The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1781-12-05 00:00:00, page 1

BY HIS EXCELLENCY
William Livingston, Esquire,
Governor, Captain-General, and Commander in Chief
in and over the S'ate of New-ferfey, and the territo
ries thereunto belonging, Chancellor and Ordinary in
the fame.
$ PROCLAMATION.
WHEREAS the Honourable the Congress
on the twenty sixth day of October
last, issued a Proclamation in the words
following, to quit;
'' WHEREAS it hath pleased Almighty God, the
" Father of Mercies, remarkably to aflift and support
the United States of America, in their important
" struggle for liberty against the long con iuued efforts
" of a powerful nation; it is the duty of all ranks to
'' observe and thankfully acknowledge the interpofitie
"' ons of his providence in their behalf. Through the
'" whole of the contest, from its firft rife to this time,
" the influence of Divine Providence may be clearly
" perceived in many signal instances, of which we
" mention but a few:
'' In revealing the councils of our enemies, when
" the difeoveries were fea'fonable and important, and
"'the means seemingly inadequate and fortuitous;
" --in preferring and even improving the union of
" the several dates on the breach of which our ene
" mies placed their greatest dependence;—in ipcreaf
" ing the number and adding to the teal and attach
" ment of the friends of liberty ; in granting remark
" able deliverances, and blessing us with the most
'' signal success, when affairs seemed to have the most
" discouraging appearance; in railing up for us a most
" powerful and generous ally, in one of the firft of
" the European powers ; —in confounding the coun
" cils of our enemies, and fuffering them to purfire
" such measures as have most directly contributed to
" fruftrate their own desires and expectations;—above
" all, in making their extreme cruelty to the inhabi
" tants of these dates, when in their power, and their
1 " savage devastation of property, the very means of
" cementing ohr union, and adding vigour to every
" effort in opposition to them.
" And as we cannot help leading the good people
" of these dates to a retrofped on the events which
'' have taken place since the beginning of the war, so
" we recommend, in a particular manner, to their
'' observation, the goodness of God in the year now
" drawing to a conclusion; in which the confedera
" tion of the United States has been completed ; —in
" which there have been so many instances of prowess
'" and success in our armies, particularly in the fou
"' thern dates, where, notwithstanding the difficulties
" with which they had to struggle, they have recover
" ed the whole country which the enemy had over
" run, leaving them only a post or two on or near the
" fea;—in which we have been so powerfully and
" effectually assisted by our allies, while in all the
" conjunct operations the most perfect harmony has
“ subsisted in the allied army;—in which there has
" been so plentiful a harvest, and so great abundance
" of the fruits of the earth of 'very kind, as not only
• " enables us easily to supply the wants of our army,
" but gives comfort and happiness to the whole peo
" ple;—and. in which, after the success of our allies
" by sea, a General of the firft rank, with his whole
" arm*, has been captured by the allied forces, under
" the dir &ton of our Commander in Chief.
“ It is therefore ecommended to the several dates
to ftapart the THIRTEENTH day of DECEM
" EER next, to lx religiouflv observed as a day of
“ THANKSGIVING and PRAYER; that all the
" people may assemble on that day, with grateful
" hearts, to celebrate the praises of our gracious bene
'' faCtor; to confefs our manifold fins; to offer up our
“ most fervent Applications to the God of all Grace,
" that it may please him to pardon our offences, and
" incline our hearts for the future to keep all his laws;
" to comfort and relieve all our brethern who are in
" distress or captivity; to proiper our husbandmen,
“ and give success to all engaged in lawful commerce ;
" to impart wisdom and integrity to our counfellors,
" judgment and fortitude to our officers and soldiers;
" to protein and prosper our illustrious ally, and fa
'' vour our united exertions for the speedy establish
" ment of a fafe, honourable, and lading peace; to
“ bless all seminaries of learning; and cause the know
" ledge of God to cover the earth, as the waters
" cover the teas."
