The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1783-07-24 00:00:00, page 2

>: North's SPEECH ^ :bc Rmtorm of the Represent
iatjun in Fartcament, vn occafon of the ILn. Mr.
William Bitt's M^o.
HOUSE or COMMONS,
W banksday, /Hay 7.
J OR D North defined the refo^urions to be read, which being
£_, d # ,ne hr. Lor^/hip'faid, that he had given the greatest at
ie^wn to ve-y !'% that hrl fallen from the Gentlemen who
w.re times to tne m>dn, and particularly to the apprehended s
v ichthe mot fie, nine of its favourers (Mr. William Pitt and
Mr; Thorns: Pitt)" ha<f entertained, on entering upon the very
Rice, operr: m, to which the refdluUons we.e preparatory. In
the w.ole dor fe o' his prlum ntary engagements, he had ne
ver likened ^itH so me.. care to any fpcech that had been made
!,, any .Member, as hi had to tie one made by the Right Hon.
mover, and he must do that Gentleman the justice to fay, that
lehad nev/rinh^ lift been better paid for his attention. The
candour, :hc modulation, the ingenuity, end eh quence displayed
by that Gentleman were foch, as did honor to the illuhrious ,
bn: r y of v/hkh'hcformed so very distinguished a portion, but
the Gentleman had prefaced his motion with expressing the dread
held; in touching so venerable a Subject as the coqftitution,
th nigh fv the vuy pxanfs putpife of amending it. That ex
p^hioo was tiie expteffi>n of found lenfe. The at erript was of
the uiceh and mod dehene nature that the mind of man could
possibly conceive. It Was to tamper with that fabric which tor
bges bad Ao d the b^ft of Britons, and the admiration and envy
ii fit-he -.veild beiidev. And on white ground! Ought not an
L 'tihihman, who was kiefled with loch a pre-eminent form of
governnient, to pause a moment, and to aft himfelf, ere he ten
rur^d to innovate upon such a form, on what ground he was go
ir^to proceed id so awful -an undertaking. And when he had
alkh him elf that, and refilled on what he was about to do,
w>uH any man in his senses fay that aughfbut frenzy could ,
excise such a perlon from laying violent hands upon the
CunfthuLion, with no other foundation for his conduct, than the
fuere fancy of its bei.bg disordered, independent of any solid evi
dence of ^ftemper. Had the Right Hon. Gentleman who made
be motion Hid down any proof of the disorder intended to be re
^aied ? He had not. Neither had any of those who Supported it.
Much declamation indeed had been made life of both by kijh
aud them, grounded on evils which no one could deplore more
than he did. But these evils- -these misfortunes—-thefe cala
mities, were as little imputable to any defeat in the constitution,
as the earthquake of Lilbon had to do with the frame of the
government of that country.
Much had been said of the American war, and of the causes
o' it : As to himfelf, he was free to acknowledge at all times
the hand which he had in that war [here there was a cry of
Le^rbtm. ]By the cry of bear bim, which I notice, laid his
Lordihi?, from the other fide of the House, Gentlemen seem to ,
think I am going to make some apology or confeffion—they were
never more mistaken. Let guilt confefs and apologize. I know
none. But Twill be ready at ail times to vindicate my conduct,
v/oenever Gentlemen shall think fit to attack it. An honorable
Member near me (Mr. T. Pitt) has said, that the Constitution
is unsound, rocking to and fro like a weathercock with every
Ilad of wind, for want of something to keep it Ready; he de
frtbes the Crown, by virtue of its great influence, as keeping a
wicked Ministry in their offices, contrary to the sense of the
peojiq and he describes this fame powerful Crown as itfelf in
cr^ached on, stripped of its influence, and led into captivity,
11 nv the honorable Gentleman can reconcile two such jarring
descriptions, it is not in my power to conceive; but this I know,
th it they may neither of them be true, though, vty possibly,
they may both of them be falfe. To remedy these supposed
grievances, one hundred Knights are demanded in addition to the,
"county Members; but I fay, as I trust the majority will fay
No---not fifty"- —What! not fifty? " No---not one." I
must fee better grounds for the dem and before I can venture my
compliance with it. But then, as the favourers of the meafurs
cannot adduce any solid reasons in support of their wishes, they
are fruitful in imaginary oo r s: The American war, with all its
terrors and misfortunes, are pathetically diefled up, and laid at
the door of a worn out, battered, and enfeebled constitution.
