Dunlap's Pennsylvania packet , The general advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1775-02-27 00:00:00, page 6

For the Pennsylvania Packet.
fH Efolding Speech of Lord Belhaven, deliver
' ed in the Scotch Parliament, on thefubjeft of the
union between the tnvo kingdoms, and juß before
that event took place, is well worth, of a column
in you r paper at this j unflure. IVe Jha 11 there find,
that the greatest miseries a people have ever fuffered
have arisen from divisions among themselves ; and
that unanimity might have prevented them, Che
current of opinion (thank Heaven) sets ftrongl, in
favour of the measure adopted b, the Congress, and
nine tenths oj the people are of one way of thinking.
In this situation of things, it is impossible to fay what
are the motives that influence some persons in the Co
lonies, to go on publishing in the manner the, do. Are
the, defreus of holding us up to the Ministry as a di
vided people, thereby to draw on us the most dreadful
ofall calamities ?— In charity, I wou d hope other
wise, and that they are impelled by a miflaken zeal,
but real, mean well to their country. Jj this be the
case, lam persuaded the following observations will
have weight with them ; and that henceforth the, will
notfow th?feeds of fadion in America. But if the]
are dupes to the wicked designs of others, or if the,
are governed b, a reliefs ambition, and, to attain
diflinflion as the leaders of a party, are willing to
embroil their country in a civil war, let them look to
the consequences. Should their labours be crowned
with success, it is very possible the, ma, be the firft
who expire in the fames of their own kindling.
My Lord Chancellor,
T) Y what experience I have had in this
world, I always found, that when divisions
are once come to that consistency, as to form
themselves in factions, upon different measures,
and opposite designs, that then reason and rea
soning make but a very small impression upon
either of the parties. What I shall fay on this
head, is to advance this position, viz. That
there is more danger to our nation and national
concerns, by divisions and factions, than by any
mi.takes in fit and adequate measures, if they
be unanimously gone upon.
A wrong measure, especially in resolutions,
may be rectified and redressed, when we come
to a more full view of the affair : And though
sometimes they prove unfuccefsful, yet unani
mity endures a shock with firmnefs ; but divisi
ons and factions increase and multiply, and that
from very small beginnings, so as to render all
persuasions abortive ; and that more especially
amongst men ofhonour, who, as they are gene
rally more grateful, constant and firm to their
words and parties, so upon disappointments,
they are more prone to resentment and revenge,
the most dangerous ofall passions, and the most
fatal to the very being of nations.
What I plead for, my Lord, at this time, is
unity. Whatever you would have done, let it
be done (nemine contradicentc) and it will not
want its own weight, for lam persuaded that
whatever resolution this Honourable House
shall come to, a wrong measure is preferable to
a good one, if there be unanimity in the one,
and faction at the bottom of the other.
My Lord, that I may not seem to speak with
out book, 1 could adduce instances from the hf
tories of Europe, to confirm what I have said,
and from none more than that cfour neighbours
the States of Holland, whose unity has raised
them to the grandeur and riches they are pos
sessed of at this day. They wanted not wrong
measures, and unfuccefsful attempts, but their
unanimous firmnefs in the vindication of their
Liberty, hath made good the verity of their
motto: Cowerdia res parwee crefeunt.
But waving what is foreign, I shall only con
fine myfelf to our own hittories, and by four
examples, I shall make it evidently appear,
that our predecessors, when in a good under-
Banding among themselves, were always in a
condition to defend their rights and liberties
against the Englifb, and that they never did pre
vail over us, save when we were divided and
broke by factions.
'I he firft instance is, ofthat famous controver
sy about the right of succession to Alexander
the third; the story is so well known, that I
shall not give this Honourable House the trou
ble of hearing it repeated, but shall only fay,
we divided upon it : What followed upon that ?
The Kini of England gave us a King : What
was the confluence of that? Both of us paid
very.dear for it. For as the Historians of both
nations tell us, there followed upon it the long
est and most bloody war that ever was betwixt
two nations : Then, and not before, could it be
said, that England had any pretence of homage
from us.
Pray, my Lord, had it not been better that
our predecessors had, of themselves, chosen the
worst of the competitors, yea, the word man of
the nation, by a general consent, rather than to
have sustained those calamities which follow d
on that division.
The other time, my Lord, that we crooned
under English bondage, was by Cromwell, who
knew as well how to divide, as how to fight.
