A modification
is the constant resource.
is the constant resource.
Edmund Burke
It swelled out
on every side. It filled all its proper channels to the
brim. It overflowed with a rich redundance, and
breaking its banks on the right and on the left, it
spread out upon some places where it was indeed
improper, upon others where it was only irregular.
It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact;1 and
great trade will always be attended with considerable
abuses. t The contraband will always keep pace in
some measure with the fair trade. tit should stand
as a. fundamental maxim, that no vulgar precaution
ought to be employed in the cure of evils which are
closely connected with the cause of our prosperity.
Perhaps this great person turned his eyes somewhat
less than was just towards the incredible increase of
the fair trade, and looked with something of too exquisite a jealousy towards the contraband. I4e cer-. tainly felt a singular degree of anxiety on the subject,
and even began to act from that passion earlier than
is commonly imagined. For whilst he was First Lord
of the Admiralty, though not strictly called upon in
his official line, he presented a very strong memorial to the Lords of the Treasury, (my Lord Bute
Vas then at the head of the board,) heavily complaining of the growth of the illicit commerce in America.
? ? ? ? 40 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. Some mischief happened even at that time from this over-earnest zeal. Much greater happened afterwards, when it operated with greater power in the highest department of the finances. The bonds of
the Act of Navigation were straitened so much that
America was on the point of having no trade, either
contraband or legitimate. They found, under the
construction and execution then used, the act no
longer tying, but actually strangling them. All this
coming with new enumerations of commodities, with
regulations which in a manner put a stop to the mutual coasting intercourse of the colonies, with the appointment of courts of admiralty under various
improper circumstances, with a sudden extinction of'the paper currencies, with a compulsory provision for the quartering of soldiers,-the people of America
thought themselves proceeded against as delinquents,
or, at best, as people; under suspicion of delinquency,
and in such. a manner as they imagined their recent
services in the war did not at all merit. Any of
these innumerable regulations, perhaps, would not
have alarmed alone; some might be thought reasonable; the multitude struck them with terror. But the grand manoeuvre in that business of new
regulating the colonies was the fifteenth act of the
fourth. of George the Third, which, besides containing
several of the matters to which I have. just alluded,
opened a new principle. And here properly began
the second period of the policy of this country with
regard to the colonies, by-'which the scheme of a regular plantation Parliamentary revenue was adopted in theory and settled in practice: a revenue not substituted in the place of, but superadded to, a monopoly. ; which monopoly: was enforced at the same time with
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 41
additional strictness, and the execution put into military hands.
This act; Sir, had for the first time the title of
"'granting duties in the colonies and plantations of
America," and for the first time it was asserted in the
preamble " that it was just and necessary that a revenue should be raised there"; then came the technicalwords of " giving and granting. " And thus a complete American revenue act was made in all the
forms, and with a full avowal of the right, equity, policy, and even necessity, of taxing the colonies, without
any formal consent of theirs. There are contained
also, in the:preamble to that act these very, remarkable
words, - the Commons, &c. , " being desirous to make
some provision in the present session of Parliament
towards raising the said revenue. " By these words
it appeared to the colonies that this act was but a
beginning of sorrows, - that every session was to produce something of the same kind, that we were to
go on, from day to day, in charging them with such
taxes as we pleased, for- such a military force as we
should think proper. Had this plan been pursued,
it was evident that the provincial assemblies, in which
the Americans felt all their portion of importance,
and beheld their sole image of freedom, were ipso
facto annihilated. ' This ill prospect before them
seemed to be boundless in extent and endless in
duration. Sir, they were not mistaken. -The ministry valued themselves when this act. passed, and
when they gave notice of the Stamp Act, that both of
the dutie's came very short of their ideas of American
taxation. Great was the applause of this measure
here. ; In England we cried out for new taxes on
America, whilst they cried out that they were nearly
? ? ? ? 42 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
crushed with those which the war and their own grant:
had brought upon them.
Sir, it has been said in the debate, that,when thE
first American revenue act (the act in 1764, impos.
ing, the port-duties) passed, the Americans did nol
object to the principle. It is true they touched it but
Very tenderly. It was not a direct attack. They
were, it is true, as yet novices, - as yet unaccustomed to direct attacks upon any of the rights of Parliament. The duties were port-duties, like those
they had been accustomed to bear, --with this difference, that the title was not the same, the preamble not' the same, and the spirit altogether unlike. But
of what service is this observation to the cause of
those that make it? It is a full refutation of the
pretence for their present cruelty to America; for it
shows, out of their own mouths, that our colonies
were backward to enter into the present vexatious
and ruinous controversy.
There is also another circulation abroad, (spread
with a malignant intention, which I cannot attribute
to those who say the same thing in this House,) that
Mr. Grenville gave the colony agents an option for
their assemblies to tax themselves, which they had refused. I find that much stress is laid on this, as a fact. However, it happens neither to be true nor possible. I will observe, first, that Mr. Grenville never thought fit to mnake this apology for himself in the innumerable debates that were had upon the subject. He might have proposed to the colony agents, that
they should agree in some mode of taxatioF as the
ground of an act of Parliament. But he never could
have proposed that they should tax themselves on requisition, which is the assertion of the day. Indeed,
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 43
Mr. Grenville well knew that the colony agents
could have no general powers to consent to it; and
they had no time to consult their assemblies for particular powers, before he passed his first revenue act. If you compare dates, you will find it -impossible.
Burdened as the agents knew the colonies were at
that time, they could not give the least hope of such
grants. His own favorite governor was of opinion
that the Americans were not then taxable objects.
" Nor was the time less favorable to the equity of
such a taxation. I don't mean to dispute the reasonableness of America contributing to the charges of Great Britain, when she is able; nor, I believe, would
the Americans themselves have disputed it at a proper
time and season. But it should be considered, that
the American governments themselves have, in the
prosecution of the late war, contracted very large
debts, which it will take some years to pay off, and in
the mean time occasion very burdensome taxes for that
pfzrpose only. For instance, this government, which is
as much beforehand as any, raises every year 37,5001.
sterling for sinking their debt, and must continue it
for four years longer at least before it will be clear. "
These are the words of Governor Bernard's letter
to a member of the old ministry, and which he has
since printed.
