INTRODUCTION 31 Revolution in France, in which he fiercely attacked the revolutionists, and rose to sublime heights of eloquence in defense of the hapless queen. His reputation as a defender of the people against the misgovernment of kings was at once changed into that of a most ardent defender of kings. The Reflections must be read in order to realize the fierceness of his attack upon the revolutionists and their defenders. The common belief, however, that Burke in this affair changed his princi- ples is incorrect. Burke was always a conservative. As has been said before, he was a believer in the reform of government under its existing system and principles, and he had always been radically opposed to changes in the form of governments. Pope's lines may be said to define Burke's position: " For forms of government let fools contest; What's best administered is best."
In 1794 Burke bade farewell to Parliament. His son Richard took his father's place as member from Malton. The king, who, by Burke's attack upon the French Revolutionists, had been changed from an enemy to an ardent friend, determined to make Burke a peer of the realm under the title of Lord Beaconsfield. The patent of nobility was being prepared when Burke's son Rich- ard, who was to succeed him in the title, suddenly died, thus destroying forever Burke's fondest hope of perpet- uating his name and greatness through his son. Disap- pointed and heart-broken, he writes of this time: " The storm has gone over me, and I lie like one of those old oaks which the late hurricane has scattered about me. I am stripped of all iny honors; I am torn up by the roots, and lie prostrate on the earth...I am alone. I have none to meet my enemies in the gate...I live in an i?iverted order. Thev who ought to have sue- 32 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION ceeded me have gone before me. They who should have been to me as posterity are in the place of ances- tors."
Burke accepted in lieu of the title a pension of twenty-five hundred pounds a year. He who had once fiercely opposed the granting of pensions to favorites was now bitterly attacked in turn. He answered his enemies in his Letter to a Nolle Lord, in which he justi- fied his acceptance of a pension.
In 1796, as his life drew to a close, he rose to one more mighty effort. Pitt, then Prime Minister, had determined upon a peace with France, England's heredi- tary enemy. At the very mention of peace Burke came to the front with Letters on a Regicide Peace with his old-time eloquence and power. This was his last great effort. He died on the 9th of July, 1797, at the age of about sixty-eight years, preserving his faculties to the end. His last thoughts could hardly have been pleas- ant ones, for, in addition to his personal disappoint- ments, he passed away just at a moment when his beloved England was in the midst of a mighty crisis.
" Y/ith magnanimous tenderness, Fox proposed that he should be buried among the great dead in Westmin- ster Abbey; but Burke had left strict injunctions that his funeral should be private, and he was laid in the little church at Beaconsfield."
Of his family, no descendants remain except those descended from his sister.
BUKKE'S PKIVATE LIFE His Friends. — Among Burke's friends should be mentioned his old teacher's son, Eichard Shackleton, a grave, pure gentle.nan, whom Burke loved most sin- cerely. They kept up a constant correspondence, and in later life Eichard visited Burke at Beaconsfield.
INTRODUCTION 33 There we find the pious Quaker kneeling alone in his chamber praying that a divine hand might guide his great friend in his mighty enterprises.
Another friend was William Burke, who was of no blood relation to Edmund, but who was his almost con- stant companion during the nine years from 1750 to 1759. Their friendship lasted to the end.
Another was the Marquis of Eockingham. Burke's appreciation of this noble friend is shown in his tribute to him in his Speech on American Taxation.
Another was Charles James Fox, in his earlier days his political opponent, but later his firm personal and political friend. The friendship of the two high souls unfortunately came to an end from an offense which Burke conceived Fox had given him by quoting as refu- tation of something Burke had said on the floor of the House a sentence from Burke's Speech on Conciliation. Burke's pride was so deeply wounded that he declared their friendship at an end. Fox explained, with tears in his eyes, that he meant no offense, and begged for a renewal of their friendship; but Burke had been too deeply wounded, and he ever after refused a recon- ciliation.
His happiest associations, outside his family, were among his friends at the famous " Literary Club," where he spent many delightful hours with Doctor Johnson, David Garrick, Sir Joshua Eeynolds, Oliver Goldsmith, and others, whose names are too familiar to need discus- sion here.
In his friendships Burke was noble, manly, and gen- erous, with the exception of his treatment of Fox, as related above, and a few other cases where trouble and grief had made him irritable in his later years.
