The Freeman's journal, or, New-Hampshire gazette — Portsmouth, N.H., 1778-03-03 00:00:00, page 2

The following Articles are extracted from the London
Gazette and New Daily Advertiser, of November
zß,and the Waterford Chronicle of Decern. z, 1777,
taken out of a Prize captured by Capt. Dennis, bound
from Ireland for New York, laden with Provisions,
for the Support of the Royal Rebel Plunderers viz.
L O N D O N, November zz.,'
HOUSE OF LORDS.
Thursday November zo.
AFTER the Speaker of the House of Commons
had retired and the King's Speech read, ac
cording to form, the House resolved itfelf into a
Committee, when Lord Percy made a motion for an
Address to be presented to his Majesty, to the follow
ing purport : " That an Address of Congratulation be
presented to his Majesty on the encreafe of domestic
happiness by the accession of a Princess, and of thanks
for the steady and firm resolution he Ihewed of using
every means to support the honour of the English na
tion by the utmost exertion to suppress the prefentun
natural Rebellion in America." His Lordffilp intro
duced this Address with a speech confiding chiefly of
the highest elogiums on the Officers employed by his
Majesty in the service against America, and gave a
very flattering account of the nature of affairs there.
He said, he was induced from these two circumstan
ces to form the most infallible presage of a speedy and
happy conclusion of the Rebellion. He was seconded
in his motion by Lord Chefterfield, who obferved,that
he had little experience in these kinds of matters, but
that as far as he knew, the Address offered by the no
ble Lord, confalted both the honour and advantage of
the English nation, & that therefore lie concurred in it.
Lord Chatham next arose and entered into a series
of lamentations on the iniquitous condud of the mini
stry, the impolicy of the American war, the impro
per mode of chnduding it, and the dreadful crisis of
■th compisifrigthr,?.i'::n?^
seated Hy the minidry. th^ ind^d of
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2 fk the adwife of the great Council ol
Y^f.-hen matters Food in such an planning
th^ very exigence of the ronOruzjn
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lowering our National Character as
Lord Coventry next arose, and said, that he was far
from entertainiag a difrefpe&ful opinion of the gen
tlemen concerned in administration ; but when he con
sidered that, to err was a human imbecility, he muff
b, excused if he imputed to them the unintentional
crime of having been mistaken. Since the commence
ment of the present dispute he said, he had very often
meditated with himfelf on the nature of our measures;
that he had run through in his mind a progression of
causes and consequences, and that the final result was,
that we were pursuing a very culpable end by still
more culpable means ; and that, therefore, he ventur
ed to predict that the ruin of the kingdom was at no
great distance.
mantty. #
f Foreign troops, the Earl also repro
rk in the highest degree; and after
to prove that it would have been more
cohftitutional to have trailed new levies 6f Briffi
troops, declared he would fell his shirt off his back to
serve his country in a right cause, but that he would
not give Government a Filling to carry onthe prelent
ruinous and unnatural war : He ludicrously said, Go
vernment made so many new connexions, and tome
of them were so strange, jhatit now only remained
for them to enter into a treaty with the KING of the
Gypsies, to complete the motley lift of their allies.
He diferibed the Americans as a brave thinking peo
ple, men every way superior to the petty, paltry
German Princes, who fold their fubjeffs as butchers
did their-meat at the Shambles, and to strengthen
his argument for an immediate change of measures
he described Americans rifino every day in power,
and increasing in her Arength, particularly her ar
mies, and by way of opposition declared, that the mi
litary discipline among cur troops across the Atlantic,
was scandalously relaxed, and daily growing wo fe ;
th^sur military at home and in Ireland were by no
means equal to the preservation of G cat Britain, in
case of an attack from the House of Bourbon ; that
our Navy at home were so weak and unfit for service,
that no man of credit would undertake the command
of it, and, in fad, that the kingdom, in confluence
of the present ruinous war, was altogether in a de
fencelefs state. Among other proofs of our daily de
creasing in power and advantage ; he instanced, that
our channel was daily pestered with privateers, which
annoyed our commerce more than ever was known in
times of foreign war.
