In the month of February, the merchants _The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of George II.

advice that the cargoes of their West India ships detained by the

English, would, by the British courts of judicature, be declared lawful

prizes, as being French property, sent a deputation, with a petition to

the states-general, entreating them to use their intercession with the

court of London, representing the impossibility of furnishing the

proofs required, in so short a time as that prescribed by the British

admiralty; and that, as the island of St. Eustatia had but one road, and

there was no other way of taking in cargoes but that of overschippen,*

to which the English had objected, a condemnation of these ships,

as legal prizes, would give the finishing stroke to the trade of the

colony.

* The method called overschippen is that of using French

boats to load Dutch vessels with the produce of France.

Whatever remonstrances the states-general might have made on this

subject to the ministry of Great Britain, they had no effect upon the

proceedings of the court of admiralty, which continued to condemn the

cargoes of the Dutch ships as often as they were proved to be French

property; and this resolute uniformity, in a little time intimidated the

subjects of Holland from persevering in this illicit branch of commerce.

The enemies of England in that republic, however, had so far prevailed,

that in the beginning of the year the states of Holland had passed a

formal resolution to equip five-and-twenty ships of war; and orders were

immediately despatched to the officers of the admiralty to complete

the armament with all possible expedition. In the month of April, the

states-general sent over to London three ministers-extraordinary,

to make representations, and remove if possible the causes of

misunderstanding that had arisen between Great Britain and the United

Provinces. They delivered their credentials to the king with a formal

harangue: they said his majesty would see, by the contents of the letter

they had the honour to present, how ardently their high mightinesses

desired to cultivate the sincere friendship which had so long subsisted

between the two nations, so necessary for their common welfare and

preservation; they expressed an earnest wish that they might be happy

enough to remove those difficulties which had for some time struck at

this friendship, and caused so much prejudice to the principal subjects

of the republic; who, by the commerce they carried on, constituted

its greatest strength and chief support. They declared their whole

confidence was placed in his majesty’s equity, for which the republic

had the highest regard; and in the good-will he had always expressed

towards a state which on all occasions had interested itself in

promoting his glory--a state which was the guardian of the precious

trust bequeathed by a prince so dear to his affection. “Full of this

confidence (said they), we presume to flatter ourselves that your

majesty will be graciously pleased to listen to our just demands, and

we shall endeavour, during the course of our ministry, to merit your

approbation, in strengthening the bonds by which the two nations ought

to be for ever united.” In answer to this oration, the king assured them

that he had always regarded their high mightinesses as his best friends.

He said, if difficulties had arisen concerning trade, they ought to be

considered as the consequences of a burdensome war which he was

obliged to wage with France. He desired they would assure their high

mightinesses, that he should endeavour, on his part, to remove the

obstacles in question; and expressed his satisfaction that they the

deputies were come over with the same disposition.--What representations

these deputies made, further than complaints of some irregularities in

the conduct of the British sea-officers, we cannot pretend to specify;

but as the subject in dispute related entirely to the practice of the

courts of judicature, it did not fall properly under the cognizance of

the government, which hath no right to interfere with the administration

of justice. In all probability, the subjects of Holland were by no means

pleased with the success of this negotiation, for they murmured against

the English nation without ceasing. They threatened and complained

by turns; and eagerly seized every opportunity of displaying their

partiality in favour of the enemies of Great Britain.

MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE STATES BY MAJOR-GENERAL YORKE.

In the month of September, major-general Yorke, the British minister at

the Hague, presented a memorial to the states-general, remonstrating,

that the merchants of Holland carried on a contraband trade in favour

of France, by transporting cannon and warlike stores from the Baltic to

Holland, in Dutch bottoms, under the borrowed names of private persons;

and then conveying them by the inland rivers and canals, or through the

Dutch fortresses, to Dunkirk and other places of France. He desired that

the king his master might be made easy on that head, by their putting

an immediate stop to such practices, so repugnant to the connexions

subsisting by treaty between Great Britain and the United Provinces,

as well as to every idea of neutrality. He observed, that the attention

which his majesty had lately given to their representations against the

excesses of the English privateers, by procuring an act of parliament,

which laid them under proper restrictions, gave him a good title to the

same regard on the part of their high mightinesses. He reminded them

that their trading towns felt the good effects of these restrictions;

and that the freedom of navigation which their subjects enjoyed amidst

the troubles and distractions of Europe, had considerably augmented

their commerce. He observed, that some return ought to be made to such

solid proofs of the king’s friendship and moderation; at least, the

merchants, who were so ready to complain of England, ought not to be

countenanced in excesses which would have justified the most rigorous

examination of their conduct. He recalled to their memories that, during

the course of the present war, the king had several times appealed to

their high mightinesses, and to their ministers, on the liberty they had

given to carry stores through the fortresses of the republic for the use

of France, to invade the British dominions; and though his majesty had

passed over in silence many of these instances of complaisance to his

enemy, he was no less sensible of the injury; but he chose rather to be

a sufferer himself, than to increase the embarrassment of his neighbours

or extend the flames of war. He took notice that even the court of

Vienna had, upon more than one occasion, employed its interest with

their high mightinesses, and lent its name to obtain passes for warlike

stores and provisions for the French troops, under colour of the

barrier-treaty, which it no longer observed; nay, after having put

France in possession of Ostend and Nieuport, in manifest violation of

that treaty, and without any regard to the rights which they and the

king his master had acquired in that treaty, at the expense of so much

blood and treasure.

A COUNTER-MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY THE FRENCH MINISTER.

This memorial seems to have made some impression on the states-general,

as they scrupled to allow the artillery and stores belonging to the

French king to be removed from Amsterdam; but these scruples vanished

entirely on the receipt of a counter-memorial presented by the count

d’Affrey, the French ambassador, who mingled some effectual threats with

his expostulation. He desired them to remember, that, during the whole

course of the war, the French king had required nothing from their

friendship that was inconsistent with the strictest impartiality; and,

if he had deviated from the engagements subsisting between him and

the republic, it was only by granting the most essential and lucrative

favours to the subjects of their high mightinesses. He observed, that

the English, notwithstanding the insolence of their behaviour to the

republic, had derived, on many occasions, assistance from the protection

their effects had found in the territories of the United Provinces; that

the artillery, stores, and ammunition belonging to Wessel were deposited

in their territories, which the Hanoverian army in passing the Rhine had

very little respected; that when they repassed that river, they had no

other way of saving their sick and wounded from the hands of the French,

than by embarking them in boats, and conveying them to places where

the French left them unmolested, actuated by their respect for the

neutrality of the republic; that part of their magazines was still

deposited in the towns of the United Provinces, where also the enemies

of France had purchased and contracted for very considerable quantities

of gunpowder. He told them that, though these and several other

circumstances might have been made the subject of the justest

complaints, the king of France did not think it proper to require that

the freedom and independency of the subjects of the republic should be

restrained in branches of commerce that were not inconsistent with

its neutrality, persuaded that the faith of an engagement ought to be

inviolably preserved, though attended with some accidental and transient

disadvantages. He gave them to understand, that the king his master had

ordered the generals of his army carefully to avoid encroaching on the

territory of the republic, and transferring thither the theatre of the

war, when his enemies retreated that way before they were forced to

pass the Ehine. After such unquestionable marks of regard, he said,

his king would have the justest ground of complaint, if, contrary to

expectation, he should hear that the artillery and stores belonging to

him were detained at Amsterdam. Thirdly, he declared that such detention

would be construed as a violation of the neutrality; and demanded, in

the name of the king his master, that the artillery and stores should,

without delay, be forwarded to Flanders by the canals of Amsterdam and

the inland navigation. This last argument was so conclusive, that they

immediately granted the necessary passports; in consequence of which the

cannon were conveyed to the Austrian Netherlands.

DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN.

The powers in the southern parts of Europe were too much engrossed with

their own concerns, to interest themselves deeply in the quarrels

that distracted the German empire. The king of Spain, naturally of a

melancholy complexion and delicate constitution, was so deeply affected

with the loss of his queen, who died in the course of the preceding

year, that he renounced all company, neglected all business, and immured

himself in a chamber at Villa-Viciosa, where he gave a loose to the most

extravagant sorrow. He abstained from food and rest until his strength

was quite exhausted. He would neither shift himself, nor allow his beard

to be shaved; he rejected all attempts of consolation; and remained

deaf to the most earnest and respectful remonstrances of those who had

a right to render their advice. In this case, the affliction of the mind

must have been reinforced by some peculiarity in the constitution. He

inherited a melancholy taint from his father, and this seems to have

been dreaded as a family disease; for the infant don Louis, who likewise

resided in the palace of Villa-Viciosa, was fain to amuse himself with

hunting and other diversions, to prevent his being infected with the

king’s disorder, which continued to gain ground notwithstanding all the

efforts of medicine. The Spanish nation, naturally superstitious, had

recourse to saints and relics; but they seemed insensible to all their

devotion. The king, however, in the midst of all his distress, was

prevailed upon to make his will, which was written by the count de

Valparaiso, and signed by the duke de Bejar, high-chancellor of the

kingdom. The exorbitancy of his grief, and the mortifications he

underwent, soon produced an incurable malady, under which he languished

from the month of September in the preceding year till the tenth of

August in the present, when he expired. In his will he had appointed his

brother don Carlos, king of Naples, successor to the crown of Spain; and

nominated the queen-dowager as regent of the kingdom until that prince

should arrive. Accordingly, she assumed the reins of government, and

gave directions for the funeral of the deceased king, who was interred

with great pomp in the church belonging to the convent of the Visitation

at Madrid.

DON CARLOS SUCCEEDS TO THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN.

As the death of this prince had been long expected, so the politicians

of Europe had universally prognosticated that his demise would be

attended with great commotions in Italy. It had been agreed among the

subscribing powers to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, that in case don

Carlos should be advanced in the course of succession to the throne

of Spain, his brother don Philip should succeed him on the throne of

Naples; and the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, which now

constituted his establishment, should revert to the house of Austria.

