The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1778-07-15 00:00:00, page 1

That the a^s of Parliament you transmitted were
passed with singular unanimity, we pretend not to
doubt. You will pardon me, gentlemen, for observing,
^hat the reasons of that unanimity are strongly marked
in the report of a Committee of Congress, agreed to
on the 2:d of April Lift, and referred to in a late letter
from Congress to Lord Viscount Howe and Sir Henry
Clinton.
% the Earl of CARLISLE, Lord recount HO JEE,
Sir WILLIAM HOWE, (or in bis absence Sir HEN
RY CLINTON) WILLIAM EDEN and GEORGE
JOHNSTONE.
TNf # r ' 'well-beloved Servants of your sacred majler,
in whom be is well pleased.
AS you are sent to America for the ex
press purpose of treating with any body
and any thing, you will pardon an ad
dress from one, who disdains to flatter
those whom he loves. Should you
therefore deign to read this address,
your chaste ears will not be offended with the language
of adulation, a language you despise.?
I have fcen your most elegant and most excellent let
ter "to bis Excellency Henry Laurens, the President,
Candotherthe Members of Congress." As that Body
hath thought your propositions unworthy their par
ticular regard, it may be fom^ farisfact ion to your cu
riosity, and tend to appease the offended spirit of ne
gociation, if one out of the many individuals on this
great Continent Should Speak to you the sentiments of
America; sentiments which your own good sense
hath doubtless suggested, and which are repeated only
to convince you, that, notwithstanding the narrow
ground of private information on which we Land in
this distant region, still a knowledge of our own rights,
an attention to our own interests, and a sacred refpedt
for the dignity of human nature, have given us to un
derstand the true principles which ought, and whicli
therefore Shall, fyay our conduct.
You begin with the amiable expreflions of humanity,
thetarneft desire of tranquillity and peace. Abetter
introduction to Americans could not be devised. For
the fake of the latter, we once laid our liberties at the
feet of your Prince, and even your armies have not era
dicated the former from our bosoms.
You tell us you have powers unprecedented in the
annals of your history. And England, unhappy Eng
land, will remember with deep contrition, that these
powers have been rendered of no avail by a conduct
unprecedented in the annals of mankind. Had your
local master condefeended to listen to the prayer of
millions, he had not thus have sent you. Had mo
deration swayed what we were proud to call our mo
ther country, " her full blown dignity would not have
broken under her."
You tell us that " all parties may draw some degree
of consolation, and even auspicious hope, from recol
ledion." We wish this most Sincerely for the fake of
ill parties. America, even in the moment of Subju
gation, would have been consoled by conscious virtue,
and her hope was and is in the justice of her cause,
and the justice of the Almighty.. These are sources
of hope and of consolation, which neither time nor
chance can alter or take away.
You mention " the mutual benefits and considera
tion of evils, that may naturally contribute to deter
mine our resolutions." As to the former, you know
too well that we could derive no benefit from an union
with you ; nor will I, by deducing the reasons to
evince this, cast an insult upon your understandings.
As to the latter, it were to be wished you had pre
ferred a line of conduct equal to the delicacy of your
feelings. You could not but know, that men, who
sincerely love freedom, disdain the confederation of
all evils necessary to attain it. Had not your own
hearts borne testimony to this truth, you might have
Lanit it from the annals of your biflory; for in those
annals instances of this kind at lead are not unprece
dented. But Should those instances be infufficient,
we pray you to read the unconquered mind of
America.
You tell us you are willing "to conf c nt to a ceffa
hon of hostilities both by sea and land." It is difficult
for rude Americans to determine whether you arc fc
rious in this proposition, or whether you mean to jest
with their hmplicity. Upon a supposition, however,
that you have too much magnanimity to divert your
selves on an occasion of such importance to Ame
rica, and perhaps w>t very trivial in the eyes of those
ho sent you, permit me to assure you, on the sacred
word of a gentleman, that if you fliall transport your
uoops to England, where before long your Prince
# ill certainly want their aShflance, we never Shall fol-
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. I.]
