Aldermen were drawn up on the right to receive them, to whom the Royal Viûtants paid a marked refpect.-On entering the choir, their Majefties were feated under a crimfon canopy of ftate: the King took his feat on the right, and her Majefty on the left: the Princefies were in a compartment on the left. The Lord Chancellor was in a diftinguished feat alfo on the left, as was the Lord Mayor near the pulpit; the Bishop of London and Speaker of the House of Commons had honorary stations on the right.-The fervice commenced about twelve. The vocal choir, on this occafion, was removed into the organ loft. Exactly at a quarter paft eleven, the great weft doors of St. Paul's were thrown open, and the Royal Proceffion, being met by the Bifhop of London and the Dean and Chapter, in their robes, entered the cathedral, and detachments from the Ift and Coldstream regiment of guards formed a double line from the weft door to the dome groundfloor, which was flanked by two di--At the close of the first lesson, vifions of marines in the rear; and circularly within, eight commanders flags, taken from our three naval enemies, the French, the Spaniards, and the Dutch, by Admirals Earl Howe, Earl St. Vincent, and Vifcount Duncan, were difplayed on the right and left; the ftaffs borne by the flag-officers of Great Britain. Their Majefties were preceded by the Dukes of York, Clarence, and Gloucefter, and Prince Erneft, and followed by the five Princeffes, and faluted by the troops with refted arms, the drums, cymbals, and other inftruments, playing the Grenadier's march. As foon as the King arrived at the naval circle, he stopped, and spoke for fome time to Lord Duncan, who fupported the captive colours of the Dutch Admiral De Winter. He alfo paufed a moment to speak to Sir Alan Gardener, who bore the principal French ftandard, taken from that enemy on the 1ft of June. At the entrance of the choir the Court of a naval proceffion commenced to choral mufic, from the body of the church to the choir, when the Britifh Admirals advanced with the colours abovementioned, which were fupported by junior FlagOfficers, and the Captains of thofe fhips to which they were ftruck. They paffed through the choir, where they were received by the hands of the Dean and Chapter, and by them borne and ranged on both fides the altar in confecrated order.-The remainder of the fervice being gone through, Dr. Prettyman, Bishop of Lincoln, as Dean of St. Paul's, preached a fermon, appropriate to the occafion, from the fecond book of Samuel, chapter 22d, verfes 1ft, 2d, and 3d.The fervice of the day being concluded, the proceffion returned through the choir in fuller state than they had entered, being joined by all the Peers, Commons, &c. who were prefent in the choir. Their Majefties were preceded by the male branch of the family, in their fhipmen. The streets, from the Palace to Temple-Bar, were clofely lined on each fide by the Horse Guards and the fixth regiment of dragoons, and from thence to St. Paul's, by the London Militia, the Eaft India Volunteers, the Light Horfe Affociation, and the Gentlemen of the Artillery Company. The regiment of dragoons and feveral other corps continued to parade the streets of Westminster for the greater part of the night, and alt the other troops were under orders to attend at a minute's notice; but happily the peaceable demeanour of the people rendered their fervices wholly unneceflary. their order and collars of ftate, viz. a number of lieutenants and midthe Dukes of York, Clarence, and Gloucefter, and Prince Erneft, the Foreign Ambaffadors, &c. The Bishop of London was on his Majefty's right hand, and the Bifhop of Lincoln on his left. The fword of ftate was borne by Earl Spencer, in his robes, on the right, and that of the city by the Lord Mayor, on the left of the King. The King appeared in blue and gold; the Queen in mazarine blue, with a diamond head-drefs; the Princeffes in the fame coloured vefts, with chained head-dreffes of gold and white feathers.-Their Majefties were received with applaufe as they paffed the body of the church to and fro. The gallant Lord Duncan was greeted with rapturous and repeated plaudits. