to keep the old Colonies in awe; and people here in power make no secret of saying, that by keeping the Canadian militia well disciplined, they shall be able with them and the fleet, to keep the Colonies always in subjection. Would you believe, that out of all the Bishops, only the Bishop of St. Asaph had virtue enough to vote against this Bill? I hope we shall never suffer one of them to step his foot in America. Nothing can save America but their uniting and religiously entering into an agreement, and sacredly keeping it, not to import any goods from Great Britain, nor to export any goods either to Great Britain or the Islands, until justice is done them by this country, and their liberties settled on a firm and solid basis. This, in less than twelve months, would bring the people of this country to reason, and force them, contrary to their inclinations, to do the Americans justice; for they have no trade but what is against them, save to Ireland and America.

JAMES CITY COUNTY (VIRGINIA) RESOLUTIONS.

At a Meeting of the Freeholders of James City County, on the first of July, 1774, at the house of Mr. Isham Allen, in order to consult with their late Representatives what measures were most necessary to ward off the impending evils which seem to threaten all British America, those matters being calmly and maturely entered into, the following Resolves were adopted:

Resolved, That we will not import any article whatever from Great Britain.

Resolved, That we will stop all exports to Great Britain after such a day as shall be appointed by the general meeting on the first of August next.

Resolved, That a subscription paper be handed about among the people of James City to raise money, corn, wheat, or any other commodity which may be most agreeable to the subscribers, for the relief of the people of Boston.

Resolved, That in order to testify our gratitude to our late worthy Representatives, and our entire approbation of their conduct in the late General Assembly, it is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that they be thanked for their former services, and that Robert Carter Nicholas, Esquire, be pleased to accept of a treat from the freeholders of the county on the day appointed for the election of Burgesses.

Portsmouth, New-Hampshire, July 1, 1774.

Last Saturday, June 25th, arrived here Captain Brown, in a mast ship, in eight weeks from London, and unluckily for this place, there were on board twenty-seven chests of that pernicious, destructive, troublesome commodity, called tea, which for a long time has, and still keeps the whole Continent in a ferment, the duty on which, operates in so violent a manner on the minds of the inhabitants, not only in the seaport towns, but the whole country in general, that it will require the most cooling medicines, and the best skill of the ablest political physicians, to prevent the body politic from going into convulsions. However, upon its being certified that there actually were twenty-seven chests of tea consigned to Edward Parry, Esquire, of this town, a meeting of the inhabitants of the town were immediately called, and a Special Committee chosen to wait upon Mr. Parry, the consignee, to know whether he would consent to certain proposals which were made to him; that the tea should not be sold here, but re-shipped; who, in a genteel manner gave them all the reasonable satisfaction they could desire, and a watch of twenty-five men were appointed by the town to watch two days and two nights, and the third day it was put on board another vessel, and sent out of this harbour with a fair wind, committed to the watery element, and hope in due time the owners will receive the nett proceeds, and for the future take care how they send any disagreeable commodity to this Province, with a duty thereon.

Every transaction was conducted with the greatest decency and good order possible, which could have done honour to any society. The whole being of one heart and one mind that the tea should go out of this port and harbour immediately, and not to be landed in this Province.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMERICAN POST OFFICE.

Baltimore, July 2, 1774.

William Goddard, Printer of the Maryland Journal, with great pleasure, acquaints the publick that his proposal for establishing an American Post Office on constitutional principles, hath been warmly and generously patronised by the friends of freedom in all the great commercial towns in the Eastern Colonies, where ample funds are already secured; Postmasters and riders engaged; and, indeed, every proper arrangement made for the reception of the Southern mails, which, it is expected, will soon be extended thither. As therefore the final success of the undertaking now depends on the publick spirit of the inhabitants of Maryland and Virginia, it is hot doubted, from the recent evidence they have given of their noble zeal in the cause of liberty and their country, but they will cheerfully join in rescuing the channel of publick and private intelligence from the "horrid fangs of Ministerial dependents:" a measure indispensably necessary in the present alarming crisis of American affairs.*

The following Plan has been published and universally approved of at the Eastward:

PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING A NEW AMERICAN POST OFFICE.

