London 1757-1775
LONDON 1757-1775
by Benjamin Franklin
_William Franklin to the
Printer of the Citizen:
A Defense of the Quakers and the
Pennsylvania Assembly_
_Some Account of the late Disputes between the Assembly of_
Pensylvania, _and their present Governor_ William Denny, _Esq;_
In our _Magazine_, _Vol._ xxv. p. 87 _Vol._ xxvi. _p._ 28. we
have given a very particular account of the disputes between the
assembly of _Pensylvania_ and the late Governor _Morris_, which had
exactly the same cause, and produced exactly the same effects, as the
late dispute between this assembly and Mr _Denny_.
The acting governor, who is only lieutenant governor,
besides the royal instructions, receives instructions from the
proprietaries. By these proprietary instructions the governor is
required not to pass any bill for taxing their quit rents, their
located unimproved lands, and their purchase money at interest,
but the assembly have ever been determined to frame no money
bill, in which these quit rents, lands, and money shall be
exempted, for the following reasons.
1st, Because they conceive that neither the proprietaries nor
any other power on earth, ought to interfere between them and their
sovereign, either to modify or refuse their free gifts and grants for
his majesty’s service.
2d, Because though the governor may be under obligations to the
proprietaries, yet he is under greater to the crown, and to the
people he is appointed to govern, to promote the service of his
majesty, and preserve the rights of his subjects, and protect them
from their cruel enemies.
3d. Because a tax laid comformable to the proprietary
instructions, could not possibly produce the necessary supply. By
these instructions all the proprietors estate, except a trifle, and
all located unimproved lands, to whomsoever belonging, are to be
exempted. There remains then to be taxed, only the improved lands,
houses, and personal estates of the people. Now it is well known,
from the tax books, that there are not in the province more than
20,000 houses, including those of the towns with those on
plantations. If these, with the improved lands annexed to them, and
the personal estate of those that inhabit them, are worth, one with
another, 250_l_. each, it may, we think, be reckoned their full
value; then multiply 20,000 the number of houses, by 250_l_. the
value of each estate, and the produce is 5,000,000_l_. for the full
value of all our estates, real and personal, the unimproved lands
excepted. Now three _per cent._ on five millions is but one hundred
and fifty thousand pounds; and four shillings in the pound on one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds, being but a fifth part, is no more
than thirty thousand pounds; so that we ought to have near seventeen
millions to produce, by such a tax, one hundred thousand pounds.
4th. Because the bill (*) which they have prepared, without the
exceptions required in the proprietaries instructions, is exactly
conformable to an act lately passed by a former governor, and allowed
by the crown.
(*) _In the bill which passed in_ March _last, the proprietary
estate was not taxed, that matter being intended to be referred to
the determination of superior authority in_ England.
It is indeed matter of equal astonishment and concern, that in
this time of danger and distress, when the utmost unanimity and
dispatch is necessary to the preservation of life, liberty, and
estate, a governor should be sent to our colonies with such
instructions as must inevitably produce endless dispute and delay,
and prevent the assembly from effectually opposing the _French_ upon
any other condition, than the giving up their rights as _Englishmen_.
The assembly, indeed, have been stigmatized as obstinate,
fanatical, and disaffected; and reproached as the authors of every
calamity under which they suffer. A paragraph in one of the public
papers, which lately ecchoed the charge that has been long urged
against them, has been answered by Mr _William Franklin_ of
_Philadelphia_, who is now in _England_. We shall insert the
paragraph and reply at large, as we cannot exhibit any other
representation with equal authority.
_To the Printer of the_ CITIZEN. _SIR,_ In your Paper of the
9th Instant, I observe the following Paragraph, viz. `The last
Letters from Philadelphia bring Accounts of the Scalping the
Inhabitants of the Back Provinces by the Indians: At the same Time
the Disputes between the Governor and the Assembly are carried to as
great a Height as ever, and the Messages sent from the Assembly to
the Governor, and from the Governor to the Assembly, are expressed in
Terms which give very little Hopes of a Reconciliation. The Bill to
raise Money is clogged, so as to prevent the Governor from giving his
Consent to it; and the Obstinacy of the Quakers in the Assembly is
such, that they will in no Shape alter it: So that, while the Enemy
is in the Heart of the Country, Cavils prevent any Thing being done
for its Relief. — Mr. Denny is the third Governor with whom the
Assembly has had these Disputes within a few Years.’
As this Paragraph, like many others heretofore published in the
Papers, is not founded on Truth, but calculated to prejudice the
Public against the Quakers and People of Pennsylvania, you are
desired to do that injured Province some Justice, in publishing the
following Remarks; which would have been sent you sooner, had the
Paper come sooner to my Hands.
1. That the Scalping of the Frontier Inhabitants by the Indians
is not peculiar to Pennsylvania, but common to all the Colonies, in
Proportion as their Frontiers are more or less extended and exposed
to the Enemy. That the Colony of Virginia, in which there are very
few, if any Quakers, and none in the Assembly, has lost more
Inhabitants and Territory by the War than Pennsylvannia. That even
the Colony of New York, with all its own Forces, a great Body of
New-England Troops encamp’d on its Frontier, and the regular Army
under Lord Loudoun, posted in different Places, has not been able to
secure its Inhabitants from Scalping by the Indians; who coming
secretly in very small Parties skulking in the Woods, must sometimes
have it in their Power to surprize and destroy Travellers, or single
Families settled in scattered Plantations, notwithstanding all the
Care that can possibly be taken by any Government for their
Protection. Centinels posted round an Army, while standing on their
Guard, with Arms in their Hands, are often kill’d and scalp’d by
Indians. How much easier must it be for such an Enemy to destroy a
Ploughman at Work in his Field?
2. That the Inhabitants of the Frontiers of Pennsylvania are
not Quakers, were in the Beginning of the War supplied with Arms and
Ammunition by the Assembly, and have frequently defended themselves,
and repelled the Enemy, being withheld by no Principle from Fighting;
and the Losses they have suffer’d were owing entirely to their
Situation, and the loose scattered Manner in which they had settled
their Plantations and Families in the Woods, remote from each other,
in Confidence of lasting Peace.
