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Liberty, the noble privilege of all honeft men, can never be confiftently maintained, without allowing others as much as we take to ourselves, while they do not hold practical principles, deftructive of the rights of all other people. It has been too often the dispo fition of religious focieties, to blend the ideas of civil and religious things, and to make a certain form of religion, a fine qua non, of mens right to enjoy the liberty of free citizens. This at once makes the kingdom of our Lord, a kingdom of this world, and renders every form of godlinefs a tool of private interest, felfifhnefs, and pride. How far the colonifts have reformed their practices in this point, will appear in the fequel of this hiftory; where they fhall be fet in that light they deserve, as far as their actions point them out. Free from partiality to friends or foes, we fhall endeavour to fteer our courfe, and keep truth in view, as the unerring compafs of all true and impartial hiftory. But we fhall now return to the more immediate caufes of the prefent war, and the object of this hiftory.

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The fatisfaction which the repeal of the ftamp act gave the colonists, did not remove their apprehenfions concerning the defigns of the miniftry to opprefs them; and the future proceedings of the English parliament, in giving fanction to the requifitions of the executive power, did fully confirm their apprehenfions. The laws that were paffed this year, for the purpose of raising a revenue in the colonies, by the laying of duties on the importation of glafs and paper, and other commodities from Britain, and the confequent establishment of cuftom-houfes in their ports, alarmed them greatly. Thefe produced dreadful convulfions in the colonies, and produced confequences highly prejudicial to the commercial interests

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of the mother country. It will at least appear unfortunate, if not altogether impolitic, after the recent examples of the mifchief that attended the stamp act, and the confequent repeal thereof, from a conviction of thofe evils, a meafure of a like tendency fhould have been fo speedily adopted, before the chagrin on account of the former irritation was worn off the minds of the colonists. Much the fame arguments have been used in the defence of those measures that were made in fupport of the ftamp act, which fhall be taken notice of, after we have confidered the oppofition that was made to the new statutes of this year.

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The firft vifible inftance of oppofition fhewn to thefe ftatutes, happened at Boston, October 27th, 1767, where the inhabitants, at a general meeting, formed, and agreed to feveral refolutions, for the encouragement of manufactures, promoting frugality, and economy, and for leffening and reftraining of all fuperfluities. These refolutions, which were all of them in the first inftance prejudicial to the commerce of Britain, contained an enumeration of articles, which it was determined not to use at all, or in as low a degree as poffible. At the fame time, a fubfcription was opened, and a committee appointed for the encouragement of their own former manufactures, and the establishment of new ones. Among thefe, it was agreed to give particular encouragement to the making of paper and glafs, and the other commodities that were liable to the payment of new duties upon importation. It was alfo refolved to reftrain the expences of funerals, and to reduce drefs to a degree of primitive fimplicity and plainefs, and in general, not to purchase from the mother country any thing that could be procured in the colonies. Thefe refolutions were adopted, or fimilar ones agreed

greed upon by all the old colonies on the continent. The government of Britain might have by this time perceived that a people of fuch a Spartan tafte were not to be cafily frightened into compliance with fufpicious, or arbitrary acts of a legislature, where they had none to reprefent them. A people that have as much public virtue as to become unfashionable, for the fake of preferving the rights of the community, and can reftrain their paffions and appetites for the fake of their country, are not eafily to be driven to a compliance with acts they conceive to be unreafonable. Whatever may be the errors or mistakes in the conduct of the colonists, and however far they may have acted wrong in fome particulars, yet they have fhewn a steadinefs of principle and practice, that has at leaft the appearance of virtue, and which their enemies must admire, though their pride will not fuffer them to acknowledge it.

