The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-04-06 00:00:00, page 2

To theLrrnSLATURF/3 of the "Southern
States.
¥ ^ 7 " A T*may be tie object of the British minif
-I'^/v "'^ fnprofing them o aft rationally, and
whether, the influence of the events of the la(l
eamprign may be fufH ie^t to change'll with resp &
to 'America, may afford matter of curious, and, could
it be afeerained by argument, of inc^refiing (pecula
tion.
It has been the fate of their fov^reign, that he has
ever been ditappointed in his griefs of the abilities of
his servants. They grow older, but not wiser in of
fice ; they have fuffried the greatest possible misfor
tunes, without any cornpenfation in the advantages of
ex prince ; they have reduced him to that unhappy di
lemma, that, whichever way he turns, the miserable al
tfrnativeof choosing among difficulties presents itfelf:
it wooll b: equally ruinous to his affairs and' dif
graceful to his reputation to recede, as to go on in
pursuit of his dreams of conquest. In this situation
cha< ce alone must fugged the next Bep of abfurotty.
The war mayor may not be farther prosecuted. They
have been unfortunate in t' e fate of ih^ir armies ; they
may possibly now r ry the effect of negociation : but as
accident alone will determine this important point, it
would be amexc^fs of weakness to infer from probabi
lity which way the balance may incline^
If you wish to avoid the possibility of being again
obliged to co unit the eflablifhment of your independ,
eflee to the decifon of an equal, or perhaps disad
vantageous, conflift in the field, it is your duryto
employ tl^prefent leifnre moments to provide against
obflacles which the rage of disappointed ambition may
yet throw in its way : it is wisdom to be prepared for
the worst that cn happen. You would, no doubt,
be pleased to find your apprehensions of a farther con
tinuance of the war removed ; ih that case your pro
visions against its possible continuation will not be en
tirAy unnecessary : they will secure the friendfhip of
your allies and command toe reform of your enemies':
nah without these you may be virtuous, but you will
also be infigirficam: but should difficulties surprise
r fQu in tue midrt of security ; should the enemy pour
in uh^xpeßed reinforcements, and find you without
" the means of refinance; should your good and great
ally find it impossible, unoeceffary or inconvenient to
Afford you apy farther aid: under the qppreffion of
such an accumul ted weight of misfortune you muff
fink ; and in your ruin exhibit to the world the spec
tacle of a people, deftrving at once both their pity and
contempt. Muff you forever be dependent? By seek
ing foreign aii, upon ev^ry emergency, do you not
transfer the honours of the war and the merit of your
former as well as present efforts to others ? I have a
high refpea for the epithets good and GRRAT; but
the bribe of adulation is too common to induce even
vanity itfelf to give solid advantages in return. A
state of dependence is a fate of perpetual mortificati
on, whether it be imposed by great power or grel
obligations—" But we confer rather than receive the
", obligation, wheh we give the greatest of princes, and
" thebeft of men, an opportunity to relieve the op
' ' pressed." It is a dishonourable want of candor, to
attribute to the generosity and friendship of kings,
what we know is the effeft of their real or supposed in
terest. We think we pay them an acceptable com
pliment, if we derive their actions from the influence
of the fofter feelings; when in truth they would repro
bate their own weakness, could they be surprised into
a Sacrifice of their interest to the warmth of importunity
or a tale of distress.
Convinced of the propriety of these observations, and
anxious for your honour and your interest, I would
rather you Should Seek Security in yourselves than rely
entirely upon the assurances of any,even the greatest and
b?.poAer upon earth. I reverence the understanding
and Spirit of my countrymen ; I think them capable
of reasoning with propriety and afting with dignity
in the most critical Situations—All I fear is, that they
will not exert their reasoning and adive powers—
Not that they will reason wrong in any essential point,
but that they will not reason at all—Not that their
measures will be absurd, but that they will neglect to
adopt them in time.
To be flruck with the brilliancy of the past, and
thoughts fs of future tranfa&jons—To be negligent in
prosperity, and active in dangers, are the charaflerif
ties of republican governments Since we are sensible
of the de t&s of a form of go vernment we ha ve chosen,
and Since those defers operate by a bias, it impercepta
bly impresses upon the mind, we may, and we ought
to prevent that bias and its fatal consequences by re-
Be&ion, and a timely attention to the proper objeis.
