Mr. Coram, previously to presenting any petition to the king, thought it most adviseable to procure a recommendation of his design, from persons of nobility and distinction. This business he pursued with such unbounded diligence, that in a short time he caused the following memorial to be drawn up, signed by the ladies, whose names are underwritten:

"Whereas, among the many excellent designs and institutions of charity which this nation, and especially the city of London, has hitherto encouraged and established, no expedient has yet been found out for preventing the frequent murders of poor miserable infants at their birth, or for suppressing the inhuman custom of exposing new-born infants to perish in the streets, or the putting out such unhappy foundlings to wicked and barbarous nurses, who, undertaking to bring them up for a small and trifling sum of money, do often suffer them to starve for want of due sustenance or care, or, if permitted to live, either turn them into the streets to beg or steal, or hire them out to loose persons, by whom they are trained up in that infamous way of living, and sometimes are blinded or maimed, and distorted in their limbs, in order to move pity and compassion, and thereby become fitter instruments of gain to those vile, merciless wretches.

"For a beginning to redress so deplorable a grievance, and to prevent as well the effusion of so much innocent blood, as the fatal consequences of that idleness, beggary, or stealing, in which such poor foundlings are generally bred up, and to enable them, by an early and effectual care of their education, to become useful members of the commonwealth; we, whose names are underwritten, being deeply touched with compassion for the sufferings and lamentable condition of such poor, abandoned, helpless infants, as well as the enormous abuses and mischiefs to which they are exposed; and in order to supply the government plentifully with useful hands on many occasions; and for the better producing good and faithful servants from amongst the poor and miserable cast off children or foundlings, now a pest to the VOL. I. No. 16.

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public, and a chargeable nuisance within the bills of mortality; and for settling a yearly income for their maintenance and proper education, till they come to a fit age for service; are desirous to encourage, and willing to contribute towards erecting an hospital for infants whom their parents are not able to maintain, and having no right to any parish; which we conceive will not only prevent many horrid murders, cruelties and other mifchiefs, and be greatly beneficial to the public, but will also be acceptable to God Almighty, as being the only remedy of such great evils, which have been so long neglected, though always complained of; provided due and proper care be taken for setting on foot so necessary an establishment, and a royal charter be granted by the king to such persons as his majesty shall approve of, who shall be willing to become benefactors for the erecting and endowing such an hospital; and for the receiving the voluntary contributions of charitable and well disposed persons; and for directing and managing the affairs thereof gratis to the best advantage, under such regulations as his majesty in his great wisdom shall judge most proper for attaining the desired effect of our good intentions.

Elated at this success, Mr. Coram soon after procured a like recommendation, signed by a great number of noblemen and gentlemen, both of which were annexed to his petition to the king. His majesty, after perusing the petition,

was so well pleased with the plan, and purposes prayed for, that he immediately granted his royal charter for establishing the hospital.

But the winter of the year 1739, was a season of distress to the labouring part of the public. A most severe frost began on Christmas Day, and continued till the ensuing February. Its severity was beyond precedent, and the effect produced was long felt. The river Thames was so solidly frozen, that great numbers of people dwelt upon it in tents, and variety of booths were erected on it for the entertainment of the populace. A few days after it began, there arose a very high wind, which did considerable damage to the shipping that happened at that time to be very numerous. Several vessels laden with corn, others with coals, &c. were sunk by the ice; many had holes beat in their sides by falling on their anchors: several lighters and boats were confined under the ice: in short, a more dismal scene presented itself on the river Thames than had ever been beheld by the oldest man living. The damage done between the Medway and London Bridge, was computed at 100,000 l. besides many persons who lost their lives from the severity of the weather. The watermen and fishermen were entirely disabled from earning their livelihood, as were the lower classes of labourers from their employment in the open air; and the calamity was rendered more severe by coals and other necessaries being advanced in their price in proportion to the intenseness and continuance of the frost. Happily for the poor, the hand of charity was liberally extended; great benefactions were given by those of opulent fortunes, and considerable collections were made in most of the parishes in London; from this benevolent assistance many wretched families were preserved that otherwise must have inevitably perished. The severity and continuance of this frost was equally felt in most parts abroad, but particularly in Holland.

Political intrigues and party dissentions forming no part of our subject; the election anecdotes of 1741, are necessarily passed. The record of the fifteenth of August enlarging the privilege of the magistracy, is alone worthy of prefervation.

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By the first charter granted to the citizens of London by king King Charles I. "the mayor, recorder, and such of the aldermen as had served the office of mayor, with the three senior aldermen who had not passed the chair, were constituted justices of the peace for the city and liberties ;" but from the great increase of the metropolis since that time, it was now found necessary, for the more easy bringing delinquents to justice, and his majesty considering the importance of a wise and extensive administration of justice in his metropolis, empowered the whole court of aldermen to act as justices of the peace. For this purpose he granted the following charter:

"George the Second, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, &c. To all to whom these presents shall come greeting: Whereas our royal predecessor king Charles the First, late king of England, by his letters patent, under the great seal of England, bearing date at Westminster, the eighteenth day of October, in the fourteenth year of his reign, did give and grant unto the mayor and commonalty, and citizens of the city of London, and their successors, amongst other things, that the then lord mayor and recorder of the said city, and the mayor and recorder of the said city for the time being, as well as those aldermen who before that time had sustained and borne, as those aldermen who thereafter should have sustained and borne, the charge and office of mayoralty of the said city, although they should cease from the mayoralty, as should be dismissed therefrom, so long as they should remain aldermen there, and the three senior aldermen of the said city for the time being, who should have been longest in office of aldermanship, and had not before sustained and borne the charge and office of mayoralty of that city for ever, should be all and every of them a justice and justices to preserve and keep the peace of the said king, his heirs and successors, within the said city of London and liberties thereof; and appointed the said mayor and recorder for the time being, to be of the Quorum: And whereas, our royal predecessors king William and queen Mary, by certain other letters. patent, under their great seal of England, bear

ing date at Westminster, the 28th day of July, in the fourth year of his reign, reciting the said letters patent of king Charles the First; and reciting also, that the said mayor and aldermen, by their humble petition, had represented to their majesties, that the number of justices of the peace, constituted within the said city, by the said letters patent of king Charles the First, were so few, that by reason thereof, it frequently happened that justice could not be administered within the said city with so much expedition, so commodiously, and in such manner, as might be most expedient for their said late majesties service, and the utility of their subjects, their said late majesties, therefore by their said recited letters patent, did grant to the said mayor, commonalty, and citizens of the city of London, and their successors, that six other aldermen of the said city for the time being, who then were, or for the future should be next in the office of aldermanship to the three senior aldermen mentioned and constituted justices of the peace in the said first-mentioned charter, and who then had borne, and thereafter should have borne the office of sheriff of the said city, besides and beyond the three senior aldermen as aforesaid, should for ever thereafter be justices of the peace within the said city of London, and liberties thereof; and these six aldermen, with the mayor and recorder for the time being, as well as those aldermen who had borne the office of mayoralty, and the aforesaid three senior aldermen, or any four of them, whereof the said mayor or recorder for the time being to be ore, are by the last recited letters patent, constituted justices of the peace for the said city and liberties, with the same powers that are granted to the justices of the peace of any county of this kingdom, as by the said several recited letters patent (amongst divers other matters and things therein. contained relation being thereto respectively had) may more fully and largely appear: And whereas the lord mayor and aldermen of the said city of London, have by their petition humbly represented unto us, that since the granting of the said last-mentioned letters patent, the duties of the justices of the peace within the said city and liberties, are by many

acts