7 S 8 ' ENG 
pofing the legiflatrve authority of Great Britain to the 
r;f!< of at lead a temporary degradation. By their fuccefs 
in this firft inftance of oppofition and^refiftancp, the Ame¬ 
rican? would be encouraged and incited (fuch is the na¬ 
ture of man) to dil'pute the authority of the mother 
country when it happened to be in other inftances exerted 
m a mode not agreeable to them, however necefl'ary to 
maintain the jitfi and conftitutional fubordination of the 
colonies. This was remarkably exemplified in the con- 
du6t ot the alfemblv of the province of New York, who 
came to a refolution, that they would not regard the pro- 
vifions of an art palled in the laft fellion, by which they 
were required to fupply the troops ftationed in the pro¬ 
vince with necelfaries in their quarters. 
When this inftance of difobedience and contumacy was 
laid before parliament, very rigorous meafures of ven¬ 
geance were urged by thofe whofe violent counfels had 
already been productive of fo much mifchief. But the mi- 
mfters, purpofely avoiding all harfh and pofitive penalties, 
adopted a rrieafure at once forcible and dignified, by enact¬ 
ing a law' prohibiting the governor, council, and aflembly, 
ot New York, to pals any aCt till they had in every refpeCt 
complied with the requilition of parliament. This in a 
lfiort time produced the defired eifeCt, and it afforded a 
demonflrative evidence, that the real and practical autho¬ 
rity'of Great Britain, wifely and temperately exerted, was 
fully equal to the purpofe of maintaining that relation of 
fuperiority and dependence which indifputably ought to 
fublift between the head and the members of a great and 
widely-extended empire. 
Happy would it have been, had the miniftry difcovered 
in all other parts of their conduCt the fame prudence and 
policy. But through fome unaccountable fatality, the 
projeCt was revived of drawing,a revenue from America, in 
a mode not indeed in all refpeCts analogous to that which 
had been fo recently abandoned, but which in her irritable 
ftate of mind equally ferved to rekindle thofe alarms and 
jealoufies which might reafonably be fuppofed rather al¬ 
layed than extinguiflied. In this ftate of affairs a bill was 
brought into parliament, and pafled, for the impofition of 
certain duties on glafs, tea, paper, and painters’ colours, 
imported from Great Britain into the colonies; for, though 
by the repeal of the (lamp act the exercife of the right 
ot internal taxation was allowed to be virtually relin- 
quifhed, the claim of external taxation was affirmed ftill 
to remain in full force. The Americans by this aCt were 
reduced to a moft grievous embarraffment. It had been 
ever uniformly acknowledged that Great Britain po defied 
the right of commercial regulation and controul; it could 
not be denied that port duties had been at former periods 
impofed for the purpofe of commercial regulation, par¬ 
ticularly by the aCt palled in the fixth year of the reign 
of the late king, on the importation of foreign rums, fu- 
gars, and melaffies, from the Weft Indies. It could not be 
pretended with conftftency and plaufibility that the fame 
power did not now inlrere in the Britifh parliament; but 
it was at the fame time impoffible not to difcern that this 
power was in the prefent inftance exercifed with a very 
different intention, and for the accompliffiment of a very 
different object ; and that by a fpecies of artifice unwor¬ 
thy of a great nation, an attempt was now made to in¬ 
veigle them into the payment ot that revenue which 
could not be extorted by means more direCt and unequi¬ 
vocal. When the intelligence of this new plan reached 
America, a hidden and angry gloom univerfally took 
place of the hilarity and good humour which had predo¬ 
minated lince the fuppofed relinquiffiment of the plan of 
American taxation. Mercantile combinations immedi¬ 
ately became general, not to import thofe articles on 
which the new duties were laid, the trivial amount of 
which did not diminiffi the odium attending them ; the 
Americans comparing thefe duties to an entering wedge, 
defigned to make way for others which would be greater 
and heavier. 
