More regiments are ordered thither, and to-morrow a plan, I fear equivalent to a declaration of war, is to be laid before both Houses.

They are bold ministers methinks who do not hesitate on civil war, in which victory may bring ruin, and disappointment endanger their heads....

Acquisition alone can make burdens palatable, and in a war with our own colonies we must inflict instead of acquiring them, and we cannot recover them without undoing them.

I am still to learn wisdom and experience, if these things are not so." (Letter to Mann, January 25, 1775.) "A war with our colonies, which is now declared, is a proof how much influence jargon has on human actions.

A war on our own trade is popular." (February 15, 1775.) "The war with America goes on briskly, that is as far as voting goes.