170
��Literature^ ^laint and Curious.
��produce of your province exported to Britain ?
A. It must be small, as we produce little that is wanted in Britain. I sup- pose that it cannot exceed 40,000
Pounds.
Q. You have said that you pay heavy taxes in Pennsylvania ; what do they amount to in the pound?
A. The tax on all estates, real and personal, is eighteen pence in the pound, fully rated ; and the tax on the profits of trades and professions, with other taxes, do, I sui)pose, make
full half a crown in the pound.
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Q. What was the temper of Amer- ica towards Great Britain before the year 1763?
A. The best in the world. They submitted willingly to the government of the Crown, and paid, in all their courts, obedience to acts of parlia- ment. Numerous as the people are in the several old provinces, they cost you nothing in forts, citadels, garri- sons, or armies, to keep them in sub- jection. They were governed by this country at the expense only of a little pen, ink, and paper. They were led by a tiiread. They had not only a respect, but an affection, for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs and manners, and even a fondness for its fashions, that greatly increased the commerce. Natives of Britain were always treated with particular regard ; to 1)1' an Old England man was, of it- self, a character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among us.
(J. And what is their temper now ?
A. (^, very much altered,
��Q. And have they not still the same respect for parliament?
A. No ; it is greatly lessened.
Q. To what cause is that owing?
A. To a concurrence of causes : the restraints lately laid on their trade, by which the bringing of for- eitrn o-old and silver into the colonies was prevented ; the prohibition of making paper money among them- selves, and then demanding a new and heavy tax for stamps ; taking away at the same time trials by ju- ries, and refusing to receive & hear their humble petitions.
Q. Don't you think they would submit to the stamp-act if it was modified, the obnoxious parts taken out, and the duties reduced to some particulars, of small moment?
A. No ; the}' will never submit to it.
Q. What is your opinion of a fu- ture tax imposed on the same princi- ple with that of the stamp-act ; how would the Americans receive it?
A. Just as they do this. They
would not pay it.
Q. Do n't you think cloth from Eng- land absolutely necessary to them?
A. No ; by no means absolutely necessary ; with industr}' and good management they may very well sup- ply themselves with all they want.
Q. Will it not take a long time to establish that manufacture among them? and must they not meanwhile suffer greatly?
A. I think not. They have made a surprising progress already. And I am of opinion that before their old cloths are worn out, the}' will have new ones of their own making.
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