The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1781-03-06 00:00:00, page 1

COULD Britain be contented with a fair
trial of the bayonet, or wrest from you all
thatyou hold dear; and wherever victory declares
on her fide, to glut her revenge by decking each
tree with the body of an ina&ive old man, or
could (he satiate the cruelty of herfelf, and her
savage allies with the scalps of women and ten
der innocents, she might have pretentions to a
character amongst the nations of the earth. But
whilst fraud, insincerity, and duplicity of lan
guage and conduct, mar every step of her pro
gress against you, she is as unworthy of your
confidence, as she is of the esteem of the rest of
the world.
The late declaration of her Commiflioners de
serves your most serious attention. You are in
volved in a bloody and extensive war, and she
pretends to hold out the olive branch, and invite
you to peace : If their offers are sincere and rea
sonable, you cannot in conscience neglect them.
This declaration of theirs, proceeds upon the
idea, that you have plunged yourselves into an
unjuftifiable and causeless rebellion—lt behoves
you, therefore, in the firft place, to recoiled and
examine the principles upon which you had re-
course to arms; and, if your grievances were
imaginary, and the war is but the ebullitions of
your own evil hearts (as these royal Commissi
oners seem to suppose) you are guilty of all the
blood which hath been died in tne contest, and
there remains nothing for you but in miserable
repentance to comply with the calls of this pro
clamation, by laying your mouths in the dull,
at the feet of the insidious proclaimers of that
royal mercy, and Sovereign clemency, which you
have so often rejected with deserved indignity
and contempt.
The declaration is addressed “ to all the British
" colonies on the continent of North-America,
" now in rebellion, of every rank, order, and de
" nomination, EXCEPTING ALWAYS,
" such as, who, under the usurped forms of trial,
" have tyrannically and inhumanly been inftru
" mental in executing and putting to death any
"of his Majesty's loyal fubje&s." All the peo
sle5 Ie in North-America, not excluded from par
on by being within the above exception, are in
vited to fend deputies to represent them at the
footftool of a tyrant's throne, and there to receive
pardon for those actions that have proceeded
from public virtue, and been conduced with a
magnanimity that does honor to human nature :
And could we suppose that any considerable
number of you were without the exception, it
would be very humiliating for such persons, af
ter all the many resolutions which they have ta
ken, and the noble efforts they have made, to fall
at the feet of Sir Henry Clinton, and confefs
fhenifelves to be but fit Subjects for an halter.
I will further add, that no reverse of fortune, no
distress or disappointment, can ever induce a
people, conscious of the justice of their cause,
and the integrity of their hearts, thus to debase
themselves in the eye of mankind, and to stamp
eternal infamy on themselves and posterity. And
tehee we may infer, that the Commissioners ei
tner suppose, that you stand convicted in your
own niinds of the most attrocious crimes, or that
you have loft all fenle of honor and reputation.
But is this often neglected pardon offered to
any one besides the few mifereants who have
skulked amongst us throughout the whole con
test, rendering to Britain the feeble aid of their
bafeaefs and temerity ? To determine this, you
To the PEOPLE of AMERICA.
(w^e^ «&^&|B g
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER.
HARTFORD : Printed by HUDSON AND GOODW I N, near The Great BRIDGE.
T U E S D A Y, March 6, 1781.
are to strip the exception of its hard epithets,
leave out the words tyrannically and inhumanly,
and confider whom they mean as within the de
scription of loyal fubjefts, and there will evident
ly be but a very few of you entitled to pardon.
It is to be understood that they will ever hold the
right of determining the conftruaive meaning of
their own loose and intechnichal expressions ; and
when they have charmed you within their de
vouring jaws, they will tell you, that every per
son who hath not (worn allegiance to these states,
or have been active in the cause of America, are
loyal fobjects as to this purpose; and that those
who have been executed for murders, rapes, and
robberies, or for counterfeiting the paper cur r
rency, were very good fubje&s. And now let
us trace the prosecution for murder in one of our
counties, and fee who has been itf rumental in
putting these fubjeAs to death, —and in the firft
place he who complained to a magistrate of usurp
ed authority, of a murder committed by an Irish
or Scotch renegade, is not to be pardoned, be
cause he is primarily instrumental in the execu
ting of a loyal fubje&,—and secondly the coronet
and jurors are excluded, the grand-jury, jury
of trials, and all the officers necessarily attending
the law-courts, are in the dead lift ; and nearly
the fame number of persons must be instrumental
in bringing to condign punishment any person
guilty of the above crimes,—but furthermore, all
those who have a&ed as fele&-men, constables,
or voters in town-meetings for the choice of grand
and petit-jurors, are alike within the exception.
