Protest against the Proceedings

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We, the subscribers, inhabitants of the Town of Barnstable, protest against the proceedings of said town, at their meeting held on Tuesday, 25th of June instant, respecting the giving their Representative instructions with regard to the independency of the Colonies, as it was recommended to the several towns in this Colony, by way of resolve, from the honourable House of Representatives; and as a vote was put in said meeting to know whether the town would proceed to give any instructions to their Representatives, agreeable to the aforesaid recommendation; which was carried in the negative.

And judging it to be our duty to protest against said vote, we do it for the following reason: We think such a measure as proposed in said resolve to be the most salutary that can be gone into for the safety and well-being of the Colonies, under our present oppressed situation. And as it is the duty of every individual to give his voice in favour of the aforesaid recommendation, in case the honourable Continental Congress see cause to declare these Colonies entirely independent, we are ready and willing to stand by such a declaration (if it should take place) to the utmost of our power, with our lives and estates; and being very unwilling that the aforesaid vote should be passed over in silence, for fear of offending our own consciences, in being thought to acquiesce in so strange a vote of the town, and of offending our countrymen and brethren in other towns who may go into contrary measures, entirely abhorring any principles but what are for the good of the United Colonies of America, and detesting those arguments brought by some men in said meeting to dissuade the people from complying with said recommendation, we take this method of letting the publick know our dissent from the aforesaid proceedings of the town, having no other way to make our sentiments known. We request that this Protest may be entered in the Town-book, to let posterity know that there were a few in this town who dared to stand forth in favour of an injured and oppressed country, treated with every species of wickedness used by tyranny to enslave mankind; and it is a matter of great grief to us that the cause of liberty is

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JOSEPH OTIS,
THOMAS ANXABLE,
BENJAMIN SMITH,
ZACCHEUS HOWLAND,
JOSEPH JENKINS,
JOSEPH SMITH,
FREEMAN PARKER,
JOHN CROCKER, JR˙,
NATHAN BASSETT,
DAVID SMITH,
JOB HOWLAND,
JAMES DAVIS,
NATHANIEL HOWLAND,
EBENEZER LOTHROP,
BINNEY BAKER,
JONATHAN HALLET,
CORNELIUS LOVELL,
SETH LOTHROP,
BENONI CROCKER,
JOHN BLISH,
EDMUND HAWES,
JOHN RUSSEL,
CHARLES CONANT.