USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume I > Part 94
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But Brougham, it must be remembered, was by birth and education a Scot, and when he came to London to live Wilkes had been dead eight
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' years. He never saw Wilkes, and judged of his personal appearance from portraits and caricatures. Besides, Brougham was himself an elo- quent and a ready speaker ; he also received favors from Royalty, and was in consequence inimical to all who opposed kingly authority, Ministers and Parliaments. He had little praise for any man who had stood up in England and openly and boldly championed the rights of the American Colonies before and during the Revolutionary War. Despite of Lord Brougham's statement Wilkes made some very strong and sensible speeches in Parliament during the progress of the American War; speeches which are interesting reading-to Americans, at least-even at this late day. The following paragraphs are from a speech delivered by Wilkes in the House of Commons February 6, 1775, in the course of a debate on a resolution "that an Address be presented to His Majesty
* that it is our [their] fixed resolution, at the hazard of our [their] lives and properties, to stand by His Majesty against all rebel- lious attempts, in the maintenance of the just rights of His Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament."*
"The business before the House, in its full extent, respecting the British Colonies in America, is of as great importance as was ever debated in Parliament. It comprehends almost every question relative to the common rights of mankind, almost every question of policy and legislation. The Address now reported front the Committee of the Whole House appears to be unfounded, rash and sanguinary. It draws the sword unjustly against America ; but before Administration are suffered to plunge the nation into the horrors of a civil war, before they are permitted to force Englishmen to sheathe their swords in the bowels of their fellow-subjects, I hope this House will seriously weigh the original ground and cause of this unhappy dispute, and in time reflect whether Justice is on our side and gives a sanction to the intended hostile proceedings.
"The assumed right of taxation, without the consent of the subject, is plainly the primary cause of the present quarrel. Have we then, sir, any right to tax the Ameri- cans ? * * * If we can tax the Americans without their consent they have no property, nothing they can call their own with certainty ; for we might by violence take the whole as well as the part. The words 'liberty and property,' so dear to an Englishman, so pleasing in our ears, would become a cruel mockery, an insult, to an American. * * It will, I foresee, be objected : Is America, then, to enjoy the protection of Great Britain, and to contribute nothing to the support of that parent State which has so long afforded it safety and security-which has carefully and tenderly nursed it to this hour of its present strength and greatness? The Americans themselves have given the fullest answer to this objection, in a manner not to be controverted, by their conduct through a long series of years, and by the most explicit declarations. Equally in words and actions, of the most unequivocal nature, they have demonstrated their love, their ardour, their strong filial piety towards the mother country. They have always appeared ready, not only to contribute towards the expenses of their own Government, but likewise to the wants and necessities of this State, although perhaps they may not be over-fond of all the proud, expensive trappings of Royalty.
"In the two last wars with France they far exceeded the cold line of prudence. With the most liberal hearts they cheerfully gave you nearly their all, and they fought gallantly and victoriously by your side, with equal valour against our and their enemy, the common enemy of the liberties of Europe and America, the ambitious, faithless French, whom now we fear and flatter. * * The siege and capture of Louisbourg, the various successful operations against the general foe, without the least knowledge, much less participation, on our part, are the fullest proofs of the warm affection of their hearts to this country, and of their readiness to bear more than their share of the public ex- pense and burthen. But, sir, the whole was the gift of freemen, our fellow-subjects, who feel that they are, and know that they have a right to be, as free as ourselves. * * *
"The Americans, sir, have of late been treated, both within doors and without, in a manner which marks no small degree of injustice, and even a wantonness of cruelty. * * It has been asserted that they are forward and angry enough to wish to throw off the supremacy of the mother country. Many express resolutions, both of the General Congress and the different Provincial Assemblies, are the fullest evidence of the sense which the Americans entertain of their obedience and duty to Great Britain. They are too numerous to be quoted. Their full claim, as stated by themselves, is so explicit and clear, that I beg leave to read it to the House from their petition to the King. It declares, ' We ask but for peace, liberty and safety !' Surely, sir, no request was ever more modest and reasonable, no claim better founded. * * The Address, sir, mentions the particu-
* See "American Archives," Fourth Series, I : 1549.
