The Virginia gazette (Williamsburg [Va.]), 1773-03-04 00:00:00

VIRGINIA
GAZETTE.
With the freest ADVICES,
FOREIGN and DOMESTICK.
IN CIVITATE LIBERA LINGUAM MENTEMQUE
LIBERAS ESSE DEBERE. Suet. in Tib. S. 28.
Printed by ALEX. PURDIE, and JOHN DIXON, at the POST OFFICE.
ADVERTISEMENT.
LANEVILLE, February 8, 1773.
THE Sheriffs who have been so long in Arrear to his Majesty's Revenue of Quitrents are once more called upon, in this publick Manner, to settle their Accounts with the Auditor, and pay their respective Balances into the Receiver's Office by the 25th of April next. My Instructions on this Head are positive and peremptory, and I shall be obliged, in Consequence of them, strictly to enforce the Law against every Sheriff who fails in his Duty, and neglects to make due Payment.
(6) RICHARD CORBIN, D. R. G.
BOSTON, January 22
To his Excellency THOMAS HUTCHINSON, Esquire, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, &c. The Address of his Majesty's COUNCIL of the said Province.
May it please your Excellency,
THE Board have considered your Excellency's Speech to both Houses with the Attention due to the Subject of it, and we hope with the Candour you are pleased to recommend to them. We thank you for the Promise, that "if we shall not agree with you in Sentiments, you will, with Candour likewise, receive and consider what we may offer in Answer."
Your Speech informs the two Houses that this Government is at present in a disturbed and disordered State, that the Cause of this Disorder is the unconstitutional Principles adopted by the People in questioning the supreme Authority of Parliament, and that the proper Measure for removing the Disorder must be the substituting contrary Principles.
Our Opinion on these Heads, as well as on some others proper to be noticed, will be obvious in the Course of the following Observations.
With Regard to the present disordered State of the Government, it can have no Reference to Tumults or Riots, from which this Government is as free as any other whatever. If your Excellency meant only that the Province is discontented, and in a State of Uneasiness, we should entirely agree with you; but you will permit us to say, we are not so well agreed in the Cause of it. The Uneasiness, which was a general one throughout the Colonies, began when, you inform us, the Authority of Parliament was first called in Question, namely, about seven or eight Years ago. Your mentioning that particular Time might have suggested to your Excellency the true Cause of the Origin, and Continuance, of that Uneasiness.
At that Time the Stamp Act, then lately made, began to operate; which, with some preceding and succeeding Acts of Parliament, subjecting the Colonies to Taxes without their Consent, was the original Cause of all the Uneasiness that has happened since, and has occasioned also an Inquiry into the Nature and Extent of the Authority by which they were made. The late Town Meetings, in several Towns, are Instances of both. These are mentioned by your Excellency in Proof of a disordered State, but though we do not approve some of their Resolves, we think they had a clear Right to instruct their Representatives on any Subject they apprehended to be of sufficient Importance to require it; which necessarily implies a previous Consideration of, and Expression of their Minds on, that Subject, however mistaken they may be concerning it.
When a Community, great or small, think their Rights and Privileges infringed, they will express their Uneasiness in a Variety of Ways; some of which may be highly improper, and criminal. So far as any of an atrocious Nature have taken Place, we would express our Abhorrence of them; and, as we have always done hitherto, we shall continue to do, every Thing in our Power to discourage and suppress them. But it is in vain to hope that this can be done effectually, so long as the Cause of the Uneasiness which occasioned them exists.
Your Excellency will perceive that the Cause you assign is by us supposed to be an Effect derived from the original Cause above mentioned, the Removal of which will remove its Effects.
To obtain this Removal, we agree with you in the Method pointed out in your Speech, where you say, "the Manner of obtaining Redress must be by Representations and Endeavours in such Ways and Forms as the Constitution allows, in Order to make any Matters alleged to be Grievances appear to be really such." This Method has been pursued repeatedly. Petitions to Parliament have gone from, the Colonies, and from this Colony in particular, but without Success. Some of them, in a former Ministry, were previously shown to the Minister, who (as we have been informed) advised the Agents to postpone presenting them to the House of Commons till the first Reading of the Bill they referred to; when, being presented, a Rule of the House against receiving Petitions on Money Bills was urged for the rejecting of them, and they were rejected accordingly. And other Petitions, for Want of Formality, or whatever was the Reason, have had the same Fate. This we mention not by Way of Censure on that Honourable House, but in some Measure to account for the Conduct of those Persons who, despairing of Redress in a constitutional Way, have denied the just Authority of Parliament; concerning which we shall now give our own Sentiments, intermixed with Observations on those of your Excellency.
You are pleased to observe, that "when our Predecessors first took Possession of this Colony, under a Grant and Charter from the Crown of England, it was their Sense, and it was the Sense of the Kingdom, that they were to remain subject to the supreme Authority of Parliament;" and to prove that Subjection the greater Part of your Speech is employed.
In Order to a right Conception of this Matter, it is necessary to guard against any improper Idea of the Term supreme Authority. In your Idea of it, your Excellency seems to include unlimited Authority; for you are pleased to say, you "knew of no Line that can be drawn between the supreme Authority of Parliament and the total Independence of the Colonies;" But if no such Line can be drawn, a Denial of that Authority, in any Instance whatever, implies and amounts to a Declaration of total Independence. But if supreme Authority includes unlimited Authority, the Subjects of it are emphatically Slaves, and equally so whether residing in the Colonies or Great Britain. And indeed, in this Respect, all the Nations on Earth, among whom Government exists in any of its Forms, would be alike conditioned, excepting so far as the mere Grace and Favour of their Governors might make a Difference; for, "from the Nature of Government, there must be, as your Excellency has observed, one supreme Authority over the Whole."
We cannot think that "when our Predecessors first took Possession of this Colony it was their Sense, or the Sense of the Kingdom, that they were to remain subject to the supreme Authority of Parliament," in this Idea of it; nor can we find that this appears from the Charter, or that such Authority has ever been exercised by Parliament, submitted to by the Colony, or acknowledged by the Legislature.
Supreme or unlimited Authority can, with Fitness, belong only to the Sovereign of the Universe; and that Fitness is derived from the Perfection of his Nature. To such Authority, directed by infinite Wisdom and in-
finite Goodness, is due both active and passive Obedience; which, as it constitutes the Happiness of rational Creatures, should with Cheerfulness, and from Choice, be unlimitedly paid by them: But, with Truth, this can be said of no other Authority whatever. If then, from the Nature and End of Government, the supreme Authority of every Government is limited, the supreme Authority of Parliament must be limited; and the Inquiry will be, what are the Limits of that Authority with Regard to this Colony? To fix them with Precision, to determine the exact Lines of Right and Wrong in this Case, as in some others, is difficult, and we have not the Presumption to attempt it; but we humbly hope, that as we are personally and relatively, in our private and publick Capacities, for ourselves, for the whole Province, and for all Posterity, so deeply interested in this important Subject, it will not be deemed Arrogance to give some general Sentiments upon it, especially as your Excellency's Speech has made it absolutely necessary.
For this Purpose we shall recur to those Records that contain the main Principles on which the English Constitution is founded, and from them make such Extracts as are pertinent to the Subject.
Magna Charta declares, "that no Aid shall be imposed in the Kingdom unless by the Common Council of the Kingdom, except to redeem the King's Person, &c. "and that all Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and Ports, shall have their Liberties and free Customs, and shall have the Common Council of the Kingdom concerning the Assessment of their Aids, except in the Cases aforesaid."
