generally of the worst confequence.) On the next day, which was Sunday, the fymptoms feemed to be a little more favourable; but, to my great furprife, the very next day, I found his leg not only mortified up to the knee, but the fame began a new in four different parts, viz. under each eye, on the top of his fhoulder, and on one hand; and in about twelve hours after he died. I fhall not prefume to fay there was any thing fupernatural in the cafe; but, however, it must be confeffed, that fuch cafes are rather uncommon in fubjects fo young, and of fo good an habit as he had always been, previous to his illnels." Abftruct of the act for the better prefervation of timber-trees, woods, under-woods, &c. A LL perfons, who from and after the 24th of June 1766, fhall be convicted of damaging, deftroy. ing, or carrying away any timberfrees, &c. or the lops or tops thereof, without the confent of the owner, forfeit, for the first offence, a fum not exceeding 201. with charges: and on non-payment to be committed for not more than twelve, nor lefs than fix months; for the fecond offence, a fum not exceed ing 301. &c. and on non-payment to be committed for not more than eighteen, nor lefs than twelve months and for the third offence are to be transported for feven years. Alfo perfons convicted of plucking. up, fpoiling or taking away any foot, fhrub, or plant, out of private cultivated ground, forfeit for the first offence, any fum not exceed ing 40s, with the charges: for the fecond offence, any fum not exVOL. IX. ceeding 51. with charges: and for the third offence are to be tranfported for seven years. The like for perfons cutting, damaging, or tak ing away any wood, underwood, poles, fticks, &c. or who have any fuch in their cuftody, without being able to account fatisfactorily for the fame, excepting that for thefe, they are, upon the third offence, to be punified as incorrigible rogues. Where the forfeitures fhall not be paid down on conviction, the offenders may be committed to hard labour; for the first offence, for one month, and to be once whipped; and for the fecond offence, for three months, and to be thrice whipped. Perfons hindering or attempting to prevent the feizing offenders, forfeit 101. and if not paid down, are to be committed to hard labour for any time, not exceeding fix months. Oak, beech, chefnut, walnut, afh, elm, cedar, fir, afp, lime, fycamore, and birch trees, to be deemed tim ber trees, and within the meaning. of the act. By a fecond act, offences, when committed in the night-time, are fubjected to penalties. T is entitled, "An act for en couraging the cultivation, and for the better prefervation of trees, roots, plants, and fhrubs;" and enacts, "That from and after the 2d day of June 1766, all and every perfon, or perfons, who fhall, in the night-time, lop, top, cut down, break, throw down, bark, burn, or otherwife fpoil or deftroy, or carry away any oak, beech, afh, elm, fir, chefnut, or afp, timbertree, or other tree or trees ftanding for timber, or likely to become timber, without the confent of the owner [0] or owners thereof, first had and ob tained; or fhall in the night-time pluck up, dig up, break, fpoil, or deftroy, or carry away, any root, fhrub, or plant, roots, frubs, or plants, of the value of five fhillings, and which fhall be growing, ftanding, or being in the gardenground, nursery-ground, or other inclofed ground, of any perfon or perfons whatsoever, fhall be deemed guilty of felony; and every fuch perfon or perfons fhall be fubject and liable to the like pains and penalties, as in cafes of felony; and the court have power to tranfport fuch perfon or perfons, for the fpace of feven years, &c." Thus this laft act makes the offence, when committed in the night-time, felony in the first inftance; whereas the other act makes it felony only after the third offence, when committed in the day-time. to be fubordinate unto, and dependent on the imperial crown and parliament of Great Britain; and that the king and parliament of Great Britain had, hath, and of right ought to have full power and authority to make laws and ftatutes of fufficient force to bind the colonies, and his Majefly's fubjects in them, in all cafes whatsoever. "And it is farther declared, That all refolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings in any of the faid colonies, whereby the power and au thority of the king, lords, and commons of Great Britain, in parliament aflembled, is denied, or drawn into question, are, and are hereby declared to be uttterlynulland void to all intents and purposes whatsoever." Abfiract of an act for repealing the samp-all. HIS AbstraƐ of the late aŭ of parliament Tonantes forth, that as the TH continuance the former act for the better fecuring the dependence of his