The New York packet, and the American advertiser — New York [N.Y.], 1776-07-11 00:00:00, page 4

bexyw:tn both countries, however 1 may con-
Cema f'!'_’ modein which dt hs been Litl vrto
coshiucted, or how much soever Lymay disapprove
of the meature of employing torcigners to make
a conq ielt of our own fabjects, and ¢ommiffion
lh,‘?in. (o carry all the horrors of a war into a part
ot the do vinlons of the Britih Crown ; 1 own
Fhiave thlly it possible, stronger and more mate
il oljections againtt foms matiers which moke
theat ipedrance in the treaties now before your
Lordmips. I think I perceive something which
bears the flrongeft, nay mott unequivocal marks
o} thut secret influence, that black complexion,
w_hiclh npgnjnly or coverily, as opportuniiies served,
or circomitances concurred, have petvaled our
Councils for some vears back. -America is to be
“cee'c d, 1o mateey by what means. The bloed
and treasure of this comprry.is to he lavithly
thrown away in effecting this purpose. A set
of beggarly, infigniticaut German Princes are
1o he doubly fubiidized to give this extraordi
nary measure success, But that is not all : the.
¢ sumander of this body of mercenaries is ta be
iavettel with the fuprems= command, independ
eat of the control of either King or Pariiument.
1i uny dispute thould arise, where are the purties
to appeal £ not to the King, for he has no
power over them; not to the Parliament, . for
tivy can pretend to none. Where then, as ne
provifionis mede in the treaty, bur to the Prince
1o whom they belong? Thus you will have a
budy of 12,030 inen with a veteran general at
their head, free from any coutrol whatever.
Suppole aay dispute should aiife between our
commuanders and theirs, who is to decide it ?
The roreign general knows no {uperior but his
mlte; and the consequence will bey that in
any fich eveat, all operations will ceale till he
reveives inltrultions tfrom home; and thus the
very end for which tholt foreigners are brought
iuto the kingdom will be defeared, and the na-
Ction pat to @ monfirous expence for nothing,
" Lona EFingham. 1 thoald not bave troubied
vour %ard(hsps upon a fubjeG which has been so
tuity and repeaicdly difcufled in all’ its parts,
did not three points which narurally present
tlicufelves on the present occaflion, strike me
very ttrongly. Those are, the force which A
ierica is able o oppose to ours, with their re
sources for maintaining that force, the profpeét
of fuecefs on our part, and the meins of de
tence againit the attacks of our natural enemies,
~The firll may be eoufidered in two lights, the
number ot troops Amevica will be abie to bring
into l‘h%ld, and tae mode adopred for paying
~them. This, my Lords, is a point which calls
or your Lordhips mott serious consideration,
; such as deny the juttice of the war, it will
_operite as proving its impradticability, as well
25 mjuftice ; with such as eontend for its justice,
'ﬁig ill create a very ﬂnnx.ubjc&ion‘ as to the
_expediency, By the measures proposed by the
Continental Congress for obliging every pro
“aihee so contribute a certain numbsr of men,
aud @ cortain fpecific fam of money for their
“fuppert, it was directed that the inhabitants of
= '.: OV n««‘ou!d-‘bﬂﬁﬂmw
"';'4,, and imsney proportioned to fuc}: returns.
