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which he was faftened, upon which a great number of labourers, then at work there, immediately dif perfed in the greateft confufion. But captain Sampfon being informed of it, immediately purfued him, and leaping on his back with fur. prifing agility, brought him under 91 by flicking a tuck into his neck, as practifed in the Eaft Indies. William Bridgen, Eiq; alderman of Farringdon 29th. Without, was elected lord mayor of London for the year enfuing.

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It was thought, and with great reason, that the wife measures taken by the government of Ireland to fupprefs the riotous proceedings of the people called White Boys, or Levellers, in the fouth, would have had a falutary influence over all the other parts of the kingdom; when, to the surprise of every one, fresh disturbances broke out in the north, where it was expected the 1 people were both lefs ignorant of their duty, and better difpofed to practise it; and where the labour of the common people, as being chiefly employed in the linen manufactury, is of fuch importance to the welfare of the whole nation. The inhabitants of a certain tract, con9ceiving themselves injured by fome 9 new roads made there, affembled, in order to compel the gentlemen of the country to promise them redrefs in that particular; and from the facility, with which they were gratified in thofe inftances, declared against the clergy's ímaller tythes and church dues, and oppofed the payment of them by force. They called themfelves Hearts of Oak, carrying fprigs of that tree in their hats to diftinguish them

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While he was waiting in the Green Park for their majefties coming, he broke the rope by

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felves. But the lords juftices having fent fome troops against them, and at the fame time iflued a proclamation, promifing indemnity to fuch as hould return to their duty, except thofe against whom bills of indiament had been already found, and a reward for taking thofe who fhould not, they were fpeedily difperfed, though not without fome fkirmishes with the army, in which fome of them were killed and wounded. Many affociations were entered into upon this occasion all over the kingdom, particularly in thofe counties which were, or lay near, the fcene of difturbance.

They write from Charles Town in South Carolina, that one Jefferys, an Indian trader, having fold to the Cherokees feveral garments of red baize, much in the nature of the Highlanders uniform, for which he had a valuable return of furs and deer-fkins; and his excellency the governor finding thefe things liked, and the Indians not a little proud of their new drefs, has ordered a very magnificent fuit of rich fcarlet, in the fame form, and trimmed with filver taffels, to be prefented to each of their chiefs; fo that if this humour holds, they might foon fee the whole Cherokee nation clad in regimentals; which may probably extend all over North America.

Upon this letter we cannot help remarking, that as change of drefs has been ever deemed a step, at leaft, towards a change of manners, it would, perhaps, be well worth the while of our colonies to fupply all the favages in general, even gratis, with garments of this kind. It would probably have one good

effect, if it had no other, that of. rendering them in time dependent upon us, by creating amongst them a want, which neither themselves, nor any European nation, but the English, could fupply.

There has been lately at Amfterdam, Hamburgh, and fome other of the principal towns of Germany, a furprising number of bankruptcies. They began at Amfterdam about the 29th of July, by the bankruptcy of two brothers named Neufville, who failed, as was faid, for above 330,000 guineas, and a Jew, who a few days before failed for between 30 and 40,000. This was followed by a floppage of payment by no lefs than eighteen houfes in that city; aud foon after by a much greater number at Hamburgh and other places; which put fuch a ftop to private credit, that no bufinefs was for fome time tranfacted but for ready money; but the Lombard houfes at Amfterdam and Hamburgh, having fupplied with large quantities of cash fuch as could give real or perfonal fecurity, many, who must otherwife have ftopt, were thereby enabled to fstand the run; and no bankruptcy having happened for fome weeks past, private credit begins to revive, and trade to go as formerly.. On this occafion feveral merchants, on fhewing their books to perfons appointed to examine them, were protected from arrefts by the magiftrates. The king of Pruffia, finding that fome of his fubjects had depofited large fums of ready money in the hands of fome bankers of Hamburgh, took proper meafures to prevent its going

.

towards

towards the payment of their other creditors.

