events of 1767—a new parliament—first act against the province of new york—billeting soldiers on the colonies.
a new house of commons was elected in 1766, less favourable to the colonies than the preceding one; and one of the first acts of the new parliament was founded on the intelligence received from new york, that the assembly had refused to comply with all the requirements of the billeting act in providing for his majesty's troops which had been quartered upon that province.
a bill was introduced by mr. grenville, the object of which was to restrain the assembly and council of new york from passing any act until they had complied with the requisitions of the billeting act. though the bill was introduced by the leader of the opposition, it received the countenance and support of ministers (pitt being premier, though absent through illness), "who regarded it as a measure at once dignified and forbearing." the bill passed with little opposition; the legislature of new york was at once frightened into immediate compliance, though the feeling with which it was done may be easily conceived. the effect, however, in other colonies, was not only to excite fears and dissatisfaction, but to call forth public expressions of hostile sentiment, regarding the act as an infringement of their chartered privileges; and they argued that if the legislative powers of so loyal a colony as new york could be thus suspended, they had little security for their own privileges guaranteed to them by charter.
on the 26th of january, while the house of commons, in committee of supply, was considering the estimate for the garrison and land forces in the colonies, mr. grenville took the opportunity of expressing his dissatisfaction with the repeal of the stamp act, and insisted upon the necessity of relieving england from the burden, which should be borne by the colonies, and which, with contingencies, exceeded ￡400,000. mr. charles townshend, then chancellor of the exchequer, replied that "the administration has given its attention to give relief to great britain from bearing the whole expense of securing, defending, and protecting america and the west india islands. i shall bring into the house some propositions that i hope may tend, in time, to ease the people of england upon this head, and yet not be heavy in any manner upon the people in the colonies. i know the mode by which a revenue may be drawn from america without offence." he was applauded from all sides of the house, and continued: "i am still a firm advocate for the stamp act, for its principle, and for the duty itself; only the heats which prevailed made it an improper time to press it. i laugh at the absurd distinction between internal and external taxes. i know of no such distinction. it is a distinction without a difference. it is perfect nonsense. if we have a right to impose the one, we have a right to impose the other. the distinction is ridiculous in the opinion of everybody except the americans." in conclusion, laying his hand on the table in front of him, he declared to the house, "england is undone if this taxation of america is given up." grenville demanded townsend to pledge himself to his declaration of obtaining a revenue from the colonies; and did so promptly amid the applause of the house. in june, townshend proceeded to redeem his pledge, and for that purpose brought successively three bills into the house, all of which were passed by nearly unanimous votes.
"the first of these bills, in the preamble, declared an american revenue expedient, and promised to raise it by granting duties on glass, red and white lead, painters' oil and paper, and threepence a pound on tea—all english productions except the last—all objects of taxation in the colonies. the exportation of tea to america was encouraged by another act which allowed a drawback for five years of the whole duty payable on importation into england." the preamble of the bill stated that the duties are laid for the better support of the government and the administration of the colonies. one clause of the act enabled the king, by sign manual, to establish a general civil list for each province of north america, with any salaries, pensions, or appointments his majesty might think proper. the act also provided, after all such ministerial warrants under the sign manual "as are thought proper and necessary" shall be satisfied, the residue of the revenue shall be at the disposal of the parliament.
2. the second bill, intended to ensure the execution of the first, authorized his majesty to appoint a board of commissioners of customs to reside in the colonies, to give them such orders and instructions from time to time as his majesty might think proper. this board of customs had its seat at boston; its duty was to see to the strict enforcement of the revenue laws in america, and it was authorized to make as many appointments as the commissioners might think fit, and to pay the appointees what sums they pleased, and were not accountable for their malconduct, though they were authorized to seize vessels suspected of having goods which had not been duly entered.