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas attended the Royal Proceffion in the Windfor drefs uniform, and were received much more favourably within the church than they had been in their paffage to it! The ceremony continued till half-paft one, when their Majefties returned to their coach of ftate, and returned to Buckingham-houfe, under a fimilar efcort. No material accident occurred to mar the fplendor of the day, which clofed with great credit to all who had the conduct of its canonical, civil, and military arrange ments. The fervice was concluded about half-paft two, when the proceffion returned in the reverfe order to that in which it went; and the Royal Cavalcade arrived at St. James's a few minutes after four o'clock. The failors and marines were univerfally cheered by the populace. The former were headed by Patroles of horfe guards and other cavalry paraded the principal streets all night. Mr. Pitt was very grofsly infulted by the populace on his way to the cathedral; in confequence of which he did not return in his own carriage, but ftopped to dine with the Speaker and fome other gentlemen in Doctors Commons. He was escorted home in the evening by a party of the London light horfe. The whole bufinefs was conduct ed with the utmost order and propriety, and the beauty and clearness of the day greatly increased the fplendor and brilliancy of the spectacle. [Petitions having been presented from almost every county, city, and town in England, to his Majefty for peace and the difmiffal of his minifters, we hall only give the following fpecimens containing most of the arguments that could be brought for that purpose, and of which most of the others are but echos.] We lament that by the evil inftigations of your Majefty's advisers, thefe nations have been plunged into a war, unparalleled in mifery and deftruction, which has nearly ruined our commerce, impoverished our manufacturers, depopulated our country, fapped the public credit, and widely extended the moft flagitious corruption. We moft deeply deplore that your Majefty's ministers, abandoning the principles they once pro the defence and prefervation of which your Majefty's royal houfe was chofen and placed upon the feech your Majefty to difmifs for throne of these realms. We therefore most humbly be. ever from your Majefty's prefence and councils thofe advifers, both public and fecret, of the measures we lament, not doubting that by a change of councils fuch measures may be adopted as will speedily procure the ineftimable bleflings of peace, and produce fuch a fyftem of economy as fhall reftore the public credit and the happiness of your people. But, fhould your Majefty any longer confide in fuch advifers, we are firmly convinced that they will completely undermine that bafis of national profperity and happiness, the reciprocal confidence of a Sovereign and a free people, and inevitably deftroy the boafted privileges, the internal peace, and the numerous bleffings that Britons have heretofore enjoyed. Watfon Mayor.-In a meeting or affembly of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Liverymen of the feveral companies of the city of London, in common hall affembled, at the Guildhall of the faid city, on Thurfday the 11th day of May, 1797, ESOLVED, That his Majef felled, have endeavoured to pre- Ry's minifters have wantonly vent the remonftrances of your people, attacking the very vitals of our conftitution, and depriving your fubjects of liberties which their ancestors with fo much energy" claimed, demanded, and infifted on as their undoubted right and inheritance," and which it is our duty to tranfmit to our pofterity pure and inviolate; and for plunged this nation into an unjust and unneceflary war, which has produced a series of calamities unexampled in hiftory, an enormous increase of public debt, an alarming diminution of our trade and manufactures, an abridgement of our rights and privileges, a fhameful profufion of our national wealth, by by fubfidizing allies abroad, and fupporting a fyftem of corruption at home, to the deftruction of public credit: thus evincing a difpofition to facrifice the blood, treafure, and liberties of the kingdom, in fupport of meafures repugnant to the principles of the conftitution, derogatory to the dignity and fafety of the King, and inconfiftent with the happiness of the people. Refolved, That it appears the more neceflary that we fhould at this time have the full exercife of the right of petitioning, becaufe the unprecedented calamities of the country demand that his Majefty's faithful fubjects fhould reprefent to him the true ftate of affairs, and pray the difmifal of thofe weak and wicked minifters, whofe mifconduct and incapacity have brought this once great and flourishing nation into its prefent state of unparalleled diftrefs, and who have proved themselves utterly incompetent to conduct the war, or negotiate a peace. Refolved, That whoever advised his Majefty to refufe receiving the Petition of the Livery of London with the accustomed marks of attention and respect, thereby placing a barrier between the Monarch and his fubjects, is an enemy to the King, and to the rights and privileges of the people. Refolved, That any complaint made against the