The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-10-31 00:00:00, page 4

Your Lordship withes for an opportunity to plead be
fore Congress the cause of England and America, and to
save, as you fay, both from ruin.
That the country, which, for more than seven years,
has fought our deltruftion, should now cringe to solicit
our proteaion, is adding the wretchedness of disgrace to
the misery of disappointment; and if England has the
least fpak of supposed honor left, that spark mutt be
darkened by afkiog, and extinguished by receiving, the
the smallest favor Lon America: For the criminal, who
owes his life to the grace and mercy of the injured, is
more executed by living than he who dies.
But a thousand pleadings, even from your Lordship,
can have no effect Honor, intereh, and every sensation
o' the heart would plead against you. We are a people
Who think not as you think; and what is equally true,
you cannot feel as we feel. The situation of the two
countries are exceedingly different. We have been the
feat of war You have seen nothing of it. The molt
wanton deftru&iop has been committed in our fight. The
most insolent barbarity has been a&ed on our feelings.
We can look round and fee the remains of burnt and de-
Itroyed homes, once the fair fruit of hard industry, and
now the ftrikirtg monuments of British brutality. We
walk over the dead whom we loved, in every part of A
rherica, and remember by whom they fell. There is
scarcely a village but brings to life some melancholy
thought, and reminds ns of what we have fuffered^ and
of those we have loft by the brutishness of Britain. A
thousand images arise to us, which, from situation, you
cannot fee, and are accompanied by as many ideas which
you cannot know, and therefore your supposed system of
reasoning would apply to nothing, and all your expecta
tions die of themselves.
The question whether England (hall accede to the in
dependence of America, and which your Lordship fays is
to undergo a parliamentary discussion, is so very simple,
and composed of so few cases, that it scarcely needs a de
bate.
To the Eall of Shelburne.
A SPEECH which has been printed in several of the
British and New-York News-papers, as coming from
ycur Lordship, in answer to one from the Duke of Rich
mond of the loth of July last, contains expreflions and
opinions so new and firigular, and so enveloped in myste
rious reafohing, that I address this publication to you, for
the, pttfpofe of giving them a free and candid examination.
The f,ech I allude to is in these words:
" His Lordship laid it had been mentioned in another
" place, that he had been guilty of inconsistence. To
“ clear himfelf of this, he averted that he itill held the
“ fame principles in refpe& to American independence,
" which he at fifft imbibed. He had been, and yet was
" of opinion, whenever the Parliament of Great-Britain
" acknowledges that point, the fun of England's glory is
" set for ever. Such were the Tentiments he possessed on
“ a former day, and fiich the sentiments he continued to
" hold at tins hour. It was the opinion of Lord Chat
" ham, and die opinion of many able statesmen. Other
" noble Lords, however, think differently; and as the
" majority of the cabinet support them, he acquiesced in
the measure; dilteftting from the idea, and the point
" is fettled for bringing the matter into the full discussion
“ of Parliament, where it will be candidly, fairly, and
" impartially debated. The independence of America
" would end in the ruin of England ; and that a peace
" patched up with France would give that proud enemy
“ the means of yet trampling on this country. The fun
" of England's glory be wished not to fee set for ever; he
" looked for a Ipaik at leatt to be left, which might in
" time light us up to a new day. But if independence
" was to be granted, if Parliament deemed that measure
" prudent, he forefaw in his own mind that England was
"un one. He wished to God that he had Been deputed
" to Congress, that he might plead the cause of that
" country as well as of this, and that he might exercise
" whatever powers he possessed, as an orator, to save both
" from ruin, in a conviction to Congress, that, if their
“ independence was signed, their liberties were gone for
" ever.
“ Peace, his Lordship added, was a definable object,
" but it must be an honourable peace, and not an humi
'' Rating one, dictated by France, or infilled on by A
" merica. It was very true this kingdom was not in a
“ flourishing state, it was impoverished by war. But if
" we were not rich, it was evident that France was poor.
" if we were straitened in our finances, the enemy were
" exhausted in their resources. This was a great em
" pire ; it abounded with brave men, who were able and
" willing to fight in a common cause ; the language of
" humiliation should not therefore be the language of
“ Great-Britain. His Lordship laid that he was not a
“ shamed nor afraid of those expressions going to Ame
" rica. There were numbers, great numbers there, who
" were of the fame way of thinking, in reipeft to that
" country being dependent on this, and who, with his
" Lordship, perceived ruin and independence linked to
" gethej."
