The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1781-09-22 00:00:00, page 3

Philadelphia, Sept. 22.
The General Assembly of this Rate is now fitting at
the Rate-house, agreeable to adjournment.
Various have been the reports circulating through
this city the week past, relative to the movements of
the enemy. All that can be depended on are, that a
body of about 5000 m^n, with light artillery, wa ggons,
&c. &c. were embarked opboard about 80 trans
ports at New York, ana were laying laßSunday in
the Narrows ready for failing,delayed as was supposed
merely to Know the iffueof admiral Graves's attempt
on the fleet of our royal ally in the Chefepeak. This
was announced to them on Wednesday last, by tne re
turn of the Englilh fleets with the loss of the Ruby man
of war, of 64 guns, and the Roebuck, of 44, taken by
Count de Grade, and the Terrible, of 74 guns, which,
after tne engagement, funk at fen, they being able
duly to save her fibres and men ; four other ships are
also graetly disabled.
It is laid that the expedition from New-York, in
case of the failure of admiral Grazes in taeChefa peak, is
defigutd for this city ; where it is not doubted, fhouid
they be so hardy as to venture, such a reception would
be given them by the virtuous yeomanry ofthisandthe
neighbouring Rates as would b ing to their minds tne
well fougnt fcdls of Bunker's Hill and Benniigton.
General St. Clair, with part of the Pennfy vanil bri
gade and a confid. rable body of militia, are txpeded
in the neighbourhood of this city in a day or two
We are happy to inform our readers, that Mons. de
Barras has certainly joined count de Graffe in the
Chefepeak, and that lord Cornwallis had broke up the
Ciaron mat of war to improve her plank and timbers
towards building a fort.
LONDO N, July 4.
YESTERDAY were brought up to receive the
judgment of the court, at Weftmin Rer hall, Mr.
Joseph Cooper, Mr. Henry Pace, Mr. James Barr,
and Mrs. Say, they having fuffered judgment to pass
by default againf lthem, upon several informations filed
by order of the king, for a libel on Monsieur Simolin,
the Ruffian envoy. Mr. Cooper, the priner of the
London Courant, offered his affidavit, ffipported by
his apothecary, of his being confined to his bed with
a rheumatic fever and gout, at the time when the pa
ragraph appeared- that he never knew of or saw it;
nor was permitted by his physician to attend to any
business in the violent date of his complaint, and there
fore was as innocent a publisher as any man could be.
Mr. Pace, the publisher of the Noon Gazette, offered
an affidavit, Rating that he was buta nominal publish
er being retired into the country, and only his name
made use of upon the paper, he having parted with the
property be formerly held in that paper before the pa
ragraph appeared ; and that in sass, before any infor
mation, and without the least knowledge of the para
graph, he could hardly be said to be more thap legal
ly or technically a publisher, without any confeioufnefs
of bad intent or guilt.,
Mr. Barr, printer of the Morning Herald, as an
excuse for himfelf, said, he had copied the paragraph
from the other paper, and hoped for the mercy of the
court.
Mrs. Say alledged, that asa woman, she could not
be so liable to guilt in the publication of the paper, as
she leaves those t ings to her servants; that she was
the executrix to her hufbtnd, with several children;
and that she carried on the business for their benefit;
that a few days after the a p pearance of the libel, there
was inferred a paragraph in her paper, contradicting
the former as void of foundation, and calculated to
create a misunderstanding between this country and
Russia, and therefore had manifefted a desire to wipe off
the reflexion contained in the firft paragraph.
There was another information againfl M. Pace, for
another paragragh on the fame fubjeft.