3. a third bill, in mr. charles townshend's scheme for the taxation of the colonies, was for the establishment in america of courts of vice-admiralty—at halifax, boston, philadelphia, and charleston—courts in which the colonists were deprived of the right of trial by jury, which were invested with authority to seize and transport accused persons to england to be tried there—courts of which the officers and informers were paid out of the proceeds of sales of confiscated goods, and in proportion to their amounts, and were therefore personally interested in confiscating as many goods as possible, and from their decisions there was no appeal except to england—a process not only tedious, but ruinously expensive, even if successful, of which there could be little hope.
in connection with these three acts (the operations and effects of which charles townshend did not live to see), the navy and military in america were commanded, not as a defence against foreign or even indian invasions, but as custom-house guards and officers, to enforce the payment of taxes on the colonists. the very next day after the king had given the royal sanction to the system of courts of admiralty in america, "orders were issued directly to the commander-in-chief in america, that the troops under his command should give their assistance to the officers of the revenue for the effectual suppression of the contraband trade. nor was there delay in following up the new law, to employ the navy to enforce the navigation acts. to this end admiral colville, the naval commander-in-chief on the coasts of north america, from the river st. lawrence to cape florida and the bahama islands, became the head of a new corps of revenue officers. each captain of his squadron had custom-house commissions, and a set of instructions from the lords commissioners of the admiralty for his guidance; and other instructions were given them by the admiral, to enter into the harbours or lie off the coasts of america; to qualify themselves, by taking the usual custom-house oaths, to do the office of custom-house officers; to seize such persons as were suspected by them to be engaged in illicit trade."
the effect of these acts and measures was to create universal dissatisfaction throughout the colonies, as they were not even in pretence for the regulation of trade, but for the purpose of raising a parliamentary revenue in america, and therefore differed not in principle from the tax imposed by the stamp act. "the colonists contended that there was no real difference between the principle of these new duties and the stamp act. they were both designed to raise a revenue in america, and in the same manner. the payment of the duties imposed by the stamp act might have been evaded by the total disuse of stamped paper, and so might the payment of these duties by the total disuse of those articles on which they were laid; but in neither case without great difficulty. the revenue act of 1767 produced resolves, petitions, addresses, remonstrances, similar to those with which the colonists opposed the stamp act. it also gave rise to a second association for suspending further importations of british manufactures till those offensive duties should be taken off."
the year 1767 closed with enlarging and multiplying associations to dispense with the use of goods of british manufacture, the appointment of lord north to succeed charles townshend as chancellor of the exchequer, and of the earl of hillsborough to succeed the earl of shelburne as secretary of state for the colonies. lord north had voted for the stamp act and against its repeal; and lord hillsborough was less indulgent to the colonies than lord shelburne.
footnotes:
"this affair being brought before the house occasioned many debates, and some vigorous measures were proposed. june 15th, a bill was passed by which the governor, council, and assembly of new york were prohibited from passing or assenting to any act of assembly for any purpose whatsoever, till they had in every respect complied with all the terms of the act of parliament. this restriction, though limited to one colony, was a lesson to them all, and showed their comparative inferiority, when brought in question with the supreme legislative power." (annual register for 1767, vol. x., p. 48.)
the carrying into effect of the billeting act in boston is thus stated by mr. holmes:
"an act had been passed by parliament, the same session in which the stamp act was passed, that obliged the colonial assemblies to provide quarters for the soldiers, and furnish them with fire, beds, candles, and other articles at the expense of the colonies. the jealousy of massachusetts was awakened by the attempt of the governor to execute this law. in june an addition was made to the british troops at the castle, in the harbour of boston, and the governor requested that provision be made by the assembly for their support. after due deliberation, the house resolved that such provision be made for them while they remain here, as has been heretofore usually made for his majesty's regular troops when occasionally in the province. the caution with which this resolution was drawn shows how reluctant the assembly were to have a military force placed in the province; and how careful neither to yield any portion of their legislative rights, nor to furnish a precedent for the repetition of a measure equally obnoxious and dangerous to the colonists. the suspension of the power of legislation in new york justly excited alarm throughout all the colonies; for it was perceived that every colonial assembly would, by parity of reasoning, be put on their trial for good behaviour, of which the british ministry would be the judge. richard henry lee, of virginia, said, 'an act for suspending the legislature of that province hangs, like a flaming sword, over all our heads, and requires by all means to be removed.'" (annals, etc., vol. ii., p. 149.)
