44 
ents from the proceedings adopted 
by the. meeting ; and lord Hood 
protested against the present mode 
as unfair, insisting that the sense of 
the ele€tors of Westminster could 
be known only by meeting’ of their 
respective vestrics. A petition, 
however, was agreed (by all but 
the two dissentients) to be pre. 
sented to the house of commons, 
. against the two bills in question, 
after which the meeting quietly 
dispersed. Parties of the military 
were stationed in different places ; 
but, happily, their interference was 
not necessary. 
About two o’clock this 
co si morning a. most tremendous 
fire broke out in the dwelling~house 
of Mr. Billings, in the Gallowstree- 
gate, Leicester, which entirely con- 
sumed the same, together with the 
adjoining one, occupied by Mr. 
Phillips, printer. The rapidity of 
the flames was so great, that scarce- 
ly a single article was saved, and 
the parties escaped with great diffi- 
culty. Much praise is due to the 
troop of Oxford Blues, quartered in 
the town, whose spirited exertions, 
together with those of the inhabi- 
tants, prevented an extension of its 
dreadful ravages. A child was un- 
fortunately killed by the falling of 
awall. A literary society, lately 
established in Leicester, have lost 
by this accident their whole library, 
to the amount of about 2oocl. 
The outward-bound West- 
r8th. India fleet, under the com- 
mand of rear admiral Christian, 
having in the whole near sixteen 
‘thousand troops on board, passed 
down the channel on Tuesday, and 
exhibited off Weymowh, a grand 
and beautiful spe¢tacle; but the 
scene was soon changed to horror 
and dismay. The following letter 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1795.. 
from an officer at Weymouth, de. 
scribes the melancholy events that 
ensued. i 
Wey mouth. Togive atrue 
19th description of abe keels of 
horror I have since yesterday been 
witness to, would be impossible. 
The outward-bound West India 
fleet sailed from St. Helen’s on 
Sunday night, and passed by Wey- 
mouth on Tuesday morning with 
so light a breeze, thatevery sail was 
hoisted to it. In the afternoon, 
however, it began to blow very 
fresh; in the evening, quite a gale 
of wind, and all night a most dread. 
ful hurricane. The fleet could not 
make Torbay, though very near it, 
the wind blowing from the west ; 
they therefore put about, in order 
to make for Weymouth, The con- 
voy (a 74, with frigates, &c.) came 
safely to anchor in Portland roads ; 
but many of the transports and mer- 
chantmen, being heavily laden with 
troops and merchandize, could 
not stretch out far enough (the 
wind being S. W.) to get out of 
what is called the Western Bay, 
so as to clear the isle of Portland, 
consequently several of them were 
lost by striking on a bank of pebbles 
extending from Portland nearly 
to Bridport. Here the dreadful 
scene began: a transport with near 
two hundred troops on board (in- 
cluding officers, sunk within fifty 
yards of the shore: the cries of the 
unfortunate wretches en board 
were distinétly heard on shore: 
the bodies floated on the waves, 
and hundreds of people were on the 
shore, but the means of affording 
assistance impracticable: of the 
two hundred ten lives were saved, 
by the waves throwing the bodies 
upon the beach. But instead of 
the speftators (who were chiefly 
people 
