The Freeman's journal, or, New-Hampshire gazette (Portsmouth, N.H.), 1777-09-20 00:00:00

Freeman's Journal
New-Hampshire Gazette.
[Vol. II.]
SATURDAY, September 20, 1777.
[No. 15.]
Stat pro Ratione Voluntas.
MY Friends and Countrymen,
I would beg leave to ask you a few important questions; are we engaged in an unnatural civil war or not? have we a powerful enemy to contend with or not? Is there a necessity of supporting an army in defence of our rights or not? If you answer me in the affirmative, I will still further ask you, how are the most likely way to end this expensive war, how are we the most likely to carry on our opposition to tyrannical measures, and how are our armies to be paid, and supported? your answer will of course be—by the credit and strength of the country, and what is the credit of the country but the current money emitted upon public faith? and do we support this credit agreeable to our solemn engagement with government or not? and here let conscience, let honor, let the fate of our country speak; & they will tell you, that you are the most impolitic people under the canopy of heaven, you are lost to your own interest, you are blind and infatuated, and in short without the special intervention of an overruling providence you are undone; you had better never have engaged in the contest, but tamely submitted to the arbitrary measures of the british ministry, and have been bewarers of wood and water to them . Then to have expended such immense sums, exposed your necks to the halter and now to turn your own executioners—good heavens! what preposterous conduct is this? a brave people submitting to the yoke of tyranny, and in the blaze of day, voluntarily seeking their own destruction—I know every one says, it's a shame to depreciate the money so, and acknowledge that we are undoing ourselves, and yet, mirabile dictu , no one lends a hand to begin the necessary work of reformation; we are in the same state with the Jews of old, when there was none of them did good, no, not one ; forlorn state indeed! Is there no virtue yet remaining with any of us?— Nunc fortuna fidem querat vix invenit unquam .—Why are we cutting off the very bough that supports us? what can we substitute in the stead of that money which is emitted by the representatives of our own choosing, and for which our own estates are pledged in security—there never was a more inconsistent conduct in any people than yours: you think you are enriching yourselves, by your extravagant demands, but you are grossly mistaken, every thing quadrates with your extortion but the soldiers wages: the loss of fifty such garrisons as Ticonderoga would not affect the cause in their consequences so much as our wilful and abominable Practices: You throw the whole Camp into Consternation, and God only knows, whether they might not resent your defection, with a Vengeance too dreadful to be conceived of, much less to tell; then for heaven's sake, for posterity's sake, for the sake of all that is near and dear to us, desist, and let us strive to prevent the dreadful catastrophe that awaits us; what a shameful history will be that of America, if it should be recorded, that after bravely withstanding the torrent of oppression from the british nation, and its mercenary foreign auxiliaries, she at last fell a sacrifice to the unbounded avarice of her own sons; this is parricide with a witness! at which they may even now blush and be ashamed to think that there may be even the possibility of such a record; as an American I feel this reflection, it comes gratingly from my Pen, but I cannot refrain, I see destruction too near not to warn my countrymen of their impending danger; we may yet ward off the fatal blow, and I charitably hope we shall, but I am sure it will not be by our own strength, for if we should be left to ourselves we are inevitably undone, we have not virtue sufficient to withstand temptations. If I did not perceive an overruling providence graciously favouring our arms, even in despite of ourselves,—I should be discouraged, and think our cause lost. And here I may pertinaciously address myself to my friends in the country; It is to you that I appeal, as it is from you that I expect redress; tueris mihi magnus Appollo : You shall be the saviours of my country; heaven has blessed you with a fruitful season, the earth has yielded
you her increase and all nature seems for you.
Your farms, your dairies, your herds and flocks enable you to begin the general and with'd for Reformation; don't leave it to the merchants to begin, it is not in their power, the stagnation of commerce will soon prevent their doing hurt to the currency, the tradesmen all depend upon you, and they must be governed by you: the true cause of the depreciation of the currency is the great plenty of it I grant, but yet if you gave it a free circulation, by taking it for your provisions at a reasonable rate, you will eventually change the face of our affairs, and in a little time have the money mostly amongst yourselves, and this money will certainly be redeemed with silver. When commerce flourished the merchant then engrossed the circulating cash, but that being stop't, the country has now their opportunity, and it is you alone my friends, that can save us, under God; every day's experience informs you that you may have what you ask for your provisions and the poor must give it, this obliges them to raise upon their labour, but yet not in proportion, imported articles are not to be thought on, the exceeding risk of the enemy puts it out of the power of the merchant to import, but if he should be so lucky as to get his vessel in safe, he then asks a great price for his merchandise, and perhaps more than he ought, however he is not certain but the next voyage runs him; it is not so with you, you have still your farms, you make your own cyder, you raise your provisions, & fix your flocks yield you their fleeces, many of you make your own sugar, and I am credibly informed many of you make your own molasses out of corn-stocks, and in another year you may make your own rum, with these productions you can easily grapple with the times, and if you were to enter into solemn covenants to take the money freely and to support its credit, you'll save your estates; you have all of you more or less by yourselves or your sons been in the wars, in defence of your country, and for this your estates are forfeited, & you are declared REBELS by the enemy—what will your estates be worth to you if they succeed, why nothing, for the more you have, the more unlikely you are to escape they want your estates to distribute amongst their own clan, who have long since expected to have reaped where they did not sow; I have heard some say the country people are as cruel as the grave, & would get ten times the value of their produce this year, though it did not cost them more than it did last year, and such like ill-natured expressions, but this is not the language with the considerate men, they think the country produce costs more than it did, because labour has risen by the scarcity of men; however you are the judges of what is reasonable & by you we must be governed, therefore let your moderation be known unto all men, and if in anything you have done amiss, do so no more, and let that be the determination of us all, but especially let us support the credit of the paper money, & may a gallows as high as Haman's be the reward to him who dares to give more than six shillings in paper currency for a silver dollar.
