USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877. With a genealogical register > Part 17
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" The gentlemen from Boston, Charlestown, and Cambridge, having provided some refreshment for their greatly fatigued brethren, they cheerfully accepted it, took leave, and departed in high good humor and well satisfied."
Such is the account given in the "Boston Gazette " of the memorable proceedings in Cambridge on the second day of Sep- tember, 1774, resulting in the compulsory resignation of three Mandamus Councillors, and the pledge of the Sheriff that he would not execute any precept sent to him under the new Acts of Parliament for altering the constitution of the Province. The importance of the events, and the vivid picture afforded of the excitement which then filled the public mind, may justify the reproduction of the history at full length.
In the same paper 2 is published " a true copy of a letter said to be wrote by General Brattle to the commander-in-chief, and picked up in this town last week, viz. : -
" Cambridge, August 27, 1774. Mr. Brattle presents his duty to Governor Gage. He apprehends it his duty to acquaint his Excellency, from time to time, with every thing he hears and knows to be true, and is of importance in these troublesome times, which is the apology Mr. Brattle makes for troubling the General with this letter.
" Capt. Minot of Concord, a very worthy man, this minute informed Mr. Brattle that there had been repeatedly made press- ing applications to him, to warn his company to meet at one minute's warning, equipt with arms and ammunition, according to law; he had constantly denied them, adding, if he did not gratify them, he should be constrained to quit his farms and town : Mr. Brattle told him he had better do that than lose his life and be hanged for a rebel : he observed that many captains liad done it, though not in the Regiment to which he belonged, which
1 This house was erected by Mr. Oliver, from Cambridge to this town." He never about 1767, on the westerly side of Elm- returned but died in exile, at Bristol, England, Nov. 29, 1815. wood Avenue. The Boston Gazette of Sept. 12, announced that "Lieut. Gov. 2 Boston Gazette, Sept. 5, 1776. Oliver has removed his family and goods
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was and is under Col. Elisha Jones, but in a neighboring Regi- ment. Mr. Brattle begs leave humbly to query whether it would not be best that there should not be one commission officer of the militia in the Province.
" This morning the selectmen of Medford came and received their town stock of powder, which was in the arsenal on quarry- hill, so that there is now therein the King's powder only, which shall remain there as a sacred depositum till ordered out by the Captain-General. To his Excellency General Gage, &c. &c. &c."
This letter of Gen. Brattle had been printed in a hand-bill before it appeared in the "Gazette," and he had prepared an explanation of it, which was already in the hands of the printer ; but its publication was postponed until the next week, Sept. 12th. It was characteristic of the writer, manifesting a strong desire to stand well with both parties : -
" Boston Sept. 2, 1774. I think it but justice to myself to give an account of my conduct, for which I am blamed, and to obviate some mistakes which are believed. His Excellency Governor Gage wrote me in the words following: 'Sir, as I am informed there are several military stores in your charge at Cambridge, I beg the favor of you to send me a return of them as soon as convenient, specifying the different sorts of . each. T. GAGE. To Major General Brattle.' Which order I obeyed. I did the like to Governors Pownal, Bernard, and Hutchinson ; in doing of which, every soldier will say I did but my duty. But it is affirmed, I advised the Governor to remove the powder : this I positively deny, because it is abso- lutely false. It never so much as entered into my mind or thought. After I had made my return, I never heard one word about the affair till the night before last, when Sheriff Phipps came to my house with the Governor's order to deliver him the powder and guns ; the keys of the powder-house I then delivered him, and wrote to Mr. Mason, who had the care of the guns under me, to deliver them, which I suppose lie did; both I imagine were taken, but where transported I know not. I wrote to the Governor what is contained in the Hand-Bill lately printed. I did not write the Governor the grounds and reasons of the Quere therein contained, but I will now mention them. They proceeded from a real regard both to the Commission-officers and to the Province ; first to the Commission-officers ; I thought and still think it was best for them ; many of whom I thought would be unwilling to issue their warrants, and if they did not, I ap-
