fending a parliamentary commiffion to America, is immaterial: the The other fubjects of complaint from the Colonies are next con- The next ground of your complaint (continues he) in point of confequence, is, that the King and Parliament interfere in other objects of your internal legiflation, new model your affemblies, and alter your charters. Here again (fays he) it will be your own fault if, in adjusting the terms of the act of ftate we have mentioned, order fhall not arife out of diforder, and a great judicial and legiflative arrangement accompany a commercial one.'' If you fufpect us, fadds he) appoint your own Judges, pay them your own falaries, or Thare the appointment and payment with the Crown. To us thefe points are immaterial; but let your Judges be for life, with incomes fuited to their ftations, and in their independence your own will be fecured.. 'When you shall thus have obtained a regular administration of law, police, and government amongst you, we shall not be afraid of your holding your eftates and trade, and we the debts due to us out of both, by the uncertain tenure of chance, or of democratical anarchy, which is worse than chance; and we fhall have little occafion to interfere in your internal, judicial, or legislative arrangements. The great rule, which you do not difpute, that your law's are not to be incompatible with the law of England, and that the crown has or ought to have a negative upon the bills of your af femblies, in the fame way that it has upon the bills of our Lords and Commons, will fecure us fufficiently againft innovations. • The only remaining general subject of contest, so far as we can see, is the power of the crown to fend troops amongst you without confent of your affemblies. Perhaps even this delicate point might be adjusted. For you have as much an intereft to be defended, as we On your part it might be yielded, that a cerhave to defend you. tain number of British forces should be fupported in America without confent of the affemblies, and on ours, that no more fhould be fent except in times of war or actual rebellion. • If thefe great commercial, judicial, legislative, and military arrangements were agreed upon, we might leave the provifion for them to yourselves; or at least be contented with a standing revenue to be now ascertained between your affemblies and parliament. For though we give up the difgraceful and odious privilege of taxing you, you cannot be ignorant that you must establish revenues, as all other countries do, to fupport your establishments. • The The deluded amongst you think that we affume airs of fupe riority over you even where they are needlefs. Far from it; every honour of this country is open to you. We fhould even be happy to fee you ask the establishment of a nobility, and of ranks among yourselves, that your fpirits might not only be inflamed by the love of liberty, but exalted by the love of family. The whole history of mankind prefents not a ftate of fociety, notwithstanding all the imperfections it is charged with, fo fraught with liberty, fafety, wealth, and honour, as that of England is. Approach to it, fl not from it All human kind envy it. Reject not, you, what others pray for from heaven.' With fuch Sentiments of kindness in our breafts (to ufe the Author's own words) toward the Colonifts, is it not ftrange that we are plung ing into the calamities of a civil war? If then fentiments of kindness' were really entertained, might they not at least have fo far prevailed as to have fufpended thofe armaments and severe reftraining acts which have been lately difpatched to America, until fufficient time had been allowed for negociating the terms of this intended great act of ftate?'-Will not the people of America fuppofe actions to be more fubftantial and decifive evidences of our intentions than words? And is it not likely that they may think the late measures of government towards them incompatible with thofe fentiments of kindness' which are here profeffed? If there be no delu. fion in this Addrefs, it must follow that the Colonies may now expect to obtain all the fubftantial provifions of the bill lately offered by Lord Chatham. But if this may be expected, why was that bill fo abruptly rejected? Have the fentiments of kindness in our breafts' only found admiffion fince that event?-These questions will natu rally occur in reflecting on the Addrefs before us, though fatisfactory answers to them are not very obvious. We most ardently with for a reconciliation between the difcordant parts of the British empire, and it would doubtlefs afford caufe of general fatisfaction to know that fuitable difpofitions for promoting it were prevalent, not only in the Colonies but in those who are intrufted with the administration of government in Great Britain. This however cannot be known from the profeffions and promises contained in the prefent Address, which, though they may have been made with the Minifter's concurrence, depend only upon the authority of a nameless Writer, and may therefore never be verified. It is proper to remark that our Author, in replying to the Ame rican complaints of grievances, appears fometimes ignorant