TAKE the liberty, by means of your free and unin

I fluenced press, of communicating to the public a few

remarks upon the manner of conducting the American controverfy in general, and on fome of the writers that have appeared in your paper in particular. That you may not pass sentence upon me immediately as an enemy to the royal authority, and a son of fedition, I declare that I esteem his majefty king George the third to have the only rightful and lawful title to the British crown, which was fettled upon his family in confequence of the glorious revolution. You will fay, this is nothing at all; it is the creed of the factious Bostonians. I will then go a little further, and say that I not only revere him as the first magiftrate of the realm, but I love and honor him as a man, and am persuaded that he wishes the prosperity and happiness of his people in every part of his dominions. Nay, I have still more to fay, I do not think the British miniftry themselves have deserved all the abuse and foul names that have been bestowed on them by political wri

Dd

ters. The fteps which they have taken with respect to American affairs, and which I esteem to be unjust, impolitic, and barbarous to the highest degree, have been chiefly owing to the two following causes. 1. Ignorance or mistake, occafioned by the mifinformation of interested and treacherous perfons employed in their fervice. 2. The prejudices common to them, with perfons of all ranks in the island of Great-Britain.

Of the first of these, I fhall fay nothing at present, because perhaps it may occur with as great propriety afterwards. But as to the fecond, there is to be found in the newspapers enough to convince every man of reflection, that it was not the king and the miniftry only, but the whole nation that was enraged against America. The tide is but just beginning to turn; and I am in fome doubt whether it has fairly turned yet, upon any larger principles than a regard to their own interest, which may be affected by our proceedings. It can hardly be expected, that the eyes of a whole nation fhould be at once opened upon the generous principles of univerfal liberty. It is natural for the multitude in Britain, who have been from their infancy taught to look upon an act of parliament as fupreme and irrefiftible, and to confider the liberty of their country itself as confifting in the dominion of the house of commons, to be furprised and astonished at any society or body of men, calling in queftion the authority of parliament, and denying its power over them. It certainly required time to make them fenfible that things are in fuch a fituation in America, that for the houfe of commons in Great-Britain to affume the uncontrouled power of impofing taxes upon American property, would be as inconfiftent with the fpirit of the Britifh conftitution, as it appears at firft fight agreeable to its form. It argues great ignorance of human nature to fuppofe, that because we fee a thing clearly, which we contemplate every day, and which it is our intereft to believe and maintain, therefore they are deftitute of honor and truth who do not acknowledge it immediately, though all their former ideas and habits have led them to a contrary fuppofition. A man will become an American by refiding in the country three

months, with a profpect of continuing, more eafily and certainly than by reading or hearing of it for three years, amidst the fophiftry of daily disputation.

For these reasons, I have often been grieved to fee that the pleaders for American liberty, have mixed fo much of abufe and invective against the miniftry in general, as well as particular perfons, with their reafonings in fupport of their own most righteous claim. I have often faid to friends of America, on that fubject, it is not the king and ministry, fo much as the prejudices of Britons, with which you have to contend. Spare no pains to have them fully informed. Add to the immoveable firmness with which you justly support your own rights, a continual folicitude to convince the people of Britain, that it is not paffion but reason that infpires you. Tell them it cannot be ambition, but neceflity, that makes you run an evident rifk of the heavieft fufferings, rather than forfeit for yourfelves and your pofterity, the greatest of all earthly blef. fings.

Another circumftance gave me ftill more uneafinefs, viz: that many American patriots feemed to countenance, and to think themselves interested in the prosperity of that most despicable of all factions that ever exifted in the British empire, headed by the celebrated John Wilkes, efq. That fhameless gang carried on their attacks with fuch grofs, and indecent, and groundless abuse of the king and his family, that they became odious to the nation, and indeed fo contemptible, that the ministry sent at one time the lord mayor of London to the tower, without exciting the leaft refentment in the perfons of property in that great city, fo as to be felt in the operations of the treafury.

I am fenfible, and I mention it with pleasure, that no American ever proceeded to fuch offenfive extravagance on these subjects, as the people in Britain. Far greater infults were offered to the fovereign, within the city of London, and within the verge of the court, than ever were thought of or would have been permitted by the mob in any part of America. Even the writings containing illiberal abufe from England,

were scarcely fought after here, and many of them never published, although it could have been done without the least danger of a profecution. Yet, though the people of America are as dutiful and respectfal fubjects to the king as any in his dominions, there were fome things done, and fome things published, that feemed to intimate that we had one and the fame caufe with the author of the North-Britain, No. 45. The evil confequence of this was, that it had a tendency to lead the king and miniftry to think that the American claim was no better than the Wilkite clamor, and fo to oppofe it with the fame firmnefs, and to treat it with the fame difdain. Nothing could be more injudicious than this condu&t in the Americans; and it arose from the most absolute ignorance of political history. The stamp-act, that first-born of American oppreffions, was framed by the chief men of that very faction; and it is plain from their language to this hour, that they make no other use of American disturbances, but as engines of oppofition, and to ferve the mean purposes of party or of family interest.

I do not mean by this to take any part with or against the present ministry. I have feen many changes of the ministry, without any fenfible change of the ftate of public affairs. Nothing is more common with them than to raise a hideous outcry against a measure, when they are out, and yet without fhame or confcience do the very fame thing as foon as they get in. I look upon the caufe of America at present to be a matter of truly inexpreffible moment. The ftate of the human race through a great part of the globe, for ages to come, depends upon it. Any minister or miniftry, who is in or out of court favor, at a particular juncture, is fo little a matter, that it should not be named with it.

TH

HE Congrefs is, properly speaking, the reprefentative of the great body of the people of North America. Their election is for a particular purpose, and a particular feafon only; it is quite diftinct from the affemblies of the feveral provinces, What will be before them, is quite different from what was or could be in the view of the electors when the affemblies are chofen. Therefore those provinces are wrong, who committed it to the affembly as fuch, to fend delegates, though in some provinces, fuch as Boston and Virginia and some others, the unanimity of fentiment is fuch, as to make it the fame thing in effect.

It is at least extremely uncertain, whether it could be proper or fafe for the Congress to fend either ambaffadors, petition or address, directly to king or parliament, or both. They may treat them as a diforderly, unconftitutional meeting-they may hold their meeting itself to be criminal-they may find so many objections in point of legal form, that it is plainly in the power of those who wish to be able to do it, to deaden the zeal of the multitude in the colonies, by ambiguous, dilatory, frivolous answers, perhaps feverer measures. It is certain that this Congress is different from any regular exertion, in the accustomed forms of a quiet, approved, fettled conftitution. It is an