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prehended they might meet with some difficulty ; and those that did, I was not convinced so great good would result therefrom as if another method was taken. Secondly, I thought and still think it would be much better for the Province; for supposing there was not one Commission-officer for the present in it, what danger could the Province sustain ? It may be answered, Com- mission-officers are supposed to be the most understanding in military affairs. I grant it: But supposing their commissions were vacated, supposing the respective companies in the Province were disposed and determined to do any one matter or thing which they imagined to be for its safety, and proper persons were to be employed to lead them, &c., doth their not having commis- sions in the least unfit them from being employed in the particu- lar services they may be chosen to execute ? and in this way can not any one conceive that the Commission-officers leading their respective companies, might in the eyes of the judicious be looked upon more blamable in doing such and such things, than they would be if they were not military officers, and did not act under commission ? Might not the difference with respect to the Prov- ince be looked upon very great, both at home and here? It was suggested that General Gage demanded the Towns Stocks of Powder; this certainly he did not ; the above order speaks for itself. As I would not have delivered the Provincial powder to any one but to his Excellency or order, so the Towns Stocks I would have delivered to none but to the selectmen or their order. Upon the whole, the threatenings I have met with, my banish- ment from my own home, the place of my nativity, my house being searched, though I am informed it was without damage, and the sense of the people touching my conduct &c. cannot but be grievous, yet this grief is much lessened by the pleasure aris- ing in my mind from a consciousness that I am a friend to my country ; and, in the above instances, that I really acted accord- ing to my best judgment for its true interest. I am extremely sorry for what has taken place; I hope I may be forgiven, and desire it of all that are offended, since I acted from an honest, friendly principle, though it might be a mistaken one.
" W. BRATTLE."
The Governor having dissolved the House of Representatives in June, writs were issued for the election of a new House, to assemble at Salem on the 5th of October. Meantime, the Coun- cil elected by the former House had been superseded by the Mandamus Council. Having already compelled the resignation
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of some members of this new council, and knowing that many others had resigned or declined to accept the office, the inhabi- tants of Cambridge utterly refused to recognize the official au- thority of that obnoxious body, and, like most of the towns in the province, instructed their Representatives, Oct. 3, 1774, to join only with the Council which had been duly elected by the General Court : " To Capt. Thomas Gardner and the Honble John Winthrop Esq. Gentlemen, As you are now chosen to represent this town in General Assembly, to meet at Salem the 5th of this instant October, you are instructed and empowered to join with the Honble his Majesty's Council who were chosen by both Houses legally assembled in May last, and were ap- proved, and are the only constitutional Council in this Province to act with them as an House of Representatives, or to act with the Delegates that are or may be chosen by the several towns in this Province, to form a Provincial Congress : to ineet with them from time to time, and at such time and place as by them, or either of them, shall be agreed upon ; to consult and determine (in either capacity) upon such matters and things as may come before you, and in such a manner as to you may seem most con- ducive to the real interest of this town and province, and most proper to deliver ourselves and all America from the iron jaws of slavery." 1 A firm resolution to maintain their position at all hazards, and to resist arbitrary authority even unto blood, is in- dicated by votes adopted at the same town meeting, empowering the Selectmen to procure a carriage for the cannon belonging to . the town, to purchase another cannon, and to furnish powder and balls for both; also to draw money from the treasury for the payment of drummers and fifers, for the instruction of fifers, the purchase of fifes, and the refreshment of soldiers, till further or- der. At a subsequent meeting, Nov. 28, 1774, it is recorded that, " whereas the Provincial Congress did, on the 28th day of October last, resolve and appoint Henry Gardner Esq. of Stow to be Receiver General of this Province, for reasons most obvi- ous," etc., the collectors of taxes were directed and required to pay the province taxes to said Gardner, and the town agreed to indemnify them ; " and if any person or persons shall refuse to comply with the true and obvious spirit and design of the said resolve and this vote, this town will consider them as operating
1 The Governor dissolved this new days afterwards, having resolved them- House of Representatives before the day selves into a Provincial Congress, ad- appointed for meeting. The members met, journed to Concord, where sessions were however, on the 5th of October, and two held during the next two months.
