Page:An Answer to the Declaration of the American Congress.djvu/22



it meant to ininuate any objections to the meaure itelf? Let us hortly expoe the nature of thoe intructions. And here it may be neceary to premie, that the Governor of every Colony has a negative in the paing of all laws; and that he is controllable in the exercie of that power, by uch intructions as he hall from time to time receive from the King, under his ignet and ign manual, or by order in his Privy Council. Thofe who know the contitution of the Colonies, governed under immediate commiion from his Majety—and it is to thoe only that the cae applies—know this to be the fact. This once admitted, it follows that there is a contitutional power in the Crown, of intructing the Governor to refue his aent to uch laws, as his Majety judges unfit to be paed. By this tet then let us examine the jutice, or injutice, of thee intructions.

what bills do thee intructions apply? To uch only as are of an extraordinary nature, affecting the trade and hipping of Great Britain; the prerogatives of the Crown, and the property of the ubjects of the empire in general. Poible it was, that laws of this nature hould be paed by the Colonial legilatures. It was more than poible. Such laws were pat. Frequent complaints of them occur in the Journals of both houes of Parliament.

thee circumtances, what was to be done? It was not, I uppoe, to be endured, that local, ubordinate legilatures hould pas laws injurious to all the ubjects of the empire. How then were they to be retrained from the aumption of a power, they were o prone to aume?

not the Crown have been jutified, had it recurred to the mot obvious expedient; to that which would