The Virginia gazette — Williamsburg, Va., 1776-05-17 00:00:00, page 2

of which first ceeasioned Rome to be stained
with the blood' of its citizens. The king's
'party being suppressed , the next evil sprung
from" the attempts of the patricians to
esttblish an ofigarchy-.
fie'people Moved [lowly to opposition.
They had for some t'fi'ne endured poverty,
shipes, chains, and imprisonment, before
they made their first secefficm to the Aven
tine mount; which must be consessed to
Have been a moderate enough expression of
their'sense of such sufferings. A plebeian
party became absolntcly necessary to op
pose the thrician. They. cantendcd with
various access, till both were swallowed
up in the despotisin of the Caesars.
__ Durinssgthe hace of near 100 years,
after the estabhshment of democracy in
Athens, the state appears to have been
order] and peaceable. Such an abhor
tence had the people to bloodshed, that a
regularsiproccsi: was ea'rried on against any
inanimale thing which caused the death of
a man. The people might have continued
longin this state, for aught we know, if a
king': party had not pi'evailed, who would
either have re-estabiished kingly power, or
erected an oligasirchy.
Cylon ptsioduced the first tumult in the
state, by attempting, with his wealth,
his nobility, and his dependents, to seize
the sovereignty .
ct Pisistratus was more succesissul in the like
attempt; and urged, as a plea of right,
his descent from the old royal line. After
the expulsionctos his descendents, the party
[till lurked in the republick. The people
were under continual jealousies and fears
of the renctewa] of such usurpations; and
'the succeeding disorders of the state have
been, with much more truth and judg
ment, derived from these causes than from
a seditious temper in the eople} which the
friends of monarchy fa] ely affirm to be a
necessary consequence osrepublican govern
ment; Numberless examples, similar to
the foregoing, might be adduced ; but
as such an inquiry 'is inconsistent with the
plan of a paper like this, I shall only ob
serve, that the sufferings of mankind in
repubiicks, with all their imperfections,
have been infinitely less "than those in mo
nArchies. Let us appeal to modern Eu
rope: If we would compose a history of
wars, devastations, and massacres, for
some ages past, the republicks of Holland,
Swisscrland,, Venice, Genoa, or Lucca,
furnish few shining examples; while the
soul may be made sick with blood in tra
cing these subjects through the monar
chies of Europe. '
If, then, monarchy or oligarchy are the
customaryss and fatal diseases of republicks ;
if the colonies are, at present, free from
'these great cause: of mischief; and is,
from the tenure of landed property, and
the absence of hereditary di/t'inctian: ofrank,
their probable rise is indefinit—ely remote;
is; from the peasiceable and humane cha
racter of the people, no man's blood hath
yetssstained our continent, but that of open
enemies (notwithstanding the matchlesiz
;provocations of the sheret and prefidious)
I own, we seem to be aptly circumstanced
to form the best republicks, upon the best
terms that ever came to the.]ot of any
people before us. , E. F.
/
L O N D O N, February 18.
OMMlSSlONS arc issuin for imme
diately buying up in Iregnd, for the
use of the navy, 800 casks of bees, 600
barrels of pork, and ngat- quantitics of
flour, sak buttcr, and pocatocs.
Fell. 19. There will be sivc debarkations
in Americajn the spring ; one at Qlcbcck,
ouc ac New Yurk, one in New England,
and two to the southward.
Lettcrs From Cassa, by yesterday's mail,
advise, that the body of 1 2,ooo Hesiians
taken into English pay are commanded by
,d'l. Heister, lieutcnant-general, and that.
I: will be composed of the rcgimcnc of
guards and that of the hercdimry prince
and prince Charles, with the rcglmcnls us
\Vcrguneau, Detf'ourth, Donop, Loshci-ssg,
Kniphauscn, Trimbach, M'u'bach, Rall,
Stcin, \-\'flbach, Haync, and Buneau.
The grenadiers of the above reginmnts are
to form a different corps, gommanded by
colonel Do'nop, and to thc'abOve are to
be added some companies of" cannoneers'
and shot chasscurs; and private letters
from Hamburg inform us, that they are
0n_thcir march to emhark al. Smde.
The Heffians , Brunswizkers , W a]dc_ckcrs ,
and Hanoverians, are to amounc, it is
said, to 20,ooo men. Twenty thousand
soreign troops, at 45]. per man, comes
to 900,oool. trnnsport service to bring
them to America Will cost 35o,oool. ordsi
nance and extraordinaries may be reckon
ed at goo,oool. more.
The embarkation in the spring will con
sist os 45,ooo men, English and shreigners;
and to rendavous at Portsmouch the last
day of March ----- Oh George! Are tlzzfi
thy commzffionen of peace and reconciliatism?
The transports to bring- over zzssooo
Germans, Hesslans, Brunswickers, &c.
are to be at Stade on or before the bth of
next month.
Feb. 24. The companies belonging to
the regimcnts osguards laying in the Savoy
barracks had yelierduy 15 men draughted
from each for the American service, and
.every man who offered himself as a volun
teer was to be allowed whatever is paid
to recruits on their first lilting.
Govemment have been so disiressed for
tr00ps (soreigners) that they have actually
taken a single battahon of 5oo men in pay
from the prince of Waldeck, and another
of the same complement from the duke of
Mecklenburg.
Extract of a letter flom Portsinouth , Fab. 2 3 .
