In a Note at the Bottom of Page 52, (2d. Edition) of my Letter to Mr.
BURKE, I expressed myself in the following Manner: "The Instances which
Mr. BURKE has brought, [at Pages 74 and 75 of his Speech, 2d. Edit. 8vo.]
to prove that the Colonies, or rather that a few out of the many Colonies,
have been liberal in their Grants to _Great-Britain_, during the
Continuance of a privateering, smuggling, trucking, and huckstering
_American_ Sea-War, in which they were sure to be the greatest Gainers,
shall be particularly considered in an ensuing Treatise, An Address to the
Landed Interest of _Great-Britain_ and _Ireland_."
The Minutes which I took at that Time relative to this Affair, and which I
intended to have inserted in the Body of this Treatise, were the
following, that the leading Men in the Government of the Province of
_Massachusets_, had, some Time before their famous Expedition against
_Cape Breton_, been guilty of certain Mal-Practices in the Administration
of public Affairs, for which they were in Danger of being called to an
Account. That in order to divert the Storm, and to throw a Barrel to the
Whale, they projected the Plan of an Expedition, knowing the Temper of the
_English_, and their Rage for Conquests. Therefore, hearing that the
Fortifications of _Cape Breton_ were very ruinous, and the Garrison both
weak and mutinous for Want of Pay, Cloathing, and Provisions, they bent
their Forces against this Place. The Scheme succeeded, and _Cape Breton_
was yielded up; but the Joy of the _English_ Nation knew no Bounds: For
the People, from the highest to the lowest, were so intoxicated with
Notions of the Importance of this Port, [tho' now it is evident, that it
is a very useless one if compared with others] that they forgot every
other Idea in the general Transport; so that the Planners and Conductors
of the Expedition, instead of their being called to an Account for their
former Misdemeanors, found themselves caressed and applauded by the whole
Nation; and to crown all, the Parliament itself voted a prodigious Sum of
Money to reimburse the _New-Englanders_ for their Expences, and their
Services in this glorious Work.
This, I say, or to this Effect, was the Account which I received;--and
which I believe in my own Mind, will be found to be for the most Part very
true, when it can be very thoroughly _examined into_. But as I have been
hurried, by the _early_ Meeting of Parliament, to publish the present
Treatise at least three Months sooner than intended, I cannot at present
_authenticate_ Facts and Dates in the Manner I wish to do, in an Affair of
such Importance. Therefore I give this public Notice, that I build nothing
on the present Narration; and I only offer it (because not corroborated by
sufficient Evidence) as a probable Case, and as my own Opinion.
Indeed I have a particular Reason for acting in this cautious Manner;
seeing that I have suffered already by making a Slip in an Affair of this
Nature, which in any other Cause or Controversy, would have been reckoned
to be a very _venial_ one. The Case was this: In the First Edition of my
Fourth Tract, I had accused Dr. FRANKLIN with having acted a very
disingenuous Part, in opposing and denying the Authority of the _British_
Parliament, to lay a Tax [the Stamp-Duty] on _America_, when he himself
had solicited to be employed as an Agent in the Collection of that very
Tax. In Letters which passed between us, he denied the Charge, asserting
first, that he did not make Interest for a Place in the Stamp-Office,
'till the Bill was passed into a Law;--And 2dly. that the Place, for which
he asked, was not for himself, but for a Friend, one Mr. HUGHES, who was
accordingly appointed by Mr. GRENVILLE. Now in Consequence of this
Information, I omitted in the next Edition, the whole Paragraph, and said
nothing, either _pro_, or _con_, particularly relative to Dr. FRANKLIN.
And surely, every Thing considered, and the _faux pas_ of Dr. FRANKLIN
concerning the _stolen_ Papers of Mr. WHEATLEY duly weighed, one would
have thought, that I had made Satisfaction fully sufficient to almost any
Man in such a Case, whose Pretensions to _nice_ Honour might have been
much better founded than those of Dr. FRANKLIN. But it seems, I was
mistaken: For before he left _England_, I was called on in Print, to make
Reparation to his much injured Character: And in his Absence, his Agents
and Confederates, the Monthly Reviewers, have done the same.
