, has taken and carried into King road, Bristol, a French privateer, called the Admiral, which he fell in with in lat. 40 deg. 33 min. north long. from London, 13 deg. 30 min weft. She mounts 12 fourpounders, and 16 swivel guns, with 65 men, and had been out two months from Bayonne. TUESDAY May 19. The following motion was made in the Court of common-council, 'That many ⚫ fatal accidents being frequently occafioned ⚫ by the driving of horned cattle through this city and liberties, in a careless or 'inhuman manner, it be earnestly recommended to the right hon. lord-mayor and the rest of the worthy magiftrates, · to exert their authority to fupprefs this growing evil so contrary to the police of the metropolis, and the fecurity of its ' inhabitants.' And the question being put, the fame was refolved in the affirmagive, and ordered accordingly. WEDNESDAY May 20. Capt. Scroop of the Hampton-Court man of war, arrived exprefs at the Admiralty from Belleifle, with a journal of the proceedings of our troops againft Palais; That General Hodgfon had drove the French out of their strong fortified camp, who had retired into the citadel. That the General had two days before opened several batteries, which were play Thirty-nine Peers voted, and there were 18 proxies, and three figned lifts. His majesty's fhip Biddeford, comMarquis de Beringhen French privateer, of manded by Capt. Howe, has taken the 8 carriage, and 6 fwivel guns and 60 men. His majesty's fhip Arethufa, Captain privateer of 8 fwivel guns and 65 men. Keeler, has taken the Quemper French TUESDAY May 26. This day the new Knights companions of the most hon. order of the Bath were inftalled in Henry the feventh's chapel in Westminster-abbey; The following is a lift of the Knights, and their Efquires. The right hon. Lord Carysfort. His Efquires; the hon. Joshua John Proby, Henry Hill, of Guildford in Surry, Richard Bigland. quires; Grice Blakeney, Matthew Howard, The right hon. Lord Blakeney. His EfIfaac Akerman. The hon. Lieutenant-General Sir Jofeph Yorke. His Efquires; Stephen Martin Leake, Ralph Winter, John Martin Leake. Sir James Gray, Bart. His Efquires; Thomas Sherriff, Charles Brickenden, John Nicholl. Sir William Beauchamp Proctor, Bart. His Efquires; William Dormer, Thomas Beever, Abraham Ackworth. Sir John Gibbons, Bart. His Efquires; ing with great fuccefs, and he hoped to be John Kenricke, William Cooke, William master of the place in a few days. That as Col. Craufurd with his two aids de camp, and 50 men, were reconnoitring in the night, they were furrounded and made prifoners by a party of 300 French. That the man of war's boat coming into Portsmouth was overfet in a hard gale of wind, and two lieuten nts, the cockswain, and a feaman were drowned; that Capt. Scroop was providentially faved by swimming; but, that the difpatches were loft. The French had not received the fuccours at Belleifle, as was reported. THURSDAY May 21. Lift of the fixteen Peers for of Scotland, Duke of Argyle Gibbons. Admiral SirGeorgePocock. HisEfquires; John Ofborn, John Byng, Thomas Fitche. Major-General Sir Jeffery Amherst. His Efquires; Richard Cox, George Boscawen, Thomas Lenox Frederick. Major-General Sir John Griffin Griffin. His Efquires; Lieut. Col. William Evelyn, Lieut. Col. Thomas Bowyer, John Schutz. Sir Francis Blake Delaval. His Efquires; Thomas Delaval, Thomas Huffey Apreece, James John Fenouhlet. Sir Charles Frederick. His Efquires; Edward Hugh Boscawen, John Fremantle, Charles Frederick. Sir George Warren. His Efquires; William Egerton, Philip Champion Crispigny, George Wilbraham. His Er Admiral Sir Charles Saunders. quires.... Young, .... Piggott, ..... Clarke. THURSDAY May 28. From Gibraltar we are informed of the death of Lord Home, governor of that garrifon; and that Admiral Saunders failed on a cruize on the 25th of laft month, The LIFE of Dr. FRANCIS ATTERBURY, Bishop of ROCHESTER, [concluded.] T HE fecret committee of the house of commons, appointed to examine into the plot, reported that y various methods were attempted, and various times fixed, for putting the defign in execution. That the firft intention was to have procured a regular body of foreign troops to invade these kingdoms, at the time of the elections for members of parliament. But the confpirators being disappointed in this expectation, refolved next to make an attempt at the time it was generally believed his majesty intended to go to Hanover, by the help of fuch officers and foldiers as could pafs into England unobserved from abroad, under the command of the duke of Ormond, who was to have landed in the river with a great quantity of arms, provided in Spain for that purpofe. That the Tower was at the fame time to have been feized, and the city of London made a place of arms: but that this defign alfo bring difappointed by many concutring