Tile Ar^ehcan war was, as they suggest, the war of the Crown,
contiarv to the withes of the people. I deny it. It was the war
<f Parliament; there was not a flep taken in it that had not the
f^ndion of Parliament. It was the war of the people ; nor did
i ever cease to be popular, until a Tries of the mod unparalleled
difaflers and calamities caused the people, wearied out with al
most uninterrupted ill success and misfortune, to call out as loud
ly for peace as they had formerly done for war. Had the Con
flitution been so disordered as the reformers would persuade us
that it is, how comes it to pdfs that the voice of the people pre
vailed agaiml the influence of the Crewn. .This is a recent
tranfaftion. The policy of difeontinuing the war I mail not
now speak of, but that the House of Commons directed the mea
sure no one can deny ; of ceurfe the influence of the Crown, if
ever it had been prevalent, was then ho mote. Has it since that
period broke beyond its bounds ? Has it threatened any abuse
of the Constitution, which could excite those jealoufiee and fears
which Gentlemen aftfeA to imagine prevail among the people ?—
Not a tittle of any such grounds do I perceive, either in the pe
tition which has been presented, or in the agreements that have
been used in support of these petitions. But what is the weight
of the petitions themselves? Let us examine the matter. It was
used as an argument f r delaying the consideration of this busi
ness, when the right honorable Gentleman, who now moves it,
fieri brought it forward last year, that it were better not to take
it up too suddenly, but to give the people time to reflect on it,
and in the interim between that period, and the next agitation of
it, their sense might be more clearly colleaed.---What has been
the result ? After many months given to the people to ponder
well upon their grievances, if any they really had, in refpe& to
the infu~iciency of the representation, only 14 Out of 52 coun
ties have prefer ted petitions on this account. And how are these
petitions signed ? By infinitely the minority of each county.
Here is, am mg others, a petition from the county of Somerset, a
county which I knew well, and know in general to be averse to
this pretended reform. Indeed, there cannot be a stronger proof
of this disposition, than the very few names which, out of such
a vast number of qualified people as that county contains, ap
pears as signatures to the petition-only fix hundred 1 There is
another petition, the Suffax one signed only by the Sheriff!
„eie is rerrefentation with a witness ! The whole county of Suf
fer represented by their Sheriff! In a word, of so many millions
of inhabitants as England and Wales contains, there are no more
than 20,000 people, and what in general these twenty thousand
are (God alone knows) who have found fault with the reprefen
taticn of the country, and one of these discontented people are
the petitioners of one county, I mean Yorkshire, But it is not
the mere paucity of the fubferibers, though that alone ought to
forbid you to attempt innovations to gratify their whims, at the
expence of the more sensible feelings of the vast majority of the
nation, who by their silence on this occasion, ihew their perfect
contentment with the present form of Government. It is not
on this paucity alone, that I would have the House to ground
their rejection of the petitions. To that confideratien I would
add the manner in which the petitions have been obtained. They
have been obtained, not from the public in general, but from
the prejudiced part of that public. The Affixes are held twice
every year. The tyffions four time's, On all of these occasions
the inhabitants of each county may be laid to meet in that most
fair and most indTcifoinate manner, in which it may in candour
be supposed the real sense of the mass of the people might be
the heft collected, if the real sense was intended to be colleO
ed. Was this the manner in which the petitions were founded ?
