USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877. With a genealogical register > Part 15
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1 Hutchinson's Hist. Mass., iii. 477, 478.
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A distinct opinion had been expressed by Cambridge, a fort- night earlier, at a town meeting held on the 14th day of October, 1765, when it was " Voted, That (with all humility) it is the opinion of the town, that the inhabitants of this Province have a legal claim to all the natural, inherent, constitutional rights of Englishmen, notwithstanding their distance from Great Britain ; that the Stamp Act is an infraction upon these rights. One instance out of many, in our opinion, is this : - the Distributor of Stamps will have a sovereignty over every thing but the lives of the people, since it is in his power to summon every one he pleases to Quebec, Montreal, or Newfoundland, to answer for pretended or real breaches of this Act; and when the faithful subject arrives there, by whom is he to be tried ? Not by his peers (the birth-right of every Englishman) ; no, but by the Judge of Admiralty, without a jury, and it is possible without law. Under these circumstances, the Stamp-Master may unright- eously get more than his Majesty will upon a balance by the stamps ; for who would not rather pay the fine than be thus harassed, thus tried ? Why are not his Majesty's subjects in Great Britain treated in this manner ? Why must we in Amer- ica, who have in every instance discovered as much loyalty for his Majesty, and obedience to his laws, as any of his British subjects (and whose exertions in some of the provinces during the last war have been greater), be thus discriminated ? At this time especially, whilst we are under an almost insupportable load of debt, the consequence of this exertion. We believe it may be truly said that no one in Great Britain pays so great a tax as some in this province, in proportion to their estates. Let this Act but take place, liberty will be no more : trade will languish and die ; our medium will be sent into his Majesty's exchequer, and poverty come on us as an armed man. The town, therefore, hereby advise their Representatives by no means whatsoever to do any one thing that may aid said Act in its operation ; but that, in conjunction with the friends of liberty, they use their utmost endeavors that the same miglit be repealed : - That this vote be recorded in the Town Book, that the children yet nnborn may see the desire their ancestors had for their freedom and happiness : - and that an attested copy of it be given to said Representatives."
While the inhabitants of Cambridge thus protested against the arbitrary exercise of power by Parliament, and against the en- forcement of the Stamp Act in particular, they were not ready to encourage any violent outbreak of popular fury. During the
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preceding August, by hanging him in effigy, breaking into his house, and destroying part of his furniture, some of the inhabi- tants of Boston had induced Mr. Secretary Oliver to promise that he would not act as Distributor of Stamps; and on the evening of the 26th of the same month, they attacked the house of Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson, who had rendered himself obnoxious by his subserviency to the British ministry, and " de- stroyed, carried away, or cast into the street, everything that was in the house ; demolished every part of it, except the walls, as far as lay in their power; and had begun to break away the brick-work. The damage was estimated at about twenty-five hundred pounds sterling, without any regard to a great collection of public as well as private papers in the possession and custody of the Lieutenant- governor." 1 At a town meeting in Cambridge three days later (Aug. 29), it was " Voted, that the inhabitants of this town do detest and ablior the riotous proceedings in the town of Boston, in robbing and destroying the dwelling-houses of the Lieutenant- governor and others; and they will, on all occasions, use their utmost endeavors to secure their own inhabitants and their dwell- ing-houses and property against such ravages." But when the Governor, in his address to the General Court, recommended that compensation should be made to the sufferers, and intimated that, if they did not make it voluntarily, they might soon be required to do so," 2 the town voted, Oct. 14, 1765, that their " Repre- sentatives be and are hereby instructed by no means to vote for any moneys being drawn out of the Province treasury to make good the demands of the late sufferers, as mentioned in his Ex- cellency's speech, have sustained." In their reply to the Gover- nor's address, Oct. 25, 1765, the House of Representatives said, " We highly disapprove of the late acts of violence which have been committed ; yet till we are convinced that to comply with what your Excellency recommends will not tend to encourage snch outrages in time to come, and till some good reason can be assigned why the losses tliose gentlemen have sustained should be made good rather than any damage which other persons on any different occasions might happen to suffer, we are persuaded we shall not see our way clear to order such a compensation to be made. We are greatly at a loss to know who has any right to require this of us, if we should differ with your Excellency in point of its being an act of justice which concerns the credit of the government." 3 A year later, however, when the odious
