vent on fire, and it was with difficulty the nuns escaped with life. 30th. A fire broke out this morning between twelve and one at the king of Pruffia's Head, an alehouse, between Eaft-lane and Threemariners-ftairs, on Rotherhithewall, and in lefs than an hour entirely confumed the faid house and three others: with the fign of the Three Mariners, and fix others on the oppofite fide of the street; from whence the flames communicated backwards to the houfes of Mr. Hucks, cooper, capt. Lee and capt. Forbes, at the top of the rope-walk, and confumed the two captains houses, and greatly damaged the cooperage. The wind being to the northward, no damage was done among the shipping, which muft have been the cafe if the wind had been foutherly. A large boat-builder's yard belonging to Mr. Sheffield was confumed, and feveral boats burnt; and feveral other houfes were much damaged. On Thursday came on to be tried at Guildhall, at the fittings after term, before Mr. juftice Yates, an action which had been brought upon the ftatute of the 12th of Q. Anne, for ufury, when the jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, with 2841. 5s. damages. Died lately, Mr. James Sibbon, a fhip carpenter, aged 105; he was journeyman in the yard when the czar Peter the Great came to England to learn the art of fhip-building. Mr. George Welling, aged 102, formerly an eminent wheel-wright in Bloomsbury. Mr. Thomas Crofby, aged 102, formerly coach-mafter. He has left to hackney coachmen upwards of 5001: Margaret McDermot, who had ac quired 1000l. by lending out money to market-people by the day. Mrs. Anne Bennet, a widow lady, aged 110. DECEMBER. The lift of the penfions on the establishment of Ireland, as it appeared before an auguft affembly on the 3d inftant, amounted on the civil lift to 81,0961. 7s. 6d. and the military to 41761. 8s. 4d; in all, 85,2721. 15s. 10d. Mr. Bristow, who left 21,000l. to three charity-fchools, promised an aged fervant, upwards of 70, who had lived with him 40 years, a comfortable fubfiftence at his death, which proved, alas! upon reading the will, only the poor fum of five pounds. The truftees of the above fchools havetaken thisaffair into confideration, and unanimoufly have agreed to allow her an annuity of 30 pounds. An act truly generous and equitable, and reflects the greatest honour upon the feveral trustees. A very large brown eagle 4th. was taken alive in a decoy trap belonging to Thomas Earle Drax, efq. near Wareham, in Dorfetfhire, which meafured from pinion to pinion, when his wings were ftrecched out, eight feet two inches; and when he stood upright was four feet high; his talons were two inches and a half long, and in all other refpects proportionably large. He is fuppofed to be the largest bird of the kind ever seen in England, and is preferved there as a great curiofity. The ftates-general have issued a placart, for encouraging the importation of foreign cattle, to fupply the lofs of thofe that have lately been carried Balance due, 765 6th. of ftate, acquainting them that the distemper among the horned cattle was broke out in that county. Previous to which, in order to prevent its fpreading, he gave public notice, that all who fhould comply with the terms of the former order of council, by killing and. burying the distempered beafts, as foon as feized, fhould be paid the fame fums as directed by the above order. The petition from the city and liberty of Westminster was prefented to his majesty at St. James's, complaining of a violation of the rights of election, and praying a diffolution of parliament. It was prefented by fir Robert Barnard, and Robert Jones, efq. and figned by 5137 inhabitants. The fheriffs of London having been in doubt with regard to the place at which Doyle and Valine, the two cutters, fhould be executed, a letter was fent to them by authority, informing them, that the judges had given their opinion up n the matter; which being laid before his majefty, it was his pleasure that there fhould be no farther refpitefor the two above-mentioned convicts, as the fheriffs warrant is lawful, both as to time and place of execution. They were therefore this. morning taken in a cart from Newgate through the city to Whitecha pel, and thence up the road to Beth, nal-green, attended by the fheriffs,, &c. with the gallows, made for the purpose, in another cart; it was fixed in the cross-road, near the Salmon and Ball. There was an inconceivable number of people affembied, and many bricks, tiles, ftones, &c. thrown while the gallows was fixing, and a great apprehenfion of a general tuinult, notwithstanding. the the perfuafion and endeavours of feveral gentlemen to appeafe the fame. The unhappy fufferers were