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CHAPTER
IV
pages 56-72
By Charles C. Jones
Volume II - Revolutionary Epoch, 1888
Submitted by: Dena Whitesell
In support of the Stamp Act, by which it was proposed that the British Parliament should not only tax the American
colonies but enforce the collection by decrees of English judges without the intervention of juries, Grenville
argued that because the provinces could claim the protection of the home government Parliament, in return, had
a right to exact a revenue from them. Protection, said he, involves an army ; an army must be fed and paid; and
the requisite money and provisions can only be obtained by means of taxation. When considering the claim advanced
by the colonies that they could be lawfully taxed only in accordance with their own consent as expressed by their
representatives, he advocated the doctrine that Parliament, as the common council of the whole empire, could impose
both internal taxes as impost duties, and taxes on intercolonial trade.
Charles Townshend, the reputed master of American affairs, triumphantly propounded the inquiry, " And now
will these American children planted by our care, nourished up by our indulgence to a degree of strength and opulence,
and protected by our arms, grudge to contribute their mite to relieve us from the heavy burden under which we lie?
"
To him the impassioned Barre, the companion and friend of Wolfe and the sharer of the dangers and the glories of
Louisburg and Quebec, responded with flashing eye and outstretched arm, " They planted by your care! No: your
oppressions planted them in America. They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated, unhospitable country where
they exposed themselves to almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable, and among others to the cruelties
of a savage foe the most subtle, and I will take upon me to say the most formidable, of any people upon the face
of God's earth; and yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty, they met all hardships with pleasure.
. . . They nourished up by your indulgence ! They grew by your neglect of them. As soon as you began to care about
them, that care was exercised in sending persons to rule them in one department and another who were, perhaps,
the deputies of deputies to some members of this house, sent to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their
actions, and to prey upon them: men whose behavior on many occasions has caused the blood of those Sons of Liberty
to recoil within them : men promoted to the highest seats of justice, some who, to my knowledge, were glad, by
going to a foreign country, to escape being brought to the bar of a Court of Justice in their own. They protected
by your arms ! They have nobly taken up arms in your defence; have exerted a valor, amidst their constant and laborious
industry, for the defence of a country whose frontier was drenched in blood, while its interior parts yielded all
its little savings to your emolument. And believe me, remember I this day told you so, the same spirit of freedom
which actuated that people at first, will accompany them still. But prudence forbids me to explain myself further.
God knows I do not at this time speak from motives of party heat; what I deliver are the genuine sentiments of
my heart. However superior to me in general knowledge and experience the respectable body of this house may be,
yet I claim to know more of America than most of you, having seen and been conversant in that country. The people,
I believe, are as truly loyal as any subjects the King has; but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will
vindicate them if ever they should be violated. But the subject is too delicate; I will say no more."
Notwithstanding a difference of sentiment, and in the teeth of all protests entered by the agents of the colonies,
the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed by both houses of Parliament. Alluding to the objection urged by the American
colonies to taxation without representation, one of the ministry exclaimed, " We have power to tax them, and
we will tax them." In the language of Benjamin Franklin, the British nation was provoked by American claims
of independence, and all parties resolved by this act to settle the question. It was the old story of the arbitrary
exercise of irresistible might. Too crazy to appreciate the true nature of the act he was called upon to perform,
George III. signified his royal assent to the act by a commission. Thus did a bit of parchment, bearing the sign
of his hand scrawled in the flickering light of clouded reason, under the British constitution compass the fall
legislative office of the king. Had he been a private individual, his commission could have imparted validity to
no instrument.
It was the belief of the American agents in England that the stamp tax could be peacefully levied, and no one supposed
the colonies would dispute the matter with Parliament at the point of the sword. Knox, the Georgia agent, wrote
publicly in its favor, and even the patriotic Otis deemed it the duty of the colonists to submit. Franklin did
not doubt but that it would be carried into effect. Sadly did they all mistake the temper and resolution of their
constituents. Sweeping were the terms of the act. Unless the stamps prescribed were used, " marriages would
be null, notes of hand valueless, ships at sea prizes to the first captors, suits at law impossible, transfers
of real estate invalid, inheritances irreclaimable." Not a member of the ministry prophesied that the tax
would be resisted, and Grenville himself " did not foresee the opposition to the measure, and would have staked
his life for obedience."
