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2. The injustice to this colony will appear very great, when it is considered that the line of 1719 has constantly been deemed the line of division between the governments, and the settlers and lands up to that line have ever been estimated in the taxes; hence, should the line be removed southward, this colony, that has incurred a debt of one hundred and ninety thousand pounds in the late war, yet undischarged, will be deprived of the aid of valuable settlements in paying off this debt, and the burden will be increased on the remainder of the colony.

From this sketch of the sentiments of the House, and the papers that will be laid before you by the agents appointed by law to manage the controversy between the colonies, you will be able to frame a memorial to his Majesty; but, as no appeal is yet made, and only threatened, no application from you to his Majesty will be necessary until such appeal is actually made by the agents for New York. We are, Sir, with great sincerity and respect, &c.*

CORTLAND SKINNER,
AARON LEAMING,
ABRAHAM HEWLINGS,
HENRY PAXSON,

EBENEZER MILLER,

JOSEPH SMITH.

This agency was continued during Dr. Franklin's residence in England. The salary allowed was one hundred pounds sterling a year.

TO JOHN BARTRAM.

Rhubarb Seed. Chinese Cheese.

MY EVER DEAR FRIEND,

London, 11 January, 1770.

I received your kind letter of November 29th, with the parcel of seeds, for which I am greatly obliged to you. I cannot make you adequate returns in kind; but I send you however some of the true rhubarb seed, which you desire. I had it from Mr. English, who lately received a medal of the Society of Arts for propagating it. I send also some green dry peas, highly esteemed here as the best for making pea soup; and also some Chinese caravances, with Father Navarette's account of the universal use of a cheese made of them in China, which so excited my curiosity, that I caused inquiry to be made of Mr. Flint, who lived many years there, in what manner the cheese was made, and I send you his answer. I have since learned, that some runnings of salt (I suppose runnet) is put into water, when the meal is in it, to turn it to curds. I think we have caravances with us, but I know not whether they are the same with these, which actually came from China. They are said to be of great increase.

I shall inquire of Mr. Collinson for your Journal. I see that of East Florida is printed with Stork's Account. My love to good Mrs. Bartram and your children. With esteem I am ever, my dear friend, yours affectionately, B. FRANKLIN.

TO MISS MARY STEVENSON.

DEAR POLLY,

Craven Street, 22 January, 1770.

I received your favor of Saturday, early this morning, and am, as usual, much obliged by the kind readiness with which you have done what I requested.

Your good mother has complained more of her head since you left us than ever before. If she stoops, or looks, or bends her neck downwards, on any occasion, it is with great pain and difficulty, that she gets her head up again. She has, therefore, borrowed a breast and neck collar of Mrs. Wilkes, such as misses wear, and now uses it to keep her head up. Mr. Strahan has invited us all to dine there to-morrow, but she has excused herself. Will you come, and go with me? If you cannot well do that, you will at least be with us on Friday.

As to my own head, which you so kindly inquire after, its swimming has gradually worn off, and to-day for the first time I felt nothing of it on getting out of bed. But, as this speedy recovery is, as I am fully persuaded, owing to the extreme abstemiousness I have observed for some days past at home, I am not without apprehensions, that, being to dine abroad this day, to-morrow, and next day, I may inadvertently bring it on again, if I do not think of my little monitor and guardian angel, and make use of the proper and very pertinent clause she proposes, in my grace. Here comes a morning visiter. Adieu. My best respects to Mrs. Tickell. I am, my dear friend, yours affectionately, B. FRANKLIN.

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TO A FRIEND IN AMERICA.

Opinions of the principal Persons in England respecting America. Merchants and Manufacturers.

DEAR SIR,

London, 18 March, 1770.

Your very judicious letter of November 26th, being communicated by me to some member of Parliament, was handed about among them, so that it was some time before I got it again into my hands. It had due weight with several, and was of considerable You will see that I printed it at length in the London Chronicle, with the merchants' letter. When the American affairs came to be debated in the House of Commons, the majority, notwithstanding all the weight of ministerial influence, was only sixty-two for continuing the whole last act; and would not have been so large, nay, I think the repeal would have been carried, but that the ministry were persuaded by Governor Bernard, and some lying letters said to be from Boston, that the associations not to import were all breaking to pieces, that America was in the greatest distress for want of the goods, that we could not possibly subsist any longer without them, and must of course submit to any terms Parliament should think fit to impose upon us. This, with the idle notion of the dignity and sovereignty of Parliament, which they are so fond of, and imagine will be endangered by any further concessions, prevailed, I know, with many, to vote with the ministry, who, otherwise, on account of the commerce, wish to see the difference accommodated.*

The following extract is from a letter written by Mr. Johnson, agent from Connecticut, to Governor Trumbull, dated London, March 6th, 1770.

"At length the American revenue act has been debated in the

But, though both the Duke of Grafton and Lord North were and are, in my opinion, rather inclined to satisfy us, yet the Bedford party are so violent against us, and so prevalent in the council, that more moderate measures could not take place. This party never speak of us but with evident malice; "rebels" and "traitors" are the best names they can afford us, and I believe they only wish for a colorable pretence and occasion of ordering the soldiers to make a massacre among us.

On the other hand, the Rockingham and Shelburne people, with Lord Chatham's friends, are disposed to favor us if they were again in power, which at present

House of Commons. Lord North moved, yesterday, for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the duty upon the three articles only, which he grounded upon the promise made by the administration in their circular letter to propose it to Parliament, and upon the anti-commercial nature of these duties. The conduct of America, he said, had been such as, in his opinion, to prevent their going farther, by their refusing to be content with this, by their entering into and continuing their combinations against the trade of this country, which he called insolent, unwarrantable, and illegal, and such as Parliament must not yield to, nor could, without giving up all authority over the colonies. He insisted, that the preamble to the act, and the duty on tea, must be retained, as a mark of the supremacy of Parliament, and an efficient declaration of their right to govern the colonies. He said it was also an operative duty, and fairly within our old distinction between internal and external taxes, the latter of which we had admitted they might impose. This was a port duty, not an internal tax.

"Our new distinction between taxes for raising a revenue, and duties for regulation of trade, he said, was too vague to be a line of conduct, and would never answer any practical purpose; that, whatever duties were imposed, they might call them regulations of trade, while we should insist they were for the purpose of revenue, and the consequence would be, they could impose none to which America would agree. He expatiated upon the infractions of the agreements by the people of Boston, and various other circumstances there, (of which he appeared to have the most minute and circumstantial intelligence,) as tending to evince, that those agreements would soon come to nothing; upon the impossibility of our manufacturing, for the supply of any considerable part of our necessities, and their ability to check us, if it should

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