James Smith
" We desire you, therefore and that you may instruct the deputies you appoint strenuously to exert themselves at the ensuing Congress to obtain a renunciation on the part of Great Britain of all the powers under the statute of 35th Henry VIII. ch, 2d, of all the powers of internal legislation, of imposing duties or taxes internal or external and of regulating trade except concerning any new articles of commerce which the Colonies may hereafter raise, as silk, wine, &c. reserving a right to carry them from one colony to another and a repeal of all statutes for quartering troops in the colonies or subjecting them to any expense on account of such troops and of all statutes imposing duties to be paid in the colonies that were passed at the accession of his present majesty or before this time, whichever period shall be judged most advisable and of the statutes giving the Courts of Admiralty in the Colonies greater power than the Courts of Admiralty in England and of the statutes of 5th George II. ch. 22d and of the 23d of George II. ch. 29th of the statute for shutting up the Port of Boston and every other statute particularly affecting the province of Massachusetts Bay passed in the last session of Parliament. Suppose all the terms abovementioned cannot be obtained. In that case, we believe that the measures adopted by the Congress for our relief should never be relinquished or intermitted until those relating to the troops,internal legislation, the imposition of taxes or duties hereafter, and the 35th of Henry VIII. ch. 2d and the extension of Admiralty Courts and the Port of Boston and the Province of Massachusetts Bay are obtained. Every modification or qualification of these points in our judgment should be inadmissible."Mr. Smith attended the following people's convention, which convened at Philadelphia in January 1775. He was one of the foremost to oppose force to force and the peril of life for freedom. He was known as an ultra Whig and accused of treating the government of his most Christian majesty indecorously. His patriotism had carried him six months ahead of most leading men. No one could outstrip him in zeal for the cause of equal rights. His course was onward and right onward to action. For this, the time soon arrived. In the spring of 1776, he was on a committee with Dr. Rush and Colonel Bayard to organize a camp of 4,500 troops raised in Pennsylvania. No man was better calculated to render efficient service in this important branch of business. The committee immediately prepared an appeal to the yeoman military, which was approved by Congress and widely circulated. It was written in bold and forcible language, pointing to the Independence of the Colonies as the great incentive to action. It had a robust and beneficial effect and met with a response from the people that caused the hirelings of the crown to fly from the province like chaff before the wind.
On November 23, 1776, Mr. Smith was placed on the committee to devise means for reinforcing the American Army and arresting Gen. Howe's destructive career. The powers of this committee were very properly transferred to Washington soon after. He was on the committee that laid before Congress conclusive testimony of the inhuman treatment of the American prisoners in New York. In November 1778, he resigned his seat in Congress and, for a season, enjoyed the comforts of domestic life.
In 1780, he consented to serve in the State Legislature. He was a bar member for sixty years and died July 11, 1806.