called sedition; he noted the arrival of British troops in the rebellious Puritan town; and he saw plainly enough, looming in the background, the final appeal to arms.

He wrote to Mason (April 5, 1769), that "at a time when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing less than the deprivation of American freedom, something should be done to avert the stroke and maintain the liberty which we have derived from our ancestors.

But the manner of doing it, to answer the purpose effectually, is the point in question.
That no man should scruple or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense of so valuable a blessing is clearly my opinion.

Yet arms, I would beg leave to add, should be the last resource, the _dernier ressort_." He then urged the adoption of the only middle course, non-importation, but he had not much hope in this expedient, although an honest desire is evident that it may prove effectual.
When the assembly met in May, they received the new governor, Lord Botetourt, with much cordiality, and then fell to passing spirited and sharp-spoken resolutions declaring their own rights and defending Massachusetts.

The result was a dissolution.