The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1781-11-20 00:00:00, page 2

To the Publisher of the Pencfylvinia Packet.
S I R,
YOUR paper of the loth inst. No. 805, reached
this city, and an advertisement there infected and
signed with my signature has attracted particular
notice, and rendered me the object of much satirical
flri&ure. The author of this wicked forgery, whoever
he ^, has mofl nefarioufly and with malice afore
thought, made pfe of my name to impose on the pub
lic the nugatory productions of his own flimfy brain,
as the genuine offspring of my prolific pen. But Ido
assure you, upon the word of a gentleman, that said ad
vertisement is, in toto, fi&itious and spurious. Was
the ultimatum of this jejune performance nothing
more than risible satire, I could fuffer the indignity
wth taciturn patience: but it is most patent to feofe
th it an emphatic injury is intended by t is attrocious
calumniator. The manifeft design is to draw upon me
the resentment of a people for whom I have the most
profound veneration, and whose virtuous and heroic
Arugges for constitutional liberty I have beheld with
aflonifiiment and secret admiration.
You may perhaps, Mr. Claypoole, be furprized at
this maoifefto, and exclaim that there is no concatena
tion betwe n such a declaration and the gen ral tenden
cy of the Royal Gazette of New-York. Inanfwer to
this, you are to confider that it was my lot to rem in
with a people who had power in their hands and money
in their purses. In this fituatiou it was the part of a
wife man to evade the power and possess as much of
the money as possible. This I have endeavoured todo.
I have wrote and published for them as far as invention
could go the English language has been tortured and
truth expired on the rack in their behalf. By this I
have gained their confidence and blinded the jealous
eye of power. As to their money, 'et the baubles I
have fold them at extortionate prices, and the salary
I enjoy, evince that my labour hath not been in vain,
H vel done this to the i j ry of America and the ad
vantage of her enemies? By no means By over aft
ing my part I defeated the purpose I seemed to have in
view, and the political lies I daily fabricated only ser
ved to gull the fools, who believed I was exerting my
felf in t^eir service. In a word, mv paper had 110 cre
dit but io rhe cities of London and New York. As to
the c sh I have seduced from the unbutton'd pockets
if cockaded coxcombs, I hope to fpeod it in America,
tee land of liberty, when the storm of war fliall cease,
and every man (hall enjoy the fruits of his ingenuity
under his own vine and his own fig tree.
I am wel i persuaded, Mr. Claypoole, that the voice
of your multitude isagaind me. They judge from ap
pearances only• and appearances are generally delusive.
They suppose I am the foie author of all the inveterate
falfhoods and misrepresentations which I so frequently
pubhih Alas! alas! lam but a po r printer,
fubjeaed, by my vocation, to the disagreeable taf« of
bringing into the world the monftrons conceptions of
disordered fancies.— But lam deemed a tory—a male
volent tory -why ? -because I have published tory news,
tory lies and tory essays in my gazette—granted.— But
will any one pretend to fay that I have refufed to pub
lift whig news, whig lies or whig essays? I challenge
all Philadelphia to produce a fingte writer who ever sent
me a whig piece for publication, which I refufed or ne
gle&ed to print. I am confident no such inftar.ee
can be found. Thetruth is, lam a friend to liber,
ty, and lave actually felt the (acred flame kindle
in my breast. Firfl about the time, or at least just af
ter, rhe affair of Saratoga ; and now again on the fur
render of lord Cornwallis and his army ; and if the
brae Americans fboald pursue their success and con
firm their independence, of which indeed there remains
little doubt, you may depend upon it there is not a
faming patriot in the thirteen united Rates that will
£r.° forth the charms of liberty with more loquaceous
zeal than myfe!f ,
It is the duty of every man to serve his king and
Country. lam desirous of fulfi ling this duty to the
poor of punaualny. I have already served my king,
my sovereign George the Hid. Gad bless him !— to the
bfft of toy abilities -, and now I am ready to wheel to
the right about and serve my country. For I call this
my country wherein I have eaten tue bread of luxury,
and risen to an height of importance and opulence which
I tad no hopes of obtaining in England, that land of
debts,creditor and intolerable oppression. Finally, Mr.
