Owner's of the law
"You
Americans have wrong ideas of the nature of your constitution; you
contend that the king's instructions to his governors are not laws,
and think yourselves at liberty to regard or disregard them at your
own discretion. But those instructions are not like the pocket
instructions given to a minister going abroad, for regulating his
conduct in some trifling point of ceremony. They are first drawn up
by judges learned in the laws; they are then considered, debated, and
perhaps amended in Council, after which they are signed by the king.
They are then, so far as they relate to you, the law
of the land,
for the king is the Legislator of the Colonies." I told his
lordship this was new doctrine to me. I had always understood from
our charters that our laws were to be made by our Assemblies, to be
presented indeed to the king for his royal assent, but that being
once given the king could not repeal or alter them. And as the
Assemblies could not make permanent laws without his assent, so
neither could he make a law for them without theirs. He assur'd me I
was totally mistaken. I did not think so, however, and his lordship's
conversation having a little alarm'd me as to what might be the
sentiments of the court concerning us, I wrote it down as soon as I
return'd to my lodgings. I recollected that about 20 years before, a
clause in a bill brought into Parliament by the ministry had propos'd
to make the king's instructions laws in the colonies, but the clause
was thrown out by the Commons, for which we adored them as our
friends and friends of liberty, till by their conduct towards us in
1765 it seem'd that they had refus'd that point of sovereignty to the
king only that they might reserve it for themselves.
Excerpt from The Autobiography of Benjamin
Franklin edited by Charles Eliot presented by Project Gutenberg
--> This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Editor: Charles Eliot
First Released: August 4, 1995 [Ebook: #148]
Last updated: October 8, 2016
Language: English
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