The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1778-03-09 00:00:00, page 1

^^%^ MuWitU^
0 R
GEN ERAL
3; the Swallow P^et, Citfy ROB^RT% ^h
arrived at farw P^l on l^ednefda, the 2^th o?
February, in fever: iveeb from f&mouth. ^th the
December mail, ?>e have received ibe Joi^&wmg ad
vicer, viz,
L O N D 0 N.
H OUS E of L 0 R D S.
Thursday, November 20.
A S Goo as hisMj sty had left the House, the
4A. F.a ri of Harcourt ad Lord Percy were intro
duced, and rock their feats; the Lord Chancellor
then cad his Mq^ftfs Speech, and afterwards the
Clerk of the Htue. L rd Percy then rote up, and
in a very short Speech, which could not he heard be
low the bar. moved fran humble address v be pre
fenced to his Maiefty, to return him thanks for his
moil gracious Ipouch. The Earl of Chefterfield, in
another fhorr perch, fecened his Lordship. A'ter
which, Lod Coventry got tip, and opposed the mo
tion for the addicts, and concluded with recom
mending to his Majefry 3 Ministers to withdraw the
troops from America
Lord Chatham then rose, and entered into a series
of lanentati ns on the iniquitous conduct of the Mi
nistry, the impo icy of the American war, the im
proper node of conducing it, and the dreadful crisis
of pubic affairs.
Tie G.ui^trdo w: : complaining h*t Parliament
were mo^ cavate w tre< ed by the Ministry ; that
inst ^ad of the latter's persuading bis Majesty. agree
able to anient custom, to ask the advice of the great
Council of the nailn, when matters flood in such a
very alarming fcoalvn, when the very evidence of
the oofrun n was at tt.ke, t^ speech, in the
most peremptory anl d a^torial terras, tanked of the
line femduo to b. f 1 owed by Government as a
matter ale^dy fettled, rod only using the words
•wrtuorn and lu,p,rt 0 »ddr ffing the great Council of
the nation, begged that Parliament u< uni make eve
tre grant.of troops, money, &c. however inordinate
2nd improper, which the Minister thought proper to
ask. This language, the Earl obfeved, was equally
rew and improper, It Oruck him in so reprehensi
ble a point of view, that he scrupled not to fay the
Minister who dared to advise the use of it ou^ht to
be called to a mo# severe account, and he wished to
fee the front of the mafw'b— was fufficieatiy confi
dent to venture to tell the. King that his affairs were
in a hopeful condition. Having finifhed his animad
▼erfions on the speech. he drew a most tremendous
piaure of he times, and dwelt wpon the necessity of
inft&ntly changing the mealnresof Government, and
instead of pursuing the war, of taking the most effec
tual means of procuring peace and tranquility. In
the course of his speech, he took occasion to be par
ticularly severe on those who had cenfented to the
tarring the lavages loose noon the rebels with the
tomahawk and scalping knife, and said it was not on
ly a most inhuman and barbarous mode of carrying
on the war, but that it was a circumstance the Ame
ricans never would forget or forgive. He called it
disgracing the British banner, lowering our national
character as then of courage, po!lutingthe fame which
the success of our arms had created in all parts of the
world, and lacrificing to a mean revenge the noblest
principles of honour and humanity. Is bidding a
band of savages embrue their barbarous bands in the
blood of our fe low f tibj& (added his Lordship) a
piece of conduct confident with the great idea of the
Poet ? Does it speak
" The p°mp, pride and circumstance of glorious war!"
No, it favours of wa it of feeling, want of a necef
fary conception of the nature of juftifiable ambition,
and I will venture to fay, it is not confunant to law.
The hiring of foreign troops the Earl also repro
ba'el as impolitic in the highest degree; and after
having laboured to prove that it would have been
more canftitutional to have railed new levies of Bri-
MOND .A Y, M ARC H 9, 1778.
tifh troops, declaring that he wan'd fell bis ffiirt off
his back to serve his county in a right caihe, hu
that he weird not give government a (hiding to car
ry on the pre ent ruinous and unna ual war. He
ludicrously laid, Government made so n?ny new
connexions, and some of them were so strange, ti at
it now only remained fomhem to enter into a treaty
with the King of the Gipfies, in order to c^mpleat
the m<t'y lift us their a lies. He defcibed the Ame
ricans as a brave, thinking people, men every way
superior to the petty, paltry German Princes, who
fold their fu^jeAs as butchers did their meat at the
Gambles; and to Rrengthen I is argument for an im
mediate alteration of measures he described Ameri
ca as rilng evhry day in po-e, increasing in military
(bength, oarticula ly her ar es, and byway of op
pofnion declared, thar the military difeiphne among
eur trooos across the At art c was fcandalonfly re
laxed, and dat y growing wire; that our military
at home and in Ireland were by no means equal to
the prefervatton of Great Britain in case of an attack
from the Hotie of Bourbon; that cur navy at home
was ? o shockingly weak and unfit for lervice, that
no man of credit would undertake the command of
it; and, in fad, that ths kingdom, in coniequence
of the prefect ruinous war, was altogether in a de
fencelefs state. Among other proofs of our daily
dec effing in power and advantage, he instanced, that
our channel was daily periere I with privateers, which
annoyed car cemioerCc. mu^ more mu: wee ever
known in times of foreign war, and added, that our
being Tout out of Lfbon rive w^ not the fmahrft
inconvemience we felt. After having uttered ir nu
merab'e prai es of America, his Lordship boasted,
that as far as they had refilled for the lake of free
dom, he would jufti y their conduct, but that he was
not altogether so entirely of op nion with them as to
undertake eithe to defend or Support every thing
they have done; America, his Lordfh p declared,
was nt to be juftified n throwing tffher dependen
cy on Great-Britam; the mother country had an un
doubted right to a fuperic ritv, but then she should
enjay and use it mutually for her own interest and
that of her Colonies, and not with a view to derive
great advantage to herfelf, and to oppress America.
