Letter
to the Inhabitants of
the Province of Quebec -
October 26, 1774
October 26,
1774,
Friends
and fellow-subjects,
We, the Delegates
of the Colonies of New-Hampshire,
Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations,
Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Counties of
Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North-Carolina and South-Carolina, deputed by the inhabitants of the
said Colonies, to represent them in a General Congress at Philadelphia,
in the province of Pennsylvania, to consult together concerning the
best methods to obtain redress of our afflicting grievances, having
accordingly assembled, and taken into our most serious consideration
the state of public affairs on this continent, have thought proper to
address your province, as a member therein deeply interested.
When the fortune
of war, after a gallant and glorious resistance,
had incorporated you with the body of English subjects, we rejoiced in
the truly valuable addition, both on our own and your account;
expecting, as courage and generosity are naturally united, our brave
enemies would become our hearty friends, and that the Divine Being
would bless to you the dispensations of his over-ruling providence, by
securing to you and your latest posterity the inestimable advantages of
a free English constitution of government, which it is the privilege of
all English subjects to enjoy.
These hopes were
confirmed by the King's proclamation, issued in the
year 1763, plighting the public faith for your full enjoyment of those
advantages.
Little did we
imagine that any succeeding Ministers would so
audaciously and cruelly abuse the royal authority, as to with-hold from
you the fruition of the irrevocable rights, to which you were thus
justly entitled.
But since we have
lived to see the unexpected time, when Ministers
of this flagitious temper, have dared to violate the most sacred
compacts and obligations, and as you, educated under another form of
government, have artfully been kept from discovering the unspeakable
worth of that form you are now undoubtedly entitled
to, we
esteem it our duty, for the weighty reasons herein after mentioned, to
explain to you some of its most important branches.
"In every human
society," says the celebrated Marquis Beccaria,
"there is an effort, continually tending
to confer on one part the heighth of power and happiness, and to reduce
the other to the extreme of weakness and misery. The intent of good
laws is to oppose this effort, and to diffuse their
influence universally and equally."
Rulers stimulated
by this pernicious "effort," and subjects animated
by the just "intent of opposing good laws against it," have occasioned
that vast variety of events, that fill the histories of so many
nations. All these histories demonstrate the truth of this simple
position, that to live by the will of one man, or sett of men, is the
production of misery to all men.
On the solid
foundation of this principle, Englishmen reared up the
fabrick of their constitution with such a strength, as for ages to defy
time, tyranny, treachery, internal and foreign wars: And, as an
illustrious author of your nation, hereafter mentioned,
observes,--"They gave the people of their Colonies, the form of their
own government, and this government carrying prosperity along with it,
they have grown great nations in the forests they were sent to inhabit."
In this form, the
first grand right, is that of the people
having a share in their own government by their representatives chosen
by themselves, and, in consequence, of being ruled by laws,
which they themselves approve, not by edicts of men
over whom they have no control. This is a bulwark surrounding and
defending their property, which by their honest cares and labours they
have acquired, so that no portions of it can legally be taken from
them, but with their own full and free consent, when they in their
judgment deem it just and necessary to give them for public service,
and precisely direct the easiest, cheapest, and most equal methods, in
which they shall be collected.
The influence of
this right extends still farther. If money is
wanted by Rulers, who have in any manner oppressed the people, they may
retain it, until their grievances are redressed; and thus peaceably
procure relief, without trusting to despised petitions, or disturbing
the public tranquillity.
The next
great right is that of trial by jury. This provides,
that neither life, liberty nor property, can be taken from the
possessor, until twelve of his unexceptionable countrymen and peers of
his vicinage, who from that neighbourhood may reasonably be supposed to
be acquainted with his character, and the characters of the witnesses,
upon a fair trial, and full enquiry, face to face, in open Court,
before as many of the people as chuse to attend, shall pass their
sentence upon oath against him; a sentence that cannot injure him,
without injuring their own reputation, and probably their interest
also; as the question may turn on points, that, in some degree, concern
the general welfare; and if it does not, their verdict may form a
precedent, that, on a similar trial of their own, may militate against
themselves.
