We are aTureJ that a letter dated the sth April Has been received by a gentleman .of this city, which fays that the preliminaries of a general peace have /been agreed on—The principal conditions of which 1 arc, that the Rhine (hall be the boundary of the French Republic—that the Emperor (hall be in demnified at the expence as Holland, that the Eng lish (hall restore all their conquests made from Fiance, and shall not retain those made from H"l ---i land in India ; but that notwithstanding this pacific \ perfpeftive, France has dispatched General Ro chambeau with 17 fail of the line and troops to take poffeffiort 6f the Spartiflt partof St. Domingo. Cki the sth May, it does ncjt appear that the. EnAfhhad made any attempt on puadaloupe. E\tra& of a Letter* • from an American gentleman in France, dated Paris, 24th March, 1796, to his friend in Philadelphia. " I yet remain without the pleasure 'of a line from yon, asd now have only time to fay to you'got to fend any property here, as the prices are much falleto, and no profpe&s of sale at prefeiit. I " Yesterday a decree pafled for the iiluing of Man dates, to be received in all cases as specie, which is for bidden to be bought, fold, or dealt in, in any way. You are only to buy or fell in Mandates, und=r the pe nalty of 4 years imprisonment in chains, and a heavy ffue —an equal punishment on him wh» refufes to re cede when tendered. The debts due I expeil will bow soon be paid, as the paper will iflu* in a few days." Foreign Intelligence. By the Snow HebK, Capt. Gat, in F.r'y Nine days from London, we have received Englijh papers to the Bth of /Iprd, from <wich the following articles •' art extracted. ' LONDON* April 7. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tuesday, Aprils. TAX UPON DOGS. Mr. Lygon prefonted a petition from the M?yor, Aldermen, &c. of the city as Worcester, praying for a Tax to belaid on Dogs. The House resolved itfelf into a Committee up. off a petition from the county of Leicetter, ptay ing for a Tax upon Dogs. Mr. Dent Hated his reasons, as well as those of others whom he had consulted, for suggesting this ■Tax. He declared that his only intention was 'the benefit and relief of the poor, who required every attention and support to be given them ,in these times of scarcity and dearnefs as provisions. This tax would go in relief of the poor-rates, and to wards the better ft»ftenance of the poor. The irn menfe consumption of provisions by dogs, was con firmed by letters he had received from all parts of the country. The dreadful disorder of the hydropho bia was also owing to the increafeof dogs—no few er than thirty-three objects had been btought into the inhrmary at Mancheller during the last yeai, with thi&diforder. This tax wai filiated ,y many. Since the year 1755, various petitions had been presented to the House in favor of the tajt*Murr -of doge. The great.consumption of good and whole £irffe provisions by dogs was a matter' of national alarm ; flour, barley, and oatmeal, and broken victuals frbm the tablefaf tfye affluent were beftowed-upon these animals in (lead of being given to the poor. He declared, that the number of dogs had encreafed" lately to such a degree as to eaafe not only annoyance but alarm. Sam? parts of the country, he understood, were divided into distriCts for the fake of rearing these animals. In fa£t, Great Britain appeared to be one grand liofpi tal for dogs. Mr. Dent wished to enquire into the number of dogs, and the produce of this proposed tax. He had good reafoti to believe, that the po pulation of this country amounted to ten millions ; computing one family as compofmg five persons, he thought the average of one dog to a family, not too large ; m this cafe there would be two millions of dogs. Suppofißg that the operation of this t*x should reduce the two millions to one 1 , he would propolfe to lay on a tax, without distinCtion, of two and sixpence on each dog, which would amount to.the sum of 125,0001. a year. After stating tiis grounds for taking the population of this kingdom at 10 millions, an«i calculating the increase of po pulation at different periods, from the time of the Conquest to the present, Mr. Dent proceeded to state that this tax would be bath popular and ufeful. He was happy to find, that what had so long been a severe burden to the poor, might now be turned to their advantage. What Mungo said in the Pad lock to the hamper, "1 have carried you long e nough, you (hall now carry m'e," . might be well applied to the operation of this tax on the poor : " We have fed you long enough at our expense, you (hall now feed us." The destruCtion of sheep by dogs, which he