Lord North rose and moved, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill, to prohibit all trade and intercourse with the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachuset's Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, during the continuance of the present rebellion within the said colonies respectively; for repealing an Act, made in the 14th [year] of his present Majesty, to discontinue the landing and discharging, lading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandize, at the town and within the harbour of Boston, in the province of Massachuset's Bay; and also two Acts, made in the last session of parliament, for restraining the trade and commerce of the colonies in the said Acts respectively mentioned; and to enable his Majesty to appoint commissioners, and to issue proclamations in the cases and for the purposes therein to be mentioned." His lordship explained the necessity of restraining the Americans from all trade during the present rebellion, and the justice there would be in immediately taking off the restraint from such colony wherein it might cease; that the Boston Port Act, and the Acts passed last year, being framed upon other grounds and for other purposes, would stand in the way of this operation; that the restraining Bills were civil coercions against civil crimes; but we being now at war, the provisions were incapable, and other provisions were necessary: those provisions he now proposed were such as would be made use of in case of war with any country in the world; but they were framed under such provisos as might open the door of peace upon its first approach. That if we were ready also to repeal the Charter Bills, yet he could not do it while they denied the right that we had to make them; that as to the Bill for the administration of justice, there was no need to repeal that, because the country being in actual war, martial law took place, and there were no courts of justice in which it could operate; it was a temporary BiH for three years, two of which are expired; and it would cease of itself. That he should also be ready to repeal the tea duty on the same grounds, that he would suspend every exercise of the right of taxation, if the colonies themselves would point out any mode by which they would bear their share of the burden and give their aid to the common defence. The purport of the clause respecting the commissions, had been very well explained the other day by a noble lord (George Germaine,) that it meant besides the granting of pardons that they should enquire into any matter of change of circumstances in which the colonies were now, from the time they were when the laws were made: if there were any matter of real grievance that could be remedied, that they were to have the power of judging whether any part or a whole colony were returned to that state of obedience, that they might declare that colony or part to be in peace, upon which the restrictions in the present Bill were so formed as to cease.... That there were two grounds, upon which every minister ought to stand: the first was, that the king had an undoubted right of naming his own servants: the second, which formed the happiness of this country, that if the people by their representatives did really disapprove the measures of any minister, to that degree that they would not go along with him, the king, however he might approve such minister, could not carry on business by him, and must part with him. That this business of quarrel with the colonies about taxation, was begun and prepared for him before he engaged in it as a minister; that he took it up, not when it was a question whether it was right to tax the colonies or not, but when they disputed our having any such right, and at a time when this country was determined not to give it up: as he engaged when this dispute had actually begun, he was bound to see it through; and if the colonies, by appealing to arms, had made war the medium, although peace was the only point he ever retained in his view, he must pursue it through that medium: being thus engaged, he did declare, that unless the King dismissed him, or a majority of the House, disapproving his conduct, desired his dismission, he would not give up the conduct of this business to any body else. As to the means of conducting the war, he declared there never was any idea of employing the negroes or the Indians, until the Americans themselves had first applied to them; that general Carleton did then apply to them; and even then, it was only for the defence of his own province. As to the events of the war, things wore a much better aspect at present, than a little while ago; that Halifax was now absolutely safe; that there were indeed two expeditions against Canada, but he did hope that Canada would not fall into the hands of the rebels. He would almost venture to say that Quebec was safe; but he begged the House would not understand him as promising that: his own opinion was, that it would not fall into the hands of the rebels.