. It was between February 3 and 13, 1766, that he
and others were summoned to give testimony concerning the colonies at
the bar of the House of Commons sitting in committee of the whole. The
others have been forgotten, but his evidence never will be. The
proceeding was striking; there were some of the cleverest and most
experienced men in England to question him; no one of them singly was
his match; but there were many of them, and they conducted an
examination and a cross-examination both in one; that is to say, those
who wished to turn a point against him might at any moment interpose
with any question which might suddenly confuse or mislead him. But no
man was ever better fitted than Franklin to play the part of a witness,
and no record in politics or in law can compare with the report of his
testimony. Some persons have endeavored to account for, which means of
course to detract from, its extraordinary merit by saying that some of
the questions and replies had been prearranged; but it does not appear
that such prearrangement went further than that certain friendly
interrogators had discussed the topics with him so as to be familiar
with his views. Every lawyer does this with his witnesses. Nor can it be
supposed that the admirable replies which he made to the enemies of
America were otherwise than strictly impromptu. He had thorough
knowledge of the subject; he was in perfect control of his head and his
temper; his extraordinary faculty for clear and pithy statement never
showed to better advantage; he was, as always, moderate and reasonable;
but above all the wonderful element was the quick wit and ready skill
with which he turned to his own service every query which was designed
to embarrass him; and this he did not in the vulgar way of flippant
retort or disingenuous twistings of words or facts, but with the same
straightforward and tranquil simplicity of language with which he
delivered evidence for the friendly examiners. Burke likened the
proceeding to an examination of a master by a parcel of schoolboys.

Franklin used to say, betwixt plaint and humor, that it always seemed to
him that no one ever gave an abbreviation or an abstract of anything
which he had written, without very nearly spoiling the original. This
would be preeminently true of an abstract of this examination;
abbreviation can be only mutilation. It ranged over a vast
ground,--colonial history and politics, political economy, theories and
pract