These troubles were introductory to a general rup ture. The parliament of England resolved to punish the town of Boston in an exemplary manner, by im posing a fine upon the inhabitants equal to the value of the tea which had been destroyed ; and to shut up their port by an armed force, till their refractory spirit should be subdued : an event which they supposed would take place in a short time, as by the last of these measures their trade would be completely stopped. A general infatuation appears to have seized the parliament; and it was believed by men of every rank and degree, that the Americans would not persevere in resisting the au thority of Great Britain ; or if they should do so, that their resistance would be of no avail. In consequence of this belief, it was likewise determined, that if any person should be indicted for murder in the province of Massachusetts hay, and if it was clear, from evidence given upon oath, that the deed had been committed in the exercise or aid of magistracy, while attempting to suppress the riots; and if it was further probable, that an equitable trial could not be obtained in the colonies ; the persons who were accused might be sent to Europe, in order to be tried before an English jury. Nor was this all : such was the majority in favour of the crown when these resolutions were adopted, that a fourth bill was passed ; by which it was provided, that the government of Canada should be vested in a council, the members of which were to be appointed by the king, Itncl remove able at pleasure : and the council was to have the exer cise of every legislative power, except that by which taxes are imposed All these laws were highly offen sive to the Americans, and exasperated them beyond the possibility of reconciliation.
In the midst of the tumults occasioned by the late acts of parliament, and especially by the stop which had been put to the trade of Boston, general Gage, the new go vernor, arrived from England. He removed the assem bly from Boston in Massachusetts, to Salem, another town of the same province. \Vhen the purpose of the governor was communicated to the members, they made no other reply, than that of requesting him to appoint a day for humiliation and prayer; in order to avert the wrath of heaven, which seemed about to inflict its most awful judgments on the American states. Their re quest was not complied with ; and their final resolutions appear to have been taken. The general court met, by the appointment ()I' the go% error, at Salem. y de (dared it necessary, that a congress of delegates, froni all the provinces, should assemble, to take the affairs of the colonies into their most serious consideration : and they nominated live gentlemen, each of them remarka ble for his opposition to England, as the representatives of the people in the division of Massachusetts, to which they belonged. They recommended it to the whole province to abandon the use of tea; and urged the ne cessity of giving all the encouragement in their power to the manufactures of America. In the mean time, the governor, having learnt what their proceedings were, sent an officer to dissolve the assembly in the king's name : hut lie, finding that the door was shut, and that he could not be admitted, was compelled to read the order of dissolution aloud on the stair-case.
The inhabitants of Salem, which was now become the metropolis of the colony, appear to have adopted the same spirit with those of Boston. They published a declaration in favour of the latter; in which they as serted, that nature, in forming their harbour, had pre vented them from becoming their rivals in trade ; and that even if it were otherwise, they would regard them selves as lost to every idea of justice, and all feelings of humanity, could they indulge one thought of seizing upon the wealth of their neighbours, or raising their fortunes on the distresses of their countrymen. The cause of Boston was espoused by the rest of the colo nies, without exception. The 1st of June, the day on which that city was to be blockaded by the king's ships, was observed in Virginia as a day of fasting and humi liation ; and a public intercession in behalf or the Ame rican people, was enjoined throughout the province. The style of prayer on this occasion was, "that God would give them one heart and mind, firmly to oppose every invasion of American rights." The Virginians, likewise, recommended a general congress; they de clared, that if any one of the colonies was taxed without its consent, the rights of the whole were violated; and that, in the present case, they regarded the injury which was done to the inhabitants of Boston as done to themselves. The provinces of New York and Pennsyl vania, though the most wavering, were at last fixed in irreconcileable opposition to Great Britain. An univer sal enthusiasm prevailed. A solemn covenant was form ed at Boston, in order to suspend all commercial inter course with England, or her agents, till the obnoxious statutes should be repealed, and the harbour opened : and though general Gage denounced this agreement as illegal, traitorous, and destructive of the peace and safety of the community, the inhabitants retorted the charge of illegality on his own proclamation ; and affirmed that they were permitted by law to assemble, whenever their grievances required that a general meeting should take place. The time when the proclamations of governors were to have any effect had now passed away. At length, on the 4th of September, A. I). 1774, the first congress of the American states assembled at Phila delphia: and Peyton Randolph, Esq. late speaker of the house of burgesses in Virginia, was ;chosen president, by the unanimous suffrage of the delegates. To this august body of citizens, met for the highest purposes which can affect the temporal interests of man, the eyes of the people, in all ranks and conditions of life, were turned with anxious concern: nor were the officers and dependents of the crown without alarm. on hearing the news of this important meeting : they dreaded the con sequences or that spirit which prevailed among the members, and began to anticipate the result of their de liberations. The following is a list of the delegates who composed the first congress in America.