| IN
the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain
arguments, and common sense; and have no other preliminaries to settle
with the reader, than that he will divest himself of prejudice and
prepossession, and suffer his reason and his feelings to determine
for themselves; that he will put on, or rather that he will not put
off, the true character of a man, and generously enlarge his views
beyond the present day. |
1 |
| Volumes
have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and
America. Men of all ranks have embarked in the controversy, from different
motives, and with various designs; but all have been ineffectual,
and the period of debate is closed. Arms, as the last resource, decide
the contest; the appeal was the choice of the king, and the continent
hath accepted the challenge. |
2 |
| It
hath been reported of the late Mr Pelham (who tho' an able minister
was not without his faults) that on his being attacked in the house
of commons, on the score, that his measures were only of a temporary
kind, replied, "they will last my time." Should a thought
so fatal and unmanly possess the colonies in the present contest,
the name of ancestors will be remembered by future generations with
detestation. |
3 |
| The
sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair
of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent—of
at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. 'Tis not the concern
of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the
contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time,
by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union,
faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved
with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; The wound
will enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters. |
4 |
| By
referring the matter from argument to arms, a new æra for politics
is struck; a new method of thinking hath arisen. All plans, proposals,
&c. prior to the nineteenth of April, i. e. to the commencement
of hostilities, are like the almanacks of the last year; which, though
proper then, are superceded and useless now. Whatever was advanced
by the advocates on either side of the question then, terminated in
one and the same point, viz. a union with Great-Britain; the only
difference between the parties was the method of effecting it; the
one proposing force, the other friendship; but it hath so far happened
that the first hath failed, and the second hath withdrawn her influence. |
5 |
| As
much hath been said of the advantages of reconciliation, which, like
an agreeable dream, hath passed away and left us as we were, it is
but right, that we should examine the contrary side of the argument,
and inquire into some of the many material injuries which these colonies
sustain, and always will sustain, by being connected with, and dependant
on Great-Britain. To examine that connexion and dependance, on the
principles of nature and common sense, to see what we have to trust
to, if separated, and what we are to expect, if dependant. |
6 |
| I
have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under
her former connexion with Great-Britain, that the same connexion is
necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same
effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument.
We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk,
that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our
lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this
is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly, that America
would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European
power had any thing to do with her. The commerce, by which she hath
enriched herself are the necessaries of life, and will always have
a market while eating is the custom of Europe. |
7 |
| But
she has protected us, say some. That she hath engrossed us is true,
and defended the continent at our expence as well as her own is admitted,
and she would have defended Turkey from the same motive, viz. the
sake of trade and dominion. |
8 |
| Alas,
we have been long led away by ancient prejudices, and made large sacrifices
to superstition. We have boasted the protection of Great-Britain,
without considering, that her motive was interest not attachment;
that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from
her enemies on her own account, from those who had no quarrel with
us on any other account, and who will always be our enemies on the
same account. Let Britain wave her pretensions to the continent, or
the continent throw off the dependance, and we should be at peace
with France and Spain were they at war with Britain. The miseries
of Hanover last war ought to warn us against connexions. |
9 |
| It
hath lately been asserted in parliament, that the colonies have no
relation to each other but through the parent country, i. e. that
Pennsylvania and the Jerseys, and so on for the rest, are sister colonies
by the way of England; this is certainly a very round-about way of
proving relationship, but it is the nearest and only true way of proving
enemyship, if I may so call it. France and Spain never were, nor perhaps
ever will be our enemies as Americans, but as our being the subjects
of Great-Britain. |
10 |
| But
Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon
her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make
war upon their families; wherefore the assertion, if true, turns to
her reproach; but it happens not to be true, or only partly so, and
the phrase parent or mother country hath been jesuitically adopted
by the king and his parasites, with a low papistical design of gaining
an unfair bias on the credulous weakness of our minds. Europe, and
not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath
been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty
from every part of Europe. Hither have they fled, not from the tender
embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it
is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first
emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still. |
11 |
| In
this extensive quarter of the globe, we forget the narrow limits of
three hundred and sixty miles (the extent of England) and carry our
friendship on a larger scale; we claim brotherhood with every European
christian, and triumph in the generosity of the sentiment. |
12 |
| It
is pleasant to observe by what regular gradations we surmount the
force of local prejudice, as we enlarge our acquaintance with the
