The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1779-05-19 00:00:00, page 1

From RIVINGTON's ROYAL GAZETTE,
N EW- Y OR K, May I.
On Thursday arrived the Grantham Packet, Captain
Bull, who left Falmouth on the <)th of Maicb, by
whom we have the following particulars.
L ONDO N.
HOUSE of COMMONS, February 17.
SIR William Howe rose, and in a Ihort speech
descanted on the injustice which had been
done him, both in that House and without
doors, by the prejudicial opinions entertained
refpeding his conduct while Commander in Chief in
America; opinions never contradicted, and poliibly
encouraged, by those who alone had it in their power
to speak from authority on the subject. He 111 parti
cular pointed out two assertions which had been made
in Parliament, and which amounted to a charge a
gainst him and his brother, of not having put an end
to the American war when it was in their power;
the one was a declaration by an Hon. gentleman lately
returned from America, that " the means were equal
to the objed," had the war been properly conducted;
the other by the fame gentleman, " that the southern
expedition,the entering Pennsylvania, and the march
ing to Philadelphia," was the cause of every ill conse
quence which ensued. Nothing could disprove these
assertions but the letters which had passed between
him and the Secretary of State for the American de
partment. —He was in hopes therefore that the Hon.
gentleman to whom he alluded, would have let on
foot an enquiry which had so frequently been talked
of, and which he and his brother had anxiously wait
ed for; as however no person had thought proper to
move for the papers in question, he was at length
reduced to the disagreeable necessity of moving for
them himfelf, and he trusted no gentleman would
objeft,as it would from these papers appear to whom
censure was due, if any were due ; and either he and
his brother would stand acquitted or condemned, ac
cording as the fads ihould come out to be against
them or in their favour. He then read his motion
as follows :
That an humble address be presented to his Ma
jesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give di
rections that there be laid before the House copies or
extracts of all letters of correspondence that have
been received by the Secretary of State for the Ame
rican department, from Sir William Howe, Iroin the
4th of August, 1775, to the 16th of May, 1778.
Lord Howe rose to second his brother, and spoke
for a Ihort time in a similar manner. His Lordihip
concluded with faying, that it was his determination
to retire from the service, and to have no connection
whatever with any public perlon ; but that he wilhed
not to retire with discredit, unless it Ihould be proved
that he merited it. Ministers had with-held that ap
probation of the conduct of the General and himfelf
from the public, which they had both received from
their most gracious Sovereign ; that the enquiry which
the papers moved for would necessarily lead to, would
afford a proof, whether they were entitled to the ap
probation they deiired, or whether they mult rest
contented with the thame and obloquy, which a
proof of their not having done their duty would
necessarily involve them in.
Governor Johnftone rose in order to answer what
had fallen from the honourable General in his speech
introductory to his motion, relative to what he had
in a forraer debate laid upon the fubjeCt of the Ame
rican war. The Governor again declared that he
was Rill of opinion that the force sent to America
was adequate to the object, and that the southern ex
pedition was the immediate cause of the capture of
the army under General Burgoyne, and all the sub
sequent ill success ; but that he meant not to charge
the gallants General, or his noble brother, as the
cause of these milchiefs. No man refpeCted both of
them more than he did; no man wilhed more heartily
that they would come off with honour from any
enquiry that could be let on foot refpeding their con
duct ; he did not take upon him to fay who was to
blame, he only thought an enquiry highly neceflary;
it might appear that the southern expedition was
planned at home ; that the troops were so lent out,
that their arrival in America was such as to render
them ineffectual, and that the whole conduct of the
war was in the hands of the King's servants, and that
they alone were answerable. With regard to the
foutherh expedition, he knew perfectly well it was
the opinion of all ranks of people in the country (of
America) that it was an unwise and ruinous measure.
lie did not trust solely to his own judgment refped
ing it ; that was too tittle to rest upon, and too poor
a ground to juftify the House in crediting his asser
tions : He had taken the opinion of a great variety
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. ll.]
