The bill for granting du ties on the exportation of coals, &c. The bill for fupplying the export trade to Africa with coarse calicoes, &c. The bill for encouraging the importation of bugles. The bill for granting annuities and a lottery out of the finking fund. The bill for augmenting the income of matters in chancery, &c. The bill for repealing the laws relating to the width and length of woollen cloth, in the county of York, and preferving the credit of the mafters of the faid manufa&ture, &c. And to feveral other public and private bills. The fpecial verdict in 13th. the caufe between the Rev. Mr. Entick, and Mr. Carrington and other meffengers, on the point whether a fecretary of state was a juftice of the peace, within the meaning of the act of the 25th of the late reign, was very learnedly argued in the court of Common Pleas, by Mr. Serjeant Leigh, on the behalf of the defendants; and the fame is to be argued again next term by Mr. Serjeant Glynn, on behalf of the plaintiff, and fome of the king's ferjeants on the part of the defendants. This cafe has fome refemblance to that of Mr. Beardmore and his clerk. Mr. Blake, fuperintendant of the land carriage fithery, declared his intention before the Society of Arts, &c. of declining that now hopeless though most laudable project, the fuccefs thereof having been fruftrated by those for whose benefit it was undertaken. It was then moved, that the fociety fhould return Mr. Blake thanks for his care in conducting this fcheme; but after fome warm oppofition to the paying of that compliment to him, on account of his not having met with the defired fuccefs, Mr. Blake, to prevent further altercation, declined accepting it. His majefty went to the houfe of peers, and gave 15th. the royal affent to the following bills. The bill to provide for the adminiftration of the government, in cafe the crown fhould defcend to any of the children of his majefty being under eighteen years of age. The bill to prevent the illicit trade now carrying on to and from the Ifle of Man. The bill to apply the fum granted to pay and clothe the militia, for the fervice of the present year. And to feveral other public and private bills. A dreadful fire broke out in Narrow-Street, Shadwell, which confumed upwards of fixty houses, and burnt fo rapidly that few of the the inhabitants had time to fave A numerous body of the their effects. It is fuppofed, that clergy within the bills of 21ft. this dreadful calamity happened mortality met at Sion college, and by the villainy of fome perfons entered into a fubfcription for the who intended to defraud the in- relief of widows and children of furance offices. deceased clergymen within thofe At the anniversary fer- limits. It were to be wished that 16th. mon and feast of the Afy- fchemes of this kind extended to lum charity,the collection amount- all ranks and places. ed to 2191. 65. gd. 19th. About cleven in the morning, an earthquake was felt in the Pyrennean mountains, which divide France and Spain. The firft fhock, which extended feventeen leagues round, lafted near a minute with great violence, and terrified the inhabitants to fuch a degree, that they ran out of their houses, and the priefis abandoned the altars where they were performing divine fervice, left they should be buried in the ruins of their churches. The hepherds left their flocks, and ran about in defpair, not know ing where to find shelter from the falling rocks. Several churches were damaged, the furniture in fome houfes thrown down and broken, and a great number of cattle killed. This fhock was followed by feven lefs violent ones, and at very different intervals, within the space of 24 hours. Upwards of 500 fellows affembled in a riotous manner near Battle Bridge, the bottom of Gray's Inn-Lane, infulted feveral perfons paffing by both on foot and horfeback, and under pre tence of their being diftreffed weavers, extorted money from feveral. But it appeared at length, that no weavers were amongt them. At the anniversary meeting of the governors of the Middlesex hofpital at Almack's great room, a new wing was proposed to be built, eftimated at 33621. 