When first acquainted with the nature of the proposed act, the Georgia authorities regarded the stamp duty "
as equal as any that could be generally imposed on the Colonies, though the manner of imposing it greatly inspired
alarm."
While the other colonies, through timid hesitation or from the want of opportunity, remained silent, Virginia "rang
the alarum bell" and " gave the signal for the continent." From the lipe of the eloquent Patrick
Henry fell the bold declaration that the inhabitants of that colony inherited from the first settlers of that dominion
equal franchises with the people of Great Britain; that this equality had been declared in royal charters; that
taxation by themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, was the distinguishing characteristic
of British freedom and of the English constitution; that Virginians had uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of being
thus governed by their own laws regulating their internal polity and taxation; that this right had never been forfeited
or surrendered, but had been constantly recognized by the king and people of the United Kingdom; that the General
Assembly of the colony possessed the sole right and power to lay taxes on its inhabitants; that any attempt to
vest such power in any other persons tended to destroy British as well as American freedom; that the inhabitants
of Virginia were not bound to yield obedience to any laws designed to impose taxation except such as were promulgated
by their own General Assembly; and that any one who either by speaking or writing maintained the contrary should
be deemed an enemy to the colony.
The sentiments thus promulgated commended themselves to the approbation of sister colonies. James Otis, of Boston,
advocated the calling of an American congress which, consisting of committees from each of the thirteen colonies,
should, without asking the permission of the king, come together and deliberate upon the propriety of the acts
of Parliament. In New York a reprint of the Stamp Act was hawked about the streets as the " Folly of England
and the ruin of America." The " Sons of Liberty " were banded together North and South, and were
busily engaged in planning retaliation or redress. " It is an insult on the most common understanding,"
said James Habersham of Georgia, " to talk of our being virtually represented in Parliament. Associations
were formed to resist the Stamp Act by all lawful means, and it was hoped that American rights and liberties might
safely be intrusted " to the watchfulness of a united continent." "Liberty, Property, and no Stamps9'
became the general cry, and the resolve was to resist the enforcement of the act.
On Monday, the 7th of October, 1765, the congress suggested by Otis assembled in New York. It was a bold convocation.
Although not represented by delegates, Georgia was present in the person of a messenger who was sent to obtain
a copy of the proceedings. Eschewing charter privileges, and building upon the principles of natural justice and
universal reason, the delegates resolved in their declarations and remonstrances to stand upon those rights which
they all knew and recognized as men and as descendants of Englishmen.
Dwelling upon the inherent right of trial by jury in opposition to the extension of the admiralty jurisdiction;
insisting upon freedom from taxation except through the respective colonial legislatures; pronouncing all supplies
to the Crown derive from the American colonies free gifts; confessing that from local circumstances the English
colonies in America could never be represented in the House of Commons; acknowledging subordination to the Parliament
of Great Britain, and extolling the English constitution as the most perfect form of government and the source
of all civil and religious liberty, the delegates argued that in reason and sound policy there existed " a
material distinction between the exercise of a Parliamentary jurisdiction in general acts of legislation for the
amendment of the common law or the regulation of trade through the whole empire, and the exercise of that jurisdiction
by imposing taxes on the Colonies, from which they therefore entreated to be relieved."
On the morning of the 25th this congress assembled for the last time, and the delegates set their hands to resolutions,
remonstrances, and declarations by which the colonies became, as they expressed it, " a bundle of sticks which
could neither be bent nor broken." For the stamp distributers was the warning given, " Assure yourselves
the spirit of Brutus and Cassius is yet alive/' and from the united nation went up tho cry, " We will not
submit to the Stamp Act upon any account or in any instance."
