The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1781-06-05 00:00:00, page 1

LONDON, January „.
IN the debase in the house of commons, on Thurs
day night, lord North, towards the conclusion of
his speech, fatd, " My regret at the Dutch war has
been already profeffed; the interests of the two coun
tries are infeparible, and we should in prudence unite
to fiem a torrent which threatens defiruaion to all
Europe! A speedy reconciliation between us, there
fore, I arden!y wish for —I would not choose to fee
Holland distressed : ray, I will go further, even at this
moment, after every provocation, were it possible that
country should be attacked by France and Spain, I
would a'vife to defend and support her with the whole
power of this monarchy." —This generous sentiment
of his lordship was received with warm marka of ap
probation through the house
Extrad of a letter from Versailles, Jan. 22.
“ The Ruffian minifler has within these few days
received no less than five different dispatches, by cou
riers, from his court. Yesterday he received the last,
and had a long conference with Messrs. Maurepas,
iNeckar, and Vergennes. The talk here is, that Russia
is determined, if possible, to heal the breaches between
the States and England, and prevent a general war
throughout the continent."
Certain it is, feme power has already interposed it
felf as a mediator between this country and Holland,
and the opinion is, inat/t is the ambadador of the king
Of Sardinia at the Hague. If may be remembered, that
it was through the king of Sardinia that the last peace
was brought about. And it may be supposed that
lord Mountfinart did not go last year to Turin merely
on account of pleasure.
The following is an exaH copy of a most extraordi
nary epihlt sent on Tuesday last by a lady of distinguish
ed tank, to another of no less coufequence
M^dam, , + " Place, Tuesday..
" Your' behaviour last night, Madam, did not scape
sny notice— I saw your fneert, Madam, about the
Pool and give meleave, Madam now to fay, Madam,
that you are a very saucy, impudent huffy—more
than oct I will fay, I fay your amores with a known'
gamefler is well known to all the town except your
Lufbahd, and [will now tell you Madam, that if ever
you behave again, Madam, in the like manner to me,
l will flap your face if its in the piayhoufe.-
I am not your humble servant.
To re——,'
Feb. 20. A scheme was lately difeovered for carry
ing oft Lord Cornwallis, and delivering him into the
hands of theenemy, by a colonel Wynn, an American,
who had come in and joined the British. The plan was,
to invite L rd Cornwallis, by some plausible pretext of
a surprise of the enemy, so as to get him out of the
protection of his army ; but Wynn was betrayed, and
his lordihip getting intelligence of the scheme, went to
the spot at the time appointed, attended by a strong
guard of dragoons, who made prisoners of Wynn aad
his party, and he was in cenfeqafyce immediately
executed.
FxraA of a letter from Plymouth, Feb. 13.
“ Such a gale of wind as has been since Sunday morn
ing I never saw, or such a sea. Yesterday evening (the
wind at S. W.) at four o'clock, the Echo sloop of war,.
Capt. Mani-y, parted her cables in the Sound, hoisted
her forebay ;..; and main fail, and run up Catwater;
unfortunately ihe got athwart a fllip's hawser, which
checked her progress ; (he then backed a-stern, and
ran afhor in Deadman's Bay, in Catwater. The gale
Fill encreafing, they cut her masts away ; fortunately,
the main mail fell on the land fide, and formed a bridge
for the crew to fafe on shore, which they effeHed, not a
man being loft. She filled almost immediately after,
and faon beat to pieces; Had ftie run on shore in the
light, every foul must have perished.
March j. Private letters from Holland fay, "ft is
generally imagined that the Stadtholder will issue his
orders for the release of the crew of the General Bar
ker Bast Fndiaman, branded on our coast, without
any exchange, not looking upon them as thrown into
our hands by the forth ne of war, but the will of Pro
vidence.
Yesterday morning an express arrived at the admi
ralty from Portfmoath, with advice, that the grand
fleet is completely ready fer sea, the whole being at
this time at anchor at Spithead; and only waiting for
a favourable wind to set fail. Several ships of the line,,
that have been waiting at Plymouth, have received or
ders to join them, which will make this great arma
ment confifi of thirty-two thips of the line (nine of the
r umber being three deckers) five 50 gun ships, and
eleven frigates, besides sire-ships. The East India and
New York fleets, with the transports and trade for
Ireland, are likewise ready, and will take the benefit
of the above convoy.
