then it was that they quarrelled with the old taxes, as well as the new; then it was, and not till then, that they queftioned all the parts of your legislative power; and by the battery of fuch queftions have fhaken the folid ftructure of this Empire to its deepest foundations, Of thefe two propofitions I fhall, before I have done, give fuch convincing, fuch damning proofs, that however the contrary may be whispered in circles, or bawled in news-papers, they never more will dare to raife their voices in this Houfe. I fpeak with great confidence. I have reafon for it. The Minifters are with me. They at last are convinced that the repeal of the Stamp Act had rot, and that no repeal can have, the confequences which the Hon, Gentleman who defends their measures is fo much alarmed at. To their conduct I refer him for a conclufive answer to his objection. I carry my proof irrefiftibly into the very body of both Miniftry and Parliament; not on any general reafoning growing out of collateral matter, but on the conduct of the Hon. Gentleman's minifterial friends on the new revenue itself. The Act of 1757, which grants this tea duty, fets forth in its preamble, that it was expedient to raise a revenue in America, for the support of the civil government there as well as for purpofes ftill more extenfive. To this fupport the act affigns fix branches of duties. About two years after this Act paffed, the Ministry, I mean the prefent Miniflry, thought it expedient to repeal five of the duties, and to leave (for reafons best known to themselves) only the fixth ftanding. Suppofe any perfon, at the time of that repeal, had thus addreffed the Minifler *, " Condemn ing, as you do, the repeal of the Stamp At, why do you venture to repeal the duties upon glafs, paper, and painters colours? Let your pretence for the repeal be what it will,are you not thoroughly convinced, that your conceffions will produce, not fatisfaction, but infolence in the Americans; and that the giving up thefe taxes will neceffitate the giving up of all the reft?" This objection was palpable then as it is now; and it was as good for preferving the five duties as for retaining the fixth. Befides, the Minister will recollect, that the repeal NOTE. Lord North, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. of the Stamp act had but just preceded his repeal; and the ill policy of that meafure (had it been fo impolitic as it has been represented), and the mifchiefs it produced, were quite recent. Upon the principles therefore of the Hon. Gentleman, upon the principles of the Minister himfelf, the Minifter has nothing at all to answer. He ftands condemned by himself, and by all his affociates old and new, as a destroyer, in the first trust of finance, of the revenues; and in the first rank of honour, as a betrayer of the dignity of his Country. Moit men, efpecially great men, do not always know their well-wishers. I come to refcue that Noble Lord out of the hands of thofe he calls his friends, and even out of his own. I will do hini the juffice, he is denied at home. He has not been this wicked or imprudent man. He knew that a repeal had no tendency to produce the mischiefs which gave fo much alarm to his Honourable friend. His work was not bad in its. principle, but imperfect in its execution; and the motion on your paper preffes hin only to complete a proper plan, which by fome unfortunate and unaccountable ertor, he had left unfinished. I hope, Sir, the Hon. Gentleman who fpoke laft is thoroughly fatisfied, and fatisfied out of the proceedings of Miniftry on their own favourite Act, that his rears from a repeal are groundless. If he is not, I leave him, and the Noble Lord who fits by him, to fettle the matter, as well as they can, together; for if the repeal of American taxes deftroys ail our government in America-He is the man!-and he is the worst of all the repealers, becaufe he is the laft. But I hear it rung continually in my ears, now and formerly," the Preamble! what will become of the Preamble, if you repeat this Tax?"-I am forry to be compelled fo often to expofe the calamities and difgraces of Parliament. The preamble of this law, standing as it now ftands, has the lie direct given to it by the provisionary part of the Act: if that can be called provifionary which makes no provifion. I thould be afraid to exprefs myfelf in this manner, especially in the face of fuch a formidable array of ability as is now drawn up before me, compofed of the ancient houfhold troops of that fide of the House, and the news recruits from this, if the matter was not clear and indifputable. Nothing but truth could give me this firmness; but plain plain truth and clear evidence can be beat down by no ability. The Clerk will be fo good as to turn to the Act, and to read this favourite preamble. Whereas it is expedient that a revenue fhould be raised in your Majefty's Dominions in America, for making a more certain and adequate provision for defraying the charge of the adminiftration of justice, and fupport of civil government, in fuch Provinces where it jħall be found neceffary; and towards further defraying the expences of defending, protecting, and fecuring the faid dominions. You have heard this pompous perform ance. Now where is the revenue which is to do all these mighty things? Five fixths repealed-abandoned-funk--gone -loft for ever. Does the poor folitary tea duty fupport the purposes of this pream ble? Is