Olive Branch Petition (2024)

The committee appoint[ed] to prepare a Letter tothe Lord Mayor, reported the same, which was read.

On motion, Resolved, That the above Committeeprepare a letter to Mr. Bollan, Mr. Lee and Mr. R[ichard] Penn, Esqr and thecolony Agents by name in England.

The Congress resumed the Consideration of theaddress to the Inhabitants of Gt Britain, which being read and debated byparagraphs, was approved and ordered to be printed is as follows:

The Twelve United Colonies, by their Delegatesin Congress, to the Inhabitants of Great Britain.

FRIENDS, COUNTRYMEN, AND BRETHREN!

By these, and by every other Appellation thatmay designate the Ties, which bind us to each other, we entreat your seriousAttention to this our second Attempt to prevent their Dissolution. Rememberanceof former Friendships, Pride in the glorious Achievements of our commonAncestors, and Affection for the Heirs of their Virtues, have hithertopreserved our mutual Connexion; but when that Friendship is violated by thegrossest Injuries; when the Pride of Ancestry becomes our Reproach, and we areno otherwise allied than as Tyrants and Slaves; when reduced to the melancholyAlternative of renouncing your Favour or our Freedom; can we hesitate about theChoices Let the Spirit of Britons determine.

In a former Address we asserted our Rights, andstated the Injuries we had then received. We hoped, that the mention of ourWrongs would have roused that honest Indignation which has slept too long foryour Honor, or the Welfare of the Empire. But we have not been permitted toentertain this pleasing expectation. Every Day brought an accumulation ofInjuries, and the Invention of the Ministry has been constantly exercised, inadding to the Calamities of your American Brethren.

After the most valuable Right of Legislation wasinfringed; when the Powers assumed by your Parliament, in which we are notrepresented, and from our local and other Circ*mstances cannot properly berepresented, rendered our Property precarious; after being denied that mode ofTrial, to which we have long been indebted for the safety of our Persons, andthe preservation of our Liberties; after being in many instances divested ofthose Laws, which were transmitted to us by our common Ancestors, and subjectedto an arbitrary Code, compiled under the auspices of Roman Tyrants; after thoseCharters, which encouraged our Predecessors to brave Death and Danger in everyShape, on unknown Seas, in Deserts unexplored, amidst barbarous andinhospitable Nations, were annulled; when, without the form of Trial, without apublic Accusation, whole Colonies were condemned, their Trade destroyed, theirinhabitants impoverished; when Soldiers were encouraged to embrue their Handsin the Blood of Americans, by offers of Impunity; when new modes of Trial wereinstituted for the ruin of the accused, where the charge carried with it thehorrors of conviction; when a despotic Government was established in a neighboringProvince, and its Limits extended to every of our Frontiers; we little imaginedthat anything could be added to this black Catalogue of unprovoked Injuries:but we have unhappily been deceived, and the late Measures of the BrashMinistry fully convince us, that their object is the reduction of theseColonies to Slavery and Ruin.

To confirm this Assertion, let us recall yourattention to the Affairs of America, since our last Address. Let us combat theCalumnies of our Enemies; and let us warn you of the hangers that threaten youin our destruction. Many of your Fellow-Subjects, whose situation deprived themof other Support, drew their Maintenance from the Sea; but the deprivation ofour Liberty being insufficient to satisfy the resentment of our Enemies, thehorrors of Famine were super-added, and a British Parliament, who, in bettertimes, were the Protectors of Innocence and the Patrons of Humanity, have,without distinction of Age or Sex, robbed thousands of the Food which they wereaccustomed to draw from that inexhaustible Source, placed in their neighborhoodby the benevolent Creator.

Another Act of your Legislature shuts our Ports,and prohibits our Trade with any but those States from whom the great Law ofself-preservation renders it absolutely necessary we should at present withholdour Commerce. But this Act (whatever may have been its design) we considerrather as injurious to your Opulence than our Interest. All our Commerceterminates with you; and the Wealth we procure from other Nations, is soonexchanged for your Superfluities. Our remittances must then cease with ourtrade; and our refinements with our Affluence. We trust, however, that Lawswhich deprive us of every Blessing but a Soil that teems with the necessariesof Life, and that Liberty which renders the enjoyment of them secure, will notrelax our Vigor in their Defense.

