The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-03-21 00:00:00, page 1

The SPEECH of Governor JOHNSTONE, in the House of
Commons on Thursday the 26th of October, 1775.
, —I —,HE speech of the Honorable Baronet who spoke last
'(Sir Adam Ferguson) is very much like that we
have just heard from the throne, full 01 assumed
falfe faffs and general undisputed axioms, which
the people in America are as ready to close with as their ad
versaries on this tide. As for instance, the Hon. Gentleman
fays, " the Americans had some reasons for their conduct in
the firft of those disputes ; but now they have refufed their
just proportion of taxes, by rejecting Lord North's concilia
, tory proposition of last year, and refilling the constituti
onal authority of Parliament, he is ready to devote them to
deiiruction." Who does not lee that the whole question,
even according to this Hon. Gentleman, turns upon fay? pro
portion and constitutional authority ? Now I deny that the
people of America have ever refufed to contribute their just
proportion, when called upon in a constitutional way, and
those who assert the contrary ought to prove it. If the Hon.
Gentleman vindicates the severity of his conduct against his
fellow fubjeds in America, for rejecting the proposition of
last year, which the Noble Lord introduced about the mid
dle cf the session, I think he rests on as feeble ground as any
man ever flood on. How does he vindicate the severities id
which he concurred before it could be known whether
the subjects in America would accede to this marvellous in
dulgence or not ? His mindmuh have been strangely biaffed to
the Noble Lord, if this could turn the scale of his reason.
I really thought this foofilh piece of paper had been io uni
versally condemned, that I should never again have heard
any arguments founded on so flimfy a foundation. Ihe
purpose was clearly to amuse the people on this fide the
Atlantic, and to divide the people on that. Having
failed in its effect, I understood from many friends of
government, that every rational argument in support of
the proposition had been reprobated ; for what, indeed, can
be more truly ridiculous, than in a dispute concerning tne
power of taxation, seriously to fay to a sensible people, we
admit there are many unanswerable reasons why this Assem
bly are unfit to impose taxes upon you, and therefore, if you
will only tax yourselves to our fatisfadtion, we will forbear
the exetcife of a right to which we declare by the proposition
we are incompetent ; but some men will fay the Parliament
can judge fufficiently well of the gross sum, though unfit and
incapable of determining on the manner in which it is to be
raised. Who that is accustomed to reason accurately, does
not perceive that the estimate of supply must be regulated
from a thorough knowledge of the ways and means, and that
they are united in common sense, as well as by the Engluh
constitution, to reside in the fame persons. But the Honor
able Baronet forgets that the main argument which drew the
concession of the conciliatory proposition turns on this ; the
Americans have no representatives in the British Parliament ;
they have not the security of other fubjeds residing in Britain,
who may not be represented, namely, Wat the members in
taxing them must tax themselves ; on the contrary, it is the
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143
interest of every member to lay as much as possible on Ame
rica to ease himfelf. This was the confederation which
" drew iron tears from Pluto's cheek,'' and has effected so many
members not remarkably tender towards the feeling of their
fellow creatures. But let us consider if this irrefihible objec
tion, as it has been called by one of the friends of administra
tion, against taxing America by the British Parliament, does
not equally apply, when we approve of the sum offered, and
tax them in the lump, as when we tax them in detail.
However, Sir, absurd as this appears, it is not my capital
objection to that mode of raising money, nor is it the objec
tion of the Americans; they maintain the power of giving
and granting their own money by their own free and volun
tary consent, is the only security they can retain for the just
administration of government, at so great a diftahce from the
feat of empire. That it is the main spring in their several
establishments, upon which the meeting and power of their seve
ral Assemblies depend, from whence the singular prosperity of
the British Colonies, above all others on the face of the
earth, have flowed. They admit you have the power of li
miting the means, by which they may acquire property, but
they deny you the power of disposing of this property, after
it is so acquired. Thus in his Majesty's fpeech,the fame ge
neral undefined axioms prevail ; “ to be a fubjeft of Great-
Britain, with all its consequences, is to be the freeft member
cf any civil Mate in the known world." All America, with
one voice, agree in this truth; their writings and their ac
tions proclaim their belief; but they maintain, as 1 assert, in
their behalf, that one of the unalienable confluences of
that situation, is the giving and granting of aids for the fap
port of government, according to the exigency that shall ap
pear to their own underftandingq and that to tax them in an
afiembly where they have no representatives, and by men
who have no interest in the subsidy they impose, is contrary
to the spirit of the British conftit,utiop, and in its confeque^-
ces must deprive them of all the effemial rights of a British
fubje&. Another essential right of a British fubjecl is trial
by jury ; has not this been abrogated in many cases by the
late ads of Parliament, and totally dcflroy^d in all civil
causes in the extensive province of Quebec? The writ cf
habeas corpus is another essential right of a British fubjed;
has not this also been done away ? I forbear to enumerate the
other oppressive proceedings, contrary to the whole tenor of
our government, dissolving cf charters without evidence,
trial or forfeiture ; laws to deny the natural gifts of rhe ele
ments, confounding the innocent with the gdiity; because
when once the three great pillars of the British conhithtion arc
removed, taxing withoutreprefentatives, trial without jury, im
prisonment without relief by writ of habeas corpus, the whole
must neceffaril, fall into confufiori; and the rest is hot worth
contending for. 'I he people in America wifely forefce the fup
preffioncfall their rights, in the trainsfthofe iniquitous innova
tions. They perceive that every thing, which is dear io a free
man, is at flake, and they are willing, as becomes the children
of their ancestors, to put all to the rifque, and ficridee their
fives a^d fortunes, father than give up the liberty cf a fob-
[Num. 182.