put into Hand this Moment a Card from you, conmy taining a Reprehension for the past, and a Requisition for the Time to come. . . I have no Objection to writing you Facts, but I would not medelle with Characters, for the World . Mr Adams ever was and ever will be glad to see Mr Chase, but Mr Chase never was nor will be more welcome than, if he should come next Monday or Tuesday fortnight with the Voice of Maryland in Favour of Independence . . . McKean has returned from the Lower Counties with full Powers — Their Instructions are in the same Words with the new ones to the Delegates of Pensilvania. — New Jersey, have dethroned [Governor] Franklyn, and in a Letter 30 which is just come to my Hand from Indisputable Authority, I am told that the Delegates from that Colony, will vote plump.' — Maryland, now stands alone. I presume she will soon join Company-if not she must be left alone.

Before this letter was received, as we shall see, and upon the day appointed (the 20th), the Convention convened, at Annapolis.

. .

On the same day, it "Resolved, That the President inform the Deputies. . . in Congress that their attendance in Convention is desired; and that they move Congress for permission to attend here, but that they do not leave the Congress without such permission, and without first having obtained an order that the consideration of the questions of Independence . . . shall be postponed until Deputies from this Province can attend Congress, which shall be as soon as possible."

Tilghman, Chase, Goldsborough 31 and Johnson were

32

already present in the Convention when this resolution was adopted. Carroll appeared on the 24th.

33

On the afternoon of the 21st, Chase writes (from Annapolis) to John Adams: "[Qy] To remind our friends of their Inattention 3 and Neglect must give pain. I am almost angry with you. if you are inclined to oblige or please Me write constantly. I found my Lady very ill, but have the pleasure to say she is better, tho' still very low and weak . . . I am almost resolved not to inform You, that a general Dissatisfaction prevails here with our Convention, read the papers, & be assured Frederick speaks the Sense of many Counties. I have not been idle. I have appealed in Writing to the People. County after County is instructing [.]"

34

Adams, on the 24th, replies: "[QyC] I received your obliging Favour of the 21 this Morning, and I thank you for it. — dont be angry with me. I hope I shall attone for past Sins of omission soon, The Express which you mention brought in such contradictory accounts, that I did not think it worth while to write to you upon it. . . a Resolution of your convention was read in Congress this Morning, and the Question was put whether your Delegates [Paca, Stone and Rogers ] should have leave to go home, and whether those great Questions should be postponed, beyond the first of July.

35

The Determination was in the Negative. We should have been happy to have obliged your Convention and your Delegates. But it is now become public 36, in the Colonies that these Questions are to be brought on the first of July. - The Lower Counties have instructed their Members, as the Assembly of Pensilvania have. —

Jersey has chosen five new Members all independent Souls, and instructed them to vote on the first of July for Independence. There is a Conference of Committees from every County in Pensilvania, now sitting in this City, who yesterday voted that the Delegates for this Colony ought on the first of July to vote for Independence. This Vote was not only unanimous, but I am told by one of them, that all the Members declared seriatim that this was their Opinion, and the Opinion of the several Counties and Towns they represented, and many of them produced Instructions from their Constituents to vote for that Measure. — You see therefore that there is such a universal Expectation that the great Question will be decided the first of July, and it has been already so often postponed, that to postpone it again would hazard Convulsions, and dangerous Conspiracies. — It must then come on and be decided I hope that before Monday Morning next, we shall receive from Maryland, Instructions to do right."

40

Four days later (Friday, the 28th), -(doubtless 37) following the receipt by Chase of this letter- the Convention 38 resolved 39 "That the instructions given by the Convention of December last (and renewed by the Convention in May ) . . . be recalled, and the restrictions therein contained be removed; that the Deputies be authorized and empowered to concur with the other United Colonies, or a majority of them, in declaring the United Colonies free and independent States

.

Chase, in a note to John Adams, written that evening at 9 o'clock, says: "[Qy] I thank You for your two Letters of the 17th & 24th Inst:- They were handed

to Me in Convention-I shall offer no other Apology for Concluding, than that I am this Moment from the House to procure an Express to follow the Post with an Unan: Vote of our Convention for Independence et et — See the glorious Effects of County Instructions. our people have fire if not smothered. . .

44

42 43

This "Unan: Vote of our Convention for Independence", as Chase calls it, was, as shown by the Journal, "laid before Congress & read" on the morning of July 1st. It was a good augury of the vote to be taken on the initial resolution in the committee of the whole on that day and in Congress on the next.

Jefferson does not speak of New Hampshire, and rightly.

Her Delegates, however, had early 5 seen the trend of events and were none the less desirous of knowing the "sense" of the people. On May 28th-the day after the resolution of the Convention of Virginia of the 15th was presented to Congress, Whipple 46 writes to Meshech Weare: "[BT] The Convention of Virginia have instructed their Delegates, to use their endeavors that Congress should declare the Colonies a free independent State North Carolina have signified the same desireSouth Carolina and Georgia will readily accede, and we shall be glad to know the opinion of our Colony on this subject"; and, on June 6th — the day before the introduction of the initial resolution by R. H. Lee, Bartlett 7 writes to Folsom: "[N] The affair of declaring these Colonies Independant States and absolved from all allegiance to the Crown of Brittain must soon be Decided

47

whatever may be the opinion of the Delegates of New hampshire on that matter they think it their duty to act agreable to the minds of their Constituents and in an affair of that Magnitude Desire the Explicit Directions of the Legislature of the Colony and that it may be forwarded to us as soon as possible [.]"

49

.

Four days later— the day of the postponement —, Bartlett writes, to Langdon 9: "[BT]. you have seen the Virginia Resolves Concerning Independence I wish our Colony would give us Instructions on that head, for whatever may be our private opinions, instructions from the Colony either regulating or only authorizing us to vote in favor of it, if we should think it for the best would Carry great weight with it"; and, on the next day, both Whipple and Bartlett write to the same end.

The House of Representatives, sitting at Exeter, on June 11th,— following doubtless 50 the receipt of the first letter accordingly "[NH] Voted, That Samuel Cutts, Timothy Walker and John Dudley Esq" be a Committee of this house to join a Committee of the Honble Board to make a Dra't of a Declaration of this General Assembly for Independence.

On the same day, this "[NH] Vote . . . [was] bro't up, read & Concurred [in by the Council — Weare, President, Matthew Thornton, Ebenezer Thompson, John Wentworth, Wyseman Clagett, Jonathan Blanchard, Samuel Ashley, Benjamin Giles, John Hurd and Folsom doubtless being present] with this Amendment, That [the committee prepare a draft, setting forth] the sentiments & opinion of the Council & Assembly. relative to the United Colonies forming themselves into