Jane, 1761. events, the confpirators found themselves. under a neceffity of deferring their enterprize, till the breaking up of the camp: during which interval they laboured by their agents and emiffaries, to corrupt and feduce the officers and foldiers of the army; and depended fo much on their defection, as even to entertain hopes of placing the Pretender on the throne, though they should receive no affiftance from abroad. What fhare bishop Atterbury was fufpected to have had in this con. fpiracy, appears from this fame report, which charges him with carrying on a traitorous correspondence, in order to raise an infurrection in the kingdom, and to procure foreign forces to invade it. In fupport of which accufation, three letters were produced, fuppofed to be written by the bishop, under the feigned names of Chivers, Mufgrave, and Jackson. This occafioned a refolution of the house of commons, March 11th 1723; "That Francis lord bishop of Rochester, was principally concerned in forming, direc ting, and carrying on, a wicked and detestable confpiracy, for invading these kingdoms with a foreign force, and for raifing infurrections, and a rebellion at home, in order to fubvert our prefent hapру establishment in church and state, by placing a Popish pretender on the throne." This refolution was founded on a motion made by Sir William Yonge, who in a long fpeech, took notice how deeply the bishop had been concerned in this deteftable confpiracy; aggravating his crime. from his holy function, and high ftation in the church of England, a church ever confpicuous for its loyalty; from the folemn oaths he had on fo many occafions taken to the government, and by which he had abjured the Pretender; when at the fame time he was traitorously confpiring to bring him in upon the ruin of his country, and of all that was dear and valuable to us, as freemen and chriftians: concluding, that as he was a difgrace to his order, and a difhonour to the church; fo he might apply to him on this occafion, thefe words of the 1ft of Acts, ver. 20. Let bis habitation be defolate, and let no man dwell therein; and bis bishopric let another zake. Sir William Wyndham said, he saw no caufe to proceed against the bishop in fo fevere a manner; there being little, or indeed no evidence, befides conjecture and hearfays. In the mean time, the commitment of the bishop still continued to make a great noise through the whole kingdom, and was the occafion of many jealoufies and difconrents. His confinement was faid to be injurious to the church of England, and the - epifcopa! order; and public prayers were offered up for him, (under pretence of his being afflicted with the gout,) in most churches and chapels in London, and Weftminster. On the other hand, endeavours were used to remove the prejudices of the clergy against the ministry; and Dr. Gibfon, then bishop of Lincoln, and afterwards of London, wrote a circular let ter, wherein he fet forth the indulgence wherewith the bishop was treated: the great refpe&t the order of bishops met with from the king, who, in the difpofal of his preferments, was directed by their advice: the improbability of Jo unpopular an act, without a juft and even necessary foundation and lastly, the fafety of the nation, which required that all delinquents should be cenfured as fuch, without any regard to the office, or title, or honour they bore. This was all tranfacted before paffing the above-mentioned vote against the bishop. On the 23d of March 1722-3, a bill was brought into the house of commons, "For inflicting certain pains and penalties on Francis lord bishop of Rochester ;" a copy of which was fent to him, with notice, that he had liberty of counsel and folicitors, for making his defence. Under these circumstances, the bishop applied by petition to the house of lords, for their direction and advice, as to his conduct in this conjuncture. He particularly defired their opinion, in relation to a standing order of that houfe, prohibiting, under a penalty, any lord to appear either in perfon or by his council, before the house of commons, to answer any accufation there. The debates among the lords upon this occafion were many; the privileges peculiar to their houfe were largely infifted on, and the late encroachments made upon them by the commons loudly complained of; but at last it was carried, by a majority of seventy-eight to thirty-two, that the bishop, being only a lord in parliament, and no peer, might, without any diminution to the honour of that house, appear, if he thought fit, in the house of commons, and make his defence and vindication there, in any manner he pleased. This conceffion, however, was not agreeable to the bishop, who was very unwilling to truft his caufe, where he thought himself injured, and even prejudged. Therefore, on the 4th of April, he