The Virginia gazette (Williamsburg [Va.]), 1775-05-13 00:00:00

VIRGINIA
GAZETTE.
With the Freshest ADVICES,
FOREIGN and DOMESTICK.
IN CIVITATE LIBERA LINGUAM MENTEMQUE
LIBERAS ESSE DEBERE. — Suet. in Tib. S. 28.
PRINTED by JOHN DIXON and
WM. HUNTER, at the POST OFFICE.
ALL Persons may be supplied with this Paper at 12/6 a Year, and have Advertisements (of a moderate Length) inserted for 3/ the first Week, and 2/ each Week after. — Printing Work done at this Office in the neatest Manner, with Care and Expedition.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
NORFOLK, April 6, 1775.
To the PUBLIC.
By the purchase of Mr. Brown's Share in the Printing Office established in this Borough, and by the Dissolution of the late Concern of William Duncan and Company, the Subscriber has become a principal Proprietor, and sole Manager of the Press, and humbly solicits the Favour of the Public towards an Undertaking, which, if properly conducted, may prove of general Advantage. Many have been the Difficulties with which the Business of this Press has hitherto been obstructed. The Subscriber enters upon the office encumbered with the bad Effects of those Difficulties, which, however, he will make it his Study to remove, and flatters himself with the Prospect of Success. He need not mention the peculiar Advantages his Situation affords for an Undertaking of this Nature; in the first trading Town in the Colony, where the earliest Intelligence can be procured from abroad, and a constant Communication maintained, by Means of the Rivers, with all Parts of this well watered Dominion, so that his most distant Subscribers, he trusts, will never have Cause to complain of any Remissness in forwarding their Papers.
By a steady Attention to Variety and Novelty he hopes to furnish Amusement to his Readers, while a careful Collection of the Useful and Instructive adds Profit to their Pleasure.
An impartial Detail of public Transactions, with such Compositions as may be conducive to the Welfare of his Country, or throw any Light on the important Subjects that engross the Attention of All Ranks of People in these unhappy Times, shall meet a ready Publication. Advertisements, Articles of News, Essays, and whatever else may be proper for a weekly Paper, will be thankfully received, and duly inserted.
The greatest Care shall be taken to distribute the Papers in the speediest Method, and to give every Satisfaction to the Public. — The Subscriber cannot conclude without again requesting the Encouragement of a Colony, always desirous to promote every Undertaking of general Utility.
With great Respect, he subscribes himself The Public's devoted, and most obedient Servant, JOHN HUNTER HOLT.
TO BE SOLD
At HANOVER Town, on the 25th Current, at the Shop of the deceased Doctor JOHN WALKER,
A COMPLETE Set of Shop Utensils, SURGEONS and WIDWIFERY INSTRUMENTS, together with the MEDICINES and BOOKS of the said Deceased. The Time of Credit will be made known at the Sale, by
THOMAS SIMPSON, Administrator.
(MAY 3, 1775.) (2)
For CHARTER to any Part of BRITAIN,
AN EXCEEDING GOOD
V E S S E L,
Burthen about 500 Hogsheads.
FOR TERMS APPLY TO
Greenwood, Ritson, & Marsh.
NORFOLK, May 3, 1775. (1)
COMMITTED to the County Gaol of
Norfolk, on the 8th Day of March last, a Negro Man named DAVID, about 5 Feet 7 or 8 Inches high: He says he was born a Frenchman, and that he belongs to one William Smith, on the Eastern Shore, in Maryland. His Master, or Owner, is desired to take him away, and pay Charges.
SAMUEL PORTLOCK, Gaoler.
MANCHESTER, April 28, 1775.
RUN away from the Subscriber, on Mon-
day the 24th Instant, FRANCIS WARE ROCKETT, an Apprentice Lad, about 14 or 15 Years of Age, a Tailor by Trade, has light Hair, a Scar on his right Cheek, occasioned by a Kick of a Horse, and two remarkable Scars on one of his Legs. He had on a light coloured Frieze Coat; his other Dress I cannot describe. I will give 20s. Reward, besides what the Law allows, to any Person who will bring him to me at this Place; and I do hereby forewarn all Masters of Vessels from harbouring or carrying him out of the Country. JOHN SUMPTER.
I have Reason to believe he has made towards Norfolk in some Craft, from Richmond or this Place. (1)
NEWCASTLE, May 5, 1775.
STRAYED from the Subscriber, a black
MARE about 4 Feet 8 Inches high, with a long Mane and Switch Tail, branded on the near Shoulder Iy, is a natural Pacer, and very much inclined to start. Also a sorrel Horse about the same Size, with a white Mane and Tail, branded on the near Buttock O, paces, trots, and gallops. Whoever brings the said Horses to me in this Place shall have 20s. Reward for each.
DAVID CLARKE.
TO BE SOLD
To the highest Bidder (or otherwise) on the Premises, on SATURDAY the 17th of JUNE next,
A VALUABLE Tract of LAND on James River, in the lower End of Amber's County, containing upwards of 1000 Acres of high and low Grounds, with a Shad Fishery; also a Quarry of Limestone and various coloured Marble, and Land cleared, with Houses, sufficient for 10 or 12 Hands to work thereon. — Also for Sale, on the Premises, on the Tuesday following, being the 20th of June, if fair (otherwise next fair Day) a well known valuable Tract of LAND in Goochland County, on James River, adjacent to the lower End of Elk Island , and adjoining the Land at Carter's Ferry (now Woodson's ) about 45 Miles above Richmond Town and Shocco , with good Improvements, and Ground cleared sufficient to work about 10 Hands. The said Tract contains, of high and low Grounds, upwards of 700 Acres. Upon both these Tracts are beautiful Situations to live on, with good Water, Meadow Ground, &c. and are capable of great Improvements. It is thought no Person will venture to purchase either of the above Tracts without first viewing them; therefore it is needless to say any thing further in Recommendation of them. The Payments to be agreed on at the Days of Sale, and Bond, with good Security, will be required by the Trustees of JOHN HOWARD.
A few undoubted Rights to Officers or Soldiers Land would do, at a moderate Price, in Part of Payment; and the Lands may be entered on by Christmas next. 5
TAKEN up, in Amelia , a gray MARE
about 4 Feet 2 Inches high, 5 or 6 Years old, with a hanging Mane and Switch Tail, and branded on the near Buttock. Posted, and appraised to 50s.
AGNESS JONES.
NEW YORK, April 20.
TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. The humble petition of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the colony of NEW YORK.
Most gracious Sovereign,
TO YOUR MAJESTY'S most dutiful and loyal subjects, the General Assembly of the colony of New York, beg leave most humbly to approach your Majesty.
Inviolably attached to your person and government, to which we are bound by the strongest ties of duty and affection, and in the fullest assurance that your paternal care is extended over ALL YOUR PEOPLE, as well the inhabitants of the new world, as those who flourish and are happy under your more immediate influence in the old; we are emboldened to throw ourselves at your Majesty's feet, humble petitioners, in behalf of the loyal colony which we represent.
Vouchsafe, then, most gracious Sovereign, to attend to the prayer of your faithful subjects, and while we are pleading our own cause, and the cause of liberty and humanity, deign to consider us as advocates for our sister colonies also.
The present unhappy and unnatural disputes between the parent state and your Majesty's American dominions give us the deepest and most unfeigned concern. We lament it as one of the greatest misfortunes, that the happy and peaceful harmony, which has hitherto subsisted between us, should now by any means be interrupted; and it is the earnest and first wish of our hearts, that it may be speedily restored, and placed upon so permanent a basis, as that neither time nor accident may be ever able to disturb it.
We acknowledge, with the warmest gratitude, the favour and protection of our mother country; which, flowing from policy, dictated by wisdom and humanity, hath enabled us to become so important a part of the British empire; and we beseech your Majesty to believe us, when we assure you, that we still retain the duty and affection of children; that we love and reverence our venerable parent, and that no calamity would be so truly afflictive to us as a separation from her. We acknowledge there are appearances which may be construed to our disadvantage, and that several of the measures pursued by the colonies are by no means justifiable; yet, while we disapprove and condemn them, we entreat you as the indulgent father of your people, to view them in the most favourable light, and to consider them as the honest, though disorderly, struggles of liberty, not the licentious efforts of independence.
