much exertion disengaged himself, and seizing one of the hatches, jumped into the sea. The wind blowing a strong breeze, the vessel soon left him to his precarious fate, where he remained about three hours, when he was taken up by the schooner Eliza Stoddard, of Hingham, in an almost lifeless condition from wet and cold." [Footnote 65: Thomas Heath, who left a wife and two children in this town.] The vessel was captured and brought into Halifax, and Jordan and his wife placed on their trial before a special commission for the trial of piracies on the high seas on 15th November. The Commission of Judges who sat on this occasion were Lieut.-Gen'l Sir Geo. Provost, Vice Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, Chief Justice Blowers; Councillors, Butler, Wallace, Brenton, Hill, Uniacke and Morris; Capt. Lloyd, R. N., Capt. Lord James Townshend, R. N. and Capt. Simpson, R. N., Sir Samuel Hood George, Provincial Secretary, T. N. Jeffery, the Collector of Customs. Doctor Cooke, the Admiralty Judge, refused to attend because the Commissioners would not allow him precedence of the Governor with a veto on the proceedings of the Court. No jury was called under this commission. Jordan was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, which sentence was carried into execution on the beach some distance below Fresh Water Bridge, and the body was afterwards gibbeted on the shore some distance further down. The wife was acquitted, and a subscription was raised in the town to send her to Ireland. Dr. Burke, the Roman Catholic clergyman, Dr. Archd. Gray, minister of St. Matthew's, and Dr. Stanser, Rector of St. Paul's, acted as a committee for the purpose. The court assembled again a short time after, for the trial of the mate, Kelly, who was convicted, but afterwards pardoned.[66] [Footnote 66: A report of these trials was published in 1810 by Mr. Bagnall at the office of the newspaper called the "Novator," taken from the notes of two students at law, Charles R. Fairbanks, afterwards Master of the Rolls, and Andrew W. Cochran, who for many years was Secretary of the Province of Lower Canada and member of Council.] This being the 50th year of the reign of King George III, a jubilee was celebrated at Halifax on the 23rd October, with great ceremony. The market slip, the new fish market and meat market were all repaired and improved this year at the cost of £571, £500 of which had been voted by the Assembly for the purpose. The taxes gathered in the town for liquor licenses in 1809 amounted to £1400. The Fire Insurance Association of Halifax was established on 24th April, 1809. The first directors were Andrew Belcher, Charles Hill, Lawrence Hartshorne, Foster Hutchinson, James Fraser, George Grassie and H. H. Cogswell. Mr. J. H. Fliegar was secretary and the office was kept in his house in Hollis Street, where it continued to be kept for a great many years. He was succeeded by Mr. William Newton, at whose death Mr. Tremain was appointed.