" Arrived the Carcass bornb, which
sailed from Corke the lzth inflant, with
sir Peter Parker, and 42 sail ofmsien of, war
and transports, with whom he parted
corn any on the 18th in a hard gale siof
win , when sir Peter had but 25 sail lest
with him . The Carcass has lost her mizzen
mast, and thrown many of her stores over
board." '
Extract of a Ietterfi'om Edinburgh , Feb. 17 .
" Seventeen thousand German troops
are expected here in a few days on their
way to Grenock, where they are to em
bark for America. They are to come in
transports up the Firth of Forth, and to
land-m Leith."
KlLKENN Y , Feb 24. Yesterday the first
division, consisting of five companies of the
9th regiment of foot, commanded by
major-general lord viscount_Lig0nier, and
this day the second division; arrived here
from Dublin, on their march to Corke,
in order to embark For America.
NEW LONDON, April 26.
Extract of a letter fi'om Bosto'n, April :: .
H EY arc fortifying and utting the
harbour, &c. in the ch posiure of
defence they can: To-morrow they talk
of sinking hulks by the castle, and crccting
a battery at Camp hill, on Noddle's island .
Our small pflvateers run in and out by Pul—
ling's point, without any regard tosi (he
enemy. _
We hear that it is the determination of
the Continental Congrcsi to fortisy New
London harbour, in the best and most
effectual manner, it being judged a good
and convenient rendczvous for the conti
nental fleet.
We hear that the contincntal currcncy is '
received in payment, and passes very srceJ
]y, among the inhabitants of the French
West lndia islands.
I
NEVV YORK, May :.
]{IGADlER-gcncral Sulhvan, V\ ith sum
regimcnts now here, are to set out for
(janada in a day or two; and we hear the
remainder of his army will cncamp this
week, near the: city. si
Aletter From Edinlsissurgh ,dutcd Dec . zj'th,
to a gentleman in this city, says: "" Busi
neisss, of all kinds, is quite at ;: stand here;
and, to add to our misfortune, a pestilen
1ial di'tcmpcr rages with great yiolpnco
among us, which has carried off great
numbels', and has— thrownsixhc country in
general into the utmost constemation."
We hear srom Albuny, that general
'l'hompson's brigade arrived there on
'l'ucsday lust. \Ve also hear, that. the first
d'nisiun of general Sullivnn's brigadc was
seen at Poughkeepsie, on'susscsday evening,
on their way to Alhany.. _ .
Extract of a letter from a gentleman in the
contineutal arny' befbre debcck, daled
f/pril 6.
_" Our battery at Point siLevi {has been
firmg some days; the mortar battery on
the hcights is not quite finished, and in
two days we will have another battery
at Little river. We have had a prodigi
otis quctntity of snow this winter ; the top:
of the tences just begin to appear, and I
suppose that in a few day:: the roads will
be passable. We are discouraged at general
Lee's not coming; however, general
VVoostcr is arrived. We ought to have
at least lo,ooo men more here, in case of
troops arriving; otherwise, the Canadians,
who have ailisted us, will be ruined.
This pssi-vince is the key of America."
By letters from the camp before Que
beck, ofssthe 23d of March, we learn,
that there were between lj'ooand gooomen
there ; that they hadlatelyreceivedcannon, ,
mortars, ammunition, &c. &c. thatina
few days they were to open :: five gun bat
tery at Point Levi, and'one of nine guns
(6)? the plains of Abraham, with mortars,
c .
On Sunday last, a twin son and daugh
ter of mr. Alexundcr Anderson, of this
city, were baptised, by the rev. mr.
:Treat, George Washingtan, and Martha
Dandridge, which lalt was the maiden
- name of hisexcellency general W As HI N G
Tou's lady.
—-—-—-_—————
WILLIAMSKURG, May17*
T was determined last Friday , in Conven—
tion, that 1 goo minute-men and militia
shall immediately march to the assistance
of North Carolina, who are to compose
two battalions, and to be commanded by
the following gentleman: lst battalion,
SAMUELMEREDITH, esq; colonel, JOHN
RUFHN, esq; ]hutenant-colonel, and
RICl-{ARD jAMi-Ls, esq; major. 2d bat
talion, CHARLES Lewrs, esq; colonel,
IIAYNl-Ls MonGAN, esq; ]ieutenant-colo
nel, andjonu GLENN, esq; major. To
be under the orders of the commanding
officer of the continental forces in the
southern department, who is already set
'out to take the command of the troops in
Carolina, with the German battalion of
regulate. , '
We have the pleasure to 'acquaint the
publick, from good information, that the
militia almost through the whole colony,
particularly of the upper counties, are now
well provided with arms and ammunition,
and ready, at a cal], to march to the re
lief of any part ofthe country which is in
vaded, or to asiist their brethren in the
" neigsihhouring prm'inces.
INCONVENTION.
Prq/Z'nt 1 12 members.
W'EDNESDA)", May 15', 1776.
ORASMUCH as all the endeavours of
the UNlTED COLONlES, by the
ss most deccnt representations and pctmons
to the king and parliament of Great Bri—
tain, to restore peace and security to Ame—
sica under the British government, and— a
rc-union with that people upon just and
liberal terms, instead ofn redressnlsi'gric
vanccs, have produced, from an imped
ous zmd v'mdictivc administration, increas
ed insulc, opprcsiion, and & vigoruus nt
trmpt to csisict. our total destruction. By
a late act, as! these colonics are declared to