The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1776-07-15 00:00:00, page 1

Z 5: SPEECH af‘Gov.rJOH'\ISON, in tke Houle of
Commons, oz Thurfisy #he 26th of OQober, 1775.
THE Speech of the Hoaourable Baronet who
spoke lak (Sir Adam Ferguson) is very much
:iﬂ'h tllatfwe kave jult heard from the throne, full of
~aflamed falfe fads, and general undisputed axioms,
il e, pamioiies Sigy,
, , & -adversaries on thisfide. As forinftance,
the honoursble Gentlemsn fays, <¢ the Americans
had some reasons for their condu@ in the firft of those
disputes ; but now they have refufed their just propor
tion of taxes, by rejecting Lord North’s conciliatory
propefition of las year, and resisting the constitutional
awchority of parliament, he is ready to cevoie them
to deftruftion.”” Who docs not fee that the whole
queflion, even according to this Hon. Gentleman,
turns upon ju} proportion, ard conititurional autho
rizy } mow I deny, that the people of America have e
ver refufed to contribute their just proportion whea
called upon ia a conftitugional way, and those who as
sert the conrary ought to prove it If the Hon Gen
tlemaa vindicates the severity of his condud against
his fellow-fubje@:in America, for rejecting the pro
pofiion of the lalt year, which e noble Lerd intro
duced sbout the middle of the (eiion. [ think he refls
on as feebie a ground, as any man ever food on. How
does he vindicate the feveritiesin which he concurred,
before it could be known whether the fubje@s in A
merica would accede to this marvellous indulgence or
not? His mind must have been flrangely biaffed to
the noble Lord, if this conld turn the scale of his rea
son. I really chonght this foclifh piece of paper had
been {o universally condemned, that Ifhould never a
| gain have heard any argements foanded on so flimfey
" afoundation. The purpose was merely to amuse the
people on this fide the Atlantic, and to dividethe peo
ple oathat. Having failed in its efet, [ understood
from many frieads of government, that every rarional
argument in support of the proposition had been re
probated; for, what, ihdeed, can be more truly ridi
calous, thaa in a dispute concerning taxaton, feri
oully to fay to afenfible people, we admit there are
many unan{werable reasons why this Aflembly are
unfit to impose taxes upon you, and therefore, if you
will only tax yourselves to our fatisfuciion, we will
forbear the exereife of a right, to which we declare by
the proposition we are imcompetent; but some men
will fay, the Parliament can judge fufficiently weil of
the gross sum, tho’ unfi¢and incapable of determining
on the manaer in which it is to be raifeds Who that
isaccuftomed to reason accurately, does mot perceive
that che eftimaie of supply must be regulated from a
thorcugh keowledge of the ways and means, and that
they are united in gommon sense, as well as by the
Eaglith confticution, to reside in the fame’ persons.
Buc the Hon. Baronet forgets the main argument
which drew the concession ofg the couciliatory proposi
tion turns on this: The Americans have no Repre
sentatives in the British Parliament; they have net
the security of other fubje@s residing in Britain, who
may not be represented, namely, that the members in
taxing them, mult cax themselves ; on tie contrary,
In the ﬂbﬂm‘xg Speec b, the rights of sature, and the pri
wilegerof the Members of the British conflitution are so
Juitly fated, the ruimous conjequences, that aill inewsta
bly be the loe of Brisain, from a purfuis of the grefint mi
niflerial measures, are so clearly laid down; and the
wwhole biing so full of found rcafming, and undoesbred
Jadls, bas induced ws, at the difire of a number of our
__readers, to give it a place in our paper.
. PERSONS beld up to PUBLIC VIEW, as
ENEMIKES 1o their COUNTRY.
- Jowaraaw Hivw,Egramont, Ma/fJachufests-Bay.
Deovar Incersor, Alford, ditto.
Davip Vavcun, Fericho, Maffachufetss-Bay.
BenjaMiN KiLLBORN,- Litcbﬁgz’, Connelticus.
Rocer Marsn, - ditto, ditto. -
Danier GriswoLp, ditto, ditio.
Mark Prinore, Harwinton, ditto.
Jonn Crark, Orford, New-Hampfbire.
ALEXANDER Brink, Hartford, New-2ork.
¢>r CONFESSION, ONE DOLLAR.
