Chap. XLI.} 1775. June. |
On the next day the New York congress produced its plan of accommodation. It insisted on the repeal of obnoxious acts; the undisturbed exercise, by the respective colonies, of the powers of internal legislation and taxation, and the free enjoyment of the rights of conscience; it conceded to Great Britain the power to regulate the trade of the whole empire; and, on proper requisitions, promised assistance in the general defence, either from the colonies severally, or through a continental congress under a president appointed by the crown. Transmitting their demands to their delegates, they added: ‘Use every effort for compromising this unhappy quarrel; so that, if our well-meant endeavors shall fail of effect, we may stand unreproachable by our own consciences in the last solemn appeal to the God of battles.’ The spirit of the colony was in harmony with the rest of the continent; but here too, as everywhere else, preparations for resistance had been deferred; no more than four barrels of powder could be found in the city.
While Washington was borne toward Cambridge on the affectionate confidence of the people, congress, which had as yet supported its commander in chief with nothing beyond a commission, was indulging a hope, by one campaign, to dispose the British government to treaty. How to find the ways and means for