The laft bufinefs which occupied the attention of par- 
L A N D. 
liament before its recefs in 1767, related to the affairs of 
the Eaft-India company. The prodigious acquifitions re¬ 
cently made in the eaft, and the princely fortunes accu¬ 
mulated by thofe who occupied the higher departments 
in the company’s fervice, ftrongly attracted the attention 
of the public. At a general court held at the India- 
houfe, it was affirmed by many.of the proprietors to be 
highly reafonable, that a larger dividend fhould be de¬ 
clared by the directors, and that the whole body fhould 
participate in the advantages of their late fucceffes ; in¬ 
filling, that 16 low a dividend as fix per cent, agreed but 
ill with the prefent flouriffiing ftate of the company’s 
affairs. It was plaufibly urged, that the Dutch Eaft- 
India company divided twenty per cent, upon its capital, 
though their poffeffions and revenues were in no degree 
equal to thofe of theEnglifh. The directors, who, by 
the fuperiot fagacity of their conduct, have frequently 
expofed the dangerous fallacy of a confident reliance 014 
the collective wifdom of a popular aflembly, replied with 
much good fenfe and prudence, “ that although great 
advantages had certainly been gained, it was not iefs true, 
that vaft expences had been incurred by the unexampled, 
extent and duration of their military operations. The 
profits of the company, they faid, were comparatively 
remote and precarious ; their debts urgenf and certain. 
Juftice and good policy, therefore, concurred in recom¬ 
mending the previous difeharge of incumbrances, ere 
they thought of appropriating the profits. Recal, faid 
they, the tranfaclions of the South-Sea year, and confider 
the pernicious effeCts of the fraudulent arts then ufed for 
railing the value of that (lock. A confiderable augmen¬ 
tation of dividend will raife the price of our fund to ati 
extraordinary height, at which it cannot poflibly be fup- 
ported. Thus frefli fuel will be added to the ardour for 
gaming, a wider field will be opened for (lock-jobbing, 
and all the myfterious iniquities of ’Change-alley. By 
your precipitance you will create a new South-Sea bubble, 
which will ultimately burft on your own heads.” 
The proprietary, far front being fatisfied with thefe 
reafonings, reproached the directors with an intention to 
monopolife the riches of the company, and, by their fu¬ 
tile and abfurd cavils, prevent all increafe of dividend to 
fwell their own enormous heaps. A dividend of twelve 
and a half per cent, was accordingly declared ; when the 
parliament, in confequence of an application from the. 
company for the renewal of their charter, entered into a 
lerious inveftigation of the ftate of the company’s finances. 
It was without hefitation aliened, that a commercial com¬ 
pany could not legally acquire territorial rights ; and that 
the revenues annexed to thofe rights appertained folely 
to the crown. The company, dreading the confequences 
of a competition fo formidable, voluntarily offered an an¬ 
nual fum of four hundred thoufand pounds to the govern¬ 
ment, in lieu of all its claims ; and a temporary agreement 
for two years only was concluded upon thefe terms, the 
queftion of right remaining undecided. A bill, which the 
urgency of the cafe only could warrant, was at the fame 
time brought into the houfe, refeinding, by an hjgh exer¬ 
tion of legiflative authority, the late refolution of the ge¬ 
neral court, and confining the dividends of the Company to 
ten percent, during the continuance of the agreement made 
with the government, which palled with much oppofition 
the fecretary of ftate, and the chancellor of the exche¬ 
quer, on this occafion, to the aftoniffiment of the public, 
voting in the minority. This important bill originated 
with, and was fupported by the powerful patronage of, 
the duke of Grafton, then at the head of the treafury, 
who clearly difeerned the neceflity of adopting timely 
and decifive meafures of prevention, in oppofition to the 
daring and nefarious defigns of thofe perfons, who hoped, 
by declaring an enormous dividend, and advancing the 
transfer price of the flock to a proportionate height, to 
take the fame advantage of the public delufion, as their 
predeceffors in the ever-metnorable year 1720. General 
Conway, fecretary of ftate, from motives free from any 
1 taint 
