it, or to difpofe them more favourably to this experiment? A number of duties were laid on, which derive their confequence only from their odioufnefs and the mischiefs they have produced; and an army of custom-houfe officers, who from their novelty, an opinion that the taxes were only created for them, as indeed they could fcarcely anfwer any other purpose, and from many other circumstances, were, if poffible, more odious than the duties, were fent to collect them. That this measure, as might have been expected, not having proved fufficient to eftablish the fuccefs of the experiment, another army, ftill more odious, and much more dangerous, was fent to enforce it. It was faid, that fome of thofe who were the framers, or under whofe aufpices thefe duties had been laid on, were themselves the zealous fupporters, and at the head of that opinion, which totally denied the right in the legiflature of any taxation in America; that their names had been held up in the colonies, as objects of the highest veneration, and their arguments were made the foundation of whatever was there underfood to be confti tutional writing or fpeaking: Was it then to be wondered at, that the Americans, with fuch authorities to fupport them in opinions, which were, in the highest degree, flattering to their importance, fhould, in that warmth of imagination, fly into the greatest extravagancies, upon a direct and immediate violation of what they were taught to confider, as their most undoubted and invaluable rights? or can we be furprized, that fuch unaccountable contradictions between language and conduct, should produce the unhappy confequences which we now experience. That part of the addrefs which propofed the bringing of delinquents from the province of Maf fachufets, to be tried at a tribunali in this kingdom, for crimes fuppofed to be committed there, met with ftill greater oppofition than: the refolves, and underwent many fevere animadverfions. Such a proceeding was faid to be totally con trary to the fpirit of our conftitu tion. A man charged with a crime, is, by the laws of England, ufually tried in the county in which he is faid to have committed the offence, that the circumftances of his crime may be more clearly examined, and that the knowledge which the jurors thereby receive of his general character, and of the credibility of the witneffes, might affift them in pronouncing, with a great er degree of certainty, upon his innocence or guilt. That as the conftitution, from a conviction of its utility, has fecured this mode of trial to every fubject in England, under what colour of juftice can he he deprived of it by going to America? Is his life, his fortune, his happiness, or his character, lefs: etimable, in the eye of the law, there than here? or, are we to: mete out different portions of juftice to British fubjects, which are to leffen in degree, in proportion to their distance from the capital? If an American has violated the laws by a crime committed there, let him be tried there for the offence; but let him not be torn about 3000 miles from his family, his friends his bufinefs, and his connections; from every affittance, countenance, comfort, and counfel, neceflary to fupport a man un der It was faid, that it would be difficult in the last degree, if not utterly impoffible, for the accufed perfon to bring over the neceffary evidence for his vindication, tho he were entirely innocent; that it would require a very affluent for tune to bring from Boston to London all the wineffes who would be indifpenfably requifite; that many others may be thought effential at the time, who were not fo, and who would add equally to the expence, and others overlooked or forgot, who might be of the greateft confequence; that he must alfo bring reputable perfons to teftify the general tenor of his conduct and behaviour, though they could, perhaps, give no evidence as to the particular fact with which he was charged. That, on the other fide, the witneffes against him, fupported by the countenance and pro tection of government, maintained at the national expence, and fure of a compenfation for their lofs of time, befides, perhaps, the hopes of future reward and provifion, would not only be eafily collected, but that it was to be feared too many would think it an eligible employment, and become eager candidates for it. That in this fituation, charged with a crime againft the authority of the mother country, the judges who are to determine his fate, are the people against whom he is fuppofed to have tranfgreffed; thofe who have conftructed the act with 5 which he is charged into a crime, whofe paffions are heated, and who are at once parties, accufers, and judges. That if he is even acquitted, the confequence will probably be his total ruin, as, inde pendent of the great lofs of time that will attend the profecution, few fortunes will be able to bear the confequent expences; to say nothing of the lofs of health, and the numberlefs vexations and oppreffive circumftances that will attend fo long a confinement, in a vain ftruggle between the impotence of weakness, and the coercive exertions of power. Thus, it was faid, that the life, fortune, and character, of every man, who had the misfortune to