CHAPTER II. Colonial Discontent.-A. D. 1760—1775. NORTH AMERICA. MEASURES OF THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT.-OPPOSITION RIGHTS. 66 WE have seen (Vol. VI. p. 153-156) that North America was principally colonized by the English; the settlements previously occupied by the Dutch and French, were acquired by conquest. In 1763, the Spaniards ceded East and West Florida to Britain, and collectively the various states formed a vast and most important empire. In the middle of the eighteenth century, these colonies were rapidly becoming populous, powerful, and rich. A feeling of genuine loyalty bound them strongly to the British crown; while at the same time, they were firm in the maintenance of their own local government. An unwillingness to yield subjection to the parliament of the mother country had existed for some time, but might have been removed by judicious treatment: this unfortunately they did not receive, but were on the contrary subjected to repeated acts of interference and despotism, which not only alienated their affections, but led to a formal and final separation. It is impossible now to realize the amount of party excitement which the progress of this unhappy dispute produced on both sides of the Atlantic. Dividing not simply the leading parties in the government, it spread through all classes of the community; producing family feuds, and most materially interrupting the prosperity of this country as well as of the colonies which were sought to be coerced. In the present day there is probably not one to be found who does not condemn the policy which, originating in reckless indifference to the rights of the rising empire, was continued with the implacable determination of royal obstinacy, and terminated to the lasting disgrace of those by whom it was conducted. The loss of the United States of America will ever be a blot on the reign of George III.; a lasting memorial of his incapacity to recognise the course of true statesmanship, and his unreasoning refusal to accept the advice of those who would have guided him wisely. The commencement of the unhappy dispute occurred in 1763; when a project was mooted in the British parliament by Mr. Grenville, the minister who succeeded lord Bute, to transfer part of the financial burdens of the mother-country to her North American colonies. Resolutions relating to duties to be levied on foreign goods imported into these colonies, were submitted to the house of commons, and agreed to with scarcely a debate; and a determination formed to enforce direct taxation under the name of the stamp duty. Whether a constitutional right belongs to the British legislature to tax colonial dependencies for imperial purposes, is a question which we do not now discuss. The modern view, that no such rights exist, seems a correct one. But besides the question of abstract right, there was another as to the wisdom and expediency of the course which was pursued, and intelligent statesmen would have allowed this question its due weight: but those who then had the guidance of affairs, either could not, or would not examine their course intelligently, until they learned its injustice and inexpediency by its disastrous results. Some few of the members of the commons foresaw the evils to which the measure would lead, and declared their opposition: amongst these was colonel Barré, who in reply to an observation, that the American colonists were very ungrateful in objecting to bear their share of the burdens, exclaimed, "They planted by your care! SPEECH OF COLONEL BARRÉ. 17 No! your oppression planted them in America. They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated and inhospitable wilderness, exposed to all the hardships to which human nature is liable. They nourished by your indulgence! No! they grew by your neglect of them; your care of them was displayed as soon as you began to care about them, in sending persons to rule them who were deputies of deputies of ministers-men whose behaviour on many occasions has caused the blood of those sons of liberty to recoil within them; men who have been promoted to the highest seats of justice in that country, in order to escape being brought to the bar of a court of justice in their own. I have been conversant with the Americans, and I know them to be loyal indeed; but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them if ever they should be violated. And let my prediction of this day be remembered, that the same spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first, will accompany them still.” Numerous petitions against the proposed measures were presented by merchants trading with the colonies, who saw the evils they would produce to commerce: but all was vain, the bill was passed, went through the upper house without a division, received the royal assent, and thus became a law. When, however, the news reached America, the greatest indignation was expressed: the agents who were sent out to enforce the measure were compelled to flee; riots ensued; the houses of residents suspected of being favourable to the obnoxious measures were burnt down, and all business demanding stamps was stopped; the greatest excitement prevailed. In Virginia, the house of assembly voted "that the right of being governed by their own house of assembly, in the article of taxes and internal police, had never been forfeited or relinquished, but constantly recognised by the king and parliament of Great Britain; that the assembly of Virginia, together with his majesty or his substitutes, had the exclusive right and power to tax the inhabitants of Virginia; and that every attempt to vest such a power in any other person or persons was illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust, and had a manifest tendency to destroy both British and American independency." This bold avowal was imitated in other states; while Boston advised that VOL. VII. 3 18 COLONIAL PETITION TO PARLIAMENT. a meeting should be held at New York, to which delegates should be sent from each state, to concert a plan for united opposition. This suggestion was acted on by nine out of the thirteen states, who sent delegates to New York. The governor declared the meeting illegal; but they proceeded, nevertheless, to pass a number of resolutions expressing the right of local taxation, and asserting that only their own representatives in the houses of assembly of the various states, had authority to levy or expend money. They further prepared petitions to the British legislature, praying for the repeal of the tax; and on separating, employed themselves in their different states in forming associations to discontinue the importation of British produce, until their grievances were redressed. It was impossible that this state of things could be disregarded at home; and in the next session of parliament innumerable petitions were presented from British merchants demonstrating the mischievous results of the bill, and praying its repeal. The opposition also, either from increased information, or from a desire to improve the opportunity for annoying the government, strenuously laboured for the repeal. Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, poured forth his eloquent indignation on the measure; and after arguing that no man should be taxed, but by himself or his representative, exclaimed, "I rejoice that America has resisted three millions of people so dead to all feeling of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest." The power of the government was, however, too strong to permit an unconditional repeal; the house therefore passed a declaratory act, asserting their right to levy taxes upon the colonies, and then repealed the measure which had produced this agitation. It might have been hoped that this defeat would have produced greater moderation and caution in future measures; but the lesson was, alas! thrown away upon the impracticable leaders of the government. The repeal of the stamp act had been received with gratitude, but the declaratory act with which it was accompanied, contained the very matter in dispute; and if allowed to pass unchallenged, might be made the foundation for an unlimited interference with the internal finances of the colonies; A SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT. 19 it was therefore universally met with protests and with condemnation. The assembly of New York, having introduced some regulations of their own, the British parliament suspended their legislative functions, and seemed determined to irritate the people into rebellion. The assembly of Massachusetts Bay having questioned the legis lative authority of the British parliament over the colonies, resolutions were passed by both houses, declaring the conduct of the assembly unconstitutional and illegal. A confederacy of the colonial assemblies, which had been projected, was sternly denounced; and his majesty was requested to direct the governor of Boston to send over the names of the disaffected in that state, that they might be brought to England, and tried by a special commission. In addition to the declaratory act, the government attempted to establish their right to tax the colonies, by levying a duty on tea: the amount was small, but the design of its enactment was so obvious, that all but the most infatuated could perceive that it would certainly be the source of bitter and enduring strife, and such the result proved. As the various coercive measures arrived from England, the indignation of the people continually increased. A solemn league and covenant was adopted, by which they determined to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain; and a general congress of all the American colonies was convened to meet at Philadelphia. At Boston, matters seemed to be rapidly approaching a crisis; riots and conflicts of the most alarming kind frequently occurred between the inhabitants and the soldiers, whom the government were in a spirit of infatuation attempting to billet upon private persons, as if the city were in a state of siege. Many arbitrary and unwise measures were adopted on both sides, and in various parts of the colony, which only tended to make the state of parties more extreme and threatening. In 1772, some of the people of Rhode Island boarded and burned a British man-of-war, which had come to enforce the revenue laws. In Boston, a cargo of wine had been forcibly landed without any notification to the custom-house. Corresponding committees were formed, by means of which the proceedings of the government and their opponents were rapidly communicated throughout the different states; so that |