USA > Pennsylvania > The history of Pennsylvania : from its discovery by Europeans, to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 > Part 43
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pathy failed to unite the other provinces to the fate of Massa- chusetts, regard to their common safety, so openly threatened, would have rendered their union indissoluble. Both were intensely felt.
The inhabitants of Boston had foreseen the present crisis, and they met it with undaunted spirit. Information of the passage of the port act was received on the tenth of May, and on the thirteenth, the town resolved, "that, if the other colonies would unite with them to stop all importations from Great Britain and the West Indies until that act should be repealed, it would prove the salvation of North America and her liberties; but should they continue their exports and im- ports, there was reason to fear that fraud, power, and the most odious oppression would triumph over justice, right, social happiness, and freedom." A copy of this resolution . was transmitted to the other colonies, the inhabitants of which, expressed deep sympathy in the sufferings of their brethren in Boston, endured in the common cause; and concurring in opinion with them on the propriety of convening a provin- cial congress, delegates for that purpose were generally chosen.
Throughout the continent, the first of June, the day on which the Boston port act was to take effect, on the resolu- tion of the assembly of Virginia, was adopted as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, to implore the divine inter- position to avert the heavy calamity which threatened de- struction to their civil rights, and the evils of civil war, and to give one heart and one mind to the people, firmly to op- pose every invasion of their liberties.
In Philadelphia a meeting was held of the inhabitants of most religious denominations, who resolved unanimously, that it would be proper to express their sympathy for their bre- thren at Boston, by suspending all business on the first day of June. In the proceedings of this meeting, published in the newspapers, it was asserted that all the societies in the city were represented. But the Quakers did not participate in it; and to prevent the inference which might be drawn from such publication, the elders of the Friends' Society,
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publicly declared, " that, though sympathizing with the dis- tressed, and justly sensible of the value of their religious and civil rights, and that it was their duty to assert them in a christian spirit, yet no one was authorized to represent them at such meeting; and that, if any of their community had countenanced that measure, they had manifested great inat- tention to their religious principles and professions, and acted contrary to the rules of christian discipline, established for the preservation of order and good government among them. **
The countenance and support of the great and populous colony of Pennsylvania was much desired by the Bostonians. Entire confidence might be placed in a part of the people, but there were many doubts and fears of the proprietaries, and their dependents, who might lose much, but could gain nothing by a change in the state, and of the Quakers, who shrunk from measures which might lead to hostilities between Great Britain and her colonies. The citizens of Boston there- fore despatched with their public communication private letters to individuals of known patriotism and influence, urging the impossibility of their standing alone against minis- terial vengeance, and the indispensable necessity of their being sustained by Pennsylvania.
The advocates of provincial rights in Philadelphia, sensible of the necessity of proceeding with prudence and caution, resolved at their first assemblage on nothing more than to call a general meeting of the inhabitants for the ensuing even- ing. At the second meeting, they contented themselves with taking the sense of the people on the propriety of sending an answer to the public letter from Boston.# The meeting was addressed by the Rev. Dr. William Smith, provost of the university, who strove to impress on the people the importance of the occasion on which they had met, and the necessity of prudence and deliberation. " Upon your deliberations of this
* Penn. Gazette.
+ This declaration was signed by John Reynolds, James Pemberton, and Samuel Noble. 1
# 20th May.
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day," added he, " depend matters of the highest consequence, not only to the happiness of this province, but of all British America. You, perhaps, are now to determine whether the breach with the country from which we are descended, shall be irreparably widened, or whether it may not yet be closed by constitutional means, and that harmony yet restored, from which, in our better days, Great Britain and her colonies de- rived mutual strength and glory; which rendered them in peace and in war the envy and terror of the neighbouring nations. When entering on such a subject, we should cast far from us every thing that may inflame and mislead the passions. A cause of such magnitude is not to be conducted to its proper issue by heated or hasty resolves, by bitter animosities among ourselves, or even by severe recapitulation of past grievances. It requires the temperate and enlight- ened zeal of the patriot, the prudence and experience of the aged, and the strength and vigour of the prime of life; in a word, the united wisdom and force of all, exercised under the dictates of reason and the principles of the constitution. Let no party distinctions operate here; they will but give cause of triumph to those who are watchful and powerful to abridge our native rights. Let there be no contention, save who shall be firmest and foremost in the common cause. Every man's sentiments should be freely heard, and without prejudice. Whilst we contend for liberty with others, let us not refuse liberty to each other.
