compelling us to buy every thing of them, though in many articles we could furnish ourselves ten, twenty, and even to fifty per cent. cheaper elfewhere ;) but now they have as good as declared they have a right to tax us ad libitum internally and externally; and that our conftitutions and liberties shall all be taken away, if we do not submit to that claim.'

66

They are not content with the high prices at which they fell us their goods, but have now begun to enhance those prices by new duties; and by the expenfive apparatus of a new set of officers, appear to extend an augmentation and multiplication of those burthens that shall ftill be more grievous to us. Our people have been foolishly fond of their fuperfluous modes and manufactures, to the impoverishing our own country, carrying off all our cash, and loading us with debt; they will not fuffer us to restrain the luxury of our inhabitants, as they do that of their own, by laws: they can make laws to difcourage or prohibit the importation of French fuperfluities: but though thofe of England are as ruinous to us as the French ones are to them, if we make a law of that kind, they immediately repeal it. Thus they get all our money from us by trade; and every profit we can any where make by our fisheries, our produce, or our commerce, centers finally with them;-But this does not fignify. It is time then to take care of ourfeives by the best means in our power. Let us unite in folemn refolution and engagements with and to each

Ii 2

each other, that we will give these new officers as little trouble as poffible, by not confuming the British manufactures on which they are to levy the duties. Let us agree to confume no more of their expenfive gewgaws. Let us live frugally, and let us industriously manufacture what we can for ourfelves: thus we fhall be able honourably to discharge the debts we already owe them; and after that, we may be able to keep fome money in our country, not only for the ufes of our internal commerce; but for the fervice of our gracious fovereign, whenever he shall have occafion for it, and think proper to require it of us in the old conftitutional manner. For notwithstanding the reproaches thrown out against us in their public papers and pamphlets, notwithstanding we have been reviled in their fenate as rebels and traitors, we are truly a loyal people. Scotland has had its rebellions, and England its plots against the prefent royal family; but America is untainted with thofe crimes; there is in it scarce a man, there is not a fingle native of our country, who is not firmly attached to his King by principle and by affection. But a new kind of loyalty feems to be required of us, a loyalty to parliament; a loyalty, that is to extend, it is faid, to a furrender of all our properties, whenever a house of commons in which there is not a fingle member of our chufing, fhall think fit to grant them away without our confent; and to a patient fuffering the lofs of our privileges as Englishmen, if we cannot submit to make fuch furrender. We were feparated too far from Britain

by

by the ocean, but we were united to it by respect and love; so that we could at any time freely have spent our lives and little fortunes in its caufe: but this unhappy new fyftem of politics tends to diffolve those bands of union, and to fever us for ever."

Thefe are the wild ravings of the, at prefent, half-diftracted Americans. To be fure, no reafonable man in England can approve of such sentiments, and, as I faid before, I do not pretend to support or justify them: but I fincerely wish, for the fake of the manufactures and commerce of Great Britain, and for the fake of the strength which a firm union with our growing colonies would give us; that these people had never been thus needlefsly driven out of their fenfes. I am yours, &c.

F. S*.

* [F. S. poffibly means Franklin's Seal.'-The paper, however, is undoubtedly the production of Dr. Franklin.

In the collection of tracts on the Subjects of taxing the British colonies in America, and regulating their trade (printed in 1773, in 4 vols. 8vo. by Almon;) I find two papers, faid there to have been published originally in 1739; and to have been drawn up by a club of American merchants, at the head of whom were Sir William Keith (governor of Penfylvania) Jofhua Gee, and many other eminent perfons. - The firft paper propofes the raifing a fmall body of regular troops under the command of an officer appointed by the crown, and independent of the governors, (who were neverthelefs to affift him in council on emergent occafions ;) in order to protect the Indian trade, and take care of the boundaries and back fettlements. They were to be fupported by a revenue to be established by act of parliament, in America; which revenue was to arife out of a duty on ftampt paper and parchment.-The fecond paper goes into the particulars of this propofed ftamp duty, offers reafons for extending it over all the British plantations, and recites its fuppofed advantages.If thefe papers are at all genuine, (a fact about which I am not in the leaft informed) Mr. George Grenville does not appear to have been original in conceiving Stamps as a proper fubject for his new tax. See ib. vol. I. E.]

Letter

Letter concerning the Gratitude of America, and the probability and effects of an Union with Great Britain; and concerning the Repeal or Suspension of the Stamp-AƐt *.

SIR,

Jan. 6, 1766.

I HAVE attentively perufed the paper you fent me, and am of opinion, that the measure it proposes, of an union with the colonies, is a wife one: but I doubt it will hardly be thought so here, till it is too late to attempt it. The time has been when the colonies would have efteemed it a great advantage, as well as honour to them, to be permitted to fend members to parliament; and would have asked for that privilege, if they could have had the leaft hopes of obtaining it. The time is now come, when they are indifferent about it, and will probably not afk it; though they might accept it if offered them; And the time will come, when they will certainly refuse it. But if fuch an union were now established, (which methinks it highly imports this country to establish,) it would probably fubfift as long as Britain fhall continue a nation. This people, however, is too proud, and too much defpifes the Americans, to bear the thought of admitting them to such an equitable participation in the government of

[The name of the perfon to whom this letter is addressed cannot be made out in the original copy. The letter, to which it is a reply, appears to have contained the letter of fome third person equally unknown to the editor. E.]

the

the whole. Then the next best thing feems to be, leaving them in the quiet enjoyment of their refpective constitutions; and when money is wanted for any public fervice in which they ought to bear a part, calling upon them by requifitorial letters from the crown, (according to the long established cuftom) to grant fuch aids as their loyalty fhall dictate, and their abilities permit.The very fenfible and benevolent author of that paper, feems not to have known, that fuch a conftitutional custom fubfifts, and has always hitherto been practifed in America; or he would not have expreffed himself in this manner: "It is evident beyond a doubt, to the intelligent and impartial, "that after the very extraordinary efforts which were effectually made by Great Britain in the "late war to fave the colonifts from deftruction, "and attended of neceflity with an enormous load "of debts in confequence; that the fame colo"nifts, now firmly fecured from foreign enemies, "fhould be fome-how induced to contribute fome

66

proportion towards the exigencies of ftate in "future." This looks as if he conceived the war had been carried on at the fole expence of Great Britain; and the colonies only reaped the benefit, without hitherto fharing the burthen; and were therefore now indebted to Britain on that account. And this is the fame kind of argument that is ufed by thofe, who would fix on the colonies the heavy charge of unreasonableness and ingratitude, which I think your friend did not intend.-Pleafe to acquaint him then, that the fact is not fo: That

every