clared, that you was ordered by the King your Mafter to defend yourfelf to the laft extremity, and that you could not change your meafures, unless Marthal Daun fhould be prevailed with not to attack the town. To which I answered, in his Royal Highness's name, That he knew nothing of Marshal Daun's defigns; that he could not intermeddle in the operations of war, and would confequently be obliged to endure what he could not hinder. Laftly, it is well known that your Excellency, during the fire, took every poffible meafure in the town to prevent thofe exceffes and diforders, which might have been apprehended; and his Royal Highnefs charged me to return you his thanks for it. I have the honour to be, &c. heard that any one fuffered the least damage thereby. On the 2d of November, at noon, his Excellency ordered the Burgomafters and Magiftrates to come to him, and told us, that he was commanded by the King, his Mafter, to defend the place to the laft extremity; that though the new works were fufficiently provided with men, he fhould be obliged, if the enemy fhould force them, to fet fire to the houses, and had already given orders accordingly. Though we made the moft preffing intreaties that he would fpare the town, reprefenting that it did not belong to the Magistrates, but to his Majesty the King of Poland, and that it was the refidence of an Elector; his Excellency anfwered, that he would not alter his measures, were it the refidence of Joachim Friderick de Bofe. the Emperor himfelf; that it was Dec. 4, 1758. No. II. Certificate of the Magiftrates of Dresden. In confequence of orders received from his Excellency Count Schmettau, Lieutenant General and Governor, we certify what we know concerning the burning of the fuburbs, viz. That it was about the end of July when combuftibles were put into the new built houfes on the counterfcarp; that upon the reprefentation made thereupon to his Excellency, by the Court and the Magifirates, he answered, that our court itfelf had given its confent to it; and that if the enemy did not approach he would not cause the houfes to be burnt. Though we have fince heard that thofe combuftibles were taken away, no perfon ever told us, nor have we ever not our fault; and that we might apply to our court, who had drawn thither the enemy. Upon which he fent us away, and would not hear our remonstrances. Being returned to the Townhoufe, we apprized the Judges of the Fishmongers and Ram Quarters, of the danger with which the fuburbs were threatened; we enjoined them to give notice to the Judges of the other Quarters to repair to the Town-houfe; and we told thofe who attended there, that their fuburbs were in the greatest danger of being fet on fire; that they must warn their burghers to be on their guard; to provide themfelves with inftruments against the fire, and mutually to aflist each other in cafe of any misfortune, fince no affiftance could be expected from the town. We have heard, fince fince the misfortune happened, that this order was executed. This fire burnt 252 houfes of the jurifdiction of the Magiftrates, which have been entirely confumed, and two more were much damaged. Thirty-one houses of the jurifdiction of the Bailiwic were likewife intirely burnt down. Two perfons were burnt to death, two killed, three hurt by the fire, and two wounded by the foldiers. We never heard, in any fhape, of a waggon full of goods which they were endeavouring to fave, and which it was pretended was covered with combuftibles, and fo fet on fire; nor of ninety perfons faid to have perished at the Hart, or of the Auftrian troops, who, it pretended, affifted in extinguishthe flames. Drefden, Dec. 4, 1758. (L.S.) The Magiftrates of Dresden. No. III. Certificate of the Judges of the fuburb of Drefden. WE the Judges of the fuburb of Drefden, certify and atteft, that at the time of the calamity that hath just happened, things paffed in this manner. 1. In the month of July combuftibles were placed on the counterscarp, and removed in the month of Auguft following, without doing the leaft damage. 2. They were replaced there a fecond time on the 7th of November, about fix in the evening. On the 7th, about three in the afternoon, the Magiftrates ordered all the Judges to attend them. Accordingly Simon Steltzner, Judge; John Chriflian Dittritch, Alderman; John Michael Faber, and John Chriftian Kretschmar, Judges, attended. and were told (being en joined at the fame time to acquaint the other Judges with it) to provide the houses with water, to give notice to the landlords, and keep the pumps ready, and endeavour to affift one another, because, if any misfortune fhould happen, the people of the town could not come to our affistance, nor could we go to theirs; and of this we informed all the burghers. 