The Beale Ciphers
by George Love, guest contributor
In 1885, a fellow named James Ward brought out a pamphlet allegedly written by an unnamed author for whom he was acting as agent. A facsimile of the pamphlet is reproduced in Peter Viemeister's book, The Beale Treasure (rev. ed. 1997) (originally published 1987); it's also available for download here, et seq. The best transcript of the pamphlet I've found, by someone identified only by the initials SMB, is available for download here.
The pamphlet, at fifty cents apiece, purported to supply clues whereby readers might, with industry and luck, discover the hiding place of a fabulous treasure in gold, silver and jewels which had been buried in the hills of western Virginia more than sixty years before. The stated motive for sharing this extraordinary information was that the anonymous author had wasted over two decades in the search and hoped by giving away the secret to escape the burden. Tauntingly, rather than merely describing the hiding place in vague prosaic terms, its precise location was related, but only in an inscrutable page of code for which, alas, the key had never been found.
There are three theories about this little pamphlet: (i) that it was a hoax, plain and simple; (ii) that it was a parable; or (iii) that it was true, or at least substantially true. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, there appear always to have been, and remain to this day, a committed cadre of believers in the third theory. This notwithstanding the tale's patent implausibility and the complete absence of corroboration. Though, in defense of the species, believers have always been a very small (albeit energetic) minority. More likely the tale lives on mainly because, to paraphrase George Burns, even if it's not a true story, it's true that it's a good story. And wouldn't it be cool to solve a puzzle that has stumped so many, even if there were no treasure at the end of it?
The Beale Ciphers are well known in the lore of cryptography -- see, e.g., cryptography newsgroup FAQ, Codes,
Ciphers, & Codebreaking (duplicate here), Dan Finkelstein and NJM -- perhaps because they're one of the earliest extant American examples of the craft. For the same reason, and because they're easily stated, the Ciphers are still used as a teaching exercise. See, e.g., recent USMA student paper. And they still draw believers that the puzzle can be and/or has been solved. See, e.g., Debussy James, SMD (collecting proposed solutions; other links on site here), Treasure Hunt forum (typical melee), Steven Ninichuck (picture of alleged vault but no analysis), Albert Atwell (exemplar of position posted to various forums), and Fred Jones (almost no analysis, but offering to sell book with putative solution). Then there's the Edgar Allan Poe (quite fun, though improbable).
What I find fascinating about the Ciphers is that, to date, no one seems to have been able to deliver a knock-out punch. Meaning, a clear and convincing argument that persuades all but those who simply refuse to be skeptical. Not that strong arguments haven't been made. See, e.g., E.E. Remington; myoutbox; the UnMuseum (Lee Krystek) and James Gillogly; see also the first four sources mentioned in the preceding paragraph, especially NJM and the cryptography newsgroup FAQ. But, though persuasive, I don't find any of these arguments compelling, a point conceded by most of their proponents.
Intrigued, I set out to see whether I could find a knock-out proof. And did, I think. Not entirely on my own, obviously, for I had the benefit of all those earlier analyses. Yet, the hoax is exposed more easily than anyone (at least anyone I've read or read about) seems to realize. Though I'm certainly mindful that the proof may be flawed in some way I can't see. Anyway, here goes.
I'm not going to summarize the whole story. The Finkelstein and UnMuseum pieces, to pick only two, do that very nicely. For our purposes, this will suffice. As mentioned, the pamphlet purports to have been written by someone who has been given ciphers which lead to a buried treasure. The ciphers allegedly were written more than sixty years before by Beale, who was never seen or heard from again. A key was supposed to have been mailed after ten years, but never arrived.
Decades later, our author is brought into the matter and makes an important discovery: the key to Cipher No. 2 (as I'll call it) is the Declaration of Independence. By counting words in the Declaration and matching them against the code, the first letter of each word spells out a message, which is related in the pamphlet. Also set out most helpfully, so the reader can confirm the decryption, is a copy of the Declaration with the word counts indicated in parentheses. See Appendix. Not all of them, usually only every tenth word, but easy enough to follow. And, lo, the message does jump right out of the cipher, just as the author says. We must be on the right track!
