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refting in a prudent inactivity, or (what would have been still more prudent) taking the lead, in quieting the minds of the people, and ascertaining the law upon thofe delicate points, made use of the whole influence of government to prevent a par liamentary refolution against these practices of office. And left the colourable reafons, offered in argument againft this parliamentary procedure, fhould be mistaken for the real motives of their conduct, all the advantage of privilege, all the arts and fineffes of pleading, and great fums of publick money were lavished, to prevent any decifion upon thofe practices in the courts of juftice. In the mean time, in order to weaken, fince they could not immediately deftroy, the liberty of the prefs, the privilege of parliament was voted away in all accufations for a feditious libel. The freedom of debate in parliament itself was no lefs menaced. Officers of the army, of long and meritorious fervice, and of fmall fortunes, were chofen as victims for a fingle vote, by an exertion of minifterial power, which had been very rarely used, and which is extremely unjuft, as depriving men not only of a place, but a profeffion, and is indeed of the moft pernicious example both in a civil and a military light.

Whilft all things were managed at home with fuch a spirit of diforderly defpotifm; abroad there was a proportionable abatement of all fpirit. Some

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of our most juft and valuable claims were in a manner abandoned. This indeed feemed not very inconfiftent conduct in the minifters who had made the treaty of Paris. With regard to our domeftick affairs, there was no want of industry; but there was a great deficiency of temper and judgment, and manly comprehenfion of the publick intereft. The nation certainly wanted relief, and government attempted to administer it. Two ways were principally chofen for this great purpose. The firft by regulation; the fecond by new funds of revenue. Agreeably to this plan, a new naval eftablishment was formed at a good deal of expence, and to little effect, to aid in the collection of the customs. Regulation was added to regulation; and the ftricteft and moft unreferved orders were given, for a prevention of all contraband trade here, and in every part of America. A teafing cuftom-houfe, and a multiplicity of perplexing regulations, ever have, and ever will appear, the mafter-piece of finance to people of narrow views; as a paper against smuggling, and the importation of French finery, never fails of furnifhing a very popular column in a newfpaper.

The greateft part of thefe regulations were made for America; and they fell fo indifcriminately on all forts of contraband, or fuppofed contraband, that fome of the moft valuable branches of trade were driven violently from violently from our ports; which

caufed

caufed an univerfal confternation throughout the colonies. Every part of the trade was infinitely' diftreffed by them. Men of war now for the first time, armed with regular commiffions of cuftomhoufe officers, invefted the coafts, and gave to the collection of revenue the air of hoftile contribution. About the fame time that these regulations feemed to threaten the deftruction of the only trade from whence the plantations derived any fpecie, an act was made, putting a ftop to the future emiffion of paper currency, which used to supply its place among them. Hand in hand with this went another act, for obliging the colonies to provide quarters for foldiers. Inftantly followed another law, for levying throughout all America new port duties, upon a vast variety of commodities of their confumption, and fome of which lay heavy upon objects neceffary for their trade and fishery. Immediately upon the heels of thefe, and amidst the uneafinefs and confufion produced by a crowd of new impofitions and regulations, fome good, fome evil, fome doubtful, all crude and ill-confidered, came another act, for impofing an univerfal ftamp duty on the colonies; and this was declared to be little more than an experiment, and a foundation of future revenue. To render thefe proceedings the more irritating to the colonies, the principal argument ufed in favour of their ability to pay fuch duties was the liberality of the

grants

grants of their affemblies during the late war. Never could any argument be more infulting and mortifying to a people habituated to the granting of their own money.

Taxes for the purpose of raifing revenue had hitherto been fparingly attempted in America. Without ever doubting the extent of its lawful power, parliament always doubted the propriety of fuch impofitions. And the Americans on their part never thought of contefting a right by which they were fo little affected. Their affemblies in the main answered all the purposes neceffary to the internal œconomy of a free people, and provided for all the exigencies of government which arofe amongst themselves. In the midft of that. happy enjoyment, they never thought of critically fettling the exact limits of a power, which was neceffary to their union, their fafety, their equality, and even their liberty. Thus the two very difficult points, fuperiority in the prefiding state, and freedom in the fubordinate, were on the whole fufficiently, that is, practically, reconciled; without agitating those vexatious questions, which in truth rather belong to metaphyficks than politicks, and which can never be moved without fhaking the foundations of the beft governments that have ever been constituted by human wisdom. By this measure was let loofe that dangerous fpirit of difquifition, not in the coolness of philofophical in

quiry, but inflamed with all the paffions of an haughty refentful people, who thought themselves deeply injured, and that they were contending for every thing that was valuable in the world.

In England, our minifters went on without the leaft attention to thefe alarming difpofitions; juft as if they were doing the moft common things in the moft ufual way, and among a people not only paffive but pleafed. They took no one step to divert the dangerous spirit which began even then toappear in the colonies, to compromife with it, to mollify it, or to fubdue it. No new arrangements were made in civil government; no new powers or inftructions were given to governours; no augmentation was made, or new difpofition, of forces. Never was fo critical a measure pursued with so little provifion against its neceffary confequences. As if all common prudence had abandoned the minifters, and as if they meant to plunge themfelves and us headlong into that gulph which ftood gaping before them; by giving a year's notice of the project of their stamp-act, they allowed time for all the difcontents of that country to fefter and come to a head, and for all the arrangements which factious men could make towards an oppofition to the law. At the fame time they carefully concealed from the eye of parliament thofe remonftrances which they had actually received; and which in the strongest manner indicated the

difcontent

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