The New York packet, and the American advertiser — New York [N.Y.], 1776-06-13 00:00:00, page 1

Upon the Duke of Grafton's motion in the
HOUSE of LORDS, the 19th of March,
[See N ° 22.] the following debates ensued.
&dfd^^^s HE Dure of Manchfer
%<§oooo^oooo^ defended the motion as be-
OT fl^oooo^ I ^ jng productive of peace, on
# 7§ $m a principle that the dispute
(^ I ^^o^ § y, with our colonies would in
''Czfc^fr^,^" voive us in a foreign war;
^^^ ^^^°, which, from the debilitated
Rate both of the navy and the army, we are at
present incapable of carrying on.
The flower of our troops had been draughted
to America. The navy was NOT in that re
fpedable condition the firft Lord of the Admi
ralty would make us believe. The guardfhips
had NOT their full complement of men, and
even frigates were destitute of hands. The
Eagle was destitute to carry Lord Howe t® A
merica. Had the Eagle her proper comple
ment of'men? The negative was evident to
demonflration. The Thetis and the Arethufa
had failed; but previous to their departure,
they had been obliged to borrow of the guard
fhips, owing to a fcarcityol men. Confeious of
this fearcity, the gaols had vomited ruith their
convicts. The vagrant act had been enforced
as a most likely mode of furnifhing our navy
with the putrefeence of human infamy. If
this was to man a fleet, the English navy was
never, in that refped, in a better condition.
ASSIZE of BREAD. Flour at 17 s. per Ct.
A Wheaten Loaf of the fineft FLOUR, to
weigh 1 lb. 11 1-2 oz. for 4. Coppers.
Published March 18, 1776.
V OL. I. N UMB. 24.
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AMERICA N raMte'. ^'§ A DVERTIS ER.
——————— —-—- —- .——l^&re^^^^ —————- ——— —— ——
THURSDA Y, v/sa^,- J UNE 13th, 1776.
Lord Sandwich firft defended his official con
dudt, and then spoke against the motion.
To the state of the navy, he observed, that
he guessed from whom his noble relation had
received the information. It was from a man
who, both in his public writings, and in his pri
vate discourse, had Shewn himfelf to be the
mod fuperficial creature that ever exifled. lie
was a person who boasted of his profeffional
knowledge. The Noble Lord sincerely wished
he could converse with some of those profession
al gentlemen, was it only to convince them that
they knew nothing of their profeffion. To
what did this arraignment of the navy amount ?
To mere assertion, founded on fadts either ab
solutely falfe, or grossly misrepresented. " The
guardfnips had not their full complement of
men." Their full complement was 6,800.
1 here were on board 6,300. There was con
fcquently a deficiency of 500. A mighty mat
ter truly.
Well, but “ ALL the guardships were not
complete."
Out of twenty, nineteen were ready for ser
vice. One defective guard Ship was, to be sure,
a consequential affair.
As to the borrowing of men, the sass was
true. What of that ? The frigates which had
borrowed them, would return in a few months,
and then the men would return to thofehhips
from whence they were taken. That the Eagle
was not abfolutcly manned, was certain, but
foe was manning, and there was little doubt
but fillers enough would enter. The popular
ity of Lord Howe would be the bell invitation
for the seamen.
As to the acceptance of convicts, the noble
Lord declared, that so long as he had the ho
nour^of preliding at the Admiralty, he would
never adopt such an idea. It would be the last
extreme ot bad policy.The sea service was a noble
service, and sailors were in general men of in
tegrity, if their morals were not altogether so
rigid. But the introduction of convicts among
them, would convert a laxity of morals into a
Ihamelefs degeneracy of conduct. To permit a
felon to escape from justice, by entering on
board one of his Majesty's Ships, was to impress
the men with a dishonourable idea of the ser
vice. It was to make them think that next to
the gallows, a Ship of war was the worst punish
ment. Every idea, even of confinement, Should
be banished, if'poffible, from the mind of a Sailor.
For this purpose the noble Lord had always
found it .to be good policy to pay off the guard
ffiips at dated periods. No men were loft by
this method. They were sure to re-enter when
their money was Spent. Feeling themselves
voluntary agents, they did that through incli
nation which constraint would have made them
difrelifh.
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From a similar principle, the noble Earl dis
approved of the practice of impressing. The
scarcity of men had been repeatedly complained
of by the Lords in the minority. Did they
really feel such an anxiety for the service? Or
did they want to make work for the opposition,
by throwing the kingdom into confufion ? Their
end should not be answered. The noble speak
er would abstain from impressing to the very last
moment of necessity. He had a plan which
would render it unnecessary. As a substitute,
however, of the force formerly used to compel
sailors into the service, the next thing was to
inspire them with proper sentiments, and to
guard, as much as possible, against the contami
nation of their morals. This the noble Lord
would do as long as he presided over the Admi
ralty department. To talk of the deficiency of
men, in an absolute sense, was unfair. The
question should be, not what was abftra&ly the
present Rate of the navy ? but, " how flood
the navy now, compared with its former con
dition ?" It was astonishing what had been ef
fected, since the month of November, twenty
thousand men had been raised. The sea officers
themselves were the proper persons to raise
men. The very name of a deserving command
er would, like a magical found, perform won
ders, and with such officers the navy at this time
abounded. Their bravery flood not in need of
encomium. We owed the preservation of Que
bec, in a great measure, to Captain Hamilton,
an illustrious naval officer, who had thrown in
his men for the defence of that garrison. Capt.