We: might here observe on the Cruelty andInconsistency of those, who, while they publicly Brand us with reproachful andunworthy Epithets, endeavor to deprive us of the means of defense, by theirInterposition with foreign Powers, and to deliver us to the lawless Ravages ofa merciless Soldiery. But happily we are not without Resources; and though thetimid and humiliating Applications of a Brash Ministry should prevail withforeign Nations, yet Industry, prompted by necessity, will not leave us withoutthe necessary Supplies.

We could wish to go no further, and, not towound the Ear of Humanity, leave untold those rigorous Acts of Oppression,which are daily exercised in the Town of Boston, did we not hope, that bydisclaiming their Deeds and punishing the Perpetrators, you would shortlyvindicate the Honor of the British Name, and re-establish the violated Laws ofJustice.

That once populous, nourishing and commercialTown is now garrisoned by an Army sent not to protect, but to enslave itsInhabitants. The civil (government is overturned, and a military Despotismerected upon its Ruins. Without Law, without Right, Powers are assumed unknownto the Constitution. Private Property is unjustly invaded. The Inhabitants,daily subjected to the Licentiousness of the Soldiery, are forbid to remove inDefiance of their natural Rights, in Violation of the most solemn Compacts. Orif, after long and wearisome Solicitation, a Pass is procured, their Edicts aredetained, and even those who are most favored, have no Alternative but Povertyor Slavery. The Distress of many thousand People, wantonly deprived of theNecessaries of Life, is a Subject, on which we would not wish to enlarge.

Yet, we cannot but observe, that a British Fleet(unjustified even by Acts of your Legislature) are daily employed in ruiningour Commerce, seizing our Ships, and depriving whole Communities of their dailyBread. Nor will a Regard for your Honour permit us to be silent, while BritishTroops sully your Glory, by Actions, which the most inveterate Enmity will notpalliate among civilized Nations, the wanton and unnecessary Destruction ofCharlestown, a large, ancient, and once populous Town, just before deserted byits Inhabitants, who had fled to avoid the Fury of your Soldiery.

If you still retain those Sentiments ofCompassion, by which Britons have ever been distinguished, if the Humanity,which tempered the Valor of our common Ancestors, has not degenerated intoCruelty, you will lament the Miseries of their Descendants.

To what are we to attribute this Treatment? Ifto any secret Principle of the Constitution, let it be mentioned; let us learn,that the Government, we have long revered, is not without its Defects, and thatwhile it gives Freedom to a Part, it necessarily enslaves the Remainder of theEmpire. If such a Principle exists, why for Ages has it ceased to operate ? Whyat this Time is it called into Action ? Can no Reason be assigned for thisConducts Or must it be resolved into the wanton Exercise of arbitrary Power ?And shall the Descendants of Britons tamely submit to this?-No, Sirs! We neverwill, while we revere the Memory of our gallant and virtuous Ancestors, wenever can surrender those glorious Privileges, for which they fought, bled, andconquered. Admit that your Fleets could destroy our Towns, and ravage ourSea-Coasts; these are inconsiderable Objects, Things of no Moment to Men, whoseBosoms glow with the Ardor of Liberty. We can retire beyond the Reach of yourNavy, and, without any sensible Diminution of the Necessaries of Life, enjoy aLuxury, which from that Period you will want-the Luxury of being Free.

We know the Force of your Arms, and was itcalled forth in the Cause of Justice and your Country, we might dread theExertion: but will Britons fight under the Banners of Tyranny? Will theycounteract the Labors, and disgrace the Victories of their Ancestors? Will theyforge Chains for their Posterity? If they descend to this unworthy Task, willtheir Swords retain their Edge, their Arms their accustomed Vigor? Britons cannever become the Instruments of Oppression, till they lose the Spirit ofFreedom, by which alone they are invincible.

Our Enemies charge us with Sedition. In whatdoes it consist? In our Refusal to submit to unwarrantable Acts of injusticeand Cruelty? If so, shew us a Period in your History, in which you have notbeen equally Seditious.

