POLITICAL CHARACTER. 23

of a congress. It was the people themselves who
met in their own rough, but efficient way, and
elected from amongst themselves, this and that
and the other individuals to be their delegates;
to represent their will and their wishes, first, in
their committees of public safety—afterwards,
in their state legislatures. The latter when con-
vened resolved it to be expedient to send dele-
gates from each state to form a general congress,
The deputies to this congress derived authority
for every vote they gave from letters of instruc-
tion given them at the time of their appoint-
ment, or forwarded from time to time by the le-
gislature of the state they severally represented,
To them they applied for special instructions in
every interesting case that arose—In obedience
to the express instructions thus received from
the Legislature of Maryland,it was, that the
delegates of Maryland gave the vote of this
state in congress, for the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. The people in their primary assem-
blies, had already canvassed and decided the
question for themselves, and instructed their
agents to carry their will into execution.

The profound interest with which the people of
the several states at that time regarded the
question of Independence, and the necessity
there was of the states deciding it for them-
selves, was then perfectly understood. The dif-
ficulty of obtaining the asstnt of the state of
Pennsylvania, retarded the declaration for some
time. Some of the most patriotic of her states