and did not wear it again until as Commissioner for the United
States he signed in Paris the treaty of alliance with France.

Franklin was deprived of his office under the crown, and the king who
directed the punishment, the council who condemned him, and the
Parliament which cheered them both on, were not yet satisfied. When the
news of the Tea-Party came, they felt that their chance had come to
strike at the real culprit. The king consulted General Gage, who was
fresh from Boston, and listened eagerly to his fatally mistaken account
of the situation. "He says," wrote the king to Lord North, "'They will
be lions while we are lambs; but if we take the resolute part they will
undoubtedly prove very meek.' Four regiments sent to Boston will, he
thinks, be sufficient to prevent any disturbance."[33] On such a basis
the king and his prime minister planned the laws which should punish the
town of Boston.

The first act was the Boston Port Bill. It closed the port to all
commerce until the East India Company should be paid for its tea, and
the king satisfied that the town was repentant. Nothing except food and
fuel was to be brought to the town in boats; in fact, as Lord North
promised the Commons, Boston was to be removed seventeen miles from the
ocean. For Salem was made the port of entry, and there the governor and
the collector, the surveyor and the comptroller, and all underlings were
to go. It was planned to station war-ships in Boston Harbor to enforce
the law.

The second law was the "Bill for the better Regulating the Government of
the Massachusetts Bay," generally called the Regulating Act. This
virtually swept away the charter of Massachusetts. It provided first
that the Council was to be appointed by the king, and next that without
the consent of the Council the governor might appoint or remove all
officers of justice, from judges to constables. By the provisions of the
law even the jury lists could be controlled by appointive officers.
Finally town meetings were made illegal throughout the province, except
for the election of town officers, and other necessary local business.

The third proposal of the government was a bill "for the Impartial
Administration of Justice," in proposing which "it was observed that
Lord North trembled and faultered at every word of his motion." It
provided that magistrates, officers, or soldiers might be tried for
"murder, or any other capital offence," in Great Britain.

The fou