States are great or small according to their miles, and as the little birth town of the Christ, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, was not least among the princes of Judah, so Rhode Island, diminutive as she is physically, is far from least among the princely Constituents of this republic. The history of Rhode Island proves that the best compatriot political liberty ever had was absolute religious liberty. Rhode Island was the first to strike the name of king from the charter of her liberties, thus becoming the first sovereign independent State in all the New World. Rhode Island was the first to recommend the permanent establishment of a Continental Congress, in town meeting assembled, May 17, 1774, and in General Assembly, June 15, 1774, she appointed Samuel Ward and Ezek Hopkins her first delegates thereto. Rhode Island was also the first, by overt act, to renounce allegiance to George III of England. She was first to instruct her officers to disregard the Stamp Act and to ensure them indemnity for so doing. In 1765, she explicitly declared that in herself alone was vested the right of local taxation. Rhode Island was first to fire a gun against the dominion of England. The first blood of the Revolutionary war was spilt in Narragansett Bay. Lexington was fought April 19, 1775; the Boston Tea Party was on December 16, 1773; Providence men, after perfecting their plans at the Sabin Tavern, Planet and South Main Streets, rowed down the river, and on June 10, 1772, sent up the Gaspee in flames. On July 19, 1769, the men of Newport sunk His Majesty’s sloop, Liberty. Rhode Island was the first to establish an American navy. She gave the command to Abraham Whipple, who forthwith captured the first war prize (the tender of the frigate Rose, then off Newport). After the war of independence was under way, Rhode Island was the first to recommend and urge upon Congress the establishment of a Continental navy. Congress chose a Rhode Islander to work out the plans. Ezek Hopkins, a Providence man, was appointed commander-in-chief. Three-fourths of all the officers were from Rhode Island. These men were the vikings of the American Revolution. Ezek Hopkins’ home is still preserved on Admiral Street. There is a monument to him at his grave in Hopkins Square, corner Branch Avenue and Charles Street. In proportion to her size none of the other States can compare with Rhode Island in the amount given to the Continental loan. Her citizens, unlocking their purses, freely furnished the sinews of war. She contributed seven times as much as South Carolina, whose population was three times as large; one and a half times as much as Maryland, whose population was four times as great; twice as much as Virginia, with a population eight times larger.