Thus you may corred almofl the only de fedive parts
of your government by prudence and sagacity, and
without leaving any thing to the malignity of fortune,
be the arbiter, of your own cause, and establish it on
a foundation not to be Shaken by any possible change
of circumstances. —But for this purpose vigor is Bill
necessary in your councils and your victories,fo glorious
in the acquisition, if they tend to destroy it, will be Jess
detrimental to the vanquished than the vanquishers.
Succeffesare generally partial; and in defenfive war,no
thing with reipea to the final event, except the defend
ants improve rhe favourable opportunity they afford
of increasingther Strength. But a want of vigour in
political measures is a radical and lasting evil, the per
nicious influence of which may extend farther than the
deeped wi om can forfee, oreven prophetic declama
tion describe.
Deeply impressed as I am with truth of these obser-
without an army or the means of defence, however ob
servant of the duties of morality, is an object of con
tempt and ridicule, and will Coon become the prey of
her more powerful neighbours.
I would not be understood to approve the want of
moral reaitude in the conduft of public affairs. It is
fufficient for you that it has little weight with others.
We muff adapt our manners to those of the company
ve keep. You must accept your political exiflance
with the conditions annexed, and conform to a prac
tice you cannot rectify. It then is your interest to
vations, and the magnitude of the object, I wish to fee
vigorous exertions made to fill your battalions. To
have full -battalions is to have power; and in a nation
al view, power is virtue —Imbicility guilt.—A nation
have ^ r/fp^aaNe army in the field; not railed by
t e temporary expedients of short inlifiment, or drafts
of militia for a few weeks; Bill less by the impressment
of non-jurors, in whom the profeffion of a soldier is de
gradfd, by being imposed as a punishment for the
vileti ofcrimind offences ; but on the solid foundation
of a 'voluntary engagement for during the,war.—Not
an ungovernable multitude, ignorant of military duty,
and unwilling to learn ; anxious to return to their fa
milies, or averse to the cause. But regular corps Of
of able bodied men, well armed, well fed and well
eloathed.—Not a host of peasants, buta band of foldi
&rs. The former is a precarious, expensive, and at best
an inadequate force; the latter alone is durable, per
manent and efficacious.
The truth of'thefe remarks will be generally acknow
ledged ; but it is objected, that to raise such an army
at this period is impracticable.—Our finances are de
ranged and our country impoverished. lam not ver
fdin the endless refinements of finance, but to my plain
apprehension it seems extraordinary, that either of the
above assertions should be the fad. Your country
every whereabounds with the necessaries of life to feed
an army, besides a fu perfluity which would purchase
from abroad, those stores and equipments it does not
afford.'
Your officers have acquired skill in their profeffion
in the school of experiments. They are attached to
each other by a community of fatigues and dangers.
And tho' it msy seem extras linary, without the hope
of any other reward than four approbation, their per
severance has increased with ts eir (offerings. — Their
is a secret impulse io the mind, to love the cause for
which it has (offered. Nevertheless there is a point,
beyond which the force o' virtue itfelfis feeble in op
pofitiou to the force of neceffiiy ; and neither the mind,
or body can any logger support itffelf under the dou
ble oppression of a sensibility of your indifference,
and their own wants —I will not heighten the colour
ing ofa picture of distress ; I will only a dd, that mo
tives of policy, justice and honour call on you to pay
attention to the wants ofyoor officers.
If the resources with which the fertility of your coun
try so abundantly supplies you are properly applied,
tl>ey w II be adequate to every indifpenfible difour e
meat. Ido not mem to insinuate, that there is a deleft
on tin's head in any man io office.—l would not be so
understood. I confefs it is a conclusion not founded
on an accurate calculation, and when it shall prove to
be unsupported by sass, but not till then, I will aban
don r t.
