the country which you honour and protect!" Sir Horatio Nelfon's anfwer. "Sir, Nothing could be more gratifying to me (as it must be to every fea-officer) than receiving the high honour this day conferred upon me in becoming a freeman of the great city of London. And I beg you to believe, and to affure my fellow-citizens, that my hand and head fhall ever be exerted, with all my heart, in defence of my king, the laws, and the jutt liberties of my country; in which are included every thing which can be beneficial to the capital of the empire. I beg leave to return you, fir, my fincere thanks, for the very flattering expreffions you have honoured me with on this occafion." DECEMBER. 5. The gazette announces the capture of L'Aimable Sylvie, three Spanish coafters, two Spanish brigs, and L'Aventure French privateer, of 8 guns and 43 men, by captain Digby of the Aurora. 8. Maria Therefa Phipoe, otherwife Mary Benson, was indicted at the Old Bailey for the murder of Mary Cox, on the 25th of October laft, by giving her a mortal wound under the left breaft, of which she died. The prifoner, who appeared to be about forty years of age, of middle fize, rather inclining to the enbonjoint, and not at all handfome, was dreffed in a white muflin gown, a black filk cloak, and a plain cap, and came to the bar attended by a female friend. Mr. Conft, on the part of the profecution, stated the cafe, in the courfe of which he was interrupted by the prifoner, who requested from the court the indulgence of a chair, and alfo the restoration of her watch, which the stated to have been withheld from her; adding, that she had made previous complaint to a Mr. Williams upon the subject of the detention of her property, who replied only with abuse and cruel farcafms, and told her fhe would foon be in a place where the would have no occafion for it. A chair was immediately ordered; but the court poftponed the confideration of the fecond part of her request until the much more momentous bufinefs then pending fhould be decided. And Mr. Conft, having finished his ftatement, called the witnesses in fupport of the charge. Letitia Munday, the first witnefs called, fwore, that the prifoner lodged in her houfe in Garden-street, St. George's in the Eaft; that on the morning of the day laid in the indictment, the deceafed came to vifit the prifoner, who immediately fent out the witness for fome brandy, and likewife the change of a guinea; that on her return the prifoner called out from above stairs that the things brought in were not then wanting, and that when they were the prifoner would apply to her. Witnefs fhortly after heard a great groaning, and a noife like a fcuffle in the prisoner's room, where the deceased was; that being greatly alarmed thereat, the called in Mrs. Macdonald and Mrs. Eyles, two of her neighbours, accompanied by whom he went up stairs; that they found the door locked, and on enquiring what was the matter, the prifoner anfwered from within, that the woman was only in a fit, and would be foon well; that not being fatisfied with this anfwer, and having perfevered in infifting to know the truth, the pri foner opened the door a little, and faid to the witnefs, "You, Mrs. Munday, may come in, but nobody elfe;" that the witness being much alarmed declined entering the room, and went for a doctor, and that on her return fie found the prifoner in the hall walking about, holding up her finger, and the deceafed, who had come down ftairs alfo in the abfence of the witness, in the kitchen, her head on her hand, fupported by the table, and covered all over with blood. Mrs. Macdonald and Mrs. Eyles corroborated the teftimony of this witness, in addition to which, Durant, the beadle, fwore, that on hisentering the kitchen, the deceafed took him by the hand, and pointed with it to her right-hand pocket; that he searched it, and found a watch; and that the deceased, being fpeechlefs, made figns to him to keep it; that he then went up ftairs, found the prifoner fitting on the bed, a cafe knife and part of a finger were lying on a table; on afking her why he had ufed the poor woman fo, prifoner replied, "I believe the devil and paffion be. witched me." In anfwer to his fur her queftions fhe alfo admitted' that the knife on the table was the inftrument with which the had done the mischief, that the piece of the finger belonged to her, but that the deceased had cut it off. Mr. Pierce, the furgeon, was of opinion the finger was not cut off in a fcuffle; it was cut off directly acrofs, as if it had been laid on a block for the purpose. The depofitions of the deceased, taken after he had recovered her fpeech, which was fhortly before her death, were then read; they ftated, that the deceased had waited on the prifoner to purchafe a watch, and fome other articles, for which fhe gave her eleven pounds; that the further asked her for a piece of china then on the mantle-piece ; that the prifoner confented, and that while the deceafed was in the act of taking it, the prifoner wounded her in the neck with a knife; that the was near an hour under her hands, during which time the received the various wounds and ftabs on the feveral parts of her body, at the end of which prifoner faid, “you bitch, I will kill you out, that you may not be