these respectable people behaved under all their grievances? With unexampled patience, with unparalleled wisdom. They chose delegates by their suffrages; no bribery, no corruption, no influence here, my Lords. Their representatives meet with the sentiments, and temper, and speak the sentiments of the whole continent. For genuine sagacity, for singular moderation, for solid wisdom, manly spirit, sublime sentiments, and simplicity of language; for every thing honourable, and respectable, the Congress of Philadelphia shine unrivalled. This wise people speak out. They do not hold the language of slaves. They tell you what they mean. They do not ask you to repeal your laws, as a favour; they claim it as a right; they demand it. They tell you they will not submit to them; and I tell you the acts must be repealed; they will be repealed; you cannot enforce them. They have a move to make on the board, and yet not a move but they are ruined.

"Repeal therefore, my Lords, I say; but repeal will not satisfy this enlightened, and spirited people. What! repeal a bit of paper; repeal a piece of parchment! that alone will not do, my Lords. You must go through. You must declare you have no right to tax; then they may trust you; then they may have confidence in you.

"I have heard a noble lord speak, who presumed to lay some blame upon General Gage. I think that honourable gentleman has behaved with great prudence, and becoming caution. He has intrenched himself, and strengthened his fortifications. I don't know what he could have done more. His situation puts me in mind of a similar transaction in the civil wars of France, when the great Conde, upon one side, and the Marshal Turenne, on the other, with large armies, lay many weeks very near to each other. Turenne, conscious of the terrible consequences of a victory to himself and country, though the armies were sev

eral days in sight of each other, never came to a battle.— On his return to the court of France, the Queen accosted him, "Why, Marshal, I think you lay several days in sight of your enemy, and you might have been up with him at any time, pray why did you not take him?" The general very shrewdly replied, "Should I have taken him, I feared all Paris would have taken me." My Lords, there are three millions of whigs. Three millions of whigs, my Lords, with arms in their hands, are a formidable body. 'Twas the whigs, my Lords, that set his majesty's royal ancestors upon the throne of England. I hope, my Lords, there are yet double the number of whigs in England, there are in America. I hope the whigs of both countries will join, and make a common cause. Ireland is with America to a man. The whigs of that country will, and those of this country ought to think the cause of America their own. They are allied to each other in sentiment and interest; united in one great principle of defence, and resistance; they ought therefore, and will, run to embrace and support their brethren. The cause of ship money, was the cause of the whigs of England. You shall not take my money without my consent, is the doctrine, and language of whigs. It is the doctrine, and voice of whigs in America, and whigs here. It is the doctrine, in support of which I do not know how many names I could,-I may call in this house, among the living; I cannot say how many I could to join with we, and maintain these doctrines with their blood; but among the dead I could raise an host innumerable; and, my Lords, at this day, there are very many sound, substantial, honest whigs, who ought, and who will consider the American controversy as the great com

mon cause.

"My Lords, consistent with the preceding doctrines, and with what I have ever, and shall continue to maintain, I shall oppose America whenever I see her aiming

I

say,

at throwing off the navigation act, and other regulatory acts of trade, made, bona fide, for that purpose, and wisely framed, and calculated for reciprocation of interest, and the general extended welfare and security of the whole empire. It is suggested that such is their design. I see no evidence of it. But to come at a certain knowledge of their sentiments, and designs upon this head, it would be proper first to do them justice. Treat them as subjects before you treat them as aliens, rebels, and traitors.

"My Lords, deeply impressed with the importance of taking some healing measures, at this most alarming, dise tracted state of our affairs, though bowed down with a cruel disease, I have crawled to this house to give you my best experience, and counsel; and my advice is to beseech his majesty, &c. &c. This is the best I can think of. It will convince America that you mean to try her cause in the spirit, and by the laws of freedom, and fair enquiry, and not by codes of blood. How can she now trust you, with the bayonet at her breast? She has all the reason in the world, now to believe, you mean either her death, or bondage.

"Thus entered upon the threshold of this business, I will knock at your gates for justice, without ceasing, unless inveterate infirmities stay my hand. My Lords, I pledge myself never to leave this business; I will pursue it to the end in every shape. I will never fail in my attendance on it, at every step, and period, of this great matter, unless nailed down to my bed by the severity of disease. My Lords, there is no time to be lost; every moment is big with dangers; nay, while I am now speaking, the decisive blow may be struck, and millions involved in the consequence. The very first drop of blood will make a wound that will not easily be skimmed over. Years, perhaps ages, may not heal it. It will be irritabile vulnus, a wound

* The gout.

of that rancorous, malignant, corroding, festering nature. that in all probability it will mortify the whole body. Let us then, my Lords, set to this business in earnest; not take it up by bits and scraps, as formerly, just as exigencies pressed, without any regard to the general relations, connections and dependencies. I would not by any thing I have said, my Lords, be thought to encourage America to proceed beyond the right line. I reprobate all acts of violence by her mobility; but when her inherent constitutional rights are invaded, those rights that she has an equitable claim to the enjoyment of, by the fundamental laws of the English constitution, and engrafted thereon, by the unalterable laws of nature, then I own myself an American, and feeling myself such, shall to the verge of my life, vindicate those rights against all men, who strive to trample on, or oppose them."

I have inserted this defence of the American cause at full length, as one of the greatest displays of wisdom, truth, and justice, dressed in the most masterly stile of eloquence that ever flowed from the tongue of an orator, either in ancient or modern days; as well as to shew that the hearts of ministers were steeled against conviction; that their passions had surmounted their understandings, and that God had given them up to the grossest delusion.

This motion was also supported by Lord Camden, Lord Shelburn, and the Marquis of Rockingham. And opposed by Lords Littleton, Suffolk, Gower, Townsend, Rochford, and Weymouth; the question was carried against the motion, 77 to 18-and the fate of America was sealed.

The commercial and manufacturing interests of Great Britain, now became alarmed for their own interests, as well as the safety of the nation; and all the great commercial and manufacturing cities, made one joint effort by their petitions, to stay the proceedings of ministers, and if posVOL. III.

13

sible save the nation from ruin; but all in vain; these petitions were heard and consigned over to the committee of oblivion, (as it was then termed.) The city of London, with great zeal renewed her petition, but it was indignantly rejected.

The petition of the continental Congress, (which was noticed in its place,) was next presented by Mr. Bollan, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Lee, which had been presented to the king, and by him referred to that house. This threw the house into a high fever; they denied the legality of that body, (Congress,) treated their petition with indignity, and rejected it without discussion, by a majority of 218 to 68.

Thus we have seen displayed that sovereign power with which ministers controul the supreme councils of the nation, and a display of that mad and obstinate policy with which they have resisted all light, truth and justice.

"Lord Dartmouth at this time wrote circular letters to all his majesty's governors in the colonies, with instructions to use all possible endeavours to prevent their holding any more congresses, to seek redress for their pretended griev

ances.

Lord Chatham, true to himself and to his country, called again at the gate of justice, and presented the House of Lords the outlines of the following bill, entitled "A provincial act for settling the troubles in America, and for asserting the supreme legislative authority, and superintending power of Great-Britain over her colonies." But the bill of this noble lord was rejected without a discussion, and he found, to his inexpressible grief and mortification, that the gate of justice was closed forever upon the rights of America, and that even justice herself had become stone blind, and fled the realm.

The limits of this work will not permit me to pursue that flood of petitions, that continued to pour in upon the.. ministry, from all parts of the British dominions, even the