berations on this fide of the water had an irresistible influence over those on the other? The question, before the British parliament and nation, was clear and unequivocal: it required neither explanation nor comment; were the Irish Roman Catholics to be freed from all difqualifications, on account of their religion, or were they still to remain fubject to them? They had been led to expect this emancipation, and now it was withheld, in a manner almost amounting to a denial. What could ministry propose either by a delay or a refusal? the danger was nearly equal from both; and, in the present circumftances of affairs, there was little, if any, difference between the one and the other: as probably the Irish would foon fee, and take their meafures according to the interpretation, of those who faw matters in this light. Impatience and indignation, at our tardiness in doing what they confidered as no more than our duty, would provoke them as much as if we had determined never to do it; and we should lose, through an unfeafonable hefitation, the opportunity of granting that with a good grace, which might afterwards be extorted from us by the evil hour of neceffity and compulfion. Other speeches were made by the supporters and opposers of administration, much in the fame strain as the antecedent. After which, an end was put to the debate, by the order of the day being moved by Mr. Pitt, and carried by one hundred and eighty-eight, a gainst forty-nine. The Such were the most interesting debates during this feffion; which closed, on the 27th of June, with the customary formalities. speech from the throne contained, as usual, the king's acknowledgements to parliament for the ample supplies granted for the profecution of the war: the liberal afsistance given to extricate the prince of Wales from his embarrasiments, and to settle an income upon him, was duly noticed; and it concluded with the hope of such a change in the government of France, as might produce a disposition to maintain the accustomed relations of peace and amity; and with the promise to make the most effectual use of the force entrusted to government, for the attainment of these falutary purposes. Page ERRATA TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPE. 4, Col. 1, Line 6, from bottom, for it read if. 8, from bottom, for 1793 read 1773. 6, for taken read made. for Demourier read Dumourier. 9, from bottom, for taking rea i taken. 11, from bottom, for Lanjainais read Lanjunaís, and for Lare vaillere read Lareveille: c. CHRONICLE. ! CHRONICLE. JANUARY. HIS day, a little before twelve o'clock, two houses at the powder-mills belonging to Metirs. Pigue and Andrews, at Dartford, blew up, by which accident eleven men, employed in the fame, unfortunately loft their lives. The explofsion was so great, that it flook moft of the buildings in the town, and the concuffion was fenfibly felt in many parts of the county of Suffolk. The scene on the spot was shocking beyond defcription, as the adjoining fields were covered with fragments of the buildings, confifting of large beams of timber shivered into thousands of splinters, sprinkled with blood, and interspersed with the mangled limbs of the unfortunate fufferers, many of which have been gathered up for interment, but not one of their heads has been yet found. How the accident happened, is at prefent, and probably ever will remain, unknown. The explosion took place a few minutes before twelve o'clock, when providentially the overseer and two boys had juft left the works, and one of them was ringing the bell for dinner, or they could not have escaped the untimely fate of their companions. Mrs. Wilkes, the wife of the manager, standing at her own door, VOL. XXXVII. about two hundred yards distance, was knocked down, but happily not materially hurt. 6th. Captain Telford arrived at the Sierra Leone House, with dispatches from that colony, dated the 28th of November, by which it appears, that a French squadron, confifting of L'Experiment, a 50 gun ship, two frigates, two armed brigs, one of 18, the other of 12 guns, and two Guineamen (prizes), also stoutly armed, had, on the 28th of September, appeared off the fettlement, which, as all refistance was thought likely to be ineffectual, immediately furrendered. The French, however, fired feveral shots into the town after the flag was firuck, by which a woman and a girl were killed, and a man and three women wounded. The French force having landed, proceeded to pillage the town, and then destroyed all the public buildings, as well as the Company's small veffels, the Thornton, Domingo, Venus, James, and Anna, then lying in the river, the natives and fome of the fettlers being encouraged to partake of the plunder. The Company's ship the Harpy of 400 tons, happening to arrive while the French squadron was in the river, was captured. other small veiffels belonging to the Company were afterwards captured B Two on on the coast. The Harpy and her cargo were luckily infured. The French squadron remained about 15 days in the river. They alfo captured and pillaged the factory at Bance Iiland. When they were on the point of departing, they put on shore about 120 British failors, moft of them extremely fick, who had been taken from different thips destroyed or carried off all the on Company's flores and provifions, except a fupply of about three weeks for the failors left on shore, they fet fail to the fouthward. The diftreffes of the colony were extremely great on the eve of their departure, the feafon at that time being remarkably fickly, and all the medicines having been carried away or deftroyed. Of the failors who were landed, about 80 perithed for want of proper accommodation, as well as medicine and fuftenance. The Nova Scotian fettlers, how ever, fuffered little. Though many of the Company's fervants fuffered much in their health from ill-treatment and expofure, but only two or three of them have died. The Governor and Council mention, that their diftreffes had much abated a few wecks after the departure of the French squadron; that a veffel alfo had arrived from England, which had furnished them with many necessary articles, and that a fufficient fupply of rice was then in the colony; that the health of the Company's fervants was improving; and that at the time when they were ftripped of their arms and ammunition, and every other neceffary, no want of order had prevailed. They were in full expectation, that if the Company should Send them out the proper supplies, the colony would recover this misfortune. The Nova Scotian settlers being all on the land, which proved more fruitful than was