The Virginia gazette — Williamsburg, Va., 1775-08-04 00:00:00, page 7

SUPPLEMENT
Mr. Pcnnm,
HRRl-Z are few httempts ln ]ti so'un_
likcl to give nmvcrlhl lhlisl'siaction
as those t un are brought before the all
scrutlnlsmg eye ostlzepublick ; for although
a man be so fortunate as to please some,
hcmay, on the othcrlmndct, offend many:
And there are scw men, posscll'cd of
tolerable knowledge of men um] manner},
but what must be, on the least attentive
consideration, assured ol'thc truth usthis
_ thesis. Howc resul then ought that m' ;
to he, who mzssccs his appearance siin- (gle
publick papcrs, in knowing that he is em
burked, if not in an unoii'cnding, y_et a
rizlltcoufi cause! "Thus cqnippcctd, hsicsimay
,searlesi pass the rock ot ermcum, is not
with e'clu't, with that, at least, which as
sords more permanent felicity, the heart
felt commendation osa good conscience.
These animndversions lead me to a few
sit'ictures on our truly great and worthy
governour's proclamation, published in
mess. Dixon and Hunter's paper of the
lgth as this instant. ] Consess, 'in the first
place, that it is with the most pungent
sorrow I find that justice, and the great
cause of America's inherent rights, make
it indispenssiihly necessary, in those unhap
py days, that nothing should pass unno
tisiced that is not dignified by the sacred sig
niture of troth, ssand which, through the
malvectrsation of had and designing men,
might have the banesul tendency of ex—
tiflding the unnatural breach between
Great Britain and her colonies, and bring
on the additional dis pleasure of our gracious
king. Of such a tendency appears our
governour's proclamation of the above
date, particularly aimed at PATRlCK'
lsFctNkY, jun. esq; his country's, and
Amcrica's, cunalterable and unappalled
great advsi-ocate and lisiiend. As most of
the good people of this country may have
seen this nnparallelled proclamation, I
shall not take up much of their or your
time, mr. Purdie,'in a very minutectrecital
.
osit; suffice it to say, that the whole must
appear a mere ministerial trick, calculated
to please some, to delude others, and,
wlnt is of more serious and alarming con
sequence (similar to one of his other
laudable efforts*) to prejudice and detruct
"from the great American cause, by effect
ing a disunion amongst the friends osit, as
the on] possible means osobtaining success
to min sterial machinations. The dege
ncrate tools of lawlesssi power may :Lpplandct
his lordship's ingenuity, but the honest,
virtuous, and upright sons of constituti
onal liberty, will reprobate the want of
that eandour and nobleness of spirit which
alone can give effulgence to high birth or
exalted (tation, and deprived os which,
either the one, or the other, must, in the
['t-[lection osthe virtuous mind (to use the
gr.-n. mr. Pope's words) appear but as to
much " Leather or prunella." There
are, however, representations of the con
duct fifthe said mr. HENRY, and his de
luded followerl (as his lordship is pleased,
salhionably, to call them) so exceedingly
inconsonant to my idea os the case, that
his iordship must pardon me is I should,
_ for the sake osctiusiice, attempt to set the
matter in a different and less parlisid point
of view. His lordship obscrvcs, " th.it
the sJid mr.'Henrv, with & numhcr osde
]udcd shilnwcrs, had taken up arms, cho
sen their officers, and, flihnsssx themselves
an indcpsindent company, had marched
out osthcir county, encamped, and put
thflnsrivcs into ;! pnffurc of war; and
hid urinenictterr, d-c. to the gretzt tcr
54 Sz'." hlsi! [up-.(U'zp's letter to the tun-] of
Dm'tmuut/z dated the 24t/1 as Duc't'mlss'er by}.
rour of all his majesty's idltlxshl sizbjcctS,
and in open desisimee of law and ;g-n'erN
mcnt; and have committed other acts of
violence, partieulctrly "m exturting from
his mujesty's receives general the sum of
3301. under pretence ol'repluciugtlne pow
der he (the governour) thought proper
to order from the sung;-mine; whence,
adds his lordship, it unslcniably appears
that there is no longer shr- least security
ctforthe life or property of any man."
\V0uld hot strangers to this manoeuvre of
mr. HE N : Y 's be induced readiljss/ to believe,
from this proclamation of his lordship,
that his conduct in the assail" olctthe Powder
w'as directly tonsistcnt with the greatest
rectitude; and.' on the contrarv. that
mr. HENKY'S behaviour uas, inctthc ex—
treme, impolitical, (lilorderlssv, and base?
But let such first man to the many poor
subtersu es that ministcrial vicegerents
havelatfiy been drove to, and then they
will not be great] asionished at the con
tents os-his lordship's prodamacttion.