149. towards which 1690l. 145. has been already generously fubfcribed; and it is hoped, that the extenfion of this most useful charity will meet with the further encouragement of the benevolent and humane. A blacksmith at Redriffe, fit ting at dinner with his family, was killed by a cannon ball, from a cannon which the people of a neighbonring foundery had put into the furnace, without examining whether it was charged or not. 22d. Fifteen coach and faddle horfes, from his majefty's ftud at Hanover, were brought to the Mews at Charing-Crofs. His majefty's mott gracious z3d. letter of the 20th of April laft, to the general affembly of the church of Scotland,was read before the right honourable the earl of Glasgow, his majesty's high commiffioner and the mafter of that venerable body. In this letter his majefty tells them, "We need not recommend the avoiding of all contention and unedifying debates, to those who have no other object in their view than the fuppreffing licentioufnefs, immorality, and vice, and who are actuated by no other other zeal, than that which tends to the advancement of true religion, and confequently to the general peace and happinets of fociety. No religion can be fincere which does not require a confcien. tious difcharge of the duties it preferibes. No government can be fteady, which is not founded upon maxims of public liberty under the influence and reftriction of wholefome laws. The purity of the Chriftian faith is diftinguithed by the first; the happiness of the British conftitution is derived from the fecond. It is by infufing into the minds of the people committed to your care, these civil and religious principles, fo effential to their happiness, both here and hereafter, that you will be effec. tually intitled to our favour." His majefty went to the 25th. houfe of peers, and gave the royal affent to the following bills. The bill for granting a certain fum out of the finking fund, for the fervice of the prefent year. The bill to amend the laws re. lating to the militia. The bill to prohibit the importation of foreign manufactured filk ftockings, gloves and mitts. The bill to prevent the inconveniences arifing from the prefent method of ifluing notes and bills in Scotland. The bill to alter the duties on gum fenega and gum arabic, to confine the import to Great Britain, and to lay a duty on the exportation thereof. The bill for better preferving the public roads throughout the kingdom. The bill to amend the acts for paving the city and liberties of Weftmintier. The bill for regulating the woollen manufactory in Yorkshire. The bill for the relief of infolvent debtors. [From the end of the former act, to the commencement of this, there is an interval of no more than one year, three quarters, and fix days, the thortett period between the paffing two infolvent acts ever known in this kingdom.] The bill to enable his majesty, with confent of the privy council, to prohibit the exportation of corn, during the recefs of parliament. The bill to allow the free importation of corn, and to difcontinue the bounty on corn exported. The bill to redeem one fourth part of certain annuities. The bill to enlarge the fund for paying the judges falaries. And to feveral other public and private bills After which, his majefty was pleased to put an end to the feflion by a moft gracious fpeech, which the reader will find among our State Papers. By the bill for remedying the inconveniences of the prefent method of iffuing notes in Scotland, no bank or banker can iffue notes after the 15th of May, 1766, containing optional claufes ; but fuch optional notes as are then in the circle may freely pass from hand to hand during any after period, and are as good, and intitled to as ready payment as if they were payable on demand, All notes, after the paffing of this act, are liable to the fame diligence, Higence, if not either paid or marked immediately on prefent ing, as if they were bills of exchange; and one fingle protett narrating the numbers, dates, and fums of each note, with a copy of one note, is fufficient to raise a horning for the whole fum. No bank or banker can iffue notes under 20s. after the first of June next. But fuch of these, as are then on the circle, may freely pafs from hand to hand, until the first of June 1766, and are intitled to as ready payment as if they were for larger fums, during any time hereafter. Hence, thofe who confider any fmail notes as of fervice to themselves or benefit to the country, will circulate them fo as they do not return upon the iffuer; becanfe they can never afterwards be fent back to the circle. Several objections have been raifed to this bill; and as paper credit is a thing of great importance, and of a very delicate nature, the reader may not be difpleafed to know them. First, the abolishing of the optional claufe will, it is faid, occafion runs on all the banks, which they are by no means in a condition to anfwer; and the limitting of the quantum of thefe notes to fums not less than 20s. will spread an univerfal diftrefs all over the country. In the remote parts of Scotland, the feat of the linen manufacture, the want of filver