MONDAY, JULY 15, 1776.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY EBENEZER WATSON, NEAR THE GREAT BRIDGE.
it is the interest of every member to lay as much as
pofiibie on America, tg ease bimfelf, This was the
consideration which ¢* drew. ireri tears from Pluto’s
cheek,” and has effefled so many members not remar
kably tender towards the fceling:‘_f ‘their fellow crea
tures. But let us confider if thisirrefiftable ot je&ion,
as it has been cailed by one of the friends of adminis
tration, againfl taxing America by the Britith Parlia
ment, does not equally apply, when we approve of
the sum offzred, and tax'them in the lump, as when
we tax them in detail, : ‘
However, Sir, absurd as this appears, it is not my
capital objeétion to that mode of raising money, nor
is it the objeiion of the Americans; they maintain
the power of giving and granting their own meney by
theit own free and voluntary consent, is the enly se
curity they can retain for the just administration of
government, at so great a distance fiom the feat of
empire. That itis the main {pring in their several
eftabliliments, upon which the meeting and power of
their several Assemblies depend, fram whence the sin
gular prosperity of the British Colonies, above all o
thers on the face of the earth, have flowed. They ad
\mit you have the power of limiting the means, by
which you n:ay acquire property, but they deny you
the power of difpefing of this property, after itis so
acquired. Thus, in his Majefly’s’ {peech, the fame
general andefiled axioms pre'vail; ¢ to bea fubjet
of Great-Britain with all its consequences, is to be che
freet member of any civil fate in the world.” All
America, with one voiegaulel be i this trath, their:
wiitings and their aétians petilain mﬁ; ﬁ«rﬁi “but
they maintain, as I affertin ¢h ir behalf, thac one of
the unalienable consequences of that firuition, is the
giving and graating aids for the fuppert of govern
ment, according to the exigency that shall appear to
their own understanding = and that t 6 tax them in an
Assembly where they have no representatives, and by
men who have no interel in t? subsidy they impose,
is contrary to the spirit of the British confltitution, and
in its confcquences, must deprive them of all the es
sential righis of a Britifli fubjedt. Another essential
right of a Bricifh fubje& is trial by jury : has not this
heen abrogated in many cases by the late 2@s of Par
liament, and fotally destroyed ia all civil causes in the
extensive province of Quebec? The writ of babeas cor
pus, is another essential right of 3 Bridith fubjeét ? has
not this also been done away ? I forbear to enumerate
the other oppressive proceedings, contrary to the whole
_tenor of our government, diffoiving of charters wich
cut evidence, trial, or forfeiture ; laws to deny the
natural gifts of the elements, confounding the inno
cent with the guilty ; because, when once the three
grezt pillars of the Britith conflitution are removed,
taxing withoutreprefentatives, trial witheut jury, im
prisonment without relief by babeas corpus, the whole
must neceffzrily fallinto confufion)/znd the rest iz not
worth econtending for. The people in America wife
ly fee the fupprefiion of ai! their rights, in the frain of
these iniquitous innovations. They perceive, that e
ve:y thing which isdear to a freeman isat flaké, and
they are willing, as becomes the children of anceflors,
to put all to the rifque, and fac-ifice their lives and
fortunes, rather than give up the Tiberty of a {ehjed& of
Great-Britain, with.all its consequences. The Hon,
Barenet has concluded his {peech with another reason
forinducing usto joinin the coercive measures proposed
by the address, which is flall mor€ extraordinary, fay
ing, ¢ Whether we succeed or not may be uncertain
but if we fail, we fball even then bg 2o worlc than we
were.” These are the very words of the noble Lord
on the Treasury Bench last year. lam purfuaded the
worthy Barcnet has words of his own o much at will,
that he borrows frem mo man 3 but [am {urprifed he
can {anétify such opinions by his voice. If America
is forced to invite foreign powers to share in her coin
merce; if she is drove to the necessity of following the
example of Holland and Switzesland ;if our armies
are destroyed, our fleets wrecked, our treasures wafted,
our reputation for jufliceand humanity lok,ouf senates
corrupted by the emoluments which must fall (0 indi
viduals, in the prosecution of o expensive a war, and
four shillings land rax entailed on us for ever ; will
the Honourable Gentleman fay, we are only where
we were ! Whatobjeéts.can call the atteation of the
House, in a stronger degree than those I have enume
rated ? Aad ye: they are all involved in the queßion
now before you,if youieje& the 2mendment prepefed
I fzy, itis unfair in adminiftraticr; and 2n 2fdiont to
every individual member cf the House 1o call npoa
them, without any information laid on your ti&i,
without evidence brought to ycur bar, destitute of e
very material by which a raticnal creature can resolve,
to require he should give kis unlimiwd faitlion w 0
me z{ures of such momenr, on the very firft day perhaps
of Mis arrival in tows, The reason is cbvicus to me.
