ページの画像
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

the poor.

The trial of admiral Corn7th. wallis, for difobedience of orders in not proceeding to the Weft Indies purfuant to the inftructions of the admiralty board, commenced on board the Orion at Portsmouth, at eight o'clock in the morning. The charges were three in number. The fubftance of them is as follows: 1ft, That admiral Cornwallis, after having failed from England for the Weft Indies, and proceeded a confiderable way on his voyage, did return contrary to the orders he had received. 2dly, That

not having a fufficient regard to the importance of the fituation of a commander in chief, he omitted to thift his flag on board of fome other fhip after the Royal Sovereign had been difabled, in order to proceed, as he ought to have done, to the place of his deftination; but that, inftead of doing fo, he gave his inftructions and the command of the convoy to another officer. And, 3dly, That after bis return he difobeyed another order of the board of admiralty, by not hoifting his flag on board the Aftrea frigate, and proceeding to the Weft Indies, as he had been ordered by their lordships.

The evidence having been gone through, the trial clofed at one o'clock, when the court pronounced the following sentence:

"The court having heard the evidence in fupport of the charges exhibited against the honourable William Cornwallis, vice-admiral of the red; and having heard his defence, and the evidence in his behalf, and having maturely weighed and confidered the fame, were of opinion,

"That with refpect to the two first charges, of his returning without leave, after having been ordered to proceed to Barbadoes, and of his difobeying the orders he had received, mifconduct was imputable to him, for not having thifted his flag on board the Mars or Minotaur, and proceeded in either of them to the Weft Indies; but, in confideration of other circumflances, the court acquitted him of any difobedience in his conduct on that occafion.

"With refpect to the third charge, of his having, after his return, difobeyed the orders of the board

board of admiralty, in not going out to the West Indies in the Aftrea frigate, the court were of opinion that the charge was not proved, and therefore acquitted admiral Cornwallis upon that charge." roth.

Early this morning, the wife of Mr. Sawyer, a boatbuilder, near the Bishop's-walk, Lambeth, was difcovered in her bed-room, with her brains dafhed out, and ftabbed in a moft fhocking manner. This horrid deed is fuppofed to have been accomplish ed by fome diabolical villains, who entered the back part of the houfe leading to the river, and, meeting with refiftance to their schemes of plunder, perpetrated the hellifh deed. The murderers efcaped without creating the leaft alarm. It is a circumftance particularly remarkable, that, although the hufband of the murdered woman was in the house the whole time, he declares he neither heard nor faw any thing of the tranfaction. This morning a little be11th. fore 12, three malefactors were executed at Kenningtoncommon: a brufh-maker, for a riot in St. George's fields, a young man for fheep-ftealing, and a man for houfe-breaking.

Letters from Smyrna unfortunately advife us of the conflagration of 4000 warehoufes, entirely belonging to Ottoman merchants, the value of which is eftimated at four millions of piaftres.

Advice was received at the 21ft. admiralty, brought by lieut. Crifpe, of the Telemachus cutter, of the capture of the enterprifing fir Sidney Smith, commander of his majefty's fhip Diamond, on the coaft of France. Having, on the 18th inftant, boarded and taken a

lugger privateer, belonging to the enemy, in Havre-de-Grace harbour, by the boats of his fquadron, then on a reconnoitring expedition, and the tide making ftrong into the harbour, fhe was driven above the French forts, who, the next morning, the 19th,difcovering, at break of day, the lugger in tow by a ftring of English boats, immediately made the fignal of alarm, which collected together feveral gun-boats, and other armed veffels, that attacked the lugger and Britifh boats; when, after an obltinate refiftance of two hours, fir Sidney had the mortification of being obliged to furrender himfelf prifoner of war, with about fixteen of his people, and three officers with him in the lugger. The Diamond frigate is fafe, but could afford her commander no affiftance, there not being a breath of wind during the whole of this unfortunate tranfaction: we are happy to add, that only four British feamen were killed, and one officer and fix feamen flightly wounded. The feamen were immediately thrown into prifon on their landing; and fir Sidney underwent a long examination before the French commandant, after which he was ordered to be conveyed, under a ftrong efcort, to Paris. The following were amongst the officers captured with fir Sidney Smith: Meifrs. W. Moory, R. Kenyon, and R. Barrow: one of thefe was wounded. When the officers on board the Diamond heard of the difafter which had, befallen their gallant commander, they fent a flag of truce into Havre, to enquire whether he was, wounded, and entreating that he might be treated with kindnets. The governor re

