V * ^^^^*' <^^% ''] o ♦ , « „ ,« ^^^^ \f /m\ "^-.Z ;^\ \f fi V .1 ^0 /.-'- -^ \.*'-' A^ A %.^ - . . • ^'y c ° " " * <^ c /\ '-^Qi ^oV r^Q^ .1-*^ .'-r<<^ !* *#> THE MADMEN'S CHRONICLE; EXEMPLIFIED IM THE CONDUCT OF GEORGE THE THIRD, AND HIS MimSTERS, TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE TREATY OF PEACE, TO THE PRESENT TIME. TO WHICH ARE ANNEXED, BIOGRAPHIC AjYD CHARACTERISTIC SKETCHES, OF THE KING, ROYAL FAMILY, PRESENT AND EX-MINISTERS, Is'c. i^c. Nullum jam tot annos facinus exstitit, nisi per te : nullum fiag-if ium sin : te : tibi uni multorum civium neces, tibi vexatio direptioque sotiorum in punita luit, ac libera: tu non solum ad neglig-endas leges et quzestiones, vc- rum etium ad cvertendas, perfringendasque valuisti. Cicero. PHILADELPHIA: Printed for ^ and sold by the principal booksellers . 1807, D.TTl. 1*3 Tl'ot>. FHE MADMEN'S CHRONICI.K. THE success of freemen in a war, depends in a great dc gree on their conviction of its justice and necessity. Once made acquainted with its causes and its objects, once persuaded that their national honour and their national security are at stake, they will be likely to prosecute it with an ardor, unanimity and energy, which no perils, no difficulties can ever abate, and which are al- Avays the certain harbingers of victory and glory. In national as well as private affairs, a lapse of time serves to blunt, if not totally to eradicate, the resentment excited by unpro- voked injury, even when inflicted by the ruthless hand of an insi- dious and inveterate foe. That this has been the case with Ame- rica, there is strong proof in her forbearance and magnanimity. Many flagitious aggressions have, by the fluctuations of public sentiment, and from the distance of the period in which they were perpetrated, been obliterated from the recollection of many real friends of their country. To revive tliose scenes of outrage, rapine and murder in the minds of our countrymen — to keep alive the sacred flame, new lighted up — in a word, to promote a correct and general know- ledge of the ostensible and efficient causes of the war in which we are about to engage, are the objects of the following pages. Let no American imagine that we are to take up arms merely to avenge the recent violati^ of our flag and our honour, or the death of our feUow-citizensj^'lhsidiously slaughtered in a moment of peace. Though these outrages, of themselves, would be suf- ficient to kindle (and they have kindled) an unquenchable thirst for honorable veng-eance, yet they form only an item in the long- catalogue of insults and aggressions, for which we arc bound by the respect we owe ourselves as descendants of a gallant ancestry, to obtain the most ample retribution. The peace of 1783 gave us what we had contended for— Inde- pendence. Although we had, by our valour and perseverance, extorted its acknowledgment from the corrupt court of St. James, and signed articles of peace, yet we have uniformly had " a peace like a war," and have been subject to many of t'ao evils of a state of warfare, without receiving any of the benefits of a belligerc power. By the acknowledgment of our national independence, Great Britain Ibrmaily relinquished all jurisdiction over us ; yet, notwilhstandinej this abdication of anarbilriiry chiim to sovcrcis^nty over the United States, we behold her, on every occasion of im- portance, endeavouring, by indirect means, to render us subser- vient to the laws of the Britisli parliament. Nay, in some instances, perhaps with a view to plunder us, before we could be itppristdof their nefarious intentions, we saw tlicm imposing vexatious and illegal restrictions on our commerce, contrary to the usage and cicknowledged laws of nations. Scarce had the ratifications of the treaty of peace been exchanp"- cd, and the iseals and signatures become dry, ere the king in council issued decree after decree, imposing new shackles o.i our trade; particularly with their West Indian possessions; although by the very tenor of those orders of council, they acknowledged e surest means of preservinsj his tenure of office; and, to give tin devil his due, altliough he may have been devoid of all sense of gratitude, to individuals, yet to this insuperable hatred to America, he offered large sacnhces, and put up dady orisons for its extension to the breast of every Englishman, lie commenced liis mhiisterial ca- reer at a period when Great Britain enjoyed peace in Europe and America, and in the lapse of only twenty years, he led that nation through more scenes of slaughter, rapine and national perfidy, than all the Premiers had done for a century before ; and Ihe glorious effect of all his vast projects wus to raise a gigantic power on the continent of Europe, Avhose military career he could not controul, with all the gold of the British exchequer, and who now bestows kingdoms with more ease than the " hea- ven-born minister" Avould an half-crown. Among the benefits re- sulting to the EiJglish people, from his administration, wc can trace none more likely to attract their attention and gold, tht.n his nearly trebling the already too enormous national debt of England. From a government so avowedly hostile to the principh^s and existence of our constitution and laws — so habitually depraved and profiigate^whose addle-pated monarch commenced his glo- rious reign, with a rape, committed on the quaker girl of Hamp- stead ; and after having robbed her of all that Avas dear to the existence of a virtuous female, honor and reputation, he basely, but with the feelings of a king, " whistled her oft", and let her down the wind, a prey to fortune" — we ask, what could v.e expect from a weak and vicious king, aided and abetted by a perfidious oligarchy ? Punic faith ! This was evinced by the conduct of the ministry, ousted by Pitt's manceuvres ; and, as if they had not acted their parts, with a sufficient portion of diabolical zeal, he redoubled the animosity of our savage foes, the Indians, towards us. He was not content with secretly waging war, against a people with whom his go- vernment professed to be at amity, for one, two, or three years, during which period, we might have supposed that his thirst for human blood would be allayed; but from the moment he entered into power, 'till the gallant Wayne convinced the British alfiet: and underlings, that freemen would avenge their wrongs, he pursued his perfidious plans of cowardly malice and fell reveiige. Many representations were forwarded to England from thr West-Indian possessions, but without any other cfl'ect, than to con firm their implacability towards us, which must be gratified, even at the risque of the ruin and starvation of the inhabitants of those valuable appendages to the British crown. A mock reference was, indeed, made to a committee of the council, to know wlie* ther they would advise the amelioration, prayed for, but those pliant tools of a crazy besotted wrctcli, true to their infamous trust, lau,u;hed at tlie miseries experienced by the poor West In- dians, and recommended a continuance of the rigours of the na- vigation act, merely because it would serve to annoy our com- merce. As all our efforts' at negociating a commercial treaty