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defirous that this house will enable him to defray any extraordinary expences of the war, incurred or to be incurred for the fervice of the year 1757, and to take all fuch measures as may be neceffa ry to difappoint or defeat any enterprifes or defigns of his enemies, and as the exigency of affairs may require." - Both were referred to the supplycommittee; and the Commons have granted a million on credit to be applied as the exigencies of ftate may require, 50,000 1. for the Americans, and 20,000l. for the Eaft-India company.

At a numerous court of common council of the city of London, held at Guildhall, April 15. Mr Deputy Hodges made a motion, "That the freedom of the city be prefented to the Rt Hon. William Pitt, late one of his Majefty's principal fecretaries of ftate, and to the Rt Hon. Henry Bilfon Legge, late chancellor and under-treafurer of the exchequer, in teftimony of the grateful fense which the citizens of London entertain of their loyal and difinterested conduct, during their truly honourable, though fhort administration; their beginning a fcheme of public œconomy, and at the fame time leffening the extent of ministerial influence, by a reduction of the number of useless placemen; their noble efforts to ftem the general torrent of corruption, and to revive, by their example, the almost extinguished love of virtue and our country; their zeal to promote a full and impartial inquiry into the real causes of our late loffes and disgrace in America and the Mediterranean; and, laftly, their vigilant attention to fupport the glory and independence of G. Britain, the honour and true intereft of the crown, and the just rights and liberties of the fubject, thereby most effectually fecuring the affections of a free people to his Majefty and his illuftrious family." Which motion feemed to have the approbation of the whole court, and the recorder was going to make a declaration of their unanimous fentiments; but was ftopt by Sir John Barnard, who, alone, held up his hand against it. It was then ordered, that a copy of the

freedom of the city, with the aforem entioned refolution inferted in it, be delivered by the chamberlain to each of thofe gentlemen in a gold box, value 100 guineas; and that the faid refolution be fairly tranfcribed, and figned by the town-clerk, and by him forthwith delivered to them. Accordingly, in the afternoon, the town-clerk waited upon Mr Pitt, at his feat at Hays in Kent, and on Mr Legge at his house in Downing-ftreet, with copies of the refolution; and on the 24th of May, Sir Thomas Harrifon, the chamberlain, prefented the freedom of the city to each of them in a gold box of curious workmanfhip. Several other towns have followed this example.

The remainder of the Hanoverian troops [xviii. 618.] imbarked at Chatham in the end of February, as did the Heffians at the fame place in the end of April, both on their return to Germany.

About the middle of April arrived at Plymouth, the Chichester, Rear-Adm. Broderick, with the Eagle, from the bay.

On the 7th of May failed from Spithead, the Prince, Adm. Ofborne ; St George, Capt. Callis; Monmouth, Capt. Gardiner; Revenge, Capt. Storr; Monarque, Capt. Montague; and Grey. hound, Capt. Harrison, with the Lifbon and Cadiz fhips, and the ftorefhips and other veffels, for the Mediterranean. This fleet afterwards put into Plymouth, and failed thence on the 17th; as did the Ludlow and Dealcaftle with the trade for America.

Mr Thornton, treasurer of the marine fociety, and Mr Hanway, waited on the King, May 7. and prefented him with two little tracts, one intitled, A letter from a member of the marine fociety [232.], the other, Motives for the establishment of the marine fociety; written by Mr Hanway; containing an account of its inftitution, and the progrefs it has made. His Majefty received them very gracioufly, and ordered 1000 1. to be paid for the use of the fociety: A noble inftance of his Majefty's readiness to encourage every scheme of national advantage. The Prince of Wales has ordered

400 1. and the Princefs-dowager 2001. to be paid for the fame purpose.

On the 29th of April was stopped at Dover, by two juftices of the peace, John Cameron of Lochiel, who has been ten years a captain in the French King's fervice, though but twenty-three years of age. He had a difcharge dated April 1. 1756, and pretended that he quitted that fervice in obedience to the act 29° Geo. II. [xviii. 170.]; but for want of fureties, as the law directs, he was detained.

There have been disturbances in different towns in England on account of the dearth; but the prices have fallen a little in feveral places in Britain and Ireland, owing to importation.

A patent is granted to John Ladd, of Trowbridge, Wilts, for a new method, invented by him, of conftructing, on mechanical principles, wheel-carriages, which, without horfes or other cattle, and with a very moderate human force, will move and carry, from place to place, great weights, where there are not steep afcents, with the ufual celerity; and with the addition of a much lefs number of horses than are now used, will move and carry the like weights in all roads, even where there are fteep afcents.