Thus far the speech, on which I remark, —.-That bis
Lordship is a total Granger to the mind and sentiments of
America ; .that he has wrapped himfelf up in fond delusion
that femething left than independence may, under his ad
ministration, be accepted ; and be wishes himfelf sent to
Congress, to prove, the melt extraordinary of all do&rines,
which is, that independence, the sublimest of all human
conditions, is loss of liberty.
In answer to which we may fay, that in order to know
what the contrary word dependence means, we have
only to look back to those years of severe humiliation,
when the mildest of all petitions could obtain no other no
tice than the haughtiest of all insults; and when the bale
terms of unconditional submission were demanded, or
undiffinguifhable deftrudion threatened. It is nothing to
ns that the Ministry have been changed, for they may be
changed again. The guilt of government is the crime of
a whole country; and the nation that can, though but for
a moment, think and aft as England has done, can never
afterwards be believed or trusted. There are cases in
which it is as impossible to restore character to life, as it is
to recover the dead. It is a phoenix thatcan expire but
once, and from whose allies there it no refurre&ion. Some
offences are of such a flight composition, that they reach
no further than the temper, and are created or cured by
a thought. But the fin of England has (truck the heart
pf America, and nature has not left it in our power to fay
we can forgive.
But the declaration is a rhapsody of inconsistence. For
to fay, as Lord Shelburne has numbering rimes laid, that
the war against America is ruinous, and yet to continue
the prosecution of that ruinous war for the purpose of
avoiding ruin, is a language which cannot be understood.
Neither is it possible to fee how the independence of
America is to accomplish the ruin of England after the
war is over, and yet not effe& it before. America can
not be more independent of her, nor a greater enemy to
her, hereafter than (he is now; nor England derive less
advantages from her than at present? Why then is ruin
to follow in the best date of the case, and not in the
worst ; and if not in the worst, why is it to follow at all.
That a nation is to be ruined by peace and commerce
andfourteen or fifteen millions a year less expences than
before, is a new doftrine in politics. We have heard
much clamour of national savings and ©economy, but sure
ly the true ©economy would be to save the whole charge of
a filly, foolith and headstrong war; because, compared
with this, all other retrenchments are baubles and trifles.
But is it possible that Lord Shelburne can be serious in
fuppefing the lead advantage can be obtained by arms, or
that any advantage can be equal to the expence, or the
danger of attempting it. Will not the Capture of one ar
my after another fatisfy him, but all must become prison
ers? Mud England ever be the sport of hope, and the
dupe of delusion? Sometimes our currency was to fail;
another time our army was to disband ; then whole pro
vinces were to revolt; such a General said this and that;
another wrote so and so ; Lord Chatham was of this opi
nion; and Lord somebody eHeof another: To-day 20,000
Ruffians and 20 Ruffian ships of the line were to come;
to-morrow the Empress was abused without mercy or de
cency. Then the Emperor of Germany was to be bribed
with a million of money, and the King of Pruflia was to
do wonderful things; at one time it was Lo here! and
then it was Lo there! Sometimes this power, and some
times that power, was to engage in the war, just as if rhe
It is the only way out of an expensive and ruinous war,
which has now no object, and without which acknowledg
ment there can be no peace.
But your Lordship fays, " The fun of Great-Britain twill
" be set whenever foe acknowledges the independence of Arne
" rica." Whereas the metaphor would have been (trial,
just to have left the fun wholly out of the figure, and
have ascribed her not acknowledging it to the influence
of the moon.
But the expreflion, if true, is the greatest confeffion of
disgrace that could be made, and furnifhes America with
the highelt notions of sovereign independent importance.
Mr. Wedderbuine, about the year 1776, made use of an
idea of much the fame kind. —" Relinqufo America ! fays
'' he, What is it but to desire a Giant to Jhrink feontaneoufy
" into a dwarf.
Alas! Are those people, who call themselves English
men, of so little internal consequence, that when America
is gone, or (huts her eyes upon them, their fun is set,
they can shine no more, but grope about in obfeurity and
contrast into insignificant animals. Was America, then,
the giant ol rhe empire, and England only her dwarf in
waiting? Is the case so strangely altered, that those who
once thought we could not live without them, now declare
they cannot exili without us? Will theytell to the world,
and that from their fitft Miniftei of State, that America
is their all in all, that it is by her importance only they
can live and breathe and have a being? Will the;, who
threatened to bring us st their feet, now cast themselves
at ours, and own that without us they are not a nation ?
