The Virginia Gazette

[From the LONDON GAZETTE. ST. James's, June 29.

Early in the Morning, on Tuesday the 22d Instant, the KING set out from Kew, for Portsmouth; and being arrived at Portsea Bridge, between 10 and 11 o'Clock the same Morning, was received by a royal Salute of 21 Guns. His Majesty then proceeded to the first Barrier, where Major General Parker, who commanded the Garrison during the royal Residence at Portsmouth, delivered the Keys of the Garrison to the King, who was pleased to return them. On his Majesty's entering the Land Port Gate, he was Saluted by a triple Discharge of 232 Pieces of Cannon, mounted on the Ramparts of Portsmouth, at Blockhouse Fort, and at South Sea Castle.

His Majesty then proceeded through the Town, out at the Water Gate to the Dockyard, and arrived at the Commissioner's House ten Minutes before eleven o'Clock, where he was received by the President of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, the Lord Privy Seal, the Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty's Household, the first Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, the Secretaries of State, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the Treasurer and Commissioners of the Navy, the three Admirals of the Squadron at Spithead, and the Master and Lieutenant General of the Ordnance. The Artificers and Workmen belonging to the Yard, being all assembled before the House, gave three Cheers as his Majesty entered, and then immediately dispersed, and returned to their several Employments.

After his Majesty had taken some Refreshment, he went to the Governor's House in the Town, attended by the Nobility and Persons of Distinction, had a publick Levee, at which a great Number of the Officers of the Navy and Army were present, as also many Gentlemen of the Country, who, on this Occasion, came in to pay their Duty to his Majesty.

The Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town waited on his Majesty and presented the following Address.

To the KING's most Excellent MAJESTY.

May it please your Majesty,

We, the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Town of Portsmouth, humbly beg Leave to pay our Duty to your Majesty, and to congratulate your Majesty upon your Arrival in this Town.

Nothing can give us greater Joy and Satisfaction than to see your Majesty shewing so much Attention, and doing so much Honour, to the Glory and Bulwark of these Kingdoms. We desire to express the warmest Affection for your Majesty's Person and Government; and to offer our earnest Prayers that the Fleet may ever prove victorious under the Auspices of your Majesty, and your Royal Family, and redound to the Glory of the Sovereign of the British Empire.

They were all received very graciously, and had the Honour to kiss the King's Hand; after which his Majesty was pleased to confer the Honour of Knighthood on John Carter, Esquire, Mayor of Portsmouth.

When the Levee was over, his Majesty returned to the Dockyard, and at Half an Hour after one o'Clock embarked in a Barge, in which his Royal Standard was immediately hoisted. The Earl of Sandwich; First Commissioner of the Admiralty, the Earl Delawarr, Gold Stick, and Lord Robert Bertie, Lord of the Bedchamber in waiting, embarked in the same Boat with the King.

His Majesty then proceeded to Spithead, attended by the Barge of the Board of Admiralty, with the Flag of their Office, the three Admirals with their Flags, and all the Captains of the Fleet with their Pendants in their Barges.

As his Majesty passed the Garrison, he was saluted by a Royal Salute of twenty one Guns, from Blockhouse Fort, Saluting Platform, and South Sea Castle.

When the Royal Standard was seen from the Fleet at Spithead, which consisted of twenty Ships of the Line, two Frigates, and three Sloops, moored in two Lines abreast of each other, the whole manned Ship, and saluted with twenty one Guns each.

The King went on Board the Barfleur of 90 Guns, where he was received by the Board of Admiralty, the Captain being at the Head of the Accommodation Ladder, and the Sides manned by the Lieutenants of the Ships. As soon as his Majesty passed the Guard of Marines on the Quarter Deck, the Flag of the Lord High Admiral, which was flying, was struck, and the Royal Standard hoisted at the Main-Top Mast Head, the Lord High Admiral's Flag at the Fore Top Mast Head, and the Union Flag at the Mizen Top Mast Head. On Sight of which, all the Ships, except the Barfleur, saluted with twenty one Guns each. The Ship being cleared the same as for Action, and the Officers and Men at their respective Quarters, his Majesty, after the Nobility who came off upon this Occasion, and the Flag Officers, had paid their Duty to him on the Quarter Deck, walked fore and aft on the lower Gun Deck, and took a View of the Whole.

At Half an Hour after three o'Clock, his Majesty sat down to a Table of thirty Covers, at which many of the Nobility, and Persons of Distinction, as well as Officers of the Navy and Army of the Rank of Colonel and upwards, were admitted to the Honour of dining. After Dinner, the Queen's Health being drank, the whole Fleet saluted with twenty one Guns; and, upon his Majesty's retiring from Table, the King's Health was likewise drank with the like Salute. And the same was repeated every Day during his Majesty's Continuance at Portsmouth.