Mr. Grenville could not have made this proposition
to the agents for another reason. He was of opinion, which he has declared in this House ail hundred times, that the colonies could not legally grant any
revenue to the crown, and that infinite mischiefs
would be the consequence of such a power. When
M-r. Grenville had passed the first revenue act, and in
the same session had made this House come to a res
? ? ? ? 44 SPEECH ON'AMERICAN'TAXATION'
olution for: laying a stamp-duty: on America,- between. .
that time and: the:;passing. the Stamp Act into a:. law
he told:a'considerable and most respectable merchant,.
a member of this House, whom I am truly sorry I:do
not:now see i'n his place, when herepresented against
this proceeding:that, ifthe stamp-duty was: disliked,
he was w lling to exchange it for; any other'equally
prodactive, -- but that, if he objected. -to the Americains being taxed by Parliament, he might save himself:. the trouble of the:discussion,: as he was determined on-: the measure, - This is the fact, and, if you please,
I will mention a very unquestionable authority foar it.
Thus, Sir, I have disposed of this falsehood. J-But
falsehood has a perennial spring. /. . It is said that no
conjecture could be made of the dislike of the colonies to the, principle. . This is as untrue as the other.
After the resolution of the House;. and before the
passing of the Stamp Act, the colonies. of Massachusetts Bay and New York did. send remonstrances
objecting to this mode of. Parliamentary taxation.
What was the consequence? They were suppressed,
they were put under the table, notwithstanding. an order of Council to, the contrary, by the ministry which
composed the very Council that had made the order;
and thus the House proceeded to its business of; taxing
without the least regular knowledge of the objections
which were made to it. : But to give that House. its
due, it was not over-desirous to receive information
or to hear remonstrance. - On the 15th. of February,
1765, whilst the:Stamp Act was under: deliberation,
they refused with. scorn even so. much as to -receive
four petitions presented from so respectable colonies
as Connecticut, Rhode: Island, Virginia, and Carolina,
besides, one from. . the traders of Jamaica. As to the
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 45'colonies, they had no alternative left to them but to
disobey, or to pay the taxes imposed by that: Parliament; which was -not suffered, or did not suffer itself,
even. to hear them:remonstrate upon the subject. .
This was the state. of the colonies before his:MXajesty:thought fit to change his ministers. It stands upon
no authority of mine. It is proved by uncontrovertible records. . The honorable gentleman has desired
some of us to lay our. hands upon, our hearts and answer to his queries upon the historical part of tliis consideration, and by his manner, (as well as my'eyes could discern it)- he seemed: to address himself to me. . ? ' Sir, I will answer him as clearly as I am able, and
with great openness: I have nothing to conceal. . , In
the, year, sixty-five, being in a very. private station,
far- enough from any line of business, and not having
the honor of a seat in this tHouse, it was my fortune,
unknowing and unknown to the then ministry, by the
intervention of a common friend,to become connected
with a very noble person, and at the head of the Treasury Department. 'It was, indeed, in a situation of little
rank and no consequence, suitable to the mediocrity
of my talents and pretensions, - but a situation near
enough to enable me to see, as well as others, what
was going:on;. and I did see in that noble person
such sound principles, such an enlargement of mind,
such: clear and sagacious sense, and such unshaken
fortitude, as have bound me, as well as others much
better than me,'by an inviolable attachment to. him
from that time forward. Sir, Lord Rockingham very
early in that summer received a strong representation
from many weighty English merchants and manufac-. tu~rers, from governors of provinces and comrmanders
of men-of-war, against almost the whole of the Amer7
? ? ? ? 46 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
ican commercial regulations, - and particularly with
regard to the total ruin which was threatened to the
Spanish trade. I believe, Sir, the noble lord soon
saw his way in this business. But he did not rashly
determine against acts which it might be supposed
were the result of much deliberation. However, Sir,
he scarcely began to open the ground, when the
whole veteran' body of office took the alarm. . A violent outcry of all (except those who knew and felt
the mischief) was raised against any alteration. On
one hand, his attempt was a direct violation of treaties and public law; on the other, the Act of Navigation and all the corps of trade-laws were drawn up in array against it. 'The first step the noble lord took was, to have the
opinion of his excellent, learned, and ever-lamented
friend, the late Mr. Yorke, then Attorney-General, on
the point of law. When he knew that formally and
officially which in substance he had known before,
he immediately, dispatched orders to redress the grievance. But I will say it for the then minister, he is of
that constitution of mind, that I know he would have
issued, on the same critical occasion, the very same
orders, if the acts of trade had been, as they were not,
directly against him, and would'have cheerfully submitted to the equity of Parliament for his indemnity.
On the conclusion of this business of the Spanish
trade, the news of the troubles on account of the
Stamp Act arrived in England. It was not until the
end of October that these accounts were received.
No sooner had'the sound of that mighty tempest
reached us in England, than the whole of the then
opposition, instead of feeling humbled by the unhappy issue of their measures, seemed to be infinitely
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 47
elated, and cried out, that the ministry, from envy
to the glory of their predecessors, were prepared to
repeal the Stamp Act. Near nine years after, the
honorable gentleman takes quite opposite ground, and
now challenges me to put my hand to my heart and
say whether the ministry had resolved on the repeal
till a considerable time after the meeting of Parliament. Though I do not very well know what the honorable gentleman wishes to infer from the admission or from the denial of this fact on which he so earnestly adjures me, I do put my hand on my heart
and assure him that they did not come to a resolution
directly to repeal. They weighed this matter as its
difficulty and importance required. They considered
maturely among themselves. They consulted with
all who could give advice or information. It was
not determined until a little before the meeting of
Parliament; but it was determined, and the main
lines of their own plan marked out, before that
meeting. Two questions arose. (I hope I am not
going into a narrative troublesome to the House. )
[A cry of" Go on, go on! "]
The first of the two considerations was, whether
the repeal should be total, or whether only partial,taking out everything burdensome and productive,
and reserving only an empty acknowledgment, such as
a stamp on cards or dice. The other question was,
on what principle the act should be repealed. ' On
this head also two principles were started. One, that
the legislative rights of this country with regard to
America were not entire, but had certain restrictions
and limitations. - The other principle was, that taxes
of this kind were contrary to the fundamental principles of commerce on which the colonies were founded,
? ? ? ? 48 SPEECH. ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
and, contrary to every idea-' of political equity,- by,wh'ich equity we are bound as much as possible to:extend the spirit and benefit of the British Constitution; to'every part of the British dominions. iTheoption, both:. of:the'measure and of the principle of repeal, was. made before the session; and I wonder
how any one can read the king's speech at the opening
of; that-session, without seeing in that speech both the
repeal and the Declaratory Act very sufficiently crayoned out. Those who cannot see this can see nothing.
Surely the honorable gentleman will not think that:a great deal less time than. was then employed ought
to have been spent in deliberation, when he considers
that the -news of the troubles did not arrive till towards the. end of October. The Parliament sat to fill
the vacancies on the 14th day of December, and on
business the. 14th of the following January.
