science' sake. This apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of empire into America. If we can remove the turbulent Gallics, our people, according to the exactest calculations, will, in another century, become more numerous than England itself. All Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us." Such were the dreams of John Adams, while "pinched and starved" as the teacher of a 'stingy," New England free school. Within twenty-one years, he shall assist in declaring his country's independence; in less than thirty, this master of the town school of Worcester, after a career of danger and effort, shall stand before the king of Great Britain, the acknowledged envoy of the free and United States of America.

66

After the capture of the "Alcide" and the "Lys" by Boscawen, it was considered what instructions should be given to the British marine. The mother of George III. inveighed most bitterly "against not pushing the French everywhere; the parliament would never bear the suffering the French to bring home their trade and sailors;" she wished Hanover in the sea, as the cause of all misfortunes. Newcastle suggested trifles, to delay a decision. • If we are convinced it must be war, I," said Cumberland, "have no notion of not making the most of the strength and opportunity in our hands." The Earl of Granville was against meddling with trade: "It is vexing your neighbors for a little muck." "I," said Newcastle, the prime minister, "think some middle way may be found out." He was asked what way. "To be sure," he replied, " Hawke must go out; but he may be ordered not to attack the enemy, unless he thinks it worth while." He was answered, that Hawke was too wise to do any thing at all, which others, when done, were to pronounce he ought to be hanged for. "What," replied the duke, "if he had orders not to fall upon the French, unless they were more in number together than ten?" The Brest squadron, it was replied, is but nine. "I mean that," resumed Newcastle, "of the merchant-men only." Thus he proceeded with inconceivable absurdity. France and England were still at peace; and

their commerce was mutually protected by the sanctity of treaties. Of a sudden, orders were issued to all British vessels of war to take all French vessels, private as well as public; and, without warning, ships from the French colonies, the ships carrying from Martinique to Marseilles the rich products of plantations tilled by the slaves of Jesuits, the fishing-smacks in which the humble Breton mariners ventured to Newfoundland, whale-ships returning from their adventures, the scanty fortunes with which poor men freighted the little barks engaged in the coasting trade, were within one month, by violence and by cowardly artifices, seized by the British marine, and carried into English ports, to the value of thirty millions of livres. "What has taken place," wrote Rouillé, under the eye of Louis XV., "is nothing but a system of piracy on a grand scale, unworthy of a civilized people." As there had been no declaration of war, the courts of admiralty could not then warrant the outrage. The sum afterwards paid into the British exchequer, as the king's share of the spoils, was about seven hundred thousand pounds. Eight thousand French seamen were held in captivity. "Never," said

Oct. 21.

Louis XV., "will I forgive the piracies of this inso1755. lent nation;" and, in a letter to George II., he demanded ample reparation for the insult to the flag of France by Boscawen, and for the seizures by the English men-of-war, committed in defiance of international law, the faith of treaties, the usages of civilized nations, and the reciprocal duties of kings. The wound thus inflicted on France would not heal, and for a whole generation was ready to bleed afresh. At the time, the capture of so many thousand French seamen was a subject of boast in the British parliament; and the people were almost unanimous for war, in which success would require the united activity of the colonies and allies in Europe.

The incompetent ministry turned to Russia. "Seize the opportunity," such was the substance of their instructions to their boastful and credulous envoy, "seize the opportunity to convince the Russians that they will remain only an Asiatic power, if they allow the king of Prussia to carry

through his plans of aggrandizement;" and full authority was given to effect an alliance with Russia, to overawe Prussia and control the politics of Germany. Yet at that time Frederic manifested no purpose of making conquests.

