USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Abington > Historical sketch of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. With an appendix > Part 10
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The sums emitted at various times amounted to 200 millions of dollars. It would not be true, however, to suppose, that value to that amount was received by con- gress. To know what the bills were actually worth to the people when issued, it is necessary to know the date and amount of all the several emissions, and the depreciation at the time of the issue.
From these data, it appears, that all the bills of credit emitted by congress, were worth, in gold and silver,
* By an act of congress passed 4th August, 1790, provision was made for redeeming this paper, at the rate of 100 in bills for 1 in specie. In this way 2 millions were made to redeem 200 millions.
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36,367,719 dollars. If the like sum of 200 millions, supposed to have been issued by the states, be estima- ted in the same way ; and the revolutionary federal debt, foreign and domestic, be set at 43 millions, (it ap- peared by the report of a committee of congress at the close of the war, to be near that sum,) and the debts of the states at 25 millions, then the whole cost of in- dependence to the people of the United States, would be about 140 millions of dollars.
E.
LAND BANK OR MANUFACTORY SCHEME.
In consequence of the deranged condition of the province currency, in the beginning of 1740 ; and with the professed design of providing a remedy for the great inconveniences, that were expected to arise from with- drawing from circulation, in 1741, all the various emis- sions of paper money, without substituting any other medium of trade than gold and silver, a company was formed for the purpose of issuing notes or bills of credit, on land security, to an amount not exceeding £150,- 000 .*
The subscribers for stock were to receive the sums subscribed in the notes of the company, and for securi- ty, mortgage to the directors' real estate to their satis- faction, with the condition to pay annually, for 20 years, 5 per cent. of the principal lent, and 3 per cent. interest, either in such notes or any of the following articles, the produce of the country, viz. 'hemp, flax, cordage, bar- iron, cast-iron, linen, sheep's wool, copper, tanned leath- er, flaxseed, bees-wax, baberry-wax, sail cloth or canvass, nails, tallow, timber or cord wood, and logwood, though from New Spain.' These articles were to be delivered
* The amount of bills actually issued, in sums from 20 shillings down to 3 pence, was £49,250 10s.
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to the directors, or their agents, to be by them employed in trade.
There were 863 partners in this scheme. About 400 belonged to Boston, and the rest to various towns throughout the province. In Abington, there were 3, if not more, viz. Hezekiah Ford, Ebenezer Josselyn, and William Tirrill.
This scheme was obnoxious to Gov. Belcher, and great exertions were made to crush it.
In July, 1740, he issued a proclamation, warning the people not to receive or pass the notes of the company, because, as was alleged, their circulation would tend ' to defraud men of their estates, and disturb the peace and order of the people.'
Another proclamation was issued in November, in which all officers of the militia were cautioned against giving currency, in any way, to this paper, under a pen- alty of dismission from office.
Circular letters were addressed to the courts of Gen- eral Sessions of the Peace, desiring them 'to caution all such as were taverners, retailers, and common vict- uallers, against passing or receiving any of these bills ;' and requesting them not to grant licenses to such as might ' despise government, and disturb peace and good order, contrary to the nature and design of their office.'
By a vote of the council, no attorney, or counsellor, was to be permitted to appear before them, in that ca- pacity, who should pass, receive, or give encouragement to the circulation of land bank money.
The opposition to the bank was made to bear upon the legislature. In May, 1741, the house of represen- tatives chose for their speaker, Samuel Watts, Esq. one
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of the directors of the bank, and thirteen new counsel- lors, who were directors or partners, or were supposed to be favorers of it. The Governor, in the exercise of his prerogative, negatived their appointment. And so much, indeed, was he piqued at these elections, that the next day he sent a message and dissolved the legisla- ture.
These great efforts to prevent the currency of this money, doubtless had some effect ; but a large portion, and probably a majority of the people, were disposed to sustain the bank. It therefore became necessary, in the Governor's estimation, to execute the threats con- tained in his proclamations.
Accordingly, many judicial and military officers were removed from office. Among the former, were Samuel Adams, (father of the late Gov. Adams,) and William Stoddard, of Boston, Samuel Watts, of Chelsea, Rob- ert Hale, of Beverly, John Choate, of Ipswich, and George Leonard, of Norton. They, with Robert Auch- muty, of Roxbury, Peter Chardon, of Boston, and Thomas Cheever, of Lynn, were at the time, di- rectors of the bank. Leonard was removed from two offices-that of justice of the peace, and judge of the inferior court of common pleas for the county of Bris- tol. It is not known that any one was removed from office in Plymouth county, excepting Elkanah Leonard, Esq. of Middleborough.
