The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-03-11 00:00:00, page 1

^B^^w
OR
GENERAL
For the PENNSYLVANIA PACKET.
To Governor JOHNSTON E.
S I R,
HAV ING seen yoar speech on American affairs at
the opening of the session, I cannot avoid making
some observations upon it : For although it contains im
portant fads and sensible remarks, yet it is not without
some mistakes.
You fay, the cause of America is kicked, becauje ice are
united with France 'or the express purple of reducing )o<r
country. The object of our alliance with the Most Chris
tian King, is simply to secure that Independence without
which our liberty would be but a name., And although
you are toe weak to maintain the present contest, yet you
are too powerful to be conquered. Neither is it the inte
rest of the House of Bourbon on the one hand, or of Ame
rica on the other, that you should. Britain would be as
troublesome a province to France as America to Britain:
Either would diffract and enfeeble their maflers But,
aifumiog your tact, is it wicked to attempt toe reduction
of a nation which hath lately Blown itfelf tee common ene
my of man? which hath drenched this country in the
blood of its inhabitants, for the imtiow purpose of reduc
ing them to unconditional submission. Impious, as you
have repeatedly declared, as they have " with Angular
“ unanimity" directly acknowledged., Is it wicked to
crulh a court and a mimftry profligate beyond concepti
on, and deceitful beyond example?
You aver, that the treaty with France is not raffled in a
confiituti^Q^. You are mifbken even on your
own ground. Still more are you mistaken on the ground
affirmed by your government; for they confeffed the au
thority of Congress to form treaties, by the very applica
tion whiGh brought you hither, , , , ,
You are equally wrong in fuppofmg, that toe objects ci
your cammrihon were fruflrated by delay. T e draught
of the bills arrive I in season, and the Sentiments of Con
gress were expressed on them so early as tire twenty-fecund
of April, previouseven to the knowledge, mucu less t^e
ratification of a treaty with France. They were expreff
cd with an unanimity which, on such decafions, is not Jin
«ular. .171
Yow fay, it =^s always your view that force JboAd ac
company tb'econefr. What comeffion do you mean ?
The a&s of Parliament gave no more than what you fre
quently contended for as our right, and to assert that there
is concession in giving a man hi%own, is hardly common
sense, but certainly not common honesty. Tre idea of
vigorous coercion in the moment of treaty, is a genuine
British idea. It is a good one, provided the offers to be
made in treating are generous and honeß ; but if insidious
and unequal, it ismarked with the (pirir, not of a man,
but a tyrant. That preparation for war is the best means
of obtaining peace, is an old and true adage, but there is
an essential difference between peace and dominion. Those
in either country who feck the former on fafe anddionouf
able terms, wifl'be gratified ; those who aim at the latter
will inevitably be, as they ought to be, most grievously
disappointed. 4
The opprobrious language you make use of is but little
ornamental to your eloquence, and would flow with more
propriety from the pen of an hireling than the mouth of a
Barman. That the Congress in their proceedings have
a refped to the people, is true; that they attempt to de
ceive the people, is untrue. Shew, if you can, a fahhood
fandionea by their authority. If you cannot, ' retrad a
charge xuhich must recoil upon you. W hoever hath in
formed you that the newspapers are under the direction of
Congress, was mistaken, or meant to deceive; And when
you shall have the pleasure of perusing some late Gazettes,
you will fee not only that the Congress and its Members,
but some other very respectable personages, are handled
with (efficient freedom to contradict your charge. Be
cautious, however, that you do not draw lalfe conclusions
from these publications. The Americans being really
free; are f^jeft, like other people, to the intempera
tures of freedom.. The conversations and conduct of your
adherents, have Seemed to flow from the following dilem
ma: If the newspapers do not blame measures and tra
duce eharafters, there is tyranny; if they do, there is
difunicn. But the natural interpretation is, that the for
mer arises from public confidence and a sense of dm ency,
the latter from perfoual emotion and the irritability of
little Spirits.•
For what relates to the charge brought against you by
, General Reed, you will certainly acquit Congress of dif
ingenuity, after you have seen what hath been Bated on
that occasion. Whether their zeal IM them into declara
tions,' which those who are accustomed to the bufiaefs of
corruption will confider as hafiy and uoneceffry, is not
for me to determine, having had no tranfaduns where
other means besides perfunfen have been add. This, how
ever, you may be certain of, that it was no t^bticai Broke
to avoid the question about General Burgoyne's troops.
Nor will theharfh epithets which you and others so ü
berally bestow upon Congress, by any means impeach
them. Pardon me, Sir : for observing, that on this occa
sion the charge of duplicity lies again ft you and yur bre
thren in commifuon. To enter into the arguments would
THURSDA Y,
[Price Fifteen Pence single, One Shilling by the quantity. Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.]
be tedious ; but if you will suppose us to be, what we have
declared ourselves, independent, then I pledge myfelf to
meet you on the ground of national right, and shew that
the Congrefc have acted with perfect cenfiftency and in
tegrity. At prefect I shall only observe, that you had no
authority whatever to offer a ratification of thetonvention
of Saratoga, and that you knew you had not artlie moment
in which you made the offer. At the fame time I fully
agree with you, that policy founded on injufice and disho
nour is contemptible in private life, and cohere the dignify
of a people is concerned, abominable meanness.