3. That the Disputes between the late and present Governors,
and the Assembly of Pennsylvania, were occasioned, and are continued,
chiefly by _new_ Instructions from the Proprietors to those
Governors, forbidding them to pass any Laws to raise Money for the
Defence of the Country, unless the proprietary Estate, or much the
greatest Part of it, was exempted from the Tax to be raised by Virtue
of such Laws, and other Clauses inserted in them, by which the
Privileges long enjoyed by the People, and which they think they have
a Right to, not only as Pennsylvanians, but as Englishmen, were to be
extorted from them, under their present Distresses. The Quakers,
who, tho’ the first Settlers, are now but a small Part of the People
of Pennsylvania, were concerned in those Disputes only as Inhabitants
of the Province, and not as Quakers; and all the other Inhabitants
join in opposing those Instructions, and contending for their Rights,
the Proprietary Officers and Dependants only excepted, with a few of
such as they can influence.
4. That though some Quakers have Scruples against bearing Arms,
they have when most numerous in the Assembly, granted large Sums for
the King’s Use (as they expressed it) which have been applied to the
Defence of the Province; for Instance, in 1755, and 1756, they
granted the Sum of 55,000l. to be raised by a Tax on Estates real and
personal, and 30,000l. to be raised by Excise on Spirituous Liquors;
besides near 10,000l. in Flour, &c. to General Braddock and for
cutting his Roads, and 10,000l. to General Shirley in Provisions for
the New England and New-York Forces, then on the Frontiers of
New-York; at the same Time that the Contingent Expences of Government
to be otherwise provided for, were greatly and necessarily enhanced.
That however, to remove all Pretence for Reflection on their Sect, as
obstructing military Measures in Time of War, a Number of them
voluntarily quitted their Seats in Assembly, in 1756; others
requested their Friends not to chuse them in the ensuing Election,
nor did any of that Profession stand as Candidates, or request a Vote
for themselves at that Election, many Quakers refusing even to vote
at all, and others voting for such Men as would, and did, make a
considerable Majority in the House, who were not Quakers; and yet
four of the Quakers, who were nevertheless chosen, refused to serve,
and Writs were issued for new Elections, when four others, not
Quakers, were chosen in their Places; that of 36 Members, the Number
of which the House consists, there are not at the most above 12 of
that Denomination, and those such as are well known to be for
supporting the Government in Defence of the Country, but are too few,
if they were against such a Measure, to prevent it.
5. That the Bill to raise Money said in the above Article of
News, to be so clogged as to prevent the Governor from giving his
Assent, was drawn in the same Form, and with the same Freedom from
all Clogs, as that for granting 60,000l. which had been passed by the
Governor in 1755, and received the Royal Approbation; that the real
Clogs or Obstructions to its passing were not in the Bill, but in the
above-mentioned proprietary Instructions; that the Governor having
long refused his Assent to the Bill, did in Excuse of his Conduct, on
Lord Loudoun’s Arrival at Philadelphia, in March last, lay his
Reasons before his Lordship, who was pleased to communicate them to
one of the Members of the House, and patiently to hear what that
Member had to say in Answer, the Governor himself being present; and
that his Lordship did finally declare himself fully satisfied with
the Answers made to those Reasons, and to give it as his Opinion to
the Governor, that he ought immediately to pass the Bill, any
Instructions he might have to the contrary from the Proprietors
notwithstanding, which the Governor accordingly complied with, passed
the Bill on the 22d of March, and the Money, being 100,000l. for the
Service of the current Year, has been ever since actually expending
in the Defence of the Province; so that the whole Story of the Bill’s
not passing, the clogging of the Bill by the Assembly, and the
Obstinacy of the Quakers preventing its Passage, is absolutely a
malicious and notorious Falshood.
6. The Assertion of the News-Writers, `That while the Enemy is
in the Heart of the Country, Cavils prevent any Thing being done for
its Relief,’ is so far from being true: That First, the Enemy is not,
nor ever was, in the Heart of the Country, having only molested the
Frontier Settlements by their Parties. Secondly, More is done for
the Relief and Defence of the Country, without any Assistance from
the Crown, than is done perhaps by any other Colony in America; there
having been, soon after the War broke out, the following Forts
erected at the Province Expence, in a Line to cover the Frontier,
viz. Henshaw’s Fort on Delaware, Fort Hamilton, Fort Norris, Fort
Allen, Fort Franklin, Fort Lebanon, Fort William Henry, Fort
Augustus, Fort Halifax, Fort Granville, Fort Shirley, Fort Littleton,
and Shippensburg Fort, besides several smaller Stockades and Places
of Defence, garrisoned by Troops in the Pay of the Province, under
whose Protection the Inhabitants, who at first abandoned their
Frontier Settlements, returned generally to their Habitations, and
many yet continue, though not without some Danger, to cultivate their
Lands: By these Pennsylvanian Troops, under Col. Armstrong, the
greatest Blow was given to the Enemy last Year on the Ohio that they
have received during the War: in burning and destroying the Indian
Town of Kittanning, and killing their great Captain Jacobs, with many
other Indians, and recovering a Number of Captives of their own and
the neighbouring Provinces: Besides the Garrisons, in the Forts, 1100
Soldiers are maintained on the Frontiers in Pay, being armed and
accoutred by the Province, as ranging Companies.
And at Philadelphia, 15 Iron Cannon, 18 Pounders, were last
Year purchased in England, and added to the 50 they had before,
either mounted on their Batteries, or ready to be mounted, besides a
Train of Artillery, being new Brass Field Pieces, 12 and 6 Pounders,
with all their Appurtenances in extreme good Order, and a Magazine
stored with Ammunition, a Quantity of large Bomb-shells, and above
2000 new Small Arms lately procured, exclusive of those in the Hands
of the People. They have likewise this Summer fitted out a 20 Gun
Province Ship of War, to scour the Coast of Privateers, and protect
the Trade of that and the neighbouring Provinces, which is more than
any other Colony to the Southward of New England has done.
Pennsylvania also, by its Situation, covers the greatest Part of New
Jersey, all the Government of the Delaware Countries, and great Part
of Maryland, from the Invasions of the Indians, without receiving any
Contribution from those Colonies, or the Mother-Country, towards the
Expence.
The above are Facts, consistent with the Knowledge of the
Subscriber, who but lately left Philadelphia, is now in London, is
not, nor ever was, a Quaker, nor writes this at the Request of any
Quaker, but purely to do Justice to a Province and People, of late
frequently abused in nameless Papers and Pamphlets published in
England. And he hereby calls upon the Writer of that Article of News
to produce the Letters out of which, he says, he has drawn those
Calumnies and Falshoods, or to take the Shame to himself. WILLIAM
FRANKLIN. Pensylvania Coffee-house London, Sept. 16, 1757.
