One of these, The Congress Canvassed, &c., which was signed, A. W. Farmer, was extensively circulated, and with that called, A View of the Controversy between Great Britain and Iier Colonies," was burnt, " whenever they fell into the hands of those whose measures they criticised and condemned."

"A few months after the delivery of this speech, he abandoned the country and went to England. At the moment of his departure he issued the following address :

New York, May 3, 1775.

Mv Countrymen :

Before I leave America, the land I love, and in which is contained everything that is valuable and dear to me : my wife, my children, my friends and property, permit me to make a short and faithful declaration, which 1 am induced to do, neither through fear nor a consciousness of having acted wrong. An honest man and a christian hath nothing to apprehend from this world. God is my judge, and God is my witness, that all I have done, written or said, in relation to the present unnatural dispute between Great Britain and her colonies, proceeded from an honest intention of serving my country; her welfare and prosperity were the objects toward which all my endeavors have been directed. They are still the sacred objects which I shall ever steadily and invariably keep in view ; and, when in England, all the influence

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250 HISTORY OF THE

that 60 inconsiderable a man as I am can have, shall be exerted in her behalf. It has been my constant maxim through life to do my duty conscientiously, and to trust the issue of my actions to the Almighty. May that God in whose hands are all events, speedily restore peace and liberty to my unhappy country. May Great Britain and America be soon united in the bonds of everlasting unity, and when united, may they continue a free, a virtuous and happy nation to the end of time.