The king of Naples had never acceded to this article; therefore he paid

no regard to it on the death of his elder brother, but retained both

kingdoms, without minding the claims of the empress-queen, who he knew

was at that time in no condition to support her pretensions. Thus the

German war proved a circumstance very favourable to his interest

and ambition. Before he embarked for Spain, however, he took some

extraordinary steps, which evinced him a sound politician and sagacious

legislator. His eldest son don Philip, who had now attained the

thirteenth year of his age, being found in a state of incurable

idiotism [529] _[See note 4 F, at the end of this Vol.]_, he wisely and

resolutely removed him from the succession, without any regard to the

pretended right of primogeniture, by a solemn act of abdication, and the

settlement of the crown of the two Sicilies in favour of his third son

don Ferdinand. In this extraordinary act he observes, that according

to the spirit of the treaties of this age, Europe required that the

sovereignty of Spain should be separated from that of Italy, when such

a separation could be effected, without transgressing the rules of

justice: that the unfortunate prince-royal having been destitute of

reason and reflection ever since his infancy, and no hope remaining that

he could ever acquire the use of these faculties, he could not think

of appointing him to the succession, how agreeable soever such a

disposition might be to nature and his paternal affection: he was

therefore constrained, by the Divine will, to set him aside in favour

of his third son don Ferdinand, whose minority obliged him to vest the

management of these realms in a regency, which he accordingly appointed,

after having previously declared his son Ferdinand from that time

emancipated and freed, not only from all obedience to his paternal

power, but even from all submission to his supreme and sovereign

authority. He then declared that the minority of the prince succeeding

to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies should expire with the fifteenth year

of his age, when he should act as sovereign, and have the entire power

of the administration. He next established and explained the order of

succession in the male and female line; on condition that the monarchy

of Spain should never be united with the kingdoms of the Two Sicilies.

Finally, he transferred and made over to the said don Ferdinand these

kingdoms, with all that he possessed in Italy; and this ordinance,

signed and sealed by himself and the infant don Ferdinand, and

countersigned by the counsellors and secretaries of state, in quality

of members of the regency, received all the usual forms of authenticity.

Don Carlos having taken these precautions for the benefit of his third

son, whom he left king of Naples, embarked with the rest of his family

on board a squadron of Spanish ships, which conveyed him to Barcelona.

There he landed in the month of October, and proceeded to Madrid; where,

as king of Spain, he was received amid the acclamations of his people.

He began his reign, like a wise prince, by regulating the interior

economy of his kingdom; by pursuing the plan adopted by his predecessor;

by retaining the ministry under whose auspices the happiness and

commerce of his people had been extended; and with respect to the

belligerent powers, by scrupulously adhering to that neutrality from

whence these advantages were in a great measure derived.

DETECTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CONSPIRATORS AT LISBON.

While he serenely enjoyed the blessings of prosperity, his neighbour the

king of Portugal was engrossed by a species of employment, which, of

all others, must be the most disagreeable to a prince of sentiment,

who loves his people; namely, the trial and punishment of those

conspirators, by whose atrocious attempt his life had been so much

endangered. Among these were numbered some of the first noblemen of the

kingdom, irritated by disappointed ambition, inflamed by bigotry,

and exasperated by revenge. The principal conspirator, don Joseph

Mascarenhas and Lencastre, duke de Aveiro, marquis of Torres Novas,

and conde of Santa Cruz, was hereditary lord-steward of the king’s

household, and president of the palace-court, or last tribunal of appeal

in the kingdom, so that he possessed the first office at the palace, and

the second of the realm. Francisco de Assiz, marquis of Tavora, conde

of St. John and Alvor, was general of the horse, and head of the third

noble house of the Tavoras, the most illustrious family in the kingdom,

deriving their original from the ancient kings of Leon: he married his

kinswoman, who was marchioness of Tavora in her own right, and by this

marriage acquired the marquisate. Louis Bernardo de Tavora was their

eldest son, who, by virtue of a dispensation from the pope, had espoused

his own aunt, donna Theresa de Tavora. Joseph Maria de Tavora, his

youngest brother, was also involved in the guilt of his parents.

The third principal concerned was don Jeronymo de Attaide, conde of

Attouguia, himself a relation, and married to the eldest daughter of

the marquis of Tavora. The characters of all these personages were

unblemished and respectable, until this machination was detected. In the

course of investigating this dark affair, it appeared that the duke de

Aveiro had conceived a personal hatred to the king, who had disappointed

him in a projected match between his son and a sister of the duke de

Cadaval, a minor, and prevented his obtaining some commanderies which

the late duke de Aveiro had possessed; that this nobleman, being

determined to gratify his revenge against the person of his sovereign,

had exerted all his art and address in securing the participation of the

malecontents; that with this view he reconciled himself to the Jesuits,

with whom he had been formerly at variance, knowing they were at this

time implacably incensed against the king, who had dismissed them from

their office of penitentiaries at court, and branded them with other

marks of disgrace, on account of their illegal and rebellious practices

in South America: the duke, moreover, insinuated himself into the

confidence of the marchioness of Tavora, notwithstanding an inveterate

rivalship of pride and ambition, which had long subsisted between

the two families. Her resentment against the king was inflamed by the

mortification of her pride in repeated repulses, when she solicited the

title of duke for her husband. Her passions were artfully fomented and

managed by the Jesuits, to whom she had resigned the government of her

conscience; and they are said to have persuaded her, that it would be a

meritorious action to take away the life of a prince who was an enemy

to the church, and a tyrant to his people. She, being reconciled to the

scheme of assassination, exerted her influence in such a manner as to

inveigle her husband, her sons and son-in law, into the same infamous

design: and yet this lady had been always remarkable for her piety,

affability, and sweetness of disposition. Many consultations were held

by the conspirators at the colleges of the Jesuits, St. Autoa and St.

Roque, as well as at the houses of the duke and the marquis; at last

they resolved that the king should be assassinated, and employed

two ruffians, called Antonio Alvarez and Joseph Policarpio, for the

execution of this design, the miscarriage of which we have related among

the transactions of the preceding year. In the beginning of January,

before the circumstances of the conspiracy were known, the counts

de Oberas and de Ribeira Grande were imprisoned in the castle of St.

Julian, on a suspicion arising from their freedom of speech. The duchess

de Aveiro, the countess of Attouguia, and the marchioness of Alorna,

with their children, were sent to different nunneries; and eight Jesuits

were taken into custody. A council being appointed for the trial of the

prisoners, the particulars we have related were brought to light by

the torture; and sentence of death was pronounced and executed upon the

convicted criminals. Eight wheels were fixed upon a scaffold raised in

the square opposite to the house where the prisoners had been confined;

and the thirteenth of January was fixed for the day of execution.

Antonio Alvarez Ferreira, one of the assassins who had fired into the

king’s equipage, was fixed to a stake at one corner of the scaffold; and

at the other was placed the effigy of his accomplice, Joseph Policarpio

de Azevedo, who had made his escape. The marchioness of Tavora, being

brought upon the scaffold between eight and nine in the morning, was

beheaded at one stroke, and then covered with a linen cloth. Her two

sons, and her son-in-law, the count of Attouguia, with three servants

of the duke de Aveiro, were first strangled at one stake, and afterwards

broke upon wheels, where their bodies remained covered; but the duke

and the marquis, as chiefs of the conspiracy, were broken alive, and

underwent the most excruciating torments. The last that suffered was

the assassin Alvarez, who being condemned to be burned alive, the

combustibles which had been placed on the scaffold were set on fire,

the whole machine with their bodies consumed to ashes, and these ashes

thrown into the sea. The estates of the three unfortunate noblemen were

confiscated, and their dwelling-houses razed to the ground. The name

of Tavora was suppressed for ever by a public decree; but that of

Mascarenhas spared, because the duke de Aveiro was a younger branch of

the family. A reward of ten thousand crowns was offered to any person

who should apprehend the assassin who had escaped: then the embargo was

taken off the shipping. The king and royal family assisted at a public

_Te Deum_, sung in the chapel of Nossa Senhoro de Livramento; on

which occasion the king, for the satisfaction of his people, waved his

handkerchief with both hands, to show he was not maimed by the wounds he

had received. If such an attempt upon the life of a king was infamously

cruel and perfidious, it must be owned that the punishment inflicted

upon the criminals was horrible to human nature. The attempt itself was

attended with some circumstances that might have staggered belief, had

it not appeared but too plain that the king was actually wounded. One

would imagine that the duke de Aveiro, who was charged with designs on

the crown, would have made some preparation for taking advantage of

the confusion and disorder which must have been produced by the king’s

assassination; but we do not find that any thing of this nature was

premeditated. It was no more than a desperate scheme of personal

revenge, conceived without caution, and executed without conduct; a

circumstance the more extraordinary, if we suppose the conspirators were

actuated by the councils of the Jesuits, who have been ever famous for

finesse and dexterity. Besides, the discovery of all the particulars

was founded upon confession extorted by the rack, which at best is a

suspicious evidence. Be that as it will, the Portuguese government,

without waiting for a bull from the pope, sequestered all the

estates and effects of the Jesuits in that kingdom, which amounted to

considerable sums, and reduced the individuals of the society to a very

scanty allowance. Complaint of their conduct having been made to the

pope, he appointed a congregation to examine into the affairs of the

Jesuits in Portugal. In the meantime the court of Lisbon ordered a

considerable number of them to be embarked for Italy, and resolved

that no Jesuits should hereafter reside within its realms. When these

transports arrived at Civita-Vecchia, they were, by the pope’s order,

lodged in the Dominican and Capuchin convents of that city, until proper

houses could be prepared for their reception at Tivoli and Frescati. The

most guilty of them, however, were detained in close prison in Portugal;

reserved, in all probability, for a punishment more adequate to their

enormities.

SESSION OPENED IN ENGLAND.