world. A man born in any town in England divided into parishes, will
naturally associate most with his fellow parishioners (because their
interests in many cases will be common) and distinguish him by the
name of neighbour; if he meet him but a few miles from home, he drops
the narrow idea of a street, and salutes him by the name of townsman;
if he travel out of the county, and meet him in any other, he forgets
the minor divisions of street and town, and calls him countryman;
i. e. county-man; but if in their foreign excursions they should associate
in France or any other part of Europe, their local remembrance would
be enlarged into that of Englishmen. And by a just parity of reasoning,
all Europeans meeting in America, or any other quarter of the globe,
are countrymen; for England, Holland, Germany, or Sweden, when compared
with the whole, stand in the same places on the larger scale, which
the divisions of street, town, and county do on the smaller ones;
distinctions too limited for continental minds. Not one third of the
inhabitants, even of this province, are of English descent. Wherefore
I reprobate the phrase of parent or mother country applied to England
only, as being false, selfish, narrow and ungenerous. |
13 |
| But
admitting, that we were all of English descent, what does it amount
to? Nothing. Britain, being now an open enemy, extinguishes every
other name and title: And to say that reconciliation is our duty,
is truly farcical. The first king of England, of the present line
(William the Conqueror) was a Frenchman, and half the Peers of England
are descendants from the same country; wherefore, by the same method
of reasoning, England ought to be governed by France. |
14 |
| Much hath been said of
the united strength of Britain and the colonies, that in conjunction
they might bid defiance to the world. But this is mere presumption;
the fate of war is uncertain, neither do the expressions mean any
thing; for this continent would never suffer itself to be drained
of inhabitants, to support the British arms in either Asia, Africa,
or Europe. |
15 |
| Besides, what have we
to do with setting the world at defiance? Our plan is commerce, and
that, well attended to, will secure us the peace and friendship of
all Europe; because, it is the interest of all Europe to have America
a free port. Her trade will always be a protection, and her barrenness
of gold and silver secure her from invaders. |
16 |
| I challenge the warmest
advocate for reconciliation, to shew, a single advantage that this
continent can reap, by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat
the challenge, not a single advantage is derived. Our corn will fetch
its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be
paid for buy them where we will. |
17 |
| But the injuries and
disadvantages we sustain by that connection, are without number; and
our duty to mankind at large, as well as to ourselves, instruct us
to renounce the alliance: Because, any submission to, or dependance
on Great-Britain, tends directly to involve this continent in European
wars and quarrels; and sets us at variance with nations, who would
otherwise seek our friendship, and against whom, we have neither anger
nor complaint. As Europe is our market for trade, we ought to form
no partial connection with any part of it. It is the true interest
of America to steer clear of European contentions, which she never
can do, while by her dependance on Britain, she is made the make-weight
in the scale on British politics. |
18 |
| Europe is too thickly
planted with kingdoms to be long at peace, and whenever a war breaks
out between England and any foreign power, the trade of America goes
to ruin, because of her connection with Britain. The next war may
not turn out like the last, and should it not, the advocates for reconciliation
now will be wishing for separation then, because, neutrality in that
case, would be a safer convoy than a man of war. Every thing that
is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain,
the weeping voice of nature cries, 'TIS TIME TO PART. Even the distance
at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong
and natural proof, that the authority of the one, over the other,
was never the design of Heaven. The time likewise at which the continent
was discovered, adds weight to the argument, and the manner in which
it was peopled encreases the force of it. The reformation was preceded
by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to
open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home should
afford neither friendship nor safety. |
19 |
| The authority of Great-Britain
over this continent, is a form of government, which sooner or later
must have an end: And a serious mind can draw no true pleasure by
looking forward, under the painful and positive conviction, that what
he calls "the present constitution" is merely temporary.
As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not
sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to
posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the
next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise
we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of
our duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix
our station a few years farther into life; that eminence will present
a prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from
our sight. |
20 |
| Though I would carefully
avoid giving unnecessary offence, yet I am inclined to believe, that
all those who espouse the doctrine of reconciliation, may be included
within the following descriptions. Interested men, who are not to
be trusted; weak men, who cannot see; prejudiced men, who will not
see; and a certain set of moderate men, who think better of the European
world than it deserves; and this last class, by an ill-judged deliberation,
will be the cause of more calamities to this continent, than all the
other three. |
21 |
| It is the good fortune
of many to live distant from the scene of sorrow; the evil is not
sufficiently brought to their doors to make them feel the precariousness
with which all American property is possessed. But let our imaginations
transport us for a few moments to Boston, that seat of wretchedness
will teach us wisdom, and instruct us for ever to renounce a power
in whom we can have no trust. The inhabitants of that unfortunate
city, who but a few months ago were in ease and affluence, have now,
no other alternative than to stay and starve, or turn out to beg.
