"It is proposed that humble application be made for an act of Parliament of Great Britain, by virtue of which one general government may be formed in America, including all the said colonies, within and under which government each colony may retain its present constitution, except in the particulars wherein a change may be directed by the said act as hereafter follows....That they make such laws as they judge necessary for regulating all Indian trade....That they raise and pay soldiers, and build forts for the defence of any of the Colonies, and equip vessels of force to guard the coasts and protect the trade on the oceans, lakes, or great rivers; but shall not impress men in any Colony, without the consent of the Legislature. That for these purposes they have power to make laws and lay and leavy such general duties, imposts, or taxes as to them shall appear most equal and just...and such as may be collected with the least inconvenience to the people..."Albany Plan of Union, 1754Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States, ed. Charles C. Tansill. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1927) House Document No. 398.The excerpt above is best understood in the context of the?