Upon receipt of the circular letter forwarded by the General Assembly of Massachusetts, soliciting the formation
of a congress to assemble in New York in October, 1765, Mr. Wylly, speaker of the Commons House of Assembly of
Georgia, issued a call to the members, requesting a convention at Savannah at an early day. Sixteen members responded,
and on the 2d of September came together at the place named. Through the strenuous influence of Governor Wright
they were prevailed upon not to send delegates to the proposed congress. They did, nevertheless, prepare and transmit
a response to the Massachusetts invitation, intimating their readiness to cooperate heartily in every measure devised
for the support and protection of the common rights of the colonies.
So satisfied was the governor with his loyal exertions and with the apparent tranquillity of the province that
as late as the 20th of September he informed the Earl of Halifax that everything was well and doing well. Far otherwise
was the tenor of his communication addressed to Mr. Secretary Con way on the 81st of January, 1766:
" Sir, — Yesterday I had the honour to receive the duplicates of your Excellency's letter of the 24th of October,
and it is with the utmost concern that I am to acquaint your Excellency that the same spirit of sedition, or rather
rebellion, which first appeared at Boston has reached this Province, and I have for three months past been continually
reasoning and talking with the most dispassionate and sensible people in order to convince them of the propriety
of an acquiescence, and submission to the King's authority and that of the British Parliament, until they could
point out their grievances, if any, and apply for redress in a constitutional way. I have also Sir, pointed out
the dangerous consequences, distresses, and misery they must inevitably bring upon themselves by following the
example of the Northern Colonies. This I have done in the strongest and most striking point of view I could place
it in, and exactly agreeable to the sense and spirit of your Excellency's letter I had the honor to receive yesterday.
At other times I have had recourse to such little force as is in my power, and have in some measure preserved and
supported his Majesty's authority and prevented the Stamp papers from being destroyed, but Sir, I must at the same
time declare that I have had the great mortification to see the reins of government nearly wrested out of my hands,
his Majesty's authority insulted, and the civil power obstructed. But that your Excellency may be more clearly
enabled to judge of the true state of affairs in this Province, and to lay the same before his Majesty, I humbly
beg leave to state a brief narrative of some transactions here, and which I from time to time have acquainted the
Lords of Trade with.
“On the 26th of October, the day of his Majesty's accession, I had ordered a general Muster: and in the evening,
a little after night, there was a very great tumult in the streets, and some effigies burnt, and a day or two after
several incendiary threatening letters were wrote on which I issued a proclamation as your Excellency will see
by the enclosed newspaper. I also issued another proclamation against riots and tumultuous and unlawful assemblies,
and from that time the spirit of faction and sedition took place and increased, and those persons who falsely call
themselves the Sons of Liberty began to have private cabals and meetings, and I was informed that many had signed
an Association to oppose and prevent the distribution of Stamped papers, and the act from taking effect. But it
was impossible to come at such proof as would enable me to support any legal proceedings against them, and I found
they had determined on attacking the distributor as soon as he arrived, and compelling him to resign or promise
not to act, as had been done in the Northern Colonies. I had also been informed that they intended to seize upon
and destroy the papers whenever they should come. In the mean time Sir, every argument I could suggest was used
to convince them of the rashness of such attempts and the dangerous consequences that must attend them, and every
method, both public and private, was pursued by me to bring them to a right way of thinking, and which I frequently
thought I had effected, and am sure I should have done but for the inflammatory papers, letters, and messages continually
sent to the people here from the Liberty Boys, as they call themselves, in Charlestown, South Carolina, and by
whom I am very clear all our disturbances and difficulties have been occasioned.
“And thus matters rested Sir, till the 5th of December when his Majesty's ship Speedwell arrived here with the
stamped papers on board. I had used every precaution necessary to prevent either papers or officer from falling
into the hands of those people, which they were not ignorant of. And when it was known that the Speedwell was in
the river with the papers, several of the principal inhabitants came to me and gave me the strongest assurances
possible that there was then no intention to seize upon or destroy the papers. And they were landed without any
appearance of tumult and lodged in the King's store or warehouse under the care of the Commissary. But notwithstanding
these assurances with respect to the papers, I still found there was a design against the Officer.
