there is no more included than the city of London and its liberties, which not making above a seventh part of the buildings within the bills of mortality; every avenue and road leading to this metropolis having been since this period illuminated or lighted in a similar manner under different acts of parliament for lighting streets, parishes, and roads, it may be admitted that the whole number of public and private lamps now constantly lighted within the bills of mortality, cannot be less than between twenty and thirty thousand.

In consequence of the act for regulating the assize of bread, which had passed two years before, the bakers felt themselves aggrieved, and determined to apply to the legislature for relief. On Tuesday the 2d of March 1736, a petition of the master and wardens of the company of bakers in the city of London, on behalf of themselves and the rest of the bakers within the bills of mortality, was presented to Parliament, and read, setting forth, "That the meal-weighers, who were officers appointed to bring in the price of wheat to the magistrate, in order to affix the assize of bread within the city of London, made their cockets or returns of the prices of three different kinds of wheat, as sold at the market of Bear Key only; from which three prices of wheat, the assize of the three sorts of bread, distinguished by the names of White, Wheaten, and Household, was always ascertained; and that the best kind of wheat at Bear Key was generally sold in parcels, with wheat of inferior quality at one common price; so that the mealweighers were not able to distinguish the true and real price of the best wheat; and that the first sort of bread in the assize table, distinguished by the name of White Bread, being the kind of bread commonly called French rolls, was of late years greatly improved; and in making such white bread the petitioners used only the finest part of the flour produced from the choicest kind of wheat, collected not from Bear Key only, but from all the adjacent markets, and even such selected wheat afforded but a very small quantity of that

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that sort of flour which was also used in making the finest kind of paste; and that although the finest sort of wheat, mentioned in the cockets of the meal-weighers, was not of a quality fine enough to make the first sort of bread, called white bread, it was fixed from the price of the first sort of wheat inserted in those cockets; and that the second sort of bread in the assize table, distinguished by the name of Wheaten Bread, which was the best kind of large bread wherewith the families within the city of London and bills of mortality were daily served, was made entirely of the first sort of wheat mentioned in the cockets of the mealweighers; and the second sort of wheat contained in those cockets was not of a sufficient goodness to make such wheaten bread, nevertheless the assize of that wheaten bread was ascertained according to the price of that second sort of wheat, as returned by the meal-weighers; and that the petitioners apprehended that the assize of wheaten bread ought to be settled according to the assize of the first sort of wheat mentioned in the cockets of the meal-weighers, being the very grain of which the wheaten bread was made; and that the assize of the white bread ought to be advanced in proportion; and that, although the expences attending the trade and business of the petitioners, were very greatly increased since the making of the table of assize, yet they had had no allowance in respect to such increase of expences; and that by those means much the greatest number of the petitioners were reduced to very low circumstances; and the most considerable among them, notwithstanding all their pains, applications, and frugality, found their substance daily diminishing; and therefore praying the Houses to give leave, that a bill might be brought in for explaining and amending the laws then in being for regulating the price and assize of bread; or to give such other relief to the petitioners as to the House should seem meet."

This petition having been referred to the consideration of committees, and those committees having on the twelfth made a very favourable report, a bill was then ordered to

be

be brought in for giving a proper relief to the petitioners, and was soon after passed through both Houses without any opposition.

An act of benevolence was exerted during this year to rescue the lower classes of people from extensive and fatal ruin.-The various shocks which had convulsed the public mind, and the destruction which, in many instances followed, had unfortunately induced the noxious custom of dram-drinking; and there was no shop, however small its dimensions or property, but afforded its share of noxious spirits, denominated GIN. This had become so destructive to the health and morals of the community, that the parliament, in order to prevent the dreadful consequences arising from so pernicious a practice, passed an act, in which it was ordained, "That after the 29th of September, no person whatsoever should sell any sort of spirituous liquors in less quantity than two gallons, without taking a licence for such purpose; for which every retailer was not only to pay annually the sum of 50l. but also 20s. duty for every gallon sold after that manner. And every person who should sell such liquors without a qualification, to forfeit for every offence 1007. And, to prevent all persons from hawking or vending spirituous liquors by land or water, every person so offending to forfeit 10.; and in case the party offending were incapable of paying the penalty, to be committed to hard labour in the house of correction for the space of two months."