acquainted the speaker of the house of commons, by a letter, that he was determined to give that house no trouble, in relation to the bill depending therein; but fhould be ready to make his defence against it, when it should be argued in another houfe, of which he had the honour to be a member. On the 9th the bill passed the house of commons, and was the same day fent up to the lords for their concurrence +. On the 6th of May, being the day See the note near the end of this life, relating to the dutchess of Buckingham. All the evidence the commons proceeded upon was this: a scheme taken among Mr. Layer's papers; fome letters ftopped at the post-office; the papers taken at the bishop's day appointed by the lords for the first reading of the bill; bishop Atterbury was brought to Westminster to make his defence. He was disturbed in his paffage thither by the clamours and infults of the mob; but, upon his application to the houfe of lords for fafety and protection, strict orders were given to seize, and fecure all who should be guilty of fuch inhumanity, and a guard appointed to defend his person; so that all the week after, he paffed along the streets very quietly, and without molestation, being pitied rather than reviled. The bishop's counfel were Sir Conftantine Phipps, and William Wynne, Efq; the king's were Mr. Reeve, and Mr. Wearg. The proceedings were of a great length, and lafted confiderably above a week, during which, a variety of evidence + was examined both for and against the bishop; at the close of it, he was permitted to plead for himself, which he did in a very long and eloquent speech. Part of it was as follows: "My Lords, "I have been under a very long and clofe confinement, and have been treated with such severity, and so great indignity, as, I believe, no prifoner in the Tower, of my age, function, and rank, ever was. By which means, what strength and use of my limbs I had, when I was firft committed in Auguft last, is now fo far de clined, that I am very unfit to make my defence against a bill of such an extraordinary nature. "The great weakness of body and mind, under which I labour, such usage, fuch hardships, fuch infults, as I have undergone, might have broke a more refolute fpirit, and much stronger conftitution, than falls to my share. "Your lordships were pleafed to permit me to appear before the house of commons, if I thought. fit, left my filence fhould be turned to my difadvantage, as in fact, the counsel for the bill have done their utmost towards it. "I should not have thought to decline any occasion of justifying myself; but I crave leave to tell your lordships fome reafon, why I did not appear there, and make use of the leave your lordships gave me. "After feven months of clofe imprisonment, I was not a little furprised when I heard, that on the 11th of March, by the houfe of commons it was thus refolved," "That it appears to this house, that Francis lord bishop of Rochester was principally concerned in forming, directing, and carrying on, a detestable confpiracy, &c." ~Upon duly weighing which resolution, and the copy of the bill, I found not any thing charged in the letter, but what was fully contained, and previously resolved in this vote; and therefore whatfoever should have been offered in my defence to that houfe, would have been an exprefs contradiction to it. And what hopes I could have in fuch an attempt, I need not fay: what they fent me was the preamble of the bill only, which they could not alter, confiftently with what they had refolved. "The bill itself was to inflict pains and penalties, which followed; but there was no room to object against any of those which they had not then declared; they have fince been added, and fent up to your lordships in like manner, without any oath made, or any criminal act proved against me, by any living witnefs. And is a perfon thus fentenced below, to be deprived of all his preferments, and his very function, and to be a perpetual exile, and to be bishop's houfes at Westminster and Bromley; a packet taken on one of his feitants; and the examination of two witnesses, one to prove, that a letter and paper contained in the packet were his hand writing; and the other to prove tha a letter directed to Mr. Dubois, taken among his papers at Westminster, was fealed with the fame feal as the letter taken on his fervant. The majority of the Tory members had quitted the houfe at paffing the bill. Mr. Lawfon and Mr. Oglethorp ftaid and spoke in his favour. The former faid the evidence against the bishop was all hearfay and conjecture, very uncertain, and not to be depended upon. + Those who defire to see the evidence must confult the debates of the lords and commons, under the year 1723, it being impoffible to give any concise, and at the fame time just and satisfactory abftracts. It would, befides, be very dry and unentertaining, and after all, would leave the reader perhaps in the fame incertitude, as if he had never read it.