virtue and justice of the nation, it is our earnest desire, that the most effectual care be taken, as early as possible, to furnish the trading cities and manufacturing towns throughout the United Kingdom with our memorial to the people of Great Britain. We doubt not but that your good sense and discernment will lead yon to avail yourselves of every assistance that may be derived from the advice and friendship of all great and good men who may incline to aid the cause of liberty and mankind. The gratitude of America, expressed in the inclosed vote of thanks, we desire may be conveyed to the deserving objects of it, in the manner that you think will be most acce, table to them. It is proposed that another Congress be held on the 10th of May next at this place; but in the mean time we beg the favor of you, gentlemen, to transmit to the speakers of the several assemblies the earliest information of the most authentic accounts you can collect of all such conduct and designs of ministry or Parliament as it may concern America to know. We are, with unfeigned esteem and regard, gentlemen, etc. HENRY MIDDLETON, President. The first impression made by the proceedings of the American Congress, on people in general, was greatly in our favor. Administration seemed to be staggered, were impatient to know whether the petition mentioned in the proceedings was come to my hands, and took a roundabout method of obtaining that information, by getting a ministerial merchant, a known intimate of the solicitor-general, to write me a letter importing that he heard I had received such a petition, that I was to be attended in presenting it by the merchants, and begging to know and Grafton. In 1768 he was again returned to Parliament, publishing at this period of his history several political pamphlets. In November, 1772, he accepted the English agency of the province of New York, and from that time until the peace, was untiring in his devotion to the American cause, taking however the distinctive policy in this respect of the Rockingham whigs, already noticed. (Supra, § 31.) This policy, it will be recollected, consisted of an absolute recognition of the independence of the United States, according to their provincial boundaries, without any provision for commercial union. He resigned, with Fox, on Rockingham's death, and he united with Fox in denouncing the preliminary peace articles of 1782, as giving to the United States excessive privileges. Of Burke's subsequent course with regard to the French revolution it is not necessary here to speak. With gorgeous eloquence he denounced the French revolution because it assailed, as he held, all that was good in the past, while with the same eloquence he upheld the American revolution because it was a development of such good. The French revolution, he held, insulted and uprooted every sacred existing institution; the American revolution was a vindication and strengthening of such institutious. But with revolutionists personally it was not natural for Burke to have much sympathy, however much, when the revolution they were engaged in was a development of right national forces, he might approve of their work. He took an interest, it is true, in the case of Henry Laurens when the latter was in the Tower, but he does not appear to have had any intimacy with any American except Franklin, and of Franklin he does not seem to have seen much. For those Americans, such as Arthur and William Lee, and Sayre, who were associated with Wilkes, Burke probably had that dislike which he felt so strongly for Wilkes himself. For to Burke, devout, conscientious, and refined, as well as statesmanlike in the highest sense, nothing could have been more repugnant than Wilkes' political and social profligacy. the time, that he might attend "on so important an occasion, and give his testimony to so good a work." Before these proceedings arrived, it had been given out that no petition from the Congress could be received, as they were an illegal body; but the secretary of state, after a day's perusal (during which a council was held), told us it was a decent and proper petition, and cheerfully undertook to present it to his majesty, who, he afterwards assured us, was pleased to receive it very graciously, and to promise to lay it, as soon as they met, before his two houses of Parliament; and we had reason to believe, that, at that time, the petition was intended to be made the foundation of some change of measures; but that purpose, if such there were, did not long continue. About this time I received a letter from Mr. Barclay, then at Norwich, dated December 18, expressing his opinion that it might be best to postpone taking any further steps in the affair of procuring a meeting and petition of the merchants (on which we had had several consultations) till after the holidays, thereby to give the proceedings of Congress more time to work upon men's minds; adding, "I likewise consider that our superiors will have some little time for reflection, and perhaps may contemplate on the propriety of the 'hints' in their possession. By a few lines I have received from Lord Hyde, he intimates his hearty wish that they may be productive of what may be practicale and advantageous for the mother country and the Colonies." On the 22d Mr. Barclay was come to town, when I dined with him, and learnt that Lord Hyde thought the propositions too hard. On the 24th I received the following note from a considerable merchant in the city, viz: Mr. William Neate presents his most respectful