equally grand and popular: It interested every being in the country; but to the great mass of the people it was matter rather of feeling than reflection. The historical facts on which rested the national rights, were known but to a few. It was the good fortune of Mr. Henry to be the first to enter into an abstract exposition of this great question, and to render familiar by his perspicuous manner, subjects heretofore buried deep be*neath the rubbish of antiquity. WHEN Henry first appeared in the assembly of Virginia, his name was familiar, though his person was almost wholly unknown. The court party failed not to remark, with some appearance of exultation, his supposed defect in ease and good breeding; and by titterings and whispers attempted to embarrass and depress him. The plainness of his dress and the awkwardness of his figure furnished new food for ridicule, and the whole of their court graces were ostentatiously played off for the purpose of rendering the contrast between polish and rusticity more striking and decisive: But their triumph was short lived. Soon as the great faculties of his mind began to enlarge and expand their volumes before them, their feelings were instantly converted into appreheusion and astonishment. Expectation being now at its height, Mr. Henry rose, and having called the attention of the house to the alarming pretensions of the English government, and their late encroachments on the just rights and liberties of British America, as exemplified in the late passage of that obnoxious statute, the stamp act, he offered to the speaker the following resolutions : "WHEREAS the honourable house of commons in England have of late drawn into ques CHAP. IV. IV. CHAP. tion, how far the general assembly of this colo ny hath power to enact laws for laying taxes and imposing duties, payable by the people of this, his majesty's most ancient colony; for settling and ascertaining the same to all future times, the house of burgesses of this present general assem bly have come to the several following resolutions: "Resolved, that the first adventurers and settlers of this his majesty's colony and dominion of Virginia, brought with them, and transmitted. to their posterity, and all other his majesty's subjects since inhabiting in this his majesty's colony, all the privileges and immunities that have at any time been held, enjoyed and possessed by the people of Great Britain. "Resolved, that by the two royal charters grant. ed by king James I. the colonies aforesaid are declared entitled to all the privileges of faithful liege and natural born subjects, to all intents and pur poses, as if they had been abiding and born within the realm of England. "Resolved, that his majesty's most licge peo ple of this his most ancient colony, have enjoyed the right of being thus governed by their own assembly, in the article of taxes and internal police, and that the same have never been forleited, nor any other way yielded up, but have been constantly recognised by the king and people of Great Britain. "Resolved, therefore, that the general assembly of this colony, together with his majesty, or his substitute, have, in their representative capa city, the only exclusive right and power to lay. taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony; and that every attempt to vest such pow er in any person or persons whatsoever, other than the general assembly aforesaid, is illegal, unconstitutional and unjust, and has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American CHAP. freedom. "Resolved, that his majesty's liege people, the inhabitants of this colony, are not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatsoever, designed to impose any taxation whatsoever upon them, other than the laws and ordinances of the general assembly aforesaid, 66 Resolved, that any person who shall, by speaking or writing, maintain that any other person or persons, other than the general assembly of this colony, have any right or power to lay any taxation whatsoever on the people here, shall be deemed an enemy to this his majesty's colony." THE speaker having objected to the style of the resolutions, as too strong and inflammatory, George Johnson of Alexandria, an eminent lawyer, undertook to support him, and Henry, roused by opposition, entered at once into an elaborate investigation of the subject, in the 'course of which he displayed so much rare and profound constitutional learning, such resources of ingenuity; a declamation so clear, rapid and impressive, embellished with a fancy occasionally playful and lofty, as for a moment astonished and confounded opposition. His arragement of his discourse was clear; his division of his subject eminently simple. "The rights of British America," said he, "are three fold; chartered, constitutional and natural.. The first arose out of our condition as colonists, and are guaranteed to us by repeated charters granted by our English monarchs. They are every where recognised in all our public instruments, in the acts of our assemblies, in the minutes of our councils, in our judicial proceedings, in our habits, our principles, in every page and letter of our history, and IV. СНАР. until, unfortunately for the British empire, the present ministers came into power, no man was daring enough to call them into question. Our constitutional rights we inherit as subjects of Britain. Our fathers brought them along with them across the Atlantic, and in the midst of their own unparallelled distresses they cherished the sacred deposit, and transmitted it unimpaired a noble bequest to their descendants. These rights, instead of impairing our chartered rights, go to their absolute confirmation. At the time of our emigration we were entitled to all the benefits of English subjects; our charters secured to us in America the benefits we were compelled to relinquish in Europe. Instead of parliaments now too remote, the wisdom of our ancestors devised the simple but majestic plan of colonial assemblies chosen by the people and vested with the sole power of levying and granting the public money. Since the year 1619 this right has been exercised here, and I believe, in every other American colony, to the great benefit and content of the people. But the claim no v arrogantly set up by ministers would go to the utter annihilation of both the one and the other. We are to have no rights of any kind, either as Englishmen or Americans, under the British constitution or American charters. "BUT there is a still higher right," said he, "of which it is attempted to bereave us; which, although all other rights should be taken away, no one ought to be found so poor of soul as tamely to surrender. These are our natural rights, which we derive from the God of nature. By these we are taught that the fruits of our labour belong exclusively to ourselves, and may not be taken from us but by our own free will and consent: That man hath a right, and is under an ori IV. ginal necessity to seek his own happiness; that with CHAP. this view their fathers had emigrated to America, and at a vast expense of blood and treasure had reclaimed the horrid wilderness to arts and civilization, and had thereby added incalculably to the wealth and power of the parent state. "THESE facts, said the animated orator, are well known to the king of Great Britain and hist parliaments; but they have notwithstanding persisted, and it becomes the solemn duty of NorthAmerica, and more especially of this ancient colony, ever conspicuous for her devotion to liberty, to restore them to their senses." HERE he entered into an historical enumeration of those examples of successful resistance to oppression which rendered glorious the annals of Rome and England, and concluded with this dreadful warning, which connected with its subsequent fulfilment, seemed like the inspiration of prophecy. Cæsar," said he, "had his Brutus, Charles his Cromwell and (pausing) George the third, (here a cry of treason, treason was heard, supposed to issue from the chair, but with admirable presence of mind he proceeded) may profit by their examples. Sir, if this be treason, continued he, make the most of it." THIS speech, of which only a sketch is given, was frequently interrupted with the cry of hear, hear, and the resolutions were passed by a large majority, forty only having voted against them. A CIRCUMSTANCE occurred, however, which had well nigh defeated their intentions. Secure of the victory they had already gined, many of the patriots had procured leave of absence for the purpose of visiting their families, and the opposition emboldened by so considerable a defection, moved that the resolutions should be rescinded from the journals. This mean and un |