Various have been the conjectures concerning the cause of these bankruptcies; fome have attributed them to the large fums of money left unpaid by the English and French armies; and others to thefe merchants being difappointed in their expectations of the feveral German princes, who had iffued bafe money during the late war, calling it in again, if not at the rate at which it was originally paid away, and for fome time circulated, at least at a much greater than what themselves had bought it up at.

The feafon continues fo mild, that an apple tree near Piper'sInn, in the road to Bridgwater, is in full bloffom, and three at BellHall, near York. A pear tree at Warminster, Wilts, bore a fecond crop of fruit. An elder tree, at Wefton in Yorkshire, ripe berries, green berries, flowers full blown, and buds beginning to flower.

Paris, Sept. 10. I must not omit mentioning to you a difcovery made here by the fieur l'Hofte, his most christian majefty's chemist; it is the fecret of rendering water fo pure as to be incorruptible. Many attempts of this nature have been hitherto made, but none of them have fucceeded. It is neceffary to feparate the heterogeneous particles that cause the water to corrupt: - this the fieur l'Hofte does, without the help of fire, and without any extraneous mixture whatfoever. The method he ufes is, in fact, fo eafy, that a child may put it in practice. He has kept water thus purified, by him, in various forts

of veffels, for ten years, without perceiving any fenfible alteration. in them, either by fermentation, or otherwife; he has alfo caufed this water to be, in the heat of fummer, tranfported to a confiderable distance, and it has ftill retained its purity. This water, thus puried, will, it is thought, prove an excellent antifcorbutic. The inventor is fenfible that this water, though to fo great a degree purified, may ferment in long fea voyages, in paffing the line particularly; but he is certain no putiefaction will enfue, neither will it be at all injured. It must be put into new cafks, which fhould not be quite filled; but, what is ftill more furprifing than any thing I have told you, is, the inventor will difcover his fecret on very reasonable terms.

Bayonne, Sept. 1. Our miniftry are wholly attentive to the reeftablishment of the marine, and have lately turned their attention to a forest of pines fit for fhips mafts, which grow in the Valley d'Afpe, in Bearn.

The expence

of carriage was fo great, that none of them have, till now, been used in the navy, though they are of the best kind, and fit for any fhipping whatever. We formerly ufed annually to buy great numbers of mats from foreigners, but this trade is now at an end, for the river Cave is made navigable, by which a communication is effected betwixt the Valley d'Afpe and this city. Several floats, of various fizes, are already come, and we daily expe&t great numbers more. Confiderable quantities are ordered to be fent, for the use of the royal navy, to every dock-yard on

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the coafts of Provence, Britany, and Normandy, and, doubtlefs, every other royal harbour will foon be supplied with them; for there is fuch plenty of pines, fit for the purpose, in this foreft, that we hall not only have enough for the confumption of the whole kingdom, but be able to fupply, at a reasonable rate, our allies the Spaniards. The price of mafts is already fallen, and thofe from d'Afpe are of the most ready fale. The felling and bringing down this timber is undertaken by a company of merchants, who will, it is faid, make immenfe fortunes out of the profits; it was they who made the river Cave navigable, for the purpose of bringing down their floats of timber.

Died lately. Mrs. Eliz. Club, of Barking in Effex, aged 100.

George Wilfon, at Allenton, Northumberland, aged 104. John Waters, at Wells, Somerfethire, aged 106.

Rev. Peter Alley, 73 years rector of Donamore, in Ireland, in the 11th year. He did the duty of his church till within a few days of his death.

Nicholas Gallagher, at Caftle knock, in Ireland, aged 113.

OCTOBER.

Arofe a most violent ftorm zd. of wind and rain, whofe dreadful effects were felt in almoft every part of the three kingdoms, particularly Ireland, where feven bridges in the county of Kilkenny, and feventeen in the county of Wicklow, with numbers of houses, cattle, &c. were fwept away by the violence of the floods. In the former of these counties, one little

rivulet rofe apwards of twenty feet; and in the latter, a mountain called Knockacree, within two miles of Tenehinch, burst with a prodigious noife; and poured out a torrent, which, in its way to a neighbouring river, bore down every thing it met with. Many lives were loft on this occafion. One of the bridges fell while it was crouded with people going to the relief of a poor family, furrounded by the water, and upwards of 70 perfons perished.

