beautiful system of legislation I described in my last, and set up an absolute aristocracy in its place.*

Had Mr. Pitt directed the reigns of Government a few years after the conclusion of the war, if his talents in the arts of peace had been equal to his abilities in carrying on a war, or (if I may be allowed the metaphor) could lie have been as wise in taking every advantage of wind and tide, as he was skilful in avoiding rocks and quicksands in a storm, (and the noble stop he put to corruption during his administration give us strong reason to think tie would,) Providence, at that period, pointed out to a wise and upright Minister the means of placing the natural, the necessary independence of the Kings of England, upon a permanent foundation. But the Minister who succeeded that great man was too intent upon enriching his country-men to serve his Prince, and, more like a pedlar than a statesman, sold an inheritance of his master (which would have restored him to a King of England's ancient weight in the national councils) for a mess of pottage; and the present Minister is at this instant either unthinkingly or diabolically pursuing the same infernal plan. Was our Sovereign even now, to place a little more confidence in his American subjects, there are many amongst them whose knowledge of their country would enable, and whose affectionate loyalty to him would impel, them to point out constitutional modes of placing him in a very different situation from what a corrupt, selfish. British aristocracy wish to see; for, however humiliating the reflection may be to a Briton, it is the virtue of America only that can preserve Great Britain from becoming the prey of the most despotick aristocracy that ever yet was erected, which will be the more firmly established, because, by retaining the ancient forms of the Constitution, it will not easily alarm the Nation to rouse, and to recur to its first principles, whilst the aristocracy posted in both Houses of Parliament, possessed of a large majority in the House of Commons, of a superiour influence in the House of Lords, and of an absolute command over all the powers of monarchy, with swarms of placemen and pensioned authors to trumpet forth their praises without doors, bears down all before it with such irresistible impetuosity, that I should not be surprised if, after the next general election,! it should pursue its late victory over the County of Middle-sex, nominate the Representatives of every shire in Britain, and utterly exclude from the House of Commons every member that should dare to arraign its conduct, if it should rapaciously seize the remaining wealth of the East India, and every other trading Company, and oblige every merchant and shop-keeper in Britain to account with its officers for whatever share of the profits of their trade it should think proper to demand. In short, nothing can put a stop to its carrying into execution every act of despotism it shall attempt, but the check it is likely to receive from the opposition of America.

It is not, therefore, the interest of the people of Great Britain that America should surrender up her liberties, and submit to the jurisdiction of this arbitrary, self-created aristocracy, though assuming the specious name of a British Parliament. But before I enter upon the measures necessary to be taken to ward off the blow aimed at American liberty, I shall consider the connections between Great Britain and her Colonies, in order to consider how far those Colonies may legally and constitutionally oppose the acts of a British Parliament.

As the laws of every country are made for the benefit of its inhabitants, and the privileges, the advantages and protection they expect to receive from those laws, are the considerations which induce a submission to them, any one, or any number of those inhabitants, may, by a voluntary banishment, and by renouncing the protection, with all other advantages of the laws, withdraw themselves from the subjection of the country in which they were accidentally born, if they find it for their interest so to do. And even admitting that, like vegetables, they cannot remove from the spot that produced them without the consent of the state, no man will deny that any subject of England formerly might, and that any subject of Great Britain may now, with the leave of their Sovereign, quit that Kingdom, and settle in any foreign Dominion; that our ancestors, therefore, when they, with the leave of Queen Elizabeth, and of King James the First, left England and discovered America, if they had been so disposed, might have incorporated themselves with the native inhabitants laid aside all thoughts of returning, and dropped all correspondence with England, is undeniable; and if they had done so, in all human probability, neither their former Sovereign, or his Parliament, would have ever given themselves the trouble of inquiring what was become of them.* And as they had a right to incorporate themselves with the natives, so, with respect to England, they had an equal right, at their own private risk and expense, to acquire, by purchase or conquest, from nations not in alliance with England, a settlement for themselves and their posterity, totally independent of England; for as they were no longer under her protection, they no longer were no longer under her protection, they no longer were under subjection, and, therefore, might have provided for their own safety by any laws they thought proper. But, instead of doing this, a natural fondness for their native country, a predilection for her laws, an admiration of the most beautiful system of Government in the world, and the hopes of protection, induced them to wish to remain connected with England. But how? As partakers of her Constitution, by acknowledging allegiance to her King; as friends to their brethren, by reciprocal acts of kindness; but not as slaves to their fellow-subjects, by a humiliating, servile subjection to a British Parliament, in which, from their situation, they neither were, or could be represented.

With these views they generously offered to let England partake of the advantages of these conquests, in consideration of securing to themselves the rights of Englishmen in their new settlements, (not made at the expense of the Ration, as hath been falsely suggested, but) discovered at the risk, and acquired by the blood and treasure of private adventurers, who, having left their native country with the consent of their Sovereign, now returned to him, not as repenting prodigals begging to be received and forgiven, but as generous conquerors, offering to make him Sovereign of a new world upon reasonable and equitable conditions.

Is it to be wondered at, that, thus circumstanced, he acceded to their terms? Or, had the British Parliament any right to complain of the Charters granted to them, by which the Colonies have always enjoyed a supreme Legislature of their own, and have always claimed an exemption from the jurisdiction of a British Parliament But even suppose that the territories of America (though conquered by private adventurers) became subject to Great Britain, because those adventurers were English subjects, still it by no means follows that those territories were dependent upon the British Parliament; and as this is proved to a demonstration by a late ingenious author, I shall not injure him so far as to repeat his arguments, but conclude this Letter with requesting the printer to republish the following Extract of his work.†

CULPEPPER COUNTY, (VIRGINIA) RESOLUTIONS.

At a Meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the County of Culpepper, in Virginia, assembled on due notice, at the Court House of the said County, on Thursday, the 7th of July, 1774, to consider of the most effectual method to preserve the rights and liberties of America:

HENRY PENDLETON, Esq., Moderator.

Resolved, That we will, whenever we are called upon for that purpose, maintain and defend his Majesty's right and title to the Crown of Great Britain, and all other

* If any one doubts that the British Constitution is now purely aristocratical let him attentively read the history of England, and the debates of Parliament, from the decision of tie Chippenham election to the present time, and carefully compare facts with the characteristick attendants of a corrupt aristocracy, which, By being destitute of its principles of moderation, is become despotick and he will no longer withhold his assent to the above position.

† For the distemper of the state is too far advanced to hope for any relief from a new election. The Representatives, indeed, may be changed by a nabob's outbidding an Alderman; but the only real difference will be, the nabob becomes one of the aristocracy, and the Alderman is excluded, or, in other words, the roaster may be: changed, but the slavery will remain.

* For it is observable that each Colony was suffered to struggle with every difficulty in their new settlements, unprotected, unassisted, arid even upnoticed by the Crown itself, from twenty to fifty years, and even then the Royal care was no further extended towards them than to send over Governours to pillage, insult and oppress them.

[† See Letter to Lord North Folio 337-340.]