turned

turned for anfwer, that fir Sidney was well, and that he fhould be treated with the utmoft humanity and attention. The French, it appears, warped out another lugger of fuperior force against that captured by fir Sidney Smith in Havre-deGrace harbour, with which they engaged him, for a confiderable time, with fo much heavier metal, that rendered all his refiftance ineffectual, and therefore compelled him to ftrike.

Two of the officers belong14th. ing to Bow-ftreet arrived in town from Liverpool with Henry Wefton, who is charged with committing divers forgeries on the Bank of England to the amount of 17000l. He had got to Liverpool, and fent his luggage on board the Hector, bound for St. Vincent's in the Weft Indies, which fhip had got down to a place called the Gut, about feven miles below Liverpool, and was to have failed the next morning. The officers found him in bed at Bates's hotel, with a brace of loaded piftols by his fide. On their road to town, Wefton found means to conceal a cafe-knife in his pantaloons, and on changing chaifes at the King's-Head, Hounflow, he requested to go to the privy, where he cut his own throat, but mifling one of the arteries, did not effect his purpose.

25th. This night the counting houfe of Mr. Mingay, of Smithfield (who in the interim was fpeaking to a friend in the back room on the fame floor) was broke open, and a bag of gold, containing 1200 guineas, which had been placed in readiness to fend to his banker's in the morning, was taken clear off.

In confequence of a pub 30th. lication addreifed by lord Malden to the inhabitants of the borough of Leominster, the duke of Norfolk, accompanied by capt. Wombwell, of the firft Weft York regiment of militia, and lord Malden, accompanied by capt. Taylor, aid de camp to his royal highnets the duke of York, met on Saturday evening in a field beyond Paddington. The parties having taken their ground, and the word being given by one of the feconds, they fired without effect. The feconds then thought proper to offer their interference, and, in confequence of a converfation which paffed while the parties were on the ground, a reconciliation was effected.

In an act now before the house of commons, for the further fupport and maintenance of curates within the church of England, the preamble recites the act of the 12th of queen Ann, by which every rector or vicar is enjoined to pay to each curate a fum not exceeding 501. and not lefs than 201. a year. It ftates, that this allowance is now become infufficient for the maintenance of a curate. The bill therefore enacts, that the bithop or ordinary fhall have power to allow the curate a fum not exceeding feventy-five pounds a year, with the ufe of the rectory or vicaragehoufe, where the rector does not refide four months in the year, or 151. in lieu thereof.

DIED-19th. In Doctors Commons, George Harris, D. C. L. fon of Dr. John Harris, bishop of Laudaff, chancellor of the diocefes of Durham, Hereford, and Landaff, -and commiffary of Effex, Herts,

and Surrey. He has left a large fortune, which he has chiefly bequeathed to public charities: 10,ocol. to the Weftminfter Lying-in hofpital, donations equally liberal to feveral others, and the refidue (fuppofed to be 40,000l.) to St. George's hofpital. 21ft. row, Pimlico, aged 89, Ri

At his houfe in Stafford

chard Yates, efq. the celebrated comedian; his reputation in the parts of old and grotesque characters especially, was eminently great. He was remarkable for pure and chafte acting up to the words of his author with a fcrupulous attention; the more remarkable, as performers of this caft of acting frequently introduce their own hu. mour, with what may be called the licentia hiftrionica of the drama. He excelled alfo in teaching or making an actor, in a higher degree, perhaps, than any one of his time. He was married, first, to a woman who was rich; fecondly, to mifs Anna Maria Graham, who had been introduced to his tuition by Mr Garrick, and with him the firft came on the stage at Birmingham. Mr. Yates died fuddenly. He had been very well, as ufual, for fome time, and had break fafted heartily. Having ordered eels for dinner, when, unfortunately, they could not be had, his warm and hafty temper could ill bear the difappointment; and from anger he worked himself up to rage. His housekeeper, zealous to please him, went out a long way, and brought fome; ere the returned, exhaufied with fatigue of fpirits, he had leaned his head upon the table, and the found him dead.