Unfortunately, as the author explains, the same trick doesn't work with the other two ciphers. Meaning, really, the one telling where the treasure is buried. (Who cares, after all, to whom the treasure originally belonged, the subject of the third cipher?) Unfortunately, although Cipher No. 1 is identical in form to No. 2, applying it to the Declaration generates nothing but gibberish. But, doubtless we've hit on (been directed to) the right method. All we have to do now is find the right key text!
At this point, the analyses I've seen proceed in one of two directions. Either they move on to Cipher No. 1 and see what conclusions may be drawn; or they stay with Cipher No. 2 and try to figure out more about how it was written. I'm going down the latter path. It has long been recognized that No. 2 doesn't line up with the Declaration quite so neatly as the pamphlet suggests. Remington notes, for example, "The Beale version appears to have been a DOI [Declaration] that had been shortened to conform to some unknown editor's available space. Thus there are gaps of 10 or 11, and even 68, words where Beale's numbering fails to conform to the numbering of the standard DOI." For a detailed analysis of discrepancies between No. 2 and the Declaration, see NJM.
The discrepancy point is well taken, but, I submit, gets the problem backwards. There's no mystery about what form of the Declaration was used for No. 2. It's printed in the pamphlet. As noted above, a copy, with word counts, was included so the reader could follow how the cipher was broken. (Thus teaching how to decode No. 1 and find the treasure!) Moreover, for what it's worth, a careful reading of the pamphlet's Declaration against the standard version shows they match, except the pamphlet uses inalienable rather than unalienable, inserts a spurious "a" at position 155, and omits an "of" from a late passage not used for the cipher. Thus, the rogue non-standard Declaration upon which No. 2 is speculated to have been based is an illusion.
But, the discrepancies? Indeed, they are suggestive. To my mind, clinching proof of the hoax. Consider this. How did the pamphlet author decode No. 2? The numbers don't match the Declaration, of which his copy was substantially correct. Like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes classic, The Adventure of Silver Blaze, the answer is right in front of our noses. The reason Cipher No. 2 and the pamphlet's Declaration match up is that they use the same word counts. Stated a little differently, No. 2 works if, and only if, the pamphlet Declaration word counts are used.
It's that simple. A complete demonstration of the assertion follows, but before getting lost in the thicket, let's stop to consider what it means. Assume for a moment that the demonstration will be convincing. What follows? Obviously, that No. 2 was written with the pamphlet Declaration word counts in view. Well, yeah, but what follows from that? Nothing less than that No. 2 was not written by Beale.
As will be seen, there are more than 130 miscount errors between No. 2 and the Declaration. Of course Beale could have made mistakes counting words; indeed we would expect at least a few. For the same reason, it would be unsurprising for the pamphlet author (in a hoax scenario, presumably Ward) to have made mistakes interlineating word counts. In fact, as I note in the Appendix, there are six errors, cumulatively affecting over half the word counts (albeit words used less often in the cipher than correctly-counted words). Significantly, how far wrong a particular count is depends on where in the Declaration the word appears vis-a-vis the six counting errors. So, sure, Beale and the pamphlet author doubtless both made mistakes. It is improbable, though, to the point of impossibility, that they made the exact same mistakes.
Bear in mind that nothing in the early part of the story points to the Declaration. There are three letters, three ciphers and some useless receipts. Not even the original recipient of the materials thought of using the Declaration as a key. In fact, he appears not to have recognized the ciphers as book codes. It wasn't until the papers reached the pamphlet author that this insight occurred. Thus, the match between No. 2 and the word counts is conclusive proof that the pamphlet author wrote No. 2.
