THE WEALTH OE NATIONS.

545

The progress of the linen manufacture of Great Britain , it iscommonly said, has been a good deal retarded by the draw-backs upon the re-exportation of German linen to the Ame-rican colonies.

But though the policy of Great Britain with regard to thetrade of her colonies has been dictated by the same mercan-tile spirit as that of other nations, it has, however, upon thewhole, been less illiberal and oppressive than that of any ofthem.

In every thing, except their foreign trade, the liberty ofthe English colonists to manage their own affairs their ownway is complete. It is in every respect equal to that of theirfellow-citizens at home, and is secured in the same manner,by an assembly of the representatives of the people, whoclaim the sole right of imposing taxes for the support of thecolony government. The authority of this assembly over-awes the executive power, and neither the meanest nor themost obnoxious colonist, as long as he obeys the law, hasany thing to fear from the resentment either of the governor,or of any other civil or military officer in the province. Thecolony assemblies, though, like the house of commons inEngland , they are not always a very equal representation ofthe people, yet they approach more nearly to that character;and as the executive power either has not the means to cor-rupt them, or, on account of the support which it receivesfrom the mother country, is not under the necessity of doingso, they are perhaps in general more influenced by the incli-nations of their constituents. The councils, which in the co-lony legislatures, correspond to the house of lords in GreatBritain , are not composed of an hereditary nobility. In someof the colonies, as in three of the governments of New Eng-land , those councils are not appointed by the king, but cho-sen by the representatives of the people. In none of theEnglish colonies is there any hereditary nobility. In all ofthem, indeed, as in all other free countries, the descendantol an old colony family is more respected than an upstart ofequal merit and fortune: but he is only more respected, andhe has no privileges by which he can be troublesome to hisneighbours. Before the commencement of the present dis-turbances, the colony assemblies had not oidy the legislativebut a part of the executive power. In Connecticut andBhode Island, they elected the governor. In the other co-lonies they appointed the revenue officers who collected the