550 Court of Petersburgh impofed on and exafperated. Nov.

The memorial then goes on to menti- A on feveral of thefe contrivances, particularly, that the minifters of Vienna and Saxony had concerted schemes for making the court of Ruffia believe, ift. That the king of Pruffia had engaged in a plot for getting the emprefs of Ruffia affaffinated.

The court of Drefden has had a share in all the dangerous designs which have been formed against the king :-Their minifters have been the authors and chief promoters of them :-And tho' they have not, formally, acceded to the treaty of Petersburg, they have, however, agreed with their allies to fufpend their concurrence therein, until fuch time only as the king's forces fhould be weakened and divided, and they might pull off the mask B without danger.

For affifting the Memory of our Readers we shall give them the following alphabetical List of

the Minifters mentioned in the above Memorial.

Mr. Weingarten

Saxon
Auftrian

Ruffian

1747.

N. B. The above lift will likewife be of great fervice to those who incline to read the faid memorial and the documents at full length.

To the AUTHOR, &c.

SIR,

HE late bill brought into parliament

Tfor a militia being a national con

cern, which has engaged the attention of
the publick, a few thoughts on that fub-
ject will, I hope, not be difregarded. It A
18 with particular pleafure I have ob-
ferved, that the feveral addreffes, on this
head, mention a Conftitutional Militia: In
order, therefore, that we may better judge
what kind of militia is confiftent with,
and natural to, the British conftitution,
the following important Queries are pro-
pofed, the folving of which will, I ap-
prehend, lead us directly to that plan B
which ought to be laid down for the efta-
blishment of fo great a military force in a
free nation.

Q. I. Whether the intended militia
must not be on fuch an establishment as
never to be used but with the joint and
concurrent confent of king and parlia-
ment, and fo as no way to infringe the
feveral rights of the three eftates of the
realm, or break or difturb the balance
and diftribution of the executive and le-
gislative power we now enjoy; and if it
fhould, whether it may not in time en-
tirely deprive us of the happy conftitu-
tion we now poffefs?

C

2. Whether, as the city of London, and many other of our oities and towns, D (being counties of themfelves) have a peculiar government within themselves, feparate from the counties at large, and by ancient privileges are to have the command of the military forces to be raised

among themselves, it will not be necef fary to preferve thofe rights inviolable; or whether the breaking in upon those privileges and jurifdictions, on account of a militia, will not take away from us one of the leffer balances in our constitution?

3. Whether fo great a military force will not tend to controul the power of the civil magiftrates, who are intrufted with the execution of our laws, unless provided for in a special and very effectual manner?

4. Whether, as this militia is only intended to fecure peace at home, and prevent an invafion, proper provifion must not be made that the men be all of them

known proteftants, and well affected to the fettlement of the government in the prefent proteftant line; and also that a fufficient number of the middling rank, (who have fome property, and are men of good behaviour) be incorporated with them, that fo it may not be too much compofed of the dregs of the people, who cannot be relied on, and may prove more dangerous as militia men, than when under the ftrict difcipline of our regular forces ?

5. Whether, in places where elections for members are popular, as the power of the civil magiftrate is often found too weak to prevent nocturnal riots and outrages at fuch a juncture, it will not be needful for the weak part of our conftitution to be ftrengthened by a reduction of the number of electors, and that the militia men fhall not vote except they are of rank or property? And whether, to prevent danger, in county elections, the qua

lification

552

The SPEECH of a DRUID.

lification of a vote should not be raifed to Iol. per ann. and in boroughs to the payment of 40s. to the parish rates, or for fuch as have votes and do not refide in the boroughs, to be worth 1ool. in land or perfonal estate, and none of the militia to be prefent unless electors?

6. Whether the conftitution of a mili- A tia must not be fo framed, as to put no clog or hindrance to our trade and manufactures, which are the fupport and wealth of these kingdoms; nor to leffen our regard to religion, which is the only real glory and ability of a nation ?

7 Whether, upon the whole, any but perfons of fome property and fortune, and who have fomething to lofe, are likely to be kept in ftrict difcipline by fines and imprisonment, or by any other means than the military laws?

8. Whether it will not be confiftent with the wildom of the legislature, that fuch a militia bill be a temporary one?

. Thus would I humbly recommend these few hints to the cool and candid confideration of every true Briton; and would only conclude with thofe lines of the ingenious Mr. Addison :

B

"On that turf thou li'ft dejected

Nov.

