The remonstrance was from the able pen of Mr. Wythe, and was drawn in language so bold and strong, that it alarmed many of his colleagues, and underwent considerable modification to divest it of what they deemed a tincture of treason. He understood and properly appreciated the true dignity of man, and was not born to succumb or quail beneath the tyranny of a haughty monarch or an aspiring ministry. He was a prominent and active member of the House of Burgesses in 1768, when Virginia blood and Virginia patriotism were roused, and passed the memorable resolutions asserting their exclusive right to levy their own taxes; accused ministers and parliament of violating the British constitution; and denied the right of the crown to transport and try persons in England for crimes committed in the colonies. In passing these resolutions parliamentary rules were dispensed with—they went through with the onward course of an avalanche, the members anticipating the proroguing power of the governor, who, on hearing of their tenor, immediately dissolved the house. But he was half an hour too late, they had passed their final reading and were entered upon the records, and beyond his power to veto or expunge. This step of the governor was unfavourable to the interests of the crown, and the people proudly and boldly returned all the old _patriotic_ members to the next session, with several new ones of the same stamp. During the recess, the love of liberty and liberal principles had increased in their bosoms, and they had imparted the same sentiments to their constituents. Among the new members was Thomas Jefferson, who had been the pupil of Mr. Wythe—had imbibed his principles, and now stood forth a bold and prominent champion of liberty and equal rights. From this time onward Mr. Wythe continued to oppose parliamentary oppression and vindicate the rights of his country. At the commencement of the revolutionary movements he joined a volunteer corps, shouldered his musket, determined to vindicate in the field the principles he had inculcated in the legislative hall. But his talents as a statesman did not permit him to move long in this sphere of action, and in August, 1775, he was called to take a seat in that congress which, in less than a year from that time, proclaimed to the astonished Britons and to the world, the freedom and emancipation of the colonies, affixed their names to the Declaration of Independence, resolved that it should prove either the chart of liberty or the warrant of death—appealing to heaven for the justice of their cause.