find the avidity of the seller too great for all their powers to satisfy, are then to return into opposition, divided from their sister Colonies, whom the Minister will have previously detached, by a grant of easier terms, or by an artful procrastination of a definitive answer.

"That the suspension of the exercise of their pretended power of taxation, being, expressly, made commensurate with the continuance of our gifts, these must be perpetual to make that so. Whereas, no experience has shown, that a gift of perpetual revenue secures a perpetual return of duty, or of kind disposition. On the contrary, the Parliament itself, wisely attentive to the observation, is in the established practice of granting its supplies from year to year only.

“Desirous and determined as we are, to consider, in the most dispassionate view, every seeming advance, towards a reconciliation, made by the British Parliament, let our brethren of Britain reflect, what would have been the sacrifice to men of free spirits, had even fair terms been proffered, as these insidious proposals were, with circumstances of insult or defiance. A proposition to give our money, accompanied with large fleets and armies, seems addressed to our fears, rather than to our freedom. With what patience, could Britons have received articles of a treaty, from any power on earth, when borne on the point of a bayonet, by military plenipotentiaries? We think the attempt unnecessary to raise upon us, by force or by threats, our proportional contributions to the common defence, when all know, and themselves acknowledge, we have fully contributed, whenever called upon to do so, in the character of freemen.

"We are of opinion it is not just, that the Colonies should be required to oblige themselves to other contributions, while Great Britain possesses a monopoly of their trade. This of itself lays them under heavy contribution. To demand therefore additional aids, in the form of a tax, is to demand the double of their equal proportion. If we contribute equally with other parts of the empire, let us, equally with them, enjoy free commerce with the whole world: but while the restrictions on our trade shut to us the resources of wealth, is it just, we should bear all other burdens, equally with those to whom every resource is open?

"We conceive, that the British Parliament has no right to intermeddle with our provisions for the support of civil government, or administration of justice. The provisions we have made are such as please ourselves, and are agreeable to our own circumstances. They answer the substantial purposes of government, and of justice; and other purposes than these should not be answered. We do not mean, that our people shall be burdened, with oppressive taxes, to provide sinecures for the idle or the wicked, under color of providing for a civil list. While Parliament pursue their plan of civil government, within their own jurisdiction, we, also, hope to pursue ours, without molestation.

"We are of opinion, the proposition is altogether unsatisfactory; because it imports only a suspension of the mode, not a renunciation of the pretended right, to tax us: because, too, it does not propose to repeal the several acts of Parliament, passed for the purposes of restraining the trade, and altering the form of government of one of our Colonies; extending the boundaries, and changing the government of Quebec; enlarging the jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty and vice-admiralty; taking from us the right of a trial by jury of the vicinage, in cases affecting both life and property; transporting us into other countries, to be tried for criminal offences; exempting, by mock trial, the murderers of Colonists from punishment; and quartering soldiers on us, in times of profound peace. Nor do they renounce the power of suspending our own Legisla tures, and legislating for us themselves, in all cases whatsoever. On the contrary, to show they mean no discontinuance of injury, they pass acts, at the very time of holding out this proposition, for restraining the commerce and fisheries of the Provinces of New-England; and for interdicting the trade of other Colonies, with all foreign nations, and with each other. This proves unequivocally, they mean not to relinquish the exercise of indiscriminate legislation over us.

"Upon the whole, this proposition seems to have been held up to the whole world, to deceive it into a belief, that there was nothing in dispute between us, but the mode of levying taxes; and that the Parliament having been now so good as to give up this, the Colonies are unreasonable, if not perfectly satisfied. Whereas, in truth, our adversaries still claim a right of demanding, ad libitum, and of taxing us themselves, to the full amount of their demand, if we do comply with it. This leaves us without any thing we can call property but, what is of more importance, and what, in this proposal, they keep out of sight, as if no such point was now in contest between us, they claim a right to alter our charters, and establish laws, and leave us without any security for our lives or liberties.

"The proposition seems, also, to have been calculated, more particularly, to lull into fatal security, our well-affected fellow subjects, on the other side of the water, till time should be given, for the operation of those arms, which a British minister pronounced would, instantaneously, reduce the cowardly sons of America, to unreserved submission. But, when the world reflects, how inadequate to justice are these vaunted terms; when it attends to the rapid and bold succession of injuries, which, during a course of eleven years, have been aimed at the Colonies: when it reviews the pacific and respectful expostulations, which, during that whole time, were the sole arms we opposed to them; when it observes, that our complaints were either not heard at all, or were answered with new and accumulated injuries; when it recollects, that the minister himself, on an early occasion, declared, "that he would never treat with Amer

ica, till he had brought her to his feet;" that an avowed partisan of ministry has, more lately, denounced against us the dreadful sentence "delenda est Carthago;" and that this was done, in presence of a British Senate, and being unreproved by them, must be taken to be their own sentiments, especially as the purpose has already, in part, been carried into execution, by their treatment of Bos ton, and burning of Charlestown; when it considers the great armaments, with which they have invaded us, and the circumstances of cruelty, with which these have commenced and prosecuted hostilities; when these things, we say, are laid together, and attentively considered, can the world be deceived into an opinion, that we are unreasonable? Or can it hesitate to believe with us, that nothing, but our own exertions, may defeat the ministerial sentence of death, or abject submission ?"

On the first of August, Congress adjourned, to meet again on the 5th of September following.

