lightning, was referred to a committee, confifting of Dr. Franklin, Dr. Watson, Mr. Canton, Mr. Ed-' ward Delaval, and Mr. Wilfon, who after having examined the building, are to report their opinion. Parties run fo high in Sweden, that they are fending expreffes to the different courts of Europe to recal all the members of their different affemblies, against the approaching dyet: laft week one of their members was fent for from Bath on that occafion, and was allowed but a very few hours before he fet out for Stockholm. They write from Conftantinople, that their preparations for the enfuing war are carrying on with the greateft vigour. The 23d of laft month the mufti performed the ceremony of dipping the border of our prophet's garment in water. This is a kind of holy-water, which is preferved in bottles, which the grand fignior prefents to the principal people of the empire, who look upon it as very valuable, and mix a drop of it every day with a large glafs of common water, which they drink with, great devotion. This day his majefty went 23d. to the house of peers, attended by the mafter of the horfe, and one of the lords in waiting, and gave the royal affent to the following bils: The bill to render more effectual an act of this feffion of parliament, for preventing mutiny and defer tion in his majesty's dominions in America. The bill for diffolving the marriage of his Grace the Duke of Grafton, with Anne Liddel, his now wife, and to enable him to marry again. The bill for diffolving the mar riage of John Worgan with Sarah Mackelcan, his now wife. And to feveral private bills. After which, both houfes adjourned for the holidays. ed The city of London have expendalready in the new pavement upwards of 80,000l. in repairing the old, lighting and cleanfing, fince the act for new paving, &c. took place, 40,000l. in the whole upwards of 120, ool. befides large fums that have been paid for purchafing houses to pull down to widen ftreets. Near 200,000l. has been paid for the new bridge, and a large fum more is ftill to pay for new roads, embanking, and finishing the faid bridge. The Royal Exchange is now repairing, which will coft 10,000l. The gaol of Newgate is going to be rebuilt, which will coft 50,000l. many entire new ftreets are now building. All which thew the valt opulence of the city of London. Between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, the princess of Orange was delivered of a dead prince, to the great affliction of the prince ftadtholder, and of the public, Lisbon, Feb. 28. The fhip of war, named the Mother of God, arrived here the 22d inftant from Rio de Janeiro, but laft from the Bay of all Saints, where he had put in for want of water. She made the voyage in 120 days. She has on board nine millions of crufadoes in gold, of which two millions and a half are on account of the king, the reft on account of the merchants; two millions and a half of crufades in diamonds, and about an hundred thoufand crowns tournois in piaftres; which makes in the whole twenty-nine millions and fifty thousand livres tournois. [G 3] Ad Addreffes from Liverpool 27th. and Leicester, were prefent ed to his majefty. Col. H. Luttrel, fon of Lord Irnham, declared himself a candidate for Middlefex. The improvement of barren lands, by planting Scots firs, is ftrongly recommended in the repofitory of fele papers. Mr. Fenwick, of Lemington, in Northumberland, has planted fome hundred thoufands, at the expence of 7s. a thousand. But furely labour must be very cheap in that country. Among the grants from the crown, that of Hay-hill, near Berkeleyfquare, by queen Anne, to the then fpeaker of the houfe of commons, is remarkable. Much clamour was made about it, as a bribe of great confequence, and the fpeaker fold it for 2001. and gave the money to the poor. The Pomfret family afterwards purchafed it, and it has lately been fold for 20,000l. A letter from Norwich takes notice, that 170 perfons in the neighbourhood of that city, had been inoculated by Mr. Chapman, a farrier and blackfmith, not one of whom had been in the leaft danger. A fumptuous fet of horse furniture, defigned as a prefent from his majefty to an Eaft-India nabob, was placed on one of the king's horfes for his majefty's approbation. It "made a very fplendid appearance, it being ornamented with diamonds, and valued at 10,cool. Her grace the duchess of Kingfrom wears pendent on her left foulder, the picture of the electress of Saxony; and, from her example, other ladies began to wear miniature portraits in the fame man ner. An Italian musician, being de tected in an intrigue with a great perfonage, at the court of Berlin, had his head fevered from his body by order of the -. This affair has been the subject of much converfation. By letters from the gentlemen appointed to go to Orenbourg by his Danish majeity, to obferve the tranfit of Venus, it appears that they have been retarded in their journey` by the fevere froft