ple with open arms, have conftantly encouraged and affifted them to the utmost of their power, always confidering our enemies as theirs; if, by these means, they have incurred the implacable refentment, not only of the Spanish nation, but allo of many powerful Indian tribes, in alliance with that crown, and intailed inevitable deftruction on themselves and their children, in cafe we now defert them; and finally, if the many advantages above stated, are likely to accrue to our commerce and navigation, from the poffeffion of this country; if thefe, I fay, are facts notorious, (and no perfon, I am perfuaded, who has any knowledge of the subject, will attempt to prove the contrary) it will, perhaps, be difficult to affign a reafon which bears even the colour of plaufibility, for the neglect and difregard which is now fhewn to thefe poor, friendlefs, and affectionate people, and to the interefts of the British fettlers among them, who indeed are now daily decreafing, and if the prefent fyftem with regard to them is much longer purfued, muft either quit the country, or perish in the ruin that feems to await them. Confidered in every point of view, the desertion of this colony appears impolitic and extraordinary. The eafy means of attacking the Spanish dominions in time of war, and even fhaking her vaft empire in South America to the foundation, by the way of the lake of Nicaragua, afford fo mighty a profpect of conqueft, wealth, and glory to the British arms, that I cannot perfuade myfelf government has ever been rightly informed in a circumftance of fo great importance. I have been affured, if I am not greatly deceived in my recollection, that a veffel of thirty tons has failed up to the entrance of this lake, which very veffel afterwards made a voyage to Jamaica. From the interior boundary of the lake to the nearest part of the South Sea coaft, the distance does not exceed ten or twelve leagues, through a level country: it is true, indeed, the entrance into the river, from the harbour of St. John's, is fomewhat obftructed by a bar, on which there are only five feet water; but the inconveniency refulting from hence, may be cured furely in a great measure, in cafe an armament is fent here, by conftructing the transport veffels for conveying troops up the lake with flat bottoms, The harbour above-mentioned, called St. John's, is very capable of containing from ten to fifteen fhips of war, with fhallow water-births of about three fathom; and there iş room enough for an hundred fail of tranfports befides, which will will lie perfectly fecure from the north and fouth winds, the only dangerous winds on the coast. The harbour of Cape Gracios a-Dios has been mentioned already but the finest harbour in all the continent, from Honduras to Porto Bello, is undoubtedly the Boca-del-Tora; a place not only capable of containing the whole navy of Great Britain with good anchorage throughout, but which has within it many excellent harbours, fheltered from the wind at every point of the compafs; it commands a track of country one hundred miles in extent, and joins a lagoon, called ́ the Cherrique lagoon. The rivers that empty themselves into this lagoon are indeed little known to any people except our Mufquito Indians, who fay they have traced fome of them quite back to the Spanish fettlements. They aver, that there is a lagoon on the South Sea coaft, right oppofite to the Cherrique lagoon, and that these lagoons have a communication with each other, by means of fome of the rivers above-mentioned: certain it is, that from a hill on the interior banks of the Cherrique lagoon, there is a fpacious prospect of both feas. The navigation into the harbour we are now fpeaking of, will be attended with no kind of difficuly to fhips of the largest tonnage, the smallest depth being five fathom. But the lake of Nicaragua, beyond all difpute, prefents the most obvious and certain channel of attacking the Spaniards with fuccefs in the richest of their South American fettlements; and for this reafon alone, if for no other, it is humbly infifted, the poffeffion of the Mufquito fhore is an object of the greatest importance to Great Britain ;—I was going to add, of more value than even the possession of Gibraltar itself. Jamaica, 10th Nov. 1773, B. EDWARDS. END of the SIXTH VOLUME, During this feffion, the following bill paffed the House of Commons; but was poftponed by the House of Lords for fubfequent confideration. We have inferted it by defire. A Bill, intituled An Act for procuring Accounts of all charitable Donations for the Benefit of poor Perfons, in the feveral Pa rifhes and Places within that Part of Great Britain called England. WHEREAS it is proper that the legislature, who are extending their enquiries into the ftate and condition of the poor, fhould be informed of the feveral charitable donations for the use and benefit of poor perfons; which information cannot be effectually obtained without the aid and affiftance of Parliament : May it therefore please your Majefty, That it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King's moft excellent Majefty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this prefent Parliament affembled, and by the authority of the fame, that a fufficient number of printed copies of this act fhall, as foon as conveniently may be after the paffing hereof, be tranfmitted by George White, Efq. one of the clerks of the House of Commons, to the clerks of the peace of every county, riding, divifion, city, liberty, and place having clerks of the peace, in England and Wales; and that the faid feveral clerks of the peace fhall, and they are hereby required, with all convenient speed, to cause a fufficient number of the Schedule, to this Act annexed, to be printed, and delivered, together with a printed copy of this act, to every high conftable, or, where there fhall be no high conftable, to fuch other proper officer, who hath the execution of precepts from juftices of the peace, within fuch respective jurifdictions; and also to the town clerk, or other proper officer, of every city, borough, or place, and alfo to receive the answers and returns * This copy includes the Lords' alterations. VOL. VI, Ху made made by the minifter and churchwardens, purfuant to the directions herein-after given, and tranfmit fuch answers and returns to the clerk of the Parliaments, with all convenient fpeed, in order that the fame may be inspected by the members of both Houses of Parliament, upon pain of forfeiting for every neglect and default a fum not exceeding Ten pounds, nor less than Five pounds. And be it further enacted, That the said several high conftables, town clerks, or other proper officers fo described as aforefaid, fhall receive from the faid clerks of the peace the faid printed schedules, as foon as conveniently may be, and attend two or more of the juftices of peace acting within their refpective limits, with some of the faid printed schedules, and at the fame time produce and fhew to them the faid printed act, in order that they may appoint a convenient time and place for the meeting herein-after directed; and the justices are hereby required to appoint the fame, and to fign the precept contained in the faid schedule, as herein-after mentioned; and every juftice figning fuch precept, fhall receive one of the faid printed schedules; and the faid high conftables, town clerks, or other proper officers, after receiving fuch precept, fhall fill up the blanks in the precept in every schedule, directing the time and place for the meeting, in like manner as they fhall be filled up by the juftices, and fhall, with all convenient speed, deliver, or caufe to be delivered, one fuch fchedule to the rector, vicar, or officiating minifter, and alfo to the churchwarden or churchwardens, chapelwarden or chapelwardens, in every parifh, township, or place, within their refpective limits; and, in places where there fhall be no minifter, churchwarden, or chapelwarden, to the overfeers or overfeer of the poor, if any; and if there fhall be no fuch overfeer, to fome fubftantial houfholder refiding within the fame; and the faid high conftables, town clerks, or other proper officers, fhall fign their names at the foot of the precept contained in the laid fchedule, under the words there written for that purpose, before they deliver the fame, and shall attend the faid refpective meetings, and then and there produce the faid act, and receive the feveral answers and returns made by the minifter and churchwardens, and indorfe upon the back of each of them the name of the hundred, rape, wapentake, lathe, precinct, foke, franchise, liberty, city, town, or county corporate, wherein the parifh, township, or place, therein mentioned is fituate, and tranfinit the fame, together with a true and perfect lift of the names of the minifter and church wardens, |