| March 24th. [this is written in the margin opposite this commentary on the year sw] A year remarkable for the scarcity & excessive dearness of all sorts of Butcher's meat in this part of the kingdom, and indeed all the kingdom over London excepted; A year likewise remarkable for plundering and oppressing the people with excessive taxes by those very people (now at the helm of Affairs ) who for severall years had been declaiming [the remainder of this entry is written right across the page, margin included sw] against Walpole's Administration. and are now takeing larger strides that ever he did, 7000000 of pounds being raised this year & the last to [p sw]rocure satisfaction from Spain for their insults & depredations, while [f sw]or these 18 months last past every thing has continued in a State of in - [? sw]ction [Nesta Evans gives 'inaction' sw]: 15000 Hanoverian troops pd. by the English for appearing in defence of their own Countrey, and pd. for 10 months before they came ^to the^ field |
Here beginneth the year 1743. March 25th. The Wind W. & by N. in the morning makeing severall showers of hail before day & afterwards about 2 in the Evening it begun to rain & Sleet in Earnest which brought the Wind to E. and continued that sleet & rain all the rest of the day & for most part if not all the night. the ground exceeding wett! |
| 26th. The Wind S.S.W. blowing fresh & raining hard till 7 when it was something abated; begun again abt. 10 & rained without intermission till 7 at night; when the wind came to W. & from thence to the N. from whence – it blew a rank storm all night. |
| 27th. The Wind N. blowing very high, but sun shiny & dry; – the Priest preached on Lamen. Chap.3d. vers 40th. a very Lam– –entable Sermon . |