Another
right relates merely to the liberty of the person. If
a subject is seized and imprisoned, tho' by order of Government, he
may, by virtue of this right, immediately obtain a writ, termed a
Habeas Corpus, from a Judge, whose sworn duty it is to grant it, and
thereupon procure any illegal restraint to be quickly enquired into and
redressed.
A fourth
right, is that of holding lands by the tenure of
easy rents, and not by rigorous and oppressive services, frequently
forcing the possessors from their families and their business, to
perform what ought to be done, in all well regulated states, by men
hired for the purpose.
The last
right we shall mention, regards the freedom of the
press. The importance of this consists, besides the advancement of
truth, science, morality, and arts in general, in its diffusion of
liberal sentiments on the administration of Government, its ready
communication of thoughts between subjects, and its consequential
promotion of union among them, whereby oppressive officers are shamed
or intimidated, into more honourable and just modes of conducting
affairs.
These are the
invaluable rights, that form a considerable part of
our mild system of government; that, sending its equitable energy
through all ranks and classes of men, defends the poor from the rich,
the weak from the powerful, the industrious from the rapacious, the
peaceable from the violent, the tenants from the lords, and all from
their superiors.
These are the
rights, without which a people cannot be free and
happy, and under the protecting and encouraging influence of which,
these colonies have hitherto so amazingly flourished and increased.
These are the rights, a profligate Ministry are now striving, by force
of arms, to ravish from us, and which we are, with one mind, resolved
never to resign but with our lives.
These are the
rights you are entitled to and ought at this
moment in perfection, to exercise. And what is offered to you by the
late Act of Parliament in their place? Liberty of conscience in your
religion? No. God gave it to you; and the temporal powers with which
you have been and are connected, firmly stipulated for your enjoyment
of it. If laws, divine and human, could secure it against the despotic
caprices of wicked men, it was secured before. Are the French laws in civil
cases restored? It seems so.
But observe the cautious kindness of the Ministers, who pretend to be
your benefactors. The words of the statute are--that those "laws shall
be the rule, until they shall be varied or altered
by any ordinances of the Governor and Council." Is the "certainty and
lenity of the criminal
law of England, and its benefits and advantages," commended in the said
statute, and said to "have been sensibly felt by you," secured to you
and your descendants? No. They too are subjected to arbitrary "alterations"
by the Governor and Council; and a power is expressly reserved of
appointing "such courts of criminal, civil,
and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, as shall be
thought proper." Such is the precarious tenure of mere will,
by which you hold your lives and religion. The Crown and its Ministers
are impowered, as far as they could be by Parliament, to establish even
the Inquisition itself among you. Have you an
Assembly composed
of worthy men, elected by yourselves, and in whom you can confide, to
make laws for you, to watch over your welfare, and to direct in what
quantity, and in what manner, your money shall be taken from you? No.
The power of making laws for you is lodged in the governor and council,
all of them dependent upon, and removeable at, the pleasure
of a Minister. Besides, another late statute, made without your
consent, has subjected you to the impositions of Excise,
the horror of all free states; thus wresting your property from you by
the most odious of taxes, and laying open to insolent tax-gatherers,
houses, the scenes of domestic peace and comfort, and called the
castles of English subjects in the books of their law. And in the very
act for altering your government, and intended to flatter you, you are
not authorized to "assess, levy, or apply any rates
and taxes, but for the inferior purposes of making
roads, and erecting and repairing public buildings,
or for other local
conveniences, within your respective towns and districts." Why this
degrading distinction? Ought not the property, honestly acquired by Canadians,
to be held as sacred as that of Englishmen?
Have not Canadians sense enough to attend to any other public affairs,
than gathering stones from one place, and piling them up in another?