WE D N E S D A Y, May 19, 1779.
of sensible and impartial persons on the fubjeCt; all
men of intelligence and reputation, many of them
military men, who one and all agreed, that the ex
pedition to Pennsylvania was highly impolitic. For
that reason he dill retained his opinion, that the force
which had been sent out by this country was equal
to its object; but yet he was not so obstinate as to
fay, that he would not change his opinion, if the
papers moved for proved that he was wrong in so
thinking.
The Governor said further, that the loss of America,
and the various ill successes of the American war,
highly demanded an enquiry; that every member of
the Britilh Parliament who had a grain of spirit, or
of love for his country, mult wilh for such an enquiry.
That he did most ardently, but at the lame time he
wilhed it might be a fair, candid and impartial enquiry,
without relpeCt to persons, and that the praise or
•censure, which in the-result of the enquiry might
appear due, might be distributed with rigid justice.
Before he fat down, he begged the gallant General
and the noble Lord not to regard him in the odious -
light of an accuser, but as a member of the Britilh
Parliament, delivering his sentiments upon an object
of the firft importance, with the freedom that Ihould
ever characterize the members of that House.
Lord Howe, after complimenting the Governor 011
what he had laid refpe&ng the General and himfelf,
declared that he had underßocd that he had designed
to have moved an enquiry, and as he probably would
take the lead on the present occasion, he hoped he
would bring forward the gentlemen on whole judg
ment in support of his own opinion he maintained
his assertion, " that the southern expedition was
ruinous and impolitic," in order that the House
might know what degree of authority and weight
their judgment carried in it. His Lordihip avowed
having alnited in planning the enterprize, and assured
the House, that if the southern expedition did not
appear to be well founded, of infinite utility to-the
progress of the war, and exceeding advantageous to
the public service, he would be contented to retire,
covered with luame, wnen the enquiry was over.
Governor Johnftone replied, and declared that he
never intended to have Rirred the question, if the
Hon. General, or some other person, had not moved
it, but that he had before promised the noble Lord,
that he would second it whenever it was moved,
which he had now done.
General Burgoyne rose, and expressed a wilh that
the enquiry might be general, and might take in the
whole of the American war, including his expedition
and the surrender of his army at Saratoga.
The question being read was agreed to unanimously.
Extracts from Lord North's Speech on opening the
Budget.
HOUSE of COMMONS.
Monday, March 1.
Lord North rose, and addressing himfelf to the
Committee for railing the sum of seven millions for
the service of the current year, on terms which had
been reported to the Houle and accepted; it there
fore, he said, was now his duty to lay before the
Committee propositions for railing the annuity to be
paid to the lenders for the loan of the said seven mil
lions. But before he produced these propositions, he
took occasion to mention the difficulties arising in his
Ration to provide such taxes as would be productive,
and yet neither oppressive or partial. He entered
into a diftindtion between laying new taxes, and
making additions to old ones. With regard to the
firft, his Lordship said, that no Minister could possibly
forefee what any' new tax would produce; as it was
new ground he trod upon, it was impossible to pre
vent many unforefeen embarrassments, evasions and
impartialities, which might render them deficient,
so as to baffle all his calculations: A Chancellor of
the Exchequer in this case could only propose such
taxes as he thought would answer the object proposed,
without being burthenfoine to the subject; but he
could not be answerable of their falling Ihort of the
amount eltimated, for no exaC t calculations can be
formed of new taxes.
But after having proved them to be deficient, it cer
tainly behoved him to try some other expedient, and
no better could be deviled than to lay an additional
duty on articles already taxed ; the produce of which
being afeertained for years back, accurate calcula
tions can be made of the produce of any augmenta
tion.
His Lordship explained the reasons why the two
taxes of the lalt year on servants and houses had
proved deficient in no less a sum than 200,000!, he
said it was owing to mistakes in the mode of appoint
ing the collection, and to prejudices and partialities.
To these and other circumstances 'he ascribed their
T H'E
failure, and added, that the public had been cheated
by the fhameful evasions of the aCts constituting these
taxes; that they were not therefore to be given up.