3. On the 8th and 9th the Auftrian army approached the town; and on the 9th the Austrian huffars forced their way to the fuburb of Pirna and to Zinzendorfhoufe. 4. On the 10th, at two in the morning, fire was fet to the quarters of Pirna, Ram, and Wilsdorff, which confumed 7 houfes in the Fishmongers Quarter. I The Excife-houfe, as alfo the 266 houses in all. Perfons who loft their lives, or were hurt. In Ram Quarter. Two perfons burnt. In Pirna Quarter. A burgher, named Kammerling, killed by a cannon-ball fired from the town, and buried at Pirna. A girl of fourteen wounded, who was removed to Pirna. A widow A widow wounded, carried into the town. In Poppitz Quarter. One woman killed by the independent battalion. There have been therefore in all, two perfons burnt, a man and a woman greatly advanced in years, and whom it was impoffible to fave; two killed, and two wounded. What has been faid of a waggon is false; and it is equally falfe that 90 perfons perished at the Hart; only four perfons in all having loft their lives as we have juft mentioned. The 10th, in the morning, there were found before Wilfdorff gate, among fome firaw, which had been unloaded there and laid before the houfes, fome parcels of gunpowder, which a burgher threw into the water. Two rooms in the houfe called Jungfer-Palais were fet on fire; but it was foon extinguished. Laftly, it is falfe that the Auftrian carpenters affifted us in extinguifhing the fire. We never faw one of them. We certify that all the above is ftrictly conformable to truth. Simon Steltzner, Judge; John Chriftopher Groll, Godefroi Schneider, C. Benjamin Stamm, John Daniel Karichs, John Michael Faber, John Chrift. Grohmann, John George Seyffort, John Gottfried Peter, John Chrift. Kreticmar. Drefden, Dec. 4, 1758. The Saxon account of the damage done by the burning of the fuburbs of Drefden, referred to in the feveral aflages of the foregoing memorial, is continued in the following Tranflation of a meraorial prefented on the 24th ult. to the Dyet of the Empire, by the Saxon Minifter. It was referved for the hiftory of the war, which the King of Pruflia hath kindled in Germany, to tranfmit to future ages an action of fuch a nature as is that, which, according to the authentic advices that have been received by the underfigned Minifter of his Majefty the King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, Lieutenant General Schmettau, the Pruffian Governor of Drefden, hath just now ordered and executed in that royal refidence and in the fuburbs. The proceeding is fo atrocious, that he thought it his duty, without waiting for his Mafter's orders, moft humbly to give notice of it to the laudable Dyet of the Empire. Thofe advices are dated the 14th ult. and are to the following effect: The Auftrian army having, on the 9th inft. forced the Pruffian corps under General Itzenplitz to decamp from Gorlitz, and driven Meyer's independent battalion out of the Great Garden, General Schmettau, Governor of Drefden, ordered the burghers to carry a vast quantity of ftraw into the suburbs, which was put into the houfes in truffles. He made the inhabitants perfectly easy, by making the ftrongeft proteftations to them, That they had nothing to fear; and ordered them to remain quiet within doors; and that no perfon fhould be feen in the streets in the night, for fear of danger in cafe the enemy fhould make an attack. At two in the morning a cannon was fired. On this fignal, the gunners and the foldiers of the independent dependent battalion difperfed themfelves in the streets of the Pirna and Wilfchen fuburbs, broke open the doors of the houses and fhops, fet fire to the straw, added fresh quantities of it, and increafed the flames by torches of pitch, and afterwards fhut the houses. By the violence of the flames, which was kept up by red-hot balls fired into the houses and along the streets, the whole was inftantly on fire. Those who wanted to run out of their houfes were in danger of being killed by the fire of cannon and small arms. There were even foldiers in the ftreets, who pushed down with their bayonets fuch as were endeavouring to fave their perfons or effects. By this means a multitude of people of all ages, who inhabited thofe populous fuburbs, perifhed amidst the flames, and under the ruins of houses. The number of those who were killed in the fingle inn the fign of the Golden Hart, amounted to ninety; and upwards of two hundred of the principal houfes have been reduced to alhes. Humanity is fhocked at the thought of the cruelties committed this night and the two following days. A fhoemaker, who was running away with his infant on a pillow, to fave it from being burnt to death, was met by a volunteer, who fnatched the pillow from him, and threw the babe into the flames. Many perfons, and even fome of diftinction, after