" Whatever resolution shall be now unanimously adopted, after full deliberation, by this great city and county, will be respected, not only throughout all America, but will have such weight as the proudest minister in England may have reason to respect. But should our determination be made by a divided vote, or be hastily adopted on an angry day, it will serve only to injure our cause.
" I have.it in charge to request you, that, if on any point there be a difference of sentiment amongst us, every man may be at liberty to speak freely and uninterruptedly, and without outward marks from the audience of favour or offence; and, if a division be necessary, (which it is hoped will not be the
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case this day,) that it may be made in the manner desired by the chairman, with all possible order and decorum."
By the answer to the public letter from Boston, which was unanimously adopted, the people of Philadelphia " acknow- ledged the difficulty of offering advice on the present occa- sion, sympathized with the people of Boston in their distress, and recommended that all lenient measures for their relief should be first tried; that if making restitution for the tea destroyed, would determine the unhappy controversy, and leave the people of Boston on their ancient footing of consti- tutional liberty, no doubt could be entertained of the part they should act; but the indefeasible right of granting their own money, and not the value of the tea, was the matter in consideration. That," they said, " was the common cause of America; and, therefore, it was necessary that a congress of deputies from the several colonies should be convened, to devise means for restoring harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, and preventing matters from coming to ex- tremities. Until this could be done, they recommended firm- ness, prudence, and moderation, to the immediate sufferers, assuring them, that the people of Pennsylvania would con- tinue firmly to adhere to the cause of American liberty."*
But the leaders of the Pennsylvania patriots, though pru- dently cautious in their proceeding, had resolved to jeopard life and fortune, rather than hold them by the will of despotic power. To resist ministerial oppression effectively, it was obviously necessary that they should have the active support of the whole province, and to this object they earnestly ad- dressed themselves. The press, the ablest auxiliary of free- dom, was successfully resorted to. Every newspaper teemed with dissertations in favour of liberty ; the debates of parlia- ment, especially the speeches of the favourers of America, and the protests of the dissenting lords, were every where published. An application was made to the governor to convene the assembly, which, as the patriots expected, was refused; but the refusal afforded them a plausible pretext for
* Penn. Gaz.
-
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calling another meeting of the people. This meeting, con- sisting of near eight thousand,* of which Thomas Willing and John Dickenson were chairmen, resolved; that the Bos- ton port act was unconstitutional; that it was expedient to convene a continental congress; to appoint a committee of the city and county of Philadelphia to correspond with the several counties of the province, and with the other colonies; and that such committee should be empowered to determine on the best mode for collecting the sense of the province, in the appointment of deputies to a general congress, and to set on foot a subscription for the relief of the sufferers by the Boston port bill. t
The committee immediately addressed a circular to all the counties of the province, requesting the appointment of deputies to a general conference, proposed to be holden åt Philadelphia on the fifteenth of July. "We will not," said they, in this letter, "offer such an affront to the well-known public spirit of Pennsylvanians, as to question your zeal on the present occasion. Our very existence in the rank of free- men, and the security of all that ought to be dear to us, evi- dently depends on our conducting this great cause to its proper issue, by firmness, wisdom, and magnanimity. It is with pleasure that we assure you, that all the colonies, from South Carolina to New Hampshire, are animated with one spirit in the common cause, and consider this as the proper crisis for having our differences with the mother country brought to some certain issue, and our liberties fixed upon a
* June 18.