In the hands of these men your army would be re
fpeaable—it would do every thing. Give them an ar
my iuch as your votes have said is necessary and your
national exifiance is secure from the vain efforts and
contemptible rage of your enemies. The present mo
ment is favourable for the purpose, from whatever
point you view it-—and it n„y never offer again. Your
late successes—the reputation of them abroad—your
increasing commerce, and the consequent introduction
of specie—nevertheless they are only favourable, be
cause they give you an opportunity to recruit an ar
my. To to this is an Obligation you have imposed
upon yourselves, when you solemnly engaged to secure
your own and the rights or posterity ; —and to facri
fice them is to facrifice your honour, your integrity
and truth itfelf to indolence—the worthless pursuit of
low pleasures or sordid wealth.—A formidable army
will give weight and dignity to your chara&er abroad.
It will more effectually support your pretentions in
negociatiog a final pacification than the united
eloquence of congress, exerted with the address and
polilhed by the graces of twenty ambassadors.
These are fufficient motives, but there are others
little less powerful to recommend this object.
Whatever forces you r ife will be put under the
command of general Greene, and you secure your
own interests when you do jußice to the merits of
this officer.—You are bound to support him by the
benefits he has procured you, at so great a rifque of
his own reputation. lam persuaded this consideration
will not be without its weight, when I reflect, that gra
titude to an individual may fafely be admitted as an
auxiliary argument for the adoption of a measure of
public utility. To his exertions more than your own
provisions, are you indebted for the recovery of three
states. Virginia is pecu'iarly obliged to him, because
he weakened and exposed himfelf to enable the mar
quis la Fayette to cover that state from plunder and
deflation. Her army in the field is witness for her,
how well She has repaid this obligation.; Should the
other states in his department requite his Cervices with
equal gratitude, they will very effectually secure thrm
felves froth the possibility of receiving again the like
obligations. I will not dwell upon the qualities of
this excellent officer ; that he has recovered three states
and preserved a fourth; that he has fiat up a superi
or force in the walls of ChArleftown and Savannah, is
his bell panegyric: It will be remembered when the
mod elegantly turned periods of a news-paper will not
be known to have existed : Support him in any degree
proportionate to the Brength of his adversaries, and
the wings of the rapid Cornwallis clipped ; the retreat
of the infamous lord Rawdon ; the defeat of colonel
Stewart; io short, the whole history of the last cam
paign are your securities for the final event.
This object requires an immediate and unwearied at
tention. Nothing under Heaven can deprive you of
the advantages resulting from your late victories but
your own negligence—a criminal procrastination of
business. If you keep the proper objects in view, you
cannot go wrong; we are happy by whatever road we
finifh a long, painful and dangerous journey.
Estimates of the necessary expences may perhaps
frighten you at firfl fight, and it is confeffed they will
be great. But there are two considerations which re
move the weight of this objection to my plan; that
the enemy have defiroyed of your property, already
fifty times the amount of the sum necessary, which may
be again repeated until you are totally ruined; and
that, in the course of the war, sums more than ade
quate have been appropriated, in detail, to much let's
important purposes —We shall soon find that the accom
plishment of our designs will repay the utmost expence
of attaining it.
Most of the above confederations are equally appli.
cable to all the united states. But there is one which
is peculiar to yourselves, and to which your own feel
ings will contribute to give weight and influence:—lr j s
this ; Should the enemy be again able to prosecute plans
of offence, they will make the attempt in the southern
states; you must agree, and they know 'tis our most
vulnerable Side; you know the consequences of their
success ; you have felt them; It is you whom they
have traduced and insulted ; whole houses they have
plundered and then reduced to ashes.
my, dated February 6, 1782
" Our army for some time past, has been Situated
in a fine rich country, on the banks of Ponpop. Our
advanced posts and patrolling partis cover the whole
country between this and the Quarter-house, fix miles
from Charleftown. The enemy being blocked up in that
place, nothing of any consequence has turned up Since
the opening of the new-year, except the capture of
some few dragoons on both sides. Wayne has gone in
to Georgia, and by late information from that quarter,
he has confined the enemy to Savannah ; so that un-
ITs they can get Brongiy reinforced (which, by the
bye, I expef lwill happen in a very Short time) they
will only have an opportunity of peeping at us through
the key holes. The people of both these southern states,
have passed through a variety of changes and a choice
of difficulties and misfortunes. Thehuman mind, per
haps owing to the fluctuating state of politics for the
last two years, has undergone the most flrange and sur
prising revolutions that ever was known in any age or
country. Interest, which is the prevailing passion
with mankind, has, by the nature ofthe war appeared in
so many different Shapes, and such has been the vari
ous modes of pursuit, that the principles of men get
warped in searching after a circumfpeft mode of con
duff, to avoid the censure of the, contending parties.