Was it in this faireft of all fair modes that the sense of the pub
lic was taken ? No ; County Meetings, as they are called, were
'had--- Projectors, 'with set Speeches and icady framed petitions,
were there prepared tp met a number of prejudiced people, who
came invited to sign that which was ready for their signature.
The question was begged, or borrowed, or stole hofoitably, to
accommodate the'er/ving appetites of fetch coming guefis. Those
who liked neither the invitation por the 'fare, very prudently
remained at their own homes. And the question, in ffiort, now
is, to whom are we topay refpea ? Ttie"few reformers, or the mul
titude of contents? Can this be a Brians queffiion ? [There was
a great cry of bear him] I perceive it cannot.---! shall not dwell
upon a matter which this voice of the House declares it to be
unnecessary that I should dwell on.---But 1 wdvld entreat their
indulgence while I fay a word or two in anftfer to fume infatua
tions that affe& m) felf peifohaTly——^not that I woufe presume
teftake up the time of the House oh any matter that concerned
my mere felf; but as I conceive it will afford a further argu
ment against the meafitre we are now pref Ted to adopt, I am th<
more encouraged to hope this favour#
Indeed, said his Lordship, lifting hit eyes towards the clock,
I have already troubled the House too long, and that they feel
the misfortune of ray being unable to fee the motions of yon
monitor---but: (here the 'Whcle House loudly requeued him to
proceed) well, Mr. Speaker, continued his Lordship, the matter
to which I allude, is the 'insinuation thrown out refpe&ing bad
Misifters being continued in office, against the voice of the ,e -
ple, by the over-idling influence of the Crown. This is not a
random ftroke--,froth the quarter from whence it comes, 'the
direction may be known---! will not affect to think it is not le
velled at me. "But,'inultum aßladb Imago---! tiuft the candid
and difeerning p^rt'of the House will fee that the attack is most
unioft, I was not, when I was honored with office, a Minister
of chance, or a creature of. Whom Parliament had no experience,
I was found among' you, when I was so honored. I had beeh
long known to ydu. In conference, I obtained your Tupport-?-
when that support wis withdrawn, I ceased to be a Minister. I
Was the creature of Parliament in my rife---when I fell I Wb's its
'victim. Does this shew the undue influence of the Crown, or,
is it not, on the contrary, the strongest proof that can be given
of the potent efficacy of the public voice ?--If then that voice
is so powerful as to remove whatever may be displeasing to the
opinions of this country, what need is there of this paraded
reformation? There is a Bill now printed for the use of the
House, to remedy every grievance in print of expence and
bribery at elections, to which the resolution at present moved for
goes ;---and on that ground alone, 1 would think mffelf juftified
in negativing the ^notion ; but when, to this 'consideration is
added, the want of any proof of disorder in this glorious fabric,
a,the Right Hon. Mover jhdly ftilcd our constitution ; when a
remedy is fought for a disease I know n>t what; when the puny
voice of a few difeontented people breaks in upon the tranquility
and reverend silence cf the vast and fatisfied multitude-—when
even the difeontented themselves are at variance with refpe& to
the nature of their grievances, and the modes of their redrefs—
when (I fiy) all these things are considered, a doubt cannot re
main for a moment on my mind, of the weakness of giving way
to this froward humour this spirit of projedion ; they but
little know mankind, who imagine that a small indulgence will
not induce a prehure for a greater.—Princifeiis obfa.--.Let us a&
like men.---We are not the Deputies, but the Representatives of
the people. We are hot to refer to them before we determine.
We fland here as they would Band ; to use out own discretion,
without feekirig any other guidance under Heaven. In a word, as
no defea in the constitution has been proved, as we have heard
nothing but declamation and surmise to warrant so awful and so
very important a measure as an innovation on the form of that
venerable Palladium, which ages have fan&ified down to us,
let us again, let me conjure you, aft like men, and like Britons,
and reject---what to adopt mull inevitably lead to ruin. I have
freely gives you my tlioughts--.it remains that I perfe^ my duty.
