The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1775-07-31 00:00:00, page 1

For the CO NNECTICUT COURANT.
The Progress of EMPIRE.
NIMROD was stiled a mighty hunter before
the Lord and doubtless his game was man,
for he laid the foundations of the Ailyrian monar
chy, which was the firft Siace the flood ; it gradual
ly flourished till the days of Nibuchadnezir, then
it grew ftrongand mighty, he gave it the finishing
hand, andraifed it to the highest perfection of em
pefial grandeur ; then it fat Qjeen and swayed the
scepter of kingdoms ; even Jerusalem, the residence
of G >d's eled, was under her controul ; she rob
bed it's palaces, pillaged the temple, polluted the
holy of holies, and led Zion captive to Babylon tfoe
feat of her throne ; there die Spent her days in luxu
ry and ease, nothing struck the eye but productions
of the most Superb elegance and art, nothing the ear
but the voice of music, revelling and the ratling of
the rolling chariot; but at length one of her mon
archs saw in his palace, saw in his banquetting
room, a hand writing upon the wall ; a faintnefs and
trembleing seized him; then ffiewas forewarned that
ruin and deftruftion awaited her. Cyrus (whom
heaven raised up as a Scourge of ambition and ty
ranny) laid her glory in the dust ; She was Swept
with the beefom of deQruttion,fhe funk like a mill
stone in the sea, and is no more ; there is not re
maining even a veftage of this great and mighty em
pire.---In Cyrus was the noble assemblage of all ex
cellent qualities which are requisite to form an ac
complished General, he poffeifed the virtues of a
good King, he was above the allurements of ambi
tion and luxury, he was a father to his people, not
like the kings of modern days, of whom if we alk
bread, we Shall be presented with a done, or if we
afle liberty, they rail! mod graciously bellow on us
Slavery or death.- Cyrus established the Persian
empire, arid had the pleasure of feeing its meridian
glory, for it declined extremely faft after his death,
his facceffors and nobles spent their time in feftivi
ty & mirth,wallowing in fenfuallity and debauche
ry : vice and luxury are contagious diseases, they
Spread from the palace to the court, from the court
to thecottage ; the Persians became enervated, they
were profligate in manners, an universal spirit of
effeminacy overfhaddowed the empire, they were
jilt ripefir ruin when Alexander the royal butcher
Slept upon the theatre of kings; upon his fceptre
vidory always fat caglewing'd, he had a peculiar
tallent at leveling all obstacles, and like a mighty
torrent would bear down all before him. Alexan
der with an army of about fifty thousand men, met
Darius the Persian monarch, upon the large plains
of Arbelia north of Ninive,with an army of tix hun
dred thoufend, they each drew up in battle array,
they met, they pushed a moll bloody onset, but A
lexander rolled death and devastation before him ;
Darius was routed with the loss of about two hun
dred and fifty thouland men ; (if men can do such
atchievments when they fight only for glory and con
quest, what will they do when they tight pro ariies
Ct focis, with the God of armies on their fide) their
nation was conquered and their wealth destroyed;
thus vanished the Persian empire, and then the
Sceptre fell into the hands of the Greeks, and all 'he
world obeyed her imperial sway ; there the arts and
Sciences dwelt,their peculiar residence was at Athens,
there they flourished like the goodly cedar, 'till
corruption and bribery dispossessed them, and paved
the way for Turkish fuperdition and tyranny: thus
ended the Grecian empire. Immediately after, the
Romans emerging from a date of ignorance and bar
barity, assumed the arts of civilized life,then empire
fixed her habitation in Italy, and Rome became the
Standard oftaite in all arts and sciences, conquest at
tended her wherever the turned ; the terror of her
name keptthe nations in awe,till having 101 l that pub
lic virtue which ffiould inspire the bread of kings,
ihe fat on her throne boafling and exulting herfcif
above all thatis called God, until fwdden deflru&i
©n from the north runted upon her like a flood,and
now, where is theßoman empire r I: has rolled down
the dark torrent of time.--- Next the islands of the
sea rejoiced, the muses fixed their dwellings in Bri
tain, they brought^ book efinfpbation with them,
Containing the Freflieft ADVICES,
M ON DAY, July 31, ^77,
CONNECTICUT
AND
WEEKLY
by the assistance of which philosophy dispelled the
dark clouds of ignorance, and paved the Way for li
berty, that bright goddess, who refidesonly with
knowledge and public virtue, she abhors the gloomy
Shades of bigotry and fuperltition Britain has
long fat as queen of arts and of arms, the nations a
round her have been struck with the brightness of
her imperial glory, they have with ambition faught
her friendfllip, and cqurted her alliance : but how
art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning! art
thou not become a derision at foreign courts r art
thou not more Stupid than Balam's ass ? for when the
dumb beast saw the flaming sword of deftruftion
he retreated ; what if thou can'd; boalt of a Chat
ham, a Cambden, a Shipley, and a few other vir
tuous? thy fins are great, thou niuft produce more
righteous to item the torrent of ruin, than would
have exempted Sodom and Gomorrah from the in
dignation and fiery vengeance of God.---O Britain!