Are they become so unqualified to debate on independence,
that they have loft all idea of it in themselves, and are
calling to the rocks and mountains of America to cover
their infignifican<;e? Or, if America is loft, is it manly to
fob over it like a child for its rattle, and invite the laugh
ter of the world, by declarations of disgrace. Surely the
more confident c n. lift would be to bear it without com
plaint, and to (hew that England, without America, can
preserve her independence and a suitable rank with other
European powers. Yu were not contented while you
had her, and to weep for her note is childish.
But Lord Shelburne thinks that Something may yet be
done. What that something is, or how it is to oe ac
complished, is a matter in obfeurity. By arms there is
no hope. The experience of nearly eight years, with the
expence of an hundred million pounds sterling, and the
lots of two armies, mutt pofitivcly decide that point. Be
sides the British have 1 ft their interest in America with
the difaffe&ed. Every part of it has been tried. There
is no new feene left for delusion: And the thonfands who
have been ruined by adhering to them, and have now to
quit the settlements they had acquired, and be conveyed
like transports to cultivate the defarts of Augustine and
Nova Scotia, has put an end to all further expectations of
aid.
If you cast your eyes on the people of England, what
have they to console theinflves with for the millions ex
pended, or what encouragement is there left to continue
throwing good money after bad ? America can carry on
the war for ten years longer, and all the charges of go
vernment included, for lets than you can defray the char
ges of war and government for one year. And I, who
know both countries, know well that the people of Ame
rica can afford to pay their (hare of the expence much
better than the people of England can. Besides, it is their
own estates and property, their own rights, liberties and
government, they are defending, and were hey not to do
it, they would deserve to lose all, and none would pity
them. The fault would be their own, and their punifh^
ment just.
The British army in America care not how long the
war lasts. They enjoy an easy and indolent life. They
fatten on the folly of one country and the spoils of ano
ther; and, between their plunder and their pay, may go
home rich. But rhe case is very different with the la
bouring farmer, the working tradesman, and the necefli
tous poor in England, the Meat of whose brow goes day
after day to feed, in prodigality and doth, the army that
is robbing both them and us. Removed from the eve of
the country that supports them, and dist ntfrom the go
vernment that employs them, they out and carve for
tbemfeives and there is none to call them to account.
But England will be ruined, fays Lord Shelburne, if
America is independent.
Then, I fay, is England already ruined, for America
is already independent : And if Lord Shelburne will not
allow this, he immediately denies the f& which he in
fers. Betides, to make England the nicer creature of
America, is paying too great a compliment to us, and too
little to himfelf.
But what can this expe&ed fometlang be? or, if
obtained, what can it amount to but new disgraces,
contentions and quarrels. The people of America have
for years accustomed themselves to think and Speak so
freely and contemptuously Qf English authority, and the
inveteracy is so deeply rooted, that a person invested with
a^y authority from that country, and attempting to exer
cise it here, would have the life of a toad under a barrow.
They would look on him as an interloper, to whom their
compassion permitted a residence. He would be no more
than the Mungo of the farce, and if he disliked that, he
must set off. It would be a station of degradation, debased
by cur pity, and despised by our pride, and would place
England in a more contemptible situation than any She has
yet fuffeied by the war. We have too hi^h an opinion of
ourselves, ever to think of yielding again the least obe
dience to outlandish authority; and for a thousand rea
sons, England would be the last country in the world to
yield it to. She has been treacherous, and we know it.
Her character is gone, and we have Seen the funeral.
Surely She loves to fifh in troubled waters, and drink the cup
of contention, or She would not now think of mingling her af
fairs with those of America. It would be like a foolifh dotard
taking to his arms the bride that cefpifes him, or who has placed
tn his head the ensigns of her disgust. It is kissing the hand
that boxes his ears, and proposing to renew the exchange. The
thought is as servile as the war was wicked, arid Shews the last
fedr.e of the drama as ine <ndflrnt as the firft.
As America is gone; the only a& of manhood is to let ber go.
Your Lordship had no hand m the reparation, and you will gain
no honor by tempuri^rig p^ifrs. Besides, there is something so
exceedingly v/himftc?t, unfleaay.,abd even insincere in the pre
lent conduit of Engtad, that fire exhibits hetfelf in most dif
honorsble colours.
