376 A STRANGE CREATURE defcribed. Aug. vinces in a state of defence, or by acting with vigour against the enemy 3. Upon account, to be paid to the East-India company, towards enabling them to defray the expence of a military force in their fettlements, to be maintained by them, in lieu of the battalion of his majefty's forces withdrawn from thofe fettlements 4. To be employed in maintaining and fupporting the British forts and fettlements upon the coast of Africa 5. To enable the commiffioners for building Westminster bridge, and for widening the avenues leading from Charing-cross to both houfes of parliament, to widen the street or paffage in Spring-garden leading to St. James's-park MAY 1. 1. Towards the further enabling the faid commiffioners to purchafe houfes and grounds for the widening the ways, and making more fafe and commodious the streets, avenues, and paffages, leading from Charing-crofs to the two houfes of parliament, the courts of juftice, and Westminster-bridge 2. For defraying the charge of half-pay to certain staff officers of the late garrifon at Minorca, viz. the fecretaries to the governor of the island of Minorca, the captain of the ports there, the lieutenant governor of Fort St. Philip, and the furgeon of the garrison of ditte, for 1757 Sum total of the fupplies granted by laft feffion of parliament To the AUTHOR of the LONDON SIR, Man count of their journey thro OST travellers who have given us the Arabian defart, complain of an incon- B "In our journey I had frequently feen an animal I could not tell what to make of, but this day one happened to be killed, which enables me to give you a defcription of it, which I the rather chufe to do, because it seems particular to this part of the world. The head, body, fur and colour are exactly like a hare, and the tail is long and taper like that of a rat, C only it is bushy at the end, and is carried erest when this creature is in motion; the fhape and pofition of the tail made me fufpect it to be at firft a kind of squirrel, till I had a nearer view of the whole proportion; for then I perceived that the hind legs were five times as long as the fore ones This occafions it to jump when purfued in a very furprizing manner; the ize is much the fame as that of a rat; there are a great number of them in the defart." As I fhould be glad to know whether there be fuch a creature as this in any other part of the world, I hope you will give this a place in your Magazine, whereby you will oblige, Sir, Aug. 12, 1757. A Yours, &c. 4 QUESTION. Gentleman having a marble table feet feven inches wide, is defirous of having a border of another coloured marble inlaid, whofe area is of the area of the table, to be of an equal wedth from the edge, and parallel to the fides thereof Required the wedth of the border; also a geometrical conftruction and explanation W. B. JOUR We have this month given the annexed Map of Maryland, with the Delaware counties, and the southern part of New-Jersey, &c. (See our Vol. for 1755, P. 620y and for the prefent year, p. 71, 73.) 1757: JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, The Laft Speech I hall give you in the Debate continued in your last Magazine, was made by M. Pomponius Matho, and was in Subftance thus : Mr. Prefent, SIR, W WHATEVER the noble and learned lord who fooke laft may think, I must still be of opinion, notwithstanding all he has faid, "that this nation ought very feldom, if ever, to enter into any treaty of alliance or gua- B one of the powers upon any rantee, with the continent of Europe. Nature has feparated us from the continent: Nature has made us et penitus tot divijos orbe Britannos; and as no man ought to endeavour to feparate whom God Almighty has joined, no man ought to endeavour to join what God Almighty has feparated. This, therefore, is to far from being a C frange maxim, that it is a maxim pointed out to us by nature herfelf; and it is fo far from being a new maxim, that it is a maxim, which has been uniformly obferved by all our fovereigns who had nothing else in view but the fecurity and happiness of this kingdom. Nay, even as to fuch of them as had foreign dominions, and entered into alliances for the prefervation or D enlargement of thofe foreign dominions, we fhall find from our history, that they never at laft got much benefit from any foreign alliance. continued from p. 327. this kingdom. It is true, indeed, after he had loft the former, I mean Guienne, by one of the most perfidious even of Gallic perfidies, he was provoked to endeavour to recover it by a foreign alliance. For this purpose, by means of fubfidies, A he engaged feveral princes of Germany and the Netherlands in an alliance with him, in order to attack France upon the fide of Flanders. What was the confe quence? After he had landed with his troops in Flanders, they took money from France, and deferted him: Nay, he would have been murdered by the very people from whom he expected affiitance, if he had not been faved by the generosity of one of the demagogues who had declared against him. This convinced him that he could not recover Guienne without neglecting the principal view of his reign, and thereby facrificing the true interest of this kingdom, therefore he gave