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the natural protectress of every people that are or wish to be republicans by the fame means; and there is no natural head of any oppofite principle to make a steady counteraction, as the internal factions and external combinations of proteftants and catholics fufficiently antagonized each other to prevent any univerfal predominancy of either. On the contrary, if the throne of France fhould be again reftored to its place, by whatever event, and this most tremendous fhock, which royalty in all countries ever experienced, fhould ultimately pafs by without overturning it, though the public danger to Europe will not be the fame, yet every affiduity and every exertion will be then neceffary to bring men back to the quiet purfuit or defence of rational freedom, and to raife or maintain barriers capable of limiting power, more than ever confident of its own ftrength.

Such was the melancholy change, which in little more than two years had been wrought in the ftate of Europe; and fuch the eventual difafters to which a way had been opened before the clofe of the year 1791 by the French revolution. The progress of gradual improvement ftopped; manners, morals, religion on a precipice; the internal fyftem of every country difquieted; and new factions created in all, which threaten long to agitate and con

vulfe this quarter of the globe, to extinguish, in one extreme or the other, all love of well-regulated liberty, and to overthrow the general balance of power, fo neceffary to the public fecurity. The intricacies of the plot require more than human interpofition to produce a fortunate developement; and the difficulties, at the moment of concluding these reflections, feem to be ftill thickening. Yet during a period of more than thirty years, fince this Work commenced, having witneffed fo many viciffitudes in human affairs; having feen one empire acquired by Great Britain in the Eaft, and another loft by her in the Weft, while no man even now can accurately fay, in what degree her general profperity has been affected by either event; having fometimes known much good to arife out of apparent evil; and being in this very inftance compelled to acknowledge much ultimate evil in that fpirit of popular reform which we in its origin believed, and in moderation ftill believe, to be fo good, we shall not yet abandon all hope in the difpenfations of Providence. In the mean time we fhall purfue the more immediate task of the hiftorian, in a faithful narrative of facts, as they arofe, and a candid explanation of their caufes, as far as our means of information will enable us to unravel them.

CHRONICLE.

CHRONICL E.

ift.

JANUARY.

T

HE univerfity of Dublin, in full convocation, have unanimously conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, as the powerful advocate of the conftitution, the friend of public order, virtue, and the happiness of mankind; and in teftimony of the high refpect entertained by the univerfity (which had the honour of his education) for the various endowments of his capacious mind, and for his fuperior talents and abilities.

The commiffioners of ftamp 4th. duties met at their office in Somerset Place, to let to farm "the duties payable on horses let to hire for travelling poft and by time, now out of leafe." They were let at an advance of 10,6191. over the fum they produced last year.

This included thirty-three counties, befides North Britain and Wales. On the last day of the late 14th. year there was fo thick a fog at Amfterdam, that the people could 'not fee their way along the streets, and ran against each other, even though they had lights in their hands. The accidents it has occafoned are very numerous; but the moft lamentable circumftance is, the VOL. XXXIII.

number of people who have perifhed from falling in the canals, where they were drowned before affiftance could be given them, though their cries were diftinctly heard. The number of perfons who have perished in this way is already known to amount to 230.

15th.

A dreadful accident lately happened at High Green, near Sheffield. A bear kept by one Cooper, for the amusement of the country people at their wakes, got loofe, and entered the dwelling of a perfon named Rogers.-The unfortunate wife of the man was fitting with one child on her lap, and another befide her, when the creature feized her with all the favage ferocity incident to his nature, and tore her in a manner too fhocking to relate. The cries of the poor unfortunate woman and of the children reached Rogers and the bear-keeper, who almoft at the fame moment entered the house, and beheld a fight fufficient to appal the most callous mind-what then must be the feelings of a husband? He flew to the animal, but was unable to wrench its jaws from the object of its fury. Cooper then ftruck it on the head with a hammer, but the haft flying off, the blow was powerlefs; it however turned the bent of

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its rage on him, and purfued him till he was nearly exhaufted with fatigue; and he must have fallen a victim, had not the neighbours, alarmed at the out-cries, come up with him, and, at a second shot, laid it dead. The woman expired in dreadful agony on Monday.

