es of the kingdom. North,
however, consented to a bill of indemnity which was thrown out by the
lords, the opposition objecting to it on the ground that it asserted the
legality of the measure, the government that it was totally unnecessary.
Numerically weak as the opposition was, it maintained the fight with
spirit. Motions more or less directly aimed at the war policy of the
government were made in the lords by Grafton and Richmond, and in the
commons by Luttrell, Fox, Burke, Oliver, Hartley, Lowther, and
Sawbridge. On none of these did the minority vote stronger than 33 in
the lords and 105 in the commons. Burke, in bringing in a bill on
November 16 for composing the troubles in America, urged that the right
way was by concessions to be followed by treaty. He would maintain the
declaratory act of 1766 as necessary to the authority of parliament, and
certain acts passed since 1763 as necessary to British trade; and he
desired that parliament should enact that no tax should be levied on
the colonies other than by their voluntary grant, and should repeal
coercive acts such as that closing Boston harbour. These concessions,
while greater than the government would make, would not, it was pointed
out, have satisfied the Americans; they did not go to the root of
American discontent, which lay in the revenue laws, and dated not from
the year 1766, but reached back to 1672. After a long debate, of which
we have virtually no record, for strangers were excluded from the house,
the bill was lost by 210 votes to 105.

[Sidenote: _THE STATE OF THE NAVY._]

The government was successful in its proposals for the maintenance of
the war. Only 15,230 seamen were in pay in 1775; for 1776 the number
voted was 28,000. In the debate serious charges were brought against the
administration of the navy. Sandwich was diligent; he constantly
inspected the dockyards, an excellent custom which he instituted when
first lord in 1749, and he kept the navy board to its duties.[109] At
his office early in the morning he got through an amount of work
surprising in the case of a man who habitually spent the later part of
his day and his nights in drinking, gambling, and debauchery. The effect
of his diligence was spoilt by corrupt practices. Many abuses prevailed
in the administration of the navy before his time; money voted for
repairs was applied to other purposes, stores were paid for which were
used for private gain, sea-pay was drawn for men who e