must then resemble the King of the Mahrattas, who had nothing of sovereignty but the name: in that case the monarchical part of the Constitution would be absorbed by the aristocracy, and the famed Constitution of England would be no more. It was his adherence to these principles he declared that had drawn upon him some recent attacks, and fastened upon him the imputation of designs which he had never harboured: it was nothing but this adherence to consistency that had caused the late separation in the Cabinet; he would appeal to the members of that Cabinet: for though much had since been insinuated relative to an alteration in his opinions as to the independence of America, yet those ministers could all vouch, that in the Cabinet no reason of that nature or complexion had been assigned for the late resignations, nor had been even hinted to the King. His own appointment to the Treasury, the importance of the patronage attaching to which was grossly exaggerated, he believed to be the sole cause of the resignations. His opinion on the subject of American independence was still the same; he had declared it often, and he would repeat it now; it had ever been his opinion, that the independence of America would be a dreadful blow to the greatness of this country; and that when it should be established, "the sun of England might be said to have set": he had therefore always laboured to prevent so fatal a misfortune from befalling his country; he had used every effort in public and in private, in England and out of it, to guard it from so dreadful a disaster: but now the fatal necessity of seeing it fall upon the country was in full view; and to necessity he was obliged to give way.[1] But while he felt the necessity of giving way to unavoidable misfortunes, he was free to say, that it was his firm opinion that the melancholy event had been hastened by the rash and precipitate advice that had been so frequently given by some people, some years ago, to acknowledge an independence, which then might have been destroyed in the bud. It had been insinuated elsewhere, he said, that were his
- ↑ See supra, p. 14. Speech on March 5th, 1778.
