there, they fent frigates to drive them away, and I believe fometimes took them. But now as both these places are particularly men tioned in the treaty as ceded to the French, and they being in poffeffion of all the other places that produce any gum, they will have the entire monopolization of that trade to the great prejudice of the English, who will now be excluded from that trade entirely. The river Gambia produces no gum at all, but it furnishes a great number of flaves, and plenty of wax and ivory, yet as fort James (which by the bye is razed to the ground) is the only place in that river mentioned in the preliminaries, to be in the poffion of the English, without taking notice of Albreda, a former French fettlement there, I think the French will maintain that place, and as they are able to underfel us in many trading articles wanted in that country, they will alfo have a great part of that trade.

The papers mention, that the Prime Mi

nifter faid in parliament, that he preferred Senegambia to Senegal, and his reafons for it were, that the latter had a bar across its entrance, and the former none. From this circumftance I conclude that he meant the river Gambia, which he called, I fuppose, by miftake Senegambia. For Senegambia is the name of the whole province, which extends all along the fea-coalt from Cape Blanco to Cape Rogue, and includes all the before mertioned places, and both the rivers Senegal and Gambia with many others. This vast tract of land received this denomination by an aft of parliament, I believe, in the year 1755, when government took Senegal and Gambia out of the hands of the African committee, and made a province of it, with a rivil and military effablethment. The word Senegambia seems to be composed of the names of the two principal rivers in that province, viz. Segal and Gambia, joined together with the omiffion of a few letters.

HOUSE of COMMON S.

TH

Thursday, April 3,

HIS day having been appointed for the further hearing of evidence on the bill against

SIR THOMAS RUMBOLD. Mr. Rigby expreffed a with, that in the préfent fituation of the Houfe, when not One of the Cabinet Minifters could fit in it, and when fo many members were on the eve of vacating their feats, in confequence of their different appointments, the learned Lord would not prets the bufinefs for a few days, for if it fhould go forward in their abfence, he did not know how they could in their judicial capacity, decide upon evidence which they had not

heard.

The Lord Advocate joked a little at the expence of the Cabinet Minifters and their friends in their judicial capacity, by faying that it would be rather ftrange that the juftice of the nation fhould ftand full, till Lord Chief Juftice Fox, Lord Chief Juftice North, Lord Chief Juftice John Cavendish, Lord Chief Juftice Burke, Lord Chief Juftice Montague, and the other Lord Chief Justices should have kifled hands, and be again feared in the Houfe. After a fhort converfation, it was refolved, on the motion of Mr. Rigby, that the further proceedings on the bill fhould be adjourned till to-morrow fe'nnight.

HOUSE of LORD S.

Friday, April 4.

The Houfe went into the further con-i fideration of

BAYNTUN'S DIVORCE BILL,

Mr.

When Mr. Johnfon, who had married Mr. Cooper's fifter, appeared against the bill-After expatiating on fome little altercations that he had been witness to between Lady Maria and Mr. Bayntun, in confequence of his charging her with having an improper attachment for Mr. Cooper; he depofed, that Mr. Bayntun, had come from town to his houfe, at Bromham, on the 11th or 13th of December 1751, where he, Johnfon and his wife, were on a viti, and appeared very much offended at finding Mr. Cooper there, having forbid him his houfe before he went to town. Cooper made fome excufe, with which Mr. Bayntun appeared fatisfied; they all fupped, and breakfafted together the next morning in perfect harmony, after breakfaft the witnefs went into the garden, where he had been a very little time before Mr. Bayntun and his brother, the Rev. Henry Bayntun came alfo : Mr. Bayntun foon went in, and his brother followed : he then faw Mr. Bayntun come towards the window, looking into the garden, and appeared to be in very great agitation. He went into the parlour to find out what was F 2