. this oceafion, as might be e);‘pe&éd, the re
“adi-¢ were {hort, considerably, of the real num
_bés of fouls; notwithftandingthis, they amount
‘#d to three millions and a half, which is more
By alghoft one half than any gross computation
“Bad amounted to. To pay those men, the Con
~grefs gave orders to firike off four millions of
dollars S puper currency, which sum, accord
ingly as th* piper is emitted, 8 to pass current
in the refpeétive. provinces where the revenue
arifzs. Thus, though paper be emirted, it is
£l paid away without incurring a debt; for the
fupplics by this means are rafed within the
year, every.man contributing his own share,
%id the whele {tate, “as one body, still left free
of any dsbt or'incumbrunce whatever. On the
second poist it is plain, iacluding the foreigners,
and fuppoling tie Biitifh corps complete, which
I «n sure they are not, the whole force alting
on the pare of Great-Britain, will not much ex
veed 40,000 efective men. Will any of your
Lordfaips assert, or be persuaded to believe, that
an army of 40,ec0 men will be able in one
caumpaign, or in any given time, to make a
complete conquelt of three millions and a half
el people, zealous for their libertics, and reso
lutely determined to defend them to the last ex
reiniry ¢1 am sure there is not. :
If so, then every pretence to expedition and
Putr’.ng a speedy end to the present civil war,
3s ar once aver. The force will be inadequate ;
and I will fuy mere, any force you will or can
fend will be so. As to the lait point of do
mcftic defence, how does that fland ? Let us
presume, for a minate, . that .the military foree
remaining in this kingdom, aided by the militia,
was fufficient for the purpose of defending this
island ; will it be pretended that Ireland, with
a force in it of only 6000 men, will be equally
secure ? T am confident such a monstrous affer
*#ion will not be made ; 12,000 men, even in
times of peace, has been at all Ri!nFS fhought
neceflary for the prefcrvation of its internal
tranquility. 1 would appeal to a noble Lord
neay me (Lord Townfhend) supposing no at
tack had been made from without, whether the
wilitary eftablibment, after the embarkation,
would be equal even to the fuppretlion of do
mestic riot or diflurbance, much less if a body of
French or Spaniards should make a descent
there. . For my part, I think and believe, the
noble Viscount whe presided there so many
vears as chief Governor, is of the fame opinion,
thit 10,600 men might march from one end of
the kinzdom to the'other without molestation,
there h':‘ing.no barrier, natural or artificial to
prevent thou but the Shannon ; so that on the
whole, puteiag the justice of the war out of the
queition, I am perfvaded thar the: present mea
{ures ate big with ruia 1n cvery light, and cuv,
in the mature of things, be mever attende
success, bur are vain, illusory and chin
and originate from obstinacy, or some .
worse. : :
Lord Talbet. 'The noble Earl who spoke lust,
has - certaiply hit off oné leading featura of the
Americans. « His Lerdibip tells you, that even
in the midd of their zeal for frecdom and Iglle
pendency, . they weie not able to conquer tligir
natural propeufity to fraud and couceals .
He tells you, that to evade the order of
Congress ror supplying th:ir quotas of me: ‘
money, they ' purpoiely concealed 4 .
numbers, Howeve I may dilfer in
Lord in be dedution he has des
tact, T am n .t permitred to doust.
as coming ion a person in wii
and good opinion, they bear
This, with ne, would be thed
imaginable for not trutting to
whenit is ferioundly stated, t
beld by no ties wharever, not e ’
sacred engagements to support: ‘
they deem etiential to their ver |
free people. They have all ale &
ta order and good government, and? ¢ry |
day more and more convinced, thit
will never be breught back te thet and |
the fabordinate relation they stand this
country, till reduced to an unconditioNa
tval submission. Lec them promise to hold Gat
what present convenience or fuiure views of in
dependence may suggest, belicve me, my Lords,
they will.never give up their favourite abjedt,
till they are fully convinced that that object is
unattainable. No concetfion on our part, ng
lenity, nor no enduran.¢ will have any other
effct, but that of increasing their insolence, and
encouraging them daily to rife in their dcm.int
They have been obstinate and angovernab
fromthevery beginning; fromtheirfirft carly and
infant fetrlements in that country. They be
gan to manifelt this {pirit so early as the reign
of Charles the firft. ‘They disputed our right
of fihing on their coasts, in the times of the
commonwealth and protecto ate. Bur wus this
claim to exemption acceded to oh our pait, or
this privilege inseparably connected with sove
reignty, relinquished 7 No, then as now, they
were both treated as presumptuous and ridic'u:
lous. Indeed the principle of 2bfolute uncn%-‘
dition I funremacy, was so fully cﬁahlitw
the reign of Charles the second, that whit by
some people eftablithes a right on our part, of
partial raxation over the province of Penn(ylva
nia, was at the time granted as a favour to Mr,
Penn, who then had a fliong personal iaeceft
with the Sovereign. Penn was a fentible p né
trating man, He kn=w the power to tax exist
ed in the Sovereign; he therefore got the right
transferred to the Parliament, Icft he, or some
of his successors, thould futfer under a tax laid
on it the will and direion of the Sovereign for
the time being. This right was firlt vested in
Purliament, ac the Revolution. It was not to be
sure a full Parliament, buta Convention, which
: P ges T ()
now enjoys. From that time the right has con
tinued clearly in Parliement, ™ the three
branches of the legislature conjunctively : foihat
taking the right of taxing, as derived from the
Sovereign through Pa liament, in the manner
here described, or contidering it as inherently
existing in the whole legislature, as part of its
very efience, the effe® would be the fame; for
{hll it comes to this, that the supreme power re
tains the fovercignty over its feversl fuboidinate
membersy and of course among the other vari
ous powers which it pofiefles, is conftirutionally
entitled to use rhe right of tixation, whenever
the common interest or cxigences of the ftute
make it neceflary. : .