The attorney general commented upon the several
affidavit's, and said, that the paragraph was intended
to make a war with Russia, by reflecting on the honour
of theenvoy ; that in queen Anne's time, the very par
lament had passed an a&y and fentit to Petersburg,
to Blew what a feme they had of the injustice then done
to that court - that this would probably have been con
sidered as an infub to tht empress, whose reprefehta
five he was; that upon a late occasion of afreft upon
an ambassador, the foreign courts had thought there
was great deficiency in the government of this country,
that the laws of it did not permit a higher punishment;
and as foreigners expected the hj'ghef lpumihment, the
court ought to punilhthefe men beyond former extm
amples; and as they were equally guilty they fhouid
equally fuffer.,
Mr. Juftibe Willis then addressed the defendants,
and having Rated the charge againfl them, he said he
was glad to find that so many informations had of late
been moved for; that too much indulgence had been
given to licentious scandal from a' certain quarter, and
it was highly necessary now to make examples of all
infringements of the law in such cases He also talked
of the consequence of the envoy, and that such a pa
ragraph whs much to be dreaded, because our good
ally the empress might take it amiss, and declare war
with England' .That his majefly had very wifely or
dered the profecutron the second day after the libel ap
peared, and before the envoy had f^en it. And having
shewn in very simple terms the true cause of the pu
mifhment he was going to pronounce,
He said, " That the Court did adjudge—that you
Joseph Cooper, for example, be committed to the cus
tody of the marshal for the space of twelve months,
and that you do Rand once, within that time, in
and upon the pillory at or facing the Royal Exchange.
“ That you Henry Pace be also committed for 12
months, and do pay a fine of 100 pounds, and for the
second offence be imprisoned fix months after the ex
piration of the firft sentence, and do Raed once in and
upon the pillory at Charing Cross.
" That you James B rr be imprisoned for 12 months
and pay a fine of 100 pounds
“ And that you Mary Say, in consideration of your
Situation, be only imprisoned for fix months, and pay
a fine of fifty pounds."
Then, as to the judge of the admiralty ; his fees in
a prize cause are given, in as general words, as before
rhe late enquiry. By that it seemed as if the lump
fees, for a thip or vessel taken from the enemy, were
underßood to be meaned'only a 3 a reward for deciding
t e queßion, “ Whether prize or not ?" But the case
of a contradidory claim between captors or supposed
captors, was found to be a fepirite matter. If it be so,
let there be a fee given for it, and for appointing agents
for absent captors, and other duties. I am, &c. X.
Mri Claypoole,
IT is probable that the assembly will now think of
finlfhing their bill for the regulating of fees, there
fore remarks on it, may now be seasonable. A work
of this nature, to be ufeful, requires great attention^
assistance. Tne essay layed before the public is valua
ble, as a first draught. But it is deficient both as
to services for which fees are taken, daily, and as to
the proportion of the reward to the trouble, rhere
are also some mistakes in it. Thus the clerk of the
quarter-sessions is allowed for taking the bonds given
by public-house keepers, when by law and long usage,
this is due to the prothonotary of the county. Aga n,
this last is enabled to take a small fee for recording the
titl; of the deed of a fheriff, when land is fold upon ex
ecution, and nothing for recording the substance of
tne deed ; as the practice is. Is the officer to take this
trivial fee, for the whole business; or will he be enti
tled to the new allowance, and the usual fee for re
cording the deed itfelf?
STATE of PENNSYLVANIA.
In General Assembly, Friday 21st Sept. 1781.
Ordered, That the bill to amend the aft to recruit
the Pennsylvania line, be printed for public considera
tion. S. STERETT, Clerk.
An aft to alter and supply an aft, entitled, " An aft
for recruiti g the Pennsylvania line in the army
of the United States"
WHEREAS, a number of the classes have not
procured recruits according to the directi
on of the aft, intitled, " An aft to recruit the Penn
sylvania line," &c. which this aft is intended to alter
and supply, passed 25th June, 1781:
And whereas, it is absolutely necessary that money
be procured from the delinquent classes, and that the
recruiting of the said line be carried on toeffeO, in the
mod expeditions manner: Therefore,
Be it' enacted; &C. That the commissioners of the
several counties within this Rate, proceed, without de
lay, to levy the sum of Twenty Pounds specie on each
of the delinquent classes within the city and the several
counties ; and cause the fame to be collected and paid
into the t'reafury of each county in the manners and
under the pains an I penalties, directed in and by the aft,
entitled, " An aft to raise effective supplies for the
year 1781."
And be it further enacted, &c. That all monies
hroug t into the treasury of each county in purfuane
of this aft, shall remain there fubjeft to rhe orders of
the supreme executive council of tuis state, for the
sole purpose of recruiting the Pennsylvania line in the
army of the United States.
