IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 I^|2j8 |25 ■u lii 12.2 ^ us. 12.0 1^ I. 14 9 ihi; 1 L25 ||u 1^ < 6" ► Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WBTMA;K5;RIET WnSTH.N.Y. 1<^5N (7I6)I73-4S02 ^ •SJ \ -'\ ^^z*^ ^.^ ^. <^ >, \ '^ ■ iiiiippll^^^iiiiii iqiPMirPW 'VMV ipil!l(i,JiJilJ . tm^mm^f^^ %••> T If ;• ;f 1(- ]• ;^^'KU v,..M-.-i ^> ^1- — - ■v. ■ /'.;■ '. A,V. x^iit^,^V 'J r^...-*fy«tr'*-**'V*'*-*****'"-*'**"*"'" *'-*•••" .,1, •...,..^' .^..:> J- ■■Hi ■It x:: t 3 ] THE ' . ' I : Plea of the Colonies, 6cc. To Lord M- •D. ../ . I ■ « My Lord^ WHILE yoii were pleas'd to withdravi^ yourfelf from the cabinet, and fit in filence behind the curtain, fecurely to en- joy the confcious pleafure of guiding the political machine, and giving birth to mea- fures that you did not chufe publicly to adopt* whatever we might think of your Lordfhip's influence, or that of your noble countrymen and friends, we were not fully at liberty to exprefs our fentiments upon it. It was ge- nerally believed that the noble Lord who pre- fides in the Treafury, and his kinfman, the late American Secretary, were not principals in devifing the American war* They held a language, both in public and in private, that might tend to fecure them from the charge. They were fometimes obferved to unfay, or explain to nothing, what they had faid but yefterday ; there was fuch a want of confl- uence among fome of their a(^ions, there was B z fuch ^•^ C 4 J fuch a difagrecmcnt between the outward and vifible fece of their condu£V, and the inward fpirit, which was conftantly oppofing every healing proportion, and dragging the nation into the road to war, that we could not doubt of a fecret influence of a real minifter, who Sointed out the path to the ofienfible one, and rought him back whenever he chanced to lif- ten to his own opinion, and ftep out of the true road ; yet when we fought for the perfon who, deaf to the cries ofjuftice, callous to the feelings of humanity, could think of paving the way to arbitrary domination, by Ihedding the blood of thouiands, we durft not fay to the firft judge in the kingdom, " thou art the man** The time, however, is at laft come when ii- Icnce is no longer neceflkry ; perhaps not fafe : we have croffed the Rahicon, your Lordihip's prefence may be requiiite to animate the troops, and infpire thofe Britons with mai'tial rage, who might dill paufe at (bedding a brother^s blood. While the Ar/ierican difpute wascon- fidered as little more than a quarrel with the town of Bofton about drowning a few chejis of tea, the nation could hardly take the alarm ; they could not fufpedt that a capital revolution was intended, or that the liberties of the whole empire were in danger ; nor would the confe- quent fteps that fecmedtofpringfrom that quar- rel, by a fatal progrejion of crimes , give any great alarm to a generous nation, that ^;ene- rally believeth all things and hopeth all things that [ J J that aFe beft, efpecially as the bufinefs ftUl feemed to be conduced by the ordinary mi- nifters: and furely while nothing more was profelK'ed than quelling a mob, or punifliing a rcfraftory town, your Lord(hip*s counfelwas not requifite ; Nee deus tnterfit ntfiJIgnus vlndke nodus Incederit, . ., , . But now that we have fmuggled a march, that we are pafled over the preliminary fteps, and are plunged, God knows why, into the very bowels of a civil war ; now that a political fubjed of doubtful enquiry is, by the raoft barbarous figure in rhetoric, committed to the mouth of a cannon, and from a iingle town the fiery argument has extended fo far as to involve fourteen or fifteen provinces, your Lordfhip has thought proper to ftep forward and inform us that you are for blood. No plan of accommodation, no terms of peace are to be held out to the Americans, the fword is not to be ftayed fo much as for an hour ; nothing lefs than " abfolute, unconditional" fubmiffion is to be accepted. We (hould not even talk of peace, for " much is to be done, and little faid". The Americans muft be abfolutcly fubdued. The reafon you have been pleafed to give for this fevcre procefs is very remarkable. " The jimerlcans do notwljh for pecice^ they have long been aiming at ahfo" lute independence and will be fatisfied with no- thing c « ] thing lefs/' As this is the great pillar on which your Lordftiip and your friends have thought fit to lean ; as this is the general ar- gument by which you have lately agreed to juftify the prefent plan of extirpating the Ame- ricans, or bending them beneath the conque- ror's yoke, I Ihall take the liberty to examine it with fotne attention. That I may do ju- llice to your reafonings on this fubjeft, and through you to the reafonings of the vifible miniftry, who, on this occafion, are certainly direfted by that fecret confidential corps which you have formed, I (hall collect into one point of view the fum of what you have de- livered in defence of the American war, in your noted fpeech of November laft on the capture bill, and in your late memorable fpeech on the Duke of Grafton's motion ; for they tended to the fame objeft, they were founded on the fame hypothefis. Confcious I am, that in this humble dif- quifition, in which 1 appeal to the honeft, the virtuous and difinterefted part of this nation, I