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From the National Inteligr.iccr. BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN WILKES. ( Cmiinixd.) <l About a week after he suddently with drew to France ; a retreat which prudence, riot ti midity, occasioned. His circumstances were much involved, and, though fcarl< ‘ . to encoun ter any peril, by which reputation was to be gained, he yet thought it wise to avoid the risk of suffering those more private claims, against which no honor could be acquired. From Pa ris where he sought an asylum, he certified to the speaker of the house of commons, l>y the signature of the physician of the king of Fanre, and other gentlemen, his confinement to his loom, and the impossibility, from hi , state of health, of his venturing to undertake the jour ney back to England. U utisfied, of course, with the neglect with which the house had passed over his complaint of privilege, he how ever had sufficient ground for triumph in the verdict found for him in the court of common pleas. He had early brought his action against .Robert Wood esq. the undersecretary of state, for the seizure of bis papers, as the supposed author of the North Britain. It was tried,, be fore a special jury, on the Olh of December, nnd 1000/damages were given. The charge to the jury, delivered by lord chief justice Pratt, concluded thus :—This warrant hs un constitutional, illegal and absolutely void ; it is a general warrant, directed to four messengers, to take up any persons, without naming and describing them with any certainty, and to ap prehend them, together with their papers; If it he good, a secretary of state can delegate nnd depute any of the messengers, or any even from tho lowest of people, to take the examin ations, to commit, or to release, and to do every act which the highest judicial officers the law ltnows, can do, or order. There is no order in our law books that mentions these kinds of warrants, hut several that in express words condemn them. Upon the maturcst considera tion, I am hold toaay, that this warrent is illegal; i hut 1 am far from wishing a matter of this eon sequence to rest solely on my opinion ; 1 am only one of twelve, whose opinions 1 am de sirous should be taken in this matter, and 1 am ] very willing to allow myself to be the meanest of the twelve. There is still a higher court before which this matter may he canvascsd, wild whose determination is final; and here I cannot help obsci viug the happiness ofourcon sitution m admitting these appeals in conse quence of which material points are determin ed on the most mature consideration, and with the greatest solemnity. To this admirable de lay of the law (for in this case the law’s delay may lie stiled admirable) I believe it is chiefly owing that vve possess the best digested, and most excellent body of law, which any- nation on the face of the globe, whether ancient or mo dern, could ever boast. If these higher ju risdictions should declare my opinion errone ous, I submit, as will become me, and kiss the rod ; but I must sav, I shall always consider it as a rod of it on for the chastisement of the peo ple of Grtat-lh itaiu.” On the 11th of March the public were awak ened by the following address: “ To the liverymen of the city of Lmtlon. “ Gentlemen and Fellow-Citizens, “ In deference to the opinion of some very respectable friends, I presume to otter my self a candidate for my native city of London, at the ensuing general election. The approbation you have lx.-on pleased on several occasions to express of my conduct, induces me to hope that the address, 1 have now the honor of ma king to you, will not be unfavorably received.— The chief merit with you gentlemen; 1 know to be a sacred love of lilwity, and of those ge nerous pcineiples, which at first gave and have since secured to this nation the great character of freedom. I will yield to none of. my coun trymen in this noble zeal, which has always characterised Englishmen. 1 may appeal to my whole conduct, both in and out of parlia ment, for the demonstration that such princi ples are deeply rooted in my heart and that I have steadily pursued the interests of my coun try, without regard to the powerful enemies 1 created, or the manifest dangers in which I must thence be necessarily involved; and that 1 have fulfilled the duties of a good subject.- The two important questions of public liberty, respecting general warrants and the seizure of papos may perhaps place ntc among those who have deserved well of mankind, by an un daunted firmness, perseverance, and probity; these are the virtues which your ancestors never failed to exert in the same national cause of liberty, and the world will see. renewed in their descendants on every great call of frcc dtmi and our country. The nature and digni ty of the trust, gentlemen, which 1 >aw solicit, strikes me very forcibly. I feel the warmest zeal for your interests and aflcction for your service. lam conscious how unequal my abi lities are, yet fidelity and integrity shall in some measure compensate that deficiency, and I will endeavor through life to merit the continu ance of your nppohution ; the most precious re ward to which I aspire. If lam honored w ith so near a relation to you, it will be my ambiti on to be u refill, to dedicate myself to your ser vice, and to discharge with spirit and assiduity, the various and important duties of the distin guished station in which I nuiy he placed bv the favor of you, gentlemen of the livery of London. I am, with the utmost respect, your most faithful and obedient, humble servant, JLreA 10, 17M,” JOHN WILK.ES. Nothing could well be mere auventurou than this declaration. Biokcn in