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with the enemies of the rights and liberties of this injured and oppressed people."
A few months later, the Revolutionary War commenced, and Cambridge became the head-quarters of the American army. Of the share borne by the inhabitants of the town in the military struggle which continued nearly eight years, a brief sketch will be given in another place. The record of civil proceedings of the town, during that period, is meagre ; a few facts, however, may be gleaned.
For many years after the commencement of resistance to the arbitrary measures of the ministry and of Parliament, loyalty to the King, or to the crown was professed. At length, absolute independence appeared to be the only safe and effectual solution of the difficulty. The Continental Congress, before adopting and proclaiming a Declaration of Independence, naturally desired to know whether the people would abide by it, and sought advice from the several colonies. This question was referred to each town by the General Court of Massachusetts. At a town meet- ing in Cambridge, May 27, 1776, it was " unanimously voted, that whereas in the late House of Representatives of this colony, 10 May 1776, it was resolved, as the opinion of that House, that the inhabitants of each town in this Colony ought, in full town-meet- ing warned for that purpose, to advise the person or persons who shall be chosen to represent them in the next General Court, whether that, if the honorable Congress should, for the safety of the said Colonies, declare them independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, they the said inhabitants will solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in the measure, - We the inhabitants of the town of Cambridge, in full town-meet- ing assembled and warned for the purpose abovesaid, do solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes to support them in the meas- ure." Most faithfully did they redeem their pledge.
The inhabitants of Cambridge suffered the various privations and inconveniences incident to warfare, from which they sought relief in a quiet and peaceable manner. On the 18th of Septem- ber, 1776, Edward Marrett, by direction of the town, petitioned the General Court that the hospital at Sewall's Point in Brook- line might no longer be used for the treatment of small-pox, as coasters were fearful of passing up the river with fuel; and so much wood in Cambridge and the vicinity had been destroyed by the army, that the inhabitants and students could obtain none ex- cept at exorbitant prices. The Court ordered " that the barracks
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standing within the fort at Sewall's Point be not used for a hos- pital, and that they be kept clear of infection. "1 August 14, 1777, the General Court granted a parcel of nails ("3300 double tens ") to a Committee, for repairing the jail at Cambridge, the Committee not being able to obtain them elsewhere, -the said nails to be paid for by the town.2 September 10, 1777. " The petition of the selectmen of the town of Cambridge, in behalf of themselves and the inhabitants of said town, humbly sheweth, - That whereas the inhabitants of said town are in great necessity of the article of salt, and it not being in their power to procure the same at any price or to make the same, our wood being at so high a price as twelve dollars a cord, and as we understand the State have supplied most of the towns within the same with some considerable quantity of the article, and are still in posses- sion of a quantity of the same, and therefore pray that we may be supplied with such a quantity as your honors in your wisdom may see fit," etc.3 Sept. 24, 1777. " On the petition of Isaac Bradish, under-keeper of the gaol in Cambridge, setting forth that he hath in custody a number of Scotcli and Hessian prisoners, (23 in all,) and is unable to procure bread-corn sufficient for their sustenance, and therefore praying he may be allowed to draw bread-corn out of the public stores for the support of said pris- oners : - Resolved, that the Board of War be, and they hereby are directed to supply the said Bradish with eight barrels of flour for the purpose above mentioned ; he the said Bradish paying for the same." 4
It has already been stated that Cambridge instructed its Rep- resentatives, October 3, 1774, not to recognize the Mandamus Council, so called, but to join with the Council elected in the previous May, under the provisions of the Charter, or, if this were impracticable, " to act with the Delegates that are or may be chosen by the several towns in this Province to form a Provincial Congress." Such a Congress was formed, and was succeeded by others, whose resolves and recommendations, by general consent, had the force of law, - administered chiefly by committees and other officers elected by towns. After the commencement of hostilities, advice was requested of the Continental Congress, re- specting a more regular form of government. On the 9th of June, 1775, that Congress " Resolved, That no obedience being due to the act of parliament for altering the Charter of the colony
