ferings and distresses, in the fair prospects which the peace afforded.

But these prospects were of short duration; the peace of Paris formed a new era in the views and conduct of Great Britain towards her colonies in America. The possessions of France, in America, having been ceded to Britain, and having no longer any fear of her power in this hemisphere, a system of measures was pursued towards the colonies, originating in jealousy, and tending to despotism. As soon as the colonies had fought their way to a condition which afforded the prospect of rapidly increasing in population and wealth, attempts were made to restrict their commercial and political privileges, and gradually to reduce them to the most wretched state of colonial vassalage. For a century and a half, the colonies had been left to themselves as to taxation; their own local assemblies had provided the necessary revenues to defray the expenses of their governments; and the parliament of Great Britain had neither directly or indirectly ever attempted to derive a dollar of revenue from America; although various acts had from time to time been passed, regulating the trade and commerce of the colonies, yet none of these were designed or regarded, either in Britain or America, as revenue laws.

But in an inauspicious moment, the British ministry conceived the idea of taxing the colonies, under the pretence of providing for their protection, but in reality to relieve the nation from the immense debt, the weight of which hung heavily upon it. This iniquitous scheme, originating with the cabinet was easily introduced into parliament; and in March, 1764, as a prelude to the memorable Stamp Act, the house of commons resolved, "That towards further defraying the necessary expenses of protecting the colonies, it may be necessary to charge certain stamp duties upon them; and this resolution was followed by what was commonly called the Sugar Act, passed on the 5th of April, and introduced by the following truly alarming preamble :-"Whereas it is just and necessary that a revenue be raised in America, for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting and secuing the same; we, the commons, &c. towards raising

the same, give and grant unto your majesty, after the 29th day of September, 1764, on clayed sugar, indigo and coffee, of foreign produce, [and various other articles] the sum of," &c. This was the first act adopted by parliament, for the avowed object of raising a revenue in the colonies. The justice of this measure, which appeared so clear to the British parliament, was regarded in America as oppression and tyranny, and occasioned great excitement and alarm. The deceptive pretension, that the revenue was to be raised for the purpose of protecting the colonies, was only adding insult to injustice; as the colonies supposed that they were capable of protecting themselves, and they apprehended that the object was rather under the pretence of affording them protection, to maintain a military force in America, for the purpose of dragooning them into submission, and enforcing an unconstitutional system of taxation; thereby rendering them the instruments of forging their own chains. This act was rendered more disgusting by a provision that the money raised by it must be paid in specie, and another, that those charged with having violated the revenue laws, might be prosecuted in the courts of admiralty; whereby they were deprived of the privilege of trial by a jury, and were liable to be condemned by a single officer of the crown, whose salary was to be paid from the very forfeitures decreed by himself. And this was not all, or even the worst; as the trial was conducted on such principles, that the accused, contrary to the well known maxims of the common law, and repugnant to every idea of justice, was obliged to prove himself innocent, or suffer the penalties of the law. These iniquitous proceedings destroyed all security of property, and left every one at the mercy of the minions of the British crown. Their pernicious influence was soon felt extensively in the colonies, they no longer regarded Great Britain as an affectionate mother, but viewed her in the light of a selfish, cruel and imperious step-mother. The designs of the ministry were penetrated, and occasioned great alarm, which spread wider and wider, until it became universal. The press, that great engine of truth and liberty, was called into requisition; the subject was ably and elabo

rately discussed, and the more it was discussed; and the better it was understood, the more strong and determined the opposition became. All the colonies petitioned and remonstrated against these abnoxious measures, and most of them appointed agents to present their memorials to parliament, or the king.

But notwithstanding the opposition and excitement in America, and the remonstrances of the colonies, Mr. Grenville, who was at the head of the treasury, prepared the Stamp-Bill, and introduced it into parliament in February, 1765; and although opposed by all the powers of eloquence, by Alderman Beckford, Mr. Jackson, Colonel Barre, Sir William Meredith and others, it was adopted by a great majority; fifty only voting in opposition, out of about three hundred members, who were present. On the second reading of the bill, various petitions, not only from the colonies, but from the London merchants nterested in the American trade, were presented; but the petitions were not even received, being refused, on the plea that no memorial could be received on a money bill. Having passed both houses of parliament, on the 22d of March, the Stamp-Act received the royal assent. Dr. Franklin, then in England, as agent for Pennsylvania, wrote to Charles Thompson, afterwards secretary of congress" "The sun of liberty is set; you must light up the lamps of industry and economy." Mr. Thompson, in a spirited reply, observed, "That he thought other lights would be lighted up to resist these unconstitutional measures." It is unnecessary to add, that this prediction was soon fulfilled.

