er by hereditary privilege, or the choice of your people, onfer and treat with your Majesty, in your highest counupon the arduous affairs of your kingdom. We are ible of the whole importance of the duty which this titutional summons implies. We know the religious rtuality of attendance which, in the ordinary course, it ands. It is no light cause which, even for a time, could uade us to relax in any part of that attendance. The ish empire is in convulsions which threaten its dissoluThose particular proceedings which cause and inflame disorder, after many years' incessant struggle, we find elves wholly unable to oppose, and unwilling to behold. our endeavours having proved fruitless, we are fearful at time of irritating, by contention, those passions which ave found it impracticable to compose by reason. ot permit ourselves to countenance, by the appearance silent assent, proceedings fatal to the liberty and unity e empire; proceedings which exhaust the strength of our Majesty's dominions, destroy all trust and dependof our allies, and leave us both at home and abroad sed to the suspicious mercy and uncertain inclinations r neighbour and rival powers; to whom, by this despecourse, we are driving our countrymen for protection, with whom we have forced them into connexions, and bind them by habits and by interest :-an evil which ctories that may be obtained, no severities which may ercised, ever will or can remove.

We

but the smallest hope should from any circumstances r of a return to the ancient maxims and true policy of ingdom, we shall with joy and readiness return to our dance, in order to give our hearty support to whatever 3 may be left for alleviating the complicated evils. oppress this nation.

this should not happen, we have discharged our conces by this faithful representation to your Majesty and ountry; and, however few in number, or however we be overborne by practices,whose operation is but too ful, by the revival of dangerous, exploded principles, or emisguided zeal of such arbitrary factions as formerly led in this kingdom, and always to its detriment and ce, we have the satisfaction of standing forth and re

cording our names in assertion of those principles operation hath, in better times, made your Majesty prince, and the British dominions a mighty empire.

ADDRESS

TO THE BRITISH COLONISTS IN NORTH AMERI

THE very dangerous crisis, into which the British is brought, as it accounts for, so it justifies, the unusu we take in addressing ourselves to you.

The distempers of the state are grown to such a de violence and malignity as to render all ordinary re vain and frivolous. In such a deplorable situation, herence to the common forms of business appears rather as an apology to cover a supine neglect of duty the means of performing it in a manner adequate exigency that presses upon us. The common mea have already tried, and tried to no purpose. As ou resource, we turn ourselves to you. We address you in our private capacity; vested with no other authorit what will naturally attend those, in whose declarati benevolence you have no reason to apprehend any m of dissimulation or design.

We have this title to your attention: we call upon a moment of the utmost importance to us all. W with infinite concern, that arguments are used to per you of the necessity of separating yourselves from ancient connexion with your parent country, grounde supposition that a general principle of alienation and e to you had pervaded the whole of this kingdom; and there does no longer subsist between you and us any mon and kindred principles, upon which we can po unite consistently with those ideas of liberty in which have justly placed your whole happiness.

If this fact were true, the inference drawn from it be irresistible. But nothing is less founded. We a indeed, that violent addresses have been procured wit common pains by wicked and designing men, purporti

e genuine voice of the whole people of England; that have been published by authority here; and made n to you by proclamations; in order, by despair and tment, incurably to poison your minds against the n of your race, and to render all cordial reconciliation een us utterly impracticable. The same wicked men, he same bad purposes, have so far surprised the justice arliament, as to cut off all communication betwixt us, ot what is to go in their own fallacious and hostile nel.

at we conjure you by the invaluable pledges, which hitherto united, and which we trust will hereafter lastunite us, that you do not suffer yourselves to be pered, or provoked, into an opinion, that you are at war this nation. Do not think, that the whole, or even the luenced majority, of Englishmen in this island are ene to their own blood on the American continent. Much ion has been practised; much corrupt influence treach ly employed. But still a large, and we trust the st and soundest, part of this kingdom perseveres in the perfect unity of sentiments, principles, and affections, you. It spreads out a large and liberal platform of non liberty, upon which we may all unite for ever. It rs the hostilities which have been carried on against as much as you who feel the cruel effect of them. It lisclaimed, in the most solemn manner, at the foot of hrone itself, the addresses, which tended to irritate your eign against his colonies. We are persuaded that many of those who unadvisedly have put their hands ch intemperate and inflammatory addresses, have not at prehended to what such proceedings naturally lead; would sooner die, than afford them the least countenance, ey were sensible of their fatal effects on the union and y of the empire.

