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Sihe publication of the first edition of this pahlet, or rather, on the sa day on which it ca out, the Kings Speech de its appearan this city. Had the spirit of prophecy directed the birth of this produ, iuld not hae brought it forth, at a re seasonable juncture, or a re necessary ti.
The bloody ndedness of the one, shew the y of pursuing the doe of the other. Men read by way e.
And the Speech, instead of terrifying, prepared a way for the nly principles of Independance.
y, and een, silence, frowhateer tie they y arise, hae a hurtful tendency, when they gie the least degree of teo base and wicked perfornces; wherefore, if this ibe adtted, it naturally follows, that the Kings Speech, as being a piece of finished ilny, desered, and still deseres, a general eecration both by the gress and the people. Yet, as the dostic tranquillity of a nation, depends greatly, on the CHASTITY of what y properly be called NATIONAL MANNERS, it is ofteer, to pass so things oer in silent disdain, than to ke use of suew thods of dislike, as ght introduce the least innoation, on that guardian of our pead safety. And, perhaps, it is chiefly owing to this prudent delicacy, that the Kings Speech, hath not, before now, suffered a public eecution.
The Speech if it y be called one, is nothier than a wilful audac;cite;/citeious libel against the truth, the on good, and the eistenankind; and is a forl and poous thod of up hun sacrifices to the pride of tyrants.
But this general ssaankind. is one of the priileges, and the certain sequence of Kings; for as nature knows theNOT, they know NOT HER, and ahough they are beings of our OWing, they know not US, and are bee the gods of their creators.
The Speech hath one good quality, which is, that it is not calcuted to deceie, her we, een if we would, be deceied by it.
Brutality and tyranny appear on the face of it. It leaes us at no loss: And eery line inces, een i of reading, that He, who hunts the woods for prey, the naked and untutored Indian, is less a Saage than the King of Britain.
Sir John Dalryle, the putatie father of a whiniical piece, falciously called, quot;THE ADDRE;q..;/qSS OF THE PEOPLE OF _ENGLAND_ TO THE INHABITANTS OF _AMERICA_,quot; hath, perhaps, froa ain supposition, that the people here were to be frighte the po and description of a king, gien, (though ery unwisely on his part) the real character of the present one: quot;Butquot; says this writer, quot;if you are io pay plints to an adnistration, which we do not pin of,quot; (aning the Marquis ha at the repeal of the Sta Act) quot;it is ery unfair in you to withhold thefrothat prince by WHOSE _NOD ALOHEY WERE PERMITTED TO DO ANY THING.quot; This is toryiswith a witness! Here is idotry een without a sk: And he who caly hear, and digest such doe, hath forfeited his cito rationality an apostate frothe order of nhood; and ought to be sidered as one, who hath not only gien up the prnity of n, but sunk hielf beh the rank of anils, and ptibly crawl through the world like a wor
Howeer, it tters ery little now, what the king of Engher says or does; he hath wickedly broken through eery ral and hun obligation, traled nature and sce beh his feet; and by a steady and stitutional spirit of insolend cruey, procured for hielf an uniersal hatred. It is NOW the i of Arica to proide for herself.
She hath already a rge and young faly, whoit is re her duty to take care of, than to be granting away her property, to support a power who is bee a reproach to the nas of n and christians--YE, whose office it is to watch oer the rals of a nation, of whatsoeer sect or denonation ye are of, as well as ye, who, are re iediately the guardians of the public liberty, if ye wish to presere your ry uninated by Europearruptio i wish a separation--But leaing the ral part to priate refle, I shall chiefly fine farther rerks to the following heads.
First. That it is the i of Arica to be separated froBritain.
Sedly. Which is the easiest and st practicable pn, RECILIATION OR INDEPENDANCE? With so oasional rerks.
In support of the first, uld, if I judged it proper, produce the opinion of so of the ablest and st eperien on this ti; and whose ses, on that head, are not yet publicly known. It is iy a self-eident position: For no nation in a state of fn dependance, lited in its erce, and craed aered in its legistie powers, eer arrie at any terial enenbsp; Arica doth not yet knoulence is; and ahough the progress which she hath de stands unparalleled in the history of other nations, it is but childhood, pared with what she would be capable of arriing at, had she, as she ought to hae, the legistie powers in her own hands.