This unjust and impolitic act was the first great cause which led to the American revolution; indeed it was substantially the first scene in the bloody drama of that revolution. It was passed in parliament, on the 7th of February, 1765, under the ministry of Lord Grenville, and was repealed on the 18th of March, 1766, from the influence of Mr. Pitt. This period of thirteen months was the most eventful and tumultuous of any which had hitherto occurred; the apprehensions of the people were roused to the highest pitch, and the most determined spirit of opposition prevailed throughout the colonies. The Americans had

not believed that the act would be passed, and on receiving the intelligence, every one was struck with astonishment, and filled with consternation; they looked at each other with amazement, and for a short interval, hesitated what course to pursue; but soon recovering from their consternation, they determined not to submit to such a flagrant outrage on their rights. In Boston, the ships in the harbor, in token of the deepest mourning, suspended their colours half-mast high; the bells were wrung muffled; and the obnoxious act, with a death's head in front of it, with the motto " The folly of England and the ruin of America," was carried in solemn procession about the streets. The discontents soon spread throughout the colonies, and the opposition became general and determined the spirit of the people gave a tone to the colonial assemblies, and bold and decided resolutions were adopted against the iniquitous scheme of parliamentary taxation. Virginia took the lead, and on the 28th of May, 1765, Patrick Henry introduced his celebrated resolutions into the house of burgesses, which declared that the inhabitants of that colony were entitled to, and had possessed and enjoyed all the rights, liberties and privileges of the people of Great Britain; that the general assembly of the colony had always exercised and alone possessed the power to levy taxes and imposts on the inhabitants of the colony, and that they "were not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatsoever, designed to impose any taxation whatever upon them other than the law and ordinances of the general assembly." So bold and unexpected were these resolutions, that whilst they were reading, one of the members cried out "treason! treason!"

These resolutions were communicated to all the colonies, and the spirit they breathed spread from one legislature to another, and their sentiments were reiterated in resolutions adopted by the legislatures and the freemen in public meetings. Committees were appointed, by the assemblies of the colonies, to correspond with each other, and to meet for consultation; the object of which was to secure harmony of feeling and concert of action. These measures had a very happy effect; in the mean

time, the press teemed with constant publications, vindi. cating the rights of the colonies; and many of them were of a highly inflammatory character, calculated to raise the public mind to the highest pitch. The pulpit also, particularly in New-England, labored in the same cause with great zeal and effect; the flame of liberty kindled from breast to breast, and spread from province to province, until the conflagration became general. The spirit of opposition ran so high as to break out into acts of tumult and disorder. In Boston the effigy of Mr. Oliver, the stamp master, was burnt and his house assailed, partly demolished and his furniture destroyed; and soon after, the house of William Storer, deputy-register of the court of admiralty, was attacked, and the books and files of the court destroyed; and the house of Benjamin Hallowell, comptroller of the customs, shared the same fate. These outrages were followed by a more bold and daring attack upon the dwelling of Mr. Hutchinson, lieutenantgovernor of the province; he was obliged to flee to save his life, and his house was entirely demolished, except the walls, and every thing in it destroyed or carried off. Similar outrages were committed in other places. In Connecticut, Mr. Ingersoll, the stamp officer, was burnt in effigy in many towns; and whilst he was proceeding from New-Haven to Hartford, where the assembly was in session, he was pursued and overtaken by a large concourse of people, some from more than thirty miles, and compelled to resign his office, which was followed by three hearty cheers of liberty and property. This took place at Wethersfield, from whence the people, who were headed by militia officers, proceeded to Hartford, where Mr. Ingersoll was compelled to read his resignation in the hearing of the assembly, which was succeeded by loud acclamations of liberty and property. In NewYork the stamp officer was compelled to resign, and Lieutenant Governor Colden was burnt in effigy, with a stamp bill in his hand, suspended from his own coach, and the whole was consumed together.

In the southern colonies, the public feeling did not lead to the same excesses; but in all of them, means were found to compel the stamp officers to resign; and in all