the very alarming situation of their suffering brethren, at Boston, occasioned by the late unconstitutional, arbitrary, and oppressive Act of the British Parliament for blocking up their port, as well as the several Acts imposing taxes on the Colonies, in order to raise a revenue in America, thought proper to adopt the following Resolutions, which were unanimously agreed to:

Resolved, First, That we do, and will bear true allegiance to his Majesty George the Third, King of Great Britain, and according to the British Constitution.

Second, That we coincide in opinion with our friends in New-York, and of every other Colony, that all Acts of the British Parliament, imposing taxes on the Colonies without their consent, or by their Representatives, are arbitrary and oppressive, and should meet the abhorrence and detestation of all good men; that they are replete with the purpose of creating animosities and dissensions between the mother country and the Colonies, and thereby tend to destroy that harmony and mutual agreement which it is so much the interest of both to cherish and maintain.

Third, That we esteem it our duty, and think it incumbent on all the Colonies in America, to contribute towards the relief of the poor and distressed people of Boston; and that a person of this Borough be appointed to collect such charitable donations, within the same, as may be offered for their support.

Fourth, That as a division in the Colonies would be a sure means to counteract the present intention of the Americans in their endeavours to preserve their rights and liberties from the invasion that is threatened, we do most heartily recommend a steadiness and unanimity in their measures, as they will have the happy effects of averting the calamity that the late tyrannical Act of the British Parliament would otherwise most assuredly involve us in.

Fifthly, That, to obtain a redress of our grievances, it has been thought most advisable in the Colonies to appoint a general Congress, we will take shelter under the wisdom of those gentlemen who may be chosen to represent us, and cheerfully acquiesce in any measures they may judge shall be proper on this very alarming and critical occasion.

JAMES FERRIS, Chairman.

PUBLICK MEETING, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

In consequence of letters from the Committees of Correspondence, for St. Mary's and Charles Counties, in Maryland, and from the Burgesses of Elizabeth City County, in this Colony, with information of the arrival of nine chests of tea, on board the brigantine Mary and Jane, Captain Chapman, consigned to some gentlemen of this town, a meeting of the inhabitants was requested, and accordingly held, at the Court House, on the 22d of August, 1774, when it was

Unanimously Resolved, That the teas now on board the brigantine Mary and Jane, and consigned to Neil Jamieson and Company, George and John Bowness, and John Lawrence and Company, being subject to the payment of duties imposed by an Act of the British Parliament, ought to be sent back, and not suffered to be landed; and therefore,

Ordered, That Captain Ahyvon, Mr. Bousch, Captain Loyall, Mr. Richard Taylor, and Captain Selden, be a Committee to wait upon those gentlemen, to know whether they will comply with the above Resolution; and that they report their several answers.

The Committee accordingly waited on those gentlemen, and made the following return in writing:

"GENTLEMEN: We, your Committee, agreeable to your Resolve, have waited on the within mentioned Neil Jamieson and Company, George and John Bowness, and John Lawrence and Company, owners of the tea now on board the brigantine Mary and Jane, and acquainted them with your Resolution, who severally and respectively answered, that they were willing that the tea should be sent back.

"Certified under our hands this 22d day of August, 1774.

Which return being read and heard, it was

Unanimously Voted, That the above Committee wait upon those gentlemen, owners of the tea, with the thanks of this meeting for their ready and cheerful acquiescence in the above Resolution.

WILLIAM DAVIES, Clerk.

LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON, TO THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR NEW-JERSEY.

Boston, August 22, 1774.

SIR: The Committee of Correspondence for this town have handed to the Committee of Donations a letter from you of the 28th ult., which breathes such a spirit of union and hearty concern for the rights of America, as must enkindle in every breast the highest opinion of the virtue and firmness of the inhabitants of New-Jersey. With hearts deeply impressed with gratitude, we note your kind intentions to contribute for the relief of the inhabitants of this town, suffering by means of the Boston Port Bill, and desire to know "in what way you can best answer our present necessities, whether cash remitted or articles of provision." For answer, if cash would be equally agreeable to our friends, it would be very acceptable at this time, but would leave that matter entirely to your convenience. The Christian sympathy and generosity of our friends through the Continent cannot fail to inspire the inhabitants of this town with patience, resignation, and firmness, while we trust in the Supreme Ruler of the universe, that he will graciously hear our cries, and in his time free us from our present bondage, and make us rejoice in his great salvation. Please to present our grateful acknowledgments to our friends of New-Jersey, and be assured we are, with great esteem, sir, your friends and fellow-countrymen,

NATHANIEL APPLETON, per order.

TO THE INHABITANTS OF NEW-JERSEY.

New-Jersey, August 23, 1774.

FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN: In a late address to you I have endeavoured to distinguish between taxes and duties; that the former ought to be imposed on our estates by our own Representatives; that the latter cannot be properly laid by any authority but that of Great Britain That we are a part of the Great British Empire, and without losing every idea of a Colony, we cannot claim an exemption from duties and restrictions on trade.

I now beg leave to add, that this country was settled for the sole purpose of trade; and an absolute submission to the laws of the mother country, in paying customs and duties, was one of the terms our forefathers settled under. When we consider the design in planting Colonies, we should not be too fond of our own opinions, but hearken to those men who have made this subject their study, and examined it fully.

The great author of the Spirit of Laws, often quoted by our political writers, has given us not only his own sentiments, but the policy in Europe, of making these sentiments. Speaking of Colonies in his second volume, book twenty-one, chapter seventeen, he says, "The Colonies they (the European Nations) have formed, are under a kind of dependence, of which their is scarcely an instance in all the Colonies of the ancients; whether we consider them as holding of the state itself, or of some trading company established in the state." Again: "The design of these Colonies is to trade on more advantageous conditions than could otherwise be done with the neighbouring people, with whom all advantages are reciprocal. It has been established, that the metropolis* alone shall trade in the Colonies, and that from very good reason: because the design of the settlement was the extension of commerce, not the foundation of a new city, or a new Empire; thus it is a fundamental law of Europe, that all commerce with a foreign Colony shall be regarded as a mere monopoly, punishable by the laws of the country."

No man can read these sentiments without perceiving the good policy upon which they are founded; for us to judge rightly of them, we should divest ourselves of those

*This is the language of the ancients in the state which founded the Colony.