Colonel Barré followed, and adopted the phrase of Mr. Fox, "giving his flat negative to the resolutions, as they were calculated to tax the subject for an unjust purpose."
The Duke of Grafton, in the Lords, October 31, 1776, repeated the sentiments he had avowed at an earlier day.
"He pledged himself to the House, and to the public, that, while he had a leg to stand on, he would come down day after day to express the most marked abhorrence of the measures hitherto pursued, and meant to be adhered to, in respect to America."
On the same night, in the Commons, Mr. Fox exclaimed:—
"The noble Lord who moved the amendment said that we were in the dilemma of conquering or abandoning America. If we are reduced to that, I am for abandoning America."
In the Commons, November 6, 1776, Mr. Burke likened England to a "cruel conqueror."
"You simply tell the Colonists to lay down their arms, and then you will do just as you please. Could the most cruel conqueror say less? Had you conquered the Devil himself in Hell, could you be less liberal?"
Colonel Barré, in the Commons, February 10, 1777, insisted:—
"America must be reclaimed, not conquered or subdued. Conciliation or concession are the only sure means of either gaining or retaining America."