] 1 4 LON 
which great damage was done. The darknefs was fo great, 
that the carriages of the nobility and gentry were attended 
by lights, the fame as at midnight. Many accidents 
occurred during the continuance of this fog, which lafted 
through the night; and, in the morning, feveral people 
were found dead in the fields round the metropolis, who, 
not being able to find their way, were fuppofed to have 
perifhed from the inclemency of the weather. The ex- 
cefiive rains that fell in the courfeof the month of March 
following, (1774.) railed the waters in many rivers (but 
principally thole vveftward of London) to a greater height 
than had been known in the memory of man. The levels, 
on the tides of Chelfea and Batterfea, were entirely over¬ 
flowed, and confiderable damage done to the gardeners’ 
grounds and young plantations. Tire force of the cur- 
-rent in the river was fo ftrong, that two weft-country 
barges were carried out of the channel, and left in Bat- 
terfea-fields when the flood abated. Many of the weftern 
roads were rendered impaffable ; and the towns in gene¬ 
ral, adjoining to the rivers, received confiderable injury 
from the violence of the inundation. 
The election of a chamberlain was warmly contefted in 
the beginning of 1776. Sir Stephen Janffen having fig- 
nified "his intention of refigning that office, a common- 
hall was held, on the 20th of February, for the choice of 
his fuccefl'or ; when aldermen Wilkes and Hopkins were 
put in nomination as candidates. The lhow of hands ap¬ 
peared to be greatly in favour of Mr. Wilkes; but, a poll 
being demanded in favour of Mr. Hopkins, it began on 
the fame day, and was finally clofed on the 27th ; when 
the numbers were, for Mr. Alderman Hopkins, 2887 ; and, 
for Mr. Alderman Wilkes, 2710 : in confequence of 
which, the former was declared duly elefted. The con- 
teft was renewed between Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Wilkes 
every Midfummer-day till the death of the former, but 
always without fuccefs on the part of the latter, who 
now feems to have loft fome of his popularity ; for, on the 
19th of November, 1777, when a motion was made in the 
court of common-council, that an annuity of five hun¬ 
dred pounds per annum be paid by the chamberlain to 
John Wilkes, efq. alderinanj during the pleafure of the 
court; it was carried in the negative by a great majority. 
And a motion was then made, and feconded, “That if is 
the opinion of this court, that the granting any annuity 
to John Wilkes, efq. or the paying any of that gentleman’s 
debts, out of the city-caffi, whether contracted in his 
mayoralty or not, would be an improper application there¬ 
of, and a moft dangerous precedentwhich queftion was 
carried in the affirmative. 
At a court of aldermen, held on the 15th of March, 
Mr. Hopkins refigned his gown, as alderman of 'Broad- 
ftreet ward ; and at a wardmote, held at Drapers’ hall, on 
the following day, Richard Clark, efq. the prefent cham¬ 
berlain, was unanimoufly elected in his Head. This was 
the twentieth vacancy in the court of aldermen within fe- 
ven years, viz. from the 24th of April, 1769; when Mr. 
Wilkes was elected, on the death of fir Francis Golling. 
The annals of the metropolis do not afford a fimilar fuc- 
ceffion of changes within the fame period. 
The legality of preffing freemen of the city of London, 
was a fertile fource of difcord between the adminiliration 
and the citizens. In the latter part of the year 1776, the 
lord-mayor had claimed an exemption for the watermen 
of his barge; the city claimed an exemption from preffing 
within its jurifdiction ; but the court' of King's Bench 
held, that thefe claims were not fupported by adequate 
proof. 
