Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America Part 6

They may have it from Spain; they may have it from Prussia. But, until you become lost to all feeling of your true interest and your natural dignity, freedom they can have from none but you. This is the commodity of price of which you have the monopoly. This is the true Act of Navigation which binds to you the commerce of the Colonies, and through them secures to you the wealth of the world. Deny them this partic.i.p.ation of freedom, and you break that sole bond which originally made, and must still preserve, the unity of the Empire. Do not entertain so weak an imagination as that your registers and your bonds, your affidavits and your sufferances, your c.o.c.kets and your clearances, are what form the great securities of your commerce. Do not dream that your letters of office, and your instructions, and your suspending clauses, are the things that hold together the great contexture of the mysterious whole. These things do not make your government. Dead instruments, pa.s.sive tools as they are, it is the spirit of the English communion that gives all their life and efficacy to them. It is the spirit of the English Const.i.tution which, infused through the mighty ma.s.s, pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies every part of the Empire, even down to the minutest member.

Is it not the same virtue which does everything for us here in England?

Do you imagine, then, that it is the Land Tax Act which raises your revenue? that it is the annual vote in the Committee of Supply which gives you your army? or that it is the Mutiny Bill which inspires it with bravery and discipline? No! surely no! It is the love of the people; it is their attachment to their government, from the sense of the deep stake they have in such a glorious inst.i.tution, which gives you your army and your navy, and infuses into both that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble, and your navy nothing but rotten timber.

All this, I know well enough, will sound wild and chimerical to the profane herd [Footnote: 75] of those vulgar and mechanical politicians who have no place among us; a sort of people who think that nothing exists but what is gross and material, and who, therefore, far from being qualified to be directors of the great movement of empire, are not fit to turn a wheel in the machine. But to men truly initiated and rightly taught, these ruling and master principles which, in the opinion of such men as I have mentioned, have no substantial existence, are in truth everything, and all in all. Magnanimity [Footnote: 76] in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together. If we are conscious of our station, and glow with zeal to fill our places as becomes our situation and ourselves, we ought to auspicate [Footnote: 77] all our public proceedings on America with the old warning of the church, Sursum corda! [Footnote: 78] We ought to elevate our minds to the greatness of that trust to which the order of providence has called us. By adverting to the dignity of this high calling our ancestors have turned a savage wilderness into a glorious empire, and have made the most extensive and the only honorable conquests--not by destroying, but by promoting the wealth, the number, the happiness, of the human race. Let us get an American revenue as we have got an American empire. English privileges have made it all that it is; English privileges alone will make it all it can be.

In full confidence of this unalterable truth, I now, quod felix faustumque sit, [Footnote: 79] lay the first stone of the Temple of Peace; and I move you--

"That the Colonies and Plantations of Great Britain in North America, consisting of fourteen separate governments, and containing two millions and upwards of free inhabitants, have not had the liberty and privilege of electing and sending any Knights and Burgesses, or others, to represent them in the High Court of Parliament."

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote: 1. grand penal bill. This bill originated with Lord North.

It restricted the trade of the New England colonies to England and her dependencies. It also placed serious limitations upon the Newfoundland fisheries. The House of Lords was dissatisfied with the measure because it did not include all the colonies.]

[Footnote: 2. When I first had the honor. Burke was first elected to Parliament Dec. 26, 1765. He was at the time secretary to Lord Rockingham, Prime Minister. Previous to this he had made himself thoroughly familiar with England's policy in dealing with her dependencies--notably Ireland.]

[Footnote: 3. my original sentiments. After many demonstrations both in America and England the Stamp Act became a law in 1765. One of the first tasks the Rockingham ministry set itself was to bring about a repeal of this act. Burke made his first speech in support of his party. He argued that the abstract and theoretical rights claimed by England in matters of government should be set aside when they were unfavorable to the happiness and prosperity of her colonies and herself. His speech was complimented by Pitt, and Dr. Johnson wrote that no new member had ever before attracted such attention.]

[Footnote: 4. America has been kept in agitation. For a period of nearly one hundred years the affairs of the colonies had been intrusted to a standing committee appointed by Parliament. This committee was called "The Lords of Trade." From its members came many if not the majority of the propositions for the regulation of the American trade. To them the colonial governors, who were appointed by the king, gave full accounts of the proceedings of the colonial legislatures. These reports, often colored by personal prejudice, did not always represent the colonists in the best light. It was mainly through the influence of one of the former Lords of Trade, Charles Townshend, who afterwards became the leading voice in the Pitt ministry, that the Stamp Act was pa.s.sed.]

[Footnote: 5. a worthy member. Mr. Rose Fuller.]

[Footnote: 6. former methods. Condense the thought in this paragraph.

Are such "methods" practised nowadays?]

[Footnote: 7. paper government. Burke possibly had in mind the const.i.tution prepared for the Carolinas by John Locke and Earl of Shaftesbury. The scheme was utterly impracticable and gave cause for endless dissatisfaction.]

[Footnote: 8. Refined policy. After a careful reading of the paragraph determine what Burke means by "refined policy."]

[Footnote: 9. the project. The bill referred to had been pa.s.sed by the House on Feb. 27. It provided that those colonies which voluntarily voted contributions for the common defence and support of the English government, and in addition made provision for the administration of their own civil affairs, should be exempt from taxation, except such as was necessary for the regulation of trade. It has been declared by some that the measure was meant in good faith and that its recognition and acceptance by the colonies would have brought good results. Burke, along with others of the opposition, argued that the intention of the bill was to cause dissension and division among the colonies. Compare 7, 11-12.

State your opinion and give reasons.]

