Business Administration Library
Los Angeles

k /Me t

Robert E. Gross
Col left ion

A Memorial to the Founder
of the

FOUR TRACTS, ^^

TOGETHER WITH

TWO SERMONS,

On POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL

SUBJECTS.

BY JOSIAH TUCKER, D. D.
DEAN pf GLOCESTER.

GLOCESTER:
P]^1NTED BY R. RAIKES.

AND SOLD BY

J, RIVINCTON, IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, LONDON.
M.DCC.LXXIV,

ERRATA.

In tht Preface,
Page xiv. Line ii, for true, rea.d concei'vai/e.

In the Work,
Page 7 1 , Line 8 of the Note, for Opiniortem, read Opinionum
P. no, ■

. 17, for Votes y read Voters,

.21, after or, add at,

aft Line, for on, read to,

, 7, for more, read lefs,

, 7, for mufl, read «r^ /ff.

. I o, for Prerogati've, read Preparative.

.23, after /^^/«, add to y^///*?.

. 8, after /^/, add us,

.28, for er, read and.

, 25, for Advantages, read D'tfadvantagei.

In the Sermons,
25, L 1 8, for <?, read /*fw

ii4»

135'
136,

i77>
J77»
i78»
P. 183,
P. 195,

CONTENTS.

Tract I. A Solution of the important
^lejliony Whether a poor Country y where
raw Materials and Provijions are cheapo
and Wages loWy can fupplant the Trade
of a rich manufaBuring Country , where
raw Materials and Provifons are dear^
a7id the Price of Labour high, — With a
Pojifcript obviating ObjeBions,

Tract II. T^he Cafe of going to War for
the Sake of Trade^ confidered in a new
Light ; being the Fragment of a greater
Work.

Tract III. A Letter from a Merchant
in London, to^ his Nephew in America,
concerning the late and prefent Dijlur-
bances in the Colonies.

Tract IV. T^he true Inter eji of Great-
^viidinfet forth in regard to the Colonies ;
and the only Means of living in Peace and
Harmony with them.

To which are added Two Sermons.

Sermon I. On the ConneBion and mutual
Relation between Chriflian Morality, good
Government y and National Commerce.

a 2 Sermon

CONTENTS.

Sermon II. Ufmg the World without
abujing it : Or the true Boundaries Jet
forth between the luxurious and the tem^
peratey the vitious and the virtuous En^
joyments of God's good Creatures ; with
their refpe^live Effects and Influence on
National Commerce , National Riches , and
National Profperity.

PREFACE.

PREFACE.

HE firft of thefe Pieces was never
printed before, and is now pub-
lifhed as a Kind of Introdudtion
to thofe that follow, or as a Sort of Balis
on which the fucceeding Arguments are
chiefly founded. The Piece itfelf arofe
from a Correfpondence in the Year 1758,
with a Gentleman of North-Brit airiy emi-
nently diftinguifhed in the Republic of
Letters. Tho' I cannot boaft that I had
the Honour of making the Gentleman a
declared Convert, yet I can fay, and prove
likewife, that in his Publications fmce our
Correfpondence, he has wrote, and rea-
Xoned, as if he was a Convert,

The fecond Trad was firft publifhed

in the Year 1763, juft after the Conclu-

a 1 lion

vi PREFACE.

fion of the War. At that Jundlure the
Mob and the News-Writers were fo en-
raged at the Thoughts of Peace, that the
Pamphlet lay negledled above a Year in
the Hands of the Publifher, and had very '
few Readers. But the Approbation which
it has fince met with, efpecially from Abroad,
where Premiums have been inftituted for
Differtations on a like Plan, induce me
to hope that Prejudices begin to wear oiF,
and that it hath a better Chance now than
it had before of being read with Candour,
and attended to with Impartiality. In-
deed it was neceffary for me to publifh it
in this Colledion, becaufe of the Ufe
which will be made of the fame Train of
Arguments in the fourth of thefe Tradls,
when we come to fliew the true Interefts
of Great-Britain with refpedt to the Co-
lonies, and the only Means of living
with them on Terms of Harmony and
Friendfliip.

One Thing more I have to fay on this
Head : The Trad fets forth, that it is the
Fragment of a greater Work. This
Work was undertaken at the Defire of
Dr. Hayter, then Lord Bifliop of

Norwich

PREFACE. vii

Norwich, and Preceptor to the Prince of
Wales, his prefent Majefty. His Lord-
fhip's Defign was to put into the Hands
of his Royal Pupil fuch a Treatife as
would convey both clear, and comprehen-
five Ideas on the Subjed: of National Com-
merce, freed from the narrow Conceptions
of ignorant, or the fmifter Views of crafty
and defigning Men ; and my honoured
Friend, and revered Diocefan, the late
Lord Bifliop of 5r5/?<5/, Dr. Conybeare,
was pleafed to recommend me, as a Perfon
not altogether unqualified to write on fuch
a Subjed:. I therefore entered upon the
Work with all imaginable Alacrity, and
intended to entitule my Performance, The
Ekfjtenfs of Commerce, and Theory of Taxes.
But I had not made a great Progrefs, before
I difcovered that fuch a Work was by no
Means proper to be fheltered under the
Protedlion of a Royal Patronage, on ac-
count of the many Jealoufies to which it
was liable, and the Cavils which might be
raifed againfl it. In fad, I foon found,,
that there was fcarcely a Step I could take,
but would bring to Light fome glaring
Abfurdity, which Length of Time had

rendered

viii PREFACE.

rendered facred, and which the Multitude
would have been taught to contend for, as
if their all was at Stake : Scarce a Propofal
could I recommend for introducing a free,
generous, and impartial Syftem of national
Commerce, but it had fuch Numbers of
popular Errors to combat with, as would
have excited loud Clamours, and fierce Op-
pofition ; and, therefore, as the Herd of
Mock-Patriots are ever on the Watch to
feize on all Opportunities of inflaming the
Populace by Mifreprefentations, and falfe
Alarms y and as the People are too apt
to fwallow every idle Tale of this Sort, I
determined to give no Occafion to thofe
who continually feek Occafion. In fhort,
as I perceived I could not ferve my Prince,
by a liberal and unreftrained Difcuffion of
the Points relative to thefe Matters, I
deemed it the better Part to decline
the Undertaking, rather than do any
Thing under the Sanftion of his Pa-
tronage, which might diiferve him in
the EycG of others : For thefe Reafons
I laid the Scheme afide ; and if ever I
fliould refume, and complete it, the Work
fiiall appear without any Patronage, Pro-

tedticn^ or Dedication whatever.

The

PREFACE. ix

The third Trad: is, A Letter from
a Merchant in London to his Nephew
in America. This was firft printed in
the Year 1766, towards the Clofe of
the Debate about the Stamp A£l: ^ and
the Charadler which it aflumes, is not
altogether fiftitious :— For an elderly-
Gentleman, long verfed in the Norths
American Trade, and perfectly ac-
quainted with all the Wiles there prac-
tifed both during Peace, and in Time of
War, and who had Relations fettled
in that Part of the World, defired
me to write on this Subjecfl, and to
give the Treatife that Turn of Expref-
fion, and Air of Authority, which would
not be unbecoming an old Man to his
dependent Relation. He furnifhed me
with fome curious Materials, and re-
markable Anecdotes, concerning the
Smuggling Trade which the Americans
carried on with the French and Spaniards
during the Heat of the War, even to the
fupplying them with Ships, and naval,
and military Stores, for deftroying the
Trade and Shipping of the Mother-
Country, and even in Defiance of Mr.
b Se-

X PREFACE.

Secretary Pitt's circular Letter to the
Governors of the Provinces, forbidding
fuch an infamous Trafic, and traiterous
Correfpondence. But if 1 was obliged to
the Old Gentleman in thefe Refjyedls,
my Argument v^as a Sufferer by him iti
another : For tho' he admitted, that the
Colonies were grown ungovernable ; tho^
he himfelf declared, from his own Ex-
perience, that we gave a better Price for
their Iron, Hemp, Flax- Seed, Skins,
Furs, Lumber, and moft other Articles,
than they could find in any other Part of
Europe 'y and that thefe Colo'nifls took
nothing fcarcely from us in RetnrA, but
what it was their Iritereft td buy, eVen
fuppofing them as independent 6f Grr<:?/-
Britain, as the States of ikollnnd, 6y any-
other People ; and tho' lie evideihtly 'fawv
that the longer the CcynMaiion fubiifted
between the Colonies atid tte Mothei^^
Country, the more heavy w'ould ^lie B'ui**
dens grow npan the latter, a'nd the gt^eaVM*
would be the Opportunities for the artful
and defij^hins: Men of both Countries to
irritate and inflame the giddy, Yinthinking
Populace j tho' he admitted, I fay, and

allowed

PREFACE. xi

allowed all thefe Premifes, he could not
come at the Conclulion : For he ftartled
as much, at; the Idea of a Separation y as if
he had feen a Spedre ! And the Notion of
parting with the Colonies entirely, and
then making Leagues of Friendfhip with
them, as with fo many independent States,
was too enlarged an Idea for a Mind wholly
occupied v/ithin the narrow Circle of
Trade, and a Stranger to the Revolutions
of States and Empires, thoroughly to
comprehend, much lefs to digeft. In
Confequence of this, I was obliged, as
the Reader will fee towards the Conclu-
fion, to give the Argument fuch a Turn,
as expreiled rather a cafual Threat to
feparate, than a fettled Projedl of doing
it.

Now, to fupply this Defeft, or ra-
ther to make the Conclufion to cor-
refpond with the Premiffes, I have
added a fourth Trad:, wherein I attempt
to (hew what is the true Intereft of
Great-Britain in regard to the Colonies ;
and to explain the only Means of
living with them on Terms of mutual
Satisfadion and Friendfliip. Referring
b 2 therefore

xii PREFACE.

therefore the Reader to the Trad: it-
felf, I iliall only fay at prefent, that
the more we familiarize ourfelves to
the Idea of a Separation, the lefs fur-
prized, and the more prepared we fhall
be whenever that Event fhall happen.
For that it will, and muft happen, one
Day or other, is the Opinion of almoft
every Man, — unlefs indeed we except
the extraordinary Notion of the cele-
brated Dr. Franklin, and of a few
other exotic Patriots and Politicians,
who are pleafed to think, that the
Seat of Government ought to be tranf-
ferred from hence to America ; in Con-
fequence of which Tranflation, this
little Spot will neceflarily become a
Province of that vaft and mighty Em-
pire. Surely every home-born Eng/i/h-
man will readily prefer a 'Separation,
even a fpeedy Separation, to fuch an
Union as this ; and yet, alas ! the Time
is approaching, when there can be no
other Alternative.

In regard to the two Sermons, which
I have fubjoined to thefe Trcatifes, I
am not very anxious about the Pro-
priety

PREFACE. xiU

priety of placing them here ; for many
may, perhaps, read them now who
would never have looked into them,
had they been printed in a Colledlion of
religious Tradls. Befides, I hope that
thefe Difcourfes will throw fuch new and
ftriking Lights on the Subject of Com-
merce, as will induce Men of a liberal
Education to ftudy it for the future as a
Science, and to think for themfelves
in thefe important Points. For furely
a great Part of Mankind have too long
fubmitted to be led blindfold by Writers
on Trade, whofe private Intereft very
often clafhed with the general Good ;
and in whofe Produflions we find but
very flight Traces, either of the real and
difinterefted Patriotifm of the Philofopher,
the Humanity of the Moralift, or Be-
nevolence of the Divine : In fhort, it
is a melancholy Truth, that almofl
as much implicit Faith and blind Cre-
dulity have hitherto prevailed in the
Theory of Commerce, as, in the darkeft
Times of Popery, obfcured the Prin-
ciples of Religion.

b 3 In

xiv PREFACE.

In regard to any Apology to be
made for myfelf, I fhall be very iliort.

I have been repeatedly accufed of

having made the w^hole of Religion
to confift in the Promotion and Ex-
tenfion of Commerce ; or in other
Words, of making "Trade 7ny Religion ;
and that, according to my Theory,
the moft extenfive Merchant, or the
greateft Manufadlurer, v^as therefore
the ie/i Chrijiian. Now, if it be true,
that I do maintain any fuch ftrange
and heterodox Doctrine, I humbly ap-
prehend, that the Sermons here priilted,
will be the likelieft of any, which I
have ever written, to confirm, or re-
fute this heavy Charge. Another Bill
brought againft me is, that I am ex-
tremely ignorant in my peculiar Pro-
feffion as a Divine; and that, having
dedicated too much of my Time to
the Study of Commerce, I have fhame-
fully negledled to cultivate thofe Sci-
ences which more immediately belong
to my Clerical Profefllon. To thefe
Charges I il^nd mute ; and as my

Apology

PREFACE. XV

Apology for the Church of England^-—
my Six Sermons, — and my Letters to
the Reverend Dr. Kippis,— are now
before the Public, let the Impartial
judge as they pleafe.

JOSIAH TUCKER.

THE

[ 9 1

i^^

The great ^ejiion refohed. Whether a rich
Country can Jland a Competition with a
poor Country (of equal natural Advaji-
t ages J in raijing ofProvifions, and Cheap-
nefs of MamfaBures f — With fuitabk
Inferences and Dedu5lions.

T has been a Notion unlverfally
received, That Trade and Ma-
nufadlures, if left at full Liber-
ty^ will always defcend from a
richer to a poorer State ; fome-
what in the fame Manner as a Stream of Water
falls from higher to lower Grounds j or as
a Current of Air ruflies from a heavier to a
lighter Part of the Atmofphere, in order to re-
ftore the Equilibrium. It is likewife inferred,
very confidently with this firft Principle, that
when the poor Country, in Procefs of Time, and
by this Influx of Trade and Manufadures, is
B become

[ 10 ]

become relatively richer, the Courfe of Traffic,
will turn ag.iin : So that by attending to this
Change, you may difcover the comparative
Riches or Poverty of each particular Place
or Country.

The Reafons ufually afllgned for this Migra-
tion, or rather Circulation of Induftry and Com-
merce, are the following, liz. In rich Countries,
where Money is Plenty, a greater Qiiantity
thereof is given for all the Articles of Food>
Raiment, and Dwelling : Whereas in poor
Countries, where Money is fcarce, a lefTer
Quantity of it is made to ferve in procuring the
like NecefHiries of Life, and in paying the
Wages of the Shepherd, the Plowman, the
Artificer, and Manufadurer. The Inference
from all which is, that Provifions are raifed, and
Goods manufadured much cheaper in poor
Countries than in rich ones ; and therefore every
poor Country, if a near Neighbour to a rich
one, and if there is an eafy and commodious
Communication between them, muft unavoida-
bly get the Trade from it,— were Trade to be
left at Liberty to take its natural Courfe. Nor
will this Increafe of Agriculture and Manufac-
tures, whereby the richer Country is drained,
and the poorer proportionably enriched, be
flopped or prevented, 'till Things are brought
to a perfect Levd, or the Tide of Wealth begtns
to turn the other Way,

Now

[II 1

Now, according to this Train of Reafoning,
one alarming and obvious Confequence muft ne-
ceflarily follow, viz. That the Provifions and
Manufadlures of a rich Country could never
find a Vent in poor ones, on account of the
higher Value, or dearer Price fet upon them :
Whereas thofe of a poor Country would always
find a Vent in a rich one, becaufe they would
be afforded the cheapell at the common Market.

This being the Cafe, can it be denied, that
every poor Country is the natural and unavoida-
ble Enemy of a rich one ; efpecially if it fhould
happen to be adjoining to it ? And are not we
fure beforehand, that it will never ccafe from
draining in of its Trade and Commerce, Induftry
and Manufadures, 'till it has at leaft fo far re-
duced it, as to be on a Level and Equality with
itfelf ? Therefore the rich Country, if it regards
its own Intereft, is obliged by a Kind of Self-
defence to make War upon the poor one, and
to endeavour to extirpate all its Inhabitants, in
order to maintain itfdf'm Jlalu q-uo^ or to prevent
the fatal Confequences of lofmg its prefcni In-
fluence, Trade, and Riches. For little lefs than
a total Extirpation can be fufficient to guard
againfl the Evils to be feared from this dange-
gerous Rival, while it is fuffered to exifl.

But is this indeed the Cafe ? — One would

not willingly run Counter to the fettled Notions

of Mankind -, and yet one ought not to make

B 2 a

[ 12 ]

a Sacrifice of Truth to mere Numbers, and the
Authority of Opinion j efpecially if it fhould
appear, that thefe are Truths of great Moment
to the Welfare of Society. Therefore, with
a becoming Deference, may it not here be
aflved,-— Can you fuppofe, that Divine Provi-
dence has really conftituted the Order of Things
in f uch a Sort, as to make the Rule of national
Self-prefervation to be inconfiftent with the fun-
damental Principle of univerfal Benevolence,
and the doing as we would be done by ? For
my Part, I muft confefs, I never could conceive
that an all-wife, juft, and benevolent Being
would contrive one Part of his Plan to be fo
contradi6tory to the other, as here/uppofed ; —
that is, would lay us under one Obligation as to
Morals, and another as to Trade ; or, in fliort,
make that to be our Diity^ which is not, upon
the whole, and generally fpeaking (even without
the Coniideration of a future State) our Interejt
likewife.

Therefore I conclude a priori^ that there
niuft be fome Flaw or other in the preceding
Aro-uments, plaufible as they feem, and great
as they are upon the Foot of human Authority.
For though the Appearance of Things at firfl-
Sig-ht makes for this Conclufion, viz. " That
" poor Countries muft inevitably draw away the
«« Trade from rich ones, and confequently im-
" poverilh them," the Fad itfelf cannot be so.

But,

[ 13 ]

But, leaving all Arguments of this Sort, as
being perhaps toometaphyfical for common Ufe,
let us have Recourfe to others, wherein we may
be aflllled by daily Experience and Obfervation.
Suppose therefore England and Scotland to be
two contiguous, independant Kingdoms, equal
in Size, Situation, and all natural Advantages ;
fuppofe likewife, that the Numbers of People
in both were nearly equal ; but that England
had acquired Twenty Millions of current
Specie, and Scotland had only a tenth Part of
that Sum, viz. Two Millions : TheQucftion
now is. Whether England will be able to fupport
itfelf in its fuperior Influence, Wealth, and
Credit ? Or be continually on the Decline in
Trade and Manufa6tures, 'till it is funk into a
Parity with Scotland ; fo that the current Specie
of both Nations will be brought to be juft the
fame, viz. Eleven Millions each.

Now, to refolve this Queftion in a fatisfadlory
Manner, a previous Enquiry fhould be fet on
Foot, viz. How came England to acquire this
great Surplus of Wealth ? And by what Means
was it accumulated ? — If in the Way of Idlenefs^
it certainly cannot retain it long ; and England
will again become poor ;-— perhaps fo poor as
to be little better than Hungary or Poland : But
if by a Courfe of regular and univerfal Indujlry^
the fame Means, which obtained the Wealth at
firft, will, ifjiurfuedy certainly prefcrve it, and
B 3 even

[ 14 ]
even add thereto : So that England need hot
entertain any Jealouly againft the Improvements
and Manufa6liires of Scotland-, — and on the
other Hand, Scotland^ without hurting England^
will likewile increale in Trade, and be benefited
both by its Example, and its Riches.

But as thefe are only general Aflertions, let
us now endeavour to fupport them by an In-
du6tion of particular Cafes.

CASE I.

ENGLAND has acquired 20,ooo,oool. of
Specie in the Way of National Idlenefs^
viz. Either by Difcoveries of very rich Mines
of Gold and Silver,— or by a fuccefsful Priva-
teering and making Captures of Plate Ships,
— or by the Trade of Jewels, and vending
them to foreign Nations for vail Sums of
Money,— or, in fliort, by any other conceivable
Method, wherein (univerfd Induftry and Ap-
plication being out of the Queftion) very few
Hands were employed in getting this Mafs of
Wealth (and they only by Fits and Starts, not
conflantly)— and fewer ftill are fuppofed to re-
rain what is o;otten.

According to this State of the Cafe, it feems
evidently to follow, That the Provifions and
Manufadtures of fuch a Country would bear a

moft

[ '5 ]

moft enormous Price, while this Flufh of Money
lafted ; and that for the two following Reafons,
viz. I ft. A People enriched by Inch improper
Means as thefe, would not know the real Value
of Money, but would give any Price that was
afked •, their fuperior Folly and Extravagance
being the only Evidence which they could pro-
duce of their fuperior Riches. 2dly. At the
fame Time that ProviQons and Manufa6tures
would bear fuch an excefTive Price, the Quan-
tity thereof raifed or made within the Kindom
would be lefs than ever ; inafmuch as the
Cart, and the Plow, the Anvil, the Wheel, and
the Loom, would certainly be laid afide for
thefe quicker and eafier Arts of getting rich,
and becoming fine Gentlemen and Ladies -, be-
caufe all Perfons, whether Male or Female, would
endeavour to put themfelves in Fortune's Way,
and hope to catch as m.uch as they could of
this golden Shower. Hence the Number of
Coaches, Poft Chaifes, and all other Vehicles
of Pleafure, would prodigioufly increafe ; while
the ufual Sets of Farmers' Carts and Waggons
proportionably decreafed : The Sons of lower
Tradefmen and Labourers would be converted
into Ipruce, powdered Footmen ; and that
robuft Breed, which ufed to fupply the Calls
for laborious Occupations, and common Manu-
fadures, would turn off to commence Barbers
and Hair-DrelTers, Dancing Mafters, Players,

Fidlers,

[ I6 ]

Fidlcrs, Pimps, and Gamefters. As to the Fe-
male Sex, it is no difficult Matter to forefee, what
would be the Fate of the younger, the more
fprightly, and pleafing Part am^ong them. In
fiiort, the whole People would take a new Turn ;
and while Agriculture, and the ordinary me-
chanic Trades became fhamefully negle6led,
the ProfefTions which fubfift by procuring
Amufements and Diverfions, and exhibiting
Allurements and Temptations, would be amaz-
ingly increafed,— and indeed for a Time en-
riched ; fo that from being a Nation of Bees
producing Honey, they would become a Nation
of Drones to eat it up. In fuch a Cafe, certain
it is, that their induflrious Neighbours would
loon drain them of this Quantity of Specie,
— and not only drain them, fo far as to reduce
them to a Level with the poor Country, but
alfo fink them into the lowed State of abjedt
Poverty. Perhaps indeed fome few of the In-
habitants, being naturally Mifers, and forefeeing
the general Poverty that was coming upon the
Country, would make the more ample Provi-
fion for themfelves ; and, by feeding the Vices,
and adminiftering to the Follies and Extrava-
gancies of others, would amafs and engrofs
great Eftates. Therefore when fuch a Nation
came to awake out or this gilded Dream, it
would find itfelf to be much in the fame Cir-
cumftances of pretended Wealth, but real Po-

verty.

[ 17 ]

verty, as the Spaniards and Portuguefe are at
prefent. Nay, when their Mines, or their former
Refources of Gold and Silver, came to fail them,
they would really be in a much worfe •, and
their Condition would then approach the ncareft
of any Thing we can now conceive, to that of
Baron and Vaffal in Poland and Hungary^ or to
Planter and Slave in the IVeft-Indies.

According to this Syflem of Reafoning, the
Expedition in the late * Spanifh War againft
Carthagena muft have been ill-judged in every
Particular ; for if the End in View had been
only to open a Market for Briti/h Manufa6lures,
this End was anfwered, as far as an hojlile
Method could have anfwered a commercial End,
by taking the Forts at the Mouth of the Haven ;
and therefore the Attempt ought not to have
been pufhed any farther :— But if the Defign
was to deftroy the Fortifications round Cartha-
gena^ and to give up the Town to the Plunder
of the Soldiers, and then to have deferted, or
to have reftored it to its former Owners at the
Conclufion of the War (for furely it would have
been the very Height of Madnefs in us to have
been at the Expence of keeping it)-- -this was
an End by no Means worthy of national At-
tention, and not at all adequate to the Blood

* The Reader is defired to bear in Mind, that this Tra6l
W?.s written in the Year 1758, juft after the Spanijh War.

C and

[ iS ]

and Treafure It muft have co{l:,---even tho' the
Projedl liad fucceeded. But if the real Plan was
to open a Way to the Spani/Ji Mines by taking
the Port or Entrance into them, and fo to gee
rich all at once without Trade or Induftry,—
this Scheme would have been the mod fatal
and deftrudive of any, had not Providence
kindly interpofed by defeating it. For if we had
been vi(5lorious, and had vanquifhed the Spa-
niards^ as t-iey formerly vanquifned the Indian
Inhabitants, our Fate and PuniHiment would
have been by this Time fimilar to theirs, viz.
Pride bloated with imaginary Wealth, and
abjeft Poverty without Refource.

Hence likewife we may difcern the Weak-
ncfs of one Argunient (indeed the only popular
one) fometimes infifted on with more Warmth
than Judgment in Favour of a general Natura-
lizanon, viz. That it would induce fuch rich
Foreigners as are not engaged in any Trade or
Bufmefs, and confequently would not interfere
with any of the Natives, to com.e and fpend
their Fortunes in this Land of Liberty. [What
is truly to be hoped from a general Naturaliza-
tion, is, that it would induce induftrious and in-
genious Foreigners, Men v/ho have their For-
tunes yet to make, to come, and enrich the
Country at the fame Time that they aie en-
riching themfeives by their fuperior Induftry,
Ingenuity, pud other good Qualities.] For as

to

[ 19 ]

to idle Foreigners, living on the Income of their
great Eftates,— -pray, of what national Advan-
tage would they be to us ? What, I fay, even
fuppofing we could perfuade all the wealthy
Foreigners of this Clals throughout the World
to come and refide in England ? The real Fa6l
is, that no other Confequences could enfue, but
that this Nation, inftead of being chiefly com-
pofed of fubllantial Yeomen, and Farmers, cre-
ditable Manufadlurers, and opulent Merchants,
would then become a Nation of Gentlemen and
Ladies on the one Side, and of Footmen and
Grooms, Ladies' Women, and LaundrelTes,
and fuch like Dependants, on the other. In
fhort, we have Proofs enough already of this
Matter, now before our Eyes, and in our own
Kingdom, if we will but make the proper Ufe
of them. For Example, the Towns of Bir-
. minghatn^ Leeds^ . Halifax^ Manchejier^ ^c. tr*r.
.being inhabited in a Manner altogether
by Tradefmen and Manufa6lurers, are fome
of the richefl and moil fiourifhing in the
Kingdom : Whereas the City of Tork^ and fuch
other Places as feem to be more particularly
:fet apart for the Refidence of Perfons who live
upon their Fortunes, are not without evident
Marks of Poverty and Decay.

Hence alfo we come to the true Reafon, why

-the City of Edinburgh^ contrary to the Fears

and Apprehenfions of its Inhabitants, has

C 2 thriven

[ 20 ]

thriven and flourifhed more fince the Union
than it did before ; viz. It has loft the Refi-
dence of the Court and Parliament, and has got
in its Stead, Commerce and Manufadures ;
that is, it has exchanged Idlenefs for Induftry :
And were the Court and Parliament of Ireland
to leave Dublin by Virtue of an Union with
Great-Britain, the fame good Confequences
would certainly follow.

CASE 11.

ENGLAND has acquired Twenty Mil-
lions of Specie in the Way of general
Induftry j viz. By exciting the Ingenuity and
Activity of its People, and giving them a free
Scope without any Exclufion, Confinement, or
Monopoly j— by annexing Burdeqs to Celi-
i)acy, and Honours and Privileges to the
married State ^--by conftituting fuch Laws, as
diffufe the Wealth of the Parents more equally
among the Children, than the prefent Laws of
Europe generally do ,— by modelling the Taxes
in fuch a Manner, that all Things hurtful to
the Public Good fhall be rendered proportiona-
bly dear, and placed beyond the Reach of the
Multitude ; Whereas fuchThings as are neceflary,
or uleful, fhall be proportionably encouraged ;
and, in fhort, by every other conceivable Me-
thod, whereby the Drones of Society may be con-
verted

[ 21 ]

verted into Bees, and the Bees be prevented
from degenerating back into Drones.

Therefore, as we are to fuppofe, that by
fuch Means a, thefe, the South-Britons have ac-
cumulated 20,000,0001. in Specie, while the
North-Britons have no more than 2,ooo,oool. :
The Queflion now is, Which of thefe two Na-
tions can afford to raife Provifions, and fell
their Manufadlures on the cheapefb Terms ?
*' Suppofing that both did their utmofl to rival
" one another, and that Trade and Manufac-
*' tures were left at Liberty to take their own
" Courfe, according as Cheapnefs or Intereft
" diredled them."

Now, on the Side of the poorer Nation, it is
alledged. That feeing it has much lefs Money,
and yet is equal in Size, Situation, and other
natural Advantages, equal alio in Numbers
of People, and thofe equally willing to be dili-
gent and induftrious -, it cannot be but that fuch
a Country muft have a manifeft Advantage over
the rich one in Point of its parfimonious Way of
Living, low Wages, and confequently cheap
Manufadlures.

On the contrary, the rich Country hath the
following Advantages, which will more than
counter-ballance any Difadvantage that may
arife from the foregoing Articles, viz,

id. As the richer Country hath acquired its

fuperior Wealth by a general Application, and

C 3 long

[ 22 1

long Habits of Induflry, it is therefore in
a6tual Pofleirion of an eftablifhed Trade and
Credit, large Correfpondences, experienced
Agents and Factors, commodious Shops, Work-
Houfes, Magazines, &c. alfo a great Variety of
the heft Tools and Implements in_ the various
Kinds of Manufa6lures, and Engines for
abridging Labour j— add to thefe, good Roads,
Canals, and other artificial Communications;
Quays, Docks, Wharfs, and Piers ; Numbers
of Ships, good Pilots, and trained Sailors : —
and in refpedl to Hufbandry and Agriculture,
it is likewife in PoffefTion of good Enclofures,
Drains,Waterings, artificial Graffes, great Stocks,
and confequently the greater Plenty of Manures i
alfo a great Variety of Plows, Harrows, ^c,
fuited to the different Soils ; and in fhort oF
every other fuperior Method of Hufbandry
arifing from long Experience, various and ex-
penfive Trials. Whereas the poor Country has^
for the moft Part, all thefe Things to feek after
and procure.— Therefore what the Poet ob-
ferved to be true in a private Senfc, is true alfo
in a public and commercial one, viz.

Haud facile emergunt^ quorum virtutibus ohftat
Res angufta domi

2dly. The richer Country is not only in Pof-
iefTion of the Things already made and fettled,
but alio of fuperior Skill and Knowledge (ac-
quired

[ 23 ]

quired by long Habit and Experience) for in-
venting and making of more. The Importance
of this v.'ill appear the greater, when we confider,
that no Man can pretend to fet Bounds to the
Progrefs that may yet be made both in Agri-
culture and Manufadures ; for who can take
upon him to affirm, that our Children cannot
as far exceed us as we have exceeded our Gothic
Forefathers ? And is it not much more natural
and reafonable to fuppofe, that we are rather at
the Beginning only, and juft got within the
Threlhold, than that we are arrived at the ne
plus ultra of ufeful Difcoveries ? Now, if fo, the
poorer Country, however willing to learn, can-
not be fuppofed to be capable of making the
fame Progrefs in Learning with the Rich, for
want of equal Means of Inftrudlion, equally-
good Models, and Examples •, — and therefore,
tho' both may be improving every Day, yet the
fra£iical Knowledge of the poorer in Agricul-
ture and Manufactures will always be found to
keep at a refpedlful Diftance behind that of the
richer Country.

3dly. The richer Country is not only more
knowings but is alfo more able than the other to
make further Improvements, by laying out large
Sums of Money in the Profecution of the in-
tended Plan. Whereas the poor Country has
here again the Mortification to find, that the
R£S angufia domi is in many Cafes an infuperable

Bar

[ 24 ]

Bar to its Rife and Advancement: And this
CircLimftance deferves the more Regard as it is
a known Fa6l and trite Obfervation, that very-
few great and extenfive Projedls were ever
brought to bear at firfl fetting out •, and that a
vaft deal of Money mufh be funk, and many
Years be elapfed, before they are capable of
making any Returns. In fhort the Inhabitants
of a poor Country, who, according to the vulgar
Phrafe, generally live from Hand to Mouth,
dare not make fuch coftly Experiments, or em-
bark in fuch expenfive and long-winded Under^
takings, as the Inhabitants of a rich Country
can attempt, and execute with Eafe.

4thly. The higher Wages of the rich Coun-
try, and the greater Scope and Encouragement
given for the Exertion of Genius, Induftry, and
Ambition, will naturally determine a great many
Men of Spirit and Enterprize to forfake their
own poor Country, and fettle in the richer ^ fo
that the one will always drain the other
of the Flower of its Inhabitants : Whereas
there are not the fame Temptations for the bed
Hands and Artifts of a rich County to forfake
the bed Pay, and fettle in a poor one. — ■
Though for Argument's Sake, it was al-
lowed at t'le Beginning, that the Numbers of
People in thefe two adjoining States were juft
equal, yet certain it is, that the Thing itfelf
could never have fo happened,-— the richer

Country

[ 25 ]

Country being always endowed with the attrac-
tive Quality of the Loadftone, and the poor one
with the repelling : And therefore, feeing that
the poorer Country muft neceffarily be the leaft
peopled (if there is a free Intercourfe between
them) the Confequence would be, that in feveral
Diftridls, and in many Inftances, it would be
impoITible for certain Trades even to fubfift ;
becaufe the Scarcity and Poverty of the Inha-
bitants would not afford a fufficient Number of
Cuftomers to frequent the Shop, or to take off
the Goods of the Manufadurer.

5thly. In the richer Country, where the De-
mands are great and conftant, every Manufac-
ture that requires various ProcefTes, and is com-
pofed of different Parts, is accordingly divided
and fubdivided into feparate and and diflind
Branches ; whereby each Perfon becomes more
expert, and alfo more expeditious in the parti-
cular Part affigned him.- Whereas in a poor
Country, the fame Perfon is obliged by Necef-
fity, and for the Sake of getting a bare Sub-
fiftence, to undertake fuch different Branches,
as prevent him from excelling, or being
expeditious in any. In fuch a Cafe, Is it
not much cheaper to give 2s. 6d. a Day in the
rich Country to the nimble and adroit Artift,
than it is to give only 6d. in the poor one, to the
tedious, aukward Bungler ?

D 6thly.

[ 26 ]

6thly. As the richer Country has the greater
Number of rival Tradefmen, and thofe more
quick and dexterous, the Goods of fuch a
Country have not only the Advantages arifing
from Quicknefs and Dexterity, but alfo will be
afforded much the cheaper on Account of the
Emulation of fo many Rivals and Competitors.
Whereas in a poor Country, it is very eafy for
one rich, over-grown Tradefman to monopolize
the whole Trade to himfelf, and confequently
to let his own Price upon the Goods, as he
knows that there are none who dare contend with
him in Point of Fortune ;— or, what is full as bad,
the like Confequences will follow where the
Numbers of the Wealthy are fo few, that thej
can combine together whenever they will, to pre^
upon the Public.