ftiall come far (hort of your Lordfhip in elegance of language, clearnefs of didion, and flowers of rhetoric ; but I (hall, for this reafon among others, try to differ from your Lordfhip in another particular of fome confequence ; I ihall deal in fads not in conjectures. Though every thing that is offered by your Lordfliip falls from fo great an eminence that it cannot fall to make its impreffion on the public, yet I z . (hall Pl^ lall [ 7 ] fhall reftrain myfelf to the outlines and princi- pal arguments of your two fpeeches, confident that I (hall not overlook thofe particular opi- nions which you wi(h the nation (hould em- brace, nor thofe interefting arguments on which you have juftified the prefent war, and re- pudiated the very idea of peace. ** It was foretold by Davenant, that when- *' ever the American colonies fliould find «* themfelves offufficient ftrength, they would ** endeavour to form themfelves into a feparate independent Jiate ; and this (you fay) has been the conftant objetfl of the people of New England almoft from their earlieft infancy. At the conclufion of the late war an idea prevailed, that the Americans (hould contribute towards the public expence,'* (and that the Parliament of England fhould tax them for that purpofe without their con- fent.) " I Jhall not pretend to Jay how proper fuch a meafure might have been, but the ftamp-atl pafled, and nobody oppofed it. Next year the declaratory a£l was alfo pafled without any oppofition. On the following year the port-duties were laid while a noble Lord, now in oppofition (Lord C mden) prefided on the woolfack, he never faid a word againft them. The Bofton port-bill alfo palled the year before laft without any manner of oppofition. Of the following a8ls I Jhall fay nothing, but if the other a& werejuftifiable I think the " latter if i( (t (( (( « ^mm [ 8 ] ** latter were equally fo. I do not think ** America complains of particular injuries fo ** much as (he does of the violation of her rights. The congrefs fum up the whole of their grievances in that paflage of the declaratory aft which aflerts the right of Great Britain to make laws to bind them in all cafes whatfoever. That ii the true bone of contention. They politively de- ny the right not the mode of exercifing it. The/ would allow the King of Great Bri- tain a nominal fovereignty over them, but nothing elfe. They would throw off their dependence on the crown of Great Britain ** but not on the perfon of the King whom *' they would render a cypher. They would •* be as Hanover is to England." To this flate of the controverfy you were pleafed to add, in favour of hoftile meafLires '. ** The Americans arc now at war, they have in- vaded Canada, they are a<5ting on the of- fenfive; we are not to enquire who was the aggreflbr ; whether we are right or wrong, we muft proceed. We are not to dil- fcriminate the innocent from the guilty, if we do not kill them, they will kill us." Of three pofitions which your Lordihip has endeavoured to eftablifli, it is hard to dii- cover which is heft calculated to promote the prefent views of adminiftration. If either of them (hould be fully received, it may be ex- peded that the nation will cordially apply their (( «( t( <( (( ii (( <« (4 t( ' C( (t it t( «6 (( if lip lit [ 9 ] ^ tlielr (houlders to the American war. If either of them fhould be qneftioncd, fome part of the nation may ftill remain tardy. Your firft endeavour is to perfuade lis that every fet of minlfters and all parties of men have uniformly agreed in their attempts to tax the Americans ever fincc that qiicition was firft agitated. If that had indeed been th;i cafe. We have certainly nothing to gain by A change of men, for the fame mcafunis would ftill be purfued ; and if there can be no change of meafures, the Americans had heft fiibmit in time, fince they can never expc61 more rea- fonable terms. Whatever the truth may be, your Lordlhip has certainly heard that the Americans in general view this fubjeft in a different light. They believe thnt there is a very refpcttable, a very numerous body of men in this kingdom, who are generally dl- ftinguifhed by the name of Whigs, who are friends to civil liberty and perfeiSly averfe to the idea of taxing their brethren in North' America They believe, that by fome of thofe men the ftamp-a(5l was repealed, a hu- mane, prudent, and magnanimous meafure, by which peace was reftored to the empire, though the authors of it- knew they mull be ruined at court. ** Necprofunt domino quaprofunt omnibus artes,^* The Americans, indeed, complain of the de- chiratory a(ft as it is explaineii bv their enemies^ for it is now made, and without further ex- C plana- —■•" 4" — ^pwi»p ^_V' ri^w [ ^ .mV ' '" ^''^'''^''^''WiP^ii 'ii^ w'iwwwiw^'WPW ^^ [ 10 ] planation may continue to be m^^e, a fourt* dation for every kind of oppreflion i but they do not believe that the framers of the declara- tory aft could ever be charged with the de* fire of taxing them ; iince it was riotorious that they had introduced that very aft as a kind of falvo for the authority of Parlianient, in order that they might be enabled to repeal the only law by which America was taxed. The declaratory aft: was a fword of ft ate, for orna- ment rather than for «fe ; it was never to be drawn for the purpofe of