following purpose: "That they always had, so they always should, think it their duty to grant aid to the crown, according to their abilities, whenever required of them in the usual constitutional manner." I went soon after to England, and took with me an authentic copy of this resolution, which I presented to Mr. Grenville before he brought in the Stamp Act. I asserted in the house of commons (Mr. Grenville being present) that I had done so, and he did not deny it. Other colonies made similar resolutions. And had Mr. Grenville, instead of that act, applied to t e king in council for such requisitional letters to be circulated by the secretary of state, I am sure he would have obtained more money from the colonies by their voluntary grants, than he himself expected from his stamps. But he chose compulsion rather than persuasion, and would not receive from their good-will what he thought he could obtain without it. And thus the golden bridge which the ingenious author thinks the Americans unwisely and unbecomingly refused to hold out to the minister and parliament, was actually held out to them, but they refused to walk over it. This is the true history of that transaction; and as it is probable there may be another edition of that excellent pamphlet, I wish this may be communicated to the candid author, who I doubt not will correct that error. I am ever, with sincere esteem, dear sir, your most obedient, humble servant, B. FRANKLIN.

Dr. Franklin strenuously exerted himself to free America from this odious tax; the principal objection to which was, that it was imposed by a British parliament, which the Americans asserted had no right to tax them. Dr. Franklin thus expresses his sentiments on the subject, in a letter to a friend dated London, January 6, 1766:

"In my own private judgment, I think an immediate repeal of the Stamp Act would be the best measure for this country; but a suspension of it for three years, the best for that. The repeal would fill them with joy and gratitude, reestablish their respect and veneration for parliament, restore

at once their antient and natural love for this country, and their regard for every thing that comes from it hence; the trade would be renewed in all its branches; they would again indulge in all the expensive superfluities you supply them with, and their own new assumed home industry would languish. But the suspension, though it might continue their fears and anxieties, would at the same time keep up their resolutions of industry and frugality; which in two or three years would grow into habits, to their lasting advantage. However, as the repeal will probably not now be agreed to, from what I now think a mistaken opinion, that the honor and dignity of government is better supported by persisting in a wrong measure once entered into, than by rectifying an error as soon as it is discovered; we must allow the next best thing for the advantage of both countries is, the suspension. For as to executing the act by force, it is madness, and will be ruin to the whole."

Contrary to Dr. Franklin's surmise, shortly after the date of this letter, it began to appear expedient to the administration, then under the marquis of Rockingham, to endeavor to calm the minds of the colonists; and the repeal of the Stamp Tax was contemplated. Amongst other means of collecting information on the disposition of the people to submit to it, Dr. Franklin was (Feb. 3, 1766,) "ordered to attend the committee of the whole house of commons, to whom it was referred to consider further the several papers relative to America, which were presented to the house by Mr. Secretary Conway, &c." It contains a striking account of the extent and accuracy of Dr. Franklin's information, and the facility and manliness with which he communicated his sentiments. He represented facts in so strong a point of view, that the inexpediency of the act must have appeared clear to every unprejudiced mind.

Feb. 24. The resolutions of the committee were reported by the chairman, Mr. Fuller; their seventh and last resolu

P See Vol. IV. of this edition, page 109.

tion setting forth, "that it was their opinion that the house be moved, that leave be given to bring in a bill to repeal the Stamp Act." A proposal for re-committing this resolution, was negatived by two hundred and forty votes to one hundred and thirty-three: and the act, after some opposition, was repealed about a year after it was enacted, and before it had ever been carried into execution.

A ludicrous caricature was published on this occasion, of which the following description was given, annexed thereto :

"An Account of a humorous political Print, called The Repeal; which (in the Painters' phrase) may be called A Companion to the Tomb-stone, u Print not long since published

......