Majesty's dominions in America, on the crown of Great Britain. TH HE preamble fets forth "That feveral of the houfes of reprefentatives in his Majefty's colonies in America had of late, against the law, claimed to themfelves, or the general affemblies of the fame, the fole and exclufive right of im. would be attended with many inconveniencies, and may be productive of confequences greatly detrimental to the commercial interefis of thefe kingdoms, it is therefore, from and after the 1ft day of May. 1766, with the feveral matters and things contained in it, hereby repealed and made void, to all intents and purpofes whatsoever. form at Martinico. pofing duties and taxes on his Ma- An authentic account of the dreadful jefty's fubjects in the faid colonies, and have paffed certain votes, refoJutions, and orders, derogatory to the authority of parliament, inconfiftent with the dependency of the faid colonies upon the crown of Great Britain; it is therefore declared, That the aid colonies have been, arc, and of right ought ST PETER, Aug. 21, 1766. Tbeen afficted with dreadful HIS colony, which has often calamities, has lately fuffered one more fatal than all that have happened fince its eftabliment; and the damage occafioned thereby, On Thursday, the 13th inftant, about ten at night, the whole horizon darkened, the wind blowing furioafly from the north-west, the clouds vomited torrents, mingled with flaming fulphur; every thing feemed to forebode the diffolution of nature. The fury of the wind increafed; houfes tottered; their tops were carried away; a frightful noile was heard from every quarter; difmay seized on every heart. -Till midnight the hurricane continued with increafed violence; nothing could refift its fury: here a wall was thrown down, there a houfe; infants in the arms of their mothers; mothers in thofe of their hufbands, all buried under the ruins. At the fame time the earth trembled: men and women, children and flaves, all endeavoured to feek for fafety by flight; but were reftrained by fear, and believing every moment to be their laft, they fell proftrate in fervent prayers. The horrors of this terrible night were increased by difafters from the fea; the waves, intermingled with the clouds, dafhed upon the coaft, and beat to pieces all the veffels in the road: the failors, though without hopes of fuccour, raifed the moft lamentable cries, and were all fwallowed up in the ocean. At three in the morning the wind began to calm, and foon after, daylight prefented a view of this melancholy catastrophe. The ftreets appeared covered with ruins: the hore with fhipwrecks and dead bodies; the trees dafhed to pieces and torn from their roots blocked up the roads; and the fwoln rivers carried along with them, in their course, ftones of an enormous fize. At five o'clock a thick cloud appeared, fufpended over Mount Pe leus, which burft, being overloaded with water, and, like an impetuous torrent, overwhelmed the neigh bouring plains. At fix the wind was entirely ap peafed, the fea no longer agitated, and a calm fucceeded this moft horrible tempeft. When the ftorm was at the height, a quantity of flaming matter was ob ferved to come from the bofom of the earth; and fome perfons are faid to have been burnt thereby. Thirty-five brigantines, boats, &c. have been loft in this harbour, befides twelve paffage-canoes. Of the former, twenty-eight belonged to France, and feven to England. To complete the calamity, we have received the most afflicting advices from the country. Hardly is there a veftige to be seen of any houfes all around; under the ruins of which many of the proprietors have been crufhed to death. The canes, coffee-trees, cocoas, &c. &c. have been all torn up and destroyed. We know not as yet the exact number that have perished in this quarter, but fuppofe there may be 90, and twice as many wounded. Our governor was the preceding day at Caze Pilote, where he endured with much hazard all the violence of the ftorm, and returned hither next day, deeply affected with this public calamity. He has accordingly given his attention entirely to the establishment and prefervation of good order, fo neceflary in circumftances like ours. The above is a genuine recital of what has happened at St. Peter. In going over the inland we shall find near the fame calamities, and in fome places still worse. [0] 2 The fleeping by her fide under the ruins! The habitations in Carbet and Caze Pilote, have had the fame a venerable old man crushed to fate as ours; no buildings now! no atoms before the eyes of his own provifions! no plantations! fon:-a fon endeavouring to eafe, his mother, his wife and daughter, overwhelmed with the weight of a houfe, and he holding clofe in his arms till day-light, that mother who had already breathed