Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1821-06-26

For quartering large bodies Of armed
troops among US.
For protecting them by mock trial,
from punishment 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 neighboring province,
establishing therein an arbitrary govern
ment, and charging its boundaries, so as
to render it at once an example and tit
Instrument FOR intro du cling the same abb
solutc rule into these colonies.
For taking away our charters, abolish
ing our most valuable laws, and altering
fundamentally the forms of our govern
ments.
For suspending our own legislatures
and declaring themselves invested with
powers 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 destroy
ed the lives of our Deople.
He is, at this time, Transporting large
armies of foreign mercenares, to COM
pletc the works of death, desolation, and
tyranny, already begun, with circum-
stances of cruelty and perfdy, scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages,
and totally unworthy the head Of civil
lied nation,
He has constrained our fellow citi-
zens, taken captive on the high seas, to
bear arms against their country, to be-
come the eXecutioners of their friends
and brethren, or to fall themselves by
their hands.
He has excited domestic instructions
amongt us, and has endeavored TO bring
on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the
merciless Indian savages; whose known
rule Of warfare is an undistinguished de-
struction of all ages, sexes and condi-
tons.
In every stage of these expressions,
we have petitloned tor redress, in the
most humble terms our repeated petit
tons have been answered only by re-
peated injury. A prince whose charac-
ter is thus marked by every act, which
may define tyrant, is unit to be the ru-
Ter Of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention
to our British brethren. We have warn
ed them from time to time, OF attempts
by their legislature, to extend an unwar
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 conjured
them by the ties ofour common kindred
to disavow these usurpations, which
would inevitably interrupt our connec-
tons and correspondence. They, too,
have been deaf to the voice of justice and
consanguinity. We must therefore ac-
quiesce in thenecessity, which denounces
our separation, and hold them as we hold
the rest of acknowledgements in war, in
peace, friends.
We, therefore, the representatives Of
the United States of America, in General
Congress assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world, for the rec
titude of our intentions, Do, in the name
and by the authority ofthe good people
of these colonies, solemnly publish and
declare, that these United Colonies are,
and of right, ought to be free and indie
pendent 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 totally dissolved, and
that as free ard independent 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 ofright do.
And for the support of this declaration,
with firm reliance on the protection OF
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge
to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and
our sacred honor.
Signed by order and in behalf Of the
Congress.
JOHN HANCOCK.
President.
Observation-Disclosures THOMSON,
Nerret0ru