I hope to see our legislature doing their part in the plan of reformation, and as the people complain there is too great a plenty of money, they may easily make it scarcer by laying on a good heavy tax, by which they will ease some of these complainants, of their burdens of money, and by lessening the quantity on hand, they will make the remainder the more valuable, such an expedient will alter the tone of some, but I would have the tax exacted and punctually paid; and as some northern states, have ungenerously broke the union by refusing our money, let us with equal contempt refuse theirs, we need not fear the continental currency, that will soon be based on a basis that will make it the study of every one, to secure it, and if we did not treat it so contemptuously by offering a difference between that and silver, we should soon experience its intrinsic value: have a little patience, and you will find a material difference in the face of our public affairs, if you don't mar the public councils, by your perverseness & (and if I may be allowed) I will add, by your own insensibility.
INDEPENDENS.
BY THE HONORABLE
HORATIO GATES, Esq; Major General & Commander in Chief of the Army of the United States of AMERICA, in the Northern Department.
Whereas Numbers of Officers and Soldiers belonging to the Army in this Department, are found so insensible of their Duty, and regardless of the interest of their country, as to be at this important & critical Juncture, loitering in Boston and other Towns of Massachusetts-Bay and New-Hampshire.
The Commander of the Detachment thinks proper to assure such Persons, that he shall, agreeable to the Power vested in him by the Honorable Continental Congress, suspend all Officers who do not join their respective Corps by the 25th Day, of September, and appoint Gentlemen to the Posts, which they have only filled to disgrace; and that all Non-commissioned Officers and Soldiers who absent themselves, after that Period, will be treated as Deserters and punished accordingly:—And whereas a Number of Non commissioned Officers and Soldiers, from Timidity or Accident, did on the Retreat, from Ticonderoga, leave the Army, and may be desired returning to their Duty by the Apprehension of being punished for Desertion, The General promises Pardon to all such Persons who join their respective Regiments within the above prescribed Time.
Given at Head-Quarters, August 31, 1777.
JAMES WILKINSON, Adj. Gen. N. Department. STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE ss.
In Committee of Safety, September 11th, 1777.
ORDERED, That the foregoing Advertisement be inserted in the Freeman's Journal or New-Hampshire Gazette : And all Officers, civil and military, in this State, are hereby directed to use their most vigorous Endeavours that the Design of the same may be accomplished without Delay.
M. WEARE, President.
KINGSTON, September 8.
Dear Colonel, Wilmington, Sept. 2, 1777.
I was down at the lines when your letter arrived. The enemy have stretched in a line from four miles below the head of the Elk, to a hill, called Grey's hill, two miles and a half town of Christeen Bridge, having their rear covered by water, the whole way. Here they must stay till they have stole horses enough to replace those they have lost on the voyage. Their army consists of twelve 18 & 12 pounders—Sixty 6 4 and 3, all brass. Our army is posted in two divisions, about three miles from them, on the heights of Brandywine—About 8000 militia are come in from Pennsylvania, and others arriving daily: Three fourths of the Delaware State lies in such a manner, as to be easily cut off by the enemy's stretching a line from the head of the Bohemia, to the head Appoquinimink—this part is an internal nest of Tories, which makes the Whigs afraid to muster—however the militia, from the other part of the State, are ordered down there—which will give them spirits; and serve as a nest egg.
Gen. Smallwood, and Col. Guest, have gone, by order of Congress, to the eastern and western shores of Maryland—&c. with Gen. Cadwalader, are to take the command of the militia there, and to act on their rear, and left flank, if they advance.
Gen. Dickinson is coming with three thousand militia from Jersey—Gen. Sullivan's division came in this day—Gen. Maxwell has the command of 180 fine fellows drafted from the troops—1000 militia rifle men, and all the horse. With these light troops he is continually harassing them. We have taken about 90 prisoners, and above 30 deserters have come into head quarters (which is the most difficult way) & great numbers have gone into the country—they have lost above 200 men, since they landed.
This is the best state I can give of the two armies: nobody doubts their design being against Philadelphia if they can get there.

LONDON, May 31. HOUSE OF LORDS, May 30.
Continued from our last.
T HE Archbishop of York. I find myself alluded to, by something which has just fallen from the noble Duke who spoke last. The discourse alluded to, I acknowledge to be mine; and am ready to affirm and prove, that it contains nothing but the truth. I thought that no time could be more proper to defend the constitution, than when it was attacked by factious men and factious principles. I never said any thing against the Revolution. What I advanced was in defence of the constitution, which I am ready to support at any risque, and, as a proof, I appeal to my words. I maintained, in the publication alluded to, that a resistance against law was unjustifiable. I am ready to abide by it still, that government founded in law, is entitled to demand and exact obedience. I might well expect this kind of treatment from factious men. I might surely look for calumnies and detraction, for daring to oppose such as would employ a good principal in effecting purposes very different from those they venture to avow. The noble Duke is a Whig, but I say he knows not what Whiggism is. I am ready to stand the test of any enquiry, either into my conduct or opinions; and to maintain them against every attempt which may be made to controvert or misrepresent them.