But, but, but ... What? Cipher No. 2 is "cooked" but maybe the rest of the story is true? Sure. And if you believe that, I've got a big orange bridge for sale.
Demonstration: Take Cipher No. 2, copied here from Remington. (SMD corrects without comment various widely-recognized typos. For details, see Remington. Here, typos are indicated by italics, pamphlet code on the left, apparently-intended code on the right.) Marked in bold are Declaration words miscounted in the pamphlet text, as indicated by my (easily confirmed) bracketed notes in the Appendix. As there demonstrated, the miscounts occur between 155 and 241, and all entries after 480.
115, 73, 24, 807, 37, 52, 49, 17, 31, 62, 647, 22, 7, 15, 140, 47, 29, 107, 79, 84, 56, 239, 10, 26, 811, 5, 196, 308, 85, 52, 160, 136, 59, 211, 36, 9, 46, 316, 554, 122, 106, 95*, 53, 58, 2, 42, 7, 35, 122, 53, 31, 82, 77, 250, 196, 56, 96, 118, 71, 140, 287, 28, 353, 37, 1005/994, 65, 147, 807, 24, 3, 8, 12, 47, 43, 59, 807, 45, 316, 101, 41, 78, 154, 1005/994, 122, 138, 191, 16, 77, 49, 102, 57, 72, 34, 73, 85, 35, 371, 59, 196, 81, 92, 191, 106, 273, 60, 394, 620, 270, 220, 106, 388, 287, 63, 3, 6, 191, 122, 43, 234, 400, 106, 290, 314, 47, 48, 81, 96, 26, 115, 92, 158, 191, 110, 77, 85, 197, 46, 10, 113, 140, 353, 48, 120, 106, 2, 607, 61, 420, 811, 29, 125, 14, 20, 37, 105, 28, 248, 16, 159, 7, 35, 19, 301, 125, 110, 486, 287, 98, 117, 511, 62, 51, 220, 37, 113, 140, 807, 138, 540, 8, 44, 287, 388, 117, 18, 79, 344, 34, 20, 59, 511, 548, 107, 603, 220, 7, 66, 154, 41, 20, 50, 6, 575, 122, 154, 248, 110, 61, 52, 33, 30, 5, 38, 8, 14, 84, 57, 540, 217, 115, 71, 29, 84/85, 63, 43, 131, 29, 138, 47, 73, 239, 540, 52, 53, 79, 118, 51, 44, 63, 196, 12, 239, 112, 3, 49, 79, 353, 105, 56, 371, 557, 211, 505, 125, 360, 133, 143, 101, 15, 284, 540, 252, 14, 205, 140, 344, 26, 811, 138, 115, 48, 73, 34, 205, 316, 607, 63, 220, 7, 52, 150, 44, 52, 16, 40, 37, 158, 807, 37, 121, 12, 95, 10, 15, 35, 12, 131, 62, 115, 102, 807, 49, 53, 135, 138, 30, 31, 62, 67, 41, 85, 63, 10, 106, 807, 138, 8, 113, 20, 32, 33, 37, 353, 287, 140, 47, 85, 50, 37, 49, 47, 64, 6, 7, 71, 33, 4, 43, 47, 63, 1, 27, 600, 208, 230, 15, 191, 246, 85, 94, 511, 2, 270, 20, 39, 7, 33, 44, 22, 40, 7, 10, 3, 811, 106, 44, 486, 230, 353, 211, 200, 31, 10, 38, 140, 297, 61, 603, 320, 302, 666, 287, 2, 44, 33, 32, 511, 548, 10, 6, 250, 557, 246, 53, 37, 52, 83, 47, 320, 38, 33, 807, 7, 44, 30, 31, 250, 10, 15, 35, 106, 160, 113, 31, 102, 406, 230, 540, 320, 29, 66, 33, 101, 807, 138, 301, 316, 353, 320, 220, 37, 52, 28, 540, 320, 33, 8, 48, 107, 50, 811, 7, 2, 113, 73, 16, 125, 11, 110, 67, 102, 807, 33, 59, 81, 158, 38, 43, 581, 138, 19, 85, 400, 38, 43, 77, 14, 