The Minister clearly perceives, if men were a-quain
ted with the real slate of things in America, il they
had time to acquire information, t 0 reason and reflc &,
that all men of generous feelings would leave him,and
even his most desperate followers might be fhoken
Men are to be brought to this black business hood
winked ; they are toxbe drawn in by deprees, ull they
cannotretreat. On one hand, a dutiful address to his
Majesty, full of those genewul affyrances of Joyalty and
regeﬁ becoming fatjeds to the %ﬂ magiftiate, is of.,
sered to your determination ; on 'the other, & ‘hafty
ﬁpyobatm of measures, you have had no time to con
der, from men you have leafon (o (ufpe®, lies befora
you. Isthere a man who feels the dignity othis £i ua
ation, that can hesitate upon his choice of such &n aja
ternative ? % T fpe L
I shall now expose to the Houle the falfe falls which,
are assumed in his Majelly’s speech, as composed by
the minister. Furft, (be{inifl‘gi,mh you be has cal
led you early tegether. Thisl demy. The com.,
mencement of open hoflilities was in April, the batile
of Bunker’s Hill in Juse and ihe .%g;im frory. -the
withia five o 1 fix weeks sfier the everts Now [ imains
tain, 45.2 member Parliament, inirviled witk a veics
in the supreme anthoriiy of the empire, that I am cals
led laié to deliberate in the maticnal ccuncil on ,\fuca
great events. The next noiorions untiuth is, tha the
Americans ase colle€irg a neval foice. The thind
assertion, shat the Ame:icans meant crly to zmufe by
vague expreflions of attachment (o the parent slate, is
equally injuricus 10 their hevour and to tiuth. . This
can only be inserted as an excufle for the bad conduéf
of Adminiftracion, and their i/l success. The Ame
ricans w!d you in ianguage the most dire and simple,
again and again repeated; that they would resist to the
lzft appeal those artitrary ianovations; but you sfe&-
ed not to believe them ; nevertheless, L maintsin the ar.
guments weie calculated to refill men i drms, and the
infufficiency arose from a toral ignoiance of the ‘fo,-'ce,’"
charadter and difpcfitions of the peaple in Americe, ag
well as a misconception upon the effc & the several ve~
straining bills passed last tcflions wenld pioduce; in
fhort, fiem a perfet ignorence of Ihe operaticns of
cruelty and. oppreflion on high minded men, alling
under the {pirit of freedom, Ajl their lmcﬂtdge'
feemsto have been drawn from one source, tha: of
Governor Hutchinfor. The aivil war row ragirg in
América frems, fiep by flep to bave been carried on
by his advice. Whoeverieads his Jetters pubiithed in
America, fees every measure purfved by Admimﬁr{z
tion to have bren antecedently peinted cmt by this
gentleman in his corfidential correfpendence, until
‘his sentiments seen di€aied at lafl moie by sevenge
and disappointment, thafn sny other piinciple; whae
confidence thanld be placed in the advice of a miun who
declares in the codl moments of committing his re e &i
---ons 10 paper, that every Machiavelisn pulicy is to be
vindicated rowaids the people of America? [ zm here
{uppofing thie letters in my hard 10 be geruine, and
tirere is lettle reason to deubt their authenticicy, as
they remain uncontradited. It matters rot 1o we, as
2 judge, how they were procured. The only quefiion
reipefting my cpinion on the conduétof Mr. Hutchtia
{on at prefeat is, are the letters geruine ornot ? For
in this [ always differed from the Lérds of the Couns
¢il who determined on the complaint cf the province
of New: England agzinfi Geversnior Hutchinson on the
farmer letters they discovered. The Uords of the
Council laid the whole firefs on the marner in which
the leiters had beed obtaized. © No man cou'd ad
mire the abilities of the advocate more than I did on
thatoccafion ; it was bis bufinels to influme the past
fions, to cover the turpitade of Governor Hatchinfon’s -
condud, under crimes of a greater dye; but it was
fhameful in the Judges to be led 'away, it was @nwors
thiy the difciminadon {o actefiiry ©o that char@er;
to mingle thé mansies of dbsaining the levters with (b 8
NUMBER 559.