Claypoole, I rest the evidence of my whiggifm on two
immoveable p liars. Firft,the declaration I voluntarily
figged and which was pu : lifted in the news-papers of
the year 1776 wherein I asserted mv attachment to the
American cause, and solemnly engaged to do nothing
against it; and, secondly, my address to Congress,
lately forwarded by Mr. John MooDY; a copy of
which I subjoin for your fatisfaftion.
" To the Honourable the CONGRESS of the
" United States of America.
" The PETIT JON of James Rivington, of the
'' City of New York, Printer and Nick-nack Seller,
'' Humbly iheweth:
“ pHAT your Petitioner, under the sacred influence
' of the mod exalted ideas of the glorious cause
" of liberty, for which you have so nobly, so wifely,
“ and so effectually contended, begs leave, with all
" due submission, to throw himfelf at the feet of the
“ most venerable, most august body on the face of the
66 earth.
" That your Petitioner hath, from a most unfortu
-66 nare arrange ment o f circumflances, been compelled,
" most unwillingly, not only to remain with the ene
-66 mies of your virtuous cause, but even to assist them
c ' to the utmofl of his power. But he begs leave most
6c Ghmaly to assure your honours, that he hath done
" this with the utmost compunction and farrow of
" heart; and hath teen often known to exclaim, in
66 private, with the royal psalmist —Woe is ms,
66 THAT I AM CONSTRAINED TO DWELL WITH ME
^ SECH AND. TO HAVE MY HABITATION AMONG
F FHE/TE TS OF KEDAR.—
6 ' That your Petitioner, having given undeniable
6f pr sos bis-abilities in.the art of political deviation
^ from truth, in support of a bad cause, humbly
66 conceive that the fme talents may be of singular
" service in maintaining a good one; and therefore
' offers himfelf, with all bis rare and ufeful accom
" plifhments, to the Congress of the free and uni
" ted States of America; only praying such
" protection and such reward as his future services
" may juhly entitle him to.
“ That your Petitioner hath frequently declared,
“ that if he had been PROPERLY engagd on the
" right side,,he would long since have written
“ the United States into a confirmed independenc :
" and have abandon d the wrong side to the dis
“ appoin ment its partizans so justly merit.
“ Submitting the pr/mifes to your candid confide
" ration, he only waits your favourable answer to
" appear a ffrft rate whig in the city of Philadelphia.
" And, in the mean time has the honour to fubferibe
“ himfelf, with all due reCped.” —&c- &c. &c.
Such, Mr. Claypoole, is my address to Congress
I have now only to request of you, that you will not
admit into your paper, any. more of the faife and wick
ed insinuations of the author of the aforefaiefAdver
tifement. ' promise nyfelf an agreeable answer from
Congress, and hope Mr. Thomson wilt not be di
latory in forwarding it. Soon after which, I expert to
take you by the hand, and salute you with the endear
ing names of Brother Puff and Brother Whig. 'Till
then, allow me to be
Your eflfemed friend.
New York, ana humble servant,
Nov. 17, 1781. J. RIVINGTON.
MEMOIR S of Mons. De La Motte,
A particular Account of whose unhappy Exit was given
in she Pennsylvania Packet of the 10th infant.
THE verv great curiosity which the fate of this un
fortuoite man has. necessarily excited in the
public, refpeaing the birth, life and circumdances of
so conspicuous a character, having induced some of the
public prints to publish a number of spurious anec
dotes of him, we ace enabled by a corr p fpondont well
acquainted with his hiflory, to lay h fore our readers
the following short but genuine sketch of his life and
adventures.
Francis Henry De La Motte is a native of Alsace,
where his parents, though poor, lived in some degree
of refpeft. He had fortunately an uncle of the fame
name, who was a profeffor in the university of Lyons,
and a man not undiftipguifhed in the literary world.
From him De La Motte received a very genteel educa
tion; and, through his iiitereft, at the age of thir
teen, obtained an enfigney in the French service ; where
he rote gradua ly to the rank of major, in a regiment of
infantry ; which rank ne attained in the year 1757.