England still continued to enjoy the blessings of peace, even amidst the

triumphs of war. In the month of November the session of parliament was

opened by commission; and, the commons attending in the house of peers,

the lord-keeper harangued the parliament to this effect:--He gave

them to understand that his majesty had directed him to assure them,

that he thought himself peculiarly happy in being able to convoke them

in a situation of affairs so glorious to his crown, and advantageous

to his kingdoms: that the king saw and devoutly adored the hand of

Providence, in the many signal successes, both by sea and land, with

which his arms had been blessed in the course of the last campaign:

that he reflected with great satisfaction on the confidence which the

parliament had placed in him, by making such ample provisions, and

intrusting him with such extensive powers for carrying on a war, which

the defence of their valuable rights and possessions, together with the

preservation of the commerce of his people, had rendered both just and

necessary. He enumerated the late successes of the British arms--the

reduction of Goree on the coast of Africa; the conquest of so many

important places in America; the defeat of the French army in Canada;

the reduction of their capital city of Quebec, effected with so much

honour to the courage and conduct of his majesty’s officers and forces;

the important advantage obtained by the British squadron off Cape Lagos,

and the effectual blocking up for so many months the principal part of

the French navy in their own harbours: events which must have filled the

hearts of all his majesty’s faithful subjects with the sincerest joy;

and convinced his parliament that there had been no want of vigilance

or vigour on his part, in exerting those means which they, with so much

prudence and public-spirited zeal, had put into his majesty’s hands. He

observed, that the national advantages had extended even as far as the

East-Indies, where, by the Divine blessing, the dangerous designs of his

majesty’s enemies had miscarried, and that valuable branch of commerce

had received great benefit and protection; that the memorable victory

gained over the French at Minden had long made a deep impression on the

minds of his majesty’s people: that if the crisis in which the battle

was fought, the superior number of the enemy, the great and able

conduct of his majesty’s general, prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, were

considered, that action must be the subject of lasting admiration and

thankfulness: that if any thing could fill the breasts of his majesty’s

good subjects with still further degrees of exultation, it would be

the distinguished and unbroken valour of the British troops, owned and

applauded by those whom they overcame. He said the glory they had gained

was not merely their own; but, in a national view, was one of the

most important circumstances of our success, as it must be a striking

admonition to our enemies with whom they have to contend. He told them

that his majesty’s good brother and ally, the king of Prussia, attacked

and surrounded by so many considerable powers, had, by his magnanimity

and abilities, and the bravery of his troops, been able, in a surprising

manner, to prevent the mischiefs concerted with such united force

against him. He declared, by the command of his sovereign, that as his

majesty entered into this war not from views of ambition, so he did not

wish to continue it from motives of resentment: that the desire of

his majesty’s heart was to see a stop put to the effusion of Christian

blood: that whenever such terms of peace could be established as should

be just and honourable for his majesty and his allies; and by procuring

such advantages as, from the successes of his majesty’s arms, might in

reason and equity be expected should bring along with them full security

for the future; his majesty would rejoice to see the repose of Europe

restored on such solid and durable foundations; and his faithful

subjects, to whose liberal support and unshaken firmness his majesty

owed so much, happy in the enjoyment of the blessings of peace and

tranquillity: but, in order to this great and desirable end, he said his

majesty was confident the parliament would agree with him, that it was

necessary to make ample provision for carrying on the war, in all parts,

with the utmost vigour. He assured the commons, that the great supplies

they had granted in the last session of parliament, had been faithfully

employed for the purposes for which they were granted; but the uncommon

extent of the war, and the various services necessary to be provided

for, in order to secure success to his majesty’s measures, had

unavoidably occasioned extraordinary expenses. Finally, he repeated the

assurances from the throne, of the high satisfaction his majesty took

in that union and good harmony which was so conspicuous among his good

subjects; he said, his sovereign was happy in seeing it continued and

confirmed; he observed that experience had shown how much the nation

owed to this union, which alone could secure the true happiness of his

people.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

SUBSTANCE OF THE ADDRESSES.

We shall not anticipate the reader’s own reflection, by pretending to

comment upon either the matter or form of this harangue, which however

produced all the effect which the sovereign could desire. The houses, in

their respective addresses, seemed to vie with each other in expressions

of attachment and complacency. The peers professed their utmost

readiness to concur in the effectual support of such further measures

as his majesty, in his great wisdom, should judge necessary or expedient

for carrying on the war with vigour in all parts, and for disappointing

and repelling any desperate attempts which might be made upon these

kingdoms. The commons expressed their admiration of that true

greatness of mind which disposed his majesty’s heart, in the midst of

prosperities, to wish a stop put to the effusion of Christian blood, and

to see tranquillity restored. They declared their entire reliance on

his majesty’s known wisdom and firmness, that this desirable object,

whenever it should be obtained, would be upon teems just and honourable

for his majesty and his allies; and, in order to effect that great end,

they assured him they would cheerfully grant such supplies as should

be found necessary to sustain, and press with effect, all his extensive

operations against the enemy. They did not fail to re-echo the speech,

as usual; enumerating the trophies of the year, and extolling the king

of Prussia for his consummate genius, magnanimity, unwearied activity,

and unshaken constancy of mind. Very great reason, indeed, had his

majesty to be satisfied with an address of such a nature, from a

house of commons in which opposition lay strangled at the foot of

the minister; in which those demagogues, who had raised themselves to

reputation and renown by declaiming against continental measures,

were become so perfectly reconciled to the object of their former

reprobation, as to cultivate it even with a degree of enthsiasm

unknown to any former administration, and lay the nation under such

contributions in its behalf, as no other ministry durst ever meditate.

Thus disposed, it was no wonder they admired the moderation of their

sovereign in offering to treat of peace, after above a million of men

had perished by the war, and twice that number been reduced to misery;

after whole provinces had been depopulated, whole-countries subdued, and

the victors themselves almost crushed by the trophies they had gained.

Immediately after the addresses were presented, the commons resolved

themselves into a committee of the whole house; and having unanimously

voted a supply to his majesty, began to take the particulars into

consideration. This committee was continued till the twelfth of May,

when that whole business was accomplished. For the service of the

ensuing year they voted seventy thousand seamen, including eighteen

thousand three hundred and fifty-five marines, and for their maintenance

allotted three millions six hundred and forty thousand pounds. The

number of land-forces, including the British troops in Germany, and the

invalids, they fixed at fifty-seven thousand two hundred and ninety-four

men, and granted for their subsistence one million three hundred and

eighty-three thousand seven hundred and forty-eight pounds and tenpence.

For maintaining other forces in the plantations, Gibraltar, Guadaloupe,

Africa, and the East Indies, they allowed eight hundred forty-six

thousand one hundred and sixty-eight pounds, nineteen shillings: for the

expense of four regiments on the Irish establishment, serving in North

America, they voted thirty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-four

pounds, eight shillings and fourpence. For pay to the general

and general staff officers, and officers of the hospital for the

land-forces, they assigned fifty-four thousand four hundred and

fifty-four pounds, eleven shillings and ninepence. They voted for

the expense of the militia in South and North Britain, the sum of one

hundred two thousand and six pounds, four shillings and eightpence. They

granted for the maintenance of thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and

fifty men, being the troops of Hanover, Wolfenbuttle, Saxe-Gotha, and

Buckebourg, retained in the service of Great Britain, the sum of four

hundred forty-seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-two pounds, ten

shillings and fivepence halfpenny; and for nineteen thousand Hessian

troops, in the same pay, they gave three hundred sixty-six thousand

seven hundred and twenty-five pounds, one shilling and sixpence. They

afterwards bestowed the sum of one hundred eight thousand and twelve

pounds, twelve shillings and sevenpence, for defraying the additional

expense of augmentations in the troops of Hanover and Hesse, and the

British army serving in the empire. For the ordinary of the navy,

including half-pay to sea-officers; for carrying on the building of

two hospitals, one near Gosport, and the other in the neighbourhood of

Plymouth; for the support of the hospital at Greenwich; for purchasing

ground, erecting wharfs and other accommodations necessary for

refitting the fleets at Halifax in Nova-Scotia; for the charge of the

office of ordnance, and defraying the extraordinary expense incurred by

that office in the course of the last year, they allowed seven hundred

eighty-one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine pounds, six shillings

and sixpence. Towards paying off the navy debt, buildings, re-buildings,

and repairs of the king’s ships, together with the charges of transport

service, they granted one million seven hundred and one thousand

seventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings and sixpence. For defraying

the extraordinary expenses of the land-forces and other services not

provided for by parliament, comprehending the pensions for the widows

of reduced officers, they allotted the sum of nine hundred fifty-five

thousand three hundred and forty-four pounds, fifteen shillings and

fivepence halfpenny. They voted one million to empower his majesty to

discharge the like sum, raised in pursuance of an act made in the last

session of parliament, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to be

granted in this session of parliament. They gave six hundred and seventy

thousand pounds, for enabling his majesty to make good his engagements

with the king of Prussia, pursuant to a new convention between him and

that monarch, concluded on the ninth day of November in the present

year. Fifteen thousand pounds they allowed upon account, towards

enabling the principal officers of his majesty’s ordnance to defray the

necessary charges and expenses of taking down and removing the present

magazine for gunpowder, situated in the neighbourhood of Greenwich, and

of erecting it in some less dangerous situation. Sixty thousand pounds

they gave to enable his majesty to fulfil his engagements With the

landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a treaty

between the two powers, renewed in the month of November, the sum to

be paid as his most serene highness should think it most convenient, in

order to facilitate the means by which the landgrave might again fix his

residence in his own dominions, and by his presence give fresh courage

to his faithful subjects. Five hundred thousand pounds they voted upon

account, as a present supply towards defraying the charges of forage,

bread, bread-waggons, train of artillery, wood, straw, provisions,

and contingencies of his majesty’s combined army, under the command of

prince Ferdinand. To the Foundling hospital they granted five thousand

pounds; and fifteen thousand for improving, widening, and enlarging the

passage over and through London bridge. To replace divers sums taken

from the sinking fund, they granted two hundred twenty-five thousand two

hundred and eighty-one pounds, nineteen shillings and fourpence. For the

subsistence of reduced officers, including the allowances to the several

officers and private men of the two troops of horse-guards, and regiment

of horse reduced, and to the superannuated gentlemen of the four troops

of horse-guards, they voted thirty-eight thousand five hundred and

ninety-seven pounds, nine shillings. Upon account, for the support

of the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia, they granted twenty-one

thousand six hundred ninety-four pounds, two shillings and twopence.

