Jature; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only task Elunet wo He has called together legislative bodies at places unufual, uncomfortable, and diftant from the depofitory of their publick records for the fole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has diffolved reprefentative houfes repeatedly, for oppofing, with manly firmnefs, his invafions on the rights of the people.ph He has refufed, for a long time after fuch diffolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legiflative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercife; the state remain ing, in the mean time, expofed to all the dangers of invafion from without, and convulfions within. JHe has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states; for that purpofe obftructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refufing to pafs others to encourage their migrations hither, and raifing the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obftructed the adminiftration of juftice, by re fufing his affent to laws for eftablishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their falaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and fent hither swarms of officers to harrafs our people, and eat out their fubftance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, ftanding armies without the confent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and fuperior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to fubject us to a jurifdiction foreign to our conftitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his affènt to their acts of pretended legiflation: us: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they fhould commit on the inhar bitants of thefe ftates: For For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: For impofing taxes on us without our confent: For depriving us, in many cafes, of the benefits of trial by jury. For tranfporting us beyond feas to be tried for pretended offences: 2 For abolishing the free fyftem of English laws in a neighbouring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government and enlarging its boundaries, fo as to render it at once an example and fit inftrument for introducing the fame abfolute rule into these colonies: For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments: For fufpending our own legislatures, and declaring themfelves invefted with power to legiflate for us in all cafes, whatsoever.. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our feas, ravaged our coafts, burnt our towns, and deftroyed the lives of our people. He is, at this time, tranfporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, defolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumftances of cruelty and perfidy, fcarcely parallelled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has conftrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high feas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themfelves by their hands. He has excited domeftic infurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the mercilefs Indian favages, whofe known rule of warfare is an undiftinguifhed deftruction of all ages, fexes, and conditions. In every stage of thefe oppreffions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been anfwered only by repeated injury. A whose character is, thus marked by every act , which which may define a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurifdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumftances of our emigration and fettlement here. We have appealed to their native juftice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to difavow thefe ufurpations which would ine vitably interrupt our connections and correfpondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of confanguinity. We muft, therefore, acquiefce in the neceffity which denounces our feparation, and hold them, as we hold the reft of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We, therefore, the reprefentatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS affembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of thefe Colonies, folemnly publish and declare, that thefe United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are abfolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the ftate of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally diffolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the fupport of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our facred honour. Signed by order, and in behalf of the Congrefs, JOHN HANCOCK, Prefident. Treaty Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, concluded between the French King and the United States of North America, February 6, 1778. L EWIS, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to all those to whom thefe prefents shall come, greeting,-Whereas our dear and well-beloved M. Conrade Alexander Gerard, Royal Syndic of the city of Strafburg, and Secretary of our Council of State, has, in virtue of the full powers with which we have invested him for that purpofe, concluded, finished, and figned, on the 6th of February, in the prefent year 1778, with Meffrs. Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, Deputies from the General Congress of the United States of North America, equally and formally invefted with full powers, a treaty of friendship and commerce to the following purport: The Moft Chriftian King, and the Thirteen United States of North America, viz. New Hampshire, Maffachuffets Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Suffex, on the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia, defirous of eftablishing, in an equitable and permanent manner, the rules which ought to be obferved relative to the correfpondence and commerce which the two parties wish to eftablifh between their respective states, dominions, and fubjects; his Moft Chriftian Majefty and the faid: United States have thought proper, and as moft conducive to this end, to found their arrangements on the bafis of the most perfect equality and reciprocal advantage, taking care to avoid difagreeable preferences, the fources of altercation, embarraffment, and difcontent; to leave to each party the liberty, respecting commerce and navigation, of making fuch interior regulations as fhall fuit themselves; to found their commercial advantages as well on reciprocal intereft, as on the laws of mutual agreement; and thus to preserve to both parties the liberty of dividing, each according to his will, the fame advantages with other nations. In this idea, and to accomplish thefe views, his faid Majefty, Majefty, having nominated and appointed, as his Plenipotentiary, M. Conrad Alexander Gerard, Royal Syndic of the city of Strafburg, Secretary of his Majefty's Council of State; and the United States having, on their part, invefted with full powers Meffrs. Benjamin Franklin, Deputy of the General Congress of the State of Pennfylvania, and Prefident of the Affemby of the faid State; Silas Deane, formerly Deputy of the State of Connecticut; and Arthur Lee, Counfellor at Law; the faid Plenipotentiaries respectively, after having exchanged their credentials, and upon mature deliberation, have concluded and agreed to the following articles: Article I. A firm, inviolable, and univerfal peace, and a true and fincere friendship, shall fubfift between the Most Christian King, his heirs and fucceffors, and the United States of America, as well as between his Moft Chriftian Majesty's fubjects and those of the faid States; as also between the people, iflands out and inhabitants of all claffes, without any exception to perfons or places. The conditions mentioned in the prefent treaty fhall be perpetual and permanent between the Moft Chriftian King, his heirs and fucceffors, and the faid United States. II. The Moft Chriftian King and the United States mutually engage, not to grant any particular favour to other nations, refpecting commerce and navigation, which fhall not be immediately made known to the other party; and fuch nation fhall enjoy that favour gratuitoufly, if the conceffion is fuch, or in granting the fame compenfation, if the conceffion is conditional. III. The fubjects of the Moft Chriftian King fhall not pay, in the ports, harbours, roads, countries, iflands, cities, and places of the United States, any greater duties or impofts, of what nature foever they may be, or by whatever name they may be called, than fuch as the most favoured nation fhall pay; and they fhall enjoy all the rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and exemptions, in point of trade, navigation, and commerce, whether in paffing from one port of the faid States to another, or in going thither, or in returning from or going to any part of the world whatever, as the faid nations may or shall enjoy. IV. The |