---There likewise recourse must be had for the bishop's speech at large. rendered incapable of any office or employment? To be one whom no man must correfpond with by letters, messages, or otherwife? And, my lords, one who is a bishop of the church of England, and a lord of parliament? It is the first instance wherein a member of this house hath been fo treated and prejudged; and I pray God it may be the laft, and that fuch precedents in this kingdom may not be multiplied in after-times. "My counfel have amply done their part, by arguing the points of law, by explaining and enforcing the evidence, and thewing the little colour, appearance, and fhadow of proofs against me, (permit me to call them fo) by answering what hath been offered against me, and by fetting out the confequence, which such a bill, founded and carried on in fuch a manner, and which enacts fuch fevere penalties, muft and will be attended with. "Yet, it becomes me to say something for myself, left my filence be conftrued confciousness of guilt, or at least an unwillingness to enter into matters of fo dark and perplexed, fo nice and tender a nature, as if I was not able, or did not care, to clear and explain myself, and rather chofe to leave it to the management of others: I thank God, I am under no fuch restraint, and can speak to your lordhips upon this fubject with great freedom and plainnefs. "But before I proceed, I beg leave that I may represent to your lordships some particular hardships, under which I have laboured. The firft is, reading extracts of anonymous letters, without fuffering any other parts of the fame letters, though relating to the fame fubject, to be read.--Another is--excufing the decypherers from anfwering questions asked by me, and which I thought neceffary for my defence, left they should reveal their art.---The next is, not fuffering me to be anfwered by the clerks of the post-office, left the fecrets of that office fould be difcovered. Another was, nct fuffering a perfon, who had been at least ten years out of the fecretary's office, to answer any questions which came to his knowledge, by being fome years in that office. Another is, reading examinations, neither dated, fined, nor favorn to. Another is, reading letters fuppofed to be criminal, srit in anoth man's band, and supposed to be diffated by me, without offering any preof, that I either dictated them, or was privy to them. Another is, not allowing me copies of the decyphered letters, though petitioned for, till the trial was fo far advanced, and I fo employed and weakened by it, that I had not fufficient time to confider them. Another is, not allowing me to read out of the collection of papers, before the house, or any part of them, in order to discharge myself, but what hath been read by clerks.----And all this in a proceeding where the counsel for the bill profefs, they have no legal evidence, and that they are not to be confined to the rules of any court of law or equity, though as often as it is for their fervice they constantly fhelter themselves under it." He then proceeds to confute the charge against him, from the want of evidence to Support it, from the inconfiftency of fome parts of it, and its improbability: "Here is a plot (fays he) of a year or two standing, to fubvert the government with an armed force; an invafion from abroad; an in furrection at home; just when ripe for execution, it is discovered; and twelve months after the contrivance of this fcheme, no consultation appears, no men correfponding together, no provifion made, no arms, no officers provided, not a man in arms; and yet the poor bishop has done all this. What could tempt me to step thus out of my way? Was it ambition, and a defire of climbing into a higher ftation in the church? There is not a man in my office, farther removed from this than I am. Was money my aim? I always defpifed it too much, confidering what occafion I am now like to have for it; for out of a poor bishopric of five hundred pounds per annum, I have laid out no less than a thousand pounds, towards the repairs of the church and epifcopal palace; nor did I take one fhilling for dilapidations. The rest of my little income has been spent, as is necessary, as I am a bishop. Was I influenced by any diflike of the established religion, and fecretly inclined towards a church of greater pomp and power? I have, my lords, ever fince I knew what Popery was, oppofed it; and the better I knew it, the more I oppofed it. I began my ftudy in divipity, when the Popish controversy grew hot, with that immortal book of Tillotfon's, when he undertook the Proteftant caufe in general; and as fuch, I efteemed him above all. You will pardon me, my |