thou art totteringon the verge of destruction ; death's
impervious ° shade hangs over thee ; liberty droops
her head, She pines and languishes like a sick dow
er; the mules are hovering on the wing, and frith
great reluctance, are bidding thee a long and ladling
adieu !---This is the fate of en pire, thus vanifhetn
the glory of the world, even Britain miuft be sh roud
ed in dark oblivion.---Now America begins to dis
play her charms, she invites empire, she chetrifhes
the arts and sciences ; and although it is a clay of
gloominefsfyof clouds and thick darkness, yet we
trull that e'er long she will appear like the meridi
an fun, which Shines more brilliant and glorious af
ter it has been vailed in clouds, and the Ikies puri
fied by thunder and lightning.—Perhaps the day
is at hand, when it may be fnid of this continent,
even as it was of Moent Zion ; how beautiful for
filiation is America-.-the joy of the whole earth !
We are Operated Com all powerful nations by the
intervention of the: great sea, so that even the am
bition of tyrants mult be checked, they can't enter
tain no greathopes of conquest.-# Perhaps thechurch
of God may come forth like the morning, it may
flourish and appear more excel lent than the cedars
ofLebanon, or than that tree whicn existed only in
the vision of Nebuthadnezaf, whole top reached un
to the heavens, and the branches thereof spread ri
broad unto the ends of the earth. Butw hat will turn up
next in this great Shifting scene of human affairs no
man can tell, we mull left Satisfied, knowing that
the supreme Being reigns king in heaven and on
earth, and that the minute occurrences which re
spect individuals, and the m ere important revoluti
ons of Rates and empires, m e under his controul, as
much as the grand tranfa&i ons of eternity.---! will
now conclude much in the words of the Psalmist,
O thou Ihepherd of Israel! thou that leadeft Joseph
as a flock, thou that dwelled ; between the cherubims,
shine forth and give deli rerance to thy people in
America.
SOUTH-C ?iR OLIN A.
To ^ Excellency the Rty / Hon. Lord Willia m
Campbell, Governor and Commander in Chief in
and over the Province ^ forefaid.'
The humble ADDRESS and DECLARATION
cf the I rovin cial Congress.
May it please jour E ecellcncy,
WE his Majesty's loyal fubjeft, the Reprefen-
, ta ",e s °f the |,^ colony, in Con
grels assembled, beg brave to disclose to your Excel
lency the true causes ofour proceedings ; not only
that upon your arrival among us you may receive no
unfavourable imprefficm of our condu&, but that we
may Hand juftified to the world.
.Y h , ^ ordinary modes of application for re
dress of grievances, and tifual means of defence a
gamft arbitrary n^pofitions have failed, mankind
generally have had rc co ur fc to these that are extra-
SOUT H.C AR() LIN A, iTneTT'
In POVJNCIAL CONGRESS.
Charles Town, Wednej Zy, June 2 1, 177;.
