points are talked of, a gentlemen from Boston observed, among other things, that New England abounded with rough materi als. This not only occasioned much laughter, but some of the gentlemen in company declared, they would in the spring set out for that country, in order to get into their hands some of those rough materials; but an elderly gentlemen observing their eagerness, advised them to stay at home, since they might, without crossing the Atlantic, find as good rough materials in Great Britain, as any in New England. Gaz. Dec. 27, 1768. Charleston, South Carolina, Nov. 4.-On Sunday last, his excellency the Right Hon. Lord Charles Grenville Montagu, governor in chief, &c. &c. of this province, with his lady, returned here by land from the Northern provinces. Gaz. Dec. 28, 1768. They write from St. Augustine, that Major Chisholm, with sundry other officers and soldiers, arrived there the 22nd past from Pensacola. The whole number of troops arrived at St. Augustine from W. Florida, was about two hundred when the last accounts came away. More were daily expected. Philadelphia, Nov. 7.-On Wednesday last, about 7 o'clock in the morning, Mr. Samuel Levis's house at Springfield, in Chester county, (about ten miles from Philadelphia) was struck with lightning. The morning was showery, but no thunder was heard, nor appearance of lightning seen, either before or after the shock which produced the following effects.-It appears first to have descended on the chimney, which it entirely levelled to the top of the house, dispersing the bricks to a considerable distance, with great part of the roof; fractured the gable end, a stone wall, into sundry pieces, and penetrated, in veins or branches, down to different parts of the house. In a closet of the lower room, a glass bottle, with a pound and half of gunpowder in it, was broke, and part of the powder thrown about, which did not take fire; a clock, near to the closet, was also overset, and the weights found at fifteen feet distance from the place where it stood; considerable damage was done to the furniture. In passing into the upper chamber, by the stack of chimneys, a gun barrel, and some pieces of brass, which were in a closet, were melted in several places. But the most tragical circumstance I have now to relate. A young woman, a daughter of Mr. Levis, happening to be near the door of the closet, was struck down, and was, to all appearance, breathless for some time. The rest of the family being in an addition to the house, received no harm. The father, running immediately up stairs, where the greatest signs of violence appeared, was the first who found his daughter, in her melancholy situation, amidst the ruins of the shattered wainscot, and an exceeding strong smell of sulphur. He carried her down stairs in his arms, and on examination, there appeared signs of life. A doctor was immediately sent for, who in vain attempted to bleed her, there seeming almost a total stagnation; but, being put into a warm bed, she bled freely, and revived so as to be able to speak, to the inexpressible joy of her distressed parents, the whole family, and all her friends-and thro' the kind interposition of Providence, is likely to recover entirely, being able, the evening of the same day, to walk up stairs to her chamber. So instantaneous was the shock, and so sudden the deprivation of her senses, that she can give no account of what happened to her at that juncture. When she regained her senses, she complained of much pain, and of being sore, as she was very much scorched, the lightning passing from her head, and as it descended rent her clothes, even her garters, into a number of pieces, then to her shoes, carrying away the upper leather, which was torn into fragments, and melting part of one of her silver shoe buckles. We are informed that the assembly of the three lower counties of this province, have appointed Dennis De Berdt, Esq. their agent in England: and have harmonized with their sister colonies, in petitioning the king, lords and commons, for redress of the grievous burdens laid on America. Gaz. Dec. 27, 1768. Saturday se'nnight arrived here the sloop Sally, Capt. Blewer, from Pensacola, which place he left the first of October, and informs that the place is very healthy, and was well supplied with provisions, but were in great fear and distress at the removal of the troops, as they lay surrounded by savages, from whom they have no defence. That one Mr. Bradley had lost thirty head of cattle from his plantation, supposed to be carried off by the Indians; and that lands on the Mississippi were settling very fast, both by people from Pensacola, and numbers from Georgia and Virginia. Boston Oct. 17. Advice is received that six more regiments may be soon expected from Ireland, and another from Halifax. If pensions of 10,000l. sterling per annum had been settled upon G-r B-d during life, rather than making so unnecessary a military parade, it would have been a vast saving to the nation. We have account from Louisbourg, that several of the settlers upon that island have been lately killed by the savages. This is what has been expected from the late withdraw of troops from that place, and it is to be feared that our inland settlements will suffer from the like cause. Gaz. Dec. 27, 1768. Extract of a letter from Charlestown, South Carolina, Nov. 18. "Our new assembly has met, twenty-five members have taken their seats, and the governor yesterday gave them a speech, to which an answer is preparing. The measures taken with Boston do not tend to excite a good spirit in the other colonies; from my soul I wish that unbiassed, good men would take the trouble truly to represent the circumstances and temper of the colonists; they have been most grossly abused by misrepresentations. Proper attention and indulgences will all tend to enrich the parent state, and there is still room for an easy conciliation. A bill of rights for America, such as the British constitution will admit of, would have the most salutary effects. We are represented as rebellious and disaffected, while we abhor some, and most heartily despise all that are suspected of disaffection or pretended loyalty; and these are not the native Americans, but a people imported from the North. "The South Carolina Gazette, of November 22, mentions the dissolution of the general assembly on the 19th; and that advice had been just received there, that the assembly of Virginia had been also dissolved immediately on the arrival of Lord Botetourt." Gaz. Dec. 31, 1768. Extract of a letter, dated Juniata, back of Pennsylvania, Nov. 12, 1768. "From trade but now mostly at my plantation. "Propositi nimium tenax, have five long years convinced you of the truth of the adage, Humanum est errare? You have seen, sir, how abortive have proved some schemes of finance! How dangerous be innovations in the commercial system! How dangerous with unwary hand, to