DIE Lunæ, 17 Aprilis.
Domini tam Spirituales quam Temporales præsentes
fuerunt:
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Epus. Cov. & Lich.
Epus. Bangor.
Epus. Elien.
Epus. Norwic.
Epus. Petrib.
Epus. Gloucestr. |
Dux Leeds, Præses.
Comes Pembroke, C. P. S.
Dux Ormonde.
March. Halifax.
March. Normanby.
Comes Oxon.
Comes Stamford.
Comes Winchilsea.
Comes Kingston.
Comes Chesterfield.
Comes Scarsdale.
Comes Feversham.
Comes Berkeley.
Comes Rochester.
Comes Montagu.
Comes Scarbrough.
Comes Warrington.
Comes Bradford.
Comes Grantham.
Viscount Weymouth.
Viscount Longueville. |
Ds. Bergevenny.
Ds. Audley.
Ds. Wharton.
Ds. North & Grey.
Ds. Hunsdon.
Ds. Poulet.
Ds. Vaughan.
Ds. Culpeper.
Ds. Rockingham.
Ds. Berkeley.
Ds. Granville.
Ds. Cornwallis.
Ds. Craven.
Ds. Osborne.
Ds. Ossulstone.
Ds. Dartmouth.
Ds. Guilford.
Ds. Godolphin.
Ds. Jeffreys.
Ds. Cholmondeley.
Ds. Haversham.
Ds. Barnard. |
PRAYERS.
The Lord Chief Justice of His Majesty's Court of
Common Pleas sat Speaker.
Cloribus & al. Nat. Bill.
Hodie 1a
vice lecta est Billa, intituled, "An Act for
naturalizing Augustine Cloribus and others."
Doughty versus Cotton & al.
Upon reading the Petition and Appeal of Philip
Doughty Esquire, from several Decrees, Orders, and
Proceedings, made in the Court of Chancery, on the
Behalf of Thomas Cotton Esquire and Philadelphia his
Wife, and Edward Doughty Gentleman; and praying
the Reversal thereof:
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That the said Thomas
Cotton, Philadelphia his Wife, and Edward Doughty
may have a Copy of the said Appeal; and shall and
they are hereby required to put in their Answers thereunto, in Writing, on Saturday the Two and Twentieth
Day of this Instant April, at Eleven of the Clock in
the Forenoon.
Wilson versus Monoux.
The House being this Day moved, "That further
Time may be allowed the Respondents, to answer to
the Appeal of Jane Wilson:"
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That the Respondents
shall put in their Answer to the said Appeal on or
before the Two and Twentieth Day of this Instant
April, at Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon; and that
this House will hear the said Cause, by Counsel, at
the Bar, on Tuesday the Five and Twentieth Day of this
Instant April, at Eleven of the Clock in the Forenoon.
Message from H. C. to remind the Lords of the Bill for the Quiet of the Subject against defective Titles, &c.
A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Thursby and others:
To put this House in Mind of the Bill, intituled, "An
Act for the General Quiet of the Subject, against all
Pretences of Concealments, Encroachments, or other
defective Titles."
Harvey versus Western.
Upon reading the Petition of Elizabeth Harvey Appellant, against Thomas Westerne Respondent; praying,
a short Day may be appointed for hearing of the Cause;
and that the Respondent Westerne do then produce, upon
Oath, all the Books, Accompts, and Papers, relating
to the Partnership, which he was ordered to produce
before a Master in Chancery; and also those Books which
he concealed, and were afterwards produced in Court
by John Gilbert, Westerne's Clerk; and an Order for such
Witnesses to attend at the Hearing as were produced to
prove Writings viva Voce in the Court of Chancery:
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That this House will
hear the said Cause, by Counsel, at the Bar, on Monday the Four and Twentieth Day of this Instant April,
at Eleven of the Clock in the Forenoon: And it is further ORDERED, That the Respondent, Thomas Westerne,
do produce at the said Hearing, upon Oath, all the
Books, Accompts, and Papers, relating to the Partnership, which he was ordered to produce before a Master
in Chancery; and also those Books which were produced
in the Chancery by John Gilbert, Mr. Westerne's Clerk.
