The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-05-07 00:00:00, page 1

LORDS PROTEST.
Die Jovis, 7 Februarii, 1782.
IIrfOVED, " That it is derogatory to the honourof this
house, that any person labouring under the heavy
censure, comprehended in the following sentence of a
court-martial and public orders given out in conse
quence thereof, viz.
“ This court, upon due consideration of the whole
" matter before them, is of opinion, That lord George
“ Sackville is guilty of having difobey^d the orders of
" prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, whom he was by
“ his commission and inffruaious directed to obey, as
" commander in chief, according to the rules of war:
" and : s toe farther opinion of this court, that the
'' said . ^ickvilb is, and he s hereby ad
" judg^ • ;-3 us majefly in any military ca
" pacit? " . r."
“ Whic lenience his majesty has been plea fed to
" confirm.
"It is his maj fly's pleasure. t>G he above fed
" tence be given out in pubic orders, that officers,
“ being convinced, that . ner high birth nor great
<c employments can s her offences of such a nature;
“ and, that feeing they are fubjed to censures much
“ worse them death, to a man w/hd has any sense of
" honour, they may avoid the fatal consequence arif
“ ing from disobedience of orders."
should be recommended to the crown to be raised to
the dignity pfa peerage."
Which being objected to,
It was moved to adjourn.
After long debate,
The question was put thereupon.
It was resolved in the affirmative,
Contents - - 6i\
Proxies - - 14/ "
Non-Contents - 26\ g
Proxies - -2/
Diffentient,
The king has been pleated to grant to the right honour
able George Germain (commonly called lord George
Germain,) and to the heirs male of his body lawfully
begotten, the dignities of baron and vifebunt of the
kingdom of Great-Britain, by the names, stiles and titles
of baron Bolebrooke in the county of Sussex, and vis
count Sackville of Drayton in the county of Northamp
ton.
From the LONDON CHRONICLE, dated February
For the reasons contained in the proposed resolution
which preceded the motion to adjourn.
EFFINGHAM.
On Saturday last the Carteret packet, captain New
man, with the February mail, arrived here ineight
weeks from Falmouth; and on Sunday arrived the
Duke of Cumberland packet, captain Dafhwood,
with the March mail, in fix weeks from the before
mentioned port. By them we have the following
advices.
AS soon as the house met this day, the Sheriffs of
London waited at the bar with a petition from the
city of London, which being presented to the house,
was read, and contained an address to parliament Rat
ing the hardships and grievances the citizens of London
laboured undqr in common with his majefty'a other fub
jefts, in consequence of the American war, and pray
ing their interference to put an end to it in a manner
most agreeable to their wisdom.
As soon as the petition was read, Mr- alderman
Newnham, after pressing the most serious deliberation
of the house on it, moved that it might lie on the ta
ble, which was agreed to.,
The order of the day was then called for, when
General Conway rose, and, previous to his going
into the merits of his question, desired that the petiti
ons of the cities of London and Bristol might be read,
which being complied with, he observed, he was very
happy to find, in a question which he intended to call
the attention of the house to, two such refpeftable cor
porations as those of London and Bristol had in a man
ner anticipated his intentions relative to the American
war ; indeed so far as he could learn, the whole of the
people were of the fame opinion, which gave him a
chearfullnefs in undertaking what he had every reason
to think was looked upon so salutary to the general in
terests of the country.
He observed, that when last he had the honour
of laying a similar question before the house to
that he intended moving this day, he was aware he
could not repeat it literally according to parliamenta
ry form; he therefore modified it, but did not fub
flantially alter it ; and his reason for this was, because
he looked upon so small a majority as one, as a favour-
HOUSE of COMMONS, Feb. 27.
TUESDA Y,
VOL. Xl] Published every TUESDAY, THURSDAY and SATURDAY.—Price Six-Pence.
N E W-Y O R K,
12, 1782.
Sr. James's, February 9.
GENERAL ADVERTISER.
April 30.
able omen that it would fink into a minority then.
With this view, and this hope, he would lay the ques
tion before them to be adopted as an opinion of that
house, instead of addreffingthe king.
