xt7rfj299f42 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7rfj299f42/data/mets.xml Alvord, Clarence Walworth, 1868-1928 1917  books b92977al89v22009 English Arthur H. Clark Co. : Cleveland, Ohio Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Mississippi River Valley --History --To 1803. Great Britain --Colonies --America. Great Britain --Colonies --Administration. The Mississippi Valley in British politics; a study of the trade, land speculation, and experiments in imperialism culminating in the American revolution, by Clarence Walworth Alvord; with maps ... text The Mississippi Valley in British politics; a study of the trade, land speculation, and experiments in imperialism culminating in the American revolution, by Clarence Walworth Alvord; with maps ... 1917 2009 true xt7rfj299f42 section xt7rfj299f42 
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   The Mississippi Valley in British Politics 
    
    
    
   The Mississippi Valley in British Politics

A STUDY OF THE TRADE, LAND SPECULATION, AND EXPERIMENTS IN IMPERIALISM CULMINATING IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

by

CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD WITH SWAPS

VOLUME II

THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY CLEVELAND, U.S. A 1917 
   COPYRIGHT, I916, BY

CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD 
   CONTENTS

I The Bedford Alliance and its Results        . n

II The new Policy in the Far West      .        . 33

III The Indian Boundary Line     ... 61

IV Plans for the upper Ohio Valley     .        . 91

V Politics and the Colony of Vandalia .        . 119

VI Ministerial Delays and official Inefficiency 149

VII The Breakdown of the ministerial Policy   . 179

VIII The final western Policy . . . 209 Special Bibliography ..... 253 General Bibliography ..... 265 Index     ....... 321 
    
   ILLUSTRATIONS

Western colonial Schemes, i768-1776        . Frontispiece 
    
   I.   THE BEDFORD ALLIANCE AND ITS RESULTS

I suspect some appearance of resentment against the Americans is to be the first-fruits and cement of the new alliance, but I much doubt whether it will be such a one as you would have suggested or I approved. - Lord Trevor to George Grenville.

"Without being able to make out a case on which the jarring opinions of the Rockinghams, Bedfords and Grenvilles could well agree, the opposition was earnest to find one out at all events. The Duke of Bedford's friends were evidently the most impatient, under an exclusion of office; and perhaps one may also say, that they were less embarrassed with scruples, on the head of measures, than the other parties, with whom they were acting."1 Thus the Duke of Grafton in his mellow old age began to recount his recollections of one of the most portentous events in the history of the relations of Great Britain and her colonies, namely the entrance of the Bloomsbury Gang into his ministry. In the summer it had been determined that the administration should continue under the leadership of the Duke of Grafton, and preparations had been made to inaugurate a broad and radical American policy. There had been hopes within the governmental circles, however, that some accession of strength might be gained before the winter had passed, hopes which were strengthened by the actions of the three opposition factions, each of which appeared to be maneuvering to gain a possible

1 Grafton, Autobiography, 171. 
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advantage over the others with the result that at the opening of parliament the opposition was weak and divided. Horace Walpole could write jubilantly to his friend, Sir Horace Mann:

We are triumphant beyond the paltry wisdom of calculation. We do not stoop to the detail of divisions to judge our strength. Two oppositions, that tread hard upon the heels of a majority, are the best secret in the world for composing a ridiculous minority. In short, Lord Rockingham's and the Duke of Bedford's parties, who could not have failed to quarrel if they had come into place together, are determined at least to have their quarrel, if they cannot have their places.2

To the members of the Bloomsbury Gang, who always preferred the flesh pots of Egypt to the glories of patriotic opposition, their long period of disfavor at court had proved excessively irksome; and this was particularly the case now after the ministry had so successfully weathered the difficulties of the previous summer that the chance of driving them from office seemed most remote. The Bedfordites had come to the crossing of the roads and their choice at this moment would influence their whole future. Should they follow the road of opposition they could see no very bright prospect ahead of them. As long as the Duke of Bedford lived, they might hope to maintain the faction as a powerful political machine that must be reckoned with in any future effort to form a coalition; but their leader's health, since the tragic death of his son, had become noticeably weakened, and any day the place hunters whom he led might find themselves without the support of his powerful influence. To such men as Earl Gower, Lord Sandwich, Lord Weymouth, and Rigby, the road of opposition appeared to lead away from the sinecur-

2 Walpole, Letters, vol. v, 73. The whole letter is worth reading in this connection. 
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ists' beds of ease and so they determined to forego the pleasures of criticizing government, provided offices could be obtained for them.