The best way of getting rid of this deftruflive resolution was
certainly the motion for the ordef of the day. And that motion
has most cordially my wilhes.
BOSTO N, July 7.
Tuesday evening arrived the sloop Seaflower, Jacob
Mayberry, in 12 days from Charleflown, S Carolina.
On his passage, in lat. 39, long. 69. 40. he spoke
the brig Hancock, Hezekiah Perkins, mafler, from
Virginia bound to Amtterdam, all well.
July 10.
Last Friday, the anniversary of our independence,
was observed here in a manner becoming the happy oc
cafioi). The joy of the day was announced by the
ringing of bells, and difeharge of cannon.
wKi^^i M i»m<iiiwfflwaJ^i«Mii WT ri-ia— a<MWijirtii I Mwwr , ’r«n' ,i »? 'w^
P 5'R I'S MO6 TH, (New-c.amplhire) June 28.
Lift week one Stinfon, a refugee from this state, and
who has had the effrontery to return, in hopes of par
taking with us, the sweets of that liberty which they
have so perfidiously laboured to deftrov, was appre
hended by order of justice, and committed to Exeter
gaol, for transportation.
As also, a John Yeaton, formerly of this town, who
has been a privateering or plundering (his dwn coun
trymen) the supporters of our dear-bought freedom,
who have been so unfortunate as to fall into his hands
during the coUrie of the late war.
NEWPOR T, July 5.
Veflerday being the anniversary of the independence
of these United States, the fame was celebrated here
with the usual demonflrations of joy.
Captain Richard Grinnell, in a vessel from Portf
month. Virginia, bound to Newfoundland, in the
Gulf Stream met with a heavy gale of wind, which
did him so much damage that ho was obliged to put
into Martha's Vineyard to repair, where he arrived
on the 4th ult. and expected to fail again in a day or
two. ' —
N E W-L O ND O N, July n.
Friday last being the anniversary, of our happy in
dependence, the fame was observed here by a difeharge
of cannon from forts Trumbull and Griswold.
PROVIDENC E, July 5.
Yeflerday being the seventh Anniversary of Ameri
rican independence, the united company of the train
of artillery, commanded by colonel Tillingha/t, pa
raded on the occasion, and made a very haodfome ap
pearance. At Sunrising the day was saluted by a dis
eharge of thirteen cannon, which was repeated a f Qoon,
and the anniversary concluded with the usual demon
flrations of joy.
N E W-Y O R K, July 19.
On Thursday evening arrived the brigantine St.
John, captain Neto, in eight weeks from Oporto, by
which we have the following account," That on th^
" passage captain Neto spoke a copper-bottomed brig
'' amine man of war, commanded by captain Coote,
" whose officer, on boarding Mie St. John, ia lat. 24.
" long. 48, gave information, that captain Coote had
" left Bengal five months before; that an aßion had
" happened between the British fleet under fir Richard
" Bickerton, (who went to succeed fir Edward Hughes
" io the chief command in the Indian seas) and that of
" France under the comte de Suffrejn. A British line
" of battle ship was funk in the action, and one frigate
" taken: he mentioned nothing of the enemy's loss.
" The officer was not diflin& in his relation of this
" event, for we are not apprised whether fir Richard
" Bickerton's fleet was attacked separate from fir Ed
lc ward's, or these two admirals were joined, in which:
" latter case the fo r ce of the two nations would have
"been equal.—Provisions were extremely scarce in
“ India. —No accounts of the cessation of hostilities
" had yet been received there." —Letters from Oporto
mention, that the Algerines were renewing hoflilities
against the Portuguese trade, and the latter were pre
paring some line of battle Blips to chastise them.
The fame evening arrived the brigantine 1 ,
from St. Croix, belonging to Boston. In this vessel
came p'affengers, David Beekman, enquire, his lady,
and Miss Huggins, their niece.
