uld be lost to them forever. Burke,
in the same vein, represented the impolicy of carrying on the war, and
advised the government to meet the colonists with a friendly
countenance, and no longer allow Great Britain to appear like "a
porcupine, armed all over with acts of Parliament oppressive to trade
and America." Fox spoke of Lord North as "a blundering pilot," who had
brought the nation into its present dilemma. Neither Lord Chatham nor
the King of Prussia, not even Alexander the Great, he declared, ever
gained more in one campaign than the noble lord had lost--he had lost
an entire continent. While not justifying all the proceedings of the
colonists, he called upon the Administration to place America where
she stood in 1763, and to repeal every act passed since that time
which affected either her freedom or her commerce. Wedderburne and
Dunning, the ablest lawyers in the House, took opposite sides. The
former, as Solicitor-General, threw the weight of his opinion in favor
of rigorous measures, and hoped that an army of not less than sixty
thousand men would be sent to enforce Parliamentary authority.
Dunning, his predecessor in office, questioned the legality of the
king's preparations for war without the previous consent of the
Commons. Then, later in the debate, rose Lord North, the principal
figure in the Ministry, and whom the Opposition held mainly
responsible for the colonial troubles, and defended both himself and
the king's address. Speaking forcibly and to the point, he informed
the House that, in a word, the measures intended by the government
were to send a powerful sea and land armament against the colonists,
and at the same time to proffer terms of mercy upon a proper
submission. "This," said the Minister, "will show we are in earnest,
that we are prepared to punish, but are nevertheless ready to
forgive; and this is, in my opinion, the most likely means of
producing an honorable reconciliation."

But all the eloquence, reasoning and appeal of the Opposition failed
to have any more influence now than in the earlier stages of the
controversy, and it again found itself in a hopeless minority. Upon a
division of the House, the king was supported by a vote of 278 to 110.
The address presented to him closed with the words: "We hope and trust
that we shall, by the blessing of God, put such strength and force
into your Majesty's hands, as may soon defeat and suppress this
rebellion, and enable your Majesty to