would have furnished an extensive field to expatiate on the infolence and difaffection of the Americans, and fupported, in fome degree, the neceffity of the measures which the minifter was at that time taking to render their affemblies a meeting of fo many cyphers, and themselves fo many provinces of flaves -But as this ufe was not made of their petitions, we may naturally fuppofe that they were all drawn up with a circumfpection which prevented the most diftant poffibility of finding fault,

When this little anecdote relative to the American petitions is mentioned, with what degree of juftice can it be faid, that the colonies are virtually reprefented in the British parliament ? To have this vir tual reprefentation, their petitions fhould, upon all occafions, be received, and their complaints fhould be as readily heard as the complaints of their other fellow-fubjects. But if there is nobody to whom they have an immediate right of application, if there is nobody who is particularly obliged to reprefent their grievances before the great council of their mother country; and if they themselves are not to be heard when there is nobody elfe to speak for them, muft it not be the groffeft contradiction in terms to talk of a virta al reprefentation ---In fact, this doctrine is perfectly of a piece with the proceedings of the late minister. He violated every principle of common juftice when he firft paffed the law, and now he violates every principle of common understanding to fupport the rectitude of his behaviour, The advocates for the ftamp act, when ever they are clofely pushed on the fubject of virtual reprefentation, run conftantly to a despicable fubterfuge, where they idly imagine there is no poffibility of fuftaining any violent attack.-In the firft place, they tell us that, notwithstanding the mighty complaints of the Americans about the want of reprefentation, they are as much represented in the British -parliament, as either Birmingham, Manchefter, Leeds or Sheffield; who, nevertheless, never murmur at wanting immediate members, but dutifully fubmit themfelves to the determinations of the British legiflature, from a proper and respectful confidence in its wisdom and jus

tice,

The gentlemen who reason in this manner do not, however, reflect, though Birmingham, Manchefter, Leeds, and Sheffield, have no immediate voices, as corporations, to return members folely for themselves, yet they have a voice in the general reprefentation of their refpective counties, and have a right to inftruct, and call upon their several knights, to lay their grievances before the parlia ment; this is fo evident a circumftance, that there is no neceffity of enforcing it: and I believe, that was any one of the knights who represent these places to refufe a compliance with the duties of his office, they would of themselves be confiderable enough to prevent his ever being re-elected on a future vacancy. But let the virtual reprefentatives of America refufe never fo often to lay the petitions of the Colonies before the auguft council of the Mother Country; and let them violate the conftitution of the Provinces never fo much, the poor Americans have no voice at a general election to oppofe their return into parliament. Of confequence, therefore, as the inhabitants of Birmingham and the other towns have voices to chofe the man who is worthy of their confidence; and voices to oppose the perfon who is not, it must be ignorance itself to fuppofe a fimilarity of circumftances between them and the miferable Colonies, who are fo unhappily destitute of both.

But even admitting that Birmingham and the other towns were actually without reprefentatives, in the strictest fenfe of the expreffion, would that be a proper argument for taxing the Colonies without their own confent? Would it be a necessary confequence, because part of the British fubjects were unfortunate enough to be in a fate of flavery, that a yoke should be laid on the necks of the Americans? On the contrary, inttead of making the miseries of the wretched a plea for plunging the happy in diftrefs, common humanity fhould teach a good minister to allow the former every advantage which was poffeffed by the latter; efpecially, too, where the exercife of fuch a benevolence could not, in the nature of things, but be highly beneficial to his country.

Having

three millions of whites, and every five and twenty years, they are reckoned to double their population ;—yet instead of three million, was their number fifty, the mother country would have but little to dread on that account. As long as we prevent them from building fhips, and levying forces; as long as we take care that they have neither a marine, nor a ftanding army;fo long their numbers must add to our strength, without promoting their independence; and a fingle fquadron from the mother country, will at any time be able to tumble all their cities about their ears, without the lofs of fo much as a twenty gun frigate to herself. An undifciplin'd multitude, let that mulútude be never fo great, without arms, without fhips, and without fortifications, is but a very impotent enemy: numbers are of fervice only where they know how to be formidable, but can never appear of any confequence, where they have neither the knowledge of being fo, nor the

means.

But let us even admit the ability of the Americans to fhake of their dependance on the mother country, can we, from the general tenor of their conduct, by any means fuppofe they fhould ever be poffeffed of the inclination, unless we drive them defperate by proceeding to extremities? During the laft war, when their own opulence, and our neceffities, furnifhed them with a fairer opportunity than what they are ever likely to enjoy again, of becoming abfolutely independent, what injury did we fuftain, from fuffering them to poffefs the natural rights of free-born Englishmen? Did they not expofe their lives continually in our fervice? and did they not exhauft their treasures fo much beyond the most fanguine expectations of the mother country, that the parliament of Great Britain even voted a very large fum to reimburse fo extraordinary an exertion of their munificence! If, therefore, it is against the principles of the British conftitution, to take away the provincial legiflation of the colonies at all; and if, when they poffeffed it, they fo generously exceeded the wifhes of Great-Britain in taxing themselves, we in fact lofe the hackney'd plea of neceffity, to palliate the tyranny of our conduct, and ftand no lefs chargeable with the guilt of ingratitude, than with the crime of injuftice. Pofterity, furely, must be astonished to find, at

:

the very moment we were rewarding the Americans for fuch inconteftible proofs of their affection, that we were at the fame time taking away their liberties, from a doubt of their fidelity and it must appear amazing to all future generations to hear, that at the very inftant we expressed the greatest fenfibility of their attachment, we punish'd them with the greatest cruelty, and accompanied the ftrongest tettimonies of friendship with the molt intol lerable chains.