In this manner a treaty was concluded, by which England, on the point of incurring the hostility of 1755. the Catholic princes, bound itself to pay to Russia at least half a million of dollars annually, and contingently two and a half million of dollars, in order to balance and paralyze the influence of the only considerable Protestant monarchy on the continent. The English king was so eagerly bent on this shameful negotiation, that Bestuchef, the Russian minister, obtained a gratuity of fifty thousand dollars, and one or two others received payments in cash and annuities. "A little increase of the money to be paid," said Bestuchef, "would be extremely agreeable. Fifty thousand pounds for the private purse of the empress would put her and her court at his majesty's management." At the same time, an extravagant treaty for subsidies was framed with Hesse, whose elector bargained at high rates for the use of his troops for the defence of Hanover, or, if needed, of the British dominions. Newcastle was sure of his majority in the house of commons; but William Pitt, though poor, and recently married, and holding the lucrative office of paymaster, declared his purpose of opposing the treaty with Russia. Newcastle sent for Pitt, offered him kind words from his sovereign, influence, preferment, confidence. Expressing devotion to the king, Pitt was inexorable: he would support the Hessian treaty, which was only a waste of money, but not a system of treaties dangerous to the liberties of Germany and of Europe. Newcastle grew nervous from fright, and did not recover courage till, in November, Fox · consented to accept the seals and defend the treaties. At the great debate, Pitt taunted the majority, which was as three to one, with corruption and readiness "to follow their leader;" and, indirectly attacking the subjection of the throne to aristocratic influence, declared that "the king owes a supreme service to his people." Pitt was dismissed from office; and George Grenville, with Legge, the chan

cellor of the exchequer, and Charles Townshend, retired with him.

The treaty with Russia was hardly confirmed, when the ministry yielded to the impulse given by Pitt; and, after subsidizing Russia to obtain the use of her troops against Frederic, it negotiated an alliance with Frederic himself not to permit the entrance of Russian or any other foreign troops into Germany. The British aristocracy Newcastle sought to unite by a distribution of pensions and places. This is the moment when Hillsborough first obtained an employment, when the family of Yorke named Soame Jenyns for a lord of trade, and when Bedford was propitiated by the appointment of Richard Rigby to a seat at the same board. The administration proceeded, possessing the vote, but not the respect of parliament.

At the head of the American forces it had placed Shirley, a worn-out barrister, who knew nothing of war, yet, in December, at a congress of governors at New York, planned a campaign for the following year. Quebec was to be menaced by way of the Kennebec and the Chaudière; Frontenac and Toronto and Niagara were to be taken; and then Fort Duquesne and Detroit and Michilimackinac, deprived of their communications, were of course to surrender. Sharpe, of Maryland, thought all efforts vain, unless parliament should interfere; and this opinion he enforced in many letters. His colleagues and the officers of the

army were equally importunate. "If they expect 1756. success at home," wrote Gage, in January, 1756,

echoing the common opinion of those around him, "acts of parliament must be made to tax the provinces, in proportion to what each is able to bear; to make one common fund and pursue one uniform plan for America." "You," said Sir Charles Hardy, the new governor of New York, to the lords of trade, "you will be much more able to settle it for us than we can ourselves."

From the Old Dominion, Dinwiddie continued to urge a general land-tax and poll-tax for all the colonies. "Our people," said he, "will be inflamed, if they hear of my making this proposal;" but he reiterated the hopelessness

of obtaining joint efforts of the colonies by appeals to American assemblies. He urged also the subversion of charter governments; "for," said he to the secretary of state, “I am full of opinion we shall continue in a most disunited and distracted condition till his majesty takes the proprietary governments into his own hands. Till these governments are under his majesty's immediate direction, all expeditions will prove unsuccessful. These dominions, if properly protected, will be the western and best empire in the world."

1756.

With more elaborateness and authority, Shirley, still pleading for "a general fund," assured the ministers that the several assemblies would not agree among themselves upon such a fund; that, consequently, it must be done in England; and that the only effectual way of doing it there would be by an act of parliament, in which he professed to have great reason to think the people would readily acquiesce. The success of any other measure would be doubtful; and, suggesting a "stamp duty" as well as an excise and a poll-tax, he advised, "for the general satisfaction of the people in each colony, to leave it to their choice to raise the sum assessed upon them according to their own discretion;" but, in case of failure, "proper officers" were to collect the revenue "by warrants of distress and imprisonment of persons." Shirley was a civilian, versed in English law, for many years a crown officer in the colonies, and now having precedence of all the governors. His opinion carried great weight; and it became henceforward a firm persuasion among the lords of trade, especially Halifax, Soame Jenyns, and Rigby, as well as with all who busied themselves with schemes of government for America, that the British parliament must take upon itself the establishment and collection of an American revenue.

While the officers of the crown were thus conspiring against American liberty, the tomahawk was uplifted along the ranges of the Alleghanies. The governor of Virginia pressed upon Washington the rank of colonel and the command of the volunteer companies which were to guard its frontier, from Cumberland through the whole valley of