" From the 5th of November everything remained pretty quiet, but I found cabals were frequently held and inflammatory
letten sent from Charlestown, and on the 2nd of January, about 3 in the afternoon, I was informed that the Liberty
Boys in towo had assembled together to the number of about 200 and were gathering fast, and that some of them had
declared they were determined to go to the Fort and break open the Store and take out* the stamped papers and destroy
them ; on which I immediately ordered the officers to get their men together, but appearances and threats were
such that in three days I had not less than 40 men on duty every night to protect the papers, or I am confident
they would have been destroyed.
“On the 3rd of January Mr. Angus, the distributor for this Province, arrived, of which I had the earliest notice
in consequence of measures concerted for that purpose, and immediately sent the scout boat with an officer and
a party of men to protect him and suffer no body to speak to him, but conduct him safely to my house, which was
done the next day at noon when he took the State oaths and oath of office, and I had the papers distributed and
lodged in all the different offices relative to the shipping and opening our ports, whieh had been ahut for some
time.
But here the people in general have agreed not to apply for any other papers till his Majesty's pleasure be known
on the petitions sent from the Colonies. I kept the Officer in my house for a fortnight, after which he went into
the Country, to avoid the resentment of the people, for awhile. No pains have been spared in the Northern Colonies
to spirit up and inflame the people, and a spirit of faction and sedition was stirred up throughout the Province,
and parties of armed men actually assembled themselves together and were preparing to do so in different parts,
but by sending expresses with letters to many of the most prudent I had the satisfaction to find that my weight
and credit was sufficient to check all commotions and disturbances in the Country at that time, and every thing
was quiet again and remained so till a few days ago when some incendiaries from Charlestown came full fraught with
sedition and rebellion, and have been about the Country and inflamed the people to such a degree that they were
again assembling together in all parts of the Province and, to the number of about 600, were to have come here
on yesterday, all armed, and these people as I have been informed, were to have surrounded my house and endeavoured
to extort a promise from me that no papers should be issued till his Majesty's pleasure be known on the petitions
sent home, and if I did not immediately comply, they were to seize upon and destroy the papers and commit many
acts of violence against the persons and property of those gentlemen that have declared themselves friends of Government.
On this last alarm I thought it advisable to remove the papers to a place of greater security, and accordingly
ordered them to be carried to Fort George on Cockspur Island where they are protected by a Captain, two Subalterns,
and fifty private men of the Rangers.
" But I have the satisfaction to inform your Excellency that I have, with the assistance of some well disposed
Gentlemen, taken off and got a great many dispersed who were actually on their way down here, but many are still
under arms and I can't yet say how the affair will end.
“This Sir, is a wretched situation to be in, and it's clear that further force is necessary to support his Majesty's
authority from results and reduce the people to obedience to the civil power. My task is rendered much more difficult
by the people in the next Province going the lengths they have done, and to this day do, and it's said, and I believe
it may be true, (although Sir, I will not aver it for a fact), that the Carolinians have offered to assist the
people here with 500 men to prosecute their vile attempts.
" Upon the whole Sir, there is still a possibility of bringing the people to reason and restoring the peace
and tranquillity of the Province, on which, your Excellency so justly observes, their welfare and happiness depend.
A few days will determine this point, and if not, then, agreeable to your Excellency's letter, I shall write to
General Gage and Lord Colvile for assistance. I have only to add that notwithstanding every threat and attempt,
your Excellency may be assured I will firmly persevere to the utmost of my power in the faithful discharge of my
duty to his Majesty; but really Sir, such of the King's Servants in America as are firm in their opposition to
the present seditious spirit have a very uncomfortable time of it.
" The whole military force in this Province, Sir, is two troops of Rangers, consisting in the whole of 120
effective men, which occupy 5 forts or posts in different parts of the Province, and 30 of the Royal Americans,
— 20 of them at fort Augusta 150 miles from hence, and 10 at Frederica about the same distance. And on the first
appearance of faction and sedition I ordered in some of the Rangers from each post and made up the number here
at Savannah 56 privates and 8 officers, with which, and the assistance of such gentlemen as were of a right way
of thinking, I have been able in some measure to support his Majesty's authority, but I have been obliged to send
two officers and 35 of those men with the papers to Fort George."
