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On the Adminiftration of the Colonies: Addressed to the E-1 of Hh.

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S Junius has paid your brother in office, the D. of G. feveral warm addreffes, on the wife management of his department, and, as your 1p has conducted the bufinefs of yours with the fame wifdom and with the fame fuccefs, there feems no impropriety in paying you the fame compliment. And, that the public may the better judge of your ml conduct, I shall endeavour to ftate the whole (as far as my memory furnishes me with facts) from your first appointment to the Board of Trade, to this period.

A peace being then concluded; a vaft extent of territory acquired; and the nation, as far as minifterial influence would reach, made to affent and acknowledge, that though we had given up millions to a vanquished enemy, the continent of North America had been cheaply purchased; and, accordingly, were amufed with the hopes of feeing new colonies rife, and had, indeed, folid grounds to expect everlafting fprings of wealth from thofe already fettled and cultivated. From hence every lofs was to be repaired, every burden to be alleviated, and all paft calamities to be foftened into oblivion. This was the language of that very Board over which your 1-dfh-p was placed. Have thefe bleffings been produced? Or, have we a right to expect them from prefent appearances? Could they poffibly fucceed the measures you adopted? Your first attempts were to fettle and cultivate the two Floridas, which, in America, are as Arabia in Afia; and may, in future, like it, prove the dwelling of defperate villains; but can never be made ufeful or advantageous to the ftate.

Your first attempt to regulate the ancient colonies was ftripping them of their paper currency, which had been one of the greatest means of fupporting their trade to thefe kingdoms; though you, at the fame inftant, faw (and muft be fuppofed to concur in the meafure) our own fleet, fitted out, to stop all the Mexican filver (which, alone, could have replaced the neceffary medium) from finding its way to them. You, at the fame time, recommended the laying heavy burdens on their Weft India trade, by which they were formerly affifted to pay the balance due to this country. You echoed back to the Premier the establishing thofe dangerous Ay-c-ts, which ftill continue dangerous and oppreffive to the faireft trader; and, to complete the fyftem, approved, and advised that fatal fource of difcontent, the ftamp-act. Here, happily for Great Britain) ended your firft glorious adminiftration. Your fecond is like unto it: The influence of the Butean party, of which your l—dsh—p is undeniably one, unfortunately

led

+ We were obliged to poftpone this addrefs, to make room in our last number for pieces that were more temporary, but our worthy correfpondent T. D. may be affured we never intended to omit it.

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led the legislature into a measure fimilar to thofe I have juft mentioned, which could be but aukwardly enforced by a fecretary, whofe fentiments were utterly against it. Hence it became neceffary to difcard him, and call for your affiftance. The first matter of importance, (which, though very trifling in itself, became, by your 1-p's wife management, not only important, but dangerous) was the circular letter of the Maffachufet's affembly, to thofe of the other provinces, written with innocence, replete with lovalty, founding with harmony, and dictated by reason and good policy; even this letter you reprefented to your Sn, as factious, feditious, &c. and fell into defpotifm yourself, to make them obedient, by ordering the vote to be refcinded, upon pain of their diffolution.

You re

commended fending troops and fhips of war, to keep the peace. You should remember, my lord, thefe are not peace-officers, and, as might well be expected, they were the first to break it. To intimidate the people, you drew up Refolves, and an addrefs to his m――y, founded on evidence from Governor Bernard, the commiffioners of revenue, cuftom-houfe officers, and a few poor expectant and dependent creatures, whom your 1-p correfponds with in Bofton; and thereby, having impofed upon, and deceived the legiflature, fanctified your defpotifm, at the expence of their laft liberties; as appears in lively colours by the petition of Virginia affembly; and, to complete your plan of folly and iniquity, you have recom, mended his m―y, to confer honours on the man, who, though your friend and colleague, will never rife above a * Proctor; for his inexpreffible meannefs, and a low cunning, are incompatible with the governor, or baronet.

