liant, and no accident of material consequence occured to damp the joy of the spectators.

The persons whohad entered themselves for Nova Scotia went on board the transports in order to sail for that settlement. The number of families who had entered themselves were about 3750.

May 26. The royal assent was given by commission to the following bills:

An act for the better securing the duties upon coal, culm, and cinders, exported. An act to prevent mischiefs, from keeping or carrying too great quantities of gunpowder.

An act to charge the sinking-fund with the payment of certain annuities, in discharge of navy, victualling, and transport bills, &c.

An act for remedying inconveniencies relating to the statutes of Hue and Cry.

An act for encouraging the people called unitas fratrum, or united brethren, to settle in the American colonies.

The act for more effectually preventing the importation and wear of foreign embroidery, brocade, &c.

The act for more effectually preventing frauds and abuses in the manufacture of hats, as also in the woollen, linen, fustian, cotton, iron, leather, fur, hemp, flax, mohair, and silk manufactures, &c.

An act for amending, explaining, and reducing into one act, the laws relating to the navy.

The act for a fund to provide for the widows and children of the ministers of the church of Scotland, &c.

The act relating to the letting of horses or furniture to persons riding post.

And to several road and private bills. June 3. A dreadful fire happened at Glasgow in Scotland, which burnt with such fury, and spread itself in so terrible a manner, that about 200 families were entirely burnt out, and reduced to the utmost distress.

June 13. His Majesty went to the House of Peers, and prorogued the Parliament to August 3, after having made a most gracious speech to both Houses and passed the following bills:

An act for granting to his Majesty one million out of the sinking-fund for the year 1749, and for enabling his Majesty to raise a further sum of one million for the uses and purposes therein mentioned, &e.

An act for rectifying mistakes in the names of several of the commissioners of the land-tax.

An act to enable such officers, mariners,

and soldiers, as have been in his Majesty's service since his accession, to exercise trades.

An act to establish the method of proceeding to and upon outlawries for hightreason and misprison of high-treason, in Scotland.

An act for continuing, explaining, and amending several laws.

An act for the further encouragement and enlargement of the whale fishery, and for the naturalization of such foreign protestants, as shall serve for the time therein mentioned, on board such ships as shall be fitted out for the said fishery.

And to several road and private bills. June 22. His Majesty held a chapter of the most noble Order of the Garter, in his palace at Kensington;

His royal highness Prince George, eldest son of the prince of Wales;

His serene highness the Margrave of
Anspach ;

The duke of Leeds;
The duke of Bedford;

The earl of Albemarle ; and
The earl of Grenville,

Were duly elected Knights of the most noble order of the Garter.

June 24. Daniel Collyer, esq. citizen and vintner, and Thomas Green, esq. citizen and fletcher, were chosen sheriffs of London and Middlesex for the year ensu ing.

Sir Peter Warren, Sir Edward Hawke, Sir Charles Molly, Sir Charles Howard, Sir Charles Amand Poulet, Sir John Mordaunt, and Sir John Savile, were installed Knights of the Bath.

July 1. Two sailors thinking themselves ill used at a disreputable house, the sign of the Crown, in the Strand, went out denouncing vengeance, and in a little time returned with a great number of armed sailors, who entirely demolished all the goods, cut all the feather beds to pieces, and strewed the feathers in thes reet; demolished all the wearing apparel, and turned the women they found in the house naked into the street; they then broke all the windows, and considerably damaged another house adjoining. A guard of soldiers was sent from the Tilt-yard; but they came too late to prevent the destruction of every thing in the house. The next night the rioters returned, and treated two more houses in the Strand much in the same manner. A guard of officers and sixty soldiers were ordered to do duty near Temple-Bar, and at night a party of them did duty in the Old Bailey, to prevent any more riotous proceedings. Nine persons con

cerned in these riots were committed to Newgate by justice Fielding.

July 5. This day the duke of Newcastle was installed Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, with the customary cere

monies.

