And  the  said  general  officers  shall,  while  in  said  service,  com-
mand, lead,  and  conduct  in  the  said  opposition,  in  the  order
in  which  they  are  above  named."  Preble  declined  the  service,
and,  on  the  15th  February,  John  Whitcomb  was  appointed  in  his
place,  f

The  nature  and  object  of  the  laws  mentioned  in  this  resolve,
have  been  before  explained.  This  resolve,  which  is,  in  fact,  little
short  of  a  declaration  of  war  against  an  empire,  at  that  time,
perhaps,  the  most  powerful  in  the  eastern  hemisphere,  by  one
of  its  provinces,  is  very  remarkable  for  its  calm  language,  mi-
nute details,  and  great  precision.  It  indicates  the  great  dignity
and  the  exalted  patriotism  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and.  at
the  same  time,  is  demonstrative  of  a  consciousness,  that  the  jus-
tice of  their  cause  did  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  The  contrast  ex-
hibited by  the  king's  speech,  and  the  Parliamentary  proceedings
of  the  same  period,  is  equally  remarkable.  In  them,  violent  de-
nunciations indicate  the  tumult  and  rage  of  unprincipled  men,

*  Holmes's  Annals,  Vol.  II.  t  Heath's  Memoirs.
2


10

conscious,  that  they  were  exerting  a  mighty  force  in  a  wicked
and  infamous  cause.
The  immediate  cause,  then,  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  was
the  attempt  of  the  British  troops  to  carry  into  -execution  these
arbitrary  and  detestable  laws,  directly,  by  seizing  the  persons  of
some  eminent  patriots,  and  indirectly,  by  destroying  the  Provin-
cial stores.  The  issue,  for  the  trial  of  which  the  appeal  to  arms
was  finally  made,  was,  whether  the  British  king  and  his  soldiers
should  take  the  lives  of  our  citizens  at  their  pleasure.
