美国学生历史 第40期:革命的的到来(2)

 　　122. The Tea Tax. 122．茶税

　　Of all the Townshend duties only the tax on tea was left. 所有汤森海关税中只有茶税被保留下来，
　　It happened that the British East India Company had tons of tea in its London storehouses and was greatly in need of money. 碰巧英国东印度公司有几吨茶叶在伦敦的仓库中，并且公司急需资金。
　　The government told the company that it might send tea to America without paying any taxes in England, but the three-penny colonial tax would have to be paid in the colonies. 政府告知东印度公司，它可以将茶叶卖到美洲而不需要在英格兰交税，而产自殖民地的茶必须缴纳三便士的殖民税，
　　In this way the colonists 1 would get their tea cheaper than the people of England. 这样，殖民者将比英格兰人得到更为便宜的茶叶。
　　But the colonists were not to be bribed 2 into paying the tax in any such way. 但是，殖民者不会接受贿赂，不会以任何如此方式来支付茶税。
　　The East India Company sent over ship-loads of tea. 东印度公司发出满载茶叶的船队，
　　The tea ships were either sent back again or the tea was stored in some safe place where no one could get it. 结果却是，这些船或者原路返回，或者将茶叶存在某个不为人所见的安全地带存放起来。
　　123. The Boston Tea Party, 1773. 123．波士顿茶党（1773年）
　　In Boston things did not go so smoothly 3. 波士顿并非风平浪静，
　　The agents of the East India Company refused to resign. 东印度公司的代理商不认输；
　　The collector of the customs refused to give the ships permission to sail away before the tea was landed. 如果不卸下茶叶，海关的收税员就拒绝给这些船放行；
　　Governor Hutchinson refused to give the ship captains a pass to sail by the fort until the collector gave his permission. 没有收税员的允许，总督哈钦森也拒绝许可船长带领商船从要塞出港；
　　The commander at the fort refused to allow the ships to sail out of the harbor until they had the necessary papers. 没有必要的文书，要塞的司令绝对不会让船只驶出港口。
　　The only way to get rid of the tea was to destroy it. 毁掉茶叶是唯一的选择，
　　A party of patriots 4, dressed as Indians, went on board of the ships as they lay at the wharf 5, broke open the tea boxes, and threw the tea into the harbor. 一群打扮成印第安人的爱国者从码头登上这些商船，他们砸开茶叶箱子，将茶叶丢进港口的海水中。
　　124. Punishment of Massachusetts, 1774. 124．对马萨诸塞人的惩罚（1774年）
　　The British king, the British government, and the mass of the British people were furious when they found that the Boston people had made "tea with salt water." 波士顿人将茶叶倒进大海做了"盐水茶"，知道这一消息后，不列颠国王、不列颠政府和广大不列颠人都暴跳如雷。
　　Parliament at once went to work passing acts to punish the colonists. 议会立刻召开会议通过法案惩罚殖民地居民：
　　One act put an end to the constitution of Massachusetts. 一个法案终止了马萨诸塞宪法；
　　Another act closed the port of Boston so tightly that the people could not bring hay from Charlestown to give to their starving horses. 另一个法案将波士顿港牢牢关闭起来，谁也别想从查理斯敦带走一根干草回去喂马；
　　A third act provided that soldiers who fired on the people should be tried in England. 第三个法案规定开枪杀人的士兵应该带到英格兰接受审讯；
　　And a fourth act compelled the colonists to feed and shelter the soldiers employed to punish them. 第四个法案，则强迫殖民地居民向雇佣来惩罚他们的士兵提供食宿。