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A Defcription of LINCOLNSHIRE. on Saturday. The members for this borough in the prefent parliament are the marquis of Granby, and Sir John Cuft, bart. It gives title of earl to the family of Auverquerque, who came over with K. William III. It has a fine large church, with a fpire A fteeple 280 foot high: It feems to ftand awry, which is ascribed to its Tenderness and great height. Belvour-caftle, about 4 miles S. W. is a noble and magnificent feat, belonging to the duke of Rutland, and has one of the fineft profpects in En- B gland, over a pleafant and fruitful valley.-3. Folkingham, about 7 miles E. of Grantham, lies in a good air, and has wholefome fprings, with a Imall market on Thursday.

Jan.

the S. of this divifion lie the Washes, paffable at ebb, but overflowed by the tide. Here K. John loft his baggage and many of his men, by a fudden inundation, during his war with the barons. Places of note are, 1. Bofton, the chief town in this divifion, about 16 miles E. of Sleaford, on the river Witham, where it is navigable by veffels, and over which it has a high wooden bridge. "Tis an antient town-corporate, governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, &c. and fends two members to parliament, thofe in the prefent parliament being John Michell, Efq; and lord Vere Bertie. It is one of moft confiderable towns in the county, rich and populous, has a good trade, and markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Its church is large and beautiful, and has a lofty tower, which ferves as a guide to mariners: It is reckoned the finest in England, and above 280 feet high. This tower has 365 fteps, and the church 52 windows, and 12 pillars.-2. Dennington, about 10 miles S. W. has a market on Saturdays.-3. Holbeach, about 11 miles S. of Bolton, has a market on Thursdays. Spalding, about 7 miles S. W. of Holbeach, is well built, has a good trade, tho' not far from the Walhes,, and a market on Thursdays.-Crowland, or Croyland, 7 miles S. W. of Spalding, has a fmall market on Saturdays. It lies among the fens, and is acceffible only on the N. and E. by narrow caufeys. It has 3 ftreets, feparated froin one another by waterF courfes planted with willows. They have a communication by a triangular bridge, curioufly contrived. The houfes are built on piles of wood. Here was formerly a famous abbey or monaftery of Benedictine monks, of which Ingulphus was abbot, who wrote its hiftory. The people go in little boats to milk their cows in the field, and make great profit of their fish and wildducks in the Fens.

4. Bourne about 8 miles S. has a market on Saturday, the ruins of a C caftle, and a medicinal well.-5. Deeping, or Market Deeping, about 7 miles S. E. has a market on Thurfday. It lies in the fenny country, from whence it has its name.-6. Stamford, about the fame diftance W. from Deeping, an antient Saxon D town, named from a Ford over the Welland, over which it has a fine ftone bridge. It is large, populous and rich, enjoys great privileges, is governed by a mayor, &c. and fends two members to parliament, their prefent reprefentatives being Robert Barbor and John Proby, jun. Efqrs. Their chief trade is in malt, and the markets are on Mondays and Saturdays. Here are 6 parish churches; most of the houses are built of freeftone, the streets fair and large, and the whole furrounded with a strong wall. It gives title of earl to the family of Gray.

III. Holland, the third and laft divifion, is fo called from its low fituation, like that of the Low Countries, and is thought to have been recovered out of the fea, against which it is now defended by banks, and well improved. It gives title of earl, jointly with that of Warwick, to a branch of the family of Rich. On

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1751. JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, continued from the APPENDIX, 1750, Page 584.

I fhall now give you a Debate ve
had in our Club upon the Queflion,
Whether the Words (or by either
House of Parliament) should not be
added at the End of the Oath of
Secrecy contained in the Bill against
Mutiny and Defertion; which
Queftion was first started by L.
Murena, who upon this Occafion
Spoke in Subftance as follows, viz.

Mr. Prefident,
SIR,

T

to the proceedings, or the fentence of a court-martial, no member thereof could be defired, much less required, to difclofe or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of that court-martial; for, Afurely, we could not defire a gentleman to make fuch discovery, when he is bound by his oath not to do so, unless we should affume to ourselves a difpenfing power, which, I hope, no parliament, nor any court or magiftrate in Great Britain ever will.

