On the 16th also, he went, "At four, to the Philosophical Hall, to meet a number of persons It was concluded to call a convention with speed; to protest against the present Assembly's doing any business in their House until the sense of the Province was taken in that Convention to be called, &c., with the mode and manner of doing these several things by or on next Second Day."

The next day, John Adams writes to his wife: "I have this morning heard Mr. Duffield, upon the signs of the times. He ran a parallel between the case of Israel and that of America, and between the conduct of Pharaoh and that of George. Jealousy, that the Israelites would throw off the government of Egypt, made him issue his edict, that the midwives should cast the children into the river; and the other edict, that the men should make a large revenue of bricks without straw. He concluded that the course of events indicated strongly the design of Providence that we should be separated from Great Britain, &c." 42

On the 18th, Marshall writes, " A request was brought to this Committee 3, from a large company of the City and Liberties, that a general call be made of the inhabitants of the City and Liberties, to meet next Monday at nine o'clock forenoon at the State House, in order to take the sense of the people respecting the resolve of Congress of the Fifteenth instant, the which, after debate, was agreed to, only five dissenting voices.'

The meeting occurred at the appointed time, in the State House yard, where, Marshall, who was present, tells us, "it was computed, Four thousand people were

met, notwithstanding the rain, and then, sundry resolves were passed unanimously except one, and there was one dissenting voice, to wit, Isaac Gray. Near twelve, all was completed quietly and peacably . . . Went to Committee Room at Philosophical Hall, where were confirmed the resolves at the State House, and directions, with proper persons appointed to go with the said resolves to the different counties."

On the very day of this meeting (May 20th), Gerry writes: "In this Colony (Pennsylvania) the spirit of the people is great, if a judgment is to be formed by appearances. They are well convinced of the injury their Assembly has done to the Continent, by their instructions to their Delegates. It was these instructions which induced the Middle Colonies, and some of the Southern, to backward every measure which had the appearance of Independency. To them is owing the delay of Congress in agitating questions of the greatest importance, which long ere now must have terminated in a separation from Great Britain . . ."

Bartlett, in a letter to Langdon, speaks of the occasion thus: "[BT] May 21 yesterday the City met, agreable to notification in the field before the State House, a stage being erected for the Moderator (Col. Roberdeau) and the Chief speakers M! M: Kean &c. I am told they unanimously voted that the present House of Assembly are not Competent to Changing the form of gov! and have given orders for Calling a Convention. Pennsylvania Assembly was to meet yesterday. I fear some Convulsions in the Colony, the infamous instructions given by the Assembly to their

Delegates which they at their last meeting refused to alter is the Cause of their losing the Confidence of the people."

The Assembly had in fact met "above stairs" in the building where Congress sat on the 20th, and the protest 5 "of the inhabitants of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia, in behalf of ourselves and others presented to the Speaker on that day; but it was not read 6 in the Assembly until the 22d, and was then ordered to lie on the table.

This protest set forth that, as understood by Bartlett, the Assembly was not empowered to form a government and that an application would be made to the Committee of Inspection and Observation of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia to call a conference. Indeed, as we have seen, the conference had already been called when the protest was read.

The Assembly then adjourned to 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when they resolved that Andrew Allen, George Clymer, Alexander Wilcocks, Isaac Pearson and George Ross" be a committee to take into consideration the said Resolve of Congress, and the Preamble thereto; and to draw up a Memorial from this House . . . requesting an explanation, in such terms as will admit of no doubt, whether the Assemblies and Conventions now subsisting in the several Colonies are or are not the bodies to whom the consideration of continuing the old, or adopting new Governments, is referred

On the same day — and, as would seem, before the Assembly met at 3 o'clock and appointed this committee, a number "of those called moderate men",

as Marshall entitles them, prepared and began to circulate 48 a remonstrance against the protest, stating that the subscribers to the remonstrance had never authorized the protest and that the desires of the majority of the people did not justify it. This was not formally presented to the Assembly, however, as we shall see, until the 29th.

On the day following (the 23d), an address of the Committee of Inspection and Observation for the County of Philadelphia, signed by William Hamilton, as chairman, was presented to the Assembly and read. This asked "that you will most religiously adhere to the Instructions given to our Delegates in Congress."

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The Committee of Inspection and Observation of the City and Liberties was at once aroused. On the 24th, they themselves determined upon a memorial to Congress, which stated "That, in consequence of a request of a large majority of the inhabitants . . . of Philadelphia, on the 20th instant, the Committee have issued letters

. for calling a conference of the Committees of the Province, in order to collect the sense of the inhabitants . . That they have heard with great surprise that the Assembly . . . are about to present a Memorial to your honourable body, in consequence of a Remonstrance delivered to them. . . That the said Remonstrance has been obtained by unfair representations and indefatigable industry; and is signed chiefly by those people who hold Offices under the Crown . . . That . . . the present Assembly .. was not chosen, nor is it invested with powers, to carry the said resolve [of Congress of May 15th] into execution. That a majority of the present

Assembly do not possess the confidence of the people This memorial-signed by M:Kean, as chairman was presented (to Congress) on the 25th.

Meanwhile, the Assembly, however, either knew not what to do or was unwilling to take any action whatever.50 Nor did they act even on the 28th 51, when 52 the memorial of the Committee of Inspection and Observation of the City and Liberties to Congress was read, or when, later in the day, a petition from "a number of the freemen and inhabitants of the County of Cumberland, was presented to the House, and read," but simply ordered them to lie on the table. The people of Cumberland County petitioned "this honourable House that the last Instructions which it gave to the Delegates . . wherein they are enjoined not to consent to any step which may cause or lead to a separation from Great Britain, may be withdrawn." Indeed, on the 29th (except to read the remonstrance - then presented — and to order it to lie on the table), 30th and 31st, nothing was done; and, on the 1st, 3d and 4th of June, there was no quorum.

On the 5th of June, however, the resolution of Virginia of May 15th was read 53; and then, at last, a committee Dickinson, Robert Morris, Joseph Reed, Clymer, Wilcocks, Pearson and Thomas Smith - was appointed to prepare a draft of instructions to the Delegates in Congress. They reported, on the 6th, "an essay for the purpose; which was read by order, and referred to further consideration." On the 7th, “the House resumed the consideration of the Instructions to the Delegates .. And, after a debate of a consider