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lar Province of the Massachusetts Bay as in a state of actual rebellion. Whether their present state is that of rebellion, or of a fit and just resistance to unlawful acts of power-to our attempts to rob them of their properties and liberties, as they imagine-I shall not declare. This I know : A successful resistance is a revolution, not a rebellion ! Rebellion indeed appears on the back of a flying enemy, but revolution flames on the breast-plate of the victorious warrior.
"Who can tell, sir, whether in consequence of this day's violent and mad Address to His Majesty the scabbard may not be thrown away by them as well as by us; and, should success attend them, whether in a few years the independent Americans may not celebrate the glorious era of the Revolution of 1775 as we do that of 1688 ! The generous efforts of our forefathers for freedom, Heaven crowned with success, or their noble blood had dyed our scaffolds like that of Scottish traitors and' rebels, and the period of our history which does us the most honor would have been deemed a rebellion against the lawful authority of the Prince-not a resistance authorized by all the laws of God and man-not the expulsion of a tyrant. The policy, sir, of this measure I can no more coni- prehend than I can acknowledge the justice of it. Is your force adequate to the attempt ? I am satisfied it is not. Do you recollect that the single Province of Massachusetts Bay has at this moment 30,000 men well trained and disciplined? You will not be able to conquer and keep even that single Province. The noble Lord (North) with the blue ribband proposes only 10,000 of our troops to be sent there, including the four regiments now going from Ireland ; and he acknowledges, with great truth, that the Army cannot enforce the late Act of Parliament. Why then isit sent ? Boston, indeed, you may lay in ashes, but the Province will be lost to you. * *
"The Americans will certainly defend their property and their liberties with the spirit of freemen-with the spirit our ancestors did, and I hope we should exert on a like occasion. They will sooner declare themselves independent, and risk every consequence of such a contest, than submit to the galling yoke which Administration is preparing for them. An Address of this sanguinary nature cannot fail of driving them to despair. They will see that you are preparing not only to draw the sword, but to burn the scab- bard. In the most harsh manner you are declaring them rebels. Every idea of a recon- ciliation will vanish. They will pursue the most vigorous measures in their own defense."
The following is a portion of a speech delivered by Mr. Wilkes in the House October 26, 1775, on a motion to present an Address to the King in reply to a speech that day delivered by him from the Throne.
"Sir, I entirely agree with the honourable gentleman who seconded the motion for an Address to His Majesty, that every inan ought now to speak out ; and, in a moment so important as the present, to the whole Empire. *
* * I call the war with our brethren in America an unjust, felonious war, because the primary cause and confessed origin of it is to attempt to take their money from them without their consent, contrary to the common rights of all mankind, and those fundamental principles of the English Consti- tution for which Hampden bled. I assert, sir, that it is in consequence a murderous war, because it is an effort to deprive men of their lives for standing up in the just cause of the defence of their property and their clear rights. * * *
"I think this war, sir, fatal and ruinous to our country. It absolutely annihilates the only great source of our wealth-which we enjoyed unrivalled by other nations-and deprives us of the fruits of the laborious industry of near three million of subjects, which centered here. That commerce has already taken its flight, and our American merchants are now deploring the consequences of a wretched policy, which has been pursued to their destruction. * * *
"I speak, sir, as a firm friend to England and America, but still more to universal liberty and the rights of all mankind. I trust no part of the subjects of this vast Empire will ever submit to be slaves. I anı sure the Americans are too high-spirited to brook the idea. Your whole power, and that of your allies (if you had any) and of all the German troops-of all the ruffians from the North whom you can hire-cannot effect so wicked a purpose. The conduct of the present Administration has already wrested the sceptre of America out of the hands of our Sovereign, and he has now scarcely even a postmaster left in that whole Northern Continent. More than half the Empire is already lost, and almost all the rest is in confusion and anarchy. The Ministry have brought our Sovereign into a more disgraceful situation than any crowned head now living.
