USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of Boston, the metropolis of Massachusetts, from its origin to the present period; with some account of the environs > Part 26
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
Means were taken by the authorities of the town immediate. ly to ascertain the amount of losses, and a spirit of sympathy was every where excited in behalf of the sufferers. Every individual furnished a schedule of every article he missed, and his own valuation of it, to a committee appointed for the purpose : where they considered it just, they adopted such valuation : where it was thought too high, they curtailed it. The whole sum, thus ascertained, amounted to £71,112. 7s. 3d. lawful money : of which £44,121. 6s. 8d. was in real estate. The Quaker meeting-house, 133 dwelling-houses, 36 barns, 63 stores, 66 shops, in all 299 buildings, were destroyed. Sarah Ayers and 438 other sufferers petitioned parliament for relief : our accounts do not say that any was obtained : from other sources the donations in full, up to the 22d of March, 1763, were £22,107. 1s. 6d. The town embraced the opportunity offered for improvements in the streets, and a law was passed, in the June session succeeding the fire, to regulate the building of houses on the spots laid waste.
Gov. Pownall sailed from Boston, June 3, 1760. This left the administration in the hands of Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchin- son, until the arrival of His Ex. Francis Bernard, Esq. on the 2d of August following. He was received with great parade. The Sheriff of Suffolk (Greenleaf) and a party of the Gover- nour's troop of guards met him at Wrentham, and accompa- nied him to Dedham, where the Lt. Gov. and some of the council, attended by Brig. Gen. Royall with the rest of the troop of guards, waited to receive him. A procession of gen- tlemen in coaches and chariots escorted them into town and proceeded to the Province House,* where the company of of Cadets under Col. Jarvis was drawn up. Thence H. E. walked in procession to the Court-house [Old State-house], and the regiment of militia in this town commanded by Col. Phillips being paraded in the main street, the officers paid the
* The Province House is a large brick building, which stands in the rear of Province- house row, opposite the head of Milk-st. It is three stories in height, stood back at a con- venient distance from the street, having a small garden plat in front of it, and a fence of iron railing, at the gate of which were two large trees, which agreeably shaded the passage to the house. The entrance was by an ascent of stone steps. Upon the cupola on the roof a pedestal supports a figure of bronze, an aboriginal native holding in his hand a bow and arrow, well executed by Dea. Drowne, formerly an ingenious artist in the town. The front of the house was ornamented with the king's arms, elegantly carved and gilt : this is pre- served in the museum of the Historical Society. The estate has been given by the State to the Massachusetts General Hospital and Asylum for the Insane ; the trustees have leased it for 100 years, and the lessees erected a large brick pile in front of it, to be used for shops, which entirely prevents its being seen from the street. When the Province first obtained possession of it, we have not ascertained. Its builder and the year of its erection are proba- bly indicated by the letters and date 16 P. S. 79 which appear on the rail that surmounts the iron balustrade over the portico.
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. HISTORY OF BOSTON.
standing salute as H. E. passed by. At the Court-house the governour's commission was read, and H. E. received the congratulations of the Court, which was succeeded by three vollies from the troop of guards, the regiment of militia and the cadets, and three huzzas from the populace, as also a dis- charge from the guns at Castle William, the batteries in this town and Charlestown, and from the Province ship King George and the other ships in the harbour. After which H.E. with the Lieut. Gov. and Council, a number of officers civil and military, and of the clergy and other gentlemen, were entertained with an elegant dinner, provided at Faneuil-hall.
The death of king George II. took place on the 25th of Oc- tober, and on the 27th, his grandson George William, prince of Wales, was proclaimed in London. Authentick advices of these facts were received at Boston in precisely two months after their occurrence, and ceremonies very similar to those just related took place on the proclamation of king George the Third, from the balcony of the Court-house : 63 guns being fired at the Castle, a dinner at the Hall, and illumina- tions in the evening. On the first of the new year, two days after, there was a general mourning on account of George II. All the bells in the town began tolling in the morning and con- tinued most part of the day, and minute guns to the number of 77, the years of His Majesty's age, were discharged at the Castle. These were the last exhibitions here of a similar nature on the like occasions, and furnish some notion of the manner in which such events had been celebrated ever since the new charter.
