Gazette of the United States.
December J.
AUTHENTIC.
Mi. Randolph prefcuts his compli
ments to Mr. Hammond, and Bvlorins
him, lljat he conliders it as the w.lli ot
Governor Simcoe, that his letter to
Mi. Hammond ihould be pub.ilbtd, li
thisA)e a correct idea, it !hail be iranf
cribed for the piefs, tojje;her with Mr.
Hammond's.
Kortmbcr 29, 1794'.
Mr. Hammond presents bis compli
ments to Mr. ttaiujolph, and iia» the
honor of jnformiiij> iiim, that a* his let
ter'of the lit of September wag print
ed by his direfHoii, M.'. H .mruoud
j ciumei ti-at Lieu:e.'3..t Governor
oirncoe would be iohcitoUs thai rils ol>-
lctv.itloiis upon it "lliiiuld'outairf a iinu
lai decree of publicity.
ift Diccmbcr, 1794.
Philadelphia, 2jth Nov. 1794.
SIR,.
In e»;iform!tv to the assurance con
tained in my letter to you of tne " r
September. 1 took, an early cppoituni
ty o%tranf«nitting yours of lite firft of
that month to Lieutenant Governor
Simcoe; from whom I baveieceivcd a
letter, a copy of which 1 eileem it hot
altogether ufekfsand Lmpropei to com
municate to you; as it .ends to throw
confideiab'e lijrht upon traufa&oni in
Canada, to which you have at different
jjeriods adverted, Ait evinces the anxi
ety of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe,
to remove by the exposition of the mo
tives of his conduit, the misapprehen
sions to which you, Sir, and theciti
xens of the United States in general
may have been exposed by the mifre
piefentatioHs of intereued individuals.
I have the honoi to be, with great re fpett
Sir,
Yonr moll obedient
Humble fervatft,
GEO: HAMMOND.
The -' •■-«<ai.y of Stetfc.
.
Up>et Canada.
Navy Hall, Oil. iotii, 1794.
SIR,
1 whs, latV night, honored with your
Estctllency*s dispatch, enctofing the
topy of a letter to you from Mr. Ran
dolph Secretary of State, dated oil the
fuft of September, and your answer,
which iiitipiate* the intention of tranf-
it to me by the firft opportu-
nity.
it appears upon the perusal of Mr.
Randolph's lettei, that l am called up
on by the refpeef due to his official 0-
tuatioo, publicly, to (late the misrepre
sentations of that gentleman ; and on
this conlideration, not to pass them
over in that iilence, which would other
wise best become the language and man
ner which the Secretary of State per
mits h'mfelf to make use of, ia his
animadversions 011 my conduit.
My having executed the orders of his
Majesty's Commander in Chief in North
America, Lord Dofchefler, in re-ocru
pying a Pott upon the Miamis River,
within the limits of those maintained
by the British forces, at the peace, in
the year 17 V3, upoD the principles of
felf-dcfence the approaches of
an army, which menaced the King's
pofTcffions, is what I presume Mr. Se
cretary Randolph terras * Governor
Simcoe's Invafmn."
The motives which led to this re
occupa'.iiui furnifh the trirr grounds for
discussion, but the eftablifhmcnt ot a
military post, from its own nature, must
have been so unquestionable, as not to
have requited from you, Sir, on the
part of Mr. Randolph an avowal or a
denial ; nor dots it appear to me, that
he has introduced so public an event, as
a matter of doubt in itfelf, but solely
as a ground work for ushering into the
worljl " opinions" tranfmilled to the
executive government of the Uqited
States, which however refpediable are
but, " opinions" that " British officers
" and Briiifti Soldiers aided an attack
" made by the Indians at Fort Reco
u very." Such an itiGnuatlon Sir,
introduced as subsidiary tvidei ce of a
feft, which required no proof, will un
doubtedly, on the undifcerning impress
a belief, that the British troops .in
stead of adhering to that pi inciple of
felf-defence, on which a post at the
Miotics was re-eftiblUhed, y-rre united
iu arm* with the Indians in an attack
■pun a post held by the United Slates.
A*'it to promote fnch a belief, Mr.
Randolph proceeds t" comment on the
protest delivered to Mr. Williamfon at
the harbor of the Great Sodus; he
terms this protest, which I tranlmitted
in obedience to Lord Dorchester's or
ders " a mandate borne by Lieutenant
" SheafFe, under a miiitary escort, and
'• in its tone, corresponding wish the
" form of it# delivery, being unequi
" vocally of a military and hostile ni-
" ture.