compliments to Dr. Franklin, and as a report prevailed yesterday evening that all the disputes between Great Britain and the American Colonies were, through his application and influence with Lord North, amicably settled, conformable to the wish and desire of the late Congress, W. N. desires the favor of Dr. Franklin to inform him by a line, per the bearer, whether there is any credit to be given to the report. ST. MARY HILL, 24th December, 1774. My answer was to this effect; that I should be very happy to be able to inform him that the report he had heard had some truth in it; but I could only assure him, that I knew nothing of the matter. Such reports, however, were confidently circulated and had some effect in recovering the stocks which had fallen 3 or 4 per cent. On Christmas Day, visiting Mrs. Howe, she told me as soon as I came in, that her brother, Lord Howe, wished to be acquainted with me; that he was a very good man and she was sure we should like each other. I said I had always heard a good character of Lord Howe, and should be proud of the honor of being known to him. just by," said she; "will you give me leave to send for him?” all means, madam, if you think proper." She rang for a servant, wrote a note, and Lord Howe came in a few minutes. "He is but "By After some extremely polite compliments, as to the general motives for his desiring an acquaintance with me, he said he had a particular one at this time, which was the alarming situation of our affairs with America, which no one, he was persuaded, understood better than myself; that it was the opinion of some friends of his that no man could do more towards reconciling our differences than I could if I would undertake it; that he was sensible I had been very ill treated by the ministry, but he hoped that would not be considered by me in the present case; that he himself, though not in opposition, had much disapproved of their conduct towards me; that some of them he was sure were ashamed of it and sorry it had happened; which he supposed must be sufficient to abate resentment in a great and generous mind; that, if he were him. self in administration, he should be ready to make me ample satisfaction which, he was persuaded, would one day or other be done; that he was unconnected with the ministry except by some personal friendships, wished well however to government, was anxious for the general welfare of the whole empire, and had a particular regard for New England which had shown a very endearing respect to his family; that he was merely an independent member of Parliament, desirous of doing what good he could, agreeably to his duty in that station; that he therefore had wished for an opportunity of obtaining my sentiments on the means of reconciling our differences, which he saw must be attended with the most mischievous consequences if not speedily accommodated; that he hoped his zeal for the public welfare would, with me, excuse the impertinence of a mere stranger who could have otherwise no reason to expect or right to request me to open my mind to him on these topics; but he did conceive that if I would indulge him with my ideas of the means proper to bring about a reconciliation, it might be of some use; that perhaps I might not be willing myself to have any direct communication with the ministry on this occasion; that I might likewise not care to have it known that I had any indirect communication with them, till I could be well assured of their good dispositions; that being himself upon no ill terms with them he thought it not impossible that he might, by conveying my sentiments to them and theirs to me, be a means of bringing on a good understanding, without committing either them or me, if his negotiation should not succeed; and that I might rely on his keeping perfectly secret everything I should wish to remain so. Mrs. Howe here offering to withdraw, whether of herself or from any sign by him I know not, I begged she might stay as I should have no secret in a business of this nature that I could not freely confide to her prudeuce; which was truth; for I had never conceived a higher opinion of the discretion and excellent understanding of any woman on so short an acquaintance. I added that though I had never before the honor of being in his lordship's company his manner was such as had already engaged my confidence, and would make me perfectly easy and free in communicating myself to him. I begged him, in the first place, to give me credit for a sincere desire of healing the breach between the two countries; that I would cheerfully and heartily do every thing in my small power to accomplish it; but that I apprehended from the king's speech and from the measures talked of, as well as those already determined on, no intention or disposition of the kind existed in the present ministry, and therefore no accommodation could be expected till we saw a change. That as to what his lordship mentioned of the personal injuries done me, those done my country were so much greater that I did not think the other, at this time, worth mentioning; that, besides, it was a fixed rule with me not to mix my private affairs with those of the public; that I could join with my personal enemy in serving the public, or when it was for its interest, with the public in serving that enemy; these being my senti ments, his lordship might be assured that no private considerations of the kind should prevent my being as useful in the present case as my small ability would permit. He appeared satisfied and