The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1781-06-09 00:00:00, page 1

T HOSE who may please to favour
1 this Paper with their Advertisement%
are requested to fend the Money with them,
and thereby save themselves and the Printer
the Trouble very generally attending future
Settlements.
®W&^^^s^&®^
To the Printer of the London Evening Post.
SIR, Jan. 29, 7781.
IN your paper of Saturday I have read the accounts
from New-York, which so exultingly display the
carnage and deflation by fire and sword with
which Sir John Johnson, it is laid, has ravaged lately a
large track in America ; and what Christian, what man
can read them without painful emotions ? They remind
us of those diftrefcful period's in history, when the
Goths and Vandals broke forth Upon Europe, and
marked out to their followers the rout they had taken,
by deluging their footfteps in the blood of the slain.
When Mahomed devoted to flames and defiruaion the
inhabitants of whole countries, and when Catholic
Christians hunted the natives of the New World, as
wild beasts of the earth are hunted, With dogs and all
forts of infiruments of death. But have hiPorians re
corded these inflahces as fubjeds of our applause, and
Worthy of out imitation ? No, Sir ; they note them in
expressions of melancholy horror ; they torture inven
tion for terms of detestation, and the foul of the reader
sickens as the recital. Our adive baronet may be
termed a loyalist ; a friend of the great king, the king
of Great Britain; but by me he is accounted traite
rous against the will of the king of kings, the God of
the spirits of all fleffi. We hear, with reason, of armed
neutralities ; with reason, nations combine together,
left others Should equalize in barbarity the Goths and
Vandals above referred to, who are chara&erized by
biftoriaos of that time as the scourge of God, the de
firoyers of nations.
How contrafled is the condua of Sir John Johnson
so that of eur renowned Countryman Blake, who was
mot less illu^rious for his clemency to the vanquished,
than for his alertness and prowess to vanquish the ene
foies of his country. lam ever ready, fays Blake, to
do my country jo dice ; but neither for my country,
Bor for any other consideration, will I be made an in
strument of inhumanity, and a butcher of mankind.
I a,, Sir, your's, &c. G. N.
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.
HOUSE of LOR DS, Thursday, January 25.
LORD Stormont informed' the house that he had a
message from his majefiy to deliver, which was im
mediately read by the lord chancellor, and is as fol
lows :
'GEORGE r.-
" His majefiy judges it proper to acquaint the
fioufe of lords, that during the recess of parliaments
he has been indifpehfably obliged to direct letters of
marque and general reprita^s to be issued against the
States General of the United Provinces, arid their
fu bitfts.
" she cause and motives of his maje^y^ condua on
thi§ occasion are set forth in his public declaration/
which he has ordered to be laid before the house..
" His majesty has, With the utmost relhaance been
induced to take an hoflile measure against a date,
n p h.ofe alliance with this kingdom flood not only on the
faith of antient treaties, but on the founded principles
of good policy. His majesty has used every endea
vour to prevail on the States General to return to a
line of condua, conformable to those principles, to
the tenor of their engagements, and to the common
and natural interefls of both nations, arid has left
nothing untried to prevent, if poffibfey the prefect'
rupture.
" His Majesty is fully persuaded that the jtiflice
And n^eflity of the measures he has taken, Will be
acknowledged by all the world. Relying therefore on
the proteaicin of Divide Providence, and the zealous
and affectionate support of his people, his majefly has
file firmed confidence, that by a vigorous exertion of
f^e spirit and fefources of the nation, he Sha-ll be able
to maintain the honour of his crown, and the rights
^nd interefis of his people, against all his enemies,
and to bring them to listen to equitable term's of
peace. G. R.''
Lord Stormont rose again and moved. " That the
papers alluded to by his majedy should also be read to.
Thehcufe, and be laid upon the table." His lordship
then prefen ted them. They confided of eight different
papers, including all the memorials, which have been
presented by Sir Joseph Yorke to their high mighti-
VOL. X. ]
SATURDAY, J UNE 0, 178&
The
O R, THE
GENERAL ADVERTISER.
Published every TUESDAY and SATURDAY.
neffes since July, 1778, to she final declaration publish
ed in the Gazette, December 2 t 1780'; and also a copy
of a treaty agreed upon by Mr. Van Berkel, the Pen
fionary of Amflerdam, and the Congress of the Ame
rican colonies, found in the trunk of Mr. Laurens.
