The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-03-23 00:00:00, page 2

HOUSE of LORDS, Monday, Dec. T fo
h HE committee teceived end read a firic iim p , the bid
I for relief of captors bringing and landing French
prizes into this king torn. Also, trie bill for allowing far
ther time for the drawback on the exportation of muffins,
callico, coffee, &c. , . ~ ,
Faffed, the malt and tax bills, a*d the American high
treafon bill.
HOUSE of COMMON", Saturday, Dec. re.
CAME to the tollowing refutations on trie Supply :
That ,500,0 01. be.granted to his M ? jelly to pay sff
exchequer bills made out in purfu nee .of an all lalt f.f
fi>>hs, for raffing a certain sum by loans or exchequer
bills , taat 1,000,100 l. be granted to his Mgjtfv to, pay
off the like sum borrowed lait felons on exchequer bills,
to be reporte d on Monday.
Ord.ee.>, That there be laid before this House an ac
count of toe number of F.pihs, who have taken the oaths
to ms M jetty, 111 conformity to the aft of last sessions.
MOND AY, December 4..
Several estimates of accounts of tro ?ps were preferred,
as were the accounts relative to Spandh and Portugal coin
for the use of the army.
Ordered, That they do lie on the table.
Wem the House had formed itfelf into a Committee of
Supply, Mr. JenKinfon claimed their indulgence, while
he ihmld attempt to officiate tor the noble Lord at t e
head of t. e war department, to .whole abilities he paid th^
higneft compliments. He then produced ti e army efii
nutes for the year 7,9, which he moved fliould consist
01 .6:,000 men, a number exceeding that of the preient
year be 14,000. He p'ropofed plans tor recruiting the re
giments, uy having two companies to each, which were
to be a Kind 01 corps de reserve, from whence t. e batta
lions nlig t be reinforced: This mode to take pice im
mediately in II the regiments, except those under the
convention 01 Saratoga , in tuerri, when they should be
set at hoerty. He had not the lead doubt, but ne should
be able t® r ife as many men as won d be Efficient to
make up the enabluhment tor the ensuing y.ar, as the re
cruiting Service had ween attended with amazing success,
more men having been recruited lift year, than during any
of tne three former j tor 111 eleven months only, >rom bid
October, t»ere had Deen raised, including the new corps,
between zr and 23,000 men.
Enumerating then tne ^ritilh forces in America, in the
Eall and Wen Indies, the navy, &c. he boasted that we
had full 300,000 men in our pay ; a force superior to any
now on foot in any country in Europe, and exceeded on
ly by that whi.h was maintained by France in the most
brilliant part of Louis XlVtli's reign.
General Burgoyne could not repress the angnifh he felt
a: the ih^nt thrown on ms army at Bolton, by excepting
the regiments that cumpofe it out or tne proposed regula
tion: upwards 0. thirty officers belonging to that corps
were then in town, lonic h ving been exchanged, and
others related un ier the treaty, tuey were in a capacity
of serving tneir country, 1 admi.iiitr.mcn did not tie their
hands oy hutting them juc from tee common lot of the
rest ot tueir orutner officers. The soldiers at Kofton de
serve toe mast grateful treatment from their country , for
however criminal their General might have been, they
had done every min tnat could be performed by men;
they had fought more than once, an : were reduced to t e
fan talk of furre>>derihg, only when they were oppofi d by
an army ot fix times t^ r numotr; for at tnetme tnat it
was reported in England, toat nenad 2,000 regulars' un
der his comin un ne uad not naif t.at number, and
when he capitulated, tie was at tne head of oiry 350 ef
fertivemQ and w sattackeloy tiarmy ot< r ,o m iirdng.
He affemed to the augment non, bec.ufe we Amu d
w tin all t..e men we could raiie , but he would net con
sent that any ihoait be lent to America to continue the
war, which ne declare 1, tau nt nd corrected by experi
face, he believed could never 4 terminated with success
on our fife. 11 liquid oe nappy to hem t.at Sir Henry
Clinton was to continue in tne command of the army ; but
as it was reporter that he was returning home, for not
having been properly reinforced, it was proper to know
before we voted an army tor America, who ws tee per
son to command it, and also woo was to have nediredi-
bn of the war, A under the prefect American Se retary
no success was th be exped 1 He then mentioned tne
private letter wni^i Lori George Germ ine had laid be
fore the House, and which it was said, had flipped into
tne bag without the Kllawledge of ins Lorjflbp ; and wish
ed sincere y that the wool ot his priv te correspondence
were laid before the House, tnat a ;a.r enquiry m y take
place into his conduct, and that of tne noble L>rd.
