The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-10-26 00:00:00, page 2

merriment and barbarity, and how the making of one person
more oan man, makes the rest less. About nine parts of the
„oild in ten are in the lowed Rate of slavery, and confe
q ently funk in the molt gross and brutal ignorance. Euro
pean Slavery is indeed a Rate of liberty, if compared with
that which prev ails in the other three divisions of the world ;
and therefore it is no wonder that those who grovel under it,
have many tra&s of light among them, of which the others
are wholly deftkute.
Riches and plenty are the natural fruits of liberty, and
where thele abound, learning and all the liberal arts will im
mediately lift up their heads,and flourish. As a man must
±ave no slavish fears and apprehensions hanging upon his
mind, who will indulge the flights of fancy or fpeculatton,
and pvfh his lefearches into all the abstruse corners of truth,
so it is necessary for him to have about him a competency
of all the conveniencies of life.
The firft thing every one looks after, is to provide himfelf
with neceffuries. This point will eugrofs our thoughts till
it be fatished. If this is taken care of to oar hands, we look
out for plealures and amusements ; and among a great num
ber of idle people, there will be many whose pleasures will
lie in reading and contemplation. These are the two great
sources of knowledge, and as men grow wife they naturally
love to communicate their difeoveries ; and others feeing the
happiness of such a learned life, and/improving by their
conversation, emulate, imitate, and surpass one another, till
a nation is filled with races of wife and understanding per
sons. Ease and plenty arc therefore the great cherifhers of
knowledge ; and as most of the despotic governments of the
world have neither of them they are naturally overrun with
ignorance and barbarity. In Europe, indeed notwitnttand
ing several of its Princes are absolute, there are men famous
for knowledge anti learning, but the reason is because the
fubjeds are many of them rich and wealthy, the Prince not
thinking fit to exert himfelf in his full tyranny like the
Princes of the Eaitern nations, left his fubjetls ihould be in
vited to newmould their constitution, having so many prof
peds of liberty within their view. But in all d-fpetic go
vernments, though a particular Prince may favor arts and
letters, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind, as you
may observe from Augustus's reign, how the Romans loti
themselves by degrees till they fell to an equality with the
most barbarous nations that surrounded them. Look upon
Greece under its free Rates, and you would think its inha
bitants lived in different climates, and under difrereni hea
vens, from thole at present; so different are toe geniules
wach are formed under Tusk.fh slavery and Grecian li
berty.
Betides poverty and want, there are other reasons thatde
bafe the minds of men, who live under slavery, though I
lok on this as the principal. This natural tendency of de
spotic power to ignorance and barbarity, th u;h u&t insis
ted upon by others, is, 1 think, an unanfweiaoie argument
against that form of government, as it shews hw repugnant,
it is to the go d of mankind, and the perfection of human
nature, which ought to be the great ends of ad civil indica
tions. L
PORTSMOUTH (New-Hampshire) O&. iz.
Last Sunday arrived at Saco a small prize khocrer, lent in
by the Putnam private, Jhn Harmon commander, having
on board three huncred bushels of salt and some oil. Next
day arrived another icho ner, taken by the lame privateer,
having on board three hundred and. seventy-five quintals of
538
green fifh, and some oil. She brings an account of another
small vessel, taken th it is not yet arrived, and one that they
took, which was afterwards drove ashore by a frigate, and the
vessel loft, but the people got on hoard the privateer again.
Last Wednesday arrived at Falmouth, a prize sh p of be
tween three and f ar hundred tons from Portsmouth in Eng
land to Quebec, laden wi^ po der, nails, beef, butter, &c.
had sixteen carriage gun , e',ht of which were mounted. She
was taken by a privateer from Newbury, by stratagem.
Since our last arrived a this port two prize Schooners, the
Glalgow and me Neptune, laden w th fifh and oil to a con
siderable am runt, taken ff the banks of Newfoundland, by
Capt. K : ber Parker, of this port.
Thru mein ,g a Imad prize schooner, with two hundred
quintars of nth, was lent into this barb ur. She was tak~u
by Capt. Calton, in the General Gates privateer, from Salem.
Wednesday next trie General AIL nbly. of this Rate is to
meet at Exiter, oy delire of the Committee of Safety, in con
sequence of a Refoivc of Congress, relative to forming a new
army. ——
B O S T O N, O& ber io.
Last Friday was sent into Marblehead, by Capt. Greely, so.
the privateer opjeuwell, fitted out from this place, a prize
snow from L igiand, bound to New-York. Sue has on board
the following articles of provision, fifty-fix thousand eight
hundred and ninety-fix weight of bread, eight thousand and
twenty weig it of pork, two hundred and fifty-fix bulhels and
seven gallons of peafe, two hundred and fitty-feven.bulhels of
oatmeal, sixteen thousand weight of beef, twelve houfand
ant fix ] tour weight of flour,' forty-one hundred and thirty
fix wo gh thrice, forty-one hundred and one weight of rai
sins, one bun bed and fixty-fiye. gallons ot 0i1,., five hundred
and thirty-ieven ditto of vi egar, thirty-live hundred ditto of
Spirits, tony-lix hundred and forty-live weight of butter, and
four hundred and lixiy doz^n of ca riles.
Monday; lap. was lent into this tort a prize ship, upward
of three hundred tons,, from the fame place, for New-York,
with like articles as -he now abovementioued,, only with the
addition oi four ^^ ? - .Tero, ana fix swivels. Taken by
Capt. SHasAtk - j^
Captain Arthur v awhud, <f this place, has taken and
feat into a fate port a L from London,. hound for Qae
bc, laden with oiantts, woollen cloths, lah anens, fheet
ify dow rats,, ihoo, flockings, boots, oruj), Port wine,
beaded porter, onecfe, & He, o^rg>, \ynen sh failed, was
eftima ed at fifteen th ufan pounds nerling. He has like
wise taken two ihips from. Ja, & ca.
L ft TuJday two f the enemy's ffiips took four vessels ^
Mantapue point; three ofwinch were prizes to Capt. Munro,
and some other privateers; he other a merchantman bring
ing to these vessels, the crew,we hear, took to their boats, and
got fafe ashore near Stonm. m.
A large prize brig,, with floras for the army at New- Y< rk.
is sent into Dartmouth ; and,. r hurfday, when Capt. ^te
huckleft Nantucket, there were three topsail vessels in lights
NEWPORT, October 14.
Lafi Monday the Continental flo >p Providence, Capt. Jones
arrivedft a fafe port, having, in a crude of fix weeks, cap
to ed lixteen tail of vessels, ox , fwhich he burnt; among the
ochers is one ship with three thousand quint Is of codfi h which
is also arrived at a fafe pori,.f6me smaller hfhermen, and two
Weft-Indiamen.,
P R O. V IDE N C E, Oaober 12;