The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-06-03 00:00:00, page 1

The HIGHEST PRICE
IS GIVEN FOR
CLEAN LINEN RAGS,
B Y
JOHN D U N L A P.
***^*±^±±^*^**^*^
REPORT of COMMISSIONERS forfeiting
a Cartel jor the Exchange of Prifoners^
(Continued from left Thurfdafs paper.)
“DEFINITIVE PROPOSALS to Colonels
Davies and Harrison, Commissioners on the part of Ge
neral Washington, for an exchange of prisoners.
" 117 ' renew our firft offer, which we still think the
VV most equitable, that could be adopted ; that a ge
neral restoration of all prisoners of war now in possession of
bath parties take place, including the troops of the con
vention of Saratoga, the balance in favour of either to be ac
counted for by the other with the firil prisoners taken ; in
default of equal ranks, unequal to be interchanged on the
tariff annexed.
“ But as this was objected to on a supposition that the
prisoners of one party would not extend to the redemp
tion of those of the other, a more partial mode was sug
gested : having in our several conferences, fully investi
gated the matter, we now offer the following terms, as
the result and as a fin d proposal.
“ xft, The troops of the convention shall be firft ex
changed and in the following succession, as far as the
prisoners in the hands of the British, in any part of the
continent will fuffice to exchange them.
Half the artillery,
One British regiment,
One Foreign,
One British,
A Major-General, r Right Wing.
One Foreign regiment.
One British,
One Foreign,
Lieutenant General,
One British regiment,\
One Foreign, 1 1
One British,
A Major General,\
One Foreign regiment, / Left Wing.
One Britifh,l
One Foreign,
Halfthe artillery,/
dragoons, naff and corps not included above to be ex
changed, half with each wing, and disposed as may be
agreed upon,
" Brigadier Generals with their regiments.
" 2 d, In the above exchange t e officers shall be ac
counted for according to the ranks they held on the i 7 th
of October, 1777, the day of signing the convention, and
shall be exchanged for officers of equal ranks as far as num
bers will admit,: in cases where ranks and numbers will
not exactly apply, officers shall be exchanged by an ade
quate proportion, for other ranks neareftto their own, ac
cording to the tariff annexed.
'' In the exchange of our general officers, we will re
turn those of the kigheft ranks in cur possession, reserving
a fufficient number of Brigadiers and Field-offi ers to re
lease all those of ours who are prisoners according to the
principle of equality.
" On the other hand the private soldiers of the conven
tion who may exceed the number of privates we have to
return for them, shall be exchanged by an adequate pro
portion (according to the tariff) of such fiaff officers, sub
alterns and officers of next inferior rank, as may remain
in our possession, more than the number of subalterns and
ftaff officers, &c. of the convention troops, the account of
these balances to be fettled according to the returns of offi
cers and men, actually and bona fide reflored on each fide,
and such British regimental officers as are absent on parole,
shall be accounted for as making part of the regiments to
which they belong, or if required, be exchanged among
the firft, on the footing of being already reflored.
" id. And fheuld there after this remain prisoners in the
hands of the British in any part of the Continent, (Georgia
particularly included) they shall be assigned to a further
exchange es prisoners as far as they will extend.
" 4.th, Officers who being on parole have not complied
with the summons to return, or officers who have violated
their parole, are to be sent back immediately, or accounted
for in the firft exchange, and Sir Henry Clinton leaves it
in the present case with General Washington to determine
as to the officers of the American army, which foil be ac
counted for as having unwarrantably absented themselves.
" s th > And although we are in^ru^ed to assert the just
pretentious, and to claim in the most explicit manner,
the due performance ®f the capitulation of the Cedars,
yet that no obfticle may remain to impede the immedi
ate object of these propofa's, we consent that the difeuffi
cn of that affair shall remain for some future opportunity.
“6th, Aad we further consent in the fame view of re
moving difficulties, that Serje^its continuing to be 6x-
THURSDAY,, JUNE 3, 177%
T~H E
° R ' THE
GENERA L ^OCTB ADVERTISER
[ Price 2S. 6d. single, 2s. by the quantity.
changed as heretofore for privates, subaltern officers shall
only be rated as you propose, at fix men, though we think
the appreciation inadequate.