Now, my lord, furvey your measures, and their confequences, in a few lines, from which I beg you to draw your character, as a minifter. Great and lafting bleffings were promised: do they arife? or are they now felt or acknowledged by the public? The two governments of Florida have been very expenfive; have buried vaft numbers of thofe glorious fons of war, who fought our battles, delivered our country, and deferved our utmost care and tenderness. They produce nothing but difeafes and lamentation. Taking away the paper currency of America, has, indeed, hushed the complaints of a few Scotch factors in Virginia; but, in return, has been attended with an immediate ftagnation of trade, unparallelled diftrefs, for want of a medium in the payment of British debts, and is cruelly felt in every corner of this kingdom

Preventing the Spanish filver from the colonifts, has proved ftill a much greater injury to the trade and manufactures of Great Britain, and has, for ever, I fear, loft us that, the most lucrative of all branches of commerce; and, oh! tormenting beyond expreffion! our enemies are rifing in wealth and power, by the enjoyment of it. The burdens laid on fuch branches of commerce as we, from Europe, could not carry on, have had no other

* This tool of oppreffion was a proctor in Doctors Commons.

sther effects than difabling the colonies from paying for our manufactures. The admiralty courts have driven moft merchants of eminence and fpirit, out of a trade, which could not be fecured by law from their greedy avarice, and unlimited power; and the ftamp-act, had it been continued, could not have produced any neat revenue, when there was no money in the. country; though it must be owned, it has been attended with the most dreadful mifchiefs. The prefent revenues are founded on injuftice, by yourfelf confeffed to be anti-commercial, and the fums produced, do, by no means, pay the falaries and expences of collection, though the people have, all along, paid the duties, without refiftance; but, on the contrary, the namerous myrmidons in the offices, must be paid out of other impofts. Hence, no benefit was intended to the public. Your pretence for enforcing and continuing thefe acts, is to preferve and fupport the dignity of Government, which every moment lofes ground, by the force of reafoning a firm, ferious, fpirited appofition, and unalterable determination of America. If you meant any thing by your commands to refcind, you meant to keep the colonies difunited this very command united them to a man. The troops, and fhips of war, have convinced the most phlegmatic in America, that their liberties were in danger, and that iigid virtue, only, muft fave them and their conftitution your peace-officers, and armed conftables have been the can e of the only confiderable riot which has happened. The fanction of the l~~e, only proves your measures illegal; has made you more deteftable, and immoderately increased their love for thofe men among them who flood foremost in the caufe of liberty; and, though you have, hitherto, been able to deceive your fn, and infult his fubjects; though you have reprefented innocent and legal meafures of feeking redrefs, as factious and rebellious, though you have endeavoured to drive the best of men to defperate remedies; they have difappointed your expectations, and will, by the aid of their fellow fubjects in England, live to fee you contemptible in the eyes of your r-l mafter, as you are now to them. I have enumerated most of the important measures which you have, while in power, recommended, or enforced; they are clearly, and, in general, diametrically contrary to the interests of this country, as well as America; many have been attended with confequences totally contrary to your own expectations and defigns. You are come to your ne plus ultra (or, as your friend B-rn-d elegantly expreffes bimfelf, to the end of your tether) and you had better refign now, than increase your own perplexity, by adding new burdens to thofe you have already brought upon the whole British empire. I fhall take another opportunity to explain your motives, your principles, and connections. Till then, I am, with due refpect and obedience, your

-p's humble fervant JUNIUS AMERICANUS,

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AN IMPARTIAL REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

A Letter to the Right Honourable Horatio Walpole, Efquire, written January 9, 1750-1, by the Right Reverend Thomas Secker, Lord Bishop of Oxford, concerning Bishops in America.

Rivington.

BY an

8vo. Is.

Y an advertisement prefixed to this extraordinary letter, we are informed that it was found among the papers of the late archbishop Secker; that it was written in confequence of a letter dated May 9, 1750, from the late lord Walpole, (at that time the right honourable Horatio Walpole, efquire, first commiffioner for trade and plantations) to the late Dr. Sherlock, Bishop of Lon don, which was communicated by the latter to bishop Secker, January 2, 1750-1; and that it is now printed in obedience to an order left with it under his grace's own hand, dated May 25, 1759, in these words:

Let the letter, written by me to Mr. Walpole, concerning Bishops in America, be printed after my death.

