e than a century before their forefathers had not only denied the
right of religious worship according to their conscience to Baptists,
Presbyterians, and Episcopalians, but the right of petition for the
redress of grievances to both the local Legislature and the King and
Parliament, and seized their private papers and fined and imprisoned
them for attempting thus to petition; denied to four-fifths of the
inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay the right of franchise itself, because
they were not certified members of the Congregational Church; taxed them
for half a century without allowing them any representation in the
Legislature that taxed them, and then fined and imprisoned those of them
who complained by petition of thus being taxed without representation,
as well as being denied the freedom of religious worship.

But though the General Assembly of Massachusetts Bay were now receiving
a part of the measure which their preceding General Assemblies had meted
out in full measure to four-fifths of their own fellow-citizens during
more than half of the previous century, yet that does not make Lord
Hillsborough's letter the less unconstitutional and tyrannical, nor the
conduct and vindication of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts
Bay less manly and justifiable. The Governor of the colony and his
abettors had represented constitutional opposition and remonstrances
against single Acts of Parliament, and of the Ministers of the day, as
disloyalty to the King and treasonable resistance to lawful authority,
and had already pursued such a course of action as to create a pretext
for bringing soldiers and ships of war to the city, and consequent
hostility and collisions between citizens and the soldiery, so as
apparently to justify the suspension of the constituted legislative
authorities in Massachusetts Bay, and enable the governors, judges, and
executive officers to obtain large salaries and perquisites out of the
colonists for present gratification and future residence and expenditure
in England.

Massachusetts was at that time the most populous and the most wealthy
colony in America, and Boston was the port of the largest trade; and
though the House of Representatives there had not used stronger language
in its remonstrances to Parliament and petitions to the King than the
House of Representatives of Virginia (the next most populous colony), or
Pennsylvania, or New York, or Maryland, or New Jersey, or Connecticut,
or R