7thly. and laflly, In the richer Country, the
Superiority of the Capital, and the low In-
terefb of Money, will enfure the Vending of all
Goods on the cheapefl Terms •, becaufe a Man
of 2000I. Capital can certainly afford to give
the beft Wages to the bell Workmen, and yet
be able to fell the Produce or Manufacture of
fuch Workmen at a much cheaper Rate than he
who has only a Capital of 2 col. For if the one
gets only lol. per Cent, per Ann. for his
Money, that will bring him an Income of 200I.
a Year j a Sum verv fufHcient to live with Cre-
dit

[ 27 ]

dit and Reputation in the Rank of a Tradefman 5
and confiderably more than double to what he
would have received in the Way of common
Intereft, even if lent at 4I. and an Half per
Cent. Whereas, the other with his poor Capital
of 200I. muft get a Profit of at Icaft 20I. per
Cent, in order to have an Income juft above
the Degree of a common Journeyman. — Not
to mention, that Men of fuperior Capitals will
always command the Market in buying the raw
Materials at the beft Hand •, and command it
alfo in another View, viz. by being able to give
longer Credit to their Dealers and Cuitorrters. —
So much as to the reafoning Part of this Subjed: :
Let us now examine how ftand the Fads.

And here it mud be premifed, that were a
greater Quantity of Specie to enhance the Price
of Provifions and Manufa6lures in the Manner
ufually fuppofed, the Confequence would be,
that all Goods whatever would be fo much the
dearer in a rich Country, compared with a poor
one, as there had been ditferent Sets of People
employed, and greater Wages paid in m.aking
them. For the Argument proceeds thus, — The
more Labour, the more Wages ; — the more
Wages, the more Money-, — the more Money
paid for making them, the dearer the Goods
muft come to Market : And yet the Fad itfelf
is quite the Reverfe of this feemingly juft Con-
clufion. For it may be laid down as a general
D 2 Fro-

[ 28 ]

Proporition,wIiich very feldom hih^Th^t operofe^
or complicated ManufoMures are cheapell in rich
Countries ;--and raw Materials in poor ones :
And therefore in Proportion as any Commodity
approaches to one, or other of thefe Extremes^
in that Proportion it will be found to be cheaper^
or dearer in a rich, or a poor Country.

The raifing of Corn, for Inftancc, employs
a confiderable Number of Hands, has various
ProcefTes, takes up a great deal of Time, and is
attended with great Expence. If fo, pray.
Where is Corn the cheapell ? Why, Corn is
raifed as cheap in England as in Scotland^ if not
cheaper. Moreover, tho' Wages are very high
in Hertford/hire J as being in the Neighbourhood
of London^ and the Lands dear, and far from
being naturally good \ yet the Price of good
Wheat is certainly as cheap in Hertford/Jure as
in Wales^ and fomecimes much cheaper ; tho*
the Wages in Wales are low, the Rents eafy, and
the Lands in many Places fufficiently rich and
fertile, and the Land-Tax extremely light.

The raifing Garden-StufF, and all Sorts of
Produce fit for the Kitchen is another Inflance ;
for this likewife is an expenfive and operofe
Affair, requiring great Skill and Judgment.
But the Price of Garden- Stuff is prodigioufly
funk to what it was in former Times \ and I
much queftion, whether any Town of Note in
Scotland can now vie with the common Markets^

of

[ 29 ] . ;

of London in that Refpeft. Certain It Is, that
formerly, viz, about loo Years ago, a Cabbage
would have coft 3d. in London^ when LoTtdon was
not near fo rich as it is now, which at prefent
may be bought for an Halfpenny. And were
you to proceed on to CoUiflov/ers, Afparagus,
Broccoli, Melons, Cucumbers, and all Sorts of
the choicer Wall Fruits, you would find the
Difproportions ftill greater. But waving fuch
Exotics, even the common Articles of Peafe and
Beans, Sallads, Onions, Carrots, Parfneps, and
Turneps, are confiderably cheaper than ever
they were known to be in former Times ; tho*
the Rent of Garden Grounds, and Wages of
Journeymen Gardeners, are a great deal higher.

On the contrary, the railing both of fmall
and large Cattle is a more fimple Affair, and
doth not employ near fo many Hands, as the
raifmg of Corn or Garden-Stuff: Therefore
you will find, that fmall and large Cattle are
much cheaper in poor Countries than in rich
ones ; and that the Produce of fuch Cattle, for
the fame Reafon, viz. Milk, Wool, and Hair,
alfo the Flcfh, Skins, Horns, and Hides, are
<:heaper likewife. As to Milk, this being made
into Butter or Cheefe by a fliort and fmgle Pro-
cefs, and the Intervention of only one Female
Servant, is indeed cheaper in the poorer Country.
But were Butter and Cheefe to have required a
more intricate Operation, and to have taken up
D 7 49

[ so ]
as much Time, and employed as many Hands
in the manufa6turing of them, as Wool, or
Leather, it might be greatly queflioned, whether
the richer Country would not have produced
Butter and Cheefe at a cheaper Rate than the
poor one. And what countenances this Sufpi-
cion is, that in the Cafe of Wool, Hair, Horns,
and Hides, when manufadured into Cloth, Hair-
Cloths, Hornery-Ware, and Leather, the richer
Country hath generally the Advantage : Indeed,
if there are fome Exceptions, they are extremely
few. And it is an indifputable Fa6l at this Day,
that there are more Woollen Cloths, Stuffs,
Serges, ^c. more Horn Combs, Ink-Horns,
Powder-Flaflcs, Lanthorns, &c. more Leather
for Shoes and Boots, fent by the Manufacturers
of England into Scotland^ than by thofe of Scot-
land into England,

W^ooD, or Timber, is another Inftance in
Point : For Timber may be reckoned to be in a
great Degree the fpontaneous Production of Na-
ture, and therefore Timber is always cheapeft
in a poor Country. But what fhall we fay of
fuch Manufactures, of which Timber is only
the raw Material ? Are they cheaper alfo .^—
This, I am fure, is much to be doubted ; elpe-
cially in thofe Inftances where the Manufacture
is to pafs through feveral Hands, before it is
completed. Nay, were you to go into a Ca-
binet-Maker's Shop in London^ and enquire

even

[31 ] .

even for common Articles, you would not find
that the fame Articles of equal Neatnefs and
Goodnefs could be bought in Scotland much
cheaper, if fo cheap. Moreover, as to Ship-
building, than which nothing creates fo great a
Confumption of Timber, Pray, how much
cheaper is a Ship of any Burthen, viz, 3 or 400
Tons, built at Leith or Glafgow^ than in the
Yards bordering on the Thames ? And are not
Ships built at Sardam, in Holland^ where the
NecefTaries of Life and Wages cannot be cheap,
and where not a Stick of Timber grows, are not
they built as cheap there as in mod Countries
whatever, even fuch Countries which have the
raw Materials juft'at their Doors ?

The like Obfervations might be made to
extend to the building of large and fumptuous
Houfts, and purchaiing all the Furniture proper
for them ; and to almoft every other Article,
where many Hands, much Labour and Ex-
pence, great Skill and Ingenuity, and a Variety
of different Trades are required before the Thing
in Queftion is completely finifhed. For in all
thefe Cafes, the rich, induftripus Country has a
manifeft Advantage over the poor one. London^
tho' the deareft Place in the Kingdom to live at,
is by far the cheapefl for purchafing Houfhold
Goods.

After fo much hath been faid on the Sub-
jedl, it would be needlefs to have Recourfe to

the

C 32 1

the Branch of Metals for further Illuftrations,
were it not that there is fomething fo very ftrik-
in their Cafe, that k ought not to be omitted.
Iron Ore, for Example^ is dug in Lancajkire^
and frequently fent by Sea Carriage into the
County of Argyle^ there to be fmelted, on Ac-
count of the great Plenty and Cheapnefs of
Wood and Charcoal. Now, when it is thus
brought into Pigs and Bars, the great Queftion
is. What becomes of it ? Do you find that any
confiderable Quantity remains in Scotland ? Or
is the far greater Part brought back again, in
order to be fent into the manutaduring Counties
of England f — -The latter is indifputably the
Cafe, notwithilanding the Expence of Re-car.-
riage i notwithilanding alfo, that the Collieries
in Scotland could fupply as much Coal as even
about Birmingham^ or Sheffield^ were Coal the
only Article that was wanted. But for all that,
Sheffield and Birmingham are in PolTefTion of the
Trade \ and will ever keep it, unlefs it be their
own Faults.

The Cafe of Sweden is ilill more extraordi-
nary (and furely Sweden is a Country poor enough)
for the SwediJJi Iron pays a large Duty to the
Swedijh Government before Exportation •,— it is
then burdened with Freight into England \--\t
pays a heavy Duty upon being landed here •,—
is then carried partly by Water, and partly by
Land, into the manufaduring Counties:— Is

there

[ 33 ]

there fabricated,-— re carried again to the
Sea-Side, — there fhipped off, for Sweden \

pays a very heavy Duty, as EngliJJi

Manufadlures ;— and yet, almoll every Ardcle
of fuch Manufadlures, as hath pafTed thro'
two, three, or more Stages, betore it was com-,
pleted, is afforded fo cheap at the Market of
Stockholm^ that the Swedes have loft Money in
every Attempt they have made to rival them.

Judge now therefore, what little Caufe there
is to fear that a poor Country can ever rival a
rich one in the more operofe, complicated, and
expenfive Branches of a Manufadure : Judge
alio, whether a rich Country can ever lofe its
Trade, while it retains its Induftry ; and confe-
quently how abfurd muft every Proje6l be for
fecuring or encreafmg this Trade, which doth
not tend to fecur^, or encreafe the Diligence
and Frugality of the People.

A War, whether crowned with Vidlory, or
branded with 1 Jefeats, can never prevent another
Nation from being more induftnous than you
are \ and if they are rpore induftrious, they will
fell cheaper-, and conieqaently your former
Cuftomers will forfake your Shop, and go to
theirs •, tho' you covered the Ocean with Fleets,
ancl the Land with Armies : In fliort, the
Soldier may make Wafte, the Privateer, whether
fuccefsful or unfuccefsfnl, will m.ake Poor j but
it is the eternal Law of Providence, that
E ^riie

[ 34 1

^he Hand of the Diligent alone can make
Rich,

This being the Cafe, it evidently follows,
that as no trading Nation can ever be ruined
but by itfelf, fo more particularly the Improve-
ments and Manufadlures of Scotland can never
be a Detriment to England ; unlefs the EngliJJi
do voluntarily decline in their Induftry, and be-
come profligate in their Morals. Indeed, when
this comes to pafs, it is of little Confequence
by what Name that Nation is called, which runs
away with their Trade -, for fome Country or
other neceflarily muft. Whereas, were the
EngliJJi to reform their Manners, and encreafe
their Induftry, the very Largenefs of their Ca-
pitals, and their Vicinity to Scotland^ might
enable the Engiijh to afTift the Scotch in various
Ways, without prejudicing themfelves, vix. By
lending them Money at moderate Intereft,— by
embarking in Partnerfhip with them in fuch
Undertakings as require large Stocks and long
Credits, — by ftipplying them with Models and
Inftrudtors,— exciting their Emulation, and di-
redting their Operations with that Judgment and
good Order which are only learnt by Ufe and
Experience.

Nay, to pafs from Particulars to Generals,
we may lay it down as an univerfal Rule, fubje6b
to very few Exceptions, that as an induftrious
Nation can never be hurt by the encreafing In-
duftry

I 35 1

duflry of its Neighbours ; and as it is fo wifely
contrived by Divine Providence, that all People
fhould have a llrong Biafs towards the Produce
and Manufadures of others-, — fo it follows,
that when this Biafs is put under proper Regu-
lations^ the refpedive Induftry of Nation and
Nation enables them to be fo much the better
Cuftomers, to improve in a friendly Intercourfe,
and to be a mutual Benefit to each other. A
private Shopkeeper would certainly wifh, that
his Cuftomers did improve in their Circum-
ftances, rather than go behind-hand ; becaufe
every fuch Improvement would probably re-
dound to his Advantage. Where then can be
the Wifdom in the public Shopkeeper, a trading
People, to endeavour to make the neighbouring
States and Nations, that are his Cuftomers, fo
very poor, as not to be able to trade with him ?
The Conclufton of the whole is this : Heaps
of Gold and Silver are not the true Riches of a
Nation : Gold and Silver got in the Ways
of Idlenefs are its certain Ruin •, it is Wealth in
Appearance, but Poverty in Reality: Gold
and Silver got by Induftry, and fpent in Idlenefs,
will prove to be Deftrudlion likewife : But
Gold and Silver acquired by general Induftry,
and ufed with Sobriety, and according to good
Morals, will promote ftill greater Induftry, and
go on, for any Thing that appears to the con-
trary, ftill accumulating ; fo that every Aug-
E 2 mentation

[ 36 ]

mentation of fuch Money is a Proof of a pre-
ceding Increafe of Induftry : Whereas an Aug-
mentation of Money by fuch Means as decreafc
Induftry, is a national Curfe— not a BlefTing.
And therefore, tho' the Accounts of fuch a Na-
tion may look fair to the Eyes of a Merchant
or Tradefman, who (keeping their own Books
by Pounds Shillings, and Pence) fuppofe, that
all muft be right, when they fee at the Foot of
the Account, a large Balance of Pounds, Shil-
lings, and Pence, in the Nation's Favour ; yet
the able Statefman, and judicious Patriot, who
are to keep the public Accounts by quite diffe-
rent Columns, — by Men, Women, and Children,
employed, or not employed, — will regard this
Tumour of Wealth as a dangerous Difeafe, not
as a n'iitural and healthy Growth. In one Word,
the only poffible Means of preventing a Rival
Nation from running away with your Trade,
is to prevent your own People from, being
more idle and vicious than they are-, and
by infpiring them with the C( ntrary good Qiia-
lities : So that the only War, which can be at-
tended with Succefs in that Refpedl, is a War
againft Vice and Idlenefs •, a War, whofe Forces
muft confift of- -not Fleets and Armies, --but
fuch judicious Taxes and wife Regulations, as
fhall turn the PaTion of private Self- Love into
the Channel of public Good. Indeed Fleets
and Armies may be necefiary, where the

Mer-

t 37 1
Merchant or Manufadlurer are in Danger of
being robbed or plundered in carrying their
Goods ro Market ; but Fleets and Armies can
never render thofe Goods the cheaper j and
jconfequently cannot poffibly encreafe the Num-
ber of your Cuftomers •, fuppofing fuch Cuf-
tomers have the Liberty of trading where ever
they pleafe, and to the beft Advantage. But if
you ihould continue thefe Armaments, in order
to Hop up the Ports of other Nations, and de-
prive them of the Benefit of a free Trade, what
will be the Confequence of this wife Manoeuvre ?
Plainly this ;— That while you are getting One
Shilling, you are fpending Ten ; while you are
employing a few in a Courfe of regular Induftry,
you are fupporting Thoufands in Habits of Idle-
nefs, and at the fame Time involving the Na-
tion in fuch immenfe Expences as muft, if per-
fifted in, inevitably prove its Ruin. — Grant,
therefore, that during a War, a War crowned
with uninterrupted Succefs (for no other can
avail) grant, I fay, that in fome Articles you
enjoy an Increafe of Trade, at what Expence is
this Increafe obtained, and how long is it to
laft ? Moreover, what Confequences will arife
when the War is at an End, and other Ports
are open ? (for furely it cannot be intended that
a trading Nation is to fight for ever,) and when
Peace is made, what new Duties, what addi-
tional Taxes are to be impofed for defraying
E 3 both

[ 38 ]
both Principal and Intcreft of the Charges of
fuch a War ? — How are they to be levied ? —
Who is to bear them ? — And will yoii by this
Means be better able to render your Goods
cheaper at a foreign Market than heretofore ? —
A plain Anfwer to thefe Queftions, would un-
ravel the whole Matter, and bring Mankind to
a right Ufe of their Senfes.

^jc,r>."^ A fef. Tf

POST-

[ 39 ]

POSTSCRIPT.

'HE only Set of Obje6tions, as far as
they have come to my Knowledge,
which have been hitherto made to the
Principles and Reafonings laid down,
and illuflrated in the foregoing Treatife, are the
four following :

I ft. That according to this Hypothefis,
Improvements, Induftry, and Riches, may
be advanced and encreafed ad infinitum ; which
is a Pofition too extravagant to be admitted.

2dly. That in Confequence of this accumu-
lating Scheme, one Nation might engrofs the
Trade of the whole World, and beggar every
other State or Kingdom : Which Opinion is not
only contradicted by Fad and Experience,
but is alfo contrary to my own Syftem of
Commerce, wherein I ftrongly declare againft
Monopoly and Exclufion of every Kind.

3dly,

[ 40 ]

3dly. That tho* a poor Nation cannot
immediately and at once rival a rich one in
its Trade and Manufa6lures, yet it may do
it by Degrees, beginning firll with the coarl'er
and lefs complicated Kmds, and then ad-
vancing Step by Step to others more com-
pounded, operofe, and coftly ; 'till at length it
hath reached that Summit of Art, Induilry, and
Riches, from which the rich Country hath lately
fallen, and from whence alfo this upftart Ad-^
venturer muft recede in its Turn. And to
llrengthen this Reafoning, it may be obferved,

4thly. " That all human Things have the
" Seeds of Decay within themfelves : — Great
" Empires, great Cities, great Commerce, all
*' of them receive a Cheque, not from accidental
*' E/ents, but from neceiTary Principles."

Thus Hand the Objedtions of that acute Phi-
lofopher, and celebrated Writer, who honoured
the above Treatife witn his ingenious Re-
marks. Let us now therefore attend to the
Force of each of thefe Objedions with that
Care and Impartiality which the Caufe of Truth
deferves •, and with chat Refpe«5l alfo, which is
due to a Peribn of Eminence in the Republic of
Letters.

And ifl. I mufl beg Leave to obferve, that
the Gentleman has, in Part at leaft, miilaken
my Meaning, where 1 fay, towards the Clofe
of the Treatife, " That Gold and Silver ac-

^' quired

r 41 ]

«* quired by general Induftry, and ufed with
" Sobriety, and according to good Morals, will
" promote ftill greater Induftry, and go on, for
" any thing that appears to the contrary, ftill
" accumulating :" — I fay, he has miftaken my
Meaning, if he imagined, that I roundly and
pofitively there afferted, that the Progrefs muft
he^ ad infinitum : For I did not intend to aflert
any fuch Thing ; and one Reafon, among others,
which reftrained me, was the Confideration that
I am not Metaphyfician enough to comprehend
what Infinity really means. Therefore what
I undertake to maintain is this,-— That fuch a
ProgrefTion as here defcribed, may be fo far car-
ried on, as evidently to prove, that no Man can
pofitively define, when^ or where it muft necejfa-
rily ftop : No Man can fet Bounds to Improve-
ments even in Imagination -, and therefore, 'till
the ne plus ultra of all Advancements in Arts,
Sciences, and Manufactures, in Agriculture,
Trade, and Navigation, ^c. &c, is clearly
demonftrated (a Thing which I prefume no one
will be in hafte to attempt) we may ftill be al-
lowed to aflert, that the richer manufaduring
Nation will maintain its Superiority over the
poorer one, notwithftanding this latter may be
likewife advancing towards Perfedlion. This
being the Cafe, it follows,

2dly. That my Hypothefis is fo far from

fuppofing that one Nation may engrofs the

F Trade

■[ 42 3
Trade of tlie whole World, and beggar all the
reft, that it maintains juft the contrary : Becaufe
it follows, from my Syftem, that every Nation,
poor as well as rich, may improve their Condi-
tion if they pleafe. The poorer Nation, for
Example, may adopt the good Police,— the
Abolition of Monopolies and exclufive Com-
panies, and feveral ufeful Regulations of its
richer neighbouring State : All thefe it may
adopt without Expence^ at the fame Time that
it may avoid their Errors or Miftakes ; for
Errors there will be, more or lefs, in all human
Inftitutions. Moreover, tho' the poorer Nation
cannot rival the Manufactures of a richer one
at a third Place, or in a foreign Market, where
the Goods and Merchandize of both are fup-
pofed to be admifTible on the fame Footing, yet
it may, and ought, by Means of judicious
Taxes, to difcourage. the too great or exceffive
Confumption of alien Manufadures, and efpe-
cially Liquors, within its own Territories ; and
as this likewife may be done without Ex-
fence^ nay, to the great Advantage of the
Revenue, it therefore follows, that the poorer
Nation may get forwards in many Refpedls
without being obftruded by the rich one. To
which Confideration we ftiould not forget to
add, that there are certain local Advantages re-
fulting either from the Climate, the Soil, the
Produdlions, the Situation, or even the natural

Turn

_ C 45 ]!
Turn and peculiar Genius of one People pre-
ferably to thofe of another, which no Nation
can deprive another of, unlefs by Violence and
Conqueft -, and therefore, thefe being out of
the Queflion, the necelTary Confequence is, that
the poor Country is left at Liberty to cultivate
all thefe natural and local Advantages, as far as
it can. Nay, I obferve further, that the very
fuperior Riches of a neighbouring State may
contribute greatly to the carrying of fuch a Plan
into Execution : And here 1 do not mean merely
to fay, that the Manufadlurers and Merchant
Adventurers of the poorer Country may avail
themfelves of the Wealth of a richer by bor-
rowing Money, at a low Intereft, to be employed
in Trade -, tho' by the bye, that is no fmall
Benefit : But what I lay the chief Strefs on at
prefent is, that a rich Neighbour is more likely to
become a good Cuftomer than a poor one ; and con-
fequently, that the Traders of the poorer Coun-
try will find a better Marker, and a more o-e-
neral Demand for their peculiar Produdions,
whether of Art or Nature, by Means of the
fuperior Wealth and great Confumptions of
their richer Neighbours, than they could pof-
fibly have had, were the latter equally poor with
themielves. Moreover, w^ i;^r/^, I affirm on
the other Hand, that even the rich Country will
be benefited in its Turn, by this Acceffion of
Wealth flowing into the poor one. For when
F 2 the

[ 44 ]
the Inhabitants of the poorer Country feel them-
felves enabled^ there is no Doubt to be made, but
that they will alfo become proportionably wil-
ling to purchafe fome of the more commodious
or more fumptuous Furniture, and elegant Ma-
nufadures, of thofe Perfons, who are adlually
their beft Cuftomers^ as well as richer Neigh-
bours. Indeed, lo fay the Truth, thefe Things
are no other than the ufual Confequences, and
almoft necelTary Effe6ls of natural Caufes : And
furely that Man mud have been a very great
Stranger to what pafies in the World, who can-
not difcern thefe daily Rotations of Commercial
Induftry.

But there is one Circumilance more, relative
to this Subject, which being not fo obvious ta
common Obiervers, feems therefore to require
a particular Explanation. The Circumflance is
this,— That the very fame Country may be re-
latively both richer and poorer than another at
the very fame Time, if confidered in different
Points of View •, and confequently, that all the
oppofite and feemingly contradidory Aflertions-
concerning both the Cheapnefs and the Dearnefs
of Manufadures, may be found to correfpond
with I'ruth and Matters of Fadt. Thus, for Ex-
ample, England is undoubtedly richer either than
Scotland or Ireland^ in regard to mod Branches
of Trade and Manufadlure •, and therefore it
fells thofe Manufadures much cheaper than

thev

' [ 45 ]

they can be fabricated in either of thofe Coun-
tries, But neverthelffs, both Scotland and Ire-
land are richer than England in refpedt to one
particular Point ; for both thefe Countries have
got the Start of England in refped to the '^ inen
Manufacture^ by more than Half a Century •, and
in Confequence thereof, their Capitals are larger,
their Machinery is better, and their Correfpon-
dences are become more extenfive ; fo that in
Ihort, almoft every thing relative to the Linen
Manufadlure in thofe Countries is conduded
with more Adroitnefs, and managed to greater
Advantage, than in England. Hence there-
fore it is eafily to be accounted for, how it
comes to pafs that the Scotch and Irijh can fell
their Linens, and more efpecially their fine
Linens, confiderably cheaper than the Englijh
Linen Manufadlurer is able to do. Nay, hy
Way of flrengthening the general Argument, I
would obferve further, that tho' the Modes of
Living are more expenfive, tho' the daily Wages,
and Rents of Houfes and Lands, and the Prices
of Provifions, are at lead doubled^ if not trebled,
in the manufacturing Parts of Scotland and
Ireland^ to what they were about 60 or 70 Years
ago, — yet the prefent Linens are both better and
cheaper than the former, in a very confiderable
Degree •, fo that the Scotland smd Ireland of the
Year 1773, if compared with the Scotland or
Ireland of 1 700, are as ftrong an Inllance, and

as

t 46 1

as convincing a Proof, as can pofTibly be defired
of the Truth of thefe Pofitions : — And hence
alfo we may obferve, that the Riches of Eng!a?td
in ma?iy Branches, and the Riches of Scotland
and Ireland in fome Branches, are mutually af-
fiilent to, and reciprocally advantageous to each
other : For by mutually confuming and wearing
each other's Manufactures, the Englifli^ Scotch^
and Irijh^ become the better and the greater
Cullomers to each other.

The 3d Obje6lion needs not a Reply fo long
and laboured as the fecond : For when the Gen-
tleman propofed, that the poorer Country fhould
firft begin with the coarfer and more fimple Ma-
nufactures, and then proceed Step by Step to
others more operofe, complicated, and expenfive,
'till at lail it had fupplanted the rich one in all
its Trade and ManufadtureSj—'he unfortunately
forgot, that in Proportion as his poorer Country
made a Progrefs in thefe Things, in the fame
Proportion, or nearly the fame, would the Price
of Labour, of Provifions, and of raw Materials,
advance likewife ; fo that all thefe imaginary
Advantages would vanifh away like a Dream,
when they were mod wanted, and when he
moft depended on their AlTiftance. In fa6l, his
not paying due Attention to this Circumltance
was probably the very Thing which led him and
others into fo many Errors on this Head. But
as he has one Objedtion more to offer, let ns

fee

[ 47 1
lee whether the Weight of that will make up
for the Deficiency of the others.

Now his 4th Objedtion, or rather his Obfer-
vation, is, " That all Human Things have the
" Seeds of Decay within themftlves : Great
" Empires, great Cities, great Commerce, all
" of them receive a Cheque, not from accidental
" Events, but from neceffary Principles." From
all which it is implied, that the richer Nation
cannot maintain its Superiority over a poorer one ;
becaufe, when it comes to a certain Period, it
muft neceflariiy fall to Decay •,-— I fay, this mud
be the Inference intended, otherwife the Obfer-
vation is not applicable, and has nothing to do
with the prefent Subjedl.

• Here therefore, as the Ideas and Terms
made ufe of, are borrowed from the State of
natural Bodies, and from thence metaphorically
transferred to political Conftitutions, one Thing
is taken for granted in this Argument, to which
I cannot readily affcnt. It is taken for granted,
that as all Animals, by having the Seeds of De-
cay within themfelves, mufl die fooner or later,
therefore political or commercial Inflitutions
are fubje6l to the like F.te, and on the fame
Principles. Now this remains to be proved ;
for the Parallel doth not hold in all Refpedts;
and tho' it be true that the Body Politic may
come to an End, as well as the Body Natural,
there is no phyfical NecefTity that it miijh But

more

r 48 ]

more of this will be found in my Sermon, " On
^' the Ufe and Abufe of the good Creatures of
« God/' the laft Trad in this Colledion. Suf-
fice it therefore to obferve at prefent, that a Set
of Rules and Regulations may be formed for the
diffufing of Property, and fecuring and fpreading
of Induflry, the preventing of the prefent
Ihocking Vices of Eledioneering, and in general,
for the correcting moft, if not all of thofe Evils,
which great Riches, Excefs of Liberty, and
Length of Time, are too apt to introduce. I fay,
fuch a Set of Rules and Regulations may be
formed ; againft the AdmilTion of which into
our Code of Laws, there cannot be the leaft
Pretence of a Fhyfical Impojfibility, In one
Word, the Conflitution of the Body Natural
is fo framed, that after a certain length of Time,
no Remedy in Nature can reftore it to its priftine
Health and Vigour ; for at laft old Age will
neceffarily deftroy it, if nothing elfe fhall put a
Peiiod to it fooner :— But the Difeafes of the
Body Politic are not abfolutely incurable ;
becaufe Care and Caution, and proper Remedies,
judicioufly and honcftly applied, will pro-
duce thofe EfFeds in one Cafe, which it
would be impofliblc for them to produce in the
ether.

TRACt

TRACT JI.

TAd CASE of going to War;

BEING

The Fragment of a greater Work.

CHAP. III. Prevention of Wars.

^^^^^ID the Difficulty in this Argument
^' D 0 confift in the Dubioufnefs of the Fact,
g'y-;!^^ ' Whether Wars were deflrudlive to
' Mankind or not,' that Difficulty
would not long fubfill ^ for, if ocular Demon-
ftration can be allowed to be Proof, it is but too
manifeft, That both the conquering, and con-
quered Countries, are prodigious Lofers by
them. But, alas ! in this Cafe the Difficulty
lies not in the Obfcurity of the Proof, but in
G the

[ 50 3

the Feeblenefs of the Attempt to dilTuade Men
from a Pradlice they have been long accuftomed
to confider in a very different Light from that
in which it will be here fet forth : And fuch is
the Inveteracy of bad Habits, fuch the be-
witching, tho' empty Sounds of Conqueft and
Glory, that there remains only the bare Poffibility
of Hopes of Succefs in thefe Endeavours -, for
as to all the Degrees of Frohahility^ they are
certainly on the contrary Side. \

However, as the Nature of my Argument
leads me to fet forth the feveral Means of ren-
dering a Country populous, certainly the Pre-
vention of Wars, as one of the mofl capital
Means, cannot be omitted : And therefore I
muft confider myfelf in this Cafe as People do
when they commence Adventurers in a Lottery j
where, though there are perhaps almoft an in-
finite Number of Chances againft any fmgle
Adventurer, yet every Individual cherifhes the
flattering Expectation, that he fhall be the happy
Man to whofe Share the great Prize will fall.
Now, if a Condudt, grounded on fo much Im-
probability, can efcape the Cenfure of general
Ridicule, it; is to be hoped, that my Folly, for
fuch 1 acknowledge it, may efcape likewife •, at
leaft, as it is of fo innocent and harmlefs a Na-
ture, let me be allowed to petition, that mine
may be efteem.ed lefs irrational than that mili-
tary and political Folly which confifts in feeking

for

f 51 ]

for Empire by Means of Defolatlon, and for
national Riches by introducing univerfal Poverty
and Want.

In ancient Times, Men went to War without
much Ceremony or Pretence : It was thought
Reafon good enough to juftify the Deed, if one
Man liked what another Man had ; and War
and Robbery were the honourable ProfelTions :
Nothing was adjudged difhonourable but the
Arts of Peace and Indullry. This is Herodotush
Account of the Manner of living of the Bar-
barians of 'Thrace •, and this, with very fmall
Alterations, might ferve to charaderife all other
Barbarians, either of antient or modern Times.

But at prefent, we, who chufe to call our-
felves civilized Nations, generally affedl a more
ceremonious Parade, and many Pretences*
Complaints are firft made of fome Injury re-
ceived, fome Right violated, fome Incroach-
ment. Detention, or Ufurpadon, and none
will acknowledge themfelves the AggreiTors ;
nay, a folemn Appeal is made to Heaven for
the Truth of each AfTercion, and the final
Avenger of the OpprciTed, and Searcher of
all Hearts, is called upon to maintain the
righteouF. Caufe, and re punifh the Wrong-doer.
Thus It is with both Parties •, and while neither
of them will own the true Motives, perhaps it
is apparent to all the World, that, on one Side,
if not on both, a Thirlt of Glory, a Luft oi
G 2 Do-

[ 5^ ]

Dominion, the Cabals of Statefmen, or the
ravenous Appetites of individuals for Power
or Plunder, for Wealth without Induftry, and
Greatnefs without Merit, were the only real
and genuine Springs of Adlion.

Now the Aims of Princes in thefe Wars are
partly the fame with, and partly different from,
thofe of their Subjeds : As far as Renown is
concerned, the! • Views are alike, for Heroifm
is the Vv' ifh anJ Envy of all Mankind •, and to
be a Nation of Heroes, under the Conduci of
an heroic Leader, is regarded, both by Prince
and People, as the Summit of all earthly Hap-
pinefs. It is really aftonifhing to think with
what Applaufe and Eclat the Mem.oirs of fuch
inhuman Monfters are tranfmitted down, in all
the Pomp of Profe and Verfe, to diflant Gene-
rations : Nay, let a Prince but feed his Subje6ts
with the empty Diet of military Fame, it mat-
ters not what he does befides, in regard to them-
felves as well as others ; for the Lives and Li-
berties, and every Thing that can render So-
ciety a BlefTmg, are willingly otfered up as a
Sacrifice to this Idol, Glory. And were the
Fadl to be examined into, you would find,
perhaps without a fingle Exception, that the
greateft Conquerors abroad, have proved the
heavieft Tyrants at Home. However, as Vic-
tory, like Charity, covereth a Multitude of Sins,
thus it comes to pafs, that reafonable Beings

will

[ 53 ]
will be content to be Slaves themfelves, pro-
vided they may enflave others ; and while the
People can look up to the glorious Hero on the
Throne, they will be dazzled with the Splendor
that furrounds him, and forget the Deeds of the
OpprefTor.

Now, from this View of Things, one would
be tempted to imagine, that a Pradtice fo uni-
veriaiiy prevailing, was founded in the Courfe
and Conltitution of Nature. One would be
tempted to fuppofe, that Mankind were created
on Purpofe to be engaged in deftrudlive Wars,
and to worry and devour one another. '' Per-
" haps the Earth would be overftocked with
" Numbers was it not for fuch Evacuations,
" falutary upon the whole, and necelTary for
" the Good of the Remainder. Perhaps, like-
" wife, there may be fome Truth in what is
" vulgarly given out, that one Nation cannot
" thrive but by the Downfall, and one People
•* grow rich but by the impoverilhing, of its
" Neighbours."

And yet, when we examine into this Affair,
neither Reafon, nor Experience will give the
leaft Countenance to this Suppofition. The
Reafon of the Thing we will confider now, and
referve the Fad 'till by and by. Here then, if
Principles of Reafon are to be our Guide, one
would think, that a Being overflowing with
Benevolence, and not limitted in Power, might
G 3 have

[ 54 ]
have made a much better Provifion for his Crea*
tures, than what is here fuggefl-ed : Certainly
he mic^ht have rendered their feveral Interefts
lefs repugnant to each other ; or rather, he
mio-ht have cauled them all to fpring from one
common Center, or to unite in one common
Bafis. And we are confirmed in this Train of
Reaibning, when we refledt, that even the Be-
ntvolence and Power of human Governments,
narrow and impertedl as they are, do aiElually
provide for the Safety and Welfare of their re-
fpe6live Subjeds by this very Method of an
Union and Coalition of feparate Interefts.
Thus, for Example, the Inhabitants of one
County, or of one City, have not fo much as an
Idea, that they are, and muft be, according to
the unalterable Courfe of Things, the conftitu-
tionalFoes of thofe of another County or City
under the fame Government : Nor do we at all
conceive, that this or that particular Town, or
Diflridt, can grow rich, or profper, 'till the
Diftrids, or Towns around it are reduced to Po-
verty, or made a dreary Wafte. On the con-
trary, we naturally conclude, and juftly too,
that their Interefts are inleparable from our
own : And were their Numbers to be dimi-
nifhcd, or their Ciicumftances altered from Af-
fluence to Want, we ourfelves, in the Rotation
of Things, fhould foon feel the bad EfFedls of
fuch a Change. If, therefore, this is the Cafe,

with

[ 55 ]
with refpe6l; to human Governments ; and if
they, notwithftanding all their Faults and Fail-
ings, can regulate Matters fo much for the
better; how then comes it to pafs, that we
fhould afcribe fo much Imperfedion, fuch
Want of Benevolence, fuch Partiality, nay fuch
premeditated Mifchief to that great and equal
Government, which prefideth over all ? Is it>
do you think, that Almighty God cannot go*
vern two large Diflridts, France and England for
Example, as well, and as wifely as you can go-
vern two fmall ones ? Or is it, that he hath fo
egregioufly blundered in his firil: framing the
Conftitution of Things as to render thofe Ex-
ploits, called Wars, neceffary for the Good of
the Whole under his Adminiftration, which you
would juflly confider to be a Difgrace to yours,
and feverely punilh as an Outrage ? Surely no :
And we cannot, without Blafphemy, afcribe
that Condud to the befl of Beings, which is
almoft too bad to be f uppofed of the worft :
Surely is, is much more confonant to the Didlates
of unbiaffed Reafon to believe, that our com-
mon Parent and univerfal Lord regards all his
Children and Subjedls with an Eye of equal
Tendernefs and Good- will •, and to be firmly
perfuaded, that in his Plan of Government
the political Interefls of Nations cannot be re-
pugnant to thofe moral Duties of Humanity and
Love which he has fo univerfally prefcribed.

