The New-Jersey journal — Chatham, N.J., 1783-03-26 00:00:00, page 2

t'rcum^ancqs marries atoWn rake not worth a groat;
if the is betrayed into it, let it be Called accidental
death: butif Ine knew it, make it felony and singe
her in the fift. When a man with no children mar
ries a woman with five or fix, and vice werfa, let the
delinquent Hand thrice on the pillory, Irie both his
ears, and (offer one year's imprisonment. If a man
maties a womsn of ill fame, knowing her to be so,
let him be condemned to have a pair of horns paint
ed on his door, in perpetuam rei memoriam ; or if (he
be a known scold, then a couple of neats tongues
painted there. And when a man or woman mar
ries to the disinheriting of their children let them
fuffer as in cases of high treason. When a woman
marries a man deeply in debt, knowing him to be so,
let her be sent to the house of correction, and kept to
ha d labour for three months ; and if he deceived her,
and did not let her know his circumflances let her be
acquitted, and he be doomed to beat hemp all the
days of his life.
These and such like penalties, might prevent ma
ny unhappy marriages, and the ruin of families. If
an ad of this nature was now in force, it would be
of infinite advantage to the community at large, and
would be pieafmg to every
Friend to good Order.
'L 0 N D O N, December fa
Friday !al was tried in the court of common pleas,
lord Lacghborough prefixing, the suits between di
vers French seamen and Captain Davis of the John,
lately arrived fcm Jamaica.
It was proved, that the Captain, desirous to com
plete bis crew, went to the place where the French
prisoners were confined, and offered them equal wa
ges with English seamen, if they would go with him,
and proofed further to get them dismissed for
France, upon arriving at London. They agreed;
but on the, arrival he refufed to pay them, and de
livered them to the office for prisoners of war ; fay
ing, that as they were French prisoners they were
not i&tled to wages. 2 .
UpTnihis unrighteous refufal, Mr. Evans, a law
yer, who during the war has rescued divers prisoners
of war from oppression, procued a passport forth
with for these men, and whilst the suit defended, ad
vanced each ten guineas, to carry them to France.
The trial failed four hours, and ended in finding
the Captain liable to pay to each of these prisoners
thi-ty guineas, being the middle price at which the
Engbfh sailors were engaged by the run.
The judge cautioned the jury against considering
i too briefly, the circumflances in which the plaintiffs
flood as enemies He said they were to be looked
on as men who had worked for the Captain, and as
such they had a right to the wages agreed for.
Dec. 7. Yeflerday some frefh dispatches were
brought to Mr. Townfhend's office from Mr. Fitz
he bert at Paris, which, it is said, gave great fatis
faftion to his majesty.
Dec 9. Mr. Bake in his comment on the king's
speech on Friday, fad, that making his majesty fall
on his knees, to deprecate the evils that might follow
the recognition or the independence of America
was not only imputing the whole blame and re^o^
Ability of the meafurc to parliament, but an indecent
mockery of all religion and morality. With regard
, the „ laft ! v °rds of the speech, « and I call for
them," he said, so arrogant an infT t had not been
put on that house since the days of king Charles
when that monarch prefumptuoufly entered the doors'
and threw himfelf into the speaker's chair, to look
for the five members.
The parliament was by the constitution, rendered
the fopermtendant control of ministers, but the
king's speech being evidently the speech of the mini
ite-, the latter Mr. Burke declared, had totally fre
verfed the order of the state, and talked td parliament
as an inferior.
.When the provifionary articles were signed at Pa
ris, between England and America, the whole bufi
ws " anfa a e d at Franklin's hotel ; none but
so, 0 "'" '' Great B '" ain and Ame " ca be ~
D ec . ^ The nth Mr. Burke, in the house of
^ mm ^ c^d for some explanation of the port
L I SB O N, November 10.
The court has published an edia, to acknowledge
the flag of the United Stages of America, and to give
free entrance into his port of their vessels.
Two thips from America laden with corn, are ar
rived here and have been received with all possible
civility. They had touched at Cadiz, but have
found a much better ma^ku here.
ficnal articles of peace, and efp&riaVy that of the in
dependence of America : " these is" said he, " three
opinions abroad on the great and important fubjeet.