Sir, a partial repeal, or, as the bon-ton of the court
then was, a modification, would have satisfied a timid,
unsystematic, procrastinating ministry, as such a measure has isince done such a ministry.
A modification
is the constant resource. of weak, undeciding minds.
To: repeal by a denial of our right to tax in the pre-amble (and: this, too, did not want advisers) would
have cut; in the heroic style, the Gordian knot with a
sword. ;Either measure would have cost no more
than a day's debate. 'But when the total repeal was
adopted, and:adopted on principles of policy, of:equity, and of, commerce, this plan made it necessary to enter into many and difficult measures. It became necessary to open a very:large field of evidence
commensurate to these extensive views. But'then
this labor. did knights' service. It opened the eyes of. several to:the true state of the American affairs;'it
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 49
enlarged their ideas; it removed prejudices; and it
conciliated the opinions and affections of men. The
noble lord who then took the lead in administration,
my honorable friend * under me, and a right honorable gentleman t (if he will not reject his share, and it was a large one, of this business) exerted the most
laudable industry in bringing before you the fullest,
most impartial, and least garbled body of evidence
that ever was produced to this House. I think the
inquiry lasted in the committee for six weeks; and
at its conclusion, this House, by an independent, no,
ble, spirited, and unexpected majority, by a majority
that will redeem all the acts ever done. by majorities
in Parliament, in the teeth of all the old mercenary
Swiss of state, in despite, of all the speculators and
augurs of political events, in defiance of the whole
embattled legion of veteran pensioners and practised
instruments of a court, gave a total repeal to the
Stamp Act, and (if it had been so permitted) a lasting peace to this whole empire.
I state, Sir, these particulars, because this act of
spirit and fortitude has lately been, in the circulation
of the season, and in some hazarded declamations in
this House, attributed to timidity. If, Sir, the conduct of ministry, in proposing the repeal, had arisen
from timidity with regard to themselves, it would
have been greatly to be condemned. Interested timidity disgraces as much in the cabinet as personal timidity does in the field. But timidity with regard
to the well-being of our country is heroic virtue.
The noble'lord who then conducted affairs, and his
worthy colleagues, whilst they trembled at the prospect of such distresses as you have since brought upon * Mr. Dowdeswell. t General Conway.
VOL. II. 4
? ? ? ? . 50 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
yourselves,. were not afraid steadily to look in the face
that glaring and dazzling influence at which the eyes
of eagles have blenched. He looked in the face one
of the ablest, and, let me say, not the most scrupulous
oppositions, that perhaps ever was in this House; and
withstood it, unaided by even one of the usual' supports of administration. He did this, when he repealed the Stamp Act. He 1boked in the face a person he had long respected and regarded, and whose aid was then particularly wanting:. I mean Lord
Chatham. He did this when he passed the Declaratory Act.
It is now given out, for the usual purposes, by the. usual emissaries, that Lord Rockingham did not conlsent to the repeal of this act until he was bullied into
it by Lord Chatham; and the reporters have gone
so far as publicly to assert, in an hundred companies,
that the honorable gentleman under the gallery,* who
proposed the repeal in the American committee, had
another set of resolutions in his pocket, directly the
reverse of those he moved. These artifices of a desperate cause are at this time spread abroad, with incredible care, in every part of the town, from the
highest to. the lowest companies; as if the industry
of the circulation were to make amends for the absurdity of the report.
Sir, whether the; noble lord is of a complexion to
be bullied by Lord Chatham, or by any man, I:must
submit to those who know him. I confess, when I
look back to that time, I- consider him as placed iil
one of the most trying situations in which, perhaps,
any man ever stood. In the House of Peers there
were very few of the ministry, out of the noble lord's
* General Conway.
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 51
own particular connection, (except Lord Egmont,
who acted, as far as I could discern, an honorable
and manly part,) that did not look to some other future arrangement, which warped his politics. There
were in both Houses new and menacing appearances,
that might very naturally drive any other than a most
resolute minister from his measure or from his station. The household troops openly revolted. The
allies of ministry (those, I mean, who supported some
of their measures, but refused responsibility for any)
endeavored to undermine'their credit, and to take
ground that must be fatal to the success of the very
cause which they would be thought to countenance.
The question of the repeal was brought on by ministry in the committee of this House in the very instant when it was known that more than one court negotiation was carrying on with the heads of the
opposition. Everything, upon every side, was full of
traps and mines. Earth below shook; heaven above
menaced; all the elements of ministerial safety were
dissolved. -It was in the midst of this chaos of plots
and counterplots, it i was in the midst-f this complicated warfare against public opposition and private
treachery, that the firmness of that noble person was
put to the proof. He never stirred from his ground:
no, not an inch. He remained fixed and determined,
in principle, in measure, and in conduct. He practised no managements. He secured no retreat. He
sought no apology.
~I will likewise do justice-I oughtto do'it-to the
honorable gentleman who led us in this House. * Far
from the duplicity wickedly charged on him, he acted
his part with alacrity and resolution. We all felt in* General Conway.
? ? ? ? 52 SPEECH:: ON'AMERICAN;TAXATION.
spired by the example. he gave us, down even to my-.
self, the weakest in that phalanx. I declare for one,
I knew well enough (it could, not be concealed from
anybody) the true, state of things; but, in my life, I
never came with so much spirits into this House. ,- It
was a. time for a man to act in. We had powerful
enemies; but we had faithiful and determined friends,
and a glorious cause. We had a great battle to fight;
but-we had the. means of fighting: not as now, when'our arms are tied behind:us. We did fight that day,
and conquer.
I iremember Sir, with a melancholy pleasure, the
situation of the honorable gentleman * who made the
motion for the repeal: in that crisis, when the whole
trading interest of this empire, crammed into your
lobbies, with a trembling and anxious expectation,
waited, almost to a winter's return of light, their fate
from your resolutions. When at length you had determined in their favor, and your doors thrown open
showed them the figure of their deliverer in the wellearned: triumph of his important victory, from the
whole of that- grave multitude there arose an involuntary burst of gratitude and transport. . They jumped
upon him like children on a long absent father.
They clung about him as: captives about their redeemer. . All England, all America, joined in his applause. Nor did he seem insensible to the best of all earthly rewards, the love and admiration of his fel.
low-citizens. Hope elevated and joy brightened his
crest. I stood near him; and his face, to use the expression of the Scripture of the first martyr, " his face
was as if it had been the face of an angel. ". I do not
know how others feel. ;. but if I had stood in that sit* General Conway.
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 53
uation, I never would have exchanged itfor all that
kings in their profusion could bestow. I did hope
that that day's danger and honor would have been a
bond to hold us all together forever. But, alas!
that, with other pleasing visions, is long since vanished.