So

[ 56 ]

So much as to the Reafon of the Thing : Let
us now confider the Fa6t, and be determined by
Experience. Princes expe6l to get by fuccefs-
ful Wars, and a Series of Conquefts, either more
Territory, or more Subjeds, or a more ample
Revenue -, or perhaps, which is generally the
Cafe, they expe6b to obtain all three. Now, in
regard to Territory, if mere Superficies were
the Thing to be aimed at, it muft be allowed,
that a Country of a Million of fquare Miles
is more in Quantity than one of half that Ex-
tent. But if Countries are not to be valued by
Acres, but by the Cultivation and the Produce
of thofe Acres, then it follows, that ten Acres
may be better than a thoufand, or perhaps ten
thoufand ♦, and Biihop Berkley^s Query may
come in here very apropos, — " May not a
" Man be the Proprietor of twenty Miles fquare
" in North-America^ and yet be in Want of a
" Dinner ?"

As to Numbers of Subje(5ls, furely War and
Conqueft are not the moil likely Means for at-
taining this End ; and a Scheme, which confifts
in the Deftrudlion of the Human Species,
is a very ftrangc one indeed to be pro-
pofed for their Increafe and Multiplication :
Nay, granting that Numbers of Subjeds might
be acquired, together with the AccefTion of Ter-
ritory, Hill theie new Subjeds would add no
real Strength to the State ; becaufe new Acqui-

fitions

I 57 '\
fitions would require more numerous Defences,
and becaufe a People fcattered over an immenfe
Trad of Country are^ in fadt, much weaker
than half their Numbers acting in Concert to-
gether, and able by their Vicinity to fuccoiir
one another.

Moreover, as to the Affair of the Revenue,
and the Produce of Taxes, the fame Arguments
conclude equally ftrong in this Cafe as in the
former: And the indifputableiact is,, that an
ill-peopled Country, though large and exten five,
neither produces fo great a Revenue as a fmall
one well cultivated and populous ; nor if it did,
would the neat Produce of fuch a,ilevenue be
equal to that of the other, becaufe;; it is, in a Man-
ner, fwallowed.up in Governments, Guards,
and Garrifons,. in Salaries and Penfions, and all
the confumjng Perquifites and Expences atten-
dant on diftant Provinces. . >\^.,p,,; .^'u,;, .

I iji. reference to the Views of the People : ^As
far as fuch Views coincide with thofe of the
Prince, fo far they have, been confidered al-
ready : But feeing that the Thirft of inordinate
Riches in private Subjedts, whicli pufhes.them
on to wi(h fo vehemently for War, has Ibmething
in it diftin(51: from the Avarice of Princes ; let
us now examine, wli,ether this Trade, of War is
a likely Method to make a People ric;h, and let
us confider every Plea that ,can .be offered.
*' Surely, fay thefeMen, to return Home laden
H «' with

[ 58 ]

" with the Spoils of wealthy Nations is a com-
" pendious Way of getting Wealth ; furely
" we cannot be deceived in fo plain a Cafe : For
" we fee that what has been gathering together
" and accumulating for Years, and perhaps for
" Ages, thus becomes our own at once; and
" more might be acquired by a happy Vidlory
*' within the Gompafs of a Day, perhaps of an
" Hour, than we could otherwife promife to
" ourfelves by the tedious Purfuits of Induftry
" through the whole Courfc of a long laborious
« Life."

Now, In order to treat with this People in
their own Way, I would not awake them out
of their prefent golden Dream ; 1 would there-
fore fjppofe, that they might fiicceed to their
Heart's Defire, though there is a Chance at lead
of being dikppointed, and of meeting with
Captivity inftead of Conquefl : I will wave like-
wife all Confide rations drawn from the intoxi-
cating Nature of Riches, when fo rapidly got,
and improperly acquired : I will alfo grant, that
great Stores of Gold and Silver, of Jewels,
Diamonds, and precious Stones, may be brought
Home V and that the Treafures of the Univerfe
may, if you pleafe, be made to circulate within
the Limits of our own little Country : And if
this were not enough, I would ftill grant more,
did I really know what could be wilhed for or
expected more.

The

I 59 1

The Soldier of Fortune, beingmade thus rich,
fits down to enjoy the Fruits of his Conqueft,
and to gratify his Wifhes after fo much Fatigue
and Toil : But alas ! he prefently finds, that
in Proportion as this heroical Spirit and Thirfl
for Glory have diffufed themfelves among his
Countrymen, in the fuiie Proportion the Spirit
of Induilry hath funk and died away •, every
Neceflary, and every Comfort and Elegance of
Life are grown dearer than before, becaufe there
are fewer Hands, and lets Inclination to pro-
duce them ; at the fame Time his own Defires,
and artificial Wants, inftead of being leflened,
are greatly multiplied -, for of what Ufe are
Riches to him unlefs enjoyed ? Thus therefore
it comes to pafs, that his Heaps of Treafure are
like the Snow in Summer, continually melting
away ; fo that the Land of Heroes foon becomes
the Country of Beggars. His Riches, it is true,
rufhed in upon h.m like a Flood ; but, as he
had no Means of retaining them, every Article
he wanted or wifhed for, drained away
his Stores like the Holes in a Sieve, *till the
Bottom became quite dry : In fliort, in this Si-
tuation the Sums, which are daily and hourly
ifiTuing out, are not to be replaced but oy a new
War, and a new Series of Vidories ; anu thefe
new Wars and new Vidtories do ail enhance the
former Evils ; fo that the relative Poverty of
the Inhabitants of this war-like Country becomes
H2 fo

[ 6o ]
lb much the greater, in Proportion to their Soc-
cefs in the very Means miftakenly propofed for
enriching them^

A FEW indeed, incited by the ftrong Inftindt^
of an avaricious Temper, may gather and
fcrape up what the many arc fquandering away -,
a:nd fo the Impoverifhment of the Community
may become the Enrichment of the Individual.
But it is utterly impoflible, that the great Ma-
jority of any Country can grow wealthy by that
Courfe of Life which renders them both very
extravagant, and very idle.

To illuftrate this Train of Reafoning, let us
have recoirrfe to Fads : But let the Fa6ls be
fuch as my Opponents in this Argument would
wilh of all others to have produced on this Oc-
cafion : And as the Example of the Romans is
eternally quoted, from the Pamphleteer in the
Garret, to the Patriot in the Senate, as extremely
worthy of the Imitation of Britons, let their
Example decide the Difpute. " The brave Ro-
" mans ! That glorious ! That God -like People!
" The Conquerors of the World \ Who made
'' the moil; haughty Nations to fubmit ! Who
" put theWealthiefl under Tribute, and brought
" all the Riches of the Univerfe to centre in the
*' Imperial City of Rome !"

Now this People, at the Beginning of their
State, had a Territory not fo large as oiie of
©ur middling Counties, and neither healthy,

nor

[ 6i ]

rlor fertile in its Nature •, yet, by Means of Fru-
gality and Induilry, and under the Influence
of Agrarian Laws (which allotted from two to
fix, or eight, or perhaps ten Acres of Land to
each Family) they not only procured a com-
fortable Subfiftence, but alfo were enabled to
carry on their petty Wars without Burden to the
State, or Pay to the Troops ; each Hufbandman
or little Freeholder ferving gratis, and providing
his own Cloachs and Arms during the fhorc
Time that was neceflary for him to be abfent
from his Cottage and Family on fuch Ex-
peditions.

But when their Neighbours were all fubdued,
and the Seat of War removed to more diflanc
Countries, it became impoffible for them to
draw their Subfiftence from, their own Farms ^
or in other Words, to ferve gratis any longer \
and therefore they were under a NecelTicy to
accept of Pay. Moreover, as they could fel-
dom vifit their little Eftates, thefe Farms were
unavoidably negledled, and confequently were
foon difpofed of to engroffmg Purchafers : And
thus it came to pafs, that the Lands about Rome^
in fpite of the Agrarian Laws, and of the feveral
Revivals of thofe Laws, were monopolized
into a few Hands by Dint of their very
Conquefts and Succeffes : And thus alfo
the Spirit of Induftry began to decline, in
Proportion as the military Genius gained
H 3 the

[ 62 ]

the Afcendant*. A Proof of this we have in
Livy^ even fo far back as the Time of their
laft King Tarquinius Superbus : For one of the
Complaints brought againft that Prince was
couched in the following Terms, That having
employed^ his Soldiers in making Drains and
Common Sewers, " they thought it an high
*' Difgrace to Warriors to be treated as Me-
" chanics, and that the Conquerors of the
*' neighbouring Nations fhould be degraded
" into Stone-cutters and Mafons," though thefe
Works were not the Monuments of unmeaning
Folly, or the Works of Oflentation, but evi-
dently calculated for the Health of the Citizens
and the Convenience of the Public. Had he
led forth thefe indignant Heroes to the Extirpa-
tion of lome neighbouring State, they would not
have confidered that as a Diihonour to their
Charade r.

* T. Liv. lib, I. Romanes homines, vidlores omnium
circa populorum, opifices ac hpicid.is pro bellytoribus
fades. Thus reafoned the People of Rome, as foon as ever
they began to be famous in the Charader of Belhtores and
Victor es. And, as this Vanity is natural to Mankind, have
not the Friends of Commerce too much Caufe to fear that
cur Oplfices and Lapiddas^ now turned into y"i6lores $mnium
circa Pcpuloricn, v/ill reafon after the fame Manner ? And
yet tht: Romans were not fo m?i-d as to fight for Trade ; they
tought only for Conquell and ]^ominion, which may be ac-
quired by fighting : But to f ght for the Sake- of procuring
Trade, is a Species of Madnefs rcfcrved only fur Britons !

But

[ 63 1

But to proceed : The Genius of Rome being
formed for War, the Romans pufhed their Con-
quefts over Nations dill more remote : But alas !
the ^irites^ the Body of the People, were fo
far from reaping any Advantage from thefe new
Triumphs, that they generally found th^mfelves
to be poorer at the End of their moft glorious
Wars than before they begun them. At the
Clofe of each fuccefsful War it was cuftomary
to divide a Part of the Lands of the Vanquifhed
among the veteran Soldiers, and to grant them
a DifmifTion in order to cultivate their new Ac-
quifitions. But fuch Eftates being (till more
diftant from the City, became in fad: fo much
the lefs valuable ; and the new Proprietor had
lefs Inclination than ever to forfake the Capital,
and to banifh himfelf to thefe diftant Provinces.
[For here let it be noted, that Rome was become,
by this Time, the Theatre of Pleafure, as well as
the Seat of Empire, where all, who wifhed to
adl a Part on the Stage of Ambition, Popularity,
or Politics -, all who wanted to be engaged in
Scenes of Debauchery, or Intrigues of State ;
all, in Ihort, who had any Thing to fpend, or
any Thing to expedl, made Rome their Ren-
dezvous, and refortcd thither as to a com.mon
Mart] This being the Cafe, it is not at all fur-
prifmg, that thefe late Acquifitions were de-
ferted and fold for a very Trifle •, nor is it any
Wonder, that the Mafs of the Roman People

Ihould

[ 64 ]

fhould be fo immerfed in Debt, as we find by
their own Hiftorians they continually were, when
we refledl, that their military Life inrdifpofed
them for Agriculture or Manufadures, and that
their Notions of Conqueft and of Glory ren-
dered them extravagant, prodigal, and vain. *

However, in this Manner they went on, con-
tinuing to extend their Victories and their Tri-
umphs j and, after the Triumph, fubfifting for
a while by the Sale of the Lands above-men-
tioned, or by their Shares in the Divifion of the
Booty : But when thefe were fpent, as they
quickly were, then they funk into a more
wretched State of Poverty than before, eagerly
v/ifhing for a new War as the only Means of re-
pairing their defperate Fortunes, and clamour-
ing againft every Perfon that would dare to ap-
pear as an Advocate for Peace : And thus they
encreafed their Sufferings, inilead of removing
them.

At lafl they fubdued the World, as far as it
w^as known at that Time, or thought worth lub-
duing; and then both the Tribute, and the
Plunder of the Univerfe were imported into
Rome •, then, therefore, the Bulk of the Inha-
bitants of that City mud have been exceedingly
wealthy, had Wealth confifted in Heaps of Gold
and Silver ; and then likewife, if ever, the Blef-
fings of Vi6lory muft have been felt had it been
capable of producing any. But alas ! whatever

R iches

[ 65 ]
Riches a few Grandees, the Leaders of Armies,
the Governors of Provinces, the Minions of the
Populace, or the Harpies of Oppreffion might
have amafied together, the great Majority of
the People were poor and miferable beyond Ex-
prefTion; and while the vain Wretches were
flrutting with Pride, and elated with Infolence,
as the Mafters of the Worlds they had no other
Means of fubfifting, when Peace was made
and their Prize-Money fpenr, than to receive a
Kind of Alms in Corn from the public Grana-
ries, or to carry about their Bread-Bafkets, and
beg from Door to Door. Moreover, fuch
among them as had chanced to have a Piece of
Land left unmortgaged, or fomething valuable
to pledge, found, to their Sorrov/, that the In-
terefl of Money (being hardly ever lefs than
twelve per Cent, and frequently more) would
foon eat up their little Subflance, and reduce
them to an Equality with the reft of their illuf-
trious Brother-Beggars. Nay, fo extremely low
was the Credit of thefe Mafters of the World,
that they were trufted with the Payment of
their Intereft no longer than from Month to
Month •, — than which there cannot be a more
glaring Proof, both of the abjedl Poverty, and
of the cheating Difpofitions of thefe heroic Ci-
tizens of Imperial Rome,

Now this being the undoubted Fad, every

humane and benevolent Man, far from confider-

I ing

[ 66 ]
ing thefe People as Objedls worthy of Imitation,
will look upon them with a juft Abhorrence
and Indignation ; and every wife State, con-
fulting the Good of the Whole, will take Warn-
ing by their fatal Example, and flifle, as much
as pofTible, the very Beginnings of fuch a Ro-
man Spirit in its Subjeds.

The Cafe of the antient Romans having thus
been confidered at large, lefs may be requifite
as to what is to follow. And therefore fuffice
it to obferve, that the Wars of Europe for thefe
two hundred Years laft pad, by the ConfefTion
of ail Parties, have really ended in the Advan-
tage of none, but to the manifeft Detriment
of all : Suffice it farther to remark, that had
each of the contending Powers employed their
Subjedls in cultivating and improving fuch Lands
as were clear of all difputed Titles, inftead of
aiming at more extended PofTefTions, they had
confulted both their own, and their People's
Greatnefs much more efficacioufly, than by all
the Vidlorics of a Cafar^ or an Alexander,

Upon the Whole, therefore, it is evident to
a Demonftration, that nothing can refult from
fuch Syftems as thefe, however fpecious and
plaufible in Appearance, but Difappointment,
Want, and Beggary. For the great Laws of
Providence, and the Courfe of Nature, are
not to be reverfed or counter- adled by the feeble
Efforts of wayward Man j nor will the Rules

of

[ 6; ]
of found Politics ever bear a Separation from
thofe of true and genuine Morality. Not to
mention, that the Vidors theinfelves will ex-
perience it to their Coils fooner or later, that in
vanquifhing others, they are only preparing a
more magnificent Tomb for their own Interr-
ment.

In very deed, the good Providence of God
hath, as it were, taken peculiar Pains to pre-
clude Mankind from having any plaufible Pre-
tence for purfuing either this or any other
Scheme of Depopulation. And the Traces of
fuch preventing Endeavours, if I may fo fpeak,
are perfedly legible both in the natural, and in
the moral Worlds.

In the natural World, our bountiful Creator
hath formed dilFerent Soils, and appointed dif-
ferent Climates ; whereby the Inhabitants of
different Countries may fupply each other with
their refpedlive Fruits and Produdls ^ fo that by
exciting a reciprocal Induftry, they may carry
on an Intercourfe mutually beneficial, and uni-
verfally benevolent.

Nay more, even where there is no remarka-
ble Difference of Soil, or of Climates, we find
a great Difference of Talents \ and, if I may
be allowed the ExprefTion, a wonderful Variety
of Strata in the human Mind. Thus, for Ex-
ample, the Alteration of Latitude between
Norwich and Manchejier^ and the Variation of
I 2 Soil

- [ 68 ]
Soil are not worth naming •, moreover, the Ma-
terials made Ufe of in both Places, Wool, Flax,
and Silk, are juft the fame •, yet fo different are
the Produdions of their refpedive Looms, that
Countries, v/hich are thoufands of Miles apart,
could hardly exhibit a greater Contraft. Now,
had Norwich and Manchefter been the Capitals
of two neighbouring Kingdoms, inftead of Love
and Union, we fhould have heard of nothing
but Jealoufies and Wars ; each would have
prognofticated, that the fiourifliing State of the
one portended the Downfall of the other ; each-
would have had their refpei^ive Complaints,
uttered in the mofl doleful Accents, concerninor
their own Lofs of Trade, and of the formida-
ble Progrefs of their Rivals \ and, if the re-
fpedive Governments were in any Degree po-
pular, each would have had' a Set of Patriots
and Orators clofing their inflammatory Ha-
rangues with a delenda eji Cartkago. " We muft
" deftroy our Rivals, our Competitors, and
*' commercial Enemies, or be deftroyed by
'' them •, for our IntereiVs are oppofite, and
'' can never coincide." And yet, notwithftand-
ing ail thefe canting Phrafes, it is as clear as
the Meridian Sun, that in cafe thefe Cities had
belonged to different Kingdoms {France and
England for Example) there would then have
been no more Need for either of them to have
gone to War than there is at prefent. In fhort,

if

[ 69 }
if Mankind would but open their Eyes, they
might plainly fee, that there is no one Argu-
ment for inducing different Nations to fight for
the Sake of Trade, but which would equally
oblige every County, Town, Village, nay, and
every Shop among ourfelves, to be engaged in
civil and intefline Wars for the fame End : Nor,
on the contrary, is there any Motive of Interefl
or Advantage that can be urged for reftraining
the Parts of the fame Government from thefe
unnatural and foolilh Contefl-s, but which would
conclude equally ftrong againft feparate and in-
dcpendant Nations making War with each other
on the like Pretext.

Moreover,, the Inftinft* of Curiofity, and
the Thirft of Novelty, which are fo univerfally
implanted in human Nature, whereby various
Nations and different People fo ardently wifh to
be Cutlomers to each other, is another Proof,
that the curious Manufadures of one Nation will
never want a Vent among the richer Inhabitants

, * Indeed this Inftindt, like all other Inftin6ls and Paffions,
ought to be put under proper Regulations y otherwife it may-
do more Hurt than Good. But this Neceffity of due Re-
gulation is no more an Objedlion againft the good Tendency
of the Inftindl itfelf, than the Rules of Temperance and
Sobriety are Objeftions againft Eating and Drinking in a
jnoderate and reafonable Degree. The Inftind itfelf is
certainly good ; but it may be mifapplied :-— And what may
not ? The political Regulations it fhould be under, will be
mentioned elfewhere.

I 3 , of

[ 70 ]
of another, provided they are reafonably cheap
and good ; fo that the richer one Nation is^ the
more it has to fpare, and the more it will cer-
tainly lay out on the Produce and Manu-
factures of its ingenious Neighbour. Do you
objedt to this ? Do you envy the Wealth, or
repine at the Profperity of the Nations around
you ?---If you do, confider what is the Confe-
quence, viz. that you wifh to keep a Shop, but
hope to have only Beggars for your Cuftomers.

Lastly, the good Providence of God has
further ordained, that a Multiplication of In-
habitants in every Country fhould be the beft
Means of procuring Fertility to the Ground,
and of Knowledge and Ability to the Tiller of
it : Hence it follows, that an Increafe of Num-
bers, far from being a Reafon for going to War
in order to thin them, or for fending them out
to people remote Defarts, operates both as an
exciting Caufe to the Hufbandman to increafe
his Quantity, in Proportion to the Demand at
Market ; and alfo enables him to raife more
plentiful Crops, by the Variety and Plenty of
thofe rich Manures, which the Concourfe of
People, their Horfes, Cattle, &c. &c. produce :
And it is remarkable, that very populous Coun-
tries are much lefs fubjeft to Dearths or Famines
than any other. — So much as to thofe Stores of
Providence, which are laid up in the natural
World, and gracioufly intended for the Ufe of
Mankind. As

[ 71 ]
As to the moral and political World, Pro-
vidence has fo ordained, that every Nation
may increafe in Frugality and Induftry, and
confequently in Riches *, if they pleafe ;
becaufe it has given a Power to every
Nation to make good Laws, and wife Re-
gulations, for their internal Government :
And none can juftly blame them on this Ac-
count. Should, for Example, the PoleSy
or the Tartars grow weary of their prefent
wretched Syftems, and refolve upon a better
Conftitution ; fhould they prefer Employment
to Sloth, Liberty to Slavery, and Trade and
Manufaftures to Theft and Robbery ; fhould

they

* The Wealth of this Nation— that amazing Wealth,
which has been fo profufely fquandered away in the two laft
general and devouring Wars, is principally owing to the
wife Regulations of that able Minilter, Sir Robert
Walpole. Juftice to his Charader, and Gratitude to his
Memory, demand this Tribute of Acknowledgement to be
paid him when dead, which was fhamefully denied him
while alive. Sed opinionem comynenta debt dies ! And the
Time is now come when his very Advcrfaries frankly con-
fefs, That his Plan of Commerce was manly and rational ;
that his Endeavours to prevent an infatuated People from
quarrellingwith their beftCuftomers, were truly patriotical;
and that his very Crimes were more owing to the Extremities
to which he was driven by his implacable Enemies, than
to any Malignity of his own. When he came into Ad-
miniftration, he found the Englijh Book of Rates almoft
as bad as any in Europe ; but he left it the very beft. And
were you to compare what he did for promoting general
Trade, (and much more he would have done, had it not

been

[ 7^ ]
they give all pofTible Freedom and Encourage-
ment to induflrious Artificers, and lay heavy
Difcouragements on Idlenefs and Vice, by
Means of judicious Taxes ; and laftly, fliould
they root out all Notions ot begg^.rly Pride, and
of the Glory of making maroding Incurfions -,
-—what a mighty, what a happy Change v/ould
foon appear in the Face of thofe Countries [
And what could then be faid to be wanting m
order to render fuch Nations truly rich and
great ?

Perhaps fome neighbouring State (entertain-
ing a foolilh Jealoufy) would take the Alarm,
that their 'Trade was in Banger, But if they at-

been for the Madnefs of fome, and the WIckednefs of
others) were you but to compare what he aftually did, with
what has been done either before or fmce, in this, or any
other Country, not forgetting the Sullys, the Colberts,
and the Fleurys of France, you would find that he Ihone
as much above all other Minifters, as England hath ex-
ceeded the reft of the World in her late enormous Expences.

The Author is in no Pain for what he has advanced on
this Head. Truth.--unbought, unpenfioned, and impartial
Truth, is his only Motive : Indeed, what other Motive can
any Man have for fpeaking well of a dead Minifter ? Nay,
he will further add. That tho' the Miniller was neither
complimented by Corporations, nor huzza'd by Mobs ;
yet as long as the 8th of Geo. I. Cap. 15 (fee the Statute
Book) fhall remain among the Laws of this Realm, fo long
will thefe Commercial Regulations be regarded by the think-
ing and confiderate Part of Mankind, as doing more true
Honour y than all the Gold Boxes, or honorary Freedoms
that could have been bellowed.

tempted

[ 73 1

tempted to invade fuch a Kingdom, they would
find to their Coft, that an induftrious State,
abounding with People and with Riches, having
its Magazines well itored, its frontier Towns*
well fortified, the Garrifons duly paid, and the
whole Country full of Villages and Enclofures ;
I fay, they would feel to their Coil, that fuch a
State is the ftrongeft of all others, and the moil

* As a Confirmation of the above, it may be obferved,
that this very Country of Great-Britain is become much
more capable of Defence againft a foreign Invafion, than
it ufed to be ; and that the numberlefs Enclofures, new
Canals, and artificial Navigations, which are now forming
almoft every Day, render it a Kind of Fortrefs from one
End to the other. For while a few Regiments were polled
in Villages, or behind Hedges, or to line the B?.nks of Ri-
vers and Canals ; and while a few Light Horfe were em-
ployed in harafiing both the Front and Rear of the Enemy,
in falling on his Convoys, deftroying his Magazines, and
keeping him in a perpetual Alarm ;— his Progrefs would be
fo retarded, and his Forces fo weakened, at the fame Time,
that our own would be encreafing in Stre?igtb and Numbers,
as would oblige him to retire without Danger to us, but
with great Shame and Lofs to himfelf. Had Ha rol d ufed
the fame Precaution againll the Dnkeo^ Normandy ^ inftead
of coming to a decifive Engagement with him on his land-
ing, the latter mull have returned inglorioufly, perhaps
with not a fourth Part of his Troops ;-— if indeed he could
have returned at all, after he had penetrated a great Way
into the Country, far from the Refources of his Shipping,
Proviiions, and Supplies. An Invafion of this Country is
certainly a poffibk Things notwithllanding all our Fleets,
and all the Vigilance of their Commanders. But the In-
vader would not have the leaft Chance of conquering the
Country, unlefs the headftrong Impatience of the EngUJh
to come to Blows, (hould give him an Opportunity of
bringing the Affair to one decifi've Battle.

K difficult

[ 74 ]

difBcult to be lubdued : Not to mention that
other Potentates would naturally rife up for its
Defence and Prefervation ; becaufe, indeed, it
would be their Intereft that fuch a State as this
fhould not be fwallowed up by another, and be-
cauie they themfelves might have many Things
to hope from it, and nothing to fear.

But is this Spell, this Witchcraft of the
Jealoufy of Trade never to be diflblved ? And
are there no Hopes that Mankind will recover
their Senfes as to thefe Things ? For of all
Abfurdities, that of going to War for the Sake
of getting Trade is the moil abiurd ; and
nothing in Nature can be fo extravagantly
foolifh. Perhaps you cannot digeft this -, yow
don't believe it:-— Be it fo :— Grant, therefore^.
that you fubdue your Rival by Force of Arms :
Will that Circumftance render your Goods-
cheaper at Market than they were before ? And
if it will not, nay if it tends to render them
much dearer, what have you got by fuch a
Vidory ? I afic further. What will be the Con-
duct of foreign Nations when your Goods are
brought to their Markets ? They will never'
enquire, whether you were victorious or not ;
but only, whether you will fell cheaper, or at
ieaft as cheap as others ? Try and fee, whether
any Perfotis, or any Nations, ever yet pro-
ceeded upon any other Plan ^ and if they
never did, and never can be fuppofed to do fo,

then

[ 75 1
then It is evident to a Demonflratlon, that Trade
will always follow Cheapnefs, and not Conqueft.
Nay, coniider how it is with yourfelves at Home :
Do Heroes and Bruifers get more Cuftomers to
their Shops becaufe they are Heroes and
Bruifers ? Or, would not you yourfelf rather
deal with a feeble Perfon, who will ufe you well,
than with a Brother- Hero, Ihould he demand a
liigher Price ?

Now all thefe Fa6ts are fo very notorious,
that none can difpute the Truth of them. And
throughout the Hiflories of all Countries, and
of all Ages, there is not a fingle Example to
the contrary. Judge, therefore, from what has
been faid, whether any one Advantage can be
obtained to Society, even by the moft fuccefsful
Wars, that may not be incomparably greater,
and more eafily procured, by the Arts of Peace.

As to thofe who are arlways clamouring for
War, and founding the Alarm to Battle, let
us coniider who they are, and what are their
Motives i and then it will be no difficult Mat-
ter to determine concerning the Deference that
ought to be paid to their Opinions, and the
Merit of their patriotic Zeal.

I. The firil on the Lift here in Britain (for
different Countries have different Sorts of
Firebrands) I fay the firft here in Britain is
the Mock-Patriot and furious Anti-Courtier^
He, good Man, always begins with Schemes
.. K 2 of

[ 76 ]

pf CEconomy, and is a zealous Promoter of
national Frugality*. He loudly declaims
againft even a fmall, annual, parliamentary
Army, both on Account of its Expence, and
its Danger ; and pretends to be ftrack with a
Panic at every Red-Coat that he fees. By per-
fevering in thefe laudable Endeavours, and by
fowing the Seeds of Jealoufy and Diftruft among
the Ignorant and Unwary, he prevents fuch a
Number of Forces, by Sea and Land, from
being kept up, as are prudently neceffary for
the common Safety of the Kingdom : This is
one Step gained. In the next Place, after hav-
ing thrown out fuch a tempting Bait for Fo-
reigners to catch at, on any trifling Affront he
is all on Fire ; his Bread beats high with the
Love of his Country, and his Soul breathes
Vengeance againft the Foes of Britain : Every
popular Topic, and every inflammatory Ha-
rangue is immediately put into Rehearfal ; and,
O Liberty ! O my Country ! is the continual
Theme. The Fire then fpreads -, the Souls of

* All the Speeches and all the Pamplets poured forth
againll Standing Armies during the Adminiftration of Sir
RoB.'^ RT Walpole, were levelled at a Number of Troops
fo fmall that their highell Complement did not exceed
20,000 Men. Yet thefe were reprefented as very formida-
ble to the Conftitution by their Numbers ; and more for-
midable Itill by that vail AccefTion of Power, which accrued
to the Crown from the Difpofal of fuch a Multitude of
Places. How are the Times altered fmce I

the

L 77 }
the noble Britons are enkindled at it, and Ven-
geance and War are immediately refolved upon.
Then the Miniftry are all in a Hurry and a
flutter; new Levies are half-formed, and half-
difciplined : Squadrons at Sea are half-manned,
and the Officers mere Novices in their Bufinefs.
In fhort, Ignorance, Unfl<:ilfulnefs, and Con-
fufion, are unavoidable for a Time ; the necef-
lary Confequence of which is fome Defeat re-
ceived, fome Stain or Difhonour caft upon the
Arms of Britain, Then the long- wifhed -for
Opportunity comes at laft •, the Patriot roars, the
Populace clamour and addrefs, the Miniftry
tremble, and the Adminiftration finks. The
minifterial Throne now being vacant, he tri-
umphantly afcends it, adopts thofe Meafures
he had formerly condemned, reaps the Benefit
of the Preparations and Plans of his PredecefTor,
and, in the natural Courfe of Things, very
probably gains fome Advantages. This reftores
the Credit of the Arms of Britain : Now the
Lion is roufed, and now is the Time for crufh-
ing our Enemies, that they may never be able
'to rife again. This is Pretext enough; and
thus the Nation is plunged into an Expence ten
Times as great, and made to raife Forces twenty
Times as numerous, as were complained of
before. " However, being now vidorious,
'' let us follow the Blow and manfully go on,
^' and let neither Expence of Blood nor of Trea-
K 3 tt ^"I'C

[ 78 ]

" fure be at all regarded •, for another Cam^
" paign will undoubtedly bring the Enemy to
*' fubmit to our own Terms, and it is impofTible
'' that they lliould (land oat any longer." Well,
another Campaign is fought,— -and another,—
and another, — and another, and yet the enemy
holds out \ nor is the Carte blanche making any
Progrefs in its Journey into Britain. A Peace
at lafl: is made -, the Terms of it are unpopular.
Schemes of excefFive (Economy are called for
by a new Set of Patriots •, and the fame Arts
are played off to dethrone the reigning Minifter,
which he had pra6tifed to dethrone his Prede-
cefTor. And thus the patriotic Farce goes round
and round ; but generally ends in a real and
bloody Tragedy to our Country and to Man-
kind.

2. The next in this Lift is the hungry Pam-
phleteer, who writes for Bread. The Miniftry
will not retdin him on their Side, therefore he
muft write againft them, and do as much Mif-
chief as he can in order to be bought off. At
the worft, a Pillory or a Profecution is a never-
failing Remedy againft a political Author's
ftai-ving •, nay, perhaps it may get him a Pen-
fion or a Place at laft : In the Interim, the Pro-
vince of this Creature is to be a Kind of Jackall
to the Patriot-Lion •, for he beats the Foreft,
and firft ftarts the Game •, he explores the reign-
ing Humour and Whim of the Populace, and

by

\

[ 19 1
by frequent Trials difcovers the Part where tfie
Miniilry are moft vulnerable. But above ally
he never fails to put the Mob in mind, of what
indeed they believed before, that Politics is a
Subject which every one underilands,— except
the Miniftry ; and that nothing is fo eafy as to
bring the King of France to fue for Peace on his
Knees at the Bar of a BritiJJi Houfe of Com-
mons, were fuch and fuch at the Helm,

as horfeft and uncorrupt as they ought to be.
" But alas ! What fhall we fay ! French Gold
" will find an Admiffion every where -, and what
" can we expedt, when the very Perfons, v/ho
" ought to have faved us, have fold their
" Country r" This is delightful ; and this,
with the old Stories of Agtncourt and Crejfy^ re-
gales, nay intoxicates, the Mob, and infpires
them with an Enthufiafm bordering upon Mad-
nefs. The fame Ideas return ; the former Bat-
tles are fought over again ; and we have already
taken PofTeflion of the Gates of Paris in the
Warmth of a frantic Imag-ination : Thouorh it
is certain, that even were this Circumftance ever
to happen, we ourfelves fhould be the greateil
Lofers ; for the Conqueft of France by England^
in the Event of Things, would come to the fame
Point as the Conqueft of England by France ;
becaufe the Seat of Empire would be trans-
ferred to the greater Kingdom, and the leiTcr

would be made a Province to it. [The phi-

lofophic

[ 80 ]
lofophic Dr. Franklin adopts the fame Idea^
in regard to the prefent Conteft between North-
America and Great-Britain. He fuppofes, agree-
ably to the Newtonian Philofophy, that there is
a mutual Attraftion and Gravitation between
thefe two Coun; ries -, but neverthelefs, that the
Powers of Gravitation and Attraction being fo
much flronger m the vail Continent of North-
America^ than in the little Spot of Great-Britain^
it therefore follows, that the former will fwal-
low up, or abforb the latter, and not vice verfa.
The prefent aftonifliing Emigrations from Great-
Britain and Ireland leem to confirm the Hy-
pothefis of this eminent Philofopher but too
well : And it were greatly to be wifhed, that
the magical Spell, which is to chain this our
Ifland to thofe immenfe Regions, were diflblved,
'e're it be too late.]