We had called home King Charles the second, as
successor to his father; Cromwell enters Scot
land with an army, and prevails : What was
the reason of it ? Was his army comparable to
ours for number? He knew very well King
Charles the firft, his master, had come upon us
with a far better army, and. we less prepared
and less accustomed to war, and yet, when fivord
in hand, was necessitated to give us a valuable
treaty at the Bircks. He knew very well that
we had the remains of that gallant army, which
had procured us io good conditions at the treaty
of Rippon ; and who afterwards had raised the
Parliamentary power above that of their Sove-,
reign. He knew that we had the brave troops
that had preserved the north of Ireland from the
Iriih rebels. Whence then came all these hopes
of Oliver? It came, my Lord, from our divisi
ons. We were united in those former times,
and broken then, in short, we had the Hamil
tons, Grahames and Campbells, each driving on
opposite designs. Yea, my Lord, faction was
come to that heightof enthusiasm, that when we
came to fight Cromwell at Dunbar, we would,
not fight but as Gideon did the Madianites,
although we had no such warrant for it.
The two instances where our unity preferred
us from the fatal confequenc.es of war with En
gland, are those of King David, and King James
the firft, after we had recovered our liberty un
der the conduct of the noble Bruce, who had
forced the grand-child by a mod solemn renun
ciation to vomit up the claim ofhomage, unjust
ly imposed by the father upon us. Two u hap
py accidents put these two Kings in the hands
ofthe Englifn: Did they let go the opportunities
to trump up their claim of homage ? No, my
Lord. What hindered them to proceed further?
King David had loft a co; fiderable battle, was
their prisoner himfe'f, many ofthe nobility kil
led and taken, England fuccefsful against France
at the fame time, and their King prisoner in
England, King James the firft was their prisoner,
being forced to flee from the upjuft d fens of
his uncle Robert, and as unjustly made prisoner
by them : These occafiorvs, my Lord, did ap
pear favourable enough for England to make
use of their time, but our firm unanimity put a
flop to their designs: We declared we would
not obey our Kings, as long as they were under
English power and influence, and so both our
armies in France, and Peers in Scotland, refufed
their orders, as long as they were in England,
looking upon them not as their King's com
mands, but the commands of an enemy: And
thus we were preserved, and our Kings delivered
to us up~n ransom.
My Lord, I have observed that England never
let go any opportunity, neither before nor since
the union of the two crowns, to bring us under
their power; and I am persuaded, that the heats
and animosities amongst us these several sessions
of Parliament pad have, among other things, oc
casioned that threatening and unaccountable aft
of Parliament, wherein they charaderife our mi
nift rs, and criticife our a&s, as it hath alf)given
a nev birth to those contemptible and ignorant
pamphlets, come out of late ^gainft the sove
reignty and independency of our nation. Will
you prevent the consequences of what is designed
against ud Be as united as they, in your actings
against them : Did Whig and To y differ about
us? No, my Lord: The two Houses, though
in civil war among themf Ives, did vye with one
another, which of them ftould have the honour
to give us the sharpest and severest blow.
To conclude, would you quench the fire that
appears to be raised against us in England ? Be
unanimous, and 1 hope the case is not as vet so
desperate, but what our predecessors have found,
we may yet find the like.
B OSTO N, Feb. i 6.
The Lively frigate of war is lately Rationed at
Marblehead, in order to harrafs and impress the
feafaring inhabitants of that town. It is said to be
by order of Admiral Greaves, in consequence of
the mifeondud of his Purser, John Williams, who
had two boxes consigned him in the ffiip Cham
pion, Captain Fellows, which arrived there from
Great-Britain between the firft of December last,
and February instant. These packages, agreeable
to the Continental Association, ought to have been
re-shipped, or delivered to the Committee of In
fpedion for sale, or to be stored during the conti
nuance of the Association, but infield hereof
Williams utterly refufed to comply with the As
sociation, and with some other inferior officers of
the navy demanded the boxes, alledging that they
contained candles for Admiral Greaves. The
Committee, as well as the Town, thought the do
ings of the Continent too important to be thus treat
ed by a common Purser, and the matter was so re
gulated that the candles were detained, until ap
plication was made to the Committee in the name
of the Purser, for felling the fame, and the Asso
ciation was fully complied with. For this in
fiance of fidelity in the Committee and Town is
that community, confiding of about seven th'ou
fand inhabitants mostly dependent on trade and na
vigation, thus arbitrarily treated ; which must con
vince the American Colonies, that had they not
nobly refolded to maintain and defend their Rights
and Liberties, the most infignificant officers of the
Crown would have been authorifed and encouraged
to insult them. The crew of the Lively are not
fuffered to land by the inhabitants of Marblehead,
who seem determined to defend themselves against
these unjuftifiable proceedings.