The strong measures taken by the Governor, on the one hand, to put down this currency, and by the bank and its friends on the other, to sustain it, were leading on the people to disturbances of the public peace. In- formation was given the executive, of movements tend-
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ing to such an issue, in the counties of Suffolk and Plymouth. To ascertain their character and object, several persons were examined under oath, before the Governor and Council.
The following extracts from some of the testimony, mostly taken 11th and 12th of May, 1741, shows the existence of a combination to enforce the circulation of the prohibited currency, by violent means.
Seth Cushing, of Hingham-' On the 3d inst. being Lord's day, John Lewis asked him, whether he had heard any thing of the dreamers-and said he had heard that there was to be a mob at Boston, the 19th instant; and that he had heard, that 1000 men would rise in Boston, and 20,000 in the country, and that they had now got the dream in writing. And said Cushing said, he had heard several men, whose names he cannot remember, say, that they would come to Boston, and if corn was there, and the merchants would not let them have it, they would throw them into the dock.'
Samuel Bates, jr., of Weymouth-' had heard a re- port in that town, of a confederacy in the country of about 5000 men, who designed to come to Boston to · know the reason why there was not a currency for land bank money ; and that Samuel Bates, senior, assured him that he saw a paper to this purpose, and that David French carried it to Abington, last night.'
Robert Brown, of Plymouth-stated, that the week before, he was in Kingston, and there met one Latham, from Bridgewater, of middle age, who asked him if he would take land bank money for corn. He said if he would, his house would stand. The declarant asked him what he meant, but got no answer. He further
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stated, that on the Monday before, one Nathaniel Cobb, of Plympton, said in his house, at Plymouth, that 300 men had signed.
Deacon Thomas Josselyn, of Hanover-' At Capt. Thomas Bardin's, in said town, he met Joseph Gurney, of Abington, on the 2d of May, inst. as he remembers, who told him there was a number of men, that were to come to Boston to buy corn, (as the declarant supposed) with land bank money, and upon the declarant's dis- countenancing the affair, the said Gurney, after he left him, as Capt. Adam Cushing and Capt. Bardin inform- ed him, cursed him, and called him puppy, because he was concerned in the land bank, and would not support it.'
Capt. Thomas Bardin-' About five weeks ago, di- vers Abington men being at his house, made great com- plaints of the merchants at Boston, for imposing upon them in their trade, and seemed to be under discontent for want of a medium of trade. That about the 1st of May instant, there were divers Bridgewater and Abing- ton men at his house, and among others, one Joseph Gurney, an Abington man, who asked the declarant, whether he was not acquainted with the design. Upon which, the declarant asked him-what design? He answered-to go to Boston to trade for corn, and asked, where would be the harm, if 500 men should go and behave themselves civilly ? The declarant said, none at all, as he knew of. But, what is your design in go- ing ? He answered, to see if the merchants will trade with us, and we want you to go with us, for Capt. Ad- am Cushing, and Dr. White, (of Weymouth,) and Capt. Pierce, of Milton, will go with us. The declarant re-
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plied, I doubt whether any of these persons will be concerned in that affair. Gurney, as well as the rest, said, this medium (meaning the manufacturing bills, as the declarant understood,) must pass. Gurney further said, you are in every man's mouth, and you must go with us.' 'One Spear, a Hanover man, in the compa- ny, told the declarant, that he must go on this business, for every body depended upon him, or words to that effect. The declarant was afterwards informed, that the names they gave their leaders were, Little John, Robin Hood, and Whalebone.'
William Royal, of Stoughton-' had heard a young man that came from Bridgewater, say, that the people at Bridgewater were very much engaged in the same affair, and that it was to be prosecuted the 19th inst.'
Immediately after these examinations, a warrant was issued by Edward Hutchinson, Jacob Wendell, and An- thony Stoddard, justices of the peace throughout the province, against Joseph Gurney* and Nathaniel Spear. The charge against them was, for being concerned in a design and combination with a number of evil minded persons, to come into the town of Boston, in a tumul- tuous manner, tending to the disturbance and disquiet of his majesty's good subjects, and against the king's peace and dignity.'
Gurney was arrested, and on the 14th of May, brought before the Governor and council-but what was done is not known, though it is probable he was acquit- ted. A similar warrant was issued against other indi- viduals.
* Gurney was killed instantly, by the fall of a tree, in 1770, at the age of 71.
