The Pennsylvania gazette — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-02-07 00:00:00, page 2

bomb Vcffels, and a great number of flat bottom bd^
Which me all ready to put to sea at a very Short notice,
that their granaries are full of wheat, which they have
been supplied with from America; but he fays, that not
withstanding such a fleet is kept up, there is no talk of a
war at that place.
Yesterday arrived at Dover, the Pomona, Capt. Green,
from Quebec. She brought dilpatches for government,
which were immediately sent express to town.
Nev. 9. A certain Duke will, we hear, he struck out
of the lift of privy eouhfellors.
Extract of a letter from Coftort, Not. 6.
" It is said that all the 50 and 60 gun ships in the havy
will be put into commission by next spring.
“ The many accounts daily receiving here of the da
mages done by sea lad gale, and from all parts, exceed
belief.".
Nov. rc. A letter from Antibes mentions, that there has
been a most severe storm along that coast as far as Genoa,
which has done great damage both by sea and land; many
vcfels were left, and great numbers of houses destroyed.
We are informed, that ten fail of the line and fix fri
gates will rendezvous at Spithead by the firft of January
next, which are to have on board their full complement
of marines.
Orders are sent down to the out-ports for the officers
belonging to the marine corps to keep with their men,
arid to be ready to embark on board ihips of war on the
Ihorteft notice.
Nov^ 17. On Friday, in the Upper Assembly, Governor
Penn, of Pennsylvania, was examined, and gave very fa
tisfaCtory answers to the queftiohs put to him, after
which he was ordered to withdraw; when a member,
after descanting on the necessity of an immediate concili
ation, proposed the last Petition from the Continental
Congress to the King, as a balls for a'plan of accommo
dation, and moved, " That the said Petition furnished
grounds of conciliation of the unhappy differences at pre
sent subsisting between Great-Britain and America, and
that some mode should be immediately adopted for the
effectuating so definable a purpose.
MR^ WEDDPRBURNE's Speech in the House of Com
mons, on Tburjday, October 26, ills.
Mil Speaker, The importance of the present fubjeCt
of debate is confeffed on all hands, and that impor
tance must plead my excuse for trespassing upon the pati
ence of the house at so late an hour of the night. Indeed,
were I not emboldened by the former indulgence of this
assembly, which has so greatly exceeded my deserts, I
fliould have remained content with a silent vote. But,
however much I think myfelf called upon to express the
genuine dictates of my heart, for such 1 would always be
understood to deliver in this place, I will obey the firft
hint from this house, and yield as an inconsiderable indi
vidual to the feiife nf a body of men whom I so much
revere.
Sir, after premising that I do not confider this address
as merely complimentary, but as marking out the general
line of conduct that we mean to follow in this great na
tional question, I must observe that the gentleman who
spoke Lift (meaning Col. Barre) either did not underhand
the force of his own arguments, or, understanding their
force, did not, from the premises which he had laid down,
choose to draw any conclusion. What he could not or
would not do for himfelf, I will do for him. I will sup
pose his own Rate of the case; I will suppose Bolton
abandoned, Halifax taken, Canada reduced, and in a
Word America for the prefect loft. What is the inference
to be drawn from these premises? Not surely the pusilla
nimous alternative proposed by opposition ; neither tlie
dastardly relinquishment of America, nor a frnitlefs plan
of accommodation. The former would little suit the
magnanimity of a British senate, animated by the sacred
fire caught from a high-spirited people ; the latter would
be as ineffectual as inglorious, and without example in the
history of mankind. Relinquish America ! What is it but
to desire a giant to shrink Spontaneously into a dwarf? Re
linquish America, and you also relinquish the Weft-Indies,
and confine yourselves to that narrow insular Situation
which dnee made you hardly difcernable on the face of
the globe. My heart fwelis with indignation at the idea.
Relinquish America ! Forbid it ye spirits of Edward and
Henry, whom Englishmen once held in veneration, and
burned to imitate ! Forbid it thou spirit of Wolfe, who,
if thou halt any confeioufnefs of thy country's wrongs,
blufhcß to fee a companion of thy victories so tamely give
up thy conquests!
But in what does an offer of accommodation differ
from a total relinquishment? The consequences of such
an offer amount to a relinquishment. Are we not exult
ingly told of the triumphs, of the rising glories of Ame
rica ? Admit them. Can such a state be a time for rea
sonable accommodation ? No man can be more friendly
to peace than I, but I would have an honourable and ade
quate peace; and in order to obtain it, I contend, in the
terms of the King's speech, for the mod vigorous exer
tions. Establish firft your superiority, and then talk of ne
gotiation. Did Rome, when Hannibal marched triumph
antly up to her walls, sue for peace ? She had more wifi
dom and spirits. She knew the moment was not favour
able, and would not listen to any propositions till the tide
of fortune changed, and commanded such an ascendancy
as the city's courage and perseverance had a right to ex a
pest. Why should not we follow so bright an example ?