In the month of January, 1761, the weather at Boston was extremely cold, so that the harbour was for two or three days almost filled with ice. On Tuesday evening, the 13th, 'at about half an hour after nine o'clock, a violent fire broke out in one of the shops opposite the north side of Faneuil-Hall market on Dock-sq. which entirely consumed all the row of wooden buildings, from the store occupied by the Hon. Thos. Hubbard, Esq. to the swing bridge. These buildings belong- ed to the town, and were leased to a number of tradesmen, some of whom had their whole stock therein, most of which was either consumed or lost. There were several small schooners in the dock, but they received little damage, nor did the fire proceed to the N. side of the dock ; on the con- trary, it communicated itself to that stately edifice, Faneuil- Hall market, the whole of which was entirely consumed, ex- cepting the brick walls, which are left standing. The fire then proceeded to. a number of shops improved by some tradesmen, on the South side of the market, and consumed them also. The severity of the weather was such that many persons could scarce stand it, and the water which issued
p 217
SOLOC.
NORTH EAST VIEW OF FANUEIL HALL.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
from the engines congealed into particles of ice before it fell. No dwelling-house was consumed. The records and papers, with such other things as could be conveniently removed, were mostly saved. March 23d, the town voted to repair the building, and the Gen. Court granted the town a lottery for the purpose of defraying the expense .*
CHAPTER XLIV.
I look with rapture at the opening dawn, And view the glories of the rising morn, When Justice holds hier sceptre o'er the land, To rescue Freedom from a tyrant hand. Mrs. Warren.
AT the close of Chapter xxxiv. we quoted the observation that ' a party was formed which opposed submission to the charter.' Their ground of opposition was the extension, which the char- ter gave to the royal power and influence in and over the colony. It would be an instructive history, that should ex- hibit to us in minute detail the course pursued by that party, from the commencement of Gov. Phipps' administration to that of Gov. Bernard. We might discover in it the progres- sive operation of the principles, and the regular and constant increase of the spirit, which in event produced the American Revolution. But such a detail would be too foreign from the subject of this work. The beginning of the reign of George III. was destined to be marked by the more decisive steps of the party alluded to, and we therefore proceed to note the events that occurred in Boston, which we suppose to have been the com- mencement of the overt acts, which resulted in open rebellion and eventual independence.
' Suffice it to say, that immediately upon the conquest of Canada, in 1759, Great-Britain seemed to be seized with a jealousy against the colonies, and then concerted the plan of changing their forms of government, of restraining their trade within narrower bounds, and raising a revenue within them
* The first meeting at Faneuil-Hall, after it was repaired, was on March 14th, 1763. Some slight alterations were made in some parts of the work, but the size of the building remain- ed the same. The enlargement, by which it was extended in width to 80 feet, and a third story added, was proposed by the selectmen in May, 1805, and completed in the course of the next twelve months. The white line in our view of the Ilall exhibits the line of demarcation between the original building and the addition.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
by authority of parliament. The first demonstration of the new course, intended to be pursued, was the arrival of an or- der sent from the Board of Trade to the custom-house officers in America, to apply to the supreme courts of justice for Writs of Assistance, to enable them to carry into a more rigorous execution certain acts of parliament called the Acts of trade. In Massachusetts, Charles Paxton, Esq. who was at the head of the customs in Boston, directed his deputy at Salem, Mr. Cockle, in Nov. 1760, to petition the court then sitting in that town for the grant of such writs. The court expressed great doubt of the legality of the writ, and of the authority of the court to grant it : but as the application was on the part of the crown, it could not be dismissed without a hearing, which was fixed for the next term of the court, to be held in Feb. 1761, at Boston, when the question was ordered to be argu- ed. The proposed form of this writ was such as to give the officer holding it, upon bare suspicion, power to enter any houses, ships, cellars, stores, chests, or magazines, to search for goods that had been imported contrary to the acts of trade.
