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muft alfo have been very confiderable, because the crews of their fhips of war are very numerous.

"The Maltese fleet having returned in a moft fhattered condition, it is at present very doubtful on which fide the victory was obtained. The moft general opinion, however is, that it terminated in a kind of drawn battle." Extract of a letter from Clonmel, Ireland, Dec. 28.

"We lay before the public the following circumftances relative to the murder of John Dunn.

"Dunn was an induftrious farmer, and lived on the lands of Fennor, contiguous to the road leading from Longford Pafs to Urlingford; about the middle of January laft his horfes were taken away, and abused by the White Boys, feveral of whom being known to him, he threatened to lodge informations against them, if his horfes were again taken; on account of this declaration, the White Boys went to Dunn's house the 31ft of the fame month, took him naked, in triumph, to Beggar's Inn, in the county of Kilkenny, a diftance of about fiye miles, where a grave was prepared, in the center of the three roads, in which they buried him up to the neck; but not content therewith, they moft inhumanly cut off both his ears, which they nailed to a public pump in the faid town, where they remained for fome days. In confequence of this outrage he lodged an information, and three of the offenders being taken, he attended at the laft aflizes of Clonmel to profecute, but the prifoners found means to have the trial put off, and the White Boys, in order to defeat the operation of the laws, and put an ef

fe&tual ftop to the profecution, went armed with guns, on Sunday night the 17th inftant, about the hour of nine o'clock, to Dunn's house, broke open the door, took him out of bed, and with a hatchet clove his head, laying it open from the crown to the joining of the neck, and then fevered the mangled head from the body."

January 1st, 1787. A ftriking inftance of the effects of temperance appears in Mrs. Price, of Beckley, in Oxfordshire, a maiden lady, who is now in her ninety-eighth year, and has all her faculties in full perfection, being able to read the fmalleft print without the help of glaffes. About two years fince the cut two young teeth, and at the fame time her eyes received freth vigour.

6th.

A letter from Belfast states a moft ferious difpute which has arifen between the Earl of Donnegal and Lord Chief Baron Yelverton, of Ireland.

The facts are as follow:

"The Lord Chief Baron purchafed from a gentleman named Pottinger, a piece of ground which had been in poffeffion of his anceftors for many years.

"This piece of ground is fituated in the county of Down, on the banks of the river Lagan, and communicates with the town of Belfast by a narrow bridge.

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The town of Belfast is the fole property of the Earl of Donnegal, who has always refused to let what is called in Ireland an improving leafe, to any of his tenants, but fets his leafes up to fale, and lets the premifes to the highest bidder, without any regard to the intereft of the old tenants; which conduct, fome years ago, gave rife to a very se

fious infurrection of feveral thoufand infurgents, under the denomihation of Hearts of Steel.

"The Lord Chief Baron feeing the advantages which muft arife from building a town oppofite to Belfaft, banked in a large piece of the fea ftrand by a ftrong mound, and marked out the place fo inclofed into ftreets, which he let to tenants on leafes in perpetuity. "An elegant new town was rifing from this foundation, when a number of armed men, under the direction of the Senefchal of Belfast, and the overfeer of the Belfaft canal, came down from the inland country, and fo far demolished the works as to let in the fea.

"The Chief Baron is now on the ground overfeeing the repairs, with friends prepared to oppofe and repel any further attempts to injure him."

At the clofe of the Old

19th. Bailey bufinefs on Tuesday

the 16th, the following cafe ftands as most remarkable. Samuel Burt, condemned to die for a forgery on Mr. Evans, gold-beater in LongAcre, to whom he was an apprentice, was brought up and informed by the recorder, that his majefty had remitted his fentence of death, on condition of tranfportationwhich mercy, in a speech of fome length, the convict begged to decline. The recorder took every pains to convince him of the impropriety of his conduct.—But the prifoner, acknowledginghis majefty's clemency, faid, "The object for which he wished to live not being in his power to obtain, he declined all interceffion in his favour, and muft beg leave to have his fentence put into execution." On which the recorder

informed him, that he fhould wait till the firft day of next feflions, and if he then perfifted in his refolution, he thould fuffer. The prifoner then returned from the bar, faying, "he fhould ever keep his intent, and only withed that the day was already come."

Whitehall, Jan. 20th. One of the king's meffengers, difpatched by the Right Hon. William Eden, arrived here on Thursday morning laft, with a convention between his majefty and the most chriftian king, concerning the execution of the late treaty of navigation and commerce, which was figned at Verfailles on the 15th inftant, by Mr. Eden and his moft chriftian majefty's plenipotentiary.