An act was also passed "for limiting the number of playhouses; to subject all writings intended for the stage to the inspection of the lord chamberlain; and to compel the authors to take out a licence for every production, before the piece could be publicly acted."

His royal highness Frederick Prince of Wales, father of our present sovereign, being admitted a freeman of the Sadlers Company at his own request, was presented with the freedom of the city by order of a court of lord mayor and aldermen, on the 17th of December.

VOL. I. No. 16.

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Constantly

Constantly aiming at improvement, whenever their diffi culties were even partially removed, the care of the citizens, after having enlivened the metropolis by the use of lamps, was directed to the safety of those whose business might occasion them nightly to traverse the streets, as well as for the further maintenance of regularity within their jurisdiction. To accomplish this purpose they obtained an act of parliament "to empower the common council, from year to year, to appoint such a number of beadles and watchmen for the several wards of the city and liberties thereof, as they should judge necessary; to order the arming of them, to appoint the time they were to watch, to ascertain their wages, and to appoint the number of constables that should attend in each of the said wards; to assess the inhabitants by the aldermen and common councilmen in each ward. That the said rate should be paid quarterly; that whoever neglected or refused, when demanded, to pay the same, or desired to be excused from paying the watch rate, should be disqualified to vote at elections in London; and that the owners of houses let into tenements, let to, or occupied by three or more tenants, should be assessed on the owners of such houses, but paid by some one or more of the occupiers thereof."

And it was further enacted, "that the mayor, commonality, and citizens, might impose any reasonable tax upon tenants and occupiers, and upon owners of houses, &c. where there was no present occupier, to be levied by distress; and to order such places before houses, shops, &c. untenanted, to be well and sufficiently paved and amended as often as need should be; to be paid for by the owner, under pain of distress." This act continued in force till the year 1766.

The year 1738 was ushered in by the burning of the king's printing house in Blackfriars. The fire broke out in the kitchen of the dwelling house; and the flames communicated themselves with such rapidity, that Mr. Baskett, the patentee, and his family, escaped with the greatest difficulty. The damage to the stock, &c. was very considerable.

A question of national importance, in which the city was very materially concerned, now took place. The depredations committed upon the trade and navigation to America had been so frequent and notorious, that individual complaints were numberless; but their treatment of our traders was at length so atrocious, that a representation from the whole body of merchants was necessary. This was couched in a petition to the House of Commons on the third of March, which expressed, "That the captains of the Spanish armed vessels, known by the name of Guarda Costas, made a practice of boarding and plundering British ships, on pretence of searching for contraband commodities, and on these occasions behaved with the utmost insolence, rapine and cruelty. That many vessels had been seized, their cargoes confiscated, and their crews imprisoned, in violation of the treaties subsisting between the two nations." They therefore prayed relief, and to be heard by themselves and counsel.

The petition was presented by Mr. Alderman Perry, who, after a very animated speech on the occasion, moved, "That it might be referred to the consideration of a committee of the whole house; which being agreed to, he then moved for an instruction to the said committee, that they do admit the said petitioners to be heard, if they think fit, by themselves and counsel."

This last motion was objected to by the speaker (Onslow,) who observed, "that it was not the method of that house to admit parties to be heard by themselves and counsel, but only by themselves or counsel."

This urged an indignant reply from the patriot Sir John Barnard, who observed "That as the petition was founded on facts, he should be sorry to see the design of it defeated by a scrupulous adherence to any points of form whatever; and that he thought it would be a hardship on the petitioners to deny them a request of so little importance as the present, merely because it interfered with a matter of form."

The speaker, however, insisting, before he put the question, to take the sense of the house, Mr. Alderman Wilmot rose, and thus manfully expressed himself to the Speaker:

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"Sir,