ington. Two copies of them were sent to General Heath, with
directions to deliver one of them to General Burgoyne, and with
farther directions, "to order the vessels which may have arrived, or
which shall arrive, for the transportation of the army under
Lieutenant General Burgoyne, to quit, without delay, the port of
Boston."

[Sidenote: Burgoyne permitted to depart.]

On receiving these resolutions, General Burgoyne addressed a letter to
congress, containing papers, on which he founded a defence of his
conduct, and insisted on the embarkation of his army, as stipulated in
the convention; but the committee, to whom these papers were referred,
reported their opinion, after the most attentive consideration of
them, to be, "that nothing therein contained was sufficient to induce
congress to recede from their resolves of the 8th of January last,
respecting the convention of Saratoga." This application was
accompanied by another letter from General Burgoyne, to be delivered
if the army should still be detained, in which, in consideration of
the state of his health, he solicited permission to return to England.
This request was readily granted.

The impression made on the British nation by the capitulation of
Burgoyne, notwithstanding the persevering temper of the king, at
length made its way into the cabinet, and produced resolutions in
favour of pacific measures.

{1778}

{February.}

After the rejection of repeated motions made by the opposition members
tending to the abandonment of the American war, Lord North gave
notice, in the House of Commons, that he had digested a plan of
reconciliation which he designed shortly to lay before the house.

[Sidenote: Plan of reconciliation with America agreed to in
Parliament.]

In conformity with this notice, he moved for leave to bring in,
"first, A bill for removing all doubts and apprehensions concerning
taxation by the Parliament of Great Britain in any of the colonies and
plantations of North America.

"Second. A bill to enable his Majesty to appoint commissioners with
sufficient powers to treat, consult, and agree upon the means of
quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of the colonies of
North America."

The first contained a declaration that Parliament will impose no tax
or duty whatever payable within any of the colonies of North America,
except only such duties as it may be expedient to impose for the
purposes of commerce, the net produce of which s