cold, anécould get no fleep. . In the morning the weather became more moderate. At four o’clock fhifted the fore-malt to its proper place, fiepped the main-matkt, and fet the fore and main-fails; at eight the people were employed to make a main-top-fail out of {ome theets, and a yard out of one of the boat's” thwarts; the hand of a broken oar was converted into a top-mait. A {mall tobacco cannifter was ent u to male a meafure for the diftribu- tion of the water, rather lefs than a jill, two of which it was agreed to allow cach man a day, Dec, 27. Firlt part, moderate breezes and cloudy weather.— At {a 24 one 260] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. one P.M. having® boiled all our poultry, and cut up the goofe, which was but fimall, into fifteen equal parts; one of the men forward was then blind-folded, and directed . to call each perfon by name, and ano- ther was appointed to ferve out the morfel by lots. Notwithftanding we had now fafted above thirty hours, all were perfectly fatisfied with the {mall morfel; and fome had fo little appetite, that they re- ferved a part of it for a future oc- cafion. But the very fcanty mea- fure of water received afterwards by no means allayed. the univerfal craving for drink, evidently occa- fioned by the exceflive heat and fe- verifh ftate of our bodies. .We did not dare, however, to take ore drop ‘more than the preferibed al- -dowance. We therefore through néceffity became’ philofophers, and fubmitted with becoming refolution to the exigences of the moment. At feven we received-cur fecond mea- fure of water, which being fucceed- ed by the'coldnefs of the night, ad- miniftered greatly to our relief. At midnight it blew a frefh gale, with dark, cloudy, and remarkably cold ‘weather. -The launch was at this ‘time brought under her main-fail only, and the weather. continuing much the fame, no alteration was made throughout the day. Dec. 28. 'The firft part freth gales and cloudy weather, middle more moderate. About noon we had one of the fowls cut up, and divided amongft us, as on the preceding day, and then received our jill of water. ‘The heat and fever of our bodies in- created, and our lips began tolbreak out in watery and ulcerous blifters. This day oneofthe crew, being afraid of famifhing, requeited his whole 3 ‘quantity of water for the day at one ferving, which Mr. Clements op- pofed. He therefore had recourfe to falt-water, of which he drank fréely. At five in the morning got the top- matt up, and fet the top-fail; at ten frefh gales, lowered and took in the top-fail. In thefe feas are conftantly vaft numbers of © fea-fowl' flying about; and had we been fortunate enough to have had a fowling-piece, we could not have been much at a lofs for provifions. Powder ard fhot we had in ftore, and two brace of piltols, but were unable to do any execution with them. : Dec. 29. This day cut up and di- vided our laft fowl, and fhared our water as before. At day-break ftrong gales, with flying fhowers of rain, from which we endeavoured to benefit as much as poflible, ’ by facing the weather with our mouths open and handkerchiefs fpread out ; but the drifting moifture was fo thin and light, that we were barely able to catch fufficient to wet our lips. ‘This morning we received a finall thimble - full of rum each, which was eccafionally allowed. Dec. 30. We were this day re- duced to a very low ebb indeed, and could not eat the {malleft crumb, till fupplied with an additional meafure of water to moiften our lips, which were almoft held together by a tough vifcid phlegm, that could not be expectorated but with the greateft difficulty. On this occafion we dipped our bit of bifcuit in the wa- ter, and afterwards fupped a little of it with each mouthful, to force it down.—=-The butter, cheefe, and hams, were left free for the ufe of every one; for they were found to occafion greater thirft, and therefore remained almoft untouched, age : Ce) py APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [461 of the crew had again recourfe to the falt-water, which appeared not to have any had effects. Dec. 31. We again fuffered great- ly this day from the burning heat of the fun, and the parched ftate of our bodies, and were allowed an _ additional meafure of water, with a _ larger portion of rum than ufual; in _ which we foaked our bit of bifcuit, and made our meal of it.—About four in the afternoon the clouds be- gan to fhew for rain, and we made _ preparations accordingly; but were _ fo unfortunate as to fee it fall in _ heavy fhowers all around us, and _ had barely as much over the boat as _ would wet our handkerchiefs. __ The people this day appeared to bein a more hopelefs ftate thanever, _ and difcovered figns of difrefpec _ to their officers; which was, how- _ ever, happily checked in time by _ the fpirited conduét of the gunner, _ who chaftifed the leader in the face of 8 whole crew, and reftored dif. _ cipline. Many of the people this ~ day drank their own sis and _ Others tried the falt-water. The _ weather was this day more warm and fultry than at any time fince our misfortunes. Fan. 1. We dined this day as on the preceding, and in general ap- _ peared in better fpirits ; which we confidered on account of its being ‘the firit day of the new year,—a happy prefage of our fafety ! > Jan. 2. Clear weather, ull about four in the afternoon, when it be- ) came overcatt, and blew a frefh gale. _ We had before this dined on our ufual fare of bifcuit and water, with re, an tolerable fpirits; but the gale Gncreafing daring the night, and ‘the fea running immeénfely high, Ought us again into great dan- On ‘ vi _ half a meafure of ram, and were all” ger, which, with the difappointment of not feeing land in the morning, as expected, reduced us to our former miferable ftate of defpondency. At ~ eight in the evening the fore-fail , was fhifted to the: main-mait, and. the boat failed under it reefed till, about fix in the morning, when the mizen was iet on the fore-maft, to give her greater fteerage-way. At noon the latitude was by obfer- vation 33 deg. 19 miu. and fuppofed longitude E. of Greenwich 34 deg. 15 min. Jan. 3. About feven in the even- ing the clouds put on the ‘appear- ance of a very heavy rain, but unfor- tunately broke overin a moi dreads | ful ftorm of thunder and lightning, . attended with gufts of wird, and. very little rain, fucceeded by a vi- olent gale of feveral hours from the S. W. in which we were near pe- rifhing. On this occafionythe maf- ter and the gunner fucceeded each other:at the helm, and, by their ex- perience and judgment in the ma- nagement of the boat, we were this night enabled to traverfe in fafety an ocean of fuch fierce and tre- mendous feas, in different directions, as we could fcarcely allow ourfelves the hope of efcaping. At day-break the gunner, who was then at the helm, difcovered a fhip ata little diftance from us, lay- ing under her bare poles. Our joy at this fight was great beyond ex- preffion, and, anxious to {ecure fo favourable an occafion, we jmmedi- ately made more fail, and between five and fix o’clock paffed clofe un- der her, and informed her people of our diltreffles. We then veered about, and put along-fide her on the other tack. ‘ The people on board her crowded immediately to our affiftance, and LK 3] re- 262] received us in the moft friendly manner. As foon as were along- fide, feveral of them jumped in, and aflifted in keeping the boat from be- ing ftove. This fhip was named the Vif- countefs of Britannie, a French mer- chantman, Martin Doree, matter, with part of Walth’s or gsth regi- ment, from the ifle of France, to touch at the Cape of Gocd Hope for a fupply of water and provifions, on ther way to Europe. The officers of this corps were unbounded in their friendfhip and attention towards us, affording us every poffible comfort, and even giving up their beds for our ufe. Jan. 18. At noon anchored in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope. But to return to the fhip.—She continued fome days in the fame ftate as at the'departure of the boats, at the mercy of the winds and waves, without a rudder, and every inftant, in danger of being fiwallowed up in the abyfs, Attempts, however, were made by the crew, occafion- ally, to reduce the water, when their ftrength permitted, and thus, by wonderful exertions, was the Guar- dian kept afloat, till a Dutch packet- boat from the Spice iflands and Ba- tavia, providentially fteering a high foutherly Jatitude, fell in with her, afforded her aid of men and materi- als, and enabled her to make good her way back to the Cape of Good Hope, and kept her company during her courfe. ‘The Guardian was full 400 Jeagues from the Cape, when the fell in with the ifland of ice. Authentic Account of the Lofs of the Vanfittart Indiaman. ° UNDAY the 23d of Auguft, {landing acrofs the channel to- 5 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. wards the Banca fhore, at a quarter patt four P.M. fent the cutter ta found to windward of the fhip, there being an appearance of fhoal- water, and brought to with the main top-fail aback, to wait for her. At a quarter palt five fhe returned, and informed us that the appearance a- rofe from a large quantity of the {pawn of fifh on the furface of the water; at which time fhoaled, fud- denly from 17 to ro fathoms, and then to feven, in a fingle caft of the hand lead. Anchored immediately with, the {mall bower, and clewed all up as fait as poffible ; but, in fwinging to her avchor, the fhip took the ground abreaft of the mizen chains. Sound- ing around her, we found fix fa~ thoms at her bows, five at the gang- ways, in the mizen chains one-fourth lefs three ; but under her ftern four one-half fathoms. — Immediately furled all the fails, and brought-to upon the {mall bower, to endeavour to heave the fhip a-head; but the anchor coming home very fait, de- fitted. ‘The cutter founding around the fhip, found deep water every — where to leeward of her. Set the head-fails, and dowfed the cable, upon which fhe fwang off to her anchor, and no where* along-fide found lefs than five fathoms, though ~ abreaft the larboard mizen chains; in throwing the lead a little way farther out from the fhip, found only four fathoms upon a rock, from which the lead tumbling, it fell inta, five fathoms. The fhip making water, turned the people to the pumps. By the cutter’s foundings, it ap- peared that there was deeper waten two or three fhips’ lengths right aftern. Veered away the whole cable, and riding a-head to wind, which was at E.S.E. found no where ws APPENDIX to thee CHRONICLE. where lefs than fix fathoms about her, and in fome feven; but fome little diftance aftern there was only fix fathoms, from that deepening to io’ and 12 fathoms. All around from the S.E. to the fouthward, and as far as weft, was a clear chan- nel and deep water. Set a {pring upon the cai%e to infure her cafting to ftarboard; fent the cutter to an- chor in deep water, and to fhew { lights; fet the head-fails, and cut _ the cable; ran about a quarter of a ' mile to the W. S. W. and anchored with the beft bower in 1$ fathoms water, fand and mud. About half paft nine, the pumps fucked ;_ found dhe made upwards of four feet an hour; but were able to keep her free during the night with all the pumps going. At day-light, hear- ing a ruitling of water in the bread- room, cleared away by hoifting up 13 cheits of treafure and the bread, and found the water rufhing in through the cieling, about three - feet above the keelfon on the ftar- board fide, and about 18 inches abaft the bulk-head of the bread-room: cut out 2 piece of the cieling, when we could plainly perceive that the outfide plank was ftove in, day- light appearing through her bhot- tom. Engeavoured to fill the room betwixt the timbers up with oakum, but found it impoflible. We then prepared a piece of ftr, about four feet long, and nearly the fize of the chamber, fothering it round with oakum, to fill up. Put one end of it betwixt the cieling and outfide plank, ' and endeavoured to fecure the other end down, but found the force of water fo great we could derive no benefit from this. Swifted the fhip, and prepared a fheep’s fkin; anda feaman (John Bartlett) undertook _ for a reward to dive, and endea- [263 vour to place the fkin over the lead, and which he afferted he had done. No good, however, was de- rived from it; on the contrary, the water began to gain on the pumps confiderably. It was then agreed in confultation to cut the cable, and run as faft as _poffible, hoping to be able to keep her afloat till we could reach the flat fhore of Sumatra, where we fhould be in the tra of fhips, and perhaps be able to fave the treafure at leaft. This was put in execution about three P. M, the water having gained 18 inches upon the pumps in the laft two hours, iteered at firfi N. N,;W. then N,W. byt the water gaining very faft, hauled in W. for the land of Banca. At five P.M. notwithftanding the moft vigorous exertions at the pumps, the water had gained. in greater proportion for the lait half hour than before, having now 5 feet: 6 inches in the hold. Saw an ifland. from the mait-head, bearing W. S. W. and hauled up for it, but could not fetch it. What hands could be {pared from the pumps were em- ployed in hoifting up water and pro- vifions out of the fore hold, getting the long-boat out, and rigging her, During the hours of fix, feven, and eight, the fhip fettled faft, notwith- ftanding the utmotft exertions at the pumps, the water having gained to eight feet. At about a quarter be- fore nine, ran her on thore upon an ifland in the lat. of 8 deg. g min. S. and about feven miles from the coaft of Banca, there being now feet 10 inches of water in the hold. She grounded upon a bank of fand, ju without a reef of rocks, and about three quarters of a mile from the ifland from which the reef ex- tended. At day-light in the morn- ing, fent an officer on fhore to en- [RX 4] deavour 264] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. deavour to find water, who, after the moft diligent fearch, in which he was unfuccefsful, returned on board. We had been able to hoilt out of the hold but one batt, four gaug catks, and five {mall cafks, before the water flowed over, which, with eight cafks of porter, was all the liquor we could get at, except {pirits. In confultation it was unanimoufly a- greed to embark the people in the boats, with what water and provi- fions they could carry, and proceed to the ifland. ; Accordingly on Tuefday at four ~ o'clock P:M. we embarked in our boats, leaving behind what porter and provifions we were unable to carry; having previoufly thrown overboard 13 chefts of, treafure, {piked up the quarter-deck guns, and thrown overboard what powder and ammunition remained after fup- plying the boats, The order in which we embarked was as follows: Number ‘of Hands. The captain and chief mate in the cutter, in all S The fecond and fourth ditto, _in the long-boat - The third and fifth ditto, 14 59 in the pinnace The fixth and gunner in the yawl - ene | In the jolly-boat - 3 The boatiwain and four more in the gigg - - 5 Tn all’ 194 The long-boat very narrowly efcaped being loft, having ftruck on the reef of the ifland; and with all our exertions we found it im- pofiible to get her without it before dark. Accordingly brought her to anchor, and the {mall boats returned and lay under the lee of the thip‘for the, night. In the morning (Wed- nelday 26th Auguft 1789), took our final departure, and itood along fhore, having all the people.em->- — barked, except .George Scott; fea-. man, who was drowned ih the gun- room. The boats kept very well toge- ther, till Friday morning, when it was difcovered that the boatfvain, with four hands, were miffing. At- one P.M. difcovered two fhips at | anchor, near the Banca fhore, and at. half paft four P.M. got on board the Nonfuch, capt. Canning, and e | the General Elliot, capt. Lloyd, ‘Englith country fhips, who received - us with all imaginable kindnefs ;. as foon as the people were a little re- frefhed, the cutter was fent in fearch “| of the gigg, but returned without | fuccefs at three o’clocl: in the morn-. ing. Trial at the Old Bailey of Renwick Williams, ¢ammonly called The Montter. ‘ ENWICK WILLIAMS was indicted upon the ftatute of ift George I. for aflaulting Mifs Ann Porter on the king’s highway, and felonioufly and malicioufly in- tending to cut and deftroy her cloaths. ‘T'here was another count for cut- ting and tearing her clothes. Mr. Pigott, leading counfel for the profecution, {tated the cafe with grea! precilion. hls Miis Ann Porter, the profecu- trix, was the firft witnefs.. She faid, that on the 18th of January laft the left the ball-room at St. Jamtes’s, at a quarter paft eleven o’clock at night, and went towards her fa- ther’s houfe, accompanied ‘by her iftegs, APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [265 fifters, and a Mrs. Meale. As fhe was pafling the rails of the houfe, fhe received a violent blow on her hip, and, turning round, faw the prifoner ftoop down; fhe knew it was him, having feen his perfon be- fore, and having been previoufly 4nfulted by him with language too fhocking to repeat. Thefe previous infults fhe had received from him in the day-time three or four times, and therefore fhe took particular notice of him. After having aflault- éd her, he came by the rails of the door, ftood clofe to her, and. ftared ‘her full in the face. Her upper and under garment were cut, and fhe was terribly wounded by fome extremely fharp inftrument. She faw the prifoner afterwards in St. James’s Park, on the 13th of June, when fhe pointed him out to Mr. Cole- man. She was then defired to look at the prifoner at the bar, which the did, and pofitively deciared he was the man who had aflaulted her; fhe had fuffered fo much from him, that fhe could not be miftaken in his perfon, which had left a ttrong im- preffion on her mind. Mifs Sarah Porter was then call- ed, and defired to look at the pri- foner. She faid, fhe had feen him previous to the 18th of January, he having followed clofe behind her while the was walking, and, leanin his head towards her fhoulder, ut- tered the moft horrid language. She faw him in St. James’s-ftreet ‘about a quarter paft eleven o’clock, while’ in company with her filter Ana; he was ftanding with his back towards them as they pafled, but fome chairmen coming by, faid, # By your leave, ladies ;”? upon hearing which the prifoner inftantly turned round, and, perceiving the witnefs, exclaimed, * Oh! oh!” and gave her a violent blow on the back of her head. The witnefs then defired her fitter to run away, fay- ing, “ Don’t you fee the wretch is ‘behind us?” the name by, which they had diftinguifhed him. This witnefs confirmed the teltimony of her fifter as to the affault in quef- tion, and {wore pofitively to the identity of the prifoner’s perfon, from her having frequently been followed and infulted by him. Miuffes Rebecca and Martha Porter alfo confirmed the evidence of their fifter, the profecutrix, and. proved the identity of the prifoner, they having both feen him feveral times before the queen’s birth-day, and come in for a fhare of his obfcene language. Mr. John Coleman was then ex- amined. He faid, that being in company with the Mifs Porters, in St. James’s Park, on the 13th of June laft, and being told that the man who had affaulted the profe- cutrix had juft pafled them, he im- mediately followed the prifoner, who, fufpeéting he was followed, waiked on very fait. He purfued him through diferent ftreets, look- ing full in. his face, and doing every thing to affront him, in order that he might provoke him to an alter- cation; but the prifoner would not take any aifront, bearing patiently every infult’ offered. The witnefs felt himfelf in fome agitation, and was ata lofs to know what means he fhould adopt, as he did not thine ' it prudent to charge him direétly with being the Mon/fler. He was, however, determined to purfue him; and upon the prifoner’s at lat oo- ing into the houfe of a Mr. Smith (after knocking at. two or three doors), hé followed him, and alked Mr. Smith in the prefence of the prioner, 265] prifoner, who he was; and imme- diately apologizing for this quef- tion, faid he muft beg the prifoner ta give him his addrefs. Mr. Smith and the prifoner wifhed to -have fome reafon affigned for this quef. tion; upon which the witnefs an- iwered, he was told that the pri- foner had infulted fame ladies. The prifoner replied, he had never in- iulted any lady, and, after fore lir- tle converfation, gave the witnefs his, addrefs, which was, “ Mr. Wil- “«< liams, No. 52, Jermyn-ft-eet,”’ —ihe houfe where the prifoner’s mother lived, and almof clofe to his awn lodgings. ‘The witnefs, upon fee- ing the name Wilhams, faid, « Good God! I think I know you.” .To which the prifoner anfwered, « I think I know you.” The witnefs then exprefled his furprize, that he had not recollected him while he was following him, although he looked in his face fo often; to which the prifoner faid, * And it ds jurprifing that I fhould not have known you.” The witnefs informed the court, that he had feen him feveral times at fome affembly- room. After exchinging”addreffes, they went out together from Mr. Smiih’s houfe, and the witnefs toak leave of the prtfoner; but in a few mi- nutcs afterwards he thought he had acted wrong in leaving him; he therefore purfued and overtook him, faying, he fhould not be fatif- ficd, unieis he would accompany him to the ladies. The prifoner, after exprefling his! wifh to meet the witnefs at fome coffce-houfe, was at length prevailed upon to go with him to the Mifs Porters ; and upon his entering the. parlour, two of the young ladies inftantly fainted away, faying, That is the wretch. ‘The ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. prifoner faid, the ladies behaviour was very frange, and he hoped they were not fo prejudiced again him as to take him for the man that had been advertifed. He did not appear to be the leait agitated. The profecutrix’s clothes were produced in court. They were cut quite through, from the bottom up to the waift. M. ie sel se | dbl “eZ sl er eine ro1/Oyez Heit] bee | bz | Bz HE ie *f or Sy lie ef rig! | eG 6¢ res =lgt ole. 2ez a =66 496 Sb Z ys I3G0HYO = idz| 4 g zg| Z 149/758 sft) 7 pert] ¢ fof | 724 oe : 2 aaa 7 sf gl f6s1| tet aie 38 Set 7 er ~ soquiard ° oe be Sy/| 2 Zte| 99 651) ger) z|fo1r| + 1| 29f | 262 Liter °S o =¢ ~ +6 8 £S z zQl 8 Boe +6 t 76L sis ps th 782 9) of 789| gre ott! nS 3 +11| $26 Eel | z2 noel g — yngn D4 ch | s "6 igc| 4 5 99] 484 ezl ae iu 266 SZ | 2SZ r6gt v * z ; $09 58 Fee Vl ee“ z a g > mec 2Sr3| + tzZ ie E91 — k = ‘ 0$ Sol 76L| 116 gory. 2£4 rect) cf £0Z| gO 96 | 794 gre | 89! nf 7, g 41 §$ S|" ¢ L9 | Sg4 § Li Te: ofr} % 1} fz) 4 1} 06 e4 £92 |#$ ° ied | £9/) r84) 2 1}. 74/2 Er |2 2611| F OL | F Bees a ea 11 og! | 186 6L 798| £6 Re) Fic *f Jat al ie 1| 766 be; 262 |i? ounf o +1 (es aa | 7h Dine eolee PELltyZ ter | 446 Fetr| 76 264 | 2g rrgl Oy $1 as eZ| Fe Sh Sezlezs 4 FeLi ceo | 7 sgé jet = a. 9 61 § ob Baz Ov 4/Q/ o1 ThLiPeZ aC |. Se Foz} Zo Bel | tel og gt k || +b | 2 TLL BLL Lg 1} PeZ| 1} yet ins dit] fee: tog | 86 cegt SI ey $ he ahs ead $y git} +2 od itt gue Zerr| Z 6 | &LL 86L |5¢ aie saxory,. ||" ae g4| YO. Baty + zLt ae ghz EY, T} 101 Fey $a Cad S judy £190307] seg | eset _— Zi 29g. ta yee Zo/ ee 167 E/E” 00 pOe R6/ wae: HCY Been stow (ert pe tea hs ara ah gE ie eee oe t2L\4 A 17231 = ima v | x20 ae 1/226 ree 87 FOOL é r 84 She Yury N | PIO tes Ag | -uog!| = Saat rel 52 ect? 66 | 8 4 | 264 “78! ; . IN S's} eipur spy 319035 iy apap aioue | teak seed Ss dee Harb ig «|e fag nas 264 |itgr SO Avex aad foyrog} 9n ef ag ad ft eae 4025 L yurg "G19, ‘ WL wT 08 ayy sfadda ar ‘o6L1 ie and anv *Y Uva (hate Ah hu aA v fry AHL u 4 a agi Suzinp 2.109 ES PEI ES S 40 is leat ae a a ee eb Gat par Lb ‘g . N » a72] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. STATE of the BAROMETER and THERMOMETER, for © ' the Year 1790. “ N.B. Lhe highe#t and loweft Degree at which the Barometer and Ther- mometer ftood in each Month is fet down. ' Days. Barometer. Days. Thermometers Pitary” SEs igor oo tea February Ai ¥ Sas s $f oe oe a Ae it Aang SR ae Aya OE ges pe Ce ee ee anaes ete eS a Ba See aargh ee ae Ge Tee oe Oo eee meena Eat 4+ Mee: ioe ae dae _ September -} Py - ee wh j 4 e a cod PRN BE Ne Meee ey Te Se LO eee ee ee more bok p= December -{ bE: r pint = { u ; 38 Public ¥ APPENDIX to th . baPablic Aas pafed in the feventh Sef- » fron of the feventeenth Parliament _ of Great Britain. LAN at for indemnifying all perfons whp have been con- cerned in advifing or carrying into execution certain orders of council refpecting the exportation of corn . and grain, and alfo certain orders iffued by the governor general of- his Majefty’s colonies ia America, Act for the better fupport of the dignity of fpeaker of the houfe of ~ commons; and for difabling the fpeaker for the time being from holding any office or place of profit, during pleafure, under the crown. The America intercourfe act. An act to indemnify fuch perfons as have omitted to qualify them- _ _felves for offices and employments, &c. An att for continuing fo much of an act as relates to the rendering the payment of creditors more equal and expeditious in North Britain. An att for taking off the duties on unwrought tin exported beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Aét to continue feveral laws re- Jative to the manufacture of leather, &e. Act to continue the ercourage- ment and reward of perfons dif- covering the longitude, &c. Aé for allowing time for the en- Toliment of deeds and wills made by papitts, Act for relief of the American ‘loyalifts and Eaft Florida fufferers, A& to fettle an annuity on the heirs and defcendants of William _ Penn, efg. the original proprietor of the province of Pennfylvania. Act to fettle an annuity on the Rev. Francis Willis, M. D, Vou. XXXII. e CHRONICLE. [273 _ A& for amending an act.27 Geo. III, for allowing the importation and exportation of certain goods in the ports of Jamaica, Grenada, Do- minica, New Providence, &c. A&G to exempt goods imported “from the fettlement of Yucatan, from the duties impofed on the fales of them by auétion, &c. ; A& for permitting the importa- tion of Cafhew gum, &c. A& for encouraging new fettlers in his majefty’s American colonies. A& for regulating the flave trade. A& to enable the governors of certain places beyond the feas to re- mit the fentence of tranfported fe- lons. A& to change the punifhment of burning of women. A& to empower jultices, &c. to vifit parifh workhoufes. Two atts refpeéting the duties on low wines and {pirits in North Bri- tain. wae og \ A& to continue the farming of the poft-horfe duties. Aé& to alter an act 12 Geo. II. to prevent frauds in gold and filver wares, and to alter an act 24 Geo. III. granting a duty on gold and fil- ver plate. - A@ for granting new duties on Wine {ftences. A& for laying a duty on the im. portation of rape feed, &c, and for _ the importation of rape cakes duty~ free. A& for converting certain an- nuities by tontine, eftablifhed by an att of laft feffion, into certain annuities for an abfolute term of years. A& for granting new daties on tobacco, &c. A&to continue for 2 limited time, the indemnity a& paffed Feb. 25, of the prefent feflion. A& ($] ‘ 44] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1756 AG fo: coritiniie thé a& 26 GJ IIT. for appointing Comimiffioners to en- quire into-the’ ftate of the crown lands. ‘ é 3 Ac to explain an: at&t 20 Geo. III. coficerning county elections. A& to amend ‘the att limiting the number of outlide pafiengers of ftage coaches, &c. 9" iy A& to authorize the commilflion- ers of the cuftoms to defray charges ‘of feizures out of his majeity’s fhare of feizures in general. = * An Abfirad of an A& for limiting. the Number of Pérjons to be carried on the Oiutfde of, § tage-Coaches, and ° ether Carriages. 57, 1788. ROM the 1% day of Novem- ber, 1788, if the driver of any coach, or other fuch carriage, tra- _velling for hire, thall permit more than fix perfons atone time to ride upon the roof, er more than two ‘perfons to ride upon the box, ‘ef «any fuch coach or carriage, on convic- ‘tion, either by his own corfefiion, “the view of a Juitice, or by oath of a credible witnefs before a Juitice ‘of the place where’ the offence may be.committed, to forfeit forty fhil- lings for every péerfon riding as out- fide paflenger above ‘the number “mentioned ; and if thé offender be owner of the -coach, then four ‘pounds : and, in default of payment of either penalty, the*offender may be committed for a month. ’ Tf the driver’of any- coach, &c. travelling: with a greater number of outfide-paflengers than allowed, can- not be found, or fhail not appear in confequénce of the Juftice’s fum- mons on ‘uch complaint, then the owner of fuch coach, &¢, is Hable 28 Geo. IIL. ¢, ‘ ‘the warrant purfaant to this a& on ‘ber, 1790, if the driver of any -fach carriage fhall be drawn by lefs © ‘perfon’ on ‘the coach-box and three -perfons on the roof (except the dri- to the penalty of forty fhillings. If a Conftable negleé& to execute - conviction before a Jaftice,on hisown ~ confeflion, or by oath of a credible witrefs, to forfeit forty fhillings; avd, if not forthwith paid, may be committed’ to gaol for a month.” ‘Phe forins of the proceedings ré-~ lative hereto are exprefied in the Schedule to the aét. The former AG altered, explained, and amended; and for regulating | the Conduct sof the Drivers and — Guards of Siage-Coaches, or other Carriages. “30 Geo. III. c. 36, © . 1790. FROM the zoth day of Septem- % coach, or other fuch carriage, drawn by-tHree or more herfes; and ‘going for hire, permit, more than one pet- . fon on the coach-box befides him- | felf, and four on the roof; and, if © than three -norfes, more than one ver of a carriage drawn by lefsthan | three horfes, which fhall nct goa | greater diflance than twenty-five miles from the Poft-Office in Lon- don, nor carry more than one per- — fon on the coach-box and four per-“!~ fons on the roof), to be conveyed ~ thereby, he fhall pay to the collec- tor of the tolls, at every turnpike- — gate thro’ which the carriage fhall — pafs, five fhillings for each perfon — above the limited number: and if — any paflenger, above the limited pi number, be fet down, or taken up, whereby the payment of five fhil- lings may be evaded, the driver, on conviction, by hisown confefion, the view of a Juftice, or Gath of a cre- 4 ; dible _ iy ‘ ~ APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [ dible witnefs, to be committed to gaol, or the houfe of correétion, for ~ not more than one month, and not lefs than fourteen days. The five thillings per head beyond the limited number to be levied in’ the fame manner as the tolls. After the fame day, to be pairited on the outfide of each door of every. ftage-coach (except mail-coaches) in legible characters, the proprietor’s name, and, when different ones, the name of that which fhall live within the Bills of Mortality to be ufed. Jf the coachman fuffer any other’ perfon to drive his -coach, without _ eonfent of paffengers, or quit the | 275 3 box without reafonable oceafion, or by mifconduét overturn the carri age, or endanger the peffon or pro- perty of paflengers, to forfeit not more than five pounds, nor lefs than forty fhillings. Ifthe guard to any coach fire of the arms he iS en= trufted: with, either while the coach is going on the road, or in any town, otherwife than for defence | of fach coach, to forfeit twenty fhil- lings. ‘Fhe penalties by the former ac on peace-otticers, for neglecting to execute warrants, to extend to this aét, and to be levied and ap- plied in the fame manners “is . ws “SUPPLIES 2365] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. SUPPLIES granted by Parliament for the Year 17g90.: Ni SA «Wi ¥e FEBRUARY I. OR 20,0comen, including 3,860 marines, at 41. fs $6 ls per man per month — _ — 1,040,000 © 0 Marcu 2. For the ordinary of the navy, including half pay of the marines | — — 703,276 17 1 For the extraordinaries of the navy, for building aan repairing veffels, over and above the allowance for wear and tear a — —_ — 490,360 © oO Apri. 27. For difcharging fo much of the navy debt — 200,008 0 Oo eel ws Total of the navy — 2,433,636 17 11 , = A GRY MEG. / FrBRUARY 9 For 17,448 men, including 1,620 invalids, as guards and garrifons in Great Britain _- — 578,562 14 I For forces and garrifons in the wae a and Gib- raltar — ne I— 317,549 16 © For making good the ele acute in the difference be- tween the Britith and Irith eftablifhment for 1789 - 8,245 10, I | For advance of pay to the forces in the Eaft Indies — 11,435 12 102 For the charge of full | pay to AEC officers for 1790 — 10,808 7 1% For the pay of general and general ftaff-officers in Great Britain’ —_ — — 6409 8 © For allowances to the Eye eppcies fecretary at war, &c. — 63,276 5 8 For reduced officers of thi the land forces a Marines = 162,797 18 4 For the reduced officers and private gentlemen of the troop sof horfe and grenadiér guards — — 202 1 & For the officers late in the Dutch fervice -- ~~ 3,392 34 2 APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. [277 a. For the reduced officers of Britifh Amezican forces — — 551092 Io 9° ° For allowances to feveral of the fame -~ — — 4997 10 Marcu 29. For pay of a corps of foot to ferve in New South Wales —. _ — — 2,41 I 4) 5 For officers widows, and expences attending the fame 9.991 9 3 For the Heiffian fubfidy — _ Sin) FBOee AS: <0 For the Chelfea penfioners . — _ — 130,938 19 6 For the army extraordinaries for 1739 — — 356.458 12 4 Total of the army — 1,809,574.19 5% -ORDNANCE. . FEERUARY g. iy or the charges of the office of ordnance for the land fervice for 1790 _— — _ — 418,207 4 3 Fer land fervice, not provided for in 1788 _ 13,869 © 6 For fea fervice, ditto —_ _ —_ 23:795.16 7 Total of ordnance “— 455,872 14 6 MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES. Marcu 29. 3 ‘ For Scotch roads and bridges — — — 4859 1 8 FEBRUARY 2. To pay off the exchequer bills of the lait fetlions — 5,500,000 a @ To the commiffioners of Amer ican claims _ 35162 5 6 For American fufferers 9 — _ — 35185 15. 6 ner O difcharge bills drawn by the governors of Nova ; Scotia, the Bahama Iflands, and New Brunfwick -- 1)632-~ (ri, 3 'Provifions &c. fent to New South Wales — — 4947917 © For American and Eaft Florida fufferers | — ' 233,279 9 2¢ For money iffued in purfuance of addreffes oo 48,424.15 3 For the convicts at Plymouth and on the Thames — 41,117 3 0 To the clerk to the commiffioners of fees and offices — —_ — — 761 8 o To the fecretary of the commiffioners for npelating. _ the fhipping of flaves —_— — 5005 0 O Expences of carrying into execution the att for en- quiring into the emoluments of 6fficers of the caftoms _ _ —_ _— 1,000 0 Oo Extra expences of the mint for 1788 a — 30,520 17 1 [S 3] For 0/3] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. *, ‘ ak ae For pflidnge a the African trade - glo ° To the fecretary of the commiffioners of the Eaft Flo- / ridaclaims = — -—— —- = 200 0 @ To ditto of American loyalifts ol — 1,909 © O Civil eftablifhment of Nova Scotia — — 6,376.17 6 The like of New Brunfwick _ — -4400 0 © The like of St. John’s Ifland a — 1,840 0 © The like of Cape Breton —_ - — —_ 2,100 0 © § * The like of Newfoundland — 1,182 Yo © The like of the Bahama Iflands ~ — — 4,080 @ O The like of New South Wales —_ —_ 4.558 7 & To the chief juftize of Dominica a — 600 0 Oo To ditto of the Bermuda Iilands — — 580. 9 Oo For the African forts -- — 13,600 © O For profecution of Warren Haftings, efq. — 2051 2 10 - Total of mifcellaneous fervices — 6,000,598 17 52 @ Leo ey —————— - DEFICIENCIES’, APRIL 15, j Deficiency ¢ of laft ee 5 eran a — 231,517 12 22 May 11. ‘a Vote of credit for the Spanith armament - — 1,000,009 Q 0 — sees Oe " “Recapitulation of the Supplies. Navy — aed — — - 2,493,636 17 11 @ Army cage ™ on GS ge a mes Daeg earn aa Ordnance — — — 4553872 14 6 & uceHaneous fervices — — — 6,000,598 17 sf Deficiencies — — =~ _ 231,517 12 25 9 Yote of credit © ~ — —_ — 1,000,000 0 o Total of fupplies for r7g0 “—_ 11,931,201 1 52 -2 ee ee OF a WAYS. dnd! MEANS. tr raifing the above / nted to te Fouts tty Majeftyfor the Year 179% - ; ri FeBRUARY 4 Nat a adds . SS at 4s. in the oe oe #— 2,000,000 0 o , idle malt duty 5 ge ey —, — 750,000 0 oO Marcu 25. ay im By annuities for 182 years, from Aprils, 1789 —.. 187,000 © 0 | Profit on 50,000 lottery. tickets, at rs, 16s, 42d. - 290,937 10 0 | Exchequer bills _ ed a eee BS ODCO” O10 Surplus of confolidated fund _- — ‘2,300,000- 0 o Farther furplus — — — 621,151 1 32 t ¥F ak de fecr et fervice money repaid -- — = 34,000 Oo. dg May 1m | par Exchequer bills —_ — — — _ 1,000,000 0 p Total ways and means ~" —"~12,496,088:11 3% Total fapplies .- -- ==..11,931,201 1 §2 Excefs of ways and means — A: 568, 887 ‘g 10k | ee rs gene ah que we {5 4] . An’ ry 280] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. An Account of the Net Produce of the Duties of Customs,Excise, STAMPS, NEIDENTS, between the 5th day of April, 1788, to the 5th day of April, 17893 and between the 5th day of April, 1789, to the 5th day of April, 1790. 1789. 1790. Le s. d. fe ie iii Customs _ _~ — | 3,711,126 3 9 317772152, 2 7E Exesse oe | 068,205. 8 2 | Gi70R SES 16g STAMPS = = pee — |} 1,244,109 It 3 1,259,124 3 10 IncIDENTS. Confolidated seg money, 1787 — 136,0co 0 © 156,000 © o i alt _— = —— 350,268 15 I 397,104 1 is Seizures fince 25th October, 1760 _ 20,421 g 104 70828 Ss ae Proffers, D® ia ray na 533.35 72 648 1 Fines of leafes, Do — — u , ’ 3 Letter money, D° — . = 156,000 © O 201,000 0 oO . Alum mines, pe —_ = g§0 9 0 960 0 0 - Compofitions, D® _ a a FL Agia: 5 00 Fines and Forfeitures, pe _ a 1891 11 7% Alienation duty, D° _- _ 4,09t 12 0 2,023 2 0 Rent of a light-houfe, D° hyo _ Ong 4 613 4 6d. per lib. on penfians, 24th June, 1721 45,585 9 © 60 zs. deduétion on falaries, &c. 5th April, ; 7 ABS 1758 ar = = 51,285 15 74 35.357 2 Houfes and Windows, 1766 — _ 483,234 10 10 Pe: H - Inhabited houfes, 1779 _— — 128,809 o 8t 15$,015 6 38 Hawkers and Pedlars, 24th June, 1710 ~ 25220 0 0 35536 a1 . Ditto, 1785 —_ (= _ Hackney coaches and chairs, it Aug. . qq _ _ - 11,100 4 4 12,200 0 0 Ditto, 1734 - — _ 14,052 4 4 14,000 0 o Male fervants, — 1785 — _ 91,876 13 33 99,893 & F BemaleD° — D® PMN A 31431 4 62 36,881 17 of 4-wheel carriages, D® _ _ 126,965 §$ 314 148,692 oO si a-wheel D9 — De — =| 2764413 ck] 331934 18-3" Waggon, “ — D® — _ 19,420 17 9 22,530 17 32 Carts, — Do — _ 11,5'3 8 rid 11,305 10 11 Horfes, en ee a 992985 17 74] 109,287 8, 3h Shops, ey DP} _ _ 50,195 16 114 52,929 11 10 Firk fruits of the Clergy _ ~— 4,380 16 11 329875 1 Tenths _ ~ — — 19,786 2 9% 9,667 14 6 Men Servants, 1777 - -_ 6 00 Houfes and Windows, 1726 _ — _— — 229 130 Total of Juacidents 1,308,675 7 53} 2,001,592 14 a% Total of Cuftoms, Excife. t Stamps, and Incidents - 12,832,206 10 73) 13,745.424 16 3% nm | Exchequer'y ROBERT JENNINGS, azth of Apr, 1790 STATE His Majefty’s moft gracious Speech to both Houfes of Parliament, on the opening of the feventh Seffien of the fixtecuth Parliament, January z1ff, 1790. My Lords and Gentlemen, INCE I laft met you in par- liament, the continuance of the War on the continent, and the in- ternal fituation of different parts of Europe, have been produttive of events which have engaged my moit ~ ferious attention. ' While I fee, with a juft concern, the interruption of the tranquillity of other countries, I have at the fame time great fatisfaction in being able to acquaint you, that I receive continued aflurances of the good difpofition of all foreign powers to- ‘wards thefe kingdoms; and I am perfuaded that you will entertain with me a deep and grateful fenfe of the favour of Providence in con- tinuing to my fubjetts the increaf- ing advantages of peace, and the uninterrupted enjoyment of thofe invaluable bleffings which they have fo long derived from our excellent _ conftitution. Gentlemen of the Commons, I have given direétions that the eftimates for the prefent year fhould be laid before you; and I rely on Houle of pasar] | sy ” STATE PAPERS. your readinefs to grant fuch fupplies as the @rcumftances of the feveral branches of the public fervice may be found to require. My Lords, and Gentlemen, The regulations preferibed by the act of the Jaf feffion of parlia- ment relative to the corn es not 4 having been duly carried into ef. fe& in feveral parts of the king- dom, there appeared reafon to ap- prebend that fuch an exportation of corn might take place, and fuch difficulties occur in the importation of foreign corn, as would have been productive of the moft ferious in- convenience to.my fubjeéts. Un- der thefe circumitances, it appeared indifpenfably neceflary to take im- mediate meafures for preventing the exportation and facilitating the importation of certain forts of corn; and I therefore, by the advice of my privy council, iffued an order for that purpofe, a copy of which I have directed to be laid before you. — I have only further to defire, that you will continue to apply yourfelves to thofe objets which may require your attention, with the fame zeal for the public fervice which has hitherto appeared in all your proccedings, and of which the effeis have been fo happily mani- felted in the inereafe of the public revenue, 282] ANNUAL/REGISTER, 1790. revenue, the extenfion of the com- merce and manufaétures of the country, and the general profperity of my people. AN Th a i i The hunble, Addrefs of the right ho- nourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament afembled, Friday, 22d January, 1799- Mok gracious Sovereign, E, your. majefty’s moft du- V y + tifal and loyal fubjeéts, the lords fpiritual and temporal, in parliament, beg Jeave to return your majefty our humble thanks for your moit gracious fpeech from the de are fenfible of the import- ance of the events produced by the ‘continuance of the war on the con tinent, and the internal fituation of different parts of Europe, which have naturally attracted your ma- jefty’s moft ferious attention. We beg leave to aflure your ma- jefty, that, while we fee with a juft concern the interruption of the tran- quillity of other conntries, we feel the trueft fatisfaction from the af- furances your majefty has been pracioufly pleafed to give us of the good difpotition manifefted by all foreign powers towards thefe king- coms; and that we entertain, with your majefty,. a deep and grateful fenfe of the favour of Providence, in continuing to thefe kingdoms the increafing advantages of peace, and the uninterrupted enjoyment of thofe invaluable bleffings which your majefty’s mof faithful fubjects ° havesfo long derived from our ex- cellent conftitution. - _ We return your majefty our du- tifa] thanks for the communication avhich your majefty has been pheafed / f to make to us of the reafons which induced your majefty to take fuch immediate meafures as appeared indilpenfably neceflary for prevent- ing the exportation and facilitating the importation of corn; and for your majefty’s gracious condefcen- fion, in direéting to be laid before this honfe'a copy of the order, which your majeity, by the advice of your privy council, thought pro- per to inue for that purpofe. Permit us, fif§ to offer to your majeity our humble acknowledge- ments for the gracious approbation which your majefty is pleafed to declare of our former conduét; and to give your majefty the ftrongeft affurances, that, animated by the. fame zeal for the- public fervice which has hitherto direéted our proceedings, and gratefully acknow- ledging the happinefs and fecurity’ which we experience under your majelty’s au{picious government, we will diligently continue to ap- ply ourfelves to thofe objeéts which may require our attention, and may beft contribute to the maintenance of the public revenue, the extenfion of the commerce and manufactures of thé country, and the general profperity of thefe kingdoms. i iy To this His Majefty, returned the fol- lowing soft gracious Anfwer. My Lords, ‘i I receive with great pleafure your dutiful and loyal addrefs, ~ The firft objet of my withes be- ing the profperity of my people, 1~ — ‘cannot bat exprefs my fatisfaction at receiving fuch ftrong affurances of your difpofition to apply your attention to thofe important objects which I have recommended to your confideration. The 008: TATE BE) .cPLa PAR S, ei The hurible Addrefs of the Commons 4 of Great Britain, zx Parliament affembled, 22d January 1790. me. . Moft.gracious Sovereign, p E,-your majefty’s moft duti- -=: fal and loyal fubjects, the commons of Great Britain, in par- liament affembled, beg leave to return. your majefty. our humble thanks for your moft gracious {peech from the throne.: - * While we participate. in the juft concern with which your majeity obferves the interruption of the . tranquillity of other countries, we feel, at the fame time, the greateft fatisfation in being informed that your. majefty continues to receive affurances of the friendly difpofition of foreign powers: and we enter- tain a deep and grateful fenfe of — the favour of Providence towards thefe: kingdoms, in continuing to us the increafing advantages of peace, and the uninterrupted enjoy- ment of thofe invaluable bleffings which we have fo long derived from our excellent conititution, and which we fo happily experience under your majelty’s mild. and aufpicious overnment. Your majefty may be affured that we fhall proceed with cheerfulnefs to make fuch provifion as-may ap- pear to.be requifite for the feveral ‘branches of the public fervice. We are duly fenfible of your ma- jefty’s paternal regard for the wel- ‘fare of your people, which has been gnanifefted in your anxiety te pre- vent the further exportation. of corn, aud to facilitate the impor- tation under the circumftances which your majefly has been gra- eioully pleafed to communicate to %s; and we defire humbly to return ‘our thanks to your majelty, for hav- yg been plealed to direft a copy [283 of the order, iffued by ‘your majefty, by the advice of your privy council, to bé laid before us. We affure your majefty, that we fhall uniformly continue to apply ourfelves, with unremitting affi- duity and zeal, to thofe objects of public concern which may re- quire our attention; and fhall be, at all times, defirous of adopt- ing every proper meafure for main- taining the public revenue, and en- couraging the commerce and ma- nufactures of the country, as being ‘effentially connected with the ge- neral profperity of your majefty’s dominions, To this His Maje/ty returned the fol~ lowing moft gracious Anfwer. Gentlemen, I thank you for your very loyal and dutiful addrefs. It is with great fatisfaction that I receive the re- peated expreffions of your affec- tionate attachment, and the aflur- ances of ‘your continued attention to thofe objects which are connetted with the happinefs and: profperity of my people. His Majefty’s Speech to both Houfes of Parliament, at the Cle of the Jeventh Seffion, Thurfday, 10th June, 1790. My Lords, and Gentlemen, * ne HE neceflary public bufinefs being now concluded, I think it right to put an end to this feflion of parliament. 1 have not hitherto received tle anfwer of the court of Spain to he reprefentation which I have direted to be made at that court, in fypport of the dignity of my crowr, and ad the 234] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. the interelts of my people. 1 con- tinue to entertain the itrongefi de- fire for the maintenance of peace on jut and honourable grounds; but, under the prefent circum- fiances, i feel st indifpenfably ne- cefiary to proceed with expedition and vigour in thofe preparations, the obyctts of which have already re- ceived your unanimous concurrence. The aflurances and conduct of my allies, on this intereiting occa- fion, have manifefted, in the moit fatisfatory manner, their deterimi- nation to fulfil the engagements of the exifting treaties; and I truf, that our mutual good underitanding and concert will be productive of the happieft effeéts in the prefent conjuncture of affairs in Europe, Gentlemen of the Houfe of Commons, I return you my particular thanks for the readinefs with which you granted the fupplies for the current gervice, and for your unanimity and difpatch in enabling me to take thofe meafures which the prefent crifis has rendered necefiary. My Lords and Gentlemen, As I think it may be of material convenience that the eleétion of a new parliament fhould take place without delay, it is my intention forthwith to give dire&tions for dif- folving the prefent, and for calling a new parliament. But, in fignify- ing to you this intention, I cannot cmit to afiure you of the deep and grateful fenfe which I muft ever entertain of that affe€tionate and unfhaken loyalty, that uniform and ‘ealous regard for the true princi- Fes of our invaluable conititution, an that unremitting attention to thehappinefs and profperity of my ’ people, which have invariably di-» rected all your proceedings. The rapid increafe of our manu- fa&tures, commerce, and navigation, the additional protection and fecu- rity afforded to the diltant poflef- fions of the empire, the provifions for the good government of India, the improvement of the public re- venue, and the eftablifhment of a permanent fyitem for the gradual reduction of the national debt, have . furnithed the beft proofs of your refolution in encountering the dif- ficulties with which you had to con- tend, and of your ifteadinefs and perfeverance in thofe meafures which were be& adapted to promote the eflential and laiting imterefts of my dominions. The loyalty and public fpirit, the induftry and enterprize of my fubje&ts, have feconded your exer- tions. On their fenfe of the ad- vantages,which they at prefent ex- perience, ag weil as on their uni- form and affectionate attachment to my perfon and government, I rely for a continuance of that harmony and confidence, the happy effeéts of which have fo manifettly appear- ed during the prefent parliament, and which muft at all times afford the fureit means of meeting the exigencies of war, or of cultivating with increafing beneft the blei- fings of peace. 2 Speech of the Speaker of the Houfe of Commons, on prefenting certain bills to his Majefty, ‘fune 10, 1790. SIRE, OUR faithful commons have completed the fupplies requi- fite for the fervice of the current year; they bave manifefted their loyalty $ TMT BPA PEERS. loyalty and their attachment to your majefty’s perfon and government, by their uniform attention and di- ligent exertions in the pafling of fuch bills as were moit likely to conduce to the honour and dignity of your majeity’s crown, and they have endeavoured, in all their pro- ceedings, fhewn the fpirit of a great, ' a loyal, and a free people. Your majefty’s commons cannot but contemplate, with peculiar fa- tisfaction, the growing produce of the revenue, the rapid progrefs of Our manufactures, and the general - increafe of commerce and trade; circumftances affording the moft flattering proofs of the profperous ftate of the country, in which they have no doubt of your majefty par- ticipating with them, and in the fatisfa@tion afforded by the con- templation of thefe great and im- portant objects. Your majefty’s commonsare well a- ware, that the principal caufe, among many others, to which thefe great national benefits are to be afcribed, is the continuance of peace; but, fenfible as they are of thefe blef- fings, and anxioufly defirous of ren- dering them permanent, they have lately afforded your majefty a fub- ftantial proof, that it was their una- nimous opinion that peace ought not to be maintained but on fuch terms as fhould be ftri€tly confiftent _Wwith the honour of your majefty’s crown, and the interefts and wel- fare of your majefty’s fubjects. “J ee ean me ee ee a ae ee aera aa meee Meffage from his Majefty to both _ , “Houfes of Parliament, May 25, * . 1790; relative to the capture of certain VPofelr, by the Spaniards, _ in Nootka Sound. [285 GEORGE R. IS majefty has received in- formation, that two vefflels belonging to his majefty’s fubjetts, and navigated under the Briufh flag, and two others, of which the defcription is not hitherto fufficient- ly afcertained, have been captured at Nootka Sound, on the north- weftern coaft of America, by an officer commanding two Spanifh fhips of war; that the cargoes of the Britifh veffels have been feized, and that their officers and crews have been fent as prifoners to a Spanifh port. The capture of one of thefe ve fels had before been notified by the ambaffador of his Catholic majeity, by order of his court, who, at the fame time, defired that’ meafures might be taken for preventing his majefty’s fubjeéts from frequenting thofe coafts, which were alledged to have been previoufly eccupied and frequented by the fubjeéts' of Spain. Complaints were alfo made of the fifheries carried on by his majefty’s fubjects in the feas adjoining to the Spanifh continent, as being con- trary to the rights of the crown of Spain. In confequence of this com- munication, a demand was imme- diately made, by his majefty’s or- cer, for adequate fatisfaction, and for the reititution of the veffel, pre- vious to any other difcuflion. By the anfwer from the court of Spain it appears, that this veffel and her crew had been fet at li- berty. by the viceroy of Mexico; but this is reprefented to have been done by him on the fuppofition that nothing but the ignorance of the rights of Spain, encouraged the in- dividuals of other nations to. come to thofe coafts for the purpofe of making eftablifiments, or carrying on 286] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. on trade, and in conformity to his previous inftructions, requiring him to fhew all poffible regard to the -Britith nation. a ‘No fatisfaction is made, ‘or offer- ed, and a dire@ claim is aflerted by the court of Spain to the ex- clufive rights of fovereignty, navi- gation, and commerce, in the terri- tories, coafts, and feas, in that part of the world. His majefty has now direfied his minifter at Madrid to make a frefh | reprefentation on this. fubject, and to claim fuch full and adequate fatil faction as the nature of the cafe evidently requires. And, under thefe circumitances, his majefty, having alfo received information that confiderable armaments are carrying on in the ports of Spain, has judged it indifpenfably necef- Mary to give orders for making fuch preparations as may put it in his majefty’s power to act with vigour and effe@ in fupport of the honour of his crown, and the interefts of his people. And his majeity recom- ‘mends it to his faithful commons, on whofe zeal and public fpirit he has the moft perfec reliance, to enable him to take fuch meafures, and to make fuch augmentation of his forces, as may be eventually neceflary for this purpofe. ; It is his majeity’s earneft with, that the juftice of his majefty’s de- mands may enfure, from the wifdom and equity of his Catholic majefly, the fatisfaétion which is fo unquef- tionably due; and that this affair may be terminated in fuch a man- nér as-to prevent any grounds of mifunderftanding in future, and to continue and confirm that harmony and friendfhip which has fo hap- pily fablifted between the two ‘courts, and which ‘his majefty will always endeavour to maintain and improve, by all fach miearis as’ are contiilent with ‘the dignity of his majelly”s crown, and the. effential interelts of his fubjeéts. © © GR. The humble Addrefs of the right ho- nourable the Lords Spiritual’ and Temporal, in Rarliament ajjembled, May 26th, in confequence of the Soregoing Mefjage. Moft gracious Sovereign, — E, your majefty’s moft dus W tiful and loyal fubjeéts, the lords fpiritual and temporal, in parliament affembled, beg leave to retutn your majefty ‘our ‘humble thanks for your gracious meflage, ~acquainting this houfe of thofe cir- cumftances relative to the capture of Britifh veffels on the north- weftern coaft of America, and to the conduct of the court of Spain on this occafion, which have in- duced your majefty to give orders for making fuch preparations ‘as~ may ‘put it in your majeity’s power to act with vigour and effect in fup= port of the honour of your majefty’s crown, and of the interefts of his: people; and to aflure your majefty, that we fhall readily proceed to enable your majefty to take fuch meafvres, and to make fuch aug- mentation of your majefty’s forces, as may eventually be neceflary on this occafion. We truft that the juftice of your majefty’s demands will enfure, from the wifdom and equity of his: Catho- lic majefty, the fatisfa€tion which is fo unqueftionably” due to your majefty ; and we fhall’ fincerely re- “ “= joice STATEOPAPER S. _ gorce in fuch a termination of the difcufions now depending, as may prevent any grounds of mifunder- ftanding in future, and may conti- nue and confirm that harmony and _ friendfhip which has happily fub- ‘tifted between Great Britain and Spain; but we, at the fame time, feel it our indifpenfable. duty. to ‘affure your ‘majefty of the determi- nation of this houfe to afford your majefty the moft zealous and effec- tual fupport in fuch meafures. as ‘may become-requifite for maintain- ing ‘the dignity of your majefty’s crown, and the effential intereits of your majefty’s dominions. ‘Subftauce of the Memorial prefented by Lieutenait Mears to the Right \ ‘Aonourable W. Wyndham Gren- ville, due of His Majefty’s Prin- cipal Secretaries of State. With Explanations. ‘ é ; HIS memorial explains, m > general, the grounds that gave “rife to the prefent conteft with Spain ; shut the precife point, to be deter- mined before peace can be finally fertled, is fill involved in fome ob- feurity, ‘That fome of the fhips were feized, and others fuffered to proceed to trade unmoletted, is not eafily to _ bevaccounted for onthe principles _ of ‘the treaties that now fubfift be- _ tween the two nations. By the laf _ treaty of peace with Spain, a FREE TRADE, AND NO SEARCH, was the fine quad non on which it was con- _ eluded. The Spanith court, in her efént fituation, would. not then __ have ventured to inveit any of her ‘officers with powers to. interrupt L28y Britith {hips navigating the’ open ‘ feas, and wantonly to infult the fag of Great Britain, as reprefented by the memorialiftat Nootka Sound, if - ‘they had-not full fome latent claim to urge ‘which-has not yetbeen un- equivocally decided.—But to pro- ceed with the memorial. ~ About the beginning of the year 1786, certain merchants, under the immediate protection of the Ba& India company, defirous- of -open- ing a trade with the N.W. coait of America, for {upplying the-Chinefe market with furs * arid ginfeng, communicated their defign to fir John Macpherfon, the governor ge- neral of India, who joined. in the »fubfcription for carrying it into ex- -ecution; and two veflels were pur- -chafed,.and placed under the direc- .tion of Mr. Mears, the memorialif. who had been a lieutenant in the -fervice of government. ~“ In March, the fame year, one of the veilels, named the Sea Otter; captain Tippin, was difpatched to Prince William’s Sound, and was foon followed by the other, named: the Nootka, commanded by Mr, © Mears himfelf, who, on his: arrival in Prince William’s Sound in Sep- tember, learned that the Sez Otter had’ left that place’ fome diys be- fore, and by future intelligence was affared, that the had beer Icf on the coaft of Kamfchatka, In Prince William’s Sound the Nootka wintered, and in the mean time her commander opened az ex- tenfive trade with the natives; and, having collected a cargo of furs, repaired to China in autumn 1787. In January, 1788, having dif- pofed of the Nootka, he, in con- * This trade was pointed out to merchants by captain King, in his concluding i svolume to the Voyages of captain Cook. junction 288] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. junétion with other Britifh mer- chants, purchafed two cther veffels, named the Felice and Iphigenia. "The former he commanded himfelf; the latter he put under the direc- tion of captain Douglas. With the Felice he reached Nootka Sound in May; and in June the Iphigenia arrived in Cook’s viver. His firft bufinefs at Nootka Sound was to purchafe from Maquila, the chief of the difri@, a fpot of ground, on which he BuILT A HOUSE, and on it hoifted a Britifh fag, furrounding it with a breaft-work, and fortifying ‘# with a three-pounder. This be- ing compleated, he proceeded to trade; the Felice taking her route to the fouthward, and the Iphigenia to the northward, both fhips con- fining themfelves within the lati. tudes of 66 and 45 deg. 30 min. north. In September tie Felice returned tp Nootka Sound, where the people the memorizlift had left behind had wa compleated a veffel, which wa; foon after launched, and called the North-Weft America, meafuring abort forty tous, which was equip- “ped With all expedition, to affift him in his enterprizes. During his abfence from Nootka Sound, he had, by prefents, obtain- ed. from Wickananifh, the chief of the difttict furrounding Port Cox and Port Exingham, im lat. 45 and 49 deg. the pfomife of a free and exclufive trade, with leave to build whatever he fhould find neceflary .for his convenience; and alfo the fame privilegesfrom Tatouchiee, chief of the country bordering on the ‘ftraits of Juan de Fuca. Befides thefe, he had purchafed from Ta- touche a tratt of land within thofe “ftraits, of which one of his officers had taken po€effion in the king’s ‘Felice; where, having name, calling the fame Tatouche, in honour of the chief. ’ . The Iphigenia, in her progrefs to the fouthward, had been no lefs fuc- cefsful than the Felice in obtaining grants of the native chiefs, no Eu- ropean veffel having ever been there before. Matters being thus fettled with the natives, and having collected a cargo of furs, on Sept. 23, the me- morialift proceeded to China in the fold both fhip and cargo, he entered into part- nerfhip with Mefirs. John and Cad- man Etches, and Co. owners of the Prince of Wales and Princefs Royal, from London, trading under licences and from the Eaft-India South-Sea companies, which would not expire till 1790, making a joint ftock of all the veffels and property employ- ed in that trade; and under that Firm they purchafed a fhip, built at Calcutta, called the Argonaut. The Prince of Wales, being char- tered to load teas for the Eatt-India company, returned to England; and the Princefs Royal and Argonaut were ordered by the memorialift to fail for America, under the com. mand of Mir. J. Colnette, to whom the charge of ail the company’s con- cerns on that coalt had been com- mitted. Mr. Colnette was directed to e- rect 2 iubftantial houfe on the fpot . purchafed by the memorialift in the preceding year; and the two fhips he carried out with him were load- ed with articles eftimated fufficient for the trade-of three years, befides a veffel in frame of about thirty tons. 7 : With thefe he fet fail from China in the months of April and May, 1789; having, over and above the crews, feveral artificers of different profeffions, profefiions, and about feventy Chi- efe, who intended to become fet- tlers -in the> country, under. the protection of the affociated com pany. é : ie On the 24th of April, 1789, the _ ‘Iphigenia, which had wintered at the Sandwich iflands, returned to Nootka Sound, as did the North- weft America, which had alfo win- tered there, a few days after, where they found two American veffels, the Columba and Washington, that had wintered in Nootka harbour. Qn the zgth of the famemonth, the North-weft America was fent to trade to the northward, and alfo to explore the archipelago of St. Lazarus. On the 6th of May, the Iphigenia being then at anchor in Nootka Sound, a Spanifh fhip of war of 26 guns, named the Princefla, Don Eftuan Jofeph Martinez, commander, from San Blas in Mexico, anchor- ed in the fame harbour, and was feon joined by a Spanith fnhow of _- 16 guns, called the San Carlos, from the fame place, loaded with cannon, and other warlike ftores. _. ‘For fome time mutual civilities ‘pafied between captain Douglas and the Spanifh officers, and even fup- plies were obtained f:om the Spa- = May, the former was ordered on board the Princeffla, and, to his great furprize, informed by Mar- © tinez, that he had the king’s orders ) tofeize all thips that he might find “upon that coalt, and that he, the commander of the Iphigenia, was his prifoner; and, moreover, inftructed is officers to take pofleffion of the sve higenia, which they accordingly - “did inthe name of his Catholi¢ Ma- ) afelty, and conveyed the officers-and Jaren, as prifoners, on board’ the | Vou. XAKAL ‘ . - 7 i= ¢ 22 § DaArk My iB A-PAR BR S nith captain; but, on the 14th of [289 Spanifh fhips, where they wére put in, irons, and otherwife ill-treated. This done, Don Martinez took poflefion of the lands which the memorialift had purchafed and built a temporary habitation upon, pul/- ling down the Britifb flag; and hoift- ing the fiandard of Spain thereon, with fuch other ceremonies as are ufual upon fuch occafions; declar- ing, at the fame time, that all the lands comprized between Cape Horn and the both degree, of north latitude did belong to bis Catholic Maje/ty ; and accordingly proceeded to build batteries, ftore-houfes, &c. in the execution of which he forcibly em ployed fome of the crew of the Iphigenia, and feveral who attempt- ed to refift were feverely punithed. And here it muft not be forgot- ten, that while he (captain Douglas) was detained prifoner, he was fre. quently urged to fign an inftrument, _ purporting, as he was informed (not underfianding Spanith himéelf), that ‘Don Martinez had found him in Nootka Sound in great diftrefs ; that he had fupplied him with every thing neceflary for his paflage to the Sandwich iflands; and that his navigation had, in no refpect, been interrupted ; but which paper hav- ing been difcovered to contain an cbligation from him and Mr. Vi- nanea (fecond captain), on the part of their owners, to pay on démand the valuation of the Iphigenia, her cargo, &c. in cafe the viceroy of New Spain fheuld adjudge her to be a lawful prize for emering the port of Nootka without licence from his Catholic Majefty, he had pe~ remptorily refiited, conceiving that the port of Nootka cid not belong to his Catholic Majefty; notwith- fanding which; Don Martinez, partly by threats, and partly .by [%] promifes 290] promifes to reftore him, captain Douglas, to the command of the Iphigenia, had ultimately gained his point ; and having fo done, he, captain Douglas, was reftored to his fhip, but ftripped, during the time fhe had been in poffeflion of the Spaniards, of all her merchandize, . ftores, provifions, &c. &c. (even to the extent of the maiter’s watch and cloathing), twelve bars of iron only excepted, which they could not conveniently take away. In this diftrefs, captain Douglas finding himfelf utterly unable to pro- ceed, applied to Don Martinez to fupplicate relief, and obtained a trifling fupply, for which he was, called upon for bills on his owners . at a molt exorbitant rate; but even then was reftrained from proceed- ing to fea till the return of the . North-weft America, which Don Martinez faid he could difpofe of for 400 dollars, the value fet upon her by one of the American ¢gap- tains. The North-weft America, how- ever, not arriving fo foon as ex- pected, captain Douglas was told he might depart, on leaving orders - for the matter to deliver up the vef- fel, on his arrival, for the ufe of his Catholic Majefty. Accordingly, on the 15th of June, he wrote to the matter; but, availing himfelf of Don Martinez’s-ignorance of the Englith ‘ language, cautioufly forbore to give any diretions to the effect required, and inftantly failed from Nootka Sound, though very unfit to proceed on fuch a voyage, leaving behind him the two American veflels (Co- Jumba and Wajfhington), which had -been fuffered to-continue there all the winter unmolefted, The Iphi- ~genia fortunately arrived fafe at the Sandwich iilands, where, by anto Nootka harbour, where ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. means of the iron on board, being fupplied with neceffaries, fhe pro- ceeded to China, and anchored there in October, 1789. {Here Mr. Mears, by way of.il- luftration, introduces a tranfaction, no otherwife conneéted with his nar- rative, but as it proves the mer- chandize, &c. of which the Britifh fhips were plundered, to have been Britifh property. ] Soon after the departure of the Iphigenia from Nootka Sound, Don Martinez became acquainted with the purport of the before-mentioned letter, and on the arrival of the North-weft America, on the gth of June,. fhe was feized, and towed fhe was formally taken poffeffion of as a lawful prize, her cargo, confifting of 215 tkins of the belt quality, her ftores, and furniture, confifcated, and her crew made prifoners, fome of whom were afterwards put in irons. The Princefs Royal (one of the fhips fitted up at London), an her arrival foon after the feizure of the North-weft America, was not only fuffered to depart, but the fkins ta- ken from on board the North-weit America (twelve only of the bett quality, detained by Don Marti- nez, excepted) were fhipped on board her for the benefit of the owners ; and that fhip putto fea (as appears by her jouryal) on the 2d of July, to purfue the trade upon the coaft. But what adds to the atrocity of this extraordinary tranfaction is, — that, after feizing the North-wef America, and imprifoning her men, Don Martinez fhould employ her on a trading voyage, from which fhe»returned in twenty days with feventy-five fkins, obtained by Bri- tifh merchandize taken either ia wat SE AS BP a Pr Ss that veffel at the'time of her cap- y ture, or from. the Iphigenia. The _ value of fuch furs cannot be efti- _ mated at lefs than 7,500 dollars, all which Don Martinez applied to his ~ own ufe, About the 3d of July, 1789, the old appeared in the offing, ~ when Don Martinez boarded her in his launch, and, with expreflions of civility, invited Mr. Colnette into the Sound; but next day (not- withitanding the moft folemn af- _furances) {ent his firft lieutenant with a military force, to take pof- - feffion ofthe Argonaut; and that fhip was accordingly, in like man- ner, feized in the name of his Ca- tholic majeity, the Britifh flag haul- _ ed down, and the Spanifh flag hoift- __ ed in its ftead, her officers and men _ made prifoners, and Mr. Colnette ' threatened to be hanged at. the _ yard-arm in cafe of non-compli- ance with the orders that fhould be given him. _. On the 13th of July, the Princefs Royal again appeared (as is ftated _ in her journal) off the port of Noot- ka; but her commander approach- ing the Sound in his boat, in ex- pectation of finding there the com- - mander of the expedition, was feiz- ed and made prifoner, under the _ threats of immediate execution if he refufed to deliver up his fhip without conteit. A Spanith officer Was accordingly fent to take pof- -feffion of her, who brought her into _ port, made prifoners of her men, _and prize of her cargo, confifting of 473 ‘kins (including thofe put on board her from the North-weft Ame- fica), as appears by the receipt in | poffefon of the proper officer. From this circumflance Mr. Colnette be- came fo deranged in his mind, that he had frequently attempted to de- [29% ftroy himfelf; that, notwithftanding this melancholy misfortune, Don Martinez endeavoured to avail him- feif of the copper (being the prin- cipal part of the cargo of which the Princefs Royal was compofed) ; in which attempt he would have fuc- ceeded, had not the other officers prevented it. The memorialift farther repre- fents, that the American fhip,Co- lumba intending to fail for China (the principal part of her crew and provilions being previoufly put on board the Wathington, to enable that {hip to continue to trade upon the coaft), the crew of the North- weft America was ordered by Don Martinez on board the Columba, and her fupplies (reduced by fur- nifhing her confort) to be made up from the Argonaut; that, previous to the departure of the Columba, ninety-fix fkins were alfo put on board her, to defray the wages of the officers and crew of the North- weft America, under a fuppofition that their late employers would be unable to liquidate their demands ; firft deducting, however,’ 30 fer cent. from the: fales,, which Don Martinez had agreed fhould be paid, for the freight of the faid fkins, to the American commanders. The Columba, being thus amply provided, left Nootka Sound, and a few days after entered Port Cox, where fhe joined her confort, from whom fhe received a confiderable number of fkins, conceived to be the whole (excepting the ninety-fix before mentioned) which had been collected by the Americans and Spaniards, befides thofe takea from the Britifh; with which fhe pro- ceeded to China, where fhe arrived November 2d, and landed the crew of the North-welt America, wha, { Ts ] pret 1008 291] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. previous to their leaving Nootka Sound, had feen the Argonaut pro- ceed prize to San Blas, with her of- ficers and men prifoners; and that the Princefs Royal was foon to fol- low in the fame manner. The Wahhington, on joining the Columba in Port Cox, confirmed this intelligence of the Princefs Royal. To add to thefe outrages againft the Britifh, Don Martinez had thought fit todetain the Chinefe, and had compelled them to work in the mines which had juft been opened on the lands which the memorialitt had before purchafed. Tothis memorial Mr. Mears has added the depofitions of the officers and crew of the North-weft Ameri-_ ca, extracts from the journal of the Iphigenia, and other authentic do- cuments; which, added to the inter- nal evidence of the memorial itfelf, leaves no roomto doubt its authenti- city. Declaration of his Catholic Maje/ty, Fune 4, tranfmitted to all the Eu- ropean Courts. HE king being apprized ofthe particulars laid before his mi- nifters on the r6th‘of May, by Mr. Merry, his Britannic majefty’s m1- nifter, relative to the unexpected dif pute between this court and Great Britain, as to the vellels captured in Port St. Laurence, or Nootka Sound, on the coait of California, in the South Sea, has commanded the underfigned, his majefty’s fir fe- cretary of ftate, to anfwer to the faid minifter of England, that he had the honour to make known perionally, and in writing, to the faid minifter, uvon the 18th of the fame month, that his majefty at no time pretend- ed to any rights in any ports, feas, or places, other than what belongs. to his crown by the moft folemn trea ties, recognized by all nations, and more particularly with Great Bri- tain, by a right founded on particu- lar treaties, the uniform confent of both nations, and by an immemorial, regular, and ettablifhed pofiefion z that his majeity is ready to enter up- on every examination and difcufiion moft likely to terminate the difpute in an amicable way; and is willing to enter into immediate conference with the new ambafiador; and it juf- tice requires it, will certainly dif- approve of the condutt, and punith his fubjects if they have gone beyond their powers. This ofier and fatis- faction will, it is hoped, ferve as an example to the court of London to do as much on its part. As the two courts of London and Madrid have not yet received pro- per and authenticated-accounts and proofs of all that has reaily paffed in thefe diftant latitudes, a contradic- tion.in the developement of fatts has by this means been occafioned. Even at this moment the papers and minutes made up by the viceroy of New Spain “on this matter are not arrived. Polterior letters indeed ‘ay, that the Englith veffel; the Argonaut, had not been feized and confi‘cated, till lecally condemned; and tha¢ the fmall veficl called the Princefs Royal, which had afterwards arrived, was not feized or confifcated, but that, on the contrary, full reftitution was made by the viceroy, and an obli- gation only taken from thé captain to pay the price of the vefiel, uf the was declared a lawiul prize; and on the -precife fame terms he had liberated a Portuguefe veffel belong- ing to Macao,:and two American. veilels, more Thefe particulars will be . | i) ‘ More explicitly proved and eluci- ‘dated on the arrival of the neceflary "papers. | The firft time that our ambafla- dor made a public notification of this matter to the miniftry at Lon- _don, on the roth of February laft _ many of the circumitances that are “now certain were then doubtful. | The rights and immemoria! poffef- _ fion of Spain to that coaft and ports, as well as feveral other titles proper _to be taken into view in a pacific ) hegociation, were not quite certain. And if the court of London had /made an amicable return to the “complaints made by his majefty re- lative to thofe merchants whom “Spain regards as ufurpers and the bi Violaters of treaties, and had thewed _ any defire to terminate the affair by an amicable accommodation, a great _deal of unneceflary expence might have been faved. The high and | menacing tone and manner in which the anfwer of the Britifh minifter _ Was couched, at a time when no “certain information of the particu- “lars had arrived, made the Spanith cabinet entertain fome fufpicions that _ it was made, not fo much for the purpofe of the difpute in queition, as a pretext to break entirely with ‘our court; for which reafon it was ‘thought necefiary to take fome pre- “Cautions relative to the fubject. _ On a late occafion a complaint ‘was made to the court of Ruilia as ‘to fome fimilar points relative to the Wigation of the South Sea. A Candid anfwer being returned by that court, the affair was terminated Without the leaft difagreement. In- d it may be afferted with truth, that the manner, much more than _ the fubftance, has produced the dif- s that have taken place on this with Great Britain. : : S@ATECP A PE RS. [293 Neverthelefs, the king does deny what the enemies to peace have in- duftrioufly circulated, that Spain ex- tends pretenfions and rights of fove- reignty over the whole of the South Sea, as far as China. When the words are made ufe of, “ In the name of the king, his fovereignty, navigation, and exclufive commerce. to the continent and iflands of the South Sea,” it is the manner in which Spain, in {pecking of the In-- dies, has always ufed thefe words— that is to fay, to the continent, iflands and feas which belong to his majefty, fo far as difcoveries have been made and fecured to him by treaties and immemorial poffeffion, and uniformly acquiefced in, not- withftanding fome infringements by individuals who have been punifhed upon knowledge of their offences, And the king jets up no pretentions to any poffeffions, the right to which he cannot prove by irrefragable ti- tles. ; Although Spain may not have eftablifhments or colonies planted upon the coaits or in the ports in difpute, it does not follow that fuc’s coait or port does not belong to her. If this sule were to be followed, one nation might eftablifh colonies oa the coafts of another nation, in Ame- rica, Afia, Africa, and Europe, by which means there would be no fix- ed boundaries—a circemitance eyi- dently abfurd. But whatever may be the iffue of the queftion of rizht, upon a mature Coniideration of the claims of both parties, the refult of the queition of fact is, that the captpre of the Ung- lith veffels is repaired by the reftitu- tion that has been made, and the con- dué of the viceroy; for as to the qualification of fuch reftitution, and whether the prize was lawful or no*, tah: that 2094] ANNUAL REGISTER; 1790.) that refpects the queftion of right yet to be inveftigated ; that is to fay, if it has been agreeably to, or in contradiction to the treaties relative to the rights and poffeffions of Spain. Laftly, the king will readily enter into any plan by which future dif- putes gn this fubject may be obviated, that no reproach may be upon him as having refufed any means of re- conciliation; and for the eftablith- ment ofa folid and permanent peace, not only between Spain and Great Bnitain, buta!