fhip, on the information of the defendant.

6th.

"Came on at Guildhall, before lord chief juftice Pratt, a caufe, wherein William Huckell, one of the journeymen printers, apprehended on account of the 45th No. of the North Briton, was plaintiff, and the king's meffengers defendants, when, after a hearing of near twelve hours, in which many learned arguments were used on both fides, the jury, after withdrawing a few minutes, brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, in 300l. damages and full cofts of fuit. The plaintiff's council were, Mr. ferjeant Glynn, meff. Stow, Dunning, Wallace and Gardiner his attorney, Mr. James Philips, of Cecil street. The defendants council, the attorney and folicitor general, ferjeants Whitker, Naires, Davy, and Mr. Yates; their attornies, Philip Carteret Webb, efq; and Mr. fecondary Barnes.

And next day came on, in the fame court, a caufe, wherein James Lindfay, another of the journeymen printers, was plaintiff, &c. when he had 200l. damages given him, with full colts of fuit. By agreement of the council on both fides, this verdict determined all the other actions depending against the meffengers, for the fame offence, which were twelve. The names of the special jury on the two trials are, Peter Cazalett, foreman, Richard King, William Bond, Thomas Dickins, Thomas Selwin, John Daniel Cotin, John Wefkett, Jofeph Mico, James Randall, Frederic Teufh, Peter Deschamps, Benjamin Watkinfon.

And a motion having been fince

made in the court of Commen Pleas, in behalf of the king's meffengers, that these verdicts obtained against them might be set aside, on account of excefs of damages, the court granted rules for the plaintiff to fhew caufe why new trials fhould not be entered. But when the matter came to be argued, the motion was fet afide, and the former verdicts confirmed.

A final dividend of the Hermione prize money, was made at the fhip tavern, behind the Exchange. This being fo rich a prize, we have, for the entertainment of our readers, inferted the account fales of it in the Appendix to this part of our work.

One of the Gloucestershire militia, for a wager of 300 1. having undertaken to walk from London to Bristol in twenty hours, fet out at 12 at night, and arrived at Bristol the next evening about 35 minutes after feven, having performed it with eafe in 19 hours and 35 minutes.

Ioth.

About one o'clock in the morning, a most dreadful fire broke out, near New Crane ftairs, Shadwell, which, in a few hours, confumed 114 houfes, befides warehouses, &c. a dock, and a fhip juft finished therein. Several lives were loft on this occafion. But no less than than fix hundred pounds was foon after collected for the relief of the fufferers.

Ended the feffions at 11th. Old Bailey, at which ninety prifoners were tried, and four, one a boy of 15, for footpad robberies; three, for privately ftealing in feveral dwelling-houfes; one for houfe-breaking, and one for perfonating a failor, in order fraudulently to receive fome prize

money

other perfon three-pence. This refolution (to which the houfe dif agreed upon the report) was op

courtiers, who gave for a reafon, "That the players were the king's

had cut her throat whilft fhe was fleeping, with a razor, about three inches in length; but this maiming did not come within the defcriptions of the act on which he Iwas tried. The reafon of his acquittal was, That in all penal laws the letter of the law is to be adhered to; and in the act zz & 23 C. II. c. . on which the prifoner was tried, the maiming made capital is thus described: If any perfon, on purpose, and by malice forethought, and by lying in wait, fhall unlawfully cut or <difable the tongue, put out an eye, flit the nofe, cut off a nofe or lip, or cut off or difable any limb or member of any fubject, with intention in fo doing to maim or disfigure him; the perfon fo offending, his counsellors, aiders, and abettors, (knowing of, and privy to the offence) fhall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy.

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This act is called the Coventry act, because it was made on Sir John Coventry's being affaulted in the ftreet, and having his nofe flit, on the following occafion ::

In the committee of ways and means it had been refolved, That towards the fupply, every one that reforts to any of the play-houses, who fits in the box, shall pay one hilling; every one who fits in the pit, fhall pay fix-pence; and every

fervants, and a part of his plea"fure." To this Sir John Coventry, by way of reply, afked, Whether the king's pleasure lay among the men, or among the women players. This being reported at court, was highly refented, and a refolution was taken to fet a mark on Sir John to prevent others from taking the like liberties. December 20, the night that the houfe adjourned for the Christmas holydays, twentyfive of the duke of Monmouth's troop of life-guards, and fome few foot, lay in wait from ten at night till two in the morning by Suffolkftreet, and as Sir John returned from the tavern, where he fupped, to his own houfe, they threw him down, and with a knife cut the end of his nofe almoft off; but company coming, made them fearful to finish it. The debates which this affair occafioned in the houfe of commons, may be feen in Anchitel Grey's debates lately publifhed. One of the members emphatically called the attack on Coventry, a horrid un-English "act. During the debate, Dr. Arras made an extravagant motion for a bill to punish any man that should speak reflective on the king. By fome he was called to the bar, but his explanation and excufe were admitted of. He faid, He was the only phyfician of the houfe, and, humanum eft errare; he hoped he should be pardoned.' At Aix, in France, they 12h. had a fhock of an earthquake, attended with an extraor

