Soame Jenyns Taxes Debate

Taxation and Representation – A Debate

Taxes. We hate to love them and love to hate them. The mere mention of the word can stir heated debates and has done so for centuries. None was more prevalent than during colony times. During this time, on one side was the British Parliament while on the other side were the colonists, both arguing, either verbally or in written text, about which side did or did not have the right to tax the colonies. Soame Jenyns was one of these men who sided with the mother country in the tax debate.

Soame Jenyns, a member of the British Parliament from 1741 to 1780, wrote a pamphlet called “The Objections to the taxation consider’d” in 1765 in which he defended the Parliament’s right to tax the American colonies. Jenyns

is clearly writing this to the colonists to read, almost seemly in a mocking way as stated in the very first paragraph, “…who have ears but no understanding…” He then goes on to bring up three key points that the colonists have given as reasons not to be taxed by the Parliament and then tries to debate them. The first being that no one can be taxed without their own consent. Jenyns quips back with his response of, “…for no man that I know of is taxed by his own consent…” The second point is that no one can be taxed unless it is done so with representation of the person they have elected that consents for said tax to become enacted. In which he oddly responds with, “..for the truth of this I shall appeal only to the candid representatives of those unfortunate counties which produce cyder…” The last point is that no one can be taxed unless there is consent by the majority of whom were elected. Jenyns called the last point, “…false as the other two; for every Englishman is taxed, and not one in twenty represented…” Jenyns goes on to say that regardless of name, distinct governments, or synonymous term that there should be no exemption from taxes being imposed upon an Englishman. He closes by saying, “…all taxation is at an end; but why it should not be used by Englishmen on this side of the Atlantic, as well as by those on the other, I do not comprehend…”
Taxes were not the only thing being debated amongst the British Parliament and the colonists, they were also debating about rights or who had the ultimate authority to demand such.

Enter the Declaratory Act. Enacted by the British Parliament on March 18, 1766, this act was “for the better securing the dependency of his majesty’s dominions in America…” Parliament and the crown of Great Britain wanted authority to be the same not only in the mother country, but also in America. This meant that any laws that were imposed in Great Britain would also become binding laws in America, including ability to tax the people. The act was clearly political in nature and was passed to keep the colonists from making their own laws.

The Quartering Act of 1774 was passed “for the better providing suitable quarters for officers and soldiers in his Majesty’s service in North America.” This act ensured that housing was provided to the stationed British soldiers in the colonies. It also allowed governors to house the soldiers in other buildings, such as, “uninhabited houses, out-houses, barns, or other buildings,” if suitable quarters were not provided. This also meant that the British soldiers were allowed to stay in private homes, even if they were occupied. Luckily, for the colonists, this act also had an expiration date of March 24,

1776.
While the British had their own perspective on taxes and rights, so did the American colonists. The American colonists were getting fed up with being under the British rule and were eager to break free. Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry were two individuals who would help shape the future of the America that we know today.
On November 20, 1772, Samuel Adams, one of the Founding Fathers, delivered a report from the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting called “The Rights of the Colonists”. In the report, Adams discusses the rights of the colonists as men, Christians, and subjects.
The rights of the colonists as men first falls under the category of natural rights. In it, Adams talks about the three natural rights being a right to life, a right to liberty, and a right to property. He refers to this as, “…the first law of nature.” He continues on by expressing how men have the right to stay in a state of nature for as long as they wish and that they also have the right to leave, as well. Men also have the right to worship God as they see fit and in absolute peace. Although there were differing of opinions on religion then, just as there are now, Adams states that the mutual tolerance of the different denominations was practiced and “…this spirit of toleration, in the fullest extent consistent with the being of a civil society, is the chief characteristical mark of the Church.” He also talks about how governments are not allowed to take what they want because they are of authority. Adams closes by stating that “freedom is a gift from God and to alienate it would make one a slave.”
Adams view on the rights of the colonists as Christians can be summed up best in this one sentence: These may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament. What he is saying here is that the colonist’s rights as Christians can be found by looking and reading in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament section.
In the last section of the report we find the rights of the colonists as subjects. Adams reiterates the natural rights of men as being security, liberty, and property. Next, he talks about the rights of those who were born in the British Colonies. These rights include the establishment of a legislative power that does not have the authority to arbitrary power over the people and that the legislative power cannot take any man’s property without his consent or representation.
Patrick Henry’s speech, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” is the embodiment of all protest speeches. In it, Henry appeals to those listening to his speech to fight for the truth or become slaves under the British rule. “…I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery…” He also believed that not voicing his opinions on the matter would be considered an “act of treason towards my country and disloyalty toward God.” Throughout the rest of his speech, Henry, urges those to come to the realization that without standing up for their rights as colonists, they were submitting themselves to tyranny and most certainly slavery. His closing line says it best, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
These debates about taxes and representation amongst the mother country and the colonists ultimately paved the way to the start of the American Revolution. The words and actions of our forefathers still influences us today. Like them, we, too, should stand up and fight for what is right and what we believe in.