Your Majesty's American subjects have hitherto been in a state of infancy, and, till lately, have submitted implicitly, and without repining, to the authority of the parent state: They have now reached the period of maturity, and think themselves entitled to their birthright, an equal participation of freedom with their fellow subjects in Britain. It is with this view we now address your Majesty. We mean not to become independent of the British Parliament; on the contrary, we cheerfully acknowledge our subordination to it as the grand legislature of the empire; we wish only to enjoy the rights of Englishmen, and to have that share of liberty, and those privileges secured to us, which we are entitled to, upon the principles of our FREE AND HAPPY CONSTITUTION. Permit us, therefore, most gracious Sovereign, to lay our grievances before you, which we now do with the greatest humility, and in the fullest assurance, that your royal justice and clemency will be exerted in our behalf.
Your Majesty's subjects in this colony think it essential to freedom, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes should be imposed on them without THEIR CONSENT, given personally, or by their representatives. This right we do not at present enjoy, inasmuch as the British Parliament (in which we have no representation) have claimed and exercised a right of making laws, binding upon us in all cases whatsoever. This claim, and this exercise of unlimited power by the Parliament, we esteem a grievance of the most dangerous nature, and directly tending to the subversion of our constitutional liberties. We are willing, to the utmost of our abilities, to contribute our proportion to the support of Government; but we would do it in a constitutional manner, by the interposition of the colony legislature.
We likewise beg leave to declare to your Majesty, that we consider the acts of Parliament raising a revenue in America, but more especially those to provide for the support of civil government, and the administration of justice in the colonies, and extending the Courts of Admiralty beyond their ancient limits, giving them a concurrent jurisdiction in causes heretofore cognizable only in the courts of common law, and by that means depriving the American subjects of a trial by jury, as grievous, and destructive of our rights and privileges.
That the act of Parliament authorising the apprehension of persons resident in the colonies, on suspicion of certain offences, and sending them out of the same to be tried, is dangerous to the lives and liberties of your Majesty's American subjects, as it deprives them of a trial by a jury of the vicinage, which in all cases is the grand security and birthright of Englishmen.
That we humbly conceive the act requiring the legislature of this colony to provide for the services therein mentioned, and the other for suspending the legislative power thereof, till such requisition should be complied with, were unconstitutional, and tended to destroy that confidence which we had always reposed in the mother country.
That the imposition of duties upon articles of commerce imported from Great Britain is oppressive and impolitic, as it gives the greatest encouragement to illicit trade, and operates as a prohibition on our commerce with the mother country, which, for the mutual advantage of both, we conceive, ought to be free and unrestrained.
That the act passed in the 14th year of your Majesty's reign, imposing duties upon certain articles imported into the province of Quebec (the limits whereof by an act of the same year are so extended as to comprehend all the Indian country from Hudson's Bay to the mouth of the Ohio river) and restricting the importation of those dutied articles to the port of St. John, on the river St. Lawrence, is injurious to this colony, as it almost entirely destroys our important Indian trade; that port being so very remote from this and the other colonies, that the conveyance of goods thither, for the prosecution of that traffick, must unavoidably be attended with so enormous an expence as well nigh amounts to a total prohibition. The unmerited discrimination made by the first above-mentioned act in favour of the sugar colonies, by subjecting the continental colonies to a larger duty on particular articles, is so detrimental to the interest of this colony, that we cannot avoid complaining of it to your Majesty, as a grievance.
We likewise think the act prohibiting the legislature of this colony from passing any law for the emission of paper currency to be a legal tender therein, is disadvantageous to the growth and commerce thereof, an abridgment of your Majesty's prerogative (in the preservation of which we are deeply interested) and a violation of our legislative rights; and may hereafter disable your Majesty's subjects, upon proper requisition, and upon certain emergencies, from granting such aids as may be necessary for the general safety of the empire.
The act for the regulation of the government of Quebec, we must beg leave to mention also to your Majesty, as the extension of that province and the indulgence granted by it to Roman Catholics, have given great uneasiness to the minds of many of your Majesty's American subjects.
The late act for shutting up the port of Boston, and altering the charter of the Massachusetts Bay, we presume not to mention to your Majesty, without first assuring you, that we in many instances disapprove of the conduct of that province, and beseeching your gracious interposition in their favour; we cannot however help observing, that those acts establish a dangerous precedent, by inflicting punishment without formality of a trial.
With the highest satisfaction, most gracious Sovereign, we reflect on your royal declaration from the throne at your happy accession, that it was essential to the impartial administration of justice, and one of the best securities to the rights and liberties of your subjects, that your judges should hold their commissions during good behaviour. Permit us then to pray, that you will be graciously pleased to remove the distinction between your subjects in England and those in America, by commissioning your judges here to hold their offices on the same tenure: In which case, we beg leave to assure your Majesty, that we stand ready to give such adequate and permanent salaries, as will render them independent of the people.
We have now, most gracious Sovereign, stated our grievances to your Majesty; we have done it, we trust, with all the respect due to the best of Kings, and with that decent freedom becoming the representatives of a faithful, ancient, and loyal colony; and we have not the least doubt, but that by your merciful mediation and interposition, we shall obtain the desired redress, and have such a system of government confirmed to us by your Majesty, and your two Houses of Parliament, as will sufficiently ascertain and limit the authority claimed by the British legislature over this colony, and secure to us those just and invaluable rights and privileges which all your Majesty's subjects are entitled to. This, most gracious Sovereign, is the sum of our wishes, and the end of our desires; and we beg leave to assure your Majesty, that we are convinced this will be the only effectual method of quiet-

ing the minds of your Majesty's faithful American subjects, and of restoring that harmony and cordial union between the mother country and us, which is so essential to the welfare and prosperity of both: We beseech your Majesty to believe, that our earnest prayer to Heaven is, that your Majesty may continue long the happy and beloved monarch of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and united people, and that your children after you may continue to fill the British throne to the latest generations.
By order of the General Assembly,
JOHN CRUGER, Speaker.
Assembly Chamber, city of New York, } March 25, 1775. }
To the Right Hon. the LORDS SPIRITUAL and TEMPORAL of GREAT BRITAIN, in Parliament assembled.
The MEMORIAL of his Majesty's faithful subjects the representatives of the colony of NEW YORK, in GENERAL ASSEMBLY convened.
May it please your Lordships,
WE, his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the representatives of the colony of New York, in General Assembly convened, are conscious, when we address your Lordships, that we are applying to a body who have ever been distinguished for the firmest attachment to the principles of liberty, and that happiest result of them, the British constitution.
We acknowledge ourselves, and the people we represent, strictly bound by the ties of faith and allegiance to our most gracious Sovereign, that we justly owe the same faith and allegiance as are due to him from his subjects in Great Britain; that we regard him with the utmost veneration, and that we shall ever be ready to contribute to his service, and to support the dignity of his crown and government.
We esteem ourselves happy in our connection with the parent state, whose true interests are inseparably united with our own, and we are fully sensible that none but the enemies of both countries could ever wish to disjoin them.
Impressed with these sentiments, we consider ourselves as parts of one great empire, in which it is necessary there should be some supreme regulating power. But though we acknowledge the existence of such power, yet we conceive it by no means comprehends a right of binding us in all cases whatsoever; because a power of so unbounded an extent would totally deprive us of security, and reduce us to a state of the most abject servitude.
The colonies, as your Lordships know, were not in contemplation when the forms of the British constitution were established; it followed, therefore, from its principles, when colonization took place, that the colonists carried with them all the rights they were entitled to in the country from which they emigrated; but as, from their local circumstances, they were precluded from sharing in the representation in that legislature in which they had been represented, they, of right, claimed and enjoyed a legislature of their own, always acknowledging the King, or his representative, as one branch thereof: This right they have pointedly, repeatedly, and zealously asserted, as what only could afford them that security which their fellow subjects in Great Britain enjoy, under a constitution at once the envy and admiration of surrounding nations; because no money can be raised upon the subjects in Great Britain, nor any law made that is binding on him, without the concurrence of those who have been elected by the people to represent them.
For what happiness can the colonists expect, if their lives and properties are at the absolute disposal of others, and that power, which, when restrained within its just bounds, would dispense light and heat to the whole empire, may be employed, like a devouring flame, to consume and destroy them?
Your Lordships will excuse, nay, we doubt not, will commend us for speaking, at this important juncture, with the freedom becoming the representatives of a free people, when addressing ourselves to this most illustrious body.