expected, they were able to fupport themfelves, and they had a quantity of stock on their farms. The French squadron appears to have been piloted and assisted by some American Stave Traders. sth. in A very great mob assembled the Obelisk in St. George's fields to the Elephant and Castle, at Newington Butts, and, having intimation that a number of men were imprisoned by a certain defcription of crimps, attacked the house where these persons were confined, demolished their windows, and releafed 18 men, who were chained together by handcuffs and other iron ligaments. The Borough magiftrates, on hearing of this outrage, inimediately fent down their officers; and the acting recruiting ferjeant being taken into custody, he was, after a short examination. committed to the New Gaol., The circumstances which led to the discovery of this imprisonment was that of kidnappuig a pot-boy, who, before he was chained down, contrived to break a pane of glass in the drawing-room window (for the house was a private one, and elegantly furnished) from whence he cried out " murder!" This alarmed the neighbourhood, and, as it had been suspected by them that perfons were illegally confined there, the doors and windows were foon demolished, and the prisoners liberated. This ferjeant and his crew had two women of the town genteely dreffed up, for the purpose of inveigling young men into the house, which they styled their lodgings, lodgings, where the deluded were instantly handcuffed; and about three or four o'clock in the morning fent off in coaches, hired for the purpose, to the country. Next day, feveral more youths, who were confined in other parts of the fields, were released by the magiftrates, amidft the plaudits of a numerous multitude of spectators. 12th. This evening a peace officer, with a warrant from a magiftrate, went to apprehend a footpad in one of the little publichouses which line the quays of the river Thames, in that part of the Borough called Bankside. On entering the tap, he immediately difcovered the delinquent he was in fearch of, dressed in a feaman's jacket and trowsers, and tippling with feveral other persons in the fame dress. The officer immediately advanced to seize him; but the fellow pulled out a pistof, and discharged it at the conftable, who, feeling himself wounded, immediately went out of the tap, and walked about ten yards to a neighbouring house, which he entered, and fat himself down on a chair, and, without being able to utter a word, immediately expired. The defperado who committed this atro. cious deed was, we are forry to find, fuffered to escape with his companions. The contents of the piftol had lodged in the conftable's breatt. The following decifion 14th. took place by ballot at the India House, in Leadenhall-ftreet: "That no Director be allowed. to trade to or from India in his private capacity, either directly or indirectly, either as principal or agent." The ballot commenced at ten Two Delegates from Holland waited upon Lord Grenville, with a remonftrance, respecting the detention of the Dutch Faft-Indiamen and cargoes in British ports; the following is almost verbatim what paffed on this occafion: Lord Grenville-" I would with to be informed, Gentlemen, in what capacity you wish to be received?" Delegate-" As Reprefentatives of the Sovereign People of l'atavia." Lord Grenville-" I know of no such delegating power, and therefore must decline any further conference with you." 19th. About twelve o'clock, two vessels broke from their moorings a little below Londonbridge; the tide then running up, drove them against the bridge with such force, that one of them (aWeft Indiaman with three mafts) making the centre arch, carried away all her mats close by the board, knocked down two of the lamps on the top of the bridge, bent the lampiron in an aftonishing manner, and, with a crash that made the whole fabric shake, paffed through the arch with incredible velocity, and drifted up the river with the tide to Blackfriars-bridge, which the alfo went through, but without any farther accident; and continued her course till the came above Somerfet House, where the drove on B2 shore, shore, and with some difficulty was moored. The crew, perceiving their danger, took to the boat a few minutes before the reached Londonbridge, which, in all probability, saved some of their lives. The other vessel, striking against the ftarlings of one of the smaller arches, was prevented from going through, but from the shock muft have been confiderably damaged. She remained there till the turn of the tide, when the was got off, and, with the affiftance of fome boats, was towed into a place of safety. The above accident is supposed to have happened from the large pieces of ice brought up the river by the tide, cutting the cables by which the thips were moored. The most dreadful fire 20th. e er remembered in Liverpool happened on Sunday morning, the 18th inft. At five o'clock the Exchange (the noblest building of the kind, without exception, of any in the kingdom) was difcovered to be on fire, the infide of which was entirely deftroyed in less than two hours: with the greatest difficulty, the town records, regalia, mace, fword, &c. were preferved from the flames, though kept on the oppofite fide of the building from whence the fire broke out, fo rapid was its progrefs. Several accidents happened, and it is feared one man has perithed. A little before five it was difcovered by the Exchange-keeper'swife, who, being troubled with an asthma, found inconvenience from the smoke that entered the bed-chamber: the awoke her hufband, and, on entering the adembly-room, found it in flames. The alarm was inftantly given, but too late to impede its progrefs in lefs than one hour and a half the whole 23d. This morning two watchmen, belonging to the parish of Bloomsbury, were found frozen to death on their pofts. They had been seen, a few hours before, regaling themselves with liquor, to enable them to encounter the severity of the weather, which, it is supposed. caused them to fall into a fleep, from which they never awoke. The fame day a man, who it is fuppofed had fallen overboard, floated through London-bridge with the ice. Only his head and arms could be feen, and he was frozen to death. A fervant of Meff. Green 25th. and Ward, Ludgate-hill, was drowned near Putney, attempting to cross the river on the ice. 26th. Between twelve and one o'clock, the Stadtholder of Holland, accompanied by the Princefs Frederica Louifa Wilhelmina, his daughter, and Prince William George Frederic, his fecond fon, arrived in London, and immediately proceeded to the houfe of the Dutch |