The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1780-01-05 00:00:00, page 2

LONDON, September 28. .
THE Ministers at length have thought proper
to give the publick some account of General
Prevoft's bufiiefs; but why have they not published
General Prevoft's letter? That letter in the Gazette
is not his; and they have artfully put his name to
the return, not to the letter, to cover the deception.
Fie upon such dirty tricks !
I he combined fleets of France and Spain have by
no means given yp the intention of paying some of
these countries a visit during the winter. The two
fleets remain in Brest Water for this purpose, and
are reinforced by 11 more Chips of the line. The
idea of the Spanish fleet being afraid to return home
without the French escorting them, is the ridiculous
invention of the M'nifterial runners; it was not
their purpose to return home without striking a blow;
they leave such a conduct to other Admirals.
The imputation raised against D'Orvilliers by his
enemies was, that he did not beat the English fleet,
and burn and destroy Portsmouth and Plymouth.—
In refped to the firft, it has appeared to the French
nation the English fleet took care he should not fee
them, and in refpeCt to the latter, he had no troops
or transports to effect it.
Notwithstanding all the puffing made about Sir
George Collier's, success, taking the retreat of Ge
neral Prevoft into the scale, the whole seems to be
no more than a drawn battle; for if we have con
quered by sea, the Americans have conquered by land.
It is impossible the Freeholders of Middlesex can
forget the many insults they have received from the
very vermin who now surround the throne, and the
stab which has been given through their tides to the
freedom of election, in imposing Mr. Luttrel upon
them, in opposition to the declared sense of a great
majority of Freeholders at the election for Mr.
Wilkes. The fame men who bribed Mr. Luttrel by
allurements and promises, to become the wicked in
strument to wound the dearest privilege an Englilh
man can enjoy, are now instigating Sir Charles Ray
mond, Dr. Barrel and Mr. Clitheroe, to decide a
mongst themselves, which shall become the wretched
tool of the Ministry, to be started at the ensuing e
leCtion for Middlesex, in oppofitiod to the sense of
the honest Freeholders. What then! will the fame
men, who opposed so nobly and repeatedly the in
vaders of their dearest rights, now fit still, and sur
render themselves prisoners at dife^etion to the most
abandoned ridminiftration that ever cursed a coun
try with their councils. —Forbid it, Heaven! for
bid it, Virtue ! —
If the Freeholders of Middlesex are not fhame
fully degenerated, they will come forward on the
ensuing occafi'm in fapport of an honest man, and
friend to the liberties and freedom of this country,
and hurl the nominee of the present infamous Mi
rriftry, headlong from the Huttings.
The Duke of N , the wretched lackey of
^ certain little man, (the King) though a Peer of
the realm, and who by law is enjoined not to inter
fere with the elections of the Commons, has, never
theless, to ingratiate himfelf the more with his
Matter, assured him, that he will exert all his in
fluence, and spend his last (hilling, to carry a mini
sterial tool for the county of Middlesex, in opposi
tion to the man of the people. What is become of
this country, when the King prompts a Peer of the
realm to violate the rights of the people, and that
Feer is base enough to comply with his Majesty's
wishes.
A meeting is to be had in a few days of Justices,
their Clerks, runners, thieftakers and helpers, in
Cui dhall, Westminster, which is to be called a
meeting of the Freeholders of Middlesex, and there
the rtiinifterial candidate is to be put in nomination
for the county.
Extract of a letter from Port-Glasgow, Sept. 23.
" Two French cutters of 16 and 18 guns, have
paraded St. George's Channel, and no longer ago
than Sunday last, one of the cutters, (for the other
is gone north among the herring buffes, and has
taken and destroyed several that we have already
heard of,) cut out of a bay in the island of Jura, a
rich Spanish prize from New Spain, with 17,000
dollars on board, betides a rich cargo of hat wool,
&c allo a letter of matque ship belonging to Liver
pool, with a valuable assorted Weft-lndia cargo;
both vcffels, without exaggeration, worth at least
30,0001. the cutter mounted 16 fix pounders, and
had 71 men. Betides the above, the fouthernmolt
cutter took and ransomed a brig belonging to Salt
coats, two (loops belonging to Greenock, and one
to Liverpool, all kelp loaded ; besides sundry others.