the americans took the chancellor of the exchequer at his word, the plain and logical inference from which was, that if it was unlawful to impose internal taxes, it was equally unlawful to impose external taxes. the colonies had unanimously denied the lawfulness of internal taxes imposed by parliament, and in that denial had been sustained by the opinions of lord camden, pitt, and other english statesmen, and virtually by the repeal of the stamp act itself. henceforth they resisted the imposition by parliament of external as well as internal taxes.
referring to the applause of the commons which greeted townshend's utterances of his intention to draw a revenue from the colonies, mr. bancroft says: "the loud burst of rapture dismayed conway, who sat in silent astonishment at the unauthorized but premeditated rashness of his presumptuous colleague. the next night the cabinet questioned the insubordinate minister 'how he had ventured to depart on so essential a point from the profession of the whole ministry;' and he browbeat them all. 'i appeal to you,' said he, turning to conway, 'whether the house is not bent on obtaining a revenue of some sort from the colonies?' not one of the ministry then in london (pitt being absent and ill) had sufficient authority to advise his dismission, and nothing less could have stopped his measures." (history of the united states, vol. vi., chap. xxvii., pp. 47-49.)
"the colonists had been previously restrained from manufacturing certain articles for their own consumption. other acts confined them to the exclusive use of british merchandise. the addition of duties put them wholly in the power and discretion of great britain. 'we are not,' said they, 'permitted to import from any nation other than our own parent state, and have been, in some cases, restrained by her from manufacturing for ourselves; and she claims a right to do so in every instance which is incompatible with her interest. to these restrictions we have hitherto submitted; but she now rises in her demands, and imposes duties on those commodities, the purchasing of which elsewhere than in her own market her laws forbid, and the manufacturing of which for her own use she may, at any moment she pleases, restrain. nothing is left for us to do but to complain and pay.'" (ramsay's colonial history, vol. i., chap. iii., pp. 351, 352.)
"townshend opened the debate with professions of candour, and the air of a man of business. exculpating alike pennsylvania and connecticut, he named as the delinquent colonies—massachusetts, which had invaded the king's prerogative by a general amnesty, and in a message to its governor had used expressions derogatory to the authority of parliament; rhode island, which had postponed but not refused to indemnify the sufferers by the stamp act; and new jersey, which had evaded the billeting act, but had yet furnished the king's troops with every essential thing to their perfect satisfaction. against these colonies it was not necessary to institute severe proceedings. but new york, in the month of june last, besides appointing its own commissary, had limited its supplies to two regiments, and to those articles only which were provided in the rest of the king's dominions, and in december had refused to do more.
"it became parliament not to engage in controversy with its colonies, but to assert its sovereignty without uniting them in a common cause. for this end he proposed to proceed against new york, and against new york alone. to levy a local tax would be to accept a penalty in lieu of obedience. he should, therefore, move that new york, having disobeyed parliament, should be restrained from any legislative act of its own till it should comply.
"he then proceeded to advocate the establishment of a board of commissioners of the customs, to be stationed in america.
"'our right of taxation,' he continued, 'is indubitable; yet, to prevent mischief, i was myself in favour of repealing the stamp act. but there can be no objection to port duties on wine, oil, and fruits, if allowed to be carried to america directly from spain and portugal; on glass, paper, lead, and colours; and especially on tea. owing to the high charges in england, america has supplied itself with tea by smuggling it from the dutch possessions; to remedy this, duties hitherto levied upon it in england are to be given up, and a specific duty collected in america itself.'"
"the american revenue, it was further explained, was to be placed at the disposal of the king for the payment of his civil officers.