27, 8, 47, 138, 63, 140, 44, 35, 22, 177, 106, 250, 314, 217, 2, 10, 7, 1005/994, 4, 20, 25, 44, 48, 7, 26, 46, 110, 230, 807, 191, 34, 112, 147, 44, 110, 121, 125, 96, 41, 51, 50, 140, 56, 47, 152, 540, 63, 807, 28, 42, 250, 138, 582, 98, 643, 32, 107, 140, 112, 26, 85, 138, 540, 53/54, 20, 125, 371, 38, 36, 10, 52, 118, 136, 102, 420, 150, 112, 71, 14, 20, 7, 24, 18, 12, 807, 37, 67, 110, 62, 33, 21, 95, 220, 511, 102, 811, 30, 83, 84, 305, 620, 15, 2, 108/10,8, 220, 106, 353, 105, 106, 60, 275, 72, 8, 50, 205, 185, 112, 125, 540, 65, 106, 807, 138, 96, 110, 16, 73, 33, 807, 150, 409, 400, 50, 154, 285, 96, 106, 316, 270, 205, 101, 811, 400, 8, 44, 37, 52, 40, 241, 34, 205, 38, 16, 46, 47, 85, 24, 44, 15, 64, 73, 188/138, 807, 85, 78, 110, 33, 420, 505, 53, 37, 38, 22, 31, 10, 110, 106, 101, 140, 15, 38, 3, 5, 44, 7, 98, 287, 135, 150, 96, 33, 84, 125, 807, 191, 96, 511, 118, 440/40, 370, 643, 466, 106, 41, 107, 603, 220, 275, 30, 150, 105, 49, 53, 287, 250, 208, 134, 7, 53, 12, 47, 85, 63, 138, 110, 21, 112, 140, 485, 486, 505, 14, 73, 84/85, 575, 1005/994, 150, 200, 16, 42, 5, 4, 25, 42, 8, 16, 811, 125, 160, 32, 205, 603, 807, 81, 96/95, 405, 41, 600, 136, 14, 20, 28, 26, 353, 302, 246, 8, 131, 160, 140, 84, 440, 42, 16, 811, 40, 67, 101, 102, 194, 138, 205, 51, 63, 241, 540, 122, 8, 10, 63, 140, 47, 48, 140, 288.
It turns out, then, that a minimum of 134 code entries (19.9% of 763 total) link to miscounts in the pamphlet Declaration. And I may have missed a few. (For an explanation of 95*, towards end of the second line, see after discussion of clear text, below.)
Now, rather than use a true word count of the Declaration -- and at least two online transcriptions, here and here, do so -- use the pamphlet copy and follow the pamphlet word counts (see Appendix). You get the following:
I 115 HAVE 73 24 807 37 DEPOSITED 52 49 17 31 62 647 22 7 15 IN 140 47 THE 29 107 79 COUNTY 84 56 239 10 26 811 OF 5 196 BEDFORD 308 85 52 160 136 59 211 ABOUT 36 9 46 316 554 FO[U]R 122 106 95* 53 MILES 58 2 42 7 35 FROM 122 53 31 82 BUFORDS 77 250 196 56 96 118 71 IN 140 287 AN 28 353 E[X]CAVATION 37 1005/994 65 147 807 24 3 8 12 47 OR 43 59 VAULT 807 45 316 101 41 SI[X] 78 154 1005/994 FEET 122 138 191 16 BELOW 77 49 102 57 72 THE 34 73 85 SURFACE 35 371 59 196 81 92 191 OF 106 273 THE 60 394 620 GROUND 270 220 106 388 287 63 THE 3 6 191 FOLLOWING 122 43 234 400 106 290 314 47 48 ARTICLES 81 96 26 115 92 158 191 110 BELONGING 77 85 197 46 10 113 140 353 48 JOINTLY 120 106 2 607 61 420 811 TO 29 125 THE 14 20 37 PARTIES 105 28 248 16 159 7 35 WHOSE 19 301 125 110 486 NAMES 287 98 117 511 62 ARE 51 220 37 GIVEN 113 140 807 138 540 IN 8 44 NUMBER 287 388 117 18 79 344 THREE 