We therefore beg leave, on this occasion, to declare, that we conceive the people of the colonies entitled to equal rights and privileges with their fellow subjects in Great Britain.
That, upon these principles, it is a grievance of a most alarming nature that the Parliament of Great Britain should claim a right to enact laws binding the colonies in all cases whatsoever.
Incompatible as this claim is with the very idea of freedom, your Lordships cannot wonder that the colonies should express an invincible repugnance to it: Absolute and uncontrolable power in any man, or body of men, necessarily implies absolute slavery in those who are subject to it, even should such a power not be carried into execution; yet let it be remembered, that the liberties of an Englishman are his rights, and that freedom consists not in a mere exemption from oppression, but in a right to such exemption, founded on law and principles of the constitution.
But your Lordships cannot be ignorant that this claim has been exercised in such a manner as to give the colonists the utmost uneasiness, and the most unexceptionable grounds of complaint.
Duties, for the express purpose of raising revenue in America, have been imposed upon several articles imported directly from Great Britain, or the British colonies, and on foreign wines, an article which does not in the least interfere with the products of Great Britain, or any of its colonies.
The jurisdiction of the Admiralty Courts has been extended beyond its ancient limits; the judges of those Courts invested with new and unconstitutional powers; the subjects in America, in many cases, divested of that invaluable privilege, a trial by jury, and a discrimination highly injurious, held up between us and our fellow subjects in Great Britain.
Acts have been passed for the purpose of suspending the legislature of this colony from the exercise of its constitutional powers, till it should comply with requisitions which it had before judged improper; and laying an unreasonable restraint upon us, with respect to the emission of a paper currency to be a legal tender within the colony.
Officers employed in the administration of justice have been rendered independent of the people, with respect both to their salaries and the tenure of their commissions, whereby they are freed from those checks to which, as servants of the public, they ought to be subject, although the representatives of the people have ever been ready, and now declare their willingness to make suitable provision for their support.
New and unconstitutional acts have been passed, and constructions made of an old one, by which the American subject is directed to be tried for offences, either real or supposed; not in the place where the fact was committed, where his witnesses reside, and their characters are known, but in a strange country, where his witnesses may not attend, and where their credibility cannot be ascertained.
We are extremely unhappy that occasion has been given us to add to the catalogue of our grievances, the laws enacted in the last session of the late Parliament, for shutting up the port of Boston, for altering the government of the Massachusetts Bay, and for the impartial administration of justice in certain cases in that province.
Although it is no our intention to enter into a justification of the measures which occasioned those acts, or to intimate an approbation of the mode pursued for redressing the grievances of which they have been productive, yet we cannot help viewing them as forming precedents of so dangerous a nature as must render the privileges, the property, and even the lives of all his Majesty's American subjects, precarious and insecure.
By other acts of the same session, the bounds of the province of Quebec are considerably extended; the Roman Catholic religion may be confirmed to be established throughout that province; and such regulations are enacted respecting its trade, as not only hold
up a discrimination between the continental and other colonies, injurious to the former, but, in the establishment of the port of entry, cannot fail totally to deprive this colony of an extensive and important commerce, which it formerly carried on with the native Indian inhabitants of that vast tract of country now included within the bounds of that government.
These are the principal grievances under which our constituents at present labour; but though we conceive it our duty thus fully to lay them before your Lordships, we beg leave to assure you, that we shall always cheerfully submit to the constitutional exercise of the supreme regulating power, lodged in the King, Lords, and Commons of Great Britain, and to all acts calculated for the general weal of the empire, and the due regulation of the trade and commerce thereof.
We conceive this power includes a right to lay duties upon all articles imported directly into the colonies from any foreign country or plantation, which may interfere with products or manufactures of Great Britain, or any other part of his Majesty's dominions; but that it is essential to freedom, and the undoubted rights of our constituents that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their consent given personally, or by their lawful representatives.
Whilst, therefore, we entertain such dispositions of obedience to the lawful powers of government, all allegiance to our most gracious Sovereign, and attachment to the parent country, we humbly hope your Lordships will aid and concur in redressing our grievances, removing all causes of dissention with Great Britain, and establishing our rights and privileges upon a solid and lasting foundation.
And your memorialists shall ever pray.
By order of the General Assembly,
JOHN CRUGER, Speaker.
Assembly Chamber, city of New York, } March 25, 1775. }
BOSTON, April 20.
LAST Tuesday night the grenadiers and light companies belonging to the several regiments in this town, were ferrying in long boats from the bottom of the common over to Phipps's Farm in Cambridge; from whence they proceeded on their way to Concord, where they arrived early yesterday. The first brigade, commanded by Lord Percy, with two pieces of artillery, set off from here yesterday morning at ten o'clock as a reinforcement, which, with the grenadiers and light companies, made about eighteen hundred men. Upon the people's having notice of this movement on Tuesday night, alarm guns were fired throughout the country, and expresses sent off to the different towns; so that very early yesterday morning large numbers were assembled from all parts of the country. A general battle ensued, which, from what we can learn, was supported with great spirit on both sides, and continued until the King's troops retreated to Charlestown, which was after sunset. Numbers are killed and wounded on both sides. The reports concerning this unhappy affair, and the causes that concurred to bring on an engagement, are so various that we are not able to collect any thing consistent or regular, and cannot therefore, with certainty, give our readers any further account of this shocking introduction to all the miseries of a civil war.
NEW YORK, May 1.
WE hear there are letters in this town, from Connecticut, which say, that the number of men lately assembled at Boston, including those from Connecticut and Rhode Island, amounted to 60,000; that they are mostly returned to their respective homes, leaving an army of about 15,000 to watch General Gage's motions, who, we are told, has given the inhabitants of Boston permission to leave the town, on condition they left their arms behind them; that two frigates, and three general officers, were arrived at Boston from England, and a large number of troops hourly expected; and both General Gage and the inhabitants of Boston, had sent expresses to Great Britain with accounts of the late action at Lexington and Concord.
We still seem to be in great suspense about our accounts from Boston, the authenticity of part of them being doubtful; however, we make not the least doubt there has been a smart engagement between the King's troops and the provincials, in which we hear the former has lost 302 men, killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, and the latter 37; but we do not learn there was any general officer lost on either side; and the regular post being now stopped between this place and Boston, it is probable we will remain somewhat longer in the dark concerning this very disagreeable, unhappy, and melancholy transaction.
A letter from Boston, dated last Monday, and received since writing the above paragraphs, says, "the communication between this town and country is entirely stopped up, and not a soul permitted to go in or out without a pass. This day the Governor has disarmed all the inhabitants, after giving them his word and honour that the soldiers should not molest nor plunder them. Cambridge is the head quarters of the provincials, and they are commanded by General —. They are entrenching themselves at Roxbury, and erecting batteries to play on our lines."
ANNAPOLIS, May 1, 1775.
IN PROVINCIAL CONVENTION.
Resolved unanimously, that all exportations from this province to Quebec, Nova Scotia, Georgia, and Newfoundland, or any part of the fishing coast, or fishing islands, and to the town of Boston, ought immediately to be suspended until the Continental Congress shall give further directions therein.
WILLIAMSBURG, May 13.
BY a letter from New York, dated the 27th of April, well authenticated, we have advice that a large number of men had embodied, and that they were making the utmost preparations for their security; that they had taken possession of the custom-house, and resolved to shut up their port entirely, unless for inward-bound and whaling vessels, &c. that they had the greatest reason to believe an express had been sent off to the General, requesting a number of troops, and therefore desired the utmost and most efficacious assistance from their friends. It is said they are hourly gaining further intelligence of the dark designs of their internal and external enemies. They expect the best effects from their measures, provided all the colonies will adopt the same.
From another authentic letter, dated at Philadelphia, April 29, 1775, we learn that they had resolved in that city to stop all trade to those colonies which had not acceded to the resolutions of the General Congress, amongst which Newfoundland and its dependencies are included.
We have it from unquestionable authority that all vessels loaded with provisions, &c. for Boston, and the adjacent provinces, are seized by order of the General.
Yesterday afternoon the Counsellors of Dunmore, and the rest of the Governor's family, returned to this city, from on board the Fowey man of war.