July 14. Mr. Couchman, lieutenant of the Chesterfield, and Mr. Morgan, lieutenant of marines, were shot, pursuant to their sentence, on board the Chesterfield man of war at Portsmouth.

July 20. His excellency the marquis of Mirepoix, ambassador extraordinary from the most Christian king, had his first private audience of his Majesty.

The right honourable the lord chancellor, chosen high steward of the University of Cambridge, in the room of his grace the duke of Newcastle, now chancellor of that university.

The city of Bristol, and the places adjacent, were alarmed with great multitudes of country people, who rose and appeared for several days in a formidable manner, destroying almost all the turnpikes, with their houses, thereabouts, and committing many other outrages, to the great terror of the inhabitants and persons passing that way. Several of them were taken up, and imprisoned in the Newgate at Bristol. August 1. This day about noon, when there was a great thunder storm, as Joseph Barton, who kept the Half Moon and Falcon, at Holloway, was standing at his foredoor, a very uncommon flash of lightning feil just by him, the explosion of which struck him flat on his back in the entry. On his rising, he beheld one part of his house in a cloud of smoke, which smelt like the firing of gunpowder. Going into the kitchen he found his man, crying out that his leg was broken, and at the same time swooned away, and remained blind and speechless for several hours, and his leg very much burnt. Proceeding further be found, that a chimney and the walls were rent two stories downwards, and great part of the tiling, laths, &c. carried entirely off. Part of the garret floor was raised up, and the door driven off the hinges, and an oaken frame, on which stood an old trunk, was shivered to pieces. In the chamber under the garret was a great beam of oak, which was split; a shutter was driven from the hinges, part of the wall moved from its place, and a seauce broken. The lightning also forced its way in four or five different parts of the front of the house. In some places it penetrated the walls like a musket ball, and in others shivered the oaken frames of the windows, shattered the glass, and melted

the lead, It also burst through the kitchen into the bar, the door of which it tore off, beat the plaistering about, broke some wood-work, and struck off the handle of a large jar, but never displaced any of the drinking glasses or decanters. The mistress of the house and maid, being in a back kitchen narrowly escaped, some part of the chimney falling upon them; as did a gentlewoman, who was there for her health, and her sister, by being in the par lour, (where they had bolted themselves in) at the first approach of the thunder and lightning.

August 3. The Parliament, which stood prorogued to this day, was further prorogued to Sept. 14.

August 12. This night, about ten o'clock a fire broke out in a building next the dyehouse of Mr. Spence, near Battle-Bridge, Southwark, which consumed the same, with the brewhouse of Messrs, Cox and Chichley, four wharfs, Mr. Walter's cooperage, and about eighty houses, with almost all the goods and furniture contained in them; besides many houses greatly damaged. In this calamity three men and one woman lost their lives, and one man had his leg broke; and a man was killed by the fall of a stack of chimnies. Upwards of 2000 quarters of malt, besides a large quantity of hops, and 800 butts of beer, were lost by this accident, the damage of which was said to be about 50,000.

August 23. This evening a gallery in Mr. Phillips's booth in Bartholomew fair fell down, with a great number of people in it, by which accident Mr. Stringfellow, a goldsmith in Aldersgate-street, and Thomas Hodges, a journeyman plaisterer in Golden-lane, were killed; several others were dangerously wounded, two of whom, who had their limbs broke, were carried to St. Bartholomew's hospital.

August 27. This morning, about half an hour after three, a fire broke out at Mr. Harwood's in Grocer's-Alley, in the Poultry, which burnt that house, and Mr. Medley's adjoining, and three other houses, and very much damaged the Poultry-Compter, a loft adjoining to Grocer's-hall, and several other houses. There were above fifty persons in the Compter for debt, &c. who were all set at liberty for fear of being burnt; above forty of them afterwards returned. The felons, nine in number, escaped at the same time, and only one was retaken.

The eruption of the mountain of St. John, in Cumberland, was matter of great speculation to all the virtuosi. It happened in the night between the 22d and 23d in-.