Engnd is, at this ti, proudleting what would do her no good, were she to aplish it; and the ti hesitating on a tter, which will be her final ruin if ed. It is the erd not the quest of Arica, by whignd is to he beed, and that would in a great asure tinue, were the tries as independant of each other as Frand Spain; because in ny articles, her go to a better rket. But it is the independance of this try on Britain or any other, which is now the in and only object worthy of tention, and which, like all other truths dered by y, will appear clearer and stronger eery day.
First. Because it will e to that oi or other.
Sedly. Because, the lo is deyed the harder it will be to aplish.
I hae frequently ased self both in publid priate panies, with silently rerking, the specious errors of those who speak without refleg. And ang the ny which I hae heard, the followihe st general, iz.
that had this rupture happened forty or fifty years hence, instead of NOW, the ti would hae been re able to hae shaken off the dependao which I reply, that our litary ability, AT THIS TIME, arises frothe eperience gained i war, and whi forty or fifty years ti, would hae been totally etinbsp; The ti, would not, by that ti, hae had a General, or een a litary officer left; and we, or those who y sueed us, would hae been as ignorant of rtial tters as the a Indians: And this single position, closely atteo, will unanswerably proe, that the present ti is preferable to all others. The argunt turns thus--at the clusion of the st war, erience, but wanted nuers; and forty or fifty years hence, we should hae nuers, without eperience; wherefore, the proper point of ti, st be so particur poiweewo etres, in which a sufficy of the forr reins, and a proper increase of the tter is obtained: And that point of ti is the present ti.
The reader will pardon this digression, as it does not properly e uhe head I first set out with, and to which I agaiurn by the following position, iz.
Should affairs he patched up with Britain, and she to rein the g and sn power of Arica, (which, as tters are now circed, is giing up the poiirely) we shall deprie ourseles of the ery ans of sinking the debt we hae, or y trabsp; The alue of the bads whie of the proinces are destinely depried of, by the unjust etension of the lits of ada, alued only at fie pounds sterling per hundred acres, aunt to upwards of twenty-fie llions, Pennsylania currency; and the quit-rents at one penny sterling per acre, to two llions yearly.
It is by the sale of those nds that the debt y be sunk, without burthen to any, and the quit-rent resered thereon, will always lessen, and in ti, will wholly support the yearly epence of goer. It tters not how long the debt is in paying, so that the nds when sold be applied to the discharge of it, and for the eecution of which, the gress for the ti being, will be the tial trustees. .
I proceed now to the sed head, iz. Which is the easiest and st practicable pn, RECILIATION or lNDEPENDANCE; With so oasional rerks.
He who takes nature for his guide is not easily beaten out of his argunt, and on that ground, I answer GENERALLY--THAT _INDEPENDANCE_ BEING A _SINGLE SIMPLE LIAINED WITHIN OURSELVES; AND RECILIATION, A MATTER EXCEEDINGLY PERPLEXED AND PLICATED, AND IN WHICH, A TREACHEROUS CAPRICIOUS COURT IS TO INTERFERE, GIVES THE ANSWER WITHOUT A DOUBT.
The present state of Arica is truly arng to eery n who is capable of refleion. Without w, without goer, without any other de of power than what is founded on, and granted burtesy.
Held together by an unealed currence of se, which, is heless subject to ge, and which, eery secret ene is eo dissole. Our present dition, is, Legistion without w; wisdowithout a pn; a stitution without a n and, what is strangely astonishing, perfedependaending for dependahe instance is without a pret; the case neer eisted before; and who tell what y be the eent? The property of no n is secure in the present unbraced systeof things. The nd of the itude is left at rando and seeing no fied object before the they pursue such as fancy or opinion starts. Nothing is al; there is no such thing as treason; wherefore, eery ohinks hielf at liberty to act as he pleases. The Tories dared not hae asseled offensiely, had they known that their lies, by that act, were forfeited to the ws of the state. A line of distin should be drawween, English soldiers taken in battle, and inhabitants of Arica taken in ar.