That you was received at Philadelphia with jo, ; that
the, wiftert the continuance of the Britijb arm, ; that tie,
mategolden promises of thousands and tens of thousands to
join, ou, is extremely probable. The, made the pro
mises as an inducement for you to comply with their
wishes, and their wishes were founded on their hopes arid
their fears. But as a negociator, it was unpardonable to
rest your creed on the opinions of those who were confin
ed in Philadelphia. Your friends would naturally resort
thither from other parts of the state, and consequently af
ford but a partial f^mple of the remainder. Your enemies
would not readily avow their sentiments under a military
government, which had not been exerctfed with too great
lenity. And as for the inhabitants of your gAuls, their
ideas like their information, wodd naturally be much cir
cumferibed. Nor can it be wondered'at, if in, the linger
ing tediousness. of long confinement, worne away with
want, and broken with the infoleiice of petty tyrants,
their spirits should be so depressed as to adopt any means
of relief which might offer. Had' you consulted the Bri-.
tilh Generals ; had you consulted former experience, you
would have known that all reifouing on such foundatit rs
is jllufory; all promises by such men inebtious; all reh*
ance on either abfuyd.
You seem to be of a different opinion, whilst leaving the
plain read of fads, you wander through the fields of fup
pofifion, to shew the propriety of your former conduct,
and what you propose in future. Suppose, you fay, Ad
miral KeppJba.: beaten Mons. the Count d'Cr%iltie-s, that
is, defrayed half bis fleet, which he was prevented from
doing by tlx accidents of wind and v. either ; suppose Ad
miral Byron's jquadron bad not met with aflorm; if Clin
ton had not been ordered to leave Philadelphia, *c.
Why did you not at once suppose you had fairly conquer
ed America, as well as that Byron had met no* ftorms',
Kepple no unfavourable gales, and Clinton no ridiculous
commands. Incidents like these, should always be fup
pofea by wife men. Wife men, Sir, will never flake the
late of an empire on the uncertainty of the winds, the
turbulence of the waves, and the fluctuations of human
opinion. Suppefe d'Efbing had arrived in the Dela
ware before Philadelphia was evacuated, and that by the
united efforts of his fleet arid the Americ. n armies, you had
Blared the fate of the unfortunate, insulted Bur^oyne^
Suppose the Count, inßead of leaving Rhode-Inland had
Raid till the Borm abated and then went to Sandy. Hook
to wait for the Blattered fleets of Howe and Byron. Sup
pose he had in force have met the latter alone. Your sup
positions, it seems, would have laid the topic of Indepen
dence asleep, and silenced its flipporters; but mirie would
have placed the oppofers of it in the most ridiculous light
imaginable..
For the encouragement of frfg and the terror of foes,
you declare your unalterable resolution to die in the b&
ditch. •he G? eat Nassau made the fame declaration,
and in the mouth of a hero coptendin, for freedom after
the loss of many battles, agdinft Superior force and almost
exhauftlefs resources, it hath a dignity and elevation
which description cannot reach. But when it is used to
color obfiinate perseverance in a ridiculous war, for the
fade of a bubble, a leather or a name, it is hardly in the
compass of langu,ge to defeend to such a deep profund.
In w^at ditch, my good Sir, would you die? SuaU the
rich current which glides through your veins dafll along
the roaring Susquehanna, swell the great Potowmac, or
fill the bay of Chefipe.k ? Shall it empurple the Canadian
fobws, shall itdertihze the arid finds of Florida, or Bain
the rocks of Nova Scotia, bard and unpitying of the ge
nerous Sacrifice? The gentle Tweed can never be witness
of his Johnßone's fate, for, indeed Sir, if you Bay at
home, we cahuat poffbly martyrife you. But seriously ;
why'ate you so apprC enfive or Canada, Nova-Scotia,
the Floridas, and Weft-Iridia inlands? It is not the inte-
lint it fears you are persuaded; that had,ox been at li
ber, to have aded in the field, your „,, fangutoe exp eola
tions naouldbave beenjn/jided. Those, Sir, who had fan
guinar, whiles and expectations, would have been grati
fied; those who delight in human woe, might have be
held with fatisfa Rion the fields or carnage. If there be
any who can derive pleasure from the pangs of a helpless
widow, or the tears of fatherlefs children, they might have
been satiated with the savage feaft. But you are deceiv
ed if you suppose that losses, defeats or distress, could
have induced a submission to uareafonable terms. Ame
rica bus prof edjrem ber own example in the lew pate of
affa rs befretbe aflion of Trenton, and believe me, the
object is too large to depend.on the fate of a battle, a siege,
of a campaign.
W^OBB^^
THE
WW^WI
THE
ADVERTISER
rest, and therefore hardly the wish of our allies, that we
should become dangerous to Europe, though it is their and
our determination to render the United States secure.
Neither can we harbor a desire after extended empire;
when the pernicious effects of it on you are so recent.
