to feel, though he affected to despise it... . .I must now acknowl-
edge your agreeable letter of the 24th of December. I cannot
wonder that you almost despair of the British nation. Can that
people be saved from ruin who carry their liberties to market, and
sell them to the highest bidder? But America shall 'rise full-
plumed and glorious from the mother ashes.'" ¹

After a session of two months, producing results memo-
rable and important to the great cause, the Governor pro-
rogued the General Assembly on the 6th of March. He had
indeed little reason to be pleased with what had happened.
He wrote to Lord Dartmouth: --

"I wish I was able to transmit to your Lordship a more favorable
account of the proceedings of the Assembly, since the date of my
last letter. I have closed the session, and do not intend ever to meet
them again. The newspaper which I cover contains the two last
messages of the Council and House, and my answer to them; also,
the resolves of the House on the salaries of the judges; and I shall
cover an attested copy of an address from the Council on the same
subject. Your Lordship very justly observes that a nice distinction
upon civil rights is far above the reach of the bulk of mankind to
comprehend. I experience the truth of it, both in the Council and
House of Representatives. The major part of them are incapable
of those nice distinctions, and are in each House too ready to give
an implicit faith to the assertion of a single leader. I have there-
fore offered them a view of their Constitution in such plain language,
and upon such perfect principles, that it was the general voice of
both Houses that they were not to be denied; and the only resource
of the leader was, by cloudy and obscure answers to perplex the
minds of the members, and then to strike them by advancing that
what the Governor had laid before them as their Constitution was
perfect slavery, and therefore could not be just." ²

-50-