On the 15th of March arofe the greateft ftorm of wind on the western coaft of this kingdom that has been known.At Liverpool it began about nine, preceded by a dreadful roaring of the fea. At ten it blew a hurricane, and about eleven veered to the W. N. W. and was attended with fuch heavy fqualls of wind, that the oldest people do not remember the like. A great many fhips overfet, funk, and were stranded oppofite to the town. The damage in the town was very confiderable. Numbers of chimneys, fome houfes, and many walls were levelled with the ground; roofs unftripped, and fhowers of broken flates, bricks, &c. rendered the ftreets impaffable. A bout forty-two feet of the lofty fpire of St Thomas's church (which was efteem. ed one of the most beautiful in Europe) fell upon the body of the church, broke through the roof, and tore down the weft galleries.In the different parts VOL. XIX.

of the adjacent country, barns, houses, and other buildings were ftripped, and many levelled with the ground. Confiderable damage was done at Knowfleyhall, the feat of the Earl of Derby. Crosbie, Sephton, Woolfall, Spellow, and feveral other mills were blown down, ricks of hay entirely deftroyed and carried away. Happily for the fea-coaft the tides were at the lowest, or in all probability there would have been confiderably more damage done; for though it was ebb tide in course, yet the flood returned, or rather did not go out of the river. The gale abated, and backed to N. N. W. and N. about one o'clock in the afternoon.— -At Chefter above 100, chimneys were blown down, moft of the houfes stripped of their flating; the chim→ neys at the minfter, and all the windows on one fide blown to pieces; and all along the adjacent road the houses and barns were ftripped, and hundreds of large trees torn up by the roots. At Acton, a little town within a mile of Nantwich, the top of the church-steeple beat in the roof of the church, and damaged it to the amount of 2000l. At Nantwich the church was much shattered, and the houses mostly stripped.At Worcester the wind blew down a ftack of chimneys at the town hall, which beat through the roof, and thence through the ceiling over the nifi prius bar, while the court of affize was fitting. Mr Juftice Wilmot was on that bench; but his Lordship happily received no hurt : and there happened to be only five of the counsellors prefent; four of whom were hurt, but not dangeroufly, viz. Meff. Moreton, Afton, Nares, and Ashurst. Mr Afton prevented further damage to himself, by inftantly flipping under the council-table; but Mr Moreton was prefently jammed in by the rubbish, and remained fo fome time. The fix following perfons loft their lives on this occafion, viz. Mr Lawes, the crier of the court; Mr Chambers, an attorney of Kidderminster; Mr Freme, an ironmonger; Mr Hurtle, of Hartlebury; and Mr Shaw, of Ombersley; all of whom were taken out from amongst the rubbish, and moft difmal fpectacles they PP

were;

were; as was likewife Mr Wainwright, Lord Barrington, fecretary at war, da

of Bromsgrove, who did not die till fome time after he was carried out of the hall. Divers others were greatly hurt. It is not to be conceived what confufion the court was presently in, or what mifchief enfued from the people's hurrying out of the hall, and in going down the hallsteps, whereby feveral were thrown down and trampled upon a confiderable time. Mr Baron Adams, who fat at the crownbar, at the other end of the hall, had adjourned the court, and was gone to his lodgings but a few minutes before this melancholy accident happened.

Three pots of money, filver and gold, of the coin of Q. Elifabeth, were found by the workmen, Feb 22. in pulling down the houses on London bridge.

A letter from Cacgwrley, dated Feb. 24. gives the following account. "On Monday laft, as one John Mafters was digging, in order to drive a large poft in, to build a booth for the fair, his pick-ax ftruck against something which founded like iron. Having cleared away the dirt, he found a trapdoor. He immediately called two men who were at work near him; and having lifted up the door, two of them went down by a ladder, and took a lantern with them. When they came up, their account of it was, that there was a room near fixty feet in length, and about twenty in breadth; that they found nothing but a cheft, which was fo heavy, that they could not bring it up. Upon this feveral people went down, and breaking open the cheft, it proved to be full of old gold and filver coins. They found a door too, which they opened, and in a closet found a few books, printed in Saxon characters, and some manufcripts in the fame. Some men are employed by the lord of the manor to fearch this place narrowly, and it is expected we fhall foon have fome more difcoveries made in it."