Lord Tomsle. lam much obliged to the no
ble Earl with the white tta, who has thrown
{fo muany ingenious lights on the fubiedt of this
day’s debate, 1 must confefs, for my owa part,
that I find it extrem ‘ly difhcult how to conduct
myfelf on the present occulion. ] would with
to convey my fentimenis fresly, and without
disguise, to your Lordthips, but that many in.
furmsuntable obstacles stand in the way. ~ If [
fuid all I think, perhaps it migh: be artended
with inconvenicncies, which of all things I
would with most sedulously to avoid. IF, on the
other hand, I thould give unconne&-d opinions
upun feversl points now under your Lordships
consideration, perhaps I might be mifurder
ftood. The fubect is rather delieate, and pro
hably whatev.r T muy think or feel upou the
occasion may be better {upp efled, because I have
no doubt but that =very thing which pafles
within these walls, will soon find Its way to the
othes fide of the Adlantic. Were Ito speak
my opinions freely, it is more than probable §
should find many things in the conduct of the
ministry to find fault with ; nor do I look upon
myfelt engaged by any opinion 1 thall throw out
this day, to cxprels the least approbation of their
measures. Neverthelels, at so unportant a crisis
as the present, when the dearélt interefls of this
country is at stake, 1 should think myfelf very
reproachable indesd, if 1 did not at leait stare
my general reasons for giving a negative to the
morion now en your Lordships table. 1 never
entertained a doubt for my own part, that this
country had a supreme legislative authority over
America in every caic in which the interests
and government of the whole empire were ma
terially and cfivntially concerned. Yer I hud
no hand whatever in laying om the stamp-act,
though it was patronized uyarricd as a mea
sure of government by, 1 nedr relation, whose
memory shall be ever dear to me (his brother
Geurge Greaville) 1 had no iaterview, nor was
1 connedted with the next admivitracon, who
repealed that law, us 1 thought it no less than a
furteader of our codtitutional {overcignty over
Ametieu, 1 had no band in [ying on the duties
in 2or im the pariial repeal of them in
& very points which gave immediate
rite to the present troubies. - I took no part in
the violent ealures which have succeeded, nor
of that fatal on -, the worfl of ail, of fending the
| ted to America, and less than all, have I had any
- hand in advising the condo@of the present war,
ITo the contrary, were I tully to speak my miad,
T thould perhaps censure it as totaily wrong. 1
mull, . however, recur to the principle I frit set
t on, which is, that if the {overeignty of this
untry, to every purpose of legal and cquicable
vernment, be not fully and effetually pre
ved, then America is loft, and the nation is'
ne. This country stands, indeed, in a most
Filous situation, ruin and destruction prefeat
themselves on every fide. On this fde Scylla,
o thar Charybdis. If we do not, by the most
kilful mnagement and dexterity, tteer clear of
e rocks and quicksands with which we are far
ounded, thea I do not hesitate to pronounce
| our shipwreck inevitable. This, my Lords, I
o free to declare, is-a task of no common dif
§cuhy. The perils that await us are numerous
sand of the firft impression. The firlt and best
men are divided in opinion, both on principles
of habit and conviction. I hope and truﬂ,_l!hc
King's servants are fully acquainred with their
jewn situation, as well ‘as that of the public.
i‘hnt is the fift flep.to afting right. This is a
eafon that requires much refleflion, littic to be
said, and a great deal to be dove. I hive my
own thoughts on the fubje, butthis is no place
to impart them. -« The firft ealterly wind would
{t certainly waft them to America ; I shall be
refore silent. I with sincerely that admini
ation: would consult among them(elves, and
cull for the opinions es those who unite with
then in festiment. This is not a proper place
to declare those opinions; in short, administra
tion muit be left to determine. ~ They are in
pofleflion of the information neceflary to form a
plan, and decide upon the best mode of carry
ing it into execution. They are acquainted
with the whole detail ; they have lizhts which
we have net; and they oughr to look forward
to all the consequences.. On the whole, 1 am,
and shall ever be, for coercive measures, till A
m -rica acknowledges the legislative authority of
the parent state. When the question of expe
diency arises I shall frezly speak my mind. 2t
present we are not arrived at that period, the
dispute now turus on a struggle for power; as
such I shall be for maimtaining the supremacy
of this legislature ; and as a necelfary fep for
that purpose, fall give to administration my
_confidence and support, and consequently give
my negative to the motion by the noble Duke.
