Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1813-12-30

pounds potatoes, fourteen ounces barley, three
and a hail ounces onions, ten and a half pounds
bread, per week. Frequent represrul ations
were made by the prisoners Ia Mr. Beasley Of
THAR bad trea,ment; but whether he took any
steps 20 endeavor to have the abuse rectiied
my brother docs not know he only knows
that no change Tor the better had ken place
previous to his leaving the prison ship IN July
iast-Wh,ist he was there, British officers came
almost daily on board TO en,leavor 10 D. rsuade
the men to enter either into their army or ma
wy, and our naturalzcd citizens were not ONLY
Persuaded bit threatened. The answer of one
OF those men rs worth recordinS--he had been
m America twenty four years British Oil
Ger hnding that he would not enter bv Derspa.
siVe fiedHs, threa ned him with halfcy sYun
may hang me, SAID he, and cut me up into
mince meat, and then If you choose may "a,
me, but you never will persuade or fright me
To enter for never will lift my hand arainst
the country hat has supported me, and in which
have spent my best days" But, agreeably to
the doctrine OF some people, and even some ma
tive Americans, that man is a traitor and ought
to suffer death do not pretend TO he so well
versed in the knowledge OF public law, as msnv
who hold, or pretend to hold, to the doctrine
o n repatriation ana native allegiance-buf /
! e, nd to my share of common sense and the
teaches me to believe, that 1t is the will cf He.
We n that every man shall be free TO choose wha,
country he pleases to live IN, where he can
make himself most useful, and can best provide
Tor himself and family. i consderth doctrine
prcpo erous and absurd, that a man shall nor
be al owed, without mourning the penalty of
nigh treason, to fight in the cause of the coun
Try that ne has adopted, and by the laws of
which he has been made citizen, and becomes
bound by his oath to support the laws and de.
lend them in all cases
In iurther conversation with my brother, he
tells me that 1t very often happened. while he
was on board the prison shin nat the provis;
ons brought on board for dailv use was so bad
that the prisoners would not receive i and :,
was then sent on shore and when this happen.
ed, they remained twenty four hours w;,bon,
eating, as they had nothing 10 eat.
In his last paragraph, Col. Barclay saws.
" with respect to the information Mr. Wal
Ter dePoses he received from the inhabitants.
that the bread delivered the prisoners had
been twice to the West Indies and condemn.
ed as spoiled bread, every person acouain-
ted with the regulations of the British navy
must Know that such circumstance is i'm
POSSIBLE WHEN provisions are unfit for
use, survey is held on them they are con
demned: the casks and bags which contain
them are broken up or cut to pieces. and the
provisions cast into the sea or river The
senior officer in port or commissioner. or
II at sea, the commander and master of the
snip are obliged to certify the fact. that
such provisions were DESTROYED in their ore !.
SenCe~ nat this is the regulation of the
n'ltish navy have no doubt and because
tnese are the regulations, Co. Barclay infers
tnat it is impossible they should not be com
pied with. The regulations on this head
and know, by wcful experience, that thew
We're not then complied with for was
twice prisoner on board of the old Jeraeu
ana the prisoners were almost wholly fed
with provisions which had been condemned
ana were not thrown into the river, but sent
on board the Jersey for our use. There
could ne no mistake, because the bread was
so worm eaten that it was almost irlpoSsi-
Ole to md mouthfu in the whole sent
ana the beet and pork so into.eraaiv bad
mat nothing but dire necessity could induce
any body to eat it.-From these factsJ in
fer that il the British government is isnor.
ant OF these things, it proves incontcstablv
that the regulations of the navy are no more
complied with now than they were then
and that these provisions are dealt ONT 70
me prisoners in lieu Of good and wholesome
1000, and government charged the price of
''iS itl.'SI. III tnIS DC the tact, II is pref
" rational way of accounting for the rapid
fortunes generally made by chose who have
contracts OF supplies. Those who have had
as much experience as have of British ma
Wy officers, who supply prison ships, know
very wei that their conscicnces, generally
speaking, are not of the most delicate tex
ture, nor their hearts of that benevolent cast
to induce the belief that they possess it, and
feit the tenderest sympathies for the suffer-
ings OF their enemies but black ard cal,
'ous is the heart Of that man, who can ex-
UT at the snfferings of his fellow men, pa :
ticu'arly when they are his prisoners. But
humane and generous enemies we have sell
dom found among the British officers
Witness the Chesapeake, &c.
ALEX. COFFIN, Jf.
AucusrA, (Geo.) Dec. II.
A Defact.norf 6 r IN SIT ~.