I know what England is, and what
America is, and from the compound of knowledge, am better enabled to
judge of the issue than what the king or any of his ministers can be.
In this number I have endeavored to show the ill policy and
disadvantages of the war. I believe many of my remarks are new.
Those which are not so, I have studied to improve and place in a
manner that may be clear and striking. Your failure is, I am
persuaded, as certain as fate. America is above your reach. She is
at least your equal in the world, and her independence neither rests
upon your consent, nor can it be prevented by your arms. In short, you
spend your substance in vain, and impoverish yourselves without a
hope.
But suppose you had conquered America, what advantages, collectively
or individually, as merchants, manufacturers, or conquerors, could you
have looked for? This is an object you seemed never to have attended
to. Listening for the sound of victory, and led away by the frenzy
of arms, you neglected to reckon either the cost or the
consequences. You must all pay towards the expense; the poorest
among you must bear his share, and it is both your right and your duty
to weigh seriously the matter. Had America been conquered, she might
have been parcelled out in grants to the favorites at court, but no
share of it would have fallen to you. Your taxes would not have been
lessened, because she would have been in no condition to have paid any
towards your relief. We are rich by contrivance of our own, which
would have ceased as soon as you became masters.
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