His Excellency Governor Gage has issued writs for calling a General Assembly, to be convened at Boston on Wednesday the 31st instant. Governor Franklin has also, by proclamation, called a meeting of the General Assembly of New Jersey to be on the 15th of this month, his Excellency having received dispatches from one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, containing matters of great importance to the colony, in the present situation of public affairs, and calculated to restore that harmony between Great
Britain and her American colonies, so essential to the interest and happiness of both.
The supporters of the Bill of Rights, in London, the 18th of March, issued the sum of 5001. for the present relief of the persecuted inhabitants of the town of Boston, and the poor distressed fishermen of New England.
A letter from London says, that two general officers, who were appointed to go to America, have absolutely refused.
Yesterday William Pitman, for the murder of his slave, John Watkins, for a rape, and John Wood and William Gray, for burglary, were executed at the gallows, pursuant to their sentence at the last General Court. When the sheriff and his attendants entered the gaol to take them into custody, Pitman made some resistance, but was soon overpowered; he behaved with decency at the place of execution, and attributed his unhappy fate to be the effect of intemperate drinking.
The Sufanna, Dobbie, from London, is arrived in Rappahannock; John, Power, from ditto, at Norfolk; Richmond, Patterson, from Glasgow, in James river; Prosperity, —, from London, and Sarah, Drew, from ditto.
An ELEGY, signed D. C. has been omitted only for Want of Room; it shall have a Place as soon as possible.
At a Court of Common Council for the city of WILLIAMSBURG, held the 8th day of May 1775.
WHEREAS it hath been represented to this Hall, that on the 4th instant, in the night time, some person or persons unknown had broke into the public magazine, and taken from thence sundry fire-arms belonging to his Majesty:
We, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, of the said city, being desirous to maintain peace, order, and good government, do hereby declare our abhorrence of such unlawful proceeding, and do require the inhabitants to use their utmost endeavours to prevent the like outrage in future, and exhort all persons who may be in possession of any of the said arms to return the same immediately, to be replaced in the magazine.
And it having been recommended to this meeting, by the Governor and Council, to appoint a guard to protect the said magazine, they are of opinion that they have no authority to lay any tax for that purpose, but that if some trusty person should be appointed by his Excellency the Governor to be keeper thereof, and care taken to strengthen it with proper bars, there probably would be a stop put to violences of that nature; and they do humbly recommend to his Excellency, Mr. Gabriel Mump, who lives near the magazine, as a person worthy of that trust.
(A copy)
MATTHEW DAVENPORT, Town Clerk.
FREDERICKSBURG, Committee Chamber, Saturday the 29th of April, 1775.
AT a Council of one hundred and two members, Delegates of the Provincial Convention, officers and special deputies of fourteen companies of light horse, consisting of upwards of six hundred well armed and disciplined men, friends of constitutional liberty and America, now rendezvoused here in consequence of an alarm occasioned by the powder being removed from the country magazine in the city of Williamsburg, in the night of Thursday the 21st instant, and deposited on board an armed schooner by order of his Excellency the Governor:
The Council having before them the several matters of intelligence respecting this transaction, and particularly a letter from the Hon. PEYTON RANDOLPH, Esq; Speaker of the late House of Burgessess of Virginia, received here last night by an express despatched to Williamsburg for the purpose of gaining intelligence, informing that the Gentlemen of the city of Williamsburg and neighbourhood have had full assurances from his Excellency that this affair shall be accommodated, and advising that the Gentlemen assembled here should proceed no further at this time, this Council came to the following determination, and offer the same as their advice to those public spirited Gentlemen, friends to BRITISH LIBERTY and AMERICA, who have honoured them by this appointment. Highly condemning the conduct of the Governor on this occasion, as impolitic, and justly alarming to the good people of this colony, tending to destroy all confidence in Government, and to widen the unhappy breach between Great Britain and her colonies, ill timed and totally unnecessary, consider this instance as a full proof that no opinion which may be formed of the good intentions of a Governor in private life can afford security to our injured and oppressed country, but that obedience to arbitrary, ministerial mandate, and the most oppressive and tyrannical system of Government, must be the fatal line of conduct to all his Majesty's present servants in America; at the same time justly dreading the horrors of a civil war, influenced by motives of the strongest affection to our fellow subjects of Great Britain, most ardently wishing to heal our mutual wounds, and therefore preferring peaceable measures whilst the least hope of reconciliation remains, do advise that the several companies now rendezvoused here do return to their respective homes. But considering the just rights and Liberty of America to be greatly endangered by the violent and hostile proceedings of an arbitrary Ministry, and being firmly resolved to resist such attempts at the utmost hazard of our lives and fortunes, do now pledge ourselves to each other to be in readiness, at a moment's warning, to re-assemble, and, by force of arms to defend the laws, the liberty, and rights of this, or any sister colony, from unjust and wicked invasion. Ordered that expresses be despatched to the troops assembled at the Bowling Green, and also to the companies from Frederick, Berkeley, Dummore, and such other counties as are now on their march, to return them thanks for their cheerful offers of service, and to acquaint them with the determination now taken.
GOD SAVE THE LIBERTIES OF AMERICA.
The foregoing determination of Council having been read at the head of each company, was cordially and unanimously approved.
At a committee appointed and held for HANOVER county, at the courthouse, on TUESDAY the 9th of MAY, 1775,
P R E S E N T,
JOHN SYME, SAMUEL OVERTON, WILLIAM CRAGHEAD, MERIWETHER SKEELTON, RICHARD MORRIS, BENJAMIN ANDERSON, JOHN PENDLETON, JOHN ROBINSON, NELSON BERKELEY, and GEORGE DABNEY, junior.
AGREEABLE to a resolution of the committee held at Newcastle the 2d instant, setting forth, that they, being fully informed of the violent hostilities committed by the King's troops in America, and of the danger arising to the colony by the loss of the public powder, and of the conduct of the Governor, which threatens altogether calamities of the greatest magnitude, and most fatal consequences to this colony, and therefore recommending reprisals to be made upon the King's property sufficient to replace the gunpowder taken out of the magazine, it appears to this committee, that the volunteers who marched from Newcastle, to obtain satisfaction for the public powder, by reprisal, or otherwise, proceeded on that business as follows, to wit: "That an officer with 16 men was detached to seize the King's Receiver General, with orders to detain him; and this, it was supposed, might be done without impeding the progress of the main body. The said Receiver General not being apprehended, owing to his absence from home, the said detachment, according to orders, proceeded to join the main body on its march to Williamsburg; and the junction happened the 3d instant, at Doncaster's ordinary, about noon. A little after sunrise next morning, the commanding officer being assured that proper satisfaction, in money, should be instantly made, the volunteers halted, and the proposal being

considered by them, was judged satisfactory as to that point, and the following receipt was given, to wit: "Doncaster's ordinary, New Kent, May 4, 1775, received from the Hon. Richard Corbin, Esq; his Majesty's Receiver General, 330l. as a compensation for the gunpowder lately taken out of the public magazine by the Governor's order; which money I promise to convey to the Virginia Delegates at the General Congress, to be, under their direction, laid out in gunpowder for the colony's use, and to be repaid as they shall direct, until the next Colony Convention, or General Assembly, unless it shall be necessary, in the meantime, to use the same in the defence of this colony. It is agreed, that in case the next Convention shall determine that any part of the said money ought to be returned to his Majesty's said Receiver General, that the same shall be done accordingly."
Test, PATRICK HENRY, Jun. SAMUEL MEREDITH. (A true copy) PARKE GOODALL.
It was then considered, that as a General Congress would meet in a few days, and probably a Colony Convention would shortly assemble, and that the reprisal now made would amply replace the powder, with the charges of transportation, the commanding officer wrote the following letter, and sent it by express.
