The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-02-18 00:00:00, page 2

f%iis, may it pieafe four Majelty, notwithftanmng
frour assertions to toe contrary, it is clear to a mathema
tical demorifl ration, and your Majesty knows nothing
cap be clearer, that the Court of France did not " dtjtu^b
the public tranquil,,---nor violate “ the faith of treaties
and the general rights of fovereigns,' —nor fend a "clan
destine (apply o, arms to North-America." -- or did she
commit " open booties and depredations on voter jaitlful
fah?e?s, and adwhy invade,our dominions,' until after
you had adu^y commenced the war against her, by cap
turing the Licorne And the Pallas, two bl her frigates.
, Indeed, so far was the Court of Fr ince from even wifh
ioa "to Tftutbtie pu die tranquility," existing between
her and the Court ofGreat-Britain; or to violate " the
faith of treaties and the general riguts of sovereigns," that
five weeks after she had entered into t.ofe engagements
owhich you complain, she caused her Ambassador, the
Marquis deNoailles, among other tilings to decide to
your Court, that " the United States of North-America
w m are in 'full possession of independence as pronounced
by them on the 4 th of July, 1776, having proposed to the
K'n^ to confolidateby a formal Convention,the connection
begun to be # eftablifhed between the two nations, the ref
peThve Plenipotentiaries have signed a treaty of friendship
and commerce, designed to serve as a foundation for their
mutual good correspondence.
“ His Majesty being determined to cultivate the good
under/?.ending fulfilling between France and Great Britain
by every means compatible with his dignity, and the good
of his sub eds, thinks it necessary to make this proceeding
known to the Court of London, and to declare at the fame
time, tout the contrasting parties have paid great atten
tion not to stipulate any exclusive advantages in favor of
the French nation ; and that the United States have reserv
ed the liberty of treating with every nation whatever, up
on the fame footing of equality and reciprocity.
“ In making this communication to the Court of Lon
don the King is firmly persuaded she will find new proofs
of his Majesty's conflant and sincere disposition for peace ;
and that ids Britannic Majesty animated by the fame sen
timents, will equally avoid every thing that may alter
their good harmony."
This friendly and magnanimous declaration, bore date
the 1310 of Marchlaft ; but what was your Majefty'scon
dud thereupon ? Why, on the 17th of the fame month you
lent a thundering message to your Parliament, acquainting
them o r tiris declaration — that you had sent orders to your
Ambassador at the Court ofFrance to return from thence
and that you was " determined to be prepared to exert,
if it shall become necessary, all the force and resources of
your kingdoms" against that nation. Thus, Sir, by with
drawing your Ambassador, and fending that message, you
ibfolutcly made a rupturnn your good understanding and
correfpohdence with France ; and cut off the very means
by explanation, of preventing open hostilities being injiant
h conlwnced against you by th it Court, in consequence of
your message to your Parliament, declaring to the whole
world your resentment, and that you reserved
to yourfelf tojudge ofthe time when you would exert "all
the force and resources of your kingdoms " against her.
Now, I fay, id this fituatiori of affairs, France was under
no obligation to fit hill, until you^had matured your pre
parations to exert "all the force and resources of your
king loms" against her, when it might be too late for her
to refill them' On the contrary, the law of nations, "the
general rights pf overeigns,"and the example of the King
of Pruffli in his invasion of Saxony, as I have already
mentioned, clearly, fully and decidedly authorized the
Court of France, inftmtly to commence open hostilities
Against ‘ ail the force and resources of your kingdoms," to
incapacitate you from "exerting" them against her. And
had France 'done so, as he did not, her right to do so,
must have been acknowledged by all the world. However,
your Mijefty, not altogether neglecting the refped yen
owe to your Royal charafter and the judgment of man
kind, has not charged thafCourt with commencing, buten
ly with committing open hostilities, depredations and in
vasion. This is a fad undoubtedly. But be it also re
memoered, that that Court committed open hostilities a
gainst you, only after you had actually commenced them
against her. And yet your Royal Majesty "hath not
forborne" to declare and to com,iain, "that in the time of
profound peace without pretence of provocation or colour
of complaint, the Court of France hath not forborne to
disturb the public tranquility in violation of the faith of
treaties, and the general rights of sovereigns, at firft, by"
doing that which,e did not . "afterwards, by " doing
what under the law of nations and the general rights of
sovereigns, ^e bad authority to do, "and at length, by
committing open hoftilit es and depredations on your
faithful fubjeds, and by an actual invahon of your domi
nions," after you hqd captured above one hundred fail of
French merchantmen, after you had actually captured ^
French frig tes, attacked a third, the Belle Ptule, and
thereby actually made open war against France! 0! King !
what will tills world cometo!