over thoughts of recovering it by force, and prefently concluded a truce with the French king, whereby he left him in poffeffion of Guienne; but, after fome years, got it reAtored by treaty, in confequence of an award made by the pope, which entirely fatisfied Edward, for he never thought of recovering the dominions taken from his grandfather, much lefs of entering into any foreign allia ices for that or any other purpose. But his grandion, Edward III. forgetting, or not recollecting what had happened to his grandfather, put himself to a great expence in forming alliances with the emperor and feveral other princes of Germany, when he projected his first war against France. What was the confequence? Without the affiftance of any at fea, but with the affiftance they gave E of his allies he obtained a glorious victory him he could obtain no laurels at land. On the contrary, he was deferted by most of them when he had most occasion for their affittance; and was forced to agree to a truce. This experience made him alter his conduct; for he began, carried on, and gloriously ended the next war, by the famous treaty of Bretigny, with out any foreign alliance or affistance. To begin with Edward I. for I think I need not go any further back, as he was one of the wifeft princes, and one of the beft Englishmen that ever fwayed the EngHith fceptre, the principal view of the whole of his glorious reign was to have united all the people of the British Isles under one fovereign; and he would probably have fucceeded had he lived feven years longer. Did he feek any foreign alliance for this purpofe? No, Sir, altho' he was poffeffed of a very fine territory upon the continent, altho' another very extenfive country upon the continent F had been ungenerously invaded and taken from his grandfather, yet he neither fought to preferve the one, nor to recover the ther, by facrificing the true interest of E of P Auguft, 1757 In the next reign, Sir, there were no foreign alliances entered into, tho' we were almost continually engaged in foreign wars; and I must observe, that tho' the French Bbb 378 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. A French king had provided a fleet of above C D E Augi ror, and others, against France. In short, from the whole tenor of our history it will appear, that our foreign alliances have generally produced no effect, or effects that were inconfiftent with the true intereft of this country; and this must neceffarily from our fituation, be always our cafe. It is against our intereft to acquire any territory upon the continent of Europe, confequently it must be against our intereft to attack any country in Europe by land upon our own account; and we may give affittance to our friends when they have occafion for it, without entering into any alliance, or ipulating any thing from them but money, or advantages in trade; for as to their affiftance we can never have any occafion for it, whilft we preferve our fuperiority at fea. The prefervation of this fuperiority, Sir, ought always to be our chief attention, and this it is alone which makes it neceflary for this nation to attend to the prefervation of a balance of power upon. the continent of Europe; because if any one ftate fhould conquer, or obtain the abfolute direction of all the rest, that state would become fuperior to us in naval power, which is the only thing, humanly fpeaking, we have to fear. To prevent this therefore, it may fometimes become. meceflary for us to enter into foreign alliances: That is to fay, when the balance of power is in real and immediate danger, and a fufficient confederacy cannot be formed for its prefervation, without our joining with all our force in that confederacy; which was the cafe in the year 1701, when the grand alliance was formed by king William; and if that prince had been wife enough to provide by the articles of that alliance, for a cafe that might then have been eafily foreseen, we fhould not now have had any occafion to fear the power of France, either in Europe or America. When I fay this, Sir, every one must fuppofe, I mean the emperor Jofeph's dying without heirs male, G and his brother Charles's fucceeding him in the imperial throne, as well as in all the Auftrian dominions; for in this cafe it ought certainly to have been provided, by the terms of the grand alliance, or at leaft when we formed the project of conquering Spain for Charles, that fome one of the other princes of Europe fhould fucceed to the crown of Spain. I fay, if this provifion had been made, there would have been no neceflity for putting an end to the grand alliance, by concluding a feparate peace with France, until that king The next foreign alliance I am to take notice of, Sir, was that made by our Edward IV. with the last duke of Burgundy, by which his majesty was induced, or rather feduced, to be at a great expence in raising an army, and to invade France; but when he arrived there, he foon found he had been deceived by the duke, who refufed to perform any one article of the treaty; fo that Edward was glad to ac- F cept of the peace offered him by the cunning Lewis XI. of France. The reign of Henry VII. again may be called a reign of foreign negotiations, treaties, and alliances; but