Some characters, indeed, withstood the storms unshaken,
and facrificed to the sh rinrs of liberty and public ho
nour, their domestic ease and fortunes in the most mag
nanimous manner. Others, on the other hand, have
been uniform in their opposition, and have favoured the
British measures through all the mutilations of fortune;
such mtn appear to have a fixed principle for the go
verning rule of their conduct, and although they fland
confeffed my enemies, yet I cannot help admiring and
efleeming them. But I have the pleasure now to in
form you, that the people through the whole country
appear to be our friends. They seem disposed to adopt
any measure that may be thought well calculated for
the public good. The assembly of the Bate is now fit
ting at Jackfonfburgh, a little town within thirty miles
of Charleftown. They are determined to exert every
ner^e to bring a regular force into the field, and fearck
out all the means in their power to put the continental
line once more upon a refpeftable footing. An attempt
was made by colonel Laurens to pals a law for the rais
ing of a negro corps, but it would not go down; the
fear of the people Started an alarm, and the forceof in
terest annihilated the scheme.
“ But during the exertions of all the Bates, both to
the southward and northward of you, pray what is
Virginia about? My dear friend, the is so reproached
by every body, that it is almost dishonourable to be a.
Virginian. Scarce a day passes but I have my feelings
hurt, and yet dare not fay a word, because I can find
no excuse for neglect. And yet She will tell you, that
She has done more than any other state; that flie has
exhaufled her treasury, and fpilt most lavishly the
bicod of her countrymen. Yes, Virginia has bled it is
true ; her troops have fought with honour, and She had
once a reputation that was envied and admired by all
the continent, but time, or Something else, has extin
guished the fireof her military ardour, and all her form
er greatness has funk into disgrace. Nothing can re
cover her from contempt, but some bold and determin
ed plan to eflablifh her continental line once more : for
Since the fall to Charleflown, She has never had any
timing but detachments of eighteen months men in the
field, to keep the name of Virginia alive. Her officers
have been loitering at home, difireffed in their circum
f^ances, and quite ashamed of their situation for want
of command. At this moment, the Virginia troops in
campdo not amount to more than Sixty : and what has
become of the party that was to march from Cumber
land court-house, Heaven knows, for we do not. This
is in fact the true picture of her situation, without the
aid of colouring or the force of exaggeration. Weep
over it if you love your country, and use all your in
fluence to mend and reform her manners.
“ Never was I so agreeably disappointed in any coun
try as I have been in South-Carolinia. Indeed I never
saw any thing to equal the fertility of it. Every thing
grows in the most luxuriant manner, and the rice swamps
afford the sines tfoil in the world for the culture of lau
rels. And what adds to the beauty of the country,
every body lives well, the ladies gay and the gentlemen
merry. Hospitality Bands p orter at e rery door, and
conducts you with an officious welcome to the board of
plenty. I love the people most hartily ; they possess a™
liberality of thinking that pleases me much. No religi
ous prejudices or ill grounded pride diflurb the repose
of society. They possess a dignity in their manner that
is striking, but it is so foftened with affability and free
dom, that you feel no restraint from their consequence
and great riches. To their other good qualities, they
add the great virtue of gratitude to their character.
The legislature of South-Carolina, have, with an una
nimous voice, voted general Greene ten thousand gui
neas, to be laid out as he may please in land and Ne
groes. Is not this a very dignified present? A people
so disposed will always meet with faithful fervices^
Here will I hold."
Their hatred to you, like most malignant passions,
has increased as the power of gratification has deminifh
ed; should they ever regain it, their resentment will
fall upon you with ten-fold vengeance. Your situation
exposes you to the firft transports of their rage; your
country will be the theatre of aftion ; it is to you there
fore, to whom these considerations are addressed with
more peculiar propriety ; with you they should operate
with more prevailing force ; do not rejeft them with
out a candid examination. PASCHA L.
Extract of a letter from an officer in the Southern ar-
RICHMOND, March 23.