120 
Urdahl—Historical Survey of Fee Systems. 
Vermont rose in open revolt against the right claimed by her 
governor to collect extortionate land patent fees. 1 
These objections were not made all at once, but were raised 
against certain specific fees, which had become especially bur¬ 
densome. Being thus led, unconsciously almost, to discuss and 
formulate their privileges as opposed to the prerogatives of 
the crown and the governor, the colonists gradually evolved the 
principles which were afterwards laid down in the Declaration 
of Independence. Furthermore, these disputes tended to keep 
alive the spirit of liberty, and kept the colonists alert to pre¬ 
vent infringement upon their rights, causing them at times even 
to seize upon and overthrow old established prerogatives and 
perquisites. It is for this reason that we see the colonial gov¬ 
ernors, in spite of their aggressiveness, constantly losing ground 
to these persevering frontiersmen. 
The final struggle, which resulted in the achievement of Ameri¬ 
can independence, was but a repetition of the protests which 
had been made again and again, against the imposition of ex¬ 
tortionate and unauthorized taxes under the guise of fees. It 
came about in this way: No direct taxes had been imposed on 
the colonies by Great Britain up to 1765. Plantation dues 
and duties had been levied, but these were merely for regula¬ 
tion of trade. Having learned from past experience that Eng¬ 
lishmen were likely to object to new direct taxes, the ministry 
determined to use a method of obtaining revenue that had been 
successfully employed in the home country, namely, by levying 
the taxes under the guise of fees. They pretended that the new 
stamp charges were of the same nature as the payments for 
postal stamps. 2 These stamp taxes were, as a matter of fact, 
not very heavy; indeed, they were much less burdensome than 
1 For an account of the struggle over the “ pistole ” fee for land patents 
in Virginia, see Dinwiddie’s Papers , I, pp. 44-47, 363. 
2 Dowell, Taxation in England , II, 147. “ Is not the Post Office, which 
they have received, a tax as well as a regulation? ” was asked of Benjamin 
Franklin. He replied: “No, the money paid for the postage of a letter, 
is not in the nature of a tax. It is merely a quantum meruit for a serv¬ 
ice done. No person is obliged to pay money if he does not choose to re¬ 
ceive the service. He may employ a special messenger if he likes. . . .” 