revenue, nor for any other occa (ion Itfs important than thefalvation of the empire. In this light the Americans viewed it from the beginning, for which rea- fon it had not the leaft tendency to check thofe fhouts of joy which were heard from every province when the ftamp-aft was repealed. If we are ftill at a lofs to know whether all clafles of men among us are equally obnoxious to the Americans, and whether they confider themfelves equally aggrieved by all, let us hear the late declaration of the congrefs, the very piece your Lordfhip is pleafed to quote. After enumerating the many afts of injuftice and cruelty that have lately been praftifed againft them, they add " fruitlefs were all the •' entreaties, arguments, and eloquence of an " illuftrious band of the moft diftinguiflied ** peers and commoners, who nobly and ftre- *' nuoufly afierted the juftice of our caufe, to " ftay or even to mitigate the heedlefs fury ** with which thefe accumulated and unex- " amplcd [ It ] ** ampled outrages were hurried on." The evidence being thus ftated, we (hall conti- nue to think that peace might be reftored to America by a change of meafures ; for I am certain that the Americans believe and hope that a change of men (hall yet produce fuch a change of meafures. To that alone they Hill truft for the comfort and advantage of remaining a part of this empire. To their own valour and to God they now truft for the prefervation of their liberty. The fecond pofition which your Lordlhip has endeavoured to eftablifh is, that the Ameri- cans do not wi(h for peace, they would not be fatisfied with relief from particular grievances ; they aim at independence, and would throw off their fubjeftion to the crown of Great Bri- tain. As this very charge is circulated through cvcy part of the kingdom by thofe who would juftify the opprellor by cafting a darker fliade on the oppreflcd, I have taken much pains to difcover the evidence on which it is founded ; but after all my refearches I cannot find any better reafon for fuppofing that the Americans defire to be independent, than their own uniform declarations that they do vot defire it. Davenant, for aught we know, was a very honcft man and a good prophet ; but pror phefies are not ufually adduced in evidence of U&.S, The argunents that are brought from New England, feem to operate againft your Lord(hip*s pofition ; for if the troubles that appeared in Mafl'achufets in the reign of Wil- liam and Mary, give any evidence that inde- C 2 pen* Jt'iiif iiiiiiULamp; pendence wa^ their cbjeiSt, certainly the loyalty of thofe people ond their iinequaled zeal in his Majefty*". ferv' e, on later occaiions, give a more pleafmg evidence of their defire to be- long to the Britifh empire. Your Lordfhip is pleafjd to fiippofe that the Americans would allow the King of Great Britain a nominal ^■>vcre)gnity over them but noticing elfc. We flatt- * piirfelves that you do not wifli to fee abfol'.ne defpotifm eftablifhed in any part of his Mrijcfty's dominions, and yet we are at a lol^ to conceive how a Britiflijiidge ihould givj the name of power and nothing elfe to what the Americans have never re- fufcd his Majefty. it the power of making peace and war, of appointing their governors and judges, of difallowing or confirming their laws and being their final arbitrer and judge, is to be called fw pozvcr, we fhould gladly hear what conf^itutes full power. If it (liould even be faid that the Americans would reduce the power of a Britifli Parliament to a name and nothing elfe, we ihould f\ill lament that the author of fuch a charge was not well in- formed. Let us hear the Americans on this very fubje6V, in their laf} addrefs to the people of England. *' It has been faid that we re- *' fufe to fubmit to the reflri(flions on our *' commerce. From whence is tliis inference *' drawn ? Not from our words ; we have re- *' peatedly declared the contrary, an«^ we again " profcfs our fubmilTion to the l^tveral a6ls •• of trade and navigation pafled bef^rtre the year !• 1763. ^nd we chearfully content to the •* operation in- «4 t< E '3 ] opepatlon of fuch afts of the Britlfh Par- liament as fhall be retrained to the regu- *' lation of external commerce for the pur- ** pofe of fecuring the commercial advantages •' of the whole empire to the mother country " and the commercial benefits of its refpeilive •* members, excluding every idea of taxation *' internally or externally for raifing a reve- " nue on the fubjeds in America without their " confent.'* When we fee men diligent in pointing out fecretcaufes of public complaints, or labouring to place them to fome account which the par- ties do not avow, we are apt to fufpedl a want of candour in the enquirer, or an abfencc of real and obvious grievance in the perfons com- plaining. If the Americans had gone out of the way to feek for fome grievance, if they had gone back to revive fome ancient claim, or difcufs fome doubtful theorem, then indeed we might have faid that the oftenfible caufe was not the true one, and that they fought for fomething which they did not avow. No- thing of this fort has happened to the Ameri- cans Their complaints immediately followed the injuries they bad received ; the injuries were not trifling or imaginary, they were grofs and palpable, they lay in the very