Here therefore, I appeal to the Public, whether I have not advanced as far
already in this Affair, as there was need for me to have done, supposing
even (which is supposing a great deal) that every Thing which Dr. FRANKLIN
said was strictly true: For granting that he did not solicit for that
Place in particular, yet it is a most undeniable Fact, that at the very
Instant when he was declaiming at the Bar of the House of Commons, against
the Authority of Parliament, he himself was an _American_ Revenue Officer,
in a very lucrative Post, created by parliamentary Authority: He was a
Post-Master General in _North-America_; and the Tax, which he collected,
and for which he was accountable, was an _internal_, as well as _external_
Tax. So that in short, in every, or in any Light, his Conduct was not of
the spotless Kind; nor was my Accusation of Disingenuity against him the
less true, whether he had solicited a Place in the Stamp-Office, or not.
While I am writing this,--a Paragraph, cut out of a News-Paper, and dated
from _Salisbury_, _October_ 15, is laid before me, which I am positively
told, is reckoned to be UNANSWERABLE. Now I have known so many of these
UNANSWERABLES to shrink to nothing, when examined with any due Care and
Attention, that I own I am not much frightened at the Appearance of this
new _American_ GOLIAH. However, let us approach this formidable Champion a
little nearer.
"The _Americans_, says the News-Writer, in their Addresses to the Public,
urge as a Reason against Parliamentary Taxation, the _great Disadvantages_
they incur by submitting to such numerous Restrictions in Trade, which
they deem a Burden equal to, if not greater than Taxation: And they also
estimate, that that Mode of contributing to the Support of the _English_
Nation, is, upon the whole, more beneficial than if they were to pay their
Share by being equally taxed with the Subjects of the Mother Country: But
to be obliged to submit to those numerous Restraints in Trade, and at the
same Time to be subject to a parliamentary Taxation, they think is the
highest Degree of Oppression.
"The _Irish_ submit to parliamentary Restraints in Trade; but then, in
return, they are exempted from Taxation. Why then should the _Americans_
be burdened with both, in similar Circumstances?"
Here the whole Matter of Complaint is reduced to two Heads; First, That
the _Americans_ by being restrained in their Trade, are thereby in Effect
taxed, and therefore ought not be taxed a second Time:
And 2dly, That this Hardship seems to be the more oppressive, because the
_Irish_ under similar Circumstances, are exempted from Taxation.
With respect to the first Head, it is a mere _Begging of the Question_.
For I have proved beyond Contradiction, that the _Americans_ are not, in
_Fact_ and _Reality_, restrained either in their Exports or Imports,
except in a very few Articles; and that they now enjoy the very best
Market which _Europe_ can afford, see my 4th Tract, Page 202-209. I have
proved also, that _Great-Britain_ hath restrained herself in Favour of
_America_ in Articles of at least as great Value and Importance, as those
in which she hath restrained _America_ in Favour of _Great-Britain_. See
more particularly my 3d Tract, Page 119,-121. Surely therefore these
Things ought to have been taken into Consideration, and not to have been
passed over, as if they had never been mentioned: And it is exceedingly
unfair and disingenuous to remember every Thing which makes on one Side of
a Question, and to forget the rest.
2dly, With respect to the other Head of Complaint, viz. That _Ireland_ is
exempted from Taxation, while such extraordinary Efforts are made for
taxing _America_, I hope what follows will be as full an Answer to this
Complaint, as what has been already given was to the former.
First therefore, I observe, that with Respect to the Claim of the
legislative Authority, which the Parent State makes over _Ireland_ as well
as _America_, both Countries are exactly on the same Footing: See the 7th
and 8th of WM. III. C. 22, Sec. 9.:--And also Lord ROCKINGHAM's Act itself,
respecting the Claims of the Mother-Country over _America_:--See likewise
the Declaratory Act of 6. GEO. I. C. 5, respecting _Ireland_.
