The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1779-05-04 00:00:00, page 2

tor comfr ^cf : his exception btcaotel arm t bed^
^ b" it, thank G?d I bare plenty of birus.
The unincLfed lands in etc old towns wdig^u
fart ofthem bst&vd higher than.feme that are in
Jcfed;^4 higher than ?h^ fwr/wHbhe.if i^
All mercy a man is po&tf/d 6 f the ^oth of August,
mure than 50 i to beat 6 per cent. Iha man who
tath no family aA a lift ofc 401 may have §O,l.
jupfofe for expenses, why shall one with a lid of
jcal. and fifteen or twenty in a family not have
fences ? This taxis so easily evaded that none but the
very corfcientlous will pay it, their number Ib&
fcv'e will net be ve;y great. Ah flock in tradb
that niercbants arc poffelted of, and all. debts on in
ureft art to be set at 6 per cent. -All his clear an
nual rain is to be set in full ; and by a law not long
fisct made all goods imported for retail are set at 10
per cent. Navigation, ever since my memory, lay
coder a very heavy'tax, whether the accumulating
load is yet com pleat is uncertain. The merchant
end trader is taxed in, every joint in his. body, and
every button on his cpa. The tax is as universal
as the curse recorded in the life and opinions of
Tritan Sfandy : It requires not a spirit of prophe;
cy to foretell it never will be paid.
Let us compare these things with your lands :
flow land at JO s. per acre --It must be poor if it
will not y eld twenty bushels of Indian corn ; at the
ioweft rate seven buffiels will be yours which in
good times will fetch 21 s. Here you are not set in
your lift at half your annual profits. Pasture land
10 called, is much lower, viz. 8 s. per acre^ it must
be very poor land that is not worth that, and how
much of your land under that denomination will
yield you a ton of hay per acre clear of all charges
which is worth five times so much as the land is set
at. But lands are worth more than they will rent
for or clear at 6 per cent. They never become bank
rupt, nor are they ever counterfeit or prescribed as
continental and state bills fometiraes are, and might
therefore bear a higher tax. Lands were ever look
ed upon to be worth as much as they wou'd answer
at four per cent, consequently ought to pay a high
tax; but they have a powerful patronage and the
merchant hath none. How unjust, how unrighteous
is the mode of taxation above described!
I prefeme by the word money is meant continental
bills, supposing Qutnot granting) that land is worth
no more than it will pay interest for at 6 per cent.
Twelve acres of land stands against 100 1. in bills ;
this twelve acres will yield clear to the owner 84
bushels Indian corn, which fetches 60 s. per bushel,
amounting to 2521. forty times as much as 6 pounds
---Did the gentlemen mean to make all this odds, or
Was it inattention ? Indeed, when one set of mea
undertake to make laws for others, it is commonly 4
so. When the British parliament undertook to make
laws for us, they attended wholly to their own in
terest, and their proceedings were marked with fe
verity and arbitrary measures. If a poor trader
doth not upon a run of ill luck difeover all his na
kednefs for the lifters to difeant upon, he is in dan
ger of being assessed unmercifully ; which hath to
my knowledge been the case, when a very minute
account was given. An affefment was made of fe
vcral hundred pounds upon the score of goods on
hand that had risen in value, when in fad they had
not The nominal sum was inpreafed by the dis
count on the bills, but from other occurrences the
fame ePate was joool. left in real value than before.
This mode of taxing the merchants by things cf
nominal valu& is taxing them exccffively, and un
taxing the lands. If the nominal profit, of a mer
chant ffiall be taxed; why not of all others. The
landed eftate# with their flock are increased in the
nominal value at least ten for one, and considerably
in' their real value ; the merchants has decreaf^d ;
yet the landed i^tcell are not taxed one penny
more. Your oxen are increased at least too l.a pair
.--Why do you not make a law that all this shall be
put into the lift ^ I believe you will not be very
hasty in doing this. The late mode of proceeding
has reduced your taxes to little or nothing, whilst
the merchants amounts to a coitfifcation. Taxing
continental and date bills and Securities in their de
preciating Rate is impolitic and cruel. It would fill
a volume to enter fully into the matter; but a cur
sory view will convince every man that the mer
chants are taxed to excels while the owners of lands
aie scarcely taxed at all. This is not the design of
government, which is the security of a man's person
and property, and that equal juflicc may be done.
Many thousands of acres of land yield a ton of
hay per acre, and pay all charge ; the present price
of hay is 40 1. per ton so that the land that Bands
a aintt 100 I. in bills will yield 600 1. worth of hay,
which is an hundred fold.
