fc tbt honourable james iredhll efq ; one of tbt judges of the superior court held at edenton for the diflnct :/" eden ion on tie fir fi day of may 1778 we the grand jury for the d ftrict of edenton re turn you our thanks for the charge which you was plea fed to deliver to us at the opening of this court this charge vindicates the renduft of the american rates in the eltablilhment of independency by argn sients d*awn from unalieoibie rights and from real neceflity nd grounded on inconttllible fuels .. every man who is not loll lo the powers of reafon and conviction mull feel their force and mo bear a very a£\ive uhiinouy in fopport of them it breathes ifpiritof pure tlifinterelied patriptifrh and holds forth the moll powerful incentives to perliil in the eppefition in which america has 0 fuccefsfully tvgua it points out perfuaiivcly the impor tance of a faithful obfervation of the various political and rela tive duties of fccarit ,- upon which the happinefs of individuals of the whole depends and which will tend to give lability to our prefen conlhtution •.- , ' . for thefe reafons and as it may tend to invigorate the timid ronfe the indifferent reclaim the difaifccied and call the united ftrenpth of the whole into exercife for the public good we beg that your honour would favuur us with a copy of it tfcet it may be tranfmitted to the pref and publifhed tor the in formation of thofe who did not hear it delivered t we afk this not only for ourlelvej but in behalf of the inhabitants of the dif tricl of edjr,:on : whom we reprcient we flatter ourfsives . that you will give it to our felicitations although you intended it merely as an exercife of official duty and thought it not defined for a more extecfive communication than to us the grand jury a charge dilivertd 1y james irsdell efq one of the fuogei of the sup°*ior cohrt t to the grand jury for the dtjtrici tfh en con on the frond day ef may 1778 pubhfhed at their rcqucih gentlemen of the ghand jvr.v : . ; in compliance with a cultom which has long obtained and is probably h und.ee on very gocd reafons it becumes our duty i to adjrefs a few words to you previous to your entrance en the difrharge of the important office you are now called upon to ex ercife by your country ; an office of great confi queues to the tommunity and of wh?ch tc awful ideas cannot well be enter tained ! . - ; . this court of juiiice opens at a moft interefting period of the policy of this country we have been long deprived of luch from a vsricty of caufej in lome of which we have fharej with our brrrhren en the continent ; ethers were peculiar to ourfelves t»»e event howeve has been unhappy and diftreffirg and every well wifher to his country mult vie with pleafure a fctne of a aarchy changed u r that of law and ord^r and powers of govern ment cftabiifhcd capable of reftraioibg or punilhing difhonelly and vice • such powers have beer eftabliihed under circurnftances which ih uld induce to them peculiar reverence and regard they have not been th < fleet vl ufurpation ; they have not proceeded fism a wanton dtfire of change ; they have no been impofed jpott you by the fuccefsiul arms of a tyrant they have been peaceably e aablifhed by the public at large for the general happineft of the people when they were reduced to the cruel neceftuv a necejlity they abhorred and did 1 m their pow^r to cvoif of reaounc inc a government which ctaicd to protect and endeavoured ta enilive them fcr one which enabled f hem nith a proper hare of com age and virtue tc protect and d fcrd ibsmfelv s you had not only tor years been injured and infuited in the groffeft manner you had cot only felt innovation in your government which were a repugnant to jutiicr as they were unwarranted by prece dent y ur petitions tor redrefs reached in the moft humble and cxpreilive though aoi ' n rl " a h ftr»ile terms had ao only bceortjefted and fpurned at — bat when the crifi at lafi anivrj fir more vigorous exertion or a mean and daftardly fabmiffio and every hope of relaxation of the tyrannical fyiiem wa fl i # war was brought into your territories and carried on wich o .«• fual circumftaaces of cruelty and vigour the btitijb nation im pofed upon by the vileft lies to exert every nerve in their power foreign troops were hired to flaughter a people who had never ofc ended them ; the indian fcalping knife was employed ; and even that diabolical purpofe of arming our domefticks to involve ua in one indiscriminate maitacre was openly anil with triumph at tempted — it was under thefe cempiicated circumftances of inja ftice cr-uelty and infult and with the j a apprehenfion that tkeie united efforts might overpower our own if our oppefitica coeri rsued to be languidly fupported with the refervs of fabj?**s that the once happy american colonies whofe loyalty had bctn unca am pled and had b*ea exerted in the moft confpicuoui inftancesj whole auachment to great britain was fcarccly yet cooled by the numerous ads of opprefli '« they had received from her ; redoced to the melancholy neceffiiy of chufing their fellow-fubjev'ls uit their mailers or of exerting thole latent powers of regftanc which heaven and favourable circumftances had blefled then with — it was in this trying and painful fitaation that they re folved to facrifice all old connexions every favourite prepofleffi on and tear thernfelves from a country they would have bled to ferve but difdained to be enilaved by it is known to as all how reluclantly this meafnre was adopted and how ardently on til the moment when it appeared inevitable we wiihed for • re conciliation with crtat britain upon thole principles on which ocr opposition had all along proceeded j a wifh that i can roly fay not ithftanding the bafe reports to the contrary there it e very reafon to believe was ahnoft oniverfal •-* ■• but every thing that could be urged in ourfavpar was difie garded odr enemies proceeded from one extreme to another until they brcsght about an event which fatally and i truft hat rinally fevered this country from the dominion of great britain immenie advantages have been loft in purfuit of a chimera r j'ucb muji ever the government of this mntrj be without tkt hearty jupport fifth people the profus of our trade and inexhauftiole and increaling f urce of wealth we freely beflowed oar alie giance to onr fovertign was perfect on the conditions of ur charter he had a negative on our laws and the whole execu tive department of the ftate this was a power fuffkicne lor e very ufeful purpofe ; we had no difpofition to compliment him with any that was dangerous we deftred only the privilege of a free people fuch as our anceftors had been fuch as they ex peded we hould be - we knew it was abfurd to pretend wt could be free whejajaws mrght at pleafure be impofed on ca by another people ; a people who in many refpeds confidered them fclves our rivals over whom we had no cohtroul who were re markably ignorant of pur circumftances who had ftrong i had almoft fsid irreiittible temptations to lay burdens n us in or der to eale chemielves we knew of no right they cotfld have to fuch a power our charters did not recognize it it certainly was not in our anceftors contemplation who left that very conn try becaufe freedom cocld not be enjoyed in it cuftom had given it no fandion but on the contrary ibongly difeouotenanc ed it it was rcccocileable to no principles of juftice or evefy common decency that we could form to ourfelvei wedefpifra the miferable applicatioh of a few political maxims calculixcd tor a ongle governmect to the various and extended go*/fers ments of th/j uritijh empire and which to tbif hour is th / bafie upon which all th fraud iniquity injurtice cru ity aad 4>ppf*c fion that america has experienced from gre«t-sritaim^mm be defended - . - . - -. " we may be thankful to divine providence that ire ware called into this conteft at a time when the principl**-«oiberry were ge nerally and thoroughly uuderftood the divine it f il n r was exploded with indignation in the laft century men came at length to be ntriuukd that they were cicaual for anobier porpo i 1 jitne 6 1778 the number 43u tfor th-c4r0l in a gazette with the lateft advices foreign and domestic semper pro libertate et bono publ1co