The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-07-23 00:00:00, page 5

From the London Gazette of the 18th of May.
Admiralty-office, fame day.
Lord Cranston, captain of his majeft,'g (hip the For
midable, and captain Byron of the Andromache, on
board of which hit lordship took his passage, arrived thia
morning with difpatcbes from fir George Bridget Rod
'hey, baronet, knight of the Bath, and commander of his
raajefty's Chips on the Leeward Bland Ration, to Mr.
Stephens, copy of which follows : j ^
On board the Formidable, at sea, 34th April.
SI R,
It has pleased God, in his divine providence, to grant
to the arms of his majesty, a compleat vidory over the
enemy's fleet commanded by the count de Graffe, who
is himfelf taken with the City of Paris and tour other
(hips of the line, besides another which foundered in
the a&ion. \ ,' .
This important victory was gained the 12th instant,
after an action which lasted with unabated fury from
seven o'clock in the forenoon till half an hour after fix
in the evening, and which was terminated snly by the
setting of the fun. . „
Both fleets have greatly (offered, but it is with great
fatisfa&ion that I can assure their lord(hips, that altho'
the masts, fai's, rigging and even the hulls of the Eng
lish ships are damaged, the loss of men has been incon
siderable, considering the length, and especially the
clofenels of the action, in which each of the fleets confi
d^red the event as most essentially interesting to the ho
nour of their king and country. * ,<
The fending out large quantities of fto<es for the
nav , which have lately arrived in the Weft- Indies, will
I flatter m,felf enable me to repair, in a Rhort time,
the damages that his majesty's fleet has (offered.
The gad-nt conduct of the officers and crews of the
flset I have the honour to command, ought to render
them forever dear to every lover of his king and coun
try 1 u°
The noble and intrepid eonduft of fir Samuel Hood,
the second in command, who in both actions has be
haved in the most diftinguilhed manner, calls for my
greatest eulogiums and thanks : v ce-admiral Dr>ke, the
third in command, who with his division, on the 12th
inftan', had the line of battle a head, merits the great
est encomiums ; and commodore Affl-ck is net left de
serving for the bravery he exhibited in the conduct of
the center division.
Bat mv own captain fir Charles Doug^f, merits all
that is possible of expressing, his great a&ivity, and un
remitting attention, have been of the greatest affidance
to me, and leaned the great unavoidable fatigues of
th a day.
In a word, I want words to express how much I am
indebted to ail the captains, officers and seamen who
have contributed to this glorious vidory by their united
effort,,
The enemy's army, confiding of 5,500 men were on
board of their men of war, their lofsmuft have been pro
digious, as during the greatest part of the engagement,
every difeharge took effe& ; and their lordships may
form an opinion of the execution that must have necef
farily enfaed, when they are informed that the Formi
dable alone has fired eighty broadsides.
I h<ve the honour of adding for the information of
their lordfhi s, a lift of the lines of battle of English and
French, with the number of the killed and wounded on
board of his majesty's fleet, as well as the particulars
of the damage it has sustained,
Lord Cranston, who in the two engagements served
as one of the captains of the Formidable', and whose
brave condu& merits applause, will have the honour
of p/afenting these difpatche, I must refer to him for
a more circumstantial account ; he is fully intruded of
every thing that has parted on this decafion.
That the English flag may flourish forever in all p-rts
of the world, is the molt ardent with ,of him who has
the honour to be, &c. G B. RODNEY.
, Lift of the French ships tuken.
La Vlie de Paris no gsni. Sh- had on board 1300 men.
Le Giorieux 74 750 seamen 156 soldiers.
Le Cesar 74. 75° do. 150 do.
L'Hedof 74 75 0 do - 150 do.
L'Ardent 64. 650 do. too do.
A veffsl funk, n me unknown.
The English fleet had 230 killed and 759 wounded,
Officers killed and wounded.-
Three captains killed, viz M Bayne, of the Al're ? ,
Blair of the Anson, and lord Robert Manners, of the
Reflation, dead rs hie wounds'.
Three lieutenants killed) 10 wourded; 5 captains
of marines wounded ; one lisut. of marines kiled, 4
wounded; t matter ki Id, 6 won't 1: I pi'ot wounded.
EDI N B U R G, May it.
The sloop of war Aleleme,, sent as an express
from Yarmouth road, by captain Patton, ofthe
Belle Poule, is arrived this niorning from Leith
road : we are informed by it, that the Dutch
fleet failed from the Texel the 4th inftanc. O.
thef exprefles arrived here this morning by
land, confirm this news By this account the
Dutch have eight days ftarr of lord Howe, who
was dispatched with twelve fail ofthe line to
intercept them.
HOUSE of CO M MONS, April , o .
