liable to be taxed, although the lecturer derived a benefit from the voluntary fubfcription of his hearers. The juftices determined in favour of the trustees of the chapel. -A fimilar decifion took place last year at Guildhall, on an appeal of the trustees of the meetinghouse, in Hare-court, Alderfgate, against the demand for rates by the officers of that parish.

25. Yefterday, George Colley, an Englishman; Francis Cole, a black; and Michael Blanche, and Emanuel Batha, two Spaniards, were brought before the admiralty feffion, at the Old Bailey, being charged with the murder of Wil liam Little, captain of an American fhip, called the American Eagle, in the chops of the Channel, on the 28th of October laft. The first two only were then tried, and, after a long examination of wit neffes, were found guilty. The two latter being foreigners, their trial was poftponed till this day, in order that they might have their privilege of a jury half foreigners; but this, in the fequel, they were induced to wave; and, on the conclufion of the trial, Blanche was found guilty, and Batha acquitted.

26. Yesterday morning, at a quarter before nine o'clock, the powder-mills belonging to Mr. Hill, at Hanmer, a mile and a half from Hounflow, and twelve from town, were blown up, owing, it is faid, to the fevere friction occafioned by the iron works not being properly oiled. The flames communicated to a lighter in the mill river, containing thirty barrels of powder, which alfo went off with a moft tremendous fhock. The concuffions were diftinctly felt throughout the whole of Weftminster and St. George's Fields, the force of which actually fhook

many perfons in their beds, and ftaggered others who were walking in the ftreets. At Hounslow, every houfe is more or lefs damaged. Scarcely a pane of glafs has efcaped, and at the King's Head even the window frames are fhattered to pieces. At Ifleworth, Twickenham, and Brentford, the people were fo much alarmed, that they quitted their dwellings, and many of them ran about the streets a confiderable time half naked. Several of the houses are very confiderably injured. Not a veftige of the mills is left standing; and Hounflow heath is covered with bricks and tiles. The number of lives loft on this dreadful occafion is not yet correctly afcertained; but four men are known to have perifhed, viz. three who were in the mills, and one in the veffel on the river, who have left large families to lament their fhocking fate. The lofs of property fuftained by this explosion is eftímated at near 20,000l. About twenty years ago, the mills on the fame fpot were deftroyed by a fi milar accident.

28. This morning, Francis Cole, George Colley, and Michael Blanche, were executed at Execution dock, pursuant to their fentence, for the murder of captain

this port, that are arrived of a fleet confifting of about 200 fail, which left St. Helen's about the 8th of December laft; fince which time they have been continually beating against contrary and tremendous gales of wind and heavy feas, in which they have received fo much damage, that almost all the men of war will be obliged to go into

dock.

[From every part of the island we receive accounts of the devastation occafioned by the late high winds, which in many places were attended with fewere forms of thunder and lightning, by which much damage has been done, particularly in the counties of York, "Cumberland, and Northumberland, and in various parts of Scotland.]

30. On Thurfday the 29th, came on the trial of Mr. William Stone, coal-merchant, in Rutland Place, Upper Thames-ftreet, for high treafon, before lord Kenyon, and the other judges of the court of King's Bench, in Westminster Hail.

The court affembled at nine o'clock; but it was not till half after ten, that a fufficient number of names had been called over to form a jury; when the following gentlemen were fworn in: J. Lea der, Tottenham-ftreet, gent. John Mayhew, of Hornfey, efq. J. Etherington, of Newington Green, teaman; T. Cole, of Twickenham, brewer; Charles Minier, of the Strand, feedfman; Daniel Dyfon, efq. of Tottenham, farmer; T. Burnett, efq. Laleham : William Sumner, of Clerkenwell Clofe, filverfmith; J. Larkin, of St. Johnftreet, oilman; Peter Taylor, of Wapping Old Stairs, blockmaker to the Eaft-India company; W. Weft, of Tottenham, brewer; and Ifaac Dimfdale, of Glasshouse-yard, Alderfgate-ftreet, coachmaker.

The indictment having been stated by Mr. Wood, the attorneygeneral proceeded to expatiate on the facts, and the evidence he was to adduce in fupport of them. Mr., Stone, he faid, was charged with two fpecies of treafon; the firft, with compaffing and imagining the king's death; and the fecond, with confpiring with John Hurford Stone, his brother, and with a perfon named William Jackfon. See Vol. XVI. p. (30). Of the overt acts in proof of these treasons, he took a very accurate view, adding, that in the evidence it would be proved, that the French government had employed Mr. J. H. Stone and Mr. Jackson, to gain fuch intelligence of the fituation of this country as might enable them to judge of the expediency of án invafion. The connexion of the gentleman at the bar with thofe perfons would be alfo placed beyond the poffibility of a doubt. The former was his brother, alrea dy become a domiciliated Frenchman, and whom he knew to be in the confidence and intereft of the French government; the latter had been, to the knowledge of the prifoner, fent over to England by Mr. J. H. Stone, his brother, for the purpose of acquiring intelligence; and, notwithstanding his having been fully aware of the purposes of Mr. Jackson's miffion, he, nevertheless, though a British fubject, had held correfpondence with, and affifted him in making inquiry how this kingdom might moft fuccefsfully be invaded, or if it would be for the intereft of the French government to make any invafion whatever.

