A. I have not considered the matter.

And then he was directed to withdraw.

And the amendments made by the Committee to the said Bill being severally read a second time, were, upon the question severally put thereupon, with an amendment to one of them, agreed to by the House.

Mr. Rice moved to add a clause to the Bill for exempting the Ships belonging to the inhabitants of Nantucket employed in the Whale Fishery only.

And the said clause was twice read with a blank, which being filled up, the said clause was, upon the question put thereupon, agreed to by the House.

A motion was made that the Bill, with the amendments, be engrossed:

Lord Howe expatiated on the necessity of the measure, as the only moderate means of bringing the disobedient Provinces to a sense of their duty, without involving the Empire in all the horrours of a civil war.

Mr. Charles Fox said, that this Bill must have been calculated to put an end to all that remained of the Legislative authority of Great Britain over America. That it must be intended to shew to the Colonies that there was no one branch of supreme authority, which Parliament might not abuse in such a manner, as to render it reasonable to deny, and necessary to resist it. To prove this he went through the history of the several steps, by which the authority of Parliament was denied, by having been abused. At first said he, the Americans being pressed by Parliament's not choosing to leave them their old privilege, whether that privilege was by law, custom, or mere indulgence, of taxing themselves internally, they denied only our right of internal taxation. However, it was soon proved to them, by argument and practice, that an external tax could be made to answer all the purposes, and to produce all the mischiefs, of internal taxation. They then denied the right of taxing for Supply. Parliament next proceeded violently to deprive them of their Charters, and to make them other Acts relative to their trials; then they denied your power of internal Legislation. But still in the midst of all their violence and all their provocation to it, they never hitherto have formally rejected the power of Parliament to bind their trade. But the British Legislature is now to convince the Americans, that if but a single branch of Legislative power is left to this country, we can make that single power answer all the purposes of a power to tax.

This Bill, which is to restrain their commerce until they submit, until they cease to resist our taxing authority, and indeed, whatever else is thought fit to be imposed on them, will convince, he said, the Americans, that this power, thus used, may be made by far the most oppressive, und worse than any of those they had hitherto denied. He was quite satisfied, that the Bill was meant for nothing else but to exasperate the Colonies into open and direct rebellion. Hitherto rebellion was only asserted, and that ambiguously, of one Colony. It would from this, Bill probably become apparent, and universal in all; and thus give an opportunity for drawing the sword, and throwing away the scabbard. He indeed acquitted the Ministry of a design of raising a rebellion for the mere purpose of havock and destruction. But said, that as by their injudicious measures they had brought the Colonies into a state of the greatest disobedience, disorder, and confusion, without being at the same time within the legal description of rebellion, this was a state of things fall of the greatest difficulties, and in which it required the utmost nicety to conduct Government. But when things were brought to the length of rebellion, the course of proceeding, however desperate, was simple and obvious. And now, as by this Act all means of acquiring a livelihood, or of receiving provisions were cut off, no other alternative was left, but starving or rebellion.

Mr. Jenkinson drew a very different inference from the fact of the progressive detail of the several parts of our Legislative authority in America. That fact, so strongly stated by Mr. Fox, shewed clearly that, the Colonists aimed at a rebellious independence from the beginning; for having at first only denied our right of internal taxation, when that right was modelled to their own pretences, they quarrelled just as violently with this mode as with the former Afterwards, when their multiplied disorders had made internal regulations necessary, they denied the power of making these regulations. They first provoked penalties by their disobedience, and then denied the right of the power which had been put under a necessity of, inflicting those penalties. The reasons, he said, alleged in censure of the acts of legislature, were in reality their strongest justification and best panegyrics. He thought therefore this Act to be in every respect just, and considering the offence of those who are the object of it, merciful.

Mr. T. Townshend urged the cruelty and injustice of an act which made no discrimination between innocence and guilt, which starved all alike, and which Had a tendency to fix an eternal hatred of this country and its Legislature in the minds of the Americans. With regard to the original provocation stated to have produced the penalties, he denied the fact; hut asserted, on the contrary that our violating their privileges, or grossly shocking their old respectable prejudices, first produced the disobedience, and then the disobedience was punished by the most cruel and unnatural acts.

The Solicitor General of Scotland (Mr. Henry Dundas) said, the Act had his most hearty approbation. That it was just, because provoked by the most criminal disobedience: it was merciful, because that disobedience would have justified the severest military execution. This measure was not sanguinary: and as to the famine which was so pathetically lamented, he was afraid it would not be produced by this Act. That though prevented from fishing in the Sea, the New Eng1anders had fish in their Rivers, to which this Act did not prevent them from resorting; and that though he understood their country was not fit for grain, yet they had a grain of their own, Indian Corn, on which they might subsist full as well as they deserved; but whether they might so subsist or not, was no part of his consideration. He looked on the Act as coercive, and that the coercion which put the speediest end to the dispute, was certainly the most effectual. That when it was said no alternative was left to the New Englanders but to starve or rebel, this was not the fact, for there was another way, to submit. He wished, however, that some test to discriminate the innocent from the guilty had been adopted. That this test, notwithstanding it had been originally stated as part of the plan by Lord North, had been dropped by his Lordship. That it might serve to introduce a rule of obedience for all, and might prevent the innocent Iron being involved with the guilty in a common punishment. I But the Act was on the whole so right, and he approved and admired it so much, that he could not quarrel with it for this defect.

As to what had been apprehended from the loss to the Merchants of Old England, by disabling those of the New to pay their debts, he said, that when the Colonists had submitted, they might then resume their Fisheries and their Trade, and thus be enabled to pay their debts. In the mean time, that part of the capital stock of England, which was now employed in carrying on the Fisheries of New England, would be employed in carrying on our own, and thus our Merchants could suffer no loss whatsoever. This was as clear as any demonstration of Euclid.

Lord John Cavendish was shocked with the perfect ease and alacrity with which they voted famine to a whole people; and he was in particular surprised at the ideas of clemency, entertained by the learned gentleman who spoke last. He commended this measure, because it was not sanguinary; but to kill by starving, was not cruelty; and provided a man's blood was not shed, he might be destroyed with great gentleness—in any other way whatsoever. This Act he considered as alienating the Americans forever, and rendering useless any possible plan of reconciliation.

Mr. Rice did not adopt this proposition but with the greatest pain and reluctance. He knew it was harsh; but that harsh measures were unfortunately necessary. He was satisfied from a careful comparison of all the parts of the proceedings of the Americans with each other, that independency was their object; that they Intended to throw off the commercial restrictions, as well as, the taxes: on which latter point he was as much inclined to relax as any other gentleman, if he could be tolerably assured that such relaxation would not be introductory to a further, and