Sir, this- act of supreme magnanimity has been
represented as if it had been a measure of an administration that, having no scheme of their own, took a middle line, pilfered. a bit from one. side and a bit
from the other. :-Sir, they took no middle lines.
They differed fundamentally from the schemes of
both parties; but they preserved the objects of both.
They preserved the authority of Great Britain;
they preserved the equity of Great Britain. They
made the Declaratory Act; they repealed the. Stamp
Act. They did both fully: because the Declaratory
Act was without qualification; and the repeal. of. the
Stamp' Act total. This they did in the situation. I
have described.
Now, Sir, what will'the adversary say to both these
acts? If the principle of the Declaratory Act was
not good, the principle we are contending for this
day is monstrous. If the principle of the repeal was
not good,. why are we not at war for a real, substantial, effective revenue? If both were bad, why' has this ministry incurred all the inconveniences. of both
and of all schemes? why have they enacted, repealed, enforced, yielded, and now attempt to enforce again. . ?
Sir, I. think I may as well now- as:at. any. other
time speak to a certain matter of fact not wholly
unrelated to. the question under your consideration.
W. e, who would persuade you to revert to the ancient
? ? ? ? 54 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
policy of this kingdom, labor under the effect of this
short current phrase, which the court leaders have
given out to all their corps, in order to take away the
credit of those who would prevent you from that
frantic war you are going to wage upon your colonies. Their cant is this: " All the disturbances in America have, been created by the repeal of the
Stamp Act. " I suppress for a moment my indignation at the falsehood, baseness, and absurdity of this most audacious assertion. Instead of remarking on
the motives and character of those who have issued it
for circulation, I will clearly lay before you the state
of America, antecedently to that repeal, after the
repeal, and since the renewal of the schemes of
American taxation.
It is said, that the disturbances, if there were -any
before the repeal, were slight, and without difficulty or. inconvenience might have been suppressed. For an answer to this assertion I will send you to the
great author and patron of the Stamp Act, who, certainly meaning well to the authority of this country, and fully apprised of the state of that,. made, before a
repeal was so. much as agitated in this House, the
motion which is on your journals, and which, to
save the clerk the trouble of turning to it, I will now
read-to you. It was for an amendment to the address of the 17tll of December, 1765. .
"To express our just resentment and indignation
at the outrageous tumults and insurrections which have
been excited and carried on in North America, and at
the resistance given, by open and rebellious force, to
the execution of the laws in that part of his Majesty's
dominions; to assure his Majesty, that his faithful
Commons, animated with the warmest duty and at
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 55
tachment to his royal person and government,. . .
will firmly and effectually support his Majesty in all
such measures as shall be necessary for preserving
and securing the legal dependence of the colonies
upon this their mother country," &c. , &c.
Here was certainly a disturbance preceding the
repeal, - such a disturbance as Mr. Grenville thought
necessary to qualify by the name of an insurrection,
and the epithet of a rebellious. force: terms much
stronger than any by which those who then supported his motion have ever since thought proper to distinguish the subsequent disturbances in America.
They were disturbances which seemed. to him and
his friends to justify as strong a promise of support as hath been usual to give in the beginning
of a war with the most powerful and declared ene
mies. When the accounts of the American governors came before the House, they appeared stronger even than the warmth of public imagination- had
painted them: so much stronger, that the papers on
your table bear me out in saying that all the late
disturbances, which have been at one time the minister's motives for the repeal of five out of six of the new court taxes, and are now his pretences for refusing to repeal that sixth, did not amount - why do I compare them? - no, not to a tenth part of the tumults and violence which prevailed long before the repeal of that act.
Ministry cannot refuse the authority of the commander-in-chief, General Gage, who, in his letter of
the 4th of November, from New York, thus represents the state of things: --
" It is difficult to say, from the highest to the lowest,
who has not been accessory to this insurrection, either
? ? ? ? 56 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
by writing, or mutual agreements to oppose the act, by
what they are pleased to term all legal opposition to it.
Nothing':effectukl has been proposed, either to prevent
or'quell the tumult. The rest of the provinces are in
the same situation, as to a positive refusal to take the
stamps, and threatening those who shall take them to
plunder and murder them; and this affair stands in
all the provinces, that, unless the act from its own nature enforce itself, nothing but a very considerable military force can do it,"
It is remarkable, Sir, that the persons who formerly
trumpeted forth the most loudly the violent resolutions of assemblies, the universal insurrections, the seizing and burning the stamped papers, the forcing
stamp officers to resign their commissions under the
gallows, the rifling and pulling down of the houses
of magistrates, and the expulsion from their country
of all who dared to write or speak a single word in
defence of the powers of Parliament, -- these very
trumpeters are now the men that represent the whole
as a mere trifle, and choose to date all the disturbances from the repeal of the Stamp Act, which put
an end to them. Hear your officers abroad, and let
them refute this shameless falsehood, who, in all their
correspondence, state the disturbances as owing to
their true causes, the discontent of the people from
the taxes. You have this. evidence in your own archives; and it will give you complete satisfaction, if you are not so far. lost to all Parliamentary ideas of
information as rather to credit the lie of the day
than the records of your own House.
Sir, this vermin of court reporters, when they are
forced into'day upon one points are sure to burrow in
another: but they shall have no refuge; I-will make
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON -AMERICAN TAXATION. 57
t;lem bolt/out of all thleir holes. Conscious that they
must be baffled, when they attribute a precedent disturbance to a subsequent measure, they take other ground, almost as absurd, but very common in modern practice, and very wicked; which is,'to attribute' the ill effect of ill-judged conduct to the arguments
which had been used to dissuade us from it. They
say, that. the opposition made in Parliament to the
Stamp Act, at the time of its passing, encouraged the
Americans to their resistance. . This has even forrmally appeared in print in a regular volume from an advocate of that faction, --a Dr. Tucker. This Dr.
Tucker is already a dean, and- his earnest labors in
this vineyard will, I suppose, raise -him to a bishopric. But this assertion, too,just like the rest, is false.
In all the papers which have loaded your table,. in
all the -vast crowd of verbal witnesses that appeared at
your bar, witnesses which were indiscriminately produced from both sides of the House, not the least hint of such a cause of disturbance has ever appeared.
As to the fact of a strenuous opposition to the Stamp
Act, I sat as a stranger in your gallery when the act
was under consideration. Far from anything inflammatory, I never heard a more languid debate in this House. No more than two or three gentlemen, as I
remember, spoke against the act, and that with great
reserve and remarkable temper. There was but one
division in the whole progress of the bill; and the
minority did not reach to more than 39 or 40.
on every side. It filled all its proper channels to the
brim. It overflowed with a rich redundance, and
breaking its banks on the right and on the left, it
spread out upon some places where it was indeed
improper, upon others where it was only irregular.