Mr. Randolph seems peculiarly anx
ious to consider every tranfa£tion of the
Ring's government, in its mode, as
well as in it's fubitancc, as tioiiilitj,
otherwise he could not but have iceu in
the protest delivered by Lieutenant
SheafFe to Mr. Williamfon, not a tone
o ( hostility, butafpirit of conciliation,
explanatory of the just principle, on
which the settlement in question is term
ed an aggrtflioii; the inexecution of
the Tieriy on the pa;t of the United
States—Nor is it possible to conceive
that left oifenlive language could be
made use ot, confident with the fori". a
lity necefiary to substantiate a protest
requiring the suspension of the exercise
j of a controvcrtedclaim.
- >»>.
Had Mr. Secretary Randolph made
due enquiry he would have found that
the military efco t conliftedof an ./fa
cer, expressly sent to accompany Lieu
tenant Shtaffe, and kven persons to
row the boat, (cldiera most certainly,
but unarmed, without military liabiii'
mcnts, and in the dress they wear for
the pu/pofes of fatigue, ltalfo might
be prcfumed from Lieutenant Sheaffc's
letter that he was purfonally acquainted
with Captain Williamfon, and in truth
this circumstance wai of some weight
in the appointment.
The genera language and condudl
of Mr. Willian'fnn, particularly in the
proposals ofhisfpeculationat the Sodus
bave, of late, raanikfted a oifpofition
so incompatible with thofc views of
conciliation, which are the true inter
ests of Great Britain and the United
States, that it became proper to feleft
such a person as Mr. Sheaffe for this
duty ; being a gentleman of great dis
cretion, incapable of any intemperate
or uncivil conduit, and certainly not
difqualified by being a Lieutenant in
his Majrfty's service.
Such, Sir, are the circumstances of
this tranfa£lion which Mr. Randolph is
pica fed to term my " holtile views."
The following paragraphs do not
seem to require illuftra'.ion—lt can es
cape no peiion that what in the begin
ning of Mr. Randolph's letter to you
he had ilated as refpeftable " opinions"
tranfinitted to the executive govern
ment is iiu longer confined to " opini
oss" but the Secretary of State aflerts
as matter of fact " that the Governor
of Upper Canada associated Britilh with
Indian force to aft'ault our Fort."
In refpest to Mr. Randolph's asser
tion and his appeal to you, Si>, that
" it is grown into a maxim that the
" affairs of the Indians within theboun
" dariea of any nation exchifively be
" long to that nation" I cannot admit
so general and so novel a principle, as
applicableeither to the territory or boun
dary under conflderation—l do not re
cognize its biith, nor any state of its
exigence. It will be difficult for the
Secretary of State to prove, that it has
governed the condudt of the United
Statfcs; it is not to be found in the
express provisions of the Treaty of
Utrecht; it was never assumed by the
British nation prior to that compact;
it is incompatible with the natural right#;
and injurious to the acknowledged in
dependency of the Indian Americans.
The British government has not in
volved itfelf in disputes with the Indians
by a£ting in so vague and indeterminate
a manner. It has ever done justice to
their natuial rights ; nor has it violated
the stipulations purposely made for their
support and definition ; in confrquence
of such an unifoim conduct, Sir, the
Indians are constantly solicitous for the
presence of feme of the King's Officers,
or fuhjefts at their public meetings and
I have the mod full persuasion, that had
the United States concurred with the
confederacy in their requefl, that the
King would extend his good offices to
the mediating between them in the pre
sent war. and that in consequence 1 is
Majesty had graciously permitted me,
as requested, or with more obvious pro
priety yourfelf, to have been prcfent at
the late Treaty, in fiich a cafe, I am
confident that peace would have been
established on this Continent, to the fa
tisfa&ion of the United States, and the
comfort of the Indian Nations; and
scarcely in a lelTer degree to the benefit
of his Majesty's subjects in this Pro
vince, who are materially interested that
their neighbours should on all fides flou
rifh in wealth peace and prosperity.
As the close of the Secretary of
State's letter seems intended through
you, Sir, « to apprize me of the con
" sequences of fclf-dcf«nce ftiould I not
"be reftrainecby rcmonftrancesj" the
date of it cannrt possibly escape my no
tice ; it bears hat of the farft day ot
September ancon the 22d of Auguit,
General Wayn< advanced to the Pott at
the Miamis, lad watte the pofleffions ot
the King** futjefts uiiderit's protection
and fummonei it to surrender. It
may here be proper to observe that lo
ill informed was that Officer of the very
principles on which he made his mvafi
onor « felf-dtfence," that in his sum
mons he requires " the garrison to re
move to tht iieareft Pott occupied by
" his Britanivc Majesty in x '
this requifitio* been complied with, the
Garrison mcft have advanced up the
Miamis River into the Indian Countrj
beyond the post, whose evacuation had
been demanded as a recent aggression.