touch some strings ought never to be harped upon! America, the sieve thro' which the golden shower was wont to pour into Brittania's lap, you have, with unremitting zeal, made your object. For the prevention of fraudulency and bad morals, you gave us a Douane stationary and a Float. "Why sir, beyond barter for necessaries, on the principles of scrupulous morale, trade is criminal. Let us, if you please, investigate a little. "Weary with the savage life, you and I, with our wives and little ones, migrate into the regions of barbarians. Crossing the next line, of debarkation, we come into the land of husbandmen. You borrow some wheat; I a score of sheep. You have use for mutton, wool, and cheese; I, for bread; we barter. (Stop, ye wicked, cries Rousseau, ye have already gone too far.) You grow a mighty tiller of land; I, a considerable feeder of sheep. Both of us have more than we can find consumption for. Sons, say we, go to, make a boat; go search on the waters for shores, where dwell people necessitous of wheat, wool, smoked mutton, and cheese. Take of each with ye. Bring of their products, palatable and ornamental. Mark well the manners of the men. Hence the origin of commerce, to enlighten, to embellish, to exalt humanity; to fill us with devotional wonder at the grand terraqueous fabrick; with expanded benevolence to the whole sublunary world of reason. "Next, let me be indulged in asking you, sir, what is the annual expense of the Douane and military peace establishment? You know that it is more than half a million per contra. Then, what is become of the valuable lucrative on the Spanish main, et passim? Then how are our women, maidens, and men, to be reformed from those habits of industry, you have driven them to? "A gentleman statesman ought to learn his almanack thro' all its columns; undoubtedly he ought. The imports, exports, customs, excise, taxes, funds; through all their ramifications, to the minutest fractionals, he ought to have at his finger's ends. "With the intuitive faculties, the heaven-born mother wit of a Sully, or De Witts, such an one were a blessing to his country. He, standing on a rising ground, above the turbid scenes of ignorance and passion, breathes a purer æther, hears unmoved what passes below, and, with widened eye-sight, looks around him. "But, should a stuffing get into one ear, and a mote any how, into one corner of one eye your "Distance, delay by head-winds, on both coasts, moral and immoral information make for or against us. One thing, we are unanimous in love to our sovereign. Now to be plain with you, Sir, our distaffs are uplifted against you: our babes tremble at your name: our aged hold up their hands, wondering at the times. Yet have I heard you reported as an upright person, of gentle nature, and captivating morals. Our affairs, barring unimportant trifles, may possibly come under consideration. Could we, sir, hope for relenting into non-opposition-Could we hope for your favour nonapparent-But, could we hope for your voice, your weight your, wisdom, all were holiday. Our lads should have themes, in Laudes Gii: even humble I, to a reed plucked from the land of Columbus, in grateful numbers would modulate a song. Delight you in statues? You shall have them of more than Parian marblemonumento are perenniora. In the brightest pages of our annals, your name shall be recorded to remotest ages. "In sum, sir, were I to advise one of your painters, I would say, You sir, with the untaxed colours, draw me an American: place him on his own blustering shore: draw him in clouted cloths, with folded arms; his eyes thrown wistfully on the wide Atlantic: cause the man's whole limbs and linaments express, Ah, me! O my king; Oh, my mother!" Articles of intelligence from other daily papers of yesterday. It is whispered that more favourable dispositions towards the colonies are daily gaining ground among our people in power. VOL. II. 81 Extract of a letter from the Hague, dated Jan. 5. "The flame of war being now kindled in the north (Poland), in the south (Corsica), and in the east by the declaration of Turkey against Russia, great apprehensions appear among our statesmen, that the fire may, as usual, spread, till it involves all Europe. In the meantime, we are amazed here to understand that you keep up your quarrel with your colonies, when you may so soon have occasion for all their strength united with yours and ours against the family compact. You tell me that 'tis agreed on all hands, the acts complained of are injudicious; that, contrary to all commercial and political principles, they burthen your own exportations, and thereby tend to encourage the erecting manufactures in your colonies; that they ought, therefore, never to have been made; that you really intended to repeal them this session, if the Americans had not opposed them in such a manner as to make the repeal inconsistent with your honour, because it would now seem as if done by compulsion, and therefore it must be postponed at least for a year or two longer. Believe me, my dear friend, the honour of government is best maintained-not by being never in the wrong, which cannot be the case of any government, but by demonstrating a readiness to correct its errors, by proving itself wiser to-day than it was yesterday. The reputation of that government must be very weak and low, indeed, which cannot afford to acknowledge now and then a mistake. Wise men change their sentiments and purposes as new and stronger reasons appear: fools, indeed, when once in the wrong, continue obstinately so, in spite of reason and argument. You have given your son a wound in the breast; it festers; there is danger of a mortification, by which you may lose him: you acknowledge you were indiscreet in giving the wound: you know how to cure it immediately-but he has been rude and disrespectful in his complaints; he has denied your right of stabbing him; therefore you will not apply your plaster till next year. Surely you will not be such idiots." Gaz. Jan. 20, '69. Extract of a letter from Boston, New England, dated Nov. 3, 1768. "It is surprising that Great Britain is so blinded to her own interest. Would they but let their colonies have as free and extensive a trade as possible, all the moneys we could possibly collect would centre in Great Britain for goods; and in time I apprehend our demands would be as large as it would be in their power to comply with. We have been growing in our extravagance very fast for a number of years, but since the present measures have taken place, great numbers indeed of our farmers have become manufacturers themselves of every thing they wear, and it will be a hard matter to turn them out of this track again. The people have lately in general left off the use of teas in this town, and the example is spreading fast far and wide through the country. No crowned head ever had more loyal subjects, than his present majesty's are |