3. Near a- kin to this Man, is that other
Monfler of modern Times, who is perpetually
declaiming againft a Peace, viz. the Broker, and
the Gambler of Change-alley. Letters from
the Hague^ wrote in a Garret at Home for Half
a Guinea •, — the firft News of a Battle fought (it
matters not how improbable) with a Lift of
the Slain and Prifoners, their Cannon, Colours,
^c. Great Firings heard at Sea between Squa-
drons not yet out of Port •,— a Town taken be-
fore the Enemy was near it -, — an intercepted
Letter that never was wrote ;— or, in fliort, any

Thing

[Si 3
Thing elfe that will elate or deprefs the Minds
of the iindifcerning Multitude, ferves the Pur-
pofe of the Bear or the Bull to fink or raife the
Price of Stocks, according as he wifhes either
to buy or fell. And by thefe vile Means
the Wretch, who perhaps the other Day came up
to Londoji in the Waggon to be an Under-Clerk
or a Meflage Boy in a Warehoufe, acquires fuch
a Fortune as fets him on a Par with the greateft
Nobles of the Land.

4. The News-writers are a fourth Species of
political Firebrand : A Species which abound
in this Country more than in any other;
for as Men are in this Kingdom allowed greater
Liberty to fay, or write what they pleafe;
fo likewife is the Abufe of that BlefTing carried
to a higher Pitch. In fad thefe People may be
truly faid to trade in Blood : For a War is their
Harveft •, and a Gazette Extraordinary produces
a Crop of an hundred Fold : How then can it
be fuppofed, that they can ever become the
Friends of Peace ? And how can you expect
that any Minifters can be their Favourites, but
the Minifters of War ? Yet thefe are the Men
who may be truly faid to govern the Minds of
the good People of England^ and to turn their
Affedions whitherfoever they pleafe \ who can
render any Scheme unpopular which they diflike,
and whofe Approbation, or Difapprobation, are
' regarded by Thoufands, and almoft by Millions,
L as

[ 8z ]

as the Standard of Right and Wrong, of Truth
or Falfhood : For it is a Fa6l, an indifputable
Fadl, that this Country is as much News mad,
and News- ridden now, as ever it w^as Popery-
mad, and Prieil: ridden, in the Days of our Fore-
fathers.

5. The Jobbers and Contra6tors of all Kinds
and of all Degrees for our Fleets and Armies ♦,--
the Clerks and Pay-Mafters in the feveral De-
partments belonging to War ^--and every other
Agent, who has the fingering of the public
Money, may be faid to conflitute a diftin6l
Brood of Vultures, who prey upon their own
Species, and fatten upon Human Gore. It
would be endlefs to recount the various Arts
and Stratagems by which this Tribe of Dcvourers
have amafled to themfelves aftonifhing Riches,
frorri very flender Beginnings, through the
Continuance and Extent of the War : Confe-
quently, as long as any Profped could rerriain
of fqueezing fomewhat more out of the Pockets
of an exhauftcd, but infatuated People ; fo long
the American War hoop would be the Cry of
thefe inhum^an Savages ; and fo long would
they flart and invent Objections to every Pro-
pofition that could be made for the refloring
Peace,- -becaufe Government Bills would yet
bear Ibme Price in the Alley, and Omnium and
Bcri;p. would ftill fell at Market.

6, Manv

[ 83 3

6. Many of the Dealers in Exports and Im-
ports, and feveral of the Traders in the Colonies,
are too often found to be afTiftant in promoting
the Cry for every new War •, and, when War
is undertaken, in preventing any Overtures to-
towards a Peace. You do not fathom the Depth
of this Policy ; you are not capable to compre-
hend it. Alas! it is but too eafily explained;
and when explained, but too well proved from
Experience. The general Interefl of Trade, and
the Interefl of particular Traders, are very
diftindl Things •, nay^' are very often quite op-
pofite to each other. The interefl of general
Trade arifes from general Induftry ; and, there-
fore can only be promoted by the Arts of Peace :
But the Misfortune is, that during a Peace the
Prices of Goods feldom fluduate, and there are
few or no Opportunities of getting fuddenly
rich. A War^ on the contrary, unfettles all
Things, and opens a wide Field for Speculation ;
therefore a lucky Hit, or the Engrofling a Com-
modity, when there is but little at Market,— a
rich Capture,— or a Smuggling, I fhould rather
fay a traiterous, Intercourfe with the Enemy,
fometimes by Bribes to Governors and Officers,
and fometimes through other Channels ;— or
perhaps the Hopes of coming in for a Share in
a lucrative Job, or a public Contrad : Thefe,
and many fuch like notable Expedients are che-
rilhed by the Warmth of War, like Plants in a
L 2 jHot-

[ H ]

Hot-bed •, but they are chilled by the cold lan-
guid Circulation of peaceful Induftry.

This being the Cale, the warlike Zeal of
thefe Men, and their Declamations againfl: all
reconciliatory Meafures, are but too eafily ac-
counted for ; and while the dulcis odor lucri is the
governing Principle of Trade, what other Con-
du(51: are you to expedl ?

But what if the Men of landed Property,
and the numerous Band oiEnglifli Artificers and
Manufadurers, who conftitute, beyond all
Doubt, the great Body of the Kingdom, and
whofe real Interefls mufl be on the Side of Peaces
what if they fiiould not be as military in their
Difpofnions as thefe Gentlemen would wifh they
were ? Vv^hy then all Arts mufl- be ufed, and in-
defatigable Pains be taken to perfuade them,
that this f articular War is calculated for their
Benefit \ and that the Conqueft of fuch, or fuch
a Place would infallibly redound both to the
Advantage of the landed Interefls, and the Im-
provement and Extenfion of Manufadures.
" Should (for Example) the Englijh once be-
" come the Mailers ot Canada^ the Importati-
" on of Skins and Beavers, and the Manufac-
*« rure of fine Hats, would extend prodigioufly :
*' Every Man might afford to wear a Beaver Hat
" if he pleafed, and every Woman be deco-
^ rated in the richefl Furs -, in return for which
'^^ our coarfe Woollens would find fuch a Vent

" throughout

f §5 ]

" throughout our immenfe Northern Regions
" as would make ample Satisfadlion for all our
" Expences," Well, Canada is taken, and is
now all our own : But what is the Confequence
after a Trial of fome Years' PofTefTion ? Let
thofe declare who can, and as they were before
fo lavifh in their Promifes, let them at laft prove
their Aflertions, by appealing to Fa61: and Ex*
perience. Alas I they cannot do it : Nay^ fo
far from it, that Beaver, and Furs, and Hats
are dearer than ever : And all the Woollens,
which have been confumed in thofe Countries
by the Native Inhabitants, do hardly amount to
a greater Quantity than thofe very Soldiers and
Sailors would have worn and confumed, who
were loft in the taking, defending, and garrifon-
ing of thofe Countries.

•' However, if Canada did not anfwer our
*' fanguine Expectations, fure we were, that
" the Sugar Countries would make amends for
" all : And, therefore, if the important Iflands
*' of Guadaloupe and Martinico were to be fub-
" dued, then Sugars and Coffee, and Chocolate',
" and Indigo, and Cotton, ^c. &c. would be-
" come as cheap as we could wifh ; and both the
" Country Gentleman and the Manufadurer
*' would find their Account in fuch Conquefts
" as thefe." Well, Guadaloupe and Martinico
are both taken, and many other Iflands befides
L 3 are

[ 86 ]
are add^d to onr Empire, whofe Produce is the
very fame with theirs. Yet, what Eiigance of
Life, or what Ingredient lor Manufadture, is
thereby become the cheaper ? and which of all
thefe Things can be purchafed at a lower Rate^
fit prefent than before the War ?— Not one can
be named. On the contrary, the Man of
landed Property can tell but too circumllantially,
that Taxes are rifen higher than ever, — that the
Intereft of Money is greater-,— that every ad-
ditional Load of National Debt is a new Mort-
gage on his exhaulled, and impoverifhed Ellate 5
—and that, if he happens to be a Member of
Parliament, he runs the Rifque of being bought
out of his Family- Borough, by fome upitart
Gambler, Jobber, or Contrador.

The EngliJJi Manufacturer, likewife, both
fees and feels, that every foreign Material, of
Ufe in his Trade, is grown much dearer,— that
all Hands are become extremely fcarce,— their
Wages prodigioufly raifed,-— the Goods, of
courfe, badly and icandaloufly manufadlured,—
and yet cannot be afforded at the fame Price as
heretofore,— that, therefore, the Sale of EngUfli
Manufactures has greatly decreafed in foreign
Countries fince the Commencement of War ;
-—and what is worfe than all, that our own Co-
lonies, for whofe Sakes the War was faid to be
undertaken, do buy Goods in Holland^ in

Italji

[ 27 ]

ttaly^ at Hamburgh^ or any other Market where
they can buy them cheapeft, without re-
garding the Intereft of the Mother-Country,
when found to be repugnant to their own. All
thefe Things, I fay, the Englifli Manufacturer
both fees and feels : And is not this enough ?
Or muft he carry his Complaifance flill far-
ther, and never be a Friend to Peace 'till it be-
comes the Intereft of the Merchant to befriend
it likQwife ? Surely, furely, this is rather too
much to be expeded. In one Word, to return
tq the Point from which we fet out, the Intereft
of the Merchant, and the Intereft of the King-
dom, are two very diftindl Things ; becaufe
the one may, and often doth, get rich by the
Courfe of Trade, which would bring Ruin and
Defolation on the other.

7. The Land and Sea Officers are, of courfe,
the invariable Advocates for War. Indeed it is
their Trade, their Bread, and the fure Way to
get Promotion ; therefore no other Language
can be expeded from them : And yet, to do
them Juftice, of all the Adverfaries of Peace,
they are the faireft and moft open in their Pro-
ceedings ; they ufe no Art of Colouring, and
as you know their Motive, you muft allow for it
;iccordingly. Nay, whether from a Principle
of Honour natural to their ProfefTion, or from
what other Caufe I know not > but fo it is, that

they

[ 83 ]
they very frankly difcover the bafe and difin-
genuous Artifices of other Men. And the Au-
thor of thefe Sheets owes much of his Intelli-
gence to feveral Gentlemen of this ProfefTion,
who were Eye and Ear-witneffes of the Fads re-
lated.

But after all, What have I been doing? and
how can I hope for Profelytes by this Kind of
Writing ?• — It is true, in regard to the Points
attempted to be proved, I have certainly proved
them. " Neither Princes nor People can be
*' Gainers by the moft fuccefsful Wars : —
" Trade in particular, will make its Way
*' to the Country where Goods are manu-
*' faftured the beft and cheapeft : — But con-
*' quering Nations neither manufacture well
*' nor cheap : — And confequently muft fink
" in Trade in Proportion as they extend in
'-^ Conqueft." Thefe Things are now incon-
teftibly clear, if any Thing ever was fo.
But, alas ! Who will thank me for fuch
Leffons as thefe ? The feven Claffes of Men
juft enumerated certainly will not; and as
to the Mob, the blood- thirfty Mob, no Ar-
guments, and no Demonllrations whatever,
can perfuade them to withdraw their Vene-
ration from their grim Idol, the God of
Slaughter, On the contrary, to knock a
Man on the Head is to take from him his
All at once. This is a compendious Way,

and

[ §9 ]

and this they undcfland. But to excite that
Man (whom perhaps they have long cailed
their Enemy) to greater Induftry and So-
briety, to confider him as a Cuftomer to
them, and themfelves as Cultomers to him,
fo that the richer both are, the better it
may be for each other ; and, in (hort, to
promote a mutual Trade to mutual Benefit :
This is a Kind of Reafoning, as unintelli-
gible to their Comprehenfions, as the Antipodes
themfelves.

Some few perhaps, a very few indeed,
may be flruck with the Force of thefe
Truths, and yield their Minds to Convidion :
— Poffibly in a long Courfe of Time their
Numbers may encreafe j--and poffibly ^ at laft>
the Tide may turn •, . fo that our Pofterity
may regard the prefent Madnefs of going to
War for the Sake of Trade, Riches, or Do-
minion, with the fame Eye of Aftonifhment
and Pity, that we do the Madnefs of our
Forefathers in fighting under the Banner of
the peaceful Crofs to recover the Holy Land.
This ilrange Phrenfy raged throughout all
Orders and Degrees of Men for fcveral Cen-
turies ; and was cured at laft more by the
dear-bought Experience of repeated Lofles
and continual Difappointments, than by any-
good Effects which cool Reafon and Re-
M fledion

r 90 ]

flcftion could have upon the rational Fa-
culties of Mankind. May the like dear-
bought Experience prevail at laft in the^ ,
prelcnc Cafe I

TRACT

TRACT III.

Letter from a Merchant in London

T O H I S

NEPHEW in AMERICA.

DearCousin,

|OUR Letters gave me formerly no
fmall Pleafure, becaufe they feem to
have proceeded from a good Heart,
guided by an Underftanding more en-
lightened than is ufually found among young
Men : And the honed Indignation you exprefs
againft thofe Artifices and Frauds, thole Rob-
beries and Infults, which loft us the Hearts and
M 2 Affedions

[ 92 ]

Affedlions of the Indians^ is particularly to be
commended ; for thefe were the Things, as you
jufllv obferved, which involved us in the mod
bloody and expenfive War that ever was known ;
and thefe, by being repeated, will ftimulate the
poor injured Savages to redrefs their Wrongs,
and retaliate the Injury as foon as they can, by
fome Means or other. You did therefore ex-
ceedingly right, in manife fling the utmoil Ab-
horrence and Deteftation of all fuch Practices.

But of late I cannot fay, that I receive the
fame Satisfadion from your Correfpondence :
You, and your Countrymen, certainly are difcon-
tented to a great Degree *, but whether your Dif-
content arifes from a Defire of Change, and of
making Innovations in your Form of Govern-
ment, or from a midaken Notion, that we are
making Innovations in it, is hard to fay.

Give me Leave therefore to expoftulate
with you, on this ftrange Alteration in your
Condu6t. You indeed talk loudly of Chains,
and exclaim vehemently againfl Slavery : —
But furely you do not lufped, that I can enter-
tain the mod diftant Willi of making any Man
a Slave, much lefs my own Brother's Son, and
my next of Kin. — So far from it, that whether
I can make you a Convert to my Way of think-
ing or not, I Ihall flill a(5l by you as my neare(t
Relation •, being always defirous of allowing
that Liberty to others, which I hope ever to en-
joy

[ 93 1

joy myfelf,— of letting every Man fee with
his own Eyes, and ad according to his own
Judgment :— This, I fay, I would willingly in-
dulge every Man in, as far as ever is confident
with good Government, and the public Safety.
For indeed Governments there muft be of fome
Kind or other -, and Peace and Subordination
are to be preferved ; otherwife, there would be
no fuch Thing as true Liberty fubfifling in the
World.

In Purfuance therefore of this rational Plan
of Liberty, give me Leave to afk you, young
Man, What is it you mean by repeating to me
fo often in every Letter, T^he Spirit of the Conjli-
tution F 1 own, I do not much approve of this
Phrafe, becaufe its Meaning is fo vague and in-
determinate ; and becaufe it may be made to
ferve all Purpofes alike, good or bad. And
indeed it has been my conftant Remark, That
when Men were at a Lofs for folid Arguments
and Matters of Fa6t, in their political Difputes,
they then had recourfe to the Spirit of the Con-
ilitution as to their lad Shift, and the only
Thing they had to fay. An American^ for Ex-
ample, now infifts, That according to the Spirit
of the Englijli Conftitution, he ought not to be
taxed without his own Confent, given either by
Jiimfelf, or by a Reprefentative in Parliament
chofen by himfelf. Why ought he not ? And
doth the Conftitution fay in fo many Words,
M 3 that

[ ^4 ]
that he ought not ? Or doth it fay. That every
Man either hath, or ought to have, or was in-
tended to have a Vote for a Member of Parlia-
ment ? No, by no Means : The Conftitution
fays no fuch Thing. — But the Spirit of it doth ;
and that is as good, perhaps better. — Very well :
See then how the fame Spirit will prefcntly wheel
about, and affert a Do6trine quite repugnant to
the Claims and Pofitions of you Americans.
Magna Charta^ for Example, is the great Foun-
<lation of EngliJJi Liberties, and the Bafis of the
Engltjh Conftitution. But by the Spirit of
Magna Charta^ all Taxes laid on by Parliament
are conftitutional^ legal Taxes ; and Taxes raifed
by the Prerogative of the Crown, without the
Confent of the Parliament, are illegal. Now re-
member, young Man, that the late Tax or Du-
ties upon Stamps was laid on by Parliamenr ;
and therefore, according to your own Way of
reafoning, muft have been a regular, conftitu-
tional, legal Tax. Nay more, the principal End
and Intention of Magna Charta^ as far as Tax-
ation is concerned, was to aflert the Authority
and Jurifdi6tion of the three Eftates of the
Kingdom, in Oppofition to the fole Prerogative
of the King : So that if you will now plead the
Spirit of Magna Charta againft the Jurifdidion
of Parliament, you will plead Magna Charta
againft itfelf.

Leaving

[ 95 1

Leaving therefore all thefe fhiftlng, unllabfe
Topics, which, like changeable Silks, exhibit
different Colours, according as they are viewed
in different L,ights j let us from the Spirit of the
Conftitution, come to the Conflitution it/elf.
For this is a plain, obvious Matter of Fadl ;
and Matters of Fad are faid to be ftubborn
Things. Now the firft Emigrants, who fettled
in America, were certainly EngUJh Subjedls, —
fubjedt to the Laws and Jurifdidion of Parlia-
ment, and confequently to parliamentary Taxes,
hefore their Emigration ; and therefore fubjedl
afterwards, unlefs fome legal, conftitutional
Exemption can be produced.

Now this is the Queftion, and the fole
Queltion between you and me, reduced to a
plain, fingle Matter of Fa6t. Is there therefore
any fuch Exemption as here pretended ? And
if you have it, why do you not produce it ? —
" The Kingy you fay, hath granted Charters of
" Exemption to the American Colonies." This
is now coming to the Point ; and this will bring
the Difpute to a fhort Iffue. Let us therefore
firft enquire. Whether he could legally and con-
ftitutionally grant you fuch a Charter ? And
fecondly. Whether he did ever fo much as at-
tempt to do it ? And whether any fuch Charters
are upon Record ?

Now, upon the firft fettling an Engli/h Co-
lony, and before ever you, Americans, could

have

[ 9^ ]
have chofen any Reprefentatives, and therefore
before any AlTembly of fuch Reprefentatives
could have poflibly met,— -to whofe Laws, and
to what legiflative Power were you then fubjedt ?
To the EngliJJi mod undoubtedly •, for you could
have oeen fubjedl to no other. You were
Engliflimen yourfelves ; and you carried ihtEngli/h
Government, and an Englijli Charter over along
with you. This being the Cafe, were you not
then in the fame Condition, as to Conflitutional
Rights and Liberties, with the reft of your
t'ellow-fubje6ls, who remained in England i
Certainly you were. I moft cordially agree,
that you ought not to have been placed in a
worfe •, and furely you had no Right to exped:
a better. Suppofe therefore, that the Crown
had been fo ill advifed, as to have granted a
Charter to any City or County here in England^
pretending to exempt them from the Power
and Jurifdidtion of ah EnglifJi Parliament^—
what would the Judges ? what would the
Lawyers ? nay, what would you Americans have
faid to it ? Apply this now to your own Cafe ;
for iurcly you cannot wifli to have it piit upon
a fairer Footing-, try therefore, and fee, and
then tell m.e \ is it pofTible for you to believe,
that the King has a Power veiled in him by the
Conftitution of dividing his Kingdom into feveral
independant States, and petty Kingdoms, like
the Heptarchy in the Times of the Saxons ? Or

can

[ 97 ]

can you really imagine, that he could crumble
the parliamentary Authority and Jurifdidlion,
were he fo minded, into Bits and Fragments, by
afTigning one Parliament to one City or County,
another to another, and~fo on ? Is it pofTible, I
lay, for you to believe an Abfurdity fo grofs and
glaring ? And yet grofs and palpable as this Ab-
furdity is, you mufl either believe it, or adopt a
flill greater, viz. that, though the King cannot
do thefe ftrange Things in England^ yet he can
do ihem all in America -, becaufe the Royal
Prerogative, like Wire coiled up in a Box, can
be flretched and drawn out almoftany Length,
according to the Diilance and Extent of his
Dominions. Good Heavens ! what a fudden
Alteration is this ! An American pleading for the
Extenfion of the Prerogative of the Crown ?
Yes, if it could make for his Caufe-, and for
extending it too beyond all the Bounds of Law,
of Reafon, and of Common Senfe !

But though I have for Argument's Sake, and
merely to confute you in your own Way, here
fuppofed, that the Crown had been fo ill-ad vifed,
as to grant Charters to the Colonies fo uncon-
ftitutional and illegal, as thefe undoubtedly mufl
have been i---yet the Fa6l itfelf is far other wife*-,
N for

* Our former Princes claimed a Right, and frequently
exercifed tJie Power of levying Taxes, without the Ccnfent

of

4

[ 98 ] ^

for no fuch Charters were ever granted. Nay,
many of your Colony Charters afTert quite the
contrary, by containing exprefs Refervations of
Parliamentary Rights, particularly that great
t)ne of levying Taxes. And thofe Charters
which do not make fuch Provifoes in exprefs
Terms, mufl be fuppofed virtually to imply
them i becaufe the Law and Conftitution will
not allow, that the King can do more either at
home or abroad, by the Prerogative Royal, thait'
the Law and Conftitution authorize hirn to do.

However, if you are ftill doubtful, and if you";
-should wi(h to have a Confirmation of this Argu-
ment by fome plain Fact, fome flriking Proof,
and vifible Example, I will give you one ; and
fuch an one too, as fhall convince you, if any
thing can, of the Folly and Abfurdity of your
Pofitions : The City of London^ for Inftance, —
a Body Politic as refpedable, without Offence,

of Parliament. But upon fettling theCoIonies, this fappofed
Right, which coft Charles I. his Crown, and his Life, was
not infifted on in any of the Charters, and was exprefsly
given up in that which was granted to Lord Baltimore for
Maryland, Now this Claufe, which is nothing more than
the Renunciation of obfokte Prerogative, is quoted in our
Newfpapers, as if it was a Renunciation pf the Rignts .of
Parliament to raife Taxes. Whereas the King in that
Charter ftipulated oviXy fcr himfelf, his Heirs, and SucceJ/brSf
not to raife Taxes by Virtue of the Prerogative Royal ;
which certainly he might do, and which was very proper to
be done for the Encouragement and Security of a new Co-
lony. But he could not ftipulate for the Parliament ; and
indeed he did not attempt to do it,

as

[ 99 ]

as the greateft of your Colonies with regard to

Property^ and fuperior to many of them with
refped: to Numbers •, — this great City, I fay, the
Metropolis of the whole Briti/Ji Empire, hath
long enjoyed, before the Colonies were ever
thought of, the threefold Power of Jurifdidion,
Legillation, and Taxation in certain Cafes : But
no Man in his Senfes ever yet fuppofed, that the
City of London either was, or could be exempted
by thefe Charters from Parliamentary Jurifdic-
tion, or Parliamentary Taxes ; and if any Ci-
tizen fliould plead the Charters in Bar to Parlia-
mentary Authority, or refufe to pay his Quota
of the Land-Tax, becaufe that Tax is not laid
on by an Adl of the Lord-Mayor, Aldermen,
and Common- Council^— I do not fay, indeed,
that the Judges would commit him to Newgate ;
— but I do verily believe, that they would order
him to another Place of Confinement, much
jitter for a Perfon in his unhappy Situation.

And now, my good Friend, what can you
fay to thefe Things ? — The only Thing which
you ought to fay is, that you did not fee the
Affair in its true Light before ; and that you
are fincerely forry for having been fo poQtive in
a wrong Caufe. Confuted moft undoubtedly
you are beyond the Poflibility of a Reply, as
far as the Law and Conflitution of the Realm
are concerned in this Queflion. But indeed it
ifeems to me by certain PafTages in your Letters,
N 3 that.

[ 100 ]

that, though you raife a terrible Outcry agalnft
the luppoled Violation of your Charters •, you
yourlelf would not reft the Merits of your Caufe
upon the Proof of fuch a Violation •, and that
you would rather drop that Point, than attempt
to juftify the Charge, if called upon to do it.

What then is it, which you have next to
offer? Oh! "The Unreafonablenefs ! the Inr
" juftice ! and the Cruelty of taxing a free Peo-
" pie, without permitting them to have Repre-
" fentatives of their own to anfwer for them,
" and to maintain their fundamental Rig-hts

o

" and Privileges !"'

Strange, that you did not discover thefe
bad Things before ! Strange, that though the
BritiJJi Parliament has been, from the Begin-
ning, thus unreafonabky thus unjtift^ and cruel to-
wards you, by levying Taxes on many Com-
modities outwards and inwards,-— nay, by laying
an internal Tax, the Poft-Tax for Example,
on the whole BritiJJi Empire in America ;--and,
what is ftill worfe, by making Laws to affe6l
your Property, — your Paper Currency, and
even to take away Life itfelf, if you offend
againft them : — Strange and unaccountable, I
fay, that after you had fuffered this fo long, you
fliould not have been able to have difcovered,
that you were without Reprefentatives in the'
BritiJJi Parliament, of your own ek^iing^ 'till this
enlightening Tax upon Paper opened your Eyes !

And

I

[ lOI ]

And what a Pity is it, that you have been Slaves
for fo many Generations, and yet did not know
that you were Slaves until now.

But let that pafs, my dear Coufin •, for I
always choofe to confute you in your own Way.
Now, if you mean any thing at all by the
Words unieafonable, unjufl, and cruel, as ufed
in this Difpute ; you muil mean, that the
Mother Country deals worfe by you, than by
the Inhabitants of Great-Britain ; and that fhe
denies certain Conftitutional Rights and Privi-
leges to you abroad, which we enjoy here at
home. Now pray what are thefe conftitutional
Rights and Liberties, which are refufed to you ?
Name them, if you can. The Things which
you pretend to alledge are, " The Rights of
" voting for Members of the Britijli Parliament ;
" and the Liberty of chufing your own Repre-
" fentatives." But furely you will not dare to
fay, that we refufe your Votes, when you come
hither to offer them, and choofe to poll : You
cannot have the Face to aifert, that on an Elec-
tion Day any Difference is put between' the Vote
of a Man born in America^ and of one born
here in England, Yet this you muft affert, and
prove too, before you can do any thing to the
prefent Purpofe. Suppofe therefore, that an
American hath acquired a Vote (as he legally
may, and many have done) in any of our
Cities or Counties, Towns, or Boroughs j fup-
N 3 pofe^

[ 102 ]

pofe, that he is become a Freeman, or a Free-
holder here in England ^ — on that State of the
Cafe, prove if you can, that his Vote was ever
refufed, becaufe he was born in America: — Prove
this, 1 fay, and then I will allow, that your Com-
plaints are very juft •, and that you are indeed
the much injured, the cruelly treated People,
you would make the World believe.

But, my good Friend, is this fuppofed Re-
fufal the real Caufe of your Complaint ? Is this
the Grievance that calls fo loudly for Redrefs ?
Oh ! no, you have no Complaint of this Sort
to make : But the Caufe of your Complaint is
this j that you live at too great a Diftance from
the Mother Country to be prefent at our Englijk
Eleftions •, and that in Confequence of this
Diftance, the Freedom of our Towns, or the
Freeholds in our Counties, as far as voting is
concerned, are not worth attending to. It may
be fo •, but pray confider, if you yourfelves do
choofe to make it inconvenient for you to come
and vote, by retiring into diftant Countries,-—
what is that to us } And why arc we to be re--
proached for committing a ' Violation on the
' Birth- rights of Englijhmen^ which, if it be a
' Violation, is committed only by yourfelves ?'
It feems, you find it to be your particular In^
tereft to live in the Colonies •, it feems, that
you prefer the Emoluments of refiding there to
your Capacity, or Capability (take which Word

you

[ 103 ]

you pleafe) of refiding and voting here. Now
this is your own free Choice ; and we leave you
at full Liberty to ad as you think proper : But
then, are we obliged to alter our Political Syf-
tem merely to accord with your Convenience ?
Are we to change and nev/ model our fixed and
ancient Conftitution, jufl as you fhall fee fit to
command us ? and according as it fhall pleafe
you to remove from Place to Place ? And is
this the Complaifance, which you expedt thfe
Mother Country fhould fhew to her dutiful
Children ? Yes, it is ; and you demand it too
with a loud Voice, full of Anger, of Defiance,
and Denunciation.

However, the Lion is not always fo fierce as
he is painted ; and *till we are beaten into a
Compliance, it is to be hoped, that we may be
allowed toexpoftulatc with you in a few harmlefs,
unbloody Words. Granting therefore, that the
Colonies are unreprefented in the Briti/Ii Parlia-
fnent : Granting that two Millions of People
in Afnerica have, in this refpedl, no Choice, nor
Eledion of thfeir own, through the NecefTity of
the Cafe, and their Diflance from the Place of
Eledion :— What would you infer from this
ConcefTion ? And wherein can fuch Kind of
Topics fupport your Caufe ? For know, young
Man, that not only two Millions, which are the
utmofl, that your exaggerated Accounts can be
{^.veiled to ^---I fay, not only two Millions, but

fix

[ 104 J
fix Millions at lead of the Inhabitants of Great-
Britain^ are ilill unrcpiefented in the Britijh
Parliament. And this OmifTion arifes, not from
the Necefiity of the Cafe, not from confulting
Interefl and Convenience as with you but from
original Ideas of Gothic Va(ralage,---from va-
rious Cafualties and Accidents,— from Changes
in the Nature of Property, -from the Alteration
of Times and Circumilances,--and from a
thoufand other Caufes. Thus, for Example,
in the great Metropolis, and in many other
Cities, landed Property icfelf hath no Repre-
fentative in Parliament \ Copyholds and Leafe-
holds of various Kinds have none likevvife,
though of ever fo great a Value. This you
yourfelf very well know ; becaufe when you
were here laft, you knew, that I was pofiefled,
of confiderable landed Property in London^ and
of feveral Copyholds and beneficial Leafeholds
in the Country, and yet that I never had a Vote.
Moreover, in fom.e Towns neither Freedom,
nor Birth-right, nor the ferving of an Appren-
ticefhip, fliall entitle a Man to give his. Vote,
though they may enable him to fet up a Trade :
In other Towns the mofl numerous, the moft
populous, and flourifhing of any, there are no
Freedoms or Votes of any Sort \ but all is
open ; and none are reprefented. And befide^
all this, it is well known, that the great Eaft^
India Company^, which have fuch vaft Settle-
ments,

[ I05 ]
ments, and which difpofe of the Fate of Kings
and Kingdoms abroad, have not fo much as a
fingle Member, or even a fingle Vote, quatenus^
a Cornpany, to watch over their Intereils at
home. What likewife fhall we fay in regard to
the prodigious Number of Stock-holders in our
pubHc Funds ? And may not their Property,
perhaps little Ihort of One hundred Millions
Sterling, as mu<:h deferve to be reprefented in
Parliament, as the fcattered Townfhips, or
ftraggling Houfes of fome of your Provinces
in America P Yet we raife no Commotions -, we
neither ring the Alarm-Bell, nor found the
Trumpet •, but fubmit to be taxed without being
reprefented ; and taxed too, let me tell you, for
your Sakes. Witnefs the additional Duties on
our Lands, Windows, Houfes ; alfo on our
Malt, Beer, Ale, Cyder, Perry, Wines, Brandy,
Rum, Coffee, Chocolate, &c. ^c. &c. for de-
fraying the Expences of the late War,— not for-
getting the grievous Stamp Duty itfelf. All
this, I fay, we fubmitted to, when you were, or
at lead, when you pretended to be, in great
Diftrefs -, fo that neither Men, almoft to the
laft Drop of Blood we could fpill,— nor Money,
to the laft Piece of Coin, were fpared : But all
was granted away, all was made a Sacrifice,
when you cried out for Help. And the Debt
which we contraded on this Occafion, is fo ex-
traordinary, as not to be parallelled in Hiftory.
O Tr

[ io6 ]
It is to be hoped, for the Credit of human Na-
ture, that the Returns which you have made
us for thefe Succours, and your prefent Beha-
viour towards us, which perhaps is Hill more
extraordinary, may not be parallelled like wife.

But as you Americans do not chufe to re-
member any thing, which we have done for
you •,-— though we, and our Children fliall have
Caufe to remember it 'till latell: Pofterity •,— let
us came to the Topic, which you yourfelves do
wifh to reft your Caufe upon, and which you
imagine to be the Sheet Anchor of your State
VelTel. " You are tiot reprefented ; and you
" are Two Millions •, therefore you ought not
** to be taxed." We are not reprefented •, and
we are Six Millions ; therefore we ought not to
be taxed. Which now, even in your own Senfe
of Things, have moft Reafon to complain ?
And which Grievance, if it be a Grievance, de-
ferves firft to be redreffed ? Be it therefore fup-
pofed, that an Augmentat'on ought to take
place in our Houfe of Commons, in order to
reprefent in Parliament the prodigious Numbers
of Briti/li Subjects hitherto unreprefented. In
this Cafe the firft Thing to be done, is to fettle
the Proportion. And therefore if Two Millions
(the Number of Perfons adtually reprefented at
prefent) require Pive Hundred and Fifty-eight
Reprefentatives (which I think is the Number
of our modern Houfe of Commons) how many

will

[ 107 ]
will Six Millions require ? — The Anfwer is,
that they will require One Thoufand Six Hun-
dred and Seventy-four Reprefentatives. Now
this is the firft Augmentation, which is to be
made to our Liit of Pa^rliament Men. And
after the Increafe, v/e are to be furnifhed, by
the fame Rule of Proportion, with Five Hun-
dred and Fifty-eight more from the Colonies.
So that the total Numbers will be Two Thou-
sand Seven Hundred and Ninety Repre-
sentatives IN Parliament ! A goodly Num-
ber truly ! and very proper tor the Difpatch of
Bufinefs ! Oh, the Decency and Order of fuch
an AfTembly ! The Wifdom and Gravity of
Two Thoufand Seven Hundred and Ninety Le-
giflators all met together in cme Room ! What
a Pity is it, that fo hopeful a Projedi: fhould not
be carried into immediate Execution !

But, my noble Senator, — for certainly you
yourfelf muft figure away in fuch an auguft
Aflembly,- -permit an old Man to reveal one
Secret to you, before you proceed any further
in your reprefenting Scheme :— -That the Com-
plaint itfelf c^ being unreprefented^ is entirely
falfe and groundlefs. For both the Six Millions
at home, and the Two Millions in the Colonies,
are all reprefented already. This perhaps may
ftartle you •, but neverthelefs this is iht: Fad.
And though I have hitherto ufed a different
Language merely to accommodate myfeli to
O 2 your

[ 208 ]

your Ideas, and to confute your Folly in your
€)wn Way, I mufl now tell you, that every Mem-
ber of Parliament reprefents you and me, and
our Interefls in all elTencial Points, juft as much
as if we had voted for him. For though one
Place, or one Set of Men may ele6t, and fend
him up to Parliament, yet, when once he be-
comes a Member, he is then the equal Guardian
of all. And he ought not, by the Duty of his
Office, to Ihew a Preference to his own Town,
City, or County, but in fuch Cafes only, where
a Preference fhall not interfere with the general
Good. Nay, he ought in Confcience to give
his Vote in Parliament againit the Senfe, and
againft the Inftrudions of his Electors, if he
Ihould think in his Confcience, that what they
require, is wrong in itfelf, is illegal or injurious,
and detrimental to the public Welfare. This
then being the Cafe, it therefore follows, that
our BirminghamSy Manchejiers^ Leeds^ Halifaxes^
i^c. and your Boftons^ New-Tcrks^ and Phila-
delphiasy are all as really <^ though not fo nominally
reprefented, as any Part whatfoever of the
Brilifii Empire :— And that each of thefe Places
have in fadl, inflead of one or two, not lefs
than Five Hundred and Fifty- eight Guardians
in the Britijh Senate. A Number abundantly
fufficient, as far as human Prudence can fuggefl-,
or the prefent imperfect State of Things will

permit,

I

[ 10? ]
permit, for the Security of our Rights, and the
Prefervation of our Liberties.