_The London Chronicle_, September 20, 1757
_Gentleman’s Magazine_, September, 1757
_A Letter from Father Abraham, to His Beloved Son_
_Dear_ Isaac, You frequently desire me to give you some
_Advice_, in Writing. There is, perhaps, no other valuable Thing in
the World, of which so great a Quantity is _given_, and so little
_taken_. Men do not generally err in their Conduct so much through
Ignorance of their Duty, as thro Inattention to their own Faults, or
thro strong Passions and bad Habits; and, therefore, till that
Inattention is cured, or those Passions reduced under the Government
of Reason, _Advice_ is rather resented as a Reproach, than gratefully
acknowledged and followed.
Supposing then, that from the many good Sermons you have heard,
good Books read, and good Admonitions received from your Parents and
others, your Conscience is by this Time pretty well informed, and
capable of advising you,if you attentively listen to it, I shall not
fill this Letter with Lessons or Precepts of Morality and Religion;
but rather recommend to you, that in order to obtain a _clear_ Sight
and _constant_ Sense of your Errors, you would set apart a Portion of
every Day for the Purpose of _Self-Examination_, and trying your
daily Actions by that Rule of Rectitude implanted by GOD in your
Breast. The properest Time for this, is when you are retiring to
Rest; then carefully review the Transactions of the past Day; and
consider how far they have agreed with _what you know_ of your Duty
to God and to Man, in the several Relations you stand in of a Subject
to the Government, Servant to your Master, a Son, a Neighbour, a
Friend, _&c._ When, by this Means, you have discovered the Faults of
the Day, acknowledge them to God, and humbly beg of him notonly
Pardon for what is past, but Strength to fulfil your solemn
Resolutions of guarding against them for the Future. Observing this
Course steadily for some Time, you will find (through God’s Grace
assisting) that your Faults are continually diminishing, and your
Stock of Virtue encreasing; in Consequence of which you will grow in
Favour both with GOD and Man.
I repeat it, that for the Acquirement of solid, uniform, steady
Virtue, nothing contributes more, than a daily strict
SELF-EXAMINATION, by the Lights of Reason, Conscience, and the Word
of GOD; joined with firm Resolutions of amending what you find amiss,
and fervent Prayer for Grace and Strength to execute those
Resolutions. — This Method is very antient. ‘Twas recommended by
_Pythagoras_, in his truly _Golden Verses_, and practised since in
every Age, with Success, by Men of all Religions. Those golden
Verses, as translated by _Rowe_, are well worth your Reading, and
even getting by Heart. The Part relating to this Matter I have
transcribed, to give you a Taste of them, _viz_.
Let not the stealing God of Sleep surprize, Nor creep in
Slumbers on thy weary Eyes, Ere ev’ry Action of the former Day,
_Strictly_ thou dost, and _righteously_ survey. With Rev’rence at
thy own Tribunal stand, And answer justly to thy own Demand. Where
have I been? In what have I transgrest? What Good or Ill has this
Day’s Life exprest? Where have I fail’d in what I ought to do? In
what to GOD, to Man, or to myself I owe? Inquire severe whate’er
from first to last, From Morning’s Dawn till Ev’nings Gloom has past.
If Evil were thy Deeds, repenting mourn, And let thy Soul with strong
Remorse be torn: If Good, the Good with Peace of Mind repay, And to
thy secret Self with Pleasure say, Rejoice, my Heart, for all went
well to Day.
And that no Passage to your Improvement in Virtue may be kept
secret, it is not sufficient that you make Use of _Self-Examination_
alone; therefore I have also added a _golden Extract_ from _a
favourite_ OLD BOOK, to instruct you in the prudent and deliberate
Choice of some disinterested Friend,to remind you of such Misconduct
as must necessarily escape your severest Inquiry: Which is as
follows;
Every prudent Man ought to be jealous and fearful of himself,
lest he run away too hastily with a Likelihood instead of Truth; and
abound too much in his own Understanding. All Conditions are equal,
that is, Men may be contented in every Condition: For Security is
equal to Splendor; Health to Pleasure, _&c_. Every Condition of Life
has its Enemies, for _Deus posuit duo & duo, unum contra unum_. A
rich Man hath Enemies sometimes for no other Reason than because he
is rich; the poor Man hath as poor Neighbours, or rich Ones that gape
after that small Profit which he enjoys. The Poor very often subsist
merely by Knavery and Rapine among each other. Beware, therefore,
how you offend any Man, for he that is displeased at your Words or
Actions, commonly joins against you, without putting the _best_
Construction on (or endeavouring to find out a reasonable Excuse for)
them. And be sure you _hate_ no Man, though you think him a
worthless or unjust Person. Never _envy_ any one above you: You have
Enemies enough by the common Course of Human Nature; be cautious not
to encrease the Number; and rather procure as many Friends as you
can, to countenance and strengthen you. Every Man has also an Enemy
within himself. Every Man is choleric and covetous, or gentle and
generous by Nature. Man is naturally a beneficent Creature: But
there are many external Objects and Accidents, met with as we go
through Life, which _seem_ to make great Alterations in our natural
Dispositions and Desires. A Man naturally passionate and greedy,
may, to all Appearance, become complaisant and hospitable, merely by
Force of Instruction and Discipline; and so the Contrary. ‘Tis in
vain for a passionate Man to say, _I am pardonable_ because _it is
natural to me_, when we can perhaps point out to him an Example in
his next Neighbour, who was _once_ affected in the very same Manner,
and could say as much to defend himself, who is now exceedingly
_different_ in his Behaviour, and quite free from those unhappy
Affections which disturbed his Repose so often, not long ago, and
become a chearful, facetious, and profitable Companion to his
Friends, and a Pattern of Humility to all around him.
Nothing was ever well done or said _in a Passion_. One Man’s
Infirmities and bad Inclinations may be harder to conquer than
another Man’s, according to the various and _secret_ Circumstances
that attend them; but they are capable of being conquered, or very
much improved for the better, except they have been suffered to _take
Root in_ OLD _Age_; in this Case it is most convenient to let them
_have their_ OWN _Way,_ as the Phrase is.
The strongest of our natural Passions are seldom perceived by
us; a choleric Man does not always discover when he is angry, nor an
envious Man when he is invidious; at most they think they commit no
great Faults.