The powder 'which was removed from.
the magazine in the city of VVilliamshurg,
under covert of the night (a time must
friendly and best adapted to dark and in
siduous desig'ns) appears clear] to have
been, is not the permanent anclyexclulivc
property of this colony, at least so int-mild
ed for in, direct emolument and proted '
on, by an act of Assembly passed in the
sirsl: year of king George thc 'lst's reign, _
entitled An act for ending a magazine ;"
that his lordship's removal of it on board
one of his majesty's armed vessels, just at
that alarming and-criticalltime, wax, in
my view, ille it], and aeomp'etcnt decla—
ration of his ollile and inimicul designs
against this unhapp' country; and sufli
cient, ot'itsels, to an rauscd the good
people of it from that lethargick state
of security into which the great apperr
ance of" his lordship's friendship Had lul
led them; and farther, to have plgctccd
themselves in she]: a posture of'dcfsicnce as
might enable them to uard against the
impendinp blow which this step ot'his lord
ship plain y told them was but too fast up
proaching. The inhabitants os\\'illia111s
urg, justly alarmed and incensed at such
behaviour from his lordship, like men,
determined to support their constitutional
rights and prupert ', in opposition to every
act of violence undyer Heaven againfl them,
take up arms, and are about to dcnmnd
restitution of the powder, \\hen they are
dissuaded from such six licp, by gentlemen
in whom great conlidence is placed, who
persuadc them to lay down their arms,
and return to their respective hornes; as
suring them, at the sometime, that ev cry
pacilick endeavour should be made in or
der to have the powder replaced in the
magazinc. They then convened a com
mon hall, and in a very rcspcdtsul manner
afldress his lordship on the improprictv us
hls con_dnct in the affuh- of" the powder,
entreȝtmghim, at the same time, to re
turn it agam to the magaz'me, and ther:
by rcsiorc peace and o'n'dcr to the inhabi
tant's of the town; to which suid address
hsijnrdship was pscnscd to return :! vel'bnl
anch-r (being, it is ssisiid, peculiarly hap
py in cxprcsihlg his sentimcnts with ClisC
and propricly that way) whereby it must
css'idcnsh' appears, thatsi his lordship expres
ly avows the impropriety ut'his conduct in
thcremuvzsil ()kctlhc powder. in promisifl'g'ss
upon his " iz'nl'JLIIIJlIUllllll'," lhutin case
thcrcshould be an insurrcctiun ul the Hsiusies,
which he nclssnowh-ges (]Kl'C uus cause to
apprehend. he would then rflurn the pow—
der, on [wings :dhmccl :m hsihsihnur to do
it in. 'l'h-si insnniistchsiv of huh nn am
swcr is so phiu, that it necdsno comment.
In short, several gcsintlemen, who were
dissatisfied with sucu an evasive, contra
dictory, and atirontive answer, wait on
-his lordship in person, and entrcat him,
as the representative of his majesty here,
as the chiefsinfagish'ate, and, above all,
as a friend to peace and order, to return
the powder, and thereby quiet the fears
and apprclxenfions osthe people; which
he now positively refuses to do, alligning,
as a reason for his stran 'e and inn-arran
,t:dssssle conduct, that the people of Willi
amctlmrg had been in arms. But attend
to his subsequent conduct, and see ifsiit
accords with those pompous prosesiiono of
regardsor peace, order, and good govern
mcut, and the happiness of the cople
("who are so unhappy as to be on er hid
rule) which he would induce a belief are
the grand ohje-Zts of his care and (lady.
Constiousi- that the people would n.]onger
acquiesce in a behaviour in one moment
so dilingenuous and evasive, in another
47) difi'elpecsittiil and irritating, he deter
_ mined to fling off the maik, and bid desi
ahce to' their utmost efforu to re ain the
Powder ;- and therefore immediate y bejln
, to arm his menial servmts, who were, by
their lord and master's example, taught
to look upon and treat the good top]
of this conntry with the greatestssindigmty
and contempt. Add to all this, tlut we
had just heard that many of our worthy
and noble friends, the guardians and zea
lous supporters of our liberty, were on the
black list of American victims. destinetlto,
sacrifice, in order to appectse those san
gui'ssmry wretches in power; and that,
farther, we had r ceived the long feared
and melancholy news, that the sv ord wan
now drawn by the king's troors against
our brethren the Boltonizms, who, were
then bledding in the common cause. Thus
unhappily circumstaneectd on all side:, w hat
does mt'. Henry to deserve those inglorioul
epithets, which are, though obscurely,
yet most certainly aimed principally at
him, not only by hislordlhip's czmdid and
liberal address to the Council, previous
to the issu'mg of a sorm- r proclamation,
but by those also in exalted st'ation, who
it was hoped, from their aflnssity to our
wrongs, and having received their birth
here, would have entertained sentimentl
of a more generous and liberal kind of
those who are the produce of the same
country, and in loyalty and attachmcnt
to their gracious sovereign, not an iota,
I trust, inferiour to them. I repent, whtit
does mr. HENRY (matters being- thus
situatedl to deserve the qensure of his
countvmen. Why, like the vigilant guar
dian assnd protector of their eonliitutionz-l
rights and liberties, he was resolved, Vtitll
Proper allistance, by the force of arms to
effect a reilitution of the powder (or an
equwatenttnerem) wmcn nau oeen by low
iisisisiud and artifice removed out of the
country's pusscsiion, and which he now
was sorry to lind pacifick measures were
not likely to accomplilh. This gentlemen,
therefore , by the nd\ ice and determinzttion
usthe Hanoversicommittee, held at New— .
castle the zd instant, accompanied l-y
many ol'his tespectable and worthy coun
trymen, set out from Newcnltl: on their
way to the Capitol, and were joined on,
their way down by several spirited gentle"
men from different counties. W'ith what
prudence and penetration mr. Henry took
his measures. and what they eventually
produced. may be fully known by a rese- '
tence to a ptthlicatiun of his conduct, at:
large. in mcss. Dixnn and Huntcr'e paper
Of the ".;th instantsi. and as the msittter
ll.mds represented there, ard \\hich id in
wntrmertibly consistent. \\ ith the real truth