{o between all nations ; for the accompiifhment of which ob- ject his majefty has made the greateft efforts in all the courts of Europe ; which he certainly would not have done if he had any defign to involve England and the other European powers in a calamitous and deitruc- tive war. Ex Conpe pe Froripa BLANCA. ‘Aranjugz, June 4. \ Memorial of the Court of Spain, deli- wered Fune 13, to Mr. Fitzher- bert, the Britihh Ambaffador at Madrid. Wp Y every treaty upon record be- B twixtSpain and the other nations of Europe, for upwards of two centu- ries, an exclufive right of property, navigation, and commerce to the Spanifh Welt Indies, has been uni- - formly fecured to Spain, England having always f{tood forth in a par- ticular manner in fupport of fuch right. By article 8th of the treaty of Utrecht (a treaty in which all the European nations may he faid to have taken a part) Spain and Eng- land profefs to eftablifh it as a fun- damental principle of agreement, that the navigation and commeyce of the Weft-Indies, under the domi. — nion of Spain, fhall remain in the ~ precife fituation in which they ftood: 7 in the reign of his Catholic majefty, ~ Charles II. and that that rule fhall © be inviolably adhered to, and be in- © capable of infringement. P After this maxim, the two powers — ftipulated—That Spain fhould never — grant liberty or permiilion to any — nation to trade to or introduce their | merchandizes into the Spanifh Ame- © rican dominions, nor to fell, cede, | or give up, to any other nation, its | Jands, dominions or territories, or © any part thereof. Onthe contrary, © and in order that its territories fhould | be preferved whole and entire, Eng- land offers to aid and affifl the Spa- — niards in re-eftablifhing the limits of their American dominions, and plac- | ing them in the exact fituation they | ftood in at the time of his faid Ca- 7 tholic majefty, Charles II. if by acci- © dent it fhall be difcovered that they | have undergone any alteration to the © prejudice of Spain, in whatever man; | ner or pretext fuch alteration may | have been brought about. : The vaft extent of the Spanifh ter ritories, navigation, and dominion ~ on the continent of America, ifles © and feas contiguous to the South Sea, © are clearly laid down, and authen- ~ ticated by a variety of documents, © laws, and formal acts of poffeflion © in the reign of King Charles IL. It is alfo clearly afcertained, that © notwithftanding the repeated at- ~ tempts made by adventurers and pi- rates on the Spanifh coafts of the South Sea and adjacent iflands, Spain © has ftill preferved her pofleffions en-/ tire, and oppofed with fuccefs thofe ” wfurpations, by conftantly fending © her fhips and veflels to take pofleffion — of fuch fettlements. By thefe mea- fures, and reiterated acts of poflef- fion, Sok AE iy BoA. P By RS; fon, Spain has preferved her domi- nion, which fhe has extended to the borders of the Rufan eftablifhments, in that part of the world. The viceroys of Peru and New Spain having been informed, that thefe feashad been for fome years paft more frequented than formerly ; that fmuggling had increafed; that feveral ufurpations prejudicial to Spain and the general tranquillity had been fuffered to be made ; they gave orders that the weltern coafts of Spanifh America, and iflands and feas adjacent, fhould be more fre- _ quently navigated and explored. They were alfo informed, that feverai Ruffian veflels were upon the point of making commercial eftab- lifhments upon that coaft. At the time that Spain demontftrated to Ruf- fia the inconveniences attendant up- on fuch incroachments, fhe entered upon the negociation with Ruffa, upon the fuppofition that the Ruffian navigators of the Pacific Ocean had no orders to make eftablith- ments within the limits of. Spanith ’ America, of which the Spaniards were the firft pofleffors, (limits fituat- ed within Prince William’s Strait) purpofely to avoid all diffentions, and in order to maintain the harmo- ny and amity which Spain wifhed to preferve. The court of Ruffia replied, it had already given orders, that its fub- jets fhould make no fettlements in __ places belonging to other powers; and that if thofe orders had been violated, and any had been made in Spanifh America, they defired the king would put a ftop to them in a friendly manner. ‘To this pacific language on the part of Ruflia, Spain ‘oblerved, that fhe could not be an- _ fwerable for what her officers might do at that diftance, whofe general Orders and inflruétions were not to [295 permit any fettlements to be made by other nations on the continent of Spanifh America. Though trefpaffes had been made by the Englith on fome of the iflands of thofe coaits, which had given rife to fimilar complaints having been made to the court of London, Spain did not know that the Engiifh had endeavoured to make any fettle- ments on the northern part of the Southern Ocean, till the command- ing officer of a Spanith fhip, in the ufual tour of the coaits of Califor- nia, found two American veffels in St. Laurence, or Nootka harbour, where he was going for provifions and ftores. Thefe veffels he per- mitted to proceed on their voyage, it appearing from their papers, that they were driven there by diftrefs, and only came in to refit. He alfo found there the Iphigenia from Macao, under Portuguete co- lours, which had a padiport. from the governor; and though he came manifeftly with a view to trade there, yet the Spanifh admiral, when he faw his inftrutions, gave him leave to depart upon his figning an en- gagement to pay the value of the veilel, fhould the government of Mexico declare ita lawful prize. With this veflel there came a fe- cond, which the admiral detained ; and a few days after a third, named the Argonaut, from the above-men- tioned place. The captain of this latter was an Englifhman. He came not only to trade, but brought every thing with him proper to forma fet- lement there, and to fortify it. This, notwithftanding the remon- ftrances of the Spanifh admiral, he perfevered in, and was detained, to- ecther with his vefiel. . After him came a fourth Englith veflel, named the Princefs Royal, and evidently for the fame purpofes, {7 4] She 296) She likewife was detained, and fent to Port St. Blas, where the pilot of the Argonaut made away with him- felf. The viceroy, on being informed of thefe particulars, gave orders that the captain and the veffels fhould be releafed, and that they fhould have leave to refit, without declar- ing them a lawful prize; and this he did, on account of the ignorance of the proprietors, and the friendfhip which fubfifted between the two courts of London and Madrid. He alfo gave them leave to return to Macao with their cargo, after capitulating with them in the fame manner as with the Portuguefe cap- tain, and leaving the affair to be finally determined by the count de “Revillagigedo, his fuccefior, who alfo gave them their liberty. "As Fibon as the court of Madrid had received an account of the detention of the firft Englifh veflel at Nootka Sound, and before that of the fe- cond arrived, it ordered its ambaf- fador at London to make a report thereof to the Englifh minifter, which he did, onthe 1oth of February laft, and to require that the parties . who had planned thefe expeditions fhould be punished, in order to de- ter others from making fettlements on territories occupied and frequent- ed by the Spaniards fora number of years, In the ambaffador’s memorial, mention was only made of the Spa- nifh admiral that commanded the prefent armament, having vifited Nootka Sound in £774, though that harbour had been frequently vifited both before and fince, with the ufual forms of taking poffeffion. ‘Thefe forms were repeated more par- ticularly in the years 1755 and 1779, all along the coafts as far as Prince William’ s Sound, and it was thefe ANNUAL REGISTER, 1750 atts that gave occafion to the memo- rial made by the court of Ruffia, as has been already noticed. TheSpanifh ambaflador at Lon- don did not reprefent in this memo-~ rial at that time, that the right of Spain to thefe coafts was conforma- ble to ancieat boundaries, which had been guaranteed by England at the treaty of Utrecht, in the reign of Charles II. deeming i it to be un- necefiary ; as orders had been given, and velflels had attually been feiz- ed on thofe eatin, fo far back as 1692, ‘The anfwer that the Englifh miniftry gave, on the 26th of Fe- bruary, was, that iy had not as yet been informed of the facts ftated by the ambaflador, and that the ad 2) of violence, mentioned in his me- morial, neceflarily fufpended any difcuffion of the claims therein, till an adequate atonement had been made for a proceeding fo i injurious to Great Britain. ~ Jn addition to this haughty lan- guage of the Britifh minifter, he far- . ther added, that the fhip muft in the firft place be reflored; and that with refpe& to any future ‘Ripulations, it would be neceflary to wait for a more _ full detail of ail the circumitances- of this affair. The. harfh and laconic ftile in which this anfwer was given, made the court of Madrid fufpeét that the king of Great Britain’s minifters were forming other plans; and th were the more induced to think fo, as there were reports that they were going to fit out two fleets, one for the Mediterranean and the other for the Baltic. This of courfe obliged Spain to increafe the {malt {quadron fhe was getting ready to exercife her marine. The-court of Spain then ordered her ambaflador at London to prefent a memorial Seaiaess = % ie s _- See BP ae BP RSE a memorial to the Britifh miniftry, fetting forth, that tiough the crown of Spain had an indubitabie right to the continent, iflands, harbours, and coatts of that part of the world, founded on treatiesand immemorial polleflion, yet as the viceroy of Mex- ico had releafed the veflels that were detained, the king looked upon the _affair as concluded, without enter- ing into any difputes or difcufions on the’ undoubted rights of Spain; and, defiring to give a proof of his friendfhip for Great Britain, he fhould: reft fatisfied if fhe ordered that her fubjects, in future, refpected thofe rights. _ 1 wAs af Spain, in this anfwer, had Jaid claim to the empire of that ocean, though fhe only fpoke of what belonged to her by treaties, -and as if it had heen fo grievous an Offence to terminate this affair by reftitation of the only vefiel which was then known to have been taken, it excited fuch clameurand agitation in the parliament of England, that the molt vigorous preparations for war have been commenced; and, thofe powers. difinclined to peace charge Spain with defigns contrary to her known principles of honour “and probity, as well as to the tran- guillity of Europe, which the Spa- nifh monarch and his minifers have always had in view. _ While England was employed in geaking the greateft armaments and preparations, that court made an- dwer to the Spanifh ambaflador (up- on the 5th of May) that the atts of violence committed againft the Bri- tith flag “rendered it neceflary for the fovereign to charge his minifter at Madrid, to renew. the remon- frances (being the anfwer of Eng- Jand already mentioned) and to re- quire that fatisfaftion, which his [297 majefty thought he had an indifputa- ble right to demand.” To this was added a declaration not to enter formally into the matter until a fatisfa@tory anfwer was ob- tained; “ and at the ‘ame time the memorial of Spain fhould not in- clude in it the queftion of right;” which formed a moft effential part of the difcuffion. The Britifh adminiftration offer, in the fame anfwer, to take'the mot effectual and pacific meafures, that the Eneglifh fubjects fhall not act “ againit the juft and acknowledged rights of Spain, but that they can- not at prefent accede to the preten- fions of abfolute fovereignty, com- merce and navigation, which ap- peared to be the principal object of the memorials of the ambafiador; and that the king of England confi- ders it as a duty incumbent’ upon him to proteé his fubje&s in the njoyment of the right cf continu- ing taetr fithery in the Paciic Ocean.” If this pretenfion is found to tre pafs upon the ancient boundaries laid down in the reign of king Charles Ii, and guaranteed by England in the treaty of Utrecht, as Spat believes, it appears that that court will have good reafon for difputive and oppofing this claira; and itis io be hoped that the equity of the Bri- tith adminiftration wiil fulpend and reftrict it accordingly. i In confequence of the foregoing anfwer, the charge d’affaires fromthe court of London at Madrid infifted, ina memorial of the 16th of May, on reftitution of the veli2l detained at Nootka, and the property there- in contained ;. of an indemnification for the Joffes fuftained, and on are- paration proportioned to the injury done to the Englith fubjects trading under the Britith fag, and that they \ have 2.98 } have an indifputable right to the en- joyment of a free and uninterrupted navigation, commerce, and fifhery ; and to the poffeffion of fuch eftablifh- ments as they fhould form with the confent of the natives of the country, not previoufly occupied by any of the European nations. An explicit and prompt anfwer was defired upon this head, in fuch terms as might tend to calm the anxieties, and to maintain the friend- fhip fubfifting between the two courts, The charge d’affaires having ob- ferved, that a fufpenfion of the Spanifh armaments would contribute to tranquillity, upon the terms to be communicated by the Britith admi- niftration, an anfwer was made by the Spanifh adminiftration, that the king was fincerely inclined to difarm upon the principles of reciprocity, and proportioned to the circum- itances of the two courts; adding, that the court of Spain was actuated by the moft. pacific intentions, and a defire to give every fatisfadtion and indemnification, if juftice was not on their fide, provided England did as much if fhe was found to be in the wrong. This anfwer muft convince all the courts of Europe that the conduct of the king and his adminiftration is confonant to the invariable princi- ples of juftice, truth, and peace. Ex. ConpeE pEFLoripa BLanca. Mr. Fitzherbert’s 4xfwer to the foregoing Memorial. Sir, N compliance with your excel- ] lency’s defire, I have now the ho- nour to communicate to you, in writing, what I obferved to you in ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the converfation we had the day be- fore yefterday. The fubftance of thefe obferva- tions are briefly thefe: The court of London is animated with the moft fincere defire of ter- minating the difference that at pre- fent fubfitts between it and the court of Madrid, relative to the port of Nootka, and the adjacent latitudes, by a friendly negociation; but as it is evident, upon the cleareit princi- ples of juftice and reafon, that an equal negociation cannot be opened, till matters are put in their original ftate, and as certain acts have been committed in the latitudes in quef- tion by veffels belonging to the royal marine of Spain, againft feveral Britith veffels, without any reprifals having been made, of any fort, on the part of Britain, that power is perfectly in the right to infift, as a preliminary condition, upon a prompt and fuitable reparation for thefe acts of violence ; and in confe- quence of ghis principle, the prac- tice of nations has limited fuch right of reparation to three articles, viz, the reftitutson of the veflels—a full indemnification for the loffes fuitain- ed by the parties injured—and final- ly, fatisfaétion to the fovereign for the infult offered to his flag. So that it is evident that the a¢tual de- mands of my court, far from con- taining any thing to prejudice the rights or the dignity of his catho- lic majefty, amount to no more in fact than what is conftantly done by Great Britain herfelf, as wellas every other maritime power, in fimilar cir- cumftances.-Finally, as to the na- ture of the fatisfaétion which the court of London exa&s on this oc- cafion, and on which your, excel- lency appears to defire fome expla- nation, 1 am authorifed, Sir, to af- fure S Tet Pe -PoA P EAR: S fure you, that if his Catholic ma- jefty confents to make a declaration in his name, bearing in fubftance, that he had determined to offer to his Britannic majefty a juft and {uit- able fatisfaétion for the infult offered to his flagz—fuch offer, joined to a promife of making reftitution of the vefiels captured, and to indemnify the. proprietors, under the conditi- ons {pecified in the official letter of Mr. Merry on the 16th of May, will be regarded by his Britannic majefty as conftituting in itfelf the fatisfaction demanded: and his faid majefty will accept of it as fuch by a counter-dec'aration on his part. J have to add, that as it appears un- certain if the veflels the North Weit, an American veffel, and the Iphigenia, had truly a. right to en- joy the protection of the Britith flag, the king will with pleafure confent that an examination of this queftion, as well as that relative to the juft amount of the loffes fuftained by his fubjects, may be left to the determination of commiffioners to be named by the two courts. B Having thus recapitulated to your excellency the heads of what I ob- ferved to you in converfation, I flat- ter myfelf you will weigh the whole in your mind, with that {pirit of equity and moderation which cha- racterifes you, that I may be in a condition of fending to my court, as foon as poffible, a {atisfa€tory an- {wer as tothe point contained in the official paper fent to Mr. Merry on the 4th of the month, and which, for the reafons | have mentioned, cannot be regarded by his Britannic majelty as fulfilling his juit expec- tations. I have the honour to be, &c. ALLEYNE FirzHERBERT. [299 The Count de Florida Blanca’s Reply, Fune 18. OU will pardon me, fir, that I cannot give my aflent to the principles laid down in your laft letter; as Spain maintains, on the moft folid grounds, that the deten- tion of the veilels was made ina ‘port, upon a coaft, or in a bay of Spanifh America, the commerce and navigation of which belonged ex- clufively to Spain, by treaties with all nations, even England herfelf. The principles laid down cannot be adapted to the cafe. The veffels detained attempted to make an efta- blifhment at a port where they found a nation actually fettled, the Spanifh commander at Nootka having, pre- vious to their detention, made the molt amicable reprefentations to the agereffors to defit from their pur- ole. Your excellency, wiil alfo permit me to lay before you, that it is not at all certain that the veflels detained navigated under the Britith flag, al- though they were Englifh veffels; there having been reafon to believe that they navigated under the pro- tection of Portuguefe paffports, fur- nifhed them by the governor of cao as commercial veflels, and not belonging to the royal marine. Your excellency will add to thefe reafons, that by the reftitution of thefe veffels, their furniture and car- goes, or their value, in confequence of the refolution adopted by the vice- roy of Mexico, which has been ap- proved of by the king, for the fake of peace, every thing is placed in its original ftate, the object your excellency aims at—nothing remain- ing unfettled but the indemnification of Jofits, and fatisfaction for the infult, / 300] infult, which fhall alfo be regulated when evidence fhall be given what jnfult has been committed, which hitherto has not been fuiliciently explained. However, that a quarrel may not arife about words, and that two na- tions friendly to each other may not be expofed to the calamities of war, I have to inform you, fir, by order of the king, that his majelty con- fents to make the declaration which your excellency propofes in your letter, and will offer to his Britannic majefty a juft and fuitable fatisfac- tion for the infult offered to the ho- nour of his flag, provided that to thefe are added either of the follow- ing explanations: 1. That in offering fuch fatisfac- tion, the infult and the fatisfaction fhall be fully fettled both in form and fubftance by a judgment to be pronounced by one of the kings of Europe, whom the king my mafter leaves wholly to the choice of his Britannic majefty; for it is fufficient to the Spanifh monarch that a crowned head, from full informa- tion of the faéts, fhall decide as he thinks juft. 2. That in offering a juft and fuitable fatisfaftion, care fhall be taken that in the progrefs of the negociation to be opened, no fatts be admitted as true but fuch as can be fully eftablifhed by Great Bri- tain with regard to the infult offered to her flag. ‘ 3. That the faid fatisfa&tion fhall be given on condition that no infer- ence be drawn therefrom to affeét the rights of Spain, nor of the right of exa&ting from Great Britain an equivalent fatisfaction, if it fhall be found, ib the courfe of negociation, that the king has a right to demand fatisfaction, for the aggreflion and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ufurpation made on the Spanifh ter- ritory, contrary to fubfifting treaties. Your excellency will be pleafed to make choice of either of thefe three explanations to the declara- tion your excellency propofes, or all the three together,—and to point out any difficulty that occurs to you, that it may be obviated ;—or any cther mode that may tend to pro- mote the peace which we defire to eftablifh. 1 have the honour to be, &c. Ex. Conve pz Fioripa Bianca. Declaration and Counter Declaration, exchanged at Madrid, the 24th July, 1790: DECLARATION. H IS Britannic majefty having complained of the capture of cer- tain veflels belonging to his fubjects in the port of Nootka, fituated on the north-weft coaft of America, by an officer in the fervice of the king; the under-figned counfellor and principal fecretary of ftate to his majefty, being thereto duly autho- rifed, declares, in the name and by- the order of his faid majefty, that he is willing to give fatisfaction to his Britannic majefty for the injury of which he has complained ; fully per- fuaded that his faid Britannic ma- jefty would a& in the fame manner towards the king, under fimilar cir- cumftances; and his majefty further engages to make full reftitution of all the Britifh veffels which were captured at Nootka, and to indem- nify the parties interefted in thofe veffels, for the loffes which they fhall have fuftained, as foon as the amount thereof fhall have been af- -certained. It being underftood that this de- claration is not to preclude or pre- judice - STA TE. 4PA P-ER-S: judice the ulterior difcuffion of any right which his majefty may claim to form an exclufive eftablifhment at the port of Nootka. ! In witnefs whereof I have figned this declaration, and fealed it with the feal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (L.S.) Signed LE ComTE DE FLoripDa BLANCA. COUNTER-DECLARATION. HIS Catholic majefty having declared that he was willing to give fatisfaction for the injury done to the king, by the capture of certain veffels belonging to his fubjects, in the bay of Nootka; and the count de Florida Blanca having figned, in the name and by the order of his Catholic majefty, a declaration to this effet; and by which his faid majefty likewife engages to make full reftitution of the veffels fo cap- tured, and to indemnify the parties interefted in thofe vefiels for the loffes they fhall have fuftained; the underfigned ambafiador extraordi- nary and plenipotentiary of his ma- jefty to the Catholic king, being thereto duly and expre{sly autho- rifed, accepts the faid declaration in the name of the king; and de- clares that nis majeity will confider this declaration, together with the performance of the engagements contained therein, as a full and en- tire fatisfaction for the injury of which his majefty has complained. The underiigned declares, at the fame time, that it is to be under- ftoo, that neither the faid declara- tion figned by count Florida Bianca, nor the acceptance thereof by the underfigned, in the name of the king, is to preclude or prejudice, in _ any refpect, the right which his ma- [301 jefly may claim to any eftablifhment which his fubje&ts may have form- ed, or fhould be defirous of form- ing in future, at the faid bay of Nootka. In witnefs whereof I have figned this counter-declaration, and fealed it with the feal of my arms. At Madrid, the 24th of July, 1790. (L. S.) Signed ALLEYNE FITZHERBERT. Letter from Count de Fernan Nunez zo M. de Montmorin, Secretary of the Foreign Department of France, Sir, Paris, June 16, 1790+ HAVE the honour to addrefs I you with this, a faithful extract of all the tranfactions which have hi- therto paffed between my court and that of London, on the fubjeé& of the detention of two Englith veffels, which were feized in the bay of St. Lawrence, or Nootka, fituated in the soth degree tothe north of Ca- lifornia, and which were afterwards taken to the port of St. Blas. You will obierve by this relation, 1. That by the treaties, demar- cations, takings of pofleffion, and the moft decided aéts of fovereignty exercifed by the Spaniards in thefe ftations, from the reign of Charles II. and authorifed by that monarch in 1692, the original vouchers for which fhall be brought forward in the courfe of the negotiation, all the coaft to the north of the Wettetn ‘America, on the fide of the South Sea, as far as beyond what is called Prince William’s Sound, which is in the fixty-firft degree, is acknow- ledged to belong exclufively to Spain. z. That the court of Ruffia hav- ing 302] ing been informed of this extent of our boundery, affured the king, my matter, without the leaft delay, of the purity of its intentions in this refpect, and added, * That it was extremely forry that the repeated orders iflued to prevent the fubjects of Ruffia from violating, in the imalleft degree, the territory’ be- longing to another power, fhould have been difobeyed.” . That the ftate of the poffef- Bons and exclufive commerce on the fea coaft of the Southern Ocean, as it exifted in the time of Charles IT. had heen acknowledged and defined anew by all the nations of Europe, and more particularly by England, in the eighth article of the treaty of Ueeciu ‘ 4. That notwithftanding the juft title he has to a prefervation of his ancient rights, the king my maf- ter has approved of the conduct of the viceroy of Mexico, who, in con- fequence of his general orders and initructions for the prefervation of peace with every power, took upon himfelf to releafe the veffels feized in. the port of Nootka, upon a fup- pofition that the conduct of their captains was a confequence of their total ignorance with refpect to the legitimacy of the rights of Spain on thofe coats. It isin confequence of the defire of his Catholic majefty to preferve peace to himfelf, and to eftablith the general tranquillity of Europe, that he has taken the fteps you will obferve in the faid extract, and that he has commenced an amicable and direé&t negotiation with England, which he will finith with Mr. Fitz- herbert, the new ambaflador fent from that court to the court of Ma- ‘drid. We are in hopes that the con- fequences of this negotiation will be ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. favourable; but, at the fame time; we muft employ all the neceflary means to make it fo. An immediate and exaé& accom- plifhment of the treaty figned at Pa- ris, the 15th of Auguit 1761, under the title of the Family Compa@t, be- comes an indifpenfable preliminary to a fuccefsful negotiation. It is in confequence of the abfolute neceflity which Spain finds of having recourfe to the fuccour of France, that the king, my matter, orders me to de- mand exprefsly what France can do in the prefent circumftances to affift Spain, according to the mutual en~ gagements ftipulated by the treaties. His Catholic majefty defires that the armaments, as well as other proper meafures to fulfil and realize thefe facred engagements, be immediately put in execution. He charges me to add farther, that the prefent ftate of this unforefeen bufinefs requires a very {peedy determination, and that the meafures which the court of France fhall take for his affiftance, fhall be fo active, fo clear, and fo pofitive, as. to prevent even the {maileft ground for fufpicion. Other- wife his moit Chriftian majefty muft not be furprifed that Spain fhould feek other friends and different allies among all the powers of Europe, without excepting any one, upon whofe affiftance fhe can rely in cafe of need. 'The ties of blood and per- fonal friendfhip which unite our two fovereigns, and particularly the re- ciprocal intereft which exifts be- tween two nations united by na~ ture, fhall be refpected in all new arr angements, as fer as circum~ ftances will permit. This, fir, is the pofitive demand which I am obliged to make, and in coniequence of which I hope his mol Chrifian majeily will immediately take _ take fuch meafures as fhall feem _ mot fuitable, in the prefent circum- ftances, to fatisfy my matter, in an obje& fo interefting and important to the prefervation of his legal rights, and. the honour of his na- _ tion. T have the honour to be, &c. Ex Conve pe Fernan Nunez. Decree of the National Affmbly of France, on the Family Compa&. HE national affembly deli- berating on the formal pro- _ poiition of the king, contained in the letter of the minifter, dated the iit of Augutt, bin Decree, That the king be fuppli- _ cated to make known to his Catho- lic majefty, that the French nation, _ in taking a'l proper meafures to _ maintain peace, will obferve the _ defenfive and commercial engage- - ments which the French govern- ment have previoufly contraéted with Spain. They further decree, that his ma- jefty thall be requefted immediately ‘to charge his ambaffador in Spain to negotiate with the minifter of his Catholic majefty to the effect of per- petuating and renewing, by a na- ) tional treaty,the ties fo ufeful to the > two nations, and to fix with pre- ) cifionand clearnefs every ftipulation ' which fhall be ftriétly conformable \ tothe views of general peace, and | to the principles of juitice, which » will be for ever the policy of the |}. French. .° The national aflembly farther | taking into confideration the arma- ) ments of the different nations of Europe—their progreffive increafe, andthe fafety of the French colo- ke nies and commerce, decree, that the 3 STATE PAPERS, [393 king thall be prayed to give orders, that the French marine force in com- miffion fhall be increafed to forty- five fhips of the line, with a propor- tionate number of frigates, and other ” velfels. \ Convention between his Britannic Ma- Jefty and the king of Spain; figned at the Efcurial, the 28th of Ofober, 1790. HEIR Britannic and Catho- lic majelties being defirous of terminating, by a {peedy and {o- lid agreement, the differences which have lately arifen between the two crowns, have adjudged that the beit way of attaining this falutary objet would be that of an amicabie ar- rangement, which, fetting afide all retrofpective difcuflion of the rights and pretenfions of the two parties, fhould fix their refpe@ive fituation for the future on a bafis conform- able to their true interefts, as well as to the mutual defrre with which | their faid majefties are animated, of eftablifhing with each other, in every thing ane tn all places, the molt perfect friendfhip, harmony, - and good correfpondence. In this view, they have named and conftituted for their plenipotentiaries ; to wit, on the part of his Britannic majeity, Alleyne Fitzherbert, efg. one of his {aid majefty’s privy council in Great Britain and Ireland, and his ambaf fador extraordinary and plenipo- tentiary to his Catholic majeity; and, on the part of his Catho- lic majelty, Don Jofeph Moni- ng, count of Florida Blanca, knight grand crofs of the royal Spanith order of Charles III. councellor of ftate to his faid majefly, and his principal fecretary of flate, and of tie , goa] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the difpatches; who, after having communicated to each other their refpective full powers, have agreed upon the following articles : Art. I. It is agreed that the buildings and tracts of land, fituated on the north-weit coait of the con- tinent of North America, or on iflands adjacent to that continent, of which the fubjects of his Britan- nic majefty were difpoffefled, about the month of April 1789, by a Spa- nifh officer, fhall be reftored to the faid Britith fubjects. Art. II. And further, that a jaft reparation fhall be made, according to the nature of the cafe, for all acts of violence or hoftility, which may have been committed fubfequent to the month of April 1789, by the fubjeéts of either of the contra@ing parties againft the fubjetts of the other; and that, in cafe any of the faid refpective fubjeéts fhail, fince the fame period, have been forcibly difpoffefled of their lands, buildings, vefiels, merchandife, and other pro- perty whatever, on the faid conti- nent, or‘cn the feas or iflands adja- cent, they fhall be re-eitablithed in the poffeffion thereof, or a juft com- penfation fhal! be made to! them for tie loffes which they have fuftained. Art. III. And in order to ftrengthen the bonds of friendfhip, and to preferve in future a perfect harmony and good underftanding between the two contracting parties, it is agreed, that their refpeCtive fub- jeéts fhall not be difturbed.or mo- lefted, cither in navigating or car- rying on their fifheries in the Pacific Ocean, or in the South Seas, or in landing on the coafts of thofe feas, in places not already occupied, for the purpofe of carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country, or of making fettlements there; the whole fabje@, neverthe- lefs, to the reftriQions and provi- fions fpecified in the three following articles : - Art. IV. His Britannic majefty engages to take the mof effectual mea{ures to prevent the navigation and fifhery of his fubjects in the Pa- cific Ocean, or in the South Seas, from being made a pretext for illicit trade with the Spanith fettlements; and, with this view, it 1s moreover exprefsly ftipulated, that Britith fub- jects fhall not navigate, or carry on their fifhery ifi the faid feas, within the {pace of ten fea leagites from any part of the coafts already occupied by Spain. Art. V. It is agreed, that as well in the places which are tobe reitored — to the Britifh fubjeéts, by virtue of © the firft article, as in all other parts of the north-weftern coafts of North ~ America, or of the iflands adjacent, fituate to the north of the parts of — the faid coaft already, occupied by Spain, wherever the fubjects of ei- ther of the two powers fhail have made fettlements fince the month of | April 1789, or fhall hereafter male any, the fubjets of the other fhall have free accefs, and fhall carry on- their trade without any difturbance or moleftation. see Art. VI. It is further agreed, with refpeét to the ealterh and weftern coaits of South America, and to the iflands~adjacent, that no fettlement fhall be formed hereafter, by. the refpective fubjeéts, in fuch part of thofe coafls as are fituated to the @ fouth of thofe parts of the fame coaits; and of the iflands adjacent, @ which arealready occupied by Spain; provided that the ‘aid refpective tub - jeéts fhall retain the liberty of land- ing on the coafts and iflands fo fitu- — ated, for the purpefes of their fithery, and STATE PAPERS. and of ere&ting thereon huts, and ‘other temporary buildings, ferving only for thofe purpofes. Art. VII. In all cafes of com- plaint, or infraction of the articles ‘of the prefent convention, the offie cers of either party, without per- mitting themfelves previoufly to commit any violence or act of force, fhall be bound to make an exaé& re- port of the affair, and of its circum- ftances, to their refpeCtive courts, who will terminate juch differences in an amicable manner. Art. VIII. The prefent conven- tion fhall be ratified and confirmed in the {pace of i weeks, to be computed from the"day of its figna- ture, or fooner, if it can be done. In witnels whereof, we, the under- figned plenipotentiaries of their Bri- tannic and Catholic majefties, have, in their names, and in virtue of our refpective full powers, figned the ct pe convention, and fet thereto f e feals of our atms. _ Doneat the palace of St. Laurence, _ __the 28th of O&ober, 1790. (L.S.) ALLeywe FitzHerBeERtT. (L.S.) Ex Conpe pe Fioripa Bianca. Addrefs of the Lord Mayor, Alder- ‘men, and Commons of the City of London, on the Convention with Spain; prefented Nov, 24. To the King’s Moft Excellent Majefty, The humble Addrefs of the Lord -. Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of London, in Com- mon Council affembled. Moft Gracious Sovereign, ( E your majefty’s dutiful and loyal fubjeéts; the lord may - Vou. XXXIL. [305 or, aldermen, and commons of the city of London; in common council affembled, approach your majeity with hearts full of gratitude, upon the agreeable profpect of a continu- ance of eftablifhed peace by the convention with Spain. - - that nation, we concurred in the general fentiments of the whole kingdom, exprefled by the two houies of parliament, on receiving your majetty’s moft gracious mef- fage in the laft feffion ; and we be- held with confidence the vigorous meafures which were adopted to gain full fatisfaétion for the injuries done, and to maintain the honour and dignity of the Britifh empire 5 to which meafures, and to your ma- jefty’s paternal regard for the inte- refts of your people, next to Divine Providence, we thankfully afcribe the happy iffue of the late difagree- ments. Your majefty’s faithful citizens of London are too well convinced of the falutary confequences of conti- nued peace, to delay their congra- tulations upon the reconciliation with Spain; for, notwithftanding they have ever manifetted their rea- dinefs to beat a proportion of bur- thens created by the profecution of a juit war, they cannot but moft ardently rejoice at the termination of pending hoftilities, at a time when the reduction of the national debt is an objet of importance to your people. Deign, fire, to accept our moft cordial wifhes, that your majefty’s reign may long continue in peace and profperity ‘ever a grateful and affectionate people, His Majefty’s Anfwer. I RECEIVE with great pleafure [U] the 305] the dutiful and loyal addrefs of the city of London: the proteétion of the navigation and-commerce of my fubjects is a principal objet of my attention; and [ am confident that I may always expe¢t their unanimous - fupport in fieh meafures as may be neceflary for that purpofe. It af- fords me the higheft fatisfaction to reflect, that on the prefent occafion, this obje@ has been obtained with- out difturbing the public tranquillity, which is productive of fuch great and increafing advantages to my people. Ti reaty of Peace concluded between the King of Sweden and the Emprefs of all the Ruflias, Auguft 11. In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity ! H 1S majefty the king of Swe- den, and her majefty the em- prefs of all the Ruffias, equally defi- rou’ of putting an end to the war which had unhappily broke out be- tween them, and to re-eflablifh the friendfhip, harmony, and good neighbourhood, which have long fubfifted between their refpective ftates and countries, have reciprocal- ly communicated to each other their pacific intentions, and with a view to realize them, they have appointed and authorized, viz. his majefty the king of Sweden, the fleur Guftavus d’ Arinfelt, baron of Vorentatha, &c. &c. and her majefty the emprefs of all the Ruffias, the fieur Otho Henry digelftrom, licutenant-general of her armies, &c. &¢: who, after having communicated toeach other their full powers, and found them duly autho- rifed, and in proper form, and hay- ing mutually exchanged them, have agreed onthe following articles: Art. J. There fhall be hencefor- ward between his majelty the king ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. _ tention will only be paid to the re- of Sweden, and his eftates, countries, and nations on one part, and her majefty the emprefs of all the Ruffias, and her eftates, countries and na- tions, on the other, perpetual peace, good neighbourhood, and perfec “— tranquillity, both by fea and land; . and confequently, the moit fpeedy orders for the ceffation of hoftilities fhall be given by each party. What- ever is paft fhall be forgotten: at- eftablifhment of that harmony and mutual good-will, which has been interrupted by the prefent war. Art. II. The limits and frontiers fhall, on each fide, continue as they were before the rupture, or the be- ginning of the prefent war. _ Art. IIT. Therefore all the coyp- tries, provinces, or places whatever, which have been taken or occupied by the troops of either of the con- tracting parties, fhall be evacuated ~ as {peedily as poffible, or 14 days after the exchange of the ratifica- tion of the prefent treaty. “ Art. IV. All prifoners of war, or others, who, not bearing arms, have been taken by either of the bellige- rent parties during the courfe of hoftilities, fhall be fet at liberty by each party without ranfom; and they fhall be permitted to return home without aity indemnification being required by either party for their maintenance, but they fhall be ob- liged to pay the debts which they ~ have contracted with individuals of || each refpective late, Art. V. And, in order to prevent the giving the leaft occafion fora mif- underftanding at fea between the contracting parties, itis tipulated and agreed, that whenever one or more Swedifh men of war, whether fmall — or great, fliall pafs by the forts of her Imperial majeity, they fhall be obliged “obliged to give a falute in the Swedith manner; which fhall be immediately anfwered by a falute “in the Ruffian mode. ‘The fame fhall be obferved by Ruffian men of war, whether one or more; they. ~ fall be obliged to falute before the forts of his Swedifh. majefty, and ~ they fhall be anfwered by a Swedith ~ falute. tals _ In the mean time, the high con- * traéting parties fhall order, as {peed- _ ily as poflible, a particuiar eonven- " tion to be made, in which the mode of faluting between Swedifh and Ruffian fhips fhall be eftablithed, _ whether at fea, in port, or wherever _ they may chance to meet. Till then, in order to prevent ~ miftakes in the above cafe, fhips of " war belonging to either party thall ~ not falute each other. _ Art. VI. Her Imperial majefty of all the Ruffias has alfo agreed, that his Swedifh majeity fhall be at li- ty to buy every year; corn to amount of 50,000 roubles, in the ports of the Gulph of Finland and of the Baltic fea, provided it _ be proved; that it is for the ufe of his Swedith majeity, or for the ule ef fome of his fubjects: duly autho- 3 by his majeity; without dues ~? ‘or charges, and to export it freely ee eden: In this; however; _ barren years fhall not be included, fuch years in which, for fome rtant reafons; her Imperial ma- efty may be induced to forbid the _ €xportation of grain to any nation ver. ‘ __ Art. VII, As the eagernefs of ee high contra¢ting parties for the fpeedy termination of thofe evils | With which their refpective fubjects r been afflicted in confequence _ ©f war does not allow them time for the regulation of many points and objects tending to eftallith firmly w" STATE PAPERS [307 a good neighbourhood and perfect tranquillity of the frontiers, they agree, and mutually promife to pay attention to thofe points and objects, and to difcufs and regulate them amicably by means of ambaffadorsg | er plenipotentiary minifters, whom they fhall appoint immediately after the conclufion of the prefent treaty of peace. Art. VIL. The ratifications of ‘the prefent treaty of peace fhall be exchanged within the {pace of fix days, or fooner if poflible. ‘ In teftimony whereof, we havé figned the prefent. treaty of peaces and fealed it with our arms, Done in the plain of Verclé, neat the river Kymene, between the advanced pofts of each camp; the 11th of Auguft, 1790. Gustavus Maurt, Baron D’ARMFELT. Orso, Baron D’Icuustrom, Speech of John Earl of Wetmor- land, Lord Lieutexant of Ireland; to both LHeufes of Parliament, Fan. 21. My Lords and Géntlemen} _ rN HE king having: been gra- TI cioufly pleafed te place me in the government of this kingdoms I have his majefty’s commands ta meet you in parliament; and it af- fords me ‘peculiar fatisfaction that I enter upon the difchatge of this moft important truft, at a perigds when this country, in Common With the reft of his majefty’s dominions; is in the fecure enjoyment of the blefingy of peace, and of the in- éftimable advantages arifing from our free conftitution. This. happy fituation will in- [U2] doubtedly go8] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. doubtedly encourage you to perfe- vere in the maintenance of good government, and to adhere to that wife fyftem of policy which has eftablithed the credit, the induftry, and the profperity of your country upon a firm and fteady foundation. Gentlemen of the Houfe of Commons, T have ordered the national ac~ €ounts to be laid before you, and I truft you will make fuch provifions as fhall be neceflary for the exigen- cies of the ftate, and the honourable fupport of his majefty’s govern~ ment. _ My. Lords and Gentlemen, Your zeal for the interefts of this éountry will naturally direét your attention to whatever can increafe the wealth and’ extend the induftry of Ireland; her agriculture and linen manufacture will claim your efpecial care; dnd the inftitutions of the charter and other proteftant fchools, will, I am perfuaded, re- ¢eive from you that confideration which the interefts of religion and the good education of youth pecu- liarly demand. I earneftly recom- mend to your attention the improv- ing and eontinuing fuch laws as éx- perience hath fhewn to be of na- tional benefit, and I have the king’s commands to affure you that fuch meafures as may contribute to that end will meet with his majeity’s moft gracious concurrence. _Impreffed with the deep fenfe of the diftinguifhed honour which his majefty has conferred upon me by my appointment to this arduous fi- guation, I fhall endeavour with the utmoft zeal and attention to pro- mote the happinefs and welfare of Ireland; fully fenfible that I can- mot otherwife hope, either to ren-: der my fervices acceptable to my fovereign, or to enfure your favour- able opinion and confidence. On the Addrefs to bis Majefty being prefented to the Lords, Lord Port= atlington moved the following Amendment: © To lay before his “< Majefty the apprehenfions this Houfe “¢ entertains of Minifterial Influence « and its hope, that his Majefty will « remove them, by abolifbing Efta~ « blifhments fo unneceffary, burthen= “ fame, and alarming, 8c.” ——reffed, 2dly, That though the difmiffal pf perfons from place or penfion for their parliamentary conduct, and the multiplication of offices or ra- ther of falaries with the name of Office, for unconftitutional purpofes, are meafures not new to this country, having ever been the fad and only Bepedien: of corrupt minifters, yet mutt we obferve that we cannot re- | colleét any period when, in fo fhort | atime, fo many of thefe grievances have been crowded together, and | whicted upon the nation, . | L309 3dly, That a policy fo venal and deftruétive, eftablifhed on principles both of coercion and corruption, muft in this country, if fuffered to take root, by the worft means, ren der any minifter completely abfo- dute, inafmuch as by creating on every occafion, fuch as his own folly and prefumption may fuggeft, places and penfions, and annual gratifica- tions with names annexed, he muft in the end totally deftroy the balance of the conftitution, and make the two houfes of parliament his repre- fentatives only, not the reprefenta- tives of their own honour, or of the people; to which important confide- ration may be added, that a policy ef this nature is the more dangerous in Ireland, becaufe we have not as yet been able, from the oppofition of minifters, to obtain thofe prudent acts which in England exift, and check its operation, fuch as a place and penfion bill, in confequence whereof we are expofed to many dangers, againit which the wifdom of England has fortified her conftitu- tion. The minifters in Ireland may make not only their public errors, but even their private paffions and corrupt affeétions the ignominious caufe of loading the Irifh eftablith- ment. 4thly, That whereas we were, b the general declarations of our late viceroy, confirmed in a belief that the expences of this country were exceflive, and by thofe fame decla- rations taught to expect a reduction; thus having his own authority, if that were neceflary, not only againft the expences which he found, but againft the corruptions which he fuperadded, we fhould think our felves deficient indeed in our public duty, if we did not declare our cor- dial difapprobation of thofe enor- mous charges which minifters them- [U 3] {elves gio]!) ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. felves have not hefitated to con- demn, even while they encreafed them. ' » §thly, That as we fhall ever be ready to check licentioufnefs in what- eyer quarter it may make its appear- ance, fo fhall we more efpecially be ardent in our endeavours to check the licentioufnefs of minifters in the application of the national treafure ; an offence, which, in its effect, is not of fhort duration, but entails upon us permanent and prodigal an- nual charges with all their attendant bancful inflnence, and_ ultimately tends to bring about a diffolution of public virtue as well as of conftitu- tional freedom, ‘fetting up in the place of both, maxims of govern- ment falfe: and frivolous, infolent ‘and diffolute; and we cannot avoid exprefling our opinion that the pre- fent minifters of the crown, havin fhewn themfelves particularly indig, nant'at the idea of popular exceffes, are, when they commit minilterial excefles, expofed to more than ordi- nary obfervation and animadverfion. » 6thly, That the attempts to ex- tend venal influence beyond the li- mits and decency of former times, have -been accompanied -with © at- tempts» to' advance principles and do&trines inconfiftent with the te- nour of the conftitation.-* —- ~ From all thefe reafons, we fhould hold -ourfelves inexcufeable to our country, to our kiag, and to our own honour, if; under the conviction we now feel, the alarms we now. enter- tain, we thould not feize the earlieft opportunity of laying at the feet of our mo gracious fovereign, fuch information as. it is. our-bounden duty to afford him, and of expref- fing our humble determination,a de- termination which cannot fail of be- ing approved by the benignant fa- ther et his people,.to purfue fuch ; “ loyal and conftitutional fteps as may relieve our country from the griev- ances which have been lately inflict- | ed on her, and from the danger of a” repetition of the fame. =» ’ We have alfo thought it expedi- ent, by the propofed amendment, to | obtain the fente of miniftry, under — the prefent chief governor, on the § fubje&t of the redrefs of national J grievances, to the end that we might 9 either co-operate with them towards | the: attainment of fuch redrefs, or by our own fincere and humble, but | perfifting efforts, endeavour to ad- | minilter relief to the people of Ire-— land. : iz a Cork and ORRERY, > ~ Morra, ~ % ARRAN, CHARLEMONT, PoRTARLIVGTON, Lismore, i Leinster, by proxy, Ross, by proxy. ‘y ¢ Speech of the Speaker of the Houfe of ‘. Commons of lreland, on prejenting the Bills of Supply to the Lord Lieu=” tenant.’ . ~~ - | May it pleafe your Excellency, | “Wy VERY year’s experience, fince | f ‘, 1785, has fhewn the wifdo ¥ of the principle which the commons then eitablifhed, of preventing the further accumulation of national debt. Under the influence of that” principle, public credit has rifen fo” high as to admit of an inereafe to the finking fund, by a confiderabl diminution in the -intereft of the public debt. Private credit too has felt its falutary effeéts; and the advanced ftate of both has given vis gour to-induftry, and a fteady aid to mercantile exertion. x We now fee our commerce ex- tended to a degree’ unknown in any = So y . ’ ESTs ¥ & i= ie ae a i former time, our agriculture increaf- ed even beyond the moft fanguine fpeculation, and our linen manufac- ture rifen largely in its value. Such "is the prefent profperous fituation of this country, and we behold it with the more fatisfaction, becaufe it has not arifen from temporary or acci- dental circumftances, but has pro- ceeded in a fteady and regular courfe, from a wife fyitem uniformly ad- hered to,-and from a confidence of the nation in a continuance of that fyftem, from the fecurity given to private property againft the violence of outrage, and above all, from that content and peaceable fubmiflion to the laws, without which no king- doin, however bleffled in conftitu- tion, climate, foil, or fituation, can be rich, powerful, or happy. Speech of the Lord Lieutenant of Ire- land to both Houjes of Parliament, April 5. My Lords, and Gentlemen, S the important objects that have engaged your attention during this feffion of parliament are now accomplifhed, I have great pleafure in fignifying his majefty’s approbation of the zeal you have. fhewn for the public intereft, and the difpatch with which you have concluded the national bufineg. Gentlemen of the Houfe of Com- mons," I have the king’s commands to return you his fincere thanks for the _ chearfulnefs- with which you have voted the fupplies: you may depend upon their ping faithfully applied to the purpofes for which they were granted. ' My Lords, and Gentlemen, Tam directed to teftify his majef- ty’s fatisfa&ion at the falutary; pro- P Ay PabeR S. @: | \Poiy vifions which have been made during the prefent parliament, for the en- couragement of agriculture, the ex- tenfion of commerce, the fecurity of property, and the due execution of the law: regulations which have encreafed the wealth, advanced the trade, and railed the credit of your country to a degree unexampled in any former period. While I return his majefty’s thanks for the many marks, of your attach- ment to his perfon, family and go- vernment, I muit exprefs his con- fidence that ,you will continue to inculcate in the minds of the people that {pirit of loyalty, and that dif- pofition to promote the tranquillity and general welfare of the country, which have fo eminently diftinguilh- ed your condudt. Urged by every principle of laud- able ambition and public duty, I fhall unremittingly endeavour to cultivate your true intereft, in main- taining good order and government, and to contribute by every means in my power to advance the pro- fperity of this rifing country. The Seventh Report of the Commif~ Jfoners appointed to examine, take, and ftate, the Public Accounts of the Kingdom. Prefented ta the Houfe of Commons 18th Fune, 1782. HE 4& of tke laft feffion of parliament, for continuing and amending the att of the pre- ceding feflion, by which we were firft appointed, having, by a parti- cular claufe, “ authorized and im- “ powered us to examine the’ {e- « veral accounts of extraordinary “ fervices incurred and not pro- « vided for by parliament, which « have been laid before the houfe « of commons fince the iit of Ja- [UV 4] “ nuary, 312] @ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ‘<< nuary; 1776,” we confidered that claufe not as imperative upon us, to ftop fhort in the purfuit we were at that time engaged in, under the authority of the former act, and to proceed immediately to the exami- hation of thefe accounts; but ra- ther as the defignation of a fubject, felected from among the numerous objects committed to us in general terms by the firft act, as the next for our confideration, after we fhould have compleated the inquiries we were then purfuing. ‘'Thofe in- quiries being finifhed, we have, in obedience to the intention of the legiflature, thus fignified to us, di- rected our attention to the accounts of the extraordinary fervices in- curred and not provided for by par- liament, which have been laid be- fore the houfe of commons fince the aft of January, 1776. In this wide field, where the ob- jets are fo numerous, fo various, and fo complicated, we have, in our choice of the fubject, been atten- tive to the public voice, as far as we have been able to collec it, and have felected for our inquiry, as much fufpected of abufe, that part of the public money granted for the extraordinary fervices of the army, which has been expended in North America; endeavouring to trace it from its iffue out of the exchequer to the final difpofition of it in that country, with a view to difcever whether any part of it has been, and by what means, intercepted in its paflage or diverted in its appli- cation. We entered upon this inquiry fenfible of many obvious and dil- couraging difficulties in our way. ‘This money is expended in a diftant country : the evidence of the ma- terial circumflances of every tranf- action of expenditure is in thay country; except where, in a few t, inftances, we have had it in our power to apply to an accountant himfelf, who has either paffed his accounts in the office of the auditors. of the impreft, or brought in his hand his vouchers, fair and regular upon the face of them. By what means then are we to detect (if fuch there has been) peculation, fraud, or mifapplication ? We admit no charge againft per- fons abroad, who have no opportu- nity of being heard in their own detence ; and we are cautious that our examination does not lead to, felf-accufation. Thus deftitute of the proper evidence, and with fo, unpromifing a profpeét before us, we fet out in fearch of fuch mate- rials as we could find, and as the, nature and circumftances of the fub- ject would afford. We extracted from the Journals, and from the accounts prefented to the houfe of commons, the fums granted for the extraordinary {fer- vices of the army every year, from the if of January, 1776, to the, 31ft of December laft; the total of thefe fums is 19,502,969/, 25. 8a. We obtained, by requifition from the office of the paymafter general of the forces, an account of the mo- ney iffued to Meflrs. Harley and Drummond, purfuant to his ma- jefty’s warrants, for the extraordi- nary fervices of his majefty’s forces ferving in North America during the fame period. This fum amounts to 10,083,863/. 25. 6d. We proceeded, in the next place, to inquire by what means this mo- ney pafled to North America : of' this we received information from Thomas Neale, efq. the agent in London to Mefirs. Harley and oh Drummond, SAT: BPA Pee se 4 Drummond, who are engaged in a contract with government to make thefe remittances for a commiffion of one and a half per cent. clear of all fees of office and expence of ‘tranfportation. All this money. paffes from the exchequer, through the hands of the paymaiter general of the forces, to the remitters, and from them to their agents in North - America; who pay it to thé de- puty paymaiter general of the forces refiding in that country. It pafles from the exchequer to the remitters in the following manner : When the commander in chief in North America fends to the agents # requifition, {pecifying a certain fum to be wanted for the extraor- dinary fervices of the army for the en{uing quarter, the agents, in con- fequence of this requifition, draw bills upon the remitters, and tranf- mit to them the requifition, with a lift of the bills annexed; upon the receipt of which, the remitters ap- ‘ply by memorial to the lords com- miffioners of the treafury for money to extinguith thofe bills, and re- ceive from them a warrant upon the paymatter general of the forces for the payment of a fum upon ac- count, for the ufe of his majefty’s forces in North America: this war- rant being fatisfied by the iffue from the exchequer to the paymafter ge- neral, in confequence of a. treafury letter and order of the auditor, the paymafter general gives to the re- mitters his draft for it upon the bank. If the commander in chief makes no requifition, the agents themfelves fend to the remitters an account of what money will be wanted, and they apply for it to the treafury, and receive it in like yanner from the paymatter gene- ya} of the fogces, INS. [31g There are two ways by which this money goes from the remitters into the hands of their agents: the one is by bills thus drawn by them upon the remitters; which bills they receive the value for there, and the remitters difcharge when pre- fented to them in London: the other is by fending out to them ac- tual cath; this is done according to {pecial directions given for that pur- pofe by the lords of the treafury to the remitters, whenever it becomes neceflary to fupport the exchange by increafing the quantity of cur- rent cafh in the hands of the agents. Having thus traced this money into the hands of the deputy pay- mafter general abroad, our next ftep was to fee by what means, and for what purpofes, it was taken out of his hands: lieutenant general fir William Howe, late commander in chief of his majefty’s forces in North America, and lieutenant general earl Cornwallis, fupplied us with this information. This money cannot be iffued by the deputy paymaiter general, with- out the authority of the commander in chief, exercifed either by himfelf or by fome general officer to whom he has from neceflity delegated that authority. ‘There are certain de+ partments in the army, to the pre- fiding officers of which is entrufted the expenditure of fo much of the ublic money as the fervice of thofe Broil departments requires, and who are accountable to the public for all they receive; thefe officers are, the fecretary to the commander in chief, the paymafter of the pro- vincijal forces, the quarter mafler general, the barrack matter general, the commifary general, the chief engineer, the {uperintendant of In- dian affairs, the bridge matter, the purveyor; 314] purveyor of the hofpital, and the tommiffary of prifoners. The commander in chief directs ¥ioney into the hands of thefe ac- eountants, by his warrant to the deputy paymafter general, requir- ing him to pay to the officer named a certain fum for the purpofe there- in fpecified. TMefe warrants are of two kinds; temporary, and final: the temporary warrant is for money upon account, and granted upon the “pplication of the officer, to enable him to carry on the fervice: the final warrant is for money to reim- burfe the officer expences actually incurred, and mentions that the vouchers are lodged with that of- ficer. Every quarter, or as foon after us the fervice will admit, thefe, of- - ficers make an abftraét of all the fms they have expended in their {everal departments during that quarter, digefted under different heads of ex x pence. Every officer carries his abftradt to the com- fhander in chief for his in{pection, and for the purpofe of being reim- burfed the amount of that abftrat: If, upon examination, no objection urifes to any of the articles, he grants to the officer a final warrant upon the deputy paymatter general, for the’ total fum- contained in the abftra&t: upon production of this Watrant, with the abftraét annexed, at the pay office of the army, the officer takes up and cancels, as be- ing of no ufe, the temporary war- , fants he has received in that quar- ter; and, deducting from the fum in the abftra€t the fums contained in the temporary warrants, he re- ceives the balance, leaving both the final warrant and abftraét with the deputy paymafter general; who ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. fends them every quarter to the pay-office of the army in England, as vouchers for the paymaiter ge- neral of the forces, upon paffing his account before the auditors of the imprett. Through thefe channels is the money, granted for the extraor- dinary fervices of the army, con- veyed into the hands of certain officers intrufted with and refpon- fible for the expenditure of that money: how this expenditure has been conducted, was the next, and the material fubject of our inquiry. The quarter mafter general, the barrack maiter general, the com- miffary general, and the chief en+ gineer, are the officers to’ whofe management the greateft fhare of this money is committed; and there- fore to them we principally directed our attention: we examined fuch of them as we could find, who ei- ther were then, or had been em- ployed in thefe departments; and collected what information we could from the vouchers in their poffef- fion, or from thofe they had deli- vered into the office of the audi- tors of the impreft; all of which Were, in confequence of our requi- fition, fubmitted to our infpection. Having had reafon to believe, be- fore the pafling of the laft aét, that it was the intention of parliament to refer to us the confideration of the extraordinaries of the army ; and having been informed that bri- gadier adictal William Dalrymple, quarter mafter general; Peter Pau- mier, efq. a deputy commiffary ge- neral; and Mr. Abijah Willard, commiffary of live cattle to his ma- jefty’s forces in North America, were then in London, and about te return to America—though engaged fe at 4 BT A Tee OPA PERS; at that time upon other fubjeQs, under the dire&tions of the former act, we availed ourfelves of that Opportunity to receive from them the information they were able to give us, relative to their refpective epartments. _ We obtained from the treafury the lifts of warrants granted by the commanders in chief in North Ame- yica upon the deputy paymafters general there, and tranimitted to the lords committioners of his ma- jefty’s treafury, from the 1ft of Ja- nuary 1776 to the 31ft of Decem- ber laft. The total fum contained in thefe lifts is 7,725,828/. 