The discretion, good conduct and
magnanimity of Major Campbell, the
Commander of that Garrison prevented
the commencement of War and all its
dreadful consequences.
Upon the comparison of circumftan
crs, the march of General Wayne, the
dite of Mr. Randolph's letter, its im
mediate publication, and the manner of
it, I cannot but conjecture that it wa3
wiitten not to re mo 11 Urate again ft " my
exceiTes" but to prepare the minds ot
men for whatever consequences might
have arisen from the movement ot Ge
neral Wayne's army; and could the
terrpeiate forbearance ot Major Camp
bell and the event of the enterprize have
been forefeen (if 1 may be permitted to
revert to theobjeft of this letter) I can
not believe that I (hould have been
spared the necefiity of taking notice of
Mr. Secretary Randolph's publication,
or of controverting the aflumptions of
a gentleman for whom 1 have always
entertained the mod profound refpeft.
To all Sir who know my private sen
timents, to yourfelf, fir, who are ac
quainted with my public conduct, to
his Majetty's Ministers, and the officer
chief in command, who have approved
of my drift adlierence to their orders
and the eonfequent impartiality which
I have maintained between the United
States and the Indian Americans, any
judication or expolition of my fenti
! meiits i* unnecessary ; even Mr. Sccre
! tary Randolph ha* officially in his pof
i session fufficient proofs of my good will
;to the government and people of the
j United States.—l hey ought to have
1 (heltered me f.>-m i.\e nnputatioos to
j which I Lavr uc. ■ '."d. I have
| ever fhesva the miaott inclination to
j cultivate the ltatt peifeft harmony be-
I tween i, -• M'' ity s fj.*j«*£t» and thoie
!of the U.- d States, and have looked
S forward to an honorable termination of
! eziding differences with the most anx
ious solicitude.
Signed I. G. SIMCOE.
His Excellency
George Hammond, &c. &c. See.
Philadelphia, Nov. 30. 1794.
SIR,
Under any afpedtof the affair* of the
United States in relation to Great Bri
tain, I (hould decline a difcufllon with
the Lieutenant Governor of Upper
Canada. The Minister of his Britannic
Majesty is the proper correspondent for
the Secretary of State, upon fobjefts
affedting their two nations; and his
communications will be always received
with the attention, due to his character,
and with a temper, flowing from a love
of truth and of harmony.
But before I could entei, Sir, even
with yauifelf, into any examination of
the letter, which the Lieutenant-Go
vernor thought proper to address to you
on the 20th ultimo, I (hould take the
liberty of asking, whether it has been
transmitted to me, at a paper, which I
am free to estimate according to its me
rits, by waving a reply, without viola
ting my refpedt for your functions ; or
whether it ii adopted, as the sense of
your government ? This preliminary en
quiry would be rendered absolutely ne
cefTary ; fmce on a former occasion you
disavowed a responsibility for the con
duit of the British government in Ca
nada; and in your letter of the 27th
instant, enclosing that of the Lieute
nant-Governor, you leave it too uncer
tain, how fat you approve its doctrines,
its aflertions, and its statements.
If it is to be undertlood, that to all
these your afleut is given, and were it
expedient no<w to revive our former con
troversy ; I (hould request you to define
precifelv, what is meant by the apology
for the Fort at the Rapids of the Mia
mi, as being the " re-occupying of a post
" upon the Miamii riv<r within the li
-41 mits of thofc, maintained by the Bri
" tifh forces, at the peace, in the year
" *783 I fhouldurge an explicit de
claration, whether British officers and
British soldiers did or did not aid the
attack, made by the Indians on Fort-
Recovery ; and should at :he fame time
detail the evidence, upon which we have
bcetj induced to believe it. I Ihouid
beg to be iaformed, how the nature and
spirit of the mandate, borne b- two
British officers, and feveo Brttifh tol
diers were in fad, or oa piiaciple trans
formed into the garb of peace, by the
abfeuce of arms, and " military habili
ments,"—the drefi of fatigue, or the
friendfliip of Lieutenant Sheaffe for
Mr. Williamfon. 1 ihould wilh to
know, whether Governor Simcoe de
rives from his infttu£Hous, or any «thcr
warrant of his Britannic Majeti}, an
authority to deny that it is waumiilible
for one nation tO\intermeddle with the
Indians within the territories of ano
ther. I (hould oppole the concl.ilion,
that what may not be found in the trea
tv „f Utrecht dors not exitt, under the
(an&ion of the law of nations, and espe
cially in regard to the usages ot A meri
ca. But, for reasons, which may be ea
sily conceived, I would not, without
the most clear neceflily, recur to the
circumilances, which prevented a treaty
with the northern tribes of luJiSfls, in
the last year. Nor (hould I wade a
moment iu refuting the suspicion, that
my letter of the firlt of nber, was
" written to prepare the m; ids or men
" for whatever consequences might have
" ariien from the movement of General
" Wayne's army becaule on the 20th
*>f May I complained * of the ere&iou
of the Foit, and you were then inform
ed, that the army of the United States
in their march ag<tinft the enemy, would
not be able to distinguish between them
and any other people associated in the
war.