1 Hutchinson's Hist. Mass., iii. 124.
2 Ibid., iii. 129.
8 Ibid., iii. 475, 476.
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Stamp Act had been repealed, and this subject was again con- sidered, at a town meeting, October 27, 1766, " The inhabitants having taken into consideration the affair now pending in the Great and General Court, relative to the losses sustained by divers persons, by means of the outrage and violence of the mob in Boston, in the month of August, A. D. 1765, - Voted, That it be an instruction to the Representative of this town to use his best endeavors in the General Court that a compensation be made to the Lieutenant-governor and other sufferers (upon proper ap- plication by them made for that purpose), by advancing such sum or sums of money ont of the public treasury as may be judged adequate to their losses ; and that he likewise use his endeavors that such measures may be gone into for replacing such money in the Province treasury as shall appear just and equitable." The General Court, after much discussion, enacted a law, granting compensation to the sufferers, and at the same time a free pardon to all " who had been guilty of any crimes or offences against law, occasioned by the late troubles." The Governor was induced to give his approval, because, "if the act should not be approved in England, all the effect would be the suspending, for three or four months, of prosecutions which, experience had shown, could not be carried on :" " but as to the compensation, the act would have an immediate effect and could not be recalled. The act was disapproved, upon its being laid before the king, merely from the nature of it, and the danger of establishing a precedent ; but the money was paid before the news arrived, and nothing further passed upon the subject." 1
" On the 16th of May, [1766] a copy of the Act of Parliament for the repeal of the Stamp Act was brought to Boston. No re- joicings, since the revolution, had been equal to those on this oc- casion."2 But the people were not quite ready to forgive those members of the provincial government who had made themselves obnoxious by their advocacy of those arbitrary measures which threatened the extinction of popular liberty. At the organiza- tion of the government, later in the same month, " the Lieuten- ant-governor, the secretary, one of the judges of the Superior Court, and the attorney-general, were struck off from the council. Another of the judges, apprehensive of this slight, chose to re-
1 Hutchinson's IIist. Mass., iii. 158- they have expressed their joy on account 160.
of the repeal of the Stamp Act, by illum-
2 Ibid., iii. 147. - " We hear from Cam- inations, fireworks, &c., &c." - Boston bridge and other neighboring towns, that Evening Post, May 26, 1766.
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sign before the election came on." 1 The intention to exclude from the Council some of those crown officers who were supposed to be too subservient to the British ministry, is foreshadowed in the instructions given to the Representative of Cambridge, May 26, 1766, two days before the meeting of the General Court. These instructions, reported by a committee consisting of Samnel Whittemore, Ebenezer Stedman, and Eliphalet Robbins, con- tain the usual protestation of loyalty to the crown, of a general confidence in the good intentions of Parliament, and of a desire for the continuance of friendship and harmony between the British government and the American Colonies. At the same time, they counsel the utmost watchfulness against any possible encroachment of arbitrary power, and contain other suggestions of much importance. Two of the instructions were as follows : -
" With regard to the General Assembly, of which you will be, it is of the greatest importance that each branch should have its due weiglit and power ; and as you are to have a part in the elec- tion of one of these branches, we instruct you to avoid giving your suffrage for any gentleman already holding offices incom- patible with a seat there, or who, by any sort of dependence or connection, may be under temptations to yield to unreasonable demands of prerogative ; and this we esteem of singular import- ance under the present circumstances of our public affairs."
