The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1782-12-04 00:00:00, page 2

then is ruin to follow in the best Rate of the case,
and not in the worst; and if not in the worst, why
is it to fellow at all.
That a nation is to be ruined by peace and com
merce, and fourteen or fifteen millions a year iefs
expences than before, is a new doArine in politicks.
We have heard much clamour of national savings
and ceconomy, but surely the true ceconomy would
be to save the whole charge of a filly, foolifh and
headstrong war; because, compared with this, all
other retrenchments are baubles and trifles.
But is it possible that Lord Shelburne can be se
rious in fuppoling the lead: advantage can be ob
tained by arms, or that any advantage can be equal
to rhe expence, or the danger of attempting it. —
Will not the capture of one army after another fa
tisfy him, but all mutt become prisoners ? Must
England ever be the sport of hope, and the dupe
of delusion ? Sometimes our currency was to fail;
another time our army was to difbahd ; then whole
provinces were to revolt; such a General said this
and that; another wrote so and so; Lord Chat
ham was of this opinion; and Lota somebody else
of another: To-day 20,000 Ruffians and 20 Ruf
fian ships of the line were to come ; to-morrow the
Empress was abused without mercy or decency.—
Then the Emperor of Germany was to be bribed
with a million' of money, and the King of Prussia
was to do wonderful things ; at one time it was Lo
here ! and then it was Lo there ! Sometimes this
power, and sometimes that power, was to engage
in the war, just as if the whole world was as mad
and foolifh as Britain. And thus, from year to
year, has every straw been catcl\ed at, and every
will-with-a-whifp led them a new dance.
This year a flill newer folly is to take place.«—
Lord Shelburne wishes to be sent to Congress, and
he thinks thaw something may be done.
Arc not the repeated answers which Congress
has given, and which all America supports, that
they will not even hear any proposals whatever,
until the unconditional and unequivocal indepen
dence of America is recognized, are not, I lay, these
declarations answer enough?
but for England to receive any thing from Ame
rica now, after so many insults, injuries and outrag
es, a&ed towards us, would shew inch a spirit of
meanness in her, that we could not but aefpife her
for accepting it. And so far from Lord Shelburne
coming here to solicit it, it would be the greatest
dilgrace we could do them to offer it. England
would appear a wretch indeed, at this time of day,
to ask or owe any thing to the bounty of America.
Has not the name of.Englifhman biots enough up
on it without inventing more? Even Lucifer would
Icorn to reign in Heaven by permission, and yet an
Englishman can creep for only an entrance into A
merica. Or has a land of liberty so many charms,
that to be a door-keeper in it is better than to be
an English Minider of State?
But what can this expected something be? or, if
obtained, what can it amount to but new disgraces,
contentions and quarrels. Ihe people of America
have for years accustomed themselves to think and
speak so freely and contemptuoufiy of Engiifh au
thority, and the inveteracy is so deeply looted, that
a perlon invefted'with any authority from that coun
try, and attempting to exercise it here, would have
the life of a toad under a harrow. They would
look on him as an interloper, to whom their com
passion permitteda residence. He would be no more
than the Mungo of the farce, and if he disliked
that, he must let off. It would be a Ration of de
gradation, debased by our pity, and despised by our
pude, and would place England in a more con
temptible lituation than any lire has yet buffered by
the war. We have too high an opinion of our
selves, ever to think of yielding again the lead obe
dience to outlandish authority; and for a thousand
reasons. England would be the last country in the
world to yield it to. She has been treacherous,
and we know it. Her character is gone, and we
have seen the funeral.
Surely foe loves to full in troubled waters, and
drink the cup of contention, or she would not now
think of mingling her affairs with those of Ameri
ca. It would be like a foolifh dotard taking to his
arms the bride that despises him, or who has placed
on his head the ensigns of her disgust. It is killing
the hand that boxes his ears, and proposing to re
new the exchange. The thought is as servile as
the war was wicked, and thews the last feene of
the drama as inconsistent as the firft.