But, perhaps the most melancholy fcene of all was that on board a fhip going from Chester to Dublin. Her provifions, already, it is probable, too little for the vaft number of fouls fhe took out with her, were rendered still lefs by many more who afterwards crouded on board her; and this fcanty ftock, to make room for the paffengers, was obliged, along with the fea ftores moft neceffary in a ftorm, to be placed upon the deck, from whence every thing was foon after washed, before the captain and crew, furprifed by the fuddenefs of the ftorm, had time to look about them.

What followed may be better imagined than expreffed. The wretches crammed into the hold, without light or air, and all on board the ship, without bread or water, with fcarce any other profpect of feeing an end to their fufferings but by the fhip's foundering; an event, which the impoffibility of getting rid of the mafts, now become a moft dangerous incumbrance, for want of proper inftruments to cut them away, feemed to render almost unavoidable. Providence, however, brought them in about 48 hours, into a fmall

port

port in Wales, but without putting a final end to their diftrefs, the place being too little to afford immediate relief to fo many new and unexpected guests.

The earl of Northumberland, befides doing for the fufferers on fhore all that could be expected from fo public fpirited a governor, gave them, in his private capacity, one thousand pounds. And, as foon as the Irish parliament met, they took care to prevent, as much as poffible, the fame calamity happening at fea again, on board any fhips coming to, or going out of, the Irish ports, by obliging the mafters, under fevere penalties, to man, victual, and otherwise

provide themfelves in proportion to the length of the voyage, and number of paffengers, with proper allowance for accidents of every kind.

Several thousand journey3d. men weavers affembled in Spitalfields, and in a riotous and violent manner broke open the houfe of one of their mafters, deftroyed his looms, and cut a great quantity of rich filk to pieces; after which they placed his effigy in a cart, with a halter about his neck, an executioner on one fide, and a coffin on the other. They then drove it through feveral ftreets, hanged it on a gibbet, and burnt it to afhes; which having proved a fufficient vent for their fury, they difperfed of themselves without further mifchief.

The earl of Bute fet out 4th. for Houghton-Loo, in Bed

fordshire, to take poffeffion of a large estate, which his lordship has lately purchased there.

3th.

Died at Drefden, Auguftus
III. king of Poland, and elec-

tor Saxony. His majefty was tall,
and had a handfome face, but he
was fhort necked and very lufty.
He was good-natured, magnificent,
generous, and affable; but too eafi-
ly guided by his minifters. Some
time before his death, he was
troubled with an almost continual
drow finefs. The phyficians and
furgeons, who were prefent at open-
ing his body, remarked, 1. Several
ftones in the gall-bladder. z. Some
appearance of a polypus on the
3. A confiderable quanti-
heart.
ty of water between the skull and
the brain, the fudden effufion of
which is thought to have been the
immediate occafion of his death.

Seventeen prifoners made
their efcape cut of White- 13th.
chapel gaol, and all, except one,
who happened to be hindmost, and
was fhot, got clear off.

The fruit of the Paffi16th. flora, was cut in high perfection, at Caftle - Howard, in Yorkshire, and eat by a number of gentlemen and ladies, who gave it the greatest commendations for its most excellent acid and flavour. It weighed one pound and a quarter, and may juftly be ranked amongst the best of the tropical fruits, but never ripened to perfection in that county before.

17th.

A large number of failors having riotoufly affembled, and feized on a regifter office keeper and a publican, for defrauding them, as they alledged, under pretence of getting their R's off at the pay office, were, after letting the delinquents efcape, difperfed by a party of foldiers. But gathering together again in greater numbers, they attacked the foldiers, left at the publican's requeft to guard his houfe at Spitalfields, with fuch fury, as to make it abfolutely re

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