| OCR Text |
436 ACTS RELATING Part III. Seer. VII. TO THE COLONIES. 437 till his excellency {hall have read thefe dif‘ patches; {hall have fent back perhaps for this act, " you {hall not do it: this is not explanations; ihall at lafi, having made " the bufinefs of the meeting; it is not " exprefl‘ed in the licence to meet; your himfelf matter of the bufinefs, fent back " refolutions are null; your affociations " illegal.- other difpatches, granting licence to meet? \Vhat mull be the authority of a government redueed to fuch precautions as thefe? \Vould it be thought to add greatly to the haps, is, that it is imprafiicable.-\Vhen feeurity of the throne, if not avefiry could the allembly is met, either for elections, be fummoned in England without licence from the king P The policy of this provifion feems to or for any municipal purpofe, who {hall {land upon no better footing, than the juftice of it. A town-meeting allembles with leave of the governor; its bufinefs is precifely marked out. In the courfe of the bufinefs the friends of government ob- ferve a turn in the tide of the popular opinions; they wifh to take advantage of it ; to propofe refolutions, to form atroci- ations for counteracting the manoeuvres of the factions, and ill difpofed; for {upporting gove nment, and for giving force, and eflieacy, to the laws-5" No," fays this The bell; defence of this provifion, per- With-hold them from proceeding to fuch bufinefs as they fee fit? In all afi‘emblies the will of the majority, controuls the will of the whole. If the majority ofthefe allemblies be 7202‘ clifirffeéted to government, there would be no danger in leav- ing them free to vote and refolve as they pleafed. if the majority be difaffeé'red, there will be no means of preventing them from voting and refolving as they pleafe, unlefs by preventing their coming together at all. |