Yet there were many obstacles to be overcome before they could be admitted to the closet. The king had never forgiven them for their attempt to "take him captive" in 1765, nor could he easily forget their arrogant demand, in 1763, for the exclusion of Lord Bute from his presence, nor their dismissal of Mr. Mackenzie from office two years later. The remembrance of these acts had caused the king to object to their admission to the ministry, when proposed by Lord Chatham and later by the Duke of Grafton.3 The Bedfordites realized that they must make adequate submission to overcome this royal prejudice against them, and their longing for office made them willing to undergo any humiliation. Their first act, after opening negotiations with Grafton, was to free themselves from their understanding with the Grenvillites, who were more unpopular in the closet than themselves and whose well known hostility to the colonies would make them most uncongenial colleagues to the ministry.4 Having thus separated themselves from entangling alliances, it was an easy matter to come to terms, particularly as certain positions in the ministry were to be filled. The Earl of Northington had for some time expressed a desire to resign from presiding at the council and General Conway was anxious to lay down the northern secretaryship. With these two cabinet offices and some lesser positions the Bedfordites declared that they would be satisfied and pro-

3 The first in the fall of 1766, the latter in 1767.

4 The following volumes should be consulted for these negotiations under date of December, 1767, ff: Grafton, Autobiography; Walpole, Memoirs of George III., and Letters; Grenville, Papers; Pitt, Correspondence; Fitz-maurice, Life of Shelburne. 
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posed Lord Gower and Lord Weymouth as their candidates. The king, having given up hope of securing the Old Whigs, agreed to accept their services; but he took occasion to warn the Duke of Grafton "against allowing their advice to be too prevalent."5

One condition that was made by the new allies was to be of the utmost importance for the colonies. They demanded that the office of secretaryship of the Southern Department be divided and a third secretaryship for the colonies created.  Unquestionably this was done in the hope of removing from office Lord Shelburne, whom they cordially disliked and with whose American policy they were naturally not in sympathy.  The proposal to divide this office had been frequently made.   In 1751, and again in 1756, Lord Halifax had demanded that he be appointed a third secretary, but this step was opposed in the first instance by the king and in the second by Pitt.6  The next attempt to bring about a division was towards the close of the Rockingham ministry when there was an unsuccessful movement started to create an independent position for Lord Dartmouth.7 Lord Chatham had abolished in 1766 the division of authority which had existed between the southern secretary and the Board of Trade by concentrating all the power in the hands of the former.  During the conferences of the summer of 1767 the idea of creating a third secretaryship was again discussed, and now upon the demand of the Bedfordites the Duke of Grafton was prepared to concede this change.

5 Grafton, Autobiography, 183. On page 182 of the same appears a list of twelve Bedfords who were "to be noticed at the time or as soon as could be arranged."

6Dickerson, American Colonial Government, 1606-IJ65, 48-50. Pitt seems always to have opposed this division. See Dodington, Diary, 397; Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 250.

7 See vol. i, page 251. 
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Only after Grafton was assured of being able to satisfy the tempered greed of the Bloomsbury Gang did he approach Lord Shelburne on the subject of dividing the office.8 The duke opened the conversation by asserting that the weakness of the ministry required him to accept support wherever he could find it. He then led up to the main point by remarking that the division of the duties of the southern secretaryship had been discussed in the conferences of the previous summer, and that he himself had always been in favor of such a reform, since no man could successfully attend to all the business of that department. Naturally Lord Shelburne was surprised and asked whether there was any objection to the manner in which he had conducted American affairs; but he was assured by the duke that the business was "very sufficiently and ably managed;" and on that very account he desired Lord Shelburne to undertake the new colonial office, since the Bedfords could not be trusted with it "on account of different principles."9 Lord Shelburne was so angered at this proposal to divide his office that he would have resigned had not his sense of duty to Lord Chatham prevented such an act. He took the subject, therefore, under consideration, writing meanwhile to Lady Chatham in the hope of obtaining some advice from his chief. Since

8 Lord Shelburne's notes of this interesting conference are printed in full in Fitzmaurice, Life of Shelburne, vol. i, 327 ff.; another account written to Lady Chatham is in Pitt, Correspondence, vol. iii, 292 ff. The date is fixed as December 11, 1767 by the latter reference.