From the Pennsylvania Gazette.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, ^7B.
low them thither. We are not so romantically fond
of fighting, neither have we such regard for the city of
London,as to commence a crusade for the possession
of that holy land. Thus you may be certain that
hostilities will cease by land. It would be doing sin
gular injustice to your national character, to suppose
you are desirous of a like cessation by sea. The
course of the war, and the very flourishing state of
your commerce, notwithstanding our weal* efforts to
interrupt it, clearly shew that you can exclude us from
the sea. The sea your kingdom.
You offer " to restore free intercourse, to revive
mutual affeflion, and renew the common benefits of
naturalization." Whenever your countrymen ihall
be taught wisdom by experience, and learn from past
misfortunes to pursue their true interests in future,
we Shall readily admit every intercourse which is ne
cessary for the purposes of commerce, and usual be
tween different nations. To revive mutual affection
is utterly impossible. We freely forgive you, but it
is not in nature that you Should forgive us. You
have injured us too much. We might, on this occa
sion, give you some late instances of Singular barbari
ty, committed as well by the forces of his Britannic
Majesty, as by those of his generous and faithful allies,
the Senecas, Onandagas arid Tufcaroras. But we
will not offend a courtly car by the recital of those
disgusting feenes. Besides this, it might give pain to
that humanity which hath, as you observe, prompted
your overtures to dwell upon the splendid victories
obtained by a licentious Soldiery over unarmed men
in defenceless villages, their wanton devaluations,
their deliberate murders, or to infped those feenes of
carnage, painted by the wild excesses of Savage rage.
These amiable traits of national conduct cannot but
revive in our bosoms that partial affection we once
felt for every thing which bore the name of English
man. As to the common benefits of naturalization,
it is a matter we conceive to be of the most sovereign
indifference. A few of our wealthy citizens may here
after visit England and Ro^. to fee the ruins of
those august temples in which the Goauco of i^t
ty was once adored. These will hardly claim natu
ralization in either of those places as a benefit. On the
other hand, such of your fubjedts as Shall be driven
by the iron hand of oppreflion to seek for refuge a
mong those whom they now persecute, will certainly
be admitted to the benefits of naturalization. We la
bour to rear an asylum for mankind, and regret that
circumstances will not permit you, gentlemen, to
contribute to a delign so very agreeable to your seve
ral tempers and dispositions.
But further, your Excellencies fay " we will con
" cur to extend every freedom to trade that our re
" fpe&ive interests can require." Unfortunately there
is a little difference in these interests, whicl iyou
might not have found it very easy to reconcile, had
the Congress been disposed to rifque their heads by
listening to terms, which I have the honour to assure
you are treated with ineffable contempt by every ho
nest whig in America. The difference I allude to is,
that it is your interest to monopolize our commerce,
and it is our interest to trade with all tine world.
There is indeed a method of cutting this gordian
knot, which perhaps no statesman is acute enough to
untie. By referring to the Parliament of Great-Bri
tain the right of determining what our refpeftive in
terests require, they might extend the freedom of
trade, or circumferibe it, at their pleasure, for what
they might call our respective interests. But I trust it
would not be to our mutual fatisfaftion. Your " ear
" nest deSire to flop the farther effufion of blood, and
" the calamities of war," will therefore lead you, on
mature reflection, to reprobate a plan teeming with
difeord, and which, in the space of twenty years,
would produce another wild expedition across the
Atlantic, and in a few years more some such commif-.
fion as that " with which his Majesty hath been pleas
" ed to honour you."
We cannot but admire the generosity of foul which
prompts you " to agree that no military force Shall be
" kept up in the different States of North-America,
" without the consent of the general Congress, or par
" ticular Assemblies." The only grateful return we
can make for this exemplary condescension is, to af
fiire your Excellencies, and on behalf of my country
men I do most solemnly promise and assure you, that
no military force fliall be kept up in the different
States of North-America, without the confcnt of the
general Congress, and that of the legislatures of those
Stages. You will therefore cause the forces of your
royal matter to be removed ; for I can venture to as
sure you that the Congress have not consented, and
probably will not consent, that they be kept up.