34 20 59 511 548 HEREWITH 107 603 220 7 66 154 41 20. THE 50 6 575 FIRST 122 154 248 110 61 DEPOSIT 52 33 30 5 38 8 14 CONSIST[E]D 84 57 540 217 115 71 29 84/85 63 OF 43 131 TEN 29 138 47 HUNDRED 73 239 540 52 53 79 118 AND 51 44 63 FOURTEEN 196 12 239 112 3 49 79 353 POUNDS 105 56 371 557 211 505 OF 125 360 GOLD 133 143 101 15 AND 284 540 252 THIRTY 14 205 140 344 26 811 EIGHT 138 115 48 73 34 HUNDRED 205 316 607 63 220 7 52 AND 150 44 52 TWELVE 16 40 37 158 807 37 POUNDS 121 12 95 10 15 35 OF 12 131 SILVER 62 115 102 807 49 53 DEPOSITED 135 138 30 31 62 67 41 85 63 NOV EIGHTEEN 10 106 807 138 8 113 20 32 33 37 353 NINETEEN 287 140 47 85 50 37 49 47. THE 64 6 7 SECOND 71 33 4 43 47 63 WAS 1 27 600 MADE 208 230 15 191 DEC 246 85 94 EIGHTEEN 511 2 270 20 39 7 33 44 TWENTY 22 40 7 10 3 811 ONE 106 44 486 AND 230 353 211 CONSISTED 200 31 10 38 140 297 61 603 320 OF 302 666 NINETEEN 287 2 44 33 32 511 548 10 HUNDRED 6 250 557 246 53 37 52 AND 83 47 320 SEVEN 38 33 807 7 44 POUNDS 30 31 250 10 15 35 OF 106 160 GOLD 113 31 102 406 AND 230 540 320 TWELVE 29 66 33 101 807 138 HUNDRED 301 316 353 320 220 37 52 AND 28 540 320 EIGHTY 33 8 48 107 50 811 EIGHT 7 2 113 73 16 OF 125 11 SILVER 110 67 102 807 33 59, ALSO 81 158 38 43 JEWELS 581 138 19 85 400 38 OBTAINED 43 77 14 27 8 47 138 63 IN 140 44 ST. 35 22 LOUIS 177 106 250 314 217 IN 2 10 E[X]CHANGE 7 1005/994 4 20 25 44 48 7 TO 26 46 SAVE 110 230 807 191 TRANSPORTATION 34 112 147 44 110 121 125 96 41 51 50 140 56 47 AND 152 540 63VALUED 807 28 42 250 138 582 AT 98 643 THIRTEEN 32 107 140 112 26 85 138 540 [T]HOUSAND 53/54 20 125 371 38 36 10 52 DOLLARS118 136 102 420 150 112 71. THE 14 20 7 ABOVE 24 18 12 807 37 IS 67 110 SECURELY 62 33 21 95 220 511 102 811 PACKED 30 83 84 305 620 15 I[N] 2 108/10 [I]RON 108/8 220 106 353 POTS 105 106 60 275 WITH 72 8 50 205 IRON 185 112 125 540 COVERS65 106 807 138 96 110. THE 16 73 33 VAULT 807 150 409 400 50 IS 154 285 ROUGHLY 96 106 316 270 205 101 811 LINED 400 8 44 37 52 WITH 40 241 34 205 STONE 38 16 46 47 85 AND 24 44 15 TH[E] 64 73 188/138 VESSELS 807 85 78 110 33 420 505 REST 53 37 38 22 ON 31 10 SOLID 110 106 101 140 15 STONE 38 3 5 44 7 AND 98 287 135 ARE 150 96 33 COVERED 84 125 807 191 96 511 118 [W]ITH 440/40 370 643 466 OTHERS 106 41 107 603 220 275. PAPER 30 150 105 49 53 NUMBER 287 250 208 134 7 53 ONE 12 47 85 DESCRIBES 63 138 110 21 112 140 485 486 505 TH[E] 14 73 84/85 E[X]ACT 575 1005/994 150 200 16 LOCALITY 42 5 4 25 42 8 16 811 OF 125 160 THE 32 205 603 VA[U]LT 807 81 96/95 405 41 SO 600 136 THAT 14 20 28 26 NO 353 302 DIFFICULTY 246 8 131 160 140 84 440 42 16 811 WILL 40 67 101 102 BE 194 138 HAD 205 51 63 IN 241 540 FINDING 122 8 10 63 140 47 48 IT 140 288.