We are accused of aiming at Independence; buthow is this Accusation supported? By the Allegations of your Ministers, not byour Actions. Abused, insulted, and contemned, what Steps have we pursued toobtain Redress ? We have carried our dutiful Petitions to the Throne. We haveapplied to your Justice for Relief. We have retrenched our Luxury, and withheldour Trade.

The Advantages of our Commerce were designed asa Compensation for your Protection: When you ceased to protect, for what werewe to compensate ?

What has been the Success of our Endeavors? TheClemency of our Sovereign is unhappily diverted; our Petitions are treated withIndignity; our Prayers answered by Insults. Our Application to you remainsunnoticed, and leaves us the melancholy Apprehension of your wanting either theWill, or the Power, to assist us.

Even under these Circ*mstances, what Measureshave we taken that betray a Desire of Independence ? Have we called in the Aidof those foreign Powers, who are the Rivals of your Grandeur? When your Troopswere few and defenseless, did we take Advantage of their Distress and expelthem our Towns? Or have we permitted them to fortify, to receive new Aid, andto acquire additional Strength?

Let not your Enemies and ours persuade you, thatin this we were influenced by Fear or any other unworthy Motive. The Lives ofBritons are still dear to us. They are the Children of our Parents, and anuninterrupted Intercourse of mutual Benefits had knit the Bonds of Friendship.When Hostilities were commenced, when on a late Occasion we were wantonlyattacked by your Troops, though we r spelled their Assaults and returned theirBlows, yet we lamented the Wounds they obliged us to give; nor have we yetlearned to rejoice at a Victory over Englishmen.

As we wish not to colorer our Actions, ordisguise our Thoughts, we shall, in the simple Language of Truth, avow theMeasures we have pursued, the Motives upon which we have acted, and our futureDesigns.

When our late Petition to the Throne produced noother Effect than fresh Injuries, and Votes of your Legislature, calculated tojustify every Severity; when your Fleets and your Armies were prepared to wrestfrom us our Property, to rob us of our Liberties or our Lives; when the hostileAttempts of General Gage evinced his Designs, we levied Armies for our Securityand Defense. When the Powers vested in the Governor of Canada, gave us Reasonto apprehend Danger from that Quarter; and we had frequent Intimations, that acruel and savage Enemy was to be let loose upon the defenseless Inhabitants ofour Frontiers; we took such Measures as Prudence dictated, as Necessity willjustify. We possessed ourselves of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Yet give usleave most solemnly to assure you, that we have not yet lost Sight of theObject we have ever had in View, a Reconciliation with you on constitutionalPrinciples, and a Restoration of that friendly Intercourse, which, to theAdvantage of both, we till lately maintained.

The Inhabitants of this Country apply themselveschiefly to Agriculture and Commerce. As their Fashions and Manners are similarto yours, your Markets must afford them the Conveniences and Luxuries, forwhich they exchange the Produce of their Labors. The Wealth of this extendedContinent centres with you; and our Trade is so regulated as to be subservientonly to your Interest. You are too reasonable to expect, that by Taxes (inAddition to this) we should contribute to your Expense; to believe, afterdiverting the Fountain, that the Streams can flow with unabated Force.

It has been said, that we refuse to submit tothe Restrictions on our Commerce. From whence is this Inference drawn? Not fromour Words, we have repeatedly declared the Contrary; and we again profess ourSubmission to the several Acts of Trade and Navigation, passed before the Year1763, trusting, nevertheless, in the Equity and Justice of Parliament, thatsuch of them as, upon cool and impartial Consideration, shall appear to haveimposed unnecessary or grievous Restrictions, will, at some happier Period, berepealed or altered. And we cheerfully consent to the Operation of such Acts ofthe British Parliament, as shall be restrained to the Regulation of ourexternal Commerce, for the Purpose of securing the commercial Advantages of thewhole Empire to the Mother Country, and the commercial Benefits of itsrespective Members; excluding every Idea of taxation internal or external, forraising a Revenue on the Subjects in America, without their Consent.

It is alleged that we contribute nothing to thecommon Defense. To this we answer, that the Advantages which Great Britainreceives from the Monopoly of our Trade, far exceed our Proportion of the Expensenecessary for that Purpose. But should these Advantages be inadequate thereto,let the Restrictions on our Trade be removed, and we will cheerfully contributesuch Proportion when constitutionally required.

