The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1776-07-15 00:00:00, page 2

25 they were brought to prove. I shall suppose the
lewers had been obtained as infamoully as the eflay
on woman, and more infamoufly it 1s impossible ;
yet my judgment in the condu& of a Governor writing |
to men in high aathority, onthe polirical affairs o?
his province, and 'concludi:ﬂg as his advice, that the
Libgrty of British fubje&s must be abridged, would not
have been altered from that circumstance, And here
I must avow my ‘fentiments as freely as Governor
Hutchinson has communicated his, that any officer in
government, much less the supreme magidrate, entruf
??i_gd;_'with the preservation of the rights of every indivi
~dual ia hispovince, who could entertain such fenti
. ments,.is uofit to be employed in any office, civil or
military, after a fact of so heincus a nature against the
constitution being fully preved. lam confident our
‘anceltors, inftexd of giving such 2 man an enormoaus
pension, wonid have inflicted the punithment he deser
ved, which I think should have been an address to the
Crown, that he might never more have been employed
in the service of the public. - 3
I kaow there are many men high in favour, whoare
for abridging the liserties of the peoplein the colonies.
My {yltem, on the contrary, is for preserving them la
cred and inviolare, according to their several ancient
inffitacions, the variety of which forms the harmony.
‘and beauty of the whole. 'Thereisnomiddie inftitation
_@s in tils country, to balance between the people and
ine Crown 5 the Afl mblies are tj)eir oniy barrier ;
they are theiefore the favou ite prote®ticn againk the
'c';;:il.‘:‘;isms, oppreflisas and extortiens of G svernors, and
arg on thataccountcautivusand jealousof any infringe
ment thee shall diminish theiz power. . ‘The honoura
ble G:atleman (Gavernor Lyttlecan) who seconded
this Address, has been song emplojed ashis Majesty’s
representative in the colonies; firt 1n Carolina, and
lailly in Jamaica. Every thing he offers tothis House
mufl derive great weight from these circumstances; his
abilities are undisputed.. I have not the honourof
knowing him; Sut I haveheard his talents universally
acknowledged. Having besn on thcrfpot in some
piaces, it must give him many addifional adventa
ges, for I maintain it is impofiible for any man,
who has not seen with his own eyes, and heard with
his own ears, to kuow equally well the manners, cuf
woms, dispositions and cther circamftances neceffury to
form a trge judgment on the gyefcat contelt with the
colonies, = Bat it is aifo necessary to know some lea
ding circumitances reflpefing the person who cffers his
information and advice, bifore we haflily concur in
Eis opinign. The honourshle gentleman fays, ¢‘i:
may appear firange, that he, who was grown grey in
ahe service of Amesica, should now appear zmong
the sirs to prepole those coercive measures, which by
some are termed cruel and harth ; ”2 but this be excuses
from bis humawnity. I fay, it may appear strange to
fomg, whoare not acquainted with the hiflory of that
‘"Anth'(kgw’t;_admini‘zha‘rimil so well as I, ﬂnt‘h&;
‘ylhz)ufyflfakc*\;hia forward part. But here I premise;
zhat Ao ngt €n'er into the meri; of the difpuie which
that Geatlemen had with the Assembly of <Jamaica,
Because itisbeyond my prefentargument. Alll affers
is, that he had an unfortunate dispute with that body,
shich Jafled twn years; that daring this period, they
could do no business with hLim, or raise any money ;
that he diflilved the Aflembly more than once. and.
fll a great m#jority werefound against his measures ;
that he was at 12 recalled, and a fucceflor appointed,
who cancelled his proceedings, upon one of the mott
unfortunate representations that ever attended any
man upen leaving kis gaverment. lam therefore not
{arprized thatthe honourable gentleman should be in
imic:l to Americaa Assemblies, or that hejthould be
ready to"joia with thole who have foend out a fhirter
way of governing them than by thegenera! sense of the
people, fecing they are so troublesome on many occafi
‘ons, to the repsfe of a Governor.
