* Colonel Gadsden, having left the Continental Congress to take command in South Carolina, appeared in the provincial Congress at Charleston February 10,1776. "Col. Gadsden (having brought the first copy of Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense, etc.,') boldly declared himself... for the absolute Independence of America. This last sentiment came like an explosion of thunder on the members" (Rev. John Drayton's Memoirs; etc., p. 172). The sentiment was abhorred, and a member "called the author of 'Common Sense' --------"; but on March 21st the pamphlet was reinforced by tidings of an Act of Parliament (Dec. 21, 1775) for seizure of American ships, and on March 23d South Carolina instructed its delegates at Philadelphia to agree to whatever that Congress should "judge necessary, etc." ** A thousand copies of "Common Sense" were at once ordered from Virginia, and many more followed. On April 1st Washington writes to Joseph Reed: "By private letters which I have lately received from Virginia, I find 'Common Sense' is working a wonderful change there in the minds of many men." On June 29th union with England was "totally dissolved" by Virginia. Meanwhile, on June 7th, Richard Henry Lee, in behalf of the Virginians, had submitted resolutions of independence; but as six States hesitated, Congress adjourned the decision until July 1st, appointing, however, (June 11th) a committee to consider the proper form of the probable Declaration--Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. But this interval, from June 7th to July 1st, was perilous for independence. News came of the approach of Lord Howe bearing from England the "olive branch." The powerful colonies New York and Pennsylvania were especially anxious to await the proposals for peace. At this juncture Paine issued one of his most effective pamphlets, "A Dialogue between the Ghost of General Montgomery, Just Arrived from the Ely-sian Fields, and an American Delegate, in a Wood near Philadelphia." Montgomery, the first heroic figure fallen in the war, reproaches the hesitating delegate for willingness to accept pardon from a royal criminal for defending "the rights of humanity." He points out that France only awaits their declaration of independence to come to their aid, and that America "teems with patriots, heroes, and legislators who are impatient to burst forth into light and importance." The most effective part of the pamphlet, however, was a reply to the commercial apprehensions of New York and Pennsylvania. "Your dependance upon the Crown is no advantage, but rather an injury, to the people of Great Britain, as it increases the power and influence of the King. The people are benefited only by your trade, and this they may have after you are independent of the Crown." There is a shrewd prescience of what actually happened shown in this opportune work.