The battles of Trenton and Princeton led to the evacuation of New Jersey by the British. On this event, Mr. Hart again collected his family around him, and began to repair the desolation of his farm. His constitution, however, had sustained a shock, which was irreparable. His health gradually failed him; and though he lived to see the prospects of his country brighten, he died before the conflict was so gloriously terminated. He expired in the year 1780. The best praise that can be awarded to Mr. Hart, is, that he was beloved by all who knew him. He was very liberal to the Baptist church of Hopewell, to which community he belonged; and his memory was hallowed by the esteem and regret of a large circle of friends.

JOSEPH HEWES.

JOSEPH HEWES was born near Kingston, in New Jersey, in the year 1730. His parents were Quakers, who removed from Connecticut, on account of the existing prejudices against them among the Puritans, and of the hostilities of the Indians.

At a suitable age, Joseph Hewes became a member of Princeton College; and after having graduated in due course, he was placed in the counting-house of a gentleman at Philadelphia, to be educated as a merchant. On leaving this situation, he entered into business for himself, and was highly successful in his commercial transactions. At the age of thirty he removed to North Carolina, and settled in the village of Edenton. Prosperity continued to attend him here, and he soon acquired a handsome fortune. By his probity and liberal dealings, he also gained the esteem of the people among whom he lived, and was called to represent them in the Colonial Legislature of the province. This distinction was conferred upon him for several successive years, during which he increased in popularity with his constituents.

In 1774, Mr. Hewes was chosen one of the three delegates from North Carolina to the Continental Congress. No members of that body brought with them credentials of a bolder stamp than the delegates from North Carolina. They were invested with such powers as might "make any acts done by them, or consent given in behalf of this province, obligatory in honor upon any inhabitant thereof, who is not an alien to his country's good, and an apostate to the liberties of America." On the meeting of this Congress, Mr. Hewes was nominated one of the committee appointed to "state the rights of the colonies in general, the several instances in which those rights had been violated or infringed, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them." He also assisted in preparing their celebrated report, which was drawn up as follows:

"1. That they are entitled to life, liberty, and property; and they have never ceded to any sovereign power whatever a right to dispose of either, without their consent.

"2. That our ancestors, who first settled these colonies, were, at the time of their emigration from the mother country, entitled to all the rights, liberties, and immunities of free and natural born subjects, within the realm of England.

"3. That by such emigration they by no means forfeited, surrendered, or lost, any of those rights; but that they were, and their descendants now are, entitled to the exercise and enjoyment of all such of them as their local and other circumstances enable them to exercise and enjoy.

"4. That the foundation of English liberty, and of free government, is a right in the people to participate in their legislative council; and as the English colonists are not represented, and, from their local and other circumstances, cannot properly be represented in the British Parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several Provincial Legislatures, where their right of representation can alone be pursued in all cases of taxation and internal polity, subject only to the negative of their sovereign, in such manner as has been heretofore used and accustomed; but if, from the necessity of the case, and a regard to the mutual interests of both countries, we cheerfully consent to the operation of such acts of the British Parliament as are bona fide restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the commercial advantages of the whole empire to the mother country, and the commercial benefit of its respective members; excluding every idea of taxation, internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects in America, without their consent.

"5. That the respective colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and, more especially, to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinage, according to the course of th law.

"6. That they are entitled to the benefit of such of the English statutes as existed at the time of their colonization, and which they have, by experience, respectively found applicable to their several local and other circumstances.

"7. That these his Majesty's colonies are likewise entitled to all the immunities and privileges granted and confirmed to them by royal charters, or secured by their several codes of provincial laws.

"8. That they have a right peaceably to assemble, consider of their grievances, and petition the King; and that all prosecutions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the same, are illegal.

"9. That the keeping a standing army in these colonies in times of peace, without consent of the Legislature of that colony in which such army is kept, is against the law.

"10. It is indispensably necessary to good government, and rendered essential by the English Constitution, that the constituent branches of the Legislature be independent of each other; and therefore the exercise of legislative power in several colonies by a council appointed during pleasure by the crown, is unconstitutional, dangerous, and destructive to the freedom of American legislation.

"All and each of which the aforesaid deputies, in behalf of themselves and their constituents, do claim, demand, and insist on, as their indispu

table rights and liberties, which cannot be legally taken from them, alter ed, or abridged, by any power whatever, without their consent, by their representatives in their several Provincial Legislatures."

To the above declaration of rights was added an enumeration of the wrongs already sustained by the colonies; after stating which, the report concluded as follows:

"To these grievous acts and measures, Americans cannot submit; but in hopes their fellow subjects in Great Britain will, on a revision of them, restore us to that state in which both countries found happiness and prosperity, we have, for the present, only resolved to pursue the following peaceable measures: 1. To enter into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation agreement, or association. 2. To prepare an address to the people of Great Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants of British America. And, 3. to prepare a loyal address to his majesty, agreeably to resolutions already entered inte."

Although engaged in extensive commercial transactions, Mr. Hewes, about this time, assisted in forming the plan of the non-importation association, and readily became a member of it. He was again elected to Congress by the people of North Carolina in 1775, and remained in Philadelphia until the adjournment of that assembly in July. He continued to represent the same State, almost without intermission, for four succeeding years, and gave very general satisfaction. The last time that he appeared in Congress was on the 29th of October, 1799. After this date, an indisposition, under which he had labored for some time, confined him to his chamber, and at length, on the 10th of November, terminated his life, in the fiftieth year of his age. His funeral was numerously attended, and in testimony of their respect to his memory, Congress resolved to wear crape round the left arm for the space of one month. Mr. Hewes left a large fortune, but no children to inherit it.

