46 Mr. Fox's Letter.-Scheme for the two Millions. Jan: reftitution of all the French fhips, as well men of war as merchantmen, which, contrary to all law and all decorum, have been taken by the English navy, and of all the officers, foldiers, mariners, guns, ftores, merchandifes, and in general of every thing belonging to thofe veffels. The king will always chufe to owe to the king of England's equity, rather than to any thing elfe, that fatisfaction which he hath a right to demand: And all the powers in Europe will undoubtedly fee in this ftep which he hath determined to take, a new and striking proof of that invariable love of peace which directs all his counfels and refolutions. If his Britannick majesty order reftitution of the veffels in question, the king will be difpofed to enter into a negotiation for that farther fatisfaction which is legally due to him, and will continue defirous, as he hath always been, to have the difcuffions relating to America determined by an equitable and folid accommodation. But if, contrary to all hopes, the king of England refufe what the king demands, his majefty will regard this denial of juftice as the most authentick declaration of war, and as a formed design in the court of London to disturb the peace of Europe. Mr. Fox fent to Mr. Rouillé the following Anfwer, dated at Whitehall, Jan. 13, 1756. I SIR, Received on the third inftant the letter dated the 21ft paft with which your excellency honoured me, together with the memorial fubjoined to it. I immediately laid them before the king my master; and by his command I have the honour to inform your excellency, that his majesty continues defirous of preferving the publick tranquillity: But tho' the king will readily confent to an equitable and folid acconimodation, his majefty cannot grant the demand that is made of immediate and full reftitution of all the French veffels, and whatever belongs to them, as the preliminary condition of any negotiation; his majefty having taken no step but what the hoftilities begun by France in a time of profound peace (of which he hath the most authentick proofs) and what his majefty owes to his own honour, to the defence of the rights and poffeffions of his crown, and the fecurity of his kingdoms, rendered just and indifpenfable. I have the honour to be, &c. Mr. Fox's letter, as printed in the Paris Gazette, is fuch beggarly French, that we fhould judge it to be of English manufacture if we could fufpect men of fuch fpirit as are now at the head of our affairs capable of fo much meanness and difregard to their country's honour, as to fpeak to the French court in any other language than plain English. The following is the SCHEME for raifing 2,000,000l. for the Service of this Year. TH HAT the fum of 1,500,000l. be raised by annuities at 31. 10s. per cent. per ann. and the fum of 500,000l. by a lottery, to be attended with annuities, redeemable by parliament, after the rate of 3 per cent. per ann. the faid feveral annuities to be transferable at the Bank of England, and charged on the finking fund; and that every person subfcribing for 4ool. fhall be entitled to 300l. in annuities, and to rool. in lottery tickets, and fo in proportion for a greater or lefs fum: That the lottery shall confift of tickets of the value of rol. each, in a proportion not exceeding eight blanks to a prize, the blanks to be of the value of 61. each, and the blanks and prizes to bear an intereft after the rate of 3 per cent. per ann. to commence from the 25th day of January, 1757, and that the fum of 1,500,000l. to be raised by annuities, bearing an intereft after the rate of 31. 10s. per cent. per ann, from the 11th day of February next, which faid annuities fhall be redeemable in the whole, or in part, by fums not less than 500,000l. at one time, after the expiration of fifteen years, and not fooner, fix months notice having been given of fuch payment, or payments, refpectively. That any fubfcriber may, on or before Feb. 11, at 5 in the afternoon, make a depofit of 10 per cent. on fuch fum as he fhall chufe to fubfcribe towards raifing the faid fum of 2,000,000l. with the cashiers of the Bank of England, as a fecurity for his making the future payments on the days herein after appointed, viz. On annuities, 15 per cent. on or before March 30.-20 per cent. on or before May 15-20 per cent. on or before July 16.20 per cent. on or before Sept. 16.-15 per cent. on or before Oct. 30. On the lottery, 20 per cent. on or before April 22.-20 per cent. on or before June 16.-25 per cent. on or before Aug. 14.25 per cent. on or before Oct. 20. That any fubfcriber paying in the whole, or any part of his fubfcription, previous to the days appointed for the respective payments, shall be allowed a discount after the rate of 3 per cent, per ann. [The Catalogue of Books in our next.] FOREIGN AFFAIR S, 1756. 47 INCE our laft we have had many quakes that have been felt in many parts af Europe, during the courfe of November and December laft. At Lisbon they had for forty days after the first of November a flight fhock every day, except one; and on the 21ft ult. they had a fevere one, which threw down most of the houfes that had been left standing, and buried 300 perfons under the ruins. On the 9th of December a fhock was felt all over Franconia, Bohemia, Bavaria, Switzerland, the north of Italy, and the fouth of France, which was fo violent in fome places, as to throw down or damage feveral houses; and on the 11th another was felt in moft of the fame places. And on the 26th in the evening and next morning feveral shocks were felt at Maeftricht, Liege, Bruffels, and other parts of the Netherlands, which were fo violent at Quefnoy, that the barracks were thrown down, and upwards of 600 foldiers crushed to death, or very much bruifed. Befides thefe we have accounts of earthquakes having been felt on feveral other days; and that at Brigue