Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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The Aui usta Seminary Annual. 15 ' . American Character. Love of Freedom, the chief characteristic of the Amer- ican people is due to (1) Descent. (2) Form of Government. (3) Religion in the Northern Provinces. (4) Manners in the Southern. (5) Education. (6) Remoteness of Situation from First Mover of Government. This Spirit of Liberty meeting with the ex- ercise of power in England has kindled the flame which is ready to consume the Empire. Part II. How to Deal writh America. Necessity of determining on some fixed course. First Alternative. To Change the Spirit yy Removing the Causes. 1. By with-holding land grajits. Objection — Impracticable. (1) Because of the quantity of land unsettled. (2) People would settle without grants. 2. By impoverishing the Colonies. Objection — Impracticable. (1) It would weaken the object. (2) It would be temporary. 3. By falsifying their pedigree. Objection — Impossible. So long as they speak the English tongue. 4. By changing the Rcligioti ajid by abolishing their public Institutions. Objection — (1) Inquisition is out of fashion. (2) The army would be too great an expense.

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IJf The Augusta Seminary Anmcal. Speech Of Ed.nnu.nci Bu.rk:e, Esq., On Moving His Resolutions For Conciliation with, the Colonies, March 22, 1775. Introduction. Two principal questions to be decided.] 1. Whether England ought to concede. 2. What her concession ought to be. Part I. Condition of S mcrica. 1. Population. 2. Trade. (1) Growth of the Colonial Trade. (2) Agriculture. (3) Fisheries. R. Digression on Objections to the Use of Force. America is a noble object well worth fighting for, but (1) The Use of Force is Temporary. (2) Uncertain. (3) Impairs the object. (4) Experience is against it.

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16 The Augusta Seminary Annual. 5. By enfranchising the slaves. Objection — Impracticable. (1) The slaves might refuse to take liberty, or the masters might free them. (2) Incongruity of this act from the English. 0. By annihilati)ig space and time. But all these difficulties got over, the Ocean still remains. ' ' Second Alternative. To prosecute it as Criminal. 1. Objection — Inapplicable. (1) Difficulty of drawing up an indictment against a whole people. (2) An Empire is the aggregate of many States un- der one common he ad. It is absurd in the head of an Empire to think because privileges are pleaded his authority is defied. (3) England must be the judge between the Colonies and herself; the incongi ' uity of a judge ' s pros- ecuting as criminal a civil litigant against him in point of right. 2. Objection-r— Inexpedient. (1) As shown by the conduct of Massachu s in the Boston riots. (2) As seen in the difficulty of applying juridical ideas to the present case. Third Tllternativc. To comply with this spirit as necessary. The Colonies complain of Taxation without Represen- tation. To satisfy them they must be given what they ask for, not what Parliament thinks best for them.