the following spring the Narragansetts again attacked the Mohegans. The Federal commissioners sent for the Narragansett and Nyantick chiefs to come "to declare and prove upon what occasions and grounds this war was thus broken out" and to be prepared to treat for peace. Instead of sending their chiefs the Narragansetts sent their defiance. The colonists at once prepared for war when the chiefs reconsidered the matter and presented themselves at Boston where a treaty was concluded 26 September 1645. 31 Peacotts. Pequots. In May 1637 a force of 77 colonists surprised the Pequot Indians and nearly annihilated them. The few who survived were divided among the Narragansetts and Nyanticks and adopted by them. 33 Any parcel of land. The Narragansetts had sold a tract of land to the king of England through one Samuel Gorton who with some of his followers had been banished from the colonies for heresy. AUTHORITIES The History of New England. Vol. II. John Gorham Palfrey. Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." Historical Collection Consisting of State Papers. Compiled by Ebenezer Hazard. Declaration of Rights 1765 [Text derived from Journal of the First Congress of the American Colonies. Edition of 1845.] In March 1765 the British parliament passed an act called the Stamp Act which provided that no legal instrument used in the American colonies should be valid unless it bore a government stamp. The measure aroused intense indignation throughout the colonies. All the assemblies protested and there was a demand for a general congress to be held before the Stamp Act should go into effect. Delegates from nine colonies met in New York 7 October and continued in session fourteen days. The result was a declaration of rights which stated the right of the colonies to govern themselves as loyal subjects of the king but not under control of parliament. The declaration was adopted by congress 19 October and was sent to the king. In the following March the Stamp Act was repealed after one of the hottest debates that ever took place in the house of commons. The breach between the colonies and the mother country was healed for the present. There was an outburst of loyalty toward the king and nearly all the colonial assemblies voted an address of thanks to him. At the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed a Declaratory Act was passed which stated the right of the king “by and with the advice and consent of parliament to make laws binding the colonies in all cases whatsoever." In their joy at the repeal of the Stamp Act the Americans seem to have paid little heed to this measure which was largely responsible for their subsequent trouble. 34 This Congress. This is known as the Stamp Act congress. 35 Trial by jury. In order to put a stop to smuggling, admiralty courts created by parliament were to deal with all cases of violation of tariff laws without a trial by jury. The jurisdiction of these courts was gradually extended to other cases, thus robbing the colonists of one of the oldest rights of Englishmen. 35 Duties imposed. The Sugar Act was passed 5 April 1764. This imposed fresh and heavier taxes on sugar, wines, coffee and all goods brought from France and the East Indies. 35 Restrictions . . . on the trade. In March 1764 the old Navigation Acts or tariff laws of the seventeenth century were amended and extended. AUTHORITIES The Rise of the Republic of the United States. Richard Frothingham. The American Revolution. W. E. H. Lecky. The American Revolution. Vol. I. John Fiske. A Short History of the English Colonies in America. Henry Cabot Lodge. History of New England. Vol. V. John Gorham Palfrey. Declaration and Resolves of the First [Text derived from Journals of the American Congress from 1774 to 1778. Vol. I. Edition of 1823.] After the passage of the Boston Port Bill several of the Massachusetts towns sent a circular letter to the various colonies asking their sympathy and support. Some concerted action on the part of the colonies was seen to be necessary and calls for a continental congress came from New York and Virginia. Massachusetts was asked to appoint the date and place for the meeting of such a congress and her assembly on 17 June 1774 passed a resolve to send five delegates to meet delegates from the other colonies at Philadelphia on the first of the following September "to deliberate upon wise and proper measures to be by them recommended to all the colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties, civil and relig ious, and the restoration of union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies." The congress met 5 September and on 14 October after a session of five weeks agreed upon a declaration of rights. Four other papers were drawn up by this body—an address to the people of Great Britain, a memorial to the inhabitants of British America, an address to the king, and a nonimportation and non-exportation association. Of these documents the Earl of Chatham said in the house of lords, "When your lordships look at these papers transmitted us from America, when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect their cause and wish to make it your own. For myself, I must own that in all my reading—and I have read Thucydides, and have studied and admired the master states of the world -for solidity of reason, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion under a complication of difficult circumstances, no body of men can stand in preference to the general congress at Philadelphia. The histories of Greece and Rome can give us nothing equal to it, and all attempts to impose servitude upon such a mighty race must be in vain. We shall be forced ultimately to retract; let us retract when we can, not when we must." 37 The last war. The war between Great Britain and France terminated by the treaty of Paris, 1763. At first the congress intended to state the rights of the colonies in general with all the violations of such rights but it was decided to confine themselves at present, to the consideration of such rights as have been infringed by acts of the British Parliament since 1763." 66 37 Imposed rates and duties. Since the Declaration of Rights of 1765 fresh taxes had been imposed. On 29 June 1767 a bill was passed laying duties on glass, lead, paper, painters' colors and tea. By an act of 2 July 1767 the tax on tea was lowered so that it was cheaper for the colonists to buy it from England than to smuggle it from Holland. But the Americans stood out for the principle involved. A tax was a tax, no matter how small. On the other hand, though the revenue derived from the tea tax would be a mere trifle, Great Britain refused to remove it. She too was fighting for a principle. "To reduce the tea tax would stamp us with timidity," said the prime minister. 37 Board of commissioners. "An act to enable His Majesty to put the customs, and other duties, in the British dominions in America, and the execution of the laws relating to trade there, under the management of commissioners to be appointed for that purpose, and to be resident in the said dominions" was passed 29 June 1767. Formerly many of the commissioners lived in England and were under the authority of the high treasurer or of commissioners of the treasury. Now the resident commissioners were to have the same powers and authorities" as formerly had been exercised by the commissioners of customs in England, “to the better securing of said rates and duties by the more speedy and effectual collection thereof.” 37 Dependent on the crown. In 1772 an act was passed providing for the payment of the salaries of the Massachusetts judges by the crown. The Massachusetts assembly threatened to impeach the judges if they accepted salaries from the king. Since the judges were no longer dependent on the colonies for their salaries their tyranny was not likely to be checked for politic reasons heretofore. as 37 Standing armies. After the close of the French and Indian war Great Britain left a number of troops in America and compelled the colonists to contribute to their support. 37 Statute... Henry the Eighth. "This raking-up |