On rhe fecon; of Zag'A FG General Carleton and Admiral
Digby wrote to Genera; V/rfOn tor in these words:
“ The relelutiocs 01 the .Bhufe of Commons of the 27th of
" February last h^ve been placed in your Excellency's hands, and
" intimations given at the fame time, that farther pacific mea,
'' fares were likely to follow. Since which, until the present
"time, we have had hb direff communications from England;
" but a marl is now arrived, which brings us very important in
“ formation. We are acquainted, Sir, by authority, that nego
" tiations for a general peace have already commenced at Paris,
'' and that Mr. Grenville is invested witli full powers to treat
" with all the parties at war, and is now at Paris in the execu
“ tion of his commission. And we are farther, Sir, made ac
" quainted, that bis Majefly, in order to remove all obftaclet to that
" peace which be so ardently wifhet to restore, ba: commanded his
'' Mtoiftert to direct Mr. Grenville, that the Independence of the
" Thirteen Provinces should be bropojed by him in the Jirft infiance,
" irftead of making it a condition of a general treaty,"
Now, taking your present measures into view, and comparing
them with the declarations in this letter, pray what is the word
of your King, or his Miniflers, or the Parliament, good for ?
Must we not look upon you as a confederated body of faithlefs, trea
cherous men, whole affohmeer are fraud, and their language de
ceit? What opinion can we possibly sorta olyou, but that you
*re a left, abandoned, profligate nation, who sport even with
your o^neKa/aaer, and are to be held bj n'OThihg but the bayo
net or the halter.
whole world was as mad and foolifh as Britain. And thus,
from year to year, has every straw been catched at, and
every will-with-a-whifp led them a new dance.
This year a (till newer folly is to take place. Lord
Shelburne wishes to be sent to Congress, and he thinks
that something may be done.
Are not the repeated answers which Congress has given
and which all America supports, that they will not even
hear any propofah iwhatever, until the unconditional and
unequivocal, independence of America is recognifed, are
not, I fay, these declarations answer enough?
But for England to receive any thing from America
now, after so many insults, injuries and outrages, a&ed
towards us, would (hew such a spirit of meanness in her,
that we could not but despise her for accepting it. And
so far from Lord Shelburne coming here to solicit it, it
would be the greatest disgrace we could do them to offer
it. England would appear a wretch indeed, at this time
of day, to a(k or owe any thing to the bounty of Ame
rica. Has not the name of Englishman blots enough
upon it. without inventing more. Even Lucifer would
(corn to reign in Heaven by permission, and yet an Eng
liihman can creep for only an entrance into America.
Or has a land of liberty so many charms, that to be a
door-keeper in it is better than to be an English Minister
of State ?
To fay, after this, that the fan of Great-Britain will be set,
whenever foe acknowledges the independence of America, when the
not doing it is trie unqualified lie of government, can be no
other than the language of ridicule, the jargon of inGonfiftency.
There were thousands in America who predicted the delusion,
and looked upon it as a trick of treachery, to take us from our
guard, and draw off our attention from the only system of
finance, by which we can be called, or deserve to be called, a
sovereign, independent people. The fraud, on your part, might
be worth attempting, but the facrifice to obtain it is too high.
There were others who credited the assurances, because they
thought it impossible that men who had their characters to esta
blish Should begin it with a lie. The prosecution of the war by
the former Ministry was savage and horrid, since which it has
bc?n mean, tricleilh and delusive. The one went greedily into
the passion of revenge, the other into the fubtilties of low con-
Hivasce, till, between the crimes of both, there is scarcely left
a man in America, be he whig or Gory, who does not despise or
deleft the condu& of Britain.
The management of Lord Shelburne, whatever may be his
views, is a caution to us, and must be to the world, never to re
gard British assurances. A perfidy so notorious cannot be hid.
It Hands even in the public papers of New-York, with the
names of Carleton and Digby affixed to it. It is a proclamation
that rhe King of England is not to be believed : That the spirit
of lying 16 the governing principle of the Ministry. It is hold
ing up the character of the House of Commons to public infa
my, and warning all men not to credit them. Suck is the con
(equence-Which Lord Shelburne's management has brought upon
his country.
After the authorifed declarations contained in Carleton and
Digby s letter, you ought, from every motive of honor, policy
and prudence, to have fulfilled them, whatever might have been
the event. It was the least attonement you could possibly make
to America, and the greater kindaefs you could do to your,elves;
for you will lave millions by a general peace, and you will lose
as many by continuing the war.
Common Sense.
Philadelphia, Okioker 29, 17&.
P. S. The manuscript copy of this letter is sent your Lordihip,
by the way of our Head-Quarters, to New-York, inclofing a late
pamphlet of mine, acdreffed to the Abbe Reynal, which will
serve to give your Lordship some idea of the principles and senti
ments of America. g 5,