Nov. 4. A person who was remarkably busy in procuring witnesses to prove the innocence of some persons under confinement for transporting the woollen manufacturers, was taken into close custody himself for being concerned in the said affair. Nov. 14. A company of French comedians lately arrived, occasioned a good deal of noise, and were strenuously attacked in our newspapers; notwithstanding which, they began this night to act at the little theatre in the Haymarket, where a fray ensued, swords were drawn, and some persons wounded; however, they continued to act, and the French strollers and Westminster election almost entirely engrossed the attention of the town for the greatest part of this month.

Nov. 16. His Majesty went to the House of Peers, and opened the session with a speech from the throne, merely congratulatory on the return of peace, and requiring the usual supplies.

Addresses from both Houses were presented, and gracious replies given to both. The garrison of Gibraltar and people there had for some time been in great distress for want of provisions, the Spaniards having cut off all communication with that place, under pretence of their being afraid of the plague being brought in there, by means of their correspondence with Africa; and though, to remove this pretence, generai Bland, the governor, ordered that no vessel from the coast of Barbary should be admitted into that port, yet this prohibition caused no alteration in the measures taken by the Spaniards, who placed guards at all the avenues to that fortress, and imprisoned several persons for attempting to carry in provisions; nor would they allow any vessel to enter their ports, if they heard of their having touched at Gibraltar, having lately stopped four Portuguese vessels at Malaga, and confined their crews in the pesthouse, for no other reason but because they just touched at Gibraltar in their passage from any port of the Mediterranean.

Nov. 24. Between five and six o'clock in the evening, it being dark, the inhabitants of Stoke in Gloucestershire, and other parts of the county, as well as some travellers on the road, were very much surprised, at a sudden opening of the heavens, northward, in the midst of which sach an amazing light appeared, as rather surpassed that of the sun; so that for a abort space of time it looked as if the sun had shined out in its full lustre and glory; and it was equally as astonishing to behold this prodigious opening to close again, and shut in the bright illumination that appear

VOL. II.

ed from it. This had no resemblance with the northern lights.

Notice was given, that all persons possessed of any part of the national debt, redeemable by law, which carried an interest of 41. per cent. per annum, who should on or before the 28th of February, subscribe their names, or consent to accept of 31. per cent. per annum, to commence from the 25th of December, 1757, was to receive 47. per cent. till the 25th of December, 1750, and from that time 341. per cent. till the said 25th of December, 1757; and no part thereof, except what was due to the East India company, could be liable to be redeemed till after the 25th of December, 1757.

Dec. 8. The Westminster election was closed on this day; when the numbers upon the books appeared to be, for lord Trentham 4811; and for Sir George Van. deput 4654.

The two remaining state prisoners in the new gaol, Mr. Macdonald, the banker, and Mr. Maccloud, were by order of his grace the duke of Bedford, discharged from their long confinement, having obtained a free pardon.

A messenger arrived with despatches from his excellency the earl of Albemarle, containing a duplicate of the most Christian king's orders to the governor of Martinico, for the immediate evacuation of the islands of St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago; which duplicate, together with similar orders on the part of his Majesty to the governor of Barbadoes, was dispatched to that governor, by the Jamaica sloop of war.

Letters from Liverpool and Chester men-. tioned, that the distemper among the cattle raged violently in the neighbourhood of those two places, and that it had broke out in four different places within twelve miles of Liverpool, and within two miles of Chester, as well as in different parts of the counties.

Dec. 20. His Majesty went to the House of Peers, and gave the royal assent to the land-tax bill, of 3s. in the pound, for the year 1750.

To the bill for reducing the several annuities of 41. per cent. per annum, to the several rates of interest therein mentioned. And to four naturalization bills.

At a court martial on board his Majesty's yacht the Charlotte, at Deptford, on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, and 20th days of December, 1749; present, William Rowley, esq. rear-admiral of Great Britain, and admiral of the white squadron of his Majesty's fleet,

D