The Virginia gazette — Williamsburg, Va., 1776-07-26 00:00:00, page 1

NUMBER 78. "
]ULY 26, 1776
.siGAZETTE.
XND THE PUBLICK GOOD.
High HEAVEN Io GRACIOUS ENDS dlsisfct! Ibc Sl'ORM!
lu C OssU N C I L, 7uly 20, 1776,
sirctdered, 1 their re/peetive GaZettc-{hthe
'*si "'H AT the rinter: mhli in
\
YDECLdR/YTsON of [NDEPENDENCE
/ made by the Honourable the Continenlul Con
sigresls, and. that the sheen)?" of each county
in this carnm'mwea/th proeluim the sinne at
the door ofhis courthou/e the first court day
_afler he shall have received the same.
, ARCHIBALD BLAlR, Cl. Can.
IN CONGRESS, july 4, 1776.
A DEC LARAT ION by the represen
sssmti'vet ofsst/Je UNITED STATES
of AMERICA, in GENERAL
_ ' G'ONsi G R 15 8 assembled.
HEN, in the course oshuman events,
it becomes necessary for one people
to dissplve the politica] hands which have
connected them with another, and to as—
same, among the [towers of the earth,
the separate and equal [tation to which the
laws of nature and of nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires thsit they should declare
the causes which impel them to the sepa
rMidn'. *
si VVe'hoid these truths to be sels-evident,
that all men are created equal; (hit they
_ are endowed, by their Creuor, with cer
- tain unalienahie rights; that among thus..
are lise, liberty, and the pursuit ok'happi
ness; that, to secure these rights, govern—
ments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the
governed; that whenever any form us
government becomes destructive of those
ends, it is the right of the people to alter
or to 'abolish it, and to institute new go—
vernment, laying its soundation on such
principles, and orgauizing its powers in
such Form. as to them shall .seem most,
sssi likely to effect their safety aud happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will diccttate, that go
si vernments long established should not be
changed sor light. and transient causes;
and accordingly, all experience hath
shewn, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to
rightthemselves, by abolishingthe formsto
which they are ascustomed. But when a
lorlg trzt'm oFabuses and usurpations, pur
siting invariably the same object, evin
Ces a design to reduce them under absolute
despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such government, and to pro
vide new guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sitfferance of
these colonies, and such is now the neces
sity which construins them to alter their
. former systems osgovernment. The his
tory of the present king of Great Britain
is a history Os repeated injuries and usur
pations, all having in direct object the
estahlishment of an absolute tyranny over
these states. To prove this, let sacts be
submitted to a camlid world.
He has refused his assent to laws the
most wholesome and necessary for the pub
lick good.
_ He has sorbidden his governours to pass
.ct law: of immediate and prcssing impor
tance, unless ssisiunded-inxheis Frsiqtciqn
til] his assent should be'si'obtain sisi;si ss ,
when so suspended , he has utterly neglect
ed to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for
the accommodation- of large districts of
people, unless those people would lelin
qhilh the right of leprelcntaliuu in the
legisiaturc, & right. iuesiimable to them,
and formidable to ty rants only.
He has called together legiilulive bodies
at placds unusual, uncomlbrtdhlc, and
distant from the depository of thc'u pub
lick records, for the sole purpose ot la
tigu'mg- them into compliance wish his
measures.
He has dissolvcd ]{epresentative Houses
repeatedly , for opposing, with manly firm
ness , his invasions on the rightsosthe people .
He has refused, for a long time, after
such dissolutions, to cause others to be
clected ; whereby the legisiative powers,
incapable of annihilation, have returned
to the people at large for their exercise,
the state remaining in the mean time ex
posed to all the dan us of invasion from
without and cunvulhons within. _ _
He has_endeav0urcd to prevent the po—
pulation of these states, for that purpose
oblllucting the laws for naturalization of
foreigners, resusing to pass others to en
courage their migrations hither, and rais
in ;: the conditions ofnew appropriations of
lands.
He has obstructed the adminish-ation Os
justice, by resuiing his assent to laws for
estahhshing judiciary powers.