The Statute of the 34th of Edward I. de tallagio non concedendo , declares, "that no Tallage or Aid should be laid or levied by the King, or his Heirs, in the Realm, without the good Will and Assent of the Archbishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, Knights, Burgesses, and other the Freemen of the Commonality of this Realm."
A Statute of the 25th of Edward III. enacts, "that from thenceforth no Person shall be compelled to make any Loans to the King against his Will, because such Loans were against Reason and the Franchise of the Land."
The Petition of Rights in the 3d of Charles I. in which are cited the two foregoing Statutes, declares that by those "Statutes, and other good Laws and Statutes of the Realm, his Majesty's Subjects inherited this Freedom, that they should not be compelled to contribute to any Tax, Tallage, Aid, or other like Charge, not set by common Consent of Parliament;" and the Statute of the 1st of William III. for declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and settling the Succession of the Crown, declares, "that the levying of Money for or to the Use of the Crown, by Pretence of Prerogative, without Grant of Parliament, for longer Time, or in any other Manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal."
From these Authorities, it appears an essential Part of the English Constitution that no Tallage or Aid, or Tax, shall be laid or levied "without the Goodwill and Assent of the Freemen of the Commonality of the Realm." If this could be done without their Assent, their Property would be in the highest Degree precarious; or rather they could not, with Fitness, be said to have any Property at all. At best, they would be only the Holders of it for the Use of the Crown; and the Crown be, in Fact, the real Proprietor. This would be Vassalage in the Extreme, from which the generous Nature of Englishmen has been so abhorrent that they have bled with Freedom in the Defence of this Part of their Constitution, which has preserved them from it; and, influenced by the same Generosity, they can never view with Disapprobation any lawful Measures taken by us for the Defence of our own Constitution, which entitles us to the same Rights and Privileges with themselves.
These we were derived to us from common Law, which is the Inheritance of all his Majesty's Subjects; have been recognized by Acts of Parliament; and confirmed by the Province Charter, which established its Constitution; and which Charter has been recognized by Act of Parliament also. This Act was made in the second Year of his late Majesty George II. for the better Preservation of his Majesty's Woods in America, in which is recited the Clause of the said Charter reserving for the Use of the Royal Navy all Trees suitable for Masts, and on this Charter is grounded the succeeding enacting Clause of the Act; and thus is the Charter implicitly confirmed by Act of Parliament.
From all which it appears that the Inhabitants of this Colony are clearly entitled to all the Rights and Privileges of free and natural Subjects, which certainly must include that most essential one, that no Aid or Taxes be levied on them without their own Consent, signified by their Representatives; but from the Clause in the Charter relative to the Power granted to the General Court to make Laws, not repugnant to the Laws of England, your Excellency draws this Inference, that "surely this is by Charter a Reserve of Power and Authority to Parliament to bind us by such Laws, at least, as are made expressly to refer to us, and consequently is a Limitation of the Power given to the General Court." If it be allowed that by that Clause there was a Reserve of Power to Parliament to bind the Province, it was only by such Laws as were in Being at the Time the Charter was granted; for by the Charter there is nothing appears to make it refer to any parliamentary Laws that should be afterwards made, and therefore it will not support your Excellency's Inference.
The Grant of Power to the General Court to make Laws runs thus: "Full Power and Authority, from Time to Time, to make, ordain, and establish, all Manner of wholesome and reasonable Orders, Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances, Directions, Instructions, either with Penalties or without (so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to the Laws of this our Realm of England) as they shall judge to be for the Good and Welfare of our said Province," &c. We humbly think an Inference very different from your Excellency's, and a very just one too, may be drawn from this Clause, if Attention be given to the Description of the Orders and Laws that were to be made: They were to be wholesome, reasonable, and for the Good and Welfare of the Province; and, in Order that they might be so, it is provided that they be "not repugnant or contrary to the Laws of the Realm" that were then in Being. By which proviso all the Liberties and Immunities of free and natural Subjects within the Realm were more effectually secured to the Inhabitants of the Province, agreeable to another Clause in the Charter, whereby those Liberties and Immunities are expressly granted to them; and accordingly the Power of the General Court is so far limited that they shall not make Orders and Laws to take away, or diminish, those Liberties and Immunities.
This Construction appears to us a just one, and perhaps may appear so to your Excellency, if you will please to consider that by another Part of the Charter effectual Care was taken for preventing the General Assembly passing of Orders and Laws repugnant to, or that in any Way might militate with, Acts of Parliament then or since made, or that might be exceptional in any other Respect whatever; for the Charter reserves to his Majesty the Appointment of the Governor, whose Assent is necessary in the passing of all Orders and Laws, after which they are to be sent to England for the Royal Approbation or Disallowance, by which double Control effectual Care is taken to prevent the Establishment of any improper Orders or Laws whatever. Besides, your Excellency is sensible that "Letters Patent must be construed one Part with another, and all the Parts of them together, so as to make the whole harmonious and agree." But your Excellency's Construction of the Paragraph empowering the General Court to make Orders and Laws does by no Means harmonize and agree with the Paragraph granting Liberties and Immunities, and therefore we humbly conceive is not to be admitted; whereas, on the other Construction, there is a perfect Harmony and Agreement between them. But, supposing your Excellency's Inference just, that by the said former Paragraph (considered by itself) are referred to Parliament Power and Authority to bind us by Laws made expressly to
refer to us, does it consist with Justice and Equity that it should be considered apart, and urged against the People of this Province with all its Force, and without Limitation, and at the same Time the other Paragraph, which they thought secured to them the essential Rights and Privileges of free and natural Subjects, be rendered of no Validity? If the former Paragraph (in this supposed Case) be binding on this People, the latter must be binding on the Crown, which thereby became Guarantee of those Rights and Privileges; or it must be supposed that one Party is held by a Compact, and the other not, which Supposition is against Reason and against Law, and therefore destroys the Foundation of the Inference. However, supposing it well founded, it would not from thence follow that the Charter intended such Laws as should subject the Inhabitants of the Province to Taxes without their Consent; for (as appears above) it grants to them all the Rights and Liberties of free and natural Subjects, of which one of the most essential is, a Freedom from all Taxes not consented to by themselves. Nor could the Parties, either Granter or Grantees, intend such Laws: The Royal Granter could not, because his Grant contradicts such Intention; and because it is inconsistent with every Idea of Royalty, and Royal Wisdom, to grant what it does not intend to grant. And it will be readily allowed that the Grantees could not intend such Laws, not only on Account of their Inconsistency with the Grant, but because their Acceptance of a Charter subjecting them to such Laws would be voluntary Slavery.
Your Excellency next observes, "that it cannot be contended that by the Liberty of free and natural Subjects is to be understood an Exemption from Acts of Parliament, because not represented there, seeing it is provided by the same Charter that such Act shall be in Force." If the Observations we have made above, and the Reasoning on them be just, it will appear that no such Provision is made in the Charter, and therefore that the Deductions and Inferences derived from the Supposition of such Provision are not well founded. And with Respect to Representation in Parliament, as it is one of the essential Liberties of free and natural Subjects, and properly makes those who enjoy it liable to parliamentary Acts, so in Reference to the Inhabitants of this Province, who are entitled to all the Liberties of such Subjects, the Impossibility of their being duly represented in Parliament does clearly exempt them from all such Acts at least as have been or shall be made by Parliament to tax them; Representation and Taxation being, in our Opinion, constitutionally inseparable.
