The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1774-10-10 00:00:00, page 1

From the Londow- Packet, July 27, 1774.
To the PEOPLE.
^^^^HUCYDIDES fays “ Colonies
..- t-r were as free ssMother Cities,
*4. Y’ JTSS though not so reverently mention-
T ££ 501 ed, because of their dependance.”
:» & The fame may be said of paying
tribute, becaiife that may be for
•‘ '• ' ’■ redeeming an injury, or for feme
ptknowledgement of a deliverance ; but that paid,
tt is all that can be demanded. The people of England,
and the people of Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, New-York, &c. are the people or the
plants of this foil, and one common interest governs
both. It is the people whom I now address. Their
future Liberty is at ftakc : And it how remains
alone with them to save themselves or to fink with
their freedom into irretrievable Ruin.
The corruption of our nobles, the apoftacy of our
judges, the tameness of our peers, the venality of
our parliament, the supineness, dulriefs, suppleness
of our bishops, the profligacy of the inferior clergy,
the luxury and extravagancy of gentlemen, and the
pacific, lull-a-by innocence of the , are such a
train of evils, that if Britannia had thrown her fhift
aside, and put on the fatal, poisonous, and infernal
. fhift of Nessus, {he could not be more tormented,
nor by a train of excruciating ills drove to a more
desperate difpair. .
The feeden villians, which are now ripe with yel
low infamy, that fill every department of the state,
and proffitute the wealth of the people on ignoble
and abandoned wretches, who have no pursuit but
the most chequered vices, now lord it over the land,
and Latter ruin from their infefted hands wherever
they o-o. Have they not ham-stringed the tendons
of trade ? Have they not annihilated the Eaft
ladia company ? Have "they not profdtuted lotteries
to the basest and meaneA purposes, to retrieve cozens
ing builders and makers of toys and baubles ? Have
they not trampled on the pure and upright trial by
Jury ? Have they not sown the feeds of diffention
and war amOngft our colonies ? Have they not at
tempt?! to ftrangleour filter America in her infan
cy, loaded her with a very abominable chain, & giv
en countenance topapifts, in opposition to the pure
religion of our country ? Have they not by a parti
al and ignominious inclofure of commons, deltroyed
the cottr.^ers who were the support of our market,-
and (by propagation) the Recruits of our nat’y and
army r Have they not, by a lawie>s and exorbitant
rife of the price of lands, driven the husbandmen
from England, Scotland and Ireland ? Have they
not destroyed our manufactures, and driven the
workers of them into foreign lands for bread ? have
they not loaded ye with such exorbitant tdYes, and
disregarded monopolies of all kinds to even Harve
you ? have they not, by granting acts of parliament
for the cutting of canals, deltroyed your coafiing
trade, & ruined your rturfery of seamen ? have they
not fuffcred your Cod-fi&ery in America to be iri
frinved, and wink at the hourly insults and en
croachments of the French r Have they not put up
with the moil impudent affronts from the Spaniards
with a cowardly tameness unbecomingEnglifhmen ?
Have they not loaded your lands with taxes, your
light, your apparel, your carriages, your meat, and
molt infamowfly laid one half-penny on every quart
of porter, which is the ib’.c fap/ort and comfort of
the hard working men ? Have they not done all
these with impunity, and they not still llriding
with gigantic Heps to forge more chains, and pass
more oppressions ? andean ye tamely, punily, puL
(ngly fee such havock made amongit your birthrights
and liberties, nor raise a hand or open a mouth to
keen ye up from finking?
Q [name, ye Englishmen ! ye merit not the name,
when y»;ur country can be saved by you, and yet
you fuller your rights to be tram I led on, not turn
again with the humble spirit of a worm. The spirit
•f a worm five ye ; bat ye have it not; ard
MOND AY, October io, 1774- ? H'E [NUMBER 51 i.j
CONNECTICUT SllklßtSi^ COURANT,
A N D HARTFORD
W EE K L Y INTELLIGENCER.