become obnoxious to the governor of a province, would, in fome degree, lie at his difpofal; as pretences on which to found a charge could never be wanting, and the fort of evidence neceffary to give a colour to the profecution, might be eafily found. It was reprefented as a ftrange measure, upon this occafion, to drag out of the oblivion in which it had fo long defervedly lain, and in which it should have continued for ever buried, an obfolete law, which was paffed in one of our moft cruel and tyrannical reigns, only to anfwer a temporary and arbitrary purpose. That our conftitution was not then, in any degree, defined; that, fuch as it was, it continually underwent every flagrant violation, which the whim or cruelty of a capricious tyrant was capable of directing; but it would be much to our honour, if many of the public acts of that reign could be totally forgotten; and that it was hoped, that no part of the line of publick conduct then pursued, would jected to, as well as to fhew the propriety of the meafures now under confd-ration, was the violent conduct of the Americans; which put government under a neceffity of using methods, however dif agreeable to itfeif, abfolutely neceffay for the fupport of its dig-' nity, and of the legislative authority. would be propofed as a model for feverally declined to adopt it. The the prefent times. It was obferv ground principally and moft aed, that we had not a colony ex-bly taken to justify the taxes obifting at the time of paffing that law; that they confequently could not be intended by it, and that an attempt now to comprehend them in it, was not more oppreffive to them than dangerous to us, But if this addrefs, taken in one view, prefented a very difadvantageous idea of the equity and moderation of our government, in another view it reflected no lefs on the wifdom of the British parliament. They contended that the execution of the project was utterly impofible; nay, that it never was intended to be carried into execution; that therefore it could ferve no other purpose, than to furnish matter to the leaders of fedition in the colonies, further to exasperate the por pulace, without conveying any fort of terror, which might check them in their dangerous practices. Such were fome of the arguments made ufe of in the courfe of these debates, by those who did not approve of the late and prefent meafures purfued in regard to our colonies, and who, of course, oppofed the refolutions and addrefs in queftion. Many of the moft forcible of these arguments were but little, if at all replied to on the other fide; nor was the utility nor expediency of the late revenue laws much defended. The minifters (from whatever caufe) were even unufually cold and languid, in the fupport of the refolutions, and the addrefs which they had propofed for executing the law of Henry VIII; and when they were afked, with a degree of infult, which of them would own himself the advifer of that meafure, they It was faid, that the repeal of the ftamp-act, inftead of produ cing the hoped-for effects of gra titude, for the tender confideration fhewn to their fuppofed direffes, and of a due fubmiflion to government, had, on the contrary, operated in fuch a manner on the lis centiousness of the Americans, that it became highly necessary to eftablish fome mark of their dependance on the mother-country. That the late duties, fo much complained of, were, for one of the reafons now objected to them, the fmailnefs of their produce, choten as fufficient to anfwer that puroole, at the fame time that they were the leaft oppreffive that could be thought of, were not internal taxes, and that their whole produce was to be applied to the fupport of their own civil eftablishments. That the republican principles, and licentious difpofition of the inhabitants of the province of Maffachufets-bay, being operated upon by fome factious and defigning men aamong them, broke out into acts of the most daring infolence, and the most outrageous violence, which fufficiently fhewed the original neceffity of making them fenfible of their dependance on the British legiflature; that by the language held held forth, and the writings publifhed among them, they feemed rather to confider themfelves as members of an independent ftate, than as a colony and province be langing to this country. That from the ill-judged fyftem upon which the government of that province had been originally eftąblifhed, the council was appointed by the affembly, and the grand juries are elected by the townships; fo that these factious men having Hot a great lead in the affembly, and being themselves the rulers of the popular phrenzy, guided and directed as they liked the whole civil government; fo that all juftice and order were at an end, wherever their interefts or paffions were concerned. That in thefe circumstances, the populace, freed from all legal restraints, and thofe that should have been the fupport ers of government, and the confervators of the public peace, fet ting themfelves the first example of contempt to the one, and giving every private encouragement to the breach of the other, proceeded at length to the commiffion of fuch acts, as, if not now deemed downright rebellion, would in other times have