9 Shelburne in his letter on the interview to Lady Chatham wrote: "The Duke of Grafton's idea was, that I should be secretary for America; for if the Duke of Bedford's friends and not Lord Rockingham's, should be the party that is taken in, it would be impossible, in his idea or in the Chancellor's, he was sure, to place any of the Bedford's there, on account of the difference of principles; besides, he was pleased to repeat in very obliging terms what he had said before as to its going very well at present under me, and for that reason he did not wish to alter it." - Pitt, Correspondence, vol. iii, 297. 
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this was not forthcoming, he determined to retain the Southern Department and permit another to organize the new office.

Who should be the new colonial secretary, now that Lord Shelburne had refused the position? Upon the choice of the man was to depend in great measure the future of Great Britain's colonial empire in America. The American issue ever since the repeal of the Stamp Act had become more and more vital; and at times it seemed as if on it alone the factions might be forced to a new alignment in which they would assume the form of true parties.10 It would be manifestly contrary to the wishes of the king or the ministry, and even suicidal, to choose this important officer from the camp of Bedford or Grenville. On the other hand the addition of another Pittite to the cabinet, even if that connection had had a candidate, would have been displeasing to the new allies. Thus the choice was narrowed down to one faction, that of the court. There could, therefore, be but little hesitancy. With the exception of Halifax only one member of the king's followers had the requisite experience, Lord Hillsborough; and the fact that he had been indorsed by Lord Chatham and was not popular with the Bedfordites would only make his choice more acceptable.11

10 America was an issue in the negotiations between the Rockinghams and the Bedford-Grenvilles in the summer. Writing from London, in August, 1767, Franklin states that the colonial policy "is now made one of the distinctions of parties here."- Franklin, Writings (ed. Smyth), vol. v, 41.

11 He had been appointed president of the Board of Trade by Lord Chatham and then later was transferred to the office of postmaster. According to Lord Hillsborough's own statement, the Bedfords disliked his "coming into the Cabinet" at this time. "Knox Manuscripts," in Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report on Manuscripts in various Collections, vol. vi, 264. It is to be noticed that as another counterweight to the Bedfords, Dunning, a follower of Lord Shelburne, was made solicitor-general. See Walpole, Memoirs of George HI., vol. iii, 104. 
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The cabinet, the changes in which were consummated in January, 1768, was now composed of eleven officers. Seven of these were members of Chatham's faction, although on account of the sickness of their leader, they could muster only six votes; two belonged to the Bloomsbury Gang; and two were counted in the court faction.12 Contemporary opinion was divided as to what the result of the new alliance would be. The Grenvillites, who were enraged at being deserted, were positive that their former allies had been bought by magnificent promises and would exercise the superior influence in the cabinet.13 Horace Walpole, who had been informed by General Conway of every step in the negotiations, chuckled with joy as he wrote his friend, Sir Horace Mann, of the humiliation forced on the Bedfords by the ministry. "Mr. Conway was desirous of quitting the minute he could, but it was thought right, that as the Duke of Bedford had objected to him in the summer, they [the Bedfords] should be forced to swallow this submission of coming in under him-and they have swallowed it-and nobody doubted that they would. They have swallowed Lord Shelburne too, to whom they objected next, when they could not help stooping to Mr. Conway, but this was likewise denied; and they have again submitted."14   Lord Lyttelton was

12 The Pittites were the Earl of Chatham, Lord Camden, the Earl of Shelburne, the Duke of Grafton, Lord Granby, Sir Edward Hawke, and General Conway, who at the king's request still retained his seat; the Bedfordites were Earl Gower and Lord Weymouth; and the members of the court faction were Lord North and Lord Hillsborough. It is only by courtesy, however, that Camden, Grafton, and Conway were still counted Pittites, for they, during the next few years, seem almost adherents of the court. In Grafton's list of the cabinet, he omits the name of Hillsborough. See Grafton, Autobiography, 183.

13 Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 198, 200.