Beside their natural zeal to merit the approbation of the ministry, the custom-house officers had the still stronger in- ducement of the prospect of accumulating wealth, to exercise rigour in the performance of their official duties. Hence a rooted aversion subsisted between them and the people con- cerned in the foreign trade of the province. And while the question of the issue of Writs of Assistance was pending, a memorial was framed, apparently with a view to counteract their project for gain, and presented to the General Court, Dec. 19, 1760, charging them with appropriating to their own use, a portion of the goods forfeited, which of right accrued to the province. . The memorialists were 58 in number, and included the most eminent merchants of Boston ; viz.
John Avery
Sam. Dexter
Thos. Boylston
John Barrett
Jona. Williams
John Greene
John Rowe
Edw. Davis
Tim. Fitch
John Tudor
Tim. Newell
Fitch Pool
John Dennia
Sol. Davis
Jos. Domett
Thos. Greene
John Waldo
John Amory
Jolin Spooner
Henderson Inches
Thos. Greene, jr.
John Gooch
Wm. Greenleaf
Dan'l Malcom
Wm. Molineauz
Jona. Mason
Jobn Welch, jr.
Thos. Tyler
John Boylston
Peter Boyer
John Scollay
Jona. Amory
John Browne
Sam. Grant
John Baker
James Thompson
Benj. Hallowell
Sam. Hughes
Wm. Thompson
Sam. Welles, jr.
Melatiah Bourne Thos. Gray
Geo. Erving
John Erving, jr ..
Arnold Welles
Sam. Austin
Jos. Green
John Powell
Jona. Sayward
Josh. Winslow
Sam. Phil. Savage
James Perkins
Nath. Holmes
James Boutineau
Ezek. Goldthwait
Benj. Austin
Chr. Clarke
Sam. Wentworth
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
These may perhaps be considered the first men, who set themselves in open array against the officers of the crown. Their memorial was referred to a joint committee of the House and Council, which reported that the province was illegally and unjustly kept out of £475, 9s. 11d. and that the Treasurer should be empowered to demand and sue for the money. Gov. Bernard opposed his negative to this pro- position, but at last assented to it in a message, Jan. 31, 1761, " hoping that they would not require of him such another proof of his great desire of preserving a good understanding with them."*
When the time appointed for the discussion of the question of Writs of Assistance drew near, the mercantile part of the community was in a state of great anxiety as to the result. The officers of the customs called upon James Otis, jun. esq. as advocate-general in the court of admiralty, to argue their cause. But he would not prostitute his office to the further- ance of an oppressive act ; and being unwilling to retain a station, in which he might be expected to argue in favour of such odious measures, he resigned ; and the merchants of Boston and Salem immediately engaged him and Oxenbridge Thacher, jun. esq. to appear in support of a counter petition, which they had presented to the court.
Mr. Otis was a native of the town of Barnstable ; received his education at Harvard College ; graduated in 1743 ; pur- sued the study of law in Boston under the direction of Jeremi- ah Gridley, Esq. one of the principal lawyers and civilians of the day ; commenced practice in Plymouth ; and about the year 1750 removed to Boston, and very soon rose to the first rank in his profession. His business as a lawyer became very extensive, and his reputation was firmly established for learning, eloquence, and the most high-minded integrity. He was now in the vigour of manhood, just thirty-six years of age. An opponent describes him as 'a plump, round-faced, smooth skin, short neck, eagle-eyed politician ;' and another writer dresses him in a wig and a black gown.
Mr. Thacher was at this time one of the heads of the bar in Boston. His family had always been distinguished in the province, and his own character and manners were such as to secure affection and esteem : his patriotism was the most pure and ardent, joined to a quick perception of the views of those in power. He was a Bostonian by birth, and now about 41 years of age.
