Page:Life of William Shelburne (vol 1).djvu/218

192 "It now only remains that, in obedience to your Majesty's commands, we give our opinions upon the mode of revenue least burthensome and most palatable to the Colonies, whereby they can contribute to the additional expense which must attend the civil and military establishments adopted on the present occasion. But on this point of the highest importance, it is entirely out of our power to form any opinion which we could presume to offer for your Majesty's consideration, as most of the materials necessary to form a just and accurate judgment upon it are not within reach of our office. Such as can be procured shall be collected with all possible dispatch, and shall at any time, be laid before your Majesty in such manner as you shall please to direct."

Thus the difficulty was for the time avoided. Before it could be again approached, events had taken place which installed a President at the Board of Trade more willing than Shelburne to fall in with the schemes of Grenville for promoting the Imperial supremacy of the mother-country. Differences of opinion on colonial policy did not alone alienate Shelburne from his colleagues in regard to taxation, and the Ministry had hardly been formed a few days before he found himself as little able as his predecessors to agree with the Secretary of State on the proper methods of conducting colonial business. He accordingly addressed a memorandum to Egremont, which after pointing out the necessity of a clear understanding, went on to say:

Before the year 1752, Governors and other chief officers in the Plantations were directed by their instructions to correspond with and transmit accounts of all their proceedings and of all occurrences in their respective departments to the Secretary of State and to the Board of Trade.

A constitution of this kind is improper upon the face of it, and would under any circumstances be defective, inconvenient, and embarrassed, and though a friendly intercourse and correspondence between office and office might obviate some of the inconveniences and difficulties it is liable to, yet that being a case seldom existing and never to be relied upon, it frequently happened