Chapter 2354 Hypocrite (Plus More)

Even Allen, who has the most resolute anti-tax attitude, doesn't think Rebecca's conclusion is reasonable.

When did the colonial people happily pay taxes to their mother country across the ocean?

Rebecca is well aware of the virtues of her compatriots, how could she have the nerve to say such things openly?

Joan also looked at Rebecca with surprise.

He grew up in the small town in the south of Alfheim, so of course he knew the attitude of the folks towards paying national taxes.

The residents of Derling even took pride in their resistance to taxes, making it a feat to brag about expelling and beating tax collectors.

From Alfheim to Midgard, there are many towns with a long tradition of tax resistance like Delin Town, and Joan has never heard of or heard of towns that pay taxes according to the law.

As for cities like Leiden Port and Midgard, it is reasonable to say that tariffs are a big source of income, but rampant smuggling activities make the customs useless. Most of the imported goods that flow into the colony are smuggled goods, and the imperial government does not receive much tariffs at all. .

In such an environment, Rebecca still dared to say that the colonists had fulfilled their tax obligations to the imperial government. Isn’t this irony?

Under everyone's doubtful and expectant gaze, Rebecca took a sip of coffee and continued to interpret her conclusion.

"The tax burden is divided into 'direct tax' and 'indirect tax'. Colonial residents are indeed resisting direct taxation, but they have never paid a copper plate of indirect tax, and their contribution in this regard is greater than that of the inland residents of the empire. "

"The imperial government has been keen to develop overseas colonies over the past few years. There are two main motives. One is to transfer the population abroad to ease the social conflicts that are intensifying due to population expansion. Another factor is to obtain cheap raw materials. "

"Mr. Jefferson mentioned in his pamphlet that the imperial government imports a large amount of grain from the New World every year. In fact, what is imported is not only grain, but also a large amount of magic crystals, wood, cotton, tobacco, indigo, fur and precious metals. An indispensable resource for its functioning.”

"However, little attention has been paid to the unequal trade relations between the empire and its overseas colonies."

"The prices of grains and raw materials imported by the empire from the colonies are kept very low, and the colonists are not allowed to export similar goods to merchants in other countries, even if the purchase price is higher. This constitutes a fact for the colonists. exploitation on

"On the other hand, relying on its more developed industrial strength, the interior of the empire has been using the colonies as a market for dumping industrial products for many years, while at the same time not allowing the colonists to buy industrial products exported by other countries."

"If the colony needs a certain commodity, such as clocks and watches, and the empire cannot provide enough production capacity, the imperial authorities will authorize the colonial company to import such commodities from a third country, clear customs at a certain port of the empire, and then reinstall ship, and resell it to the New World at a higher price.”

"In this type of entrepot trade, the franchisee of the empire is actually a broker. To put it bluntly, it is a bandit or a vampire who robs the road. If this link is removed, the colony is allowed to import goods directly from a third country. The price is obvious. It's cheaper."

"Purchasing bulk raw materials from the colonies at low prices, coupled with dumping of industrial products and entrepot trade, this series of exclusive trade policies together constitute the so-called 'imperial preferential system', and the benefits obtained by the mother country from this system are ultimately imposed on the There is an invisible tax burden on the people of the colonies."

"It is therefore manifestly unjust for the imperial authorities to criticize the colonial subjects for failing to pay their taxes."

"On the above grounds, the peoples of the colonies have a right to resist direct taxes, which also include 'land taxes.'"

For the same reason, Rebecca hated the colonial smuggling group headed by the "Sons of Liberty".

"Rampant smuggling activities have destroyed the tacit understanding on trade between the empire and the colonies, which is equivalent to pocketing the part of the indirect tax that the colonists should pay to the imperial government. What's even more annoying is that the smugglers are getting cheap and acting good. Inciting the people to make trouble and claiming to be a leader of public opinion is simply shameless!"

Having said that, Rebecca couldn't hold back her indignation, and made a bold and explosive assertion:

"Assuming that one day in the future, the price of goods sold from the empire to the colonies is lower than that of similar smuggled goods, it stands to reason that this is a good thing that benefits the public, but do you believe it or not, the 'Sons of Liberty' will still rise up to make trouble?"

"This is the selfish nature of the smuggling group!"

"Those high-sounding slogans in their mouths are nothing but lies out of selfish purposes to coerce public opinion!"

After angrily denouncing the "Son of Liberty", Rebecca pointed her finger at Alexander Jefferson again, her words becoming more and more sharp.

"It's understandable for ordinary people not to understand the principles I'm talking about, but it's impossible for our knowledgeable Mr. Principal to understand."

"But instead of revealing the truth and educating the public, he pretended to be ignorant, colluded with gangsters, smugglers, and careerists, and used his reputation and writing to whitewash this selfish criminal gang, inciting the mob to fight for smuggling. The peddling of the trafficker group made me doubt his character and suspect that he is a hypocrite."

"If you think I'm slandering Mr. Jefferson, take another look at his ambiguous and self-contradictory false positions on slavery."

Rebecca stood up, picked up the "Summary of the Rights of the Empire's Overseas Colonies" on the table, and opened a page to show the people in the living room.

"In this pamphlet, Mr. Jefferson accuses the higher echelons of the empire of condoning the slave trade based on native interests, and goes on to show that slavery is an evil institution, imposed on the people of the colonies by a corrupt monarch."

"From the above conclusions, we can see that Mr. Jefferson is a clear-cut opponent of slavery, and can be regarded as a moral model for the people of the colonies."

"However, not long ago, when the 'reformists' headed by Crown Prince Frank abolished serfdom in the empire, people of insight in our colonies also responded, calling for the emancipation of slaves, and invited Mr. Jefferson to come forward to support, And how did our 'moral role models' respond?"

"Permit me to help you recall that our venerable Headmaster not only refused to speak out for the cause of abolition, but also criticized the imperial government's efforts to emancipate the serfs in Parliament, accusing Prince Frank and his reformist colleagues of their actions. It has a very bad impact on the social order of the colonies, which is equivalent to inciting black slaves to oppose their masters, which seriously damages the interests of the slave owners, including himself."

...

Historical Materials: The Navigation Acts of the British Empire ("A Brief History of the American Revolutionary War" [British] Stephen Conway)

The Navigation Acts directed valuable colonial goods to England and enabled Britain to impose duties on these goods.

Punitive tariffs under these Acts also kept producers from many continental European countries out of the colonies, making the colonies a haven for British goods.

Perhaps more importantly, the Navigation Act stipulated that products transported by sea between the Crown's dominions had to be carried by ships with a majority of British crews.

This was done to ensure that there was a sufficient reserve of skilled seamen who could be called up to serve in the Royal Navy in time of war.

Historical materials: On the eve of the War of Independence, the attitude of high-level British officials towards slavery in North America ("The Collapse of the British Empire and the Birth of the United States" [British] Nick Bunker)

In fact, London's elite had come to oppose slavery, seeing it as an undeserved evil in a Christian nation.

The king didn't like it (slavery), neither did the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mansfield called it "ugly", and the movement against slavery had begun to spread in the religious circles where Dartmouth was active.

So when they (Americans) say "freedom is at stake," it's hard to be convincing. Negroes were bought and sold on the streets of Boston, and it was well known in London that the Wilkes camp included those who had invested heavily in slave plantations in the Windward Islands. It became another propaganda tool used by the government to dismiss liberal pro-Americans as hypocrites.

In the 90 years before Gettysburg, America was not a stark representation of justice and liberation.

Quite the contrary, what America exhibited with the Gassby, John Malcolm, and the Tea Party was mob rule.