' Jefferson writes at bottom of page: "We did not embody men a soldiery to commit aggression on them; we did not raise armies for merch to glory or to conquest or for glory; we did not invade their island proffering death or slavery to its inhabitants."

ourselves towards the achievement of this happy event we call for we confide in on the good offices of our fellow subjects beyond the Atlantic. Of their friendly dispositions we confide we hope with justice reason can not yet cease to hope & assure them they are aware as they must be that they have nothing more to expect from the same common enemy than the humble favour of being last devoured.

hope; aware, as they must be, that they have nothing more to expect from the same common enemy, than the humble favour of being last devoured. And we devoutly implore assistance of Almighty God to conduct us happily thro' this great conflict, to dispose the minds of his majesty, his ministers, & parliament to reasonable terms reconciliation with us on reasonable terms, & to deliver us from the evils of a civil war.

The Congress proceeding to take into their consideration a resolution of the House of Commons of Gr Br referred to them by the several assemblies of New Jersey, Pnnsylva & Virga,

1 These three queries are in the handwriting of John Dickinson. 'On July 22d Franklin, Jefferson, John Adams, and Lee were named by Congress a committee to report on the "conciliatory resolution" moved by Lord North, 'and adopted February 20, 1775, by the House of Commons.

which resoln is in these words that it is the opinion &c" are of Opinion

That the colonies of America possess an the exclusive right privilege of giving & granting their own money; that this involves the right of deliberating whether they will give any sums make any gift, for what purposes they will give them it shall be made, and what shall be it's the amount of the gift, and that it is a high breach of this privilege for any body of men, extraneous to their constitutions, to prescribe the purposes for which money shall be levied on them, & to take to themselves the authority of judging what shall be a sufficient levy of their conditions circumstances, & and situation, & of determining the sufficiency or insufficiency of any the levy proposed amount of the contribution to be levied.

That as they possess a right of appropriating their gifts, so are they entitled at all times to inquire into its their application; to see that it they be not distributed wasted among the venal & corrupt to sap for the purpose of sapping undermining their the civil rights of the givers, of overbearing them by with military foree power by diverting them nor yet applied be diverted to the support of standing armies for the purpose of overbearing these states by military inconsistent with domestie quiet their freedom & subversive of their our quiet. To propose therefore as this resolution does that the monies given by the colonies shall be subject to the disposal of parliament alone, is to propose that they shall surrender give relinquish this right of enquiry; and to put it in, the power of others to render their gifts ruinous in proportion as they are liberal.

That this privilege of giving or withholding our monies is an important barrier against in the undue exertion of prerogative, which if left altogether without controul might may be exercised to our great oppression ; & that is also & all history shows it how efficacious its intercession for redress of grievances & reestab

"

Jefferson in the Virginia House of Burgesses had already drawn a reply to this, which "having been approved, I was requested by the committee to prepare the report. It was introduced July 25th, but was not adopted till July 31st. This is Jefferson's draft of that paper, and varies considerably from the paper as finally adopted.

lishment of rights and how improvident would be the surrender of so powerful a mediator.

We are further of opinion

That the proposition contained in this resolution is uncandid unequal unreasonable & insidious: uncandid unequal unreasonable because if we declare we accede to it we declare in absolute terms without reservation we will purchase the favour of parliament not without knowg not at the same time & leave the price of that purchase to be fixed by the sellers alone, at what price they will please to estimate their favour; it is insidious because a colony on refusal of any a proffered sum any individual colonies having bid & bidden again till.it- they finds the height of parliamentary avidity of the seller unattainable by all its their powers, are then to return into opposition single & unsupported divided from its their sister colonies having in the meantime been taken whom the minister shall will have previously imparted fully detached from the Union by acceptance a grant of easier terms, or deluded into inactivity by keeping up into a definitive answer and by delayg of the definitive answer or by an artful procrasti. nation of a definitive answer.

That the suspension of the exercise of their pretended power to tax levy taxes of taxation being expressly made commensurate with the duration-continuing of our gifts, in order these must be perpetual to make that so: and experience has invariably proven that to render a governing power perpetually independent it is not the best method of preserving the friendship & good offices of any part of government to render it independent by vesting it with perpetual revenues and whereas no experience has shewn that a gift of perpetual revenues secures a perpetual return of duty or of goed kind dispositions. On the contrary the parliament itself with a wisdom we mean worthy to imitation cautiously wisely attentive to this eircumstance observation are in the established practice of granting their own money but from year to year only.

We are of the opinion that even fair terms could hardly be accepted by us

Tho' desirous & determined to consider in the most dispassionate light view every advance towards reconciliation made by

the British parlmt. let our brethren of Britain reflect what could have been the sacrifice to men of free spirits had illegible] even fair terms been proffered by freemen when attended as these were with the most irritating circumstances of insult & defiance with circumstances so insultive circumstances. A proposition to give our money, when accompanied with large fleets & armies. Addressed to our fears rather than to our freedom. Let Britons our brethren of Britain reflect with what patience they would they have received articles of treaty from any power on earth when sent by such messengers plenipotentiaries borne by on the point of the bayonet by the hands of military plenipotentiaries? on the point of a bayonet.

We think that the attempt alike unreasonable & unnecessary & unwarrantable to raise upon us by force or by threats our proportional contributions to the common defense, when all know, and themselves acknowleged we have ever freely & fully given those contributiensed whenever called upon, to contribute in the character freemen should be is one among a plain proof, among many others that not the obtaining these but the rendering to their absolute dominion was not the ultimate end of Parliamentary object of parliament.

We are of opinion it is not just yt the colonies should make any be required to oblige themselves stipulate to other contributions while Great Britain possesses a monopoly of their trade. This is of does of itself lay them under a heavy contribution. levied on them. To demand therefore another an additional contribution by way in the form of a tax is to demand the double of their equal proportion. We conceive no reason If we are to contribute proportionally equally with the other parts of the empire, let us equally with them enjoy like them equal rights of free commerce with the whole world. But while the restrictions on our trade shut up to us the resources of wealth we cannot bear it is it unjust we should be expected to bear all other burthens equally with those to whom under no restriction have every resource is open?

We conceive that the Brit. parl. has no right to intermeddle with our provisions for the support of civil governmt or administration of justice. That the provisions has been made in such