prevented from returning. The duties would have been paid; the cargoes landed and expofed to fale; a governor's influence would have procured and protected many purchafers. While the town was fufpended by deliberations on this fubject, the tea was deftroyed. But fuppofing, fay the colonists, a trefpafs was committed, and the proprietors of the tea entitled to damages; the courts of law were open, and judges appointed by the crown prefided in them. The Eaft-India Company, however, did not think proper to commence any fuits, nor did they even demand fatisfaction either from individuals, or from the community in general. The miniftry officioufly made the cafe their own, and the great council of the nation defcended to intermeddle with private property. Divers papers, letters, and other unauthenticated ex parte evidence, were laid before thein; neither the perfons who deffroyed the tea, nor the people of Boston, were called upon to anfwer the complaints. The miniftry being incenfed in being difappointed in a favourite fcheme, were determined to recur from the little arts of fineffe, to open force, and unmanly violence. The port of Boston was blocked. up by a fleet, and an army placed in the town. Their trade was to be fufpended, and thousands reduced to the neceffity of gaining fubfiftence from charity, till they should submit to pafs under the yoke, and confent to become flaves, by confeffing the omnipotence of parliament, and acquiefcing in whatever difpofition they might think proper to make of their own lives and properties. Having repréfented this state of facts, they then warmly exclaim, let justice and humanity ceafe to be the boaft of your nation! Confult your hiftory, examine your records of former tranfactions; nay, turn to 1 かべた A. D. 1774. THE WAR IN AMERICA. 387 to the annals of the many arbitrary states and kingdoms that furround you, and fhew us a fingle inftance of men being condemned to fuffer for imputed crimes, unheard, unquestioned, and without even the fpecious formality of a trial; and too, by a law made exprefsly for the purpose, and had no existence at the time that the fact was committed. If it be difficult to reconcile thefe proceedings to the genius and temper of your laws and constitution, the task will become more arduous when we call upon our minifterial enemies to juftify condemning men untried, and by hearfay, but, involving the innocent in one common punishment with the guilty, and for the act of thirty or forty, to bring poverty, diftrefs, and calamity on thirty thousand fouls, and those not your enemies, but your friends, brethren, and fellow-citizens. They make ufe of feveral other arguments and topics, which they urge home with all the force of language and warm zeal, and the impartial world in fome ages hence, when the mift of prejudice is removed from their eyes, will be obliged to confefs that there is much reafon in what they fay. What has greatly darkened this controverfy between great Britain and her colonies, is the difference of political reafoning on different fides of the question, The advocates for the dominion of parliament, draw their arguments from myftical fubtleties, grounded upon obfelete laws that were never conftitutional, and which few, unlefs men learned in the law, can understand. From these they draw pófitive conclufions, as if their first principles were felfevident, and conclude that nothing except obftinacy, or real want of understanding, can hinder all others from perceiving the juftnefs of their arguments. The colonies and their friends eftablish their arguments upon common fenfe, and the conftitu tional tional laws of the empire, which, as they are plain and felf-evident, are calculated to affect all minds that are not warped by prejudice, or biaffed by private interest. There is no queftion but men's prejudices and interests are concerned on both fides, but the extreme appears to be more on the one fide than the other, provided we confine our views to the evidence upon the face of the arguments, The rights of mankind are not mysteries to be lodged in the hands of a few, as articles of faith are, in fome countries, but like the common falvation, are exposed to the view of every individual perfon, and the privilege of all to know, as well as enjoy. When doctrines of ftate are fo deep, as to be beyond the reach of men of common understanding, they are not fit to be put in practice. Whatsoever men are bound to obey ought firft to be made a plain object of their understanding, otherwise obedience is not a reasonable fervice. All honeft men will ever defire to have thofe defigns they profefs to be for the good of fociety, made as manifest to the members thereof as poffible, and will never want to impose their authority, except under the divine light of reafon and truth. But it will be neceffary to take a view of the management at home, which gave rife to this fpirited and violent oppofition of the colonies. This will naturally lead us to take a view of the arguments made ufe of by the parties at home in fupport of the different fides of the question in which they were engaged. It has often been affirmed by people at home, that the colonists deduced their arguments from fpeeches made in the parliament of Britain, and from writings fent from this country to America. Upon this fuppofition, the patriots, as they are called in derifion, are in are principally blamed for the oppofition and refiftance which the colonifts have made. But fuch as confider their petitions, refolves, and apologies impartially, will foon perceive that they needed no affiftance from the mother country, any matter of argument. There is a clearness and precifion in their writings, united with a warm zeal for truth and liberty, that is not to be met with in any of thefe venal performances which have been published against them. In fome future period of time, when men read this controversy with calm impartiality, they will give judgment freely on the fide of the colonists, and stand in amazement that there fhould have been the fmalleft difpute in a cafe fo clear and obvious. The state of parties were this year much the fame as before, except that the general strength of the oppofition was much declined. The Rockingham party continued unbroken, and confiftently pursued its first original line of public conduct. Though it was often overpowered by numbers, it notwithstanding continued formidable, and gave fome fevere checks to the prevailing influence of the court. The fame difference of opinion and affections, and the fame occafional union among others, took place between them and party which was attached to the Earl of Chatham. This appearance of the want of true union, very much enfeebled the oppofition. that While matters were in this fituation at home, an incident took place which kindled into a violent flame of difcontent and rage in the colonies.. The infigni ficant duty of threepence the pound on tea, which had been fingly left behind in the year 1770, when all other articles enumerated in the fame bill, for the purpose of raifing a revenue, had been repealed, was now determined to be made the fatal bane of conten tion between the mother country and her colonies, It had been foretold by those who struggled hard for the repeal of the whole, and who always declared a-gainst every notion of an internal taxation of America; that the leaving of one duty, and the discharging of the others, could anfwer no other purpofe than the leffening of that fcanty revenue, which was fcarcely fufficient, in its whole amount, to anfwer the expence of the collection; that by this means, inftead of profit, a new charge to fupply the deficiency, would be thrown upon the ftate at home, while all the other evils, which were then acknowledged as the motives of a partial repeal, would be continued in their utmost extent. } Thefe political predictions in the end proved to have a real foundation, and were but too well verified by after events. The difcontents of the colonies encreafed from the meafures of government, and an univerfal fpirit of oppofition to the tea act prevailed among them all. The measures of the ministry, and the prevailing party in parliament, fo irritated the colonifts, that they formed the affociation which has been already mentioned, and paffed the fpirited refolutions which have been taken notice of, to fhew the miniftry that they were not ready to comply with fuch unreafonable demands. In this ftate of affairs there was one thing which greatly encreafed the divifion be tween the mother country and the colonists the governors of most of the colonies and the people, were in a continual ftate of warfare; and fuch was the oppofition between them, that what the one propofed the others were always determined to contradict. It has been generally believed that this evil had its rife at home in the mother country, and that the governors, had their inftructions how to behave from the miniftry, which they fervilely executed, without con fidering |