The Pennsylvania ledger, or, The Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, & New-Jersey weekly advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-04-13 00:00:00, page 1

PENNSYLVANIA
WEEKLY
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Additions to Plain Truth:
Addreffcd to the I NhABI TANTs of A MERIcA;
Containing further Remarks on a late Pamphlet,
Wherein are clearly and fully shewn, that American
Independence, is as illusory, ruinous, and im
pra&icable, as a liberal reconciliation with Great
Britain, is fafe, honourable, and expedient.
Written by the Author of Plain Truth.
The enjoyment of Liberty, and even its fapport and
preservation conffls, in every man's being allowed
to speak his thoughts and lay open his Jentiments.
Quotations of the American Congress, in their
Address to the Inhabitants of Quebec, from that
Friend to Mankind, Montesquieu.
Ah. B. To this Pamphlet is annexed, for the
information of all Americans, who wish to know
and to enjoy the very Laws and Privileges which
themselves have decreed. A Defence ol the Libert,
of the Prejs, by the Honorable the Continental
Congress.
Memorandum. If to preserve any part of the
works of valuable writers, hatli always been looked
upon as doing good service to the Public; The
Editor hereof may hope, that his prelent endea
vours will prove acceptable, at least, to all the
Lovers of Freedom, who are so confident as to ac
knowledge the Press ought to be free for others
as well as themselves.
CAME to the plantation of the fubfcrib°r, on
the 30th of March last, in the township of
Northampton, in the county of Bucks, A bright
bay HORSE, about 14. hands high, a large
star in h ; s forehead, trots and canters well; the
said horse had a bridle on when taken up. The
owner coming, proving his property, paying
charges, may have him again, by applying to
April 7, 1776. JOHN BLAKER, junr.
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To the PEOPLE of Pennsylvania.
LETTER VI.
IN the conclusion of my last letter, I charged the
author of Common Sente with perverting the
Scripture in his account of the origin of the Jewifo
monarchy. I proceed to offer some remarks, in
support of that charge.
" Monarchy,'' fays he, (meaning probably the
institution of monarchy) " is ranked in Scripture
6c as one of the fins of the Jews, for whicli a curse
" in reserve is denounced against them. The
" history of that tranfadion" (either the tranfadion
of monarchy, or the tranfadion of denouncing a
curse in relerve) " is wortli attending to."
This confufed proportion he endeavours to
efttablifh,by a commentary (upon 1 Samuel, ch. 8)
full as far-fetch'd and ridiculous, as he will proba
bly fay mine is upon the prophecy of Mount Seir.
But this matter must be treated more ferioufy, for
the fake of a country, in whicli (God be thanked)
the Scriptures are read and regarded with that re
verence whicli is due to a revelation from Heaven;
I must therefore endeavour to refeue, out of our
author's hands, that portion of the sacred history,
whicli he has converted into a lible against the civil
constitution of Great - Britain; and shew in what
sense the passage has been universally received, as
well by the Jews themselves, as by commentators
venerable for their piety and learning, in every
Christian country.
The Jews were long privileged with a peculiar
form of government, called a Theocracy; under
which the " Almighty either stirred up some per
" son, by an immediate lignification of his will, to
“ be their judg;; or, when there was none, ruled
" their proceedings himfelf, by Urim and Thummim,
6C directing what course they were to follow in the
" public concerns of the nation."*
* Lowth's Commentaries.
April 13, 1776.
entitled
COMMON SENSE:
Philadelphia, April 10, 1776.
Just Printed, Published, and now felling, By
ROBERT B E L L,
Or the Virginia, Maryland,
SATURDAY,
But they were of an ungovernable temper, fond
of pomp as well as dominion over their neighbours;
and, being disgusted with the mifeondud of Samuel's
sons, whom, in his old age, he had made his
Assistant-Judges over Israel, they came to him and
intreated him to appoint a King, who might rule
their nation, and avenge them of the Philistines.
Samuel, deeply afllided at the impious design they
entertained of rejecting the Divine Government,
prays the Almighty for direction; who autho
rifes liim to hearken to their voice ; for they have not
rejected thee, but the, have rejected me (fays God)
that 1 should not reign over them. He alio inftruds
Samuel to enter a solemn protef against them for
their folly and ingratitude in preferring a human to
a divine gov rnment; and to sow them the manner
of the King that fall reign over them, since they
desired a King to judge them like all the nations.
Now, all the nations, whicli they knew, were
ruled by Kings, whose arbitrary will flood in
the place of Law; and it appears alio that the
Jews, since the day that they were brought cut of
Egypt, had hill retained a particular hankering
after the customs of that country. The Almighty
therefore, by his Prophet, not only fignifies his
displeasure against all luch arbitrary rulers, but
against every people who would impiously and
foolifhly prefer such a government to one immedi
ately under himfelf, where, in his Providence, he
might think fit to appoint such a one. And so far
I have no difference with our author, But Samuel
proceeds further to realon with the Jews, and in the
12th chap, reminds them of the many deliverances
which God had given them by the hands of their
Judges, Moses. Jepthah, Gideon 6c. having with
a strong hand brought them out of Egypt; having
subdued the Assyrians, Ammonites Moabites ana
Philistines before them; and that, tor all this, they
preferred a government, even after the most corrupt
models, to his jufl and righteous government. And,
to convince them still further of their folly and in
gratitude, the Prophet appeals to a signal whi ch he
would give them from Heaven. He accordingly
calls down an uncommon storm in the midst of
harvest, and the astonished multitude cry out —
We HAVE ADDED TO OUR SINS THIS EVIL TO
ask us a King.