SCOTLAND.

[The poftponed articles are now inferted.] In the end of February, Lord George Beauclerk, commander in chief of the forces in Scotland, received a letter from

ted Feb. 22. wrote by order of the Duke of Cumberland, to thank the commiffioners in Scotland appointed to put in execution the recruiting act, for their zeal, activity, and diligence, in raifing the new levies.

Early on Sunday morning, April 3. two conftables, with a corporal and eight dragoons, from Haddington, came to the house of George Wood in Tranent, faid to be a poacher, with a warrant to imprefs him. On their demanding access, he refused, threatened to difpatch fome of them, and fired cut ball through the door. On this the conftables, thinking to intimidate him, ordered two dragoons to fire through the door from the outfide; by which Wood was unfortunately killed, and his wife wounded in the arm.

Damage was done in feveral places, in the evening of March 23. by a storm, accompanied with thunder and lightning. Kirktonholm-house, about four miles weft from Hamilton, was damaged; and a boy in it was ftruck dead, by the lightning, but others in the fame room received no hurt. At Airdry, nine miles from Glasgow, a house was almost entirely deftroyed; and a woman, with a child in her arms, was killed by the lightning, but the child preserved. Strong trees were pulled up by the roots in many places. At Greenock feveral veffels were drove from their anchors, and stranded. At Irvine, out of nine veffels, eight were drove afhore, and two wherries were ftaved. At Fairly, the Clyde, Kniblo, for the West Indies, was drove afhore.

According to a letter from Ceres, near Cupar, in Fife, they had there two violent claps of thunder a little after mid-day, May 16. by the laft of which a fhepherd was ftruck dead in the fields. The ground was torn up in three different places, and the fhepherd's cloaths were rent in pieces; but there appeared no wound or bruife in any part of his body, except a fmall hole in the fole of one of his feet.

A fire broke out, on the 23d of April, in Kilbirny house, the feat of the

Earl

Earl of Crawfurd, by which it was entirely confumed; but the family-papers, and most of the furniture, were preferved. -~

By an advertisement in the Edinburgh papers of March 3. notice was given, that the fubfcription for fupplying the induftrious poor with meal below the market price [108.], produced much lefs than might have been expected; that this measure had hitherto kept the market-price within bounds; but that if more liberal contributions should not be made, the measure behoved to be dropt, which would be attended with very difmal confequences: and that therefore the ftentmasters were to go through their feveral bounds, beginning on Monday the 7th, to receive what the housekeepers would give to this charity. This has been done, and meal continues to be given to the poor below market-price.

The juftices of peace of the county of Aberdeen, at a quarter-feffions in the beginning of May, difcharged the buying or felling of grain for exportation or tranfportation, till the 20th of June; and ordained heritors and tenants to fell, for the use of the inhabitants of the town and county, what meal they had on hand, at the current price, not exceeding 1. Scots the boll, of oatmeal, under a penalty; ordering the fifcal forthwith to profecute any perfon who fhould keep up or hoard meal. And on the 31st of May the juftices of Lanarkshire ordered all perfons refiding within the upper ward of that fhire, who are poffeffed of grain or meal more than is neceffary for fupporting their own families, immediately to bring it to market, to be fold at the current prices, on pain of being reputed ingroffers and regrators, and profecuted as fuch; and that all ftacks of corn found in yards after the 15th of July, be forfeited, and given to the poor. An order of the like import was made at Stonehaven, May 17. by the juftices of peace and commiffioners of fupply for the fhire of

Kincardine.

A large ship arrived at Port-Glasgow from Virginia, May 15. with Indian corn, and feveral other fhips with that

commodity were foon expected. Before the end of the month they had plenty of good meal of Indian corn in Glasgow market, at a fhilling the peck.

In the beginning of May, herrings were catched on the Fife coaft in fuch plenty as to be fold at or below two pence the hundred, occafioned by the want of cafks and falt, fuch plenty be ing unexpected.

According to letters from Aberdeen, a turbot fifh was caught on a fisherman's line at Wardhill of Cruden, May 4. reckoned the largest ever feen on our coaft. It measured fix feet in length and four in breadth, was thick in proportion, and its tail was fixteen inches broad.

Our whale-fishing fhips from the Forth, Dundee, &c. failed from Leith road, April 15. under convoy of the Solebay man of war.