the

intrude upon their Lordships a few moments, in order to fet a matter right, which otherwife, according to the depofition given by Johnson, might be mifconftrued to his fon's difadvantage. It was with refpect to the ten guineas that Henry Bayntun had given to Cooper. Cooper was his grandion, he was likewife his ward, and of courfe, he had like moft guardians, frequently fupplied him with money. On the night his fon left his own houfe, and came to his, he was greatly diftreffed, which diftrefs Sir Edward moft pathetically defcribed, and had been imprudent enough to leave Cooper behindthis Sir Edward no fooner learnt, than he difpatched a note to his fon Harry, who was likewife there, to order Cooper to quit Bromham-place immediately: that in the morning he thought the young fellow might be without money, or not have fufficient to defray the expences he had incurred for his horfes, &c. therefore had fent him the ten guineas, that he might not have an excuse for remaining near the place.

Rev. Henry Bayntun, corroborated this part of Sir Edward's declaration, and further obferved, that what Johnfon had faid with respect to Cooper's marrying Lady Maria, and that Mr. Bayntun had requefted them to fleep together that night, was abfolutely falfe, no fuch converfation having paffed. Mr. Bayntun had indeed faid, that as he fhould quit his houfe immediately, the coach &c. fhould be confidered as her's while the remained there; that he had likewife addreffed her on her infidelity, and faid, that having dishonoured his bed, the ought no longer to keep the pledge of their union, upon which, fhe drew off her wedding ring, and put it upon his finger, while he was abforbed in tears. The reason he supposed for Johnfon's oppofition to his brother's obtaining legal redreis, was, that by the interference of this witnefs, Cooper had promifed to give him a little eftate, as fome fupport for his fifter, whom Johnfon had married; but which, in the prefent fituation of affairs, he might conclude, he should not be able to obtain.

Rev. John Bayntun, was likewife prefent during the whole time Johnfon fpoke of, and pofitively declared, as his brother had done, that the whole was falfe-he mentioned likewife Mr. Bayntun's requefting Lady Maria to give him back her wedding ring, with this little addition, that as the put it on his finger, he burst into

tears, and faid, there it fhould remain, and go with him to his grave.*

The witneffes were then ordered to withdraw, and on motion, the bill was ordered to be referred to a Committee on Wednesday next.

Adjourned to Tuesday the 8th.

For the whole of the evidence on BAYN, TUN'S DIVORCE in the Doctors Commons fee laft Magazine pages 463 10 469.

HOUSE of COMMON S.

Friday, April 4.

Samuel Eftwick, Efq. took his feat, on his re-election for Eaftbury.

New writs were moved for and ordered. For Carlisle, in the room of Lord Surry; Saltash, in the room of Sir Grey Cooper; Higham Ferrers, in the room of Fredric Montague, Efq. appointed Lords of the Treatury.

For the University of Cambridge, in the room of the Hon. John Townthend, appointed Lord of the Admiralty.

For Yarmouth, in the room of the Right Hon. Charles Townshend, appointed Treafurer of the Navy.

For Malton, in the room of the Right Ho. Edmund Burke, appointed Paymafter General.

For Woodstock, in the room of the Right Hon. William Eden, appointed one of the Vice Treaturers of Ireland.

The Lord Advocate gave notice that on Monday fe'dnight, he would move for

Had Shakespeare flood the other day at the bar of the Houfe of Lords, he would have faid," that every circumilance brought to institute a collufion, were proofs againd it."

Mr. Andrew Bayntua's agitation of mind on the matter being revealed to him, and on Lady Maria and Mr. Cooper's denial of it,— the time given by the interruption of the fervarts for his allion to fubfide, and the calm

which enfurd when the confeflion was made of the crime after dinner-his tenderness for his wife, returning upon him-his demanding the wedding ring-and his despair, upon perceiving her cold refignation of it;-thefe were inimitable ftrokes, and fhewed the

human heart, as that great mafter drew it. M. Bayntun faw no ho e r maining—“ ()thello's occupation gene."-The house-the coach-the lady-every thing was to be given up. Are not thefe facts, like proofs of holy writ?