her laft; whilft his ears were pierced with the plaintive cries of a beloved wife, who was ready to expire. Port Royal, great part of whofe inhabitants were ruined by the dreadful fire on the 20th of May, has not been exempted from this laft fcourge. The tops of moft of the houfes in that city have been carried away, and many of the houfes thrown down, as well as thofe of the citadel. A cafern, 120 fect long, and 18 broad, has been driven feveral paces from its foundation; nine English veffels, at anchor in the Flemish-bay, have been dashed to pieces; feveral French boats have been rendered ufelefs; a great many paffage-canoes thattered upon the almost all the veffels at quays; anchor in the bafon damaged. The dwellings in this quarter are totally laid wafte.The number of dead Some particulars of the melancholy difafler, that has befallen the city of Montauban in France, by an inundation of the river Tarna, which began on the 14th of November, 1766, and laid 1200 houfes in ruins. HE fall of the houses began amounts at prefent to forty, the T in the fuburb of Sapaic. The wounded as many more. La Trinité has fuffered as much as any place whatever. Nothing has refifted the fury of the hurricane. One half of the town has been thrown down, the other uncovered. The timber-work of the church, remarkable for its firength, has been driven from the walls, and carried in flatters a confiderable way off. Seventeen or eighteen vellels that were in the road, have all fuffered fhipwreck. The number of dead and wounded is more confiderable here than elsewhere; we tremble at the recital. One hundred and eighty whites and negroes are fuppoled to have perifhed, and upwards of two hundred and forty wounded. It was here that a mother was feen cruthed to death between her two children, whom fe ftill held in each hand, they noife occafioned by their tumbling was heard in the neighbouring fuburb, with the cries of feveral per fons who called out for help; but as the water furrounded entirely the fuburb of Sapaic, it was very dif ficult going to the affiftance of the unhappy inhabitants. The river, which was prodigioufly fwoln and rapid, was laden with a number of trees of an enormous fize, that had been torn up by the roots, and carried down along with it; a circumflance which, joined with the darkness of the night, rendered the paffage of boats very dangerous. Thefe obftacles, however, did not intimidate a mariner, who, in spite of the intreaties and tears of his wife and children, ventured to cross the river, in order to fave fuch as were on the point of perifhing, His courage roufed feveral of his fellow fellow boatmen to imitate him; and by means of their help no body perished. The floods continued to increafe, and redoubled their alarms. The inhabitants of the city, feparated from the fuburb by a bridge, ran to ville Bourbonne. At feven o'clock of the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 18, the floods began to abate, and their decrease continued till noon. Hope immediately began to fpring up in every bofom, but was foon filled by the fall of the greatest part of the fuburb of Galleras, adjoining to that of ville Bourbonne: and it was perceived that all the houses, even those that were yet at a diftance from the waters, were tottering, and refted only on a loofe earth which the waters had already undermined. At noon the fwell began again, and was continually augmenting, The confternation was then univerfal. Orders were given to move off all the effects. Perfons of all ranks were defired to affift in the removal, and all the carts and carriages were engaged to make the removal the more speedy. The tribunals of juftice opened their halls, the monks their own convents and cloyfters; and the churches were alfo offered as repofitories for the effects of the people. The inhabitants of ville Bourbonne abandoned fucceffively their houfes; and the inhabitants of the city, with an earneftnefs which did honour to hu manity, received their unhappy neighbours, and, with marks of true tendernefs, endeavoured to affuage a grief which had no bounds. The inundation increafed during that whole day, and continued fill augmenting till seven in the morning, Nov. 19, when the waters were thirty-two feet above the common water level. Such an extraordinary inundation has occafioned fundry neighbouring villages to be entirely overflowed, and has produced the greatest ravages. In the plains, the buildings have been overwhelmed, the grain washed away, the cattle drowned, and the greatest part of the inhabitants found their only fafety in fudden flight, or in climb ing high trees, where the horrors of famine were joined to the dreadful fpectacle of beholding their dwellings deftroyed, and their effects carried away by the flood. |