The trade on this coaft having suffered much by French privateers, more of our fhips having been taken in fix months than during the laft four-years French war, a reprefentation of it was fent to the admiralty by the magiftrates of Edinburgh towards the end of April; in confequence of which their Lordships ordered fome fhips for the protection of our trade.

On the 23d of May, the prifoners taken on board fome French privateers, were fent from Edinburgh caftle to St Ford in Fife.

Cols Montgomery and Frafer's two new-raised highland battalions were muftered at Glasgow April 26. & 29. by the Hon. Charles Hope-Weir. Both were complete, and they had discharged feveral fupernumerary men. They foon after went to Ireland.

At a numerous meeting of the guildry of Stirling, May 17. it was refolved, that the Rt Hon. William Pitt and Henry Bilfon Legge, Efqs, fhould have the thanks of that corporation for their laudable behaviour when in the adminiftration [256.]. This is the only compli ment made thofe gentlemen from Scotland that we have heard of. In 1740 the late Duke of Argyle was addressed by the guildry and other incorporations of P P 2 Edinburgh,

Edinburgh, though no fuch compliment was paid his Grace by the magiftrates and town-council. [ii. 338, 85.]

1

Two questions were propofed to be confidered at a meeting of the Edinburgh fociety, May 20. viz. 1. What is the best method of getting highways made and repaired: whether by a turnpike law; by county work, or parish work; by a tax; or by what other method? and whether the ftatute work is not fufficient for the above purpose with out the aid of turnpikes? 2. What is the best method of converting moor ground into arable or good pafture ground; and whether this may not be done by properly fallowing the ground, and fowing it with grafs feeds, without either lime or manure? [164.]

At the circuit-court at Perth, Hector Maclean was fentenced to be hanged on the 15th of July, and his body to be hung in chains, for the murder of Ifabel Maceuen, his fellow fervant, who was with child by him [xviii. 568.]. This is the only criminal that was capitally convicted at the fpring circuit-courts.

Removals, &c. have taken place this Whitsunday in Edinburgh according to the new ftyle, pursuant to an order of the magiftrates, of date June 2. 1756, inferted in the Edinburgh news-papers in the beginning of June last year, viz. "Whereas, fince the alteration of the ftyle, a number of inconveniencies have happened within this city at every term of Whitfunday, by tenants refufing to remove from their houses, and fervants to enter to their fervices, till the ufual times of flitting and entry by the old ftyle: to prevent these inconveniencies for the future, the magiftrates do declare, that all fuch removals of tenants from one house to another, and the entry of fervants, are to be regulated by the new ftyle allenarly, with the ufual indulgence after each term; and that they will accordingly give out warrants of ejection upon decreets of removing by the 26th of May, and compel fervants to enter to their fervices by the 23d of that month. And ordain thir prefents to be recorded in the diet-book of the bai

lie court, and published in the Edin

burgh news-papers, that none may pretend ignorance.'

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Mr George Whitefield arrived from London at Edinburgh, May 11.. and preached every day during his stay, morning and evening, in the orphanhofpital park, to very numerous audiences, beginning on the evening of the 12th. P. S. His laft fermon was on the morning of June 6. and he fet out the fame day for Glafgow.- - He attended the general affembly every day while it fat, and dined by invitation with the Commiffioner on the 28th, and faid grace after dinner. It was not the table at which his Grace fat.

On the 30th of March, the prefbytery of Edinburgh agreed not to proceed towards a fupply of the prefent vacancies in town, till Whitsunday 1758, in regard it was neceffary to repair feveral of the churches, and particularly to take off the roofs of the Old and New Grayfriars churches, which would not only occafion an expence that the townrevenue could not bear, but superfeded the neceffity of bringing in any new minifters, as the minifters whofe churches were from time to time repairing, would, with very fmall affiftance from the prefbytery, be fufficient for fupplying the vacancies. A motion was made in the fynod to take this deed of the prefbytery into confideration; but the four gentlemen chofen to fupply the vacancies [xviii. 419.], declaring, perfonally, or by their friends, their acquiefcence in what the prefbytery had done, the motion' was dropt.

To make the improvement of churchmufic general in Edinburgh [xviii. 623.], Mr Gilfon, by direction of the committee, teaches publicly, in the New church ifle, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at fix in the evening, where all perfons defirous to learn are taught gratis. This was begun on Tuesday May 17. Mr Gilfon officiates now as precentor in the New church. Some of our precentors wear black gowns when they officiate, as do feveral of our minifters.

The general affembly of the church. of Scotland met at Edinburgh on Thurs

day

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