No iefs than eight of the root? capital estates in Nor
foA are Row left entirely to the Rewards, and the own
^ ^one, or going to Italy, to retrench. The present
VOL. X. ]
TUESDAY, JUN E 5, U^
, THE
^— <^^ C^Y ^ 6^o/^) Q^O^) c^o^o <_/
O R, THE
GENERAL ADVERTISER.
Published every TUESDAY and SATURDAY.
times are so bad in the mortgage way, that these gent
lemen can go on no longer. Near thirty thousand
pounds have been called in that were on mortgages
upon eftatea in that county, Derbyshire, and Notting
hamfhire, in order to be invested in navy bills, which
now bear near eight per cent. The money on mort
gage yielded but four.
A letter from Yarmouth, fays, "'That they have
just received advice from Sunderland and Nowcaflle,
that there are now cruizing in those parts three French
privateers, and two Dutch armed vessels, which pre
vent the colliers from putting to sea."
From Toulon there is advice that the Majefleux
new firft rate man of war of 112 guns, lower deckers
Spanish brass guns, 56 pounders, with the Neptune of
90 guns, St. Croix of 74, L'Union of 74, and L'Ai
grette, had failed from thence,, to join the grand fleet at
Ereft.
March 2. We can assure out' readers, fromthe most
refpe&able authority, that the greatest coolness actually
subsists at this time between the young emperor of Ger
many and the court of France. The imperialambaffa
dor residing at Paris is received with the most perfect
fang froid by the grand monarque and his ministers, and
things are altogether in that state between the two
courts, that a mutual recal of ambassadors is daily ex
pefted. The immediate cause of this difference is a recent
requisition, made by the emperor, of Alsace, which is a
large and fertile province on the continent, now in the
possession of the king of France, but formerly annexed
by feudal tenure to the emperor of Germany. The king
of Prussia takes apart in this dispute, and has intimated
to the court of France, that if the emperor takes any
raeafures for the compulsory attainment of the right ire
is now urging, he will join with them against him, and
lend every afliftance in his power to prevent their
compliance, as be represents, with so unjust a de
mand; but the fad is, to prevent such an accession of
power and property to the emperor, as would totally
subvert the balance which fnbfifts between these two
neighbouring monarchs, and reduce his Prussian ma
jesty to the state of a mere tenant at will upon the
imperial monarch. To convince the French court that
he is sincere, in their behalf at present, Frederick has
actually sent another ambassador to Paris; so that he
has, at this time, two representatives of tried talents
and fineffe, endeavouring to produce the grand pur
pose of an immediate rupture between the great pow
ers in question.
If the event alluded to in the above paragraph
should actually take place, an amazing revolution
must unavoidably ensue in all the politics of Europe.
France and Germany, which have been for some time
past allies, and are bound at present by the further tie
of near consanguinity in their refpeflive monarchs,
will probably be set at eternal variance. The king of
Prussia, who has long been the friend and ally of Eng
land, must immediately become the friend of France,
and consequently the direct enemy of this country ;
and similar changes will of course take place amongE
ail the minor states on the continent. Upon the whole,
however, this must prove a most fortunate contingency
to us, for such is the present condition of this country,
that it is hardly possible that any alteration of circum
flances should not produce a concomitant alteration to
us of fortune for the better.
Extract of a letter from Chatham, March 1.
" Soldiers mount guard every njgfit alongthe dock
wall at the back of the yard, from new flairs, nearly as
far as Princess-bridge, aqj if application is made from
Grangers to fee the yard in day time, theyare not ad
mitted without the commissioner's approbation, and
their names, occupation, and places of abode, being
taken down by the porter, which firft they sign them
selves, and notwithstanding are not permitted to walk
about the yard without a deputy porter to accompany
them.
\
To the Printer of the London Evening Foil.
S I R,
IN a flagrant miniflerial pamphlet, called Lucubra
tions on Ways and Means, ?ddreffed to the mini
ster, whose opinions it contains, the writer has the
affurante to assert," that the generality of the peo
ple in America, are not averse to the British govern
ment; that many were deluded by the consummate
arts of these who aimed at sovereignty from the begin
nihg ; but that whenever those who were thus deluded
shall find ah asylum in the proteaion of the crown of
Great Britain, all who are not of that religion, which
gave birth to the present war, will, most certainly, re
turn to their allegiance." As to the prophetical part
of this impudent paragraph, it is confuted by every
packet from America ; but [fhould be glad to know
what the doßor means by that republican religion,
which gave birth to the present war.