2dly. The Mother-Country hath not only asserted, but maintained her Claims
alike over both Countries, in the Affair of laying a general Post-Tax on
all Parts of the _British_ Empire; so that in this Respect likewise both
Countries are on a Par.
But here I allow follows a wide Difference, which I will endeavour to
account for, viz. The _British_ Parliament never attempted to lay any
internal Tax, except the Post-Tax, on _Ireland_; whereas it is well known,
that the _British_ Parliament did attempt to lay an internal Tax on
_America_.
Now to account for this _seeming_ Partiality, I have the following Points
to offer; and I intreat my Readers to attend particularly to them.
1. Ireland never plunged us into any Wars since the Revolution; whereas
_America_ hath involved us in two, the most bloody and expensive that ever
this Nation experienced; the last of which brought on a Debt of
70,000,000l. Sterling, the Interest of which we are now paying.
2. Ireland doth not drain us of any Sums of Money to support and maintain
its civil and military Establishments; whereas _America_ drains us for
those Purposes of upwards 300,000l. annually.
3. Ireland drains us of no Money, by Way of _Bounty_ on the Importation of
her Goods, or natural Produce into this Kingdom; whereas _America_ hath
drained us of at least 1,000,000l. Sterling for Bounties on Pitch and Tar,
on Lumber, Indigo, &c. &c. within a few Years.
4. Ireland is continually burthened with large Pensions, some to Princes
of the Blood, some to other Persons, and some to flaming Patriots: For
even Patriots will accept of Pensions if they can get them, and then
exclaim most bitterly--O Liberty, O my Country! Whereas _America_ is
totally free from this Species of Taxation, as far as I am able to trace
the Matter.
Many other Articles might have been enumerated, particularly the Restraint
formerly laid upon the _Irish_ fishing on the Banks of _Newfoundland_, and
taken off only the last Session. But surely these are full enough; because
these, I hope, will sufficiently shew, that there ought to be a wide
Difference put on, every Principle of Equity and Justice, between the Case
of _Ireland_ and that of _America_; and that the two Countries are by no
Means in similar Circumstances.
What is now to follow, is added at the Request of a foreign Nobleman,
whose good Sense and Penetration led him to discern, that a Crisis was
certainly approaching, in which the Fate of this Country will be
determined; and therefore wished to know, what was the Strength of each
Party, and the Amount of the Forces on either Side.
A General Muster of the Forces
BOTH FOR AND AGAINST
The Present Government.
PARTIES _for overturning the present Constitution, and for setting up
something in its Stead, for which we have not yet a Name_.
1st. The Idle and Dissolute among the common People are for throwing the
present System into Anarchy and Confusion. They have ardently wished these
many Years, for some Kind of levelling Scheme whereby they might enrich
themselves at the Cost of their Masters, and rob and plunder with
Impunity. If Mr. WILKES, or any other modern Patriot can lead them into
this Path of Glory, they will joyfully follow such a Leader, and become
his devoted Fellow-Labourers, in the same good Work; but if not, they will
forsake him with as little Ceremony as they have done some others, and
look out for a new Leader.
