Indies, though two or three ships were all that were wanted for that service, and the rest might have stayed at home to reinforce the great fleet of England! ally himself with those Ministers who, knowing of a Spanish war, and knowing that the united fleets of the House of Bourbon consisted of at least forty, perhaps fifty, and possibly sixty sail of the line, had suffered Sir Charles Hardy to sail on Wednesday last, the day before the Spanish rescript was, as they knew, to be delivered, with not thirty sail of the line, although, if he had stayed a week longer, he might have been reinforced with five or six, or, as Ministry themselves said, seven or eight more capital ships! To ally himself with men capable of such conduct would be to ally himself to disgrace and ruin. He begged, therefore, for himself and for his friends to disclaim any such alliance, and he declared he was the rather inclined to disavow such a connexion, because from the past conduct of Ministers he was warranted to declare and to maintain that such an alliance would be something worse than an alliance with France and Spain-it would be an alliance with those who pretended to be the friends of Great Britain, but who were in fact and in truth her worst enemies."

He concluded with repeating that he had not the least confidence in the present Ministers, and that so far from being ready to enter into an alliance with them, he thought they merited punishment; and although there were among them individuals for whom he had the highest personal respect, yet he thought their official conduct collectively so infamous and so prejudicial to the interests of their country, that, were the times ripe for bringing them to punishment, he would join most heartily in supporting such a

measure.

The fate of the Militia Bill was curious.

In the House

of Lords, the clause which enabled the King to double the militia was rejected by a large majority. Among those who voted against the compulsory part of the bill was Earl Gower, President of the Council. When the bill was returned to the Commons, Mr. Fox commented with severity on this circumstance.

The session, one of unusual length, was closed by the King on the 3rd of July, 1779. In America the alliance of France and Spain had a different effect from that which might have been anticipated. The Congress, instead of calling out all their resources to free their soil from British troops, became inactive, many of the principal leaders ceased to attend, and plans of rigid economy, combined with an issue of depreciated paper money, showed that the Americans wished to finish the war, not as speedily, but as cheaply as possible. Washington, burning to strike a decisive blow, had only under his command 15,000 troops engaged to serve till the end of the war, and 12,000 others whose service was for various limited periods. When one reflects that 3,000,000 of men had pledged their lives and fortunes to the attainment of independence, it seems extraordinary that their efforts should have been thus languid and remiss.

In Europe the alliance of two great powers at the head of regular forces forced Great Britain to reserve her armaments for her own defence. A combined fleet of France and Spain, amounting to sixty sail of the line, scoured the Channel. Fifty thousand men were assembled in Normandy to be ready for an invasion of England or Ireland. Paul Jones insulted the coast of Scotland. The Irish people, being left without protection, armed for their own defence,

and Lord North, terrified at their formidable zeal, was almost as much afraid of the champions as of the enemies of his country.

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In October Lord Gower resigned his office. "I feel," he said, "the greatest gratitude for the many marks of royal goodness which I have received, but I cannot think it the duty of a faithful servant to endeavour to preserve a system which must end in ruin to his Majesty and to the country." Still the mind of the King was unsubdued. It is true that, in a letter dated the 3rd of December, he professed his readiness to blot from his remembrance any events that may have displeased him, and to admit into his confidence and service any men of public spirit and talents who will join with part of the present Ministry in forming one on a more enlarged scale, provided it be understood that every means are to be employed to keep the empire entire, to prosecute the present just and unprovoked war, in all its branches, with the utmost vigour, and that his Majesty's past measures be treated with proper respect." But it is obvious that the Opposition could not have acceded to these terms, and Lord Thurlow, who was entrusted with the negotiation, wisely avoided the use of the King's name, in the distant overtures he made to Lord Camden, Lord Shelburne, and others.

Thus these symptoms of a relenting purpose came to nothing.

Upon the failure of these overtures, Lord Bathurst, lately Chancellor, was made President of the Council; Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Southern Department, in the place of Lord Weymouth, who resigned with Lord Gower; Lord Stormont was appointed to the Northern

Department; and the office of First Commissioner of Trade was revived in favour of Lord Carlisle. These changes gave no strength in Council, and rather weakened the Ministry in Parliament. In the persons of Lord Gower and Lord Weymouth, two of the chiefs of the Bedford party retired from office; Lord Sandwich and Mr. Rigby still remained.

CHAPTER XIII.

RISING

SPIRIT OF OPPOSITION TO LORD NORTH-PETITIONS FOR REFORM

MR. BURKE'S SPEECH ON ECONOMICAL REFORM-MR. DUNNING'S RESOLUTIONS-RE-ACTION IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS-CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA.

Ar length the misconduct of Lord North's Administration produced its natural fruits. When the French and Spanish fleets had insulted the coasts of England-when the people of America, alienated and offended, had made good their independence when sixty or seventy millions of money had been spent, and many thousands of lives had been sacrificed for an unattainable object, the people of these islands began to utter curses, loud as well as deep, against the authors of their misfortunes. In England great public meetings called for punishment of the Ministry, reform of corrupt expenditure, and a more equal system of representation. In Ireland 40,000 volunteers assembled in arms to assert their rights. The Irish House of Commons addressed the throne for removal of restrictions upon trade, and the repeal of the degrading laws which subjected the Parliament of Ireland to that of England. The Duke of Leinster, in the uniform of the Dublin Volunteers, escorted the Speaker to Dublin Castle; the streets were lined by the volunteers, and the acclamations of the people welcomed the birth of national freedom. But, however agreeable to the sense of justice