[To be eontinued.] 3
When in the Course of human Events, it be
comes necessary for one People to dissolve the
political Bands which have connected them with ano
ther, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth,
the separate and equal station to which the Laws of
Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent
Respect to the Opinion of Mankind requires that they
should declare the Causes which impel them to the
Separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
That to secure these Rights, Governments are in
stituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from
the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form
of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it
is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and
to institute new Government, laying its Foundation
on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such
Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dic
tate that Governments long established, should not
be changed for light and transient Causes; and ac
cordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind
are more exposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable,
than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long Train
of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the
PHILADELPHIA.
A DECLARATION
By THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
IN GENERAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
same Object evinces, a Design to reduce them under
absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty,
to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future Security. Such has been the
patient sufferance of these Colonies, aad such is now
the Necessity which constrains them to alter their for
mer Systems of Government. The History of the pre
sent King of Great Britain, is a history of repeated
Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object
the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these
States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a
candid World .
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most whol
some and necessary for the public Good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of im
mediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in
their Opperacion til his Assent should be obtained;
and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to
attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accomo
dation of large Districts of People, unless those Peo
ple would relinquish the Right of Representation in
the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and for
midable to Tyrants only.
He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places
unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depo
sitory of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of
fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly,
for opposing with manly firmness his Invasions on the
Rights of the People.
He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolu
tions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Le
gislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have re
turned to the People at large for their exercise; the
State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the
Dangers of Invasion without, and Convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of
these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws
for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass
others to encourage their Migrations hither, and rai
sing the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by
refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary
Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone,
for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and
Payment of their Salaries.
He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent
hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and
eat out their Substance.
He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, stand
ing Armies, without the Consent of our Legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent
of, and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a Ju
risdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknow
ledged by our laws ; giving his Assent to their acts
of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large Bodies of armed Troops a
mong us:
For protecting them by a mock Trial, from Pun
ishment for any Murders which they should commit
on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of
Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for
pretended Offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in
a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbi
trary Government, enlarging its Boundaries, so as to
render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for
introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most
valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms
of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring
themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all
Cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us
out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt
our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
He is, at this time, transporting large Armies of
foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of
Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralle
led in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unwor
thy the Head of a civilized Nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Cap
tive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Coun
try, to become the Executioners of their Friends and
Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic Insurrection among us, and
has endeavoured to bring on the Innhabitants of our
Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known
Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of
all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
In every Stage of these Oppressions we have petiti
oned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our
repeated Petitions have been answered only by re
peated Injury. A Prince whose Character is thus
marked by every Act that may define a Tyrant, is un
fit to be the Ruler of a free People.
Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our
British Brethren. We have warned them from Time
to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an
unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have re
minded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration
and Settlement here. We have appealed to their na
tive Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured
them by the Ties of our common Kindred, to disavow
. Sincecur last several of the new-raised Regimen::
cos Connelicut troops have ariived in town, and ap
pear to be as fine a body of men as any eagaged in the
present grand frugglegfor Liberty and londependence.
Among them the Lig& Dragoons,between 4 and Goe,
who came to town yefterdav, and ‘paraded on horse.
Lack, through thecity, made a noble and mariial p
pearance ; and as this corps are composed of the sub
ftantial Yeomanry of a virtuous Sifler S:ate, nothin:
could be moreagreesblecr animatiag to all tuefiend:
of their country. Some of these worthy fuldiers ai.
silted, in their present uniforms, at the ﬁrﬁ redation,
of Lou’(burg, and their ¢ lank lean cheeks, and we)
worn coats,” are viewed with more.venera‘ion by thels
bo-¢ff countrymen, than “if chey were glitteriog Na
bobs from India, or Bathaws with wise Tails. [ New
York Journal )
On Sundzy last a number of felons confined ia (hs
new goal, atiecmpted aa elcape; the ringicacer, i
seems, was one Armnftrong, a murdecer, of whom w
have had the following account, viz, That he was
defcrier from the Regulars at Bufton, and entered hins
felf into one of our Riflz-companies before ihat place,
that he was a remarkably wicked disorderly desperate
fellow ; that some monihs ago, soon afier the arrival of
the army frem Boston, he broke into the house of M.