Harvey's Witnesses to attend.
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That Mr. James Moody,
Mr. Francis Bythell, Mr. John Warfield, Mr. Thomas
Kelsey, Mr. Samuel Wallin, Mr. Jacob Bonele, and Mr.
Edward Hubbert, do attend, as Witnesses, on the Behalf
of Elizabeth Harvey, at the Hearing of the Cause depending in this House between her and Mr. Westerne,
on Monday the Four and Twentieth Day of this Instant
April, at Eleven of the Clock in the Forenoon.
Message from H. C. to return Guy's & al. Nat. Bill.
A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Johnson and others:
To return the Bill, intituled, "An Act to naturalize Scipio Guy and others;" and to acquaint this
House, that they have agreed to the Lords Amendments made to the said Bill.
Wrayford's Bill.
The Lord Guilford reported from the Lords Committees the Bill, intituled, "An Act to enable William
Wrayford Gentleman, and Dame Anne Rich Widow,
to make Leases of Houses and Ground in Covent Garden, late the Estate of John Athy, Citizen and Haberdasher of London," as fit to pass, with some
Amendments.
Which were read Twice, and agreed to; and the
Bill ordered to be engrossed, with the said Amendments.
Message from H. C. to return the Bill for Augmentations on Vicarages.
A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Onslow and others:
To return the Bill, intituled, "An Act for settling
Augmentations on certain Vicarages for ever;" and
to acquaint this House, that they have agreed to the
Lords Amendments made to the said Bill.
Leigh versus Langhorne.
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That the Lords Committees appointed to consider of the Petition of Francis
Leigh shall be, and is hereby, revived; to sit on Thursday next, at Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon; and
that all the Parties therein concerned do then attend.
Capt. Desborow's Petition; Report of Address upon.
The Earl of Rochester reported from the Lords Committees (appointed to draw an Address to be presented
to His Majesty upon the Heads agreed to by the House,
upon the Report made the One and Twentieth Day of
March last, relating to the Petition of Captain Desborow) an Address.
Which was read, and agreed to, as follows; (videlicet,)
Address upon it, concerning the Squadron at Newfoundland under Commodate Norms, not fighting Powis;
"We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal Subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, humbly acquaint Your Majesty,
That we have received a Petition from Charles Desborow, late Captain of Your Majesty's Ship The Mary
Galley, employed in the Expedition to Newfound
desiring Desborow may be restored, and Norris su'pended.
land, in the Year One Thousand Six Hundred Ninetyseven, under the Command of Captain Norris;
which Petition sets forth, "That, on the One
and Twentieth of July, One Thousand Six Hundred
Ninety-seven, Monsieur Ponti appeared off the Port
of St. John's, which gave the fairest Opportunity
imaginable to those that were then employed on that
Expedition, to have taken the French, if the Intelligence that from Time to Time was given by the
said Charles Desborow and others had been believed;
and that, instead of receiving any Encouragement
for his Readiness to do Service to the Nation, he was
unjustly charged with Breach of Orders and Neglect of Duty, and dismissed from his Command:"
Which we conceived to be a Matter of so ill Consequence to Your Majesty's Service, if there were
Truth in it, that we thought fit to enter into a particular Examination, upon Oath, of the Allegations
of the said Petition; wherein the said Desborow doth
acquaint the Committee of this House, "That, on
the One and Twentieth of July, Five French Ships
appeared off St. John's, which were reported, by
Prisoners taken, to be Part of Monsieur Nesmond's
Squadron, appointed to attack St. John's: That, on
the Three and Twentieth of July, Four English
Men, who had been taken Prisoners by Ponti, made