You have also made the unsolicited offer of concur
ring "in measures calculated to discharge the debts
T II 2
" of America, and to raise the credit and value of the
" paper circulation." If your Excellencies mean by
this to apply for offices in the department of our fi
nance, I am to assure you (which 1 do with '' perfect
respect ") that it will be necessary to procure very
ample recommendations. For, as the English have
not yet pursued measures to difeharge their own
debts, and raise the credit and value of their own pa
per circulation, but, on the contrary, are in a fair
way to encreafe the one and absolutely destroy the
other, you will instantly perceive that financiers from
shat nation would present themselves with the most
aukward grace imaginable.
You propose to us a device " to perpetuate out
" union." It might not be amiss previously to efta
bliih this union, which may be done by your accept
ance of the treaty of peace and commerce tendered
to you by Congress; and such treaty, I can venture
to fay, would continue as long as your ministers
could prevail upon themselves not to violate the faith
of nations.
You offer, to use your own language, the inaccura
cy of which, considering the importance of the tub
ject, is not to be wondered at, or at lead may be ex
cused, "in Short to establish the power of the nfptft
" ive legislatures in each particular State, to fettle its
" revenue, its civil and military establishment, and to
" exercise a perfect freedom of legislation and inter
" nal government, fc that the British States through
" out North-America anting with us, in peace and
" war, under one common sovereign, may have the
" irrevokable enjoyment of every privilege that is
" Short of a total Separation of interests, or confident
" with that union of force on which the fafety of our
" common religion and liberty depends." Let me
assure you, gentlemen, that the power of the respect
ive legislatures in each particular State is already most
fully efiablilhed, and on the most solid foundations.
It is established on the perfect freedom of legislation,
and a vigorous administration of internal government.
As to the Settlement of the revenue, and the civil and
^rnfry ,ftabiyhment, these are the work of the day,
for winch the several legnrarures are Tuny eumpaCT
I have also the pleasure to congratulate your Excellen
cies, that the country, for the fcttlernent ofwhofe go
vernment, revenue, administration, and the like, you
have exposed yourselves to the fatigues and hazards of
a disagreeable voyage, and more disagreeable negocia
tion, hath abundant resources wherewith to defend
her liberties now, and pour forth the rich stream of re
venue hereafter. As the States of North-America
mean to poffels the irrevocable enjoyment o' their pri
vileges, it is absolutely necessary for them to decline
all connection with a Parliament, who, even in the
laws under which you aCt, reserve in express terms the
power of revoking every proposition which you may
agree to. We have acme sense of the kind offer you
make, to grant us a Share in your Sovereign ; but real
ly, gentlemen, we have not the Icaft inclination to ac
cept ofit. He may suit you extremely well, but he is
not to our taste. You are felicitous to prevent a total
reparation of interelts, and this, after all, Seems to be
the gift of the business. To make you as easy as pos
sible on this fubjeCt, I have to observe, that it may, and
probably will, in some instances, be our interest to af
filt you, and then we certainly Shall. Where this is .
not the case, your Excellencies have doubtless too
much good sense, as well as good nature, to require
it. We cannoUperccive that our liberty does in the
least depend upon any union of force with you; for
we find, that after you have exerted your force against
us for upwards of three years, we are now upon the
point of establishing our liberties in direct opposition
to it. Neither can we conceive, that after the experi
ment you have made, any nation in Europe will em
bark in so unpromising a Scheme as the subjugation of
America. It is not necessary that every body Should
play the Quixotte ; one is enough to entertain a gene
ration at least. Your Excellencies will, I hope, ex
cuse me when I differ from you, as to our having a re
ligion in common with you : The religion of America
is the religion of all mankind. Any person may wor
ship in the manner he thinks most agreeable to the
Deity ; and if he behaves as a good citizen, no one
concerns himfelf as to his faith or adorations, neither
have we the least solicitude to exalt any one fed or
profeflion above another.
[The remainder in our next.]
A Small quantity of good
C O F F E E,
To be fold by Wooddrop Sims, in Newtown^ Buck 3
county. State of Pennsylvania.
July u, xr^ ^w*
[Numb. 32.]