The Pennsylvania ledger, or, The Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, & New-Jersey weekly advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-06-29 00:00:00, page 3

Permit us also, gentlemen, to suggest, that we
cannot but think, that any precipitate resolves to
change our present constitutional form of govern
ment, mud, in their consequences, operate to retard
and obftrud what we are periuaded you, gentlemen,
as well as ounfelves, cannot wish to loose fight of,
as the primary and constant objed of the present
unhappy dispute, namely, a fafe, honourable, and
Jailing Reconciliation with Great-Britain on con
ftitutidnal principles. To effed which desirable
end, we apprehend the union of the colonies was
recommended—for which purpose alone was the
Continental Congress delegated, and their authority
hitherto lubmitted to, and upon the fame hopes of
peace and reconciliation we are daily impatiently
expelling CommifSoners from his Majesty. From
these confideratfons, gentlemen, we were convinc'd
that sentiments of separation and independence must
be not only highly impolite, but may be of the mod
dangerous and deftru&ve consequences; add to
Last Friday morning the two Philadelphia bat
talions, commanded by the Colonels Shee and Ma
gaw, marched from this city for King's-bridge,
where we hear they are to be encamped.
Sahidy-Hook, June 21, 1776.
This morning about 4 o'clock we attacked the
Light-house with about 3oomen s they were Wrong
ly re-inforced being (as 1 saw a boat go on board
from Long island) previously informed of our de
sign. I continued the attack for two hours with
field pieces and small arms, being all that time be
tween two smart fires from the Ihipping and the
light-house, but could make no impreflion on the
walls. I then returned to my camp at the foutli
end of the cedars, which I have occupied two days
and nights, and after refrelhing my men, lent out
50 to fee for game; they have this minute attacked
them with small arms, and seven boats are making
from the land to the ships. My men are all well,
and in high spirits, not one of them being either
killed or wounded.
June 26. Yesterday the Hon. Major General
Gates set off for Canada, being, we hear, appoint
ed Commander in Chief for the northern depart
ment.
Information being made, that fcveral persons,
inimical to the rights of America, had entered into
a solemn agreement to aid and assist our unnatural
enemies, and make themselves matters of our city,
several of them are new examining before our Hon.
Congress. We expe& to give our readers a more
full account of this plot in our next.
The fliip (mentioned in our last) taken on the
south fide of Long-Island, is one of the transports
from Greenock, with a number of Highlanders on
board, eighty buts of porter, &c. Some of the of
ficers and their ladies came to town Yesterday.
We are informed by a gentleman from Connecti
cut, who arrived in town lad night, that the brig
Defence, of fourteen guns, belonging to New-Ha
ven. Capt. Harden Commander, had taken three
transport vessels from Greenock, with three hun
dred Highlanders on board; amongst whom were
one Col. Campbell. Capt. Harden fought two of
the above vessels for upwards of three hours, when
they were obliged to llrike; tlie other made her
escape in the time , of the engagement, but there
being a fine' breeze, and Capt. Harden's vefcl be
ing a much better sailer, soon came up with and
took her. He has carried them all three fafe into
Boston..
We this moment hear that five fail of the minis
terial pirates are now cruizing off Block Island.
From the New-York Gazette.
Copy of a petition fgned by a number of the inhabit
tants of NewJerfey, and addressed to the Provin
cial Congress now fitting at Burlington, June,
177 6 -
PERMIT us, gentlemen, to assure you, that;
altho' we daily experience and sincerely lament
in common with our fellow fubjeds, inhabitants of
the colonies, the calamitous consequences of the
present unhappy controversy with Grcat-Britain, we
cannot but think that we Ihould ill difeharge the
duty we owe to our country, ourselves, our chil
dren, and posterity, if we neglected to exert our
selves by every effort in our power to prevent our
condition, tho' truly deplorable, from becoming
perfectly desperate; which we are convinc'd mutt
necessarily be the consequence if a total separation
from and independency of the government of
Great-Britain Ihould be reviv'd upon, declar'd, and
attempted in this province.
