May 21. Leave was given to Sir Wil Dolben, to bring in a bill to regulate the conveyance of flaves in veffels, from Africa to other places. The following is the fcheme of the English State Lottery, 1788, which be gins drawing Feb. 16. 1789. 30,000, 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 48,000 Tickets SCOTLAND. Aberdeen, April 24. A meeting was held of the Proteftant Bifhops in Scot land, who having previously confulted with their clergy, took into their ferious confideration the ftate of the Church un der their inspection, and unanimously £. refolved to give an open and public proof 30,000 of their allegiance to the prefent Govern 25,000 inent, by praying in exprefs words for 20,000 his Majefty King George and the Roy 15,000 al Family. This to take place in all 20,000 their chapels on Sunday the 25th of May inft. towhich day it was deferred, that the 20,000 Biflops might have time to give the pro24,000 per directions to their clergy throughout 15,000 the Kingdom. Thus an end is put to 10,000 thofe unhappy divifions which have fo 272,700 long fubfifted among us; and many thou fands of our countrymen, hitherto fufpec477,700 ted of difaffection to the prefent Govern 1,000 ment, will now be confidered as dutiful and loyal fubjects. 25,000 478,700 23. From the India Budget, as exhited by Mr Dundas, the total Revenues and Charges of the different provinces are ftated thus: Bengal Rev. Madras Bombay Bencoolen and Prince of Wales' Surplus of Revenue The edifice commonly called the Black Turnpike, immediately to the weft of the Tron Church, at the head of Peebles Wynd, one of the oldest stone buildings upon record in Edinburgh, is now be£5,688,000 gun to be pulled down. It is faid to have 1,300,700 been the Provoft of Edinburgh's; but 147,000 whether he poffeffed it as a manfionhoufe in the capacity of chief magistrate, 7,135,700 or as his own private property, has not been told. It has been a magnificent 3,449,420 building; and had it not, like many 1,262,593 other houses in Edinburgh, been defaced 456,000 by a falfe wooden front, would have ftill had an elegant appearance. The antiqui57,934 ty, however, of this edifice has been much exaggerated, when it is faid to have been built by Kenneth King of Scotland; the laft King of which name died in the year 1000. This tenement, Maitland fays, was built by a George Robertfon, a Burgefs of Edinburgh; and the fafine, which he faw, is dated the 6th of December 1461. If that is the cafe, it may 154,169 be true as affirmed, that Queen Mary was 62,000 lodged in it in the 1567, after the de11,230 feat of Carberry Hill, feven miles from this city. But if part of this building is 373,669 really fo old, it is evident fome other parts of it are of a later date; for on the 1,536,084 top of a door, the uppermost of the three 345,446 entries to the edifice from Peebles Wynd, we obferve the following infcription; PAX INTRANTIBUS, SALUS EXEUN TIBUS, 1674 From which to be deducted, 5,225,947 1,909,753 146,270 To which may be added, He eftimated the debts of the Company to have decreased this year £. 169,800 George White tanner, William Peacock flesher, and John Brown, (which la was the perfon who gave the informa tion the 7th regiment, lining the fireet. After hearing an excellent fermon by the Rev. Mr Robert Lifton, minifter of the gospel at Aberdour in Fife, Moderator to the last General Assembly, his Grace repaired to the Aile, where, having ta ken his feat, the Affembly proceeded to the election of a Moderator, when the Rev. Dr Archibald Davidfon, principal of the univerfity of Glafgow, was unanimously chosen: His Grace having pres fented his Majefty's commiflion, appointing him to reprefent his perfon in the Af fembly, alfo his Majefty's letter and warrant for the Royal bounty of 1000l. the fame were read, and ordered to be recorded. His Grace then delivered an elegant fpeech to the Affembly from the throne; to which a fuitable_return_having been made by the Moderator, a Committee was appointed to draw up an anfwer to his Majefty's most gracious letter. tion against Smith and Ainflie,) accufed of the alarming fhop-breakings and thefts fome time ago perpetrated in this city, and for which discovery Brown was admitted King's evidence, are all committed to the tolbooth, by warrant of the Sheriff, on fufpicion of being concerned in the murder of James Macarthur, on the 20th of November laft. The circumstances of this cafe, we are told, are as follow:-George White having gone, when fomewhat intoxicated with fiquor, to the house of Macarthur, (alledged not to be one of very good repute) had a quarrel with the landlord; the confequence of which was, that he, affifted by fome women in the house, beat and bruised White very feverely. This ufage he foon afterwards communicated to Peacock and Brown, who agreed to refent his quarrel, and, for that purpofe, accompained White back to the house. A fquabble immediately enfued, when Macarthur, in turn, was used in a moft fhocking manner. He, however, furvived his wounds about three weeks, and then died. Some time after that, White was apprehended, but compromifed the matter with the widow and eldest son of the deceased. He was apprehended again, however, by warrant of one of the Lords of Jufticiary, in confequence of a petition for that purpofe from a fif ter of M'Arthur and a brother's fon; but, upon application for White, ftating all the circumftances of the cafe, his Lordfhip was pleafed to grant warrant for his liberation, upon his finding caution to the extent of three hundred merks Scots. The procurator-fifcal for the county afterwards applied to the fheriff by petition, in behalf of the public, alledging, that White meant to compromife the matter with the prefent private com"plainers, as he had done with the former; and therefore craving, that he fhould be incarcerated in prifon till liber-bation till the fall of the curtain. This ated in due courfe