At six o'Clock his Majesty went into his Barge, attended by the Board of Admiralty, the Flag Officers and Captains, in the same Order in which they came, and passed along both the Lines of Ships (each Ship being again manned) giving three Cheers, and saluting separately with twenty one Guns, as the King passed by them.

His Majesty then went on Board the Augusta Yacht, where he was again received by the Board of Admiralty. The Royal Standard, with the Lord High Admiral's Flag, and Union Flag were immediately hoisted, as they had been on Board the Barfleur; and his Majesty sailed into the Harbour, the Ships at Spithead, and the Fortifications, saluting as upon his Majesty's coming out, and the Admirals and Captains attending him to the Harbour's Mouth; after which they returned to their respective Ships. His Majesty landed at the Dock a Quarter before nine o'Clock, and returned to the Commissioner's House, where he resided the whole Time of his Stay at Portsmouth.

Wednesday, June 23. At eight o'Clock this Morning, his Majesty began to view the Dockyard, the Ships building and repairing, and the Magazines. At eleven o'Clock his Majesty went into his Barge, attended by Commissioners of the Admiralty and Navy in their Barges, with the Flags of their respective Offices, and many of the Nobility in another Barge, and proceeded up the Harbour to view the Ships lying in ordinary. His Majesty went on Board three of those Ships, namely, the Britannia, a first Rate of 100 Guns, the Royal William, a second Rate of 84 Guns, and the Defiance, a third Rate of 64 Guns; and at Half an Hour after two went off to Spithead to dine on Board the Barfleur, attended by the Commissioners of the Admiralty, the Flag Officers and Captains in their Barges as before.

At six o'Clock in the Afternoon, his Majesty went from the Barfleur, on Board the Augusta Yacht, and sailed towards St. Helen's until near eight, and then stood in for the Harbour; but it falling calm, his Majesty left the Yacht, and was rowed to the Dock in his Barge, where he arrived at Half an Hour after nine, the Ships and Fortifications saluting, and the Flag Officers and Captains attending him to the Mouth of the Harbour, as they had done the Day before.

Thursday, June 24. His Majesty went to the Gun Wharf at six o'Clock in the Morning, where he was received by the Master General of the Ordnance, the Lieutenant General and principal Officers of that Department, and minutely viewed the Magazines, Artillery, and Stores.

His Majesty returned to the Dockyard at seven, and viewed such Part of the Yard, Magazines, and Works carrying on, as he had not seen before. At Half an Hour after ten, his Majesty, attended as before, by the Nobility and Commissioners of the Admiralty and Navy, went in his Barge on Board the Venus, a Frigate of 36 Guns, lying in Ordinary, where he was received by Captain Pitt, one of the Commissioners for victualling the Royal Navy, and the Officers of that Department, a royal Salute of 21 Guns being given from the Lines at Gosport; and, having viewed the Brewery, Cooperage, and Magazines, returned to the Dock.

After his Majesty had changed his Dress, he went to the Governor's House, and had another publick Levee.

At two o'Clock his Majesty went off to Spithead, in the same State as on the preceding Days, to dine on Board the Barfleur.

Vice Admiral Pye, having, in Pursuance of the King's Pleasure, been this Day promoted to the Rank of Admiral of the Blue, kissed his Majesty's Hand on the Quarter Deck, and, hoisting his Flag immediately on Board the Royal Oak, was, by the King's Permission, saluted by all the Ships present, except the Barfleur. The Admiral, in Acknowledgement of the Honour conferred upon him, saluted the Royal Standard with all the Guns on Board the Royal Oak.

His Majesty was at the same Time pleased to confer the Honour of Knighthood on Admiral Pye, as also upon Richard Spry, Esquire, Rear Admiral of the White; Captain Joseph Knight, of the Ocean, senior Captain in the Fleet at Spithead; Captain Edward Vernon, of the Barfleur; and Captain Richard Bickerton, of the Augusta Yacht, who had the Honour each Day to steer the King's Barge; and they had severally the Honour to kiss his Majesty's Hand upon the Quarter Deck, under the Royal Standard.

At Half an Hour after five o'Clock, his Majesty went from the Barfleur on Board the Augusta Yacht, attended as before, and having sailed through Part of the Line of Ships, stood into the Harbour, and landed at the Dock at Half an Hour after seven; the Flag Officers and Captains attending his Majesty in their Barges to the Mouth of the Harbour, and the Fortifications saluting as on the former Days.

Friday, June 25. His Majesty went from the Dockyard, at Half an Hour after five this Morning, to view the new Works and Fortifications at Portsmouth, beginning from the farthest Part of the Common, round to the saluting Platform.

