in a garifon, without a new com- pened while I was in that office: miffion, if he accepts of the fervice, His defign, I fuppofe, was to prehe of courfe fubjects himself again vent my behaving upon this occafion to martial law: So likewife, if the in any manner that might feem inofficers of the troops of guards that confiftent with what I did at that were broke, have accepted of being time; for which I am obliged to him. feconded upon other troops, they A But as I never pretended to be infal have again fubjected themselves to lible, efpecially, in matters which martial law; but by the breaking of depend upon the decifion of a nice the troops they belonged to, thay point of law, I am not at all afham were out of the fervice, and could ed of giving now my opinion connot have been compelled to have en- trary to what I was then obliged to tered into it again; for in time of do by virtue of my office. From peace no British fubject can be com- B thofe papers it appears, that fo early pelled to give up his birth right in as in the month of July 1715, all the laws of his country, by entering half-pay officers were voted into full or returning into the military fervice. pay by the other houfe: The beginIf a half-pay officer again accepts ning of Auguft following, they were voluntarily of whole pay, or of any apprized of it by an advertisement command, he again lifts himself in in the Gazette, and ordered to be the military fervice; but he cannot, ready to repair to the places afteror at least he could not before the wards to be appointed: And in Sepmutiny act of last year, have been teinber they were by another advercompelled to accept of either, any tisement ordered to be against fuch a other way than by ftriking him off day at the places appointed refpecthe half pay; and generally, when tively, fuch as Exeter, Briftol, Cheffuch an officer is again taken into ter, York, Newcastle, according to fervice, he receives a new commif- D the regiments they had formerly befion, pays fees at the fecretary's of longed to, under the pain of being fice, and to the judge advocate; for ftruck off the lift of half pay. at the War-Office no officer is loaded with any fees, and he ferves by virtue of that new commiffion, though by the custom of the army he ranks according to the date of the old;

but this custom can no more make a half-pay officer a whole-pay one, than fuch a like cuftom can make a lieutenant-general an enfign, becaufe, perhaps, he ranks according to the date of his enfign's commiffion; for if two lieutenant-generals had their commiffions the fame day, they rank according to the date of their commiflions as major-generals; if these likewife of the fame date, they rank according to their com -millions as brigadiers, and thus quite down, if neceffary, to their commillions as enfigns.

I must take this opportunity, Sir, to return my thanks to Mr. Secretary at war, for fending me fome papers relating to an affair that hap

C

E

This laft advertisement plainly fhews, Sir, that at the time it was published, when people could judge little coolly, the opinion was, that half pay officers were not fubject to martial law; for otherwife the orders would have been issued under pain of being deemed deferters and punifhed as fuch; because the new mutiny bill of that year was paffed, and began to be in force from the first of Auguft, the preamble of which included not only the troops then on foot, but fuch as fhould be raised for the defence and fervice of the realm; and the first enacting claufe was, that every perfon being in his majefty's fevice in the army, or mufG tered, or in pay as an officer, who fhall defert his majesty's fervice in the army, fhall fuffer death, or fuch other punishment as by a court martial shall be inflicted. But a rebellion

F

having

having foon after broke out and come
to a great head, four half-pay officers
who had joined the rebels with the
king's commiffion in their pockets,
and without having given any notice
of their leaving the fervice, were
taken at Prefton: Then indeed peo- A
ples zeal, or rather their resentment,
being raised to a great height, his late
majefty was advifed to iffue orders/
for trying and punishing those officers
by martial law, and thofe orders
were by me, as Secretary of war,
tranfmitted to the proper officer at B
Prefton In pursuance of which the
unfortunate gentlemen were tried by
a court martial, and fhot for defer-
tion. But what was thus done in
the heat and hurry of a dangerous
rebellion, can never be an argument
for proving, that half-pay officers C
were, or ever ought to be subjected
to martial law; for at fuch times
many illegal things are done, and
often must be done; for which rea-
fon an act of indemnity is always
paffed, with refpect to every illegal
thing done for the king's fervice.

City our Readers may fee an Account in our Magazine for May, p. 203. And as we gave a View of the Town of Nottingham, in our Magazine for February: of the Town of Reading in Berkshire, in September; of the City of Gloucester, in October; of the City of Salisbury in Wiltshire, in November; and of the City of Lincoln, ix December ; we shall now give fome Account of thofe Places.

Ottingham, the chief town in

N Nottinghamshire, 97 computed

and 122 measured miles N. W. from London, ftands on the fide of a hill, or fteep fandy rock, near the conflux of the Lin and Trent: It is pleasantly fituate, with large meadows on one fide, and hills of eafy afcent on the other. 'Tis reckon'd one of the neatest towns in England, has 3 handsome churches, a very fine and fpacious market-place, good houses, fair streets, and the ruins of a caftle on a steep rock. It gives title of earl to the family of Finch. Its D markets are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and its chief manufucture is weaving of frame hose. Tis governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, 2 coroners, 2 fheriffs, 2 chamberlains, 18 of the fenior council, 6 of the junior council, and fends z members to parliament. The Trent is navigable up to the town, over which is a very large ftone bridge, with 19 wide arches.

