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melodious inftruments. A good deal of time was fpent in weighing the jockeys. Old Mob rode Citizen, was full of porter and gin, and in high fpirits. The Colt's rider was many pounds too light; but Alderman C, -, Mr. M, &c. threw in fome hot, and made up the deficiency. The jockeys then mounted, and rode to the starting-poft. The Colt was rode by Magiftrate, in light fky-blue; Old Mob rode in purple and orange. Never did two horfe appear fo unequal, as they flood at the ftarting-poft: the Colt was in low condition, rough in the coat, and did not fhew much blood or bone: Citizen, on the contrary, was as fleek as a moufe, flood near a hand higher than the Colt, and was in excellent condition; but he was a good deal puffed, and was fuppofed to have been very much trained in the cheft in his late match with the Colt's fire. Citizen, who has been for fome time the crack horfe of Brentford, was the favourite; and the odds, before ftarting, were, at the lowest, 10 to 1 upon him. Exactly at nine o'clock the fignal was given, and both horfes went off at full fpeed. The refult of the first round was not calculated to change the opinion previously entertained of Citizen's fuperiority; he took the lead, and kept it all the way.

The fecond proved the Colt to be of good bottom; he went off in a fpirited style, lay close to Citizen, and juft paffed him within about twenty yards of the poft. The odds, however, continued nearly the fame, it being the general opinion that Citizen lay by to make play.

The third heat gave quite a new turn in favour of the Colt. It now appeared that his rider had held him in the two first heats, as he fwallowed the bit, and went off with extraordinary velocity, leaving Citizen nearly a diftance behind.

The fourth, fifth, and fixth heats, were contested much in the fame way, the Colt proving uniformly victorious,

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torious, difplaying fine action and great bottom. During all this time the populace fhewed evident marks of chagrin and difappointment. They hooted and hiffed the Colt wherever he appeared, and, at times, threatened to break in upon the courfe.

The feventh heat now came on, and the event put them in good humour. Citizen took the lead, and never fuffered the Colt to come alongfide of him. His appearance, however, was by no means flattering. He was blown, and his wind fo much touched, that he made a noife like a roarer. The Colt, on the contrary, though hardly preffed, had never turned a hair.

The eighth heat, both horfes put forth all their ftrength. The jockeys gave them whip and fpur from the itarting-poft, and they went neck and neck all round, Citizen only winning by a nofe.

The ninth heat was contefted with equal obftinacy, but was won by the Colt juft by a fingle length. Bets now began to vary confiderably; the odds, which at the beginning were ten and twelve to one, now dropped to three to two, and four to three. Indeed, at one moment, the bets were even. Great difcontent now began to manifeft itself among the fporting gentlemen who backed Citizen. They fwore he was badly rode; that Old Mob was bribed; that he was drunk, and did not know what he was doing. Still, however, they had the greateft confidence in their favourite, knowing him to be a horfe of found bottom.

The tenth and eleventh heats ended in favour of the Colt; but he was hardly preffed in both by Citizen, who ran him head and girth into the poft. Both horfes now appeared greatly diftreffed, and were cut from fhoulder to flank.

The twelfth heat did not produce much fport. The Colt lay by, and Citizen came in firft without an apparent ftruggle.

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The thirteenth heat, however, was of a very different complexion; Citizen took the lead, and ran in a ftyle that threatened to distance his adverfary. The course being deep, and much cut by the crowds of. carriages, &c. in the preceding days, Citizen threw fuch immenfe quantities of mud and dirt into the face of his adverfary, as almost to blind him. The confequence was, he came in firft by almoft a distance, amidst the fhouts of the populace. Old Mob now feemed confident of fuccefs, cracked his whip, and, to those who had charged him with being drunk, boafted that a spur in the head was worth two in the heel.