with Great Britain were rendered abortive by the wilely evasions of iheir hollow-lieartcd ministry, the people of this country, very properly, resolved to give " a Rowland for an Oliver," and adopt measures of retaliation. Public meetings were held in most of our commercial cities, and resolutions adopted, prohibi ing Bri- tish vessels from entering our ports, until they should consent to open their West India ports to our ships. The legislatures of some of the states, prohibited the payment of debts to British subjects, very properly wishing to retain a sufficient indemnifica- tion in their hands, in event of a rupture. Among the many restrictions that affected our trade, we no- tice the following : A duty of IS/, sterling upon every ton of oil. No remittance, therefore, could be made in that article, which is one of the sta- ple commodities of our eastern states. All natural productions of the United States were not allowed to be imported into Great Britain, or her dependencies, in any other than British vessels. American built ships could not be employed in British trade, although they were owned by British subject; except they had become their property prior to, or had been acquired by captu.rc during the revolutionary war. This dried up another important source of remittance. An additional duty of seven shillings per cwt. on rice, import- ed from the United States, though it munt be carried in British bottoms. An extra duty of one penny per pound on tobacco, the growth of the United States, although imported conformably to the provi- sions of the navigation act. These, and many other vexatious restraints on American com- merce, were adopted, with a view no dovibt, to monopolize the carrying trade, and at tlie same time to drain the country of spe- cie, by which they expected to excite discontent among us, and eventually im])rove upon Pat's bull, to kill, not two, but three atonca with one bird. As if they were resolved to heap Pclion upon Ossa, they next excited the emperor of Morocco to commit depredations on the .\mericuns. The news of the first capture of an American ves- icl, by a Moorish cruizer, excited sensations atnong the loungers at Lloyd's cofiec-housc, that would have disgra'jed a nation of rude uncultivated barbarians. But thanks to the friendly inter- vcntion oi powers, less hostile to American prosjKrity than Great Britain, the vessel and crew were not only relcasod, but a treaty of peace and amity entered into, with the emperor of Morocco. It is almost superfluous to add, that the Moorish monarch and his successor, although frequently tempted by British eold, have maintained their good faith with us, witli a degree of sin- cerity to which George III, and his herd of vile minions, are ut- ter strangers. A vaunt ! ye base crew ! *' ;/-? afieak as if ye knno cf friendship but the natne." We wish the reverend and pious editor of the New England Palladium to recollect that the Moors are Mahometans — the British ca////(rn?s(?ft.'f5— .Christians. D.sappointed in this attempt to exclude us from a participa- tion in the INleditcrranean trade, they set their engines of malice in motion, and, at last, prevailed upon the dey of Algiers, by ex- citing his cupidity, with prospects of vast gains, to be acquired from plundering our defenceless commerce, to declare war against us. In this attempt they were but too successful, and, as if the dey was not already furnished with a pack of blood-hounds, sufficiently numerous for his nefarious purposes, encouragement •was secretly iield out by Britain to desperate adventurers, to en- list under the '• moony standard.'^ Perhaps some of the reverend defenders of British perfidy may tell us, that these villains, (like they have told us of the bloody SuwaiTow), were the cham- pions of Christianity, The farce of selling Mediterranean passes to American ves- sels, was a lucrative speculation for his majesty's loyal merchants at Gibraltar. " It's an ill wind," says the old proverb, " that blows nobody good;"— .but the British agents had raised the storm, and were of course entitled to compensation for their trouble. The oligarchy of England affected to admit the necessity of estabhshing permanent regulations, by which our intercourse wab to be governed. But, in order to evade the measure, they plead the inability of the pi'ovincial congress, to negociate and ratify treaties, in consequence of -defects in the constitution, which had not vested this power in them. They said they must treat with the individual states, if they wished to establish a treaty up- on a solid basis. This mode cf negociation has uniformly been pursued by Gre:\t Britain ; and had it been practised with us, would no doubt have excited rivalship and animosity, if it had not led to a dissolutioa of the confederation. We may safely add this to the list of friendly acts we have received at her hand?. 8 When our ambassador pressed the ministry for adefinitixc an- ?v,'er, he uas cajoled by ihe specious pretexts ve have already detailed, into a hope, that a further exercise of Job's virtue, would evenluallv ensure the attainment of the object of his mission. — - It is not diflicult to foresee that a similar. course of deception will mark the coJiduct of the present ministers ; but -yve feci confident that their perfidy will not now succeed, as we have had sufficient experience to open our eyes to their nefarious views. Fiirther, cur present minister is not to be diverted from o\ir demand of reparation for the \mparalellcd injuries we have sustained, by court gossipi)ii>g, or receiving a few flattering attentions from the graci- ous defender of ihe faith. The cities of Boston and New-York, provoked beyond forbear- ance, at the open attempts to ruin our commerce, entered into spirited resolutions, calculated to avert the meditated blow. So far were those resolutions, adopted by our commercial cities und the suspension of the payment of British debts, by our seve- ral state let^islatures, from attaining the proposed object, that is the rescindina; of the vexatious restrictions on our commerce, the surrender of the Western posts conformably to treaty, and in- demnity for the negroes stolen by the British and sold into the West Indies, that they only had a tendency to make them more insolent than heretofore. In 1786 not only the officers of petty marauders, but even the admirals and commanders of the British navy descended so far from the characteristics of gentlemen, as to heap the most unqualified abuse, upon the captain of every de- fenceless American vessel they fell in with. Our treaties with the Indians were rendered so precarious by the exertions of Bri- tish influence, that the settlement of our frontiers was much re- tarded, and our Indian traders were almost deterred from pursu- ing their customary trallick, in consecpience of the many robberies •and murders perpetrated on them, both by ivhite and red savages. It may be urged by the sticklers for Britain, that the illiberal, unmanly and inhospitable reception major and captain Phelon met with, from the loyal inhabitants of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was not sanctioned by the government or its ofiicers, but that it