USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 23
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1 Holland's Western Mass. i. 232. No Probate Courts had been held in Berkshire from 1774 to 1778; from 1776 to 1778, no deeds were record- ed; and in the last-named year the towns, by a large majority, negatived a proposition for the reopening of the Courts of Common Pleas and of Quarter Sessions. In 1779, however, this decision was reversed by a small
majority ; but no judicial proceedings were had until 1780. Hist. Berk- shire, 125, 126 ; Holland's Western Mass. i. 243.
2 Holland's Western Mass. i. 232. Several of the most forward were seized, and afterwards examined and bound over for trial.
3 Holland's Western Mass. i. 233.
222
STATE OF AFFAIRS AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR.
CHAP. VI. Such was the posture of affairs at the close of the revolu- tion. The private debt of the state amounted to the consid- 1783. erable sum of one million three hundred thousand pounds, besides two hundred and fifty thousand pounds due to officers and soldiers in the army ; and the proportion of the national debt amounted to the further sum of a million and a half of pounds.1 The interest on these debts, which was to be paid in specie, was by no means small ; and when it is considered that the credit of the state was pledged for their cancelment, that the ordinary expenses of government were to be met, and that each family had its private debts and expenses, while towns were embarrassed by advances to the soldiers, the mar- kets for produce were closed or lessened, and the various branches of industry were cramped, it will be perceived that the questions, how these difficulties could be successfully sur- mounted, and how these claims could be satisfactorily adjust- ed, were difficult to answer, especially for men who were inexperienced in the management of financial affairs, except on a limited scale, and who were but slightly acquainted with political economy. It is not surprising, therefore, that the timid should have been seized with trembling and dismay, and that the wisest should have been filled with anxious solici- tude. It was a state of affairs which no one had anticipated, the product of circumstances over which the people had little control. And to punish them because they were reduced to such straits, or because their views were crude and impracti- cable, it was thought, would only aggravate the public distress, and strengthen the spirit of discontent.
1782. July 3.
Besides these, however, there were other causes of com- plaint. The " tender act" of 1782, passed for the benefit of private debtors, and which made neat cattle and other articles
1 Address to the People, 1786, 5-
ern Mass. i. 233; Curtis's Hist. of 17; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- the Const. i. 266, 267. tion; Bradford, ii .; Holland's West-
223
CAUSES OF COMPLAINT.
a legal tender for debts, by its retrospective operation served CHAP. only to suspend lawsuits for the space of a twelvemonth ; and, VI. as it was obnoxious to constitutional as well as to equitable 1782. objections, in the end it increased the evil it was designed to obviate, and was the first signal for hostilities between the rich and the poor, the few and the many.1 The "pay act " of the same year, passed by Congress, commuting the half pay Mar. 22. promised to officers for life to full pay for five years, was also censured ; and objections were made to it on the ground that the discrimination was unjust, and the officers were to be paid "at the expense of the sufferings of their fellow-citizens." 2 The costs in civil suits had likewise increased; and it was claimed that the lawyers, who had greatly multiplied, had an undue influence, and were growing rich at the expense of their clients.3 Some even objected to the Courts of Common Pleas as an unnecessary burden. The prevalence of luxury, consequent upon habits acquired in war, and the importation of British goods, for which specie was paid, were also cen- sured as a check upon home manufactures, and the encourage- ment of extravagance, which could benefit only the merchant,
1 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 15; Bradford, ii .; Curtis's Hist. of the Const. i. 268; Holland's West- ern Mass. i. 234.
2 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 18, 27 ; Bradford, ii. 219, 225; Aus- tin's Life of Gerry, i. 395-398; Hol- land's Western Mass. i. 234. Comp. the Boston Gazette for Oct. 20, 1783, and Writings of Washington, viii. 448, 551-566. " As to the idea," says the latter, " that the half pay and com- mutation are to be regarded merely in the light of an odious pension, it ought to be exploded forever. That provision should be viewed, as it really was, a reasonable compensation of- fered by Congress at a time when they had nothing else to give the officers of the army for services then to be performed. It was the only means to prevent a total dereliction of the
service. It was a part of their hire. I may be allowed to say, it was the price of their blood, and of your in- dependency ; it is, therefore, more than a common debt-it is a debt of honor ; it can never be considered as a pension or gratuity, nor be cancelled until it is fairly discharged."
