"Shays Rebellion" in the Massachusetts Gazette
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Object type: Periodical
Date: September 8, 1786
Publication: Massachusetts Gazette
Associated Person: Daniel Shays, 1747? - 29 Sep 1825
Place: United States/Massachusetts/Suffolk/Boston
Medium: Ink on paper
Dimensions: Image/Sheet: 35 × 25.2 cm (13 3/4 × 9 15/16")
Credit line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Topics: Newspapers
The Massachusetts Gazette.
(VOL. V.)
FRIDAY, September 8, 1786.
(NUMB. 259.)
Printed and published by SAMUEL HALL, in State-Street, BOSTON.—To be continued every Tuesday and Friday.
D U B L I N, June 20.
IN the year 1782, Fitzgerald (lately executed) was tried at Castlebar, before the Hon. Mr. Solicitor General Carelton, for false imprisonment and cruel treatment given to his father, in order to compel him to make a will in his favour. It appeared in evidence against Fitzgerald, that, on the first outset of his father's confinement, at Rockfield-House, he was chained to a large block of wood, and on continuing obstinate in his refusal of making such will, he had three of his teeth knocked out, and was treated with the utmost inhumanity and cruelty. However, the father at length gave himself the appearance of being satisfied and willing to comply with Fitzgerald's directions, by which he procured the means of making his situation known, and several gentlemen in that part of the country interfered and rescued him. On these indictments he was convicted, and sentenced to a very long imprisonment, and the payment of a very heavy fine. In some short time after his commitment to Castlebar goal, he had the address to effect his escape; upon which government issued a proclamation, offering a reward of 300l. for apprehending him: and he was accordingly taken by the present town-major, Hall, in College-green, and committed to Newgate. Fitzgerald then brought a writ of error to reverse the sentence and judgment against him; but which, after being at hearing several times, the court of king's-bench confirmed: afterwards, by means of his powerful friends and great connections, a pardon was procured for him in the administration of Lord Temple, now Marquis of Buckingham: and it is said, that upon that occasion his father, meeting him by accident in the street, went down upon his knees to curse him, praying that he might be hanged! Fitzgerald's truly deplorable and unhappy fate should be a timely lesson to all children to venerate their parents, and treat them with that affectionate and dutiful regard which, whatever their conduct may be, they are justly entitled to receive; nor was it ever known that any one who could unfeignedly outrage the persons of his parents escaped meeting, sooner or later, with some untimely end or ignominious punishment.
L O N D O N,
June 2. A correspondent says, as he was passing through Old Palace yard, on Tuesday, he was surprised at hearing the following orders given by a person to the woman at the bar of an ale-house: "Three penny worth of crank for Earl Stanhope, a pint of porter for Lord Eingham, two pennyworth of bread and cheese for Lord Chedworth, and a double glass of brandy for the Archbishop of Canterbury." Curiosity led him to inquire whether those personages usually took refreshments of the kind, whilst doing their duty in parliament, when the landlady very obligingly told him, that the servants of the Peers frequented her house, and it was customary to call them by their masters' titles; but that ever since Lord Mansfield and the Chancellor (at least their servants) fought, politics had not been suffered in any of their debates. — ["High Life below Stairs!"]
June 17. Saturday morning the body of a fine young woman was taken out of the Thames at the end of Strand lane, where she had drowned herself the preceding night. She appeared to be about 18 years of age, and was known to have been turned out of doors the day before, by one of those inhuman monsters in the shape of woman, who keep brothels in the neighbourhood of Drury-lane. The poor young victim had been brought from her parents at the age of eleven years, by the mistress of the bagnio from which she was dismissed; when her face grew common, and the charms of extreme youth and novelty were no longer a temptation to debauched constitutions, and debilitated age. Thus thrown upon the town, penniless and heart-broken, she did, as too many have already done, from the same causes—she put an end to her existence, and trespassed against the commands of Heaven, in order to get rid of her miseries on earth.
June 27. On the 14th, Lord Sydney presented to his majesty one of the most beautiful and largest diamonds in Europe. The diamond was a present from the Nezam of Decan, an Indian Prince, and which was thought to have been lost in the Hin-
chenbroke Indiaman, but was saved in the following extraordinary manner. The Nezam sent it to Mr. Hastings to be presented to his Majesty in his name, but before it arrived at Bengal, the Governor General had sailed for England; it was then delivered to Captain Church of the 102d regiment, who had taken his passage for England in the Hinchinbroke; at the time of the vessel's striking, a Lascar taking the advantage of the disorder and confusion usual on such occasions, possessed himself of a small chest belonging to Captain Church, in which was the diamond and several other valuable articles: this fellow got safe on shore, and being unable to open it, fairly made a virtue of necessity, and delivered it to Mr. Crofts, Resident at the Nezam's court—Mr. Crofts sent it to Europe, addressed to Mr. Blair, who delivered it to Mr. Hastings, the latter gentleman gave it to Major Scott, and he to Lord Sydney, who had the honour of presenting it to his Majesty.
We hear from Paris, that the latter end of June, his Majesty went to Cherbourg, to view the stupendous works carrying on in that harbour, which, when completed, will be the wonder of the present age, for strength, utility, and annoyance of their neighbours, the English, in case of a future war; his Majesty examined into every thing with the most scrupulous nicety, and was perfectly satisfied with the conduct, alertness, and professional knowledge of the principal engineers and those under their orders; he afterwards reviewed the squadron under the command of Count Albert de Ryons; on his coming on shore he was welcomed by the joyful acclamations of thousands of his subjects, which continued without intermission the whole length of his journey, from thence to Versailles, where he arrived in good health the 29th of June; the Marquis de la Fayette was in the royal suite.