Unhappy people! who are not only injured, but insulted. Nay more!--With
such a superlative contempt of your understanding and spirit, has an
insolent Ministry presumed to think of you, our respectable
fellow-subjects, according to the information we have received, as
firmly to perswade themselves that your gratitude, for the injuries and
insults they have recently offered to you, will engage you to take up
arms, and render yourselves the ridicule and detestation of the world,
by becoming tools, in their hands, to assist them in taking that
freedom from us, which they have treacherously
denied to you;
the unavoidable consequence of which attempt, if successful, would be
the extinction of all hopes of you or your posterity being ever
restored to freedom: For idiocy itself cannot believe, that, when their
drudgery is performed, they will treat you with less cruelty than they
have us, who are of the same blood with themselves.
What would your
countryman, the immortal Montesquieu, have
said to such a plan of domination, as has been framed for you? Hear his
words, with an intenseness of thought suited to the importance of the
subject.--"In a free state, every man, who is supposed a free agent, ought
to be concerned in his own government: Therefore the legislative
should reside in the whole body of the people, or
their representatives."--"The political liberty of
the subject is a tranquillity of mind, arising from
the opinion each person has of his safety. In order
to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so constituted,
as that one man need not be afraid of another. When
the power of making laws, and the power of executing
them, are united in the same person, or in the same
body of Magistrates, there can be no liberty;
because apprehensions may arise, lest the same Monarch
or Senate, should enact
tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical
manner."
"The power of judging
should be exercised by persons taken from the body of the
people, at certain times of the year, and pursuant to a form
and manner prescribed by law. There is no liberty,
if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative
and executive powers."
"Military men
belong to a profession, which may be useful, but is
often
dangerous."--"The enjoyment of liberty, and even its support and
preservation, consists in every man's being allowed to speak his
thoughts, and lay open his sentiments."
Apply these
decisive maxims, sanctified by the authority of a name
which all Europe reveres, to your own state. You have a Governor, it
may be urged, vested with the executive powers, or
the powers of administration: In him, and in your
Council, is lodged the power of making laws. You
have Judges, who are to decide
every cause affecting your lives, liberty or property. Here is, indeed,
an appearance of the several powers being separated
and distributed into different
hands, for checks one upon another, the only effectual mode ever
invented by the wit of men, to promote their freedom and prosperity.
But scorning to be illuded by a tinsel'd outside, and exerting the
natural sagacity of Frenchmen, examine the specious
device, and
you will find it, to use an expression of holy writ, "a whited
sepulchre," for burying your lives, liberty and property.
Your Judges,
and your Legislative Council, as it is called, are dependant
on your Governor, and he is dependant
on the servant of the Crown, in Great-Britain. The legislative,
executive and judging
powers are all
moved by the nods of a Minister. Privileges and immunities last no
longer than his smiles. When he frowns, their feeble forms dissolve.
Such a treacherous ingenuity has been exerted in drawing up the code
lately offered you, that every sentence, beginning with a benevolent
pretension, concludes with a destructive power; and the substance of
the whole, divested of its smooth words, is--that the Crown and its
Ministers shall be as absolute throughout your extended province, as
the despots of Asia or Africa. What can protect your property from
taxing edicts, and the rapacity of necessitous and cruel masters? your
persons from Letters de Cachet, gaols, dungeons, and oppressive
services? your lives and general liberty from arbitrary and unfeeling
rulers? We defy you, casting your view upon every side, to discover a
single circumstance, promising from any quarter the faintest hope of
liberty to you or your posterity, but from an entire adoption into the
union of these Colonies.
What advice would
the truly great man before-mentioned, that
advocate of freedom and humanity, give you, was he now living, and knew
that we, your numerous and powerful neighbours, animated by a just love
of our invaded rights, and united by the indissoluble bands of
affection and interest, called upon you, by every obligation of regard
for yourselves and your children, as we now do, to join us in our
righteous contest, to make common cause with us therein, and take a
noble chance for emerging from a humiliating subjection under
Governors, Intendants, and Military Tyrants, into the firm rank and
condition of English freemen, whose custom it is, derived from their
ancestors, to make those tremble, who dare to think of making them
miserable?
