The Massachusetts Legislature Implied an Immunity of the Colonies from Parliamentary Taxation because of the Magna Carta, the Laws of Nature and of Nations, the Voice of Universal Reason, and God

The Massachusetts legislature promptly organized two committees, each dominated by their Boston members. One committee, headed by James Otis, instructed Massachusetts' London agent to urge repeal of the American Revenue Act, and wavered between a principled denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, and a call for reduction in the molasses tax to a penny a gallon. The Massachusetts House sent this protest along with an essay by the great leader of the Boston liberals, the lawyer James Otis, Jr. The essay, "The State of the Rights of the Colonies," implied an immunity of the colonies from parliamentary taxation, and grounded its argument not only on the Magna Carta but also on common law and on "The laws of Nature and of Nations, the Voice of Universal Reason, and of God." The other House committee sent a circular letter at the end of June to the other colonies, urging a united colonial protest.

--Murray N. Rothbard, Advance to Revolution, 1760-1775, vol. 3 of Conceived in Liberty (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2011), 812-813.