Thus, Sir, I have given you an
account of what was then done, and
the small share I had in it, is fo far
from preventing my doing or faying
what I think right upon this occafion,
that I think myself obliged to de-
clare the more openly the opinion IE
have fince formed upon due confide-
ration, and confulting with the best
conflitutional lawyers in the king-
dom; which is, that half-pay officers
never were fubject to martial law till
this last year, and that they ought
never for the future to be made fub- F
ject to it; for which reason I am for
leaving out of this claufe the words
which my noble friend has propofed
to be left out.

[This Journal to be continued in our Ma-
gazine for January, 1750.]

In our Magazine for Auguft we gave
a beautiful Profpect of the City of
Bath in Somersetshire, of which

Reading, 32 computed and 40 measured miles W. from London, reckoned the largest and most confiderable town in Berkshire, ftands on the river Kennet, where it falls into the Thames. It has 3 fpacious churches, and was formerly famous for its fine abbey. 'Tis a large, wealthy and handfome-built town, and formerly much inhabited by cloG thiers, but its chief trade now is in malt and meal, of which great quantities are carried to London. It fends a members to parliament, is governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, &c.

an

24

1.The C 2. Then 3. S. Nid

UNIV

OF

CH

and has a large market weekly on Saturday. Parliaments were formerly held here, and K. Henry I. and his daughter Maud were interr'd in the abbey here, which was founded by the faid king.

Gloucester is a city and county of itself, governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, 24 common-council-men, z theriffs, a high- A fteward, and a recorder, and fends 2 members to parliament. It is fituate on the river Severn, over which it has a large ftone bridge, and before the civil wars had 11 churches, 5 of which were then demolished. It is tolerably well built, tho' not fine, and for its obftinate oppofition to K. Charles I. has had all its

days, and gives title of earl to the family
of Clinton. Here is an ancient castle,
built by William the Conqueror, ftanding
on a hill, which over-tops the town, and
was in thofe days impregnable. The for-
tifications are now ruinous, and in the
center there is a handfome modern ftruc-
ture for holding the affizes.

The WHIMSICAL PHILOSOPHER, &C.
DISSER T. II*.

Upon the Reduion of the Land Tax, and the
Reduction of the Intereft or Annuities, pay-
able to the Proprietors of the Publick Funds.
HAT the neceffary publick

Works demolished, which were walls and BT ought to be called by thick expence

It is diftant from London 81 computed, and 102 measured miles, and has markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here are 12 parishes, tho' but 6 parish churches, and the cathedral,

Salisbury, in Wiltshire, commonly called New Sarum, which grew confiderable upon the removal of the inhabitants from Old C Sarum, for want of water, and its being too much expofed to winds. It is 70 computed, and 84 measured miles W. from London, and is reckoned the second city in that part of England. It stands pleafantly in a vale on the river Avon, is populous, and has 3 parifh-churches, befides the cathedral, a wonderful structure, which was 43 years in building, and noted for its D fteeple 410 feet high. The city is very fpacious, has one of the best market places in England, in which is the town-house, and every Itreet is fupplied with a stream of water. It is governed by a mayor, highfteward, recorder, deputy recorder, 24 aldermen, and 30 common-council-men, and fends 2 members to parliament. Its chief E manufactures are fine flannels and long cloths, called Salisbury whites; it has markets on Tueldays and Saturdays, and gives title of earl to the family of Cecil.

Lincoln, 102 computed, and 128 meafured miles north from London, a city and county of itfelf, whofe jurifdiction extends 20 miles round, not to be equalled by any city in England. It is fituate on the river F Witham, is ancient, very large, and but on the fide of a hill, where the river, famous for the belt pikes in England, winds about towards the caft, and being divided into 3 channels, over which are feveral bridges, waters the lower part of it. Here are 13 parish churches, befides the cathedral, a starely Gothick structure, beautiful G and lofty. The city is governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, 2 fheriffs, a recorder. 4 chamberlains, &c. and above 40 commoncouncil-men. It fends 2 members to parment, has markets on Tueldays and FriAppendix, 1749.

which is leaft expenfive in the collection, is a maxim which no one can controvert.

That in a free country the neceffary publick expence ought to be raised by that method which is of the leaft dangerous confequence to the liberties of the people, is another maxim will, I believe, be as little controverted by any lover of focial liberty.

From both thefe maxims it is evident, that the land tax ought in this country to be the first to be impofed or increased, and the last to be abolished or diminished.

The evidence of this propofition cannot be in direct terms denied, even by thofe who have latent defigns against our liberties; but they fay, that every member of the fociety ought to be made to bear his proportionable fhare of the pubick expence; and as this cannot be done by a land tax, or at least by our method of impofing and raising it, therefore the neceffary publick expence, or the greatest part of" it, must be raised by taxes upon confumption.

To this I answer, 1. That according to this argument, we ought to have no' land tax at all; for the landholders pay their proportionable fhare of all taxes upon confumption, and over and above they pay the land tax, by which they are made to contribute more than their proportionable fhare of the publick experce.

2. That it is falfe to fay, That every member of the fociety ought to be made to bear his proportionable share of the publick expence; for the greatest number of perfons in every fociety neither can, nor can be made to bear any fhare of the publick expence: Such are all thofe who labour or ferve for daily wages, and have no greater wages than are barely fufficient for a fcanty subfiftence; for if any tax be hid upon what they are obliged to confume, their wages must be raised, and the tax confequently paid by thofe that employ them,

3. That in every fociety the publick expence must neceifarily be borne by the whofe 4 H * See Differt, I, on Liberty, p. 206.