the arguments relied upon
by the friends and opponents of the measure, respectively. They of
course represent the speeches that were actually made on both sides, but
no report of the debates of this period has been preserved, and the
orator on the present occasion had no aid in framing these addresses,
but what was furnished by general tradition and the known line of
argument pursued by the speakers and writers of that day for and against
the measure of Independence. The first sentence of the speech ascribed
to Mr. Adams was of course suggested by the parting scene with Jonathan
Sewall, as described by Mr. Adams himself, in the Preface to the Letters
of Novanglus and Massachusettensis.

So much interest has been taken in this subject, that it has been
thought proper, by way of settling the question in the most authentic
manner, to give publicity to the following answer, written by Mr.
Webster to one of the letters of inquiry above alluded to.

"_Washington, 22 January, 1846._

"Dear Sir:--

"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th
instant. Its contents hardly surprise me, as I have received very many
similar communications.

"Your inquiry is easily answered. The Congress of the Revolution sat
with closed doors. Its proceedings were made known to the public from
time to time, by printing its journal; but the debates were not
published. So far as I know, there is not existing, in print or
manuscript, the speech, or any part or fragment of the speech, delivered
by Mr. Adams on the question of the Declaration of Independence. We only
know, from the testimony of his auditors, that he spoke with remarkable
ability and characteristic earnestness.

"The day after the Declaration was made, Mr. Adams, in writing to a
friend,[14] declared the event to be one that 'ought to be commemorated,
as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.
It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this
continent to the other, from this time forward, for evermore.'

"And on the day of his death, hearing the noise of bells and cannon, he
asked the occasion. On being reminded that it was 'Independent day,' he
replied, 'Independence for ever!' These expressions were introduced into
the speech _supposed_ to have been made by him. For the rest I must be
answerable. The speech was written by me, in my hous