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CHATHAM

immediately. That the reason for the repeal be assigned—viz., because it was founded on an erroneous principle. At the same time, let the sovereign authority of this country over the colonies be asserted in as strong terms as can be devised, and be made to extend to every point of legislation whatsoever; that we may bind their trade, confine their manufactures, and exercise every power whatsoever, except that of taking money from their pockets without consent.

III

ON AFFAIRS IN AMERICA^[1]

(1777)

I rise, my lords, to declare my sentiments on this most solemn and serious subject. It has imposed a load upon my mind, which, I fear, nothing can remove, but which impels me to endeavor its alleviation, by a free and unreserved communication of my sentiments.

In the first part of the address, I have the honor of heartily concurring with the noble earl

↑ Spoken in the House of Lords, November 18, 1777. A report of this speech was corrected by Chatham himself, and its publication authorized by him. It has usually been accepted as his greatest oration. He was then in his seventieth year. In spite of his efforts, the amendment proposed by him was lost by a vote of 97 to 24. Parliament then adjourned, and the alliance between France and America, which made certain the triumph of the Colonies, became an accomplished fact. Chatham's last appearance in Parliament was made a few months after this speech—on April 7, 1778, when he protested against the acknowledgment of American independence, because it would dismember the British Empire.

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[1] Spoken in the House of Lords, November 18, 1777. A report of this speech was corrected by Chatham himself, and its publication authorized by him. It has usually been accepted as his greatest oration. He was then in his seventieth year. In spite of his efforts, the amendment proposed by him was lost by a vote of 97 to 24. Parliament then adjourned, and the alliance between France and America, which made certain the triumph of the Colonies, became an accomplished fact. Chatham's last appearance in Parliament was made a few months after this speech—on April 7, 1778, when he protested against the acknowledgment of American independence, because it would dismember the British Empire.

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