After having uttered innumerable praises of Ame
rica, his Lordihip boafted,that as far a, they had refill
ed for the fake of freedom, he would juftify their con
du& but that he was not altogether so entirely of opi
nion with them as to undertake either to defend or
support every thing the, had done ; America, his
Lordfliip declared, was not to be fortified in throwing
off her dependency on Great Britain; the Mother
Country had an undoubted right to a superiority, bur
then she should enjoy and use it mutually for her own
interest and that of her Colonies, and not with a view
toderive grteat advantage to herfelf, and to oppress
America, Thea& of navigation should be allowed,
and every pretence to independency retraced on the
one hind, *every desire of unconditional submission
given on the other ; this his Lordihip averted was
the only rational idea of accommodation that could
be adopted ; and that it was at once honourable,eafy
and promised to be permenant. The present moment
his Lordihip pointed out as the proper point of time
to begin attempting such a mode of accomodation ;
France, by her late declarations of not assisting Ame
rica, seemed not to be on the best terms with theCon
grefs, and probably the secret leafon was, that some
treaty was on the carpet between her and the Congress
deputies, the terms of which she meant to terrify the
latter into a compliance with, by appearing to be in
earned in her profeffions to the Court of Great Bri
tain ; that &e oughtto take advantage of this flu&u
ation of affairs, & while there was an apparent cool
ness between France and America, to fettle matters
with the latter, and rertore bar own diftraded affairs,
to such order as was absolutely necessary for the fafety
of theempir^.—As a firft step towards effecting what
his Lordship advifed,he moved an amendment to the
Address Which was proposed to be prefehted ; which
amendment was as follows:
" That this House do most humbly advise and sup
plicate his Majesty to be pleased to cause the most
speedy and effectual measures to be taken for refloring
peace in America ; and that ho time may be loft in
proposing an immediate certation of hoftilittes there,
in order to the opening a treaty for the final settlement
es the tranquility of those invaluable Provinces, by a
removal of the unhappy causes of this ruinous civil
war, and by a jail and adequate security against the
return of the like calamities in times to come.— And
this house desire to offer the most dutiful assurance to
his Majesty, that they will, in due time, cheerfully
co operate with the magnanimity and tender goodness
of his Majesty, for the preservation of his people, by
such explicit and most solemn declarations and provi
sions of fundemental and irrevocable Laws, as may be
judged necessary for afeertaining & fixing for ever, the
refpc&ive Rights of Great Britain and her Colonies"
This amendment having been read by the Lord
Chancellor, the Earl of Sandwich got up, and said it
was with great diffidence he rose to reply to a noble
Lord lo renowned as a wife statesman and a powerful
orator, as the proposer of the amendment ; but as he
was convinced from what had fallen from the noble
Earl,
Dec. On the tie yeflerda, putting queflion House in 11.
of Commons the the 'till for adjournment of House the after
Holidays, debate the neceffit, unexpended arose the of an on
House fating the alarming present fate of affairs. on
I— Go /gainfl it —: — —
160 For the adjournment-——^
Sir Charles bis-age, 74.4,, Laflnigbt diedin the of ear
offer. said We with the Lancadtire. member for ten,
difpattbed by Sir Thomas Ega"- North express Lord to icas
be ^ll fol fpirited'example this eurJelves, that flatter
this kingdom, by manufaaurlng in lozu^d town elery
White Squadron. Admiral the Kerala, Bart. of
& had disagreeable Quebec, the received from met news
tbaufand the morertobecompkated and ready for or men,
American considerable months. service A in two very
the? inhabitants Mancbefler,as soon the loyal of of town as
tbatyur^fe fem fubferibedfor in hours. Asa fra was a
refolded him bis makeau Majesty, raise offer to to to a
that be belie^dywill eflab/i^ed genna/l, fat it is and to
autborit,, principal We bear undoubted that the fam
Catholics and became objeas public again of attention, are
Dublin that Roman From three regiments of learn, we
LONDON, Dec. 11.
America.