The question thus modified, he flattered himfelf,
would insure its success ; a success he hoped, the house
would not think he wished on the factious principle of
one party getting the better of another, but attribute
it to the true motive, a love for the honour and inter
ests of his country, which he would support whilst he
had ahead to think, a tongue to utter, and a hand to
execute ; he hoped therefore, that on that day all ideas
of party might be loft fight of, and that unanimity
might prevail, which not only might call back Ameri
ca to our friendfhip, but ted our enemies what they
were to expert from the united efforts of a once great
and opulent nation.
On the last night that he had the honour of troub
ling the house on this buhnefs, he observed, that one
or two gentlemen haddelivered themselves so far in fa
vour of the motion, that they condemned the princi
ples of the American war, and seemed to with heartily
for peace; and some of toe public prints had distin
guished one of those gentle men (alluding to Mr. Rigby)
to have spoken out in an open manly manner ; yet af
ter these declarations, both these gentlemen divided a
gainst the queHion. This conduct, he (aid, would have
a good deal furprized him did not he find it prevail
in other oftances ; it being no uncommon thing to near
gentlemen in office, both in coffee-boules and other
public places, declaim gamfl the American war, and
on question: of this nature before the house, vote re
gularly in favour <,f it. This was an observation not
only peculiar to hirnfel^ but was confirmed to him by
an officer the other day n a mixed company, who be
ing a plain soldier, vied uniformly to speak his own
mind upon gen ral fubjefy, parted this matter as an
objed of very great admiration. The honourable ge
neral hoped, however, that those gentlemen would
feel a similar conviction with the great apostle, who,
from being one of the greatest persecutors of the faith,
by a sudden conversion became one of its inofi ortho
dox defenders.
It had been objected on Friday last, he said, when
his motion was under agitation, that it was obfeure and
indiflinft, and on that ground could not be embraced
by administration and its friends. He assured tije house
he never meant to bring before them, either an obfeure
or indiflind question intentionally ; it never being his
wish to bffug before them any thing futile, or widen
would mifltad them. But lea ft his present motion might
be combated on the fame ground, he would speak out,
as clear as he was able, what he meant by it, and what
his wish and purpose was by the proposal of it ; it was no
more than this : to put a stop to the troops in America
anting in future offensively, and to take the fir fl oppor
tunity of making peace with that country; ne iikewife
did not mean to lay, that he would recal the troops that
were garrisoned there, and totally abandon the coun
try, h^ had no such object ; his wish, as he had said
before, being only not to carry on the war in Ameri
ca, under the idea of subduing it by force.
He Was, however, aware, he said, of the arguments
that had been used against this opinion, which were,
that by this resolution, it would be tying up the hands
of our troops Rationed in America from taking advan
tages of what opportunities, or the favourable chances
of war, might present. That this would put us in an
aukward Situation, giving our enemies every advantage
of anting offenfively, whilst we had no other alternative
left us but toad merely on the defenfive. This he, no
doubt, admitted might be Specious, but then it Should
be coi)fider <d, that our now taking up a defenfive line,
arises from the absolute necessity of tze case. We had
tried all other methods ineffeauJly. We had attempt
ed to detach, and to press forward into the interior
parts of the country, but to no purpose; every plan
of this kind concluded with defeat, rand difhono r ; we
had now only to garrison a few towns in the best man
ner we were able, and to try the methods of concilia
tion; giving the Americans this previous impression,
that we had already ceahd to aft any more against them
in an hostile offenfive manner.
In doing this, the honourable general would not"
pledge himfelf for the success of it ; but to try it was
surely the duty of parliament : he had been informed
the Americans were ripe for proposals of accommoda
tion ; that they had in a great measure forgot the cru
el and scandalous manner the war, in many inflances,
had been carried on against them ; the burnings, rava
ges, rapes and cruelties, which had been committed;
and looking towards an end of such calamities, were
inclined to Sketch out the heads of conciliation • in
God's name then, said the honourable general, let us
try it ; let not poflerity have it to fay, we entailed mi
sery and deftruaion on them; and let us have it to fay
to our conferences, that we have acquitted ourselves
O R, THE
THE
It had been likewise thrown out in the last debate, as
another reason for not acceding to the motion then be
fore the house, that the nature of the war was changed,
for that instead of an American war it was now become
a French one, and tirat it becamea duty upon us to con
quer France in America. This idea he reprobated as
the mere cant and jargon of administration, and to a
dopt it would be falling into the very snare France seem
ed to lay for us. He begged gentlemen would confider,
how the French carried on the war in America to what
we did—they never had more than 5 or 6000 men, the
transportation of which, with their annud allowance,
did not amount to above 501. per man; whereas we had
76,000 men at least in the pay of this country, which.