of law. It is upon this warrant, and fimilar ones granted against Peacock and Brown, that they all three are detained in the tolbooth. May 21. The Right Hon. David Earl of Leven, his Majefty's High Commiffioner to the General Affembly of the Church of Scotland, accompanied by a number of Noblemen and Gentlemen of diftinction, walked in proceffion from his lodgings, oppofite to the City Guard to the High Church, where he was received by the Magiftrates in their robes; the City Guard, and fome companies of On Saturday the 24th of May, the play-bills announced the performance of the new comedy, called, the Ton; or, the Follies of Fafbion. As the treatment of this play on the London ftage, which, it was laid, had been unfair, and the name of its author had raised the curiofity of the public, and as few copies of the piece had reached this place, its appearance on our ftage was acceptable to many. The Edinburgh audience has long enjoyed a diftinguished reputation for candour, for judgment, and taste, as well as for fingular indulgence both to authors and performers. Hitherto, the tumultuary and outrageous behaviour of a London audience, at an unsuccessful theatrical attempt had been unknown in our theatre. The Edinburgh critics, had generally condemned without rancour or up-roar, they had received a bad play with coldness and neglect during the performance, and had fulpended the common mark of disappro method of expreffing diffatisfaction with dramatic performances, is polite to the actors, and just to the audience: the former are certain, that whatever opinion is entertained of the piece, their endeavours are not the object of cenfure; and they are allowed to perform their parts without interruption or diftraction. Evéry auditor too, comes to judge for himfelf, not to be told what he is to condemn, by fuch as fancy themfelves endowed with fuperior judgment; he is likewife entitled to receive all the entertainment he was promised, and ought not to be de prived prived of it by the partial opinions of a few individuals. The reception, however, which the Follies of Fashion experienced in Edinburgh, exactly refembled that which it met with in London. The fame reports had been circulated of its violating the decency of the theatrical dialogue, and the decorum of the ftage. Parties of minor cris tics feemed to have been ftationed in the remoter parts of the house in order to oppofe its reprefentation, and though thele made but a fall part of the audience, yet from their inteinperate clamour and unceafing interruption of the business of the scene, they at last fucceeded in over coming the perfeverance of the actors, and in tiring out the patience of the audience but their conduct fhewed them to be hardly competent to the office of judges. Their marks of reprobation were indifcriminately and unskilfully directed; they were often pointed at thofe very fentiments which the author held forth to deteftation; their clamour became most vociferous at the best feene; and their pretending to cenfure certain expreffions as indecent or indelicate, may be confi dered as in fome degree an infult offered to the few but refpectable individuals that graced the boxes, who had, no doubt, read the play before they came there, and whole judgment of what is indecent or indelicate, ought to have been relpected in preference to the fquearnifh decision of a few pretenders to virtue. It is not here meant to enter into a defence of this play, as a piece of theatrical entertainment. It may, however, be abferved, that though it is not fuch a performance as would have come from the pen of a Colman or a Sheridan, yet, confidering the low ftate of modern comedy, and viewing this as the firft attempt at dramatic composition made by a lady, it ought, at least on the Edinburgh ftage, to have met with more civil ufage, and might well have received one impartial hearing. When we review the pieces, that of late years, lave not only been tolerated, but applauded both in the London and Edinburgh theatres, we will venture to affure thofe who have not read this play, that its treatment has been rather fevere; and that it is as free of indecencies and indelicate allufions, as Almoft any modern comedy whatever. When a lady of fashion, at a time of general diffipation, boldly ventures forth and expofes to ridicule the follies of the gay, to cenfure the vices of the great, and to deteftation the crimes of which the laws take no cognizance, though the may not be entitled to any high degree of li terary fame, the deferves the applaufe of the good, and ought to be protected from the abuse of the invidious. As far back as the 1771, a Society was inftituted by certain Gentlemen in the Medical Line in the University of Edin burgh, for the purpose of promoting Phyfical and Medical Literature; and the accomplishment of these purposes háving anfwered their most fanguine expectations, an application was lately made to his Majefly for erecting them into a Royal body corporate; and it is with pleature we announce to the Public, That his Majefty has been graciously pleafed to grant letters patent, conflituting and erecting this Society into a Royal body corporate under the name and title of The Roval Phyfical Society of Edin burgh, with ample prerogatives and pri vileges.-The patent is dated the st May 1788. MARRIAGES. April 29. At London, Edward. Addi fon, Efq; of Surry Street, to Mifs Jang Campbell, daughter of Major James Campbell, Member of Parliament. April 29, At Ayr, Mr Andrew Hunter merchant, to Mifs M'Culloch of that place. May 1. Capt. Simon Bailie, in the fervice of the Hon. the Eaft India Company, to Mifs Alifon, daughter of the late Mr Andrew Alifon, merchant in Edinburgh. 20. At Murthly, the Reverend Mr Buckly, to Mifs Stewart, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Grandtully, Bart. John Fuller, furgeon in Berwick upon Tweed, to Mifs Elizabeth Johnfton of Templehall, BIRTHS. |