The Pennsylvania gazette — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-03-13 00:00:00, page 2

Mefeurs HALL and SELLERS.
O™ll O' the Committee of Infpedion cannot be accu-
I fed of entire inattention to the public fafety, in the
late villainous attempt made to injure us by a sett of mo
nopolists, I cannot think the fore has yet been probed to
the bottom. A gentleman, some time since from Great-
Britain, informed me, that on a like occasion the regrated
commodities were forcibly taken from the monopolizers,
and put into the hands of gentlemen of character, who
fold them at a reafonahle price to all men alike, and re
turned the money to the owners; and by that means that
abominable practice has never since existed in that part of
the country, the people being resolute to recur to the re
medy as often as the disease appears.
Resist beginnings, late is ph,Jie us'd,
When by delays the ills are deep infus'd.
Luke, the Physician.
A M E Rl C A N SI
nEMEMBE R ^ Stamp-Ad, by which immense
Sums were to b^yearfy extorted from you.
Remember the Declaratory Ad, by which d Power
was Burned of binding you in all Cases whatsoever,
without your Consent.
Remember the broken Promise of the Miniftry,* never
again to attempt a Tax on America.
Remember the Duty A&.
Remember the Maflhcre at Boftong by British Soldiers.
Remember the Ru n of that once flourdhing City, by
their Means.
Remember the Massacre at Lexington.
If member the Burning of Charleftown.
Remember General Gage's infamous Breach of Faith
with the People of Boston.
Remember the Cannonading, Bombarding and Burning
or Falmouth.
Remember the Shrieks and Cries of the Women and
Children.
Remember the Cannonading of Stonington and Brifol.
\ Remember the Burning of Jamestown, Rhode-Ifland.
Remember the frequent Insults of Newport.
Remember the broken Charters.
Remember the Cannonade of Hampton.
Remember the Act for screening and encouraging your
Murderers.
Remember the Connona'de of New-York.
Remember the Altering your established Jury Laws.
Remember the Hiring Foreign Troops against you.
Remember the Rejecting of Lord Chatham's, Mr.
Hartley's and Mr. Burke's Plans of Conciliation.
Remember the Rejecting of all your numerous humble
Petitions.
Remember the Contempt with which they spoke of you
in both Houses.
Remember the cowardly Endeavour to prevent Foreign
Nations supplying you with Arms and Ammunition,
when they themselves knew they intended coming to cut
your Throats.
Remember their hiring Savages to murder your Farm
ers With their Families.
Remember the Bribing Negroe Slaves to assassinate
their Matters.
Remember the Burning of Norfolk.f
Remember their obliging you to pay treble Duties,
when you came to trade with the Countries you had
helped them to conquer.^
Remember their depriving you of all Share in the Fish
eries you had equally with them spent your Blood and
Treasure to acquire.
Remember their old Reftridions on your woollen Ma
nufadures, your Hat-making, your Iron and Steel Forges
and Furnaces.
Remember their Arbitrary Admiralty Courts.
Remember the inhuman Treatment of the brave Col.
Alien, and the Irons he was lent in to England.
Remember the long habitual base Venality of British
Parliaments..
Remember the corrupt, putrified State of that Nation,
and the virtuous, found, healthy State of your own young
Conhitution.
Remember the Tyranny of Mezentius, who bound liv
ing Men Face to F fr ce with dead ones, and the Effect of
it.
Remember the Obduracy and unforgiving Spirit of the
Tyrant, evident in the Treatment of his own Brothers.
Remember that an honourable Death is preferable to
an ignominious life; and never forget what you owe to
yourfclyes, your Families, and your Posterity.
* In Lord IWljborougb's Circular Letter.
f This, and all the before-mentioned, zuere open defence
left Towns, which, by the Laws of War, Jbould always be
[pared.
t Abt of Parliament 14 Geo. 111. laying a Duty of Three
Pence per Gallon on all Spirits imported into Canada from
Britain ; and Nine Pence if from any of the North-Ame
rican Colonies.
||The Corruption of the one poisoned the other.
Philadelphia, March 7, 1776.
Meflieurs II ALL and SELLERS.
