debt had been contracted in support of the Government of the Revolution; a Government to which all the colonies of America owed their liberty, their security, and their prosperity; that it had been incurred in defence, not of Great Britain alone, but of all the different provinces of the empire; that the last war, and the one before that, during each of which a large increase to the national debt had been made, had been undertaken chiefly for the protection and support of the colonists themselves;* that they ought therefore to bear a share of the national burdens; and that the Parliament of Great Britain, as the supreme power, was constitutionally vested with an authority to lay taxes on every part of the empire. The colonists, however, asserted that taxation and representation were inseparable, and that they could be neither free nor happy if their property could be taken from them without their consent. On the 4th of March, 1764, the House of Commons, on the proposal of Mr. Grenville, passed a series of resolutions for imposing new duties on foreign articles imported into America. The thirteenth and fourteenth resolutions, upon the latter of which the Stamp Act was founded, were in the following terms: -"That it is the opinion of this committee that the produce of all the said duties, and also of the duties which shall, from and after the said 29th day of September, 1764, be raised by virtue of the said act, made in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George II., be paid into the receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, and there received, to be from time to time disposed of by Parliament, towards defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in America." "That towards defraying the said expenses, it may be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said colonies and plantations." In order that the colonists might have an opportunity of proposing some other expedient for raising money, less objectionable than the one now proposed, it was not intended to introduce any measure upon the latter of the above resolutions until the ensuing session. In the meantime, however, none of the provinces authorized their agents in England either to consent to a tax on stamps, or to propose any substitute for it; while some of them had actually transmitted petitions to the King, and to the two Houses of Parliament, openly challenging the right of the British Legislature to impose any burdens upon them. Nevertheless, on the 7th of February, 1765, Mr. Grenville introduced the famous Stamp Act, and on the 22nd of March it received the * Debt at the commencement of the Spanish war in 1739 Increase during the war £46,954,623 31,338,689 royal assent, having passed the two Houses of Parliament with very little opposition. When the intelligence of the passing of that measure reached America,† a general feeling of indignation was excited amongst the colonists. In the Assembly of Virginia, which met in the following May, resolutions were passed, denying the right of the British legislature, or of any other body except themselves, to lègislate touching their affairs. The other states so far concurred as to pronounce the Stamp Act unconstitutional, and a direct violation of their privileges. The Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, who had taken a prominent part in this opposition, now projected a general concert amongst all the plantations. With this view they proposed a meeting of a congress, consisting of deputies from the several Assemblies, in order to consult on their common grievances, and to propose an address to the Sovereign, and the Houses of Parliament. Meanwhile, the people passed resolutions against the importation of British manufactures until the act should be repealed; and to preclude the use of stamps, proceedings in the courts of justice were suspended, and earnest endeavours were made to settle all differences by reference to arbitration. Although the most determined resistance was offered to the Stamp Act, no actual disturbances took place in the colonies until the month of August, 1765. The storm which had long been gathering then burst with violence. At Boston, in Massachusetts Bay, the fury of the populace was principally directed against several persons in official situations, who were supposed to be favourable to the ministerial plan of taxing the colonies. Private houses and public offices were broken into, and the documents of the one, and the furniture of the other, committed to the flames. The proceedings of the populace in the other provinces, although Vide 5 Geo. III. c. 12. "As to the fact of a strenuous opposition to the Stamp Act, I sat as a stranger in your gallery when the act was under consideration. Far from anything inflammatory, I never heard a more languid debate in this House. No more than two or three gentlemen, as I remember, spoke against the act, and that with great reserve and remarkable temper. There was but one division in the whole progress of this bill; and the minority did not reach to more than thirty-nine or forty. In the House of Lords I do not recollect that there was any debate or division at all. I am sure there was no protest. In fact, the affair passed with so very, very little noise, that in town they scarcely knew the nature of what you were doing. The opposition to the bill in England never could have done this mischief, because there scarcely ever was less opposition to a bill of consequence."-Mr. Burke's Speech on American Taxation, vide post, p. 518. The act was to come into operation on the 1st of November, 1765. In conformity with this suggestion, a congress was held at New York, to which all the provinces, with the exception of New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, sent deputies. The last three were prevented from doing so, because their Assemblies were not sitting when the proposal from Massachusetts Bay arrived, and the Governors prevented their meeting until the day for holding the congress had passed. The Assembly of New Hampshire approved of the proposed plan, and promised to concur in any petition which should be agreed on by the representatives of the other Assemblies, but did not itself appoint deputies. less violent than at Boston, were so alarming as to occasion the resignation of those who were appointed to distribute the stamps. In consequence of such resignations, the custody of these stamps, upon their arrival from England in September and October, was consigned to the Governors of the respective provinces. Notwithstanding the utmost vigilance to preserve them, the stamped papers were, in some colonies, seized and destroyed by the populace; and none were found so courageous as to undertake their distribution. Such was the distressing intelligence received from America when Parliament assembled on the 17th of December. Upon this occasion his Majesty addressed the two Houses from the throne in the following speech : "MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,-The present general state of tranquillity in Europe gave me hopes that it would not have been necessary to assemble my Parliament sooner than is usual in times of peace. "But, as matters of importance have occurred in some of my colonies in America, which will demand the most serious attention of Parliament; and as further information is daily expected from different parts of that country, of which I shall order the fullest accounts to be prepared for your consideration, I have thought fit to call you now together, in order that opportunity may thereby be given to issue the necessary writs on the many vacancies that have happened in the House of Commons since the last session; so that the Parliament