The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1782-05-15 00:00:00, page 1

Further advices brought by the packets lately arriv
ed at New-York from Falmouth
HOUSE of COMMONS, Wednesday, Feb. 27.
AS soon as the house met this day, the She
riffs of London w;utcd 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, Rating the
hardships and grievances the citizens of London la
boured under in common with his Majesty s other
fubjeds, in consequence of the American war, and
praying 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 delibera
tion of the house on it, moved that it might lie on
the table —which was agreed to.
The order of the day was then called for, when
Gen. Conway rose, and previous to his going into
the merits of his question, desired that the petitions
of the cities of London and Brißol 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 re
fpeCtable corporations as those of London and Bris
tol had in a manner anticipated his intentions rela
tive to the American war; indeed lo far as he could
learn, the whole of the people were of the fame opi
nion, which gave him a chearfulnefs in undertaking
what he had every reason to think was looked upon
so salutary to the general interests of the country.
He observed, that when lait 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 parliamentary
form; he therefore modified it, but did not fubftan
tiaily alter it; and his reason for this was, because
he looked upon so fniall a majority as one as a fa
vourable omen that it would link into a minority
then. With this view, and this hope, he would lay
the question before them to be adopted as an opini
on of that house, instead of addrefling the king
The question thus modified, he flattered himfelf,
would eniure its success; a luccefs, he hoped, the
house would not think he wished on the factious prin
ciple of one party getting the better of another; but
attribute it to the true motive, a love for the ho
nour and interests of his country, which he would
support whilst he had a head 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 on
ly might call back America to our friendship, but
tell 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 trou
bling the house on this bufineis, he observed, that
one or two gentlemen had delivered themselves so
far in favour of the motion, that they condemned
the principles of the American war, and seemed to
with heartily for peace; and some of the pubiick
prints had distinguished one of those gentlemen (al
luding to Mr. Rigby) to have spoken out in an open
manly manner; yet after these declarations, both
these gentlemen divided againftthe question. This
conduit, he said, would have a good deal furprized
him, did not he find it prevail in other instances;
it being no common thing to hear gentlemen in of
fice, both in coffee-houfes and other publick places,
declaim against the American war, and on questions
of this nature before the house regularly vote in fa
vour of it. This was an observation not only pe
culiar to himfelf, but was confiimed to him by an
officer the other day in a mixed company; who be
ing a plain soldier, used uniformly to speak his own
mind upon general fubjeds, started this matter as
an object of very great admiration. The honour
able General hoped, however, that those gentlemen
would feel a similar conviction with the great Apo
stle, who, from being one of the greateß persecutors
of the faith, by a sudden conversion became one of
its most orthodox defenders.
It had been objected on Friday last, he said, when
his motion was under agitation, that it was obscure
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE
[Vol. V.]
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1782.
and indiftinCt, and on that ground it could not be
embraced by administration and its friends. He as
sured the house, he never meant to bring before
them, either an obscure or indiftimft question inten
tionally; it never being his wish to bring before
them any thing futile, or which would mislead them.
But left 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 ^ with
and purpose was by the proposal of it—it was no
more than this: To put a stop to the troops in A
merica acting in future offensively, and to take
the firft opportunity of making peace with that coun
try; he likewise did not mean t® fay, that he would
recall the troops that were garrisoned there, and to
tally abandon the country; he had 110 such object;
his wish, as he had Lid before, being only not to
carry on the war in America, under the idea of sub
duing it by force.
He was, however, aware, he said, of the argu
ments that had been used against this opinion, which
were, that by this refection it would be tying up
the hands of our troops Rationed in America from
taking advantages of what opportunities, or the fa
vourable chances of war, might present. That this
would put us in an aukwatd situation, giving our
enemies every advantage of aCting offenfively, whilst
we had no other alternative left us but to aCt mere
ly on the defenfive. I his, he no doubt, admitted
might be specious, but th 11 it should be considered,
that out now taking up a defenfive line arises from
the absolute necessity of the case. We had tried all
other methods ineffectually. We had attempted 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 'and dishonour ; we had
now only to garrison a few towns in the best man
ner we were able, and to try the methods of conci
liation; giving the Americans this previous imptef
fion, that we had already ceased to ad any more a
gainst them in an hoßile offenfive manner.
In doing this, the honourable General would not
pledge himfelf for the success of it; but to try it
was iurely the duty of parliament : He had been in
formed the Americans were ripe for proposals of
accommodation ; that they had, in a great measure,
forgot the cruel and scandalous manner the war, in
many instances, had been carried on against them;
the burnings, ravages, rapes and cruelties, which
had been committed; and looking towards an end
of calamities, were inclined to Sketch out the heads
of conciliation: In God's name then, said the ho
nourable General, let us try it; let not poßerity
have it to lay, we entailed misery and deßru&ion
on them; and let us have it to fay to our confei
ences, that we have acquitted ourselves like honeß
men, and faithful representatives of the people.