At seven his Majesty returned to the Dock, embarked immediately on Board the Augusta Yacht, and sailed out of the Harbour, the Fortifications saluting as he passed. When the Yacht arrived at Spithead, Lord Edgcumbe, Vice Admiral of the Blue, with his Division got under Sail and followed his Majesty. When the Yacht and Men of War had passed the Buoys, the Vice Admiral came on Board, and having, by his Majesty's Command, been promoted to be Vice Admiral of the White, had the Honour to kiss his Majesty's Hand under the Royal Standard; and then, shifting his Flag, was, by his Majesty's Permission, saluted by all the Ships of his Division.

His Majesty proceeded as far as Sandown Bay, where the Standard was saluted by the Castle. The Wind then freshening, and the Tide being spent, the Yacht, with the Vice Admiral's Division, returned to St. Helen's and anchored.

At three Quarters past four the Yacht got under Way, and, the Wind still blowing fresh, worked up to Spithead, leaving the Vice Admiral and his Division to proceed to Plymouth, according to the Orders he had received. After the King had sailed along the Line of Ships remaining at Spithead, he stood towards the Harbour, and came to Anchor about Half a Mile within South Sea Castle, where his Majesty was attended by the Admiral, the Rear Admiral, and all the Captains and Lieutenants of the Fleet at Spithead, who had severally the Honour of kissing his Majesty's Hand. While the Yacht was at Anchor, the Ramparts of the Town, being lined with Land Forces and Marines, fired a feu de joye at ten o'Clock, by a triple Discharge of Cannon and Musquetry all round the Works; immediately after the Yacht weighed, proceeded into the Harbour, and landed his Majesty at the Dock, at Half an Hour after ten o'Clock.

The King was this Day pleased to grant the Dignity of a Baronet of Great Britain unto Hugh Palliser, Esquire, Comptroller of his Majesty's Navy, and unto Richard Hughes, Esquire, Comptroller of his Majesty's Navy, residing at Portsmouth; and also to direct, that the Commanders of the Wasp, Speedwell, and Hazard Sloops at Spithead, be promoted to the Rank of Post Captains of his Majesty's Fleet; the Lieutenants commanding the Greyhound and Arrow Cutters in Portsmouth Harbour, the First Lieutenant of the Barfleur, the Lieutenant of the Augusta Yacht, where the Royal Standard has been hoisted, and the First Lieutenants of the Flag Officer Ships, &c. the Royal Oak, Dublin, and Ocean, to be promoted to the Rank of Commanders; and two Midshipmen, from each of those Ships and Yachts, to be made Lieutenants.

In all the Processions before mentioned, both to Spithead and back again, a very great Number of Yachts and other sailing Vessels and Boats, many of them full of Nobility and Gentry, accompanied the Barges, as well as the Augusta Yacht, while the King was on Board.

The Shores, both on the Portsmouth and Gosport Side, were lined with an incredible Multitude of People, who all expressed their Loyalty and Duty as his Majesty passed along, by saluting with Guns, Acclamations, and other Demonstrations of Joy. And the Houses both in the Town of Portsmouth and on the Common, as well as at Gosport, were illuminated every Evening during his Majesty's Stay.

His Majesty was pleased to express his highest Approbation of the good Order and Discipline of the Fleet, the excellent Condition of the Dockyard, Arsenals, and Garrison; and the Regularity with which every Thing was conducted, and shewed the utmost Satisfaction at the Demonstrations of Loyalty and Affection with which he was received by all Ranks of People.

Saturday, June 26. His Majesty set out from the Commissioner's House, on his Return to Kew, at three Quarters after six o'Clock, having been graciously pleased to order the following Sums to be distributed, namely, to the Artificers, Workmen, and Labourers of the Dockyard, Victualling Office, and Gun Wharf, 1500l. To the Companies of the Barfleur and Augusta Yacht, and the Crew of his Majesty's Barge, 350l. To the Poor of Portsmouth, Portsea, and Gosport, 250l. His Majesty was also pleased to make some other smaller Gratuities, and to release the Prisoners confined in Portsmouth Jail for Debt.

His Majesty was saluted by a triple Discharge of all the Cannon round the Fortifications as well as those of South Sea Castle and Block House Fort, and by a Salute of 21 Guns on passing Portsea Bridge. Many Thousands of People attending the Chaise, with the loudest Acclamations, to the End of the Mayor's Jurisdiction. And at every Place, through which his Majesty passed, there were the strongest Demonstrations of Joy; at Godalming, a Band of Music, accompanied by the Voices of all the Inhabitants, Sung GOD SAVE THE KING the whole Way through the Town; at Guildford, the Street was lined with the Inhabitants, and the Gentry, who were assembled at one of the publick Houses, saluted his Majesty as he passed with the Colours of the Town.

Throughout the whole of his Majesty's Journey there were numerous Assemblies of People in every Place where he passed, expressing, in the warmest Manner, their Duty and Affection, and their Joy at seeing their Sovereign among them.

About two o'Clock, in the Afternoon, the King arrived in perfect Health at Kew.