fortune, out lawed, two convictions upon record against him, should that outlawry be reversed, the throne and its ministers arrayed in opposition to him, unsupported as heretofore by connec tion with the great, with nothing on his side hut the favor of the multitude—relying upon that favor and animated win an undaunted spi rit. of energy, lie took his stand, anti dared his antagonists to remove him. This stand was not made unadvisedly. His letter of submis sion to the king was written on the 4th of March, his address to the liverymen of London on the 10th of the same month. It was pro bably intended as prelusive to the course upon which he had determined. It was not the mere populace only that supported him. He was looked up to by the middle ranks of society as a martyr for their rights. The fate of the let ter in no way could have been other than of ad vantage to him. If received with benignity, and fit., pardon granted, from many of his clifli - cultics he would have instantly been relieved. Couched in terms of humility to the sovereign, yet as is still arraigned the lormer servants of the crown, he perhaps scarcely expected it would be treated otherwise than it was. It un noticed, or rejected, as the enmity home to wards his person and his cause would be more apparent, his claim upon the affection of the people would of course be strengthened. His outlawry was lie knew, no bar to his return to parliament. Precedents of outlaws sitting as representatives existed at once precise and nu merous. The love of the people vas his ; to that lie trusted, and through that he triumphed. He threw himself into their embrace, and it at length bore him safely to shore— * /iraece/:s sal! a oese emnibui arris In fuviurn dedite idle uno cum gurgitrfavo AccefUit venientem , ac mollibus cxtulc uluis * “ The election for the city of London took place on the 16th. Six candidates started along with him, and though finally tho lowest in number on the poll, lie yet had arespectable minority of votes. Battled in the city he de clared himself a candidate of the county. The sympathy of popular opinion in Bie interval spread from man to man. The beacon On one liiil was answered by the flame knitted on the next. They were friendly siguiis, that the country was in arms for his detente. He car ried his election for Middlesex on Monday the 28th, against ‘.wo gentlemen.of large property and hereditary interest, and caned it by a great majority. The whole pull was conduc ted with the greatest regularity and order, nor was the least violence offered ;o the voters of cither party. Mr. Wiikcr., on the 22d, a week previous to the day of election tor Middlesex, wiote to tlio solicitor of the treasury, intimating his inten tion, in the ensuing term, to appear personally at the court of king’s bench. Mr. \Vilkes ful filed his engagement, and no sooner had finish ed tho add. ess in which he surrendered him self up to the discretion of the court, than the attorney general moved for his instant commit ment upon the outlawry Mr. attorney general ( riiuriow) was replied to by Mi. Serjeant Glynn and other counsel, who moved on their part for a writ of error: it had before then been demanded of the law-otticers of the crown and had been refused. Lord Mansfield and the rest of the judges concurred that they could not commit upon ci voluntary appearance; The attorney general could not with- the least ap pearance of reason or law move for the com mitment of a person who was not legally be fore them ; nor had the counsel for the defen dant any better plea for their motion in favor of a man who appeared in court gratis;” Both partis were dismissed, (i'll the 27th at noon, Mr. Wilkes was served with a writ of capias utlagatum , and in about a week after, writs of error were allowed. Bail offered in behalf of Mr. Willkts, was rejected by the attorney ge neral, and he consequently ordered to the king’s bench prison. The uproar of the muttitude during these events, amt tile armed prepara tions and military precaution of the ministry arc well known. Mr. Wilkes’s letter of thanks to the electors of Middlesex on his being cho sen their representative, was written to them from prison, on the sth of May. The argu ment upon the outdaw-ry was heard m>oti the 7th of the same month, and on the 9th of June in the following tcrm.it Was finally reversed. The outlawry reversed, objections were next taken to the verdicts found against him. A mongst others one Was vehemently urged on the ground of the informations having been ut tered by lord Mansfield, without the consent of the solicitor or the defendant, the evening pre vious to the trial. The wort! tenor was substi tuted for purport. That it was altered without the consent of the defendant’s agent is true; but in none but a political cause would a prac titi . icr of experience have withheld his con sent. The objections were overruled ; and be was sentenced, for rc-printhig and publishing the North Briton, No. 45, to pay a fine of 5001. and finning already been imprisoned two) to a con finement of ten mouths longer. For publish ing the Essay on Woman his sentence was to pay a second fine of 5001. and to be imprisoned for another twelve month. lie was at the ex piration of these terms to find securities tor his future conduct during seven years, lnniself un der a penalty of IOC , 1. his sureties in 5001. each. This judgment was far milder than had been expected by the public : and it is said in deed ’hat Mr. Wilkes might, had he chosen so to do, have certainly made, at this period, his peace with government. A negotiation was opened w ith him upon the subject, with the knowledge of the duke of Grafton (the prime minister), and gne condition cniy