Strictures on a pamphlet, entitled "A friendly address to all reasonable Americans, on the subject of our political confusion." Addressed to the people of America. : [One line from Shakespear]

STRICTURES, &c. TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA.

A PAMPLET, entitled A friendly address to all rea|sonable Americans, advertised and sold by Mr. James Rivington, of New-York, is of so extraordinary a nature that it is difficult for any Man, who is interested in the wel|fare of the Community (whatever contempt he may have for the performance) to remain silent.—I know not whe|ther the author is a Layman or Ecclesiastic, but he bears strongly the character of the latter.—He has the want of candour and truth, the apparent spirit of persecution, the unforgiveness, the deadly hatred to Dissenters, and the zeal for arbitrary power, which has distinguished Churchmen in all ages, and more particularly the high part of the Church of England; I cannot help therefore considering him as one of this order.

THE design of his pamphlet is manifestly to dissolve the spirit of union, and check the noble ardor prevailing through the continent; but his zeal so far outruns his a|bilities, that there is the greatest reason to think that his Reverence has laboured to little effect.—His discretion seems to be still less than his genius.—A man of common judgment would not so wantonly have attacked the gene|ral reigning principles and opinions of a people, whom he intends to seduce or intimidate out of their rights and pri|vileges: For instance, I believe there are ninety-nine A|mericans in a hundred, who think that Charles the First was an execrable tyrant, that he met with no harder fate than he deserved, and that his two sons ought in justice to have made the same exit. To descant therefore on the criminality of the resistance made to that tyrant; to affect on every occasion giving the title of rebellion to the civil war which brought him to justice, is a degree of weakness which no man who is not blinded by the Daemon of ja|cobitism

could possibly be guilty of.—But to preach up, in this enlightened age (as he does in almost express terms) passive obedience, is a mark of lunacy, or at least it proves that the moment a head begins to itch for a mitre, it looses the faculty of reasoning, for if the principle of pas|sive obedience is admitted, the gracious Prince, for whom his Reverence professes so great a devotion, is a down|right usurper, and the Parliament of which he speaks so respectfully, Lords and Commons, are rebels and traitors.

The doctrines he aims to inculcate, are as follow—That the Parliament has a right to tax you without your consent; that the duty upon tea is no tax; that this duty is your only grievance; that the cause of Boston is their own concern; that it is not your cause; that the punishment of Boston is a just punishment; that it is lenient; that it is not equal to the crimes; that the Bostonians are rebels traitors, and pampered fanatics; that the Congress are little better; that no mis|conduct of administration can justify or excuse open disrespect; that submission is to be paid to the higher powers, whatever character they be; that an Apostle enjoined submission to the tyrant Nero; that of all people under heaven the King's A|merican subjects have the least cause for complaint; that the present confusion of the Colonies has been occasioned by false a|larms; that none of your legal rights have been invaded: no injury has been done you, and consequently that you can never be justified in resenting that of which you have no reason to complain; that you are no judges of the rights of Parliament; that the Parliament ought to act according to their own judg|ment, not according to yours, even in things which concern you principally or solely; that they assert they have the right in question; that you have never proved they have not; that you have always believed or allowed they had it until the present occasion; that the Quebec Bill is a just & constitutional Bill; that the Canadians are likely to prove the best & most loyal sub|jects in his Majesty's American dominions; that there is too much reason to believe that the minds of the Americans are un|principled, & their hearts disposed for rebellion; that since the reduction of Canada, they have been bloated with a vain opi|nion of their own power and importance; that the Island of Great-Britain is able to govern (that is to dragoon) ten A|mericas;

