The Mirrour — Concord, N.H., 1794-07-07 00:00:00, page 1

[ln the last MIRROUR the publics mere pre
sented with Mr. Randolph's letter, in answer
to Mr. Hammond: Thefollowing is the Brit
ish Minister's reply ; together with a rejoinder of
the Secretary of State.]
I am perfectly willing to reserve for a fu
ture period any general discussion that you
may institute with regard to the occasions
upon, and the degrees to, which “ an expla
nation may be required by the government of
the United States, from a foreign Minister :"
But I must be permitted, fir, to repeat that
" I never can acknowledge the right of this
government to require from me so categori
cally as you have required it," any explana
tion of rceafures pursued by other servants of
the Crown in other departments, over whole
odious, I have no controul, for whose con
dud I am not responsible, and with whom I
have no other publick connexion than that
which results from the circumstance of our
being employed in the service of the fame
master.
Your extrad from Lord Dorchester's
Speech appearing to be a partial mutilated
citation, in as much as it was not a detached
feperate position, but a member of a sentence
immediately connected with & flowing from
parts which preceded it, lefteemed it proper
to quote the whole passage. From this it was
manifeft that Lord Dorchester founded his
expression, that he should not be surprised if
Greatbritain was at war with the U. States,
in the course of the present year, on his know
ledge of the conduct of inhabitants of the
United States as well on the fide of Canada,
as towards the sea. I therefore, fir, cannot
but imagine that the sense of " the Governor
General" is materially affeCted by the pre
liminary words : For certainly there is an
evident diftindion between the expression of
an opinion that the condud of the United
States might eventually lead to a state of hos
tility between them and Greatbritain, and
the detached, unconnected assertion that it
would not be a matter of surprise to him, if
Greatbritain foould be at war with the Unit
ed States, in the course of the present year.
With refped to your declaration that I have
not contradicted your assertion that Lord
Dorchester foftered and encouraged in the
Indians hostile dispositions towards the Unit
ed States," J have no difficulty in confeffing
that, as those few words contain the whole of
your assertion upon this matter, they really
escaped my notice. Had I attended to them,
I should certainly not have omitted remark
ing, that I deduced from the whole tenor of
the speech an inferrence different from your
assertion, which can apply to those passages
only of the speech, wherein Lord Dorchester
demonstrates his regret at the continuance of
the war, and his concern that hjs hope of a
pacification being effected had been disap
pointed ; or to those in which he alludes to
the infringments by American citizens on
the territory occupied by his Majesty's arms.
In none of those passages, however, has his
Lordship exprefled any personal sentiment,
relative to the origin of the Indian war, or to
the causes that have hitherto retarded the res
toration of peace, which can be construed in
ttya difpofitjon to impute more of blame in
mfffyfd to one party than to the other,
tfff^ven isl had admitted, four assertion to
fullefttextent,! ct@j@ have been de-
HAVING, in conformity to the assurance
expressed in my letter of the 2 zd ultimo,
immediately transmitted copies of that letter
and of your's of the 20th ultimo, to the Gov
ernour General of his Majesty's possessions in
Northamerica, to the Governour of Upper
Canada, and to his Majesty's Ministers in
England, I concluded that any farther com
munication between us on the fubjeft of those
letters would for the present have been sus
pended : But as you have resumed the dis
cussion at some length in your letter of the 2d
current, (which I had the honour of receiv
ing on the afternoon of the 4th,) it is incum
bent upon me to reply in detail to the several
points you have stated, and which you have
been pleased to represent as " a train of re
crimination against the United States ;" al
though, one alone excepted, I had merely
collaterally adverted to them, as referring to
the allusion of Lord Dorchester, " to the
conduct of this government towards the sea,"
and had expressly asserted that I was not dis
posed to urge them as general topics of re
crimination.
[Vol. ll.]
PHILADELPHIA, JUNE 7, 1794.
SIR,
Mr. HAMMOND's LETTER.
CONCORD.