had formerly stated at 15,000 annually, he had since karnt amounted to 50,000. He read letters from Chethire and Devonshire 5 in one letter an account was given of upwards of 400 (heep being killed by one dog ; and that 200 men, with dogs, went in pursuit of it, and aconfiderablere ward offered for its apprehension. Another dog had been found destroying (heep iu the neighbourhood of Walmer Cattle, and when he mentioned the inferip tion on the collar of ** Right Honorable," would leave it to the Committee to fill up the blank. —With refpe£t to the eonfumption of corn and provisions he dated, that allowing a dog to confurne as mnch as cost one penny a day, the sum total a mounted to 700,0001. more than was paid for the relief of the aged poor. If that fur» were laid out in buying meal and Sour, it would purchase. 3,400,000 and odd pounds weight, and would very much alleviate the diltrefTes caused by the present ftarcity. In a 1 letter'from Kingilon it was stated, that in the neighbouring parishes, nine out of ten of the (heeps heads and appurtenances were bo't Up for the use of dogs, so that no poor perfou had any chance of procuring them for their fami lifcs. He declared that the quantity of flour con sumed iu the support of dogs was so gteat as to ex cite anonilhmeat: one gentleman very-well-koown mide a contract vjuth his meatman to the amount •f 8001. a year to serve his dogs. A pack of fox - hounds, which could pot be kept for less than 10001. a year, being obliged in theiv return fiom a chace to ftopt at a country town,every baker's (hop was ranfackfd to supply them with bread, and it happened 011 such Occafioiis that not a loaf was left for the inhabitants. Mr. Dent dated, that the Board of Agriculture had been confultad, and from various reports it had. received from its correfpondcnts i* some of the Northern Counties, it appeared that (heep fuffered considerably from the ravages of dogs, and that the farmer thought himfelf happy if only one Half of his (heep. were saved. One gentleman's flock of (heep had been driven by dogs into the sea, and but few escaped ; while others, driven by those animals into pools and ditches, were numerous beyond con ception. He fuggeiled, whether an additional tax on unkennelled hounds, which did more mifchief than could J>e calculated, might not be prpper, but he thought that an exception from the tax ought however to be made in favor of dogs necefFarily kept by blind men. Mr. Dent concluded an able ipeech, in which he displayed much knowledge of the fubjeft, by moving, " Ttait this committee do resolve, that a duty of 2s. 6d. per ann. be imjtofed on dogs of every defefiptien." Sir Rob. Salu&ury seconded the motion. Mr. Pitt declared, that as he did not wi(h unne cessarily to take up the attention of the Houlii, he (hould only fay a few words on the fubjeCt. He was ready to admit, that there was nothing unseason able or improper in the principle of the tax brought forward by the Hon. Gentleman, but he feared that such a tax, by the proposed mode of layii#g it on, would go to the extirpation of the canjne spe cies. In the plan of taxation then held out, nothing was felt for the owners of the dogs, particnlarly for the poorer clafles, who placed many comforts in the pgflelfijn of those animals, who Were in many iivftances found ufeful and even necessary to labour. He perfectly agreed in the principle, as far as it went to take per centage on dogs, but at the fame time wi(hed, that houses not i\jbje£t to the affefled taxes (hould be exempted from the tax. Every person living in such houses, and keeping a dog, (hou'd pay no more than is. per annum. But he eould by no means admit that the amount of the tax in general ought to be applied to parochial pur poles. The exigencies of the State were certainly entitled, and had a motl undeniable right to th® praduft of a tax on dogs, as well as to that of any other tax; nor could he fee why an exception (hould be made in the present inftaace to tße gene ral system of taxation. He had, however, no ob jedtien to let the duty of is. to which the poor and living in houses notaflefTed would be fubjeift, go to the relief of the poor. With ref pe£t to that which was to be paid by those living in affelTed houses, he was ofopinion that it should amount to 3s. There could be no difficaltyin col lecting this it would be levied in the fame way as afiefled taxes were. He would propose, that the prodnft of this fax (hould be differently*' applied, 2s. to the services of the public, and is. to the wants of the poor. But though he generally proposed that the tax (hould amount to 3s. there were many exceptions which, might take