Ift.

MAY.

This day a ftorm of thunder was remarkably tremendous in the western part of Suffex. At Pulborough a barn was fet on fire by the lightning, and entirely confumed. Luckily it contained only feven quarters of oats. In the neighbourhood of the above place, the peas in the fields were confiderably injured by a heavy fall of hail, which accompanied the thunder.

7th.

Northampton. The following dreadful accident happened a few days fince to Mr. J. Robinson, horfe-breaker, in Peterborough: having a young colt in training, the animal began on a fudden to plunge, by which means the rider was thrown from his feat with fuch violence, as to feparate the ribs from the back-bone. The unfortunate man is attended by an eminent furgeon, and there are hopes of his recovery.

A few days ago, as a groom was combing a race-horfe in the neighbourhood of Beverley, in York fhire, the animal became fo irritated as to catch hold of the man's fide with his teeth, and tear away the feth in fo fhocking a manner, as to render his bowels and entrails vifible. The poor fellow's recovery is much despaired of.

9th.

On Saturday the theriffs of London and Middlefex appeared in the Exchequer chamber, to render into court their eftreats, levies, captions, &c. and to anfwer an officer called the oppofer, for the crown. Several of the theriffs' officers, no doubt, being engaged about their country houfes and their carriages, had forgotten to make any returns, in coníequence of which the fheriffs were ordered

to

to attend in perfon next term, for and that, of course, that will re the purpose of being examined upon, tained the fame force and effect, Interrogatories by the officer before as if the fecond will had never the barons. This is á circumftance been made. On the part of the to which nothing fimilar has hap- defendant, it was maintained, in pened for a great many years. the first place, that the codicil was deftitute of thofe forms, exprefsly required by the ftatute of wills, which could alone give it the effect of reviving a firft will in preference to a fecond, where a real estaft was devifed; and, fecondly, that it was the intention of the teftator to annex the codicil to the fecond, and not to the firft will. To eftablish thefe points, it was proposed to adduce parol evidence; but the court interfered; and were unanimous in their opinion, that the established law of the land forbade the admiflion of parol evidence to contradict a written and perfect inftrument, fuch as the will and codicil together appeared to be; that the word laft, on which the counsel for the defendant had laid fo much ftrefs, was an expreffion which had no determinate meaning until the death of the teftator, when it operated to explain the intended laft act of his life; that neither the will of 1751, nor the will of 1756, was, in fact, a will until the teftator was dead; that an alteration of the date of the codicil would be making a new difpofition for the dead, which no court upon earth was entitled to do; the only power vefted in a court, on the fubject of wills, being that of explaining the intention of the deceased, which, in this eafe, was perfectly clear; that wills ought only to be confidered as ambulatory" inftruments, fubject to the pleasure of the owner, and to be used by him as his judgment or caprice might direct; and that the will of

An important caufe came on to be tried in the common pleas, in confequence of an ifue directed from the court of chancery on the queftion of fact, whether the late carl of Orford devifed by his laft will any lands and effects to the earl of Cholmondeley. The cafe is briefly this.-On the 25th of November, 1752, the earl of Orford made a will, in which he bequeathed his principal eftates, after the demife of his immediate heir, the prefent earl of Orford, to the earl of Cholmondeley, whofe grand. father had married the daughter of his ancestor, fir Robert Walpole, the firft earl of Orford. In 1756, the earl of Orford made a fecond will, in which he changed the order of fucceflion, and gave a preference over the earl of Cholmondeley to lord Walpole, who is defcended in a direct line from the fecond brother of the firft earl of Orford. This, of courfe, annihilated the first will; and, had nothing farther occurred, no question could have arifen on the fubject, But, in 1776, twenty years after the fecond will was made, the earl of Orford figned a codicil, the purport of which was to make various provifions which had been omitted in his wills, and declared this codicil to be a codicil to his last will, figned on the 25th day of November, 1752. On the part of the plaintiff, it was contended that this codicil, which was duly figned and attelted, was a revival and fetting up of the will to which it referred;

« 前へ次へ »