therefore obliged to be turned off before the ufual time allowed on such occafions, which was about eleven o'clock; when, after hanging about 50 minutes, they were cut down, and delivered to their friends. John Doyle, before he was turned off, made the following declaration: I John Doyle do hereby declare, as my laft dying words, in the prefence of my Almighty God, that 66 I am as innocent of the fact I am now to die for as the child unborn. Let my blood lie to that wicked man who has purchased it with gold, and thofe notorious wretches who fwore it falfely away." Valine likewife perfifted in his innocence to his latest moments. The fheriffs gave ftrict orders to the executioner, neither to ftrip the unhappy fufferers, nor to compound for their clothes, but to deliver them to their friends, and they would pay him for them. Immediately after the execution, a number of evil-difpofed perfons came in a riotous and tumultuous manner to the house of Lewis Chauvet, efq. in Spitalfields, broke into his houfe, broke the glass of the windows, and pulled part of the windows down, and alfo damaged and deftroyed part of his furniture; his majefty's pardon, and a reward of 50l. are offered for the difcovery of the offenders. A caufe came on to be tried 9th. at Westminster, in which an innkeeper of London was plaintiff, and major Spinage, a juftice of the peace, defendant. The caufe was for the recovery of 51. in which penalty the plaintiff had been convicted by the defendant, for having his name "indented only" on a tin plate, and not painted on his cart, when travelling on the turnpikeroad, as the late act requires; after many learned arguments the jury were of opinion the conviction was legal, and found a verdict for the defendant, with treble cofts of fuit. Of this verdict every person traveling with cart or waggon fhould take special notice. Was tried in the king's-bench, at Guildhall, a caufe wherein Henry Levy, of Portsmouth, goldsmith, was plaintiff, and William Clarke and Richard Clarke, ftage-coachmen, were defendants, and a verdict was given for the plaintiff with damages, of 211. 175. 6d. The cafe appeared to be, that a box containing filver fpoons, and fteel-chape filver buckles, to the value of 211. 17s. 6d. was delivered by Mr. William Cox, of Little-Britain, goldfmith, to the defendant's bookkeeper, in a general manner, and paid therewith 2d. for booking it, which was all the book-keeper asked, and is a common price paid with any parcel brought to the warehouse in the fame manner; and it appeared that the defendants had been robbed of thefe goods. The feffions ended at the Old Bailey, when fix convicts received fentence of death: Edward Davis, a watchman, Jofeph Brown, John Randal, and John Carmichael, for different burglaries; William Horsfield and William Eastman, two cutters, for cutting and deftroying work in the looms; the former is a fine handfome young fellow, not 23 years of age, who declared in the moft folemn manner, 'That he wasnot guilty of the facts fworn against him." At this feffions Mr. baron Adams declared the opinion of the judges on fellions on the motion for an arreft of judge ment, in the cafe of and Felley, who were found guilty laft at the Old Bailey when Perrin was difcharged; but other matter appearing in the cafe of Felley, he was continued. to the fatisfaction of the whole court, that the caufe of defertion was en tirely owing to fevere and cruel ufage of the mate, and the articles deemed of no force as to goods. fhipped on board; and were humorously compared by Mr. ferjeant Davy to thofe in Oliver Cromwell's time, where the words, &c. &c. were fworn to be observed, and which were the only precedents he knew of. The trial lafted two hours; and the jury, without going out of court, found a verdict for the plaintiff, with 50l. damages. 15th. At a numerous meeting of gentlemen, clergy and free holders of Effex, held at Chelmsford, to confider of proper meafares to be taken in fupport of the fight of election, it was almoft unanimoully agreed to petition his majefty for a diffolution of pt. At a court of common council A meeting of the journey18th. tool. was ordered to be paid out of men weavers of Spital-fields the chamber of London, to the poor having been advertised to be held as fufferers by fire in the town of St. this day, at a public house in Moor John, in the island of Antigua. fields, the sheriffs of London, atTheir lofs is estimated at the im- tended by the civil officers, affemmenfe fum of 400,000l. At this bled early in the morning at the court very warm altercations paffed place of rendezvous, and were met between two right honourable gen- by fome of the most active justices tlemen, on the fubject