not the supply there ftated as effectually abandoned as if the tea duty had perifhed in the general wreck? Here, Mr. Speaker, is a precious mockery a preamble without an act-taxes granted in order to be repealed-and the reaTons of the grant fill carefully kept up! This is railing a revenue in America! This is preferving dignity in England! If you repeal this tax in compliance with the motion, I readily admit that you lofe this fair preamble. Eftimate your lofs in it. The object of the act is gone already; and all you fuffer is the purging the Statute-book of the opprobrium of an empty, abfurd, and falfe recital. It has been faid again and again, that the five Taxes were repealed on commercial principles. It is fo faid in the paper in my hand; a paper which I conftantly carry about; which I have often ufed, and fhall often ufe again. What is got by this paltry pretence of commercial principles I know not; for, if your government in America is deftroyed by the repeal of Taxes, it is of no confequence upon what ideas the repeal is grounded. Repeal this Tax too upon commercial principles if you pleafe. Thefe principles will ferve as well now as they did formerly. But you know that, either your Objection to a repeal from thefe fuppofed confequences have no validity, or that this pretence never could remove it. This commercial motive never was believed by any man, either in NOTE, Lord Hillsborough's Circular Letter to the Governors of the Colonies concerning the repeal of fome of the duties laid in the Act of 1767. America, which this letter is meant to footh, or in England, which it is meant to deceive. It was` impoffible it should. Because every man, in the least acquainted with the detail of Commerce, must know, that feveral of the articles on which the Tax was repealed were fitter objects of Duties than almost any other articles that could be poffibly chofen; without comparison more fo, than the Tea that was left taxed; as infinitely less liable to be eluded by contraband. The Tax upon Red and White Lead was of this nature. You have, in this kingdom, an advantage in Lead, that amounts to a monopoly. When you find yourself in this fituation of advantage, you fometimes venture to tax even your own export. You did fo, foon after the laft war; when, upon this principle, you ventured to impofe a duty on Coals. In all the articles of American contraband trade who ever heard of the fmuggling of Red Lead or White Lead? You might, therefore, well enough, without danger of contraband, and without inju ry to commerce (if this were the whole confideration) have taxed these commodities. The fame may be faid of Glass. Befides fome of the things taxed were fo trivial that the lofs of the objects themfelves and their utter annihilation out of American commerce, would have been comparatively as nothing. But is the article of Tea fuch an object in the Trade of England, as not to be felt, or felt but flightly, like White Lead, and Red Lead, and Painters Colours? Tea is an object of far other importance. Tea is perhaps the most important object, taking it with its neceflary connexions, of any in the mighty circle of our Commerce. If commercial principles had been the true motives of the repeal, or had they been at all attended to, Tea would have been the laft article we should have left taxed for a fubject of controverfy. Sir, it is not a pleasant confideration; but nothing in the world can read fo awful and fo inftructive a leffon, as the conduct of Miniftry in this business, upon the mifchief of not having large and liberal ideas in the management of great affairs. Never have the fervants of the ftate looked at the whole of your complicated interefts in one connected view. They have taken things, by bits and fcraps, fome at one time and one pretence, and fome at another, juft as they preffed, without any fort of regard to their relations or dependencies. They never had any any kind of fyftem, right or wrong; but only invented occafionally fome miferable tale for the day, in order meanly tofneak out of difficulties, into which they had proudly firutted. And they were put to all thefe fhifts and devices, full of meannefs and full of mifchief, in order to pilfer piecemeal a repeal of an act, which they had not the generous courage, when they found and felt their error, honourably and fairly to difclaim. By fuch management, by the irrefiftible operation of Techie councils, fo paltry a fum as threepence in the eyes of a financier, fo infigcant an article as tea in the eyes of a philofopher, have faken the pillars of a CommercialEmpire that circled the whole globe. Do you forget that, in the very laft ly that has loft you at once the benefit of the Weft and of the Eaft. This folly has thrown open doors to contraband; and will be the means of giving the profits of the trade of your colonies to every nation but yourfelves. Never did a people fuffer fo much for the empty words of a preamble. 1t me be given up. For on what principle does it fland? This famous revenue itands, at this hour, on all the debate, as a defcription of revenue not as yet known in all the comprehenfive (but too on prehenfive) vocabularly of nance-a preambulary tax. It is indeed a tax of fophitry, a tax of pedantry, a tax of difputation, a tax of war and rebellion, a tax for any thing but benefit to the impofers, or fatisfaction to the subject. Well but whatever it is, gentlemen will force the Colon:fts to take the Tcas. You will force them; has feven years ftruggle been yet able to force them? O but it seems we are in the right.