USA > Massachusetts > History of Massachusetts from 1764, to July 1775; when general Washington took command of the American Army. V. 1 > Part 22
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" It is now manifest what practices and arts have been used to mislead administration, both in the first. proposal of the revenue acts, and in the continuance
* See a few pages below.
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of them. But when they had lost their force, and there appeared, under the influence of your Lord- ship, a disposition in Parliament to repeal these acts, governor HUTCHINSON, in his speech at the opening of the last session of the General Court, was pleased to throw out new matter for contention and debate ; and to call on the two Houses in such a manner, as amounted to little short of a challenge to answer him. Into such a dilemma were they brought by the speech, that they were under a necessity of giv- ing such answers to it, as they did, or of having their conduct construed into an acquiescence with the doctrines contained in it; which would have been an acknowledgment that the province was in a state of subjection differing very little from slavery.
"The people of this province are true and faith- ful subjects of his Majesty, and think themselves happy in their connexion with Great Britain. They would rejoice at the restoration of the harmony and good will, which once subsisted between them and the parent state. But it is in vain to expect this happiness, during the continuance of their grievances, and while their charter rights, one after another, are wrested from them. Among these rights, is the sup- porting of the officers of the crown, by grants from the Assembly of the Province; and in an especial manner, the supporting of the Judges in the same way, on whose judgment the province is depen- dant, in the most important cases of life, liberty and property.
" If your Lordship should condescend to ask, what are the measures for restoring the harmony so much desired, we should answer in a word, that we are humbly of opinion, if things were brought to the general state, in which they stood at the close of the late war, it would restore the happy harmony which then subsisted. Your Lordship's appointment to be principal Secretary of State for the American de- partment, has given the colonists the highest satisfac-
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tion. They think it a happy omen: And that it will be productive of tranquility in America, con- sistent with our rights as British subjects. The two Houses humbly hope for your Lordship's influence to bring about such a happy event: And in the mean time, they rely with full confidence on your Lordship, that the machinations of Sir FRANCIS BERNARD,* and other known enemies of the peace of Great Britain and the colonies, will not be suffered to prevent or delay it."
On referring to the proceedings of the Assembly and people in Massachusetts, particularly for several past months, in relation to the extent of Parliamen- tary authority over the colonies, and to the order of the British government making the Judges depen- dent on the crown for their support, it is evident, that there was a great apprehension of an increase of arbitrary power ; and that the friends of liberty in the province were using every argument and method for the restoration and maintenance of their rights. For seven years, indeed, they had now been con- tending for ancient charter privileges, which had been abridged or violated by an abitrary ministry : And for the two last years they had been strenuously pleading for the right of self-government and the common liberties of native Britons, with a royal Governor, who was surrendering their civil privi- leges, one after another, and had at length officially declared an opinion, that they had no power or rights, but such as it might please the King and Parliament to allow them. It was plainly to be per- ceived, that, from arbitrary principles, or from mis- representations respecting the people of Massachu- setts, such a severe policy would - be pursued, as would leave scarcely the shadow either of authority or freedom in the province. But they were still watchful of their enemies, and careful to take advan-
* They had abundant proof that Mr. Bernard, though not in office, was still a bitter enemy to the charter rights of the province.
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tage of every occurrence to strengthen themselves in the sacred cause, in which they had engaged. They were satisfied, that the Governor was servilely devoted to the British ministry; and was inimical, if not treacherous, to the interests of just and constitu- tional freedom in the colony. They knew there were those, who misrepresented them to administra- tion and to the King; and who, from motives of revenge or ambition, were disposed to do them great public injury. In several instances, they had been able to account for severe measures against the pro- vince from the unjust statements made by indivi- duals resident among them. It was owing to the. misrepresentations of governor BERNARD and the commissioners of the customs, that the General Court was dissolved in 1768, and a large military force ordered to be stationed in the capital, to keep the citizens in awe, and to oblige them to submit to oppressive and unconstitutional laws. We are now to see, that the same treacherous part had been acted by governor HUTCHINSON, who, many had been disposed to believe, would be the friend of the province, and the advocate of the people's rights.