But, Sir, considering the terms in which you complain
of the Court of France, mankind cannot but exped a cor
tefponding conduct on your part: and any difpointment,
naturally leads them to reason back from effects to cau
fesk The outrage upon your Crown and honor, of which
you so loudly complain, demanded nothing lets on your
part, th in an instant declaration of war. You have made
no such declaration, and only one cause, can in the nature
of things, be aligned for that silence—you are confeious,
that you are not in a condition to enter intoa declared
fiate of war with the Court of France.—This conclusion is
too evident to be masked; and a man must blink and
wink indeed, not to fee it. N y, with all your Royal
caution, you not only cannot conceal it, but you cannot
avoid expreffin^ it yourfelf. Having raflily pronounced
a Philippic against the grand monarque, feeling your in
ternal weakness, and too late sensible of your temerity,
you immediately, in your next words, declare that you
are " desirous to fee a re ftoration of the blessings of peace."
—How are the mighty fallen ! —You evidently tremble at
a view " of other powers, however fri nd!y and sincere
their profeffions, however just and honorable their pur
poses." Nor, seated on your throne, clad in your Royal
rones surrounded by your nobles, and encompassed by
your guards in your very capital, do you presume to
name fr e powers you fear! You, Sir, who wduld have
shack ed America, at length dare not exercise even the
freedom of speech ; least you offend powers and accelerate
attacks, which in an agony, you know you cannot resist
or repel I—Nay, they even look you into silence!
May it pleale your Majesty, how has it happened, that you
fay so iittie as you do of North-America! You just scatter nine
and thirty words among tie Thirteen U ited States. Three
wor s to each are but small marks of your Royal grace ano fa
vou But perhaps as you are a pious prince, you had in view
the thirty-nine a tie es of the church of Ergland, and you re
gulated yourfelf by that scale. Or perhaps you have now re
set red yourfelf on the fubjed of North-America, that with the
better grace you may be more explicit and at large in the trea
ty which is to terminate the war and secure the independence
of the United States. It is time your Majesty considered the
affairs ot this continent upon a more liberal footing, than you
have yet done. Nor is it of any consequence to tell your Par
liament that " it would have afforded you very great fatisfac
tion to have informed them that the conciliatory matures
p anned by the wisdom and temper es Parliament, had taken
the,defoed elfed and brought the troubles in North-America so
a happy conclusion." Thg were in no doubt upon that point
as they knew those measures were really planned by your Ma
jesty. Mr- Fox, in your House of Commons, exprtfs yin an
swer to your Royal speech, declares they were not planned by
Parliament, Nay, he avers " it was a libel apaind Parliament
to charge them with" those measures. Yeur Majesty, no doubt
muff remember the principles upon which Solomon adjudged
the child to one of the two women who claimed it. Upon the
fame principles do 1 determine between your Maj Ry and Mr.
Fax. You speak of those measures with all the fee ing# of a
parent.— Mr. Fox, as a member of Parliament, shews net the
least degree of tenderness for them. It muff be, Royal Sir, a
little disagreeable to your Majesty, to find yourfelf in a litiga
tion, in which the principle oljudgment is so pointedly against
you, and drawn from so high an authority as not only the wi- '
fell of kings but of mankind.
But to return. Just as you enter upon this great fubjed of
North-America, you at once flop short as if lick of it. So, a
timid patient wbe mud undergo an amputation of his right
arm ; reluctantly extending it to the knife, flops Ihort to pro
crartinate the painful moment in which he is to lefe bis molt
precious limb. But Sir, the tituatibn of your affairs calls "so
loudly upon you for ycur mort aflive exertions, that I cannot
doubt of your heartiest concurrence" in the necessary, though
to you, painful operation of amputating America fiom Gieat-
Britain, For this falntary purpose the deficiencies in your
Majesty's speech might to be supplied, Sind a meflage to your
Parliament and tell them that your fleets and armies are unable
to recover to you the dominion of the United States—that your
Cemmiffioners have returned equally unfuccefsful in the fame
attempt —that the United States set at defiance, " the vigour
ofyour Councils and the conduce and intrepedity ofyour offi
cers and forces by sea and land." —that Fence has made com
mon cause with the United States against you—that you firm
ly believe Spain ad the whole house of Bourbon will do the
fame before the next campaign—that you have not been able to
form any connection with Ruffs, Prussia, Holland or any o
therpower, so as to render you any thing near a match against
the apparent union against you,—but I beg your Majesty will
excuse me for thus inadvertently ad vising an unnecessary ciaufe.
