the empress queen have done in favour of their disbanded foldiers, we fhould think ourselves very remifs, did we pafs by in filence the attention paid by our own government and even individuals to thofe brave men, who, in the height of the most deftructive war, fecured us from the diftreffes in which all the other nations engaged in it were involved, and prevented our feeling any burthen by it but that of fupporting them. Not to mention the ufual parliamentary leave of freely deal ing and working in every corporate town, felling liquors in Oxford and Cambridge only excepted, his majefty, befides ample grants of land in the new conquered countries, and which, no doubt, they will be enabled to occupy and improve, has been gracioufly pleased to order, that thofe failors, who had deferted from one of his majefty's fhips to another, fhould receive the wages which they had forfeited by fuch defertion; and even iffuedproclamations for pardoning and fetting at liberty, both in Great Britain and Ireland, all deferters that were in gaol, without fee or reward, whofe names had been given in to the fecretary at war. The marine fociety not only kindly received all thofe boys, under fixteen, of their fending to fea, who thought proper, on being difcharged from the king's fervice, to apply to them for affiftance, but even invited them to apply; and put out a dest 15 To fishermen, go 6 To public houses. 29 To the merchants fervice. 8 To the king's fea officers, who engaged to keep them 3 years, 9 Sent home to their friends in Scotland and Ireland. 20 Sent home to their friends in England. To agriculture. 9 To watermen and lightermen. 17 Affifted to procure mafters for themselves; which, with those who cloathed and provided for themfelves, makes in all 295. The Dublin fociety propofed to the firft hundred foldiers or failors who ferved his majesty out of Great Britain or Ireland, and produc ing their difcharge from the fervice, who fhould take leafes of lives of any lands in the provinces of Leinster, Munfter, and Connaught, not less than five or more than twenty acres, in the year 1763, and hold the fame one year from their taking poffeffion of the faid lands, producing a certificate of their induftry, and being likely to continue, by the clergyman of the parish, ortwo neighbouring justices of the peace, five pounds each. And to the firft ten landlords of the provinces of Leinster, Munfter, and Connaught, who should let fuch farms to fuch tenants as above, not lefs than five farms by each landlord, a gold medal. This and the above to be determined in September, 1764. The trustees for the forfeited eftates in Scotland, promised, not only land, but materials for building upon and cultivating it; with fishing boats, tackle, &c. and even money to fuch reduced foldiers and failors as fhould fettle on these eftates. And fir Ludowick Grant, and Mr. Grant, of Grant in the fame kingdom, invited them to fettle on their new ground in the counties of Inverness, Murray, and Banff; promifing them from five to fifteen acres of land, rent free for seven years, (afterwards paying Is. per acre per annum for twelve years,) timber for building, mofs or peat ground for firing, and lime ftone from the quarries. We wish we could at the fame time inform our readers, that any effectual fteps had been taken to procure fome relief for the widows, orphans, and poor relations of those gallant men, who affifted in reducing the Havanna, but fell before it furrendered, and thereby loft all that fhare in the plunder, which, by merit, they had fo good a title to; and likewife for a great number of both officers and common men belonging to the navy, and their reprefentatives, who forfeited their fhares of prize money, to the amount of feveral thousand pounds, to Greenwich Hofpital, becaufe they had not clamed them within three years, whereas their being tied down to the fervice of the public, and that in very diftant and unhealthy climates, was the only thing that prevented their making fuch claim. His royal highnefs the duke of York was lodged at Lisbon in the fecretary of state's house, and had the ufe of the king's equipages, but refused to have any guard. He was afterwards entertained fucceffively by the chief minifters, and fome of the chief nobility; and foon after his first arrival waited on by the British conful, and by four or five of the members deputed by the British factory, who paid their compliments in a respectful addrefs; and then entertained his royal highness with a fupper, and ball. On the 28th of October his royal highness embarked again on board the Centurion, accompanied by the Thames frigate and Vulture floop> and failed for Gibraltar, from whence, after a stay of two days, he failed for Portmahon, where he continued till the 17th ult. and then fet fail for Genoa, where he arrived on the 28th; and his arrival being notified to the master of the ceremonies, that officer went immediately on board, to offer