place in |-ifiS P rogTrfr-af ii.il, game under the conlideratiori of trie' Ho life, and which would probably admit of a just diminution of that sum, when they offered themselves to dif cuflion. It was then urtaacefTaiy for h<m to enter into a detail of the didindtions which it might be proper to adop' ; and he would content himfelf with moving " That a sum not exceeding 3s. fee paid on dpgs of all defcriptjons." This, Mr. Pitt observed, was a general proposition, which might afterwards be modified with refp tl to ihe dirninH tion of the sum, as the neceflity or justice of the cafe required. Mr.'Buxton was ofopinion, that a poor man who kept a dog, and paid the tax, eould not come with any propriety to the parifli for relief. The Right Hon. Gentleman had oiiferved, that the poor found many comforts in the pofleffion of those animals, but it was also undeniable, that they kept dogs for very improper purposes. Mr. llMberforce declared, that notwithstanding he had originally profefled himfelf an enemy to the tax, he found from every poflible information he eould eolledt, that it would anfwermany beneficial purposes. Humanity was deeply interest in the success of the tax, as cases of Hydrophobia, which but too frequently occurred, would be considerably dimini(hed. And though it might decreafc the corhforts of children, it would bring forth more «;f ---fential comforts, as they would, by its operation, be less exposed to the fatal canfequences of that dreadful malady. wlr. Lechmere thought that an equal tax would not answer the objedt proposed by the friends of the measure. Those gentlemen who kept packsoffox hounds, harrries, and setting dogs, should be taxed in proportion. And, though he"was aware that he (h<iuld call down on his head the vengeance of'the whole association of Dowagers, he could not help declaring, that lap-dogs (hould be taxed in a great er proportion. What Was fufficient to furnifh food for whole families, vvas'ridicnloufly spent on those itfelefs animals ; and it was 110 uncommon thing to fee valets fix feet high going with lap-dogs to take the air in the Green Park, for the purposes of whet ting their appetites to regale on delicacies and dainties, the axpence of which might be so mush more humanely employed. Sir G. P. Turner was convinced that the inhab itants of the county of Leicester were to a man U naniniou9, not only in.desiring, but in praying for. ,the tax. With refpe& to the execution }of dogs, which feefned to be seriously apprehended, he had no objedtion to the introduction of a clause in the bill, inflicting a punilhment on those who (hould hang them. The.numberef dogs in the kingdom • was very considerable, and was a molt alarmin'g grievance. A gang of Giplies had heen lately seen. near Oxford, attended by a posse comitatns of these animals ; they were followed*by no less than *3. — When he was a boy he well remembered that they were very trcublefome in church, and petfons were employed to whip them out j and a dog had even the impudence to bark in that house at the very time when a ndble Lord was engaged in a iroft im portant duty, that of opening the Budget. The reply of that ingenious minilter was not easily for gotten ; who, when asked what new member it was (hat interrupted him, replied, " it was a mem ber tor Bnrkjhire." Sir G. P. Turner concluded, by declaring, that he triumphed at finding the tait was in i general sense thought to he necelfary.wheth' er the produdl waj applied to the revenue of the country of to th? wmta of the pror. It had 6een talked of in his father s time, and it ffoould-now be realized; it was necetfary to strike while the iron was hot. Capt. Berkley said a few words. Mr. Bent and Lechmere explained. The original motion was negatived, and Mr. Pitt's mction agreed to without a division. The Houle having resumed, Mr. Hcbart bro't Up- the report, which was ordered to be received to morrbw. Gen. Snuth moved that there be laid before the house in account of corn imported, and bounties pain thereon ia the month of March. -Agreed to. , Adjatirned. The intelligence of tranquility being fully reftorec i j in Sardinia, which was inferred in the Florence Gazette is contradicted in the moll politive terms by , the last letters from Corsica of the 27th ult. whicfy state, that the inhabitants are dill divided into difl ferent factions, and that numbers of them have pro ceeded In open infurre&ion to St. Boniface; that, the Viceroy is arretted ; and that the insurgents art to put themfelve'sunder theprote&ion of the French Republic. _ * The Imperial army, under the orders of Gen eral Beaulieti, is ta consist of 50,000 men, compa fing 46 battalions