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in Wych- guineas for killing the greatest number of rats in one year, not being a rat-catcher by profefion, viz. 482.

his dwelling house, street; John Carr, for rebbing George Worthy, near Kentington Gravel-Pits, of fome money, and a cane mounted with filver; and Andrew Breeme was convicted of fetting his houfe on fire in Gianville-street, Rathbone-place. For the purpose of determining a point of law, the jury found a fpecial verdict, as follows: that the prifoner wilfully and maliciously fet on fire and burnt the house; that the faid house was on leafe to the prifoner for the term of three years from Mr. Tuppin, who was poffeffed of it for a term of 99 years under Mr. Bolton. The twelve judges will have to determine whether, under these circumftances, the prifoner has or not committed a felony.

One Read, a coachman, and one Smith, a plaifterer, ftood in the pillory, St. Margaret's Hill, for unnatural practices; the former of whom perithing before the time expired, owing to the feverity of the mob, the fame was taken notice of in the Houfe of Commons. The Attorney - General was defired to profecute the officer whofe bufinefs it was to fee the fentence of the law executed,, and a hint thrown out for a new law to alter the mode of punish

ment.

At a meeting of the Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture in the East Riding of York, honorary premiums were adjudged to Chriftopher Sykes, Rt. Grimfton, and Rd. Calife Broadley, Efqrs. for planting the greatest number of larch-trees, viz. 5,43 by the first; 25,500 by the fecond; and 13,700 by the third. At the fame time a fervant received two

11th.

This day the queflion to enquire into the right of the corporation to become Governors of the four royal hofpitals, St. Bartholomew's, Chrift's, Bridewell, and Eethlem, and St. Thomas's, came on at Lincoln's-Inn Hall before the Lord Chancellor, as vifitor of all the royal foundations. The counsel for the city of London were, the Attorney - General, the Recorder, Mr. Maddox, and Mr. Rofe; for the petitioners (the prefident and governors by donation) were, Mr. Mansfield, Mr. Kenyon, and Mr. Erskine. The former, in a speech of an hour and a half, ftated the objects of the petition and the prayer, and a modern bye-law of the corporation for fealing hospital leafes in the court of common council; that in confequence of the new refolution leafes brought to the court of aldermen, agreeable to former ufage, were refused the feal: after which the Lord Chancellor intimated that a matter of this importance required a deal of time, and proposed a further day convenient to the court and counfel for a complete inveftigation.

12th.

Six malefactors were executed at Tyburn, purfuant to their fentences, for various crimes; John Franque, for robbing the houfe of Jeremiah Brentham, Efq. John Cormach, for robbing the houfe of Mrs. Crucius; Robert Hughes, for robbing the houfe of Samuel Lindfay, Efq. Robert Andres and Richard Palmer, for robbing the houfe of Francis Lumm, Efq. and John Benfield

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Benfield and William Turley, for counterfeiting the current coin. This day, on a trial at 14th. bar in the Court of King'sBench, the will of the late Duke of Kingston, in favour of the prefent Countess dowager of Bristol, was established.

Same day, Mr. Serjeant Davy moved the Court of Common-Pleas for a rule to fhew caufe why a defendant should not be discharged upon a common appearance to a writ iffued in that court for a pretended debt of 70l. The cafe, as laid before the court, was fingular. The parties were husband and wife; were Roman Catholics; were married according to the rules of that church, and had lived happy together for eleven years, when the wife went into Northumberland with three furviving children out of feven, upon an allowance of 201. a year. During her ftay her husband had written to her, and the returned at his request. They again lived together amicably, till the hufband meeting with a woman of fome fortune who feemed to favour his addreffes, he courted her as a fingle man. This coming to the knowledge of the wife, the put a ftop to the match, which fo exafperated the husband, that he vowed revenge; caufed her to be arrefted in her maiden name, and fwore a debt against her of 701. When in the punging-house, an attorney offered her a fum of mo. ney to fign an inftrument, renouncing all claim to her husband, which the abfolutely refufed; whereupon fhe was, by order of the attorney, taken to Newgate. During her confinement, the offer was made a fecond time, and re

