Congress
should declare that these United Colonies and of right ought to be, free
and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to
the British crown, and that all political connection between them and
the state of Great Britain is and ought to be, totally dissolved; that
measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of
foreign powers and a confederation be formed to bind the colonial more
closely together.

The House being obliged to attend at that time to some other business,
the proposition was referred to the next day, when the members were
ordered to attend punctually at ten o'clock.

Saturday, June 8. They proceeded to take it into consideration, and
referred it to a committee of the whole, into which they immediately
resolved themselves, and passed that day and Monday the 10th in debating
on the subject.

It was argued by Wilson, Robert R. Livingston, E. Rutledge, Dickinson,
and others--

That, though they were friends to the measures themselves, and saw the
impossibility that we should ever again be united with Great Britain,
yet they were against adopting them at this time:

That the conduct we had formerly observed was wise and proper now, of
deferring to take any capital step till the voice of the people drove us
into it:

That they were our power, and without them our declarations could not be
carried into effect:

That the people of the middle colonies (Maryland, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, the Jerseys, and New York) were not yet ripe for bidding
adieu to British connection, but that they were fast ripening, and, in a
short time, would join in the general voice of America:

That the resolution, entered into by this House on the 15th of May,
for suppressing the exercise of all powers derived from the crown, had
shown, by the ferment into which it had thrown these middle colonies,
that they had not yet accommodated their minds to a separation from the
mother country:

That some of them had expressly forbidden their delegates to consent
to such a declaration, and others had given no instructions, and
consequently no powers to give such consent:

That if the delegates of any particular colony had no power to declare
such colony independent, certain they were, the others could not declare
it for them; the colonies being as yet perfectly independent of each
other:

That the assembly of Pennsylvania was now sitting above stairs, their
convention would sit within