" There is one thing more which we would enjoin upon you, as a matter of considerable importance ; which is, that you endeavor to get a vote passed in the House, that a gallery be provided where as many persons as conveniently can, may be admitted to hear their debates ; this is agreeable to the practice in the mother country, and may be attended with very salutary effects here ; amongst other advantages which may arise from such an order of the House, we would hope that this would be one, namely, that it would give an opportunity to any person who desires it of see- ing that nothing is passed by that assembly that is not of real benefit, and of advantage to their constituents, and that the Rep- resentatives of the people are patrons of their rights and privi- leges." 2
Soon after the close of this session of the General Court, news
1 Hutchinson's Hist. Mass., iii. 148.
2 By the printed Journal of the House of Representatives, it appears that on the 11th of June, 1767, it was ordered, " that the debates in this House be open, and that a gallery be erected on the westerly
side of this room for the accommodation of such persons as shall be inelined to at- tend the same:"-provided, " that no person be admitted to a seat in the gallery, without applying to and being introduced by a member of this House."
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arrived from England that the Parliament had by no means re- linquished the intention to derive a revenue from the colonies, but had " determined to lay small duties on paper, glass, and painters' colors, imported into America ; to take off 12d., which had been charged in England on every pound of tea exported, and to lay 3d. only, payable upon its importation into America." 1 At the same time commissioners of customs were appointed, and it was supposed that the collection of this tax was one of their principal duties. Popular discontent and excitement followed, as might have been expected. Associations were formned to en- courage home manufactures, and to refrain from the use of foreign articles subject to taxation. At their next winter session, the House of Representatives prepared letters to several noblemen in England, praying them to obtain a repeal of the new tax act, and an address to the king; copies of which they sent to the Assemblies of the other colonies, asking their cooperation. These proceedings gave great offence in England. When the next General Court met, in May, 1768, "the Governor sent a message to the House, which engaged the whole of their attention. In pursuance of instructions which he had received, he required them, in His Majesty's name, to rescind the resolution of the last House of Representatives, in consequence of which a circular letter had been sent to the several assemblies upon the conti- nent." 2 A few days afterwards the demand was renewed, with a threat of dissolution as the penalty of refusal. After due con- sideration, and after preparing a letter to the English Secretary for the Colonies, in justification of their proceedings, the House refused to rescind, by a vote of ninety-two against seventeen. This decision was communicated to the Governor, who imme- diately executed his threat and dissolved the House. " It was thus made known that the vital right of representation was to be enjoyed only on the condition of a servile compliance with an arbitrary royal instruction." 3 It was soon afterwards reported that three regiments of soldiers were to be stationed in Boston, to enforce submission to the government. The inhabitants there- upon assembled in town meeting, and sent a message to the Gov- ernor, inquiring if he expected such a military force, and request- ing him to summon a new General Court. On his refusal, the town " Resolved, that as the people labor under many grievances, and as the Governor has declared himself unable, at the request
1 Hutchinson's Hist. Mass., iii. 179.
2 Ibid., iii. 195.
8 Frothingham's Rise of the Republic, p. 221.
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of the town, to call a General Court, which is the assembly of the states of the province, for the redress of such grievances, the town will make choice of a suitable number of persons, to act for them as a committee in convention, with such as may be sent to join them from the several towns in the province, in order that such measures may be concerted and advised, as his majesty's service and the peace and safety of his subjects in the province may require."1 The time fixed for the meeting of the Conven- tion was Sept. 22, 1768. For some reason, which does not ap- pear, Cambridge did not elect delegates until Sept. 29 : - on which day, it was " put to vote, whether it be the mind of the inhabitants of this town to proceed on the article in the Warrant, relating to the choosing a person to join with the committees of Convention of the other towns in this Province, now sitting in Boston, and it passed in the affirmative. Also voted, that they will now make choice of one or more persons, as a committee .... to attend the Convention that may now or hereafter be sitting in Boston in this Province. Also voted that they will make choice of two persons for the purpose aforesaid. Then Andrew Bordman was chosen, who declined the service. Then Deac. Sam1. Whittemore was chosen, who declined the service. Then Capt. Sam11. Whittemore was chosen, who accepted said choice. Then Thomas Gardner was chosen, who accepted said choice." If Cambridge was somewhat late in the election, her delegates were not a whit behind others in patriotism and resolution. Capt. Whittemore was the veteran, who, at the age of seventy- nine years, performed yeoman's service with his musket, on the memorable 19th of April, 1775; and Thomas Gardner, having been successively elected Captain and Colonel, sealed his patriotic devotion with his life-blood on Bunker Hill.
