The New Hampshire Gazette Newspaper, April 10, 1761, Page 1

s ek, FRIDAY, ArriL 10, T H E -~ New To 4t PRINTE R, . . Camsripcg, March 31. 1761, ‘ . Tranfic of VENUS over tie SUN being, beyond compuiifon, the moft curicus and uncommon sappearsnce the hesvens afford, as well as of the greateft ccniequence, has for ¢ long time been 2 principsl ob je€t of the eonfideration of Aftronomers : and it 1s no wonder if a general curiofity fhould be excited among other perfons allo, by the near spprosch of fo. rare a phznomenon. So very rare indeed it is, as t0 heve happen’d but once; fince the revival of the ancient Py thagaresn, which-is the trug Aftronomy, by Copernicus, aligut 240 years ago. Before that period. they pais’d unobfesved, if not unthought 61. 'Uhe only oae that bas been fince, was in the year 1639, on the z4th of November O, S; This was abferved by s young En- glith sftronomer, whofe name was Herrax, snd his triend in Lancafbire, for sbout half an hour; till the too early fetting of the Sun put.an end to their obfer- vations. Thele two were the only perfons from the beginning of the world, thae had the good fortune to behold this curioas [peciacle. In the long interval fince elapled, of sbove 120 years, it has never happened once ; {o that the ‘Tranfic nexc. following that of 1639 is this of the 6th of Fue 1761 ; which was predicted by the great Kepler, (o long ago &5 the year 1504. Oql ;haé day, the planet Venus, which now makes fo brilliant an appearance cvery evening in the weft, will be totally deprived of her borrowed luftre § and, for the fecond time fince the creation, will be feen traverfing the face of the Sun, in the form of a fpot, -perke@ly round and erfectly black; making s peculiar fort of fqlnr ecliple, Ey covering a {msll part of the Sun’s Juminous difk. "Phe diameter of the planet will be one 25th part of the ‘San’s dismeter, and fhe will pals g min 44 fec. to the fouthward of the Sun’s centre, or almoit 1 gth part of "the Sun’s diameter, within his fouthern edge ; {pending niesr 7 hours in the paflage. Upon this occafion, thou- fands will be employed in gazing on & fight, which neither they nor their fathers had feen : every telefcope in Europe will be turned to the Sum ; and the meoft ikilful a kronomers there, bufy in making their obferva- tions with st -pofiible accuracy.- Such obfervations will not be confined to Earope : They will bz carried on in Afia and Africa with the {ame attention. Forit ought to be perticularly menti- on’d, as it wiil for ever be remember’d, to the honor of fome of the greatelt Princes of the prefent sge, that amidft the tumults of war they have liften’d to the flill voice of the Iciences, and have fent into the remoteft countries of the South gnd Euft, -proper pe‘v(ons to make the important obfervations. Emportant they may well be called, fince (befides other purpofes not 10 peedful to be enlarged on at this time) thofe made in diftant parts of the carth, when compared together, w!ll {olve one of the moit noble and d'fi -ult prablems in aftronomy,—that of finding the diftance 9f— the Sun from the earth. They will determine this diftance, not in the way of prabable conjeflure, but of mathe- matical demonitration ; aod thatto a degree o‘f exact- nefs far fupe:io'r 0 what has ever y&t beea attained to, or ever can be in any other mzthod. The methods heretofore ufed for this purpafe by aftronomers were ftriétly truein fpeculation. but not fo proper for prac tice 3 the oblervations required in them being fuch as could not be made with pear the ex:Ctnefs as the pre- fent obfervations miy be At the fame time, the dif- tence of Venus wmd of sil the other planets will be difcovered ; —and - of ail the comets too. And when ¢ ooceé known, the real magnitude their true ¢ {tences ar A ! ) of ail (hefe bovies will be likewife determined. Wiich poiats well fertled, will elucidate {fome others xh?: will give us a deeper infight into the wonderfal works ofGoo. [t were greatly to be wifhed, that Americaallo migot bear a part in (o Jaudable an undertaking ; —an under- t+king not calculated to lerye che leparae views of any _particular party, but the common intereft of the civiliz- ed world ; and in the benefit of which the whole re- public of letiers, in every pation and in every #ge, will equally partake. Fonthe more oblervers there are, and ¢he more diftan: their fations, the more firmly and ac- curately will the conclufion be eftablithed. But untor- tunately for us, this moft defirable (p‘eéh.e!e. which will bs prefented to all the other continent, will be concealed from the greateft part of our wc[ten_\‘world, by hep- pening when ic is night with us, Thismay be (eenby the following calculation, carefully made from the beft sftronomical tables.that have ever beea publifhed 5 thole of the celebrated- Dr. Halley ;5 which, if oot perfectly ‘exalt, re yet probably very near the truth @ sccording to which, the times of this Tranfit, as reckoned under our meridian, will be as fcllows, 5 D. h. m. ‘Venus firk touches the Sun, 1701, Juae 5 g 21 Her centre enters .. .« . . s s+ o« . 33 She is wholly within . . . g 45 Middle, or Venus neareft the Sun’s cedtre . . 12 49 Venus begins to pafs off theSun . . . 15 36 Hercentre paffesoff & .« v . o e o fhe wholly lcaves the San . i i 15 (o3e] -Hampthire Containing the Frefbeft Advices, 8, e L v ot H |, SRR - 3 T migan A = . Henge it appears, that under our meridian and nesr it, the whaole of the Tranfic Will be in the night. In New England, it will begin about 2 h. afier Sun-fet on the 5th of Jume, and end balfan hout before Sua rife on the 6th, And as our meridian runs thro’ the length of Americs, the Tranfit will be invifible to almoft the whole of this contnent. "f'l¢ beginning may indeed be feen a litde before Sun fet, in the moft northwefterly parts, sbout Caleéfornia 5 and the end, a litile after Sun- rife in the'moft porth eafterly parts, about Newfoundland. At Halifax, ¥ will be intirely over juft as the Sun is nfin_g. At Logifbiurg,the laft interior conta&t,whenVenus begins to pals off, willbe bu: one minute after Sun rile; and this is (i neareit piate 10 New Eagiund, whete Venas’sleaviog the Sun can be obferved. Both the beginning and end capnot be feen in any part of Ame- rica, but what is in 60 d. or upwards of north latitude. But it may juftly be doubted, whether in the places now fpecified, where the Traofit will be vifible, there be any perfon qualified to obfeive i The toregoing general celculation may be reduced to any other place, by sllowing the difference of meridiane. But in adspting this calculation to particular places, regard muft be had to the parallax of Veuns; that is, to the difference of her place on the Sun, when view’d from different parts of the earth, The effe of this paral- laix will be, thst in fome parts of the earth the whale Trnnfit will be of a fhorter ; in others,of a longer con- tinusnce, than according to the foregoing calcualation. Apd where only the beginning or end is vifible, they will l}:ppen fooner in fome places, and later in others, on this account. And it is by comparing thele differences together, that the Sun’s diftznce will be determin’d. It would be endlefs to particularile here : Two. or three inftances of this diverfity my ferve as a Ipecimen. In Lat. 32 N. and Long. 21 E. from hence, the time of Venus’s leaving the rifing Sun will not be al- ur.’d by parallax ; but will be the fame as in the fore- going calculation, ‘sllowing only -for the difference of meridians. To the fouthward of this, the time of this Phlfis will be later ; to the