een one of the first to advise coercive
measures."

Ex-Lord Chancellor Camden excelled every other speaker, except Lord
Chatham, in the discussion; he declared in the course of his speech:

"This I will say, not only as a statesman, politician, and philosopher,
but as a common lawyer: My lords, you have no right to tax America; the
natural rights of man, and the immutable laws of nature, are all with
that people. King, Lords, and Commons are fine-sounding names, but King,
Lords, and Commons may become tyrants as well as others. It is as lawful
to resist the tyranny of many as of one. Somebody once asked the great
Selden in what book you might find the law for resisting tyranny. 'It
has always been the custom of England,' answered Selden, 'and the custom
of England is the law of the land.'"

After several other speeches and much recrimination, and a
characteristic reply from Lord Chatham, his motion was rejected by a
majority of sixty-eight to eighteen; but the Duke of Cumberland, the
King's own brother, was one of the minority. The King triumphed in what
he called "the very handsome majority," and said he was sure "nothing
could be more calculated to bring the Americans to submission." The
King's prediction of "submission" was followed by more united and
energetic resistance in the colonies.

But Lord Chatham, persevering in his efforts of conciliation,
notwithstanding the large majority against him, brought in, the 1st of
February, a Bill entitled "A Provisional Act for Settling the Troubles
in America, and for Asserting the Supreme Legislative Authority and
Superintending Power of Great Britain over the Colonies." The Bill,
however, was not allowed to be read the first time, or even to lie on
the table, but was rejected by a majority of sixty-four to thirty-two--a
contempt of the colonists and a discourtesy to the noble mover of the
Bill without example in the House of Lords.

In the meantime, petitions were presented to the Commons from various
towns in England, Scotland, and Ireland, by manufacturers and merchants
connected with the colonial trade. On the 23rd of January, Alderman
Hayley presented a petition from the merchants of the City of London
trading to America, stating at great length the nature and extent of the
trade, direct and indirect, between Great Britain and America, and the
immense injury to it by the recent Acts of Parliament, and praying for
relief; but this petition was conveyed to the "Commi