2dly. That Species among the _Whigs_ which is properly _Republican_, is
violently for a Change of Government, suitable to such Principles; and
these Men are now become of some Consequence, not so much on the Score of
their Numbers, as on Account of their enthusiastic Zeal, and of their
breaking through every Tye of Honour, Honesty, and Conscience, for
accomplishing such Designs. Moreover, as they put on every Disguise; as
they forge, lye, falsify; as they use the Word Liberty merely as a Blind
to conceal the Batteries they are erecting against it; and as they pretend
to support and uphold the Constitution, at the very Instant they are
planning a Scheme to destroy it; their Designs are so much the more
dangerous by appearing to fight under the same Banner with ourselves; and
the Wounds they give, are the more difficult of Cure, because they stab
and assassinate under the Mask of Friendship, and therefore take their Aim
the better, and strike the deeper. In the former Plots and Conspiracies of
the _Jacobites_, their Aim and Intent were to dethrone the reigning
Family, and to replace another: The present Views of the Republicans,
which they are incessantly pursuing by various Means, and almost
contradictory Measures, are, _to have no Throne at all_. Hence, by a
Comparison of the two Crimes, the Reader must judge, which is the
greatest, and the most repugnant to the _English_ Constitution.
3dly. The Advocates for making _North-America_ independent of the
_British_ Parliament must, if consistent with themselves, be for turning
the _British_ Constitution into something very different from what it is
at present, or ever was; for the very Plea these Men use in regard to
_North-America_ is, that Representation and Legislation (a very small Part
of which is the Power of raising Taxes) must always go together; therefore
as nineteen Parts in twenty of the People of _England_, and upwards of
ninety-nine Parts in an Hundred of the People of _Scotland_, are not
qualified to be _Voters_, nor ever were, _be their Property ever so
great_, that is (according to this new-fashioned Doctrine) are not
represented in Parliament; it must inevitably follow, that a vast Majority
of the Inhabitants of _Great-Britain_, as well as _British America_, have
a right to renounce their Allegiance to the present Government as soon as
they please, and to set up for Independence. For in Fact, according to the
dangerous Principles now openly avowed, all this Multitude of Non-Electors
owe no Subjection to that Legislature, and to those Powers, in the Choice
or Continuance of which they were not consulted. They ought not to be
compelled to obey any Laws, which were made without their Consent, or
Privity; and more especially where they have no Representation, they ought
not to be subject to any Taxation.--So that being thus happily set free
from all Coercion of Government, all Restraints of Law, and Burden of
Taxes; and having learnt at last to assert those inherent and unalienable
Rights, which have been so long usurped, they are now restored to a State
of the most perfect Freedom, and may either chuse another Form of
Government, according to their own Fancy; or else live, as they can,
without any Government at all. A blessed Specimen this of _patriotic
Liberty_! A most comprehensive Bill of Rights! sure of overturning, if
carried into Execution, every Government, that either ever was, or ever
can be, proposed to the World.
4thly. The honourable Society of the _Outs_ will go as great Lengths to
throw Things into Confusion as any Set of Men whatever; for as these
Persons have no other End in View than to get into Power, and to share the
Emoluments of the State among themselves and their Dependents, they will
stick at no Measure, however unjust and unconstitutional, to compass this
End: Nay, they will unsay the Things which they themselves had said in
Administration; they will blame those very Measures which they themselves
had planned and recommended; and, in short, they will do any Thing, and
every Thing, to raise the evil Spirit of Discord and Dissention, to bring
themselves in.
_Lastly._ The Inconstant and Disappointed, those who love to fish in
troubled Waters, and those who, having spent their Fortunes, have nothing
to lose, but may have a Chance to share in the Property of other Men by a
general Scramble; also the Desperate and Daring of every Denomination; all
these wish for some speedy Change in the Constitution.
PARTIES _for preserving the present Constitution, and for keeping every
Thing in a quiet and peaceable Condition_.
1st. The greatest Part of the Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom; that is,
almost all those who have the greatest Property at Stake, and have the
most to lose.
2dly. A vast Majority of the richest Merchants, and principal Traders and
Manufacturers throughout the Kingdom, are the warm Friends of Government:
The Exceptions on this Head are few, and very inconsiderable.
3dly. The Clergy of the established Church are zealously attached to the
present happy Constitution, wishing to preserve, and to promote Peace on
Earth, and Good-Will among Men: And in respect to the dissenting Clergy,
the most eminent and respectable (tho' it is to be feared, not the most
numerous) act in the same laudable Manner, and endeavour to make their
People truly sensible of the many Blessings they enjoy under the Reign of
his present Majesty.