State Paper.
lft. I have never for a moment dented that
the territory on which I represented encroach
ments to have been committed by the state
and individuals of Vermpnt- was within the
boundary of the United States ; but I pre
sumed that, until the points in discussion be
tween our refpedive countries should be ami
cably arranged, no part of the territory occu
pied by persons residing under the protection
of his Majesty's garrisons, should be forcibly
wrested from that protection, either by the
enterprises of the state of Vermont or by the
unauthorized aggressions of individuals. —
Under this presumption, I addressed my let
ter of the sth of July 1792, to your predeces
sor, and on the fame principle I flared in my
letter to you of the 10th of March 1794, that
the grievances of which [ then complained
had never been red reffed. It is true that 19
months elapsed between the dates of those
different letters ; but if from this circum
stance it be inferred as a matter deferring of
attention, that during this space " this gov
ernment never understood from myfelf or any
authority of his Brittannic Mafefty that the
original diffatisfadion continued," it is no
less remarkable that I should never have re
ceived any thing but assurances that that
source of diffatisfadion should be removed,
and that in this interval and to this moment,
no fads of its having been removed have ever
been communicated to me by your predecef
for or yourfelf, to oppose those which 1 for
merly advanced, and have since repeated.
Through casual channels of communication,
I had colleded that the interposition of the
government had not produced the effed,
which from its assurances I had expeded,
but the evidence did not appear to me of im
portance fufficient to found any complaint
upon it. The firft authentic intimation of
these circumstances was indeed communicat
ed to me by Lord Dorchester in a letter which
I received three or four days antecedently to
the date of mine to you of the 10th of March,
and in which his Lordship, who had not long
before returned from England, acquainted
me that those encroachments, the firft ads
of which had occurred during his absence,
still continued unrepreffed. Here it is necef
fery for me to observe, with refped to your
repetition of the assertion you advanced in
your letter of the 20th ultimo, of the Indians
to whom his speech was addressed, having
been assembled by Lord Dorchester's direc
tions, that unless your means of intelligence
are more accurate than mine, I entertain a
firm convidion, that the information on
which you have founded your assertion, is to
tally erroneous. For I can assure you, fir,
that I have reason to believe that those Indi
ans were not assembled by Lord Dorchester,
but that the speech in question was an answer
to a message brought by a deputation of In-
terred by that confederation from meeting
the discussion, when I refleded that 1 could
contrast with that assertion, a precedent in
the annals of the United States of no very
ancientdate. For i: cannot be unknown to
you, fir, that on the 6th of January 1789, at
a period of profound peace between Great
britain and the United States, Governour
Sinclair assured the Indians, whom he had
convened at Mufkingum, that Greatbritain,
at the conclusion of the war had ceded the
Indian land as the price of peace for herfelf.
His words (after an endeavour to explain the
nature of the claims of the United States to
the lands of the Indians by a comparison a
dapted to the local relations of the latter) are
just so. " Brothers, it was the Britilh and
you. Contrary to your solemn engagements,
you joined them in the war against us, and
did us much harm. After along struggle we
got the better. They asked for peace, and
your lands were given as part of the price."
Surely, fir, language cannot be devised more
capable of inspiring implacable hostility in
the Indians, than this, which assumes as a
fad of notoriety, that at the peace, the Brit
ish government abandoned the interests of
those whom it had deluded into a co-opera
tion with it during the war, and whose lands
it formally ceded as the price of pacification
for itfelf. Indeed this government seemed
afterwards sensible of the impropriety of this
language, since on the 31st day of July, 1793,
Messrs. Lincoln, Randolph and Pickering,
informed the Indians that this conftrudion
of the part of the treaty of peace, which fet
tled the boundary between the possessions of
Greatbritain and those of the United States,
was erroneous ; " for as the King had not
purchased the country of the Indians, he of
course could not give it away."
I shall now, fir, proceed to offer some ob
servations on those parts of your letter which
are intended to serve as answers to what you
have denominated my " charges."
MONDAY, July 7, 1794.
BY E. RUSSELL.
dians, who had proceeded to Quebec, spon
taneously and unsolicited by his Lordship.