was the act of individuals. We beg those gentry to recollect, that altho* the most wanton personal insults were ofiered to those gentlemen, nay their lives even menaced, — yet the government knowing this full as well as the perpetrators themselves, never took any steps to restrain this disgraceful conduct ; and certainly they . "bid this be dono, Wbcn €vil deeds Jiavc llieir penniasivc pass, And iiol llicir jjunislimciit." That nothing might be alleged against us, as having; obstructed llie r.dopiion of commercial regulations, we find that in 1738 all the states repealed their prohibitory acts — nay every act that could possibly I>e repuf^iuint to the Avislies or rceliii^'js of the Brilisli mi- nistry was rescinded. This was done at the special ret onimen- dation of Congress. Did Britain ever evince a disiiosition to con- cede half as much to us? Notwithstanding these concessions they not only declined negociating with us, but persisted in retaining the Western posts, in violation of the treaty of peace. From this period an uninterrupted series of national insults and private wrongs, were all the proofs of amity we received from the British government. We reasonably concluded that we had long since arrived at the climax of forbearance, when the memorable French revolution re-animated all the inherent hatred of Pitt against us, and induc- ed him to view the tnitcd States as the primary source of the horrors, which at tliat moment seemed to threaten all the tyrants of Furope with annihilation. There was no necessity for occa- sion to call the inveterate hatred, borne us by iht Jiremicr into ac- tion ; yet this event aflbrded him an excellent opportunity to excite the hatred of the European monarchies against us, which would enable him to wreak his pusillanimous vengeance, through the agency of others. The adoption of the Federal constitution certamly did away the objection, started by t?ie British government, respecting the limit- ed powers of the old Congress, to negociatc and conclude treaties. Although this pretended difficulty had been completely obviated, yet we were not placed on a footing with other nations, in amity with England. The French revolution afibrded them a new pre- text for insidting us, and robbing our citizens of property to an immense amount, and they never would listen to our demands for justice, until they were able, by reason of the great stake they held, to become almost the sole dictators of the conditions of the treaty. So that after imposing restraints upon our commerce, devoid of authority in the acknowledged laws of nations — after carrying off negroes,' the property of our southern planters, and instead of manumitting, selling them to the wore 7?iprc//«/ West-Indians — after detaining our Western posts thirteen or fourteen years, subse- quent to the treaty of peace, and in defiance of that good faith, which should govern the conduct of ail civilized nations — after basely plundering our merchants of property to the tunc of seve- ral millions — after these and innumerable instances of fraud, per- fidy and violence, they at last condescendingly tell us, ''now we will treat with you ; and if you do not choose to subscribe to our terms, we care not a straw about going to war with you, as we hold a sufficient portion of your property to cripple your national exertions." B 10 This they lilcniUy cfTected; and we all know that the impolitie Wsentmt-nt. evinced by tiic I'rench government, at our concluding; tliat treaty «iili tlie axowed enemy of iVeedom, by which our prior stipulations with France were openly violated, was the real cause of *• :kr coiaUer cunwrit" by which only the British ti-eaty was ren- dere palatable to the American taate. Mere let us pause. A treaty was ncgociated and ratified by the two governments, Many of the articles were highly obnoxious to a large portion, if not even to a majority of the American peo- [lie. Us advocates themselves coulJ not justify all the conditions of the treaty, but urged an ac<|uiescence on the poor plea of ex- pediency, as they said '-they are the best we could obtain " LTilled into unsuspicious secxirity by tlie conclusion of the trea- ty with Great Britain, our entcipri^,ing citizens navigated t!ie com- mon highway of nation, fearless of injury from the hands of those, M'hosc government we supposed was not only bound to refrain from doing us evil, but even to do us all the friendly ofHces in their power. This security the Britisli knew how to improve to their advantage, and did not fail to embrace it. The drunkard who has just settled a tavern bill, conceives himself entitled to credit on a new score. So did the British view the treaty ; only the sot is generally more modest than they are, and diffidently asks for cre- dit, but they do not use so much useless ceremony, and take what they wished, without the formality of a recjuest. '1 he next grievance we have to notice, is the case of tlie cele- l)riitcd captain, now commodore Barney. Immediately after the conclusion of the revolutionary war, this brave sui)porter of his r.ountrv's lil)er;ies, engaged in commercial pursuits, and com- manded a merchantman out of Baltimore. He was captured while inusuing a lawful trade, by one of his Brittanic majesty's cruizers. 'I'hev put a prize-master and eleven hands on board his vessel, without removing captain Barney; and took about one half his liands on board their ship. Although Barney and his part of the crew, were inferior in point of numbers, to the British seamen, yet they boldly planned and l)ravely effected the recapture of their vessel. On his arrival at Baltimore, he delivered the prize-mas- ter and Britisli seamen into the custody of the French consul. Whether this proceeding, or the villainous crime of rescuing i!ic ])roperty of his owners from the clutches of rajiacious harpies, « oiistituted his guilt, we ktiow not; but we know, that on his next vovage he was again cajitured, and sent to Jamaica as a cri- luitral — tried — and acntenced to be hangfd! This sentence, it pre- sumed, would actually have been exectited, but for the iiUerfc- leiice of president Washington. He demanded Barney ; and such was the veneration which even the most inveterate foes of huma- nity and the human race, paid to the superior virtue of tliis great ( haracler, that our meriloiious fellow-citizen was rescued from the ouveuoined fangs of the greatest villains, scoundrels and plun- 11 derevs, known since the dismal period of Buccaneering. We mean the ohiccrs of his mujcsty's licet, and tl'c hun'jvablr. judyts of the liritish couris of vice udmirally in the Wcbt Indies. W hen we h.id so far kissed the rod of humiliaiion, as to sanc- tion the IJritish treaty, we very pioperiy p.esunied that, we iiow co\iiu pursue a lawful commeicc, unmolested by the truizers of a ijowtr, to ))ui'chase whose friendship we hall made such Ijirge sacrifices. But we have long sinct perveived, that a man, igno- rant of the art of swimming, may full as well he tossed on the bosom of the ocean, and bid to seek for dry lund, as to look for national faith, Jionor or political honesiy' from tlie corrupt court of ot. James. For notwithstanding their stipulations to the contrary . they