I must beg leave to observe, that it is not only the invidious branch of taxation that will be resisted, but that no other given part of legislative rights can be exercised, without regard to the general opinion of those who are to be governed.
Burke warns that resistance will not only be directed at specific taxes but at any legislative action that disregards public opinion.
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More from Edmund Burke
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
Not being illuminated with the light of which the gentlemen of France tell us they have got so abundant a share, they acted under a strong impression of the ignorance and fallibility of mankind.
Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…
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