Pownall also deserved praise, for although pos
sessed of amofl splendid fortune, requeued par
ticularly to be employed on the American Ra
tion.
This much for the navy.
To the Duke of Grafton's motion, Lord
Sandwich objected, that the arguments in fa
vour of it, were deficient to an extreme. The
colourable pretext of humanity was, if examin
ed, highly censurable. It was falfe huma
nity, which would lead men to betray the con
stitutional rights of their country. The true
humanity was, to bring the deluded to reason.
As to equity, the Lords in opposition rested
much on the injustice of our proceedings to
wards America, but not a syllable was said a
bout the inequitable mode in which the colo
nies had proceeded. The most daring outrages
had been committed in open violation of all
law and government. Disobedience had pro
duced anarchy, and anarchy had ended in the
word of tyrannies. Men who had only spoken
in favour of the English Parliament, had been
divested of their possessions ; 'had been immured
in prisons, and loaded with irons. It was un
known what the Episcopal Clergy had fuftered;
yet all this was equity on the part of America.
England was the source of tyranny. She only
was to blame.
Whether the noble Duke's motion was found
ed in policy, remained to be considered. The
only argument in its favour was that deduced
from policy. If it was actually certain that
Great Britain could not sustain the expence of
an American war, her inability was the bed
motive for negotiating a peace. But what
would foreign powers think of such an argu
ment? What would they fay to the superiority
of that nation, which could not even afford to
subdue her own rebellious fubjeds? The argu
ment deduced from the inability of this country
to prosecute the American war, proved too
much, because if the expence of subduing re
fradory fubjeds was too great an operation of
finance for public credit to sustain, then were
we equally incapable of conducing a war a
gainst foreign powers, the expences of which
would amount to ten times the sum employ
ed against America. It was hoped, however,
that we were not quite in so defencelefs a state,
as to yield to the firft power which declared
hostilities against us. If we could withstand
such a power, we could endure the burden of
an American rebellion.
If the motion proposed by the noble Duke
should be considered in a negotiatory light, it
was contrary to the principles of negociation to
state the ultimatum. We might be assured, that
whatever terms Great-Britain offered, America
would alk for better. It was in the nature of
I Monday, 42 Min. after 10
Tuesday, 14 Min. after 11
Wednesday, 4 Min. after 12
New Moon igth.
The Duke of Richmond conceived, that it fa
voured much of arrogance in the last noble
Lord, to aver, that he was better acquainted
with naval matters than gentlemen bred to the
profeffion. With refpe& to the navy, if convifts
had not, there was some reason to believe that
vagrants had flipped into both the army and
navy. The President of the council had sent
letters to the Cuftodes Rotulorum of the several
counties, requiring them at this particular
time, to enforce the laws against vagrants. Why
at this particular time rather than at any other,
unless the necessity was such as to point out
this as a likely method to raise men either for
the land or the sea service ? As to the morals
of the sailors, the very example of the firft
Lord of the Admiralty would inspire them with
virtue.
things for the opposite party to take advantage
of concessions. But wherefore should parlia
ment concede? The Americans had been the
aggressors, they therefore should firft solicit ac
commodation.
The last noble Lord, by censuring the moti
on, had cast, unawares, a very fevers reflection
on the minister in the other house. If in mat
ters of negociation it was an error to propose
the ultimatum which would be accepted, what
was to be thought of the conduct of the other
person who had proposed to the Americans his
conciliatory resolution ? It had been transmit
ted to the colonics as the ultimate t@rms to
which Great Britain would concede. Admit
ting the axiom, that to offer terms was only to
make the opposite party rife in their demands,
and, by this rule we were indebted to the mini
ster for any unreasonable requisitions the colo
nies might insist on. But the simple sass was
this ; let whatever terms of conciliation be of
fered,the Americans would not listen when they
were liable to be deceived. Lord Hillborough's
circulatory letter was calculated to deceive them.
It was not therefore on Ministers, but on the
faith of parliament the colonillscould rely. The
motion went thus far. It opened a negotiation
between the nation at large, and the component
parts of the legislature became guarantees for
the performance of the conditions. This threw
wide the door of peace, and it the colonies en
tered not, they would deserve proscription.