3 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection. 29; Bradford, ii. 258; Jackson's Hist. Newton, 208, 209 ; Abbot's Andover, 64, 65. The papers of " Honestus," published in the papers of the day, were the principal instruments in directing jealousy towards the judicial tribunals, and the anathemas thun- dered against lawyers led to their exclusion, by the popular voice, from the House and the Senate. Lincoln's Worcester, 131; Ward's Shrewsbury, 91; Holland's Western Mass. i. 236.
224
CONDUCT OF THE SEDITIOUS.
CHAP. while it impoverished the artisan.1 Objections were likewise VI. made to the constitution of the state; and the Senate was 1782. declared to be superfluous, or worse.2
Without doubt, the excitement created by this levelling spirit was confined, at first, chiefly to those who were ignorant of the principles of civil government, and to demagogues, who endeavored to persuade the people that they had a right, even in irregular conventions and by force, to throw off the re- straints of burdensome laws. A majority of the citizens, - at least, of the intelligent, - it should seem, were too well informed and too patriotic to resist the operation of necessary laws ; but when the infatuated resorted to arms, and refused to pay the price of their privileges, nothing but vigilance could oppose their fury, and quell the tumult created by their mis- conduct.3
The machinery resorted to by the seditious to accomplish their ends was artfully calculated to impose upon the weak. It was contended that the right to assemble in conventions to consult upon the common good was recognized distinctly in the constitution itself; and, construing this right with the utmost latitude, and forgetting the restrictions which good sense imposes, and that the sovereignty which had been dele- gated by the whole people could not be resumed at the option of a part, advantage was taken of the present opportunity to inflame the passions and prejudices of the dissatisfied, by holding irregular and tumultuous gatherings. At first, indeed, the conventions were respectable, and disclaimed all connec- tion with mobs; but the mob, in a short time, acquired the
1 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 10, 12 ; Bradford, ii. 234; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 466. Comp. also Franklin's Works, viii. 327. The imports from . Great Britain, in 1784 and 1785, amounted, in value, to 30 millions of dollars, while the exports to the same country did not exceed 9 mil-
lions ; leaving a balance of 21 mil- lions against the U. States. Comp. Pitkin's Statistics of the U. S. 30, ed. 1835.
2 Bradford, ii. 258.
3 Bradford, ii. 259; Butler's Groton and Shirley, 132.
225
CONVENTION AT WORCESTER.
ascendency, and the conventions became the abettors of vio- CHAP. lence. In this state of things, as the conventions increased, VI. the evils resulting from them likewise increased ; the respecta- 1786. ble were mixed up and incorporated with the mob ; and at length they stood on even ground, and acted together to over- awe others. 1
The first symptoms of the rising storm appeared at the con- vention in the county of Worcester. This convention, which Aug.15. met at Leicester, was composed of delegates from thirty-seven towns, who voted, at the outset, that the body was " lawful and constitutional," and then proceeded to discuss the causes of the public discontent. These, as enumerated in their pub- lished memorial, were, "1. The sitting of the General Court in Boston ; 2. The want of a circulating medium ; 3. The abuses in the practice of the law, and the exorbitance of the fee table ; 4. The existence of the Courts of Common Pleas in their present mode of administration ; 5. The appropriat- ing the revenues arising from the impost and excise to the payment of the interest of the state securities ; 6. The unrea- sonable and unnecessary grants made by the General Court to the attorney general and others ; 7. The servants of the gov-' ernment being too numerous, and having too great salaries ; and, 8. This commonwealth granting aid or paying moneys to Congress, while our public accounts remain unsettled." 2
The tendency of such measures, it was seen by the discern- ing, would be to distract the public councils, and foster the evils it was desired to redress. For, out of the convention, there were not wanting many who viewed things in a different light, and who insisted with equal confidence that the evils
1 Bradford, ii. 260; Holland's Western Mass. i. 235.
2 Lincoln's Hist. Worcester, 133, 134; Ward's Shrewsbury, 94; Hol- land's Western Mass. i. 236. A previous meeting was held in May, at which delegates from but 17 towns VOL. III. 15
were present. The insurrection in N. Hampshire was contemporaneous with that in Massachusetts, and origi- nated from similar causes. An ac- count of the same is given in the Worcester Mag. for Sept. 1786, and in Barstow's Hist. of N. H.
