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London, J. Wilkie, 1766. 4to. In the original printed wrappers. Lacking backstrip and with a small stain to back wrapper, otherwise a very fine and clean copy. 119 pp. First edition of Thomas Whately's "important and extremely rare" (Higgs) work on British trade and finance primarily in the New World. This is the first thorough and first full description and defense of the the first direct tax ever levied by Parliament upon the colonies. The implementation of this tax resulted in the Boston Massacre and the formation of the Boston Tea Party and, eventually, in the expulsion of the British in 1776. By publishing the present defense, Thomas Whately earned himself a prominent place in the events that led to the American Revolution."Thomas Whately, the most influential British official in colonial policy in his time, published a work on British trade and finances in 1766 [the present work] with this as his opening sentence: "That the wealth and power of Great-Britain depend upon its trade is a proposition, which it would be equally absurd in these times to dispute or prove". In the same year, Edmund Burke asserted that "liberty and commerce" were "the true basis of its [Britain's] power." (Draper, A Struggle for Power: The American Revolution].This policy eventually became fatal: In 1765 the Stamp Act was the first direct tax ever levied by Parliament upon the colonies. All newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets and official documents had to have the stamps. All 13 colonies protested heavily, as popular leaders like Henry in Virginia and Otis in Massachusetts rallied the people in opposition. Thomas Whately (1726-1772), an English politician and writer, was a Member of Parliament, who served as Commissioner on the Board of Trade, as Secretary to the Treasury under Lord Grenville, and as Under- secretary of State under Lord North. "Important and extremely rare. Reprinted in "Scarce Tracts", 1787, and there attributed to T. Whately." (Higgs)Higgs 3757Goldsmith 10157Sabin 103122 Hollander 1987Kress 2489 (erroneously ascribed to William Knox). Seller Inventory # 50411
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