THO. CANT.

It appears by this letter, that the fcheme of fending bishops to America, which has lately been the fubject of much altercation, and has contributed to increase the difcontent of the Americans, was agitated, and under ferious confideration, at the board of trade, in the year 1750. The expediency of the measure was referred to the bishop of London, who thought proper to communicate to Dr. Secker, then bishop of Oxford, lord Walpole's letter to him on this fubject. A manifeft error is to be found unworthy of those who undertook to print fuch a fingular letter, in obedience to the order of an archbishop. For the letter-writer exprefsly thanks Mr. Walpole for communicating to him the letter he had written to the bishop of London; whereas in the advertisement it is faid, the bishop of London communicated Mr. Walpole's letter to Dr. Secker. The archbishop certainly is to be believed, and the editor of his letter is defired to correct this error in a fecond edition, if the letter attains to a second edition; but if not, which is mot likely, to make an immediate apology to the public. Especially as it ferves to mislead the inattentive, who may be apt to conclude, that bishop Sherlock was as zealous in the impolitic fcheme of fending bishops to America, as the late high-church archbishop; which, it is highly probable, was not the cafe fince the fcheme was dropt; and there is a strong prefumption on the face of the archbishop's letter, that Mr. Walpole, and Dr. Sherlock were both against the measure. The archbishop fays to Mr. Walpole, that he cannot fee the fcheme in the fame light that he does." And he certainly thought Dr. Sherlock had not made ufe of fufficient arguments to engage Mr. Walpole to adopt the meafure, or he would not have written him the laboured letter in question, in fupport of his darling fcheme. The editor is therefore requested to let the late archbishop ftand upon his own bottom, and not to endeavour Vol. V.

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to amufe us with the notion, that any of his brethren, fo far back as the year 1750, concurred with him in advising a step, which nothing but bigotry and prieftcraft could dictate.

It is now made known to the world, that all the ftir that has been made for fome time paft about the appointment of bishops for America, was brought on the carpet by the late archbishop, whofe character fince his death has been extolled to the skies. But the public muft decide upon this publication, how far the man who could revive a fcheme for attacking the religious rights of his fellow fubjects in America, at the moft improper feafon, when their civil liberties were invaded, and had involved them in the moft fatal difputes with the mother country, deferves the lavish encomiums that have been bestowed on him.

The arguments stated in this letter in favour of the fcheme, are exactly the fame as have been retailed in our news-papers, at different times, ever fince we have been left at leifure, by an ig nominious peace, to foment animofities and divifions amongst ourfelves both at home and abroad.

The neceffity of bishops in America, to adminifter confirmation, and to give deacons and priefts orders to proper candidates, and to exercife jurifdiction over the clergy of the church of England in those parts, is founded on the following reafons :-That it belongs to the very nature of epifcopal churches to have bishops at proper distances, prefiding over them. And it is obferved, that there never was an inftance before in the chriftian world of fuch a number of churches, or a tenth part, with no bishop amongst them.

In reply to this, we beg leave to remark, that the whole of this argument falls to the ground, unless the archbishop reftricts it to nations where epifcopacy is the established form of church government; in that cafe indeed it would be ftrange, if there were no bishops refiding among them, or within fome thousands of miles from them. But where epifcopacy is not the established, nor the prevailing fyftem, it stands only in the light of a tolerated religion in countries where epifcopacy is the establishment. And, for this reafon, no bishops are, or ought to be allowed. And accordingly we find there are not any in Scotland, in Holland, nor in our Ámerican colonies, though there are a great number of epifcopa

lians in each.

But the late archbishop was fo well versed in the politics of this world, that, had it been for his purpofe, he could cafily have recollected a standing political maxim, which is no where more ftrictly obferved than in England, with refpe&t to the diffenters from the established religion, it is this:-Never to fuffer any fect of religion, differing from the established church, to enjoy fuch privileges in the ftate, as may enable it to vie with the established religion, or, in process of time, to gain the afcendancy over it. -This maxim adhered to with the impartiality which equity dictates, and which candour ought to point out to Chrift's pretended vice-gerents on earth, must for ever put a negative on the appointment of bishops

for

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