road and muft have been removed, elfe the mife- rable colonift muft have ftumbled and fallen into the very pit of dcfpotifm. Life and pro- perty were at the fole difpofal of men who knew them not, who were not touched by their calamities; of men v^ ho were to gain by their 3 lc)i> -[ '4 ] iofs and profper by their adverfity. Do the Americans feem ripe for a revolt, merely bc- caufe they complain of fuch a grievance ? or does it follow that a man is not to be pacified by a6ls of juftice, merely becaiife he refills afts of violence and opprelficn. So far have the Americans been from complaining without caufe, that we have long admired their patience in fuflFering, their fteady perfeverance and mo- deration in complaining. I do not indeed fay that the Americans have fiiflfered in proportion to the bitternefs of the draught that has been prepared for them : I cannot deny that the guardian angel of that country feems to have been prcfent in the Britifh councils, while the demon of difcord was dealing out her potions with an unrelenting hand. She h^s diluted the poifon and faved her country. Our fiatef- men have liftened to the council of Ahitho- phel ; they have added cruelty to oppreflion, and infult to injury ; they have followed one ad of tyranny by another, with fuch hafty fteps, that they have faved where they meant to deftroy ; they have roiized the inoft torpid American, they have informed the moft fcru» pulous cafnift. It being once more determined, in an evil hour, to tax the Americans, though the ftamp- a£lhad been repealed, and they being refolvcd in the moft peaceable manner to elude the force of fuch a tax, by not confuming any article on which it was laid, the meaiure for fome time fecmed to be defeated ; but it was a fa- vourite meafurc, A new law was framed, by which ivil ■me fa- by ich [ ^5 ] which the ufual channel of commerce was aU tered, in order that you might ,enfnarc the people and oblige them to relcind ; but people who had been thwarted and provoked for fome years, were not very tradable. The new mea- fures produced a riot in Bofton, and fome goods were deftroyed by the populace. Inftead of enquiring into the matter, or demanding ju- ftice in the ufual form; thatjuftice which had ne- ver been refufed on former occalions, the whole town of Bofton, unheard and untried, was im- mediately condemned to fuifer that kind of extreme, inadequate puniftiment which favours of revenge rather than corredion, which re- fembles the bitternefs of an enemy rather than the frowns of a parent. The mifchief did not ftop there : an indigent, feditious governor had laboured for fome years to gain the favour of his fuperiors, by contriving mifchief to his native country, and though he was deteded in his fchemes, though it was known that he had been difappointed and foured, that he hated his countrymen and was mutually hated by them, yet his counfel was adopted ; to him did you give an attentive ear, as whilom our unhappy grandame liftened to the other enemy of our fpecies. The charter of Maifachufets was chanirf^ without neccffity, without pro- vocation. By that fingle Oroke every other province was informed that nothing wasfacred or fecure. This was only the beginning of their calamities, for an act was palled which may be entitled, an ad to encourage and enable foWi^rs, cuftom-houfe ollkers, and tide waiters tP «MIP ,i ti [ i6 ] to murder his Majefty's fubje£ls in Amerlcd. Whj dol mention particulars? They arefreftt in your Lordlhip's memory ; but you feemto have difcovered no feverity nor injuftice in them. You do not think they gave riie to the prefent war. You are pleafed to fuppofe that an abdract theorem, a general declaration, has given more offence to the Americans than all the injuries they have received. May I en- treat your Lordfhip to review this fubjedt without partiality, and judge with candor, (o may you expeft mercy, when you alfo (hall be judged. Have the Americans no folid caufe of complaint ? Have they not fuffered many fcvere injuries, and been forced to groan under the hand of oppreffion ? Were not thefe inju- ries and that oppreffion the immediate and true caufe of their drawing the fword ? When we hear the penfioners and runners of court, the commonj?(?^/^^ri of civil difcord In every coffee- houfe and public aflembly, dealing out the ftalc charge of malice prepenfe againft the Ameri- ricans, boldly affirmmg that they have long been aiming at a flate ofindependence, and that a rebellious dlfpofition gave rife to the prefent commotions ; though the ftory is founded on fidion, though it was Invented for the pur- pofe of deceiving and exafperating a generous people that they may take part in the guarrel and become partakers in the blood oi their brethren. When we hear the calumny retailed by fuch people we are not furprized, for by this ftory they have their bread ; but when your Lordfliip condefcends to travel near the fame ground, [ "7 ] ground, and to quote Davenant as a proof that lomebody has faid the Americans would here- after ftrive to be independ nt ; or to quote the declaration of the Americans themfelves, as a proof that they afk for nothing more or lefs than a flate of independence, we are in pain for the Majefty of Truth. In a little time we fhall not wonder if it is commonly affirmed