It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact;1 and
great trade will always be attended with considerable
abuses. t The contraband will always keep pace in
some measure with the fair trade. tit should stand
as a. fundamental maxim, that no vulgar precaution
ought to be employed in the cure of evils which are
closely connected with the cause of our prosperity.
Perhaps this great person turned his eyes somewhat
less than was just towards the incredible increase of
the fair trade, and looked with something of too exquisite a jealousy towards the contraband. I4e cer-. tainly felt a singular degree of anxiety on the subject,
and even began to act from that passion earlier than
is commonly imagined. For whilst he was First Lord
of the Admiralty, though not strictly called upon in
his official line, he presented a very strong memorial to the Lords of the Treasury, (my Lord Bute
Vas then at the head of the board,) heavily complaining of the growth of the illicit commerce in America.
? ? ? ? 40 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. Some mischief happened even at that time from this over-earnest zeal. Much greater happened afterwards, when it operated with greater power in the highest department of the finances. The bonds of
the Act of Navigation were straitened so much that
America was on the point of having no trade, either
contraband or legitimate. They found, under the
construction and execution then used, the act no
longer tying, but actually strangling them. All this
coming with new enumerations of commodities, with
regulations which in a manner put a stop to the mutual coasting intercourse of the colonies, with the appointment of courts of admiralty under various
improper circumstances, with a sudden extinction of'the paper currencies, with a compulsory provision for the quartering of soldiers,-the people of America
thought themselves proceeded against as delinquents,
or, at best, as people; under suspicion of delinquency,
and in such. a manner as they imagined their recent
services in the war did not at all merit. Any of
these innumerable regulations, perhaps, would not
have alarmed alone; some might be thought reasonable; the multitude struck them with terror. But the grand manoeuvre in that business of new
regulating the colonies was the fifteenth act of the
fourth. of George the Third, which, besides containing
several of the matters to which I have. just alluded,
opened a new principle. And here properly began
the second period of the policy of this country with
regard to the colonies, by-'which the scheme of a regular plantation Parliamentary revenue was adopted in theory and settled in practice: a revenue not substituted in the place of, but superadded to, a monopoly. ; which monopoly: was enforced at the same time with
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 41
additional strictness, and the execution put into military hands.
This act; Sir, had for the first time the title of
"'granting duties in the colonies and plantations of
America," and for the first time it was asserted in the
preamble " that it was just and necessary that a revenue should be raised there"; then came the technicalwords of " giving and granting. " And thus a complete American revenue act was made in all the
forms, and with a full avowal of the right, equity, policy, and even necessity, of taxing the colonies, without
any formal consent of theirs. There are contained
also, in the:preamble to that act these very, remarkable
words, - the Commons, &c. , " being desirous to make
some provision in the present session of Parliament
towards raising the said revenue. " By these words
it appeared to the colonies that this act was but a
beginning of sorrows, - that every session was to produce something of the same kind, that we were to
go on, from day to day, in charging them with such
taxes as we pleased, for- such a military force as we
should think proper. Had this plan been pursued,
it was evident that the provincial assemblies, in which
the Americans felt all their portion of importance,
and beheld their sole image of freedom, were ipso
facto annihilated. ' This ill prospect before them
seemed to be boundless in extent and endless in
duration. Sir, they were not mistaken. -The ministry valued themselves when this act. passed, and
when they gave notice of the Stamp Act, that both of
the dutie's came very short of their ideas of American
taxation. Great was the applause of this measure
here. ; In England we cried out for new taxes on
America, whilst they cried out that they were nearly
? ? ? ? 42 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
crushed with those which the war and their own grant:
had brought upon them.
Sir, it has been said in the debate, that,when thE
first American revenue act (the act in 1764, impos.
ing, the port-duties) passed, the Americans did nol
object to the principle. It is true they touched it but
Very tenderly. It was not a direct attack. They
were, it is true, as yet novices, - as yet unaccustomed to direct attacks upon any of the rights of Parliament. The duties were port-duties, like those
they had been accustomed to bear, --with this difference, that the title was not the same, the preamble not' the same, and the spirit altogether unlike. But
of what service is this observation to the cause of
those that make it? It is a full refutation of the
pretence for their present cruelty to America; for it
shows, out of their own mouths, that our colonies
were backward to enter into the present vexatious
and ruinous controversy.
There is also another circulation abroad, (spread
with a malignant intention, which I cannot attribute
to those who say the same thing in this House,) that
Mr. Grenville gave the colony agents an option for
their assemblies to tax themselves, which they had refused. I find that much stress is laid on this, as a fact. However, it happens neither to be true nor possible. I will observe, first, that Mr. Grenville never thought fit to mnake this apology for himself in the innumerable debates that were had upon the subject. He might have proposed to the colony agents, that
they should agree in some mode of taxatioF as the
ground of an act of Parliament. But he never could
have proposed that they should tax themselves on requisition, which is the assertion of the day. Indeed,
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 43
Mr. Grenville well knew that the colony agents
could have no general powers to consent to it; and
they had no time to consult their assemblies for particular powers, before he passed his first revenue act. If you compare dates, you will find it -impossible.
Burdened as the agents knew the colonies were at
that time, they could not give the least hope of such
grants. His own favorite governor was of opinion
that the Americans were not then taxable objects.
" Nor was the time less favorable to the equity of
such a taxation. I don't mean to dispute the reasonableness of America contributing to the charges of Great Britain, when she is able; nor, I believe, would
the Americans themselves have disputed it at a proper
time and season. But it should be considered, that
the American governments themselves have, in the
prosecution of the late war, contracted very large
debts, which it will take some years to pay off, and in
the mean time occasion very burdensome taxes for that
pfzrpose only. For instance, this government, which is
as much beforehand as any, raises every year 37,5001.
sterling for sinking their debt, and must continue it
for four years longer at least before it will be clear. "
These are the words of Governor Bernard's letter
to a member of the old ministry, and which he has
since printed.
Mr. Grenville could not have made this proposition
to the agents for another reason. He was of opinion, which he has declared in this House ail hundred times, that the colonies could not legally grant any
revenue to the crown, and that infinite mischiefs
would be the consequence of such a power. When
M-r. Grenville had passed the first revenue act, and in
the same session had made this House come to a res
? ? ? ? 44 SPEECH ON'AMERICAN'TAXATION'
olution for: laying a stamp-duty: on America,- between. .
that time and: the:;passing. the Stamp Act into a:. law
he told:a'considerable and most respectable merchant,.
a member of this House, whom I am truly sorry I:do
not:now see i'n his place, when herepresented against
this proceeding:that, ifthe stamp-duty was: disliked,
he was w lling to exchange it for; any other'equally
prodactive, -- but that, if he objected. -to the Americains being taxed by Parliament, he might save himself:. the trouble of the:discussion,: as he was determined on-: the measure, - This is the fact, and, if you please,
I will mention a very unquestionable authority foar it.