For enabling the king to give a proper compensation to the provinces

in North America, for the expenses they might incur in levying and

maintaining troops, according as the vigour and activity of those

respective provinces should be thought by his majesty to merit, they

advanced the sum of two hundred thousand pounds. The East India company

they gratified with twenty thousand pounds, towards enabling them to

defray the expense of a military force in their settlements, in lieu of

a battalion of the king’s troops now returned to Ireland. Twenty-five

thousand pounds were provided for the payment of the out-pensioners of

Chelsea hospital. For subsequent augmentation of the British forces,

since the first estimate of guards and garrisons for the ensuing year

was presented, they allowed one hundred thirty-four thousand one hundred

and thirty-nine pounds, seventeen shillings and fourpence. They further

voted, upon account, towards enabling the governors and guardians of

the Foundling hospital to maintain, educate, and bind apprentice the

children admitted into the said charity, the sum of forty-seven thousand

two hundred and eighty-five pounds. For defraying the expense of

maintaining the militia in South and North Britain, to the twenty-fourth

day of December of the ensuing year, they voted an additional grant of

two hundred ninety thousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds,

sixteen shillings and eightpence: and, moreover, they granted four-score

thousand pounds, upon account, towards defraying the charge of pay

and clothing of the unembodied militia for the year ending on the

twenty-fifth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and

sixty-one. For reimbursing the colony of New-York, their expenses in

furnishing provisions and stores to the troops raised by them for

his majesty’s service, in the-campaign of the year one thousand seven

hundred and fifty-six, they allowed two thousand nine hundred

and seventy-seven pounds, seven shillings and eightpence; and for

maintaining the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa,

they renewed the grant of ten thousand pounds. For the maintenance and

augmentation of the troops of Brunswick in the pay of Great Britain

for the ensuing year, pursuant to an ulterior convention concluded and

signed at Paderborn on the fifth day of March, in the year one thousand

seven hundred and sixty, they granted the sum of ninety thousand seven

hundred and sixty-nine pounds, eight shillings and elevenpence farthing;

and for the troops of Hesse-Cassel in the same pay, during the same

period, they allotted one hundred and one thousand and ninety-six

pounds, three shillings and twopence. For the extraordinary expenses of

the land-forces, and other services, incurred from the twenty-fourth

day of November in the present year, to the twenty-fourth of December

following, and not-provided for, they granted the sum of four hundred

twenty thousand one hundred and twenty pounds, one shilling. To make

good the deficiency of the grants for the service of this present year,

one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, they assigned the sum of

seventy-five thousand one hundred and seventy pounds, and threepence

farthing. For printing the journals of the house of commons they gave

five thousand pounds; and six hundred and thirty-four pounds, thirteen

shillings and seven-pence, as interest at the rate of four per centum

per annum, from the twenty-fifth day of August in the present year, to

the same day of April next, for the sum of twenty-three thousand eight

hundred pounds, eleven shillings and elevenpence, remaining in the

office of ordnance, and not paid into the hands of the deputy of the

king’s remembrancer of the court of exchequer, as directed by an act

made in the last session of parliament, to make compensation for lands

and hereditaments purchased for his majesty’s service at Chatham,

Portsmouth, and Plymouth, by reason of doubts and difficulties which

had arisen touching the execution of the said act. For defraying the

extraordinary charge of the mint during the present year, they allowed

eleven thousand nine hundred and forty pounds, thirteen shillings and

ten-pence; and two thousand five hundred pounds upon account, for

paying the debts claimed and sustained upon a forfeited estate in

North Britain. They likewise allowed twelve thousand eight hundred and

seventy-four pounds, fifteen shillings and tenpence, for defraying the

charge of a regiment of light-dragoons, and of an additional company to

the corps commanded by lieutenant-colonel Vaughan. Finally, they voted

one million upon account, to enable the king to defray any extraordinary

expenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the

year one thousand seven hundred and sixty; and to take all such measures

as might be necessary to defeat any enterprise or design of his enemies,

as the exigency of affairs might require. On the whole, the sum total

granted in this session of parliament amounted to fifteen millions five

hundred and three thousand five hundred and sixty-three pounds, fifteen

shillings and ninepence halfpenny: a sum so enormous, whether we

consider the nation that raised it, or the purposes for which it was

raised, that every Briton of a sedate mind, attached to the interest and

welfare of his country, must reflect upon it with equal astonishment and

concern: a sum considerably more than double the largest subsidy that

was granted in the reign of queen Anne, when the nation was in the

zenith of her glory, and retained half the powers of Europe in her pay:

a sum almost double of what any former administration durst have asked:

and near double of what the most sanguine calculators, who lived in the

beginning of this century, thought the nation could give without the

most imminent hazard of immediate bankruptcy. Of the immense supply

which we have particularized, the reader will perceive that two millions

three hundred forty-four thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds,

sixteen shillings and sevenpence three farthings, were paid to

foreigners for supporting the war in Germany, exclusive of the money

expended by the British troops in that country, the number of which

amounted, in the course of the ensuing year, to twenty thousand men: a

number the more extraordinary, if we consider they were all transported

to that continent during the administration of those who declared in

parliament (the words still sounding in our ears) that not a man, nor

even half a man, should be sent from Great Britain to Germany, to fight

the battles of any foreign elector. Into the expense of the German

war sustained by Great Britain, we must also throw the charge of

transporting the English troops; the article of forage, which alone

amounted, in the course of the last campaign, to one million two hundred

thousand pounds, besides pontage, waggons, horses, and many other

contingencies. To the German war we may also impute the extraordinary

expense incurred by the actual service of the militia, which the absence

of the regular troops rendered in a great measure necessary; and the

loss of so many hands withdrawn from industry, from husbandry, and

manufacture. The loss sustained by this connexion was equally grievous

and apparent; the advantage accruing from it, either to Britain or

Hanover, we have not discernment sufficient to perceive, consequently

cannot be supposed able to explain.

The committee of ways and means, having duly deliberated on the articles

of supply, continued sitting from the twenty-second day of November

to the fourteenth of May, during which period they established the

necessary funds to produce the sums which had been granted. The land-tax

at four shillings in the pound, and the malt-tax, were continued, as

the standing revenue of Great Britain. The whole provision made by the

committee of ways and means amounted to sixteen millions one hundred

thirty thousand five hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillings

and eightpence, exceeding the grants for the service of the year one

thousand seven hundred and sixty, in the sum of six hundred twenty-six

thousand nine hundred ninety-seven pounds, thirteen shillings and

tenpence halfpenny. This excess, however, will not appear extraordinary,

when we consider that it was destined to make good the premium of two

hundred and forty thousand pounds to the subscribers upon the eight

million loan, as well as the deficiencies in the other grants, which

never fail to make a considerable article in the supply of every

session. That these gigantic strides towards the ruin of public credit

were such as might alarm every well-wisher to his country, will perhaps

more plainly appear in the sum total of the national debt, which,

including the incumbrance of one million charged upon the civil-list

revenue, and provided for by a tax upon salaries and pensions payable

out of that revenue, amounted, at this period, to the tremendous sum

of one hundred eight millions four hundred ninety-three thousand one

hundred and fifty-four pounds, fourteen shillings and elevenpence one

farthing.--A comfortable reflection this to a people involved in the

most expensive war that ever was waged, and already burdened with such

taxes as no other nation ever bore!

It is not at all necessary to particularize the acts that were founded

upon the resolutions touching the supply. We shall only observe that, in

the act for the land-tax, and in the act for the malt-tax, there was a

clause of credit, empowering the commissioners of the treasury to raise

the money which they produced by loans on exchequer bills, bearing an

interest of four per cent, per annum, that is, one per cent, higher

than the interest usually granted in time of peace. While the house

of commons deliberated on the bill for granting to his majesty several

duties upon malt, and for raising a certain sum of money to be charged

on the said duties, a petition was presented by the maltsters of Ipswich

and parts adjacent against an additional duty on the stock of malt in

hand: but no regard was paid to this remonstrance; and the bill, with

several new amendments, passed through both houses, under the title of

“An act for granting to his majesty several duties upon malt, and for

raising the sum of eight millions by way of annuities and a lottery, to

be charged on the said duties: and to prevent the fraudulent obtaining

of allowances in the gauging of corn making into malt; and for making

forth duplicates of exchequer-bills, tickets, certificates, receipts,

annuity orders, and other orders lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed.”

The other three bills that turned wholly on the supply were passed

in common course, without the least opposition in either house, and

received the royal assent by commission at the end of the session. The

first of these, entitled, “A bill for enabling his majesty to raise

a certain sum of money for the uses and purposes therein mentioned,”

contained a clause of approbation, added to it by instruction; and the

Bank was enabled to lend the million which the commissioners of the

treasury were empowered by the act to borrow, at the interest of four

pounds per cent. The second, granting to his majesty a certain sum of

money out of the sinking-fund, for the service of the year one thousand

seven hundred and sixty, comprehended a clause of credit for borrowing

the money thereby granted; and another clause, empowering the Bank to

lend it without any limitation or interest; and the third, enabling his

majesty to raise a certain sum of money towards discharging the debt of

the navy, and for naval services during the ensuing year, enacted, that

the exchequer bills thereby to be issued should not be received, or pass

to any receiver or collector of the public revenue, or at the receipt

of the exchequer, before the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year one

thousand seven hundred and sixty-one.

PETITIONS RESPECTING THE PROHIBITION OF THE MALT DISTILLERY.

As the act of the preceding session, prohibiting the malt distillery,

was to expire at Christmas, the commons thinking it necessary to

consider of proper methods for laying the malt distillery under such

regulations as might prevent, if possible, its being prejudicial to the

health and morals of the people, began as early as the month of November

to deliberate on this affair; which being under agitation, petitions

were presented to the house by several of the principal inhabitants of

Spital-fields; the mayor and commonalty of New Sarum; the gentlemen,

clergy, merchants, manufacturers, tradesmen, and other inhabitants of

Colchester; the mayor, aldermen, and common council of King’s Lynn in

Norfolk; the mayor and bailiffs of Berwick-upon-Tweed; representing the

advantages accruing from the prohibition of the malt distillery, and

praying the continuance of the act by which it was prohibited. On the

other hand, counter-petitions were offered by the mayor, magistrates,

merchants, manufacturers, and other gentlemen of the city of Norwich; by

the land-owners and holders of the south-west part of Essex; and by

the freeholders of the shires of Ross and Cromartic, in North Britain;

alleging, that the scarcity of corn, which had made it necessary to

prohibit the malt distillery, had ceased; and that the continuing the

prohibition beyond the necessity which had required it would be a great

loss and discouragement to the landed interest: they therefore prayed

that the said distillery might be again opened, under such regulations

and restrictions as the house should think proper. These remonstrances

being taken into consideration, and divers accounts perused, the house

unanimously agreed that the prohibition should be continued for a

limited time; and a bill being brought in, pursuant to this resolution,

passed through both houses, and received the royal assent; by which

means the prohibition of the malt distillery was continued till the

twenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred

and sixty, unless such continuation should be abridged by any other act

to be passed in the present session.