Besides, we have not men to Squander on the unhealthy
climates of Florida and the Weft-Indies. But wh, are
you so inco^ißentr You Bate us as very low apd weak.
If the fa d be so, whence do you derive your anprehen.
ft? Yai consider your nation in capacity still to sub
due us. Why tl;en do you harbor any fears? If our re
sources are really exhaufled if it is not in imagination #
paint fur contentions, divißons and futferiu^s, can yarn
suppose that we Biaß continue the war for future irooroba
ble ^cquifitions?.., ~'
, 1 ou alk, ^ bat reason America can have for not expli
cit!, declaring her intentions o, cenditionall, renouncing her
'° ;: ,^° ' '""" ''""'' upon,our declaring her indepenfo
^? The ahfiver i plain. Because ffie is honest. Would
you go farther? B^caufe fae is wife. If the faithfully a
bfoes by her treaties, othe? nations will court her alliance.
Suppose, for the fixe of those fanciful advantages to be de
rived frbm in u;rn of.jocce with you, and to avoid the
ew s op war in a dubious contest, America had been guil
ty of breaking her faith; would you have relied on°her
promts ? While you Brove to make her so wicked, could
hie re,y op yours? Not to mention the criminality, is
tiicre a gieiter aomrdity, than at the.very moment when
you would lead men to repose confidence in ^ur fifth, to
Blew a fovertign contempt of it, by persuading them to
violate theirs? " ' 5
4 ou fay, that your nc^s are greater than at the com
meec.meat Q j the la, wa, but admit the embarrofant of
,^rf m to Is Governor Johnßone yet to learn, that me:
ney and riches are very different things when applied .to
nations ? Have you more men; Have you more manufac
tures?.Have you more plenteous productions of the foil ?
TuicO miioona of. fuojeas are loft, fifty millions of debt
are incurred. All Europe is against you.,
Tour warlke operations, you fay, ar e fef extenfve in
Ce-manj, the East Indies, F^tuga,\N o -th-America, and
the % Indies. Who gave you the. preference to deter
mine where and hew the war Bull rage? Are the East-
Io des an, nihil ted, that tl ey can be no longer the theatre
of your battles and your crimes ? What has become of
°'^ ltar and ^^cca ? Flav e you abandoned the ihores
of Africa? Have.you let.the miserable Electorate of Ha
nover to farm ? Have you conquered America ? Or does
it require a lesser operation for that purpose, than it did,
with the afß fiance of your colonies, to reduce Canada ?
You certainly are of a different opinion; for you think
2§,000 men are necefary in America, exclufcve of what are
i, Canada and Halfax: These I suppose amount to about
u,oco. Add to the account { ? 000 which you ought to
have in the Floridas and Weft-Indies, and it will make
45,000 men. You can neither fend or maintain so large
a force at such a perilous diflance. New winds again may
blofy again my Borrns arise, and frefli blunders'be again
added to the catalogue of national absurdities. Should a
convoy be loft or a Bcetdeßioyed, figure to yourfelfyour
fs excclem,fo beautmf, and so -well appointed army, in all
its comelinrf, and in all its ^c, panting for a piece of
pitiful pork, or surrendering for the lack of mufiy btfcuit
You tpeak of the American Tories as a frewd, ending,
/e.Jtbleffe, who wd mt join the w^k and wavering
and will they think you, join the ruined and undone ?
Alas i surrounded as you are with dangers and diiujeffes
of every kiid^prudence (cents wholly to have abandoned
'i™ 'A'"'' ™'° !'°^" gamester, having 101 l so much as
almost to have loft your senses, you w^uld Bake your
clothes, your wife and your children on the desperate ha
zard, till notiling remains for you but to die in a ditch.
You are led to suppose, from some riots whi # h happen
ed between t ie French fillers and lower kind of innabit
an sin hie brothels of Eofton, that the indignant foonta
tieius Q as y the people are indifoofcd # o the French alli^
""^ ~ h nc ?? r " u are f ° f ° nd of ^PP^ions) that
all Englrih det should have arrived at the loyal town of
Boston, would trie officers and seamen have been received
with open arms, and pressed and car ff e d by the inhabit
axs? ftpofe an ngliih seaman and soldier should come
to blows for a prostitute, would you, from this circum-
Bance, apprehend a defection of four invincible Beet or
graceful army? However feontaneous might be their paf
lions, you would hardly draw that conclusion.
It is laid above, that peace my be had on terms fafe
and honorable tor Britain and America. It may be added
for every other party who may be concerned in the war.
V, hat do you want with Gibraltar and Minorca ? As
badges of foyereignty and of ancient glory, they may feed
your pride, hut tney epipty your purse ; for your Levant
trade is a losing game, and will, from our independence,
be more so every day. These places are like thorns in
your neighbour's lides, who, for that vqry redfon, cannot
be your friends. ^ If you mean peace, they can do you no
good ; and therefore it is your interest to get rid of them
ol ,>e belt terms you can. Jam Uca is, indeed, a valuable
poheffion ; but as it raises the jealowfy of others and cre
ates enemies to you, you ihould keep it no longer thou ua-
MARCH ifr 1 77%