Page:Common sense - addressed to the inhabitants of America.djvu/31

Rh to; and is there any man o unwie, as not to ee, that (conidering what has happened) he will uffer no laws to be made here, but uch as uit his purpoe? We may be as effectually enlaved by the want of laws in America, as by ubmitting to laws made for us in England. After matters are made up (as it is called) can there be any doubt, but the whole power of the crown will be exerted to keep this Continent as low and humble as poible? Intead of going forward, we hall go backward, or be perpetually quarrelling, or ridiculouly petitioning.—We are already greater than the King wihes us to be, and will he not hereafter endeavour to make us les? To bring the matter to one point, is the power who is jealous of our properity, a proper power to govern us? Whoever ays No to this quetion is an Independent, for independency means no more than whether we hall make our own laws, or whether the King, the greatet enemy this Continent hath, or can have, hall tell us "there hall be no laws but uch as I like."

But the King you will ay hath a negative in England; the people there can make no laws without his conent. In point of right and good order, there is omething very ridiculous, that a youth of twenty-one (which hath often happened) hall ay to ix millions of people, older and wier than himelf, "I forbid this or that act of yours to be law." But in this place I decline this ort of reply, though I will never ceae to expoe the aburdity of it, and only anwer, that England being the King's reidence, and America not o, makes quite another cae. The King's negative here is ten times more dangerous and fatal than it can be in England, for there he will carcely refue his conent to a bill for putting England into as trong a tate of defence as poible, and here he would never uffer uch a bill to be paed.

America is only a econdary object in the ytem of Britih politics, England conults the good of this country no farther than it anwers her own purpoe. Wherefore her own interet leads her to uppres the growth of ours, in every cae which doth not promote her advantage, or in the leat interferes with it. A pretty tate we hould oon be in, under uch a econd-hand government, conidering what has happened! Men do not change from enemies to friends by the alteration of a name: And in order to hew that reconciliation now is a dangerous doctrine. I affirm, that it would be policy in the King at this time to repeal the acts, for the ake of reintating himelf in the government of the Provinces; in order that HE MAY ACCOMPLISH BY CRAFT AND SUBTILTY, IN THE LONG RUN, WHAT HE CANNOT DO BY FORCE AND VIOLENCE IN THE SHORT ONE. Reconciliation and ruin are nearly related.

Secondly.—That as even the bet terms which we can expect to obtain, can amount to no more than a temporary expedient, or a kind of government by guardianhip, which can lat no longer than till the Colonies come of age, o the general face and tate of things in the interim will be unettled and