r ourselves, we faithfully assure you that we have ever dered you as rational creatures; as free agents; as men Lg to pursue, and able to discern, your own true interest. ave wished to continue united with you, in order that ple of one origin and one character should be directed › rational objects of government by joint counsels, and cted in them by a common force. Other subordination

in you we require none. We have never pressed th ment of general union to the extinction of you natural, and just privileges. Sensible of what is d to the dignity and weakness of man, we have neve to place over you any government, over which, in gr damental points, you should have no sort of check or in your own hands, or which should be repugnant situation, principles, and character.

No circumstances of fortune, you may be assur ever induce us to form, or tolerate, any such design. disposition of Providence (which we deprecate) shou prostrate you at our feet, broken in power and in § would be our duty and inclination to revive, by eve tical means, that free energy of mind, which a fortu suitable to your virtue had damped and dejected; put you voluntarily in possession of those very pr which you had in vain attempted to assert by arm: we solemnly declare, that although we should look separation from you as a heavy calamity, (and the because we know you must have your full share in we had much rather see you totally independent Crown and kingdom, than joined to it by so unnatural junction as that of freedom with servitude:-a conju which, if it were at all practicable, could not fail in t of being more mischievous to the peace, prosperity, ness, and power of this nation, than beneficial, by largement of the bounds of nominal empire.

But because, brethren, these professions are gener such as even enemies may make, when they reserve to selves the construction of what servitude and what

are, we inform you, that we adopt your own standard blessing of free government. We are of opinion tha ought to enjoy the sole and exclusive right of freely ing, and applying to the support of your administ what God has freely granted as a reward to your ind And we do not confine this immunity from exterior co in this great point solely to what regards your local lishment, but also to what may be thought proper f maintenance of the whole empire. In this resour cheerfully trust and acquiesce: satisfied by evident that no other expectation of revenue can possibly be

free men; and knowing, from an experience uniform both yours and on our side of the ocean, that such an expectan has never yet been disappointed. We know of no road your coffers but through your affections.

To manifest our sentiments the more clearly to you and the world on this subject; we declare our opinion, that if revenue at all, which, however, we are far from supposing, re to be obtained from you to this kingdom, yet as long t is our happiness to be joined with you in bonds of franal charity and freedom, with an open and flowing comce between us, one principle of enmity and friendship vading, and one right of war and peace directing, the ngth of the whole empire, we are likely to be, at least, as erful as any nation, or as any combination of nations, ch in the course of human events may be formed against We are sensible that a very large proportion of the 1th and power of every empire must necessarily be thrown n the presiding state. We are sensible that such a state has borne, and ever must bear, the greatest part, and etimes the whole, of the public expenses: and we think well indemnified for that (rather apparent than real) quality of charge, in the dignity and pre-eminence enjoys, and in the superior opulence which, after all ges defrayed, must necessarily remain at the centre of rs. Of this principle we are not without evidence in remembrance (not yet effaced) of the glorious and happy s of this empire. We are, therefore, incapable of that aricating style, by which, when taxes without your conare to be extorted from you, this nation is represented the lowest state of impoverishment and public distress; when we are called upon to oppress you by force of , it is painted as scarcely feeling its impositions, aboundwith wealth, and inexhaustible in its resources.

e also reason and feel as you do on the invasion of charters. Because the charters comprehend the essenforms by which you enjoy your liberties, we regard as most sacred, and by no means to be taken away or ed without process, without examination, and without ng, as they have lately been. We even think that they t by no means to be altered at all but at the desire of greater part of the people who live under them. We