want of food, for both men and beafts, on' these occafions, were debarred from all kind of fuftenance.

No man was allowed more than one wife at a time, but they married with out any regard to kindred, except that of a mother or fifter, and could put away one wife and take another when they pleased.

The men wore cloaks of goat-fkins dreffed and foftened in butter; the women alfo wore cloaks of the fame kind, but longer, with petticoats of goat skins underneath; both fexes frequently anointed their bodies with fheep's oil, be ing remarkably lean, and their fkins very dry. Their language differed entirely from thofe of the other iflands, being very guttural. Having no metal, they used a black hard stone, sharpened, for killing their food, and working tim. ber.

Their offenfive weapons were darts made of the pitch pine, sharpened and hardened in the fire; they used also a kind of spear, and were extremely dex terous in throwing both thefe weapons, fo as feldom to mifs their mark.

The inhabitants were divided into three claffes, noblemen, gentlemen and peasants. They believe that God created mankind of earth and water, and that the nobles were created first as many women as men, to whom God gave cattle, and every thing neceffary for their subsistence, but that the number appearing to be too fmall, he afterwards created more, whom he also endowed, but with a more sparing hand, and that the number being till infufficient, he created still more, but that to these he gave nothing, and when they afked him for flocks of fheep and goats, he bade them go and ferve the others, who would give them fuftenance.

In the house where a husband and wife flept, no other perfon was allowed to fleep; nor did the husband and wife fleep together, but in different beds under the fame roof; thefe beds were made of herbs or grafs, covered with goat's-fkins neatly dreffed and fewed together, with blankets or coverings of the fame stuff.

The natives were extremely neat and cleanly; they always washed both their face and hands when they arofe from fleep, when they fat down to eat, and when they had eaten. Their food was the flesh of goats and fheep boiled or roafted, which they eat without either bread or roots; they also eat barleymeal roasted and dreffed with butter and milk; as they had a notion that drinking cold water immediately after having eaten warm victuals was hurtful to the teeth, they never drank till half an hour after their meal. They had no other cattle than goats and fheep.

The ground was prepared for feed by the men, who hoed it with wooden hoes, and the feed was fowed by the women: they had beans and peas, and made a kind of melasses from mocanes, by firfl macerating, and then boiling them in water till the whole was of a proper confiftence.

They were always attended in their wars by their women, who furnished them with provifions, and carried off and interred the dead.

They used a kind of embalment, which they practifed in the following manner they ftretched the body out on a flat ftone, and embowelled it, then washed the arin-pits, behind the ears, between the fingers, the groin and neck, with cold water twice a day; after a few days they anointed these parts with fheep's oil, and sprinkled them with the duft of decayed pinetrees, and a kind of brush-wood, called by the Spaniards Breffes, mixed with the powder of pummice-stone : the body was then watched, night and day, till it was perfectly dry, after which it was fwathed in dressed sheep or goat-fkins, and girded very tight with leather thongs, and deposited it in the cave fet apart by the deceased for his burying place, without any covering. Particular perfons were fet apart for this office. Men were embalmed by men, and women by women. Two bodies thus embalmed, were taken out of a cave a few years ago; they were entire,

but

but as light as cork, quite fresh, and without any disagreeable smell.

Juftice was diftributed among them by the king in perfon, affifted by the principal elders. When an offender was fentenced to corporal punishment, he was laid flat on the ground, and the king, delivering his staff or scepter to a proper person, ordered him to give the criminal a certain number of blows proportioned to his crime, and then commanded him to be taken from his prefence. For murder, the king took away the criminal's cattle and effects, and gave them to the relations of the deceased, and banished the murderer from that district, but at the fame time took him under his protection, fo that the kindred or friends of the deceased might not hurt him. They never punished any person with death, faying, that it belonged only to God to take away that life which he had given.

They worshipped no idol, nor had any images of the deity.

It was a custom among them, that when one perfon went to the houfe of another, he did not attempt to enter it, but fat on a stone at the door, and either whiffled or fung till fome one came out, and defired him to walk in. He who went into the house of another without this ceremony, was liable to punishment, as they reckoned it a grofs affront.

