A. D. 1751- 285 



current market price, either in the faid annuities, or in other purchafes, 

 public or private. And whereas feveral perfons, not being timely ap- 

 prized of the notice given for fubfcribing in their feveral annuities, be- 

 ing in the king's colonies in America, and other foreign i)arts, &.c. the 

 fums which, on the 28th of February 1749, fliould be intitled to the 

 benefit of thofe fubfcriptions, amounting to Li2,2io:2: i in new 

 South- fea annuities, and Li3,443:]4:3 in old South-fea annuities, 

 they fhall be intitled to the vote of the houfe of commons of 21 ft March 

 1749, as amply as if they had feverally accepted the faid terms on or 

 before the 30th of May 1750. 



On Wednefday, the 22d of May 1751, the ever-famous act of the 

 Britifh legillature, of the 24th year of King George II, received the 

 royal aflent, for regulating the commencement of the year, and for cor- 

 recfling the calendar now in ufe, i. e. for abolifhing the old ftile, and for 

 eftablifhing the new ftile, already in ufe in moft parts of Chriftendom. 



Its preamble fets forth, that the legal fupputation of the year in Eng- 

 land, which begins on the 25th of March, hath been attended with di- 

 vers inconveniencies *, as it differs from other nations, and from the 

 legal method of computation in Scotland, and the common ufage 

 throughout the whole kingdom ; and that thereby frequent miftakes 

 in the dates of deeds and other writings are occasioned, and difputes 

 arife therefrom. And that the Julian calendar, now in ufe throughout 

 the Britifli dominions, hath been diicovered to be erroneous, by means 

 whereof the vernal equinox, which at the time of the council of Nice 

 in the year 325, happened on or about the 21ft of March, now hap- 

 pens on the 9th or 10th of the fame month : and as the error is ftill in- 

 creafing, and, if not remedied, will in time occafion the feveral equi- 

 noxes and folftices to fall at very different times in the civil year from 

 what they formerly did, which may tend to midead perfons ignorant of 

 luch alteration ; and as a method of correding the calendar, fo as that- 

 the equinoxes and folftices may tor the future fall on the iamc nominal 

 days on which they happened at the time of the faid general council, 

 hath been received and eftabliflied, and is now generally praClifed by 

 almoft all other nations of Europe f ; and as it will be of general con- 



* It is ftrange tliat this was not rcftificJ long lian year, being 44 minutes and 20 fcconda iii 



ago. A. every 4 years, and 3 days i hour 53 minutes 



f Tlie mean tropical folar year, or that mean and 20 kcondi in every 4C0 Julian years, or yean 



fpace of time wherein the fun or earth, departing of our old ilile ; and made I I days difference be- 



from any point of the ecliptic, returns to the fame tween us and tlie greatell part of Europe, clpeci- 



point again, confiiU, according to the learned Dr. ally all of tlie Roman catlu>lic perfnafion, and moft 



Hallcy's tables, of 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes of the protellar.t dates alfc. The Julian ycar»or 



and 55 fcconds ; which being lefs by 1 1 minutes old ftile continued to be ufed all over Europe, un- 



and 5 feconds than the mean Julian year or old til Pope Gregory XIII, by tlie help of the bell 



ftile, confifting of 365 days and 6 hours, made an aftronomers, in the year 1582, difcovered the in- 



crror in our old ftile, hitherto followed by Great convenicncies of the Julian computation, wliercyb-- 



Britain, of ll minuttg and 5 feconds in each Ju- it appeared, that in 129 years and 337 [ days,,i'. 