molt of them feem to have been defigned for nothing elfe but to amufe the people here at home, and to squeeze money from his parliament; for none of them produced any other effect, except that of putting it into the power of the king of France to unite Bretagne to us crown, from whence this nation has fo often been fince threatened with an invafion. And every one that knows any thing of our history, muft know how much Henry VIII. was duped, firft in the alliance he made with his father-in-law, Ferdinand of Spain, and next in the alliance he made with the pope, the empe H dom $757. PROCEEDINGS of the dom had been fo reduced, as to put an end to its again disturbing the tranquillity of Europe, or our repofe in America, by any of its ambitious views; but by negdecting to make any fuch provifion, a feparate peace with France became abfolutely neceffary, as foon as the cafe happened, and in fuch a negotiation, I believe, most people will now admit, that it was right for this nation to take the lead, and to give over all thoughts of reducing the power of France fo low as it might otherwife have been. POLITICAL CLUB, &c. -379 more numerous regular troops in Europe than we have; but by our fuperiority at fea we may prevent their fending any great numbers of their troops to America: We may even prevent its being poffible for them to fublift any great army in AmeArica, fhould they find an opportunity by tealth to fend a great number of troops thither. Therefore, in cafe of a war with France, we have no occafion for any ally, either for our defence at home, or for fecuring our fuccefs abroad; but, on the contrary, both may be rendered precarious by our having any allies, becaufe the affiftance they can give us will be by much overbalanced by the affistance we must give them, which would run us into fuch an expence, as mult, in a very few years, put an end to our publick credit. Having now fhewn, Sir, the only cafe B when it may become neceflary for this nation to enter into foreign alliances, I believe, I may venture to fay, that I have no fuch regard for the opinion of the earl of Clarendon, as the noble lord who spoke laft was pleafed to profefs; and, in the particular case mentioned, I must think, that C the lord Clarendon's opinion was ridicudous; for what allies could king Charles the Second have occafion for in a war with the Dutch. Surely, this nation was then able, without any ally, to vindicate its honour, as well as its rights, against the Dutch. I cannot therefore think, that D the earl of Clarendon was fo great a minifter as he has been reprefented: On the contrary, the fale of Dunkirk, which now appears to have been folely his project, must convince every one, that he was either a very weak, or a very dishoneft minifter; and if one of the articles E truth of impeachment against him had any in it; I mean that of his having held cortefpondence with Cromwell and his accomplices, we may prefume, that he, by adviling the fale of Dunkirk to the French, intended to ruin his mafter; for that meafure alone was enough to have driven king F Charles again out of the kingdom, if the former rebellion, and his own familiar and facetious difpofition, had not riveted him in the affections of the people. As I am of opinion, Sir, notwithstanding what was faid by lord Clarendon, that king Charles had no occafion for any al- G lies in his war against the Dutch, so I am of opinion, that we have now no occafion for any allies in a war against France, if fuch thould be the event of our prefent difputes with that nation: It is not our intereft to attack them any where but at fea and in America: It is not in their H power to attack us any where but at sea and in America; and in both thefe places we have a confeffed fuperiority, if we make a proper ufe of our naval power, and the numbers of troops we may raise in our plantations. They have, it is true, When I reflect, Sir, upon the confequences of a stop being put to our publick credit, I must fay, I am furprized to hear any one make fo light of that danger, as the noble lord who spoke laft feemed to do. The last war against France, in which we engaged with a number of allies, made us every year contract a new debt of near four millions fterling, one year with another; for the difference between the national debt as it ftood on the 31st of December, 1741, and on the 31ft of December, 1749, amounts to upwards of which for feven years, the 27 millions • conlongeft we can reckon the war to have tinued, is near four millions a year; and I must obferve, that the expence of the war yearly increafed upon us, fo that the new debt we contracted in 1747, amounted to near fix millions, and the new debt we contracted in 1748, amounted to near feven millions; and this over and befides the whole produce of the finking fund, and all we could reife annually within the year. If we should now call for allies, and thereby begin a new war upon the continent of Europe, can we fuppofe that it will cost us lefs yearly than the last did ? Muft not we fuppofe that it will coft us more, as we now call upon our allies for their affiftance, whereas in the laft war our allies called upon us; therefore it may be reafonably, fuppofed, that we must begin