These, however, and many other
striking featuiesin the letter and con
duct of Governor Simcoe will, I hope,
at no distant day be consigned to obli
vion by the reparation of our injuries,
and the restitution of our rights. Until,
therefore, I (hall be difappoiuted in this
hope, I (hall not willingly open a new
source of altercation. " .
I have the honor, Sir, to be
With great reipeft,
Youi mod obedient Servant,
EDM: RANDOLPH.
TheMinifter Plenipoten-
tiary of his Britanuic Majetty.
* The letter containing the complaint
<wat addrejfed to Mr. Hammond, ivho
on the 2id of May fays in hit reply, that
heJhould immediately transmit a copy of
that letter to the Governor of Upper Ca
nada ; and there can le no doult of this
having been done.
Philadelphia, ift December, 1794,
4 o'clock, P. M.
SIR,
In answer to your letter of yesterday,
which I have this moment received, it is J
expedient for me merely to remark—in
addition to the motives that i have al
ready afiigned, as inducing me to trans
mit to you a copy of the letter, ad
dressed to me by the Lieutenant-Go- 1
vernot of Upper Canada—that, as in
your letter of the Ift of September you !
coniideied me to be the pri- tr medium
of conveying to that officer the remon.
It ranees of this government against his
conduit, I am not fenlibie that I have
been guilty of any impropriety, in com
muoicatiag to yo- , in Lieutenant-Go
vernor Simcoe's own language, his ex
position of the principles by which he
was actuated in the ;wo transitions, on
which you had especially animadverted.
Being equally unwilling with your
felf, Sir, " rv.iv to revive our former
controversy," or "to open new sour
ces of altei cation," and persevering in
my refulutien (from which I trull I
have not deviated in this inllance) not
to esteem myfelf lefponlible for the con"
dust of his Majesty's officers, in Canada,
or in any other of the King's pofleffi
ons, it is totally unneceflary for me to
expreis my perfenal approbation of, or
disTent from, "the dodtridei, assertions,
and ftatemeots" contained in Lieute
nant-Governor Simcoe's letter.
I have the honor to be,
With great refpetk,
SIR,
Your mod obedient
Humble Servant,
GEO. HAMMOND.
The Secretary of State.
Foreign Intelligence.
NATIOXAL CONVENTION
Friday, Septerahet l 19.
Delmas, in the name of the com
mittee of public fafety " The tele
graphe informed you two days ago, that
the army us the north had obtained a
considerable advantage on the 28th
Frufl idov,( Sept tmbcr 14). The com
mittee of public iafety has received a
dispatch relative to that glorioutdsy. **
Bellegardtr and representa
tives of the people with the armies
the north, the Sambre, and the
fcfcty '' t0 the C ° mmitte of Public
Head-quarters, at Boxtcl, Sept. 6.
" Cilixen Colltaguts,
I " Wchaften to announce to you tb e
signal advantage which the army 0 f Z
north has juit obtained over the all
commanded by the duke of York a™
cot ding to your oiders to attack ih"
enemy, the army marched in the dired
ion of Gorcum, where we mutt n, t T
aniy fall iu with them. The two „
mies were soon within light of one ar
tber and yesterday the l a «
was made with as much bokluefsas o.
concert, Pichegru had rcfolvtd to n .
camp on this fide of the river Dom
mel, where the enemy had their at! van.
ccd pods, and to pufhhia ownadv, '
polls beyond the river— an op .
which mult give him s most advaut; , c
ous politic a and in which he perfidy
fueceeded. The passage of the riv«
was defended by the village of Boxt-1
by entrenchments filled with cu'inti!
and 500: oavalry and infantry. \ O .
thing could Hop the republican bra» erT
The attack was brisk ; but, after to.
ing for an hour and a half, the eiie*.-!,
Act!. In their route we took 100 prisoners
and 8 pieces of cannon, with their turn
brils. This morning a reconnoitring
party of 800 men fell in with a corpi 0 ?