125. i¢d. ‘Of which there appears to have been iffued during that period, by the commander in chief at New York, to the officers or deputies in thefe four departments, the {ums following: to the quarter maiters general, 1,688,379/, 155. 334.3 to the ‘barrack mafters general, 662,419.05, 52.4.; tothecommifia- ries general, 1,521,076/. gs. 8d.; to the chief engineers, 322,308/, 105. 2;4.; amounting together to the fum of 4:194,183/..15 5. 74.2 and to have been iffued by the com- manders in chief of his majefty’s forces in Canada, for the extraor- dinary fervices of the army in ge- neral in that province, from the 1ft of June 1776 to the 23d of October 1781, the fum of 2,236,029/. 115. d. ; As the deputy paymafters gene- ral of the forces abroad tran{mit, from time to time, to the pay-oflice of the army in England, the war- rants of the commanders in chief which have been paid by them— that we might omit no means of information of the fums iffued, we procured from the pay office of the army a lift of thefe warrants; in {31g which we find other fums, ifued during the fame period, to officers in the department of the commiilary general, not included in the quar- terly lifts received from the trea- fury, amounting together to the fum of 193,000/4.; ~ whichs being added to the fum of 1,521,076/. gs. 8d. make the total fum, iffued to the commifiaries at New York, 1,714,076/. gs. 84.3 and the total fum ifiued to theie four depart. ~ ments there, 4,387,1834 15s. 7d. We required from the office of the auditors of the impreft a lift of all thofe perfons who have been employed in the expenditure of the public money for the army fervices in North America, and who had either pafled or delivered in their accounts to that office fince the 1ft of january 1776. We examined. the officers whofe names we found inferted in thefe lifts, and who were” within the reach of our application; (that is to fay) Robert Mackenzie, efquire, fecretary and paymatter to lieutenant general fir William Howe; major general fir William Erfkine, and William lord Cathcart, quarter matters general; lieutenant colonel William Shirreff, and major Richard England, deputy quarter , mafters general. We examined lieutenant colonel George Clerk, barrack maf- ter general; and John Montrefor, efquire, chief engineer, whofe names are not in this Tit, their accounts not being as yet deliveredin. Da- niel Chamier and Daniel Wier, efquires, the two commiffaries ge- neral during that period, are both dead: none of the accounts of ei- ther, and a few only of the youchers of the latter, are in the auditars office; and therefore the article of provifions, though a very import- ant and expenfive branch of this expendi- 316] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790, expenditure, and many other arti- cles of expence in that department, were not within our reach in this inquiry, We examined alfo capt. David Laird, the agent for victual- jers ftore fhips and {mall craft ; and Mr. William Butler, an affiftant commiflary. From the information given by thefe feveral officers, and from the vouchers and papers they have fup-~ plied us with, we have been able to acquire fome knowledge of the tules by which thefe departments have been governed; and to trace, in fome meafure, the manner in which thefe branches of the public expenditure have been conducted in North America. The fubjects of expence, which thefe officers are employed about, may be diftinguifhed under two ge- neral heads; the purchafe of articles wanted for the ufe of the army, and the payment for fervices per- formed. The prefiding officers in thefe departments, though they are the perfons who mutt render the ac- count, yet, from the extent and multiplicity. of their bufinefs, can very feldom themfelves attend either to the purchafe or the pay- ment: they have their deputies, affiftants, {upetintendants, agents, infpectors, conductors, clerks, and ether officers under them, who are the aéting perfons entrufted with the conduct of different parts of the tranfaction, and upon whofe know- ledge and fidelity they rely for the duc execution of that truft. Some of thefe inferior officers make the bargains, fome attend to and cer- tify the execution, others are em- ployed in the payments, and take the receipts: each departunent has its office where the payments are made. The perfon who receives, muft be either the perfon himfelf who is entitled, or his affignee or agent; and he muft produce an order, ticket, or certificate of the proper officer, either directing the payment, or authenticating the ma-_ terial circumiftances of the purchafe, or fervice. The receipts are gene- rally taken in the name of the prin- cipal, whoever the officer may be that pays them; becaufe, the war- rants of the commander in chief beingunade payable to the principal, he, by receiving the tums, becomes the only perfon accountable; and he cannot difcharge himfelf but by vouchers, which upon the face of them appear to be for payments made by him: but there are in- ftances, where the auditors of the impreft have, in. particular cafes, allowed receipts, taken in the name of the deputy, to be vouchers for the principal. : The payments are, for the moft part, made in dollars, at four fhil- lings and eight-pence each fterling, but computed in New York cur- rency, which is to fterling in the proportion of twelve to feven: the fums we fhall have eccafion to men- tion hereafter are all in fterling. The price paid for the purchafe of the articles wanted varied ac- cording to the demands of the ar- my, and the means. of fupply; but the price of many of the fervices was regulated and fixed. It was not practicable for us t¢ examine into the cireumftances at tending the purchafe of the ftores, materials, and variety of articles ufed in the feveral departments : we could form no judgment of the neceility there was for procuring them, or of the value, or of the price; the means of information Woy $7 A Th PF A PIERS. Were not within our reach; and ' therefore we directed our attention to the other branch of expence, the fervices, as a fubjecét that bore the appearance at leaft of a more fuc- cefsful inveftigation. The movements and various oc- eafions of the army rendered it ne- eeffary to employ a great number of veffels of different kinds, with pilots and feamen, and many wag- gons, horfes, drivers, artificers, and labourers. Of the veffels, waggons, and horfes, very few were pur- chafed by government for the ufe of the army; by far the greatett part of them were hired by the month, or the day, and very many’ of them kept in continual pay : the hire of all thefe, which conili- tutes a very confiderable part of the expenditure, was, in fome cafes, uncertain, and depended upon cir- eumftances; but in many it was regulated, and fettled at a certain price. The hire of a veffel under thirty tons was three pence half- penny a day per ton; the wages of each feaman was two fhillings and four-pence. a day, with a foldier’s ration, and on¢ fixth of a quart of frum. The hire of a veflel of thirty tons and upwards was ten fhillings a@ month ger ton, until May 1777, when the rate of wages, and the 0 of provifions, and of naval ores, being intreafed, it was raifed to thirteen fhillings; the owner was engaged to find the proportion of fix men to every hundred tons, to vittual them, and to keep the veffel in repair. The hire, by the day, of a fmall waggon, with one driver and two horfes, was feven Shillings; of a large waggon, with one driver and four horfes, twelve fhillings; of a fingle horfe, one fhilling and nine-pence; of a dri- ver alone, from feven-pénce to one [317 fhilling and nine-pence; of a com- mon labourer, from feven-pence te two fhillings and four-pence. Ali the veffels and fmall craft (except thofe in the engineer’s de- partment) were at firft procured by and under the infpection and ma- | nagement of the quarter matter ge- neral; but, the bufinefs of that office increafing, the commander in chief, by warraat, dated rft of Ja- nuary 1777, created an officer to be agent for vittuallers ftore fhips and {mall craft: he was called the fuperintendant of veffels; and to his charge were committed all the veffels and finall craft, with their appendages, employed in the fer- vice of the army (except thofe at~ tached to the chtef engineer, which. were left fill to remain under his care:) he was enjoined to fee that they were properly manned. and equipped, and jultly rated as to their tonnage; he was authorized to charter or hire veffels for inland navigation, when neceflary, and to appropriate to the feveral depart-+ ments the number they wanted, and fuch as were belt conitructed for the refpeftive fervices. Though the quarters matter general was thus relieved from the trouble of pro viding and fuperintending the vef= fels, pilots, and feamen, yet the payment of the hire of them was ftill left to his office, and continued there until the beginning of the year 4778; when the commander in chief iffued orders, that the hiré fhould be paid in the office of that department where they were em ployed. ‘Fhe mode of payment was this: the fuperintendant grant- ed, fometimes upon his own know- ledge, fometimes upon the informa- tion of perfons under him, to thé perfon entitled, a ticket of pay, tigned by himfelf or his deputy, and directed 318] directed to the proper officer, fpe- cifying the fervice, the time, and the fum. “This ticket was, upon payment, left at the office; and at the end of every quarter the fuper- intendant took up all thefe tickets from the feveral offices, and, after examination with his check-book, gave to each principal officer one general voucher, figned by himfelf, for the total fum contained in all thofe tickets, and paid by him dur- ing that quarter. Much the greateft number of the Wwagegons, horfes, and drivers, em- ployed in the fervice of the army, Were procured by the quarter maf- ter general, ‘The commander in chief ordéred the eftablifhment, that isy the number which he judged to be neceflary for the occafions of the army, and in what proportion they fhould be diftributed amongft the feveral corps, and for the different fervices. This eftablifhment was permanent, and kept conftantly, as far as it could be, compleat. The quarter maiter general. made a re- turn of them every quarter to the commander in chief; which return was called the diftribution, and contained an accoynt of all the wag-. €ons, hories, and drivers at that time under his direction, and in what fervice employed : for all thefe he was refponfible, and paid the hire and contingent expences. The other departments had likewife waggons, horfes, and drivers in their fervice; which were procured by. them{elves, and paid by their refpective principal officers. All thefe departments had artificers and labourers, procured by the overfeers in the feveral branches, hired by the day, and paid in each refpeftive Office. ‘Fhe receipts given for thefe fer- ANNUAL) REGISTER;,. 1796. vices were of two kifids; either fe+ parate receipts, given by indivi- duals in the common form; or one receipt, prefixed to a litt compre - hending the fignatures of many per- fons; of the latter kind, one uni- form mode was adopted in all thefe offices; two {pecimens of which,, the one taken from the inftance of waggons, horfes, and drivers, and the other from that of labourers, in the office of the quarter mafter ge- neral, are inferted in the appendix. The firft column contains the names of the perfons entitled, or fuppofed to be entitled; the fum hé is en- titled to receive is wrote in the laft column but one; and in the laft are the fignatures of the fame perfons, wrote or made either by themfelves or by perfons deputed by them. _ In purfuing this inquiry into the methods and forms by which this expenditure has been carried on, we have had in view two principal ob- jects; one is, to difcover whether any fraud has in faét been commit- ted upon the public in the courfe of thefe money tranfaétions ; the other is, to obferve whether the public has been fufficiently guarded againft ~ fraud and impofition, in the modes adopted for carrying on this expen- diture. : Could a fingle inftance of fraud be difcovered in any of the accounts of thefe officers, {uch a difcovery would fo corrupt and vitiate that account, as to fubjeét the whole of it to a revifion and unravelment; though adjufted and pafled with all the folemnities of the exchequer. Thefe accountants are charged with all the {ums they have received of the paymafter general of the forces, by the warrants of the com- mander in chief. _They cannot dif- charge themfelves, but by the re- i ceipts STATE eeipts of the perfons or their oificers | fums. ‘The receipts are fair upon the face of them; ontains all the’eflentials of a true voucher; a date, the fubject matter, the fum paid, the perfon of whom received, and the perfon receiving. _ If the traniaétion has not been a fair one, and governmrent\has:been defrauded ef any part of the money, the voucher, which is the evidence of that tranfaétion, muft, in fome part of it, be falie or fraudulent: to dif- cover whether it be fo or not, the erfon who appears to have figned to whom they theie paid paie aT €acth C 1t, is always a material, and, in fome * cafes, the only witnefs, who can tell whether the {um {pecified in the re- ceipt to have been received, was.in fa& the fum bona fide paid; but per- fons under this defcriptiosxt are not amenable to us, fitting in this king- dom; they are in North America. Numberlefs, and in a variety of ways, may have been the frauds and impofitions committed upon govern- ment, without the knowledge even of the officer who pafies the ac- counts, being himielf not privy to the payments, but relying, for the truth of the vouchers he produces in his difcharge, upon the integrity and fidelity of his inferior officers, Rumours of impofition, and of much wealth acquired during a fhort fervice upon flender appoint- ments, may create a fufpicion of fome concealed management, and be a ground for inquiry by proper Authority ; but they are not proofs upon which can be fupported, againft any perfon whatever, the heavy charge of defrauding the, public. " Having therefore no hopes of purfuing this fubjec with effect, we burned oyr attention to the fecond *« Dp + A.P E R S. [319 objeé&t we propofed; that is, to thofe openings for fraud, and that poffi- bility of abufe, which the modes of conduéting thefe money tranfaGtions ave left without fence or guard ; and we are of opinion that the pub- lic have not been fufficiently pro- te&ted in two material points: firft, the officers intrufted with the ex- penditure of the public money have been permitted to have an intereft themfelves in the fubje@ matter of expence: fecondly, the vouchers by which the accountants difeharge themfelves of the fums intruited te them, are allowed without having undergone fufficient examination, It is a branch of the bufinefs of the quarter mafter genéral to pro- vide waggons and horfes, with their neceflary attendants and append- ages, for the ule of the army, either when in quarters, or in motion; and, when there is occafion to tranfport theza, or to fupply their wants by water, the fuperintendant furnifhes them with veffels, and whatever is neceflary for carriage by water, It is the duty of thefe officers to make the contracts for the articles, and to fee thofe contracts honeflly and fubftantially performed; to take care that each article is properly equipped, and adequate to the fer- vice it is intended for; and that the fervice, for which payment is claimed, has been, in fact, perform- ed, Tihefe officers are placed, on the part of government, as a check and control upon the contractars, to pro. teét the public from lofs or impofi- tion. The barrack matter general and chief engineer ftand upon the fame ground, in refpeét to the wag- gons and horfes made ule of in their departments, and not provided by the quarter mafter general. But it has been the ulage, as far backias ’ Ow — $20} ANNUAL REGISTER, 1490..’ our inquiry has gone, for the officers in thefe departments to be them- felves the proprictors of, or to have fharcs or intereits in, a great number of the veflels and {mall craft, and in almoft all the waggons and horfes, employed in thefe fervices: thefe of- ficers have purchafed or procured them upon their own account, and Jet them out to gdVernment at the fixed prices of hire; the fame per- fon, employed by and acting for the public, contracts, on the part of the public, with himfelf, for the hire of hisown property, controls his own actions, and pays himfelf with the pubhc money intrutted to his charge: his truft and intereft draw oppotite ways: his truft obliges him, to be frugal for the public; to hire at the loweft price (lower, if he can, than the price allowed by government) ; to take care that what he hires ts compleatand fit for fervice; to em- ploy as few veffels and carriages, nd for as fort a time as poflible: but his intereft leads him not to fpare the public purfe; to let to go- vernment, at the fame fixed price, all the veflels, carriages, and horfes, he can collec, by whatever means procured, or at however Jow a price ke may have purchafed them, and whatever may be their condition or difference in point of goodnefs; to keep them continually in pay, whe- ther wanted, or employed; or not, and for as long a time as he can contrive; and his laft advantage may be, the fuffering them to be taken ordeftroyed by the enemy, to entitle him to the value from the public. .In fuch a conteft between duty and intereft, it is not unchari- table to fuppofe the public intereft will frequently be facrificed to pri- vatéemolument. But this is not the enly mifchief : this practice has:a a manifeft tendency to corrupt and ert} danger the fervice of the army; it weakens the military difcipline, it infufes into the foldier the thirft for gain, and diverts his attention from honour and his co&ntry’s fervice, to the purfuit of wealth, and that too by intrenching upon the treafure of his country. We do not mean to fuggeft thefe as impofitions, that have all been actually committed upon the public, but as confequences that will follow; whenever the temptation is powerful enough to overcome the fenfe of duty, and where the opportunities of yielding to the temptation are {6 frequent and fo obvious. _ AMthefe officers would hardly have engaged in bufinefs of this kind, without the expettation at leaft of fome advantage (for they had no additional pay for being employed in the expenditure) we were led to enquire into the expence incurred by the public for this arti- cle of hire, and from thence to en= deavour to form fome judgment upon the probable advantage to the officers We obtained from captain David Laird, a lift of all the veffels, under whatever denomination, employed in the fervice of the army in North America, from the rf of January 1777, when he was appointed fuper2 intendant of the veffels, until the end of December 1780, when he: quitted the fervice; with the name of each veflél, and of the maftér or . owner, the number of tons, tlie price . per ton, the time when hired, the time when difcharged, and in what department employed. From this lift it appears, that the number of veflels employed at different times, during the above period, in the department ef the quarter mafter genesal, was thres Sule Tebsbah BE RS. three hundred and feventeen; and the number of tons, nineteen thou- fand five hundred fifty-eight. In the department of the barrack matter general, the number of vef- fels was eighty-five, and of the tons feven thoufand eight hundred thirty- fix. In the department of the com- miffary general, the number of vef- fels was two hundred and nine, and of the tons fixteen thoufand fix hundred twenty-two. The total number of the veflels was fix hun- dred and eleven, and of the tons forty-four thoufand and fixteen. Many of them were, employed for a fhort time only: the number of thofe continued in the fervice for one year and upwards, we have ex- tracted from captain Laird’s lilt, and injerted in the appendix, with the number of tons, and their earn- ings during their fervice; and of thefe, fixty-two were left in the fer- vice at the end of the year 1780, This lift fhews, that the number of veflels employed each for a year or longer, during that period, in the department of the quarter matter general, was fixty-two, and the hire 91,4447. 195. 4d.; in the depart- ment of the barrack mafter general, the number twenty-five, and the hire 34,737 /. 195.5 in the depart- ment of the commiflary general, the number forty-four, and the hire 55.925/. 14s.: the total number one hundred thirty-one; the total hire 182,108 /. 125. 4d. We find, from the vouchers for the payments of hire made by the quarter mafters general, and _deii- vered by them into the office of the auditors of the imprefl, that the total expence of this hire in that department only, exclufive of pi- lotage, and various contingencies, from the 25th of December 1776 Vor. XXXII, [321 to the 31ft of March 1780, amount- ed to 127,483/. 18s. 1034.5 what the expence of this hire was in the other departments, we have not had the means of informing ourfelves. “In this lift appear the names of feveral officers in the departments of the quarter mafter, barrack maf= ter, and commiffary general, as own- ers of thefe veffels ; but the names of all fuch officers as were owners-do not appear; the names of the matters are inferted in their ftead. Where the principal officers were proprietors, or had fhares, their names are not found, either in the contraéts for the hire, or in the receipts for the pay- ments. A vefiel of one hundred tons, hired at 135. a month fer ton, would produce to the owners 780 /, a year. Suppoie him to have, dur- ing the whole year, his full comple ment of fix men, at each 3/. 155. a month wages, and to pay 25. a day for viétualling each ‘man, his mea would cof him 489/. and leave him a profit of 291 /. a year; which profit would be increafed in pro- portion as he could hire his men, or procure boys, at a lefs price, or di- minith his number whilft his veflcl lay at reft during any part of the year, or employ them to his ad- vantage in any other fervice. The prime coft, and expence of repairs, are diminutions of his profit, de- pending upon circumftances, and not open to calculation. As the quarterly returns, made to the commander in chief by the quar- ter mafter general, contain the num- ber of the waggons, horfes, and drivers, furnifhed by him in each quarter, with their diftribution, and expence to government for the hire, we have feleéted, and inferted in the appendix, two of thefe returns: Sir {X] William 322] William Erfkine fupplied us with the firft regular diftribution that was returned to the commander in chief, which is for the quarter ending 3oth June 1777; the other is a re- turn made by lord Cathcart, for the quarter ending 31f Decem- ber 1779. - ‘The diftributions did not always contain the fame numbers, and therefore we could not come at the expence of the hire of them to the public, but by collecting it from the vouchers allowed by the auditors of the impreft to thofe quarter matters general who had pafled their ac- counts inthat office. By an abftract -compofed from thofe vouchers, we find that the fum paid by the public, _ for the hire only of waggons, horfes, and drivers, employ ed under the management of the quarter matter / general, from the 25th of Decem- ber 1776 to the 31ft of March 1780, was 338.4352 85. 62d. exclufive of provifions, forage, repairs, and other contingent expences. The rate of the hire ofa waggon, driver, and four horfes, being 125. a day, produces to the proprietor z1gl. a year ; from whtnce the hire of the driver, at the mean price of ¥s. 24. a day, thatis, 21/. 5s. 10d. a year, being deduéted, leaves him a clear yearly profit of 197/. 145. 2d. the repairs of the waggon and harnefs, and the food of the driver and horfes, being found by the pub- lic. Computing the :prime colt of the waggons compleat, at the high- eit price, 20 /. and of each hor fe at a5 /.he receives back 80/. his pur- chafe money, in lefs than five months; after which, if poffeifed of fifty large waggons and two hun- dred horfes, (and the waggons and -horfes were in general the property efa few officers only) he will have, i ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. as long as he can continue them in the fervice of government, a clear } income of 9,885 /. 85. 4d. fecure’ from all rifk. The commander in chief, confult- ing with the principal officers in the feveral departments, fettled the eftablifhment, and ordered that it fhould be permanent and kept com- pleat. As the army was not always in motion, the neceffity for fo nu- merous a permanent eftablifhment was not obvious. The reafon given for retaining the fame number for the whole year, is, the dithcalty of procuring them again when wanted, in cafe they had been difcharged at the end of the campaign; but this reafon does not appear altogether conclufive; for, if they are in being, the arm of the commander in chief can reach them, wherever they are; he has power to feize, the inftant he Wants it, whatever is neceflary for the fervice, in his contemplation : from the enemy he feizes of right, from a friend he prefles of neceflity, paying him the value, or for thg- ufe. ( The eftablihment was hardly ever compleat, from the’ conftant difficulty of procuring the number of waggons it required; as they were therefore fo fcarce in that country, and the cattle could have been employed to more advantage than upon the pay of government, At might have been advantageous to the inhabitants to have had the ufe of them for the time the army were in guarters; and the hire of them, for {ome months every year, would have been no inconfiderable faving to the public. All orders’ and regulations ‘of every kind proceed from the com= mander in’chief: his power extends,. without controul, over the wholé army an, ae es ee ee eet et ee, anes S. DAT i oP & PAR) Si army and all its connections. It is fimited only by his difcretion; con- fequently every form of proceeding, every ufage and mode of practice, muft reft either upon his orders or his acquiefcence. That we might learn upon what authority this cuf- tom, for the officers to be contrac- tors of this defcription, was ground- ed, we required from Sir William Howe and lord Cornwallis the or- ders and inftruCtions iffued by them in North America, relative to the feveral departments employed in the expenditure of the public mo- ney. ~ The returns to thefe requifi- tions contained the appointment of the fuperintendant of veifels, and the regulation. of the payment of their hire, in the offices: of the de- partments in which they were em- ployed both above mentioned, to- gether with other orders made from time to time for different purpofes of regulation: but we found at one period only orders relative to the point immediately under our con- fideration. Theie orders were if, faed by lord Cornwallis, are dated the 23d December 1780, and con- tain matter very important to the fubjeét before us. Lord Cornwallis had upon feveral occafions found, that the waggons and horfes pro- vided for the public fervice by the quarter mafter general were in bad condition, and neither fit nor able to perform the fervices required. Toremedy thefe abufes, he thought it neceflary to direét, that the quar- ter mafter general fhould have no papery in either the waggons or orfes; and to that end he iffued orders, enjoining him not to charge more for waggons and horfes than he had aétually paid; not to charge the hire of waggons and horfes purehafed; mot to pur- ehefe them but upon goverment [323- account; and, if. he hired them, to. pay the proprietors the full price for hire allowed by government... He ordered all the neceflary craft-to be purchafed on government account; and fome of the veilels to be diG charged, as foon as they came under the direction of his deputy quarter mafter general at Portfmouth in the Cheflapeak, upon his reprefenta- tion that they were unneceflary. He ordered likewife the commiflary general not to charge government for the -compleat ration, unlefs he {upplied that ration from the ftores from England ; and to charge neo more for frefh provifions, flour, or Indian meal, than what they coft him. The manner of conducting this laft office it is notin our power to inquire into; the commiflaries general are dead; and their ac~ counts not in England. Thefe orders are levelled at abufes at that time exifting; and thefe abufes all tend to the de. frauding of the public for private emolument. _ By puriuing the rules of compu- tation inferted above, we are ena- bled to difcover how much would have been faved to the public had the waggons and horfes been pur- chafed at firft on account of govern- ment. From the lift inferted in the appendix it appears, that the aver- age number of waggons conftantly employed in the fervice, from the 25th of December 1776 to the 31 of March 1780, that is, three years and a quarter, was feven hundred thirty-nine ; and the average num- ber of horfes, one thoufand nine hundred fifty-eight; and the aver.” age nuinber of drivers, feven hun- dred and fixty: the average hire of all thefe amounts to 1o4,132/. a year; from whence deducting: 16,18t/. the hire of feven hundred) [X 2]. and: > 3244] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. and fixty drivers, at 1s. 2d. each per day, there remains the fum of 87,9517. The prime coft of the waggons and horfes, at the highett price, is 44,150/.; this fum being deducted from 87,951/. leaves .the clear profit of 43,801 /. for the firft year: this being added to the fum of 197,889/. two years and one quarter’s clear profits, after deduct- ing the hire of the drivers, gives the fum of 241,690 /. paid by the pub- lic, beyond what it would have coft them had the property of thefe wag- gons and horfes belonged to govern- ment: and, if the fame fyftem of management has been continued to the prefent time, the public have in- curred a ftill further expence of 175,902/. for two years more, to the 31{t of March lait; that is, the public have paid 417,592/. for the jingle article of the hire of waggons and horfes; the whole of which might have been faved, had the mode contained in the orders of the 23d of December 1780 been at firit adopted. From the circumftances thus dif.’ elofed, it can hardly be doubted that this practice, of letting out for hire to government, has been highly lu- crative to the officers engaged in it. The officer is a truftee for the pub- lic; as fuch, he is bound to hufband the public money committed to his eharge with as much frugality as if it were his own: what he faves or what he gains, he faves and gains not for himfelf but for the public. He ought not to be permitted, by any Management or contrivance, to €arve out for himfelf-an intereft, in the execution of a public truft: if that intereft has ‘een productive, how far fuch profit belongs to the public, and whether, by bills of dif- covery filed by the proper officer of . the crown, or by what other ni®ana, it may be difcovered, and reclaimed for the public, are for the wifdom of parliament to decide. It is of public concern this evil fhould be fpeedily ecorrefted: it ows from permitting a truft to re- fide, with an intereft, in the fame perfon. The remedy is, to take away the intereft, and by that means to reftore the traft and control to its full force, that it may freely operate for the benefit of the public, uninfluenced by private confidera- tions. But the remedy may be extended fill farther: it fhould feem as if it would be more-beneficial to the fer- vice, if the officers were relieved en- tirely from the trouble of making the payments, When their military duty calls them to the field, they muit neglect their duty as pay- mafters, and leave that branch to be conduéted entirely by their in- ferior officers and clerks. It feems to be a hardfhip upon a quarter matter general, to be fubject to ac- count for very large fums, no part of which he paid himfelf, but merely becaufe they were paid in his name, and at his office, whilft he himfelf was abfent upon other duty. There is no neceflary connection between the military duty of thefe officers and the expenditure of mo- ney for military fervices : this latter belongs properly to a civil depart- ment, and may be executed by a civil officer. Major general Wil- liam Roy, who, during the laft ‘war in Germany, was in the depart- ments both of the quarter mafter genera) and chief engineer, -in- formed us, that no public money was iffued to him in either of thefe capacities: he was no accountant; but all the expences incurred in thefe - STATE PAPERS. thefe departments were defrayed by the deputy paymafter general of the forces, purfuant to the warrants of the commander iri chief iflued for that purpofe. The quarter mafter general and chief engineer were confidered in that army as checks tipon the expenditure on behalf of the public: they were to fee that the articles fupplied were good of ' the kind, adequate to the fervices they were intended for, and that there was no waite. | We are therefore of opinion, that the orders of 23d December 1780 fhould be put in force — forth- with throughout the whole army; that no officer fhould be permitted to have a property or intereft in any article whatever, which the duty of his office obliges him to provide for the fervice of the army: if pur- chafed, it fhould be purchafed by and for the ufe of government; if hired, it fhould be hired of perfons unconnected with military fervice. We are likewife of opinion, that the payments fhould be taken from the military officer, and thrown upon the deputy paymatter general of the forces, who is the proper cafhier of the army, to be carried on by him, in purfuance of the warrants of the commander in «chief. The other point, in which we think the public have not been fuf- ficiently guarded, is the allowance of the vouchers without fufficient examination: this defect pervades every branch of the expenditure under our confideration. ‘Uhe prin- cipal officers in thefe departments are the perfons accountable: they make up,-pafs, and fwear to the ac- counts; but, having a variety of other material bufinefs to tranfact in their feveral ftations, they have no [325 leifure to attend to the a&tual pay- ments: a quarter matter general, whofe account amounted to above 600,000 /. was for five months to- gether upon duty in the field, with- out having been able once to attend his office. He is likewife obliged to pafs the account of a fum never received by him, but iffued to and expended by an affiftant deputy quarter maiter general, whom he neither appointed nor knew ; and the warrant iflued to this afliftant ftates, that the fum therein directed is to be accounted-for by the quarter matter general. The chief engineer confiders himfelf as liable to ac- count for fums, no part of which he either receives or pays, nor are the payments made in his name ; for, though the fum is made payable to him by the warrant, yet he never actually receives it; but he indorfes the warrant to the paymafter of the works, who receives the whole, and with it difcharges bills, either di- rected to him for payment by the chief engineer or the commander in chief, or at his own difcretion without the intervention of either, | and takes the receipts in his own name. This important bufinefs of ex- penditure, that requires attention, circumf{pection, accuracy, and fide- lity, muft be entrufted to inferior officers, clerks, and even to itran- gers. The making-up, and examination of the accounts is conducted in the following manner:—every quarter the accountant collects together from his deputies, afliftants, and clerks, all the vouchers for the pay- ments made by them auring that quarter: they are abftraéted, di- gefted under heads, and bundled up together. ‘The abftract is produced [Xx 3] to 326] to the commander in chief for his infpection and approbation, and in order to obtain a final warraat for the amount of the abftraé&t. The vouchers are ready for his infpec- tion if he requires it. This is the firft check to which the account is fubmitted. It is not to be imagined, that the many important objects, that: muft continually engrofs the attention of the general of an army, will afford him either leifure or pa- ¢ience to examine voluminous bun- dies of vouchers: he may fometimes, upon a tranfient view of the abftraét, find fome article that excites -his “curiofity to call for an explanation ; but he cannot poffibly enter into the detail, or'min:tely examine into the circumftances of a complicated re- ceipt; and therefore, unlefs fuck an inftance occurs for infpeétion, the vouchers are left unexamined in the hands of the accountant, and the commander in chief depends upon his honour that he has them in his pofleffion. After the final warrant is ob- tained, this abftract and the vouch- ers are fent home to be examined, that the ‘account may be pafled in the office of the auditors of the im- preit. It is utterly impoflible the vouchers can be fufiiciently feruti- nized in this office, for want of evidence: the accountant is. the proper perfon to give them inform- ation ; and he, very poffibly, is not privy to the payment, or to any one circumftance ftated in the voucher. Charles Harris, efq. one of the deputy auditors of the impreft, tells us the’grounds upon which a vouch- er, fora payment for the extraor- dinary fervice abroad, is, and of neceffity muft be, allowed in: that office: if it contains a certain num- ber received, the fignature of a per- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. foh receiving, and a juft computa- tion, and agrees with the abftrac, it is deemed and admitted as a fair. voncher: for the truth of it, they rely upon the oath taken by the ac- countant before the: barons of the exchequer, when he pafles his ac- count. In faé, in thofe accounts, which have been already pafled in this office, no inquiry feems to have been made into the truth of the vouchers, whatever queftions might arife upon the face of them. By the form of this oath, which we ob- tained from the office of the audi- tors of the impreft, the accountant fwears that the account is juft and true, according to the bett of his knowledge and belief: thefe latter words muft, as we conceive, be in- terpreted by him fo to qualify the oath, as to enable him to fwear with fafety to thofe items of his ac- count, of the tranfacting of which he has no other: knowledge than what the vouchers themfelves give him, and where he knows nothing of the perfons- who tranfaét them, except probably their general cha- racters : no great reliance, then, Can be had, for the truth of the voucher, upon the oath of the accountant; becaufe that oath, fo worded, is no additional evidence of its truth. From thus tracing the voucher, from the pay office of the depart-. ment in North America to.the of- fice of its final examination in Eng-. land, it appears that the public may be defrauded in a tranfaction, and yet the voucher of that tranfaction may pafs through all its ftages of examination unfufpeéted and unim- peached, and be fworn to by the ac- countant without the violation of his oath. Various are the ways and means by which the fraud may be committed; the agreement or pur~ chafe € STA ok oth tee Gy 2, Fe. BS. ahafe may be made by collufion : the fabje&t matter of the receipt may be falfe in quantity or quality : the fer- vice over-rated, or not performed: the fum inferted may be more than the fum dona fide paid: the receipt may be obtained by compulfion, or troller of the treafurer’s accounts, ‘That part made out in the vittual- ling branch, confifting of impreits cleared, abatements from bills, fams arifing from the fale of old ftores, fees of oxen, and decayed provi- fions, is examined with the entries in the ledger, kept in that branch of the victualling office, fur' keeps (7°) wig 338] ANNUAL REGISTER, i790. ing the charge upon the treafurer; in which ledger every article of this charge is entered, either from the letters direCting the payment, or from the bills themfelves: a copy of this charge is figned by three commifioners of the victualling, which is the warrant for the figna- ture of the three commiffioners of the navy, upon that copy which is fent to the auditors office. The difcharge is checked in this manner:—every bill paid by the treafurer is made out in fome branch or other of the navy, vic- tualling, or fick and hurt offices, or in the yards or out ports: if made out in one of the offices, it under- goes one,pr, if neceflary, more ex- azminations in that office: if made out-at the yards, it is fent to, and examined by, two clerks in the office of the controller of the navy: if made out at the out-ports, it is fent to, and examined in, the office of the accountant for cafh in the victualling office. Ali bills, where- ever made out, are entered in re- gifters; the navy bills in the con- troller’s office; tlie victualling bills in the office of the controller of the victualling ; and the fick and hurt bills in the fick and hurt office; and when affigned for payment, they are entered again in affigning books, kept for thofe purpofes in the feyeral offices. .'‘The treafurer’s feStions, with the original bills themfelves, are fent to thefe feve- ral offices, to be compared and ex- amined With the entries made in their books: the navy fections are examined with the entries in the affigning book in the office—of the controller of the treafurer’s accounts, and afterwards compared with the original bills themfelves ; the: victualling fections are exa- amined with the entrics in the affign- ing book inthe office of the con- troller of the victualling ; the fick _and hurt fections, with the entries in the afligning book in the fick and hurt office, and they are after- wards compared with the original bills in the office of the controller of the treafurer’s accounts. For every fhip five books are made out, copies of each other,’ lodged in three different depart- ments of the navy offic 2 in that branch of the office of ntroller of the treafurer’s accounts, called the ticket ofice; two in the office of the controller of the navy, one of them for the commiflioner who controls the payments, the other for the controller’s clerk wha at- tends him; and two in the office of the treafurer: this book contains the names, the times of fervice, and the defalcations, of every perfon. belonging to that fhip, together with the full and nett wages of all perfons who are~paid upon that book; all thefe feveral fums are calculated, examined, and checked, hoth in the ticket office and in the office of the controller of the navy; and the full fum to be allowed the treafurer, for the pay of that fhip, is entered at the end of the fhip’s buok, and is the fame fum in the treafurer’s ledger, which he claims to be allowed him for the payment of that fhip. . When a fhip is paid,.a commif- fioner of the navy, two clerks from the treafurer’s office, and one from each of the controller’s offices, at- tend, each with his book; by which means they are a check upon each other: three of thefe books are made up at the fame time, and compared together; and remain af- terwards, one in the office of the treafurer, another in that of the controller, and the third in ‘that i : ; the “a | ee Se ee 13 ——— a eds i, x — oe a ee eh me ee os Y is S.A TE OP A PLBEIR SY the controller of the treafurer’s ac- counts. The treafurer’s fections, containing the fums paid upon the fhip’s books, are taken from the: full books, after they are: made up and figned by three commiiffioners of . the navy, and are compared, in the office of the controller of the trea- furer’s accoants, with the fums en- tered upon the books in that office. The fu > the hofpital, half-pay, and fick « ers, are likewife taken from, and compared with, the- full - books kept for thofe fervices. Upon a final account, the infuper liit is taken from the imprett ledgers, one kept in the office of the controller of the treafurer’s accounts, another jn the office of the controller of the viétualling accounts; and in fome one of which every impreft bill is entered: this lift is compared with “the entries im thefe impreft ledgers. Win confequence of this examina- tion of the entries in the treafurer’s ledger, with the vouchers for, and éntries of,- the fame articles in: the books of the different branches of the navy, victualling, and fick and hurt offices; the commiffioners of the navy are authorized to give to the _ entries in that ledger a credit equal. to the credit of original vouchers, and to give to the treafurer a dif- penfation with the production of thofe originals in the office where he is finally to pafs his accounts. ' The information we have thus collected, enables us to form fome judgment of the caufes of the delay in pafling the accounts of the trea- furer of the navy, as well as fup- plies us with matter for regulation, worthy, in our opinion, to be fub- mitted to the attention of the legif- lature. The caufe of delay that occurs the firft in this inquiry, is the not ‘ is e [339 executing the \compulfory procefs intended to bring in perfons' to ac- count: This is a fource of delay’ that extends to every account fub-" je& to be pafied in the auditors office. . A diftrefs is an ancient and legal method of forcing a perfon to do certain acts, which the law requires of him; and itis an effectual me- thod; for he refufes at the peril of forfeiting to the crown apart of his’ propertys and if -he continues refractory, of‘ having that forfeiture increafed till ie obeys: but the diftringas ad computandum is a pro- cefs utterly’ nugatory; it iffues out of mere form; and, though levelled at perfons who have millions to ac~ count for, itis never executed. The long ufage of office warrants ‘the fheriff to give it under his hand; and toconfirm-it by his oath in the court of ‘exchequer, that the trea- furer of the navy is not to be found either in the city of London, or in the county of Middlefex, and that the paymatfter general of the forces has neither Iands nor chattels in either of thofe diftriéts by which he can be diftrained. So far as the prefent fyem of pafling the public accounts fhall be retained, this’ procefs ought to be’ made effe€tual: It cannot be fo in its prefent ftate. The writ muft be difincumbered of that load of old and ufelefs fchedules, at prefent al-' ways annexed to it. Authority’ fhould be given to infpeé aud feru- tinize the hfts of perfons, who ftand at this time accountable to the crown for money imprefted or iffyed to them on account, and to diftinguifh thofe who are of ability anceame.” nable, from the infolvent and thofe’ whofe accounts are remote and def~ perate, and who can neither them-: [aoa] aon felvew . 340] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. felves nor their reprefentatives ever be profecuted with any hopes of fuccefs. The names and fchedules of the latter fhould all be taken from the writ; the former only fhould be annexed ; and upon all ngmed in the fchedules annexed, the writ fhould be executed, and they fhould be compelled to appear upon the re- turn, and give the reafons for the delay before the proper judges, the barons of the exchequer. The certificates of the accounts depending in the office of the audi- tors of the impreft require the like correction. Public inftruments fhould not be incumbered with ufelefs mat- ter: nothing fhould be inferted in them but what tends to anfwer the purpofe defigned by them; but thefe certificates are filled with ftale ac- counts that have been depending, many of them, for a century, the accountants forgotten, the line of their reprefentation not to be traced, no vouchers to be found, no vetftiges of them whatever remaining, fave what are preferved, to no purpofe, in thefe inftruments; they puzzle and confound the officers they are intended to inform; they engage the time of clerks that might be ufefully employed, and for which the public pay. The power of difcharging ac- counts of long ftanding has been exercifed by the legiflature for the quiet of the fubjeét. In the land tax act of the year 1759, all infu- pers fet in the accounts of the re- ceivers general of the land tax be- fore the year 1746 are abfolutely difcharged. Other delays arife in the office of the treafurer of the navy, and flow in a great meafure from the prefent conftitution of that office. As the auditor of the impreft cannot pafs the account until he has received all the materials of which it is com-' pofed, we required from him a ftate of the order of time in which the feveral parts of Mr. Grenville’s ac- count for the year 1759 were deli- vered into his office. By this ftate it appears, that the firlt fetions of this year came to the auditor in May 1763; that the voluntary charge, and fome other papers, which were the parts of the account that came the laft, were not received until December 17813 that is, eighteen years after the fections, and near twenty-two years after the ex- piration of the year to which the account belongs. We required, likewife, from the auditors a ftate of the accounts of the treafurers of the navy, now depending in each of their offices, with the times when the feveral parts of the accounts were delivered into each. Thefe ftates fhew, that the accounts for the two’ next iucceeding years, 1760 and 1761, are ready for-declara- tion; that the accounts of none of the fubfequent years are complete in the office, little more than the navy and victualling fections of thefe years having been as yet received from the treafurer’s office. One of the principal caufes affgned for this delay, and the only one that feems to have a foundation, is ftated in our third report; it is the neceflity of keeping open the fhips books for many years, even after the treafurer, in’ whofe time they were firft opened, is out of of- _ fice, for the purpofe of compleating the payments upon each book, that fuch treafurer may have his proper voucher for the payment of each fhip, and to prevent the difficulty that would arife in diftinguifhing the payments by each, if the fame book was paid upon by more trea- furers than one. Keeping S40 & TBA A. Pre IRes, Keeping open the fhip’s books fo dong, befides the delay it occafions in-the accounts, is pregnant with fo Many inconveniences both to the officer and the office, that the cor- rection of this defect is an object worth attempting. The dirticulty lies in the payment upon recalls; that is, of thofe per- fons who remain upon a book un- paid afterthe day of payment. A thip is faid emphatically to be paid, upon that day in which that fhip’s book is firft opened for payment, except where one perfon only upon a fhip’s book is paid upon a certain day, in order to put that fhip out of commiffion ; and, in chat cafe, pay- ments within the month after, are confidered not as recalls, but as payments on the pay day. All pay- ments made fubfequent to that day, and before the book is made up, are payments upon recalls, and are now made by or upon the book it- felf, and by the treafurer in whofe treafurerfhip the book was firtt opened for payment, whether he is in or out of office. Ifa method can be devifed of paying thofe after- claimants by the treafurer in office, and otherwife than by the fhip’s book, without delaying or difturb- ing the pay of the feamen, or con- founding the accounts of the trea- furers, the fhip’s books may then be clofed at any time, and this difli- culty will be removed. In order to difcover fuch a me- thod, it was abfolutely neceflary to examine minutely into the manner in which this brancii of the bufinefs is now conducted in the pay office of the navy; and with this know- ledge we are furnifhed by Mr. A- dam Jellicoe, chief clerk in the pay branch in the office of the treafurer of the navy; Mr. John Hunter, (342 who has long been employed in the office of the controller of the trea- furer’s accounts at Portfmouth, where by far the greateft number of the fhips and recalls are paid ; Mr. Edward Falkingham, a clerk in that branch of the office of the controller of the navy that relates to the payment of feamen’s wages ; and by Mr. William Paynter, the chief clerk in the ticket office. A fhip’s book, with its four co- pies, is made out in the fhip; it contains the names, and certain ne- ceflary circumftances, of all the per- fons entitled to wages in that fhip ; the two oppofite pages are divided into a variety of columns, with a tithe at the top of each column; eighteen of thefe columns are for defalcations, that is, deduétions or abatements that are to be made out of their wages at the time of pay- ment: four ‘of thefe are conftant, certain deductions ; they are intitu- led, the cheft, the hofpital, the three pence in the pound, and, the ma- rine ftoppages. The other fourteen are cafual. The wages of an able feaman are twenty-four fhillings a month: this is part of the four pounds per man per month, voted annually by parliament for the maintenance of the feamen: from this fum of twenty-four fhillings, and from the monthly wages of every warraut and petty officer, there are two conftant dedu@ions; one fhilling for the cheft, and fix- pence for the hofpital. The one fhilling is divided into three parts, for three different purpofes; fix- pence of it is paid to the cheft at Chatham, for the fupport of hurt and difabled feamen; four-pence ’ is paid to the chaplain; and two- pence to the furgeon. The fix- pence is applied to the fupport of gl Greenwich 342] Greenwich hofpital ; and the month- ly pay of the commiffioned officers is alfo fubject to the fame deduc- tion. The three-pence in the pound is a deduétion from the pay of all commiffioned and warrant officers, for the purpofe of paying the wi- dows penfions. The marine ftop- pages are; one-penny a week from the wages of the private men, three half-pence of the corporal and drummer, and two-pence of the fer- jeant, applicable to the fame boun- ty. The cafual deductions are ei- ther for articles fupplied to them, which they are to pay for out of their wages; or for wages that have been advanced to them, or remit- ted by their order; or certain muléts incurred by them. : The fhip’s book, being formed with thefe divifions, is fent, with the four copies, from the fhip to the pay office of the navy at that port where the fhip is to be paid, with all the columns filled up except the eight following; the cheft, the hof pital, the three-pence in the pound, the marine ftoppages, the full and nett wages, the fums-remitted at the pay of the fhip, and, neglect. The firft fix, depending upon the time of the fervice of each perfon, cannot be filled up until that time is fully afcertained by examination, on the day of payment; neither can the next, as being a tranfaction upon that day. The column of negleét, which contains the mulcts and fines, is filled up fome time before the payment. * The officers and feamen, entitled to wages upon any fhip’s book, may be paid, cither before the pay day of that fhip, or upon that day, or between the pay day and the mak- ing up of the book, or after the book is made up: each of thefe times of payment is attended with # Aaa alas a CC nS ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. fome difference in the mode. The payments on the pay day are made, and payments upon recalls, that is, between the pay day and the mak- ing up of the books, are either made or fet off upon the fhip’s book it- felf; all the circumftances of each payment being there entered, that book becomes the evidence of fuch payments: but payments made, ei- ther previous to the pay day, or fubfequent to the making up of the books, are not made upon the books, but upon lifts, or by tick- efs, which lifts or tickets contain all the circumftances, and are the evidence of {uch payments. A payment upon the pay day, which is generally the principal payment, is in this manner:—The full wages of each perfon applying are calculated, and entered in the full column; the open columns of defaications are filled up: the total of his defalcations, both certain and cafual, being caft up, and deduéted from his full wages, leaves the nett wages; which are paid to him, and entered in. the proper column. No date is fet in the book againft the names of the perfons who are paid upon this day; but the indorfement of the day upon the. book, ferves for the date of all thofe payments; after that day, the book, at what- ever port it may be, remains in the pay office there, until it is final- ly clofed, for the purpofe of pay- ing upon recalls; which is done in the following manner: A litt of the claimants entitled to wages from fhips that have been paid, is fent from the fhip where they are on board, to the pay office at the port; this lift is examined with the fhip’s books that are in the office; and the perfons upon, the lift who can be paid, are difiinguifh- ed from thofe who cannot. The current Ss hA Te eurrent number in the fhip’s book is entered upon the lilt, oppofite the name of the perfon, that he may be the more eafily found upon the book when he comes to be paid. The lig, thus correéted, is returned to the captain : who fends on fhore, under the-care of a commiffioned Officer, thofe men who appear upon the lift entitled to receive their wa- ges: they are paid each upon the book of that fhip to which he be- longed, and the date cf the day he is paid upon is fet oppolite to his name. Where the lift contains the names of men belonging to fhips whofe books are not at that port, the pay clerks apply to the pay officcrs of thofe ports where the books are, for extracts ; that is, for copies of the entries relative to thofe men, in the books from which they ‘feverally claim their wages: upon the re- ceipt of thefe extracts, the lift is corrected by them, in fuch a man- ner as to inform the captain which of thofe men he may fend to be paid ; and, that thefe payments may be fet off upon the proper fhip’s books, the account of the extracts, that is, of the men thus paid, is fent _ every quarter to the feveral ports. In payments by litts, either pre- vious to the pay day of the hip, or after the fhip’s book is made up, ' or by tickets, the name, time of fer- vice, defalcations, and other cir- cumftances of each perfon, are tran- feribed from the book of that fhip from which he claims his wages, into the lift or ticket. Each entry is an exa¢t copy of the entry rela. tive to the fame perfon in the thip’s book ; and it mutt be fo; for other- wife the remaining defalcations, and _ the fall and nett wages, could not be calculated; After this is done, PA, BIEVER By: [343 where the payment is by lift, pre- vious to the payment of the fhip, or by ticket, the wages are calculated; the open columns ail filled up ; and if by lift, the nett wages ar¢ paid ; or if by ticket, that ticket is #lign- ed upon the treafurer for payment of the nett fum therein mentioned ; and in both thefe modes, to prevent double payments, the fhip’s book is marked, oppofite the name of each perfon, in what manner paid, an by what treaiurer. : A payment, fubfequent to the making up. of the fhip’s book, is made upon a |ift of arrears, that is, a book that contains the mame of each fhip, and the names and cir- cumitances, extracted from the fe- ~veral fhips books, of all perfons paid after the books on which they claim wages have been made up and finally clofed. All fhips books are at prefent made up and remain af- terwards at the navy office in Lon- don. A claimant upon fuch books muit firft apply for his wages to the navy board: they refer to the fhip’s book lodged in the ticket office; and if he appears. to be entitled, they order him to’ be entered and paid upon the lift of arrears, and his*sname is marked upon the fhip’s book as paid in that imanner, and by what treafurer. 'Thefe diferent modes of payment vary the vouchers of the treafurer. The previous lift or ticket is a voucher for the total. of the nett fums contained in the lit, or for the fingle nett fum in the ticket, for that'treafurer who pays it, whether he continues in ofhce Jong enough, or not, to pay the book from whence the lift or ticket is extraéted. ~ When_a book is finally made up, the defalcations oppofite the names of thofe perfons, who have been [7 4] paid, gia] ANNUAL REGISTER, paid, either by previous lifts or tickets, and of thofe who remain un- paid, are entered in the proper co- lumns. ‘The defaleations of each are caf up, and the total entered in the celumn of full wages. Every column is caft up to a total, and the treafurer, whofe book it is, is allow- ed, and that book {9 filled up is his voucher, for the total flim in the co- lumn of full wages; but as he has paid the feamen, not their full but their nett wages only, he difcharges himfelf of the difference, .that is, of the defalcations, by the receipts of the purfer, or other perfons entitled, to whom he has paid them; and if he has not paid all the defalcations, he charges himielf with what re- mains unpaid i in his yoluntary charge of the year, in which he has credit for that fhip’s book, and this re- mainder is afterwards paid by the treafurer in office by a defalcation lift. “The keeping open the fhips books fo long as they are at prefent, pre- vents’ "the after-claimants from be- ing very numerous, and confequent- y the lift of arrears from being very fe infomuch that it ferves as 4 fingle voucher only, for the amount of the nett fum of the payments made upon this lift by a treafurer, during his whole treafurerthip, and that nett total fum is entered as one payment in his final account. ‘From this defcription of the modes of paying fhips now in ufe in the havy Oflice, i it appears, that there does at this time exit a method, by which a {ubfequent treafurer pays claimants upon fhips books p:id by and belonging to his predecefior, after they are finally c.ofed and made up; and this metnod is by a jit of arrears, Suppofe, then, all the fhips books paid upon by a trea- furer were, upon his refi ignation or ge. th, to be immediately laid by, 1790, and all payments upon them tq ceafe: could the fucceeding trea- furer, by the fame means, pay all the remaining claimants upon thofe books, without any material incon- venience, either to the feamen or to the pay office? This depends upon the difference which the fubftitution of the lift of arrears in the place of the thips books will occafion in the payments, The previous application ‘by~ the claimant to the navy board mutt be » difpenfed with. ‘The fhips books, inftead of being fent to the navy office after they are clofed, mutt re- main at the out ports as they do now. Lifts of arrears, dittinguithed from thofe ufed after the fhips books are made up, muft ke kept there ag weil as in London. 'Thuis far there feems to be no difficulty. At pre- fent, if a fingle claimant appears upon a recall, his fhip’s book is ex- amined, his name found, his wages are calculated, the open columns of defalcations and the columns of wa~ ges filled up, upon the fhip’s bock, If he i is paid upon the litt of arrears, his fhip’s book is equally examined} the fame calculations and the fame entries are made; but in the one cafe the entries are made in the fhip’s book, and in the other, upon the lit of arfears; and befides this, the original entries appearing upon the hin’ s book are copied fi from thence into the lift ofarrears: and 1 this is thé only di titerence between the two methods of payment. As this copy- ing takes up time, the payment up- ona lift of arrears is longer than the payment "pon a fhip’s book, by the length of time it takes to tranfcribe thefe entries. Upon in{pettion of a fhip’s book made up, and of a lift of arrears, the. entries tranf{cribed appear to be, the name of the claimant, the current number, STATE PAPERS, number, the quality, the times of - entry and of difcharge, with from three to five catual defiications; for though there are fourteen co- jumns for cafual defaications, yet there are feldom entries made in More than five of them; and thele are ufually for cloatis of different kinds, tobacco, and the two months advance. The name’ of the fhip likewife, to which the claimant be- Jonged, is entered upon the lift; and, to prevent overpayments, the fhip’s book j is marked, oppolite the name, as paid by lift of arrears. From inthe entries arifes all the ad- ditional trouble to the pay clerks, and delay to the eamen, by the fub- ftitution of the lift of arrears in the place of the thip’s books. ' As there are now, at every pay- ment upon recalls, befides the com- miffioner, his clerk, and a fecond clerk in the treafurer’s office, three pay clerks, with each a fhip’s book in which the fame entries are made; fo at a payment upon a lift of ar- rears there mutt be the like number of clerks and lifts, and the fame entries made in each lift; but tran- feribing i into che tye lifts will take up no more time than the tranfcrib- ing into one, if an attending clerk reads thé entries in the fhip’s books, whilf the other three tranfcribe them into their lifts. Where the pumber of claimants is not great, the time it takes to tranfcribe thefe articles cannot be very confiderable, Where the payment is in confe- quence of a lilt {ent from the fhip, which is the usual courte, and where extraéts are to be procured, there is always time enough to tran{cribe the entries before the lift is returned §o the captain; and’ in this cafe the actual payment is more eafily tranf- [345 aSted; for where the claims arife upon different fhips, as all are en- tered upon the lift of arrears, the rouble of turning to each fhip’s book is avoided. In payment ef thefe lifts care mu‘t be taken that the captain fends on fhore to be paid all who are returned to him capable of being paid, that the payment upon the lift of arrears may be com- plete. A fick man may be paid af- terwards, or if a man is prevented from ‘coming at all, his name may be ftruck out of the lift. There is one inftance, and the only one that cccurs to us, in which the time taken up in tranfcribing may be material; that is, where, upon a fhip’s being paid off, a num- ber of her men are turned over to a fhip under failing orders, and the captain applies for their immediate payment: in this cafe, at prefent, the commiffioner goes on board with his pay clerks, and pays the men that are turned over upon the fhip’s book; was he to pay them upon a lift of arrears, it might poffibly take up near double the time, and the fervice would be fo far retarded. This cafe can happen only in time of war; and where the fervice prefles, and the captain has not time to fend on fhore a liit of the fea- men who are to be paid; and where the vacancy of the treafurerfhip happens between the pay day of the fhip’s book and the time when the men turned over call for their wa- ges. As fo many circumftances muft concur, and confequently the cafe can rarely exilt, we do not think the inconvenience that may arife in this one accidental event, counterba- lances the mi public advantages that certainly: ‘attend it in every other 346] other event; and confequently, that the propofed regulation ought not therefore to be rejected. But the time employed in paying the feamen upon the fhip’s books, as well as upon lifts of arrears, may, im our opinion, be shortened, and the pay clerks be relieved from fome part of their trouble. The fums applicable to the cheft, and the *hof- pital, the three pence in the pound, and the marine ftoppages, are de- duétions, after a certain rate, out of the wages of the officers, feamen, and marines: we applied to the commiffioners of the navy, to know by. what authority thefe deduétions are made: from their-returns to our requifion, we colleé& the following information. The copy of an inquifition taken at Rochefter in the fifteenth year of James‘the firft, before commiffioners of charitable ufes appointed to en- quire into the ftate of the fund be- longing to the cheft at Chatham, recites the origin of the payment of the fix perice (part of the deduction of one fhilling) to the cheft at Chat- ham: an extract of fo much of it as relates to the fubject matter before us, we have inferted in the Ap- pendix; and from thence it appears, that this deduction commenced in the year 1590, and was a voluntary gift and tontribution of a certain portion of their refpective wages, by _ the mafters, mariners, fhipwrights, and feafaring men, then employed” im the fervice, to be a perpetual re- lief for hurt and maimed mariners, carpenters, and feamen. The four pence to the chaplain, and the two pence to the furgeon, which. are the remaining parts of the one fhilling dedution under the ' title of the cheft, are very ancient. ‘The commiffioners ofthe navy have ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. not been able to trace them to their origin. One thilling was the abate- ment in the cheft column in the year 1685. ' The deduétion of fix pence under the title of the hofpital, is ordered, by the act of the 7th and 8th cf William the third, chap. 21it, to be made from the wages of the feamen, and applied for the better fupport of Greenwich hofpital. An order of the board of admiralty, dated 3d September 1696, direéts the navy board to carry this at into execution. : His late majefty king George the fecond, in confequence of a volun- tary agreement of the officers of the navy, by a commiffion dated the 30th Auguft 1732, diretts that the three pence in the pound fhall be from that time abated from the perfonal pay and half pay of officers therein deicribed, for the relief of poor widows of commiffioned and warrant officers of the navy, and appoints commiffioners for conduét- ing this charity: this commiffion was carried into execution by an order of the board of admiralty dated 29th September 1732, di- rected for that purpofe to the com- miffioners of the navy. The marine ftoppages are direct- ed by an order of the fame board, dated 2d September 1756. _ Where a fund is to be created and eltablifhed for apublic purpofe, a grofs-fum is better calculated for it, than a fum compounded of va- rious deductions: the one is fimple, eafy, and certain; the other com- plex, troublefome, and uncertain. ‘The-commiffioners of the admiralty and of the navy muft have full | —< ss" _. knowledge what fums have been — iffued every year out.of the fea pay, to ‘the chef at Chatham, Green- with SMA TEP A PE RS. wich hofpital, and the fund for the telief of poor widows, ever fince their inftitution. . ‘They may con- jecture, from the experience of * many years; what will be the wants ' and fupplies, of thofe charities, in every. poflible fituation of the navy. The wages.of the.officers and fea- men is the fund for them all. . No reafon, then, occurs to us, why, on fettling the navy eftablifhment every year, certain portions of that fund fhould not be appropriated to the fupport of thefe charities, to be if- _-fued, from time to time, by the treafurer of the navy. At prefent, he advances to all of them {ums on account, and upon calculation: neither the commiffioners, nor truf- tees for thefe charities, can know their income from thefea pay for any one year, until feven or eight yearsafter that year is expired. They cannot. know it, until the books of all the fhips paid in.that year are " made up; and the books are now in arrear as far back as the year 1775. The fame. boards muft likewife be acquainted with the incomes of the [347 minal exceeds the real, an ignorang mind fufpects fraud, and.a weak one is deceived by an imaginary income. “As the modes fuggefted of pro- viding for thefe charities, and. of paying the chaplains and furgeons, appear to us to be practicable, they ought, in our opinion, to be fubfti- tuted inthe place of the modes in ufe; one confequente of which will be, that the four columns.of the chett, the hofpital, the three-pence.in the pound, and, the marine floppages, are rendered ufelefs, and may be left out of the fhips’ books. There is another defalcation, which, in our opinion, ought to be omitted for the future, as not an- fwering the end propofed; that is, the deduétion under the title of ve- nereal cures. This is.a payment to the furgeon of 15s. for every cure; and is directed to be charged againit their wages by an order of the board of admiralty, dated oth of April 1756. Before that year, the mult upon the feaman was 1/. 