" 7th, In case either party, from motives of generous
confidence, and to accelerate relief, should be induced to
dispossess themselves of a portion of prisoners, before cir
curnftances admit of receiving an equivalent, the plighted
honors of the Generals, or some adequate security muff
guarantee the delivery es the said equivalent, so that no
pretence whatever may be assumed to evade or delay it.
" Sth, We are not unwilling to frame regulations to e
stablish and facilitate future periodical exchanges upon
terms of mutual advantage, and which can leave no room
for alterc tion or mifeonftruaion. Whether such an instru
ment shall be called a general cartel we will not dispute,
and we shall be contented with powers on the part of the
American Commissioners of a like tenor with our own
But we can, neither in the present nor in any future case
admit, that officers and soldiers of militia, when not in
service, shall be exempted from being made prisoners of
war.
Signed WEST HYDE,
Signed, JOHN ANDRE,
Commissioners for an exchange
of prisoners on the part of
Sir Henry Clinton.
T A R I F F. Men.
General Commanding in Chief, - 5000
Lieutenant General, - _ 1200
Major General, - - - 350
Brigadier General, - - 250
Majors of brigade and) 4 •
Aids de Camp, ) accord ^g to then rank.
Colonel, - - - 150
Lieutenant Colonel, - - 75
Major, - - - 35
Captain, - . 20
Lieutenant, - - - i o
Ensign, - - _ s
Adjutant, - - _ 10
Quarter Maher. - - - 10
Chaplain, - - - 10
Serjeant, . _ _ z
Corporals, - - _
Drummers, - _ ।
Privates, - - _ r
“ Ifthe above proportions should be agreed upon, it
would be easy to fettle adequate proportions for the nu
merous ftaff officers of each army on the fame principles of
equity."
We beg leave further to report to your Excellency,—
that we took these propositions into the earliest considera
tion, and gave them the most assiduous attention in our
power. We found that they involved a variety of matter,
and that the consequences they led to required the closest
investigation. We had however, prepared rhe draft of out
answer, when we received the following letter from the
British Commissioners.
Amboy, Tburfday, April nd, 1779.
“ Gentlemen,
“ With a patience inspirited by our anxious wiflies
to effect the end of our commission, and supported by
the duties of perfond politeness, we have waited three
days to receive your assent or negative to the propo
sals we offered you on Monday. As they are determinate
and unalterable, so we hope they are clear ; in the firft
case we can only require a decisive answer, should they
be deficient in perspicuity we shall be happy to explain them.
“ We present you on our part, t rms unproped by ar
gument, and resting on the basis of their equity ; fliould
you not be inclined to acquiefee in them, we trust you
will not on your fide detain us for the purpose only of en
tering at large into your motives, especially as we have
Sir Henry Ciinton's orders to bring this negociation to a
speedy conclusion, and to return to New-York so soon as
we are convinced there are n® hopes of success.
“ We are, gentlemen, your most obedient
and most humble fetvants,
Signed, WEST HYDE,
JOHN ANDRE,
“ Colonels Davies and Harrison."
To thi^ we returned the following answer:
Amboy, April aid, 1779,
“ Gentlemen,
“WE are very fenfi'ole of your personal politeness thro'
the whole of our negociation, and should be extremely un
willing yon should indulge the idea, that in any instance
we could with to detain you unneceff rily. We affed not
delay, but a^uated by the warmest desires to accomplifli
the humane purposes of our appointment, we have paid
the closest attention to the proposals you have offered. We
have found them exlenfive and important in their conse
quences, involving a variety of interests, which necessarily
required much confederation. With a truly anxious zeal
we have endeavoured to accommodate them to our mutual
advantage and that of the prisoners, and are sensibly dis
tressed to find ourselves unexpectedly reftrißed to a bare 4
assent or negative to your proposals. Should they haw-
Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. ]
ever be finally determinate and unalterable as you express,
we have only to lament that they are such as we cannot
accede t®, without maniieft injury to our country, and
incurring the disapprobation even of our unfortunate pri
soners themselves.
" We are, gentlemen, y@ur most obedient
and most humble ferv mts,
Si q WILLIAM DAVIES,
ROBERT H HARRISON.
“ Colonel Hyde and Captain Andre."