U,on a second thought I am clearly and decidedly of opinion,
that you may altogether omit this lafl head, as Mr, Townfhend
and Mr. Fox in your House of Commons, positively declared,
that you had not "formed Continental connexions ;" and Lord
North in the fame place confeffid that he had not advised "fob
tidiary connexions." Besides it is known that at the end of
furnmer 1777. the Empress es Russia rejected your application
for a body of her troops, with such disdain that your Ambas
sador at Peterfburgh retired from the court, 'till he received in
ftruXions from London ; and also that a subsequent applica
tion from your Majesty to the Empress, that her fleet should
aft in ftri& conjunction with year's, met with so dilatory an
a Twer as prevented a renewal of the application. In a word,
it is so clear and your Parliament are so fatisfied chat you have
no profpeftcf aid from Russia, that your Majesty need not be
at the trouble of faying one word to convince them of it. In
deed your very silence upon that fubjeX in the prefect danger
ous crisis of your affairs, is more pointedly convincing than
aiy wordsyou can possibly use.
Your Majesty may also fay in this message which I have the
honor to advise, that on one of the last days of O&ober, or on
©he of the fir/1 days in November last, I forget which, but it
is not material as your MJeßy knows rhe day, Count d'Al
madover, the Spanish Ambassador at your court, by order of
his matter delivered to your Majeftya remonstrance ofa
very furious and decisive nature ; but there is no occasion for
you to be at the trouble of being more particular on that sub-
j :X, as I presume His Mod Catholic Majesty will in due time
in rn? 1 e forceable language than you have at command, notify to
your Parliament and the world the independent tone of that
important remonstrance. And I would advise your Majesty to
conclude this weighty message, with offering your Parliament
that "by the blessing of God," upon the United States and
their alliance, you have no "means of vindicating and main
taining" the remnant "honor of your Crown and the interests
of your people," but by agreeing to the independance of those
United States and fa,tisfying their good and great ally, for the
"injurious" aggression you have made upon him.—Consider
ing your Majesty's habit of body and flare of mind, 1 am fen
fibl e thatthis is a harih prescription; but, may it please your
Majeily your case is defpejate, and it is abfolucely necessary to
your exigence and future "feturity."
You are pleased, Great Sir ! to confess that your " efforts
have not been attended with all the success which the vigour
01 your exertions f^emed to prornife, " that "the extenfire
commerce of your fubjefts has been protested," only in moll of
its branches, and that you have "called forth your militia to
affid in the interior defence" of your feat of governme t.
Thus confeffing the failure of your efforts, the loss of a great
part of your commerce, and that you are so hard pressed as to
arm your nrfhtia " to a„' in the defence of your capital ; can
you, Sir, be so contraniXoiy to yourfelf as to continue in the
vain pursuit of conqueil abroad, beyond the Atlantic, and ina
region in which you have in this pursuit loft whole armies, and
funk millions of treasure! Twelve months ago ycur Majeßy's
firft Commissioner of your treasury, and Governor of your
House of Commons, declared aloud, that your kingdoms could
no longer furnilh men ormoney for the American war; nor is
it within the scope of the warmest imagination tofuppofe, that
they are now more competent to produce .those means of con
quell. You have, Sir, received the ultimatum Of the United
State's. If you deliberate long upon it, you may be loft. Al
ready your throne totters under your Royal person. Your Ma
jesty has deprived your Crown of that gem which irradiated
your brows with glory; and you will do well in time to re.
fleX, that that conduit which has disfigured ycur Crown, will,
. if putfued, destroy its existence. Farewell.
Philadelphia, February 13th, 1779.
*#s4+o#&4-Q*+*+**<+** 44-
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