From Farm House to the White House - 912 Freedom Library

Farm House to the White House, by William M. Thayer 136
Philadelphia, an Episcopal clergyman, chaplain of Congress. A few mornings thereafter, news came that the
enemy was cannonading Boston. It so happened that the Psalter for that day included the following passages:
"Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me. Fight against them that fight against me. Take hold
of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way of them that
persecute me. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation."
The effect upon the Assembly was thrilling. John Adams wrote to his wife about it:
"You must remember this was the morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I
never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that
morning.
"After this, Mr. Duché unexpectedly struck out into an extemporaneous prayer, which filled the bosom of
every man present. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such
earnestness and pathos, and in language so eloquent and sublime for America, for the Congress, for the
Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston."
Most of the members stood during the prayer, but Washington was on his knees.
Lord Chatham was still alive, an old man, feeble and disabled, when that memorial was laid before
Parliament, and he "crawled" from his sick room into that body to plead for the American cause. The old
orator kindled with patriotic fervor as he rose to defend the cause of the oppressed, and he gave utterance to
one of the most eloquent and impassioned appeals ever delivered in Parliament. Our space will allow but a
brief extract from it:
"For God's sake then, my lords, let the way be instantly opened for reconciliation; I say instantly, or it will be
too late forever. The Americans tell you--and remember it is the language of the whole continent--they tell
you they will never submit to be taxed without their own consent. They insist on a repeal of your laws. They
do not ask it as a favor: they claim it as a right; they demand it. And I tell you the acts must be repealed; they
will be repealed: you cannot enforce them. But bare repeal will not satisfy this enlightened and spirited
people. What! satisfy them by repealing a bit of paper? by repealing a piece of parchment? No! you must
declare you have no right to tax them; then they may trust you, then they will confide in you. There are, my
lords, three millions of Whigs in America. Three millions of Whigs, with arms in their hands, are a formidable
body! There are, I trust, double that number of Whigs in England; and I hope the Whigs in both countries will
join and make a common cause. They are united by the strongest ties of sentiment and interest, and will
therefore, I hope, fly to support their brethren. In this most alarming and distracted state of our affairs, though
borne down by a cruel disease, I have crawled to this house, my lords, to give you my best advice, which is, to
beseech his Majesty that orders may instantly be despatched to General Gage to remove the troops from
Boston; their presence is a source of perpetual irritation and suspicion to those people. How can they trust you
with the bayonet at their breasts? They have all the reason in the world to believe that you mean their death or
slavery. Let us then set to this business in earnest. There is no time to be lost: every moment is big with
danger. Nay, while I am now speaking, the decisive blow may be struck, and millions involved in the dreadful
consequences! The very first drop of blood that is drawn will make a wound perhaps never to be healed--a
wound of such rancorous malignity, as will, in all probability, mortify the whole body, and hasten, both on
England and America, that dissolution to which all nations are destined....
"My lord, if the ministers thus persevere in misadvising the king, he will be undone. He may, indeed, still
wear his crown, but the American jewel out of it, it will not be worth the wearing."
Although Chatham was supported by Lord Camden, Lord Shelburne, and the Marquis of Rockingham, his
motion was rejected by a large majority, and nearly seven thousand more troops were forwarded to Boston as