of mi- of the peace for the county, fupnifterial influence. ported by a party of the guards; by At Hicks's-hall, one Cornelius which prudent precaution, the inChevalier, a cutter, was convicted tended meeting was prevented. The of having forcibly entered the house weavers, however, who were to of Lewis Chauvet, efq. in Spital- have affembled, retired to a field in felds, and fentenced to fuffer three Kingfland-road, to which place Mr. years imprisonment in Newgate. fheriff Sawbridge followed them, and perfuaded them, if they had any grievances to complain of,toappoint a committee of eight of their body to represent the whole, and to petition his majesty in a modest and becoming manner for relief. The intent of their meeting was to figh a petition to his majefty, in favour of their unfortunate brethren now under fentence of death. At the fame time one John Neale was convicted of the fame offence, and fentenced to fuffer a year's imprifonment in Newgate. Was tried at Guildhall, before lord chief juftice Wilmot, in the court of common-pleas, a caufe wherein the fteward of a Weft In diaman was plaintiff, and the mafter of the faid fhip defendant, for the recovery of goods fhipped on board on account of the faid fteward, which the captain detained, as forfeited by defertion, on the ufual feamens ar ticles; when it was clearly proved, VOL. XII. Sir John Fielding attended the fame day near the queen's palace, with the conftables and peace officers of Westminster, to oppose and prevent any tumultuous proceeding that [M] might might happen from the weavers, had they attempted to force their way with their petition to the king. A few of the weavers, in num ber about one hundred, went to the queen's palace, with a written paper in the form of a petition, praying that mercy might be extended to the unhappy convicts of their body, now under fentence of death. They behaved with great decency, and after having given their petition to one of the pages, in order to be delivered to the perfon to whom it was addreffed, they went back to their respective homes. When the guards were drawn up in Moorfields, the lord mayor fent his compliments to the commanding officer, and acquainted him, that he would not give him the trouble to bring his men into the liberties of the city, as he hoped to preferve the peace with the civil power. 20th. Was prefented to the Society of Arts,a large root of the true officinal rhubarb, raifed by Mr. English at Hampstead, with fome of the fame prepared in powder; and alfo a quantity of the feed. As Mr. English is not the only gentleman who has cultivated, and is now cultiyating, the true Turky rhubarb, there is the greatest reafon to hope, that this drug, fo very high in credit with the medical faculty, will foon be introduced into the gardens of the curious throughout the kingdom, by which means a very confiderable quantity of it may be railed at home. Carmichael, Horsford, Eaftman, and Brown, the three firft of them cutters, were executed at Tyburn, without the leaft tumult. Yesterday Norris, the perukemaker, was convicted at Hicks'shall of breeding a riot, throwing ftones, &c. into the houfe of Lewis Chauvet, efq. and deftroying his houfhold goods, after the execution of the cutters, when he was fentenced to fuffer three years imprifonment in Nawgate. Likewife one Ferreter, a weaver in Spital-fields, was fentenced to fuffer one year's imprisonment in Newgate, for fhooting a woman through the hand with a piftol, for refufing to deliver up her husband, in order that he might be placed on a jack-afs for a misdemeanor, according to a fcandalous cuftom practifed among the weavers. Cornelius Mahoney, who was yesterday convicted at Hicks's-hall, of going armed with 17 others, and making a great riot in the street, and cutting a man's nofe, and greatly terrifying the people inSpital-fields, was fentenced to fuffer five years imprifonment, and to enter into his own recognizance at the end of that time, to keep the peace. The petition of the corporation of Berwick upon Tweed was pre fented to his majefty at St. James's, by fir Jofeph Mawbey, bart. attended by William Currie, Thomas Wilkinson, and Jacob Wilkinfon, efqrs. freemen of the faid borough, together with Mr. George Reaveley, folicitor to the corporation. His majefty has been pleafed, 22d. with the advice of his privy' council, to prohibit the importation of hay and itraw into this kingdom, to prevent the introduction of the diftemper among the horned cattle by all poffible means. It is remarkable, that no mention is made in the London Gazette of the diftemper being broke out in Hants. On Monday came on at Edinburgh, before the high 23d. court of jufticiary, the trial of Mun go |