Your's,
Feb. 17, 178!. A DISSENTER,
From the London PUBLIC ADVERTISER, March 2^
SIR,.
POLITICIANS of all nations are, I believes
agreed, That Russia at this conjuncture is the
most powerful state of Europe, The House of
Bourbon, in all its united branches, may justly la,
claim to the next rank in power. The two great Ger
man. potentates, the emperor, and the king of Prussia,
.will from their situation, ambition, and opposite views,
perpetually watch each other's motions ; one of them
will not espouse any of the belligerent parties, without a
resolution to oppose and thwart the views of the other-
Mutual caution will in all probability keep them out
of the fray ; nor will the empress of Russia be diverted
from her present fyfiem of maintaining an equal right
to the navigation of the seas: By which !§ meant the
not exposing her vessels to be searched under this sup
position, that free ships make free bottoms' .In this
plan of a Mare Liberum, so learnedly contended for by
the great Grotius. against our Selden, in bis Mara
Claufum, flie is supported by the two northern powers ;
to which at last the Dutch have acceded.—l have ho
noured some of our wisest miniflers, with the fuppofi^
tion that they willingly gave into the shallow and ra
pacious views of the Scotch cabinet, in declaring hos
tilities against the Dutch, with an almost certain pro
fpedf of putting an end to this savage and unnatural
war with our old American friends : I have said that
the empress of Ruflia will confider the Dutch as fuf
ferers for their becoming parties to the combined neu
trality ; and though this great princess will do nothing
precipitately, but try all fair methods to prevail upoit
our court to hearken to reasonable terms, before she
proceeds to extremities, yet it may be depended upon
that she will protest the Dutch, and oblige us to do
them justice.
We ha've been unhappily driven by an inordinate lust
of power, and an arbitrary scheme of levying taxes
upon the colonies, unfounded in justice, policy, or even
expedience. America is now become the grave of Bri
tons. We have tried every art of cruelty and cajole
ment ; nay, we have at last done what should have
been tried several years since. We have renounced,
by a public declaration of fir Henry Clinton, all right
of taxation; but at the fame time that we confefs our
errors, that we abolish all parliamentary ads of griev
ance and oppression, and renounce a 1! claims to internal
impofis, by which we plainly confefs that we have
been in the wrong, and hereby juftified their refinance ;
I fay, after all this, even in our invitation to peace and
concord, we fiile them by the odious name of rebels^
How absurd and ridiculous is such a conduct!
That the continuing this diabolical war must end ira
our ruin and confufion, is, I think, very evident to alt
the world. The accident which seemed to be so very
favourable to our hopes, has turned out a fad proof
of the contrary: The folders who left Washington's
army in difgut have manifefted themfefves, notwith
flanding their secession, firm friends to the cause of A
merica. Could British soldiers have afled on better
principles than these men ? Can we produce an instance
parallel to it ? They return to their duty on the re
dress of their grievances, and they surrender up those
men who tried to seduce them into the British service.
We have loft the hearts of the Americans, and never
shall be able, I fear, to regain them. The colonies
wanted nothing but money, and our humane scotch
ministers have declared war with the Dutch in order to
supply them. They may talk, if they pieafe, of dis
covering the plan of a treaty, entered into between the
Americans and the merchants of Amsterdam, but they
have not pretend'd to have difeovered any thing like
a loan from the frites of Holland, to the states of A
merica ; but I will venture ' to prophecy, that they
will soon hear of a very large one from that quarter,
which will enable rhe congress to cloathe their troops,
to pay them regularly, and to carry on the war with
efficient vigour, as well as refolutien
fr am, Sir, your's; &c.
Feb. 26. VATICINATOR
Very good and agreeable Ac--
cemmod'tioßs for a few Families, may be had at
Mourt Airy, late the country fee.t.of William Allen,
Require, d^ce^fed. The pleasant filiation of the phic^
renders it an exceeding fiae Summer Retreat; being
only eight miles ?nd a half from the city, 'and yet pefe
fta'lv reslufe. for Terras apply to WILLIAM
CROSS, living on the premises.
& c n'a v'rb'f;
Almost new, made of th^ b'A Materials, with Harness
so r a pair of Horh^ comp^at, To be Sold* ,Enquire of
the-Prin^r. May 5; ,
[ NUMB. 739.