Thus, Sir, I have disposed of this falsehood. J-But
falsehood has a perennial spring. /. . It is said that no
conjecture could be made of the dislike of the colonies to the, principle. . This is as untrue as the other.
After the resolution of the House;. and before the
passing of the Stamp Act, the colonies. of Massachusetts Bay and New York did. send remonstrances
objecting to this mode of. Parliamentary taxation.
What was the consequence? They were suppressed,
they were put under the table, notwithstanding. an order of Council to, the contrary, by the ministry which
composed the very Council that had made the order;
and thus the House proceeded to its business of; taxing
without the least regular knowledge of the objections
which were made to it. : But to give that House. its
due, it was not over-desirous to receive information
or to hear remonstrance. - On the 15th. of February,
1765, whilst the:Stamp Act was under: deliberation,
they refused with. scorn even so. much as to -receive
four petitions presented from so respectable colonies
as Connecticut, Rhode: Island, Virginia, and Carolina,
besides, one from. . the traders of Jamaica. As to the
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 45'colonies, they had no alternative left to them but to
disobey, or to pay the taxes imposed by that: Parliament; which was -not suffered, or did not suffer itself,
even. to hear them:remonstrate upon the subject. .
This was the state. of the colonies before his:MXajesty:thought fit to change his ministers. It stands upon
no authority of mine. It is proved by uncontrovertible records. . The honorable gentleman has desired
some of us to lay our. hands upon, our hearts and answer to his queries upon the historical part of tliis consideration, and by his manner, (as well as my'eyes could discern it)- he seemed: to address himself to me. . ? ' Sir, I will answer him as clearly as I am able, and
with great openness: I have nothing to conceal. . , In
the, year, sixty-five, being in a very. private station,
far- enough from any line of business, and not having
the honor of a seat in this tHouse, it was my fortune,
unknowing and unknown to the then ministry, by the
intervention of a common friend,to become connected
with a very noble person, and at the head of the Treasury Department. 'It was, indeed, in a situation of little
rank and no consequence, suitable to the mediocrity
of my talents and pretensions, - but a situation near
enough to enable me to see, as well as others, what
was going:on;. and I did see in that noble person
such sound principles, such an enlargement of mind,
such: clear and sagacious sense, and such unshaken
fortitude, as have bound me, as well as others much
better than me,'by an inviolable attachment to. him
from that time forward. Sir, Lord Rockingham very
early in that summer received a strong representation
from many weighty English merchants and manufac-. tu~rers, from governors of provinces and comrmanders
of men-of-war, against almost the whole of the Amer7
? ? ? ? 46 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
ican commercial regulations, - and particularly with
regard to the total ruin which was threatened to the
Spanish trade. I believe, Sir, the noble lord soon
saw his way in this business. But he did not rashly
determine against acts which it might be supposed
were the result of much deliberation. However, Sir,
he scarcely began to open the ground, when the
whole veteran' body of office took the alarm. . A violent outcry of all (except those who knew and felt
the mischief) was raised against any alteration. On
one hand, his attempt was a direct violation of treaties and public law; on the other, the Act of Navigation and all the corps of trade-laws were drawn up in array against it. 'The first step the noble lord took was, to have the
opinion of his excellent, learned, and ever-lamented
friend, the late Mr. Yorke, then Attorney-General, on
the point of law. When he knew that formally and
officially which in substance he had known before,
he immediately, dispatched orders to redress the grievance. But I will say it for the then minister, he is of
that constitution of mind, that I know he would have
issued, on the same critical occasion, the very same
orders, if the acts of trade had been, as they were not,
directly against him, and would'have cheerfully submitted to the equity of Parliament for his indemnity.
On the conclusion of this business of the Spanish
trade, the news of the troubles on account of the
Stamp Act arrived in England. It was not until the
end of October that these accounts were received.
No sooner had'the sound of that mighty tempest
reached us in England, than the whole of the then
opposition, instead of feeling humbled by the unhappy issue of their measures, seemed to be infinitely
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 47
elated, and cried out, that the ministry, from envy
to the glory of their predecessors, were prepared to
repeal the Stamp Act. Near nine years after, the
honorable gentleman takes quite opposite ground, and
now challenges me to put my hand to my heart and
say whether the ministry had resolved on the repeal
till a considerable time after the meeting of Parliament. Though I do not very well know what the honorable gentleman wishes to infer from the admission or from the denial of this fact on which he so earnestly adjures me, I do put my hand on my heart
and assure him that they did not come to a resolution
directly to repeal. They weighed this matter as its
difficulty and importance required. They considered
maturely among themselves. They consulted with
all who could give advice or information. It was
not determined until a little before the meeting of
Parliament; but it was determined, and the main
lines of their own plan marked out, before that
meeting. Two questions arose. (I hope I am not
going into a narrative troublesome to the House. )
[A cry of" Go on, go on! "]
The first of the two considerations was, whether
the repeal should be total, or whether only partial,taking out everything burdensome and productive,
and reserving only an empty acknowledgment, such as
a stamp on cards or dice. The other question was,
on what principle the act should be repealed. ' On
this head also two principles were started. One, that
the legislative rights of this country with regard to
America were not entire, but had certain restrictions
and limitations. - The other principle was, that taxes
of this kind were contrary to the fundamental principles of commerce on which the colonies were founded,
? ? ? ? 48 SPEECH. ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
and, contrary to every idea-' of political equity,- by,wh'ich equity we are bound as much as possible to:extend the spirit and benefit of the British Constitution; to'every part of the British dominions. iTheoption, both:. of:the'measure and of the principle of repeal, was. made before the session; and I wonder
how any one can read the king's speech at the opening
of; that-session, without seeing in that speech both the
repeal and the Declaratory Act very sufficiently crayoned out. Those who cannot see this can see nothing.
Surely the honorable gentleman will not think that:a great deal less time than. was then employed ought
to have been spent in deliberation, when he considers
that the -news of the troubles did not arrive till towards the. end of October. The Parliament sat to fill
the vacancies on the 14th day of December, and on
business the. 14th of the following January.
Sir, a partial repeal, or, as the bon-ton of the court
then was, a modification, would have satisfied a timid,
unsystematic, procrastinating ministry, as such a measure has isince done such a ministry.