In the succeeding years the conflict between arbitrary power and the rights and privileges of the people became more and morc earnest. The British government insisted on its right to bind the colonies in all cases, to impose taxes without their con- sent, to place over them rulers not of their own choice, to over- awe them by the presence of foreign troops, and to supersede es- tablished laws and customs by " Royal Instructions." On the other hand, while the people professed loyalty to the crown, they protested against this invasion of their inalienable rights as free- born Englishmen, and indicated a determination to resist to the last extremity. Among other methods adopted for the accom-
1 Hutchinson's IFist. Mass., iii. 204, 205.
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plishment of this purpose, at a town-meeting in Boston, Nov. 2, 1772, upon the motion of Samuel Adams, it was voted, " that a committee of correspondence be appointed, to consist of twenty- one persons, to state the rights of the colonies, and of this prov- ince in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects ; to com- municate and publish the same to the several towns in this province and to the world, as the sense of this town, with the in- fringements and violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be, made : also requesting of each town a free com- munication of their sentiments on this subject." At an adjourned meeting, Nov. 20, the report of this committee was accepted, and ordered to be printed in pamphlet form and distributed agreeably to the original vote. The response of Cambridge was prompt and decisive. The Records show that, at a town-meeting, Dec. 14, 1772, it was " Voted, That the letter and the book sent by order of the town of Boston to the Selectmen of Cambridge, signed in the name and by order of the town, William Cooper, Town Clerk, should be publicly read and acted upon. The Moderator 1 protested against it, as it was not in the warrant ; and the same was read accordingly. Voted, That a committee be appointed to write to the committee appointed by the town of Boston, and to acknowledge the vigilance and care, discovered by the metropolis, of the public rights and liberties, acquainting them that this town will heartily concur in all salutary, proper and constitutional measures for the redress of those intolerable grievances which threaten, and if continued must overthrow, the happy civil constitution of this province ; and that said commit- tee take under consideration the rights as stated by the committee of correspondence of the town of Boston, and the infringements and violations of the same, and to make report at the adjourn- ment of this meeting." [The Committee was then elected, con- sisting of Capt. Samuel Whittemore, Capt. Ebenezer Stedman, Capt. Ephraim Frost, Capt. Eliphalet Robbins, Capt. Thomas Gardner, Joseph Wellington, Abraham Watson, Jr., Nathaniel Sparhawk, and Samuel Thatcher, Jr.] " Voted, That said com- mittee prepare instructions to the Representative, and report upon both forthwith, or as soon as may be. The committee re- tired ; the meeting not adjourned : in less than twelve minutes
1 William Brattle, Esq., was the Mod- Barnard. But promotion to the rank of erator. In the early part of the struggle Major-general, in 1771, is generally sup- posed to have rendered him much more favorable to the Governor and his asso- ciates. he advocated the rights of the people, insomueh that he was negatived as a member of the Council in 1769, by Gov.
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returned, and presented their report upon the letter and resolves aforesaid, and also reported instructions for the Representative ; which reports were received, and accepted, and voted by a major- ity of the inhabitants then present.