105. for every cure; the order reduces it to.15s.; and flates, among other reafons for the reduction, “ that this great charge on the feamen did not prevent the evil.” If a-certain pecuniary. mul& was not fevere enough to prevent the offence in the year 1756, half that mulét can hard- ly be i{uppofed more efficacious in _ chaplain and furgeon of every hhip, _ of whatever rate in the navy; at ~teafi they know what is a proper _ and adequate compenfation for their feveral fervices. What objection, _ then, arifes to the allowing to each _, of them, inftead of thefe deduétions, one ftated, certain, annual, falary, according to his ftation, payable Out of the fund of wages? _ Ttappears, in our judgment, a ge- neral, ufeful regulation, wherever it is practicabie, to take away the dif- tinction. between nominal and real Wages and falaries, that-the reputed compenfation for fervice may be the fum actually received, that every man may know the price of his Ja- bour and abilities. Where the no- the year 1782. A punifhment that neither correéts the offender, nor ’ deters others, is in jitfelf.an, evil, from which the fubjeét fhould be re- lieved ; and therefore, we think the furgeon fhould attend to. every difeafe of the feamen at the public expence, and be allowed a certain compenfation adequate to his, fkill _ and trouble. ‘The omiflion of thefe five columns in the fhips books, will accelerate the payments, 348] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. payments, both upon the books and ‘upon the lifts of arrears, by as much time as is now taken up in making the calculations and entries in thofe columns. The calculations, (how- ever eafy they may be to perfons accuftomed to them) and the entries, though fhort, yet being numerous, mutt, Jike the tranfcripts into the lifts, take up fome time. A book of a firft rate, for fix months, has contain- ed the names of fifteen hundred eighty-fix perfons : upon the pay- ment of as many of thefe men as are fearnen, fums mutt be calculated, and entries made in two columns at leaft. Where time is fo valuable, every portion of it is worth faving. From this examination into. the effect that the fubftitution of the lift of arrears, in the place of the fhip’s books, will have upon the payment of the feamen, we are led to be of opinion, that if, upon the death or refignation of a treafurer, all the fhips books paid by him are im- mediately clofed, the fucceflor may pay all the after-claimants left un- paid upon thofe books, by lilts of ar. rears, without creating either delay or difturbance in the pay of the fea- men; efpecially if the number of entries upon the lifl ofarrears be re- duced, by the omiflion of the five columns of defalcations above men- tioned. It remains to» be feen, whether this alteration will caufe any confufion in the accounts of the treafurer. A fhip’s book, paid by him, will be made up in the fame manner it is now. It willbe paid upon by one treafurer only, and will be his voucher for the total {um contained in the column of full wages ; for which fam he will have credit in his ac- count of that year in which the book was paid. , ‘Phe account of his payments by lifts of arrears will be varied. At prefent, the books being kept fo long open, the after-claimants are few; and one entry ferves, in his final account, for the whole fum paid by him for arrears duzing the time of his treafurerfhip; and one iift of arrears fuftices fox his voucher; but if he pays upon lifts of arrears, all the perfons left unpaid upon all the bocks by all his predeceffors, thefe payments muft become fo very nu- merous, that inftead of one item in his final account of the total fum paid by him for arrears in the courfe of his whole treafurerfhip, he muft in- fertin his account of every year the total fums paid by him during that year for arrears, at every port where he has a litt; and the lift made up, annually, at every port, will be his voucher for the fums paid at that port: but this alteration will {till leave his accounts clear and un- difturbed. In one branch, this mode will be © of advantage to the pay-office, by fhortening their accounts. . At pre- fent the pay clerks at each port tranf- mit every month to the navy office an account, containing the fums paid by them upon the recalls of every fhip during that month at their re- fpective ports, diftinguifhing the treafurer by whom, paid, in order that each {um may be pofted to the account of the ending of each fhip’s book in the ledger. returns the paymafter of the navy makes out monthly certificates of thefe payments. The places where payments are made upon recalls be- ing four, and the thips books of three treafurers being open for pay- ment, thefe certificates for the month re, — ——— 2 a a Ste aes a een t= pg Ps ye tees From thefe .— of Auguit laft were twelve ; that of . ( Mr. Ellis contained the payments upon three hundred fifty-two fhips; that of Colonel Barré, upon one ~ hundred $ TAT EAP APE RS, hundred and ten; befides that of the treafurer in office. Had thefe pay- ments been made upon lifts of ar- ‘rears, they would have been all ‘made by the treafurer in office, and there would have been four returns only, each containing a fin: Je arti- cle, being the amount of al] the pay- ments upon the liit of arrears at that port du:ing that month, and pofted in the ledger to the account of pay- ments on lifts of arrears; fo that, in- itead of four hundred fixty-two feparate articles inferted in the re- turns, entered in the certificates, and potted into the ledger, four en- tries only would have been made_in each, and confequently twelve en- tries would haye ferved inftead of thirteen hundred eighty-fix, for thefe payments in that month only. If the fhips books of a treafurer may be clofed upon his death or re- fignation, that which is affigned as the principal caufe for the delay in making up his accounts is removed : not that this caufe is wide enough to cover the delay. The fhips books are in arrear feven years only, but the accounts are in arrear above twenty years; and this delay refts with the office of the treafurer; for the materials which compofe the accounts of the year 1762, are not complete in the office of the auditors of the impreft; the reafon given for it is, a want of officers and clerks properly qualified to make up the accounts in arrear; for which the remedy is obvious. This examination has enabled us to form an opinion upon another on of moment tothe public. The egiflature have, in the laft {effion of en. introduced into the of- e of the paymafter general of the forces a regulation, which, as it feems to us, may be applied as beneficially [349 to the office of the treafurer of the navy. ‘The cuftody of the cafh ap- plicable to the navy fervices, may be transferred from the treafurer to the bank of England, and the ac- count only of the receipts and pay- ments be kept in his office. All the {ums now received by him may be received by the bank: fums from the exchequer may be imprefted to the bank: fums dire&ed by the letters of the different boards to be be paid to him, may be direéted to be paid into the bank: “All bills af- figned upon him for payment may be paid, and all extra payments may be made by his drafts upen the bank. The payment of the feamea, the artificers and labourers in the yards, and the perfons in the hofpi- tal fhips, and on the half pay lifts, muft be carried on in the fame man- ner it is now; thefe men cannot be paid by drafts ; they mutt have cath; and with that cafh the pay clerks muft be entrufted, as they are at prefent, and the treafurer muft con- tinue to be refponfible for them, as for officers of his appointment and under his control; but this will be no obftruction to the regulation. The money may be all ifiued to the pay clerks by the drafts of the trea- furer upon the bank, according to the requifitions of the navy board, m like manner as many of theie fums are iffued at this day; and up- on the death or réfignation of a treafurer, the balances of his cath in the bank, and in the hands of his pay clerks, may be ftruck immedi-. atcly,\ and carried over to the ac- count of his fucceflor. In'this fitua- tion the treafurer, neither receiving nor paying public money himfelt, can be neither debtor to nor credi- tor of the public, except as far as he may be refponfible for his clerks. On 350] On pafling his accounts, the bill in- dorfed, or requifition of the navy board, is both his authority and voucher for his draft. The draft indorfed is. the voucher for the bank to prove their payment. If thefe, accounts agree (and they ought frequently to be compared together) it is highly probable that they are both right. The only remaining fource of de- Tay, in the accounts of the treafu- rer of the navy, that has come under our obfervasion, is the neceflity, a- rifing from the prefent courfe of the exchequer, that thefe accounts fhould pats through the office of the audi- tors of. the impreft. Public ac- counts ought certainly to be fully and accurately examined fomewhere. The officer entrufted with public money fhould give an account what he has done with it; and the pub- lic have aright to the fatisfaétion of knowing, that their money has been applied to the purpofes for which they gave it. The treafurer of the navy is an of- ficer merely minifterial: He neither receives nor pays in confequence of any judgment of his own; but as he is directed, or according to lifts pre- pared for him, and rules preftribed him; and therefore to pafs his ac- counts, is no more than to fee that he has an authority, and a correct voucher, for every payment he claims to be allowed. We learn from the information of George Marth, efq. one of the com- miffioners of the navy; and from Jonas Hanway, efq. one of the com- miffioners of the vid alling ; and from Mr. Nathan Crow, chief clerk tothe commiffioners of fick and hurt, that the commiffioners of each office are entrufted with the power of mak- ing all contracts, whether for the m ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. purchafe of ftores or materials, or - for the performance of fervices in their feveral departments: that cer- tain officers are appointed or offici- ally bound to fuperintend the execu- tion of the contracts; and no pay- ment is directed to be made but up-, on the certificate or teftimony, in, fome fhape orother, of thefe officers that the contracts have been execut- ed to the amount of the demand with honelty .and fidelity, and according to the terms andconditions of the en- gagement. Certain officers of thefe boards, in their refpective depart-; ments, compare the bills with the terms of the contraéts, and examine the computations and caftings. The. cemmiflioners, relying upon their accuracy and fidelity, affign the bill fo examined upon the treafurer for payment. The treafurer, be- fore he tranfmits his account or ledg~ er to the auditors of the impreit, ends the feveral parts of it to-wlif-, ferent branches of the navy, viétual- ling, and fick and hurt offices, with the vouchers,;,the. officers whofe, bufinefs it is,an, thefe. departments, compare the articles.in the ledger with their correfpondent vouchers,: and with the entries in their books. of office; this examination warrants: the fubfcription of the commiffioners of the navy to the ledger entries. The auditor. compares the abftrac- with the particular items that com-. pofe it: he recafts and recomputes+ the compound articles, and makes, fome alteration in the arrangement’ of others. te From this ftate of the progrefs of. thefe accounts, -it feems to us that the accounts of the treafurer of the navy are in fact not audited by the auditor of the impreft, but by the. commiflioners of the navy. To the commiifioners of the_fe- veral 2 S Ful TE veral boards is committed the im- portant truft of making and decid- ing-upon the execution of all con- traéts. They are the fole judges of the reafonablenefs of the terms, and of the fidelity with which they are fulfilled: they dire&t the payments or fums to be advanced on account, _ confequent to the complete or part | performance of the-cogtraéts. Hence _ they are the ultimate judges of the _ ground and confideration of every _ payment. Thefe powers mutt be entrufted fomewhere without ap- peal; andwhere, to all appearance, ‘fo. properly as with the prefiding * efficers of the feveral boards, fub- je& to the fuperintending eye of parliament ? : Of this material branch of an audit, the auditor of the impreft has moO cognizance: from the nature and conttitution ‘of his: office, he is not competent to examine into the _ he could examine, can he be quali- fied to decide upon the propriety of them? Neither does he fee any vouchers (except for the few extra payments): he relies upon the _ teftimony of the commiflioners of the navy (a teftimony he is bound not to call in queition) that they _ exilt, and warrant the entries: he does no more, in faét, than what has been previoufly, and to all appear- _ anee fufficiently, done to his hands in the navy office, except the dif- pofing of certain articles in different _ orders; which, as far as it is ufeful, _ tay eafily be adopted in the office _ Of the treafurer; where they are ~ now profiting by his example in the arrangement of the infupers. Errors may certainly efcape the navy and _ other officers, The auditor difco- vered an error, inthe account of the ' year 1759, of a double charge of »” grounds of thefe payments; or, if. PAP BARS, [3st eighty-feven pounds ten fhillings: and, extend the chain of re-exami- nation to any given length, the pof- fibility of error muft exiit in the laft link, The auditor himfelf is not perfect: errors in his accounts have been difcovered in the pipe office, and corrected by him. Since, then, the accounts of the treafurer of the navy are, in effe@, pafled, and with fufficient care and accuracy, in the offices to which they feverally relate, and the moft im- portant parts of the examination are intrufted to thofe officers without control, it feems reafonable to fup- pofe the computations and caftings, generally the bufinefs of clerks in otice, may, with equal fafety, be finally committed to the fame deci- fion. ’ We are therefore of opinion, that auditing the accounts of the trea- furer of the navy, in'the office of the auditors of the impreft, is unne- ceflary, and may be difpenfed with; that the proceedings of that office upon the accounts of the treafurers now before them fhould ceafe, and the materials relative thereto be re- turned to the office of the treafurer, and that-the auditors fhould be re- lieved and difcharged from all at- tention to them for the future. Pafling public accounts without the intervention of the auditors of the impreft, is no novelty in the ex- chequer. ‘Thomas Rumfey, efq:*, deputy auditor of the -excife, in- formed us of the manner in which the accounts of the duties under the management’ of the commifioners of excile are pafled.- Thefe com- miffioners are all jointly account- able for the fums received and paid’ by them on account of the excife, and other duties committed to their truft; they do not pafs their ac- counts . 321 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Counts in the office of the auditors of the impreft, but in that of the auditor ef the excife ; an office in- ftitated for that fpecial ‘purpofe.. The accounts they pafs every year, are, fixteen cafh accounts, and fe- venteen general accounts. Ail ex- cept the malt are made up to the sth of July. Each cafh account contains the account of the weekly receipts and payments of the com- miflioners themfelves only, relative to one or more duties. It is made out by the accountant general in whofe department thofe duties are. After examination, it is fworn to by all the commiflioners, before the curfitor baron of the exchequer, about the May following; after which, it is delivered to the auditor of excife, with all the vouchers: he examines them, and reduces the ac- count into the official form of the exchequer: he makes out,two parts, ene on parchment, the other on pa- per, as is done in the office of the auditors of the impreit. ; Befides thefe cath accounts, the general accounts are likewife made up every year by the accountants general, to the fame period. Thefe eneral accounts are more compre- Fonfive than the cafh accounts. They contain all the receipts and payments of each particular duty by every collector throughout the kingdom, and at the office in Lon- don : they are figned by the refpec- tive accountants general, and deli~ vered ta the auditor with the vouch- ers. He examines and reduces them into the like official forms, and makes out fimilar parts of them, ‘They are not fworn to by any one. Both the cafh and general accounts are figned by the deputy auditor of ex- cife, declared every year, ufually in June or July, before the chancel- -clarations in his own office. ‘lutely neceflary that all lor of the exchequer, and fignéd by him and two lords of the treafury ; after which, the auditor delivers the parts on parchment to the king’s remembrancer, and retains the de- The total charge upon the commiffioners of excife, for the yeat 1778, was 7.479,6132.; the total difcharge was 5,656,829 /. We ind lkewife, from the ex- amination of Mr. James Roulands, fitft clerk in the office of James Wet, efq. one of the auditors of the land revenue, that the accounts of the receivers general of the land tax, window tax, and of feveral other duties, are not pafled in the office of the auditors of the impreft, but in the office where he is em- ployed. Since, then, the courfe of the ex- chequer does not render it abfo- ‘ public accounts fhould be pafied in the of- fice of the auditors of the impreft, we fee no reafon why the navy ac- counts may not proceed in the like train with thofe of the excife. Of thefe duties the commiffioners them- felves are the accountants; and therefore a diftin& office is ap- pointed for the paffing them; but in the navy, the treafurer being the” accountant, and neither appointed by, nor fubjeét to, the commiflioners, his accounts may, without danger of collufion, be completely, as they are now in by far the moft material part, pafled by the commiffioners of the navy ; they may be reduced into. the exchequer form in the treafurer’s office, adopting from the auditor his arrangement of the articles, and may be pafied through the exchequer offices. All thefe public accounts, in whatever office pafied, are drawn up chequer; and, after declaration, the part on parchment pafies through the three feveral offices of the king’s _remembrancer, the lord treafurer’s remembrancer, and the pipe. We endeavoured to learn, from the of- ficers employed in thefe departments, to what purpofe thefe accounts were . pafled through fo many offices. Adam Martin, ef. the firit clerk in the office of the king’s remem- brancer; and John Perrott, efq. firft fecondary in the office of the lord treafurer’s remembrancer ; and Mr. Peter Sykes, deputy to the firft fecondary in the pipe-office, inform us, that a flate or abftract of every public account, after it is pafled, is | up in the official form of the ex. vo } — two firft the infupers are inralled verbatim; butin the lait, the grofs fum only, fet infuper, is entered upon the roll without the names, unlefs where there are but few of them. . This inrollment is the re- cord of the a¢count in each office; and, in the office of the king’s re- membrancer, warrants the procefs that iffues againft the accountant, whether it be the ordinary proce(s of diftringas ad computandum, or the fpecial procefs of capias ad computan- lum, or any proceis for recovering a debt due to the crown. No ge- neral procefs can iffue from this of- fice; unlefs founded on matter of re- ‘cord in the office: but, in the two Other offices, the inrollment feers to be of no ufe; no procets iffues from either of them, in confequence , or grounded on that record. The Tong writ, which is the procefs that ifiues out of the office of the lord treafurer’s remembrancer, is ground- ed “pon the nichil record tranfmit- fd to then: from the pipe-cffice. Vou. XXXxXil. ni. Sew ae. Ts BOP ACPI RSs. inrolled in thefe offices, and in the [353 On the roll of foreign accounts in the pipe-office, which contains the abftraéts of all the public ac- counts, no procefs: whatever iffues, The words, either “ guietus ef,” or “be is quit,’ are written at the bottom of every abftraét upon the roll, and a copy is delivered to the accountant, which is his-quietus. Public accounts, or abftracts cf them, ought to be inrolled, and the. records of them preferved in fome office or other: but enrojling them in. three different branches of an office, feems to be more than is ne- ceflary. In that of the king’s re- membrancer it is neceflary, as the ground for the procefs; and that inroilment anfwers all the purpofes ofa record; it may be confulted for information, or it may be pro- duced, if wanted, in evidence: the other two feem utterly ufelefs, and may, therefore, be difpenfed with, and the fees faved to the public. The fees paid to the pipe for the uietus upon Mr. Grenville’s ac- count for the year’ 1759, were eighty-one pounds ten {hillings. The account itfelf being lodged in this office, a very fhort abftraét, with the quietus fubfcribed, may be delivered ‘to the accountant as his final difcharge. ' An account in the exchequer form is in Engtith, but contains fome Latin terms. ‘The impreft roll is all written in an abridgement of the Latin language. The fums in both are exprefled in characters that are, in general, corruptions of the old text, and are in ufe no where, that we can ,find, but in the exchequer; charaéters very hable to miftakes, inconvenient and trou- blefome even to the officers them- felyes: the fuims fo exprefled can- {2} nat i 354] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. not be caft up. Mof of the ac- counts in the exchequer are made up twice; firft in common: figures, that they may be added together; and then turned into Latin, and the fums entered in the exchequer figures: and, that the high numbers in a declared account may be un- derftood, they are written in com- mon figures under the charatters. They are defettive, having no cha- racters to exprefs high numbers, as millions; they are unintelligible to _ the perfons either receiving, or hav- ing other money tranfaCtions at the exchequer. The act of the ath of his late ma- jefly, chapter 26th, « to remedy “the mifchiefs arifing from pro- * ceedings in courts of juftice being “in an unknown language, and in **a character not legible to any «but perfons practifing the law,” dire&s that all fuch proccedings fhall be in the Englifh language, to remain involved in myftery and obfcurity. : Simplicity, uniformity, and per- {picuity, are qualities of excellence in every account, both public and private; and accounts of public | money, as they concern all, fhould Le intelligible to all: nor is this learning in danger of being lof; the bent of the antiquarian, and the intereft of the keeper of records will preferve it. The ufe of the Englifh langnage, and of the common figures only, will fave the time and trouble of the officers; a confideration of weight, in an office where, at this time, the receipt and iflue is of above thirty millions each in the rear. As fuggefting means for con- tracting the public expences is one great end of our inflitution, to which every act exprefsly points our at- tention, we enquired what faving and written in. a common leaiiapy ou accrue to the public ‘from thi hand and character, and in word at length, and not abbreviated. This act is declared, by the fixth of the fame king, chapter 6th, not to ex- tend to the court of the receipt of his majefty’s exchequer; but that their officers fhall carry on the bu- finefs according to the ufual forms and practice. No reafon is fated in the act, or appears to us, for this exemption; and therefore we are at liberty, without the imputation of impeaching the wifdom of thofe times, to fay, that the many incon- veniences attending this practice, call for the extenfion of the aé& of the fourth of George the fecond, to the court of the receipt of his ma- jefly’s exchequer. li does not feem reaionable, that this fhould be the only court whofe. proceedings are s exemption of the accounts of the treafurer of the navy from the jurifdiction of the auditors of the impreft: to this end, we required from that office a lift of the expences attending the paffing the account of the year 1759, which had been un- der our confideration. ; The lift tranfmitted to us, con- tains fees to the amount of 1,278 /. 4s.\2d.3 of which the fum paid in the office of the auditor is 1,091/. gs. 6d. he auditor himfelf has ~ a fee of one hundred pounds a year; | and at the rate of twenty pounds | for every hundred thoufand pounds contained in the charge, deducting ~ the balance in the preceding ac- _ count. . Hence, if thele accounts | are immediately withdrawn from 7 the auditor, the faving. will be, in | his STATE his fees alone (omitting thofe to the deputy and clerks) one hun- dred pounds for every year fince 1761, that is, 2,100/. for every 100,000/. on above 70 millions, which are yet to pafs his office (exclufive of what the voluntary charges of the treafurers may a- PS meat a = cei i ial mount ‘> in thofe years) that is, together, upwards of 16,000/. de- _ ducting a reafonable compenfation for the trouble they have had in examining thofe parts of the ac- counts otf the years fubfequent to the year 1761, which have been delivered into the office. The an- nual faving for the future will de- pend upon the navy eftablifhment of the year. Thus have we endeavoured, by fuggeiting fuch regulations as ap- _ pear to us beft calculated for the purpofe, to remove the caufes of delay that have hitherto retarded the accounts of the treafurer of the navy. The benefits intended to refi from them are—to fecure the public money from mifufe ;—to reduce the outftanding balances for the navy fervices;—to enable the treafurer to end his bufinefsS with his office, and to pafs his accounts with reater facility and expedition; _ and, fhould he retire in difguft, to | déprive him of the power of dif- turbine the pay of the navy, by a refufal to carry on the payment of _ the fhips ;—and, finally, to further the plan of ceconomy, by lopping | off fome branches of expence. | The annual faving propofed by _ the regulation does not appear very _ confiderable; when compared with ©) the fupply of the year, it vanithes ; but fuzh is the ftate of the public ®, finances, that favings comparatively PAPERS. — [agg minute are not to be neglected: to reduce an enormous. public debt, indifpenfably requires a fyftem of general ceconomy ; an ceconomy co- extenfive with the receipt and ex- penditure of the public revenue, and that pervades every branch of both; and, though the favings in each branch, feparately confidered, may, . to minds accuftomed to the con- templation of millions, appear be- neath attention, yet of fuch favings is compofed an aggregate, that grows to. an obje&t, and conftitutes the fund for redemption. Powerful and eifeétual may be the operation of a principle univers fally diffufled, and fteadily adhered to;’ and upon fuch an operation only depends the charaéter of na- tional juftice, the fupport of national credit, and the prefervation of the public welfare. Every reform muft proceed by degrees; it fpreads wider and fafter, in proportion as regulations are formed, adopted, and carried into execution. ‘The exigency of thefe times demands that every regula- tion, if approved, fhould, as foon as it is formed, be applied to its proper object, that a ftop may be put, as foon as pofible, to every unneceflary and improper expence. The weight of debt prefles; and procraftination both increafes the prefiure, and more and more @m- barraffes the means of relief; and, for this reafon, we have thought it incumbent upon us not to defer our report until we had proceeded fur- ther in the inveltigation of the of- fice of the auditors of the impreit; but to fubmit to the wifdom of par- liament the regulations that have thus far occurred to us, applicable to the office of the treafurer of the navy, a 356] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. navy, to the end that no advantage Office of Accounts, whatfoever, that can be derived Surrey Street, * from the execution of the important December zoth, 1782. tru repofed in us by the legiflature, 4 may, by our negle& or delay, be i e Beanie sss eh withheld, for one moment, from the Ricu. Neaveg, oe S.}. public. Sam. Bracnerort, (L.S.} Gso.Drummona. (L.S.} ‘ CHARAC: CHARA % Biographical and Literary Anecdotes of Haller; from Coxe’s Travels in Switzerland, vol. ii. ~ WPERNE has produced few men highly eminent in literature; but has eftablifhed her glory in be- ing the birth-place of the celebrated Haller. Albert Haller, the youngeft of five brothers, was born on the 16th _ of O&ober 1708. His father, Ema- nuel Haller, a citizen of Berne, . practifed the law as an advocate with great fuccefs; and in 1713 removed from the capital to Baden, where he was appointed fecretary _ of that bailliage. Although many accounts are ufu- _ ally related concerning the early ge- _ nius of diftinguthhed perfons, which do not always deferve implicit cre- dit; yet the premature abilities and application of Haller are incontef- _ tably proved. When he had {carcely _ attained his fifth year, he was ac- _ cuftomed to write the new words, " which he recollected to have heard _ in the courfe of the day. His pro- _ grefs in the languages was fo rapid, that in his tenth year he could tranf- late from the Greek, and compofed _ for his own private ufe a Chaldaic emi a Greek and Hebrew exicon. His paffion for letters was alfo fo general and ardent, that, Vor. XXXII. CT ERS. about the fame period, he abridged from Bayle and Moreri an hiftorical dictionary, comprifing above two thoufand lives, and diftinguifhed himfelf by a fatire in Latin verfe againft his preceptor Abraham Bail- lodz, a perfon of confiderable learn- ing, but of a capricious and morofe difpofition. Such unwearied application, and fach aftonifhing progrefs, ina youth of his years, ought to have enfured the approbation and encouragement his family. On the contrary, father, who had deftined him to the law, reproved his growing tafte for polite literature, was particularly offended at his inclination for poe- try, as likely to draw him from the feverer occupations, and objected to the variety of his purfuits as too defultory and fuperficial, He did not confider, that, during childhood, the principal requifite of education is to infufe a tafte for application in general; and, that when the bafe of education is rendered as broad as poffible, it may always, like a pyra- mid, be reduced to a point. But neither his father’s repeated exhor- tations, nor his preceptor’s fevere admonitions, could oblige the youth to confine his ftudies to one objec, or check his infatiable thirft for ge- neral information, In this manner he was educated z unti 2 until 1721, when, on his father’s death, he was removed to the public {chool at Berne. He was placed in a clafs far above his age; and ufa- ally wrote in Greek the exercife, which he was expected to compofe in thé Latin tongue. In 1723, he obtained permiffion to accompany a young friend to Bienne, in order to be inftructed in philofophy by the father of his compaiion, who was a celebrated , phy‘fician. But his new preceptor being a bigot te the Cartefian {chool, Haller fooh rejeSted with difdain that logic and philofophy, which tended to cramp his genius rather than extend his knowledge ; and continued to cultivate hiftory; poetry, and polite literature, but with as little order and method as - might be expected from his years. Haller, during his refidence at Bienne; began a cuftom, which he afterwards followed through life, that of writing his opinion of the books which he perufed, and mak- ing large extracts froma them. His genius being alfo awakened by the romantic fcenery of the country to poetical enthufiam, he compofed various pieces in the epic, dramatic, and lyric ftyles. He was at this, time fo entirely abforbed in this favourite ftudy, that, on a_ fire breaking out in the houfe in which he refided, he rufhed into his apart- ment, and refcued his poetry from the flames, leaving his other papers, with little regret, to deftrnéction. Afterwards, when a more mature age had ripened his judgment, he was frequently heard to fay, that he had preferved from the flames thofe compofitions which he then thought the fineft productions of human genius, in order at a future ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. period to confign them to deftruc- tion as unworthy of his pen. In this period of life, Haller com-> pares himfelf to a wild plant, which is left to grow without pruning; and this very circumftance. was pro- bably the principal caufe of his fu- ture proficiency, and the foundation of that univerfal knowledge, to which he afterwards attained. e had been originally intended for the law: but his active mind could not fubmit -to follow a pro- feffion which would limit his ingui- ries; which entirely depended on precedentand authority ; and which, to ufe his own quotation from Ho- race, in a letter to his friend Bonnet, © obliged him, Furare in verba magifiri. And although he could not fubmit © to the fhackles of that narrow phi- lofephy, fo ftrongly recommended and enforced by his new preceptor, yet he appears to have been prin- cipally determined by his advice to dedicate himfelf to phyfic; the ftudy of which comprehends fuch a variety of literary’ purfuits, as feemed congenial to the zeal and activity of his capacious mind. He had no fooner formed this refolu- tion, than he adopted a more regu- lar and uniform plan, than he had hitherto been able to purfue. For this purpofe he removed, towards the end of 1723, to the univerfity - of Tubingen, where he profecuted his ftudies with that unwearied ap- plication, which never forfook him, under the profeffors Elias Camera- rius and Du Vernoy. From Ca- merarius he learned thofe found principles of rational philofophy,. which teach us firt to doubt, and afterwards. to believe; and which are CHARACTERS. 3 fare as far removed from credulity on one hand, as from {cepticifm on the other. From the lectures of Du Vernoy he imbibed his firft tafte for botany, and made fo rapid a _ progrefs in the ftudy of anatomy, that his mafter predicted, from fe- veral differtations, his future pro- ficiency in that line. Notwith- ftanding, however, his ftrong and | invariable attachment to thefe two branches of natural hiftory, he re- prefents himfelf as ftudying invita minervd, again nature; anatomy though he could not fupport bad “fmells, and botany though he was extremely fhort-fighted. At Tu- _bingen he alfo diftinguifhed his _ knowledge in mineralogy, by re- _ futing the error of Tournefort, in _ aferibing to foflils a vegetating | power. _ During his continuance in that _univerfity, he gave an inftance of ! his early controul over his paflions ; _a difficult conqueft for a young man “of ftrdng feelings and lively imagi- “nation, A fingle deviation into _excefs, into which he had been hurried by the example of fome of his fellow-pupils, fo greatly affetted a perfon like him, no lefs enamour- _ ed of virtue, than fufceptible of in- i aay fhame, that he inftantly ormed a refolution to abftain from “wine; and adopted a ftriétnefs of Morals, which renders highly pro- bable the affertion of his French _ encomiaft, the Marquis de Condor- cet, that he was defcended froma family, in which piety might be “Maid to be hereditary. In 1725, Haller repaired to Ley- den, to which place he was drawn by the great reputation of Boer- haave. Here he found a more am- ple field for a difplay of his abilities, the improvement of his mind, He became the favourite fcholar of Boerhaave, by whofe example and encouragement he ftrengthened his growing inclination for botany. He nated down his maiter’s lectures on the Inftitutes of Medicine with fuch precifion, as afterwards gave birth‘ to one of his moft ufeful publica- tions. He continued his anatomical ftudies under Albinus, juft then rifing into fame, and the venerable Ruych, who fo highly improved the art of injecting anatomical prepara- tions. The precarious ftate of his health, probably occafioned, or at leaft in- creafed, by his intenfe application, induced him to accompany two of his countrymen through part of Germany. On his return, in 1726, he received his dottor’s degree, though only in the nineteenth year of his age; and publifhed on that occafion his inaugural diflertation de Dudu falivali Cofchwixiano. In 1727 he vifited England, was favourably received by Chefelden, Douglas, and Sir ‘Hans Sloane 5 and improved his knowledge of me- dicine and furgery under the aufpi- ces of thofe celebrated men, and by diligently attending the hofpitals. At Paris, whither he next di- rected his courfe, he ftudied botany under Geoffroy and Juffieu; ana- tomy under Le Dran and Winflow, a celebrated furgeon. Winflow was indeed his favourite matter, to whom he ‘particularly attached himfelf; whom he propofed to his difciples as the beft model for their imitation, as an anatomift who, fhackled by no iyftem, defcribed fimply and faithfully what he himfelf obferved in his diffections. Haller had propofed to continue his travels to Italy, that country where medicinal knowledge firft). Bz revived (4 revived in the darker ages, and where, Smit with the love of facred fong,” he might indulge his enthufiafm and improve his tafte in claffical litera- ture. The uncertain ftate of his health, the maladie du pays, which fo remarkably affects the Swifs in fo- reign parts, and on which he has compofed a poem, together with the advice of his friends, prevailed over his inclination, and induced him to return to his native country. In his way to Berne he ftopped at Bafle, in order to ftudy mathe- matics and algebra under the céle- brated John Bernoulli; and in this, as well as every other inftance of his life, applied with fuch inde- fatigable perfeverance, as if thofe fciences were to form the fole object of his future refearches. His pro- ficiency in thefe ftudies is futicient- ly proved by feveral treatifes ftill extant in manufcript, which he compofed on arithmetic and geo- metry, and particularly by his re- marks on the Marquis de l’Hofpi- tal’s Analyfis of Infinitefimals ; and his attachment to them by his being deeply employed in a profound cal. culation on the day of his marr lage. But though he made fuch a progrefs as aftonifhed Bernoulli: himfelf, he continued his other purfuits, being appointed to reac leGures on ana- tomy during the ficknefs of the profeffor : while he felfilled the duties of that office, he alfo attended the lectures of Tzinger on the sare parts of medicine; thus at the fame time difplaying, with equal pro- priety, the dignity of a profeflor, and the humility of a pupil. During the fummer of 1729, he, im company with his friend John Geiuer, made an excurfion into the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. mountains of Switzerland; an ex- curfion rendered memorable by its fuggefting to him the plan of a Flora Helvetica, and by infpiring his poem on ‘the Alps, which he compofed in the z1ft year of his age; a poem as fublime and im- mortal as the rountains which are the fubje&t of his fong. Not to interrupt thefe biographi- cal anecdotes with a chronological detail of his poetical productions, lL fhall juft mention, that, not long after his poem on the Alps, he wrote his ethic epiitles, on the Imperfec- tion of Human Virtue, on Super- {tition and Infidelity, on the Origin of Evil, on the Vanity of Honour, Various Satires, Doris, a Paftoral on his firft wife, and his much-ad- mired Elegy on her death, Itis a convincing proof of Haller’s verfa- tile genius and extraordinary men- tal powers, that he fhould have fo eminently excelled in poetry, which, except in his early youth, he never confidered otherwife than as an © amufement, either to foothe him un- der affliétions, and inthe bed of fick- nefs, or to confole him for the envy and neglect of his contemporaries. ‘The foundett German critics place Haller among the moft eminent of © their poets ; and confider fublimity as the grand characteriftic of his writings. They acknowledge, that he improved the harmony and richnefs of his native tongue; that he poffefied the higheft powers of invention and fancy; great origi- nality both in bis ideas and lan- guage; that he is the true colourift of nature; that he founded the depths of metaphyfical and moral fcience; that he equally excels in picturefque defcriptions, in foft and delightful imagery, in elevated fen- tunents, and philofophical precifion.” A few 3 C HA R’A . A few fupercilious critics have re- _ proached his poetry with occafional obfcurities ; and accufe him of hav- ing introduced a new language _ affectedly averfe to the common modes of diction. Cold criticifm may cenfure; but twenty-two fuc- ceflive editions of his German poems, and the tranflation of them “into the principal languages of Europe, prove, that they potlefs the ' great aim of poetry, that of pleafing _ and interefting the reader. And it ~ may be remarked with truth, that » although Haller’s ftupendous la- bours in erudition and icience ren- _ der his poetical talents of inferior account; yet that if he had confined by himfelf to poetry, that alone would have immortalized his name. But it is time to follow Haller to his native city, where he returned, 7 in 1729, expecting from his coun- _trymeu that refpect and patronage, » tie had fo liberally received abroad. )* Ge had, however, the mortification Pio experience that negleét, and even ® envy, to which every man of genius ® is expofed iti his own country, and E Which he feems to have augmented © by his fatirical compofitions. ») Hecontinued three years without PPhaving the intereft to procure any } ae employment; and, though ne prevailed on government to efta- at blith an anatomical theatre, and gave ) lectures gratis; yet he did not fuc- )) ceed in obtaining the place of phy- 3 fician to the hofpital, which he much ) defired. He alfo folicited a pro- WP felforthip, and was again repulfed, ” He feems to have fenfibly felt thefe _ difappointments, and expreiled his -, impatience ‘and indignation in his fatirical poems. Inftead, however, ~ of damping his activity or abating "the ardour of his genius, he re- _ doubled his application and fervices ey EF ARUSS 5 in order to force himfelf into public Watice,” to. His literary reputation began now to {pread itfelf by various bo- tanical, anatomical, and medical publications, and by a collection of poems, which firft made its appear- ance in 1732. , At length, in 1736, he received, unfolicited on his part, the offer of the profefforfhip of phyfic, botany, and furgery, in the univerfity of Gottingen, newly eftablifhed by George the Second. - Notwith- fianding, however, all the advan- - tages and honours which accompa- nied this offer, he, for fome time, hefitated whether ‘he fhould accept it. He had, in 1731, efpoufed\a young lady of good. family, whofe “great beauty and accomplifhments were rendered {till more endearing by her affectionate fubferviency to his manner of life. She had brought him three children; and thefe’ ties attached him more ftrongly to hiss native place, where his merits had procured him many fincere fliends ; and the air of which he confidered as in fome refpeét neceflary for the continuance of his health. On'the contrary, the honour of being in- vited by fo great a monarch, the dignity of the eftablifhment to which he was called, and the confideration of having a more ample theatre for the improvement ‘of his knowledge, induced him to remove to Got- tingen. During feventeen years, in which he refided at Gottingen, where. his abilities expanded in proportion as his opportunities of acquiring know- ledge increafed; he obtained ‘frdm government the eftablifhment of a botanical garden, which he fuper- intended, of an anatomical theatre, a fchool for midwifery, and a col- B43 lege ; 6 lege for the improvement of fur- gery. He formed the plan for a \ Royal Society of Sciences, of which he was appomted perpetual pre- fident. The comprehenfive mind and verfatile genius of Haller, united with his unremitting diligence and ardour, in all his purfuits, enabled him to cultivate with uncommon fuccefs, a variety of knowledge. Had not the great Swede pre-occu- pied the field, it is probable, that Haller would have ftood the firft among his contemporaries as an im- prover of botanical knowledge. In 1742, his great botanical work on the plants of Switzerland, the refult of fourteen years ftudy, made its appearance. It was. entitled, | Enumeratio Methodica Stirpium Hel- _wetie, in z vols. folio. It was the ‘moft copious Flora the world had ever feen, comprifing 1,840 fpecies, . and was enriched with feveral ad- vantages, that rendered it fingularly ,acceptable. ‘The preface contains "a compendious geographical de- _{cription of Switzerland, and of the _ Alps particularly; an account of all the authors who- had written on the plants of that country; the re- _ ¢ital of his own journies; acknow- ' Iedgments to thofe who had affifted him; concluding with the order and method he means to purfue in this work. NEI _ [We muft refer our readers for a more detailed account of the bota- nical and medical works of Haller, to Mr. Coxe’s valuable letter, from which thefe extracts are taken. ] - He proceeds to inform us that ' Halier’s emoluments augmented as _his merits: were difplayed ; and ho- “nours flowed upon him from all quarters. He was elected, in 1748, into the Royal Society of Stock- \ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1460: holm, into that of London in 1749, and in 1754 chofen one of the eight foreign members in the Academy of Sciences at Paris. In 1739, he was appointed phyfician to George the Second, and king’s counfellor in 1740. In 1749, the emperor Francis conferred on him letters of nobility at the requeft of George the Second; and about the fame tume the king, in a vifit which he paid to the univerfity, diftinguifhed Haller with particular marks of ap- probation. He declined, in 1745, an invita- tion to Oxford, which would pro- bably have terminated in his nomi- nation to the profefforfhip of bo- — tany, vacant by the death of the celebrated Dillenius ; a fecond from — the univerfity of Utrecht; and, in 1750, a third from the king of Pruffia, with the offer of a very con- fiderable penfion. At length, in 1753, induced by the precarious ftate of his health, by the defire of removing. from Gottingen, which he called the grave of his wives, and by his earneft anxiety to dedicate the re- mainder of his days to the fervice of his country, he took a journey to Berne, in order to procure an eftablifhment, which, though no adequate to his prefent appoint- ments, might place him in the bofom of his beloved Switzerland. — His grateful country rewarded this difinterefted attachment with the moft liberal and unbounded confi- dence, and employed his talents in the public fervice. In 1757, he was fent to reform the academy of Laufanne; and, in the following year, was deputed © by the Senate to examine fome cu- rious remains of antiquity lately difcovered at Culm. About the fame / ee ee a Re at we ee Se ee ee = oS Se OCikionw Rt Cx Te RS, fame time he was appointed direc- tor of the falt-works at Bex and Aigle, with an annual falary of £500. During the term of this ' appointment, which continued fix years, he refided at La Roche. On his return to Berne he was elected member of the chamber of appeal for the German diftrict, of - _ the council of finances, of the com- mittees for matrimonial affairs, and for improving the {mall livings in the French diftriét of the canton; he was alfo appointed perpetual af- feffor of the Council of Health, with.an annual falary of about £,. 100, as a token of his country’s gratitude for having declined fo many {plendid offers from foreign courts, and for preferring his na- tive place to the advancement of his fortune. In 1766, and the following years, this great man, who had hitherto enlightened fcience from his clofet, difplayed in the theatre of public life the more active and diftinguifhed parts of a patriot and politician. He re-eftablifhed the harmony and _ dettled the difputes between the Val- =~ lais and the canton of Berne by a fuccefsful negociation, in which he fixed the new boundaries of the two ftates; he was affociated with the moft enlightened characters of the _ repubiic in terminating the diffen- i tions of Geneva; he drew up the Principal difpatches to the court of Verfailles on the fubject of the _ changes which had been projected -at Verfoi, on which occafion he - held a perfonal conference with the French ambafiador; and was em- ployed to prepare the plan ofa treaty, which the canton of Berne contracted with the Elector of Ba- varia relating to the purchafe of fal. 7 He refumed his literary labours, which had been neceffarily inter- rupted amidit his other more impor- tant avocations. He publifhed, in 1768, his hiltory of Swifs plants, mentioned above ; and, in 1771, the firft part of his Biéliotheca Me- dicing, or his Medical Library. Eight volumes of this work were publifhed during the author’s life- time, between the years 1771 and 1778. The anatomical, including the phyfiology, the botanical, and ~ the chirurgical, were each com- prifed in two volumes, and bring down the refpective {ubjects nearly to the prefent time. ‘Two, on the practice of phyfic, were publifhed by Haller himfelf, a third after his deceafe by Dr. Tribolet, and a fourth by Dr. Brandis of Childen- fheim, from the manofcript of Haller, which the learned author has confiderably augmented. Haller alfo employed the latter period of his life in fending extras from eminent publications for the Bibliotheque _ Raifonnée; furnifhed many ahs articles for the fupple- ment to the Paris Encyclopédie, for the quarto improved edition of the fame work publifhed at Yverdun, and for the digtionary of natural hiftory printed at the fame place. He meditated alfo a new edition of his great phyfological work, of which he put forth the firft volume in 1777, only afew months before his death. His aétive imagination brooding on the civil and political affairs, in which he ‘had been lately engaged, produced, between 1771 and 1774, his three political romances, Utong, Alfred, and Fabius and Cato, which treat of the defpdtic, monarchical, and republican governments. In Ufong he tketches, with a mafterly B 4 band, $ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790, hand, the abufes of abfolute autho- rity, and fets forth, in the charatter of the principal ‘perfonage, the happy effects which may be derived from a virtuous and intelligent fo- vereign, even amidft the horrors of oriental defpotifm. Iz Alfred he difplays the advantages of a limited monarchy, wherein the balance of power is ‘wifely diftributed ; and which, while it avoids the extremes of either, enjoys the benefits of both. In Fabius and Cato he defcribes, with an animation and {pirit worthy of ancient Rome, but with a partia- lity natural to a republican, the arif- tocratical government as moft friendly to the difplay of patriotifm, and moft congenial to the exertions of genius.. In :thefe romances he difcovers found principles of legifla- tion, great political fagacity, adeep infight into human nature, and a - moit extenfive acquaintance with hiftory. If we confider Haller as a man of piety and a Chriftian, we fhall ob- ferve him tracing, from a compre- henfive view of the creation in its grandeft-as well as in its minuteft parts, the zeceffary exiftence of a Su- preme Being, and the great princi- ples of natural religion. We thal] fee him demonftrating the divine origin of Chriftianity from a pro- found ftudy of the New Teftament, from the excellence of its morality, its manifeft influence over the hap- pinefs of mankind, and its tendency to meliorate our nature; and we fhall find him proving himfelf, both in his life and writings, a zealous friend and able advocate of the re- vealed doétrines. ' Haller, at a very early period of his life, undertook the defence of natural and revealed religion on all occafions. In 1732 he declared, in Nis preface to his poetry, that he was firmly convinced of their truth; in 1747, he rejected with horror the dedication which La Metrie offered to prefix to his work entitled « I’ Homme Machine;? and he de- clared, in various literary journals, that he neither acknowledged as his friend, or his difciple, a man who entertained fuch impious notions. In a preface which’he publifhed in 1751, to Formey’s abridgement of Crouzas’s “ Examen du Pyrrho- nifme,” he paints, in the ftrongeft colours, the dreadful effects of infi- delity both on féciety and indivi- duals. He alfo put foith, in the erman tongue, “ Letters to his Daughter, on the Truth of the Chriitian Revelation ;” he publifhed an, extract from Ditton’s * Truth of the Refurrection of Jefus Chrift,’” which he acknowledges to have firft cleared any doubts he might enter- tain on that fubject. He avows, at the fametime, that he received infi- nite fatisfaction from the ftudy of the New ‘Lettament, becaufe he was never more certain of holding con- verfe with the Deity, than wkea he read his «w// in that divine book. _In 1775, he finally gave to the public, alio inthe German language, «© Letters concerning feveral late Attempts of Freethinkers yet living againft Revelation.”” In this work the atithor examines and refutes the objections to Chriitianity, advanced in fo lively and cangerous a manner by Voltaire in his Que/tions furl En- cyclopédie. tion,” adds Sennebier, “ may be confidered as an. Index to the Doubts and Arguments again? the Chriitian Religion, the work of Haller may be entitled an Index to the Anfwers in favour of the fame Revelation, to be confulted by i - who « If this iatter publica-- Srey getaineh — Ri CHARACTERS. 9 who with impartially to difceufs both fides of this important queftion.”” When learning and philofophy, in- ftead ef being employed in fupport- ing fceptical tenets by artful fo- phiftry, thus lend their united affift- ance to the caufe of religion, they then truly become an honour to the poffeffor, and a benefit to fociety. Even this great and good man was not exempt from a too anxious folicitude for his welfare in.a future ftate. That deprefiion of {pirits, which ought juftly to be confidered as the etreéts of difeafe, and the warmth of his imagination conf{pir- ing perhaps with the narrow princi- ples.of Calvinifm, in which he had been educated, led him to reflect ra- ther on the ju/fice than the mercy of the Deity, and to bewilder himielf in the endlefs mazes of predeftina- tion and grace. In one of his de- {pending fits, he compared himfelf, as uncertain of falvation, to a man placed on the edge of a precipice without any fupport, and expecting every initant to fall. At another moment, animated with a paflion for fciene?, he breaks out, in a letter to his friend Bonnet, into the fol- -lowing exclamation, exprefiive of his'regret to quit a world which he had improved by his difcoveries, and which he might fil! further illa- minate by his zeal and application. « © my poor brain, which mutt re- turn to daft; and all the knowledge aud information which I nave been collecting with fuch unwearied la- dour, will fade away like the dream of an infant.’’ Thefe little weaknefles of a great mind overpowered by conttitutional irritability, and ftruggling againtt early prejudices, are more interett- ing to the man who feels and re- {pects the imperfections of human nature, even in its moft exalted ftate, than the moft pompous and exagge- rated accounts of uxerring wifdom, or uaiform virtue which never ex- ifted. And it isa pleafing fatisfac- tion to learn, that reafon and reli- gion rofe fuperior to the gloomy defpondency of ficknefs; and that Haller met death with the calmnefs of a philofopher, and the faith of a Chriftian. In the laft letter which he wrote, afew days before his de- ceafe, he {peaks indeed of the tre- mendous grandeur of eternity, but with hopes rather than with fears ; and locks back upon his paft life with fatisfa€tion: amidit a few com- plaints uttered on his painful fuffer- ings, he mentions his country with the mof ardent affection, and offers up his laft prayers for its preferva- tion and welfare. He continued his literary labours, and preferved bis fenfes and com- pofure to the laf{ moment ; he be- held his end approaching without fearand regret; «* My friend,” faid he to the phyfician who attended him, “I dic, my pulfe is topped,” and then expired. He died on the 12th of December 1777, in the fe- ventieth year of his age.—Thus lived, and thus died, the great Haller; a man to whom Michaelis, the eminent orientalift, juitly ap- plies an obfervation which had been made on the genius of Ariftotle ; “ Neque celo, neque terré, neque mari quicquam relinguere voluit incog= nitum, indole preterea adeo mirgbili, ut ad fingula natum precipue dicas.” In his perfon Haller was tall and majeftic, of a ferious and exprefiive countenance; he had at times an open {mile, always a pleafing tone of voice, ufually low, and feldom elevated, even when he was moift agitated, He was fond of unbend- ing 10 ing himfelf in fociety, was on thofe occafions remarkably cheerful, po- lite, and attentive; he would con- verfe with the ladies on fafhions, modes of drefs, and other trifles, with as much eafeas ifhe had never fecluded himfelf from the world. Mr. Bonnet informed me, that Haller wrote with equal facility the German, French, and Latin tongues; that he was fo well acquainted with all the European languages, except the Ruffian, Polifh, and Hungarian, as to fpeak with the natives in their refpetive idioms. When he con- verfed on any fcience or fubject of literature, his knawledge was fo extenfive, that he feemed to have made that his particular ftudy. His profound erudition in every branch of fcience, is well known to all who are converfant with his works: but the variety of his information, and the verfatility of his talents, are thus delineated by a perfon who was his particular friend: “ He poffeffed a fundamental knowledge of natural hiftory ; was well read in hiitory both antient and modern, univerfal and particular; and uncommonly verfed in the ftate of agriculture, manufactures, trade, population, li. terature, and languages of the re- fpective nations of Europe; he had read with attention the moft re- markable voyages and.travels; and was particularly converfant in the late ‘difcoveries which tend to il- luftrate the geography of the globe. He had even perufed many thoufand novels and plays; and poffeiied fuch an aftonifhing memory, thathe could detail their contents with the utmoft precifion.”’ As it was his cuftom to make extrzéts, and to give his opinion of every book which came into his hands, as well for his own private ANNUAL REGISTER; 1790. ufe, as for the Gottingen Review, he read moft new publications ; and fo eager was he ufually in the pe- rufal, that he laid them upon the table even when he was at dinner, occafionally looking into them, and marking thofe parts with a, pencil, which he afterwards extracted or commented upon. He was accuf- tomed to make his remarks on fmall pieces of paper, of different fizes, which he placed in order, and faf- tened together ; a method he learn- ed from Leibnitz. He derived from nature extreme fenfibility, or rather irritability of temper, which is ever the child of genius. He fpoke therefore from his own experience, when, in a lettter to Voltaire, he thus expreffed himfelf :—« Providence holds with an equal hand the balance of human happinefs. He has loaded you with riches, he has loaded you with glory; but misfortune was necef- fary, and he preferved the equili- brium by giving you fenfibility. If my wifhes could take effec, 1 would beftow upon you that tranquillity which flies at the approach of ge- nius, which is inferior to genius in relation to fociety, but far fuperior in regard to ourfelves: then the moft celebrated man in Europe fhould be at the fame time the moft happy.” He was always impatient under ficknefs, as well from his extreme fufceptibility of pain, as becaufe he was precluded in that fituation from his literary occupations. He was fond, therefore, of taking violent remedies, more calculated to remove the immediate effects of pain, and to check his diforder, than to cure it radically, In his latter years he accuftomed himfelf to opium, which, operating as a temporary palliative, only -CHARACTERS. only increafed his natural impa- tience. This reftlef{nefs of temper, which occafionally difturbed his tranquillity even in his younger days, and in the full flow of, his health and fpirits, was confiderably heightened by the advances of age, ‘and the diforders which fhattered his frame towards the clofe of his days. His correfpondence in every pe- riod of his life was extenfive, punc- tual, and carried on in the English, French, German, Latin, and Italian languages. Six volumes of Latin epiftles, and three in the German tongue, addreffed to him from men of learn- ing in various parts of Europe, have been given to the public, but his own have never made their appear- ance. It is much to be' lamented, that he feldom preferved any copies, being himfelf too much occupied for that purpofe; and never fufficiently rich to maintain a fecretary. His two principal correfpondents, to whom he opened ‘his heart, were Bonnet of Geneva, and John Gef- ner of Zuric: to the latter he wrote either in German or Latin, ‘to Mr. Bonnet in the French tongue. This celebrated friend of Haller poffeffes feyen manufcript volumes of his letters: it was an uninterrupted correfpondence of twenty - three years; begun in March 1754, and finifhing only a few days before his death, in December 1777. This epiltolary commerce comprehends a great variety of fubjects, princi- pally concerning phyfiology, natu- ral hiftory, the ftructure of the globe, politics, morality, and religion. Haller being accuftomed to confalt his friend on all occafions, to dif- clofe his moft fecret thoughts, and to relate his diurnal occupations ; It thefe effufions of the moment dif- cover the fucceflive train of his ftudies, the progrefs of his difcove- ries, and his gradual advances in knowledge. « Thefe letters of my moft re- fpeétable friend,” added Bonnet, « difplay his genius, his under- ftanding, and the goodnefs of his heart, more fully than any of his publications. His ftyle, concife, energetic, yet picturefque, corre- {ponds with the ftrength and origi- nality of his ideas; and he fpeaks, with no lefs fublimity than convic- tion, of the great truths of natural and revealed religion. Though he treats the numerous advocates for infidelity, and particularly Voltaire, with fufficient feverity; yet his heat is the ardour of conviction, and did not proceed from either pique or fpirit of contradiction: he ieem- ed as if he was perfonally interefted in all queftions on revelation, and pleaded its caufe as if it had been his own. He is no lefs fevere a- gainft thofe writers, who feem to exclude the intervention of a firft intelleftual caufe in the creation and arrangement of the univerfe, and particularly cenfures the materialifts, who endeavour to deduce mecha- nically the formation of organized bodies. In a word, his philofophy was entirely practical, becaufe it was entirely Cnriftian; and nothing fecured his approbation, but what tended to improve the underfland~ ing, or to amend the heart.” I am concerned to find, that the publication of this correfpondence, between two fuch enlightened and virtuous philofophers as Haller and Bonnet, which in fome works had been announced to the public, fhould, on account of private’ reafons, be relinquifhed, Religion, morality, philofophy, ¥2 philofophy, and learning, would be greatly benefited by this epiftolary commerce. Haller’s library, confifting of a- bout 4,000 volumes, was purchafed for £.2,000 by the emperor, for the public library of Milan, where I examined it in 1785. ‘The collec- tion is particularly rich in books of natural hiftory, and is rendered in- valuable from numerous annotations of Haller, written on the margins. Haller was three times married, firft to Marianne Wytifen, in 1731, .who died in 1736. 2. To Eliza- beth Buchers, in 1738, who died in childbed the fame or the following year; both natives of Berne. 3. In 1739, to Amelia. Frederica Teichmeyer, a German lady, who furvived him. He has written and pablifhed the lives of his two firtt. wives. He left eight children, four ~ fons and four daughters, all of whom he lived to fee eftablifhed. His eldeit fon, Gotlieb Emanuel, who was born in 1735, followed his fa- ther’s example in dedicating himfelf to the fervice of his country, and to the purfuits of literature. He was elected member of the Great Coun- cil, and obtained various employ- ments under government, particu- larly the bailliage of Nyon, in which fituation he died in 1786. He dif tinguifhed himfelf as an author by various publications tending to u- Iuftrate the hiftory and literature of Switzerland, and particularly by his Schaveituer-bibliathek, or Swits Library, in 6 volumes $vo. of which he lived to publifh only the frit. In this work, defervedly efteemed for its method and accuracy, the in- defatigable © author enumerates all the books which treat of Switzer- land, in all languages, and all the ; works publifhed by the Swifs on all .§ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. fubje&s. He even defcends to the minuteft articles which have ap- peared in reviews and journals; and in moft inftances, where the publi- cation deferves detail, analyfes the contents, corrects the errors, and gives his opinion on the merits of the performance. I was perfonally acquainted with the learned author, and am indebted to him for fome curious information on Switzerland, and for feveral anecdotes relative to his illuftrious father, which I have introduced into thefe biographical memoirs. Account of the late Mr. *loward; Jrom the Gentleman's Magazine for March 17 790. BOUT the end of the month of February 1790, advice was received, by Mr. Whitbread, of the not unexpetted, yet certainly un- timely death of the eccentric, but truly worthy, Jouw Howarp, efq. —This extraordinary man was the fon of an upholiterer, or itn warehoufeman, in Long-lane, W Smithfield, and was put arprnibe to Mr. Nathaniel Newnham, “a wholefale grocer, grandfather to the prefent alderman,—His father died, leaving only this fon and a daugh- ter, to both of whom he bequeathed handfome fortunes ; and by his will dire&ted that his fon fhould not be confidered of age till he was five- and-twenty. His conflitution was thought very weak, and his health appeared to have been injured by the neceflary duties of his appren- ticefhip ; and therefore, at the ex- piration of it, he took an apartment in a lodging-houfe in Church Street, Stoke Newington, Middlefex; but not meeting with pe tendereft treat- ment to her fifter. C Hah ACC TD BIBS: ment there, he removed to another lodging-houfe in the fame ftreet, which was kept by a widow named Mrs. Sarah Lardeau. Here he was nurfed with the utmoft care and, attention ; and at length he became fo fond of his landlady, that he re- folved te marry her, out of grati- tude for her kindnefs to him. In vain fhe expoftulated with him upon the extravagance of fuch a pro- ceeding, he being about 28, and fhe about 51 years of age, and twenty years older in conititution; but nothing could deter him ; and they were privately married about the year 1752. She was poffeffed of a fmall fortune, which he prefented at Newington, the miniiter of the diffenting meeting-houfe there re- figned his office, and a fucceffor was elected ; and Mr. Howard, who was breda diffenter, and ftedfaftly adhered ail his life to that profeffion, propofed to purchafe the leafe of a houfe near the meeting-houfe, and tO appropriate it as a parfonage- houfe for the ufe of the minifter for the time being, and generoufly con- tributed 50 1. for that purpofe. His wife died November 10, 1755; and foon after he formed a refolution of Vifiting Lifbon, which had been ju before laid in ruins by the earthquake of November 1, 1755. _ About Midfummer 1756, he fet fail for Lifbon, on board the Hanover Packet, which was taken by a French privateer; and he behaved with fo much auteur, fo much & ? Anglois, to the captain of the pri- vateer, as might probably be the caufe of his fuffering fo feverely as it appears he did, (fee “State of Prifons,” pp. 22 and 23, note): and « perhaps what he fuffered on this eccafion increafed” (if it did not'call During: his refidence ’ 3 forth) « his fympathy with the un- happy people whofe caufe is the fub- ject of this book.” —He afterwards, it is believed, made the tour of Italy 5 and at his return fettled at Broken- hurft, a retired and pleafant villa in the New Foreft, near Lymington in Hampfhire, having, April 25, 1758, married Harriet, daughter of Edward Leeds, efq. of Croxton, in the county of Cambridge, king’s fer- jeant. Mrs. Howard died in 1765, in child-bed, of her only child, a fon, who unfortunately kas been for feveral years lunatic, and now is, or lately was, under the care of T. Arnold, M. D. of Leicefter. Before the death of his fecond wife, he lefr Lymington, and purchafed an eftate at Cardington, near Bedford, ad- joining to that of his relation Mr. Whitbread. While he refided ar Cardington, he very much conci- liated the efteem of the poor, by employing them, building cottages for them, &c. Every Sunday he went to Bedford, attended both morning and evening fervice at one of the diflenting meeting-houles, and then returned home. He was univerfally efteemed by the Prefby. terians, Moravians, and all the other fetaries with which that borough abounds; and at the general elec- tion in 1774, offered himfelf with Mr. Whitbread, as a candidate to reprefent it in parliament. They were oppofed by Sir W. Wake, bart. and R. Sparrow, efq. wha were returned ; and Mr. Whitbread and Mr. Howard petitioning, the committee determined that Sir W. Wake and Mr. Whitbread were duly eleéted. In confequence of the act 19 Geo, III. for eltablifhing’ penitentiary houfes, the late Dr. Fothergill, Mr. Howard and Geo. Whatley, efquire, treafurer of the Foundlirig 14 Foundling Hofpital. were, appoint- ed by his majefty fupervifors of them. -The doétor and Mr. How- ard fixed ona fpot for the erection of them, near to that whereon Pen- tonville chapel has fince been erec- ted. Mr. Whatley, on the other hand, infifted that they fhould be built on or near the Ifle ef Dogs: but being fixed in his own opinion, having loft his friend and co-adjutor Dr. Fothergill, and feeing no prof- peét of accomplifhing the butinefs m any way that would be agreeable tohim, in January 1781, Mr. How- ard fent a letter to earl Bathurit, lord prefident of the council, re- quciting his thajefly to accept his refignation of the office. His fifter died unmarried, and left him her houfe in Great Ormond Street, to- gether with-a confiderable fortune qn the funds, which he conftrued into an approbation; on the part of Pro- vidence, of his fchemes for the re- lief of prifoners, and made we of the money accordingly. In i773, he ferved the office of fheriff of the ' county of Bedford. This office, as he obferves, brought “ the diftre/s of prifoners mere immediately un- der his notice;’”? and with a view to its alleviation, he began his la- bours by «. vifiting moft of the county gaols in England,” and af- terwards, “the bridewells, houfes of correction, city and town gaols,” where he found “ multitudes both of felons and debtors” “ dying of the gaol fever and the {mall-pox.”” Upon this fubject he was examined in the houfe of commons, in March 1774, when “ he had the honour of their thanks.” This encouraged him to proceed in his defign: he travelled again and again through Great Britain and Ireland, and alfo into France, Flanders, Holland, ANNUAL) REGISTER, (1790. Germany, and Switzerland; and publifhed « The State of the Pri- fons in England and Wales, with Preliminary Obfervations, and an Account of fome Foreign Prifons, 1777,” 4to. with a dedication to the houfe of commons, dated April 5, 1777- In 1780, he publifhed an ap- pendix to this account, in which he extended the narrative of his travels to Italy, and gave fome obferva- tions concerning the management of prifoners of war, and the hulks on the Thames. This appendix he re-publifhed in 1784; which pabli- cation included alfo an account of his vifit to Denmark, Sweden, Rufiia, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. By this time his character for aétive benevolence had engaged the public attention. It was propofed that a fub{cription fhould be fet on foot to erect a ftatue to his honour, and 15331]. 13s. 6d. was fub{cribed for that purpofe; but fome of thofe who knew Mr. Howard beft, never concurred in the fcheme, being well aflured that he would never coun- tenance nor accede to it: and the event juftified their conduct; for the language that he held upon the fubjeét, when firft advifed of it, was, « Have not I one friend in Eng- land, that would put a ftop to fuch a proceeding?” In confequence of two letters from Mr. Howard him- felf to the fubfcribers, the defign was laid afide; and the contribu tors were publicly invited, either to recall their money, or to leave it to the difpofition of the committee. In 1789, Mr. Howard publifhed « An Account of the principal La- zarettos in Europe, with various Papers relative to the Plague, to- gether with further Obfervations on fome Foreign Prifons and Hof- pitals, and additional Remarks on the CLASAPR AC TE RS. the piefent State of thofe in Great Britain and Ireland,”” with a great number of curious plates. Befides thefe, he publifhed, in 1780, “ Hif- torical Remarks and Anecdotes on the Caftle of the Batftile, tranflated ‘from the French;” and lait year . ~ the Grand Duke of Tufcany’s «< new Code of Criminal Law, with an Englith Tranflation.” Not fatisfied, however, with what he had already’ done, he concludes his « Account of Lazarettos,’’ with anrouncing his “ intention again to quit his country, for the purpofe of re-vifiting Ruilia, Turkey, and fome other countries, and extending his tour in the Eaft. [I am net in- fenfib'e, fays he, of the dangers that mutt attend Tuch a journey. Trutt- ing, however, in the proteClion of that kind Providence which has hitherto preferved me, I calmly and chearfully commit myfelf to the difpofal of unerring Wildom. Should it pleafe God to cut off my life in the profecution of this defign, let not my conduc be uncandidly im- puted to rafhnefs or enthufiafm, but to a ferious, deliberate conviction that I am purfuing the path of duty, and to a fincere defire of being made an inftrument of more exten- five ufefulnefs to my fellow-creatures than could be expected in the nar- rower circle of a retired life.” ‘To a man who holds fuch language, what elfe can be faid, but that the piety and benevolence of his heart deferve univerfal honour? What permanent good may arife from his unwearied, well-intended labours, both in thefe kingdoms and the reft of Europe, time only can fhew. Certain it is, that his plan has been adopted in many of our new-built gaols, and will gradually extend to more. Although the advice of his 15 friends could not poffefs that in- fluence to reverfe his determination to encounter once more the conta- gion of the plague, with all its dif mal concomitants; yet furely that incorrupla fides, that nuda veritas, which actaated his undertaking, fo elegantly difplayed by himfelf in his laft publication, will aequit him of temerity in the progrefs of his benevolent migration. His great abitemioufnefs was probably a mean of prolonging his life in .the midit of his dangers: for a long time po- tatoes were almoft his whole {up- port; at another time they were fucceeded by tea, and bread and butter ; confequently it will not be thought wonderful that he never partook, of the public or private repafts to which he was fo frequent- ly invited. All that remains to be faid upon the fubjeé is, that in his fecond « Tour in the Eaft, it did pleafe God to cut off his life :”’ for, having {pent fome time at Cherfon, a new fettlement of the emprefs of Ruffia, in the mouth of the Dnieper or Boryithenes, toward thenorthern extremity of the Black Sea, near Oczakow, he caught in vifiting the Ruffian hofpital of that place, or as fome fay a young lady who was ill of the fame complaint, a malignant fever, which carried him off on the zoth of January; N.S, after an illnefs of about twelve days: and after having been kept, according to his exprefs dire¢tions to his fer- vant, five days, he was buried, by his own defire, in the garden of a villa in the neighbourhood belong- ing to a French gentleman, from whom he had received great civili- ties, by his faithful fervant who had attended him on his former journeyings, and whom he exprefly enjoined not to return home till five weeks 16 weeks from his death.—In his way to Cherfon, his baggage was found to be miffing from behind the car- riage while he and his fervant re- frefhed themfelves with a nap. On the difcovery of this lofs, Mr. H. haftened back to the neareft town or village where he recollected to have feen a party of Ruffian recruits, whom he charged with taking his property. carriage till a magiltrate could be applied to, his property was brought in, firft a hat-box, and next a trunk; which laft had been found half-buried in the road by the fide of fields where fome men were ploughing ; one of _ whom, ftartled at feeing the nails of the trunk fhine juit out of the ground, was afraid to touch it with- out his companion. When it was opened by Mr. H. every article both of linen and money was found in fratu quo: but fufpicions fell fo ftrong on the recruits, at having concealed it till an opportunity of- fered for them to carry it off and fhare the {poil, that the magiftrate configned {even of them to Siberia. The account given of his death in the London Gazette of the 23d inftant is as follows, and is perhaps the firft initance of the ceath of a private individual being fo an- nounced. “ Warfaw, March 6. Yefterday arrived in this city a per- fon from Cherfon, who brings an account of te death of Mr. How- ard, fo well known from his travels, and plans of reform of the different prifons and hofpitals in Europe, This gentleman fell a victim to his humanity; for, having vilited a young lady at Cherfon, fick of an epidemic fever, for the purpofe of adminiftering fome medical affilt- ance, he caught the diftemper him- felf, and -was. carried off in twelve While he waited in the. ‘ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. : days.—Prince Potemkin, on hear- ing of his illnefs, fent his phyfician to his relief from Jaffy.” Account of the late Mr. Ledyard; from “© Proceedings of the Scciety for promoting the difcovery of the interior Parts of Africa.” fe HIS extraordinary perfon was recommended to the committee of the affociation as emi- nently qualified for undertaking the projected journey into the interior part of Africa. He was an. Ame- rican by birth, and feemed from his youth to have felt an invincible de- fire to make himfelf acquainted with unknown or imperfeCtly difcovered’ regions of the globe. For feveral years he-had lived with the Indians of America, had ftudied their man- ners, and had praétifed in their fchool the means of obtaining their protection, and of recommending himfelf to the favour of favages. In the humble fituation of a corporal of marines, to which he fubmitted rather than relinquifh his purfuit, he had made, with Capt. Cook, the voyage of the world; and feeling, on his return, an anxious defire of penetrating from the North-weftern coait, which Cook had partly ex- plored, tg the Eaftern .coaft, with which he himfelf was perfectly fa- miliar, he determined to traverfe the vaft continent, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. « His firft plan for the purpofe was that of embarking in a veffel which was preparing to fail, on a voyage or commercial adventure, to Nootka Sound, on the Weftern coaft of America; and with this view he expended, in fea-ftores, the greateft part of the money which his chief benefactor, Sir. Jofeph Banks ; 3 my S- CHARA , e _ Banks (whofe generous conduét the _ writer of this narrative has often » heard him acknowledge), had libe- rally fupplied. But the fcheme be- _ ing fruftrated by the rapacity of a __.cuitom-houfe officer, who had feized and detained the veffel for reafons _ -which, on legal enquiry, proved to be frivolous, he determined to tra- _ vel overland to Kamtfchatka; from whence, to the Weitern coaft of _ America, the paflage is extremely _ fhort. With no more than ten gui- of ‘meas in his purfe, which was all _ ‘that he had left, he crofled the Bri- tifh Channel to Oftend, and, by the _ way of Denmark and the Sound, _ proceeded to the capital of Sweden ; - from whence, as it was winter, he "attempted to traverfe the Gulph of _ + Bothnia on the ice, in order to reach Kamtfchatka by the fhorteft way ; _ but finding, when he came to the _ middle of the fea, that the water was not frozen, he retwrned to _ Stockholm, and, taking his courfe _ Northward, walked into the Arétic » Circle, and, pafling round the head of the Gulph, defcended, on its Eaftern we fide, to Peterfburg. . « There he was foon noticed as _-@n extraordinary man. Without ftockings or thoes, and in too much poverty to provide himfelf with _ @ither, he received and accepted an invitation to dine with the Portu- — guefe Ambaflador. To this invi- » fation it was probably owing that he was able to obtain the fum of twenty guineas for a bill on Sir Joseph Banks, which he confefled he had no authority to draw, but _ Which, in confideration of the bufi- ~ wefs that he had undertaken, and of progrefs that he had made, Sir feph, he believed, would not be willing to pay. ‘To the Ambal- fador’s intereft it might alfo be “Wou. XXXL, grt Bans: 19 owing that he obtained permiffion to accompany a detachment of ftores, which the Emprefs had or- dered to be fent to Yakutz, for the ufe of Mr. Billings, an Englifhman, at that time in her fervice. «© Thus accommodated, he tra- velled Eaftward through Siberia, fix -thoufand miles, to Yakutz, where he was kindly received by Mr. Billings, whom he remembered on board Capt. Cook’s fhip, in the fituation of the aftronomer’s fer- vant, but to whom the Emprefs had now entrufted her {chemes of North- ern difcovery. «© From Yakutz he proceeded to Oczakow, on the coaft of the Kamt- fchatka fea; from whence he meant to have pafled over to that penin- fula, and to have embarked on the Eaftern fide, in one of the Ruffian veflels that trade to the Weftern fhores of America; but finding that the navigation was completely ob- firu€ted by the ice, he returned to Yakutz, in order to wait for the conclufion of the winter. « Such was his fituation, when, in confequence of fufpicions not hi- therto explained, or refentments for which no reafon is affigned, he was feized, in the Emprefs’s name, by two Ruffian foldiers, who placed him in a fledge, and, conveying him, in the depth of winter, through the defarts of the Northern Tartary, left him at laft on the frontiets of the Polifh dominions. As they parted, they told him, that, if he returned to Ruflia, he would cer- tainly be hanged; but that, if he chofe to go back to England, they wifhed him a pleafant journey. «In the midft of poverty, cover- ed with rags, infelted with the ufual accompaniment of fuch clothing, worm with continued hardfhip, ex- Cc hauted 18 haufted by difeafe, without friends, without credit, unknown, and full of mifery, he found his way to Ko- ningfberg. ‘There, in the hour of his utmoit diftrefs, he refolves once more to have recourfe to his old be- nefactor; and he luckily found a perfon who was willing to take his draft for five guineas on the Prefi- dent of the Royal Society. «* With this afliftance he arrived in England, and immediately waited on Sir Jofeph Banks, who told him, knowing his temper, that he be- lieved he could recommend him to an adventure almoft as perilous as the one from which he had return- ed ; and then communicated to him the withes of the Affociation for dif- covering the inland countries of Africa. Ledyard replied, that he had always determined to traverfe the continent of Africa as foon as he had explored the interior of North America; and, as Sir Jofeph had offered him a letter of intro- duction, he came directly to the writer of thefe memoirs. Before I had Jearnt from the note the name and bufinefs of my vifitor, I was ftruck with the manlinéfs of his perfon, the breadth of his cheft, the opennefs of his countenance, and the inquietude ofhiseye. I opened the.map of Africa before him, and, tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, and from thence Weitward in the latitude and fuppofed direction of the Niger, I told him that.was his route, by which I was anxious that Africa might, if poffible, be ex- plored.’ He faid, he fhould think himielf fingularly fortunate to ba ‘entrufted with the adventure. I afked him when he would fet out? - £ To-morrow se ns was his an- fwer. te a perfon as Mr. Ledyard ANNUAL REGIST ER;) _ death, attributed to various caufes, of his refearches, and difappointed i 1790. was formed by Nature for the ob- — je& ,in contemplation; and, were we unacquainted with the fequel, we fhould congratulate the Society ~ in being fo fortunate as.to find fuch — a nian for one of their miffionaries ; —but—the reader will foon be ac- ~ quainted with the melancholy cir- cumftance to which we allude. Mr. Ledyard undertook, at his own defire, the difficult ana perilous. ~ tafk of traverfing from Eaft to Weft, in the latitude attributed to the Ni- ger, the wideft part of the continent a of Africa. On this bold adventure — he left London June 30, 1781, and — arrived at Cairo on the 1gth of | Auguft, a Hence he tranfmitted fuch ac- @ counts to his employers as manifeft ~ him to have been a traveller who obferved, reflefted, and compared ; and fuch was the information which ~ he collected here from the travelling flave-merchants, and from others, — refpefting the interior diftri€ts of — Africa, that he was impatient to ~ explore them. He wrote to the Committee, that his next communi- cation would be from Sennar (600 — miles to the South of Cairo): But arrefted him at ‘the commencement — the hopes which were entertained of his proje&ted journey. A bilious.~ complaint, produced by vexatious © delays, induced him to try_too ftrong — a dofe of the acid of vitriol, which © he counteracted by the ftrongeft tar- — tar emetic ; the continued difcharge © of blcod produced by which, haf- © tened his death, and he was buried © at Caire. Extracts from the Li ife of John » Elwes, £/7; 4y Edward. Tophamail E/q. THE HE family name of Mr. Elwes was Meggot : and as his name was Fohz, the conjun@ion of Fack Meggot, made ftrangers fometimes imagine that his intimates were ad- dreifing him by an aflumed-appel- lation. His father was a éreaver of great eminence. - His dwelling- houfe. and offices were fituated in Southwark; which borough was formerly reprefented. in parliament by. his grand-father, Sir George _Meggot. Mr. Clowes is now in poffeffion of the above premifes. He purchafed, during his life, the _ eftate now in poffeffion of the fami- ly at Marcham, in Berkthire, of _ the Calverts, who were in the fame line. The father died while the late Mr. Elwes was only four years old; fo, little of the character of _Mr. Elwes is to be attributed to him ; but from the sother it may be traced at once—for though fhe was left nearly one hundred thoufand _ pounds by her hufband—the farved berfelf to death ! The only children from the mar- riage above, were Mr. Elwes, and a daughter who married the father of the late Colonel Timms—and from thence came the intail of fome part of the prefent eftate. ' At an early period of life he was fent to Weftminfter School, where he remained for ten or twelve years. During that time he certainly had not mifapplied his talents—for he was a good clafical /cholar to the ft—and it is a circumitance not a ittle remarkable, though well au- thenticated, that he never read af- terwards. Never was he feen at any period of his future life with a book, nor has he in all his different houfes now left behind him, books that would, were they collected to- hd »- ’ Cs A Ri A CsT EsRUS: 1g gether, jel] for tavo pounds. His knowledge in accounts was ftiil more trifling—and in fome meafure may account for the total ignorance he was always in as to his own af- fairs. From Wefminfter School, Mr. Elwes removed to Geneva, where he foon entered upon purfuits more agreeable to him than ftudy. The riding-mafter of the academy there, had then to boaft, perhaps, three of the heft riders in Europe, Mr. Worfley, Mr. Elwes, and Sir Syd, ney Meadows. Of the three, Elwes was reckoned the- mo! defperate: the young horfes were always put into his hands, and he was the rough- rider to the other two. On his return to England, after an abfence of two or three years, he was to be introduced to his uncle, the late Sir Harvey. Elwes; who was then living at Stoke, in Suffolk, perhaps the moft perfect pifure of human penury that ever exifted. The attempts of faving money were, in him, fo extraordinary, that Mr. Elwes, perhaps, never quite reached them, even at the laft peried of his life. His poffeffions at the time of his death, were fuppofed to be, at leaf two hundred and fifly thoufand pounds —his annual expenditure was about one hundred and ten pounds ! However incredible this may ap~ pear, it is yet ftrifly true; his cloaths cof him nothing, for he took them out of an old cheft, where they had lain fince the gay days of Sir fervaife. He kept his houfehold chiefly upon game, and fifh which he had in his own ponds; ard the cows which grazed before his own door furnifhed milk, cheefe, and butter, C2 fox 20 for the little economical houfehold. What fuel he did burn, his woods fupplied. © “To this uncle, and this property, Mr: Elwes fucceeded, when he had advanced beyond the fortieth year of his age. And for fifteei yea s jrevious to this period, it wis, that he was known in’ the fathionable circles of London. He had always a turn for play; and it was only late in life, aud from paying always, and not always being paid, that he conceived difgu% at the inclination. The theory wich he profefld, « that it was impoffible to afea’ gen- << tleman for moitey,” he perfectly confirmed’ by the praGtice; and he never viblated this feeling to the Tateft hour of his ‘ife. » On this fubje&t, which regards the manners of Mr. Elwes, gladly I feize an opportunity to fpeak of them with the praife that is their due. They were fuch—fo gentle, fo attentive, fo gendematily, and fo engasing, that rudeneis could not ruffle them, nor ftrong ingratitude break their obfervance. He retain- ed this peculiay feature of the old court to the laft; but he had a praife far beyond this; he had the mot gallant difregard of his own perfon, and all care about himfelf, Lever witneffed in man. Tt is curious to remark, how he then contrived to mingle fmall at- tempts at faving, with objects of the mot unbounded diffipation. Af- * ter fitting up a whole night at play for tvoufands, with the moft fathi- onable and profligate men of‘ the time, amidft fplendid rooms, gilt fophas, wax lights, and waiters at- tendant on his’ call, he would walk out about four in the morning, not towards home, but into Smithiteld !- to:meet his own cattle, which were ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. hy coming to market from Thaydon- hall, a farm of his in Effex. There would this fame man, forgetful of the feeties he had juft left, ftand in the cold or rain, bartering with a carcafs-butcher fir a Jhilling? Sometimes when the cattle did not arrive at the hour he expected, he would walk on in the mire to: meet them; and, more than once, has gone on foot* the whole way to his farm without ftopping, which was feventeen miles from London, after fitting up thé whole night. ' He always travelled on horfeback. To fee hitn fetting out on a journey, was a matter truly curious; his firft care was to put two or three eggs, boiled hard, into his great coat ket, or any feraps of bread which he found—bageage he never tooke-then, mounting one of his hunters, his next attention’ was to get out of London, into that road where turnpikes were the fewelt. Then, flopping under any hedge where grafs prefented itfelf for his horfe, and a little water for himfelf, he would fit down and refrefh him- felf and his horfe together. } q- Inthe life of Mr. Elwes, the lux- uriant fources of, induitry ar enjoy- ment all ftood ftill, He encouraged no art; he beftowed not on any im- provement; he ditfufed no bleffings around him; and the diftrefled re- ceived nothing from his hand. What was got from him, was only obtain- ed from his want of knowledge— by knowledge that was fuperior ; and knaves and fharpers might have lived upon him, while poverty and honefty would have ftarved. But not to the offers of igh in- tere? alone, were his ears open. ‘The making him trifling prefents, or doing bufinefs for him for nothing— were little fnug allurements which, im CHAR‘ AC THER S. in the hands of the needy, always .a table, and an old woman, were drew him on to a loan of money. A {mall wine-merchant who had thefe views—begged his acceptance of fome very fime.cwine, and in a fhort time obtained the loan of fome hundred pounds. Old Elwes. uled ever after to fay, “ Jt was, indeed, wery fine wine, for it cof? him taventy pounds a bottle!” Mr. Elwes, from h‘s father, Mr. Meggot, -had inherited {ome pro- per y in houfes in London; parti- cularly about tne Haymarket, not far from which old Mr. Elwes drew his fir breath—for, by his regifter, it appears, he was born in St, James’s parith. . To this property he began now to add, by engagements with one of the Adams, about building, which he increafed f:om year to year to a very lacge extent. .Great part of Marybone foon. called him her founder. Portland-place and Port- man-fquare, the riding-hcu‘es and flables of the fecond troop of life guards, and buildings too numerous ~ to name, all rofe out of iis pocket. In poffeffions fo large, of courfe it would happen that fome of the fes were without a tenant; and, verefore, it was the cuftom of Mr. ilwes, whenever he went to Lon- don, to occupy any of thefe pre- mifes. which might ,happen to be vacant. He had thus a new way _ of fecing London and its inhabi- - tants——for he travelled in this man- ; ner from ftreet to: ftreet; and when- ever any body chofe to take the 4 heufe where he was, he was always on ready to move into any other, He was frequently an itinerant.for a t's lodging; and though matter | above an -hundyed houfes, he never wilhed to reft-his head long Sisiy he chofe to call his own. A ple of beds, a couple of chairs, 21 all his furniture; and he moved them them about at a minu.e’s warnin The ane which terminated the life of this old woman, is not, the dJeaft fingu'ar among the ‘anecdvtes that are recorded of Mr. E!wes. But it is too well authenticated to be doubted. I had the circumftance related to me by thé late Colonel ‘Timms himfelf. Mr. Elwes had come to town in his u‘wal way——and taken up his abod» in one of his hoxufes that were empty. Colonel Timms, who wifhed much to fee him, .by fome accident was informed that his uncle was in} London; but then how to find im was the dificuity. He en- quired at all the uiual places where at was probable he might be head of: he went to. Mr. Hoare’s, . his banker—to the Mou t Coffee-houle —but no tidings were to be heard of him. Not many days afte wards, however, he learnt from a “perfon whom he met accidenta‘ly, taat they had feen Mr. Elwes going into an uninhabited houfe in G-eat Mar!borou h-ftreet. 'T'uis was fome clue to,Co’oael. Timms: a d away he went thither. As. the bef mode of informaiion, he got, hold of a hairman—but no intelligence could he gain of a gentlemay ‘called Mr, Elwes... Coloacl Timms thea de- fcribed his perfon—but xo gentleman had beenfven. A pot-doy, ho vever,: reco'leéted that. he had feen a poor old maa opening the door of the flable, and locking it after lim 5 and f om every defcription, it igreed with the perfon of old MroE wes., OF courfe, Colonel ‘Timms went, to the houfe :—he kaock.d very loud~' ly at the door—but no one aniwered, Some of the neighbours faid they C3 had 22 had feen fuch a man, but no’anfwer could be obtained from the houfe. On this added information, how- ever, Colonel Timms refolved to have the ftable door opened, and a blackfmith was fent for—and they entered the houfe together. In the lower parts of it—all was fhut and filent. On afcending the ftair-cafe however, they heard the moans of a perfon, feemingly in diftrefs. They went to the chamber—and there, upon an old pallet bed, lay ftretched out, feemingly in death, rhe figure of old Mr. Elwes. For fome time he feemed infenfible that any body was near him; but on fome cordials being adminiftered by a neighbour- ing apothecary, who was {ent for, he recovered enough to fay—“ That he had, he believed, been ill for two or three days, and that there was an old woman in the houfe, but for fome reafon or other fhe had not been near him. That fhe had been ill herfelf, but that fhe had got well, he fuppofed, and gone away.” On repairing to the garrets, they found the o/d awoman—the com- panion of all his movements, and the partner of all his journies— ftretched out lifelefs on a rug upon the floor. To all appearances fhe had been dead about two days. In three fucceffive parliaments, Mr. Elwes was chofen for Berk- fhire: and he fat as member of the hovufé of commons about twelve years. It is to his honours-an ho- nour in thefe times, indeed, mott rare! that in every part of his conduét, and in every-vote he gave, . he proved himfelf to be what he truly was—an independent country gentleman. All this time the income of Mr. Elwes was increafing hourly, and his prefent expenditure was next to no- ANNUAL REGISTER) 1790. thing ; for the little pleafures he had once engaged in, he had now given up. He kept.no houfe, and only one old fervant and a couple of horfes; he refided with his ne- phew; his two fons he had ftation- ed in Suffolk and Berkshire, to look after his refpective eftates; and his drefs certainly was no expence to him; for, had not other people been more careful than himfelf, he would not have had it even mended. When he left London, he went on horfeback to his country feats, with his couple of hard eggs, and without once {topping upon the road at any houfe. He always took the moft unfrequented road—but Mar- cham was the feat he now chiefly vifited; which had fome reafon to be flattered with the preference, as his journey into. Suffolk coft him only ¢wo pence halfpenny, while that into Berkfhire amounted to four- pence! ' When his fon was in the guards, he was frequently in, the habit of dining at the officers’ table there. The politenefs of his manners ren- dered him agreeable to every one, and in time he became acquainted with every officer in-the corps ; amongft the reft, with a gentleman * of the name of Tempett, whofe good-humour was almoit proverbial. A vacancy happening in a majority, it fell to this gentleman to purchafe ; but as money is not always to be got upon landed property zmmedi- ately, it was imagined fome officer would have been obliged to pur-. chafe over his head. Old Mr. Elwes heard of the circuméance, and fent him the money next mor- ning. He afked no fecurity—he had feen Captain ‘Tempelt, and liked his manners; and he never once afterwards talked to him gid c oS the payment of it. On the death of Captain Tempeft, which hap- pened fhortly after, the money was replaced. ‘That Mr. Elwes was no loier by the event, does not take away from the merit of the deed; and it ftands amongit thofe fingular records of his character, that reafon has to reconcile or philofophy to account for, that the fame man, at one and the fame moment, could be prodigal of thoufands, and yet almoft deny to himfelf the neceffaries of life! As no gleam of favourite paffion, or any ray of amufement, broke through this gloom of penury, his infatiable defire of faving was now become uniform and fyftematic. He ufed ftill to ride about the country on one of thefe mares—but then he rode her very ceconomically; on the foft turf adjoining the road, without putting nimfelf to the ex- pence of fhoes—as he obferved, « The turf was fo pleafant to a horfe’s foot!” And when any gen- ' tleman called to pay him a vifit, and the boy who attended in the ftables was profufe enough to put a little hay before his horfe, old Elwes would flily fteal back into the ftable, and take the hay very carefully away. That very ftrong appetite which Mr. Elwes had in fome meafure re- ftrained during the long fitting of parliament, he now indulged moft voracioufly, and on every thing he could find. To fave, ashe thought, the expence of going to a butcher, he would have a whole fheep killed, ‘and fo eat mutton to the—end of the chapter. When he occafionally had his river drawn, though fome- times horfe-loads of {mall fith were n, not one would he fuffer to thrown in again, for he obferv- Chl AcH AcC! TUE. RS. 23 ed, «* He fhould never fee them again !’? Game in the laft flate of putrefaction, and meat that walked about his plate, would he continue to eat, rather than have new things killed before the old provifion was finifhed. : With this diet—the charne!-houfe of fuftenance—his drefs kept pace— equally in the laft ftage of ad/olute diffolution, Sometimes he would walk about in a tattered brown- coloured hat: and fometimes in a red and white woollen cap, like a prifoner confined for debt. When any frienis, who might occafionally be with him, were ab- fent, he would carefully put out his own fire, and walk to the houfe of a neighbour; and thus make one fire ferve both. In fhort, whatever Cervantes or Moliere have pictured, in their moft fportive moods, of avarice in the extreme, here might they have feen realized or fur- paffed ! His fhoes he never would fuffer to be cleaned, left they fhould be worn out the fooner. The feene of mortification, at _ which Mr. Elwes was now arrived, wasalli buta denial ofthe common ne- ceffaries of life : and indeed it might have admitted a donbt; whether or not, if his manors, his fith-ponds, and fome grounds, in his own hands, had not furnifhed a fubfiit- ence, where he had not any thing actually to buy, he would not, rather than have bought any thing, have ftarved ;—flrange as this may ap- pear, it is not exaggerated.—He, one day, during this period, dined upon the remaining part of a maor- hen, which had been brought out of the river by a vat/ and at an- other, eat an undigefted part of a pike, which the larger one had C4 fwallowed, a {wallowed, but had not finithed, and which were tuken in this ftate ina net! At the time this lait cir- cumftance happened, he difcovered a ftrange kind of fatisfaétion, for he faid to me—« Aye! this was killing two birds with one ftone !” {n the room of all commént—of all moral—let me fay, tat at this time, Mr. Elwes was perhaps worth near- ly eight hundred thoufand pounds! and, at this period, he had not made his will, of courfe, was not faving from any fentiment of affec- tion for any perfon. As, in the day, he would now allow himfelf no fire, he went to bed as foon as day clofed, to fave candle; and had began to deny himfelf even the pleaiure of fleep- ing in beets. In fhort, he had now nearly brought to a climax the moral of his whole life—zhe per fed wanity of wealth, On removing from Stoke, he went to his farm-houfe at Thaydon. Hall; a fcene of more ruin and. de- folation, if poflible, than either his houfes in Suffolk or Berkfhire. It ftcod alone, on the borders of Ep- ping Foreft; aud an old man and woman, his tenants, were the only perfons with whom he could hold any converfe. Here he fell ill; and, as he would have no afiiitance, and had not even a fervant, he lay, unattended and almott forgotten, for nearly a fortnight—indulging, even in death, that avarice which malady could not fubdue. It was at this period he began to think of making his will. The property difpofed of to two natural children, may amount, per- haps, to five hundred thoufand pounds. The entailed eftates fall to Mr. Timms, fon of the Inte Richard Timms, Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Troop of Horfe Guards. ) ’ comfortable home. ANNUALYREGIST ER, 1790. _ The clofe of Mr, Elwes’s life was ftill referved for one fingularity more, and wiiich will not be held lefs fingular than all that has paffed before it, when his difpofition and his advanced age are confidered. He gave away his affeftions: he conceived the tender paffion—In plain terms, having been accuftom- ed for fome time to pafs his hours, Out of economy, with the twe maid fervants in the kitchen—one of them had the art te induce him to fall in love with her; and it is matter of doubt, had it not been difcovered, whether fhe would not have had the power over him to have made him marry her. But good fortune, and the atten- tion of his friends, faved him from this laft a&t—in which, perhaps, the pitiable infirmity of atures weakened and worn down by age and perpetual anxiety, 1s in fome meafure to be called to account. Mr. George Elwes having now fettied at his feat at Marcham, in Berkshire, he was naturally defirous, that in the affiduities of ‘his wife, his father might at length find a In London he was certainly moft uncomfortable : but ftill, with thefe ‘temptations before and behind him, a journeys with any expence annexed to it, was infurmountable. This, how ever, was luckily obviated by an offer from Mr. Partis, a gentleman in the law, to take him to his an- cient feat in Berkfhire, with his purfe perfectly whole—a circum- ftance fo pleafing, that the general intelligence which renders this gen- tleman fo entertaining, was not ade- qnate to it in the opinion of Mr. Elwes. But there was one circum fiance ftill very diftrefiing—the of gentleman had now nezrly worn’ his laft coat, and he would not buy ; , _ anew Cm ro Ris €-T EB RiS- a new one; his fon, therefore, with a pious fraud that did him honour, contrived to get Mr. Partis to buy him a coat, and make him a prefent of it.. Thus, formerly having had a good coat, then a bad one, and, at laft, no coat at all—he was kind enough to accept one froma neigh- ur. Mr. Elwes carried with him into : Berkthire five guineas and an half, oe and half a crowa. Left the mention of this fum may appear fingular, it fhould be faid, that previous to his journey, he had c:refully wrapped it up in various folds of paper, that no part of it might be loft. On the arrival of the o/d gentleman, Mr. George Elwes and his wife, whofe “good temper might well be expected to charm away the irritations of ava- Yice and-age, did every thing they could to make the country a {cene of quiet to him. But “ he had that within” which baffed every effort of this kgnd. Of his heart 1t might be faid, «there was no peace in Ifrael.”” His mind, caft away upon the vaft and troubled ocean of his pepe’, extending beyond the unds of his calculation, returned to amufe itfelf with fetching .and carrying about a few guineas, which in that ocean, was indeed a drop. The firkt fymptoms of more im- mediate decay, was his inability to enjoy hisreft at night. Frequently would he be heard at midnigit as if fruggling with fome one in his chamber, and crying out, « J will keep my money, | will; nobody thall rob me of my property !’’ On any one of the family going into his room, he would flart from this fever of anxiety, and, as if wakin loss oui dream, again bhatry _ bed, and feem unconfcious of hat had happened, 25 At other times, when perfeflly awake, he would walk to the {pot where he had hidden his money, to fee if it was fafe. One night, while in his waking ftate, he miffed his treafure—— that great fum of five guineas and an half, and half a crown!’ That great fam which he carried down into Berkthire as his laft, deareft pleafure! That great fum, which at times folaced and diftrafted the lft moments of a man, whofe property, nearly reach- ing to a million, extended 1tfelf al- moft through every county in England! The circumftances of the lofs were thefe :— Mr. Partis, who was then with him in Berkfhire, was waked one morning about two o’clock by the noife of a naked foct, feemingly walking about his bed-chamber with great caution. Somewhat alarmed at the circumftance,’ he naturally afked, «« Who is there??? on which a perfon coming up towards the bed, faid with great civility—« Sir, my name is Eiwes; I have been unfortunate enough to be robbed in this houfe, which I believe is mine, of all the money I have in the world—of five guimeas and -an half, and half a crowa 1” —« Dear Sir,” replied Mr. Pastis, «I hope you’ are miftaken; do not make yourfelf uneafy.”——« O! no, no;” rejoined the old gentleman; “ it’s all trues and reaily, Mr. Partis, with fuch a fum—I fhould have liked to have feen the end of it.” This unfortunate fum was found a few days after in a corner behind the window-fhutter. On the 18th day of November 1789, Mr. Elwes difcovered figns of that utter and total weakne(s, which in eight days carried him to his grave. On the evening of the firlt 26 firft day he was conveyed to bed— from which he rofe no more. His ‘appetite was gone—he had buta faint recollection of any thing about him; and his Jaft coherent words were addrefied to his fon, Mr. John Elwes, in hoping “ he had left him what he wifhed.’? On the morning of the 26th of November, he expired without a figh !—with the eafe with which an infant goes to fleep on the breaft of its mother, worn out with “ the rattles and the toys”’ of along day. Anecdotes relative to the Englith Nation ; from D’Archenholz’s PiGure of England. HE national pride of the Englith is a natural confe- quence of a political conititution, by which every citizen is exempted from any other dependence than that impofed by the laws. This pride is carried among them toa great length. Indeed, how is it poflible to know and to feel all the merit of fuch a fyftem of li- berty, without attaching an uncom- mon value toit? This fame fenti- ment, with which we fo violently reproach the Englifh of the prefent times, has always been felt by the moft enlightened nations in the world. The Greeks and Romans carried it Rill farther. This laudable pride, which with them was united to a lively and fervid patriotifm, occa- fioned thofe hercic actions which will for ever be engraved in the re- cords of immortality. If the mo- Gern aiftory of England be equally filled with glorigns atchievements, itis to alove of their country that all this ought to be afcribed ; a love ANNUAL REGISTER, » enemies, 1790. which, carried to the extreme, as it has been, by -ho © haughty ifland- ers, cannot be conceived without a certain degree of contempt for thofe nations who do not poflefs fimilar fenfations. This fault, if it is .one, is ftill more common amongtt the Spaniards than them; but being founded on no folid grounds, it has become very juftly a fubject of ridicule. The Englith themfelves are hated on this account, although their very at the bottom of their hearts, pay tribute to their extraor- dinary nierit—Envy will glide into nations,’ as well as individuals. There are,. perhaps, no people in Europe who poffefs fo much natural pride as the French: it will be ealy, with a little penetration, to recon- cile this with that urbanity and’ thofe polite manners for which they are fo diftinguifhed. It is under this mafk that the fly Frenchman conceals thofe marks of envy with which he views his Englifh neigh- bours. It was this offenfive pride of the Englith that fo many nations ftrove to humble during the American war. Many even of the ftates of Germany, among whom the {pirit of imitation exercifes fuch a defpotic rule, that they neither think, live, nor exift but after the French, were animated with the fame defire. They carried their madnefs fo far as to forget the blood and the trea- fures, which that nation, in the pre- fent century, has facrificed for the advantage and'repofe of their coun- try. They even wifhed, without knowing why, to fee the fource of her greataefs dried up. It ought, however, to be remark- ed, that the priucipal members of the empire, guided by amore mo an CHARACTERS. and judicious policy, trembled for England; even Switzerland, which was neither conneéted with her by politics nor commerce, offered up continual vows for her preferva- tion. ‘A traveller, more efpecially if he pafies immediately from France into Great Britain, in looking for that politenefs at once fo {plendid and fo trifling, which he has been ufed to, will not fail to imagine the Englifh rude and uncultivated; and this merely becaufe he does not give himfelf the trouble to fearch beyond the furface of their character. Grofley, amember of the French academy, recounts, with fome hu- mour, in one of his letters, a cir- cumftance that happened to him. He had gone to England, preju- diced with the idea, that he was about to vifit the moft unpolifhed na- tion in Europe. A few days after his arrival he went to the theatre. The pit was very crowded; and being there alone, and exceedingly inquifitive, he began to recollect the little Englifh of which he was maf- ter, and put feveral queftions to the perfon next him. His neighbour, who did not underfland a word of the jargon which he uttered, rifes precipitately, turns his back to him, and departs. Grofley was but lit- tle furprifed at this conduct, fo ex- tremely ungentee] in appearance, and which, for fome moments, only ferved to confirm him in his former Opinion : but he was foon put to the bluth when he faw the Englifhman return. This good- natured man had perceived, at the other end of the pit, one of his friends who mere French; and having pierced the crowd which feparated them, he eturned with much difficulty, lead- eg him in his hand.—I afk, whe- 27 ther this is true politenefs or not? A Frenchman, by paying him a handfome compliment, would have imagined that he had done enough 5 the Englifhman, on the contrary, thought that he ought to de more, and he accordingly did it. If it is then in a¢tions, and not in fimple words, that real urbanity confifts, one is obliged to confefs that the Englith are ‘the moft polifhed nation in Europe. The principle of fuch aétions is there alfo more pure, becaufe a beggar has no occafion to humble himfelf before the moft wealthy, and a citizen in eafy circumitances knows no bounds to his independ- ence. The moral character of the Eng- lifh has indeed degenerated, but, notwithftanding this, it is {till efti- mable; for it is not from its parlia- ments, its oriental depredators, and the crews of its privateers, who all aim at a certain end, that we ought to judge of the nation. Many members of parliament afpire at eminent fituations, and allow them- felves to be corrupted; fo aifo do the adventurers who leave Europe with an intention to plunder Afia ; and it is the very nature of pirates to rob and flaughter. Is it from the refufe of a com- munity that we are to imbibe our opinions of the moral character of a people; or frema multitude of god- like ations, which are performed every day, by thoufands in this ifland ? An extraordinary event, which occurred a few years fince, will ferve to elucidate the noble and generous manner of thinking among the Eng- lih. The emigrations from the empire, of which fuch fad complaiats are made, even at this day, and which ‘ 23 which are founded on reafons’partly jot, and partly i imaginary, gave an epportunity toa German gentleman to form a very fingular {cheme. The name'of this projector, and his intentions, are. ftiil unknown; the arts alfo which he ‘prattifed to put in execution fuch a, well-con- certed plan, are equally obfeure ani ds, however, certain that a common. genius durit never imagine, far ie{s be able to put in execution, an en- terprife of thisnature. Inthe year 1705, he went to England at the head of S00 adventurers, confilting of men, women, and children, whom he had collected in the Palatinate, Franconia, and Suabia, by promif- ing them that they would be much more happy in the Englih colonies. On their arrival at the port of London, this fingular man difap- peared, and has never ‘fince been . heard cf. At once miferable and difappoint- ed, thefe unfortunate wretches, nei- ther knowing the language, nor be- ime acquainted with any of the in- babinmnts; and with only a few rags to cover them, were entirely bewil- dered. in that extenfive - capital. Withost an afylum, without even bread for their children, who afked for it with the moft Piercing cries, they knew not to whom they could addrefs themfelves. In hopes of a lefs cruel deftiny, they lay down in the open air, in the midit of thofe ftreets neareit to the wharf where they had been land- ed. In every other city, éven in Paris itfelf, the unexpected arrival ofa colony of eight hundred per- fons, would have been talked of otes where, and proper meafures taken accordingly: but the landing of {uch a numerous body was for a long time unknown in London, \ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. The inhabitants, indeed, of that part of the town, and allo the paf- fengers, were’ greatly aftonifhed at the appearance of this fingular groupe, who bewailed their misfor- tunes in an unknown Janguage ; but not being able to difcover the caufe, they gave themfelves but little con- cern on the fubject. Two days pafied in this manner, and theie poor people remained ex- pofed to the inclemency of the ele- ments, and the cravings of hunger, Some died for want,-on the third day. Their mifery was now at the extreme, for their arrival was un- known any where. elfe than in this little corner of the fuburbs: not a fingle word of it had tran{pired ei- ther in the city or Weftminiter. The inhabitants in the neighbour- heod were not, however, unfeeling {peftators of fo many calamities : they aided them as faras they were able; but what are the feeble fuc- cours of poverty at fuch.a crifis?- The bakers were accuftomed to fend their fervants every morning loaded with bafkets of bread, which they diitributed according .to the direc. tions of their mafters. One of thefe happening to pafs near the place where thele emigrants were encamp- ed, heard that they had heen fe- veral hours without any fubfiftence, “ If itis fo,” fays he, at the fame time placing his pannierin the midit of them, “ our cuftomers mutt have “« patience to-day ; were my mafter « to lofe them all, he would not’ be « angry. J will,” added he, “ aid «« thefe poor creatures, if I pay for “ it out of my own wages.’”— truft that the behaviour of this man does not need a commentary. Tne Reverend Mr. Wafchel, a clergyman of the German church, who lived near to them, at laft re- folved ik s a @n this ocedfion, GHA Ria € oT E RIS. felved ‘fo advertife this fingular event in the veya In a let- _ter which he inferted, and which was figned with his own name,- he particularizes, in a mol affecting detail, the mifery of his country- men, and implores in their deco the generous compafiion of the Eng- lifh, on which thefe wretches had fo much relied when they left their native country. The efe& of this was incredible and be yond expecta- tion. . The morning papers are gene- oO ig rally printed at eight o’clock; by Mine a man arrives on vans age from one of the mof diftant parts of Weftminfter, and brings to Mr. Wafche! a bank note for 100]. fter- fing. The meflenger would not mention the donor, but it was at- terwards found to be the old coun- tefs of Chefterficld, who performed fo charitable an action. This might be called the earneft of the whole nation. It feemed to rain bank notes and guineas upon the good prieft. tendants were appointed to fupply them with neceflaries, as they them- felves were not able to buy them; phyficians and apothecaries were afigried, and nurfes and interpreters appointed to them: in a word, the wants of this deferted band were fa- tisfied, their forlorn fituation re- Moved, and they themfelves in- fpired with the fweet hope of better profpetts before the middle of that very day. In the mean time the fubfcrip- tions continued open, and there fever, perhaps, was fuch a general contribution. ‘There were but few wich people, of a certain rank, in all the kingdom, who did not aflift 1 myfelf have Coifee houfes were opened for fubfcriptions, at- 2g read the lift of thofe benefactors to my countrymen, and have counted more than twenty who gave a hun- dred pounds each, and fome even more. The fum total is unknown to me; it was, however, futhcient to entertain this numerous bedy of people, during five months, in London; at the end of that period they were carried to Carolina, ia veflels hired for the purpofe, and provided with proper neceflaries. ‘hey had a very excellent, paflage to America, and received, at the inftant of their arrival, not only every thing neceflary for their efta- blifhment, but alfo the remainder of the money which had been col- le&ted for them. It may be imagined that the Germans, fettledin London, fhew- ed themfelves equally gerierous tu- wards their countrymen as the Engs lith.-Not only thofe,in eafy cir- cuimftances, but even opulent peo- ple, to whom the nation had con- fided the care of thefe unfortunate wretches, received money for their fervices out of the fund arifing from the fubscriptions, and charged at the higheft rate ! ‘The prifons for confining debtors in England, are fach as might be expected ia'a nation which regards the powerful and facred rights of humanity. As it is extremely eafy to con- tract debts in England, it muft therefore neceflarily follow, that the gaols are always full of pri- foners. The pooréit people, pro- vided they are not common bee- gars, labour with the utmoft aflidu- ity to hire a {mall tenement, and become hou ekeepers, becaufe, befides the convenience refulting from it, there are certain privileges annexed to {uch a fituation, In confequence of 30 of this, they prefer the moft mife- rable cottage hired in their own name, to more convenient apart- ments in another houfe. From this proceeds the great number of houfes in London, which, on this very account, are as five te three in proportion to thofe of Paris, where all the inhabitants live heaped upon one another. ‘The national charater is difco- vered in this very circumitance. It often happens, that a man has nothing in his little houfe, but a bed, a table, and fome chairs; and yet, in quality of a houv/ekeeper, he procures a certain degree of credit, and no one makes any difficulty in trufting him. ‘The butchers, the bakers, the taylors, the fhoe-makers, &e. &c. furnith him with whatever he may ftand in need of, without requirin® ready money; people in good circumitances generally make them wait till Chriftmas: a fhorier time is however.fixed for the poor ; and whenever the debt amounts to the fum of* forty fhillings, the creditor has a right to arreft the debtor. Nothing is more eafy than this. He goes to the sheriffs’ office, where there is generally no other perfon than a clerk; he informs him of his bufinefs, and afks for a writ. The clerk, whofe duty it is to diftribute thefe writs without mak- ing any inquiry, receives his fee, after having frft made him kifs the bible, the ufual manner of tak- ing an oath in England. The. bailiffs, of whom I .made mention in the preceding chapter, are afterwards employed, in virtue of their office, to arreit the debtor. The people deteft thefe men; and life, an ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. it is ii natural, for they lead a lazy inhabit good houfes, which ferve as temporary prifons. The creditor carries the writ to one of thefe, and gives him inftructions. ‘The bailiff conveys the prifoner. to his houfe, where he remains for twenty-four hours: during this time, he makes ufe of every art, either to fettle the matter, or procure bail. If an accommodation does not take place in that time, the officer con- duéts him to prifon: a fee however, properly applied, will often procure an indulgence for feveral days. As there are two prifons, called the King’s Bench ‘and the Fleet, which are peculiar to England, and have nothing fimilar to them in Europe, they ufually make choice of one of thefe. The latter is fituated in the middle of the city; the other in St. George’s Fields. No traveller that I am acquainted with, has ever given a particular account of thefe fingular and un- common gaols.. They never, in- deed, have been mentioned among -us but in fome Englifh romances, which are very juftly rejected as fo many fictions and improbabilities, So true it is, that we have only a few vague ideas of a nation con- cerning which we never ceafe to {peak ; which we endeavour to imitate in almoft every thing, and which is fo very nearto us, It may be faid, that thefe prifons are two republics exifting in the bofom of the metropolis, and en- tirely independent of it. ‘The fitu- ation and the largenefs of the firft render it more commodious than the other. Its boundaries are marked by a wall, which contains a prodigious extent of ground, * By a Jate agt,no one can be arrefted for any debt below the fum of ten pounds, 8 Within Cill A RA Within its circumference a great number of houfes are built for the accommodation of the prifoners; a garden where they may walk, a place where they may play at fives, public-houfes where beer and wine are fold, a cefiee-houfe, fhops, &c. &c. Fi All the mechanics who. follow trades which do not require much room nor long preparation, are allowed here to exercife their re- {pective avocations, which they denote by figns at their doors and windows. You-may find: taylors, fhoe-makers, wig-makers, &c. &c. who not only work for the other prifoners, but alfo for their cuf- tomers elfewhere, who itill continue to employ them. They generaily make their families ftay with them, and live very comfortably. Thofe who are at liberty fometimes fur- pafs in number thofe who are con- fined, andthe whole often amounts to two or three thoufand. - There isno guard but at the entrance; the greateit liberty reigns within; neither bars, nor bolts, nor irons, nor gaoler are to be perceived ; nothing, in one word, to denote a prifon. As their doors are never locked up, the» inhabitants may divert themfelves for whole nights toge- ther: they have even been known to give balls and concerts. The free-mafons have a lodge here. It was in théking’s bench that Wilkes was, in the year 1769, received as a member of that fociety. The gates are open from feven o’clock in the morning till nine at night. Any perfon impelled either by curiofity or bufinefs, may go and come during thofe hours, with- oyt being atked any queftions. During Wilkes’s imprifonment, the CiT BRIS 31 avenues were continually choaked up by the number of carriages that were bringing vifitors to him. ‘It fometimes happens, that per- fons afraid of being arreited, run to this place as to an afylum, where they remain with fome of the pri- foners-whom they are acquainted with, and never depart till they have made terms with their cre- ditors, or taken fome other ne- ceflary fteps. For, according to the conftitution of this fingular commonwealth, the perfons who fly there for refuge, cannot in any. manner be moletted by thofe on the outfide. The infide is a fanctuary, facred to liberty, where the bailit? dares not penetrate. He never goes further than the lobby, where he depofits his prifoners. Woe to if he pafies one flep beyond if} In this prifon, there are apart- ments which would not difgrace a palace. Thefe are generally oc- cupied by rich people, who pay for them at a very dear rate: for no- thing is more common than to fee perfons who pofiefs confiderable fortunes conducted to.this place, who remain there as long as they pleafe, and fet out whenever they choofe to make the neceflary ar- rangements with their creditors. During their confinement they fquander large fums of money, and give a great deal in charity to their fellow-prifoners. One may here fee people drefied in the moft fafhionable clothes; affemblies of ladies and gentlemen, apartments elegantly furnifhed, and tables delicately ferved. The gen- teel. and polite air every where vifible, will never ailow any one to think that all this isina gaol. One is almof fure of meeting good 32 good company at this place, as it 1s frequented by refpectable \per- fons, who have loft their fortunes by fome. unforefeen accidents, It was here that the Rev. Mr. Horne wrote his excellent book on the government and laws of Eng- , land; that Wilkes formed the plan .of his prefent grandeur, The unbecoming aflemblage of the two fexes, is one of the greateft abufes of this prifon. I have al- xeady faid, that according to the laws of the country, the hufband is obliged to anfwer for the debts of his wife, fo that it is he only that is arrefted. One does not there- fore meet with married ‘women . here, but there are plenty of wi- dows and unmarried ladies. Thefe laft, who are all priefteffes of Ve- nus, abound in great plenty, and fometimes exceed an.hundred. One of thefe mutt be very difagreeable, if fhe does not find, on her arrival, feveral who will offer to fhare their apartments with her,and even their beds. When they are tired of each other they feparate, and make a frefh choice. ' [t often happens that they remain with their lovers after they are liberated ; and it is not at all uncommon to fee them forming connetions here, which are ‘only diffolved by death. The voluptuous life which they : lead in this gaol, is alfo angmented by the continual vifits which their lovers make them. However, not- withftanding the debauchery which generally prevails, it very rarely happens that it is attended with confequences punifhable by the laws. There aye certain diftri€s in the neighbourhood of the king’s bench and the fleet, called rules, which . form a circuit of two Englifh miles. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. The prifoner may not only ramble 4 but even live within thele, when~ ever -he can find fecurity that he will not efcape. It is remarked, that no nation is fo creduious as the Englith. a ‘here are a great. many agree- able gardens in the neighbourhood of the king’s bench, where tea and .coffee are fold, and which in an afternoon are full of prifoners, The marfhal has upwards of three thoufand a year, in falary and per- quilites ; for this-he has very little to do; as he never troubles himfelf about the interior regulations: he is obliged, however, to give large fecurity, as he becomes liable to the debts of all thofe who efcape. About ten years fince, four pri- foners, whoie debts amounted to 1,500/. fterling, efcaped by means of a hole in the garden wall. Be- fore he paid fo much money, the marfhal bethought himfelf of a very fingular expedient. He gave notice that he would give them fifty per cent. of the {ums for which they had been confined, provided they would furrender themfelves. Three of them a€tually acceded to the agreement, received the ftipu- lated payment, and returned to their former habitation. ; Although the care of this gaol is entirely confided to the marfhal, yet he is not permitted to interfere in its internal regulations, and is very feldom feen withia its walls. Every prifoner, whether man or woman, is a member of this com- monwealth, and participates in all its privileges. They cheofe a lord chief juftice, and a certain number of judges, who aflemble once a week, and decide controverties. In .this court they terminate all quarrels, make laws concerning the * police; < 4 . concerns. police, hear all complaints, and Pronounce final judgment: in a Word, every thing is equally at- tended to as in a well-governed community. Every one has a right to attend and plead his own caufe. Thofe who are not able to exprefs themfelves with propriety in public, fuch as women, for example, em- ploy others to relate their com- plaints, or defend their interefts. Of all the remarkable objects which England offers to the eye of a foreigner, no one is more worthy of his admiration, than the aftonifh- ing beauty of the women. It produces fuch a furprifing effect, that every ftranger mutt ac- knowledge the fuperiority of the Englith ladies over all others. The moft exact proportions, an elegant figure, a lovely neck, a fkin uncom- monly fine, and features at once regular and charming, diftinguith them in an eminent degree. Their private virtues alfo render them capable of enjoying all the felicity of the marriage ftate. The pronenefs of the whole na- tion to melancholy, renders the women grave and ferious; their minds are le{s occupied about plea- fures, than in folicitude for the happinefs of their hufbands, and the management of their domeftic Even women of quality fuckle their children; they think that the name and duties of a mother have nothing in them which they ought to blufh at, and that no ftation on earth is comparable to the pleafures of maternal tender- nefs, and the agreeable reflections which refult from it. Notwithftanding vice is. often pufhed to the extreme in the ca- pital, it is very uncommon to fee a - Vou. XXXII, GH A-BAT Eik &. 33 married woman become profligate, and give way to infamous plea- fures. To this there is always an infurmountable bar in her love for her family, the care of her houfe- hold, and her own natural gravity. J am of epinion, that there is not a city in the whole world, where the honour of a hufband is in lefs dan- ger than in London. It is to this ferious and melan- choly difpofition that we ought to attribute the attachment of the Englifh catholics to the cloifter, and which has induced fo,many of them to retire to France, and {till more to Flanders. They have even eftablifhed a fpecies of con. vents in England, for thofe who do not like to leave their native coun- try. A certain number of ladies live there in common, perform di- vine fervice together, and conform to all the inftitutions of that order to which their howe belongs. Like other nuns, they take the vows, and their drefs is always plain and modeft. I_ have already mentioned the prodigious attachment of the Eng- lith to politics. This paffion is actually among them an induce- ment to marriage. A hufband who can talk of nothing but public affairs, is always fure to find in his wife a perfon with whom he may converfe concerning thofe topics which intereft him. moft. He has no need to go abroad, to fatisfy his appetite for this darling fubject, The Englith are not ungrateful to nature for her prodigality to- wards them. The children are never bound up in , fwaddling- clothes, but covered. with a thir drefs, which gives a perfect free- dom to all their motions, ‘The great 34 igreat advantages arifing from ino- culation, become every day more perceptible. The f{chools for the education of young people of both iexes, are almoft always in the country. In walking through the charming villages which furround the ~ me- tropolis, one is delighted to fee _thrée or four houfes together, dedi-. cated folely to this purpofe. ‘Thefe fupport a prodigious number of language-mafters, dancing-mafters, mufic-mafters, &c. &c. 7 The l@dlies, trufting perhaps too much to their natural charms, often neglect the means of fetting them of to advantage. But a very few even of the women of the town make ufe of rouge. Many women of fafhion, when dreffed in the moft elegant manner, do not ufe hair- powder; xeafnefi, however, which feems aétually to be a rage amongtt them, is never neglected. The moft elegant part of an Englifhwoman’s apparel is her hat, which is ufually adorned with rib- bands and feathers. No female, of whatever rank, dares appear in the ftreets of London on foot, with- out one of thefe; the very beggars wear them. The art with which they place them, is but imperfectly imitated by foreigners, who know not how to derive from them all their magical ‘advantages. The charming effect which they pro- duce, made Linguet obferve, that if Homer had been acquainted with this enchanting drefs, he would not »only have given a ceftus to Venus, but alfo a hat. The fair-fex in that country have a number of .cuftoms peculiar to themfelves, and among others that of riding on horfeback;. in this : t ANNUAL: REGISTER, /1790. 