which fet in at Surbirk, about the beginning of Auguft laft, which confirms the obfervation of Mr. Crantz, in his history of Greenland, that the mildeft winters in the fouthern climates, are generally the feverest in the northern. From the 15th to the 18th of September, the liquor in De Lifle's thermometer fell from 160 to 165, and in Reaumur's to 5 below the point o. It has been remarked by an humorous foreigner, that in England the people are taxed in the morning for the foap that washes their hands; at nine for the coffee, the tea and the fugar they ufe for their breakfaft; at noon, for the starch that powders their hair; at dinner for the falt that favours their meat; in the evening for the porter that cheers their fpirits ; all day long for the light that enters their windows; and at night for the candles that light them to bed. Conftantinople, March 5. Letters from Alexandria advise, that in a ftorm on the 26th of December laft, eight French fhips, two Venetian, two Ragufan, one Neapolitan, and four Turkish fhips, all laden and ready for failing, perished. St. Malo's, March 21. The king's frigate, the Boudeufe, commanded by the fieur de Bougainville, which entered this port the 14th inftant, was about two years and a half on her voyage round the world. That officer reports, that during his voyage, notwithstanding his crew were expofed to the mortality ordinarily occafioned by excef five fatigues and the corruption of almoft all the provifions, he had the good fortune to lofe but feven men. This furprising preservation of his crew the fieur de Bougainville attributes to the great quantity of fea water diftilled, which he was conftantly in a state of procuring, by means of the fieur Poiffonier's machine. He adds, that the adminiftering to every perfon whom he fufpected to have the fcurvy, the powder of lemonade of the fieur Faciot feems to him to have contributed at the fame time to ftop the progress of that malady. And he further obferved, that by means of ventilators, the air in the fhip had been continually freshened. Extract of a letter from Madrid, March 1. "Our king here has fet an example worthy of a fovereign and father of his people, but which, perhaps, few modern crowned heads will even endeavour to imitate. About two years fince he commanded lifts of all his father's debts to be delivered in; and as many of them lay in the Weft-Indies, he gave a fuller fpace, that all might be liquidat: ed at the fame time; accordingly the most diftant are now paid, as well as thofe of this city; and I can fpeak from proof, that not a farthing is undifcharged, and all with intereft." Naples, Feb. 14. To-morrow will be the firft day of the conclave at Rome, for the election of a Pope. Stockholm, March 14. The 9th of this month the royal family were inoculated for the small pox, upon the English plan. 31ft. This day the highwayman, who robbed lately near Boroughbridge the north mail, was apprehended at Greenwich. Several bankers notes, a bond, and a law cafe, with fome other papers taken out of the mail, were found in his poffeffion. He was to have failed for Holland in half an hour, had he not been apprehended. What is remarkable, though he was well known at Greenwich, having been letter-carrier there, yet he danced all night at a ball, after his perfon was defcribed in the London Ga zette. Five indictments were this day preferred at the new Guildhall, Westminster, against five rioters, who were lately taken into cuftody at St. James's; but they were all thrown out by the grand jury. At a village near Ledbury in Herefordshire, are at this time living one Price and his wife, whofe ages added together makes 220 years the man being 112, and the woman 108.- -They have been married above 80 years. Died, on the 18th, Mr. David Barclay, in the 88th year of his age. He was the only furviving fon of Mr. Robert Barclay, author of the famous Apology for the Quakers, and had the fingular honour of receiving, at his houfe in Cheapfide, three fucceffive kings, when at their acceffion they favoured the city with their royal prefence. At Hampton, aged 102, Joshua Velmont, efq. ift. APRIL. Cheapfide, to confider of the addrefs which was to be moved for at Guildhall, an hundred and fortyone members of the city commoncouncil attended. After, fome debate, the question being put, it appeared that twenty-one, were for addreffing, and one hundred and twenty against it. Much warmth was difplayed on this occafion by fome of the members, ** 6th. The fieur Bougainville, who went out in one of the French king's frigates on difcoveries in the, S. Seas, returned to St. Maloes, and has brought with him an inhabitant of a new-difcovered ifland, who is faid to have fome knowledge of aftronomy. This island is faid to be, as large as all Europe; the inhabi-A bill of indictment was tants of which owe to their own preferred against MQuirk, ingenuity alone, all that is either for the murder of George