their Escape; and informed him, the said Desborow,
"That the Five Ships before mentioned belonged to
Ponti; that most of his Men were sick; and that
their Provisions were short." These Four Men informed Commodore Norris the same Thing, and
also that they came from The West Indies; but he
would not believe them: That Alexander Cumberbatch (who was a Prisoner with Ponti, but being sent
under a Guard to the Shore to get him Provisions
and Liberty to Water) gave us Notice hereof by
Letter; and told us, "That if we would serve our
Country, this was the Time:" That Edwards and
Shuttleworth brought this Letter from Cumberbatch,
and affirmed the same Thing; but we would not
believe them: That, on the Six and Twentieth of
July, the said Desborow was sent out to discover them,
and Captain Littleton was sent out the same Day, or
the next, to Cerboneir; where pursuing a French
Boat sent out from Ponti, the Frenchmen were forced on Shore, and surrendered themselves to the
Merchant-men that kept Guard on the Island of
Carboneir, who brought Five and Twenty of them
to Captain Norris, to whom they owned it was Ponti's
Fleet, and not Nesmond's; but he would not believe
them, and threatened to whip them. While this
was doing, the said Desborow came in, and assured
them, there were Five French Men of War, and no
other Ships near them. But neither the French Prisoners, Shutleworth, the said Desborow, nor the
Four English that had been Prisoners, could be believed; so it was resolved, not to go out to fight
them."
"William Essex and Charles Hashfield, being examined
before the said Committee, said much to the same
Effect; and particularly, "That they heard the
Four English Prisoners say, That those French Vessels were Five Men of War under Ponti, come from
Carthagena, who, they said, were weakly manned,
and had but little Wood and Water on board."
"And Cumberbatch informed the said Committee,
"That, when he came out of France, the Commissioners of the Admiralty gave him Five Hundred Pounds,
and a Medal and Chain of One Hundred and Fifty
Pounds Value; and gave his Mate Fifty Pounds, and
a Medal of Thirty Pounds, for the Intelligence he
the said Cumberbatch had given to Commodore Norris
at St. John's."
"John Bayley deposed, "That the Ship Monck,
where Captain Norris was Commander, had several
Bales of Linen and Woollen, Brandy and Wine,
Haberdashery Ware, and Druggets, on board; and
that the Bales lay between the Guns, and before the
Cabin Door, from the One and Twentieth to the
Eight and Twentieth of July; and that the said Ship
was so pestered with Goods, that she was not fit to
go to Sea all the while Ponti lay there; and they
took the Fishes, Top-masts, and Chains, to make a
Boom across the Harbour, to keep Ponti out."
"George Wittered also deposed, "That the said
Monck was so pestered with Goods, on the One and
Twentieth of July, when Ponti appeared at the Mouth
of the Harbour, that she was not fit to go out; and
that they took the Fishes, Top-masts, and Chains, to
make a Boom, to keep Ponti out."
"We have likewise looked into the Resolution of
the Council of War, of the Four and Twentieth of
July, One Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-seven;
which was called upon receiving an Express from
the Masters of the Merchant Ships at Carbonier, of
Five French Men of War being seen off that Port,
which the Officers of the said Council of War judged
to be a Part of Monsieur Nesmond's Squadron; whre
it was considered, "Whether the Squadron should go
to Sea, or not?" To which Council of War the Land
Officers were joined. And the Question being put,
the Votes were as follows, every Man signing his
Opinion to his own Name:
"Seamen:
Francis Dove, Yea.
Robert Stapilton, Yea.
James Littleton, No.
Charles Desborow, Yea.
Cooper Wade, Yea.
Roffey, No.
James Mighells, Yea.
Thomas Day, Yea.
John Cranby, Yea.
John Drake, No.
Nicholas Trevanion, No.
John Norris, Yea.
Tho. Smith, No.
Landmen:
John Gibson, No.
Thomas Dore,
Tho. Handasyd, No.
