"Burke's "Speech on Conciliation with America" abounds in general interpretation of expediency, morality, vision and noble temper". Discuss

Question: "Burke's "Speech on Conciliation with America" abounds in general interpretation of expediency, morality, vision and noble temper". Discuss.

Or, Illustrate the statement that Burke's "Speech on Conciliation with America" advocates a generous interpretation of expediency.

Answer: "Speech on Conciliation with America" is generally considered the greatest speech Burke has ever delivered. It has been acknowledged by historians and critics as a hallmark in the tradition of Western oratory. They applaud the speech for its wealth of imagery, political insight, and humanity. The speech is also appreciated for the political doctrines embedded in it. T. E. Utley comments in this regard that-

"It is not merely a guide to practical statesmanship; it contains some at least of the essentials of a philosophy of politics. Those who are determined to dissect can distinguish ............ principles of general application in this magnificent exercise of the art of political analysis."

Burke does not mean to put forward any political doctrine in his speech. He fervently and passionately, as is always the case with him, argues for conciliation with the colonies. But, as he argues his political thinking gets revealed and some general principles of politics emerge from it. His "Speech on Conciliation with America" is marked by a general interpretation of expediency, morality, vision and noble temper.

Burke was a practical politician; politics to him was an entirely pragmatic science. Therefore, whenever a problem presented itself to him, he studied facts and drew conclusions from them. He was always averse to theories. He was sharply distinguished from those Ipoliticians who looked down upon expediency in politics. Burke considered expediency as a cardinal principle to be followed in dealing with political problems. By it, he did not mean a time-serving policy having nothing at all to do with morality or higher principles of conduct, but utility and practicability in the best interests of the two parties - the ruler and the ruled. He renounced "metaphysical or 'abstract theories' in politics. In the speech he is in speculations" favour of prudent management of the American people. He argues that America must be governed practically taking into consideration the pros and cons of the matter. He says:

".... we must govern America according to that nature and to those circumstances, and not according to our own imaginations, nor according to abstract ideas of right--by no means according to mere general theories of government, the resort to which appears to me, in our present situation, no better than arrant trifling."

Burke's deep understanding of human nature is the basis for his ideology of expediency. He possesses the penetrating insight of a thinking politician and understands that self-interest is man's motivator in action - "Man acts from adequate motives relative to his interest, and not on metaphysical speculations." He rightly understands that in the political sphere give and take principle exerts a dominant force. His political prudence is evident in the following lines-

"All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act is founded on compromise and barter. We balance inconveniences; we give and take; we remit some rights, that we may enjoy others; and we choose rather be happy citizens than subtle disputants."

In the "Speech on Conciliation with America" Burke, from the very outset, is in favour of conciliation and compromise. However, he is not whimsically proposing concession; his arguments are grounded on the phenomenal realities of America. He informs the House that the size of the population in the colonies is growing and comments that it is dangerous "to trifle with so large a mass of the interests and feelings of the human race." He then considers America's wealth in terms of its trade, agriculture and fisheries. He shows that in the fields of trade, agriculture and fisheries the colonies have made unprecedented progress. The opulence of the American colonies so many appeals to Burke that he considers it "an object well worth fighting for". He prefers the policy of compromise and conciliation to force and coercion because "Nothing less will content me than whole America." This is why he is in favour of 'prudent management' than of force. He says:

“America, gentlemen say, is a noble object. It is an object well worth fighting for."

Burke considers the importance of America in England's life. Burke expresses his indebtedness to America. England owes America for her prosperity. It was America that fed her with the Roman charity when she was threatened with starvation. Burke says "when I see how profitable they have been to us, I feel all the pride of power sink, I pardon something to the spirit of liberty." This is indeed a generous recognition of the principles of morality when a man remembers his benefactor with due regard and is ready to lose something as a mark of gratitude.

In the "Speech on Conciliation with America" Burke shows his generous political sensibility. He is not parochial minded and his principles are those of compromise, justice, fair play, and morality. In the speech, he makes his position clear:

"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. Is a political act the worse for being a generous one? Is no concession proper but that which is made from your want of right to keep what you grant?"

In fact, the speech on conciliation is a very fervent and sincere appeal to the members of the Parliament to be just and generous towards America. In his opinion 'politics does not lose merit by being generous'. He makes his observation that-

"Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom, and a great empire and little minds go ill together."

Sympathetic recognition of other men's standpoints constitutes a significant portion of Burke's political wisdom. He is not the mercantile politician who is ready to sacrifice broader principles of equity, justice and peace for ready gains and subtle victories. When replying to the objection that taxation on America is not oppressive, he remarks that the Americans are 'touched and grieved' because there is something other than the pecuniary loss in it. His analysis is comprehensive. He sees things from a humanitarian perspective. He says-

"Men may lose little in property by the act which takes away all their freedom. When a man is robbed of a trifle on the highway, it is not the two-pence lost that constitutes the capital outrage. This is not confined to privileges. Even ancient indulgences, withdrawn without offence on the part of those who enjoyed such favours, operate as grievances."

Thus, the entire speech is a splendid illustration of Burke's noble spirit, generous sensibility and magnanimous power to recognize what is real politics divested of subtle abstractions. The speech itself is an eloquent testimony to his noble temper.