this new war at the fame expence as we ended the laft, that is to fay, at the rate of running into a new debt of fix or feven millions yearly, which in feven years would amount to near 50 millions. Where fhall we find funds whereon to borrow fuch fums of money? Where fhall we find creditors that have fuch fums to lend? B b b 2 See Lond. Mag. for 1742, p. 387, and ditto for 1750, p. 150. In 380 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. In my opinion, Sir, it would be impoffible for us to find either funds or creditors, if the war upon the continent fhould fo long continue; therefore the danger of a stop being put to our publick eredit, is fo far from being chimerical, that I think it is unavoidable; and if this A should happen, how would it be poffible for us to continue the war? But this would not be the only fatal confequence. Such a ftop would bring all our paper credit into dificpute, and confequently a run upon our Bank, and all our bankers : Every one would be for realizing; and the little gold or filver money left among us, would be locked up in the coffers of the rich, so that it would be impoffible for our people to find money either to carry on their trade, or to pay their taxes; and what confufions and diftreffes this would produce, I tremble to think on. C Aug. manner. A militia man removing to andther parifh fhall ferve the remainder of his time in the new parish. New lifts of men qualified for fervice fhall be made every year. A new body shall be chofen every third year, fo that all perfons duly qualified may ferve in their turns, each for three years. [Would it not have been better to have changed a certain proportion only every year? For by changing all at once, there will be every third year a new army. totally void of difcipline and skill.) A. lift of the perfons ferving in each parish B fhall be tranfmitted to the lieutenant. Any: officer neglecting to return his lift, or make ing a falfe or partial lift, thall be commit-. ted for a month to the common goal, or be fined not more than 51. or less than 40s. Every private man ferving for himself thall be exempted from ftatute work, from serv ing peace or parish officer, or in the rega: lar forces. He that has ferved three years fhall not ferve again until by rotation it. comes to his turn. Married men having perfonally ferved in the militia, if called out in cafe of invafion or rebellion, fhallbe entitled to the fame privilege of fetting up trades in any place of Great Britain or Ireland, as by act 22 Geo. II. is grant-ed to mariners or foldiers. A quaker re fufing to ferve fhall hire another in his ftead; and if he neglects, a fum shall be. levied upon him by diftrefs, fufficient to hire another man. Within one month. after the return of the lifts, the lieutenant and two deputies, or without the lieutenant three deputies, fhall form the militia of each county in regiments, confifting of not more than 12, nor lefs than feven companies of 40 men each; appointing the commiffion and non-commiffion officers to each company. They shall be exercifed thus: On the firit Monday in the months of March, April, May, June, July, Auguft, September, and october, they fhall be exercifed in half companies ; and on, the third Monday in the faid month in companies. And once every year, on the Tuefday, Wednesday, Thurfday, and Friday, of Whitfun week, they fhall be exercited in whole regiments. No man fhall be exercifed in half company or company more than fix miles from his own houfe. Notice of the time and place of meeting fhall be fent by the lieutenant and two deputies, or, without the lieutenant, by three deputies, to the highconftables, and by them to the petty-contables, who fhall fix them upon the door of their respective churches. The lieute nant shall appoint at pleasure a regimen I must therefore be of opinion, Sir, that if the emperor and princes of Germany will not, without our affiftance, undertake to defend Hanover, as they are in duty bound to do, it is not only imprudent, but impoffible for us to undertake its defence. It muft at last be over-run D by the French, without its being in our power to recover it. Whereas, if we Thould allow it to be at firft over-run, and confine ourselves entirely to a profecution of the war at fea and in America, we may at laft bring both the court and kingdom of France into fuch diftrefs, as to E make them glad, not only to restore Hanover, but to make good all the damage they have done to it. And as this is the only measure, which I think it is either prudent, or poffible for us to purfue, I cannot approve of either of the treaties now under our confideration, confequently I must be for concurring with the noble lord in the motion he has been pleased to make. [This JOURNAL to be continued in our next.] Account of the MILITIA ACT concluded. HREE deputies, or two deputies F G two justices, thall meet in their several fubdivifions, occafionally at other times, and annually on the Tuefday before Michaelmas; and if any perfon 35 years old shall defire his difcharge, or if any perfon what- H foever shall fhew juft caufe for his difcharge, it fhall be granted, and another chofen by lot in his room; and the vacation by death, fhall be filled up in the fame tal |