been judged and punished as fuch; and which, in any conftruction of the term, can be confidered but very little fhort of it. That it was then high time for government to interfere, and effectually to curb diforders, which, if duffered to proceed any farther, could no longer be confidered by that name: that the example fet by the people of Bofton, and the rath and daring meafure adopted by their affembly, of fending circular letters to the other colonies, had already produced a great ef fect; and if not checked, was likew ly to fet the whole continent in a flame; that accordingly fome fhips of war and troops were fent to Bofton, who, without bloodshed, or coming to any violent extremity, reftored order and quiet to that province.. That nothing but the moft fpirited and vigorous refolutions, fupported by a fucceffion of meafures equally firm and vigorous, could bring the colonies to a proper fenfe of their duty, and of their dependence upon the fupreme legiflature. That the fpirit which prevailed in Bofton was fo totally fubverfive of all order and civil government, and the conduct of the magiftrates had left fo little room for any hope of their properly fulfilling their duty during the continuance of the prefent ferment, that it became abfolutely neceffary to revive and put in execution that law of Henry VIH. by which the king is empowered to appoint a commiffion in England, for the trial there of any of his fubjects guilty of treafon in any part of the world. That unlefs this meafure was adopted, the moft flagrant acts of treafon and rebellion might be openly committed in that province with the greateft impunity, as the civil power was neither difpofed, nor could take cognizance of them. That the perfons who were guilty of thefe crimes, and who had already caufed fo much trouble and confufion, were no objects of compaffion, for any particular circumftances of expence or trouble that might attend this mode of bringing them to juftice, which were only to be confidered as a fmall part of the punishment due to their crimes: that it was ungenerous to fuppofe, that government would make an improper ufe of this law by the harafling of innocent perfons; and that there was no reafon to queftion the integrity or the impartiality of our juries. Indeed they obferved, that it was rather unlikely the act would be executed at all; as they were in hopes that fach a feasonable fhew of fo much vigour and lenity, would operate to bring the people of the colonies to a fenfe of their duty, and to a ceffation from their former feditious practices. Such were the arguments and hopes of adminiftration in propofing, and of parliament in adopting this fyftem. Unfortunately, however, experience has not made good, in any degree, thefe expectations. As the agreement which the EaftIndia company had entered into with government, as well as the act for réftraining their dividends, were now near expiring, the company thought it a proper time, before another reftraining bill was brought in, to make propofals to the miniftry, for the basis of a new agreement; to obtain, if poffible, more equitable conditions, and to fettle their affairs upon a more permanent footing. A long negociation was entered into upon this fubject, and many propofals made and refused. The great point in view with the company, was to obtain fome return or compenfation for the great fum of money which they annually paid to government. For this purpose, a mong feveral other propofals, a prolongation of their charter for five years was required, and confidered as a moderate equivalent: this, however, was abfolutely refofed. The obtaining money from the company was now become a part of the fyftem of government; it was confidered as a part of the current service. The interference in their affairs, by restricting their dividends, demonftrated to that body, that they were in the hands of a power which they were unable to refift: it was too late to make conditions; and they faw that even a small relaxation of the restrictive power was rather confidered as a favour, than acknowledged as a compenfation. The fate of the ar guments upon this great question, we have given upon a former occafion. In these circumstances, after a long train of negociation, and the holding of feveral general courts upon the fubject, an agreement was at length concluded, and a bill was accordingly brought in to confirm it, and paffed into a law. By this agreement, the company continue to pay to the public, for five years to come, the annual fum of 400,000l. They are at liberty to increase their dividend in that time. to twelve and a half per cent. the increase not to exceed one per cent. in any one year. If the company, from any caufe, are, during that time, under a neceffity of reducing their dividends, an equal fum fhall be deducted from the annual payment made to government; but if their dividends fhould be reduced to fix per cent. then the payment to the public is to be discontinued. The company are bound to export, during this term, British goods, equal in value, upon an average, with thofe exported annually for the last five years. And if any furplus of the company's cash shall remain in England, after payment of certain fpecified debts, it is to be |