On the 7th of February Governor Wright acquaints Secretary Conway with what had further transpired in the colony
in relation to the contemplated enforcement of the Stamp Act:
" On the 2nd inst I had the pleasuro to hear of the arrival of his Majesty's ship Speedwell, Capt. Fanshawe,
who had promised me when he went from hence, after bringing the papers, that he would return again soon. I assure
your Excellency he came at a very reasonable time, as by his taking the papers on board the King's ship I was enabled
to order up the Officers and Rangers to town, and then mustered 70 Officers and men. Capt. Fanshawe brought his
ship up, and several gentlemen and others also promised to join me if the Villains should come into town. For notwithstanding
I had been able to dispose of a great number, yet two hundred and forty of them were within 8 miles, and, being
much exasperated against me for sending the papers away, agreed to come to me and demand that I would order the
papers to be delivered up to them, and if I did not, they were to shoot me. This Sir, was avowedly declared by
some of them; and on Thursday, the 4th instant, they actually had the insolence to appear at the Town Common with
their arms and colours, but finding I had near 100 men I could command and depend upon, and being told that many
would join me as volunteers, after staying about 3 hours I was informed they differed among themselves and began
to disperse, and I have now the great satisfaction to acquaint your Excellency that they are all dispersed; but
Sir, some of them declared they were offered the assistance of from 4 to 500 men from Carolina, and if they came,
would be ready to return again. If none come from thence I hope to remain quiet. I shall see some of the most dispassionate
people and of the most considerable property amongst them, and endeavour to restore the peace of the Province,
but even if I succeed in this so far as to obtain promises of submission, yet Sir, some troops will nevertheless
be absolutely necessary, for I fear I cannot have entire confidence in the people for some time, and your Excellency
sees the insults his Majesty's authority has received, and which I am still liable to. Possibly your Excellency
may be surprized that I have not mentioned calling out the militia, but I have too much reason to think I should
have armed more against me than for me, and that volunteers were the only people I could have any confidence in
or dependence upon."
Led by the fearless Gadsden, the eloquent Rutledge, and the patriotic Lynch, the delegates from South Carolina
were the first to respond to the call for an American congress. During its session in New York they gave shape
to its deliberations and moulded its conclusions. So potent was their influence at home that upon their return
to Charlestown the General Assembly 61 South Carolina, on the 29tli of November, 1765, was moved to the adoption
of a series of resolutions entirely in unison with those promulgated by the congress. In them it was declared that
his majesty's subjects in the province of Carolina owed the same allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain that
was due from bis subjects there born; that they were entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of natural
born subjects ; that it was inseparably essential to the freedom of a people and the undoubted right of Englishmen
that no taxes should be imposed on them but with their own consent given personally or by their representatives
; that the people of Carolina from their local circumstances could not be represented in the House of Commons of
Great Britain, and that the several powers of legislation in America were constituted in some measure upon the
apprehension of this impracticability; that the only representatives of the people of the province were persons
chosen therein by themselves, and that no taxes ever had been or ever could be constitutionally imposed on them
but by the legislature of the province; that all supplies to the Crown being the free gifts of the people, it was
unreasonable and inconsistent with the principles and spirit of the British constitution for the people of Great
Britain to grant to his majesty the property of the people of Carolina; that the trial by jury was the inherent
and valuable right of every British subject in the province; that the late act of Parliament entitled 4t An Act
for granting and applying certain stamp duties and other duties of the British Colonies and plantations in America
etc., by imposing taxes on the inhabitants of Carolina, and other acts by extending the jurisdiction of the courts
of admiralty beyond their ancient limits, had a manifest tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the people
of the province; that the duties imposed by several late acts of Parliament on the people of Carolina would prove
extremely burthen-some and grievous, and, from a scarcity of gold and silver, the payment of them would be absolutely
impracticable; that as the profits of the trade of the people of the province ultimately centred in Great Britain
to pay for the manufactured articles they were obliged to take from thence, they eventually contributed very largely
to all the supplies there granted to the Crown, and that as every individual in South Carolina was as advantageous
to Great Britain as if he were a resident there and paid his full proportion of taxes for the support of his majesty's
government, it was unreasonable for him to be called upon to pay any additional part of the charges of the general
government.