Therefore it is necessary that you should have a MONITOR. Most
Men are very indifferent Judges of themselves, and often think they
do well when they sin; and imagine they commit only small Errors,
when they are guilty of Crimes. It is in Human Life as in the Arts
and Sciences; their plainest Doctrines are easily comprehended, but
the finest Points cannot be discovered without the closest Attention;
of these Parts only the wise and skilful in the Art or Science, can
be deemed competent Judges. Many Vices and Follies resemble their
opposite Virtues and Prudence; they border upon, and seem to mix with
each other; and therefore the exact Line of Division betwixt them is
hard to ascertain. Pride resembles a generous Spirit; Superstition
and Enthusiasm frequently resemble true Religion; a laudable worthy
Ambition resembles an unworthy Self-Sufficiency; Government resembles
Tyranny; Liberty resembles Licentiousness; Subjection resembles
Slavery; Covetousness resembles Frugality; Prodigality resembles
Generosity; and so of the Rest. Prudence chiefly consists in that
Excellence of Judgment, which is capable of discerning the MEDIUM; or
of acting so as not to intermingle the one with the other; and in
being able to assign to every Cause its _proper_ Actions and Effects.
It is therefore necessary for every Person who desires to be a wise
Man, to _take particular Notice of HIS OWN _Actions_, and of HIS OWN
_Thoughts and Intentions_ which are the Original of his Actions; with
great Care and Circumspection; otherwise he can never arrive to that
Degree of Perfection which constitutes the amiable Character he
aspires after. And, lest all this Diligence should be insufficient,
as Partiality to himself will certainly render it, it is very
requisite for him to _chuse a_ FRIEND, or MONITOR, who must be
allowed the greatest Freedom to advertise and remind him of his
Failings, and to point out Remedies. Such a One, I mean, as is a
discreet and virtuous Person; but especially One that does not creep
after the Acquaintance of, or play the Spaniel to, _great_ Men; One
who does not covet Employments which are known to be scandalous for
Opportunities of Injustice: One who can bridle his Tongue and curb
his Wit; One that can converse with himself, and industriously
attends upon his Affairs whatever they be. Find out such a _Man_;
insinuate yourself into a Confidence with him; and desire him to
observe your Conversation and Behaviour; intreat him to admonish you
of what he thinks amiss, in a serious and friendly Manner; importune
his Modesty till he condescends to grant your Request. — Do not
imagine that you live one Day without Faults, or that those Faults
are undiscovered. Most Men see that in another, which they can not
or will not see in themselves: And he is happiest, who through the
whole Course of his Life, can attain to a reasonable Freedom from Sin
and Folly, even by the Help of _Old Age_, that great Mortifier and
Extinguisher of our Lusts and Passions. If such a Monitor informs
you of any Misconduct, whether you know his Interpretations to be
true or false, take it not only _patiently_, but _thankfully_; and be
careful to reform. Thus you get and keep a Friend, break the
inordinate mischievous Affection you bore towards your Frailities,
and advance yourself in Wisdom and Virtue. When you consider that
you must give an Account of your Actions to your vigilant Reprover;
that other Men see the same Imperfections in you as he does; and that
it is impossible for a good Man to enjoy the Advantages of
Friendship, except he first puts off those Qualities which render him
subject to Flattery, that is, except he first cease to flatter
himself. A good, a generous _Christian_ Minister, or worthy sensible
Parents, may be suitable Persons for a difficult Office; difficult,
though it should be performed by _familiar_ Conversation. And how
much more meritorious of Entertainment are People of such a
Character, than those who come to your Table to _make Faces_, talk
Nonsense, devour your Substance, censure their Neighbours, flatter
and deride you? Remember that if a Friend tells you of a Fault,
always imagine that he does not tell you the whole, which is commonly
the Truth; for he desires your Reformation, but is loth to offend
you. And _nunquam sine querela aegra tanguntur_.
I know, dear Son, _Ambition_ fills your Mind, And in Life’s
Voyage, is th’ impelling Wind; But, at the Helm, let sober Reason
stand, To steer the Bark with Heav’n directed Hand: So shall you safe
_Ambition_’s Gales receive, And ride securely, though the Billows
heave; So shall you shun the giddy Hero’s Fate, And by her Influence
be both good and great.
She bids you first, in Life’s soft vernal Hours, With active
Industry wake Nature’s Pow’rs; With rising Years still rising Arts
display, With new-born Graces mark each new-born Day. ‘Tis now the
Time _young Passion_ to command, While yet the pliant Stem obeys the
Hand; Guide now the Courser with a steady Rein, E’er yet he bounds
o’er Pleasure’s flowry Plain; In Passion’s Strife no Medium you can
have; You rule, a Master; or submit, a Slave.
To conclude. — You are just entering into the World: Beware of
the _first Acts_ of Dishonesty: They present themselves to the Mind
under _specious Disguises_, and _plausible Reasons_ of Right and
Equity: But being admitted, they open the Way for admitting others,
that are _but a little_ more dishonest, which are followed by others
_a little_ more knavish than they, till by Degrees, however slow, a
Man becomes an _habitual_ Sharper, and at length a _consummate
Rascal_ and Villain. Then farewel all Peace of Mind, and inward
Satisfaction; all Esteem, Confidence, and Reputation among Mankind.
And indeed if _outward_ Reputation could be preserved, what Pleasure
can it afford to a Man that must _inwardly_ despise himself, whose
own Baseness will, in Spite of his Endeavours to forget it, be ever
presenting itself to his View. If you have a _Sir-Reverence_ in your
Breeches, what signifies it if you _appear_ to Others neat and clean
and genteel, when you _know_ and _feel_ yourself to be b —— t. I
make no Apology for the Comparison, however coarse, since none can be
too much so for a defiled and foul Conscience. But never flatter
yourself with _Concealment_; ’tis impossible to last long. One Man
may be too cunning for another Man, but not for _all Men_: Some Body
or other will smell you out, or some Accident will discover you; or
who can be sure that he shall never be heard to talk in his Sleep, or
be delirious in a Fever, when the working Mind usually throws out
Hints of what has inwardly affected it? Of this there have been many
Instances; some of which are within the Compass of your own
Knowledge.