fufed; the attorney endeavoured to perfuade her to a compliance, by telling her, that a particular friend advised her to fettle the difference by a general renunciation of the title of a wife. But even this fubterfuge had not the effect; she was in Newgate 12 days, and the fingular cruelty of the affair being reprefented to a captain with whom the husband lived, he generously directed an attorney to bail the action, and apply to the court for redress. Serjeant Davy having commented upon this tranfaction, faid he fhould fuper-add a clause to the rule, for the purpose of punishing the attorney for proftituting the procefs of the court to fo fhameful a defign, evidently calculated to impofe upon an innocent family, and therefore he moved alfo, that the parties fhould anfwer.-The court feemed ftruck at the relation, and faid, that whether it was in point of law criminal or not, the attorney had acted very unconfcientiously, and it would be right to call upon him, and, if poffible, to punith him; they therefore granted the rule as prayed for.

20th.

A motion was made in the Court of King's-Bench, by the Solicitor-General, for an attachment against the UnderSheriff of Surrey, for neglect of his duty, in not preventing the death of the man who stood in the pillory at St. Margaret's Hill. Affidavits were read, ftating the fact of the man's death, and how it happened, but no charge against the Under Sheriff, that it happened through bis neglect. Mr. Dunning faid he was inftructed to defend the Under-Sheriff in the firft inftance; and faid, that fo

far

far from there being any crimina lity in the under theriff, he was inftructed to fay, that inftead of the ordinary affiftance of conftables from five parithes, he had collected thofe of eleven parishes, and taken every other means to prevent mifchief. The court were for refufing the application, as containing no charge; but at laft granted the rule to fhew caufe, to give the under fheriff an opportunity of having his his character perfectly cleared.

The under fheriff of Sur

26th. rey fhewed caufe in the Court of King's Bench, against the rule prayed for by the attorney general, on account of the death of the man on the pillory, when he made it appear that the fact did not originate from any neglect of duty, and the rule was difcharged.

Mr. Juftice Wilmot, profecuted to conviction by the city of London, for imprisoning a fellowshipporter under the late act for impreffing men for his majefty's fervice, furrendered himfelf at the bar of the Court of King's Bench, in order to receive fentence. He was fined 100l. and his attorney undertaking to be answerable for that fum, he was immediately difcharged.

Mr. Dunning moved the 28th. Court of King's Bench for a rule, to fhew caufe why an information fhould not be filed against the Rev. Henry Bate, for an infamous libel on the Duke of Rich

mond, charging him with hightreafon. Mr. Dunning produced two affidavits in fupport of his motion, which proved the Rev. Henry Bate to be the editor, and one of the proprietors of the MornVOL. XXIII.

ing Poft; that he is, and has been for years paft, the director of all matters to be printed in the faid paper, and that he revifes the feveral proof papers before they are publifhed, and is allowed by the reft of the proprietors a weekly fum for fo doing. That he with his own hand gave the queries to the printer of the paper on the 23d or 24th of February, and told him there is the copy for to-mor mow,' or words to that effect, by which the printer understood he was to print it, and that he did print it accordingly in the Morning Poft on February the 25th inftant.

The court granted the rule, and expreffed their indignation at the heinoufnefs of the offence, at the fame time paffing high encomiums on the Duke of Richmond, and afferting their firm belief of the falfehood of the charges.

Some of the most exceptionable queries, are the following:

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To the Duke of R

Whether a man who at all times has endeavoured to deceive his country, and furnish an avowed enemy with intelligence of the first importance, is not a traitor to his country, and deferving of the moft condign punishment?

Whether, if the minifter had taken your advice, you did not mean to give the intelligence to your bofom friend the Duke d'Aiguillon?

Whether you did not furnish the Court of France with plans of the weakest and moft defenceless parts of this ifland, most liable to invafion, and moft contiguous to their own coafts and harbours?'

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At Cambridge two-one for murder.

At Bedford four- -three reprieved.