But perhaps you will fay, That though it
may be a Senator's Duty to regard the Whole
rather than a Part, and to be the equal Protedor
of all i— yet he will, in fad, regard that mofl:,
which can bed promote his own Interefl, and
fecure his Eledion another Time. It may be
fo : For who can guard againfl all PolTibility of
Danger ? And what Syftem can there be de-
vifed, but may be attended with Inconveniences
and Imperfe6lions in fome Refpe6l or other ?—- •
Neverthelefs, if your general Objeftion proves
any thing, it proves a great deal too much : For
it proves, that no Man ought to pay any Tax,
but that only, to which the Member of his own
Town, City, or County, hath particularly
aflented : Becaufe all other Members being
chofe by other Perfons, and not by him, and
perhaps by Perfons of an oppofite Interefl, are
therefore not his Reprefentatives, and confe-
quently not the true Guardians of his Property.
Being therefore without a Reprefentative in fuch
a Parliament, he is under no Obligation to obey
its Laws, or pay any of its Taxes.

Where now, my Friend, will you turn?
And what can you do, to extricate yourlelf from
the Difficulties which arife on all Sides on this
Occafion ? You cannot turn about, and fay, that
the other Reprefentatives, whom this Man never
O 3 chofe,

[ no ]

chofe, and for whom he had no Vote to give,
and againft whom perhaps he had particular
Exceptions, have neverthelefs a Right of taxing
him, becaule he m.ikes a Part of the Body
Politic implied in, and concluded by the reft •, —
you cannot fay this, becaufe the Doctrine of
Implication is the very Thing to which you
obje6l, and againft which you have raifed fo
many Batteries of popular Noife and Clamour-
Nay, as the Objedion is entirely of your own
making, it muft go ftill further : For if your
Argument is good for any thing, it is as good
for North- America as it is for Great-Britain ; and
confequently you muft maintain, that all thofe
in your feveral Provinces who have no Votes
(and many Thoufands of fuch there are) and
alfo all thofe Votes, whofe Reprefentatives did
not exprefly confent to the Ad of your Aflem-
blies for raifing any of your own provincial
Taxes, — ought not to be compelled to pay them.
Thefe now are the happy Confequences of your
own Principles, fairly, clearly, and evidently
deduced : Will you abide by them ?

But however, not to pufh you into more
Abfurdities of this Kind, let us wave the pre-
fent Point, and come to anorher. For, after all
your doleful Complaints, what if it fhould ap-
pear, that thefe Five Hundred and Fifty-eight
Parliamentary Guardians, who reprefent you
only by Implication^ have, in fad, been kinder and

more

[ III 1

more hountiful to you Americans^ than they have
been to their own Briti/Ji Voters, whom they
reprefent by Nomination ? And, what if even
this Argument, fo full of Sorrow and Lamen-
tation, fhould at lad be retorted upon you, and
made to conclude, like all the reft, the very Re-
verfe of what you intended ? This, I believe, is
what you little expeded : But neverthelefs, this
is the Cafe : For if there be any Partiality to
be complained of in the Condudl of the Briti/k
Parliament, it will appear to be a Partiality in
Favour of the Colonies, and againft the Mother
Country. Do you demand my Authority for
this AfTertion ? I will give it you :— The Sta-
tutes of the Realm are my Authority -, and
furely you cannot demand a better. By ihefe
then it will appear, that a Colonift, who is con-
fequently fubordinate to the Mother Country in
the very Nature of Things, is neverthelefs put
upon a better Footing, in many Refpe5is^ than
an Inhabitant of Great- Britain, By thefe it will
appear, that the Parliament, like an over-indul-
gent Parent to his Favourite, froward Child,
hath been continually heaping Favours upon
you, which we were not permitted to . tafte.
Thus, for Example, you have your Choice,
whether you will accept of my Price for your
Tobacco,- -or after bringing it here, whether
you will carry it away, and try your Fortune
at another Market : But I have no Alternative

allowed

[ 112 ]

allowed, being obliged to buy yours at your
own Price -, or elfe to pay fuch a Duty for the
Tobacco of other Countries, as muft amount
to a Prohibition. Nay, in order to favour
your Plantations, I am not permitted to
plant this Herb on my own Eftate, though
the Soil fliould be ever fo proper for it.
Again, the fame Choice, and the fame Alterna-
tive are allowed to you, and denied to me, in
regard to Rice •, with this additional Advantage,
that in many Refpeds you need not bring it into
England at all, unlefs you are fo minded. And
what will you fay in Relation to Hemp ? The
Parliament now gives you a Bounty of §1. per
Ton for exporting your Hemp from North-
America j but will allow me nothing for growing
it here in England ; nay, will tax me very fe-
verely for fetching it from any other Country ;
though it be an Article moft efientially necef-
fary for all the Purpofes of Shipping and Navi-
gation. Moreover in refpedl to the Culture of
Raw Silk, you have an immenfe Parliamentary
Premium for that Purpofe -, and you receive
further Encouragements from our Society for
Arts and Sciences, which is continually adding
frefh Rewards :---But I can receive no Encou-
ragement either from the one, or from the other,
to bear my Expences at firft fetting out ; though
moil undeniably the white Mulberry-Trees can
^thrive as well on my Grounds, as they can in

Switzer-

[ "3 ]

Switzerland^ Brandenburgh^ Denmark^ or Sweden^
where vaft Quantities are now raifing. Take
another Inftance : — Why fhall not I be permitted
to buy Pitch, Tar, and Turpentine,— without
which I cannot put my Ships to Sea 5— and In-
digo, fo ufeful in many Manufadures •,— why
Ihall not I be permitted to purchafe thefe Ar-
ticles wherever I can, the beft in their Kind^
and on the beft Terms ?— No, I fhall not •, for
though they are all raw Materials, which there-
fore ought to have been imported Duty free, yet
I am reftrairted by an heavy Duty, almoft equal
to a Prohibition, from purchafing them any
where, but from you :— Whereas you on the
contrary, are paid a Bounty for felling thefe
very Articles, at the only Market, in which you
could fell them to Advantage, viz, xht Engii/h* ,

Much more might have been faid on this
Subject ', and the like Obfervations might have
been extended to the Sugar Colonies : But I
forbear. For indeed enough has been faid al-
ready (and as it expofes our Partiality and In-
fatuation a little feverely, perhaps. too much) —
in order to prove to, the World, that cf all Peo-
ple upon Earth, you have the leaft Reafoa to
complain.

* Thofe who have not the Statutes at large, may fee the
Things here referred to, and many others of the like Sort,
in Crouche*^ or Saxbf^ Book of Rates.

P But

[ 114 ]

But complain you will ; and no fooncr is
one Recital of imaginary Grievances filenced
and confuted ; but, like the Hydra in the Fable,
up flarts another. Let us fee therefore, what
is your next Objedion, which I think, is the
laft, that with all your Zeal, and Good-will,
you are able to mufter up. — " The Inexpediency
" and ExcefTivenefs of fuch a Tax ! a Tax ill-
" timed in itfelf, and ill digefled ! unfeafonably
" laid on ! and exceeding all Rules of Propor-
" tion in regard to the Abilities of thofe, who
" are to pay it !"

Now, my Friend, had there been any Truth
in thefe Aflertions, which I fhall foon make to
appear, that there is not-,— but had there been,
the Plea itfelf comes rather of the lateft, and
out of Place from you ;- -from you, I fay, who
peremptorily objecl to the very Power and Au-
thority of the Brttijh Parliament of laying any
internal Taxes upon the Colonies, great or
fmall, or any Time feafonable, or unfeafonable.
And therefore, had you been able to have
proved the Illegality of fuch a Tax, it would
liave been quite fuperfluous to have informed
us afterwards, that this Ufurpation of your
Rights and Liberties was either an exceflive, or
an unfeafonable Ufurpation. But as you have
failed in this firft Point ; nay, as all your own
Arguments have proved the very reverfe of
what you intended \ and very probably, as you

yourfclf

[ "5 ]

yourfelf was not originally quite fatisfied with
the Juflice of your Caufe ; — and muft have feen
abundant Reafon before this Time to have al-
tered your former hafty, and rafh Opinion •,- -I
will therefore wave the Advantage, and now de-
bate the Point with you, as though you had ac-
knowledged the Parliamentary Right of Tax-
ation, and only excepted to the Quantum, or
the Mode, the Time, or the Manner of it.

Now two Things are here to be difculTed ;
firft, the pretended Exceffivenefs of the Tax ;
and fecondly, the Unfeafomihlenefs of it. As to
the ExcelTivenefs of the Stamp Duties, the Proof
of this muft depend upon the Proof of a pre-
vious Article, — the relative Poverty, and Ina-
bility of thofe, who are to pay it. But how do
you propofe to make out this Point ? And after
having given us for fome Years paft fuch Dif-
plays of your growing Riches and encrealing
Magnificence, as perhaps never any People did
in the fame Space of Time ; how can you now
retradl and call yourfelves a poor People ? Re-
member, my young Man, the feveral Expoftu-
Jations I had with your deceafed Father on the
prodigious Increafe of American Luxury. And
what was his Reply ^ Why, that an Increafe of
Luxury was an Infeparable Attendant on an In-
creafe of Riches ; and that, if I expeded to
continue mj North- American Trade, 1 muftfuit
my Cargo on the Tafte of my Cuftomers j and
P 2 not

[ ii6 1

not to my own old-fafhioncd Notions of the
Parfimony of former Days, when America was
a poor Country. Remember therefore the Or-
ders given by him, and atterwards by yon, to
have your AfTortmenc of Goods made richer,
and finer every Year. And are your Gold and
Silver Laces j — your rich Brocades, Silks, and
Velvets ; — your Plate, and China, and Jewels •, —
your Coaches and Equipages-,- -your fumptuous
Furniture, Prints, and Pidlures. Are all thefe
Things now laid afide ? Have you no Concerts,
or Aflemblies, no Play Houfes, or Gaming
Houfes, now fubfifting ? Have you put down
your Horfe Races and other fuch like Sports
and Diverfions ? And is the Luxury of your
Tables, and the Variety and Profufion of your
Wines and Liquors quite banifhed from among
you? — Thefe nr^ the Queflions, which you
ought to anfwer, before an Eftimate can be
made of your relative Poverty, or before any
Judgment can be formed concerning the Ex-
cefTivf^nefs of the Tax.

BvT I have not yet done with you on this
Head. For even though you were poor (which
you know, you are not, compared with what
you were Thirty Years ago) it may neverthelefs
happen, that our relative Poverty may be found
to be greater than yours. And if fo, when a
new Burden is to be laid on, the proper Queftion
is, which of thefe two Sorts of poor People, is

the

[ ny ]

the bed able, or, if you pleafe, the leafl unable
to bear it ?---efpecially if it be taken into the
Account, that this additional Load is an Ame-
rican Burthen, and not a Britifli one. Be it
therefore granted, according to what you fay,
that you are Two Millions of Souls •, be it alfo
allowed, as it is comrnonly afferted, that the
Public Debt of the feveral Provinces amounts
to about 8oo,oool. Sterling ; and in the next
Place, be it fuppofed, for Argument's Sake,
that were this general Debt equally divided
among the Two Millions, each Individual
would owe about the Value of Eight Shillings.
Thus ftands the Account on one Side. Now
we in Britain are reckoned to be about Eight
Millions of Souls; and we owe almoft One
Hundred and Forty-four Millions of Money ;
which Debt, were it equally divided among us,
would throw a Burthen upon each Perfon of
about 1 81. Sterling. This then being the State
of the Cafe on both Sides, would it be fo ca-
pital an Offence ? would it be High-Treafon in
us to demand of you, who owe fo little, to con-
tribute equally with ourfelves, who owe fo much,
towards the public Expences •,— and fuch Ex-
pences too as you were the Caufe of creating ?
Would it be a Crime of a Nature fo very hei-
nous and diabolical, as to call forth the hotted
of your Rage and Fury .^ Surely no : — And
yet, my gentle Friend, we do not fo much as
P 3 allc

[ ii8 ]

afk you to contribute equally with ourfelves, we
only demand, that you would contribute fome-
thing. And what is this fomething ? Why truly
it is, that when we raife about Eight Millions
of Money annually upon Eight Miiiions of
Perfons, we exptct, that you would contribute
One Hundred Thouland Pounds (for the Stamp
Duty upon the Continent alone, withouc com-
prehending the Llands, cannot pofTibly amount
to more) I fay, we expedl, that you fhould cun-
tribute One Hundred Thoufand Pounds to be
raifed on Two Millions \ that is, when each of
ijs pays, one with another. Twenty Shillings per
Head, v/e exped:, that each of you fhould pay
the Sum of One Shilling ! Bluih ! blufh for
Ihame at your perverfe and fcandaious Beha-
viour ! — Words ftill more keen, and perhaps
more juft, are ready to break forth, through an
'honell Indignation :— Bat 1 fupprefs them.

Perhaps you will fay, and I think it is the
only Thing left for you to fay in Excufe for
fuch Proceedings, that you have other Public
Taxes to pay, be fides thofe which the Britijh
Parliament now requires. Undoubtedly you
have, for your Provincial and other Taxes are
likewife to be paid : But here let me afk, is not
this our Cafe alfo ? And have nor we many other
Taxes to clifcharge befides thofe which belong
to the Public, and are to be accounted for at
the Exchequer ? Surely we have : Witnefs our

County

[ 119 ]

County Taxes, Militia Taxes, Poor Taxes, Va-
graru: Taxes, Bridge Taxes, High Road and
Turnpike Taxes, Watch Taxes, Lamps and
Scavenger Taxes, &'c, &c. ^c.-sW of them
as numerous and as burthenfome as any that you
can mention. And yet with all this Burthen,
yea, with an additional Weight of a National
Debt of 1 81. Sterling per Head,-- we require of
each of you to contribute only One Shilling to
every Twenty from each of us !-— yes •, and this
Shilling too to be fpent in your own Country,
for the fupport of your own Civil and Military
Eftablilhments ; together with many Shillings
drawn from us for the fame Purpofe. Alas !
had you been in our Situation, and we in yours,
would you have been content with our paying
fo fmall, fo inconfiderable a Share of the Public
Expences ? And yet, fmall and inconfiderable
as this Share is, you will not pay it. No, you
will not ! And be it at our Peril, if we demand
it.

Now, my Friend, were Reafon and Argu-
ment, were Juftice Equity, or Candour to be
allowed by you to have any Concern in this
Affair ; I would then fay, that you Americans
are the mofl unfortunate People in the World
in your Management of the prefent Controverfy.
Unfortunate you are ; becaufe the very Attempts
you make towards fetting forth your Inability,
prove, to a Demonllration, that you are abun-
dantly

[ 120 i

dandy able, were you but truly willing to pay
this Tax. For how, and in what Manner do
you prove your Allegations ? Why truly, by-
breaking forth into Riots and Infurre6lions, and
by committing every Kind of Violence, that
can caufe Trade to ftagnate, and Induftry to
ceale. And is this the Method, which you have
cholen to purfue, in order to make the World
believe, that you are a poor People ? Is this the
proof you bring, that the Stamp Duty is a
Burthen too heavy for you to bear ? Surely, if
you had really intended our Convidlion, you
would have chofen fome other Medium : And
were your Inability, or Poverty the fingle Point
in Queflion, you would not have taken to fuch
Courles, as muft infallibly render you ftill the
poorer. For in fa6t, if, after all your Com-
plaints of Poverty, you can ftill afford to idle
away your Time, and to wafte Days, and
Weeks, in Outrages and Uproars •, what elfe
do you prove, but that you are a prodigal, and
extragavant People ? For you muft acknow-
ledge, that if but Half of this Time were
fpent, as it ought to &e, in honcft Induftry and
iifeful Labour, it would have been more 'than
fufiicient to have paid double the Tax which is
now required.

But you will ftill fay, that though the Tax
may be allowed (nay indeed it muft be allowed)
to be very mioderate, every thing confidered,

and

[ 121 3

and not at all exceflive -, " It may neverthelefs
" be laid on, very unfeafonably ; it may be
•' wrong-timed, and ill-digefted."

Now, here I muft own, that I am fomewhac
at a Lofs how to anfwer you, becaufe I am not
quite certain that I underftand your Meaning.
li^ for Example, by the Term ill-digefted^ you
would infmuate, that the American Stamp Duty
would grind the Faces of the Poor, and permit
the Rich to efcape ;— that it would affed the
NecefTaries, and not the Superfluities of Life ;
— that it would prevent the Building of HoufeSj
or the clearing of Lands, or the Cultivation of
Eftates already cleared ; — or laflly, that it would
diminifh the Number of your Shipping, or flop
the Pay of your Sailors : If thefe, or any of
thefe are the Evils, which you would lay to the
Charge of the Stamp-Duty, nothing upon Earth
could be a falfer Charge -, and you could not
give a ftronger Proof either of your Defed in
Judgment, or Want of Integrity, than by ut-
tering fuch AfTertions as thefe ; — AlTertions,
which both daily Experience and the Nature of
Things evidently demonftrate to be void of
Truth. We in Britain have been fubje<5t to a
Stamp Duty for many, very many Years -, a Duty
much hio-her than that which is intended for

o

America -, and yet we know by long Experience,
that it hath not been attended with any of the
dreadful Confequences which are here fuppofed.
Q^ Again,

[ 122 1

Again, as to the wrong-timing, or the Un-
feafonaMenefs of this Tax :— If by this you mean
to lay, than it was laid on, at a Time, when you
were poorer, and lefs able to bear it, than you
were before •, — that isfalfe alfo. For you never
were richer, and you never were more able to
contribute your Quota towards the general Ex-
pences, than at the Jundure of laying on this
Tax. To prove this, let it be obferved, that
jufc before this. Event, you had not only
been draining the Mother Country by the im-
menfe Sums drawn from us to pay our Fleets
and Armies, when a6ling in Defence of America ;
—and that your Jobbers and Contradlors had
not only been fucking our Blood and Vitals by
their extortionate Demands ^— but you had alfo
been enriched by the Spoils, and by the Traffic
of the numerous Colonies of France and Spain.
For you were continually adling the double
Part either of Trade, or War, of SmuggHng,
Dr Privateering, according to the Profpedl' of
greater Gain. And, while we at Home were
exerting pur utmofl to put a fpeedy End to the
War by an honourable Peace, — you on the con-
trary were endeavouring to prolong it as much
aspolTible; and were fupplying our Enemies
with all Manner of Provifions, and all Sorts of
warlike Stores Tor that Purpofe. Nay, be-
caufe a Pare of thefe ill-gotten Riches was
laid out in EngUJJi Manufadures (there being

at

[ 1^3 ]

at that Time hardly a PofTibility of purchafing
any but Englifli^ when our Fleets were abfolure
Matters of the Sea) your Advocates and Au-
thors trumpeted aloud the prodigious Profits of
xkn^ North- Am eric an Trade;-- not confidering,
or rather not willing that we (hould confider,
that while a few Individuals were getting Thou-
fands, the Public was fpending Millions.

Once more :---If by the Epithet unfeafonahle^
you would be underftood to mean, that there
was no need of taxing you at all at that Juncture ;
lecaufe the Mother Country was ftill {is able to carry
the additional Load^ which you had brought upon
her^ as Jhe had been to bear all the reft : If this be
your Meaning, I muft tell you once for all,
that you are egregioufly miftaken. For we can
bear no more ; we cannot fupport ourfelves
under heavier Taxations, even were we ever fo
willing ; we have (trained €very Nerve already,
and have no Refources left for new Impofitions.
Therefore let what will come of the prefent
Affairs, let the Stamp Duty be repealed, or not ;
flill the Expences of America mud be borne by
the Americans in fome P'orm, or under fome De-
nomination or other.

But after all ; perhaps you meant none of
thefe Things -, perhaps you meant to infinuate
(though it was Prudence in you not to fpeak
out) ihat the late A£t was ill- contrived and ill-
timed ', becaufe it was made at a Jundlure, when
Qji neither

[ 124 J

neither the French^ nor Indians were in your Rear
to frighten, nor the Engli/Ji Fleets and Armies
on your Front to force you to a Compliance.
Perhaps this was your real Meaning ^ and if it
was, it muft be confeiTed, that in that Senfe,
the late Ad was not well-timed •, and that a
much properer Seafon might have been chofen.
For had the Law been made five or fix Years
before, when you were moving Heaven and
Earth with your Cries and Lamentations *, not
a Tongue would then have uttered a Word
againft it j ail your Orators would have difplayed
their Eloquence on other Topics j and even
American Patriotifm itfelf would at that Seafon
have made no Difficulty in acknowledging, that
the Mother Country had a Right to the Obe-
dience of the Colonies in Return for her kind
and generous Protedion.

Upon the whole therefore, what is the Caufe
of fuch an amazing Outcry as you raife at prcr
fent?— Not the Stamp Duty itfelf j all the
World are agreed on that Head; and none
can be fo ignorant, or fo llupid, as not to fee,
that this is a mere Sham and Pretence. What
then are the real Grievances, feeing that the
Things which you alledge are only the pre-
tended ones ? Why, fome of you are exafperated
againft the Mother Country, on account
of the Revival of certain Reftridions laid upon

their

i

[ 125 1

their Trade :-— I fay, a * Revival-, for the fame
Reftridlions have been the Handing Rules of
Government from the Beginning ; though not
enforced at all Times with equal Stridtnefs.
During the late War, you Americans could not
import the Manufadures of other Nations
(which it is your conflant Aim to do, and the

* Ever fince the Difcovery of Jmericuy it has been the
Syftem of every European Power, which had Colonies in that
Part of the World, to confine (as far as Laws can confine)
the Trade of the Colonies to the Mother Country, and to
exclude all others, under the Penalty of Confifcation, ^c,
from partaking in it. Thus, the Trade of tjie Spaiiip Co-
lonies is confined by Law to Old Spain, — the Trade of the
Brazils to Poriugalj—l\\e Trade of Martinico and the other
French Colonies to Old France y-znd the Trade of Curacoa
and Surinam to Holland. But in one Inftance the Hollanders
make an Exception (perhaps a wife one) 'viz. in che Cafe
ci Eujlatia, which is open to all the World. Now, that
the Englijh thought themfelves entitled to the fame Right
over their Colonies, which other Nations claim over theirs,
and that they excrcifed the fame Right by making vvhat
Regulations they pleafed, may be feen by the following
A6ls of Parliament, njiz. 12 of Car. U. Chap. 18. — 15 of
Car. IL Ch. 7.— 22 and 23 of C. IL Ch. 26.- 25 of C.IL
Ch. -j.-^j and 8 of Will. III. Ch. 22.— 10 and 1 1 of W. Ill,
Ch. 21. — 3 and 4 of Ann. Ch. 5 and 10. -8 of A nil.
Ch. 13.-12 of Ann. Ch. 9. — i of G. L Ch. 26.-3 ^'^
G. I. Ch. 21.— 8 of G. I. Ch. 15 and 18.— 11 of G.I.
Ch. 29.—12 of G. L Ch. 5.-7. of G. IL Ch. 28 and 35.
-3ofG.lL Ch. 28.-4 of G. IL Ch. 15. -5 of G. IL
Ch. 7and9.— 6of G. Il.Ch. 13.— 8 of G. IL Ch. 18.—
II of G. IL Ch. 29. — 12 ofG.il. Ch. 3o.-i3ofG. IL
Ch. 4 and 7. — 15 and 16 ofG.II. Ch. 23.— -with many
others of a later Date. I might alfo mention the Laws
made in the Reign of his prefent Majcfty ; but as thefe
Laws are nov/ the Point Contra verfy, I forbear.

0^3 Mother

[ 126 ]

Mother Country always to prevent) lb conve-
viently as you can in Times of Peace ♦, and
^erefore, there was no Need of watching you
fb narrowly, as far as that Branch of Trade
was concerned. But immediately upon the
Peace, the various Manufactures of Europe^
particularly thofe of France^ which could not
find Vent before, were fpread, as it were, over
all your Colonies, to the prodigious Detriment
of your Mother Country \ and therefore our
late Set of Minifters adled certainly right, in
putting in Force the Laws of their Country, in
order to check this growing Evil. If in fo
doing, they committed any Error ; or, if the
Perfons to whom the Execution of thefe Laws
were intruded, exceeded their Inftrudtions ;
there is no Doubt to be made, but that all this
will be redified by the prefent Adminiftration.
And having done that, they will have done all
that in Reafon you can expe6t from them. But
alas ! the Expectations of an American carry him
much further : For he will ever complain and
fmuggle, and fmuggle cind complain, 'till all
Reftraints are removed, and 'till he can both
buy and fell, whenever, and wherefoever he
pleafes. Any thing fhort of this, is ftill a
Grievance, a Badge of Slavery, an Ufurpation
on the natural Rights and Liberties of a free
People, and I know not how many bad Things
befides.

BuTj

[ 127 ]
But, my good Friend, be affured, that thef©
are Reftraints, which neither the prefent, nor
any future Miniftry can exempt you from.
They are the (landing Laws of the Kingdom ;
and God forbid, that we fhould allow that dif-
penfing Power to our Minifters, which we fo
juftly deny to our Kings. In fhort, while you
are a Colony, you mud be fubordinate to the
Mother Country. Thefe are the Terms and
Conditions, on which you were permitted to
make your firft Settlements : They are the
Terms and Conditions on which you alone can
be entitled to the Afiiflance and Protedion of
Great-Britain-^— th^Y ^^^ alfo the fundamental
Laws of the Realm i— and I will add further,
that \i we are obliged to pay many Bounties for
the Importation oi your Goods, and are excluded
from purchafmg fuch Goods, in other Countries
(where we might purchafe them on much
cheaper Terms) in order to promote your In-
terefli— by Parity of Reafon you ought to be
fubjed: to the like Exclufions, in order to pro-
mote ours. This then being the Cafe, do not
expedl, from the prefent Miniftry, that which is
impoflible for any Set of Minifters to grant.
All that they can do, is to connive a while at
your unlawful Proceedings. But this can be
but of fhort Duration : For as foon as ever
frelh Remonftrances are made by the Britifh
Manufacturers, and Briti/h Merchants, the Mi-
niftry

[ 128 ]

niftry mnfl: renew the Orders of their Prede-
cefl<)rs ; they miifl: enforce the Laws -, they
muft require Searches, and Confifcations to be
made ; and then the prefent Minifters will draw
updrt themfelves, for doing their Buty^ juft the
fame Execration^ which you now beftow upon
the lafi.

So much as to yOtir firft Grievance-, and as
to your fecond, it is, beyond Doubt, of a Na-
ture ftill worfe. For many among you are forely
Goncerricd^ That they cannot pay their BritiJJi
Debts with an American Sponge. This is an in-
tolerable Grievance ; and they long for the Day
when they fliall be freed from this galling Chain.
Our Merchants in London^ Brijiol^ Liverpool^
Glafgow^ iyc. &c. perfectly underftand your
many Hints and Inuendoes to us, on this Head.
But indeed, left we fhould be fo dull as not to
comprehend your Meaning, you have fpoken
out, and propofed an open AfTociation againft
paying your juft Debts. Had cur Debtors in
any other Part of the Globe, had the French or
Spa?uards propofed the like (and furely they
have all at Icaft an equal Right) what Name
would you have given to fuch Proceedings ? —
But I forget : You are not the faithlefs French
or Spaniards i You are ourfelves : You are
hone ft Englijhmen,

Your third Grievance is the Sovereignty of
Great -Britain, For you want to be independent :

You

[ 129 ]

You wifh to be an Empire by itfelf, and to be
no longer the Province of another. This Spirit
is uppermoft ; and this Principle is vifible in
all your Speeches, and all your Writings, even
when you take fome Pains to difguife it. —
« What ! an Ifland ! A Spot fuch as this to
*< command the great and mighty Continent cf
^' North-America ! Prepoflerous ! A Continent,
*' whofe Inhabitants double every five and
*^ twenty Years ! Who therefore, within a Cen-
" tury and an Half will be upwards of an
>^' hundred and twenty Millions of Souls !—
« Forbid it Patriotifm, forbid it Politics, that
" fuch a great and mighty Empire as this,
*' fhould be held in Subjection by the paltry
" Kingdom of Great-Britain I Rather let the
" Seat of Empire be transferred ; and let it be
*' iixt, where it ought to be, viz, in Grea^
" America /"

Now, my good Friend, I will not flay to
difpute with you the Calculations, on which
your Orators, Philofophers, and Politicians have,
for fome Years paft, grounded thefe extravagant
Conceits (though I think the Calculations
themfelves both falfe, and abfurd) ; but I will
only fay, that while we have the Power, we
may command your Obedience, if we pleafe :
And that it will be Time enough for you to
propofe the making us a Province to America^
R when

when you lliall find yourfelves able to execute
the Prcjed:.

I^f the mean Time, the great Quefllon is.
What Courle are we to take ? And what are
we to do With you^ before you become this great
and formidable People ?— Plain and evident it
is by the whole Tenor of your Condudl, that
you endeavour, v/ith all your Might, to drive
^s to Extremities. For no Kind of Outrage,
or Infuk, is omitted on your Part, that can ir-
ritate Individuals, or provoke a Government to
chaflife the infolence, not to fay the Rebellion
of its Subje6ts ; and you do not feem at alldif-
pofed to leave Room for an Accommodation.
In fhort, the Sword is the only Choice, which
you will permit us to make ; unlefs we will
chufe to give you entirely up, and fubfcribe a
Recantation. Upon thofe Terms indeed, you
will deign to acknowledge the Power and Au-
thority of a BritiJIi Parliament •,— that is, you
will allow, that we have a Right and a Power
to give you Bounties, and to pay your Expences ;
but no other. A ftrange Kind of Allegiance
this ! And the firll that has ever yet appeared
in the Hillory of Mankind !

However, this being the Cafe, fhall we now
compel you, by Force of Arms, to do your
Duty ? — Shall we procraftinate your Compul-
fion .^— Or (hall we entirely give you up, and

have

[ 131 ]
have no other Canneclions with you, than if you
had been fo many Sovereign States, or Indepen-
dent Kingdoms ? One or other of theie three
^ill probably be refolved upon : And if it
fliould be the firft, 1 do not think that we have
any Caufe to fear the Event, or to doubt of
Succefs.

For though your Populace may rob and
plunder the Naked and Defencelefs, this will
not do the BuQnefs when a regular Force is
brought againft them. And a Briti/h Army,
which performed fo many brave Adions in
Germany^ will hardly fly -before an American
Mob •, not to mention that our Officers and
Soldiers, who palled fev.eral Campaigns with
your Provincials in America^ faw nothing either
in their Condud, or their Courage, which could
infpire them with a Dread of feeing the Pro-
vincials a fecond Time. — Neither fhould we
have the leaft Caufe to fufpecl the Fidelity of
our Troops, any more than their Bravery^—-
notwithflanding the bafe Infinuations of fonie of
jour Friends here (if indeed fuch Perfons de-
ferve to be called your Friends, who are in reality
your^greateft Foes, and whom you will find to
be fo at the laft) ; notwithftanding, I fay, their
Infinuations of the Feafibility of corrupting his
Majefty's Forces, when fent over, by Means of
large Bribes, or double Pay. This is a Surmife,
as weak as it is wicked : For the Honour of the
R 2 BritiJJi

[ 132 ]
Briti/h Soldiery, let me tell you, is not fo cafily
corrupted. The French in Europe never found
it fo, with all their Gold, or all their Skill for
Intrigue, and infinuating Addrefs. What then,
in the Name of Wonder, have you to tempt
them with in America^ which is thus to over-
come, at once, all their former Senfe of Duty,
all ihe Tyes of Confcience, Loyalty and Honour?
— 'Befides, my Friend, if you really are fo rich,
as to be able to give double Pay, to our Troops,
in a wrong Caufe ^ do not grudge, let me be-
feech you, to give one third oifingle Pay (for we
aflc no more) in a right one : — And let it not
be faid, that you com.plain of Poverty, and
plead an Inability to Pay your juft Debts, at the
very Inilant that you boall of the fcandalous
Ufe which you intend to make of your Riches.

But notwithftanding all this, I am not for
having Recourfe to Military Operations. For
granting, that we Ihall be victorious, ftill it is
proper to enquire, before we begin. How we are
to be benefited by our Vidlories ? And what
Fruits are to refult from making you a con-
quered People ?— Not an Increafe of Trade ;
that is impoflible : For a Shop-keeper will
never get the more Cuflom by beating his Cuf-
tomers : And what is true of a Shop-keeper, is
true of a Shop-keeping Nation. We may in-
deed vex and plague you, by ftationing a great
Number of Ships tQ cruize along your Coafts \

and

[ 133 ]

and we may appoint an Army of Cuftom-houfe
Officers to patrolle (after a Manner) two thou-
fand Miles by Land. But while we are doing
thefe Things againft you^ what fhall we be doing
for ourfelves ? Not much, I am afraid : For we
fhall only make you the more ingenious, the
more intent, and the more inventive to deceive
us. We fhall fharpen your Wits, which are
pretty fharp already, to elude our Searches,
and to bribe and corrupt our Officers. And
after that is done, we may perhaps oblige you
to buy the Value of twenty, or thirty thoufand
Pounds of Britijh Manufactures, more than you
would otherwife have done, — at the Expence
of two, or three hundred thoufand Pounds Lofs
to Great 'Britain^ fpentin Salaries, Wages, Ships,
Forts, and other incidental Charges. Is this
now a gainful Trade, and fit to be encouraged
in a commercial Nation, fo many Millions ia
Debt already ? And yet this is the beft, which
we can expedl by forcing you to trade with us,
againfl your Wills, and againfl your Interefls ?

Therefore fuch a Meafure as this being; evi-
dently detrimental to the Mother Country, I
will now confider the fecond Propolal, viz. to
procraflinate your Compulfion.-— But v/hat good
can that do ? And wherein will this Expedient
mend the Matter ^. For if Recourfe is to be had
at lail to the Military Power, we had better be-
gin with it at firil j it being evident to the whole
R 3 World,

t 134 3

World, that all Delays on our Side will only
ftrengthen the Oppoiuion on yours, and be in-
terpreted by you as a Mark of Fear, and not as
an Inftance of Lenity. You fwell with too
much vain Importance, and Seif-fufficiency al-
ready ; and therefore, fhould we betray any
Token of SubmifTion ^ or fhould we yield to
thefe your ill-humoured and petulant Defires;
this would only ferve to confirm you in your
prefent Notions •, viz, that you have nothing more
to do, than to demand wirh the Tone of Autho-
rity, and to infift, with, Threatenings and De-
fiance, in order to bring us upon our Knees,
and to comply with every unreafonable Injunc-
tion, which you lliall be pleafed to lay upon us.
So that at lafl, when the Time fhall come of
appealing to the Sword, and of deciding our
Differences by Dint of Arms, the Confequence
of this Procraftination will be, that the Struggle
will become fo much the more obflinate, and
the Determination the more bloody. Nay, the
Merchants themfelves, whofe Cafe is truly piti-
able for having confided fo much to your Ho-
nour, and for having trutted you v/ith fo many
hundred thoufand Pounds, or perhaps with fome
Millions of Property, and for whofe Benefit
alone fuch a Sufpenfion of the Stamp A61 could
be propofed; they''^ v/ill find to their Cods,

* The Event has feverely proved this Conjefture to be
but too jullly founded.

that

t >35 3
that every Indulgence of this Nature will onl/
furnifh another Pretence to you for the fufpend-
ing of the Payment of their ^^ Demands. In
fhort, you declare, that the Parliament hath no
Right to tax you -, and therefore you demand a
Renunciation of the Right, by repealing the A6t.
This being the Cafe, nothing more than a Re-
nunciation can be fatisfadory -, becaufe nothing
eife can amount to a ConfeiTion, that the Par-
liament has adled illegally and ufurpingly in this
Affair. A bare Sufpenfion, or even'a mere Re-
peal, is no Acknowledgment of Guilt ; nay, it
fuppofes quite the contrary -, and only poflpon?s
the Exercife of this ufurped Power to a more
convenient Seafon. Confequently if you think
you could juftify the Non payment of your
Debts, 'till a Repeal took Place, you certainly
can juftify the Sufpenfion of the Payment 'till
we have acknowledged our Guilt. So that after
all, the Queftion muft come to this at lafl, viz.
Shall we renounce any Legiflative Authority
over you, and yet maintain you as we have hi-
therto done ? Or fhall we give you entirely up,
unlefs you will fubmit to be governed by the
fame Laws as we are, and pay fomething to-
wards maintaining yourfelves ?