Burke's Financial Affairs. — In his financial affairs Burke was no exception to the rule that most prominent 34: BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION men of the time were deeply in debt. His life from the time when his father cut off his allowance until the receipt of his first pension in 1763 was a struggle for a livelihood. After he joined his fortunes with Eocking- ham, in 1765, he was in easier circumstances from the beneficence of that nobleman, and by means of loans from his friends. In 1769 he performed an astonishing financial feat. With a very limited income, and with no apparent means otherwise, Burke purchased a fine estate of about six hundred acres at Beaconsfield in Bucking- hamshire at a cost of nearly twenty-two thousand pounds. How a " penniless man of letters " expected to pay for such an estate, or even to support its expense, is incom- prehensible; for, aside from a small income resulting from the property and from his profits as a writer, and for a short time from the receipt of seven hundred pounds per annum as agent for the colony of New York, he had no resources. It is known, however, that the property was mortgaged for almost its entire value, and that the sum actually paid — about six thousand pounds —was loaned to him by Eockingham and other friends. He died heavily in debt, having borrowed from Eocking- ham alone sums amounting to thirty thousand pounds.
This enormous debt was generously canceled in Eock- ingham's will.
BUEKE'S CHAEACTEKISTICS Personal Appearance. — In his personal appearance Burke was large and ungainly, awkward in gait and clumsy in his gestures. He was very near-sighted, and wore a pair of large spectacles, which, from their clumsi- ness of make at that time, were not qualified to add to the grace of one's personal appearance. He dressed badly, and destroyed whatever grace there was in his manner of dress by having his pockets stuffed out with INTRODUCTION 35 cumbrous rolls of manuscript. He spoke hurriedly, and with a strong Irish brogue. And yet there was about him that unmistakable air of the man of great affairs; the well-set lines of the mouth and the furrowed brow betokening the man of deep thought and suffering.
A Great Talker. — Burke was a great talker. Johnson said: " So desirous is he to talk, that if one is talking at this end of the table he'll talk to somebody at the other end;...that if you met him for the first time in the street, where you were stopped by a drove of oxen, and you and he stepped aside to take shelter but for five minutes, he'd talk to you in such a manner that when you parted you would say, 'This is an extraordinary man.' " Johnson also said that Burke was a better talker than listener — a not unnatural thing for the mo- nopolizing old doctor to say. However, he must have been good company; for a few days before Johnson's death Burke called upon him and expressed a fear that himself and his friends might be oppressive to the sick man. " No, sir! " said Johnson, " it is not so; and I must be in a wretched state, indeed, when your company is not a delight to me."
His greatest fault in conversation or in speaking was that of refining his argument or explanation to the point of " splitting hairs." Goldsmith describes him as follows, in his poem Retaliation: " Here lies our good Edmund, whose genius was such, We scarcely can praise it, or blame it too much; Who, born for the universe, narrowed his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind; Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote; Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on refining, And thought of convincing, while they thought on dining; Though equal to all things, for all things unfit; Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit: 36 BUEKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION For a patriot too cool, for a drudge disobedient, And too fond of the right to pursue the expedient. In short 'twas his fate, unemployed, or in place, sir, To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor."
Universal Interest. — Goldsmith was not far from the truth when he said that Burke was "fraught with all learning." He seemed able to lead the conversation, no matter what the subject. From the best method of rais- ing cabbages and carrots on his farm to the minutest question of finances, or to one of art or literature, he seemed equally well versed.
Generosity. — He was exceedingly generous. When the poet Crabbe, then unknown and poor, wrote a letter to Burke asking assistance, it happened that Burke was most deeply absorbed in his struggle with Lord North; nevertheless, he sent for the young poet, gave him a sum of money, and finally assisted him to a position as chap- lain to the Duke of Kutlaiid. In another case, when he himself was deeply in debt, he paid, with the assistance of his cousin and his brother, the expenses of a strug- gling painter named Barry, for a period of five years, while the latter was studying art upon the Continent. The painter repaid his kindness with ingratitude.
At another time he became the protector of two Brahmans who had come to England and had been badly treated by the people of London. He took them to his home at Beaconsfield, where he entertained them and gave them an apartment in which to perform the rites of their religion.
The bread that he cast upon the waters returned to him, for his friends — as in the case of Buckingham — seemed to want to shower money upon him, and his good friend Dr. Brocklesby, when Burke was in financial dis- tress, sent him a thousand pounds as a present, and begged the privilege of repeating the like every year.