In the course of their correfpondence, it would appear, that a great deal was faid about the eftablishment of certain manufac (A 4)

tories;

tories; the parting with his (Mr. William Stone's) houfe at Old Ford; and concerning a certain family refiding at Sheilds, who were involv. ed in a law fuit: all which, though feemingly innocent, would be found to be an ingenious invention to convey a double meaning, and that, under thefe fymbols and allegories, the real bufinefs, of the moft criminal tendency, was myfteriously concealed.-It would appear too, that Mr. J. H. Stone had repeatedly recommended Mr. Jackfon to his brother as his confidential friend, ftating, moreover, that he was an American gentleman, although, in reality, he was an Irishman; that, confequently, an immediate connexion and correfpondence took place between this pretended American gentleman and the prifoner; that the former was furnished by the latter with money to effect his purposes; that their correfpondence was of fuch an ambiguous nature as naturally to excite fufpicion; that it was carried on under feigned names, that one of J. H. Stone's letters was figned -by the feigned name of Benjamin Beresford; that Jackfon's were figned Thomas Popkins; and the prifoner's, by his own name reveried, William Enots; and that, in the beginning of the year 1794, fifteen fhips had been loft to this country, in confequence of intelligence fuppofed to have been conveyed through that channel to the enemy. Jackson, during this correfpondence, was in Ireland, whither he had gone, in order to execute his part of the traitorous plan, which was to procure fuch intelligence of the fituation of Ireland, and of the difpofition of the people, as would beft enable the French government the more effectually to plan the invafion and

reduction of that country. Jackfon, he faid, had been convicted of high treafon in Ireland, but died fuddenly, before fentence was pronounced. The jury had heard of the nature of the correfpondence between J. H. Stone and Jackson, and it was for them to judge how far the prifoner at the bar was implicated in their proceedings.

The attorney-general having finifhed, evidence was brought to identify certain papers, and to prove the hand-writing of the refpective parties. One of the papers read, was stated to have been written by Benjamin Vaughan, efq. M. P. for Calne, and to have been given by him to the prisoner. It appeared to be written with a view to defcribe the temper and opinions of the people of this country, refpecting the then threatened invafion of the French, and purported to fhew the improbability there was of any fuch measure fucceeding, from a variety of caufes, viz. that the verdicts which were given in ftate profecutions were in favour of the court; that there was a great readiness in men to inlift in the army; that there was little refiftance in preffing men into the fea fervice; and that the parliament was favourable to the war, though its exiftence was above half expired; that from the state of the difpofition of the people, there was every reafon to apprehend that fuch an attempt would prove abortive; and that it would be expedient for the French to hold out fair and moderate terms of peace after fuccefs. Another paper was produced, written by Mr. W. Smith, M. P. for Camelford, thewing alfo the impoffibility of the fuccefs of an attempt to invade this country; though not

written

written in fuch strong terms as the former.

Upon the fubject of thefe papers, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sheridan, lord Lauderdale, Mr. Towgood, and Mr. Rogers, were examined in evidence: they had been refpectively confulted on the fubject by the prisoner, and as their evidence 'entirely coincided, we fhall only repeat the fubftance of what Mr. Sheridan depofed: The prifoner,' Mr. Sheridan faid, had been introduced to him by a Mr. Wilfon, who faid, that he (Mr. Stone) wanted to communicate to him what might be of advantage to the country; and then he (the prifoner) faid, that he had had frequent communications with his brother at Paris, and he understood, from thefe communications, that the idea of attempting an invafion of this country was a plan feriously and peremptorily refolved upon by the government of France; that this idea was adopted, and likely to be purfued, upon an opinion, which was very ill formed, of the general state of the public mind, and the prevalence of general difcontent in this country. He then ftated, that the fervice he thought he could effect, would be the means, through this circuitous channel of communication, to undeceive the government of France upon this fubject, and by giving them the real frate of the country, and convincing them how little could be expected from any thing like affiftance, or co-operation, from any defcription of men in this country, he hoped the confequence might be, their abandoning a project evidently taken up upon falfe information. The prifoner then faid, that in order to effect this purpose, he had endeavoured to collect the opinions of feveral

gentlemen, political characters in this country, whofe opinions he thought would be authority to advance his object: for this purpose he had had interviews with different gentlemen, viz. Mr. Smith, Mr. Vaughan, and one or two more. He then mentioned his having communicated what Mr. Vaughan had faid to him; he faid that gentleman had put his opinions on this fubject into writing, and he produced a paper, which Mr. Sheridan thought was in the hand-writing of Mr. Vaughan, and began to read it. Before he finished reading the paper, Mr. Sheridan' ftopped the prifoner, not thinking this a proper fubject of communication. The witnefs alfo told him, that he acted very indifcreetly, and that he might be impofed upon by this American gentleman. The prifoner endeavoured to convince him by argument, that he was doing a meritorious fervice. Mr. Sheridan then told him, that whoever this American gentleman was, he must be fure that all his motions were watched. He faid further, that Mr. Dundas fhould be informed of it, and recommended him to go and make fome communication of the affair to Mr. Dundas. The prifoner feemed to hefitate about this, and faid, he had communicated the bufinefs to a gentleman connected with minifters, which gentleman afterward appeared to be the late general Murray.

After the evidence on this point had been delivered, John Cockayne, the fole parole evidence for the crown, then gave an account of his tranfactions in Ireland with Jackfon; but nothing appeared in this to criminate the prifoner. Indeed, the court and jury feemed to pay little attention to the evi

dence