" The instructions : - To Capt. Thomas Gardner, Representa- tive of the town of Cambridge in General Assembly. Sir, We, his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Cambridge, in town-meeting legally assembled this fourteenth day of December, A. D. 1772, to consult upon such measures as may be thought most proper to be taken at this alarming crisis, and most conducive to the public weal, do therefore with true patriotic spirit declare, that we are and ever have been ready to risk our lives and fortunes in defence of his majesty King George the Third, his crown and dignity, and in the support of constitutional government. So, on the other hand, we are as much concerned to maintain and secure our own invaluable rights and liberties and that glorious inheritance which was not the gift of kings or monarchs, but was purchased at no less price than the precious blood and treasure of our worthy an- cestors, the first settlers of this province, who, for the sake of those rights, left their native land, their dearest friends and rela- tions, goodly houses, pleasant gardens and fruitful fields ; and in the face of every danger settled a wild and howling wilderness, where they were surrounded with an innumerable multitude of cruel and barbarous enemies, and destitute of the necessaries of life ; yet aided by the smiles of indulgent heaven, by their heroic fortitude (though small in number) they subdued their enemies before them, and by their indefatigable labor and industry culti- vated this land, which is now become a fruitful field, which has much enriched our mother country, and greatly assisted in rais- ing Great Britain to that state of opulence that it is now in ; that if any people on earth are entitled to the warmest friendship of a mother country, it is the good people of this Province and its sister colonies. But alas, with what ingratitude are we treated, how cruelly oppressed ! We have been sighing and groaning under oppression for a number of years ; our natural and charter rights are violated in too many instances here to enumerate ; our money extorted from us, and appropriated to augment our bur- dens ; we have repeatedly petitioned our most gracious sovereign for a redress of grievances, but no redress has yet been obtained, whereby we have been almost driven to despair. And, in the midst of our distresses, we are still further alarmed with seeing
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the Governor of the Province made independent of the people, and the shocking report that the Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature and other officers, have salaries affixed to their offices, dependent on the crown and ministry, independent of the grants of the Commons of this Province. By this establishment our lives and properties will be rendered very precarions, as there is the utmost danger that, through an undue influence, the streams of public justice will be poisoned. Can we expect the scales will be held equal between all parties ? Will such Judges be unmoved by passion or prejudice, fear or favor ? What a miserable situa- tion will the man be in, under a corrupt administration, who shall dare to oppose their vile measures. Must he not expect to feel the keenest resentment of such administration, by Judges thus bribed to pursue the plan of the ministry ? In fine, we look upon this last innovation so great a grievance, especially when added to the many other grievances we have been so long groaning under, as to be almost insupportable. We therefore think it seasonable and proper to instruct you, our Representative, in General Assembly, that you use your greatest influence at the next session of the General Court for a speedy redress of all our grievances. And inasmuch as it has been for some years past thought that the Judges of the Superior Court, especially since their circuits have been enlarged, have not had salaries adequate to their important services, we desire you would make due in- quiry into this matter, and if you shall find it to be a fact, you would use your utmost endeavors that their salaries may be en- larged and made adequate to their merit and station ; and in all our difficulties and distresses, depend upon your prudence and firmness."
The business seems not to have been fully completed at this time, and the meeting was adjourned for three weeks : -
" At an adjournment of the Town-meeting from December the fourteenth, A. D. 1772 to January the fourth 1773, the following report was read and accepted by a great majority : The Commit- tee appointed to take under consideration the rights of the Colo- nists, and of this Province in particular, as stated by the town of Boston, and also a list of the infringements and violations of those rights, beg leave to report, That, in their opinion, the rights of the Colonists and of this Province in particular, as men, as Chris- tians and as subjects, are properly stated, and that the lists of the infringements and violations of those rights are notorious facts ; and as there appears to be the greatest reason to apprehend,
10
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agreeable to the intimation made to us in the said list of grievan- ces, that stipends or salaries are affixed to the offices of Judges of the Superior Court, whereby they are made not only independ- ent of the people, but absolutely dependent upon the Crown for their support, it is further the opinion of this Committee, that such establishment, if made, is in direct repugnancy with the Charter of the Province, and the invariable usage from the time the same was granted ; that thereby a dangerous connection is formed, and an undue influence in their decisions introduced, and therefore tends to the poisoning the streams of justice in the land ; that there will, moreover, be the utmost danger that the Bar may hereafter be overawed by a corrupt Court, insomuch that no gentleman of shining genius and abilities in the profession of the Law will dare to stand up in defence of an injured country. For these and many other reasons that may be offered, the Com- mittee beg leave further to report the following resolve, viz : Resolved, as the opinion of this town, that the said establishment is a dangerous innovation and grievance, especially when added to the many other grievances we have been so long groaning under, and that we have the strongest aversion to a measure which is of so ruinous a tendency, and can never be reconciled to it."
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