Draper, failed from Madrafs, deftined against Luconia, the principal of the Philippine islands, of which the chief city is Manilla, whence two large fhips are fent annually across the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco, on the coast of Mexico, laden with the fpices, filks, and other precious products of India. On the 23d of September 1762, the whole armament, having on board a land force, including Lafcars, Sepoys, and other irregular troops, amounting to about two thousand five hundred men, anchored in the bay of Manilla, where they excited great and general alarm. After effecting a landing with little lofs, the city was fummoned to furrender; but the marquis de Villa Medina, the governor, returned a refolute refufal, The English were far from being in a condition to form a complete investment of the city, which was of great extent and ftrongly fortified. The quarter which the General determined to attack was defended by the baftions of St. Diego and St. Andrew, a ravelin, a wet foffé thirty yards in breadth, a covered way, and a glacis. At the beginning of October the weather grew very stormy and tempeftuous; notwithstanding which the befiegers carried on their works with unintermitted ardor. A furious fally was on the 4th made from the town before day-break, in which the regular troops of the forts were reinforced by a strong body of the native Indians, armed only with bows and lances, who fought with astonishing perfeverance-advancing to the very muzzles of the English mufquets, and with wild and favage ferocity biting the bayonets even in the agonies of death. They were finally repulsed with great lofs; and the works being by this time much damaged, a resolution was taken to storm the town. Though no offer of capitulation had been made, the garrifon feemed ill prepared to fuftain an affault, and the English penetrated into the very centre of the city with little oppofition. The governor retiring into the citadel, the town town was exposed for fome hours to all the horrors of à general pillage. At length, the citadel being in no condition of defence, the marquis de Villa Medina, the archbishop of Manilla, and the officers of the garrison, furrendered themselves prifoners of war; at the fame time proposing a capitulation to fave the city from total deftruction. After fome difcuffion, a ransom of four millions of dollars was offered, and accepted. The port and citadel of Cavite, with the islands and fortreffes depending on the government of Manilla, being included in the capitulation, the whole force of the English scarcely fufficed to garrison their conquefts. Intelligence being received of the expected arrival of an Acapulco hip, the admiral sent the Panther and Argo ships of war in queft of her, who fell in with the Santa Trinidada, bound for Mexico, pierced for fixty guns, with merchandise on board to the amount of three millions of dollars. This was not the only register-fhip taken in the course of this war from the Spaniards-the St, Hermione, from Lima to Cadiz, being captured by two British frigates cruising off Cape St. Vincent. Her cargo was estimated at one million fterling, being fuppofed the richest prize ever brought into the harbors of Britain. Amongst the military and naval achievements of the prefent year, it may be proper tranfiently to notice the recovery of the town and fort of St. John, in the island of Newfoundland (fome months before furprised and furrendered to the French), by lord Colville and colonel Amherft, who, failing from the harbor of Halifax, by their fpirited exertions anticipated the effect of an armament fitted out exprefsly for this purpose at Portsmouth. It will now be proper to refuine the long neglected narration of the civil and domeftic tranfactions of Great Britain. On the refignation of Mr. Pitt, the entire direction of affairs was vested in the earl of Bute, who enjoyed the favor, affection, and confidence of the fovereign, in a degree which no minister fince the Earl of Clarendon in the zenith of his power had poffeffed. He had not, however, as yet attained the fummit of his ambition. The duke of Newcaftle ftill held the high and pre-eminent office of firft commiffioner of the treafury, but this poft the FAVORITE now thought he might fafely affume. The duke of Newcastle, therefore, at the latter end of May 1762, the feffion of parliament being nearly clofed, received an intimation that his refignation was expected. His grace was informed, that the king purpofed, in confideration of his past services, to grant him an ample and adequate penfion. But the duke, whose generofity bordered upon negligence and profufion, nobly replied, " that if he could no longer be permitted to serve his country, he was at leaft determined not to be a burden to it." The difmiffion of this nobleman, who had been ever diftinguished for the zeal and fidelity of his attachment to the houfe of Hanover, and who had impaired his fortune and devoted his