One would
have thought that the American legislative assemblies had become
too harmless bodies to have been the object of ministerial rage,
since the passing of acts of parliament for the sole purpose of
raising revenues at the expence of the colonists, without their
consent, and for appropriating those revenues as they should think
proper. The most essential Rights of American legislation, are
those of raising and applying their own monies for the support of
their own government, and for their own defence: By the late
revenue acts, these rights are in effect superseded; the
parliament having already granted, such sums as they please, out
of the purses of the colonists, for the same purposes. Thus the
shadow of legislation only remains to them: Their importance is at
an end. They may indeed, as the Pennsylvania farmer observes,
whose works I wish every American would read over again, "They may
perhaps be allowed to make laws for yoking of hogs or pounding of
stray cattle: Their influence will hardly be permitted to extend
so high as the keeping roads in repair; as that business may more
properly be executed by those who receive the public cash.
Pages:
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293