roduced into Parliament the Resolution on
Conciliation, which provided that when any colony should make provision
"for contributing their proportion to the common defense,.. and for the
support of the civil government, and the administration of justice in
such province,... it will be proper,... for so long as such provision
shall be made,... to forbear, in respect of such province,... to levy any
Duty, Tax, or Assessment,... except... for the regulation of commerce."
The minister's resolution, although by most of his supporters thought to
be useless, was adopted by a vote of 274 to 88.

It was not the intention of the Government to hold out the olive branch
by itself. Lord North, and perhaps the King also, hoped the colonies
would accept it; but by all maxims of politics an olive branch was more
likely to be accepted if the shining sword was presented at the same
time as the only alternative. As early as the 10th of February, Lord
North had introduced into Parliament a bill, finally passed March 30,
"to restrain the trade and commerce" of the New England colonies to
"Great Britain, Ireland, and the British islands in the West Indies,"
and to exclude these colonies from "carrying on any fishery on the banks
of Newfoundland," it being "highly unfit that the inhabitants of the
said provinces... should enjoy the same privileges of trade... to
which his Majesty's faithful and obedient subjects are entitled." The
provisions of this act were extended to the other colonies in April; and
meantime measures were taken to strengthen the naval forces.

The first certain information that Lord North had extended the olive
branch reached New York April 24, 1775, two weeks before the day fixed
for the meeting of the second Continental Congress. Important changes
had taken place since the first Congress, six months earlier, had sent
forth its resolutions. In every colony there was a sufficient number
of patriots who saw "the reasonableness, the apparent utility, and
necessity" of forming the committees which the Association recommended;
and these committees everywhere, with a marked degree of success,
immediately set about convincing their neighbors of the utility and
necessity of signing the non-importation agreement, or at least of
observing it even if they were not disposed to sign it. To deny the
reasonableness of the Association was now indeed much more difficult
than it would have been before the Congress assembled; for the Congre