Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 289

stitutional & contrary to their Rights, supporting the Inde-
pendancy of the Provinces, & not Subject to the Legislative
Power of Great Britain." It is moreover Affirm'd in a Letter
to M^r Secretary Conway Dated 7^th Nov^r " That the People in
General are averse to Taxes of any kind & that the Merch^ts
in that place think they have a Right to every Freedom of
Trade w^ch the Subjects of Great Britain now enjoy." This
opinion of theirs Strikes directly at the Act of Navigation &
o^r Subsequent Laws w^h from time to time, have been on the
wise Policy of that Act, and should they ever be encouraged
to procure for themselves that absolute Freedom of Trade
w^ch they appear to desire, Our Plantations would become, not
only of no benefit, but in the highest Degree prejudicial to
the Commerce & Welfare of their Mother Country, nor is it
easy to conceive a greater Encouragem^t than the repealing a
Law opposed by them on such Principles, & with so much
contempt, of the Sovereignty of the British Legislature.
8^thly Because the Appearance of Weakness & Timidity in
the Governm^l & Parliam^l of this Kingdom, w^ch a concession
of this Nature may too probably carry w^th it, has a manifest
Tendency to draw on further Insults, & by lessening the
Respect of all his Majestys Subjects to the Dignity of his
Crown & Authority of his Laws, throw the whole British
Empire into a Miserable State of Confusion and Anarchy, w^th
which it seems by many Symptoms to be dangerously threatned,
and this is the more to be feared as the Plea of our North
American Colonies, that not being represented in the Parliam^t
of Great Britain, they ought not to Pay Taxes, Imposed or
Levied upon them, by the authority thereof may by the same
reasoning be extended to all Persons in this Island who do
not actually Vote for Members of Parliam^t Nor can we help,
apprehending, that the opinion of some Countenance being
given to such Notions by the Legislature itself in consenting
to this Bill for the Repeal of the Stamp Act may greatly pro-
mote the Contagion of a most dangerous Doctrine, destruc-
tive to all Governm^t w^ch has spread itself over all our North
American Colonies, that the Obedience of the Subject is not
due to the Law of the Realm further than he in his Private
Judgm^t shall think it conformable to the Ideas he has formed
of a free Constitution,
gthiy Because we think it no effectual Guard or Security
against the Danger that the Parliam^t has declared in the
Resolutions of both Houses pass'd during this Session, and
now reduced into a Bill that such Notions are ill founded as
men will always look more to Deeds than words, & may there-
fore incline to believe that the Insurrections in our Colonies
excited by those Notions having so far Proved successfull as