to support the honour of his crown, and the interests of his people.

The Commons addressed his Majesty upon this message, assuring him of their readiness to support such measures as might be necessary for maintaining the dignity of the crown, and the interests of his Majesty's dominions.

Died, the rev. C. Godfrey Woide, D.D. and F.R.S. assistant librarian of the British Museum, and author of a grammar and Lexicon of the Egyptian language, &c.

May 8. A proclamation was issued for encouraging seamen and landmen to enter themselves on board his Majesty's ships of war; and that officers on foreign stations should join their respective corps, and recalling and prohibiting seamen from serving foreign princes and states.

The rev. John Horne, D.D. promoted to the bishoprick of Norwich, in the room of Dr. Lewis Bagot, translated to St. Asaph.

May 16. A dreadful fire broke out in Cock-court, Long-lane, which communicated to the stables of the Red Lion-inn, and consumed the same, together with the extensive premises of Mr. Gilding, and six other houses, and part of the stock of a timber merchant; it subsequently appeared, that the premises were set on fire for the purpose of plundering, by Lowe and Jobbins, who were afterwards executed for the crime.

May 20. At the anniversary meeting of the Sons of the Clergy, the subscriptions amounted 775l. 17s. 8d.

May 21. Frith, the person who threw a stone into the King's coach, was this day tried for high treason, but it appearing, from the evidence, that he was a confirmed lunatic, he was acquitted.

Great riots happened in Ireland about this time, in consequence of the elections of members to serve in the new Parliament.

Died, at Trinity College, Oxford, the rev. Thomas Wharton, poet laureat, an eminent annotator, biographer, and poet.

May 22. Earl Gower appointed ambassador extraordinary, and minister plenipotentiary to the court of France.

The French National Assembly decreed, that the nation alone, had the right of declaring war or making peace.

May 25. The right hon. William Pitt elected high steward of the university of Cambridge.

May 28. The House of Commons ordered their Speaker to reprimand major Scott,

VOL. II.

for publishing a letter, containing a high breach of the privileges of the House.

May 31. The British ambassador at the Hague (lord Auckland) signified to their High Mightinesses, the probability of the British court requiring the succours stipulated to be given by the definitive treaty between the two countries, and was answered, that they should be granted as soon as required.

June 9. The royal assent was given, by commission, to several public and private bills.

June 10. His Majesty went in state to the House of Peers, and after giving the royal assent to several bills, put an end to the session by a speech from the throne.

June 12. A proclamation was issued for dissolving the present Parliament, and for calling a new one, and another proclamation for the election of the 16 Scotch peers.

June 14. Renwick Williams was brought before the sittingmagistrates at Bow-street, charged with cutting and wounding several ladies, he was remanded for further examination.

June 15. A messenger arrived this day with the answer of the Spanish court respecting the affair at Nootka Sound, by which, they persisted in claiming the sovereignty of those seas, but were willing to negociate respecting the captured ships.

June 16. The right hon. lord Hood, and the right hon. Charles James Fox, were respectively nominated, by their friends, as candidates to represent the city of Westminster; soon afterwards the celebrated John Horne Tooke, nominated himself as a third candidate. At the close of the poll on 2d July, the numbers were,

The two former were declared duly elected; Mr. Fox returned thanks, as did captain Hood for his father; Mr. Horne Tooke also addressed the populace in a long and patriotic harangue.

June 20. Earl Gower, ambassador extraordinary from Great Britain to the court of France, had a private audience of his most Christian Majesty, to deliver his credentials.

June 22. In consequence of the great heat of the weather, the thermometer being at 80, several storms of thunder and lightning did considerable damage in various parts of the country, particularly at

3 D

The four first were therefore declared duly elected.

June 28. Hereditary titles of honour abolished by the National Assembly of France, and the wearing of armorial bear ings and liveries prohibited.

June 29. John Wilkes, esq. having declined offering himself as a candidate again to represent the county of Middlesex, in consequence of the unfavourable reception he met with from the freeholders at their meeting at Hackney; William Mainwaring and George Byng, esqrs. were elected without opposition.

July 1. Edward Topham, esq. proprie ton of the "World" newspaper, was tried before judge Buller and a special jury, for a libel on the late earl Cowper, and found guilty.

July 5. Lord Southampton, accompanied by the overseers of St. Pancras, went in procession, and laid the first stone of a new chapel in that parish.

July 6. Aldermen Macauley and Glynn elected sheriffs of London.

Died, at Aix la Chapelle, in his 73d year, the right hon. George Augustus Elliott, lord Heathfield, K. B. and governor of Gibraltar, which fortress he successfully defended against the combined force of France and Spain.

July 8. Renwick Williams, commonly called the Monster, was tried for cutting the garments of Miss Anne Porter, and was found guilty.

July 14. A grand national confederation took place in the Champ de Mars, at Paris, on occasion of the different orders of the state swearing fidelity to the constitution; it was supposed that 600,000 were present at the fête.