* Minot, ii. 86. Printed Journal of Gen. Court, pp. 231. 339. Also Sup. Court Rec. Aug. term, 1761, p. 235, where, in an appeal from the Inferior Court, judgment is reversed and Paxton recovers against Harrison Gray, Treasurer, costs taxed 41. 6s. 9d.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
1
The trial took place in the Council Chamber of the Old Town-house. This room was situated at the east end of that building : it was an imposing and elegant apartment, orna- mented with two splendid full-length portraits of Charles II. and James II. The judges in those days, in conformity to European practice, attached a part of their official dignity to a peculiar costume, which in later times they have here dis- carded. Their dress was composed of voluminous wigs, broad bands, and robes of scarlet cloth. They were five in number, including Lieut. Gov. Hutchinson who presided as chief justice .* The room was filled with all the officers of government, and the principal citizens, to hear the arguments in a cause that inspired the deepest solicitude. '
In consequence of Mr. Otis's resignation, the task of sup- porting the petition for the Writs devolved on Mr. Gridley, who was then attorney-general. He opened the case with much learning, ingenuity, and dignity, urging every point and authority, that could be found upon the most diligent search ; but made all his reasoning depend on this consideration- " if the parliament of Great Britain is the sovereign legisla- ture of the British empire." He was succeeded by Mr. Thacher on the opposite side, whose reasoning was pertinent and able, delivered in a tone of great mildness and modera- tion, which convinced his hearers that he was advocating the cause of truth and justice. As soon as he had concluded, Otis burst forth as with ' a flame of fire : with a promptitude of classical allusion, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetick glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid tor- rent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all before him. 'Then and there,' says President John Adams, ' was the first scene of the first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then, and there, the child Independence was born. Every man of an immense crowded audience appear- ed to me to go away, as I did, ready to take arms against Writs of Assistance.' The court adjourned for consideration, and, at the close of that term, the question was continued to the next.t
' An epoch in publick affairs may be dated from this trial. Political parties became more distinctly formed, and their several adherents were more marked and decided. " Taxa- tion without representation is tyranny" (a phrase that fell from Otis in the debate,) became a common maxim in the mouth of
* The associate judges were Benja. Lynde, John Cushing, Chambers Russell, Peter Oliver.
t Thus far we follow Tudor's Life of Otis, p. 53-86, respecting the Writ.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
all the friends of liberty. The crown officers and their fol- lowers adopted openly the pretensions of the British ministry and parliament, proclaiming a blind submission as the only safe or reasonable alternative. The people of Boston showed plainly to which party they belonged, by the election of Mr. Otis, almost unanimously, as a representative for the town in the next general court. His colleagues were Royal Tyler, John Phillips, and Thomas Cushing, all of them men of great weight in society. Gov. Bernard perceived the spirit that was rising, and some of his friends, whose wisdom has been proved by events, predicted that ' out of this election a fac- tion would arise, which would shake the province to its foun- dation.' The Governour, in his speech at the opening of the Gen. Court, advised them to lay aside all divisions, and to give no attention to declamations tending to promote a sus- picion of the civil rights of the people being in danger. They replied, that they knew nothing of any such parties as he de- scribed, and were not in the least degree suspicious ; but firmly expressed their intention to see for themselves, wheth- er the rights of the people were or were not in danger.
A final ' hearing was had before the Sup. Court of Judica- ture, upon the petition of the officers of the customs for a Writ of Assistance on Wednesday,' the 18th of November. The whole day and evening, (says the Boston Gazette of the 23d) ' was spent in the arguments, and nothing could have induced one to believe they were not conclusive against the petition, but the judgment of the court immediately given in favour of it.' The papers soon exhibited the dissatisfaction which this decision occasioned. On the 7th of Dec. a piece appeared signed ' A fair trader,' complaining that the Acts of trade were no where executed with such rigour as in this colony, and concluding thus : ' We want nothing but to be as free as others are, and that others should be restrained as well as we. This is reasonable. WE HAVE A RIGHT TO CLAIM IT,'
The part, which Mr. Otis had taken, designated him as the friend of the people, and they therefore took deep interest in a controversy which took place in the papers between him and Lieut. Gov. Hutchinson, respecting the currency of the province. Otis improved the opportunity to turn their thoughts to the circumstance of His Honour's enjoying so many lucrative offices as were united in his person, viz. that of Lieut. Gov. with the emoluments of captain of the castle, a member of the Council, Judge of Probate, and Chief Justice of the supreme court. O.'s first piece on this subject appeared Dec. 21, 1761, and the last Jan. 11, 1762. ' 'The question was settled at the next meeting of the legisla- ture, according to the principles which Otis had advanced.' Having thus obtained an ascendancy, the majority attempted