Would not this be
the purport of his address? "Seize the opportunity
presented to you by Providence itself. You have been conquered into
liberty, if you act as you ought. This work is not of man. You are a
small people, compared to those who with open arms invite you into a
fellowship. A moment's reflection should convince you which will be
most for your interest and happiness, to have all the rest of
North-America your unalterable friends, or your inveterate enemies. The
injuries of Boston have roused and associated every colony, from
Nova-Scotia to Georgia. Your province is the only link wanting, to
compleat the bright and strong chain of union. Nature has joined your
country to theirs. Do you join your political interests. For their own
sakes, they never will desert or betray you. Be assured, that the
happiness of a people inevitably depends on their liberty, and their
spirit to assert it. The value and extent of the advantages tendered to
you are immense. Heaven grant you may not discover them to be blessings
after they have bid you an eternal adieu."
We are too well
acquainted with the liberality of sentiment
distinguishing your nation, to imagine, that difference of religion
will prejudice you against a hearty amity with us. You know, that the
transcendant nature of freedom elevates those, who unite in her cause,
above all such low-minded infirmities. The Swiss Cantons furnish a
memorable proof of this truth. Their union is composed of Roman
Catholic and Protestant States, living in the utmost concord and peace
with one another, and thereby enabled, ever since they bravely
vindicated their freedom, to defy and defeat every tyrant that has
invaded them.
Should there be
any among you, as there generally are in all
societies, who prefer the favours of Ministers, and their own private
interests, to the welfare of their country, the temper of such selfish
persons will render them incredibly active in opposing all
public-spirited measures, from an expectation of being well rewarded
for their sordid industry, by their superiors; but we doubt not you
will be upon your guard against such men, and not sacrifice the liberty
and happiness of the whole Canadian people and their posterity, to
gratify the avarice and ambition of individuals.
We do not ask
you, by this address, to commence acts of hostility
against the government of our common Sovereign. We only invite you to
consult your own glory and welfare, and not to suffer yourselves to be
inveigled or intimidated by infamous ministers so far, as to become the
instruments of their cruelty and despotism, but to unite with us in one
social compact, formed on the generous principles of equal liberty, and
cemented by such an exchange of beneficial and endearing offices as to
render it perpetual. In order to complete this highly desirable union,
we submit it to your consideration, whether it may not be expedient for
you to meet together in your several towns and districts, and elect
Deputies, who afterwards meeting in a provincial Congress, may chuse
Delegates, to represent your province in the continental Congress to be
held at Philadelphia on the tenth day of May, 1775.
In this present
Congress, beginning on the fifth of the last month,
and continued to this day, it has been, with universal pleasure and an
unanimous vote, resolved: That we should consider the violation of your
rights, by the act for altering the government of your province, as a
violation of our own, and that you should be invited to accede to our
confederation, which has no other objects than the perfect security of
the natural and civil rights of all the constituent members, according
to their respective circumstances, and the preservation of a happy and
lasting connection with Great-Britain, on the salutary and
constitutional principles herein before mentioned. For effecting these
purposes, we have addressed an humble and loyal petition to his
Majesty, praying relief of our and your grievances; and have associated
to stop all importations from Great-Britain and Ireland, after the
first day of December, and all exportations to those Kingdoms and the
West-Indies, after the tenth day of next September, unless the said
grievances are redressed.
That Almighty God
may incline your minds to approve our equitable
and necessary measures, to add yourselves to us, to put your fate,
whenever you suffer injuries which you are determined to oppose, not on
the small influence of your single province, but on the consolidated
powers of North-America, and may grant to our joint exertions an event
as happy as our cause is just, is the fervent prayer of us, your
sincere and affectionate friends and fellow-subjects.
By order of the
Congress,
Henry Middleton, President
Thanks
for reading the Letter to Quebec with
Revolutionary War and Beyond!
Back
to Top of Letter to Quebec
Back
to American Historical Documents
Revolutionary
War and Beyond Home