What other alternative had we left ? A war
with America, which would most probably
bring on an European war. The noble Lord
who spoke last, had estimated the expence of
such a war at ten times the sum lavished against
America. Six millions had been voted for the
civil war. Ten times the sum amounted to six
ty millions. Was the nation in a condition to
bear such an annual expenditure ? On the con
trary, should a foreign war take place before
our differences with America were fettled, an
evil little Short of public bankruptcy would en
sue. In case of such a disastrous event, what
would be the natural resource? Most probably
the golden prebends, the rich Bifhopricks ; the
plurality of Commendams ; and the titular dig
nities of Ecclesiastical 'humility, might be laid
hands on as the seizins of old, and be made to
contribute to the exigencies of the state : Should
such a period occur, all would be anarchy; the
mob would prevail, and the constitution, which
so long tottered to its center, would tumble in
to ruins. In so deplorable a state of things,
where was the penetrating eye which could
forefee the consequences ? Where was the right
judging mind which would pronounce that an
other revolution might not ensue? To parlia
ment alone an application could be made for a
prevention of the evil. The Lords of Parlia
ment, by agreeing to the motion before them,
had it in their powers to avert the impending
ruin. A bench there was whereon Christian
virtue had taken its feat. The Prelates would
surely befriend the motion, merely because it
was a motion for peace. Bishops, from the firft
commencement of chriftianity, were ever known
to have been averse to blood. To have their
robes sprinkled with the blood, not only of fel
low chriftians, but of kindred fubjedfs, and of
fellow protestants, would ill become the spotless
purity of their profeffion. The bench of Bi
ihops, therefore, in voting for the motion,
would ad agreeable to the didates of their call
ing.
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Lord Hil/borough rose immediately after the
Duke of Richmond, and declared he did not in
tend to have spoken in the debate, as his senti
ments relative to the American dispute were all
well known to their Lordflrips; but as a charge
had been alledged against him, by the noble
Duke who spoke last, on account of an official
letter written by him in 1769, he thought it in
cumbent on him to explain that matter : his
Lordship declared, there was nothing he ab
horred so much as deception, and he was amaz
ed that such a conftrudion could be put upon a
letter written for the express purpose of pre
venting deceit. His Lordship said, ere the fub
je& of his poor threadbare letter, which had
been so often torn to pieces in debate, was re
vived, it would have been but fair to have had
it read ; he remembered the particular clause
of it alluded to, which he begged to recite, and
which was to the following purport : " I am
commanded to inform you, that it is not the in
tention of his Majesty's present Ministers to im
pose any new tax on America." This his Lord
ship said, was sent to the colonies, in order to
prevent the colonists from being milled by the
wicked misrepresentation of persons at home,
who found it their interest to throw out falfe
lights, and kindle the flames of discord between
America and the mother country. His Majes
ty's then ministers had no intention to propose
any new tax, and they had religiously kept their
words ; no one member of that administration
having proposed a new tax since. Having ful
ly cleared up the charge of deceit, his Lord
ffiip went into a defence of the present arma
ment, declaring that the effed ofthe motion be
fore the House, would not only be derogatory
to the dignity of parliament, but injurious to
the nation. That it did not tend to save a mil
ling of the expence, nor did it go to fending
back the foreign aid; it only provided, that
when the immense armament reached America
it fliould be useless. Much had been said of
the humanity of saving the effufion of blood;
weaknefe was often falfely termed humanity,
and so it seemed to be at present, as checking
the progress ofthe armament, and making it a
piece of flill life, would be the very opposite
of humanity, and sow the feeds of lading war
and desolation. As it had been urged that the
Americans were fighting for what they thought
their rights, he begged their Lordships to re
member, that so were the Highlanders in 174 g,
and yet when a proper force was sent against
them, no Lord conceived it necessary to move
for entering into a treaty with them, previous
to our a&ively opposing them. His Lordship
delivered himfelf with great firmnefs against
the motion, and delivered that he had lonflince
forefeen the present dispute with America, as
the natural consequence of the damp aft and
the subsequent repeal of it ; that he would not
charge the lower colonies with aiming at inde
pendency, but it was fufficiently obvious that
such a spirit prevailed in the breads of the lead
ers of the faction of the New-England govern
ments.
Lord Sandwich rose to explain, and declared
the Duke of Richmond had grossly misconceiv
ed his meaning, when be talked of teaching
men of profeffion their duty. He meant those
only who were ignorant, and was very far from
presuming to fay, that he who was not bred to
the sea knew more of naval affairs than the most
experienced seaman; but surely it might be
supposed, from his long attention to the duties
of his office, that there were men of profeffion
whom he could inftrud; he asserted that there
were ignorant men, as well as men of informa
tion, in the navy, as well as in every other
profeffion, but he was proud to add, that there
never were more willing officers, nor a better
and more able lift than those now in the ser
vice. His Lordship rejoiced exceedingly, that
altho' many frigates would be Rationed on the
coast of America, the main firength of the Bri
tish navy would remain at home to guard us from
all attacks that could be dreaded; and conclud
ed with faying a word or two refpe&ing the con
viffts and vagrants, allowing that, under a gene
ral description, there might be some of the latter
worth countenancing, but that there was a ma
terial diftindion to be made between an honest
pauper and a hardened jail-bird.
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