"The subject of this print is the Funeral of Miss AME STAMP, the . favorite child and youngest daughter of the honorable Mr. George Stamp, the well-known Gentle Shepherd. At one end of the print stands the Family Vault, with a mutilated inscription, signifying that within it lie (it is to be hoped never to rise again) the remains of ........ Hearth Mon**,...... Ship Mon**, Excise B***, ... ... Jew B***, ......... Gen**** Warrants, ... &c.' On the top of the vault are two heads on poles, like those on Temple Bar, marked on the skull with the numbers 1715 and 1745.2 The vault is supposed to be situated on the side of the river, along the Strand of which the funeral procession proceeds. The Reverend Mr. ANTI-SEJANUS, 3 that noted Constitutionalist, drawn to the life, appears first, reading the burial service: after him follow those two eminent pillars of the law, sir Bullface Doublefee4 and Mr. Alexander Scotsburn, supporting two black flags; on which are delineated the Stamps, with the white rose and thistle interweaved, with the old motto of Semper eadem; to which is annexed a new motto, consisting of those sig. nificant words, Three Farthings taken from the budget. Beneath this motto, as if meant to certify the number of the despicable minority fighting under these banners, appear on one flag the figures 71, and on the other 122, with a flying label surrounding both, bearing these words, All of a STAMP. Next appears the sad father of the deceased child, the honorable Mr. George Stamp himself, with grief and despair pictured on his countenance, carrying in his arms the infant's coffin, on which is written 'Miss AME STAMP, born 1765, died 1766.' Immediately after follows the chief mourner, Sejanus: then his Grace of Spitalfields and Lord.

1 The Right Honorable George Grenville, author of the Stamp Act. 2 Years of rebellion. 3 Mr. Scott. 4 Sir Fletcher Norton. Mr. Alexander Wedderburn (afterwards Lord Loughborough.) (Perhaps) the Duke of Bedford.

Dr. Franklin about this period, in addition to his agency for Pennsylvania, received the separate appointments of agent for the respective colonies of New Jersey, Georgia, and Massachusetts. All of which he continued to fill with equal credit to himself and advantage to his constituents, during his stay in England.

In the course of this year (1766) he visited Holland and Germany, and received the greatest marks of attention and respect from men of science in those countries. In his passage through Holland, he learned from the watermen the, effect which a diminution of the quantity of water in canals has, in impeding the progress of boats. Upon his return to England he was induced to make a number of experiments, which tended to confirm the observation. These, with an explanation of the phenomenon, he communicated in a letter to his friend sir John Pringle, which will be found among his philosophical writings.

Gawkee:1 after these Jemmy Twitcher,2 with a catch by way of funeral anthem; and by his side his friend and partner Mr. Falconer Donaldson of Halifax. At a little distance, to close the procession, are two worthy B****ps, Dr. Squirt, and another right reverend gentleman, who shall be nameless: and behind them lie, on this side of the river, two huge bales of returned commodities, one marked Stamps from America, the other Black Cloth from America.

"These few mourners are separated from the joyful scene that appears in the back ground, by the River Thames, in which are riding three firstrate ships, called, The ROCKINGHAM, 3 The GRAFTON, and The CONWAY. Along the shore stand open warehouses for the several goods of our principal manufacturing towns, from which cargoes are Now ship. ping for America: among these is a large case, containing a statue of MR. PITT, which is heaving on board a boat number 250; and there is another boat taking in goods, nearer the first-rates, which is numbered 105; numbers which will ever remain sacred to liberty, and render the memory of the triumphant MAJORITY, on this side of the river, revered by our latest posterity."

In the following year, as also in 1769, he visited Paris, where he was no less favorably received than he had been in Germany. He was introduced to the king (Louis XV.) and his sisters Mesdames de France, and particularly distinguished by them: as he was also by the Academy of Sciences (of which he was afterwards elected a foreign associate,) and many other scientific and literary characters.

Mons. Dubourg, a member of the same academy undertook a French translation of Dr. Franklin's letters on his Discoveries in Electricity, and the third English edition of the same work was now published in London. With respect to the general merit and originality of the experiments and hypotheses of Dr. Franklin, as described and explained in these letters, that eminent natural philosopher, the late Dr. Priestly, bears the following testimony in his "History of Electricity."

"Nothing was ever written upon the subject of electricity, which was more generally read and admired in all parts of Europe than these letters. There is hardly any European language into which they have not been translated; and, as if this were not sufficient to make them properly known, a translation of them has lately been made into Latin. It is not easy to say, whether we are most pleased with the simplicity and perspicuity with which these letters are written, the modesty with which the author proposes every hypothesis of his own, or the noble frankness with which he relates his mistakes, when they were corrected by subsequent experiments.

"Though the English have not been backward in acknow. leging the great merit of this philosopher, he has had the singular good fortune to be, perhaps, even more celebrated abroad than at home; so that, to form a just idea of the great and deserved reputation of Dr. Franklin, we must read the foreign publications on the subject of electricity; in many of which the terms Franklinism, Franklinist, and the

See Postscript of letter to governor Franklin, August 22, 1772.