The first are prisoners, but the tter traitors.
The one forfeits his liberty, the other his head.
Notwithstanding our wisdo there is a isible feebleness in so of our proceedings which gies eo dissensions.
The tial Be is too loosely buckled. And if sothing is not done in ti, it will be too te to do any thing, and we shall fall into a state, in whieither RECILIATION nor INDEPENDANCE will be practicable. The king and his worthless adherents are got at their old ga of diiding the ti, and there are not wanting ang us, Printers, who will be busy in spreading specious falsehoods. The artful and hypocritical letter which appeared a few nths ago in two of the New York papers, and likewise in two others, is an eidehat there are n who waher judgnt or hoy.
It is easy getting into holes and ers and talking of reciliation: But do su seriously sider, how difficu the task is, and how dangerous it y proe, should the ti diide thereon. Do they take within their iew, all the arious orders of n whose situation and circes, as .well as their own, are to be sidered therein.
Do they put theeles in the pce of the sufferer whose ALL is ALREADY gone, and of the soldier, who hath quitted ALL for the defence of his try. If their ill judged deration be suited to their own priate situations only, regardless of others, the eent will ihe that quot;they are reing without their Host.quot; Put us, says so, on the footing we were on in sity-three: To which I ahe request is not now in the power of Britain to ply with, her will she propose it; but if it were, and een should be granted, I ask, as a reasonable question, By what ans is such rrupt and faithlesurt to be kept to its es? Another parliant, nay, een the present, y hereafter repeal the obligation, on the pretense, of its being iolently obtained, or unwisely granted; and in that case, Where is our redress?--No going to w with nations; ohe barristers of s; and the sword, not of justice, but of war, decides the suit.
To be on the footing of sity-three, it is not suffit, that the ws only be put on the sa state, but, that our circes, likewise, be put on the sa state; Our burnt aroyed towns repaired or bui up, our priate losses de good, our public debts (tracted for defence) discharged; otherwise, we shall be llions worse than we were at that eniable period. Such a request, had it been plied with a year ago, would hae won the heart and soul of the ti - but now it is too te, quot;The Rubi is passed.quot; Besides, the taking up ar, rely to enforce the repeal of a peiary w, see as unwarrantable by the diine w, and as repugnant to hun feelings, as the taking up ar to enforce obediehereto. The object, oher side, doth not justify the ans; for the lies of oo aluable to be cast away on such trifles. It is the iolence which is done and threateo our persons; the destru of our property by an ard force; the inasion of our try by fire and sword, which stiously qualifies the use of ar: And the instant, in which such a de of defence beecessary, all subje to Britain ought to hae ceased; and the independanerica, should hae been sidered, as dating its aera fro and published by, THE FIRST MUSKET THAT WAS FIRED AGAINST HER. This line is a line of sisteher drawn by caprior etended by aition; but produced by a of eents, of which the ies were not the authors.
I shall clude these rerks with the following tily and well intended hints. We ought to reflect, that there are three different ways by whi independancy y hereafter be effected; and that ONE of those THREE, will one day or other, be the fate of Arica, iz. By the legal oice of the people in gress; by a litary power; or by a b--It y not always happen that OUR soldiers are citizens, and the itude a body of reasonable n; irtue, as I hae already rerked, is not hereditary, her is it perpetual. Should an independancy be brought about by the first of those ans, we hae eery opportunity and eery e before us, to forthe  urest stitution on the face of the earth. We hae it in our power to begin the world ain. A situation, sir to the present, hath not happened sihe days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a raen, perhaps as nurous as all Europe tains, are to receie their portion of freedofrothe eent of a few nths.
The Refleion is awful--and in this point of iew, How trifling, how ridiculous, do the little, pary caillings, of a few weak or ied n appear, when ghed against the business of a world.
