commencement of the fiege, before the parallels were formed, or the batteries planted, the grand magazine of the fortrefs, taking fire by accident, blew up with a tremendous explosion, occafioning the lofs of near 500 lives, and making moreover two large and practicable breaches in the walls. In confequence of this misfortune, the city was immediately given up, and the garrifon made prifoners of war. Braganza was next attacked; but fuch was the confternation of the Portugueze, that the keys of the town were presented without any attempt at resistance to the Spanish commander. The city of Chaves, though provided with all the means of defence, was surprised at the fame time by a feparate detachment under count O'Reilly. The Southern army, commanded by the count d'Aranda, being joined by 8000 French auxiliaries, entered the province of Eftremadura, and opened the trenches before Almedia in July: after a much better defence than had hitherto been made, that city was compelled to capitulate on the 25th of Auguft. On the arrival of the count de la Lippe, Lifbon the metropolis, and Oporto the fecond city of the kingdom, were expofed to imminent danger. But that general, knowing the most effectual mode of waging a defenfive war to be the converting it as far as poffible into an offenfive one, determined to carry the arms of Portugal into the kingdom of Spain. An enterprize against the city of Alcantara, where confiderable magazines were forming, was refolved upon, and brigadier-general Burgoyne was appointed to the command of the entire force collected for this purpofe. This officer paffing the Tagus at midnight, reached Alcantara at the dawn of day, and, attacking with great refolution the enemy posted in the vicinity, and unfufpicious of danger, totally routed them with very inconfiderable lofs. A great quantity of arms and ammunition fell into the hands of the victors. Amongst the prifoners was the Spanish major-general Don Miguel D'Iruniberri, who was preparing for an expedition into the Portugueze province of Alentejo. The count d' Aranda, having reduced, after the furrender of Almedia, the fortreffes of Caftel Rodrigo and Castel Branco, attempted to force a paffage through the mountains, intending to cross the Tagus at Villa Velha, a poft defended by general Burgoyne, who lay encamped on the southern bank of the river. The old Moorish castle of Villa Velha, on the northern bank, though gallantly defended, was at length compelled to furrender, and the paffes of the mountains gained. But the enemy having weakened their force at Villa Velha, in order to pursue their advantage in the oppofite quarter, general Burgoyne ordered a detachment under lieutenant colonel Lee to ford the Tagus in the night, and attack the Spaniards in their camp. This enterprize was executed with equal spirit and fuccefs. A great number of the Spanish Officers were flain in attempting to rally their troops; their cannon were spiked, their magazines destroyed, and much valuable plunder became the property of the affailants. The Spaniards being repeatedly foiled in their defigns of paffing the Tagus, by the fkill and vigilance of the commander, count de la Lippe, and embarraffed also in their operations by the heavy rains which fell at this period, at length repaffed the mountains, and entirely evacuated the province of Eftremadura, firft difmantling the fortifications of Almeida and Caftel Rodrigo. No fooner was war declared by England against Spain, than preparations began to be made for a grand, but as yet unknown enterprize; and in the beginning of March 1762, a very powerful armament failed from Portfmouth, under the conduct of admiral Sir George Pococke, the earl of Albemarle commanding the land forces on board. At the beginning of June, they arrived off the ifland of Cuba, and the troops were landed fix miles to the eastward of the Havanna, a city of the utmost importance to the security and almost the existence of the Spanish empire in America, as being the port where the galleons and flota loaded with the riches of Mexico and Peru conftantly rendezvoused on their return return to Spain, and, from its fituation, abfolutely commanding the only commodious paffage by which these ships could fail from the bay of Mexico to Europe; the windward paffage, by Carthagena, not being practicable without infinite trouble, lofs of time, and danger from an enemy who is decidedly fuperior at fea. This city was protected, exclufive of other works, by a very strong caftle called the Moro, against which the principal attack of the earl of Albemarle was directed. It was however bravely defended by the Spanish governor Don Lewis de Velafco; and the fiege being protracted beyond expectation, fickness began to make its ravages amongst the befiegers. On the 30th of July, therefore, although the breaches made were deemed fcarcely practicable, an affault was determined upon, and the troops mounting with the utmost intrepidity, drove the enemy from the ramparts; and after a short but fierce and bloody canflict, the Spaniards were compelled to lay down