Acherley, in his Britannic Constitutions (and
I think our author borrows some of his principles,
where they can serve his purpose) fays expressly—
" That the nations round about Israel invented their
" Kings with absolute power—and that it is a wild
Here our author ereds his standard, and here he
compliments himfelf with the mockery of triumph.
" These portions of scripture (fays he, in all the
" assurance of infallibility) are direst and positive.
" They admit of no equivocal cohflru&ion. That
" the Almighty hath here entered his protest
" against monarchal government is true, or
" the scripture is falfe." —But I will take the liber
ty to fay, that the scripture is true, and that this
author's inferrence is horribly falje ; nay, further,
that from the whole Ipirit of the passage, as well as
the reason of things, it is to be inferred that the
Almighty would have as strongly expressed his dis
pleasure against the Jews, had they rejected bis go
vernment for one of their own appointment, whether
it had been Monarchial or Democratical —to be ad
ministered by one man or a thousand men.
The author had said before, that Samuel did not
shew the manner of any ' • particular King, but the
" general manner of the Kings of the earth, whom
" Israel was so eagerly copying after." If he means
to confine himfelf to these Kings, I have given them
to him, to make the best of them. But if he means
to argue from particulars to generals, and to make
the old Prophet extend his protest against all future
monarchial governments, such as were to subsist some
thoufknds of years afterwards, however limited and
mixt, particularly that of Great-Britain (which
must cei tainly be our author's meaning, or he
proves nothing to his purpole) I fay then, if this
be his meaning, I cannot 16 easily part with him.
For in this lies our whole difference, and the par
ticular case of the Jews cannot be applied to any
other nation, in this instance, as none else was ever
in similar circumstances.
- ^w^>^^^^
THE
AD V ERTISE R.
L ED G E R:
Pennsylvania, & New-Jersey
" imagination to fay that the Ifraelitifh Kings, who
" Were but copies (of these Kings) should, either in
" their election or power, be a pattern to Great
" Britain." —" 1 here cannot be found, either in.
" the Old or New Testament, any particular de
' jeription of the race of men, which arc or ever were
" Kings of this nation.”—How then can there be a
scripture protef against a race of men, who are not
even described in scripture? * Mark that, Common
Sense.
* " Mark that, Cato," is a favourite expreffism 0,
our author in the character of the Foreßets
Let me add one authority more, from a Com
mentator at least as good as cur author, and who,
nevertheless, flatly centradids him I mean the
celebrated Grotius. He tells us that Samuel, in
this passage does not speak of what our author calls
the ‘ general manner of Kings," or the just and
hones right of a King to do such things; because
his right is otherwise described eliewhere, as ihall be
shewn. Ihe Prophet only speaks of such a right as
the Kings round about Israel had acquired, which
was not a true right; for such is not the lignification
of the original word Mifopat, but such an action as
(being founded in might and violence) hath the
effcAum juris, or comes in the place of right.
Grotius, I leaf, is too learned for us inferior wri
ters (fcriptores minorum gentium) to follow him
in this place. ^But Sidney, that great martyr to
liberty, adopts the fame explanation. " Samuel's
" words, fays he, arc acknowledged by all inter
" preters, who were not malicious or mad, to be a
" dissuasion of the Jews from their wicked purpose;
" not a defcripiioh of what a King might justly do,
" by virtue of his office, but uhat those, who Ihould
" be letup against God and his law, would do when
" they should have the power in their hands."
Both Grotius and Sidney are Well warranted in
his interpretation, not only by the Hebrew text,
but other clear passages of scripture, and particu
larly the 17th chap, of Deuteronomy; where, with
the approbation of Heaven, the duty of a good
King is described and limited. The Jews common
ly underflood this chapter as containing an absolute
promise from Heaven, of a royal government, and
a iufficient authority for this request made to Sa
muel more than three hundred years afterwards.
Others understood it conditionally—that if they
did rc,& their divihe government, and let up one
of their own appointment, God would permit
them; but their King should be chosen ih the man
ner, and with the qualifications, in that chapter
described; All this however, they dilfegarded,
when they asked an arbitrary King like those of
their neighbouring nations; and therefore it is cle
monfLably certain that Satriuel, in entering his
protef against such Kings, did not protest against
Kings or monarchical governments generally^ Ei
tliei this remark is true, or one part of scripture
is a direct contradiction to the other. But let the
paflhge to which I refer, speak for itfelf.
Hlen thou art come into the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee—and Jhalt fay I will set a King
eve? me, like as all tje nations that are about me;
thou foalt in any wife jet him King over thee, whom
the Lord toy God fall chufe; one from among thy
brethren, not a flranger, tc. It is further directed
that he shall not be given to covetuoufnefs— nor
multiply korfes—nor wives to himfelf—nor greatly
multiply to himfelf gold and flver—That when he
shall fit upon the throne of his kingdom he fall write
a c °py f tie l^w in a book (which it was under
stood he was to do with his own hand—That this
book fall be with him (or always carried about
him) and he fall read therein all the days of his
life, that he may learn to fear the Lord, his God, to
keep the words of the law, and make it the rule of
his government, as well as well as private life. If
he docs tails, God promises a blcflujg on his govern
ment, to prolong his days in his kingdoms; he and
his CHILDREN in the midst cf Ijraei.
Does not this smell strong of monarchy, and even
of hereditary monarchy? Is not some fort of appro
bation, yea and a bltffing, promised to both, when
(For the remainder, fee the lafl page.)
April 13, 1776.
Numb. LXIV.