The Duke of Grafton said, he did not know how directly to take notice of what fell from the Right Rev. Prelate, as it was disorderly to take notice of any thing Personal in debate relative to the publications, or any expressions which passed at a former debate. However, as the Right Rev. Prelate had owned the publication, and avowed himself to be the author, he looked upon himself at liberty to take notice of the publication itself, without any reference to the author as a member of that House. He said perhaps, he might be ignorant of the true principles of Whiggism; but whether he was, or was not, he would except the Rev. Prelate's offer, and prove, that the publication contained several propositions, which, if true, were directly repugnant to the spirit and system of government recognized at the Revolution. Even according to his own explanation, a government of law included every species and kind of government whatever both as to its frame and exercise.
The Archbishop of York replied with great warmth. He said, he was ready to face all consequences, to have his opinions enquired into, and to defend them. He called on his Grace to make good his assertions; and assured him he was willing to meet him on the fair ground of argument, whenever the matter came to be considered in a debatable shape. He made no doubt but his honesty and sincerity had created him many enemies; he would not, however, be frightened from his duty by any threats; nor would he sacrifice his opinion, nor submit to be dictated to by the proudest Peer in the land.
The Duke of Grafton disclaimed any personal allusions: he merely considered the publication as utterly inconsistent with the doctrines on which our present establishment was built. He trusted very little to his own judgment in the matter; but referred the Rev. Prelate to the writings of Hoadley (Bishop of Winchester) and some other eminent Divines, who maintained doctrines of a very different complexion from those avowed by the Right Rev. Prelate.
The Bishop of Peterborough by rising interrupted the altercation between the noble Duke and the most Reverend Prelate. He recognized the facts, and supported the deductions drawn from them by the noble Duke, and imputed the whole of our present misfortunes, to two circumstances equally tending to the same point; that is, supposing two things equally ill founded and contradictory, that the Colonies meant independency from the beginning; and that a very considerable part of the people of America were friendly to government, and wish to pay that species of obedience which the British legislature contend for; it was certainly the business of Administration, to persuade Parliament and the public at large into the truth of both these contradictory propositions; be-
cause, if in the first instance the Colonies meant nothing but independency, not a redress of grievances, the conduct of those in power was perfectly justifiable, unless we abandoned America entirely; if, in the other, a very considerable and powerful part of the people disapproved of the conduct of those who wished to carry matters to extremity, it followed of course that America was still worth contending for; because, great numbers there were ready and willing to co-operate in the restoration of legal government, and a return to constitutional obedience. Both these propositions, he said, were well known to be repugnant to the true state and real disposition of the people of America. Experience had since amply proved the contrary; the well authenticated important paper now read from the journals proved it; the examination alluded to, taken at their Lordships bar from the most indisputable authority, shewed it beyond question. In considering the subjects, he should always take it up on that narrow, but true ground; that America never aimed at independency, till she was compelled to it by our harsh conduct; and that she is at least unanimous in one thing, never to submit to unconditional claims of the British legislature. What then, my Lords will be the probable consequences of the present unnatural contest, take the matter either way? Supposing that you should meet with no opposition but from the Americans, in effecting your ultimate purposes; if America is unanimous in her notions of independency, or if she be divided, you must reduce her by the sword. The conquest will cost us dear, it will considerably add to the millions we have already contracted. Well, suppose us in possession of this country, it is impossible that we can expect to be immediately repaid, or suddenly grow rich. The very contrary will be the case; you will possess yourself of a country, ruined and depopulated. You will find your strength wasted, your treasures exhausted, and the very conquest, instead of recruiting one or replenishing the other, will call for new exertions. You will require a considerable military force to secure the obedience of those you have reduced. Slavery must be ensured by a standing army; & allowing that we had strength, vigour, & internal resources to bear us through all this, we still lie at the mercy of France, who may at that very instant think fit to pull off the mask, and drive us to the necessity of defending ourselves, and of trying whether we were equal to the task of making a fresh conquest of our Colonies in America. His Lordship spoke very pathetically on the melancholy prospects which presented themselves on every side, but that of conciliation. He lamented the eventual loss of America; the decay of our trade in consequence of that loss; and the inevitable destruction which must follow a war, the professed object of which is the total ruin, and subjugation of the party we are contending with.