Should we he present faourable and initing period, and an Independance be hereafter effected by any other ans, we st charge the sequeo ourseles, or to those rather, whose narrorejudiced souls, are habitually opposing the asure, without either inquiring or refleg. There are reasons to be gien in support of Independance, whi should rather priately think of, than be publicly told of. We ought not now to be debating whether we shall be independant or not, but, anious to aplish it on a fir secure, and honorable basis, and uneasy rather that it is not yet began upon.
Eery day inces us of its y. Eeories (if such beings yet rein ang us) should, of all he st solicitous to prote it; for, as the appoi of ittees at first, protected thefrope, so, a wise and well established foer, will be the only certain ans of tinuing it securely to the
WHEREFORE, if they hae not irtue enough to be WHIGS, they ought to hae prudenough to wish for Independance.
In short, Independance is the only BOND that tye and keep us together. We shall then see our object, and our ears will be legally shut against the sches of an intriguing, as well, as a cruel ene. We shall then too, be on a proper footing, to treat with Britain; for there is reason to clude, that the pride of thaurt, will be less hurt by treating with the Ari states for ter of peace, than with those, whoshe denonates, quot;rebellious subjects,quot; for ter of aodation.
It is our deying it that ences her to hope for quest, and our backwardends only to prolong the war. As we hae, without any good effect therefro withheld our trade to obtain a redress of rieances, let us now try the aernatie, by independantly redressing theourseles, and then to operade. The rtile and reasonable part in Engnd, will be still with us; because, peace with trade, is preferable to war without it. And if this offer be not aepted, otheurts y be applied to.
On these grounds I rest the tter. And as no offer hath yet beeo refute the doe tained in the forr editions of this pahlet, it is a ie proof, that either the doe ot be refuted, or, that the party in faour of it are too nurous to be opposed. WHEREFORE, instead of gazing at each other with suspicious or doubtful curiosity; let each of us, hold out to his neighbour the hearty hand of friendship, and unite in drawing a line, which, like an act of obliion shall bury ifulness eery forr dissension.
Let the nas of Whig and Tory be etinct; a her be heard ang us, than those of A GOOD CITIZEN, AN OPEN AND RESOLUTE FRIEND, AND A VIRTUOUS SUPPORTER OF THE RIGHTS OF MANKIND AND OF THE _FREE AND INDEPENDANT STATES OF AMERICA_.
To the Representaties of the Religious Society of the People called Quakers, or to so ny of theas were ed in publishing the te piece, entitled quot;THE AESTIMONY and PRlNCIPLES of the People called QUAKERS renewed, with Respect to the KING and GOVER, and toug the OTIONS now preailing in these and other parts of AMERICA addressed to the PEOPLE IN GENERAL.quot; The Writer of this, is one of those few, who neer dishonours religioher by ridig, or cailling at any denonation whatsoeer.
To God, and not to n, are all n atable on there ion.
Wherefore, this epistle is not so properly addressed to you as a religious, but as a political body, dabbling in tters, which the professed Quietude of your Principles instruct you not to ddle with. As you hae, without a proper authority for so doing, put yourseles in the pce of the whole body of the Quakers, so, the writer of this, in order to be on an equal rank with yourseles, is uhe y, of putting hielf in the pce of all those, who, approe the ery writings and principles, against which, your testiny is directed: Ah chosen this singur situation, in order, that you ght der in hithat presution of character which you ot see in yourseles. For her he nor you hae any cior title to POLITICAL REPRESENTATION.
When n hae departed frothe right way, it is no wohat they stule and fall. And it is eident frothe nner in which ye hae naged your testiny, that politics, (as a religious body of n) is not your proper Walk; for howeer well adapted it ght appear to you, it is, heless, a jule of good and bad put uogether, and the clusion drawn therefro both unnatural and unjust.
The two first pages, (and the whole doth not ke four) we gie you credit for, a the sa ciility froyou, because the loe and desire of peace is not fio Quakeris it is the natural, as well the religious wish of all denonations of n. And on this ground, as n b to establish an Independant stitution of our own, do we eceed all others in our hope, end, and ai OUR PLAN IS PEACE FOR EVER.
