The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-03-09 00:00:00, page 1

The PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POST.
For the PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POS T.
Subfance of a CONVERSATION between the PRIME
'MINISTER and his FRIEND.
L"^ ™W JHY, my Lord, fend Commissioners? Has all
the Spirit °' ^ e nation fled? We have been
VV always unfucceEful at the beginning of a war,
'' but remember we have ever triumphed at the
close of it, It will be an eternal Lain upon our arms to give
up so tamely.„
P. M. Sir, you perhaps are not fully acquainted with our
designs, and therefore conclude as you do. I shall give cer
tain reasons, which make it _n.ot only expedient, but abso
lutely necessary, to terminate the quarrel immediately, if we
can but bring his Majesty to consent to it. The non-importa
tion, which preceded the war, obliged us to spend much of
the money in our funds, to keep the manufacturing towns
quiet ; our resources, already too scanty, have fuffered a
dreadful shock by the decline of trade; and to add to this,
we must give extraordinary bounties, or we cannot raise a
man. We contend not with France remember, and there
fore the popular voice, if not against us, is certainly not
much in our favour; our credit is very low on this and every
other account, and therefore it is very difficult to borrow such
sums as we want. Twenty thousand men in America will
cost us as much to support them as an hundred thousand in
Germany. We cannot get one month's provision for them
on the whole continent. They must be supplied from hence.
Confider the vast expence of transports and feamens wages,
which are added to the original cost of the provisions. We
must not only visual our troops for five months at least before
they can get fairly to the scene of action, but we must visual
the ship that carries them for a fix months voyage besides, and
what is still worse, we must feed every ounce of frefli provi
sions they are to eat for three months, and then deliver it to
them in a condition little better than that of carrion. When
we work at the cheapest rate, we must do thus much; but if
we are obliged to apply to foreign powers for troops, confider
how this must swell the bill. First, a very large and uncom
mon subsidy to the Prince who fells us so many troops; for
he will affect to confider them as fold, and take advantage of
our necessities. Secondly, the pay, victualling, and trans
porting of these troops, until they are ready to fail for Ame
rica, which alone will exceed their regular wages for a twelve
month, and then the expences of transportation to America,
and every other expence attendant thereon, which will rife to
an enormous sum. Add to all this, that the fleet which takes
them to America must be kept in constant pay and employ, to
carry them provisions. All this of extraordinaries, at a time
when near one half of the resources of the nation are cut off,
and there is not an Hollander to be found, who will lend us
a farthing?
F. I did not fully attend to these matters, I confefs, my
Lord, when I asked you the question. There may be fufficient
cause for a negociation, I plainly perceive; but what terms
do you intend to offer?
P. M. The Commissioners inftrudions will be partly dis
cretionary. They are to make the best bargain they can, but
. Vol. ll.]
Price only Two Coffers. Published every Tuejday, Tburfday, and Saturday Evenings.
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1776.
121
net exceed what the CongreL petitioned for. I have hopes
they will be content with less.
F. You mean not to indemnify them for what they have
fuffered by restoring them to the condition they were in before
the year 1763?
P. M. By no means. A repeal of the ads is all we mean
by it.
F. Should they demand security against future encroach
ments, what will you do in that case, my Lord?
P. M. Why grant them all they can. ask. They will re
quire an ad of Parliament to be passed whereby we give up
the right to tax them for ever, or they will demand a charter
of privileges expressing what they adually possessed in the
year 1763. As to the aft of Parliament, they cannot infill
on it, as this would be more than they then had a right to;
but if they should, ads of Parliament are not more perma
nent than other contrasts on paper. The King will never
want a Minister who will have influence enough to obtain the
repeal of any aft whatever. Our constitution is so happily
framed, that we can change its very essence at pleasure, and
yet ad agreeable to its bed effentiai principle. Where then
is the necefiity of scrupling them an ad of Parliament, such
as they may choose ? And his Majesty will manage charters.
F. Very true, my Lord, but you do not intend to renew
the attack?
P. M. Not if possible. Had we not entertained too mean
an opinion of their abilities, we needed not have been
brought to the present difficulty. We now fee our error, and
if we can but retrieve it, all will go well.
F. How so, my Lord, I don't comprehend you ?
P. M. Had we sent one million over to our several Gover
nors, it would have done more than ten millions will effed in
the way we are going. If oui intelligence had been good,
but we need not refled on it, I believe they were as much
deceived themselves as they deceived us ; we might have had
1000 men in each Colony to enforce the ad before it arrived,
and then we would have succeeded. Hereafter we will ad more
wifely. Let us but calm the present tumult, and get the
arms out of their hands.once more, and I'll take care that
they never take them up again. They must give up all the
forts into his Majesty's hands ; for as long as they acknow
ledge him for their King, they cannot deny him this right. It
is part of his prerogative as King, Generalissimo and Chief
Executor of the lav.^ These, pr< pegly garrifonei before we
renew our attempts, will effectually prevent every opposition.
They will crulh their public meetings in the birth. Had we
done this all would now have been fafe. They can never ad
legally against us, for the King's representative will never
give his landion to their proceedings ; besides he will have
the command of the military, and can call them out as soon
as they attempt to ad without his concurrence. A year ago
the Provincials had not a tingle regiment to depend on, they
now have fifty thousand men. We must disarm them by a
treaty of some kind or other. The more we seem to grant
them now, the surer we have them hereafter. Let them re
turn to the year 1763 ; nay, they shall have more if they ask it.
This present military fpiiit must be cooled ; let us lull them
[Num. 177.