Doxing, 1770

From the Providence Gazette, May 5, 1770; recall that back then an article published in one newspaper would often be reprinted verbatim in others as well. For those having trouble reading the newspaper image, here's the text (paragraph breaks added):

To the PRINTERS.

Please to give the following a Place in your Paper, which will oblige a Friend to Liberty.

As informers against Printers for publishing papers friendly to liberty, are justly to be considered as enemies to freedom; it is thought a particular description of the vile miscreant that lodged an information against Mr. Parker, Printer of the New-York Gazette, for printing the paper signed a Son of Liberty (for which Mr. M'Dougall is now unjustly confined in the common goal [likely means "gaol," or today "jail" -EV] of this city) will not be unacceptable to all the Friends of Liberty, and especially to the patriotic Printers on this content; as thereby they will know his person, and be premonished [i.e., warned -EV] against his detestable perfidy. The sordid harpy, whose thirst for the filthy lucre of a reward disposes him, if he had power equal to the malignity of his heart, to enslave this dear country, should be treated by the friends of it as a common enemy. Such is M-Ch--l C-mm-ns, native of Cork, in the kingdom of Ireland (who gave the above information).

He is about twenty years of age, five feet high, pretty square shouldered, has light brown hair, smooth faced, knock kneed, speaks with the Irish brogue accent; shines away with the reward of his wickedness in claret and white coloured cloaths; and as that won't support him long in his present state of idleness, he will doubtless soon decamp to some of the neighbouring colonies for employment.

It is therefore hoped that Printers who are friends to liberty, will treat him, on application to them, as he deserves; and that they will re-print this description of him, for the information of the public.

New-York, April 8, 1770.          S. P.

Comments

[Dr. Ed 2]

"Such is M-Ch--l C-mm-ns"?!?

Why not spell the name out?
Or is this the person reporting this?
???

[Ridgeway]

Were you kicked in the head by a horse, mule or other large and powerful animal?

[Kazinski]

The fact he was Irish makes it justified, we know what Hamas does to Israeli collaberators.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Look up the origin of "Lynching" and "Lynch's Law" -- it isn't what you think it was. (Hint, note the (often omitted) possessive -- who were the two men named "Lynch" and what did they do?)

I remind students that the Constitution was written in 1787 and not 12-15 years earlier, and that the Committees of Public Safety weren't that much nicer than Hamas. That's the part of US history that isn't taught because rich White people can't be victims.

Back then, the meaning of the word "warned" is vastly different from what EV appears to think it was, more along the lines of what happened to George Floyd...

[David Nieporent]

Look up the origin of "Lynching" and "Lynch's Law" -- it isn't what you think it was.

It really is exactly what I think it is.

Back then, the meaning of the word "warned" is vastly different from what EV appears to think it was,

1) That is of course a Dr. Edism, which means this "fact" is found only in his dissertation.
2) I'm not clear why it would matter what the word "warn"'s meaning was "back then," since EV wrote it today, not "back then.

[No One Of Consequence]

Too bad Samuel Johnson didn't have access to Dr. Ed's dissertation in 1755, or in time for the 1773 edition. Because when he wrote "A Dictionary of the English Language," he seemed to think "warn" meant pretty much the same thing as it means today. https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=warn

Mr. Webster could also have benefited from Dr. Ed's insight in 1828, since he thought "warn" had pretty much the same meaning as did Dr. Johnson a few decades earlier. https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/warn

But it's especially odd that Dr. Ed suggests that EV's some kind of hisotrical ignoramous based on his use of the word "warned" because the definition of "warned" in 1770 was supposedly "vastly different" than it is today. The word in the 1770 article was "premonished," not "warned." EV's note simply said "premonished" in the 1770 article means what "warned" means today.

Dr. Johnson's 1755 and 1773 editions defined "premonish" as: "To warm or admonish beforehand." https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=premonish And given that Dr. Johnson's and Mr. Webster's definitions of "warn" are consistent with current understanding of the word, EV's note appears to be consistent with 1770 usage.

And besides that, it was a "patriotic Printer" saying other patriots and newspapers supporting the revolution were to be "premonished" against the detestable Irishman perfidy, not the detestable Irishman who shitched. In other words, the 1770 article was warning like-minded patriots to avoid the snitch.

But according to Dr. Ed's insightful analysis,"Friends of Liberty" and "patriotic Printers" were to be given the George Floyd treatment by the Committees of Public Safety -- those same revolutionary Committees of Public Safety that were dedicated the same cause as the Friends of Liberty and patriotic Printers, and to to rooting out loyalist scum like the Irish snitch. It's like, how much less sense could this make? and the answer is none. None less sense.

[Frank Drackman]

Wouldn’t be interesting to see what the temperature was 255 years ago, of course 255 years isn’t a long time with an Earth that’s 6,000 years old

[Thought about __ all my life]

I won't mock you for believing the world is 6,000 years old but I will for thinking that affects the temperature. Not a way on earth that is true.

[Krayt]

detestable perfidy. The sordid harpy, whose thirst for the filthy lucre of a reward disposes him, if he had power equal to the malignity of his heart, to enslave this dear country, should be treated by the friends of it as a common enemy.

Man, I hate harpys of detestable perfidy, disposed by thirst for filthy lucre of a reward, if he had power equal to the malignity of his heart to enslave this country!

Wait! What if said harpy did have power equal to the malignity of his heart?

[Ridgeway]

Be careful what you wish for....

[JoeFromtheBronx]

I appreciate the work that goes into reading and transcribing all of these historical documents. It is a special skill, for instance, to try to decipher handwriting on often faded old documents.

I have problems doing that with my own handwriting.