Mr Jenkinson declared, that tie had not the .call inten
tion of throwing flight onthearmy at BoRon,; his only
motive for leaving tne regiments out of tne regulation un
til they di ill have been rUe .fed, was, that the public mo
ney which would come to th«ir ih re for railing recruits,
might not be raised at that time, when it mutt remain
Betels in tne han is of the pa, mailer-general, as no re
cruits could be sent to them in their preient firration.
Lord George Germaine w ,s f rry that t e Hon. Gene
ral's constant digression irom the business before the House,
to dis own personal concern' made it neceifary for him
to trouble the committee upon a fubjed foreign to the
question on thetable/ W.-en the pipers relative to the
northern expe lition had been laid upon the table, he real
ly did not know that tne letter called by t„e Hon. General
a private .eifcr, had oeeu among tuem ; and yet he would
fay that if ne h id Known it, he probably would not have
laid it aside, as he deemed it an infirument more of a pub
lic than a private nature, and if t. e House thought proper
to have the whole of die correfponden e brought be ore
them, he itou d not have the lead objection. With re
gard to the person who was to havet ecommand in Ame
rica, tie knew of no ®tner th n Sir Henry Ch tun; nor
had that officer desired to be recalled 111 disgust ; on t e
contrary, m his lati letter in whichhe asked have to re
turn, he (aid his aid de camp would explon his motive,
which was, that he wished to state his 1 lea^ of the future
condufi of the war in person ; and that if leave might be
granted him to come to England, he would be ready to
return to his army in a week alter he sh mid nave confer
red with adminiftrition. Wit regard 10 his continuance
in office, the very moment tie could learn tuat tne House
vifhed to fee him retire, ne would lay down his employ
ments with plealure; and if the Hon, General could find
1 0 ND 0 H
hpteafare ih feeing him resign, he mould certainly h^
that pleasure if the army now in Ameri a should be order
ed to abandon it. As to reinforcements which Gentle
men apprehend were to be sent to America, he knew of
none, none were ordered-soy that fervi e, except, the re
cruits, which were to fill up tne vacancies of the regi
ments
Mr. T. Townfhend lamented the defirußion of our
trade, and the ruin of cur manu> .dures,which alone made
the recruiting fc^.ie so fuccefsful, and d plored the mis- %
fortunes of this coun.ry, whose rulers knew so little how
to manage the affairs of the re Im, that with a fo.ee of
,300,000 men, notto be equalled in any modern State in
' Europe, they had not been able to bring to a happy c'on
ciufion, aw r in which we had been contending only
with the British colonies.
Lord Adam Gordon approved the new plan for filling
up the different regiments; bu willed to learn how Ml
- intended to raise the men ; the mode of railing the
new levies sad be n attended with very great expense and
inconvenience to the Gentlemen concerned ; and though
it was a very pleasing circumstance to have an army of
160 0 men, yet he was aifaia it wason paper alone we
should finl them ; for the country lad been so drilled,that
it ould, in hisopinion, beat present a very-difficult mat
ter to raise the additional 14,0,0
Mt Fox inveig ,e 1 ag dnfi the plan of pursuing the war
% America, where, he believed, we should never be able
to eiie£t a suppression of the rebellion ; there was a certain
fatality in tc American war, which c rrefponded with
that of Xerxes agonfi Greece. I ord North, he compa
red to tne Mm her of that Prince, who, vindicating him
fel', might >.a\e fri.l, I proreifed to build a bridge over the
H llHpoot : I built it ; I promised to fail through mount
At/os : I failed through it; I promised to supply your
army witn ll ne+effaries.: I performed my pr mife ; and
ye the whole army 0 near two millions of men, moulder
ed aw?y; Persia was flripped of its in nabitants, and its
resources ex ufel ; and Greece, notwithstanding, main
tailed its independence. The army in America was a
weight on toedition, as it could do nofning there for t!e
public good, where the people were so firm in fup^ert of
the new government ; but, ift etroops were to } e with
drawn, and sent upon an expedition a. ainft forae part of
the omiiin ofFrance, their blows would tuen tell, 2nd
we fliould reap important advantages from their oper tun
even towards the reduction of America, which Le con
t nded, was not to be conquered but in France. He next
chatted Asiin iniftration ith having fawn divifons in the
fleet, by bringing a profecut on again ft a man they knew
to be innocen, on ac; arge tl 6 most frivolous end unjust,
be protested against the i tea, that abandoning the wu in
America ^d acknowledging the independ 11 ^ of the co
lonies, W re one an I the Am 1 t img : In his opinion, they
were two ^iftinH ideas, and the army might be with
drawn, even with a vr wof destroying, by operations in
anofoer country, that very independence which could not
be ffaken n America.
