The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1777-10-21 00:00:00, page 2

have made more thousands, in the compass of
a few months, than they could have done
hundreds, did they content themselves, with
the common and ordinary advance of mer
chants. Some of these have been so sordidly
mean as to endeavor to monopolize fait ma
nufactured on our sea coasts, and even some
of the produce of our farms.
Thirdly. You will find very considerable
fuels in the hands of our farmers, who have
fold their oxen, fat cattle, beef, pork, wheat,
&c. at a price double what they ever were
during the last war, not to mention commis
saries, fab commissaries, agents and fab agents,
with whom! conceive will be found, a very
bandfome pittance of our bills
If an honest man pretends to ask one of
these religious cut-throats how he dare ask such
an exorbitant price for the produce of his
farm, he will put on afanflfied phiz and tell
you, one thing mud answer another; he is obli
ged to give 40 s. per gallon for rum, &c.
or that the money is good for nothing, he can
purcbafe nothing for it.
In the name of common sense what can
such wretches mean ? If I offer a man my
note of hand on interest for £.lO, when at
the fame time I am worth £ 2000, fhouldl
be refufe it forjootb, because ar prefect he can
not purchase tor it ribbons, lace, gauze or tea 1
tor his daughters, I should be under strong 1
WANTED immediately by the fubferiber (#3 an apprentice to the Paper-making bufioefsJ an a&v^ Bov
to Eusha Babcock. , Hereford, O^bAo, 177% ' B ° %J ° Ut 14 or ^ years if
names of the persons of whom received, the
time when, &c. &c. that whenever the pe
riod (hall come, when we (hall be conquered,
they may have it to shew our conquerors, in
evidence of their fidelity to government, in
order to have it refunded out of the estates
of those very persons of whom they received
it. This! know to be areal fad.
Secondly. You will find great part of our
bills in the hands of such of our merchants,
who never were content in their lives with
the usual and customary advance of the fair
dealers in trade, who are now commenced
monopolisers and engrojers, and who have
motinutud undo# tU^^t-aawULitf jnhhirj
and foarpers, who have sprung out of the
very dust, and have amassed their thousands,
&now thinkthemfelves of some importance
among mankind,from the monies which they
have gained, by the most unrighteous extortion.
Thele capital robbers instead of importing
goods from abroad, content themselves with
engrossing those which were imported, be
fore the times of our distress came upon us,
which had been hoarded up by men of the
like damp, or such goods as have been
brought in by our privateers. These men
Many of of our principal rulers, and some
in the nearest connexions with them, doubt
less will be possessed of feme part of those
bills ; net to mention those who have loan
ed great part of their substance to the States
to save their country from impending ruin,
who most certainly will not be permitted by
any unrighteous means to be deprived of
their ptoperty, and these vast sums of mo
ney are to be collected (and a collection is
now begun) where will those bills be found ?
Suffer me to answer,
First. Large sums will be found in the
hands of concealed tones ; that is, fuck men
who never once desired this country should
be 1 berated from British tyranny; nor have
they loaned a single copper to the States to
save their country, and preyent too large
em ffions: but have carefully put up all the
bills they have by law been obliged to re
ceive for their out-handing debts, with the
^ well s his army, plates the highest con
fidents , and whatever tl\e good people of these
States may think of it, who are supplying
their families here at home to the halves,
harty with nectaries, and that at a most
ungodly price, whenever the war shall ter
minate, he never will oblige his men who
have undergone the severest hardlhips, fought,
bled, and died in the ferviee of their country,
to lay down their arms until ftrid justice is
done to the army.
temptations to ^% bis nefa or fit in his
face. It these fflortiamrs j bber or cut throats,
call them which you pleale, (for they do not
deserve the name of gentlemen or chriftians
who pradife such barefaced extortion and op
pression) cannot purcbale gewgaws for their
daughters, they may put their monies into
the loan office, where they will be well se
cured of lawful interest ; for if we are not
conquered, it must be paid to a single far
thing in specie, or what we shall think an
equivalent—and if we are conquered, it is
not a farthings matter, whether the dollars
in our chefls, are square or round; and if
our bills are good for nothing, one dol
lar is as good as a thousand, for all the pur
poses of money.
