Page:Journal of the First Congress of the American Colonies (1765).djvu/34

 with a profusion of their blood and treasure, have happily added these vast and extensive dominions to the Empire of Great Britain.

That, for the enjoyment of these rights and liberties, several governments were early formed in the said colonies, with full power of legislation, agreeably to the principles of the English constitution;-that, under these governments, these liberties, thus vested in their ancestors, and transmitted to their posterity, have been exercised and enjoyed, and by the inestimable blessings thereof; under the iavor of Almighty God, the inhospitable deserts of'America. have been converted into flourishing counties; science, humanity, and the knowledge of divine truths diffused through remote regions of ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism; the number of British subjects wonderfully increased, and the wealth and power of Great Britain proportionably augmented.

That, by means of these settlements and the unparalleled success of your majesty's arms, a foundation is now laid for rendering the British empire the most extensive and powerful of any recorded in history; our connection with this empire we esteem our greatest happiness and security, and humbly conceive it may now'be so established by your royal wisdom, as to endure to the latest period of time; this, with the most humble submission to your majesty, We apprehend will be most effectually accomplished by fixing the pillars thereof on liberty and justice, and securing the inherent rights and liberties of your subjects here, upon the principles of the English constitution. To this constitution, these two principles are essential; the rights of your faithful subjects freely to grant to your majesty such aids as are required for the support of your government over them, and other public exigencies; and trials by their peers. By the one they are secured from unreasonable impositions, and by the