116. The New Customs Officers at Boston, 1768.
116.1768年波士頓的新海關官員
The chief office of the new customs organization was fixed at Boston. Soon John Hancock's sloop,Liberty, sailed into the harbor with a cargo of Madeira wine. As Hancock had no idea of paying the duty, the customs officers seized the sloop and towed her under the guns of a warship which was in the harbor. Crowds of people now collected. They could not recapture the Liberty. They seized one of the war-ship's boats, carried it to the Common, and had a famous bonfire. All this confusion frightened the chief customs officers. They fled to the castle in the harbor and wrote to the government for soldiers to protect them. ONE OF JOHN HANCOCK'S BILL-HEADS
新的海關總署設置在波士頓,不久,約翰o漢考克的小帆船" 自由號"載著一船馬德拉酒駛入波士頓港口,由于漢考克沒有想過交稅,海關的官員查封了這艘船,并將它拖掛在港口中的一艘軍艦的炮口之下。一時間大批的人聚集過來。盡管不可能收回"自由號",但他們奪取了軍艦的一艘小船,將它帶到公海一把火燒掉。這場混亂令海關的主要官員們恐懼,他們逃到港口中的城堡并向英國政府寫信要求派兵來保護他們。
117. The Virginia Resolves of 1769.
117.《弗吉尼亞決議》(1769年)
Parliament now asked the king to have colonists, accused of certain crimes, brought to England for trial. This aroused the Virginians. They passed a set of resolutions, known as the Virginia Resolves of 1769. These resolves asserted:(1) that the colonists only had the right to tax the colonists;(2) that the colonists had the right to petition either by themselves or with the people of other colonies; and(3) that no colonist ought to be sent to England for trial.
此時, 議會要求國王將那些被控告為有某些罪行的殖民地居民帶到英 格蘭接受審訊,這件事喚醒了弗吉尼亞人,他們通過一套方案 ,這就是著名的1769年《弗吉尼亞決議》,這些決議包括:(1)只有殖民地居民才有向殖民地居民征稅的權力;(2) 殖民地居民有權親自或者與其他殖民地的人一起提出申訴;(3)不應該將任何殖民地居民送到英格蘭接受審訊。
118. Non-Importation Agreements, 1769.
118.《抵制進口協議》(1769年)
When he learned what was going on, the governor of Virginia dissolved the assembly. But the members met in the Raleigh tavern near by. There George Washington laid before them a written agreement to use no British goods upon which duties had been paid. They all signed this agreement. Soon the other colonies joined Virginia in the Non-Importation Agreement. English merchants found their trade growing smaller and smaller. They could not even collect their debts, for the colonial merchants said that trade in the colonies was so upset by the Townshend Acts that they could not sell their goods, or collect the money owing to them. The British merchants petitioned Parliament to repeal the duties, and Parliament answered them by repealing all the duties except the tax on tea.
弗吉尼亞總督得知事態發展情況后就解散了殖民地議會, 但是,這些議會的成員在附近的羅利酒館再次聚集在一起。喬治o華盛頓給他們拿出一份書面協議,這份協議約定不使用任何付了稅的不列顛貨物,他們都在這份協議上簽字,很快其他殖民地也加入到弗吉尼亞這個抵制進口的協議。英國商人發現他們的貿易份額越來越小。由于殖民地的商人認為《湯森法案》太繁亂,他們不可能將貨物賣出去,也不能將欠他們的錢回收來,他們甚至不能收回他們放出的債。英國商人請求議會取消海關稅,但是,議會以取消茶稅之外的所有海關稅作為答復。