The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Boston [Mass.]) 1770-1772, 1772-07-23

GETa 50 to whom you directed your
or 1S@ late meGage,is now incaPa-
R W@SN bic Of returning you their
SySSSSSX collective anf"er, you VIII
sJSgOD@6 undoubtedly indulge an old
correspondent, through this grateful channe''
20 offer you fome pertinent obierva'ions up
on that finiihed piece.
You (et out with remsrking, that the re-
Dor, by them accepted, and ordered to oe en-
tered on their Journals, contains certain re-
folves, which you conceive are not wei found
ed; but, on the contrary, tend to amer 'h'
conRituional dependence Of this colony up
on the crow n, and upon the fuPre'ne leg ia
tive authority Of Gteat- Britain. You nave
pretended TO give us the fun of thoie reiolVes
and declarations. aud the allegations brought
for their fupport and with all the gravity
of German Pejagogue infer, that from
their arguments there is TOO great room 10
spptebend that fome may fuppofe this con
,raa to be fcmethng of the nature OF the
Pat7a eonUsnta, or agreements iettled by
treaty between two independent itates switch
fuppoG,ion, you tell US, would have iuch
dangerous tendency, that it is neceilAry tor
you to define very particularly the nature OF
a charter from the crown of Great Britain
upon the principles Of the Englllh conitl-
tuition.
After all this parade, not to writers in news
papers but to the venerable Commons OF the
Maaachufetts Bay, where is this conttItuti-
onal dependence of this colony on the iu-
preme legislative authority of Great Britain
once attempted by you to be deicrlbed 7 our
tumble OF words about part OF the prfrogafI0f
of the crown, as gUeH as of the poeUer and an
,boy;ty of Parliament to conititute corporate
ons. will ferve as well to determine the per-
pctual motion. as the thing proPoied Had
Euclid's Definitions been as perPlexed and
indeterminate as yours, ouf progress IN the
Mathematics had been much retarded by
them. Could you A4tter yourielt, TO imagine
that iuch voey If nonfenfe could lead peo-
ple TO or from any fort of conciuiions what
everi A wonderful difcovery indeed we have
derived from your fubme politics. that the
crown and the authority of Parliament can
confitute corporations, and enable them TO
make bye laws and even carry them into ex-
ecution And cannot the Great and Gene
raj Court of this province do the fame |?
Where then is he force If your very paTtI-
cular definition I fufpea there will itill be
great room left to apprehend Tome may iuP'
po(e this contract to be fomethlng OF the ma
ture of an agreement fcttled by treaty, char
ter, or what elie YOU may chute to call it,
But in feveral parts of your msiiage you ieem
to manifeft a very light effeem of the rights
relerved TO the people by the Charters.
They are only to be uied until the charter
in whole or in part lhall be hgGib vacated.
This il feems can be done a. pieaiure, when.
ever a tyrant orders his Attorney General to
ifoe procefs in a nigh commifIion court
kainR it. | would take it as favour TO be
directed TO the law of nature OF nations, or
which the voidance Of fuch (oemn and mu-
tualy beneficial contracts is founded. MY
books are certainly quite ii'ent upon it, and
Va,el, whom have of la,e ieen often quot
ed, holds the direct contrary iuPPoiing that
a treaty, or grant, by charter, letters patent,
or how you pIeaie, eUfn tb9te thai are pfyj0H-
al (much more political and colonial) con
GUIDED between Sovereign and the peo-
NE. they ere treaties of the mott faored ma
ture, and highly obligatory On both iides
Was not the charter of James |. fuca a
treaty Did not Charles |. amPlify and con-
firm III What ight then had Charles Ii to
vacate il But it was done; and.l will rea-
div admit, that could you be Perionally in-
tereifed in the event, few presidents in Ell
,her of thore di4bolicaI reigns would much
flock your de'icacy.
lam notwithstanding all the legal and con-
fl;,utional tranfa6hons Of the Stuart family,
fiil much in the dark about the right of the