When the declaration of independence was proposed, his feelings and views were decidedly in its favour, but his instructions from the assembly of Maryland were directly opposed to the measure. The members of that body considered the project as wild and futile, believing the power of the mother country sufficient to crush all opposition. They only contemplated redress—this they fondly but vainly hoped for. The course of the British authorities, however, soon furnished arguments, steeped in blood, that convinced them of the necessity of the course proposed in Congress, and about the first of July, 1776, they removed the injunction and left Mr. Paca and his colleagues to act freely without any restraint. The struggle between the adherents of the crown and the patriots in the assembly had been severe. The able letters written by their delegates in the national legislature had great weight in the colonial council, and the affair at Lexington admitted of no extenuation. The first decided vote in favour of the cause, then in embryo, obtained in the Maryland legislative body, was on the 28th of May preceding the declaration, when their chaplain was directed to omit praying for the king. This was a sore cut upon the dignity of his majesty, and, as trifling as it may seem, had a potent effect upon the people. It convinced them that if the king had forfeited all claims to the _prayers_ of his subjects, he was not pure enough to direct their destinies, and with one accord declared, “we will not have this man to rule or reign over us.” When the glorious 4th of July, 1776, arrived, Mr. Paca was in his place, fully prepared to sanction the Magna Charta of American freedom by his vote and signature, and enrolled his name among the great apostles of LIBERTY, whose fame will continue to rise in peerless majesty until the last trump of time shall sound its final blast and the elements be dissolved in fervent heat. On his retirement from Congress, in 1778, Mr. Paca was appointed chief judge of the superior court of Maryland, and in 1780 his duties were increased by the appointment of chief judge in prize and admiralty cases. He had proved himself an able statesman—his talents as a judicial officer shone with equal brilliancy. The acumen of his mind and his legal acquirements made him an _able_ judge, his honesty and impartiality rendered him a _popular_ one. He was a man of polished manners, plain but dignified in his deportment and graceful in his address, with an engaging, intelligent and benignant countenance, all combining to gain admiration.