BRITAIN. 



G35 



. III. 





udcd 

 Fel>. 



:ecd- 

 against 



Paris, and the Duke de Nivc-rnois came to London. 

 A definitive treaty was signed at Paris on the 10th 

 of February 17<>:>. The French gave up all Cana- 

 da, that part of Louisiana east of the Mississippi, 

 Cape Breton, Senegal, the inlands of Grenada, Do- 

 minica, St Vincent's, and Tobago. Spain ceded 

 Minorca, East and West Florida, and all her posses- 

 sions east or south cast of the Mississippi, renouncing 

 her pretensions to the Newfoundland fishery, and con- 

 firming to Britain the right of cutting logwood in 

 the Bay of Honduras. France renounced in the 

 East Indies all acquisitions made on the Coromandel 

 coast, since the year 1749. Portugal was reinstated 

 in all her dominions : the French were to withdraw 

 from the Hanoverian, Hessian, and Prussian territo- 

 ries. In return for these cessions, Britain gave up 

 to France, Bellcisle, Goree, Gaudaloupe, Martinique, 

 St Lucia and Pondicherry, and Chardanagore, in the 

 East Indies ; recognised her right to fish on the 

 banks of Newfoundland, and ceded the small islets 

 of St Pierre and Miquelon. To Spain we restored 

 Havannah, the Manillas, and our other conquests. 

 A violent outcry was occasioned by the terms of the 

 peace. Chatham himself raised his voice with indig- 

 nation against it ; but we ought not to be dazzled 

 by the authority of patriotic names. The terms 

 were at least fair, honourable, and advantageous. In 

 a single year's continuance of the war, the country 

 might have spent ten times the value of any acquisi- 

 tion which she gave up, by moderating her views. 



The conclusion of the war was followed by the 

 downfal of the minister. This was partly accom- 

 plished by the power and genius of Pitt, and the 

 Whig interest in parliament ; but still more by the 

 popular outcry which was raised against the minis- 

 ter, and by the virulent publications which issued 

 from the press. At the head of those popular wri- 

 ters was John Wilkes, the member of parliament for 

 Aylesbury, and editor of a paper called the North 

 Briton, remarkable for its invectives against the mi- 

 nistry, and its scurrility against the Scotch nation. 

 To the flame of popular hatred the minister at last 

 yielded, and was succeeded by Mr George Gren- 

 ville, who began his ministerial career by prosecuting 

 Wilkes. This demagogue had not scrupled, in one 

 of the numbers of the North Briton, to accuse his 

 majesty directly of falsehood. The king's messen- 

 ger, by virtue of a general warrant, entered Mr 

 Wilkes' house, and apprehended him. After being 

 examined before the secretaries of state, he was 

 committed to the Tower, and his papers were seized 

 and sealed up. A few days after, he was brought 

 to Westminster-hall by habeas corpus, and released 

 by Lord Chief-Justice Pratt, in consideration of his 

 being a member of parliament. The parliament or- 

 dered the seditious paper to be burnt by the hands 

 of the common hangman, an operation that produ- 

 ced a riot, not in itself dangerous, but which served 

 to discover the angry spirit of the populace. Mr 

 Wilkes was soon after expelled from the House of 

 Commons, and found it prudent to retire to the Con- 

 tinent. The intemperance of party was never so vio- 

 lent as at this period ; but, however contemptible 

 the origin of the tumult, the effects were favourable 

 to liberty. General warrants lost their supposed le- 



gality, and the sei/ure of papers, in consequence of 

 such warrants, was no longer to be sanctioned. 

 When Wilkes prosecuted the secretary of state for 

 seizing his papers, he obtained a verdict of damages. 

 It was on this memorable occasion, that Chief-Jus- 

 tice Pratt, af.er pronouncing the warrant under which 

 Mr Wilkcs was seized illegal, concluded his speech 

 with these words : " If the higher jurisdiction should 

 declare my opinion to be erroneous, I submit, as will 

 become me, and kiss the rod ; but I must say, I 

 shall always consider it as a red of iron for the chas- 

 tisement of the people of Great Britain." The ad- 

 ministration of Mr Grenville was the source of mis- 

 fortunes to Britain, which are felt at the present day. 

 For a long time, there had existed a trade between 

 the Spanish and American colonies, which, though 

 nominally illicit, was wisely connived at, as it sup- 

 plied the Americans with their only means of obtain- 

 ing specie. When ministers found, that their effec- 

 tual efforts to stop this trade had produced only dis- 

 tress to our own trade, they enacted a law which 

 seemed to legalize it ; but such duties were enjoined, 

 as in fact amounted to a prohibition. To complete 

 the climax of impolicy, Mr Grenville enlarged the 

 plan of taxation, by a measure which Sir Robert 

 Walpole, in all the plenitude of his power, had de- 

 clared that he durst not attempt. This was to raise 

 a direct revenue from America. For this purpose, 

 the celebrated stamp act was parsed in March 1765. 

 It was carried through the commons by a great ma- 

 jority. Those who opposed it, contended more 

 against the policy than the principle of the measure. 

 General Conway alone protested against the right of 

 Great Britain to exercise direct taxation over her co- 

 lonies. On receiving authentic intelligence of the 

 stamp act being passed, the indignation of America 

 broke out into open deeds of violence. The ships 

 in the harbour of Boston hung out their colours half 

 mast high, as a signal of the deepest distress. The 

 bells of the city were muffled, and rang out a dumb 

 peal. The act itself, as soon as it came from the 

 king's printing-house, was burnt by the populace, 

 together with the effigies of the men most active in 

 passing it. The masters of those vessels which had 

 conveyed the stamps to America, were compelled to 

 deliveruptheircargoestoanenragedmultitude. Those 

 who had accepted commissions to act as distributors 

 of stamps, were forced by public oath to renounce 

 all concern in them. The justices of the peace in 

 many parts gave notice, that they would not act in 

 that capacity, to the subversion of the liberties of 

 their country. The gentlemen of the law, in the ex- 

 ercise of their profession, universally renounced the 

 use of British stamps. But the most alarming op- 

 position was made by the merchants, who entered 

 into solemn engagements, not to import .any more 

 goods from Britain till the stamp act should be re- 

 pealed. 



But while the Grenville ministry shewed their con- 

 fidence and security by this bold act, they were ap- 

 proaching to their downfal. In the arrangement of 

 a bill for eventually settling a regency in case of the 

 demise of the crown, they gave oftence to the court, 

 by omitting the princess dowager of Wales. Over- 

 tures were secretly made to Mr Pitt and Lord Tern- 



4 



Britain. 



GEOHOClII. 



1T85. 



Stamp ac: 

 passed. 

 March 

 17G5. 



Violence 

 of the A- 

 mcricans 

 against this 

 act. 



Proceed- 

 ing* re- 

 specting a 

 new minis- 

 try. 