Our resources are greater, and I hope our spirit and con
stancy arc not less. I amfure we do not Struggle against
such fearful odds. I own that from fixed radical causes
in our constitution and form of government, the present
afpeCt of affairs is rather inauspicious. But when did
fortune smile upon us at the commencement of a war?
Ever since the constitution has been properly balanced,
and the chief weight thrown into the scale of the people,
time has been requisite to route the people, to rouse this
aflembly, in which along the voice of the people can be
clearly distinguished from that of clamorous faction. On
this occasion indeed the people feeing a party in the state
willing, for reasons too obvious to need explanation, to
give up their dearest rights, have spontaneously stood forth
in support oftheirjult claims, and convinced the mod ob
stinate Stickler for American independence, that the mi
llifter has the nation with him. Opposition has confeffed
this truth; else why do they call Upon the minister to check
the madness of the people ? Many refpedable members
have, in enforcing coerhon, declared that they speak the
language of a great majority, and several of every one of
their constituents. Has opposition been able to fay as
much? Not a Syllable of this nature have they uttered.
Why then do We helitatc ? Because an inconsiderable
party, inconsistent in their own politicks, and always
hostile to all government but their own, endeavour to ob
struct our measures, and clog the wheels of government ?
^et us rather Second the indignant voice of the nation,
which presses in from all quarters upon the Sovereign,
calling loudly for vigorous measures, and for the sup
° ANTED. A DRUMMER and FIFER for the Light-Infantry Company of the Third Battalion. Those who
predion of faction. Shall we be to its call? Sir,
we have been too long deaf; we h^iflo long fhewßour
forbearance and long-Suffering.; Uffni mutt now be
curbed, must be Subdued and crushed; bur thunders
must go forth, America mult be conquered. Had my
advice been taken, and gentlemen iniinuate that it is
taken too much, the house inuf tdo me the justice to own
that a much more powerful force than General Gage had
would have been sent to America. But it is not yet, 1
apprehend, too late ; for I am not one of those ill-boding
prophets who from every disaster augur destructive con
sequences, and whose prophecies, like those of antiquity,
contribute more than any other circumstances to their
own completion. I hold it dastardly in the counfellor of
a great and mighty empire to encourage despondence,
and to be the croaking raven of future mifehiefs and ca
lamities. Tune cede malis, fed contra audentior ito fortia
que ddverfis opponito peflora rebus ; exert your courage in
proportion to the difficulties to be Surmounted; and, like
your own oaks in the ocean, rife Superior to the storm.
Such is the language of the genuine friend of England ;
such, I am persuaded, is the language expected from us
by a gallant nation, whose spirit, instead of being de
pressed, is only roused by adverse accidents. Shall we
stand as a mound in the way of this torrent, which has
hitherto bore down all opposition ? Sir, I do not approve
of that policy that would repress plebeian haughtiness,
as it is called, and check that pride of empire with the
idea of which the fouls of our common people swell, feel
ing their own importance. " Our lowest mechanicks,
it has been urged, now talk familiarly of our fubjeds."
And why Should they not ? Feeling their own consequence,
why should they not, like freemen, give free course to
their thoughts ? However lightly this spirit may be now
prized, it is what has raised England to the great and glo
rious state which She now occupies. Do you imagine
that the allurement of fix-pence a day fills our armies,
mounts a breach, or takes a battery of cannon ? No, Sir,
we owe all this to the ferment of youthful blood, to the
high spirit of the people, to a love of glory, and a sense
of national honour. Let us cherish so noble a principle,
and we Shall soon feel the good effects of its operation.
This principle it was that frequently humbled the pride
of France, that formerly ruined the Spanish Armada, and
lately baffled the Bourbon confederacy; the principle,
in Short, th^t lately crushed every power that ever had
the temerity to encounter your collected rage. View the
state of England in Elizabeth's reign, and learn fortitude
from her example. Was not Ireland disaffected and re
bellious ? Did not plots and confpiraces exist within the
realm; and was She not pressed from without by the most
powerful Monarch then in Europe? Yet die did not
listen to pusillanimous counsels ; not a word was heard
of accommodation. What was the event? Her firmnefs
and magnanimity excited that of her fubjeCts, and they
laid her enemies prostrate at her feet. In Similar circum
stances, what was the conduct of William the Third,
whom the abettors of America affeCt to prize so highly,
and who indeed was a great and magnanimous prince ?
Though engagedin a consuming war upon the continent,
though embarrassed with a dangerous rebellion in Ireland,
though menaced with an invasion by France, pressed
with real conspiracies at home, and opposed by a power
ful party in parliament ready to tear him from his throne,
at lead infinitely more hostile to him than, I hope, oppo
sition is to his present Majesty, he stood unshaken in the
storm, and the invincible constancy of the people saved
him from Shipwreck.