tyrannical or oppreffive measures of his Majefty's minifters, muft neceffarily be unavailing, if the immediate communication with the King be fufpended, and the reprefentation of the Petition is to depend on the obfequious minions of authority, or criminal confpirators against public liberty. Refolved, That the reprefenta tives for this city in parliament be inftructed to make a motion, or fupport a motion, "That an humble addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, praying him to difmifs from his prefence and councils his prefent weak and wicked minifters, as the moft likely means of obtain ing a fpeedy and permanent peace." And they are hereby inftructed accordingly. Refolved, That the proceedings of the common halls on the 12th of April and on this day, be figned by the town-clerk, and published once in every newspaper in Great Britain. And that the electors throughout the kingdom be earnestly invited to affemble and instruct their reprefentatives in parliament to addrefs the King to remove his prefent minifters, as the only step by which the deftruction of the conftitution and the ruin of the country can be averted. Refolved, That any petition to counteract the decifions of this and former numerous, refpectable, and uninfluenced common halls, will be departing from the great and generally adopted political principle of majority and minority, legally collected. Refolved, That the Lord Mayor, by diffolving the last common hall on a frivolous and unfounded pretence of the irrelevance of the refo lution which was moved to the occafion on which the hall was affembled, by refufing to convene another common hall for all the pur pofes fpecified, on a like frivolous and unfounded pretence of the Livery of London not being a delibe. rative body; and by convening the prefent common hall, for purpofes fhort of those which were Ipecified in the requifition, has vio F3 lated WE E beg leave to approach your Majefty with the moft dutiful affurances of the fame unabated attachment to your Majefty's royal perfon, for which this county has been at all, times diftinguifhed. We humbly reprefent to your Majefty that we are driven, by the pernicious councils and palpable incapacity of your Majefty's prefent minifters, to appeal directly to your Majefty's perfonal benevolence and wifdom, to fave us, if it be poffible, from the fatal confequences of their mal-adminiftration; that the burdens and diftreffes of every fort with which we are oppreffed, are principally owing to the prefent war, and that it cannot be continued without ruin to your people: That, in order to plunge the country into this deftructive war, all manner of falfe pretences have been fucceffively fet up and abandoned by your Majefty's minifters: That the objects of it never exprefly ftated by them; and that, in the conduct of it, no diftinct policy or fyftem of action has been adhered to. At first they said it was a caufe of general concern, in which your Majefty had reafon to hope for the cordial co-operation of the other powers of Europe. The greater part of thofe powers were nevertheless either did not join, or very foon deferted the common caufe; fome of them have turned against us, and all of them have left it, in effect, to your Majefty and your people, to bear the burden of the conteft. That your Majefty's minifters have perpetually deluded parliament and the nation with fanguine expectations of fuccefs, derived from the ruined state of the finances of France, concerning the refult of which, their loose fpeculations and daily predictions have invariably proved false; but that their own perfeverance, fupported by fuch delufions, have really plunged this kingdom into difficulties which threaten us with univerfal bankruptcy, beggary, and ruin: That the expences of the war have been, and continue to be, enormous and infupportable, and are not to be compenfated even by victory and fuccefs: That, by illconcerted fchemes of conqueft in peftilential climates, the flower of your Majefty's armies has perifhed without action or glory: That, while parliament has provided, and the nation has paid, for the support of a naval force more than adequate to the protection of every part of the British empire, your Majefty's kingdom of Ireland has been left, defencelefs; and that even the brilliant actions which do honour to the perfonal skill and bravery of your Majefty's naval officers and feamen, are a reproach to the minifters, who have expofed your Majefty's fleets to contefts against fuperior numbers, in which they had no right to expect fuccefs: That, by an illegal and arbitrary act of your Majefty's Privy Council, adopted on the reprefentation of the prefent Chancellor of the Exche quer, |