Jacob Pozer at the Whitekall, and tock from thence
all his wearing apparel ; - famenight he weniiototh:
hovfe of Mr James Meldrum, at the Slip marke¢
when most of (bc family were in bed, thata young wo.
man cf the house, 2fced his business, and defi ¢! him
to walk out, thai'be refufed, ard attemped to take
hold of her, when she threatened to fca'd him with hot
water from a teakettle, and endeavoured to Jeave the
room, that ~e followed her, and firuck the edge of a
tomahawk into her scull, of which she inflanily died.
---T'hathe then ruﬂ;%g out of the Loufle, was purfuce
by the man of the houfe’2nd others, who, by the afifl
ance of the wartch, chn;e"e? him...<That at tLe lait {o
preme coust, he was brought on his tiial for the mu--
der, but there rot being a jury 10 be had, he was e
manded il the sext feffiom ;-,-that havig, with»
number of confedesaies, formed a conspiracy to escape
these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt
our connections and correspondence. They too have
been deaf to the voice of justice and Consanguinity.
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which
denounces Separation, and hold them, as we hold the
rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA, in General Con
gress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of
the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in
the Name, and by Authority of the good People of
these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That
these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be,
Free and Independent States; that they are
Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between them and
the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be to
tally dissolved; and that as Free and Indepen
dent States, they have full Power to levy War,
conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Com
merce, and to do all other Acts and Things which
Independent States may of right do. And for
the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance
on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our
sacred Honor.
War-Orrice, Priladelphia, Jaly 6. 1776+
ALL perions 1n che Uniied American Stater, “whao
are able (0 inform the Congrels of any quantitiescf
flint stone, or of any persons who are fkitied in the
manufaéture of fliacs, are requeited to apply in person,
or by letter, to the Board of War and Ordnauce, at
the War-Office in Markec Street, near the corner of
Fourth street, -~ All priaters of news papeis ia the {2-
veral States are desired toinfert this advertifiment.
: Ricuarp Perers, jua: Secryl
WILLIAMSBURG, (Virginic) dﬁi}(ﬂ 28
Bya Eoislegan boichameds, niolat datiffand
AN e e v e
tiohs were mnaking v-€re for fume Impartant dupedic,
ou, which no one'doubied was 2 gainil the B.i'ih Wt
Indies ; and the gentleman fays, he flall not be 2t all
surprised to hear chat the chief part of the islands 2:¢
in toe poffeflion of ‘the French in a very few weelts.-..-
that the men of properiy in theiflands hive been £.r
some time (hipping off their valuabde cfiz@s to Erg:
land, and ordering in furances to e made op their ¢ -
tates ; and that the price of providions hasrifin 1o zn
enormous height, corn felling at 18:. per bufiiel, pork
at four ha'f j,'s per baiiel, butter a; Gs. & pourd,; and
flour feiches any price that is:fk d. = ¢
ATTEST.
CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.
In CONGRESS July 4
Resolved, That the board of War be empowered
to employ such a nu mber of persons as they shall find
necessary to manufac ur e for the Continent; and
for this purpose to supply the respective Assemblies.
Conventions and Councils or Committees of Safety of
the United American States, or Committees of Inspec
tion of the counties and towns thereto belonging, for
the names and places of abode of persons skilled in the
manufactory aforelaid, and of the places in their res
pective States where the best flint stones are to be ob
tained, with samples of the same.
By Order of Congress,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.
Signed by Order, and in Behalf of the Congress,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.
N E W.¥ o R K, Jilyas.