COMMITTEE OF EVIDENCE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, ETC.
On the same day that Burke made this motion in the commons, the lords in committee on the state of the nation were employed in examining witnesses to prove the ruinous consequences of the maritime war. Merchants were called as witnesses by the opposition peers, who proved that they had sustained heavy losses from the war; while, on the other hand, government were provided with other merchants, who showed that new sources of commerce had been opened since the commencement of hostilities; and, that considerable captures had been made. The Duke of Richmond opposed the arguments derived from the testimony of government witnesses. The prizes taken and distributed to British seamen, he said, so far from being a balance in our favour, added to our loss; for if we had not been at war with America, the value of all these cargoes in the circuitous course of trade, must have centred in Great Britain. The propositions were disposed of by the previous question, and other motions made by the Duke of Richmond for ascertaining the number of troops sent to America, as well as the expenses incurred by the war, though they occasioned long and warm debates, were equally unsuccessful. A similar motion was made in the commons by Fox, on the 11th of February, but it was evaded by a motion for leave to report progress. It was, perhaps, judicious in ministers to resist the production of papers called for by the opposition, for in almost every instance it would have let the enemy into dangerous secrets: secrets which they would have turned to their own advantage.
LORD NORTHS CONCILIATORY BILLS.
It is a singular fact that while Lord North sternly advocated war, he was at this time so adverse to a continuation of the contest that he had expressed a wish to the king to resign office. This appears from a letter addressed to him by his majesty on the 31st of January, in which, after appealing to Lord North’s personal affection for him, he writes: —“You must remember that before the recess I strongly advised you not to bind yourself to bring forward any plan for restoring tranquillity to America; not from any absurd ideas of unconditional submission, which my mind never harboured; but from foreseeing that whatever can be proposed will be liable, not to bring America back to her attachment, but to dissatisfy this country, which so cheerfully and handsomely carries on the contest, and has a right to have the struggle continued, till convinced that it is vain. Perhaps this is the minute when you ought to be least in a hurry to produce a plan, from the probability of a declaration of war from France.” It is evident from this letter that Lord North had proposed some plan of conciliation which did not meet with the monarch’s views; and it seems clear, also, that his lordship, in expressing a wish to retire, had urged the impossibility of obtaining unconditional submission, which he erroneously thought was the only ground on which his majesty would listen to terms of peace. But though it was the king’s opinion on the last day of January that no conciliatory measures should be adopted or proposed out of deference to the views of the people, yet his opinion soon changed. On the 9th of February, when a war with France had become inevitable, he wrote to his minister again, urging him not to “delay to bring in his proposition,” before “the veil was drawn off by the court of France.” Lord North lost no time in complying with this his majesty’s command. On the 17th of February, he brought in two bills tending to reconciliation with the colonists: one was expressly designed to remove all apprehension from their minds concerning taxation by the British parliament, whilst it repealed the act imposing a duty on tea; and the other enabled his majesty to appoint commissioners to consult and agree on means of quieting the disorders subsisting in certain colonies, plantations, and provinces of North America. In introducing these bills, Lord North asserted that he had been uniformly disposed to pacific arrangements; that he had tried conciliatory measures before the sword was unsheathed, and would gladly try them again; that he had conceived his former propositions were equitable, and still thought so, though they had been misrepresented both at home and in America; that he never expected to derive any considerable revenue from the colonies; that he had originated none of the American taxes; that he found such as existed when, unfortunately for his own peace of mind, he came into office; and that, as for the act enabling the East India Company to send out teas with the drawback of the entire duty, which led to the Boston riots, it was a relief rather than oppression, since it actually gave the colonists their teas at a cheaper rate than before. Lord North then explained the principles of his two bills. The first, he said, was intended to quiet the minds of the Americans on the subject of taxation—to dispel all fears that parliament would ever tax them again, by a distinct renunciation of the right itself. The second bill, he remarked, would give the royal commissioners far more ample powers than those formerly entrusted to Lord Howe and his brother. They would be authorized to treat with congress as if it were a legal body, and competent by its acts and negociations to bind all the colonies; they would be empowered to treat with the conventions or provincial assemblies, or colonial congresses, and with individuals in their actual civil capacities or military commands, without any cavil as to allowing them and addressing them by the rank they held under congress: and they would have the power of suspending hostilities, intermitting the operation of laws, granting pardons, rewards, and immunities, restoring charters and constitutions, and nominating governors, judges, magistrates, &c., till the king’s pleasure should be known. The stumbling-block of independence was removed very skilfully by Lord North. This act declared that should the Americans make this claim at the outset of the treaty, they would not be required to renounce it until it was ratified by the British legislature. The commissioners were to be instructed to negociate for a reasonable and moderate contribution toward the common defence of the empire when reunited, but they were not to insist even on this slight contribution as indispensable. In conclusion, Lord North contended that these concessions ought not to be deemed the results of defeat or weakness, since they were substantially the same as he should offer in the hour of victory. The events of the war, he frankly acknowledged, had not corresponded to his expectation, but he denied that there was any truth in the representations of a factious opposition. But for faction, England was as fertile in resources as ever: she was in circumstances to prosecute war, raise new armies, and to increase her navy, so as to be enabled to meet her accumulated foes.