continued to capture our vtsscls, to rob, insult and impress our defenceless citizens. ■ They captured captain Jessup — ordered him on board a British ship of Avar, and when tliey could devise no pretext for sending his vessel into port for adjudication — or more properly to become food for worms — they proceeded to aggravate and insult hini. — Not a coward by constitution, nor divested of patriotic feeling by an attention to commercial pursuits, he evinced a manly resent- ment at the ignominious treatment he received — he was seized — dragged to the gangway — and his back lacerated by the cat-'o- nine-lails of a British boatswain ! In 1795 a British ship of war commandedby a fellownamed Holme, entered the jurisdictional waters of tlie United States, with an intention of seizing the person and papers of a diplomatic character from a pov/tr in amity with us. He captured the ves- sel, hoiiufde American property, and then with the modern inodeK- ty of an Humphreys, insolently anchored in our waters. The official conduct of the governor of Rhode Island afforded this re? creant officer, an opportunity to shew more insolence than cither prudence or courage. He was sustained in this nefarious pro- ceeding by his Brittanic majesty's consul for Rhode Island, Moore. This Moore was one of the M tory stock consuls — cousin to Phi- neas Bond — uncle to Wm. Moore Smith, of Philadelphia, Charles Smith, of Lancaster, and related to many other members of the British corfu dijdomatiquc. The result of Moore's impudence to the Executive of the Uni- on, and to that of Rhode Island, was the suspension of his consu- lar functions, and a revocation of his exequator. Ousiht not a sus- pension by the neck to hare been gratvitoiis/y added ? We do not know what recompence Moore received from Uis o-overnment, for the loyalty he evinced; but we know that the scoundrel Holme, was created an admiral. We have now-to record a transaction consummate for insolence, and degrading to us for the pusillanimity with v,hich it was sub- mitted \o. The United States sloop of war Baltimore, captaiy 12 Phillips, sailing under the American flag, and bearing the com- mission oltlie l^rcsident of the United Slates, was boarded by an officer from the British ship of v.ar C^ueen, commorlore Loring — the cre^v mustered by the British ollitcr, and (shame to us, to be compelled to relate the tale) five men impressed from on board her. After this chtfdcceiivrc^ commodore Loringran into liampton Roads for uuter and provisions, with which he was amjjly suj)pli- ed. Disgraceful as this transaction was to the American character, it "vvas nevertheless salved over, in mercy to the feelings of the friends of theadminstration of that day. Mr. Secretary Pickering, it is true, did affect an affront with Mr. Liston, about the bu- siness. Mr. Liston, in turned snarled and shewed his teeth at Tim- mcy ; but an cxjilanution took place, and they were greater friends than ever. Captain Tingcy was not so civil as Phillips. When the com- mander of the British frigate Surprise, hailed him, and enquired A'.hether all his men had American protections, Tingey, with the laudable spirit of an American, replied, "yes, look at my flag." The British commander, probably supposing he miglit " each a tartar" desisted from exercising the right of search, claimed by tliose usurpers of the sovereignty of the Ocean, and deprived Mr. Liston of another opportunity of shewing his diplomatic skill, and Mr. Pickering from evincing how nearly he was related to Job of old. Blount, a senator of the United States, from Tennessee, was tried for yielding to the enticements of British gold, and consent- ing to become tlieir agent in a transaction, which would have in- evitably plunged his country mto all the horrors of war. During the trial, the conspiracy was traced to its source ; and Mr. Liston v.as clearly proven to have been the fatlier of the nefarious pro- ject. True to their monopolizing views, even in time of war, when they cannot posi^ibly carry on their commercial intercourse with other powers, with the same facility they were wont to do, while Jit peace, they have committed infractions upon the laws of nations, by declaring places to be in a state of blockade, when they have not had a single battery, or company of men on shore ; or even vessels sufBcient to allow them to venture within cannon-shof, of tlie places beseiged. So careful were they of our interests, that a British admiral sei- zed -a captain Pierce, took him and his mate from their shif>— kept them close prisoners on board tlie man of war, and delivered them up to an American corisul,by wliom they were sent to Ame- rica ; and ail for only liaving a paper, written in cypher, on board, which thi>> ignorant sea-])orpoise of a British admiral, like old Doiley, in JF/io'.v the Dn/ic, sagaciously concluded to I)e somethiiig " damird deep," for he could not understand it. When the cy- 13 phcred paper was examined by Mr. Pickering, lic declared its con- tents to ije pcrfeclly innocent, and this was all the satisfaction poor Pierce obtained, for the ignonjinioiis treatnu-nt he had re- ceived : As if we were not sufficiently trammelled, and humbled into the dust, by the open violence, and secret machinations, of a pre- tended friend, though in reality an insidious foe, we Idusli tore-late, that there were miscreants, called Americans, who were so deep- ly sunk into the abyss of infamy, so lost to all feejings of patriot- ism, honor or honesty, as to betray, for a few guineas, the libei-- ties of tliose, who had been confided to their command. One oT those wretches, called Askew, captain of the ship Norilieru Li- berties, while lying- at Whampoa, in China, by a necret nnder&tand- inf^ with the commander of the British ship of war Fox, had seve- ral men pressed into the service of those enemies to humanity. Askew returned to America, and strange to tell, never was prose- cuted for this most villainous transaction. Another diplomatic manoeuvre of the immaculate Liston, came to light. It was discovered that he had been endeavoring to tam- per with general Clarke, of Georgia, with a view to prevail upon him to undertake an expedition against the Spanish possessions; which the general rejected with a patriotic warmth, that reflects the highest honor on his character. Captain Eb^nezer Giles, of the schooner Betsey, was another victim of British barbarism and tyranny, He sailed under convoj of the British ship of war Daphne: upon some trifling pretext, a petty officer ordered captain Giles on board the Daphne, where he was beat in such a cruel manner, as to confine him to his bed for several days. He applied to Mr. Pickering, to have representt- lions made on the subject, to the British government; but insteati of receiving redress, he was loaded with abuse by the secretary, who placed more reliance on the '■'■'/ion Iionor" of a British officer, than the oaths of captain Giles, and his ships crew. When the President of the United States, in obedicrce to th dictates of reason, resolved on dispatching commissiov! . js to Pa- ris, to settle the differences with the French govern men!, an avow- ed British hireling printer — a fellow who ridiculed