ON MOVING RESOLUTIONS FOR CONCILIATION WITH AMERICA. HOUSE OF COMMONS,
MARCH 22, 1775.
The repeal of the Grenville Stamp Act had not brought a return of
friendly feeling, for the reason that the Commons had preferred to
adopt the policy of George III. instead of the policy of Pitt. The
_right_ to tax America was affirmed in the very act withdrawing the
tax. When Lord North came into power he adopted a weak and fatal
mixture of concession and coercion. After the destruction of the tea
in Boston harbor the policy of coercion became dominant. In 1774,
the Charter of Massachusetts was taken away, and the port of Boston
was closed to all commerce. The British Government labored under the
singular delusion that the inconvenience thus inflicted would bring
the colonies at once to terms. It was boldly said that the question
was merely one of shillings and pence, and that the colonists would
give way as soon as they came to see that their policy entailed a
loss. There were a few who held the opposite ground. On the night of
April 19, 1774, Mr. Fuller moved to go “into Committee of the whole
House to take into consideration the duty of threepence a pound on
tea, payable in all his Majesty’s dominions in America.” It was
understood that the aim of the motion was the repealing of the Act;
and it was in seconding the motion that Mr. Burke made his famous
speech on American taxation.
But the policy advocated in the speech was voted down by 182 to 49.
Thus the ministry determined to drift on in the old way. It soon
became evident, however, that some change was imperatively necessary.
The method determined upon by Lord North was an insidious scheme
for sowing dissensions among the colonies, and thus breaking that
strength which comes from united action. His plan was to offer that
whenever a colony, in addition to providing for its own government,
should raise a fair proportion for the general defence, and should
place this sum at the disposal of Parliament, that colony should be
exempted from all further taxation, except such duties as might be
necessary for the regulation of commerce. He thus designed to array
the colonies against one another, and so open the way for treating
with them individually. This was put forward by North as a plan for
_conciliation_. While Burke saw clearly the mischief that lurked in
the scheme of the ministry, he was anxious to avail himself of the
_idea of conciliation_; and with this end in view he brought forward
a series of resolutions “to admit the Americans to an equal interest
in the British Constitution, and to place them at once on the footing
of other Englishmen.” It was in moving these resolutions that the
following speech was made.
The method of treatment by the orator is so elaborate, that a brief
analysis of the argument may be of service. The speech is divided
into two parts: first, Ought we to make concessions? and if so,
secondly, What ought we to concede? Under the first head the orator
enters with surprising minuteness of detail into an examination of
the condition of the colonies. He surveys (1) their population; (2)
their commerce; (3) their agriculture, and (4) their fisheries.
Having thus determined their material condition, he shows that force
cannot hold a people possessing such advantages in subjection to
the mother country, if they are inspired with a spirit of liberty.
He shows that such a spirit prevails, and examining it, he traces
it to six sources: (1) the descent of the people; (2) their forms
of government; (3) the religious principles of the North; (4)
the social institutions of the South; (5) the peculiarities of
their education, and (6) their remoteness from Great Britain. He
then sums up the first part, by showing that it is vain to think
either (1) of removing these causes, or (2) of regarding them as
criminal. Reaching the conclusion then, that conciliation is the
true policy, he proceeds to inquire what this concession should
be. Obviously it should relate to taxation, since taxation is the
cause of the contest. Referring to the earlier history of Ireland,
Durham, Chester, and Wales, he shows that in every case, either
an independent parliament existed, or the territory was admitted
to representation in the English Parliament. He then points out
that direct representation of the colonies is impracticable, and
he shows the evils that would result from the adoption of Lord
North’s scheme. Finally, he reaches the conclusion that Americans
ought to be admitted to the privileges of Englishmen—the privilege
of contributing whatever they grant to the Crown through their own
legislature. To this end he presents six resolutions, with a brief
consideration of which he closes the speech.
This brief outline is perhaps enough to show that the speech is
remarkable for its logical order, and for its happy grouping of
historical facts. But so far from being a collection of mere matters
of fact, it is enriched from beginning to end with thoughts and
reflections from a brain teeming with ideas on the science of
government. It abounds with passages that have always been greatly
admired, and the train of argument is not interrupted by the
introduction of matter only remotely relevant to the subject in hand.
It may be said therefore to have more of the author’s characteristic
merits, and fewer of his characteristic defects, than any other of
his speeches. Every careful student will probably agree with Sir
James Mackintosh in pronouncing it “the most faultless of Mr. Burke’s
productions.”