The fame evening arrived here the brig Thomas,
captain Bulkeley, belonging to New London, in 18
days from St. Croix, by him we learn, that the islands
of Dominica, St. Kitts, and St. Vincent, were to be
evacuated by the French troops by the latter end of
this mobth.
Yefierday arrived the brig - , from Glasgow:
fie touched at Madeira and Teneriffe, and has been
cut three months from Greeriock.;
Extract of a letter from a gentleman in Canada, to hie
friend in this city, dated June 15, 1783.
" T suppose a packet boat will be sent monthly to
Halifax, and the Canadian mail be sent from thence
over-land, it is far from being inipradicable, not
would it be difficult to open a way, altho' at present
more than half of the way il covered with wood. I
have travelled that country in company with Indians,
and write from my own knowledge of it.
" From hence to Kamenfafkae 120 miles, the road
is very fine through the woods, which may be easily
opened to a bridle road, there is 60 miles to the nortli
end of lake Tinnifquataw, ftom thence following it#
banks, and down by the tide of Madawaiker river, to
where it runs into the river St. John's. Follow the
banks of St. John's river down to the falls, where there
are settlements. This journey has been performed by
women and children in ten days,
" By fixing settlers at every three miles after the
road i^ once fairly opened, there will be no difficulty
in getting forward. It wpuld be a good place for the
poor loyalifls to set down on; the land is excellent, and
the river St. John's procures them an easy way to con
vey their produce to market. A regiment would open
the road in a fumnier. Loyalifls would Undertake to
do it at a certain price per mile.
“ Genera! Haldimand intends to ©pen am immediate
communication with the nearest post of Nova-Scotia,
there are 60 men at work opening a way through the
woods, Halifax- wards, they will penetrate to the
boundary line this Summer ; the governor of Halifax:
will probably meet him ; that in time we may with ease
communicate by letter at all times of the year, the
Nova Scotians and Canadians mus snow be but one."
CHARLESTOWN, (South-Carolina) July ~
The public peace was yesterday greatly interrupted:
a Mr. Baron, it is said, met and grofly insulted Mr.
Nones, in Broad-fireet; among other illiberalities, he
used the appellation of French rebel—Mr. Nones re
lented this treatment ; they fought, and from an un
lucky blow given, the life of the latter was for some
time supposed to be in great danger; but after proper
means used he recovered. Baron made his escape-
Those who call themselves the friends of a particular
description of people, are very ill-advised when they
attempt to irritate; the present temper of the people
will not bear it—and exciting of commotions at such z
time may be dangerous, if not fatal.
That marked vengeance which appeared last night
amongst the people, against the person who insulted
Mr. Nones, a native of France, will teach certain
persons a little more civility to the fubjeHs of the great
and generous ally of America.
Entered Inwards.
7 July—brig St. Peter, P. Steinorth, from London
— brig Eliza, G. Cranflon, St. John's, Antigua
—ship Roe' uck, W. Hail, Liverpool
— brig Friendship, G. Stead, London
8 ship Betsey, Francis Swinburn, ditto
— brig Vryheid, Hanson, Amflerdara
, schooner Hope, Thomas Bag, Augufline
— Liberty, Jesse Etheridge, N. Carolina
— Polly, Abel Afhbee, ditto
— Chance, Stephen Fulford, ditto
— Peace and Plenty, John Langley, Briflol
— brig Favouite, Charles Lear, London
—schooner True Blue, Philip Ritter, Lirginia
— brigantine Neceffier, John Videau, St. Dotoigo
CHATHAM, July 16.
It is truly laughable, that the very persons who so
lately exhibited every mark of inveteracy and detefla
tion to the conflitutions and people of these slates,
Ihould now endeavour to seek an asylum among us.
Every heart mus lexpand with joy on beholding the
asp ft of the country.— Finer weather for agriculture
we have not experienced for some time past. From
a'mofl every part of the country we have the roost fa
tisfaaory intimation that all appearances indicate a
year of aflonilhing plenty.