The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 PRELUDE TO INDEPENDENCE 235suspend the powers of another,free and independent as itself...."3In a closing impassioned appeal tothe king,. Jefferson pleaded: "N0longer persevere in sacrificing therights of one part of the empire tothe inordinate desires of another,but deal out to all equal and impartialright. Let no act· be passedby anyone legislature which mayinfringe on the rights and libertiesof another."4 Through the debatesover the years there hadbeen general agreement by colonialspokesmen that it was necessaryfor Parliament to regulate commercewith other nations. That is,Am"ericans were still very muchunder the influence of mercantilistassumptions. Jefferson, however,appeared to see no need for suchregulation; rather than a benefitto the colonies the regulations interferedwith the natural courseof trade and set the stage for tyranny.For example, he says: "Thatthe exercise of a free trade withall parts of the world, possessedby the American colonists as ofnatural right . . ., was next theobject of unjust encroachment...."Their "rights of free commercefell once more the victim to arbitrarypower.... History has informedus that bodies of men aswell as individuals are susceptibleto the spirit of tyranny. A view ofthese acts of Parliament for regulation,as it has been affectedlycalled, of the American trade . . .would undeniably evince the truthof this observation."5 In short, thecolonies did not need parliamentaryregulation of their trade butshould rather see it as a usurpationof their rights and an instrumentof tyranny.The Dominion TheoryJames Wilson's argument ismainly that the only political connectionof the colonies was withthe king. To support this view, hereviews American history:Those who launched into the unknowndeep, in quest of new countriesand habitations, still consideredthemselves as subjects of the Englishmonarchs, and behaved suitably tothat character; but it nowhere appears,that they still consideredthemselves as represented in an Englishparliament extended over them.They took possession of the countryin the king's name: they treated, ormade war with the Indians by hisauthority: they held the lands underhis grants, and paid him the rentsreserved upon them:· they establishedgovernments under the sanction ofhis prerogative, or by virtue of hischarters....6The principle toward which Wilsonwas moving is one which eventuallycame to be known as the dominiontheory of empire, a theoryin ,vhich each province had itsown government but continued to