Excerpt from Address Delivered Before the Two Literary Societies of Wake Forest College, June 9, 1852 Was passed the celebrated Stamp Act, and, though re pealed the year following, it was but a few years before taxes were imposed on other articles, and the King advised that all such as might refuse payment should be brought to England for trial. This assertion of the right of taxation on the part of Parliament, without the consent of the Colonies, was most manfully resisted, and no where with more spirit than by the Colonists of North Carolina. The Assembly, as early as 1769, Resolved, that the sole right of imposing taxes on the inhabitants of North Carolina has ever been vested in the House of Assembly, and that trials for treason, committed in the Colony, ought to be had here. And the removal and trial of suspected persons beyond sea is derogatory of the rights of British subjects. The Governor declared this resolution had sapped the foundation of confidence and gratitude, and thereupon dissolved the Assembly. I am forced to pass over an occurrence which transpired about this time, and which I would gladly notice, but for the fear of being tedious. I allude to the measures as adopted by the Regulators, and which led to an open rebellion. This transaction has been highly colored by our early historians, as is clearly evinced by the original documents, as recently obtained from the Foreign Office in England and published by Mr. Wheeler in his valu able Sketches of the State. These documents fully show, whatever may have been said or written on the Subject, andinto whatever excesses the Regulators may have been driven, that they were greatly oppressed by the most shameful extortions, and were quite as much sinned against as sinning. I cannot fail to notice the Spirited reply of the principal leader of the Regulators when called on by the Governor for his taxes, which shows the true character of the transaction: We pay to honest men, and not to swindlers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.