I pretend not to decide for one more than another.
The firft opinion, is, that the independence of Ame
rica, in any case or upon any consideration, is a real
evil to (he nation. The second opinion, this inde
pendence ought not to be conceded without an equi
valent, of one kind or otner, as the price of peace.
The third opinion; that independence ought to be
granted without any consideration whatever ; in or
der that the acknowledgment of it, op the part of
England, be free and unbounded. I, as well as Mr.
Fox am of this last opinion. There is no one in the
house who doth not fee, that for five years paU it was
out of our power to oppose the independence of A
merica; and before we proceed to vote the subsidies
which are alked, I wi(h to know which of these o
pinions the provisional articles accord with.
Mr, Pitt role and allured the house, that he con
fid^red the provifior al treaty as a total and irrevo
cable giving op of their dependence on the mother
country, absolutely and uorefervedTy ; but that in
freaking this, he only offered the didates of his
own breast.
Upon this Mr. Sheridan got up, and said, that the
duke of Richmond had held to him a quite different
language, and had authorifed him to tell the house
of commons, “ That the independence of America
depended still upon the success of the treaties n w
on the carpet n ith the o her belligerent powers, and
that we shall notwithstanding, find ourselves, if this
negociation fail, in the fame circumffances, as to A
raerica, as when we began this bufirefs."
Gen. Conway replied to Mr. Sheridan as follows:
" Though I have the honour to he of his Majefy's
ministry, Ido not think myfelf responsible for the o
pinion of every member of the council, upon any
point approved by all in general. The basis of the
treaty, as I understand it, is the absolute unlimited
independence of America. Whatever may be built
on this foundation, whatever materials be made use
of, whatever plan of policy may take place, this will
ever be, I repeat it, the basis of the treaty.
I have condantly adhered to this ; I shall perfifi; in
my opinion, I do not think, that I need any fubter
fuge or equivocation for to explain my condud."
Mr. Fox, Mr. Buike, commodore Johnftone,
and Mr Courtney (poke very humouroufly, and per
haps but too truly, of the division which prevailed
among the members of the cabinet. They agreed
that the present administration was a phenominon
and like the fyßem of the universe, was composed
Of dHcofcTant particles, out of which unanimity was
produced 2nd they concluded with praying the Al
mighty, that this heterogenous mixture might be
enabled to refeue the nation from all the evils with
which the was threatened.
The house then went into a committee of ways
and means. Captain Butt, bfthe navy, moved for
a vote of^ 10,000 seamen. He obferv6d, that last
year the house granted 100,000, and that our navy
was vastly mcreafed since. This was carried, but
not without violent opposition, which Mr. Pict com
bated with the necessity of (hewing our enemies, at
the eve of peace, an high idea of the forces and re
sources of Eng and, in order to obtain an honourable
and lading peace
Stocks have not kept up to the height to which
they rose on the firft rumours of peace. These are
the recons given for the decline : First. The fall of
lord Sheiburne, beca^fe he rolled upon parliament,
and after wards upon the king, the^ acknowledgment
of the independence of America. Second. The news
from India, wh.ch is so bad, we are assured, that no
thing could be worse ; The little army under fir Eyre
Coote, having been comp'eatly Burgoynifed, and
M. D. Suff ein having received at Colombo, a 'rein
forcemeat of five (hips of the line, which left France
last February. Third. The failing of the Brest fleet,.
with 10 oco troops. Fourth. Orders sent to Ports
mouth to hasten the equipment of io fail of the riae,
to overbalance the formidable force which France at
this moment exhibits.
December, if. Wehear from good authority, that
government yeflerdav sent a message to the chairman
and directors of the East India company, Rating the
demands of the French court, and the cessions which
they require from us in that quarter of the world.
Ministers, therefore, call for the advice of the court
of directors on this fubje&, previous to the fio^l set
tlement of the preliminaries of a treaty for peace.
The places required to be ceded, are Pondichery,'
Mahie, and theother settlements which we have taken
from the French in the east.