Bruffels, Jan. 20th. The emperor has abolished the court dreffes hitherto worn by the ladies of the court; and alfo the cuftom of kiffing the hands of the fovereign and the royal family, and all kinds of bending of the knee and kneeling down, his majesty looking upon the latter as only due to the Deity.

Paris, Jan. 23d. The Droit d'Aubaine in France, both as to perfonal and real property, is abolished fo far as may affect any future claims of his majefty's British and Irish fubjects. This was declared by an arret which paffed a few days ago.

DIED. Lately, at Upfal, aged 77, the famous Walerino, the most celebrated natural philofopher of the prefentage, and well known through France for his curious works in mineralogy.

At Horton, near Leak, Staffordfhire, Mary Brook, who in August laft arrived at the age of 119 years. She lived fingle 50 years, was then married; lived a married life 50 [N] 2

years,

years, and has been 19 years and fome months a widow.

Ift.

FEBRUARY.

The Severn Eaft-India packet, Captain Kidd, which was loft in the mouth of Bengal river, had fifty-five paffengers on board, chiefly Lafcars, out of whom only fourteen were faved. The following is a lift of the officers and paffengers loft: Captain Kidd, Mr. Schobje, chief officer; Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Lacey, Major Adderly, Enfign Sir Richard Cox, Mr. Ryon, Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Friend, one of the hon. company's pilots. Extract of a letter from New-York, via France, dated January 22. Congress have lately concluded a negotiation with the court of Lifbon, in respect of trade, by which the fhips and fubjects of the United States are to have all the privileges and immunities of the most favoured nation in the ports and dominions of Portugal, but are excluded from bringing away any of its current gold coin, under the fame penalties as are affixed, in other nations, to fuch cafes. Don Ximenes Perrai is come to refide here as conful for the Portuguese nation; and this treaty is to be in force ten years."

Letters from Conftantinople import, that nothing is publicly known concerning the real fituation of the Porte's affairs in Egypt; all that has tranfpired for certain is, an order given for a reinforcement of 25,coo men fent to the affiftance of the Capitan Pacha, to give him an opportunity of difengaging himself from Cairo, where he is in a manner cooped up by the rebellious beys.

Among the illuftrious perfonages who fet out from Czariko Zelo on the 18th January, to accompany the emprefs in her journey to Cherfon, are the English, Imperial, and French minitters. The emperor will leave his capital the beginning of March, in order to meet the czarina at the above place. Our letters from Petersburg alfo add, that the Neapolitan ambaffador has at laft, after an uninterrupted negotiation of four years, concluded a very advantageous treaty between his court and that of Ruffia.

An exprefs arrived from roth. France with an account, that the great caffoon juft completed at Cherbourg had given way; this event had been occafioned by the late violent wefterly winds, which had caufed an uncommon high sea.

The following melancho11th. ly event happened this day about eleven o'clock, in the forenoon, in Wood-ftreet, Cheapfide: Mr. Owen, one of the ferjeant's at mace to the theriff of London, on Thursday laft arrested a gentleman for 20cl. and upwards, took him to his own houfe, and having obferved fome marks of infanity about him, Mr Owen had defired one of the keepers of the compter's fervants to fit up with him, but before the hour of ten at night, Mr. Owen being out, the gentleman took the advantage, knocked down Mrs. Owen, feized the key, and made his efcape, though Mrs. Owen feized him by the coat flap, which gave way, and was left in her hand; the then pursued him, calling stop thief! but he got clear off. Mr. Owen having intelligence where he was on Sunday morning, went with fome affiftance

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affiftance and took him, brought him home into Wood-ftreet, where he had not been five minutes before he took the opportunity, whilft Mr. Owen and his affiftants were in an adjoining room, to cut his throat, and in fuch a manner, that he nearly fevered the head from the body. A furgeon was immediately fent for, but nothing could fave him, as he died in an inftant.

A filver coinage, confifting of fhillings and fixpences, tothe amount of feventy-five thousand pounds fterling, has at length been completed in his majesty's mint at the Tower, and on Monday the 5th, part was brought to the Bank, and depofited in the treasury.

On the 8th ult. at a concert before the royal family at Naples, the celebrated D. Saveria Savilla, well known for his wonderful vocal powers, being in the act of finging a molt charming air, which was honoured with profound attention, expired inftantaneoufly without a groan, in one of the most exquifitely beautiful paffages of the fong. It is much easier to conceive than defcribe the furprize which fuch an event occafioned.

