state. He asserts that they avow a disposition to be independent. On the contrary, sir, all the declarations, both of the late and the present Congress, uniformly tend to this one object, of being put on the same footing the Americans were in the year 1763. This has been their only demand, from which they have never varied. Their daily prayers and petitions are for liberty, peace, and safety. I use the words of the Congress of the last year. They justly expect to be put on an equal footing with the other subjects of the empire, and are willing to come into any fair agreement with you in commercial concerns. If you confine all our trade to yourselves, say they; if you make a monopoly of our commerce; if you shut all the other ports of the world against us, do not tax us likewise. If you tax us, then give us a free trade, such as you enjoy yourselves. Let us have equal advantages of commerce, all other ports open to us; then we can, and will, cheerfully, voluntarily pay taxes. You will have a free-will offering given with pleasure, not grudgingly.

It must give, sir, every man who loves this country, the deepest concern at the naming in the Address foreign troops—Hanoverians and Hessians—who are now called to interfere in our domestick quarrels, not to dwell this day on the illegality of the measure, the danger and disgrace attending foreign mercenaries. The.Militia, indeed, are, we are told, to be now employed, and that noble institution is at present complimented by Ministers; but we know they hate the very name of a Militia, and that measure is adopted only because the imbodying of these forces enables Administration to butcher more of our fellow-subjects in America.

Sir, I disapprove not only the evil spirit of the whole Address, but likewise the wretched adulation of almost every part of it. My wish and hope therefore is, that it will be rejected by the House, and that another dutiful, yet decent, manly Address, will be presented to the King, praying his Majesty that he would sheath the sword, prevent the further effusion of the blood of our fellow-subjects, adopt some mode of negotiation with the General Congress, in compliance with their repeated petitions, and thereby restore peace and harmony to this distracted empire.

Sir Adam Ferguson said, that if experience did not show that scarce any question ever came before that House without some variety of opinion, he would have flattered himself that, however much they had hitherto differed, they should now, at least, have come together with some degree of unanimity. That gentlemen should differ about some particular points of Colony government, as, for example, how far it was expedient or inexpedient to tax America, considering how much that question was involved in difficulty, and how much could be plausibly said on the one side or the other, was not much to be wondered at; but it was matter of no small surprise to him, that they were still likely to differ in opinion, when the question was no longer confined to taxation, or to any particular exercise of the authority of Great Britain, but extended to the very being of the sovereignty itself, and to those rights of which this kingdom had been in possession ever since the existence of the Colonies. The honourable Magistrate (the late Lord Mayor, Mr. Wilkes) who spoke last had said, that the Congress had declared they did not aim at independence. They certainly had done so in general terms. But how did their particular claims correspond to this general assertion? He was afraid, if these were examined, it would appear that the pretensions of the Congress went the length of a total exemption from the power and authority of Parliament.

They had declared, in the most express terms, that Parliament had no right to intermeddle with their provisions for the support of civil government, or the administration of justice. Their language was, that while Parliament pursued its plan of civil government within its own jurisdiction, they insisted upon pursuing theirs without molestation, plainly claiming an authority, in each of the Colony Assemblies, exclusive of that of Parliament. An exclusive right of legislation, in all matters of internal policy, had been, in the most express terms, asserted by them; and not only the late acts of Parliament more particularly complained of, but every other which touched upon the internal polity of the Colonies, had been treated by them as unjust encroachments of Parliament upon the rights of a Legislature as independent as itself.

In military matters, their pretensions were equally extravagant. They expressly denied that Great Britain had a right to keep a single soldier in the whole extensive continent of America, without the consent of the Legislature of that Colony where the troops were kept. With regard to revenue, had not a declaration been made, in words intelligible to all mankind, that America never would be taxed by Parliament, unless they refused to contribute their proportion to the common expenses of the State? They even knew that any reasonable sum would be accepted of; but they would not gratify this country so far as to say that they would contribute a single shilling. The only particular in which they seemed inclined to admit the authority of Parliament, was in what related to the regulation of their trade. Even with regard to that, they expressed themselves with a sufficient degree of caution; but in everything else they asserted an absolute independence on Parliament.

In what manner things had been brought to that unhappy dilemma, did not seem the proper object of their present inquiry. There might be time enough for that inquiry afterwards. The present object was to remedy the evil. Were he to give his opinion upon that subject, he should be apt to say that the fault did not so much lie in this or that particular set of measures, as in that variable and fluctuating conduct, which cannot be altogether avoided in a Government such as ours, and which had remarkably prevailed with regard to America. He should be apt to say, that no Ministry, since the time of the Stamp Act, had been altogether free of blame; but he should at the same time add, that, perhaps, more than any Ministry, those had been to blame who, not satisfied with expressing their disapprobation of particular measures, had argued, both within and without doors, against the authority of the supreme Legislature itself; who, from an excess of zeal in support of America, seemed too much to forget the interest of the mother country, and, from an apprehension lest the Colonies should be ruled with too heavy a hand, seemed inclined to adopt measures which had a tendency to exempt them from the dominion of Great Britain altogether, and to erect them into so many sovereign independent States.

But instead of investigating the causes of the evil, it was more material now to consider what was proper to be done to remedy it; and in this he saw but one choice: either to support with vigour the authority of Great Britain, or to abandon America altogether. Some speculative men have said, and published their opinions to the world, that it would be no such fatal stroke to Britain, as is generally imagined, were America to be abandoned altogether. He had not opinion enough of his own foresight to say, with certainty, what the consequence would be; but so much benefit he had reaped from these speculations, as to hope that the welfare and prosperity of Great Britain would not be desperate, even were such an event to happen. But who would be bold enough to advise such a measure? and who could, with certainty, answer for the effects of it? If no person would, what remained but that they should exert every nerve to reduce their rebellious subjects to obedience. After they had reduced them, and convinced them of their inability to resist the power of this country, then, and not till then, would be the time to show them all possible indulgence. Any further concession now; would be considered as extorted from them by their fears, not as the voluntary effect of their favour.

But can this country reduce them to obedience, or must the contest be given up for want of power? If it must, there is no help for it; but at least let us put it to the trial. For his own part, he could not entertain a doubt of it, He did, indeed, see that those were mistaken who said the Americans would not fight; but those were at least as much mistaken, if there were any such, who would entertain a doubt of their being reduced by a proper exertion of the power of Great Britain. As he could not doubt of the strength of Great Britain to reduce them, so he hoped, if that strength was exerted, it would be done effectually. If a force is sent to America, both prudence and humanity required that it should be such a one as, humanly speaking, would carry its point. The error hitherto had been, to have too small a force there. To continue the same error still, was to protract the miseries and horrors of a civil war. He did not mean merely that such a force should be sent as would be sufficient to beat their opponents. It ought to be such a one as would deprive them of all idea of resistance. These