Platform: a statement of principles, like that issued by American political parties of to-day.
^[ 6. Seat of authority: emanating from the ministry.
Disreputably. Propositions which would prove not only in- effectual, but which would also prove discreditable to the pro- poser.
Tf 7. Paper government: theoretical schemes for government not based on actual experience; for example, Locke's Grand Model of a constitution for an empire in the Carolinas.
NOTES ON THE TEXT 139 Wholly separated: a plan to be executed by others than those by whom it was proposed.
T 8. Judging of what you are. The study of one's audience is one of the most important things to be considered in the making of an argument. No good lawyer would plead the same cause in the same manner before two different juries. Is Burke's proposition here a wise basis to argue from.'
Influence, natural or adventitious: natural, arising from natural ability; adventitious, due to rank, station, or to circumstances not within one's self.
You will treat it just as it deserves. Did Burke actually believe this i or is this a persuasive device to secure from the House an unprejudiced vote?
^[ 9. The proposition is peace: that is, Lord North's proposition in the resolution which is given in a note on ^f 10. In this bill Lord North proposes a method for securing peace.
Universal discord, fomented from principle: another reference to the resolution which is given in ^[ 10. Study the resolution. Colonel Barre, a member of the opposition, had accused the Prime Minister of adopting the famous maxim of Machiavelli, " divide and gov- ern," the principle by means of which a number of French kings had ruled; or, in other words, to conquer one's enemies by adroitly fomenting disputes among them, and thus weaken them by causing them to expend their rebellious energies upon each other. Burke's phrase therefore contains a covert thrust at the ministry.
Juridical determination: the settlement of a perplexing question in colonial affairs by the application of the letter rather than the spirit or original intention of the law. For example, in New York and New England ten thousand beaver hats were made annually. The exportation of these hats was injuring the interests of English hat makers. They complained to Parliament. Parliament did not prohibit the making of hats in the colonies. It settled the " per- plexing question " by a " juridical determination." It applied to the case, in 1732, the " apprentice law " of Queen Elizabeth, a law made bcfor- either New York or New England existed. This law required all hat makers to have served an apprenticeship of seven years. No master should have more than two apprentices, and these must serve seven years. Thus a factory with but one master hat maker could have but three workmen. This is an example of what Burke means by an " occasional system." (See note on " occac sional system," \ 16.)
14:0 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION The meaning of the phrase "juridical determination" should be mastered by the student, as the principle involved underlay the policy of Lord North's ministry. It is this principle which is the object of Burke's attack.
Peace sought in the spirit of peace. Lord North had proposed to conciliate the colonies, but his plan for securing peace by the so-called " conciliation " was by retaliation and punishment in case of a refusal to accept his proposition. It was to foment disputes among the colonists rather than to seek their friendship.
Former unsuspecting confidence...This phrase had been used by the Colonial Congress in Philadelphia a year before to express gratification felt on account of the repeal of the Stamp Act. It should be noticed here with what force Burke uses the statement of the colonists to drive home his implied charge that Lord North's policy was based on treachery, chicanery, and deceit.
It will be observed that almost every sentence in ^f 9 contains a thrust at Lord North, the Prime Minister.
^[ 10. Refined policy: modern term for this is "sharp practice," double dealing, or conduct opposed to that which is open and frank.
Pruriency: an itching desire to hear out of curiosity rather than from any real or proper interest in the subject.
The project. Lord North's "project," which passed the House February 27, 1775t was entitled " Propositions for Conciliating the Differences with America." The resolution is as follows: " That when the governor, council, or assembly, or general court, of any of his Majesty's provinces or colonies in America, shall propose to make provision, according to the condition, circumstances, and situation of such province or colony, for contributing their propor- tion to the common defense (such proportion to be raised under the authority of_£h_e jjeneral cpurt_pr general assembly of such province or colony, and disposable by Parliament), and shall engage to make provision also for~Ttre support of the civil government and the administration of justice, in such province or colony, it will be proper, if such proposal shall be approved by his Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament, and for so long as such provision shall be made accordingly, to forbear, in respect of such province or colony, to levy any duty, tax, or assessment, or to impose any fur- ther duty, tax, or assessment, except such duties as it may be expe- dient to continue to levy or impose, for regulation of commerce; the net produce of the duties last mentioned to be carried to the account of such province or colony respectively."