(To be eontinued in our, next.)
PHILADELPHIA.
ln CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
A DECLARATION by the Represen
tatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, In General Congress Assembled
WHEN in the course of human events, it
becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which
the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of man
kind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endow
ed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.---That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed; that whenever any form of go
vernment becomes destructive of these ends, it
is the right of the people to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new government, laying its
foundation on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence indeed will dictate, that governments
long established should not be changed for light
and transient causes; and accordingly all expe
rience hath shewn, that mankind are more dis
posed to suffer, while evils are sufferable; than to
right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing inva
riably the same object, evinces a design to re
duce them under absolute despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such govern
ment, and to provide new guards for their fu
ture security. Such has been the patient suffer
ance of these colonies; and such is now the ne
cessity which constrains them to alter their for
mer systems of government. The history of the
present King of Great-Britain is a history of re
peated injuries and usurpations, all having in
direct object the establishment of an absolute ty
ranny over these states. To prove this, let facts
be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most
wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws
of immediate and pressing importance, unless
suspended in their operation till his assent
should be obtained; and when so suspended, he
has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the ac
commodation of large districts of people, unless
those people would relinquish the right of repre
sentation in the legislature, a right inestimable
to them, and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at
places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from
the depository of their public records, for the
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance
with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses re
peatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his
invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such
dossolutions, to cause others to be elected, where
by the legislative powers, incapable of annihila
tion, have returned to the people at large for
their exercise; the state remaining in the mean
time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions within.
He has endeav oured to prevent the populati
on of these states; for that purpose obstructing
the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refu
sing to pass others to encourage their migrations
hither, and raising the conditions of new appro
priations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of jus
tice, by refusing his assent to laws for establish
ing judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his will al
lone, for the tenure of their offices, and the a
mount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and
sent hither swarms of officers to harrass our peo
ple, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace,
standing armies; without the consent of our le
gislatures.
He has affected to render the military inde
pendent of and superior to the civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to
a jurisdiction foreign to our constitu tion, and un
acknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to
their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops
among us:
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from
punishment for any murders which they should
commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the
world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the bene
fits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried
for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free system of English laws
in a neighbouring province, establishing therein
an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boun
daries, so as to render it at once an example and
fit instrument for introducing the same absolute
rule into these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our
most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally
the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and de
claring themselves invested with power to legis
late for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by de
claring us out of his protection and waging war
against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts,
burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our
people.
He is, at this time, transporting large armies
of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of
death, desolation and tyranny, already begun
with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarce
ly paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and to
tally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken
captive on the high seas to bear arms against
their country, to become the executioners of
their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves
by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst
us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inha
bitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian sa
vages, whose known rule of warfare, is an un
distinguished destruction, of all ages, sexes and
conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have
petitioned for redress, in the most humble terms.
Our repeated petitions have been answered on
ly by repeated injury. A Prince, whose cha
racter is thus marked by every act which may
define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free
people.
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to
our British brethren. We have warned them
from time to time of attempts by their Legisla
ture to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction o-
ver us. We have reminded them of the circum
stances of our emigration and settlement here.
We have appealed to their native justice and
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by
the ties of our common kindred to disavow these
usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt
our connections and correspondence. They too
have been deaf to the voice of justice and of
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce
in the necessity which denounces our separation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind,
enemies in war, in peace, friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in
General COngress assembled, appealing
to the Supreme Judge of the world for the recti
tude of our intentions, do, in the name and
the authority of the good people of these colo
nies, solemnly publish and declare, That these
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be,
FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that
they are absolved from all allegiance to the Bri
tish crown, and that all political connection be
tween them and the state of Great-Britain, is
and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as
Free and Independent States, they have full
power to levy War, conclude peace, contract al
liances, establish commerce and to do all other
acts and things which independent States may
of right do. And for the support of this decla
ration, with a firm reliance on the protection of
divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred ho
nor. Signed by Order and on Behalf
of the Congress,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.
Attest. CHARLES THOMSON, Secty.