Haddington Prices, April 1. Wheat, 61. 9 s. 61. 2s. & 61. Bear, 61. 3 s. 61. & 51. 16 s. Oats, 4 1. 10 s. 41. 2 s. & 3 1. 16 s. Peafe, 41. 3 s. 31. 18 s. & 3 1. 12 s.

NEW BOOKS.

HE natural hiftory of Mount Vefuvius. Tranflated from the Italian. Compofed by the R. Society at Naples. 2s. 6d. A view of the Levant. By Ch. Perry, M. D. In one large Volume, Fol. Illufirated with 33 copper-plates. 11. 6s. Palæographia Britannica; or, Antiquities in G.Britain. By Dr Stukeley.No 1. 25. A compendious biftory of the house of Auftria, and the German Empire. 5 s. 6d. Memoirs of the first fettlement of the island of Barbadoes, &c. I s. 6 d.

An inquiry into the time of the first foundation of Wefiminfter abbey. By R. Widmore, M. A. I S.

Rollin's Roman hiftory. Vol. 8. 55. 6d. Hiftory of the adminiftration of Sir Robert Walpole, chiefly collected from the debates and pamphlets. 6 s. 6d.

of the late Card. Fleury. I s. 6 d. of the reformed Churches in France. By the Rev. St Abel Laval. The two laft Volumes. II S.

-the life and writings of Dr Boerhaave. 3 s. 6 d. ferved.

Obfervations relating to the jurisdiction offufices with regard to the removal of poor perfons. 6 d.

A differtation upon government. A fragment out of Polybius; with a preface. 3 s. An effay on civil government. In two parts. 5 s. 6 d.

The groans of France and confolation of the Queen of Hungary. 6 d.

I S.

Right thoughts on wrong maxims. 6d.
The intereft of Hanover fteadily pursued.

A letter in relation to the new law concerning fpirituous liquors. 6 d.

The fleady purfuit of the intereft of Great Britain difpafionately examined. 6 d. The Emperor's plan for peace, with re

marks.

I S.

Sermons on feveral occafions. By L. Howard, M. A.

Ed. 5 s. A difcourfe on the nature and use of prophecy. By J. Brifted, M. A. 1 s. 6d.

The reformation reformed; or, An tempt towards uniting all Proteftants in opinion concerning religion and governm

I s.

I s.

Mifcellaneous reflections on two e by Mr Squire.

The Merryland miscellany; containing pieces relating to that country. 5 s. 6. A short description of the roads wh lead to Merryland. s. 6 d.

A fhort treatife on the game of Whift. Edmond Hoyle, Gent. Edit. 3. impro The grave. A poem. By R. Blair. On Mifs Forrefter's playing with her dow. By Dr D. 6 d.

The foundling hofpital for wit. I s. The miraculous beep's eye at St Victor' Paris. I S.

Memoirs of the love and flate intrigue the c-t of H―r. I s. 6d. A cadet's opinion of our forces in Ger ny. 6 d.

EDINBURGH. Numb. 5. of the n anatomical tables, reprefenting the com teguments of the body, and the muscles glands on its anterior part. I s. 6 d.

Fraud and falfhood difcovered; or, marks upon Mr Webfler's poftfcript to the cond edition of his letter, &c. By Mr Ra Erfkine. 3 d.

Mr Webster's vindication of faid fcript. d.

A letter from Mr Willison to Mr Fil expoftulating with him concerning his unf dealing in his review of Mr Robe's pref

&c. 2 d.

23.

Demetrius Phalereus de elocutione, dictione rhetorica, Gr & Lat. The complaint. Night 4. with a face to the whole.

6 d.

life, it may very probably produce fuch an effect, or it may induce them to make but a faint refiftance in cafe an enemy fhould come to attack them; and the abfence of fo many officers neceffary for the defence of the place, may furnish thofe that are there with an excufe for that faint refiftance. By fuch means the place might be loft, without leaving it in our power to punish those that were immediately the occafion of it. They would perhaps be made prifoners by the enemy, and would of course be fet at liberty upon the conclufion of the next treaty of peace; which would furnish them with an opportunity they could never otherwife have expected, I mean that of returning to their native country: for as no flavery is admitted among Chriftian potentates, we could not inflict that punishment upon them, which Regulus advised the Romans to inflict upon the army under his command: if we did not exchange or redeem them during the war, the enemy would of course discharge them upon the conclufion of a peace; and, upon their return, we could not in juftice punish them for fuffering themselves to be relieved by an enemy, from that punishment which had moft unjustly been inflicted upon them by their country. I fay punishment, my Lords; for, to keep any regiment at Portmahon longer than their turn of duty requires, I must look on as a fort of punishment. It is a relegatio in infulam, which was one of the feverest punishments among the Romans, especially when it was during life; and is a punishment which ought to be in flicted upon no man, unless he has been guilty of fome very heinous crime.