"If this Grant of Liberties and Immunities, your Excellency informs us, is nothing more than a Declaration and Assurance on the Part of the Crown that the Place to which our Predecessors were about to remove was, and would be, considered as Part of the Dominions of the Crown; and therefore that the Subjects so removing would not become Aliens, but would, both without and within the Colony, retain the Liberties and Immunities of free and natural Subjects."
The Dominion of the Crown over this Country, before the Arrival of our Predecessors, was merely ideal. Their Removal hither realised that Dominion, and has made the Country valuable both to the Crown and Nation, without any Cost to either of them from that Time to this. Even in the most distressed State of our Predecessors, when they expected to be destroyed by a general Conspiracy and Incursion of the Indian Natives, they had no Assistance from them. This Grant then of Liberties, which is the only Consideration they received from the Crown for so valuable an Acquisition to it, instead of being violated by military Power, or explained away by nice Inferences and Distinctions, ought in Justice, and with a generous Openness and Freedom, to be acknowledged by every Minister of the Crown, and preserved sacred from every Species of Violation.
"If the Plantations be Part of the Dominions of the Crown, this Clause in the Charter (granting Liberties and Immunities) does not, your Excellency observes, confer or reserve any Liberties but what would have been enjoyed without it; and what the Inhabitants of every other Colony do enjoy, where they are without a Charter." Although the Colonies, considered as Part of the Dominions of the Crown, are entitled to equal Liberties, the Inhabitants of this Colony think it a Happiness that those Liberties are confirmed and secured to them by a Charter, whereby the Honour and Faith of the Crown are pledged that those Liberties shall not be violated. And for Protection in them we humbly look up to his present Majesty, our rightful and lawful Sovereign, as Children to a Father, able and disposed to assist and relieve them; humbly imploring his Majesty that his Subjects of this Province, ever faithful and loyal, and ever accounted such till the Stamp Act existed, and who in the late War, and upon all other Occasions, have demonstrated that Faithfulness and Loyalty by their vigorous and unexampled Exertions in his Service, may have their Grievances redressed, and be restored to their just Rights.
Your Excellency next observes, "that it is impossible the Rights of English Subjects should be the same in every Respect in all Parts of the Dominions," and Instances in the Right of being "governed by Laws made by Persons in whose Election they have a Voice." When "they remove from the Kingdom to the Plantations, where it cannot be enjoyed," you ask, "will it not be said that by this their voluntary Removal they have relinquished, for a Time at least, one of the Rights of an English Subject, which they might, if they pleased, have continued to enjoy, and may again enjoy whenever they will return to the Place where it can be exercised?"
When English Subjects remove from the Kingdom to the Plantations, with their Properties, they not only relinquish that Right de facto , but it ought to cease in the Kingdom de jure ; but it does not from thence follow that they relinquish that Right, in Reference to the Plantation or Colony to which they remove. On the contrary, being become Inhabitants of that Colony, and qualified according to the Laws of it, they can exercise that Right equally with the other Inhabitants of it; and this Right, on like Conditions, will travel with them through all the Colonies wherein a Legislature, similar to that of the Kingdom, is established. And therefore in this Respect, and we suppose in all other essential Respects, it is not impossible the Rights of English Subjects should be the same in all Parts of the Dominions, under a like Form of Legislature.
This Right of Representation is so essential and indispensable, in Regard of all Laws for levying Taxes, that a People under any Form of Government destitute of it is destitute of Freedom; of that Degree of Freedom for the Perfection of which Government was instituted, and without which Government degenerates to Despotism. It cannot therefore be given up, or taken away, without making a Breach on the essential Rights of Nature.
But your Excellency is pleased to say, that "they who claim Exemption as Part of their Rights by Nature should consider that every Restraint which Men are laid under by a State of Government is a Privation of Part of their natural Rights. Even in Case of Representation by Election, do they not give up Part of their natural Rights when they consent to be represented by such Persons as shall be chosen by the Majority of the Electors, although their own Voices may be for some other Person? And is it not contrary to their natural Rights to be obliged to submit to a Representative for seven Years, or even one Year, after they are dissatisfied with his Conduct, although they gave their Voices for him when he was elected? This must therefore be considered as an Objection against a State of Government, rather than against any particular Form."
Your Excellency's Premises are true, but we do not think your Conclusion follows from them. It is true that every Restraint of Government is a Privation of natural Right, and the two Cases you have been pleased to mention may be Instances of that Privation; but as they arise from the Nature of Society and Government, and as Government is necessary to secure other natural Rights infinitely more valuable, they cannot there-

agreeable to be considered as an Objection either "against a State of Government" or "against any particular Form of it."
Life, Liberty, Property, and the Disposal of that Property with our own Consent, are natural Rights. Will any one put the other in Competition with these, or infer that because those other must be given up in a State of Government these must be given up also? The Preservation of these Rights is the great End of Government; but is it probable they will be effectually secured by a Government which the Proprietors of them have no Part in the Direction of, and over which they have no Power or Influence whatever? Hence is deducible Representation; which, being necessary to preserve these invaluable Rights of Nature, is itself, for that Reason, a natural Right, coinciding with, and running into, that great Law of Nature, Self Preservation.
Thus have we considered the most material Parts of your Speech, and, agreeable to your Desire, disclosed to you our Sentiments on the Subject of it.
"Independence (as your Excellency rightly judged) we have not in Contemplation." We cannot, however, adopt "your Principles of Government," or acquiesce in all the Inferences you have drawn from them.
We have the highest Respect for that august Body the Parliament, and do not presume to prescribe the exact Limits of its Authority, yet, with the Deference that is due to it, we are humbly of Opinion, that, as all human Authority, in the Nature of it, is and ought to be limited, it cannot constitutionally extend, for the Reasons we have above suggested, to the levying of Taxes, in any Form, on his Majesty's Subjects of this Province.
In such Principles as these, our Predecessors were easy and happy; and in the due Operation of such, their Descendants, the present Inhabitants of this Province, have been easy and happy. But they are not so now: Their Uneasiness and Unhappiness are derived from Acts of Parliament, and Regulations of Government, that lately, and within a few Years past, have been made; and this Uneasiness and Unhappiness, both in the Cause and Effects of them, though your Excellency seems, and can only seem, to be of a different Opinion, have extended, and continue to extend, to all the Colonies throughout the Continent.
It would give us the highest Satisfaction to see Happiness and Tranquility restored to the Colonies, and especially to see between Great Britain and them an Union established on such an equitable Basis as neither of them shall ever wish to destroy. We humbly supplicate the sovereign Arbiter and Superintendent of human Affairs for these happy Events.
An Essay on WOMEN.
THOSE who consider Women only as pretty Figures, placed here for Ornament, have but a very improper Idea of the Sex. They perpetually say that Women are lovely Flowers, designed to heighten the Complexion of Nature. This is very true; but, at the same Time, Women should not let themselves be perverted by such trifling Discourse, but take Care not to be content with these superficial Advantages. There are too many, who, satisfied with that Partition, seem to have renounced any other Accomplishment but that of charming the Eye. Women have quite another Destination, and were created for more noble Ends than that of being a vain Spectacle; their Beauties are only Heralds of more touching Qualities; to reduce all to Beauty is to degrade them, and put them almost on a Level with their Pictures. Those who are only handsome may make a pretty Figure in an armed Chair, or may decorate a Drawing Room; they are literally fit to be seen: But to find in their Acquaintance all the Advantages we have a Right to expect, Women must have more than Beauty.