While this difpute continued, feveral naval officers were 
taken into cultody, charged, by men whom they had im- 
prefled, but without getting them out of the city-jurif- 
diCiion, with aflaults; the confequences were, that the 
impreffed men were difcharged, and, in fome cafes, the 
officers were held to bail. But the moft prominent cir- 
cumftance of this defcription was in the cafe of one Mil- 
iachip. When he was impreffed, alderman Bull wrote to 
DON. 
the fecretary of the admiralty-board, requeuing his dif. 
charge, on the ground of his being a freeman and livery¬ 
man of London. The anfwer returned, was, that the lords 
of the admiralty did not apprehend that this exempted him 
from being impreffed, if othervvife liable. In confequence 
of this, a common-council was held, in which a letter to 
the admiralty, in the name of the court, was read and 
agreed to; and a refolution paffed, that, if Miilachip’s 
difcharge was not granted, legal meafures fhould be taken 
to procure it; and the citv-folicitor was ordered to follow 
the directions of a committee appointed for that purpofe. 
This application being equally ineffectual with the former, 
a writ of habeas corpus was obtained from the court of 
King’s Bench, by Virtue of which Millachip was brought 
from on-board the admiral’s fhip, and difcharged. In a 
few days after this, as he was going down the river in his 
lighter, he was again taken by a prefs-gang, and put on¬ 
board a man of war; in confequence of which, the com¬ 
mittee met, and came to refolutions to apply for another 
habeas corpus, and to bring aCtions againic the lieutenant 
and regulating captaiji, for detaining him; but the quef¬ 
tion never came to a legal decifion. 
The American war, which had been, from the begin¬ 
ning, very unpopular, was expreffively deprecated by"the 
court of common-council, held on the 3d of March, 1778, 
in an addrefs and petition to his majelty again!! the farther 
profecution of that war; and it is incalculable what ad¬ 
vantages might have arifen, if the minifter had lent an 
ear to the reprefentations of that moft reputable body. 
Freedom of opinion is always dear to an Engliffiman, 
but efpecially to a citizen of London. An inftance of this 
is recorded on the 19th of November, when a motion was 
made in the ufual form, to give the thanks of the court 
to fir James Efdaile, for his conduct during his mayor¬ 
alty; but, after warm debates, it palled in the negative, 
and a motion for cenfuring him was carried by nearly two 
to one. The court of aldermen, however, were of a dif¬ 
ferent opinion from the livery; and, on the 25th of the 
fame month, voted their thanks to him, for his careful, 
prudent, and impartial, difcharge of that high office. 
The year j779 was ufhered in with one ol the moft de- 
ftruftive hurricanes that ever affefted the metropolis. Al- 
moft every public or private building, in or near town, 
fuftained fome damage from it; while moft of the (hips in 
the river were driven from their moorings, and ran foul 
of each other; fome were driven on-fliore, and filled with 
water, and great damage was done among the fmall craft* 
Several houfes were entirely blown down, a very great 
number were ftripped of their roofs, and the ftacks of 
chimneys deltroyed were almoft innumerable; among 
others, one belonging to Buckingham-honfe broke through 
the roof into the apartments of three of the young princes, 
who were in bed, but they received no hurt. All were 
not fo fortunate ; many lives were loft, and a vaft number 
of perfons terribly maimed, by the fall of buildings, in 
different parts of the town ; and the accounts from every 
part of the kingdom were equally melancholy. 
A caufe was tried in the court of King’s Bench, on the 
jth of Auguit, refpecting the right of a claim, fet up by 
the city of London, to a duty of fix-pence per load, on 
hay fold in Smithfield, not the property of freemen of 
London. This was difputed by the inhabitants of Finch¬ 
ley, who pleaded an exemption in favour of the biihop of 
London and his tenants, granted by king John; bur, as 
it did not appear that the manor of Finchley belonged to 
the biffiop at the time of the grant, a verdict was given 
for the city of London. 
On the 22d of November, 1779,Mr. Hopkins being dead, 
Mr. Wilkes was at laft, by a great majority, elected cham¬ 
berlain of the city. He had ferved the office of lord-mayor 
in 1774; and in the place he had long fought for, 3s a re¬ 
tirement and honourable recels from iitigioufnefs and the 
torments of a political life, lie died in the year 1797. It 
is well known that he was a man of uncommon talents, of 
a mind haunch and firm jn refolution, as weljl as quick 