A. B.
z^Q WELVE o= Fourteen Hundred Weight of
9 GOOD TOBACCO; to be Sold.
Enquiry of the P 3INT^ 8 £
An Quditfoo Again# leveral 01 the princ pel
ports if America next fp&ifls certainly in'endea to,
be carried into execution as* early as these ifon wwt
pertui. % Bo on and ChirStfowq aSouth Carolina.,
will have the 6rft visits, au& at^ to be nu%d ^Q
(uch vigor as leave no doubt offuccefs.
The ensuing campaign in America, at the fame
time that it will be the most vigorous on the put of
government will probably bt'he last, for two rto
fobs : If any thing material is done it may open a
faccefsful negotiation; if the contrary, adminiflra
tion, it is said, are determined to teyfre no mor^
troops in that quarter.
Jan. 1% Yesterday in the afternoon two gentle
men, natives of America, arrived at the hotel, Ger
main Greet, St. James's, from France where they
landed a few daye ago from America, and are re
ported to be charged with commissions of great im
portance to negociate with government.
Lord Sandwich and Sir Hugh Pallifaj are to re
sign immediately after the trial of Admiral Keppel ;
and the BaiLof Caßifle is to faceted Lord Sandwich,
and Governor fchnftonc ^rr Hugh Pallifer.
Jan. 21. Some private advices being received
from Sir Joseph York at the Hague, that the French
Minifiry have in view feme interefling manoeuvre to
be executed by the Brest fleet. Orders were yefter
day feat to the sea ports for a number of men of war
to proceed immediately to Plymouth found, and
there wait for further inftre&ions.
A Cartel for theexchange of Prisoners with Frafe
is at length fettled, and vessels are taken up to bring
them over.
Feb. 4 to 6. Count Almodover, it is most posi
tively affirmed, is at this very moment in actual po£
session of difpatchea from the Court of Spain, advis
ing his excellency of t>c depofiag cf his Catholic
Majesty in favour of his son, but that no disturbance
had rftfen to the state on that oepafion.
The above mentioned most extraordinary event is
said to have been brought about through the intrigue
of the stench faaiow, at Madrid, in order to intro
duce into power, a set of ministers who had previ
ously engaged to take an a&ive part with France
against their envied foe of Great-Bitain.
The court of France have actually presented a me
morial to the States General, complaining of their
condefeention, as they are pleased to term their late
condu& towards Great Britain^ refpe&ing her late
capture of several of their merchantmen, and peremp
torily infixing that the Dutch hull either oblige the
English tofuffer them to trade to America freely and
openly or declare f 1 war immediately, either in fa
vour c f France or Britain.
Their High Mightiness cf Holland are said to
have taken great disgust at the insolence of the French
memorial lately prefaced thro' their ambassador at
the Ha^ue. in consequence of which several confer
ences have been held with Sir Joseph York, highly
favourable to the views of Great Britain.
It is reported, that the Spanish ambassador, pur
suant to inftruai^ns from hr Court, is taking 411
proper heps to brin^ about a reconciliation between
the French and Bcifh Coi\rt, and that he has jvft
laid a plan before theMiniftry for that purpose, which
is now under confederation,
This morning advice was received from Cork,
that a large American priva eer is taken and sent into
that place, said to be the General Sullivan, which
took the Weymouth Packet.
It is reported that 33 fail of the line and a fleet of
franfports now lie in B:eft water; that 14 fail of
the line, betides a number of frigates, are injhe 1 ar
bour ; and that Spain is to join France in the month
of April, with 2^ fail of the line.
Admiral Keppel is to resign as soon as his tryal is
over, and, it is said, is to be succeeded by Lord
Howe as commander in chief of ;he fleet now ready
for sea.
ft is now certain that Gen, Clinton has chaired to
be recalled, The command in chief in America,
has, it is said, been cffeied toS r Guy Carlton, who
has refufed it, and it is generally thought General
Murray will be appointed.
Feb. 8. The grand fleet which is to rendezvous
at Spithead the middle of March, will confiftof two
firft rates, four second rates, twelve third rates, nine
fifth rates, fix frigates, four bgmb tenders, and two
fire ships, besides fix cutters to attend the firft and
second rates. Thee are to'be three Admirals and
one Commodore ; and it is further, said, that some
gentlemen who have not yet had any p^ncipal com
mand in the present disturbances, will have appoint
ments in the above fleet.
As soon as Admiral Keppel's trial is over a mo
tion will be made in the'Hbufe of Commons to expel
Sir Hugh Palhfir from his feat in that house.