And be it further enafted, &c. That all recruits,
who may or shall be inlifted, in pursuance of this aft,
shall be inlifted for a term not less than 18 months
from the date of their refpedive inliftments.
And be it further enafted, &c. That the supreme
executive council of this state, be and hereby is autho
rized and impowered, to take such measures as to them
may seem molt expedient and effe&u il for inlißing the
recruits necessary to compleat the line of this state, as
directed by this ad, and the act which this aft is in
tended to alter and supply.
And be it further enafted, &c. That the a&, intitled,
"An a& for recruiting the Pennsylvania line in the army
of the United States;' 'paffed the 25th of June, 1781,
and which this act is intended to alter and supply ; and
every clause, matter and thing contained therein, (ex
cept what is herein altered or supplied) shall be, and
continue, in force and effeft.
And whereas, it is abfolutel, necessary that some
method be speedily taken more effectually to prevent
desertion. Therefore,
Be it enacted; &c. That any person who shall, accord
ing to an act to difeourage desertion, passed 20th of
February, 1777, apprehend and deliver to the fheriff
or gaoler of the county, a deserter from the line
of this Rate, shall be exempted from his two next
succeeding tours of militia duty, on producing the
certificate of the fheriff or gaoler of the county, of
his having delivered such deserter into his custody, to
the lieutenant of the county, or such other officer or
officers whose duty it may be to superintend the ap
peals held on the calls of the militia, when it would
have been otherwise the turn of such person to have
served. -
HITHERTO America hath shewn no cruelty in her
disposition towards even a merciless enemy, and when
ever justice or true policy made it necessary to adopt
a severe mtafure, the execution of it hath been attended
with painfulnefs and reluctance: But Clinton will inßruft
her in the practice of cruelty, by making it our interest,
and, in some degree, our preservation, to retaliate. After
burning of New-London, America might justly have
declared, that if any further burnings or devaluations
were committed on the inhabitants, that no terms fhouid
b%rauted to Cornwallis, but that he and his whole
garrison fliould be put to the sword : for Cornwallis is
more certainly within our power than any entrprize
Clinton may attempt is within his.
It is talked, that Clinton with abdut four or five
thousand men, intends to penetrate thro' the Jerfits to
w^ds this city. This may probably put an end to
the war at once, for it is to be remembered, that ex
clusive of the rivers he has to pass, he muR return
by the fam? way he came,-or not at all ; and before
he shall have mar hed half the distance towards the
Delaware, he may find the Jersey militia and the con
tinental troops in that quarter, like Burgoyne's " ga
thering stoam," hanging on his rear in that state,
a formidable opposition in this ; and if in the mean
time the French fleet fhouid take a turn up to the
Hobk, his retreat will be effectually cut off, and New-
York falls in consequence. C
TO BE SO L D,
By the Subferiber,
THAT beautiful situated Farm, cabled F A IR
VIE W, containing two hundred and fxty-five
acres of land : On hundred acres of which a e xtr?.pr
dinary good meadow, and well bank'd, having lately
been put into the belt order; another hundred acres
are fit for the plow; and the remaining sixty five are
wo d land about two miles from the hou'e. A beauti
ful two for, f time house well finished, forty-four s et
front by thirty-eight feet de p, four rooms on a floor,
with fire places in each, a good garret with four good
rooms suitable for fervantt, in one of which is a fire
place ; a large entry, ten feet by thirty-eight, through
the centre ; four good airy' cellars under the whole,
paved with bri.k and fepaia^ed by lattice, one of them
was defined for a kitchen, having a fire place and oven
in it. A well of good water at the door : a fine fpring
hohfe on a never failing stream, a few ya ds from the
house capable of c staining the milk of a large dairy ;
I arn, (tables, cow-house with stalls for twenty- fix cat
tie, cyder-house, two large sheds, barracks, coach.houfe;
gr nary, c^rn cribs, &c. two fine orchards of between
two and three hundred apple-tiees ; one of them contain
ing about ninety tre~s is in its pr me, and tne other
bgan to bear th 8 feafoh: pe?c!i orchard, pears, plumbs,
and cherries o r thelbeft kind ; a good garden near ths
house. The whole uhder good fence, wi±h cedar arid
rails.