in the Valais they continued from the ft to the 15th ult. by which most of the houses in that town were thrown down. Thefe fhocks produced in many places very extraordinary effects; for in fome the waters in the fprings and little rivers turned almost as red as blood, and in others the ground opened in divers places, and thro' the cracks or chafms water gushed out, bubbling and boiling as if there had been fire underneath. There have likewife been extraordinary inundations at feveral places upon the continent of Europe, particularly at Avignon, where the river Rhone rofe on the ift ult, at least 12 feet above what was ever known, by which the greatest part of that city, and the country for a league round, were laid under water: The people were forced to betake themselves to the tops of their houses, from whence they were brought off in boats: All their flour, bread, and provifions, were spoilt; and as all the corn-mills in that neighbourhood were demolished, before they could get a fufficient fupply; bread role to fix livres a pound, fo that the poor were in danger of starving. To thefe furprising accounts we shall add the following from Poland, that, in the beginning of last month, fuch storms of wind have arifen in the falt-pits in feveral parts of that kingdom, that fome bundreds of the labourers, and great part of the fubterraneous works, are deftroyed by which accidents the falt, to a very confiderable value, has been difperfed and rendered ufelefs. From other parts of that kingdom alfo, we have accounts of fprings and fires which have broke loose in thofe fubterraneous caverns, by which fome pits are entirely destroyed, and others remain ftill burning. From thofe parts, however, we hear of little damage that has been done by the late earthquakes. Paris, Dec. 26. Nothing has been talked of here for fome days paft but bankruptcies, occafioned by the difafter at Lisbon, and the captures made by the English. Upwards of thirty have been declared within this laft fortnight, and many more are expected, so that all private credit is at an end; and yet the tickets of the new lottery continue to fell at 20 livres premium. Breft, Dec. 27. By a late furvey of the naval ftores, and the reprefentations of the feveral boards of works throughout the kingdom, it is found that a fufficient quantity of materials are already imported and depofited in his majesty's magazines, for the equipment of 150 fail of the line. Orders have fince been fent hither for the conftruction of ten new fhips, to Rochefort for eight, and to Toulon for the conftruction of five, all upwards of 50 guns. Paris, Jan. 5. The vifc. de Bouteville hath received from the king a prefent of 6000 livres, and a pension for life of 1000 livres, for the gallant defence he made in the fhip Efperance against four English men of war. An additional duty of four fous per livre on all commodities brought into Paris to be confumed by the inhabitants took place on Thursday; and tho' the price of fuel, butter, eggs, &c. is thereby augmented, the people submit to it chearfully, becaufe by making an addition of feveral millions to the publick revenue, it will enable the king vigorously to carry on the war with the English, against whom the people in general are filled with the greatest animofity. Paris, Jan. 17. By an arret of the council of ftate it was ordered, that from the first day of February next, all duties whatsoever levied on filk of the product of the kingdom, fhall be fuppreffed, and the faid filk, in whatever province it may have been produced, fhall circulate and be tranfported freely into all other provinces of France, without being subje&ted, on any pretence whatfoever, to pals thro' the city of Lyons, nor to pay any duties, notwithstanding the edict of the month of January, 1722, the arret of the 21ft of November, 1724, and all other edicts or regulations to the contrary. Days BANE INDIA South Sea South Sea South Sea' 3 and 4 p.13 p. Cent. /S. S. An.[3 p. Cent. Ind. Bonds B.Cir. p. Wind at STOCK. STOCK. STOCK. Annu. old Ann. new C. B. An. B. Annu. PRICES of STOCKS for each Day in JANUARY, BILLS of MURTA.. Sunday 122 1751. Ind.Ann. præm. 11 135 11. 155 fl. 155 1. s. d. Weather London. BILLS of Mortality from Dec. 23. to Jan. 20. cloudy Chrift. cloudy Males 579 1127 Femal. $481127 Buried {Males 849 1688 Femal. 8485 Died under 2 Years old 575 Between 2 and 5 144. 5 and 10 Il. 155 11. 158 34 10 and 20- 52 20 and 30 115 Deal. W. S. W. W. by S. N. W. N. W. cloudy rain fnow rain rain Il. 158 cloudy N. W. cloudy rain 13 121 14 W. by N. froft N. W. froft 16 121 147 104 92 gr 17 120 88 10+ 91 90 90 88 18 Sunday il. 6s W. S. W. fair Buried cloudy 92 90 89 89 11. 95 92 90 90 11. 8s 931 92 90 88 93 92 90 89 89 99 25 Sunday il. 128 90 11. 6s 11. 6s Farnham. Henley. 081. 08s load 14s to 16s 208 to 25$ 158 to 18qr 13s to 17 ood 218 to 24 ood 125 to 16 6d 248 to 26 Guildford. 081. 05s load 14s to 16 qr W. S. W. W. by S. W. N. W. 36s to 42 qu ram rain clear cloudy Devizes. 11s to 14 215 to 28 Jan. 6 426 1688 Peafe 25s. per Quarter The LONDON MAGAZINE: Or, GENTLEMAN's Monthly Intelligencer For FEBRUARY, To be Continued. 1756. (Price Six Pence each Month.) Containing, (Greater Variety, and more in Quantity, than any Montlily Book of the fame Price) 1. Mernors of Bleaching. II. Whytt of the fentible Parts of the Body. VIII. Melancholy Story of a phable Youth. XVIII Stories of Tullius, Sylvius and Dives. XXII. Life of the Author of Hudibras. XXIII. Story of Lord Buckhurft. to XXV. Common Swearing expofed. XXVIII. Marriages and Births, Deaths, Pro- XXIX. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. XXXII. Monthly Bill of Mortality.. With a correct MAP of DENBIGHSHIRE, and the HEAD of Mr. BUTLER, MULTUM IN PARVO. LONDON: Printed for R. BALDWIN, at the Role in Pater-Neuer-kow The mufick from M. C. will be inferted next month, as will Mr. Silvefter's folution. Our |