226
CONVENTION AT HATFIELD.
CHAP. complained of were mostly imaginary, and that the real cause VI. of the public distress must be attributed to the luxurious hab- 1786. its of the people and the large consumption of British fabrics, the dangers of which could not well be over-estimated.1 Hence the discussion in the papers took a wide range ; and the pro- ceedings of the remonstrants were not only satirized, but the knavery of their leaders was freely exposed.2
Aug.22. The convention at Worcester was followed, a week later, by another at Hatfield, in the county of Hampshire, of dele- gates from fifty towns, which continued in session three days. The list of grievances put forth by this body was swollen to a catalogue of seventeen articles ; among which were, the existence of the Senate, the mode of representation, the inde- pendence of officers on the people for their salaries, the embar- rassments of the press, and the neglect of the settlement of important matters between the commonwealth and Congress relative to moneys and averages.3 The passage of such reso- lutions, as may well be supposed, was exactly calculated to encourage the lawless ; and, four days after the rising of the Aug. 29, convention, a mob of several hundreds,4 some of them armed with guns and swords, and others with bludgeons, assembled in Northampton, at the time appointed for the sitting of the
1 " Nuper divitic avaritiam," says Livy, " et abundantis voluptatis de- siderium, per luxum atque libidinem pereundi, perdendique omnia invi- dere."
2 See the MS. Letter of Gen. Lin- coln to Gen. Washington, 66, 67 ; and compare Holland's Western Mass. i. 236, 237. Without doubt the con- duct of speculators, who availed them- selves of the necessities of others to purchase, at a great discount, vast quantities of paper money, and who were disposed to press their claims to the utmost, was a grievance felt deep- ly by the subjects of their operations ; and their measures, not always of the most honorable kind, could not but
be viewed with abhorrence and dis- gust. Comp. Hildreth's U. S. iii. 466, 467.
3
Worcester Mag. No. 25, for Sept.
1786 ; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 34-37; Bradford, ii. 260-262; Holland's Western Mass. i. 237, 238. For an account of the convention in Middlesex, held in Concord, Aug. 23, see Shattuck's Hist. Concord, 130. Ten articles of grievance were adopted by this convention, and an address to the public was ordered and published.
4 The newspapers of the day esti- mated their number at 400 or 500; but Minot, HIist. of the Insurrection, 39, and Bradford, ii. 263, estimate their number to have been nearly 1500.
227
PROCEEDINGS IN WORCESTER COUNTY.
Court of Common Pleas, fully determined to prevent its ses- CHAP. sions, and to suspend the regular processes of law. Tidings
Sept. 2.
VI. of this outbreak were forwarded to Boston ; and a proclama- 1786. tion was issued by Governor Bowdoin forbidding all assem- blies of the people for unlawful purposes, and calling upon the officers of the government, civil and judicial, and the citizens generally, to aid in suppressing such treasonable proceedings, and in restoring the community to its usual tranquillity.1
This proclamation, however, had but little effect, though the newspapers of the neighborhood, and the clergy to a man nearly, sided with the government in opposing sedition. The flame, which was burning in Worcester and Hampshire, spread into other counties. In Middlesex, Bristol, and Berkshire, conventions were held and votes were passed ; and the tumult was so threatening that, in the apprehension of many, the safety of the state was endangered.2
The success of the insurgents in the county of Hampshire emboldened their associates in the county of Worcester ; and Sept. 5. the sessions of the court were prevented by a mob of two hundred persons, who posted themselves around the court house, with bayonets fixed, and debarred the entrance of the judges. General Ward, the chief justice, remonstrated with them on the madness of their conduct, and, in a speech of two hours' length, warned them of the consequences which must inevitably ensue ; but they were equally deaf to remonstrance and warning, and no alternative was left but to adjourn.3
1 Worcester Mag. No. 23, for Sept. 1786; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 39; Bradford, ii. 263; Hol- land's Western Mass. i. 240.