A bill of indictment was

17th. found on Friday by the grand jury of Middlefex, against lord vifCount Dungarvan, eldest fon of the earl of Corke. His lordship, being rather heated with wine, met a woman of eafy virtue, who calls herself Welden, at one of the theatres on the preceding night. On the play being over, the prevailed on him to take her in a coach to her lodgings, which drove to No. 45, Rathboneplace. His lordship gave her a guinea, but refused to enter the house. On this, Mrs. Welden became riotous, and called the watch; faying, if he did not give her another guinea, he would charge him with robbing her of three guineas and an half. On his refufal, the watchman feized his lordship, and detained him four hours. His lordship's trial came on this morning at the Old Bailey, and lafted fix hours.-The wretched profecutrix having fworn, on the trial, that his lord hip had robbed her in the coach; though fhe had fworn, when before the juftice, that he perceived he had Luft her money when she offered to give the link-boy fome gratuity for his trouble in calling the coach. The jury faid, it was unneceffary to proceed further, and begged that the defendant might be honourably acquitted.

The learned judge faid, he was perfeely fatished; and although they had no fuch record as that of an honourable acquittal, yet it would be remembered.

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"Whatever fhame I ought to take, and do take to myself for the indifcretion which led me into

the company of the perfon who has made, and endeavoured to fupport by perjury, an attack upon my life and honour, I cannot fuffer myfelf for a moment to suppose that any credit can be given to fo ftrange and improbable an accufation. I am charged by the unconfirmed oath of a common prostitute with an offence, which nothing but the lowest and worst habits of life and connections-the most abject bafenefs of mind and contempt of character, urged by the most extreme neceffity, could poffibly prompt any man to commit. My fituation, happily, is the reverfe of this-I am not, nor have been in any distress of circumftances or want of credit. The very reverfe is my cafe. I am confcious that my conduct in life has ever been juft and honourable; and that no action of mine has difgraced my own ftation, or reflected any difcredit upon those to whom I have the honour of being allied. It will, however, better become me to refer you, gentlemen of the jury, to the teftimony of the witneffes who will be called to fpeak of my conduct and character, than to defire you to receive information from my own report. Deeply as my mind feels and refents the unmerited difgrace of the imputation attempted to be thrown upon me, I fubmit chearfully to a trial by the laws of my country I know that thofe laws will not fuf

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fer criminals of any rank to elude their juftice: but I also know, and it is now my confolation and fecurity to know, that the punishments they inflict, can only fall upon the guilty head; and that innocence is fafe, protected by the wifdom and integrity of an English judge and jury. I have only to add my most folemn denial of the charge-to requeft your attention to fuch evidence as the learned gentlemen with whofe counfel I am affifted fhall think proper to lay before you; and to declare my entire confidence in the verdict of a jury of my country, for the vindication of my honour, and the protection of my life, against an attack commenced with a view to extort money from me, and continued by malice and wickedness."

The learned judge then said,

My lord Dungarvan, it is but juftice to you to fay, that it is impoffible you can go from this bar with the leaft imputation on your character; and as to your imprudence in this affair, you feem to be already perfectly fenfible."

The profecutrix and her witneffes retired from the court, amidst the hiffes and execrations of the audience.

The feffions at the Old 19th. Bailey ended, when judgment of death was paffed by Mr. Common Serjeant on the following capital convicts, viz. Ann Rhodes, Ann King, Thomas Pointer, Thomas Herbert, John Randall, Neal McMullen, William Smith, Seze de Souza, John Wallis, Charles Alden, Daniel Buckeridge, and George Cook, a boy about 13 years of age; 17 were fentenced to be tranfported beyond the feas for feven years;

two to be imprisoned in Newgate for one year, and one for three months; fix in Clerkenwell Bridewell; nine to be publicly and five privately whipped; one was permitted to enter as an Eaft India foldier, and 14 were delivered by proclamation.

