Middletown transcript., 1875-02-20
February l775-l875.

oUiO III AoihouloHeosy
which defeated the possibility Of recon
ciliation between the Colonies and the
mother country In our day such i'm
portant matters would be known partial.
ly on the day Of their occurrence.
And, on the next day, the myriad
leaved journals would scatter the tidings
everywhere in their details, and the
streets of our cities and towns would
be vocal with newsboy's shout, "Full
account Of Earl Chatham's great speech
full account Of DR.. Franklin! But
the Colonists, in 1775, remained fol
many weeks without information o.
movements and measures which con.
cerned them so nearly. On the 1st o.
February, 1775, the Earl Of Chatham
brought forward in the House of Lords
a bill to reconcile the difference be-
tween England and her colonies. This
plan "fer true reconciliation and ma
tional accord provided that no tax
should be levied in America except by
consent Of the Colonial Assemblies and
those Assemblies, on their part, were
to make free grants Of money. to be
placed at the disposal Of Parliament.
The authority Of Parliament was to be
conceded, as we'll as its right to regu.
late the trade Of the whole Empire. L
was proposed to lay the draft Of the bill
on the table for consideration. but be-
fore the business could take that proper
and usual course the heat Of the Ear
Of Sandwich precipitated conclusion
He denounced the measure as one that
deserved contempt. 1T ought" be
said, ITO be Immediately rejected.
can never believe it to be the produc.
ton Of the British peer. It appears
to me rather the work Of some Ameri.
can. fancy I have il my eye the
man who drew it up-ons Of the bitter.
est and most mischievous enemies thia
country has ever known" As Sand
wich said this, be turned his head to-
ward Franklin, whs was present. The
effect in regard to the doctor was te
bring from Chatham one Of the most
emphatic eulogies that ''some Ameri.
can or any American ever received 10
the British Parliament The concili-
atory proposition was. however. voted
down two to one on its first reading
The historian Bancroft remarks "Tha
willfulness Of the Lords was happy fol
America, for Chatham's proposition
contained clauses to which it never
could safely have assented, and ye'
breathed spirit which must have
ealmed its resentment, distracted its
councils, and palsied its will. It had
no choice left between submission and
independence"
To the House OF Commons, imme-
diately after the defeat Of Lord Chat
hams proposition in the House Of
Lords, the Ministry introduced mea-
sures for intimidating the Colonies.
First in the order Of passage was q
joint address to the throne, adopted BY
the Commons and concurred in by the
House of Lords. That address de-
clared that rebellion already existed
in Massachusetts,, countenanced and
fomented by unlawful combinations in
other colonies. The address was re-
ported on the 9Th of February, and
adopted after debate which lasted till
half-past two on the morning Of the
7th. On the 9th, (having passed the
Lords) it was presented to the King.
The Lord Chancellor and the Speaker
Of the House, with majority Of both
bodies, vent in state to the palace, and
in presence Of the representatives Of the
great powers Of Europe, presented the
address. Of course it was "graciously
received The King in bis reply
pledged himself to enforce obedience
to the laws and the authority Of the
supreme legislature" In this phrase
ology, the recognition Of the supremacy
of Parliament and Of law in . royal
speech. we discern signs Of the leaven
which only worked quicker in America
than in Europe. Before the fall Of
Charles /. such an admission Of the
authority OF Parliament would have
been simply impossible. After the res
toration Of the monarchy, and before
the revolution Of 1888, any such con-
cession Of the duty Of the crown to play
second to the authority Of the Parlia-
ment would have been improbable. As
both address and answer originated
with the Ministry they must be regard
ed in some degree as bid for popular
endorsement-an open show in order to
obtain public committal to programme
which bad been arranged in private
council. The necessity for this grew
out Of the freedom Of debate and the
growing liberty Of the press. Let those
who tire Of the reports Of Legislative
speeches and proceedings take pote that
the utterances Of legislators have q far
wider audience than the immediate
hearers, and that the consequences Of
argument and discussion 60 much fur
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