NOTES ON THE TEXT As this is the resolution which provoked Burke's speech, its meaning should be mastered by the student. He should study the resolution until he finds out the phrases which would give Lord North loopholes of escape from his part of the agreement in case of necessity. For example, what taxes might be levied and collected under the phrase " for regulation of commerce," near the close of the paragraph?
Noble lord in the blue ribbon: Lord North, who was a Knight of the Garter. The badge of this order was a blue ribbon.
Frederick North was the second son of the Earl of Guilford, and therefore not a "lord" except by courtesy. Sons and younger brothers of peers are " lords " only by courtesy; legally they are only commoners. North, however, succeeded to a lordship upon the death of his father, in 1790.
Lobby. The lobby consists of certain anterooms to the chamber where the House sits. Colony agents were allowed in the lobby, but not on the floor of the House.
Squabbling colony agents. As the colonies had no representa- tion in Parliament they employed " colony agents " who resided in London, and whose duty it was to watch over the interests of the colonies for which they were agents. They were practically lobby- ists in the House of Commons. Read in Franklin's Autobiography the account of his experiences as agent for Pennsylvania, Mary- land, Massachusetts, and Georgia. Burke himself had been colony agent for New York.
A study of Lord North's resolution for Conciliating the Differ- ences with America will show that the enactment of this resolution would have resulted in a squabble among the colony agents for privileges, and that it would have resulted in intercolonial enmi- ties; so Burke was justified in his insinuation that Lord North's purpose was " to divide and govern."
Interposition of your mace. The mace is the emblem of authority of the sergeant-at-arms. In case of disorder in the House the ser- geant-at-arms takes the mace from the table in front of the Speakrr and carries it to the scene of disorder, at which the disputants are supposed to subside.
Auction of finance. Under Lord North's " project " the colonies, through their agents, would bid for exemption from taxation by Parliament, according to Burke's figure of speech, as people bid for articles at an auction. The colony contributing tin- most would senure the most privileges. In other words, they would have to buy 142 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION from Parliament the rights already theirs by virtue of their being Englishmen.
Knock down the hammer: the granting of special privileges to a colony on account of its having offered the highest contribution under Lord North's conciliation bill; as an article, by the blow of the auctioneer's hammer on the table at an auction, is " knocked down " to the highest bidder.
Beyond all powers of algebra, etc. No power of mathematical calculation could enable a man to determine what would be a fair contribution on the part of the colony for a certain privilege, because of the widely different conditions in the different colonies.
T[ 11. Proposition and registry: proposition, the introduction of a bill; and registry, the placing of the bill upon the journal of the House after its passage.
Lord North's bill claimed conciliation for its purpose. Burke takes him at his word, and proceeds to show that the principle is correct, but that Lord North's method would not conciliate — it would only intensify the trouble. Notice the adroitness with which Burke finds the open spot in his enemy's armor. Students should notice throughout this speech that this is Burke's method; for instance, in the examples of concessions made in former years to Ireland, Wales, Chester, and Durham (T[^[ 79-88) he forces his point con- tinually by showing that the same thing he asks has been done repeatedly with success in the past. The keynote of his method of argument is to take advantage of those concessions to which Par- liament or the ministry had committed itself. *• Accepting the resolution. See note on " the project," Tf 10.
Menacing front of our address: a reference to an address pre- sented to the king by Parliament, February 9, 1775, assuring the king that Parliament would consent to no relinquishment of his authority over the colonies.
Heavy hills of pains and penalties: such as the Boston Port Bill and the Grand Penal Bill.