THOMAS HEYWARD.

THOMAS HEYWARD was born in St. Luke's parish, in South Carolina, in the year 1746. His father was a planter of fortune, and young Heyward received the best education that the province could afford. Having finished his scholastic studies, he entered upon those of the law, and after the usual term of application, was sent to England to complete himself in his profession. He was enrolled as a student in one of the Inns of Court, and devoted himself with great ardor to the acquirement of legal knowledge.

On completing his studies in England, he commenced the tour of Europe, which occupied him several years. After enjoying the advantages of foreign travel, he returned to his native country, and devoted himself. with great zeal for a man of fortune, to the labors of the law. In 1775, Mr. Heyward was elected to supply a vacancy in Congress; and arrived at Philadelphia in season to join in the discussion of the great question

of Independence. In 1778, he was prompted by a sense of duty to accept of an appointment as Judge of the Criminal Court of the new Government. Soon after his elevation to the bench, he was called upon to preside at the trial and condemnation of several persons charged with a treasonable correspondence with the enemy. The conviction of these individuals was followed by their execution, which took place within view of the British army, to whom it rendered the Judge particularly obnoxious.

In the spring of 1780, the city of Charleston was taken possession of by General Clinton. Judge Heyward, at that time, had command of a battalion. On the reduction of the place, he became a prisoner of war, and was transported, with some others, to St. Augustine. During his absence, he suffered greatly in respect to his property. His plantation was much injured, and his slaves were seized and carried away. He at length had leave to return to Philadelphia. On his passage thither, he narrowly escaped a watery grave. By some accident he fell overboard; but, fortunately, he kept himself from sinking, by holding to the rudder of the ship, until assistance could be rendered him. On his return to Carolina, he resumed his judicial duties; in the exercise of which, he continued till 1798. He was a member of the Convention for forming the State Constitution, in 1790; and was conspicuous for his sound judgment and unchanging patriotism. Having retired from the most arduous of his public labors and cares, he died in March, 1809, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Heyward was twice married, and was the father of several children. He was estimable for his amiable disposition, his virtuous principles, and his extensive acquaintance with men and things.

WILLIAM HOOPER.

WILLIAM HOOPER was born in Boston, on the 17th of June, 1742. He entered Harvard University at the age of fifteen, and was graduated in 1760. His father, who was pastor of Trinity Church, in Boston, had destined his son for the ministerial profession; but the latter having an inclination for the law, he was placed in the office of the celebrated James Otis, to pursue the study of his choice. On being qualified for the bar, young Hooper removed to North Carolina, and having married, finally established himself in the practice of his profession at Wilmington.

He was soon placed, by his talents, among the foremost advocates of the province, and was chosen to represent the town of Wilmington, in the General Assembly. He was elected to a seat in the same body the following year, and was always one of the boldest opposers of the tyrannical encroachments of the British Government. In 1774, Mr. Hooper was chosen a delegate to the memorable Congress, which met at Philadelphia. He took an important share in the discussions of this Assem

bly, and was remarkable for his fluent and animated elocution. He was a member of the same body the following year, and during the session, drew up, as chairman of different committees, several able addresses and reports. In 1776, the private affairs of Mr. Hooper requiring his attention in North Carolina, he did not, for some time, attend upon the sitting of Congress. He returned, however, in season to share in the hono and danger of signing the imperishable instrument which declared the Colonies of North America free and independent. Having been elected to Congress a third time, Mr. Hooper was obliged to resign his seat in February, 1777, and return to the adjustment of his own embarrassed affairs.

In 1786 he was appointed, by Congress, one of the Judges of a Federal Court, formed for the purpose of settling a controversy which existed between the States of New York and Massachusetts, in regard to certain lands. In the following year, his health being considerably impaired, he sought to restore it by private retirement. This, however, he did not live long to enjoy. He died in October, 1790, at the age of fortyeight years, leaving a wife and three children. Mr. Hooper was distinguished for his conversational powers, his good taste, and his devotion to his profession. As a politician, he was constant, judicious, and enhusiastic. He never gave way to despondency; possessing an unshaken confidence that Heaven would defend the right.

STEPHEN HOPKINS.

STEPHEN HOPKINS was born near Providence, (R. I.) in a place now called Scituate, on the 7th of March, 1707. He was of respectable parentage, being a descendant of Benedict Arnold, the first Governor of Rhode Island. His early education was limited, but he is said to have excelled in penmanship, and in the practical branches of mathematics.

For several years he followed the profession of a farmer. He was afterwards chosen Town Clerk of Scituate, and a Representative to the General Assembly. He was subsequently appointed a Justice of the Peace, and a Justice of one of the Courts of Common Pleas. In 1733, he became Chief Justice of that court. In 1742, he removed to Providence, where he entered into commerce, and was extensively engaged in building and fitting out vessels. He was chosen a Representative from that town to the General Assembly, and became Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1751, he was made Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and held that office till the year 1754, when he was appointed a Commissioner to the celebrated Albany Convention. The object of this Convention was the securing of the friendship of the five great Indian nations, in the approaching French war, and an union between the several colonies of America.

In 1756, Mr. Hopkins was elected Chief Magistrate of the colony of Rhode Island. This office he continued to hold, almost without inter