The Black Prince, 1 much doubt, has by this time
made as many prizes among the buffes as she can
carry ranfemers for. You may rely upon the cer
ta.nty of this information."
The unfortunate account from the East-Indies,
which advises the loss of Col. Leslie, witla 3000
Europeans, through the treachery of the Manrat
toes, has damped the Spirits of the Eaft-lndia Com
pany, at the late fuccefTes of their arms, those peo
ple being very numerous, and capable of giving great
annoyance to their settlements, especially when in
cited and aided by the French.
From the London Evening Pofl.
SIR, September 21.
WHEN we observe ourselves threatened with
the most imminent and alarming dangers, it
is natural to enquire, what are our prolpe&s of e
scape from them? We can look for no help from
those, who have plunged us into the deepest distress.
Our Minitters of grace, the Catalines and Cethe
gufes of the age, who have already died rivers of
innocent blood, would rather involve the nation in
farther mferies, than restore it to its former fplcn
dor, if they even poflefled abilities to do this. Our
fleets oblige the enemy to run with crouded fail, af
ter them. Our armies abroad are nearly cut off;
our armies at home have hot yet been tried, but
when one pronounces them invincible, another may
with propriety ask, why they are said to be so? If
we view our encampments, we find that the hospi
tals are numerous. At Cox Heath, which is the
healthiest of them, there seems to be no less than
one fourth of the men upon the licklid. Of those,
who are said to be in health, great numbers are
half rotten and decrepid by debauchery. Too many
of the common soldiers are an abandoned set of
men, who can Scarcely ut+er a single lenience with
out some horrid blasphemy, and who are ripe for
every species of mifehief, and too many of their of
ficers are little better. While they would pass for
gentlemen, their actions declare them to be quite
the reverse ; and while they would be refpeded, as
the defenders of our civil and religious liberties, they
glory in their shame, trampling upon every civil and
religious obligation. 1 hough they are the livery
servants of the publick, they draw their swords up
on their matter for wishing them a good night, and
when they should be presenting their devout suppli
cations to the God of armies, they are living as if
there was no God in the world. They have even
call off all appearance of decency, as if it was dif
graceful to them to keep up to the common level of
the rudest barbarians. Seven naked officers with
seven naked whores, made a dancing party on Sun
day the sth infant, and on Sunday the 12th, while
the majority of these mifereants, attended by a band
of mulic, held a pubhek card ilTembly at the As
sembly-room on Cox Heath, a detached party of the
lame class behaved like Bedlamites, or rather like
devils in the town of Maidttone. They placed
themselves on the balcony of the Star Inn, in the
publicK Rreet, sung bawdy songs, and aCted so riot
ously and impudently in every other relpeCt, as one
mult have thought was beyond the audacity of the
monitors of hell.
Such then are our defenders, and with such de
fenders we must perish. It would be impious to
expert, that Providence will strengthen the hands of
such men in the day of battle. 1 heir very atheilm
mult chill their coward hearts, and their works of
darkness, beyond the example of the most licentious
heathens, and done in the face of day, point down
the thunder of Heaven upon their guilty heads.
In short, neither the cause in which we are en
gaged, nor the instruments of our defence, afford
us any other than the most disconsolate profped.—
As a people, we must relinquish our unrighteous
measures, and do justly, love mercy, and walk hum
bly with our God, to have any allured hope that he
will h/ve mercy upon us. 1c will be as useless, [
fear, to preach this doctrine to our armies, as it
would be to preach it to the wind and waves; but
there are perhaps, fume young men of rank and of
refpeffable connections, who would be (hocked to
be described in the publick papers, as guilty of
those exceftes which nature blulhes to repeat. Let
such, therefore, be cautioned not to offend for the
future. L.
B OST O N, December 2.
We hear that the ship Jason, (in her late cruize,
commanded by the brave Capt. Manly) is taken by
the Ferfeus frigate, after an obstinate engagement of
four glafles, and carried into St. John's, Newfound
land. 'Tis reported the Jason had 18 killed and 12
wounded. '1 is also reported the Perseus had 7
killed, and a number wounded. The particulars of
this naval combat have not yet come to hand.