the palace prepared by the republic for his reception, but as his royal highnefs appeared only as earl of Ulfter, this honour he was pleased to refufe, as also all other public honours, except a deputation of fix noblemen, who waited on him the next morning with the republic's compliments upon his arrival at their capital. On the 30th the republic fent him a magnificent prefent, confifting, according to cuftom, of all forts of provifions, and at night the fix noblemen deputed to wait on him, invited him to an elegant fupper, which was followed by a moft brilliant ball. Advice has been received of the the first ship, bound with new fettlers to Florida, being wrecked about two in the morning of the 14th of October laft, on a ledge of rocks near Madeira; by which about two hundred paffengers and failors were unfortunately drowned. Lord Rothes's houfe at Lefley, in Scotland, has been burnt to the ground, and all the valuable furniture confumed. The lofs fuftained by this accident is computed at 60,000 1. befides that of a valuable collection of MSS. The amount of linen cloth ftamped for fale in Scotland, from Nov. 1, 1762, to Nov. 1, 1763, is 12.199,656 yards, which exceeds that of the preceding year by 1.096,419 1.096,419 yards. The increase in value is 77473-153, 8d, Great mobs and riots have lately arifen at Edinburgh, on occafion of the fcarcity of meal. By the prudent behaviour of the magiftrates, the rioters were difperfed after doing confiderable mifchief. It is said that, when the parliament granted, a few years ago, the free importation of provifions from Ireland, the retailers, in order to defeat the intentions of the legilla ture, laid by the worst provifions of the various kinds imported, and fold them for Irish, by which means they brought thofe, that were really Iri, into fuch difcredit, that fcarce any body would purchafe them; fo that the importers were in many inftances lofers by their laudable industry. - Paris, Nov. 20. On the 16th the parliament of Rouen, all the chambers affembled, paffed an arret annulling the tranfcriptions and erafures, made by violence in their register, by the duke de Harcourt, to the prejudice of the laws of the realm, by virtue of a pretended arret of council which carried no mark of the royal authority; wherefore the parliament, adhering to their former arrets and refolutions, order, that the edicts and declarations of the month of April fhall not be executed under pain of the punishment of peculation, and refolved, that repeated remonftrances be prefented to the kingw And from the fame place we hear, that all the members of this parliament have refigned, rather than confent to regifter the king's edicts and declarations issued at his laft bed of justice, but that his majesty had refused to accept of their refignation, and had affured them that he will make fame alter rations in these edicts; and as all the parliaments of France have now declared against them, the king, it is faid, has refolved to call an af fembly, confifting of a deputation from every parliament in that kingdom, in order to confider of a general reform in the management of the finances, which feems, indeed, to be neceffary; for the province of Normandy have made it appear, that of above 60 millions of livres which they pay annually in taxes, about feventeen millions only have been received yearly by the king's treafury. In the mean time however, the duke of Fitz James has put all the members of the parliament of Toulouse under arreft, for remonftrating against, and refufing to regifter thofe edicts. Paris, Dec. 13. The archbishop of Paris having lately published a mandate, or paftoral letter, to the people of his diccefe, in which were fome expreffions, in favour of the jefuits, the parliament of Paris, being informed thereof, com, plained of it to the king, as a feditious writing His majesty bid them apply to the archbishop, that: he might call it in. The prelate. refufed. The parliament complained again to the king, who finding the archbishop inflexible, banished him to his abbey of Conflans. 1 of gidating (99 Paris, Dec. 19. The judgment pronounced against feveral of our officers employed in Canada, and who misbehaved there, is made public; moft of them are condemned to banishment for a certain time, fome more, fome lefs; except the fieur Bigot, intendant of that province, whose banishment F is made perpetual. They are more. over condemned to make reftitation of feveral fums in proportion to the frauds they have been found guilty of: the fieur Bigot is to retore 4.500,000 livres; the fieur Varin, director of the marine at Montreal, 800, cool. M. Bread, comptroller of the marine,300,0005 M. Cadet. purveyor-general of the army 6.000,000; Pennyfiant, Maurin, and Corpion, commifflares under Cadet, 600,000 each; Eftabe and Martel, keepers of magazines, the former 30,000, and the latter 200,cco; the commandant, Laudriere, 5000; Dechainaux, fecretary to the intendant