What had lately irritated both parties in this difpute, was the proceedings of the affembly at NewYork, and the act of the British parliament, made in confequence thereof. It had been appointed by parliament in the laft feffion, that the people of NewYork fhould provide for the King's troops, according to a method expreffed in the act; which the affembly, inftead of obferving, purfued a meafure of their own, without paying any regard to the prefcription of parliament. Whether they fhewed this oppofiticn out of mere wilfulnefs, or claimed it as a principle of right, to obferve their own way in providing for the troops, I will not affirm; but this was fo offenfive to the legiflature of Britain, that they paffed an act, June 15th, whereby the governor, council, and affembly. of New-York, are prohibited from paffing any act of affembly whatfoever, till they had complied with the

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terms of the act of parliament in every particular? This was defigned as a leffon to the other colonies, to teach them more reverence to acts of the British legislature; but it did not produce the intended effect; for the colonists who had begun to question the right of the parliament to make laws for them, were not difpofed to obey a ftatute that was specially defigned to point out that they were in a ftate of vaffalage. By fuch oppofition of conduct, the leading actors on both fides grew more and more warm in their difpofition, and scarcely could restrain themselves within the bounds of decency and temper. The fpeeches of each party were often uncharitable, and recriminating, and expreffed more the fpirit of party. than liberality of fentiment, becoming contenders for liberty and the rights of mankind..

We are now approaching to the beginning of an year that is crowded with incidents, and teems with tranfactions of the greatest importance. The fpirits of the colonies were now agitated to a degree of en-thusiasm for their liberties, and they confidered every new act of parliament as a fresh attack upon their freedom, and an infult to their understanding. Upon the eleventh of February, 1768, the affembly of Maffachufetts bay fent a circular letter, figned by their speaker to all the other colonies in North America *. The defign of this letter, was to fhew the dangerous tendency of the late acts of parliament, to represent them

*CIRCULAR Gentlemen, Bofton, Sept. 14. You are already too well acquainted with the melancholy and very alarming circumftances to which this province, as well as America in general, is now reduced. Taxes, equally detrimental to the commercial interefts of the parent country and her colonies, are im

LETTER.

pofed upon the people, without their confent: taxes defigned for the fupport of the civil government in the colonies, in a manner clearly unconftitutional, and contrary to that in which, till of late, government has been fupported. by the free gift of the people in the American aflemblies or parliaments; as

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them as unconstitutional, and to propofe a common nion among the colonies in the pursuit of all legal meafures to prevent their effect, on an harmony in their applications to government, to obtain a repeal of them. It alfo largely fets forth their conftitutional rights as English fubjects; all of which they affirm were infringed by thefe new laws.

At this period, and for fome years before the affembly of Maffachusetts bay and their governor Had almoft differed in their opinion upon every fubject,

alfo for the maintenance of a large ftanding army; not for the defence of the newly-acquired territories, but for the old colonies, and in time of peace. The decent, humble, and truly loyal applications and petitions from the reprefentatives of this province, for the redrefs of thefe heavy and very threatening grievances, have hitherto been ineffectual, being affured from authentic intelligence that they have not yet reached the royal ear: the only effect of tranfmitting thefe applications hitherto perceivable, has been a mandate from one of his Majefty's fecretaries of ftate to the governor of this province, to diffolve the general affembly, merely because the late houfe of reprefentatives refufed to refcind a refolution of a former houfe, which implied nothing more than a right in the American fubjects to unite in humble and dutiful petitions to their gracious fovereign, when they found themfelves aggrieved: this is a right naturally inherent in every man, and exprefsly recognized at the glorious Revolution as the birth-right of an Englifuman.

This diffolution you are fenfible has taken place; the governor has publicly and repeatedly declared that he cannot call another affem bly; and the fecretary of state for the

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American department, in one of his letters communicated to the late houfe, has been pleafed to fay,

proper care will be taken for the fupport of the dignity of government;' the meaning of which is too plain to be misunderstood.

The concern and perplexity into which these things have thrown the people, have been greatly aggravated by a late declaration of his excellency Governor Bernard, that one or more regiments may foon be expected in this province.

The defign of these troops is every one's apprehenfion; nothing fhort of enforcing by military power the execution of acts of parliament, in the forming of which the colonies have not, and cannot have any conftitutional influence. This is one of the greateft diftreffes to which a free people can be reduced.

The town which we have the ho nour to ferve, have taken these things at their late me: ting into their moft ferious confideration: And as there is it the minds of many a prevailing apprehenfion of an approaching war with France, they have paffed the several votes, which we tranfmit to you, defiring that they may be immediately laid before the town whofe prudentials are in your care, at a legal meet

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