A modification
is the constant resource. of weak, undeciding minds.
To: repeal by a denial of our right to tax in the pre-amble (and: this, too, did not want advisers) would
have cut; in the heroic style, the Gordian knot with a
sword. ;Either measure would have cost no more
than a day's debate. 'But when the total repeal was
adopted, and:adopted on principles of policy, of:equity, and of, commerce, this plan made it necessary to enter into many and difficult measures. It became necessary to open a very:large field of evidence
commensurate to these extensive views. But'then
this labor. did knights' service. It opened the eyes of. several to:the true state of the American affairs;'it
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 49
enlarged their ideas; it removed prejudices; and it
conciliated the opinions and affections of men. The
noble lord who then took the lead in administration,
my honorable friend * under me, and a right honorable gentleman t (if he will not reject his share, and it was a large one, of this business) exerted the most
laudable industry in bringing before you the fullest,
most impartial, and least garbled body of evidence
that ever was produced to this House. I think the
inquiry lasted in the committee for six weeks; and
at its conclusion, this House, by an independent, no,
ble, spirited, and unexpected majority, by a majority
that will redeem all the acts ever done. by majorities
in Parliament, in the teeth of all the old mercenary
Swiss of state, in despite, of all the speculators and
augurs of political events, in defiance of the whole
embattled legion of veteran pensioners and practised
instruments of a court, gave a total repeal to the
Stamp Act, and (if it had been so permitted) a lasting peace to this whole empire.
I state, Sir, these particulars, because this act of
spirit and fortitude has lately been, in the circulation
of the season, and in some hazarded declamations in
this House, attributed to timidity. If, Sir, the conduct of ministry, in proposing the repeal, had arisen
from timidity with regard to themselves, it would
have been greatly to be condemned. Interested timidity disgraces as much in the cabinet as personal timidity does in the field. But timidity with regard
to the well-being of our country is heroic virtue.
The noble'lord who then conducted affairs, and his
worthy colleagues, whilst they trembled at the prospect of such distresses as you have since brought upon * Mr. Dowdeswell. t General Conway.
VOL. II. 4
? ? ? ? . 50 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
yourselves,. were not afraid steadily to look in the face
that glaring and dazzling influence at which the eyes
of eagles have blenched. He looked in the face one
of the ablest, and, let me say, not the most scrupulous
oppositions, that perhaps ever was in this House; and
withstood it, unaided by even one of the usual' supports of administration. He did this, when he repealed the Stamp Act. He 1boked in the face a person he had long respected and regarded, and whose aid was then particularly wanting:. I mean Lord
Chatham. He did this when he passed the Declaratory Act.
It is now given out, for the usual purposes, by the. usual emissaries, that Lord Rockingham did not conlsent to the repeal of this act until he was bullied into
it by Lord Chatham; and the reporters have gone
so far as publicly to assert, in an hundred companies,
that the honorable gentleman under the gallery,* who
proposed the repeal in the American committee, had
another set of resolutions in his pocket, directly the
reverse of those he moved. These artifices of a desperate cause are at this time spread abroad, with incredible care, in every part of the town, from the
highest to. the lowest companies; as if the industry
of the circulation were to make amends for the absurdity of the report.
Sir, whether the; noble lord is of a complexion to
be bullied by Lord Chatham, or by any man, I:must
submit to those who know him. I confess, when I
look back to that time, I- consider him as placed iil
one of the most trying situations in which, perhaps,
any man ever stood. In the House of Peers there
were very few of the ministry, out of the noble lord's
* General Conway.
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 51
own particular connection, (except Lord Egmont,
who acted, as far as I could discern, an honorable
and manly part,) that did not look to some other future arrangement, which warped his politics. There
were in both Houses new and menacing appearances,
that might very naturally drive any other than a most
resolute minister from his measure or from his station. The household troops openly revolted. The
allies of ministry (those, I mean, who supported some
of their measures, but refused responsibility for any)
endeavored to undermine'their credit, and to take
ground that must be fatal to the success of the very
cause which they would be thought to countenance.
The question of the repeal was brought on by ministry in the committee of this House in the very instant when it was known that more than one court negotiation was carrying on with the heads of the
opposition. Everything, upon every side, was full of
traps and mines. Earth below shook; heaven above
menaced; all the elements of ministerial safety were
dissolved. -It was in the midst of this chaos of plots
and counterplots, it i was in the midst-f this complicated warfare against public opposition and private
treachery, that the firmness of that noble person was
put to the proof. He never stirred from his ground:
no, not an inch. He remained fixed and determined,
in principle, in measure, and in conduct. He practised no managements. He secured no retreat. He
sought no apology.
~I will likewise do justice-I oughtto do'it-to the
honorable gentleman who led us in this House. * Far
from the duplicity wickedly charged on him, he acted
his part with alacrity and resolution. We all felt in* General Conway.
? ? ? ? 52 SPEECH:: ON'AMERICAN;TAXATION.
spired by the example. he gave us, down even to my-.
self, the weakest in that phalanx. I declare for one,
I knew well enough (it could, not be concealed from
anybody) the true, state of things; but, in my life, I
never came with so much spirits into this House. ,- It
was a. time for a man to act in. We had powerful
enemies; but we had faithiful and determined friends,
and a glorious cause. We had a great battle to fight;
but-we had the. means of fighting: not as now, when'our arms are tied behind:us. We did fight that day,
and conquer.
I iremember Sir, with a melancholy pleasure, the
situation of the honorable gentleman * who made the
motion for the repeal: in that crisis, when the whole
trading interest of this empire, crammed into your
lobbies, with a trembling and anxious expectation,
waited, almost to a winter's return of light, their fate
from your resolutions. When at length you had determined in their favor, and your doors thrown open
showed them the figure of their deliverer in the wellearned: triumph of his important victory, from the
whole of that- grave multitude there arose an involuntary burst of gratitude and transport. . They jumped
upon him like children on a long absent father.
They clung about him as: captives about their redeemer. . All England, all America, joined in his applause. Nor did he seem insensible to the best of all earthly rewards, the love and admiration of his fel.
low-citizens. Hope elevated and joy brightened his
crest. I stood near him; and his face, to use the expression of the Scripture of the first martyr, " his face
was as if it had been the face of an angel. ". I do not
know how others feel. ;. but if I had stood in that sit* General Conway.
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 53
uation, I never would have exchanged itfor all that
kings in their profusion could bestow. I did hope
that that day's danger and honor would have been a
bond to hold us all together forever. But, alas!
that, with other pleasing visions, is long since vanished.
