Nevertheless，by the peculiar，creative energy of a rapidly growing mass of enterprising and indefatigably active men，favoured by an extensive，fruitful，and happily situated territory；by simple forms of government，well adapted to their ends，and by profound peace，these colonies，thus neglected，and well nigh forgotten by the mother country，sprang up，after a short infancy，with giant strides，to the fulness and consistency of a brilliant youth．The phenomenon of their unexpected greatness，roused the Europeans，with sudden violence，from the slumber of a thoughtless indifference，and，at length，displayed to them a real new world，fully prepared to rivalize with the old；for which，however，at the same time，it was an inexhaustible source of wealth and enjoyment．Even before the middle of this century，every maritime power of Europe，but England more than all the rest，because the foundation of her colonies had accidentally departed the least from good principles，had discovered，that the peculiar，and only worth of all external European possessions，consisted in the extended market they opened to the industry of the mother country；that it was not the empty sovereignty over enormous territories；not the barren right of property to gold and silver mines；but solely the encreased facility of sale for European productions，and an advantageous exchange of them for the productions of the most distant regions，which gave to the discovery of America the first rank among all the events beneficial to the world.
No sooner had this great truth begun to be so much as obscurely perceived，than necessarily all the exertions of the mother country concentrated themselves，in giving to their trade with the colonies the greatest extent，and the most advantageous direction；and for this end，even in times so little remote from the present，as those of which I speak，no other means were devised，than a Monopoly．In compelling the inhabitants of the colonies to receive exclusively from the mother country，all the necessary European articles they required，and to sell exclusively to her all the productions，by the circulation of which the merchants of the mother country might hope a certain profit，it was supposed that vast market，whose importance became more evident from year to year，would be improved in its whole extent，and under the most profitable conditions.
The error，which lay at the bottom of this system was pardonable．The genuine principles of the nature and sources of wealth，and of the true interests of commercial nations had scarcely yet germed in a few distinguished heads，and were not even developed，much less acknowledged．Nay，if at that early period，a single state could have soared to the elevation of these principles；on one side；had renounced all prejudices，on the other，every paltry jealousy，and felt a lively conviction，that liberty and general competition must be the basis of all true commercial policy，and the wisest principle of trade with the colonies，yet could she not，without sacrificing herself，have listened to this principle．For in leaving her colonies free，she would have run the risque of seeing them fall into the hands of another，who would exclude her from their market．She was not privileged to be wise alone，and to have expected a general concert among the commercial powers would have been folly．As therefore a colonial trade，grounded upon monopoly，was yet better than none，there remained for a state，in the situation of England，even had she most fortunately anticipated the result of a long experience，and of profound meditation，no other system than that of monopoly.
To secure to herself the exclusive trade of the colonies was under these circumstances necessarily the highest aim of England's policy．The establishment of this exclusive trade，which naturally arose from the original relations between the colonies and the mother country，had not been difficult to the state；for the emigrants had never received the smallest support．By so much the more expensive had it been to keep them．The possession of the colonies was the occasion of wars．The war of eight years between France and England，which concluded in the year 1763，by the peace of Fontainebleau，and which encreased the English national debt nearly an hundred millions sterling，had the colonial interest for its sole object．The conquest of Canada would not in itself have been worth a tenth part of the sums，which that war cost；the firm establishment of the commercial monopoly was properly the final purpose，for which they were expended.
It is a great question，whether even independent of the unhappy differences，which broke out immediately after the close of that war，its consequences would not have been rather pernicious than salutary to England．The annihilation of the French power in North-America completed the political existence of the English colonies，and supported by the still accelerating progress of their wealth，and of their vigor，gave them a consciousness of security and of stability，which must have become sooner or later dangerous to their connection with the mother country．It is more than improbable that this connection would have been perpetual．It is difficult to believe that under the most favourable circumstances it would have lasted another century．No nation governed its colonies upon more liberal and equitable principles than England；but the unnatural system，which chained the growth of a great people to the exclusive commercial interest of a country，distant from them a thousand leagues，even with the most liberal organization of which it was capable，could not have lasted forever.(2) Yet it would certainly have maintained itself for the next fifty years，and might perhaps have been dissolved in a milder and happier way than has now happened，had not England，under the most wretched of fascinations，fallen upon the idea of procuring in addition to the benefit of an exclusive trade，another immediate benefit，by an American public revenue.
It is hard to decide，which of the secret motives，which on either side were imputed to the ministry of that time first gave existence to this pernicious project．The most pardonable of all，the wish of alleviating the burthen of taxes upon the people of Great Britain，and especially upon the landholders；a burthen，which the war had so much aggravated，is unluckily at the same time the most improbable．Specie was exactly that in which North America least abounded；to have levied in that country a tax of any real importance could scarcely have occurred to any Englishman with the least smattering of information；and that，amidst the thousand obstacles which must necessarily have opposed the collection of such a tax，its nett produce for the treasury would always have melted to nothing，could scarcely escape the sagacity of any person versed in the subject．If we consider it attentively on all sides；if we carefully remark certain expressions of the ministers of that day，and what were afterwards known to be their favourite ideas，as well as the whole course of transactions upon American affairs，we can hardly avoid the belief，that what is generally considered as the consequence of the first treasury plan，the jealousy of the parliament's unlimited supremacy was rather the proper motive for this plan；and the secret apprehension that America might grow weary of her fetters，misled them to the dangerous experiment of fastening still narrower chains upon her.
