127. Five difficulties' are discussed, one in each of paragraphs 127-131.

128. Outcry. Announcement that an auction is to be held. Composition. Terms of agreement by which a creditor accepts a smaller payment than is due.

130. Extent. A legal process for seizing a debtor's property to compel payment.

132. Contingent. Depending on chance.

To spare it altogether. He did speak on the subject at least twice more, though never in a long, formal effort. In November of 1776 he withdrew for fifteen months from all discussions of American affairs, because he wanted the world to know that he had no hand in such ruinous legislation.

133. Posita, etc. The game is played with the whole moneychest at stake.

Accumulated a debt. People had shown their patriotism by lending money; the country owed the debt to its citizens.

134. Absolute power. These words here and "a government purely arbitrary'' in 120 are colorless for us today, but to Burke they were the lurid realities of the ambition of a German king.

The quotation is from the fourth book of Paradise Lost. 135. Compounding. See composition, paragraph 128. Speed. Succeed.

136. Taxable objects. For example, on tobacco shipped from Virginia a duty was paid at London by the English merchant; then the merchant shipped to France and sold for a price that would pay the duty and yield him a good profit in addition.

137. In this peroration we see why Burke was so scornful of the arguments of "king's men'' about "unity" of empire. He says in this burst of feeling-as true and sensible as it is eloquent—that "participation of freedom is the sole bond that made and must always preserve the unity of empire." This single sentence sums up the whole difference between the Hanover conception of empire and the Anglo-Saxon conception.

138. Land Tax Act, etc. These three acts, providing for revenue and an army, had to be passed every year; hence Parliament had to be summoned every year, and a king had no chance to rule without Commons. It was therefore natural for Englishmen to think that these bills were the guaranty of their liberties.

139. Burke here carries out his figure of a "temple of concord" (92) and an "altar of peace" (95) by using profane and initiated. Men like North and Hillsborough were "'unfit to enter the temple'; men of Burke's party had been "admitted to the sacred rites." If all the members had glowed with zeal for wise government, they would have begun their proceedings with a sacred rite ("auspicate"), saying, as a priest does when he prepares the sacrament, "Lift up your hearts."'

140. Quod felix, etc. May it be prosperous and of good

omen.

A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Some of the best descriptions of the nature of the American Revolution:

The American Revolution, by John Fiske, vol. I, chapters

1-3.

The American Revolution, by G. O. Trevelyan, Part I,
chapters 2-8; Part II, vol. I.

George the Third and Charles Fox, by G. O. Trevelyan.
A History of the English People, by J. R. Green, Book IX,
chapter 2.

History of England in the Eighteenth Century, by W. E. H.
Lecky, vol. III, chapters 10, 11, and 12.

History of the American People, by Woodrow Wilson, vol.
II, chapter 3.

Lecky gives the most detailed account of the power of George III.

2. A striking (and quite reliable) revelation of the power of George III is Burke's Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. His speech on American Taxation illuminates many parts of the Conciliation, and his Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol shows his bitter feeling against the Teutonic machinations that had made conciliation almost impossible.

3. Better insight into the conditions that produced the Conciliation can be gained by reading about prominent statesmen of the time in the Dictionary of National Biography, the Encyclopedia Britannica, or any other good encyclopedia. Most enlightening are the lives of John Stuart (third Earl of Bute) and Frederick North. Others (approximately in order of direct usefulness) are Alexander Wedderburn, Fletcher Norton, John Dunning, William Pitt (the elder), the two Bathursts, Charles James Fox, Charles Townshend, George Grenville.

4. Anyone who can get access to the Parliamentary History will be abundantly repaid for looking through the recorded speeches of the session from December, 1774, to April, 1776.

APPENDIX

(Adapted, and enlarged, from the Manual for the Study of English Classics, by George L. Marsh)

HELPS TO STUDY

LIFE AND WORKS OF BURKE

When and where was Burke born (p. 22)? Where was he educated? For what purpose and when did he go to London? What was his first literary work (p. 22)?

What annual publication was he associated with for many years? In what ways did he prepare himself for his future work?

Who were the most important of his associates (p. 23)? When was he first seated in Parliament (p. 24), and what was the subject of his "maiden speech''?

For how long was he prominent in politics? With what general success (p. 26)?

What three great subjects was Burke particularly interested in during his political career?

What was his general attitude toward the policies of George III?

Summarize Burke's work on behalf of the American colonies, naming two important speeches and one letter which he wrote on the question.

What was Burke's most important work on the Indian question (p. 27)? The immediate result? The result in the long run?

What was his attitude toward the French Revolution (p. 28)? What is the common estimate of Burke as an orator and political philosopher (pp. 25, 26, 28)?

An interesting estimate of Burke may be found in Goldsmith's "Retaliation" (Newcomer and Andrews, Twelve Centuries of English Poetry and Prose, p. 380).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SPEECH ON CONCILIATION

What error as to the causes of the American Revolution has persisted in school books, but is corrected in this edition (p. 3) ? Collect from the various parts of this book the evidences of the editor's fundamental contention, and classify the evidence.

When did the "modern development of English liberties'' begin (p. 11)? How was real popular rule enforced even under the first two German kings (George I and II)? Did the cabinet government then differ materially from English cabinet government now? Specify differences if you find them.

What relation does the capture of Fort Duquesne, or the war of which it was an event, bear to the struggle against autocracy (p. 10)?

What are the main facts as to George III's race and character (pp. 14-21, 146-162)? How did he proceed to procure absolute control even under a parliamentary government?

Why did England begin to tax the colonies in America (p. 29) ? What had been the previous method of getting money from them? Note the use of these facts in the Speech on Conciliation.

By whom was the Stamp Act devised (p. 31)? What was its nature? Why did the colonies object to it? What was its fate? After how long an attempt to enforce it?

When did Lord North come into power (p. 32)? What sort of person was he? How long was he head of the administration? Note carefully the series of events indicating the colonies' attitude toward the principle of taxation (p. 35).

What was the "one simple cause (p. 16) elucidated by Burke in his Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, 1770? Do you find in the extracts from this pamphlet (pp. 218-236) material directly bearing on the American Revolution? Answer specifically.

When was Burke's Speech on American Taxation (pp. 169193) delivered the specific occasion (p. 169)? Find examples of the difference in tone between this speech and the Speech on Conciliation, as indicated on page 17.