The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-01-02 00:00:00, page 1

The PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POST
LONDO N, September 26.
AVERY numerous meeting of the freeholders of the
county of Middlesex was yesterday held at the Mile-
End affembiy room. At one o'clock Mr. Sheriff
Plomer, having been voted in the chair, opened
the business with the following pertinent speech:
• " Gentlemen,
“ Agreeable to the desire of a number of refpe&able free
holders, who requested us to call a county meeting as early
a possible, in order to confider what measures are proper to
be adopted at the prelent awful and distressed fituatior bof this
kingdom, and the American colonies, we have solicited your
attendance this day. It would ill become either my private or
ohic^al character, to dictate to so truly relpedable a meeting; yet
I may be permitted, with great deference, to hope that your
deliberations may be conducted with candour, prudence and
decorum. At the fame time as you express your loyalty to
the King, forget not thatyou are Englishmen, and friends to
your country.
“ As we are assembled on bufinefsof the utmost importance
to the British empire, conduct yourselves in a manner tnat
your deliberations and resolutions may have due weight with the
freeholders and people of Great-Britain. Repetitions are un
pardonable, unless when they proceed from a warmth of feel
ing. Availing myfelf, therefore, of this jultifiable excuse,
permit me again, gentlemen, to expreis my earned wilhes,
that your proceedings may this day be conducted with that
manly firmnek, yet dignified moderation, as may impress
your fellow lubjeds throughout the empire with a sense of
their consequentiality."
Mr. Sheriff Plomer having thus acquitted himfelf with the
utmost propriety, Mr. Mafkall, with that energy of feeling
and animation of spirit which mark the character of genuine
patriotism, delivered himfeif in the following terms ;
" Sir, the prelent situation of Great-Britain, and of her
colonies, is that of the molt awful, the molt important, the
molt consequential kind. The greateff, the molt essential
rights of the people of this country, have been either partially
destroyed, or wholly explained away. The freedom of elec
tion, that foundation of all our other conltitutional rights,
has been wreitedrfrom us by the arm of tyranny, and through
our tides all the eledors'of England have been disfranchised.
Frequent applications have been made to remove and over
turn alyltem thus daringly iniquitous, yet these applications
have hitherto proved ineffectual. We have seen the present
fuaow implicitly the measures of a former Parliament. A
violent attack 011 the franchifes of Engliihmen, began by a
former Houle of Commons, has been continued by the prelent,
and, adding obstinacy to iniquity, the members have refuted
to rescind a vote, which, wniltt it stands recorded on the
journals, casts a itignia on the juitice of the House.
" I hus much for our fuffenngs as electors.
“ With refped to the grievances iuilained by the empire
atiarge, they are of the atrocious kind, and cry aloud to hea
ven for immediate redress. POPERY, that bane of civil and
religious liberty, that cnerdher of ignorance, and mother of
fu f eAtition ; POreßf hatQ been ESTABLISHED in an
Vol. ll.]
Price only Pivo Coppers. ^ Published every Tuesday, Tburfday, and Saturday Evenings.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1776.
1
extensive part of the British empire, by legislators I kO
FESSING the doctrines of Proteftanifm. TRIAL BY JURY;
that glory of the English law, has been either ovei tui ned by
violence, or explained away by art. Thole primogenial rign.3
which men derive from the GOD of nature, they too have
been fhamelefly trampled upon, .and insidiously violated so.
the bale purposes ofpunifhing and ruining luch of our Ame
rican fellow fubje&s as have taken a firm and decisive pas.
against the common enemy,; men, who, in the great cause e^
liberty and of Great-Britain, have fought, bled, and died, and
to°whom we are principally indebted for the many glorious^
fuccefles the lad war can boast.
“ Without entering into a farther detail, it may fuffice, Sir,,
to pronounce the pretent system of American measures to be'
of that deftru&ive call that there is not a single {hop-keeper/
housekeeper, tfadefman, or landholder throughout the king
dom, but what fhonld oppose them, as they tend to nothing
less than the absolute ruin of the trading interelf, of the no
bility, gentry and commonalty of the kingdom. In fine.
Sir, unless we day the present ministerial proceedings, the
nation is undone.,, .
“ I am well apprised of the con feientious propriety with
which Qur representatives have hitherto 10 worthily acquitted
themselves ; but, as the sentiments of the freeholder's of this
county coincide, I should hope, with the glorious principles of
conllitutional freedom, they cannot be too extensively diffufed,
they cannot be enforced with too much energy. 1 move,
therefore, that our two representatives be furniihed with in
ftruaions."^ + -
Mr. Mafkall having thus announced his motion, and fpe
cified the reasons on which that motion was grounded, Mr.
Jultice Pell arose to combat the propriety of inftrutting the
members. He said, “ that previous to entering into a ge-'
neral debate about the utility of the measure, he wished to
be fatisfied refpeding certain particulars. The motion was,
that the representatives for Middlesex should be instructed.
Did they stand in need of inftruTion ? Were they so much
at a loss as not to know their duty ? One of thole repre
sentatives (the Lord Mayor) Was present, would he declare
that he willed to receive infractions from his constituents,
arid having received such inftrudions, would he abide by
them? These were queltions necessary to be resolved, be
cause until resolved, the business in agitation was at belt
fuperfiuous, perhaps to the last degree absurd. Yet farther,
as it was more than probable the inftruaions moved for w.re
ready prepared, it might be necessary for the freeholders to
know whether one of their representatives had previoufl,
been concerned in the framing of them 'For if this was the
case, it could no longer be considered a. the county indraft
ing its representative, but as the representative inftrudug
himfelf, an absurdity too glaring not to strike directly at
the foundation of the motion."
Tile LORD MAYOR arose to answer, and by answering to
refute, the oblique charges co: ained in these insidious ques
tions; he declared;.'' that fm the moment he had been ho
nored with the fuf^agts fob's conitituents, from that mo
ment he had conquered amfelf as the bERVAN I of tie
[Num. 148.