Had this reasoning even silenced the opposition in parliament，it was by no means calculated to satisfy the colonies．The hostile object of the new statute could not escape the shortest sight．The taxes prescribed，being announced merely as impost duties，were indeed reconcileable with the letter of that immunity，which lays so near the heart of the colonists，but their secret object could scarcely be any other，than to wrest by artifice，what was not ventured to be maintained by force．The insignificance of the benefit England could derive from these taxes，which would have produced only about £．20，000，but too strongly confirmed this suspicion；and the peculiar character of the new regulations，the iniquity of exacting from a people，compelled to receive all the articles they needed，exclusively from the mother country，a tax upon the importation of such articles，rendered the undertaking completely odious．The imposts of 1767 operated in exactly the same manner as the stamp-act；the general non-importation agreement was renewed in all the colonies；bitter controversies between the colonial assemblies and the royal governors，violent scenes between the citizens of divers towns and the military，resistance on the one part，menaces on the other foreboded the stroke，which was soon to shake the British empire to its foundations.
The ministry seemed however to make one more stand，upon the very border of the precipice．In the year 1769，by a circular letter of the minister for the colonies，the pleasing prospect of a speedy relief from the odious impost duties was opened to the colonial assemblies，and the decided aversion of the duke of Grafton to the taxation of America，seemed to encourage the hopes which this letter had raised．But no sooner had he，in the beginning of 1770，resigned his office，than the affair took another turn．His successor，lord North，did indeed in the first days of his administration formally propose the repeal of the American imposts，but with the unfortunate exception，that the tax upon tea should be continued as a proof of the legitimate authority of parliament；nor could the most vehement opposition of the united Rockingham and Grenville parties，who painted in the strongest colours the folly of continuing the contest，after the benefit was abandoned，avail any thing against this wretched plan.(3) From that hour it was clear that the ministry had no other object than to make the colonies feel their chains．The first steps in this slippery career had their grounds in false representations and partial judgments；instead of these errors dangerous passions were now introduced，and the peace and welfare of the nation were to be sacrificed to a mistaken ambition，and a destructive jealousy.
Meanwhile，the disposition to resistance had struck deep roots in all the colonies；and the wider the mother country's undertakings departed from their first object，the more the resistance of the Americans departed from its original character．They had at first only denied the right of parliament to tax them；by degrees，the sphere of their opposition extended，and they began to call in question the authority of parliament altogether．When they had once taken this ground，it was in vain to hope to drive them from it．The consciousness of their stability，and their distance from England，their lawful pride in the rights，derived from their British descent，the recollection of the circumstances which had led their forefathers to America，the sight of the flourishing state into which in a period of 150 years they had turned an uninhabitable desert，the injustice，and the harshness of those，who instead of alleviating their dependence by gentle treatment，were daily seeking to render it more oppressive；—all this encouraged the new impulse，which their ideas and their wishes had taken．The folly of Great-Britain in abandoning，for the useless discussion of a problematic right，the undisturbed enjoyment of a connection，which though never analysed and dissected with theoretic accuracy，was even in its undefined state so advantageous，became continually more visible；but far from endeavouring with tender caution to heal the dangerous wound，measure upon measure was taken to inflame it．Almost every step taken by the government during this unhappy period，in respect to the internal administration of the colonies，to the courts of justice，to the provincial assemblies，to the relations between the civil and military authorities，seemed expressly calculated at once to embitter and to embolden discontent；and the spirit of insurrection had long been in full possession of every mind，when a new attempt of the ministry，made it suddenly burst forth with the utmost violence.
