1765] Resistance in America 145 irregularity on the part of the Speaker, who was also the Treasurer of the Province. As the session neared its close and none of the leaders proposed to take any action in regard to the Stamp Act, Henry arose and moved a set of resolutions, which he forced on the attention of the reluc tant burgesses by a most fiery speech. They were all adopted, but the next day, after Henry's departure, the boldest of them was rescinded. The two most important are here given in full: resolutions. "Resolved, That his Majesty's liege people of this his Henry's ancient colony have enjoyed the right of being thus governed by their own Assembly in the article of taxes and internal police, and that the same has never been forfeited, or any other way yielded up, but have been constantly recognized by the King and people of Great Britain. "Resolved, Therefore, that the General Assembly of this colony, together with his Majesty or his substitutes, have, in their representative capacity, the only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and imposts upon the inhabitants. of this colony; and that every attempt to vest such power in any other person or persons whatever than the General Assembly aforesaid, is illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust, and has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American liberty." In other words, the Virginia Assembly denied the power of Parliament to legislate in any way on the internal concerns of the Old Dominion. nullified. In August, the names of the stamp distributors were pub- The act lished. At once riots occurred in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Stamp Act 1765. *Froth ingham's Republic, 184-189. Declaration of Rights, 1765. Island. Before long, every stamp distributor was forced to resign. The rioters at Boston were especially violent, for there the resentment of the people was directed against the customs officials as well as against the stamp officers. Hutchinson, the lieutenant governor and chief justice who had given the decision in favor of writs of assistance, was marked out for the vengeance of the excited people. His house was broken open and his valuable books and papers destroyed. As the stamps and the stamped paper arrived from England, they were stored in the forts or on vessels in the harbor. The 1st of November arrived, and not a stamp could be bought. There was not a man in America who had authority to open the packages and sell the stamps, and in the condition of the public mind then prevailing, no one was willing to take the responsibility of forcing them upon the people. On the contrary, the royal officials were obliged to disregard the act; even the courts were compelled to proceed regardless of the law. 125. The Stamp Act Congress, 1765.- Meantime, in June, on the motion of James Otis, the Massachusetts House of Representatives had invited the assemblies of the other colonies to send delegates to a general meeting or congress to be held in October. On the appointed day, October 7, delegates from all the colonies whose assemblies were in session, except that of New Hampshire, met at New York. The majority of the members were moderate men, and the congress did nothing except to formulate a Declaration of Rights and petitions to the king and to the Houses of Parliament. The Declaration of Rights is important, because it is the first utterance of any considerable number of the colonies on the questions which were soon to be of supreme importance. After acknowledging allegiance to the " crown of Great Britain," and declaring themselves to be entitled to the same liberties as "his natural born subjects. . . in Great Britain," they assert that the "people of the colonies are not, and, from their local circumstances, cannot be represented in the House 1766] Repeal of the Stamp Act 147 of Commons," and that no taxes "can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislatures"; they also called attention to the clauses of the Stamp Act above noted, as to the trial of cases arising under it in the admiralty courts, and asserted "that trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies." Although the Stamp Act Congress produced slight direct results, its meeting was of the utmost importance. For three quarters of a century the British government had endeavored to unite the colonies in opposition to the French, and had been unsuccessful. Now the colonies came together of their own accord to defend their rights against the encroachments of king and Parliament. Ministry, 1766. 126. Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. — The Grenville First ministry was now no longer in office. Its leading members Rockingham had deeply offended the king by their want of tact. He seized the first opportunity to dismiss them, but found it. impossible to fill their places with men who would do his bidding. In the end, he was obliged to confide the government to the Marquis of Rockingham, a descendant of the Lord Strafford of the seventeenth century. Rockingham was a slow, dull man, but he was honest and possessed a great fortune. The king disliked him as one of the leaders of the Whig aristocracy from whose yoke he was striving to free the monarchy. Rockingham could hope for no help from his royal master, and he had few followers, of whom none were men of mark except Edmund Burke, who was not a member of the government. Nevertheless, Rockingham and his faction represented what would be termed in American political language the "regular" section of the Whig party, and might hope to attract the other sections of that once powerful organization. the new ministry. This weak ministry came into office at the moment when Policy of a most serious crisis was impending. There was in addition to the trouble in America a controversy over general warrants in England, which involved issues similar to those Benjamin Franklin, portions of autobiography in that underlay the question of writs of assistance in Massachusetts. As to the Stamp Act, it was difficult to know what to do that precise form of taxation had been selected because, in ordinary circumstances, the law would have enforced itself, as it was for the interest of every person receiving a legal document to see that it was in all respects according to law. In the temper then prevailing in America, it was absolutely impossible to enforce it without an armed conflict, and there could be no question of modifying the act, as it was well drawn. The colonists objected to being taxed at all by any legislative body in which they held themselves to be unrepresented. In this state of doubt the Rockingham ministry determined to repeal the act, mainly on account of the shrewd observations of Dr. Franklin, then in London as agent for several colonies, and in the hope of winning the support of William Pitt, whose hearty co-operation might have given the ministry sufficient strength to maintain itself in power. America has probably never produced a man of greater mental grasp than Benjamin Franklin, and in him the greatest ability was combined with common sense and worldly wisdom, as they have never been combined in any other man. He and some of his English friends brought it about that he should be summoned to the bar of the House Hutchinson, of Commons, and there interrogated as to the American crisis. Some of the questions were arranged beforehand, but many were prompted by the course of the examination. Pitt's speech. In the House of Commons, Pitt made two speeches denying the right of Parliament to lay internal taxes on the colonies and "rejoicing that America had resisted." He sought to draw a line between external and internal taxation, and temporaries, argued that, although Parliament could regulate trade and raise a revenue, while so doing it could not lay direct internal taxes on the colonists. The same view was enforced in the House of Peers by Lord Camden, who urged that taxation without representation was against the constitution. Their arguments were ably met in the Commons by Stedman and His examination. Stedman and III, 21. Adams's British Orations, 98; Hart's Con II, No. 142. 1767] The Townshend Acts 149 Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. George Grenville, and in the Peers by Lord Mansfield, who had the law clearly on their side, although expediency was as plainly with Pitt and Camden. The English merchants petitioned for the repeal of the act, on the ground that the disturbances which it had caused in America were disastrous to colonial trade. Thus urged, and with the means of retreat pointed out by Pitt, the ministers brought in two bills, one to repeal the Stamp Act, the other declaring that Parliament had power to "legislate for the colonies in all cases whatsoever." Both bills passed and became law. Thus Parliament upheld the theory of its legislative supremacy, but gave way on a particular point. The colonists, considering that they had won, rejoiced greatly, and no name was more popular with them than that of William Pitt. In reality, however, by the Declaratory Act, Parlia- The Declaratory ment had retained full right to tax the colonists whenever Act, 1766. it might seem best. There can be no question that Pitt Winsor's was wrong in his attempt to separate the taxing power America, from the general legislative power, and that Mansfield and Grenville were right in asserting that one could not exist without the other. VI, 32. Grafton ministry. 127. The Townshend Acts, 1767. — The yielding to Pitt Chathamdid not bring to the Rockingham ministry the support of that statesman. On the contrary, he soon became the head of a government which is known as the Chatham-Grafton ministry. William Pitt, now a peer, with the title of Earl of Chatham, was the real leader, although the Duke of Grafton was the nominal head. The other members of the government were drawn from all parties, - followers of Rockingham and Pitt, and even Tories, like Lord North; indeed, so many elements were represented, that Burke laughingly described it as a bit of "tesselated pavement" and christened it "The Mosaic Ministry." Chatham almost immediately retired to his country house, the victim of some peculiar malady, which seems to have resembled the 'nervous prostration" of our day. Under these circumstances, the most energetic man took the lead, and he was 66 |