Among intelligent Beings, Society should not be bounded by a cold Exhibition of their Persons, or a dull Conversation of Lies and Vanity. Whatever doth not tend to make us better corrupts us; but if Women, who are the Ornaments of Society, would strive to join Justness of Thought, and Uprightness of Heart, to the Graces of the Body, the Taste we have for them would unfold excellent Qualities in us. Let them then raise their Souls to noble Objects, and they will ripen the Seeds of every Virtue in Men.
The Empire which Women owe to Beauty was only given them for the general Good of all the human Species. Men destined to great Actions have a certain Fierceness, which only Women can correct; there is in their Manners, more than their Features, a Sweetness capable of bending that natural Ferocity which, untempered, would soon degenerate into Brutality.
We may well say, that if we were destitute of Women we should all be different from what we are. Our Endeavours to be agreeable to them polish and soften that rough severe Strain so natural to us; their Cheerfulness is a Counterbalance to our rough austere Humours: In a Word, if Men did not converse with Women, they would be less perfect and less happy than they are.
That Man who is insensible to the Sweetness of female Conversation is rarely the Friend to Mankind; such cherish an Insensibility, which renders even their Virtues dangerous. The great Qualities of Charles XII. had not troubled all Europe if that Prince had lived more in the Society of Women, alone capable of softening his untractable Courage; for he refused to see the Countess of Koningmarck, who brought him, from King Augustus, Proposals of Peace, which her Wit and Beauty might have rendered successful.
If Men require the tender Application of Women to render them more tractable, those, on the other Hand, equally want the Conversation of Men to awaken their Vivacity, and draw them from a Negligence into which, if they were not stimulated by a Desire of pleasing, they would certainly fall. That Desire produces the Allurements of the Face, the Grace of Air, and the Sweetness of Voice; for whether they speak, move, or smile, they think of rendering themselves agreeable. Whence we may conclude, that it is the Men who, in some Degree, give Charms to the Women, who without them would fall into a sour or indolent Temper. Besides, female Minds, overwhelmed with Trifles, would languish in Ignorance, if Men, recalling them to more elevated Objects, did not communicate Dignity and Vigour.
It is thus that the two Sexes ought to be perfected by one another. The manly Courage of the one is tempered by the Softness of the other, which in its
Turn borrows from the same Courage. The one acquires in Woman's Company a milder Tincture, while the other lose their female Levity. Their different Qualities balance each other, and it is from that Mixture that that happy Accord arises which renders them both more accomplished.
The Variety of Minds may be compared to that of Voices, which would rather form an agreeable Concert than a grating Discord. If Men are of a stronger Frame, it is the more effectually to contribute to the Happiness of those who are more delicate: One Sex was not designed to be the Oppression of the other: the intimate Connexion between them is for general Advantage; and those ridiculous Debates of Superiority are an Insult to Nature, and an Ingratitude for her Benefits.
We are born Womens Friends, not their Rivals, much less their Tyrants, and that Strength which was given us for their Defence is abused when thereby we enslave them; and to banish from Society the sweetest Charm, that Part of the human Species which is most proper to animate, would render it quite insipid.
The Truth of this hath been proved by the People of the East, who, joining together a Sense of their own Weakness and a brutal Passion, have regarded Women as dangerous Companions, against whom they must be on their Guard; therefore they have enslaved that Sex to avoid being enslaved by them, and have thought too much Love gave them a Title to misuse them. But these tyrannick Masters have been the first Victims of their tyrannick Jealousy. Devoted to a lonely melancholy Life, they have sought for tender Sensations in vain amidst their fair Slaves. Sensibility, with the Delicacy ever its Companion, are only to be found in the Reign of Freedom, since they both necessarily shun a Society void of those Springs whence they might grow. These, and such like People, seek to recompense themselves for a lost Sensibility and Delicacy by a brutish Voluptuousness, which only serves to numb their Senses, and brutalize their Souls. FALSE WIT and HUMOUR pointed out and condemned. THERE is, and no Doubt always has been, in ancient Athens, as well as modern London, a great Number of shallow pated People, who, seeing the Tribute of Applause that never fails to be paid to true Wit and Humour, are willing to have likewise their Share of it; but, not being blest with the lawful Means, namely, a lively Fancy and a sound Judgment, employ such Means as Nature has bestowed upon them. Some of these facetious Gentlemen will lay Joint Stools in the Way of their Companions, pin their Skirts to the Table Cloth, archly slip away their Chairs from under them, and have Recourse to numberless other Conceits, from whence a Monkey only could claim any Merit. But these Shin-breaking, Clothes-pinning, Chair-withdrawing Wits, are a Cervantes or a Chesterfield, compared with another Set of ideotical Vermin, who, to be thought witty, will deceive you by a direct Lie, or keep you a considerable Time in Suspense by an Ambiguity, and then laugh and tell you it was a Joke. The Consequence of this pitiful Practice is deplorable; for, by its Frequency, not only the Language is corrupted, by the Misapplication of Words, but that Innocence, Confidence, and Security, which constitute the great Pleasure and Dignity of Conversation, among People of liberal Minds, is often hurt and confounded. How often do we hear, even Men of tolerable Breeding, ask one another, Are you in jest, or serious? That is, Do you lie, or speak Truth? And yet, by the Commonness of this Sort of Jest, they do not incur the Resentment that would follow the Question properly expressed. On the Difficulty of laying down Rules for HAPPINESS. THERE is nothing more difficult than to lay down any fixed and certain Rules for Happiness, or indeed to judge with any Precision of the Happiness of others from the Knowledge of external Circumstances. There is sometimes a little Speck of Black in the brightest and gayest Colours of Fortune, which contaminates and deadens the Whole. On the contrary, when all without looks dark and dismal, there is often a secret Ray of Light within the Mind, which turns every Thing to real Joy and Gladness. Origin of the Word LADY. AS I have studied more what appertains to the Ladies than to the Gentlemen, I will satisfy you how it came to pass that Women of Fortune were called Ladies, even before their Husbands had any Title to convey that Mark of Distinction to them. You must know, then, that heretofore it was the Fashion for those Families whom God had blessed with Affluence to live constantly at their Mansion Houses in the Country, and that once a Week, or oftener, the Lady of the Manor distributed to her poor Neighbours, with her own Hands, a certain Quantity of Bread, and she was called by them the Leff-Day ; that is, in Saxon, the Bread-giver . These two Words were in Time corrupted, and the Meaning is now as little known as the Practice which gave Rise to it; yet it is from that hospitable Custom, that, to this Day, the Ladies in this Kingdom alone serve the Meat at their own Tables. A short and general View of the present Liberties of Mankind, and those of Britain in particular. LIBERTY is the natural Birthright of Mankind; and yet, to take a comprehensive View of the World, how few enjoy it! What a melancholy Reflection is it to think that more than nine Tenths of the Species should be the miserable Slaves of despotic Tyrants! Let us view the Globe, and examine the Fact. The largest Part of the World, Asia, is, by the best Accounts, despotic throughout. Anarchy may rule the wandering Tartars and Arabs, but their Numbers are very small. Here we fall at once on the most numerous Body of People in the World in a State of Slavery. Africa comes next, and what Misery involves that vast Country! Liberty only exists at the Point of one Cape, an exotic Plant of European Growth, unless we exhibit the Hottentots as the only Specimen of African Freedom! In Europe itself, what a Disproportion between Liberty and Slavery! Russia, Poland, the chief Part of Germany, Hungary, Turkey, the greatest Part of Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark, and Norway. The following bear no Proportion to them; the British Isles, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, and the Germanick and Italian States. And in America, Spain, Portugal, and France, have planted Despotism; only Britain Liberty. On the Whole, what a trifling Part of the Globe's Inhabitants enjoy what all, by Nature, have a Right to! How insignificant is the Number of those who possess the greatest of all Blessings, compared to the unhappy Tribes that are cruelly deprived of it! The Inhabitants of the World are supposed to amount to about seven Hundred and seventy five Million and three Hundred Thousand Souls. Of these, the arbitrary Governments command seven Hundred and forty one Millions and eight Hundred Thousand, and the free ones only thirty three Millions five Hundred Thousand; and of these few, so large a Portion as twelve Millions five Hundred Thousand are Subjects of the British Empire. The Contrast between the Liberty enjoyed by the British Nation, and the arbitrary Power under which so great a Part of the World at present groans, is not only very striking, but, of all the Species of political Liberty known, none is so truly desirable as that. The Subjects of Republics are generally governed with no small Severity, and universally labour under the Misery of the executive Authority being lodged by Turns in the Hands of certain Individuals, who are naturally prone to tread too much on their Fellows. In aristocratical Republics, the People are Slaves, and perhaps of the worst Species. But the executive Part of the Government lying, in a mixed Monarchy, in the Hands of the King, and he possessing no other Power but what is given by the People, this Evil is at once prevented. And in whatever other Points the Comparison is made the Superiority will be found to reside infinitely on the Side of the mixed Monarchy, or the British Constitution. What ought to be the Sentiments of this Nation, during the present and future Ages, on this remarkable and generous Distinction? None surely but those of the warmest Gratitude to Heaven, for blessing, in so peculiar a Manner, these happy Kingdoms! None but the most ardent Tribute of everlasting Praise to the steady Valour of our patriotick Ancestors, whose Magnanimity won, guarded, and transmitted such glorious Rights to their much envied Posterity! What Resolutions ought such Reflections to create, but those of the most determined Spirit to preserve what has hitherto escaped such a Variety of Attacks! And, in Case of any future sacrilegious Hand being lifted against this sacred Temple of the Nation's Honour, to dare the blackest Storm, with that heroick Courage which Britons ever felt in Defence of British Liberty. LONDON, November 27. His Majesty was attended yesterday to the House of Peers by the Duke of Ancestre and Lord Bruce, amidst a great Concourse of People, and opened the Session of Parliament with the following most gracious Speech: My Lords and Gentlemen, I SHOULD most willingly have consulted your private Convenience, by allowing you a longer Recess from Business, if I had not thought that some very important Acts of the publick Service required the immediate Attention of Parliament. It is impossible that I can ever look with Indifference upon whatever concerns either the Commerce and Revenue of the Kingdom at large, or the private Rights and Interests of considerable Numbers among my People; neither can I be insensible how materially every one of these great Objects must be interested in the Maintenance of the Credit and Prosperity of the East India Company. When, therefore, I received Information of the Difficulties in which that Company appear to be involved, I determined to give you an early Opportunity of informing yourselves fully of the true State of their Affairs, and of making such Provisions for the common Benefit and Security of all the various Interests concerned as you shall find best adapted to the exigencies of the Case. I have the Satisfaction to acquaint you, that there is Reason to hope that the War, which has so long unhappily prevailed in one Part of Europe, is now drawing to a Conclusion; and although there was no Probability of our being involved therein, yet the Discontinuance of those Troubles will afford a fairer Prospect of the Duration of Peace, which I trust the Alterations that have happened in Europe will not in their Consequences affect. I continue to receive, from foreign Powers, the strongest Assurances of their pacifick Dispositions towards this Country; and it shall be my constant endeavour to preserve the general Tranquility, as far as is consistent with the Honour of my Crown, and the Interests of my People. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, It gives me much Satisfaction that the Continuance of Peace has enabled me to proceed in the Reduction of the Establishment of my naval Forces; but you will, I am confident, agree with me, that a considerable Strength at Sea must be ever necessary for preserving the Reputation and Power of my Kingdoms. The proper Estimates for the ensuing Year shall be laid before you; and whatever Supplies you may grant shall, on my Part, be managed with the strictest Economy, and applied with the utmost Fidelity.

My Lords and Gentlemen, I cannot but feel the most real Concern that the Produce of the late Harvest has not given us the Relief which we had hoped for, in Respect to the Dearth of Corn. As far as human Wisdom can provide for alleviating the Distresses of the Poor, I am persuaded your Attention will not be wanting, and you cannot gratify me more than by calling upon me for my Concurrence in whatever may contribute to the true Welfare and Happiness of all my People.
On the 10th Instant the Ship Carolina, Thomas Pearson Master, bound from Maryland to London, was driven on the Rocks in a violent Storm, and stranded in the Port of Penzance.
It is said that Orders are given for four Ships of the Line to be fitted out immediately for Rhode Island, in America, where they are to be stationed for three Years.
November 28. A Letter from Dublin mentions that an Embargo is laid on all the Vessels that have Provision on Board for foreign Exportation.
December 3. They write from Stockholm that every Thing is in Motion there for carrying on a War with the utmost Vigour.
We learn from Dantzick that the King of Prussia has ordered two new Forts to be built on the Mole, at the Entrance of the Harbour.
December 5. Yesterday his Majesty went to the House of Peers, attended by the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Bolingbroke, and gave the Royal Assent to the two following Bills, which passed the House of Lords on Thursday;
The Bill for allowing the Importation of Wheat, Wheat Flower, Indian Corn and Pulse, from America into this Kingdom, Duty free.
The Bill for allowing the Importation of Wheat, Wheat Flower, Rye, Rye Meal, Barley, Barley Meal, Oats, Oatmeal, and Pulse, from Europe or Africa, free of Duty.
Some other Bills, relative to the Importation of Provisions are in great Forwardness, and it is thought will receive the Royal Assent next Week.
The Number of Seamen to be employed for the Service of the ensuing Year is not so many, by five Thousand, as last Year.
It is said that a Negotiation of a very important Nature is now going forward, between our Court and that of Berlin.
They write from Hamburg that five Thousand Tuns of naval Stores have lately been bought up there, by a Spanish Agent.
We are informed that five Ships of the Line, and three Frigates, are ordered to take in six Months Provisions immediately.
December 10. We hear that the Earl of DUNMORE, Governor of Virginia, is shortly to come to England.
December 12. It is determined by Administration not to suffer the Dantzickers to be oppressed by his Prussian Majesty, and the English Consul has accordingly acquainted the City with that Determination.
Extract of a Letter from Portsmouth, December 10.
"There is an Order come down here to discharge eight Hundred Marines from this Division, and Numbers are discharged every Day. We hear an Order is arrived for all the Guardships at Spithead to come into the Harbour, and for the Complement of Men to be reduced to the same Establishment as in the Year 1770."
The Betsey, Fowke, from Cape Fear, was found lying on her Broadside, without any living Creature on Board, and towed into Polperro, a fishing Town near Plymouth, the 7th Instant.
December 15. It is now very confidently asserted, that real Advice has been received of a Reconciliation between the King and Queen of Denmark.
Great Numbers of Cannon are now shipping off at Carron, in Scotland, for the Use of the Empress of Russia.