+ Committee ;- John Dickenson, Edward Pennington, John Nixon, Tho- mas Willing, George Clymer, Samuel Howell, Joseph Reed, John Roberts, Thomas Wharton jr., Charles Thompson, Jacob Barge, Thomas Barclay, William Rush, Robert Smith, (carpenter, ) Thomas Fitzsimmons, George Roberts, Samuel Ewen, Thomas Mifflin, John Cox, George Gray, Robert Morris, Samuel Miles, John M. Nesbitt, Peter Chevallier, William Moulder, Joseph Moulder, Anthony Morris, John Allen, Jeremiah Warder, jr., Rev. Dr. William Smith, Paul Engle, Thomas Penrose, James Mease, Benjamin Marshall, Reuben Haines, John Bayard, Jonathan B. Smith, Thomas Whar- ton, Isaac Howell, Michael Hillegas, Adam Hulty, George Schlosser, and Christian Ludwick.
62
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permanent foundation. This desirable end can only be ac- complished by a free communication of sentiments, and a sincere and fervent regard for the interests of our common country."# The committee also requested the speaker of the assembly to summon its members to meet on the first of August, to consult on the public affairs. He assented to their request, but his call was rendered unnecessary, the governor summoning the house to consider the relations with the In- dians. ¡ This appeal to the patriotism of the country inha- bitants was promptly answered. Deputies to the conference were elected by the several counties, who assembled at Phila- delphia at the appointed time. Thus, without delay, tumult, or divided councils, the province was brought into action with its whole weight and influence.
The convention, composed of citizens distinguished for morals, intelligence, and wealth, chose Mr. Thomas Willing for their chairman, and Mr. Charles Thompson secretary, and adopted the following resolutions ;- that they owed alle- giance to George the third-that unconstitutional indepen- dence on the parent state was abhorrent to their principles- that they ardently desired the restoration of their ancient. harmony with the mother country, on the principles of the constitution, and an interchange of good offices without in- fraction of their mutual rights-that the inhabitants of the colonies were entitled to the same rights and liberties within the colonies, that subjects born in England were entitled to within that realm-that the power assumed by parliament, to , bind the colonists " by statutes, in all cases whatever," was unconstitutional, and therefore the source of the prevailing unhappy differences-that the late acts of parliament affecting the province of Massachusetts were unconstitutional, oppres- sive, and dangerous-that there was an absolute necessity that a colonial congress should be immediately assembled, to form a general plan of conduct for the colonies, in procuring relief for their suffering brethren, obtaining redress for their grievances, preventing future dissentions, firmly establishing
* Ramsay. Penn. Gazette. t Penn. Gazette.
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their rights, and restoring harmony between Great Britain and her colonies on a constitutional foundation-that, although a suspension of the commerce of the province with Great Britain would greatly distress multitudes of the inhabitants, yet they were ready to make that and a much greater sacri- fice for the preservation of their liberties; but, in tenderness to the people of Great Britain, as well as of America, and in hopes that their just remonstrances would at length reach the ears of their sovereign, and be no longer treated with contempt, by any of their fellow subjects in England, it was their earnest desire that congress should first try the gentler mode of stating their grievances, and making a firm and de- cent claim of redress-that yet, notwithstanding, as unanimity of counsels and measures was indispensably necessary for the common welfare, if congress should judge agreements of non- importation and non-exportation expedient, the people of Pennsylvania would join with the other principal and neigh- bouring colonies in such an association for that purpose as should be agreed upon by congress-that if any proceedings of parliament, of which notice should be received before, or at, the general congress, should render it necessary, in the opinion of that congress, for the colonies to take further steps than are mentioned in the preceding resolution, that the peo- ple of Pennsylvania would adopt such further steps, and do all in their power to carry them into execution-that the venders of merchandize within the province ought not to take advantage of the resolutions relative to non-importation, but should sell at the rates accustomed for three months then past-that the people of the province would break off all trade with any colony, town, city, or individual, on the American continent, which should refuse, decline, or neglect to adopt and carry into execution such general plan as should be agreed upon in congress-and that it was the duty of every member of the committee to promote to the utmost of his power, the subscription set on foot in the several counties of the province for the relief of the distressed inhabitants of Boston.
