and customs from the town of Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in North America; and to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading and shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at the said town of Boston, or within the harbour thereof."

When Lord North sat down, there was a perfect silence for some minutes.

Mr. Grosvenor got up to second the motion, and condemned very much the proceedings of Boston; he said, they were all entirely owing to the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Governor Johnstone desired to know, if it was to be left to the Crown, to what part of America the custom-house should be removed?

Lord North said, a clause was intended to be inserted in the Bill to leave that matter to the Crown.

Mr. Dempster observed, that should this indemnification to the East India Company take place by way of tax, it would be collected over America, and thereby injure the property of People who had been entirely innocent of this affair; that when he spoke formerly so much about taxation in general, he meant not as to the right which we had, but only as to the prudence and policy of the measure.

Mr. Sawbridge got up to speak, but the noise of the House being great for the question, he sat down, he said, till gentlemen had done coughing, and the House had done calling for the question; that though he could not be heard now, he should sit cooly till he could. The House being little silent, he said, he always gave his genuine opinion, and he was now, and always had been, of such opinion, that this country had no right to tax America; that it might be said by some People here, that America is not represented; that if this country had a right to take a single shilling out of an American's pocket, they have a right to take the whole. He then sat down a second time, the House being noisy, and said though he could not be allowed to speak long, he could sit long; and observed, that this destruction of the tea was entirely done by a mob unarmed; and that if a requisition was to be sent to Boston to make satisfaction to the India Company he made no doubt but what it would be complied with. He said, he was against the motion.

Mr. Byng said, he only meant to ask the noble Lord one question, whether this measure was not preventing the English ships from trading there, and a punishment on ourselves?

Mr. R. Fuller said, the Bill brought in would shew whether it was a punishment upon A or B; that he should therefore reserve his opinion until he saw the Bill.

Mr. Dowdeswell rose, upon which the House thought the debate would continue; he said, he was of opinion they were going to do very great mischief, and should think it his duty to give that opinion in this early stage of the Bill: he said, this Bill was to punish the town of Boston: why will you punish Boston alone? Did not other towns send your tea back to England, and refuse the landing? Have they committed no offence? He asked, if there was any evidence of a general concurrence of the inhabitants of Boston; he said, the examples of punishment the noble Lord had mentioned, were not similar to the present case; that the counties being obliged by law to make good the loss between sun and sun, was an old established law, not made for a particular purpose; that this Bill would be an ex-post-facto law; that the case of a corporation was different from the present; the corporation chose their own officers, the magistrates of the town of Boston were chosen by the Province at large. Would the House nor hear what Boston had to say in its defence? Would the House condemn without evidence, in the absence of the parties? He should trouble the House no more at present; he thought they were going to do a wrong act, nor could he think, that the cases of London, Edinburgh, or Glasgow, could at all be brought as examples of punishment in this case. He disapproved much of the Bill, and said, he should give a negative to it.

Mr. Cavendish approved of the proposition; but hoped, if the merchants of this country could any way be injured by it, that time would be given them to come and petition.

Captain Phipps said, he felt no reason to imagine that any opposition to the Bill at Boston could be effectual: that it was no new thing to direct and order a port for the reception of the trade of America; that harbours were in great plenty there; that all authority had been trampled upon in that country for many years; that if our subjects could not trade to Boston, they must go where they could trade with safety; that he did not attribute the disturbances to the Stamp Act, or the repeal of it. When he was in that country, he thought that that Act might have been put in execution; that the repeal might be proper. He imagined, one of the provisions that would be adopted by the House, would be to repeal the Declaratory Act, which, he said, was the most absurd and unconstitutional Act ever passed. Let America alone, and it would return of itself to obedience, and do not let us search for trifling taxes, by way of experiment, to try our power; the moment they see that taxation is not for effectually collecting of money, but for experiment only, they will always oppose you.

Lord G. Cavendish said, he was not sure but the object before the House would be prejudicial to our trade; that he looked to the mutual interest of the two countries; that they were united by proper measures, and, he hoped, they would be kept so; he wished that no idle ideas of superiority might prevail, for that country which is kept by power, is in danger of being lost every day.

Colonel Barré said, he was urged to rise to discharge his duty in not giving a silent vote upon the occasion. The proposition before the House, he could not help giving his hearty affirmative to; that he liked it, harsh as it was; he liked it for its moderation; and argued, that the noble Lord's (North) conduct would be of the same stamp throughout. He said, I think Boston ought to be punished, she is your eldest son. [Here the House laughed, and some members observed by him, that he would be a proper person to direct the admission of Irish members into the House, as he had hinted a day before that office for Mr. Rigby.] After the House had laughed heartily, he said, I mean your daughter, she is a noble prop; she gave herself that form of constitution she now has; cherish and support her. He wished to see an unanimous vote in the onset of this business; that when Boston saw this measure was carried by such a consent, they would the more readily pay the sum of money to the East India Company; that he hoped, if they did, that the Crown would mitigate the rest of their punishment; if the Crown went further, perhaps they could not do it without, as Governor Tryon observed, at the muzzle of your guns; that we had given America limited and prescribed means to acquire wealth; that he hoped they would leave the rest of the matter to themselves; that he had often thought, in the coolest hours, that America ought not to be taxed by this country. Endeavour, says he, to take the power of taxing out of their Assemblies, and it will be strongly opposed; he meant not to stick to experimental taxes; the tax of the Stamp Act was made to please this side [meaning Mr. Grenville's friends] of the House. Go, says he, to some great request at once, and if they wont comply with it, try then your power. You have been paying £4,000,000, for doing of nothing, only for teasing and scratching; I wish to see a fair decided line at once; I dont, says he, see any appearance of war at present; now is your time to try, in a civilized manner, your power over the Americans; other of your enemies are not in a condition to take part with them. I am not in office, that my advice can be taken; if I was, I should give it freely. If office comes to me, it comes as an atonement for repeated and unmerited affronts. I shall at all times speak the language of a free and disinterested member.

The motion of Lord North, for leave to bring in the Bill was then agreed to; and Lord North, Mr. Onslow, Mr. Charles Townshend, Mr. Attorney General, Mr. Solicitor General, Mr. Rice, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Robinson, were ordered to prepare and bring in the same.

Ordered, That the farther consideration of the Message and Papers be referred to a Committee of the whole House.

Resolved, That this House will, on Friday morning next, resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of the said Message and Papers.

FRIDAY, March 18, 1774.

The Lord North presented to the House, according to order, a Bill for the immediate removal of the Officers concerned in the collection and management of his Majesty's