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cessity, not only of cultivating their friendship, and forming alliances with them, but of admitting them as parties in their contests and wars with each other; the affairs of both nations were so inextricably entangled with those of the people who had sold or given them lands, and admitted them to a share of their country, that they could not be separated; their contracts on both sides created a mutual interest; and while the savages retained any degree of their original power, they could not be indifferent to the disputes that arose among their new neighbours.

But the case was now totally altered. The English colonists were the only Europeans in North America; and the savages were so entirely reduced in number and power, that there was no occasion for holding any political connection with them as nations. They were now only formidable from their cruelty; and to employ them was merely to be cruel ourselves in their persons: and thus, without even the lure of any essential service, to become chargeable with all the odious and impotent barbarities, which they would inevitably commit, whenever they were called into action.

Mr. Burke then proceeded to examine the arguments or apologies that had been used by ministers, in defence or alleviation of the measure. These he arranged under three heads, the first and principal of which was contained in the assertion, "That if his majesty had not employed them, the rebels would." To this he answered, that no proof whatever had been given of the Americans having attempted an offensive alliance with any one tribe of savage Indians. Whereas the imperfect papers already before the House demonstrated, that the king's ministers had negociated and obtained such alliances from one end of the continent of America to the other. That the Americans had actually made a treaty on the footing of neutrality with the famous Five Nations, which the ministers had bribed them to violate, and to act offensively against the colonies. That no attempt had been made in a single instance on the part of the king's ministers to procure a neutrality; and, that

if the fact had been (what he denied it to be) that the Ame ricans had actually employed those savages, yet the difference of employing them against armed and trained soldiers, embodied and encamped, and employing them against the unarmed and defenceless men, women, and children, of a country, widely dispersed in their habitations, was manifest; and left those who attempted so inhuman and unequal a retaliation without a possibility of excuse.

The other heads of defence were, "That great care had been taken to prevent that indiscriminate murder of men, women, and children, which was customary with the savages;" and "that they were always accompanied by disciplined troops to prevent their irregularities." On these he observed, that if the fact had been true, the service of the savages would have been a jest; their employment could have answered no purpose; their only effective use consisted in that cruelty which was to be restrained; but he shewed, that it was so utterly impossible for any care or humanity to prevent or even restrain their enormities, that the very attempt was ridiculous: in proof of which, both the present and former wars afforded numerous instances; and it particularly appeared, both in General Burgoyne's and Colonel St. Leger's expeditions, that, although no pains were neglected to check their barbarity, they indiscriminately murdered men, women, and children, friends and foes, without distinction; and that even the slaughter fell mostly upon those who were best affected to the king's government,, and who, upon that account, had been lately disarmed by the provincials. The murder of Miss M'Rea, on the morning of her intended marriage with an officer of the king's troops, and the massacre in cold blood of the prisoners who had been taken in the engagement with General Harkemer, only needed to be mentioned to excite horror, and at the same time to shew the impracticability of restraining the barbaritics of the savages.

With respect to the latter of the foregoing positions, "That the savages had always been accompanied with re

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Ind irreg Indians

never had in the field. it appeared as and murder coul He shewed that th cious and cruel. Th cess, they not only aban turned their arms upon th catastrophe at Saratoga to party, or to political principles, a barbarians, which obliged all indisposition, to become soldiers, a in the common defence. Thus was th of a resistless army springing up in the in two of the southern colonies to excite a He also passed some severe strictures o of the negro-slaves against their masters. He the common and statute law of this country, as well the proclamation for that purpose was directly co the general law of nations. He stated, in strong col barbarian slaves, to be both the judges and executioners sequences that might ensue from constituting 100,000 fiere the nature of an insurrection of negroes; the horrible c

if the fact had been (what he denied it to be that the A

ricans had actually employed those savages per the a
rence of employing them against armed and trad

soldiers, embodied and encamped, and emplo
against the unarmed and defenceless men,
children, of a country, widely dispersed in their
was manifest; and left those who attempte
and unequal a retaliation without a poss

who were ac

or the southern orrid enormities knowledged to be tion of all negroes The vigour and care a and Maryland had ection of the negroes. asked what means were negroes, when they had pedience, and made themoods, wives, and daughters Another war must be made ssacre ensue; adding confusion on to destruction.

The other heads of defence were,
been taken to prevent that indis
women, and children, whic
vages;" and "that ther
ciplined troops to pr
he observed, the
the savages
have ans
sisted

our national honour had been character as a people debased in ers, by those shameful, savage, and heir barbarous consequences. That y effect of value, they had only led disgrace; serving to embitter the minds unite and arm all the colonies against ffective attempt upon the negroes was the aat greater aversion and resentment, which southern, than in many of the central and ies; of their being the first to abjure the the declaration made by Virginia, that if the submit, they would notwithstanding hold out he last extremity: for what security could they that, if they admitted an English governor, he iot raise their negroes on them, whenever he thought d to construe any occasional disturbances into a ion, and to adopt martial law as a system of governt? He concluded, that the only remedy for the alienation affections, and the distrust and terror of our government, which had been brought on by these inhuman measures, was for parliament to enquire seriously and strictly into

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