was proposed to fifir., in which F.c refwwcf ti dr.r.aT'. Mr. Wilkes declared, on th.. 3d of November, to the freeholders of Middlesex, that he should shortly present to the House cf Commons a petition relative to his case, upon which lie should demand their decision.. This, admir.i r nation foresaw, would necessarily involve in its discussion all the transactions of the late Par liament. The condition therefore proposed, upon which he was to take his seat unimpeded, was, that his petition should not he presented. A pledge, however, be conceived had been given to the contrary, and from this public pledge lie resolved not to withdraw. The pe tition was laid before the House on the follow ing day by Sir J. Mawbey. It was received as the declaration of a second war. On the 10th of May the popr.lr.ee had as sembled in great numbers about the neighbor hood of the king’s bench prison, where .Mr. Wilkes was in confinement. T iic notact was lead by the justices of Surrey, and the mob not dispersing, the military was imprudently ordered to fire : several persons were slightty wounded, and some more seriously, and one was kitted on the spot. Lord Weymouth, the secretary of state, had written to the magis trates a letter dated April 17th, exhorting them to firmness in the suppression of any popular tumult which might arise: and lord Barring ton, the secretary at war, returned written thanks after the fatal 10th of May, in the name of His majesty, to the officers and soldiers of the regiment of guards which had been em ployed upon the occasion. T hese two letters were transmitted to the newspapers by Mr. Wilkes, accompanied with some prefatory re marks, in which he termed the unhappy trans action a massacre. Os these remarks he avow ed himself, at the bar of the House of Corn mons, to he the author. The remarks were voted libellous, and he, as the author of them, was expelled. If the people were irritated be fore, they were still more irritated now. If Mr. Wilkes was dear to them before, he was now endeared to them tenfold. If before the voice ol'the county.of Middlesex was favorable to him, it was now wholly his own ; it uttered no sound but that of his name, unless it was the cry, ‘Liberty,’ which echoed far ..ml wide, was considered as almost synonymous with ‘ Wilkes.’ He Was re-chosen on the i£th Fe bruary, without opposition. On the following day he was declared by a majority of the House of Commons incapable cf being elected into that Parliament, and the election was vacated. This was assuming at Once that the expulsion of a member of Parliament was equivalent to exclusion ; and that a single branch cf the le gislature could controui by its fiat the choke of electors, however explicitly declared. But it-rested not here. On the 17tii of February, the day after his re-election, Mr. Wilkes was again expelled, the House resolving that lie was incapable cf being elected into that Parlia ment. Notwithstanding this resolution, he was a third time elected again without opposi tion ; a Mr. Dinglcy indeed ottering himself as a candidate, but not- obtaining a single free holder even to nominate him. That election was also, on the next day, declared void. On the 13th of April, Mi’. Wilkes Was, a fourth time elected, by a majority of 1143 votes, a gainst Mr. kuttreil, who had only 296. The same day the House ol Commons resolved, ‘ That Mr. Luttrcll ought to have been return ed.’ On the 29th of April a petition was pre sented by Sir George Saville, from tho. free holders of Middlesex, declaring that their in tention was not, in voting for Mr. Wilkes, to throw away those votes, or wave their right of representation, and praying therefore against the return of Mr. Luttrelb Notwithstanding which it was finally determined on the Bth of May, ‘ that Mr. Luttrcll was duly elected’ Mr. W’s. contests, like the battles of Homer, arose one above the other in progressive ma jesty. Not within the walls of tho legislative assemblies only was it fought, but without al so ; in the Wider plains of literature, of general intellect, and general feeling. In this, his fiercest and most important fight, the immor tals descended into the war. The gravity of Johnson, biassed bv its favorite political pre possessions, brought forward to the aid of pow er its impressive weight. The sage Black stone. with his book of wisdom, the characters of whkh were attempted to be read against him, supported also the cause of ministers. Burke, more subtle, if less vehement than in latter days, broke his lance in defence of po pular right; Burke, supporting as utility seem ed to him to require, the people or the throne ; and turning, like the poet’s feigned Almanzor, in favor of the weaker side, the scale of for tune. Above all, the fiery and the rapid Ju nius, in dazzling armour, but-his beaver down, coursed along the lists, scattering lightnings round him. Nor were the thunders rolled it. the senate? less-awful'than the eloquence ofthe press. Lord Chatham, how much soever he had once personally condemned Mr. Wilkes, was now, with the fullness of his great soul, of his party ; for his party was that of the consti tution. He quoted Lord Somers and Lord Holt ; “ he catted them honest men, who knew and loved the English constitution. I’ vow to God (to lord Mansfield, who defended the measures of the majority,) I vow to God, I thank your lordship equals them both in abili ties. The house of lords is privileged to in terfere, in the case of an invasion of the peo ple’s liberties ; and the case of the county of Middlesex is a case of such invasion.