be given--any Motive whatever, that is not as great an Insult to them, and Breach of their Privilege, as any of the foregoing.--Are these things consistent with the Freedom of the House; or, could the General Courts tamely submiting to such Usage, be thought to promote his Majestys Service! Should these Struggles of the House prove unfortunate and ineffectual, this Province will submit, with pious Resignation to the Will of Providence; but it would be a kind of Suicide, of which we have the utmost Horror, thus to be made the Instruments of our Servitude. We beg leave before we conclude, to make one Remark on what you say, that "our Compliance can be of no Benefit to our Sovereign, any farther than as he interests himself in the Happiness of his Subjects." We are apprehensive that the World may take this for an Insinuation, very much to our Dishonor: As if the Benefit of our Sovereign were a Motive in our Minds, against a Compliance. But as this Imputation would be extremely unjust, so we hope it was not intended by your Honor. We are however obligd in Justice to our selves and our Constituents to declare that if we had Reason to believe, that a Compliance would by any, the least Benefit to our Sovereign, it would be a very powerful Argument with us; But we are on the Contrary, fully perswaded, that a Compliance at present, would be very injurious and detrimental to his Majestys Service. 1From this point the manuscript is wholly in the handwriting of Adams. 2Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 237-240. 3Inaccurately quoted from T. Hutchinson, History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. ii., p. 317. 4See Vol. I., p. 230. ARTICLE SIGNED "A CHATTERER."1 [Boston Gazette, August 13, 1770.] Messieurs EDES & GILL, "What availed the good Qualites of Galba? He who should not have employed bad Men, or at least should have restrained or punished them, incurred the same Censure as if he himself had done it!--It is the common Craft of corrupt Ministers to represent their Cause as the Cause of their Prince."