that the Americans, from their innate love of defpotifm have been contriving a revolution in favour of an exiled family ; we fliould not even be furprifed if every recruiting officer was taught to ufe this argument as the moft likely means of roufing the Englifli nation ; as for our brethren in the north, their loyalty, at pre- fent, does not feem to need any fpur. How- ever this may be, I muft befpeak your Lord- fhip*s patience a few minutes, while I am a lit- tle more particular in confidering the founda- tion of that general charge which you have been pleafed to bring. Whatever any wri- ters have fuppofed might happen to America, by obfcrving what has happened to all other nations, yet I can fafely affirm, that whoever was beft acquainted with the colonifts had leaft reafon to believe that they were Ic iking to- wards a ftate of independence. As members of the Britiih empire, they have enjoyed, till the beginning of the preicnt controverfy, (• few impolitic and unprofitable reftridions ex- cepted) as much liberty as was confiftent with civil government, or as much as they could poffibly expe£l under a new form. 1 hey were confcious of the bleffing, they prayed for its D continuance. • ( i: f [ 1 . t ■« ] Contitiuaflcd. They efteemed Great Britaiii as a parent, they loved her with more than filial affedion; they loved every thing that was Britifli ; they were to a man zealoiifly attached to his Majefty, if we except a few indivi- duals who migrated to that country in the year forty-five. What cc 'd tempt fuch peo- ple to become independent ? We have gene- rally fuppofed that it is more fafe, as well as more honourable to be a member of a great empire than of a fmall one ; not that 1 be- lieve the Americans, as a feparate ftate, have aught to fear from any of the moft formida- ble nations in Europe ; but no man would ftand alone in a fevere conteil, who might have a powerful fupport ; and to my certain knowledge the Americans have vainly flatter- ed themfelves with perpetual peace, apprehend- ing that by their affiftance Great Britain would foon become fuch a dangerous advetfary, that no foreign ftate might provoke her with fafety. In this manner I Ihould have fuppofed the Americans would reafon, and in this manner 1 know they generally have reafoned concerning their eonnettion with Great Britain ; but left I fhould be charged with partial judgment or dealing in tonje<£tures, let us hear the general jVoice of America. 1 (hall not trouble your Lordftiip by repeating their numerous declara- tions on this fubjed, from the beginning of the contFoverfy ; 1 fhall confine myfelf to their lateft publications, fuch as have been made fince the deftruflion of the peafants at Le^in- ton ; fince General Gage began to wafte and depo- _ [ >9 J depopulate their country — a period In which we cannot fuppofe they have ufed fljittering terms, nor profeflTed more than they intended. The congrefs, in their petition to the King, after declaring their attachment to his perfon and family, proceed thus, " Conne(Sled with Great Britain by the flrongeft ties that can unite focieties, and deploring every event that tends in any degree to weaken them, we folemnly afllire your Majefty,that we not on- ly moft ardently defire ihe former harmony between her and thele colonies may be reftor- ed, but that a concord may be eftabli(hed be- tween them, upon fo firm a bafis, as to per- petuate its blelfings uninterrupted by any future diflentions.** In their addrefs to the inhabitants of Great Britain they fay, " Give us leave moft folemnly to aflure you, that we have not yet loft fight of the object we have ever had'm view, a reconciliation with you on conftitutional principles, and a refto- ration of that friendly intercourfe which, to the advantage of both, we till lately main- tained." If it fiiould be faid, that the con- grefs has not delivered the true motives of its own conduct, nor the fenfe of its conftituents, we are furnifiied with copious evidence to the fame import by the people themfelves, who have lately been convened on public occafions in moft of the provinces. I (liould not trou- ble your I .ordfhip by repeating on this occa- fion any thing that has been advanced by men who from their profefiion are not fuppofed to be well verfcd in politics, but we have feen a <( i( (( (< t( cc (( (( «( n «t 4( (( (( (( D 2 Ihort 7 [ " 1 (Viort exhortation, publiflied on June laft, at New Ycrk, by a convention of more than a hundred clergy, from feven or eight different provinces, which contains an obfervation fo reinnrkable, that it defer ves even your l.ord- fhip's attention. " It gives us,'* fay they, *' the greateft pleafure to fay from our own " certain knowledge of all belonging to our •* communion, and from the heft means of in- " formation of the far greateft part of all de- *' nominations in this country, that the pre- ** fcnt cppoiition to the meafures of admini- ** ftration does not in the leaft arife from a dif- *' affedion to the King, or a i/efire offepara- *' tionfrom the parent ftate" So far are the Americans from wifhing to become indepen- dent, that fome of the moft jealous provinces, fearing left a temporary confederacy, though r.dopted for the fole purpofe of defence, fliould finally terminate in a feparation from the pa- rent