We have had it proved at our bar, my Lords, how ill the common foldiers brook their being kept fo long from having a fight of their native country. Many of them have put an end to a wretched life, rather than continue longer in what they looked upon as an unjust and cruel exile; many others of them have maimed themfelves, and thereby rendered themselves not only unfit for the fervice, but unfit for getting their bread at home, rather than continue longer in the place where they were; and the dearnefs of provifions, chiefly occafioned by the taxes and prohibitions

arbitrarily impofed by the Governors, mu make it very inconvenient both for th foldiers and officers confined to live in tho garrifons. We may from hence fee, ho dangerous it is to truft the prefervation thofe important places to men who ha no hopes of ever feeing their friends home, as long as thofe places remain our poffeffion: and the frequent leave abfence given to the officers, and to fur numbers of them at a time, must ce tainly add to this danger; because it ad to the difcontent of the common foldie who can never expect leave of abfenc and renders his cafe more provoking defperate.

The importance of the island of Mino ca, with refpect to our trade in every pa of the Mediterranean, is in itfelf fo mi nifeft, and has been upon former occafion fo clearly demonftrated to your Lordship that I need not say much for proving wha is fo univerfally known and acknowledge It must be allowed, that our trade wit Barbary, Turky, Italy, and the coal of France and Spain fituated in the M diterranean, is of the utmost confequem to this nation: and to every one of the our poffeffion of Minorca is of great in portance; because it not only affords o fhips a fafe and convenient port to re or careen, and to refresh their men; b it renders our trade to every one of the places more fecure and more difficult to disturbed or interrupted by an enemy. ver fince we had poffeffion of this iflar the corfairs of Algiers, Tunis, and t other pyratical places upon the Barba coaft, have been more tractable, and me fhy of breaking with us. They know he eafy it is for us, not only to fend a pow ful fquadron to the Mediterranean, b to keep it there, till we have compell them to fubmit to our terms. This mak them afraid of breaking with us; and, by chance they do, more ready to be conciled: whereas, fhould we lose this p feffion, after having kept it fo long, th would defpife us more than ever they d heretofore, and would be ready upon very occafion to come to an open ruptu with us. Confequently, our poffeffion Minorca muft render our trade in eve part of the Mediterranean more fect

th

But, my Lords, in case it should ever happen, as it probably may, that both France and Spain fhould unite in a war againit us, the poffeffion of this ifland would e of the utmost confequence to our trade n the Mediterranean: nay, in this cafe, it would be very difficult for us to carry on my trade in that fea without it; especialy now that a fon of Spain is in poffeffion the Two Sicilies: for, if France and pain should declare against us, we could ot expect, that the King of the Two Siilies would long continue our friend; and ow the ports of Tuscany may be difpoid of at the end of the prefent war, it is mpoffible to determine. In this cafe, it ould be impoffible for us to keep a fuerior fquadron in the Mediterranean, it would be dangerous even to fend any fuch adron thither; because our capital fhips ould have no place of fafety to retire to cafe of a storm, nor any place to refit careen. The bay of Gibraltar, fince Spaniards have been allowed to erect ch works upon it, is far from being a lace of fafety, nor can any capital fhip e careened in either of the moles there: d if the King of Portugal fhould be oerased into fuch a neutrality, as to ree admittance into his ports for any fquaof ships of war, our poffeffion of Gialtar would become precarious; for we uld not always keep a fuperior fquadron re for its defence, and the enemy might ke an opportunity, in the winter-time, we had no fuch fquadron there, to atthe place both by sea and land; and zht carry it before we could, at that fon of the year, fend a fquadron from rce for its relief: fo that the prefervan of Gibraltar depends upon our prefer Minorca. They came together, and ey will certainly go together, or very on after one another: for an adminiftra

Their treachery, my Lords, you cannot prevent, you may punish; but you may prevent any fatal effect from their neglect or misconduct, by being watchful to cenfure it as foon as it happens: and as what is propofed to be cenfured by this motion, has fomething in it more criminal than mere neglect; as no officer can be abfent without leave, the giving of that leave, or advising his Majefty to give that leave, to a great number of them at a time, is an act which I think would be criminal even in time of profound peace; but is much more heinously fo, at a time when we are in open war with that very nation which lays claim to this ifland, and at a time when that very nation was preparing a formidable imbarkation, at the port which is the most convenient of any they have, for making an invafion upon the island of Minorca.

At fuch a critical conjuncture, my Lords, the granting or continuing leave of abfence to any one officer belonging to that garrifon, is certainly criminal; but at fuch a time to grant or continue leave of abfence to fourteen officers out of nineteen, is what can be excufed by nothing but a confeffion, that our minifters had, without his Majefty's authority, entered into treaty with his Majefty's enemies, and had promifed to allow them to fail undisturbed to attack his Majefty's allies in Italy, provided they engaged not to attack his Majefty's ifland of Minorca. This, I am convinced, is a confeffion which our chief minifter will take care not to make: he certainly must remember, that, to meet and treat with an enemy, in a time of open war, without any authority from the fovereign, was one of the articles of impeachment against the Earl of Oxford. But, fuppofe he had fuch an authority, I will fay, it was highly criminal to advise his Majefty to conclude any fuch treaty, and ftill more criminal to advife his Majefty to truft fo far to it, as to leave Minorca at fuch a time without its full complement of officers and foldiers;

X 2

for,