Which, in turn, reduces to the following clear text message (cf. Remington). Text achieved by correcting cipher code typos (see above) is indicated by brackets.
I have deposited in the county of Bedford about fo[u]r miles from Bufords in an e[x]cavation or vault si[x] feet below the surface of the ground the following articles belonging jointly to the parties whose names are given in number three herewith. The first deposit consist[e]d of ten hundred and fourteen pounds of gold and thirty eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver deposited Nov eighteen nineteen. The second was made Dec eighteen twenty one and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold and twelve hundred and eighty eight of silver, also jewels obtained in St. Louis in e[x]change to save transportation and valued at thirteen [t]housand dollars. The above is securely packed i[n] [i]ron pots with iron cov[e]rs. The vault is roughly lined with stone and th[e] vessels rest on solid stone and are covered [w]ith others. Paper number one describes th[e] e[x]act locality of the va[u]lt so that no difficulty will be had in finding it.
Thus, with one exception that appears four times (1005 for "x"), every one of the bold code miscounts "maps" correctly to the clear text message. By contrast, the rest of the cipher has ten errors, half of them typesetting mistakes and the remainder arising by having picked a cipher code adjacent to the one intended).
[Aside: It's amusing to note that using the pamphlet Declaration introduces a typo not generally found in the Beale literature. The "u" in "four" is indicated by code 95, which in the standard Declaration is correct. The pamphlet, though, has inalienable. I infer that the typesetter introduced this "error" -- which hearkens back to a classic Jefferson-Adams debate over which word to use - since the pamphlet's decrypted message has "u".]
[Aside 2: How did the pamphlet author know 1005 was supposed to be "x"? How did he know the corrections for the other five mistakenly-selected codes? (The typesetting errors pose no such question, of course, since they arose later.) This convenient clairvoyance isn't proof positive the author already had the clear text in front of him, but it's more than a little suggestive. Moreover, if he had to struggle for the decryption, you'd expect him to mention it, if only as a caution to his readers of the pitfalls that might lie ahead.]
[Aside 3: Arguably, for the reason noted in the preceding paragraph, my analysis perhaps should have first extracted the clear text, then resolved the typos and ended with the overlay of miscounts. I've proceeded this way because the typos are already well known and the other approach would have taken a good deal more space to present.]
To circle up, what this analysis shows is that, due to six separate counting errors, more than 130 code references in Cipher No. 2 are wrong when compared to a true word count of the Declaration. Yet, when the pamphlet word counts are used, the cipher resolves correctly to the message indicated. In other words, No. 2 works if, and only if, the pamphlet Declaration word counts are used. From which it follows, for reasons discussed above, that No. 2 was written by the pamphlet author.
Appendix
Beale Papers Pamphlet Declaration Text
With Word Counts, and Miscounts Noted
[The basis for this appendix is the SMD transcription. The Declaration text commences on p.17 of the pamphlet; subsequent page breaks are indicated in brackets.]