The firft it is certain we cannot do-, and
therefore the next Point to be confidered i^
(which is alfo the third Propofal) Whether w^e
are to give you entirely up ? — Jnd after having

chligsd

[ 13^ ]

chligedyou to pay your Debts^ whether we are to
have no further Connedtion with you, as a de-
pendent State, or Colony.

Now, in order to judge properly of this Af-
fair, we muft give a Delineation of two Political
Parties contending with each other, and ftrug-
gling for Superiority : — And then we muft con-
fider, which of thefe two, muft be firft
tired of the Conteft, and obliged to fub-
mit.

Behold therefore a Political Portrait of the
Mother Country \—?i mighty Nation under one
Government of a King and Parliament,— firmly
refolved not to repeal the A61, but to give it
Time to execute itfelf,--fteady and temperate
in the Ufe of Power,— not having Recourfe to
fanguinary Methods,— but enforcing the Law
by making the Difobedient feel the Want of it,
— determined to prote6l and cherifti thofe Co-
lonies, which will return to their Allegiance
within a limited Time (fuppofe twelve or
eighteen Months)— -and as determined to com-
pel the obftinate Revolters to pay their Debts, —
then to caft them off, and to exclude them for
ever from the manifold Advantages and Profits
of Trade, which they now enjoy by no other
Title, but that of being a Part of the Briti/h
Empire. Thus ftands the Cafe ; and this is the

View of Things on one Side.

Observe

Observe again a Profped on the other ; vi%.
a Variety of little Colonies under a Variety of
ipetty Governments,— Rivals to, and jealous of
each other,— never able to agree about any
thing before,— and only now united by an En-
thufiaftic Fit of falfe Patriotifm;--a Fit which
necelTarily cools in Time, and cools ftill the
fafter, in Proportion, as the Objed: which firft
excited it is removed, or changed. So much
as to the general Outlines of your American Fea-
tures ♦, — but let us now take a nearer View of
the Evils, which by your own mad Condu6t
you are bringing fo fpeedily upon yourfelves.

Externally, by being fevered from the
Briti/h Empire, you will be excluded from cut-
ting Logwood in the Bays of Campeachy and
Honduras^- 'from fifhing on the Banks of New-
foundland^ on the Coafts of Labrador, or in the
Bay of Sl Laurence, — from trading (except by
Stealth) with the Sugar Iflands, or with the
BritiJJi Colonies in any Part of the Globe. You
will alio lofe all the Bounties upon the Impor-
tation of your Goods into Great-Britain : Yoit
will not dare to feduce a fingle Manufadurer or
Mechanic from us under Pain of Death ♦, be-
caufe you will then be confidered in the Eye of
the Law as mere Foreigners, againll whom
thefe Laws were made. You will lofe the Re-
mittance of 300,0001. a Year to pay your
Troops J and you will lofe the Benefit of thefe
S Troops

[ 138 ]

Troops to protedt you againfl the Incurfions of
the much injured and exafperated Savages;
moreover, in Cafe of Difference with other
Powers, you will have none to complain to, none
to aflift you : For alTure yourfelf, that Holland^
France^ and SfaiUy will look upon you with an
evil Eye ; and will be particularly on their
Guard againft you, left fuch an Example ihould
infed their own Colonies •, not to mention that
the two latter will not care to have fuch a Neft
of profeffed Smugglers fo very near them.
And after all, and in Spite of any thing you can
dojwe in Britain Ihall ftill retain the greateft Part
of your European Trade \ becaufe we fhall give
a better Price for many of your Commodities
than you can h^ve any where elfe ; and we fhall
fell to you feveral of our Manufadlures, efpe-
cially in the Woollen, Stuff, and Metal Way,
on cheaper Terms. In fhort, you will do then,
what you only do now \ that is, you will trade
with us, as far as your Intereft will lead you \
and no farther.

Take now a Pidure of your internal State.
When the great Power, which combined the
fcattered Provinces together, and formed them
into one Empire, is once thrown offj and when
there will be no common Head to govern and
.protedb, all your ill Humours will break forth
like a To. rent : Colony will enter into Bicker-
ings and Difputes againft Colony ; Fadion will

intrigue

[ 139 J ^
intrigue and cabal againft Fa6lion •, and Anarchy
and Confufion will every where prevail. The
Leaders of your Parties will then be letting all
their Engines to work, to make Fools become
the Dupes of Knaves, to bring to Maturity
their half-formed Schemes and lurking Defigns,
and to give a Scope to that towering Ambition
which was checked and reftrained before. In
the mean Time, the Mafs of your People, who
expedled, and who were promifed Mountains of
Treafures upon throwing off, what was called,
the Yoke of the Mother Country, will meet
with nothing but fore Difappointments : Difap-
pointments indeed ! For inftead of ^n imaginary
Yoke, they will be obliged to bear a real, a
heavy, and a galling one : Inftead of being
freed from the PaymiCnt of ioo,oool. (which
is the utmoft that is now expected from them)
they wdll find themfelves loaded \yith Taxes to
the Amount of at leaft 400,000!. : Inftead of an
Increafe of Trade, they wilj feel a palpable De-
creafe •, and inftead of having Troops to defend
them, and thofe Troops paid by Great- Britain^
they muft defend themfelves, and pay themfelves.
Nay, the Number of the Troops to be paid,
will be more than doubled ; for fome muft be
ftationed in the back Settlements to protedt
them againft the Indians, whom they have fo
often injured and exafperated, and others alfo
Qn each Frontier to prevent the Encroachments
S2 of

[ 140 1

o£ each Sifter Colony. Not to mention, that
the Expences of your Civil Governments will
be neceffirily increafed ; and that a Fleet, more
or lefs, muft belong to each Province for guard-
ing their Coafts, enfuring the Payment of Du-
ties, and the like.

Under ail thefe PreiTures and Calamities,
your deluded Countrymen will certainly open
their Eyes at laft. For Difappointments and
DiftrefTes will efFe6tuate that Cure, which Rea-
fon and Argument, Lenity and Moderation,
could not perform. In fhort, having been fe-
verely fcourged and difciplined by their own
Rod, they will curfe their ambitious Leaders,
and deteft thofe Mock-Patriots, who involved
them in fo many Miferies. And having been
furfeited with the bitter Fruits of American
Republicifm, they will heartily wifh, and pe-
tition to be again united to the Mother Country.
Then they will experience the Difference between
a rational Plan of Conftitutional Dependence,
and the wild, romantic, and deftrudlive Schemes
of popular Independence.

And you alfo, after you have played the
Hero, and fpoke all your fine Speeches ; after
you have been a Gujiavus Vafa^ and every other
brave Deliverer of his Country ; after you have
formed a thoufand Utopian Schemes, and
been a thoufand Times difappointed \ perhaps
even you may awake out of your prefent po-
litical

I HI ]

litical Trance, and become a reafonable Man
at laft. And aflure yourfelf, that whenever
you can be cured of your prefent DeHrium,
and ihall betray no Symptoms of a Relapfe,
you will be received with Affedtion by

Tour old Uncky

Tour true Friend^

And faithful Monitor^

A.B.

TRAGT

TRACT IV.

THE

True Intereft of Great-Britain

SET FORTH

In REGARD to the COLONIES;

And the only M k a K s of

Living in Peace and Harmony with theni,

*

VERY llrange Notion is now induf-
trioufly fpreading, that 'till the late
unhappy Stamp-Ad, there were no
Bickerings andD'fcontents, no Heart-
burnings and Jealoufies fubfiiling between the
Colonies and the Mother Country. It feems,
'till that fatal Period, all was Harmony, Peace,
and Love. N ow it is fcarcely polTible even for

the

[ H4 ] ,. ,

the hioft fuperficial Obferver, if his Knowledge
extends beyond the Limits of a Newfpaper,
hot to know, That this is entirely falfe. And if
he is at all converfant in the Hiftory of the Co-
lonies, and has attended to the Accounts of their
original Plantation, their Rife, and Progrefs,
he mufl know, that almoft from the very Be-
ginning, there were mutual Difcontents, mutual
Animolities and Reproaches. Indeed, while
thefe Colonies were in a mere State of Infancy,
dependent on their Mother-Country not only
for daily Prote6lion, but almoft for daily Bread,
it cannot be fuppofed that they would give
themfelves the fame Airs of Self-Sufficiency and
Independence, as they did afterwards, in Pro-
portion as they grew up to a State of Maturity^
But that they began very early to (hew no other
Marks of Attachment to their antient Parent,
than what arofe from Views of Self-Intereft and
Self-Love, many convincing Proofs might be
drawn from the Complaints of^ and the Inftruc-
tions to the Governors of the refpedtive Pro-
vinces i from the Memorials of our Boards of
Trade, prefented from Time to Time to his Ma-
jefty's Privy Council againil the Behaviour of
the Colonifts •, from the frequent Petitions and
Remonftrances of our Merchants and Manu-
facturers to the lame Effe6l ; and even from the
Votes and Refolutions of feveral of their Pro-
vincial Affemblies againft the Intereft, Laws;

and

[ 145 3

and Government of the Mother-Country ; yet
I will wave all thefe at prefent, and content my-
felf with Proofs dill more authentic and unex-
ceptionable ; I mean the public Statutes of the
Realm : For from th^m it evidently appears,
that long before there were any Thoughts of
the Stamp- Adl, the Mother- Country had the
following Accufations to bring againft the Co-
lonies, viz. ill, That they refufed to fubmit to
her Ordinance and Regulations in Regard to
Trade.— 2dly, That they attempted to frame
Laws, and to ered Jurifdi6lions not only inde-
pendently of her, but even in dired Oppofitiort
tQ her Authority.— And 3dly,That many of them
took unlawful Methods to fkreen themfelves
from paying the juft Debts they owed to the
Merchants and Manufacturers of Great-Britain.
These are the Objedtions of the Mother-
Country to the Behaviour of the Colonies long
before their laft Outrages, and their prefent Con-
dud:— For even as early as the Year 1670, it
doth appear, that many Complaints (the very
Words of the A6t) had been made againft the
American Proprietors of Ships and VeiTels, for
engaging in Schemes of Traffic, contrary to
the Regulations contamed in the A6t of Navi-
gation, and in other Statutes of the Realm made
for confining the Trade of the Colonies to the
Mother-Country. Nay, lo fenfible was the
Parliament, above an hundred Years ago, that
T Pro-

[ 146 ] ^

Frofccutions for the Breach of thofe Laws would
be to litde or no Effedl, if carried on in Ame-
rican Courts, or before American Juries, that it
is exprefsly ordained, " It fhall, it may be law-
" ful for any Ferfon or Perfons to profecute
" f^ich Ship or VefTel [offending as defcribed in
" the preceding Se6i:ion] in any Court of Ad-
'' miralty in England- \ the one Moiety of the
" Forfeiture, in Cafe of Condemnation, to be
'' to his Majefty, his Heirs, and SuccelTors •, and
" the other Moiety to fuch Profecutor or
" Profecutors thereof." [See 22 and 23 oi Ck.
II. Cap. 26, §lI2 and 13.] And we find, that
two Years afterwards, viz. 25 o^Ch, II. Cap. 7,
the fame Complaints were again renewed ; and
in Confequence thereof higher Duties and ad-
ditional Penalties were laid on, for the more ef-
fedually enforcing of the Obfervance of this
and of the former Laws : But in Spite of all
that was done. Things grew worfe and worfe
every Day. For it is obfervable, that in the
Year 1696, the very Authority of the Englijh
Legiflature, for making fuch Laws and Regula-
tions, feemed to have been called in Queftion ;
which Authority, therefore, the Parliament was
obliged to ailert in Terms very peremptory •,—
and I may likewife add, very prophetical. The
Law made on this Occafion was the famous
Statute of the 7th and 8 th oi William HI. Cap. 7.
wherein, after the Recital of " divers Adts

" made

I 147 ]
"^^ made for the Encouragement of the Naviga-
•«' tion of this Kingdom, and for the better fe-
•*' curing and regulating the PlantaLJon Trade,
'^ it is remarked, that notwichfliandingfuchLaws,
*' great Abufes are daily committed, to rhe Pre-
*' judice of the Englifli Navigation, and the
" Lofs of great Part of the Plantation Trade
*' to this Kingdom, by the Artifice and Cunning
*' of ill-difpoled Perfons." Then, having pre-
fcribed fuch Remedies as thefe great Evils
feemed to require, the Ad goes on at §. 7. to
ordain, •-' That all the Penalties and Forfeitures
*' before mentioned, not in this A61 particu-
*' larly difpofed of, fhall be one third Part to
'' the Ufe of his Majeily, his Heirs, and Sue-
" ceifors, and one third Part to the Governor
*' of the Colony or Plantation where the Offence
*' Ihall be committed, and the other third Part
'* to fuch Perfon or Perfons as fhall fue for the
*' fame, to be recovered in any of his Majefty's
*' Courts at Weftminfter^ or in the Kingdom of
** Ireland^ or in the Courts of Admiralty held in
" his Majefty's Plantations refpedively, where
" fuch Offence fliall be committed, at the Flea-
*-'- fiire of the Officer or Informer^ or in any other
" Plantation belonging to any Subject oi England^
^' wherein no EfToin, Prote(51:ion, or Wager of
*' Law fhall be allowed ; and that where any
^' Queftion Ihall arife concerning the Importa-
*f tion or Exportation of any Goods into or out
T 2 *' of

[ 148 ]

" of the faid Plantations, in fuch Cafe the Proof
^' fhall lie upon the Owner or Claimer ; and
<« the Claimer fhall be reputed to be the Importer
^' or Owner thereof."

Now here it is obvious to every Reader, that
the Sufpicions which the Parliament had for-
merly conceived of the Partiality of American
Courts, and American Juries in Trials at Law
with the Mother- Country, were fo far from
being abated by Length of Time, that they
were grown higher than ever \ becaufe it ap-
pears by this very Adl, that the Power of the
Officer or Informer was greatly enlarged, hav-
ing the Option now granted him of three dif-
ferent Countries for profecuting the Offence ;
whereas in the former of Charles II. made \6
Years before, he had only two. Moreover it
was this Time further ordained, that the Onus
frohandi fhould refl on the Defendant, and alfo
that no * EfToin, Protedtion, or f Wager of
Law fhould be allowed him.

But above all, and in order to prevent, if
poffible, every Sort of Chicane for the future,
and to fruftrate all Attempts of the Colonies,

* An E/Toin ftgnifies, in Law, a Pretence or Excufe.

f A Wager at Law, is a Power granted to the Defen-
dant to /wear, together with other Compurgators, that he
owes nothing to the Plaintiff in the Manner fet forth. — Tt
5s eafy to fee what Ufe would have been made of fuch a
Power, had it been allowed,

cither

[ H9 ]
either to throw off or evade the Power and Ju*
rifdidion of the Mother-Country,— It was at
§ 9. " further enaded and declared by the Au-
" thority aforefliid, that all Laws, Bye-Laws,
" Ufages, or Cuftoms, at this Time, or which
^' hereafter fhall be in Practice, or endeavoured^
*' or pretended to be in Force or Pradice, in any
" of the faid Plantations, which are in any wife
*' repugnant to the before-mentioned Laws, or
" any of them, fo far as they do relate to the
" faid Plantations, or any of them, or which are
*' any ways repugnant to this prefent A61, or to

*' ANY OTHER LaW HEREAFTER TO BE MADE

*' IN THIS Kingdom, fo far as fuch Law fhall
*' relate to, and mention the faid Plantations,
" are illegal, null, and void to all in-
^' tents and Purposes v/hatsoeyer."

Words could hardly be deviled to exprefs
the Sentiments of the Englijh Legiflature, more
fully and flrongly, than thefe have done : And
if ever a Body of uninfpired Men were endowed
with a Spirit of Divination, or of forefeeing,
and alfo of providing againft untoward future
Events, as far as human Prudence could extend,
the King, Lords, andComm.ons of the ^ra 1696,
were the very Men. For they evidently fore-
fav/, that a Time was approaching, when the
Provincial Afiemblles would difpute the Right
of American Sovereignty with the great and
general Council of the Briti/li Empire : And
T 3 therefore

[ 150 ]
therefore they took effeftual Care that, whenever
the Time came, no Law, no Precedent, nor
Prefcription, fhould be wanting, whereby the
Mother- Country might aflert her conftitutional
and inherent Rio^ht over the Colonies.

But notwithftanding thefe wife Precautions,
fome of the Colonies found Ways and Means to
evade the Force and Meaning even of this ex-
prefs Law ; at lead for a Time, and 'till the
Legiflature could be fufficiently apprized of the
Injury defigned. The Colonifls, who pradlifed
thefe difingenuous Arts with moft Succefs, were
thofe who v/ere endowed with chartered Govern-
ments^ and who, in Confequence of the extra-
ordinary Favours thereby indulged them, could
nominate or eledl their own Council, and (if
my Memory doth not fail me) their own Go-
vernors likewife ;— -at leaft, who could grant
fuch Salaries to their Governors, and with fuch
Limitations, as would render them too depen-
dent on the Will and Pleaf^jre of their Pay-
Mailers. Hence therefore it came to pafs, that
in the Colonies of Rhode-IJland and 'Frovidence
Plantations, ConneElicut^ the Maffachufet\ Bay^
and ISIew Hamp/hire \ the Governors of thefe
Provinces fuffered themfelves to be perfuaded to
give their Sanation to certain Votes and Refolu-
tions oftheir AfTemblies and Councils ; whereby
Laws were enadted firfl- to iffue out Bills of
Credit to a certain Amount, and tlien to make

a

[ 151 }

a Tender of thofe Bills to be confidered afs afi
adequate difcharge of Debts, and a legal Re-
leafe from Pay ment. A mod compendious Me-
thod this for getting out of Debt ! And were
the like Artifice to be authorized every where,
I think it is very evident, that none but the
moll ftupid Ideot would be incapable of dif-
charging his Debts, Bonds, or Obligations;
and that too without advancing any Money.

However, as foon as the Britijh Legiflature
came to be fully apprized of this Scheme of Ini-
quity, they pafTed a Law, *' to regulate and
" reflrain Paper Bills of Credit in his Majefly's
" Colonies or Plantations, of Rhode-Ijland and
*' Providence Plantations, Conne5iicut^ the Ma-
^^ fuchufet's> Bay^ and New HampiJiire, in Ame-
*• rica-^ and to prevent the same being le-
*' GAL Tenders in Payments of Money."-—
This is the very Title of the Statute •, but for
further Particulars, and for the different Regula-
tions therein contained, confult the A61 itfelf,
24th of G^^rg"^ II. Cap. 53, Anno 1751.

Now will any Man after this dare'to fay, that
the Stamp- A6t was the firft Caufe of Diffention
between the Mother- Country and her Colonies ^
Will any Man ftill perfifl; in maintaining fo grofs
a Paradox, that 'till that fatal Period, the Co-
lonies fhewed no Reludance to fubmit to the
Commercial Regulations, no DifpoGtion to con-
ceit the Authority, and no Defire to queftiori

the

[ 152 ]

the Right of the Mother-Country ? The Mart
who can maintain thefe Paradoxes, is incapable
of Convid'ion, and therefore is not to be rea-
foned with any longer, " But the Stamp-A6fe
*• made had to become worfe .-—The Stan}p-
*' A61 irritated and inflamed, and greatly en-
" creafed all thofe ill Humours, which were but
" too predominant before." Granted ; and I
will further add, that any other A61, or any
other Mcalure, of the Britijh Government, as
well as \!i\t Stamp-A6l, if it were to compel
the Colonifts to contribute a fingle Shilling to-
wards the general Lxpence of the BritiJIi Em-
pire, would have had the fame Effed. For,
be it ever remembered, that the Colonifls did
not fo much objed: to the Mode of this Tax-
ation^' as to the Right itfelf of levying Taxes.
Nay, their Friends and Agents here in England
were known to have frequently declared. That
if any Tax were to be crammed down their
Throats without their Conient, and by an Au-
thority which they difallowed, they had rather
pay this Stamp-Duty than another.

But indeed, and properly fpeaking, it was
not the Stamp-Ad: which increafcd or heightened
thefe ill Humours in the Colonifts ; rather, it
was the Redudion of Canada^ which called forth
thofe Difpofitions into Adion which had long
been generating before; and which were ready
to burft forth at the firfl Opportunity that fliould

offer.

[ '53 3

offer. For an undoubted Fad it Is, that from
the Moment in which Canada came into the
Poire0ion of the Englifli^ an End was put to
the Sovereignty of the Mother-Country over
her Colonies. They had then nothing to fear
from a foreign Enemy ; and as to their own do-
meflic Friends and Relations, they had for {o
many Years preceding been accuftomed to tref-
pafs upon their Forbearance and Indulgence,
even -when they mod wanted their Protedion,
that it was no Wonder they (hould openly re-
nounce an Authority which they never thoroughly
approved of, and which now they found to be no
longer necelTary for their own Defence.

But here fome may be apt to afk, " Had the
*' Colonies no Provocation on their Part ? And
" was all the Fault on one Side, and none on
" the other ?'* Probably not :— Probably there
were Faults on both Sides. But what doth this
ferve to prove ? If to exculpate the Colonies in
regard to their prefent refradlory Behaviour, it
is needlefs. For I am far from charging our
Colonies in particular with being Sinners above
others ; becaufe I believe (and if 1 am wrong,
let the Hiitory of all Colonies, whether antient
or modern, from the Days of I'hucyddides
down to the prefent Time, confute me if it can •,
I fay, 'till that is done I believe) that it is the
Nature of them all to afpire after Independence,
and to fet up for themfeves as foon as ever they
U find

[ '54 J ,

find that they are ^bie to fubfift, without being
beholden to the Mother-Country. And if our
\^mericans have exprefled themfelves fooner on
this Head than othiers have done,, pr in a more
dlredt and daring Manner, this ought not to be
irnpiued to any greater Malignity, or Ingrati-
tude in them, than in others, but to that bold
free Conftitucion, which is the Prerogative and
Boaft of us all. We ourfelves derive our
Origin from thofe veiy Saxo?iSy who inhabited
the lower Parts of Germany -, and yet I think it is
flifficiemly evident, that v/e are not over complai-
fant to the Defcendants of thefe lower Saxons^ i. e.
to the OfTspring of our own Progenitors ; nor
can we, with any Colour of Reafon, pretend to
complain that even the Boftonians have treated
us more indignantly than we have treated the
Hanoverians. What then vv^ould have been the
Cafe, if the little infignificant Eledorate of
Hanover had prefumed to retain a Claim of So-
vereignty over fuch a Country as Great-Britain^
the Pride and Miftrefs of the Ocean ? And yet,
I believe, that in Point of Extent of Territory,
the prefent Eledtoral Dominions, infignificant as
they are fometimes reprefented, are more than
a Moiety of England^ exclufive of Scotland and
Wales: Whereas the whole Ifland of Great-
Britain^ is fcarcely a twentieth Part of thole
vail Regions which go under the Denomination
gf North' America,

Besides,

[ 155 ]

Besides, if the American Colonies belonging
to France or Spain, have not yet fet up for In-
dependence, or thrown off the Mafque fo much
as the Eyigli//i Colonics have done,— what is this
fuperior Referve to be imputed to? Not to
any greater filial Tendernefs in them for their
refpe6tive antient Parents than in others •,— not
to Motives of any national Gratitude, or of na-
tional Honour •, — but becaufe the Conflitutiori
of each of thofe Parent States is much 'more
arbitrary and defpotic than the Goniiitution of
Great-Britain-, and therefoie their refpe6tive
Offsprings are * awed by the Dread of Puni^-
ments from breakino; forth into thofe Outraf^es
which ours dare do with Impunity. ' Nay more,
the very Colonies of France and Spain, though
they have not yet thrown off their Allegiance,
are neverthelefs as forward as any in difobeying
the Laws of their Mother-Countries, wherever
they find an Interefl in fo doing. For the Truth
of this Fad:, I appeal to that prodigious clan-
defline Trade which they are continually carry-
ing on with us, and with our Colonies, contrary
to the exprefs Prohibitions o^ France amd Spaih ■:
And I appeal alfo to thofe very free Ports which
the Briti/Ji Legiflature itfelf hath lately opened

* But notwithftanding this Awe, it is now pretty gene-
rally known, that the French Colonilh of Hifpaniola en-
deavoured lately to fhake off the Government of Old France^
afld applied to the Britijh Court for that Purpofe.

U 2 for

[ 156 1

for accommodating thefe fmuggling Colonifts tq
trade with the Subjects of Great -Britain^ in Dif-
obedience to the Injundion of their Mother-
Countries.

Enough furely has been faid on this Subjedt ;
and the Upfhot of the whole Matter is plainly
this,— That even the arbitrary and defpotic
Governments of France and Spain (arbitrary I
fay, both in 'Temporals and in Spirituals) main-
tain their Authority over their American Colonies
but very imperfedly i in as much as they can-
not reflrain them from breaking through thofe
Rules and Regulations of exclufive Trade \ for
the Sake of which all Colonies feemed to have
been originally founded. What then fhall wc
lay in Regard to fuch Colonies as are the Off-
fpring of a free Conftitution ? And after what
Manner, or according to what Rule, are our
own in particular to be governed, without uling
any Forj:e or Compulfion, or purfuing any
Meafure repugnant to their own Ideas of civil
or religious Liberty ? In fhort, and to fum up
all, in one Word, How fhall we be able to ren-
der thefe Colonies more fubfervient to the In-
terells, and more obedient to the Laws and Go-
vernment of the Mother-Country, than they
voluntarily chufe to he ? After having pondered
and revolved the Affair over and over^ I con-
fefs, there feems to me to be but the five follow-
ing Propofals, which can pofTibly be made, viz.

[ 157 ]

I ft, To fuffer Things to go on for a While,
as they have lately done, in Hopes that fome
favourable Opportunity may offer for recovering
the Jurifciidlion of the Briti/h Legiflature over
her Colonies, and for maintaining the Authority
of the Mother- Country.— Or if thefe tempo-
rifing Meafures Ihould be found to ftrengthea
and confirm the Evil, inflead of ^rempving
it j— then, ' ■ ^

2dly, To attempt to perfuade the Colonies to
fend over a certain Number of Deputies, or
Reprefentatives, to fit and vote in the BritiJJi
Parhament \ in order to incorporate America
and Great-Britain into one common Empire.—
Or if this Propofal fhould be found impradli-
cable, whether on Account of the Diiiiculties
attending it on this Side of the Atlantic^ or be-
caufe that the Americans themfelves would not
cpncur in fuch aMeafurej — then,

3dly, To declare open War againft them
as Rebels and Revolters ; and after having
made a perfed Conqueft of the Country, then
to govern it. by military Force and defpotic
Sway. — Or if this Scheme fhould be judged
(as it ought to he) the moft deflrudtive, and the
leafl eligible of any ^--then,

4thly, To propofe to confcnt that America

fliould become the general Seat of Empire ;

and that Great-Britain and Ireland fhould be

governed by Vice-Roys fent over from the

U 3 Court

C '.58 ],

Court Refidencies, either at Rhiladelphia or
New-Tor k^ or a^ fome oxhtr American imperial
City. — Or if this Plan of Accommodation
fiiould be iirJigefte.d.by \\omt -horn Engli/hmeny
who, I will venture, to affirm, would never fub-
mit to fuch an Indignity •,-— then, '

fthly. To propofe to feparate entirely from
the Colonies, by declaring them to be a free
and independent People, over whom we lay' no
Claim ; and then by offering to guarantee this
Freedom and Independence againft all foreign
Invaders whomfoever.

Now thefe being all the Plans which, in the
Nature of Things, feem capable of being prd-
pofed, let us examine each of them in their
Order. ^' /

F I R is ;t SCHEME.

And ift, as to that which recommends the
fuffering all Things to go on as they have
lately done, in Hopes that fome favourable
Opportunity may arife hereafter for recovering
the Jurifdidlion, and vindicating the Honour of
the Mother-Country.

This fir ft Propofal is very unhappy at firfl
fetting out ; bec^ufe it takes that for granted,
which Hiflory and Experience prove to be falfe.
It fuppofes, that Colonies may become the more
obedient, in f'roportion as they are fuffered to
grow the more headftrong, and to feel their owri
Strength, and Independence •, than which Sup-

pofition

. '[ 159 ]

pofition there cannot be a more palpable Ab-
furdity. For. 'if a' Father is ^-nqt aible to govern
his Son at the i^ges of .14 or 16 Years, how
can it be fuppofcJ that he will be better able
when the Youth" is become a Man of full Age
and Stature, iii the ' Vig^rilir '*bf Health and
Strength, and the tareht perhaps" rnore feeble
and decrepid'than he was before? Befides, it is a
Fa6t, that the Colonies, from almoft one End
of Ncrth- America to the other,' have already re-
volted from under the Jurifdi(?tion of the BritiJJi
Legiflature ;— each Houfe of 'AfTembly hath
already arrogated to themfelves a new Name, by
filling themielves an House of Commons ; in
Confequence of which Stile and Title, they haVe
already declared, that the Britifh Houfe of Com-
mons neither hath, nor ought to have, any
Right to intermeddle in their Concerns. Now,
after they have advanced thus far already, what
Rhetoric would you ufe for calling thefc Re-
volters back ? And is it at all probable, that the
Provincial Aflemblies would be induced by the
Force of Oratory to renounce their own Impor-
tance, and to acknowledge that to be a Crime^
which both they, and the People whom they re-
prefent, glory in as their Birth-right and un-
alienable Prerogative ? The Man who can fUp-
pofe thefe Things, muft have a moft extraordi-
nary Opinion of his own Eloquence.

But

[ i6o ]

But here perhaps fpme may be inclined to'
aflc, Why would you meddle with the Colonies
at all ? And why not fufFer Things to remain
mjiatu quo? The obvious Anfwer to which
Queftions is this, — *That it is not the Mother-
Country w^hich meddles with the Colonies,
but the Colonies which meddle with the
Mother-Country : For they will not permit her
to govern in the Manner fhe ought to do, arid
according to the original Terms of the Cotiftitu-
tion ', but are making Encroachments on her
Authority every Day. Moreover as they in-
creafe in Riches, Strength, and Numbers,
their civil and military Eftablifhments mud ne-
ceiTarily increafe likewife •, and feeing that this
Circumilance is unavoidable, who is to defray
the growing Expences of thefe increafing and
thriving Colonies ?— " The Colonies themlelves
" you will naturally fay, becaufe none are fo fit,
" and none fo able :'* And perhaps fome Ame-
rican Advocates will likewife add, " That the

* See the preceding letter from a Merchant in London to
his Nephew uvAmerica ; wherein it is proved, to a Demonftra-
tion, that the Powers, which the Colonies will not allow the
Mother-Country no^ to exefcife over them, aie no other
than what always belonged to her from the very iirll Period
of their Settlements, and according to the original Terms of
their Ccnftitution. The Queftion therefore is. Which of
the two, the Colonies, or the Mother-Country, ufurps on
the legal Rights and conftitutional Privileges of the other ?

^' Colonies

i i6i ]

*^ Colonies do not refufe to defray thefe Ex-
*' pences, provided they fhall be the fole Judges
" of the Quantum to be raifed, or the Mode
" of raifing it, and of the Manner of its Ap-
" plication." But here lies the Difficulty,
which remains yet to be folved : For if the Co-
lonies are to be allowed to be the fole Judges iii
thefe Matters, the Sovereignty of the BritiJJt
Legiflature is entirely at an End j and thefe Co-
lonies become in Fa6t, as much independent of
their Mother-Country, as we are independent of
Hanover^ or Hanover of us \ — only indeed with
this Difference (which an American always chufes
to forget) That whereas we lay a 'Duty on all
raw Materials coming from the Ele6toral Do-
minions, we give a Bounty on thofe which are
imported from the Colonies. Befides, many
will be apt to aflc, Could not this Matter be
compromifed in fome Degree ? And will nothing
lefs content the Colonies than a total Revolt
from under the Jurifdidion of the Mother-
Country ? — Some well-nieaning Perfohs have
propofed, that each Colony, like each County
here in England^ fhouid be allowed to raife
Taxes for its own internal Ufes, whiiil the BritiJJt
Parliament, the fovereign Council of the Britijk
Empire, fhouid prefide over the whole ; and
therefore fhouid ena6l fuch Laws for the levying
of thofe general Taxes,which are to be applied for
the common Protedion, the Good, and Benefit

[ 162 J
of all. But the Misfortune is, that the Colonics
will not confent to this Partition of Power and
Jurifdidlion j confequently any Scheme of this
Nature is utterly impradlicable. Indeed the
late Stam*^ A61 itfelf was no other than a Part
of this very Scheme : For the Money to be
raifed by that Tax, was to be applied to the
fole Ufe of the Colonies, and to be expended no
^johere elfe but in the Colonies. Nay it was not
the Moiety, nor yet the third, nor the fourth
Part of the Sum which Great-Britain was to
have raifed on the fame Account, and to have
expended in the fame Provinces:— -So anxious
was the antient indulgent Parent not to lay too
fieavy a Burden on her favourite Children. But
alas ! Favourites of all Kinds feldom make thofe
returns of Gratitude and Obedience, which
might be expe6ted. For even as to that boafted
Loyalty, which the Colonies have hitherto pro-
fefTed to maintain towards his Majefly King
George^— \.\i\s (lands, and mufl* {land, according
to their prefent political Syflem^ on as precari-
ous a Footing as any of th€ reft of our Claims.
For if the Britijli Parliaments have no Right to
make Laws to bind the Colonies, they cer-
tainly ought not to be allowed to prefcribe to
them who JJiall he their King :,—m\iQh. lefs ought
they to pretend to a Right of enading. That ic
(hall be a moft capital Offence, even High
Treason itfelf, in a Golonift to dare' to con-
trovert

C 1^3 1
trovert the Title of any Prince, or any Family^
to the American Throne, whom the Eriti/kV^iV'
liament fhall place thereon.

Besides, fome of thofe lower Houfes of
AfTemblies (which each Province now affeds to
call its Houfe of Commons) have already pro-
ceeded to greater Lengths of Sovereignty and
Independence than a Briti/Ji¥ion{c of Commons
ever prefumed to do except in the Days of the
grand Rebellion. For they have already arro-
gated to themfelves a Power of difpofing^ as
well as of raifing the public Monies, without the
Confent of the other Branches of the Legifla-
ture -, which is, in fad, nothing lefs than the
Erection of fo many fovereign and independent
JDemocraciss. Nay more, there is a general Com-
bination and Confederacy entered into among
them all : For each Houfe of AiTembly hath
lately appointed a flanding Committee for cor-
refponding with the flanding Committees of
other Provinces, in order the more effedlually
to oppofe the Authority and Jurifdiftion of the
Mother-Country.