4 fituation, they may be feen gallop- ing by hundreds along Hyde Park. On thefe occafions, they are always drefled like Amazons’; a prac- tice introduced by queen’ Anne, the confort of Richard II. and which has continued to-the prefent time. The ladies alfo think it in- decent to fhew themfelves at the window. It is only an extraordi- nary circumftance that will make a woman of character open it, to fa- tisfy her curiofity. ‘The women of the town, however, are entirely above fuch a prejudice. The education among the Eng- lifh, as far as it regards health, is excellent: I cannot, however, fay fo much in refpecét to morals. The abufes which prevail in the great fchools are: well known; I fhall therefore be filent concerning them. After a long contention concerning the advantages and difadvantages of a public or private education, it feems at laft to have been decided in favour of the former. The young duke of Bedford, who is the richeft peer in the kingdom, was for feveral years at Weftminfter, where he was brought up as other young men. His table and his bed were entirely the fame as theirs. Two guineas a week were allowed him for pocket money; and out of his income, which amounts to fixty- thoufand pounds per annum, five hundred only were expended in his education. ’ All the exercifes which tend to bring the mufcles into ‘aétion, and to make the body healthy and ro- buft, are the daily recreations of thefe public fchools, which, not- withftanding their numberlefs’ dif- advantages, do not, however, make youth effeminate. . A gteat A great number of children. of good extraction are deftined from the earlieft age to commerce, and educated accordingly. ‘This prac- ‘tice, fo wife in itfelf, and which was the fource from which the Ge- noefe nobility derived their opu- lence, and by which the illuftrious houfe of Medicis were raifed to a throne, where they became the benefaftors of mankind, was not introduced.into England until about the middle of the feventeenth cen- tury. ; The Englith nobility during the civil war, being almoft entirely at- tached to a ie were banifhed from all employments by the Houfe of Commons, whofe power then preponderated ; they therefore had no refource but in trade, Thofe who pofleffed abilities amafled im- menfe riches, and contributed by _ their example to remove the ancient Prejudices which ftill fubfifted in their country againft the employ- Ment of a merchant. Soon after this, fome of the firft people in the Kingdom became the mott zealous Aes of commerce, and em- arked their fortunes in. it, by which means they at once gave ac- tivity and vigour to trade.. This, it is affirmed, was the origin of that {fplendour and opulence which Eng- land foon after acquired. In our _ 9wn time, we have feen the fon of ee Sir Robert Walpole, formerly prime inifter of England, a_ private banker, and the brother of lord Oxford, a citizen of London. i | Anecdotes relative to Dean Swift's treatment of Mrs, Johnfon and Mrs. Vanhomrigh ; from Literary Relics, by G. M, Berkeley, E77. Cit AgR ACG TEER: S: « The © both of bedy and, mind, which 35 ‘¥ Am now come; to the only part .of Swift’s conduct. which is, in my -opinion, deferving of cenfure; I mean. his treatment of Stella and Vanefla.. But be it remembered, that cenfure, though merited, fhould be. proportionate to-the:crime. Had the Dean’s accufers taken the trou- ble of candidly inveftigating all the circumftances relative to that double connection, they might poflibly have found the: unfortunate lover not wholly undeferving of pity. But before I proceed to inquire how far the treatment. Stella expe- rienced: was, or was not excufeable, I thall inform my reader who Stella really was. On this point a// the biographers, of Swift have been mifinformed. .The following ac- count I received a few days ago in a letter. from Mrs. Hearn, niece to the celebrated Mrs. Johnfon, and who now refides: at Brighton near Alresford, Hants, with her daughter Mrs. Harrifon, the wife of a moft refpectable clergyman of that name. «“ Mrs. Either. Johnfon, better « known by the name of Stella, was « born at Richmond in Surry on « the 13th of March 1681. Her <<: father.was a.merchant, and the « younger brother of a good family «in Nottinghamfhire. He died «* young, and left his widow with < three»children, a fon and two « daughters, Whilft Mrs. Johnfon « lived at Richmond, fhe had the « happinefs of becoming firft ac- « guainted with Lady Gifford, the “ fifter of Six ,William. Temple. uncommon endowments, « Mrs. Johnfon certainly pofleficd «“ in an high degree, foon gained -« her not only the efteem but the « warm friendfhip of that excellent « Jady; a friendfaip which lafted Dz «ull - 36 ** till death. As they feldom were “ apart, and lady Gifford lived «© much with her brother Sir Wil- «liam, it was through her that *« Mrs, Johnfon and her two daugh- “ ters (her fon dying young) were «brought to the knowledge and *« friendfhip of Sir William Temple « and his lady ; who difcovering fo « many excellencies, and fuch fine *« parts, in the “tle Hetty, as fhe «« was always called in the Temple « family, fo far took upon them- w felves the care of her education «* as to bring her up with their own « niece, the late Mrs. Temple of «« Moor Park by Farnham—a moft «« acceptable piece of kindnefs and « friendfhip this to the mother, «whofe little fortune had been «« greatly injured by the South Sea «« bubbles. And here it was that ec Dr. Swift firit became acquainted «© with Stella, and commenced that «© attachment which terminated in «« their marriage. The caufe why «« that marriage was not owned to «© the world has never been tho- « roughly explained. It is the opi- «« nion, however, of her own family, «« that their finances not being equal « to the ftyle in which the Dean « wifhed to move, as a married «© man, could be the only one; « Stella’s own fortune being only « £.1,500, one thoufand of which, ~ «as a farther mark of friendthip, « was left her by Sir William « Temple himfelf. It was Dr. s« Swift’s with at laft to have owned «« his marriage; but finding herfelf « declining very fait, Stella did not - choofe to alter her mode of life, «« and befides fully intended coming «« over to England to her mother.” If we attentively furvey the fitua- tion of Swift from the firft moment wf his connection with the far-famed 3 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. obje& of his withes to the period immediately preceding her death, we fhall- be at a lofs to point out the time when, confiftently with the dic- tates of prudence, he could -have united himfelf with his amiable miftrefs. From the promifed munificence of King William, he received no- thing but difappointment. After his retirement from Moor Park till his conneétion with Lord Berkeley, he had no profpect of preferment. On his promotion to the deanery of St. Patrick, a fyftem of the fevereft ceconomy was necef- fary to liquidate the debt contracted by a long and vexatious attendance on miniftry; at the fame time that a certain degree of ftate was a ne- ceflary appendage to his ftation. To the union of Swift and Stella there was, however, at one period of their connection, a much more formidable obftacle than any that could have arifen from prudence. It is with reluctance I proceed ; but during one of the Dean’s long mi- nifterial attendances in London, commenced his acquaintance with Vanefla. ' This lady poffeffed wit, youth, beauty, a competent {hare of wealth, and wniver/al admiration. 'Thus de- corated, fhe offered herfelf a willing victim at the fhrine of Swift, by whofe genius fhe was completely fafcinated. : To behold, without emotion, fuch a facrifice, was hardly to be ex- pected from man, ,But to the ho- nour of Swift be ,it remembered, that though allured by fuch attrac- tions. as were indeed at once moft rare and powerful, he made a long. and obftindte defence; and when the death of the queen exiled him as it were from England, he ban oy ® CH a RAC TLE R's: all the force of argument to prevail on Vanefla to fmother the deftruc- tive flame fhe had fo long nourifhed in her bofom, and which, he wifely apprehended, would at fome future eriod kindle a conflagration, from which effects the moit fatal were juftly to be dreaded. Dazzled at Jirft by the fplendor of his conquett, he was prevented from feeing his own conduét in a proper point of view ; but when the death of the Queen reminded him that Ireland was to be the fcene of his remain- ing years, the thought of wounding her whom he had invited to that country, by the prefence of her ri- val, fhocked the delicacy of his feelings; whilft the idea of Stella, neglected and forfaken, returned with redoubled force, and once more pofleffed itfelf of his mind. Yet at the moment when he re- commended to Vanefla forgetful- nefs of the paft, it is certain he fenght what he could not prattife, and that what was right was pre- ferred to what was plea/ant. In the eye of juftice, the claims of Stella were highly forcible. She had, at an early period of life, yielded her affections to the affiduities of Swift. To enjoy his fociety, fhe had facrificed her country and her connections, and had fixed her abode in a part of the world where people were by no means inclined rig the beft conftruétion on the e of things. In circumftances like thefe, to have finally deferted Stella was a piece of cruelty and of villainy of which her lover was utterly in- capable. His return to Ireland certainly leffened her anxiety, and rendered her fituation more tolera- ble than it could be during his ab- fence. Whatever fhe might think 37 of-the ftate of his affections, fhe was | at leaft in a fituation to attempt the recovery of them; and though dif- appointment had killed the rofes of youth, yet her converfation was ftill | attractive, her mind cultivated, and her manners gentle. But the ar- rival of the unfortunate Vanefla foon violated the tranquillity of Stella. The anxiety. infeparable . from fuch a fituation as hers preyed on her fpirits, and materially af- fected her health. Swift, fhocked at the effects his own inconflancy was likely to pro- duce, requefted Bifhop Ash, the common friead of doth, to inquire from Stella what could reftore her former peace of mind. Her an- fwer was to this effect, “ That for many years fhe had patiently borne the tongue of flander; but that hi- therto fhe had been cheered by the hope of one day becoming his wife: that of fuch an event fhe now faw no probability ; and that, con- fequently, her memory would be tranfmitted to pofterity branded with the moft unmerited obloquy.’’ Swift, in his reply to this decla- ration, obferved, that “in early life he had laid down two maxims with refpeét to matrimony: The Jirft was, never to marry unlefs pof- feffed of a competency: the /econd, unlefs this was the cafe at {uch a period of life as afforded him a probable profpect of living to edu- cate his family ; but yet, fince her happinefs depended on his marry- ing her, he would direétly com- ply with her wifhes on the follow~ ing terms: That it fhould .remain a fecret from all the world, unlefs the difcovery were called for by fome urgent neceffity ; and that they fhould continue in feparate houfes,”” To thefe terms Stella readily ac- D3 ceded; 38 ceded; and: in 1716 they were married. by-the -Bithop of Clogher, who himfelf related the -circum- ftance to Bithop Berkeley, by whofe relict the ftory was communicated to me. Swift, by marrying Stella at a time when it is pretty certain he ceafed to entertain for her any very impaflioned feritiments, is one proof that he thought the laws of honour intitled to the flrifteft obfervance. He {aw when it was too late, the error of this condu&t towards that amia- ble woman, and made reparation ; though, to be fure, his declining to acknowledge her was’ a ftep that cannot be juftified, and which muft be attributed: merely to that love of fingularity, which in a greater or lefs degree is infeparable from enius. With refpec& to Vanefla T have little to fay. Whilft, in juftice to Swift, I cannot refrain from obferv- ing, that the firft advances came from her, I fhould,; not forbear re- calling to the reader’s recollection what is remarked a few-pages back, that when Vanefla feleGted Cadenus for her lover, fhe was aniverfally Sollowed and admired; and whatever conftruction.may be put on a cele- brated poem,:which it is to be wiihed had never feen the light, I fhall venture to affert, that the paf- fion fhe entertained for Swift was perfe@ly innocent. no engagement to’ prevent their union; and to obtain’ that union was the fole objet of her withes. Although the encouragement fhe "gave to Swift might be rather in- confiftent with the: etiquette ‘ob- ferved by all prudent and experienced women when in a ftate of courtfhip; yet for this inattention itis by no ANNUAL REGISTER, means right to brand her memory. - She knew of . 1790. with the fevereft obloquy. With refpe&t to the Dean’s con- duét towards this lady, no- other apology can be offered than this: That the violence of the paffion which he entertained for her, blind- ed him to the fatal effeéts that were likely to arife from fuch a connec- ~ tion ; andthat he found himfelf un- expectedly ina fituation where ger- Severance was wrong, ard where re- treat was impofible. Swift has been feverely blamed for continuing his connection with Vanefla after his marriage with Stella: But be it re- membered, that though in this point he erred, his motive was fuch as, though it could not juftify, cer- tainly palliated, the crime. wanted refolution mortally to wound the peace of one who loved fo well. Juftice and natare contefted the point; and thofe who in this in- ftance may cenfure, cannot regret the triumph of the latter. It is likewife more than. probable, that one of the motives which induced Swift to’ conceal his marriage, was a wifh to fpare Vanefla fo fevere a pang; the effects produced by the difcovery of that fatal fecret were forefeen, and are too well known to need recapitulation. Her aft will declared whather feelings were : Her appointing Swift’s moft inti- mate friend Bithop Berkeley to be one of the executioners of her ven» geance, fhows the violence of her refentment. At thefame time, had the hour of Vaneffa’s diffolution been lefs rapid in its approach, had death allowed the ftorm of paffion time’to fubfide, it is more than pro- bable fhe would have recalled her order refpeéting the publication of their mutual correfpondeace. Her iy paffions . , CHAR ACT ERS. paflions were violent, and confe- quently would have. been fhort- lived. Her heart was tender, and her fenfibility great; whilft her mind was poffeffed of a degree cf ftrength not always to be found amongft the fair fex; and her ta- lents in many points eclipfed thofe of her unfortunate rival. Defeription of Shirauz, and of the Manners of the Modern Perfians ; from Francklin’s Tour from Ben- gal to Perfia. P oebtan lp NS place in the world produces the neceffaries of life in great- er abundance and perfection than ay nor is there a more de- ghtful fpot in nature to be con- ceived, than the vale in which it is fituated, either for the falubrity of the air, or for the profufion of every thing neceflary to render life com- fortable and agreeable. ‘The fields yield plenty of rice, wheat, and barley, which they generally begin to reap in the month of May, and by the middle of July the harvett is completed. Moft of the European fruits are produced here, and many of them are fuperior in fize and flavour to what can be raifed in Europe, particularly the apricot and grape. Of the grape of Shirauz there are feveral forts, all of them very good, but two or three more articularly fo than the reft; one is the large white grape, called Reefh Baba, without feed, which is extremely lu{cious and agreeable to the tafte; the {mall white grape, called Afkeri, alfo without feed, and as {weet as fugar ; the black grape, of which the celebrated wine of Shirauz is made. ‘This wine is prefled by the Armenians and Jews, quality. 39 in the months of October and No- vember, and a vaft deal is exported annually to Abu Shehr, and other parts in the Perfian Gulph, for the fupply of the India market. ‘The wine of Shirauz is really delicious, and well-deferving of praife; fo much fo, that people who have drank it for a fpace of time, feldom care for any other, though at’ the firft tafte itis rather unpleafant to an European. They have another kind of large red grape, called Sa- hibi, the bunches of which weigh feven or eight pounds each: it is fharp and rough to the tafte, and makes vinegar of a very fuperior The cherries here are but indifferent; but apples, pears, melons, peaches, quinces, necta- rines, and the gage plums, are all very good, and in the greateft plenty. The pomegranate is good to a proverb; the Perfians call it the fruit of Paradife. The breed of horfes in the pro- vince of Fars is at-prefent very in- . different, owing to the ruinous ftate of the country; but in the province of Dufhtiftaan, lying to the fouth- weit, it is remarkably good. The fheep are of a iuperior flavour, owing to the excellence of the patturage in the néighbourhood of Shirauz, and are alfo celebrated for the finenefs of their fleece : they have tails of an extraordinary fize, fome of which I have feen weigh upwards of thirty pounds; but thofe which are fold in the markets do not weigh above fix or feven. Their oxen are large and flrong, but their fiefh is feldom eaten by the natives, who confine themfelves chiefly to that of fheep ‘and fowls. Provifions of all kinds are very cheap ; and the neighbouring moun- tains affording an ample fupply of 4 fhow 40 fnow throughout the year, the meaneft artificer of Shirauz may have his water and fruits cooled without any expence worthy his confideration ; this fnow being ga- thered on the tops of the mountains, and brought in carts to the city, is fold in the markets, ‘The price of provifions is regulated at Shirauz with the greateit exaétnefs, by the Daroga, or judge of the police, who fets a’ fixed price upon every article, and no fhop-keeper dares to demand more, under the fevere penalty of lofing his nofe and ears ; {uch being the punifhment attached to a crime of this nature; by which means the pooreft inhabitants are effectually fecured from impofition, in fo ¢api- tal an article as the neceflaries of life. Manufactures and trade are at prefent greatly decayed in Perfia, the people having had no interval of peace to recover themfelves fince the death of Kerim Khan to the prefent period: but if a regular and permanent government were once again to be eftablithed, there is little doubt but they would flou- rifh, as the Perfians are very inge- nious, of quick capacities, and even the lower clafs of artificers are in- duftrious and diligent. They work in filligree and ivory remarkably well, and are good turners. They have at Shirauz a glafs manufactory, where they cait very good glafs, of which great quantities are exported to different parts of Perfia; by which the manufaéturers acquire confiderable profit. Moft, of the woollen goods, filks and worked linens, are brought from Yezd and Carmania, from both of which places they alfo export felts and carpets. A great quantity of cop- per is produced from Tauris, and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790, other of the more northern parts of Perfia. Kém is remarkable for excellent fword blades; but at pre- fent all trade with Europeans is {topped ; and the ftate of the coun- try does not promife a fpeedy re- turn of it. India goods are im- ported chiefly from Abu Shehr. In matters of trade amongft the natives, the whole is under the regulation of the Calodnter, or town-clerk, who regulates the duties to be paid te the Khan on all imports: this is fometimes executed with a feverity which leaves the merchant little or no profit upon his goods, The climate of Shirauz is one of the moft agreeable in the world, the extremes of heat and cold bein feldom felt. During the {pring of the year, the face of the country appears uncommonly beautiful. The flowers, of which they have a great variety, and of the brighteft hues, the fragrant herbs, fhrubs, and plants, the rofe, the {weet bafil, and the myrtle, all here contribute to refrefh and perfume the natural miidnefs of the air. The nightin- gale of the garden (ealled by the Penfians Boolbul Hezar Dajftaan) the goldfinch, and the linnet, by their melodious warblings, at this delightful feafon of the year, ferve. to add to the fatisfaction of the mind, and to infpire it with the moft pleafing ideas. "Their mornings and evenings are cool, but the mid-. dle of the day is very pleafant. In fummer, the thermometer feldom rifes above feventy -three in the day-time, and at night it generally. finks as low as fixty-two. The autumn is the worit feafon of the year, that being the time when the rains begin to fall, and during the autumnal months it is confidered by natives as the moft unhealthy; me colds, Cif AR #A-CoT ERS, olds, fluxes, and fevers being very general. In winter, a vaft deal of inow falls, and very thick, but ice is rarely to be found, except on the fummits of the mountains, or to- wards Ifpahan, and the more nor- thern parts of Perfia. One thing, which is moft to be efteemed in this country, and renders it preferable to any other part of the world, is their nights, which are always clear and bright ; and the dew, that in moft places is of fo pesnicious and dangerous a nature, is not of the leaft ill confequence here: there is none at all in fummer, and in the other feafons it is of fuch a nature, that if the brighte% f{cimitar fhould be expofed to it all the night, it would not receive the leaft ruft; a circumftance I have myfelf expe- rienced. This drynefs in the air caufes their buildings to laft a great while, and is undoubtedly one of the principal reafons that the cele- brated ruins of Perfepolis have en- dured for fo many ages, and com- paratively fpeaking, in fo perfe& a ilate; that place being fituated in much fuch another valley as Shi- rauz, and but twodays journey from thence. The nights in Perfia, and more particularly in the fouthern parts of it, are moft excellently adapted for the fcience of aftronomy, being of extraordinary brightnefs, and far preferable in that point to what I have obferved in any coun- try in which it has been my fortune to refide. In attempting to fay any thing of the charatter of the Perfians, I am fenfible of the difficulty of the undertaking, from my being fo fhort a time amongft them. An acquaintance with the real charaéter -ot a people, is only capable of being attained by a very long refidence; 4t yet as, during my ftay in Perfia, from the fituation I was placed in, by living in a native family, I had an opportunity of feeing more of the nature and difpofition of the middliag fort of people, and their manners and cuftoms, than perhaps has falien to the lot of moft tra- vellers, I am induced to give the few obfervations I made during that -perrod. The Perfians, with refpect to outward behaviour, are certainly the Parifians of the Eaft. Whilft a rude and infolent de- meanour peculiarly marks the cha- ractet of the Turkith nation to- wards foreigners and Chriftians, . the behaviour of the Perfians would, on the contrary, do honour to the moft civilized nations: they~ are kind, courteous, civil and obliging: to all ftrangers, without being guided by thofe religious prejudices fo very prevalent in every other Mahomedan nation; they are fond of enquiring after the manners and cuftoms of Europe; and, in return, very readily afford any information in refpeét to their own country. The praétice of hofpitality is with them fo grand a point, that a man thinks himfelf highly honoured, if you will enter his: houfe and par- take of what the family affords; whereas, going out of a honfe, with- out fmoking a Calean, or taking any other refrefhment, is deemed, in Perfia, a high affront ; they fay that every meal a ftranger partakes with them, brings a blefling upon the houfe: to account for this, we mutt underftand it as a pledge of faith and protection, when we confider that the continual wars in which this country has been involved, with very little ceffation, fince the extin¢étion of the Seti family, have greatly tended to an univerfal de- ravity 42 pravity of difpofition; and a perpe- tual inclination to acts of hottility. This has leffened that foftnefs and urbanity of manners for which this nation has been at all former times fo famous ; and has at the fame time too much extinguifhed all fentiments of honour, and humanity amongit thofe of higher rank. The Perfians, in their converfa- tion, aim much at elegance, and are perpetually . repeating verfes and pafiages from the works of their moft favourite poets, Hafiz, Sadi, and Jami; a practice univerfally prevalent, from the higheft to the loweft; becaufe thofe who have not the advantages of reading and writing, or the other benefits arifing from education, by the help of their memories, which are very retentive, and what they learn by heart, are always ready to bear their part in converfation. They alfo delight much in jokes and quaint expref- fions, and’are fond of playing upon each other; which they fometimes do with great elegance and irony. ‘There is one.thing much to be ad- mired in their converfations, which is the ftri€t attention they always pay to the perfon fpeaking, whom they never interrupt on any ac~ count. They are in general a per- fonable, and in many refpects a handfome people; their complex- ions, faving thofe who are expofed to the inclemencies of the weather, are as fair as Europeans. The women at Shirauz have at all times been celebrated over thofe of other parts of Perfia for their beauty, and not without reafon. Of thofe whom I had the fortuné to fee during my refidence, and who were moitly relations ‘and friends of the family I lived in, many were tall and well-fhaped ; but their _& fhe is in health.’’ ANNUAE "REGISTER; 1790. bright and fparkling eyes was a very ftriking beauty : this, how- ever, 1s in a. great meafure owing to art, as they rub their eye-brows and eye-lids with the black powder of antimony (called furma) which adds an incomparable brilliancy to their natural luftre. The large black eye is in moft eftimation among the Perfians, and this is the moft, common at Shirauz. The women, as in all Mahomedan coun- tries, are, down to the meaneft, co- vered with a veil from head to foot, fo that a fight is never to be ob: tained of them inthe ftreet.. After marriage, they are fubje& to the ftricteft.confinement, The hufband thinks himfelf affronted even by the inquiry of a friend after the’ health of his wife. Calling her by name, is ‘never allowed of; the mode of addrefs muft be, « May « the mother of fuch a fon, or fuch “a daughter, be happy; I hope And ; none, except thofe of-.the neareft kin, as a brother, or uncle, are ever allowed to fee the females of the family unveiled. mt “a Extracts from Obfervations ina Four- " ney through Italy, by Mrs. Piozzi. Turin, O&. 17, 1734. E have at length paffed the Alps, and are fafely arrived at this lovely little city, whence I look back on the majeftic boundaries of Italy, with amazement at. his courage who firlt profaned them; furely the immediate fenfation con- veyed to the mind by the fight of fuch tremendous appearances mutt be in every traveller the fame, a fenfation of fulnefs never -experi- enced before, a {fatisfaction that there is fomething great to be feen on CeHiyAr R4aA.@ T Er Rus: on earth—fome object capable of contenting even fancy. was who arft of all people pervaded thefe fortifications, raiied by nature for the defence of her European Paradife, is not a‘certained; but the great Duke of Savoy has wifely left his name engraved on a monu- ment upon the firit confiderable afcent from Pont Bonvoiiin, as being author of a beautiful. road cut through the jolid ftone for a great length of way, and having by this means encouraged others to affift in facilitating a paflage fo truly defirable, till one of the great won- ders now to be obferved among the Alps, is the eafe with which even a delicate traveller may crofs;them. In thefe profpects, colouring 1s car- ried to its utmoft point of perfection, particularly at the time | found it, variegated with golden touches of autumnal tints; immenfe cafcades mean time burfting from. naked mountains on the one fide; culti- vated fields, rich with vineyards, on the other, and tufted with ele- gant fhrubs that invite one to pluck and carry them away to where they would be treated with much more refpeét. Little towns: fticking in the clefts, where one would imagine it was impoffible to clamber; light clouds often failing under the feet of the high-perched inhabitants, while the found of a deep and rapid though marrow river, dathing with violence among the infolently impeding rocks at the bottom, and bells in thick- ly-feattered {pires calling the quiet Brevard: to church upon the tieep fides of every hill—til one’s mind with fuch mutable, fuch various ideas, as no other place can ever poffibly afford. I had the fatisfaftion of feeing a chamois at a diltance, and {poke / Who he . 43). with a fellow who had killed five” hungry bears that made depredation on his paftures:. we looked on him with reverence as a monfter-tamer of antiquity, Hercules or Cadmus} he had thd fkin of a beaft wrapt round his middle, which confirmed the fancy—but our fervants, who borrowed from no fictitious records the few ideas that adorned their talk, told us he reminded them of Febn the Baptift. I had fearce re- covered the fhock of this too fub- lime comparifon, when we ap- proached his cottage, and found the felons nailed againft the wall, like foxes heads or {pread-kites in England. Here -are many goats, but neither white nor large, like thofe which browze upon the fteeps of Snowdon, or clamber among the cliffs of Plinlimmon. Going down the Italian. fide of the Alps is, after all, an aftonifhing journey; and affords the molt mag- nificent fcenery in nature, which varying at every ftep, gives new impreiion to the mind each moment of one’s paflage; while’the portion of terror excited eitiier by real or fancied dangers on the way, is jul fuflicient to mingle with the pleafure, and make one feel the full etfe& of fublimity.. To the chairmen who carry one though, nothing can be new; it is obiervabile that the glo- . ries of thefe objects have never fad- ed—I heard them {peak to each other, of their beauties, and the change of light fince they had pafled by lait time, while a fellow who fpoke Eng- lifh as well as a native told us, that — having lived ina gentleman’s fervice twenty years between London and ‘Dublin, he at length begged his dif- charge, chufing to retire and fnith his daysa peafant upon thefe mountains, where he firt opened hiseyes upon {cenes 44 feenes that made all other views of nature infipid to his tafte. This charming town is the /aloz of Italy; but it is a finely propor- tioned and well-ornamented /alon, happily conftructed to call in the frefh air at the end of every ftreet, through which a rapid ftream is direéted, that ought to carry off all nuifances, which here have no apo- logy from want of any convenience purchafable by money; and which mutt for that reafon be the choice of inhabitants, who would perhaps be too happy, had they a natural taite for that neatnefs which might here be enjoyed in its purity. The arches formed to defend paflengers from the rain and fun, which here. might have even ferious effeéts from their violence, deferve much praife; while their architecture, uniting our ideas of comfort and beauty to- gether, form a traveller’s tafte, and teach him to admire that perfe@ion, of which a miniature may certain- Jy be found at Turin, when once a police fhall be eftablifhed there to prevent fuch places being ufed for the very groffeft purpofes, and pol- luted with finells that poifon all one’s pleafure. MILA N. The phrafe of mifref is here not confined to fervants at all; gen- themen, when they addrefs one, cry, mia padrona*, mighty {weetly, and in a peculiarly pleafing tone. Nothing, to fpeak truth, can ex- ceed the agreeablenefs of a well- bred Italian’s addrefs when fpeak- ing to a lady, whom they alone know how to flatter, fo as to retain her dignity, and not lofe their own:- refpectful, yet tender; attentive, not officious; the politenefs of a * My miftrefs, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. man of fafhion /ere is true politenefs free from all affeétation, and ho- neftly expreffive of what_he really feels, a true value for the perfon {poken to, without the f{malleft de: fire of fhining himfeif; equally removed from foppery on one fide, or indifference on the other. The manners of the men here are certainly pleafing toa very eminent , degree, and in their converfation there is a mixture, not unfrequent too, of claffical allufions, which ftrike one with a fort of literary pleafure I cannot eafily deferibé. Yet is there no pedantry in their ufe of expreffions, which with us would be laughable or liable to cen- fure: but Roman notions here are not quite extinét; and even the houfe-maid, or donna di gros, as they call her, fwears by Diana {fo comically, there is no telling. They chriften their boys Fabius, their daughters Claudia, very commonly. When they mention a thing known, as we fay, to Tam o’Styles and Fobn o’ Nokes, they ufe the words ¥izxio and Sempronio. A lady tells me, fhe was at a lofs about thé dance yelterday evening, becaufe fhe had not been inftruéted in the program- ma; and a gentleman, talking of , the pleafures he enjoyed fupping laft night at a friend’s houfe, ex- claims, Eramo pur jeri fera in Ap- polline * / alluding to Lucullus’s en- tertainment given to Pompey and Cicero,. as [ remember, in the chamber of Apollo. But here is enough of this—more of it, in their own pretty phrafe, /eccarebbe pur Nettunnot+. : We haveall heard much of Italia * We paffed yefter evening as if we had been in the Apollo. + Would dry up old Neptune him- lf, yp ep cicifbeifm ; CHA BAC TERS. ‘cicifbeifm; I had a mind to know how matters really ftood; and took the neareft way to information by afking a mighty beautiful and ap- parently artlefs young creature, zot noble, how that affair was managed, for there is no harm done J am jure, faid I: « Why no,” replied fhe, “no great harm to be fure: ex- «< cept wearifome attentions from a «man one cares little about: for « my own part,” continued fhe, « I « deteft the cuftom, as I happen to « love my hufband excefiively, and * defire nobody’s company in the «world but his. We are not peo- “< ple of fafbion though you know, « por at all rich; fo how fhould we « fet fafhions for our betters? They «would only fay, fee how jealous “heis! if Mr. Such-a-one fat much *« with me at home, or went with “ me to the Corfo; and I mu? go “ with fome gentleman you know: «< and the men are fuch ungenerous “creatures, and have fuch ways «with them: I want money often, “and this cavajiere fervente pays «the bills, and fo the conne¢tion “draws clofer—that’s all.’ And your hufband! faid I—*« Oh, why «he likes to fee me well-drefled; “he is very good-natured, and ** very charming; I love him to my “heart.” And your confeffor! cried I.—« Oh, why he is w/ed to “7t.—in the Milanefe dialet—2 afucfaa. a ee Ne BE ChB. General knowledge, it muft be ‘confefled (meaning that general ftock that every one recurs to for the common intercourfe of conver- fation), will be found more fre- ~ quently in France, than even in Pigiand ; where, though all cul- tivate the arts of table eloquence and aflembly-room rhetoric, few, 45 from mere fhynefs, venture to gather in the profits of their plentiful har- veft; but rather cloud their coun- tenances with mock’ importance, while their hearts feel no hope beat higher in them, than the humble one of efcaping without being ri- diculed; or than in Italy, where nobody dreams of cultivating con- verfation at all—-as az art; or ftudies for any other than the na- tural reafon, of informing or di- verting themfelves, without the moft diftant idea of gaining admi- ration, or fhining in company, by. the quantity of {cience they have accumulated in folitude. Hzre no man lies awake in the night for vexation that he miffed recolleGting the laft line of a Latin epigram till the moment of application was loft; nor any lady changes colour with trepidation at the feverity vifible ia her hufband’s countenance when the chickens are over-roafted, or the ice-creams melt with the room’s ex- ceffive heat. 2 Among the noble Senators of Venice, meantime, many good fcho- lars," many Belles Lettres conver- fers, and what is more valuable, many thinking men, may be found, and found hourly, who employ their powers wholly in care for the ftate; and make their pleafure, like true patriots, out of her felicity. The ladies indeed appear to ftudy but ove fClence; And where the leffon taught Is but to pleafe, can pleafure feem a fault ? Like all fenfualifts, however, they fail of the end propofed, from hurry to obtain it; and confume thofe charms which alone can procure them continuance or change of ad- mirers; they injure their health too jrreparably, and rhgt in their ear- hiett 46 lieft youth; for few remain unmar- ried till fifteen, and-at thirty have a wan and faded look. Ox ne goute pas fes plaifirs icy, on les avale*, faid Madame la Prefidente yefter- day, very judicioufly; yet it is only fpeaking popularly that one can be fuppofed to mean, what however no one much refufes to af- fert, that the Venetian ladies are amoroully inclined :. the truth is, no check being put apon inclina- tion, each acts according to imme- diate impulfe; and there are more devotees, perhaps, and more doat- ing mothers at Venice than any where elfe, for the fame reafon as there are more females who prattife gallantry, only becaufe there are more women there who do their own avay, and follow unreftrained where paffion, appetite, or imagination ‘lead them. ” To try ‘Venetian dames by Eng- lith rules, would be .worfe than all the tyranny complained of when fome Eaft Indian was condemned upon the Coventry act for flitting his wife’s nofe; a common practice in 4s country, and perfectly agrec- able to cuftom and the w/age du pays. Here is no ftruggle for female edu- cation as with us, no refources in itudy, no duties of family-manage- meut; no bill of fare to be looked over in the morning, no account- book to be fettled at noon; no ne- ceffity of reading, to -fupply with- out difgrace the evening’s chats no laughing at the card-table, or tit- tering in the corner if a Japjis lin- gu@ has produced a miftake, which malice never fails to record. ‘A lady in Italy-is fure of applaufe, fo fhe takes little pains to obtain it. * They do not tafte their pleafures here, they fwallow them whole.’ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. A Venetian lady has in particular fo fweet a manner naturally, that fhe really charms without any fet- tled intent to do fo, merely from that irrefiftible good-humour and mellitluous tone of voice which feize the foul, and detain it in'defpite of Juno-like majefty, or Minerva-like wit. Nor ever was there prince or fhepherd, Paris I think was both, who would not have beftowed his apple here. Mean while my countryman Howel laments that the women at Venice are fo little. But why fo? the diminutive progeny of Vulcan, the Caéirs, mytfterioufly adored of old, were of a fize below that of the leaft living woman, if we be- lieve Herodotus; and they were worfhipped with more conitant as well as more fervent devotion, than the fymmetrical goddefs of Beauty herfelf. A cuftom which prevails here, of wearing little or no.rouge, and increafing the native. palenefs of their fkins, ‘by fearce lightly wiping the very white powder from their faces, isa method no Frenchwoman of quality would like to adopt; yet furely the Venetians are not behind- hand-in the art of gaining admi- rers; and ‘they do not, like theit painters, depend upon colouring to enfure it. “hewn The longevity of this incompa- rable commonwealth is a certain proof of its temperanee, exercife, and cheerfulnefs, the great prefer- vatives in every body, politic as well as natural. Wor thould the love of peace be left out of-her eulogium, who has fo often reconciled contend- ing princes, that Thuanus gave her, fome centuries ago, due praife for her pacific difpofition, fo neceflary to the health of a commereial i 1 a CHARA and called her city céwilis prudentie officina. Another reafon may be found for the long-continued profpetity of - Venice, in her conftant adherence to a precept, the neglect of which -muft at length fhake, or rather oofen the foundations of every flate ; for it is a maxim here, hand- ed.down from. generation to gene- ration, that change breeds more mifchief from its novelty, than ad- vantage from its utility :—gquoting the axiom in Latin, it runs thus: Tpfa mutatio confuetudinis magis per- turbat novitate, quam adjuvat util- tate. And when Henry the Fourth of France folicited the abrogation of one of the Senate’s decrees, her ambaflador replied, That 2 decreti di Venexia raffmigl avano poco i Gridi di Parigi*, meaning the de- ' elaratory publications of the Grand Monarque, — proclaimed to - day, _ perhaps, repealed to-morrow—« for _ Sire,” added he, “ our fenate deli- berates long before it decrees, but _ what is once decreed there is feldom _ or ever recalled.” cir EB Ripl a7 1600, part with their rings, brace- lets, every ornament, to make ropes for thote fhips which’ defend their dearer country. Mott of the fecond rank, and I believe ai] of the firit rank among them, have fome fhare in govern- ing the reft; it is therefoie necef- fary to exclude ignorance, and na- tural to encourage focial pleafures. Each individual feels his own im- portance, and {corns to contribute to the degradation of the whole, by indulging a grofs depravity of manners, or at leaft of principles. Every perfon lifted one degree from the loweit, finds it his inte- reft as well as duty to love his country, and lend his little fup- port to the general fabric of a ftate ‘they all know ! how: to reipeét; while the very vulgar willingly perform the condition exacted, and punually pay obedience for pro- tection. They have an unjimited confidence in their rulers, who live amongft them; and can defire only ‘their utmoft good. How they are governed, comes feldom into their f heads to enquire; “ Che ne penfa li*,”’ fays alow Venetian, if you afk him, and humoroufly points at a Clariflimo paffing by while you talk. They have indeed al] the reafon to be certain, that where the power is divided among fuch numbers, one will be fure to coun- teraét another if mifchief towards ‘the whole be intended. § R OM E. This is the firft ‘town in Italy I have arrived at yet, where the ladies fairly drive. up and down a long ftreet, by way of fhewing their drefs, equipages, cc. without even _ The patriotifm inherent in the , breafts of individuals makes another _ ftrong caufe of this ftate’s exemp- tion from decay: they fay them- - felves, that the foul of old Rome has tranfmigrated to Venice, and i that every galley which goes into _ aétion confiders ‘itfelf as charged ” with the fate of the commonwealth. " Dilee et decorum eff pro patria mori, ‘feems a fentence grown obfolete in + other Italian ftates, but ts ftill in - fall force here; and I doubt pot - but the high-born and high-fouled ladies of this day, would willingly, "as did their generous anceftors in tre The decrees of Venice little re femble the edi?s of Paris. ‘ a) * Let sim look to that. # pre- 48 2 pretence of taking frefh air. At "Turin, the view from the place deftined to this amufement, would tempt one cut merely for its own fake; and at Milan they drive along a planted walk, at leaft a ftone’s throw beyond the gates. Bologna calls its ferious inhabitants to a little rifing ground, whence the profpect is luxuriantly verdant and fmiling. ‘The Lucca baftions are beyond all in a peculiar ftyle of miniature beauty; and even the Florentines, though lazy enough, creep out to Porto St. Gallo. But - here at Roma la Santa, the ftreet is all our Corfo; a fine one doubt- lefs, and called the Strada del Po- polo, with infinite propriety, for ex- cept in that ftrada, there is little populoufnefs enough, God knows. ‘Ewelve men to a woman even there, and as many ecclefiaftics to a lay- man: all this however is fair, when celibacy is once enjoined as a duty in ei encouraged as a virtue in all. Au refie, as the French fay, we muft not be too fure that all who drefs like Abates are fuch. Many gentlemen wear black as the court garb; many becaufe it is not coftly, and many for reafons of mere con- venience and diflike of change. I fee not here the attractive beauty which caught my eye at Venice; but the*women at Rome have a moft Juno-like carriage, and fill up one’s idea of Livia and Agrippina well enough. ‘The men have rounder faces than one fees in other towns I think; bright, black, and fomewhat prominent eyes, with che fineft teethin Europe. A ftory ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. told me this morning, ftruck my fancy much; of an herb-woman, who kept a ftall here in the market,. and who, when the people ran out flocking to fee the queen of Naples as fhe pafled, began exclaiming to her neighbours—« 4h, povera Ro- ma! tempo fu quando pafsd qui pri- gioniera la regina Zenobia; altra cofa amica, robba tutta diverfa di quefia reginuccia *!” St. Peter’s church is incontef- tably the firft object in this city, fo crowded with fingle figures: that this church fhould be built in the form of a Latin crofs inftead of a Greek one may be wrong for aught I know; that columns would have done better than piers infide, I do not think; but that whatever has been done by man might have been done better, if that is all the critics want, I readily allow. This church is, after all their objections, neargr to perfeét than any other building in the world; and when Michael Angelo, looking at the Pantheon, faid, «Is this the beft our vaunted anceftors could do? if fo, I will fhew the advancement of the art, in fufpending a dome of equal fize to this up in the air.” He made a glorious boaft, and was perhaps the only perfon ever exifting who could have performed his promife, The figures of angels, or rather cherubims, eightfeet high, which fupport the vafes holding holy wa- ter, as they are made after the form of babies, do perfectly and clofely reprefent infants of eighteen or twenty months old; nor till one comes quite clofe to them indeed, is it poflible to difcern that they * «© Ah, poor degraded Rome! time was, my dear, when the great Zenobia paffed through thele ftreets in chains; anetherguels figure from this little Queency, in good time!" are ‘CHARACTERS. are coloflal. This is brought by fome as a proof of the exact pro- ‘portions kept, and of the prodi- gious fpace occupied, by the area of this immenfe edifice; and urged by others, as a peculiarity of the human body to deceive fo at a dif- tance, moft unjuftly: for one is furprifed exaétly in the fame man- ner by the doves which ornament the church in various parts of it. They likewife appear of the natural fize, and completely within one’s reach upon entering the door, but foon as approached, recede to a confiderable height, and prove their magnitude nicely proportioned to that of the angels and other deco- rations, The canopied altar, and its ap- purtenances, are likewife all col- Joffal, I think, when they tell me of four hundred and fifty thoufand pounds weight of bronze brought from the Pantheon, and ufed to form the wreathed pillars which fupport, and the torfes that adorn it. Yet airy lightnefs and exqui- fite elegance are the charatteriftics, of the fabric, not gloomy great- nefs, or heavy folidity. How im- menfe then muft be the fpace it ftands on! four hundred and fixty- feven of my fteps carried me from the door to the end. Warwick caftle would be .contained in its middle ai/le. Here are one hun- dred and twenty filver lamps, each Jarger than I could lift, conftantly ‘burning round the altar; and one mever fees either them, or the Tight they difpenfe, till forced upon the obfervation of them, fo com- pletely are they loft in the general ‘grandeur of the whole. In hhort, with a profufion of wealth that aftonifhes, and of {plendour that Vor. XXXII. _and that was all. 49 dazzles, as foon as you enter on - an examination of its fecondary parts, every 2 ae jrft impreflion at entering St. Peter’s church,. mutt be furprife at feeing it fo clear of fuperfluous ornament. Getting on the top of this ftupendous edi- . fice, is however the readieft way to fill one’s mind with a defervin notion of its extent, capacity, sa beauty; nor is any operation eafier, fo happily contrived is the afcent. Contrivance here is an ill-chofen word too, foluminous, fo convenient is the walk, fo fpacious the galle- ries befide, that all idea of danger is removed, when you perceive that even round the undefended cornice, our king’s ftate coach might be moft fafely driven. The monuments, although in- comparable, fcarcely obtain a fhare of your admiration for the firit ten times of your furveyiug the place; Guglielmo della Porta’s famous figure, fupporting that dedicate to the memory of Paul the Third, was found fo happy an imitation of female beauty by fome madman here however, that it is faid he was inflamed with a Pigmalion-like paffion for it, of which the Pontiff¥ hearing, commanded ‘the ftatue to be draped. The fleps at almoft the end of this church we have all heard were porphyry, and fo the are; how many hundred feet long I have now forgotten:—no matter ; what Ihave not forgotten is, that I thought as I looked at them— why fo they /2ould be parphyry— While the vafes and ciflerns of the fame beautiful fubftance ‘at Villa Borghefe at- tracted my wonder; and Clement X.’s urn, at St. John de Lateran, appeared to me an urn fitter for p*} the §9 the afhes of an Egyptian monarch, Bufiris or Sefoftris, than for a Chriftian prieft or fovereign, fince univerfal dominio has been abo- lifhed. Nothing, however, caz look very grand in St. Peter’s church; and though I faw the general be- nediction given (I hope partook it) upon Eafter Day, my conftant impreffion was, that the people were below the place; no pomp, ‘no glare, no dove and glory on the chair of ftate, but what looked too little for the area that contained them, . Sublimity difdains to catch the. vulgar eye, fhe elevates the foul; nor can long-drawn procef- fions, or fplendid ceremonies, fuffice to content thofe travellers who feek for images that never tarnifh, and for truths that never can decay. ‘Pius Sextus, in-his morning drefs, paying his private devotions at the altar, without any pageantry, and with very few attendants, ftruck gme more a thoufand and a thoufand ‘times, than when, arrayed in gold, ‘in colours, and diamonds, he was carried to the front of a balcony big enough to have contained the conclave; and there, fhaded by two white fans, which though real- ly enormous, looked no larger than that a girl carries in her pocket, pronounced words which on account of the height they came from were ‘difficult to hear. All thisis known and felt by the ‘managers of thefe theatrical exhibi- tions fo certainly, that they judici- “oufly confine great part of them to ‘the Capella Svcftini, which being large enough to imprefs the mind with its folemnity, and not {pacious “enough for the priefts, congrega- tion, and all, tobe loit in it, is well adapted for thofe various functions ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. -mind—the abfence of all inftru- that, really make Rome a {cene of perpetual gata during the holy week; which an Englith friend here protefted to me he had never {pent with fo little devotion in his life before. The miferere has, how- ever, a ftrong power over one’s mental mufic, the fteadinefs of fo many human voices, the gloom of the place, the piéture of Michael Angelo’s laft judgment covering its walls, united with the mourning drefs of the {peétators—is altoge- ther calculated with great ingenui- 7 ty to give a fudden ftroke to the imagination, and kindle that tem- porary blaze of devotion it is wifely enough intended to excite. Account of a fingular Cuftom at Me- telin, with fome Conjectures on the Antiquity of its Origin. By the — Right Honourable James Earl of — Charlemont, Prefident R. J. A. From the Tranfaétions of the Royal Irifh Academy, 1789. Hough the extreme beauty re and amenity of the Grecian © iflands, efpecially thofe on the Afi- atic fide of the Egean fea, may © render it difficult to make a choice among them, yet, if I were defired — to declare a preference, I fhould © probably fix on Metelin, the an- — cient Lefbos.— This enchanting — ifland, proud of the birth of Al- — ceus and of Sappho, ftill retains © CHARACT E)RS: 4 Spirat adhuc Amor ivuntque commiffi Calores /Eoliz Fidibus Puellz ! Nature here reigns triumphant, and by thewing what fhe can per- form alone and unaflifted, teaches us to defpife the weak efforts of her ‘inadequate mimick.—The moun- tains, whofe rugged tops exhibit a pleafing interfperfion of rocks and of pine groves, have their green fides, for many ‘miles along the coaft, covered with olives, whofe lefs agreeable verdure is corrected, embellifhed, and brightened by a lively mixtufe of bays and of lau rels afpiring to the height of foreft trees, of myrtles, pomegranates, and of arbutes, rich at once in bloffom and in berry, of mulberries growing wild, and laden with fruit, and of every other tree _ OF nobleit kind for fight, fmell, tatte ! While the luxuriant vine, climb- ing wild and unreftrained even to their topmoft branches, adorns and enriches them with its Vivid green, and with its cluftering fruit. — Winter is here unknown.—The cli- mate forbids it.—The verdure is perpetual, and the frequency of evergreens gives to December the colour of June.—The parchirg heat of fummer is never felt. —'The thick fhade of trees, and thoufands of ' eryftal fprings, which every where _arife, and form themfelves into un- numbered rivulets, joined to the refrefhing fea breeze, the conftant companion and corrective of noon- ‘tide heat, qualify the burning air, and render the year a never-ending May— Airs, vernal airs! Breathing the fmell of field and grove, attune § It The trembling leaves, while univerfal Pang Knit with the Graces, and the Hours ia dance, - ; : Leads on the eternal fprirg tame > No wonder then if the inhabi- tants, the better to enjoy thefe ya- rious beauties, fhould conftruét their houfes in the following peculiar manner :—each houfe is a*{quare tower neatly built of hewn ftone, fo high as to overtop the trees, and to command a view of the fea and neighbouring iflands.—The lower ftories are granaries and ftore- honfes, and the habitable apart- ments are all at the top, to which you afcend by a ftone ftair, built, for the moft part, on the outfide, and furrounding the tower, fo that from the apartments the trees are overlooked, and the whole country is feen, while the habitations them- felves, which are very numerous, peering above the groves, add life and variety to the enchanting pro- fpe&t, and give an air ae population to thefe woodlands, which might otherwife be fuppofed the region of Dryads, of Naiads, and of Satyrs. But the charms of this delightful fpot have fo far tranfported my. imagination, that I have almott forgotten the fubjeét of which, in this eflay, 1 meant to treat, and which-is no other than a remarka- ble and fingular cuftom of this ifland, peculiar, I believe, to itfelf, and, as faras I know, never yet de- tailed by any traveller. =, She women here feeni to have atrogated to themfelves the depart- ment and privileges of the men.—« Contrary to the ufage of all other countries, the eldeft daughter here inherits, and the fons, like daugh- ters every where elfe, are portioned off with {mall dowers, or, which is p2 fill §2 fill worfe, turned out, pennylefs, to feek their fortune.—If a man has two daughters, the eldeft, at her Marriage, is entitled to all her mo- ther’s pofleffions, which are by far the greater part of the family eftate, as the mother, keeping up her pre- rogative, never parts with the power over any portion of what fhe has brought into the family, until the is forced into it by the marriage of her daughter, and the father alfo is compelled to ruin himfelf by add- ing whatever he may have fcraped together by his induftry—The fe- cond daughter inherits nothing, and is condemned to perpetual celi- bacy.—She is ftyled a Calogria, which fignifies properly a religious woman or nun, and is in effeét me- nial fervant to her filter, being em- ployed by her in any office fhe may think fit to impofe, frequently ferv- ing her as waiting maid, as cook, and often in employments ftill more degrading.—She wears a habit pe- culiar to her fituation, which fhe can never change, a fort of mo- naftick drefs, coarfe, and of dark brown. One advantage however fhe enjoys over her fifter, that whereas the elder, before marriage, is never allowed to go abroad, or to fee any man, her neareft relations only ex- cepted, the Calogria, except when employed in domeftick toil, is in this refpect at perfect liberty —But when the fifter is married, the fitu- ation of the poor Calogria becomes defperate indeed, and is rendered ftill more humiliating by the com- parifon between her condition and that of her happy miftrefs: The married fifter enjoys’ every fort of liberty—the whole family fortune * This f{pecies of finery, which prevails through many of the iflands, is never e worn in Metelin, but when full drefs is deemed neceflary. x ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. is her’s, and fhe fpends it as fhe pleafes—her hufband is her obfe- quious fervant—her father and mo- ther are dependant upon her—fhe dreffles in the moft magnificent manner, covered all over, accordin to the fafhion of the ifland, wit pearls and with pieces of gold, which are commonly fequins * ; thus continually carrying about her the enviable marks of affluence and fuperiority, while the wretched Calogria follows her as a fervant, arrayed in fimple homefpun brown, and without the moft diftant hope of ever changing her condition. Such a difparity may feem intole- rable, but what will not cuftom re- concile? Neither are the misfor- tunes of the family yet at an end-— The father and mother, with what little is left them, contrive by their induftry to accumulate a fecond little fortune, and this, if they fhould have a third daughter, they. are obliged to give to her upon her marriage, and the fourth, if there fhould be one, becomes her Calo- gria; and fo on through all the daughters alternately. Whenever the daughter is marriageable, fhe can by cuftom compel the father to procure her a hufband, and the: mother, fuch is the power of habit, is foolifh enough to join in teazing him into an immediate compliance, though its confequences muft be equally fatal and ruinous to both of them, From hence it happens that nothing is more common than to fee the old father and mother reduced to the utmoft indigence, and even begging about the ftreets, while their unnatural daughters are in affluence ; and we ourfelves have frequently , CILA RA frequently been fhewn the eldeft daughter parading it through the town in the greateit fplendour, while her mother and fifter followed her as fervants, and made a melancholy part of her attendant train. The fons, as foon as they are of an age to gain a livelihood, are turned out of the family, fometimes with a fmall prefent or portion, but more frequently without any thing to fupport them; and thus reduced, they either endeavour to live by their labour, or, which is more ufual, go on board fome trad- ing veffel as failors or as fervants, remaining abroad till they have got together {ome competency, and then returning home to marry and to be hen-pecked. Some few there are who, taking advantage of the Turkifh law, break through this whinifical cuftom, who marry their Calogrias, and retain to themfelves a competent provifion; but thefe are accounted men of a fingular and even criminal difpofition, and are hated and defpifed-as confor- mifts to Turkifh manners, and de- ferters of their native cuftoms; fo that we may fuppofe they are few indeed who have the boldnefs to depart from the manners of their country, to adopt the cuftoms of their detefted mafters, and to brave the contempt, the derifion, and the hatred of their neighbours and fel- low-citizens. Of all thefe extraordinary parti- culars [ was informed by the French conful, a man of fenfe and of in- difputable veracity, who had re- fided in this ifland for feveral years, Cult B Ress 63 and who folemnly affured me that every circumftance was true; but indeed our own obfervation left us ‘without the leaft room for doubt, -and the fingular appearance and deportment of the ladies fuily e- vinced the truth of our friend’s ‘relation. ‘In walking through the town it is eafy to perceive, from the whimfical manners of the female ‘paflengers, that the women, accord- ing to the vulgar phrafe, wear the breeches. They frequently ftopped us in the ftreets, examined our drefs, interrogated us with a bold and manly air*, laughed at our foreign garb and appearance, and fhewed fo little attention to that decent modefty, which is, or ought to be, the true charaéteric of the fex, that there is every reafon to fup- pofe they would, in fpite of their haughtinefs, be the kindeft ladies upon earth, if they were not ftriét- ly watched by the Turks, who are here very numerous, and would be ready to punifh any tranfgreffion of their ungallant laws with arbi- trary fines. But nature and native manners will often baffle the efforts even of tyranny. In all their cuftoms, thefe manly ladies feem to have changed fexes with the men. —The woman rides aftride—the man fits fideways upon the horfe. | Nay, I have been affured that the hufband’s diftinguifhing appeliation is his wife’s fmily name,—The women have town and country houfes, in the management of which the hufband never dares interfere, —Their gardens, their fervants, are all their own; and the. hufband, * In the nineteenth epiftle of the firft book, Horace applies an epithet to Sappho, which might with great aptnefs be given to her prefent countrywomen » “ Temperat Archilochi Mufam pede mafcula Sappho," E 3 from 54 from every. ciruumftance of his be- haviour, appears to be no other than his wife’s firft domettic, per- petually bound to her fervice, and flave to her caprice, -Hence it is that a tradition obtains in the country, that this ifland was for- merly inhabited by Amazons, a tradition however founded upon no ancient hiftory that I know of. Sap- pho indeed, the moit renowned fe- male that this ifland has ever pro- duced, is faid to have had manly inclinations, in. which, as Lucian informs us, fhe did. but conform with the fingular manners of her countrywomen; but I do not find that the mode in which fhe chole to fhew thefe inclinations is imitated by the prefent female inhabitants, who feem perfectly content with the dear prerogative of abfolute fway, without endeavouring in any other particular to. change the courfe of nature ; yet will this cir- cumflance ferve to fhew that the women of Lefbos had always fome- thing peculiar, and even peculiarly mafculine, in their manners and propenfities. But be this as it may, it is certain that no country what- foever can afford a more perfeét idea of an Amazonian commonwealth, or better ferve to render probable thofe ancient relations which our manners would induce us to efteem incredible, than this ifland of Mete- Jin. Thefe lordly ladies are, for the moft part, very handfome in fpite of their drefs, which is fingular ‘and difadvantageous. Down to the girdle, which, as in the old Grecian garb, is raifed far above what we ufually call the waift, they wear nothing but a fhift of thin and tranfparent gauze, red, green, or brown, through which every thing is vilible, their breafts only except- 6 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1799. ed, which they cover with a fort of handkerchief; and this, as we were informed, the Turks lave obliged them to wear, while they look upon it as an incumbrance, and as no inconfiderable portion of Turkith tyranny. Long figeves of the fame thin material, perfefly fhew their arms even to the fhoul- der. Their principal ornaments are chains of pearl, to which they hang {mall pieces of gold coin. Their eyes are large and fine; and the nofe, which we term Grecian, ufu- ally prevails among them, as it does indeed among the women of all thefe iflands. Their complex- ions are naturally fine, but they fpoil them by paint, of which re 4 make abundant ule, and they dil- figure their pretty faces by fhaving the hinder part of the eyebrow, and replacing it with a ftrait line of hair, neatly applied with fome fort of gum, the brow being thus. continued in a ftrait and narrow line till it joins the hair on each fide of their face. They are well made, of the middle fize, and, for the moft part, plump; but they are diftinguifhed by nothing fo much and fo. univerfally, as by a haughty, difdainful, and fupercilious air, with which they feem to look down upon all mankind as creatures of an infe- rior nature, born for their fervice, and doomed ‘to be their flaves ; nei- ther does this peculiarity of counte- nance in any degree diminifh their natural beauty, but rather adds to it that fort of bewitching attraction, which the French call piguant. In the fequel of this paper, lord Charlemont has endeavoured with great learning and ingenuity to trace the origin of this extraordinary cuftom up to the firft fettlement of — the ifland by the Lycians, accord~ ing Car Bh Ot CT EB RyS. ing to Diodorus, thirty ot forty cen- turies ago; amongft whom we have the authority of Plutarch, that the fame ufages prevailed. It would indeed, as he adds, be whimfically Curious, if we could allow ourfelves to imagine that a fingular cuftom at. this day fubfifting could be traced back to an origin fo very remote, and fhould have taken its rife in a period when the world Wa* yet in its infancy; or that the relations of Diodorus and of Plu- tarch, which, confidering the times of which they treat, might, with muci appearance of reafon, be deemed fabulous, fhould be corro- borated, and, as it were, authenti- cated by a cuftom at this day fub- fifting, — ES Curious Letter from the 'Telhoo La- ma to, Governor Hatftings; from Tranjactions of the Royal Edin- burgh Society. : R. Maconochie communicat- ed from Robert Bogle, of Daldowie, efq. .a copy of a letter, written in 1773, by the Tefhoo Lama of Thibet, to Warren Haf- tings, efquire, governor general of Bengal, while- a brother of Mr. Bogle’s was refiding at the Lama’s , court, as envoy from Mr. Hatitings. Mr. Maconochie remarked, that the turn of thought and expreffion ren- _@ered the letter a very great curio- fity; but that it was ftill more in- _terefting on two accounts: 1ft, That it eftablifhed beyond all queftion, that the Tefhoo Lama, though a ntiff of inferior rank to the Da- i Lama, is underftood to poffefs the foul of faints, or divine perion- _ages that flourifhed in former times, and to retain the remembrance of . 55 what happened to them in thofe paft periods of exiftence. adly. — ‘That the fame places which are re- garded in Bengal as peculiarly fa- * cred, are likewife regarded by tne .. religion of Fo as holy; that the . Tefhoo Lar-a, in fome of his former ftates of exiftence, is fuppofed to - have refided in thofe plaees; thar the Ganges, fo revered among the Brahmins, is alfo revered by the . worfhippers of Fo; and that the reference by the followers of that religion in Japan to fome region in India, as the origin and holy land of their faith, is here af-. certained to belong to Bengal,- Thefe circumftances, he thought, fuggefted very important refleeabne with regard to the hiftory. of the. religions of Eaftern Afia. ar The letter is as follows: From Tresuoo Lama to. the ~ Governor. Received the 22d Fuly, 1775+ « Mr. Bogle, whom, out of your kindnefs, you were pleafed to fend into this quarter, having (thank God) arrived here in perfect health, I had, at an aufpicious hour, the pleafure of an interview with him, and was rendered fo completely happy on the occafion, that ir might in reality have been thought an in- terview with yourfelf. ‘The letter which yon addrefled to me, and the prefents you fent by Mr. Bogle, I have likewife received fafe. May your happinels and profperity daily increafe. ,All the particulars which Mr. Bogle verbally reprefented to me, I perfectly underftand. _ You were pleafed to write me, that you had fent orders for eftablihing peace-with the Debe Doria, aprée- able to my requeft, ‘True; the BE 4 picafure eS 56 pleafure thefe particulars gave me, it is impoflible to exprefs. When you, out of pure friendfhip, are in- duced thus readily to comply with a requeft of mine, what return can “I make you for it, but offer you my prayers? You have laid me under an obligation to you for ever ; and I hope that you will every where prove victorious and fuc- cefsful, What can I fay to you of my own fituation? In former ages, I repeatedly received my ex- iftence from Allahabad, Benares, Patna, Purnea, and other places in Bengal and Oriffa; and having ever enjoyed much happinefs from thofe places, I have imbibed a par- tiality for them; and a fincere love and affection for their inhabitants are ftrongly imprefied on my heart. The well-known place of Outra- gund gave me my laft exiftence; and thanks be to God, the inhabi- tants of this quarter are all content and fatisfied with me. Where my Spiritual effence will tranfmigrate to next, will hereafter be feen. At prefent, here I fit in this icy coun- try, in obedience and fubjeétion to the emperorof China. I have long had a defire of feeing you, and the dominions and people over whom you rule; but hitherto many caufes have occurred to prevent me, what- ever may happen in future. My travelling fo far as your country, to obtain a perfonal interview with you, muft, however, be at- tended with many unfurmountable difficulties, and Providence has de- creed, that we fhould be at this ne- ceffary diftance from each other. From this confideration, J am in- duced to requeft that you will grant me a piece of ground near the fea- fide, that I may build a houfe of ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. worfhip thereupon; and for the ex- ~ pences of building it, I have fent an hundred pieces of gold by Mr. Bogle, together with fome carpets, cloths, and other neceflaries, which he will thew you, for the decora- tion of it; and I requeft that you will do me the favour to let the houfe be immediately built, and the things put up; and as foon as the’ cold feafon fets in, I will certainly difpatch to you fome of my own people, if not fome of the family of the Lama, who is patron of the emperor of China. I hope that you will receive them with kind- nefs, and fend fome of your own fervants with them, to vifit every place of worfhip at Allahabad, Be- nares, &c. for the difcharge of their religious duties. As this country is under the abfolute fove- reignty of the emperor of China, who maintains an active and’ unre- laxed control over all its affairs ; and as the forming of any connec- tion or friendfhip with foreign powers is contrary to his pleafure, it will frequently be out of my power to difpatch any meffengers to you. However, it will be im- poffible to efface the remembrance of you out of my mind; and I fhall always pray for the increafe of your happinefs and profperity, and, in return, I hope you will fre- quently favour me with accounts of your health. To avoid troubling you, and intruding longer upon your time with my incorreét ftyle, I fhall conclude this, but beg you will favour me with an anfwer; and I fhall take an opportunity of addrefling you by every perfon who goes from hence into your part of the world. Ihave reprefented all particulars to Mr. Bogle, who will communicate Cup A ROAcCcD E-R}S. 57 eommunicate them to you, and I hope you will confent to them.”’ [On a feparate paper.J « Having, in compliance with my requeft, put an end to hoftilities ‘with the Debe Raja, and eftablifhed @ peace with him, you have thereby conferred upon me the greateft obli- gation. ° As a teftimony whereof, 1 fend you a prefent of afew things; and, although not worth accept- ance, | beg you willaccept of them, merely upon this confideration, that agreen deaf is a prefent from a hermit. Lift of prefents. 8 Pieces of China fatin. 