as religious and
Consciencious as the
People of
Pensylvania: that their
Consciences dictated to them that it was their duty to support those Laws and
therefore the very Liberty of Conscience which Mr. Pemberton
invoked, would demand indulgence for the tender Consciences of the People of
Massachusetts, and allow them to preserve their Laws. That it
might be depended on, this was a Point that could not be carried: that I would
not deceive them by insinuating the faintest hope, for I knew they might as
well turn the heavenly Bodies out of their annual And diurnal Courses as the
People of
Massachusetts at the present day from their Meeting House and
Sunday Laws. -- Pemberton made no Reply but this, Oh! Sir pray
dont urge Liberty of Conscience in
favour of such Laws!
-- If I had known the particular complaints, which were to be
alledged, and if Pemberton had not
broke irregularly into the Midst of Things, it might have been better perhaps
to have postponed this declaration. However the Gentlemen proceeded and stated
the particular Cases of Oppression, which were
alledged in our General and executive Courts. It happened
this that Mr. Cushing
and Mr.
AdSamuel Adams had been present
in the General Court, when the Petitions had been under deliberation, and they
explained the whole so clearly that every reasonable Man must have been
satisfied. Mr. Paine and myself had been concerned at the Bar
in every Action in the executive Courts which was complained of, and We
explained them all to the entire Satisfaction of impartial Men: and
shewed that there had been no Oppression or injustice
in any of them. The Quakers were not generally and heartily in our Cause, they
were jealous of Independence, they were then suspicious and soon afterwards
became assured, that the
Massachusetts Delegates and especially
John
Adams, were Advocates
Page 2
for that
Obxious Measure, and they conceived prejudices, which
were soon increased and artfully inflamed, and are not yet worn out. In some of
the late Elections for President, some of the Quakers were heard to say
"Friend,
the must know that We dont much affect the
Name of Adams." This Sentiment was not however Universal nor
General, for I have had Opportunities to know that great Numbers of the Friends
in all parts of the Continent, were warmly attached to me, both when
I was Vice President and President.
I left Congress and
Philadelphia in October 1774, with a Reputation, much higher
than ever I enjoyed before or since.
Upon our Return to
Massachusetts, I found myself elected by the
Town of Braintree into the provincial Congress, and attended
that Service as long as it sat. About this time, Drapers Paper in
Boston swarmed with Writers, and among an immense quantity of
meaner productions appeared a Writer under the Signature of Massachusettensis,
suspected but never that I knew ascertained to be written by two of my old
Friends Jonathan Sewall and Daniel Leonard.
These Papers were well written, abounded with Wit, discovered good Information,
and were conducted with a Subtlety of
Address Art and Address,
wonderfully calculated to keep Up the Spirits of their Party, to depress
ours,
and to spread intimidation and to make Proselytes among those,
whose Principles and judgment give Way to their fears, and these compose at
least one third of Mankind. Week after Week passed away, and these Papers made
a very visible impression on many Mind. No Answer appeared, and indeed, some
who were capable, were too busy and others too timorous. I began at length to
think seriously of the Consequences and began to write, under the Signature of
Novanglus, and continued every Week, in the
Boston Gazette, till the 19th. of April 1775. The last Number
was prevented from impression, by the Commencement of Hostilities, and
Mr. Gill gave it to
judge
William Cushing, who now has it in Manuscript. An Abridgment of the
printed Numbers was made by some one in England unknown to me,
and published in a Supplement to
Almons
Remembrancer for
Page 3
the Year 1775 under the Title of Prior Documents,
and afterwards reprinted in a Pamphlet in 1783 under the Title of History of
the Dispute with America. In
New England they had the Effect of an Antidote to the Poison of
Massachusettinsis: and the Battle of
Lexington on the 19th of April, changed the Instruments of
Warfare from the
Penn to the Sword. A few days after
this Event I rode to
Cambridge where I saw General Ward,
General Heath, General Joseph Warren, and the
New England Army. There was great Confusion and much distress:
Artillery, Arms,
Cloathing were wanting and a
sufficient Supply of Provisions not easily obtained. Neither the officers nor
Men however wanted Spirits or Resolution. I rode from thence to
Lexington and along the Scene of Action for many miles and
enquired of the Inhabitants, the Circumstances. These were not calculated to
diminish my
Ardour in the Cause. They on the Contrary
convinced me that the Die was cast, the Rubicon passed, and as Lord
Mansfield expressed it in Parliament, if We did not defend ourselves
they would kill Us. On my Return home I was seized with a fever, attended with
allarming Symptoms: but the time was come to repair
to
[illegible]
Philadelphia to Congress which was to meet on the fifth of May.
