Attributed by George to Viscount Townshend.
Library's copy closely trimmed within plate mark.
George III, surrounded by members of the present and former governments, (including Lord Thurlow, Lord Mansfield, Charles Fox, the Duke of Richmond, Lord Shelburne, Edmund Burke, Lord North, Lord Nugent, Mr Sheridan, Pitt, Lord Keppel, Lord Ashburton, Dunning, and Lord Amherst), stands on the British shore of the Atlantic Ocean. He holds out his arms in a gesture of uncertainty asking, "My Lords and Gentlemen, what should I do." Each of the statesmen gives his advice. In the background, "England's sun" is "setting" behind the hills at the foot of which sailors, soldiers and civilians are shown fighting, perhaps in allusion to the mutiny of sailors in Portsmouth in March 1783. Between both groups, on the extreme right, a smaller group of men with peg legs or on crutches, apparently veterans of the American war, is addressed by Lord Amherst who says, "Gentlemen we have no further occasion for you." On the extreme left, on the American shore of the Atlantic, a young girl in Indian dress sits between the kings of France and Spain, who each hold her hand. Benjamin Franklin places a wreath on top of her head-dress. Above in the sky, a witch flies away on a broomstick trailing or expelling the words "Peace -- Peace -- P-e-a-c" from under her skirts. The figures are numbered from 1 to 17, with a key in the bottom margin to assist in identification.