Free grace and bounty: concessions such as had been granted to Ireland, Wales, Chester, and Durham (see Tf*[f 79-88), and such as Burke intended to propose for the colonies.
The pupil should take notice that this paragraph foretells the method of Burke's entire argument. He does not argue from his own standpoint or from a sense of'right, but, adjusting himself to a prejudiced majority, he takes Lord North's own proposition of con- ciliation (see note on " the project," T[ 10). This method of argument NOTES ON THE TEXT 14.3 consists in taking up an opponent's argument and turning it against him. The student who fails to observe this all through the speech does not read the speech.
1 12. It has declared...and has admitted: by the passage of Lord North's resolution proposing conciliation (see note on If 10). Another example of Burke's method of taking advantage of his adversary's statements.
Former mode of exerting the right of taxation: by the Stamp Act, and by other similar measures which were very obnoxious to the colonists.
Capital alteration: change of plan as suggested by the word " conciliation " in the resolution in note on J 10, Lord North's " project."
The method of argument mentioned in the note at the close of ^[ 11 is carried yet further in this paragraph. The student should notice the remarkable adroitness with which Burke, here and later in the speech, takes advantage of his opponents. This plan is not, however, a very safe method of argument, if one's purpose be to convince or persuade; for it is very likely to produce the opposite result and to offend an opponent rather than to con- vince or persuade him. A speaker in thus finding the holes in an opponent's armor is likely to touch the pride of his opponent, and instead of persuading him succeeds in driving him further away. The fact is that Burke's method of argument here was qualified to have any other effect than the conciliation of his oppo- nents, as was shown by the vote on his resolutions, for which see The student who studies this speech for the purpose of acquiring skill in persuasion should not fail to note the fact that Burke's method is highly qualified to intensify the prejudices of his oppo- nents; that while his argument was unanswerable, yet, because he stabbed the pride of his opponents to the heart, he utterly failed in persuading them. As the purpose of argument is not so much to argue as to change minds, it may be better to avoid this method. Burke was a better arguer than persuader (see resolution, T 140). Observe that the truth of this resolution is self-evident, and that no man could have voted "nay" on this resolution from any other motive than that of party policy or of pure contrariness, which Burke's speech was well qualified to incite.
T[ 13. The principle. What is this principle?
Admitted principle. How and where admitted!
144: BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION Peace with honor: peace without the exercise of tyranny.
Here the student will find a clear statement of Burke's determi- nation to turn Lord North's weapon against him.
Tf 14. The object: America and her value to Great Britain commercially.
Abstract ideas of right. What does he mean by this?
Observe Burke's methodical and logical division of his brief proper. He subdivides the question of conciliation into two parts, takes them up in order, and exhausts the argument upon each in its turn. The power to do this by the student is the true purpose of the study of this speech, and will be worth more to him in after years than any mere knowledge that he may acquire of the speech.
Tf 15. Object. See note on " the object," Tf 14.
Two millions. Burke's estimate of the population of the colonies has since been shown to be very nearly correct.
Study the last half of this paragraph carefully, in order to find out how Burke enforces his point formerly made — " that no tempo- rary expedient will do"; that Parliament must "attend to the whole of it together "; and " review the subject with an unusual degree of care and calmness " (Tf 1).
^f 16. A blunter discernment. Study this. Is this a covert slur, or does Burke allude to the king?
Occasional system: deciding a question temporarily, instead of basing the decision upon permanent principles.
In the Speech on American Taxation he says: " Sir, it is not a pleasant consideration; but nothing in the world can read so awful and instructive a lesson as the conduct of ministry in this business, upon the mischief of not having large and liberal ideas in the man- agement of great affairs. Never have, the servants of the state looked at the whole of your complicated interests in one connected view. They have taken things by bits and scraps, some at one time and one pretense, and some at another, just as they pressed, without any sort of regard to their relations or dependencies. They never had any kind of system, right or wrong; but only invented occa- sionally some miserable tale for the day, in order meanly to sneak out of difficulties, into which they had proudly strutted. And they were put to all these shifts and devices, full of meanness and full of mischief, in order to pilfer piecemeal a repeal of an act which they had not the generous courage, when they found and felt their error, honorably and fairly to disclaim."