Rood us upon an average at the rate of tool, per man-
He called the attention of the house to this notorious
difference in expence and numbers, which were so in
ferior on the fide of France, that it enabled her to make
her marine establishment not only refpe&abie, but, to
the very confeffion of some of those high in the naval
departments, superior to the crown of Great-Britain.
The honourable general then, in a very clear and re
colle&ed manner, spoke to all the principal arguments
which had been urged agajnfl him on Friday last, and
concluded with his motion, which was substantially
as follows;
" That it is the opinion of this house, not to profe;ute
the war on the continent of America any longer by force,
but to avail themselves of his majesty's late gracious de
claration in favour of the colonies to bring about peace
and tranquility."
Lord Althorpe (eldefl son of lord Spencer) seconded
the general's motion, and pressed it with great ardour
to the house, as the only alternative left them to do jus
tice to their constituents, and revere the credit and dig
nity of the nation. He begged gentlemen on this head
not to truf lto [peculations ; they were often flattering,
and often delusive, particularly in the article of war—
but to resort to experience, the touchflone of truth,
and the sure mark of government for prudent and de
liberate men. That this experience, therefore, taught
us, after seven years hard and repeated conflids, that
the war was impracticable. We had tried general af
ter general, mode after mode, yet to no manner of pur
pose : it is true, we distressed the Americans, and made
them acquainted with calamities; butthefe neithertaught
them submission, nor obtained for ourselves the most
distant prbfpe?t of success; we were on an equality in
nothing with them but in those calamities, with this
difference again ft us, we were obliged to bear them un
der every degree of adversity and disgrace.
Sir Charles Bunbury spoke in favour of the motion,
and, in the course of a long speech, adverted to a va
riety of things, all of which he brought as so many
proofs of the necessity we were under of putting an enr
to the American war. He reminded the house of the
number of times he had brought this fubjed on the ta
pis before them, and how often it was refeaed through
the prevalence of men whom ne supposed had an in e
reft in fuch,a rejedion. From the part of Administra
tion, however, that still looked to war, he believed he
might exclude his noble relation (lord North) he flat
tered himfelf with thinking he wished for conciliation -
he knew this at least, that it was full time, for that
the country was very nearly ruined ; nor had he him
felf escaped from feeling the pressure of so general a ca
lamity.
After speaking to a variety of points, all which he
said applied to the question before the house, he touch
ed upon lord North's declaration on Monday night
last, relative to suppressing gambling in the lottery ;
this he commended as proper in that particular, but
was free to confess he wished the noble lord had visited
Newmarket a little oftener than he did; he would there
find, he said, some good advice, both from {peculati
on and the example of two noble peers, formerly in
office, who frequented that meeting; from the sirs l no
ble duke he would learn not to make a bad m itch ; and
from the noble marquis, to pay forfeit when he lmd
made a bad match; he applied this to the conduct
the noble lord in the blue ribband should adopt in the
present question, which was, after supporting the Ame
rican war, and finding it impracticable, to relinquish it
as a bad match. Before be fit down, he called upon
t e members for the county of Lincoln in particular,
to recollect how the continuance of the war affefted the
interests of their conflituents, and thata long war was
the principal reason of the great failure in the value
of their long wool.
S r Horace Mann spoke on the fame fide of the ques
tion, and condemned the.idea of pxocraftinating the
war, on every principle of prudence, speculation or ex
perience ; he said, he had not only marked the pro-;
cefs of the war, and Satisfied himfelf about the irnfrac
[See the Fourth Page.]
like honest men and faithful representatives of the peo
ple.
MAX 7, 17%
[NUMB. 88r.