Cliff. Brexton, No.
Griff. May, No.
Hugh Boyd, No.
M. Smith, No.
Jos. Hargrave, No.
Rob't Dalyell
H. Petyt, No.
George Watkins, No.
"These Votes were signed the Four and Twentieth of July, at Three of the Clock in the
Afternoon; by which it was carried, that
the Squadrom should not go to Sea.
"After this, we examined all the Captains that are
now in England, that had been employed on that Expedition, who owned the Intelligence abovementioned, but distrusted the Truth thereof, thinking
still it must be Nesmond, and not Ponti; and yet, by
out others, to be further satisfied of the Truth of the
aforesaid Intelligence.
"As concerning the said Desborow's being broke
by a Court Martial on the Eleventh of August following, for Neglect of Duty and Breach of Orders;
we have likewise examined as many of the Captains
of that Court Martial as are now in England; who do
not charge the said Desborow with any particular
Breach of Orders or Neglect of Duty, but referred
themselves to the Depositions taken at the Court
Martial for the Ground of their Reasons for breaking the said Desborow: Whereupon we had Resort
to the original Depositions then taken upon Oath;
and First, of John Stoneman the Master of Your
Majesty's said Ship Mary Galley, which saith, "That,
having sailed out of St. John's Harbour, on Monday
the Six and Twentieth Day of July, they steered
to the Northward; and on the Seven and Twentieth
of the same, they gave Chase to Three small Sail;
One whereof proved to be The Lisbon Merchant, Captain Sooks Commander, who came that Morning
from Carbonier, and acquainted them, that the Night
before there was taken a French Man of War's Boat,
with several Prisoners, and that Captain Littleton
was gone thence with them to St. John's; also that
there were Five Sail of French Men of War then
at Anchor in Conception Bay." He further deposeth,
"That, on the Eight and Twentieth, they saw them
at about Four Miles Distance from them; that the
biggest of them had a White Flag at Main-top-masthead, which he judged to be a Ship of about Eighty
Guns, under Sail: That thereupon they made the
best of their Way for St. John's Harbour, to acquaint
the Commander in Chief with it: That they plied
off and on, off St. John's, till the Nine and Twentieth, when they sailed again to the Northward, the
Wind at South West and by West, and the Weather
very foggy: That, at Eleven that Night, they fell
in with the aforesaid Five Sail near Cape St. Francis:
That the Sternmost of them fired a Gun, and made
False-fires; upon which all their Lights were put
out immediately, and they lost Sight of them, it
being hazy Weather: That they stood upon a Wind
till it cleared, which was about Two in the Morning, when the Wind coming out at N. N. E. and
seeing no Sail, they stood in for Carbonier, to gain
Intelligence if those Ships had done any Injury there:
That their Captain went ashore, and returned at
Nine at Night, and brought a French Prisoner with
him, which had been taken in the aforementioned
Boat." He further adds, "That that Night, about
Twelve a Clock, the Current set them so near to the
Shore, that they were obliged to come to an Anchor till Three in the Morning, when they weighed
and made Sail for St. John's; but the Wind being
contrary, they got not off that Harbour till the
One and Thirtieth, when their Captain went into
the Harbour in his Boat, to acquaint the Commander
in Chief with what Intelligence he had learnt."
"Mr. John Crow Lieutenant of Your Majesty's said
Ship Mary Galley, John Carr, and Nicholas Bundock,
Mates of Your Majesty's said Ship, in their several
Depositions, say near to the same Effect.
"Mr. Arthur Bass, Lieutenant of Your Majesty's
Ship Monck, doth depose, upon Oath, "That, being
sent by Captain John Norris, Commander in Chief
of Your Majesty's Ships in Newfoundland, to get Intelligence from the Northern Parts of the Coasts,
on the Eight and Twentieth of July, under Bell
Isle, he saw Five Ships, which he was informed
by the Inhabitants of that Place were French
Ships, Men of War; and that he did at the same
(fn. *) Time see in the Bay Your Majesty's Ship The Mary
Galley; and, to the best of his Judgement, she was
from Six to Eight a Clock no nearer to the French
Ships than Two or Three Leagues."