Iwas yesterday greatly disturbed by an incident which
fell out in this city. A gentleman was brought before
the Committee of Infpedion for refufing to take a Mary
land Convention Bill. The Committee, on hearing the
matter, were obliged to dismiss the complaint as without
their commission. Every good citizen must be distressed
with the contemplation of grievances they cannot find
means to redress. Certainly these several Colonial cur
rencies are of this fort. The great intercourse we are
obliged to have with each other from Georgia to Canada,
renders these currencies very troublesome, I may indeed
fay diftrefling; and, notwithstanding the expence of strik
ing a bank fufficient to fink every penny of these emifiions,
I mud beg leave to propose it to the consideration of the
Honourable Continental Congress, whether this grievance
does not absolutely demand this sole, adequate and ef
fectual redress? A fufficient number of bills might be
struck in Philadelphia, even of the lowest value judged
neceflary, and fentin sheets to each Colony, where Com
mittees of their refpedive Conventions or Assemblies
would sign, each for themselves. Their refpeftive pro
portions can be as easily fettled by Congress as any other
general charge; and should an overplus remain to some,
after linking all the bills they have emitted, they would
have so much in bank for future emergencies. To this
plan, if the eftabliihment of a mint were added, where
the plate with which many families abound could be fit
ted for a ready exchange with foreigners, for commodities
of which the most opulent will soon be in want, I flatter
niyfelf the salutary consequences would soon become sen
sible to every one. I shall trouble my readers with no
arguments to enforce these measures, as the inconvenien
ces on the one hand, and the advantages on the other,
are too obvious to need them. SPECULATOR.
He was seconded by the Marquis of Rockingham,who,
betides the general reasons urged by the Duke of Man
chester, said, that the Merchants were alarmed, and that
in such a case he thought it would be very proper to defer
the farther consideration of the Bill till after Cbriftmas,
as in such a state of uncertainty, but more particularly
on account of the alarm the Bill had created among the
trading and commercial part of the nation, the conse
quences were, in many refpe&s, much to be dreaded.
Lord Suffolk said that the Icing's Ministers were fully
juftified in causing the account relative to Canada to be
inserted in the Gazette; that it was the last authentic ac
count received from that province. That the Ministry
had received the account alluded to by the noble Duke,
but they had no right to pay any attention to it, as it did
not come through a channel on which they might de
pend; that it might be, for aught he could fay to the
contrary, very true; but whether it was or not, it could
not affect the present bill; because if Canada was in the
hands of the provincials, it should become Great-Britain
to ad with greater firmnefs and vigour.
Lord Townfhend laid, that the present reason for de
ferring the commitment of the bill had no possible
weight with him. If an account of our prevailing in this
skirmish, or being defeated in that, was to sway and in
fluence the British councils, it was a state he never ex
pected to fee them reduced to; that if this principle,
which parliament meant to avoid to pursue, was a good
one, and practicable, nothing ought to divert them from
it; for he hoped they had the power to enforce what
they certainly had a right to claim-
Lord Shelburne observed, that no man had a higher
opinion of the military abilities of General Carleton than
he had; but he could not fay but that gentleman, if the
accounts from Canada could be depended on, had acted
in a very unjuftifiable, reprehensible manner, in his civil
capacity.
Lord Townfhend rose to explain, and passed the high
est encomiums on General Carleton. He said there was
nota braver nor more capable officer in the service. That
what he had said relative to his not having a fufficient
force to oppose the rebels, was not so much in point of
numbers as discipline. He had, it is true, a good num
ber of troops under his command, but they were mostly
composed of Militia, not used to service; the whole re
gular force together not exceeding two regiments,
amounting to 700 men.
Lord Shelburne again repeated his entire approbation
of General Carleton as an officer, but he said he had done
many things for which he believed he or his principal
would be made answerable. That he should not now
trouble their Lordships on that head, but he hoped that
the day was not very far distant, when the matter would
be fully cleared up. As to the want of force, or want of
discipline, the General could not help that, it behoved
thole only who neglected that service to answer for his
want of success.
The question was at length put on the Duke of Man
chester's motion for postponing the bill till after the re
cess; passed in the negative without a divilion.
The Lord Chancellor moved for the order of the day,
but before the Chairman had time to take the chair, the
Duke of Manchester acquainted the House, that he had a
Petition from the Merchants of Bristol against the Bill.
His Grace observed, that he did not know whether it was
confonagt to the orders of the House. He read the heads
of the petition in his place, which describes the ruinous
consequences of the Bill, as refpe&ing the Merchants of
that town concerned in the American trade.
LONDO N, December 23.