I was determined to go as far as I could, and instead
[of]
venturing on horseback as I had intended, I got into a Sulkey attended by a
Servant on horseback and proceeded on the journey. This Year
Mr. Hancock was added to our Number: I overtook my
Colleagues before they reached
New York. At
Kingsbridge We were met by a great Number of Gentlemen in
Carriages and on horseback, and all the Way their Numbers increased till I
thought the whole City was come out to meet Us. The same
Ardour was continued all the Way to
Philadelphia.
Congress assembled and proceeded to Business, and the Members appeared to me
to be of one Mind, and that mind after my own heart. I dreaded the danger of
disunion and divisions among Us, and much more among the People. It appeared to
me, that all Petitions, Remonstrances and Negotiations, for the future would be
fruitless and only occasion a Loss of time and give Opportunity to the
Ennemy
to sow divisions among the States and the People. My heart bled for the poor
People of
Boston, imprisoned within the Walls of their City by a British
Army, and We knew not to what Plunder or Massacres or Cruelties they might be
exposed. I thought the first Step
should ought to be, to recommend
to the People of every State in the Union, to Seize on all the Crown Officers,
and hold them with civility,
Page 4
Humanity and Generosity, as Hostages
for the Security of the People of
Boston and to be exchanged for them as soon as the British Army
would release them. That We ought to recommend to the People of all the States
to institute Governments for themselves, under their own Authority, and that,
without Loss of Time. That We ought to declare the Colonies, free, Sovereign
and independent States, and then to inform
Great Britain We were willing to enter into Negotiations with
them for the redress of all Grievances, and a restoration of Harmony between
the two Countries, upon permanent Principles. All this I thought might be done
before We entered into any Connections, Alliances or Negotiations with forreign
Powers. I was also for informing
Great Britain very frankly that hitherto we were free but if the
War should be continued, We were determined to seek Alliances
in
with
France,Spain and any other Power of
Europe, that would contract with Us. That We ought immediately
to adopt the Army in
Cambridge as a Continental Army, to Appoint a General and all
other Officers, take upon ourselves the Pay, Subsistence,
Cloathing,
Armour and Munitions
of the Troops. This is a concise Sketch of the Plan, which I thought the only
reasonable one, and from Conversation with the Members of Congress, I was then
convinced, and have been ever since convinced, that it was the General Sense,
at least of a considerable Majority of that Body.
This System of Measures
I publicly and privately avowed, without Reserve.
The Gentlemen in
Pensilvania, who had been
attached to the Proprietary Interest and owed their Wealth and
Honours to it, and the Great Body of the Quakers, had
hitherto acquiesced in the Measures of the Colonies, or at least had made no
professed opposition to them; many of both descriptions had declared themselves
with Us and had been as explicit and as ardent as We were. . . . But now these
People began to see that Independence was approaching they started back. In
some of my public Harrangues in which I had freely
and explicitly laid open my Thoughts, on looking round the Assembly, I have
seen horror, terror and detestation, strongly marked on the Countenances of
some of the Members, whose names I could readily recollect, but as some of them
have been good Citizens since and others went over afterwards to the English I
think it unnecessary to record them here. There is One Gentleman however whom I
must mention in Self Defence, I mean Mr. John
Dickinson then