Th : s plantation is fixated in a good neighbourhood,
on the river Delaware, and on the great road from Phi
ladelphia to New. York ; nineteen miles from Philadel
phia, half a mile from th # borough of Bristol, and one
mde fiom Burin ton in New-Jrrley. For farther par
ticulars enq tire of the fubferib^r on the premises.
JOHN CLARK.
to BEsO L D,
A Negro Man, Woman, and two Cfildren : the
. man und^rftands driving a carriage and taking care
0 horses; he likewite undeftands all kinds of work
about a farm . the woman can do every kind cf house
work. Apply to the printer.
^ XZ^ereas it is repored, that ' a certain John Sotten
^V itall was lately potoned, by taking too large 1
dos of mirmry. And it has been said, that the said
16' n ?6ttenftril obtained the said mtfrury from me. The
t uth of he natter, so far as refpra# m n , is, that he
to k half r ounce of faits from one of my fhelfs, which
I had put up in a piece of paper, and told him to go
and g. t one ounce of cre^m cf tarter, and mix' hem
both in moUffrs, and take a teafpeon full right and
moMCD',, wrile he was drinking th-d• t drink he wag
to fc>ch the next mefningf om me, and which I had pre
pared f.-r hjm # As for laying he got b off nr (helf, he
Could make, no mißcke, as he fee it put up and laid on
the ecgs of the (helf, whef: I put it, wrapped up in a
bit of p, ,f. New I do (wear and protest, that if he
or ;n? body else, searched ever so long, they could have
round none in my house.
PATRICK WILSON.
Philadelphia, Sept. 21.
The Subferiber begs leave to in
form the PUBLIC, and his FRIENDS more particu
larly, that he is removed to that commodious and well
known Rrnd, at the Sign of the King of Pruffit, in
Race-street, between Third and Fourth streets, where
he is fwfniffied with large and excellent LIVERY
STABLES. All Gentlemen who shall please to favour
him with thrir Custom, may depend on being received
in the best Manner, and the great^ft Cere and Atten
tion paid to themselves and horse&: By their humble
Servant, ISAAC .ALLEN, Junior.
WHEREAS MAGDALEN A; my wife, has
eloped from my bed and bobrd, this is to for
warn all perfohs, not to trust her on my account, for I
will pay no debts of her contr &ing from the date
hereof. MATTHEW WILLDANCKER.
Philadelphia, Sept. 10.
Head-quarters, Peek's-Kill, Sept. 6th, 1781.
aTi 0 L ONEL Nicola, of the invalid regiments
1g tried at a general court-martial, appointed by
major general M'Dougal, at Weft Point, the 21st ult
whereof col. M. Jackson was president, on the follow
ing and sundry charges exhibited by capt. Woelp
per.
The court having Considered the nature of the seve
ral charges exhibited againfl colonel Nicola, with
evidences, and his defence; on mature deliberation,
are of opinion, That the said colonel Nicola is not:
guilty of the iff, 2d, 3d, 4th, sth and 6th (except the
former part, viz. that he has taken George Saville,
quart, mast. ferg. out of the guard house, when be
was confined for adulterating officers rum, without
trial or punishment but are of opinion he was juflifia
ble in so doing) and of the 7th, Bth, 9th, and 10th
charges,and are of opinion that the charges are ground
less and vexatious and do honourably acquit him.
The general approves of the opinion of the court,
and orders colonel Nicola to be released from his af
reft immediately.
Tranfeript of general orders transmitted by
colonel Gcofvenor, D. A. G.
E. HASKELL, D. A. G. at Weft-Point
Notice is hereby given to the
Freeholder 8 ana other Electors 01 the county of P#&^
de phia, that a Meeting will be held on Bufinels of im
potrance, al the Houle ot JACOB NEFF, near Chef
nut-hih, on Saturday the 29th inftahi, at 10 o'clock
in the morning. Philadelphia county, Sept. 21.
Wanted, a Wet Nurse that can
be well recommended. Enquire of t e Printer.