Polynesian., 1845-02-01
NEW SERIES, Vol. mo. 81.

tnough many OF them l well knew to be, as u
certain gentleman elegantly expresses it,
facts thai nerer happened. Sd. That | am now
willing and DESTROYS to turn once more, to I'M
say all that | have last said, and to print and
publish for the u. States of America, which
are likely to be uppermost, against the British
Iyrant; nor will | be backward in calling
him, after the example of the great and emf
nent author of Common Sense, The ROYAL
Brute, or giving him any other appellation
still more opprobrious, if such can be
found.
"The rational moralists ofthc last age used
to tell us that there was an essential differ
ence between virtue and vice, because there
was an essential difference to be observed
in the nature and reason of things. Now,
with all due Difference to these great men,
| think am as much of a Philosopher as to
know that there are no circumstances of ac-
ton more important than those of time and
place; therefore, if a man pay no regard to
the changes that may happen in these cir
cumstances, there will be very little Virtue,
and still less Prudence in his BEHAVIOR
Perhaps | have got rather too deep for
common readers, and therefore shall ask
any plain Quaker in this city, what he
would say to a man who should wear the
same coat in summer as in winter, in this
climate? He would certainly say,-''Friend,
thy wisdom is not great" Now, whether
| have not had as good reason to change my
conduct as my coat, since last January,
| leave to every impartial person to deter
mine. 2dly, | do hereby declare and con-
TESS, that when l printed for Congress, and
on the side of Liberty, it was not by any
means from principle, or a desire that the
cause of Liberty should prevail, but purely
and simply from the love of gain. | could
have made nothing but tar and feathers by
printing against them as things then stood.
[ make this candid acknowledgment not
only as a %penitent to obtain pardon, but to
show that there vas more consistency in my
conduct than my enemies arc willing to
allow. They are pleased to charge me
with hypocrisy in pretending to be n Wing
when | was none. This charge is false;
] was neither Wing nor Tory, but a Printer.
/ dctcst and abhor hypocrisy. | had no
more regard for General Howe or General
Clinton, or even for Mrs. Lowring' or any
other Of the ChaSte .Nymphs that attended
the jcte Champefre, alias Mischianza, when
! printed in their bohalt, than for the Con-
gress on the day of their retreat. 1t is
pretended that | certainly did in my heart
incline to the English, because that | print
cd much bigger lies and in greater number
Tor them, than for the Congress. This is Il
most false and I'm ust insinuation. 1t was
entirely the fault Of the Congress them
selves, who thought fit (being but a new
potcntate upon the earth to be much more
modest, and keep nearer the truth than their
advcrsarics. Had any Of them brought me
in a lie as big as a mountain it should have
issued from my press. This gives inc an
opportunity Of showing the folly as well as
malignlty of those who are actuatcd by
party spirit many of them have affirmed
that | printed monstrous and Incredible lies
for General Howe. Now, pray what harm
could incredible lies do? The only hurt,
| conceive, that any lie can do, is by obtain
ing belief, as a truth; but an incredible lie
can obtain no belief, and therefore, mt least,
must be perfectly harmless. What will
those cavaliers think if | should turn this
argument against them, and say that the
most c~ffcctual way to disgrace any cause is
to publish monstrous and incredible lies in
It's favor: In this view, | have not only
innocence, but some degree of merit to
plead. However, take it which way you
will, there never was n lie published in
Philadelphia that could bear the least COM
p~arison with those published by James Riv-
ington, in New York. This, in my opinion,
is to be imputed to the superiority not of the
Printer, but Of the Prompter or Prompters.
| reckon Mr.. = to have eXcellcd in
that branch; and he had probably many
coad tutors. What do you think Of &C, 900
Russians and 10000 Moors, which Moors,
too, were said by Mr.. Rivington to be dreadful
among the women as also the boats build
ing at the forks ofthe Monongahela to carry