the i'lea of be- coming an American citizen — had the superlative audacil v to threa- ten us with a war from England, in case we entered iuto an ac- commodation with France. The biography, career at\d exit of this vile miscreant are so fresh in the memory of the Amer!f;An peo- ple, that any comment would be superfluous. We only wisii them to recollect that he was sent here, and paid for his services, by the British government. By the intercepted correspondence, between Mr. Listen and President Uussel, we discovered that the British government still kept her incendiaries amongst the Indians, cndeavoi'ing to excit' 14 them to hostilities against us. M'Kce to tlie nortliward and Bow- les to the southward This was amity with a ven;^eanr.c. \Vc pass over mi ly atrocious acts of insult, fraud and violence, perpetrated on our liovernment, property and citizens, and has- ten to a conclusion. To note, minutely every atrocious act of villainy, would occupy more of our leisure hours than we can at present bestow, and retiuirc a volume of such an enormous bulk, as would alone be sufficient to deter thousands from undertaking its jjcrusal. Tlie famous Miranda plot was another convincint; proof of the friendly dis]>osition of the Court nf St. James towards our govern- mcnt. Another foul deep laid conspiracy ai^ainst tiie peace and prosperity of this country, has been frustrated by tlie vigilance and firmness of the President. Upon tracing the allair to its ori- gin, we sliould not be surprized, were it proven to have had its source, aiui t!>e means of carrying it into effect, from the cabinet- council and treasury Great Britain VV^hen we have already had so many proofs of British perfidy, secret and avowed hostility to- wards us, we ought not to feel surprised at any act of theirs, no matter how base, infamous or rascally it may be. We have proud- ly nattered ourselves with obtaining simple justice from tlie Bri- tish government l)y the frequent changes in the ministry. But this was mere delusion; for whatever profession of honest sincerity they may make prior to their accession to power, the magic kiss of liis majesty's hand, not only effects a change in sentiment, but actually obliterates the recolhction from the tablets of their me- mory until they are ousted from ollice, when tiiey pretend to awake to a sense of justice, as tliough it were from a dream. From such a king, and from such a ministry as the present, what could we expect, but that the farther they progressed in in- famy, the more corrupt the consellors of the moonstricken George were, the more reason we had to apprehend an encrease of enmi- ty towards us. This inveterate hatred could, in some degree, be satiated, by plunder. But let the vilest of the\i!e — Melville, recol- lect, tiiat although we may be subjected to the depredations of a potent navy, that prefer plunder to glory — nay, to honor and pa- triotism — a navy that can oHewd excessively, and injure deeply, yet they cannot mortally woiuul us — that, chimerical as they may esteem our prowess, we can at least inflict wound for wound-— re- turn blow for blow, if not eventually give them compound interest on their capital. No sooiiL-r had the present ministry nestled themselves into power, than our political relations with Great Britain (already bad enough of all conscience,) assumed a more gloomy aspect than they had lu-retofore worn. The storm burst and fell upon our GUKSAPI.AKF.. The resentment of every American, excited by tliis unparralelled outrage, is already engraven so deeply in their hearts, as to render any coranicnt unnecessary. Thty fee] lor their injured country, and will avenge her wrongs on the authors of our national disj^race. AUhough they suffer t!ieir resentment to pause until their government bids them to act, yet it is not to be inferred, that they have abated one iota of that feeling ; that though the ebullitions of passion have subsided, ) et the calm indignation of freemen pervades their manly breasts ; a feeling utterly unknown to the base slaves, and servile minions of the besotted wretch who sways the British sceptre. When this in- dignation shall be roused into action, let those wretches beware, for then their coward hearts shall quail. It is a fact, not generally known, that General Montcalm, who commanded the French garrison at Quebec, when assaulted and taken by the British under the gallant Wolf, foresaw the result of their enjoying the -undivided possession of the North American settlements. This philosopher in his last dispatch previous to the battle, which terminated the lives of both Generals, after stating his embarrassed situation, and expressing his resolution not to survive the surrender of the place, goes on to suggest the probable consequence of Great Britain acquiring Canada ; and predicts the final emancipation of tlie Colonies from the despotic sway of European task-masters. Part of his prediction is already fulfilled: the crisis is fast approaching when the Mhole \\ill be completely verified. We have stated some of the injuries and insults inflicted on us by Great Britain since she acknowledged our indepen- dence. We shall now compress thein into a small compass, so that they may be distinctly known at one view. 1. They attempted to enslave us. 2. Endeavoured to destroy our trade by ruinous interdictions. 3. Violated in our ships the laws of nations, and involved us ia a dispute with her enemy. A: They repeatedly excited the savages to wage a war of ■ extermination upon our defenceless frontiers. .'5. They not only inflamed the minds of the lYidians against us, but even Tories and BritUli SoUU-crs, habited like Sa\ a- ges, wielded the destructive tomahawk and scalping knife, but too successfully in the defeats of Generals Harmer and St. Clair. » 6. They infamously treated Captains Barney and M'Niell. 7. Betrayed us into an ignominious treaty which they have peatedly broken. -8. Carried bribery and seduction into our senate and remotest states. 9. Impressed our citizens contrary to our rights as an inde- pendent and neutral nation; and in defiance of a law for- bidding our citizens to enter into foreign service. 16 iO. They flo.^ged ami handed our citizens for abiding by the laws of nature and their country. 11. In the case of the Baltimore sloop of war, they insulted our national fla^; on the hi{;h seas; and impressed seamen from on board that ship, carrying the national flag; and com' mission. 12. They maintained a press in our metropolis, openly avowing its contempt for our constitution and laws — abusing our Chief MaLi.tstrate fur seeking peace, and menacing us Avith chastisement for not going to war. 13. Sent Colonel /^ow/f* from England among the Indians on our southern frontier — Colonels M'Kee and Brandt in Canada. 14. Murdered Pierce, and rewarded the assassin with promotion. 