182 Colonial Question. QAugust, 



Supposing an extraordinary occasion should occur, to render it neces- 

 sary to raise taxes in the colonics, who are to be the judges of that 

 extraordinary occasion ; is not the parliament ? Though the parliament 

 may judge of the occasion, the people nnll think it can never exercise such 

 right, till representatives from the colonies are adinilted in parliamgnt, 

 ayul that whenever the occasion arrives, representatives will be ordered. 



If the legislature should think fit to ascertain its right to lay taxes, by 

 any act laying a small tax contrary to their opinion, would they sub- 

 mit to pay the tax ? As to an internal tax, how small soever, laid by 

 the legislature here, on the people there, while they have no represen- 

 tatives in this legislature, I think it will never be submitted to. They 



AVILL OPPOSE IT TO THE LAST. 



Have not the assemblies in the West Indies, the same natural rights 

 with those in North America? Undoubtedly. 



We might proceed further with this parallel, but we think it quite unne- 

 cessary. Every person who has paid attention to the subject is aware that, 

 during the war, and in fact at all times, the West Indian colonists have 

 cheerfully borne more than their fair proportion of the public burdens, 

 and are still, after so many years of peace, labouring under the weight 

 of the greater part of the war duty imposed on their staple commodity ; 

 yet government have lately been threatening them with a fresh infringe- 

 ment of their constitutional rights, by the imposition of an odious distinc- 

 tive tax on their produce, /or the purpose of dictating to the Colonial 

 Legislatures, laivs of internal regulation ; inexpedient in policy, unjust 

 in operation, and contrary to the practice of parliament, since the dis- 

 astrous period above alluded to ! Moreover, as already stated, a threat 

 has been held out, that if these plans to "harass the colonial legislatures 

 by fiscal restrictions and regulations," are unsuccessful, then, they are 



TO BE crushed BY OPEN FORCE !" 



After the full and ample information already submitted to Govern- 

 ment by the West Indians in this country, we do not anticipate that any 

 great attention will immediately be paid by the present ministers to any 

 similar statements or representations that may come from the leeward 

 island congress. It was clearly shewn by the calculations submitted to 

 the Board of Trade by Mr. Keith Douglas, that the restrictions imposed 

 by the mother country for the benefit of various national interests, cost 

 the West Indian colonists nearly a million and a half per annum ; yet 

 the colonists were told, that no remission of duties, equalization of 

 drawback, or other relief, could be afforded to them. It seems, there- 

 fore, difficult to guess what measures the colonial congress may be forced 

 to adopt, to procure an alleviation of their distress, or an alteration of the 

 opj)ressive policy pursued by the mother country. We maj^ also notice, 

 that the prosperity and value of our North American possessions depend 

 greatly upon their int'^rcourse with the West Indian sugar colonies ; 

 and to lose these would be extremely prejudicial to the former, as well 

 as to our fisheries, wherever situated. 



The proceedings which ended in the separation of the United States 

 from the mother country, commenced in a less formal and constitutional 

 manner, than those to which we now allude. These powerful states 

 have, for some time back, coveted the possession of ports for their 

 shipping, and for depots of merchandize in tlie islands of the Caribbean 

 Sea. It is saiil that tliey have already shewn a disjxosition to quarrel 

 with us, and have refused to abide by the King of Holland's decision, in 



