Зображення сторінки
PDF
ePub

was taken prisoner there; but, being carried before the mayor to be examined, he was discharged, as no crime was alleged against him, of which his worship thought he could take cognizance.

This night his Majesty's proclamation, for the distribution of such prizes as shall be taken from the Americans, during the present rebellion in America, appeared in the London Gazette; and on the 28th it was, by order of the Lordmayor, read at the Royal Exchange and at Holborn Bars, by the Common Cryer. The division is to be made in the same proportion with that of the prizes taken from the French and Spaniards during our late wars with them.

The French King having thought proper, among many other reformations in the military department of his dominions, suggested by his new minister of war, the Count de St. Germain, to suppress the Mousquetaires, that well-known body, as being entirely composed of young gentlemen, of the best families in France, one of the commissaries of the war-office went this day to signify to them, assembled for that purpose, his Majesty's pleasure. Monsieur de la Chaise, Commander of the Grey, fainted away upon the occasion, and all of them appeared overwhelmed with grief, at the thoughts of being thus torn asunder. From this moment they were dispensed from going as usual every day to Versailles, to take the King's orders. A few days after, they put up their fine horses to sale; and the hotels they occupied are, it is said, destined as follows: that of the grey, to be converted into a market; and that of the black to be a prison for debtors.

Gen. Burgoyne arrived in 25th. town from Boston, which he left the 5th instant: the troops at that time were well supplied.

26th.

A young man of good fa mily was carried before Sir Charles Asgill, (who sat for the Lord Mayor) for attempting to put off to a Quaker some counterfeited bills, drawn on Alderman Plomer for 7001. But on the Quaker's refusing to make oath of the affair, he was only ordered to go into the EastIndia company's service, and bailed out till a proper station in it could be procured for him.

27th.

The money-bill lately framed by the House of Commons in Ireland, having been altered in England, was, on its return, unanimously rejected; by which there was at this time no law in Ireland to collect what is called the additional duties on rum, tobacco, and other goods imported into that kingdom; in consequence whereof several gentlemen came from Dublin, &c. to Whitehaven, purchased large quantities of tobacco, shipped them this day, and the vessels sailed with the evening tide, in hopes of reaching Ireland, to save the said duties, before the new bill, formed immediately on rejecting the one before sent over could arrive, to receive the assent in Ireland. Something similar happened in December, 1771.

At forty-two minutes af30th. ter ten in the morning, the Sieur Massier, astronomer at Corbeil, near Paris, felt a shock of an earthquake. It lasted but one moment. Its direction was from north-west to south-east. And on the same day, at the same time, a small shock was felt in Paris. The same morning an earthquake was felt at Caen, at

thirty..

thirty-two minutes after ten in the morning; and therefore was probably the same, allowing for some mistake in point of time. At this last place, the shocks were preceded by a noise which resembled the hasty driving of carriages; this noise lasted about two or three scconds, and was followed by three violent shocks, which all together lasted five or six seconds: their direction was from the south-west to the north-east; and while they lasted, a noise was heard in every house, as if they were going to fall, and every body was very much

alarmed.

The greatest danger was to the south west; several public edifices, and other buildings, were much damaged; a cross of stone, which was on the portal of the church of the Visitation, fell down, and above 200 chimnies were thrown down, and almost every house has received some damage. One person was wounded by the fall of a piece of stone. The steeple of Cormelles, a parish at about half a league to the south of this city, was thrown down. At Oussieres, a parish in the same direction, the shocks split some, rocks in the neighbourhood. This earthquake was likewise sharply felt at the abbey of Fontenay, and at Trouaru, where it was said that some houses were damaged.

The same day, about eleven in the morning, a fourth shock was felt; but it was a very slight one, and did no damage.

with

The Americans before 31st. Quebec miscarried, great loss, in a coup de main on that place; owing partly, it is said, to the defection of a great number of Canadians, who had at first

joined them, in consequence of the impolitic rudeness of the latter to the priests of the former, &c. and partly by the latter's having suffered themselves to be deceived by false intelligence and false promises from within the place. By the best accounts that had arrived at the going of this sheet to the press, (all from and through the hands of the Americans themselves, the communications between Quebec and every navigable part of the American seas being quite stopt up) the loss of the Americans on this occasion consisted in about 60 killed and wounded, and three hundred taken prisoners. Among the slain were General Montgomery, his Aid-de-camp, Captain John Mac Pherson, two other Captains, and two or three Lieutenants. Amongst the prisoners were, Colonel Arnold, wounded; one Lieutenant-colonel, two Majors, and several Captains and subaltern officers. The prisoners were treated with great humanity, and every possible mark of distinction was shewn to the corpse of Gen. Montgomery, who was interred in Quebec the second day after the action. And it was said, that the continental congress had ordered a magnificent cenotaph to be erected to his memory, with the following inscription:

Montgomery falls! Let no fond breast repine.

That Hampden's glorious death, brave. chief! was thine. [name, With his shall Freedom consecrate thy Shall date her rising glories from thy fame, Shall build her throne of empire on thy grave; [crave! -What nobler fate can patriot virtues During the course of the present month, the court of sessions in Scotland decided an interesting ques

tion:

j

tion; by which it appears, that persons, whose residence is in England, cannot be arrested in Scotland on summary warrants for debts contracted in England, and due to persons in that kingdom; so that by this decision it should seem, that Scotland is now an asylum for English debtors,

The following are some of the particulars of the dreadful fire, which almost entirely destroyed the town of St. George, the capital of the island of Grenada, the 1st ult. About three o'clock in the morning a fire was discovered in the shop of à negro carpenter in the windward part of the town; and every possible means were used to extinguish it, but without effect. In the space of three hours from its being perceived, the whole town was in one continued blaze. The houses being in general built of wood, the flames raged with such amazing rapidity, that it was with difficulty any es caped with their lives. It is supposed, that the loss cannot be much less than five hundred thousand pounds. It is particularly unfortunate, that those, who were the principal sufferers in the fire of 1771, were the persons who suffered most by the present great calamity; which, it was feared, would occasion many failures, as few or no goods were saved, and few of the sufferers had the precaution to cover themselves by insurance.