SIR, MAY 4, 1775. The affair of the powder is now settled, so as to produce satisfaction to me, and I earnestly wish to the colony in general. The people here have it in charge from Hanover committee to tender their service to you, as a public officer, for the purpose of escorting the public treasury to any place in this colony where the money would be judged more safe than in the city of Williamsburg. The reprisal now made by the Hanover volunteers, though accomplished in a manner least liable to the imputation of violent extremity, may possibly be the cause of future injury to the treasury. If therefore you apprehend the least danger, a sufficient guard is at your service. I beg the return of the bearer may be instant, because the men wish to know their destination. With great regard, I am, Sir, Your most humble servant,
PATRICK HENRY, Jun. To ROBERT CARTER NICHOLAS, Esq; Treasurer. SAMUEL MEREDITH. GARLAND ANDERSON. (A true copy)
To which an answer was received from the said Mr. Nicholas, importing, that he had no apprehensions of the necessity or propriety of the proffered service. For which reasons, and understanding, moreover, from others, that the private citizens of Williamsburg were in a great measure quieted from their late apprehension for their persons and property, the volunteers judged it best to return home, and did so accordingly, in order to wait the further directions of the General Congress, or Colony Convention. It appears also to this committee, that before, and on the march, strict orders were repeatedly given to the volunteers to avoid all violence, injury, and insult, towards the persons and property of every private individual; and that in executing the plan of reprisal on the persons of the King's servants, and his property, bloodshed should be avoided, if possible; and that there is the strongest reason to believe that the foregoing orders, respecting private persons, and property, were strictly observed.
Resolved, That this committee do approve of the proceedings of the officers and soldiers of the volunteer company, and do return them their most sincere thanks for their services on the late expedition; and also, that the thanks of this committee be given to the many volunteers of the different counties who joined, and were marching, and ready, to co-operate with the volunteer company of this county.
Ordered, that the Clerk do transmit a copy of these proceedings to the printers, and desire that they will be pleased to publish the same in the gazettes, as soon as possible.
By order of the committee, BARTLETT ANDERSON, Clk. (A copy)
A meeting of the Committee of the county of NORFOLK, at the courthouse of said county, on Thursday the 4th of MAY, 1775:
THE resolves of the Convention held at the town of Richmond, on the 20th of March last, were read, and unanimously approved.
Resolved, that the thanks of this Committee be presented to Thomas Newton, junior, and James Holt, Esquires, our worthy Delegates, for their faithful discharge of the important trust reposed in them.
Having heretofore placed the highest degree of confidence in the good intentions of our Chief Magistrate towards his Majesty's most loyal and faithful subjects, the good people of this dominion, over whom he presides, which we can safely affirm had gained him their universal esteem and respect, with equal surprise and sorrow we have seen, in our public gazettes, extracts of a letter said to be wrote by our said Chief Magistrate, on the 24th of December last; to the Earl of Dartmouth, one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, most grossly misrepresenting all the good people of this colony, particularly the magistrates, and those whom the people have elected as committees to be the guardians of their inalienable rights and liberties; and as his Excellency has not thought proper to disavow being the author of such letter, we must take it for granted that the extract published is a faithful copy: We therefore think it our indispensable duty, in justice to our own reputations, and that of our constituents, who have honoured us with such marks of their confidence and esteem, to refute so unjust and unmerited, so defamatory and atrocious a charge. First, then, we declare that we know of no instance wherein any committee in this or the neighbouring counties has assumed an authority to inspect the books, or any other secrets of the trade of merchants. We admit to have known some instances where some merchants, being suspected of a breach of the association, have voluntarily offered some private letters and books to be inspected, in order to acquit themselves of such charge.
He next says, we stigmatize those we discover to have transgressed what we hardly call the laws of the Congress; which stigmatizing, to use the words in the said extract, "is no other" than inviting the vengeance of an outrageous and lawless mob "to be exercised on the unhappy victims." Several in this borough and county have been held up for public censure for breaches of the association, but no vengeance of any mob or individual has been inflicted on them, not even that fashionable one lately introduced by the troops under the command of General Gage; and we could call upon sundry persons here, who were thus stigmatized, to justify this assertion.
We with his Excellency had designed to name the county where the committee had proceeded so far as to swear the men of their independent company to execute all orders which they should give them, as it is a piece of information entirely new to us, as well as that of every other county forming an independent company for the avowed purpose (as he says) of protecting their committees, and to be employed against Government, if occasion require. We hope all the dark plots of our most secret or declared enemies will prove ineffectual in bringing matters to that unhappy issue; and we have so high an opinion of the virtue of our countrymen, that we look upon the solemnity of an oath altogether unnecessary to stimulate them to stand forth firm and intripid upon all just occasions in support of their civil and religious rights and liberties.
Whilst we were thus fondly flattering ourselves that we had, in his Excellency, a most powerful advocate in order to accommodate the unhappy disputes subsisting between Great Britain and the colonies, we leave the world to judge what poignant sorrow we must feel on the discovery that it was a vain delusion, and that, instead of the good offices we expected, he was all the time widening the breach by misrepresenting so greatly our conduct to those
in power; and we now discover, from his Excellency's said letter, that his gentle and lenient conduct, which we were too ready to attribute to the regard he professed, and which we flattered ourselves he had, for his Government, proceeded only from his fears of the disgrace of a disappointment; and we find, as soon as it was known that letter would be made public, the mask was thrown off, and the first step taken to open the eyes of the people to the seizing of the gunpowder in the public magazine in the most secret manner: How far such a manœuvre is justifiable is not our intention at present to inquire into, that being a point on which the public will undoubtedly undertake to judge for themselves; but we cannot help giving it as our opinion, that his Excellency's answer to the address of the respectable Corporation of the city of Williamsburg on that occasion is highly disrespectful and evasive. And now, my countrymen, let us, by our steady perseverance in virtue and unanimity, convince his Excellency, when he says that every step we take must inevitably defeat its own purpose, that he (to use the phrase of our late truly worthy and noble Governor) has not anguished right.
We thought ourselves under the indispensable necessity of making the foregoing strictures on the above-mentioned letter, least our silence might be construed by our countrymen, or others, into a tacit confession of our guilt; and now we submit to the public how far his Excellency merits the continuance of that unlimited confidence heretofore placed in him: The tribute of our respect we are still willing to pay him as our Chief Magistrate, and the representative of our most gracious Sovereign, to whom we shall always pay all due obedience.
Ordered, that the Clerk send a copy of these proceedings to Messrs. Dixon and Hunter, and Mr. John Hunter Holt, to be published; and they are desired to publish them in their next gazettes. BENJAMIN CROOKER, Clerk.
*** The Freeholders of those Counties and Corporations who may not yet have chosen Deputies to represent them in a general Convention are desired to do it without Loss of Time, as it is judged necessary, by some respectable Gentlemen, that all the Deputies should be prepared to meet on the shortest Notice. It is the Wish and Desire of the worthy Delegates from this Colony, who are now attending the General Congress, that others may be chosen to supply their Places during their necessary Absence.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
By his Excellency the Right Hon. JOHN Earl of DUNMORE, his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the Colony and Dominion of VIRGINIA, and Vice Admiral of the same:
A PROCLAMATION.
VIRGINIA, to wit,
WHEREAS the General Assembly stands prorogued to the first Thursday in September next, but it is judged expedient and necessary that they should be sooner convened: I have therefore thought proper, by this Proclamation, in his Majesty's Name, to appoint the first Thursday in the next Month for that Purpose; at which Time their Attendance is accordingly required at the Capitol, in the City of Williamsburg, for the Despatch of public Business.
GIVEN under my Hand, and the Seal of the Colony, at Williamsburg aforesaid, this 12th Day of May, in the 15th Year of his Majesty's Reign.
DUNMORE. GOD SAVE THE KING.
By his Excellency the Right Hon. JOHN Earl of DUNMORE, his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the Colony and Dominion of VIRGINIA, and Vice Admiral of the same:
A PROCLAMATION.
VIRGINIA, to wit,
WHEREAS I have been informed, from undoubted Authority, that a certain Patrick Henry, of the County of Hanover, and a Number of deluded Followers, have taken up Arms, chosen their Officers, and styling themselves an Independent Company, have marched out of their County, encamped, and put themselves in a Posture of War; and have written and despatched Letters to divers Parts of the Country, exciting the People to join in these outrageous and rebellious Practices, to the great Terror of all his Majesty's faithful Subjects, and in open Defiance of Law and Government; and have committed other Acts of Violence, particularly in extorting from his Majesty's Receiver General the Sum of 330l. under Pretence of replacing the Powder I thought proper to order from the Magazine; whence it undeniably appears, that there is no longer the least Security for the Life or Property of any Man: WHEREFORE I have thought proper, with the Advice of his Majesty's Council, and in his Majesty's Name, to issue this my Proclamation, strictly charging all Persons, upon their Allegiance, not to aid, abet, or give Countenance to, the said Patrick Henry, or any other Persons concerned in such unwarantable Combinations; but, on the Contrary, to oppose them and their Designs by every Means; which Designs must, otherwise, inevitably involve the whole Country in the most direful Calamity, as they will call for the Vengeance of offended Majesty and the insulted Laws, to be exerted here, to vindicate the constitutional Authority of Government.