Whenever our bills are collected (and as
such floods of them lessens their value, it is
high time their numbers were dimin shed)
it must necefftrily ftreighten some people,
but at no time less than when they are plen
tieft, now let me ask who will be hurt by
the collection ? I will again answer, no one
can possibly be hurt provided every one pays
bona fide according to his whole estate. I
can certainly tell you who will not be hurt.
The honest day laborer, who supports him
felf and family solely by his labour, so long
as our farmers will please to give him the
usual quantity of provisions for his labor can
not be hurt ; he may perhaps be ftreigtened
to pay his poll tax, but he cannot be 'much
hurt by it, and every man, the poor as well
as the rich, ought equally to pay for the pro
tection of their persons.
The opulent engrrffer, who has thrice dou
bled his money in the space of fix months,
cannot complain, & the fooals of jobbers fear
pers, that aft as retailers to him, who put
on a most exorbitant advance upon all they
purchase of him, without far, foame or re
morse of confidence, I am sure have no cause
to murmur.
The demure farmer who fells the produce
of his farm, nay even wood, the spontaneous
production nf rhe earth, far more than dou
ble what he did during the last war, will not
be hurt by a collection of taxes, as whenever
the surplus money is purchased out of his
hands, it must be done either by hard mo
ney, stock, or perhaps the very lands of his
neighbour, who has a large and expensive
family to maintain, whose farm never yield
ed a full support to them, and consequently
had no (hare in the general plunder— such men,
and those only, can be hurt by a collection
of taxes, and they will be undone to all in
tents and purposes under the fun; they must
firft fell their cattle, if any they have, at one
hundred per cent less, than what they now
fell for, to those very men, whether mer
chats, engrofers or jobbers, who have taken
that very money, at one third of the nominal
value.
It may be asked, why the General Assem
bly do not point out force way or means to
relieve such men, as most certainly will be
hurt by the collection of our taxes, for of
such men the greater part of these States do
consist ? to this enquiry I answer, the 4ffem
bly of this State have taken some Heps to an
swer that salutary purpose : but they are by
no means adequate to the grievance; they
have appointed afeffors to assess mens estates,
according to their real worth, and that tra
ders shall be rated according to their gains
and returns; but this can never effect the
thing—for inftance —There is now taxes
out for collecting 2s. on the pound, how
much must my next neighbour be assessed,
who in the space of fix months, has added to
his estate £ 3000, by the purchase of rum,
sugar, coffee, indigo, &c. fold by auction,
and his underlings thejobbers and /harpers who
purchase it from him, have in the fame time
doubled their money hkewife.
It may perhaps be said these are not the
nectaries of life, and ConfeqUently no one is
under the neceffrty of buying. To this I
jo%h M^fo, w N ct .H Y6 ^, g black Herfe,%
k,W wall.fa, abaut 15 head, high,
rally &.# to the right fim, @d pretty thick, kind
160 1 tat $ cra,ked,aa4 white time# apuh a hart
®na ' &re '**> a large bl% in th, facet fufi
toss thin fare tap, if a^ brand, > t i, Darham bl,
abent 7 er 8 , e m .id, b „h nets and paces,
natural tn kis pace and rather hard, #afy and natfo
canter, fpvisfather fl^ck, kg carriage freed tffrialh,
c,a% him ^ the fibferiber cr finds words fa that
h 9 'i""" t"" h ™' ffi * hrffcrty killings reward
: ^ ff %^ F, hi", ^ if the tt
:"f """' '" , th *^ be brighttejeiica,
Shall have far ,oand,, ^^j, 2md Q nQfy
charges paid, by th.st hrable fervent, 7
v JOSEPH ADAMS.
_H^y#», oaMm ii | 77%
Lost ffi -7-^" "Mh^?;
team said watch te
Dor'i ^'c" b ° r '? v/hdh ^ shall ufoe TEN
DOLLARS reward, pai^ h
u L HEZ. HUNTINGTON.