: -
Containing the Frdheft ADVICES, both FOREIGN and DOMESTIC.
Open to all PARTIES-—not under the influence of ANY.
ruin muftpurfue the mail, who can Hand with his
fingers in his mouth, and fuffer the slaves of power
tn pick his pocket.
The next eledion mayj in some meafurOj snatch
you from the brink of dtimi&ion, if you can with
iland the potations offered you by the venal candi
dates of government. Retail yourfeives sober,
pride youvielves in a blunt and manly refdfal ot
bribes, and give your votes to such honelt men only,
who can and will Hand by you in the hour of need
and-in .(be.day of delirutfioil.
Lec<no intoxication warp yoilr refolutibhs; drink
wifhhyoiir own money, nor swallow adrauglit of cor
rtiptiohSpiaitl will most inevitably ruin ye all; T here
is scarce a‘Kn-ough but will have candidates of both
complexions^—Yqu cannot be lo blind as nottode
cern the white' from tse black. Call up that anti
ent spirit and virtue that so long diffinguifhed your
forefathers ; and let the world fee that though kings
and nobles ffudy to ruin a people,---that English
men alone can save their country, in spite of all the
evils of evil men. ' Rouse, Britons, rouse from your
lethargy ; nor forget your antient spirit, that so of
ten reclaimed this land in the hours of sorrow and
difpair. The virtue is with you alone,if you tame
ly fold your arms and talk of maladies^ without ad
miniffering a cure, this island in fifty years will be
a colony of France, and your children the mifcrable
slaves of arbitrary power. Remember with tears I
give you the caution,--rery mber the prophecy ; or
save the land, by adopting the advice of you iteady
and unshaken friend MARVEL.
The ADDRESS to Americans upon Slave-Keeping,
continued.
TO give us just ideas of the Slave Trade, I
would add to what I have published one or
two more narratives of voyages performed
to the coasts of Guinea for the ptirpofe of carrying
on this trade, extrafted from the fame author as the
others. The following relation is said by Benezet
to have been inserted at the requeff of the author.
“ That I may contribute all in my power to
wards the good of mankind, by inspiring any indi
viduals with a suitable abhorience of that detestable
practice of trading in our fellow-creatures, and in
some measure atone for my negletl of duty as a"chrif
tian, in engaging in that wiexed traffic, I offer to
their serious consideration some few occurrences of
which I was an eye witness : that being ffruck with
the wretched and affefeing feene they may fotter
that humane principle, which is the noble and dif
tinguilhed chnrafteriftic of man,- and improve it to
the benefit of their children’s children.
About the year 1749 I failed from Liverpool to the
coaff of Guinea : some time after our arrival I was
ordered to go up the country a considerable distance ;
upon having notice from one of the Negro Kings
^that he had a parcel of Haves to dispose of ; 1 receiv
ed my inHruaions and went, carrying with me an
account of such goods as we had on board to ex
change for the slaves we intended to purchase. Upotl
being introduced I preferred him with a small case
ofEnglifh spirits, a gun and some trifles; which
having accepted, and underflood by an interpreter
what goods we had, the next day was appointed for
viewing the slaves ; we found about 200 confinedin
one pl .ce. But here, how {hall 1 relate the affecting
fight I there beheld I HoWcan I fuflkient’y defoibe
the silent sorrow, which appeared in the countenance
of the' afflicted father,and the painful anguish of the
tender mother, expecting to be forever fepurated
from their tender offspring ' the diHreffed maid
wringing her hands in presage of her future Wrctch
ednefs, and the general cry of the innocent from a
fearful apprehension of the *perpetual slavery to
which they were doomed ? Under a sense of my of
fence to God, in the. person of his creatures ; I ac
knowledge I purchased eleven, whom I conducted,
tied two and two to the Ihip. Being but a fmail
vessel (90 tons) we soon purchafcd our cargo, con
fining of 170 Slaves whom thou my’ff, reader, range
