any Parliament or by grants in their own affemblies, or in other manner whatsoever; but only that it is juft that they should contribute in a reasonable proportion, fuited to their several abilities, to the future expences of the British empire, that are of a general nature, and relate to all the dominions of the Crown, and of which they reap the benefit, as well as the inhabitants of Great-Britain. TWELFTHLY.-To offer an act of pardon, indemnity, and oblivion to all the Americans who have offended the laws, upon their laying-down their arms, and returning to the obedience of the Crown within a limited time: without making any exceptions whatfoever, not even of Mr. Samuel Adams and Mr. Hancock. By fuch a plan the principal caufes of uneafinefs and difcontent amongst the Americans would, as I conceive, be taken-away; and, confequently, if they are fincere in their declarations of a defire to continue connected with GreatBritain, (as it seems highly probable that all the Colonies, except thofe of New-England, are; and, perhaps, even in those colonies, there may be many perfons of the fame difpofition;) it feems reasonable to hope that it would be generally approved and accepted by them; and yet the fupreme authority of the Parliament of Great-Britain would not be given-up. F. M. ON THE INEXPEDIENCY OF ESTABLISHING BISHOPS To the Printer of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. SIR, March 24, 1778. 1 I SOME days ago obferved that it seemed to be neceffary, in the prefent happy difpofition of the miniftry to measures of Conciliation, to remove the apprehenfions of the Americans concerning the establishment of Bishops amongst them by the authority of the Crown, or of the Parliament. This measure I recommended, as being effential to the fuccefs of the intended treaty with America; there being no reafon to expect that the Americans will ever return to the allegiance of the Crown without a full fecurity in this important article. As a proof of their anxiety upon this fubject, I will now cite a paffage from one of their publick papers, written fo long ago as the year 1768, when few perfons, either there or in this country, could imagine that the diffenfions then fubfifting between the two countries would in fo fhort a time have rifen to their present dreadful height. And we may well fuppofe, that what they then were anxious to obtain, they will not now receed-from. In the publick letter of the House of Representatives of the province of Maffachusetts Bay, in the month of January, 1768, to Mr. Dennis De Berdt, who was at that time their agent in England, (which is, indeed, a most able performance, and well worthy every gentleman's perufal: fee Almon's Remembrancer, number 34, page 167, and feq.) there is the following paffage : "The establishment of a Proteftant Epifcopate in "America is also very zealously contended-for. And it is very alarming to a people, whofe fathers, from the "hardships hardships they fuffered under fuch an establishment, "were obliged to fly from their native country into a "wilderness, in order peaceably to enjoy their privileges, "civil and religious. Their being threatened with the ❝lofs of both at once must throw them into a very difa"greeable fituation. We hope in God fuch an establish❝ment will never take place in America; and we defire you will ftrenuously oppofe it. The revenue raised in "America, for aught we can tell, may be as conftituti❝onally applied towards the support of Prelacy as of foldi"ers and penfioners. If the property of the subject is "taken from him without his confent, it is immaterial "whether it be done by one man or five hundred, or "whether it be applied for the support of Ecclefiaftical or "Military power, or both. It may be well worth the "confideration of the best politician in Great-Britain or "America, what the natural tendency is of a vigorous "pursuit of these measures." This paffage, I prefume, is a fufficient proof of the dread and averfion the Americans entertain for the establishment of Episcopacy amongst them. Nor were they apprehenfive without reafon that fuch a measure was in agitation. For, in the first place, when the British parliament paffed the act for impofing a flamp-duty in America, in the year 1765, they enumerated, amongst the written inftruments that were made liable to pay that duty, the several inftruments of Ecclefiaftical law which are used in the courts of Ecclefiaftical, or Episcopal, jurifdiction here in England, as Citations, Monitories, fentences of Excommunication, and the like: and it is reported with confidence, that, when the late Mr. George Grenville, (who was, at that time, firft Lord of the Treafury, and Chancellor of the Exchequer) was told that the Enumeration of these instruments was unneceffary, as no fuch courts were known in America, he replied, that, though fuch courts were not as yet established in America, yet it was very poffible that they might be established there in fome future period, and that then it would be proper that those inftruments fhould pay the ftamp-duty; and accordingly the Enumeration of these Ecclefiaftical Inftruments was continued in the ftainp-act; and this is faid to have excited in the minds of the Americans a new apprehenfion of a defign of this kind in the government of Great-Britain. I fay, Mr. Printer, a new apprehenfion of this kind, becaufe they had more than once been alarmed with an apprehenfion of this danger before, from the great zeal fhown upon this fubject by fome of the most eminent English bishops in the late reign, amongst whom I believe I may reckon the two famous bifhops of London, Dr. Gibson and Dr. Sherlock, and moft certainly the late Dr. Secker, archbishop of Canterbury, who (though he had been bred amongst the Proteftant Diffenters, and in the former part of his life had embraced the profeffion of Phyfick in one or other of its branches,) was remarkable for an uncommon degree of zeal for Epifcopacy, and a moft ardent defire to extend its influence to America. But this alarm, which had been excited amongst the Americans by the Enumeration of the Inftruments used by Ecclefiaftical courts in the ftamp-act, was greatly increased by a pamphlet written in the province of either New-Jersey or New-York, in the year 1766, or 1767, in favour of the measure of establishing a Proteftant Bishop in America. This pamphlet was generally fuppofed to be written by Dr. Chandler, a clergyman of the church of England, who was minifter of a church-of-England congregation at Elizabeth-town, in New-Jersey, about fifteen miles from New-York. It is faid to have been ably and plaufibly written, and to have made a strong impreffion both on the members of the church of England in NorthAmerica, and particularly in thofe two provinces of New Jersey Jerfey and New-York, and on feveral men of power and influence in Great-Britain, fo as to excite in them a ftrong defire of caufing the measure of establishing a bishop in America to be adopted. At least this was fuppofed by the Americans to be the effect of it. For, foon after the publication of this pamphlet, the diffenters from the church of England in New-York, being much alarmed by an opinion of this kind, fet on foot a periodical paper to answer the doctrines and fuggeftions contained in it, which they called the American Whig, and in which all the acts of cruelty and oppreffion that had formerly been committed by bithops of all forts, protestants as well as papifts, and particularly thofe done by archbishop Laud, bishop Neal, and bifhop Wren, in King Charles the Firft's time, (which occafioned the great emigration of the Puritans to America, about the year 1630, by which the NewEngland colonies were firft effectually peopled,) were brought afresh to light, and painted in the strongest colours. This American Whig came-out either once a week or once a fortnight, (I forget which,) during all the year 1767, and revived all the ancient apprehenfions and animofities against bishops, which for a long time before had (with but a few interruptions) gradually fubfided. This paper (as we might naturally fuppofe it would do) produced a paper in answer to it, which alfo was published periodically, as well as the American Whig, and at the fame intervals of time one from the other, that is, once a week, or once a fortnight. It bore a tremendous title, and was written, as far as I remember, in a ftyle of great haughtiness and infolence. It was entitled, A Scourge for the American Whig; by Timothy Tickle, Esq. and to this Scourge a reply was written, in defence of the American Whig, and entitled, A Kick for the Whipper; by Sir Isaac Foot; which was likewise a periodical paper, that cameout once a week or once a fortnight. All these three papers |