The hope of Citizen's friends was now almost raised to certainty; 100 to I were offered and refufed; and fome even went fo far as to fay that the Colt was drawn; but this fentiment was of fhort duration. Citizen had lain by in the beginning of the fourteenth heat, relying upon his fuperior bottom; but he under-rated his opponent, and was not able to make up his loft ground.

The victory was accordingly declared in favour of the Colt, who won eight out of fifteen heats, in the courfe of which he astonished all the knowing ones by his capital performance.

The match, however, cannot be confidered as finally decided, as the friends of Citizen complain of croffing and jostling, and much other foul play, and mean to refer it to the Jockey Club.

Aug. 11.

NEW STAMP ACT.
[From the Morning Chronicle.]

MR. EDITOR,

ALTHOUGH perhaps no man has a right to be furprised at any thing which happens in these days of wonder, yet I hope you will permit me to exprefs

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fome

fome fmall degree of aftonishment at the clamour which has been raised against the new stamp duties; and I hope you will also give me leave to endeavour, as much as in my power, to remove the objections of certain prejudiced perfons, and enlighten them a little in the true nature of Mr. Pitt's taxation-fyftem, which, I am forry to fay, has always been moft ftrangely mifunderstood, and confequently misreprefented.

It has indeed unfortunately happened, that the Minifter's defigns have failed of being understood, and of receiving their due portion of national gratitude, becaufe his friends and the public at large think there is no other way of knowing what he means than by attending to what he fays. Now, Sir, independent of this being a very foolish way of getting at the inclinations of any politician of modern times, it is particularly unlucky in the cafe of our great financier, whofe rhetorical flights are in general fo much above the common reach, that while his hearers are with erect ears endeavouring to catch a meaning, he fairly shoots over their heads.

The truth is, Mr. Editor, that in all his finance bills there is fomething expreffed and fomething understood; one purpose avowed, and another, and perhaps a much better one, concealed. This is fo remarkably the cafe in the new Stamp Bill, that it is furprifing that fome have not perceived it; and that others, perceiving it, have not been charmed with it. Surely your readers muft anticipate me fo far as to be aware that I am going to mention that part of the Bill which refpects Attornies. A little bickering in the Houfe has obliged Mr. Pitt on this occafion to bring forward both his purposes; and they are, firft, to raise money to bring this war to a profperous iffue; and fecondly, to render Attornies more refpectable. Surely, Sir, the magnitude and importance of two fuch objects ought to have procured the Minifter the praife juftly due to

fuch

fuch vaft and gigantic efforts-efforts, too, in which the country is not only deeply interested at this prefent moment, but is likely to be fo to the latest pofterity; for we may not always have wars, but I truft we fhall always have attornies.

This happy union of morality and taxation cannot, I really think, be too much admired; and although I have long perceived that it had a firm root in the mind of our great financier, I have regretted that the public was not fenfible of it, and that its clamours were therefore always directed to the prevention of a little evil, without confidering the obftruction thereby given to a much greater good. Of this we have another inftance in the Bill in queftion, I mean that which lays ftamp duties on medicines. As I have not feen the fchedule, I know not to what amount thefe are; but as the Minifter's ufual practice is to lay rather much than little on a favourite article, I dare fay that I may proceed in my train of reafoning, taking it for granted that our juleps and drops are duly confidered in this new Bill. I aver, then, that by a parity of reafoning this may tend to render apothecaries more refpectable; or if that be denied, because the onus of prescription lies between the Doctor and the Apothecary, I aver that the advantage will be greatly in favour of the laft confumer, I mean the patient. I fpeak it on the authority of fome of our first practitioners, that patients in general defpife medicines that are cheap; and merely becaufe they are cheap, they think they can have no efficacy. I may challenge the whole College to deny that this is a very prevailing popular opinion. But it is now about to be removed; and is not this an object of great importance?

Some may fay, indeed, that if there are perfons who refufe medicines becaufe they are cheap, there are others who will refufe them when they are dear. And pray, Mr. Editor, to what does this fine argument amount, if

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