We do not presume, gentlemen, to diftate to you,
or even to inftrudyou; we address you as ftllow
fubjeds and fellow-fufferers, zealous for the rights
of America in general, but particularly anxious for
the real welfare of New-Jerley; as such we trult that
you will be too deejly imprefs'd with the recollec
tion of the peculiar happiness and prosperity here
tofore enjoyed by the inhabitants of this continent,
connected with and fubje& to the government of
Great-Britain, not to dread the consequences of a
declar'd separation from that country. We trust,
gentlemen, that you will have the honour, the
interelf, fafety, and welfare, of this your native
country, too much at heart, to fuffer this once
flourifhing and happy province, to the reproachful
and calamitous consequences of an avowed separa
tion.
which, gentlemen, as we have the fatisfa&ion to
fee the general Assembly of this province legally
conven'd, and from time to time duly meeting and
in the full exercise of their legislative authority and
jurisdiction, and as the principal officers of govern
ment in this colony are now amongst us and engag'd
in the duties of their station, our courts of justice
and public offices op n, and business there con
ducted with order and regularity, our present efta
blilh'd mode of government we are convinc'd will
continue as it has hitherto been experienced to be,
fully fufficient to the exigencies of our affairs, and
belt conduce to the happiness and fafety of the peo
ple of New-Jersey.
That you, gentlemen, may join in sentiments and
opinion with us on the present occasion, and stren
uously adhere to, maintain, and assert our present
mode of government as founded on the British
constitution, and eftablifh'd and confirm'd by the
laws of the land, is the sincere and hearty prayer
of, &c.
PHILADELPHIA.
Wednesday Morning Major Rogers was taken
up at South Amboy ferry,
Extraß of a letter from Newport, June 21. .
" About a month ago, Capt, Biddle, of the An
drew Doria, failed from this port, and the next
day he took a sloop from the Weft-Indies, which
was yesterday condemned as a lawful prize. Ten
days after, near the banks of Newfoundland, at
daylight, he saw two ships, and in an hour was in
poffefiion of them, without firing even a musket.
They had each about one hundred soldiers on board,
and were part of a fleet of thirty-three fail that left
Scotland the third of April, witli three thousand
troops on board, bound for Boston. Capt. Biddle
took out of them four land officers, the makers,
mates, and crews, all their .arms, ammunition, &c.
and removed all the soldiers out of one ship into
the other, so that in one ship were all the soldiers,
and in the other the officers and their ladies. He
was obliged to keep them with him for thirteen
days, on account of contrary winds.
" On the fourteenth day, at four in the morn
ing, five fail of vessels gave him chace, upon which
he ordered the ships to fleer different courses, him
felf keeping near co the heaviest sailor, but in about
an hour a squall of rain soon arose and hid them
from him; the ship witli the soldiers on board alte
red her course, and by eleven o'clock was out of
fight, the weather then clear. Soon after the ves
sels altered their course, as he did his, in order to
avoid them. At fix o'clock he saw another veflcl,
right before, and fleering towards him, when he
again altered his course, and at eight o'clock (dark
cloudy weather) he was about three leagues from
the nearest of the vessels.
" Yesterday Captain Whipple failed on a cruize.
And upon the Cerberus appearing in fight, Capt.
Biddle immediately went on board and failed, as
also did the Providence sloop and two gallics, to
the affilfance of Capti Whipple, but wind and tide
being agaiaft them, before they got within a league
of Whipple (who lay to in order to find the force
of the enemy) the man of war gave him a broad
side and then flood off. Captain Whipple came in,
the ship being of much superior force to him.
Thursday afternoon a gentleman arrived from
Charleftown, South-Carolina, which he left the
fifteenth inst. He informs that General Lee and
Howe were arrived there from Virginia and North?
Carolina.'
Extrafl of a letter from Brigadier Gen. Hrmfrong
to Brigadier Gen. Howe, dated Charlefown, South
Carolina, May 29, 1776..
" Last Saturday a sloop arrived here from St.
Euftatia witli 10,000 weight of powder, the .Master
of which fays that a large vessel had arrived there
from Holland, deeply laden with arms and ammu
nition. He also lays that the French ports in the
Weft-Indies are open to us, and that the French
men of war have orders to protect our vessels in and
out of their harbours, that the French are fortify
ing Dunkirk which produced a remonstrance from
the Britifli Court, but without effed."
By letters just received from Gen. Lee, by express,
we learn that 51 fail of vessels were, on the fourth
of June, lying off the bar of Charleftown, in fight
of the town, and that an attack was expeded so
soon as the wind would permit them to come over
the bar.
Accounts received yesterday from Canada fay,
that Gen. Thompson, with two thousand men, has
been defeated by four thousand, and that the Ge
neral was accidently taken prisoner.
Extrafl of a letter from Boston, dated June 17.
“ I have the pleasure to acquaint you of the pi
ratical fleet being drove from this harbour a few
days ago by our people. They placed a number
of cannon on the heights below, and had prepared
a number of flat-boWomed boats, &c. but the can
non only did the business, and they pushed off witli
great precipitation, both men of war and transports.
