They voted their thanks to General Vaughan and the troops; to whom they propofed, as a reward for the service they had been of in protecting their property, to give them a fix-pence per diem; to which Mr. Shirley, purveyor to the navy, promised another fixpence. A floop was on the 16th dispatched to St. Lucia to Commodore Hotham, with the melancholy tidings of the dreadful calamity that has befallen the ifland, requesting of him to send a frigate to England with the news. The above is the account fent to Lieut. Gen. Vaughan, commander in chief of the Leeward Inlands, and by him tranfmitted to Lord G. Germaine. Venus cut away her foremaft, loft her bowfprit, and is arrived at English harbour. At Dominica they have greatly fuffered. Every building in St. Vincent blown down, and the town destroyed. The Juno, a new French frigate of 40 guns, drove on shore, and dashed all to pieces. At Grenada, great devastation on fhore; nineteen fail of loaded Dutch fhips ftranded and beat to pieces. At Martinique, all the ships were blown off the island that were bringing troops and provifions. On the 12th four thips foundered in Four Royal Bay, and every foul perished; the other fhips were blown out of the Roads, and many muft of course be loft. In the noble town of St. Pierre Authentic Accounts from other Islands every house is down, and more are as follow: At Antigua they felt no bad effects from this hurricane. At St. Chriftopher's many veffels were forced on shore. At St. Lucia all the barracks and huts for his majefty's troops, and other buildings in the inland, were blown down, and the fhips were driven to fea; his majefty's ship the Amazon, Captain Finch, moft miraculously escaped foundering; fhe was on her beam-ends for many hours; the lay down fo far that her windward guns were in the water; had many men wath ed over-board, others drowned on her decks; was obliged to cut away all her mafts and bowfprit, but, under jury mafts, fafely arrived at English harbour. The Albemarle blown out of Barbadoes, cut away her mafts, and alfo put into English harbour. The than 1000 people perished; at Fort royal town the cathedral, the feven churches, and other noble and religious edifices, the gover. nor's house, the record - office, fenate - houfe, prifons, hofpitals, barracks, ftore houses of government and merchants, and upwards of 1400 other houses, were blown down, and an incredible number of perfons loft their lives; the new hofpital of Notre Dame, the most convenient and elegant in the Weft-Indies, in which were 1600 fick and wounded patients, was blown down, and the greatest part of them, with the matrons, nurses, and attendants, &c. buried in the ruins. Every ftore-house in the dock yard is blown down, and filled with ruins; the fick-house of the fhipwrights, &c. belonging, to the yard, shared the fate of that of Notre Dame, and about 100 perished. By By the reports of the day, the number fuppofed to have perished upon the island, including negroes, is computed at upwards of 9000, and the damage at upwards of 700,000 louis d'ors. The accounts from St. Euftatia, a Dutch fettlement, are (if poflible) still more affecting. On th, at eleven in the morn the 1 Copies of Letters between Lord Hillsborough, and the Earl of Pembroke, on the Difmiffion of the latter from the Office of Lord Lieutenant of the County of Wilts. St. James's, Feb. 14, 1780. My Lord, ing, the sky on a fudden blacken-AM much concerned that it ed all around; it looked as difmal as night, attended with, the most violent rains, thunder, lightping, and wind, ever before known. In the afternoon the gale increafed. Seven thips were driven on fhore near North-Point, and dashed to pieces on the rocks; they were bound for Europe, and every foul, officers and men, perished. Nineteen other fhips cut their cables, and food to fea; only one of which is returned, in a most difmal condition. In the night every houfe to the northward and fouthward was blown down, or washed away, with the inhabitants, into the fea; fome few only efcaping, who crawled up the mountains, and hid themselves in large holes. The houses to the caft and weft were not so much hurt, till the afternoon of the 11th, when the wind on a fudden thifted to the eastward, and at night it blew with redoubled fury, and fwept away every house. The principal edifices left ftanding are the new and old fort, the States barracks and hofpital, with the cathedral, and four other churches. The deftruction of people on this melancholy event is reputed (whites and blacks) to be between 4 and 5000. The pecuniary lofs cannot be computed. falls to my lot to obey the king's commands, by acquainting your lordship that his majefty has no farther occafion for your fervice in the offices of Lord-lieutenant, and Cuftos Rotulorum of the county of Wilts; and your Jordfhip will, I hope, believe me, when I affure you I fhould be glad of a more agreeable opportunity of expreffing the respect, with which I have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's most obedident, humble fervant, HILLSBOROUGH. To the Earl of Pembroke, &c. &c. ment and affection to his majefty, I am under the neceffity of imputing this mark of the king's difpleasure to his minifters, on account of a vote I gave as a free man, upon a public question. I have the honour to be, your lord hip's moft obedient, To the Earl of Hillsborough, &c. Proceedings in the Cafe of Mr. Pizzoni, the Venetian Resident. ON N Thurfday the ad of February, the Lord Chancellor and Earl Mansfield met in Lin coln's inn hall, to try a caufe, as extraordinary as it was novel. The court itself was the firft of the kind that ever fat in this kingdom; its jurifdiction was eftabhihed by an act paffed in the 5th of Queen Ann, which empowers the chancellor, and the two chief justices of the King's Bench and Common Pleas, or any two of them, to take cognizance of illegal attacks on the privi leges of ambaffad rs, and to judge of them in a fummary way. This accounts for Lord Thurlow and Lord Mansfield meeting on the fame bench. The caufe brought before then was on the complaint of the Attorney general against a Mr. Reilly, an upholsterer, for fuing out a writ against Mr. Pizzoni, the late refident from the republic of Venice; Mr. Gapper, an attorney, for having figned it; and one Cawdron, a fheriff's officer, for having executed it, at a time when Pizzoni was entitled to the privileges of an ambaffador. The Attorney-general, affifted by the Solicitor general, barely ftated the cafe in a mild manner, and prayed that the court would, for the fake of example, inflict a punifhment on the defendants. It was pleaded in favour of the defendants, that Mr. Pizzoni having had his audience of