What happened within our own memory ? At the
commencement of the last war, did not every packet
bring us the news of defeats in America? Were we not
accustomed there to as many defeats as battles ? Even the
mighty General Washington himfelf, with his redoubted
riflemen, was vanquished by the Indians on the Banks of
the Ohio. Difalters attended our arms in every quarter
of the globe, the East-Indies were almost loft, and the
Company bankrupts; Hanover was reduced ; the Hano
verians were obliged to stand neutral ; our only ally stood
trembling on the brink of destruction. Minorca was ta
lren ; we were beat at sea, our own element, and an uni
versal dread of an invasion had Seized the people. Did
this Assembly then yield to the suggestions of fear ? Tho'
opposed by the greatest powers in Europe, it stood firm
and resolute, and communicated its fortitude to the whole
empire. Every body knows the event. Who then, with
such a picture before his eyes, can be so dastardly, or so
weak and wicked, as to advise an infamous relinquish
ment of America, or an equally infamous accommoda
tion? Whoever imagines that the thunders of our navy
may be set at defiance by a Single cochorn and a Shifting
battery of a Single gun, may, but I will not, till I hear
more cogent arguments, till it is proved to me that the
experiment has been made, and has been fuccefsful. Nor
will I readily believe that our fleets may be set on fire in
the great rivers of America by floating rafts of combusti
bles, till I am convinced that the Americans are more
daring and intrepid than English sailors, and that they
, will pursue this plan with more art and more courage
than the Canadians did last war in the river St. Lawrence.
The Americans are said to be formidable from the enthu
siasm with which they are enflamed. It may be so ; but
I truftthat there is a spirit in British troops that will be a
full match for all their enthusiasm. At least nothing has
hitherto happened in America, that gives the least ground
for a contrary suspicion. Much indeed has been said of
our corruption and degeneracy, and dill more of the
heroism and riling glories of America. What then is
become of those heroes, who, ten years ago, made Eng
land the arbitrefs of Europe? I hope they are not all ex
tind, and that their fire is not quenched. I hope they
did not exhaust all their vigour in the last war, but left a
little to their posterity to keep us in countenance during
the present contest. ' Was it ever heard before, that a
nation confeffedly distinguished for every virtue, civil and
military, Should have loft them all in so Short a space of
time, and become totally corrupt and degenerate ? The
supposition is at lead improbable. Let me look around.
Methinks I recognize faces that assisted in the deliber
ations, aye, and in the campaigns, of the last war. Let
us then assume a little courage, and not give ourselves up
as loft, because a few gentlemen chufe to be joeular, for
they cannot seriously think what they speak. They can
not seriously think that heaven has wrought a miracle in
favour of the rising glories of America, and suddenly con
verted a nation of heroes into cowards. They will at least
except themselves, that they may be thought the only per
sons capable of saving this linking land. This indeed they
with great modesty affirm, and I cannot fee what other rea
son they had for making England undergo such a wonder
ous metamorphosis, a metamorphosis, which has not only
affected our hearts and made us cowards, but also weak
ened our understandings and reasoning faculties. Sir,
our lawyers, pace tua dixerim, nam tua res agitur, our
lawyers are the worst statesmen in the world; our law
yers, if you believe these sagacious gentlemen, arc totally
LONDO N, October 31.
The Humble ADDRESS of the House of Commons
to the KING.
Most gracious Sovereign.
WE your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal Subjects,
the Commons of Great-Britain in Parliament as
sembled, beg leave to return your Majesty the humble
thanks of this House, for your most gracious Speech from
the Throne.
“ Permit us, Sir, to assure your Majesty, that we have
long lamented the condition of our unhappy fellow-fub'-
jeCts in America; seduced from their allegiance by the
grossest misrepresentations, and the most wicked, and in
sidious pretences, they have been made the instruments of
the ambition and traiterous designs of those dangerous
men, who have led them Step by Step to the Standard of
rebellion, who have now assumed the powers of sovereign
authority, which they exercise in the most despotic and
arbitrary manner, over the persons and properties of this
deluded people.
“ Your faithful Commons took a sincere part in your
Majesty's benevolcntand paternal desire, rather to reclaim,
than to subdue the most refractory of your colonies ; and
excited by your Majesty's great example, we were anxious
to prevent, if it had been possible, the effusion of the
blood of our fellow fubjefts, and the calamities which arc
inseparable from a state of war; we still hoped that your
Majesty's people in America would have difeerned the
traiterous views of their leaders, would have considered
how ruinous even their fuceefs must be to thcmfelves, and
been convinced that the constitutional fubjeCtion to Great-
Britain is the freest and happiest condition of any civil so
ciety in the known world ; but we now fee with indigna
tion, that no other use has been made of the; moderation
and forbearance of your Majesty and your Parliament,
but to Strengthen the preparations of this desperate con
spiracy ; and that the rebellious war now levied is become
more general, and manifestly carried on for the purpose of
establishing an independent empire.
