so. Hutchinson frankly avowed that, if his advice were taken, the
withdrawal would not be permitted. "But," said Franklin, "I venture to
stay," upon the chance of still being of use, "and I confide on my
innocence that the worst which can happen to me will be an imprisonment
upon suspicion; though that is a thing I should much desire to avoid, as
it may be expensive and vexatious, as well as dangerous to my health."
So spoke this imperturbable man, and calmly stayed at his post.

He was still consulted by both sides in England. In the August following
the scene in the privy council chamber, he called upon Lord Chatham and
had a long and interesting interview. He then said that he attributed
the late "wrong politics" to the departure from the old and true British
principle, "whereby every province was well governed, being trusted in a
great measure with the government of itself." When it was sought to take
this privilege from the colonies, grave blunders had inevitably ensued;
because, as he admirably expressed it, Parliament insisted upon being
_omnipotent_ when it was not _omniscient_. In other words, the affairs
of the unrepresented colonies were mismanaged through sheer ignorance.
It is noteworthy that England has since recognized the necessity of
precisely the principle indicated by Franklin for colonial government;
all her great colonies are now "trusted in a great measure with the
government" of themselves, and are consequently "well governed."
Franklin further assured his lordship that in all his travels in the
provinces he had never once heard independence hinted at as a desirable
thing. This gave Chatham much pleasure; but perhaps neither of them at
the moment reflected how many eventful years had elapsed since Franklin
was last journeying in America. He further declared that the colonists
were "even not against regulations of the general commerce by
Parliament, provided such regulations were _bona fide_ for the benefit
of the _whole empire_, not to the small advantage of one part to the
great injury of another." This, by the way, was a good point, which he
found very serviceable when people talked to him about the unity of the
empire. A genuine unity was just the gospel which he liked to preach.
"An equal dispensation," he said, "of protection, rights, privileges,
and advantages is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy, it
being a matter of no moment to the state whether a subject grows rich
and fl