The Connecticut courant — Hartford, Conn., 1774-03-29 00:00:00, page 1

[April, M.dcc.lxxiV. NUMBER 484. J
THE «
CONNECTICUT (jfeo||^ COURAN T.
~ • • • • ' \ »*» I
^Biainin? the trefoejt and molt importam 777 7~ ™ • ' ■ T”
both Foreign and Dcmeflic,
.' X . ~. ..... ^..,
v ' Reges de'ifiani, plefiuntur achM.
W&a great men play the fool, Imall ones pay
for it.
riF>HE affair of Sufquebannah has of late been
i m act? t tic fabjedl of coa verfation and
fcribbliog, but many of the pieces have been
fluffed with pun# and ridicule to cast an odium
on one fide and the other—Suffer me to appeal
to a few faits and to common feofe.
’Til well kbowo that the company called Suf
quehi^oah company have been uorcmitedly
woryiog and teaziog the General Affcmbly for
near tweoty.years, to give up the government's
right to the wellern lands, into the hands of
that company —the government have always told
them, “We have no right, and will.not pretend
to give’yon any,” for if we attempt to do it,
you will involve us in a long and expepfive liti
gation with Mr. Penn ; this undoubtedly plcaf
ed the company, for by their continual din and
unwearied application, they expected to make a
number believe the government had a right, and
by that means at lad to force the government
into the quarrel, who they ever intended should
fight the battle With the Colony’s money, and
the company gain the prize if any.
This we may fee from their conduit lad Al 1
when a mtjofity of rhe affcmbly were on their
fids thequeftion ; then the company did not de
sire to have a release of what they call the go*
verEmcuv^ right upea their giving bonds of io
demniftcation,' but their inreaded.plaa now ap
peared : which was to make the hoaert freemen
of this colony pay the expence of their quarrel.
Muff We fuppok that all former affembhes did
not underhand themselves ? Or was the hft the
wifefl wt ever bad ? By the condcil of the af
fcnsbly for many year® they hare declared they
believed this pretended right a mere bubble to
get money out of their packets Surprifiog
’til that the members of the company should
continually io private, fay they will find men
who will give the colocy a large fans of money
for thesr right, but when called on to do it, no
man appears who will give a farthing ; What
jpuft we conclude from this ? is it not that the
company arc contriving -io amuse the colony
with fair pretences until they can’get the colony
into a Tnarl which will cofl the htncA freemen
of the colony ah immense fam and the company
get the money they have heretofore expended,
paid to them out of the colon? treasury ? b it
not a fact that one of their company who found
their scheme fetch a gross itT.pcfition or. the peo
ple as this colony was forced to desert them,
who informed that the company intended to get
the colony well cogtged in the dispute, and find
the assembly io a good mood to grant money
and then pray the assembly to pay them the mo
ney they had expended ? ’Tis laid that, the
company after the assembly’s fitting in October
lad were so far encouraged as to make up their
bills and get them ready to offer to the assembly,
made op so enormoefl. large as to contain three
times the money they had expended—but hep
pily they did not prefer their memorial hft Ja
nuary to have them paid out of the colony trea
sury— Is it not well known that the company
ronfifts of two forts of men ? the one fori,
men of large fortuoes, who if the co'ony ob
tains, intend to make tenants of the raiddlirg
fart of ptop e in this co'ony, and they and their
Families live in affluence, on the labours of their
^rsf brffihfgEt— bther fort bankrubts,
From, TUESDAY, March 29, co TUESDAY, April 5, 1774*
end men of desperate fortunes, who intend to
go there to dwell and get fmal! eflates, with
out paying any thing for them, as they have no
eflates here to pay. rates for, having spent them
io riotous living and extravagant febemes ; they
fay they have nothing to loose ‘f the company
fails in the fait. Ate not many of the company
the inhabitants of ths provinces of Flew York,
Massachusetts and Rhode lihnd ’ Why should
the iohabitants of .this colcay bry land for the
inhabitants of those province, at to dear a rate ?
’.Tis said that a fetter from a part of the com
pany in Rhode lOaod had a mighty influence co
the Sufquehannah Company in their late meet
ing at Windham. Some of the Company in
this colony had a mind to give up their right to
this government,, but their Rhode Ifliod bre
three would not coofent.and advised the com
p«Cy to hold faft their right, and make the go
vernment fight the battle for .hem. Stracge
that this company fhouldendeavour lb contioul
this whole government.—They fey they can
fecute the voice of the east fide of Councflicut
river, and their friends on the weft uJe the fiver
in the fevetal towns will so divide them as to
make a majority—.they will by threatning prin
ters, and threatening to remove* courts, affiight
many, and they have their emissaries in almofl
all our towns, who endeavour to slitter the free
men they will remove the col'rge, if they will
help them in this scheme sb^at .ufquebannah.