may be full to proceed, immediately after the usual recess, on the consideration of such weighty matters as will then come before you." recess. The two Houses having voted an address in answer to the speech from the throne, and received his Majesty's answer, adjourned for the Christmas On the re-assembling of Parliament on the 14th of January, the King went to the House of Lords, and addressed the two Houses, adverting particularly to the disturbances in America, and stating that no time had been lost, on the first advice of them, to issue orders to the Governors of the provinces and the commanders of the forces in America, for the exertion of all the powers of government in the suppression of riots and tumults, and in the effectual support of lawful authority. Whatever remained to be done was committed to the wisdom of the legislature. The address of the Commons having been moved by Lord Villiers, Mr. Nugent, afterwards Earl of Clare, "insisted, that the honour and dignity of the kingdom obliged us to compel the execution of the Stamp Act, unless the right of Parliament was acknowledged, and the repeal solicited as a favour. He computed that the expense of the troops now employed in America for the defence of the colonists, amounted to nine-pence in the pound of our land-tax, whilst the produce of the Stamp Act would not raise a shilling a head on the inhabitants of America; but a pepper-corn, in acknowledgment of the right, was, he said, of more value than millions without it." Mr. Pitt spoke next in the debate. He commenced in a low tone of voice, which, together with the agitation of the House upon his first rising to address them, prevented the introduction of this celebrated speech from being distinctly heard. Mr. Pitt proceeded to say: Sir, I came to town but to-day, I was a stranger to the tenor of his Majesty's speech and the proposed address, till I heard them read in this House. Unconnected and unconsulted, I have not the means of information; I am fearful of offending through mistake, and therefore beg to be indulged with a second reading of the proposed address." The address being read, Mr. Pitt went on: "He commended the King's speech, approved of the address in answer, as it decided nothing, every gentleman being left at perfect liberty to take such a part concerning America as he might afterwards see fit. One word only he could not approve of; an early is a word that does not belong to the notice the Ministry have given to Parliament of the troubles in America. In a matter of such importance, the communication ought to have been immediate; I speak not with respect to parties; I stand up in this place single and unconnected. As to the late Ministry, (turning himself to Mr. Grenville,* who sat within one of him,) every capital measure they took was entirely wrong! "As to the present gentlemen, those, at least, whom I have in my eye(looking at the bench on which Mr. Conway † sat with the Lords of the Treasury) I have no objection; I have never been made a sacrifice by any of them. Their characters are fair; and I am always glad when men of fair character engage in his Majesty's service. Some of them have done me the honour to ask my poor opinion before they would engage. These will do me the justice to own, I advised them to engage, but notwithstanding-for I love to be explicit-I cannot give them my confidence; pardon me, gentlemen, (bowing to the Ministry), confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom, youth is the season of credulity; by comparing events with each other, reasoning from effects to causes, methinks I plainly. discover the traces of an overruling influence. "There is a clause in the Act of Settlement obliging every Minister to sign his name to the advice which he gives his Sovereign. Would it were observed! I have had the honour to serve the Crown, and if I could have submitted to influence I might still have continued to serve; but I would not be responsible for others. I have no local attachments. It is indifferent to me whether a man was rocked in his cradle on this or that side of the Tweed. I sought for merit wherever it was to be found. It is my boast, that I was the first minister who looked for it, and found it in the mountains of the North. I called it forth, and drew into your service a hardy and In July 1765, Mr. George Grenville resigned, and was succeeded as first Lord of the Treasury by the Marquis of Rockingham. + Secretary of State. This provision of the Act of Settlement, 12 and 13 Wm. III. cap. 2, was repealed by 4 and 5 Anne, cap. 8, sec. 25. intrepid race of men; men who, when left by your jealousy became a prey to the artifices of your enemies, and had gone nigh to overturn the state in the war before the last. These men, in the last war, were brought to combat on your side; they served with fidelity, as they fought with valour, and conquered for you in every part of the world; detested be the national reflections against them! they are unjust, groundless, illiberal, unmanly. -When I ceased to serve his Majesty as a Minister, it was not the country of the man* by which I was moved, but the man of that country wanted wisdom, and held principles incompatible with freedom. "It is a long time, Mr. Speaker, since I have attended in Parliament. When the resolution was taken in this House to tax America, I was ill in bed. If I could have endured to have been carried in my bed, so great was the agitation of my mind for the consequences, I would have solicited some kind hand to have laid me down on this floor, to have borne my testimony against it! It is now an act that has passed-I would speak with decency of every act of this House, but I must beg the indulgence of the House to speak of it with freedom. 66 "I hope the day may be soon appointed to consider the state of the nation with respect to America-I hope gentlemen will come to this debate with all the temper and impartiality that his Majesty recommends, and the importance of the subject requires. A subject of greater importance than ever engaged the attention of this House! that subject only excepted, when, near a century ago, it was the question whether you yourselves were to be bond or free. In the mean time, as I cannot depend upon health for any future day, such is the nature of my infirmities, I will beg to say a few words at present, leaving the justice, the equity, the policy, the expediency of the act to another time. I will only speak to one point, a point which seems not to have been generally understood-I mean to the right. Some gentlemen, (alluding to Mr. Nugent,) seem to have considered it as a point of honour. If gentlemen consider it in that light, they leave all measures of right and wrong to follow a delusion that may lead to destruction. It is my opinion, that this kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. At the same time I assert the authority of this kingdom over the colonies to be sovereign and supreme in every circumstance of Government and legislation whatsoever. The colonists are the subjects of this kingdom, equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural rights of mankind and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen equally bound by its laws, and equally participating in the constitution of this free country. The Americans are the sons, not the bastards, of England. Taxation is no part of the governing or legislative power. The taxes are the voluntary gift and grant of the Commons alone. In legislation the three estates of the realm are alike concerned, but the concurrence of the Peers and the Crown to a tax is only necessary to clothe it with the form of a law. The gift and grant is of the Commons alone. In *Lord Bute. |