Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1825-07-04


He has affected to render the militia
nv independent of, and superior to, the
civil power.
He has combined with others to sub
ject us to jurisdiction foreign TO our
constitution, and acknowledged by
our laws; giving his assent to their acts
of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed
troops amongus:
For protecting them, by mock trl-
al, from punishment for any murders
which they should commit on the In
habitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all
parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without
our consent:
For deprivins 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 neighbouring prov
ince, establishing therein an arbitrary
government, and .enlarsing its boun-
daries, so as to render it at once an ex-
ample and fit instrument for introdu-
cling the same absolute rule into these
colonies:
For taking away our charters, abol-
ishing our most valuable laws, and al
tering, 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 de-
stroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large
armies Of foreign mercenarles to COM
plete the works Of death, desolation,
and tyranny, already begun with cir
cumstances of cruelty and perhdy,
scarcely paralleled in the most barba-
rous ages, and totally unworthy the
head of civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow-citi-
GEMS, taken captive on the high seas,
to bear arms against their country, to
become the executioners oftheir friends
and brethren, or to fall themselves by
their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrec-
tons amongst us, and has endeavoured
to bring on the inhabitants of our from
tiers the merciless Indian savages,
whose known rule of warfare is an UNI
distinguished destruction OF all ages,
sexes, and conditions.
In every stage Of these expressions
we have petitioned for redress in the
most humble terms: our repeated petit
tons have been answered only by re-
peated injury. A prince, whose char
acter is thus marked by every act which
NAV define tyrant, is unfit to be the
ruler of free people.
Nor have we been wanting in atten-
tons to our British brethren. We have
warned them, from time to time, OF at
tempts by their Legislature to extend
an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.
We have reminded them ofthe circum-
stances Of our emigration and settle
ment here. We have appealed to
their native justice and magnanimity,
and we have conjured them by the ties
of our common kindred to disavow
these usurpations, which would ineVi-
tably interrupt our connexions and
correspondence They too have been
deaf to the voice Of Justice and of con-
sanguinity. We must therefore, &C
ouiesce in the necessity which denoun-
ces our 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 gen.
eral congress assembled, appealing to
the Supreme Judge Of the world, for
- .oko,,t.ooc Ic in