Full five hundred years I've ftood;
Every neighb'ring thrub protected,

King of all this neigh'bring wood;
Full of honour, full of glory,

Till thy hatchet thin'd the grove;
Through thy power, O fatal ftory!
Foreign trees with native ftrove.
Mighty Edward once reclining,

Near this branch that fweeps the ground,
Call'd his blooming offspring to him,
Princes, nobles ftanding round:
Hear, my fon, thy aged father,
British valour France has won ;
Truft thy faithful fubjects ever,

Foreign troops and vaffals fhun.
Edward bow'd, and view'd his nobles,
Gen'rous tears ran trickling down,
Native courage warm'd each feature,
And his face was mercy's throne;
Heav'n forbid, my virtuous fire,

I difclaim thefe valiant bands,

COr, like former tyrants, venture

Remember, O! my friends, the laws,
[down,
the rights,
The gen'rous plan of power deliver'd D
From age to age, by your renown'd fore
[blood!
fathers,

So dearly bought, the price of fo much
O! let it never perish in your hands,
But piously tranimit it to your children!"
I am, SIR, &c.

Left his r

weeping,

For the honour of his c

Down to Ct's fhades he bended,

See his circle ready ftand,

Parfons, placemen, peers attended,
Leeches of this fainting land.

Flatt ring tongues, alas! no comfort

To an evil confcience bring,

They're the ruin of a nation,
They're the poifon of a king.
Hark! he hears the Gallic' thunder,
Hark! he hears old Blakeney groan;
Mixt with hideous cries of victims,
Bravely dying at Mahon.
Pale and reflefs he retired,

Sore afflicted and afraid,
Where the baleful yew and cyprefs
Cut a deep and awful thade;
When a voice majestic iffu'd

From a reverend Eritish oak;
'Twas an antient British Druid
Who to trembling P-

fpoke,

Britain's fate in foreign hands.
'Twas beneath my fpreading branches,
Mary mourn'd her Calais loft,
Dunkirk lavifh Charles lamented,

Now the dread of England's coaft :
But within thefe woods refounded,
Ne'er, 'till now, thefe horrid cries,
Ne er, 'till now, our fleets retreated,
Fatal fight to British eyes!
See our naval force dishonour'd,
See a giant ftern advance,
Strong enough to ftrangle freedom,
Yet too weak to cope with France;
F-- behind him, freedom's terror,
Pleas'd derides my quick decay,
E While his hungry band of creatures,
Hover round like birds of prey.
Silly P, ever climbing,

F

While the lab'ring veffel's toft;
Where's thy triumph, where's thy fafety,
If the veffel's wreckt and lost?
Truft no longer venal faction,

But yourself your country fave;
Loofe our nobles, arm the people,
Make 'em free, you'll find 'em brave."

Efperance, a Man of War of 74 Guns, taken by the Orford, Capt. Stevens.

Men of War, taken by Boscawen's Squadron, (fee Vol. xxv. p. 347-)

20 Sail of Victuallers Bourdeaux

November, 1756.

[To be continued in our next.]

concifenefs put = z. Then ::: 2r-g+x (r being put radius):

bx

which equation being

properly reduced, gives x 45° 58'. Confequently the last courfe, viz. BC was E. S. E. 1° 25' foutherly; and the diftance BD, viz. between the tack and first obfervation, 21.08 miles.

B

g

D

SOLUTION to the QUESTION in our Mag. for Auguft, p. 393, by Mr. William Marshall, of Mr. Webber's Mathematical School, at Bridgewater, in Somerfetfhire. Onstruction. Let EQ (in the annexed fcheme) reprefent the equator, A and G the ports failed from; then having raifed the perpendiculars AB and GD (according to the queftion) draw a line from B to D, from the middle of which let fall a perpendicular, viz. gC, and it will cut AG in C, confequently the fides BC and DC are equal, because the ABCD is ifoceles.

A C

G Q

Calculation. Put AB a 40, DG=b 31, AC+CG== 36, and let AC= the diftance of the westermoft port to the E place where they met thence c-x-CG the diftance to the eaftermost port, and (per 47 Eucl.) c −2⋅ + b2 = DC, and √a2 + x2 = B C •• √ c — -x2 + b2 =

a2x2, which equation being reduced, gives x=

20

=9,125, wherefore

CG 26,875, and BC, or DC 41,02, the distance failed by each fhip. And (per the rules of trigonometry) the course of the weftermoft fhip (or rhumb failed on) was S. by E. 1° easterly, and the eastermost S. W. by S. 3° 51' westerly.

A

QUESTION, by the fame Hand.

N ifland, in the midft of a canal, in the middle of which is a tree 65 feet high; the breadth of the island from the tree to the edge of the water ((uppofing the Sir,