’Tis said the college is already prorntfed to fix
towns in Hanford county with the greatest af
furauce. In fine, they fay they will torn every
thing upfidc down if the colony will not stand
Hill and let them take their money at will —
Certainly we are freemen -and not slaves yet,
pray let us continue and assert our rights They
inform us the Penn family do not intend to try
the matter any where but inCooneflicut. Where
could we with it to be tryedbut inConncdicut i
If Mr. Penn can convince the people that ’tis a
Couth sea bubble, is it not much better than to
convince them by a law suit, after we have ex
pended fifty thcufand pounds sterling ? • f <.
4 They take much pains to ekclaim agaioft Mr.
I —j } a( jd f^y they fear him more (han all
Pennsylvania; and why ? I answer because he
knows the futility of the claim better than al -~
most aoy one clfe; —He was their agent in
England, and saw, and was told there was not
the lea(l Shadow, of probability of the colony’s
obtaining the ladd. !
? They declaim much againfl the Middletown
fleeting—whether it be expedient or no, they
of all men have the leait rcafon to cbjcdl rgaiolt
meetings off the freemcc—for ’tis well knowo t
that there is scarce a month in the year in which
they have opt their meetings, and efpccially in
the spring and fa.l before the annual meetings
of the freemen for elections. j
. The qompon cant of the friends to Su que
bannah is, that I.he people on the weft fide Ceo
nedicot river are fools, and madmen ; ’tis ftraege'
that this people are.become fools at once, the
import of this is, that the compsoy are dtfirous
of judging for tse whole, and arc unwillirg o-:
thcr people fheujd have any power of voting or
aSiog for..themfelves. Rat rouse, my fellow
countrymen, and boldly fay whether you sre
willing to give up your prefect lands for she
uncertain right of the weflern lands. ’Twill
be some consolation to usjo think if we are du
ped out of ounooney that we did oppose it.
“ Dear Sir, * * ■-' ; "■?
VTOU are fcclble ths ft semen of this co’oo7'
A are in an uproar at this time, and all our
pains is ncceffary to keep things on as we would
have them. You will be kind'cnough to fentf
to ycur printer, the Sham Petition, you and I
drew out when Twas at your house at — ,
Shall we part with this pleasant country for the
horrors of a defart, to contend with lavages*
and a still more formidable foe the family of
the Penn’s, with all their influence and money ?
1 am an old Friend to Count Clicut.
the matter of the college you must not omit
that fttokc will catch the clergy yoa know
the colony must bear the expccce, and the fenfi*
blc men agaioft year comptny well kow it/
but we can yet make the freemen believe to the
contrary ; their jurifdiffion right will always
involve them io the squabble-—-you sfle me
in yomr letter whether you had better make a
promise of ten or twenty thousand pounds to be
paid to the treasurer of the colony I I think
you may very well prolife in your petition,for
there will be no consideration to bind you
to perform, and if you promile it to be paid
when the depute end? that will never be, but
it wHT serve-our turoj* wifi delude the freemen/
for they are many of them blockheads, and!
won’t fee thro’ it altho’ we don’t ih nk of
performing it, yet the found of ten rhoufand
pounds will tickle many of the freemen, and
it wilt do the work. <
I am, and will fernam your firm firke-i, •
N. B. Many of cur friends this way desire
to return you thanks for the paios you have ta
ken, and the good pieces you have wrote.”
HARTFORD, 'April 5 ,
Extrafl of a Letter from Ne’w Providence,
' ‘ ■- February 6, 1774.
“ We arrived at this place, this day, after
todays paffsge from Sandy Hook—the latter
part of our run has been stormy, and very dif<
agreeable as well as dangerous among the va
riety of these islands, however, wc are all hearty
and io goad spirits. ««
” Captain Porter we find here io this harbour
with about 50 passengers all well—he is ready
Co fail, and we cxpcdl to go out in company*
and erofs the Bahama backs, and shoals in cur
way for Cape Florida, c This navigation is bad
and difficult, but the people here are extremely'
well acquainted with thofc places, and wc (hall
take a pilot.’’ r' ’ ” j i
N. B. This from on board Capt. Wait Good -'
rich, and is inferred (0 oblige thole who have
friends in said vessels. *
- This Morning Daniel Humphry and an Old
Countryman were sent to Ntiu Gate Prijon—'
Humphry is fentenccd to fix years, and the
other two years confinement in said Prison. <
‘.Yefterday Say Brook Bar Lottery begsa
Drawing at Middletown.
IFant of room oblige/ sr io om/t Hit Mal
j-cfly's Speech to both Houses of Parliament—^.:
many articles of Intelligence, together nuith a
Humber of Adverti/ements^nuhich.nuill be pub~
iffhti in a Supplement next Friday*
Mr PRINTER, ’
Iffbu nail I infer t the follonaing letter, obtain'd
by accident,y ou nuiU much oblige many of your
teaderr and expoje the treachery of otheri.
I -