Dr. FRANKLIN, the agent for the House of Re- presentatives in England, procured several letters written by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and some of the commissioners of the revenue, and trans- mitted them to a citizen of Boston, by whom they were shown to S. ADAMS, a member of the General Court. It was the evident intention of the writers of these letters to give an impression in England, that there was no loyalty and no proper respect for the authority of the parent government, among the people of Massachusetts ; that they were disposed to an entire independency; that it was necessary to have the military sent over to assist and support the civil power ; and that, in order to have a Council duly affected to the government of Great Britain, the members must be appointed by the crown, instead
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of being elected as formerly, by the Representatives ; thus changing, essentially, one branch of the govern- ment, and having it to consist of persons altogether independent of the people. These letters were written in 1768 and 1769; several of them a short time before those very severe measures were adopted by the British ministry, which had given so much alarm to the friends of liberty in the province : As giving to ministerial instructions the authority of law ; dissolving the General Court, in an arbitrary manner, on account of their firm and independent, though constitutional proceedings ; placing a num- ber of commissioners of the revenue in the capital, clothed with great and dangerous powers; and the introduction of regular British troops to enforce the execution of unjust and oppressive laws. In one of his letters,* the Governor observed, "that it was necessary the colonists should be abridged of what were called English liberties ;" and "that the peo- ple ought to be prohibited holding Town Meetings, and prevented from combinations to disuse British goods imported into the colony." The people were represented as on the eve of rebellion ; and even the members of the House and Council were said to be so fond of popularity, and so much under the influence of the people, that they would afford no support to the royal authority.
Early in the session in June, Mr. ADAMS gave information to the House of Representatives, t that he had these letters in his possession; and that if desired, he would lay them before the General Court. It was accordingly voted that they should be read. The House resolved itself into a committee of the whole to consider the same .¿ After considerable
* Mr. Hutchinson, at this time Governor ; but Lieutenant Governor in 1768 and '69, when the letters were written.
t This notice was given, after the spectators had been requested to retire, and the doors of the House were closed.
# Mr. Hancock in the chair.
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discussion, the committee rose, and the Speaker re- sumed the chair ; and Mr. HANCOCK reported, " that it was the opinion of the committee, that the tendency and design of the letters was to overthrow the constitution of this government, and to introduce arbitrary power into the province." The House accepted the report, by a vote of one hundred and one, out of one hundred and six. And on the day following, another committee was chosen to consider what was proper further to be done in reference to these letters.
The Governor had early information of these pro- ceedings of the Representatives, and requested a sight of the letters ; declaring, at the same time, in his message, " that he had written no letters which had a tendency to subvert the constitution." He acknowledged the letters to be confidential, and ex- pressed great surprise at their being made public. But insisted, "that instead of wishing to violate the charter of the province, he believed his letters had been favorable to the continuance of the privileges enjoyed under it." But the House, chusing to judge for themselves, of the meaning and design of the letters, thought they found most abundant evidence to justify the censure they had passed upon the writers, notwithstanding the specious declarations of the Governor. He complained that the treatment was disrespectful, in thus having his confidential letters communicated to the General Court, and pub- lished for the perusal of the people. The House observed, in reply, that they were performing a solemn duty, which they owed to themselves and to their fellow citizens, who had been traduced and injured by those, whose duty it was to vindicate and maintain their rights.
This discovery was highly injurious to the charac- ter of Mr. HUTCHINSON ; and served to increase and unite the friends of liberty. Many, who had formerly been disposed to justify or excuse him in
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the part he had acted, and who had pretended he was slandered by the zealous patriots, were now fully satisfied of his settled enmity to the substantial rights of the people; and joined with others in censuring this ungenerous and treacherous conduct. A general indignation was' excited against him; and he was openly stigmatized as a traitor to his country.
A reference to the resolutions reported by the committee of the House, and adopted almost unani- mously, will manifest the public sentiment, on this occasion. They were, in substance, as follows : "That the letters signed THOMAS HUTCHINSON and AN- DREW OLIVER, contain misrepresentations, and ag- gravated accounts of facts ; and that it was the manifest design of them to represent the matters they treat of, in a light highly injurious to the province : That, considering the measures they sug- gested, and the temper in which they were written, they had a direct and efficacious tendency to inter- rupt and alienate the affections of our most gracious Sovereign from this his loyal and affectionate pro- vince ; to destroy that harmony and good will be- tween Great Britain and this colony, which every friend to either would wish to establish ; to excite the resentment of the British administration against this province ; to defeat the endeavors of our agents and friends to serve us, by a fair representation of our state of grievances ; to prevent our humble and repeated petitions from reaching the royal ear of our common Sovereign; and to produce the severe and destructive measures which have been taken against this province ; and others still more so, which have been threatened : That, in the opinion of the House, it clearly appears from these letters, to have been the desire and endeavors of the writers of them, that the acts of the British Parliament for raising a re- venue in America might be carried into effect by military force ; and, by introducing a fleet and army into his Majesty's loyal province, to intimidate the
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minds of his subjects here, and prevent every con- stitutional measure to obtain the repeal of those acts, so justly esteemed a grievance to us, and to suppress the very spirit of freedom.
