A Biography of Daniel Dulany Jr. (1722-1797)

Daniel Dulany Jr. Daniel Dulany of Annapolis, Maryland, had studied law in England at the Middle Temple, and was considered, at least by one fellow Marylander, Charles Carrol, to be "indisputably the best lawyer on this continent." He wrote this pamphlet, entitled "Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, for the Purpose of rasing a Revenue, by Act of Parliament", in oppsition to the Stamp Act. Here he argued that virtual representation was empty and meaningless; that the colonies not only were not but could not be represented in Parliament; and that taxation without representation was a breach of the English common law.

His arguments were widely read in America, and in England were drawn upon by William Pitt in his plea for repeal of the Stamp Act. He lost his popularity, however, when in 1773 he engaged in newspaper controversy with Charles Carroll in defense of the fees exacted by government officials for performing certain services. Dulany was a Loyalist during the Revolution and most of his property was confiscated by the state in 1781.

He was Commissary General in 1754, and 1759; Deputy Secretary of Maryland in 1761; and Mayor of Annapolis, 1764-65