Voice of the Province, we must be resigned to
our wretched Fate; but shall forever lament
the Extinction of that generous Ardor for
Civil and Religious Liberty, which in the Face
of every Danger, and even Death itself, induced
our Fathers, to forsake the Bosom of their
Native Country, and begin a Settlement on bare
Creation. -- But we trust this cannot be the
Case: We are sure your Wisdom, your Regard
to Yourselves and the rising Generation, can-
not suffer you to doze, or set supinely indiffe-
rent, on the brink of Destruction, while the
Iron Hand of Oppression is daily tearing the
the choicest Fruit from the fair Tree of Li-
berty, planted by our worthy Predecessors, at
the Expence of their Treasure, and abundantly
water'd with their Blood. -- It is an
observation
of an eminent Patriot, that a People long in-
ured to Hardships, loose by Degrees the very
notions of Liberty; they look upon them-
selves, as Creatures at Mercy, and that all
Im-
positions laid on, by Superior Hands, are legal
and obligatory. -- But thank Heaven this
is not yet verified in
America! We have
yet some Share of public Virtue remaining:
We are not afraid of Poverty, but disdain
Slavery. -- The Fate of Nations is so precarious,
and Revolutions in States so often take Place at
an unexpected Moment, when the Hand of
Power, by Fraud or Flattery, has secured every
Avenue of Retreat, and the Minds of the Sub-