In passing the Sugar Act, Parliament indicated that a stamp tax could be forthcoming. Commonly used in Britain with great success, stamp taxes were levied on documents, paper goods, and similar items. The tax was collected at purchase and a tax stamp affixed to the item showing that it had been paid. 1  Stamp taxes had been previously proposed for the colonies and Grenville had examined draft stamp acts on two occasions in late 1763.
Hand numbness is usually caused by damage, irritation or compression of one of the nerves or a branch of one of the nerves in your arm and wrist. Diseases affecting the peripheral nerves, such as diabetes, also can cause numbness, although with diabetes similar symptoms usually occur first in your feet. In very uncommon instances, numbness can be caused by problems in your brain or spinal cord, although in such cases arm or hand weakness or loss of function also occurs. Numbness alone is only rarely associated with potentially life-threatening disorders, such as strokes or tumors.
Arm numbness is often associated with or preceded by pain-like pins-and-needles, prickling, or burning sensations called paresthesias. Whereas arm numbness is a loss of sensation, paralysis involves a loss of movement, with or without the loss of sensation in the area. Depending on the cause, the loss of sensation can disappear quickly, such as numbness from extremely cold temperatures that will fade away once you move to a warmer environment. Numbness can occur suddenly or progress slowly. Chronic arm numbness generally indicates some level of damage to the nerves.