NOTES ON THE TEXT 14.5 Minima: little things; paltry things; things not worthy of deep consideration; a reference to the legal maxim de minimis non curat lex — the law takes no account of trifles. "It is an awful sub- ject, or there is none so on this side of the grave."
With impunity. Observe the fulfillment of this prophecy. This statement was made on the 22d of March, 1775; the ministry did not think concerted armed resistance in the colonies within the limits of possibilities. The battle of Lexington occurred on the f 17. In this paragraph Burke shows especial skill in suiting his argument to his audience. In the Speech on American Taxa- tion he plead for the rights of the Americans; now he appeals to the English commercial instinct, their greed, their belief that the colonies existed for the benefit of the mother country, and tries to show Parliament that it is for the commercial interests of Eng- land that they should conciliate and be content with some profit, rather than suffer the loss of both capital and profit by driving the colonists to a possibly successful rebellion. (The commercial idea is simply introduced here; it is carried out further on in the speech.)
A distinguished person: Mr. Glover, born 1712, died 1785. In 1742 he had presented to Parliament a petition of the merchants of London, asking for the protection of their commerce from the Spaniards. Different editors have called attention to the fact that, as Mr. Glover appeared again in 1775, Burke should have said thirty-three instead of thirty-five years.
Mr. Glover was the author of two long epics, Leonidas and The Athenaid, both of which were much read in the eighteenth century, but are now almost forgotten.
At your bar: a rod or bar across the main entrance to the chamber in which the House of Commons sits, and which may be passed by officers and members only. All other persons presenting petitions or other communications must do so from outside the bar.
If 19-24. General note.
These paragraphs have special value to the student of argumen- tation. The student can not fail to realize the value of the statistics contained in these paragraphs to Burke's argument; that is, the value of carefully collected information as indisputable proof of his statements. It will be observed here that Burke had collected his proof without regard to the amount of effort and pains required. A successful argument can not be built upon imagination alone; it 146 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION must be sustained by facts. These facts can be obtained only by the most patient research; and the student who hopes to become a master of argument must learn how to make this research in a great library. The man who will make careful research is bound to be the master of the man who is too indolent to make it. The student should learn a lesson here.
Tl" 19. Davenant: Charles Davenant, inspector general of exports and imports, appointed 1705; son of Sir William Davenant, once poet laureate of England.
T[ 20. African: referring to the slave trade, which was carried on between Africa and the colonies only, and therefore properly included here by Burke.
*J[ 21. The student should turn the figures used in Burke's sta- tistics into their American equivalent of dollars, estimating the pounds in round numbers at five dollars. The purchasing power of a pound, however, was several times greater than now.
Tf 24. Unnatural protuberance. Selby says: " Has not our increased trade with America been purchased at the cost of our trade with other countries? Have we not spent so much in America that we have nothing left to spend in other countries t A protu- berance means, literally, a bulging or swelling. The killing of one trade by another is compared to the death of a man from a tumor, which absorbs the juices that ought to go to sustain the rest of his body."
Tf 25. It is good for us to be here: Mark ix, 2-5; Matthew Clouds indeed and darkness..." The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it."
Lord Bathurst: Allen Apsley Bathurst, born 1684, died 1775, six months after this speech was made. He was made Baron Bathurst in 1711, and after his son Henry was made Lord Chancellor in 1771, was created earl in 1772, out of compliment to his son. This information, however, is not so important to the student as is the study of the effect of this burst of eloquence in attracting and hold- ing the attention of Burke's audience. The pupil should determine Burke's purpose in this paragraph.
