nor acknowlege the adjudications of our courts of Admiralty to be legitimate, in cases of capture of British vessels :

That tho' France & Spain may be jealous of our rising power, they must think it will be much more formidable with the addition of Great Britain; and will therefore see it their interest 33 to prevent a coalition; but should they refuse, we shall be but where we are; whereas without trying we shall never know whether they will aid us or not:

That the present campaign may be unsuccesful, & therefore we had better propose an alliance while our affairs wear a hopeful aspect:

That to wait the event of this campaign will certainly work delay, because during the summer France may assist us effectually by cutting off those supplies of provisions from England & Ireland on which the enemy's armies here are to depend; or by setting in motion the great power they have collected in the West Indies, & calling our enemy to the defence of the possessions they have there :

That it would be idle to lose time in settling the terms of alliance, till we had first determined we would enter into alliance:

That it is necessary to lose no time in opening a trade for our people, who will want clothes, and will want money too for the paiment of taxes:

And that the only misfortune is that we did not enter into alliance with France six months sooner, as besides opening their ports for the vent of our last year's produce, they might have marched an army into Germany and prevented the petty princes there from selling their unhappy subjects to subdue us.

34

In the evening (of the 8th), following the debate, Edward Rutledge writes to Jay: "[Z] The Congress sat till 7 o'clock this evening in consequence of a motion of R. H. Lee's rendering ourselves free & independ

35

ant State. The sensible part of the House opposed the Motion they had no objection to forming a Scheme of a Treaty which they would send to France by proper Persons & uniting this Continent by a Confederacy; they saw no Wisdom in a Declaration of Independence, nor any other Purpose to be enforced by it, but placing ourselves in the Power of those with whom we mean to treat, giving our Enemy Notice of our Intentions before we had taken any steps to execute them . . . The event, however, was that the Question was postponed; it is to be renewed on Monday when I mean to move that it should be postponed for 3 Weeks or Months. In the mean Time the plan of Confederation & the Scheme of Treaty may go on. I don't know whether I shall succeed in this Motion; I think not, it is at least Doubtful. However I must do what is right in my own Eyes, & Consequences must take Care of themselves. I wish you had been here- the whole Argument was sustained on one side by R. Livingston, Wilson, Dickenson, & myself, & by the Power of all N. England, Virginia & Georgia at the other."

On Monday, June 1oth 36, the Journal tells us,

Agreeable, to Order the Congress resolved itself into a committee of the whole to take into their farther considera= the resolutions to them referred and after some time spent 37 thereon the president resumed the chair and Mr Harrison rcported that the Come have taken into consideration the matter to them referred and Mr Harrison reported that the committee have had under consideration the resolutions to them referred and have come to a resolution 38, which he he read

The Congress took into consideration the report from the committee of the whole whereupon

consideration of the

Resolved That the first resolution be postponed to this day

while that no

three weeks, and that, in the mean time least any time should

agree thereto

Λ

Λ

that

be lost in case the Congress to this resolution, a committee be appointed to prepare a declaration to the effect of the said first resolution, which is in these words

"That these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independant states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them & the state of great Britain is & ought to be totally dissolved"

Resolved That the come be discharged.

The several matters to this day referred being postponed Adjourned to 9 o clock to morrow.

"The question for postponing the declaration was carried by seven Colonies against five :[.]" 39 Jefferson's notes say:

It appearing in the course of these debates that the colonies of

& South Carolina 40

Λ

N. York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware & Maryland had not yet advanced to were not yet matured for falling off from the parent stem, but that they were fast advancing to that state, it was thought most prudent to wait a while for them, and to postpone the final decision to July 1.

43

It seems highly probable "— though the language is not very definite-that the change of Hewes 2 spoken of by John Adams in a letter to William Plumer, dated Quincy, March 28, 1813, took place, in the committee of the whole, upon this day (or upon the 8th ?). Adams says: "[J] You inquire, in your kind letter of the 19th,