This belief is farther confirmed by the second
paragraph of the speech itfelf, " Children,
you have informed me that you are deputed
by the seven villages of Lower Canada, &c."
I shall not however dwell on this part of
your letter,as the pairage of it to which 1 have
last referred, connected with the succeeding
sentence, " Although it cannot be by any
means believed that this was written in order
to usher in the intelligence, which soon after
arrived of his speech, yet it is difficult to ac
count for so long an interval under the cir
cumstances fuppofed"—feem to convey an
insinuation so unmerited, that I feel too much
the refped that I owe to the court which 1
have the honour of serving, and to my own
charader, to urge farther any argument
which might be construed into a solicitude to
refute it. Though your letter of the 29th of
April after a delay of fifty days may not be
regarded as an assent to any charge I had
made, I nevertheless do not esteem myfelf
guilty of any impropriety in having imagin
ed that that space of time might have enabled
you to return me an answer more conclusive
than a renewal of the assurances which I had
received nearly two years before. You will,
I am persuaded, fir, recoiled that in almost
every conversation which I had with you
during this interval, I requested you to ac
quaint me when I might exped a reply to my
letter, and that you imputed the delay to the
pressure of other business and to a desire of
obtaining some information from Mr. Wil
liamson of the Genefee country who was then
in town. To this last circumstance you I
have alluded in your answer of the 29th of ;
April#but however accurate might be the
knowledge of Mr. Williamson, or of any oth
er private gentleman, of the places to which
I had referred, I cannot avoid remarking that
in the course of 50 days such evidence might
have been obtained from the highest publick,
authority;of Vermont, (the Governour)'as"
would hate either confirmed of contr^ifled
the fads I bad Specified.
tfo be.cfflinued.]' '• • . -
The 2d column, commanded by Lieuten
ant General Alvintze, and consisting of the
reserve of the Austrian army,moved forwards
upon Mazinguet, and having forced the en
emy's enternchments at that place, as well
as at Oify, proceeded to Nouvion, and took
possession of the whole wood called the sorest
of Nouvion.
The third column, which Consisted of the
main body of the Austrian army, and with
which his Imperial Majesty, and the Prince
of Cobourg went themselves, proceeded a
long the high road leading from Cateau to
Guise, and after carrying the two villages of
Riboville and of Waffigny, where the ene
my were strongly entrenched, detached the
advanced guard forwards, which took pos
session of the heights called the Grand and
It is with the greatest fatisfadion that!
have the pleasure to acquaint you, for his
Majesty's information, with the signal suc
cess which has attended the general attack
made yesterday, by the armies of the combin
ed powers.
According to the plan proposed, the Aus
trian, British and Dutch armies assembled
on the 16th on the heights above Ca b eau, in
order to be reviewed by his Imperial Majes
ty ; after which the Austrian and British ar
mies passed the Selles, and encamped in
front of this town, while the Dutch formed
their camp immediately in its rear.
At nine o'clock on yesterday morning, the
3 armies moved forward, in 8 columns.—
The firft column, composed of Austrian and
Dutch troops, under the command of Prince
Christian of Hesse Darmftadt, advanced up
on the village of Carillon, which was forc
ed after some resistance, in which the enemy
loft four pieces of cannon, and from thence
proceeded across the Sambre, and took a po
sition at Favril, between the Sambre and the
Petite Helpe, so as to invest Landrecies on
that fide.
WHITEHALL, APRIL 22. Capt Clinton,
aiddecamp to his Royal Highness the Duke
of York, arrived this morning at the office
of right hon. Henry Dundas, his majesty's
principal secretary of state for the home de
partment, with a dispatch from his royal
highness, of which the following is a copy.
Cataeu, April 18.
Sir,
England.
Success of the British Arms.
Foreign Articles.
The 7th column, consisting of Austrians
and Dutch, under the hereditary prince of
Orange, moved forward upon the nigh road
leading from Cateau to Cambray, and ad
vanced beyond Beauvois with the Bth column,
commanded by Maj. Gen. Geyfau, covered
the hereditary prince ofOrange's right flank,
and moved forward in front of St. Hilaire.
