The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1782-03-20 00:00:00, page 1

From the Royal Gazette, cf March 9.
House of Commons.
On the 13th December Sir James Lowther made
the following motion:
« ? ft 1" AT "is ^ e opinion of this House
" M that the war carried on in the colonies
" 0 and plantations of North-America, has
" " 1 proved ineffectual, either for the pro
" tedion of his Majesty's loyal fubjefts in the colo
" nies, or for defeating the dangerous designs of
66 our enemies." &c.
This the Baronet attempted in a Short speech
to support, and was seconded in a declaration againff
the Ministry, by Mr. Powys, which brought up
Lord North to reply in the following speech: His
Lordship informed the House, that from the misfor
tunes and calamities of the war (both of which he
would then and at all times maintain, were misfor
tunes and calamities, which, tho' of a very serious
and fatal nature, were matters rather to be deplor
ed and lamented, as the inevitable events of war,
ever in themselves uncertain, than to be ascribed to
any criminality in Ministers;) yet the misfortunes
and calamities of the war rendered it neceflary for
government to determine that the mode of carrying
on the war internally upon the continent of Ameri
ca, as had been the practice under Lord Cornwallis
and other Generals, Should no longer be followed,
but to change the form of the war altogether.
This declaration, his Lordship said, had given him
some inconvenience, nor would he have made it,
even then, had not the estimates of tire army, alrea
dy upon the table, declared as much in the molt
clear and express manner, to every gentleman, who
would have given himfelf the trouble to examine
them with any degree of attentive perusal. By
thole estimates gentlemen would find, that the army
which the Secretary at war mean to aft for, was
the fame as that asked for hft year, with some lit
tle variation for the East-Indies; whereas had it
been the intention of government, or had his Ma
jesty's Ministers thought it advisable, expedient, or
wife, circumstanced as the country now was, to pro
secute the war continentally, according to the mode
of carrying it on hitherto, they must have applied
for a much larger army, as without a very conside
rable increase of military force, such an idea would
have been absurd in the highest extreme, and obvi
ously impracticable.
Having made this declaration, his Lordffiip took
notice of what Mr. Powys had said refpe&ing the
war being the war of Ministers, and a war adhered
to obstinately by them, as the foie means by which
they held their functions, and whence alone they
derived all their emoluments, as well as all their
power. Those fort of remarks, he observed, had
been made again and again, and they had been as
often answered and refuted. For the present he
should only fay, that the war never had been a fa
vourite of his; on the contrary, he had always con
sidered it as a war of the molt cruel necessity, but
as a war founded on a truly British basis; a war
instituted in support of rhe just rights of the Crown
.and of the Parliament of Great Britain. In that
point of view, and that only, ought the war to be
regarded, and in that point of view, he repeated
what he had often before said, that the wap was, in
its origin, just and necefTary, however calamitous to
the country its events had unfortunately proved.
But it was said, the war was a source of Satisfaction
and emolument to him; the fact was dircdly the
reverse. If the war was particularly a heavier mil
fortune to any one man in the country, than to
another, it had been so to him; he had ever con
sidered it as the greatest and molt grievous calamity
of his life, and if at any time, a facrifice, not only
of the emoluments of his situation, but even of the
whole of his private fortune would have brought
his country, a fafe and honourable peace, he would
have made that facrifice with the utmost cheeiful
nefs, and thought the opportunity of doing so, the
greatest blessing that could have befallen him. Gen-
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. V.]
WEDNESDAY, -March 20, 1782.
tiemen talked largely, and loosely upon this fubjeft,
but let any one reafonablc person confider, what
his feelings inuft have been, when from year to
year, as the war went on, he found himfelf obliged
to go on adding frefh and heavier burthens on the
people, than those they had borne the year before ?
If there was any situation particularly painful, he
trusted the House would do him the justice to sup
pose, that his had been truly so!
After arguing these matters very pointedly, his
Lordihip went into an examination of the motion,
were it carried, either with regard to peace or war.
In the firft place he observed, that the wording of
it, was so general and loose, that he trusted the
House would, on that account never agree to it.
The words of the second motion were to resolve
against " ail future efforts to subdue the American
" provinces to their obedience by force." All ef
forts, said his Lordihip! Is the government of a
country then to have its hands tied up by sea and
land? If the motion passes, and an American priva
teer should be met with on the high leas, no Eng
lish Captain, either of a man of war or a letter of
marque, dare attempt to take her. Was this what
gentlemen meant? He trusted it was not. His
Lordfhp Shewed, that if the present motion were ac
ceded to, it in effect was tantamount to a motion
for immediately withdrawing all the troops, or, in
other words, for abandoning the American war al
together. He asked, were gentlemen prepared to
go that length? Were they ready to fay, New-
York and its dependencies ought not to be kept,
either as a poll, whence we might annoy the com
mon enemy, and offer assistance to our Welt-India
islands, or with a consideration of having something
in our hands to make peace with: Or might not
Rhode-lfland be taken as a poll in the ensuing sum
mer, if found more convenient, more tenable and
more ufeful? Again, were gentlemens minds made
up as to Charleftown and Halifax? All these were
in his opinion important considerations, and requir
ed very serious difcullion, but which would be whol
ly flint out from future confederation if the present
motion was agreed to. His Lordihip very forcibly
painted the disadvantages in making a peace, which
this country would lie under, supposing that the
motion were carried; and then as forcibly argued
the- disadvantages which it would draw on us in
our further prosecution of the war. He paid some
handsome compliments to the country gentlemen,
who had supported government all througii the war,
in reply to part of Mr Powys's speech his Lordship
observed, that gentleman had done them juft'ce,
but no more than justice, by allowing them to be
honest, independent and incorrupt; they certainly
were so; and had h not been for that honest and
incorrupt support, administration could not have
flood their ground so long. The support of the in
dependent and disinterested Was the terra firma of
Ministry, all through the war; had those gentlemen
thought the intentions of administration bad, or the
war unnecefTary, thg would have voted differently,
and then the basis of their footing being removed,
the whole of the superstructure of administration
would have tumbled; thus that change which gen
tlemen on the other fide so much wished and had so
often called for, would have been effected.