GIVEN under my Hand, and the Seal of the Colony, at Williamsburg, this 6th Day of May, 1775, and in the 15th Year of his Majesty's Reign.
DUNMORE. GOD SAVE THE KING.
By his Excellency the Right Hon. JOHN Earl of DUNMORE, his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the Colony and Dominion of VIRGINIA, and Vice Admiral of the same:
A PROCLAMATION.
VIRGINIA, to wit,
WHEREAS I am informed that JAMES HOPKINS, who was committed to the Public Gaol from the County of Orange, to take his Trial at the General Court for Horse-Stealing, did last Night make his Escape from thence: The said James Hopkins is a stout well made Man, about 5 Feet 10 Inches high, has a Scald-Head, and had on an Osnaburg Shirt and Trousers; he has usually wandered about the Country, some Times pretending to be dumb, at other Times to have lost the Use of his Limbs, and at others assuming the Office of a Baptist Preacher: In Order, therefore, that the said James Hopkins may be brought to Justice, I do hereby offer a Reward of TWENTY POUNDS to any Person who shall apprehend and deliver him to the Keeper of the Gaol aforesaid.
GIVEN under my Hand, and the Seal of the Colony, at Williamsburg, this 11th Day of May, 1775, and in the 15th Year of his Majesty's Reign.
DUNMORE. GOD SAVE THE KING.
THURSDAY, December 4, 1766.
ORDERED, That the Clerks of the several County Courts in this Colony do transmit to the Clerk of this House, in the first part of every Meeting of the General Assembly, a list of the Tithables in their Counties, containing the Names of such Tithables; and that they transmit also, at the same Time, a List of the publick Charges of their respective Counties.
ORDERED, That the Clerk of this House do cause the same to be published in the Virginia Gazette. By the House of Burgesses: G. WYTHE, C. H. B.
WANTED, An APPRENTICE TO THE BUSINESS OF A STOCKING-MAKER, A Lad about 14 Years of Age.—Apply to me in Williamsburg. ADAM ALLAN.
WILLIAMSBURG, May 13, 1775. THE Treasurer, Trustees, and Subscribers, to the Fund for the Relief of the Widows and Orphans of Clergymen, collected, last Sunday, from the two Audiences, £.10:5:3, for which they beg Leave to return their Thanks to the generous Contributors. On the Day following they ordered £.8:1 to be distributed among five Widows, and the Orphans of six Clergymen, and appointed Officers for the ensuing Year, viz. the Reverend Messrs. John Cann, Treasurer, Adam Smyth, Thomas Field, William Harrison, Alexander White, Henry Skyring, and Samuel King, Trustees; Thomas Davis, Jun. Morning, and Samuel Shield, Evening Preacher. JACOB BRUCE, Clerk.
At a VESTRY held for NORTH FARNHAM Parish the 21st of
APRIL, 1775, P R E S E N T, JOHN SMITH, LE ROY GRIFFIN, JOHN TARPLEY, WILLIAM SMITH, NICHOLAS FLOOD, CHARLES MCCARTY, } Gentlemen, WILLIAM PEACHEY, HUDSON MUSE, LE ROY PEACHEY, WILLIAM COLSTON, }
WHEREAS a Report hath been industriously, but falsely, circulated through this Colony, by some artful and designing People, to serve their selfish Purposes, that the Cure of this Parish, at present vacant by the Death of the late Incumbent, Mr. Mackay, is not to be filled up by another Person than by Mr. Fitzhugh Mackay, Son of the late Incumbent: In Order, therefore, to undeceive the People who may have given Credit to such false Reports, the Vestry of the said Parish, at this Day met, do desire, that the Churchwardens cause the same immediately published, in the Churchyard, and in the Virginia Gazette, as soon as may be convenient, an Advertisement to contradict the said Report, and to give public Notice, that the Cure of the said Parish is still vacant, and that the Vestry of the said Parish would not be so wanting to their Duty, nor to unministry of their Charge, as to keep the Parish vacant for such a Number of Years as must necessarily pass over before the said Mr. Fitzhugh Mackay will be of a proper Age to receive Ordination; and that he has himself to discharge the Office of a Clergyman.
LE ROY PEACHEY, } Churchwardens. HUDSON MUSE, } Test, SAMUEL WILLIAMS, Clerk of the Vestry.
LANCASTER, April 22, 1775.
I intend to leave the Colony immediately. JOHN MAXWELL.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in New Kent, the 27th of April last, a Negro Fellow named MICHAEL, about 25 Years old, 5 Feet 7 Inches high, had on a Cotton Waistcoat, an Osnaburg Shirt, Leather Breeches, and a Pair of black Stockings. He walks remarkably straight, and has been in Williamsburg offering to hire himself. Whoever brings him to me shall have 40s. Reward, or 20s. if secured in any Gaol. SAMUEL APPERSON.
RUN away from the Subscriber, a Negro Fellow named JAMES, about 30 Years of Age, Virginian born, about 5 Feet 8 Inches high, had on a Virginia Cloth Coat and Breeches, has remarkable thick Lips, and is bow legged. His Hair was very thin, owing to having a Scald-Head when young. Whoever brings the said Slave to me, at Canger's Neck, in Chesterfield, or secures him in any of his Majesty's Gaols, so that I may get him again, shall have 30s. Reward, besides what the Law allows. MARK EDWARDS.
BLANDFORD, May 1, 1775. As I intend for Britain early in the Summer, those who have any Demands against me will be kind enough to bring them in, and they shall be immediately discharged. Mr. Thomas Gordon, of Prince George, will be properly empowered to receive, and grant Discharges for, the Debts still due to Gordon & Ramsay. PATRICK RAMSAY.
BLANDFORD, May 1, 1775. THOSE indebted to Ramsay, Monteith, and Co. are desired to take Notice, that their Business at this Place, formerly under Mr. Patrick Ramsay's and lately under my Direction, is now managed by Mr. William Bogle, who is fully empowered to transact the same, and to whom they are desired to make Payment. When the Times admit, it will be carried on as usual. WILLIAM ROBERTSON.
TO BE SOLD
To the highest Bidders, at the Dwelling-House of JAMES BUCHANAN, deceased, in SURREY County, on THURSDAY the 25th Instant, SUNDRY Articles of HOUSEHOLD and KITCHEN FURNITURE, some PLATE, and four valuable NEGRO HOUSE SERVANTS. Credit will be allowed the Purchasers for all Sums of 25s. or upwards, until the 25th of April 1776, giving Bond and approved Security to HENRY SIMMONS, } Administrators of Buchanan & Simmons. BENJAMIN SIMMONS, }
TO BE SOLD,
On three Years Credit, to the highest Bidder, on MONDAY the 5th of JUNE, at one o'Clock, in the Road, on the Premises, TWELVE Hundred Acres of LAND, more or less, on the north Side of Piscataway Creek, in Essex County, nearly opposite to the old Warehouses. The Land was lately recovered by a Judgment of our Honourable General Court. An incontestable Right will be made the Purchaser, on giving Bond (with good Security) to carry Interest from the Date if not punctually paid. Mr. Francis Vaugban will show the land. EDWARD THWEATT.

POETS CORNER.
The DEVIL'S TAIL.
A Bon Mot of the Marquis of CONFLANS.
A CARDINAL one day returning from Court, Seem'd to wish on Conflans for to make a retort; There's nothing in France of so common a date, Says he, my dear Count, as the poor and the great; And to prove my assertion both common and plain, I've a kinsman of yours, faith—to hold up my train. Conflans made reply—Sir, I pity the man, But indeed I've resolv'd on a much better plan; The red or blue guards, tho' of vilest degree, Have open'd a certain asylum for me; And I'd rather be starv'd and o'er-run with each evil, Than take by the tail such an arrogant devil.
NEWCASTLE, May 3, 1775.
THE Subscriber, who intends for Scotland in a few Weeks, has for Sale, in the Town of Newcastle, three LOTS, on which there is a small, but convenient Dwelling-House, with all necessary Outhouses, lately built, the Garden newly paled in, and the Lots under good Fencing, two of them sowed with Wheat and Clover last Fall.
