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they recognized as rightful fovereign of the island and domain of St. Vincents', acknowledging that the lands held by them are granted through his majesty's clemency. Thus, by a refolute exertion of valor, tempered as it appears with no fmall degree of difcretion, did this handful of people ultimately establish their privileges and virtual independency, against the attack of a mighty power which menaced their total ruin and extermination; and the treaty between the Caribbs of St. Vincents' and the king of Great Britain is a monument of historical curiosity, fingularly valuable as a ftriking confirmation of the utility and importance of the magnanimous maxim, " in no circumftances to defpair of the commonwealth."

It must not be omitted, that the bill for the enlargement of the toleration act in the course of the present session again paffed the house of commons by a prodigious majority, and was again rejected by the lords. The debate in the upper house was on this occafion illumined by a ray of genius fuddenly emanating from the earl of Chatham.

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Dr. Drummond, archbishop of York, having in a virulent speech ftigmatized the diffenting minifters as "men of clofe ambition," lord Chatham faid, this was judging uncharitably, and whoever brought fuch a charge against them without proof DEFAMED." Here he paused: but, feeling the workings of a generous and indignant enthusiasm, he thus proceeded :-"The diffenting ministers are represented as men of close ambition—they are so, my lords, and their ambition is to keep close to the college of fishermen, not of Cardinals; and to the doctrine of infpired apoftles, not to the decrees of interested and afpiring bifhops-THEY contend for a spiritual creed and spiritual worship; we have a calvinistic creed, a popifh liturgy, and an arminian clergy*. The reformation has laid open the fcriptures to all

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* It is well known that the English liturgy is taken chiefly from the Catholic mafs book, nor does this at all detract from its great and acknowledged merit as a devotional compofition. But its origin is too evidently difcernible in the authoritative

let not the bishops fhut them again. Laws in fupport of ecclefiaftical power are pleaded for, which it would shock humanity to execute. It is faid that religious fects have done great mifchief when they were not kept under reftraint; but history affords no proof that fects have ever been mischievous when they were not oppreffed and perfecuted by the ruling church."

An end' was at length put to the feffion, which had now continued more than feven months, by a speech from the throne, in which his majesty expreffed to the two houses his high approbation of the zeal, affiduity, and perfeverance with which they had applied themselves to the very important business which had been recommended to their attention.

This may be confidered as the most brilliant æra of lord North's adminiftration. Supported by vaft parliamentary majorities, and the general concurrence of the nation, he had carried into complete effect a plan of government and reform for India, the vigor of which was apparent, while experience only could prove its deficiency in wifdom, With respect to America, every thing might be hoped from that difpofition to conciliation which was known to characterize the nobleman who now prefided over that department,, There appeared a fair prospect of permanent peace abroad; and thofe difturbances which had fo long prevailed at home, feemed gradually fubfiding into a tranquillity which the nation had rarely, and for very fhort intervals, known fince the Commencement of the prefent reign. There yet remained VOL. I R

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authoritative papal form of abfolution, the vain and perpetual repetition of the gloria patri, and the folemn invocations of the TRINITY, which, faith Luther, is a word of strange found, and of mere human invention-it were better to call Almighty God GoD than TRINITY." And Calvin ftill more explicitly declares, "I like not this prayer, O holy bleffed, and glorious TRINITY!it favors of barbarism. The word TRINITY is unintelligible, profane, grounded upon no teftimony of God's word--the POPISH GOD unknown to the prophets and apoftles." It is remarkable that the greatest geniuses which this country has produced, BACON, MILTON, LOCKE, NEWTON, CLARKE, c. have concurred in the rejection of this dogma of the popular and orthodox speed.

at the extremity of the western horizon a dark cloud, which, however flightly noticed by the generality of perfons, seemed to the more difcerning to bode a diftant but DREADFUL

TEMPEST.

