The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-04-04 00:00:00

WONDERFUL D.ELIVER.-IA'CR.

The folloing interesting narrative has been made
public by Dr. Lettone
“ The following hiStory of a convict was related
by Mr. Livins, a native of New Hampshire, in
America, and then Chief Justice of Quebec, under
General Carleton. He was now in London, and,
on reading a morning. paper, he observed a para-
graph to the thllowing import To-morrow, the
noted lions breaker, Cox, with • • 40,* of Piscata-
way, hi New Hampshire, for returning from trans-
portatiee, will be executed at Tyburn." The
Chief Justice had never seen Nevrgate ; and observ-
ing that a person from his own native country was
condemned to exphite his crimes bit the gallows,
was induced to visit this prison, and see his coun-
tryman. His relation was nearly, as well as I can
recollea, (for the transaftion happened about the
year 1,-30,) as follows ; it was, however, too inte-
resting ever to be obliterated from my memory.
The convict had been an American sailor, and pas-
sing in a boat from the ship, lying off Wapping, to
the shore, the boatman informed him that he could
sell him some canvas, sunicient to make him
a hammock, very cheap ; the price was sixteen
shillings. Within a short period afterwards he
was arrested for purchasing stolen goods ; and,
proof being adduced to the court that the canvas
was worth twenty-four shillings, lie was condemned
to be transported to America, then under the croen
of Great Britain ; this, he said, he did not much re-
gard, as he could work his way thither, from his
seamanship,and his father lived in New Hampshire.
Some time after his arrival in America as, a trans-
port, he hired himself in a vessel chartered to Lis-
bon, and which he understood was not to touch in
England. The agent at Lisbon, however, received.
orders, from a merchant in London, to luau the
vessel for the latter port ; this at firsteularmed liiiii
greatly; but he reconciled himself to the voyage,
under a resolution never to go on shore whilst on
the river i hames : he kept his resolution till the
day betcre the vessel wes appointed to sail, upon
which occasion the Captain had given all his men
the privilege of going on shore, and taking leave of
their acquaintance. 'I he unfortunate American was
the only sailor who did not accept the oder ; the
Captain remained also on board, and. recollecting
something that he wanted in fr9m shore, refitiestea
the only seaman he had with lam to take the small
boat, and seull her on shore, to procure what he
then warned : he made some frivolous excuses, id
at length, by the persuasion of his Captain, he con-
sented-to go on his errand; but scarcely had be
stepped on shore before lie was recognized' and ar.
rested. In the presence of his judge he was iaent
fled, and the gallows Was his sentence. Chief Jus-
tice Livius observing to him, that lie seemed to
have some comfortable food in his cell, inquired
how he could afford to purchase it : he replied, that
a person, he believed a Roman Catholic clergy-
man, gave him money, in hopes of his dying a pa-
pist ; but,' added he, 6lam no papist in my
heart ; and as for dying, I have harasnips enough
not to care so much about it as about my wages,
which I wan: my wife and children to receive fur
me.' He was asked if he knew Mr. Livius's fa-
mily, which he described immediately.
The whole history appeared to the Chief Jus-
tice to merit further investigation, and inqantly he
rreceeded to enquire respelling the circumstances
attending the chartering and sailing of the ship, and
also the particuiars of the original trial and subse-
quent sentence, which corresponding with the seilor's
narration, the wilehy lvlagistrate hastened to Lord
Weymouth's office, and thence to the King, at
Windsor, and returned to London just in time dr
stay the fatal rope. After the trials and circuits-
stances attending themevere revised, the King was
pleased to change the sentence to transportation dur-
ing his .naturel life, and he was shipped off from
London soon after this ad of mercy. Livins, how-
ever, who.felt a lively interest in the fate of his coun-
tryman, wham he believed guilty from ignorance
and not design, renewed his importunities, and at
length got an order for pardon; he hurried with the
glad tidings down the river, and overtook the con-
vi is at Gravesend, where he -found on board the
transport ship the poor sailor chained to another
convict. The order from the Secretary's office was
shewn to the Captain, who absolutely refused to re-
sign him agreeably to the pardon, because he had re-
ceived thesehonvids from Mr. Akennan, to whom
alone he was answerable, and that the prisoners
were no longer under the jurisdiction or controul of
a Secretary of State. Disappointed as Mr. Livius
was in the prosped of liberating the prisoner, he
hastened to town again, and got a proper legal order
from the late humane Akerman ; he then hired a
Gravesend boat; and did not overtake the transport
till he arrived at the Nore, whence lie conveyed
the convict to London, where a fe* merchants on
'Change, on hearing the whole transaC.tion, colleded
sixteeen guineas, with which the ear, honest in prin.
ciple, sailed a fres man to the American continent."

Mr. PEP vs, jun. has lately constructed the most
powerful Galvanic apparatus that has been yet pro-
duced : it consists of 60 pair of zinc and copper
plates, disposed in two troughs, constructed on Mi.
CRUIKiHANK'S plan, but with some accompanying
arrangements which are extremely convenient and
useful. The experiments made with this apparatus
by Mr. PEPYS, on the deflagration. of metals, were
the nto,.t brilliant and splendid ever beheld in Lon-
don; of which the following account will give
some idea the troughs wet e filled with 32 pounds of
water, mixed with two pounds of -concenrrated ni-
trous acid. With this charge irori wires of 1-200th
to 1-10th of an inch in diameter, were deflagrated
with great splendour. A number of small ones,
twisted together, produced somewhat like a little
brush deflazration. Charcoal of box-wood was not
only deflagrated at the place of contth, but renraiti-
ed permanently red-hot for near two inches in
burnt with great vividness, bc-
. coming red-hot, and emitting a small volcano, or
adjiitage cf red spark; with the flame. 'I in-foil
burnt with great splendour, with smoke and sparks.
Dutch-leaf, or brass-foil deflagrated vividly, with
smoke and a profmion of sparks. Silver-leaf burnt
with an intense vivid
,green light. Gold-leaf defla-
grated with a white bright light. Tine wire, one-
eighth of an inch in diameter, fused, burnt, and ox-
igated with great splendour. Platina!wire, 1-16th
of an inch in diameter, became red-hot, white, and
fused into globules at the contaa. Gunpowder,
phosphorus, and infl immable substances, are in-
stantly hred by cent 2451 with contiudors armesl with
charcoal. The galvanic power was capable of de-
llagrating charcoal, after - tuning dumb Sixteen
persons with welted hands iie:ned.