"England was never engaged in a contest of such importance to our most valuable concerns and possessions. We are fighting for the subjection, the unconditional submis- sion, of a country infinitely more extended than our own ; of which every day increases the wealth, the natural strength, the population. Should we not succeed, it will be a loss never enough to be deplored ; a bosom friendship soured to hate and resentment. We shall be considered as their most implacable enemies ; an eternal separation will follow, and the grandeur of the British Empire will pass away. Success, final success, seems to me not equivocal, not uncertain, but impossible ! However we may differ among ourselves, they are perfectly united. On this side the Atlantic party rage unhappily divides us ; but one soul animates the vast Northern Continent of America, the General Congress and each Provincial Assembly. An appeal has been made to the sword, and at
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the close of the last campaign what have we conquered ? Bunker Hill only-and with the loss of 1,200 men. Are we to pay as dearly for the rest of America? The idea of the conquest of that immense continent is as romantic as unjust.
"The honourable gentleman who moved the Address says "the Americans have been treated with lenity." Will facts justify the assertion? Was your Boston Port Bill a measure of lenity? Was your Fishery Bill a measure of lenity? Was your Bill for taking away the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay a measure of lenity, or even justice ? I omit your many other gross provocations and insults, by which the brave Americans have been driven into their present state. He asserts that they avow a disposition to be independent. On the contrary, sir, all the declarations, both of the late and present Congress, uniformly tend to this one object-of being put on the sanie footing the Amer- icans were in in the year 1763. This has been their only demand, from which they have never varied. Their daily prayers and petitions are for 'liberty, peace and safety.' I use the words of the Congress of the last year. They justly expect to be put on an equal footing with the other subjects of the Empire, and are willing to come into any fair agreement with you in commercial concerns. If you confine all our trade to yourselves, say they ; if you make a monopoly of our commerce ; if you shut all the other ports of the world against us, do not tax us likewise. If you tax us, then give us a free trade, such as you enjoy yourselves.
"It must give, sir, every man who loves this country the deepest concern at the naming in the Address of foreign troops-Hanoverians and Hessians-who are called to interfere in our domestic quarrels. The militia, indeed, are, we are told, to be now em- ployed, and that noble institution is at present complimented by Ministers ; but we know they hate the very name of a militia, and that measure is adopted only because the imbodying of these forces enables Administration to butcher more of our fellow-subjects in America.
"Sir, I disapprove not only the evil spirit of the whole Address, but likewise the wretched adulation of almost every part of it. My wish and hope, therefore, is, that it will be rejected by the House, and that another, dutiful, yet decent, manly Address, will be presented to the King, praying His Majesty that he would sheathe the sword, prevent the further effusion of the blood of our fellow-subjects, adopt some mode of negotiation with the General Congress in compliance with their repeated petitions, and thereby restore peace and harmony to this distracted Empire."
In the House of Commons on the 27th of November, 1775, Alder- man Richard Oliver (mentioned on page 554), who was at this time also one of the representatives from the city of London in the House, moved an Address to the King. In support of the proposed Address Mr. Wilkes spoke in part as follows :
"Mr. Speaker-The Address to His Majesty, which the honourable gentleman has moved this day, is so essentially different from all other late Addresses to the Throne, that I own it meets with my hearty concurrence. I think it, sir, of the utmost conse- quence to know the original authors and advisers of this unjust, pernicious and calami- tous war, which has already deluged with blood a part of America, and spread horror and devastation through that whole Northern Continent. When so many Provinces of the Empire are already lost, and the rest actually engaged in a cruel civil war, we ought not to sit down in criminal supineness. It becomes our duty, as the grand inquest of the nation, to find out and punish the delinquents by whose fatal counsels such evils have been brought upon this convulsed and almost ruined State. We owe it to the people at large ; and several of us have it in express charge from our constituents.
