The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1778-02-24 00:00:00, page 1

L ONTO N.
HOUSE of LORD S.
Thursday, November 20
AS soon a^ his Majesty had left the
House, the Earl of Harcourt and
-Lord Percy were in-reduced, and took
their feats ; the Lord Chancellor then red
bis Matty's speech, and afterwards the
Clerk of the H tile, Lord Percy then
rose up, and in a very ffiort speech, which
could not be heard below the Bar, moved
for an humble Address to be preferred to
his Majcfy; to return him thanks for his
molt gracious Speech. The Earl of
Chette field, in another Hort speech, fe
tonded his Lordship. After which, Lord
Coventry got up, and . ppofed the moti
on for the Address, and concluded with
recommending to his Majefly's Ministers
to withdraw the troops from America.
Lord Chatham then rose, and entered in
to a series of lamentations on the iniqui
tous conduct of the Ministry, the impoli
cy of he American war, the improper
mode of conducting it, and the dreadful
rifis of public affairs.
The Earl began with complaining that
Parliament were most cavalierly treated
by the Ministry• that instead of the latter's
persuading his Majesty, agreeable to anci
ent cudom, to Jk the advice of the great
council of the nation, when .matters flood
in such a very alarming fitumion, when
the very exigence of the constitution was
At stake, the speech, in the most perempto
ry and dictatorial terms, talked of the line
of conduct to be followed by Govern
ment as a matter already fettled; and only
tifing the words wfciom a\^fot^ort in ad
rheffing the great council of the nation
begged that Parliamentwould make every
giant of troops, money, &c. however in
ofuinate and improper, whichthe Miniver
thought proper to Ak This language,
the Eari orderved, was equally new and
Improper. .It struck him in io reprehen
sible a point of view, that he scrupled not
to fay the Minifer who dared to Advise
the use of it oughtto be called to a molt
Severe account, and he wished to fee the
front of the man who was fufficiently con^
fUcrit to venture to tell the King that his
affairs were iri a hopeful condition. Hav
ing finished his animadversions on the
speech, he drew a rhoft tremendous pic
ture of the t/mes, and dv/efe upon the ne
cessity of mffantly changing the meafmes
of Government, and inliead of pwluing
the war, of taking the most effectual means
of procuring peace and tranquility. In
the Course of bis speech, he took occasion
to be particularly severe on thole who had
confected to the turning the fava^es Joofe
upon the rebels with the tomahawk 2nd
scalping knife, and said it was not only a
fiott inhuman and barbarous mode ofcar
^,in-gon the war, butthat itwa a circum
stance the Americans never would forged
ITUESDAY, Fe^^y 24, fy& t HB NUMB. 6^,
CONNECTICUT COURANT,
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or forgive. He called it difgrAcihg the
Eriuih banner, lowering our nationalcha
raffer as men of courage, polluting the
fame which the success of our arms had
created in all parts of the world, and fa
crificing to a mean revenge the noblest
principles of honour and humanity. "Is
bidding a band of savages ertibrue their
barbarous hands in the blood cf our fel
low lubjedls (added his Lordship) a piece
of conduct confident with the great idea of
the Poet ? Docs it speak
" The pomp, pride, and rircumftance of
glorious war
No, it favours of want of feeling; want of
a neceflary conception of the nature of
juhifiable ambition, and I will venture
to fay, it is not consonant to law.
The hiring of foreign troops the Earl
also reprobated as imp ditic in the highest
degree; and after having laboured to
prove that it would have been more con
stitutional to have railed new levies of
British troops, declaring that he would
fell his shirt of his back to fervehis coun
try in a right cause, but that he would not
give government a Filling m carry bn the
present ruinous and unnatural war ; he
iudicroufly said, Government made so
fbany new connections, and some of therii
were so strange, that it now o- ly remained
for them to enter into a treaty with the
King of trie Gipfie^, in order to Complete
the motly lift of their allies; He describ
ed the Americans as a brake, thinking
people, men every way Superior to the pet
ty, paltry German PiiriceS, who fold th^if
fubjedts as butchers did their meat at the
shambles ; arid to strengthen his argument
for an immediate alteration of measures,
he delcribed America aS rising every day.
in power, and increasing in military
strength, particularly her armies; and by
way of opposition declared, that the mili
tary discipline among our troops across
the Atlantic was fcandaloufty relaxed, and
daily growing worse ; that our military at
home and in Ireland were by no means
equal to the preservation of Greatßitain
in case of an attack from the House of
Oourboil , that our naky at home was so
Mockingly weak and unfit for service, that
no man of credit would undertake the
command of it ; and, in fad, that the king
dom, in consequence of the present ruin
ous war, was altogether in a defencelefs
Rate. Among other proofs of our daily
decreasing in power and advantage, he
instanced, that our channel was daily peL
tered with privateers, which annoyed out
commerce much more than was ever
known in times of foreign war, and added,
that our being fhuc out of Lisbon river
Was not the Imalleft inconvenience we felt.
After having uttered innumerable praises
of America, his Lordship boasted, that as
far as they had refilled for the fake cf free
dom, he would juftify their e^ndufy but
that he was not altogether so entirely of
Opinion with them as to undertake either
to defend or support every thing they have
done ; America, his Lordship declared,
was not to bejuftified in throwing off her
dependency on Great Britain * the m >ther
country had an undoubted right to a su
periority, but then file Should enjoy and
ufeit mutually rr her own interest and
that of her Colonies, and not with a view
to derive great advantage to herfelf, and to
oppress America. The Aft of Navigati
on should be allowed, ahd every pretence
to independency retraced on the one hand,
every desire of unconditional fubmiflion
given up on the other ; this his Lordship
alferted was the only rational idea of ac
commodation that could be adopted ; and
that it was at once honourable, easy, and
promised to be permanent. The present
moment his Lofdfliip pointed out as the
proper point of time to begin attempting
such a mode of accomodation : France,
by her late Declarations of not affiiling
America, fetmed not to be bn the belt
terms with the Congress, and probably the
secret reason was, that fometreaty was 01
the carpet between her and the Congrels-
Deputies, the terms of whi h she meant to
terrify the latter into a compliance with,
by appearing to be in barheft in her pro
feffions to the Court of Great Britain ;
that we ought to talie advantage of thi.>
flu&uatioh of affairs, and while there was
an apparent coolness between France and
America, to fettle matters with the ,latter;
arid restore our own deftraHed affairs to
such order as was absolutely necessary for
the fafety of theempire. As a firft step
towards effecting what His Lordship ad
vised, he moved an amendment to the Ad
dress proposed to be presented ; which
amendment was as follows:
" That this House does most humbif
ridvife arid lupplicate his Majesty to be
pleased to cause the most speedy and ef
fedual measures to be takbri for refforing
peace in America ; and thar no time may
be loft in proposing an immediate cessati
on of hoftilitics there, in order to the 6-
penirig a treaty for the final fetitement of
the tranquility of hose invaluable pro
vinces, by a retrieval of the unhappy cau
ses of this ruinous civil war; and by a just
and adequate security against the return of
the like calamities in time to come., And
this Horife desire to offer the most dutiful
assurance to his Majeffy, that they will;iri
due time chearfully co operate with the
magnanimity and tender goodnels of his
Majesty, for the preservation of his people
by luchexplicit and most foiemn declara
tions and provihons of fundamental and
irrevocable laws, as may be judged need
fary for ascertaining and fixing, for ever.;
therelprf&ve rights of Great-Britam arA
Her Colonies?"