ROBERT CAMPBELL.
N. B. All Persons indebted to the Subscriber are requested to come and settle their Accounts.
NORFOLK, May 2, 1775.
All Persons indebted to us are desired to settle their Accounts with Mr. Alexander Mosely, who is appointed to the Management of the Concern since the Death of Mr. John Wilkins; and as many Accounts have been long standing, we expect a speedy Settlement.
PHRIPP, TAYLOR, & Co.
THOSE Gentlemen who may be inclined to consign any Tobacco to William Lee, Esq; Merchant in London, are respectfully acquainted, that a good British built Ship will be in York River in a very short Time, to take in Tobacco to his Address, when the Gentlemen Shippers will be waited on by the Captain in Person. (2)
THE NOTED HORES
MARK ANTHONY,
ADVERTISED some Time ago in the Virginia Gazette to be sold at Mr. Robert Haynes's this Season, in Bute County, will stand at my Plantation on Elk Marsh, in Halifax County, about four Miles above the Town, and will cover Mares the ensuing Season at 30s. Virginia Money the Leap, 31. the Season, or 31. to ensure a Colt. I have an excellent pasture. Great Care will be taken of Mares, but will not be answerable for any that may get away. B. McCULLOCK.
NORTH CAROLINA, March 29, 1775.
STRAYED from the Subscriber, in Bladen, on the 4th of March last, a dark bay Mare, 7 Years old, about 14 Hands high, with a hanging Mane and Tail, cat-hamm'd, paces naturally, has some Saddle Spots on the near Side, and branded WK, or WR, on the near Shoulder and Buttock. Also a small sorrel FILLY went away with her, two Years old this Spring, had a Snip on the right Nostril, but neither docked nor branded. They were seen on Rowanty, and are imagined to have gone towards Walker's Mill, on Nottoway, or Hick's Ford, on Meherrin.—Whoever will bring the said Mares to me shall be handsomely rewarded for their Trouble. (tf) DAVID BLACK.
FOR SALE,
Next CAROLINE Court Day, being the second THURSDAY in MAY,
FOUR full blooded FEARNOUGHT COLTS from one to four Years old; also two fine BROOD MARES, one of them imported. Bond (with good Security) will be expected, payable in October. JOHN BAYLOR.
RUN away from the Subscriber, in Amherst County, about the latter End of February last, a Virginian Negro Fellow named ROBIN, about 45 Years of Age, 5 Feet 8 Inches high, well made, of a yellowish Complexion, has a thin Visage, several of his fore teeth are out, and is somewhat deaf. He formerly belonged to Col. Warner Lewis of Gloucester County, where it is probable he will attempt to go, as he was lately taken up near Richmond Town, and made his Escape from the Person who was bringing him Home, near Goochland Court-house. All Masters of Ships, and other Persons, are hereby forewarned from harbouring or conveying him out of the Colony; and I will give 20s. Reward, besides what the Law allows, to any person who delivers the said slave to me, or secures him in any Jail, so that I may get him again. W. CABELL.
To be SOLD for ready Money,
A COLLECTION of valuable BOOKS, either separately or together; a Port Folio of ENGRAVINGS, ETCHINGS, and MEZZOTINTOS (all fine Impressions, and many of them Proofs) by the most celebrated Masters; several Articles of MOHOGANY FURNITURE, &c. a three Year old CHESTNUT COLT, by VALIANT, from a high-blooded Mare; a Year old BAY FILLY, from the same, by FEARNOUGHT; and a SINGLE CHAIR, both light and strong; the Property of S. Henley of William & Mary College, who designs to leave the Colony soon.
I INTEND to leave the Colony soon. WILLIAM CRAIG.
For SALE, on long Credit,
THE HOUSE in the City of Williamsburg where Mr. WILLIAM HORNSBY lately lived. For Terms, inquire of the Printers.
PRINCE GEORGE, April 17, 1775.
THE Subscriber gives Notice to the Public, that whereas he purchased a Tract of Land, in October 1774, of Thomas Penn, on Cedar Creek, in the County of Brunswick, and the said Penn hath received Earnest Money in Part Payment for the said Land, but since refuses to make him a Right according to Agreement: He therefore forewarns all Persons from having any Dealings with him for the said Tract of Land. THOMAS HARRIS.
RUN away from Mr. Andrew Leitch, Merchant at Dumfries, two Convict Men, transported from London, in the Justitia, Captain Kidd, named WILLIAM PEIRCY, and RALPH EMANUEL: Piercy is a well-looking Middle-sized Man, about 25 Years of Age, an Englishman, wears his own short black Hair, and has been used to the Sea: Emanuel is a stout Englishman, wears his own red Hair tied behind, has been also used to the Sea, limps on his left Foot, and is about 25 Years of Age.—Whoever delivers them to the said Mr. Andrew Leitch, at Dumfries, shall have a Reward of 31. Currency for each of them. (4) THOMAS HODGE.
WILLIAMSBURG, April 29, 1775.
THE Subscribers intending to leave the Colony as soon as they can settle their Affairs, once more most earnestly entreat the Favour of those that are indebted to them to discharge their Accounts at the ensuing Meeting of the Merchants. The GOODS they have on Hand will be sold cheap for Cash; and as their Continuance here is uncertain, it makes such a Notice necessary. The HOUSE they live in, which is situated in the most public Part of the City, (and well calculated for any public Business, to be sold on long Credit, with Interest from the Date of the Deed, or on an Annuity, with approved Security: Either of those, as may best suit the Purchaser, will be agreeable to
EDWARD & J. CHARLTON.
SURRY, April 17, 1775.
RUN away from the Subscribers, two intended Servant Men, viz. GEORGE BLACKBURN, about 22 Years of Age, of a brown Complexion, about 5 Feet 9 Inches high, has a large Hand, his Fingers are remarkably long, he is pretty well learned, writes a tolerable good Hand, is nice in dressing himself, and particularly his Hair, which is of a brown Colour, long, and generally wears it clubbed. He had on a Suit of black Cloth Clothes, and carried with him a Suit of light coloured ditto, several Pair of Stockings, some white Shirts and Neckcloths. He is a sensible obliging Man, and knows how to behave himself well: GEORGE PEART, about 5 Feet 8 Inches high, of a light Complexion, pitted with the Smallpox, has light coloured long Hair, which he wore either hanging down his Back or clubbed; had on a white Shirt and Neckcloth, a dark coloured Frieze Coat, an old red Jacket double breasted, a Pair of light coloured Cloth Breeches, gray ribbed Stockings, and a Pair of Pumps. He took with him an old brown Thickset Coat; he is about 22 Years old, and pretends to be a Shoemaker.—Whoever will apprehend the said Servants, and convey them to us, or secure them so that we get them again, shall have 51. Reward for both, or 50s. for either. THOMAS & SAMUEL PRETLOW.
** The said Runaways are Natives of England, and say they were born in the County of Durham.
BUTE County, North Carolina, March 20, 1775.
RUN away from the Subscriber, a Slave of the Indian Breed, a tall slim made Fellow, with long straight black Hair, about 23 Years of Age, had on, when he went away, a blue Duffil Waistcoat, old Check Shirt, &c. but since he left me has sold sundry Goods; so that he may have changed his Dress. He is branded on both Cheeks, with the letter R on the right, and the letter T on the left. It is supposed he will make for Prince George County in Virginia, or to some seaport Town on James River. Whoever secures him in any of his Majesty's Gaols, so that I may get him again, shall have 40s. Reward, to be paid to the Gaoler. The Brands on his Cheeks were fresh given him by the Person of whom I bought him, and were not cured when he left me, WILLIAM TABB.
** All Persons are forewarned employing or harbouring the said Slave, at their Peril.
TAKEN up, in Chesterfield, a yellow bay HORSE about 10 or 12 Years old, 4 Feet 6 or 7 Inches high, with a Star in his Forehead, has several Saddle Spots, is branded on the left Buttock RC, and on the right R. Potted, and appraised to 101. RALPH FALKNER.
TAKEN up, in Bedford, a dark gray stoned COLT, about a Year old, neither docked nor branded, has some White on the off hind Foot, a very small white Spot in his forehead, and is about 13 1/2 Hands high. Potted, and appraised to 71. JAMES BOYD.
