46 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



Shooter's Hill and Blackheath, 

 whom they robbed to nearly the 

 amount of 100/. Mr. Taylor, of 

 Crayford, happening to pass on 

 horseback immediately after, at the 

 request of the gentlemen, pursued; 

 and, having watched the robbers 

 into a wood, between Charlton and 

 Woolwich, rode off to inform the 

 commandant of that garrison of the 

 circumstance, who immediately 

 ordered detacliments of the royal 

 horse artilleiy to surround and 

 patrole the skirts of the wood, 

 while parties of the foot artillery 

 entered it, in search of the oflFen- 

 ders, who were soon secured with- 

 out resistance, having first deposited 

 their booty, and six brace of pistols 

 in a ditch, where they were found 

 by one of the gunners. When 

 stripped of their disguise, they were 

 of good appearance, the eldest not 

 more than 23 years old. Eleven 

 of the pistols were loaded, and se- 

 veral cartridges, balls, and slugs, 

 were found upon these fellows. 



This afternoon about five o'clock, 

 as one of the Chatham coaches was 

 coming to town, through Wool- 

 wich, with a, guide, (the coachman 

 having, itissupposed, lost his way), 

 the coach overturned in passing 

 through a cart-rut. One of the 

 inside passengers, a lady from Can- 

 terbury, had her skull fractured, 

 which afterwards caused her death. 

 The coachman had his collar-bone 

 and arm broken, by the fall from his 

 box, and several others were hurt. 



22d. St. Thomas's day falling 

 this year on a Sunday, the annual 

 election of comraon-council-men, 

 for the city of Lor don, was held 

 this day ; when fewer changes 

 took place than has been for many 

 years remembered. There was no 

 poll in any of the wards. 



29th. This day, a very extraordi- 



nary attempt is said to have been 

 made on the life of Buonaparte. A 

 combustible machine it appears, 

 placed in a cart, was set fire to ashe 

 passed in his carriage to the Opera. 

 The explosion caused much damage, 

 and several lives have been lost. 



By a diary of the weather, kept 

 during the year 1800, at Norwich, 

 there appears to have been 2 1 4 dry 

 days, \ix. 20 in January, 2,3 in 

 Februai-y, 14 in March, 7 in April, 

 23 in May, iC in June, 28 in July, 

 iG in August, 14 in September, 

 17 in October, 1.5 in November, 

 21 in December. In 1799 there 

 were only 173 dry days. 



It appears, by the adjutant-ge- 

 neral's returns, that the number of 

 troops in the pay of Great Britain, 

 on the 24th of December, 1800, 

 amounted to 1(58,082. The ma- 

 rines being in the admiralty depart- 

 ment, are not included ; but that 

 corps, consisting of 23,370, en- 

 creases our effective military force 

 to 191,4,52, exclusive of the nume- 

 rous, volunteer corps, which do not 

 receive pay from government. The 

 military establishment of Ireland, 

 as stated by lord Castlereagh, on 

 the 10th of February, consists of, 

 regulars, 45,839, militia 27,104, 

 and yeomanry 53,557 ; amounting 

 to 12(3,500 ; which makes the mili- 

 tary establishment of the United 

 Kingdom 317,9-'>2 men. Taking 

 the naval establishment, exclusive 

 of marines at 100,000 men, our 

 force will be found to consist of 

 417,952 men. 



From the first day of March last 

 there has been a difference of 12 

 days between the old and new 

 styles, instead of 11, as formerly, 

 owing- to the regulations ofthe act for 

 altering the st^'le, passed in 1 752 ; 

 accordixrg to which, the year 1800 

 was only to be accounted a common 