These were read in their order, and employed near
two hours of their lordships time. The treaty in par
ticular was to extraordinary prolix, that Lord Stor
mont recommended it to the house, that those parts on
ly should be feleHed which were pointedly neceffar,.
for giving their lordships that information upon the
tabled he underwood to be before them, which it re
quired, and no more.
This opi • on not being acquiesced in by the Duke of
Richmond and the chancellor, the idea was accord ug
ly waved, and the paper in question Was repeated ver
batim. As foon.as it was finifhed,
His Grace of Richmond and Lord Stofmonf arose at
once ; the hohfe, however, decided in favour of the
noble duke, who accordingly proceeded to fay, that it
was by no means his wiffi, to enter into petty squabb
les for she priority of (peaking, brit the observations
that he had to make, and perhaps the motion that he
might find it expedient to propafe, were of such a kind
as preceded in their tenor and nature, atj that were
likely to arise from the noble lord. The noble lord,
as the official perlon on this occasion, would dohbtlefs
proceed according to the prescriptive plan, to move an
address of thanks in the firft inflance, for his majesty's
gracious message, and of assurance in she second, that
their lordships would ' assist him with all their power
and influence in the prosecution of the measure he had
recently adopted against the Dutch. Before, however/
any ahurances of that kind could be propefly niade,
he had some confidefations to submit to the attention
of the house, and therefore ff was that he had perfifled
in the precedency of his pretenfons.—Certain papers,
he laid, had been read to their lordships, which were to
influence ti;em on the opinion they were to entertain
concerning the justice and propriety of she war in ques
tion ; but it was extremely lingular that all these pa
pers were on one fide of the question. All the memo
rials, &c. which had been presented by Sir Joseph
Yorke, in behalf of this country, were faithfully fub
fnitfed to their infpe&ion ; but the answers that had'
ben returned, the counter- complaints that had been
made, the various manifefloes which had doubtless been
urged on the part of the United Provinces, were cati
tioufly retained; not one of these had been produced.
,How then could the house form a just and impartial
idea what party had been wrong in ultimately pro
ducing these niifortußste hostilities, if they were de
prived of she power of taking a complete view of the
whole proceedings, of comparing the original com
plaints with the replies that had been returned to them,
and determining by such a profpea whether they had
been unjust, or we insolent. Before he cbuld under
take to pronounce decisively ,one way or another, fe
should not Pnly think it necessary that all the papers,
in any' fefpeH relative to the question, should be sub.
mitted to their infpe&iqn : but that due time should be
allowed for considering them with attention, and for
forming their determination with care and delibera
tion. This was no time for empty compliment, and if
there was ever a fubjefl that required the most serious
attention of their lordships, that was it. He would
therefore read rhe motion he intended to make, and
begged leave to apprize their lordships, thitt if he fi
nally found it necessary to urge it, the poufe, by his.
reading it, would be fairly put in poffeNon of it, and
his motion would therefore have the firft claim to be de
cided upon, whatever subsequent one might be pro
posed by any other noble.lord in the course of the de
bate. His Grace's motion Was to this purport ; that
inflead of the address, -which be expend to be moved
for, the following Should be put. '< That an humble
address be presented to :,his majesty, /equalling him,
that he wi» be graciously pleated to give orders; that
the several memorials, manifeffos, &c. which have been
presented to the court of Great Britain by tire United
States of Holland, from the firft comrieencement of the'
American war/ till the rupture between these two na
tions, be laid before the h?ufe."
Lord Stormont followed the duke of Richmond, and
paid his grace some very handsome and Well turned
compliments on the general importance and ingenuity
of his r'eafbning. He Said he was v^ry conftioua that
he laboured- under great disadvantages when he arose
at the fame time with the noble duke, as he was cer
tain that in so doing he always fufpehded the delivery
of abler Sentiments than his own, and of course ex
cited- inevitable disappointment in their lofdffiips. it
wafhatural, however, for men to entertain very con
#trary.opinions, and- however high' his ideas ' mi^ht be
of his grace's general abilities, he in that particular
instance before the house, could not Help being in
fluenced by sentiments diametrically oppefite to his.