Bur, in the following year, being charged with the
defence of a bridge at the battl of Rofbach in Saxo
ny, with orders to prevent the Ruffian army from an
noying the French rear, he no sooner perceived the
approach of the Prussians to attack that pofi, than he
thought proper to retreat. Most of his men w re over
taken and cut to pieces by the enemy but, being
himfelf on horfehack, he had the for me to escape the
pursuit. He was, howev r, brought to a court marti
al, to answer for hi, conduct, and, by their sentence,
was broke for cowardice. After ris he repaired to
Paris, and memorialized the minidry for some time,
infixing that he had been ill used by the court martial,
and soliciting redress from their superior power : but
finding every application of this kind totally inefFeßu
al, he paid his firft vrt to England in the capacity
of a spy ; from whence he continued to furnifh in
telligence to the Court of France during the remain
der of the late war
At the conclusion of the war, he returned to Paris
with a considerable sum of money which enabled, him
to live there for some time in great fplendour : but ha
ving at length consumed the whole of his acquisition
in that way, he applied to monf. de Sartine, then lie^
tenant of police (aa office corresponding in some mea
sure with that lately held here by fir John Fielding,
but of much greater power and charaAer) and he was
accordingly admitted by that gentleman as one of the
spies of the police.
In this situ dion, monfrur De Sartine found him
exceedingly ufeful; for being a dexterous gambler,
and making an elegant appearance, he procured ad
mission into the beff circles, but unfortunately, one
evening, at the rout of madame Montreal, he loft 100
louis d'ors to chevalier Chabk, which sum he was un.
able to pay, and of course could never after be admit
ted into company.
After this faux pas, his intelligence fell off so re
markably, that monf. de Sartine thought proper to
make a deduction of one halfin his flipend: whicn ren
dered his income so (lender, that he found it infuffici
ent for him and his mistress to live upon, and therefore
took a millener's shop. No. 47, Rue Grenelle in Paris
wherethey made a ihift to live in an obfeure manner,
till the breaking out of the present war, when he took
the firft opportunity of resuming his former business of
collecting intelligence in England, for the French mi
nifty ; and for that purpose returned to this country
in January 1777.
On his return here, he assumed the name of Aker
man; and took lodgings firfl in Fetter Lane; after
wards he removed to the house of a Mrs. Cox, in
Wardour firert, and from thence till June 177:, he
remitted to France all the intelligence he could pro
cure; which it. is presumed was not very considera
ble, as his fahiry till then was no more than eight
guineas a month.
About this period it was, that he firft formed an ac
quaintance with Eutterioh, whose connexions proved
so valuable tobim, that his salary was immediately
raised from eight to fifty guineas a month, in conse
quence of the important intelligence which he colkA
ed throuh the means of his new acquaintance. Find
ing himfel now in more affluent circumflances, he dis
carded the temporary name of Akerman, and re-affsm
ed that of De La Motte. He took country lodgings at
Hamflead, and began to make some appearance in the
world. Lutterloh introduced him to his aunt, Mrs.
Lutterloh, wife 10 general Lutterloh, formerly envoy at
our court from the duke of Brunswick, and now fer-
ving in the American army. Through the acquaintance
of this lady, De La Motte had an opportunity of in
troducing himfelf into several refpeAable families He
even resided some time at her house, No. 1, Old Bur-
ImgtoiT fircet. from whence he removed to Mr. Ottley's,
in Bond-Grect, where he took lodgings at 1001. a year,
and lived in an elegant style till the time of his appre
hension. 1
The public have already learned from the accounts
published of the trial, that he was apprehended in Ja
nuary la fi, through the information given to govern
ment by Katcliife ; and however ill .t may tally with
that fortitude which he displayed at his trial, his beha
viour, when 6rft under examination, evince d the great
est fear. He there confeffed the charge against him.
He betrayed Lutterloh as rhe agent at Portsmouth,
from w cm he had received the papers found upon him;
and entreated, that he might be admitted an evidence
for the crown; but was told, that what he desired
could not be granted him.
