A. D. 1767. 463 



former, who were at prefent very far from being in good humour, and 

 were exalperated by tliis law to a degree of refentment and alienation 

 from the mother country, nothing inferior to that which was excited by 

 the ftamp ad, and which, after they were further imbittered by this aft, 

 were continu;dly breaking out in ads of violence and outrage (the de- 

 tail of which does not belong to this work), till at lafi: they flamed out 

 in thofe open hoftilitics, which feparated the moft of the American con- 

 tinental colonies from Great Britain. 



The exportation of logwood free from duty was permitted : and for 

 the improvement of the revenue, the duty upon fuccus liquoritiie imported, 

 was reduced from ^^7 : 2 : 6, to ;(^i : 10 : o, the hundredweight. A du- 

 ty of two and a half per cent ad valorem, according to the rate fixed in 

 the twelfth year of Charles 11, was laid on the exporration from Great 

 Britain of rice, imported free of duty from the Britilli American colonies. 

 The ufe of foreign lace and needle-work was utterly prohibited, and 

 they were direded to be locked up in the king's warehoufes, and deli- 

 vered thence for exportation only. [7 Geo. Ill, c. 47.] 



The government now began to interfere in the affairs of the Eafl- 

 India company, which hitherto had been left to their own diredion. 

 Thev had acquired a vaft territorial revenue ; and it became a queftion, 

 whether, as fubjeds of Great Britain, they could be fovereigns in India; 

 an imperiiiin in imperio being univerlally acknowleged to be a lolecifm in 

 politics. It was aflerted, that all conquefts made by Britifli I'ubjeds, 

 though they fliould be made entirely at their own expenfe and riik, muft 

 belong to the crown, and that, in this cafe, great expenfe had been in- 

 curred by the nation, which at any rate mud be entitled to a very large 

 participation of the revenues. On the other hand it was urged, that no 

 fuch refcrvation to the crown had been made, wh_"n the charters were 

 granted and confirmed by parliament, for obtaining every one of which 

 the company had given a valuable confideration, and confequently were 

 entitled to every advantage that might accrue from it. As to the plea 

 of expenfe, that of the nation had been very trifling, if compared to 

 that of the company, and could at beft only conftitute a debt : and luch 

 an infringement of property and public faith would be a molt fatal pre- 

 cedent, and would be dcftrudive of all confidence in government. 



In November 1766 parliament had appointed a committee to enquire 

 into the fituation of the company's affairs, their charters, their tranlac- 

 tions and treaties with the princes of India, the ftate of their revenues 

 arifing from Bengal, Bahar, and Orifia, and even their correfpondence 

 with tlieir fervants in India, and alio all expenfcs incurred by govern- 

 ment on the company's account, whether in the naval, military, or any 

 other department ; all which were ordered to be printed, and it was 

 with difficulty that the company got their private correfpondence with 