P 111 LA DE LP hi lA, Ff. 27.
Ills Excellency Governor Eden has fur
ther prorogued the General Assembly of
Maryland to the 27th of March, by procla
mation.
Extrafi of a letter from Montreal, 'Jan. 18.
" The French translations of tne address
to the inhabitants of this country, w hich were
ordered by the Congress to be font here, are
not yet come to hand ; but there has been a
translation made at Quebec, and manuferipe
copies of it handed about among the French
Bourgeois (our Printer dares not publish any
thing of that nature) but they have been so
little accustomed to speak or think on fub
je&s of that kind, and are so much afraid of
giving the smallest offence to government,
that they will avoid taking any part in the
matter. —The Noblesse enter very fanguincly
into the scheme of raising troops, but the
Priests, we are well assured, disapprove of it.
The greatest part of the Noblefle reside in
this diftria, and upwards of 50 of them are
gone down to Quebec, to pay their refpecb
to the Governor, and attend a ball usually
given by government on the Qieen's birth
night. They expert to come back with com
missions in their pockets, but our Governor '
has not yet received his inffrudtions. Wheat,
owing to the great orders last year, is extra
vagantly high, nothing less than 3s. gd.
(equal to ss. 3d. Pennsylvania currency for
our bushel.) We would be glad to know
whether the resolve of the Congress will be
adhered to, in dropping connection with us
unless we come into their measures. In this
case; we must order shipping from England.
We have never exported more than 10,000
bushels of flax-feed in a year ; the small quan
tity exported is owing to the low price, be
ing often at 2s. and 2s. 6d. This year it baa
been as high as ss. 6d. and if before spring
the people are assured of a good price, there
will be 100,000 bushels raised in the province,
or even more."
At a Meeting ofthe Committee of York County, as
York To<wh, the l^th day of February, 1775.
PRESENT thirty-nine MEMBERS^
TH E Committee took into consideration the
Proceedings of the late Provincial Conven
tion, &C.
Resolved unanimously. That we heartily ap
prove of the Proceedings of that Convention.
/ The Committee apprehending that, from the
non-importation agreement, and the present state
of public affairs, that unless great care be taken,
there would in a short t : me be a scarcity of gun
powder, which is so necessary to our Indian trade
and the hunters of this province: Therefore Re
solved, That we recommend it to the several mem
bers of this Committee, that they, in their respec
tive townships, with the assistance of the townihip
Committee-Men, do difeountenance the consum
ing of that article but for the most ufeful purposes.
It being represented, that sundry persons in thi;
county had formed themselves into military asso
ciations, and that they would difeontinue them,
if diiagreeable to this Committee; upon confided
ration of which, Resolved unanimously, That we
by no means would discourage those proceedings,
on the contrary we are of opinion, That such as
sociations, if conducted with prudence, modera
tion, and a ftricl regard to good order, under the
direction of men of probity and understanding,
would tend much to the security of tliis country
against the attempts of our enemies.
Resolved unanimou fly, That we recommend
to the inhabitants of this county, a ftri& adherence
to the affociation.of the Continental Congress and
the directions of our late Provincial Convention ;
and that in caie any Township C ommittee should
meet with obftrußion, in carrying the fame into
execution, that we will and tlie rest of the county
ought to assist them.'
Resolved unanimously, That the Township
Committee Mien in this county ought, as soon as
pofhble, to colled the flour and grain fubferibed
for the poor of Boston, and convert the fame into
cash, and that they immediately pay such cash
and all other monies fubferibed, into the hands of
Messrs. Jofeph^Donaldion and George Irwin, who
with the direction of any ten of the Committee are
to remit the fame in bills of exchange to the Com
mittee of Bofion for the poor of that place.
Resolved unanimously, That in case the Com
mittee of Correspondence of this province, ap
pointed at the last Convention, shall think proper
° r , majority of the County Committees shall
confider it expedient, that another Provincial Con
vention should be held, we do appoint James
Ewing, Michael Swope, James Smith, Thomas
Hartly, and Henry Slegle, Esquires, and George
, ?% Ge ° r ^ Eichelberger, David Kennedy and
John Houston, or any five or more of them, as the
deputies of this county, to attend such Conven
tion, and to agree to luch matters and things as
may be deemed neceflary for the fafety and wel
fare of this province, or the common cause of
American Liberty.
Extr&ajrom !be proceedings of the said Committee,
George Lewis Lefler, Clerk.