This declaration of rights, disseminated through the public prints, was read everywhere both in Carolina and Georgia,
and evoked earnest sympathy from most of the inhabitants on both sides of the Savannah. Because Georgia had not
been fully represented in the New York Congress, Carolina was inclined to question her determination to resist,
by every means, the enforcement of the Stamp Act. Because Governor Wright was bolder than Governor Bull in his
efforts to carry into effect the expressed will of Parliament, Georgia was taunted with being a pensioned government.
In the South Carolina " Gazette " of February 11,1756, it was scurrilously hinted that " her inhabitants
were looked upon as a fair purchase and therefore to be treated as slaves without ceremony;" that they had
been " de-laded and bullied out of their rights and privileges; " and that "like Esau of old they
had sold their birthright for a mess of pottage." The truth was, the resistance offered by Georgia to the
enforcement of the Stamp Act within her borders was much more determined and pronounced than that exhibited by
South Carolina, and for the reason that Sir James Wright resolutely upheld the act by every means at command, while
Lieutenant-Governor Bull, yielding to pressure, lodged the stamp papers in Fort Johnson and suffered Charlestown
to be used as a free port.1 Certain it is that although Governor Wright, at all times a brave man and loyal to
his king, summoned all his energies and exerted his every influence to support the act, so thoroughly was the province
of Georgia aroused, and so closely did her inhabitants watch the stamp papers and the officer designated for their
issue, that none of them found their way into use. Georgians did not remain passive under those exactions. They
resisted rith arms in their hands, and triumphed in the contest. Even the gentle, self-poised, and influential
James Habersham, president of his majesty's council, confessed openly, " The annual tax raised here for the
support of our internal policy is. full as much as the inhabitants can bear: and suppose the stamps produce only
one eighth of what they would in South Carolina, it would amount to as much in one year as our tax laws will raise
in three; and perhaps we have not five thousand pounds in gold and silver come into the Province in five years,
though the act requires it in one. If this is really the case, as I believe it is, bow must every inhabitant shudder
at the thought of the act taking place, which, according to my present apprehension, must inevitably ruin them."
The only stamps issued in Georgia were those employed in clearing between sixty and seventy vessels which were
congregated in the port of Savannah fearing to depart without them. The emergency was pressing. Yielding to the
urgency of the situation, the citizens consented in this instance, and in this alone, to relax the prohibition
they had forcibly placed upon the use of stamp papers and the payment of stamp duties. Violent *as the umbrage
which South Carolina took at this act. It was resolved in Charlestown that no provisions should be shipped to Georgia,
which was denounced as an "infamous Colony; that "every vessel trading there should be burnt," and
that all persons who should traffic with Georgians " should be put to death." These were not idle threats,
for two vessels, clearing for Savan* nah, were captured before they crossed Charlestown bar, were brought back
to the city, condemned, and, with their cargoes, were destroyed. Sincerely, however, did the Carolinians repent
of this behavior which was unneighborly, lawless, and wholly unjustified by the circumstances of the case. True
to the common cause of the colonies, Georgia, in this emergency, was not unmindful of the equities of the moment,
and did not, in a whirlwind of passion, lose sight of her better judgment. Overawec by the popular uprising, Governor
Bull did not pretend to stem the current, and Carolina achieved a comparatively easy victory. Georgia, on the contrary,
prevailed in defiance of an executive who pertinaciously brought every influence and power to bear in behalf of
the enactments of Parliament and in direct oppositior to the will of the province.
It was at one time reported that the failure of Governoi Wright to sustain the provisions of the Stamp Act within
the limits of the colony had incurred royal displeasure, and that he was to be removed from office. Eventually,
however, he wa* comforted with the assurance that his conduct was approved oi by the king, and that there was "no
thought of recalling or superseding him." Perilous and perplexing was his situation. He acquitted himself
like a brave man and a faithful servant of hb royal master.
Then came the voice of the Great Commoner, speaking like one inspired : " I rejoice that America has resisted.