What then is to be done in fuch a Cafe ?
Evident it is beyond a difpute, that timid and
temporifmg Meafures ferve to no other Purpofe
but that of confirming the Colonies in their
Oppofition, and ftrengthening them in their pr^-
fent Revolt;.

X 2 SCHEME

[ i64 ]
SCHEME II.

Wherefore the 2d Propofal is, To attempt
to perfuade the Colonies to fend over a certain
Number of Reprefentatives to fit and vote in
the Brttijh Parliaments, in order to incorporate
America and Great -Britain into one common
Empire.

* This is the Scheme of a very worthy Gen-
tleman, eminently verfed in the Laws and Con-
flitution of Great -Britain^ and what is ftill
better, a real, not a pretended Patriot. Let us
therefore examine it with as much Refped and
Deference to his Opinion, as the Caufe of
Truth will permit •, which I am well perfuaded,
is full as much as he would require.

He begins with obferving very juftly, Page 4,
" That the Subje6ls of the Crown of Great-
" Britain^ muft (i. e. ought to) continue to be
" fo in every Refpedl, in all Parts of the
" World, while they live under the Protec-
*' tion of the Britijh Government •, and that
" their crofling the Atlantic Ocean with the
^' King's Licence, and refiding in America for
*' the Purpofes of Trade, cannot afFedl their

* See a Pamphlet,—*' Confiderations on the Expediency
^* of admitting Reprefentatives from x\\q Jmerican Colonies
<* into the Britijh Houfe of Commons,"— ^(?W(?//, printed
forB^ White, 1770.

"legal

[ 1^5 ]
^' legal Subjeclion to the governing Powers of
" the Community to which they belong.

"But yet he obferves, that the total Want
^' of Reprefentatives in the great Council of the
^' Nation, to fupport their Interefts, and give an
*' Aflent on their Behalf to Laws and Taxes by
" which they are bound and affedted, is a Mif-
" tune^ which every Friend to Liberty and equal
" Government muft be forry to fee them labour
*' under, and from which he muft wifh ^em to
" be relieved in a regular and conftitutional
" Manner, if fuch Relief can poffihly he afforded
" tlmn^ without breaking the Unity of the Britifh
^' Government.'^

He therefore proceeds, at Page lo, to propofe
his Scheme for remedying this Misfortune ;
viz, " That about eighty Perfons might be ad-
" mitted to fit in Parliament, as Members of
" the Commons Houfe of Parliament for all
" the King's Dominions in America^ the Wefi-
" Indies^ as well as North America \ and that
" their Stile and Title fhould be The Com-

" MISSIONERS OF THE CoLONIES OF AMERICA."

After this he goes on to fix the Numbers re-
quifite to reprefent each Colony, their Qualifi-
cation, and the Mode of their Eleclion ; alfo
the Time of their continuing in Office, and the
Manner of their being re-ele6ted, or fuperfeded
by others, if that fhould be judged necelTary :
In all whidty tho' the Propofals are not quite
X 3 con-

• [ i66 ]

confiftent with the Unity of the BritiJJi Govern^
ment, yet as he has obviated the principal Dif-
ficulties, it would be both ill-natured and unjuft
to fpy out every fmall Fault, or to magnify Ob-
je(flions.

But when he comes to give us the Form, the
Extent, and the Limitation of thefe Com-
rnilTions •, nay, when he propofes to circumfcribe
the Authority and Jurifdiction of the BritiJIi
Parliament itfelf, even after it hath been
ftrengthened by the Accefiion of thefe Colon y-
Reprefentatives ; there, I hum.bly apprehend,
the Importance of the Subjedl fnould prepon-
derate over mere Deference and Complaifance.
Nay I will go flill further, and add, that if the
Meafures propofed fhould be fhewn to have a
Tendency to beget endlefs Jealoufies, Quarrels,
and Divifions, between the Mother- Country
and tjie Colonies, inftead of proving a Means
of Reconciliation, and a Center of Union, the
Gentleman himfelf, 1 am fully perfuaded, would
be among the firft in rejeding his own Plan,
Let us therefore now defcend into Particulars.

And lil, it is propofed. Page ii. That they
(the Commiffioners) fhould receive a Commif-
fion in Writing from their Eledors {viz, the
* AfTemblies in each Province) " impowering

4(

them

• ^ere. Whether it is intended that the lozver Houfes
li^e^ch AiTembly fhould have the fole Right of voting for

thefe

t 167 1

^' the'rri to fit and vote in the Britijh Houfe of
"Commons, and confuk With the Xing, and
" the Great Men of the King-.iom, and the
*' Commons of the fame in Parliament affem bled,
" upon the great Affairs of the Nation, and to
" CONSENT on the- Behalf of the Province,
" for which they were chofen, to fuch Things
•* as ihaii be ordained in Parliament, 'i^c.

Now this Form might pafs very well among
ourfelves at Home, where the Majority are not
continually on the Watch to fpy out every Flaw>
real or imaginary : But in regard to the Colo-
nilLs and efpecially an x\ffembly of Colonifts,
the Cafe is widely different: For it is well known
that their Wits are perpetually at work. to avail
themfelves even of the Shadow of an Argument
to oppofe the Rie^ht and Authority of the
Mother-Country. Therefore they will imme-
diately feize ofi the Words impowering and Con-
fent) and reafon after the following fallacious
Manner: — '« The Affemblies who elected the
« Commiffioners, have a Right to inftrud
^ . .i.;M3-ir/X .^_«

fhefe Commiffioners ? Or both Houfes jointly ? If the
former, then the Colony Governments would become ftill
move democrat teal than they now are, the' already fo, to,
fuch an exccffive Degree, as to be almofl incompadble with
any Idea of Monarchy : But if each Houfe is to vote fe-
parately, what Jars and Factions, and reciprocal Re-
proaches, would this occafion ! And how would they be
able to agree ? In ihort, either Way, the Profpeft is alarm-
ing !

" them -y

[ i68 1

*' them ; and thefe Inftrudlions, when properly
" drawn up, are no other than fo many Trufls
" or Powers granted to them from Time to
*' Time, by the Aflembly which eledted them ;
*' which Aflembly hath therefore a Right to con-
" tra6b or enlarge their Commiflion, as they
" fliall find it to be the Interefl of the Province
" fo ta do. Confequently, if thefe Commif-
*' fioners fhould at any Time Vbte contrary to
*' their Inflru6lions, that is, to their Commiflion,
" it follows, that in thefe Refpeds they have
" exceeded the Bounds prefcribed by their
*' Electors. Therefore, being therrifelves pro-
" hibited from voting, and having no Authority
" to vote in fuch a Qiiefl:ion, every Law wherein
" they gave their Suffrage, affeding the Intereflis
*' of the Colonies in general, or any Province
*' in particular, is ipfo fa^o null and void^

Again,—" The Colony Commiflioners are
" to give their Confent in Behalf of the Province
" for which they are chofen^ to fuch 'Things asfJiall
*' he ordained in Parliament. This is the Foun-
*' dation and Corner Stone of all the Building :
*' And therefore, if fuch or fuch Commiflioners
" did not give their Confent in Behalf of the
" Provinces for which they were chofen, then
" it follows, of Courfe, that no Law, affecting
♦' the Interefl:s of fuch refpedive Provinces, is
" obligatory, no Tax due or payable, nor any
'' Regulations ^nade by the pretended Authority

" of

[ i69 ]

" of the Britifli Parliament without the Con-
" fent of fuch CommifTioners, are to be at all
" regarded by the American Eledlors." — Thefe
are a few of thole blelTed Conclufions, which
the Politicians on the other Side of the Atlantic
will certainly draw from the Terms and Expref-
lions contained in fuch a Form. And what is
ftill worfe, both our own hair-brained Repub-
licans, and our Mock-Patriots at Home will as
cercainly adopt the fame Language, and echo
back the fame fpecious, tho' falfe Allegations,
from one End of the King;dom to the other.
Indeed many there are, even among ourfelves,
who, with the moft honeft and upright Inten-
tions, are at a Lofs at prefent how-to difintangle
themfelves from thefe fallacious Reafonings.
For having unhappily learnt in Newfpaper Dif-
fertations, and from CofFee-houfe Harangues,
that the Deputies fent to the great Council of
the Nation, are the mere Attornies of thofe who
ele61:ed them \ — the Inference is but natural,
that thefe Attornies ought to do as they are bidy
and that in Cafe of Competition, they ought
not to prefer their own private Opinions to the
Judgments of their Conftituents.— i fay, this
Inference is natural •, nay it is neceflary, jufl,
and true, were the Premifes but true from whence
it is deduced.

Wherefore, having often had the Advan-
tage of hearing no lels a Perfgn than the late
y ex-

[ ^/o J
excellent Judge Foster, that true Friend to*
zWreafonable Liberty, Civil and Religious, — f
iay, having often heard him difcourfing on the
Rile and Origin of Parliaments, I will venture to
lay his State of the Cafe before my Reader,
hoping that it may remove all his Difficulties (if
he has any) and work the fame Fulnefs of Con-
viction in his Mind, which it did in mine.

" To reafon accurately, faid this upright and
^> able Lawyer, on the Origin of Parliarnents,
" we mud trace the Matter up to its conflituent
*' Principles. Now tlie firft Idea which ftrikes
" i^^r^Q, on this Occafion is, that of a large Af-
'■S femblyof different Tribes of Warriors, either
*'■ preparing for fome military Expedition, oc
*Vgot together, after a Vidlory, ta' ihare the
*' Booty, and divide the Lands among the Con-
" quercrs. Vvhen all are met together in one
" Place, they chufe a Committee for managing
*' their Affairs •, having. found it impradlicable
" to traniad: any Bufmefs of Confequence in
*' any , other Way. Now this Committee,
" chofen by the v/ho!e Nation, aftually affem-
*•' bltd, gives us the firft rude Draught of a na-
"tional Parliament, or a national Council.
*■' But in Procefs of Time, and when the Nation
" had made large Conquefts, and was cantoned.
" into dillant Provinces, it was found, to be ex-
*^ tremely inconvenient to affemble the whole
'■^ Nation together into, one Place. I'hercfore

" the

[ '71 ]

*' the next, and indeed the only Expedient, was,
'•' that each Canton, or each Diftri6b, which could
" affemble, fhould be authorized to ele6l a De-
" puty, or Deputies, not for it felf alone ^ that
" IS THE GRAND MiSTAKE, but for the Nation
" at large, which could not aflfemble ; and the
" Powers to be granted to fuch Deputy, or
" Deputies, were juft the fame as the Nation
" would have granted to them, had it been ac-
" tually aflembled. Hence therefore it comes
" to pafs, that each Deputy reprefents the whole
" Nation in general, as much as if he had been
" eleded by the whole Nation \ and confe-
" quently fuch a Deputy is the Attorney (if he
^' niufl be called -by that Name) not of any one
*' particular Tribe, Society, or Diitricl, but of
'• the 'whole colleBively : So that it becomes the
" Duty of his Office to take Care of the Interefls
*' of all the People in general, becaufe he repre-
" fents them all. In fhort, he cannot, confiftently
^' with the Duty which he owes to the whole,
" pay any Deference to the Reque{l,InfLrudion,
" Remonflrance, or Memorial, of his particular
" Eledlors, except in fuch Cafes only wherein
" he is convinced in his Conference, that thti
" Meafures, which they require him to purfue,
'' are not incompatible with the public Good!^

Thus far this great Judge of the Briti/Ii Con-

ftitution. And tho' many im^portant Inferences

might be drawn from hence, which would ef-

Y 2 fedually

[ 172 ]

remove thofe Difficulties, with which the Sub-
je6b has of late been artfully and ftudioufly per-
plexed (and particularly in the Cafe of the
Expulfion* of a Member of the Houfc of Com-
mons) yet I fhall content myfelf with one general
Remark at prefent ; viz. That as each Clals of
Men, each Society or Diftrid, throughout the
Briti/h Tj.nipire, are as much reprefented by
thofe Deputies, whom they did not perfonally
elec^, as they are by thofe whom they did -, it
therefore follows, that there is no need, that the
Deputies, particularly eleded by them, fliould
give their perfinal Confent to any A6V.s of the
Legiflature ; becaufe a Vote of the Majority is
in fad a Vote of the Nation to- all Intents and
Purpoies. ^^'- '■■-•^- --'

But it 13 nbw High Time to attend to another
Part of this Gentleman's Plan for admitting
Commiffioners from the Colonies to fit and vote
in the Bnti/Ji Houfe of Commons.

And that i:, sdly, the Extent of their Com-
miirion,and indeed the boundary Line prefcribed
to the Briufli Parliament itfeif, whenever it fhall
interfere in American Affairs. For it feems (fee

* Surely the Nation might have expelled Mr. Wi l k es,
or have flruc.^ liis Name out of the Lift of Committee,
had it been afiembled, ar.d had it tlniight croper fo to do.
What then (hould hinder the Deputies of the Nation from
doing the fame Thing ? And which ought to prevail in tliis
Cafe, the Nation in general, or the County of Middle/ex ?

l^ 14)

[ 173 ]
P. 14) " That this Icgiflative Power of Parlia-
" ment Ihould be exercifed biM feldom, and en Oc-
" cajions of great Necejfily. Whatever related to
*' die internal Government of any particular
" Colony (fuch as raifing the neceflary Taxes for
" the fupport of its civil Goverment, and
*' paflingLaws for building Bridges, or Churches,
" or Barracks^ or other public Edifices) fnould be
" left to the Governor and Afiembly of that
" Colony to tranfacSt among themfelves, unlefs
*' in Cafes where the domellic Difientions of the
*' Colony put a Stop to public Bufmefs, ar.d
'' created a Kind of NecelTity for the Interpofi-
" tion of the fupreme Legidaturc. But when
*' any general Tax was to be impofed upon all
" the American Colonies for the Support of a
** War^ or any otiier fuch general Purpofe ; or
*« any new Law was to be made to regulate the
^' Trade of all the Colonies ; or to appoint the
" Methods by which Debts owing from the In-
*' habitants of one Colony to thoie of another,
" or of Great-Britain^ fhould be recovered ; or
*' to diredl the iVIanner of bringing Criminals
*' to Juftice who have fled from one Colony to
"another-, or to fettle the Manner of quar-
" tering the King's Troops in the feveral Co-
" lonies •, or of levying Troops in them, and
" the Number each Colony fhould contribute -,
*' or to fettle the proportionable Values of diffe-
^' rent Coins that fnould be made curi-ent in the
¥3 " feveral

[ 174 ]
^' feveral provinces ; or to eflablilh a general
" Paper- Currency throughout America *, or for
^' any other general Purpofe that relates to fe-
" veral Colonies :— In thele Cafes the Authority
<' of Parliament (hould be employed."

Here now is a Kind of Barrier fet up be-
tween thele two contending Powers, the Britifli
Parliament, and the Provincial A ffemblies ;—
a Barrier, which mud be held fo facred by both
Parties, as to limit their refpe6live Pretenfions,
and to extinguifh all further Claims. Let us
therefore fee how well this Scheme is calculated
to anfwer fuch good Purpofes.

And firft it is faid, that the Parliament ought
to interfere but feldom ; and then only on Oc-
cafions of great NeceJJity, Now here permit
me to afk, Vv^ho are to be the Judges of what is
feldom^ or what \s frequent? Moreover, who is
to determine between the Parliament and the
Provincial AlTemblies, when there is a great
Necefiity for the Interference of the former, and
when there is but a little one, or none at all .'*---
Obvious it is, to all the World, that thefe jealous
Rivals will never fettle fuch Points among
themfelves •, and if they will not fettle them, in-
deed if they cannot, v;ho is to be their common
Umpire or Referee ? Befides, granting even
that this Difficulty could be got over in fome
Degree, another formidable one immediately
llartG up, like another Hydra ; viz. What are

thefe

[ '75 ]
thcfe Colony- A gents to do in our Houfe of
Commons, when no Colony Bufinefs happens
to be tranfadted ? Are they to remain as fo
many Mutes, without fpeaking a Word, or
giving a fmgle Vote for Weeks, or Months, or
perhaps for a whole SefTion together ?— Or are
they to fit and vote in all Eriti/h Caufes, great
or fmall ; notwithftanding that the Britifli Se-
nators are precluded from voting, excepting in
extraordinary Cafes, in refped to the Colonies ?
In either Cafe here feems to be fomething in-
troduced into the BritlJJi Conftitution of a very
heterogeneous Nature ; fomething very repug-
nant to that Unity of Government, which the
Gentleman himfelf allows ought to be preferred
to every other Confideration : And I will add
further, that if the Colony-CommilTioners are
to fit and vote in all our Caufes, tho' our Britifli
Reprelentatives are reftrained from voting in
theirs, perhaps ninety-nine Times in an Hun-
dred, this will be the fetting up of one of the
moil partial, unequal, and unjufl Syftems of
Pacifications, that ever yet appeared in the
World.

We therefore proceed to another weighty
Objedion againil the prefent Plan. — The Terms
of this new Compa6t are declared to be. That
the Colony AfTemblies fhall be invefted with the
Right q{ internal and proviyicial Jurifdidion and
Legillation \ while the Britifli Parliament, even

after

[ 176 ]
after the AccefTion of thefe 80 Colony Gom-
miflioners, fhall be content to retain only that

which is external and general. But here

alas I the very fame Difficulties return which
prefTed fo hard before: For who is to judge
between the Britifli Parliament and the Provin-
cial Aflemblies in thefe Refpeds ? Who will
venture to afcertain in every Cafe what is ex-
ternal and general ; and what is merely internal
and provincial ? Nay indeed, may not the very
fame Things juflly pafs under both Denomina-
tions, according as they are feen from different
Points of View ?-— Surely they may •, and to
convince any Man of this, let him attend to the
very Catalogue of Articles, Vv'ith which this Gen-
tleman hath himfelf prefented us. For at
Papp 14, he obferves, '• That whatever related
" to the internal Government of any particular
** Colony, fhould be left to the Governor and
" AfTembly of that Colony to tranfad: among
*' themfelves •," amono- which Articles belong-
ino; to internal Government, he enumerates the
buildino; of Barracks^ and of other public Edi-
fices i and yet both he and every Man muft al-
low, that the building of Barracks, of Forts, and
Fortrefifes, the making of King's Docks and Ca-
reening Places for the Navy, the laying out of
military Roads, and the providing of Magazines
for Provifions and military Stores, confidered in
another View, arc of a general Nature-, in the

Eredtioa

[ 177 1

Eredion and Prefervation of which, the whole
Britijh Empire is deeply interefted. And yet
were the Britifli Parliament to frame Laws, and
to levy Taxes on the Americans for thefe Pur-
pofes-^ what Outcries would immediately be
raifed againft the Mother- Country ! Every
Fortrefs, nay every Barrack, would be defcrjbed
as an odious Badge of Slavery ; and every little
Magazine would be termed a Monument of
Tyranny and defpotic Power, and a Prerogative
for deftroying the few Liberties that were left.
Again, at the Bottom of the fame Page, he
declares, that the Authority of Parliament
fhould be employed in fettling the Manner of
quartering the King's droops in the feveral Colonies.
I will not objecSl to the Interpofition of Parlia-
menjt in fuch a Cafe : For well I know, that if
the Parliament did not interfere, the Troops
would very often have no Quarters at all ; and
yet this very Circumftance would afford an
American AfTembly the mod inviting Opportu-
nity for Exclamation and Oppofition. " What!
" The Britifh Parliament to take upon them the
" Manner of quartering Troops in our own
" Province, and 'on our own Inhabitants ! Who
" fo proper Judges as ourfelves, when or where,
" or after what Manner, they fhouid be quar-
" tered? And hov/ came the Gentlemen, met
♦" at IVeftminjier^ to be acquainted with the Cir-
** cumftances of our People, and the Situation
Z " of

[ '78 ]
*' of Places, better than we, who refide on the
« Spot ? No ! Thefe Ads of the Britijh Parlia-
" ment are all barefaced Encroachments on our
" Liberties, and open Violations of our Rights
" and Properties : They are the Chains which
•' our pretended Protedors, but in Reality our
*' Egyptian Tafl<:-Maflers, have been long forging
" for us. Let therefore all unite, and man-
" fully refift them ; let us poftpone the paying
" of Debts, and enter into a general Aflbciation
" to refufe their Goods, to dillrefs their Trade,
" and to harrafs our cruel Enemies by every
*' Method in our Power ; and if we are thus
*' united, they muji yidd^ as they did before.''''
In fhort it would be endlefs to recount all the
Topics which fuch a Scheme as this Gentleman
has propofed would certainly furnifh to every
popular Declaimer in every popular Aflembly ;
and the more improbable, the more abfurd and
unjufl his Harangues were in Point of found
Argument and jufl Reafoning ♦, fo much,
generally fpeaking, the more greedily would
they be received.

However, there is one Point more which I
cannot omit, becaule it will throw a further
Light on this Matter, and difclofe a new Scene
of patriotic Manoeuvres, and the Wiles of Po<
liticians. At Page 13, this Author lays down
a general Rule for the Condud of Parliament
with Refped to America^ viz, " That it ought

" to

[ ^19 ]
^ to be made a llanding Order of both Houfes
" of Parliament, never to pafs any Law, whe-
*^ ther for impofing a Tax, or for regulating
" Trade, or for any other Pnrpofe whatfoever
" relating to any of the American Colonies, 'till
" one whole Year after the firft readino; of the
*' Bill ; nnlefs it be to renew fome expiring
^ Laws of great Importance, and of immediate
^ and urgent NecefTity, fuch as the A61 for
" billeting the King's Troops, and perhaps fome
*' few others that might be fpecially excepted
« in the Order."

This is the Reftri6tion in Point of Time,
which our Author propofes to lay on the Par-
liament of Great-Britain. " They never muft
" pafs any Law for impofing a Tax 'till one
" whole Year after the firft Readingof the Bill :"
Why ?— " In order to give the feveral Colonies
*' an Opportunity of mdiking proper Reprefenta-
'^ iions againft it, and to prevent the Parliament
" from making injudicious Laws, not fuited
" to the Condition of the Colonies." A fine
Contrivance truly ! and a moft effedlual Expe-
dient to prevent the Parliament from ever
making any^ Laws to oblige the Americans to
difcharge their Duty towards their Mother-
Country : For this Gentleman might have
known, indeed it is hardly pofTible, that the
Fad could have efcaped his Notice, had he re-
xiolleded it, that this very Circumftance of a
Z 2 Tear's

[ i8o ]
Tear*s Procraftination was the main Engine em-
ployed to batter down the late Stamp-A6t.
"When the Duty on Stamps was firfl propofed^
the Americans made as little Objedlion to it, as
could be fuppofed to be made to any new Tax
whatever. Nay, feveral of their popular Ora-
tors and Leaders ufed confiderable Intereft to be
employed as Agents in the Diftribution of thefe
Stamps : And one among the reft, whom I need
not name, was more than ordinary afliduous in
his Application on this Head : So that had the
Ad pafled within the ufual Time, inftead of
being a flaming American Patriot, he would pro-
bably have adted the Part of a Tax-Gatherer
and an American Publican. But when the Outs
and the Pouters on this Side the Water, faw the
Advantage which the Minifter gave them by a
whole Year's Delay, they eagerly feizcd the Op-
portunity; EmilTaries and Agents were dif-
patched into all Quarters •,-- the Newfpapers
were filled with invedives againft the new-
intended Tax. It was injudicious !— -it was ill-
timed !— oppreliive ! --tyrannical !— and every
Thing that was bad ! Letters upon Letters were
wrote to America to excite the People to aflbciate,
to remonftrate, and even to revolt. The moft
ample Promifes were made from hence, of giv-
ing them all the AfTiftance which Fadion, and
Clamour, and Mock-patriotifm, could mufter
up. And then it was that this very Man, this

felf.

[ i8i ]

feif-intended Publican, changed Sides, and
commenced a zealous Patriot: Then he ap-
peared at the Bar of the Houfe of Commons to
cry down that very Meafure which he himfelf
had efpoufed ; and then, as the avenging Angel
of America^

He rode in the IVhirhvind to d'tre^ the Storm,
Well, the Storm fell on the Minifter for the
Time being, and overfet him. Our Outs at
Home became the Ins •, and the Storm having
now done its Bufinefs, they had no further Oc-
cafion for it, were its moft obedient humble
Servants, and wifhed it to fubfide. But here
they found thcmfelves egregiouily miflaken.
For the Americans had, in their Turn, learnt the
Art of making Tools of them, inftead of being
made Tools by them : So that having been taught
by thefe Preceptors to feel their own Weight
and Independance, they were not to be wheedled
by foothing and cajoling Letters to give over
their Enterprize, or to become a tradable, obe-
dient People for the future. In fhort, hence it
came to pafs, that even during the Continuance
of this new and favourite Adminiftration, the
American Spirit was rifing all the while, inftead
of finking. And as like Caufes will always pro-
duce like Effe6ts, efpecially fince Things have
been fuffered to grow to luch an Height, evident
it is to common Senfe, that any future Attempt
of the Britijh Parliament to levy a Tax on Ame-
rica^

[ i82 1
ricn^ will meet with no better a Fate than xht
Stamp-A6t has done. Moreover, a Year's De-
lay inlaying it on will bejuftfo much Time given
the Colonies to prepare for Battle ; and Woe
to that Adminiftration which Ihall propofe it ;
for they will certainly be overturned by the fame
Arts and Managements which the former were,
and with much greater Eafe.

I fhould now have done with this Gentleman's
Scheme, were it not that I find him, at Page 2S,
making a Kind of Apology to the Americans for
the Condud of our Parliament in paying the
King's Debts of his Civil Lift. And I own
myfelf more hurt by this Paragraph, than by
all the reft of his Pamphlet : For as 1 am tho-
roughly perfuaded, he wrote from Convidtion,
and not from any finifter Views, one is forry to
find fo able, fo honeft, and upright a Man,
carried away by the Torrent of the Times to
fuch a Degree, as to adopt Notions, which are
almoft too crude for a Club of Livery Politi-
cians met in fome blind Alley at a City Ale-
houfe. His Words are thefe :— " It is certain,
" that no fuch (exorbitant) Grants as are above
" mentioned have been made, unlefs in the fingle
" Inftance of the Sum of 513,0001. granted to
*' his prcfent Majefty for the Difcharge of the
«' Debts of his Civil Lift. And in this Cafe I
" can eafily fuppofe, that a Motive of Com-
« paflion for a Number of innocent Perfons,

" who

[ '83 ]

" who would otherwife have been Sufferers from

" that Load upon his Majefty's Revenue, and

" an affe6lionate Defire of relieving their ex-

" cellent Sovereign (who has in no Inftance en-

" deavoured to violate the Liberties of his Sub-

" jedts) from the unworthy Streights and In-

" conveniences, ill becoming the Royal Dignity,

" into which fome of his Minifters had brought

" him by the injudicious Management of his Re-

" venue^ may have induced many Members of

*' the Houfe of Commons to confent to this

" Grant, without any View to their own private

*' Intereft j though at the fame Time I ac-

*' knowledge it to be, conjidering all its Circum-

*■'- Jiances^ a dangerous Compliance, and not

" worthy to be drawn into Example."

Now if the Compliance of the Parliament
in difcharging this Debt was dangerous, the
Reafon mull be, becaufe the Circumftance of
contracting the Debt itfelf was really infamous ;
therefore ought not to be avowed, but had
better be fupprefled in Tendernefs to the Royal
Caufe. But can this Author point out any fuch
infamous Circumitances, if he were minded to
make the Difcovery ? — I dare anfwer for him,
that he cannot. And as I will not fuppofe that
he has more Tales to tell than any other private
Gentlemen, or much lefs that he himfelf was
an Accomplice in, or privy to any fuch Scenes
of Iniquity as are here infmuated,---! will now

under-

[ i84 ]
undertake to prove to him and the World, how
as great a Debt as this, nay a much greater,
might have been contracfled in the Space of ten
Years, without the leaft Impeachment of Wafte,
Profufion, Mifmanagement, or any other Mis-
application, whatfoever.

Every Office, Dignity, Rank, or Station, has
a certain Charadler to fuftain, which neceflarily
requires a corrcfpondent Train of Expenccs •,
fo that whether you confider the Demands upon
a King with a Salary of 8oo,qoo1 a Year, or
the Demands on a private Gentleman with only
a clear Rental of 800I. a Year, the Scale of Er-
pences muft be proportionate, the Demands
and Expences being relative one to the other.

We will therefore reafon on what we are moil
converfant with (and with Refpeft to which we
may be allowed to be competent Judges) viz,
on the Cafe of a young Gentleman of a refpec-
table antient Family, juft come to take Poflef-
fion of an Eftate, which clears him 800I. a Year.

I ft. Therefore, being appointed Sheriff of
the County, he muft and ought to go through
that expenfive Office in fuch a Manner as would
refle6l no Difgrace on himfelf, or the refpeda-
ble Family from which he is defcended (and
the Office of Sheriff" belonging to a private
Gentleman is of much the fame Import in Point
of Expence, as the Circumftances of a Coronation
in refped to Majefty.)

2dly.

[ 185 ]

2dly. Many Deaths and Funerals within the
above-mentioned Period create another Article
of Expence, which mufl be borne ; with this
peculiar Circumftance attending it, That tho'
he muft bury a Grandfather fuitably to his
Rank, alfo an Uncle, Aunts, a Brother and
Sifters, — yet he himfelf acquires no Addition of
Fortune by their Deceafes.

3dly. Several M^m^^^^ in the Family, and
his own* in particular, bring on a third Charge,
which furely in Reafon and Confcience ought not
to be obje6led to.

4thly. Six or feven Chriftenings and Lyings-
in, cxpenfive Articles in all Families, necefla-
rily happen from the Circumftance of the Cafe,
to be peculiarly expenfive in this : And yet

* Some fhrewd Politicians have been wife enough to afk.
Why did not his Majefty's marry a large Fortune y in order to
re-imburfe fome of thefe Expences ? — What large Fortune
would thefe Wifeacres have vvifhed him to have married ?
A Duchy or Principality on the Continent, in order to en-
gage us ftill more in Continental Meafures ? — Or was it to
be a large landed Eftate at Home, to be annexed to the
Crown, like another "Dvitchy oi Lancajler ? — This would
have }iad a fine Influence on Eledlioneering, and Englijh
Liberties.— But perhaps they meant, that he fhould have
gone into the City, and have paid his AddrefTes to Mifs
Plumbe. the rich Grocer's Daughter, Q>rtoM\k Re/counters
the Heirefs of the great Broker in Change- Alley. And
to be fure, fuch a Match as this would have correfponded
rarely well with the fublime Ideas of City-Politics. ' Our
antient Nobility would have been delighted in giving the
Precedency to fuch illullrious Princes of the Blood.

A a neither

[ i86 ]
neither the young Gentleman hlmfclf, nor any
of his Friends and Well-wifhers to the Family,
ought to be fuppofed even to have wifhed to
have faved thsfe extraordinary Charges.

5thly. A Train of unexpected Vifitants bring
on another heavy Load j and though they were
not invited, yet, as they chofe to come, they
muft be received with an Hofpitality fuitable to
his and their Dignity, and the Relation of Friend-
fhip and Family- Ties fubfifting between them.

Add to all this, 6thly, The uncommon Dear-
nefs of all Sorts of Provifions, which for fome
Tears piaft hath exceeded" any Thing known in
former Times •, and which alone hath adually
fwelled the Amount of Houfe-keeping in every
Family to a very corifiderable Sum.

Now the young Gentleman having fupported
himfelf under thefe feveral PrefTures and growing
Expences for ten Years togedier, at laft is
obliged to requeft his near-eft Friends and deareft
Relations to grant him fome AfTiftance ; be-
caufe he is 513I. or almoft three S^iarters of a
Tear in Debt. Heavens ! What a Sum ! And
is this all againft which luch loud Outcries have
been raifed ? Yes, this is all ! Indignant Reader,
whoever thou art, Englijhman or American^ lay
thy Hand on thy Heart, and aflc thyfelf this
plain Queftion, What wouldft thou have
thought of fuch a young Man, had he been
thine own Son, thy Grandlbn, or the Heir-ap-
parent

[ 1^7 3
.parent of thy Fortune ? And what Sort of
Treatment would he have deferved at thy
Hands ? Therefore, mutato nomine. — But I will
add no more : Let Nature and Humanity,
Juflice and Equity, plead their own Caufe.

We have now, I think,very iufficiently difculTed
every Part ofthis Gentleman's Plan: Nay,wehave
amply and particularly fhewn, that his iVpology
to the Americans in Behalf of the Briti/Ji Par-
liament, for paying the Arrears of his Majefly's
Civil Lift, was quite a needlefs Thing. For if
no ftronger Proofs can be brought of their Ve-
nality and Corruption than this Inflance, they
flill may be fafely trufted with the Guardianlhip
Ol thofe Liberties and Properties, which they
have hitherto not only preferved, but alfo
ilrengthened and encreafed to a Degree unknown
before in this, or any other Country. In one
Word, the Scheme of an Union under our pre-
fent Confideration, is of fuch a Nature, as
would neceffarily tend to exafperate both Parties,
inftead of mollifying or reconciling either.
And as the Americans have already given us to
underitand, both in their Provincial AfTemblies,
and at their General Congrefles, that they will
not accept of an Union with us ; and as
Great Britain ought not to petition for it-, furely
more need not be added for laying the Scheme
afide. Indeed the Gentleman himielf, towards
xhe Clofe of his Pamphlet, exprefles but little
A a 2 Hopes

[ i88 ]

Hopes of its Succefs : For, after all, the beft
Ufe he can put it to, feems to be the Juftifi-
cation of the Mother-Country in declaring War
againft the Colonies, in order to oblige them to
fubmit to her Authority, and to return to their
Obedience. So that this Scheme of Pacification
is to end in a War at laft. Therefore we are
now come to confider the

THIRD SCHEME.

The Expediency of having Recourfe to
Arms, in order to compel the Colonies to fub-
mit to the Authority and Jurifdidion of the
fupreme Council of the Britifh Empire, the
Parliament of Great-Britain,

In regard to which important Point, the
Gentleman reafons after the following Manner :
— " After fuch an Offer (of an Union, as above
♦' deferibed) and the contemptuous Refufal of
" it by the Colonies, we may well fuppofe, that
" they (the Inhabitants of Great-Britain) will
*' a6l as one Man, to fupport the juft and law-
*' ful, and neceifary Authority of the fupreme
*' Legiflfiture of the BritiJIi Nation over all the
*' Dominions of the Crown. The Juftice of their
*' Caufe will give Vigour to their Meafures •, and
*' the Colonies that fhall have the Folly and Pre-
" fumption to refift them, will be quickly re-
" duced to Obedience."

It is polTible, nay indeed it is verj^ probable,
that if a War was to be fpeedily undertaken,

before

[ i89 ]

before Great-Britain and Ireland had been too
-much exhaufted of their Inhabitants, emiorrating
to North-America^— xhz Forces of the Mother-
Country might prevail, and America^ however
unwilling, be forced to fubmit. But alas !
Vi(5lory alone is but a poor Compenfation for all
the Blood and Treafure which muft be fpilt on
fuch an Occafion. Not to mention, that after a
Conqueil of their Country, the Americans would
certainly be lefs difpofed, even than they are at
prefect, to become our good Cufbomers, and
to take our Manufadlures in return for thofe In-
juries and Oppreflions which they had fufFered
from us :— I fay. Injuries and Oppreffwns -, be-
caufe the Colonies would moft undoubtedly
give no fofter an Appellation to this Conquefl",
tho' perhaps it would be no other in itfelf, than
a juil Chaftifement for the manifold Offences
they had committed. Moreover, as the Ameri-
cans are endeavouring even at prefent to fet up
all Sorts of mechanic Trades in order to rival us,
or at kail to fuperfede the Ufe of our Manu-
factures in their Country,— can any Man fup-
pofe, that their Ardor for fetting up Manufac-
tures would be abated, by their being forced to
deal at the one only European Shop, which they
moil detefted ?

