ON THE STATE OF THE NATION. happen, there was one man, by common consent, pre-eminently qualified for the direction of affairs. That man was Chatham. With Chatham would be associated the great bulk of the Whig party. The most eminent of the retiring ministers, the most distinguished of his former rivals would give their cordial support to the statesman who was most fit to defend the honor, and to maintain the integrity of the empire. Even that faithful band, whose only vocation it had been to stand between the King and his too powerful nobles, began to warn their Sovereign that the state of the country required more vigorous counsels than could be expected from his Majesty's friends. 351 Ch. 22. 1777. the King. All these circumstances produced little effect on Obstinacy of the mind of the King. He continued unshaken in his determination to persevere in the struggle with his rebellious colonies. He treated Lord North's earnest and repeated wishes to resign as a dishonorable desertion of his service. He declared that no consideration should induce him to make any overture to the Opposition; that he would rather resign his Crown than submit to a humiliation which he should think personally disgraceful. He pledged himself, in the most solemn manner, to hold no personal communication with Chatham; and would only consent to his admission into the cabinet on the express condition that Lord North c LORD MAHON'S History, vol. vi., quoting an unpublished memorandum of Lord Barrington's. 352 Ch. 22. 1777 Parliamentary influence of the Court. OBSTINACY OF THE KING. was to retain the direction of affairs, and that Chatham was to have no voice in naming the other members of administration. It is hardly necessary to say that Lord North did not avail himself of his royal master's permission to open a treaty with Chatham on such terms as these. The King knew as well as his minister that the idea of Chatham associated in council on a footing of equality with the Weymouths, the Sandwiches, and the Suffolks, was merely absurd; but rather than mortify his own implacable temper, or give up one of the many stupid prejudices which he cherished, he was willing to risk, not indeed the loss of the Crown which he so often talked of resigning when his will was opposed, but the convulsion of the realm and the dismemberment of the empire. Notwithstanding the critical state of affairs, the Court could still command such majorities in both Houses, as would in these days argue the existence of a powerful government and a prosperous nation. Fox's motion for the grand committee was negatived by two hundred and fifty-nine to one hundred and sixty-five; and the Duke of Richmond's motion to the same effect was supported only by thirty-four against ninety-one. But though their majorities were undiminished, the ministers no longer sustained an equal conflict in debate. Lord a The King's Letters to Lord North, App.; LORD MAHON'S History, vol. vi. NORTH'S CONCILIATION BILLS. North spoke in a tone of dejection; even his temper, which had remained imperturbable under the most violent and provoking attacks, began to give way. Lord George Germaine, whose boldness and confidence had so often put down and deterred opposition, became querulous with disappointment, and lukewarm in defence of a Government from which he intended to retire. The Attorney and Solicitor-General, who had heretofore so powerfully supported the minister in the House of Commons, were now, after the fashion of law officers, looking for their advancement. Thurlow was in immediate expectation of the Great Seal, and Wedderburne longed to be Chief Justice. 353 Ch. 22. 1777 Conciliation Early in the session, Lord North brought in Lord North's two bills for effecting a conciliation with Ame- Bills. rica. The concessions proposed were of the most ample character, and only stopped short of recognising the independence of the Colonies. Commissioners were to be sent over to treat with Congress. The civil and military commissions of all officers in the service of the United States were to be recognised. And as it had been objected, that the powers of the former commissioners had been unduly restricted, the new commissioners were expressly authorised to discuss and conclude every point in dispute between Great Britain and the Colonies. as being too The only objection which could be raised to Objected to propositions so liberal was that they came too late. late. Had they been made before the declaration of the 354 Ch. 22. 1777 Impossible to treat with the colonies as independent. IMPOSSIBLE TO TREAT WITH 4th of July, they might have offered a formidable obstacle to the policy of Congress; but since that declaration, supported as it had been by the successful termination of the campaign on the Delaware in 1776, and the still more important, if not decisive, event of the operations in the Hudson, it was idle to expect that the Americans would treat on any other basis, than that which was expressly excluded from the negotiation now proposed. But this basis was inadmissible. Even if the King could have consented to treat with the insurgent provinces as with an independent power, neither parliament nor the country were prepared for such a proposition. The most ardent friends of the American cause, who openly rejoiced at the success of the American arms, had never as yet gone the length of assenting to the extreme pretensions of the Colonies. Those English statesmen who held the resistance of America to be justifiable, when England sought to put down her reasonable demands by force of arms, must on the same principle, maintain the justice of their country and cause, when America advanced a claim which had no foundation. But faction is seldom logical or consistent, and instead of at once admitting the plain fact that the character of the war was entirely changed since the Declaration of Independence, the Opposition continued to argue the question on its former footing. The question, however, really was just the same as it would have CONGRESS AS INDEPENDENT. been if England, instead of being at war with America, was at war with France, or Spain, or Austria. Was she so worsted in the conflict, or so exhausted by her efforts, that the time had arrived to acknowledge herself beaten by yielding the point in dispute? No man could say that England was reduced to such straits. An expedition had miscarried, and an army had surrendered, but certainly not in consequence of superior generalship or prowess on the part of the foe. If the operations of the main army had not proved successful, their failure was owing to the negligence and incapacity of the commander-in-chief. But in every engagement-whether attacking the enemy's position or defending their own-the superior discipline and valour of the English had been proved. Two campaigns only had been fought; the burden of the war had not yet been onerous; the manufacturing industry of the country, which had supported the last war, had greatly increased; her commerce was flourishing. The United Provinces had entered into an offensive alliance with the ancient enemy of England. Was that a reason why peace should be concluded on the terms dictated by her rebellious subjects? A generation had hardly passed away since this country had inflicted a signal chastisement on France. One of Wolfe's colonels, still in the prime of life, had just repelled a piratical invasion of that magnificent province which the conduct and valour of his chief had won from France. Was France now 355 Ch. 22. 1777 |