Although Mr. Jefferson had been in Congress but little over a month, and a silent member, he had erected a more durable monument to his fame, than any of his colleagues; and stood on an eminence not inferior to the chiefest among the chiefs of that olympic Assembly. The following letters, which he addressed at this critical time, to a friend in England, are a couple of rare revolutionary fragments: They should be preserved as religious relics; not only in veneration of the man, his pacific disposition, and his sleepless efforts for the restoration of tranquillity, with, though not without, a restoration of the just rights in question; but also in remembrance of the character of that struggle which fills so sacred a page in our history. They show how little there was of any thing but princi ple, which entered into the motives of a principal actor, and one who was proscribed as an unpardonable among the movers of the rebellion.

'Monticello, August 25, 1775. "Dear Sir, I am sorry the situation of our country should render it not eligible to you to remain longer in it. I hope the returning wisdom of Great Britain will, ere long, put an end to this unnatural contest. There may be people to whose tempers and dispositions, contention is pleasing, and who, therefore, wish a continuance of confusion; but to me, it is of all states but one, the most horrid. My first wish is a restoration of our just rights; my second, a return of the happy period, when, consistently with duty, I may withdraw myself totally from the public stage, and pass the rest of my days in domestic ease and tranquillity, banishing

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every desire of ever hearing what passes in the world. Perhaps, (for the latter adds considerably to the warmth of the former wish,) looking with fondness towards a reconciliation with Great Britain, I cannot help hoping you may be able to contribute towards expediting this good work. I think it must be evident to yourself, that the Ministry have been deceived by their officers on this side of the water, who (for what purpose, I cannot tell) have constantly represented the American opposition as that of a small faction, in which the body of the people took little part. This, you can inform them, of your own knowledge, is untrue. They have taken it into their heads, too, that we are cowards, and shall surrender at discretion to an armed force. The past and future operations of the war must confirm or undeceive them on that head. I wish they were thoroughly and minutely acquainted with every circumstance relative to America, as it exists in truth. I am persuaded, this would go far towards disposing them to reconciliation. Even those in Parliament who are called friends to America, seem to know nothing of our real determinations. I observe, they pronounced in the last Parliament, that the Congress of 1774, did not mean to insist rigorously on the terms they held out, but kept something in reserve, to give up; and, in fact, that they would give up every thing but the article of taxation. Now, the truth is far from this, as I can affirm, and put my honor to the assertion. Their continuance in this error may perhaps produce very ill consequences. The Congress stated the lowest terms they thought possible to be accepted, in order to convince the world they were not unreasonable. They gave up the monopoly and regulation of trade, and all acts of Parliament prior to 1764, leaving to British generosity to render these, at some future time, as easy to America, as the interest of Britain would admit. But this was before blood was spilt. I cannot affirm, but have reason to think, these terms would not now be accepted. I wish no false sense of honor, no ignorance of our real intentions, no vain hope that partial concessions of right will be accepted, may induce the Ministry to trifle with accommodation, till it shall be out of their power ever to accommodate. If, indeed, Great Britain, disjoined from her Colonies, be a match for the most potent nations of Europe, with the Colonies thrown into their scale, they may go on securely. But if they are not assured of this, it would be certainly unwise, by trying the event of another campaign, to risk our accepting a foreign aid, which perhaps may not be obtainable, but on condition of everlasting avulsion from Great Britain. This would be thought a hard condition to those who still wish for re-union with their parent country. I am sincerely one of those; and would rather be in dependence on Great Britain, properly limited, than on any nation upon earth, or than on no nation. But I am one of those, too, who, rather than

submit to the rights of legislating for us, assumed by the British Parliament, and which late experience has shown they will so cruelly exercise, would lend my hand to sink the whole island in the

ocean.

If undeceiving the Minister, as to matters of fact, may change his disposition, it will perhaps be in your power, by assisting to do this, to render service to the whole empire at the most critical time, certainly, that it has ever seen. Whether Britain shall continue the head of the greatest empire on earth, or shall return to her original station in the political scale of Europe, depends, perhaps, on the resolutions of the succeeding winter. God send they may be wise and salutary for us all. I shall be glad to hear from you as often as you may be disposed to think of things here. You may be at liberty, I expect, to communicate some things, consistently with your honor and the duties you will owe to a protecting nation. Such a communication among individuals may be mutually beneficial to the contending parties. On this or any future occasion, if I affirm to you any facts, your knowledge of me will enable you to decide on their credibility; if I hazard opinions on the dispositions of men or other speculative points, you can only know they are my opinions. My best wishes for your felicity attend you wherever you go; and believe me to be, assuredly, your friend and servant."

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'Philadelphia, Nov. 29, 1775. "Dear Sir,-* It is an immense misfortune to the whole empire, to have a King of such a disposition at such a time. We are told, and every thing proves it true, that he is the bitterest enemy we have. His Minister is able, and that satisfies me, that ignorance or wickedness somewhere, controls him. In an earlier part of this contest, our petitions told him, that from our King there was but one appeal. The admonition was despised, and that appeal forced on us. To undo his empire, he has but one truth more to learn: that, after colonies have drawn the sword, there is but one step more they can take. That step is now pressed upon us by the measures adopted, as if they were afraid we would not take it. Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. We want neither inducement nor power to declare and assert a separation. It is will alone which is wanting; and that is growing apace under the fostering hand of our King. One bloody campaign will probably decide everlastingly our future course; I am sorry to find a bloody campaign is decided on.

If