of the truth, or unwilling to confefs it. Of this we fhall give an inftance from page 36, where he fays, But in defcribing the powers of this board of customs, your Congrefs ought not to have faid in their addreffes to their Sovereign, and you, that "the commiffiouers of it are impowered to break open and enter houfes without the authority of any civil magiftrate, founded on legal information." We are cer tain that the board of cuftoms in America has no fuch power by law. We cannot think that their fuperiors here would direct them to affume it against law. We do not believe they exercife it. But if we are mistaken, point out the offenders. The vengeance of an injured Public 2 Public will overtake them. But till you point out thefe, lay not the offence obliquely upon others who you know must be guiltless.' It is however true that not only the commiffioners but even the inferior officers of the customs are, by his Majefty's commithion, authorized, without the warrant of any civil magiftrate, or the affiance of any peace officer, at any of their wills and pleasure, in the daytime, to enter and go into any warehoufe, fhop, cellar, or other place where any goods, merchandize, or wares lie concealed, or are Jufpected to lie concealed, &c.-and all and every the trunks, chefts, boxes, and pack, then and there found, to break open.'-If then the moft private repofitories of every American trader have not been broke open, it certainly is not because these acts of violence are not authorized, but because they cannot be committed without provoking refiftance. B. Art. 20. The Speech of Edmund Burke, Efq; on moving his Refolutions for conciliation with the Colonies, March 22d, 1775. 4to. 2 s. 6d. Dodsley. After a suitable exordium, and fome obfervations refpecting the measures of government towards the colonies, the speaker mentions that at the beginning of the late feffion, a worthy member (Mr. Rofe Fuller) lamenting the prefent afpect of our politics, had told him things were come to fuch a pafs, that former methods of proceeding in the house would be no longer tolerated; that the public tribunal (never too indulgent to a long and unfuccefsful oppofition) would now fcrutinize our conduct with unusual severity; that the very viciffitudes and fhiftings of minifterial meafures. inftead of convicting their authors of inconstancy and want of fyftem, would be taken as an occafion of charging us with a pre determined difcontent which nothing could fatisfy; whilst we accused every measure of vigour as cruel, and every propofal of lenity as weak and irrefolute;-and that it would be expected that those who for many years had been active in fuch affairs, fhould fhew that they had formed fome clear and decided idea of the principles of colony government; and were capable of drawing out fomething like a platform of the ground which might be laid for future and permanent tranquillity." The speaker profeffes to have felt the truth of this reprefentation;-to have been fenfible of his own want of qualifications for the undertaking; and confcious how disadvantageous it is to hazard plans of government except from a feat of authority. But, fays he, when I faw that anger and violence prevailed every day more and more; and that things were haftening towards an incurable alienation of our colonies, I confefs my caution gave way. I felt this as one of those moments in which decorum yields to an higher duty.' Proceeding to an account of his propofal he fays, The propo fition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endlefs negociations; not peace to arife out of univerfal difcord, fomented, from principle, in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical determination of perplexing queitions; or the preeife marking the fhadowy boundaries of a complex government. It is fimple peace; fought in its natural courfe, and its ordinary haunts. -It is peace fought in the fpirit of peace; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propofe, by removing the ground of the difference, and by reftoring the former unfufpecting confidence of the colo nies in the mother country, to give permanent fatisfaction to your people; and (far from a fcheme of ruling by difcord) to reconcile them to each other in the fame act, and by the bond of the very fame intereft, which reconciles them to British government.' And, fpeaking farther of his plan, he fays, it has nothing of the fplendor of the project which has been lately laid upon your table by the noble lord in the blue ribband-it does not propofe to fill your lobby with fquabbling colony agents, who will require the interpofition of your mace at every inftant to keep peace amongst them. It does not institute a magnificent auction of finance, where captivated provinces come to general ranfom, by bidding again each other, until you knock down the hammer, and determine a proportion of payments, beyond all the powers of algebra to equa lize and fettle." Here, however, we cannot but obferve, that if it was ever expected that the colonies would thus eagerly outbid each other, in propo fals for pecuniary contributions, according to the late conciliatory refolution moved by lord