As America is gone, the only ad of manhood is
to let her go. Your Lordihip had no hand in the
fcoaration, and you will gain no honour by tempo
rizing politicks. Besides, there is something so ex
ceedingly whimsical, unsteady, and even infinccre
On the second of August last -General Carleton
and Admiral Digby wrote to General Washington
in these words:
" The resolutions of the House of Commons of
" the 27th of February last have been placed in
" your Excellency's hands, and intimations given
" at the fame time, that further pacifick measures
" were likely to follow. Since which, until the
'' present time, we have had no dired communi
'' cations from England; hut a mail is now arrived,
" which brings us very important information. We
" are acquainted, Sir, by authority, that negociati
'' ons for a general peace have already commenced
“ at Paris, and that Mr. Grenville is inverted with
" full powers to treat with all the parties at war,
" and is now at Paris in the execution of his com
" mission. And we are further, Sir, made acquaint
' ed, that his Majesty, in order to remove all obfta
" cles to that peace cubich he so ardently voifoes to re
'' /lore, has commanded his Minijiers to direct Mr.
" Grenville, that the Independence of the Thirteen Pro
" vinces Jbould be proposed by him in the firfl inflance,
'' inflead of making it a condition of a general treaty."
Now, taking your present measures into view,
and comparing them with the declarations in this
letter, pray what is the word of your King, or his
Minivers, or the Parliament, good for? Must we
not look upon you as a confederated body of faith
lefs, treacherous men, whose assurances are fraud,
and their language deceit? What opinion can we
possibly form of you, but that you are a loft, aban
doned, profligate nation, who sport even with your
own chara&ef, and are to be held by nothing but
the bayonet ov the halter.
To fay, alter this, that the fun of Great-Britain
voill be Jet, whenever foe acknowledges the independence
of America, when the not doing it is the unquali
fied lie of government, can be no other than the
language ot ridicule, the jargon of inconsistency.—
There were thousands in America who predicted
the delusion, and looked upon it as a trick of trea
chery, to take us from our guard, and draw off
our attention from the only lyftem of finance, by
which we can be called, or deserve to be called, a
sovereign, independent people. The fraud, on your
part, might be worth attempting, but the facrifice
to obtain it is too high.
There were others who credited the assurances,
because they thought it impoflible that men who had
their characters to eftabidh Should begin it with a
lie. The prosecution of the war by the former Mi
nittry was savage and horrid, since which it has been
mean, trickifh and delusive. The one* went gree
dily into the passion of revenge, the other into the
fubtilties of low contrivance, till between the crimes
of both, there is scarcely left a man in America, be
he whig or tory, who does not despise or detest the
conduct of Britain.
The management of Lord Shelburne, whatever
may be his views, is a caution to us, and must be
to the world, never to regard British assurances. A
perfidy so notorious cannot be hid. It stands even
in the publick papers of New-York, with the names
of Carleton and Digby affixed to it. It is a procla
mation that the King of England is not to be be
lieved: That the spirit of lying is the governing
principle of the Minittry. ft is holding up the cha
racter of the House of Commons to publick infa
my, and warning all men not to credit them. Such
is the consequence which Lord Shelburne's ma
nagement has brought upon his country.
After the authorized declarations contained in
Carleton and Digby's letter, you ought, from every
motive of honour, policy and prudence, to have
fulfilled them, whatever might have been the event.
It was the lead atonement you could possibly mike
to America, and the greatest kindness you could do
to yourselves; for you will save millions by a ge
neral peace, and you will lose as many by continu
ing the war.
COMMON SENSE.
Philadelphia, October 29, 1782.
P. S. The manufeript copy of this letter is* sent
your Lordfllip, by the way of our Head-Quarters,
to New-York, inclofing a late pamphlet of mine, ad
dressed to the Abbe Raynal, which will terve to
give your Lordship some idea of the principles and
fentimen's of America. C. S.
The account of the population of the diftrid of
Sohuifka, in Russia, sent to the Chancery at Moscow
this year, contains a lingular fad. There is in this
diftri(ft a peasant of the name of Feodor Bafilly, who
has had a very extraordinary number of children by
two wives. His firft wife brought him 69 children
in 27 lyings-in; she has been delivered four times
of four children, seven times of three, and sixteen
times of two. His second wife has lain in only eight
times; and has two children at a'birth fix times,
and three children twice. These two women, there
fore, in thirty-five lyings-in, have made him father
of 87 children ; and, what is still more extraordi
nary, there are but four of these that have died ;
so that his family consists at present of 83 children.