I HAVE therefore thought' fit, by and with the
advice of the Honourable the Privy Council (as well
in conformity to the said recommendation, as from
a deep sense of our indispensable duty to celebrate
with united hearts, in social worship, throughout
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. IV.]
WEDNESDAY, December 5, 1781.
the whole continent, the praises of that Great Dis
poser of all events, who hath so often and so conspi
cuously during the present war displayed his omnipo
tent arm for our deliverance) to appoint the said
Thirteenth, day of December next, to be obferv
ed in this State as a day of Thanksgiving and
Praise, hereby recommending it to the Ministers of
the Gospel of every denomination therein, to per
form divine service, arid to the people committed to
their charge to attend on publick worship on that
day, and to abstain from fervilc labour and all recre
ations inconsistent with the fobmuity of the feftival.
Given under my hand and seal at arms, at Trenton,
the twelfth day of November, in the year of ou-
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one,
and in tbe fxtbyear of the independence of the Unit
ed States of America.
WIL. LIVINGSTON.
By His Excellency's command,
Bowes Reed, Sec'ry.
G ° D SAV£ THE P EOPLE.
L O N D O N.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 21.
AS foou as prayers were over, the order of the
day was read for the third reading of the loan
bill, which, when read, called up the Marquis of
Rockingham, who made a very long and able speech
against the terms on which the loan was negotiated.
He obferyed, that during the whole of the Pelham
administration, when Henry Pelham, and his brother
the Duke of Newcastle, presided at the treasury board,
the advantage of Douceur to the fubferibers never
amounted .to more than one, or one and an half per
cent, foretimes less, and one year he remembered
there was a lot's of i- 4 th or i-Bth ripon every 1001.
fuhfcription during the late war. The present loan
he condemned in all its parts, as the most fhamehd,
and attended with the most enormous profits ever
known. He believed indeed he might press his affec
tion ft ill further, and fay it had every appearance at
lerft of a corrupt bargain, and a premeditated waste
of the publick money, and applied to the worst of
purposes, that of increasing the influence of the
Crown, or the influence of the Minister. He said
there was one instance before the noble Lord in the
other house came into office, which was an excepti
on to the general assertion he had made—that was
in the adnuniftratiop,of anoble Earl early in the pre
sent reign (Bite) —At that time he believed the
Douceur varied, and one time rose ft, high as 7 to 8
per cent, and under; but such a one as the present
was never heard of, when, besides the loss to the
nation, the natural result of the low price of flocks,
there was above a million and an half premium given,
besides five and half per cent, per annum given for
the loan of 12 millions. —His Lordship made afe of
several other arguments, but said he would not divide
the house; the question was then put, and carried
without any debate.
Thursday, March 22.
. The following protest was'entered in the records
of the house against the Minister's last loan, which
is the firft pittance of the kind upon the journals.
Diffentient,
“ BECAUSE, when a bargain improvident in its
terms, corrupt in its operation, and partial in its
diftribudon, is negociated by a Minister acting for
the publick; its having passed through the House of
Commons can be no reason for its passing without
observation through the House of Lords. Without
waving our undoubted right of giving a negative to
this or any other bill, we refped the principle of
publick credit too much to attempt at this juncture
to exercise that right, though if we looked only at
the enormity of the abuse, the most direct oppositi
on never could be more properly called for.
" Twenty-one millions are added to the capital of
the debt for a loan of twelve, five and an half per
cent, perpetual annuity is granted.—Six hundred
and fifty thousand pounds are to be levied in yearly
taxes upon the people. In such a situation the most
rigid economy ought to have been used, and the
premium on the loan ought to have been reduced
in proportion to the exorbitance of the interest to
be paid.—Several circrmitances appeared favourable
to the Minister, if his object had been to serve his
country, rather than to raise a faction for his own
support. Besides the profpef t derived from the be
ginning of a negociation for peace, it is allowed that
treble the sum fubfe,ribed had been offered, and a
very large part of that surplus by persons more re
spon sible than very many of those who were admitted.