We are tired of tention with Britain, and see no real end to it but in a final separation. We act sistently, because for the sake of introdug an endless and uninterrupted peace, do we bear the eils and burthens of the present day. We are endea, and will steadily tio endeaour, to separate and dissole a eion which hath already filled our nd with blood; and which, while the na of it reins, will he the fatal cause of future schiefs to both tries.
We fight her fe nor quest; her fropride nor passion; we are not insuing the world with our fleets and ares, ning the globe for plunder. Beh the shade of our own ines are we attacked; in our own houses, and on our own nds, is the iolenitted against us. We iew our enees in the character of Highwayn and Housebreakers, and haing no defence for ourseles in the ciil w, are obliged to punish theby the litary one, and apply the sword, in the ery case, where you hae before he haer-- Perhaps we feel for the ruined and insued sufferers in all and eery part of the ti, with a degree of tenderness which hath not yet de its way into so of your boso. But be ye sure that ye stake not the cause and ground of your Testiny. Call not ess of soul, religion; nor put the BIGOT in the pce of the CHRISTIAN.
O ye partial nisters of your own aowledged principles. If the bearing ar be sinful, the first going to war st be re so, by all the differeween wilful attack, and unaoidable defence.
Wherefore, if ye really preach frosce, and an not to ke a political hobbyhorse of your religion ihe world thereof, by prog your doe to our enees, FOR THEY LIKEWISE BEAR _ARMS_.
Gie us proof of your siy by publishing it at St. Jass, to the anders in chief at Boston, to the Adrals and Captains iratically raaging ouasts, and to all the rdering sts wh in authority under HIM whoye profess to sere.
Had ye the ho soul of BARCLAY ye would preach repentao YOUR king; Ye would tell the Royal Wretch his sins, and warn hiof eternal ruin.
[quot;Thou hast tasted of prosperity and adersity; thou k what it is to be bahy ry, to be oer-ruled as well as to rule, a upohrone; and being oppressed thou hast reason to know how hateful the oppressor is both to God and n: If after all these warnings and adertisents, thou dost not turn unto the Lord with all thy heart, but fet hiwho reered thee in thy distress, and gie up thyself to fallow lust and anity, surely great will be thy nation.-- Against whiare, as well as the tetation of those who y or do feed thee, and prot thee to eil, the st ecellent and prealent redy will be, to apply thyself to that light of Christ which shih in thy sce, and whieither , nor will ftter thee, nor suffer thee to be at ease in thy sins.quot;--Barcys address to Charles II.] Ye would not spend your partial iies against the injured and the insued only, but, like faithful nisters, would cry aloud and SPARE NONE. Say not that ye are persecuted, her endeaour to ke us the authors of that reproach, which, ye are bringing upon yourseles; for we testify unto all n, that we do not pin against you because ye are Quakers, but because ye pretend to be and are NOT Quakers.
As! it see by the particur tendency of so part of your testiny, and other parts of your duct, as if, all sin was reduced to, and prehended in, THE ACT OF BEARING ARMS, and that by the people only.
Ye appear to us, to hae staken party for sce; because, the general tenor of your as wants uniforty--And it is eceedingly difficu to us to gie credit to ny of your pretended scruples; because, we see thede by the sa n, who, in the ery instant that they are eg against the on of this world, are heless, hunting after it with a step as steady as Ti, and an appetite as keen as Death.
The quotation which ye hae de froProerbs, ihird page of your testiny, that, quot;when a ns lease the Lord, he keth een his eo be at peace with hiquot;; is ery unwisely chosen on your part; because, it aunts to a proof, that the kings ways (whoye are desirous of supp) do NOT please the Lord, otherwise, his reign would be in peace.