INTRODUCTION 37 His Irritability in Old Age. — As Burke grew old he became very irritable whenever a political subject was broached. This characteristic became so marked after his publication of his Reflections on the French Revolu- tion, and the consequent defection of his political friends, that any reference to the subject had to be avoided in his presence. Miss Burney says that if the subject of politics were introduced into a pleasant conversation, his face immediately assumed " the expression of a man who is going to defend himself from murderers." The question of the French Revolution had become almost a mania with him. On account of it he broke his friend- ship with his best friends. After he had broken with Fox, in the memorable scene related by Morley in the article on Burke in the Encyclopedia Britannica, he was taken home in a carriage by his friend Mr. Curwen; but upon finding that this friend also differed with him on the question, he was with difficulty restrained from getting out of the carriage. This characteristic was undoubtedly the reason why he never attained to a posi- tion in the ministry. Says one who had frequently heard Burke's friends discuss the advisability of giving him a place in the ministry, " He was so violent, so overbearing, so arrogant, so intractable, that to have got on with him in a cabinet would have been utterly and absolutely impossible." And yet it is pleasant to think that, at this very time when he was most broken and irritable from misfortunes, the defection of almost all his old friends, and the death of his only son, a friend who called at Beaconsfield found him rolling on the floor in the highest glee engaged in boisterous play with some little children, " and pouring out in his gambols the sublimest images, mixed with the most wretched puns."
As an Orator. — See the paragraph on " Personal Ap- pearance " and the quotation from Goldsmith under 38 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION " A Great Talker " for some of his characteristics as an orator. According to most accounts he lacked power to hold his audience, probably because he " cut blocks with a razor." He refined his argument until it became wearisome. The younger members called him " the dinner bell," because his rising to speak was a signal for a general departure of the members as if for din- ner. It is said that his Speech on Conciliation " emptied the benches "; yet Macaulay says that at the trial of Warren Hastings his speech so affected the audience that "the energy and pathos of the great orator ex- torted expressions of unwonted admiration from all, and for a moment seemed to pierce even the resolute heart of the defendant. The ladies in the gallery...were in a state of uncontrollable emotion. Handker- chiefs were pulled out, smelling bottles were handed round, hysterical sobs and screams were heard, and some were even carried out in fits." The student will have to take his choice of these conflicting accounts.
As a Literary Man. — For a study of Burke as a liter- ary man and writer it is suggested that the student examine Clark's A Study of English Prose Writers, pages 291-322 (Scribners), or Minto's Manual of Eng- lish Prose Literature, pages 440-461 (Ginn & Co.).
Life Influence. — During his own time Burke's influ- ence upon affairs was not great except perhaps upon the administration of the affairs of India, in the prose- cution of Warren Hastings; but his good influence, through the study of his speeches and political writings, is incalculable. The march of ideas is always more irre- sistible than the march of armies. Those in power in Burke's time "wielded the thunder of the state "; their armies are dust and their navies have long since passed away; but the force of ideas which Burke mobilized and organized is still taking possession of citadels of INTRODUCTIO.N 39 civilization in all lands where his language is spoken; and thwpwjll take possession of you, students, if you really reaS them, and will, through you as citizens, con- tinue to influence the world for good government and for human right and liberty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY As one of the most important parts of a student's training is the development of the power to find looks upon any subject which he may be studying, it has been considered best not to give extended bibliographies, but rather to give such directions as will enable a student to make out his own bibliographies, and thus to acquire independent power in this important particular.
How to find Books. — The following method is sug- gested to the student as a guide in his search for books: Let it be supposed that the subject the student wishes to look up is The Causes of the Eevolution. Let him take some shorter history of the United States, say McLaughlin's (D. Appleton and Company), and turn to the word " Revolution " in the index. Here, under this word, he will find " causes of, 169-188." Now let him turn to page 169 and read the chapter. At its close he will find references, with the chapter or pages given, to ten other books. He should now write down in his notebook these references exactly as they are given, and ivlien read out such as are accessible to him. In these books he will find so many other references that he will not need any other bibliography than that which he can find for himself. This can be continued indefinitely.
Taking Notes. — In taking notes of that part of the chapter which will be of use to him, the student should be careful to write after each note the title of the book where it can be found, giving chapter and page, in order 40 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION that he may be able to refer to it again or to cite his authority for his statement should he be called upon to do so.
Look first at Home for Books. — Oftentimes a student will carry home from the library books copies of which have long lain upon the shelves of the bookcase at home. Examine the books at home before going to the libi-ary.
Scarcity of Books in Smaller Cities and Towns.— Schools in smaller cities and towns often complain of the want of books. It should be remembered that, alv though in these places there may not be so wide a range of books, there are fewer students to use those that may be found. The greatest difficulty in securing books oc- curs in those cities with large libraries where there are a hundred or more students wanting the same book. Even a small town is certain to contain enough books in private libraries to admit of a fairly successful study of Burke's Speech on Conciliation; and boys and girls who will take good care of these books will be able to borrow them, for those who like to read books like to loan them to persons who will take good care of them. If there be among the students a spirit of helping each other, there will be little difficulty in securing books.