"We are, I fear, sir, on the eve of an eternal political separation from the Western World, unless a very speedy reconciliation should take place. If the present motion happily meets with success, I am sure it will do more towards a sincere, lasting and hearty union with America than all the captious and fallacious proposals of Administra- tion. The Americans will then believe we indeed desire a reconciliation with them, and they will at length begin to have confidence in our counsels, when they see the vengeance of Parliament fall on the authors of our common calamities. * * * I really think, sir, this is almost the only method now left of extricating ourselves with honour and dignity from our present alarming difficulties.
"After a very bloody campaign you have conquered only one hill of less than a mile's circumference, for you were suffered to land as friends, in the only seaport town of any consequence which you possess. Would the noble Lord, whom His Majesty has lately raised to one of the highest civil offices, if he were sent on a military service there, would he venture, even at the head of the whole British cavalry, to advance ten miles into the country ? He would not, I am persuaded, be so rash ; nor do I think his spirit quite daring enough to make the attempt. And is any Minister weak enough to flatter himself with the conquest of all North America? The Americans will dispute every inch of terri- tory with you, every narrow pass, every strong defile, every Thermopylæ, every Bunker Hill. A train of most unfortunate events will probably ensue, and the power of recruit- ing, perhaps subsisting, your weakened forces at such a distance be lost. After an un-
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availing struggle of a very few years, when the ruined mercliant and manufacturer besiege your doors, you will perhaps think of naming Ambassadors to the General Congress, in- stead of the wild and expensive job and farce now in contemplation, of thirty Commis- sioners, with a salary of £4,000 each, to cry 'Peace !' where there is no peace.
"Yet, sir, I think peace absolutely necessary between Great Britain and America, and, therefore, I approve the present motion, as holding out the olive branch. The Americans are rapidly increasing in population, and in the knowledge of all the useful arts of life. Alas ! sir, they are not ignorant even in the fashionable art of murdering our own species. The late worthy Governor of Pennsylvania* declared at the bar of the other House that that Province grew now more corn than was sufficient for the supply of its in- · habitants ; that they exported considerable every year ; that they perfectly understood the art of making gunpowder, and had effected it ; that they had established several works to procure saltpetre ; that they had the materials and means in great plenty of casting iron cannon ; that the art of casting both brass and iron cannon, as well as of fabricating small- arms, had been carried to great perfection ; and that they were expert in ship-building beyond the Europeans. He declared, likewise, that that single Province had actually en- rolled twenty thousand men in arnis, embodied, but not in pay, and had four thousand minute-men ready on the first notice of any real danger. The authentic accounts of the preparations for the forming, training and disciplining of troops in the Massachusetts Bay and in Virginia are equally formidable ; nor are they inconsiderable in the other United Provinces. Every idea of force, therefore, on our side, must appear infatuation. "All wise legislators, sir, have calculated the strength of a nation from the number of its inhabitants-the laborious, strong and active. The population in most parts of America is doubled in the course of nineteen or twenty years ; while that of this Island is known rather to have decreased since the year 1692. The emigrations of late from the three kingdoms have been amazing and alarming. Our own people have fled in multi- tudes from a Government under which they starved. * * * The Americans, sir, are a pious and religious people. With much ardour and success they follow the first great command of Heaven-'Be fruitful and multiply !' While they are fervent in these devout exercises-while the men continue enterprising and healthy, the women kind and pro- lific-all your attempts to subdue them by force will be ridiculous and unavailing, and will be regarded by theni with scorn and abhorrence. They are daily strengthening, and if you lose the present moment of reconciliation, to which this motion tends, you lose all. America may now be reclaimed or regained, but cannot be subdued !
"Gentlemen, sir, do not seem to have considered the astonishing disadvantages under which we engage in this contest against the combined powers of America, not only from the distance and natural strength of the country, but the peculiar and fortunate circum- stances of a young, rising empire. The Congress, sir, have not the monstrous load of a debt of above one hundred and forty millions, like our Parliament, to struggle with, the very interest of which would swallow up all their taxes ! Nor a numerous and hungry band of useless placemen and pensioners to provide for ; nor has luxury yet enervated their minds or bodies. Every shilling which they raise will go to the man who fights the battles of his country. They set out like a young heir with a noble landed estate, unincumbered with enormous family debts ; while we appear the poor, old, feeble, ex- hausted and ruined parent-but exhausted and ruined by our own wickedness, prodigality and profligacy.