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The promptness and energy of these proceedings, broke up the confederacy, and possibly saved the com- munity from disorder and violence. Soon after, the company was dissolved by act of parliament *; and in 1743, the general court took the settlement of their af- fairs out of the hands of the directors, and vested it in a board of commissioners. After the lapse of about 30 years, by means of assessments on the partners,f and a lottery, the concerns of the bank were brought to a close. Numerous traces, however, were left, of the ' incurable confusion it had produced,' and the ruin it had brought on individuals and families.
* The elder President Adams, in one of the numbers of Novanglus, says, this act ' raised a greater ferment in the province, than the stamp act.' The objec- tions were, to the right of parliament to pass such a law, and, admitting the right, to the character of some of its particular provisions. It is understood to have given the bill holders a right of action, against any partner, for the full sum expressed in the bills, with interest. As they had been issued for less than their nominal value, and many of the holders had received them at a great discount, the individual members of the company had some reason to complain of in- justice, though so far as the company were concerned, it might not have been unreasonable that they should sustain some losses, by way of penalty, for their unwarrantable undertaking.
t Gov. Hutchinson says, in the 3d volume of his History of Massachusetts, that after the death of Samuel Adams, senior, his estate was advertised for sale by the sheriff, to pay a land bank debt. His son, the late governor, then a young man, attended the auction, and threatened to sue the officer if he pro- ceeded in the sale, and all who should presume to enter on the estate under pretence of a purchase. 'By intimidating both the sheriff and those persons wlio intended to purchase, he kept the estate in his own possession.'
F. FRENCH NEUTRALS.
In the latter part of 1755, several transports arrived at Boston, with a large number of Acadians, or French inhabitants of Nova Scotia. No provision having been made for their support here, the legislature, then in ses- sion, ordered them to be distributed most conveniently among the towns, and directed the selectmen, or over- seers of the poor, to receive, employ, and support them, so as to incur the least expense to the province. Nine persons were sent to Abington, viz. John White, his wife and six children, and Mary Laundry, probably his mother-in-law. This distribution among the towns was unequal, and, in 1760, a new one was made, accor- ding to their respective proportions of the province tax. As Abington had more than her share, six of this family were ordered to be removed-three to Freetown, and three to Berkly, in the county of Bristol. The order was never complied with, probably because it was not thought desirable to divide the family .*
At the time these neutrals arrived, Gov. Shirley was absent on the Crown Point Expedition. On his return, the legislature made him an address, in which they spoke of these people. Alluding to their destitute con-
* This family, while at Abington, lived at Capt. Elisha Ilersey's, and at Jacob and David Porter's.
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dition, they say, ' their live stock, husbandry tools, and most of their household furniture, were left in the prov- ince of Nova Scotia ; and very few of them brought with them any goods or estate of any kind.' Their poverty, however, seems to have been less regarded, than the danger to be apprehended from their intermix- ture and association with our own people. 'The re- ceiving,' they say, ' among us so great a number of per- sons, whose gross bigotry to the Catholic religion is notorious, and whose loyalty to the king is sus- pected, is a thing very disagreeable to us.' It was, probably, to avoid as much as possible the evil feared from this source, that an order was passed June, 1756, providing, ' that none of the French neutrals should be permitted to travel from town to town, without leave first had of the selectmen, or overseers of the poor, cer- tified in writing, or they may be stopped and returned by one or two English householders.'
The whole number of neutrals here, in 1760, is sta- ted by Gov. Pownall, in a speech to the legislature, to have been 1017. The expense to the province of their support, to August, 1763, was £9563 sterling.
These people remained here till the close of the French war, in 1763, when they generally left the coun- try. Some went to France, some to the West Indies, some to Canada, and a few returned to their native coun- try.
A brief account of the causes of their removal, and some of the circumstances attending it, if not very ap- propriate, it is hoped may not be altogether uninterest- ing.
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Nova Scotia, under the name of Acadia, was origi- nally settled by the French. After the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, by which that country was ceded to Great Britain, many of the French inhabitants moved to Can- ada and elsewhere. Those who chose to remain, were permitted to retain their possessions, and allowed the free exercise of their religion, upon taking an oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain, with a distinct understanding on their part, that they were not to be required to bear arms either against the French or In- dians. This contract was afterwards renewed with their children, and so notorious was the compact, that they acquired the name of French Neutrals.