Mr. Thomas Pitt made a motion, of which
the following is the substance, “ The national
debt has, during the war, accumulated to an e
normous size, and beyond all conception ; it is
time for us to account with ourselves; to exa
mine into the true Rate of our affairs, and when
we are acquainted with it, we should take such
measures as are suitable to our situation. We
have for many years part fucceflivly raised im
mense sums It is time for us to examine ifwe
were in a condition to raise those sums, and if
the public creditors are (ecured." I move there
fore " that a committee be appointed for the
purpose of afeertaining the amount ofthe differ
ent sums voted as subsidies, from the sth of Janu
ary, 1776, to the sth of April, 1782; the a
mount ofthe annual interest of these sums ; the
annual produce of the taxes which were intends
ed to be a fund for the yayment of the above in
terest ; and lastly, the amount ofthe annual de
ficiencies in the receipt of those taxes."
This motion parted without opposition : and
I thus the account book of Great-Britain will
soon be made public.
Supplement to the Pennsylvania Packet. July 23, 1782.
Mr. Sawbridge then made a motion, of which
he had given notice a few days before, on the
fubjeft of the pension of a thousand pounds ster
ling per, annum, that had been granted to Mr.
Robinson, firrt secretary to lord North.
i Unluckily for Mr. Sawbridge, his means were
inadequate to the attainment of his object; his
assertions were ill founded, and bordered upon
calumny. The indignation of the house was ex
cited, and shown without dissimulation. Mr.
Thomas Pitt was the firft who opposed the moti
on ; alledged, that in the present situation of af>
fairs, such trifling objects ought not to engage
the attention ofthe house, but that they ought
to be occupied about the means of faring the
empire.
, Mr. secretary Fox likewise opposed the moti.
on, and spoke nearly in the following terms:
" I flatter myfelf that I fhal[ be less suspected
than any body, of endeavouring to protect the
late ministers from the rigour of those enquiries,
which their conduct demands of the juffice of
parliament; but I cannot approve ofthe parti
al motion of the honourable member, because if
we lower down theenquiry, so far as to examine
whether Mr. Robinfon' spenfion were deserved
or not, it would feeto as if the whole mifconduet
of the late administration, confined merely in
granting useless pensions. -But when the grand
enquiries, which circumstances render indifpen
fible, (hall be entered upon, I expect the, will
be general; that they will go to every branch
of government. In that case, we must expect,
not only to be astonished, but to Shudder. The
situation of affairs i 4 such, that about the con
clusion of the late administration, when / meant
to give a picture of them, I scarcely gave a Sketch.
I was very far from dreaming one half of the
hideous extent of the mifehiefs which are heaped
upon our heads. The offices of my department
furnish me with a multitude of proofs of the im
minent danger into which the empire was plun
ged when I entered into tbem. An idea cannot
be formed ofthe deplorable weakness, naked
ness and exhausted state in which 1 found the
kingdom. Who indeed could have conceived,
that ministers, who ought to have known this
general exhausted rtafe, who could not be igno
rant, that they did not possess half the means
neceflary to make head against the house of
Bourbon alone, ffiould have pitched upon the
moment when this truth was most glaring, to
draw upon themselves the additional weight of
Holland, though the pressure they already were
under, was beyond their ability ! Who could
have believed, that ministers, furronnded with
precipices on every fide, should have been so
lenfelefs, as to maintain till the last, the haugh
ty and insolent language, which I find in the
correspondence of lord Stormont, with the seve
ral courts of Europe, in the course even of last
December.
This, which is not far back, was an epocha,
at which insolence, ever unbecoming, could on
ly be considered as madness. Yes it was in De
cember last, that the ministers had the hardi
ness Hill to talk to the mediatorial powers ofthe
punishment of Vah Berkel; that the proposed
the exemplary punishment of this man, as the
preliminary article of any treaty of peace they
should enter into with Holland! And yet, I mutt
observe, that I could hardly get over the
aftoniihment I was thrown into, when in gojng
over the papers, relative to the quarrel between
us and the republic, I law they had no motive,
nor even any pretence for it. In fhorl, who
could think that after what had parted in this
house, on the fubjeftofthe American war, those
ministers ffiould be so infatuated as to issue or
ders to the officers whom they employed, in
which their absurd ideas of the portability of're
covering America by force, are discovered;
their old rhodomanrade# ; their dreams of victo
ries and cdnquelt : all this is very gravely figni
fied, and it appears that they seriously imagin
ed that their firft system was dill practicable'
Insomuch, that their grand business and that
which absorbed all &i r attention was on one
fide, the conquest of America, and ori the other
the chattifement of Van Berkel. Such are the
states men that we have had ! l am furry r o tell
the house, thatthe project o fa feperaie peace
with Holland, is not quite so near as w e thought
it; but I am convinced that if the reign ofthe
late administration had been only a few months
shorter, we ffiould now be at peace with the re
public.
So many blunders, ofmany extravagancies one
on the back of another, prove unanfwcrably the
indifpenfible neceff^y of an enquiry. It is ne
ceflhry for the nation. It is eflential to the
quiet; to the fafety ofthe present administrati
on. If the people be not fully acquainted with
the situation of their affairs; if they fliould not
clearly fee in what a weak condition their coun
try has come from the old administration to the
new, it will be difficult, perhaps dangerous for
the present government to have recourse to those
severe and extraordinary measures, which the
critical situation of affairs alone dan juftify, in
making levies of men and money: measures
which however are abfulutely and indifpenfibly
necessary, as being rhe only probable means left
us to extricate ourselves from the load of cala.
mities which have been heaped upon our heads.