Harrferd, Ofteber 17, 1777.
gIRmYED er ft^ra &ut er ^ p^e^tf
ik. IxA ~wt nor Fish Kill, a black horfis. feu,
years eld p&ifiwg of ifoRdQQ, paces and trete
natural to tret, carries kith ad and tail up well
hat a ihert thin firetep, ne ffi@ @ R behind
^ brine the fubfoiWr tef. to , hi .f, if so,
ih,l have fifteen d@lk r s reward, at five dollars fi r the
korfe alone, and all necaffarr charges paid, by
L JOSEPH SHEPHERD.
M^db'ewn O&^ r 17, 1777.
PUBLIC
the 24th of infant O&ebsr will he fold at
he ^ato, at Reck, Hill landing in Wein,fold.(
the flop General Ba,ey„, burthen about ninetr
ton*. Alfa, a small fluep of twenty tens, with their
app irte^wg. Said vendue to b^iq at 2 P W.
TO b d fold a; PUBLIC VENDUiT^TQ:f
es Mr. Jefeph wabb, in Wethersfield, T.urf
day the 23d of O&obar iaftent, at thr&e of the clock
in the aftirneon, tn SLOOPS, one & bro « tens
the fct2o ten. oafr^l3, °
STATE ^7 C ONEC TTc'irT: —°
n nar tp ,%_ «—7, oafy r 12 , < 7 ,.
pu LIC notice it hereby given to all where itfah
[ ^ may concern, that libels are fed befera &
Hem. Jabez Hamlin, Eiq ; Judge ®f (he count, court
in & cennty es Hartford, the fefr^ £
f"' 3 ,^ burthen about 20'ms
/, "T' "' *"': r; ** d tte Noapbfe!
bort ,n about 3 o £ .„, ^ so,„ M „,„f
,^,f the ^d fl„ p died the E% f 0 ,4
captors a&d fa^fy f, r £ sy s fiid
^moi fop, both which v tf ffsU w m ^^ b fid
Try, „ th.„f.„ „d hftht faro ,h/c„:
ty ifureiaid ; and for tie trial as & jaftica e s &
^"l^ 'T 1 "' ""' f " *• aterf ^ cat,
r" l r ,4 " 4 *p^ at 'b. caart kaCT ft @t
frd tn fad c,% .. th. fitft ta.f% Narorobro
'?? *;,., ""• *" pa-fiat claiming property in
ntha, .f fad captarad nffah may appear „d LZ
r.afit, if any tha, have, why said natch, their ap
,r,,d, and cargf fold net be edfadged„
1,f.l pitta te the c.pt< r , end feiter. faith, afae±
bit to the prayer of the li^lk^s.'
By order of the Jrdm
_ GEORGB WY! LYS, R
answer, they are not in themselves rteffar#,
but by long u/e and cuftem; they are tiler nA
ed so, and they most certainly are cozvtnie^
cies oflife, and in some small quantities efeeb
nectaries. There is such Athing alfoas maw
be justly deem'd the usual and honest gai^
in trade and merchand ze, fixed by ufe^
and cufom, and whenever an advance is made
beyond those rtiles. it is extortion; and when
ever any by engrossing, monopolize ne neces
saries or conveniencies of life they become a
neusance to society, and all their unjutt
gains, if not their whole estates, ought to be
forfeited to society, they are public rob
bers, and as such they ought at least to re
store fourfold. They may perhapsfy, i s this
the liberty you are fighting for ? y ou are of
leveling principles, I answer no; lam fight
ing against men's having liberty to do wrong,
and every kind of oppression under the fun;
and I am for taking nothing from any ma^
that is obtain'd by honest industry, trade, or
navigation: but if I fee a man plunder,' ro b
or extort, I will use my utmost endeavors to
aid the injured and puhilh the plunderer.
That God would bless and direst our
Congress, and the several Assemblies of the
United States, to proper meafu-es to detest
and punish such exalted villains, is the hearty
and unfeigned prayer of CATG.