North, this expectation is likely to end in disappointment, fince even in New York, where it was believed this propofal would be moft acceptable, the governor, by the una nimous advice of his council, has declined calling an affembly (as he had been inftructed to do) to confider of the fame, from a full conviction, that it would be generally condemned and rejected. · It has The speaker next proceeds to mention two capital leading quef tions for parliamentary decifion, firft whether you ought to concede, and fecondly what your conceffion ought to be.' On the firt of these he obferves, that the houfe from the propofition and regiftry of the noble lord's project, has declared conciliation admiffible previous to any fubmiflion on the part of America. (continues he) even fhot a good deal beyond that mark, and has admitted, that the complaints of our former mode of exerting the right of taxation were not wholly unfounded. That right thes exercifed is allowed to have had fomething reprehenfible in it; fomething unwife, or fomething grievous; fince in the midst of our heat and refentment, we of ourfelves have propofed a capital alteration; and in order to get rid of what feemed fo very exceptionable, have inftituted a mode that is altogether new; one that is indeed wholly alien from all the ancient methods and forms of parliament.' Our ingenious orator alfo obferves, that in order to determine both the one and the other of thefe great questions, it is neceffary to confider diftinctly the true nature of the peculiar circumftances of the object which we have before us; because after all our ftruggle, whether we will or will not, we must govern America according to that nature and those circumstances, and not according to our own imaginations, or abstract ideas of right, &c. * A flight impropriety: we have feen the hammer of an auctioneer defcend, but we never faw one knocked down. He He therefore proceeds firft to confider the number of people in the colonies, and the rapid increase of their population, from which he infers, that no partial, narrow, contracted, pinched, occafional fyftem will be at all fuitable to fuch an object:' an object not to be confidered as one of those minima which are out of the eye and confideration of the law; not a paltry excrefcence of the state; not a mean dependant who may be neglected with little damage, and provoked with little danger.' That we ought not in reafon to triHe with fo large a mafs of the interefts and feelings of mankind ; that we could at no time do fo without guilt,' and that we shall not be able to do it long with impunity.' He next enters upon a detail of the comparative increase and importance of the commerce of the colonies, which he mentions as out of all proportion beyond the numbers of the people.' Here he ftates and compares different though not lefs friking periods, than thofe lately adduced by Mr. Glover. And having reached the fummit of this great object, he says, it is good for us to be here: we ftand where we have an immense view of what is and what is paft. Clouds indeed and darkness rest upon the future. Let us, however, before we defcend from this noble eminence reflect that this growth of national profperity has hap pened within the fhort period of the life of man. It has happened within fixty eight years. There are thofe alive whofe memory might touch the two extremities.' Of thefe he inftances lord Ba thurt, and after fome elegant compliments, fuppofes the angel of this aufpicious youth, in 1704 drawing up the curtain and unfolding the rifing glories of his country with this prediction, "Young man, there is America-which at this day ferves for little more than to amufe you with ftories of favage men, and uncouth manners; yet fhall before you taste of death, fhew itfelf equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world. Whatever England has been growing to by a progreffive increase of improve ment, brought in by varieties of people, by fucceffion of civilizing conquefts and civilizing fettlements in a feries of feventeen hundred years, you fhall fee as much added to her by America in the course of a single life! If this ftate of his country had been foretold to him, would it not require all the fanguine credulity of youth, and all the fervid glow of enthufiafm, to make him believe it? Fortunate man, he has lived to fee it! Fortunate indeed, if he lives to fee nothing that fhall vary the profpect, and cloud the fet ting of his day!' Mr. Burke next confiders the Agriculture of America, and says, for some time paft the old world has been fed from the new. The scarcity which you have felt, would have been a defolating famine; if this child of your old age, with a true filial piety, with a Roman charity, had not put the full breaft of its youthful exuberance to the mouth of its exhausted parent.' Refpecting the hiftory of the colonies, and particularly the whole. fishery by the people of New England, he fays, whilft we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penctrating into the deepeft frozen receffes of Hudfon's Bay, and Davis's Streights, whilft we are looking for them beneath the arctic cirRev. June, 1773. cle, |