December 17. They write from Petersburg that some People of Distinction have lately been seized there, on Suspicion of a Design against the Empress.
Despatches are now preparing, in Order to be sent off with all Speed to the Governors in America.
Extract of a Letter from the Hague, December 17.
"Mr. de Berkenrode, Minister from the States General at the Court of Versailles, has advised their High Mightinesses that France has not only secretly made a considerable Augmentation of their Troops, but proposes to make another of ten Men to each Company in all the Regiments in the Service of that Crown, by which it cannot but be supposed that the Court of France is meditating some important Design."
WILLIAMSBURG, March 4.
This Day the General Assembly met at the Capitol, agreeable to the Governor's Proclamation, when his Excellency was pleased to make the following Speech:
Gentlemen of the COUNCIL, Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the HOUSE OF BURGESSES,
It was far from my Intention, when we parted last, to have put you to the Expense and Trouble of meeting again here so soon; but I am persuaded you will see the Necessity of it when I inform you that all the Emissions of your Paper Currency, now in Circulation, are forged, and that in so masterly a Manner as to make it almost impossible for those the most knowing in such Matters to distinguish the good from the bad. Seeing that the Credit of the Country is so deeply affected by it, I thought it my Duty to assemble you immediately, that you might pursue such Measures as you shall think proper to restore it, if possible, to its former Credit. And I do most sincerely congratulate you, both on its being discovered so soon, and that the Authors of coining your Gold and Silver, as well as forging and passing your Paper Money, are in so fair a Way of receiving that Punishment which is due to their Crimes, as well those in a neighbouring Province as them in this Colony.
Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the HOUSE OF BURGESSES,
Having nothing in Command from his Majesty to trouble you with at present, I hope you will proceed immediately, with the Coolness and Candour that is becoming so respectable a Body, to the Business on which you are now assembled.
Gentlemen of the COUNCIL, Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the HOUSE OF BURGESSES,
I do assure you that I shall be exceedingly happy to concur with you in enacting any Laws that it may be thought will contribute to the mutual Advantage of this and our Mother Country, whose Interests, I hope, we shall ever think inseparable.
On Tuesday last the Prisoners from Pittsylvania were carried down to York and examined before the Court of that County, which judging them guilty, they were remanded to the publick Jail in this City, to await their Trial at the ensuing General Court.
This Evening Moses Terry, from Halifax, was brought down Prisoner and committed to the publick Jail, for being concerned in passing counterfeit Bills. We hear he intends pleading guilty, and that he has informed against many others.
About the Middle of last Month was killed, about twelve Miles above Hanover Courthouse, by Augustine Longdon, a large Panther. He first fired a Load of Shot at his Head, which made no Impression; then shot a Bullet through his Body, and afterwards a second, which brought the Monster to the Ground.
He measured six Feet and eleven Inches, proved very fat, and in his Stomach were found Swines Flesh and Hair. It is reported that another has been since seen near the same Place.
[Deaths.] Mrs. MARY LYONS, Spouse of Peter Lyons, Esquire, Attorney at Law.
ACROSTICK.
Nature, well pleas'd, employ'd her nicest Care, And grac'd the lovely Maid with all that's fair; Nor Violets Sweetness, nor the Roses Hue, Can please like Charms that are sweet Nancy's Due; Yet outward Beauties, so uncommon, are Least to be met with in this charming Fair! A friendly Heart, a Temper mild and sweet, Neatness and Prudence, all in her do meet: Generous in Action, Sentiments refin'd. Like Venus' Person, with Minerva's Mind: Ethereal Thought! to have this Maid my Wife! Ye Gods, but grant the Wish, I'm blest'd for Life.
An Acrostick on Miss Elizabeth Dandridge, of King William.
Deck'd, without Art, with every Charm to please; As bright as Glory, yet as mild as Ease; Not sour when censur'd, nor when flatter'd vain; Discreet though fair, as Truth untaught to feign; Refin'd in Judgment, as in Carriage nice, In Taste polite, and diffident, though wise; Avoid her Mind of Envy's rancorous Spite; Gay and e'er cheerful, pleasant yet not light; Envy! thou'lt own these Tints are not too bright.
Advertisements.
MR. PRATT, PORTRAIT PAINTER, Lately from ENGLAND and IRELAND, But last from NEW YORK,
HAS brought with him to Williamsburg a small but very neat Collection of PAINTINGS, which are now exhibiting at Mrs. VOSE's, near the Capitol; among which are, first, a very good Copy of Corregio's ST. JEROME, esteemed to be one of the best Pictures in Italy, and ranks next to RAPHAEL's TRANSFIGURATION. Secondly, VENUS and CUPID, the only Copy from an original Picture by Mr. West, whose rising Reputation has already done great Honour to America. Thirdly, a HOLY FAMILY. Fourthly, a Copy of Guido's JUPITER and EUROPA, from the Original in the Collection of a Gentleman who travelled through Italy with Lord Northampton. Fifthly, FLORA, a Companion to the above. Sixthly, a very fine FRUIT PIECE. The above Pictures are to be disposed of at the Prices to be fixed on each Picture, on Saturday the 13th Instant, with a Number of choice PRINTS. Mr. Pratt has a few Copies of some of Mr. West's best Portraits, to be seen with the above every Day from ten o'Clock till five. (2||)
WILLIAMSBURG, March 1, 1773,
I HAVE lately received a Power of Attorney from Messrs. John Thompson and Walter King, of Bristol, Merchants, and surviving Partners of Tarpey, Thompson, and Company, to collect the Debts due that Company, with Directions to commence Suits, without Loss of Time, against those Debtors who delay Payment. The Situation of this Concern (which has proved an unfortunate one to those Gentlemen) makes a speedy Settlement thereof absolutely necessary. This Consideration, therefore, as well as the very long Indulgence the Debtors have already received, will, it is hoped, induce them to make speedy Payment; if not, I shall most certainly observe my Instructions, however disagreeable they may prove to the Persons concerned. (2) JOHN TAZEWELL.
NORFOLK, March 2, 1773.
THE Building of a BRICK WORKHOUSE, two Stories high, will be let on Thursday the 18th Instant (being Court Day) at which Time the Plan will be shown, and the Terms agreed on, by JOSEPH HUTCHINGS, } Churchwardens. MATTHEW PHRIPP, } (2||)
PORTSMOUTH, February 25, 1773.
I FIND, on opening the Cask of PEWTER which I formerly advertised, that it is marked with the ciphered Initials W W, with a Cross under the A. The Owner, on proving his Property, may have it by applying to JOHN GOODRICH.
FALMOUTH, February 17, 1773.
A CAUSE having arose to prevent Mr. Francis Hay from continuing the Direction of Messrs. William Cuninghame and Company's Business at Dumfries, he is succeeded therein by Mr. William Cuninghame, to whom, or to his Order, all Persons indebted for Transactions with the deceased Mr. John Neilson, or Mr. Hay, on Account of the said Company, are desired to pay the respective Sums they owe. The Business will be continued to the former Extent, and the usual Indulgence of Credit allowed. JAMES ROBISON.
FREDERICKSBURG, February 24, 1773.
