The Massachusetts spy, or, Thomas's Boston journal. [volume], December 04, 1772, Image 1

About The Massachusetts spy, or, Thomas's Boston journal. [volume] (Boston [Mass.]) 1772-1775

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Or, Thomas’s Boston Journal. “ 3i
A Weekly, Political, and Commercial Paper Open to all Parties, but Influe need by None.
‘DOtHou Gicat LIBERTY inspire our Souls,—And make our Lives in THvPoffeflion happy,—Or, our Deaths glorious in thy jusTDefence.’
Vol. 11/
FRIDAY, November >7.
BOSTON.
At a general council held at the council
chamber on Wednesday the yjth of No
vember, bis Excellency was pleated ;o no
minate, Abner Cheever, Esq; to he a Just ice
of the peace for the county of Eflex. Wil -
Ham Gorham, Esq; to be a Justice of the
peace for the county of Cumberland. Eze
kid Patter, Esq; to be a Justice of the
peace foe the County of Lincoln. Mr. Sa
muel Pool, a coroner for Middlesex. To
which nominations hit Msjcfty’l Council
Aid advise and content.
With Capt. Jenkins from London, a
perfim came paflenger who carried on the
Button-making buTincfs, and hat brought
ovev the materials for making dl forts of
gilt buttons.
St. John's Odttber y. We
beer from St. Vincenti, that on Monday
nightjlaft, the Caraibs burnt the work* and
dwelling boufe of Andrew Bruce, Esq; and
on the Wednesday following burnt, the
dwelling-house and offices of John LeCrow
Esq; they alio took a detached party of the
»jd regiment, consisting of a Cor
poral and four men, whom they killed. A
Routing party of Caraibs some time before
tbit, had nearly fell in with and taken Ge
neral Leyborne prifoacr.
On Tnurfday morning last, one of the
tranfpocts arrived at St. Vincents with a
party of the lift regiment from St. Augus
tine id Weft-Flwida.and’thc rest are hour
ly expeAed : so that a general attack on
theft desperadoes may be every day looked
lor.
The militia here are under the greatest
hard (hips on account of the fatigue of their
military duty. _
SATURDAY November 28.
BOSTON.
The Captains Reed, Farrel, and Rich
ardton, with tloops from St. Auguftine,ar
rived at St. Vincents between the 6th and
l ith of the fame month, the brig Pompey,
Capt. Healy, was ready to fail from Provi
dence for St. Vincents, and Capt. Fuller
ton failed from Bermuda the 21 ft, with
the troops for the general rendezvous.
Tbuifday the 16th of December next,is
appointed for the trial of Amel I Nickerfon ;
he bring the supposed murderer of the three
men and boy, an mentioned in our last.
On Wednesday the eleventh instant, Ms.
Obadiah Parfom was ordained Pastor of the
third cbweh in Gloucester.
On Wednesday last Mr. Joseph Willard
was ordained Pastor of a church at Beverly.
We hear that the operations against the
black Caraibs at St. Vincents are com-
Halifax. November 17. On Friday
last at the Supreme Court, William Lam
bert of the 65tbRegiment received (Sentence
of death for committing a rape on Hannah
Baur; and is to be executed on the 25th
inftnnL
We hear that his Maj est fl (hip Tartar
is alhore in Canfo Gut.
Pin ladilfhia, Nwtmitrii. On Sa
turday Lft Kayafhuta, the great Seneca
Chief, returned to this city from Johnson’s
Hall; were be had been on a visit to Sir
William Johnson, of the greatest import
ance to the colonies. >
The forts Chartres and Pitt are, by or
ders from England destroyed, the barracks
levelled to the ground, and abandoned by
the garritous, who are soon expeded, as
they are on their way to this city. W e
are assured the (rentier inhabitants of this
province have prefentedahe Governor with
a petition on that fubied, who have refer
red them to General Gage, at New-York,
but wef-u the application is without luc
ccts.
FRIDAY, December 4, 1772.
For the Massachusetts SPY.
Mr. Thomas,
the following tranfeript
from Sidney on government
h k* found to
have reference only to the
times wherein the author
lived; or those preceeding,
we (hall then have the pleafmg facisfadion to
find ourfelvcs in a better situation ; if the
contrary, we may be admohifhed to throw
our influence ihto the (cale which oppofea so
dreadful a ufurpatidn of the rights of mankind
as arc made in an absolute monarchy.
“ The just magistrate K the miniftilr of
God for our good : but this absolute mo
narch has no other care of us, then as our
riches and multitude may encreafc his own
glory and strength. We might eafdy judge
what would be the iflue of such a principle,
when the being of nations depending upon
his will must alio depend upon his opinion.