Neither of these last columns were in the least
engaged ; but this morning the enemy at-
The enemy's fire, at firft, was very severe,
but when the troops-approached, they began,
to retreat on all sides, and were soon put to
flight. I immediately detached a part, of the
cavalry, consisting of Huffars,and one squad
ron of the 16th regiment oflight dragoons,
commanded by Maj. Lippert of the former
corps, round the wood to the right, who
completely succeeded in cutting them off,
took four pieces of cannon and a howitzer,
with a considerable loss of men on the part
of the enemy ; whilst the cavalry of the ad
vanced guard on our left, under the com
mand of Colonel Devay of the regiment of
Archduke Ferdinand's Hollars pursued them
through the wood, and drove them into
the village of Bokain, which they evacuated
immediately.
Sir W. Erskine was equally fuccefsful with
his column, which was intended by the vil
lages of Marets and Premont, to turn the
wood of Bokain, in order to facilitate my at
tack. He met with no resistance till he ar
rived at the village of Premont, where he
found the enemy strongly posted ; he imme
diately formed his line, and having detached
the brigade of British infantry and the Aus
trian regiment of Cuiraffiers of Zetchwit,
with four squadrons of British light dragoons,
under the command of Lieut. General Har
court, in order to turn the position, he at
tacked it in front with three battalions of the
regiment of Kaunitz, supported by a well
directed fire of the Austrian and British artil
lery of the reserve under the command of
Lieut. Col. Congreve, and succeeded com
pletely in driving the enemy from the re
doubts, where he took two pieces of cannon
and a pair of colours ; he from thence pro
ceeded to turn the wood with a part of the
corps, leaving the rest upon the position at
Premont.
The 6th, 7th, and Bth columns were in
tended to observe the enemy on the fide of
Cambray, the firft of these composed of Aus
trians, and commanded by Maj. Gen. Count
Haddick, pushed forward as far as the village
of Crevecoeur, & detached some light troops
across the Scheldt, without meeting with an,
resistance.
As soon as the troops had gained fuffi
ciently the enemy's flank, the advanced
guard under the command of Maj. General
Abercromby, was direded to begin the at
tack, and two companies of the light corps
of O'Donnel, supported by two grenadier
companies of the firft regiment of guards,
under the command of Colonel .Stanhope,
stormed and ,00k the Star redoubt, above the
village of Vaux, °whije 'theahree. bxttalfons
of Austrian grenadiers; led pn by Maj: Gem
Parish, attacked tbe-woqd, and' made them
felvefcafters of the -works.whiefr the enemy
had coufyuaecYfor its defence. ^ ... • #
Petit Blocus, and pushed forward this morn
ing as far as Henappes.
The fourth and fifth columns were form
ed of the army under my command. Os
the firft of the'e I took the direction, having
Lieutenant Gen. Otto under me. Lieut.
Gen. Sir William Erskine commanded the
other column.
My column was intended to attack the
redoubts and village of Vaux, as well as to
render itfelf master, if pofhble, of the wood
called the Bois de Bokain, which the enemy
had strongly entrenched.
In confequtnce of the defiles and ravines,
which we found on our march, my column
was not able to arrive at the point of attack
till i o'clock in the afternoon.
As soon as the cavalry of the advanced
guard appeared upon the heights, the ene
my began a very severe canonade, from the
effects of which, although very near, they
were however enabled, in great measure, to
cover themselves by the natural inequalities
of the ground.
Having examined the enemy's position,
and finding it very strong, I determined to
endeavour to turn it by their right, and for
this purpose ordered the whole of the column
to move forward, under cover of the high
ground, leaving only a fufficient quantity
of cavalry upon the heights, to ocupy the en
emy's attention. Strong batteries likewise
were formed, which kept up a severe fire,
and pretexted the movements verv consider
ably.
NEWHAM.
[Num. 89.]