Origin This reading takes place from 1741-1780. The author is Soame Jenyns who is a member of Parliament. Colonists are in the process of trying to gain independence and rebelling against Britain while Britain is in major debt from fighting the French and Indian War and the colonists are now refusing to pay taxes even though, from Britain's perspective the colonists shouldn't be complaining since they payn less taxes than the Englishmen who live in the homeland. Purpose Soame Jenyns explains his viewpoint on the Colonists' slogan "No taxation without representation". The Colonists thrived under this slogan because they believed that since there weren't any Colonists in Parliament that they weren't being represented. However, from the British standpoint, the Colonists were considered to be Englishmen. Since they were Englishmen they were virtually represented in Parliament. In the excerpt Soame is disproving the Colonists' slogan and arguing and providing evidence on why it's an invalid argument. Value The author is defending Parliament and its decisions it makes. He not only disagrees with the slogan but totally shoots it down. The slogan that is known throughout history and famous is basically being called absolutely not true. He was a strong believer in virtual representation and didn't understand why the Colonists had such an issue with it. He didn't comprehend why the Colonists were trying to separate themselves and "deny" they were British or from British decent. He mentioned how the cities of Manchester and Birmingham didn't send any representatives, but they were still virtually represented in Parliament. So, if virtual representation can travel over mountains and rivers, why couldn't it travel over the ocean and pertain to America. Why did the Colonists put up a fight about it, but the homeland cities didn't even though they had more to complain about than the Colonists. Limitations We are accustomed to the Colonists' side o