A

dinary noife, which was felt at the fame time in different parts of the province, particularly at Tarafcon, where, it's affured, that feveral clocks ftruck, and bells rang, from the violence of it.

There happened a great 13th. ftorm of thunder at Barleduc, Ligney, and the neighbour ing villages. The ground was covered with hail to the height of eleven inches, the trees, &c. torn down, part of the land, the vines, and their fupports carried away; the fields, meadows, and gardens, all covered with the trees, &c. that were torn up; in a word, in feveral places there remain no hopes of any harvest of any fort: all the houfes of Ligney were laid under water. The hail-ftones were fo large, and came with fuch force, that the walls are marked by them, as if bored by mufquet balls. The damage is computed at 600,000 livres.

Came on, at Chelmsford,

14th. before lord chief juftice Pratt, two trials, in which Mr. Bamber Gafcoyne was plaintiff, and fome freemen of Malden defendants, for bribery, at the last election, when verdicts were given for the plaintiff, with costs of fuit.

Came on at the affizes of 15th. Winchester, before a special jury, a cause, wherein George Dawon, late a foldier in the 85th regiment of foot, was plaintiff, and Robert Wylde, Richard Lucas, Charles Williams, Richard Gough, Robert Temple, James Johns, and Collin Mackenzie, Efqrs. lieutenants, and Thomas Prowse, Thomas Frazeer, and John Higgins, drummers, defendants. The action was brought for trefpafs, affault, and falfe imprifonment of the foldier. In the

course of the evidence it appeared, that the defendant, Wylde, had caned and imprisoned the plaintiff without just cause, and that the plaintiff received 300 lashes with a cat o'nine tails at the halberts, under colour of the fentence of a court martial, of the proceedings of which no evidence was given by the defendants; and, after a long hearing, the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff with 300l. damages, viz. against Mr. Wylde 2001. and against Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Gough 50l. each.

Mr. Thomas Brown, a gentleman farmer of Minety in Gloucef. terfhire, being, with fix of his fervants, in a ground about a mile from his house, a violent storm of thunder arose, which drove Mr. Brown and his fervants to a hawthorn-tree for shelter; but, unhappily for them, a terrible clap broke over their heads, which killed Mr. Brown and one of the fervants on the fpot. The other five

were dangerously wounded. It is thought the open air is, on these occafions, the fafeft place, as the wet received by the cloaths has a great tendency to divert the lightening another way.

Such a violent ftorm of hail fell at Besançon in France, and in upwards of two hundred communities of the province, that it laid wafte the whole country, which before gave hopes of a very plentiful harvest. The wind was fo high at the fame time, that feveral very large trees, and likewife feveral houses, were blown down; many perfons that were out in the fields were dangerously wounded, and fome killed by the hail-ftones, most of which were larger than a hen's egg.

During

the fact being clearly proved by the gunner of the fort, the jury, after staying out fome time, found him guilty.

At Maidstone affizes eight prifoners were capitally convicted, all for the highway.

During the time of divine 23d. fervice a fire-ball fell upon the church of Hertford, penetrated the fame, and greatly terrified the congregation. It burft in the blue coat boys gallery, with a terrible noife, that was heard in every houfe in the town, but did no other damage than fingeing a boy's hair. The like accident has happened to feveral other churches, particularly that at Mangotsfield in Gloucefterfhire, and Wilbraham church near Cambridge.

A houfe, in Queen-ftreet, Lincoln's-inn-fields, which had been lately repaired, and two in Gracechurch-ftreet, which fhewed no figns of craziness, fuddenly tumbled to the ground; thofe in Gracechurch-street, without any other notice than a loud crack, which, however, was fufficient to alarm the inhabitants, fo that no lives were loft.

One Richard Watfon, tollman of Marybone turnpike, was found barbaroufly murdered in his tollhoufe; upon which, and fome at tempts made on other toll-houses, the trustees of turnpikes have come to a refolution to increase the number of toll-gatherers, and to furnish them with arms, ftri&tly enjoining them, at the fame time, not to keep any money at the tollhoufes after 8 o'clock at night.