1 Silver talent of China. « Pelong handkerchief. « J can make no fuitable return for your friendfhip from this part of the world, and I hope you will excufe it. _Poorun Ker Cufhoo will have the honour of paying his refpeéts to you; and I hope you will grant him your favour and pro- teion in the bufinefs with which he is entrufted.” ‘ NATURAL E 58 J NATURAL Account of the Bouquetin, or Moun- tain Goat ; from Coxe’s Travels in So tectland. vol. ii. Obferved at Michael Paccard’s, | a guide of Chamouny, a head and horns of the male douguetin, or mountain-goat, and ftufted {peci- mens of a female and a young one, As this animal is extremely rare, and inhabits the higheft and almoft macceflible mountains, the defcrip- tions of it have. been very inaccu- rate and confufed. But a new light has been lately thrown on the ifub- ject by Dr. Girtanner of St. Gal- fen, and by M. van Berchem, fe- eretary to the Society of Sciences at Laufanne; and although thefe two naturalifts differ in fome in- flances, yet their joint labours have affifted in afcertaining the nature and ceconomy of this curious ani- mal. The following account, there- fore, of the bouquetin, is drawn principally from their obfervations in Rozier’s Journal, and from ad- ditional information obligingly com- manicated to me by M. van Ber- chem himfelf. This animal is now chiefly found mpon that chain which ftretches from Dauphiné through Savoy to the confines of Italy, and princi- pally on the alps bordering on Mont Blanc, which is the moft ele- vated part of thatchain. Its parti- cular haunts are the valley of Cor- HISTORY. j mayor to the fouth of Mont Blanc, 9 thofe heights which lie between J] Mont Blanc and the frontiers of the ~ Vallais, and the mountains which ~ border the Val Savarenche; but it — is met with more abundantly in the — mountains of the valley of Cogne, which is the frontier of the valley — of Dent in Piedmont; and almoft — always frequents thofe parts that have a fouthern afpect. The feveral names by which the — bouquetin is known in different lan- J guages, are, in Greek, by Homer and ~ fElian, Aié wygiog; Latin, [éex,which 9] name has been adopted by moft © modern naturalifts; Italian, Capra © Selvatica; German and Swils, Steiz- Lech, or Rock- goat, the female, 4} Etagne, or Vbfchen and Yob/chgeifs, ~ perhaps from the Latin Ibex ; © Flemith, Wildcheit; French, Box- quetin, anciently Souc-efain, the — German name reverfed. Belon © named it Hircus ferus; Briffon, © Hiircus Ibex ; Linneus, Capra Ibex; @ Pennant, the dex; and Dr. Gir- © tanner, Capra Alpina. [have adopt- — ed the name of Bouquetin, becaufe it is the provincial appellation of — the animal in the Alps. The fyftematic naturalifts agree — in taking the fpecific character of — the bouquetin from the beard, and — the horns, which they deferibe as — knobbed along the upper or ante- — rior furface, and reclining towards the back, The i NATURAL The male bouquetin is larger than the tame goat, but refembles it much in. the outer form. ‘The head is fmall in proportion to the body, with the muzzle thick, com- prefied, and a little arched. The eyes are large, round, and have much fire and brilliancy. The horns large, when of a full fize weighing fometimes 16 or 18 pounds, flatted before and rounded behind, with one or two longitudi- nal ridges, and many tranfverfe ridges; which degenerate towards the tip into knobs; the colour dufky . brown. The beard long, tawny, or dufky. The legs flender, with the hoofs fhort, hollow on the infide, and on the outfide terminated by a falient border, like thofe of the chamois. ‘The body fhort, thick, and ftrong. ‘The tail fhort, naked underneath, the reft covered with long hairs, white at the bafe and fides, black above and at the end. Space under the tail in fome tawny, in others white. The coat long, but not pendent, afh-ccloured, mixed with fome hoary hairs: a black lift runs along the back; and there is a black fpot above and be- low the knees. Its colour, how- ever, like that of other animals, muft neceflariiy vary according to its age and local circumftances. The female has been little noticed among naturalifts. She is one third Jefs than the male, and not fo cor- pulent: her colour is lefs tawny: her horns are very fmall, and not above eight inches long. In thefe, and in her figure, fhe refembles a goat that has been caftrated whilft young. She has two teats, like the tame fhe-goat, and never has any beard, unlefs, perhaps, in an ad- vanced age. The young ones are of a dirty grey colour, and the lift ‘the fummit. His T:O.RY: $9 along the back is fearcely difcern- ible. Parte There isa ftuffed fpecimen of the male bouquetin of the Alps in Mr. Parkinfon’s, late Sir Afhton Lever’s, Mufeum, of which I have here given fome of the principal dimenfions, as they are not to be found in any author that has fallen under my obfervation, except in Buffon’s Hif- toire Naturelle; and thofe wére taken by Mr. Daubenton from a young fubject. In a ftate of tranquillity, the bouquetin commonly carries the head low; but in running holds it high, and even bends it a little forward. He mounts a perpendi- cular rock of fifteen feet’ at ,three leaps, or rather three fucceflive bounds of five feet each. It does not {feem as if he found any footing on the rock, appearing to touch it merely to be repelled, like an elaftic fubftance ftriking againft a hard body. He is not fuppofed to take more than three fucceffive leaps in this manner. If he is between two rocks which are near each other, and wants to reach the tep, he leaps from the fide of one rock to the other alternately, till he has attained He alfo traverfes the glaciers with rapidity; but only when purfued, for otherwife he a- voids them. The bouquetins feed, during the night, in the higheft woods: but the {un no fooner begins to gild the fummits, than they quit the woody region, and mount, feeding in their progrefs, till they have reached the molt confiderable heights, They betakke themfelves to the fides of the mountains which face the eaft or fouth, and lie down in the higheft places and hotteft expofures: but when the fun has finifhed more than three 69 three quarters of its courfe, they “again begin to feed, and to defcend towards the woods; whither they retire when it is likely to fnow, and where they always pafs the ‘winter. The bouquetins affemble in flocks, confifting at the moft of ten, twelve, or fifteen; but more ufually in fmaller numbers. The males which are fix years old and upwards, haunt more elevated places than the females and younger bou- quetins; and as they advance in age are lefs fond of fociety; they become gradually hardened againit the effects of extreme cold, and fre- quently live entirely alone. In fumimer they feed principally on the genipi and other aromatic plants which grow in the high alps; and in winter they eat the lichens, ané@ broufe on bufhes and the tender ». .. of trees. They prefer thofe dy, where the dwarf birch and alpwie willows grow, and where rhododendron, thalirum, and faxi- Jrages, abound. ‘The bouquetins having their fore legs fomewhat fhorter than the hind legs, naturally afcend with greater facility than they defcend ; for this reafon nothing but the fevereft wea- ther can engage them to come down into the lower regions; and even jn winter, if there are a few fine days, they leave the woods and mount higher. Winter is the feafon of love with them, and princpally the month of January. The females go with young five months, and confequent- ly produce in the laft week of June, or the firft of July. At the time of parturition they feparate from the males, retire to the fide of fome rill, and generally bring forth only one young, though fome naturaliits af- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. firm that they occafionally produce two. The commoncry of the bouquetin is a fhort fharp whiftle, not unlike — that of the chamois, but of lefs conti- nuance: fometimes it makes a fnort, and when young bleats. The feafon for hunting the bou- — quetin is towards the end of fum- mer, and in autumn, during the months of Auguft and September, when they are ufually in good con- dition. None but the inhabitants of the mountains engage in the © chace; for it requires not only a head that can bear to look down from the greateft heights without terror, addrefs and fure-footednefs in the moft difficult and dangerous paffes, and to be an_ excellent mark{man, but alfo much ftrength and vigour, to fupport hunger, cold, and prodigious fatigue. The moft determined hunters of bou- quetins live in the mountains of the Lower Vallais: for inftance, the natives of Servan, a village in a wild and piéturefque fituation, four © leagues from Valorfine, and two or three from Martigny, are hunters, and the bouquetins being no longer found in their mountains, they hunt in thofe of the valley of Aoft, ob- taining a permiffion for that purpole from the inhabitants. The female fhows much attach- ment to her young, and even de- fends it againit eagles, wolves, and other enemies ; fhe takes refuge in fome cavern, and prefenting her head at the entrance of the hole, thus _ oppofes the enemy. When a bouquetin is fhot, the hunters let it cool upon the fpot, and then embowel it, putting the blood ~ into one of the entrails, which is efteemed by the peafants a fove- . . . reign NATURAL reign remedy in pleurifies and forhe other diforders. A large bouque- tin thus embovwelled will weigh 180 or 200 pounds. A female weighs only from 70 to 80 pounds, Some naturalifts are of opinion, ‘that the diminution of the race of bouquetins in the Alps is owing to his fize, the monftrous length and weight of the horns, which impede him in his courfe; becaufe he is driven into places where he can fcarcely procure fufficient nourifh- ment during great part of the year, where his fight becomes debilitat- ed, and is frequently loft by the ftrong reflection of the fun from the ice and fnow. They confider this animal rather as a native of the fubalpine regions, which are co- vered during fummer with the fineft herbage, and where the bouquetins and chamois probably paftured in tranquillity, when only the lower vallies and plains were inhabited. On the contrary, it is maintained by others, that the bouquetin is endued with ftrength proportionate to his fize; and sipesh he is infe- . rior to the chamois in livelinefs and agility, yet he is by no means de- ficient in activity; that his horns, though large and weighty, yet from their reclined pofition do not feem to be any impediment, but rather render him effential fer- vice when he happens to fall, or purpofely throws himfelf down pre- cipices to avoid his purfuers. They add alfo, that his natural food is rather lichens than herbs ; that he is particularly fond of the young fhoots of trees and fhrubs; and that in all the places where he in- habits, he is found in the coldeft and rudeft mountains, and on the fteep- eft rocks. From thefe circumftan- a « = HISTOR Y. 6r cés, it is not improbable, that his prefent fituation and manner of life is an effet of nature rather than neceflity. Befides, why do the cha-~ mois, who are more hunted than the bouquetin, ftill inhabit the lefs elevated regions; and why are they not driven into the glaciers? To account for the prefent fcarcity of the bouquetin, we need only con- fider the number of its enemies, in men, beafts, and birds of prey. Nor is there much caufe for apprehen- fions, that the race will be extinét even in the Alps. But allowing that the bouquetin was no longer found in his native Alps, ftill we could not affirm with fo much pro- priety that the race was extiné, as that it had migrated into a milder climate, and, with a ftate of domef- tication and more fucculent food, had acquired fofter manners, a form lefs rude, fmaller and {moother horns. For it is even not impro- bable, that the Aireus ferus or bouc- eftain of Belon, the bouquetin of the Alps, the Siberian ibex, and ega- grus, both fo accurately defcribed by Pallas, and the tame goat in all its different forms, are only varie- ties of the fame fpecies. Their difference in fhape and manners may be fufticiently accounted for from a change of climate, fituation, and food; they are found to couple freely with each other ; and are alerted to produce an offspring which is fertile. They all have a beard, which feems to be the great charatterittic diftinction of this genus. They differ more or lefs from each other in the fhape of their horns, fize, and coat, none of which ‘can be efteemed certain fpecific diflinétions. The greateit difference undoubtedly confiits 62 confifts‘in the horns, none of them, perhaps, except the bouquetin, hav- ing a longitudinal ridge, and fome of them being even without the tranfverfe ridges. But this differ- ence is lefs perceptible, in compar- ing the bouquetin with the Siberian ibex, the ibex with the zxgagrus, and the xgagrus with the tame. goat. Nor are the horns of the Alpine bouquetin fo much weigh- tier, longer, and larger, than thofe of the above-mentioned animals, as to form a certain fpecific diftinc- tion. But even if this difference fhould be ftill greater, it could never be admitted as forming a {pecific dif- tinétion. For the horns not only differ in individuals of the fame fpecies, but in the fame individuals at different ages. If we were to attempt to arrange animals /c/ely by their horns, the difcriminations would be as endlefs as uncertain. But if, in the prefent inftance, the Alpine bouquetin and the other fpe- cies of the goat genus fhould be ex- cepted from this general affertion, we have only to add, that M. van Berchen poffefles the horns of a young one, produced from the union of the bouquetin and fhe-goat, that are exactly fimilar to the horns of the zgagrus, which, as Pallas afferts, refemble thofe of the tame goat. Climate and nutriment muft have a great effect upon the horns of ani- mals. The female of the bouque- tin has horns’very like thofe of the tame goat... It is no wonder there- fore, if a long feryitude, an inactive life, an’ exchange from the aromatic _plants and pure air of the moun- tains to a grofs nutriment and a moiiter atmofphere, fhould diminifh the horns, alter their fhape, fubdue ANNUAL REGISTER; 1790. the longitudinal ridge, and convert the knobs into wrinkles. The count de Buffon extends the goat genus full further, and. com- prehends under it even the chamois conjecturing, that the bouquetin is the male in the original race of goats, and the chamois the female. The French naturalift having, at the time -when- he defcribed the bouguetin, never feen it in a full grown ftate, was probably induced to entertain this opinion from a faint refemblance between the female bouquetin and the chamois. But there does not feem the leaft foun- dation for this, notion,-the chamois — being an animal totally diftin& from the goats, never coupling with them, — and judicioufly clafled by Pallas and Pennant in the genus of ante- lopes. His conjecture, however, that the bouquetin is the original fource of all the tame goats, feems te be well founded; and has been adopted by the greateft part of fuc- ceeding naturalifts. And as, ac cording to the juft obfervations of Pallas, nearer than the bouquetin to the tame goat in its form_and horns, the egagrus may be the link which unites the bouquetin and the tame goat. May not the egagrus be confidered as a race produced from the zgagrus. approaches : the bouquetin and the fhe-goat, or — the goat and -female bouquetin ? Pallas alfo conjetures, that the — tame goat may poiflibly have been propagated from the zgagrus and» Siberian ibex, which is allowed by mof naturalifts to be the fame as the bouquetin; and Pennant. re- marks, with no lefs fagacity, that the tame goats may be derived from both, as we are affured that the ibex and fhe-goat wiil produce a fimilar offspring. — NATURAL offspring. It is alfo probable, that » the bouquetin is the origin of all the goat genus, becaufe it is the largelt, ftrongeit, and dwells in the 'moft imhofpitable regions. For, according to the obfervation of the ' fame great zoologilt *, whom wehave fo often quoted, thofe animals who are natives of the coldeft mountains muft, on defcending into the warm plains, be liable to greater changes _than thofe who are formed for mild- er climates; and this circumftance feems fuficient to account for the great variety obfervable in the goat genus. . Some naturalifts pretend, that she -bouquetin cannot be the original _ftock from whence the goats have been produced, becaufe, as he in- habits only the loftieft {ummits and tocks covered with eternal fnow, and feeds only on plants peculiar to _ high regions, he cannot be domef- ticated in a variety of climates, Bet this opinion is contraditted by fact and experience. Stumpf, the _hiftorian of Switzerland, informs us, that the Vallaifans near Sion bred up tame bougquetins with their goats; and Belon relates, that the __Cretans tamed the young bouc- eftains by giving them to be fuck- led by the, goats. Dr. Pallas alfo relates, that he has frequently feen _the Siberian ibex among the tame goats, and mentions one in parti- cular at Orenburgh, which was leader of a flock, and father of a “numerous offspring more refemb- ling the females than himfelf. He Was very different from the tame he-goats, fcarcely inferior in fize to _a bouquetin. two years old: in co- Aour and ftrength he refembled the , tins at Aigle. HISTORY. 63 wild animal; had thick horns, knobbed, not keeled above, and a long rough coat, but no where pen- dent, except im the beard: the black lift on the back was almek obliterated. And laftly, Mr, van Berchem faw feveral tame botque- They were gentle and familiar; and, without being remarkably lively, were activeand graceful in all their motions. ‘They bred with different fhe-goats, ind Mr. van Berchem faw the yotng ones, which feemed to form a mew TAGES) ny If thefe obfervations fhould be well founded, the goat genus, or race of the bouquetin, is found an a wild ftate. along the. chain of mountains that traverfes the tempe- rate parts both of Europe and Afas on the Alps, Pyrenees, and Car- pathian mountains ; on the Taurus and Caucafus; on the mountains of Siberia and Tartary; in Kamt- {chatka; on the iflands of the Archi- pelago; in Hedsjzas in Arabia; in pane perhaps in 2gypt and Ly- ja. Account of the Tabafheer, in a Letter from Patrick Rutlell, J.D. F.R8. From the Philofophical TranfaMtians, Vol. \xxx. Part 2. a> Se a drug in high re- pute in many parts of the Eatt, was, I believe, firit introduced ~ to the knowledge of the weltera world through the works of the Arabian phyticians, all, of whore mention it as an important article in their Materia Medica; and, froin | what I could obferve in Syria, ic * Pallas. fill 64 ftill continues to be in much more general ufe in Turkey than in this part of India. The genuine Tabafheer is un- doubtedly a production of the Arurdo Bambos of Linnzus, the Tly «of the Hortus Malabaricus, and the Arundo Indica arborea maxima, cort ice fpinofo, of Herman. “Fhe bamboo in which the Ta- baiheer is found, is vulgarly called the! Female Bamboo, and is diftin- guifhed by the largenefs of its ca- vityy from the male, employed for {pitars or lances. They are faid to be feparate trees; but this fact I have not had it in my power to af- ¢ertain. Of the feven pieces of bamboo w hich accompany this paper, four are from the mountains in the vi- citity of Vellore, and three from a place twenty miles from hence. T he former were perfectly green -on, their arrival at Madras; and th e others were fele¢ted from a large peircel, which were green alfo when they came to’ my hands. Thefe were all felected on a conje&ture of tineir containing Tabafheer, from a certain rattling perceived upon fhaking the bamboo, as if fmall jtones. were contained in the ca- vity. oh In the month of April, one of the jbamboos, confifting of fix joints, xeceived from Vellore, being cauti- wufly fplit, each joint was examined deparatcly. In two of them no vef- tige of the drug was difcovered ; veach of the others contained fome, ‘but in various quantity ; the whole collected amounted to about twenty- seven grains. The quality alfo was ‘various. ‘The particles reckoned of the firft quality were of a bluifh white co- lour, refembling {mall fragments of ANNUALS REG FS: TER, Sayoo. fhells ; they were harder than the © others, but might eafily be crumb- | led between the fingers into a gritty powder, and when applied to the tongue and palate, had a flight fa- line teftaceous tafte: they did not exceed in weight four grains. The reft were of a cineritiovs colour, rough on the furface, and more friable ; ‘and intermixed with thefe were fome larger, light, fpongy particles, fomewhat refembling pu- mice-ftones. In the month of July, forty-three — green bamboos, each confifting of five or fix joints, were brought from the hills, fifty miles diftant from hence. Six, appearing to con- — tain more Tabafheer than the others, were fet apart; the remaining thirty-feven were fplit, and examin- ed in the manner before mentioned. The refult was as follows : In nine out of the thirty-feven, there were no veftiges of Tabafheer. In twenty-eight fome were found in © one, two, or three joints of each; but never in more than three joints — of the famebamboo. ‘The quantity varied, but in all was inconfiderable; and the empty joints were fome- times contiguous, fometimes intef- rupted, indifferently. The drug confifts of very diffimi- lar particles at firft when taken from the bamboo, as will appear in leok- ing into the {mall fpecimen, N° 1; which, having collected myfelf, ‘I ‘ am certain has undergone no adul- — teration. The whiter, fmooth, harder par- ticles, when not loofe together with ‘the others in the cavity, were moitly ‘found adheriag to the feptum that “divides the joints, and to the fides’ contiguous ; but never to the fides about the middle of the joints; and it may be remarked, that, initead 9 Cr | NATURAL of Mie chiefly found at the lower extremity of the joint, as might be expected from the juice fettling there, they were found adherent in- differently to either extremity, and fometimes to both. In this fitua- tion they formed a fmooth lining; fomewhat refembling polifhed ftuc- co, which ufually was cracked in feveral places, and might eafily be detached with a blunt knife. In fome joints the Tabafheer was found thus collected at one or both extremities only, and in fuch no rattling was perceived upon fhak- ing the bamboo; but generally, while fome adhered to the extre- mities of the joint, other detached pieces were intermixed with the coarfer loofe particles in the cavity. The quantity found in each bam- ‘boo was very inconfiderable; the produce of the whole twenty-eight reeds, from five to feven feet long, hot much exceéding two drams. Submitting the fpecimens to ex amination, I refrain from éxperi- ments on them, which may more fuccefsfully be made in England, and fhall proceed to offer a few obfervatiéns on the juice of the re- * cent bamboo fuppofed to form the _ Tabatheer. _ The exiftence of this fluid in the bamboo is known by fhaking the joint. In a confiderable number of bamboos fplit in order to procure it, I never fourid water in more than two joints, and generally not ‘more than two or three dramis in ‘each; the largeéft quantity procured at one time was one ounce anda half. Very few joints in propor- “tion contained any. The fluid was always tranfparent, ‘bat varied in confiftence; when thicker, it had a whiter colour than g€ommon; when more dilute it dif. Vou. XXXII. HISTORY. és fered little to the eye from common water, or fomettmes had a pale greenifh caft. Applied to the tongue and palate, it had a flight faline, fub-aftringent tafte, more or lefs perceptible in proportion to the confiftence of the fluid. After eva- poration in the fun, the refiduum had a pretty ftrong faline tafte, with lefs aftringency. Some of the fluid, of a darkifh colour, thickened in the reed to the confiftence of honeys and fome, in another joint of the fame reed, was perfectly white and dlmoft dry: both had the fharp falt taite, which the Tabafheer itfelf lofes in a great degree by keep- ing. In the latter end of O&ober, 2 green bamboo of five joints was brought to me, which appeared to contain both water and 'Tabafheer, After three days, the found of wa- ter, upon fhaking the reed, could hardly be perceived; on the fifth day it was intirely imperceptible. Upon fplitting the bamboo, about half a dram of the fluid, now thick. ened intd a mucilage, was found at the bottom of the upper joint. The fecond joint contained fome perfect Tabafheer loofe in the cavity. Tha third joint was empty, excepting 2 few particles of T'abafheer, which adhered to the fides near the bots tom. The fourth joint, at the bot- tom, contained above a dram of a brownith pulpy fubftance, adherent. The laft joint, in like manner, con- tained half a dram of a fubitance thicker and harder in confiftence, and nearly of the colour of white wax. This fpecimen exhibited at one view the progrefs of the Tabatfheer through its feveral ftages. The found diftinétly perceived in the firft joint on the 23d of Ottober, was F produced 66 produced: by the water in a fluid ftate; on the 31ft, having become thicker, the found, upon fhaking, was very ob{cure; on the 2d of November, no found was percep- tible; and when the reed was {plit, the water was found reduced to a mucilage. The fourth and fifth joints contained the drug in a more advanced ftate. In the firft, it was thicker than a mucilage, of a brownifh colour; in the fecond, more of the fluid part having eva- porated, the colour was whiter, and it wanted but little of the confif- tence of the perfeét Tabafheer found in the fecond joint. lam, &c. Vizagapatam, ; Nov. 26, 1783. P. RussEiu. Four of the feven reeds pre- fented to the Society on the night this paper was read, being carefully fplit, the contents, upon comparing them with the fpecimens fent from ‘India, then on the table, were found to agree in all refpeéts, as well as with the defcription of the more recent drug given in the above pa- per. The ipecimen, N® 3. fent from Hydrabad, and reckoned the prime fort, differed fomewhat -in hardnefs, as mentioned above, from the pureft particles in the Tabafheer collected by myfelf; but in the opi- nion of feveral of the members pre- fent, who compared them, were the fame fubftance with the particles mixed, in a {mall proportion, in ~ fome of the other fpecimens, as lihewife with a few particles taken from the reeds opened in their pre- feuce ; which puts it beyond doubt, that the {ubftance is produced in the cavity of the bamboo. The feveral {pecimens are now under chemical trial ; and the re~ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. fult of the experiments will, I hope, be communicated to the Society. Account of the Nardus Indica, or Spikenard. By Gilbert Blane, M.D. F.LR.S. From the fame. ‘Ardus Indica, or Spikenard, isa name familiar in the works of the ancient phyficians, naturalifts, and pdets ; but the identity of which has not hitherto been fatisfactorily af- certained. My brother fays, ina letter © dated Lucknow, December 1786, that, “ travelling with the Nabob Vizier, upon one of his hunting ex- curfions, towards the northern moun- tains, I was furprifed one day, after crofing the river Rapty, about twenty miles from the foot of the hills, to perceive the air perfumed with an aromatic fmell; and, upon afking the caufe, I was told it pro- ceeded from the roots of the grafs that were bruifed or trodden out of the ground by the feet of the ele- phants and horfes of the nabob’s retinue. The country was wild and uncultivated, and this was the com- mon grafs which covered the furface of it, growing in large tufts clofe to each other, very rank, and in ge- neral from three to four feet in length, As it was the winter fea- fon, there was none of it in flower. Indeed the greateft part of it had been burnt down on the road we went, in order that it might be no impediment to the nabob’s encamp- ments. : , « I colleéted a quantity of the roots to be dried for ufe, and care- fully dug up fome of it, which I. fent to be planted in my garden at — Lucknow. It there throve exceed- ingly, and in the rainy feafon it fhot NATURAL fhot up {pikes about fix feet high. Accompanying this, I fend you a drawing of the plant in flower, and of the dried roots, in which the natural appearance is tolerably pre- ferved. « Tt is called by the natives Te- rankus, which means literally, in the Hindoo language, fever-reftrainer, from the virtues they attribute to it in that difeafe. They infufe abont a dram of it in half a pint of hot water, with a fmall quantity of black pepper.: This infufion ferves for one dofe, and is repeated three times a day. It is efteemed a pow- erful medicine in all kinds of fevers, whether continued or intermittent. I have not made any trial of it my- felf; but fhall certainly take the firft opportunity of doing fo. « The whole plant has a ftrong aromatic odour ; but both the fmell and the virtues refide principally in the hufky roots, which in chew- ing have a bitter, warm, pungent tafte, accompanied with fome de- gree of that kind of glow in the mouth, which cardamoms occa- fion.” Befides the drawing, a dried {pe- cimen has been fent, which was in fuch good prefervation as to enable Sir Jofeph Banks, P.R. S. to afcer- tain it, by the botanical characters, to be a fpecies of Andropogon, dif- ferent from any plant that has ufu- ally been imported under the name of Nardus, and different from any of that genus hitherto defcribed in botanical fyftems. There is great reafon, however, to think, that it is the true Nardus Indica of the ancients. The cir- cumftance, in the account above recited, of its being difcovered in an unfrequented country, from the odour it exhaled by being trod up- HISTORY. 67 on by the elephants and horfes, cor- refponds, in a ftriking manner, with an occurrence related by Arrian, in his Hiftory of the Expedition of Alexander the Great into India. It is there mentioned, lib. vi. cap. 22. that, during his march through the defarts of Gadrofia, the air was perfumed by the Spikenard, which was trampled under foot by the army; and that the Pheenicians, who accompanied the expedition, collected large quantities of it, as well as of myrrh, in order to carry them to their own country, as‘ ar- ticles of merchandife, Account of fome extraordinary Effects of Lighining. By William Wi- thering, M.D. F.R.S. From the Same. ERMIT me to requeft the attention of the Royal Society, whilft I mention a few facts relative to a thunder-cloud, the lightning from which fufed a quantity of quartzofe matter. - This cloud formed in the fouth, in the afternoon of Sept. 3, 1789, and took its courfe nearly due north, In its paflage it fet fire to a field of ftanding corn; but the rain prefently extinguifhed the fire, Soonafterwards the lightning ftruck, ‘an oak tree, in the earl of Aylef- ford’s park at Packington. The height of this tree is 39 feet, including its trunk, which is 13 feet. It did not ftrike the higheft bough, but that which projected fartheft fouthward. Aman, who had taken fhelter againft the north fide of the tree, was ftruck dead inftantane: oufly, his cloaths fet on fire, and the mofs (/ichen) on the trunk of the tree, where the back of his head F 2 had 63 -had refted, was likewife burnt. Two men, fpectators of the accident, ran immediately towards him upon fee- ing him fall; and as it rained hard, and a fimall lake had colleéted al- mott clofe to the fpot, the fire was ‘very foon extinguifhed; but the effeéts of the fire on one-half of his body, and on his cloaths, were fuch as to fhew, that the whole burning was inftantaneous, not progreflive. Part of the eleétric matter pafled down a walking-ftick, which the ‘nan held in his hand, iloping from him; and where the ftick reited on the ground, it made a perforation about 21 inches in.diameter, and 5 inches deep. This hole I examin- ed foon afterwards, and found no- thing in it but the burnt roots of the grafs, All obfervation would probably have ended here, had not lord Aylesford determined to erect toes are alfo obferved to: be drier both before and after boiling, and are boiled in a fhorter time. ee The Mode of preventing the Curl in Potatoes, The following direétions for cul- tivating potatoes, duly obferved, will effectually prevent the curl; as 1 have found by various and repeated experiments, made with great care and attention, during thefe laft feven years. The beft time of fetting, is from the beginning of April to the middle of May. Make ridges a yard a- funder ; put your manure firft into the trench, and with moderation: fet the potatoes in a triangular form, five or fix inches afunder; cover them with the foil to the thicknefs of five or fix inches. There js but little danger of laying on too much of the foil: the deeper are the fets, the better will they be. protected from the fcorching heat of the fun, if the feafon fhould be dry. This difance of five or fix inches is fo {mall as to prevent the plants growing too rank, and yet fufiicient for each of them to be ex- pofed to the fun and the air. zdly. When they have grown to the height of fix or feven inches above the ground, yeu muft not earth them, as is the ufual practice. You muit take away the -weeds, and may draw a little mould te them; but you muft be careful to do it before the bloffom-buds appear, _ which USEFUL PROJECT'S. which time is generally about the end of June. - They will now require no further care, excepting that of weeding. « Lam of opinion that early fetting is advantageous, on account of the greater chance of early rain, which will be very beneficial to the plants if the fummer fhould he dry. By this procefs, the plants will be healthy ; the yotng potatoes will be formed in due feafon; they will grow gradually; the plant will ripen and die in due time, and will not be forced into a fecond growth by the rain which may fall in September. The fap being thus left in the po- * tatoe, it becomes a eed endued with an unimpaired perfect vegetative power; and the plants which are raifed from them will be found to be entirely free from the curl. N. 5. The potatoes may be dug as foon as they can be handled with- out crufhing the peel, that is, about the end of September. Sound potatoes are procured with the greateft certainty from earth that has been peeled and burnt: the foil thus prepared is well fuited to the growth of potatoes. In this they grow gradually, and are not forced beyond their natural fize: in doubtful feed, it is fAfelt to plant the {malleft potatoes whole. The foil the moft liely to pro- duce the curl, is that which is rich. in itfelf, much manured, and has a fouthern afpect. In other fituations, where the foil is not rich. and the garden is cold, either from its being upon the fide of a hill, or expofed tothe north, the curl has not yet appeared; which is known to be the cafe in the mountainous parts of Radnorfhire and Montgomerythire. This is perfeétly confonant with my theory ; for where the foil is poor, “cannot be 85 and the fituation cold, the pJants forced into a fecond growth by earthing and manure. I do not mean to difluade thofe who are anxious to raife large crops for immediate ufe, from earthing and manuring to the utmoft extent; I only caution them aguinft ufing po- tatoes fo raifed, for feed. By earth- ing and manuring, you will doubt- lefs raife large crops of large pota- toes perfectly good, as food, but im- perfect as feed; for the vegetative power will be impaired by this forc- ing cultivation. Hence it will be the intereft of every prudent culti- vator, to allot.a portion of his po- tatoe-garden to the raifing of feed- potatoes. If the direftions which I have given be followed, I have not the leaft doubt of fuccefs; at leaft I am certain that the curl will not make its appearance, The potatoe is alfo liable to other diforders: in very dry feafons, ex- erefcences will arife, vulgarly called the fcab; in moiift feafons, little holes or cavities appear, called the canker; and both thefe diforders increafe according to the length of time they resin in the earth, after having acquired. maturity. It is’ more than probable, that thefe dif- orders may haften the decdy, and caufe the curl. One method of preventing the difeafe, namely, by changing the feed, fas been already mentioned : -anotner tource of prevention offers, from raifing new: kinds from the feed or apple of the plant, or the fame kinds renewed again from the feed. Raifing new kinds from feed, however, requires no fmall portion of difcernment; for the feed from the fame plant will’ produce fo many varieties, that it requires nice judgment of the cultivator properly G3 to 86- to felect. Great numbers, from in- fpection only, will be weeded out and rejected ; and of thofe retained, more will be again rejected, the fucceeding and following years > of the remaining few, there may dif- ferent Heats YRS ftill exift; fuch as ill or well favoured, clofe or coarfe grained, productive, non-prodic- tive, &c. &c. Each may have their refpective value: but I think it may be generally afferted, that the finer kinds fooner degenerate ; ; the coarfe kinds, which are almoit, if not al-. ways, more productive, retain their vigour thé longe&. ‘The following example confirms this opinion. Spring, 1785.—I procured a new kind -of potatoe, called-a Dass, lately raifed from. feed; where, I know not: the charatter of which was, large, coarfe- grained, ftrong- flavoured, and of courfe rejected from the.table- but being very pro- ductive, was etl forcattle. The laft year, it. was fo much improved, as to be no longer rejected ; it ftill retains the quality of being pro- duétive, even fo much as yielding, this prefent year, fix buthels from every hatute perch. It fhonld be obferved, that the prefent very luxu- rig crop may be in great meafure owing to having been “planted on a virgin foil, which was never before improyed, or broken up; very little dung was ufed. Here is an evident change for the better; the plants are vigorous, and there is at pre- fent no appearance of decay: this new, foil may be a means of pre- ferving the plant a few years longer; but a time, become ablolately neceflary. Hence it fhould appear, that al- though the difeafe, after the prefent Rock. has been, to a certain degree, ANNUAL REGISTER, total change of feed will, in’ 1790: infeed, can never. be cured, yet means may be taken for prevention :_ and that this isthe cafe in this dif- trict, is evident ; few crops, of late years, having failed, by being much infected with this diforder ; for,’ wherever the curl has appeared, in ever fo fmall a degree, that ftock has been rejected by the attentive cultivator, and new feed obtained. I am the more encouraged to ofter you thefe hints, for that, after having drawn them up, in the man- ner here fent, I read them ovér to a very intelligent farmer ‘in this neighbourhood, who. faid that thefe thoughts totally correfponded with his own. l have fhewn them alfo to a refpectable clergyman, who, to his other many. excellent qualities, is always ready to communicate in- formation, and has favoured me with the following extra& froma private letter. « A labouring man in my neigh- bourhood has got a very good po- tatoe: the only fault is, that out of four plants, three of them are abo- minably curled ; on which account, I defired he would give me four. potatoes. From each potatoe I took a feoot, not a /et,’in order to fee if the fhoots would be, curled; they were not: fo, poilibly, their not be-" ing curled may be: accidental, or poflibly the curl may arife from the jet planted, Another year, I will. plant a dozen, or more, of thefe. potatoe fhoots: then, if there fhould be no curl, I fhall be clearly of Opinion, that the curl arifes from fome difeafe in the “4 What I mean by a fhoot, is—I put three or four fets into a flower-pot; when they have fhot to be about two inches high, and have fibres, I take. the fets up, and, with a knife, cut, the Ese i * a ; * - USEFUL PROJECTS. 87 the fhoots off, leaving not the leaft piece of a fet on the fhoot. I then plant the fhoots. Hurfeley, S: Hi? aad July, 1789. : : It fhould appear, from the above ingenious experiment, of which fu- ture trials will confute or confirm the fact, that it corroborates the above tlieory, by proving the difeafe in the fet; and which, when the caufe or feat of diforder is lopped away,, the cure is effected by the foree of nature to heal itfelf, and the power. of vegetation on the fall fibres, -which retain newly- acquired life, though from an in- fected parent ftock. Method of cultivating and curing Turkey Rhubarb from Seed. From _ the fame. -HAVE ufually fown the feed about the beginning of Februa- _ ry, on a.bed of good {oil (if rather fandy, the better) expofed to an eaft or weft afpeét, in preference to the fouth ; obferving a full fun to be prejudicial to the vegetation of the feeds, and to the plants whilft young. The feeds are beft fown mode- rately thick (broad-caft) treading them regularly in, as is ufual with parfneps and other light feeds, and then raking the ground fmooth. I have fometimes, when the feafon has been wet, made a bed for fow- ing the rhubarb feeds upon, about two feet thick, with new ding from the ilable, covering it near one foot thick with good foil. The in- tent of this bed is not for the fake of warmth, but folely to prevent the ‘a - rifing of earth-worms, which, in a moift feafon, will frequently deftroy the young crop. If the feed is good, the plants often rife too thick; if fo, when they have attained fix leaves, they fhould be taken carefully up (where too clofe) leaving the ftanding crop eight or ten inches apart: thofe taken up may be planted at the fame diftance, in a frefh fpit of ground, in order to furnifh other plantations. When the plants in general are grown to the fize that cabbage-plants are ufwally fet out for a ftanding crop, they are beft planted where they are to remain, in beds four feet wide, one row along the middle of the bed, leay- ing two yards diftance betwixt the plants, allowing an alley between the beds about a foot wide, for con- veniency of weeding the plants. In the autumn, when the decayed leaves are removed, if the fhoveling of the alleys are thrown over the . crowns of the plants; it will be found of fervice. Cultivation of Turkey Rhubarb by off-/ets. On taking. up fome plants the laft {pring, 1 flipped off feveral off- fets from the heads of large plants : thefe I fet with a dibble, about 2 foot apart, in order, if I found them thrive, to remove them into other beds. On examining them in“ the autumn, I was furprifed to fee the progrefs they had made, and pleafed to be able to furnifh my beds with forty plants in the moft thriving ftate. ’ Though this was’ my firft expe- riment of its kind, I do not mean’ to arrogate the difcovery to mylelf, G4 having 83 having known it recently tried by others, but without being informed of their fuccefs. I have reafon to think this valuable drug will, by this method, be brought much fooner to perfection than trom feed. Method of curing Rhubarb. The plants may be taken up either early in‘the {pring, or in au- tumn, when the leaves are decayed, in dry weather if poflible, when the roots are to be cleared from dirt (without wafhing): let them be cut into pieces, and with a sharp knife freed from the outer coat, and expofed to the fun aad air for a few days, to render the outiide a little dry. In order to accelerate the curing of the largeft pieces, a hole may be f{cooped out with a penknife: thefe and the fmatler parts are then to be ftrung on packthread, and hung up ina warm room (I have always had the conveniency of fuch a one over a baker’s oven) where it is to re- main till perfectly dry, Each piece may be rendered more fightly by a common file, fixing it in a fmall vice during that operation: after- wards rub over it-a very fine pow- der, which the fmall roots furnith in beautiful perfection, for this and every other purpofe where rhubarb is required. Account of a new Method of generat- ing Yeafi; in Tawo Letters, from the Rev. William Mafon of Afton. From the fame. 7? ST fpring, I requefted a friend to inquire of you fome particulars concerning the premium ANNUAL REGISTER, ?1990. which the fociety had offered on the production of yeatt, of which you obligingly gave him full informa- — tion. As I found November was the month ‘in which the matter was: — to be decided, I deferred troubling you any more till I had caufed an expeiiment to be repeatedly tried ; which a domeftic of mine, who brews for me, had at that time firit made. I had juft: before, with his affif- tance, impregnated wort with fixed air, or rather a decoction of malt in water, according to Dr. Henry’s ingenious method *, and by the yeaft thereby obtained, produced egcod bread. This ed him, ua- known to me, to try whether the experiment would not fucceed full as well without fixed air; which he found it did. He accordingly brought me a {mall veffel with a full head of yeaft upon it, affuring me with fome degree of exultation, that neither oil of vitriol with chalk, nor any portion of old yeatt, had been employed on the occafion., This greatly furprifed me; and I then defired he. would proceed with the _ experiment in his own way, and endeavour to increafe the quantity already made, by what additional decoétion of malt and water he might think proper; infifting only that nothing but malt, water, and’ — heat, fhould be employed for the purpofe. He did fo, and in a few days increafed the original quantity till it became fufficient to work a hogfhead of {mall-beer, which pro- duced ten pounds weight of perfe& yeatt; and this, being foon after put on a vat for a hogfhead of ale, was found to be augmented to forty-two - pounds, _ ™ See Annual Regifter for the year 1786, Useful Projets, p. 74 The BS ES Die sP SRO J errs. _ The difcovery therefore is fimply this: « that yeait is not (as has, I believe, been hitherto thought) fome .peculiar and’ unknown {fubd- ftance, neceflary to be added to ‘wort, in order to put it into. a fer- menting ftate; but that malt boiled in water will generate it (as the chemiits fay) per_/2, if the following circumftances be attended to: « ft. That the procefs be begun with a {mall quantity of the decoc- tion. « 2dly. That it be kept in an equal degree of heat. And, « 3dly. That, when the fermenta- tion is begun, it fhould be afflitted - and augmented with frefh decoc- tions of the fame liquor.” The proportions and method which my fervant has found generally to fucceed, I will now give you, as taken from his own words, in tke form of a recipe. Procure three earthen or wooden veffels of different fizes and aper- tures, one capable of holding two -quarts, the other three or four, and the third five or fix: boil a quarter of a peck of malt for about eight or ten minutes, in three pints of water; and when a quart is poured off from the grains, let it ftand in a cool place, till not quite cold, but retaining that degree of heat which the brewers ufually find to be pro- per when they begin to work their Jiguor. Then remove the veffel ‘into fome warm fituation near a fire, where the thermometer ftands be- __tween 70 and 80 degrees (Fahren- heit) and there let it remain till the fermentation begins, which will be plainly perceived within thirty hours; _and then two .quarts more of a like decoction of malt, when cool, as the firft was; and mix the whole in the - larger-fized veflel, and ftir it well in, 89 which muft be repeated in the ufual way, as it rifes in a common vat: then add a {till greater quantity of the fame decoétion, to be worked in the largeft veffel, which will pro- duce yeait enough for a brewing of forty gallons. P. S. It may be proper to add, that my fervant is of opinion, that a proper quantity of hops boiled in the liquor, makes the fermentation proceed better; but as it may, and has actually fucceeded without fuch addition, I would willingly with them to be omitted, to prevent the bread baked with it from tafting bitter. Experience only can decide this; and tarther experience is ftill wanted, to make a perfeét recipe - for the operation. Dear Sir, ACCORDING to my promife, I write to inform you of the refult of fome more experiments which have been made here, under my direction, relative to yeaft; and the rather; becaufe they were made by means of a very fimple apparatus, which I think will be found very conve- nient on fhip-board, and alfo in cottages, &c. It is merely a wooden box, of about twelve or fourteen inches {quare, open on one fide, in which a veffel containing the wort is placed; and then the box is fet with the open fide clofe to a wall, heated by a fire on the other fide, when the thermometer indicates the wall to be about 80°: fo that I imagine the back of a chimney in a fhip, or behind an oven or kitchen- fire in a cottage, would be’ found very convenient for the procefs; as the veflel might be there furrounded with a {mall atmofphere of air, fuf- ficiently warm at the firft, and ca- pable of being continued at the fame go fame equable temperature for a fuf- ficient time. “0A box of this kind, in which the following experiments were made, was placed on a drefler in my kitchen, more than eighteen feet from the kitchen-fire, but againi a thin wall, which divides the kitchen from the fervants hall, juft behind the fire-place of that room; and the open fide of the box turned to the heated wall, the veffels them- felves uncovered. If you recollect the trouble you fo obligingly took in heating your office, you will think this method, fince difcovered, of performing the fame experiment, of confiderable utility. Experiment 1ft.—Three veffels were fet at the fame time in the warm box, containing a quart of liquor each, and of equal ftrength with refpect to malt: one was a decostion without hops, another with hops, the other a fimple infufion of malt: in about twenty-four hours the hopped decoction produced a fine head of yeait; the other de- coction fermented as. well, but was twenty-four hours later; the fimple infufion was near thirty-fix hours Jater, and the yeaft appeared dark and ill-coloured, fo that my hcufe- keeper thought it fpoiled ; but this bad appearance was merely owing to its not having been boiled and cleared, for it made very light break/aft rolls. This experiment, you will per- ceive, was made to try whether hops (as my fervant imagined) were neceflary; and it certainly proves that they accelerate the fermenta- tion; but it. proves alfo, that nei- ther hops not’ boiling are efiential to-the procefs. xperiment - f 24.— Four vefiels from a* common brewing ef ale g fy ANNUAL OREGISITER, 11790: were placed in a box of longer di- menfions ; one contained two quarts $ a fecond, one; a third, a pint; a fourth, half a pint: they all fhewed figns’ of fermentation at the fame time, viz. in about twenty-four hours; but that in the mug or pot holding a pint appeared the ftrong- eft, which my fervant thought was owing to the fmaller diameter of the veflel, which was fmaller in pro- portion to the half-pint; but as it ftood more centrally to the heat of the fire behind, I am perfuaded the excefs of fermentation proceeded from that caufe. . This proves that the quantity you begin the procefs with is not very material: though two quarts feem to be moft conve-: nient for the purpofe of baking. Experiment 3d, Was inftitated merely to find whether an addition of {ugar would accelerate the fer- mentation; for which purpofe, two: quarts of hopped liquor were tried in feparate veflels, a quart in each :/ and the refult was, that the decoc- tion, in which two large fpoonfuls of coarfe fugar were ftirred in, did not ferment in the ‘leaft, though: continued in the warm box five days and nights; the other fermented in- about thirty-fix hours. The reafon of this later fermentation than of that in the former experiments was, that the liquor ufed was from’ Hence: a brewing of fmall-beer. we may conclude, that a decottion of the ftrength of ale; if not of itrong beer, is the beft to begin with. Account of Experiments on the Gene- ration of Yeaft, made under the In- Spettion of the Committee of Che- mife-y, in the Month of November’ 1789. FOUR | “FOUR quarts of ground malt | Were put into a new itone ware veilzl, and mafhed with about an equal quantity cf hot water in the ofual manner for brewing. When the mafh had flood abont an hour, the wort was drawn off, and three guarts or boiling water poured on the grains; when this had flood a due time, the liquor was fuffered to run off, and the whole liquor boiled h2lf an hour; being then fet to cool, was poured clear from the Mediment, and then put in a room where the heat was regularly kept up to fummer heat, or near 80° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. It ftood in this degree of heat till ome figns of fermentation appeared on ‘the three days, Anotherbrewing was then bd as “above defcribed ; and, when of adue heat, flirred into the former liquor. In about twenty-four hours fome aft appeared, and another brew- ing was then made; and, when of a due heat, mixed with the two former ones, and well beat in, the heat being ftill kept up to the de- gree above mentioned: in about two days more, five ounces of ex- cellent yeaft were collected from the farface of the liquor. _ Some of this yeaft being mixed _a due proportion of flour, wa- ter, and falt, anfwered all the pur- poles intended for bread; and might certainly have been equally well applied to brewing, in the common method. In fine, being pure and good yeaft, it will anfwer all the in- ns of that ufeful article. Re Report of the Committee on Dr, Hunter _and Mr. Hornby’s Procefigfor pro- ducing an ardent Spirit from Car - USEFUL PROJECTS. furface ; which came on in about: gt rots. From Tranfations of the Reyal Society of Edinburgh, vol. ii. We have examined the fample of {pirits, which was. fent by Dr. Hunter of York to the Royal Society, and we have read the ac- count of the experiment on the fer- mentation and dittillation of carrots, by which the faid fpirit was pro- duced. ‘The experiment was made by Mr. Thomas Hornby, druggiit in York, with one ton and eight ftone of carrots, which, after being expofed to the air a few days to dry, weighed 160 ftone, and mea- fured 42 bufhels; they were wath- ed, topped and tailed, by which they loit in weight 11 itone, and ia meaf{ure feven buthels ;. being ‘then cut, they were boiled with the pro- portion of 24 gallons of water to one third of the above quantity of carrots, until the whole was reduced to a, tender pulp, which was done in three hours-boiling. From this pulp, the juice was eafily extracted by means of a prefs, and 200 gal-. lons of juice were produced. from the whole. This juice was boiled. again, with one pound of hops. five: hours, and then cooled to 66 of. Fahrenheit, and fix quarts of yeat being added, it was {et to ferment, The itrong fermentation lafted 48 hours, during which time the heat abated to 58 of Fahrenheit; 42 gallons of unfermented juice, which, had been referved, were then heated and: added to the liquor, the heat of which was thus railed. again to 66, and the fermentation was re- newed for 24 hours more, the air-of the brewhoufe. being all this time at 46 and 44.. The liquor was now turned, and continued to work three days from the bung; and, lattly, is was g2 was diftilled, and the frft diftillation was reCtified next day without any addition. ‘The produce was twelve gallons, of the fame quality with the fample. Tn our examination of this fample, we found it refembied a corn fpirit in flavour, but was equal to a corn fpirit of the beft kind, and it was a proof {pirit. The refute of the carrots weighed 48 ttone, which, added to the tops and tails, made provifion for hogs, befide the wath from the fill, which meafured 114 gallons. From this experiment, Dr. Hunter draws the following comparifon be- tween the diftillation of carrots and that-of grain. Twenty tons of carrots, which will make 200 gallons of proof fpirits, may be bought for 161 Eight quarters of malt, or rather the ‘materials for diftiliation, con- fiting of malt, wheat and rye, may be bought for 161. and will alio male 200 gallons of proof {pirit. The refute from the carrots wiil be g60 ftone, which, at 1d. per ftons, will fell for 41. The refufe or grains from the malt, &c. will be 64 bafhels, each bufhel weighing about three ftone, which, at 1d. per ftone, will fell for 16s. The Doétor, however, fuppeofes, that the manufacturing of the {pirit from carrots, may be attended with more expence than the manufactur- ing of it from malt; but imagines that the greater value of the refute may compenfate for that expence, and that the faving of corm for otrer purpoies, is an object worthy of at- tention and of encouragement. (Signed) JoserH Biack. James Russevv. agth May, 1788. James Hurron. : 4 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Succofiful Experiment of rearing” Calves without Milk. From Tranf- adions of the Bath Society, vol. v.. t Tytherton, Dec. 3, 1789. SIR, HE following is as near a calculation of the expences” of rearing my calves without milk, as 1 can at preient affert.. In the year 1787, I weaned feventeen calves, in 1788 twenty-three, and: in 1789, fifteen ditto, I bought in 1787, three facks of linfeed; I put One quart of the feed to fix quarts of water, which, by boiling ten mi- — nutes, became a good jelly; this jelly is mixed with a fmall quantity — of the tea of the bett hay fteeped in boiling water. 5 Having my calves drop at dif- ferent times, I did not make an exact calculation ‘of the expence of this hay tea, but out of my three. facks of feed, I had better than two bufhels left at laft. I gave them the jelly and hay tea three times a day; to the boy who looked after them 6d. per day; the price ef the linteed was’ 4s. Od. per bufrel 5” the whole three years feed 2}. 5s. My calves are kept in a good growing ftate, and are much better” at this time than my neighbours’ that are reared by milk; they do. not f4'] of fo much when they come to grafs, I am your obedient fervant, Tuomas Crook. oo wee EA Ae ete General Rules for the Choice of Spec- tacles, and for the Préfervation of ’ the Sizht. From Adam’s Effay on Fifion. HE moft general, and perhaps the beft rule that can be ; given, \ WS Epa be oP given, to thofe who are in want of afliftance from glaffes, in order fo to choofe their {pectacles, that they may fuit the itate of their eyes, is to prefer thofe which thew objects neareft their natural flate, neither enlarged nor diminifhed, the glaffes being near the eye, and that give a blacknefs and diftin€inefs to the let- ters of a book, neither ftraining the eye, vor caufing any unnatural ex- ertion of the pupil. _ For no fpeftacles can be faid to tbe properly accommodated to the ‘eyes, which do not procure them gale and reft; if they fatigue the eyes, we may fefely conclude, either that we have no occafion for them, or that they are ill made, or not proportioned to our fight Though, in the choice of fpec- tacles, every one mult finally deter- mine for hbimfelf, which are thea oe through which he obtains e mot diftinct vifion; yet fome confidence fhould be placed in the judgment of the artift, of whom ‘they are purchafed, and fome atten- tion paid to his direétions. By try- “ing many {fpedtacles the eye is fa- tigued, as the pupil varies in fize with every different glafs, and the eye endeavoprs to accommodate it- felf to every change that is pro- daced. Hence, the purchafer often fixes upon a pair of {pectacles, not the beit adapted to his fight, but thofe which feem to relieve him mott, while his eyes are in a forced and unnatural ftate; and confe- quently, when he gets home, and Bey are returned to their natural fare, he finds what he has chofen fatiguing and injurious to his fight. ROPHETS. 93 Of Prefervers, and Rules for the Prefervation of the Sight. Though it may be impoffible to prevent the abfolute decay of fight, whether arifing from age, partial difeafe, or illnefs, yet by prudence and good management, its natural failure may certainly be retarded, and the general habit of the eyes ftrengthened, which good purpofes will be promoted by a proper atten- tion to the following maxims, 1. Never to fit for any length of- time'in abfolute gloom, or expofed toa blaze of light. ‘The reafons on which this rule is founded, prove the impropriety of yoing haftily from one extreme to the other, whether of darknefs or of light, and fhew us, that a fouthern afpect is improper for thofe whofe fight is weak and tender. z. To avoid reading a {mall print. 3. Not to read in the dufk; nor, if the eyes be difordered, by candle- light. Happy thofe who learn this leffon betimes, and begin to pre- ferve their fight, before they are reminded by pain, of the neceflity of {paring them; the frivolous az. tention to a quarter of an hour of the evening, has coft numbers the perfect and comfortable ufe of their eyes for many years: the mifchief is effected imperceptibly, the con- {equences are inevitable. 4. The eye fhould not be per- mitted to dwell on glaring obje&s, more particularly on firft waking in a morning; the fun fhould not of courfe be fuffered to fhine in the room at that time, and a moderate quantity of light only be admitted, Jt is eafy to fee, that for the fame reafons, the furniture of a bed should be neither altogether of a white $4 white or red colour; indeed, thofe whofe eyes are weak, would find confiderable advantage in having green for the farniture of their bed- chamber. Nature confirms the pro- priety | of the advice given “in this rule: for the light of the day comes on by flow degrees, and green 1s the waiverfal colour fhe prefents td our eyes. 5. The long- fighted fhould ac- cultom themfelves to read with ra- ther lefs light, and fomewhat nearer to the eye, than what they naturally Nike; while thofe that are fhort- fighted, fhoald rather ufe themfelves to read with the book as far off as poifible. By this means, ae would mmproye and ftrengthen th ficht; whi tle a contrary courfe w il THEA its natural imperfections, ‘There is nothing which preferves theAight longer, than always ufing, both in reading and writing, that moderate degree of light which is of fuited to the eye; too little trains therh, too great a quantity dazzles and confounds them. The eyes are lefs hurt by the want of light, than by the excefs of it; too Kittle light never does any harm, unlefs they are ftrained dik efforts to fee objects, to which the degree of light is inadequate; but too great a “quantity has, by its own power, deftroyed the fight. ‘Thus’ many have brouzht on themfelves a ca- taract, by frequen ntly léoking at the fun, or a fire; others have loft their fight, by being brought too fuddenly from an’ extreme” of darknefs into the blaze of day. How dangerous the looking upon bright’ luminous objects is to the fight, is evident from ‘its effe&ts in thofe countries “which are covered the greater: part of the year with fhow, where blind- hefsi is exceeding fr equent, and where ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. the traveller is obliged to cover hi eyes with crape, to prevent the dangerous, and often fadden effedts of too much light: ever the uitus 9 tored favage tries to avoid the dan- | ger, by framing a lictle wooden cafe for his eyes, with only two nar- row ilits. A momentary gaze at the fun will, for atime, unfit the eyes for vifion, and render them in- — fenfible to impreflions of a milder” nature. 4 The following cafes from a fmall ” trad on the “ Fabric of the Eye, are fo applicable to the prefent ar- ticle, as to want no apology for 7 their infertion here ; though, ifany~ were neceffary, the ule they -will probably be of to thofe whofe com- — plaints arife from the fame or fimilar ~ caules, would, I prefume, be more § than fufficient. b | « A lJady from the country, com= 7 ing to refide in St. James’s Square, was aili€ted with a pain in her eye, | and a decay of fight. She could © not look upon the hones, when the i fun fhone upon them, without great pain. This, which fhe thought was one of the fymptoms of her dif- — order, was the real caufe of it. Her — eyes, which had been accuftomed — -~ e. — a Slr Ce Se SY SO Em em BG Ss Se” =. to the verdure of the country, and ~ the green of the pafture grounds — before her houfe, could not bear the ~ violent and unnatural glare of light reHe&ted from the ftones; fhe a advifed to place a number of fmall orange trees in the windows fo that — their tops might hide the pavement, — and be in a line with the grafs. She — recovered b by this fimple change in ‘ the light, without the afliftance of © any medicine; though her eyes were ~ before on the verge of little” ee | than blindnefs.”’ a « A gentleman of the law had | his lodgings in Pall Mall, on the | north U-§ EAU LPR Owe T Ss. . north fide, his front windows were expofed to the full noon fun, while the back room, having no opening, but into a fmall clofe yard, fur- rounded with high walls, was very dark; he wrote in the back room, and ufed to conie from that into the front room to breakfaft, &c. His fight grew weak, and he had a con- ftant pain in the balls of his eyes; he tried vifual glafles, and {poke with oculifts, equally in vain. ~Be- ing foon convinced, that the coming fuddenly out of his dufky ftudy, into the full blaze of fun-fhine, and that very often in the day, had been the real caufe of his diforder; he took new lodgings, by which, and for- bearing to write by candle-light, he Was very foon cured.” Blindnefs, or at leaft miferable weakneffes of fight, are often brought on by thefe unfufpected caufes. Thofe who have weak eyes, fhould therefore be particularly attentive to fuch circumftances, fince prevention is eafy, but the cure may be diff- cult, and fometimes impracticable. “ 95 When the eye fenfibly flattens, all delay is dangerous; and the longer thofe who feel the want of affiftance, defer the ufe of {pectacles, the more they will increafe the failure of the eye ; there are too many who pro- craftinate the ule of them, till at laft they are obliged to ufe glaffes of ten or twelve inches focus, in- ftead of thofe of 36 or 40, which would otherwife have fuited them ; thus preferring a real evil, to avoid “one that is imaginary. Mr. Tho- min mentions feveral deplorable cafes of this kind, particularly one of alady, who, through falfe fhame, had abftained from wearing fpecta- cles fo long 4 time, that at lait it was impoflible to fuit her, but with thofe adapted to eyes that have been couched. Whereas the inftancés are numerous of thofe who, by ufing glafies of a long focus at the firlt approaches of long-fightednefs, have brought back their eyes to their natural fight, and been able to Ja afide their fpe€tacles for years. ANTIQUITIES. 96 rN: ca - Odfervations on the late continuance of the a of Torture in Great Bri- tain; éy George Chalmers, Ef; Jrom Archexologia, vol. x. Prefumed to think, that what- ever had a tendency to trace the modes of our government, or to mark the improvement of our free- dom, would not be deemed by you altogether unworthy of your learned curiocfity. Ande I] was thus induced to communicate to you a copy cfa warrant of the privy council, as late as 1620, for «ing torture ona perfon, who was fufpetted cf tieafon; which, as a link conneéting former praétice with fubfequent diffuetude, may be regarded as an initructive docu- ment. The following is an authentic copy from the record: « To the Lientenant of the « Tower of London. « Whereas Samuel Peacock was « heretofore committed prifoner to «* the Marfhalfea, and that now it is ~ « thought fit upen vehement fui- « picion of high treafon againft his «« majefty’s facred perfon to remove « him thence, and to Commit him “to the Tower; thefe fhall be « therefore to will and require you “to repair to the prifon of the «* Marthalfea, and there to receive « from the keeper of that heufe the “ perfon of the faid Samuel Pea- ANNUAL REGISTER, 179 © | UE T LE See “ cock, and him fafely to convey “under your. cuftody unto the « Tower of London, where you are “ to keep him clofe prifoner until — « further order, And whereas we — « have thought-meet to nominate « and appoint Sir Henry Montagu, « Knt, Lord Chief Juttice of the « King’s Bench, Sir Thomas Co- « ventry, Knt. his Majefly’s Soli- — « citor General, and yourfelf, to “ examine the faid Peacock, for the — “ better difcovery of the truth of «* this treafon; this fhall be like- “ wite to authorize you, or any | “ two of you, whereof yourfelf to « be one, to examine the faid Pea- “ cock from time to time, and to « put him, as there fhall be caufe, « for the better manifeftation of the — «<« truth, to the torture, either of the «© manacies, or the rack; for which © * this dhali be your warrant. And © « fo, &e. The rgth of February, © . pOEO." Allow me to fubjoin a few ob- fervations. The Lieutenant of the — ‘Tower, who was thus entrufted, was Sir Allen Apiley. The privy.coun- 7 fellors, who direéted that meafure; and figned that warrant, were the — lord chancellor Bacon, the earl of — Worceiter, who was then lord a privy feal, the earl of Arundell, ~ the lord Carew, lord Digby, Mn ~ Secretary Naunton, and Sir Edward 7 Coke, who, after he had ceafed to — be be chief juftice, as.a privy councel- lor fometimes fanctioned practices, , which he lived to condemn as a writer. But the filence of the record does not allow us to fuppofe, that the king was either prefent, or knew of . this tranfaction. When Sir Edward Coke pub- lifhed his fecond Inftitute, he gave it as his opinion, that torture was prohibited by the following words of the great Charter: “ Nullus liber homo aliquo modo deftruatur nifi per. © logale judicium parium fuorum, aut “ per legem terrae.” ings, from that great epoch to the acceffion of the Tudor family, were fearched with malicious diligence, many inftances of torture would be found, though Magna Charta was, meanwile, confirmed by feveral fta- tutes. During the reigns of the Tudors, torture was often ufed upon flight occafions. Lord Bacon re- lates of queen Elizabeth, that when fhe could not be perfuaded that a book was really written by the per- fon whofe name it bore, fhe faid with great mdignation, that fhe would have him racked, to produce his author. © I replied, «“ Nay, - Madam, he is a doétor, never * rack his perfon, rack his ftyle; “ let him have pen, ink, and paper, “and help of books, and he en- _-** joined to continue his ftory, and * I will undertake, by collating *« the ftyles, to judge whether he * were the author,”” The rack was fhewn to Guy Fawkes on his ex- amination, as king James himfelf relates. ‘Torture was ufed on Pea- @ck in 1620, as the warrant before- mentioned evinces. When Felton aflaflinatedBuckingham in 1628, and the queftion. was propofed for dif- Vou, XXXII, AuN: Foe Tb B-S: Neverthelefs _ I fear, that if our criminal proceed-_ 97 covering his accomplices, the judges declared, that confiftent with law torture could not be ufed; as Ruth- worth has recorded. Such was the former practice ; and fuch the happy difufe of tor- ture in England! Yet, in Scotland, ‘rack continued to terrify and debafe the people for ages after- _ wards. Sir George Mackenzie has a whole chapter Of Torture; fhewing that the privy council, or the fu- preme judges, could only ufe the rack ; how thofe were punifhed whe infli€ed torture anjuftly; and who were the perfons that the law ex- empted: and he infifts, that all law- yers were of opinion, that even after fentence criminals might be tor- tured, for knowing their accom- plices. Yet, he fhews incidentally, that though the practice of torture continued in Scotland till the revo- lution, yet the privy council refufed in 1666, to order the covenanters to be racked after condemnation; af- figning as a reafon: “ Nam po/? con- “« demnationem, judices fun&i funt of~ « ficio.”” The learned lord Stair con- firms what Sir George Mackenzie had thus laid down before him. It is very remarkable, that when the parliament of Scotland framed their claim of right, in April 1689, they only declared, that the ufing torture, without evidence, or in ore dinary ¢rimes, is contrary to law. It requires no elaborate commentary to prove, that when there was evi- dence of extraordinary crimes, tor- ture might ftill be lawfully ufed in Scotland fubfequent to the revolu- tion. It was the union, and the fa- lutary fpirit which that happy mea- fure brought with it, that freed Scotland from the danger and re- proach of ufing torture in any cafe. And it was the a& of the Britifh H parliament 98 parliament which ‘vas pafled, in 1708, for improving the union of the two kingdoms, that put an end to torture, by enacting, among other favourable regulations, that no per- fon accufed of any crime in Scot- land fhall be liable to torture. * a Defcription of the Great Pagoda of Madura, and the Choultry of Tri- mul Naik, 4y Mr. Blackader. From the fame. URING my refidence in India, I was ftationed for feveral years at Madura, on the Coromandel coaft, about three hundred miles from fort St. George, and about fe- -venty miles from the fea. ' Inthis diftri@ there are fituated fome of the moft magnificent build- ings now to be met with in India, whether we confider their immenfe fe, or the richnefs of the workman- fhip; and thefe edifices are render- ed objets of great curiofity to the European obferver, by the fingu- larity of their architeéture, which is different from any thing to be feen in other countries. I was much ftruck with thefe remarkable monu- ments of the Hindoo talte and grandeur, What added to my afto- nilhment was the incredible labour which muft have attended their erec- tion, from the ignorance of the na- tives in the application of the me- chanical powers; fo that I became particularly folicitous to have it in’ my power to convey fome idea of them to thofe who make antiquities more particularly their ftudy. The religion of the Hindoos con- fifts of the worlhip of only one deity, bat the names by which he is known ‘in different diftrits are very nu- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. merous, as are alfo the various forrié under which he is reprefented. 