Sir, this- act of supreme magnanimity has been
represented as if it had been a measure of an administration that, having no scheme of their own, took a middle line, pilfered. a bit from one. side and a bit
from the other. :-Sir, they took no middle lines.
They differed fundamentally from the schemes of
both parties; but they preserved the objects of both.
They preserved the authority of Great Britain;
they preserved the equity of Great Britain. They
made the Declaratory Act; they repealed the. Stamp
Act. They did both fully: because the Declaratory
Act was without qualification; and the repeal. of. the
Stamp' Act total. This they did in the situation. I
have described.
Now, Sir, what will'the adversary say to both these
acts? If the principle of the Declaratory Act was
not good, the principle we are contending for this
day is monstrous. If the principle of the repeal was
not good,. why are we not at war for a real, substantial, effective revenue? If both were bad, why' has this ministry incurred all the inconveniences. of both
and of all schemes? why have they enacted, repealed, enforced, yielded, and now attempt to enforce again. . ?
Sir, I. think I may as well now- as:at. any. other
time speak to a certain matter of fact not wholly
unrelated to. the question under your consideration.
W. e, who would persuade you to revert to the ancient
? ? ? ? 54 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
policy of this kingdom, labor under the effect of this
short current phrase, which the court leaders have
given out to all their corps, in order to take away the
credit of those who would prevent you from that
frantic war you are going to wage upon your colonies. Their cant is this: " All the disturbances in America have, been created by the repeal of the
Stamp Act. " I suppress for a moment my indignation at the falsehood, baseness, and absurdity of this most audacious assertion. Instead of remarking on
the motives and character of those who have issued it
for circulation, I will clearly lay before you the state
of America, antecedently to that repeal, after the
repeal, and since the renewal of the schemes of
American taxation.
It is said, that the disturbances, if there were -any
before the repeal, were slight, and without difficulty or. inconvenience might have been suppressed. For an answer to this assertion I will send you to the
great author and patron of the Stamp Act, who, certainly meaning well to the authority of this country, and fully apprised of the state of that,. made, before a
repeal was so. much as agitated in this House, the
motion which is on your journals, and which, to
save the clerk the trouble of turning to it, I will now
read-to you. It was for an amendment to the address of the 17tll of December, 1765. .
"To express our just resentment and indignation
at the outrageous tumults and insurrections which have
been excited and carried on in North America, and at
the resistance given, by open and rebellious force, to
the execution of the laws in that part of his Majesty's
dominions; to assure his Majesty, that his faithful
Commons, animated with the warmest duty and at
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION. 55
tachment to his royal person and government,. . .
will firmly and effectually support his Majesty in all
such measures as shall be necessary for preserving
and securing the legal dependence of the colonies
upon this their mother country," &c. , &c.
Here was certainly a disturbance preceding the
repeal, - such a disturbance as Mr. Grenville thought
necessary to qualify by the name of an insurrection,
and the epithet of a rebellious. force: terms much
stronger than any by which those who then supported his motion have ever since thought proper to distinguish the subsequent disturbances in America.
They were disturbances which seemed. to him and
his friends to justify as strong a promise of support as hath been usual to give in the beginning
of a war with the most powerful and declared ene
mies. When the accounts of the American governors came before the House, they appeared stronger even than the warmth of public imagination- had
painted them: so much stronger, that the papers on
your table bear me out in saying that all the late
disturbances, which have been at one time the minister's motives for the repeal of five out of six of the new court taxes, and are now his pretences for refusing to repeal that sixth, did not amount - why do I compare them? - no, not to a tenth part of the tumults and violence which prevailed long before the repeal of that act.
Ministry cannot refuse the authority of the commander-in-chief, General Gage, who, in his letter of
the 4th of November, from New York, thus represents the state of things: --
" It is difficult to say, from the highest to the lowest,
who has not been accessory to this insurrection, either
? ? ? ? 56 SPEECH ON AMERICAN TAXATION.
by writing, or mutual agreements to oppose the act, by
what they are pleased to term all legal opposition to it.
Nothing':effectukl has been proposed, either to prevent
or'quell the tumult. The rest of the provinces are in
the same situation, as to a positive refusal to take the
stamps, and threatening those who shall take them to
plunder and murder them; and this affair stands in
all the provinces, that, unless the act from its own nature enforce itself, nothing but a very considerable military force can do it,"
It is remarkable, Sir, that the persons who formerly
trumpeted forth the most loudly the violent resolutions of assemblies, the universal insurrections, the seizing and burning the stamped papers, the forcing
stamp officers to resign their commissions under the
gallows, the rifling and pulling down of the houses
of magistrates, and the expulsion from their country
of all who dared to write or speak a single word in
defence of the powers of Parliament, -- these very
trumpeters are now the men that represent the whole
as a mere trifle, and choose to date all the disturbances from the repeal of the Stamp Act, which put
an end to them. Hear your officers abroad, and let
them refute this shameless falsehood, who, in all their
correspondence, state the disturbances as owing to
their true causes, the discontent of the people from
the taxes. You have this. evidence in your own archives; and it will give you complete satisfaction, if you are not so far. lost to all Parliamentary ideas of
information as rather to credit the lie of the day
than the records of your own House.
Sir, this vermin of court reporters, when they are
forced into'day upon one points are sure to burrow in
another: but they shall have no refuge; I-will make
? ? ? ? SPEECH ON -AMERICAN TAXATION. 57
t;lem bolt/out of all thleir holes. Conscious that they
must be baffled, when they attribute a precedent disturbance to a subsequent measure, they take other ground, almost as absurd, but very common in modern practice, and very wicked; which is,'to attribute' the ill effect of ill-judged conduct to the arguments
which had been used to dissuade us from it. They
say, that. the opposition made in Parliament to the
Stamp Act, at the time of its passing, encouraged the
Americans to their resistance. . This has even forrmally appeared in print in a regular volume from an advocate of that faction, --a Dr. Tucker. This Dr.
Tucker is already a dean, and- his earnest labors in
this vineyard will, I suppose, raise -him to a bishopric. But this assertion, too,just like the rest, is false.
In all the papers which have loaded your table,. in
all the -vast crowd of verbal witnesses that appeared at
your bar, witnesses which were indiscriminately produced from both sides of the House, not the least hint of such a cause of disturbance has ever appeared.
As to the fact of a strenuous opposition to the Stamp
Act, I sat as a stranger in your gallery when the act
was under consideration. Far from anything inflammatory, I never heard a more languid debate in this House. No more than two or three gentlemen, as I
remember, spoke against the act, and that with great
reserve and remarkable temper. There was but one
division in the whole progress of the bill; and the
minority did not reach to more than 39 or 40.
