In February, 1782, a motion in
the House of Commons for peace was lost by only one vote; and in
March, in spite of the frantic expostulations of the King, Lord
North resigned. The King insisted that at any rate some members
of the new ministry must be named by himself and not, as is the
British constitutional custom, by the Prime Minister. On this,
too, he had to yield; and a Whig ministry, under the Marquis of
Rockingham, took office in March, 1782. Rockingham died on the
1st of July, and it was Lord Shelburne, later the Marquis of
Lansdowne, under whom the war came to an end. The King meanwhile
declared that he would return to Hanover rather than yield the
independence of the colonies. Over and over again he had said
that no one should hold office in his government who would not
pledge himself to keep the Empire entire. But even his obstinacy
was broken. On December 5, 1782, he opened Parliament with a
speech in which the right of the colonies to independence was
acknowledged. "Did I lower my voice when I came to that part of
my speech?" George asked afterwards. He might well speak in a
subdued tone for he had brought the British Empire to the lowest
level in its history.
In America, meanwhile, the glow of victory had given way to
weariness and lassitude.
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