30 AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

heart. It is an arduous consideration We are now upon; and surely we have considered it earnestly. I may think of every gentleman here as I know of myself. For seven years past this question has filled the day with anxious thoughts, and the night With care. The God to whom we appeal must judge us. If the grievances of which we complain did not come upon us unprovoked and unexpected, when our hearts were filled with respectful afl'ection for our parent state, and with loyalty to our king, let slavery, the worst of human evils, be our portion. Nothing less than seven years of insulted complaints and reitera- ted wrongs could have shaken such rooted senti- ments. Unhappily for us, submission and slavery are the same; and we have only the melancholy al- ternative left of resistance or of ruin.

“ The last petition of the Congress to the king contained all that our unhappy situation could sug- gest. It represented our grievances, implored re- dress, and professed our readiness to contribute, for the general wants, to the utmost of our abilities, when constitutionally required.” After adverting to the unfortunate fate of that petition, and stating the necessity of taking up arms, he concluded in the fol- lowing words :—“ Our sufferings have been great—— our endurance long; every effort of complaint and patience has been exhausted. Let us, therefore, con- sult only how we shall defend our liberties with dignity and success.‘10ur parent state will then think us worthy of her, when she sees that, together with her liberty, we inherit her rigid resolution of main-