Whether you chuse to act in a public or a private Station, if
you would maintain the personal Character of a Man of Sincerity,
Integrity and Virtue, there is a Necessity of becoming _really good_,
if you would _do good_: For the thin Disguises of _pretended_ private
Virtue and Public Spirit, are easily seen through; the Hypocrite
detected and exposed. For this Reason then, _My dear_ ISAAC, as well
as for many others, be sincere, candid, honest, well-meaning, and
upright, in all you do and say; be _really_ good, if you would
_appear_ so: Your Life then shall give Strength to your _Counsels_;
and though you should be found out an indifferent _Speaker_ or
_Writer_, you shall not be without Praise for the Benevolence of your
Intention.
But, again, suppose it possible for a Knave to preserve a fair
Character among Men, and even to approve his own Actions, what is
that to the Certainty of his being discovered and detested by the
all-seeing Eye of _that righteous_ BEING, who made and governs the
World, whose just Hand never fails to do right and to punish
Iniquity, and whose Approbation, Favour, and Friendship, is worth the
Universe?
Heartily wishing you every Accomplishment that can make a Man
amiable and valuable, to HIS Protection I commit you, being, with
sincere Affection, _dear Son_, Your very loving Father, _Abraham_.
_The New-England Magazine_, August, 1758
_A New Englandman to the Printer of the London Chronicle: A
Defense of the Americans_
_To the Printer of the_ CHRONICLE.
SIR, While the public attention is so much turned towards
_America_, every letter from thence that promises new information, is
pretty generally read; it seems therefore the more necessary that
care should be taken to disabuse the Public, when those letters
contain facts false in themselves, and representations injurious to
bodies of people, or even to private persons.
In your paper, No. 310. I find an extract of a letter, said to
be from a gentleman in General _Abercrombie_’s army. As there are
several strokes in it tending to render the colonies despicable, and
even odious to the mother country, which may have ill consequences;
and no notice having been taken of the injuries contained in that
letter, other letters of the same nature have since been published,
permit me to make a few observations on it.
The writer says, `_New England_ was settled by Presbyterians
and Independents, who took shelter there from the persecutions of
Archbishop _Laud_; — _they still retain their original character,
they generally hate the Church of England_,’ says he. If it were
true, that some resentment still remained for the hardships their
fathers suffer’d, it might perhaps be not much wondered at; but the
fact is, that the moderation of the present church of _England_
towards Dissenters in _Old_ as well as _New England_, has quite
effaced those impressions; the Dissenters too are become less rigid
and scrupulous, and the good-will between those different bodies in
that country is now both mutual and equal.
He goes on: _`They came out with a levelling spirit, and they
retain it. They cannot bear to think that one man should be
exorbitantly rich and another poor, so that, except in the seaport
towns, there are few great estates among them. This equality
produces also a rusticity of manners; for in their language, dress,
and in all their behaviour, they are more boorish than any thing you
ever saw in a certain Northern latitude.’_ One would imagine from
this account, that those who were growing poor, plundered those who
were growing rich to preserve this equality, and that property had no
protection; whereas in fact, it is no where more secure than in the
_New England_ colonies, the law is no where better executed, or
justice obtain’d at less expence. The equality he speaks of, arises
first from a more equal distribution of lands by the assemblies in
the first settlement than has been practised in the other colonies,
where favourites of governors have obtained enormous tracts for
trifling considerations, to the prejudice both of the crown revenues
and the public good; and secondly, from the nature of their
occupation; husbandmen with small tracts of land, though they may by
industry maintain themselves and families in mediocrity, having few
means of acquiring great wealth, especially in a young colony that is
to be supplied with its cloathing, and many other expensive articles
of consumption from the mother country. Their dress the gentleman
may be a more critical judge of than I can pretend to be; all I know
of it is, that they wear the manufactures of Britain, and follow its
fashions perhaps too closely, every remarkable change in the mode
making its appearance there within a few months after its invention
here; a natural effect of their constant intercourse with _England_,
by ships arriving almost every week from the capital, their respect
for the mother country, and admiration of every thing that is
_British_. But as to their language, I must beg this gentleman’s
pardon if I differ from him. His ear, accustomed perhaps to the
dialect practised in the _certain northern latitude_ he mentions, may
not be qualified to judge so nicely in what relates to _pure
English_. And I appeal to all Englishmen here, who have been
acquainted with the Colonists, whether it is not a common remark,
that they speak the language with such an exactness both of
expression and accent, that though you may know the natives of
several of the counties of _England_, by peculiarities in their
dialect, you cannot by that means distinguish a _North American_.
All the new books and pamphlets worth reading, that are published
here, in a few weeks are transmitted and found there, where there is
not a man or woman born in the country but what can read: and it
must, I should think, be a pleasing reflection to those who write
either for the benefit of the present age or of posterity, to find
their audience increasing with the increase of our colonies; and
their language extending itself beyond the narrow bounds of these
islands to a continent, larger than all _Europe_, and to a future
empire as fully peopled, which _Britain_ may probably one day possess
in those vast western regions.
But the Gentleman makes more injurious comparisons than these:
`_That latitude_, he says, has this advantage over them, that it has
produced sharp, acute men, fit for war or learning, whereas the other
are remarkably simple or silly, and blunder eternally. We have 6000
of their militia, which the General would willingly exchange for 2000
regulars. They are for ever marring some one or other of our plans
when sent to execute them. They can, indeed, some of them at least,
range in the woods; but 300 Indians with their yell, throw 3000 of
them into a panick, and then they will leave nothing to the enemy to
do, for they will shoot one another; and in the woods our regulars
are afraid to be on a command with them _on that very account._’ I
doubt, Mr. Chronicle, that this paragraph, when it comes to be read
in _America_, will have no good effect, and rather increase that
inconvenient disgust that is too apt to arise between the troops of
different corps, or countries, who are obliged to serve together.
