Sugar Act Passes Parliament 1764
British Law to Specifically Collect Revenue Without Colonial Consent
For all of his supposed economic genius, George Grenville did not have a clue! He thought he was clever in that his “Sugar Bill”, which was to replace the ancient Molasses Act, passed through Parliament unopposed. He did not take into account the fact that William Pitt and Lord Newcastle had just come out of a losing battle over the Writs of Assistance and they were just plain tuckered out. Grenville was so busy trying to impress King George and to justify the Sovereign’s faith in him that he disregarded the fact that under the British Constitution, taxes had always been considered a gift of the people.
It’s The Principle
Grenville’s was prematurely proud of his own cunning. The Revenue Act did cut taxes on Molasses in half, from 6 pence to 3 pence. However, the “spin” on this tax cut never gained traction in the colonial mind. Grenville reasoned that paying half the tax would cost less than smuggling and the rum distilleries in New England would patriotically be happy to support their government. Two problems immediately arose. First, the prior duty had been so sporadically collected that it was not even considered a factor in the cost of doing business. Secondly, the overriding principal was that the law was unconstitutional. When it came to economics these colonial entrepreneurs were more concerned with protecting their rights than patriotically contributing to Government coffers without their consent. Sure, it was a decrease in taxes today but what about tomorrow’s revenue bill?
The Fine Print
On top of that, there were many other provisions in this act that were downright reprehensible by colonial reckoning. The Act made it illegal to import molasses from any other than the British West Indies where there just wasn’t enough produced to keep the distilleries operating. This would bring the entire colonial economy to a standstill as rum was the major export from New England. It required detailed ships manifests of which the paper work alone was cost prohibitive. The biggest sore spot however was the provision that allowed suspecting violators to be tried in admiralty courts where the presumption of innocence and trial by a jury of your peers were not recognized and protected rights.
Colonial Opposition
The British colonists protested in many different ways. Some resorted to violence against the tax collectors. Many of these acts went unpunished by colonial courts that conveniently ignored them. Several colonies issued economic manifestos that outlined the damage being done to their economy (and to Great Britain’s as well). Several businessmen just became more creative in their endeavors to avoid the tax (smuggling). This particular issue, while important to the upper echelons of society did not create a groundswell of popular resistance. The economic implications were not clear to the average farmer. However, as would be seen, this was just the beginning of Parliament’s efforts to collect from the recalcitrant colonies.
Sources
The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauf, 2005, Oxford University Press
The American Revolution by Bruce Lancaster, 2001, Houghton Mifflin Company
