Liberty, the noble privilege of all honeft men, can never be consistently maintained, without allowing others as much as we take to ourselves, while they do not hold practical principles, deftructive of the rights of all other people. It has been too often the difpofition of religious focieties, to blend the ideas of civil and religious things, and to make a certain form of religion, a fine qua non, of men's right to enjoy the liberty of free citizens. This at once makes the kingdom of our Lord, a kingdom of this world, and renders every form of godlinefs a tool of private intereft, felfishness, and pride. How far the colonists have reformed their practices in this point, will appear in the fequel of this hiftory; where they fhall be fet in that light they deferve, as far as their actions point them out. Free from partiality to friends or foes, we shall endeavour to fteer our courfe, and keep truth in view, as the unerring compafs of all true and impartial hiftory. But we shall now return to the more immediate causes of the prefent war, and the chief object of this hiftory.

The fatisfaction which the repeal of the ftamp-act gave the colonists, did not remove their apprehenfions concerning the defigns of the miniftry to opprefs them; and the future proceedings of the English parliament, in giving fanction to the requifitions of the executive power, did fully confirm their apprehenfions. The laws that were paffed this year, for the purpose of raising a revenue in the colonies, by the Jaying of duties on the importation of glafs and paper, and other commodities from Britain, and the confequent establishment of cuftom-houfes in their ports, alarmed them greatly. Thefe caufed dreadful convulfions in the colonies, and produced confequences highly prejudicial to the commercial interefts

of

of the mother country. It will at least appear unfortunate, if not altogether impolitic, after the recent examples of the mifchief that attended the stamp-act, and the confequent repeal thereof, from a conviction of thofe evils, a measure of a like tendency fhould have been fo fpeedily adopted, before the chagrin on account of the former irritation was worn off the minds of the colonists. Much the fame arguments have been used in the defence of those measures that were made in fupport of the ftamp-act, which shall be taken notice of, after we have confidered the oppofition that was made to the new ftatutes of this year.

The first visible inftance of oppofition fhewn to thefe ftatutes, happened at Bofton, October 27th, 1767, where the inhabitants, at a general meeting, formed, and agreed to feveral refolutions, for the encouragement of manufactures, promoting frugality, and œconomy, and for leffening and reftraining of all fuperfluities. These refolutions, which were all of them in the first inftance prejudicial to the commerce of Britain, contained an enumeration of articles, which it was determined not to ufe at all, or in as low a degree as poffible. At the fame time, a fubfcription was opened, and a committee appointed for the encouragement of their own former manufactures, and the establishment of new ones. Among thefe, it was agreed to give particular encouragement to the making of paper and glafs, and the other commodities that were liable to the payment of new duties upon importation. It was alfo refolved to reftrain the expences of funerals, and to reduce drefs to a degree of primitive fimplicity and plainnefs, and in general, not to purchase from the mother country any thing that could be procured in the colonies. These refolutions were adopted, or fimilar ones a

greed

greed upon by all the old colonies on the continent. The government of Britain might have by this time perceived that a people of fuch a Spartan tafte were not to be easily frightened into compliance with fufpicious, or arbitrary acts of a legiflature, where they had none to reprefent them. A people that have as much public virtue as to become unfafhionable, for the fake of preferving the rights of the community, and can reftrain their paffions and appetites for the fake of their country, are not eafily to be driven to a compliance with acts they conceive to be unreafonable. Whatever may be the errors or mistakes in the conduct of the colonifts, and however far they may have acted wrong in fome particulars, yet they have fhewn a steadinefs of principle and practice, that has at least the appearance of virtue, and which their ene mies must admire, though their pride will not fuffer them to acknowledge it.

..What had lately irritated both parties in this difpute, was the proceedings of the affembly at NewYork, and the act of the British parliament, made in confequence thereof. It had been appointed by parliament in the laft feffion, that the people of NewYork fhould provide for the King's troops, according to a method expreffed in the act; which the affembly, instead of observing, pursued a measure of their own, without paying any regard to the prefcription of parliament. Whether they fhewed this oppofition out of mere wilfulnefs, or claimed it as a principal of right, to obferve their own way in providing for the troops, I will not affirm; but this was fo offenfive to the legislature of Britain, that they paffed an act, June 15th, whereby the governor, council, and affembly of New-York, are prohibited from paffing any act of affembly whatsoever, till they had complied with the

terms

terms of the act of parliament in every particular. This was defigned as a leffon to the other colonies, to teach them more reverence to acts of the British legiflature; but it did not produce the intended effect; for the colonists who had begun to question the right of the parliament to make laws for them, were not difpofed to obey a ftatute that was fpecially defigned to point out that they were in a state of vaffalage. By fuch oppofition of conduct, the leading actors on both fides grew more and more warm in their difpofition, and fcarcely could restrain themselves within the bounds of decency and temper. fpeeches of each party were often uncharitable, and recriminating, and expreffed more the fpirit of party, than liberality of fentiment, becoming contenders for liberty and the rights of mankind.

The

We are now approaching to the beginning of an year that is crowded with incidents, and teems with tranfactions of the greatest importance. The fpirits of the colonies were now agitated to a degree of enthusiasm for their liberties, and they confidered every new act of parliament as a fresh attack upon their freedom, and an infult to their understanding. Upon the eleventh of February, 1768, the affembly of Massachufetts bay fent a circular letter, figned by their fpeaker to all the other colonies in North America. The defign of this letter, was to fhew the dangerous tendency of the late acts of parliament, to reprefent them

LETTER.

* CIRCULAR Gentlemen, Boston. Sept. 14. pofed upon the people, without Your are already too well ac- their confent: taxes defigned for quainted with the melancholy and the fupport of the civil government very alarming circumftances to in the colonies, in a manner clears which this province, as well as A-ly unconftitutional, and contrary to merica in general, is now reduced. Taxes, equally detrimental to the commercial interefts of the parent country and her colonies, are im

that in which, till of late, government has been fupported, by the free gift of the people in the Ame rican aflemblies or parliaments; as

allo

them as unconstitutional, and to propose a cothmon tả among the colonies in the purfuit of all legal meafures to prevent their effect, on an harmony in their applications to government, to obtain a repeal of them. It alfo largely fets forth their conftitutional rights as English fubjects; all of which they affirm were infringed by thefe new laws.

At this period, and for fome years before, the affembly of Maffachusetts-bay and their governor had almost differed in their opinion upon every fubject,