They had a wonderful facility in counting the number of their sheep and goats, when iffuing tumultuoufly out of a told, without fo much as moving their lips, or pointing to them with their fingers.

To be continued.]

Commons, for prefenting the freedom of the city in a gold box to Lord Chief Juftice Pratt. His Lordfhip had, a few days before, been prefented with his freedom of the Guild of Merchants in a gold box; as alfo of the Corporation of Barbers and Surgeons. But the certificate of the Guild, on which the freedom should be founded, was with-held, or not lodged in the Town-Clerk's Office; the corrupt inftruments of power had prevented it.

When the Commons had gone thro' fome ordinary business, a Member moved, that all ordinary business should be poftponed till the determination of the Aldermen, with respect to the petition for the freedom of the upright Judge should be known: whereupon it was moved, that a meffage fhould be fent to the Lord Mayor and the Board.

Some time after this the Board fent an answer to this effect: that they had confidered the petition for presenting. the Lord Chief Juftice Pratt with the freedom of the city, but did not judge it proper, at this time, to agree with it.

The meffage being entered in the Journal, the fame Member moved that the answer of the lord Mayor and Board fhould be alfo entered. This done, he expreffed his furprize at the oppofition given to his petition, and informed the Houfe whence it came.

He affured them, that fince the freedom of the Guild was given to this great man, all the creatures and dependents of power, not excepting fome men in the most facred ftations, were indefatigable in preventing its taking place in the city. That fuch men spared no application to any part of the Common Council that could be influenced. That he hoped the Commons would acquit themselves of the imputation of all forts and degrees of finister influence, by fhewing their zeal for the honour of the crown, in giving due applaufe to fo eminent, fo faithful a Minifter as the Lord Chief Juftice Pratt ; and that unless the petition appeared wrong, or ill-founded, the Commons must be wanting in affection and duty tọ Q 2

the

the best of Kings, in witholding due applaufe from the most diftinguished of his Minifters on the Benches, in our days. He then pointed out fome of the most dangerous ftrides, of minifterial power, by the warrants of Secretaries of State, and gave inftances of many of the moft deftructive abuses of this power, that had, till now, efcaped with impunity. He fhewed how the curbing and chaftifing this illicit power redounded to the honour of the King on the throne, as well as to that of his great and upright Judge; then moved for the reading of the petition, of which he produced a true copy.

The petition then received two read. ings; and no man being able to contradict any allegation in it, and the prayer being a natural inference from the allegations, the petition was received unanimoufly, and ordered to be entered in the Journals-The petition is as follows:

To the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Commons, and Citizens, of the City of Dublin. The humble petition of certain of the

Commons,

"Sheweth,

"That it is a duty incumbent upon all loyal fubjects to give countenance and approbation to all that eminently diftinguish themfelves, by deeds of virtue and loyalty, thofe efpecially who difcharge a public truft for the common honour and intereft of their King and Country.

That on the other hand, it is the indifpenfable duty of all good and loyal fubjects to discountenance, difapprove, expofe and oppofe all difhoneft and difloyal deeds, and the conduct of all men that may tend to prejudice the national constitution, to dishonour the crown, or deprive the subjects of their rights and

liberties.

That for thefe, among other wife and good purpofes, Corporations were inftituted, as the union of many loyal fubjects, in finaller bodies politic, was the likelieft means of preferving the gene

ral fyftem of government, fupporting the crown, and maintaining the conftitution.

That, (to the immortal honour of our city be it fpoken) from the earliest ages to the prefent time, the has ever diftinguished herself, not only by the practice, but by the encouragement of all virtuous and loyal deeds, of which our archives fhew the most ample, the most honourable proofs, in the many grateful acknowledgements, conceffions, and grants, lucrative as well as honorary, made to the Corporation of the city, from time to time, by the crown, in confideration of their uniformly and conftantly promoting virtue and loyalty, defending and fupporting the govern ment and its friends, and opposing and vanquishing its enemies, as well English and Scotch, as Irish, at an immenfe expenfe of the blood and treasure of the citizens*.