that the moment it is known that America is no longer under the protection of Great-Britain, all the maritime powers of Europe would join to ravage your sea ports, plun|der and seize your ships merely for the pleasure of ravaging;* 1.1 that all the maritime powers of the world would not dispossess Great-Britain of the empire of the sea, even when America is separated from her. Now I challenge the world to produce so many wicked sentiments, stupid principles, audaciously false assertions, & monstrous absurdities, crouded together in so small a compass. All his positions are indeed so self-evidently absurd and false, that it would be an insult to American understandings, seriously to attempt refuting them. I shall only beg leave to take notice of the curious argument he uses to prove the duty on tea to be no tax; it is that, unless we consent to the tax, we are not to pay the the duty. We may refuse purchasing it if we please. The same logic would demonstrate that a duty on beer, candles, or soap, would be no tax, as we are not absolutely obliged to drink beer; we may drink water, we may go to bed before it is dark, and we are not forced to wash our shirts. His assertion that Great Britain, when divorced from her Colonies, will still hold the empire of the seas, in spite of all the powers of the world, is still more ingenious. It a|mounts to this, that without the possible means of procuring timber, iron, plank, masts, pitch, tar, or hemp, to furnish out a single frigate, they may build more ships then all the world

put together; that when her nursery for seamen is destroyed, and all the commerce on which the existence of seamen depends, is annihilated, they will then be able to man more fleets than the whole universe put together. But I am ashamed of tres|passing on the public patience, in making strictures on such ridiculous articles, I shall therefore pass on to some questi|ons which have not been so much agitated, and on which, if I mistake not, his reverence lays the greatest stress; for as he modestly declares, that he has no opinion of your courage, it was natural for him to consider intimidation and terror as the most powerful figures of rhetoric. Regular armies from Great-Britain, Hessians, Hanoverians, royal standards erected, skilful Generals, legions of Canadians, and unnumbered tribes of Savages; swords flaming in the front and rear, pestilence, desolation and famine, are all marshalled in a most dreadful order by this church-militant author.—But let us somewhat minutely examine the picture, and see whether, stript of its false colours, it has any thing re|ally terrifying. His reverence begins with assuring us, that there is no room to doubt but that such an army as was employed in the reduction of Canada (that is an army of seven thousand men) would be more than sufficient for the conquest of all the disaffected American Colonies (which are in fact all the Colonies.) Should such a resolution be|come necessary, in order to reduce them to obedience, for my own part, I think there is very great reason to doubt, that seven thousand, even of the best troops, are able to conquer two hundred thousand of the most disorderly pea|santry upon earth, if they were animated in defence of e|very thing they hold most dear & sacred; and there is still greater reason to doubt that 7000 very indifferent troops, composed of the refuse of an exhausted nation, few of whom have 〈◊〉〈◊〉 action of any kind, should be able to conquer two hundred thousand active, vigorous yeomanry, fired with the noble ardor, we see prevalent through the conti|nent, all armed, all expert in the use of arms almost from their cradle. The success of Quebec it is true, does infi|nite honor to the English arms, the army was, I believe, only for a thousand, the enemy were perhaps more than double, but sixteen thousand men are not two hundred

thousand. The fate of Canada, depended upon one deci|sive action, but it is impossible to calculate how many vic|tories must be gained before these Colonies could be sub|dued, whereas a single victory gained by the Colonies must decide the contest in their favour. In the affair of Que|bec there is another circumstance to be considered, it was Wolfe, who commanded; a man of the most wonderful talents, formed to level all difficulties; to render the most despicable soldiery almost instantaneously an army of heroes. In short, the genius of the man was so extraordinary, the event was so extraordinary that no inferences can be drawn from it; but this without presumption may be asserted, that no General now existing in the British service, would with double or treble his number have succeeded in the same circumstances. One thing more I must add in ho|nor of that illustrious personage, that the same greatness of soul which qualified him to conquer the natural here|ditary enemies of his country, would have made him reject with horror the Hangman's office, which others, who are not endowed with conquering attributes, will with readiness accept.

IT is notorious that Mr. Wolfe was not only the first of soldiers, but that he was a most liberal, virtuous citizen, that he was passionately attached to the liberties of his coun|try, and of mankind; and that he was particularly an ene|my to large standing armies in time of peace. It is on the other hand remarkable, that all the advocates for standing armies; all those who are the fondest of the faddling and parade of war, are the most active in avoiding real service.