pleased with these declarations, and gave it me as his sincere opinion, that some of the ministry were extremely well disposed to any reasonable accommodation, preserving only the dignity of government; and he wished me to draw up in writing some propositions containing the terms on which I conceived a good understanding might be obtained and established and the mode of proceeding to accomplish it; which propositions as soon as prepared we might meet to consider, either at his house or at mine, or where I pleased; but as his being seen at my house or me at his, might, he thought, occa sion some speculation, it was concluded to be best to meet at his sister's, who readily offered her house for the purpose, and where there was a good pretense with her family and friends for my being often seen, as it was known we played together at chess. I undertook accordingly to draw up something of the kind; and so for that time we parted agreeing to meet at the same place again on the Wednesday following. I dined about this time by invitation with Governor Pownall.* There Thomas Pownall was born in Lincoln in England, in 1722. Well educated, with considerable literary ability, and with strong family connections, he took passage in 1753 for America, influenced in part by enthusiasm for the new world, in part by political ambition. In 1757 he was appointed governor of Massachusetts Bay. Here, however, he found himself troubled by the difficulty of accommodating himself to the semi-ecclesiastical popular system on the one side, and to the arbitrary expectations of the crown on the other. In 1760 he was transferred to New Jersey and, shortly afterwards was nominated as governor of South Carolina. In 1762, however, an offer of the comptroller-generalship of government expenditures in Germany brought him back to England. Elected a member of Parliament he distinguished himself by resolute opposition to the administration in all measures adverse to colonial interests. He contributed also through the press to the defense of those interests, publishing in 1776 a "Description of the Middle States of America," and in 1781 “A memorial to the sovereigns of Europe on the state of affairs between the old world and the new." His opposition to the administration, however, was that of indifference; he did not ally himself with the whig opposition, nor did he keep up, as did some of that opposition, any confidential intercourse with the American revolutionary was no company but the family; and after dinner we had a tête à-tête. He had been in the opposition; but was now about making his peace, in order to come into Parliament upon ministerial interest, which I did not then know. He told me, what I had before been told by several of Lord North's friends, that the American measures were not the measures of that minister, nor approved by him; that, on the contrary, he was well disposed to promote a reconciliation upon any terms honorable to government; that I had been looked upon as the great fomenter of the opposition in America and as a great adversary to any accommodation; that he, Governor P. had given a different account of me and had told his lordship that I was certainly much misunderstood. From the governor's further discourse I collected that he wished to be employed as an envoy or commissioner to America, to settle the differences, and to have me with him; but, as I apprehended there was little likeli hood that either of us would be so employed by government, I did not give much attention to that part of his discourse. I should have mentioned in its place (but one can not recollect everything in order) that, declining at first to draw up the propositions desired by Lord Howe, I alleged it being unnecessary, since the Congress in their petition to the king, just then received and presented through Lord Dartmouth, had stated their grievances, and pointed out very explicitly what would restore the ancient harmony, and I read a part of the petition to show their good dispositions, which, being very pathetically expressed, seemed to affect both the brother and sister. But still I was desired to give my ideas of the steps to be taken in case some of the propositions in the petition should not be thought admissible. And this, as I said before, I undertook to do. I had promised Lord Chatham to communicate to him the first important news I should receive from America. I therefore sent him the proceedings of the Congress as soon as I received them; but a whole week passed after I received the petition before I could, as I wished to do, wait upon him with it, in order to obtain his sentiments on the whole; for my time was taken up in meetings with the other agents to consult about presenting the petition, in waiting three different days with them on Lord Dartmouth, in consulting upon and writing letters to the speakers of assemblies, and other business, which did not allow me a day to go to Hayes. At last, on Monday, the 26th, I got out, and was there about 1 o'clock. He received me with an affectionate kind of respect, that from so great a man was extremely engaging, but the opinion he expressed of the Congress was still more so. They had acted, he said, with so much temper, moderation, and wisdom, that he thought it the most honorable leaders. In 1780 he withdrew from Parliament and lived in retirement until his death at Bath in 1805. This period of leisure he devoted in part to antiquarian inves. tigations and to study of political economy, on both of which topics he published essays. |