The Bibliography. — The following bibliographies con- sist of the best and most available books on the subject of Burke's Speech on Conciliation. The books named also contain extended bibliographies.
BIBLIOGRAPHIES The Rise of the Spirit of Resistance I. BRIEF HISTORIES A. McLaughlin's History of the American Nation. D. Appleton and Company. $1.40.
B. McMaster's School History of the United States. American Book Company. $1.
INTRODUCTION 4.} C. Fiske's The American Revolution, 2 vols. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $4.
D. Leeky's The American Revolution. D. Appleton and Company.
E. G. W. Greene's Historical View of the American Revolution.
Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $1.50.
F. Sloane's The French War and the Revolution. Scribners. $1.25.
G. Fisher's The Colonial Era. Scribners. $1.25.
H. American Commonwealth Series, volumes concerning the Thir- teen Original Colonies. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
I. American Statesmen Series, lives of statesmen concerned in the Revolution. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $1.25 each.
II. EXTENDED HISTORIES A. Bancroft's History of the United States, 6 vols. D. Appleton and Company. $15.
B. McMaster's History of the People of the United States, 6 vols.
D. Appleton and Company. $15.
C. Hildreth's History of the United States, 6 vols. Harpers. $12.
D. Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, 8 vols.
Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $44.
E. Larned's History for Ready Reference and Topical Reading; article, United States; contains many original documents. The C. A. Nichols Company. $30.
F. Tyler's The Literary History of the American Revolution, 2 vols. Putnams. $3 each.
III. ORIGINAL SOURCES A. Parliamentary History of England, volumes covering period of the American Revolution.
B. Dodsley's Annual Register, volumes covering period of the American Revolution.
IV7". BOOKS CONTAINING BIBLIOGRAPHIES A. Channing and Hart's Guide to the Study of American History.
Ginn and Company. $2.
B. Winsor's Reader's Hand-Book of the American Revolution.
Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $1.25.
42 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION V. BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE HOUSE OF COMMONS A. McDonagh's The Boole of Parliament. Isbister and Company, Limited, London. 6s. (Excellent.)
B. Skottowe's A Short History of Parliament. Harpers. $1.25.
C. An Anecdotal History of the British Parliament, Jennings, compiler. I). Appleton and Company. $2.50.
D. Munsey's Magazine for November, 1897, contains a good article on The Parliaments of the World, by Thomas B. Reed.
VI. BIOGRAPHY OF EDMUND BURKE A. Morley's Life of Edmund Burke, English Men of Letters Series.
Harpers. $1.25. (Best short life.)
B. Encyclopedia Britannica, article, Burke, Edimmd, by John Morley; should be read by every student of the Speech on- Conciliation.
VII. BURKE AS A LITERARY MAN A. Clark's A Study of English Prose Writers. Scribners. (Excellent.) Contains good bibliography. $2.
B. Minto's A Manual of English Prose Writers. Ginn and Company; contains excellent discussion of Burke's style. $1.50.
VIII. THE STUDY OF ARGUMENTATION A. Baker's Principles of Argumentation. Ginn and Company; the standard work. $1.12.
B. Brookings and Ringwalt's Briefs for Debate. Longmans, Green and Company. $1.25.
IX. WHAT EVERY STUDENT OF BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION SHOULD READ A. Samuel Johnson's Taxation no Tyranny, Johnson's works.
This pamphlet states the English side of the case.
B. Burke's Speech on American Taxation and Burke's Letter tothe Sheriffs of Bristol, Burke's works. The Speech on Amer- rican Taxation states the American side of the case.
C. Beer's The Commercial Policy of England toward the American Colonies. The Macmillau Company. $1.
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE BRIEF The Thing of the Greatest Importance in the Compre- hending of Burke's Argument. — Burke's Speech on Con- ciliation is an answer to Lord North's " project " (para- graph 10), entitled Propositions for Conciliating the Differences with America, the text of which is given in the note on paragraph 10, page 140. Burke's argument can not be comprehended without a thorough knowl- edge of this " project." The student should master its meaning. The following diagram gives the simple plan of Burke's Speech: CONCILIATION (agreed to by both North and Burke).
North's method 1 (wrong).
Burke's method (right).
Burke contrasts the two methods.