14 Walpole, Letters, vol. v, 77. For the view of Junius, see Pitt, Correspondence, vol. iii, 302. 
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informed that "the Bedfordians had not treated with the Duke of Grafton upon any foot of equality, but had sworn allegiance to his Grace, and would be very good servants."15 The king himself viewed the new allies with suspicion and it was some time before "the engaging manners of the two lords [Gower and Weymouth] overcame by degrees all the prejudices there might have been against the whole party."16

From now on there is to be noticed a more rapid development of dissension and inefficiency in the cabinet itself due in part, no doubt, to the Duke of Grafton's own irregular habits, but much more to the attempted union of discordant elements which were incapable of harmony. As a letter-writer put it: the ministers continued "differing upon every subject upon which a difference is possible." 17 There must be added to these causes the growing power of the king, whose personal faction had become more coherent and was rapidly increasing in numbers. The king had made his great experiment with a powerful prime minister in the Chatham ministry and it had failed. No wonder he was now "tired of change" as Lord Mansfield remarked,18 and more and more attempted to direct affairs himself. The government by departments, which had become an accomplished fact during the illness of Lord Chatham, offered the means; all that the king found it necessary to do was to step into the place of his powerful minister and try to maintain a balance of power between the unruly factions. He discovered by this experiment that those were most tractable to his guidance who were

15 Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 251.

16 Grafton, Autobiography, 183.

17 Hamilton to Calcraft, July 20, 1768 in Pitt, Correspondence, vol. iii, 333, footnote. The whole series of letters from Hamilton presents a good picture of the distracted and disunited condition of the cabinet.

18 Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 239. 
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most desirous of holding office. Through force of circumstances and by means of his numerous following George III. now became the principal leader in the political game, and from this time must be dated that growing influence of the crown of which complaints became so loud.

The question naturally arises: was the addition of the Bedfords to the ministry brought about in order to defeat Lord Shelburne's western American policy or was it in any way connected with movements in the colonies that called for disciplinary measures? The narratives of events that have been preserved such as those of the Duke of Grafton and of Horace Walpole, both of which were based on ministerial information, prove that the contrary was true. In fact this particular accession to the ministry was fortuitous and unexpected, and the consequences of the change were unanticipated. In his interviews with Lord Shelburne the Duke of Grafton had urged the former to become colonial secretary; and, after failing in this, he attempted to persuade Lord Hillsborough to appoint Benjamin Franklin as his under-secretary. Lord North promised the latter a few months later "to find some way of making it worth your while" to stay in England.19 It was the Bedford influence which defeated this move. Some of the Grenvillites, smarting under the humiliation of being deserted, believed that the Duke of Grafton had come to terms with the Bedfords on the American issue and that the latter would dictate the policy;20

19 Franklin to his son, January 9, 176S in Franklin, Writings (ed. Bige-low), vol. iv, 374; and same to same, July 2, 1768 in idem, vol. v, 16 ff.

20 Grenvllle, Papers, vol. iv, 198. This was not the opinion of the author of "A Word at Parting," usually attributed to Lord Temple. He sarcastically writes: "The time, as well as the measure, is somewhat unfortunate. Have any steps been taken to vindicate and assert (or as your Grace would now say) to maintain and support the sovereignty of Great Britain over America T'-Idem, 202, footnote. 
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but again the Autobiography of Grafton proves that this belief was not true although the chief minister did come to lean to the side of the two Bedford lords. As the later narrative will show the Bedford influence on American affairs was to increase as the years passed until its baneful results were fully accomplished, but this was not a predetermined consequence due to either the king or the Duke of Grafton, for they both attempted to build up a protection against that rapacious crowd of politicians, whose aims and methods they had learned to fear.

Of greater immediate importance to America were the character and policies of the new secretary of state for the colonies. The attitude of Lord Hillsborough towards America was at this time somewhat problematical. The idea of the Duke of Grafton when he made the appointment was probably expressed succinctly by-Lord Lyttelton in writing of the future policy: "They [the ministers] were trying (if possible) to find a medium between the violence of George Grenville and the madness of Lord Chatham."21 To serve as this medium, Lord Hillsborough was chosen. Grafton had every reason to believe that he had secured a man of temperate mind. Grenville, himself, who knew the new secretary intimately, was very uncertain what measures the latter would adopt; and Benjamin Franklin wrote that he did not think him "in general an enemy to America."22 This latter negative statement in all probability expresses with some degree of accuracy the attitude of Hillsborough's mind toward the colonies at the moment of his  appointment.   He  had urged

21 Lyttelton to Temple, January i, 1768 in Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 350.

22 Grenville to Trevor, December 31, 1767 in Grenville, Papers, vol. iv, 206; Franklin to Galloway, January 9, 1768 in Franklin, Works (ed. Bige-low), vol. viii, 376. 
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George Grenville not to pass the Stamp Act and had later voted for the repeal, though he always esteemed its author as both a friend and a statesman;221 he had taken the presidency of the Board of Trade under Lord Shelburne and was now ready to undertake the administration of colonial affairs with colleagues who were followers of Lord Chatham.