OPPOSITION TO THE BILL FOR PREVENTING THE EXCESSIVE USE OF SPIRITS.

The committee, having examined a great number of accounts and papers

relating to spirituous liquors, agreed to four resolutions, importing,

that the present high price of spirituous liquors is a principal cause

of the diminution in the home consumption thereof, and hath greatly

contributed to the health, sobriety, and industry of the common people:

that, in order to continue for the future the present high price of all

spirits used for home consumption, a large additional duty should

be laid upon all spirituous liquors whatsoever, distilled within or

imported into Great Britain: that there should be a drawback of the

said additional duties upon all spirituous liquors distilled in Great

Britain, which should be exported; and that an additional bounty

should be granted under proper regulations, upon the exportation of

all spirituous liquors drawn from corn in Great Britain. A great

many accounts being perused, and witnesses examined, relating to the

distillery, a bill was brought in to prevent the excessive use of

spirituous liquors, by laying an additional duty thereupon; and

to encourage the exportation of British-made spirits. Considerable

opposition was made to the bill, on the opinion that the additional duty

proposed was too small; and that, among the resolutions, there was

not so much as one that looked like a provision or restriction for

preventing the pernicious abuse of such liquors. Nay, many persons

affirmed, that what was proposed looked more like a scheme for

increasing the public revenues, than a salutary measure to prevent

excess. The merchants and manufacturers of the town of Birmingham

petitioned for such instructions. The lord-mayor, aldermen, and

common-council of London presented a petition by the hands of the two

sheriffs, setting forth, that the petitioners had, with great pleasure,

observed the happy consequences produced upon the morals, behaviour,

industry, and health of the lower class of people, since the prohibition

of the malt distillery; that the petitioners, having observed a bill

was brought in to allow the distilling of spirits from corn, were

apprehensive that the encouragement given to the distillers thereof

would prove detrimental to the commercial interests of the nation;

and they conceived the advantages proposed to be allowed upon the

exportation of such spirits, being so much above the value of their

commodity, would lay such a temptation for smuggling and perjury as no

law could prevent. They expressed their fears, that, should such a bill

pass into a law, the excessive use of spirituous liquors would not only

debilitate and enervate the labourers, manufacturers, sailors, soldiers,

and all the lower class of people, and thereby extinguish industry, and

that remarkable intrepidity which had lately so eminently appeared in

the British nation, which must always depend on the vigour and industry

of its people; but also its liberty and happiness, which cannot be

supported without temperance and morality, would run the utmost risk of

being destroyed. They declared themselves also apprehensive, that the

extraordinary consumption of bread corn by the still would not only

raise the price, so as to oppress the lower class of people, but would

raise such a bar to the exportation thereof, as to deprive the nation of

a great influx of money, at that time essential towards the maintaining

of an expensive war, and therefore highly injure the landed and

commercial interests: they therefore prayed that the present prohibition

of distilling spirits from corn might be continued, or that the use

of wheat might not be allowed in distillation. This remonstrance was

corroborated by another to the same purpose, from several merchants,

manufacturers, and traders, residing in and near the city of London; and

seemed to have some weight with the commons, who made several amendments

in the bill, which they now intituled, “A bill for preventing the

excessive use of spirituous liquors, by laying additional duties

thereon; for shortening the prohibition for making low wines and spirits

from wheat; for encouraging the exportation of British-made spirits,

and preventing the fraudulent relanding or importation thereof.” Thus

altered and amended, it passed on a division; and, making its way

through the house of lords, acquired the royal sanction. Whether the

law be adequate to the purposes for which it was enacted, time will

determine. The best way of preventing the excess of spirituous liquors

would be to lower the excise on beer and ale, so as to enable the poorer

class of labourers to refresh themselves with a comfortable liquor

for nearly the same expense that will procure a quantity of Geneva

sufficient for intoxication; for it cannot be supposed that a poor

wretch will expend his last penny upon a draught of small beer, without

strength or the least satisfactory operation, when for the half of that

sum he can purchase a cordial, that will almost instantaneously allay

the sense of hunger and cold, and regale his imagination with the most

agreeable illusions. Malt was at this time sold cheaper than it was in

the first year of king James I. when the parliament enacted, that no

innkeeper, victualler, or alehouse-keeper, should sell less than a

full quart of the best ale or beer, or two quarts of the small, for one

penny, under the penalty of twenty shillings. It appears, then, that in

the reign of king James the subject paid but fourpence for a gallon

of strong beer, which now costs one shilling; and as the malt is not

increased in value, the difference in the price must be entirely owing

to the taxes on beer, malt, and hops, which are indeed very grievous,

though perhaps necessary. The duty on small beer is certainly one of

the heaviest taxes imposed upon any sort of consumption that cannot be

considered as an article of luxury. Two bushels of malt, and two pounds

of hops, are required to make a barrel of good small beer, which was

formerly sold for six shillings; and the taxes payable on such a barrel

amounted to three shillings and sixpence; so that the sum total of the

imposition on this commodity was equal to a land-tax of eleven shillings

and eightpence in the pound.

Immediately after the resolution relating to the prohibition of spirits

from wheat, a motion was made and leave given to bring in a bill to

continue, for a time limited, the act of the last session, permitting

the importation of salted beef from Ireland. This permission was

accordingly extended to the twenty-fourth day of December in the year

one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. In all probability this short

and temporary continuance was proposed by the favourers of the bill, in

order to avoid the clamour and opposition of prejudice and ignorance,

which would have been dangerously alarmed, had it been rendered

perpetual. Yet as undoubted evidence had proved before the committee,

while the bill was depending, that the importation had been of great

service to England, particularly in reducing the price of salted

beef for the use of the navy, perhaps no consideration ought to have

prevented the legislature from perpetuating the law; a measure that

would encourage the graziers of Ireland to breed and fatten horned

cattle, and certainly put a stop to the practice of exporting salted

beef from that kingdom to France, which undoubtedly furnishes the

traders of that kingdom with opportunities of exporting wool to the same

country.

ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH A MILITIA IN SCOTLAND.

As several lieutenants of counties had, for various reasons, suspended

all proceedings in the execution of the laws relating to the militia

for limited times, which suspensions were deemed inconsistent with the

intent of the legislature, a bill was now brought in, to enable his

majesty’s lieutenants of the several counties of England and Wales

to proceed in the execution of the militia laws, notwithstanding any

adjournments. It was enacted, that, as the speedy execution of the

laws for regulating the militia was most essentially necessary at this

juncture to the peace and security of the kingdom., every lieutenant of

the place where such suspension had happened should, within one month

after the passing of this act, proceed as if there had been no such

suspension; and summon a meeting for the same purpose once in every

succeeding month until a sufficient number of officers, qualified and

willing to serve, should be found, or until the expiration of the

act for the better ordering the militia forces. The establishment of a

regular militia in South Britain could not fail to make an impression

upon the patriots of Scotland. They were convinced, from reason and

experience, that nothing could more tend to the peace and security

of their country than such an establishment in North Britain, the

inhabitants of which had been peculiarly exposed to insurrections, which

a well-regulated militia might have prevented or stifled in the birth;

and their coast had been lately alarmed by a threatened invasion, which

nothing but the want of such an establishment had rendered formidable to

the natives. They thought themselves entitled to the same security which

the legislature had provided for their fellow-subjects in South Britain,

and could not help being uneasy at the prospect of seeing themselves

left unarmed, and exposed to injuries both foreign and domestic, while

the sword was put in the hands of their southern neighbours. Some of

the members who represented North Britain in parliament, moved by

these considerations, as well as by the earnest injunctions of their

constituents, resolved to make a vigorous effort, in order to obtain

the establishment of a regular militia in Scotland. In the beginning of

March it was moved, and resolved, that the house would, on the twelfth

day of the month, resolve itself into a committee, to consider the

laws in being which relate to the militia in that part of Great

Britain, called Scotland. The result of that inquiry was, that these laws

were ineffectual. Then a motion was made for leave to bring-in a bill

for the better ordering of the militia forces in North Britain, and,

though it met with great opposition, was carried by a large majority.

The principal Scottish members of the house were appointed, in

conjunction with others, to prepare the bill, which was soon printed,

and reinforced by petitions presented by the gentlemen, justices of the

peace, and commissioners of the supply for the shire of Ayr; and by the

freeholders of the shires of Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, and Forfar.

They expressed their approbation of the established militia in England,

and their ardent wish to see the benefit of that wise and salutary

measure extended to North Britain. This was an indulgence they had the

greater reason to hope for, as by the articles of the union they were

undoubtedly entitled to be on the same footing with their brethren of

England; and as the legislature must now be convinced of the necessity

of some such measures, by the consternation lately produced in their

defenceless country, from the threatened invasion of a handful of French

freebooters. These remonstrances had no weight with the majority in

the house of commons, who, either unable or unwilling to make proper

distinctions between the ill and well affected subjects of North

Britain, rejected the bill, as a very dangerous experiment in favour of

a people among whom so many rebellions had been generated and produced.

When the motion was made for the bill’s being committed, a warm debate

ensued, in the course of which many Scottish members spoke in behalf of

their country with great force of argument, and a very laudable spirit

of freedom. Mr. Elliot, in particular, one of the commissioners of the

board of admiralty, distinguished himself by a noble flow of eloquence,

adorned with all the graces of oratory, and warmed with the true spirit

of patriotism. Mr. Oswald, of the treasury, acquitted himself with great

honour on the occasion; ever nervous, steady, and sagacious, independent

though in office, and invariable in pursuing the interest of his

country. It must be owned, for the honour of North Britain, that all her

representatives, except two, warmly contended for this national measure,

which was carried in the negative by a majority of one hundred and six,

though the bill was exactly modelled by the late act of parliament for

the establishment of the militia in England.