Burke says that on hearing these proposals the whole house was overclouded with astonishment, dejection, and fear. This may be exaggeration, but it is certain that the ample concessions proposed by the minister—concessions far outstripping those which had been brought forward by Mr. Burke and Lord Chatham, and which were opposed by government—were highly distasteful to the country gentlemen, and to the whole Tory party. Expressions of loud disapprobation were heard on their side of the house, and some bitterly complained that deception had been practised against them relative to American taxation. On the other hand, while the opposition contended that the season was gone by when such a plan would have succeeded, it was generally approved by them. They yet hoped, they said, that there might be a chance of conciliation, and therefore they would give the minister their support. At the same time, Lord North was severely reprehended by some of the opposition members. Fox said his arguments “might be collected into one point, and his excuses comprised in one apology, or rather in one word, ignorance; a palpable and total ignorance of America: he had expected much, and had been disappointed in every thing; necessity alone had compelled him now to speak out.” In the course of his speech, Fox informed the house that there was a report abroad that within the last ten days France had signed a treaty with America, acknowledging their independence, and entering into a close alliance with the colonists. He called on Lord North to afford the house satisfaction on so important a point, and that minister reluctantly acknowledged that such a treaty was in agitation, though as it was not authenticated by our ambassador he could not say that it was concluded. The motion for bringing in the bill was carried by a majority of about two to one, and on the first reading some of the Tory members expressed their disapprobation of our wholly renouncing the right of taxing the colonists. In reply, Lord North declared that the not exacting the renunciation of independence by the Americans did not imply that we intended to yield that point; that the commissioners would not be empowered to concede thus much; and that the Americans would be expected to treat as subjects, and not as a sovereign state. The bills were passed, and when brought up to the lords, the opposition was renewed. The Duke of Richmond read the American declaration of independence, and asked ministers whether they meant to subscribe to assertions such as these:—“That the king is a tyrant,”..... “that his majesty has lost the affection of his American subjects by the insolent, daring, perfidious and unconstitutional language of ministers, etc.” His grace said these bills, instead of regaining the affections of the Americans, would sound the trumpet of war to all nations; that they were at once ignominious and ineffectual; that they meant nothing or worse than nothing; that they were better calculated to divide than conciliate; and that they empowered commissioners to treat with America, and then called them back again to consult parliament. His grace also stated as a notorious fact that ministers had sent persons over to Paris to tamper with Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane, and that these American agents had rejected their offers, together with the terms of the new bills, in scorn. Lord Temple opposed the bills on different grounds. He denounced them as mean and truckling, and as tending to prostrate the king, the parliament, and the people of Great Britain at the feet of Franklin and Silas Deane, to whom ministers had paid homage in sackcloth and ashes. The people, he said, had recovered from the shock occasioned by Burgoyne’s reverses, and ministers were now going to depress their newly-awakened animation by succumbing to an arrogant enemy. Lord Shelborne also opposed the bills as tending to separate the two countries. He never would consent, he said, that America should be independent of England, and he represented that his idea of the connexion between the two countries was, that they should have one friend, one enemy, one purse, and one sword; that Britain, as the great controlling power, should superintend the whole; and that both the countries should have but one will, though the means of expressing it might be different. This, he said, might have been obtained long ago without bloodshed or animosity. The bills passed without a division: a protest was entered against them, but it was only signed by one solitary peer, Lord Abingdon.
INTIMATION OF THE FRENCH TREATY WITH AMERICA.