"Which being the only Deposition that charges
Desborow with being at that Distance from the French
Ships; we must observe, that the said Bass was not
on board the same Ship with Desborow, which the
other Four Deponents were; and besides, the said
Cumberbatch, who was then aboard Ponti's Ships,
does depose, That on the Eight and Twentieth of
July (as he believes it was), he saw a Frigate-built
Ship of Six and Thirty Guns, which he took for
English, which Ship in Truth proved to be the said
Mary Galley;" so that it does not appear to us, that
any Breach of Orders or Neglect of Duty could
justly be charged upon the Petitioner Charles Desborow. Whereupon this House proceeded to pass
the Three following Votes; (videlicet,)
"1. It is Resolved, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That it is the Opinion of this House, that Captain Charles Desborow was unjustly broken; and also that an humble
Address be presented to His Majesty, from this
House, that he may be restored to His Majesty's
Favour and his own just Rights.
"2. It is Resolved, That the Squadron commanded
by Captain Norris, at St. John's in Newfoundland,
not going out to fight Ponti, upon the several Intelligences gven, was a very high Miscarriage, to
the great Disservice of the King and Kingdom.
"3. It is Resolved, That the joining the Land Officers with the Sea Officers, in the Council of
War of the Four and Twentieth of July, One
Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-seven, was One
Occasion of the Miscarriage in not fighting Ponti.
"All which, according to our Duty, we lay before Your Majesty, to the End Your Majesty may be
plainly and impartially informed of the great Miscarriage in that Expedition, and the true Cause and
Ground of it; not doubting but that Your Majesty,
upon a serious Reflection of this our humble Representation, will give effectual Orders for the redressing and recompensing this poor Man's Grievances
and Sufferings in particular, and for the vindicating
the Reputation of Your own Service, both at Home
and Abroad; which, we are sensible, hath extremely
suffered on this Occasion; and for preventing the
like Discredit, Damage, and Misinanagement, for the
future.
"And whereas several Matters of very great Consequence have been, throughout the Course of these
Examinations, sworn against Captain Norris, which
we forbear to enter into a more particular Inquiry of,
because the said Captain Norris was not here to answer for himself; we humbly desire, That Your Majesty would give effectual Orders, that the said Captain Norris be forthwith remanded, and ordered to
attend this House the next Session of Parliament, to
answer such Matters as have been now objected
against him; and that, in the mean Time, the said
Captain Norris may be suspended from his Employment in Your Majesty's Service."
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That the Lords with White
Staves do attend His Majesty, with the Address agreed
to this Day, relating to Captain Desborow.
Message from H. C. to return the Bill for making the River Trent navigabie.
A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Pagett and others:
To return the Bill, intituled, "An Act for making
and keeping the River Trent, in the Counties of Leicester, Derby, and Stafford, navigable;" and to acquaint
this House, that they have agreed to the Lords Amendments made to the said Bill.
Allen versus Billingsgate Bill.
Whereas this Day was appointed for hearing Daniel
Allen, against One Clause in the Bill, intituled, "An Act
for making Billingsgate a free Market for Sale of
Fish:"
It is ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, That the Petitioner shall be
heard thereunto, To-morrow, at Eleven of the Clock in
the Forenoon; as also Counsel for the Lord Mayor of
London, if he thinks fit; and that the House be then
put into a Committee on the said Bill.
Adjourn.
Georgius Treby Miles, Capitalis Justiciarius Com.
Placit. declaravit præsens Parliamentum continuandum
esse usque ad et in diem Martis, (videlicet,) decimum
octavum diem instantis Aprilis, hora undecima Aurora,
Dominis sic decernentibus.