Governor Johnftone widely differed from Mr. Fox ;
for, I e c< nld find no difference between withdrawing the
army, and acknowledging the independence ©f America,
the consequences of such a fto/ could not but be obvious
to every entleman; Nova-Scotia must be attacked, New
foundland inva led, Florida overrun, and Canada become
fubjeft to the Codgrefs .The Weft Indies coul be of no
use to us, as the tride from the inlands being obliged to
pfs tl rough the gulf of Florida, for fear offe Freiicl at
Cape Nichola Mole, the Gibraltar of the Weft-Indies
mult ba expose i to the American privateers, if we had ao
port or fleet there to protest it. Another reason for, not
withirawin tie army was, that the new Governors of
America freed from an apprehension of the English would
turnt eir minds towards strengthening their government,
which at present is in a tottering fixation ; for, he would
be bold to fay, that the affe&ion of the people had been
pready weaned from Cengrefs, from the moment thatbq
dy had altered tl e firm of their new constitution. Toe
abjuration oath imposed on all electors in the colonies,was
ftr tching a prero ative which the people had never 1111-
p rted 0 fan&ified ; and so great was the difeontend in
tl e piovince of Pennsylvania, th.~ out of 32,000 electors
which had voted for the firft Congress, only 600 and odd
h d taren the adjuration oath, to qualify them to vote for
another Congress. In the province of New-England, the
Whigs and Tries were nearly equal in the provin^.l
meet ng ; that the Whigs had only a majority of two.
A to an inv fion of France, the gentlemen then in the
house, who had been on the expedition against St. Cas,
could best udge of the probability of success in such an
undertaking.
Many oth r Gentlemen (poke,
The motions on the estimates, except id some particu
lars relating to the mil tia, were ti en carried without a
division : The rest were deferred till Wednesday.
An account of General Arnold's march from Cambridge
to Quebec. (< antiqued Jrom otr lap )
PCT HE thirteenth of October, 1775, a very stormy
I, morning, it hailed and snowed violently. About
ten o'clock we crossed the lake, which is two miles and
an half over ; and as the wind was high, and our boats
small and heavy laden, it was fomvwhat dangerous tho'
we were fortunate enough to get over without any acci
dent. The carrying-place from this Lake to the Dead
River is two miles and three quarters; fatigue, by this
time, had become familiar to us, and both officers and
men exerted themselves so much, that we carried every
thing to the Wet Meadow before night, which was two
miles through a very rugged country. We encamped on
the ed^e of the Wet Meadow, over which we bepan to
carry very early on the fourteenth. '1 is a low barren
swamp; in many places we ware obliged to 1 y bridges,
the foil being so spongy, that upon breaking throu h the
fuperfcies, there was danger of finking two or three feet
deep. In the evening we pitched our tents upon the banks
of tne Dead 1 i er, which is said to be Kennebunk conti
nued , but by crossing where we did, weavei ied a route
of 180 miles, exilufive of a rocky carrying piace ,8 mil@s
long. We had been a week going twelve miles, though
-we used the utmost diligence; but we flattered ourselves
that tne word was pad, and that the river, as well as the
country, would be more favorable to us. At thi place
eac>. mess (confiding of fix or seven) received their allow
ance of pork, and tneir future subsistence depended upon
the care they took of it.
Our beats were so much ihaffcrea, (hat we were obliged
to halt, and we were bulled in caulking and otherwise re
pairing them till the sixteenth ; when we decamped, and
proceeded about ten miles to a carrying, place, whieh was
so short that we soon got over it, and went a mile farther,
having m relied all day thro' a thick cedar swamp. This
evening a soldier was killed by a tree falling on him. The
pheasants were numerous, but we were net permitted to
kill them, our flock of ammunition not admitting it.
Colonel Arnold puffed us this evening; and finding that
the flour began to griw short, ordered that'one pint should
be iifued to each men per day inhead of a pint and an
half. The seven e n.h at day brake we marched ; the firft
eleven miles were performed with ease. About eleven
o'clo k we puffed a deferred wigwam belonging to Vat
tances, an Indian Chief, whose savage cruelties had ren^
dered him very odious to the inhabitants on the frontier^ ;
foc.n after, we overtook th&Coloßel, from whom we re
ceived some frefli orders, and continued through a thick
water; swamp ; and the river not being rapid, the.bat
teaus easily kept up with us. T. e whole da/s march we
computed to be at Iva fl twenty miles. Our allowance of
provisions we thorn lit Iy no means fuffiJent; but out fi
tuition was without remedy.
The eighteenth. It froze very hard hfl n ; ght, and was
exceedingly cold in the morning. After marching four
miles we came to a ripple where the water was so rapid
that the men were obliged to wade and drag the boatse
About a mile further, we came to a carrying place of se
venty yards, which having crossed, we proceeded about
thirteen miles Tt.isd y'smarching was in general bad,
te country being mountain ous and swampy alternately.