Came on, at Bury St. Edmund's, the trial of Philip Thickneffe, Efq; lieutenant-governor of Land-guard fort, for a libel, reflecting on the military conduct and perfonal conrage of the right honourable lord Orwell, colonel of the eastern battalion of the Suffolk militia, when it appearing that a wooden gun had been fent, to provoke his lordfhip to a breach of the peace, and

At Croydon eight perfons were capitally convicted; fix, (one a boy of feventeen, who at the place of execution is faid to have owned the murder of a man and a woman) for the high way; one for a rape, and the other, a woman, for burglary.

At the affizes at Buckingham, one for robbery, and one for horse ftealing, received fentence of death.

At the affizes for the county of Devon, fifteen perfons received fentence of death for various crimes; fome for highway, fome for private robbery, fome for murder, fome for burglary, fome for cattle ftealing, and one, a lad of eleven years old, for fetting fire to his mafter's house.

At the affizes for the city and county of Briftol, three men were capitally convicted.

At the affizes at Wells for for county of Somerset, three perfons received fentence of death, all of whom were reprived.

At Gloucefter affizes four receiv ed fentence of death, among whom was the highwayman, who cut his throat on being apprehended.

At the affizes at Durham, a girl received fentence of death for the murder of her baftard child, and was executed accordingly.

At the affizes at Coventry, three received fentence of death. They belonged to a large and dangerous gang, confifting of men and women, who used to travel from place to place, in fearch of opportunities to plunder the weak and the un

wary;

wary; and from being difcovered at Coventry, were called the Coventry Gang. :

At Leicester affizes five perfons received fentence of death, among whom was one for returning from transportation, one for forgery, and one for the highway.

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At Lancaster one only was capitally convicted;-his crime-returning from tranfportation.

At Ely affizes a girl of fixteen was capitally convicted of robbing her mafter's houfe and fetting it on fire, by which it was entirely confumed.

At Winchester affizes, fourteen, (one of them for the murder of his wife) were capitally convicted, ten of them were reprieved; atWorcefter three, two of whom were reprieved; at Chelmsford five, two of whom were reprieved; at Aylefbury two, one of whom was reprieved at Dorchefter two; at Shrewsbury one; at Stafford one, but reprieved; for Yorkshire three, two of them were reprieved; at Derby two; at Monmouth one, but reprieved; at Warwick three, two of them were reprieved; Norfolk, Norwich, Huntingdon, Horfham, Northampton, Oxford, and Abingdon, proved maiden affizes.

The judges have been pleased to order, that profecutors who come to profecute felons at a distance, fhall be allowed moderate travelling charges, which is to be paid by the treasurer of the county, on producing ascertificate from the clerk of the affizet ba^

t

A caufe was lately tried in the fheriffs court in Ireland, in which a merchant was plaintiff, and the creditors of one Maybury defendants. -The merchant had fold Maybury two bales of filk for

ready money, which, on delivery, was feized in execution before the money was paid. The jury gave a verdict in favour of the merchant.

By virtue of a search warrant, fome valuable MSS that had been ftolen from a public office by a woman who used to sweep the room, were lately recovered at a grocer's fhop, where fhe had fold them for waste paper at two-pence a pound. On her examination it appeared, that he had practifed this fraud at the fame office a year and a half, in which time fhe had difpofed of an incredible number of papers, many of which are never to be retrieved.

Arrived in the port of Liverpool from June 1762, to June 1763, 752 veffels, exclufive of those which arrived in ballaft.

The Venetians, in confideration of an immediate payment of 50,000 ducats, and an annual payment of 5,000, have obtained leave from the Algerines for 15 of their fhips to trade freely in the Mediterranean.

By the Georgia gazette it appears, that from the 5th of January, 1762, to the 5th of January, 1763, the exports of that province amounted to 7440 whole, and 119 half barrels of rice; 9633 lb. of indico; 96 hhds. 832 bundles of deer-fkins; 13 bundles of beaverfkins; 417,449 feet of pine-timber;

292 barrels of pork; 688,045 fhingles; 359,002 ftaves and heading 38 barrels of beef; 1250 bushels of Indian corn; 776 bushels of rough rice; 246 barrels of tar; 1602 fides of tanned leather; 10,500 hoops; 1050 handfpikes; and 2033 bars.

Paris, July 15. The following ordonnance was this day published

here.