POLITICAL REGISTER, AND IMPARTIAL REVIEW O F NEW BOOK S. FOR MDCCLXIX. VOLUME THE FOURTH. LONDON: Printed for HENRY BEEVOR in Little-Britain. 1769. THE POLITICAL REGISTER, For JANUARY, 1769. NUMBER XXII. To the EDITOR of the POLITICAL REGISTER, I have sent you the following curious and authentic paper, in order to undeceive your readers and the public, with regard to the opinions held in Great-Britain of the Americans, who, it has been asserted, never disputed, nor even thought about the Right of taxation, till very lately; and that all their arguments and doctrines now made use of, are the novel, and fudden productions of the present time. This paper will put the question of Right, and the principles upon which it is founded, upon a much earlier date; it is a declaration from the governor and council of Barbadoes, foon after the conquest of that island, during the refidence and life-times of fome of the firft fettlers who went from England; for it bears date only twentyfeven years after the surrender of that ifland to the English. I have transcribed it, verbatim et literatim, from the fourth volume of Grey's edition of Neale's History of the Puritans. London, printed 1739. It stands in the appendix, numbered 12, and feems quite unconnected with any other paper or paffage (as far as I have been able to discover) in the work. Indeed it was an unlikely place to expect to find fuch a paper. VOL, IV, A Declaration of my Lord Willoughby, LieutenantGenerall and Governour of the Barbadoes, and other Carabis iflands; as alío, the Councel of the island belonging to it; ferving in answer to a certaine act, formerly put forth by the parliament of England, the 3d of October, 1650. Tranflated out of English into Dutch, printed at Rotterdam †. A declaration, published by order of my Lord-Lieutenant General, the 18th of February, 1650-1, The lords of the council and of the affemblie, being occafioned, at the fight of certaine printed papers, intituled, An act, forbidding commerce and traffick with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermudas, and Antego. The lord-lieutenant general, together with the lords of this council and affembly, having carefully read over the faid printed papers, and finding them to oppose the freedom, fafety, and well-being of this island, have thought themselves bound to communicate the fame to all inhabitants of this ifland; as alfo, their obfervation and refolution concerning it, and to proceed therein after the best manner; wherefore, they have first of all ordered the fame to be read publiquely. Concerning the abovesaid act, by which the least capacity may comprehend, how much the inhabitants of this ifland would be brought into contempt and flavery, if the fame be not timely prevented. Firft, they alledge, That this ifland was first settled and inhabited at the charges, and by especial order of the people of England, and therefore ought to be subject to the fame nation. It is certain, that we all of us know very well, that wee the prefent inhabitants of this ifland, were, and still be that people of England, who, with great danger of our persons, and to our great charge and trouble, have fettled this island in its condition, and inhabited the fame; and fhall wee therefore be fubject to the will and command of those who stay at home? Shall wee be bound to the government and lordship of a parliament, in which we have no reprefentatives, or perfons chofen by us, for there to propound and confent to what might be needful At this time the Barbadians had great traffic with the Dutch; and this paper being interefting to the Hollanders, was certainly the reafon of its being tranflated into their language; from which comes this fe cond tranflation. ti, e, taking occafion. and serviceable to us? As alfo to oppofe and dispute all what should tend to our disadvantage and harme in truth, this would be a flavery far exceeding all that the English nation hath yet suffered. And we doubt not, but the courage which hath brought us thus far out of our own country, to seek our beings and livelihoods in this wild country, will mainteine us in our freedomes; without which, our lives will be uncomfortable to us. Secondly, it is alledged, That the inhabitants of this island, have, by cunning and force, ufurped a power and government. If wee, the inhabitants of this island, had been heard what wee could have faid for ourselves, this allegation had never been printed; but those who are destined to be flaves, may not enjoy thofe priviledges; otherwife, we might have faid, and teftified with a truth, that the government now ufed amongst us, is the fame that hath always been ratified, and doth every way agree with the first lettlement and government in thefe places; and was given us by the same power and authority that New-England hold theirs; against whom the act makes no objection. And the government here in fubjection, is the nearest model of conformity, under which our predeceffors of the English nation have lived and flourished for above a thoufand years. Therefore we conclude, that the rule of reason and discourse is moft ftrangely mistaken, if the continuation and fubmiffion to a right, well-fettled government, bee judged to be an ufurping of a new power;. and to the contrarie, the ufurpation of a new government be held a continuation of the old. Thirdly, by the abovefaid act, All outlandish nations are forbidden to hold any correfpondency or traffick with the inhabitants of this ifland; although all the ancient inhabitants know very well, how greatly they have been obliged to thofe of the Low-Countries for their fubfistance; and how difficult it would have been for us, (without their affiftance) ever to have inhabited thefe places, or to have brought them into order: and wee are yet daily fenfible, what neceffary comfort they bring to us daily, and that they doe fell their commodities a great deale cheaper then |