It is a fundamental Principle of the BritishConstitution, that every Man should have at least a Representative Share in theFormation of those Laws, by which he is bound. Were it otherwise, theRegulation of our internal Police by a British Parliament, who are and everwill be unacquainted with our local Circ*mstances, must be always inconvenient,and frequently oppressive, working our wrong, without yielding any possibleAdvantage to you.

A Plan of Accommodation (as it has been absurdlycalled) has been proposed by your Ministers to our respective Assemblies. Werethis Proposal free from eatery other Objection, but that which arises from theTime of the Offer, it would not be unexceptionable. Can Men deliberate with theBayonet at their Breast, Can they treat with Freedom, while their Towns aresacked; when daily instances of Injustice and Oppression disturb the slowerOperations of Reason ?

If this Proposal is really such as you wouldoffer and we accept, why was it delayed till the Nation was put to useless expense,and we were reduced to our present melancholy Situation a If it holds forthnothing, why was it proposed Unless indeed to deceive you into a Belief, thatwe were unwilling to listen to any Terms of Accommodation. But what issubmitted to our Considerations We contend for the Disposal of our Property. Weare told that our Demand is unreasonable, that our Assemblies may indeedcollect our Money, but that they must at the same Time offer, not what yourExigencies or ours may require, but so much as shall be deemed sufficient to satisfythe Desires of a Minister and enable him to provide for Favourites andDependants. A Recurrence to your own Treasury wild convince you how little ofthe Money already extorted from us has been applied to the Relief of yourBurthens. To suppose that we would thus grasp the Shadow and give up theSubstance, is adding Insult to Injuries.

We have nevertheless again presented an humbleand dutiful Petition to our Sovereign, and to remove every imputation ofObstinacy, have requested his Majesty to direct some Mode, by which the unitedApplications of his faithful Colonists may be improved into a happy andpermanent Reconciliation. We are willing to treat on such Terms as can alonerender an accommodation lasting, and we hatter ourselves that our pacific Endeavorswill be attended with a removal of ministerial Troops, and a repeal of thoseLaws, of the Operation of which we complain, on the one part, and a disbandingof our Army, and a dissolution of our commercial Associations, on the other.

Yet conclude not from this that we propose tosurrender our Property into the Hands of your Ministry, or vest your Parliamentwith a Power which may terminate in our Destruction. The great Bulwarks of ourConstitution we have desired to maintain by every temperate, by every peaceableMeans; but your Ministers (equal Foes to British and American freedom) haveadded to their former Oppressions an Attempt to reduce us by the Sword to abase and abject submission. On the Sword, therefore, we are compelled to relyfor Protection. Should Victory declare in your Favour, yet Men trained to Armsfrom their Infancy, and animated by the Love of Liberty, will afford neither acheap or easy Conquest. Of this at least we are assured, that our Struggle willbe glorious, our Success certain; since even in Death we shall find thatFreedom which in Life you forbid us to enjoy.

Let us now ask what Advantages are to attend ourReduction? the Trade of a ruined and desolate Country is always inconsiderable,its Revenue trifling; the Expence of subjecting and retaining it in subjectioncertain and inevitable. What then remains but the gratification of anill-judged Pride, or the hope of rendering us subservient to designs on yourLiberty.

Soldiers who have sheathed their Swords in theBowels of their American Brethren, will not draw them with more reluctanceagainst you. When too late you may lament the loss of that freedom, which weexhort you, while still in your Power, to preserve.

On the other hand, should you proveunsuccessful; should that Connexion, which we most ardently wish to maintain,be dissolved; should your Ministers exhaust your Treasures and waste the Bloodof your Countrymen in vain Attempts on our Liberty; do they not deliver you,weak and defenseless, to your natural Enemies?

Since then your Liberty must be the price ofyour Victories; your Ruin, of your Defeat: What blind fatality can urge you toa pursuit destructive of all that Britons hold dear?