I now proceed to the tter part of your testiny, and that, for which all the foing see only an introdu iz.
quot;It hath eer been our judgnt and principle, since we were called to profess the light of Christ Jesus, ed in our sces unto this day, that the setting up and putting down kings and goers, is Gods peculiar prerogatie; for causes best known to hielf: And that it is not our busio hae any hand or triaherein; nor to be busy bodies aboe our station, ch less to plot and trie the ruin, or oerturn of any of the but to pray for the king, and safety of our nation. and good of all n - That we y lie a peaceable and quiet life, in all godliness and hoy; UHE GOVER WHICH GOD IS PLEASED TO SET OVER USquot; - If these are REALLY your principles why do ye not abide by the Why do ye not leae that, which ye call Gods Work, to be naged by hielf? These ery principles instruct you to wait with patiend hulity, for the eent of all public asures, and to receie that eent as the diine will towards you. Wherefore, what oasion is there for your POLITICAL TESTIMONY if you fully beliee what it tains? And the ery publishing it proes, that either, ye do not beliee what ye profess, or hae not irtue enough to practise what ye beliee.
The principles of Quakerishae a direct tendenake a n the quiet and inoffensie subject of any, and eery goer WHICH IS SET OVER HIM. And if the setting up and putting down of kings and goers is Gods peculiar prerogatie, he st certainly will not be robbed thereof by us: wherefore, the principle itself leads you to approe of eery thing, which eer happened, or y happen to kings as being his work. OLIVER WELL thanks you. CHARLES, then, died not by the hands of n; and should the present Proud Itator of hi e to the sa untily end, the writers and publishers of the Testiny, are bound, by the doe it tains, to appud the fabsp; Kings are not taken away by racles, her are ges in goers brought about by any other ans than such as are on and hun; and such as we are now using. Een the dispersion of the Jews, though foretold by our Saiour, was effected by ar. Wherefore, as ye refuse to be the ans on one side, ye ought not to be ddlers oher; but to wait the issue in silence; and unless ye  roduce diihority, to proe, that the Alghty who hath created and pced this new world, at the greatest distuld possibly sta a, froeery part of the old, doth, heless, disapproe of its being indepe of thrrupt and aba of Britain, unless I say, ye shew this, how ye on the ground of your principles, justify the eg and stirring up the people quot;firy to unite in the abhorrence of all such writings, and asures, as eidence a desire and design to break off the happy eion we hae hitherto enjoyed, with the kingdoof Great-Britain, and our just and necessary subordination to the king, and those who are wfully pced in authority under hiquot; .９9ｌiｂ? a sp of the face is here! the n, who in the ery paragraph before, hae quietly and passiely resigned up the , aering, and disposal of kings and goers, into the hands of God, are now, recalling their principles, and putting in for a share of the business.
Is it possible, that the clusion, which is here justly quoted, any ways follow frothe doe id down? The insistency is t not to be seen; the absurdity too great not to be ughed at; and such auld only hae been de by those, whose uandings were darkened by the narrow and crabby spirit of a despairing political party; for ye are not to be sidered as the whole body of the Quakers but only as a faal and fraal part thereof.
Here ends the eanation of your testiny; (which I call upon no n to abhor, as ye hae done, but only to read and judge of fairly;) to which I subjoin the following rerk; quot;That the setting up and putting down of kings,quot; st certainly an, the king hia king, who is yet not so, and the king hino king who is already one. And pray what hath this to do in the present case? We her an to set up nor to pull dowher to ke nor to unke, but to hae nothing to do with the
Wherefore, your testiny in whateer light it is iewed seres only to dishonor your judgent, and for ny other reasons had better hae bee alohan published.
First, Because it tends to the decrease and reproach of all religion whateer, and is of the utst dao society to ke it a party in political disputes.
Sedly, Because it ehibits a body of n, nuers of whodisaow the publishing political testinies, as beiherein and approers thereof.
Thirdly, because it hath a tendency to undo that tial harny and friendship which yourseles by your te liberal and charitable donations hath lent a hand to establish; and the preseration of which, is of the utst sequeo us all.
And here without anger or rese I bid you farewell.
Sincerely wishing, that as n and christians, ye y always fully and uninterruptedly enjoy eery ciil and religiht; and be, in your turn, the ans of seg it to others; but that the eale which ye hae unwisely set, of ngling religion with politics, MAY BE DISAVOWED AND REPROBATED BY EVERY INHABITANT OF _AMERICA._ F I N I S. .
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