rdinary courts and juries, but to Courts of
Admiralty without juries, the officers of which were appointed by the
Crown, and paid fees out of the fines which they imposed--the informer
receiving one-half. The year's notice[267] of this Bill had given the
opportunity of discussing the merits of it on both sides of the
Atlantic. The King, at the opening of the session, had presented the
colonial question as one of "obedience to the laws and respect for the
legislative authority of the kingdom;" and the Lords and Commons, in
reply, declared their intention to pursue every plan calculated for the
public advantage, and to proceed therein "with that temper and firmness
which will best conciliate and ensure due submission to the laws and
reverence for the legislative authority of Great Britain." As it was a
money Bill, no petitions were allowed to be presented to the Commons
against it. Several members spoke against it, of whom General Conway and
Colonel Barre were the principal, both of whom had served in
America;[268] but the Bill was passed by a majority of five to one. In
America, the old, loyal Church of England colony of Virginia led the way
in opposition to the Bill, the General Assembly of Burgesses being in
session when the news of its having been passed by the British
Parliament reached America; and the resolutions which that Assembly
passed covered the whole ground of colonial opposition to the Stamp
Act.[269] The Assembly of Virginia sent copies of its resolutions to the
other colonies, and several of their Legislatures adopted the same or
similar resolutions. Two days after adopting the resolutions, the
Governor dismissed the Legislature and ordered new elections; but at the
new elections all who voted for the resolutions were re-elected, and all
who opposed them were rejected; so that the newly-elected Assembly was
even more unanimous against the Stamp Act than the Assembly which had
been dismissed. It was said "the fire began in Virginia;" "Virginia
rang the alarm bell;" "Virginia gave the signal for the continent." The
petition from the Assembly of New York was stronger than that from
Virginia--"so bold that when it reached London no one would present it
to Parliament." The remonstrance of Massachusetts was feebler, it having
been modified by the Lieutenant-Governor, Hutchinson, and the Governor,
Barnard. Rhode Island followed New York and Virginia. The Legislature of
Connecticut protested at once against the sta