This accession gave the ministry much greater strength in Parliament than they had previously possessed. The Bedfords controlled many votes in the Commons, but their greatest strength was in the upper chamber where additional votes were greatly needed. Could the Duke of Grafton keep his cabinet united, he had little to fear, for safe majorities were assured; and in the approaching election the administration would be in a position to increase their majority. From his viewpoint the chief minister could congratulate himself: his ministry would obtain all the support of the Bedford interest, while the policies of the government would be shaped by the conservative members of the Pittites working in harmony with Lord North and the colonial secretary; thus he might well hope that a medium had been found between the radicalism of Lord Shelburne and the reactionary principles of the Blooms-bury Gang; but in these dreams of the future he was forgetting the weaknesses of his own nature which more than once furnished a target for the caustic satire of Junius.   Concerning this new alliance Junius wrote:

The Duke of Grafton has always some excellent reason for deserting his friends. The age and incapacity of Lord Chatham ; the debility of Lord Rockingham; or the infamy of Mr. Wilkes. There was a time indeed when he did not appear to be quite so

22aThis is based on a report of a speech made by Hillsborough. "W. S. Johnson's Letters," in Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections, fifth ser., vol. ix, 306. 
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well acquainted, or so violently offended with the infirmities of his friends. But now I confess they are not ill exchanged for the youthful, vigorous virtue of the Duke of Bedford; the firmness of General Conway; the blunt, or if I may call it, the auk-ward integrity of Mr. Rigby, and the spotless morality of Lord Sandwich.23

The letter of October 5 in which Lord Shelbufne recommended for consideration his plan for the organization of western America was still unanswered by the Lords of Trade. Had not their habit of procrastination delayed their answer, they would naturally have waited, as they did, until after the reconstruction of the ministry, in order to see what influence was to dominate the colonies. When the office of colonial secretary was created, no change in the personnel of the Board of Trade was made; Lord Clare who had expressed his approval of parts of Shelburne's policy, still retained the position of president.24 It will be remembered that he was a moderate expansionist believing that a colony at the mouth of the Ohio would be useful to the mother country, but seeing little value in the one proposed for Detroit.25 His position gave him, however, very little weight in the councils of the cabinet of which he was not a member; and without doubt the next move in the western policy should be credited to the new secretary.

Although the measures proposed by Lord Shelbume may appear to be statesmanlike, still there were many objections that could be made to them. The fault which would seem to Hillsborough to be the gravest was as a

23 Woodfall, Junius, vol. i, 160. This particular passage is from a letter signed Philo-junius, but was written by Junius himself.

24 In June of this year Lord Clare was removed, and Lord Hillsborough was instructed to attend regularly the meeting of the board. From that time, the two offices which had governed America were completely united. See Franklin, Writings (ed. Smyth), vol. v, 147. There are printed in Woodfall, Junius [vol. iii, 63 ff.], three letters on the subject of the change.

25 See vol. i, page 352. 
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matter of fact open to the severest criticism and, had the plan been inaugurated, would in all probability have been the cause of its failure. The establishment of three colonies in the far West in defiance of the rights of the natives could not have been accomplished without another Indian war. Lord Hillsborough had been president of the Board of Trade when the news of the Conspiracy of Pontiac was being brought in by every ship from America and had learned to respect the force of the savages' retaliation. In his fear of this outcome he was supported by no less an authority on western affairs than Sir William Johnson, one of the proprietors in the company that wished to exploit the Illinois country. In an intimate letter to Gage, on February 18, 1768, wherein he dwelt at length on his fears of a general Indian uprising, he used these significant words: "I wish the establishments of the governments you mention may not make things much worse, as I have reasons to fear they will. I have often observed that nothing of that kind could be undertaken, with due regard to policy until all prejudices are removed, a firm tranquillity established and the Indians previously consulted thereon. The very report of the intended colony on Ohio advertised by Lieut. Webb, was made a considerable cause of the late Indian War, and the Indians have already heard of these intended governments under the most unfavorable circumstances."26 Lord Shelburne's plan was based on a foresight of what was inevitably to take place, the rapid encroachment upon the Indians' lands by the whites, the resultant bloody conflicts, and the final displacement of the weaker race.   This harsh condition the British ministries