had become a great interruption to bufinefs, which was in a great measure remedied by thefe little notes, an incredible number of which has been iffued for that purpose: if thefe, there fore, are fuddenly abolished, the paper credit of Scotland will receive at once its death's wound. The value expreffed in every note is due by fomebody to the banks; if the banks are called upon to pay fuch notes, they have no other method of answering the demand than by forcing it out of their debtors; fo that it is not the banks, but the inhabitants of the country that will fuffer the diftrefs; and one may fafely aver, that there is not a fingle man of Scotland who will not find himself involved in the calamity. Every man muft, in that event, expect to be profecuted for every thilling he owes, and to meet with infolvency where money is due to him. Where nobody has the means of paying, it will be in vain to call upon tenants for rents; they themselves will be profecuted and. imprisoned for their own particu lar debts, or their engagement for others, a fitaation too common in Scotland. The expectations of thofe who hope to receive money where they now receive notes, are vain; the money does not exift in that country; and till time and patience has brought it back, they muft expect to receive nothing but excufes. Ended the feffions at the OldBailey, when a fervant-maid, for robbing her miftrefs, received fentence of death; twenty-three to be transported for seven years, two for fourteen years; and one was burnt in the hand. Was tried in his majefty's court of King's Bench, Westminster, an action brought by a captain in the 95th regiment of foot, against a tradef tradefman, for a groundlefs and malicious profecution for murder, on which charge the officer was confined near two months in the Gatehoufe, Weftminfter, and afterwards obliged to furrender him felf at the affizes held for the county of Cork in Ireland, in April 1764, when, no profecutor appearing against him, he was acquitted. The jury, after a trial of feven hours, brought in a verdiet for the plaintiff with 400l. damages. Some days ago, a fhock gift. of an earthquake was felt in Tiano and Migniano in the Terra di Lavora, between 30 and 40 miles from Naples. At Migniano it was fo violent as to drive out the inhabitants; three houfes were thrown down, and two churches much damaged. About the fame time the tides rofe fo high; in the neighbour hood of Cantou, in China, that 4000 houfes were fwept away, and a whole city, in the next province, where the waters rofe thirty feet, was fwallowed up with 10,000 of its inhabitants. It is very remarkable, that we had fearce done exporting wheat to foreign parts, when the Dutch and Flemith began to pour in upon us, fo that bread in London was fuddenly lowered, the 21ft inftant, ad. in the peck; fhips with wheat having arrived in the Thames by the 17th, in order to wait the port of London being opened. The extraordinary duty laid upon coals exported to any other than his majesty's dominions, bas likewife contributed to leffen the diftreffes of the poor, who, in the mean time, were relieved dif ferent ways in different places. At Lyme in Dorfetthire fome gen. tlemen of the corporation imported a cargo of wheat, and fold it at prime coft to the poor, who had liberty to grind it at the townmills, without any expence, till it thould fall to four fhillings a bufhel. At Bristol, they had rice diftrîbuted amongst them. In London feveral thoufand journeymen weavers, with their wives and children, were relieved by a plentiful collection. But however laudable these methods of relieving the diftreffes of the poor may be, perhaps the method taken by the university of Cambridge to prevent it is more fo. The vice-chancellor of that univerfity, and the mayor of the town, have directed the churchwardens and overfeers of the poor of the feveral parishes in that place, to inform the poor that are fpinners, that the family who fhall produce the greateft quantity and beft quality of fpun wool, to the mafter of the workhoufe in that town, fhall be entitled to the premium of 40s. the fecond in degree 30s. the third 20s. and the fourth los. to be paid at Christmas, and a regifter to be kept for that pur pofe; and as a farther encouragement to fuch families who shall diftinguish themselves by their induftry, if any of them have a child to put out apprentice, and can procure a mafter or mistress of good character, the vice chancellor and the mayor will give an or der to the treasurer for money suf, ficient for that purpose. Two new machines for raising water, one invented by Mr. Charles Douglas Bowden, deputy-marthal of |