Hopkins, neceffary or uteful for the fupport, headborough of the parish of St. of life. Their notions of religion Leonard, Shoreditch, who is faid to are truly natural. they hold the have died of the wounds he receiv Pythagorean fyftem of the tranfmi- ed at Brentford; but, the grand jury gration of fouls; and they fay,, rejected it. that when we die in Europe, we revive again in their country, and vice verfa. This fhip was three years and three months on her voyage.. One of the moft skilful navigators, of this age propofed to our go-, vernment the going in fearch of this, island, on condition the expence of the voyage was defrayed, which the government refufed to comply with. The inhabitants of Bread-freet,, Baffifhaw, Vintry, Cornhill, Far-: rington without, and Wallbrook Wards, &c. have met in their refpective wards, and drawn up in ftructions to their common council directing them to oppose any attempt that may be made at Guildhail for an addrefs, declaring their opinions, that an addrefs at this time is totally unnecefiary, as calculated to countenance the unconftitutional meafures of the prefent, adminiftration, rather than to exprefs duty and affection to the beft of kings.' 3d. At a previous meeting at the Half-moon tavern in The Coventry address, agunstwhich the fociety who file themfelves the fupporters of the bill of rights have threatened vengeance," was published in the London Gazette, in which the exceptionable claufe runs thus :: "With respect to the mere inftruments of our present confufion, we can only lament their error; but for their patrons, from whose leflons of fedition they have been tempted to exhibit their improvements in that deteftable fcience, even before the gates of your palace, notwithstanding they may affume to themfelves the refpectable character of fupporters of the bill of rights," they will for ever be regarded, by the more fober part of your Majefty's fubjects, as enemies to monarchy, and fubverters of all legal government.” ́ This morning, about a quarter before four o'clock, a fire broke out at Mr. Smith's, mafter of the three tans eating-houfe, oppofite Lancafter-court in the Strand, which entirely confumed the faid houfe, likewife the house of Mr. Johnfon, mufic-feller, and greatly damaged the house of Mr. Mansfield, maitero of the cordial warehouse, both adjoining. The following perfons unhappily perifhed upon this melancholy occafion, viz. Brudenell, efq. an elderly gentleman, nearly related to col. Brudenel of the guards, and likewife to his grace the duke of Montagu; Mrs. Douglas and her fon, a youth of eleven years of age: all lodgers. The waiter, faid to have been barnt, happily escaped. The feffions of the Old 8th. Bailey, which began on Wednesday, ended, when five convicts received fentence of death. At this feffions Thomas Braine was indicted: for printing and publishing a feditious libel against lord Mansfield, and acquitted. which occafion both public and private balls were fuppreffed for fome time. The feffions endel at. Hicks'shall, when feven perfons were fentenced to be transported, among whom was Samuel Fisher, a noted cheat and gambler, who has, within these four years, been nine times tried at the Old Bailey and the country aflizes, but had the good fortune to be acquittéd: it is faid he is worth feveral thousand pounds. This day was held at the 12th. London tavern, the anniver-o At the pretenting an addrefs from the county of Surry, the king knighted Richard Hotham, of Merton, and Timothy Waldo, of Clapham, efqrs. The fervant of farmer Peters of Wishingford, in Cornwall, having beaten a horfe with great cruelty, the beaft seized him with his teeth, and fhook him in the air in fuch a manner, that he died two hours after he was released. About half paft nine the A young lady of 18, near Dart-election for Middlesex came ford in Kent, poffeffed of a fortune, on at Brentford. The candidates of zocol. a year, took poifon, and were Mr. Wilkes, Mr. Luttrell, expired before the caufe of her ill- Mr. Roache, and Mr. Serjeant: nefs was known to the family. Whitaker. Great confufion having arifen at: Bath, about the choice of a mafter of the ceremonies, in the room of Mr. Derrick, lately deceafed, the friends of the principal candidates (Major Brereton and Mr. Plomer) having met at one of the public rooms, began to be very abufive, and from words they foon came to blows; a general confufion enfued, the riot act was read, and the magiftrates of the city were called upon to put an end to the diforder; upon 13th. After the writ and the act of parliament again!t bribery and corraption were read, and the sheriffs fworn, Mr. Sawbridge spoke in: substance: 66 That the affair. in point was now a difpute between an and the freeholders of Middlefex; that fince the former election there had been a meeting of the fupporters of the bill of rights, wherein he had the honour to take the chair, and that it was refolved to fupport Mr. Wilkes's |