We hear that two privateers, one belonging to
Salem, and the other to Marblehead, being in con
cert, in the Bay of Fundy, fell in with, and have
captured the whole fleet, confining of 7 fail, bound
" Ihelrifh nation is now fully determined vigor
ously to oppose the importation, not only of all mer
chandize manufactured in England, but also of every
article of neceflity or luxury, which she can furnifh
for herfclf. Those principles universally adopted,
and supported with perseverance, will be sources of
prosperity to this unhappy kingdom; and our un
righteous masters who oppress us, will repent their
having treated us as enemies."
FISH-KILL, December 16.
We have just received a piece of intelligence well
authenticated, that part of our prisoners in Canada
are lately sent off, 'tis said, to England; those re
maining, officers and soldiers, are ordered to close
confinement. Cur enemies begin to doubt the fide
lity of the Canadians.
Dec 23. We learn that on the \2th inf. 110
veflels failed from Sandy-Hook with troops, sup
posed for the Weft-Indies.
BALTIMORE, December 21.
Capt Cauhdfield who arrived here fence our lafl,
from Cape Francois, informs, that a squadron of
the Count D'Eflaing's fleet, confuting of^ ships of 1
the line, under the command of the Count D'Gras,
had arrived there from Georgia. This fq,adron
was defined for Chefapeak-.Bay, but was obliged,
by st r ess of weather, to bear away for the Weft-In
dies. Previous to the a, rival of these flips at the
Cape, a privateer from Jamaica, commanded by
Capt. Dickering, had greatly annoyed the bench
trade on the coaf of Hispaniola.
His Excellency General Washington, having we
are told, received certain intelligence that a large
embarkation of troops (amounting to upwards of
8000 men) was taking place at New Fork, deflin
ed to make an attack on Charleftown in South-Ca
rohna, has detached from she grand army a body
of 3000 Virginia and North-Carolina troops, for
the better defence of that important place. A part
of these troops arrived at the Head of Elk 4 few
from Halifax for Penobfeot, laden with Lores, &c.
The convoy, included in the above, arrived at Salem
last Friday morning.
We hear the State of New-Hampshire have most
equitably and wifely repealed the law that enabled
a man to difeharge a debt in silver, upon his paying
the creditor the fame nominal sum in paper; and
have empowered their Judges not barely to fit in the
feat of nominal justice, but really to dispense it be
tween man and man. They were sensible that the
law they have so honorably repealed, was in its 0-
peration, a crying fin: That particularly it pointed
the cry of the widow and orphan against the govern
ment, that<ena&ed it, and that the cry was loud and
piercing enough to make the ears even of a pagan to
tingle : They were fully sensible, that it mutt be a
flagrant scandal upon any government to continue a
law which the common feelings of humanity would
never allow to be executed ; and according to which
no jury with the least spark of conscience or honour
could ever give their verdict.
From a late London Paper.
Lord Sandwich has lately wrote to Ruflia, earnest
ly imploring that she would lend us some ships of
the line, and promising to return them soon, fafe
and found. Russia, no doubt, recollects, with all
Europe, the peculiar talent of our firft Lord of the
Admiralty, to present his ships fafe and found. —
She gave for answer, that; she had no ships to spare,
and advised us to return to good humour and m^ke
peace.
Extract of a letter from Dublin, July I§.
" Although Great-Britain seems to have afforded
this kingdom a little relief, in taking a part of our
troops into her own pay, yet our most sagacious po
liticians regard this as an act of neceflity, rather
than kindness. The English Ministry have loaded
Ireland with taxes of all kinds, and particularly with
pensions, they are afraid of feeing a number of their
creatures displayed on our lift, becoming at length
their enemie , and retarding the progress of their
glorious mcafures: They have, therefore, thought
proper to maintain them at their own charge, as
their mercenaries. Thus we are allowed to think
that we owe this relief from Britain to our o"n
firmnefs, and to her fear, rather than her compas
sion for us.
" The liberty which England has granted us to
plant tobacco in this kingdom, only proves that die
despairs of regaining her Colonies in America, par
ticularly thole of Virginia and Maryland, and that
she is afraid this important branch of commerce
will be engrofTed by France, and entirely loft to her
felf. Our tyrants tremble at the profpeX of being
one day reduced to receive this production at the
hands of her unnatural enemies. It is still, there
fore, to a motive of interest that we owe this favour.