Even this institution, though certainly laudable and necessary, was

attended with so many unforeseen difficulties, that every session of

parliament since it was first established has produced new acts for

its better regulation. In April, leave was given to prepare a bill for

limiting, confining, and better regulating the payment of the weekly

allowances made by act of parliament, for the maintenance of families

unable to support themselves during the absence of militia-men embodied,

and ordered out into actual service; as well as for amending and

improving the establishment of the militia, and lessening the number

of officers entitled to pay within that part of Great Britain, called

England. While this bill was under consideration, the house received

a petition from the mayor, aldermen, town-clerk, sheriffs, gentlemen,

merchants, clergy, tradesmen, and others, inhabitants of the ancient

city of Lincoln, representing, That by an act passed relating to the

militia it was provided, that when any militia-men should be ordered

out into actual service, leaving families unable to support themselves

during their absence, the overseers of the parish where such families

reside, should allow them such weekly support as should be prescribed by

any one justice of the peace, which allowance should be reimbursed out

of the county stock. They alleged, that a considerable number of men,

inhabitants of the said city, had entered themselves to serve in the

militia of the county of Lincoln, as volunteers, for several parishes

and persons; yet their families were, nevertheless, supported by the

county stock of the city and county of the city of Lincoln. They took

notice of the bill under deliberation, and prayed that if it should pass

into a law, they might have such relief in the premises, as to the house

should seem meet. Regard was had to this petition in the amendments to

the bill, [535] _[See note 4 G, at the end of this Vol.]_ which passed

through both houses, and received the royal assent by commission. During

the dependence of this bill another was brought in, to explain so much

of the militia act passed in the thirty-first year of his majesty’s

reign, as related to the money to be given to private militia-men, upon

their being ordered out into actual service. By this law it was enacted,

that the guinea, which by the former act was due to every private man

of every regiment or company of militia, when ordered out into actual

service, should be paid to every man that shall afterwards be enrolled

into such regiment or company whilst in actual service; that no man

should be entitled to his clothes for his own use, until he should have

served three years, if unembodied, or one year, if embodied, after the

delivery of the clothes; and that the full pay of the militia should

commence from the date of his majesty’s warrant for drawing them

out. The difficulties which these successive regulations were made to

obviate, will be amply recompenced by the good effects of a national

militia, provided it be employed in a national way, and for national

purposes: but if the militia are embodied, and the different regiments

that compose it are marched from the respective counties to which

they belong; if the men are detained for any length of time in actual

service, at a distance from their families, when they might be

employed at home in works of industry, for the support of their natural

dependents; the militia becomes no other than an addition to, or

augmentation of, a standing army, enlisted for the term of three years;

the labour of the men is lost to the community; they contract the idle

habits and dissolute manner of the other troops; their families are left

as incumbrances on the community; and the charge of their subsistence

is, at least, as heavy as that of maintaining an equal number of regular

forces. It would not, we apprehend, be very easy to account for the

government’s ordering the regiments of militia to march from their

respective counties, and to do duty for a considerable length of time

at a great distance from their own homes, unless we suppose this measure

was taken to create in the people a disgust to the institution of the

militia, which was an establishment extorted from the secretary by

the voice of the nation. We may add, that some of the inconveniencies

attending a militia will never be totally removed, while the persons

drawn by lot for that service are at liberty to hire substitutes; for it

cannot be supposed that men of substance will incur the danger, fatigue,

and damage of service in person, while they can hire among the lowest

class of people mercenaries of desperate fortune and abandoned morals,

who will greedily seize the opportunity of being paid for renouncing

that labour by which they were before obliged to maintain themselves and

their family connexion: it would, therefore, deserve the consideration

of the legislature, whether the privilege of hiring substitutes should

not be limited to certain classes of men, who are either raised by their

rank in life above the necessity of serving in person, or engaged in

such occupations as cannot be intermitted without prejudice to the

commonwealth. It must be allowed, that the regulation in this new act,

by which the families of substitutes are deprived of any relief from the

parish, will not only diminish the burden of the poor’s rates; but also,

by raising the price of mercenaries, oblige a greater number of the

better sort to serve in person. Without all doubt, the fewer substitutes

that are employed, the more dependence may be placed upon the militia

in the preservation of our rights and privileges, and the more will the

number of the disciplined men be increased; because at the expiration

of every three years the lot-men must be changed, and new militia-men

chosen; but the substitutes will, in all probability, continue for life

in the service, provided they can find lot-men to hire them at every

rotation. The reader will forgive our being so circumstantial upon the

regulations of an institution, which we cannot help regarding with a

kind of enthusiastic affection.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

BILL FOR REMOVING THE POWDER MAGAZINE AT GREENWICH.

In the latter end of November, the house of commons received a petition

from several noblemen, gentlemen, and others, inhabitants of East

Greenwich, and places adjacent, in Kent, representing, that in the said

parish, within a quarter of a mile of the town distinguished by a royal

palace, and royal hospital for seamen, there was a magazine, containing

great quantities of gunpowder, frequently to the amount of six thousand

barrels: that besides the great danger which must attend all places of

that kind, the said magazine stood in an open field uninclosed by any

fortification or defence whatsoever, consequently exposed to treachery

and every other accident. They alleged, that if through treachery,

lightning, or any other accident, this magazine should take fire, not

only their lives and properties, but the palace and hospital, the king’s

yards and stores at Deptford and Woolwich, the banks and navigation of

the Thames, with the ships sailing and at anchor in that river, would

be inevitably destroyed, and inconceivable damage would accrue to the

cities of London and Westminster. They, moreover, observed, that the

magazine was then in a dangerous condition, supported on all sides by

props that were decayed at the foundation; that in case it should

fall, the powder would, in all probability, take fire, and produce

the dreadful calamities above recited: they therefore prayed that the

magazine might be removed to some more convenient place, where any

accident would not be attended with such dismal consequences. The

subject of this remonstrance was so pressing and important, that

a committee was immediately appointed to take the affair into

consideration, and procure an estimate for purchasing lands, and

erecting a powder magazine at Purfleet, in Essex, near the banks of the

river, together with a guard-house, barracks, and all other necessary

conveniences. While the report of the committee lay upon the table for

the perusal of the members, Mr. chancellor of the exchequer, by his

majesty’s command, acquainted the house, that the king, having been

informed of the subject matter of the petition, recommended it to the

consideration of the commons. Leave was immediately given to prepare

a bill, founded on the resolutions of the committee; which having been

duly considered, altered, and amended, passed through both houses to the

foot of the throne, where it obtained the royal sanction. The magazine

was accordingly removed to Purfleet, an inconsiderable and solitary

village, where there will be little danger of accident, and where no

great damage would attend an explosion; but in order to render this

possible explosion still less dangerous, it would be necessary to form

the magazine of small distinct apartments, totally independent of each

other, that in case one should be accidentally blown up, the rest might

stand unaffected. The same plan ought to be adopted in the construction

of all combustible stores subject to conflagration. The marine bill and

mutiny bill, as annual regulations, were prepared in the usual form,

passed both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent.

ACT FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE STREETS OF LONDON.

The next affair that engrossed the deliberation of the commons, was a

measure relating to the internal economy of the metropolis. The sheriffs

of London delivered a petition from the lord mayor, aldermen, and

commons, in common council assembled, representing that several streets,

lanes, and passages within the city of London, and liberties thereof,

were too narrow and incommodious for the passing and repassing as well

of foot passengers as of coaches, carts, and other carriages, to the

prejudice and inconvenience of the owners and inhabitants of houses, and

to the great hinderance of business, trade, and commerce. They alleged

that these defects might be remedied, and several new streets opened

within the said city and liberties, to the great ease, safety, and

convenience of passengers, as well as to the advantage of the public in

general, if they, the petitioners, were enabled to widen and enlarge

the narrow streets, lanes, and passages, to open and lay out such new

streets and ways, and to purchase the several houses, buildings, and

grounds which might be necessary for these purposes. They took notice

that there were several houses within the city and liberties, partly

erected over the ground of other proprietors; and others, of which the

several floors or apartments belonged to different persons, so that

difficulties and disputes frequently arose amongst the said several

owners and proprietors, about pulling down or rebuilding the party walls

and premises; that such rebuilding was often prevented or delayed, to

the great injury and inconvenience of those owners who were desirous to

rebuild; that it would therefore be of public benefit, and frequently

prevent the spreading of the fatal effects of fire, if some provision

were made by law, as well for determining such disputes in a summary

way, as for explaining and amending the laws then in being relating to

the building of party-walls. They therefore prayed that leave might

be given to bring in a bill for enabling the petitioners to widen

and enlarge the several streets, lanes, and passages, and to open new

streets and ways to be therein limited and prescribed, as well as for

determining, in a summary way, all disputes arising about the rebuilding

of houses or tenements within the said city and liberties, wherein

several persons have an intermixed property; and for explaining and

amending the laws in being, relating to these particulars. A committee

being appointed to examine the matter of this petition, agreed to a

report, upon which leave was given to prepare a bill, and this was

brought in accordingly. Next day a great number of citizens represented,

in another petition, that the pavement of the city and liberties was

often damaged, by being broken up for the purposes of amending or

new-laying water-pipes belonging to the proprietors of water-works,

and praying that provision might be made in the bill then depending, to

compel those proprietors to make good any damage that should be done to

the pavement by the leaking or bursting of the water-pipes, or opening

the pavement for alterations. In consequence of this representation,

some amendments were made in the bill, which passed through both houses,

and was enacted into a law, under the title of “An act for widening

certain streets, lanes, and passages, within the city of London and

liberties thereof, and for opening certain new streets and ways within

the same, and for other purposes therein mentioned.” [536] _[See note 4

H, at the end of this Vol.]_

BILL RELATIVE TO THE SALE OF FISH, &c.