Endangered by the fire of their friends if they continue within the
city, and plundered by the soldiery if they leave it. In their present
condition they are prisoners without the hope of redemption, and in
a general attack for their relief, they would be exposed to the fury
of both armies. |
22 |
| Men of passive tempers
look somewhat lightly over the offences of Britain, and, still hoping
for the best, are apt to call out, "Come, come, we shall be friends
again, for all this." But examine the passions and feelings of
mankind, Bring the doctrine of reconciliation to the touchstone of
nature, and then tell me, whether you can hereafter love, honour,
and faithfully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword into
your land? If you cannot do all these, then are you only deceiving
yourselves, and by your delay bringing ruin upon posterity. Your future
connection with Britain, whom you can neither love nor honour, will
be forced and unnatural, and being formed only on the plan of present
convenience, will in a little time fall into a relapse more wretched
than the first. But if you say, you can still pass the violations
over, then I ask, Hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been
destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of
a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a
child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor?
If you have not, then are you not a judge of those who have. But if
you have, and still can shake hands with the murderers, then you are
unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever
may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward,
and the spirit of a sycophant. |
23 |
| This is not inflaming
or exaggerating matters, but trying them by those feelings and affections
which nature justifies, and without which, we should be incapable
of discharging the social duties of life, or enjoying the felicities
of it. I mean not to exhibit horror for the purpose of provoking revenge,
but to awaken us from fatal and unmanly slumbers, that we may pursue
determinately some fixed object. It is not in the power of Britain
or of Europe to conquer America, if she do not conquer herself by
delay and timidity. The present winter is worth an age if rightly
employed, but if lost or neglected, the whole continent will partake
of the misfortune; and there is no punishment which that man will
not deserve, be he who, or what, or where he will, that may be the
means of sacrificing a season so precious and useful. |
24 |
| It is repugnant to reason,
to the universal order of things to all examples from former ages,
to suppose, that this continent can longer remain subject to any external
power. The most sanguine in Britain does not think so. The utmost
stretch of human wisdom cannot, at this time, compass a plan short
of separation, which can promise the continent even a year's security.
Reconciliation is now a falacious dream. Nature hath deserted the
connexion, and Art cannot supply her place. For, as Milton wisely
expresses, "never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of
deadly hate have pierced so deep." |
25 |
| Every quiet method for
peace hath been ineffectual. Our prayers have been rejected with disdain;
and only tended to convince us, that nothing flatters vanity, or confirms
obstinacy in Kings more than repeated petitioning—and noting
hath contributed more than that very measure to make the Kings of
Europe absolute: Witness Denmark and Sweden. Wherefore, since nothing
but blows will do, for God's sake, let us come to a final separation,
and not leave the next generation to be cutting throats, under the
violated unmeaning names of parent and child. |
26 |
| To say, they will never
attempt it again is idle and visionary, we thought so at the repeal
of the stamp act, yet a year or two undeceived us; as well may we
suppose that nations, which have been once defeated, will never renew
the quarrel. |
27 |
| As to government matters,
it is not in the power of Britain to do this continent justice: The
business of it will soon be too weighty, and intricate, to be managed
with any tolerable degree of convenience, by a power, so distant from
us, and so very ignorant of us; for if they cannot conquer us, they
cannot govern us. To be always running three or four thousand miles
with a tale or a petition, waiting four or five months for an answer,
which when obtained requires five or six more to explain it in, will
in a few years be looked upon as folly and childishness—There
was a time when it was proper, and there is a proper time for it to
cease. |
28 |
| Small islands not capable
of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take
under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing
a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. In no instance
hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet, and
as England and America, with respect to each other, reverses the common
order of nature, it is evident they belong to different systems: England
to Europe, America to itself. |
29 |
| I am not induced by motives
of pride, party, or resentment to espouse the doctrine of separation
and independance; I am clearly, positively, and conscientiously persuaded
that it is the true interest of this continent to be so; that every
thing short of that is mere patchwork, that it can afford no lasting
felicity,—that it is leaving the sword to our children, and shrinking
back at a time, when, a little more, a little farther, would have
rendered this continent the glory of the earth. |
30 |
| As Britain hath not manifested