Acta parentum jam legere, et quae sit poterit cognoscere virtus: To read the deeds of his forefathers, and to know what virtue is. Adapted from Vergil, Eclogues, iv, 26, 27.
NOTES ON THE TEXT 14.7 Third prince of the House of Brunswick. George the Third was not the son, but the grandson, of George the Second; so, while he was the third prince (king) of the house of Brunswick, he was of the fourth generation.
Was to be made Great Britain. The name Great Britain, as ap- plied to the kingdom, had its origin in the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707.
A small seminal principle: a germ. ' Before you taste of death: Matthew xvi, 28; John viii, 52; Julius Ccesar, Act II, sc. ii, 33.
1 26. The student should note here with what skill and effect- iveness Burke uses his comparison of colonial trades. He goes from the general to the particular. He first shows the smallness of the export trade to the colonies in 1704, then its comparatively enor- mous extent in 1772; then he compares the whole export trade of England in 1704 to that to the colonies alone in 1772; then he fur- ther enforces his point by bringing his comparison down to the grasp of the weakest mind in his audience by citing a comparison of the export trade to one colony in 1704 with the export trade to that colony in 1772. Observe how he drives his point home in 1 29. Burke's argumentative purpose in this paragraph is to show that the time would come when the colonies should be abso- lutely necessary to Great Britain to supply her with food. The stu- dent should hold this and the succeeding paragraph in mind, and should watch for the place in the speech where Burke makes use of this information which he has implanted in the minds of his hear- ers. In short, he is preparing their minds for a conclusion to be reached further on in the speech. Where does England get her present food supply?
A Bximan charity: reference to an old Roman tale in which one Cimon, who had been condemned to death by starvation, was kept alive by his daughter Xanthippe with milk from her own breast.
1 30. Burke has a hidden purpose in this paragraph. He does not openly threaten Parliament with danger from the fighting qualities of the colonists, but he leaves the impression, while simply expressing his admiration of their bold courage, that men who will penetrate into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson Bay and Davis Straits in the north and to the far Falkland Islands in the south are not to be coerced. It may be said that tin's paragraph is an enforcement of the point made in the iast sentence of 1 16.
148 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION Brawn from the sea. The inhabitants of nearly all the coast iowns of New England were engaged in catching and curing fish from the Newfoundland fisheries. They carried on an extensive commerce in trading the cured fish for molasses and rum in the West Indies. The student who has studied the Navigation Acts carefully will remember how the British Government tried to restrict this trade.
Frozen Serpent: a constellation under the antarctic circle.
Falkland Island: one of a group of islands east of the southern extremity of South America. Used here to convey the idea of the extremest extent of navigation to the southward.
Draw the line and strike the harpoon: technical terms concerning the use of the rope and harpoon in whale fishing.
Bun the longitude. As Burke has formerly shown that American fishermen sailed to the extreme north and to the extreme south of the Atlantic, here he shows that they also plied their trade to the extreme limits of the Atlantic east and west, or from Davis Straits to the Falkland Islands, and from Africa to Brazil.
T[ 32. Complexions: an intimation that the opinions of certain gentlemen in the House were biased by the professions that they followed.
Those who understand the military art. In February, 1775, Gen- eral Burgoyne, then a member of Parliament, made a heated speech favoring military coercion of the colonies. It will be remembered that he was afterward sent to carry out his idea, and became con- vinced of his error at Saratoga in 1777.
Wield the thunder: reference to the ministry, who have control of armies and navies. In this case the reference is to Lord North.
^[^[ 33-36. Observe in these paragraphs how carefully Burke has prepared and arranged the points of his argument.
