[3] See, for a Proof of this Fact, First, A Message from the General Assembly of Massachusetts Bay to Governor Shirley, 4th of January, 1754. Secondly, A Message from the Council and House of Representatives of ditto to ditto. Thirdly, An Address from the Council of Representatives of ditto to ditto. Forthly, An Address of the Assembly of Virginia to the King. Fifthly, A Representation of the Commissioners met at Albany. And Sixthly, Extracts from the Proceedings of the Congress at Albany, all in the Year 1754. And all of them antecedent to the Arrival of the two Regiments under General Braddock. I would here recommend the Perusal of The Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies, printed for Almon, to those who wish for a fuller Information on these interesting Points; particularly from Page 107 to 136.
[4] Were it not for the British Fleets, and for the Fortresses of Gibraltar and Port-Mahon,—and in short for the general Terror of the British Name, all the piratical States of Barbary would immediately seize on American Ships, when carrying Fish, or Rice, or any other American Produce South of Cape Finistere, as their lawful Prey. And yet America doth not pay a single Shilling towards the Support of our Fleets, or the Maintenance of our Forts and Garrisons in any Part of the World.
[5] See the Resolutions of the grand Continental Congress, in Opposition to the reconciliatory Proposal of Parliament for permitting each Province to tax itself, according to its own Mode. In these Resolutions they expressly declare, that they will be the sole Judges, not only of the Mode of raising, but also of the Sum or Quantum to be raised, and of the Application of it: And that the Parliament of Great-Britain hath no Right to decide as to either of these Points.
[6] The Princes of the House of Stuart took it into their Heads to believe, that all Colonies were their private Patrimony; in respect of which the Parliament had no Right to intermeddle. This Notion, so long ago justly exploded, is now revived, (strange to tell!) even by modern Patriots, and American Republicans: For they are the People at present, and not the King’s Ministers, who propose to exalt the Prerogatives of the Crown to the Subversion of the Rights, Privileges, and Liberties of the British Parliament, and the British Nation. Indeed so far, it must be owned, is Fact,—that as the Princes of that House had the first modelling of the Colonies, they introduced a Practice, (still most absurdly retained tho’ without any Power to enforce it) of bringing all Appeals before themselves and their Privy Councils, instead of before the Court of King’s-Bench or the House of Lords; which is the only regular and constitutional Mode of appealing, and the only one now observed in Appeals from Ireland. However, notwithstanding this Impropriety, as the King can send no armed Forces to America, without Consent of Parliament first had for their Maintenance, and afterwards for authorizing the Use of military Law, and military Discipline among them, it may be justly averred, that the King doth in no other exclusive Sense govern America, than as the sole executive Power, which is to enforce and put in Motion the Laws and Decrees of the supreme Legislature of Great-Britain. See a very candid and impartial Account of this Matter in a Book entituled, “Remarks on the principal Acts of the 13th Parliament of Great-Britain,” from Page 38 to 45.
[7] See De Lolme’s Constitution of England, the Note of Page 52. The whole is a most excellent Treatise, and worthy the Perusal of all those Englishmen, who wish to understand, and to set a just Value on the distinguishing Excellencies of the English Constitution,—a Constitution, as he justly observes, the only one in its Kind, ponderibus librata suis.
[8] See his Speech, March 22, 1775, second Edition Octavo.
[9] Queen Elizabeth sometimes raised this Duty to 20 and 25 per Cent. by Orders and Warrants issued from her Privy Council; that is, by her own sole and absolute Authority. Yet she was good Queen Bess: And her Days were golden Days. See also the shocking Number of Monopolies granted in her Reign, set forth at large in Townshend’s Collection; or in Sir Simon d’Ewe’s Journal of Parliament. See more particularly the Debates which past in the 43d Year of her Reign, after a Struggle of upwards of 20 Years for abolishing these Monopolies.
[10] A few shallow, half-sighted Politicians have objected to the Trade with Russia, because the Balance, according to their narrow Ideas, is visibly against us. But what Balance do they mean?—Not the Balance of Industry, for that is plainly in our Favour; or, in other Words, we export more manufactured Goods to Russia, than we receive from it. And as to the Balance of Money, they ought to have known, that it is much more beneficial to an industrious, commercial Country to import Raw-Materials (if it wants them) than to import Gold and Silver; because there cannot be so many Hands employed in the manufacturing of these Metals, as in the working up of Timber, Iron, Hemp, Flax, &c. &c. to their respective Uses. It is amazing, how little these self-evident Principles have been understood, or at least attended to by commercial Writers of some Note and Character, and particularly by Josiah Gee; according to whose Doctrine of the Balance of Trade, this Nation hath not been worth a single Shilling for almost these 100 Years.
[11] I am told, that this Deficiency of the Excise this Year, on Liquors imported into the Out-Ports, is owing to a new Species of Smuggling lately put in Practice, whereby the Revenue is grossly defrauded. If so, the Balance would have been still greater, had all the Duties on Rum, and other Liquors imported into the Out-Ports, been justly and fairly paid; or at least paid as fairly and justly as usual.