Lord Littleton controverted almost every thing material urged by the three noble Lords who spoke in favour of the motion. He directed his attention first to the motion and the noble Lord who made it. He acknowledged the eminent services which his Lordship had performed for his country; & said, whatever notice the motion itself was deserving of, the moderate terms it offered, and the remarkable coolness & decorum in which the arguments in support of it were urged, called for candor and moderation on his part. He seemed much surprized at the timid, despondent tone affected by the noble Earl, in relation to the conduct & ultimate views of foreign powers, whose fire, spirit and zeal for the honour and dignity of his country, had carried terror and conquest among the surrounding nations. He asked his Lordship, whether he could reconcile it to his former conduct, to hold terrors out from the resistance we might meet in pursuing and asserting our undoubted rights, either from America or elsewhere. He remembered the time, when the noble Lord held a different language, when he inspired the nation with the most exalted and heroic ideas: when he called upon the people to assert their honour, and do themselves justice, though every power in Europe should combine against them. His Lordship next turned to the state of America; the anarchy that at
present prevails there; the acts of violence, treachery, cruelty and injustice that are daily committed in that country by our rebellious subjects upon their loyal & dutiful brethren, merely because they would not join in their diabolical schemes of overthrowing all just and legal government. The laws trampled upon, her courts of justice shut, government dissolved, magistrates imprisoned or banished, the faithful and obedient part of the people oppressed, despised, and their property, suffering in dungeons, or obliged to fly their native land. He observed, that to all the horrors of war, the rebels had added the brutality of savages and treachery of sowards. These were the persons, and this was the cause, some of their Lordships thought fit to espouse and defend. His Lordship reminded his opponents of their predictions concerning the conduct of France, and their repeated assertions, that America had never any thoughts of independency. Experience had verified the language of Administration on both those points. The noble Lord, who made the motion, laughed at the absurdity of such an idea, as no interference on the part of France; and the Congress have long since declared the united Colonies independent states. The other noble Lords, on the same side, denied the least probability of any such event, and pledged themselves, if it should ever happen, that they would be the first and most zealous in endeavouring to compel them to a return of their duty. The event has actually taken place, and what is their conduct? Instead of recommending vigorous measures; instead of supporting spirited and decisive exertions of our whole strength, we are told that France does not mean to interfere; but lest she should, it is now proposed to open a treaty with declared and open rebels. Our rights are to be abandoned or conceded, lest France should go to war when our strength and resources are weakened and exhausted. This is surely strange language, and equally pusillanimous, as unworthy the attention of this House. France, I am satisfied from my own knowledge is neither able or willing to go to war; and though she were, I trust we are prepared to meet any foreign enemy whatever. Let us turn our eyes to the state of our respective finances, and we may be enabled to judge, in some measure, of the respective abilities of both countries. Let us reflect on the ease and expedition five millions were borrowed in a nation said to be verging towards ruin. I will venture to say, that a similar offer, would not produce the tenth part of the sum in France. Does this accord with the lamentable picture drawn by the noble Duke, and terrors suspended over our heads by the Right Rev. Prelate? Merchants, and men in trade, however friendly to government, seldom trust their property to precarious security. In those transactions they pay a constant attention to two objects, advantages & security. They are, of all men, the most cautious of disposing, or trusting their money out of their hands, and know best to lay it out where it promises profit, properly secured. This unbounded credit is seldom a forerunner of a bankrupt government, or empty exchequer. His Lordship next answered that part of the noble Duke's argument in respect of the petition from the Congress, and the evidence given by Mr. Penn. He insisted that the former was the effect of mere hypocrisy, and the latter, to his own knowledge, far from being supported by truth. But supposing the former as serious, what did it import? an appeal from the Parliament by an abuse of his Ministers. As a proof that the Congress never meant to submit to the supremacy of Parliament, at the very time they sent the petition alluded to, they made the most daring and inflammatory appeal to the whole Irish nation, and invited them to make a common cause with them, in resisting the legislative controlling power of the British Parliament over all the dominions of the British Crown. His Lordship imputed the present state of public affairs to the backwardness and mistaken lenity of Ministers in the early stages of the contest. He reminded their Lordships of the part he took, and how frequently he pressed administration on the subject. He was confident, if vigorous measures had been adopted earlier, that the rebellious Colonies would now have been in a state of peace and

obedience; and repeated, he said, what he had frequently said before that lenity by its consequences, caused often greater acts of cruelty, than those which were at the time disisted from no account of their harshness. His Lordship spoke of the severe usage Col. Campbell had suffered in an American dungeon, which lead him again to repeat his charge of cruelty and timidity. He allowed that a trade was carried on by the rebels to some ports in France, but denied that it received any countenance or protection from that Court. They were private transactions, he said, which it would be difficult to prevent, and which had no origin but the spirit of mercantile adventure and motives of profit. His Lordship took great pains to shew that the measures of Government were popular; and to point out the abilities of the Minister, who had so judiciously planned taxes, that would severely be felt, and yet would be so very productive. He spoke of the country gentlemen, as supporting the present war almost unanimously; passed great encomiums on their consequence and integrity; and affirmed, that while measures were thus strongly supported and approved of, both within & without doors, but such decisive and respectable majorities, we had every reason not only to expect an happy issue to the present rebellion, but that if we should be interrupted by any power whatever, that we were both able to defend ourselves, and make our enemies repent of their rashness. He observed on what fell from the noble Earl who spoke second in the debate (Lord Gower) relative to the loyal and dutiful disposition of great numbers of people in America, where they were free to declare their sentiments and not under the tyranny and despotism arising from anarchy & military government: he was certain that it was so, and he had himself lately received a letter to that purpose from a person on the spot; and many others of a like tenor, giving an account of the great numbers who came in under the proclamation, in order to claim the protection of the British government, or to offer their services in assisting to extinguish rebellion.