THIS tremendous soothsayer, on the supposition that so great a miracle should happen in our favour, as that the trifling body of five hundred thousand men, though firm|ly united (for every man in America, firmly united, would not amount to less) should be able to withstand his seven thousand; goes on to rattle in our ears, armies of Hessians and Hanoverians. I wish to Heaven he had for once de|viated into probability & truth. I wish 10,000 of them could possibly be transported to-morrow. The purpose they would answer, is a purpose devoutly to be wished for; they would be an addition to this continent of just so many use|ful

and excellent citizens, for I will venture to affirm, (af|firming is infectious) that in less than four months not two of these ten thousand would remain with their Colours. But does not this reverend Gentleman know, that in the year 1764 a convention was formed by most of the Prin|ces of the empire, at the head of which convention were the Emperor himself and the King of Prussia, to prevent the alarming emigrations which threatened depopulation to Germany? Does he not know that no troops can march out of the empire without the consent of the empire? Does he not know that the Elector of Hanover and the Emperor are upon exceedingly ill terms? Does he not know that the Elector of Hanover and the King of Prus|sia are still upon worse? Is he sure that the Landgrave of Hess would sell his troops (for as not one man would re|turn back to their country, he must consider them as for|ever sold!) Is he sure that as the finances of Great-Britain stand, the vast sum necessary for this purchase would be conveniently found? Is he sure that the State of Hanover would consent to such a draining of their country? I know not how it is; but his most excellent Majesty GEORGE the Third, who in England is justly esteemed the most gra|cious of Sovereigns, the wisest, greatest, and best of Kings, is not very popular in the Electorate of Hanover. These people seem to think it hard that Two Hundred and Twen|ty Thousand Pounds should annually be drawn from them, for the purposes (as they conceive it) of corrupting the Members of St. Stephen's Chapel, in order to support the power and authority of a set of men, who from the beginning have been enemies to the succession of the Hanover line, and who shewed a particular animosity to their last and favourite Prince, George the Second; but these difficulties (great and unsurmountable as to a common mortal they appear) our divine Exorcist has in an instant conjured down, and, by a single motion of his enchanted wand, has transported whole armies, in spite of their respective Princes, and without the consent of their respective States, from the interior parts of Germany, across the Atlantic into the plains of New-England and Penn|sylvania. But he does not confine himself to the intro|duction

of his Germans. He proceeds next to erect the Royal Standard, to which he tells us that all who have the courage to declare themselve now friends to government, will undoubtedly resort, and these, he says, in a good cause, will be of themselves formidable to their opposers: Dreadfully formidable they must be indeed! There would resort to it, let me see (for the respectable town of Rye have declared themselves a kind of neutrals, rather than friends to government) there would resort to it, Mr. Justice Sewell, the honorable Mr. Paxton, Brigadier Ruggles, and about eight or ten more mandamus Councilmen, with perhaps twice their number of Expectants, and not less than twenty of the unrecanted Hutchinsonian Addressers.—These the four Provinces of New-England alone would send forth—New-York would furnish six, seven or proba|bly eight, volunteers from a certain knot, who are in pos|session or expectation of contracts, and the fourth part of a dozen of high flying Church of England Romanised Priests—I represent to myself the formidable countenance they will make, when arranged under the Royal or mini|sterial Standard; but what will add to the terror of the appearance, will be their Reverend Pontifix himself, whom I conceive marching in the front, an inquisitorial frown up|on his brow, his bands and canonicals floating to the air, bearing a cross in his hands, with the tremendous motto, In hoc signo vinces, flaming upon it in capital letters of blood, leading them on, and exciting them to victory. It is impossible, that men, who are not under an infatuation by the judgment of heaven, should flatter themselves, that forty thousand American Yeomanry (for we are assured, by the same great authority, that more than forty thou|sand cannot be brought to action) should stand the shock of this dreadful Phalanx.

