This revenue act of 1767, formed the fourth period of American policy. How we have fored fince then-what woeful variety of fchemes have been adopted; what enforcing, and what realing; what bullying, and what fubmitting; what doing, and undoing; what ftraining, and what relaxing; what affemblies diffolving for not obeying, and called again without obedience; what troops fent out to quell refillance, and on meeting that refiftance recalled; what fhiftings, and changes, and jumblings of all kinds of men at home, which left no poffibility of order, confiftency, vigour, or even fo much as a decent unity of colour in any one public meafure. It is a tedious irkfome talk. My duty may call me to open it out fome other time; on a former occafion * I tried your temper on a part of it; for the prefent Ifhall forbear

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• After all these changes and agitations, your immediate fituation upon the queftion on your paper is at length brought to this. You have an act of parliament, ftating, that "it is expedient to raife a revenue in America." By a partial repeal, you annihilated the greatest part of that revenue, which this preamble declares to be fo expedient. You have fubftituted no other in the place of it. A fecretary of ftate has difclaimed, in the king's name, all thoughts of fuch a fubftitution in future. The principle of this difclaimer goes to what has been left, as well as what has been repealed. The tax which lingers after its companions, (under a preamble declaring an American revenue expedient, Refolutions moved in May 4770,qod di si

E3

and

and for the fole purpofe of fupporting the theory of that preamble) militates with the affurance authentically conveyed to the Colonies; and is an exhauftlefs fource of jealoufy and animofity. On this ftate, which I take to be a fair one; not being able to difcern any grounds of honour, advantage, peace, or power, for adhering, either to the act or to the preamble, I fhall vote for the queftion which leads to the repeal of both.

If you do not fall in with this motion, then fecure fomething to fight for, confiftent in theory and valuable in practice. If you must employ your ftrength, employ it to uphold you in fome honourable right, or fome profitable wrong. If you are apprehenfive that the conceffion recommended to you, though proper, fhould be a means of drawing on you further but unreafonable claims why then employ your force in fupporting that reafonable conceffion against thofe unreasonable demands. You will employ it with more grace; with better effect; and with great probable concurrence of all the quiet and rational people in the provinces; who are now united with, and hurried away by, the violent; having indeed different difpofitions, but a common intereft, If you apprehend that on a conceffion you fhall be pushed by metaphyfical procefs to the extreme lines, and argued out of your whole authority, my advice is this; when you have recovered your old, your strong, your tenable pofition, then face about-ftop fhort-do nothing more-reafon not at all--oppofe the ancient policy and practice of the empire, as a rampart against the fpeculations

of

of innovators on both fides of the queftion; and you will ftand on great, manly, and fure ground. On this folid bafis fix your machines, and they will draw worlds towards you.

Your minifters, in their own and his Majefty's name, have already adopted the American diftinction of internal and external duties. It is a diftinction, whatever merit it may have, that was originally moved by the Americans themselves; and I think they will acquiefce in it, if they are not pushed with too much logic and too little fenfe, in all the confequences. That is, if external taxation be understood, as they and you understand it when you pleafe, to be not a diftinction of geography, but of policy; that it is a power for regulating trade, and not for fupporting eftablishments. The diftinction, which is as nothing with regard to right, is of moft weighty confideration in practice. Recover your old ground, and your old tranquillity-try it-I am perfuaded the Americans will compromife with you. When confidence is once reftored, the odious and fufpicious fummum jus will perifh of courfe. The fpirit of practicability, of moderation, and mutual convenience, will never call in geometrical exactnets as the arbitrator of an amicable fettlement. Confult and follow your experience. Let not the long ftory with which I have exercifed your patience, prove fruitless to your interests.

For my part, I fhould choose (if I could have my wish) that the propofition of the Hon.

Gentleman for the repeal, could go to America without the attendance of the penal bills. Alone I could almoft anfwer for its fuccefs. I cannot be certain of its reception in the bad company it may keep. In fuch heterogeneous affortments, the moit innocent perfon will lofe the effect of his innocency. Though you should send out this angel of peace, yet you are fending out a destroying angel too; and what would be the effect of the conflict of these two adverfe fpirits, or which would predominate in the end, is what I dare not fay: whether the lenient measures would caufe American paffion to fubfide, or the fevere would increase its fury-All this is in the hand of Providence; yet now, even now, I fhould confide in the prevailing virtue, and efficacious operation of, lenity, though working in darknefs, and in chaos, in the midst of all this unnatural and turbid com bination. I should hope it might produce order and beauty in the end.

Let us, Sir, embrace fome fyftem or other be fore we end this feffion. Do you mean to tax; America, and to draw a productive revenue from: thence? If you do, fpeak out: name, fix, afcer-1 tain this revenue; fettle its quantity; define its: objects; provide for its collection; and then fight: when you have fomething to fight for. If you murder rob! If you kill, take poffeffion; and do not appear in the character of madmen, as well as aflaffins, violent, vindictive, bloody, and tyran nical, without an object. But may bitter counfels. guide your

Again,

Again, and again, revert to your old principles feek peace, and enfue it leave America, if the has taxable matter in her, to tax herself. I am not here going into the diftinctions of rights, nor attempting to mark their boundaries. I do not enter into thefe metaphyfical diftinctions; I hate the very found of them. Leave the Americans as they antiently ftood; and thefe diftinctions, born of our unhappy conteft, will die along with it. They, and we, and their and our ancestors, have been happy under that fyftem. Let the memory of all actions, in contradiction to that good old mode, on both fides, be extinguifhed for ever, Be content to bind America by laws of trade; you have always done it. Let this be your reafon for binding their trade. Do not burthen them by taxes; you were not used to do fo from the beginning. Let this be your reafon for not taxing. Thefe are the arguments of ftates and kingdoms. Leave the reft to the schools; for there only they may be difcuffed with fafety. But if, intemperately, unwitely, fatally, you fophifticate and poifon the very fource of government, by urging fubtle deductions, and confequences odious to thofe you govern, from the unlimited and illimitable nature of fupreme fovereignty, you will teach them by thefe means to call that fovereignty itfelf in quetion. When you drive him hard, the boar will furely turn upon the hunters. If that fovereignty and their freedom cannot be reconciled, which will they take? They will caft your fovereignty in your face. Nobody will be argued into flavery. Sir, let the gentlemen on the other fide call forth all their ability; let the beft of them

get