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
to retrieve the ground which they had lost by the decision on the Writs of Assistance, and a bill was prepared, the sub- stance of which was, to prevent the issuing of those writs to any person but a custom-house officer, and that upon special information on oath ; but the attempt was checked by the Governour's refusal to give his assent to the bill. An ineffec- tual effort was also made to exclude the Justices of the Sup. Court from a seat in the Council or House of Repre- sentatives. These conflicts, though sometimes unavailing, served to prove the strength of parties, and to keep alive the growing jealousy between them .*
Mr. Otis and his colleagues were re-elected in May, 1762, with a decided approbation, in the Gazette, of the course they had pursued in regard to the points in controversy. Brigadier-General Timothy Ruggles, from Hardwick, in the county of Worcester, the leader of the government party in the House, was chosen speaker, at the May session ; and the court was prorogued, June 12th, with some expressions of pleasure from the Governour for their good conduct. In September they met again, and ' on the 14th' His Excellency sent a message informing the house, that, to quiet the fears of those concerned in the fishing vessels, he had increased the armament of the Massachusetts sloop, and sent her out for their protection. A little paper accompanied the message, with a short account of the difference to the province by the Gov. and Council's enlarging the establishment, which amounted to about £72. This message gave rise to a re- markable discussion, and this trifling expenditure may be considered as one of the preparatory causes of the revolu- tion. It was not the measure itself, nor the expense of it, that gave the House so much uneasiness, but the manner of it ; that is, the enlarging the establishment without the knowledge of the house, and paying for it without their privity or consent. The message was referred to a commit- tee, of which Mr. Otis was chairman, who reported a remon- strance, addressed to the Gov. in which they declared that the proceeding was 'in effect taking from the House their most darling privilege, the right of originating all taxes .- No necessity can be sufficient to justify a house of representatives in giving up such a privilege ; for it would be of little consequence to the people, whether they were subjects to George or Lewis, the king of G.B. or the French king, if both were arbitrary, as both would be, if both could levy taxes without Parliament.'
' When the passage in Italics was read, Mr. Paine a member
* Town Records, March 8, 1762. ' Upon consideration of that clause in the warrant, viz. that the town will take such methods as shall be judged necessary for the Incorporation of it, the question was put, whether the town would take any such steps ? Passed in the nega- tive almost unanimously.'
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
from Worcester, cried out, Treason, treason ! but after a most animated speech from Otis, the answer was passed entire by a large majority, and Otis was appointed one of the commit- tee to present it to the Governour.' H. E. ' was so displeased at this passage that he sent a letter to the speaker, returning the message of the House and recommending earnestly, that it might not be entered upon the minutes as it then stood. After some debate the exceptionable clause was struck out, but enough remained to excite a vindication from the Gover- nour, which he sent by the secretary at the same time that he gave the house notice to attend him in the council chamber to be prorogued.
Soon after this separation, Otis published a pamphlet,* giv- ing an account of all these occurrences and justifying the course pursued by the house. This production has been con- sidered the original source, from which all subsequent argu- ments against taxation were derived.t The principal stress in the argument of Mr. Otis was laid against the constitution- ality of the measure, and the position assumed by the Gover- nour was not only shown to be untenable, but the dan- gerous tendency of constructive power was pointed out with a clearness and force, that effectually roused the publick atten- tion to guard against every step of arbitrary power in future.
In the winter session of 1762-3 another occasion of dispute was afforded by an application from the Attorney-General for remuneration for his official services, which was so managed as to give the popular party a triumph, at the same time that the officer received the compensation that was honourably due to him. And this subject had not lost its interest, before another excitement was produced on still a different ground. The project of sending a bishop to America had been in agi- tation for ten or fourteen years.# and the minds of people were well prepared for an attack upon the established church. Doctor E. Miller, who was a missionary from the society for propagating the gospel, died at Braintree where he had been officiating to an episcopal church. The manner in which his death was noticed in one of the Boston papers brought on a controversy, in which most of the dissenters found themselves ranged on one side, in opposition to the few adherents to the church, among whom were most of the de- pendents on the crown. These writings may therefore be considered as having increased the divisions, which were ris- ing in Massachusetts.
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