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This convention conceiving itself to be a special represen- tation of the inhabitants of the province, claimed and exercised the right to instruct the assembly, then about to meet, in the course proper for them to pursue, and adopted the following resolution:
" That this committee give instructions on the present situation of public affairs to their representatives, who are to meet next week in assembly, and request them to appoint a proper number of persons to attend a congress of deputies from the several colonies, at such time and place as may be agreed on, to effect one general plan of conduct for obtaining the great and important ends mentioned in the preceding re- solutions."
These instructions were drafted by Mr. John Dickenson, and are highly valuable, containing a full view of the political relations, which, in the opinion of the convention, ought to subsist between the parent state and the colonies, and the terms on which they were willing to relinquish their opposi- tion. "They acknowledged," they said, " the prerogatives of the sovereign, among which they included the great pow- ers of making peace and war, treaties, leagues, and alliances binding us; of appointing all officers, except in cases where other provision is made, by grants from the crown, or laws approved by the crown; of confirming or annulling every act of our assembly within the allowed time, and of hearing and determining finally, in council, appeals from our courts of justice." "These prerogatives were limited by certain and notorious bounds; but it was their misfortune to be compelled loudly to call the assembly to the consideration of another power, limited by no bounds, and wearing a most dreadful aspect with regard to America; the power claimed by par- liament of right to bind the people of these colonies by sta- tutes, "IN ALL CASES WHATSOEVER ;" a power, as we are not, and, from local circumstances, cannot, be represented there, utterly subversive of our natural and civil liberties; past events, and reason convincing us, that there never ex- isted, and never can exist, a state thus subordinate to another, retaining the slightest portion of freedom or happiness.".
1
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" The import of the words above quoted needs no descant; for the wit of man, as we apprehend, cannot possibly form a more clear, concise, and comprehensive definition and sen- tence of slavery than these expressions contain."
" The power claimed by Great Britain, and the late at- tempts to exercise it over these colonies, present to our view two events, one of which must inevitably take place. If she shall continue to insist on her pretensions, either the colonies will sink from the rank of freemen into the class of slaves, overwhelmed with all the miseries and vices proved by the history of mankind to be inseparably annexed to that deplo- rable condition; or, if they have sense and virtue enough to exert themselves in striving to avoid this perdition, they must be involved in an opposition dreadful even in contem- plation."
" Honour, justice, and humanity, call upon us to hold, and to transmit to our posterity, that liberty which we received from our ancestors. It is not our duty to leave wealth to our children; but it is our duty to leave liberty to them. No infamy, iniquity, or cruelty can exceed our own, if we, born and educated in a country of freedom, entitled to its blessings, and knowing their value, pusillanimously deserting the post assigned us by Divine Providence, surrender succeeding gene- rations to a condition of wretchedness, from which no human efforts, in all probability, will be sufficient to extricate them; the experience of all states mournfully demonstrating to us, that when arbitrary power has been established over them, even the wisest and bravest nations that ever flourished, have, in a few years, degenerated into abject and wretched vas- sals."
" To us, therefore, it appears at this alarming period, our duty to God, to our country, to ourselves, and to our poste- rity, to exert our utmost ability in promoting and establishing harmony between Great Britain and these colonies, ON A CON- STITUTIONAL FOUNDATION."
" For attaining this great and desirable end, we request you to appoint a proper number of persons to attend a congress of deputies from the several colonies, appointed, or to be ap-
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pointed, by the representatives of the people of the colonies respectively, in assembly, or convention, or by delegates chosen by the counties generally in the respective colonies, and met in provincial committee at such time, and in such place, as shall be generally agreed on; and that the deputies in this province may be induced and encouraged to concur in such measures as may be devised for the common welfare, we think it proper particularly to inform you how far we ap- prehend they will be supported in their conduct by their constituents."