The First Reading of the Speech. — It is well-nigh impossible for a student to succeed in making a correct brief of Burke's Speech on Conciliation without having first familiarized himself with the Speech by giving it several careful readings. The student is advised to give the Speech at least one very careful reading, examining the notes upon each paragraph as he reads it, in order to understand such expressions as "the grand penal bill," " the object," " the statute of Henry the Eighth," etc.
The Making of the Brief. — The skeleton brief here given is so arranged as to induct the student gradually into the making of the complete brief. The brief of the Introduction to the Speech is given in full as a 44 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION model. The student should compare it carefully with the first fourteen paragraphs of the Speech, observing how the paragraphs are reduced to sentences by finding the central thought of each. Occasionally a paragraph will contain two or more separate and important thoughts. If the student will carefully compare the Introduction with the brief of the Introduction, he will have no trou- ble in completing, by his own efforts, the brief of the remainder of the Speech on Conciliation.
The System of Numbering in the Brief. — In the brief of the Speech — 1. The larger divisions of the Speech have been marked in bold-faced capitals, thus: A, B, C, etc.
2. Subdivisions of 1., thus: I, II, III, etc.
3. Subdivisions of 2, ordinary capitals, thus: A, B, C, etc.
4. Subdivisions of 3, Arabic figures, thus: 1, 2, 3, etc.
5. Subdivisions of 4, small letters, thus: a, b, c, etc. The following will illustrate the scheme of numbering: A.
I. II.
A. B.
1. 2. 3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
In the brief here given, directions to the student are inclosed in brackets, and the numbers of paragraphs of INTRODUCTION 45 the Speech in marks of parenthesis, as in the following example: [Here follow with reasons, numbering 1, 2, 3..
Final Instructions for the Comparison of the Brief of the Introduction with the Introduction to the Speech, — If the student will work this out carefully, he will save many hours of fruitless labor.
Observe the following reduction of paragraphs to brief sentences: Paragraph (1) to I.
Paragraph (2) to II.
Paragraphs (3) and (4) to III, followed by a reason for the statement made therein, and marked A.
Paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8) to IV, followed by reasons A, B, and C: Paragraph (9) to V.
Paragraph (10) to VI, followed by a reason, A.
Paragraphs (11), (12), and a part of (13) to VII, fol- lowed by reasons A, B, C, and D.
The latter part of paragraph (13) to VIII, followed by reasons A and B.
This brings Burke to the statement, in paragraph (14), of the two questions which he intends to discuss in the Brief Proper, and which, in the Brief of the Intro- duction here given, are stated in A and B under IX.
In the latter part of paragraph (14), he bridges the chasm between the Introduction and the Argument of the Speech by the statement which is reduced to X.
The student should follow out this explanation with painstaking care, reading each paragraph from his book, and then reading the sentence to which the paragraph has been reduced. The Brief of the Introduction here given he should use as a model for the Brief Proper, which, to a great extent, he must make out for him. self.
46 BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION The Use of Full Sentences in Brief-making. — A brief should be made out in concise but complete sentences, not in phrases.
BRIEF OP BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION Introduction I. The return of the grand penal bill gives Parlia- ment another opportunity to choose a plan for the government of the American colonies (1). II. When Burke first entered Parliament, the gravity of this subject obliged him to take more than common pains to instruct himself in everything relating to it, and he arrived at fixed ideas (2).
III. He has continued ever since in his original sentiments (3); but Parliament, with the opportu- nity of an enlarged view, has frequently made unjustifiable changes in its sentiments (4); for— A. Its changes of policy have kept America in a state of continual agitation (4).
IV. Burke feels compelled to address the House (5-8)> for — A. Public sentiment now demands that the minority cease opposing, and present a plan for the government of America (5).
B. Though a member of the minority should not hazard plans of government (6), public calamity forces decorum to yield to a higher duty (7).
/Qy. C. His insignificance itself will cause his plan to be discussed upon its merit alone (8).
V. Burke's proposition is to secure peace by remov* ing the grounds of difference (9).
INTRODUCTION 47 VI. Burke's plan may disappoint some people (10), for — A. It is so simple that it will not appeal to the curious (10).
VII. Burke's plan derives advantages from the propo- sition and registry of Lord North's project (11), A. By accepting Lord North's resolution, the House has declared that concilia- tion is admissible' (11).
B. By accepting Lord North's resolution, the House has declared conciliation ad- missible previous to any submission on the part of the colonies (12).
C. By accepting Lord North's resolution, the House has gone further, and has admitted that complaints about the former mode of taxation have not been wholly unfounded (12).
D. Though Burke's plan differs from Lord North's as to mode, it is based on the same principle — that of conciliation VIII. The proposal for peace ought to originate with England (13); for— A. England, being the superior power, may