Paris, Feb. 18. This day Comte de Montmorin took the ufual oaths, in confequence of being appointed fecretary of ftate for foreign affairs. 21ft. A very extraordinary circumftance happened at Covent-garden theatre on Saturday night the 17th, or rather Sunday morning. About one o'clock Mr. Brandon, who refides at the theatre, heard a violent noife in the house, and fome perfon calling very loud, > as from the interior part of the theatre; he procured a light, and went to the place where he heard

the noife, and found a gentleman in the pit, much bruifed, and his finger broken. On enquiring how he came thither, the only account he could give was, that he remembered coming to the play in the evening, and hanging by his finger on fome place, but had no recollection where or when. His hat and cane were found in the upper boxes. There is no doubt but that he fell asleep during the performance, and was locked in the houfe, and walking in his fleep, fell out of the boxes into the pit-as it is probable, from the fituation of his hat and cane, that he fell from the upper boxes, it was highly fortunate that he did not receive much more injury.

The barons of the Scotch court of Exchequer lately determined a queftion, Whether the town-councils of the royal boroughs of Scotland were obliged to account for the public money of the borough in exchequer?

Baron Sir John Dalrymple and Baron Stewart Moncrief delivered their opinions, that, by the Scotch act of parliament, 1535, the towncouncils were obliged to account for the expenditure of the revenue of the borough.

On the other fide, the Lord Chief Baron Montgomery, Baron Norton, and Baron Gordon, thought the Act, 1535, was gone into defuetude; and it was confequently found, that the town-councils were not obliged to account for the revenues of the borough.

The barons regretted, in the strongest terms, the mal-adminiftration of the royal boroughs of Scotland, and recommended to the burgeffes to apply to parliament for redrefs.

[N] 3

A caufe

22d.

A caufe was tried in the court of Exchequer, of fome confequence to the trading part of the community. The action was brought by Mr. Stewart, an eminent perfumer, of Broad ftreet, in the city, against Mr. Gale, a refpectable merchant in the fame place. It appeared that the clerk of the defendant had given two ditiinct written orders for articles in the bufinefs of the plaintiff; and that fubfequent to this, the defendant himself had in perfon given a third order for goods of a fimilar kind; and upon application being made for payment of the whole, he expreffed fome furprize at the two former orders, as they were not made under his fanction, and at the fame time refufed to pay for what had been thus received without his concurrence. It was ftated on the part of the plaintiff, that he had fufficient claim for payment, on the ground of the orders having been brought by the acting clerk of the defendant's houfe, and that if any clerk was vefted with a power of tranfacting fuch bufinefs for his principal, that principal must be refponfible for the confequences of fuch an indifcreet delegation. On the part of the defendant it was ftated, that the order in queftion was fubfcribed by his brother, who was gone to the Bay of Honduras, and that as the defendant received no part of the articles in queftion, and had in reality given no order upon the fubject, he ought not to fuffer for a debt that was contracted by another. Upon a thorough examination into the affair, however, it appeared clear to the court, that as the defendant's clerk had received no directions from his mafter agaiuft ordering goods on the

part of the brother, that as the de fendant was a part-owner in thevef fel that conveyed away the goods, and that as there was no fpecific diftinétion of chriftian name upon the door of the defendant, to fhew whether in his commercial character he acted for himfelf, or under a firm, there was fulficient ground for the plaintiff to truft the clerk of the defendant, and for demanding payment. This caufe was deemed an interefting one, as involving confe quences that might affect the trading world; and was therefore amply inveftigated, and finally decided in favour of the plaintiff. Much ingenuity was exerted on both fides, and the matter took up the difcuffion of nearly three hours. The counfel for the plaintiff were Mell. Newnham and Flumer. Mr. Rous was counfel for the defendanț.

DIED. In the 100th year of his age, Levi Whitehead, of Bramham, in the Weft Riding of the county of York. He was formerly noted for fwiftnefs in running, having won the buck's head for feveral years at Cafile Howard, given by the grand-. father of the prefent Earl of Carlifle. He alfo won the five Queen Ann's guineas, given by William Aifleby, Efq. of Studley, near Rippon, beating the then noted Indian, and nine others, felected to start against him. In his 22d year, he ran four miles over Bramham Moor in 19 minutes; and what is fill more remarkable, in his 95th and 96th years, he frequently walked from Bramham to Tadcafter, four miles in an hour. He retained his faculties to the laft.

In the parish of Alberbury, Shropshire, Catherine Jeffreys, widow, aged 104. The noted old

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