To treat ſuch deſigns as ſerious, would be to think too contemptuouſly of Boſtonian underſtandings. The artifice indeed is not new; the bluſterer who threatened in vain to deſtroy his opponent, has ſometimes obtained his end, by making it believe that he would hang himſelf.
But terrours and pity are not the only means by which the taxation of the Americans is oppoſed. There are thoſe who profeſs to uſe them only as auxiliaries to reaſon and juſtice, who tell us, that to tax the Colonies is uſurpation and oppreſſion, an invaſion of natural and legal rights, and a violation of thoſe principles which ſupport the conſtitution of Engliſh government.
This queſtion is of great importance. That the Americans are able to bear taxation is indubitable; that their refuſal may