It was declared yeflerday, that government only
waited for the concurrance of the Bast India compa
ny, to givG their final consent to the preliminaries of
a treaty for a general peace; and it is fx^ed that
this day the whole will be fettled : in wb;ch case rhe
provisional agreement with America will be laid on
the table of bo'h hotife^ on Friday next.
The loss England has futtained this year in seamen
both by war and the late tempest, amounts to goro,
including the crews of the Ru,J George and Vide
de Paris.♦
Dec. ft. On Saturday morning Captain Ingle
field, late of the Centaur, arrived in town, and
waited upon the B aid of Admiralty, with further
particular o , refpet,g the loss of that ffiip, and the
distresses they underwent before they arrived at Fy
al. It appears, thata tolerable supply of provisi
ons and water was put into the long boat with the
part of the crew which took to her; but on her
Suddenly going down, the launch into which Lapt,
Inglefield, with ten of the men, and a boy, had em
barked, was left wi h no other fubiiftehce than a
few bifeuits, a small piece of perk, and part of a
hock of bacon, with two quart bottles of water ;
and on this little fore of food they existed for six
teen days. They alternately relieved each other at
rowing till their strength, for want of nouriihmect,
was so exhausted tha< they were reduced to depend
solely on the blanket fail which they had hoitied.
When Captain Inglefield firft took to the boat he
was uncertain which way any land lay, but deter
mined providentially on the ri. ht course. On their
approach within a'few leagues of Fyal, they fell in
with a filhing wherry, which took themin tow, and
carried them into port: On their arrival at Fyal
they were not able to Hand, and were carried 011
shore on the shoulders of some of the hofpitabk in
habitants whole treatment of them was friendly and
humane in the highest degree.
Among other officers who peri fed when the
Centaur went down, was Captain George Augustus
Keppel, nephew to Lord Keppel. He was made
Post by Lerd Rodney during his command on that
Ration, was a very promising officer, and was co
ming to England for the benefit of his health.
'Jan. 4. Orders are issued for the ir.,mediate e
quipment of a ship of war, to proceed directly, as
soon as the final a^uftment of the Powers at War,
refpe&ing the pending, negociation shall have taken
place. General Grey is to fail in this vessel to suc
ceed General Sir Guy Carleton in the Chief Com
mand, in America, who returns home at his own
request.
Gibraltar, on its firft being taken, was cenfidered
as a valuable acquisition to Great Britain, inso
much as it afforded us an harbour to protea the
Levant trade, as well as to careen our ships, &c.
and in this light it was spoken of, by the politici
ans of that time, in the higbeft terms. Bat such
is the inconsistency of all worldly things, that poli
tics, like fashions, have their day, for what from,
extending our East and Weft India trade since that
period, and^being cndrrfold in the Levant trade,
we have almost totally loft the latter, so that thean
nual expences of keeping Gibraltar being estima
ted at half a million of money, ard the balance of
the Levant trade being next to nothing, to speak
the language of mere matter of account, we are so
much Infers by retaining this garrison.
1 here is, however, some allowance to be made
for national honour, as well as the immehfe fams
this place has, cost the Spaniards aimed in every
war we were engaged with them, and perhaps in
this principle we may be said, whilst we keep it, to
gain in proportion as hey expend; besides it con
fines their strength to a foot hitherto found impreg
nable ; whereas thev may otherwise detach their
fleets and armies to rhe East or Well Indite, where
they may do us more confider^l le injuries But,
in answer to this, it might be laid, if Spain should
get Gibraltar, whether it would rot. in a great de
gree, break the union between the Houses of Bour
bon, (which the French are said to dread in the pre
sent pacification) and attach them to our interest;
or, at worst, keep them neutral in all Mature wars
with France One of these is far from being im
probable; therefore, upon the whole, considering
tirat it is not for our commerce! interest to keep
Gioraltar, and that it may be for our political inte
rest to give it, up, provided we get a valuable ex
change, the latter advice may not be impolitic, par
ticulaily when it is considered, that in making a
peace Something muR be always gi en up, and that
the prejudices of long pofli ffion, and former utility
Ihould be ceded.
GLOUCESTER, December §.
We have seen within these few days, a considera
ble order for goods to lupply the American marker,
from some merchants in France, addrdlbd W a me
nufadurer in this neighbourhood.