26 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. operation of the Stamp Act. The British govern¬ ment were, however, struck with alarm at their be¬ haviour, and determined to subdue them by force. " The British colonies," it was contended, " had advantages which those of no other nation ever had." This was certainly true; and the liberality they had so long experienced, rendered the attempts at taxa¬ tion, and the restrictions on their trade, the more obnoxious. Tithes and poor-rates were unknown ; protection they always received; and they enjoyed another advantage which they could only derive from England . This was the constant course of credit given them, without which they never could have risen to that extraordinary opulence which excited the admiration of . " Would they relinquish these solid advantages, by increasing the displeasure of England , and disclaiming the authority of the parent state, and stand against the consequent peril ?" It was also considered, "that the people of , unacquainted with the intrigues that agitated the courts of , and ignorant of the secret designs that were lurking in the cabinets of ministers, were incompetent to the business of preventing or conquer¬ ing difficulties, or shunning danger." That no opi¬ nion could have been more egregiously wrong than this, was too truly exemplified in the talents of the great men who acted so conspicuous a part, during the revolutionary war, and in all their negotiations.