The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke: On Conciliation with America; Security of the Independence of Parliament; on Mr. Fox's East India

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Cosimo, Inc., Jan 1, 2008 - History - 600 pages
This 12-volume set contains the complete life works of EDMUND BURKE (1729-1797), Irish political writer and statesman. Educated at a Quaker boarding school and at Trinity College in Dublin, Burke's eloquence gained him a high position in Britain's Whig party, and he was active in public life. He supported limitations on the power of the monarch and believed that the British people should have a greater say in their government. In general, Burke spoke out against the persecutions perpetuated by the British Empire on its colonies, including America, Ireland, and India. Burke's speeches and writings influenced the great thinkers of his day, including America's Founding Fathers. In Volume II, readers will find: . "Speech on American Taxation" . "Speeches on the Arrival at Bristol and at the Conclusion of the Poll" . "Speech on Moving Resolutions for Conciliation with America" . "Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol, On the Affairs of America" . "Two Letters to Gentlemen of Bristol, On the Bills Depending in Parliament Relative to the Trade of Ireland" . "Speech on Presenting to the House of Commons a Plan for the Better Security of the Independence of Parliament, and the Economical Reformation of the Civil and Other Establishments" . "Speech at Bristol Previous to the Election, September 6, 1780" . "Speech at Bristol on Declining the Poll, September 9, 1780" . "Speech of Mr. Fox's East India Bill" . "A Representation to His Majesty, Moved in the House of Commons"

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Contents

SPEECHES ON ARRIVAL AT BRISTOL AND AT THE CONCLU
81
SPEECH ON MOVING RESOLUTIONS FOR CONCILIATION WITH
99
LETTER TO THE SHERIFFS OF BRISTOL ON THE AFFAIRS
187
Two LETTERS TO GENTLEMEN OF BRISTOL ON THE BILLS
247
SPEECH ON PRESENTING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
265
SPEECH AT BRISTOL PREVIOUS TO THE ELECTION Septem
313
SPEECH AT BRISTOL ON DECLINING THE POLL Septem
425
SPEECH ON MR Foxs EAST INDIA BILL December 1 1783
434
A REPRESENTATION TO HIS MAJESTY MOVED IN
539
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Page 124 - The fact is so : and these people of the southern colonies are much more strongly, and with a higher and more stubborn spirit, attached to liberty, than those to the northward. Such were all the ancient commonwealths ; such were our Gothic ancestors ; such in our days were the Poles ; and such will be all masters of slaves, who are not slaves themselves. In such a people, the haughtiness of domination combines with the spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it invincible.
Page 180 - ... the great contexture of this mysterious whole. These things do not make your government. Dead instruments, passive tools as they are, it is the spirit of the English communion that gives all their life and efficacy to them. It is the spirit of the English Constitution, which, infused through the mighty mass, pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies every part of the empire, even down to the minutest member.
Page 114 - We stand where we have an immense view of what is, and what is past. Clouds, indeed, and darkness rest upon the future. Let us, however, before we descend from this noble eminence, reflect that this growth of our national prosperity has happened within the short period of the life of man. It has happened within sixtyeight years. There are those alive whose memory might touch the two extremities. For instance, my Lord Bathurst might remember all the stages of the progress. He was in 1704 of an age...
Page 139 - If you mean to satisfy them at all, you must satisfy them with regard to this complaint. If you mean to please any people, you must give them the boon which they ask ; not what you may think better for them, but of a kind totally different.
Page 38 - He was bred to the law, which is, in my opinion, one of the first and noblest of human sciences; a science which does more to quicken and invigorate the understanding, than all the other kinds of learning put together; but it is not apt, except in persons very happily born, to open and to liberalize the mind exactly in the same proportion.
Page 140 - The question with me is, not whether you have a right to render your people miserable ; but whether it is / not your interest to make them happy. It is not, what a lawyer tells me I may do ; but what humanity, reason, and justice, tell me I ought to do.
Page 106 - It is simple peace; sought in its natural course, and in its ordinary haunts. — It is peace sought in the spirit of peace ; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, by removing the ground of the difference, and by restoring the former unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the mother country, to give permanent satisfaction to your people...
Page 180 - Deny them this participation of freedom, and you break that sole bond, which originally made, and must still preserve, the unity of the empire.
Page 123 - The Church of England, too, was formed from her cradle under the nursing care of regular government. But the dissenting interests have sprung up in direct opposition to all the ordinary powers of the world, and could justify that opposition only on a strong claim to natural liberty.
Page 95 - Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitted attention.

About the author (2008)

Born in Ireland in 1729, Edmund Burke was an English statesman, author, and orator who is best remembered as a formidable advocate for those who were victims of injustice. He was the son of a Dublin lawyer and had also trained to practice law. In the 1760s, Burke was elected to the House of Commons from the Whig party. Burke spent most of his career in Parliament as a member of the Royal Opposition, who was not afraid of controversy, as shown by his support for the American Revolution and for Irish/Catholic rights. His best-known work is Reflections on the French Revolution (1790). Some other notable works are On Conciliation with the American Colonies (1775) and Impeachment of Warren Hastings (1788). Edmund Burke died in 1797.

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