of foot, and 36 squadrons of horse. The Piedmontefe army consists of 40,000 men. Yesterday 250,000!. sterling in Exchecquer bills : were iflued by Government ; which in the present scarcity of money, has run them up to a very high discount. As r proef among many .others of the present great scarcity of money, one of the 20,0001. pri-, zes was discounted 4 few days since at the enor-« mous rate ot 40 percent. The prize.is payable in three mouths, and was fold for iß,®ool. fterlingj only. J PORTSMOUTH, April $. The squadron under the command of Vice Ad miral Colpoys, that yesterday evening dropped down to St. Helen's, preparatory to failing 011 a cruize, came back this morning in consequence of an Ad miralty order, to enable enable AdmiratColpoys to be of the Court of Inquiry 00 Admiral Cornwallis, which commences to morrow 'morning. Admiral L >rd Bridport and Admiral Pole arri ved this day; they a-e to be members of the said Conrt f which will consist of ten Admirals with Lord Howe, dident. <• - \ I The followiug are the Flag Officers and Com. manders summoned to form the Court. Flag-Officers. Earl Howe, Admiral of the Fleet, SirPi'er Parker, Bart. Admiral of the White. .Lord Bridport, ditto. G. Vand-eput, Esq. Vice Admiral of the White. ftH- a™* D - t Sir iCogcp Curtis, Bant. Kear Admiral of the- Red. John Colpoys, Esq. Vice Admiral of the Blue, H. Harvey Esq. ditto. R R. Bligh, Esq. ditto. C. M. Pole, Esq. Rear Admiral of the Blue. Captains. E. E. Nugent, Esq. Ch. Powel Hamilton, ,Esq. Edmund Dod, Esq. ' Sir George Home, Bart. Judge Advocate, Sir George Jackson, Bart. We understand that the Miniiler has fettled his taxes, in lieu of that laid upon calicoes, which made part of the budget. The taxes are on dogs ; and an heavy toll upon all Gentlemen's Carriages which pals through turnpikes. The Committee for enquiring into thf causes ot the present scarcity of money, in submitting their propofitiou to Mr. Pitt, had no intention of making his or their judgement final on this important ope ration. After learning the minister's sentiments, it i 3 intended to call a general meeting of the mer chants of London, to know their opinion, and whe ther it is likely to atifwerthat general good effect which is the object of the proposed plan. We understand that the paper to be ifiued is to be at fix months date, but redeemable at fight (the fame as Bank-NStes,) if the holders prefer it.— The solidity of this paper is to be fandtioned by the (ignature of a certain number of the mod refpe&a ble merchants and others, who may be friendly to the plan ; awd to give this paper a greater degree of currency, it is to bear ; a premium of 11. 18s. per cent. The reason of the notes being drawn at fix months dtrttr, 'is in order not to interfere with the Bank Charter, which precludes any body of men from issuing notes payable within that period. We are informed by a letter from Hamburgh of the lit inft. that Prince Frederick of Orange is ar rived in that city, and after a (lay at a few hours, proceeded on his journey to Vienna. On the 10th inft. arrived at Augfblirgh from Ve rona, the Duke of Duras, on "his way to London,, where he is to reside as the Miniiler of Louis XVIII. Letters from 1 Urin of the 9th ult. advise that the most vigorous preparations continue to be made for the ensuing campaign ;that strong reinforcements . are expeSed from Germany ; that the French have been obligfcd by the late severe froft to fall back, witliout making any attempt against Ceva, which, it was feared thiy intended to attack ; and that the Genoese endeavor to put the fortrefs of G'avi in the mod refpeftable state of defence. _ In the Sitting of the Council of Elders of tha 27th ult. -.Lifonddelebat maintained, that the dit 1 count of the Territorial Mandates amounted to 75 per cent. He.Was interrupted by violent murmurs ■and grofsjy iofuked, but nobody undertook to prove the untruth of his alfertiod. Notwithstanding the rigorous law tending to support thecredit of that paper-money, (t is not likely to meet with more fuc-J cess than the affignats. Sir James Bland Bnfgefs, of rhyming notoriety, thctgh he attempts the talk of elegant poetry, is, wc underrated tfce author of the wretched Prologue to Vartigern, which it as devoid of fine taile, as the play is of the beauties of Shakfpeare. FRANCKFORT, March 28. We are allured in a German Print, that the French are preparing to evacuate Dufleldorff, which is to be occupied by Prtifliau troops. The fort refles of Konigllein and Falkenftein, are putting in~ the best rtate of defence. The General of artillery, Count de Werneck, !a rrrived here to uk« on him the a;overnmeni of this