WHEREAS some of those indebted on the Books here have not paid due Regard to my Advertisement of the 1st of December last, I give them this last Notice, that all and every Account not paid off, or a good Part of it, before the 20th of April, or our May Fair at the farthest, or settled by Bond or other Specialty before that Time, will most certainly be put into the Hands of a Lawyer, without Respect of Persons. Unavoidable Reasons will oblige me to this, which I shall probably in Time acquaint them with. Those who may be put to Trouble and Expense cannot now blame me for Want of Notice. I have sold Part of the Goods now on Hand, but so as not to disturb the Store, and have still a large Assortment on Hand, which I will sell by Wholesale or Retail, on the Terms formerly advertised. Any Person who will purchase the Whole shall have them on Terms which they themselves will say are very low and reasonable. (if) GEORGE MITCHELL.
THE Inspectors at Page's and Crutchfield's Warehouses take this early Opportunity of informing the Publick that no Tobacco will be shipped by them from their respective Warehouses unless the Inspection Money accompanies the Notes or Orders. Their frequent Disappointments from Shippers of Tobacco oblige them to insert this Advertisement. TINSLEY & CLARKE. (4) CLARKE & WINGFIELD.
N. B. Inspection, six Shillings and four Pence a Hoghead.
SURRY, February 23, 1773.
THE Commanding Officers of the Southern District are requested to appoint their General Muster upon the following Days, when they will be waited on by their most obedient Servant, (2) COLIN CAMPBELL, Adjutant.
 SURRY, - - - FRIDAY - - 19th MARCH.  PRINCE GEORGE, - - MONDAY - - 22d - - -  CHESTERFIELD, - - WEDNESDAY - 24th - - -  CUMBERLAND, - - FRIDAY - - 26th - - -  PRINCE EDWARD, - MONDAY - - 29th - - -  AMELIA, - - - WEDNESDAY - 31st - - -  BRUNSWICK, - - FRIDAY - - 2d APRIL.  DINWIDDIE, - - MONDAY - - 5th - - -  SUSSEX, - - - MONDAY - - 12th - - -  SOUTHAMPTON, - WEDNESDAY - 14th - - -  ISLE OF WIGHT, - FRIDAY - - 16th - - -  NANSEMOND, - - MONDAY - - 19th - - -  NORFOLK County, - FRIDAY - - 23d - - -  Borough, - - - MONDAY - - 26th - - -  PRINCESS ANNE, - WEDNESDAY 28th - - - 
To be SOLD, on Friday the 12th Instant (March)
ALL the personal Estate of Captain James Patterson, late of Portsmouth, deceased, consisting of Half the Brigantine Friendship and her Cargo, as she now lies in the Harbour of Norfolk, and sundry other Articles. Her Cargo consists of red and white Oak Hoghead Staves and Heading, Bread, and Flower. All Persons indebted to the said Estate by Bond, or otherwise, are desired to make immediate Payment; and those who have any Demands against the same are requested to make them known, that they may be adjusted, and paid according to their Dignity, by (2) MARSDEN, MAXWELL, & Co. N. B. The other Half of the said Vessel and Cargo will be sold at the same Time.
To be SOLD to the highest Bidder, by Virtue of a Deed from Mr. Benjamin Chapman to the Subscriber, on Thursday the 1st of April, if fair, otherwise next fair Day, at Hix's Ford, in Brunswick County,
ALL the Estate of the said Benjamin Chapman, consisting of twenty likely NEGROES, many of whom are very choice Fellows, about thirty good WORK HORSES, OXEN, STOCKS of CATTLE, SHEEP, and HOGS, &c. &c. Credit will be allowed till the 25th of December next for one Half the Purchase Money, and ready Money to be paid for the other Half. All Bonds are to bear Interest from the Date if not punctually discharged. The Publick may be assured that nothing will happen to disappoint the Sale. (4) WILLIAM EDWARDS.
GLOUCESTER County, February 22, 1773.
RUN away from Urbanna, on Monday the 8th Instant, a Convict Servant named JOHN WOOD, an Englishman, by Trade a Bricklayer, about twenty two Years old, about five Feet eight Inches high, a thick well set Fellow, of a brown Complexion, speaks very plain, is very full faced, and pitted with the Smallpox, wore, when he went away, long brown Hair cued behind, with his Foretop turned up, had a Piece of black Silk round his Neck, in the Manner of a Neckcloth, a dark coloured Duffil Frock Coat with white Metal Buttons, a light yellowish Waistcoat, Leather Breeches, white Yarn Hose, a fine Hat Half worn, with a Knee Garter buckled round the Crown, and a Piece of Knee Garter sewed on for a Loop to the Button; he also took with him a white Shirt, and an Osnabrug one, with sundry other Clothes which he stole, namely, two Pair of Shoes, one Pair of white Worsted Hose, one Pair of gray Ditto, a white Shirt, a light coloured Wilton Cloth Coat Half worn, and a striped Silk Waistcoat. Whoever apprehends him, and brings him to the Subscriber, in Gloucester County, or to Mr. George Lovimer at Urbanna, shall have FIFTEEN DOLLARS Reward, and be paid all reasonable Expenses. (2||) JOHN HOWLET.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in Fauquier, on the 29th of December last, a likely Virginia born Mulatto Boy named CHALERS, who I understand calls himself Charles Butler, and says he is a Freeman; he is about nineteen Years old, five Feet four or five Inches high, had on, when he went away, a Virginia Cloth Coat and Waistcoat mixed with black and white Yarn and Cotton, lined with blue Shalloon, and trimmed with plain white Metal Buttons worked with Blue, a Pair of Negro Cotton Breeches dyed of a pale Blue, with Half of each Waistband white, a Pair of Plaid Hose, and a blue Duffil great Coat. He has been taken up in Maryland, and made his Escape from Mr. Jacob Poffy, from whom he took a bright bay Horse, with a new small Saddle and Bridle; both the Horse's hind Feet and one fore Foot are white, has a Blaze Face, and is branded on the near Buttock C.D. Whoever conveys the said Boy to me shall have FORTY SHILLINGS Reward, and if he is taken out of the Colony TEN POUNDS. (Tf) JOHN CHURCHILL.
DINWIDDIE, March 1, 1773.
LOST from Mr. Wild's Rack, on Saturday the 20th of last Month, a dark bay GELDING about four Feet nine Inches high, with a hanging Mane and short Switch Tail, the Hair much worn off his Sides by the Traces of a Waggon, he paces slow, trots easy, has a sprightly Look, and a likely Horse, except his Rump, which is remarkably short. It is strongly suspected he was stolen, but when at Liberty will attempt to reach Bute County, in Carolina, where he was bred by one Green. Whoever brings him to me shall have FORTY SHILLINGS Reward, and any farther Reward that may be adequate to their Trouble. JOHN RUFFIN, Junior.
STRAYED, or STOLEN out of a Stable at Bate's Ferry, in Chesterfield County, in the Night of the 29th or 30th of last Month, a sorrel HORSE about fourteen Hands high, six Years old, with a Switch Tail and hanging Mane, a Blaze in his Forehead, a Spot on one of his Buttocks, and was shod when he went off, but his Brand (if he has any) is not remembered. Whoever delivers him to me in Petersburg, or to Mr. Charlton in Williamsburg, of whom I borrowed him, shall have THREE POUNDS Reward. HENRY LOCHEAD.
TAKEN up, in Amelia, a white HORSE about four Feet four or five Inches high, and branded on the near Shoulder with something resembling a Heart. Posed, and appraised to four Pounds. WILLIAM FITZ GERRALD.
CUSTOMHOUSE, BOSTON, December 15, 1772.