1 Mass. Rec., xxxv. 287.
2 Mass. Arch., cexv. 46.
8 Ibid., clxxxiii. 134.
4 Printed Journal, Ho. Rep.
11
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of Massachusetts Bay, nor to a governor and lieutenant-governor who will not observe the directions of, but endeavor to subvert, that charter ; the governor and lieutenant-governor are to be con- sidered as absent, and their offices vacant. And as there is no council there, and the inconveniences arising from the suspension of the powers of government are intolerable, especially at a time when General Gage hath actually levied war, and is carrying on hostilities against his majesty's peaceful and loyal subjects of that colony ; that in order to conform, as near as may be, to the spirit and substance of the charter, it be recommended to the Provincial Congress to write letters to the inhabitants of the several places which are entitled to representation in assembly, requesting them to choose such representatives ; and that the assembly, when chosen, should elect counsellors ; which assembly and council should exercise the powers of government, until a governor of his majesty's appointment will consent to govern the colony accord- ing to the charter." 1 This advice was accepted, and a General Court was duly organized. Not many months later, Governor Gage fled from the colony, independence was declared, and sub- jection to British authority and law was utterly renounced. Some new form of government, suitable to a free and independ- ent people, was desired ; and the General Court proposed to frame a constitution. The people of Cambridge manifested their disapprobation of this method, and at a town-meeting, June 16, 1777, " Voted, That the Representative of this town be and hereby is instructed not to agree to any attempt that may be made at present to form a new constitution for this State by the General Court, or any other body of men whatever, but to op- pose any such attempt with all his influence." And when the General Court, " acting as a Convention," agreed upon such a Constitution, Feb. 28, 1778, and submitted it to the people for approval, it was unanimously rejected by the inhabitants of Cam- bridge. At a town meeting, May 25, 1778, " The plan of a con- stitution and form of Government for the State of the Massachu- setts Bay, as proposed by the Convention, was read and fully debated on ; the number of voters present was seventy-nine, all of them being freemen more than twenty-one years of age, and neither 'a negro, indian, or molatto,' among them ; the question was determined by yeas and nays, when there appeared for the proposed form, none : and against it, seventy-nine." This con stitution was rejected by a large majority of the voters in the Commonwealth.
1 Journals of euch Provincial Congress, 359.
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On the first day of September, 1779, a Convention of Dele- gates, elected for that special purpose, assembled at Cambridge,1 and continued in session by successive adjournments until March 2, 1780. As a result of its labors, it submitted a " Constitution or Frame of Government," which was accepted by the people, and remained in force, without alteration, for the next forty years. The action of Cambridge indicates a watchful regard for popular rights, and at the same time a commendable disposition to yield individual preferences for the sake of having some estab- lished government : At a town meeting, May 22, 1780, " Voted, unanimously, in favor of the Declaration of the Bill of Rights in the new frame of government. . . .. Forty-three voted to adopt said frame of government, and with the following amendments, (two against it). By way of instructions to our Delegate for Convention : - We therefore instruct you to use your endeavors to procure an erasement of the clause in the 4th Article of the 1st Section of the 1st Chapter of the Constitution, empowering the General Court to impose and levy duties and excises upon any produce, goods, wares, merchandize, and commodities whatever, brought into, produced, manufactured, or being, within the Com- monwealth ; because we conceive such a power to be oppressive and dangerous to the subjects of the State. It is oppressive, as employing a great number of persons to collect the revenue, who will swallow up a considerable part of it, and who will have the most favorable opportunities to carry on iniquitous [practices] without being detected. It is likewise oppressive, as the money is raised upon the consumers, and instead of being a tax upon trade, much more considerable sums of money are taken from our consumers and thrown into the hands of the sellers than would otherwise be transferred, because the sellers will put their ad- vance upon the money they pay as excise, in addition to the advance upon the articles of sale. It is also oppressive, as tlie officers must necessarily be trusted with a right to make a foreible entry into the most retired apartments ; for if they have not this power, the widest door will be open for perjury. It is dan- gerous to the liberty of the subjects, as the government would of course be trusted with unknown sums of money, and sums which from their own nature must be uncertain, and by means of this money they may secure such influence as may subvert the liberty
1 The sessions were held at Cambridge, delegates from Cambridge were Abraham Sept. 1-7, and Oct. 28 to Nov. 11; at Watson, Esq., Mr. Benjamin Cooper, and Boston from Jan. 5 to March 2. The Capt. Stephen Dana.
