C.] In this I took the ground that,
from the beginning, I had thought the only one orthodox or tenable,
which was, that the relation between Great Britain and these colonies
was exactly the same as that of England and Scotland, after the
accession of James and until the union, and the same as her present
relations with Hanover, having the same executive chief, but no other
necessary political connection; and that our emigration from England to
this country gave her no more rights over us, than the emigrations
of the Danes and Saxons gave to the present authorities of the mother
country, over England. In this doctrine, however, I had never been able
to get any one to agree with me but Mr. Wythe. He concurred in it from
the first dawn of the question, What was the political relation between
us and England? Our other patriots, Randolph, the Lees, Nicholas,
Pendleton, stopped at the half-way house of John Dickinson, who admitted
that England had a right to regulate our commerce, and to lay duties on
it for the purposes of regulation, but not of raising revenue. But for
this ground there was no foundation in compact, in any acknowledged
principles of colonization, nor in reason: expatriation being a natural
right, and acted on as such, by all nations, in all ages. I set out for
Williamsburg some days before that appointed for the meeting, but taken
ill of a dysentery on the road, and was unable to proceed, I sent on,
therefore, to Williamsburg two copies of my draught, the one under cover
to Peyton Randolph, who I knew would be in the of the convention, the
other to Patrick Henry. Whether Mr. Henry disapproved the ground taken,
or was too lazy to read it (for he was the laziest man in reading I ever
knew) I never learned: but he communicated it to nobody. Peyton Randolph
informed the convention he had received such a paper from a member,
prevented by sickness from offering it in his place, and he laid it on
the table for perusal. It was read generally by the members, approved by
many, though thought too bold for the present state of things; but they
printed it in pamphlet form, under the title of 'A Summary View of the
Rights of British America.' It found its way to England, was taken up
by the opposition, interpolated a little by Mr. Burke so as to make it
answer opposition purposes, and in that form ran rapidly through several
editions. This information I had from Parson Hurt, who happened at the
time to be in London, whith