After the settlement of Halifax, commenced in 1749, (a measure which excited the jealousy of the French, and induced them to make incursions through the country of the neutrals, to annoy that place,) the then governor of the province, the more effectually to secure the loy- alty of the Acadians, required them to take the oath of allegiance anew, and without any qualification whatev- er. This they objected to, as contrary to the conditions upon which their fathers agreed to settle under the Brit- ish government ; and they said, ' if they should under- take to aid the English in suppressing the Indians, the savages would pursue them with unrelenting hostility- that neither they nor their children would be secure from their vengeance. That to bear arms against their countrymen, was a condition repugnant to the feelings of human nature. They, therefore, requested to be in- formed, if they chose the alternative of quitting their country, whether they would be permitted to sell their lands and personal effects.' They were told in reply- ' that by the treaty of Utrecht, one year was allowed
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them for disposing of their property, which period hav- ing elapsed, they could neither part with their effects, nor leave the province.'
Subsequently, and as a measure preparatory to their removal, they were disarmed, their records, title deeds and other papers, taken from them ; and finally, after the Massachusetts troops* under Lieut. Col. John Wins- low, of Marshfield, had taken Beau-Sejour, and anoth- er fort on the river Gaspereaux, the provincial govern- ment secretly resolved to remove the whole body of the neutrals from the country, and disperse them among the other British provinces. It was probably thought bet- ter to send them to the other colonies as prisoners of war, than simply to exile them, as in the latter case, they might go to Canada, and there help recruit the strength of the enemy.
The reasons offered in justification of this measure, were, that the Acadians had refused to take the oath of allegiance, without the qualification before mentioned- that they had furnished the French and Indians intelli- gence, quarters and provisions, and that 300 of them were taken, with arms in their hands, at the capture of Beau-Sejour.
The execution of this resolution was confided to Col. Winslow. He issued a proclamation, requiring the French inhabitants in the various settlements, to appear at several specified places, on the same day. One por- tion was to assemble in the church, at Grand Prè, Sep- tember 5th, 1755, at 3, P. M. In accordance with this
* Several of Winslow's soldiers were from Abington. In the selectmen's book, under date June, 1757, is the following-' then paid Jonathan Torrey £2 14s. 2d. for the soldiers, that were rated in his rate bill, that went to Minas, according to a vote of the town.'
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summons, 418 able bodied men entered the church, at the appointed time, and the doors were shut. The colonel then addressed them. 'That part of duty he was then upon was very disagreeable to his natural make and temper, as he knew it must be grievous to them,' &c. It was not, however, for him to animadvert, but to obey his orders, and he proceeded to inform them that ' their lands and tenements, cattle of all kinds, and live stock of all sorts, were forfeited to the crown, with all their other effects, saving their money and household goods, and that they were to be removed from the province.'
The whole number, who were entrapped in this way at Grand Prè, and other places, with those who were hunted and taken from their hiding places in the depths of the forests, were 7000.
The sufferings of these unfortunate people, in the circumstances of their removal-in their passage to this country, and in their separate and scattered condition here, cannot well be conceived. From the enjoyment of a competency, and, in many instances, affluence, 'in the beautiful prairies which they had diked out from the sea, and made fruitful and luxuriant fields,' they were at once reduced to abject poverty, and obliged to de- pend, in their dispersion in a strange land, on public charity for the means of living.
All suffered, but not alike. The case of one Rene Le Blanc* was peculiar. He had been a notary public in Nova Scotia. While in the service of the govern-
* Col. Winslow, in a letter to the Governor of Nova Scotia, dated Grand Prè, August 30, 1755, says, 'as to poor father Le Blane, I shall, with your Excellency's permission, send him to my own place.' What prevented him from so doing, does not appear.
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ment, he was taken by the Indians, and carried to a French fort, and there held in captivity four years. In a petition of the neutrals sent to Pennsylvania, to the king, it was said of him-' Father Le Blanc was seized, confined, and brought away among the rest of the peo- ple, and his family, consisting of 20 children, and about 150 grand-children, were scattered in the different col- onies. He was put on shore at New York, with only his wife and two youngest children, in an infirm state of health, from whence he joined three more of his children, at Philadelphia -- where he died, without any more notice being taken of him, than any of us, not- withstanding his many years labor and deep sufferings in your majesty's service.'
The removal of the Acadians, in the way it was ef- fected, cannot but be considered an act of great cruelty and injustice. It was the infliction of a terrible pun- ishment on a whole community, most of whom were innocent, for the misconduct of a part. Well has it been said, that the reasons of State, upon which it was sought to be justified, ' were never more cheaply urged nor more odiously triumphant.'
See Halliburton's History of Nova Scotia, and Walsh's appeal.
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JAN 9 - 1931
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