able to tell your ftory." The prifoner being now called on for her defence, addressed herself to the court and the jury in a firm intrepid tone, without the leaft appearance of embarraffinent or agi tation. She said, that the deceased came to her lodging to purchase fome articles the prifoner wished to difpofe of; that he told the deceafed fhe would not fell a part of them, or not even the whole lot, unless the money was paid down; that the deceased then used the moft provoking language; faid the fuppofed the wanted it to go to Lon don, and turn whore again to Courtois, and asked her why the did not go into a nunnery as her mother wanted her. One word produced another in return; the deceased at length fnatched up the knife which lay on the table, and cut off her fin. ger, and that prifoner, fmarting with the wound, and the infults the had received, loft all reafon and recollection, and totally forgot what enfued. Mr. baron Perryn, who prefided, fummed up the evidence, in the courfe of which he pointed out fome inconfiftencies in the prifoner's defence, with the evidence on the part of the crown, and particularly with the account he gave originally originally of the tranfaction, as proved by the beadle. The jury having retired a few minutes, brought in a verdict, Guilty; and the court pronounced fentence of execution upon her for Monday next. Immediately after this, a pac'et was handed to her; but, apparently undifmayed by the verdict, he addreffed the court again, infifted it did not contain her property, nd reiterated her complai. ts that it had been withheld. 9. The gazette gives the following intelligence: Copy of a Letter from the Right Hon. Lord Bridport, K. B. to Evan Nepean, Efq. dated the 5th of Dec. 1797. SIR, You will herewith receive a copy of a letter from captain Wite of his majesty's brig Sylph, which 1 tranfinit for their lordships' information. I have, &c. BRIDPORT. Sylph, Caufand Baj, Dec. 2, 1797. My Lord, I beg leave to acquaint your lordship, that we failed from this anchorage on the 19th uit. in order to rejoin the fquadron under cap. tain Keats, but, owing to thick and blowing weather, I was not able to fall in with him before he quitted the rendezvous. I have further to acquaint your lordship, that fince the above period, we have made the following re-captures (between the latitude of Belleifle and Rochfort), and with the last of them we arrived here this morning. On the 21ft of November, Active fchooner, from Newfoundland, bound to Teignmouth, laden with fifh and oil; he was captured on the 14th of November by La Conftance brig privateer, of Nantes. On the 22d of November a Pruffian gailiote, from Amfterdam to Lisbon, laden with wheat, captured by le Buonaparte fhip privateer, of Bourdeaux, on fufpicion of the cargo being Portuguese property; this veel being very leaky, and her cargo much damaged, I fuffered her to proceed (after taking out the Frenchmen) to her original deftination. On the 23d of November, the brig Diana, from New Providence, bound to London, laden with cotton, fugar, and coffee, captured on the 12th of November, by the Felix cutter privateer, of 14 guns, belonging to Nantes; befides the Diana, fhe had taken three English veffels from Newfoundland, and two Americans outward bound. On the 30th of November, the ship Henniker, from London, bound to Martinique, laden with provisions on account of government, was under convoy of the Trent and Amphitrite and captured in lat. 42 deg. 2 min. north, and lon. 21 deg. 50 min. weft, by le François fhip privateer, of Nantes, on the 23d of November. The prifoners taken in the Diana inform me, that le Felix (the privateer to which they belonged) was upfet on the night of the 16th of November, in a fudden and violent guft of wind, and, though not a quarter of a mile from her prize, not one of her crew was faved, which confifted of 115 men, exclufive of whom, I am ferry to add, perified 22 British and American feamen, belonging to the veffels this privateer had captured. I am, my Lord, &c. J. LE WHITE. Captures made by his majefty's floop La Bonne Citoyenne: Le Pleuvier French privateer, of 9 guns and 43 men; Le Canarde French privateer, of 10 guns and 64 men; two Spanish brigs in ballaft, with 8,900 dollars; Jengin del Rofario, Spanish tartan, with 20 recruits; with eight other Spanish merchantmen of small value. This gazette alfo contains accounts of the captures of La Marie, a French privateer brig, carrying 14 guns and 60 men, by his majefty's fhip Jafon, captain Stirling;-alfo, the Spanish corvette Bolador, of 16 guns and 74 men, by his majefty's fhip Majeftic, captain Weftcott;-alfo, Le Conreur, French privateer, of 14 guns and 90 men, by his majefty's fhip Blanche, captain Hotham. 