The first step in this untrodden career was taken immediately after the peace of 1763，and under the most unfavourable auspices．The minister of finance，George Grenville，else in every respect an estimable and excellent statesman，but whose mind was either not great or not flexible enough to consider the new system in all its points of view，thought he could force down its execution，just at the period when，by various severe acts of parliament，he had brought back the commercial relations between England and the colonies as close as possible to the principles of monopoly；had pursued the American contraband trade，with the most oppressive regulations，and thereby had excited a great discontent in all minds．The tax with which he proposed to make his first essay，was a stamp-tax upon judicial records，newspapers，&c．to which the parliament，at the commencement of the year 1765，gave its assent.
The colonies had hitherto paid no other taxes，than those，which were necessary for the internal administration；and these proportionably insignificant charges had been prescribed and assessed by the several representative assemblies of each colony．In cases of urgency，for instance，in the course of the late war，these assemblies had raised，and presented to the government，extraordinary and voluntary contributions；but of a public tax，raised by act of parliament，there had been in North America no example．If the parliament，in the laws regulating trade，had sometimes introduced a trifling entrance，or clearance duty，the most distant trace had never appeared in any public transaction，of a design to make America contribute immediately to the general exigencies of the British empire.
A long and venerable observance had sanctioned this colonial immunity；a thousand equitable considerations，and this above all，that the British commercial monopoly was of itself equivalent to a heavy and invaluable tax，justified this observance；and what was most important of all，even the authority of the parliament to violate this immunity，was controvertible with weapons furnished by the spirit of the English constitution itself．It had always been a favourite maxim of this constitution，that no Briton could be compelled to pay taxes，not imposed by his own representatives，and upon this maxim rested the whole constitutional power of the lower house in parliament．That the inhabitants of the colonies，in every sense of the word，were Britons，no man questioned；and the parliament，which thought itself authorised to tax them，even in that，recognized them as fellow citizens．Yet had they no representatives in parliament，and，owing to their distance，could properly make no pretensions to it．If，therefore，in respect to them，the constitutional principle retained its force，their contributions could only be prescribed by their colonial assemblies，and the British parliament was no more entitled to exercise the right of taxation over them，than over the people of Ireland.
But had this right been only questionable，it was at all events a false and hazardous step to bring it into discussion．To raise a controversy，concerning the bounds of the supreme power in the state，without the most urgent necessity，is in every case contrary to the simplest rules of state policy．Doubly dangerous must such a controversy here be，where it concerned a constitution，whose nature and boundaries had never yet been defined，and were，perhaps，not susceptible of definition．The relation between a colony and the mother country is one of those，which will not bear a strong elucidation；rights of sovereignty，of so peculiar and extraordinary a nature often vanish under the hands of those，who would dissect them．Now，when the mother country has a constitution like that of Britain，it becomes infinitely difficult to introduce into that relation a harmony，which satisfies the understanding，and at the same time the idea of right．It had never been examined how far the legislative authority of parliament，in respect to the colonies，extended；thus much，however，the colonies admitted，and would have continued long to admit，that the parliament was fully authorised to direct and to restrain their trade，in the widest extent of the word．This alone was clear；but this alone was essential to England．An attempt to go further was manifestly to set all at stake.
The appearance of the stamp-act in America was the signal for an universal commotion．The new laws against contraband trade had already irritated the minds of the people，because they plainly manifested the purpose of maintaining the British commercial monopoly in its greatest vigour；but these laws were received in silence，because there was no pretention to the right of complaining against them．Now，a new，and hitherto unexampled system，that of raising in North-America a tax for the treasury of England，was to be introduced，and in a form necessarily odious to the colonies；for a stamp-tax，from various local causes，had always been in North-America an oppressive tax．The opposition spread in a few days among all classes of people；in the lower，it burst forth in excesses of every kind；in the higher，by a stubborn and deliberate resistance，especially by a general agreement to import no merchandize from Great-Britain，until the stamp-act should be repealed．With the temper，which prevailed from one end of the colonies to the other，and with the well known perseverance，bordering upon obstinacy，of the author of the project，perhaps this first struggle might have ended in the total separation，had not just at that time the administration in England fallen into other hands.
The ministry，which in the summer of 1765，took the affairs of the nation in hand，rejected the new system of immediate taxation in America entirely．The mild principles，and the popular maxims of the marquis of Rockingham，made him averse to a path，in which violence alone could lead to the goal；and the secretary of state，general Conway，had been，when the business was first transacted in parliament，Grenville's most powerful and ardent opposer．The stamp-act，in the first session of the year 1766，was repealed；but to preserve the honour of parliament from sinking altogether，with this repeal was connected a declaratory act，intituled，“An Act for securing the Dependence of the Colonies；”in which the right of Great-Britain to legislate for the colonies in all cases whatsoever，was solemnly maintained.
This last step could not，in itself，be indifferent to the Americans；yet the joy at the repeal of the stamp-act was so great，that no regard was paid to the possible consequences of the act，which was attached as a counterbalancing weight to this appeal；and probably peace and concord would have been for a long time restored and secured，had not the English ministry，in a luckless hour，brought again to light the fatal project of raising a revenue from America．The marquis of Rockingham's administration had been dissolved，soon after the repeal of the stamp-act，and had been succeeded by another，at the head of which was indeed the name，but no longer the genius of the earl of Chatham．Charles Townsend，chancellor of the exchequer，a man of splendid talents，but of a frivolous and unsafe character，who was aiming to attain the highest summit of influence in the state，when an early death snatched him away from the career，proposed，in the year 1767，a tax upon the importation of glass，paper，painters' colours and tea into the colonies，and this proposal，although several of the ministers，and among the rest the duke of Grafton，who was at the head of the treasury department had silently contended against it，was by parliament adopted as a law．The defenders of this new plan entrenched themselves behind the feeble argument，that although parliament，by repealing the stamp-act，had renounced a direct taxation of the colonies，yet no renunciation could thence be inferred of indirect taxation，which was intimately connected with the right of regulating trade.
