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By the first of these, the port of Boston was closed until the tea should be paid for. By the second, the charter of Massachusetts was changed; the members of the Council, who by the charter were chosen by the General Court, were hereafter to be appointed by the king, and to hold their office during his pleasure; the sheriffs were to be appointed by the royal governor and were given power to select the jurors, who had formerly been elected; town meetings were forbidden except for the purpose of electing officers. By the third, the trial of any person charged with murder in Massachusetts while in the discharge of his duty could be transferred by the governor to Great Britain or to some other colony. In spite of the opposition of Fox, Chatham, and Burke, these coercive acts were passed by large majorities in both houses. On the 19th of April, a motion was made to repeal the tax on tea. In support of this motion Burke's Speech on American Taxation was delivered.

The Boston Port Act was rigidly enforced by General Gage, who superseded Hutchinson as governor, and the town was soon reduced to such distress that the sympathy of the other colonies was aroused and their conviction deepened that the cause of Massachusetts was the cause of all. Washington's appreciation of the trend of events was shown by his offer to raise one thousand men toward the relief of Boston and subsist them at his own expense. George III likewise displayed a true understanding of the situation. "The die is now cast," said he. "The colonies must either submit or triumph." On the 17th of June, Massachusetts elected five delegates to a congress to be held in Philadelphia on the 1st of September. The other colonies followed the lead of Massachusetts, and the First Continental Con- The First gress assembled on the 5th of September in Continental Congress Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. Fifty-five delegates represented twelve colonies, Georgia alone being unrepresented. The purpose of the Congress was

"to con

sult upon the state of the colonies," and "to determine upon wise and proper measures for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties and the restoration of

union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies most ardently desired by all good men." The members drew up a petition to the king, whom they addressed as "the loving father of his whole people." In a Declaration of Rights, they enumerated the grievances arising from the various acts of Parliament, from the Revenue Act of 1764 to the Penal Acts of 1774, and asserted that the colonies were "entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several provincial legislatures," subject only to the royal veto. While thus denying the jurisdiction of Parliament in the internal affairs of the colonies, they admitted its right to regulate their trade "to the mutual interest of both countries."

To obtain redress of grievances through the repeal of the obnoxious acts of Parliament, the Congress resorted to the expedient which on two previous occasions had proved so efficacious, by adopting the famous Association, in which the opinion was expressed "that a non-importation, nonconsumption, and non-exportation agreement faithfully adhered to, will prove the most speedy, effectual, and peaceable measure." On this boycott of English goods, enforced by local committees, was based the hope of resisting the encroachments of the mother country.

The work of the Congress did not meet from all classes with the hearty approval essential to its success. Thousands of Americans challenged the authority of the Congress and insisted that its measures, if accepted by the public, would end inevitably in civil war. Inspired by such The Loyalists a conviction, the Loyalists exerted themselves as never before. They realized that the time had come for every man who still cherished the connection with England and the cause of peace to bestir himself. The Loyalist, or Tory, Party comprised more than one third of the total white population of the colonies. In some, nearly one half of the population was hostile to the action of the Congress. The assemblies of New York and Georgia refused to ratify the Association. Among the Loyalists were a large number of the best educated and most cultured people of every

colony, the majority of the professional classes, and the men of largest wealth. Many of the Tories defended with great skill the legal right of England to tax the colonies, but their strongest arguments were those which attacked the expediency of the measures of the Continental Congress. As Burke argued that Parliament ought not to insist at any cost on exercising every doubtful right, and declared that the question of the right to tax America was less than nothing in his consideration, "It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do," said he, "but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do," the Loyalists, in the same spirit, asserted that it was not a time for Americans to insist on every questionable right, and that humanity, reason, and justice do not require a people to resort to force upon the first manifestation of wrong. They urged their countrymen to try other and more constitutional methods before embarking upon a policy which would disrupt the empire. The Loyalists in America, and the followers of Burke and Chatham in England, were the peace party who sought to preserve the unity of the empire and to prevent what they believed to be an unnecessary and unnatural war..

The petition and other papers of the Continental Congress were submitted to Parliament on the 19th of January. On the 1st of February Chatham presented in the Proposals House of Lords a plan for reconciliation with of Chatham the colonies. He proposed that the obnoxious acts be repealed if Congress should recognize the legislative supremacy of Parliament; that England renounce all right to lay taxes in America provided that Congress should vote a perpetual revenue to the king, and assign to each colony its quota of taxes; that colonial judges should hold office during good behavior and that trial by jury be guaranteed in all civil cases. In support of his plan Chatham made an earnest plea, but on its first reading his proposal was defeated by a large majority. In America it received the approval of Jefferson, and Franklin spoke of it as a foundation of a lasting good agreement."

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That the House of Commons was not unwilling to make

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concessions in order to avoid war was shown by the pasNorth's Plan sage on February 27 of resolutions introduced of conciliation by Lord North. In these resolutions, Parliament offered to return to the old system of requisitions which had been in use prior to 1765 and abandon its plan of imposing direct taxes upon any colony which would contribute to the English Treasury a sum satisfactory to Parliament. This plan of conciliation was denounced by Burke as ransom by auction." While North's proposal was under "Grand Penal consideration, he introduced the "Grand Penal Bill," to "restrain the trade and commerce of New England to Great Britain and the British islands in the West Indies." This bill, which was designed as a retaliation for the Association passed by the Continental Congress, became law on March 30, and was followed the next month by the passage of a similar act restraining the trade of the southern colonies. During the consideration of this bill, in a last supreme effort to convince Parliament of the danger of the course they were following, Burke, on the 22d of March, delivered his great Speech on Conciliation.

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ANALYSIS

(The numbers in parentheses refer to paragraphs.

Where numbers only are given, the student is expected to fill out the outline from the paragraph indicated. For further comment on the use of the Analysis, see Preface.)

INTRODUCTION

I. The return of the grand penal bill affords the
House an opportunity to reconsider the question of
America in its entirety (1).

II. Burke, finding it necessary to form some fixed ideas concerning the policy of the Empire, has, after much

study of the question, adhered to his original sentiments (2 and 3).

III. Parliament, however, during the same period, has often changed its views and policy, with the result that America has been brought into her present situation (4).

IV. The critical nature of that situation, and the consequent necessity that the minority shall cease merely to criticize the ministry, are Burke's reasons why he, a member of the minority, now comes forward with a remedial plan for America. He is sure that, because of his own lack of influence, his plan will be considered purely on its own merits (5-8).

V. The proposition which the House is to consider is the proper means of securing peace (9).

VI. Burke's plan for securing peace, which is much simpler than Lord North's, derives one great advantage from the fact that Lord North's has been accepted; the advantage, namely, that conciliation (i.e., the act of restoring friendly feeling) is acknowledged to be admissible :

A. (11.)

B. and C. (12.)

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