But what is ilill worfe, if pofTible,— though
the Briti//iT roops m.ight over-run the great Con-
tinent cf North- America at firft, it doth by no

Means

[ igo ]
Means follow, that they could be able to main-
tain a Superiority in it afterwards for any Length
of Time ; and my Reafon is, becaufe the go-
verning of a Country after a Peace, is a much
more arduous Taflc, in certain Circumflances,
than the conquering it during a War. Thus
for Example, when a Peace enfues (and furely
it is not intended that we fhall be for ever in a.
State of War) then a civil Conilitution of fome
Kind or other mufh necefTarily be eflablifhed ;
and in the Cafe before us, there feems to be nQ
other Alternative, but either the permitting the
Colonies to enjoy once more thofe Advan-s-
tages of Englijh Liberty, and of an Englijli
Conftitution, which they had forfeited; or
elfe a Refolution to govern them for the
future by arbitrary Sway and defpotic Power.
If the latter fhould be the Plan adopted,
I then humbly fubmit it to be duly weighed
and confidered, what a baleful Influence
this Government a la Prujfe would have
on every other Part of the BritiJJi Empire.
England free, and America in Chains ! And how
foon would the enflaved Part of the Conftitution,
and perhaps the greater, contaminate the free
and the lefTer ? Nay, as America was found to
encreafe in Strength and Numbers, an Army of
Englijh-born Soldiers (for no others could be
trufted) firft of 50,000, and afterwards per-
haps of loOjOoOj would fcarccly be fiifficient

t«>

[ 19^ 1
to keep thefe tuibulent Spirits in Awe, and to
prevent them, at fuch a prodigious Diftance
from the Center of Government, from break-
ing out into Infurredlions and Rebellions ac
every favourable Opportunity. But if the
former were to prevail, and a Return of Englifli
Liberties was again to take Place, it mud aifo
follow, that the Syftem of Trials by Juries
mud return with them : And then, when Ame^
rica fhall grow ftronger and (tronger every Day,
and England proportionably weaker, how is an
Infurredtion to be quelled in America ? And
what Englijh Officer, civil or military, v;ouId
dare to do it ? Nay, I afk further, granting that
he was fo brave, or rather fo fool- hardy, as to
attempt to do his Duty, who is to proted: him,
in the Execution of his Office ? Or how is he
to be preferved, by due Forms of Law ^ againfl:
the Determination of an American Jury ? A
Tumuk is excited ;— -the Military is called
forth i--the Soldiers are infulted j— many per-
haps wounded, and fome even killed. The
Patience of the Officers worn out, and in their
own Defence, they are obliged to give the Word
of Command to fire. The Relations of thofc
who fell by this Fire, bring on an Appeal of
Blood. The American Jury find the Officers
who commanded, and perhaps the whole Corps
who fired, guilty of wilful Murder ; and then
all the Power of the Crown, legally exerted^ is

not

' [ 192 ]

not able to fave the Lives of thefe poor innocent
Men. Pitiable fure is fuch a Cafe •, and yet it
is a Cafe which would and muft frequently then
happen in the natural Courfe of Things, accord-
ing to our legal Conftitution.'

Perhaps it might be faid, that American
Juries are as confcientious as other Juries in
bringing in their Verdids according to Law 5
and that it is very uncharitable even to fuppofe
the contrary. — Be it fo : But the Queftion here
turns on. What v/ill be the Suggellions of Con-
fcience in the Breail of an American on fuch
an Occafion ?--What would be his Ideas of
Law, Juftice, or Equity, when England and

America flood in Competition ? Certainly,

if ever the Inhabitants of that Country fhould
come (and they are almoft come already) to be
fully perfuaded, that the Briti/h Parliament hath
no Ricrht to make Laws either to tax or to go-
vern them [and the having once beaten them
will not be taken as a convincing Proof that
we always have either the Right or the Power
to beat them] then every Attempt towards
throwing off this odious Yoke, would appear in
their Eye, as fo many noble Struggles for the
Caufe of Liberty : And therefore the bafe
Englijh Hireling, who would dare to injure this
facred Caufe, deferved to die a thoufand Deaths.
Such undoubtedly would be the Language, and
fuch the Sentiments of the great Majority of

Americans^

t 193 1

'Americans^ whenever fuch a Cafe Jfhould happen,'
In a Word, an erroneous Confcience, and a
fahe Zeal, would have juft the fame bad EfFeds
in the new World refpe6ling civil Government,
as they have formerly had in the old, in regard to
Religion : And therefore, either Way, whether
we fhould treat thefe Americans as an enllaved
People, or whether we fhould reftore to them,
after a Conqueft, the fame Conftitution which
we enjoy ourfelves, the final Event would come
to this, — That England would be the greateft
Sufferer •, and that America is not to be governed
againfl its own Inclinations. Wherefore let us
now come to the

FOURTH SCHEME,

Vi%> To con fen t that America fhould become
the general Seat of Empire, and that Great-
Britain and Ireland^ fhould be governed by
Vice-Roys fent over from the Court Refidencies
either at Philadelphia^ or New-Tork^ or at fome
other American Imperial City.

Now, wild as fuch a Scheme may appear^
there are certainly fom.e Americans who ferioufly
embrace it : And the late prodigious Swarms
of Emigrants encourage them to fuppofe, that
a Time is approaching, when the Seat of Em-
pire mufl be changed. But whatever Events
may be in the Womb of Time, or whatever
Revolutions may happen in the Rife and Fall
®f Empires, there is not the leafl Probability,
B b • t4iat

[ 194 ]
that this Country fhould ever become a Pr(y-
vince to North- America, For granting even,
that it would be fo weakened and enfeebled by
thefe Colony-Drains, as not to be able to defend
itfelf from Invaders, yet America is at too great
a Diflance to invade it at firft, much lefs to de-
fend the Conqueft of it afterwards, againft the
neighbouring Powers of Europe, And as to
any Notion that we ourfelves fhould prefer ark
American.YokG to any other,-— this Suppofition
is chimerical indeed : Becaufe it is much more
probable, were Things to come to liich a dread-
ful Crifis, that the Englijh would ratlier fubmit
to a French Yoke, than to an American j as being
the leffer Indignity of the two* So that in fhort,
if we muft reafon in, Politics according to the
Newtonia?2 Principles in Philofophyj^-the Idea
of the lelfer Country gravitating towards the
greater, muft lead us to conclude, that this
Jfland would rather gravitate towards the Con-
tinent of Europe^ than towards the Continent of
America •, unlels indeed we j[hould add one Ex-
travagance to another, by fuppofmg that thefe
American Heroes are to conquer all the- World.
And in that Cafe I do allow, that England muft
become a Province to America, But

Sohmen mifi^ris f&cios hahuijfe dolcris.
. , .P I s M I s s I N G therefore this Idea, as an
idle Dream, we- . come now laftly to confider
the-

FIFTH SCHEME.

[ ^95 1
FIFTH SCHEME, Viz.

To propofe to feparate entirely from the
North' American Colonies, by declaring them to
be a free and independent People, over whom
we lay no Claim ; and then by offering to guar-
rantee this Freedom and Independence again ft:
all foreign Invaders whatever.

And, in fadl, what is all this but the natural
and even the necelTary Corollary to be deduced
from each of the former Reafons and Obferva-
tions ? For if we neither can govern the Ante-
cansy nor be governed by them; if we can*
neither unite with them, nor ought to fubdue
them ;— what remains, but to part with them
on as friendly Terms as we can ? And if any
Man fliould think that he cati reafon better from
the above Fremifes, let him try.

But as the Idea of Separation, and the
giving up the Colonies for ever will fhock many
weak People, who think, that there is neither
Happinefs nor Security but in an over-grown
unweildy Empire, I will for their Sakes enter
into a Difcuflion of the ftippofed Difadvantages
attending fuch a Disjundlion ; and then fhall
fet forth the manifold Advantages.

The firfl and capital fuppofed Advantage is,
57;^/, if we feparate from the Colonies, we fJiall
lofe their Trade. But why fo ? And how does this
appear ? The Colonies, we know by Experience,
will trade with any People, even with their bit-
Bb 2 terell

[ 196 ]

tercft Enemies, during the hotteft of a War,
and a War undertaken at their own earrieft Re-
queft, and for their own Sakes •,— the Colonies,
I fay, will trade even with them, provided they
jfhall find it their Intereft fo to do. Why then
(hould any Man fuppofe, that the fame Self-
Intereil will not induce them to trade with us ?
With us, I fayj who are to commit no Hoftilities
againft them, but on the contrary, are ftill to
remain, if they pleafe, their Guardians and
Protedors >^^^^^a 3V£;. ,i^i -Webi-

l^jRANTiNG, therefore, that North-America
was to become independent of us, and we of
them, the Queftion now before us will turn on
this fingle Point,-— Can theColonifts, in a general
Way, trade with any other European State 'to
greater Advantage than they can with Great-
Britain ? If they can, they certainly will ; but
if they cannot, we fnall ftill retain their Cuftom,
notwithftanding we have parted 'with every

] Claim of Authority and Jurifdidlion over them.

"Kow, the native Commodities and Merchan-
dize of North- America^ which are the moft fale-
able at an European Market, are chiefly Lumber,
Ships, Iron, Train- Oil, Flax-Seed, Skins, Furs,
Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, Pearl-Aflies, Indigo,
Tobacco, and Rice. And I do aver, that, ex-
cepting Rice and Tobacco, there is hardly one
of thefe Articles, for which an American (Cbiild
get fo good a Price any where clfe, as he can in
^ " ' Great-

i

[ 197 ]
Qreat'Britain and Ireland, Nay, I ought to
have excepted only Rice •, for as to Tobacco,
tho' great Quantities of it are re-exported into
France^ yet it is well known, that the French
might raife it at Home, if they would, much
cheaper than they can import it from our Co-
lonies. The Fadt is this, — The Farm of To-
bacco is one of the great five Farms, which
make up the chief Part of the Royal Revenue ;
and therefore the Farmers General, for Bye-
Ends of their own, have hitherto had Intereft
enough with the Court to prohibit the Cultiva-
tion of it in * Old France^ under the fevereft Pe-
nalties. But neverthelcfs the real French Pa-
triots, and particularly the Marquis de Mirabeau,
have fully dcmonftrated, that it is the Intereft
of the French Government to encourage the Cul-
tivation of it ; and have pointed out a fure and
eafy Method for coUedbing the Duties •,— which
was the fole Pretence of the Farmers General for
foliciting a Prohibition. So that it is appre-
hended, xhdit.th^^ French Government will ^ at

^ — < '''" "-<Jj i^DhV" ■

* Great Quanthias of Tobacco are permitted to be raifed
in Frer.ch-F landers y Jlfacey and all the Pai's conquifes,
i. "e. the newly conquerea Prcvinces ; becaufe the Inhabitants
of thefe Countries are indulged in many Liberties, which
are denied to the Provinces of Old France. But the
Farmers General keep a llridl Watch, that, none of this
Tobacco fhall be permitted to be carried into Old France,
except by themfelves or their Agents. And the Penalty
agaiiift Smuggling in this Cafe is very cruel andfcvere.

laft

, [ '98 ]

Jail: open their Eyes in this Refped, and allow
the Cultivation of it. Tobacco therefore being
likely to be foon out of the Queftion, the only
remaining Article is Rice : And this, it muft:
be acknowledged, would bear a better Price at
the Hamburgh or Butch Markets than it gene-
rally doth in England, But as this is only one
Article, out of many, it lliould be further con-
fidered, that even the Ships which import Rice
into England^ generally bring fuch other Pro-
duce as would not be faleabl^ to Advantage
in other Parts of Europe : So that there is nq
great Caufe to fear, that we fliould confiderahly
lofe the Trade even of this Article, were the
Colonies to be difmembered from us. Not to
mention that all the Coafls of the Mediterranean
and the South of Europe arc already fupplied
with Rice from the Colonies, in the fame Man-
ner as if there had been an aflual Separation \
—no Rice-Ship bound to any Place South of
Cape-Einiftere being at all obliged to touch at
any Port of Great -Britain, So much, therefore,
as to the flaple Exports of the Colonies.

Let us now confider their Imports, And
here one Thing is very clear and certain. That
whatever Goods, Merchandize, or Manufactures,
the Merchants of Great Britain can fell to the
reft of Europe^ they might fell the fame to lie
Colonies, if wanted : Becaufe it is evident, that
the Colonics could not purchafe fuch Goods at

a

i m 1

a cheaper Rate at any other European Markets
Now, let any one caft his Eye over the Bills of
Exports from London^ Briftol^ Liverpool^ Hull^
Glafgow^ &c. Sec. and then he will foon difcovef
that excepting Gold and Silver Lace, Wlne^^
and Brandies, fome Sorts of Silks and Linens,
and perhaps a little Paper and Gun-powder j 1
fay, excepting thefe few Articles, Gredu
Britain is become a Kind of a * general Mart
for moft other Commodities : And indeed were
it not fo, hov/ is it conceivable, that fo little a
Spot as this Ifland could have made fuch a J'i-
gurc either in Peace or War, as it hath lately
done ? How is it polTible, that after having con-
traded a Debt of nearly One Hundred and
Forty Millions, we fhould neverthelefs be able
to make more rapid Progrefles in all Sorts of
Improvements, ufeful and ornamental, public
and private, agricolic and commercial, than
any other nation ever did? — Fa<5l it is, that
thefe Improvements have been made of late
Years, and are daily making: And Fa^ls
are ftubborn Things.

* I am credibly informed, that it appears by Extrads
from the Cuftom-houfe Books, that more E?iglijh Goods are
fent up the tv/o Rivers of Germany^ the Wefer and the Elbe^
than up any two Rivers in North- America. Yet theiVor//^-
Americans and their Partifans are continually upbraiding us^
as if we enjoyed no Trade, worth mentioning, except that
with the Colonies.

But,

[ 200 ]

But, fays the Objedor, you allow, that Gold
and Silver Lace,- -that Wines and Brandies,—
fome Sorts of Silks,-— fome Sorts of Paper,
Gunpowder, and perhaps other Articles, can
be purchafed at certain European Markets oa
cheaper Terms than they can m England: And
therefore it follows^ that we fhould certainly
lofe thefe Branches of Commerce by a Separa-
tion, even fuppofing that we could retain the
refl.^ Indeed even this doth not follow; becaufc
we have loft them already, as far as it was the
intereft of the Colonies, that we fhould lofc
them. And if any Man can doubt of this, let
him but confider, that the Lumber, and Prb-
vifion-Veirels, which are continually running
down from Bofton^ Rhode-JJland^ New-Tork^
Philadelphia^ Charles -T own , &c. &c. to Marti-
nico, and the other French Iflands, bring Home
in return not only Sugars and MolafTes, but
alfo French Wines, Silks, Gold and Silver Lace,
and in Ihort every other Article, in which they
can find a profitable Account : Moreover thofe
Ships, which fail to Eiiftatia and Curacoa^ trade
with the Biitch^ and confequently with all the
North of Europe^ on the fame Principle. And
as the Ships which fteer South of Cape-Finiftere^
what do they do ?---Doubtlefs, they purchafe
v/hatever Commodities they find it their Intereft
to purchafe, and carry them Home to North-
Amtrka. Indeed what fhould hinder them from

acting

^fting agreeably to their own Ideas of Advan-
tage in thefe Refpedls ? The Cuflom-houfe
Officers, perhaps, you may fay, will hinder them.
But alas ! the Cuftom-houfe Officers of North-
America^ if they were ten Times more numerous,
and ten Times more uncorrupt than they are,
could not poffibly guard a tenth Part of the
Coaft. In jfhort thefe Things are fo very no-
torious that they cannot be difputed; and
therefore, were the whole Trade of North-
America to be divided into two Branches, viz,
the Voluntary^ refulting from a free Choice of
of the Americans themfelves, purfuing their
own Intereft, and the Involuntary^ in Confe-
qucnce of compulfory Ads of the Britijh Par-
liament;—- this latter would appear fo very
fmall and inconfiderable, as hardly to deferve
a Name in an Eftimate of national Commerce.

The 2d Obje6lion againft giving up the Co-
lonies is, that fuch aMeafure would greatly de-
creafe our Shipping and Navigation, and con-
fequently diminilh the Breed of Sailors. But
this Obje6lion has been fully obviated already :
For if we fhall not lofe our Trade, at lead iri
any important Degree, even with the northern
Colonies (and moft probably we fliall encreafe ic
with other Countries) then it follows, that nei-
ther the Quantity of Shipping, nor the Breed
of Sailors, can fuffer any cpnfiderable Dimi-
C c nution :

[ 202 J

nution : So that this Suppofition is merely
a Panic, and has no Foundation. Not to men-
tion, that in Proportion as the Americans fhal!
be obliged to exert themfelves to defend their
own Coafts, in Cafe of a War ; in the fame
Proportion fliall Great -Britain be exonerated
from that Burden, and fiiali have more Ships
and Men at command to protedl her own
Channel Trade, and for other Services.
. The 3d Objedioa is. That if we were to give
up thefe Colonies, the French would take im-
mediate PofTeflion of them. Now this Ob-
jection is entirely built on the following very
wild, very extravagant, and abfurd Suppofitions.»
ift, It fuppofes, that the Colonifl's themfelves^
who cannot brook our Government, would
like a French one much better. Great- Brit ain^
it feems, doth not grant them Liberty enough ;
and therefore they have Recourfe to France to
obtain more :— That is, in plain Englijh^ our
mild and limitted Government, where Preroga-
tive is afcertained by Law, where every Man'
is at Liberty to feek for Redrefs, and where po-
pular Clamours too often carry every Thing
before them,— is neverthelefs too fevere, too
opprefTive, and too tyrannical for the Spirits and
Genius of Americans to bear; and therefore
they v/ill apply to an arbitrary, defpotic Govern-
ment, where the People have no Share in the

Lc-

[ 203 1

Leglflature, where there is no Liberty of the
Prefs, and where General Warrants and Lettres
des cachets are /rr^?/^/^/^,— in order to enjoy greater
Freedoms than they have at prefent, and to be
refcued from the intolerable Yoke, under which
they now groan. What monftrous Abfurdities
are thefe ! But even this is not all : For thefe
Americans are reprdented by this Suppofition,
as not only preferring a French Government to-
a Britij\ but even to a Government of their
own modelling and chufing I For after they are
fet free from any SubmifTion to their Mother-
Country •, after they are told, that for the fu-
ture they muft endeavour to pleafe themfelves,
feeing we cannot pleafe them i then, inftead of
attempting to frame any popular Governments
for redreffing thofe Evils, of which they now
fo bitterly complain,- -they are reprefented as
throwing themfelves at once into the Arms of
France •,— the Republican Spirit is to fubfide ;
the Dodrine of pafTive Obedience and Non-
refiitance is to fucceed ; and, inftead of fetting
up for Freedom and Independence, they are
to glory in having the Honour of being num-
bered among the Slaves of the Grand Monarch !
But 2dly, this Matter may be further con-
fidered in another Point of Viev/ : For if it
fliould be faid, that the Americans might flill
retain their Republican Spirit, tho' they fub-
C c 2 mitted

[ 204 1

mitted to a French Government, becaufe the
Frenchy through Policy, would permit them fo
to do ; then it remains to be confidered, whether
any arbitrary Government can 'difpenfe with
fuch Liberties as a republican Spirit will require.
An abfolute Freedom of the Prefs ! No con-
troul on the Liberty either of Speaking or
Writing on Matters of State ! Newfpapers and
Pamphlets filled with the bittereft Invedives
againft the Meafures of Government ! AfToci-
ations formed in every Quarter to cry down
Miniflerial Hirelings, and their Dependents !
The Votes and Refolutions of the Provincial
AfTemblies to affert their own Authority and In-
dependence I No landing of Troops from Old
France to quell Infurredlions ! No raifmg of
new Levies in America / No quartering of
Troops ! No building of Forts, or ercding of
Garrifons ! And, to fum up all, no raifing of
Money without the exprefs Confent and Appro-
bation of the Provincial American Parliaments
firft ; obtained for each of thefe Purpofes !
— Now I aflc any reafonable Man whether thefe
Things are compatible with any Idea of an ar-
bitrary, defpotic Government ? — Nay more,
whether the French King himfelf, or his Mi-
niilers, would wifli to have fuch Notions as
thefe inftilled into the Subjeds of Old France ?
Yet inftilled they muft be, while a Communi-
cation

[ 205 ]

cation Is kept open between the two Countries 5
while Correfpondences are carried on ; Letters,
Pamphlets, and Newlpapers, pafs and re-pafs ;
and in Ihort, while the Americans are permitted
to come into France^ and Frenchmen into Ame-
rica, So much therefore as to this Clafs of Ob-
jections. Indeed I might have infilled further,
ihdit Great-Britain alone could at any Time pre-
vent fuch an Acquifition to be made by France^
as is here fuppofed, if fhe fhould think it ne-
necelTary to interfere, and if fuch an Acqui-
fition of Territory would really and truly be an
Addition of Strength in the political Balance
and Scale of Power *. But furely 1 have faid

enough ;

aono5 ■

* The Phasnomenon of that prodigious Increafe of
Trade, which this Country has experienced fince the happy-
Revolution, is what few People can explain ; and therefore
they cut the Matter Ihort, by afcribing it all to the Growth
of our Colonies ; But the true Principles and real Caufes
of that amazing Increafe, are the following :

1. The SuppreiTion of various Monopolies and exclufive
Companies exifting before, for foreign Trade.

2. The opening of Corporations, or the undermining of
exclufive Privileges and Companies of Trade at Home j or,
what comes to the fame Thing, the eluding of their bad
pffedls by Means of legal Decifions in our Courts of Law.
AndN. B. The like Obfervation extends to the Cafe of
evading the Penalties of the Adt 5th of Queen Elizabeth^
againft exercifing thofe Trades, to which Perfons have not
icrved regular Apprenticefhips.

3. The Nurfmg up of new Trades and new Branches of
Commerce by Means of Bounties, and national Premiums,
'-- - 4. The

[ 206 ]

enough •, and therefore let us now haften briefly
to point out

J^ke manifold Advantages attendant onfuch a Scheme.
And I ft, A Disjun6tion from the northern
Colonies would efFedtually put a Stop to our
prefent Emigrations. By the Laws of the Land
it is made a capital Offence to inveigle Arti-
ficers and Mechanics to leave the Kingdom.
But this Law is unhappily fuperfeded at pre-
fent as far as the Colonies are concerned.
Therefore when they come to be difmembered
from us, it will operate as ftrongly againft
them, and their Kidnappers^ as againft others.
And here it may be worth while to obferve,
that the Emigrants, who lately failed in fuch

Mul-

4. The giving of Drawbacks, or the Return of Duties on
the Exportation of fuch Goods, as were to have paid a Duty,
if ufed and confumed at Home.

5. The Repeal of Taxes formerly laid on raw Materials
coming into the Kingdom. 'See 8 G.I. C. 15.

6. The Repeal of Taxes formerly laid on our own Ma-
nufadlures, when exported. See ditto.

7. The Improvements in various Engines, with new In-
ventions and Difcoveries for the Abridgment of La-
bour.

8. Better Communications eftabliihed throughout the
Kingdom by Means of Turnpike Roads and Canals, and
the fpeedy Conveyance of Letters to every great Town and
noted Place of Manufadlure, by Means of Improvements in
the Poft-Office.

9. Happy Difcoveries and Improvements in Agriculture
and in the mechanic Arts.

10. Larger

[ 207 ]

Multitudes from the North of Scotland^ arid
more efpecially from the North of Ireland^
were far from being the mofl indigent, or the
lead capable of fubfifting in the^r own Country;
No-, it was not Poverty or NecelTity which
compelled, but Ambition which enticed them
to iorfake their native Soil. For after they
began to tafte the Sweets of Induflry, and to
partake of the Comforts of Life, then they
became a valuable Prey for thefe Harpies.
In fhort, fuch were the Perfons to whonri
thefe Seducers principally applied ; becaufe
they found that they had gotten fome little
Subftance together worth devouring. They
therefore told them many plaufible Stories —
that if they would emigrate to North- America^

lo. Larger Capitals than ufual employed both in Hd*--
bandry and Manufadures ; alfo in the Importation and
Exportation of Goods.

Now all thefe Things, co-operating together, would
render any Country rich and flouriftiing, whether it had
Colonies or not : And this Country in particular would
have found the happy EfFe£ls of them to a much greater De-
gree than it now doth, were they not counter-afted by our
Luxury, our Gambling, our frequent ruinous and ex-
penfive Wars, our Colony-Drains, and by that ill-gotten^j^
and ill-fpent Wealth, which .was obtained by robbing, plun-
dering, and ftarving the poor defencelcfs Natives, of the
E aji- Indie s . — A Species of Villainy this, for which the
Englijh Language had not a Name, 'till it adopted the
Word Nabghing,

they

[208]
they might Rave Eftates for nothing, and be-
come Gentlemen for ever; whereas, if they
remained at Home, they had nothing to ex-
pert beyond the Condition of a wretched
Journeyman, or a fmall laborious Farmer.
Nay, one of thefe falfe Guides was known
to have put out public Advertifements, fome
few Years ago, in the North of Ireland^ wherein
he engaged to carry all, who ^ would follow
him, into fuch a glorious Country, where
there was neither Tax, nor Tithe, nor Land-
lord's Rent to be paid. This was enough:
It took with Thoufands : And this he might

fafely engage to do. But at the fame

Time, he ought to have told them (as
Bi(hop Berkley in his Queries juftly obfe.rves)
That a Man may pofTefls twenty Miles
fquare in this glorious Country, and yet riot
be able to get a Dinner.

2dly. Another great Advantage to be de-
rived from a Separation is,, that we Ihall
then fave between 3 and 400,000!. a Year,,
by being difcharged from the Payment of
any civil or military Eflablifhment belong-
ing to the Colonies : — For which generous
Benefaction we receive at prefent no other
Return than Inv^edlives and Reproaches.

3dly. The ceafmg of the Payment of
Bounties on certain Colony Produ6lions will

be

[ 209 ]

be another great Saving •, perhaps not lefs
than 200,000]. a Year: And it is very re-
markable, that the Goods imported from
the Colonies in Confequence of thefe Boun-
ties, could not have been imported into any
other Part of Europe^ were there a Liberty
to do it ; becaufe tlie Freight and firil Coft
would have amounted to more than they
could be fold for : So that in Fadt we
give Premiums to the Colonies for felling
Goods to us, which would r.ot have been
fold at all any where elfe. However, when
the prefent Bounties fhail ceafe. we may
then cdnfider, at our Leifure, whether it
would be right to give them again, or not i
and we fhall have it totally in our Power
to favour that Country mod, which will
fhew the greatefl Favour to us, and to our
Manufadlures.

4thly. When we are no longer conne6led
with the Colonies by the imaginary Tie
df an Identity of Government, then cur
Merchant-Exporters and Manufadlurers will-
have a better Chance of having their Debts
paid, than they have at prefenf ': For ;^s
Matters now fti*nd, the Colonifts chufe to
carry their rea^'y Cafh to other Nations,
while they afe^ Icotitradirig Debts with "their
Mother-Country ; with -whom they think
they can take greater Liberties : And pr'j-
D d vided

[ 210 J

vided they are trufled, they care not to
what Amount this Debt fhall rife :— For-
when the Time for Payment draws on, they
are feized with a Fit of Patriotifm -, and
then Confederacies and AfTociations are to
difcharge all Arrears; or, at leaft, are to
poftpone the Payment of them Jtne die.

5thly. After a Separation from the Co-
lonies, our Influence over them will be
much greater than ever it was, fince they
began to feel their own Weight and Im^
portance : For at prefent we are looked
upon in. no better a Light than that of
Robbers and Ufurpers ; whereas, we fhall
then be confidered as their ProteAors, Me-
diators, Benefa6lors. The Moment a Sepa-
ration takes EtFe6t, inteftine Quarrels will
begin: For it is well known, that the
Seeds of Difcord and DifTention between
Province and Province are now ready to
fhoot forth ; and that they are only kept
down by the prefent Combination of all
the Colonies ag^nft us, whom they un-
happily fancy to be their conman Enemy,
When therefore this Objed of their Ha-
tred fliall be removed by a Declaration on
our Parts, that, fo far from ufurping all
Authority, we, from henceforward, will af-
fume none at all againfl their own Confent ;
the weaker Provinces will intrcat our Pro-
tection.

I 211 1

teftion againfl: the ftronger; and the lefs
cautious againfl: the more crafty and dc-
figning: So that in (hort, in Proportion as
their fadious, republican Spirit fhall in-
trigue and cabal, ihall fplit into Parties,
divide, and fub-divide, — in the fame Pro-
portion ihail we be called in to become
their general -Umpires and Referees. Not
to mention, that many of the late and pre-
fent Emigrants, when they fhall fee thefe
Storms arifing all around them, and when
their promifed earthly Paradife turns out
to be a dreary, unwholefome, inhofpitable,
and howling Wildernefs,— many of them, I
fay, will probably return to us again, and
take Refuge at lafl: in Old England^ with
all its Faults and Imperfe6lions.

Lastly. Our Weft-India Iflands them-
felves will receive fignal Benefit ^by this
Separation. Indeed their Size and Situation
render them incapable of fubftradling all
Obedience from us ; and yet the bad
Precedents of their Neighbours on the
Continent hath fometimes prompted them
to Ihew as refradlory a Spirit as they well
could.— -But when they come to perceive,
what are the bitter Etfeds of this un-
tra6lable Difpofition, exemplified in the
-Cafe of the North- Americans^ it is proba-
Lle^ it is reafonable to conclude, that they
Dd2 will

[ 312 1

will learn Wifdom by the Mifcarriages and
Sufferings of thefe unhappy People •, and
that from henceforward tncy will revere
the Authority of a Government, which has
tht feweft Faults, > and grams the greatefl
I^iberty, of any yet known tipon Earth.

Put after ail, there is one Thing more,
to v/hich i muft make fame Reply.— —
many, perhaps moil of my Readers, will
b?, apt to,-i4ik,:n^What ,is all this about ?
And what, dpth this. Author really mean ?
-frGan he ffdotrfly think, that becaufe he
hath takep iuch Fains to prove a Sepa-
r^^ion to be a right Meafure, that there-
fore we fliall . feparate in good Earneil ?
And is he Hill fo much a Novice as not
to know.^ that Meafures are rarely adopted
inerely b-C^ii^fe they are right, but be-
caufe they can ferve a prefent Turn ?

Therefore let it be afked. What prcfent
Convenience or Advantage doth he propofe
either to Adminiftration, or to Anti-Admi-
nifcration, by the Execution of his Plan ?—
This is coming to the Point, and without
it, all that he has faid will pafs for no-
thing.

I frankly acknowledge^ I propofe no pre-
fent Convenience or Advantage to either;
nay, I hrmly believe, that no Minifter, as
Things are now circumftanced, v/ill dare to

do

[ 213 ]

do fo much Good to his Country ; and as
to the Herd of Anti-Minifters, they, I am
perfuaded, would not wifli to fee it done^
becaufe it would deprive them of one of
their moft plentiful Sources for Clamour
and Detradion : And yet I have obferved,
and have myfelf had fome Experience, that
Meafures evidently right will prevail at
lad : Therefore I make not the leaft Doubt
but that a Separation from the northern
Colonies, and alfo another right Meafurc,
%'iz, a complete Union and Incorporation with
Ireland (however unpopular either of them
may now appear) will both take Place within
half a Century :— And perhaps that which
happens to be firfl: accompliihed, v^ill greatly
accelerate the Accomplifhment of the other.
Indeed almoft all People are apt to flartle

at firft at bold Truths : But it is ob-

fervable, that in Proportion as they grow
familiarized to them, and can fee and con-
fider them from different Points of View,
their Fears fubfide, and they become re-
conciled by Degrees :— Nay, it is not an un-
common Thing for them to adopt thofe fa-
lutary Meafures afterwards with as much
Zeal and Ardor as they had rejeded them
before with Anger and Indignation.

Need I add. That the Man, who will
have Refolution enough to advance any bold

un-

[ 214 3

unwelcome Truth (unwelcome I mean at
its firft Appearance) ought to be fuch an
one, whofe Competency of Fortune, joined
to a natural Independency of Spirit, places
him in that haopy Situation, as to be equally
indifferent to the Smiles, or Frowns either of
the Great, or the Vulgar ?

Lastly, fome Perfons perhaps may wonder,
that, being myfelf a Clergyman, I have faid no-
thing about the Perfecution which the Church of
England daily fuffers in America^ by being de-
nied thofe Rights which every other Sed of
Chriflians fo amply enjoys. I o\vn I have hi-
therto omitted to make Mention of that Cir-
cumftance, not thro' Inadvertence, but by De-
fign •, as being unwilling to embarrafs my general
Plan with what might be deemed by fome
Readers to be foreign to the Subject : And
therefore I fhall be very fhort in what I have to
add at prefent.

That each Religious Perfuafion ought to
have a full Toleration from the State to worfhip
Almighty God, according to the Didates of
their own Confciences, is to me fo clear a Cafe,
that I fhall not attempt to make it clearer ; and
nothing but the maintaining fome monftrdus Opi-
nion inconfiftcnt with the Safety of Society, —
and that not barely in 1 heory and Speculation,
but by open Practice and outward A6lions,-~I
fay, nothing but the avowedly maintaining of

fuch

[ 215 ] ;^

fuch dangerous Principles can juftify the Maglf-
trate in abridging any Set of Men of thefe their
natural Rights. It is alfo equally evident, that
the Church of England doth not, cannot fall
under the Cenfure of holding Opinions incon-
fiftent with the Safety of the State, and the Good
of Mankind,— even her Enemies themfelves
being Judges : And yet the Church of England
alone doth not enjoy a Toleration in that full
Extent, which is granted to the Members of
every other Denomination. What then can be
the Caufe of putting fo injurious a Diflindbion
between the Church of England^ and other
Churches in this refped ? The Reafon is plain.
The Americans have taken it into their Heads to
believe, that an Epifcopate would operate as
fome further Tie upon them, not to break loofe
from thofe Obligations which they owe to the
Mother-Country ; and that this is to be ufed as
an Engine, under the Mafque of Religion, to
rivet thofe Chains, which they imagine we are
forging for them. Let therefore the Mother-
Country herefelf refign up all Claim of Autho-
rity over them,, as well Ecclefiaftical as Civil %
let her declare North- America to be independent
of Great-Britain in every Refpcd whatever •,-—
let her do this, I fay, and then all their Fears
will vanifh away, and their Panics be at an End :
And then, a Bifliop, who has no more Connec-
tions with England either in Church or State,

than-

than he has with Germany^ Sweden^ or any other
Country, will be no longer looked upon in Ame-
rica as a Monfler, but a Man. In lliort, when
all Motives for Oppofition will be at an End, it
IS obfervable, that the Oppofition itfelf foon
ccafes and dies away. In a Word, an Epifcopate
may then take Place ; and whether this new
Ecclefiaftical Officer be called from a Name
derived from the Greeks the Latiny or the Ger-
nan^ — that is, whether he be ftiled Epifcopus,
Superintendent, Supervifor, Overfeer, ^ . ^c. it
matters not,— provided he be inverted with com-
petent Authority to ordain and confirm fuch of
the Members of his own Perfuafion, as fhall vo-
luntarily offer themfelves, and to infped the
Lives and Morals of his own Clergy,

SERMONS

^^