already been urging this policy by writings in the
"Gazette," and now, when the ideas of the different commissioners were
brought into comparison, his were deemed the best. His outline of a
scheme, he says, "happen'd to be preferr'd," and, with a few amendments,
was accordingly reported. It was a league rather than a union, somewhat
resembling the arrangement which came into existence for the purposes of
the Revolution. But it came to nothing; "its fate," Franklin said, "was
singular." It was closely debated, article by article, and having at
length been "pretty unanimously accepted, it came before the colonial
assemblies for ratification." But they condemned it; "there was too much
prerogative in it," they thought. On the other hand, the board of trade
in England would not approve it because it had "too much of the
democratic." All which led Franklin to "suspect that it was really the
true medium." He himself acknowledged that one main advantage of it
would be "that the colonies would, by this connection, learn to consider
themselves, not as so many independent states, but as members of the
same body; and thence be more ready to afford assistance and support to
each other," etc. It was already the _national idea_ which lay, not
quite formulated, yet distinct enough in his mind. It was hardly to be
expected that the home government would fail to see this tendency, or
that they would look upon it with favor. Franklin long afterward
indulged in some speculations as to what might have been the
consequences of an adoption of his scheme, namely: united colonies,
strong enough to defend themselves against the Canadian French and
their Indian allies; no need, therefore, of troops from England; no
pretext, therefore, for taxing the provinces; no provocation, therefore,
for rebellion. "But such mistakes are not new; history is full of the
errors of states and princes.... The best public measures are seldom
_adopted from previous wisdom but forc'd by the occasion_." But this
sketch of what might have been sounds over-fanciful, and the English
were probably right in thinking that a strong military union, with home
taxation, involved more of danger than of safety for the future
connection between the colonies and the mother country.

There was much uneasiness, much planning, theorizing, and discussing
going on at this time about the relationship between Great Britain and
her American provinces; earlier stages of that talk which kept