their arms and petition for quarter. Don Velafco, animated with all the genuine Caftilian heroifm, fell by a promifcuous fhot, whilst inciting his troops, both by his exhortation and example, to support the glory of the Spanish arms. Notwithstanding the conqueft of the Moro, the city held out till the 13th of Auguft, when the governor capitulated, on condition of being allowed to march out with all the honors of war, and to have, with his whole garrifon, a free and unmolested conveyance to Spain. In the capitulation was included twelve line-of-battle fhips then lying in the harbor of the Havanna; great quantities of ammunition and warlike ftores likewife fell into the hands of the victors, who found in the city prodigious quantities of merchandize of various kinds and an immenfe treasure in fpecie. This therefore was a blow, which, at the very commencement of the war, ftruck deep into the vitals of the Spanish power. No fooner was the intelligence of the Spanish war conveyed to the East Indies, than an armament speedily equip ped, under the conduct of admiral Cornish and Sir William Draper, . Draper, failed from Madrafs, deftined against Luconia, the principal of the Philippine islands, of which the chief city is Manilla, whence two large fhips are fent annually across the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco, on the coast of Mexico, laden with the spices, filks, and other precious products of India. On the 23d of September 1762, the whole armament, having on board a land force, including Lafcars, Sepoys, and other irregular troops, amounting to about two thousand five hundred men, anchored in the bay of Manilla, where they excited great and general alarm. After effecting a landing with little lofs, the city was fummoned to furrender; but the marquis de Villa Medina, the governor, returned a resolute refufal. The English were far from being in a condition to form a complete investment of the city, which was of great extent and ftrongly fortified. The quarter which the General determined to attack was defended by the bastions of St. Diego and St. Andrew, a ravelin, a wet foffe thirty yards in breadth, a covered way, and a glacis. At the beginning of October the weather grew very stormy and tempestuous; notwithstanding which the besiegers carried on their works with unintermitted ardor. A furious fally was on the 4th made from the town before day-break, in which the regular troops of the forts were reinforced by a ftrong body of the native Indians, armed only with bows and lances, who fought with astonishing perfeverance-advancing to the very muzzles of the English mufquets, and with wild and favage ferocity biting the bayonets even in the agonies of death. They were finally repulfed with great lofs; and the works being by this time much damaged, a refolution was taken to storm the town. Though no offer of capitulation had been made, the garrifon feemed ill prepared to fuftain an affault, and the English penetrated into the very centre of the city with little oppofition. The governor retiring into the citadel, the town town was expofed for fome hours to all the horrors of a general pillage. At length, the citadel being in no condition of defence, the marquis de Villa Medina, the archbishop of Manilla, and the officers of the garrifon, furrendered themselves prifoners of war; at the fame time proposing a capitulation to fave the city from total destruction, After fome difcuffion, a ransom of four millions of dollars was offered, and accepted. The port and citadel of Cavite, with the islands and fortreffes depending on the government of Manilla, being included in the capitulation, the whole force of the English scarcely sufficed to garrison their conquefts. Intelligence being received of the expected arrival of an Acapulco fhip, the admiral fent the Panther and Argo ships of war in queft of her, who fell in with the Santa Trinidada, bound for Mexico, pierced for fixty guns, with merchandise on board to the amount of three millions of dollars. This was not the only regifter-fhip taken in the course of this war from the Spaniards the St. Hermione, from Lima to Cadiz, being captured by two British frigates cruising off Cape St. Vincent. Her cargo was estimated at one million fterling, being fuppofed the richest prize ever brought into the harbors of Britain. Amongst the military and naval achievements of the present year, it may be proper tranfiently to notice the recovery of the town and fort of St. John, in the ifland of Newfoundland (fome months before furprised and furrendered to the French), by lord Colville and colonel Amherft, who, failing from the harbor of Halifax, by their spirited exertions anticipated the effect of an armament fitted out exprefsly for this purpofe at Portsmouth. It will now be proper to refume the long neglected narration of the civil and domeftic tranfactions of Great Britain. On the refignation of Mr. Pitt, the entire direction of affairs was vested in the earl of Bute, who enjoyed the favor, affection, and confidence of the fovereign, in a degree which no |