the charge regularly and fairly, the matter was ordered to record his appearance to the information. The information was then read, charging him with inferting a libel in the Public Advertiler of the 22d and 24th of August, on the queen of France, refpecting the affair of count Cagliottro, with which in formation his lordfhip was charged by the clerk of the crown, and on being asked whether he was guilty or not guilty, he attempted to flow the court, that a confeilion ought not to be recorded, and produced fome cate of adulte y. The attorRey-general rofe, and candidly fubmitted to the court, that as his lordhip had voluntarily appeared, he was entiled to an impariance to plead till next term, and his lordhip making no objection to it, it was granted accordingly. 4. The rev. Dr. Prevolt, of New York, and the rev. Dr. White, of Philadelphia, were confecrated bishops in the chapel of Lambethhoufe, by the archbishop of Canterbury, allitted by the archbifh p of York, and the bishops of Bath and Wells and of Peterborough. The new bithops were addretted by the tyle of bilhop of New York, and bithop of Philadelphia; and having, with the rest of the company prefent, been elegantly entertained by his grace, took their leaves, in order the next day to proceed on their voyage to America. Birmingham, Feb. 1. Saturday, at the conclufion of the play in the new theatre, at Stafford, a plank, which fupported the gallery gave way, and the whole, with a great crowd of people, came down upon thofe in the boxes. The flieks from all fides of the house were in a few minutes redoubled by the cry of fire, and a dreadful fcene of confufion enfued. The fire was foon extinguifhed. The theatre being remarkably full. fome time elapfed before the maimed and wounded could be taken out. Many were bruifed lightly, fome were fhockingly hurt, and one perfon lott her life, viz. Mrs. Wife, wife of Mr. John Wife, late mayor of that borough. 3. There has been found in a Benedictine monaftery lately suppressed by the emperor in Hungary, the amazing quantity of 95,000 tons of wine, and a chet containing a quantity of ingots and a number of diamonds. This will be à propos for the 927 new parishes lately erected, to whom this treasure is ordered to be distributed. The celebrated Mr. Howard, during his ftay at Vienna, had the honour of a very long interview with the emperor, in which he freely laid before his majesty the late of the prifons and hofpitals in his dominions. He told the emperor, that he had found fuch alterations had taken place fince his happy adminiftration as did him great honour; but that there were yet some defects that wanted his further attention. His majesty was much fatisfied with the ideas of this worthy friend to human nature. in fhort, it was difficult to fay on which fide philanthropy fhone with most luf tre. Thofe who fpeak truth merit praife; but a prince who will liften to it with acknowledgment, and who even feeks it, merits the love of all mankind. 6. The prince of Wales was initiated into the myfteries of Free Mafonry, at the Star and Garter, Pall Mall. The duke of Cumberland as grand matter, the duke of Norfolk, the duke of Manchester, and feveral other noblemen of that refpectable order, affitted at the ceremony. 8. The contempt for which Mr. Bowes was committed to the king's bench was taken off, at the inftance of Mr. Erskine. It had been previously argued before the master of the crown office, who reported that Mr. Bowes had not been guilty of the contempt, and he was accordingly ordered to be discharged. 13. Yesterday lord George ap. peared again in the court of king's bench, and addrefled the judges, faying, he was harraffed with another vexatious writ of information and fuggeftion, exhibited against him by the attorney general, who had commanded him to appear in perfon before the judges, as he then did, to answer all the trefpaffes, &c. whereof he stood impeached. Lord George then stated to the judges that there was a mifnomer alfo in this third writ. The first from the Octave of St. Hilary had mifnamed him "George Gordon," without any additional titles; the fecond writ had mifnamed him "George Gordon, etq." equally deficient ; and the third for the Octave of the Purification of the Bleffed Virgin Mary, on which he then attended, mifnamed him "George Gordon, late of London, efq. He did not know what reafons could induce the court to sport in this manner with his lawful name and titles, which he had not affumed or taken up, but which had devolved to him on his birth, as hereditary right; however, he did not intend to go into the pleas on mifnomers; here he he was interrupted by a young counsellor behind the bar, on the part of the crown, (the attorney general not attending,) who faid the court ought to infiit on his lordthip's declaring whether he appeared or not before they liftened to him. Lord George defired him to hold his tongue till it was his time to speak, and not pretend to point out propriety to the judges, and interrupt their attention from what he was faying. The judges would ftop him themfelves, if he tranfgreffed the bounds of the defendant. He was not going to put in any pleas of delay; he only spoke up for the honour and regularity of the proceeding of the king's bench, and wifhed nothing more than to bring the plaintiff to stand trial without any flaws or legal impediment. [Here the clerk read the information and fuggeftion, very long, of feveral counts relative