[Footnote: 10. the n.o.ble lord in the blue ribbon Lord North (1732-1792) He entered Parliament at the age of twenty-two, served as Lord of the Treasury, 1759; was removed by Rockingham, 1765; was again appointed by Pitt to the office of Joint Paymaster of the Forces, became Prime Minister, 1770, and resigned, 1781 Lord North is described both by his contemporaries and later histonaus as an easy-going, indolent man, short-sighted and rather stupid, though obstinate and courageous. He was the willing servant of George III, and believed in the principle of authority as opposed to that of conciliation. The blue ribbon was the badge of the Order of the Garter inst.i.tuted by Edward III Lord North was made a Knight of the Garter, 1772. Burke often mentions the "blue ribbon" in speaking of the Prime Minister. Why?]

[Footnote: 11. Colony agents. It was customary for colonies to select some one to represent them in important matters of legislation. Burke himself served as the agent of New York. Do you think this tact accounts in any way for his att.i.tude in this speech?]

[Footnote: 12. our address Parliament had prepared an address to the king some months previous, in which Ma.s.sachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion. The immediate cause of this address was the Boston Tea Party. The lives and fortunes of his Majesty's subjects were represented as being in danger, and he was asked to deal vigorously not only with Ma.s.sachusetts but with her sympathizers.]

[Footnote: 13. those chances. Suggested perhaps by lines in Julius Caesar, IV., iii., 216-219:--

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries."]

[Footnote: 14. according to that nature and to those circ.u.mstances.

Compare with 8. Point out the connection between the thought here expressed and Burke's idea of "expediency."]

[Footnote: 15. great consideration. This paragraph has been censured for its too florid style. It may be rather gorgeous and rhetorical when considered as part of an argument, yet it is very characteristic of Burke as a writer. In no other pa.s.sage of the speech is there such vivid clear-cut imagery. Note the picturesque quality of the lines and detect if you can any confusion in figures.]

[Footnote: 16. It is good for us to be here. Burke's favorite books were Shakespeare, Milton, and the Bible. Trace the above sentence to one of these.]

[Footnote: 17.

"Facta parentun Jam legere et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus."

--VIRGIL'S Eclogues, IV., 26, 27]

Notice the alteration. Already old enough to study the deeds of his father and to know what virtue is.

[Footnote: 18. before you taste of death. Compare 16.]

[Footnote: 19. Roman charity. This suggests the more famous "Ancient Roman honor" (Merchant of Venice, III., 11, 291). The incident referred to by Burke is told by several writers. A father condemned to death by starvation is visited in prison by his daughter, who secretly nourishes him with milk from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.]

[Footnote: 20. complexions. "Mislike me not for my COMPLEXION."--M. V.

Is the word used in the same sense by Burke?]

[Footnote: 21. the thunder of the state. What is the cla.s.sical allusion?]

[Footnote: 22. a nation is not governed.

"Who overcomes By force hath overcome but half his foe"

--Paradise Lost, 1, 648, 649.]

[Footnote: 23. Our ancient indulgence. "The wise and salutary neglect,"

which Burke has just mentioned, was the result of (a) the struggle of Charles I. with Parliament, (b) the confusion and readjustment at the Restoration, (c) the Revolution of 1688, (d) the att.i.tude of France in favoring the cause of the Stuarts, (e) the ascendency of the Whigs.

England had her hands full in attending to affairs at home. As a result of this the colonies were practically their own masters in matters of government. Also the political party known as the Whigs had its origin shortly before William and Mary ascended the throne. This party favored the colonies and respected their ideas of liberty and government.]

[Footnote: 24. great contests. One instance of this is Magna Charta.

Suggest others.]

[Footnote: 25. Freedom is to them Such keen a.n.a.lysis and subtle reasoning is characteristic of Burke It is this tendency that justifies some of his admirers in calling him "Philosopher Statesman". Consider his thought attentively and determine whether or not his argument is entirely sound. Is he correct in speaking of our Gothic ancestors?]

[Footnote: 26. Abeunt studia in mores. Studies become a part of character.]

[Footnote: 27. winged ministers of vengeance. A figure suggested perhaps by Horace, Odes, Bk. IV., 4: "Ministrum fulmims alitem"--the thunder's winged messenger.]

[Footnote: 28. the circulation. The Conciliation, as all of Burke's writings, is rich in such figurative expressions. In every instance the student should discover the source of the figure and determine definitely whether or not his author is accurate and suggestive.]

[Footnote: 29. its imperfections.

"But sent to my account With all my imperfections upon my head."

--Hamlet, I, v, 78, 79.]

[Footnote: 30. same plan. The act referred to, known as the Regulating Act, became a law May 10, 1774. It provided (a) that the council, or the higher branch of the legislature, should be appointed by the Crown (the popular a.s.semblies had previously selected the members of the council); (b) that officers of the common courts should be chosen by the royal governors, and (c) that public meetings (except for elections) should not be held without the sanction of the king. These measures were practically ignored. By means of circular letters the colonies were fully instructed through their representatives. As a direct result of the Regulating Act, along with other high-handed proceedings of the same sort, delegates were secretly appointed for the Continental Congress on Sept. 1 at Philadelphia. The delegates from Ma.s.sachusetts were Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Paine, and Thomas Cushing.]

[Footnote: 31. their liberties. Compare 24]

[Footnote: 32. sudden or partial view. Goodrich, in his Select British Eloquence, speaking of Burke's comprehensiveness in discussing his subject, compares him to one standing upon an eminence, taking a large and rounded view of it on every side. The justice of this observation is seen in such instances as the above. It is this breadth and clearness of vision more than anything else that distinguishes Burke so sharply from his contemporaries.]