LVI. Jan. proved. To the evil of monarchy we have added CHAP. that of hereditary succession; and as the first is a lessening of ourselves, so the second might put posterity 1776. under the government of a rogue or a fool. Nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule. England, since the conquest, hath known some few good monarchs, but groaned beneath a much larger number of bad ones. "The most plausible plea, which hath ever been offered in favor of hereditary succession is, that it preserves a nation from civil wars; whereas the whole history of England disowns the fact. Thirty kings and two minors have reigned in that distracted kingdom since the conquest, in which time there have been no less than eight civil wars and nineteen rebellions. In short, monarchy and succession have laid not this kingdom only, but the world in blood and ashes. "The nearer any government approaches to a republic, the less business there is for a king; in England a king hath little more to do than to make war and give away places. "Volumes have been written on the struggle between England and America, but the period of debate is closed. Arms must decide the contest; the appeal was the choice of the king, and the continent hath accepted the challenge. "The sun never shone on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent, of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. 'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in it even to the end of time. CHAP. Jan. "But Great Britain has protected us, say some. She did not protect us from our enemies on our ac1776. count, but from her enemies on her own account. America would have flourished as much, and probably more, had no European power had any thing to do with governing her. France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be, our enemies as Americans, but as the subjects of Great Britain. "Britain is the parent country, say some; then the more shame upon her conduct. But Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America: this new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe; we claim brotherhood with every European Christian, and triumph in the generosity of the sentiment. Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province, are of English descent. The phrase of parent or mother country applied to England only, is false, selfish, narrow and ungenerous; but admitting that we were all of English descent, Britain, being now an open enemy, extinguishes every other name. "Much hath been said of the united strength of Britain and the colonies, that in conjunction they might bid defiance to the world. What have we to do with setting the world at defiance? Our plan is commerce, and that, well attended to, will secure us the friendship of all Europe. I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation to show a single advantage that this continent can reap by being connected with Great Britain. "As Europe is our market for trade, we ought to form no partial connection with any part of it. It is the true interest of America to steer clear of European LVI. contentions, which she never can do, while by her CHAP. dependence on Britain she is the makeweight in the scale of British politics. "Every thing that is right or natural pleads for separation. Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong and natural proof, that the authority of the one over the other was never the design of heaven. It is not in the power of Britain or of Europe to conquer America, if she does not conquer herself by delay and timidity. "It is repugnant to reason and the universal order of things, to all examples from former ages, to suppose that this continent can long remain subject to any external power. The most sanguine in Britain do not think so. The authority of Great Britain, sooner or later, must have an end; and the event cannot be far off. The business of this continent, from its rapid progress to maturity, will soon be too weighty and intricate to be managed with any tolerable degree of convenience by a power so distant from us, and so very ignorant of us. There is something absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island: in no instance hath nature made the satellite larger than the primary planet. They belong to different systems; England to Europe, America to itself. Every thing short of independence is leaving the sword to our children, and shrinking back at a time, when going a little further would render this continent the glory of the earth. Admitting that matters were now made up, the king will have a negative over the whole legislation of this continent. And he will suffer no law to be made 1776. Jan. CHAP. here but such as suits his purpose. LVI. be as We may effectually enslaved by the want of laws in America, 1776. as by submitting to laws made for us in England. Jan. "Reconciliation and ruin are nearly related. The best terms which we can expect to obtain can amount to no more than a guardianship, which can last no longer than till the colonies come of age. Emigrants of property will not come to a country whose form of government hangs but by a thread. Nothing but a continental form of government can keep the peace of the continent inviolate from civil wars. "The colonies have manifested such a spirit of good order and obedience to continental government, as is sufficient to make every reasonable person easy and happy on that head; if there is any true cause of fear respecting independence, it is because no plan is yet laid down. Let a continental conference be held, to frame a continental charter, or charter of the united colonies. But where, say some, is the king of America? He reigns above; in America the law is king; in free countries there ought to be no other. "All men, whether in England or America, confess that a separation between the countries will take place one time or other. To find out the very time, we need not go far, for the time hath found us. The present, likewise, is that peculiar time which never happens to a nation but once, the time of forming itself into a government. Until we consent that the seat of government in America be legally and authoritatively occupied, where will be our freedom? where our property? "Nothing can settle our affairs so expeditiously as an open and determined declaration for indepen LVI. Jan. dence. It is unreasonable to suppose that France or CHAP. Spain will give us assistance, if we mean only to use that assistance for the purpose of repairing the 1776. breach. While we profess ourselves the subjects of Britain, we must in the eyes of foreign nations be considered as rebels. A manifesto published and despatched to foreign courts, setting forth the miseries we have endured, and declaring that we had been driven to the necessity of breaking off all connexion with her, at the same time assuring all such courts of our desire of entering into trade with them, would produce more good effects to this continent, than if a ship were freighted with petitions to Britain. "Every quiet method for peace hath been ineffectual: our prayers have been rejected with disdain; reconciliation is now a fallacious dream. Bring the doctrine of reconciliation to the touchstone of nature; can you hereafter, love, honor, and faithfully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword into your land? Ye that tell us of harmony, can ye restore to us the time that is past? The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'tis time to part. The last chord is now broken; the people of England are presenting addresses against us. "A government of our own is our natural right. Ye that love mankind, that dare oppose not only tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression; Freedom hath been hunted round the globe; Europe regards her like a stranger; and England hath given her warning to depart: O! receive the fugitive, and prepare an asylum for mankind." The publication of "Common Sense," which was |