N. B. The vox populi is fuch, that the lovers never appear, but under the execrations of all their neighbours.

The Committee after having been fworn, withdrew to their room, chofe Mr. Elwes chairman, and adjourned till ten o'clock to-morrow morning.

Mr. W. Pitt in confequence of the queftion put yesterday by Sir William Cunninghame, gave notice, that on the 7th of May he would fubmit to the House a propofition for reforming the state of reprefentation in that Houfe: and in order to procure a full attendance of members for the difcuffion of so important a fubject, he moved, that the Houfe be called over on the 6th of May, and that the Speaker do fend Circular Letters to the different High Sheriffs, to warn the members returned from their respective counties, to attend their duty in Parliament on that day.

This motion paffed without oppofition.

HOUSE of LORD S.

Wednesday, April 9.

BAYNTUN'S DIVORCE BILL. Lord King moved, that the order of the day be read.

The order for going into a Committee on Mr. Bayntun's Divorce bill being read accordingly.

Lord Mansfield as Speaker, put the queftion," that the Houfe do adjourn, during pleasure," for that purpose.

A difficulty immediately arofe, in confequence of the judgment and proceedings of the ecclefiaftica! Court being called for. Lord Thurlow faid, a grofs error had obtainded in form of their proceedings upon bills fimilar to the prefent. In order to prove that a fuit had been inftituted in the Commons for a divorce a menfa et thoro, and that judgment of divorce had been there pronounced, the original fentence of the Ecclefiaftical Court was brought and exhibited, whereas a fworn copy of that sentence ought to be produced. The neceffity for having a fworn copy, rather than the original fentence, his lordship ftated to be this; their lordfhips well knew, that every part of the written evidence exhibited at the bar ought to be put into the poffeffion of the Houfe, there to remain as a document of their proceedings upon fuch bills as are now under confideration; whereas, by the practice that had obtained, the parties produced the disjunctive fentence of the Court in the Commons, and neceffarily were obliged to fubduct it immediately.

This remark gave rife to fome little de

bate. The peers in general were of opinion with Lord Thurlow, that an attefted copy of the judgment of the Ecclefiaftical Court ought to be produced at the bar, and delivered in to the table as an effential part of the evidence, upon which the Houfe were enabled to give their vote either for or against such a bill as the prefent. Some one lord, however, talked of making an order for the proper officer to produce fuch an attefted copy of the fentence of the Court in the Commons, which again called up

Lord Thurlow, who faid, there was no occafion whatever for mentioning an order to the proper officers to produce any fuch evidence; it lay with the parties making an application to the Houfe to pafs fuch a bill as the prefent, to bring to the bar, the fpecies of evidence he had defcribed, and if they did not, their evidence would be incomplete and inadequate.

Lord Bathurst proposed adjourning the Committee to fome fhort day, in order to give the parties time to produce the fort of evidence required; and he defired it to be understood by them, that the production of it lay wholly with themselves, the Houfe having no occasion to make an order for it.

Lord Sondes faid, that during the whole time he had fat in Parliament, he had never before heard the evidence now called for, required. He defired to know what there was more peculiar in the nature of the bill in queftion, than in any other, that made a greater nicety of proceeding neceffary?

Lord Thurlow rofe again, and faid, he flattered himself the noble lord did not imagine he was peculiarly defirous of making the proceeding of their lordships upon this bill more ftrict than upon any other; the fact was, he had wifhed to fee the fentence and the proceedings of the Court in the Commons, and imagining that they had been produced and delivered in as a matter of course, he had a few days fince fent down to the Clerk for them; when, to his utter aftonishment, he learnt, that they were not before the Houfe. This led him to the difcovery of the error that had crept into their practice; an error, which, through mere inadvertency, had efcaped his notice all the time he had the honour to fit upon the woolfack, or he fhould undoubtedly have mentioned it earlier, for the purpose of having it corrected. At prefent it lay with their lordships to confider and deter