in thy view, as they were shackled two and two to
gether, pent up within the narrow confines of the
main deck, with the complicated distress of sickness,
chains and contenij^ ; deprived of every fund and
fotial tie, and in a great measure reduced to a state
of desperation. We had not been a fortnight at sea
before the fatal consequences of this despair appear
ed ; they formed a design of recove-ing their natu
ral right, LIBERTY, by rising and murdering eve
ry man on board, but the goodness ot the Almighty
rendered their scheme abdrtive ; and his mercy {pa
red us to have time to repent. Ihe plot was dis
covered ; the ringleader tied by the two thumbs
over the barricade door, at sunrise received a num
ber of lashes, in this situation he remained till sun
set, exposed to the insults arid barbarity of the bru
tal crew of sailors, with full leave to exercise their
cruelty at pleafuhe. The consequence of this was,
that next morning the rhiferable fufferer was found
dead, flead from the fliotilders to the waist. The
next victim was a youth, who, from too firong a
ienfe of his misery, refufed nounlhment, and died,
disregarded and unnoticed till the hogs had fed on
part of his flelh. Will hot chriftianity blulh at this
impious sacrilege ? May the relation of it serve to
call back the Hruggling remains of humanity, in the
hearts of those who, from a love of wealth, partake
in any degree of opprefiive gain, and have such an
effeft upon the minds of the sincere, as may be pro -
ductive of peace, the happy effect of true reperitafice
for part vranfgrefliutis, and a reiolution to rcnccnce
all connexion with it for the time to come.”
Another memorable inHance of some of the dread
ful effects of the Slave-Trade, he relates as “ hap
pening not many years since, on a flup from the port
of Philadelphia, tnen at anchor about three miles
from Ihore, near Aero Fort, on the coaff of Guinea.
They had purchased between 4 and 500 Negroes
and were ready to fail for the V/cft-Indies. It's
customary on board those vessels, to keep the men
shackled two by two. each by one leg to a fmail iron
bar ; these are every day brought on the deck for
thp bene.it of air, and leaff they should endea
vour to recover their freedom, they are made fart to
two common chains, which are extended on each iida
the main deck : the women and children are loose.
This was the firnation of the Slaves on board this
vessel, when it took fire by means of a person who
was drawing spirits by the light of a lamp ; the
cask bursting, the fire ipread with so much violence,
that in about ten minutes, the sailors apprehending
it impofiible tcdextinguilh it^ before it could reach
a large quantity iOpowder they had on board, con
cluded it neceflhry to cast themselves into the sea,
as the only chance of saving their lives; and firff,
they endeavoured to lofc the chains by which the
Negro men were faffened to the deck, but in the con
fufion the key being miffing, they had but just time
to lose one ol the chains by wrenching the staple ;
when the vehemence of the fire so increafec^ that
they all bht one man jumped overboard,when imme
diately the fire having gained the powder,the vessel
blew up with all the {laves who remained faftened to
the one chain, and such others as had not followed
the sailors examples^ There happened to be three
Portuguese vessels in fight, who, with others from
the shore, putting out their boats, took up about
2co of those poor fouls^ who remained alive ; of
which number about 50 died on ihore, being mostly
of those who were fettered together by ir(sn {hackles,
which as they jumped into the sea, had broke their
legs, and these iiaCtnres being inflamed, by so long,
a itruggle in the sea probably mortified ; which oc
cartoned the Death of every one that was so wound--
eJ. The two hundred remaining alive, were soon.
dilpofed of, for account of the owners to other pur
chasers.” This 1 allow was an accident not defign’l
by any of the ship’s crew---but is it not (hocking to
have our fellovy men, (on any of whom the only
crime that could be charged, was that they were fl/
unfortunate as to be taken prisoners in war,) so