lower class alone who espoused his cause, was proved by the negative put in the Common-council, on a inotion for returning thanks to the Sheriffs for their spirited conduct in executing the order of Parliament. Mr. Wilkes obtained a legal victory, which was of greater public consequence. Having brought an action against the under Secretary of State for seizing his papers, and the cause being tried before Lord Chief Justice Pratt and a special jury, he obtained a verdict in his favour with 1000l. damages. The Judge in his charge, explicitly declared his opinion against the legality of general warrants, or those in which no names of persons are specified. Some journeymen printers who had been imprisoned on the same account, also brought actions and obtained damages. Mr. Wilkes himself, who had been severely wounded in a duel by Mr. Martin, late Secretary to the Treasury, which laid him up for a considerable time, and thereby prevented him from appearing in Parliament to answer to the charges made against him, on his recovery withdrew to France.

The death of Lord Egremont in August gave rise to a negotiation for the purpose of effecting a coalition between the leaders of the contending political parties; but it was soon broken off; and the Earl of Sandwich succeeded to the vacant Secretaryship. The Earl of Egmont was placed at the head of the Admiralty; and the ministry was strengthened by the appointment of that powerful nobleman, the Duke of Bedford, to the post of president of the council. The House of Commons voted, in contradiction to the decision of the court of Common Pleas, that privilege of Parliament does not extend to the case of libels; and addresses full of loyalty were presented to the King from both houses. of Parliament, and from various public bodies.

The most important public event on the continent of Europe in the present year, was the death, on October 5th, of Augustus III. King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony, who had lately returned to his electoral dominions, whence the events of the war had banished him

for six years. Immediately after his decease, his eldest son and scccessor to the electorate, declared himself a candidate for the crown of Poland, and was supposed to be countenanced by the court of Vienna; but he was carried off by the small-pox a few weeks after his father.

In this year the Corsicans, under their gallant leader Paschal Paoli, sustained with great vigour their struggle for independence against the Genoese, over whom they obtained a considerable victory. Their cause was popular with the English nation, as being that of freedom; but the ministers, on the application of the republic of Genoa, thought proper to issue a royal proclamation, prohibiting all his Majesty's subjects from affording succour of any kind to the inhabitants of Corsica, "in rebellion against the said republic."

This year was also the commencement of those contests between the court of France and the parliaments of that kingdom, which greatly contributed to foster that spirit of liberty and resistance to arbitrary power, whence such extraordinary consequences have since resulted. The King having in April issued an edict for the continuance of some war taxes, and the imposi tion of others, and for certain regulations respecting the redemption of the crown debts, the different parliaments refused to register them, and made strong remonstrances on the subject. The court, thereupon, sent the governors into the provinces with orders to register the edicts by force; but the parliaments, particularly those of Rouen, Toulouse, and Grenoble, persisted in their opposition, and even issued decrees for the apprehension of the governors on account of their arbitrary proceedings.

During the course of this year, a war was maintained in the East Indies by the English Company against Cossim Ally Cawn, whom they themselves had made Subah of Bengal on the deposition of Meer Jaffier. The difference first arose from certain restrictions imposed by the Subah on the English commerce in his

concluded a treaty with Cossim, acquiescing in the duties imposed by him on the inland trade carried on by the Company's servants, the council of Calcutta, in Jan. 1763, declared their refusal to abide by it. Mr. Amyatt, who was sent to the Subah in order to obtain better terms, was massacred with his suite on his return to Calcutta, which outrage produced a declaration of war against Cossim in the month of July, and a proclamation for restoring the deposed Jaffier to the Subahship. An army took the field commanded by Major Adams, who was joined by Major Carnac; and marching to Moorshedabad, that capital was attacked and taken by storm. A battle was fought on August 2d, on the plains of Geriah, in which the Company's troops, though greatly outnumbered by those of Cossim, obtained a complete victory. The conquerors then proceeding to Mongheer, it was surrendered to them on October 11th.

Patna was the only place now remaining to Cossim, in which he had posted a large garrison. He there displayed his barbarity, by ordering the murder of near 200 English prisoners in cold blood. This atrocity was revenged by Major Adams, who, advancing against the place, took it by storm on November 6th. Cossim had now no other refuge than the territory of Sujah ul Dowla, Nabob of Oude, and Vizier to the Mogul, who received the fugitive, but refused admission to any of his troops. This was the state of affairs in that quarter at the close of the year.

In this year a commencement was made of those voyages of discovery which have so much distinguished the reign of George III. Two of those expeditions, under the command of Captain Byron, and of Captains Wallis and Carteret, set sail from England during its

course.

A. D. 1764.

YEAR OF GEORGE III. 4 & 5.

PARLIAMENT 3 & 4.

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Marriage of Princess Augusta to the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick. -Farther Proceedings against Mr. Wilkes. Motion against General Warrants. Financial Measures. - Duties on Foreign Goods imported into the American Colonies. Dismissal of Military Offi cers for their Votes. — Election of a King of Poland and King of the Romans. - Murder of Prince Ivan. Treaty between Genoa and France relative to Corsica. Treaties of Peace with the North American Indians. War in the East Indies.

Ox the 16th of January the Princess Augusta, eldest sister of his Majesty, was married to the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lunenburg.

The parliamentary year commenced with further proceedings against Mr. Wilkes, whose total discomfiture appeared to be an object of the highest importance in the eyes of the ministers. As he still remained in France, his non-appearance to the charge against him before the House of Commons for writing the North Briton N° 45, was voted, on January 19th, a contempt of the House; he was found guilty of the charge, and after a long debate, was expelled from his seat in parliament by a large majority. On the same day, on the motion of Lord Sandwich, a complaint was brought against him in the House of Lords for "violating the most sacred ties of religion, as well as decency, by printing in his own house a book or pamphlet, entitled, 'An Essay on Woman,' with notes or remarks to which the name of a Right Rev. Prelate (Warburton Bishop of Gloucester) had been scurrilously affixed. On this account the House voted him guilty of a breach of privilege, and also voted an address to his Majesty, to direct a prosecution against him in the King's Bench,

which was instituted on the double charge of libel and blasphemy. Whilst this attack injured his character in the opinion of all the sober supporters of his cause, the sinister artifices made use of to obtain a copy of a work which was privately printed with no intention of publication, and the choice of an accuser at least as notorious for licentiousness as the culprit, gave general offence. The final result was, that Wilkes, not choosing to appear to the indictment, was at length run to an outlawry, and the suits which he had commenced against the secretaries of state were of course annulled.

In February a motion was made in the House of Commons by Sir William Meredith, to declare "that a general warrant for apprehending and seizing the authors, printers, and publishers of a seditious libel, together with their papers, is not warranted by law." The introduction of this proposition was very embarrassing to the ministers, who, while they did not choose to defend the legality of general warrants, were unwilling to be shackled by a direct determination of the point in parliament. At the same time the arguments for the motion were so strong and popular, that no better mode was found for defeating it, after a long and animated debate, than an adjournment of the question, which was carried by much less than the usual ministerial majority. The agitation of this subject proved highly interesting to the public; and the city of London voted its freedom in a gold box to Lord Chief Justice Pratt, in which expression of gratitude to the opponent of general warrants it was imitated by the city of Dublin, and various other principal places in the two kingdoms.

Although ministers might be regarded rather as having sustained a defeat, than as having been victorious, on this point, yet they retained their credit in the general administration of affairs, and particularly in the financial arrangements of the year, which were so contrived as to raise the necessary supplies for extinguishing a remaining debt contracted on account of the war, without the imposition of any new taxes. It is