One of the "Letters From A Farmer..." series by John Dickinson....

Item # 704798

February 08, 1768

THE BOSTON CHRONICLE, Feb. 8, 1768

* John Dickinson
* Colonial Boston

This issue is highlighted by "Letter VIII" by the famed John Dickinson, being the eighth of his twelve famous "Letters From a Farmer In Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies".
This series furnished a constitutional basis for the widespread colonial opposition to the English trade acts. While Dickinson agreed that England had the legal power to regulate colonial trade, he denied the parliamentary authority to impose taxes to raise revenues from colonial sources. These essays proved immensely influential in shaping colonial opinion.
This letter takes over a full page & is signed at its conclusion: A Farmer.
Elsewhere in the issue are various reports from cities in the colonies, some concerning relations with England.
Complete in 8 pages, 8 1/14 by 10 3/4 inches, very nice condition.

This newspaper published only briefly from December 21, 1767 until 1770. The publishers, John Mein and John Fleeming, were both from Scotland. The Chronicle was a Loyalist paper in the time before the American Revolution. In its second year, Mein printed names in the paper that accused some colonial merchants of breaking a British non-importation agreement. In response, Mein's name appeared on a list of merchants who violated the trade agreement. Mein retaliated by accusing the Merchants' Committee of using the non-importation agreement for illegal profiteering. The irritated readership ransacked the offices of the Chronicle, and ultimately, it ceased operations in 1770. (credit Wikipedia)

AI notes: In 1767–1768, Pennsylvania lawyer and legislator John Dickinson authored the influential Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, published anonymously under the pseudonym “A Farmer.” Writing as a humble colonial farmer, Dickinson aimed to explain the legal and moral objections to the Townshend Acts, which imposed duties on imported goods in the American colonies. He carefully distinguished between Parliament’s authority to regulate trade (“external” taxes) and its lack of authority to levy taxes solely to raise revenue (“internal” taxes), arguing that such taxation violated the natural rights of colonists and the principles of English law. Using a blend of reasoned legal argument, classical rhetoric, and appeals to shared civic virtue, Dickinson urged colonial unity in peaceful resistance, emphasizing that compliance with unjust laws undermined liberty. The letters were widely reprinted across the colonies and even in Britain, shaping public opinion and helping to foster a sense of shared identity and purpose among colonists, making them a crucial intellectual precursor to the American Revolution.