The oppofition made by the Americans to the execution of the itamp act, I am very well perfuaded, has given their enemies no little opportunities of poisoning the public mind; and many well-meaning people are ready enough to believe, that, let the ftamp act be never fo inequitable, it is now the bufinefs of the mother country to fupport it, as the only means of lecuring her authority. This argument, however popular, is very far from being defenfible. The colonies never difputed the juft authority of the mother country; they have only opposed the tyranny of an injudicious minifter. In reality, if the cafe be fully examined, the mother country has been as much injured on this occafion, as the colonies. Her conftitution, which pofitively declares, that no Englishman fhall be taxed, without the common confent of parliament, has been violated, to oppress three millions of her moft ufeful and affectionate children. Who knows what might have been preparing, had the minifter, who thus daringly trampled upon that conftitution, ftill continued in authority. The fame boldness which induced him to lay an arbitrary tax upon the Americans, might have led him at laft to lay an arbitrary tax upon Ireland, then upon the mother country; and the people of Great-Britain, from an idle fuppofition that their honour was called in quetion, where any illegal act of his was difputed, might have been infentibly brought to labour for the total deftruction of themselves.

I lay it down as a fixed pofition, that in paffing the ftamp act, the people of this country, had no intention whattoever, to make the fmallest infiingment on the rights of their American fellow fubjects. I take it for granted, that the colonitts were confidered in every fenfe of the word, as Englishmen, and as fuch, having their oren internal legislations, that they could

nu

not be taxed but by their own confent.If this be the cafe, how can it with propriety be faid, that the colonies have reifted the just authority of the mother country. The mother country had no jaft authority to make an arbitrary law for the taxation of their property.-They have, therefore, only stood up for the le gal right of Britons; and as I faid in another place, the natural right of men.And fhall we, a nation fraught with the moft exalted ideas of liberty, be offended with our brethren and our children, for ftanding up in defence of that freedom for which we all would die fo willingly ourfelves? Shall it in Great-Britain, be ever thought a crime to fupport the independence of the British constitution? God forbid. Every fubject of the English crown, is entitled to the privileges of an. Englishman, and 'tis the peculiar glory of these privileges, that they canot fuffer the meaneft individual to be enlaved-Inftead, therefore, of condemn ing the colonies, our indignation fhould fall upon the head of that man who has fo violently broke in upon their peace, and fo arrogantly called upon us to maintain the infringement of our own confti. tution. His temerity in fuppofing that the mother country would become a dupe of his machinations, and imagine that her honour was connected with the proceedings of a minifter whom she looks upon with the utmoft contempt, is the highest aggravation of his conduct, and calls aloud for fome exemplary mark of public refentment. In a few years, fhould it be now allowed, that GreatBritain is obliged, in defence of her authority, to fupport every act of a weak or wicked adminiftration; whoever is at the helm, may, at any time, embroil the whele British empire; and if he be a penfroner of France, may entirely lay it in flames. He need only pafs fome very injurious law, to occafion a murmur in the colonies-and the moment it is complained of; by telling the mother country that her authority is infulted, he is fure of carrying his point.-The mother country, from a groundless concern about her own fupremacy, will inftantly rife up in defence of his injuftice, and carry flaughter and defolation among her miferable offspring, when he ought to punith their merciless oppreffor, and fa⚫ vour them with an immediate redress.

It must be granted, indeed, that in the oppofition which the Americans have made to the stamp act, fome tumults arofe which our candour may extenuate, though our juftice cannot appear with any great reputation in their defence.-Licentiousnefs, in cafes of much importance, will always be found in a free conftitution.The mother country herself, has had her mobs-and no later than last winter, a whole army of the populace, in a manner befiege both the auguft houfes of parliament.-As therefore, we on this fide of the Atlantic, have been frequently subject to popular infurrections, we cannot be furprized at hearing of the fame infurrections in the colonies; more particularly too, when we confider, that from nature and education, they are, if possible, more ftrenuous lovers of liberty than ourfelves. Their ancestors, for the mott part, were people who underwent a voluntary banishment from their native countries, on civil and religious accounts. -Thefe ancestors have handed down their principles to pofterity, in confequence of which, nine tenths, at least, of the whole Continent are Whigs in the most expreffive fenfe, and impatient of course, where they imagine their freedom is at stake.—Add to all this, that the ftamp act was paffed at a time when the reftrictions on the North American trade had univerfally foured the difpofitions of the people: fmarting under the feverity of a commercial prohibition, the most conftitutional tax would have been thought a hardship, and it might, perhaps, have been a general murmur, that we were unremittingly ftudious to encrease their burdens in proportion as we contracted their means.

As in the courfe of the foregoing arguments, I have fhewn that the people of America are not virtually represented in the British parliament; and made it pretty clear, that as Englishmen, they ought not to be internally taxed, but by their own confent. It inay, poffibly, be demanded, where I am willing to strike a line, and what degree of executive authority I am willing to allow the mother country over her colonies? If we go back to the original end of colonization, we hall find that the fole defign of establishing colonies in different parts of the world, was to extend the commerce of the British nation, as wide as poffible, and

not