The Duke of Manchester opposes his speech, with observing on a passage in that of the noble Earl who spoke second (Lord Gower) what passed in a message between Generals Howe and Washington, to prove that independence alone was the grand object of the American rebellion; & that the treaty broke up merely because, at the first preliminary Mr. Washington and the Congress refused to treat, unless the United Colonies should be considered as independent states. His Grace insisted that this circumstance proved nothing; the Congress were well aware that the Commissioners had no powers, but they were willing to try whether, though they were armed with no parliamentary powers, they might not be charged with private instructions. When the persons entrusted with the affair discovered the Commissioners had neither powers nor instructions; and no terms, but those of unconditional submission to offer, they treated all propositions of that nature with indignation, and retained their offensive sentiments & resolutions as a matter of necessity. He censured the conduct of Administration, for holding out the idea of a commission, and afterwards holding it back, till America had taken the decided part she did; and observed with concern that France had acquired very singular advantages in trade and navigation, since the commencement of the present civil war; and would continue to reap many more, as long as it should last. He pursued the ideas of the Right Rev. Prelate who spoke on the same side, by proving that in proportion as we grew weak or exhausted, from a waste of blood and treasure, France would recruit in every source, which might enable her to carry on a most vigorous war. He observed, that the noble Lord who spoke last had treated the commercial communication, now carrying on between France and the British colonies, as a mere desultory, underhand trade, prosecuted by a few inconsiderable enterprising individuals. He denied that to be the fact: he had the best & most authentic authority to assure their Lordships; & if called upon, was willing to prove it, that it was a regular, open & extensive commerce, daily encreasing. He had a list in his possession of several of the
ships, and nature and value of the cargoes, the naval and military stores, with several other circumstances of a similar and corroborative nature. It was no trade carried on by connivance, in the dark, or in a corner, but in open day. If that was the case, he appealed to their Lordships, if there was one of them who, satisfied of the facts, did not think such a commerce, such a barter of commodities, in which a supply of military stores was included, was not treating the Colonies as an independent power, in the first instance; and was it not a breach of neutrality in the next, allowing the independency of America to be a fact not disputable. His Grace attributed, as well as the noble Duke and Rev. Prelate, the declaration of independency to have arose chiefly from the contempt and neglect with which their petition to the King had been treated by parliament; from repeated refusals of redress in any form, or through any channel; and to the inflammatory addresses presented to the Throne, previous to the session of Parliament in 1775. His Lordship pressed the propriety of the motion on several grounds; and predicted the happiest effects, should it be agreed to. It was not pretended that the present campaign would be decisive: indeed the contrary was already acknowledged. Taking the motion in that light, as neither prolonging the war, nor defeating the objects of the campaign, he begged leave to assure their Lordships, that an account of the success of this motion, reaching America, would more effectually tend to stop the further effusion of blood, and an attainment of what we were entitled to demand, or ought to wish to obtain, than any advantages we could possibly derive from the most successful exertion of our arms.
Lord Littleton spoke against the motion, and turned the tables on the Duke of Grafton, respecting the petition brought by Mr. Penn, which he deemed a mere trick of the Congress, full of fallacy, and which it was evident had not its foundation in sincerity, as at the very same time that it arrived here, the Congress had sent a petition to Ireland, in which they openly avowed their own rebellious principles, and endeavoured to seduce that kingdom from its loyalty.
Lord Camden spoke for near an hour in support of the motion; his Lordship ended his speech with this remarkable expression, "So fully am I convinced of the propriety of the present motion, and of the necessity, the absolute necessity, of an immediate Reconciliation, that I am for Peace with America, and War with all the World beside."
Lord Shelburne asked, if France was serious in her assurance of amity towards the country, why she had received Mr. Dean and Dr. Franklin with so much cordiality, and why she did not send them away from Paris?
The Earl of Mansfield said, the present motion was offered by the noble Earl as a means of conciliation, & that he should object to it, because he thought it was no means of conciliation. He then with his wonted clearness went into an examination of the measures pursued by Government since the origin of the dispute, and overturned that part of Lord Camden's argument (in which he had said that every act was a fresh cause of misfortune to the country) by shewing that every act of the British legislature (which America professedly contemned, and the authority which he denied) passed against America for the last three years, was caused by some daring conduct of the rebels. His Lordship afterwards dissected the motion, and not only shewed that it was neither uniform or complete, but most amply justified the propriety of giving it his negative.
Lord Abingdon said a few words which could not be distinctly heard, and upon the question being put the House divided, when the numbers were Not Contents 76, Proxies 23; Contents 26, Proxies 2.
In Congress, August 6, 1777.
THE COMMITTEE of TREASURY Report That they have conferred with the Managers of the STATES LOTTERY, and find that a considerable Number of TICKETS remain unsold in the Hands of the Managers, as well as of their Agents in the several States; that from the present state of the Lottery, and the uncertainty of the Enemy's Intentions, the Committee recommend the Drawing to be postponed till the Sixth Day of November next; and that a further Quantity of Tickets be transmitted to the several States, and that it be recommended to their respective Executive Powers, to give all the assistance they can, to expedite the sales thereof.
Resolved, That Congress concur with this Report, and direct the Board of Treasury to cause the same to be carried into effect. Copy from the Journals,
William C. Houston, Dep. Secretary.
United States Lottery Tickets, SOLD by JOSHUA BRACKET in Portsmouth.
UNITED STATES LOTTERY; 1776.
The Scheme is, that this Lottery consist of Four Classes, of One hundred thousand Tickets each.
FIRST CLASS.