WILLIAMSBURG, MARCH 28, 1775.
JOHN SHIPHARD, Coach, Chaise, and Harness Maker, from LONDON.
INFORMS the Public that he has now on Hand a neat Phaeton, double and single Riding Chairs, &c. which he will dispose of on reasonable Terms, for Cash, European or West India Goods. He returns his most grateful Thanks to all those who have hitherto favoured him with their Custom, and takes this Method to inform them, as well as the Public in general, that he is determined to spare neither Pains nor Expense in prosecuting the different Branches of his Business to the Satisfaction of all who may please to employ him. He will repair Carriages as above-mentioned, either in the Wheels or Bodies, and will attend to the greatest Punstuality.
NORFOLK, April 3, 1775.
JOURNEYMEN WEAVERS, who are acquainted with any of the following Branches, viz. weaving of Cotton Velvets, Thicksets, Jeans, Fustians, Dimities, Counterpanes, Damask, Diaper, Gauze, Woollens, or Linens, will meet with good Encouragement by applying to the Subscriber.—A good Linen Weaver may soon weave any of the above, and shall have the Pieces prepared and mounted for them, by GARDINER FLEMING.
N. B. I shall be obliged to any Smith or Cutler that would furnish me with a Plough, and three different Sets of Wires, for making Cotton Velvets.
I have Moschetto Curtains, and sundry other Kinds of Cloth, for Sale, and will give a good Price for well spun Cotton, Flax, or Wool, in Payment, preferable to Cash, such as will run from six to fifteen Yards to the Pound.
TEN POUNDS REWARD.
DUMFRIES, April 6, 1775.
RUN away, two Convict Servant Men, just imported from London, in the Justitia, Capt. Kidd, lying at Leeds Town, viz.—WILLIAM PEARCE, a stout likely Fellow, 5 Feet 8 or 9 Inches high, with red Hair, a fair Complexion, tolerably well dressed, and about 25 Years of Age.—RALPH EMANUEL, about 6 Feet high, and about 22 Years of Age, strong made, and likely, with darkish coloured Hair, and is well dressed: He had on a Chocolate coloured Surtout Coat, with a red Cape, a little tarred, and a bound Hat, with a black Band round it. They left the Company in which they were travelling a few Miles above Leeds Town, and both will certainly endeavour to pass for Sailors. To those used to the Smell of Servants just from a Ship they will easily be discovered, unless they have procured new Clothes. I will give 61. for securing them, 101. for bringing both Home, or Half that for each. All Masters of Ships are forbid harbouring them, at their Peril. ANDREW LEITCH.
To be sold by Auction,
At the Meeting of the Merchants in May next, for Cash or short Credit, about 6001. Sterling Worth of EUROPEAN GOODS.
FOR SALE, THE HIGH BLOODED HORSE
DOTTEREL.
HE is full 15 Hands 3 Inches high, and remarkable for the Strength and Beauty of his Form, being in every Respect worthy of his high Descent, which is from the best Stock in England, as may be seen by his Pedigree, in the Hand Writing, and signed by Sir John Pennington, who bred him. The Gentlemen of the Turf are well acquainted with Dotterel's Performances in Great Britain, and that he was esteemed the swiftest Horce in England (Eclipse excepted.) He is remarkable for getting Colts, and they are uncommonly beautiful and fit for the Turf or Road. The above-mentioned Pedigree may be seen, and the Terms of Sale made known to any person inclined to purchase, by applying to the Steward at Stratford, the Seat of the late Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Esq; in Westmoreland County. 4
AUGUSTA County, April 15, 1775.
ALL Persons indebted to the Estate of John McClanahan, deceased, are desired to make speedy Payment; and those who have any Demands against the Estate are desired to make them known to ALEXANDER ST. CLAIR, Exec't. 4
FOR SALE,
A NEW Brig, burthen about 115 Tons now on the Stocks, and ready for launching. Her upper Timbers are altogether of Black Walnut, Cedar, Locust, and Mulberry. The Terms of Sale will be made known to any person inclined to purchase, by applying to the Steward at Stratford, the Seat of the late Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Esq; in Westmoreland County. 4
TO BE RENTED,
A large Dwelling-House In RICHMOND TOWN,
40 Feet by 20, with two rooms below and two above, a Garden newly paled in, a Kitchen, and all other Outhouses necessary for a Family. The Situation is as pleasant as any in Town. The Terms may be known by applying to the Printers hereof, or to the Subscriber, in said Town. (tf) GABRIEL GALT.
RUN away, the 20th Instant (March) a very black, large, young Negro Man named SELLOR. I bought him from the Rev. John Brander, in Bedford County, who purchased him from one Ransone, on North River, Kingson Parish, Gloucester County, where probably the Slave may be.—Whoever will deliver him to the Subscriber, at Drymmon's Neck, in James City County, shall have 31. Reward, and be allowed all Expenses in bringing him. (6) JOHN AYLETT.
TO BE SOLD,
THREE Thousand Acres of well timbered LAND, near Newmarket, in Caroline County, whereon are two Plantations in good Repair, with proper and convenient Edifices for farming or making of Tobacco. For Terms apply to the Subscriber. (tf) JOHN BAYLOR.
TO BE SOLD,
A TRACT of LAND in Caroline County, contiguous to Mattaponi, containing about 2000 Acres of well timbered Land, the Property of Mr. Robert Baylor. The Terms may be known by applying to Mr. Nathaniel Burwell of King William, Mr. John Armistead of Caroline, and Mr. John Baylor, Executors. (tf)
For SALE, and very CHEAP,
THE TRACT of LAND whereon I now live, in the lower End of Caroline County, that contains 470 Acres, and is known to be very good. The Improvements are, a new Dwelling-House 32 by 28 Feet, with three Dormants on a Side, two Fireplaces below, and one above, a good Cellar, the Kitchen 24 by 16 Feet, with all other Outhouses quite new, and the Plantation in fine Order for Cropping. Its Situation is equal to any Forest Place whatever. I will give Credit till next Christmas, when Possession may be had. (tf) LE ROY HIPKINS.
TO BE SOLD, or RENTED,
(Preference will be given to the first)
A PLANTATION on Allen's Creek in Mecklenburg, within a Mile of Roanoke, consisting of about 120 Acres of Land, the Property of Messrs. Alexander Donald and Co. and whereon the Subscriber now lives. The Land of itself is valuable, exclusive of the Improvements, which are a good Dwelling-House, with other necessary Outhouses, and a large and convenient Storehouse, 32 by 44 Feet. There are about 20 Acres of the low Ground well set in Timothy and Clover, and notwithstanding this dry Summer, 15 Acres of it have yielded above 30,000 Weight of Hay, which, with about 300 Bushels of Oats in the Straw, some Indian Corn, 40 Head of Cattle, 50 Head of Sheep, and some Hogs, will be sold on reasonable Terms. The Purchaser may have Possession of the Premises as soon as he pleases, and long Credit (if required) will be allowed for the Land, on his giving Bond and Security. It is expected the Store will be continued, and of Course the Purchaser will have the Benefit of the Board of the Storekeepers, and besides the Situation of the Place (being on Taylor's Ferry Road) makes it well calculated for a Tavern. (tf) EBENEZER MACHARG.
PRINCE GEORGE, November 10, 1774.
RUN away from the Subscriber, a Mu- latto Boy named SAM, about 16 or 17 Years old, of a very light Complexion, and will endeavour to pass for a free Boy, has gray Eyes, brown Hair, a smooth artful Tongue, is a great Villain, but a very good Barber. In the Month of June last he was put in York Jail, on Suspicion of having stolen some Money in Williamsburg. He made his Escape from thence and got to Norfolk, where he was put in Jail and sent to me by Water. The next Day (September 20th) he made his Escape from my Overseer, and has not since been heard of. He was born in Frederick Town, Maryland, has lived in Fredericktown, Norfolk, and York Town, and is well acquainted with most Parts of Virginia. He was very meanly clad, having been so long in Jail, but it is probable will procure Clothes. I will give 40s. Reward to have him committed to any of his Majesty's Jails, if taken in the Colony of Virginia, and if out of the Colony 51. All Captains of Ships, or Masters of Vessels, are hereby forewarned from carrying him out of the Country, or employing him. (tf) JOHN BLAND.