Our trade felt this to its vitals; and our then minifters were not afhamed to fay, that they fympathized with the feelings of our merchants. The univerfal alarm of the whole trading body of England will never be laughed at by them as an illgrounded or a pretended panick. The univerfal defire of that body will always have great weight with them in every confideration connected with commerce; neither ought the opinion of that body to be flighted (notwithstanding the contemptuous and indecent language of this author and his affociates) in any confideration whatsoever of revenue. Nothing amongst us is more quickly or deeply affected by taxes of any kind than trade; and if an American tax was a real relief to England, no part of the community would be fooner, or more materially relieved by it than our merchants. But they well know that the trade of England must be more burthened by one penny raised in America, than by three in England; and if that penny be raised with the uneafinefs, the difcontent, and the confufion of America, more than by ten.

If the opinion and wifh of the landed interest is a motive, and it is a fair and just one, for taking away a real and large revenue, the defire of the trading intereft of England, ought to be a juft ground for taking away a tax, of little better than fpeculation, which was to be collected by a war, which was to be kept up with the perpetual dif VOL. II. M

content

content of those who were to be affected by it, and the value of whofe produce, even after the ordinary charges of collection, was very uncertain*; after the extraordinary, the dearest purchased revenue that ever was made by any nation.

Thefe were fome of the motives drawn from principles of convenience for that repeal. When the object came to be more narrowly infpected, every motive concurred. Thefe colonies were evidently founded in fubfervience to the commerce of Great Britain. From this principle, the whole fyftem of our laws concerning them became a fyftem of restriction. A double monopoly was ef tablished on the part of the parent country; 1. A monopoly of their whole import, which is to be altogether from Great Britain; 2. A monopoly of all their export, which is to be no where but to Great Britain, as far as it can ferve any purpofe here. On the fame idea it was contrived that they fhould fend all their products to us raw, and in their first state; and that they should take every thing from us in the laft ftage of manufacture.

Were ever a people under fuch circumftances,

It is obfervable, that the partifans of American taxation, when they have a mind to reprefent this tax as wonderfully be neficial to England, state it as worth £.100,000 a year; when they are to reprefent it as very light on the Americans, is dwindles to £.60,000. Indeed it is very difficult to compute what its produce might have been.

that

that is, a people who were to export raw, and to receive manufactured, and this, not a few luxurious articles, but all articles, even to thofe of the groffeft, most vulgar, and neceffary confumption, a people who were in the hands of a general monopolift, were ever fuch a people suspected of a poffibility of becoming a juft object of revenue? All the ends of their foundation must be fuppofed utterly contradicted before they could become fuch an object. Every trade-law we have made must have been eluded, and become ufelefs, before they could be in fuch a condition.

66

The partifans of the new fyftem, who, on moft occafions take credit for full as much knowledge as they poffefs, think proper on this occafion to counterfeit an extraordinary degree of ignorance, and in confequence of it to affert *, "that the ba "lance (between the colonies and Great Britain) "is unknown, and that no important conclufion can be drawn from premifes fo very uncertain." Now to what can this ignorance be owing? were the navigation laws made, that this balance fhould be unknown? is it from the courfe of exchange that it is unknown, which all the world knows to be greatly and perpetually againft the colonies? is it from the doubtful nature of the trade we carry on with the colonies? are not thefe fchemifts well

* Confiderations, p. 74.

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apprized

apprized, that the colonifts, particularly those of the northern provinces, import more from Great Britain, ten times more, than they fend in return to us? that a great part of their foreign balance is, and must be remitted to London? I fhall be ready to admit that the colonies ought to be taxed to the revenues of this country, when I know that they are out of debt to its commerce. This author will furnish fome ground to his theories, and communicate a difcovery to the publick, if he can fhew this by any medium. But he tells us, that * "their feas are covered with fhips, and their ri"vers floating with commerce." This is true. But it is with our fhips that thefe feas are covered; and their rivers float with British commerce. The American merchants are our factors; all in reality, moft even in name. The Americans trade, navigate, cultivate, with English capitals; to their own advantage, to be fure; for without these capitals their ploughs would be stopped, and their fhips wind-bound. But he who furnishes the capital muft, on the whole, be the perfon principally benefitted; the perfon who works upon it profits on. his part too; but he profits in a fubordinate way, as our colonies do; that is, as the fervant of a wife and indulgent mafter, and no otherwise. We have all, except the peculium; without which, even flaves will not labour.

* Confiderations, p. 79.

If the author's principles, which are the common notions, be right, that the price of our manufactures is fo greatly enhanced by our taxes; then the Americans already pay in that way a fhare of our impofitions. He is not afhamed to affert, that "France and China may be faid, on the "fame principle, to bear a part of our charges, for

*

they confume our commodities." Was ever fuch a method of reafoning heard of? Do not the laws abfolutely confine the colonies. to buy from us, whether foreign nations fell' cheaper or not? On what other idea are all our prohibitions, regulations, guards, penalties, and forfeitures, framed? To fecure to us, not a commercial preference, which stands in need of no penalties to enforce it; it finds its own way; but to fecure to us a trade, which is a creature of law and' inftitution. What has this to do with the principles of a foreign trade, which is under no monopoly, and in which we cannot raise the price of our goods, without hazarding the demand for them? None but the authors of fuch measures could ever think of making ufe of fuch arguments.

Whoever goes about to reafon on any part or the policy of this country with regard to America, upon the mere abftract principles of government, or even upon those of our own ancient con

* Confiderations, p. 74.

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ftitution,