The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1786-09-04 00:00:00, page 2

o'clock. A few minutes after Mr. Fox arose, and in
a mod animated speech, of little less than three hours,
entered very fully into the business. He substantially
proved, that Mr. Hastings had extorted a sum of five
lacks from the Rajah Cheyt-Sing, although the inde
pendence of the laid Rajah had been agreed to by the
council; that Cheyt-Sing imagined the demand was
only for one year, but the fame application was made
a second and a third year, and complied with, though
reluctantly that Mr. Hastings then insisted he should
furnifh the Company with 2000 cavalry—he afterwards
reduced it to 1000 —Cheyt-Sing returned for answer,
that he had in all but 1300 cavalry, which were dil
perfed through his dominions, yet he would oblige the
Company with 500, and 500 match-lock men to make
up xcoo troops ; and Mr. Hastings, in his defence, has
the modesty to fay —" These repeated ads of contumacy
made me lose all patience !" He in consequence, al
though not warranted, imposed a fine of 500,000!. on
Cheyt-Sing ; he then proceeded in person to Benares,
and though the Rajah made the mod humble submis
sion the warmest protestations of friendfhip for
the Company, on his refufing the fine he had him im
prisoned. Mr. Fox then called upon the house, and
told them they now had their choice of becoming
either the avengers of the crimes committed, or the
accomplices in the guilt, which they assuredly would
be, if they screened Mr. Hastings—He then moved,
" That the committee having heard the charge, and
examined evidence thereto, were convinced that it con
tained fufficient grounds for impeaching Warren Hast
ings, Esquire.”
Mr. Francis seconded the motion. He pointed out,
from Mr. Hastings's own letter, a palpable falfehood.
Mr. Hastings had called God to witness that he would
give a full and true account of every circumstance re
lative to Benares, yet " took care to omit a present
of 20,000!. which he received from Cheyt-Sing, during
his negotiation with him— for bimfelf !”
Mr. Rif entered into a mod laborious defence of Mr.
Hastings, previous to the imprisonment of Cheyt-Sing
at Benares, yet, he confeffed —" this was such a breach
of publick faith —such a cruel oppression—such a heavy
exaction —and, upon the whole, a conduct so cruel,
unjust and oppreffive —that it was impossible he, as a
man of honour or honesty, or having any regard to
honour or confidence, could any longer refill; and
therefore was fully fatisfied in his conscience, tbat
Warren Haflings bad been guilty of High Crimes and
Misdemeanors fufficient to call upon tbe juflice of tbe boufe
to IMPEACH him."
Many other gentlemen spoke on the question—at
length the house divided —for Mr. Hastings's impeach
ment 118—against it 79 —majority 39.
[// is said tbat immediately after the decision of
the House of Commons of the Benares charge, most
of the foreign ministers at the Britifo court dis
patched messengers to their refpeHive courts, nvith
intelligence of that event—So much had the fubje&
~"g a ged the attention of the Sovereigns of Europe.]
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Remarkable Speech and Execution of
George-Robert Fitzgerald, Esquire,
&c. in Ireland.
On Monday the 12th of June last. George-Robert
Fitzgerald, Esquire, Timothy Brecknock, and Wil
liam Fulton, were executed at Caftlebar in Ireland,
for the barbarous murder of Patrick-Randall M'Don
nell, Esquire, and Charles Hypfon, pursuant to their
sentence on the Saturday preceding.---The most au
thentick accounts fay, that on the trial, " Mr. Fitz
gerald made one of the moll able defences that, per
haps, ever was heard ; he spoke for three hours, witli
a strength of imagination, and a degree of composure,
astonishing indeed, when it is considered, what the
human mind mull feel at so awful a crisis !---When
the unhappy Fitzgerald received sentence of death, he
addressed the Court as follows:
" My Lords,
" I humbly hope for the humane indulgence of this
Court, to my present most unhappy situation. I do
not mean, my Lords, to take up your time---but I
trull that what I shall fay will be attended with ef
fed. The very short period of time that has elapsed
lince my conviction, has been taken up in adjuring
my temporal affairs; and in truth, my Lords, even
these are not yet perfectly fettled; but I now with to
make some preparation, some settlement of peace with
Heaven, before I pass into the presence of an all
feeing and justly offended God, which I am about to
do.
" My Lords, you may be led to imagine that I
plead for this indulgence of time in hopeful expecta
tion of obtaining his Majesty's pardon; but, my Lords,
I do most solemnly declare it is no such inducement ;
for, if his Majesty were to offer me his pardon, nay,
his crown along with it, I would not accept of either
the one or the other; under the weight of such a ver
did against me, it is impossible I could ever look one
of the community in the countenance, or again hold
up my head in society. Let it not be understood, my
Lords, that by this declaration I insinuate or infer the
smallest degree of censure on the verdict of the jury.