WHEREAS there has been great Neglect on the Part of the Owners of sundry Vessels in the Plantations, in not complying with the Act of the 7th and 8th of William III. Chapter 22d, and more particularly the 21st Section, wherein it is enacted, "That no Ship's Name registered shall be afterwards changed without registering such Ship de novo, which is required to be done upon any Transfer of Property to another Port, and delivering up the former Certificate to be cancelled; and in Case there be any Alteration of Property in the same Port, by the Sale of one or more Shares in any Ship after registering thereof, such Sale shall always be acknowledged by Endorsement on the Certificate of the Register, before two Witnesses, in Order to prove that the entire Property in such Ship remains to some of the Subjects of Great Britain, if any Dispute arises concerning the same." And whereas all Vessels trading at, or belonging to, any Port in America, the Owners or Masters of which shall omit to comply with the Directions given in the said Act, will be liable to the same Penalties and Penalties as if such Vessels were owned entirely by Foreigners, the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs therefore give this Notice, that all Persons concerned may govern themselves accordingly. By Order of the Commissioners. SAMUEL MATHER, Principal Secretary.

POETS CORNER.
Doctor YOUNG to the MACARONIES.
YE well array'd! ye Lillies of our Land! Ye Lillies male! who neither toil nor spin...
WHEREAS I intend for Great Britain in a short Time, I request all those indebted to me to make Payment to Mr. David Cation of Richmond...
ARCHIBALD M'KENDRICK.
ANY Lady in Want of a WET NURSE, or a Person who understands taking Care of a Family...
DOCTOR GRAHAM, OCULIST and AURIST, AT PHILADELPHIA.
THUS publickly gives Notice that he purposed to be at Williamsburg about the Middle of April next...
HANOVER Town, February 18, 1773.
WHEREAS, by the Death of Mr. John Smith, the Partnership between him and myself, of Course, is dissolved...
ZACHARIAH CLARKE.
N. B. There is a genteel Assortment of GOODS on Hand, suitable for the Spring, which I will dispose of at a low Advance.
THIS is to give publick Notice that the Business of the Customhouse of South Potomack was discontinued at Lee Hall...
JOSEPH LANE, Deputy Collector. GILBERT CAMPBELL, Comptroller.
NANSEMOND, February 13, 1773.
AS I intend for England by the first Opportunity, all those who have Demands against me are desired to apply to me at Mr. John Hamilton's of this Place...
JOHN VAN VOORST.
PETERSBURG, February 13, 1773.
A QUANTITY of damaged Osnabrugs, imported in the Unity, Captain Gossey, from London, will be sold on Thursday the 4th of March...
RICHARD HANSON.
IMPORTED, last October, from Liverpool, in the Sparling, Captain Priestman, two HOGSHEADS and a TIERCE of STONE and EARTHEN WARE...
WILLIAM ANDERSON.
FOR SALE,
THE PLANTATION whereon the Subscriber lives, in King and Queen County, about a Mile and a Half from Todd's Warehouse...
R. DAINGERFIELD.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in King William County, near Todd's Bridge, on the 8th of January last, a Convict Servant named MARY DAVIS...
JOHN CATLETT.
THERE is now in the publick Warehouse at Richmond Town the following GOODS, which have been there since the great Fresh...
DANIEL HARWOOD.
TAKEN up, in Chesterfield, a small gray HORSE about four Feet three or four Inches high...
WILLIAM BELL.
To be LET on CHARTER, THE Brig JOHN, Ralph Elliott Master, Burthen about two Hundred and fifty Hogsheds of Tobacco.
JOHN GREENWOOD.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mattaponi, February 10, 1773.
THE Copartnership of Miller and Hestop being dissolved, all Persons indebted are requested to make immediate Payment.
JOHN MILLER.
WILLIAMSBURG, February 18, 1773.
ALL Persons who have any Demands against the Estate of James Nicholson, deceased, are desired to apply for Payment...
ROBERT NICOLSON, Executor.
WHO HAS FOR SALE A QUANTITY OF GARDEN SEEDS.
To be SOLD, on the Premises,
A HUNDRED and seventy nine Acres of LAND, of which a large Proportion is Meadow Ground, upwards of twenty Acres are now in Timothy Grass...
THOMAS HOOD.
STAFFORD, February 10, 1773.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in the Night of the 6th of November last, two Negro Fellows, namely: NAT, a tall stout made Negro, knock-kneed, a little bald...
GEORGE BIRD.
RUN away from Eltham, on Sunday the 10th of January last, a light Mulatto Fellow named OTHO, about five Feet nine Inches high...
BURWELL BASSETT.
TAKEN up, in Goochland, a bay MARE about four Feet seven or eight Inches high, with a roached Mane and Bob Tail...
JOHN DYKES.
RUN away from Mr. JAMES HUNTER'S, opposite to Fredericksburg, on his Way to Frederick, a Negro Man named JACK DISMAL...
ROBERT BURWELL.
WHEREAS I intend shortly to remove from the Place where I now live to Fincastle County, on the Western Waters, it is expected that all those Gentlemen who have Business to do with me will attend at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg...
ISRAEL CHRISTIAN.
NOREOLK, January 5, 1773.
WHEREAS the Partnership of Bolden, Lawrence, and Company, expired the 1st of this Instant, this is therefore to request all Persons who are indebted to them to pay off their Accounts immediately...
JOHN LAWRENCE, & Co.
I WILL sell twelve or fifteen Hundred Acres of rich LAND on each Side of Fifth Creek, in the lower End of Buckingham, whereon are all necessary Houses for Cropping...
If my Debtors had not unjustly kept me out of considerable Sums of Money for a long Time, I should have had no Occasion to have sold Land or Negroes to have paid my Debts.
ANTHONY WINSTON.
N. B. The Land shall be laid off in Parcels, if not sold soon.
TO BE SOLD,
A VALUABLE Tract of LAND, containing about sixteen Hundred Acres, more or less, lying on the River Shenandoah, in Berkeley County (formerly Frederick) which is one of the most flourishing Counties in Virginia.
(Tf)
THE Subscriber will sell, on reasonable Terms, his LAND and HOUSES whereon he now lives, known by the Name of HOOD'S, in Prince George, on James River.
DAVID SCOTT.
Three Hundred Pounds Reward.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in St. Stephen's Parish, South Carolina, about fifteen Months since, two Negro Fellows and a Wench, namely: WILL, CEORGE, and SYLVIA.
THOMAS WEST, an Overseer, about twenty five Years of Age, five Feet seven Inches high, very slim, of a swarthy Complexion, who lived at the Subscriber's Plantation about three Years...
JOHN GAILLARD.
For SALE, in the Town of NEWCASTLE, A LARGE two Story DWELLINGHOUSE, with three commodious Rooms on a Floor, each with a Fireplace.
W. JOHNSON.
RUN away from the Subscriber, at Peter-sburg, about the Middle of September last, a very likely Negro Man named PHILL, about twenty Years of Age, of a yellow Complexion...
I will give THREE POUNDS Reward to any Person who will deliver said Slave to me, or to Mr. Hugh M'Mekin at Portsmouth, and FORTY SHILLINGS to secure him in any Jail...
THOMAS GORDON.
TWENTY POUNDS REWARD
FOR apprehending JOHN HUTCHINSON, who ran away last Night from the Subscriber, in Lancaster. He is a Blacksmith by Trade, a likely stout Man, about five Feet ten or eleven Inches high...
THOMAS POLLARD.
For SALE,
A VALUABLE TRACT of LAND lying on both Sides of Hunting Creek, in Halifax County, containing five Hundred Acres, the Soil of which is exceeding good for Tobacco and Corn.
(Tf)