Otis was the probable author of the report, adopted December 24, recommending a course to the convention; and he was chairman of the larger committee to which that report was referred, and within which the final report--after a discussion lasting from December 24 to December 30--was framed. The discussions, both in committee and in convention, took much time and caused some difficulties; but nothing was ever known of the speeches made, or of the motions proposed, or of the amendments offered. All the reports were finally adopted by the convention; and all proposed business then having been finished, January 5 the convention adjourned without day, authorizing Cabot to call another meeting at Boston if he should at any time see occasion for it. The report, therefore, contained all the information which the convention intended to make public, and only from that document could the ultimate object of the members be inferred. It was immediately published in Connecticut, and at the meeting of the legislatures of Massachusetts and Connecticut in January it was laid before them for approval. Considering the conservative temper of the delegates and their dislike for extreme measures, the report bore striking evidence of the popular passion which urged them forward. A few paragraphs in its first pages showed the spirit of its recommendations, and a few more showed the effect expected from them:-- “It is a truth not to be concealed that a sentiment prevails to no inconsiderable extent ... that the time for a change is at hand.... This opinion may ultimately prove to be correct; but as the evidence on which it rests is not yet conclusive, ... some general considerations are submitted in the hope of reconciling all to a course of moderation and firmness which may ... probably avert the evil, or at least insure consolation and success in the last resort.... A severance of the Union by one or more States against the will of the rest, and especially in time of war, can be justified only by absolute necessity.”