15. Fomented two conspiracies by which the peace and political safety of our union was endangeix-d. 17. Vilicunously and in a cowardly manner attacked the Chesa- peake, and forcibly took four American citizens from on board. Americans 1 these outrages far exceed, both in number and atrocity, those which incited your gallant fathers to arms, in se- venty-five. And shall it be said, that you, their sons, are less indig- nant at the wrongs of your country than they were ? ShuU it be said that you are less willing to defend the innumerable blessings you enjoy, but above all, that freedom, which belongs to you alone of all the nations of the earth. But no ! Although your resentment is for a moment restrained, yet it does not slumber. When your government gives the signal, you will rush, like roused lions, upon those enen)ies of your peace, your happiness, and your independence. And ttien, Away, to hcavrn, respective lenity — Let tire-eyed Fury be your conduct. Our revolution abounded in acts of patriotism, which would Iiavc done honour to Rome in her her most illustrious days. A character, well known and mucii respected in Philadelphia, v/hom merit and virtue have raised to his present pre-eminence, at the commencement of the revolution, was an humble mechanic. No sooner was he informed thui his countrymen were about making the dnadful app'al to arms, than he left his workshop, entered as a ^olunteer among the defenders of his country, marched and fought at the bide of his numei-ous apprentices, whom he had clothed and equipped at his own expense. Mechanics of the present day! imitate such conduct, and you will find a similar reward. APPENDIX, GEORGE the third was born June 4, 1738. Hi^ educa- tion was committed to the famous Bute — that Bute who after- wards became the robber of his pupil's subjects, and first shut the doors of amity between Great Britain and America. The man who now sways his iron sceptre over fifteen million* of human beings, inherited the avarice, the stupidity, and the other sordid propensities of his ancestors. Nor were they dimi- nished by any virtuous example of his tutor, whose sole object was personal aggrandisement. And by what means could he more easily attain to this object, than by indulging and increasing the violence of his pupil's lusts? Instead of standing up, in the dignity of his office, to combat and subdue them, he extinguished even the small sparks of virtue, which sometimes accompany the most unfortunate disposition. The physiognomy of Socrates is said to have resembled that of the god Silenus; it is said too that Nature gave him the most beastly propensities: but he enjoyed the benefit of wise and pious instruction, and those propensities were rooted out by the pre- cepts of philosophy. George the third was born a Silenus, and his preceptor made him a Priapus. Monstrum, hulia virtute redemptum A vitiis; scger, solaque libidine fortis. His dull and heavy intellects were unable to comprehend the ele- ttients of science, or the first principles of language: his mean and grovelling soul derived.no pleasure from the raptures of elo- quence, or the delightful visions of poetry. The despotism, in which he was nursed, forbade him to view, with any other senti- ment than contempt, the sublime virtue and exalted patriotism of antiquity. The charms of female beauty and innocence inspired only such passion as has since been felt by his eldest hope, at the sight of a turbot, purchased for a larger sum than would suffice for a year's maintenance of an hundred families. No wonder that such a man was the enemy of our virtuous fathers, or that he is the enemy of their descendants. WILLIAM PITT was the degenerate son of an illustrious sire. Born vk'ith a nervous understanding, he was capaljle of de- riving all the advantages of education which a judicious and fond fiather could bestow. In his youth he was warnaly attached to 18 those manly principles of freedom, in -which the immortal Chat^ ham lived and died. His youthfnl heart was alive to every senti- ment of virtue, and he viewed with loathing and abhorrence the hvixH-risy and chicanery, by which, with a strange infatuation, tlie British court wished to deceive and inveigle every man whose talents they thought might be of seivice to them. While Pill thought he should be enabled to serve his country in parliament, the viJiurcn congratulated themselves that they no\r had an opportunity, by the vilest artifices, of debauching his young and inexperienced mind. They succeeded — and Pitt inlislcd Auuler the grossest corruption and most cruel despotism, with -vrhich mankind have been cursed since the days of Caracalla. He henceforth directed the force of his masculine genius to crush the efforts of the friends of reform, with whom he had lately associat- ed, and who had considered him as their most able and zealous leader. How well he succeeded in his new vocation, witness the unexampled, the almost incredible increase of the British debt ! witness the vv'orse tlian slavish condition of millions of iiritish sub- jects, starving and deprecating their existence in poor-houses and prisons! Such are the blessings, Americans, which his suc- cessors, the honest Melville and the merciful Castlereagh, would bestow upon you and your posterity ! Though Pitt derived from various sinecures the enormous an- nualincomeof sixty thousand pounds, ster. (266,666dollars) yet so vast was his extravagance— such enormous sums did he squander on diamonds, mistresses, Champagne, and faro-banks, that at his death, his property was insufficient to pay his debts, and twenty tho\isand pounds sterling of the pubHc money were appropriated for tlial purpose. \Vine and ambition were the gods of his idolatry. His orgies in the temple of Bacchus ruined his health, and occasioned his death. At the shrine of ambition, he immolated the happiness and liberty of his country. His failhful I)iographer, while he damuH him to fvcrluxiini^ fuinr, will display the melancholy picture of firmness, genius, learning, and elo(iuence,prostiuitedlothe dia- bolical purposes of butchering mankind, and overwhelming ihe freedom and happiness of every nation within the reach of British arms and British arts. LORD MELVILLE. THIS man is descended from a family in Lothian. His •ncestors, for a century past have l)een practitioners of the Scot- tish law, and signalised their cunning (the only recjuisileof a Scot- tish lawyer) in the ruin of many simple and unfortunate families. 1» Our possessor of Scottish priulencc and discretion, by a mar- riage with the heiress ol Melville, became a coiisidernhlc land- holder early in life; and arrived at some eminence among the northern pleaders. Tor though his pleadings were destitute of grace, elegance, and correctness, and unadorned by those happy allusions, which polite literature only can furnish, yet they were rich in those indispensable ingredients, juridical craft, logical acumen, and masterly artifice, which enabled him to speak with plausibility and apparent frankness on subjects of the most oppo- site nature. He could distinguish and divide A hair 'twix.t souUi and south-west side. On I'ither whu li he would dispute, Confute, change bands, and still confute. Such an adept at political overreaching and intrigue Avas not lonv; unemployed by the croMn, and he obtained a seat in the house of commons, at the back of the treasury bench. Though the peculiarities of his northern dialect and phraseology exposed him to much ridicule from his new comrades, Dundas was not to be deterred, by such obstacles, from his golden