It was a subject of a very abstruse and intricate nature; men of the first-rate abilities and experience entertained different opinions concerning it, and it was of course out of the view entirely of examinations at their Lordships’ bar.

The Earl of Sandwich replied, he was strictly within order; that the witness’s own sentiments were not desired; but seeming to be so well acquainted with the persons of the members who composed the Congress, it was probable they might have communicated their opinions to him on the present subject of inquiry.

The witness at the commencement of this conversation, having been desired to withdraw, was again called in, and replied:

A. Believes the Colonies acquiesce in the words of the Declaratory Law.

Q. Was there no violence used in the election of the members of the Congress?

A. I know, of my own knowledge, only respecting Pennsylvania, where they were elected by the House of Assembly.

Q. Do you know all the members of the Congress?

A. I am acquainted with almost all of them.

Q. Do you know Mr.Harrison?

A. I do; he is a Delegate from Virginia.

Q. Is he a man of good character?

A. I believe him to be so, I never heard to the contrary.

Q. Is he able to convey the sense of the Province he represents?

A. I imagine so, or they would not have elected him.

Q. Are you acquainted with the sentiments of America in general?

A. I am particularly acquainted only with the sentiments of Pennsylvania.

Q. Have you heard of the Resolutions of Suffolk in Massachugetts-Bay?

A. I have.

Q. Have the Congress declared their approbation of them?

A. I believe they have; it was in the publick papers.

Q. Have you not heard of violences committed on persons for speaking their opinions?

A. Not in Pennsylvania.

Q. Are the sentiments of the Northern and Southern Provinces similar?

A. I believe they are.

Q. Are the people of the different Provinces in a state of freedom?

A. They think themselves so.

Q. Would not persons, who were to advance sentiments different from the Congress, be in danger?

A. I believe they would.

Q. Do not you know of people having been persecuted for their opinions?

A. I do not know of any such thing in Pennsylvania, during my residence there.

Q. Have you not heard of such things in other Colonies?

A. I have heard so.

Q. What notice did the Congress take of the Resolutions of the House of Commons last year?

A. I do not know, they always keep their deliberations to themselves.

Q. Was the plan proposed by Lord Chatham last year taken notice of by the Congress?

A. Not that I know of.

Q. Do you know whether the Congress published anything as to the Resolutions of last year?

A. Not that I recollect.

Q. Was the conciliatory plan of last year considered in the Provinces?

A. It was considered in Pennsylvania, and rejected by the House of Assembly, because they would not forsake their sister Colonies, nor do anything without consulting them.

Q. What sort of men were the twenty thousand men who offered to enroll themselves?

A. They were men of the first character and fortune.

Q. Were they not all persons of property, or possessing land?

A. There might be some others among them, but in general they were so.

Q. Unless the Congress had the confidence of the Americans, could they have any other means of enforcing obedience to their orders?

A. They could not.

Q, Doth the Congress meet with the general approbation of America?

A. When the Congress was first proposed no one opposed it; it seemed to be the general wish of the people.

Q. Could a sufficient number of people be found to support any one in speaking or writing against the Congress?

A. No.

Examined by the Earl of DENBIGH.

Q. Are you master of the charter of Pennsylvania 1

A. I believe I am; I have read it often.

Q. Are the inhabitants well satisfied with their charter?

A. I believe they are perfectly so.

Q. Do you know the clause that subjects them to taxation?

A. I do know that clause.

Q. Do you think they are satisfied with it?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it not the object of the Congress to throw off the regulations of their trade?

A. No.

Q. Have not the Congress persecuted the people?

A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. Would not the most opulent inhabitants prefer freedom under this country, to what they now enjoy?

A. They would prefer it to any other state of freedom.

Q. Do you think they wish to support the measures of the Congress at present?

A. It is firmly my opinion that they do, but wish, at the same time, for a reconciliation with this country.

Q. When you said that Pennsylvania was satisfied with the clause in their charter concerning taxation, did you mean to say, that they were willing to be taxed by Parliament?

A. I do not believe Pennsylvania would be satisfied to be taxed by this country, and by their own Government too.

He was directed to withdraw.

The Duke of Richmond then rose, and said he would show the necessity of an immediate reconciliation between Great Britain and her Colonies. That the Colonists were disposed to an amicable adjustment of differences was evident from the very last petition which had been presented from the Congress to the King. The prayer of that petition was, “for a restoration of peace,” and it was pressed home on the consideration of Parliament by the language it was clothed in, which was that of dutiful submission to the sovereignty of Great Britain, as far as the sovereignty was compatible with those rights secured to freemen by the Constitution of the empire. This, and infinitely more might be said in behalf of the restoration of peace, that it was the object panted after by one, and it was the only thing conducive to the happiness of both of the belligerent Powers. Should the war be pertinaciously pursued, what, unless carnage, desolation, an augmentation of expense, and every evil resulting from civil discord, were to be expected? If the conquest of America was the measure proposed, in his apprehension the difficulties resulting from the attempt were of such a magnitude as hardly to be surmounted in the given state of things. The Americans, whether they had or had not the courage to make use of arms, were at least expert in the mode of using them. They had resources within themselves for the subsistence of their armies, and they were intimately acquainted with all the passes and defiles throughout their country. On the other hand, an army transported from England to America had subsistence to seek for on the spot, or must wait in expectation of succours from Great Britain, To any Peer who had consulted the state of the country, it must be evident that there was one almost insuperable difficulty with which an army would have to struggle: America abounded with vast rivers; the rapidity of the currents rendered the construction of bridges so insecure, as hitherto to dissuade the inhabitants from the futility of the attempt. An army, therefore, would find those rivers so many natural barriers against every effort they might make to penetrate the interior parts of the country. But admitting the army advanced to any given spot