4thly. The Proprietors and Stock-Holders in the public Funds will
undoubtedly range on the Side of Government; because they can get nothing,
but must necessarily lose by the Convulsions of the State, and by the
Overthrow of that Constitution, the Preservation of which is their
greatest Security.
5thly. The whole Body of the learned Profession in the Law (Men who
have acquired their Knowledge of the Constitution from Authors of
a Cast very different from bawling, disappointed Patriots, or hungry
Pamphleteers;--these Men, I say) in general agree, that each Member of the
House of Commons, tho' elected by one particular County, City, or Borough,
doth not represent that particular County, City, or Borough, in any
_exclusive_ Sense; for he represents the whole Commons of the Realm, one
Part, and one Individual as well as another. A Member chosen _by_ the
County of _Middlesex_ is not chosen _for Middlesex_ exclusively, but for
all the Subjects of the _British_ Empire; each of whom hath as
constitutional a Right to his Services, and may be as much affected by his
particular Conduct, and therefore has as much Right to _instruct_ him, as
any Freeholder in the County of _Middlesex_: And he, on his Part, is
bound by his Office to omit the _smaller_ Interest of the County of
_Middlesex_, or of the _Middlesex Electors_, when standing in Competition
with the _greater_ Interests of his Fellow Subjects in _America_, or other
Places:--So that in short, tho' some few only, perhaps not a fortieth
Part, of the Inhabitants of the whole Island, have legal Votes for
Representatives, all in general, both within the Island, and without it,
are _virtually_ represented. That this is Fact and Law, that this ever was
the Constitution of the _British_ Empire, from the earliest Times down to
the present Day, is such an apparent Truth, that it cannot be denied.
Therefore in this Sense it is true, and in _no other_, that every Member
of the common Wealth is supposed to give his previous Consent to the
making of those Laws, which he is afterwards bound to obey, and to the
imposing of those Taxes which he is obliged to pay. Indeed upon this
Footing (viz. of virtual Representation in some Cases, and of actual
Election in others) a free and well-poised Government can stand, and be
supported; but it can be supported on no other:--Nay, the Government of
the _Massachusets-Bay_ itself, whenever this Colony shall become
independent of the Mother-Country, must then, as well as now, be supported
on this very Principle; that is to say, on the very Principle against
which they so loudly clamour. And besides all this, the very same
Reasons, which induce the non-represented Subjects in _England_ to submit
quietly and peaceably to the Payment of those Taxes, to which they have
not given their Consent by actual Representation, ought to induce the
_Americans_ to acquiesce also; because, if the _American_ Trade is so
valuable, as reported, a _British_ Parliament cannot injure this Trade by
any Mode of Taxation, without injuring the Merchants, the Manufacturers,
and the Traders in general of _Great-Britain_; and thereby sinking the
Profits of their own Estates, and the Rents of their own Lands and Houses.
6thly. The whole legislative Power of the Kingdom will certainly support
their own Authority, and not commit _Felo de se_ to please their Enemies.
They will not, they never can admit the Parliaments of _North-America_ to
be independent of them, or co-ordinate with themselves in the same State
or Empire.
7thly. The whole executive Power of the Kingdom is at present in the Hands
of his Majesty, and of those who act in his Name, and by his Authority.
There the Constitution has placed it, and in no other Hands; nor is there
the least Probability that mobbing, huzzaing, furious Speeches, and
inflammatory Libels, without Arms, Artillery, or Ammunition, and without
a Treasury, will be able to wrest the executive Power out of the Hands of
those who constitutionally enjoy it.
And now upon this General Review and Muster of the Forces on the
Malcontent, as well as the Government Side, let every one consider well
within himself, what he ought to do at the present Crisis, as a
constitutional Patriot, an honest _Englishman_, a loyal Subject, and a
prudent Man.