ace was lost by only one vote; and in March, in spite of the frantic
expostulations of the King, Lord North resigned. The King insisted that
at any rate some members of the new ministry must be named by himself
and not, as is the British constitutional custom, by the Prime Minister.
On this, too, he had to yield; and a Whig ministry, under the Marquis
of Rockingham, took office in March, 1782. Rockingham died on the 1st of
July, and it was Lord Shelburne, later the Marquis of Lansdowne, under
whom the war came to an end. The King meanwhile declared that he would
return to Hanover rather than yield the independence of the colonies.
Over and over again he had said that no one should hold office in his
government who would not pledge himself to keep the Empire entire. But
even his obstinacy was broken. On December 5, 1782, he opened Parliament
with a speech in which the right of the colonies to independence was
acknowledged. "Did I lower my voice when I came to that part of my
speech?" George asked afterwards. He might well speak in a subdued
tone for he had brought the British Empire to the lowest level in its
history.

In America, meanwhile, the glow of victory had given way to weariness
and lassitude. Rochambeau with his army remained in Virginia. Washington
took his forces back to the lines before New York, sparing what men he
could to help Greene in the South. Again came a long period of watching
and waiting. Washington, knowing the obstinate determination of the
British character, urged Congress to keep up the numbers of the army so
as to be prepared for any emergency. Sir Guy Carleton now commanded the
British at New York and Washington feared that this capable Irishman
might soothe the Americans into a false security. He had to speak
sharply, for the people seemed indifferent to further effort and
Congress was slack and impotent. The outlook for Washington's allies in
the war darkened, when in April, 1782, Rodney won his crushing victory
and carried De Grasse a prisoner to England. France's ally Spain had
been besieging Gibraltar for three years, but in September, 1782,
when the great battering-ships specially built for the purpose began a
furious bombardment, which was expected to end the siege, the British
defenders destroyed every ship, and after that Gibraltar was safe.
These events naturally stiffened the backs of the British in negotiating
peace. Spain declared that she would never make peace without the
surr