[Note: Text in brackets has been added to point out word count errors. In all, there are six miscounts (the second of which, at 250, happens to restore the accurate count, for a while), cumulatively affecting well over half the counts. However, the overwhelming majority of Cipher No. 2 was drawn from the accurate word counts, so the errors aren't as obvious as might be expected.]
Declaration Of Independence.
When (1), in (2) the (3) course (4) of (5) human (6) events (7) it (8) becomes (9) necessary (10) for one people to dissolve the political bands which have (20) connected them with another, and to assume among the powers (30) of the earth, the separate and equal station to which (40) the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, (50) a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that (60) they should declare the causes which impel them to the (70) separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that (80) all men are created equal: that they are endowed by (90) their Creator with certain inalienable rights: that among these are (100) life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure (110) their rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just (120) powers from the consent of the governed; that when any (130) form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is (140) the right of the people to alter or to abolish (150) it, and to institute a [sic] new government, laying its foundation (160) [because of the spurious "a," should be 159] on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, (170) [169] as to them shall seem most likely to effect their (180) [179] safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long (190) [189] established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; (200) [199] and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are now (210) [209.] disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right (220) [219] themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. (230) [229] But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing (240) [239] invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under (250) [now correct, by miscount in the other direction] absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, (260) to throw off such government, and to provide new guards (270) for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance (280) of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which (290) constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The (300) history of the present King of [p.18] Great Britain is a (310) history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct (320) object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. (330) To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid (340) world.
He has refused his assent to laws the most (350) wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden (360) his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, (370) unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be(380) obtained; and when so suspended he has utterly neglected to (390) attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws (400) for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those (410) people would relinquish their right of representation in the legislature, (420) a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. (430)
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable (440) and distant from the depository of their public records, for (450) the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his (460) measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing with (470) manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. (480)
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, (480) [glaring error; should be 490] to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, (490) [500] incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large (500) [510] for their exercise, the State remaining, in the meantime, (510) [should be 509/519] exposed to all the danger of invasion from without, and (520) [519/529] convulsions within.
[Note: All counts from this point on are in error. Only additional miscounts will be noted.]
He has endeavored to prevent the population of (530) these States, for that purpose, obstructing the laws of naturalization (540) of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration (550) hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. (560)
He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his (570) assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made (580) judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of(590) their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. (600)
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent (610) hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat (620) out their substance.
He has kept among us in times (630) of peace standing armies, without the consent of our legislature.
He (640) [should be 641/650] has offered to render the military independent of and superior (650) to the civil power.
He has combined with others to (660) subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and (670) unacknowledged by our laws, giving his assent to their acts of (680) [should be 681/691] pretended legislation.
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among (690) us;
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment, (700) for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants (710) of these States;
For cutting off our trade with all (720) parts of the world;
For imposing taxes on us without (730) our consent;
For depriving us, in many cases, of the (740) benefits of trial by jury;
For transporting us beyond seas (750) to be tried for pretended offenses;
[p.19] For abolishing the free (760) system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein (770) an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to (780) render it, at once, an example and fit instrument for (790) introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies;
For taking (800) away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws and altering (810) fundamentally, (811) the(812) powers (813) of (814) our (815) governments; (816)
Note: Valuable (807) for "v" and fundamentally (811) for "y" are two common elements of Cipher No. 2. By a correct count, they should be 818 and 822, respectively.]
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases, whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
[Note: The letter "x" is coded four times in Cipher No. 2, always as 1005. Probably this was intended to be a reference to "sexes" in the preceding paragraph, though it is actually word 994 of the text, 983 counted from the last indicated word count, 816 above. The only alternative is "extend," two paragraphs later, at true-count position 1073, 1062 counted from 816.]
In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connection and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and [of] [sic] consanguinity.
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war--in peace, friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved, and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude [p.20] peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
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