A molt aftonilhing inflance of population this; and
it is to be hoped that the present glorious Empress,
who has so much the good of her fubjedts, and the
profperitv other immense empire at heart, will gra
in the present condud of England, that she exhi
bits herfelf in most difhonourable colours.
L O N D O N, Aug. 29.
Since our last the french army, commanded by
His Excellency Count Rochambeau, arrived here
from the westward.
On Wednesday arrived in the river a ship from
Tortola, prize to a final! galley belonging at the
Eattward.—Her cargo confits of about 200 pun
cheons of rum, a quantity of brandy, &c.
Monday last a brig, laden with salt and rum, ar
rived at Fast-Greenwich from St. Martin's.
Yesterday a flag of truce arrived in the river
from New-York, and brought a few prisoners.
On Friday evening, last week, a flag of truce ar
rived at Newport in fix days from Bermuda, and
brought 80 prisoners.—By her we learn, that 40
transports, with refugees, had failed from Charlef
town tor St. Augustine; and that the garrison was
also preparing to leave it.
The lame evening arrived in the river a large
Hoop, captured by a galley from Connecticut. She
was bound from Halifax for New-York.
CHA I'H AM, November 27.
By the UNI FED SIAI ES in Congress afl'em
bled, November 7, 1782.
On the report of a committee to whom was re
ferred a letter of the 19th of August from the Com
mander in Chief, a report of a Committee thereon,
and motion of Mr. Williamfan and Mr. Rutledge,
relative thereto, and also another letter of the 25th
of October from the Commander in Chief, with a
copy of a letter from the Count de Vergennes, dated
the twenty-ninth of July last, interceding for Cap
tain Afgill;
Resolved, That the Commander in Chief be di
reded, and he is hereby direded to set Captain Af
gill at liberty.
I cannot take leave of you, Sir, without affur
'ng y° u , that in whatever light my agency in this
unpleasing affair may be received, I never was in
fluenced through the whole of it by sanguinary mo
tives, but by what I conceived a sense of my duty,
which loudly called upon me to take measures,
however disagreeable, to prevent a repetition of
SPRINGFIEL D, Nov. 19.
The British Admiral Kempenfelt, who perished
on board the Royal George, on his falling in with
the French transports, lalt winter, under Admiral
Guichen, had the cruelty and worse than infernal
barbarity to open his lower tier es guns upon a
number of those defencelefs vessels who had struck
to him and funk them with their crews, because
the bad weather and the nearness of Guichen pre
vented his taking possession of them.
Copy of a letter from GENERAL 1V ASHING
TON, to Captain ASGILL, covering the above
resolve.
Head-Quarters, 10th November.
S I R,
11 affords me singular pleasure to have it in my
power to transmit you the inclofed copy of an aft
of Congress of the 7th ioftant, by which you are
released from the difagreeablc circumstances in which
you have so long been. Supposing you would wish
to go into New-York as soon as possible, I also in
clole a passport for that purpose.
Your letter of the 18th. of October, came regu
larly to my hands, I beg you to believe that my
not answering it sooner did not proceed from inat
tention to you, or a want of feeling for your situa
tion, I daily expe&ed a determination of your case,
and I thought it better to await that, than to feed
you with hopes that might in the end prove fruit
lefs. You will attribute my detention of the inclofed
letters, which have been in my hands about a fort
night, to the fame cause.
KINGSTON, October 12.
By letters found on board the prize schooner
Mole, whose arrival we mentioned last week, it ap
pears, that our enemies have not relinquished the
idea of an expedition against this country. —1 he
Spanish squadron at the Havanna, under the com
mand of Don Solano, consists of 17 fail of the line,
15 of which are fit for immediate service; and, it is
said, are intended to co-operate in an attempt on
this island, with a squadron daily expected from<
Old France, and the combined aimy, which still
remains encamped at Cape-Francois, under the com
mand of General Galvez.
cioufly be pleased to order some provision to be
made for so ufeful a member of society, who must
undoubtedly be burthened in an uncommon man
ner with so numerous a family.
PROVIDENCE, Nov. 16.
CHARLES THOMSON, Sec'ry.