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of the application of Lord North's plan to all of Great Britain's colonies, and not to the thirteen American colonies alone.

130 by the back-door: that is, not directly through the House of Commons, which alone has the constitutional right to impose taxes.

131 you will leave the mode to themselves: On February 20, 1775, in the Committee of the Whole House, Lord North remarked that, on the matter of taxation, although Parliament could never give up the rights, yet as to the matter of the right, and with respect to the mode of the contribution, he did not suppose Parliament would hesitate a moment to suspend that right.

133 composition: agreement or compromise.

135 Treasury Extent: a writ to recover debts due to the Crown, whereby both lands and goods of the debtor can be seized.

136 He confessed, etc. In his reply to Colonel Barré in the debate on his propositions, which took place in the Committee of the Whole, Lord North said: "I agree, Sir, that it is very probable the propositions contained in this resolution may not be acceptable to the Americans in general." But he added: "those who are just, who are wise, and who are serious, will, I believe, think it well worth their attention."

138 Posita luditur arca: Juvenal, Satires, 1, 90: "The game is played with cash box for a stake."

139 to him that holds the balance: the Prime Minister of England. The allusion is to Jove, who held the balances, or scales, in which the destinies of men are weighed. 139 "Ease would retract": The exact quotation from Paradise Lost, Book iv, 11, 96-97,

is:

"Ease would recant

Vows made in pain, as violent and void."

140 may I speed: may I succeed.

141 to return in loan: In 1772 the East India Company, which was threatened with bankruptcy, received from the Government a loan of £1,400,000 at four per cent. interest. Until this debt should be canceled, the annual payment of £400,000, which the Company was required to make to the Government, was suspended.

141 taxable objects: exports from America which bore a tax; for example, the tobacco of Virginia and Maryland.

141 performed her part to the British revenue: Compare the Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress, X: "That the profits of the trade of these colonies ultimately center

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in Great Britain, to pay for the manufactures which they are obliged to take from thence, and they eventually contribute very largely to all supplies granted there to the Crown."

141 enemies: France and Spain, who held colonial possessions in America.

142

The literary quality of this paragraph the phrasing, the sentence structure, and the allusions to Shakespeare and the English Bible - is worthy of notice. A few of the passages to which allusions are made are quoted in the notes that follow.

142 light as air: Othello, III, iii, 322: “Trifles light as air." 142 grapple to you: Hamlet, 1, iii, 63: "Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel."

142 chosen race: an allusion to the fact that the Hebrews were called God's chosen people: Compare Ps., XXXIII, 12:"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inherit

ance.

142 turn their faces towards you: 1 Kings, VIII, 44: "and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name"; compare also Dan., vi, 10.

142 of price: Matt., XIII, 46: "Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

142 your sufferance, etc.: A sufferance is a permission granted by customs authorities for the shipment of goods; a cocket is a document certifying that duties on goods have been paid; a clearance is a paper giving permission to a ship to sail.

143 Land Tax Act: an act passed annually by Parliament, imposing a tax on land.

143 Committee of Supply: a committee of the House which considers expenditures; for example, for the army, the navy, the civil service, etc.

143 Mutiny Bill: an act passed, each year in England since 1689, providing for the maintenance of a standing army and for the punishment of mutiny and desertion. 144 the profane herd: Compare Horace, Odes, III, 1, 1: "Odi profanum vulgus et arceo": "I hate the profane herd [i.e., the ignorant multitude] and keep them at a distance." 144 Sursum corda: "Lift up your hearts": the rendering of Lam., III, 41, found in the Latin mass.

144 high calling: Compare Phil., 11, 14: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

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145 quod felix faustumque sit: "May it prove to be happy and fortunate."

Availing itself of a technicality in parliamentary procedure, the House refrained from committing itself on the first four and the last of Burke's resolutions. The others were negatived.

Transition