articles, and asked if he had not a lady of his acquaintance whom he could consult. He readily answered he had, and mentioned a Lady Davenport as his relation, saying, "send the silks to my house, and I will take her opinion of them." Mr. Hinchcliffe said, he would send them, and permitted him to take with him two pieces of brocade, worth about thirty pounds; but desirous to know more of his customer before he trusted him with the whole property, he went to Counsellor Ward, and found that his daughter was already married to a gentleman of the name of Davenport. Hereupon the mercer went to the house of the supposed squire, but he was gone off with what property he had obtained. It was likewise discovered, that Day having casually met, at a coffee-house, the Mr. Davenport, who had married the daughter of Counsellor Ward, had prevailed on him to call him cousin, on the pretence that they must be related,, because, as he alledged, their coats of arms were the same. After a course of fraud, Day was taken into custody, in the month of May, 1723, on sus picion of his having robbed the mail; but it proved that he was not the man: however, there were six indictments brought against him for the defrauds. In his defence he pleaded, that his intention was to have paid for the goods he had purchased on credit; and he asserted, that he possessed an estate in the county of Durham, which he had mortgaged for 1200l. but no credit was given to his allegations. After a fair trial he was convicted, and sentenced to suffer two years imprisonment in Newgate, to stand twice in the pillory, to pay a fine of two hundred pounds, and to give security for his good behaviour for two years after the term of his imprisonment should be expired. ·

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DESPARD, EDWARD MARCUS, (TRAITOR,) was born in 1750 or 1751, and descended from a very ancient and respectable family in the Queen's County, in Ireland. He was the youngest of six brothers, all of whom, except the eldest, had served either in the army or navy. In 1766, he entered the army as an ensign in the 5th regt.; in the same regiment he served as a lieutenant, and in the 79th he served successively as lieutenant, quarter-master, captain-lieutenant, and captain.From his superior officers he received many marks of approbation, particularly from Gen. Calcraft of the 50th, Gen. Meadows, and the Duke of Northumberland. He had been for the last 20 years detached from any particular corps, and entrusted with important offices. In 1779 he was appointed chief engineer to the St. Juan expedition, and conducted himself so as to obtain distinguished attention and praise from Capt. Polson, who commanded on that occasion. He also received the thanks of the council and assembly of the island of Jamaica, for the construction of public works there, and was, in consequence of these services, appointed by the governor of Jamaica to be commander in chief of the island of Rattan and its dependencies, and of the troops there, and to rank as lieut.-colonel and field-engineer, and commanded as such on the Spanish main, in Rattan, and on the Musquito shore and Bay of Honduras. After this, at Cape Gracias a Dios he put himself at the head of the inhabitants, who voluntarily solicited him to take the command, and re-took from the Spaniards Black River, the principal settlement of the coast. For this service he received the thanks of the governor, council, and assembly of Jamaica, and of the king himself. In 1783 he was promoted to

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the rank of colonel. In 1784 he was appointed first commissioner for settling and receiving the territory ceded to Britain by the sixth article of the definitive treaty of peace with Spain in 1783. He

as a colonel so well discharged his duty, that he was appointed superintendant of his majesty's affairs on the coast of Honduras, which office he held much to the advantage of the crown of England, for he obtained from that of Spain some very important privileges. The clashing interests, however, of the inhabitants of this coast, produced much discontent, and the colonel was by a party of them accused of various misdemeanors to his majesty's ministers. He now came home, and demanded that his conduct should be investigated; but was, after two years constant attendance on all the departments of government, at last told by ministers, that there was no charge against him worthy of investigation; that his majesty had thought proper to abolish the office of superintendant at Honduras, otherwise he should have been reinstated in it. But he was then, and on every occasion, assured that his services should not be forgotten, but in due time meet their reward. He and ten associates being indicted for high treason, Feb. 7, 1803, after the preliminary business of choosing the jury was settled, the bill of indictment, which consisted of three counts, was then read. prosecution was opened by the attorney-general, who in a very eloquent and impartial manner laid before the jury the whole of the charges. "The eleven prisoners, including Despard, formed a society at the Oakley Arms, in the parish of St. Mary, Lambeth. The most active members were Francis and Wood, and their drift was to overturn

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