BUT I should beg pardon for attempting to be ludi|crous upon a subject which demands our utmost indigna|tion.—I shall now therefore on the presumption that the People of England should be so lost to sense, virtue and spirit, as to suffer their profligate Misrulers to persevere in their present measures, endeavour to state to you what is

their force, and what is yours.—I shall endeavour to re|move the false terrors which this writer would hold out, in order to intimidate you from the defence of your liber|ties and those of your posterity, that he and his similars may wallow in sinecures and benefices heaped up from the fruits of your labour and industry.

GREAT-BRITAIN has, I believe, of infantry at home (comprehending Ireland, and exclusive of the guards) fif|teen thousand men.—They find the greatest difficulty in keeping the regiments up to any thing near their establish|ment—what they are able to procure are of the worst sort. They are composed of the most debauched Weavers' pren|tices, the scum of the Irish Roman Catholics, who desert upon every occasion, and a few, very few, Scotch, who are not strong enough to carry packs.—This is no exagera|tion; those who have been lately at Boston, represent the soldiers there (one or two regiments excepted) as very de|fective in size, and apparently in strength: But we shall be told they are still regulars, and regulars have an irresist|able advantage.—There is, perhaps, more imposition in the term regular troops, than in any of the jargon which is|sues from the mouth of a Quack Doctor. I do not mean to insinuate, that a disorderly mob are equal to a trained disciplined body of men; but I mean, that all the essen|tials necessary to form infantry for real service may be ac|quired in a few months.* 1.2 I mean that it is very possible for men to be clothed in red, to be expert in all the tricks of the parade, to call themselves regular troops, and yet, by attaching themselves principally or solely to the tinsel

and shew of war, be totally unfit for real service.—This, I am told, is a good deal the case of the present British In|fantry: If they can acquit themselves tolerably in the pu|erile reviews exhibited for the amusement of royal Ma|sters and Misses in Hyde Park or Wimbledon Common, it is sufficient.

IN the beginning of the late war, some of the most esteemed regular regiments were sent over to this country; they were well dressed; they were well powdered; they were perfect masters of their manual exercise; they fired together in platoons; but fatal experience taught us, that they knew not how to fight.—While your Militia were frequently crowned with success, these regulars were de|feated or baffled for three years successively in every part of the continent—at length, indeed (after repeated losses and disgraces) they became excellent troops, but not until they had absolutely forgotten every thing which, we are assured, must render regulars quite irresistable. The corps sent from this country under General Monkton was, I believe, for its number, one of the best armies that ever was led to conquest, and yet, if I have been rightly inform|ed, there was not a single regiment of them that could go through the manual exercise, or at best, they performed it most wretchedly.—It is likewise said, that when, after their glorious and rapid conquest of Martinico, they were join|ed by the spruce regiments from Europe; such was their uncouth appearance, that they were scarce honored with the title of Soldiers by those Gentlemen. Upon the whole, it is most certain, that men may be smartly dressed, keep their arms bright, be called regulars, be expert in all the anticks of a review, and yet be very unfit for real action.—It is equally certain, that a Militia, by confining them|selves to essentials, by a simplification of the necessary ma|noeuvres, may become, in a very few months, a most for|midable infantry.—The Yeomanry of America have, be|sides, infinite advantages over the peasantry of other coun|tries; they are accustomed from their infancy to fire arms; they are expert in the use of them:—Whereas the lower and middle people of England are, by the tyranny of cer|tain

laws almost as ignorant in the use of a musket, as they are of the ancient Catepulta. The Americans are likewise, to a man, skilful in the management of the in|struments necessary for all military works; such as spades, pickaxes, hatchets, &c.—Taking, therefore, all circum|stances into consideration, there will be no rashness in af|firming, that this continent may have formed for action, in three or four months, an hundred thousand infantry: For as to the assertion of one friendly adviser, that no more than forty thousand could act to advantage, I confess I do not understand it, nor does he, I believe, understand him|self.—If he means that sixty thousand men cannot be rang|ed in a field capable of containing only forty thousand, we shall all agree with him; but how in the operations of a war upon a vast continent double this number should be a disadvantage, I can have no conception.