-The tax is trifling-in effect it is rather an exoneration than an impofition; threefourth of the duty formerly payable on teas exported to America are taken off; the place of collection is only. fhifted; instead of the retention of a fhilling from the draw-back here, it is three pence custom paid in America.” All this, Sir, is very true. But this is the very folly and mifchief of the act. Incredible as it may feem, you know, that you have deliberately thrown away a large duty which you held fecure and quiet in your hands, for the vain hope of getting three fourths lefs, through every hazard, through certain litigation, and poffibly through war. The manner of proceeding in the duties on paper and glass, impofed by the fame act, was exactly in the fame fpirit. There are heavy excifes on thofe articles when used in England. On export thefe excifes are drawn back, but inflead of withholding the drawback, which might have been done, with ease, without charge, without poffibility of muggling. and inftead of applying the money (money already in your hands) according to your pleasure, you began your operations in financ. by flinging away your revenue; you allowed the whole drawback on export, and then you charged the duty, (which you had before discharged,) payable in the Colonies; where it was certain the collection would devour it to the bone; if any revenue were ever fuffered to be collected at all. One fpi N rit rit pervades and animates the whole mafs. Could any thing be a fubject of more juf alarm to America, than to fee you go out of the plain high road of finance, and give up your molt certain revenues and your cleareft interefts, merely for the fake of infulting your Colonies? No man ever doubted that the commodity of tea could bear an imposition of threepence. But no commodity will bear three-pence, or will bear a penny, when the general feelings of men are irritated, and two millions of people are refolved not to pay. The feelings of the Colonies were formerly the feelings of Great Britain. Theirs were formerly the feelings of Mr. Hampden, when called upon for the payment of twenty fhillings. Would twenty fhillings have ruined Mr. Hampden's fortune? No! but the payment of half twenty fhillings, on the principle it was demanded, would have made him a flave. It is the weight of that preamble, of which you are fo fond, and not the weight of duty, that the Americans are unable and unwilling to bear. It is then, Sir, upon the principle of this measure, and nothing elfe, that we are at iffue. It is a principle of political expediency. Your act of 1767 afferts, that it is expedient to raise a revenue in America; your act of 1769, which takes away that revenue, contrádicts the act of 1767; and, by fomething much stronger than words, afferts, that it is not expedient. It is a reflection upon your wisdom to perfift in a folemn parliamentary declaration of the expediency of any object, for which, at the fame time, you make no fort of provifi on. And pray, Sir, let not this circumftance escape you; it is very material; that the preamble of this act, which we wish to repeal, is not declaratory of right, as fome gentlemen feem to argue it; it is only a recital of the expediency of a certain exercife of a right fuppofed already to have been afferted; an exercife you are now contending for by ways and means, which you confefs, though they were obeyed, to be utter ly infufficient for their purpose. You are therefore at this moment in the aukward fituation of fighting for a phantom; a quidity; a thing that wants not only a fubftance, but even a name; for á thing, which is neither abftract right, por profitable enjoyment. They tell you, Sir, that your dignity is tied to it. I know not how it happens, but this dignity of yours is a terrible incumbrance to you; for it has of late been ever at war with your interest, your equity, and every idea of your policy. Show the thing you contend for to be reafon; fhow it to be common fenfe; how it to be the means of attaining fome ufeful end; and then I am content to allow it what dignity you pleafe. But what dignity is derived from the perfeverance in abfurdity is more than ever I could difcern. The Hon. Gentleman has faid well-indeed, in the most of his general obfervations I agree with him -he fays, that this fubject does not stand as it did formerly. Oh, certainly not! every hour you continue on this ill chofen ground, your difficulties thicken on you; and therefore my conclufion is, remove from a bad pofition as quickly as you can. The difgrace, and the neceffity of yielding, both of them, grow upon you every hour of your delay. But will you repeal the act, fays the Hon. Gentleman, at this inftant when America is in open refiftance to your authority, and that you have juft revived your fyftem of taxation? He thinks he has driven us into a corner. But thus pent up, I am content to meet him; because I enter the lifts fupported by my old authority, his new friends the minifters themselves. The Hon. Gentleman remembers, that above five years ago as great difturbances as the prefent prevailed in America on account of the new taxes. The minifters reprefented thefe difturbances as treasonable; and this Houfe thought proper, on that reprefentation, to niake a famous addrefs for a revival, and for a new application