furious. Matters went from bad to worse. To withdraw as far as possible without
yielding the principle at stake, the duties on all the exports mentioned in the
bill were removed, except that on tea. But it was precisely the principle for
which the colonists were contending. They were not in the humor for compromise,
when they believed their freedom was endangered, and the strength and
determination of their resistance found a climax in the Boston Tea Party.

In the meantime, Lord North, who was absolutely obedient to the king, had become
prime minister. Five bills were prepared, the tenor of which, it was thought,
would overawe the colonists. Of these, the Boston Port Bill and the Regulating
Act are perhaps the most famous, though the ultimate tendency of all was blindly
coercive.

While the king and his friends were busy with these, the opposition proposed an
unconditional repeal of the Tea Act. The bill was introduced only to be
overwhelmingly defeated by the same Parliament that passed the five measures of
Lord North.

In America, the effect of these proceedings was such as might have been expected
by thinking men. The colonies were as a unit in their support of Massachusetts.
The Regulating Act was set at defiance, public officers in the king's service
were forced to resign, town meetings were held, and preparations for war were
begun in dead earnest. To avert this, some of England's greatest statesmen--Pitt
among the number--asked for a reconsideration. On February the first, 1775, a
bill was introduced, which would have gone far toward bringing peace. One month
later, Burke delivered his speech on Conciliation with the Colonies.