Will not a _New England Officer_ be apt to retort and say, What
foundation have you for this odious distinction in favour of the
officers from your _certain northern latitude_? They may, as you
say, be _fit for learning_, but, surely, the return of your first
General, with a well-appointed and sufficient force from his
expedition against _Louisbourg_, is not the most shining proof of his
_talents for war_. And no one will say his plan was _marred by us_,
for we were not with him. — Was his successor, who conducted the
blundering attack and inglorious retreat from _Ticonderoga_, a New
England man, or one of _that certain latitude_? — Then as to the
comparison between _Regulars_ and _Provincials_, will not the latter
remark, That it was 2000 New England _Provincials_, with but about
150 _Regulars_, that took the strong fort of _Beausejour_ in the
beginning of the war, though in the accounts transmitted to the
English Gazette, the honour was claimed by the regulars, and little
or no notice taken of the others. — That it was the _Provincials_
who beat General _Dieskau_, with his _Regulars_, _Canadians_, and
_`yelling’ Indians_, and sent him prisoner to _England_. — That it
was a _Provincial-born_ Officer (* 1), with _American_ battoemen,
that beat the _French_ and _Indians_ on _Oswego_ river. — That it
was the same Officer, _with Provincials_, who made that long and
admirable march into the enemies country, took and destroyed Fort
_Frontenac_, with the whole French fleet on the lakes, and struck
terror into the heart of _Canada_. That it was a _Provincial_
Officer (* 2), _with Provincials_ only,
who made another extraordinary march into the enemy’s country,
surprised and destroyed the _Indian_ town of _Kittanning_, bringing
off the scalps of their chiefs. That one ranging Captain of a few
_Provincials_, _Rogers_, has harrassed the enemy _more_ on the
frontiers of _Canada_, and destroyed _more_ of their men, than the
_whole_ army of _Regulars_. — That it was the _Regulars_ who
surrendered themselves, with the Provincials under their command,
prisoners of war, almost as soon as they were besieged, with the
forts, fleet, and all the provisions and stores that had been
provided and amassed at so immense an expence, at _Oswego_. That it
was the _Regulars_ who surrendered Fort _William Henry_, and suffered
themselves to be butchered and scalped with arms in their hands.
That it was the _Regulars_, under _Braddock_, who were thrown into a
panick by the `_yells_ of 3 or 400 Indians,’ in their confusion shot
one another, and, with five times the force of the enemy, fled before
them, destroying all their own stores, ammunition, and provisions! –
These _Regular Gentlemen_, will the _Provincial rangers_ add, may
possibly be _afraid_, as they say they are, _to be on a command with
us_ in the woods; but when it is considered, that from all past
experience the chance of our shooting them is not as one to an
hundred, compared with that of their being shot by the enemy, may it
not be suspected, that what they give as the _very account_ of their
fear and unwillingness to venture out with us, is only the _very
excuse_; and that a concern for their scalps weighs more with them
than a regard for their honour.
Such as these, Sir, I imagine may be the reflections _extorted_
by such provocations from the Provincials in general. But the _New
England Men_ in particular will have reason to resent the remarks on
their reduction of _Louisbourg_. Your writer proceeds, `Indeed they
are all very ready to make their boast of taking _Louisbourg_, in
1745; but if people were to be acquitted or condemned according to
the propriety and wisdom of their plans, and not according to their
success, the persons that undertook that siege merited little praise:
for I have heard officers, who assisted at it, say, never was any
thing more rash; for had one single part of their plan failed, or had
the French made the fortieth part of the resistance then that they
have made now, every soul of the New Englanders must have fallen in
the trenches. The garrison was weak, sickly, destitute of
provisions, and disgusted, and therefore became a ready prey; and,
when they returned to France were decimated for their gallant
defence. Where then is the glory arising from thence?’ — After
denying his facts, `that the garrison was weak, wanted provisions,
made not a fortieth part of the resistance, were decimated,’ &c. the
_New England_ men will ask this regular gentleman, If the place was
well fortified, and had (as it really had) a numerous garrison, was
it not at least _brave_ to attack it with a handful of raw
undisciplined militia? If the garrison was, as you say, `sickly,
disgusted, destitute of provisions, and ready to become a prey,’ was
it not _prudent_ to seize that opportunity, and put the nation in
possession of so important a fortress at so small an expence? So
that if you will not allow the enterprize to be, as we think it was,
both _brave_ and _prudent_, ought you not at least to grant it was
_either one_ or _the other_? But is there no merit on this score in
the people, who, tho’ at first so greatly divided, as to the making
or forbearing the attempt, that it was carried in the affirmative, by
the small majority of _one_ vote only; yet when it was once resolved
on, _unanimously_ prosecuted the design (* 3), and prepared the means
with the greatest zeal and diligence; so that the whole equipment was
completely ready before the season would permit the execution? Is
there no merit of praise in laying and executing their plan so well,
that, as you have confessed, not a _single part_ of it failed? If
the plan was destitute of `propriety and wisdom,’ would it not have
required the _sharp acute_ men of the _northern latitude_ to execute
it, that by supplying its deficiencies they might give it some chance
of success? But if such `remarkably silly, simple, blundering
_Mar-plans_,’ as you say we are, could execute _this plan_, so that
not a _single part_ of it failed, does it not at least show that the
plan itself must be laid with _some_ `wisdom and propriety?’ — Is
there no merit in the ardour with which all degrees and ranks of
people quitted their private affairs, and ranged themselves under the
banners of their King, for the honour, safety, and advantage of their
country (* 4)? Is there no merit in the profound secrecy guarded by
a whole people, so that the enemy had not the least intelligence of
the design, till they saw the fleet of transports cover the sea
before their port? — Is there none in the indefatigable labour the
troops went thro’ during the siege, performing the duty both of men
and horses; the hardships they patiently suffered for want of tents
and other necessaries; the readiness with which they learnt to move,
direct, and manage cannon, raise batteries, and form approaches (*
5); the bravery with which they sustained sallies; and finally in
their consenting to stay and garrison the place after it was taken,
absent from their business and families, till troops could be brought
from England for that purpose, tho’ they undertook the service on a
promise of being discharged as soon as it was over, were unprovided
for so long an absence, and actually suffered ten times more loss by
mortal sickness, thro’ want of necessaries, than they suffered from
the arms of the enemy? The nation, however, had a sense of this
undertaking different from the unkind one of this gentleman. At the
treaty of peace, the possession of _Louisbourg_ was found of great
advantage to our affairs in _Europe_; and if the brave men that made
the acquisition for us were not _rewarded_, at least they were
_praised. Envy_ may continue a while to cavil and detract, but
_public virtue_ will in the end obtain esteem; and honest
impartiality in this and future ages will not fail doing justice to
merit.
Your _gentleman writer_ thus _decently_ goes on. `The most
substantial men of most of the provinces are children or
grandchildren of those that came here at the King’s expence, that is,
thieves, highwaymen, and robbers.’ Being probably a military
gentleman, this, and therefore a person of nice honour, if any one
should tell him in the _plainest_ language, that what he here says is
an absolute falsehood, challenges and cutting of throats might
immediately ensue. I shall therefore only refer him to _his own
account in this same letter_, of the _peopling_ of _New England_,
which he says, with more truth, was by _Puritans_ who fled thither
for shelter from the persecutions of Archbishop _Laud_. Is there not
a wide difference between removing to a distant country to enjoy the
exercise of religion according to a man’s conscience, and his being
transported thither by law as a punishment for his crimes? This
contradiction we therefore leave the _gentleman_ and _himself_ to
settle as well as they can between them. One would think from his
account, that the provinces were so many colonies from _Newgate_.
