• An historical document of much interest in connexion with
the revolt of the American coloniee has been exhumed from the City archives and printed in facsimile by the Library Committee of the Corporation. It is " A Letter from the Committee of the Association of New York to the Lord Mayor and Corpora- tion of the City of London, 5th May, 1775." As the intro- ductory essay reminds us, the City was strongly opposed to the Government's harsh and tactless American policy. The citizens of New York, who banded themselves together after the skirmish at Lexington, naturally, therefore, besought the sympathy and assistance of their kinsmen in " the capital of the British Empire." Their letter recites their grievances, and shows that, though they would not submit to taxation by authority of Parliament, they had no immediate intention of seceding. The long list of signatories begins with Isaac Low, John Jay—afterwards eminent among American states- men—Francis Lewis, John Alsop, and Philip Livingston—one of the foundeis of Columbia University. The facsimile is admirably executed and can be read with ease.
Previous page