City. " The inhabitants of ManheirfrhaTe been ordered to lay in provisions for 6 months. The lines which the Aufttians have erc&ed ne<ir Manheim, contain upwards of twenty principal batteries, and the envi* rons of Rheingritfoheirt", &c. ha'va been put unde;r water, by which TtvrraJ thotifand acres of land have been rendered olelefs for this year. The Imperial armies on the Rhine have received 90,000 cwts. of provisions, and 19 millions of cartridges are ready. I he Imperial artillery of reserve, which was ported on the Lahn, have received orders to proceed to Mentz, and the troops between Neuwied and Wetz laer are also making retrograde movements. XjONDOK, April-5. -V Yesterday a variety <jf letteisand difpatc'ies Werd reccived'at Mi. Du«d»iand Lord Gienville'e of-' sices ; and also at the German office, St. James's,! from the; continent ; which were conveyed by a tSeffcnger to the King at Wiftdfor. Tlicy are- all * said uniformly to (ignify that a mediation is cef- I tainly on foot, and that a pacification among the J present belligerent powers is to be expedted in the/ coarse of (he summer. The Prince and Prln eel's of O range are, we un* derftand, returned to Hampton Court, after feeing their daughter-in law and her infant child embark for Germany. The Emperor is to have a loan from England. The' precise sum is not publicly known : fo*ne lay tour, others five millions.' And many believe thai the campaign will not be opened, on his part, until he receives the money ; and that this is the caule ul\ the prclenf delay in opening the campaign. y April 6. Another German mill arrived yesterday. It! brings as usual, intimations of fuch t a discordant op posite tendency, that whether the fp;'culations of ] the reader be for war or peace, he will find matter J to juflify his opinion. PARIS, April I. It ha 3 been confidently reported that the armiftiee betwean our armies and that of the Aufttians on the Rhine, has been prolonged for four months. It has been farther said, that citizen Bather, firft Freiach secretary of legatian is Switzerland, had just arrived in Paris, with important dispatches from Barthelemi. If these two taiis be true, we may conclude that serious negociations are about to be opened. FRANKFORT, March' 22. Zurick and Bern, have formally acknowledged the French Republic. April r. \ irlhe. -vr ct k tnf*p have been- dispatched from hence 10 Paris, whose dif- j patches-concern the negociationt sot J CHARLESTON, M«ry 20. The following particulars,are furnilhed bv Capt» Philips of the brig Aurora, who arrived the day before yesterday from Surijiam. On the 2d i.ift. being then in lat. 21, long. 68, fell in with a fleet of 11 fail of armed ships ; (hort ly after was spoke t« by the commodore, who sent his boat aboard the Aurora. It proved to be a - fleet from France, with troops on board, bound to Cape Francais. The officer who came on board informed, that they had captured in the European fcas, II fail of transports, with troops and Itores on board, from England bound foi Jamaica j wh ch they had sent for France. Capt. Philips fays, that 8 fhips*oF the line ap peared to him to be 74 and 64 gun ftiips, which had been cut down, and had one tier of guns ; two others were frigates ; the other was a large trans port. They appeared very full of men. The offi cer staid but a few minutes on board of the Auro ra ; he expe&ed they would make their port in two pr three days. Cleared. Brig Brutus, Fanning N. York Elizabeth, Shoemaker Hamburgh Sloop George, Hafkall New-Port PORT OF PHILADELPHIA ARKiyED. days Ship Fame, JoneS, Surinam 36 Catharine, Starbuck, "Liverpool -52 James, Vernon, Port-dePaix 15 §outhCarolina,Garman, ChaiUfton 6 Snow Hebe, Gay, Lond'jn 49 Peggy, Cunningham, Havre 52 Brig Beaver, Cooke, Surinam 29 Abby, Elliott, i Nantz 49 A&eon, Burnhant, Dublin 45 Peggy, Kilby, Jamaica 22 Schooner Polly and Sally, - Teneriffe 55 John, Coffin, Boston 8 Na'iicy, M'Dowell, Virginia 8 Dolphin, Potts, Norfolk 2. The Ship Boston Packet, Tsnnant from Phila delphia to London was cast alhore on the 15th Feb. at Sti Valieres on the coast of France. Tne Ship, the greater part wf the cargo, the captain and ctew were saved. Capt. Jones, of the Fame, spoke a schooner from Tortcla, who informed him they fell in with a French fleet of 12 fail of the line off Turk's Island. The arrival of a French fleet at the Cape, 4 day* before the James left Port.de-Paix< is mentioned by the captain of that (hip as a report there. , ft*A NT E D, Several Apprentices to the Printing- Bufinef? Apply at the Office of the Gazette of the United States, No. JI9» Chefnut-ftreet. $
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