His Majesty's ship the Renown, commanded by Fran
cis Banks, Esq; on her passage to America, has taken
ten fail of American ships that were going to the south
ward to catch whales; and understanding from the Ame
ricans that several ships of force were cruizing on the
Coasts under the orders of the Congress, has lent them
home, for fear of being retaken by the Americans.
Letters of marque are laid to be now making out at
the Admiralty-Office, ready to sign as soon as ever the
new American Bill takes place.
A person just arrived from Cadiz brings an account,
that two vessels laden with ammunition, &c. going to
America, were stopped there by request of the English
Consul from proceeding any further.
A Dutch fliip is among the number of those taken by
the Renown, the being loaded with arms and ammuni
tion, and bound to Philadelphia.
Extract of a Letter from Portsmouth, Dec. 18.
“ This day arrived here from Chatham, his Majesty's
ship Triftol, under command of Sir Peter Parker, who
is going out to America second in command. The Bo
reas frigate, commanded by Capt. Thompson, has re
ceived her orders, and it is expe&ed will fail to-morrow
for Boston."
It is said that on Thursday night in debate, a noble
Lord said, that he meant to produce an augmentation of
the land forces to 70,000 men, and of the navy to the ut
most possible extent, to fiibdue the rebellious Americans.
Extract of a Letter from Madrid, Oil. 9,
" According to our advices from the several parts of
this kingdom they continue to fit out men of war with all
imaginable expedition ; and it is said that his Majesty will
have by January next a more powerful fleet of men of
war of the line at sea, than he had when at war with
Great-Britain. #
HOUSE OF LORDS, December 19.
Yesterday, as soon as the order of the day for going
into a Committee ora the American Prohibiting Bill was
read in the House of Lords, the Duke of Manchester
rose and opposed it. His Grace observed, that whatever
view Administration could have in deceiving the public,
might be matter of speculation, and was what he would
not pretend precisely to determine; but by the account
that appeared in Saturday's Gazette, published immedi
ately under direction of Administration, it appeared they
were determined to bring the London Gazette on a level
with the Brussels Gazette, published l^i war. It was
nearly approaching to it already, but if they continued
to improve in the art of misrepresentation and the sup
pression of fadts, as they had done in the last Gazette, in
relation to the Rate of our affairs in Canada, there was
no doubt but the London Gazette would become as
famed as the Brussels. By the account alluded to he re
marked, that our affairs in Canada were represented to
be in a very flourifhing condition ; whereas the very con
trary was well known to be true, for there were authen
tic accounts of a later date from that country, which fay
that St. John's was in the hands of the Provincials, and
that probably the next accounts would bring advices of
the total deftrudion of General Carleton's army, and
that we are not in possession of a foot of land in Ca
nada. His Grace, as well on account of this news, as
the general importance of the Bill, moved that the com
mitment of the Bill might be put off till after the Chrift
mafs recess.
Lord Sandwich spoke to the matter of order; said no
motion could be received while the order of the'day was
before the House; that, besides, he believed there was no
occasion for particularly attending to the contents of the
petition, as be meant to offer a clause which he believed
would in a great measure remedy the grievance dated in
the petition.
The House then went into a Committee of the whole
House on the Bill, Lord Scarfdale in the chair, when se
veral amendments were made, and clauses offered.
Lord Sandwich offered a clause to proted all vessels
and their cargoes, if two thirds of which should appear to
belong to British fubjeds.
Lord Dartmouth offered an amendment to the preamble
and the concluding clause, to afeertain and shew that the
power of pardoning, vested in his Majesty by the Bill, was
inherent in him, and only given here to answer a particu
lar purpose.
Lord Sandwich offered another clause in favour of the
Weft-India Islands.
The Bill being gone through, Lord Scarfdale left the
chair, and a motion was made, that the ciaufes and
amendments be reported this day, which was agreed to.
A Protest was yesterday entered against the proceedings
of Friday last, upon the second reading of the American
Bill, and signed by the following Lords, viz. Aberga
venny, Richmond, Rockingham, Ponfonby, Manchester,
Fitzwilliam, Abingdon, Chedworth.
On the 6th instant several of the transports, with pro
visions on board for America, and upwards of twenty
other ships, with provisions for the Weft-Indies, failed
from Cork.
Dec. 29. General Burgoyne is arrived from Boston.
An express brought the news to Lord George Germaine
about twelve o'clock yesterday morning.