views. He was quickly able to master the forms of public business — a species of knowledge, so dry, so diflTicult, so infinitely useful in parliament) (witness a late occasion, on which, by rigid adherence to forms, he stopped the course of public accusation against himself and the ra/'/d duke of York) so viseless everywhere else. He never af- fected that primness, preciseness, and rigour of morality, which forbid a man to connect self-interest with duty, and to choose the ex/icdient in opposition to the right. Such qualifications were not ill fitted to conduct him to pre-emi- nence in a court, where frankness, patriotism, and integrity were brow-beaten and hooted at. Now the man of North, now the man of Fox, he found himself at last the fast friend, and convivial tutor of Pitt. His alliance with the last of these placed him in the lucrative office of treasurer of the navy ; wherein, before the face of the whole British nation, and in defiance of -their cobweb laws, but agreeably to his own ideas of expediency, he appropriat- ed immense sums to his private use. Melville (unlike Pitt) once possessed an athletic frame, which, having long been a faithful and laborious minister to his pleasures, has degenerated into lafik and feeble impotency. This man now conducts the motions of the British govern- ment, and is the implacable foe of every thing that bears the name of American. 20 THE DUKE OF YORK IS second son to the royal pair — -and such is their partiality for this stupid, ijjnorant and besotted ollspring of royalty, that in his infancy, ihcy pretended that tliey discerned tlie prognostics of his future fame. He was placed in the army, for the purpose of eternising the royal name; and he most completely succeeded; for as long as history is read, the unparalleled swiftness with which he retreated over the Ypres, and the dexterity and expedi- tion in retreating, which he displayed, at a subsequent period, in Holland, will never be forgotten. The bottle fever seems to be a family complaint of the Guelphs; for from the king douTJ to the youngest cub, not one is exempted from it. The writer of a celebrated and facetious work relates that •' in an hour of festivity, when this royal duke was so much intoxicated as to fall senseless under the table, the prince his bro- ther standing over his prostrate body, performed the ceremony of baptism, triumphantly and sarcastically exclaiming, here lie the hofien of the family 1 / .' He has for some time past held the rank of commander in chief, though not qualified to fulfil the duties of a drill- sergeant. We deduce our opinion of his unfitness from the failure of every expedition, that has had the misfortune to be commanded by this foolish duke of straws. He is as much under the influence of women and wine, though married to the present king of Prussia's sister, and is as much a slave to base and grovelling appetites, as any of the royal brood. The nymphs of Berkeley Row arc very well acquainted with his dukeship. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. A VEIN of stupidity and profligacy seems to run through the •whole royal family. It has been whispered that one of his majes- ty's daughters, married to the former duke, now king of Wir- temberg, some time in 1797, was so much addicted to the reign- ing passion of the Guelph family, that even a third person made his appearance to confront her. But this lapse of youth was salved over with a good round dower, and as our John Peter Mi- chael of a duke was a good natured man, he could not for his soul be so cruel, as to refuse a considerable sum of money, though coupled with a woman, of whom the world did not entertain the most favouraI)lc opinion. Sliould the other princesses conform to the brilliant example of the (jueen of VVirtembcrg, it is not probable that they will fare 21 the worse for it: it will only cost the British nation a few hundred thousands to render them marketable. His grace the duke of Clarence was, early in life, entered a midshipman in the navy. He endured the drudgery of his novi- ciate with a degree of perseverance, not frec|ueuUy met with in one of the blood royal. During the American war, his grace was in New York, and al- though extremely young, was very troublesome to the modtst, and the solace of the loose women of that city. Though his conduct was so highly offensive, no one dared to complain. In order to mortify the sprig of royalty, and cure him of his vicious habits, a tattered, inebriated female vagabond, by dint of a few dollars, was prevailed upon to ravish a kiss from the royal lips. This she ac- complished ; and when interrogated as to the inducement she had for making so free with the blood royal, she replied, with great readiness, " d— -n his blood — 'tis his body I want." This rencon- tre had its desired effect, for soon after it occurred, young Wil- liam Henry left New York. If any of the royal family ever evinced a philosophic turn of mind, his grace is certainly the man ; for while yet in the navy, he went further than any of his nautical companions, and accom- modated his passions to the climate. A dingy fair one is said to have enjoyed his grace's particular favour during his slay in the West Indies. Whether patents of nobility will be conferred on this mother of royal mulattoes, time only will determine. Mrs. Jordan, the celebrated actress, is now the principal favour- ite with the royal son of Neptune, and even receives marks of at- tention from the royal family. Perhaps they know how to appre- ciate the adage of" birds of a feather flock together." THE DUKE OF NORFOLK. THIS graceless Duke is another instance of the superiority of titled profligacy to plebian honesty. He has so long and so uni- formly addicted himself to the intemperate enjoyments of the bottle, that he has literally become case-hardened ; and liquor has no more effect on his grace's pericranium than it had on the ves- sel from which it was drawn. Vicious by habit and constitution, he has long since bid adieu to decency and morality, and has enterely resigned himself to the most filthy, disgusting, and beast- ly sensualities. His grace forms one of the present ministry, for his ruling passions are inebriety, lust, parsimony, and ambition ; and he will stop at nothing to gratify his wishes, except— ^paying for it out of his own pocket. 