George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 6, 10th edition.

[52] in good repair; to have a citadel and place of

Chap. Xxviii} 1767. Feb.

arms in New-York, as well as a citadel in Quebec; and to link the two provinces so strongly together, that on the commencement of an outbreak, ten or fifteen thousand men could be moved without delay from the one to the other, or to any part of the continent. No pains, no address, no expense, he insisted,¹ would be too great for the object, which would divide the Northern and Southern Colonies, as well as secure the public magazines.

For Chatham, who wished to keep the affections of the colonists, the future was shrouded in gloom. He could not suspend the Act of Parliament; but through Shelburne, he enjoined the American Commander-in-Chief to make its burden as light, both in appearance and in reality, as was consistent with the public service. He saw that the imperfect compliance of New-York would open a fair field to the arraigners of America,² and between his opinions as a statesman and his obligations as Minister, he knew not what to propose.³ The Declaratory Act was the law of the land, and yet was as a barren fruit-tree, which, though fair to the eye, only cumbers the earth, and spreads a noxious shade.⁴

Shelburne was aware also, that if the Americans ‘should be tempted to resist in the last instance,’ France and Spain⁵ would no longer defer breaking the peace of which they began to number the days. Spain was resolved not to pay the Manilla ransom,