to the expedition to Botany Bay]. Lord George Gordon was then afked by the clerk, if he was guilty or not guil ty? but the court ordered this information alfo to be put off till next term. 17. The excellent Mr. Howard, who has just returned to his native country, has inferted the following letter in all the public prints : To the Subscribers for erecting a Statue, &c. to Mr. HOWARD. "My Lords and Gentlemen, "You are entitled to all the gratitude I can exprefs for the tellimony of approbation you have intended me, and I am truly fenfible of the honour done me; but at the fame time you muit permit me to inform you, that I cannot, without violating all my feelings, confent to it, and that the execution of your defign would be a cruel punishment to me. It is therefore my carnest request that those friends who with my happiness and future comfort in life, would withdraw their names from the fubfcription, and that the execution of your defign may be laid afide for ever. "I fhall always think the reforms now going on in feveral of the gaols of this kingdom, and which I hope will become general, the the greatest honour and the moft ample reward I can poffibly receive. "I must further inform you, that I cannot permit the fund, which in my abfence, and without my confent, hath been called the Howardian fund, to go in future by that name; and that I will have no concern in the difpofal of the money fubfcribed; my fituation, and various purfuits rendering it impoffible for me to pay any attention to fuch a general plan, which can only be carried into due effect in particular districts, by a conftant attention and a conftant refidence. I am, My Lords and Gentlemen, Your obliged and faithful humble fervant, London, Feb. 16. JOHN HOWARD." 27. An important queftion of marriage, on an appeal from the court of feffion in Scotland, was determined on Wednesday in the houfe of lords. vernefs, that he might be better qualified to be his companion. He built a houfe for her, and provided her with furniture, clothes, and all the paraphernalia of a married lady, and behaved to her with the mott fingular attention and tenderness writing letters to her in the most affectionate terms, ftyling her his dearest wife, and fubfcribing himfelf her loving hufband. They continued in this amicable footing till 1783, when Mr. Robertfon formed a defign of marrying a Mifs Brown, which they folemnized by a procefs of matrimony peculiar to Scolind, namely, by going to bed together, and taking a proteft in the hands of a public notary, that they were married perfons. On this Mifs Inglis commenced her fuit againft Mr. Robertfon, in which the infifts against him for declaration of marriage and adherence, and produced many letters from him, wherein he fubfcribes himfelf her loving husband. Mr. Robertfon, a merchant, who this Mr. Robertfon pleaded, that was the appellant, had paid his ad- none of the letters contained any dreffes, in 1769, to Helen Inglis, acknowledgment of a paft marriage, the refpondent, a chambermaid. and that they were conftantly adMifs Inglis fays, that Mr. Robert-/dressed to the refpondent by her maifon declared his paffion in the most den name. That when thefe letters tender and respectful terms, affur- were written he was very young, ing her that he was utterly indif- and had but recently returned from terent to the inequality of their Holland, where he had been educondition, or the citimation of the cited, and where proclamation of world; that his warmest defire was bins is effential to marriage, and to have her for his wife, but that it where of courfe concubinage is cowould be neceifary for fome time to vered with the decent name of hufdiffemble their connection, left it band and wife-That he ufed those fhould give offence to his father and appellations as mere terms of blan mother, with whom he then lived. difhment-as the whifpers of a loOn this the lady candidly acknow- ver in his miftrefs's chamber-the ledged that he then yielded, and only object of them was to appoint they became hufband and wife by meetings, and that they were wholmutual declarations of confent, with- ly inadequate to establish the im our any ceremony. Mr. Robertfon portant relation of husband and took Mifs Inglis from her fervice, wife. The court in Scotland, howput her under the care of a go- ever, found the marriage with Mifs and To Inglis eftablished, which the decifion of the houfe of lords has confirmed. MARCH. The 2. The feflions ended at the Old Bailey, when twenty-lix prifoners received fentence of death. Among thefe was Elizabeth Sedgwick, convicted of fetting fire to two barns and one itable, belonging to her mafter, Mr. John Taylor, at Feltham Hill, Middlefex. On her trial, it appeared, that on Sunday the 10th of December, about half paft four, the itraw-barn near the houfe was difcovered to be on fire. The notice was first given by the prifoner, who had jult returned into the houfe, by her remarking, that there was a man with a candle and lanthorn in the yard. profecutor going to the window, difcovered a great light, and running down ftairs found the ban on fire. It was extinguifhed, however, by the alliftance of his neighbours, but not until the barn, with its contents, had been entirely destroyed. On the following Sunday, about the fame hour, as Mr. Tay lor and his wife were fitting at tea, they obierved a great light before the houfe; and it was found that another barn was on fire; and before this fecond