The British nation a history / by George MWrong . nd this was retained, notto raise a revenue, but to assert the abstract right of themother country to tax the colonies. For a time the billbrought quiet to America. To prevent the smuggling which robbed the Britishtrader of his monopoly of the American market, British war-ships still patrolled the American causes Q^g ^f these ships, the Gaspee, commandedof conflict. TA 1 1 • 1-1 by Lieutenant Duddmgston, had exasperated the Ehode Islanders by interfering with trade long car-ried on with impunity. In June, 1772, the Gaspee ranagro
The British nation a history / by George MWrong . nd this was retained, notto raise a revenue, but to assert the abstract right of themother country to tax the colonies. For a time the billbrought quiet to America. To prevent the smuggling which robbed the Britishtrader of his monopoly of the American market, British war-ships still patrolled the American causes Q^g ^f these ships, the Gaspee, commandedof conflict. TA 1 1 • 1-1 by Lieutenant Duddmgston, had exasperated the Ehode Islanders by interfering with trade long car-ried on with impunity. In June, 1772, the Gaspee ranaground near Providence while chasing a suspected ves-sel, and the aggrieved traders had at length theiropportunity. They attacked her at night, wounded Dud-dingston severely, removed the crew, and then set theship on fire. The perpetrators of the outrage returned toProvidence in broad daylight, and no reward could induceinformation against them. There was another unfortu-nate incident. The postal service in the colonies was 408 THE BRITISH NATION. Franklin (1706-1790). carried on by the liorne government, and Benjamin Frank-lin, perliaps the ablest man that the colonies had pro-duced, was postmaster. Someletters from Oliver and Hutch-inson, two high officials of Mas-sachusetts, to a friend in Eng-land, condemning severely thecolonial cause, were made pub-lic by Franklins instrumen-tality. In America it wasOliver and Hutchinson whowere condemned for attackingthe popular party, but in Eng-land Franklin was accused ofdishonourable conduct for al-lowing private letters to reachthe j)ublic. In 1774 the grave and dignified old man wascalled before a committee of the Privy Council, and stooderect and motionless under a scathing attack from Wed-derburn, the Attorney- General. He was ignominiouslydismissed from his office, and the most influential manin America had henceforth the senseof personal injury. This did notkeep him from working for a timefor conciliation, but, in the
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