That this city, thus eminently diftinguished and honoured, would appear defective in her duty, could the fail in diftinguishing with marks of her approbation aud favour, fuch of his Majesty's minifters and fervants, as have given the fulleft proofs of the most perfect fidelity and loyalty in the discharge of the most important trufts to the mutual honour and fatisfaction of the fovereign and his fubjects, at a time when we are bleffed with a monarch on the throne, who has given us his unerring royal word, that he founds his glory on the freedom and happiness of his people.

That no man appears to us to have acquitted himself in his high station, with fuch becoming zeal for the ho nour and dignity of the crown, and the fulfilling his Majefty's most gracious intentions for preferving the freedom and happinefs of his fubjects, fuch invincible fortitude, in administering justice and law, as the Right Hon. Sir Charles Pratt, Knt. the prefent Lord Chief Juftice of his Majesty's Court of Common Pleas in England, has fhewn in fome late judicial determinations, which must be remembered to his Lordship's

honour,

dictated to them, are for fupporting the illicit proceedings of a Secretary of State, against the folemn determinators of a Court of Law? No lefs does this denial imply.

But there is yet a faving hope for the fages at the Board, and I hope they will publish their own vindication in your paper.

It is with no fmall pleasure to be obferved, that while the Aldermen ftood uninfluenced by power, in Guildhall, no lefs than fourteen of them concurred in the presenting the freedom of that refpectable body to Lord Chief Justice Pratt unanimously. Thefe, we may suppose, the first, the honest, and uninfluenced emotions of the Aldermen's hearts. And it must give pain and grief to reflect, secret means were found to make the majority of these fages change their sentiments. Let them give up their leaders, and justify themselves if they can.

M

史

ANY of our readers will, doubtless, be curious to know fomething of the contents of the letter lately published, to the proprietors of the Eaft-India frock from lord Clive, therefore we fhall inform them, that his lordship first gives a very short, and a very modeft account of his conduct in India; then he answers all the objections that have lately been made against it by fome anonymous writers in our news-papers here at home; and laffly, he confiders the reasons given for putting a stop to the payment of the rents of his eftate in India, as follows:

"And here I must acquaint the proprietors, that the rents of my jaghire were regularly paid during the time I was in Bengal, and, fince my return, have been received by my attornies in Bengal, and remitted by them to me, as the fhips failed from thence, in bills on the company here, which were al

ways regularly paid without objection, until May last, when, on the ships going out for Bengal, which were the first that went out, after the election, on that voyage, I was given to understand, that orders had been fent to stop the payment of my jaghire. I applied to the court of directors for a copy of those orders, but that was refused; however, I afterwards came to the knowledge of them. They are to the following purport: "With respect to the jaghire given by the late Nabob, Jaffier Ally Khan, to lord Clive, arifing out of lands granted by the faid Nabob to the company, we direct, that you do not pay any further fums to the attornies of lord Clive on the account; and we further direct, that whatever shall arise in future from the faid jaghire, be carried to our credit. You are to cause exact accounts to be made out and transmited to us, not only of what shall fo come into our cash, but also of the fums lord Clive's attornies have already received on the fame account, together with the dates of the feveral payments. His

lordship's pretenfions to the faid jaghire will be fettled here."

And Mr. Sulivan, by a letter wrote at the fame time by him to the president at Calcutta, informed him, "That all cordiality being at an end with lord Clive, the court of directors had fstopped payment of his jaghire; a measure which would have taken place years ago, had it not been for him (Mr. Sulivan) and that on this head the said prefident was to obey every order, which he might receive from the court of directors; and that more was not, nor must be, expected of him."

I shall not trouble the proprietors with any obfervations on this order and letter, they will fufficiently speak for themfelves; but shall only remark, that I must think it extremely hard to be deprived of my property because I cannot agree with the prefent court of directors.

But the company having paid my jaghire fo long without any objection, and even now not claiming any right

thereto