parties; and that, for the accomplishment of thofe ends, together with the great object and neceffary bufinefs of the feffion, he fhould have no objection to their adjourning to the town of York, where he would meet them, and remain till the bufinefs was finished.

He concluded by reprefenting, that unless they had a fincere and active defire of feizing the opportunity which was now offered by parliament, of establishing the freedom of their country upon a fixed and known foundation, and of uniting themselves with their fellow-fubjects of Great Britain in one common bond of interest and mutual affiftance, his return to Williamsburg would be as fruitlefs to the people, as it might poffibly be dangerous to himself; but that if their proceedings manifefted that happy difpofition, he would return with the greatest joy, and confider it as the most fortunate event of his life, if they gave him an opportunity to be an inftrument of promoting their happiness, and of being a fuccefsful mediator between them and the fupreme authority.

The mollifying terms of the conclufion, were by no means equal to the removal of the acrimony excited by thofe fevere charges and implications, which were contained in the foregoing parts of this long meffage. It accordingly produced a reply of an uncommon length, under the form of an addrefs, which was fraught with all the bitterness of recrimination, as well as with defenfive arguments, and an examination of facts. The Houfe had now received the report of its Committee relative to the caufes

the depofitions of a number of Britih merchants, who were refident in different and romote parts of the colony, all whofe teftimony tended to fhew the general tranquillity which prevailed previous to the late affair of the powder, and the Governor's declaration relative to the flaves, the latter of which, fo far as it was believed, having particularly irritated the people; that notwithstanding, quiet and order were foon every where reftored, and ftill continued; that there was a general acquiefcence every where in the determinations of the General and Provincial Congrefs; but they all concurred in believing, that the people had no defign or wifh of an independency on Great Britain; and fome, that, on the contrary, they had a most eager defire for fuch a connection, as it ftood before the late acts of parliament; they were unanimous in their opinion, that a redress of the grievances complained of, would establish a perfect tranquillity, and produce a reconciliation with the parent state.

To refute the charges or infinuations of difaffection and difloyalty, the Houfe of Burgeffes took a retrofpective view of the behaviour of the people, and of feveral tranfactions in the colony, for fome years back; they stated the happinefs which they derived under the conduct of former Governors, as a ftrong contrast to their present fituation; they attributed that hap pinefs, particularly in a very late juttance, to the discountenancing of tale-bearers and malicious informers, to a proper examination of every fubject, and the taking of nothing upon truft; and, finally,

[B] 4

to

to the tranfmitting home a faithful representation of things in the colony. They stated their former conduct and behaviour with refpect to his Lordship, and obferved, that changes feldom happened without fome fufficient caufe; that refpect was not to be obtained by force from a free people; that nothing was fo likely to infure it, as dignity of character, a candid and exemplary conduct. That they did not mean to infinuate his Lordfhip would, defignedly, mifreprefent facts; but that it was much to be feared, he too eafily gave credit to defigning perfons, who, to the great injury of the community, poffeffed much too large a fhare of his confidence.

They controverted the facts, and examined with great feverity, the reprefentations and charges contained in thofe two letters to the Earl of Dartmouth, which we have already taken notice of; thefe they reprefented as exceedingly injurious and unjuft, as founded on mifconception, misinformation, the height of colouring, the misftating, or the affumption of facts without evidence. They then proceeded to julify the fteps which had been taken with regard to the militia; their fuppofed countenance to the acts done concerning the magazine, and the other matters which first excited, and afterwards inflamed, the controverfy. 14th.

The House of Burgeffes alfo prefented their addrefs in anfwer to the Governor's fpeech, in which they entered into a long difcuffion of the propofition contained in the parliamentary refolution, founded upon Lord North's conciliatory motion. This they combated upon the fame grounds,

and with a variety of arguments of the fame nature, that we have formerly flated; and they ultimately declared, that as it only changed the form of oppreffion, without leffening its burthen, they could not clofe with its terms. They obferved, however, that these were only offered as the fentiments of an individual part of the whole empire; and for a final determination, they referred the affair to the General Congress, before whom they would lay the papers. To them alfo they referred the difcovery of that proper mode of reprefenting their well-founded grievances, which his Lordship affured them, would meet with the attention and regard fo juftly due to them. For themselves, they made the following declaration: "We have exhausted every mode of application which our invention could fuggeft, as proper and promifing. We have decently remonftrated with parliament; they have added new injuries to the old. We have wearied our King with fupplications; he has not deigned to anfwer us. We have appealed to the native honour and juttice of the British nation; their efforts in our favour have been hitherto ineffectual."