We encamped in the evening among feme deferred wig
wams at the foot of a fall, over which we are to carry in
t : e meriting. Tie nineteenth we flatted very early The
morning" was luly, and it soon began to rain, we car
ried every thingka usu il two hundred yards and proceed
ed ; at turee quarters of a mile distance, we reached a se
cond carrying plate, w ieh was longer, very rocky and
dangerous. Isl a mile tardier we arrived at a third,
which was four undr f d yards ; and r t a small difiance a
fourt , w i.h was exactly four thousand three hundred
arid twelve y rd , and very bad carrying: During all
this time h x^ned very heav ly and as there was little
appear nee cf L. clearing up, we did not proceed- much
further before we encamped in a dre ry wilderness of
hemlock, fir-tress, &c. for during our long march, we
had seen no oak or hickory but con ft ast evergreens, i<
some places intermixed with birch and maple. Our Situ
ation was very uncomfortable, as every part of our bag
gage was wet, and it rained so card that we could not pof
fibiy dry it
The twentieth. It rained all left nightyard thir morning
was ufli«ed in by its continuance in to 'violenta manner,
that we dropped all thoughts of proceeding any further to°
day. About 1% A M. we Were tantalized with a prof
ped ofits clearing up, but were soon convinced of our
mistake, and ti is evening it bids as fair for continuing,
as la ft night. From cur present scanty allowance of flour
we began to think of reaming it. As for the pork (as
Was belore observed) each mefs.had their Nare entirely at
their own disposal, and they would fare batter or woife,
Qicording to tner preftrit (Economy. The profpea was
very gloomy, ad pricing further into a fivage, perhaps
an enemy's - ountry, with but a few days provision, even
at the rate we livei. The men fufferin^ from constant
fatigue, want oi provision, drafting, &c.
Saturday, the twenty-firft. The morning such as we
expeded and it continued raining al; d y. The river ri
ses very faff,and th& the bank on which we were encamp
ed, was four or five feet above its furface, it was this
evening nesrl) on a level. Cel. Arnold puffed us about 4,
P. M. he had come ten miles through the rain, and the
effed his pfefence h d upon us t n only be known by men
in cur fituatfeh. And while we aiming his ass duity,
his bufferings and attention, we forgot what we ourselves
endured. He proceeded two or three miles beyond us,
and encamped.
The twnty second, we were roused before day by the
rivers riling so touch ,s to lay our camp ua let water, and
produced a feene truly fit eking. As soon as we could fee
we packed u cur baggage, in or fer to hunt a mere fa
vourable spot. 1 Tne river became very rapid, and instead
of being called de d, might with propriety be teamed the
liveliest. In an hour or two it cl ?red up, and we were
bluffed with the fi lit of the fun. We proceeded, the bat
teaus.moving very slowly, and as the country was much
overflown, those wh® marched were obliged to make large
cir uits, and were loft a cenfi ierable time ' y taking a
wrong branch of the river, and to our great joy difeover
ed the bo ts meat da^k. Ti e I atteaus puffed two carrying
places t' ,is day, which on account of the depth 0 the river
from the late heavy rain were navigable. Colonel Arnold
returned to the other divisions he had likewise been over
flown and obliged in the night to remove to an adjoining
hill. The twenty third, we decamped early; after going
one mile we Carrie to a carrying plac®, the current for some
diftancs below it was more rapi i than any we 1 ad hitherto
met with, and though we exerted ourselves as much as it
was possible for men to do, feverfl boats were overfet
and every t' ing in them loft. It is easier to conceive than
describe the sensations es men, who were in an infant de
prived of the small remains of their provision (pork) bag
gage, &c. many had not even a kettle to boil their flour
in which mixed with water and known among us by the
hame of lilla; e e : was to conftittue their future diet, and
were obliged eitner to borrow of some otf er mess, or bake
it in the a'es. Horror and dtfpiir were painted in their
countenances ; they were dejected and appeared to be
worn out, not having enough to fupp®rt nature, much le s
to go through such fatigue, ^e encamped near the car
rying place, and in the evening Cel Arnold with some
officers of the feconl and thi;d diviheOT joined us.
The twenty-fourth—At acouncil held last night it was
determined to proceed at all events, and that an officer
and fix men be draughted from each company and proceed
witi iail possible expedition to Chaudiere, river, and if a
messenger t at the Colonel had difpached some time be
fore to Sirtigan (the firft Canadian fetilement) should re
turn with a favourable answer, they were to proceed to
the inhabitants and procure provdiuns, Sc. It was like
wise determined that all the fi,k should return with a tew
healthy men to escort them, and the whole was put into
' execution early this morning, and we marched on about
ten miles; we would have gone further on account of the