lofing all their effects, were forced to make their efcapes in their fhirts, through gardens, to the neighbouring villages. Others, who had faved a part of their beds and bedding in a garden, faw it fet on fire, before their eyes, with torches. Some poor people faved their cloaths and a few other things in the church-yard; but even there did the red-hot balls follow them, and fet on fire their little furniture, and even the coffins of the dead. One man had got his things into a waggon; the Pruffians ftopt it, covered it over with pitch, and fet it on fire. On the following days, fuch as ventured to return to the fuburbs to fave a part of what they had loft, were fired at. Pruffian foldiers fallied out of the city, from time to time, to fet one houfe on fire after another; many of these men were feized by the Austrian huffars and Croats, who difcovered so much humanity and tenderness on this occafion, that they were feen, with tears in their eyes, readily parting with their own allowance of bread to give it to the starving sufferers; they even gave them money; and ventured through the flames with them, honeftly to affift them in faving their effects. The Auftrian army beheld these horrible acts, and was filled with indignation and rage. Its Generals melting with compaffion, tried every method to remedy them. They fent 300 carpenters into the fuburbs to endeavour to extinguish the flames. The Auftrians brought away all the inhabitants that had taken refuge in the Great Garden, and very generously fet open to them their magazines. The General Officers even made a confiderable collection for them. FieldMarshal Count Daun, with a view to ftop the horrid ravages of the enemy, fent M. Zawoifky, a Colonel in the Polish fervice, with a trumpet, to General Schmettau, the Pruffian Governor of that capital, to reprefent to him, that these proceedings were quite unheard-of in civilized nations, among Chrift ians, and even among Barbarians; and to declare to him, that he fhould be refponfible for them in his perfon, as well as for all that might happen to the Royal Family, the rather as he had no reafon given him for them; as he had not yet been fummoned, nor had one inch of ground in the fuburbs been taken, nor one musket fired into the town. To which the Pruffian Governor answered, That he was a foldier; that he acted according to the articles of war, without troubling himself about the Royal Family, or the fate of the town; and that what he did was by exprefs order of his Mafter." There remains to be added to thefe afflicting advices, that the enormities committed even in the royal refidence were equal to thofe in the fuburbs. We have been already informed that perfons perfectly innocent have been expofed to the most rigorous treatment, and that feveral houfes have been pillaged. What moderation foever fhall be ufed in judging of these horrible exceffes committed by the Pruffian troops in a royal and electoral refidence, ftill it must be acknowledged that this conduct is very ftrange, and altogether fingular, For there was neither reafon nor neceffity for committing a devaftation fo horrible, and accompanied with the fhedding of fo much innocent blood. It fhould feem that pains were taken to ftifle the voice of humanity, to fill the numerous Royal Family, refiding in that'unfortunate city, with the greatest terror, and to put their lives in danger. It is unneceffary for me to enlarge farther by obferving to the laudable Dyet of the Empire, that befides the cruelties committed on this occafion, the regard due to the perfons of fovereigns, their families, and refidences, a regard which men have ever held facred and inviolable, was trampled on. John George Ponickau. Tranflation of the memorial prefented on the 27th of November, to the Dyet of the Empire, by M. de Plotho, the Brandenbourg minister, in answer to that of the Saxon minifter. There is not perhaps an instance of fuch a denunciation to the Dyet of the Empire, as that which was made in relation to what preceded the burning of the fuburbs of Drefden, by the Saxon minifter, in a memorial dated November 24, in which all the facts fet forth are founded on advices pretended to be most authentic: yet it hath not been judged proper to venture to tell whence, or from whom, those advices were received, that the af fembly of the Empire, and the impartial world, might judge, with certainty, what degree of credit they deferved. The Saxon electoral miniftry ought not therefore to be surprised, if on this occafion, their ministerial credit fhould receive fome check; and if blind zeal should not meet with as blind credulity. We are therefore obliged, on our part, to give, as the Saxon minifter hath done, but ftrictly ad hering to truth, the authentic preliminary advices received from our |