The persevering refusal of the Americans to import tea into the colonies，so long as the tax upon it，prescribed in the year 1767，and purposely retained in 1770，should not be repealed，had occasioned a considerable loss to the East-India company，in whose magazines，great quantities of this article perished unconsumed．They had offered the minister to pay upon the exportation double the trifling tax of three pence upon the pound，which was yet so odious to the colonies；but this proposal，advantageous as it was，and which opened so honourable an issue from the crisis，was disapproved and rejected，as not according with the system of reducing America to unconditional submission．But as the embarrassment of the company was continually growing greater，they sought to help themselves by another project，and concluded to ship the tea for America upon their own account，there to pay the impost by their own agents and then make their sales．As at the same time，by act of parliament，the exportation was made duty free，whereby the tea，notwithstanding the impost in America，would be at a cheaper market than it had before been，it was hoped that the Americans would abandon all their scruples，and not feeling immediately the tax lurking in the price of the article，would give up all resistance.
The event soon discovered how vain this hope had been．Time had been allowed the colonies to reflect upon their situation，and to judge of the ministerial proceeding in the point of view which was alone essential．The merchants，who during the American agreement against the importation of British tea，had enriched themselves by the contraband trade of foreign teas，might，perhaps，only from mercantile considerations，abhor the undertaking of the East India company，sanctioned by the government；but the great mass of the people，and the most enlightend patriots in America，saw and condemned，in this undertaking，nothing but the evident purpose of carrying through the taxing right of the British parliament．The remarkable circumstance，that England had refused the larger revenue，which the taxes upon exportation from the British ports would have produced，to secure the levying of the much smaller entrance duty in America，betrayed a bitter passionate obstinacy，which together with so many other symptoms of hostility threatened the colonies with a gloomy futurity.
When the first report of these tea-ships having been sent arrived in America，from Newhampshire to Georgia，universal preparations for the most animated resistance were made．The agents of the company no where dared to receive the goods；in New York，Philadelphia，and many other towns，such strong protestations against unlading the ships were made，that they were compelled to return untouched．In Boston，where the spirit of resistance had been from the beginning the most violent，Governor Hutchinson adopted measures to make the return of the ships impossible before the object should be attained；but his rigor only served to increase the evil．A small number of decided opponents，went on board the ship，and，without doing any other damage，broke open 342 chests of tea，and threw it into the sea.
The account of these tumultuous proceedings，soon after the opening of parliament，in the year 1774，reached England，where，immediately，the thirst for revenge silenced every other feeling；the zeal to maintain the honour and the rights of government，every other council，not only in the minds of the ministers，but likewise in the general opinion of the nation．In this critical moment it was forgotten，that it was not until after the colonies for ten years long，had been driven by a series of vicious and hazardous measures，by attacks continually repeated，and by studied systematic vexations to the utmost extremity，that their just indignation had burst forth in illegal acts.
The necessity for severe measures was indeed now evident，even to the moderate．But unfortunately，resentment overstepped the bounds of equity，and provoked pride the bounds of policy．The immediate authors of the excesses in Boston，might justly have been punished；the East- India company might justly claim to be indemnified by the colonies；the Americans，by their acts of violence，had evidently placed themselves at a disadvantage；and their faults gave the most favourable opportunity to bring them，with wisdom，back within their bounds．But England seemed herself to spurn all the advantages of her present situation，and to have commenced a war，rather against her own welfare and security，than against the opposition in the colonies．The first measure，proposed by lord North，was a law，to close as long as the king should think necessary，the port of Boston，and to transfer the customhouse of that flourishing and important commercial town to another place．Immediately after，appeared a second law，which struck still deeper at the vital principle of the colonies，which scarcely could be justified by the most exaggerated ideas of the parliament's authority，and which could not but unavoidably drive to despair，men，who had already been almost impelled to insurrection by an impost tax．This harsh law declared the province of Massachusetts Bay's charter void，and subjected this province，which by its wealth，its constitution hitherto，and the sentiments of its inhabitants，seemed to be more dangerous to the government，than all the rest，to a new organization，grounded on an absolute dependence upon the crown．At the same time，another act of parliament ordained，that persons，who during the tumults in America，had committed offences against public officers，in every case，where the governor should have reason to apprehend that they could have no impartial trial there，should be sent to England for trial；a statute，which according to British ideas，deserved the epithet of tyrannical．Finally，the minister brought into parliament a law，giving to the province of Canada，which had been until then under a merely temporary administration，a constitution entirely different from the forms of the other colonial governments；and however the most recent experience might seem to justify the government in this step，it could not but produce the most unfavourable operation in the colonies，who believed to read their own future destiny in the treatment of that neighbouring country.