The judgment of a Angle man is not to
be relied upon, the best and wisest do of
ten err, the foolilh and perverse always.—
The riches, power, number and courage of
our friends is for our advantsge, and that of
our enemies threatens us with ruin ; those
princes only can reasonably believe the
strength of their fubjedh beneficial so them,
who govern so as to be sflured of their af
fedion, and that their strength will be em
ployed for them: But those who know
-they are, or deserve to be hated, cannot but
Seek to diminish that which creates their
danger. This must certainly befal as many
as are lewd, fodiffi, negligent, imprudent,
cowardly, vicious or any way unworthy the
places they obtain, for their reign is a perpetu
al exercise of the most extreme and ruinous
injustice ; every man that follows an boneft
interest is prejudiced : every one that finds
the power that was ordained for his good,
to be turned to his hurt, will be angry and
hate him chat does it; if the people be of
uncorrupted manners this hatred will be ge
neral, because every one of them desires that
which is just; if composed of good and evil,
the firft will always be averse to the evil go
vernment, and the others endeavouring to
uphold it, the fafety of the prince must de
pend upon the prevalence of either party. If
the best prove to be the strongest, he must
petifli: And knowing himfelf to be support
ed only by the wosft, he will always destroy
as many ot his enemies as he can ; weaken
those that remain; enrich his creatures with
their (poils and conflfcations ; by fraud and
ripine accumulate treasures to encreafc the
number of his party, and advance them to
all places of power and trust, that by ibeir
assistance be may cru(h his adversaries ; and
every man is accounted his adversary, who
has either estate, honour, virtue or reputati
on. This naturally cafls all power into the
hands of those who have no such dangerous
qualities, nor any thing to recommend them
but an absolute resignation of themselves to
do whatever they are commanded. These
men having neither will nor knowledge to do
good, as soon as they come to be in power,
inflict iiperwrttdy military discipline neg!e£-
ed, the public treasures exhausted, new pre
;r/?r invented to raise more jand the prince's
wants daily encreafing, through their ignor
ance, negligence or deceit, there is no end
of their devices and tricks to gain fupplics :
To this end swarms of spies, informers and
(alfe witneftes are sent out to circumvent the
richest and most eminent men : The tribu
nals are filUd with cturt parafiter of profli
gate coafciences, fortunes and reputation,
that no man may escape who is Brought be
fore them. 7 If crimes are wanting, the dili
gence of well chosen officers.and profecuton,
with the favour ts tbe supply aH de
fefts ; the law is made a fnase ; virtue sup
pressed, vice fomented, and in a (hurt time
honesty and knavery, (obriety and lewdnefr,
virtue and vice, become badges of the fevers
al fadions ; and every man’s convention
and manners (hewing to what party he is ad
dided, the prince who makes himfelf head
of the worst, must favour them to the over
throw of the best, which is so (freight a way
to an universal ruin, that no date can prevent
it, unlefe the contfe be interrupted.
r —He that is just and become grateful
to the people oy doing good, will find his
honour and security in encreafing their num
ber, riches, virtue and power: If on the o
ther fide, by doing evil, he has drawn upon
himfelf the public hatred,he will always en
deavour to take from them the power of do
ing him any hurt, by bringing them into
the utmost weakness, poverty and bafenefr.”
How contemptible must be the under
standing of the man, who in the measures of
tbe prefeot administration fees nothing tend
ing to the eftabhffiing of such a monarchy j
and bow detestable his principles, that fee
ing such endeavours, and realizing their de
ftmdive consequences, can be prevailed up
on by any consideration, to abet or even con
nive at such a fatal usurpation t Some, who
for more than thrict thirty pious of geld r
have fold their bit th right, have jufttfied, or
rather excused the treason, by the plea of ne
cessity । but what can excuse the man who
cannot plead even the promise of a farthing,
nor any thing more tempting than the
finite of a creature, who is himfelf
beneath the dignity of any one honest
and independent freeman in the community?
Honoura, commissions, civil and military,
fays one, are in the gift of the firft magi
strate. Granted. These are confeffed to be
honourable, when the service of the com
munity is the foie motive of accepting them:
But for a man who was formerly known to
cry out against the r pen violations of the
rights of his fellow citizens, and brand the
administration with all the epithets they
have so richly deserved ; when such a msn
I fay, barely by being created a captain, or
perhaps a corporal, finds out that he was to
tally mistaken in his former apprehensions of
oppressions and grievances ; and is now tru
ly convinced, that a man of tbe Governor’s
piety and religion could never countenance
an oppression, and indeed that we must have
been altogether deceived, in our notions of
grievance by some designing men, who for
bate ends of their own, have set themselves
is opposition to government, it must certain
ly lead a considerate man, strongly to (ufped
the head, the heart, or both together of such
a convert.