Dublin. This day our par- 20th. liament met, according to adjournment. In the House of Lords, the Right Hon. John Bourke, Earl of Mayo, having produced the royal patent creating his father earl of Mayo, was introduced, and took the oaths; as was alfo the Right Hon. Arthur Achefon, Viscount Gosford. The Right Hon. Robert Clements, Baron Leitrim, took the oaths and his feat.

Dundalk. A moft fhocking tranfaction took place on Friday night laft at Forkhill, within two miles of this town: at the dead hour of the night, the house of the parish schoolmafter was furrounded by a banditti, who, having broke in, took the man, his wife, and their fon, a boy fourteen years old, and cut their tongues out of their heads; after which they took the father and mother and chopt off their fingers. So black and attrocious an act ftands unparalleled in the annals of this country.

22d.

Whitehall. It appears by the advices from India brought by the Houghton, one of the company's fhips, that major general Medows had taken the command of the army, which had been collected in the Carnatic, and had marched into the dominions of Tippoo Sultan; and that Caroor, Duraporam, and Coimbetour, had been taken by him without any refiftance. Major Maitland, who is

* B 2

arrived

arrived in the Houghton, alfo brings an account of the furrender of Dindigul.

The letters from the government of Bengal contain the information, that treaties of alliance had been finally concluded by that government with the Mahrattas, and the Nizam; and that lord Cornwallis had received from the compte de Conway, governor-general of the French poffeffions to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, the most unequivocal affurances of perfect neutrality.

23d. three and four o'clock, an This morning, between alarming fire broke out in the counting-house and ware-room of Meff. Biggars and Co. manufacturers at Sciennes, on the fouth fide of Edinburgh. It had got to a confiderable height before it was difcovered, and from the great quantity of lint, yarn, linen, &c. in the premiffes, there was reafon to expect the most ferious confequences. Several of the magiftrates attended; and by the exertions of the company's fervants, affifted by the town-guard, a detachment of the 42d regiment, engines, &c. the fire was got under, confiderable property, in linen, yarn, &c. preferved; but ftill the lofs incurred is to a great amount. The fire was occafioned by fome hot ashes that were put into a wooden bucket, and left on the floor of the ware-room, after the chimneys were swept.

and a very

Liverpool. The confterna 24th. tion at Afhton-under - Line, between five and fix o'clock on Monday evening, was great. Every perfon in the streets was fo terrified as to fhriek and run into fhops and houfes for fhelter. The thunder burft from a cloud which feemed to hang over

the town, and the lightning was perceived almost in the fame inftant, the thunder making only one tremendous crash. It was probably well for the town, that the electric fire was attracted by the iron work which ornaments the church-fteeple. It ftruck the weather-cock, melted fome part of it, and threw many ftones from the steeple; it then entered the belfry, and melted the wires, &c. and also those of the clock; from thence it followed the iron-rod that guides the hand of the clock, to a dial within the church, placed on the top of the organ, and in its way wrefted a piece of knotty oak of four inches fquare from one of the beams that fupport the roof of the church, befides taking with it a confiderable part of the cornice of the dial; from the dial it proceeded down the organ to the curtain-rod in the front of it, and running from the fouth to the north end of the rod, it took down an upright iron from the ceiling, and rent it with fuch violence, that fplinters were found sticking in the oppofite ceiling, as if discharged from a gun. It then penetrated through the floor of the gallery, and followed an iron pillar at the foot, and from thence it is fuppofed to have gone different ways, after fplitting many of the pews, as there are marks where it paffed, both in the windows at the west, as well as that at the end of the earl of Stamford's chapel in the eaft.

25th.

A child of eighteen months old was found dead near Plymouth; and it appeared on the coroner's inqueft, that the child died in confequence of a cat fucking its breath, thereby occafioning a ftrangulation.

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