22 THE PRINCE OF WALES. THIS worthy descendant of the Giiclphs retains all the vicious propensities of his ancestors. Placed by the adventitious circumstance of his birth in the station of heir to a crown, he has given full sway to the most licentious passions tliat degrade hu- man nature, and reduce mankind to the rank of beasts. " Tell me the company you keep, and I'll tell you what you are," is an old French maxim; — an adherence to it will define the character of this future sovereii^n of the lirilish empire. Horse-jockies, blacklegs, pimps and bawds, have l>cen his greatest favourites and boon companions, when, by his station in life, if not by his mental qualications. he could have commanded the society, if not the esteem and respect of tliebest and greatest characters in En- gland ; yet with the mad enthusiasm of a descendant of ilie m.ach mad George the third, he constantly associates with the relusc, the very lees and dregs of society. To him the conjugal tit is a mere thread, which he breaks asunder whenever he meets an ob- ject that excites his sensuality. As he does not respect the matrimonial rights of others, it is not to be presumed that a violation of his own would occasion very unpleasant sensations in his unfeeling breast. As far as it depends on himself, he lives in the daily practice of infidelity with any ob- ject, no matter whether it be a Cinderella, or a titled demi-rep. With a greater revenue than the whole amount of the expen- ses of our general government, we see him or his lather time after time soliciting the parliament to slacken the purse-strings of tlie nation, to enable him to pay only a few hundred thousand pounds of tradesmen's bills. Tliough the parliament have granted frequent largesses to this hopeful king that is to be, it has been shrewdly suspected that he applied the money thus obtained to other pur- poses than those intended by the parliament. How superlatively blessed should we have been had Great Bri- tain succeeded in her views of subjugation; but peculiarly so if George the third was now sleeping with his fathers, and his scep- tre swayed by the magnanimous prince! Long since we should have been favoured willi one of his majesty's illustrious sons as viceroy, perhaps the peaceable Ned, who, from the specimens of princely conduct he gave a few years since in Boston, would doubtless have vastly improved the morals of our youth, and vrould have strictly guarded the chastity of our wives and daugh- ters. Mr. canning. Tills fellow is the precious Secretary of Foreign Affairs! His origin was very obscure, from which he emerged by commencing L.tf 23 ]petty-fogging attorney, and succeeded so fai' as to recommend himselftothc notice of the ^'- Iwavcn-born" premier. Pilt, conclud- ing that Canning, base in mind as in person deformed, might prove a serviceable jackall and trumpet of his praises, and sup- port his master's views, he procured Canning's election to a seat in the House of Commons. A'icious as he is, Canning was not ungrateful for the favours conferred upon him. This is not conclusive evidence of his pos- sessing a spark of moral virtue, as we know that a contrary line of conduct would have forever ravished from him " the loaves and *' fishes," which seemed to hang dangling to his view. His loy- alty has been rewarded, and he now holds the ostensible station of Secretary of Foreign Affairs ! The protege of Pitt, whose enmity to this country was unabated through life, and never ceased till the breath deserted his debauch- ed and emaciated carcase — his jackall, eulogist, and lick -spittle — What justice or reparation can we expect from a government, Avhere such a malicious, wicked, and profligate wretch as Canning is, possesses such an influence over her councils, and shares so largely in the management of her parliament? None. LORD GPvENVILLE. THIS venal courtier is the same Lord Granville who negoci- ated the infamous British treaty Avith our minister plenipotentiary Mr. Jay. Reared and fostered for the base tool of a corrupt and profligate government, he has done ample justice to his tutors, and proved himselfa perfect sycophant in the arts of court intrigue, and complete master of those little arts of mean address, and ' political quackery, which are so eminently necessary to advance- ment in the cabinets of Europe. Patronized by his late relative, Pitt, he was occasionally employ- ed to do the dirty business of the ministry, during his life -time. Upon his death he had the address to crowd himself into the Cabinet, as first Lord of the treasury ; and although he and Wind- ham have been ousted, and their stations filled by the most rapac- ious, unprincipled, and infamous set of wretches England ever produced, yet we are inclined to believe, that they will not be compelled to chew the crab-apples of disappointed aml)ition much longer: such a cordiafity of hatred toward every thing that is American, will doubtless recommend them to the batcii of worth- ies who now wield the force of the British empire, and ultimately introduce them again into power. Pitt pursued with an enthusiastic ardor the diabolical Mande- Villean political maxim, " that firivate vices are /lutlic benefits." 24 Corruption, open and undisguised corruption, supported the fabric of Pitt's administration, and his relative Grenville, while osten- sibly in power, strictly adhered to the principle and enlarged on the text. Compared with the acknowledged corruption, rapacity, and infernal profligacy of the present ministry, the bloody period of Pitt's sanguinary administration may be hailed as a political mille- nium. Whatever good that infatuated foe to liberty may have done, is carefully consigned to oblivion by Melville and Co. and every arbitrary, corrupt, or venal act, carefully preserved merely as a text, on which they can expatiate or dilate as occasion may- require. Another instance will tend to Grenville's speedy introduction to power. While Secretary of Foreign .\ffairs, we believe, Gren- ville received dispatches announcing the death of the Kmperor, Leopold II. so extreme was the sensibility of the Secretary, that it was with inhnite difficulty he was kept from fainting. The recorder of this fact remarks, that had the dispatches contained an account of the massacre or slaughter of 100,000 of then re- publican French, very opposite emotions would have agitated noble Grenville's breast. LORD CASTLEREAGH. THIS vile parasite of the most corrupt and profligate goverr • ment on earth, is a native of Hibernia. Though he is a disgrace to that country, yet we feel some consolation in reflecting, that all his countrymen are not of the same stamp. He commenced his political career as the plain Hon. Mr. Stewart, son of Lord, now Earl of Londonderry ; and his election to the Irish House of Com- mons, is said to have cost his father the trifling sum of 30,000/. What a glorious specimen of the purity of elections in thcBr.tish empire ! Upon taking his seat he affected to side with the popu- lar party, but not so decisively as to preclude all hopes in the minister's breast, that he might one day be gained over, if proper- ly applied to ; and perhaps, his opposition to the measures of government, was merely a trick to enhance his price. Fully aware that honors and emoluments are almost exclusively in the gift of tlve crown, he did not long hesitate what course of* conduct to pvirsue ; and when the troubles commenced in Ireland, we find the present Lord Castlercagh supporting and advocating the most bloody and infernal measures, pursued by the British government, to quell the spirit of liberty excited in that ill-fated country. Although he is an Irishman by birth, he was foremost in recommending the most diabolical and sanguinary mode of warfireupon his own countrymen, and uniformly evinced a hellish exultation at the slaughter of the friends of his country's freedom. ^ £\. «ir / ./% "^^ ^°, ••. >* o. J * ''-t'f/v - I JlO-7*-> "vrv,^- 'Jv^ 'K<. <^ *'7vr» ,0 . ■«*'. ,x^ . i ' . . •^^ . . * A <> *'. .A* . o « o . ■%« <> *' .V ^Mr.'i 1 -• ^f-i v.*^ ^i^rifinvillfc, PA