ftate, have exprefsly inftrudled their dele- gates to be cautious in adopting any meafures of that kind. The plan of a propofed confe- deracy (which was to laft for two years, or till the grievances were removed) was laid before the provincial congrefs held at HilKborough, in North Carolina, 21ft Auguft, i 775 ; when after mature confideration, the congrefs in com- mittee came to the following refolution. " That the committee have taken into con- ** fideration the plan of general confederation between the united colonies, and are of opi- nion that the fame is not at prefent eligible ; ' gijd it is alfo the opinion o^this committee, " that (C (( at it (( <( (( C( i( [ 2, ] that the delegates of this province ought to be inftnifted, not to confent to any plan of confederation which may be offered in an enfuing congrefs, until the fame (hall be laid before and approved by the provincial con- grefs. That the prefent affociation ought to be relied on for bringing about a recon- ciliation vi^ith the parent ftate, and a further confederacy ought only to be adopted in cafe of the lajl neoejjity.^* The committee (of the aflembly of Penfylvania fitting at Phi- ladelphia yth Nov. 177 s) appointed to pre- pare and bring in a draught of inftrudions for the delegates of that province in congrefs, re- ported an eliay for that purpofe, which being read and confidered, was agreed to by the houfe, and is as follows, viz. " Gentlemen, " The trult repofed in you is of fuch a na- " turc, and the modes of executing it may be *' fo diverfified in the courfe of your delibera- tions that it is fcarcely poffible to give you particular inftrudions relpe£ting it. We therefore in general direft that you, or any four of you, meet in congrefs the delegates of thefeveral coloniesnow affembledinthiscity, and any fuch delegates as may meet in con- grefs the next year, that you confult toge- ther on the prefent critical and alarming ftate of public affairs, that you may exert your utmoft endeavours to agree upon and re- commend fuch meafures as you (hall judge to afford the beft profpect of obtaining re- drefs of American grievances, andreftoriiig ^ " that (( C( iC C( C( <« (( C( (( <( Ill 'II i II i at the dofby •itv for uppUcs je. To : light, It was Parlia- was to le aft of erwards ; viewed >re unfa- rmation 1 by the d, that it :re con- [1, that it has ju- mbly of experi- his Ma- in goods ed that it Sovem- to the their pe- he foun- ered; by eafure to be [ 3/ ] be fixed for the province of Nova Scotia ; and through it a fample and fecurity was to be given to the other provinces, of what they were to expedt. This was dangerous ground ; for you was compelled on this occafion, a little before your time, to unmafk. An honoura- ble member. Sir George Yonge, 1 think it was, in order to prevent ambiguity m the No- va Scotia bill, propofed the following refolu- tion,in addition to thofe brought in by admini- ftration. ** Whenever the exigences of ftate •* (hall require further fupplies from the pro- " vince of Nova Scotia, fuch requifitions ftiall *< be made as have formerly been praftifed in «' North America.'* A motion more unfeafonable for adminiftra- tion could not have been offered. It never had been the defign of government to make a (in- gle conceffion in favour of the Americans, nor to give them fecurity for prefer ving a fingle vef- tige of their property. Embarraffed as minifters might be, by fpeaking out, it now became necef- fary. They could not adopt the propofition; the unfortunate bill was fmothered in its birth. The refolution of taxing America from time to time and as often as cafli may be wanted is now publicly avowed. A very courtly wri- ter has been pleafed to fuppofe that the colo- nies would be quite emancipated, if neither the MODE of raifing taxes nor the quantum is to be left in the power of Parliament.* By fuch * Rights of Great Britain afferted, p. 54. help .I' i- if' J): ,i,Ji [3^ J help let us folve the refoliitioh of laft yea<'» and it will be found to contain a prodigious favour. It may be thus abridged. If the Americans (hall offer certain contributions to be approved by Parliament, while they con- tinue to pay them, no tax ihall be impofed by Parliament ; /. f. If the Americans fhall vote and faithfully pay every fum that Parlia- ment delires, and as often as fuch fums are called for. Parliament will be fo good as not to infift upon fums that it does not defire. If thefe, and fuch other proofs of infincerity and want of faith, had not been fufficient to deter the Americans from trufting your promifes,- or putting themfelves in your power, the proofs you have lately given of cruelty are of fo dark a ftain, that every trace of confidence is blot-* ted out. It is both inlHu£live and curious to obferve the progrefs of cruelty, to note by what fteps of cafy tranfition the human mind once plunged into vice, may wade and fwim onward, till it attains the very abyfs of wicked* nefs. To (hut up the port of Bofton, and dif^refs^ perhaps deftroy, twenty or thirty thoufand peo- ple ; to injure them to the certain amount of three or four hundred thoufand pounds, in order to repay the lofs of feven or eight thou* land pounds, the lofs ft ill unrepaid, was a wanton ad: of fruitlels barbarity. To reftrain the American trade, and cut off the