Page:Common sense - addressed to the inhabitants of America.djvu/33

 If there is any true caue for fear, repecting independence, it is becaue no plan is yet laid down. Men do not ee their way out—Wherefore, as an opening into that buines, I offer the following hints, at the ame time modetly affirming, that I have no other opinion of them myelf, than that they may be the means of giving rie to omething better. Could the traggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently form materials for wie and able men to improve into ueful matter.—Let the Aemblies be annual, with a Preident only. The repreentation more equal. Their buines wholly dometic, and ubject to the authority of a Continental Congres.—Let each Colony be divided into ix, eight or ten convenient ditricts, each ditrict to end a proper number of Delegates to Congres, o that each Colony end at leat thirty. The whole number in Congres will be at leat 390. Each Congres to it and to chooe a Preident by the following method. When the Delegates are met, let a Colony be taken from the whole thirteen Colonies by lot, after which let the whole Congres chooe (by ballot) a Preident from out of the Delegates of that province. In the next Congres let a Colony be taken by lot from twelve only, omitting that Colony from which the Preident was taken in the former Congres, and o proceeding on till the whole thirteen hall have had their proper rotation. And in order that nothing may pas into a law but what is atifactorily jut, not les than three fifths of the Congres to be called a majority. He that will promote dicord under a government o equally formed as this, would have joined Lucifer in his revolt.—But as there is a peculiar delicacy from whom, or in what manner, this buines mut firt arie, and as it eems mot agreeable and conitent, that it hould come from ome intermediate body between the governed and governors, that is, between the Congres and the people, let a be held in the following manner, and for the following purpoe.

A committee of twenty-ix members of the Congres, viz. two for each Colony; two members from each Houe of Aembly, or Provincial Convention; and five Repreentatives of the people at large, to be choen in the capital city or town of each Province, for and in behalf of the whole Province, by as many qualified voters as hall think proper to attend from all parts of the Province for that purpoe; or, if more convenient, the Repreentatives may be choen in two or three of the mot populous parts thereof. In this, thus aembled, will be united the two grand principles of buines, knowledge and power. The members of Congres, Aemblies or Conventions, by having had experience in national concerns, will be able and ueful counellors, and the whole, by being impowered by the people, will have a truly legal authority.

The conferring members being met, let their buines be to frame a, or Charter of the United Colonies (anwering to what is called the Magna Charta of England) fixing the number and manner of chooing members of Congres, members of Aembly, with their date of itting, and drawing the line of buines and juridiction between them: (Always remembering, that our trength and happines is Continental, not Provincial.) Securing freedom and property to all