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Editorial
November 2, 1759
The New Hampshire Gazette
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
What is this article about?
The author criticizes the British policy of enlisting Scottish Highlanders, recent rebels, as soldiers and sending them to America, viewing it as an undeserved reward that indulges their warlike nature and risks spreading Presbyterianism and rebellion in the colonies, potentially leading to their independence by 2259.
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OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
men, natives of their country is almost wholly impossible, the obliging them to carry goods from one part of it to another was treating them as they truly deserved.
But the plan at present in execution, I protest, is more like a reward than a punishment. For altho' they are sent to America (where I would not choose to go) yet, the making soldiers of them at all, is indulging the genius of their nation, and rendering them of real service to Britain, which ought, by no means to have been done. Nay, it is giving them a fair opportunity (which they will certainly take) of regaining the favour of their sovereign by their valour, and of winning back again, for their friends at home, that ancient dress, without which there is no possibility of enduring the rigour of their climate.
It will be said, perhaps, that more than one half of the Highlanders are loyal, and were actually in arms on the side of their king and country in the time of the rebellion, and therefore deserve to be as much encouraged as any other of his majesty's subjects.
For my part, after what has happened with respect to the Highlanders, very few things could give me surprise. It is more than probable that if general Keith had survived the war, it would have been forgot that he had rebelled against his king, when he was fully seventeen years old. Nay, if the good nature and generosity of our new system continue at the rate it has begun, I would not lay the odds, that the old Earl Marhal, as they call him, Keith's brother, will not be recalled, and permitted to die in peace in his own country. But mark it, good countrymen and friends, and lay it up in your memories, that O. M. haberdasher, ventures to foretell, that if these same Highlanders are not all scalped by the Indians, or sold for slaves to the planters of the sugar islands, they will sow the seeds of presbyterianism so deep, and diffuse the spirit of war so wide in North America, that it is two to one if a single colony of them all remain under the British government, so long as the short period between the present war, and the year two thousand two hundred and fifty nine.
[To be continued.]
But the plan at present in execution, I protest, is more like a reward than a punishment. For altho' they are sent to America (where I would not choose to go) yet, the making soldiers of them at all, is indulging the genius of their nation, and rendering them of real service to Britain, which ought, by no means to have been done. Nay, it is giving them a fair opportunity (which they will certainly take) of regaining the favour of their sovereign by their valour, and of winning back again, for their friends at home, that ancient dress, without which there is no possibility of enduring the rigour of their climate.
It will be said, perhaps, that more than one half of the Highlanders are loyal, and were actually in arms on the side of their king and country in the time of the rebellion, and therefore deserve to be as much encouraged as any other of his majesty's subjects.
For my part, after what has happened with respect to the Highlanders, very few things could give me surprise. It is more than probable that if general Keith had survived the war, it would have been forgot that he had rebelled against his king, when he was fully seventeen years old. Nay, if the good nature and generosity of our new system continue at the rate it has begun, I would not lay the odds, that the old Earl Marhal, as they call him, Keith's brother, will not be recalled, and permitted to die in peace in his own country. But mark it, good countrymen and friends, and lay it up in your memories, that O. M. haberdasher, ventures to foretell, that if these same Highlanders are not all scalped by the Indians, or sold for slaves to the planters of the sugar islands, they will sow the seeds of presbyterianism so deep, and diffuse the spirit of war so wide in North America, that it is two to one if a single colony of them all remain under the British government, so long as the short period between the present war, and the year two thousand two hundred and fifty nine.
[To be continued.]
What sub-type of article is it?
Military Affairs
Foreign Affairs
What keywords are associated?
Highlanders
Jacobite Rebellion
British Army
American Colonies
Presbyterianism
Military Service
What entities or persons were involved?
Highlanders
General Keith
Earl Marhal
O. M. Haberdasher
Indians
British Government
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Critique Of Enlisting Highlanders As Soldiers For Service In America
Stance / Tone
Strongly Opposed To Rewarding Highland Rebels With Military Opportunities
Key Figures
Highlanders
General Keith
Earl Marhal
O. M. Haberdasher
Indians
British Government
Key Arguments
Enlisting Highlanders As Soldiers Rewards Rather Than Punishes Rebels
It Indulges Their Warlike Nature And Provides Service To Britain
Allows Them To Regain Favor And Restore Traditional Dress
Many Highlanders Were Loyal, But Policy Risks Forgetting Past Rebellions
Predicts They Will Spread Presbyterianism And War Spirit In North America
Foresees Potential Loss Of British Control Over Colonies By 2259