If you have no regard to the Connexion that hasfor Ages subsisted between us; if you have forgot the Wounds we have receivedfighting by your Side for the extension of the Empire; if our Commerce is notan object below your consideration; if Justice and Humanity have lost theirinfluence on your Hearts; still Motives are not wanting to excite yourIndignation at the Measures now pursued; Your Wealth, your Honour, your Libertyare at Stake.

Notwithstanding the Distress to which we arereduced, we sometimes forget our own Afflictions, to anticipate and sympathizein yours. We grieve that rash and inconsiderate Councils should precipitate thedestruction of an Empire, which has been the envy and admiration of Ages, andcall God to witness! that we would part with our Property, endanger our Lives,and sacrifice everything but Liberty, to redeem you front ruin.

A Cloud hangs over your Heads and ours; 'erethis reaches you, it may probably burst upon us; let us then (before theremembrance of former Kindness is obliterated) once more repeat thoseAppellations which are ever grateful in our Ears; let us entreat Heaven toavert our Ruin, and the Destruction that threatens our Friends, Brethren andCountrymen, on the other side of the Atlantic.

Ordered, That the Address be published and anumber of them sent by Mr Penn to England.

The Letter to the Lord Mayor, &c., beingread again and debated, was approved, and is as follows:

MY LORD,

Permitt the Delegates of the people of twelveantient colonies, to pay ye Lordship, and the very respectable body of whichyou are head, the just tribute of gratitude and thanks, for the virtuous andunsolicited resentment you have strewn to the violated rights of a free people.The city of London, my Lord, having in all ages, approved itself the patron ofliberty, and the support of just government, against lawless tyranny andoppression, cannot fail to make us deeply sensible of the powerful aid, our causemust receive from such advocates. A cause, my Lord, worthy the support of thefirst city in the world, as it involves the fate of a great continent, andthreatens to shake the foundations of a nourishing, and, until lately, a happyempire.

North America, my Lord, wishes most ardently fora lasting connection with Great Britain on terms of just and equal liberty;less than which generous minds will not offer, nor brave and free ones bewilling to receive.

A cruel war has at length been opened age us,and whilst we prepare to defend ourselves like the descendants of Britons, westill hope that the mediation of wise and good citizens, will at length prevailover despotism, and restore harmony and peace, on permanent principles, to anoppressed and divided empire.

We have the honor to be, my Lord,

With great esteem, yr Lordship's

Faithful friends and fellow-subjects.

Signed by order of the Congress,

JOHN HANCOOK

President.

Ordered, That the above Letter be fairlytranscribed, and signed by the president, and sent by Mr Penn.

The Committee appointed to prepare a letter toMr Penn and the Colony Agents, brot in the same, which being read was approved:

GENTLEMEN,

The perseverance of the British ministry intheir unjust and cruel system of colony administration, has occasioned themeeting of another Congress.

We have again appealed to the justice of oursovereign for protection age the destruction which his Ministers meditate for hisAmerican subjects. This Petition to his Majesty you will please, Gentlemen, topresent to the King with all convenient expedition, after which we desire itmay be given to the public. We likewise send you our second application to theequity and interest of our fellow subjects in G B. and also a Declarationsetting forth the causes of our taking up arms: Both which we wish may beimmediately put to press, and communicated as universally as possible.

The Congress entertain the highest sense of thewise and worthy interposition of the Lord Mayor and Livery of London, in favourof injured America. They have expressed this, their sense, in a letter to hisLordship and the livery, which we desire may be presented in the manner mostagreeable to that respectable body.

You will oblige us, Gentlemen, by giving themost early information to the Congress, and to the speakers of our respectiveassemblies, of your proceeding in this business, and such further intelligenceas you may judge to be of importance to America in this great contest.

We are, with great regard, gentlemen, yr mostobedient and very humble serve

By order of the Congress,

[JOHN HANco*ck,Pres.]

Ordered, That the above be fairly transcribed,and to be signed by the press, and then by him sent under cover? with thepetition to the lying, and address to the Inhabitants of G B. and letter to theLo Mayor of London to R[ichard] Penn, Esqr and to request him, in behalf of theCongress, to join with the Colony Agents in presenting the petition to the Kings

Order of the day put off, and adjourned tillMonday at 9 o'Clock.

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