. . . The gentleman asks when were the Colonies emancipated ? I desire to know when they were made slaves? ...
In a good cause, on a sound bottom, the force of this country can crush America tc atoms. If any idea of renouncing
allegiance has existed, it was but a momentary frenzy ; and if the case was either probable or possible, I should
think of the Atlantic sea as less than a line dividing one country from another. The will of Parliament, properly
signified, must forever keep the colonies dependent upon the sovereign kingdom of Great Britain. Bat on this ground
of the Stamp Act, when so many here will think it a crying injustice, I am one who will lift up my hands against
it. In such a cause your success would be hazardous. America, if she fell, would fall like the strong man; she
would embrace the pillars of the state and pull down the constitution along with her.
" Is this your boasted peace ? Not to sheathe the sword in its scabbard bat to sheathe it in the bowels of
your brothers, the Americans? Will you quarrel with yourselves now the whole house of Bourbon is united against
you ? The Americans have not acted in all things with prudence and temper. They have been driven to madness by
injustice. Will you punish them for the madness you have occasioned? Rather let prudence and temper come first
from thisyride. I will undertake for America that she will follow the example.
"'Be to her faults a little blind; Be to her virtues very kind.
" Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the house what is really my opinion. It is that the Stamp Act be
repealed, absolutely, totally, and immediately; that the reason for the repeal be assigned, because it was founded
on an erroneous principle. At the same time let the sovereign authority of this country over the Colonies be asserted
in as strong terms as can be devised, and be made to extend to every point of legislation that we may bind their
trade, confine their manufactures, and exercise every power whatsoever except that of taking their money out of
their pockets without their consent.
The forensic battle waged fiercely in Parliament, and terminated at first unfavorably to the American colonies.
Again was it renewed. Grenville moved the enforcement of the Stamp Act. I shudder at the motion," cried the
aged General Howard. u I hope it will- not succeed, lest I should be ordered to execute it. Before I would imbrue
my hands in the blood of my countrymen who are contending for English liberty, I would, if ordered, draw my sword,
but sooner sheathe it in my own body." Benjamin Franklin, summoned to the bar of the House of Commons, declared
that America could not pay the stamp tax for want of gold and silver, and for lack of post roads and the means
of sending stamps back into the country. " Do you think the people of America would submit to pay the Stamp
Duty if it was moderated?" inquired Grenville. "No, never," responded Franklin. u They will never
submit to it."
Hobbling into the house on crutches and swathed in flannels, Pitt again pronounced for repeal as due to the liberty
of unrepresented subjects who had supported England through three wars. The division came in the gray light of
early dawn, and the roof of St. Stephen's rang with the shouts of the friends oi American liberty. Two hundred
and seventy-five voted for the repeal of the act, and one hundred and sixty-seven for softening. and enforcing
it. The joy of the American colonies was universal and unbounded. To Pitt, foremost statesman of England and the
apostle of freedom, came a message from across the ocean: "To you grateful America attributes that she is
reinstated in her former liberties. ... America calls you over and ovet again her father. Live long in health,
happiness, and honor. Be it late when you must cease to plead the cause of liberty on earth."
Upon the official announcement in Savannah of the repeal of the Stamp Act, Governor Wright convened the General
Assembly, and, when that body was organized on the 16th of July, 1766, addressed both houses thus: " I think
myself happy that I have it in my power to congratulate you on this Province having no injuries or damages, either
of a public or private nature, with respect to property to compensate, and that you, Gentlemen of the Assembly,
have no votes or resolutions injurious to the honor of his Majesty's government, or tending to destroy the legal
or constitutional dependency of the Colonies on the Imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain to reconsider."
Upon submitting for the information of the assembly a transcript of the statute repealing the Stamp Act, and a
copy of the act for securing the just dependency of the colonies on the mother country, he continued: " When
you consider the papers I shall now lay before you, I am persuaded your hearts must be filled with the highest
veneration and filial gratitude, with, a most ardent zeal to declare and express your grateful feelings and acknowledgments,
and to make a dutiful and proper return, and show a cheerful obedience to the laws and legislative authority of
Great Britain."