But usurped forms oftrial, are not in the idea
of these commiflioners, confined to the civil or
common law courts : All the courts-martial, and
councils of war, held in the army, are within
the description : And this excludes from pardon,
all the members of coifrt-martials, with their
guards and attendants.—Nay, and every private
must of course be excluded ; for the court-mar
tial that sentenced a defei ter, who had but the
moment before he was apprehended in going
over the enemies lines, felt the return of his
loyalty, was while it fat supported by all the pri
vates in the camp. If this reasoning is not good,
General Washington, although the court-mar
tial fat by his warrant, is not within the excep
tion, for it must be extended to the most remote
inftrurpents, or be confined to the particular
members of the court; if the former is the true
conftrudion, then each individual in the camp,
and all those who were acceffary to their being
in arms, are within the exception, and belong to
the dead lift—if the latter, then General Wash
ington, as he was never a member of a court
martial, is included in the pardon; and wefhould
stand astonished to fee such a glare of virtues, as
that man exhibits, bardoned by a power so vitiate
and abandoned as Britain.
But day ! Yonder at the corner stands a tory,
like the devil in Milton, in tlie odious form of a
toad, whispering in the ear of Eve ; and he tells
those base born few, who can bear his contami
nated breath, that the generosity, and unexam
pled fidelity of Britain, can never stoop so low as
to endeavour the fascinating a whole Continent,
until they are within their jaws, and then to de
vour them : But why does she not speak plainly
and decisively ? Why does she not name those
whom she dooms to death, and plainly tell you to
give up to the ax and halter those who have spent
their healths and fortunes in your defence, and
then fee if the virtue and gratitude of America
can bear the idea of their being lead to public
execution ?
Leave was given, and the bill was accordingly
brought in, and read the firft time.
A petition complaining of an undue election,
occasioned some conversation in the house. It
was moved that this petition Should be considered
in its turn on the 24th of April. The expression
"in its turn," excited the animadversion of Mr.
Rigby. He wiihed to know if it was the idea of
the house, that in consequence of the new mode
of reading election petitions by ballot, such peti
tions wG rt e to be considered by the house in the
fame order in which they were read ? If it was,
he saw many inconveniencies that would arise
from it. A petition from the Orkneys mightcome
to be considered before one from the neighbour
hood of London. Several frivolous petitions
might be presented to the house, in order to re
move a particular case to a diftantday, and there
by keep a person for a year and an half in parli
ament, who perhaps had no legal right to a feat.
Mr. Dunning wished to know where the right
honorable gentleman had got the notion, that it
was the meaning of gentlemen in the house that
election petitions were to be considered in the
order in which they were read.
Mr. Rigby, in reply, repeated the expression
used by the gentleman who had moved, that this
petition should be considered in its turn. An
amendment was proposed, that instead of the
24th of April, the 20th of November should be
inserted, and after some conversation between
Capt. Minchin, Mr. Townsend, Mr. Rigby,
Sir Phillip Jenning Clerk, and Mr. Byng, the
question was put, and this amendment was
agreed to.
Another ele&ion petition was agreed tp be
considered on the 24th of April.
But be not deceived :—Was Britain, as a
power, ever so much disposed to cast an eternal
oblivion over the controversy? Her national debt
is accumulated to such an enormous size, that
all your property is become necessary to the fink
ing of it. -And although she may pardon those
whose baseness and timidity will give her security
against all the resentment, due to the affronts
which will be daily heaped upon them by the
minions of a conqueror; yet all that they can
expetffrom a pardon so basely obtained, is the
prolongation of a miserable and contemptible
life, while they are stripped of all their proper
ty, and reduced to a bare fubfiftance at the will
of their Lords—But those far more happy per
sons, who shall poflefs spirit enough to be likely
to show a proper spirit of resentment at fucn
treatment, will be held dangerous to a system of
slavery, and gibbets, halters and axes will be ap
plied to them, as the most efficacious remedy—
and this can be all done full consistent with the
terms of so insidious a declaration. Fie! O
Britons, fie! Whyis truth, virtue and justice,
banished from your once happy isle?
HOUSE OF LORDS, November if
TH E petition of the Earl of Pomfret was
taken intoconfideration, and it was resolved
that the Earl should be brought to the house to
morrow, to make such couceflions, and give such
security as their Lordflhips should determine.
HOUSE of COMMONS.
The Attorney-General moved for leave to
bring in a bill to extend the provision made by an
add passed in the last parliament, to prevent in
conveniencies that might arise to fheriffs, gaolers
and others, from the number of prisoners appre
hended, who had been set at liberty during the
late riots.
(No. 841.)