"Sir, I daily hear the Americans, who glow with a divine zeal for liberty in all its branches, misrepresented in this House, and the ostensible Minister is diligent in prop- agating the most unjust calumnies against them. The noble Lord with the blue ribbont told us the liberty of the press was lost throughout America. The noble Lord deceives us in this, as in many other things. From experience we know that his intelligence can never be relied upon. The liberty of the press, the bulwark of all our liberties, is lost only in Boston, for his Lordship's Ministerial troops govern there only. The press is free at Watertown (but seven miles distant from Boston), at Philadelphia, Newport, Williamsburgh, and in the rest of North America. I will give the House the demonstra- tion. General Gage's foolish and contemptible proclamation against Samuel Adams and John Hancock-two worthy gentlemen, and, I dare to add, true patriots-even that proc- lamation, declaring them rebels and traitors (while the Generals Washington, Putnam and Lee, with all the naval commanders in arms, were unnoticed by him), appears re- printed in all the American papers. I believe all the curious, futile orders he has issued, all his unmeaning declarations and proclamations, will be found as exact in the Penn- sylvania, Watertown and other American newspapers, as in the Gazette published by his authority in Boston-which, in other respects, is as partial and false as that published by authority of the American Secretaryt in this capital."
* RICHARD PENN, JR., son of (v) Richard Penn mentioned in the first paragraph of the note on page 386, ante, and younger brother of John Penn mentioned in the note on page 262. Richard Penn, Jr. (born in 1734), was Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from October, 1771, till September, 1773, and such was the confidence of the people in him that when, early in the Summer of 1775, he embarked for England he was entrusted with the second petition of the Continental Congress to King George. On his arrival in London he was examined (November 10, 1775) in the House of Lords on the subject of American affairs. Subsequently he became a Member of Parliament. He died in England May 27, 1811.
+ Lord NORTH, the Premier.
Į Lord GEORGE GERMAIN, Secretary of State for America.
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The following paragraphs are from a speech* delivered by Mr. Wilkes in the House of Commons October 31, 1776, shortly after news had reached London regarding the battle of Long Island (mentioned on page 485.)
"The affair of Long Island has been misrepresented and greatly magnified to the House. The superiority of numbers was very considerable. General Howe landed 22,000 men. The Provincials had only 6,000 effective men on that Island. They were ordered to retreat, and 4,000 did accordingly, without being attacked, embark for the island of New York. There was a real mistake of orders as to the other 2,000, but they acted as brave men always will act under a mistake of orders-they fought. They saw the enemy, left their entrenchments and attacked with spirit. From the superiority of numbers, and their flanks being neglected and unguarded, they were totally defeated. They did not, however, remain inactive, like cowards, on an important day of battle. No such imputation can be fixed on them! Nothing decisive can follow from the late successful affair on Long Island, no more than from the defeat on Sullivan's Island. New York will probably fall into your hands, but your situation will in that case be scarcely mended since the last year, for you then possessed the capital of North America- Boston. Is that great and important town advantageously exchanged for New York? I forgot that we still possess the fishing hamlet of Halifax !
"But, sir, we ought to take a much larger and more comprehensive view of this in- teresting scene, which is now fully disclosed. The important dispute of Great Britain with her Colonies has for a considerable time fixed the attention, not only of this nation, but of almost all Europe. The most essential interests of this country, and indeed of the greater part of the Powers of the Continent, are deeply interested in the event. The sacrifice of so much blood and treasure is to every State an object of the highest import- ance ; to us, whose Empire seems mouldering away, of the nearest concern. I much fear that we are now brought by inextricable difficulties to the very verge of destruction. Since our last meeting, sir, the scene with respect to America has totally changed. In- stead of negotiations with Colonies, or Provincial Assemblies, we have a war to carry on against the Free and Independent States of America-a wicked war, which has been oc- casioned solely by a spirit of violence, injustice and obstinacy in our Ministers, unparal- leled in history. * * *
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