100,000 Tickets, at TEN DOLLARS each, are 1,000,000 Deduction, at Fifteen per Cent, 150,000 850,000
   No. Prizes. Dollars.     1 of 10,000 is 10,000   2 of 5000 are 10,000   30 of 1000 are 30,000   400 of 500 are 200,000   20,000 of 20 are 400,000   Carried to the Fourth Class, 200,000  
850,000
SECOND CLASS.
100,000 Tickets at TWENTY DOLLARS each, are 2,000,000 Deduction, at Fifteen per Cent, 300,000 1,700,000
   No. Prizes. Dollars.     1 of 20,000 is 20,000   2 of 10,000 are 20,000   10 of 5000 are 50,000   100 of 1000 are 100,000   820 of 500 are 410,000   20,000 of 30 are 600,000   Carried to the Fourth Class, 500,000  
1,700,000
THIRD CLASS.
100,000 Tickets, at THIRTY DOLLARS each, are 3,000,000 Deduction, at Fifteen per Cent, 450,000 2,550,000
   No. Prizes. Dollars.     1 of 30,000 is 30,000   1 of 20,000 are 20,000   2 of 15,000 are 30,000   2 of 10,000 are 20,000   10 of 5000 are 50,000   200 of 1000 are 200,000   1000 of 500 are 500,000   20,000 of 40 are 800,000   Carried to the Fourth Class, 900,000  
2,550,000
FOURTH CLASS.
100,000 Tickets, at FORTY DOLLARS each are, 4,000,000 Deduction, at Fifteen per Cent, 600,000 3,400,000
Brought from the First Class, 200,000 Second ditto, 500,000 Third ditto, 900,000 3,400,000
   No. Prizes. Dollars.     1 of 50,000 is 50,000   2 of 25,000 are 50,000   2 of 15,000 are 30,000   2 of 10,000 are 20,000   10 of 5000 are 50,000   100 of 1000 are 100,000   200 of 500 are 100,000   1000 of 300 are 300,000   15,000 of 200 are 3,000,000   25,000 of 50 are 1,300,000  
5,000,000
42 317 Prizes, 57,683 Blanks.
100,000 Tickets.
Not near one and a half Blanks to a Prize.
This Lottery is set on foot by a Resolution of Congress, passed at Philadelphia, the 18th day of November, 1776, for the purpose of raising a sum of Money on loan, bearing an annual interest of four per cent, which, with the sum arising from the deduction, is to be applied for carrying on the present most just and necessary war, in defence of the lives, liberties and property of the inhabitants of these United States.
The managers appointed by Congress are, Sharp Delany, John Purviance, Owen Biddle, David Jackson, Jacob Burge, Jonathan B. Smith, and James Searle, who are upon oath, and give bond for the faithful discharge of their trust.
The drawing the First Class will begin at Philadelphia, the 6th day of November next, or sooner, if sooner full. Philadelphia, Dec. 13, 1777.
DESERTED from Capt. Daniel Merrill's Company, in Col. Samuel Brewer's Battalion, last May, one Nason Lord of Lenford, about 4 Feet nine Inches high, light Complexion, light grey Eyes, light Hair. — Also, one Abraham Springer, 19 Years of Age, light Complexion, about 5 Feet six Inches high, talks but little, — Whoever will return said Deserters to their Battalion in the Northern Army, shall have Five Dollars Reward for each & all necessary Charges paid by me, DANIEL MERRILL, Captain.
N. B. All Masters of Vessels and others are hereby cautioned against concealing said Deserters, or carrying them to Sea, as they would avoid the Penalty of the Law.
PORTSMOUTH, PRINTED.

The following is Burgoyne's pompous Proclamation, under which many of the credulous have lost their scalps.
By JOHN BURGOYNE, Esq; Lieutenant General of his Majesty's Armies in America, Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Light Dragoons, Governor of Fort William in North-Britain, one of the Representatives of the Commons of Great-Britain, and commanding an Army and Fleet employed on an Expedition from Canada, &c. &c.
THE Forces entrusted to my command, are designed to act in concert, and upon a common principle, with the numerous armies and Fleets which already display in every quarter of America, the power, the justice, and, when properly sought, the mercy of the King.
The cause in which the British arms are thus exerted, applies to the most affecting interests of the human heart; and the military servants of the Crown, at first called forth for the sole purpose of restoring the rights of the constitution, now combine with love of their country, and duty to their sovereign, the other extensive incitements, which form a due sense of the general privileges of mankind. To the eyes and ears of the temporate part of the public, and to the breasts of suffering thousands in the provinces, be the melancholy appeal, whether the present unnatural rebellion has not been made a foundation for the compleatest system of tyranny that ever God, in his displeasure, suffered for a time to be exercised over a froward and stubborn generation.
Arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of property, persecution and torture unprecedented in the inquisitions of the Romish church, are among the palpable enormities that verify the affirmative. These are inflicted by Assemblies and Committees, who dare to profess themselves friends to Liberty, upon the most quiet subjects, without distinction of age or sex, for the sole crime, often for the sole suspicion, of having adhered in principle to the government under which they were born, and to which by every tie, divine and human, they owe allegiance. To consummate these shocking proceedings, the profanation of religion invaded to the most profligate prostitution of common reason: the conscience of men are set at nought; and multitudes are compelled not only to bear arms, but also to swear subjection to an usurpation they abhor.