The inhabitants of Westminster had long laboured under the want of a

fish-market, and complained that the price of this species of provision

was kept up at an exorbitant rate by the fraudulent combination of a few

dealers, who engrossed the whole market at Billingsgate, and destroyed

great quantities of fish, in order to enhance the value of those that

remained. An act of parliament had passed, in the twenty-second year of

his present majesty’s reign, for establishing a free market for the sale

of fish in Westminster; and, seven years after that period, it was found

necessary to procure a second, for explaining and amending the first.

but neither effectually answered the purposes of the legislature. In

the month of January, of the present session, the house took

into consideration a petition of the several fishermen trading to

Billingsgate market, representing the hardships to which they were

exposed by the said acts; particularly forfeitures of vessels and

cargoes, incurred by the negligence of servants who had omitted to make

the particular entries which the two acts prescribed. This petition

being examined by a committee, and the report being made, leave was

given to bring in a new bill, which should contain effectual provision

for the better supplying the cities of London and Westminster with fish,

and for preventing the abuses of the fishmongers. It was intituled, “A

bill to repeal so much of an act passed in the twenty-ninth of George

II. concerning a free market for fish at Westminster, as requires

fishermen to enter their fishing vessels at the office of the searcher

of the customs at Gravesend, and to regulate the sale of fish at the

first hand in the fish-markets of London and Westminster; and to prevent

salesmen of fish buying fish to sell again on their own account; and to

allow bret and turbot, brill and pearl, although under the respective

dimensions mentioned in a former act, to be imported and sold; and to

punish persons who shall take or sell any spawn, brood, or fry of fish,

unsizeable fish, or fish out of season, or smelts under the size of

five inches, and for other purposes.” Though this, and the former bill

relating to the streets and houses of London, are instances that evince

the care and attention of the legislature, even to minute particulars

of the internal economy of the kingdom, we can hardly consider them as

objects of such dignity and importance as to demand the deliberations of

the parliament, but think they naturally fall within the cognizance of

the municipal magistracy. After all, perhaps, the most effectual method

for supplying Westminster with plenty of fish at reasonable rates, would

be to execute with rigour the laws already enacted against forestalling

and regrating, an expedient that would soon dissolve all monopolies and

combinations among the traders; to increase the number of markets in

London and Westminster, and to establish two general markets at the

Nore, one on each side of the river, where the fishing vessels might

unload their cargoes, and return to sea without delay. A number of light

boats might be employed to convey fresh fish from these marts to

London and Westminster, where all the different fish-markets might be

plentifully supplied at a reasonable expense; for it cannot be supposed

that, while the fresh fish are brought up the river in the fishing

smacks themselves, which can hardly save the tides, to Billingsgate,

they will ever dream of carrying their cargoes above bridge, or that

the price of fish can be considerably lowered, while the fishing vessels

lose so much time in running up to Gravesend or Billingsgate.

ACT FOR ASCERTAINING the QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

The annual committee being appointed to inquire what laws were expired

or near expiring, agreed to certain resolutions; upon which a bill was

prepared, and obtained the royal assent, importing a continuation of

several laws, namely, the several clauses mentioned of the acts in

the fifth and eighth of George I. against the clandestine running of

uncustomed goods, except the clauses relating to quarantine; the act

passed in the third of George II. relating to the carrying rice from

Carolina; the act of the seventh of the same reign, re-fating to

cochineal and indigo; and that of the twelfth of George II. so far as

it related to the importation of printed books. There was also a law

enacted, to continue to the twenty-ninth day of September in the year

one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven, an act passed in the twelfth

year of queen Anne, for encouraging the making of sail-cloth, by a duty

of one penny per ell laid upon all foreign-made sails and sail-cloth

imported; and a bounty in the same proportion granted upon all home-made

sail-cloth and canvass fit for or made into sails, and exported; another

act was passed, for continuing certain laws relating to the additional

number of one hundred hackney coaches and chairs, which law was rendered

perpetual. The next law we shall mention was intended to be one of the

most important that ever fell under the cognizance of the legislature:

it was a law that affected the freedom, dignity, and independency of

parliaments. By an act, passed in the ninth year of the reign of queen

Anne, it was provided that no person should be chosen a member of

parliament who did not possess in England or Wales an estate, freehold

or copyhold, for life, according to the following qualifications: for

every knight of a shire six hundred pounds per annum, over and above

what will satisfy all incumbrances; and three hundred pounds per annum,

for every citizen, burgess, and baron of the cinque ports. It was also

decreed, that the return of any person not thus qualified should be

void; and that every candidate should, at the reasonable request of any

other candidate at the time of election, or of two or more persons

who had a right to vote, take an oath prescribed to establish his

qualifications. This restraint was by no means effectual. So many oaths

of different kinds had been prescribed since the revolution, that they

began to lose the effect they were intended to have on the minds of men;

and, in particular, political perjury grew so common, that it was no

longer considered as a crime. Subterfuges were discovered, by means

of which this law relating to the qualification of candidates was

effectually eluded. Those who were not actually possessed of such

estates, procured temporary conveyances from their friends and patrons,

on condition of their being restored and cancelled after the election.

By this scandalous fraud the intention of the legislature was

frustrated, the dignity of parliament prostituted, the example of

perjury and corruption extended, and the vengeance of heaven set at

defiance. Through this infamous channel the ministry had it in their

power to thrust into parliament a set of venal beggars, who, as they

depended upon their bounty, would always be obsequious to their will,

and vote according to direction, without the least regard to the

dictates of conscience, or to the advantage of their country. The

mischiefs attending such a vile collusion, and in particular the undue

influence which the crown must have acquired from the practice, were

either felt or apprehended by some honest patriots, who after divers

unsuccessful efforts, at length presented to the house a bill, importing

that every person who shall be elected a member of the house of commons,

should, before he presumed to take his seat, deliver to the clerk of the

house, at the table, while the commons were sitting, and the speaker in

the chair, a paper, or schedule, signed by himself, containing a rental

or particular of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, whereby he

makes out his qualification, specifying the nature of his estate,

whether messuage, land, rent, tithe, or what else; and if such estate

consists of messuages, lands, or tithes, then specifying in whose

occupation they are; and if in rent, then specifying the names of the

owners or possessors of the lands and tenements out of which such rent

is issuing, and also specifying the parish, township, or precinct and

county, in which the said estate lies, and the value thereof; and

every such person shall, at the same time, also take and subscribe

the following oath, to be fairly written at the bottom of the paper or

schedule: “I, A. B. do swear that the above is a true rental; and that I

truly, and _bona fide_, have such an estate in law or equity, to and

for my own use and benefit, of and in the lands, tenements, or

hereditaments, above described, over and above what will satisfy and

clear all incumbrances that may affect the same; and that such estate

hath not been granted or made over to me fraudulently, on purpose

to qualify me to be a member of this house. So help me God!” It was

provided that the said paper or schedule, with the oath aforesaid,

should be carefully kept by the clerk, to be inspected by the members of

the house of commons, without fee or reward: that if any person elected

to serve in any future parliament, should presume to sit or vote as a

member of the house of commons before he had delivered in such a paper

or schedule, and taken the oath aforesaid, or should not be qualified

according to the true intent or meaning of this act, his election should

be void; and every person so sitting and voting should forfeit a certain

sum to be recovered, by such persons as should sue for the same by

action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, whereon no essoign,

privilege, protection, or wager of law should be allowed, and only one

imparlance: that if any person should have delivered in, and sworn

to his qualification as aforesaid, and taken his seat in the house of

commons, yet at any time after should, during the continuance of such

parliament, sell, dispose of, alien, or any otherwise incumber the

estate, or any part thereof comprised in the schedule, so as to lessen

or reduce the same under the value of the qualification by law directed,

every such person, under a certain penalty, must deliver in a new or

further qualification, according to the true intent and meaning of this

act, and swear to the same, in manner before directed, before he shall

again presume to sit or vote as a member of the house of commons; that

in case any action, suit, or information should be brought, in pursuance

of this act, against any member of the house of commons, the clerk of

the house, shall, upon demand, forthwith deliver a true and attested

copy of the paper or schedule so delivered in to him as aforesaid by

such member to the plaintiff or prosecutor, or his attorney or agent,

on paying a certain sum for the same; which, being proved a true copy,

shall be admitted to be given in evidence upon the trial of any issue

in any such action. Provided always, that nothing contained in this act

shall extend to the eldest son or heir apparent of any peer or lord of

parliament, or of any person qualified to serve as knight of the shire,

or to the members for either of the universities in that part of Great

Britain called England, or to the members of that part of Great Britain

called Scotland. Such was the substance of the bill, as originally

presented to the house of commons; but it was altered in such a manner

as we are afraid will fail in answering the salutary purposes for which

it was intended by those who brought it into the house. Notwithstanding

the provisions made in the act as it now stands, any minister or patron

may still introduce his pensioners, clerks, and creatures into the

house, by means of the old method of temporary conveyance, though the

farce must now be kept up till the member shall have delivered in

his schedule, taken his oath, and his seat in parliament; then he may

deliver up the conveyance, or execute a re-conveyance, without running

any risk of losing his seat, or of being punished for his fraud

and perjury. The extensive influence of the crown, the general

corruptibility of individuals, and the obstacles so industriously thrown

in the way of every scheme contrived to vindicate the independency

of parliaments, must have produced very mortifying reflections in the

breast of every Briton warmed with the genuine love of his country.

He must have perceived that all the bulwarks of the constitution were

little better than buttresses of ice, which would infallibly thaw before

the heat of ministerial influence, when artfully concentrated; that

either a minister’s professions of patriotism were insincere; or his

credit insufficient to effect any essential alteration in the unpopular

measures of government; and that, after all, the liberties of the nation

could never be so firmly established, as by the power, generosity, and

virtue of a patriot king. This inference could not fail to awake the

remembrance of that amiable prince, whom fate untimely snatched from the

eager hopes and warm affection of a whole nation, before, he had it

in his power to manifest and establish his favourite maxim, “That a

monarch’s glory was inseparably connected with the happiness of his

people.” [538] _[See note 4 I, at the end of this Vol.]_

{1760}

ACT FOR CONSOLIDATING ANNUITIES GRANTED IN 1759.