It was debated in Council 'to fend ships to the relief of
Quebec, but was given up as impracticable at this fca
f°n 1° that the iirk news likely to come from that quar
ter will be that all Canada is in the hands of the United
Colonies.
General Bofcawen, lately arrived from America, is
Nephew to the late General Bofcawen, who died ab< ut
four months since, and came to England in order to take
pofieffion of the estate and effects left him at the demise
of his late uncle.
Yesterday one of the transport ships lying off the T wer,
after having taken on board eloathing and arms for 3000
'men, fell down the river to Gravefend, and was to fail
the fir^ fair wind for Ireland, to take on board a regiment
of soldiers waiting at Cork to embark with all expedition
for America.
Yesterday morning advice was received at Dover, with
an account of the Queen of Naples, Powell, from Boston,
being fafe arrived there. She has been only 21 days on
her passage, and it is said has brought over several Offi
cers and passengers from Boston. Many other ships that
have discharged their cargoes there are hourly expected
home.
We hear it is in contemplation to double man all the
ships of war which shall hereafter fail for America; the
extra hands to serve as marines during the voyage, and
on their arrival to be incorporated with the troops al
ready there.
It is reported, that a certain patriotic Society intend
to withdraw entirely from all parliamentary attendance,
and to give the public, in a spirited declaration, their
reasons for their secession.
No less than sixteen rendezvous are opened in the se
veral parts of London, for the entering of seamen in the
service of the navy.
A great number of cutters and schooners are building
at Coleftrand, Xolkftone, Yarmouth and Dartmouth,
from 30 to 70 tons burthen, for the use of Government.
It is reported, from the disposition, or rather indispo
sition of a certain German Potentate, our Ministry may
expert to be precipitated into frefh embarrassments, as a
new hunt will in consequence be up. which will oblige
them to call their dogs off from a falfe scent.
# When all the intended reinforcement arrives in Ame
rica, the Provincial Camp will not be attacked. The plan
laid down is said to be this: To destroy every town on the
sea coast, to draw their army from one place to another,
and harrafs and starve them if possible; but to be very
careful about coming to a general engagement: But ifby
any means the Provincial Army can be divided, then th©
Regulars are to attack them.
WILLIAMSBUR G, Feb. 26.
Commodore Hammond has given orders to all the na
vy officers to cease firing on our sentinels or small parties,
on pain of being broke.
It is said that the troops with Lord Dunmore, to the
amount of 500, are entrenched at Portsmouth, and that
a considerable number of our people are intrenching some
little distance below them.
By Mr. Hancock Lee, lately from Kentucky, we are
informed, that the Indians have scalped two or three white
people on the Ohio, and that the commanding officer at
Detroit offers them 101. for every scalp. Capt. Neaville,
at fort Pitt, writes his friend in Frederick to the fame
purpose, but fays the reward is 501. a scalp.
1 he gentlemen of Alexandria have got down the can
non from Winchester, and are putting their town in a
posture of defence.
WORCESTE R, M^l.
We are told a gentleman who came out of Boston last
Friday reports, that the enemy have taken away their
mortars from Bunker's-Hill, and carried them to Boston;
that a council of war had been held in Boston for several
days; that General Howe had advised the Mandamus
Counfellors to go to England, and the tories to leave the
town; that all the vessels in the harbour that were not in
the King's service, were taken up to transport the tories
and their effects; and that it was surmised in Boston
that should another battle ensue, and the regulars be de
seated, they would set fire to the town, and remove to
some other part of the continent.'
It is a prevailing opinion, that something extraordinary
will turn up in the course of a few days.
N E W-Y O R K, March 6.
We are informed by a Captain of a vessel from Rhode-
Island, that last week Captain Wallace landed his marines
on Conanicut in the evening, and began to burn the
buildings, but being difeovered by one of the centinels
a number of our people concealed themselves behind the
walls and fences until they came near them; but the
commander thinking it unfair to fire on them without
giving them notice, called out, “ Who comes there,"
when he heard Wallace order his men to make ready,
upon which our party instantly fired among them, and
killed and wounded 30 of Wallace's people, among the
Haiti was on officer of marines, and the drummer, who
was killed by Wallace's fide, which was plainly seen by
the light of the houses on fire. Those that were not
wounded of Wallace's party retreated 011 board the Ihipa
with greater haste than they landed.