His grace had laid that the papers which had been read
to their lordfllips were defective, that more were want
ing. In his opinion, if no papers had been produced
before the hottie, but his majefly's declaration alone,
that would have been solely fufficient for the forma
tion of their opinions upon the fubjeft in question.
The different causes which had united in bringing
matters to the la f lextremity, were there faithfully re
corded, and the justice or injustice of the war might
receive an immediate and certain decision by reference
to that papet only. Eis grace had aike', why the an
swers which had at different periods been presented
to the court of London, from tne United States, in re
ply so Sir Joseph Yorke's repeated memorials, had not
been included in the number of those papers which
were laid before the house ? There Was the plainest and
the most fatisfadory reply in the world to that ques
tion ; none had beeri received ; their high mightines
ses had not coridefeended to transmit answers to these
reiterated remonstrances. They passed them over in
silent negle&, and peffevered in their injuries and in
justice, without an attempt at explanation or defences
The papers, his lordship fa d, which had that day ac
companied his majefly's most gracious message, were;
if properly attended to, so entirely fufficient on thi#
fubjefl, that no doubt would remain in the mind, af+
ter a due investigation of their contents With their
lordships permission (without taking the argument in
that wide (case which it admitted) he would just slate,
in as brief a mariner as he could, the leading tenor of
the various intermediate steps that had been adopted
with refpef tto the republic, before the recent rupture
took place. A treaty had been made in 1714, Rating;
as the predominant and ruling principle which it con
tained, that if either of the two nations should be at
tacked, the other should immediately suspend all ami
cable intertourfe with the state which was the aggres
sor, and in two months be bound to fapply' its all,
with certain stipulated Succours. Now, continued his
lordship, when the hoflilities commenced between this
country and France, we neither infixed upon the one
rior the other of the/e conditions. Though the United
States were bound by the express terms of a positive
treaty, we yet indulged them in the liberty of trading
with the power in enmity with us, and made no requi
sition of the ffipulafed Supply. When Spain had alfg
united in the perfidious confederacy that was formed
for the prirpofe of Darkening she Splendour, if not an
nihilating the political exifleride of this country, tye
then thought it necefDry to make some application
to our ally. But even at that/rme we did mot attempt
to preclude every Species of their commence, but only
to prevent their affifling our foes with the illicit pro
perty of naval flores. We received no answer to these
applications; no thanks for these indulgencies. When
the increasing exigency of our affairs required more
dined and more urgent demands, our ambaftador had
orders to make them, brit with all due decency and
refpea.—No efteß followed, however ; —they ffillcon
tinurd to furnjfh the flares at open war with their al
ly, with every kind ®i fibres necessary for their con-,
during it, and ev^n took off she duty from feveral'
naval articles, in order the more eRi finally to expedite
their importation to the hoflile countries in qbeßion,'
They have lately attempted to reconcile their conduct
by a— assertion, that though the conditions of the trea
ty of Breda were by no means to be disputed or con
troverted, yet that the particular instance in queftiorf
was not a cafy f^deris, and that therefore they were
not in any refpea afe&ed by it. Nothing could be so
absurd as this ; .for the literal terms of the treaty
were, that the obligation on the one power should in
stantly commence when the other was inimically as
sailed frem aby quarter whatever. Was it possible to
fay that we had not bren attacked unprovoked!, by
Frances Was it poffibe to fay that we hadnot been
attacked in a ,Similar mariner by Spain? What then
could, they mean by a cabas foederis? If these innan
ces did not come under that description, none ever
would or coul£ Nay, as a full proof of the repre
hensibility of their conchj& in this refpea, the French
had conceived thcmfelves under an obligation to par
some attention so a similar article: In the treaty of
Utrecht', between that country and this, tl^f fame eru
dition was included as that' he had fafi mentioned, as'
cohfututing one article of the treaty of Breda. When
cur fubjeas inAmerica firft thought proper ro revolt
from their due allegiance' to the .par.eof.fiate, and when
France of course .became amenable for she condition'
alluded to, they, e,ven tley, faithlefs and unjufi as they'
wire, considered themfives boueflo pay attentjoD so
it, and though they affixed the Americans privately,
never dated to far to forget the decency of/e^eafo
to a solemn treaty, as to give them open and avowed
fuccevr. Yet the Dutch had done this ; they had re
ceived an American pirate into their ports; they had 7
(For the Remainder,- See the bfi p^ge.)
[ NUMB. 780.