He has madcjudgcs dependent on his will
alone for the tenure of their offices, and
the amount and paymcnt of their salu
I'K'S.
He has erected a multitude of new offi
ces, and sent hither sw arms of officers to
harrass our people, and eat out their sub
stance.
He has kept among us, in times ot
peace, standing armies, without the con
sent of our ]cgiflatures.
He has affected to render the military
independent us, and superiour to, the civil
power.
He has combiued with others to subject
us to a jurisdiction soreign to our constitu
tion, and unacknowledged by uur laws,
giving- his assent to their acts of pretended
]cgillation :
For quartering large bodies of armed
troops among us:
For protccting them, by a mock triul,
from punishment for any murders which
they should commit on the inhabitants of
these states:
For cutting offour trade, with all parts
of the world :
For impoiing taxes on us without our
consent :
For depriving us, in many'cases, of the
bcnesits ostriai by jury:
For transporting us beyond scas to be
tried sor pretended nsscnces :
For abolilhing the free system os English
laws in a neighb'ouring' province, esta
blishing therein an arbitrary government,
and enlarging its boundaries, so zsitcts to ren
derit at once am example and fit instrument,
for introducing the same absulute rule into
thtsd colonics :
For taking away our charters, abohsh
ing our molt valuablc laws, and altering
sundamentally the forms of our govern,- --
ments: .
For suspend'mg our own Ieziflaturcl,
and declaring themselves imcstcd with
power to legillatc for us in all cases what
soever. 1
He has abdicated government here, by
declaring us out of his protection, and
waging war against us.
He has phmdered our seal. ravagu] our
coasts, burnt our towns, and dclh'U) ed
the lives of our people.
He is, at this time, transpurfinglnrge
armics offure'lgn mercenal'ua w tou-plsi te
the works osdcath, desnlminn. mnl wrun
ny, already begun with circumstances (,s
cruelty and perficly scarcely purctlhllul
in the molt barbarous ages, and tm-si-I
ly unworthy the head of a cn'zhzcd
nation. ss _ _ -
He has co'nltrassmed our fellow cmzem
taken captive on the high scas to bear
siarms against their country, w Imsiomc the
eJLccutioners ol'their friends aml brethren,
or to fall themselves b) th--ir hm'ds.
He has exciced domclfick insuct-rccti-tnl
amongst us, and has endeavouz'ui to bring
on the inhabitants (;som' srontiusi che n_z-*.-r.-_
cilels ]ndictm snagcz \-.-h se known rrte
os warsure is an' uudishnguimcsi; ssscsh'uccttion
osall ages, ssixea, and conditi -— '
ln every singe .osct 1?:cs-si- :,sisstctsisins,
we have petitioned sor redress in ctsifiu- molt
humble terms. Our repeated pcllssfiss ns
have been answered only by repeated 34:
jdry. A-prjnce whose character issslh'us
marked, by every act which may defin
'FYRANT, is uusic to be the ruler of :.
FREE PEOPLE. si
Not- have we been wanting in attention:
to our British brethren. We have warn
ed them. from time to time, of attempts
by their ]egiflature to extend .an unwar-si
rantable jurisdiction over us. We have
reminded them of the circumstances of
our emigration and settlement here. We
have appealed to their native justice and
magnanimity, and we have cou-jured them
by the ties of our common kindred to
disavow thcse usurpations, which would
inevitably interrupt our connexions and
correspondence. They too have been
deaf to the voice osjuffice and consangui
nit . W'e mult th< resnre a-cquiesce in the
necessity which drnouncu uur separation,
and hold them (as we hold the tell: of
mankind) enemies in war; in peace,
friends. _
We therefore, the representatives of
the UNl'l'ED STA'l-"ES OF ANlE-s
RICA, in GE'NERAL CONGRESS as
sembled, appealing to the Supremc judge
of the world sor the rectitude of our 'm
tentions, do, in the name and by the
- authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
that these United Colnnies are. uml of
right ought to be, FREE and [NUEPEN
DENT STATES; that they are absulved