At Maidstone, John Knight, for aflifting fome fmugglers in thooting two dragoons at Whitftable, near Canterbury, the 26th ult. was found guilty, and executed accordingly.

At East Grinstead (for Suffex) one, for murder of his wife, and executed accordingly.

James Burnet, indicted for the wilful murder of Thomas Hewitt, gamekeeper to his Grace the Duke of Richmond, at Goodwood-park, in December laft, was found guilty of manflaughter, and fentenced to be burnt in the hand, and imprifoned twelve months in Horsham jail.

At Lincoln two.

Leghorn, April 6. Letters from Conftantinople, dated March 3, mention an earthquake at Tauris, the capital of the province of Aderbigan, in Perfia, which has been more fatal than that which happened in 1651. If we are to credit thefe first accounts, this town, which contained 15,000 houses,

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At Narrow field, Berks, Tho. Carter, aged .08.

At Market Harborough, Rev. Rich. Parry, D. D. well known by many learned publications.

At Knightsbridge, John Nourfe, Efq; many years bookfeller to his majefty. He was himfelf a man of fcience, particularly in the mathematical line; in which department a great number of valuable publications have been by him introduced to the world.

MAY.

3d.

A very interefting question was argued and determined in the Court of King's Bench, wherein the inhabitants of Richmond and the city of London were particularly concerned, the former claiming the property of the foil of the river Thames, fo far as their jurifdiction reaches, down to low-water mark, had caufed the works now carrying on by the latter, under the authority of an act of parliament, to be obftru&ted, on which the city had commenced a profecution against the perfons employed in that fervice, and had

obtained

obtained a verdict against them at the laft Surrey affizes; but the counfel on the oppofite fide ftill infifting on their right to the foil, the cafe came to be argued on that particular point; and after many learned arguments, in which the matter feemed to receive a full inveftigation, Lord Mansfield and the other judges were unanimously of opinion, that the river being a public navigable river, the inhabitants could have no particular intereft in any part of its foil. The decifion therefore of this caufe entirely removes the general idea, that owners of the adjoining lands have property in the foil of navigable rivers as far as low-water mark.

4th.

A refpite, till further fignification of his majefty's pleasure, was fent to the Marthal of the High Court of Admiralty for John Williams and James Stoneham, convicts in Newgate, for mutiny. They were to have been executed this day. This refpite was in confequence of notice taken of the cafe in the Houfe of Commons. The captain, it feems, had been concerned in fome illicit practices, and they had refifted going into port for fear of being preffed.

This day the royal affent was given to 42 public and private bills by commiflion. Among the former were the following:

A bill for several additional duties upon wines and vinegar.

for feveral additional duties on advertisements, and receipts for legacies.

to protect goods, &c. of the growth of the islands of Grenada and the Grenadines, on board

neutral veffels bound to neutral ports, during the prefent hoftilities.

for allowing a bounty on the exportation of British corn and grain in fhips of any kingdom in amity with his majefty.

A petition has been lately 6th. prefented to his majefty, from Calcutta, figned by 60 Whites, and a great number of Gentoos, ftating, in a forcible manner, the various hardships the inhabitants have fuffered fince the introduction of the English laws amongit them.

This morning two perfons, one a tradefman and the other 9th. a fheriff's officer, were brought before the Court of King's Bench, to receive fentence for having fome time ago arrefted one of the domettics belonging to his Excellency Count de Welderen; Mr. Juftice Willes, in a thort fpeech, explained the nature of the offence, obferving, at the fame time, how neceffary it was firicly to adhere. to the laws of nations: that the perfons now before them, had been guilty of a very high offence. against thofe laws, and which called loudly for an exemplary punishment; the judgment therefore of the court was, that the two perfons be immediately taken into the cuftody of the marthal of this court, and be by him conducted this day, at any hour that may be appointed, to the dwelling houte of Count de Welderen, with a label faftened to each of their breasts, denoting their offence, and that they do then and there aik pardon of his excellency for the crime by them committed. The tradesman to be afterwards imprifoned for [0] 2

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