"NO TWO MEASURES COULD BE MORE ODIOUS TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA THAN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THE TREATY WITH FRANCE"

(GALLOWAY, Joseph). Considerations Upon the American Enquiry. London: J. Wilkie, 1779. Octavo, modern three-quarter crimson morocco and marbled boards, raised bands, gilt-lettered spine; 2 p.l., (1)-55. $1500.

First edition of this attack on General Howe's conduct of the American War, attributed to Joseph Galloway, whose testimony before a Parliamentary enquiry is frequently cited in it.

Galloway, born in Maryland, moved to Philadelphia in the late 1740s, where he was mentored by Franklin and elected to the Assembly. Amidst fury over the Stamp Act, Galloway was "a spokesman for moderation when Anglo-American relations grew strained," but in late 1776 he "cast his lot with Britain" and joined Howe's army, where he served as "an intelligence official in the campaign of 1777 and as police commissioner of occupied Philadelphia. When the British evacuated Philadelphia, Galloway fled to London" and would remain in Britain until his death in 1803. He early insisted Britain "could win any war with America… [and] once fighting began his position changed only in that he suggested that Britain was invincible so long as the conflict was properly waged." He held Britain's failure was largely due to "inept generalship." Historians have noted that, in many cases, Galloway's criticism of Howe "was valid. Howe was extremely reluctant to fight Washington… [and] Galloway's criticism of Howe for beginning his campaigns too late and completing them too early was not unrealistic… even Washington would have agreed with many of Galloway's objections" to Howe's leadership (Ferling, Joseph Galloway's Military Advice, 172-88). Considerations Upon the American Enquiry, usually attributed to Galloway—the other author sometimes offered, Robert Dallas, was only 23 at the time—is one of the salvos in the bitter pamphlet war that erupted over the Parliamentary enquiry into the performance of Howe's army. "This tract has reference to the Parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of the army under General Howe. The writer thinks the colonies may be subdued. That not one-fifth of the colonists desire a separation from Great Britain, and that it is disgraceful for any Englishman to propose an acknowledgment of American independence" (Sabin 15960). First edition, with six-line errata on verso of the half title and text ending on page 55. There were three editions that same year. Adams 79-42a.

Text fine; handsomely bound.