Gov. John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, speech to General Assembly, Williamsburg, VA, 1 June 1775.
CWF Rockefeller Library, Special Collections - SCMS 2000.39
SPEECH
Of his Excellency the Right Honourable JOHN Earl of DUNMORE,
his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governour General of the Colony and
Dominion of VIRGINIA, and Vice Admiral of the Same,
To the GENERAL ASSEMBLY, convened at the CAPITOL, in
the City of WILLIAMSBURG, on Thursday the 1st of June,
1775.
Gentlemen of the COUNCIL, Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the
House of BURGESSES
I HAVE called you together to give you an opportunity of taking
the alarming state of the colony into your consideration, and pro-
viding remedies against the evils which are increasing therein; and I
am induced to it at this time particularly, because, as the declarati-
ons of the King and Parliament, contained in the joint address of the
Lords and Commons on the 7th of February last, and his Majesty's
answer, no longer admit of a doubt that your well-founded grievances,
properly represented, will meet with that attention and regard which
are so justly due to them; so likewise the resolution of the House of
Commons, which followed on the 27th of the same month, will, I
trust, have the effect of removing the jealousy which has been the
principal source of disquiet and uneasiness in the minds of the people:
Therefore, I entertain the strongest hopes that nothing will remain,
after a just consideration of the nature and tendency of that resolution,
to prevent your seriously exerting yourselves to bring the disputes,
which have unhappily raged between the mother country and the
colonies, to a good end; to which the step already taken by the House
of Commons must be considered as a benevolent tender, and, I hope
auspicious advance, on the part of the parent state.
It must now be manifest, to all dipassionate people, that the Parlia-
ment, the high and supreme legislature of the empire, far from having
entertained thoughts so inconsistent with the wisdom and public virtue
which have ever distinguished that august body, of oppressing the
people of the colonies, or of promoting the interest of one at the
expense of another part of their fellow subjects, have only been
extending their care, that the whole, in consideration of the enjoy-
ment of equal rights, privileges, and advantages, should be obliged,
according to their abilities and situation, to contribute that proportion
towards the burthens necessary for the support of their civil govern-
ment, and for the common defence, which the subjects of the same
state cannot, with any justice, or consistent with their own welfare,
refuse to grant; the principle of which having never, I believe, been
denied by the people of his Majesty's dominion of Virginia, I hope
you will think it reasonable now to acknowledge the propriety, and
to engage to fulfill your part, of the obligation it concludes.
Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the House of BURGESSES
No specifick sum being demanded of you for these purposes (as I think
obviously appears) your justice and liberality are left to their full
scope; and your gift, if you should be induced to offer any, may
be, in the completest manner, free. The civil government of this
country being already provided for, you will only have to declare
what proportion, and by what means, you are willing to contribute
towards the publick burthens of the state; burthens to which the
mother country hath cheerfully submitted, to secure the colonies from
the encroachments of a dangerous and vigilant enemy. And I am
warranted to say, that it is never intended to require you to tax
yourselves, without Parliament taxing the Subjects of Great Britain
on the same occasion, in a far greater proportion, no prudence which
you shall think necessary to observe for your security in that particular
can be disapproved of.
And I can likewise assure you, that if you should judge fit to adopt
the principle, and imitate teh example of justice, equity, and mode-
ration, in your proposals, which actuated the House of Commons in
their resolution, declaring at once what was ultimately expected of
you, such a compliance on your part will be considered by his Majesty
not only a testimony of your reverence for Parliament, but also as a
mark of your duty and attachment to yor sovereign, who has no
object nearer his heart than the peace and prosperity of his subjects in
every part of his dominions.
I must recommend to your to fall upon means of paying the officers
and private men employed in repelling the late invasion and incursions
of the Indians, as I make no doubt you will think their service on
that occasion deserving of your attention.
Gentlemen of the COUNCIL, Mr. SPEAKER, and Gentlemen of the
HOUSE of BURGESSES,
You may be assured of my cheerful concurrence in all measures, and
ready assent to all laws, which it may be found expedient to adopt for
the present peace, tranquillity, and advantage of the country; and I
hope you will think it necessary, to these ends, that the courts of justice
should forthwith be opened, in order that the laws may again have
their due course.
I cannot conclude without exhorting you, in the most earnest man-
ner, to enter upon the subject-matter, now recommended to you,
with that patience, calmness, and impartiality, which its great im-
portance requires, and to reflect upon the benefits this country hath
received from the support given to it by the parent state: which I
hope will animate your zeal, now you have it in your power, to
restore that harmony and mutual confidence which rendered both
countries so flourishing, and, in short, to persue your true interest,
which will convert our present gloomy apprehensions into prospects
of peace, happiness, and lasting security.