the least inclination towards a compromise, we may be assured that
no terms can be obtained worthy the acceptance of the continent, or
any ways equal to the expense of blood and treasure we have been already
put to. |
31 |
| The object, contended
for, ought always to bear some just proportion to the expense. The
removal of North, or the whole detestable junto, is a matter unworthy
the millions we have expended. A temporary stoppage of trade, was
an inconvenience, which would have sufficiently ballanced the repeal
of all the acts complained of, had such repeals been obtained; but
if the whole continent must take up arms, if every man must be a soldier,
it is scarcely worth our while to fight against a contemptible ministry
only. Dearly, dearly, do we pay for the repeal of the acts, if that
is all we fight for; for in a just estimation, it is as great a folly
to pay a Bunker-hill price for law, as for land. As I have always
considered the independancy of this continent, as an event, which
sooner or later must arrive, so from the late rapid progress of the
continent to maturity, the event could not be far off. Wherefore,
on the breaking out of hostilities, it was not worth the while to
have disputed a matter, which time would have finally redressed, unless
we meant to be in earnest; otherwise, it is like wasting an estate
on a suit at law, to regulate the trespasses of a tenant, whose lease
is just expiring. No man was a warmer wisher for reconciliation than
myself, before the fatal nineteenth of April 1775, 1 but the moment
the event of that day was made known, I rejected the hardened, sullen
tempered Pharaoh of England for ever; and disdain the wretch, that
with the pretended title of FATHER OF HIS PEOPLE, can unfeelingly
hear of their slaughter, and composedly sleep with their blood upon
his soul. |
32 |
| But admitting that matters
were now made up, what would be the event? I answer, the ruin of the
continent. And that for several reasons. |
33 |
| First. The powers of
governing still remaining in the hands of the king, he will have a
negative over the whole legislation of this continent. And as he hath
shewn himself such an inveterate enemy to liberty, and discovered
such a thirst for arbitrary power; is he, or is he not, a proper man
to say to these colonies, "You shall make no laws but what I
please." And is there any inhabitant in America so ignorant,
as not to know, that according to what is called the present constitution,
that this continent can make no laws but what the king gives it leave
to; and is there any man so unwise, as not to see, that (considering
what has happened) he will suffer no law to be made here, but such
as suit his purpose. We may be as effectually enslaved by the want
of laws in America, as by submitting to laws made for us in England.
After matters are made up (as it is called) can there be any doubt,
but the whole power of the crown will be exerted, to keep this continent
as low and humble as possible? Instead of going forward we shall go
backward, or be perpetually quarrelling or ridiculously petitioning.—We
are already greater than the king wishes us to be, and will he not
hereafter endeavour to make us less? To bring the matter to one point.
Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern
us? Whoever says No to this question is an independant, for independancy
means no more, than, whether we shall make our own laws, or, whether
the king, the greatest enemy this continent hath, or can have, shall
tell us, "there shall be no laws but such as I like." |
34 |
| But the king you will
say has a negative in England; the people there can make no laws without
his consent. In point of right and good order, there is something
very ridiculous, that a youth of twenty-one (which hath often happened)
shall say to several millions of people, older and wiser than himself,
I forbid this or that act of yours to be law. But in this place I
decline this sort of reply, though I will never cease to expose the
absurdity of it, and only answer, that England being the King's residence,
and America not so, make quite another case. The king's negative here
is ten times more dangerous and fatal than it can be in England, for
there he will scarcely refuse his consent to a bill for putting England
into as strong a state of defence as possible, and in America he would
never suffer such a bill to be passed. |
35 |
| America is only a secondary
object in the system of British politics, England consults the good
of this country, no farther than it answers her own purpose. Wherefore,
her own interest leads her to suppress the growth of ours in every
case which doth not promote her advantage, or in the least interferes
with it. A pretty state we should soon be in under such a second-hand
government, considering what has happened! Men do not change from
enemies to friends by the alteration of a name: And in order to shew
that reconciliation now is a dangerous doctrine, I affirm, that it
would be policy in the king at this time, to repeal the acts for the
sake of reinstating himself in the government of the provinces; in
order that HE MAY ACCOMPLISH BY CRAFT AND SUBTILITY, IN THE LONG RUN,
WHAT HE CANNOT DO BY FORCE AND VIOLENCE IN THE SHORT ONE. Reconciliation
and ruin are nearly related. |
36 |
| Secondly. That as even
the best terms, which we can expect to obtain, can amount to no more
than a temporary expedient, or a kind of government by guardianship,
which can last no longer than till the colonies come of age, so the
general face and state of things, in the interim, will be unsettled
and unpromising. Emigrants of property will not choose to come to