No, my Lords, I know them all to be gentlemen of
the most fair and irreproachable characters; men not
to be biaffed, and who could not avoid bringing me
in guilty if I were their brother, from the body of
evidence that has appeared against me---whicb, if 1 had
been before acquainted with, I mould have endeavour
ed to have had witnesses to repel that body; but that,
my Lords, is not now a matter for consideration-.-the
only thing I plead for is time.
" It is also said, my Lords, that I want that time to
commit an ad of suicide; but I have too many of
Foreign Intelligence.
PARI S, June 2.
IT is said that Count de la Mothe is retired to A
drianople, where he has been circumcised, and ob
tained a commission in the Ttirkifh army ; and we are
allured, that having carried off with him the produce
of that necklace which has proved so fatal to his wife,
he lives in all the luxury of the cast.
••<>••.<>. «, ¥> ^^ 4»4E» •«>—<>••
L OND O N, May 13.
A letter from Hamburgh fays, that a veflel had ar
rived there from Greenland with 120 butts of blub
ber, and 6oco seal skins; that this veflel had spoke
with others from the fame port, that had got to the
amount c f 2800 butts of blubber, and 60.000 fealflrins ;
and that a finer filhing season had not been known.
Extras of a letter from Paris, May 15.
" The Cardinal is still immured. Though the
proofs of his innocence amount to nearly a demon
stration, it is thought proper not yet to give him what
we call here la Clef de Champs, his liberty. The
prelate finds the Choifeul family to be his most im
placable pcrfecutors; they aim at his death. Their
enmity is grounded on ancient pique. When the
Duke de Chois was at the head of affairs in France,
he found time to seduce the Comteffe de Brio, whom
he afterwards honoured with the title of his mistress.
The Comteffe is of the family of Rohan, and the
prince Louis, thinking himfelf humbled to fee his cousin
kept by any man, one day alked her, " if the was not
ashamed to live with such a Judas, an enemy to pub
lick good, a traitor, a prisoner, and being only cele
brated for his crimes? I should rather fee you (added
the then young prelate) in the arms of an honelt foot
man, than in those of the Criminal Chois.". The mi
niftcr was in a closet contiguous to the apartment
where the Bihop thus frankly expressed himfelf. The
fubjed cf the conversation so dil'pleafcd him, that the
remembrance of it has even defeended to the remain
ing part of the family, by which the Cardinal is now
so cruelly persecuted."
A vessel is arrived at Dundee, in Scotland, from the
Greeland fifhery, with four whales, being the firft this
season, and one of the earheft ever remembered.
The lad accounts from the Greenland fifhery men
tion, that the Blips in general had been very fuccefs
ful; that no accident had then happened to any one,
and that the season promised to be very fine.
June I. A calculation has been made, by the Em
peror's order, of all the cloisters for both sexes in his
Austrian dominions ; they amount 'to 2000, and
reckoning thirty persons in each, the number of his fub
jeds thus buried from the world is 60,000, who con
sume annually eighteen millions of florins, a sum which
the Emperor is determined to apply to better purposes,
by the suppression of all those houses which will soon
be completed.
June 13. Yesterday was married Colonel Smith,
secretary to the American embassy, to Miss Adams,
only daughter to his excellency John Adams, Esq.
minister plenipotentiary from the United States of
America to this court.
An instance of chriftian toleration, which deserves
to be made known to the world for the honour of
the man, as well as the hope that he may find some
imitators, has been shewn by a Catholic Curate in
the county of Zip. A woman profeffing the Pro
testant religion according to the Lutheran form, hav
ing paid the debt of nature on the 15th of April last,
was to have been buried according to the rites of her
church, and attended by its ministers to a Catholic
church, where her family had a vault, but it was ne
cellary previously to obtain the consent of the Curate,
M. Charles Berionni; this he not only instantly grant
ed,^ but taking with him the master and scholars of
a Catholic school, whom he ordered to join a Prote
stant master and his pupils, he walked with the mi
fences on my back, and dreadful crimes to account
for, to have such a miserable paflport into eternity."
Here he ended his speech, and the Chief Baron,
with tears in his eyes, recapitulated the rigour of the
law, and his duty as a Judge, observing that Mr.
M'Donnell had been sent into eternity without a mo
ment's warning; that after sentence of death had
been passed, and the order for execution, it was not
in the power of the Court to interfere, and his re
quest must rest with the humanity of the fheriff.
When the executioner was about to launch Mr.
Fitzgerald into eternity, (after he had offered to
Heaven his fervent prayers) he requeued the fheriff
to give him five minutes longer time, and then pulled
the cap over his face. Upon being told the time was
elapsing faft, Mr. Fitzgerald replied, “ Sure it is not
so long ! I have just collected myfelf; pray let me
die in peace !"