To this address the representatives of a province, lately in practical rebellion against the will of Parliament,
mildly responded: " We, his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, beg leave to return your Excellency
our sincere thanks for your affectionate speech. Hopeful as we were that no occasion would have offered of calling
us together till the usual season of our meeting, yet it is with the highest pleasure and satisfaction, and with
hearts overflowing with filial affection and gratitude to our most gracious Sovereign, that we embrace the opportunity
now presented to us of expressing our most dutiful acknowledgments to
the best of Kings for his paternal and princely attention and regard manifested to his faithful subjects in these
remote parts of his dominions in graciously condescending to lend his royal ear to their supplications and removing
from them those evils they lamented. Nor can we sufficiently venerate and admire the magnanimity and justice of
the British Parliament in so speedily redressing the grievances by them complained of.
" We cannot indeed but felicitate ourselves in that we have no injuries or damages either of a public or a
private nature, nor any votes or resolutions derogatory to the honor of his Majesty's government or tending to
destroy the true constitutional dependency of the Colonies on the Imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain
to reconsider.
“We will immediately proceed to take into our most serious consideration the papers laid before us by your Excellency,
and we shall upon all occasions be ready to testify our loyalty to our King and firm attachment to our Mother Country."
Rejoicing in their deliverance from the turmoils which had of late robbed the colony of its wonted repose, and
happy in the thought that the province was no longer annoyed by the presence either of stamp papers or of distributing
officers, both Houses, on the 22d of July, united in the following address to the king: — "Most gracious Sovereign.
" We your Majesty's loyal subjects, the Council and Commons of your Majesty's Province of Georgia in General
Assembly met, heg leave to approach your Royal person with hearts full of the most dutiful affection and gratitude.
Influenced by principle, and animated by your Majesty's exemplary justice and paternal care in redressing the grievances
of your faithful subjects in these remote parts of your wide extended Empire, with the deepest Bense of your Majesty's
royal clemency and goodness, we humbly offer to your most sacred Majesty our sincere thanks for the repeal of the
late Act of the British Parliament commonly called the American Stamp Act. Nor can we sufficiently admire the magnanimity
and justice displayed by the British Parliament on this occasion. Permit us, dread Sire, while we endeavor to express
our gratitude to the best of Kings for affording us so speedy and necessary relief, to assure your Majesty that
we shall, upon all occasions, strive to evince our loyalty and firm attachment to your Majesty's sacred person
and government, being truly sensible of the advantages derived to us from the protection of our Mother Country;
and that it is and ever will be our honor, happiness, and true interest to remain connected with and dependent
on the Imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain upon the solid basis of the British Constitution. That your
Majesty's illustrious House may continue to reign over a free, loyal, and grateful people to the latest posterity
is, most gracious Sovereign, our constant prayer, unfeigned wish, and our most sanguine hope.
" By order of the Upper House,
James Habersham, President.
By order of the Commons House of Assembly,
A. Wylly, Speaker.
Notwithstanding these protestations of loyalty and this proclamation of abiding devotion to the Crown and its fortunes,
a new spirit of liberty was abroad in the land, and thoughts of political freedom already possessed the minds of
the people. The sentiment that colonies, separated by a wide ocean from the mother country and united by kindred
interests, possessed an inalienable right to fashion and sustain their own institutions without paying tribute
to the home government, was fast developing into a cherished principle. Less than ten years afterwards it was asserted
with the " consenting thunders of so many cannon that even the lands across the Atlantic were shaken and filled
with the long reverberation." The calm consequent upon the repeal of the obnoxious Stamp Act was only temporary.
Sir James Wright did not fail to interpret the signs of the times: for, in transmitting to Secretary Conway a copy
of the foregoing address, so loyal and even subservient, he intimates that while many Georgians seemed just then
to entertain a grateful sense of the " special grace and favours received," and appeared disposed to
exhibit a dutiful acquiescence in and obedience to the legislative authority of Great Britain, there were nevertheless
not a few who still retained "the late avowed sentiments and strange ideas of liberty," and insisted
that no power save representatives of their own choosing could subject them to the payment of internal taxes.
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