In this ftate of diftruft and illhumour on both fides, every day afforded new ground for bickering, and every incident fresh room for altercation, fo that there was a continued intercourfe, by addreffes, meffages, and anfwers, between the Houfe of Burgeffes and the Fowey. This was a fingular fitua tion; an attempt to govern, with out choofing, or finding it fafe, to fet a foot on fhore in the country to be governed.

A:

At length, the neceffary bills having paffed the affembly, and the advanced feafon requiring their attendance in their feveral countries, the council and Burgeffes jointly intreated the Governor's prefence, to give his affent to them and finish the feffion. They obferved, that though the bufinefs had been greatly impeded by his absence from the feat of government, and they had fubmitted to the inconvenience of repeatedly fending their members twelve miles to attend his Excellency on board a fhip of war, they could not but think it highly improper, and too great a departure from the conftitutional and accuftomed mode of tranfa&ting their bufinefs, to prefent the bills to him at any other place than the capital.

Lord Dunmore in his anfwer was fomewhat rough. He inifted upon his right of calling them to any place in the colony, where the exigence of affairs might render their attendance neceffary. He further obferved, that as he had not been made acquainted with the whole proceedings of the Affembly, he knew of no bills of importance, which, if he were inclined to rifque his perfon again among the people, they had to prefent to him, nor whether they were fuch as he could affent to if they had.

To obviate thefe objections, though it was an unprecedented act, the Affembly fent the bills, as well as other papers which were afterwards demanded, on board the Fowey, for his infpection. The most interesting of those bills, feemingly to all parties, was that for the payment of the forces, who had lately, under his Lordship's command, fuffered confiderably, at

the fame time that they had done effential fervice to their country, by their bravery and fuccefs in the late Indian war. This bill was objected to by the Governor, for its impofing a tax upon the importation of flaves, and for fome informality in refpect to the emiffion of paper money. The other bills were approved of.

This produced the final addrefs from the Houfe of Burgeffes, in which they intreated his Excellency, that he would meet them the enfuing day at Williamsburg, to pass the bills that were ready; expreffed their hopes, that he could not ftill entertain any groundless fears of perfonal danger; but declared, that if it was poffible he remained under fo ftrange an influence, they pledged their honours, and every thing facred, for his fecurity. If nothing could prevail, they requested that he would grant a commiffion for paffing fuch bills as he approved.

Lord Dunmore perfifted in the. objections he had made to the bill; faid that the well-grounded caufe he had for believing his perfon not fafe at Williamsburgh, had increafed daily. That he therefore could not meet them, as they requefted, at the capital; but that he would be ready to receive the Houfe on the following Monday, at his prefent refidence, for the purpose of giving his affent to fuch acts as he fhould approve of.

This anfwer put an end to all public correfpondence and business between the Governor and colony. The transferring the Legislative Council and Houfe of Reprefentatives of a great country on board a man of war, was evidently not to be expected. Their danger in fuch

a fitua

a fituation, if on other accounts it were poffible they could put themfelves into it, was no less than Lord Dunmore's could be on land. It may, however, be fuppofed, that the Governor's conduct was operated upon by caufes, or influenced by motives, with which we are unacquainted.

Upon receiving the forgoing anfwer, the Burgeffes paffed refolutions, in which they declared, that the meffage requiring them to attend the Governor on board a fhip of war, was a high breach of their rights and privileges. That the unreasonable delays thrown into their proceedings, and the evafive answers to their fincere and decent addreffes, gave them reafon to fear that a dangerous attack was meditated against the unhappy people of that colony, and it was therefore their opinion, that they thould prepare for the prefervation of their property, aud their ineftimable rights and liberties. And then, ftrongly profeffing loyalty to the King, and amity to the mother country, they broke up their feffion.