Animated by these considerations, at the head of troops in the full powers of health, discipline & valor; determined to strike where necessary, and anxious to spare where possible, I, by these presents, invite and exhort all persons, in all places where the progress of this army may point,—and by the blessing of God, I will extend it far,—to maintain such a conduct as may justify me in protecting their lands, habitations and families. The intention of this address is to hold forth security, not depredation to the country—to those whom spirit and principle may induce to partake of the glorious task of redeeming their countrymen from dungeons, and re-establishing the blessings of legal government, I offer encouragement and employment; and upon the first intelligence of their association, I will find means to assist their undertakings. The domestic, the industrious, the infirm, and even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous to protect, provided they remain quietly at their houses, that they do not suffer their cattle to be removed, nor their corn or forage to be secreted or destroyed; that they do not break up their bridges or roads; nor by any other act directly or indirectly endeavour to obstruct the operations of the king's troops, or supply or assist those of the enemy.
Every species of provision, bro't to the army, will be paid for at an equitable rate, and in solid gold.
In consciousness of christianity, my royal master's clemency, and the honour of soldierhip, I have dwelt upon this invitation, and wished for more persuasive terms to give it impression: And let not people be led to disregard it by considering their distance from the immediate situation of my camp—I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thousands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain and America. I consider them the same, wherever they may lurk.
If, notwithstanding these endeavours and sincere inclinations to effect them the phrenzy of hostility should remain I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of God and men, in denouncing and executing the vengeance of the state against the wilful outcasts. The messengers of justice and of wrath await them in the field; and devastation, famine, & every concomitant horror, that a reluctant, but indispensable prosecution of military duty must occasion, will bar the way to their return.
JOHN BURGOYNE.
Camp near Ticonderoga, July, 2 1777.
By order of his Excellency the Lieut. General, ROBERT KINGSTON, Secretary.
By Lieutenant General JOHN BURGOYNE, commanding an army and state of Great Britain, against the revolted Provinces of America.
To the inhabitants of Castleton, of Hubbardton, Rutland, Tinmouth, Pawlet, Wells, Granville, with the neighbouring Districts bordering on White Creek, Cembden Cambridge, &c. &c. &c.
MARYLAND (Annapolis) August 28. Since the enemy have landed at Elk, we hear a number of them have been taken prisoners, several of whom were brought to this city; and deserters are daily coming in. The Governor informed by express, that the Eastern Shore militia are collecting, determined to make the most obstinate resistance, and has every reason to expect they will be numerous. We are informed, that the enemy have landed a considerable body of men at Cecil court house, which they burnt, together with all the records and papers of that country, and that General Washington, with 10 or 12000 regulars, is now at Christeen. Deserters say, that Howe's intention is for Philadelphia.
YOU are hereby directed to send from your several Townships, deputations consisting of ten persons or more, from each Township, to meet Col. Skeene, at Castleton, on Wednesday, July 16, at ten in the morning, who will have instructions not only to give farther encouragement to those who complied with the terms of my late manifesto, but also to communicate conditions upon which the persons and the parties on the disobedient may yet be spared.
This fail not to obey under pain of military execution.
JOHN BURGOYNE.
By order of his Excellency the Lieut. General, ROBERT KINGSTON, Secretary.
Head Quarters at Skeneborough house, July 11 1777.
BOSTON, September 15.
COPIES of the following Letters from Lieut. General Burgoyne to Major General Gates, with General Gates's Answer, are just come to Hand; but the Copier has probably made a mistake in the Date of General Burgoyne's Letter; for General Gates certainly received it, by a Flag, on the 11th Inst addressed to Major General Gates, or other Officer commanding the American troops in Half Moon.
Head Quarters of the King's army upon Hudson's River, August 30, 1777.
SIR,
MAJOR General Riedel has requested me to transmit the inclosed to Lieut. Col. Baum, whom the fortune of war put into the hands of your troops at Bennington.
Having never failed in my attention towards prisoners, I cannot entertain a doubt of your taking this opportunity to show me a return of civility; and that you will permit the baggage and servants of such officers, your prisoners, as deserveth, to pass to them unmolested.
It is with great concern I find myself obliged to add to this application, a complaint of the bad treatment the provincial soldiers in the King's service received after the affair at Bennington. I have reports upon oath that some were refused quarters after having asked it. I am willing to believe this was against the order and inclination of your officers; but it is my part to require an explanation, & to warn you of the horrors of retaliation if such a practice is not in the strongest terms discountenanced and apprehended.
Duty and principle Sir, make me a public enemy to the Americans, who have taken up arms; but I seek to be a generous one; nor have I the shadow of resentment against any individual, who does not induce it by acts derogatory to those maxims, upon which all men of honor think alike.
Persuaded that a gentleman of the station to which this letter is addressed, will not be completed in exception I have made.
I am, personly, Sir, your most humble Servant, J. BURGOYNE, Lieut. General.
M. General Gates,
Major General GATES's Answer.
Head Quarters of the Army of the United States, September 2
SIR,
LAST night I had the honor to receive your Excellency's letter of the first instant. I am astonished you should mention inhumanity, or threaten retaliation. Nothing happened in the action at Bennington, but what is common when works are carried by assault.