In that situation, so favourable to the borrower, where
the being permitted to lend was fought with emula
tion, the firft Commiflioner of the treasury chose to
T HE
make a bargain, opened at ten per cent, premium
the day after the loan.
"This price was not the effect of mere popular
opinion, or of ar ful management, but was ground
ed on the real value of the g r eat body of the other
docks at the time, and was no more than what arose
from ajuft relation so the rest. We are the m< re diha
tisfied with this Shameful prodigality of publick money,
by comparing it with the period when a stria and
coufeientious management of the publick treasure
at home became a foundation for the glory 01 our
arms abro id. During the Duke of Newcastle's ad
ministration, the leveral successive loans from the
year 1758 iuclufive, to the time of his removal from
office, never exceeded one and an half per cent at the
opening, was generally less, sometimes at difcount.'
Yet the national credit was in vigour. During that
time forty-three millions were borrowed. In those
happy days the Ministers, standing, on national
ground, were not in a state of servitude to an, fit
of men, nor led through a falfe system of politics to
aggravate the diftreffrs of their country, by hiring
a venal cry to perfonate the voice of the rublick,
and to give support to the measures which had oe
cafioned those distresses.
" It is not matter of furprize to us, at a time when
such things can be done with impunity, that Lords
of the greatest honour and ability have wholly dis
continued their attendance. But it is not improper
that those Lords, who do fdmetimes attend, ihould
record their names in testimony of their ftrorg con
demnation of the term; of this loan, and <;f the
motives which they conceive, dictated terms so very
disadvantageous to the Crown and the nation.
ROCKINGHAM.
PORTLAND.
OSBORNE.
J. St. ASAPH.
DE FERRARS.
FITZWILLIAMS.
BOLTON.
PONSONBY.
Augusi q.
An Italian is arrived in London expecting to pro
cure a greater reward for a ditcovery he has made
than in any other part of Europe. He has invented
a new gun-powder of a force so extraordinary, tnat
no gun, musket, or cannon in being is small enough
for ts life; one pound weight of it detonates with
such force as to burst a fix and thirty pounder; he
has offered to the board of ordnance to make 'any
experiments they require, if th< y will be at ' the ex
pence of casting some guns upon his plan. One
proppfition is, to throw a ball of r 4 olb. further than
any ball in present life is thrown, arid with leg than
2olb, of this powder, but his improvement of the
mortar, is the most terrible of his fehemes, which is
to throw arid burst a shell, of such a size and thi,k
nefs as to have the most horrid effects. It is said
the experiments will be made. The colour of the
powder is a yellowish brown.
[Perhaps these guns <will reach America.]
The plan for communicating signals in a more fc
cure manner, invented by Mr. Robutfon, and of
which notice has been taken in most of the papers
is, fays a correspondent, upon a most ingenious plan'
containing upon a square of 20 inches, 400 different
signals, which in a few minutes can be a tired -6
different times; making in the whole, in that small
compass, upwards of 14000 signals. This muftap
pear the more valuable when it is remarked the
enemy, though possessed of it, cannot derive the
fmalle ft advantage. Our correspondent promises to
acquaint the publick with further particulars in a few
days. The opinion of an officer very h^b in com
mand, being daily expe&ed, when the auth r is to
lay it before the Lords Comm fibers of the Admi
ralty, application having been made to Mr. Stephens
for that purpofe.'
Last week two soldiers at Chatham laid a trifling
wager which could swear most oaths. After one of
them had utters, many shocking ones, he hditated
a short time, and said, " he could think of but one
more, which would be his last;" but was intiantly
struck speechless, and so remained about three hours'
when he expired. His" body was, by order of his
officers, made a publick fpettacle to the populace and
soldiers, as a warning.
Extract of a letter from St. Maloes, July 21.
" We have received diHreffing news relative to the
Chinese trade, which is, that all the brokers there
have tailed, by wh^ch the English alone lose four
millions of piasters; but this is not the woift. for
these brokers being ccnfidcrably indebted to the
Chinese government, the Emperor has ordered them
all to be taken anQ fcot to Siberia; and to indemnify
[Numb. 206. j