The truth is, not only _Laud_’s persecution, but the other publick
troubles in the following reigns, induc’d many thousand families to
leave _England_, and settle in the plantations. During the
predominance of the parliament, many royalists removed or were
banished to _Virginia_ and _Barbadoes_, who afterwards spread into
the other settlements: The Catholics shelter’d themselves in
_Maryland_. At the restoration, many of the depriv’d nonconformist
ministers with their families, friends and hearers, went over.
Towards the end of _Charles_ the Second’s reign and during _James_
the Second’s, the dissenters again flocked into _America_, driven by
persecution, and dreading the introduction of popery at home. Then
the high price or reward of labour in the colonies, and want of
Artisans there, drew over many, as well as the occasion of commerce;
and when once people begin to migrate, every one has his little
sphere of acquaintance and connections, which he draws after him, by
invitation, motives of interest, praising his new settlement, and
other encouragements. The `most substantial men’ are descendants of
those early settlers; new comers not having yet had time to raise
estates. The practice of sending convicts thither, is modern; and
the same indolence of temper and habits of idleness that make people
poor and tempt them to steal in _England_, continue with them when
they are sent to _America_, and must there have the same effects,
where all who live well owe their subsistence to labour and business,
and where it is a thousand times more difficult than here to acquire
wealth without industry. Hence the instances of transported thieves
advancing their fortunes in the colonies are extreamly rare, if there
_really is_ a single instance of it, which I very much doubt; but of
their being advanc’d there to the gallows the instances are plenty.
Might they not as well have been hang’d at home? — We call _Britain_
the _mother_ country; but what good mother besides, would introduce
thieves and criminals into the company of her children, to corrupt
and disgrace them? — And how cruel is it, to force, by the high hand
of power, a particular country of your subjects, who have not
deserv’d such usage, to receive your outcasts, repealing all the laws
they make to prevent their admission, and then reproach them with the
detested mixture you have made. `The emptying their jails into our
settlements (says a writer of that country) is an insult and
contempt, the cruellest perhaps that ever one people offered another;
and would not be equal’d even by emptying their jakes on our tables.’
The letter I have been considering, Mr. _Chronicle_, is
follow’d by another, in your paper of Tuesday the 17th past, said to
be _from an officer who attended Brigadier General_ Forbes _in his
march from_ Philadelphia _to_ Fort Duquesne; but wrote probably by
the same gentleman who wrote the former, as it seems calculated to
raise the character of the officers of the _certain northern
latitude_, at the expence of the reputation of the colonies, and the
provincial forces. According to this letter-writer, if the
_Pensilvanians_ granted large supplies, and raised a great body of
troops for the last campaign, it was not obedience to his Majesty’s
commands, signified by his minister Mr. _Pitt_, zeal for the King’s
service, or even a regard for their own safety; but it was owing to
the `General’s proper management of the Quakers and other parties in
the province.’ The withdrawing of the Indians from the French
interest by negotiating a peace, is all ascribed to the General, and
not a word said to the honour of the poor _Quakers_ who first set
those negotiations on foot, or of honest _Frederic Post_ that
compleated them with so much ability and success. Even the little
merit of the Assembly’s making a law to regulate carriages, is
imputed to the General’s `multitude of letters.’ Then he tells us,
`innumerable scouting parties had been sent out during a long period,
both by the General and Colonel _Bouquet_, towards Fort _Duquesne_,
to catch a prisoner, if possible, for intelligence, but never got
any.’ — How happened that? — Why, `It was the _Provincial troops_
that were constantly employed in that service,’ and they, it seems,
never do any thing they are ordered to do. — _That_, however, one
would think, might be easily remedied, by sending _Regulars_ with
them, who of course must command them, and may see that they do their
duty. _No; The Regulars are afraid of being shot by the Provincials
in a Panick_. — Then send all Regulars. — _Aye; That was what the
Colonel_ resolved _upon_. — `Intelligence was now wanted. (says the
letter-writer) Col. _Bouquet_, whose attention to business was [only]
very considerable [that is, _not quite so great_ as the General’s,
for he was not of the _northern latitude_] was _determined_ to send
NO MORE Provincials a scouting.’ — And how did he execute this
determination? Why, by sending `Major _Grant_ of the Highlanders,
with _seven_ hundred men, _three_ hundred of them Highlanders, THE
REST _Americans_, _Virginians_, and _Pensilvanians_!’ No _blunder_
this, in our writer; but a _misfortune_; and he is nevertheless one
of those _`acute sharp’_ men who are _`fit for learning!’_ — And how
did this Major and seven hundred men succeed in catching the
prisoner? — Why, their `march to Fort Duquesne was _so conducted_
that the _surprize_ was _compleat_.’ — Perhaps you may imagine,
gentle reader, that this was a surprize of the enemy. — No such
matter. They knew every step of his motions, and had, every man of
them, left their fires and huts in the fields, and retired into the
fort. — But the Major and his 700 men, _they_ were _surprized_;
first to find no body there at night; and next to find themselves
surrounded and cut to pieces in the morning; two or three hundred
being killed, drowned, or taken prisoners, and among the latter the
Major himself. Those who escaped were also _surprized_ at their own
good fortune; and the whole army was _surprized_ at the Major’s bad
management. Thus the _surprize_ was indeed _compleat_; — but not
the disgrace; for _Provincials were there_ to lay the blame on. The
_misfortune_ (we must not call it _misconduct_) of the Major was
owing, it seems, to an un-named and perhaps unknown _Provincial_
officer, who, it is said, `disobeyed his orders and quitted his
post.’ Whence a formal conclusion is drawn, `That a Planter is not to
be taken from the plow and made an officer in a day.’ — Unhappy
_Provincials_! If _success_ attends where you are joined with the
Regulars, they claim all the honour, tho’ not a tenth part of your
number. If _disgrace_, it is all yours, though you happen to be but
a small part of the whole, and have not the command; as if Regulars
were in their nature invincible, when not mix’d with Provincials, and
Provincials of no kind of value without Regulars! Happy is it for
you that you were present neither at _Preston-Pans_ nor _Falkirk_, at
the faint attempt against _Rochfort_, the route of _St. Cas_, or the
hasty retreat from _Martinico_. Every thing that went wrong, or did
not go right, would have been ascribed to you. Our commanders would
have been saved the labour of writing long apologies for their
conduct. It might have been sufficient to say, _Provincials were
with us!_
But these remarks, which we only suppose may be made by the
provok’d provincials, are probably too severe. The generals, even
those who have been recall’d, had in several respects great merit, as
well as many of the officers of the same nation that remain, which
the cool discreet part of the provincials will readily allow. They
are not insensible of the worth and bravery of the _British_ troops
in general, honour them for the amazing valour they manifested at the
landing on _Cape Breton_, the prudence and military skill they show’d
in the siege and reduction of _Louisburg_, and their good conduct on
other occasions; and can make due allowance for mistakes naturally
arising where even the best men are engag’d in a new kind of war,
with a new and strange enemy, and in a country different from any
they had before experienc’d. Lord HOWE was their darling
(* 6), and others might be nam’d who are
growing daily in their esteem and admiration. — There are also among
the regular officers, men of sentiments, concerning the colonies,
more generous and more just than those express’d by these
letter-writers; who can see faults even in their own corps, and who
can allow the Provincials their share of merit; who feel pleasure as
_Britons_, in observing that the _children_ of _Britain_ retain their
native intrepidity to the third and fourth generation in the regions
of _America_; together with that ardent love of liberty and zeal in
its defence, which in every age has distinguish’d their progenitors
among the rest of mankind. — To conclude, in all countries, all
nations, and all armies, there is, and will be a mixture of
characters, a medley of brave men, fools, wise-men and cowards.
