shall, in consequence of their repulse and defeat on the 31st of December, have given up all thoughts of conquest on that side, which is most probably the case, there is good ground to hope that the Army will be able to advance into the other Colonies by the passage of the lakes, and accordingly, every proper preparation has been made here that can give facility to such a plan.

As far as I can judge of what is likely to be the general plan of operations in North-America, and, indeed, in all events, the securing the affection and assistance of our old friends and allies, the Indians of the Six Nations, is a consideration of no small importance; and I hope Colonel Guy Johnson, who is now here, and is preparing to return by the first ship, will be found useful. The King has been pleased to give him the same commission and appointments as were given to Sir William Johnson in 1756; and he is in all respects made subject to your direction and control. You will therefore employ him in such manner, and give him such instructions, as you shall think necessary and proper.

I have already acquainted you, in my letter of the 1st of February, of his Majesty’s intention to give higher rank to his General Officers serving in North-America, and enclosed I send you a list of the commissions which have been signed by his Majesty for that purpose, with the date of each commission respectively.

You will observe that the rank given by these commissions is confined to America only; but it is hoped that this arrangement will have the effect to prevent any embarrassment or inconvenience which might otherwise arise from the General Officers of the foreign troops claiming the command in consequence of their superior rank.

In your letters of the 16th and 22d of January, (Nos. 7 and 8,) you express a wish to receive instructions concerning the corps under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Maclean and Gorham. I have, therefore, made inquiry into that matter, and find that his Majesty’s pleasure was signified by my predecessor in office to the Commander-in-Chief, authorizing him to raise such corps, and to grant commissions for that purpose; but the officers were not to be entitled to half-pay, or to have any other rank than what was allotted to the like corps in the last war.

With regard to the bounty-money and pay of these Provincial levies, I apprehend that the Commander-in-Chief must supply the sums necessary for that purpose; but the proper steps have been taken for supplying them here with clothing, arms, and accoutrements, and also with tents and other camp necessaries. These are the regulations which were thought fit with respect to those corps, and they will equally apply to the Nova-Scotia Regiment, or any other Provincial corps which may be raised in America for his Majesty’s service in the present rebellion.

I must not conclude this letter without congratulating you upon the appointment of Lord Howe to be the Naval Commander-in-Chief in North-America. The choice his Majesty has been pleased to make of so able and experienced an officer, has given universal satisfaction, and will, I am persuaded, have the most happy consequences.

I am, &c.

GEORGE GERMAINE.

To General Howe.

P. S. You will observe that, in speaking of the force to be employed in Canada, I have mentioned only nine British Battalions, in which I have not included Lord Cornwallis’s Regiment, which I acquainted you in my letter of the 1st of February was to be sent to Quebeck as soon as it returned from the expedition to the Southward.

TO THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND.

London, March 28, 1776.

The doctrine of recurring to the first principles on calamitous occasions not possible to be provided against by the positive laws of the State, was, till the Revolution, the theme of logical disputes, and the portion of abstract opinion. But at that glorious era in the history of the world, as well as of this country, it remained no longer a problem of the schools; it became law; and when the Crown pressed King William’s brows, Monarchy and the rights of mankind were, for the first time in human annals, made consonant and compatible—prerogative and private rights, obedience and resistance, so wisely blended together, that no man who has ever since that day dared to violate its purity, but must answer for a crime against nature at the bar of God.

This palladium, purified from the rubbish, washed from the blood of five hundred years, placed by a kind of miracle in your hands, and your right to preserve it made the tenure of the Royal authority itself, you suffered, in thirty years afterwards, without murmuring, to be removed from amongst you, though the pretext for doing it only added insult to injury; and, couched as it was under Parliamentary language, was a gross and impudent affront to the nation.

As I address myself to the whole body of the people, rich and poor, many of whose situations set them aloof from a knowledge of our history and Constitution, I assert, that that Parliament, which continued itself from three years to seven, was guilty of a notorious breach of publick trust; and that the King, when he confirmed the act, broke his coronation oath of Government according to law. From that period we are to date that omnipotence of Parliament, which is now shaking the empire to the centre, in less than ninety years from the birth of the Constitution. By suffering that stroke of Parliamentary magick to pass unpunished, the allegiance of the Commons was annihilated and dis solved; since at any time, by submission to the two other estates, they might, from peaceable and undisputed precedent, renew their lease, and usurp your elective rights.

This opus magnum, this grand elixir of life, being thus discovered, the terrours of retribution are taken away. As long, indeed, as your corruption makes a vacancy, like the surrender of a copyhold estate, to be granted back on a fine, or, rather, as a reserved rent on a freehold, they will submit to betray you under the humble title of servants; but should you ever recover your senses, they would immediately have recourse to the old experiment to evade your resentment. Even now were you to call aloud to Parliament to restore the honour, the peace, and commerce of the nation, and declare you would no longer support the expenses of a ruinous and iniquitous war, you would soon be told that the Constitution knows no other power than the King, Lords, and Commons; that the power of the last, when delegated, cannot be dictated to, or recalled; a proclamation of rebellion would be issued; the Militia would be embodied into a standing Army; and you would be taxed to the teeth to defray the charges of your own subjection.

Make the case of America your own, then, before it is too late. The same scenes are preparing for Ireland, and you must drink the dregs of both the cups. If you suffer an infringement of the rights of the remotest verge of the empire, it will soon run, like electricity, to the centre. Strip off the bark from the hardy oak, and the heart will soon follow in decay. Rouse yourselves from the sleep in which the opiate of influence has hushed the British dragon till his head be cut off. Try the experiment of sending your instructions to the Commons, to put an end to the war; and if my prophecy be fulfilled in their reception, you already know the legal powers of redress with which you are invested by the Constitution.

AMERICUS.

ROBERT TREAT PAINE TO NEW-YORK COMMITTEE OF SAFETY.

Philadelphia, March 28, 1776.

GENTLEMEN: The Congress, taking into consideration the urgent importance to the safety, freedom, and wealth of the United Colonies, that the manufacture of saltpetre and gunpowder should be established in all of them, in addition to their former resolves on that subject, have passed those herewith enclosed, and appointed the Committee therein mentioned. In pursuance of this trust, the Committee transmit you the resolves; and, being deeply impressed with their importance to our common cause, think themselves in duty bound to urge upon you the immediate and vigorous execution of them.

The erection of publick works (as mentioned in the resolves) will be the first step to promote this useful business. If prosecuted with skill and diligence, it will ensure the making saltpetre in large quantities, and will also afford the best method for suitable persons to learn the process; and from thence be sent abroad to teach those who have not an