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There was actually quite a lot of discussion in Britain on whether the Americans should be given representation in the Westminster Parliament. It was discussed by James Burgh, Thomas Pownall, and especially Francis Maseres in "Considerations on the Expediency of Admitting Representatives from the American Colonies into the British House of Commons" (1770). It was soon recognised, by the American colonists as much as by the British, that there were insuperable difficulties. There were major practical difficulties - distance, slowness of travel, difficulties for American representatives to keep abreast of American developments and opinions, the expense of living in London (MPs were unpaid), etc. The greatest difficulty however was in how to allocate the number of representatives each side should have. If it were based on size of population or wealth, then the British would be in a majority. Since the British would also control the House of Lords and have greater access and influence on the monarch, then, should they accept representation at Westminster, the American colonists would be putting all their interests at the constitutional mercy of the British. That was exactly what they were afraid of throughout the crisis. They soon opposed any such solution. Benjamin Franklin was confident that the American population and American wealth were increasing at a faster rate than those of Britain and the seat of empire would eventually move to America. The British governing elite naturally feared this prospect. So the reprentation proposal soon sank from sight. A better proposal - internal self- government for all parts of the empire and a representative council to discuss and settle imperial disputes (suggested by a few, such as John Cartwright) foundered on the same insuperable obstacle: how many representatives would each side be allocated? The drama and the tragedy [and even the merits] of the American Revolution was that there was no solution that would please both sides. Blows had to decide or the British had to accept the views of Adam Smith and Josiah Tucker - let the colonists go their own way in peace. Harry Dickinson
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