The conciliatory bills were scarcely passed when Lord North delivered a message from the throne to the commons, stating the receipt of information from the French king, that he had concluded a treaty of amity and commerce with his majesty’s revolted subjects in America, and that in consequence of this offensive communication, the British ambassador at Paris had been ordered home. His majesty, the minister said, fully relied on the zeal and affection of his people to repel the insult and maintain the honour of the country. The note of the French ambassador was laid before parliament, and it was to this effect:—“The United States of North America, who are in full possession of independence, as pronounced by them on the 4th of July, 1766, having proposed to the King of France to consolidate, by a formal convention, the connexion begun to be established between the two nations, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed a treaty of friendship and commerce, designed to serve as a foundation for their mutual good correspondence. His majesty, the French king, being resolved to cultivate the present good understanding subsisting between France and Great Britain by every means compatible with his dignity and the good of his subjects, thinks it necessary to make his proceeding known to the court of London, and to declare at the same time that the contracting parties have paid great attention not to stipulate any exclusive advantages in favour of the French nation, and that the United States have reserved the liberty of treating with every nation whatever upon the same footing of equality and reciprocity. In making this communication to the court of London, the king is firmly persuaded it will find new proofs of his majesty’s constant and sincere disposition for peace; and that his Britannic majesty, animated by the same friendly sentiments, will equally avoid every thing that may alter their good harmony, and that he will particularly take effectual pleasures to prevent his French majesty’s subjects and the United States from being interrupted, and to cause all the usages received between commercial nations to be, in this respect, observed, and all those rules which can be said to subsist between the two courts of France and Great Britain. In this just confidence, the undersigned ambassador thinks it superfluous to acquaint the British minister that the king, his master, being determined to protect effectually the lawful commerce of his subjects, and to maintain the dignity of his flag, has, in consequence, taken effectual measures in concert with the Thirteen United and Independent States of America.” In making this communication to the house, Lord North moved an appropriate address to the king, which again called forth the spirit of opposition. In discussing the motion, an amendment was proposed requesting his majesty to dismiss the ministers. Lord North was reproached with having suffered himself to be surprised by the notification of a treaty which appeared to have been two years under discussion, and with leaving the country on the eve of war destitute of adequate means for its internal security. Without designing to vindicate ministers, Governor Pownall detailed the circumstances and progress of the treaty. The account, however, which he gave was widely different from matter of fact. He said that the idea had not existed six months, and had not been in actual negociation more than half that time. But it is well known that the idea had been uppermost in the minds of the American leaders for full two years, and that Silas Deane had been attempting to negociate for nearly that period, and Benjamin Franklin had been at Paris with the same object in view for near twelve months. It appears indeed that the only reason the treaty was not signed long before, was that the French at first attempted to drive a hard bargain, conceiving that the Americans were in such a weak condition that they would agree to any terms rather than not obtain the cooperation of France. The news of ther surender of Burgoyne’s army, as Governor Pownall observed, lowered the demands of the French, and this it was that made them hurry on such a treaty as congress desired. But even. now Pownall remarked, peace was yet practicable, if Great Britain would pursue the proper course. He said:—“The Americans are and must be independent. We acknowledge it in our acts, and have already, though we may try to cover our shame with words, resigned all dominion over them. They will never rescind their declaration; but if parliament will extend the powers of the commissioners so far as to acknowledge their independence, on conditions, they will, in return, form with us a federal treaty, offensive, defensive, and commercial. The compact, signed at Paris, is not yet ratified by congress: by a speedy and candid exertion this country may still be enabled to take advantage of the natural predilection of the Americans for the parent state. If a federal treaty Were not adopted, and the Americans should ever be induced to treat on other terms, one of their first demands must be a reimbursement of expenses, and an indemnification for losses. A pecuniary remuneration was out of the question; but in lieu of it government must sacrifice Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Newfoundland fishery. This would be insisted on; but if independence were conceded America could only treat with England on the same ground as any other independent nation.” General Conway and Mr. Dundas argued that it would be better policy to form a federal union with America, than to let her fall into the hands of France; but the vast majority of the house seemed to think that the entrance of France into the quarrel rendered all present thought of negociation an absurdity and a meanness; and that no future friendship could be hoped from a people who, though descended from us and bound to us by the strong ties of community of descent, language, and religion, had united themselves with the most ancient, inveterate, and most powerful of all our enemies. At the same time war was advocated, it was suggested that Chatham, the scourge of the house of Bourbon, was the proper man to occupy the post held by Lord North at such a crisis. But Lord North did not coincide in this opinion. He expressed a total disregard to office, but contended that the interest of the empire, as well as his own reputation, demanded that he should still sit at the helm of the state. The original address was carried by a large majority, and in the house of lords an amendment to the address was negatived by a majority of sixty-eight against twenty-five. Addresses were also returned from both houses to a royal message intimating his majesty’s intention of calling out the militia.