a country whose form of government hangs but by a thread, and who
is every day tottering on the brink of commotion and disturbance;
and numbers of the present inhabitants would lay hold of the interval,
to dispose of their effects, and quit the continent. |
37 |
| But the most powerful
of all arguments, is, that nothing but independance, i. e. a continental
form of government, can keep the peace of the continent and preserve
it inviolate from civil wars. I dread the event of a reconciliation
with Britain now, as it is more than probable, that it will followed
by a revolt somewhere or other, the consequences of which may be far
more fatal than all the malice of Britain. |
38 |
| Thousands are already
ruined by British barbarity; (thousands more will probably suffer
the same fate.) Those men have other feelings than us who have nothing
suffered. All they now possess is liberty, what they before enjoyed
is sacrificed to its service, and having nothing more to lose, they
disdain submission. Besides, the general temper of the colonies, towards
a British government, will be like that of a youth, who is nearly
out of his time; they will care very little about her. And a government
which cannot preserve the peace, is no government at all, and in that
case we pay our money for nothing; and pray what is it that Britain
can do, whose power will be wholly on paper, should a civil tumult
break out the very day after reconciliation? I have heard some men
say, many of whom I believe spoke without thinking, that they dreaded
an independance, fearing that it would produce civil wars. It is but
seldom that our first thoughts are truly correct, and that is the
case here; for there are ten times more to dread from a patched up
connexion than from independance. I make the sufferers case my own,
and I protest, that were I driven from house and home, my property
destroyed, and my circumstances ruined, that as a man, sensible of
injuries, I could never relish the doctrine of reconciliation, or
consider myself bound thereby. |
39 |
| The colonies have manifested
such a spirit of good order and obedience to continental government,
as is sufficient to make every reasonable person easy and happy on
that head. No man can assign the least pretence for his fears, on
any other grounds, that such as are truly childish and ridiculous,
viz. that one colony will be striving for superiority over another. |
40 |
| Where there are no distinctions
there can be no superiority, perfect equality affords no temptation.
The republics of Europe are all (and we may say always) in peace.
Holland and Swisserland are without wars, foreign or domestic: Monarchical
governments, it is true, are never long at rest; the crown itself
is a temptation to enterprizing ruffians at home; and that degree
of pride and insolence ever attendant on regal authority, swells into
a rupture with foreign powers, in instances, where a republican government,
by being formed on more natural principles, would negotiate the mistake. |
41 |
| If there is any true
cause of fear respecting independance, it is because no plan is yet
laid down. Men do not see their way out—Wherefore, as an opening
into that business, I offer the following hints; at the same time
modestly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myself, than
that they may be the means of giving rise to something better. Could
the straggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently
form materials for wise and able men to improve into useful matter. |
42 |
| Let the assemblies be
annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their
business wholly domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental
Congress. |
43 |
| Let each colony be divided
into six, eight, or ten, convenient districts, each district to send
a proper number of delegates to Congress, so that each colony send
at least thirty. The whole number in Congress will be least 390. Each
Congress to sit and to choose a president by the following method.
When the delegates are met, let a colony be taken from the whole thirteen
colonies by lot, after which, let the whole Congress choose (by ballot)
a president from out of the delegates of that province. In the next
Congress, let a colony be taken by lot from twelve only, omitting
that colony from which the president was taken in the former Congress,
and so proceeding on till the whole thirteen shall have had their
proper rotation. And in order that nothing may pass into a law but
what is satisfactorily just, not less than three fifths of the Congress
to be called a majority.—He that will promote discord, under
a government so equally formed as this, would have joined Lucifer
in his revolt. |
44 |
| But as there is a peculiar
delicacy, from whom, or in what manner, this business must first arise,
and as it seems most agreeable and consistent that it should come
from some intermediate body between the governed and the governors,
that is, between the Congress and the people, let a CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
be held, in the following manner, and for the following purpose. |
45 |
| A committee of twenty-six
members of Congress, viz. two for each colony. Two members for each
House of Assembly, or Provincial Convention; and five representatives
of the people at large, to be chosen in the capital city or town of
each province, for, and in behalf of the whole province, by as many
qualified voters as shall think proper to attend from all parts of
the province for that purpose; or, if more convenient, the representatives
may be chosen in two or three of the most populous parts thereof.