The whole religion of the Bible is wrapt
up in two Ample precepts, infeperably con
ceded with each other ; of which the lat
ter is however the best evidence of our pos
sessing the former. The man then, whose
conduct leaves it very doubtful whether his
concern for himfelf does not so much engage
his whole mind that he little regards the inter
est of his neighbour, or even the whole col
tedion of his neighbours, inhabiting the
country and civil community of which he is
a member, has but a slender demand on our
faith receding tbe truth and fervency of his
religion. The light of tbe Gentiles, teems
to have a peculiar reference to such religi
ous, in those memorable srords, Many Jhcll
fay unto mt in that Ltrd, Lord ! But 1
will fay untt them 1 know yen not, dtpart f mm
mt YE ffVRKERS ts iniquity f
Let the miserable daubers,who would cover
the most treaionable purpofcs with tbe cloak
Of religion, before they exhibit another inA
dious harangue 00 lip religion, read
soberly a few chapters io either of the evan
gehftv, and mark careful: y against what daft
of finoer* they find the most frequent and (b
---temn denuociatiens of divine vengeance 111
EUSEBIUS,
For the Massachusetts SPY.
Mr. Thomas,
SEEING in your paper of the t Jth cur
rent, Dodor Young's call upon Mr.
Aaron Davis, junior, to produce the grounds
of his charge against him, as being a man of
ntpriruiplt: ; and Mr. Davis’s aofwer in the
next paper : It brought to my mind a dis.
pute held by some very intelligent persons,
concerning which of the nights, Saturday or
Sunday, (hould be kept as holy time. After
each had exhausted his store of argument to
very little purpose, one Tom Wood, a noted
flax drefler,ftood up among thcm.andaddrdT
ing himfelf to the audience in a very
tant attitude, exclaimed,** My dear friends it
is in vain to dilute this matter any further,
for is it not written in plain words ? Beheld
1 1 9 heftrt you inti Galilee.’*
H S .
From the[London]GAZßTTßiit,bfOd.7,
7v/Ar PkJNTIR.
THERE never was a time when more
caution was neceflary to prevent the
total extindion of liberty, than at this peri
od of government. The inAdious arts of
government, industriously propagated by it*
varioua emiflaries, continually undermining
every support of that once glorious fabric,
the impartial and equitable administration of
(he laws ; the spirit of luxury universally
diftufed and adopted, encouraged by those
very men who arc placed at the head of ad
ministration to prevent its deftrudion, evi
dently (hews (he impropriety of trusting in
diferiminately to the profeffions of such art
ful governors. The rights of the people in
vaded, their complaints tejeded, negleded
and despised, and univerfai corruption of mo
rals and manners countenanced and approv
ed, denotes the downfid of an empire unless
a speedy remedy be applied. The true road
to despotism is not by an open attack upon
the rights of tbe people ; the public would
be alarmed, opposition would raise its head.
To attack fucceffivdy the defenders and fup
portws of liberty, to cruffi the man that
dares aflert its rights, to insinuate that the
public welfare is not tbe concern of an indi
vidual j these are the arts by which the art
ful and despotic ministers forge the chains for
a free people, until by degrees accustomed to
the yoke they tamely submit to the opprefli
on of tyrants, whose very existence was
owing to their supine indolence and inac
tivity. P R O B U S.
M O N D AY, November 23.
BOSTON,
Last Thursday morning a valuable Negro
fellow, belonging to Mr. Shirley, Butcher,
in driving a cart of Beef at the south part of
the town, was thrown down by another cart,
passing by, when the wheel went over one of
his legs and broke it in two places.
The next day, just after a (hip was launch* ’
cd at the North end, a young man. Son of
Mr. Richardton,head builder, in eroding the
ways, fell among the timber and broke one
of his kp (bort off.
Last Friday Capt. Tree arrived here in
fourteen days from Newfoundland ; on his
paflage he spoke with a brig from Liverpool,
bound to PHmouth, which had loft her rud
der and waa then fleering with a cable.
DIED.] Of a cancer, in the 66th year of
her age, much lamented, Mrs. Mtrcy
Smith, relid of the laic Mr. John Smith, of
this town, merchant, and daughter to Elder
Brtdgham, long Anceof this town deceased,
at whose boufe ourq rarterly charily-meetin'
originated.—M/s Hupkms, wife of Captai 1
Caleb Hopkins.—At Needham, Mrs. Eflq
Kingfb jryr wife of Capt. Caleb Kingsbury,
and daughter of the late reverend Mr.T owtf
end of Needham. •
[Numb. 94.