nerthward, earlier. Sothat in Lat. 47 S. it wilibe 8 » 26 /. later on this gccount ; but st Loxifbourg, 2 m. 31 /. fooner. If this emerfion .cou!d be obferved in the fetring Sun 1n 49 N. Lat. and under a meridian 7 and half 4. W. from heace, it would happen 8 z. 39 / fooner,’ on account of parallex. . The difference therefore betwern this oblervarion of the end, and chat juft mention’d in §. Lat. would be 17 m. 5 /. more than what is due to the difference of their mendi- ans : and this is the greatelt difference that can tske place.. The differences for any sflign’d places. may be found likewife by computation. Thefe conclufions are ¢ awnfrom the fuppotfiion that Venus’s parailsx is precilely of that quantity, which it has of late'years been generally fuppofed tobe: O her fuppofitions of the quantity of this parailax would lead to other conclufions as ta thefe differences of time. And converflly, when it fhall be found by the obfervations now to be made, what theie differerces of time adtuslly are, we fhall from thence colle@ what the juft quantity of this parallax is ! by which means,. the hitherto im- meaforable diftances of the beavenly bodies will at length be nicely alcertained. Joun WINTHROP. ) () oy Aol ) NN \ ] ) NN NN ) BASSETERRE, (inSt. Chriftophers) Feb. 23. His'Majefty’s Ship Levaor, Cept. Tucker, fent into St. John's in Antigua, the 17th lalant, a French Pa- vaieer of 1o Gans, . His Mejefty’s Saip Griffin, Capt. Taylor has fent in-a Dutch Sloop, bound for Martineco with Provifions. Some Piifoners from Martineco have broughtan Ac- count, that s new General, with two Fyigates are arri- ved there from Frarce. ‘ga the Prinser of the Si. Chriflipher’ s Gazette, IR, ~§~HE inclofed Létter is'a Copy of what I.wrote to ~ the Governor of Statis, which he did not think Wor:h his while to anfwer : Your giving it & Place in your Paper, wiil vindicate a Part that [ am determined to 8@ . and lav 2 great Obligedion upon, Yvur moft bumble Servant,- =~ Joun M'PuErsonN, O board the private Ship of War Britantia, Fan. 26, 1R, /5~ HE- Indignity done to my Covntry, and the Trju- ry intended to myfelf, on Wedne(day the zift Inft. | think, jultly intitles me to demand of you the Realon of fuch unprecedented and lawlels Proceed- ings. . «.[ fuppofe T need not inform your Honour, that in the Morning of the above mentioned Day, I brought to, two Veflels to Leewsrd of your J{land ; s foon as I found that they were Veiltls ob a fair Trade, I ac- quitted them : That foon after I {peke with two fmalt Vellels bourd to St. Martin’s, which I did not detain one Moment, but acqujtted them alfo ; all this happened in Sight of your Town snd Batieries, though not with. in Reach of your Guns: And that fome Time after [ was pifling pesceably aloog Sheie with my Colours Nuums. 226. { WEEKS firce thic Parsi ¥ was fisil publifbed. : GAZETTE. ; E:?faignv and Demeflick. hoifted, when your leeward Bittesy fired th ree poin blank Shot at my Ship.- Had they fiied from the Place & S you refide in, I effare you I fhould have y Complimeat : The Rezfon [ did not, was m;mb,:l!':v::; : it was done unknown (o you, and perhaps contrary to your Ordeis. And here I muft beg Leave to oblerve that I dely the bittercf Enemy I have in St. Eufiuin; to c_h-rge me with aninhuman or bad Adlion, or any Thirg contrary to the Law of Nations. I make no Doubt your Anfwer will prevent my firing three Shot into the firft Dutch Ship ¥ meet on the high Seas ; for I affure your Henor, had I loft « Maft or received other Damage, I thould have made Repl‘i(fl: on-the ek Velel [ met bound to or from Holland. Your Aniwer will much oblige, - Sir. your moff bumbie Servan:, OHN M’PHER:ON. SH‘;A LIFA )f(l’ in Nova-Scotis; March 26. unday morning l=ft his Msjefty’s Ship Fo Tonyn, arrived here trom Boft]on.y s _ The