LET one simple general plan be adopted for the forma|tion and subdivision of your battalions; let them be in|structed only in so much of the manual exercise as to pre|vent confusion, and accidents in loading and firing; let them be taught to form, to retreat, to advance, to change their front, to rally by their colours; let them be taught to reduce themselves from a line of fire to a line of impres|sion, that is, from two deep to four, six, or eight.—This is all so easy and simple, that it may be acquired in three months. Let some plan of this sort be adopted, I say, and there is no doubt but that, in the time I have prescrib|ed, you may have an army on foot of seventy, eighty, or an hundred thousand men, equal to all the services of war.

SHOULD this be admitted, it will be still objected, that you have no able officers to conduct you. I do not know that you have; but it is certain that those sent to dragoon you have better? I have taken some pains to inform myself what me|thods these gentlemen, said to be bred to arms, take to qua|lify themselves in a superior degree for the profession.—What is their rotine of instruction? Do they read much? I am assured that they do not: From books alone the the|ory of war can be acquired: and the English service, in

times of peace, affords them no practical lessons; for mounting guard once or twice a week, or the preparation for the review of a single regiment can never be esteemed as such.* 1.3

ANOTHER circumstance, Americans, may be added for your comfort. It has been allowed by some of the most candid of the regulars themselves, that during the last war upon this continent, your countrymen, the provincial field-officers, were in general more understanding and capable than their own of the same rank. But the history of the civil war, in the year 1641, furnishes us with the strongest instances that excellent officers may be soon formed from Country Gentlemen, Citizens, Lawyers, and Farmers—The Parliament's army (or as our priestly writer would all them, the rebellious Republicans) were chiefly com|posed of this class of men. In the beginning of this war, they were treated with the same affected contempt, and almost in the same opprobrious terms as you, the people of America, are by your friendly and decent adviser.

WHOEVER would infer from the tenure of these papers, that the writer is desirous of precipitating, or could look

with indifference upon the calamities of a civil war, does him great injustice. He considers them with all the hor|ror natural to a feeling man and honest citizen. He ex|ecrates the memory of those men to whom they may just|ly be attributed, but he is persuaded that they never ori|ginated (at least in states of any considerable extent) in the turbulent disposition of the people, nor in the arts of demagogues, but in the oppression of their rulers, in the wantonness, folly, pride, or avarice of Kings, Ministers, or Governors. The Gri••••ers of Switzerland, the Granvels of Holland, the Lauds and Straffords of England, were the undoubted authors of the tragedies acted in their respec-countries: And if this continent should be stained with the blood of a single citizen, it can never be charged to the unreasonable pretensions of the people, but to the Ber|nards, Hutchinsons, and some other traitors of a similar stamp.

HE is convinced, that being prepared for a civil war is the surest means of preventing it; that to keep the swords of your enemies in their scabbards, you must whet your own.—He is convinced that remonstrances, petitions, prayers, and supplications will make no im|pression on our callous Court, and abandoned Parlia|ment; England, Ireland, America, even Guernsey, Jersey, and Minorca, are witnesses of their inefficacy.—He is convinced, that sear alone can operate; there are symptoms that it already begins to operate;—the monster, Tyranny, already begins to pant, press her now with ardor, and she is down; already the Mini|stry have expressed in their letters an inclination to make some concessions; to meet you half-way: Which I suppose may be construed thus, that as they find they have it not in their power to establish, by force, the despotism which they aimed at, they shall be very well satisfied 〈◊〉〈◊〉 you will just cede so much of your rights and privileges as will enable them, by extending their pe|cuniary

influence, and sapping your virtue, to take a|way the rest at their leisure.

