PREFACE. ill assisting each other, for the safety of the whole land." Such a meeting was, accord- ingly, held, and evidence exists inducing the belief, that it was styled hy the now familiar and revered name of Congress. Nor did the principles for which the Colonists contended originate on this side of the Atlantick, The doctrine that representation and taxation M r ere essentially and indissolu- bly connected, was claimed as a portion of English Liberty, as interwoven in the very structure of the English Constitution, and as recognised among the most ancient and firmly established principles of the Common Law. It was no innovation, serving as a cloak for rebellion and revolution. It was drawn from the most ancient and pure foun- tains of Liberty, and sanctioned by the authority of the most eminent judicial characters in the British Parliament. It is a source of honest pride, in reverting to the contemporaneous history of England, to contrast the characters of the individuals who, at times, it is true, with some modifica- tions, yet concurring in the great and essential principles upon which our ancestors placed themselves, sustained the doctrines which were designated as American, with those who originated and defended those measures of the Ministry which drove the Colonists first to resistance, and, finally, to a dissolution of the political connexion by which they had so long been bound to the Mother Country. Such an examination will conduct to the conclusion, that had the questions upon which the controversy turned, assumed a judicial instead of a political character, and been carried for decision before the English Courts, the same eminent Judge, who first decided against the legality of general warrants, would have pronounced it to be the law of the land that these Colonists were not subject to the taxing power of Parliament. The Work, of which the present volume is a specimen, will clearly unfold and develop the whole foundation of American principles, and will exhibit to the world the most conclu- sive evidence that they were, without exception, grounded in strict right, based upon con- stitutional Law, and upon the well settled doctrines of the English Government : that there was no taint or tinge of anarchy, of insubordination to all authority, no novelty, no inno- vation. The important, practical truth will be clearly deducible from these premises, that if such be the foundations they must ever constitute the support of our institutions. Their beautiful simplicity, their fair proportions, their majestick symmetry, and their stable grandeur, will equally recommend them to our love and veneration, and to the respect and imitation of others. In the examination of the contents of these Volumes, a casual observer may, perhaps, at the first view, be struck with the character of much of the material which we have col- lected. A more mature consideration will satisfy, we apprehend, every mind, that al- though much of it has been drawn from perishable and ephemeral sources, no faithful portrait of the times could be presented, formed from other ingredients. A distinguished foreign jurist has said, that laws are not to be created, but must create themselves ; and the observation is equally true in its application to all that comes within the scope of legislation, whether political or municipal in its immediate character. Burke has, with his accustomed philosophical sagacity, remarked, that " to follow, not to force, "the publick inclination, to give a direction, a form, a technical dress, and a specifick sanc- " tion to the general sense of the community, is the true end of legislation." If this be true in any country, and under any institutions, most emphatically is it true, and ever has been true, among us. Without concurring altogether in the observation of De Tocguerii/e, that the journals are the only historical monuments of the United States, it may, without fear of contradiction, be asserted, that there exist no sources of histori- cal information in a free and enlightened country, so rich and so valuable, as its publick journals, and the proceedings and debates of its publick bodies and associations. It is peculiarly the case, at such times as those comprehended within the scope of our Work. Constitutions were to be formed, the whole frame of Government to be constructed, legis- lative bodies to be organized, and in this preliminary action, as well as in the movements of the machine when brought into life, publick opinion was to be the efficient and vital prin- ciple. This publick opinion must, necessarily, be created, as well as manifested, through the instrumentality of the means which have been indicated. It was urged on more than one occasion and by high authority in England, that the Ame- rican contest originated in, and was sustained by, the selfish or ambitious designs of a few leading individuals. That personal interest gave it birth, and sustenance, and support. This was only one of the palpable misrepresentations and gross delusions of the times. The pre- sent Work will show, beyond the possibility of future rational doubt, that the roots of Ame- rican freedom had penetrated into every corner of our land and drew their active and living nourishment from every family fountain. Every reader of this compilation will perceive as