“ We beg leave to allure your Majesty of our entire
concurrence with your Majesty, in thinking that it is now
become the partof wisdom, and (in its effeCts) of clemency,
to put a Speedy end to these disorders, by the most decisive
exertions ; and that we learn, with the greatest fatisfaCtion,
that, tor this purpose, your Majesty has increased your
naval establishment and greatly augmented your land for
ces, in such a manner as may be the least burthenfome to
your kingdoms; and we will chcarfully and effectually
support your Majesty in Such necessary measures, and ena
ble your Majesty, when the occalion Shall require it, to
avail yourfelt of the friendly offers which your Majesty
has received of foreign assistance: We thankfully acknow
ledge the gracious considerations which induced your Ma
je^t° ' e hd a part of your electoral troops to the garrison
of Gibraltar and Port Mahon, in order that a larger num
ber of the established forces of this kingdom might be ap
plied to the maintenance of its authority, and we arc
bound in duty to return your Majesty our particular
thanks for pointing out to us, from the Throne, the con
stitutional resources of our well modelled and well regu
lated national militia; whichupon every great emergency
cannot fail of affording security to your Majesty's realm,
incapable of all political discernment. And why are they
incapable ? Auto's epha, these prophets, as they would be
thought, these oracles have said it; and what farther
proof can you desire ? To be serious, if'a lawyer is a
forty politician, it is the fault of the man and not of the
profeffion. To be a complete lawyer, it is ncccffary for
a man to have the molt liberal and extensive education,
to be a matter not only of our own history and constitu
tion, but of the history and constitution of all European
Rates, as well as of ancient kingdoms and republics. To
acquire any degree of eminence, he must be thoroughly
versed in our own municipal laws, and in every thing
that affects public or private property. With all this ac
quired knowledge, he must be possessed of an intuitive
quickness of discernment, to separate truth from falfe
hood, and by pekdice must have improved this faculty
into a habit approaching to nature; and, as Cicero held,
that none but a good man can be a complete orator, so I
bold, that none but a good man can be a complete law
yer. See then how many qualities of a politician he de
rives from his profeffion, or rather of how few, if of any,
he is destitute. Do not imagine that lam here arrogantly
describing myfelf; I am too well acquainted with my own
defects to be so presumptuous ; I only plead the cause of a
profeffion of Which I am an unworthy member, and
which, without incliidilig its present luminaries, has pro
duced as many great men, I had almost said, as all the
other profeffions takeh collectively, certainly more than any
one of them Singly; of a profeffion, which from its na
ture Lems peculiarly calculated for expanding the human
mind, for giving it scope for its utmost exertions, and for
training legislators and statesmen. If not from among
the lawyers, whence will you take your politicians? From
the order of country gentlemen ? Their profeffion is to
attend to the culture of their lands, to take care of the
game, and of their hounds and horses. From the order
of the nobility? They stand in the fame predicament as
the country gentlemen. From the order of merchants
or physicians? The latter have Studied the preservation
and reparation of the Luman body, and the farmer
the preservation and reparation of their own fortune.
Each, I own, may have treasured up political knowledge
as an ornament or an amusement, but cannot claim it as
a necedary requisite to his condition of life. The lawyer
alone asserts as his feculium, as a property inseparable from
his Station, this most perfect branch of ethicks, the sci
ence of legislation, and of regulating the commonwealth.
He may never be called to this arduous talk, but, if call
ed, and a complete lawyer, he is qualified, and is not the
less Sit for his own employment, when he defeends from
a public to a private Station. In Short, politics are in no
Shape incompatible with his profeffion; the smiles or
frowns of a minister may sometimes encreafe or diminish,
but cannot destroy his practice. Not so with the ibldier:
when he forfakes the war of swords for the war of
tongues, and commences a candidate for civil instead of
military fame, he frequently becomes, if unfucccfsftd, a
pernicious member of society. Lwifh the fame observa
tion were not applicable to the other orders that I have
mentioned; and that soured by disappointment arj urged
by want, they did not proceed to unjustifiable lengths,
but preserve that moderation and decorum for which
lawyers, not past the Chancellorship? have from the per
manence of their business been hitherto distinguished.
Of public characters I know none more dangerous than a
difappoiuted politician by profeffion. He,is ever reftlcfs,
ever plotting; conftantiy thwarting government in lauda
ble, no less than in blameable plans. Would to God the
present age were less fertile of this breed, and that the
people addressing the Sovereign had less reason to brand
them as the primary authors of our present calamities.
Pudet here opprobria nobis et dici potuiffe & non potuifle re
felPh