life to the fupport of that cause in which he had been from his early youth engaged, excited extreme indignation in the breafts of the whole whig party, amongst whom his steadiness, affability and difinterestedness made him, notwithstanding the mediocrity of his talents, exceedingly popular. It was thought a complication of levity and ingratitude thus to difcard an old and faithful fervant, who in the courfe of nature could not be expected long to trouble any competitor; and it discovered fuch an impatience in the new minister to engrofs an abfolute monopoly of power, as gave countenance to fufpicions of deep and dangerous defigns. The duke, who had been treated with a flattering degree of perfonal attention, or at least with a refpectful decorum and civility, fo long as his name was deemed neceffary by the projectors of the new fyftemn, appeared himfelf highly to refent the rude and compulsive mode of his difmiffion; and he hesitated not again to connect himself with Mr. Pitt, for many years his alternate rival and af fociate; fociate; with whom he had never indeed entered into any very cordial alliance, but their mutual animofity against the earl of Bute now formed a new bond of amity and concord between them. The duke of Devonshire, foon after the removal of the duke of Newcastle, unable to brook the marked and contemptuous neglect which he experienced, refigned indignantly his office of lord chamberlain, and was by the king's own hand ftruck out of the lift of the privy council. The earl of Hardwicke retired in difguft; and the duke of Grafton, lord Ravenfworth, and lord Afhburnham, with several other noblemen of high distinction, now ranged themselves on the fide of the oppofition. Lord Anfon was fucceeded at this period in the admiralty by the earl of Halifax, recently returned from the government of Ireland, in which he was fucceeded by the duke of Northumberland; and Mr George Grenville was advanced to the fecretaryfhip vacated by the earl of Bute. But in a short time this order of things was reverfed: Lord Halifax took the feals, and Mr. Grenville was placed at the head of the admiralty. No political conflict however could take place before the ensuing winter, and the fummer months paffed over in angry and ineffectual difcontent. On the 12th of August *, a day aufpicious to the house of Brunswic, as the era of its acceffion to the throne of Great Britain-aufpicious alfo to the kingdom at large, whilst the principles of liberty civil and religious, on which that acceffion was founded, continue to be the rule of their government-the nation was gladdened by the birth of a prince of Wales, whofe aim, whofe ftudy, and whofe pride may it be to eftablifh, extend, and improve that free and happy conftitution of which he is the hereditary guardian and defender! The firft and greatest object of the new minifter, now honored, by a flattering affociation with the duke of York * 1762. firft first prince of the blood, with the order of the garter, after his open affumption of the office and authority of premier, was the restoration of peace-a laudable and noble defign, but attended with very confiderable difficulty. The majority of the nation, elated or rather intoxicated with fuccefs, were eager for the continuance of the war, in the fanguine hope of new victories. Already grafping in their golden dreams the treasures of Mexico and Peru, they appeared wholly regardless of the immenfe fums annually added to the national debt, and of the oppreffive taxes neceffarily impofed for discharging the intereft of the fucceffive loans→→→ not reflecting that every rational purpose of the war had been long fince obtained, and that additional conquefts were in fact only additional incumbrances. Exclufive of this prevailing and popular folly, the premier had given extreme difguft by the general tenor of his conduct, proud, artful, and selfish; and by the indecent and precipitate measures which he adopted to expel all the members of the late adminiftration from their posts, and to intrude himfelf and his partisans into all the efficient and responsible offices of government. A powerful party, composed of men the most distinguished for rank, influence, and ability, was now formed in oppofition to the minister; and this oppofition was openly countenanced by the duke of Cumberland, uncle to the king, who had never connected himself with the tory or country party in oppofition to the court in the late reign, and who had imbibed the whig principles and prejudices in their full extent. Upon whatever terms the peace might be concluded, it was not to be imagined that fatisfaction could be given to the political antagonists of the minifter, who would not fail to represent it as inadequate to the fucceffes of the war, if not inconsistent with the intereft, and difgraceful to the reputation, of England. Thefe confiderations did not however deter the minifter from caufing fecret intimations to be given, that the revival of |