As soon as these measures were known in America，the general indignation，irritated yet further by the reinforcement of the royal troops in Boston，and by various unpleasant circumstances and oppressions，inseparable from this event，was raised to the highest and most dangerous pitch．Instantaneously，through all the colonies but one voice was heard；that the contest with England could be decided only by the sword．Preparations for the most resolute defence were every where the great occupation；exercises of arms became the sole employment of the citizens．A congress of fifty-one deputies from all the provinces assembled on the 4th of September，1774，at Philadelphia，to consult upon the common grievances，and upon the means of averting the common danger．The first measures of this assembly consisted in a solemn declaration，that the unjust and oppressive proceeding of parliament against the town of Boston，and the province of Massachusetts-Bay，was to be considered as the cause of all the colonies；and in a recommendation to the inhabitants of North-America to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great-Britain，until the just grievances of the colonies should be redressed．Hereupon，the congress resolved upon an address to the British nation，and another to the king of England，in which the distressed situation of North America was delineated with boldness and energy，but at the same time with evident moderation，and in a language，which still deprecated a separation from the mother country，as a very great evil.
It could no longer be concealed to the dullest eye，that the contest with the colonies had assumed a new and formidable character，and had spread to such an extent，as threatened the whole British empire．Yet，nothing is more certain，than that at this decisive moment，it still depended upon the parliament to finish it happily．No resolution，less than that of a total repeal of all the laws，promulgated since 1766，was commensurate with the greatness of the danger；but the thought that the immediate loss of America was at stake，should have reconciled every mind to this only remaining mean of salvation．Unfortunately，the deep exasperation，the inflexible pride，the false ambition，all the angry passions，which this cruel system had introduced and nourished，maintained now likewise their predominance；and a fatal error，the opinion that the victory over the colonies would be infallible and easy，entered into an unholy league with all those passions．The parliament，at the beginning of the year 1775，in a remarkable address to the king，declared，that both houses，convinced that a formal rebellion had broken out in the province of Massachusetts-Bay，would faithfully support him in every measure against rebellious subjects．Immediately afterwards，several laws of unmerciful severity，by which the colonies were deprived of all foreign commerce，and，what was yet harder，even of that fishery upon the coasts of New-foundland so highly essential to their subsistence，passed by great majorities．Some of the wisest and most venerable statesmen，lord Chatham，(4) lord Camden，lord Shelburne，in the upper house，Edmund Burke，colonel Barré，and others in the house of commons，exerted in vain against these desperate resolutions，all the powers of an astonishing eloquence；such as perhaps had never been surpassed．The several plans of conciliation，which they proposed，were rejected，always with displeasure，sometimes with contempt；the only step towards peace that ever was attempted，rested upon a project of lord North，evidently incompetent to the end；which would scarcely have satisfied the colonies at the outset of the dispute，and certainly could not content them in the year 1775.
The congress assembled，for the second time，in May，1775，and declared，“that by the violation of the charter of Massachusetts-Bay，the connection between that colony and the crown was dissolved.”The conciliatory bills of lord North were rejected；a continental army and a paper currency were created；colonel Washington was appointed commander in chief of the American troops，&c．The war at this period had，in fact，broken out；it had been opened by the battle of Lexington，on the 19th of April，and while the congress were adopting these resolutions，a second and much bloodier action took place at Bunker's hill，where the loss suffered by the English army gave a severe，though unfortunately，a fruitless lesson to those，who had treated with so much contempt the resistance，and the military talents of the Americans.
