cause of the infurrections in Maffachuset's Bay, in his letter of the 15th of Auguft, ftill addreffed to the Earl of Halifax; and he continued to address fuch accounts to that minister quite to the 7th of September of the fame year. Similar accounts, and of as late a date, were fent from other governours, and all directed to Lord Halifax. Not one of these letters indicates the flighteft idea of a change, either known, or even apprehended.

Thus are blown away the infect race of courtly falfehoods! thus perish the miferable inventions of the wretched runners for a wretched caufe, which they have fly-blown into every weak and rotten part of the country, in vain hopes that when their maggots had taken wing, their importunate buzzing might found fomething like the publick voice!

Sir, I have troubled you fufficiently with the ftate of America before the repeal. Now I turn to the honourable gentleman who fo ftoutly challenges us, to tell, whether, after the repeal, the provinces were quiet? This is coming home to the point. Here I meet him directly; and anfwer moft readily, They were quiet. And I, in my turn, challenge him to prove when, and where, and by whom, and in what numbers, and with what violence, the other laws of trade, as gentlemen affert, were violated in confequence of your conceffion? or that even your other revenue laws were attack

ed?

ed? But I quit the vantage ground on which I ftand, and where I might leave the burthen of the proof upon him: I walk down upon the open plain, and undertake to fhew, that they were not only quiet, but fhewed many unequivocal marks of acknowledgment and gratitude. And to give him every advantage, I felect the obnoxious colony of Maffachufet's Bay, which at this time (but without hearing her) is fo heavily a culprit before parliament I will felect their proceedings even under circumstances of no fmall irritation. For, a little imprudently, I must say, Governour Bernard mixed in the administration of the lenitive of the repeal no finall acrimony arifing from matters of a feparate nature. Yet fee, Sir, the effect of that lenitive, though mixed with thefe bitter ingredients; and how this rugged people can express themselves on a measure of conceffion.

If it is not in our power," (fay they in their addrefs to Governour Bernard) "in fo full a manner "as will be expected, to fhew our refpe&ful gratitude

to the mother country, or to make a dutiful and af"fectionate return to the indulgence of the king and "parliament, it shall be no fault of ours; for this we "intend, and hope we shall be able fully to effect."

Would to God that this temper had been cultivated, managed, and fet in action! other effects than those which we have fince felt would have refulted from it. On the requifition for compenfation to those who had fuffered from the violence VOL. II.

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of the populace, in the fame addrefs they fay, "The recommendation enjoined by Mr.SecretaryCon'way's letter, and in confequence thereof made to us, we will embrace the first convenient opportunity to 'confider and act upon." They did confider; they did act upon it. They obeyed the requifition. I know the mode has been chicaned upon; but it was fubftantially obeyed; and much better obeyed, than I fear the parliamentary requifition of this feffion will be, though enforced by all your rigour, and backed with all your power. In a word, the damages of popular fury were compensated by legiflative gravity. Almoft every other part of America in various ways demonftrated their gratitude. I am bold to fay, that so sudden a calm recovered after fo violent a storm is without parallel in hiftory. To fay that no other disturbance should happen from any other caufe, is folly. But as far as appearances went, by the judicious facrifice of one law, you procured an acquiefcence in all that remained. After this experience, nobody shall perfuade me, when a whole people are concerned, that acts of lenity are not means of conciliation.

I hope the honourable gentleman has received a fair and full anfwer to his question.

I have done with the third period of your policy; that of your repeal; and the return of your ancient fyftem, and your ancient tranquillity and concord. Sir, this period was not as long as it was happy. Another fcene was opened, and other actors

actors appeared on the ftage. The ftate, in the condition I have defcribed it, was delivered into the hands of Lord Chatham-a great and celebrated name; a name that keeps the name of this country refpectable in every other on the globe. It may be truly called,

Clarum et venerabile nomén

Gentibus, et multum noftræ quod proderat urbi.

Sir, the venerable age of this great man, his merited rank, his fuperiour eloquence, his fplendid qualities, his eminent fervices, the vaft fpace hẻ fills in the eye of mankind; and, more than all the reft, his fall from power, which, like death, canonizes and fanctifies a great character, will not fuffer me to cenfure any part of his conduct. I am afraid to flatter him; I am fure I am not difpofed to blame him. Let thofe who have betrayed him by their adulation, infult him with their malevolence. But what I do not prefume to cenfure, I may have leave to lament. For a wife man, he feemed to me at that time, to be governed too much by general maxims. I fpeak with the freedom of hiftory, and I hope without offence. One or two of these maxims, flowing from an opinion not the most indulgent to our unhappy fpecies, and furely a little too general, led him into meafures that were greatly mischievous to himself; and for that reafon, among others, perhaps fatal to

his country; measures, the effects of which, I am afraid, are for ever incurable. He made an adminiftration, fo checkered and fpeckled; he put together a piece of joinery, fo crofsly indented and whimfically dove-tailed; a cabinet fo variously inlaid; fuch a piece of diverfified Mofaick; fuch a teffelated pavement without cement; here a bit of black stone, and there a bit of white; patriots and courtiers, king's friends and republicans; whigs and tories; treacherous friends and open enemies: that it was indeed a very curious fhow; but utterly unfafe to touch, and unfure to stand on. The colleagues whom he had afforted at the fame. boards, ftared at each other, and were obliged to afk, " Sir, your name?-Sir, you have the advantage of me-Mr. Such-a-one--I beg a thousand pardons-" I venture to fay, it did fo happen, that perfons had a fingle office divided between them, who had never spoke to each other in their lives; until they found themselves, they knew not how, pigging together, heads and points, in the fame truckle-bed.*

Sir, in confequence of this arrangement, having put fo much the larger part of his enemies and oppofers into power, the confufion was fuch, that his own principles could not poffibly have any effect

Suppofed to allude to the Right Honourable Lord North, and George Cooke, Efq. who were made joint paymafters in the fummer of 1766, on the removal of the Rockingham administration.

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