Died, at his head quarters in Moravia, field marshal Laudohn, commander in chief of the Austrian forces.

Upwards of 600 persons dined at the

Crown and Anchor tavern, in the Strand, to celebrate the French revolution; lord Stanhope was in the chair.

July 17. Died, Adam Smith, L.L.D. and F.R.S., an eminent statistical writer, and author of the "Wealth of Nations."

Henry James Pye, esq. appointed poet laureat, in the room of the rev. Thomas Wharton, deceased.

July 22. John Sylvester, esq. elected common sergeant for the city of London.

The 16 peers for Scotland were this day elected, at Holyrood House, and what was very remarkable, only 13 had a decided majority, and the remaining three candidates had the same number of votes; a scrutiny of the whole votes was the consequence.

July 24. A declaration and counter de claration were respectively signed by the compte de Florida Blanc and the hon. Mr. Fitzherbert, on the part of Spain and Great Britain, by which Spain agreed to give satisfaction for the capture of the vessels at Nootka Sound, which was accepted on the part of Great Britain, but the right of settlement was reserved on both sides.

The rev. Dr. Withers, who was confined in Newgate for a libel on Mr. Fitzherbert, died in that prison of a putrid fever.

July 28. The Forth and Clyde navigation from sea to sea was opened; a track barge sailed from the basin of the canal near Glasgow, to the river Clyde, at Bowling bay, descending 150 feet; in the course of her voyage she passed along the stupendous aqueduct over the Kelvin, exhibiting the remarkable circumstance of a vessel navigating 70 feet over the heads of the passengers below.

The junction of the canals between Birmingham and Coventry has been completed, and boats were preparing to pass twice a week between London and Birmingham.

August 1. A shallop belonging to the ship Ulysses, capt. Campbell, of Glasgow, by a sudden squall shipped a sea in Montego bay, and instantly sunk, the captain and one sailor only were saved.

August 10. The House of Peers met, when the lord Chancellor, by virtue of a writ under the great seal, prorogued the Parliament till Tuesday the 14th of October.

August 17. The fleet under the command of lord Howe, consisting of 31 ships of the line, nine frigates, two brigs, two cutters, two fire ships, and a hospital ship, sailed from Torbay.

Sept. 4. M. Neckar sent to the king of France his resignation as minister of finance.

Sept. 12. The powder mills at Dartford, in Kent, blew up, when 25 barrels of gunpowder exploded, and levelled the corning houses, magazine, &c. with the ground; six men were killed by the accident.

Sept. 14. Died, David Ross, esq. patentee of the theatre royal, Edinburgh, and a celebrated actor.

Sept. 17. The noted George Barrington was tried at the Old Bailey, for robbing Henry Hare Townsend, esq. of a gold watch, &c. of which he was found Not Guilty; he pronounced an eloquent valedictory address in court, and bowing, respectfully withdrew.

Sept. 18. Died, in Pall Mall, his royal highness Henry Frederick duke of Cumberland, &c. brother to his Majesty, he married the hon. Ann Horton, a widow lady, by whom he had no issue.

Sept. 20. A duel was fought at Margate between Mr. Stephens, a young gentle man 20 years of age, only surviving son of Mr. Stephens of the admiralty, and Mr. Anderson, an attorney; the parties met near Kingsgate, when Mr. Stephens was shot through the head, and instantly expired.

Sept. 27. On Thursday a court of common council for the city of London was held, when an addition of 4001. a year was made to the Recorder's salary, to commence at Michaelmas.

Sept. 28. The remains of the late duke of Cumberland were interred with funeral pomp in Westminster abbey.

Sept. 29. John Boydell, esq. alderman, was chosen lord Mayor of London for the ensuing year.

Oct. 4. Orders were given by the Admiralty for five sail of the line to be got ready for the West Indies, in addition to five sail ordered last week.

Oct. 6. A great fire broke out in Bridgestreet, the corner of Fleet-street, which destroyed five large houses; a female servant was burnt to death, and the daughter of one of the tenants jumped out of a first floor window, and was dreadfully bruised.

Oct. 14. A fire broke out at Rotherhithe, which in a few hours consumed 14 houses, besides warehouses, and goods to a large amount.

Oct. 25. Advices of great importance were received from earl Gower, his Majesty's ambassador from France, on which a cabinet council was immediately held.

Oct. 28. A convention was signed between his Britannic Majesty and the king of Spain, which settled the late differences between the two kingdoms.

Oct. 30. The duke of Montrose appointed master of the horse to his Majesty.

Two incendiaries, Edward Lowe and William Jobbins, were tried for wilfully setting fire to the house of Mr. Francis Gilding, in Aldersgate-street, and burning it down, for the purpose of plundering the property, they were found guilty, and exhibited an instance of human depravity rarely to be met with; the Judge, in passing sentence, stated, that it was the only crime of that nature to be met with upon the records of villainy in that court; they were executed on the 18th of Nov., on a gallows erected opposite the ruins of Mr. Gilding's house, in Aldersgate-street.