of a ftatute of Hen. VIII. We befought the King, in that wellconfidered addrefs, to inquire into treafons, and bring the fuppofed traitors from America to Great Britain for trial. His Majefty was pleafed gracioufly to promife a compliance with our requeft. All the attempts from this fide of the Houfe to refift thefe violences, and to bring about a repeal, were treated with the utmoft fcorn. An apprehenfion of the very confequences now itated by the Hon. Gentleman was then given as a reafon for fhutting the door against all hope of fuch an alteration. And fo ftrong was the fpirit for fupporting the new taxes, that the feffion concluded with the following remarkable declaration. After ftating the vigorous measures measures which had been purfued, the Speech from the throne proceeds: You have affured me of your firm fupport in the profecution of them. Nothing, in my opinion, could be more likely to enable the well-difpofed among my jubjects in that part of the world effectually to difcourage and defeat the defigns of the falli cus and feditious, than the hearty concurrence of every branch of the Legislature, in maintaining the execution of the laws in every part of my dominions. After this no man dreamt that a repeal under this miniftry could poffibly take place. The Hon. Gentleman knows as well as I, that the idea was utterly exploded by those who fway the House, This Speech was made on the ninth day of May, 1769. Five days after this Speech, that is, on the 13th of the fame month, the public circular letter, a part of which I am going to read to you, was written by Lord Hillsborough, Secretary, of State for the Colonies. After reciting the fubitance of the king's Speech, he goes on thus.: "I can take upon me to assure you, notwithstanding infinuations to the contrary, from men with factious and feditious views, that bis Majefy's prefent adminiftration have at no time entertained a defign to propofe to parliament to lay any further taxes upon America, for the purpose of RAISING A REVENUE; and that it is at prefent their intention to propofe the next Seffion of Parliament, to take off the duties upon glass, paper, and colours, upon confideration of Juch duties having been laid contrary to the true principles of Commerce. Peer relative to the repeal of taxes by this Houfe. I pafs by the ufe of the King's name in a matter of fupply, that facred and referved right of the Commons. I conceal the ridiculous figure of Parliament, hurling its thunders at the gigantic rebellion of America; and then, ve days after, proftrate at the feet of thofe aflemblies we affected to defpife; begging them, by the Intervention of our minifterial fureties, to receive our fubmiffion; and heartily promifing amendment. Thefe might have been ferious matters formerly; but we are grown wifer than our fathers. Paffing, therefore, from the constitutional confideration to the mere policy, does not this Letter imply, that the idea of taxing America for the purpose of revenue is an abominable project; when the Miniftry fuppofe none but factious men, and with feditious views, could charge them with it does not this letter adopt and fanctify the American diftinction of taxing for a revenue? does it not formally reject all future taxation on that principle? does it not state the ministerial rejection of fuch principle of taxation, not as the occafional, but the conftant opinion of the King's fervants? does it not fay (I care not how confiftently,) but does it not fay, that their conduct with regard to America, has been always governed by this policy? It goes a great deal further. Thefe excellent and trully fervants of the King, juftly fearful left they themselves fhould have lost all credit with the world, bring out the image of their gracious Sovereign from the inmoft and molt facred fhrine, and they pawn him, as a fecurity for their promi His Majefy relies on your pru-, dence and fidelity for fuch an explanation of his measures." Thefe fentiments of the minuter, and these measures of his Majetty, can only relate to the principle and practice of taxing for a reve nue; and accordingly Lord Botetourt, ftating it as fuch, did with great propriety, and in the exact fpirit of his in Thefe have always been, and fill are, the fentiments of his Majesty's pre-les.' fent fervants, and by which their conduct is refpect to America has been governed. And his Majesty relies upon your prudence and fidelity for fuch an explanation of his measures, as may tend to remove the prejudices which have been excited by the mifrepresentations of those who are enemies to the peace and profperity of Great Britain and her Colonies; and to re-establish that mutual confidence and affection, upon which the glory and safety of the Bri tif empire depend." Here, Sir, is a canonical book of minifterial fcripture; the general epifle to the Americans. What does the gentleman fay to it? Here a repeal is promifed; promised without condition and while your authority was actually refiited. I pafs by the public promife of a ructions, endeavour to remove the fears of the Virginian affembly, left the fentiments, which it feems (unknown to the world) had always been thofe of the Minifters, and by which their conduct in reSpect to America had been governed, fhould by fome poffible revolution, favourable to wicked American taxers, be hereafter counteracted. He addreffes them in this manner: It may poffibly be objected, that as bis N 2 |