Townshend Acts
Early in 1767, shortly after The Stamp Act was repealed owing to colonial protests and boycotts of British goods, Townshend proposed that the Parliament could procure revenue from the Americans without causing them offense via "external" import taxes instead of internal taxes. These were known as the Townshend Acts. The Acts passed resolutions for taxing several exports to America, such as glass, paint, paper and tea. The Townshend Acts established a Board of Commissioners in Boston to enforce them, which was seen as a threat to the American colonial tradition of self-government. He estimated these export taxes would produce a sum of £40,000 for the English treasury. He had the support of his cousin Thomas Townshend who was also a minister in the government. The Townshend Acts would be Townshend's last official act before his death.