On the first day of February, a motion was made, and leave given, to

bring in a bill for enabling his majesty to make leases and copies of

offices, lands, and hereditaments, parcel of his duchy of Cornwall, or

annexed to the same; accordingly it passed through both houses without

opposition; and enacted that all leases and grants made, or to be made,

by his majesty, within seven years next ensuing, in or annexed to the

said duchy, under the limitations therein mentioned, should be good and

effectual in law against his majesty, his heirs, and successors, and

against all other persons that should hereafter inherit the said duchy,

either by an act of parliament, or any limitation whatsoever. This act

appears the more extraordinary as the prince of Wales, who has a sort

of right by prescription to the duchy of Cornwall, was then of age, and

might have been put in possession of it by the passing of a patent. The

house having perused an account of the produce of the fund established

for paying annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundred and

fifty-nine, with the charge on that fund on the fifth day of January

in the succeeding year, it appeared that there had been a considerable

deficiency in the said fund on the fifth day of July preceding, and

this had been made good out of the sinking fund, by a resolution of the

seventh of February, already particularized. They therefore instructed

the committee of ways and means to consider so much of the annuity and

lottery act passed in the preceding session as related to the three per

centum annuities, amounting to the sum of seven millions five hundred

and ninety thousand pounds, granted in the year one thousand seven

hundred and fifty-nine; and also to consider so much of the said act as

related to the subsidy of poundage upon certain goods and merchandise to

be imported into this kingdom, and the additional inland duty on

coffee and chocolate. The committee having taken these points into

deliberation, agreed to the two resolutions we have already mentioned

with respect to the consolidation; and a bill was brought in for adding

those annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundred

and fifty-nine, to the joint stock of throe per centum annuities

consolidated by the acts of the twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth,

twenty-ninth, and thirty-second years of his majesty’s reign, and for

several duties therein mentioned, to the sinking fund. The committee

was afterwards empowered to receive a clause for cancelling such

lottery tickets as were made forth in pursuance of an act passed in the

thirtieth year of his majesty’s reign, and were not then disposed of: a

clause for this purpose was accordingly added to the bill, which passed

through both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent at

the end of the session.

BILL FOR SECURING MONIES FOR THE USE OF GREENWICH HOSPITAL.

On the twenty-ninth day of April, lord North presented to the house a

bill for encouraging the exportation of rum and spirits of the growth,

produce, and manufacture of the British sugar-plantations, from Great

Britain, and of British spirits made from molasses; a bill which in a

little time acquired the sanction of the royal assent. Towards the end

of April, admiral Town-shend presented a bill for the more effectual

securing the payment of such prize and bounty-monies as were

appropriated to the use of Greenwich hospital, by an act passed in the

twenty-ninth year of his majesty’s reign. As by that law no time was

limited, or particular method prescribed, for giving notifications

of the day appointed for the payment of the shares of the prizes

and bounty-money; and many agents had neglected to specify, in the

notification given in the London Gazette for payment of shares of prizes

condemned in the courts of admiralty in Groat Britain, the particular

day or time when such payments were to commence, whereby it was rendered

difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the time when the hospital at

Greenwich became entitled to the unclaimed shares, of consequence could

not enjoy the full benefit of the act; the bill now prepared imported,

that, from and after the first day of September in the present year, all

notifications of the payment of the shares of prizes taken by any of

his majesty’s ships of war, and condemned in Great Britain, and from and

after the first day of February, in the year one thousand seven hundred

and sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares and prizes

taken and condemned in any other of his majesty’s dominions in Europe,

or in any of the British plantations in America; and from and after the

twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred

and sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares of prizes

taken and condemned in any other of his majesty’s dominions, shall be

respectively given and published in the following manner:--If the

prize be condemned in any court of admiralty in Great Britain, such

notification, under the agent’s hand, shall be published in the London

Gazette; and if condemned in any court of admiralty in any other of his

majesty’s dominions, such notification shall be published in like manner

in the Gazette, or other newspaper of public authority, of the island or

place where the prize is condemned; and if there shall be no Gazette,

or such newspaper, published there, then in some or one of the public

newspapers of the place; and such agents shall deliver to the collector,

customer, or searcher, or his lawful deputy; and if there shall be no

such officer, then to the principal officer or officers of the place

where the prize is condemned, or to the lawful deputy of such principal

officers, two of the Gazettes or other newspapers in which such

notifications are inserted; and if there shall not be any public

newspapers in any such island or place, the agent shall give two such

notifications in writing, under his hand; and every such collector, or

other officer as aforesaid, shall subscribe his name on both the said

Gazettes, newspapers, or written notifications; and, by the first

ship which shall sail from thence to any port of Great Britain, shall

transmit to the treasurer or deputy-treasurers of the said royal

hospital one of the said notifications, with his name so subscribed, to

be there registered; and shall faithfully preserve and keep the other,

with his name thereon subscribed, in his own custody; and in every

notification as aforesaid the agent shall specify his place of abode,

and the precise day of the month and year appointed for the payment of

the respective shares to the captors; and all notifications with respect

to prizes condemned in Great Britain, shall be published in the London

Gazette three days at least before any share of such prize shall be

paid; and with respect to prizes condemned in any other part of his

majesty’s dominions, such notifications shall be delivered to the said

collector, or other officers as aforesaid, three days at least before

any share of such prizes shall be paid. It was likewise enacted, that

the agents for the distribution of bounty-bills should insert, and

publish under their hands, in the London Gazette, three days at least

before payment, public notifications of the day and year appointed for

such payment, and also insert therein their respective places of abode.

The bill, even as it now stands, is liable to several objections. It may

be dangerous to leave the money of the unclaimed shares so long as three

years in the hands of the agent, who, together with his securities,

may prove insolvent before the expiration of that term: then the time

prescribed to the sailors, within which their claim is limited, appears

to be too short, when we consider that they may be so circumstanced,

turned over to another ship, and conveyed to a distant part of the

globe, that they shall have no opportunity to claim payment; and should

three years elapse before they could make application to the agent,

they would find their bounty or prize money appropriated to the use of

Greenwich hospital; nay, should they die in the course of the voyage, it

would be lost to their heirs and executors, who, being ignorant of their

title, could not possibly claim within the time limited.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

ACT IN FAVOUR OF GEOEGE KEITH, &c.

A committee having been appointed to inquire into the original standards

of weights and measures in the kingdom of England, to consider the laws

relating thereto, and to report their observations thereupon, together

with their opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining and

enforcing uniform and certain standards of weights and measures, they

prepared copies, models, patterns, and multiples, and presented them to

the house; then they were locked up by the clerk of the house; and lord

Garysfort presented a bill, according to order, for enforcing uniformity

of weights and measures to the standards by law to be established; but

this measure, which had been so long in dependence, was not yet fully

discussed, and the standards and weights were reserved to another

occasion. A law was made for reviving and continuing so much of the act

passed in the twenty-first year of his majesty’s reign as relates to the

more effectual trial and punishment of high-treason in the highlands

of Scotland; and also for continuing two other acts passed in the

nineteenth and twenty-first years of his majesty’s reign, so far as they

relate to the more effectual disarming the highlands of Scotland,

and securing the peace thereof; and to allow further time for making

affidavits of the execution of articles or contracts of clerks to

attorneys or solicitors, and filing thereof. The king having been

pleased to pardon George Keith, earl-marshal of Scotland, who had been

attainted for rebellion in the year one thousand seven hundred and

sixteen, the parliament confirmed this indulgence, by passing an act to

enable the said George Keith, late earl-marshal, to sue or entertain

any action or suit, notwithstanding his attainder, and to remove any

disability in him, by reason of the said attainder, to take or inherit

any real or personal estate that might or should hereafter descend

or come to him, or which he was entitled to in reversion or remainder

before his attainder. This nobleman, universally respected for his

probity and understanding, had been employed as ambassador to the court

of France by the king of Prussia, and was actually at this juncture in

the service of that monarch, who in all probability interceded with the

king of England in his behalf. When his pardon had passed the seals,

he repaired to London, and was presented to his majesty, by whom he was

very graciously received.

SESSION CLOSED.

These, and a good number of other bills of less importance, both private

and public, were passed into laws by commission, on the twenty-second

day of May, when the lord-keeper of the great seal closed the session

with a speech to both houses. He began with an assurance that his

majesty looked back on their proceedings with entire satisfaction. He

said, the duty and affection which they had expressed for the king’s

person and government, the zeal and unanimity they had showed in

maintaining the true interest of their country, could only be equalled

by what his majesty had formerly experienced from his parliament. He

told them it would have given his majesty the most sensible pleasure,

had he been able to assure them that his endeavours to promote a general

peace had met with more suitable returns. He observed that his majesty,

in conjunction with his good brother and ally the king of Prussia, had

chosen to give their enemies proofs of this equitable disposition, in

the midst of a series of glorious victories; an opportunity the most

proper to take such a step with dignity, and to manifest to all Europe

the purity and moderation of his views. After such a conduct, he said,

the king had the comfort to reflect that the further continuance of the

calamities of war could not be imputed to him or his allies; that he

trusted in the blessing of heaven upon the justice of his arms, and upon

those ample means which the zeal of the parliament in so good a cause

had wisely put into his hands; that his future successes in carrying on

the war would not fall short of the past; and that, in the event, the

public tranquillity would be restored on solid and durable foundations.

He acquainted them that his majesty had taken the most effectual care

to augment the combined army in Germany; and at the same time to keep

up such a force at home as might frustrate any attempts of the enemy to

invade these kingdoms; such attempts as had hitherto ended only in their

own confusion. He took notice that the royal navy was never in a more

flourishing and respectable condition; and the signal victory obtained

last winter over the French fleet on their own coast, had given lustre

to his majesty’s arms, fresh spirit to his maritime forces, and

reduced the naval strength of France to a very low ebb. He gave them to

understand that his majesty had disposed his squadrons in such a manner

as might best conduce to the annoyance of his enemies; to the defence

of his own dominions, both in Europe and America; to the preserving and

pursuing his conquests, as well as to the protection of the trade of

his subjects, which he had extremely at heart. He told the commons, that

nothing could relieve his majesty’s royal mind, under the anxiety he

felt for the burdens of his faithful subjects, but the public-spirited

cheerfulness with which their house had granted him such large supplies,

and his conviction that they were necessary for the security and

essential interest of his kingdoms; he therefore returned them his

hearty thanks for these supplies, and assured them they should be duly

applied to the purposes for which they had been given. Finally, he

recommended to both houses the continuance of that union and good

harmony which he had observed with so much pleasure, and from which

he had derived such important effects. He desired they would study to

promote these desirable objects, to support the king’s government, and

the good order of their respective counties, and consult their own real

happiness and prosperity.

The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of George II. · 第 28 / 32 章

In the month of February, the merchants of Amsterdam having received