Thus, unhappily, was an end put, for the prefent, to the English government in the colony of Virginia. A convention July 18th. of delegates was foon appointed to fupply the place of the affembly, who having an unlimited confidence repofed in them by the people, became accordingly poffeffed of an unlimited power in all public affairs. Thefe immediately took in hand the railing and embodying of an armed force, as well as the providing means for its fupport, and purfued every other measure which could tend to place the colony in a strong ftate of de

fence. Whilft they were pursuing thefe dangerous fteps, they publifhed a declaration in justification of their conduct, tracing the meafures that led to the prefent unhappy ftate of public affairs, setting forth the cause of their meeting, and fhewing the neceffity of immediately putting the country in a pofture of defence, for the protection of their lives, liberties, and properties. They concluded, as the affembly had done, with the rongest profeffions of faith and loyalty, and declared, that as, on the one hand, they were determined at the peril of the extremest hazards, to maintain their just rights and privileges, fo on the other, it was their fixed and unalterable refolution, to disband fuch forces as were raised for the defence of the colony, whenever their dangers were removed, and America reftored to its former ftate of tran. quillity and happiness.

Whether Lord Dunmore expected that any extraordinary advantages might be derived from an infurrection of the flaves, or that he imagined there was a much greater number of peopie in the colony, who were fatisfied with the prefent fyftem of government, than really was the case, (a miftake, and an unfortunate one, which like an epidemical distemper, feems to have spread through all our official departments in America) upon whatever grounds he proceeded, he determined, though he relinquished his government, not to abandon his hopes, nor entirely to lofe fight of the country which he had governed. He accordingly, being joined by thofe friends of government, who had rendered themselves too obnoxious to the

people

people to continue with fafety in the country, as well as by a number of runaway negroes, and fupported by the frigates of war which were upon the ftation, endeavoured to eftablish fuch a marine force, as would enable him, by means of the noble rivers, which render the most valuable parts of that rich country acceffible by water, to be always at hand, and ready to profit of any favourable occafion that offered.

Upon this, or fome fimilar fyftem, he by degrees equipped and armed a number of veffels of different kinds and fizes, in one of which he constantly refided, never fetting his foot on fhore but in a hoftile manner; the force thus put together, was, however, calculated only for depredation, and never became equal to any effential fer vice. The former, indeed, was in part a matter of receffity, for as the people on fhore would not fupply thofe on board with provifions or neceffaries, they must either ftarve, or provide them by force. The Virginians pretend, that while the depredations were confined to thofe neceffary objects, the respect which they bore to the rank and office of their governor, prevented his meeting with any refiftance; but their nature was foon changed into open and avowed hoftility. Obnoxious perfons, they laid, were feized and carried on board the fhips; plantations ravaged and deftroyed; the negroes carried off; houfes burnt, and at length lives loft on both fides. In one of thefe expeditions, his Lordship destroyed a number of iron cannon, and carried off fome others, which he fuppofed were provided for the purpoles of rebellion, though the Virginians affert they were hip guns. These

proceedings occafioned the fending of fome detachments of the newraised forces to protect the coafts, and from thence enfued, a small, mischievous, predatory war, incapable of affording honour or benefit, and in which, at length, every drop of water, and every neceffary, was purchased at the price or the rifque of blood.

During this state of hoftility, he procured a few foldiers from dif

terent parts, with Oct. 25th. whofe affittance, an

attempt was made to burn a port town, in an important fituation, called Hampton. It feems the inhabitants had fome previous fufpicion of the defign, for they had funk boats in the entrance of the harbour, and thrown fuch other obftacles in the way, as rendered the approach of the ships, and con fequently a landing, impracticable on the day on which the attack was commenced. The fhips cut a paffage through the boats in the night, and began to cannonade the town furiously in the morning; but at this critical period they were relieved from their apprehenfions and danger, by the arrival of a detachment of rifle and minute men from Williamsburg, who had marched all night to their affiftance. Thefe, joined with the inhabitants, attacked the fhips fo vigorously with their fmall arms, that they were obliged precipitately to quit their flation, with the lois of fome men, and of a tender which was taken.

Nov. 7th.

In confequence of this repulfe, a proclamation was iffued by the Governor, dated on board the fhip William, off Norfolk, declaring, that as the civil law was at prefent infufficient

to