The present American Post Office was first set up by a private gentleman in one of the Southern Colonies, and the Ministry of Great Britain finding that a revenue

* EXTRACT OF A LETTER TO LORD NORTH LONDON FEBRUARY 5, 1774.

MY LORD: As an American, give me leave to assure your Lordship that I think the dismissing Dr. Franklin, from the Postmaster General in North America, at this particular crisis, one of the most fortunate events that could have happened for that county. It was that gentlemen that brought the Post Office in America to be of some consequence, and to yield something of a revenue to the mother country. The people there never liked the Institution, and only acquiesced in it out of their unbounded affection for the person that held the office, who had taken infinite pains to render it convenient to the several Colonies. But what will follow now, my Lord? I will tell you; the Post from Philadelphia to Boston is that alone which produces any profit worth mentioning; the others, taken together, do not more than maintain themselves; and between Philadelphia and Boston you may depend on it, the Americans will immediately set up a carrier of their own, which you, with all your brethren in power, together with Lord Hillsborough's abilities, cannot prevent, and thereby they will entirely starve your Post between those capital cities. And thus will happily end your boasted Post Office, SO often given as a precedent for taxing the Americans.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM A GENTLEMAN AT NEW-YORK TO HIS FIEND IN BOSTON, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1774.

Your steadiness and activity in the glorious cause of liberty has induced me to address you, without any apology, upon a very interesting matter, in which the cause of American freedom is deeply concerned; I mean the Post Office establishment, upon which every other unconstitutional Act has been grounded, as our tame submission to it has been constantly urged, by the enemies of our country, as a precedent against us; and as I am fully convinced of the propriety and eligibility of opposing it at present, and we cannot fail of success if the opposition be made with a manly firmness. I am determined to give the bearer, Mr. Goddard, every aid in my power, towards the execution of his plan, which is so well calculated to save the cause of liberty, and relieve my country from such an arbitrary and unconstitutional Act of the British Legislature. I must therefore earnestly request that you will, provided your sentiments should coincide with mine, use all your influence in the town of Boston, and give him every assistance in your power, to forward so great and necessary an undertaking; and should we succeed in this attempt of abolishing the Post Office, of which I have not the least shadow of a doubt, I am convinced it will put an entire stop to their placing any further unconstitutional burdens upon us; especially when they find that we are determined to make reprisals upon every such occasion, and that they will be reduced to the unfortunate situation of the dog in the fable, who by greedily grasping at the shadow, lost the substance. As I am much indisposed at present, I cannot enlarge upon the subject, nor do I think any arguments necessary to convince you of the propriety of the measure, or to induce you, who have so constantly exerted yourself in the cause of liberty, to afford it your sanction and support.

BOSTON, March 17, 1774.—Last Monday arrived here Mr. William Goddard, Printer in Philadelphia and Baltimore. The cause of that gentleman's tour is interesting to all the Colonies, and we are happy to find that all of them through which ho has come are thoroughly engaged in it.

Mr. Goddard has long been noted as the proprietor and employer of a very free press, and some four or five years ago he began to feel himself distinguished on that account, till at length the exactions of the King's post rider became so enormous, that they amounted to an entire prohibition of the continuance of his business in the City of Philadelphia,* Maryland, a great part of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the Jersies, through which his paper had circulated, became inflamed at the insult; especially when it was known that Mr. Goddard had complained to the Postmaster, the sole arbiter in the case, and could not

* The sum of fifty-two pounds sterling, Pennsylvania currency, per annum, was demanded at the Post Office for the carriage of about three hundred and fifty newspapers, one hundred and thirty miles, payable in weekly payments, as the papers were delivered to the Posts.