I therefore repeat it, that w e must go into en
quiries in order to make the people feel the in-
evitable necessity of these vigorous measures.
Alas, how often have I risen up in this hufe a
gainst the negligence which has fuffered our na
vy to fall into decay. God knows how far I was
then from even fufpe&ing the deplorable con
dition in which we foundjt. I have an hundred
times represented the danger to which the neg
ligence of our ministers exposed the interior
defence ofthe kingdom, but 1 saw not the tenth
part of these hazards. ^lt is neceflary that the,
people behold them in their utmost extent, and
it is by enquiry alone that this can be done; but
I shall be aiked, are you going in this manner,
to lay open our weakness to the view of the ene
my, to the eyes of all Europe ; good, good ! what:
will they leave from it, which they are not al
ready acquainted with better thaq we? How
absurd is this affectation of strength ; this haugh
ty language which is intended to suppose great
tranquility in those who ofc it, whiirt those to
whom they bold such language, whiift the whole
world knew that we were feebje, and abfclute
ly unable to de tend ourselves. Io what purpose
are idle rhodomantades ? They serve to bring
the agehts Who use them to be hooted at, and to
confirm Europe in the opinion, but too justly
entertained that a ration which has recourse to
high dwelling expressions of menace, when at the
fame time it is feeiitertotter on the brink of a
precipice, is a fen felefs nation, which they must
forbear to affitt, as it is not partible to save it front
its own frenzy. •
The lord advocate of Scotland, to this alarm-,
ing speech ofthe secretary of state, made a very'
judicious but withal remarkable reply, as it con
firms what we had occasion to remark some days
since of the supineness ofthe opposition, and as it:
(hews, that ifthe members of which it is com
posed have not opened their mouth, at lealt
their ears are open, and that they wait only for
the signal to embody themselves.
lam in doubt whether it ,be perfectly conso
nant to the maxims of found policy, to fix up
on the present critis as the moment of enquiry.
Noone will dispute, that Great Britain is plung
ed into a most alarming condition, and that the
new ministers have Undertaken a most difficult
talk, hut the more the nation difeovers of this
dreadful truth, the nu>re the people will find that,
their only hopes offafety will depend upon una
nimity. r 0 begin enquiries, is to introduce dif
fentions, incontinent with our rising unanimity.
Every quertinn which personally interelts any
distinguished member ofthe community,o! course
interests all hisfriends and party ; all who, from
political principles, regard or gratitude, from
the ties of blood or friendship are connected with
him*
So that in pestering to no purpose one single in
dividual, you cannot guess at the numbers who
taking his part, will abandon the public cause
as you call it, to join the private one. Farewell
unanimity! The niinifters have as yet met with
no opposition. They have entered upon thepub
lic business, and they have been supported ; but
if they enter into personal broils,let them take
care of themselves., They may perceive that
when it was understood that they intended in
this day to make motions of this nature, everv
one was eager to fee them begin upon this
course, and that the house is unusually crouded.
Let this circmnftance serve as an admonition to
them.
If it be as they fay, that they wilb to convince
the people, that they have found the navy in a
bad condition, let them put it in a better state ;
the people will judge by the comparison. If they
pould have iriade peace some time since with Hol
land, let them make peace with the republic
now, and the people will fay, that they have out
done their predecessors. But in the mean time
may not the people a& the secretary of state who
now threatens us with his inquiries, why he has
not since he became miniver, male peace with
America, that peace whilst he was barely a
member of the house, he offered to Conclude in
an instant? It is because that no peace can be
as easily made, as a war can be kindled."
O.her members spoke against Mr. Sawbridoe'g
motion, which at length was dismissed, without
determining whether it was well founded or not
by calling for the previous quettion. This ena
bled lord Surry to move according to the notice
he bad given, that a lift of pensions, appoint
ments and fu "vivorihips grantee] between theiftli
of February, and theist of April ofthe current
year, (hould be laid before the house.
Port of PhilaJ^puia, Penmylvani, ff.
7 0 all whom it may concern :
NOTICE is hereby given that a court of
admiralty will be .11 at the ft rte-house in the city
of Philad+lp 1 ia, on Thursday the 25th of July instant,
at nine o'clock in the forenoon, for the trial of the
sch oner or vcfftl called the Happy Return, lately tak
en in the bay »f Delaware by the armed boat called the
Rmger, commanded by a certain John Jones; recap
tured in the laid bay, and lent into this port and libel
led against, as prize by Joshua Barney, efq ; (qui tam,)
&c. To the end that all perlons concerned may appear
and (hew cause, if any there be, wherefore a decree
(hould not pafa pursuant to the prater of the libel, &c@
By order of the Judge,
July % 1782? JAMES R£aD, KegiftOT
TO BE SO L D,
At the Ct ffe* house on Wednesday next,
A Good Chariot, with Harness complete.
(No. 914)