11. This morning was executed oppofite Newgate, pursuant to her fentence, Maria Therefa Phipoe, alias Benfon, for the wilful murder of Mary Cox. 12. The feffions ended at the Old Bailey, when William Wade, Richard Fuller, Thomas Brown, Robert Franklyn, Wiliam Smith, alias Flint, and Robert Penn, alias Fish, severally received judgment of death. Nine were ordered to be imprifoned in the houfe of correction at Clerkenweil; four to be publicly whipped, and one to be privately whipped and discharged. The feffions being ended, the fame were adjourned until the 10th of January next. 14. In the common-hall held this day, the following refolutions were paffed: Refolved unanimously, That the plan proposed to parliament for increafing the affeffed taxes, appears to this common-hall to be partial, oppreffive, and impracticable; and if carried into effect, would, by operating chiefly upon the middle and lower claffes of the people, render it impoffible for them to gain a fubfiftence. Refolved unanimoufly, That by making the assessment retrospective, preventing perfons thereby from making any neceffary retrenchments in their expenditure, appears to be founded in cruelty and injuftice; and will, if adopted, have more the appearance of an arbitrary measure, than the deliberate act of a British legislature. Refolved unanimously, That the proposed relief would lead to a difclofure of circumftances highly injurious to the credit and happiness of families, introducing an inquifitorial fyftem, dangerous to the freedom of the fubject, and repugnant to the spirit of the British conftitution. Refolved unanimously, That property does not appear to have been made the bafis of the intended tax, perfons having only a precarious income, acquired by their labour and industry in trade, being obliged to pay in the fame proportion as perfons who have a perina nent income, proceeding from landed or funded property. Refolved unanimously, That our reprefentatives in parliament be inftructed, and they are hereby inftructed accordingly, to oppofe the arbitrary and unconftitutional bill now pending in the house of commons; and not to concur in any modification thereof, being convinced that the principle of it is deftructive of the dearest intereft of the people, and fubverfive of social order. Refolved unanimoufly, That the foregoing refolutions be fairly tranfcribed, figned by the town-clerk, and be immediately tanfmitted to the right honourable the chancellor of the exchequer. Refolved unanimously, That the foregoing refolutions be printed in the morning and evening papers throughout the kingdom. Refolved Refolved unanimously, That the thanks of this common-hall be given to the right hon. the lord mayor, for his readiness to call the fame, and his impartial conduct this day. Rix. The city of Westminster, and the principal wards and parishes in London and Westminster, held meetings about this time, in which refolutions fimilar to the above were passed. 16. The London gazette contains letters from rear-admiral Harvey, all of which, except the laft, are dated the 5th of October, 1797, on board the Prince of Wales, in Fort Royal Bay, Martinique, to Evan Nepean, Efq. &c. Admiraly Office, Dec. 16. Be pleafed to acquaint their lordships, that his majesty's floop Bittern, commanded by lieutenant Edward Kittoe, fell in with, the 13th ultimo, off Tortola, and captured the French hip privateer P'Agréable, of 18 guns, nine and fix-pounders, and 115 men, which had left Guadaloupe two days before, and taken nothing; had been juft fitted out, is a faft failer, and coppered. The capture of this veffel under her firft equipment is of much confequence; and the very fpirited manner in which he was attacked and captured in the night (altho' without refiftance), does great credit to the conduct of lieutenant Kittoe.. His majefty's fhip Lapwing, on the ft of Auguft, being to the northward of Tortola, in lat. 22 deg. 20 min. captured Le Regulus French privateer floop, belonging to Porto Rico, of four guns and 26 men, which captain Barton fent to St. Chriftopher; fhe had been out fifteen days, and had captured an American brig. Be pleafed to acquaint their lord hips, that his majefty's fhip Scourge captured, the 28th ult. off Mariagalante, La Sarazine French fchooner privateer, belonging to Guadaloupe, of fix guns and 58 men, which captain Warren fent to this island. She had been out ten days, but had taken nothing. Be pleafed to acquaint their lordfhips, that his majefty's fhip Tamer (captain Martin) has captured and fent to Barbadoes three French privateers belonging to Guadaloupe, the force of which, with their names, and the dates of their capture, are as follows:-4th Auguft 1797, Le Pont de Arcoll, cutter, 4 guns and 48 men, off Marti, nique. 8th ditto, Le Renard, cut ter, 10 guns and 71 men, off Mar. tinique. roth ditto, L'Utile, fhip, of 14 guns and 135 men, off Barbadoes. They had been out a very fhort time, and the two former had not taken any thing; but the latter had captured one English and two American vessels. The Alexandrian schooner, of fix guns and 40 men, tender to his majefty's fhip Prince of Wales, having failed from hence, under the command of lieutenant William Wood Senhouse, in queft of fome privateers that were faid to be off this illand, fell in with, the 15th of Auguft laft, La Cocq French privateer, of fix guns and 34 men. After an action of three quarters of an hour the ftruck, having two men killed and five wounded. The fame evening the Alexandrian attacked another fchooner of greater force, which, after a running action of fome time, efcaped by the darkness of the night. The conduct of lieutenant Senhouse, the officers and men of the Alexandrian, on this occafion, was highly fpirited and meritorious. The fifth letter refers to a lift of* |