By the mismanagement of the executioner, the rope,
by which Mr. Fitzgerald was fafpended, instantly
broke, by which accident he fell on his shoulder, but
immediately recovered himfelf and flood on his legs,
and called out to the fheriff, faying—" Mr. fheriff,
it is impossible but that you should know such a rope
could not hang any man—pray get a better !" A new
rope being obtained, he was again suspended, and a
period put to the exigence of this very extraordinary
man.
If, fays a Connecticut man, difeontent is a proof
of publick distress, the history of every nation in its
happiest state affords authentick evidence that no na
tion has yet been happy, as a large proportion of man
kind have marked every age of the world with appa
rent uneasiness. In a retrolpedt of past feenes we are
too apt to view the pleasing parts of the pidure, to
think of the advantages of our former situation, forget
the dangers we have escaped, and the real distresses
we have been oppressed with; instead of grateful
hearts for distinguished mercies, we are too prone to
fill the world with our impious clamours. This is
the result of that busy and restless spirit, to the ma
lignant influence of winch every free country is ex
posed, and which unprincipled men are ever exciting.
That our debts are great, our trade distressed, and
our money decreasing, are unquestionable truths- but
is it not equally true, that most of these, heightened
as they are in the representations, are the natural and
necessary effcas of the late war, in which our citizens
h , e diverted from their labour, and the want
of most of the conveniencies at the close of the war
which we had before been accustomed to enjoy - and
when industry is substituted to expedient, and we at
tend more to our internal resources, we shall acquire
habits of frugality from the very misfortunes extra
vagance never fails to introduce.---We may the n hope
our situation is neither so bad as artful defining men
have represented, nor is likely to continue long so
nifter to the place of interment, and altogether sung
the Lutheran service.
American Intelligence.
PROVIDENC E, August 19
ON Tuesday next the honourable general affem
bly of this Rate will convene specially at New
port, pursuant to a warrant issued by his excellency
the governor.
N E W-Y O R K, Aug. 26.
By the UNITED STATES in CONGRESS
affcmbled, August 8, 1786.
On a report of the board of treasury:
RESOLVED, That the standard of the United
States of America, for gold and silver, shall be eleven
parts fine, and one part alloy.
That the money unit of the United States, being
by the resolve of Congress of the 6th July, 1785, a
dollar shall contain, of fine silver, three hundred and
feventy-five grains, and sixty-sour hundredths of a
grain.
That the money of account, to correspond with
the division of coins, agreeably to the above resolve,
proceed in a decimal ratio, agreeably to the forms
and manner following, viz.
Mills, the lowest money of account, of which one
thousand shall be equal to the federal dollar, or mo
ney unit, - - - 0,001
Cents, the highest copper piece, of which
one hundred shall be equal to the federal dol
lar, - - - o,oip
Dimes, the lowest silver coin, ten of which
shall be equal to the dollar, - - 0,100
Dollar, the highest silver coin, - 1,000
That betwixt the dollar and the lowest copper coin,
as fixed by the resolve of Congress of the 6th July,
1785, there shall be three silver coins, and one cop
per coin.
That the silver coins shall be as follows: One coin
containing one hundred and eighty-seven grains, and
eighty-two hundredths of a grain of fine silver, to be
called a Half Dollar : Cne coin containing feventy
five grains, and one hundredth and twenty-eight
thousandths of a grain of fine silver, to be called a
Double Dim : And one coin containing thirty-teven
grains, and five hundred and sixty four thoufanoths
of a grain of line silver, to be called a Dime.
I hat the two copper coins shall beas follows: One
equal to the cne hundredth part of rhe federal dollar,
to be called A Lent : Arid one equal to the two hun
dreth part of the federal dollar, to be cabled A Half
Cent.
1 hat two pounds and a quarter avoirdupoife weight
of copper, shall constitute one hundred cents.
That there shall be two gold coins: One contain
ing two hundred and forty-fix grains and two hun
dred and sixty-eight thousandths of a grain of fine
gold, equal to ten dollars, to be stamped with the
impression of the American eagle, and to be called An
Eagle : One containing one hundred and twenty
three grains and one hundred and thirty-four thou
sandths of a grain of fine gold, equal to five dollars,
to be damped in like manner, and to be called A
Half Eagle.
That the mint price of a pound troy weight of un
coined silver, eleven parts tine, and one part alloy,
shall be nine dollars, nine dimes and two cents.
I hat the mint price of a pound troy weight of
uncoined gold, eleven parts fine, and one part alloy,
shall be two hundred and nine dollars, seven dimes
and seven cents.