The unfortunate difputes with the American colonies, revived by the impofition of the port duties in 1767, had fince that fatal period fuffered no interruption or abatement, though very much kept out of fight by thofe vehement domestic contests in which the English nation felt itself for the time more nearly interefted, though of far lefs real and lafting importance. A general retrofpective view of colonial politics will be neceffary, to illuftrate and introduce the momentous tranfactions of the fucceeding years. In the act impofing the port duties on paper, glass, colors, teas, &c. paffed A. D. 1767, was a remarkable claufe, which gave fcarcely lefs umbrage and alarm than the taxes themselves; empowering the crown by fign manual to establish a general CIVIL LIST throughout every province in America, to an indefinite extent, with any falaries, places, or appointments, to the very laft fhilling of the American revenue. The act indeed provided, that after all fuch minifterial warrants under the fign manual as are thought proper and neceffary fhall be fatisfied, the residue of the revenue shall be at the difpofal of parliament. "But who, it was asked, can suppose such warrants will ever be fatisfied till ministers have provided for all their friends and favorites? This mockery of an American revenue proves at laft, said a member of the house (Mr. Hartley), to be only the crumbs that fall from the minifter's table-the RESIDUE of a royal warrant counterfigned by the firft lord of the treasury!” The next step in the progrefs of the new fyftem of American taxation, was the establishment of an American board of commiffioners, which, under the aufpices of the chancellor of the exchequer, Mr. Charles Townfhend, paffed into an act the fame feffion. This board was fixed at Boston, where the commiffioners arrived in the autumn of that year.

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The non-importation agreement entered into by the colonies, in confequence of the rafh and unadvised measures adopted by England, have been already noticed; but though they confined their practical oppofition to their commercial combinations, they now began to indulge a boundlefs and dangerous licence of speculative discussion on the nature and extent of parliamentary power. Till this period they had, with a cherfulness which precluded any deep or accurate inveftigation of right, admitted the exercise of a discretionary legislative authority in the parliament of Great Britain. They had admitted the distinction between raising money as the mere incidental produce of regulating duties, and for the direct purpose of revenue; but now they argued more boldly, and as fpeculatifts more confiftently, in faying, that if the parliament of Great Britain has no right to tax us internally, they have none to tax us externally; and if they have no right to tax us without our confent, they can have none to govern or to legiflate for us without our consent. These reasonings, fo natural and obvious in prefent circumstances, when the power of the mother country was, in the apprehenfion of every American, employed to the purposes of oppreffion, prove in a striking manner the unexampled folly of Great Britain, in risquing the difcuffion of a right fo problematic and precarious. The only juft and solid bafis of the authority of Great Britain over the colonies, was that of common utility fanctioned by long prescription and univerfal acquiefcence. But when the authority of Great Britain was exerted for her own feparate advantage, in a manner unauthorized by cuftom, and unacknowledged by those over whom it was exercised by mere dint of fuperior force, it could in nothing be diftinguished from tyranny, to which refiftance and revolt only can be properly oppofed. To attempt to govern a whole nation in a mode abhorrent from their feelings, principles, and prejudices, is a complication of folly and wickedness; and the counfels of Great Britain at this period were governed by a spirit of infatua

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tion, which it is difficult to analyfe into any of the common principles of human action, and which excites our aftonishment at leaft as ftrongly as our indignation or regret.

In January 1768, the affembly of Massachusetts Bay tranfmitted, by their fpeaker, a circular letter to the different colonies, in which they recommend to the refpective colonial legislatures to take into joint confideration the meafures it may be proper to adopt for the redress of their common grievances, particularly fpecifying the late acts impofing duties and taxes on America, and expreffing their firm confidence in the king, their common head and father, that the united and dutiful fupplications of his distressed American fubjects will meet with his royal and favorable acceptance. No fooner was this known in England, than lord Hillsborough tranfmitted inftructions to governor Bernard, in his majefty's name, fo foon as the general court is again affembled, to require of the house of reprefentatives "to RESCIND the refolution which gave birth to the circu→ lar letter from the fpeaker, and to declare their difapprobation of, and diffent from, that rafh and hafty proceedingat the fame time ftrangely affirming the resolution in queftion to be unfair, contrary to the real fenfe of the affembly, and procured by surprise;" although it in fact passed almost unanimously in a very full house, after the most ample and deliberate difcuffion. In cafe of the refufal of the houfe to comply with this requifition, the governor was commanded immediately to diffolve the affembly, and to tranfmit to his lordfhip an account of their tranfactions. This imperious demand was conceived precisely in the spirit of a mandate of the French king to his parliaments, but fortunately it could not be enforced by lettres de cachet. If French parliaments have been known refolutely to refift the will of the defpot with the terrors of imprisonment, exile, and death before their eyes, it will eafily be fuppofed that an affembly of men boafting their defcent from ancestors whofe garments were stained in the blood of tyrants, were

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