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we have purchased at so dear a rate. You are also instructed to obtain an insertion of a clause in the 2d article of the 6th chap- ter of the Constitution, whereby settled Teachers of morality, &c., and all persons whatever who do not pay taxes shall be excluded from a seat in the House of Representatives ; because those per- sons who bear no part of the public burden can not be such com- petent judges of the ability of the people to pay taxes, as those who support their part. And as to the exclusion of settled Teachers of morality, &c., let it suffice to say that we think them very important officers in the State, and that the community must suffer much from having so great a number employed in services so distinct from their particular offices as undoubtedly will be, provided the insertion be not made. At the same time, we are not unwilling that gentlemen of this order, of shining abili- ties, should be introduced into superior departments by the suf- frages of the people at large.
" However, we do not mean to be so strenuous in our objections as to decline receiving the whole as it stands, provided in the opinion of the Convention the amendments ought not to be made. Accordingly, we, being willing to give up our own opinion in lesser matters, in order to obtain a government whose authority may not be disputed, and which we wish may soon be established, do instruct and direct you in our name and behalf, to ratify and confirm the proposed form, whether the amendments be made or not."
Soon after the adoption of the Constitution, uneasiness began to be manifested in various portions of the Commonwealth, fol- lowed by more or less tumultuary assemblages of the people, cul- minating, in 1786, in armed resistance to the government. From the name of a prominent leader, this has been called the "Shays Rebellion," which at one time assumed a formidable aspect. The wide-spread disaffection which prevailed was not without cause. " A heavy debt lying on the State, added to burdens of the same nature, npon almost every incorporation within it; a relaxation of manners, and a frce use of foreign luxuries ; a decay of trade and manufactures, with a prevailing scarcity of money ; and, above all, individuals involved in debt to each other, are evils which leave us under no necessity of searching further for the reasons of the insurrections which took place."1 The nature of the complaints made by the insurgents, under the name of " grievances," may be gatliered from the printed proceedings of
1 Minot's Hist. Insurrections, 27, 28.
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a convention at Hatfield, Aug. 22, 1786, declaring the following to be some of the "grievances and unnecessary burdens now lying upon tlie people : - The existence of the Senate ; the present mode of representation ; the officers of government not being annually dependent on the representatives of the peo- ple, in General Court assembled, for their salaries ; all the civil officers of government not being annually elected by the repre- sentatives of the people, in General Court assembled ; the exist- ence of the Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace ; tlie Fee table as it now stands ; the present mode of ap- propriating the inpost and excise ; the unreasonable grants made to some of the officers of government ; the supplementary aid ; the present mode of paying the government securities ; the present mode adopted for the payment and speedy collection of the last tax ; the present mode of taxation, as it operates unequally between tlie polls and estates, and between landed and mercantile interests; the present method of practice of the attornies at law ; the want of a sufficient medium of trade, to remedy thie mischiefs arising from the scarcity of money ; the General Conrt sitting in the town of Boston ; the present embarrassments on the press ; the neglect of the settlement of important matters depending between the Common wealth and Congress, relating to monies and averages." " It is scarcely possible for a government to be more imperfect, or worse administered, than that of Massachusetts is here repre- sented to be. Essential branches of the legislative and judicial departments were said to be grievous ; material proceedings upon national concerns erroneous ; obvious measures for paying the debt blindly overlooked ; public monies misappropriated ; and the con- stitution itself intolerably defective."1 " The immediate remedies proposed by this convention were, the issue of paper money which should be made 'a legal tender in all payments, equal to silver and gold ;' a revision of the Constitution ; and a session of the General Court forthwith, for the redress of the ‘griev- ances ' complained of." 2 The first notice of this civil commotion found on the town records is under date of July 24, 1786 : -
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