That the Savages of America should, in their warfare, mangle, and scalp the unhappy prisoners who fall into their hands, is neither new nor extraordinary; but that the famous Lieutenant General Burgoyne, in whom the fine gentleman is united with the soldier & the scholar, should hire the Savages of America to scalp Europeans, and the descendants of Europeans: Nay more, that he should pay a price for each scalp so barbarously taken, is more than will be believed in Europe, until authenticated facts shall in every Gazette confirm the truth of the horrid tale.
Miss McRea, a young lady lovely to the sight, of virtuous character and amiable disposition, engaged to be married to an officer in your army, was, with other women and children, taken out of a house near Fort Edward, carried into the woods and their scalped and mangled in a most shocking manner. Two parents, with their French children, were all treated with the same inhumanity, while quietly residing in their once happy and peaceful dwelling. The miserable fate of Miss McRea was particularly aggravated, by her being dressed to receive her promised husband, but met her murderer, employed by you. Ugly as one hundred men, women and children, have perished by the hands of the savages, to whom, it is asserted, you have paid the price of blood.
Inclosed are letters from your wounded officers, prisoners in my hands: By them you will be informed of the generosity of their conquerors.
Such money, cloathing, attendants and necessaries, which your Excellency pleases to send to the prisoners shall be faithfully delivered. The late Col. Baum's servant is at Bennington, would have come to your Excellency's camp, but when I offered him a flag, he was afraid to run the risque of being scalped, and declined.
When I know what surgeon and attendants your Excellency is desirous of sending to Bennington, I shall dispatch an officer to your lines, to conduct them to my camp.
I am, Sir, your most humble Servant.
HORATIO GATES, Major General.
Lieut. Gen. Burgoyne.
PHILADELPHIA, September 3.
By the accounts of deserters from the enemy, their situation must be very disagreeable and distressing, as the number of sick is considerable, having increased greatly since they landed, and they are so closely observed by the militia that they dare not venture far to procure fresh provisions. That numbers of seamen as well as soldiers are determined to desert the first opportunity; the latter in particular are greatly distressed, on account of their bad provisions, for which even the best part of their pay is stopped, as they do not receive more than two pence half penny a day, and when that happens to be paid them it is not in their power to purchase any vegetables, which the poor fellows are now more desirous of than ever they were of liquor. And that soon after their landing they lost near 30 horses having turned them into a cornfield, where the creatures eat to such excess that they expired before the English farmers could discover their disorder, and administer any thing to their relief.
BOSTON, Sept 18
We are favoured, by a Gentleman, with the following Copy of general Orders, issued on the 6th Instant at Half Moon, previous to the Army's marching to attack the Enemy at Fort Edward.
THE Generals, commanding Division, and all the Generals and Colonels, commanding Brigades, to see that the Commanding Officers of Regiments and Companies have every Thing in immediate Readiness for a March; that when General Orders are issued, the Army may only have to shake their Tents, load their Baggage, and instantly, at the Word being given, march off the Ground. A very large Army of Militia, with some Continental Troops, under the Command of Generals Lincoln and Stark, are now assembling in the Grants, and every necessary Preparation for their acting is concerted with this Army, upon the Point of being completed. This whole Force must be prepared to march, upon the shortest Notice, to drive the Enemy with Disgrace, and defeat back to Canada, is the Object of the present Campaign. What has been successfully begun, by General Gates and Col. Warner, to the Eastward, and General Hake-man and Col. Ganseworth at the Westward, cannot (with the Blessing of Heaven) fail to be equally successful, in the hands of the Generals and Soldiers, appointed to face the Enemy's main Army, at the Northward. If the Murder of aged Parents, with their innocent Children—of mangled the blooming Virgin, and ineffective Youth, as Inducements to Revenge—if the righteous Cause of Freedom, and the Happiness of Posterity, are Motives to stimulate the Army to conquer their mercenary and merciless Foes, the Time is now come, when they are called upon, by their Country, by their General, by every Thing Human and Divine, to vanquish their Enemy. Each State, in particular, and the GRAND CONVENTION of the UNITED STATES in general, are, to this Moment, industriously employed to provide their Army with every Comfort and Necessary that can be procured. Duty, Gratitude and Honor, must therefore inspire the Heart of every Officer and Soldier, to do Justice to their much injured Country.
TAKEN up by JOHN CLAY of Candis, some Time last Fall, a black STEER, three Years old last Spring, with some White on his Tail, with a Crop off his left Ear, and a Ha'penny under Side of the same. Whoever owns said Steer, and makes good his Claim, may have him, paying for his keeping, and Charges of advertisement. 15 — 17
STRAYED, on Road from Portsmouth the 7th instant, a dark brown MARE, very fat & without shoes, naturally inclined to pace. Whoever will find said Mare, & return her to NEHEMIAH FURBER, of Newington, shall be well rewarded, or if they will apprehend the thief, shall receive TEN DOLLARS and charges.
Wanted,
For the Continental Service,
A QUANTITY of Sheets, Yarn Stockings, Felt Hats, Woolens, coarse Linnens, &c. for which a generous Price will be paid by
WILLIAM GARDNER, Agent, for Cloathing in Portsmouth.
Those who live at a Distance, and cannot with Convenience convey any of the above Articles to him, more especially Shoes, which are much wanted, are desired to apply to either of the following Persons viz. Mr. Josiah Moulton of Hampton, Mr. David Griffith of Exeter, Mr. Peter Drowne at Newmarket or Mr. Benjamin Pierce at Dover, who will receive and pay for the same.