" And whereas, (they added, ) for many years past, measures have been taken by the British administra- tion very grievous to the good people of this pro- vince, which this House have now reason to suppose were promoted, if not originally suggested by the writers of these letters, and many efforts have been made by the people to obtain the redress of their grievances ; it appears to this House, that the writers of these letters have availed themselves of disorders, which naturally arise in a free government under such oppressions, as arguments to prove that it was originally necessary such measures should have been taken, and that they should now be continued and increased: That it has been the misfortune of this government, from the earliest period of it, from time to time, to be secretly traduced and maliciously re- presented to the British ministry, by persons who were neither friendly to this colony, nor to the Eng- lish constitution : That the House have just reason to complain of it, as a very great grievance, that the humble petitions and remonstrances of the Commons of this province are not allowed to reach the hand of our gracious Sovereign, merely because they are presented by an agent, to whose appointment the Governor does not consent; while the partial and inflammatory letters of individuals, who are interested in the revenue acts and the measures taken to carry them into execution, have been laid before adminis- tration, attended to, and acted upon, not only to the injury of the reputation of the people, but to the de- priving of them of their invaluable rights and liber- ties :- And as this House is humbly of opinion, that his Majesty will judge it incompatible with the true interests of his crown, and the peace and safety of the good people of this his loyal province, that
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persons should be continued in places of high trust and authority in it, who are known to have endea- vored to undermine, alter and overthrow the consti- tution of the province; they are bound in duty to the King and their constituents, humbly to remon- strate to his Majesty against the conduct of his Excellency THOMAS HUTCHINSON, Governor, and the Honorable ANDREW OLIVER, Lieut. Governor of this province ; and to pray that his Majesty would be pleased to remove them forever from the government thereof."
The proceedings of the Council, on the subject of these letters, which were laid before the Board by the Representatives, were equally decided and spirited as those of the House. They adopted reso- lutions, in which they pointed out the injurious tendency and effect of the letters. They expressed an opinion, that the writers were inimical to the liberty and welfare of the province ; that they had misrepresented the temper of the people, and the conduct of the Assembly ; that the charter rights of the province had been infringed through their influ- ence and advice ; and that it was proper to pray the King to remove Mr. HUTCHINSON and Mr. OLIVER from the high offices which they held in the pro- vince .*
In pursuance of these resolutions, a memorial to the King was prepared, requesting that he would be pleased to remove the Governor and the Lieu- tenant Governor from their respective offices. This memorial was laid before the Privy Council, and was pronounced to be groundless, false and libellous. Mr. HUTCHINSON, however, soon after, and probably at his own request, had permission of the King to leave the province, and repair to England.
It is not the part of the historian to indulge in con- jectures, or to state the probability, under other pre-
* Bowdoin, Sever, Dexter and Winthrop composed the committee which prepared these resolutions.
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vious circumstances, of far different events from those which took place : Yet it is obvious to remark, that, if governor BERNARD and governor HUTCHINSON had been really friendly to the liberties of the peo- ple ; had they endeavored to conciliate the leading patriots in this province, and to give the most favor- able accounts to the British ministry, which truth and fidelity would permit, of the situation of the country, and of the claims of the Legislative Assem- bly, the connexion with the parent state would not have been so easily dissolved. It would have been seen in England, that no new claims for privileges or power were set up in Massachusetts; that the measures of administration were infringements on the charter rights of the province ; and were also very oppressive, as the people had been burdened with a heavy debt, occasioned by the late war; the object of which was more the glory and prosperity of the British empire, than the protection of the subjects in America : And the friendly interference and ad- vice of ministerial agents might have prevented the severe measures, of which the colonists had just reason to complain. They could not have expected success, on a trial of strength, with the superior power of Great Britain : And the attachment they had for the King and their fellow subjects in Eng- land was so sincere, as to forbid the supposition of a meditated separation.
A recollection of the patient conduct of the pa- triots in Massachusetts, under the arbitrary measures of insolent revenue-collectors, and of their reluctance in denying Parliamentary authority, when asserting and pleading for their charter rights, must convince every impartial mind, that the unhappy controversy with England was not on account of any extravagant claims advanced by the people of this province. Like their ancestors, they suffered much and long from the severe policy of the British ministry. Like them, they sought redress, by constitutional means.
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And like them, they resolved, also, should the sad alternative be necessary, to hazard the resentment of the parent government, rather than to surrender their civil privileges, and incur the charge of hav- ing consented to subject their posterity to hopeless tyranny. However undesired the event might be, by the people in Massachusetts, the presentiment had, at times, forced itself upon the more intelli- gent, that a separation from Great Britain would be the only effectual security for their freedom: And some of their measures, had, probably, even now, been taken, with reference to such a result. With this view, perhaps, they had established committees of correspondence in all the towns in the province, and had been solicitous to provide for disciplining and arming the militia. Although it can hardly be said, that incipient measures of preparation for a forcible opposition to British authority were yet proposed, there is evidence, however, of inquiries and an anxiety then prevailing, with reference to the means of self-defence, should an attempt be made to enforce the plans of administration, which tended to violate and destroy their civil liberties .*
The government and concern of religious societies in Massachusetts, in which the first settlements were made by English Puritans and Non-conformists, in the early part of the seventeenth century, justly merit some attention in a history of this ancient colony. A faithful statement of ecclesiastical affairs in former periods has been given by other writers. It is ne- cessary, therefore, here to notice only such important disputes or events in this department, as occurred during the short season, which we have undertaken to narrate. On account of some unusual proceedings
* To shew the sentiments and feelings of the people in the capital at this time, May, 1773, we here note, that the inhabitants of Boston instructed their Selectmen, that, if the commissioners of the revenue were invited to dine with the Governor in Faneuil Hall, they were to refuse it: Yet, in June, the Assembly voted, as usual, to celebrate the birth day of the King, their rightful Sovereign.