It had been likewise thrown out in the last de
bate, as another reason for not acceeding to the mo
tion then before 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 that it
became a duty upon us to conquer France in Ame
rica. This idea he reprobated as the mere cant and
jargon of administration, and to adopt it would be
tailing into the very snare France seemed 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 annual al
lowance, did not amount to above col. per man;
whereas we had 76,000 men at lealt in the pay of
this country, which Rood us upon an average at the
rate of icol. per man. He called the attention of
the house to this notorious difference in expence and
numbers, which were so inferior on the fide of
France, that it enabled her to make her marine efta
blilhment not only refpeCtable, but, to the very con
feffion of some of those high in the naval depart
ments, superior to the crown of Great-Britain.
Ihe honourable General then, in a very clear
and recollected manner, spoke to all the principal
arguments which had been urged against him on Fri
day laR, and concluded with this motion, which
THE
was substantially as follows: “ Thatitis the opinion
of this house, not to prosecute the war on the con
tinent of America any longer by force, but to avail
themselves of his Majeßy's late gracious declaration
in favour of the colonies, to bring about peace and
tranquility."
Lord Althorpe (eldest son of Lord Spencer) se
conded the General's motion, and pressed it with
great ardour to the house, as the only alternative
left them to do justice to their constituents, and re-
Fore the credit and dignity of the nation. He beg
ged gentlemen on this head not to trust to specula
tions; they were often flattering, and often delusive,
particularly in the article of war—but to resort to
experience, the touchßone of truth, and the sure
mark of government for prudent and deliberate men.
That this experience therefore taught us, after se
ven years hard and repeated conflicts, that the war
was impracticable. We had tried General after Ge
neral, mode after mode, yet to no manner of pur
pole : It is true, we distressed the Americans, and
made them acquainted with calamities; but these
neither taught them submission, nor obtained for
ourselves the most distant prolped of success; we
were on an equality in nothing with them but in
thole calamities, with this difference against us, we
were obliged to bear them under every degree of ad
versity and disgrace,,
Sir Charles Bunbury spoke in favour of the mo
tion, and, in the course of a long speech, adverted
to a variety of things, all of which he brought as
of so many proofs of the necessity we were under of
putting an end to the American war. He remind
ed the house of the number of times he had brought
this Subject on the tapis before them, and how often
it was rejected through the prevalence of men whom
he fuppoled had an interest in such a lejection. From
the part of administration, however, that Rill look
ed to war, he believed he might exclude his noble
relation (Lord North) he flattered himfelf with
thinking he wiihed for conciliation ; he knew this at
lealt, that it was full time, for that the country was
very nearly ruined ; nor had he himfelf escaped from
feeling the pressure of so general a calamity.
Alter speaking to a variety of points, all which
he said applied to the question before the house, he
touched upon Lord Not th's declaration on Monday
night latt, relative to suppressing gambling in the lot
tery; this he commended as proper in that particu
lar, but was free to confefs he wiihed the noble
Lord had visited Newmarket a little oftner than he
did; he would there find, he said, some good ad
vice, both from speculation, and the example of two
noble Peers, formerly in office, who frequented that
meeting—from the firft noble Duke he would learn
not to make a bad match—and from the noble Mar
quis, to pay forfeit when he had made a bad match;
he applied this to the conduct of the noble Lord in
the blue riband should adopt in the present questi
on, which was, after supporting the American war,
and finding it impracticable to relinquish it as a bad
match, before he fat down, he called upon the
members for the county of Lincoln in particular, to
recoiled how the continuance of the war affeCted
the interests of their constituents, and that a long
war was the principal reason of the great failure in
the value of the long wool.
Sir Horace Mann spoke on the fame fide of the
question, and condemned the idea of procrastinating
the war on every principle of prudence, speculation,
or experience; he said, he had not only marked the
process of the war, and fatisfied himfelf about the
impracticability of it, but had conversed with seve
ral Generals, all of whom coincided in opinion: he
particularly mentioned the opinion of Lord Corn
wallis, which was decisive to him on the fame
ground. He did not mean, however, to fay, that
did the motion go to withdrawing the troops from
America, and entirely abandoning that country,
that he would agree to it; on the contrary, he
should give it his direct negative ; but it meant no
such thing; it meant to do only that which pru
dence, and the necessity of the times, demanded;
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