I confefs, Sir, I was always, and ftill am, against the whole of this oath of fecrecy. It is an innovation lately brought into our military law; and it is an innovation which is inconfiftent with the whole tenor of our laws, and the very fpirit of our Cconftitution. With us the courts of juftice have always been open, and the judges thereof have delivered their opinions, and paffed fentence or judgment in the face of the world. This will always have a good effect in favour of justice; for let men be Dnever fo corrupt, let them be never fo abandoned, they will always have fome regard for their fafety, if not for their reputation; and will be cautious of letting the people know, that they have been the tools of oppreffion, and the difpenfers of manifeft injuftice. But if we once begin to have fentence paffed in fecret, and under an oath of fecrecy, we shall foon begin to have the whole trial carried on in the fame manner; and this fmells fo ftrong of the court of inquifition, and of thofe terrible reclufe courts, which are in arbitrary governments the inftruments of tyranny, that it must give a juftalarum to every gentleman, who has a regard for our conftitution, or the happiness of pofterity.

B HE amendment made by the committee to the oath now under our confideration, was an amendment which, fo far as it went, I highly approved of; and I was glad to find my opinion fup. ported by fome gentlemen, whofe concurrence I fhall always be proud of; but even then I did not think the amendment extenfive enough. However, I refolved not to propofe any further extenfion of it at that time, because I was apprehenfive left it might have defeated what I then aimed at, and because I knew, that a further amendment might be propofed upon the report from that committee. I fhall therefore now beg leave to obferve the impropriety of our giving a greater power to the courts below, than we give to, or re- E ferve for, the high court of parliament. By the oath, as it now stands, any member of a court-martial may be obliged by any of the courts in Weftminiter hall, to difclofe or difcover the vote or opinion of every particular member of the court-martial, when it becomes neceflary to have a proof thereof in any trial before them. But if a queftion fhould arife in this or the other house of parliament, relating J- M, Efq; January, 1751.

F

B

* See our Magazine for left year, p. 313,

One

1

ΙΟ

PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. Jan.

A

One of the arguments made ufe of, Sir, for this oath of fecrecy, is fo far from being an argument in its favour, that it is an unanfwerable argument for our returning to the regulation of 1713, by which it was provided, That no punishment to be inflicted by the fentence of a court-martial fhould extend to life, or limb; and with respect to commiffion-officers, I think, the reftraint should be carried even to that of corporal punishment; for that of breaking, fufpending, or fining a commiffion officer is, I think, the highest punishment we ought to allow a court-martial in time of peace to inflict; and in time of war we have no occafion for a mutiny bill, because his majefty's prerogative then takes place, by which he may not C only appoint courts martial, but may furnish them with fuch powers as he thinks neceflary.

moft readily allow, that the danger fuggefted by thofe gentlemen, is far from being imaginary; but I cannot agree in the laft part of their argument; for I cannot fuppofe, that this danger will be in the least obviated by the oath of fecrecy propofed. We know how little an oath is regarded by mankind, when it happens to be inconsistent with their intereft, and when they may break it not only with impunity but advantage. No officer will, therefore, B notwithstanding this oath, fuppofe, that his way of voting at a courtmartial can be hid from the crown, or the general, or minifter for the time being; confequently, the members of a court-martial will still continue to be under the fame influence they are now. Nay, I think, they will be more fo; because, as their way of voting will by this oath be kept hid from the world, they will with the more freedom abandon themfelves to that influence, and minifters, or generals, will with the lefs reftraint make use of it. At prefent, or at least before this oath was introduced, a man's way of voting at a court-martial was publickly known, and if any one voted against what was fuppofed to be the inclination of the minifter, or general, E and was afterwards difmiffed the fervice, or disappointed in his preferment, the world of courfe fuppofed, that it was on account of his having voted according to confcience, which was an imputation that a wife minifter, or general, would chufe to avoid; but no minifter, or general, can now be in danger of any fuch imputation, and, therefore, they will with the more freedom difmifs, or difappoint, any officer who dares to vote at a court-martial contrary to their direction.

When I thus talk of the argument brought in favour of this oath, I believe, every gentleman will fuppofe, I mean that by which it is D laid, that as officers depend for their preferment, as well as for their continuence in commission, upon the arbitrary will of the crown, or rather of the prime minifter, or general for the time being, they may, when upon a court-martial, be determined by the influence of that minifter, or general to acquit, or condemn and punish, not according to justice, but according to his will and pleafure. This they allow to be a danger that ought to be apprehended, and this danger they pretend to obviate, by obliging every officer, upon oath, not to disclose the vote or opinion of any particular member of the courtmartial.

In the first part of this argument, Sir, I most heartily agree with those gentlemen: We know how liable G our common-law judges were to minifterial influence, when their commiffions depended upon minifterial pleafure; and, therefore, I fhall

F

This argument is, therefore, Sir, what may be called argumentum ad hominem, for reftraining courts-martial, in time of peace, from inflicting any punishment extending to life, or