d_, for the king is the Legislator
of the Colonies,"[119] I told his lordship this was new doctrine to me.
I had always understood from our charters that our laws were to be
made by our Assemblies, to be presented indeed to the king for his
royal assent, but that being once given the king could not repeal or
alter them. And as the Assemblies could not make permanent laws
without his assent, so neither could he make a law for them without
theirs. He assur'd me I was totally mistaken. I did not think so,
however, and his lordship's conversation having a little alarm'd me as
to what might be the sentiments of the court concerning us, I wrote it
down as soon as I return'd to my lodgings. I recollected that about 20
years before, a clause in a bill brought into Parliament by the
ministry had propos'd to make the king's instructions laws in the
colonies, but the clause was thrown out by the Commons, for which we
adored them as our friends and friends of liberty, till by their
conduct towards us in 1765 it seem'd that they had refus'd that point
of sovereignty to the king only that they might reserve it for
themselves.

[118] George Granville or Grenville (1712-1770). As
English premier from 1763 to 1765, he introduced the
direct taxation of the American Colonies and has
sometimes been called the immediate cause of the
Revolution.

[119] This whole passage shows how hopelessly divergent
were the English and American views on the relations
between the mother country and her colonies. Grenville
here made clear that the Americans were to have no voice
in making or amending their laws. Parliament and the
king were to have absolute power over the colonies. No
wonder Franklin was alarmed by this new doctrine. With
his keen insight into human nature and his consequent
knowledge of American character, he foresaw the
inevitable result of such an attitude on the part of
England. This conversation with Grenville makes these
last pages of the _Autobiography_ one of its most
important parts.

After some days, Dr. Fothergill having spoken to the proprietaries,
they agreed to a meeting with me at Mr. T. Penn's house in Spring
Garden. The conversation at first consisted of mutual declarations of
disposition to reasonable accommodations, but I suppose each party had
its own ideas of what should be meant by _reasonable_. We then went
into consideration of our several