^f 33. Force alone is but temporary. " But I think that young men who exercise their understanding, and expect to become capa- ble of teaching their fellow-citizens what is for their interests, grow by no means addicted to violence, knowing that on violence attend enmity and danger, but that by persuasion the same results are attained without peril, and with good will; for those who are com- pelled by us, hate us as if despoiled of something, while those who are persuaded by us, love us as if they had received a favor. It is not the part, therefore, of those who cultivate the intellect to use violence; for to adopt such a course belongs to those who possess brute force without intellect. Besides, he who would venture to NOTES ON THE TEXT NOTES ON THE TEXT use force has need of no small number of allies; but he who can succeed with persuasion has need of none, for, though left alone, he will think himself still able to persuade; and it by no means be- longs to such men to shed blood, for who would wish to put another man to death rather than to have him as a living subject persuaded to obey?" — Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book I, chap, ii, Tf^f 10, 11.
Tf 88. This fierce spirit of liberty. Take note that Burke here gives the general points which he elaborates in ^T^f 39-45.
T 39. Abstract liberty. To illustrate this, the American colo- nies would never have resisted even a constantly renewed statement on the part of the mother country that she had the right to tax the colonies, unless she had attempted to assert this right by levying and attempting the collection of a tax on some definite article, such as tea — that is, " liberty inheres in some sensible object." Sensible here means capable of being known by the senses.
Mediately or immediately: that is, by their own acts or by the acts of their representatives.
A monopoly of theorems: to assert their right to privileges under certain principles of the English Constitution, but to refuse the same to the colonists, who were Englishmen as much as were the members of Parliament themselves.
^[ 40. Popular -. " of the people, for the people, and by the people.''
T 41. Dissidence cf dissent. As Protestantism protested against Roman Catliolici.-m. so Puritanism, in turn, protested against Protestantism.
Tf 42. Gothic ancestors: Teutonic or Germanic ancestors, who in their villages or hams allowed no man to assert superiority over others, except by their own suffrages. See Green's Short History of the English People, chap. i.
Poles: reference to the partition of Poland by and among Rus- sia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772. The desperate struggle of the Poles for liberty is commemorated in Campbell's The Downfall of Poland. It will be remembered that Kosciusko, the leader of the Poles, came to America and took part in the American Revolution, If 43. Congress: the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia, September, 1774. Look up the names of the mem- bers, and note what proportion were lawyers.
Blackstone's Commentaries: the most important book used in the study of English law, the first volume of the correct edition <A which was published in 1765.
150 BURKE 'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION By successful chicane. General Gage, commandant of the troops in Boston, forbade the holding of any town meetings after June, 1774. The people of Boston continued to hold their meetings with- out violating his order by simply adjourning to meet at a future date, so that they did not call any meetings — they simply attended adjourned meetings.
My honorable and learned friend: Attorney-General Thurlow, whom Burke noticed taking notes of the speech. At the close of Burke's speech Thurlow used these notes to great advantage; for in a very brief speech he so fully destroyed the effect of Burke's effort as to produce an adverse vote of 270 to 78.
The student will observe here that Burke did not talk, like some speakers, at the ceiling in an oratorical way; he talked right at his audience. The greatest fault of young speakers is that they do not look at their audiences, and therefore fail to hold their attention.
On the floor: the space between the benches on the two sides of the chamber. The benches occupied by the members are in tiers rising toward the walls, and the opposing parties of the House face each other. The ministers, or party leaders, occupy the first row of benches, which are on the floor. (See House of Commons, p. 23.)
When great honors and great emoluments. Prominent citizens of Boston had been proffered high-salaried offices in order to attach them to the English side of the controversy; but to a man they had refused, or had resigned when they discovered the motive. James Otis was one of these.
Abeunt studia in nores: studies pass into character, or the things that we learn in our studies or pursuits become convictions that are moving forces in our lives (Ovid, Heroides, xv, 83). Read, in Bacon's Essays, No. 50, Of Studies.
T 44. "Winged ministers of vengeance: the sail ships of which the English navy was then composed.
Pounces. Burke compares the ships to the eagle, which in Greek mythology is represented as carrying the thunderbolts of Zeus in its pounces or talons.
So far shalt thou go: Job xxxviii, 11.