4n honoar of this deity an edifice or temple is erected; in the centre is placed his image, before which the religious ceremonies of the prietts are performed. or open fpace, enclofed by one or more walls of a fuflicient height almoft wholly to conceal it. Be- fides the temple, there is a very large and high building which makes 2 part of the wall, being half enclofed by it, through which is the entrance into the area, This may be confi- dered as a fteeple, not being intend- ed for any other purpofe than that of attracting the public attention, having only a fmall apartment in each ftory, anda ftaircafe leading to the top. Thefe two buildings are fimilar in fhape externally, differ- ing only in fize. The fmaller building contains the apartment for the adoration of the deity, which is lighted by lamps, there being no openings to admit the light; and the larger one at the lower part forms a magnificent gateway or entrance quite through it, each ftory having a {mall lateral window. The infide of the wall enclofing the area has fometimes a fingle or double colonade all round; which being covered over, the top forms = a parapet for the purpofes of defence in time of war. As the temples are by much too fmall to contain the great concourfe of people who come to celebrate the public feltivals and worfhip the deity, there is in general a large = building for that purpofe attached to it, called a choultry, which iscom= pofed of a number of columns at certain diftances, and covered with a flat roof; thefe vary in a an The building isin | general fmall, and firuated inan area ~ ANTIQUITIES. And miagnificence according to the richnefs of the church. _ The relative fituation which thefe buildings have to each other being explained, J fhall proceed to a more particular defcription of the temple _and choultry at Madura. _ . The temple is facred to the deity ‘under the name of Chocalingam;and indeed the fame name (that of Lin- gam) is adopted all over India. The image or reprefentation of the deity is placed in the middle of the apartment facing the door. It is a block of black granite, about four feet high, of a conic fhape; with the outlines of a human face on the top, and a gold arch over it, -arved in open work, refembling the glory. This figure is never moved from its place; but the bramins upon par- ticular occafions bring out a repre- fentation of the deity to gratify the public, at which time he is fappofed to have aflumed a human form, of about three feet in height, with four arms, made of gold, and in a very fingular manner richly ornamented with jewels and filks. ' This image is carried on men’s fhoulders in this form feated on a throne, attended by the bramins as his fervants, and {eldom appears in public without being accompanied his wife Minachie. The temple is four ftories high, and meafures about fixty-eight feet, and at the bafe forty-three feet fquare, is built in the form ofa py-. _ tamid; the firft ftory is of ftone; be- ’ 59 ing much the largeft ; the others are of brick, covered over with a pars ticular kind of plaifter called chu- nam*, becoming fmaller as they» grow up; the upper ftory: being co- vered with copper very richly gilt. Ca external furface is ornamented every where with different repre- fentations of the deity and panda- rams, or religious beggars, inter- {perfed with animals. ‘Ihe bafe of. the figures is brick; and the other part plaifter,-or chunam, which takes a fine polifh, and is very durable. Moft of the ftories are very ob{cure and fabulous. The temple is fufficiently-large for the performance of the religious ceremonies, which is the bufinefs of the bramins, and confifts chiefly in wafhing the figure with water, an- nointing it with oil, burning per- fumes, and decorating it with flow- ers. - Thefe ceremonies are per- formed daily, with mnufic and dan¢- ing +. All thofe who comé to pay their devotions do not enter the temple; but fome make their applications in the area, being fatished if they fee the figure. Heretics are never admitted into the temple, nor even into the area 3 and, fhould it ever happen, the place is defiled, and to purity it the bra- mins perform certain ccremonies; which confift in rubbing the walls with cow dung, fprinkling them with the urine, and making an of- fering. The outer building or fteeple is * Mortar made of pounded alabafter or thells beat, mixed with thin fyrup td make it adhere. - t Every temple, whofe revenues can afford it, has a fet of dancing girls and thufic men dependent on it, who are flaves to tht pagodas, and bear the mark of the temple, which is a trident burnt on their right arm. ‘They do not refide in the temple, but muft attend whenever required, The number of girls attached to this temple at Madras is about 300, Hz built 100 built in the fame manner, and. has the fame ornaments as the temple; it is 162 feet high, 116 broad at the bafe, and 64 in thicknefs. There is no particular purpofe to which it is appropriated that I could ever find out; yet there is this nl circumftance refpecting it, that, the difputes between the church and the government, which are of a feri- ous nature, fome enthufiaft goes up in great form with mufic to the top of it, and makes a vow, that, if the difpute is not fettled in a certain time, he will throw himfelf from the pinnacle. ‘The dread of having this man’s blood upon their heads generally brings about an accommo- dation; and I have only heard of one inftance where he was under: the’ neceflity of fulfilling his vow. The area which contains the tem- ple is nearly 500 yards fquare, The age and founder of thefe buildings is not to be afcertained, as the bramins conceal the dates, from an idea that their gréat antiquity in- creafes the veneration of the peo- le. Choultries are not only annexed ‘to temples, but built in different places for the accommodation of travellers, and are frequently en- cowed with revenues by charitable érfons for the purpofe of diftribut- ing provifions. They are generally” built of ftone, with a flat or terraced roof of the fame materials; they have commonly three fides fhut ont from the weather, and the one left open is generally that facing the fouth or north, but more commonly the north, by Which’ means neither the fun, nor the unwholefome winds that blow in March and April, can incommode the inhabitants. The great chaultry of Timul Naik was begun in the fecond year of his ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. reign, in the year 1623, and was finithed in twenty-two years, and is: _faid to have coft above a million fterling ; but it is to be underitood, that every village was obliged to fend a certain number of wo. kmen, according to the number of inhabi- tants, who were fubfifted, but re- ceived no wages, which confiderably' diminifhed the expence. {t is built of an oblong fquare. form, and'confilts of 124 pillars of ftone placed in four rows, manner of executing it was as fol- lows. They dug pits at ftated dif- tances down to fand for a founda- tion, in which they placed their. pil- lars, which are compofed only of one ftone roughly cut before they were fixed in thefe pits; and when: they were all arranged, the different figures were carved upon them, When they did not find fand or gra- vel, they put in fand, and rammed it well down before they placed the columns. The pillars are twenty feet high ; over thefe pillars were placed the capitals, that are compofed of a: number of ftones geometrically placed, fo as to leffen the breadth of roof, which they do confiderably. The roof itfelf is compofed of long ftones, reaching from capital to capital, which being very heavy, and from their leneth liable to accidents, they were ritied to their places in the following .manner: the fpace between the pillars, as high as the top of the capital, was fo filled with earth, as to form an inclined plane, along which the ftones were rolled up to their fituation, and the earth afterwards removed. Thefe ftones are again covered with a layer of bricks cemented by chunam. ’ The pillars are curioufly carved with different figures, reprefenting: © ftories The @ Sito tagael 7 AUN TA@ Ua ThE S.: ffories conne&ted with their religion, and the family of the founder of the choultry, with a number of devices of the workmén’s own invention. I took the trouble of procuring copies of the defcriptions of the different columns, as regiftered in . the accounts of the temple, and of having them literally tranflated ; ‘and jhall annex a defcription of two or three of the pillars, as affording .a fpecimen, of their ridiculous and abfurd notions refpecting religious hiftory. Deferittion of the Founder’s Pillar. This pillar reprefents Trimul ‘Naik with his four wives, two on each fide, in a fapplicating pofture ; the firft was daughter to Ergi Ra- guah, king of Tanjour ; the fecond was daughter to the king of Tra- vencore ; the other two were daugh- ters to independent polligars. ‘The firft has a mark on her thigh, which was a wound fhe received from her hufband by a creefe, for faying, ‘when he afked her opinion of his palace, that it was not equal to her father’s neceflary. Tere are two other figures behind of young wo- ‘men betrothed to him. They are all richly drefied, and as large as life. Below thefe are fome figures -of the women of his haram, of which he had 360, with attend- * ants, _ Another pillar reprefents the ra- _jah Pundi, when he reigned in Ma- dura. He went a hunting to the ‘ weftward, to a village ten miles from Madura, in a wood abound- ing with wild hogs, where he met a boar and a fow, with twelve pigs. The boar killed feveral of his at- tendants, upon which the rajah fhot him, with an arrow, which enraged 1ot the female, who wounded feveral of his people, and was herfelf like- wife killed by the rajah ; the young pigs being deftitute, Menachie, wife to Chocalingam, begged her huf- band to fupport the pigs, which he reed to do, and gave them fuck nder the form of a fow. The effect of the god’s milk was fuch as made them reafonable beings, and their bodies became as men, but ftill re- taining the heads of pigs. Choca- lingam afterwards made the rajah fupport thefe twelve pigs as princes in his palace. ; Another pillar reprefents Abiche Pundiam, rajah of Madura, paying his devotions to Chocalingam, which pleafed the fwamy (or deity) fo much, that he metamorphofed himfelf into a pandaram, who came and per- formed miracles in Madura; mak- ing the old young, and the young old; giving fight to the blind; and moving large trees, &c. The rajah, hearing of this, fent for the panda- ram, who refufed to come to him, but met the rajah in one of the paflages coming from his devotions ; when the rajah afked him of the miracles he could perform, of which he had heard fo much; and begged him to make the ftone elephant come down and eat the fugar-cane he held in his hand, which the pan- daram immediately did. The rajah, much furprized, confefled the pre- fence of Chocalingam. There are not only in the choul- tries, but alfo.on the pagodas, many indecent figures, atch are not connected with religion, but carved purpofely to divert the at- tention, and prevent the mind of the beholdcis from being envious, as their fuperftition leads them to fuppole that envy can hurt the build- ing. H 3 Jt ro2 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Tt isa Curious circumftance, that, if any perfon, having begun one of thefe public buildings, fhould die before the completion, nobody will afterwards add & fingle ftone, as it would not convey his name to pof- terity,, but that of the original founder. ; The founder of this choultry lived to compleat four of the largeft build- ings in India. This choultry, a pagoda, a tank three quarters of a mile fquare, twenty feet deep, and faced with ftone, anda grand palace ornamented with beautiful black granite pillars, fome of which are twenty feet high, cut out of one ftone. : —_—_——$$ or Of the Antiquity of the City of Lon- ~ don; from Mr. Pennant’s Account. T was from the merchants who J frequented our ports that Cafar received the firft intelligence of the nature of ‘our ‘country, which in- duced him to undertake the invafion of Britain, and which in after-times Jayed the foundation of its conqueit by the Romans. PAD ee There is not the leaft reafon to doubt but that London exifted at that period, and was a place of much refort. It ftood'in fuch‘a fituation as the Britons would fele&, according to the rule they eftablifh- ed. An immenfe foreft originally extended to the river fide, and even as late as the reign of Henry IT. co- vered the northern neighbourhood of the city, and was filled with va- tious fpecies of beafts of chace. It “was defended’ naturally by ‘foffes ; one formed by the creek which ran along Fleet-ditch, the other, after- wards known by that of Walbrook, The fouth fide was guarded by the 4M : Thames. The north they might think fufficiently proteéted by the ~ adjacent foreft. Near St. Swithin’s church is a remnant of antiquity, which fome have fuppofed to have been Britith 5 a ftone, which might have formed a part of a Druidical circle; or fome other object of the ancient religion, as it is placed near the center of the Roman precinéts. Others have conjectured it to have been a milli- ary ftone, and to have ferved as a ftandard, from which they began ta compute their miles. This feems very reafonable, as the diftances from the neighbouring places co- incide very exactly. At all times it has .been. preferved with great care, was placed deep in the ground, and ftrongly faftened with bars of iron. It feems preferved like the Palladium of the city. It is at prefent cafed like a relique, within free-ftone, with a hole left in the middle, which difcovers the origi- nal. Certainly fuperititious refpect had been payed to it; for when the notorious rebel Jack Cade paffed by it, after he had forced his way into the city, he ftruck his fword on London ftone, faying, “ Now is Mortimer lord of this citie;’? as if that had been a cuftomary ceremony of taking poffeffion. » There is every reafon to fuppofe that the Romans poffefied them- felves of London in the reign of Claudius; under whom Aulus Plau- tius took Camalodunum, the prefent Maldon, in Effex, and*planted there a colony, confifting of veterans of the fourteenth Jegion, about a‘hun- dred and five years after the firit in- vafion of our ifland by Cefar. ‘This was the firft footing the Romans | had. in Britain. It feems ‘certain that London and Verulam were . taken ANTIQUITIES. taken poffeffion of about the fame time; but the laft clames the honor of being of a far earlier date, more opulent, populous, and a royal feat before the conqueft of Britain. Ca- amalodunum was made a Colonia, er a place governed entirely by Ro- man laws and cuftoms; Vervla- ~mium, a Municipium, in which the natives were honored with the pri- vileges of Roman citizens, and en- joyed their own laws and contti- tutions; and Londinum only a Pre- fe€tura, the inhabitants, a mixture of Romans and Britons, being fuf- fered to enjoy no more than the name of citizens of Rome, being go- verned by prefects fent annually from thence, without having either their own Jaws or magiftrates. It was even then of fuch concourfe, and fuch vaft trade, that the wife con- querors did not think fit to truft the inhabitants with the fame privileges as other places, of which they had lefs reafon to be jealous. ‘There is no mention of this im- portant place, till the reign of Nero; when ‘[acitus fpeaks of it as not having been diftinguifhed as a colony, but famous for its great _ concourfe of merchants, and its vaft commerce: this indicates, at left, » that London had been at that time of fome antiquity as a trading town, and founded long before the reign of that emperor. The ex- ports from hence were cattle, hides, _ and corn; dogs made a {mall arti- cle; and, Jet me add, that flaves were a confiderable object. Our internal parts were on a level with the African flave coaits; and wars among the petty monarchs were promoted for the fake of a traffic now fo ftrongly controverted. The ‘imports were at firft falt, earthen ware, and works in brafs, polifhed _the Tower. 103 bits of bones emulating ivory, horfe-collars, toys of amber, and glaffes, and other articles of the fame material. We need not infitt on the commerce of this period, for there was a great trede carried on with the Gauls in the days of Cefar: that celebrated invader af- figning, as his reafon for attempt- ing this ifland, the vaft fupplies which we gave to his Gaulifh ene- mics, and which interrupted his con- quefts on the continent. When the Romans became maf- ters of Lendon, they enlarged the precinéts, and altered their form. It extended in length from Lud- gate-hill to a fpot a little beyond The breadth was not half equal to the length, and at each end grew confiderably nar- rower. ‘The time in which the wall was built is very uncertain. Some afcribe the work to Conftantine the great. Maitland, to Theodofius, governor of Britain in 369. Pof- fibly their founder might have been Conftantine, as numbers of coins of his mother Helena have been dif. - covered under them, placed there by him in compliment to her. To fupport this conjecture, we may ftrengthen it by faying, that in ho- nor of this emprefs, the city, about that time, received from her the tilte of Augufta; which, for fome time, fuperfeded the antient one of Londinium. Long before this pe- riod, it was fully Romanized, and the cuftoms, manners, buildings, and arts of the conqueror adopted. The commerce of the empire flowed in regularly; came in a direét channel from the feveral parts then known, not as in the earlier days (when defcribed by Strabo) by the inter- vention of other nations; for till the fettlement of the Roman con- H 4 quel, 1O4 queft, nothing could come imme- diately from Italy. ‘The antient courfe of the walls was as follows’: —IJt began with a fort near the prefent fite of the Tower, was con- _ tinued along the Minories, and the back of Houndfditch, acrofs Bi- Shopfgate-ftreet, in a ftrait‘line: by London-wall to Cripplegate; then returned fouthward by Crowder’s Well Alley, (where feveral rem- nants of lofty towers were lately to be feen) to Alderfgate; thence along the back of Bull-and-mouth- ftreet to Newgate, and again-along the back of the houfes in the Old - Bailey to Ludgate; foon after which it probably finifhed with another fort, where the houfe, late the king’s printing houfe, in Black Friars, now ftands: from hence another wall ran near the river-fide, along Thames-ftreet, quite ‘to the fort on the eaftern extremity. In another place I fhall have occafion to men- tion that the river at prefent is moved confiderably more to the Youth, than it was in the times in queftion. That the Romans had a fort on the {pot at prefent occupied by the Tower, isnow paft doubt, fince the difcovery of a filver ingot, and three golden coins; one of the em- peror Honorius, the others of Ar- cadius. Its weight is ten ounces eight grains of the troy pound. In - the middle is ftruck, in Roman let- ters, EX, OF FIC- HONORII i This is fuppofed to have 'come from the royal mint, then at Conftantino- * See the learned dean Milles’s effa gt, tab. xxv, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. y on thefe fubjeéts in the Archaelogia, v. p. | ple, and intended to afcertain the ‘purity of the filver coin, that might have been fent over with it, Hono- rius reigning over the empire of -the weft, as Arcadius did over that of the eaft.. This was at the expi-" ration of the Roman power in Bri- -tain, The coins were fuppofed to have been part of the money fent to pay the laft legion which was -ever fent to the affiftance of the -Britons. The Tower was the trea- fury in which the public money ~ was depofited. The coins are in fine prefervation. On the reverfe isan armed man treading ona cap- 7] -tive, with the legend VICTORIA -AV GGG, and at the bottom CONOB. The firit alludes to the fuccefs of the legion againft the 7 CONOB. may 7 Piéts and Scots. -internd Conftantinopoli obfignata*. The walls were three miles a hundred and fixty-five feet in cir- cumference, guarded at proper dif- tances, on the land fide, with fifteen lofty towers; fome of them were — remaining ' within thefe few years, © and poflibly may fill. Maitland mentions one, twenty-fix feet high, 7 near Gravel-lane, on the weft fide of Houndfditch ; another, about eighty paces fouth-eaft towards Aldgate; 1) and the bafes of another, fupport- — ing a modern houfe, at the lower ~ end of the ftreet called the Vine- yard, fouth of Aldgate. But fince his publication, they have been de- molifhed, fo that these is not a trace left. The walls, when per- feé&t, are fuppofed to have been | twenty-two teet high, the towers, j] forty. Thefe, with the remnants | of the wall, proved the Roman ftruture, by the tiles and difpofition of ANTIQUITIES, of the mafonry. London-wall, near Moorfields, is now the moft entire part left of that antient precinét. - I muf not omit the Barbican, the 4pecula or watch-tower belonzing to every fortified place. This ftood a little without the walls, to the north-weit of Cripplegate. The gates; which received »the great military roads, were four. ‘The Prwxtorian way, the Saxon ' Watling-ftreet, pafied under: one, ‘on the fite of the late Newgate; ‘veftiges having been difcovered of the road in digging above Holborn- bridge: it turned down to Dow- “gate, or more properly Dwr-gate or ‘Water-gate, where there was a tra- ‘jectus or ferry, to join it to the ‘Watling-ftreet, which was continued to Dover. The Hermin-ftreet paffed _-under Cripplegate; and a vicinal way went under Aldgate, by Bethnal Green, towards Oldford, a pats over the river Lee to Duroleiton, the modern Leiton, im Effex. In moft parts of antient London, Roman antiquities have been found, whenever it has been thought ne- ceflary to dig to any confiderable depth. Beneath the old Saint Mary le Bow were found the walls, win- dows, and pavement of a Roman ‘temple; and not far from it, eigh- teen feet deep in adventitious {oi], was the Roman caufeway. The great elevation of the prefent ground above its former ftate, will be taken notice of in another place. In digging the foundation for the rebuilding of St. Paul’s, was found a vaft cemetery: firft lay the, Sax- ons, in graves lined with chalk ftones, or in. coffins of hollowed ftones; beneath them had been the bodies of the Britons, placed in rows. Abundance of ivory and boxen pins, about fix inches long, 105 marked their place. Thefe were fuppofed to have faftened the 4hrouds in’ which the bodies were wrapped. © Thefe perifhing, left the pins entire. In the fame row, but deeper, were Roman’ urns inter- mixed, lamps, lacrymatories; frag- ments of facrificial veffels were alfo difcovered, in digging towards the north-eaft corner; and in 1675, not far from the eaft corner, at a confiderable depth, beneath fome flinty pavement, were found num- bers of vefiels of earthen ware, and of glafs} of moft exquifite colours and beauty,* fome infcribed with the names of deities, heroes, or men of rank. Others ornamented ‘with variety of figures in bas relief, of animals and of rofe-trees. Tef- ferulz of jafper, porphyry, or mar- ble, fuch as form the pavement we fo often fee, were alfo difcover- ed. Alfo glafs beads and rings, large pins of ivory and bone, tufks ‘of bears, and horns of deer fawn through. Alfo coins of different emperors, among them fome of Conftantine; which at once deftroys the conjecture of Mr. Maitland, who fuppofes that this collection were flung together at the facking of London by our injured Boa- dicia, The choice of the fituation of this great’ city was molt judicious. It is on a gravelly foil; and ona declivity down to the borders of a magnificent river. The flope is evident in every part of the ancient city, and the vat modern buildings. The -antient city was defended in front by the river; on the weit fide by the deep ravine, fince known by the name of Fleet-ditch; on the north by morafles; on the eatt, as I fufpect, by another ravine. All the land round Weftminfter Abbey was 206 was 2 flat fen, which continued be- youd Fulham: but a rife com- Mences oppofite to it, and forms a magnificent bend above the cur- vature of the Thames, even to the Tower. The Surry fide wasin all probability a great expanfe of wa- ter, a lake, a LJyx, as the Welfh call it; which an ingenious country- man of mine *, not without reafon, thinks might have given a name to our capital; Llyn a or the city on the lake. ‘This moft probably was the original name: and. that derived from L/ong a ship, and din a town, might have been beftowed when the place became a feat of trade, and famous for the concourfe of thipping. . The expanfe of water might have filled the {pace between the rifing grounds at Deptford, and thofe at Clapham ; and been bound ed to the fouth by the beautiful Surry Hills. Lambeth Marth, and the Bankfide, evidently were reco- vered from the water. Along Lam- beth are the names of Narrow Walls, or the mounds which ferved for that purpofe; and in South- wark, Bankfide again fhews the means of converting the antient Jake into ufeful land: even to this day the tract beyond Southwark, and in particular that beyond Ber- mondfey-ftreet, is fo very low, and beneath the level of common tides, that the proprietors are obliged to fecure it by embankments. Antiquity of Billingfgate, and antient Prices of Fifh and other Articles, From the fame. : FTER the Cuftom-honfe, the firft place of note is Bil- * Mr, William Owen, of Barmouth, now refident in London, ANNUAL REGISTER, 11799. lingfgate,; or, to adapt the fpelling to conjectures of antiquaries, “ who. go beyond the realms of Chaos and ~ old-night,” Belin’s-gate, or the gate 7) of Belinus king of Britain, fellow- 4 ‘adventurer with Brennus king of the Gauls, at the facking of Rome, three hundred and fixty years be- fore the Chriftian era: and the Beli mawr, who graces the pedi- ~ grees of numbers of us antient Bri- _ tons. inglorious name, I fubmit to the etymology; but muft confefs there does not appear any record of a gate at this place: his fon Lud was more fortunate, for Ludgate pre- ferves his memory to every citizen, who knows the juft value of anti- quity. Gate here fignifies only a © place where there was a concourfe of people ; acommon quay or wharf, where there is a free going in and out of the fame. This was a {mall port for the reception of fhipping, and, for a confiderable time, the moit important place for the land-: 7} ing of almoft every article of com- merce. It was not till the reign of king William that it became cele- brated as a fifh-market; who, in 1699, by a& of parlement made it a free port for fifh, which might he fold there every day in the week except Sunday. The object of this has long been frultrated, and the epicure who goes (as was a frequent practice) to Billingfgate to eat fifh in perfection, will now be cruelly difappointed. i I cannot give a lift of the fifh of molt acceptable in the Saxon ages; but there is a lit left of thofe which were brought to market in that of Edward I. who defcended even to_ regulate the prices, that his fubjects might For fear of falling on fome* ANTIQUITIES, might not be left to the mercy of the venders. Se as The beft plaice = - - O1fF A dozen of beft foles - - 0 3 Beit frefh mulvil, i. e. Mol- va, either cod or ling - 0 3 Beft haddock - - a sap Belt barkey - . - O¢ Be& mullet —s- - 02 Beft dorac, John Doree ? Po. O05 Beftconger - - =". 0 Beft turbot = - - 06 Beft bran, fard, and betale - 03 Bet mackrel, in Lent its And out of Lent - - 0 of Beft gur nard - ol Beft freth merlings, i. e. merlangi, wines four for = Ol Beft powdered ditto, 1 12 for o1 Bett pickled herrings, twenty o1 f This fhews that the invention of pickling was before the time of William Benkelen, who died in 1397. See Brit. Zook iii. article Herring. Saas Belt frefh ditto, befpre Mi- . chaelmas, fix for - Sime Ditto, after aciees 12 for =a OI Beft eiained or Séveti _ lampre © 4 Bef freth oytters, a | gallon far 02 A piece of rumb, grofs and fat, I fufpect holibut, which is ufually foldin pieces,at o 4 Beft fea-hog, i.e. porpefie - 68 rt eels, a ftrike, or + hun- dred - - . oz Beftlampreys, in winter, the hundred - - - 98 “Ditto, at othertimes - - 0 6 * Thefe, by their cheapnefs, mutt have been the little lampreys now u*rd for bait. But we alfo imported lampreys 107 | $4, from Nantes: the firft which came in was fold for notlefsthan ~ - 14 A month after, at = - - 08 Beft frefh falmon, from Chriftmas to Eafter, for 5.0 Ditto, after ditto = - - 30 Beft fmeits, the hundred - 0 8 Bett roche, in fammer - o1 Beft lucy, or pike, at - 68 By the very high price of the pike, it is very probable that this fifh had not yet been in- troduced into our ponds, but was imported at this period as a luxury, pickled, or fome way preferved. Among thefe fifh, let me obferve; that the conger is, at prefent, never admitted to any good table; and to fpeak” of ferving up a porpetfe whole, ‘or in part, would fet your guefts a ftaring. Yet, fuch is the difference of tafte, both thefe fifhes were in high efteem. King Rich- ard’s mafter cooks have left a moft excellent receipt for congur iz Jawjfe; and as for the other great fifh, it was either eaten roafted, or falted, or in broth, or furmente with porpeff. The learned doctor Caius even tells us the proper fauce, and fays, that it fhould be the fame with that for a dolphin; another difh unheard of in our days. From the great price the lucy or ‘ies bore, one may reafonably fufpect that it was at that time an exotic fifh, and brought over at a vaft ex- pence. ~ I confefs myfelf unacquainted with the words darkey, bran, and betules fard was properly the far- dine or pilchard: I am equally at a lofs about croplings and rumb: but the pickled éal/enes were cer- tainly the pholms dactylus of Lin- nus, 8 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. nus, 1110; the dalanusof Ronde- Aconey -. - = - ©02 — " Tetius de Teftaccis, 28; and the One dozenof pigeons - 00 7 dattili of the modern Italians, which A hundred eggs - 00 89 are to this day eaten, and even A goofe ~~" egile e! gem pickled. om ed A gallon of red wine - 00 8 To this lift of fea-fith, which were A kilderkin of ale - 008 admitted in thofe days to table, cae may be added the fturgeon, and - 2 floes ne ling; and there is twice mention, - —— in archbifhop Nevill’s great feaft, nk en of a certain fifth, both roafted and # * * * * nr Aa 5 ical: 3b Price of provifions provided for The feal was alfo reckoned a fith, 2 dinner given by certain ferjeants and, with the fturgeon and porpefs, * law, in the year 1531. were the only freth fih which, by Brough h Le 56 de the 33d of Henry VIII. were per- ee to the flanghter- i mitted to be bought of any ftranger O oule 24 beeves,each- 16 & at fea, between Englandand France, “"° carcafe of an oxe . Flanders, and Zealand. from the fhambles - 14 © On April 11th of the prefent oS a ndred fat muttons, ‘year, I paffed through Billingfeate, _. °..2. Tome ay aes on te tohinds fone pity great ible at o4 Se large pieces of ice, in which I was <2! ty-tour porkes,at_ - 0 3 3 told the falmon from Berwick, and Ninety-one pigs,at_ = - 00 6 others of our northern fifhery, was wapons of Greece, of one packed in boxes. ‘The ice is pre- ie ter (for he had ferved in ice-houfes throughout the | ¢ ree) ten dozens, at winter entirely for that purpofe. Rie Kent eee on 8 2 7 at y * apace and fix,at - o1 om hile Cocks of grofe, feven | "Price of provifions given at a ~ dozen algae at - 00 8 dinner of the wax-chandler’s com- Cocks courfe xiii dozen, pany, in the year 1478. ee Bde im a . 5», @ Pullets, the beft 22d. _ Two loins of mutton, and - each, . Other pullets - 00 208 two loins of veal - 014 Pigeons, 37 dozen, each A loinof beef - Sp ONG. Ae) tt OZER gee me hoe - 00 2 Aleg of mutton - - © 0 2% Swans xiii dozen. Apig - -.~ “= 004 Larkes 340 dozen, each -Acapon - - - 006 dozen -— = - 00 5) MIscELLANEOUS [ 109. ] MISCELLANEOUS .ESSAYS. ‘Remarks on fome Paffages of the fixth Book of the Eneid, Ly James Beat- tie, LL. D. &c. from Sranfadions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. HERB is nothing in Virgil more explicit than the ac- count of Tartarus; and f know not why it has been fo generally mif- underftood. Dr. Warburton fays, in one place, that Eneas faw the fights of Tartarus at a diftance, and in another, that Eneas pafled through Tartarus. In fact, he did neither. He could not pafs through without entering ; and this, we are told, was to him impoflible: «« Nulii fas cafto {celeratum infiftere limen.”” And though he had been permitted to enter, he could not pafs through, without firft crofling a river of fire, and then defcending.into an im- menfe gulph, twice as deep beneath the level of the other regions of darknefs, as thofe are remote from heaven. It was equally impoflible ‘for him to fee from a diftance what was doing in fuch a gulph, even though the gate that led to it had been open, which, however; at this _ time, happened to be fhut. « You fee, faid the Sybil, what a centinel fits without in the porch, (meaning Tifiphone); another, fill more dreadful, has her flation within;” which, as he could not fee it, the informs him i a huge ferpent, or hydra, with fifty heads. An oper- ing of the gate is indeed mention- ed, which Rueus underftandsto have taken place at the very time when the Trojan and the Sybil were look~ ing at it. But that is a miftake. The Sybil only tells her companion, that; when Rhadamanthus has made the criminals confefs their guilt, then at length (tw demum) the gate- opens for their reception into the place oftorment. It is ftrange that» Rueus and Dr. Warburton did not fee that this is the obvious import of the words of Virgil; and that, if we do not underftand them in this fenfe, the paflage mult appear con- fufed, if not ungrammatical.. Ina word; of the infide of Tartarus the Trojan hero faw nothing; he faw the outfide only, the walls, the gates, the tower of iron, &c. and thefe he faw at fome diftance. What was pafling within he learns from - the Sybil’s information. « And now,” fays fhe, “ let us be: going. Yonder, on the right hand, is the palace of: Proferpine, where, in the vaulted porch that fronts us, we are commanded to depofit the. olden bough.” This ceremony ‘neas performs, after having f{prink- led himfelf with pure water; which was cuftomary with thofe who made offerings to the gods. They then went onward to Ely- fium, the gay {cenery of which, im- mediately FIO mediately fucceeding the gloom of purgatory and the horrors of Tar- tarus, is fo charming, that every reader feels himfelf refrefhed by it. Here were groves, and plains, and meadows, clothed with perpetual verdure, the abodes of tranquillity and joy, and illuminated by a fun and ftars of the moft refulgent beauty. Here were feafting, and dancing, and mufic, and poets ac- companying their verfes with the harmony of the lyre. Here thofe warlike exercifes were renewed, in which the heroes while on earth had fo much delighted; and here were horfes, and chariots, and arms, and every thing that could gratify an heroic mind. It muft be owned, that all this is very inadequate to the defires and the, capacity of an immortal foul: but Virgil had heard of nothing better; and it was im- poflible for him to defcribe what he could not conceive. In this Elyfium, which, with all its imperfection, is, as well as the infernal world, founded on the bett ideas of retributive juftice that could be expected from a pagan, the poet places in a ftate of endlefs felicity “< the fhades of the pure and the pi- ous; of heroes who have died in de- fence of their country; of ingenious men who have employed their ta- Jents in adorning human life with elegant arts, or in recommendin piety and virtue ; and of all who, by atts of beneficence, have merited the love and the gratitude of their fel- low-creatures.”” To a company of thefe happy ‘beings, who had flocked round the two ftrangers, and efpecially to the oet Mufeus, whom fhe knew, the Sybil addreffed herfelf, defiring to be informed where Anchifes re- fided. We have no certain habita- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1996: tions, returned the poet; we wander about, and amufe ourielves wherever — we pleafe; but follow me to yonder rifing ground, and I fhail put you in a path that will conduct you to him. Some writers blame Virgil for not making Eneas find Homer in this part of Elyfium; and infinuate, that the Roman poet mutft have been both invidious and ungrateful, in ~ negle€ting fuch an opportunity of — doing honour to his great matter, — to whom he owed fo much. ‘Thofé — critics do not confider that Eneas — was dead an hundred years before Homer was born. © Our poet hag been cenfured for a /uppofed ana- chronifm, in making Eneas and — Dido contemporary ; and here he is found fault with for having judici- oufly avoided a real anachronifm. It chanced that Anchifes was at. this time in a remote valley, review- ing, in their ftate of pre-exiftence, fome of his pofterity, who were af- terwards to diftinguifh themfelves: .in the Roman republic. When he faw his fon advancing towards him, he held forth both his hands, gave him an affectionate welcome, and wept for joy. The hero would have embraced his father; but found that || the fhade, though vifible, eludedthe touch. . After a fhort converfation, Eneas happening to fee, in a grove through which a river was flowing, an innu- merable multitude of human beings flying about, afked his father who they were, and what river it was. The river, faid he, is Lethe, of — which thofe fouls are taking a — draught, being about to return to the upper world, in order to ani- mate new bodies. Is it to be ima- — gined, exclaims Eneas, that fouls — fhouid ever leave this happy 7 an MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. atid go back to the imprifonment of the body, and all the wretchednefs of mortality? I will explain the whoie matter to you, replies An- chifes, Know, then, that all- the parts of this vifible univerfe, the heavens, and earth, and fky, the fun, moon,’ and flars, are, like one vaft body, animated by an univerfal fpirit, whereof the fouls, or vital princi- ples, of all animals, of men and beafis; of fifhes and fowl, are ema- nations, ‘This vital principle is, in every animal, the fource of fenfation and motion; but, from the influence that the body has over it, becomes fubje& to inordinate paflions, and forgetful of its heavenly original. The foul of man, in particular, (for nothing further is faid of the other ' animals) contraéts, while fhut up in the-dark prifon of the body, a de- gree of debafement which does not leave it at death, and from which the fufferings of a fubfequent ftate of purgation are neceflary to purify it. Thefe are of different kinds and de- grees, according to the different de- grees and kinds of guilt or impu- - Irt rity which the foul has contracted. Some fouls are expofed to the beat- ing of winds, fori€’ are wafhed iz water, and forme purified by fre. Every one of us (fays Anchifes, in- cluding himfelf) fuffers his own pe~ culiar pains of purification. Then we are fent into this vaft Elyfiam, and a few of us remain in the eternaf poffeflion of it *. The reft conti- nue here, till by the air and tran- quillity of the place, they: have en- tirely got the better of the impu- rity contra&ed in the world, have had every impreffion of the pains of purgatory worn out, and are re- ttored to their original fimplicity of nature. “Thus refined, they are, at the end of a thoufand years +, fum- moned by a divine agent, or god, to meet in one great afiembly, where they drink of Lethe to wafh away remembrance, and then, in com- pliance perrey en own inclination, are fent back to the earth to ani- mate new bodies. ~ Having ended this account, An- chifes, with his fon and the Sybil, paffes to a rifing ground, and points out ina ftate of pre-exiftence, 2 * I fuppofe the words Et pauci leta arva tenemus, to be a parenthefis; which, in my opinion, clears the text of all ob{curity. By the change of the per- fon, in the four lait lines of the f{peech,—Has omnes,—volvere,—incipiant,—re+ wifant, it appears, that Anchifes does not include himfelf among thofe who were to return to the world; which afcertaips fufficiently the import of tenemus. The dearned Rucus conftrues the paffage in a way fomewhat different; but his gene, ral account of the poet’s doétrine differs pot effentially from mine. ' + More literally, «¢ When they have rolled the wheel, or circle, for a thoufand _ years 5" that is, when the revolution of a thoufand years is completed. For this _ Mmterpretation we are indebted to Servius, who tells us further, that this fingular rafe was taken from Ennius. Anciently perhaps rota might mean a circle, as well as a wheel,) and poetically a year; fo that, in Ennius’s time, wolvere rotam mightbe a figurative phrafe of the fame import with annum peragere, to pafs a _ year. The original meaning of annus is @ circle, whence the diminutive annulusy aring. The fame reference to the circular nature of the year, may be feen in the ‘Greek tnavres, which Virgil certainly had in his mind when he wrote, ** Atque in fe {ua per veftigia volvitur annus.’ When this is attended to, our author's | wfeof the phrafe in queition will appear not fo harfh as it might otherwife be thought to’ be, and not at all too figurative in this very folemn part of the pow. proceflion L112 proceflion of Roman heroes, who were in due time to defcend from him; briefly defcribing their feve- ral chara¢ters, in a, moft. {ublime firain of poetical prophecy. . I fhall fubjoin a few remarks on the concluding fcene of this noble epifode;—on the gates of horn and ivory. Thefe gates have given no little trouble to critics, both ancient and modern; who, after all, feem to have been not very fortunate in their conjectures. ‘Chis is owing,, not to obf{curity in the poet, but to the refinement of thofe interpreters, who miftook a plain paflage for a profound allegory, and were deter- mined to find a fecret meaning in it. The gate of ivory, fay they, tranf- mits falfe dreams, and that of horn true ones; and Eneas and his com- panion are difmiffed from Elyfium,, and letinto the upper world, through the ivory gate. What can this im- ply, but that the poet meant to infi- nuate, that every thing he had faid. ‘ concerning a ftate of future retribu- tion, was nothing more thana falla-, cious dream? And, in fupport of . this conjecture, they generally quote from the Georgic three verfes to prove, that Virgil was in his .heart an Hpicurean, and confequently dif- believed both.a, future ftate and.a -- providence. The verfes are—« Fe-~ lix qui potuit rerum: cognofeere caufas, Atque metus omnes, et in- - exorabile fatum, Subjecit pedibus, ftrepitumque Acherontis avari,” Now, in the ff place, it does not appear to me, that thefe lines can prove their author ever to have been an Epicurean, or that he meant to fay more than “ Happy is the man whofe mind philofophy has raifed above the fear of death, as wellas above all other fears.’’ For, in the Georgic, he not only recom- s ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. ‘place, that no poet ever thought of — firft to employ all his fkill in adorn meénds religion and prayer; which Epicureans could not do confittently with their principles, but again and again afferts a providence; and, in terms equally elegant and juft, vin- dieates the Divine wifdom in eftab-_ lifhing phyfical evil as the means of improving and elevating the mind of man. But does he not, in his — fixth eclogue, give an account of. © the formation of the world accord- ing to the Epicurean theory? He does; and he makes it part of the fong of a. drunkard: no, proof that. | he held it in very high efteem, But, 2dly, Suppofing our .poet’s’ admiration of Lucretius might have made him formerly partial to the. — tenets of Epicurus, it does not fol- low that he continued fo to the end’ — of his life, or thas he was fo while employed upon the Eneid. .'The dus ties of religion, and the fuperintend- ing care of providence, are by no © other Pagan author fo warmly en= forced as in this poem; and thé energy with which, in the fixth book, and in one paflage of the — eighth, (v. 666,) he afferts a future — retribution, feems to prove; that he ~ was fo far in earneft with regard to this matter, as.to believe, that it was not, as the Epicureans afirmeds — either abfurd or improbable. : Let it be remarked, in the third ~ fo prepofterous a method of pleaf= — ing and initructing his readers, as « ing. his, fable, and then tell them; ~ that they ought not to believé a 7 word of it. The true poet’s aim is: very different. He adapts himfelf 7 to the opinions that prevail among. ~ the people for whom he writes, that ~ they may the more eafily acquiefce ~ in his narrative; or he is careful, at — feaft, to make his. fable confifient witli, . . ‘ : $e ? A ~ berally for his matchlefs encomium on the younger Marcellus. Had _ this indeed been his meaning, all the ° MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. with itfelf, in order to give it as much as poflible the appearance of ferioufnefs and truth. We know, that the fcenery of the fixth book is wholly fictitious; but the Romans did not certainly know how far it might be fo: founded as it was on ancient tradition, which no hiftory they had conld overturn; and on _philofophical opinions, which they had never heard confuted, and which, where Revelation was unknown, might feem refpectable, on accoynt of the abilities of Pythagoras, Plato, and other great men who had taught them. To which I’may add, 474), as an argument decifive of the ‘/prefent gueftion, That if Virgil wifhed his countrymen to believe him to have been zof in earneft in what he had told them of a pre-exiftent and fu- ture ftate, he muft alfo have wifhed - them to underftand, that the compli- ments he had been paying to the moft favourite characters among their anceftors were equally infin- cere; and that what he had {aid of the virtues of Camillus, Brutus, Cato, Scipio, and even Augutftus himfelf, was altogether vifionary, and had as gooda right to a pafiage through the ivory gate, as any other falfehood. Had Oétavia underflood _ this to be the poet’s meaning, fhe would not have rewarded him fo li- Yatter part of the fixth book would have been a ftudied infult on Au- " guitus, and the other heroes there ‘teelebrated, as well as on the whole ‘ n people. Strange, that the ~ moft judicious writer in the world Ahould commit fuch a blunder in the moft elaborate part of apoem which had confecrated to the honour of ie Vou. XXXIL 113 his country, and particularly to that of his great patron Auguitus! We muft therefore admit, either. that Virgil had loft his fenfes, or, which is more probable, that, in fending Eneasand the Sybil through the ivory gate, he intended no far- caftic reflection either on his coun- try or on his poetry. In a word, we muft admit, that, in this part of his fable, he was juf& as much in earneft as in any other; and that there was no more joke in Eneas’s ofcent through the gate of ivery,- than in his defcent through the cave of Avernus. How then are we to underfland this adventure of the gate? I anfwer, By making the poet his own interpreter, and not feeking to find things im his book which we have no good reafon to think were ever in his head. Jn the nineteenth book of the Odyfiey, Penelope, fpeaking of dreams, fays to her nurfe, that there are two gates by which they are tranfmitted to us; one made of horn, through which the true dreams pafs, and the other of ivory, which emits falfe dreams. This thought Homer probably derived from fome Egyptiancuftom or tradition, which one might difcufs with many quo- tations and much appearance of learning ; and this, no doubt, gave Virgil the hint of the paffage how before us, But Virgil’s account differs from Homer’s more than the commentators feem to be:aware of.. Homer does not fay in what part of the world his gates are; Virgil’s are in Italy, not far from Cuma, and are faid to be the outlet from Ely- fium into the upper world: a wild fiion no doubr, but not more wild than that of making the cave of Avernus the inlet from the upper world into the nether. Homer's 1 gates 14 gates are the gates of dreams ; Vir- gil calls his the gates of fleep. The former are not faid to tranfmit any thing but dreams ; of the latter, one tranimits dreams, and the other real ghofts or shades. For. thus, though all the commentators areagainft me, I muft underftand the words umbyis weris; becaufe in Virgil wmdbra often fignifies a ghof, but never in him, nor in any other good writer, (fo far as I know) adream. If it be afked, what ghotts they were that ufed to pafs this way ; the anfwer is eafy: they were thofe who, after having been a thoufand years in E- lyfium, and taken a draught of Le- the, were fent back to the upper world to animate new bodies., If again it were afked, whether fuch beings might not be of fo fubtle a nature as to work their way into the upper world without pafiing through a gate; I fhould anfwer, that vifible fubftances, which might be purified by fire, or wafhed in water, and could not get over the river Styx but in a boat, muft be fo far mate- rial at leaft,as to be capable of con- finement, and confequently of being fet at liberty. The fal/a infomnia that go out by the ivory gate may mean, either de- ceitful dreams, ox dreams in general, that is, unfubftantial things, as op- poled to realities; which laft I take to be the preferable fignification, Be this, however, as it will, Encas - and the Sybil were neither ghofts nor dreams, but human flefh and blood; and could no more be fup- pofed to partake of the qualities al- luded to in the zame of the gate by “which Anchifes difmiffed them, than a man is fuppofed to be lame for having pafled through Cripplegate, or than the Lord Mayor of London, by entering in proceflion through os ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Temple-bar, is fauppofed to have be- come a better churchman than be- fore, or a better lawyer. ‘Through one or other of the gates of fleep the Trojan and his guide mutt pafs, or they never could return to the up- | per world at all: and that gate the ~ poet probably made choice of, which firftoccurred to him; and that — probably would firft occur which founded beft in his verfe: or per- haps one might fay, in the way of conjecture, that he thought fit to open the ivory gate, becaufe the other, being appropriated to the pu- rified ghotts, might not be fo well fuited to mere mortals. This is certain, that, though the ablative eburna ftands very gracefully in the 898th line, the ablative cornea could — not: becaufe, being the foot am- phimacer, it can have no place ina regular hexameter. As to the analogy that fome cri- tics have fancied between horn and truth, and between falfehood= and — ivory, itis fo whimfical, and fo ab- furd, that I need not mention it. And now, by removing the mift of allegory from Virgil’s gates, I flatter myfelf, that I have made thefe verfes fomewhat more intelligible than they have been generally fup- pofed to be ; that I have proved the latter part of this epifode to be con- fiftent with the reft of it; and thatI — have vindicated a favourite author — from the heavy. charges of impiety — and ill-manners, whereof, however repugnant to his general character, it would not be eafy for thofe to © clear him who follow the common, — though lefs obvious, interpretations. _ Extraa from an Account of the Ben / man Theatre, by Henry Macken- © zie, Bfq. From the /ayite IN. WN examining thefe pieces in de- i tail, and-appropriating them to their refpeftive authors, one is im- mediately ftruck with the name of Lefling, whom Germany fo mach reveres as one of the founders of her drama. He is the author of the * firft piece in Friedel’s colleétion, Emilie de Galotti,- another tragedy - inone att called PAzltas, a third called Sara Samfon, and a drame entitled Nathan le Sage. He is au- thor alfo of feveral other plays con- tained in the Theatre Allemand of Junker, one of which, Minna -de Barnhelm, is reckoned the chef d’zuvre of German comedy. I have perufed it with all the attention to which its high charatter entitled it, _ and indeed with a great degree of the pleafure, though not with all _ the admiration which that high cha- __raéter led me to expeét. It is of the graver or fentimental kind of comedy, where the charaéters main- tain.a war of generofity, from which . the embarrafiments and implications of the plot, not very intricate nor artificial ones, refult, ‘The princi- _ pal perfon is a Major Telheim, a difbanded officer, whofe’ merits his country had ill rewarded; a man of _ the moft confummate bravery, gene- ) rofity and vittue, for whom thofe | qualities have gained the love of _ every foldier and domeftic around him. They have procured him a ftill more valuable attachment, the _ Minna of Barnhelm, who, on hear- ing of the Major’s regiment being ¢ Gifbanded, comes to Berlin to feek him, and to make him happy. The _ rival noblenefs of mind of thefe - two characters produces the princi- _ pal incidents of the piece, which however are vot always natural, “hor very happily imagined’; and be- MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. T1§ fides, as Fielding jocularly. fayss when comparing a fhallow book to a fhailow may, may be eafily feen through. But, with all theie de- feéts, and that want of comic force which the turn and fitwation of the principal characters naturally oc- cafions, the play muft pleafe and in- tereft every reader. There is fome- thing in the conftitution of the hu- man mind fo congenial to difinter- eftednef, generofity. and magnani- mity, that it never fails to’ be pleafed with fuch charafters, after all the deduétions which critical difcern- ment can make from them. Amidft the want of comic humotr which I have obferved in this play, I mutt. not omit, however, doing julftice to. a ferjeant-major of Telheim’s regi- ment, and to Juftin his valet, who are drawn with a ftrong and natural pencil. The ftory of the fpaniel, told by the latter, when his mafter’s poverty makes him with to difmifs *him from his férvice, is one of the beft imagined, and beft told, I re- member to have met with. There isa good deal of comic character and. lively dialogue in fome of Leffing’s lefs celebrated pieces in the collec- tion of Junker; but the plots are in general extravagant and farcical. In judging of Lefling as a tragic writer, one will do him no injuttice by making the tragedy of Eyilie de Galotti the criterion of that judg- ment. The othersin thefe volumes are very inferior to this, which is certainly, in point of compofition, chara¢ter and paffion, a perform- ance of no ordinary kind. Lef- fing was well acquainted with the ancient drama, and wifhed to bring the theatre of his country toa point of regularity nearer to that of the ancients. He publithed, for fome time, a periodical criticifim on the» atrical compofition, called, “ Le lz Drama; ] 116 Dramaturgie de Hambourg.” His plays, accordingly, though not, ex” actly conformable to the Ariftote-- lian ftandard, approach pretty near to it in the observation of the uni- ties. H_ is faid to have got into a difpute with Goethé on this fabjeét, in which, from a degree of timidity in his nature, he rather yielded to his antagonift. I am not fure if he ~ has profited by confining himfelf more than fome other of his coun- trymen within the bounds of the regular drama. The fable of Emilie de Galotti, as well as of his other. tragedies, is more regular than hap- py, and the denouement neither na- tural nor pleafing. It is founded on circumftances fomewhat fimilar to thofe in the ftory of Virginia. A prince of Guaftalla is defperately enamoured of Emilie de Galotti, who is» jut about to be married to a man of rank and fortune, the Cottnt Appiani. On the day of his marriage, he is way-laid by order of a wicked minilter of the prince, and murdered. His bride is brought to the prince’s country-feat, where, to prevent any chance cf her.dif- honour, her father kills her. After the firft reading of Zmzlie, I was difpofed to wonder at the re-- putation it had acquired; but a fe- cond placed it higher in my eftima- tion. This was naturally the cafe in a performance where the whele was neither fo perfeét ner fo inte- refling as fome of the {cenes in de- tai were forcible and ftriking. The heroine Emilie de Galotti is but imperfeétly drawn, and not very well fupported. Indeed, it may in general be obferved in thefe pieces, that the charaéters of the female perfonages are by much the moft defective, both in beauty and in force. This may perhaps be af- sribed to she ftate of fociety in Ger- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. many, where the [ex is lefs an ob- jet of confideration and refpect than in France, and fome other parts of the Continent. But there is another lady in this t agedy, the Counte/s d’Orfina, the betrayed and abandoned miftrefs of the prince, whofe charaéter the poet has deli- neated with-great ability ; and one fcene, in which fhe is introduced: along with the father of Emilie, in genuine expreflion of paffion, and pointed force of dialogue, may be © compared to fome of the beft which the modern flage can beatt. “in In the developement of the fecret. foldings of the heart, Leffing feems. deeply fkilled, and the opening {cenes of this tragedy contain fome of thofe little incidents that mark an intimacy with human nature, which genivs alone can claim. But in its progrefs we find, in fome. degree, a want of that firong and juit delineation and fupport of cha- racter, but chiefly of that probable conduct and interefting fituation, which are the great and peculiar re- quifites of dramatic excellence. It feems alfo defective in the pathetic, for which certainly the fubjeé& af-. forded very great room, and which,. in a fimilar fituation, eur country~' man Rowe has contrived fo ftrongly to excite. Of Leffing’s performances in thefe volumes, the next in merit, though, in my opinion, at a confiderable — diftance, is Sara Sam/fon, an Englifh ~ ftory, of which the idea feems chiefly taken from Clariffa, though one character m it, that ofa violent and profligate woman, is evidently bor~ rowed from Mi//zvcod in George Barne ewell. I muft venture to doubt, whether a character of this fort be proper for filling a principal place an tragedy.. There is a degree of infamy in the vice of fuch a perfon F ; 5 "thas. 5 MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. | that is fcarcely fuitable to the dig- nity of the higher drama, and which difgufts us _ its appearance. The Marwood of Leffing is introduced in fuch a manner as to heighten that difguft. The amiable female of the piece, Sara Samjon, is no exception from the general defect of female character in this collection. And her father, who is placed in the ten- der fituation of which feveral au- thors have made fo affecting a ufe, - the parent of a child feduced fiom honour, though ftill alive to virtue, is infipidly drawn, and awkwardly introduced. In this tragedy, is an incident, of which Lefling feems to be fond, as he has repeated it with very little variation in another tra- gedy called L’E/prit Fort, a dream, related by the heroine, predictive of the cataftrophe. This, as it an- ticipates the conclufion, is always faulty. No part of the condué of a play is more nice and difficult than that degree of information which the author is to give the audi- €nce in the courfe of it. In gene- ral, he fhould certainly not foreftal their expectations, by opening his plot too foon. But tiere is an ad- mirable theatrical effeét which of- ten refults from letting the audience _know what the ‘perfons of the drama are ignorant of, which ftretches, ii _I may ufe the expreflion, the cords of fear, anxiety and hope in the ta to the higheft pitch, ‘through fcenes which otherwife would produce thefe feelings in an inferior, as well as in a momentary degrce. _ audience, of Merope’s fori, while the, in ignorance of his perfon, is on the point of putting him to death, is * one of the moft interefting fituations: which dramatic invention has ever produced; and there is nothing on mf This knowledge in the. 117 the French ‘ftage which equals the horror of that feene of Crebillon’s Atree et Thyefte, where the devoted brother attempts to difguife himfelf from Afreus, while the terrified fpectators know him all the while, and tremble at every look and word which they think will difcover him. Next to Leffing, in point of name, is Goethé, the author of two tragedies in this collection, cetz. de. Berliching and Clavidgo, and of a drame entitled Sre//a. 'The firft-I have already mentioned as highly irregular in its plan, being a life thrown into dialogue rather than a tragedy. The cofume of the age in which the events are fup- pofed to have happened, is very well preferved. The fimpie manners, the fidelity, the valour and the ge- ‘nerefity of a German knight, are pourtrayed in a variety of natural {cenes. This national quality, I prefume, has been the caufe of its high fame in Germany, to which it feems to me to have otherwife not a perfectly adequate claim. His Clavidgo is founded on an incident which happened to the celebrated Caron de Beaumarchais in Spain, who is introducad as a perfon of the drama, under the name of Ro- nac, an-anagram of Caron, with the letters alittle tranfpofed. The dif- trefs of the play arifes from the falfehood of a lover, who leaves his miftrefs: after being engaged to marry her. Neither the delineation of the characters, nor the manage- ment of the plot in the fir two atts, is entitled to much applaute; but the lah at, which pafies in fight of the, corpfe of Maria, "is wrought up with uncommon force, and muft, on the ftage, be produc- tive of high effect. His third per- formance, Sredla, is ftrongly marked Ivg with 118 with that enthufiaftic fentiment and refined fenfibility, which, in the Sor- "rows of Werter, he has fo warmly indulged; and in point of immoral effect, the drama is equally repre- henfible with the novel, Its con- clufion is in. the boldeft ftyle of this - fentimental refinement ; fince it gives to the hero two wives, with whom he is to fhare that heart, to which the incidents of the play have fhewn the claims of beth. Extra® from Maxims addrefid ta Young Ladies, by the Countefs Dowager of Carlifle. Abituate yourfelf to that way H of lite moft agreeable to the perfon to whom you are united: be content in retirement, or with fo- ciety; with the town or the coun- try. If he fhould prefer the. country during your earlier years,:a period when diverfions are mof attractive, it may at firft be painful; you may be fenfible of the privation ;—but “your chance for durable happinefs is infinitely greater there, than where “each fide 1s furrounded with conti- nual dangers to domeftic tranquil- lity. Make choice of fuch amufements as will attach him to your com- pany: ftudy fuch occupations as ‘will render you. of confequence to ~him; fuch as the management of his fortune, and the conduct of his houfe; yet, without affuming a fu- periority unbecoming your iex. + If his turn of mind leads him'to the infpection and care of his eftate, avoid to interfere with a branch of government, not properly your fphere. _ Should he be neglect ful of his fa- ANNUAL REGISTER, ‘mued, accompanied by no affecta-~ 1790. mily interefts, fapply his place with redoubled attention. nt demand home, make prefent, by your them. ade If the contagion’of example gain too ftrong an empire over him, if — mifled by pleafures, or hurried by 7} paffion, let not your impatience 7 prevent his return to reafon. © a Let an early examination of his temper, prepare you to bear with J inequalities, to which all are more — or lefs fubjeé. Do not attempt to deftroy his in- nocent pleafures by pretexts of asco- nomy; retrench rather your own expences to promote them. Should he fometimes delight in — trivial occupations, treat fuch with complaifance; as few but the idle have leifure to be very ill-tem- © ered. ; Difturb not the hours he may have ~ allotted for amufement, with the re- “| cital of domeftic grievances, | Watch for, and profit of fuch J moments of his leifure, as will allow 7} him, without pain or chagrin, to [ redrefs them. | Let your attentions be fo-conti- }} tion; yet fo eafy, as may prove they — flow from the heart. ss The leaft appearance of flattery, © mingled with afliduity, conveys af fufpicion of intereft. © - ‘ . If abfolute neceflity, or free choice, call him often from honte- (fuppofe it to be too often) wwhein he fhall revifit that home, make it fo.agreeable, as it fhall finally ace quire the preference. ee Show the greateft refpeét to his | near relations; obferve a conftant civility, ; | ts | Mais. CELLWANE civility towards the more diftant; let there be no marked diftinétion between thofe, on either fide, in your own breaft: natural affection _ may, nay, ought to prevail. During the education of men in fchools, colleges, and academies, friendfhips are formed, perhaps too early fometimes to be judicious, but equally hard to diflolve: if, in con- fequence, -you behold fuch with pain; do not attempt to break them with precipitation. - When a perfon fhall fee his friends coolly received in his own houfe, he will naturally feek occafions to meet them abroad : maintain, there- fore, your intereft with him, by a polite behaviour to thofe he fo prefers, although you may not. Jealoufy is oft ideal; it is ca- pricious, its dictates inconfiderate, its fuggeftions fata! to mutual re- pofe, — The delicate, but firm counfels of a friend, of religion, and, if poffible, a fpeedy retreat for awhile, are the fafeft remedies againft the artful, but foothing attentions of real, or feeming admirers, at moments when the mind is irritated. by reproach, or the feverities infli@ted by unjuft fufpicions. Sheuld your union be attended with greater felicity than is the _ufual lot of our fex, govern your ae juft affections to preferve it: by too much anxiety you may deftroy : at. Sufficient are the real difficulties we have each to encounter, in the courfe of our lives; create none therefore: wfe your reafon in com- bating the former; and be filent if _ the weaknefs of your frame prevent an entire fuppreffion of fictitious ones. If afflicted with bad health, ftudy BH.S. sESS A YS: 11g to avoid complaint; it is an en- creafing habit, affording no effential relief to the fufferer, and apt to make the lives of others as irkfome @s your own, ’ You will contract indelicacy by a defcription of your infirmities : you may perhaps excite compaffion from a humane difpofition. but you rifque a diminution of-afrecion. _ Whatever diflentions may: arife (how much foever your conduct - and underftanding may juftify the part you take in them) fuffer the interference of no ¢hird perfon; but more efpecially if you fuppofe their partiality would lead them to decide in your favour. Thofe friendthips which are early produced between two very young wotnen, in the theatre of the great world, and where both are equally engaged in all the frivolities of fa- fhion, are ufually very lightly ce- mented, and are as briefly diflolved. If your fortune be moderate, ceco- nomy is abfolutely neceflary. If confiderable, methad and prue dence will render it doubly bene. ficial. Obferve the utmoft regularity in the keeping of your houfehold ac- counts; it is tranquillity to you, juftice to your dependents. . The luxury of this age exacts from the miftrefs of a great houfe, or indeed a fmaller, fome attention to a table; difdain not therefore to give a proper application to that fludy. With regard to drefs, do not afpire to be a leader in fafhions, nor exceflive in point of ornament, Follow fathions at_a moderate diftance, nor blindly adopt fuch as may expofe you to ridicule; for fervile imitation makes uo diftinc- tions, 14 Should 10 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. Should a plentiful fortune enable you to indulge a difpofition to give, eompleat the happinefs of the re- ceivers by the manner of beftow- ing, ° ff naturally bleffed with a good memory, exercife it continually. Reft not contented with the plea of a bad memory ; it is bat another name for negligence among young perfons. There are certainly degrees of memory; fome more feeble, fome more perfect than others: for the one, there are many helps; the other mutt be fupported properlys . Refolution and perfeverance are correctives to an indolent memory. Repeat to yourfelf, or tranfcribe what is neceflary to retain for your initruction. Materials which memory fhall collect, ought to be of the benevo- lent kipd; and when re-produced, Jet, difcretion and charity diftribute them. Employ the powers of memory in the recollection, of the favours of Providence, of the bleflings and efcapes we have received from that all-giving hand. If the love of admiration, in your youthful days, fhall bear no part in your attachment to the amufements of the theatre, there are none more iuftructive, nor more eligible for re- Jaxation. When you can fix your mind on the fcenes before you, when the eye fhall not wander to, nor the heart flutter at, the furrounding obje&ts of the fpectacle, you will return home inftruéted and improved. The great utilities you may reap from well-atted Tragedy are, the’ exciting your compaffion to real 4 : fuffermes, the fuppreffion of your vanity in profperity, and the in{pir- ing you with heroic patience in ad» verlity. In Comedy, you will receive con- Jf tinual correction, delicately applied to your errors and foibles; be im- partial in the application, and di- vide it humbly with your acquaint- ance and friends, and even with your eneinies. A very few precepts, and much good example, to perfons deftitute — of education, are the fureft methods of encouraging virtue amongthem. Profit by others’ misfortunes, or — miftakes, as a correction to your pride, and as a guard to your fteps, Extend your kindnefs, and con- — tinue your affections to all that fhall « remain of thofe you loved, if wor- thy; it is the only fure mode of © confolation you can have recourfe © to. ; In grief, ficknefs, and danger, make your firft and conftant fuppli- — cation to that Power, who alone can relieve and fave. Let your conduct be fuch to all around you, as fhall lead them to — the fame path without aftright. If your ftrength of mind fubfifts © during your malady, if it gives you time for the exertion of rational — ower, let it check, as much as — poflible, thofe encroaching indul- gencies which ficknefs is prone tq — exact, : Be aflured, that when able to exert your chearfulnefs, itis nowife contrary to the precepts of reli- gion. ? ‘a Fix your eye habitually on im- mortality, to pafs more lightly thro’ the pangs of mortality. b A continued and humblerefigna- tion will fecure your peace in the _ moft aweful of moments=