He would not have Gentlemen think he meant to
shelter his deficiencies by applying to the finking fund
to make them good. At present they appeared in
deed as deficiencies ; but on a future day he hoped to
bring in bills to remedy the errors in the acts, and to
put them upon such a footing that both these taxes
will produce more than they were taken for.
From this digression his Lordship returned to the
business of the day.
The sum wanting to pay the three per cent, annuity,
and the additional terminable annuity for twenty
nine years, is 472,5001. In order to raise this, his
firft proportion was an additional five percent, on.
the produce of all customs and excises; and he de
clared this to be a certain productive tax on which
he could depend for the amount he intended to take
it, but also a very light tax, and advantageous to
the Rate, as it would require no new officers, but
would be added by the officers in the reipeCtive de
partments of the customs and excise, with one dash
of a pen to the foot of an account made out to mer
chants or dealers for the duties or excises they were
before liable to on every commodity.
His Lordship shewed on what articles it would fall
heaviest, viz. on wines, on sugars, on Britilh made
low wines and spirits, on beer, soap, candles, and
hides for dices ; but as any further excises on the
common drink of the labouring people, or on soap,
candles and hides, would alarm the common people
and the manufacturers though without reason ; for it
would not make above the tenth part of a farthing
on a pot of porter, nor a farthing in the pound on
candies, soap or leather; yet as the brewers had
once before taken the advantage, and laid a half
penny, when government did not impose a farthing,
he ihould propofc another tax to supply the deficiency.
His Lordship then gave a detail of the produce of
the customs and excises separately for three years
back, and dated the average produce of each. The
customs at 2,500,0001. or thereabouts; the excises at
5,500,000). or thereabouts, annually. And he made
the net produce of his new tax of five per cent, to
produce 315,0001. allowing the beer, candles, soap
and leather to be taxed ; but if these were to be ex
cepted, it would make a deficiency of 32,0001.
■ His second proposition was gd. on every horse f or
every Rage to all persons travelling post in post chaises,
to be paid by the traveller; and a halt-penny per
mile, on all diligences in, and a half-penny out, that
is to fay for their journey and return, to be paid by
the owners.
The above tax he said, being a new one, he would
not pretend to warrant its produce, but from the
belt information he could obtain of the number of
chaises and horses let out for hire, exclusive of Lon
don and Middlesex, he had reason to conclude that
it would produce 164,00 c!. which added to tie
314,0001. the amount of the five per cent, would
make the sum total 478,000!. by which there would
be a surplus above the payments to the annuitants.
However, if the Committee Ihould agree to except
the beer, candles, &c. there would be a deficiency
of 32,0001. which he proposed to supply, by taking
away the privilege of franks, only allowing the letters
to members a Ihort time before, during, and a Ihor
time after the session, to be freed, or if it was thouglt
more eligible, he ihould propose a bill to repeal the
prohibition of cambricks, and to allow the importa
tion of that article, fubjeft to the former duties,
which produced 35,000). and to the new duty.
These are the out-lines of the remainder of the
Budget.
What his Lordship said further, by way of expla
nation, we shall give in concise terms : —
No one he believed would think an addition of
Forty Shillings on a ton of Oporto wine any hard
ship, after the vintners had so far imposed on the
public as to raise a bottle from 2s. to 2s. 6d. because
government had laid one-penny per bottle, by thejr
tax lalt year. On coals, the new duty would be
about 4d. per chaldron, which he thought very light.
On sugars, it would not make a farthing a pound,
and could not give any colour for the importer to
raise the price on the consumer.
As to the tax on travelling post, it would affect only
those who could well afford that conveniency, which
was greater in England than etiewbere ; it was the
luxury of travelling. His Lordship computed that
there are 4200 post chaises kept for hire on the roads,
exclusive of London and Middlefex,and i6,0c0 horses
who perform two Rages a day, one day with another.
With refptH to resources, he declared, we are not
yet near the end of our tether.
[Numb. 76.]