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Townshend Act Text

Townshend Act Text

Introduction

The Townshend Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, was a series of taxes imposed on American colonists in an attempt to raise revenue for Britain. The act, named for Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, was met with widespread resistance and ultimately played a major role in the lead up to the American Revolution. In this article, we will delve into the text of the Townshend Act, exploring its provisions and the reaction it elicited from the colonists.

Background

The Townshend Act was a response to the failure of the Stamp Act, which had attempted to raise revenue by placing a tax on printed materials in the colonies. The colonists had vehemently opposed the Stamp Act, and it was eventually repealed in 1766. In the wake of this failure, Charles Townshend proposed a new series of taxes, which he believed would be more palatable to the colonists.
The text of the Townshend Act included a number of provisions that were aimed at raising revenue from the colonies. These included duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea, as well as the establishment of a Board of Customs Commissioners to enforce the new taxes. The act also suspended the New York Assembly, which had refused to comply with the Quartering Act, a law that required the colonies to provide housing and supplies to British troops.

Provisions of the Townshend Act

The Townshend Act was made up of several provisions, including the following:
1. Duties on Certain Goods: The act imposed duties on a number of goods that were commonly imported into the colonies, including glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. These duties were collected by customs officials and were intended to raise revenue for the British government.
2. Establishment of a Board of Customs Commissioners: The Townshend Act also established a Board of Customs Commissioners, which was tasked with enforcing the new taxes and cracking down on smuggling. The board was made up of four commissioners, each of whom was appointed by the British government.
3. Suspension of the New York Assembly: The act also suspended the New York Assembly, which had refused to comply with the Quartering Act. This law required the colonies to provide housing and supplies to British troops, and New York had refused to do so.

Reaction to the Townshend Act

The Townshend Act was met with widespread resistance from the American colonists, who saw it as yet another attempt by the British government to exert control over their lives. Many colonists protested the new taxes, organizing boycotts of British goods and engaging in acts of civil disobedience.
One of the most significant protests against the Townshend Act was the Boston Massacre of 1770, in which British soldiers fired on a group of protesting colonists, killing five people. The massacre galvanized the colonists and further increased tensions between Britain and the American colonies.
In response to the colonists’ protests, the British government decided to repeal the Townshend Act in 1770, although they continued to exert control over the colonies in other ways. Ultimately, the tensions between Britain and the colonies would escalate into the American Revolution, with the colonists declaring their independence from Britain in 1776.

Conclusion

The Townshend Act was a pivotal moment in the history of the American colonies, marking a turning point in the relationship between Britain and the colonies. The act, which imposed taxes on a number of goods and established a board of customs commissioners, was met with widespread resistance from the colonists, who saw it as another attempt by Britain to exert control over their lives. Although the act was eventually repealed, the tensions it created would ultimately lead to the American Revolution and the birth of a new nation.

The Townshend Revenue Act

June 29, 1767

AN ACT for granting certain duties in the British colonies and plantations in America; for allowing a drawback of the duties of customs upon the exportation from this kingdom, of coffee and cocoanuts of the produce of the said colonies or plantations; for discontinuing the drawbacks payable on china earthenware exported to America; and for more effectually preventing the clandestine running of goods in the said colonies and plantations.

WHEREAS it is expedient that revenue should be raised, in your Majesty’s dominions in America, for making a more certain and adequate provision for defraying the charge of the administration of justice, and the support of the civil government, in such provinces as it shall be found necessary; and towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting and securing the said dominions;…

be it enacted… That from and after the twentieth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid, unto his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, for upon and the respective Goods hereinafter mentioned, which shall be imported from Great Britain into any colony or plantation in America which now is or hereafter maybe, under the dominion of his Majesty, his heirs, or successors, the several Rates and Duties following; that is to say,

For every hundredweight avoirdupois of the crown, plate, flint, and white glass, four shillings, and eightpence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of red lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of green glass, one shilling and two pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of white lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of painters colors, two shillings.

For every pound weight avoirdupois of tea, threepence.

For every ream of paper, usually called or known by the name of Atlas fine, twelve shillings. …

IV. …and that all the monies that shall arise by the said duties (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same) shall be applied, in the first place, in such manner as is hereinafter mentioned, in making a more certain and adequate provision for the charge of the administration of justice, and the support of the civil government in such of the said colonies and plantations where it shall be found necessary; and that the residue of such duties shall be paid into the receipt of his Majesty’s exchequer, and shall be entered separately and apart from all other monies paid or payable to his Majesty . . .; and shall be there reserved, be from time to time disposed of by parliament towards defraying the necessary expense of defending, protecting, and securing, the British colonies and plantations in America.

V. And be it further enacted . . ., That his Majesty and his successors shall be, and are hereby, empowered, from time to time, by any warrant or warrants under his or their royal sign manual or sign manuals, countersigned by the high treasurer, or any three or more of the commissioners of the treasury, for the time being, to cause such monies to be applied, out of the produce of the duties granted by this act, as his Majesty, or his successors, shall think proper or necessary, for defraying the charges of the administration of justice, and the support of the civil government, within all or any of the said colonies or plantations. . .

X. And whereas by an act of parliament made in the fourteenth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses, in his Majesty’s customs, and several other acts now in force, it is lawful for any officer of his Majesty’s customs, authorized by writ of assistance under the seal of his Majesty’s court of exchequer, to take a constable, headborough, or other public officer inhabiting near unto the place, and in the daytime to enter and go into any house, shop cellar, warehouse, or room or other place and, in case of resistance, to break open doors, chests, trunks, and other pakage there, to seize, and from thence to bring, any kind of goods or merchandise whatsoever prohibited or uncustomed, and to put and secure the same in his Majesty’s storehouse next to the place where such seizure shall be made;

And whereas by an act made in the seventh and eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, intituled An act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses, in the plantation trade, it is, amongst otherthings, enacted, that the officers for collecting and managing his Majesty’s revenue, and inspecting the plantation trade, in America, shall have the same powers and authorities to enter houses or warehouses, to search or seize goods prohibited to be imported or exported into or out of any of the said plantations, or for which any duties are payable, or ought to have been paid;

And that the like assistance shall be given to the said officers in the execution of their office, as, by the said recited act of the fourteenth year of King Charles the Second, is provided for the officers of England: but, no authority being expressly given by the said act, made in the seventh and eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, to any particular court to grant such writs of assistance for the officers of the customs in the said plantations, it is doubted whether such officers can legally enter houses and other places on land, to search for and seize goods, in the manner directed by the said recited acts:

To obviate which doubts for the future, and in order to carry the intention of the said recited acts into effectual execution, be it enacted . . ., That from and after the said twentieth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven, such writs of assistance, to authorize and impower the officers of his Majesty’s customs to enter and go into any house, warehouse, shop, cellar, or other place, in the British colonies or plantations in America, to search for and seize prohibited and uncustomed goods, in the manner directed by the said recited acts, shall and may be granted by the said superior or supreme court of justice having jurisdiction within such colony or plantation respectively. . . .

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