The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn | Page 7

with an attack upon the "evil counsellors who had so long poisoned the
ear of the Sovereign." Conway, who on this occasion spoke with his old
fire, and held the close attention of the House, called for more
information as to the condition of affairs in the colonies, and at the
same time rejected the idea of reducing them to submission by force.
Barré entered minutely into the particulars and results of the campaign
since the 19th of April, as being little to England's credit, and urged the
Ministry to embrace the present opportunity for an accommodation
with America, or that whole country would be lost to them forever.
Burke, in the same vein, represented the impolicy of carrying on the
war, and advised the government to meet the colonists with a friendly
countenance, and no longer allow Great Britain to appear like "a
porcupine, armed all over with acts of Parliament oppressive to trade
and America." Fox spoke of Lord North as "a blundering pilot," who
had brought the nation into its present dilemma. Neither Lord Chatham
nor the King of Prussia, not even Alexander the Great, he declared,
ever gained more in one campaign than the noble lord had lost--he had
lost an entire continent. While not justifying all the proceedings of the
colonists, he called upon the Administration to place America where
she stood in 1763, and to repeal every act passed since that time which
affected either her freedom or her commerce. Wedderburne and
Dunning, the ablest lawyers in the House, took opposite sides. The
former, as Solicitor-General, threw the weight of his opinion in favor of
rigorous measures, and hoped that an army of not less than sixty
thousand men would be sent to enforce Parliamentary authority.
Dunning, his predecessor in office, questioned the legality of the king's
preparations for war without the previous consent of the Commons.

Then, later in the debate, rose Lord North, the principal figure in the
Ministry, and whom the Opposition held mainly responsible for the
colonial troubles, and defended both himself and the king's address.
Speaking forcibly and to the point, he informed the House that, in a
word, the measures intended by the government were to send a
powerful sea and land armament against the colonists, and at the same
time to proffer terms of mercy upon a proper submission. "This," said
the Minister, "will show we are in earnest, that we are prepared to
punish, but are nevertheless ready to forgive; and this is, in my opinion,
the most likely means of producing an honorable reconciliation."
But all the eloquence, reasoning and appeal of the Opposition failed to
have any more influence now than in the earlier stages of the
controversy, and it again found itself in a hopeless minority. Upon a
division of the House, the king was supported by a vote of 278 to 110.
The address presented to him closed with the words: "We hope and
trust that we shall, by the blessing of God, put such strength and force
into your Majesty's hands, as may soon defeat and suppress this
rebellion, and enable your Majesty to accomplish your gracious wish of
re-establishing order, tranquillity, and happiness through all parts of
your United Empire." In the House of Lords, where Camden, Shelburne,
Rockingham, and their compeers stood between America and the
Ministry, the address was adopted by a vote of 69 to 33.[1]
[Footnote 1: Outside of Parliament, all shades of opinion found
expression through the papers, pamphlets, and private correspondence.
Hume, the historian, wrote, October 27th, 1775: "I am an American in
my principles, and wish we could let them alone, to govern or
misgovern themselves as they think proper. The affair is of no
consequence, or of little consequence to us." But he wanted those
"insolent rascals in London and Middlesex" punished for inciting
opposition at home. This would be more to the point than "mauling the
poor infatuated Americans in the other hemisphere." William Strahan,
the eminent printer, replied to Hume: "I differ from you toto coelo with
regard to America. I am entirely for coercive methods with those
obstinate madmen." Dr. Robertson, author of The History of America,
wrote: "If our leaders do not exert the power of the British Empire in its

full force, the struggle will be long, dubious, and disgraceful. We are
past the hour of lenitives and half exertions." Early in 1776, Dr.
Richard Price, the Dissenting preacher, issued his famous pamphlet on
the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the
Justice and Policy of the War, which had a great run. Taking sides with
the colonists, he said: "It is madness to resolve to butcher them.
Freemen are not to be governed by force, or dragooned into compliance.
If capable of bearing to be