Stamp Act

During the time of the stamp act, Dulany, Jenyns, Pitt, and Grenville all gave their opinions British taxation. Dulany opposed the right of British parliament to tax the colonies without representation, and voiced his objection to "visual representation." Jenyns supported the right of parliament to tax the people since other English cities were taxed as well and they too were visually represented. Pitt also opposed the internal tax on the colonies since he did not support the idea of visual representation and that in the past, parliament wouldn't tax without a representative. Grenville supported the right since he saw it as the right of parliament to do so.

At the same time, all four had their views on internal and external taxes. Dulany distinguished between the two and that internal taxes could only be imposed if the natives were to consent to it. Jenyns didn't distinguish between the two because in his eyes it's a right of the government to tax its colonies. Pitt on the other hand did distinguish between the two because not only was he sympathetic to the cause, he just didn't believe in visual representation. Grenville saw both internal taxes and external taxes as the same thing, because he also believed it was the right of parliament to tax.

Although some rejected to parliaments legislation of the colonies, some accepted it. Both Dulany and Grenville thought that as the mother country, it has the right to make decisions about its colonies without a representative because it's the duty of the colonies to provide for the mother country. Pitt and Dulany on the other hand resented the idea that England should be able to make decisions that would affect the insides of the colonies for they believed it's the right of the citizens and the colonies to decide if they should be taxed or not.