Mr. Burke made a very long speech in support
of the motion.
Lord North was very ably supported by his col
league in office. Lord George Germain, who after
replying fully to Mr. Burke, relative to the difeon
tents which he had dated to prevail at present be
tween the Governors of the islands of Jamaica,
Bermudas, and Barbadoes, and the refpedtive assem
blies of those islands, came to a consideration of the
question then before the House, to which, he laid,
he certainly should objed, because it went to the
full length of resolving to abondon tire American
war wholly, which he conceived to be a project
equally weak, impracticable, and dangerous. His
Lordfllip agreed fully with the noble Lord in the
blue riband, that in the present situation of the war,
it was advisable to change the mode of it, and to
THE
carry it on, very differently from the manner in
which it had hitherto been conducted, and whicli
had turned out so unfortunately. In this opinion,
all the King's servants were united, and they were
not without hopes of meeting with better success
than they had hitherto experienced. As to giving
up New-York and its dependencies, that was a mat
ter he should not readily consent to, because he con
sidered it highly necessary, as well for the assistance
of the mode of prosecuting the war against the com
mon enemy in future, as for the purpose of having
a place of rendezvous and station for a fleet nearer
the Weft-Indies than Great Britain. New-Yoik,
with its dependencies, were, in his mind, by no
means invaluable pofleffions. Gentlemen had com
pared New-York to Gibraltar, and Lid, that the
garrison of New-Yoik, like the garrison of Gibral
tar, must be wholly furnifhed with provisions from
Great-Britain. Gentlemen forgot, that the com
parison was destitute of Similitude, they forgot that
Long-Bland and Staten-Bland were among the de
pendencies of New-York; that the former was
100 miles long, uncommonly fertile, and productive
of a variety of different articles of provision. 1 his
therefore Shewed, that the argument, that all our
army in garrison at New-York must be fed entirely
from home, was ill-founded. Ihere were likewise
in New-York, stores, &c. in great.quantities, which
it would be difficult to remove, and works which
had cost this country immense funis of money. With
regard to Charleftown and other posts, now pos
sessed by us on the American continent, this was
not the time that matter was to 'be decided upon.
What he had said, was enough to Shew, that it
would be highly imprudent to accede to the present
motion. An honourable gentleman [Mr. Fox] had
Stated a declaration made by him on the fabjed of
the American war some time since; so far was he
from having changed his opinion on the fubjeCt,
that he would then repeat what he had formerly
said, and apply it to the ration <.* J.at time under
consideration. As he had already declared he re
garded the motion, as amounting to a resolution to
abandon the American war altogether, he made no
scruple to avow, that if the House came into it, he
would immediately retire; for be the consequence
what it might, he never would be tiie Minister to
Sign any instrument which gave independence to
America. His opinion ever had been, and his opi
nion then was, that the moment the House acknow
ledged the independence of America, the oritilh
tmpire was ruined. This nation never could exist
as a great and a powerful people, unless our Sove
reign was likewise the Sovereign of America. 1 his
was a position he maintained from the clearest con
viction, and he had rather abide the censure of that
House, than be the instrument of injuring tire con
stitution of this country. By hi§ hands the constitu
tion Should never fall; and when the moment arrived,
that the Houle Should resolve on the independence
of America, he would instantly withdraw, because
he was determined from principle to leave the peo
ple their country [Mr. Byng said hastily acrols the
House, ,0.7'// leave us no country.] Lord George
complained of the interruption, and said, " If the
honourable gentleman thinks himfelf warranted so
to do, let him impeach me! 1 am not confeious of
having ever intentionally in any one instance, done
wrong since I have held my situation, but I with
molt heartily, that if a change of Ministers is aimed
at, and thought necessary, it may be done in the
true constitutional way. Don't call the people to
gether without doors, and tell them that Ministers
ought to be changed, but let this House with the
dignity becoming its character and its true impor
tance adopt at once the constitutional measure.
Let them address the throne upon it, and every
gentleman present knows the purpose cannot fail of
being answered; let Ministers be difmifl'ed, be im
peached, be punished, if they Shall be found to meric,
it, but do not out of mere party spirit injure the
constitution, and rilk the ruin of the country."
The debates were continued till two in the morn
ing, when opposition having exhausted all their force,
[Numb. 221.]