should not sacrifice his
mature judgment to their opinion, or be subservient to their mandates.
As a whole the election satisfied the king, for the ministers had a
large and indeed an increased majority.

"I am not sorry," George wrote on hearing of the proceedings of
congress, "that the line of conduct seems now chalked out; the New
England colonies are in a state of rebellion, blows must decide whether
they are to be subject to this country or independent." He expressed the
feeling of by far the larger part of his people. Not of all, for his
ministers North and Dartmouth and a few of their party, were averse from
violent measures; the merchants who traded with America were anxious for
conciliation; and the whigs as a body were opposed to the king's policy.
Chatham exulted in "the manly wisdom and calm resolution of congress".
The experience and sentiments of his great days led him to foresee that,
in case of war France and Spain would seize the opportunity of attacking
England. Unfortunately his theory that the colonies owed only a limited
obedience to the crown, that while parliament had a right to crush
disobedience and to pass acts regulating trade, it had no right to
impose taxes, his violence, his inveterate habit of "talking
fustian,"[96] and his friendship with Franklin, who was commonly
regarded as a rebel, deprived his warnings of the weight which they
deserved. The Rockingham party did not act cordially with him. It was
inspired by Burke who urged that parliament should disregard the
question of right, should act in accordance with the spirit rather than
the letter of the constitution, should respect a desire for free
institutions, and should be guided by what was practicable and what was
advisable, specially with reference to England's trade. His influence
was somewhat injured by the fact that since 1771 he had been the paid
agent of the province of New York. Equally with Chatham, he considered
that colonial trade and industry should be restrained in order to bring
wealth to the mother-country, nor does either of them seem to have
perceived that the root of American discontent lay in these
restrictions.

[Sidenote: _THE CRISIS UNDER-ESTIMATED._]

It was not until 1776 that Adam Smith in his famous _Wealth of Nations_
showed that such restrictions were actually injurious to the prosperity
of the country which imposed them, and combated the theories on which
the relations of England with her colonies had b