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of societies, in dismissing their religious teachers, without the approbation and advice of neighboring churches, by delegates in council assembled, the Con- vention of the Congregational Clergy, in May, 1773, gave their views to the public, with the laudable design of preventing divisions and parties in the respective societies of the province ; and of establish- ing something like order and system both in the settlement and removal of a minister. In several cases, the advice of other churches had been disre- garded and rejected ; and bare majorities, evidently under the influence of great party prejudices and excitement, had voted to dismiss their pastors ; and thus unjustly deprived them of support, when there were no reasonable grounds of censure. In the ad- dress of the Convention, it was admitted, that our churches were, in some measure, independent, and had the right both to elect and remove their minis- ters, without consulting any others. But for the sake of harmony and of religious intercourse, and for the purpose of securing the most prudent and judicious decisions, in all cases of dispute in a church, whether between brethren of the laity, or between the people and their pastor, it had long been con- sidered proper, and had become matter of general usage, to call a council of delegates from other socie- ties, whose advice, though not absolutely binding, was to be observed and followed. Christian fellow- ship and friendly intercourse, the peace and welfare of the churches, as well as justice to individuals, and the promotion of truth ; all united, they said, to recommend and justify the practice. This, they stated to have been the understanding of the eminent men who prepared the 'Cambridge Platform ;' and was also agreeable to the sentiments of many learned Divines, who had written on the subject. Nothing authoritative or decisive, however, was settled by this publication. Different opinions and different practices have since prevailed. And this state of
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diversity and variance, perhaps, is greatly preferable to any plan which could be adopted ; which would be likely soon to furnish pretexts to a few intolerant men to encroach on the liberty of their fellow Chris- tians.
At this period, the Baptists were more active than formerly, and appeared more desirous to increase their numbers and influence. They complained that the members of the congregational societies were in- tolerant, and that the legislature, even, was not alto- gether impartial in the laws for the support of public religious instruction and worship. No charge of improper conduct is intended to be made against this sect of Christians. In a free government, every one should have liberty to exert himself for the pro- motion of his own religious opinions. But it is a fact, that the minority in all communities are prone to complain, that they have not a due share of atten- tion and influence : And sometimes claim greater privileges or exemptions than strict justice and im- partiality can demand. A case may be stated, which will justify this remark.
Some few years before this period, a tract of land had been granted to certain proprietors, for a township, lying in the county of Hampshire. The conditions, on which the grant was made, were similar to those required in other cases. Several lots were reserved for public uses; the grantees were required to put on a certain number of settlers with- in a specified term of time ; and a learned protestant minister was to be ordained and supported. Some of the non-resident proprietors had become Baptists. Their lands, as well as the lands of others, were taxed for the support of schools and the ministry, according to the statutes of the province, and to express conditions of the grant. They refused to pay the taxes assessed upon them ; and their lands being offered for sale on this account, they petitioned the General Court for relief. They complained of
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the oppression and injustice of the case ; pleaded conscience as an excuse ; and insisted, that no one ought to be taxed, or to pay taxes laid upon him, un- less he had consented to the law, which required it. They pretended this was a similar case to the colo- nies, who were taxed by the British Parliament, in which they were not represented.
The committee of the General Court, to whom the subject was referred, reported, " that the prayer thereof was unreasonable, and the complaints made altogether unfounded." They expressed an opinion that conscience was not at all concerned in the ques- tion ; and rebuked the petitioners for indecorous and disrespectful suggestions. They stated, that the terms, on which the grant of land was made, were legal, and agreeable to invariable usage; that such conditions were necessary for the settlement and im- provement of the new towns, and for the regular maintenance of schools, and of public religious wor- ship and instruction; that the complainants must have known the effect of the conditions on which the purchase of the land was made by the pro- prietors ; that the law, which they were pleased to call unjust, was general in its application through the province ; that what the petitioners prayed for and demanded as a right, would operate most un- equally and partially ; and would, indeed, be a dis- pensation in behalf of the Baptists, which was allowed to no other denomination of Christians, and to no other class of citizens.
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