leave, and his fucceffor having been introduced to their majefties, it was very natural to fuppofe, that the former was no longer vefted with a public character, which could protect him from arrefts; and that as the expreffion in the act of parliament, which allows to foreign ministers a reasonable time to withdraw from the kingdom, was vague and indeterminate, it was not to be wondered at, that they thought eight days a reasonable time. The counfel, therefore, hoped, that if the defendants deferved any punifhment at all, it ought to be the lighteft that the court could poffibly inflict. The Lord Chancellor did not appear inclined to feverity. He asked if the defendants had offered to make any fubmiffion. It was replied, that the attorney and officer had; but that Reilly could not, being, at the time of the arrest, himself a close prifoner in the King's-bench for the debt due to him from Pizzoni. The Attorney - general, after having heard the defence, prayed, that, for example fake, the court would punish the defendants; but did by no means wish to overturn any thing that had been faid by way of mitigation. The Lord Chancellor obferved, that the queftion, being a question between between nation and nation, was by no means a fit fubject for fpeculation. The time allowed for ambaffadors to depart the king. dom could not, and indeed ought not, to be defined; nor thould their privileges be invaded, even after they have difcharged their embaffy, unless it should appear that they intended to fink into the rank of common subjects, by taking up their refidence in this country. As to the punishment, the affair, he faid, was of a delicate nature, and required fome time for deliberation before judgment fhould be pronounced. Of the fame opinion was Lord Mansfield. Breviate of Mr. Burke's Bill for the better Regulation of his Majesty's Civil Efablishment, and of certain public Offices; for the Limitation of Penfions, and the Suppreffion of fundry ufclefs, expenfive, and inconvenient Places; and for applying the Monies faved thereby for the public Service. The Bill fets forth, Tbeen granted to HAT large aids having been granted to his majefty in fupport of the prefent war, have caufed a confiderable increase of the public debt, and fub. jected the people of this realm to many burthens and inconveniences. That farther grants and bur. thens may be ftill neceffary; and it is the duty of the reprefentatives of the commons of the land that due care fhould be taken, by a reduction of unneceffary charges, by introducing a better order into the management of the expences of his majefty's civil establishment, by rendering the public accounts more easy, by a farther fecurity for the independence of parlia ment, and by applying the monies, which are not now fo properly hufbanded, to the public fervice; to afford all poffible relief to the people of this realm, thereby adding ftrength to his majefty's government. And therefore enacts, That the office of third fecretary of ftate, or secretary of ftate for the colonies, and the board of trade and plantations, shall be abolifhed. There are clauses, Declaring by whom the du ties of fuch office fhall be performed. The bill further fets forth, That the constitution of his majefty's court and houfhold being in many particulars inconvenient, and having a tendency to create ex pence, Therefore the bill enacts, That the offices of treasurer of the chamber, the treasurer of the houthold, and the feveral other offices of his majefty's houfhold therein mentioned, with their de. pendencies, fhall be abolished. There are claufes, of the Green-cloth to other perFor transferring the jurifdiction fons, and for providing for the tables of his majefty's houshold by contract for abolishing the offices of the great wardrobe, removing wardrobe, and other offices therein mentioned, with their dependencies-for abolishing the board of works, and for appointing a furveyor or comptroller of his majefty's buildings and gardens, and for providing for the expences at tending The bill also fets forth, In order that no reformation made by this act should operate as a retrospective penalty, and to put an end to fuits between the public and private perfons: Therefore the bill enacts, That commiffioners may be appointed by his majefty, to call before them several accountants, against whom balances are returned, in order to examine and to proceed in fuch manner as in the bill is mentioned tending the fame by contract-for for compelling the payment of badeclaring that all falaries and lances. charges of his majefty's houfhold fhall be paid at the Exchequer that furniture and moveables of his majesty's houfhold fhall be purchased by contract-for declaring that his majesty's ftables fhall be fupplied by contract-that the offices of mafter of the buckhounds, fox-hounds, and harriers, be abolished, and the duty performed by the fenior equerry, and to be provided for by contract-for making regulations in the body of yeomen of the guards, and band of gentlemen penfioners-for abolishing the office of paymafter of the penfions, directing that all penfions fhall hereafter be paid at the Exchequer-for limiting the fum to be appropriated to the penfion lift-for regulating the private lifts of penfions-to limit the fum of money to be iffued for fecret fervice in one year-for regulating the iffuing of money for foreign and fecret fervice-for regulating the method of iffuing money for the purpose of special fervice-for claffing the order of payments of his majefty's civil eftablishment, and for applying the balance of fuch accounts. The bill fets forth, That there having been great delays in paffing the accounts of paymafter-general and treasurer of the navy; The bill directs The bill further fets forth, That feveral of the chief offices in the Exchequer being held for life, and having been granted as an honourable provifion for the perfons or families of thofe who have ferved the state, and which the law of the land hath infured to them, and that it is equally expedient that the crown fhould not in future be debarred from the means of making an honourable provifion for those who served the ftate. The bill fets forth, That the board of ordnance is properly a military concern, and at prefent attended with great expence to the public. Therefore the bill enacts, That the civil branch of the faid board thall be fuppreffed. There are claufes, Directing in what manner the faid office fhall be executed, both for the land and naval fervice for appointing a commiflion directed to certain commiffioners, who are to regulate all things re lative to the faid ordnance, and to bring the fame to a more per feat RHODES HOUSE OXFORD LIBRARY |