In this conference, thus assembled, will be united, the two grand
principles of business, knowledge and power. The members of Congress,
Assemblies, or Conventions, by having had experience in national concerns,
will be able and useful counsellors, and the whole, being impowered
by the people, will have a truly legal authority |
46 |
| The conferring members
being met, let their business be to frame a CONTINENTAL CHARTER, or
Charter of the United Colonies; (answering to what is called the Magna
Charta of England) fixing the number and manner of choosing members
of Congress, members of Assembly, with their date of sitting, and
drawing the line of business and jurisdiction between them: (Always
remembering, that our strength is continental, not provincial:) Securing
freedom and property to all men, and above all things, the free exercise
of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; with such other
matter as is necessary for a charter to contain. Immediately after
which, the said Conference to dissolve, and the bodies which shall
be chosen comformable to the said charter, to be the legislators and
governors of this continent for the time being: Whose peace and happiness,
may God preserve, Amen. |
47 |
| Should any body of men
be hereafter delegated for this or some similar purpose, I offer them
the following extracts from that wise observer on governments Dragonetti.
"The science" says he "of the politician consists in
fixing the true point of happiness and freedom. Those men would deserve
the gratitude of ages, who should discover a mode of government that
contained the greatest sum of individual happiness, with the least
national expense. Dragonetti on virtue and rewards." |
48 |
| But where says some is
the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth
not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that
we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day
be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought
forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed
thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve as
monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments
the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and
there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards
arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished,
and scattered among the people whose right it is. |
49 |
| A government of our own
is our natural right: And when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness
of human affairs, he will become convinced, that it is infinitely
wiser and safer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate
manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting
event to time and chance. If we omit it now, some, Massanello may
hereafter arise, who laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect
together the desperate and discontented, and by assuming to themselves
the powers of government, may sweep away the liberties of the continent
like a deluge. Should the government of America return again into
the hands of Britain, the tottering situation of things, will be a
temptation for some desperate adventurer to try his fortune; and in
such a case, what relief can Britain give? Ere she could hear the
news, the fatal business might be done; and ourselves suffering like
the wretched Britons under the oppression of the Conqueror. Ye that
oppose independance now, ye know not what ye do; ye are opening a
door to eternal tyranny, by keeping vacant the seat of government.
There are thousands, and tens of thousands, who would think it glorious
to expel from the continent, that barbarous and hellish power, which
hath stirred up the Indians and Negroes to destroy us, the cruelty
hath a double guilt, it is dealing brutally by us, and treacherously
by them. |
50 |
| To talk of friendship
with those in whom our reason forbids us to have faith, and our affections
wounded through a thousand pores instruct us to detest, is madness
and folly. Every day wears out the little remains of kindred between
us and them, and can there be any reason to hope, that as the relationship
expires, the affection will increase, or that we shall agree better,
when we have ten times more and greater concerns to quarrel over than
ever? |
51 |
| Ye that tell us of harmony
and reconciliation, can ye restore to us the time that is past? Can
ye give to prostitution its former innocence? Neither can ye reconcile
Britain and America. The last cord now is broken, the people of England
are presenting addresses against us. There are injuries which nature
cannot forgive; she would cease to be nature if she did. As well can
the lover forgive the ravisher of his mistress, as the continent forgive
the murders of Britain. The Almighty hath implanted in us these unextinguishable
feelings for good and wise purposes. They are the guardians of his
image in our hearts. They distinguish us from the herd of common animals.
The social compact would dissolve, and justice be extirpated from
the earth, or have only a casual existence were we callous to the
touches of affection. The robber, and the murderer, would often escape
unpunished, did not the injuries which our tempers sustain, provoke
us into justice. |
52 |
| O ye that love mankind!
Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!
Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath
been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled
her.—Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given
her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time
an asylum for mankind. |
53 |