Upon this information of De la M t'e who was sent
to the tower late in the evening of the sth of Jinuar,,
proper officers were difpa ched to Portsmouth to ap
prenen.lLutterloh, who was taken into cuflody at his
house at Wickham he next m ruing at eight o'clock ;
but no intimation whatever was given him refpeAing
the feifure and commitment of De la Motte. He was
conducted to town immediately, anJ examined before
the secret 1 ties of Rate. Not a w^rd escaped him to
the impeachment of De la Motte, until the papers
found on him were produced, and until he was assured
that De la Motte had given the information against
him, and that a full difeovery of the whole affair was
the only method by whi h he could ensure his own
fafe.y ; of which the secretaries of state gave him the
fulled assurance, in case of his compliance. Self-pre
fervarion then prevailed. Lutterloh gave ministry a
particular account of his connexions with De la Motte
which was fully confirmed by his papers, which were
then conceale d in °is garden at Wickham, and after
wards brought to town, by his directions.
As there never was, perhaps, so deep and effeAuala
plan laid for obtaining intelligence in this country, and
communicating it to the enemy, so it may be fairly
said, tht there scarcely could be a difeovery made, more
big thin this - with national importance, and it is not
a little extraordinary that we (hould be providential
ly indebted to the weakm-fs of De la Motte himfelf, in
more infiances than one, for so happy an event ; for,
had he not fird from a principle of imprudent parsimo
ny neglected to p-y Ratcliffe the 20 guineas a trip to
France, according to the agreement made with him,-it
is more than probable there would have been do de
tention from that quarter; and Mr. Stewart might not
have nad the opportunity of (hewing that hulable at
tention to hi country's good, which appeared in him
on this occasion. And secondly, had he not been so
panieftruck upon his examination asto betray Ids agent
Lui erloh (who, by the bye, seems the far cleverer of
the two for fuh enterprizes), minidry might never
p rhaps have got at t e bottom of their scheme.
The fortune said to be made by De La otte within
the lad two or three years, and since hsconneAioa with
Lutterloh is no lef than twenty five t ouf nd pounds-
He never was married* ,but has two children by ma
dame Soger, with wnom he former! lived in Rue Gre
nelle. He has supported her since in very elegant
apartments in Rue Notre Dame des Victories,in Pa is;
and the prints mentioned on the trill to have urea
bought by him in England, and sent over to France,
were intended to ornam nt her apartments'
&^©^®^ @3^®@@@@9&D
Having compleated the Sales of
the S oop POLLY and CARGO; Byzantine NANCY
and CARGO, and B ; g nine YORK end CARGO,
F: zes, ta&en by the Privateer Fair Am rican, aid
condemned in the Court of Afmriltv for this State.
All Persons who hive any DE MINDS on die Same,
for Charges, <r who are authorized or entitled to re
ceive Sha es, or Pit* thereof, are defi dlO make
tivi Crims at my Offi % -itbin THREE 1), vs from
the D^te hereof. CLEMENT BIDDLE, M r(hal&
Pniiadeiphia, Nov. 20, 1781.
Public Notice is hereby given,
T ' at tne fubferibers have opened an OFFICE, tor th#
Settlement of the Pay accounts of Offi era of the Hos
pital and Medical Department, in actual service, pri
soners (of the line of this state, fling camp and mili
tia) and others, provided for bv the Honourable the
Assembly of this state, in their Supplement to the Art,
entitled, " An AX to adjust and fe tie the Account,
of the Troops o' this State," & . &c. which upple
ment wag toaded the frft day of O&ober last. The
Office is held in Second-fireet, a few doors above Race
street, where Attendance will be given, from , o'clock
rill one in the forenoon, and from thee to five in the
afternoon, for FOUR WEEKS from this Dao, Sun
days excepted, with n which rim^ all persons claiming
the benefits of said a&, are requested to attend.
The Claims (if ar.v there are) of such, at beiteg pro
vided for by former aX% have yet negh& d to attend,
notwithftandng the considerable length of time this
Office has been ouen foi that purpose, the frequent ro
tce given thereof, and aren^nce in the different coun
ties for the convenience o : Applicants, will also be ex
amined into, if made within the Rm abovemtnrioned.
JAMES S EVENSON,)
JOHN NICHOLSON, ) A d ' "
Philadelphia, Nov. 19, 1781.
To be Let,
A LARGE STORE, well situated, n the North 6de
A of Market-street, between Th rd and Fourh
ftreets; formerly occupied by Mell s. Gibson and
Alheton, and now by White M tbek, and Co. En
qure at BARTHOLOMEW WISTAR, acar th#
Meal Market.