J A M A I C A.
KINGSTON, July 8. On Wednesday morning last, about 7 o'clock, Mr. John Douglas, overseer to an estate in Clarendon, put a period to his existence by cutting his throat. The reason most plausibly assigned for this melancholy event is, that he had for about a year and three quarters been afflicted with an internal disorder, which baffled the power of medicine, and from which he despaired of being relieved.—The day previous to his commission of this fatal act, it is said he settled his worldly affairs, coolly preparing to give the most atrocious of all insults to his Creator!—The return on the Coroner's Inquest was Felo de se ; in consequence whereof, his remains were interred at a cross road the west end of the town.
PHILADELPHIA, August 25.
On Sunday last arrived here, in 45 days from Cork, the ship St. Tamany, Captain Savage, who informs, that several vessels had been seized there, for a breach of some of their new laws of trade, among which are the brig —, Capt. Bull, from Hartford, who arrived at Cork the 2d of July, and seized under pretence of her having rum on board in smaller casks than was allowed by law; the ship Liberty, Capt. Devees, from this port, for having, as is said, sold part of a hogshead of tobacco on the coast to some pretended fishermen; and the brig Queen of France, Capt. Sheffield, from Rhode-Island, which was condemned and sold.
By the above accounts, we see the same game is playing in Ireland as in the West-Indies, and on the most frivolous pretences the American property is seized and condemned, in every port where Britain has the least authority.—How long will America tamely submit to the impositions of Britain and her rascally Custom-House officers—perhaps when our merchants are ruined and our trade extinct, we shall then give power to Congress, and call on them, when too late, for the lex talionis , and call on them, when too late, for the lex talionis .
Extract of a letter from Cork, July 10, 1786.
"When any of your vessels are bound to this kingdom, we would recommend to you to give a very particular charge to your Captain and every person on board your vessel, not to sell any article out of the vessel on the coast, or in port. There are at this time a number of vessels with their cargoes under seizure, and some have been condemned, —It is now the practice of the officers on this coast to keep boats out in disguise to purchase,
and when the vessel gets into port, the chaps who bought prove the facts, by which many honest men have been ruined of late.—The revenue laws are now so severe (and we cannot help saying unjust) that not only the vessel, but the goods on board are condemned, on its being proved the smallest quantity is sold out of the vessel.—We now hand you an abstract of our late revenue law, which is proper for all masters of vessels to be acquainted with.
"It is enacted, "That if any vessel with tobacco, tea, coffee, wine, rum, brandy, or any other spirits, shall put into any port in this kingdom, except the port she is bound to, which must be done by unavoidable distress; of which distress the master or other proper officer must, on arrival in any port, haven, or creek, give notice and proof before the collector or chief officer of her distress, and also of all the goods she has on board, otherwise said vessel, with all the goods on board, shall be forfeited."
Extract of a letter from Oldman's creek, in West-Jersey, twenty-five miles from this city, dated Aug. 10.
"Yesterday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, this neighbourhood was affrighted by a severe thunder-gust. The house of Mr. William Miller was struck, his only daughter, of 14 years of age, killed on the spot, and himself severely hurt. He complains of acute pains in his bones and joints, especially about the arms, and is confined to his bed; the face of the girl appeared purple, but not bruised. The lightning melted small spots on a row of pewter plates that stood near her on the shelf. Another person in the room was knocked from his chair, and stunned for a few minutes. A strong smell of sulphur filled the house. This afternoon the funeral of the innocent victim was attended by a numerous assembly, that lamented her untimely fate, and sympathised with her distressed parents, especially the mother, who has for several years been deprived of sight, and is now bereft of an only daughter, that with the tenderest solicitude attended to her wants, and shed a cheering ray on her perpetual night. A suitable sermon was preached on the occasion.
From the Boston Magazine, for July, 1786. Number of Houses in the several Cities and Towns, mentioned below, taken from actual enumeration.
  Philadelphia 4600  New-York 3500  Boston 2100  Baltimore 1900  Charleston (S. C.) 1540  Albany 550  New-Haven 400  Hartford 300  Wilmington (Delaware) 400  Annapolis 260  Frederick-Town (Maryland) 400  Alexandria (Virginia) 300  Richmond 280  Petersburg 290  Williamsburg 230  
Boston, by an accurate calculation lately made, has been found to contain 14,540 inhabitants, exclusive of strangers. This number gives seven persons to a house. If the same proportion holds good in the other towns of America, it will be easy to determine the number of fixed inhabitants in Philadelphia, New-York, &c. multiplying the number of houses by seven, there must be, exclusive of strangers, in
  Philadelphia 32,205  New-York 24,1500  Baltimore 13,300  Charleston 10,780  The number of strangers in either of these towns cannot readily be ascertained. New-York being the seat of the continental government, probably contains more than Boston. Allowing however eight persons to a house, including strangers, which perhaps is a supposition very near the truth, —there are in  Philadelphia 36,800  New-York 28,000  Boston 16,800  Baltimore 15,200  Charleston 12,320