tion which has overwhelmed so many of the memorials of the revolution, has been printed with the notices of the acts of the other communities, unfortunately less full, but the most complete which could be obtained. The records of the towns of Massachusetts, from the first practical attempt to separate the power of taxation and the right of representation, to the termination of the war of independence, are filled with papers breathing an ardent spirit of patriotism. On their pages are eloquent vindications of the principles of civil liberty, able expositions of chartered privileges, and bold appeals against the encroachments of the crown. They bring to us the thoughts and words of the fathers. of the revolution as vividly as they rose on the minds or came from the lips of the authors of the heroic resolutions. Desirable as it was to embody these representations of the virtues of the patriots of former time, it was found that the doings of each of the municipal republics, formed connected series of noble acts and exertions, spreading through many years, and that a mere selection from among the documents, made at the risk of unjust preference, would impair the value by separation, and possibly prevent the collection and publication of all of these honorable relics. Soon after the nineteenth of April, 1775, a narrative of the events of that memorable day was prepared, substantiated by numerous depositions of witnesses of the ravages of the British during their excursion from Boston. They were transmitted to England and to the Continental Congress, and widely circulated, as the justification to the nation and the world, for the appeal to arms. These have been placed in the Appendix. Frequent references in the journals to the letters of Arnold, and to communications relating to the capture of the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, rendered the correspondence with Congress and the committees, a necessary supplement to the volume. Some extracts have been made from the journals of the Continental Congress, detailing proceedings connected with the acts of the provincial assemblies. A few papers of interesting character, copied from the files, have been added. A copious table of the principal subjects, and a full index, will afford the means of ready access to the facts spread through the pages of the work, and will render the use more easy. Such are the contents of this volume. It was conceived to be the primary purpose of the resolve authorizing the publication, to perpetuate materials for the histo ry of a glorious era in our national existence. Within the restrictions imposed by its terms, efforts have been made to give to the records the best form which could be bestowed. It was not the object of the legislature to provide for the preparation of a new narrative of the revolution, but to preserve the remains of the past. Had it been permitted, it would have been a pleasant labor to have drawn from the journals illustrations of the virtues of our ancestors, and of their devotion to liberty: the humbler duty of arranging some testimonials of their worth, it is hoped, will be found to have been executed with diligence and fidelity. WILLIAM LINCOLN. EXPLANATIONS OF THE REFERENCES. Words in the original journals which have been omitted from the copy in the archives of the Commonwealth, and words different in the original from those in that copy, have been enclosed by parallels the reading of the original has been followed in this volume; that of the copy is placed at the foot of the page with appropriate references. a The words added to the original journals in the copy before described, have been placed in the margin, and the place they occupied in the public transcript indicated by a letter of reference between parallels. [] Words and passages neither in the original nor copy, inserted in the text of this edition, are enclosed between brackets. [a] A letter of reference enclosed by brackets, points to some word removed from the text to the margin as being superfluous. Words clearly erroneous in the original or copy have been changed, and those substituted have been enclosed by the same marks, while suitable reference points to the words first used. CONTENTS. SEPT. 28-Proclamation of Governor Gage, declaring his intention not to meet OCT. 5—Members elected to the general assembly meet at Salem, and organize a Provincial Congress formed at Salem. List of the delegates. Original John Hancock elected president, and Benjamin Lincoln secretary. Rev. "12-Committee to take into consideration the state of the province, "13-The committee reported a message to the governor, which was consider- Committee to present address to the governor, "14 Constables, collectors of taxes, and other officers, advised not to pay ject to the order of the towns, Provincial Congress, or general assem- 17-Congress meets at Cambridge, Answer of Governor Gage to the address of the Provincial Congress, Intercepted letters of the Rev. Mr. Peters referred to the same committee, "18-Sessions of the Congress ordered to be held with closed doors, "19-A committee appointed to inquire into the state and operations of the Reply to the governor, reported, and recommitted; reported again, and 20-Report of the committee to inquire into the state and operations of the B |