the Roman Catholic clergy, except regulars, the legal enjoyment of their eftates, and of their tythes, from all that are of their own religion. These were the

chief objects of this act.

The arguments which were used for the fupport of this bill were,---That the French, who were a very great majority of the inhabitants of that country, having been used to live under an abfolute government, were not anxious for the forms of a free one, which they little understood or valued. That they even abhorred the idea of a popular reprefentation, obferving the mischiefs which it introduced in their neighbouring countries. Befides, it would be unreafonable to have a representative body out of which all the natives should be excluded; and perhaps it would be dangerous to truft fuch an inftrument in the hands of a people but newly taken into the British empire." They were not yet ripe, it was faid, for Englifh government. That their landed property had been all granted, and their family fettlements made on the ideas of French laws that the laws concerning contracts and perfonal property were nearly the fame in France as in England; that a trial by jury was ftrange and disgusting to them. That with regard to religion, it had been stipulated to allow them perfect freedom in that respect by the treaty of Paris, as far as the laws of England permitted. The penai laws of England with refpect to religion, they faid, did not extend beyond the kingdom; and though the king's fupremacy extended farther, a provifion was made in the a&t to oblige the Canadians to be fubject to it; and an oath prescribed as a teft against fuch papal claims as might endanger the allegiance of the subjects. That it was against all equity to perfecute thofe people for their religion, and that people have not the privileges of re

And as

ligion who have not their own priesthood. for the payment of tythes, it was at best only fetting down their clergy, where they were found at the conqueft. In one refpect, it was faid, they were worse, as no perfon profeffing the proteftant religion was to be fubject to them, which would be a great encouragement to converfions.

There is great reason to conclude, that none of these were the true reafons for preferring the bill; but the main reason, though not what is now called the oftenfible one was, to bring over the French colonists to the defigns of the ministry, and to perfuade them, by pretended favours, to fall upon the back fettlements of the English colonies. The minifter feems to have been totally ignorant of the difpofition of the French Catholics in Canada; for we do not find that ever thefe papifts have been fo dutiful as to thank government for the new favours that were granted them ;and it has appeared fince that they were not defiring any fuch change. A few tools of government were perfuaded to fend a petition to parliament for the Erench laws, but it was far fron the minds of the generality to folicit any fuch favour. With regard to the promise made in the king's declaration, it extended no farther than a free toleration; whereas the bill gives a legal establishment to popery in Canada, and pledges the faith of king and parliament for the fupport of the popish religion. The religion of popery in that part of his Majefty's dominions is eftablished upon the fame footing as that of the Church of England, upon papifts acknowledging the king's fupremacy, as appointed first by the Queen Elizabeth. Whereas the proteftants have no other fecurity than the pleafure of the king, nor any right to demand and thing, except what he fhall pleafe to grant them. By this law the papifts,

papifts are fecured in all their religious privileges, and provided for by an act of the British parliament, with a legal fecurity for a maintenance for their clergy. The only favour which is fhewn to protef tants is that they are freed from paying tythes, which the minifter thought would be a powerful means of converfion, to bring over papifts to the proteftant religion; but though this may appear to be a very ftrong incentive to a minifter of ftate, or others who pay little regard to any religion, yet to fuch as have any principles of confcience, fome ftronger means of converfion are neceffary. It appears from the minifterial arguments that the minifter wanted only fuch converts from popery as were fwayed by the motives of worldly rewards, which are thofe most prevalent with many in his ftation. The giving the Canadian colonists the trial by jury in criminal causes, and the French method of trial in civil caufes has a very whim. fical appearance; for certainly a man would chufe to truft his property where he would chufe to trust his life. And it is certainly neceffary, that people have as good a chance for fecuring their property as they poffibly can. But although government intended to grant a favour to the papifts; this was no reafon why the proteftant fubjects of the empire fhould be ftripped of their rights to oblige Roman papists; the proteftants in Canada ought to have had the enjoyment of what the law fecures to English fubjects, whatever the government might be pleafed to grant to papifts. But by this law they have deprived the proteftant fubjects of Britain of their just natural rights, fecured to them by the conftitution, upon the faith of enjoying which, they fettled in that part of the world. The paffing of this bill whereby fuch favour was fhewn to the church of Rome, created more fufHhh

picion

`picion on account of the legislature refusing a petition which had been prefented fome time before by the proteftant diffenters for relief from fome penal laws that were standing against them. It was concluded that government fhewed this favour to the Catholics, from a perfuafion that they were fuitable inftruments to promote their arbitrary defigns, and that they wanted to difcourage the diffenters, because they were friends to liberty, and foes to all forts of tyranny and defpotifm. Whatever were the motives which determined the legiflature to pafs this law, it is manifeft that it is an infraction of the conftitution, by establishing popery in the British empire, which the revolution fettlement guarded againft. It is a special part of the prefent infelicity of thefe nations at prefent, that there are a number of modern ftatutes that clash with ancient and constitutional laws, whereby men in defending the one may be punished for tranfgreffing the others. It is not in the power of the far greater part of British fubjects to know and understand the large body of laws that are contained in the ftatutes, and through ignorance are ready to expofe themselves to the fanctions of fome ftanding law of the land; efpecially as it has been for fo many ages an established idea, that all the fubjects of the British empire have the fame privileges of the laws, and may all be their own legiflators, when they became freeholders of the empire. But though it was formerly thought that the fubjects of the colonies were freemen, like others at home, yet it has been determined that colonist and freeman have different fignifications; and that there can be no legal freedom out of Great Britain. For this is the import of the reafoning upon the fubject of colonization in the prefeat times.

СНАР.

CHAP VIII.

A View of the Proceedings at Home-Tranfactions in Maffachufett's-Bay--Rhode-Island---New HampshireThe Affair at Lexington and Concord-The Battle of Bunker's-Hill, and its confequences, &c.

BEF

EFORE we proceed directly to the tranfactions of this year, it may be neceffary to take a view of fome proceedings of the year 1774, which feem immediately connected with the important tranfactions of this. After General Gage arrived at Bofton, and had, after fome altercations on both fides, diffolved the affembly, the committee of correfpondence at Boston entered into an agreement, which they entitled a folemn league and covenant, wherein the fubfcribers bound themfelves in the most folemn manner, and in the prefence of God, to fufpend all commercial intercourfe with Great Britain, from the last day of the ensuing month of August, until the Bofton port bill, and the other obnoxious laws were repealed, and the colony of Maffachufett's-Bay fully reftored to all its chartered rights and privileges.They alfo bound themselves in the fame manner, not to confume, or purchase from any other, any goods whatsoever which arrived after the fpecified time, and to break off all commerce, trade, and dealings, with any who trade with the importers of fuch goods, as well as with the importers themselves. They alfo renounced in the fame manner, all future intercourfe and connection with those who fhould refufe to fubscribe to that covenant, or to bind themfelves by fome

fimilar