Ordered,
TUA 1 the Hon. Will,lam Henry Drayton, the
Hon. Capt. Bernard. Elliott, &c. be a Depu
tation to present to the Gov ernor the Address of this
Congress.
T HE
'^^@^^|^^ i^^'
both FOREIGN and DOMESTIC.
It is impogible, during the Short Interval Since my
arrival, that I Should have acquired such knowledge
of the State of the Province, as to be at present able
to make any reprefentaticn thereupon to his Majes
ty, but you may be assured that no representations
Shall be ever made by me, but what Shall be confid
ent with I ruth, and earnest Endeavour to promote
the real Happiness and prosperity of the Province.
WM.CAMPBELL.
Publifad by order of the Cor^rcfs,
June 2ift. 1775 . PETERI IMOTHY,Secretary.
DEferted from New-Lebanon, in June Nil,a
young man named Ebenezer Hebaid ; had
on when he went away, a brown waistcoat, check'd
Shirt, and striped trowfers, and is supposed to have
gone to Windham. Whoever Shall take up said de
serter, and deliver him to the fubferiber at Ticon
deroga, Shall have four dollars reward, paid by me,
Thomas Lusk, Captain.
Wanted immediately a few
Barrels of good Cyder and Vinegar, for which Case
"^ gIV C Cn ? y T, CHEKEVAR..
Hartford, July i,&h, 1775.
[NUMBER 55g.
C 0 UR ANT,
HARTFORD
INTELLIGENCER.
ordinary. Mince the Origin of the ContihentaC
Congress, and hence the present representation oA
the people in this colony.'
It is unnecessary to numerate the grievances of'
America ; they have so often been represented that'
your Excellency cannot be a Granger to them. Let\
"therefore Office to fay, that the hands of his Ma- (
jetty s ministers have long lain heavy, row press us
with intolerable weight. We declare, that no love
of innovation, no deiire cf altering the conflitutior.
°k , ,°, ent> n ° lijft of independence, has had
the .eah influence upon our councils ; But, alarmed
and roused by along succession of arbitrary proceed
ings by wicked administrations, impressed with the
fPPrehenfions of instigated infarctions
and deeply aff e( fted by the commencement ofhofil
fXl'v'Z "k B "f" "°° ps ^ ain " this continent,
fofly for the prefervacon &in defence ofour lives,
" d i properties, we have been impelled to
af.ociate, and to take up arm#.
We Sincerely deplore thole rianderous informati
ons, and wicked counsels, by which his Majesty has
been led into me a s ures , wh ich, ifperfifted in, mu st
inevitably involve America in all the calamities of
civil war, and ren d the British empire. We only
delire the Secure enjoyment ofour invaluable rights
& we wish for nothing more ardently, than a fp@edv
reconciliation with our mother country, upon con^
flitutional principles.
We entreat and trull, that your Excellency will
make such a representation cf the Rate of this'colo
ny, and of our true motives, as to assure his Majesty,
that, in the midst of all our complicated distresses;
he has no fubjeds in his wide dominions, who more
sincerely desire to teflify their loyalty and affedion,
or who would be more willing to devote their lives
and fortunes in his real feivice.
B, order of the Provincial Congress, at
Charles-Pown, June 20th, 177^.
The deputation being returned, the Hon. Mr.
Drayton reported, that they having delivered the
address to the Governor, his Excellency was pleas
ed to make the following answer:
Gentlemen,•
J KNOW of no Representatives of the People §f
this Province, except those con ffitutionally con
vened in General Assembly, and am incompetent to
judge of the Disputes which at prefect unhappily
fubfol # between Gieat-Britain and the American
Colonies.
^hefe things we thought it otir duty to declare
that, your Excellency; and thro' you, our august
Sovereign, our fellow fu bjeds,and the whole world,
may clearly understand, that our taking up arms, i;
the result of dire necessity; and in compliance with
the firft law of nature.
Con feious of the juflice of oar cause, and the in
tegrity ofeur views, we readily prefefs our loyal
attachment to our Sovereign his crown and dignity •
And trussing the event of Providence, we prefo
Death to Slavery. r