The AX of Navigation flu aid be allowed, and every
pretence to independency retracted on the one hand,
every dtfire of unconditional iubm ffion given up on the
other ; this his L rdffiip averted wasthe only rational
idea of accommodation that could be adopted; and that
it was at once honourable, ealy, and promised to be
permanent. The prefect mom-ut his Lordship pointed
out as the proper point of time to begin attempting
such a mode of accommodation: France, by her late
declarations of not aflifting America, seemed not to
be on the best terms with the Congress, and probably
the secret reason was, that some treaty was on the
carpet between her and the Congress Deputies, the
terms of which (he meant to terrify the latter into a
compliance with, by appearing to be in earnest in
her profeffions to the Court of Great^Britaio ; that
we ought to take advantage of this fluctuation of af
fairs, and while there was an apparent coolness be
tween France and America, to fettle matters with
the latter, and restore our own difttaXed affairs to
Inch order as was absolutely oeceffary for the fafety
of the empire. As a firft step towards effeding what
his I^ordfliip advised, he moved an amendment to
the address proposed to be prelected ; which amend
ment was as follows:
“ That this Hiufe does most humbly advise and
supplicate his Majesty to be pleased to cause the n^ft
Speedy and effectual measures to be taken for restor
ing peace in America; and that no time may be loft
io prop sing animmediate reflation of hostilities there,
in order to the opening a treaty for the final settle
ment of 'he tranquility ofthofe invaluable provinces,
by a removal of the unhappy cauie^ of this ruinous
civil war, and by a just and adequate lecurity agaiaft
the return of the like calamities in time to come.
A Lt
^'Mr^CTrtfo^^ .^^m^^^
I ^BIBib I
THE '
ADVERTISER.
And this House desire to offer the most dutiful aC
iurante to his Majesty, that they will, in due time,
chearfufy co-operate with tie magnanimity and ten
der goodness of his Majesty, for the piefetva or- of
his people by fuchtxpheit and most ft km^ declara
tions and provisions of fundamental and irr<v cable
laws, as may be judged nee fEry for afcerraining
and fixing, for ever, ti e relpeXive rights ci Great-
Britain and her Colonies"
The amendment having been read by the Lord
Chancellor,
The Earl ©f Sandwich got up, ard said it was
with great diffidence he rose to reply to a noble Lord
so renowned as a wife statesman and p< werful orator
as the propo'er of the amendment ; hut as he was
convinced from what had fallen from the noble Earl,
that he not only was an able politician, but had a
real and sincere regard for his country, he thought it
his duty to set his Lordlbip right relp^ing several
particulars which Ie had advanced, and which were
absolutely fade in fad He premised that he was
well aware the noble Ear! did not mean to nuflead
the Hou'e, or to mifieprefent any one matter which
he had taken upon him to mention in the cou fe of
his speech; since however it was evident that the
noble Earl had been mifinformed,. he would unde
ceive him in refpeX to such of the points as fell im
mediately under bis cognizance, and which he c< uld
prove to be very differently fixated from the noble
Erl's de&riflr. The sh? of those was the state
of the navy in Europe, which the nobe Earl has
declared n t only to be weak and unfit for ferv^ce,
but in so despicable ano deplorable a flare, that no
man of credit in his profeffi n would take the com
mand of it. So far was this fr, m being the case,
that he was most heartily happy to be able to fay, in
the hearing of the Houle, and of the strangers and
not to care how universally it was reported, that < ur
navy never was in so powerful and ref|enable a e n
dition as at present. We have no le's than so ty
two ships of the line in c mmiffion in Europe, thirty
five of which were fully manned, exc pting only a
deficiency of about nine hundred men upon their en
tire complement, which was an uncommonly trifling
deficiency, and very easily made up in case of necessi
ty: that the seven other flups were lately put into
commission, and therefore not yet manned; but that
all the marines necessary for them were ready, and
that no doubt their complements w u'd soon be pro
cured. This naval force his Lordship remarked was
superior to what France, or any of the coptine tai
powers bad ; and that v hen it was considered we had
more line of battle ships, full manned, in different
parts of the world, an incredible number of frgates
and other armed veflels in America, ard a most ex
traordinary addition of frigates and small veflels
built and bought, and now preparing for sea, surely
it can not be argued, that our navy was in any thing
like a weak state, or an unserviceable condition.
With regard further to the aflertion, • 'that no of
ficer of credit would take the command of the feet
in Europe," it was equally falfe; a noble, and an
able officer, of one of the firft families in the king
dom, and of an irreproachable character, was both
ready and willing to take the command ; nor was he
the only officer of reputation ready to accept it;
others, many others, were also willing, and God
forbid that the fafety of the kingdom fhou d rest
solely on the experience and valour of an individual
in any profeffion, however excellent his character,
however great his abilities !
His Lordship; with a view to farisfy the House
refpeXing the state of the navy produced papers,
from which he read a variety of matters, all tending
to p r °ve his assertions, by fpecifying the particulars 4
rceefft-y to convey an exatft information of the num
be s, size, crews. &c. &c. of the various veflels in
the lervice; and afer very circurnftantialFy proving,
that our navy was now much superior to the united
[ See the Fourth Pa^e. J