fame meorning ore Mary Bird, fell down desd in the ftreet, *tis faid fhe ufed ill by fome foldiers or {ailors, a2t a houfe in this tovra. - PHILADELPHTI A, March 26. By Capt. Roberfon, from St. Chriftophers, we- are informed, that juft before he failed, a priveteer came in and brought advice, that Commodore Douglas had tekena French 74 gun fhip, and a frigate ; and that he had burnt snother frigate at the Gremades. N E'W.Y OR K, March 30. It is reported that Capt. Koffler in a privateer from this port, has taken fix prizes and [ent them into Pro- vidence ; and that Capt. Deverix alfo of this port, was caft away on Gardner’s 1{lsnd, the : 8h irftapr. Extralt of a letter from Rbede Ifiard, dated Varch 234, 176v. to the owners of the letter of Marque [wip Duke of Cumberland, of this port. Captain Gregier. v e Ith infinite fatisfection [ lay hold of this firfk ¥ opportunity of congratulating you on the Duke of Cumberland’s good fuccefs, having this mo- ment lezrn’d from 2 prize-mafter, who bro’t in this day a Dutch fchooner, in zo days from the Mount, ‘That the Duke of Cumberland remain’d st the Mount, and in company With & man of war had taken and fent to Jamaica, a fhip Icaded with rich goods coming frem France, and bound into the Cape, under Swedes or Danes Colours, worth fixty thouisnd pounds ferl. snd will be a good prize : You may depend on this intel- lizence.” Saturday laft his M:j=fty’s flocp the Tamere, Capt. Lee, leftthis port direétly for Englard. ; NEW-LONDO N, March 27. Friday the 13th inft. & fmall Sloop with five men on board, bound from Ssg-harbour on Long Iflind, ta New- York, fprung s leak ; upon which the men run the Sloop on a bar near Setsuquet, and took to their beat ; but hy the largenefs of the (ea the boat fi'led and furk, when thiee of the five were drowned; the other twa preferved themfelves by means of a cheft they had in the boat. The names of the Perfons drowned, are, Pardon Munro, Jehiel Woodruft, and Samuel Fofter. Memorandum of one of the Englith Mafters lately returned from Martineco. Feb 15. 1761. At dufk we cime on board a flag of truce Schooner with 40 Mafters and Mates ; the Foremaft men we left confined in 2 clofe goal, with s fmall allowance of falt beef and bread for 24 hours, bad water to drick, nothing but ftones and boards to repofe on, snd many lice. B O S .T. OI!N, Aprl6. >Tis with Pleafure we can inform the Publick, that the Town is now entirely clear of the Swma// Pox, there not beirg one Perfon in it thet has thar Ditemper or the Symptoms of it. We hear from Braintree, that on Tuelday l:ft a Jarge Barn belonging to Mr. Veley of thst town, with a confiderabie quantity of hay therein, was conigmed by, fire. We have sdvice from the Weit Indies, that Captain Welfh in a Schoonsr from Surrinam for this place, was teken by & Fiench privateer the day after he came out of that river, and carried into St. Vincent’s. We hear fiom Salilbury, that lafk Friday the houfe sud barn of Licut, Henry Eaton of that place, toge- ther with the houfhold furniture, hay, &c. was con- fumed by fire ; alfo the town flock of powder, which was in the garret of faid houfe : The fire was‘accrfioned by fome fperks from the chimny which fell @n the top et the houle, - The General Court of this Province, in Order to provide for the Security-of bis Mz ijelty’s Dominions Ta North America. snd particularly of the Poficffon of his Misjefty’s Conquefls there, during the Abfence of fuch Pars of the Regular Forces as fhali be employed in ‘an Enterprize sgainit the Enemy, hath made Pravifion for raifing 3000 Men, to be formed inta three Regiments,’ u nder Command of Gentlemen of this Provinge, tohy; commillioned for that Purpofe, and (o b= puk uider ihe fapreme Command of General AMHER:T, ; Dus M.a a:ci9 Givs ull the FiekDiy of 7wy, 1762