5000 Englifli, on their march to retak-
Baxtel ; but, ejated with their good for
tnne, and minding little tie number of tie
enemy, our troops charged them win
fuel] impctuofity that terror and confiilion
soon pervaded their ranks, and ir.de
them abandon their objedl. Alt: rfo much
valor -we lhall not speak of the painful
marches of our troops, in a c. ur.trr eg.
vered with heaths and brulh-wood. Tie
French are capable of every ihing.—
we ought not, however, to pJ's over the
diftinguilbed conduit of the Bth regiment
of huflars : thirty of chem cleared a ditch
which divided them from the two battali
ons of Heifians, and the HrUians U-d
down their arms. Next day a detachment
of the fame regiment gave a new proof of
their courage: not being able to coi.ipel
the prisoners, to point a piece of cannon
they had taken, agalnft the flying enemy,
they dismounted and iervtd it thcmfelvti.
The cannon and aoo prisoners were the ac
cidental conqucft of a reconnoitring part*
in the morning. A remarkable inftan tof
valor, among so many more, wasdiipky>
ed bv the citizen Judge, second ljtutenact
of th« Bth regiment of huflars, he had Ki
wrilt oroken ; we propose that he lhall be
promoted. This advantage, we hope it
only the forerunner of events greater and
more decisive. Health and fraternity.
BELGARDE, LACOMBE, ofTara.
LONDON, O&obv 1.
Extrafl of a letter fromTcbay, 03. i.
K Yefierday Admiral Macbrule with
his squadron, arrived here from a cruise;
he looked into Cherbourg, where he law 5
frigates, a sloop of war, an armed brig,
and two luggers ; ai'.o a large camp ontlit
adjoining hill of about 10,000 men.
" After leaving Cherbourg, they few
our grand fleet a few leagues to southward
of the Start."
Clerkenwell, Tuesday os.
Of the Commi:2oners, the Lord Chief
B<uo.i attended by the Recorder, ' C 1
went to Clerkenwell, and received a true
bill found by the grand jury againlt Join
Martin, attorney.
Mr. Thomas Hclcroft, of Newman fircel
author of the Road to Rum, &e. again®
whom a bill of indidlment had been ioc:nd
on the day proceeding, but v, ho had not
yet been in cufiody, appeared in the court,
and addrefled the Lord Chief Baron in a
speech of feme length. The fubfiance of
it was, that in consequence of hearing he
flood indiftcd of the crime ofhigh trel ofi,
bethought it- his -duty to furrendtrta
the laws. Convinced he laid, of bis in
nocence, he did not wilh to.fcrcen hi. con
duit from investigation ; and h:s delirt
was, that the court would adopt the naci
fures neccfiary to bring him to a trial.
The Lord Chief Baron, with the hu
manity we often admired is a ftrcng Jna
amiable feature of his character in the 01-
sice of Attorney General, warned M .
Hollcroft of the confequenceswhich pr "
bablv would be the refuU of his cent *?
h mfe'f to be the Thomas Holcroft again*
whom a very refpeilable jury ol the coun
ty had found a bill for the hideous andce
teftable crime of high treifon. there
exified no legal proof before the court
his being the individual inclined, it was
{till m his own option to recall the con
teffion he had just made, for funUitudtot
name, the law would never infer idci.ti. • -
Mr. Kolcroft, perfilling in what he .aia
did"on the motion of the Solicitor genera
find the Road to Newgate. After he »»•
ordered into cuftodv, he requested twi
Mr. Erfkine and Mr. Gi'bbs fhcujd b<
signed to be h.s counsel, which his or
lhip freclv granted. .
Mr. Holcrp'ft requfted that his lcrvant,
who would be ufefor to him, he laia, , »
an amznueniis, might attend him J" *
finemer.r. This however, he waii mtorm
ed, it was not in the power o: the cour
'"fohn'Pierce, the Clerk of
is an attorney, aflted pes»i<Tion to »« .
his mailer ; this was obje&ed to, a»
was liable to have a charge exhibited nw
fC The court adjourn Ato
which day the recorder alio ,d,our..«J■ &
Old Baily Sessions. Bv that time ,« » «
peiled that the grand jury wul fce ,WC