Bigot, 30,000. In all 12.965,000 livres. As foon as the English mer chants, trading to Canada, who are largely concerned in the paper money of that colony, heard of thefe fines, which, it is said, have been fince paid, they applied to the the fecretaries of state to obtain the fulfilling of his moft Chriftian majefty's declaration, with regard to the bills of exchange, drawn by the government of Canada on that of Old France, a short hiftory of which may not be difagreeable to the reader. Canada, in the poffeffion of the French, was undoubtedly an annual lofs to the government, although the trade of that country was very profitable to individuals and to the kingdom in general. The method the French go-1 vernment took to pay to the fub jects of Canada the ballance due to them, was by giving them either bills of exchange on the royal treafury in Old France, or what they call ordonnances, of which the following is the form, omong all 20 Sols. COLONIES 1757- Il fera tenu compte par le roi, au mois d'Octobre prochain, de la fomme de vingt fols, valeur en la foûmiffion du Tréforier, reftée, au bureau du controle. 1 A Quebec, le premier Juin, 1757. BIGOT. These bills were given from a thousand livres to seven-pence half-penny, and were preferred by the inhabitants to current coin, and answered all the purposes. In the month of October of every year, every one was at liberty to bring thefe ordonnances to the intendant's office, and had a right to demand bills of exchange on Old France in payment. This right gave the paper currency even a preference over ready cath, for the government would not take cash for bills of exchange, Although the inhabitants might have brought all their ordonnances to the year 1759 for payment, yet being as current and more ufeful than cash, confiderable quantities always remained in the country, and, as a proof, there are ftill extant fome of these ordonnances of the year 1729. In the year 1759, the intendant and others concerned in the government of Canada, iffued out very confiderable quantities of bills of exchange, which they pretended was for the use of the government but as the French court charged them with mal-administration, this point continued in difpute till the above fentence. However, the poor Canadians, who knew that Bigot who figned these bills, had full powers from the court of France fo to do, took them as usual, and and in general paid the full value for them. It is faid there is upwards of two millions and half sterling of this paper unpaid. At Ledbury in Hereford31ft. fhire there are now living one Price and his wife, whofe ages together make 210 years; the man 107, the woman 103. On a tomb-ftone in Heydon church-yard, near Huil, in Yorkfhire, is the following infcription : "Here lies the body of William Sturt, of Patrington, buried May 18, 1685, aged 97 years. He had children by his first wife, 28; by his fecond, 17; own father to 45 ; grandfather to 86; great grandfather to 97; great great grandfather to 23; in all 251. Mrs. Salvador, of White-hartcourt, was lately delivered of a fon and heir, after being married twenty-five years. Died lately. Thomas Blundell, Efq; aged 85. He was born deaf and dumb, but could converfe by figns. John Dodley, at Worcester, aged 90; he was born with a contraction of the tendons in one of his hams, and was obliged to make ufe of a wooden leg thirty years; but in endeavouring to recover a bell, which happened to overfet, the rope pulled him up with fuch velocity as to break the bandages that faftened the artificial leg; and, in the fame inftant, rendered his natural one ufeful. fioned, it is faid, by his drinking a gallon of cyder at an inn on the road, to keep off a fit of the gout. Part of the wall of the room where he died was obliged to be taken down to get the corpfe out, and no hearfe being wide enough to admit the coffin, it was placed on the carriage. At Mariborough in New England, in the 94th year of his age, Mr. Thomas Hapgood. His pofterity were very numerous, viz. 9 Children, 92 Grand children, 208 Great grand children. 4 Great great grand children. 313 in the whole. His grand children faw their grand children and their grandfather at the fame time. Baron de Weffenftein, governor of Bon, aged 100. Mr. Goring, a quaker, at Chertfey, aged 102. Jacob Salm, a Dutch foldier, aged 11. Mr. Wallace, at Paris aged 112. Peter Schurman, at Groningen, aged 113. Jane Blake of Northweeds, in Yorkshire, aged 114. A general bill of christenings and burials in London, from December 14, 1762, to December 13, 1763. Christened Males 7751. Females 7372 15433 Buried 26141 At Holt, near Wenbourn, Dorfetfhire, the great Mr. Benjamin Bower, fo called from his enormous fize; he weighed thirty-four ftone Decreafed in the burials this yea and four pounds, yet was a lively active man, and travelled to London in a ftage coach but a few days before his death, which was occa 183. Among the deaths were no le than 105 drowned. |