26 Johnson Manuscripts, vol. xvi, 21. The new colony advertised by Lieutenant Webb was that of New Wales. 
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as a rule have wished to ameliorate; and in later years in Canadian territory, where there was not the same irresistible westward march of settlers, they did so regulate the relations of the Indians and whites that justice towards the former has been made the rule. Lord Hillsborough in drafting his plan for the regulation of Indian affairs in 1764 had this thought in mind; and a later ministry was to attempt to use his plan as a basis for the Indian policy to be followed in that territory which remained under British dominion after the successful revolt of the American colonies.

Another objection to the plan was that it would decide the questions of the colonial claims to the West, particularly those of the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia, from which there might be expected an outcry, that would no doubt reach the sympathetic ears of those tender hearted politicians who had been so solicitous of the charter rights of the East India Company. It would require a boldness not possessed by the colleagues of Grafton to risk another issue over vested interests.

Of more direct influence on the final decision concerning the western policy were certain financial considerations of great moment. Both in England and America many business firms were engaged, as has been seen, in the fur trade which depended on preserving the conditions prevailing in the wilderness and on protecting the Indians in their rights of occupation. By 1768 it had become very evident that Scotch merchants were destined to engross the trade of the province of Quebec and the territory dependent on it. On account of that organization of the Scotch members in Parliament who, as was pointed out in the first chapter, were so well trained that they voted unanimously for the min- 
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istry, they were an important political factor, wielding an influence out of proportion to their numbers. Their interest in the fur trade at this time and as late as the War of 1812 was very influential on the ministerial policy towards the Great Lakes region.27 Another group of men were equally opposed to the opening of the West. Many noblemen and business men had invested heavily in colonial lands east of the mountains; and these, whether they lived in England or the colonies, feared that the fertile lands of the Ohio would not only attract new emigrants but also old settlers, with the result that their lands would not increase in value as rapidly as they had expected.

The influence of these considerations scarcely needed the better known objections to inland territories to cause Lord Hillsborough and others like him to reject Lord Shelburne's plan as radical, hasty, and dangerous. To them it appeared to recommend the cutting of several Gordian knots, and the average British politician of the eighteenth century was not partial to such drastic measures. To do nothing or as little as possible was the favorite motto. Stand-pat Whiggism had become an acquired, almost a transmitted, characteristic. Lord Hillsborough's real opinion in regard to the West at this time or at any other is difficult to discover; but

27 The question of Scotch influence on the policy towards Canada will be again discussed in the chapter on the Quebec Act [page 243], but even there the proof to be offered leads only to an hypothesis; yet from a rather intimate knowledge of the fur trade in the Old Northwest I am convinced that this Scotch influence was a very real factor in shaping British policy towards that region for over fifty years. In 1768, Sir Lawrence Dundas, whose political power with the Scotch was great, was an ally of the Bedfords and exercised an influence on the ministerial action. See Walpole, Memoirs of George III., vol. iii, 163, 214, 242. In 1776, Colonel Guy Johnson attributed the action of the ministry in 1768 in giving up the imperial management of the fur trade to the influence of some traders. See New York Colonial Documents, vol. viii, 655. 
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Franklin by the spring of 1768 had come to believe that the new colonial secretary was in favor of the adoption of Lord Harrington's plan.23

The reorganization of the ministry had certainly made it more conservative, but its composition was not yet reactionary, so that the issue raised by Lord Shel-burne was sure to receive a careful, if not sympathetic, consideration. The Board of Trade's report reflected exactly the compromising spirit that inevitably characterizes an administration of such disunited factions. On March 7, 1768, this report was ready for the Privy Council.20 It discussed at length the three phases of the western problem as laid before them in Lord Shel-burne's communication: "First, the present civil establishment regarding the Indians; secondly, the disposition of the troops for Indian purposes; and lastly, the establishment of certain new colonies."

In regard to the present establishment of the Indian Department, the Lords of Trade were of the opinion that there were certain very important measures which would always require the oversight of imperial officers. Such, for instance, was the purchase of land from the aborigines, in which business the king "as Lord of the soil of all ungranted lands which the Indians may be inclined to give up, is deeply and immediately concerned." In this connection the rep