In a little time after the delivery of this letter, the Bri
tish Commissioners communicated their determination of
going to New. York in the morning, and accordingly took
their leave early the next day.
As a farther explanation of our conduct, we beg leave
also to report to y®ur Excellency the draft of the answer
we had prepared to the propositions made by the British
Commissioners as before mentioned.
“ ANSWER of Colonel Davies and Lieutenant Colo-
I""'""' '°'™ r; iffi° n ers appointed by his Excellen
cy General Washington, to treat, confer, determine
and com lude upon a cartel for the exchange of prisoners,
and for all matters whatsoever, which may be properly
contained therein, in virtue of full powers to him given"
—to Definitive Proposals by Colonel Hyde and Captain
Andre, Commissioners for an exchange of prisoners on
the part of Sir Henry Clinton.
Although it is our most earnest wish to promote the
cause of humanity, and afford relief to the unfortunate,
yet we cannot accede to your firft offer, expressing, as was
dated by you at the commencement of our interview, Sir
Henry Clinton's ideas of the principal object of the cartel
he was desirous to establish. This offer, however it may
appear to pr®fefs a spirit of equality, would have a very
partial and unequal operation, and while it would give a
great accession of force to your army, would add but little
to ours : for fy^h is the disparity of prisoners between us,
that were your account admitted in its fulleft extent which
however is utterly impossible, it would bear upon any
equitable calculation, but a small proportion to General
Burgoyne's army and the other prisoners in ®ur hands.
“ This offer is hill the more inadmissible, as it does not
stipulate that the balance of prisoners in our favour, after
your demand should be fatisfied, which according ta the
terms of the proposal are to be delivered to you, should be
held upon parole, until you had paid us an equivalent,
and of consequence they might be employed to capture
prisoners to redeem themselves. An offer so unequal in its
etTeßs, so advantageous to you and injurious to us,
cannot be accepted.
" And here you will permit us to observe, before wego
into a discussion of the terms wh'ich you Rate as your
“ final proposal," that besides the foregoing offer, there
were sundry other points in the course of our interview,
which concurred to render the settlement of a general car
tel impracticable, and which fuggefled the necessity of
taking up matters on a more partial fc^e then we either
wished or expeded. You declared yourselves reftrided
by frfarve infrußions from acceding to any article that
should propose either a present or future liquidation and
payment of any debts which had arisen on account of pri
soners, previous to the general teleafe you were desirous to
obtain. This reftriaion we could not but consider as un
reasonable, attended as it was with a proposal for the re
lease of all the prisoners for whole support we conceived
considerable debts had been incurred.
' Your powers too, as we fuggefled in flecourfe ofour
interviews, we were concerned to find were liable to strong
objections, and wholly unequal to what they profeffed
Their declared object was the settlement of a general car
tel, and yet they did not express that they were granted
in virtue of any authority veiled in Sir Henry Clinton
from whom you derived them. Such a .declaration we
apprehend to be material, as the power of entering into
public treaties is not naturally inherent in military com
mand; nor can personal credit or private authority in
any measure be competent to such extensive obligations
neither can the validity and substantial operation of an
act, intended to pervade and comprehend tie ex^h^nge
of prisoners, their treatment, the payment ®f monies and
the various cases incident to captivity through the flares
cf a war, ever be founded on a less fob 1 basis than n Tion
al faith. Indeed a cartel framed on such powers as you
poflefs, must be Emitted in its extent, uncertain in its
duration, requiring a renewal upon every change in the
chief command of your army, dependant altogether upon
the vvtil and mtereft of every successor, and liable on all
occasions to be defeated without the imputation of public
or private dishonor, by the interposition of superior au
thority. And if It were n^cffry to add any strength to
our arguments on this head, we might adduce the decla
ration of Sir William Howe himfelf on a former occaf^
a ro^ s f P r °P ofed ^ Commission rs with power:
fubriantially the fame as yours. He then declared it was
‘ be of a personal nature, founded on the mu
tual confidence and honor of the Contrasting Generals,
and not intended either to bind the nation, or' to extend
beyond the limits and duration of his own command."
Any negociation, therefore, for a general cartel uadef
powers so defiaeaty mull be QUrel^ nugatory.