*’ To the vote of the 17th of February, 1769, wisely and fortunately no resistance was made but the resistance of logic and complaint ; the nnirmcr was loud and long, but vented itself in the legal mode permitted and justified by the constitution. The petitions presented to pa;litim3nt were, hv Lord Chatham, styled honorable and manly , by the partfsafis of ministers seditious, by some of them even trea sonable. (To be concluded in our next.J From the liichmond Enquirer. A nation that would avoid war, fhonld be prepared fur it. V. Manufactory of Arms. —This splendid establishment, the ornament and pride of Vir ginia. deserves to he particularly known to our countrymen. The ennu. 1 report of its enligh tened superintendant have already informed them ‘<f the kind-and quantity ci arms annually manufactured there; but no account has yet been published, of the admirable machinal y ‘‘ Jt which it works these effects. Under an ini-’ prassron, therefore, that seme 3ttch information would be both amusing and instructive, we havd determined, amidst the present drought ofotlw cr matters, to lay the following description oi it before ocr readers. The Virginia manufactory of arms'is'situat ed on the James river navigation canai, at i; entrance into the city of Richmond ; which canal is capable at all seasons of furnishing an abundant supply of water foronerating the ma chinery for sav illg manual labour, in tl. e various, branches of the work. As the manufactory af for lsa fall of 51 feet (perpendicular) from the: canal to the l iver, which arc about two hundred’ and twenty yards asunder; this site possessed the advantages of a navigation by batteaux nF about two hundred miles above ; and by sea vessels into the ocean, about two hundred miles below. I>y means of this navigation, all’the raw ma terials proper forthe fabrication cf arms of. eve ry description (which are afforded in the most prclr.se abundance on this river) ar? brought to the door ol the wctrksrat an easy and cheap* rate. This manufactory was designed for the fabrication of every species of small arms, as• well as all kinds of ordnance, proper for the held, fortifications,’ and the equipment of na vies; and being placed on the declivity of a. bill, in a healthy situation, possesses the bene fits cf a free circulation of fresh air to all its parts, while it is secure from attacks by a na val force, and never impeded in its operations by the inundations of the river. The fall is so extensive, that the same water is used three several times in its descent from the cahal.ta the river ; the first and second operations are applied to the machinery for making small arms ; and the third to the boring and turning of erd* nance. The buildings are constructed to suit the three operations of water above-mentioned ; the walks, are substantially made of stone and brick; and the whole so connected as to makes one uniform building; which surrounds an.ex tensive area or open court. ‘Flic north frontis three hundred and ten feet in length, re twenty four in breadth, with the principal gate-way and balfry in its centre ; it borders on the ca nal so as to receive raw materials with the great est convenience from the bouts which navigate- it. 1 lie apartments of the lower story arc appro priated to tlte storing of materials; and to work shops; and those of the upper story, to stock ing and finishing muskets; rifles, swards and pistols: To each extreme of this front, a wing cotw sisting of three buildings is attached at right- an gles thereto ; the bases of which are ol different elevations, and suited to the three operations of water as above. To southern enuremites of these wings (each to which is an hundred and seventy-two ifcet long) polygonal buildings are attached. These being built on a circle, enclose the yard, and form the south front, in the centre of which, is placed the Founclary for cannon, and adjacent thereto, the mill or machine forthe boring and turning the ct.f. The lower apartments of this front are design ed for cooking, washing See. and the apartments irr the upper story for habitations for the arti ficers. Ibe wa'er for oporatirtg the machinery is taken from the canal in two distinct streams, winch are carried by subterraneous passages into each respective wing; where all the opera tions of the machtnery, working by water for . saving manual labour are carried on. Tha water is first applied to four overshot water wheels, two of which are placed in each wing;, and the machinery attached to them is precise ly similar in each wing; being designed for similar operations. Those four water wheels*, to which every simple machinery is attached forthe purpose, operate 28 bellows; 12 grind stones; the works for rough and smooth loot ing musket, rille and pistol barrels; the works, for polishing, drilling, milling of screws and sundry other operati.ors; also, two simple en gines on the chain pump principle, fcrxelerat ing water into reservoirs, standing in the roofs ot the btiilcliugs; from which it may be con veyed throughout the interior of the works, with a view to secure- them against accidental fires. After performing these several operations,, the two streams of water are conveyed from under those w heels, by subterraneous culverts, to two tilt hammer forges; one of which is placed at the suthern extremity of each'wing ; where the second operation of the water is performed on two breast water-wheels, which work the hammers for heating out the bar-iron into proper form for ah the purposes cf making small arms, and of rendering the iron mare rough and malleable ; and also a machine for cutting with great case, the largest bar-iron, into such pieces as are required for the various parts of arms: and it is intended, that a ma chine to be operated by this second fall of wa- I’m, shall fc'e erected for cutting with great*