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Apology of the Paxton Volunteers - 4

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yet many of us were but too well convinced of it & constrained to believe it & mourn in Silence over our hard Fate. When we applied to the Government for Relief, the far greater part of our Assembly were Quakers, some of whom made light of our Sufferings & plead Conscience, so that they could neither take Arms in Defense of themselves or their Country, nor from a Militia Law to oblige the Inhabitants to arm, nor even grant the King any money to enable his loyal Subjects in the Province to reduce the common Enemy. If they were conscientious in this matter, & found that it was inconsistent with their Principles to govern in a Time of War, why did they not resign their Seats to those who had no Scruples of this Kind? One would think, that if they really sumpathized with us in our Sufferings, this is the least they could have done. But this they did not do, until they were forced to it; till their Friends in England interposed, and insisted upon it; lest a bill should pass in Parliament to disqualify such Persons from having any Share in Government in Time of War.---But this is not all, altho’ our Charter secures to each County an equal Number of Representatives, four at least, and more if the Governor & Assembly, at any Time think proper; yet they allow our five Frontier Counties but ten Representatives in Assembly, while the three interior Counties have twenty four. Is this not a flagrant Instance of Injustice?

And what can we think of a Sect, that could do such an Act, & yet would have the World believe that they were inspired & led by the holy Spirit, and that they were the true Disciples of the holy Jesus. Can they who had it in their Power to remove this Complaint be Friends to Liberty, while they can deliberately persevere in such a nortorious [sic] Violation of our Charter & such a scandalous Encroachment on so important a Privilege as being equally represented in Legislation? Can there be any Reason for this Inequality, if it be not, that the Quakers being the Majority in the three interior Counties, they are resolved at any Rate to fill the House of Assembly & rule the Province? However others may think of this, we are certain, that if we had had a proper Number of Representatives in Assembly agreeable to the Stipulation of the Charter, so many of our Brethren had not been murdered & captivated. Something would have been done sooner for our Relief and Assistance. We can ascribe this to no other Cause, than to their insatiable Thirst of Domination, which might be gratified tho’ at the Expense of the Lives of thousands of their fellow Subjects.

Contents of this annotation:

  1. Apology of the Paxton Volunteers - 4