1355. COLONIES (The American), Reconciliation of.—
There was * * * a plan of
accommodation offered in Parliament, which,
though not entirely equal to the terms we
had a right to ask, yet differed but in few
points from what the General Congress had
held out. Had Parliament been disposed sincerely,
as we are, to bring about a reconciliation,
reasonable men had hoped, that by meeting
us on this ground something might have
been done. Lord Chatham's Bill, on the one
part, and the terms of Congress on the other,
would have formed a basis for negotiations,
which a spirit of accomodation on both sides
might, perhaps, have reconciled. It came recommended,
too, from one whose successful
experience in the art of government should
have insured it some attention from those to
whom it was intended. He had shown to the
world, that Great Britain with her Colonies
united firmly under a just and honest Government
formed a power which might bid defiance
to the most potent enemies. With a
change of Ministers, however, a total change
of measures took place. The component
parts of the Empire have from that moment
been falling asunder, and a total annihilation
of its weight in the political scale of the world
seems justly to be apprehended.—
Address of Va. House of Burgesses to Lord Dunmore.
Ford ed., i, 458.
(1775)