fiflicry of the northern provinces, for the very purpofe of deftroy ing the inhabitant^ by nakedntfs and hui.gcr, was no inconliderable flep in the fatal ' pro- prcjrreilion ofcriieltv. Your next projccl, of turning the Indians upon the innocent defence- Icfs frontiers, was certainly the projcftofa ni'ntl well trained in vice. It is well known that the American Indians m:;ke war, not agiiinft Ihxkades and fot-ts ; they feldom moieil fol- dicrs or armed men, their hatchets are ftaincd with the hlood of women and children only. To fee 1 200 miles of a frontier, whofe inha- bitants are poor and thinly planted, who are far removed from the fcene of politics, and have never oHended government ; to lee them ex- pofed to the nightly incm lions of a fivage ene- my, the paths crowded with thoufands of thole wretched people, flying to diftant towns for llielter, while the face of heaven is darkened by the fmoke of their defcrted cottaa,es — -per- haps the fight might chear the heart of a Brltilh chief juPkice, to every cither perlon the very idea is terrible. The lail ftep I (hall mentir a in this progrefs of cruelty is the maifacre that Was lately attempted in the fouthern provinces. This is a ftep that defies all precedents. No- thing like it has e\'er bceii pra£l fed by any other liate. Lord f )uninore is ordered to pvo- claini freedom to Haves who beloncr to rebels. The Haves are to be the judge-, and, ftupid as they arc, they mui^ loon difcovcr that tlieir maikrs are rebels to a man. It mull: follow that the flaves are all free. How (hall they obtain their liberty ? There is but one me- thod; they iinderftand it perfed^ly — they mull cut their matters throats. This method of obtaining freedom has often been attempted bv F fiaves •\ !i ,^1 ill! I have been leverely buffeted by the Itorms ; more of your tranl- ports and troops have been loft, from the be- ginning of this (ociai war, than were loft du- ring the whole of th*:* laft conflict with France and Spain ; your deiire was to cut off trade from Bofton and {lar\ c tioe inhnhirants ; in that very town your tror ps liave been fhut up, and almoft 'Lirvcd to d. ath. In all vour ichemes of divifion. feduclion and ^^Jlarva- *' fiofi" you have been defeated ; your pro- jefls have tended to arm, unite, and ftrength- en the Americans, who, on their parr, have en- joyed fuch a fcries of profperitv, as neither bravery nor hunan v.iidom a]i)rie could pciW^ h\y iniure. You are plcafed to pafs ;iii this to ihc mnm r. 37 ] _ tlie chapter of accidents, while the Amcricnn takes it for the favour of Omnipotence, on which he rcfls. In fare and certain hope of a nlorious cfcape from the hand of oppreflion. Let us, however, view this fiibjcd in another Jight ; let us fuppofe that fuccefs fhonld, on fome occafions, attend your arms, ftill the pro- fpcct of conquering the Americans muft be very dillant. T^here are many inftances on record, .of people contending for liberty ; if there had been none befides thofe of the Swifs cantons and Dutch united provinces, they muft have .t.iught U9 that the bnttlc is not always to the ftrong. I think there never has been an inftance of people being fubdued, who fought m fuch a ciufe as now infpires the Americans, with fuch numbers and fuch advantages on their (ide. You mean to rifque all on a def- perate elfort. if you could gain a victory or two, and advance n f^nv miles into th;coun'ry, you are taught to believe that all would be iafe. Strange ps it may feem, I fhall venture to fay, that a litt'e fuccefs muft prove a dange- rous thing to this nation. While defolaticn and the rage of war has not involved the whole conrinent, tlie breach might ftill be healed, if healing meafures ftinuld be attempted. When you have routed fc^ir.e of their armies, deftroyed their chief cities, and laid wafte part of their coupn-y, the wound may have gone too deep, the dilc.ife may be pnft cure, Vhc time may foon come when Great Britain, of all the ma- ritime fu'.tt's in b.uropc, ihall have the fmalleft chance of being allied to North America. In- 3 juries :i if! I'* 111 [ 38 ] juries that sre done by the hand of a kinfman are not foon forgotten. If Great Britain, prefuming on the allegorical name of a parent, will treat the Americans as children and in- feriors, it is high time that the Americans were aflbciated with a fitter inftead of a parent ftate. If the fame wifdom which lately induced the French monarch to grant an arret for re-eft a- blifhing the edid of Nants, in a particular in- ilance, and granting liberty of confcience to a proteftant fubjeft^ fhould continue to prefiue in his councils, th:it kingdom mutl foonflou- xi(h ; and if the Americans fhoula proceed no further, they may at kait fay of England and France, with the Tyrlan queen, 5 roj Tyriufqiie mild niillo dlfcrimiKe agenUir. Much pains has been taken to involve the prefent difpute in darknefs, and conceal the danger that lies in the ;oad, as though it was beft that we fhould die by an anodyne. We are told that neither France nor Spain will af- fift the Americans. " Will France," fays a courtier,* " in the prefent ftatc of h<.r finances ** involve herfclf in a ruinous war ? Will " Spain give her aififtance to r^ife an inde- *' pendent empire in America ? Will fhe en- *' courage her own American fubjrcls to