Some pages back, we mentioned the government's having contracted for a great number of oxen and sheep, and a great quantity of porter and potatoes; the sheep to be sent abroad alive, along with the porter and potatoes, for the use of the troops shut up in Boston. To the sheep, we should have added

hogs; and to the potatoes, cab. bages, made into sour-crout, a kind of pickle, but used, in lieu of common food, in some parts of Germany, &c. where the earth is so

bound up by the frost during several months of the year as not to afford any fresh vegetables; and what animal food the poorer inha bitants can get at, is almost entirely of the salt kind; notwithstanding which, such is the virtue of the cab bages, and the vinegar and spices combined with them, the scurvy makes much less havock in these countries than in some others where fresh flesh and fish are in almost all seasons to be had by the lowest ranks.

Much about the same time, two subscriptions were opened; one, for the relief of the common men of the same troops, and particularly the widows and orphans of such among them as had perished by sickness or the sword; another, for that of several clergymen of the church of England, in NorthAmerica, who had suffered severely in consequence of their attachment to government; and both subscriptions were attended with the grea est success. But some of the ships carrying the live sheep and hogs, &c. to Boston, were taken by the Americans; very few of those animals on board the ships which es caped outlived the passage; and what did, especially the sheep, were so wasted by the time they ar rived, as, in the language of the sailors, to be fit only to make lanthorns of. A great deal of the oxen contracted for on this occasion was at about 34s. per hundred. At 35s. it would be just three-pence and one half farthing per pound; from which, and the statute price of

bread

bread in London, at the conclusion of harvest [as given p. 150], the condition of the working poor, by taking the rate of wages and frequency of employment into the account, may be pretty well ascertained, especially for the capital.

There were some other ships taken by the Americans during the same period, loaded by the government with military stores for Boston, &c. particularly one, whose cargo was said to be worth 30,000l. and withal as well assorted, as if it had been done by the special direction of the continental congress. In the course of this month, a new museum, under the title of Spectacle Mechanique, was opened in King-street, Covent-Garden, of so wonderful a nature, that we thought it due to the singular merit of the artist, and the natural curiosity of our readers, to lay a short account of it before them. It consists of three capital mechanical figures, and a pastoral scene, with figures of an inferior size.-The figure on the left-hand side (a beautiful boy as large as life) writes any thing that is dictated to him in a very fine hand.-The second on the right hand (of the same size) draws various andscapes, &c. &c. which he finishes in a most accurate and masterly stile.- -The third figure is a beautiful young lady, who plays several elegant airs on the harpsichord, with all the bass accompanyments; her head gracefully moving to the tune, and her bosom discovering a delicate respiration: during her performance, the pastoral scene in the centre discovers a variety of mechanical figures, admirably grouped, all of which seem endued with life.-The last curiosity is a canary-bird in a cage, that hops to and fro upon its

perch, and then whistles two or three airs in the most natural manner imaginable.-Upon the whole, no exertion of art ever perhaps trod so close on the heels of nature. The ingenious artist is a young man, a native of Switzerland.

It may be gathered from authentic papers,

That our stage-coaches generally drive with eight inside, and often ten outside passengers each.

That there are now of these ve-` hicles, flies, machines, and diligences, upwards of 400; and of other four-wheeled carriages, 17,000.

That 12,300,000 newspapers are now annually printed.

That the number of packs of cards, stampt last year, amounted to 428,000; and of dice to 3000.

That there has been coined, at the Tower of London, since the year 1772, about 13,000,000l. in gold.

That the public pays the Bank of England 50,000l. a year. for management; and that the proprietors do not divide more than 210,000!.

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

Under 2 years

were,

Between 2 and 5

The imports into Great-Britain Of those who died this Year, there from Virginia and Maryland, before the war, were 96,000 hogsheads of tobacco, of which 13,500 were consumed at home; and the duty on them, at 261. 1s. each, amounted to 331,6751.; the remaining 82,500l. were exported by our merchants to different parts of Europe, and brought a great deal of money into the kingdom. This single trade constantly employed $30 ships, and 3960 sailors.

[ocr errors]

DIED, the 7th instant, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, Knight of the Bath, Member for Heydon in Yorkshire, Admiral of the Blue Squadron, Lieutenant-General of the Marines, and Elder Brother of the Trinity-House, in Spring-Gardens. [For a more particular account of this great seaman, see our article of Characters.]

The 13th, at Haltwhistle, in Northumberland, Dr. Alexander Maxwell, aged 103.

The 20th, in Queen-square, Ormond strect, Dr. Campbell, author of many valuable works.

A General Bill of all the Christenings and Burials, from December 13, 1774, to December 12, 1775.

Christened.

Males
Females

7,496

[ocr errors]

2,087

5 and 10

715

10 and 20

675

20 and 30

1,535

30 and 40

1,782

40 and 50

1,824

[blocks in formation]

Buried.

Overlaid

[ocr errors]

8,976 Males 10,134

Poisoned

8,753

Females 10,380

Scalded

Smothered

[blocks in formation]

201X0;

101

2

24

0

2

64

29

3

4

0

0

2

Total 250

We should likewise give the kind and number of diseases, but that the

« НазадПродовжити »