Last evening came into harbour two transports, a
fliip and a brig from the enemy's land, fay Eng
land, &c. in expectation of finding the fleet that
had been so lately driven away, and to their great
disappointment were followed in by several priva
teers, amongst which was the Connecticut brig,
on their coming up with Point Alderton, they were
fired on by the cannon there, when they both struck,
and sent on Ihore a 'poat load of their men. Night
coming on soon, they attempted their escape by
going out through Broad-Sound, when the priva
teers attacked them again, and a very severe en
gagement enlued for three quarters of an hour.
The enemy had a Major and seven men killed, and
several wounded ; all the red, confiding of 2iohigh
landers, with all their equipments, were taken pri
soners, amongst whom is a Colonel Campbell. They
are now on their way up from Nantaiket to this
town, all in fafe custody. The transports were
loaded witli provisions and baggage; the ship
mounted fix 6 pounders, and the brig two. While
lam writing this they are all in fight. We had
three men wounded in the engagement, one mor
tally, which is all the loss we fullained.
'The DECLARATION of the Deputies of Penn
sylvania met in P ROVIN CI A L CONFER^
ENCE at Philadelphia, June 24, 1776.
W'H EREAS George the Third, Kingof Great- 1
Britain, &c. in violation of the principles of'
the British constitution, and of the laws of justice
and humanity hath, by an accumulation of op
pressions unparalleled in history, excluded.the inha
bitants of this with the other American colonies from
his proteßion: And whereas he hath paid no regard
to any of our remonstrances and dutiful petitions
for redress of our complicated grievances, but hatli
lately purchased foreign troops to affid in enslaving
us, and hatli excited the Savages of this country
to carry on a war against us, as also the Negroes
to imbrue their hands in the blood of their makers,
^ll a manner unpractifed by civilized nations; and
moreover hatli lately insulted our calamities by de
claring that he will shew us no mercy until he hath
subdued us; and whereas the obligations of allegi
ance (being reciprocal between the King and his
fubje&s) are now difolved on the fide of the colo
nies by the defpotihn and declaration of the laid
King, insomuch that it now appears that loyalty
to him is treason againff the good people of this
country; and whereas not only the parliament, but
there is reason to believe too m.my of the people of
Great-Britain have concurred in the aforefaid ar
bitrary and unjust proceedings against us; and
whereas the public virtue of this colony (so essential
to its liberty and happiness) must be endangered by
a future political union with, or dependance upon
a crown and nation so loft to jullice, patriotism and
magnanimity;
We the Deputies of the people of Pennsyl
vania, assembled in full Provincial Conference
for forming a plan for executing the resolve of
Congrels of the fifteenth of May last, for suppress
ing all authority in this province derived from the
crown of Great-Britain, and for eftablilhing a go
vernment upon the authority of the people only,
do in this public manner, in behalf of ourselves,
and with the approbation, consent and authority of
our constituents, unanimously declare our wil
lingness to concur in a vote of the Congress declar
ing the United Colonies fr.ee and independent
States: Provided the forming the government,
and the regulation of the internal police of this
colony, be always referred to the people of the
said colony; and we do farther call upon the nati
ons of Europe, and appeal to the great Arbiter
and Governor of the empires of the world, to wit
ness for ,us, that this declaration did not originate
in ambition or in an impatience of lawful authority,
but that we were driven to it in obedience to the
firil principles of nature by the oppressions and cru
elties of the aforefaid King and L'arliament of
Great-Britain, as the only poflible measure that
was left us to preserve and eftablilh our liberties,
and to transmit them inviolate to posterity.
Signed bv Order of the Conference,
THOMAS M'KEAN, President.
In CONGRESS, June 3, 1776.
Refolded, That it be earneltly recommended to
the Aff;mblies, Conventions and Committees of
Safety in the United Colonics, to fall upon the
most uffedual means of removing the docks, grain
and meal, from such parts ol their refpe&ive colo
nies as are invaded, or are in imminent danger of
being invaded by the enemy.
Extract from the Minuter,
CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.
MELASSES, COFFEE, and SUGARS,
French Brandy and Red Port in Bottles,
TO BE SO L D, By
GEORGE MEADE, and Co.
Next Week will be published, By JAMES
HUMPHRE Y S, junr.
G R ^ C d?'
GRAM MATIC JE,
INSTITUTIO COMPENDIARIA.
IN USUM SCHOLARU M.
A U TOR E
EDV. WETTENHALL, D, D ;
Nu^er EHfybo Kilmer, t Krdaa.