"this speech, pronounced with gravity and an air of moderation by an orator who was the delight of the house, implied a revolution in favour of authority. the minister was to have the irresponsible power of establishing, by sign manual, a general civil list in every american province, and at his pleasure to grant salaries and pensions, limited only by the amount of the american revenue. the proposition bore on its face the mark of owing its parentage to the holders and patrons of american offices; and yet it was received in the house with general favour. richard jackson was not regarded when he spoke against the duties themselves, and foretold the mischief that would ensue." (bancroft's history of the united states, vol. vi., chap. xxix., pp. 75-77.)
the commissioners, from the first moment of their institution, had been an eyesore to the people of boston. this, though partly owing to their active zeal in detecting smugglers, principally arose from the association which existed in the minds of the inhabitants between the board of customs and an american revenue. the declaratory act of 1766, the revenue act of 1767, together with the pomp and expense of this board, so disproportionate to the small income of the present duties, conspired to convince not only the few who were benefitted by smuggling, but the great body of enlightened freemen, that further and greater impositions of parliamentary taxes were intended. in proportion as this opinion gained ground, the inhabitants became more disrespectful to the executive officers of the revenue, and more disposed, in the frenzy of patriotism, to commit outrages on their persons and property. the constant bickering that existed between them and the inhabitants, together with the steady opposition given by the latter to the discharge of the official duties of the former, induced the commissioners and friends of an american revenue to solicit the protection of a regular force at boston. in compliance with their wishes, his majesty ordered two regiments and some armed vessels to repair thither for supporting and assisting the officers of customs in the execution of their duty. (ramsay's colonial history, vol. i., chap. iii., pp. 355, 356.)
his revenue act, and the two subsequent acts to give it effect, produced an excitement throughout the american colonies that will be noticed hereafter. mr. bancroft remarks: "they would nullify townshend's revenue act by consuming nothing on which he had laid a duty, and avenge themselves on england by importing no more british goods. at the beginning of this excitement (september, 1767), charles townshend was seized with fever, and after a short illness, during which he met danger with the unconcerned levity that had marked his conduct of the most serious affairs, he died at the age of forty-one, famed alike for incomparable talents and extreme instability." (history of the united states, vol. vi., p. 98.)
bancroft's history of the united states, vol. v., chapter ix., pp. 161, 162. mr. bancroft adds:
"the promise of large emoluments in case of forfeiture stimulated their natural and irregular vivacity to enforce laws which had become obsolete, and they pounced upon american property as they would have gone to war in quest of prize-money. even at first their acts were equivocal, and they soon came to be as illegal as they were oppressive. there was no redress. an appeal to the privy council was costly and difficult; and besides, when it so happened, before the end of the year, that an officer had to defend himself on an appeal, the suffering colonists were exhausted by the delay and expense, while the treasury took care to indemnify their agent."—ib., p. 162.
ramsay's colonial history, vol i., chapter iii., pp. 352, 353.
"towards the last of october, the inhabitants of boston, 'ever sensitive to the sound of liberty,' assembled in a town meeting, and voted to dispense with a large number of articles of british manufacture, which, were particularly specified; to adhere to former agreements respecting funerals; and to purchase no new clothing for mourning. committees were appointed to obtain subscribers to this agreement, and the resolves were sent in to all the towns of the province and abroad to other colonies. the 20th of the ensuing month (20th of november, the time when the acts went into operation) passed without tumult. placards were exhibited and effigies were set up, but the people in general were quiet. otis (the most popular man in boston), at a town meeting held to discountenance riot, delivered a speech in which he recommended caution, and advised that no opposition should be made to the new duties. 'the king has a right,' said he, 'to appoint officers of the customs in what manner he pleases and by what denominations; and to resist his authority will but provoke his displeasure.' such counsel was displeasing to the zealous, but it was followed." (barry's history of massachusetts, vol. ii., chapter xi., pp. 340, 341.)