fire was extinguifhed, the barn, with its out-houses, a sta ble, with fix horfes, and his farm ing utenfils, were destroyed, and the dwelling houfe with difficulty faved. An indictment was preferred against a man in the neighbourhood, of the name of Hankin, merely on account of fome unguarded expreffions; but no circumstances of proof being adduced, the grand jury ignored the bill. The prifoner at lengh became an object of fufpicion, principally on account of her being feen to wear a cloak, handkerchief, &c. which he had declared to have been loft in the fire. She was taken before Mr. Taylor, on Sunday, January the 14th, wh. n fhe lodged examinations against Winden and Goring, as perpetrators of the fact; but on her re-examination, she retracted this declaration, which appeared to have been made on account of a previous quarrel with the former. The examinations which contained her confeffions being read in court, it appeared from them, that the first fire was merely accidental; as he had then gone into the barn to examine the hens, and that, on reaching to the beams on which they roofted, fhe had fallen on the ftraw, and as fhe thought put out the candle, and difcovering the flames, on her return to the houfe, had invented an excufe, by pretending to fee a man in the yard with a lanthorn. But the remaining part of her confeflion was perhaps the most extraordinary that ever marked the waywardnefs of the human mind. She fid, that on Sunday, the 17th of January, the day of the fecond fire, as fhe was making the tout for tea, the thought truck her that she would go out, and fet the other barn on fire; and that, when her bufinefs was done, she had taken out a candle and candlestick, and pl ced them in fuch a fituation as to effect her ftrange purpofe in a few minutes. She declared that he did this without any motive whatsoever, and no motive could in fact be affigned but that of abfolute infanity, or inveterate resentment; bur, on a strict examination of the evidence, it ap peared, that he had never given the finalleft occafion to doubt the fanity of her intellects, and that, fo far far was the from being difpleafed written either in Spanish, French, with her master or mistress, that the English, Portuguese, or Latin. always fpoke of them in terms of the highest praise. At this feffions, Samuel Burt, a capital convict, to whom his majefty had been pleafed to grant a pardon, on condition of tranfportation for life to New South Wales, which at the last fellions he refufed, was fet to the bar, and the pardon again read to him. He made a very modeft and fentible apology for having contemned his majety's great goodness to him, he then defiring to die; but now he moil thankfully embraced the fame, only withing to be united to a beloved object, in defpair for whom he had committed the fact which brought on all his troubles. [The young woman alluded to hore kumanely confented to marry this unhappy man; but he died before the marriage could take effect.] Sec p. 6. 5. Among the focieties on the continent little known, but of increafing reputation, is the Cecono mical Society at Madrid. The Spanifh nation is emerging from its indolence: they are becoming good chemifts, good philofophers, good phyficians, and good patriots. This truly patriotic inftitution propofes for the first diftribution of the prizes in 1787, on the day of St. Ifidore, to reward with a prize of 2,250 rials (a rial at Madrid is equal in value to about Ed,), the belt memoir on the following question: "What is the true fpirit of a legiflation favourable to agriculture, industry, arts, and the commerce of a great kingdom." The author is expected to apply his opinion to the different climates, productions, and the manners of their inhabitants. Foreigners are admitted among the candidates; and differtations may be 6. Advices are received at the India-Houfe, of the fafe arrival of earl Cornwallis at Calcutta, on the 12th of September. (See Vol. VII. p. 16.) He was received with the frongett marks of regard by all ranks, both natives and Europeans. Thefe advices likewife brought the following account of the loss of the Severn packet. This fhip proceeded on her voyage on Friday the t of September, and on Saturday the 9th, had got a little below Ingelee, when it fell calm: upon this, the current being very frong, the fmall bower-anchor was let go, in four fathom water; but the parted her cable almost immediately; the bett bower-anchor was then let go, which he likewife parted: the sheetanchor was next let go, in two fathom water: however, by this time, they found he was on a fandbank; they had hopes, notwithftanding, that the return of tide would carry her off, on which account no body attempted to get on fhore, which they could then have catily effected. When the tide returned, there was a very heavy fwell, and much wind, which rendered ineffectual all their endeavours to get her clear off the bank. She lay in this fituation from twelve o'clock, A. M. till about fix in the evening, when the ftrength of the tide threw her on her broadfide, in which ftate fhe lay about an hour and a half, when he fplit. Before fhe went to pieces, the long boat was hoifted out, and Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Lacey, and the other paflengers got into it; but by the confufion that enfued, in numbers endeavouring to leap into the boat, fhe was funk along-fide. The following is a lift of the officers and patiengers loft: captain |