" Mournfully revolving in our minds the calamities that, arising from the dissentions between the mother country and these colonies, will most probably fall upon us and our chil- dren, we will now lay before you the particular points, we request of you to procure, if possible, to be finally decided; and the measures that appear to us most likely to produce such a desirable period of our distresses and dangers. We therefore desire of you,
" First, That the deputies you may appoint be instructed by you, strenuously to exert themselves at the ensuing congress, to obtain a renunciation on the part of Great Britain of all powers under the statute of the 35th Henry VIII. c. 2. (sta- tute for transporting persons guilty of certain offences to England for trial;) of all powers of internal legislation; of imposing taxes or duties, internal or external, and of regulat- ing trade, except with respect to any new articles of com- merce which the colonies may hereafter raise, as silk, wine, &c. reserving a right to carry these from one colony to an other; a repeal of all statutes for quartering troops in the colonies, or subjecting them to any expense on account of such troops; of all statutes imposing duties to be paid in the colonies, that were passed at the accession of his present ma- jesty, or before this time, whichever period may be judged most adviseable ; of the statutes giving the courts of admiralty in the colonies greater power than the courts of admiralty have in England; of the statutes of the 5th of Geo. II. c. 22, and of the 23d of Geo. II. c. 29; of the statute for shutting up the port of Boston, and of every other statute, particularly
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affecting the province of Massachusetts bay, passed in the last session of parliament."
" In case of obtaining these terms, it is our opinion that it will be reasonable for the colonies to engage their obedience to the acts of parliament, commonly called the acts of navi- gation, and to every other act of parliament declared to have force at this time in these colonies, other than those above mentioned, and to confirm such statutes by acts of the several assemblies. It is also our opinion, that, taking example from our mother country, in abolishing the 'courts of wards and liveries, tenures in capite, and by knight's service, and pur- veyance,' it will be reasonable for the colonies, in case of ob- taining the terms before mentioned, to settle a certain annual revenue on his majesty, his heirs, and successors, subject to the control of parliament, and to satisfy all damages done to the East India company.
"Secondly, If all the terms above mentioned cannot be obtained, it is our opinion that the measures adopted by the congress for our relief should never be relinquished or inter- mitted, until those relating to the troops, internal legislation, imposition of taxes or duties hereafter, the 35 Hen. VIII. c. 2, the extension of admiralty courts, the port of Boston, and the province of Massachusetts bay, are obtained. Every modification or qualification of these points in our judgment should be inadmissible. To obtain them, we think it may be prudent to settle some revenue as above mentioned, and to satisfy the East India company.
" Thirdly, If neither of these plans should be agreed to in Congress, but some others of a similar nature should be framed, though on the terms of a revenue and satisfaction to the East India company, and though it shall be agreed by the congress to admit no modification or qualification in the terms they shall insist on, we desire your deputies may be in- structed to concur with the other deputies in it; and we will accede to and carry it into execution as far as we can.
" Fourthly, As to the regulation of trade, we are of the opi- nion, that, by making some few amendments, the commerce of
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the colonies might be settled on a firm establishment, advan- tageous to Great Britain and them, requiring and subject to no future alterations without mutual consent. We desire to have this point considered by the congress, and such mea- sures taken as they may judge proper."
Accompanying these instructions, and forming part of the original report of the sub-committee, was an eloquent and argumentative disquisition on the right of parliament to legis- late for the colonies, supported by many learned and apposite quotations and illustrations.
Messrs. Dickenson, Reed, and Thompson, were directed to communicate to the other colonies the foregoing resolutions and instructions. And the latter were presented by the conven- tion in a body to the legislature of Pennsylvania, who then had received and held under consideration the proceedings of the assemblies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia, con- taining resolutions for the appointment of members to the provincial congress .*
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