F<fh inflru& ons have been sent to all the com
manders on different Rations, to make prizes cf all
fhips'of what nation soever, that il^U be found tra
ding with the Amm^m,,
Extract from f.veral lexers of good authorities in,
different parts ofFanc^
Qteetybei 2.£, 17^.
s< ^N addition ,0 the fanadwn of M. de Fabry,
£ which copies , in the Mediterranean and inter
rupts the British Levant trade, a great number of
privateers from Bayonne, of twenty t o thirty guns,
have taken the . Game Nation, &nd glo^dy made many,
rich prizes^
" The J/rfe, and Guernsey privateers dare r.ob
now leave their ports with the fame confidence they,
did, a# our frigates n<rr keep so good a lock out in,
toleaye the ffiip to the second in command, and
half an hour afterwards the frigate took advantage of
thenight and disappeared. The other ship fought
an hour longer, and then crowded all fail, hid all
her lights, and run away, M. de Rocon, who now
commanded the Triton, pursued, but i 1 a heavy
gale of wind and>ain, loft fight of heri She is sup
posed to be the Caberus, a new feyenty-four gun
@p, built at Portsmouth.
" M. de la Motte Piquet, Commander of the St,
Esprit and two other King's ships, had returned to
Brest with ten prizes, one of which had on board an
Enghfh regiment. Among those prizes were two
colliers, which the Masters endeavour'd to ransom,
but on examining their cargoes, eighty eight pieces
of heavy artillery were found among the coals.
“ They write from Bayonne, that M. de Monta'
zay, Captain of the Vengeance (a privateer of twen
ty fix guns; fitted out from Bevrdeaux on account of
the United S ates) met an En,;h{h frigate of thirty
fixgans, and bore down upon her with intrepidity
to engage. Twice they attempted to board, but
were yigorft fly repulsed ; the third time they suc
ceeded sword and pistol in hand. Some fay she is
die Palhs of thirty fix, others call her the Pelican cf
twenty eight guns. She was carried into Lifben,
and put under the care of the Belle Poule, who is to
condna her to Brest.
" The forty-five croizers, which our Royal Ma
rine has taken up, will soon be equiped for fp. The
Captains are all officers cf the Merchant Marine, and
are employed with the title of Auxiliary Officers,"
APRIL 17./,
Extrafl of a letter from General Lincoln, dated
Punfargb, March 7th, 1779.
" After the enemy left Augufla, General
W^fe seas.
' M. de la Fo^chtrevilfe, Captain of th, Nep
tune, of eighty guns, is returned into Br.efi from ^
cruize. He was a long time chaced by seven Ea
gliffi Grips, and brought in with him a privateer 02
thirty guns, a brig often retaken, end a Rench ves
sel valued at f^vec or eight hundred thcu sand livres.
" The frigate Ie Belle Poule, has returned ir®
port With five prizes, of which three are privates]
and two merchantmen.
The Count d'Emblimon, Captain of the Revenge,
has also brought in five privateers and three mer
thantr^en. The 13th of October he met the Briti^
fh'p of war the Berwick, of feyenty four guns, an 1
gave chace in company with the Belle Poule. With
out being able to bring her to a&ion. The E 1 hfh,
crouded all their fails', and threw overboard every
thin^to lighten tiie ffiip.
" The Zephyr frigate of twenty-fix guns, bus
sent into Brest a prize of twenty two gtins and 150.
men, which flruck after engaging an hour. A few
days after this frigate came into port with another
privateer of twenty four guns.
" La D^daigneufe of twenty eight guns, has alfa
returned with two English armed vessels, qud the
Aflivc frigate of twenty eight guns,
" The 20th O&ober at noon, M. Ie C. de Ligou
dez Captain of the Triton of sixty four guns, difeo
vered two English ships, on which h^ lay to and pre-,
paired for a&ion, which began at close shot, and as
it war lace in the evening he could net count the
guns of the enemy, but difeovered her fu^erior force
only by the file of her balls. As soon as they be
gan to engage a frigate of thirty guns threw herfrif
aczofs her bow. M de Ligoudez countetaaed their
designs, and the engagement continued within piflcl
shot. After an hour and a half's contest. Ie C. de
Ligoudtz had the thum of his right hand shot cff,
and received a ball in his left arm. He was obliged
Afoe, who was stationed on the oppoftte fide of
the river, was ordered to croft and take post at
or near Brier Creek lower bridge, as thereby he
would caver the upper part of the country, ard
as this was considered one of the strongest pefs
therein, his left being secured by a deep swamp
and the Savannah, has front by the creek, which
at this place is unfordible, and about six
ty yards wide; be/ides, had a 'party of about two
hundt ed horse to cgver his right and rear.