THERE now remains, people of America, one con|sideration, which (however it may be taken) I think it my duty to offer. History tells us that the free states of Greece, Thebes, Sparta, Athens, and Syracuse, were all in their turns subjugated by the force or art of ty|rants. They almost all, in their turns, recovered their liberty and destroyed their tyrants. The first act up|on the recovery of their liberty was to demolish those badges of slavery, citadels, strong holds and military tenements; the Switzers did the same; the people of England (lost in corruption and lethargy as they are) could never be prevailed upon to suffer barracks a|mongst them; even the courtly Blackstone is startled at the idea. No separate camps, no barracks, no in|land fortresses, says he, should be allowed; in fact, wherever barracks are, freedom cannot be said to ex|ist, or she exists so lamely as scarcely to deserve the name.

IT is worth your consideration, Americans, whether these badges should remain or on. I shall now con|clude, brave citizens, with invoking the Almighty God, from whom all virtues flow, to continue you in that spirit of unanimity and vigour which must insure your success, and immortalize you through all ages, as the champions and patrons of the human race.

Notes

• * 1.1

  This is perhaps the most preposterous idea that ever was hatched in a distempered brain. America (more particularly since the distrac|tions in Poland have taken place) has been the great granary or cell•• penaria of Europe.—Is it possible to conceive that the different mari|time powers should unite to deprive themselves of the chief means of subsist••nce, merely for the ••un's sake? Is it not more natural to sup|pose that they would out bid each other for your friendship and com|merce on which so much depends? When the Low Countries withdrew themselves from the dominion of Spain, did England, France, and the other Powers immediately set about ravaging their sea ports and seizing their ships? Did they not, on the contrary, exert themselves directly and indirectly to assist them? The ease is similar, the event would be similar; and that Great-Britain would not be powerful enough at sea, when separated from her Colonies; to prevent this assistance, I shall refer my readers to Massie's Estimates, the authority of which has never been disputed, and which demonstrate, that more than half the naval power of Great-Britain stands on her American foundation.
• * 1.2

  There cannot be a stronger illustration of the truth here advanced, than the Prussian army.—They are composed of about one third of the King's own subjects, two-thirds foreigners.—The third, consisting of his own subject, are, when the exercising season is over, (which lasts six or seven weeks) suffered to return to their families, and attend to the business of husbandry—half of the other two-thirds, consisting of foreigners, are not only permitted, but encouraged to work at their trades in the garrison towns, and never touch a musket for the rest of the year, so that, in fact, only one third are, in the modern language, to be called regular Soldiers;—these generally make their escape the first opportunity: It may be said, therefore, that the King of Prussia has gained all his victories with a sort of Militia.
• * 1.3

  It is much to be lamented, that the Gentlemen of the Army do not apply more of the many leisure yours they have upon their hands 〈◊〉〈◊〉 reading.—The majority of them are of a generous disposition, which, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 they cultivate, by conversing with the great historians and orators 〈◊〉〈◊〉 antiquity, and the more liberal political writers of our own coun|try, a standing army would be something less an object of jealousy to ••ll virtuous citizens—We might perhaps see them instead of being ad|vocates and partizans of the present Ministry, a check upon their wick|edness.—I am inclined to think that few or none of the officers have condescend to inform themselves of the merit of the present contest.—Let me conjure them for once to read coolly and candidly the whole process, afterwards to lay their hands upon their hearts, and answer, whether the People of America in general, and of Boston in particular, ••••re "more sinned against or sinning?"

  Now I am upon the subject of the Officers of the Army, I take the opportunity of mentioning, with the respect due to him, one Gentle|man of high rank amongst them—the tenure of his conduct while in command, was so liberal, and his letters, quoted in the House of Com|mons, were so fair, candid and friendly to this Continent, that he is entitled to the thanks of America.—He is indeed of a country that owes not only its prosperity but its existance to the same principles which actuate America.