ived from Dr.
Franklin which put an end to the petition."

The Journals of the Congress do not record any vote of this kind; but
a number of things are known to have occurred in the Congress which the
Journals do not record. On September 17, the famous "Suffolk Resolves"
were laid before the deputies for their approval. The resolutions had
been adopted by a county convention in Massachusetts, and in substance
they recommended to the people of Massachusetts to form a government
independent of that of which General Gage was the Governor, urged them
meanwhile to arm themselves in their own defense, and assured them that
"no obedience is due from this province to either or any part" of the
Coercive Acts. These were indeed "vigorous measures"; and when the
resolutions came before Congress, "long and warm debates ensued between
the parties," Mr. Galloway afterwards remembered; and he says that when
the vote to approve them was finally carried, "two of the dissenting
members presumed to offer their protest to it in writing which was
negatived," and when they then insisted that the "tender of the protest
and the negative should be entered on the minutes, this was also
rejected."

Later in the month, September 28, Mr. Galloway introduced his famous
plan for a "British-American Parliament" as a method for permanent
reconciliation. The motion to enter the plan on the minutes and to refer
it for further consideration gave rise to "long and warm debates," the
motion being carried by a majority of one colony; but subsequently,
probably on October 21, it was voted to expunge the plan, together with
all resolutions referring to it, from the minutes. Nothing, as Benjamin
Franklin wrote from England, could so encourage the British Government
to persist in its oppressive policy as the knowledge that dissensions
existed in the Congress; and since these dissensions did unfortunately
exist, there was a widespread feeling that it would be the part of
wisdom to conceal them as much as possible.

No doubt a majority of the deputies, when they first read the Suffolk
Resolutions, were amazed that the rash New Englanders should venture to
pledge themselves so frankly to rebellion. Certainly no one who thought
himself a loyal subject of King George could even contemplate rebellion;
but, on the other hand, to leave Massachusetts in the lurch after so
much talk of union and the maintenance of American rights would
make loyal Americans look a littl