Died, Mr. John Edwin, the celebrated comedian.

Oct. 31. A riot happened at Northampton, among the frame work knitters, which attained so great a height that the military were called in, and under the necessity of firing, by which many were wounded; 40 were seized and sent to prison.

Nov. 5. A fire broke out at the Silver Oar public house, in Chatham, which entirely destroyed that and the adjoining house, the Bull inn, and several other houses were much damaged; two shipwrights, lodging at the public house, were burnt to death, and a third narrowly escaped the flames.

Died, the rev. Michael Lort, D.D.,F.R.S. and A.S.S., a gentleman of considerable learning, and a great collector of scarce and valuable books.

Nov. 13. Lieut. general Sir Robert Boyd, K. B. appointed governor of Gibraltar, in the room of lord Heathfield, deceased; and major general Sir Henry Calder, lieut. governor.

Nov. 17. The case of Renwick Williams being reserved for a point of law, as to the nature of the offence committed by him, nine of the judges were of opinion that the finding of the jury was not within the statute under which he was tried; it could therefore be only considered a misdemeanor and not a felony.

Nov. 20. This day was opened at Blackwall, the new dock, constructed by Mr. Perry, for the reception of East India and merchant shipping.

Nov. 21. A severe storm of thunder and lightning visited London and its neighbourhood; and a storm still more severe desolated the southern parts of Hampshire; at Portsmouth, the lightning struck the Elephant, of 74 guns, lying in the harbour, but fortunately without doing any material damage.

Nov. 24. The court of common council of the city of London, presented a congratulatory address to his Majesty on the reconciliation with Spain, which was most graciously received.

Died, Robert Henry, D. D. author of the "History of Great Britain."

Nov. 26. His Majesty went in state to the House of Peers, and opened the session of Parliament by a speech from the throne, in which he noticed the convention concluded with Spain, and that in conjunction with his allies, he was employing his mediation to bring about a pacification between Austria and the Porte; and of endeavouring to put an end to the dissentions in the Netherlands.

Nov. 27. A terrible storm of thunder and lightning did considerable damage to the city of Salisbury; in different parts of the kingdom, particularly at Portsmouth, a storm, equally awful and destructive, took place.

Dec. 10. A convention was signed by his Majesty's ambassador to the States General, by the plenipotentiaries of their Imperial and Prussian Majesties, and of the States General, relative to the affairs of the Austrian Netherlands.

Dec. 13. Renwick Williams was tried for an assault and battery on Miss Porter, and found guilty, he was sentenced to six years imprisonment.

A fire broke out on board the Orion, of 74 guns, in Carlisle bay, Barbadoes, which was happily extinguished, without doing any considerable damage to the vessel, but in the confusion two marines and one seaman were drowned.

Dec. 14. His serene highness the duke of Saxe Gotha, the duke of Leeds, and the earl of Chatham, were elected knights of the most noble order of the Garter.

The principal aisle of the church at Banbury, in Oxfordshire, fell down, just after several persons had left the church, or many lives would have been lost; the tower fell the next day.

Dec. 15. A violent storm from the south west did considerable damage in the me

tropolis, several stacks of chimnies were thrown down, and houses unroofed.

Dec. 22. The Charlemont packet, bound to Dublin, was dashed to pieces on a rock near Holyhead, the whole of the crew and passengers, except 16 persons, were drowned, among whom were twelve ladies.

The town of Ismael was taken by storm by the Russians, under general Suvaroff; the whole of the garrison, and a great part of the inhabitants, were massacred.

Dec. 23. A more violent storm than the one on the 15th came on from the south west, attended with thunder and lightning, and heavy showers of hail and rain; the copper roofing of the new stone buildings was torn up, and blown over into Chancery-lane, rendering it impassable; 13 trees were torn up in Lincoln's-inn gardens, and several in other places; two persons were killed by the falling of chimnies; the damage done to houses and other buildings was too numerous to particularize. So destructive a storm had not been witnessed for several years; it was equally violent in other places, more particularly at Windsor, Buckingham, Horsham, and Whitehaven; North Wales also felt severely the effects of it.

PRINCIPAL ACTS PASSED THIS YEAR,

For the better support of the dignity of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and for disabling him from holding any office or place of profit during pleasure under the crown.

To continue the encouragement and reward to persons discovering the longitude, &c.

For relief of American loyalists, and East Florida sufferers.

For encouraging new settlers in his Ma. jesty's American colonies.

For regulating the slave trade.

To enable the governors of certain places beyond the seas to remit the sentence of transported felons.

To change the punishment of burning of women.

For converting certain annuities by tontine, established by an act of last session, into certain annuities for an absolute term of years.

To explain the 20 Geo. III. concerning county elections.

To amend the act, limiting the number of outside passengers on stage coaches, &c.