National reflections being general, are therefore unjust. But
panegyrics, tho’ they should be too general, cannot offend the
subjects of them. I shall therefore boldly say, that the _English_
are brave and wise; the _Scotch_ are brave and wise; and the people
of the _British_ colonies, proceeding from both nations — I would
say the same of them, if it might not be thought vanity in Your
humble servant, May 9, 1759. _A New Englandman_.
_The London Chronicle_, May 12, 1759
(* 1) Colonel _Bradstreet_.
(* 2) Colonel _Armstrong_ of _Pensilvania_.
(* 3) `As the Massachuset’s assembly at first entered into the
expedition upon the _coolest deliberation_, so did they on the other
hand exert themselves with _uncommon vigour_ in the persecution of
it. As soon as the point was carried for undertaking it, EVERY
MEMBER which had opposed it _gave up his own private judgment_ to the
public voice, and _vied_ with those who had voted for the expedition,
in encouraging the enlistment of the troops, and forwarding the
preparations for the attempt.’ _Memoirs of the last War_, p. 41.
(* 4) `The bounty, pay, and other encouragements, allowed by the
Massachuset’s government to both officers and men, especially the
former, was but small; but the _spirit_ which reigned thro’ the
province supplied the want of that; the complement of troops was soon
inlisted; not only the officers, who served in this enterprize, were
gentlemen of considerable property, but most of the non-commission’d
officers, and many of the private men, had valuable freeholds, and
entered into the service upon the same principles that the old
_Roman_ citizens in the first Consular armies used to do.’ _Memoirs
of the last War_, p. 41.
To which I may add, that instances of the same noble spirit are
not uncommon in all the other colonies; where men have entered into
the service not for the sake of the pay, for their own affairs in
their absence suffer more by far than its value; not in hopes of
preferment in the army, for the Provincials are shut out from such
expectations, their own forces being always disbanded on a peace, and
the vacancies among the Regulars filled with _Europeans_; but merely
from _public spirit_ and a sense of duty. Among many others, give me
leave to name Col. PETER SCHUYLER of _New Jersey_; who, though a
gentleman of a considerable independent fortune, has, both in the
last and present war, quitted that domestic ease and quiet which such
affluence afforded, to take upon him the command of his country’s
forces, and by his example animated the soldiery to undergo the
greatest fatigues and hardships: And who when a prisoner in _Canada_
for fifteen months, did, during the whole time, generously make use
of his own credit to relieve such _British_ subjects as unhappily
fell into the hands of the enemy. — Not to mention his advancing his
own private fortune towards paying the forces, raised during last war
in _America_ by order of the crown; when, by the continued delays in
sending the money from _England_ for that purpose, it was generally
doubted whether it would ever be sent, and the common soldiers were
therefore, from necessity, on the point of quitting his Majesty’s
service in a body. An event which must at that time have been
attended with very fatal consequences; and would not have been
prevented, had not he risqued so considerable a part of his
substance.
(* 5) `The _New England_ troops, within the compass of 23 days from
the time of their first landing, erected five fascine batteries
against the town, mounted with cannon of 42 lb. 22 lb. and 18 lb.
shot, mortars of 13, 11, and 9 inches diameter, with some cohorns;
all which were transported _by hand_, with incredible labour and
difficulty, most of them above two miles; all the ground over which
they were drawn, except small patches or hills of rocks, was a _deep
morass_, in which, whilst the cannon were upon wheels, they several
times sunk so deep, as not only to bury the carriages, but their
whole bodies. Horses and oxen could not be employed in this service,
but all must be drawn by men, up to the knees in mud; the nights, in
which the work was done, were cold and foggy, their tents bad, there
being no proper materials for tents to be had in New England at the
outset of the expedition. But notwithstanding these difficulties,
and many of the men’s being taken down with fluxes, so that at one
time there were 1500 incapable of duty, they went on _without being
discouraged or murmuring_, and transported the cannon over those
ways, which the French had always thought impassable for such heavy
weights; and besides this, they had all their provisions and heavy
ammunition, which they daily made use of, to bring from the camp over
the same way upon their backs.’ _Memoirs of the last war in America_,
page 52.
(* 6) The assembly of the _Massachusets-Bay_ have voted a sum of
money for erecting a monument in _Westminster-Abbey_, to the memory
of that Nobleman, as a testimony of their veneration for his virtues.
– A proof that their sense of merit is not narrow’d to a country.
_A Description of Those, Who, at Any Rate, Would Have a Peace
with France_
The two prevailing motives among us, which strongly bias great
numbers of people, at this time, to wish for a peace with _France_,
let the terms be ever so dishonourable, ever so disadvantageous, or
likely to prove of ever so short a duration, are Power and
Self-interest.
As to the First, there is a set of men, who have been so long
used to Power, that it is become part of their constitution; and
