XVIII. 1777. expected or foreseen, will shortly happen. Mi- Book nisters flatter themselves, whenever the worst comes, that they shall be able to shelter themselves behind the authority of parliament; but this, my lords, cannot be. They stand coм MITTED, and they must ABIDE the ISSUE. The DAY OF RETRIBUTION is at hand, when the VENGEANCE of a much injured people will, I trust, FALL HEAVILY on the AUTHORS of their RUIN. During the recess, the spirits of the ministry, which had sunk to so low an ebb, seemed to revive; and the powerful faction of the tories, which had of late years acquired such an ascendency under the patronage of the court, being if possible more than ever eager for the subjugation of America, large offers were made from different places for raising new regiments to supply the late heavy loss; and a determination was taken to prosecute the war with redoubled force and vigour. On an early day after the recess, the house of commons, in consequence of a motion previously made by Mr. Fox, resolved itself into a committee on the state of the nation; and, in a most able and comprehensive speech, Mr. Fox entered at great length into a retrospective view of the whole conduct of the present administration respecting America, including as well the measures which led to the war, as the manner in XVIII. 1777. BOOK so dead to its dignity and duty as to give their support to measures thus obtruded and forced upon them?-measures, my lords, which have reduced this late flourishing empire to scorn and contempt! But yesterday, and England might have stood against the world;-Now, none so0 poor to do her reverence.' The people whom we at first despised as rehels, but whom we now acknowledge as enemies, are abetted against you, 8 pplied with every military store, their interests consulted, and their ambassadors entertained by your inveterate enemy-and our ministers do. not, and dare not, interpose with dignity or effect. The desperate state of our army abroad is in part known. No man more highly esteems and honors the English troops than I do: I know their virtues and their valor; I know they can achieve any thing except impossibilities; and I know that the conquest of English America is an impossibility. You CANNOT, my lords, you CANNOT conquer America. What is your present situation there? We do not know the worst : but we know that in three campaigns we have done nothing, and suffered much. You may swell every expence, and strain every effort, accumulate every assistance, and extend your traffic to the shambles of every German despot, your attempts will be for ever vain and impotent-doubly so, indeed, from this mercenary aid, on which you rely; for it irritates to an in- Book curable resentment the minds of your adversaries to overrun them with the mercenary sons of 1777. rapine and plunder, devoting them and their XVIII. possessions to the rapacity of hireling cruelty. BOOK protection was extended over America, she was XVIIL the fountain of our wealth, the nerve of our 1777. strength, the basis of our power. It is not, my lords, a wild and lawless banditti whom we oppose: the resistance of America is the struggle of free and virtuous patriots. Let us then seize with eagerness the present moment of reconcili-ation. America has not yet finally given herself up to France: there yet remains a possibility of escape from the fatal effect of our delusions. In this complicated crisis of danger, weakness, and calamity, terrified and insulted by the neighbouring powers, unable to act in America, or acting only to be destroyed, WHERE is the man who will venture to flatter us with the hope of success from perseverance in measures productive. of these dire effects? Who has the effrontery to attempt it? Where is that man? Let him, if he DARE, stand forward and shew his face. You cannot conciliate America by your present measures; you cannot subdue her by your present or any measures. What then can you do? You cannot conquer, you cannot gain; but you can ADDRESS-you can lull the fears and anxieties of the moment into ignorance of the danger that should produce them. I did hope, instead of that false and empty pride engendering. high conceits and presumptuous imaginations, that ministers would have humbled themselves XVIII. 1777. in their errors would have confessed and re- BOOK tracted them, and, by an active, though a late repentance, have endeavoured to redeem them. But, my lords, since they have neither sagacity to foresee, nor justice nor humanity to shun those calamities; since not even bitter experience can make them feel, nor the imminent ruin of their country awaken them from their stupefaction, the guardian care of parliament must interpose. I shall therefore, my lords, propose to you an amendment to the address to his majesty-To recommend an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the commencement of a treaty to restore peace and liberty to America, strength and happiness to England, security and permanent prosperity to both countries. This, my lords, is yet in our power, and let not the wisdom and justice of your lordships neglect the happy and perhaps the only opportunity." Lord Suffolk, secretary of state, in the course of the debate contended for the employment of Indians in the war-" Besides its policy and necessity," his lordship said "that the measure was also allowable on principle, for that it was perfectly justifiable to use all the means that GOD and Nature had put into our hands." This moving the indignation of lord Chatham, he suddenly rose, and gave full vent to his feelings, in one of the most extraordinary bursts of |