rife " againlt her authority r" Nothing can be more deceitful than luch reafoninL'^. The French certainly have no colonies that can mm i: * Rights of Great Brita". a alTcrtcci, p. 63. dream dream [ 39 ] drenm of becoming independent ; mndnefs it- felf could not tempt them to think of it. The Spaniards, indeed, have vaft pofleflions in America; but whatever the natives might at- tempt, the fmall Spanifti colonies, that arc fcattered over the face of a great country, will hardly think of a revolt : they fhould ra- ther be confidered as fo mary faftories planted by Spain in thofe goldtn regions, than as a compadl body of men, who might ever at- tempt to form a feparate empire. Theie are reafons, however, which may prevent France and Spain from viewing th'.s controverfy with an eye of perfedt neutrality ; their fafety and commercial intereft are at ftake, they are blinvl to neither. Great Britain and her colonics, united as they have been by the cords of inte- reft and mutual affe6iion, muft foon have be- come a dangerous neighbour. The fleets of Bri- tain, andt'iie armies of North America vv^ould have left France and Spain no other fecunry for their fugar iflands, or their pofleifions on the fouthern continent, than the faiih of treaties or priority of claim — feeble tenures, when the longeft fword is wanting. On the other hand, (hould the c:o]onies finally fliake off their union with Britain, neither France nor Spiin could have any thing to fear from either. Great Bri- tain, deprived of her colony trade, and deprived, as fhe foon would be, of her Newfoundland filhery, muft ceafe to be formidable at fea, and the colonies alone, in thnt republican form which they are now like to afllime, iiowever unanimous and formidable in their common defence, h : "' liV ',,! M Ilk I t 40 ] defence, would hardly (hew the f^inie miiori or fpirit in offenfive meaiures. The com- mercial interefts of France and Spain fceni alfo to mark the independence of North Ame- rica as an object of great importance. In that country, France will tind a prodigious vent for her lilks and velvets. Wine alfcy, im- ported as it may be without the prefent bur- dens, will come to an excellent market in a coMntry where it is not made, though the na- ture of the climate requires a copious ufe of it. For thefe, ?nd other manufafturcs of thofc kingdoms, the Americans will make remit- tances in rice, tobacco, flour, naval ftores, and the other natural produce of their country. The expence and trouble of a circuitous trade will then be prevented, and a direit intercourfe be eftabilhed between ftates whofc mutual w^nts feem to point out a friendly intercourfe. It would be tedious to defcribe the advantages which the French fugar iflands muft derive trom the independence of tlie ilritifh colonies. If Great Britain, after this revolt, Ihould re- tain her fus^ar iflands, (he muft do it unutr prodigious difadvantages, hy which the price of her lugars muft rife at leaft 30 per cent ; hence the French limar would come to a better mar- ket m Europe, and the Americans would buy nouL- elfe. If the fugar illauds fliould fall oif with the other colonies, the African trade and other circumftancts confidered, France muft be an equal gainer by your misfortune. Hav- ing mentif;ncd the general arguments which may induce the ;:iaritiuie ftate^ lo wifli well to Amciica BS !1 t 4. 1 America rather than Great Britain, in the pre-* lent difpute, I (hall not be charged with rafli- ncfs, in faying that their a^^ions may foon give language to their wilhes. By a rcafonable flip- ply of military ftores and fundry matiufaftures they may foon deferve that friendftiip which you have loft hy oppreflion. The want of formal ambailadors will hardly prevent the Americans from receiving the affiftance of fo- reign ftates : ambalTadors are not requiiite to point out the moft obvious truths, treaties are not requifite to engage men to purfue their mutual interefts. However this may be, whe- a* the Americans may receive the fmalleft affiftance from other ftates, fuch ideas have they formed of the defpotic and «ruel tempei? of thofe men who now direft his Majefty's councils ; fuch ideas have they of that flavery, worfe than death, which is prepared for them (hould they ev^r truft in your mercy, that they are fully determined never to confide in your promifes, nor (heath the fword while you are in tht field. Your Lordfhip may pollibly be furprfcd when I fay that the Americans will not e .;» *b-jmit to your armies though vidory ihou'ci >:kdF e on your (ide : but I fay it on the knowkd«Te of lome fadls to which you may not have attended ; from fome intelligence which I prefume you have not received. Have you confidered that a very fmallpurt of Ame- is yet cultivated. About an hundred miles from the fea coaft there is a vaft ridge of moun- taiii which few people have yet crolfcd, for tbe^' ould not be too far feparated from the O parent 1! i. lilHl [ 4^ ] parent fute ; beyond thofe mountains is a coun- try of prodigious extent, more fertile than what has yet been cultivated, healthy, pleafant, abounding in minerals, and fit for producing every thing that is grateful to the tafte. Hi- ther the Americans will retreat, hither more than a million of them are determined tp re- treat in the la ft extremity. No a