2 The Worcester Magazine con- tained many articles on the disturb- ances. See also Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 39 ; Holland's Western Mass. i. 241.
3 Worcester Mag. No. 23, for Sept. 1786 ; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 39 ; Bradford, ii. 263 ; Holland's
Western Mass. i. 242; Hist. Berk- shire, 127 ; Lincoln's Worcester, 135; Ward's Shrewsbury, 95-99. The mob at Worcester was under the command of Captain Adam Wheeler, of Hubbardston, and his lieutenant was Benjamin Converse, of Hard- wick; but Captain Wheeler, when charged with being their leader, dis- claimed both the office and the re- sponsibility. Only 100 of the men had guns; the rest carried bludgeons.
228
PROCEEDINGS IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
CHAP. VI. The next attempt was at Concord, in the county of Middle-
sex. The insurgents at this place, about one hundred in 1786. Sep. 12. number, were chiefly from Groton and its immediate neighbor- hood, and were under the command of Captains Job Shattuck, of Groton, and Nathan and Sylvanus Smith, of Shirley.1 The first night they lodged in the court house, and in barns, or such other shelter as could best be obtained ; and on the fol- Sep. 13. lowing day they took possession of the grounds in front of the court house, and marked out their lines. Here they were joined by a party from Worcester, about ninety strong, under Wheeler, of Hubbardston, and Converse, of Hardwick ; so that the whole body numbered about two hundred. But the citizens of Concord had not been idle ; and not only did they, Sept. 9. at a special meeting, " seriously and deliberately " discuss the measures which had been adopted in other counties, but de- clared their " utter disapprobation of such disorderly proceed- ings." 2 The governor, likewise, apprehending disturbances, Sept. 8. had ordered the artillery companies of Roxbury and Dorches- ter to hold themselves in readiness to march to Concord, under the command of General Brooks, with such other companies from the county of Suffolk as the exigencies might require ; 3 but these orders were countermanded, in consequence of the spirited conduct of the town.
The appearance of the mob, in less troublesome times, would have excited the derision of every beholder. As a general thing, they " looked wretchedly ; " their muskets were thor- oughly drenched with rain ; and the " rank-scented many " were redolent of rum, which they had poured down in large quantities to keep up their courage. But, while they were swaggering and vaporing in the streets, trolling catches of
1 Worcester Mag. No. 25, for Sept. 1786; Butler's Hist. of Groton and Shirley; Shattuck's Concord, 134. A majority of the legal voters of Groton are said to have concurred in resist- ing the government.
Worcester Mag. No. 24, for Sept. 1786; Shattuck's Concord, 131.
3 Worcester Mag. No. 24, for Sept. 1786; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 42; Shattuck's Concord, 131.
229
DISTURBANCES AT TAUNTON.
popular songs, and making the air unwholesome with their CHAP. breath, the more sober citizens, after joining in prayer, ap- VI. pointed a committee to confer with their leaders, and another 1786. to confer with the justices of the courts. The reply of Shat- tuck was at first quite insolent; and he declared that the courts should not sit until the grievances of the people were suitably redressed ; but, two hours later, he altered his tone, and consented that the Court of Sessions might open, and ad- journ to the last Tuesday in November, without entering the court house.1 Smith, however, was much more refractory ; and, " splitting the air with noise," he beat round for volun- teers, declaring that any one who refused to join his standard and follow his drum should be " drove out of town at the point of the bayonet." "I will lay down my life," said he, " to sup- press the government from all tfiannical oppression ; and you, who are willing to join us in this here affair, may fall into our ranks." 2 This illiterate philippic, with its accompanying pro- fanity, was offensive even to his own party; and the more respectable were heartily ashamed of the cause they had espoused. The judges, in the mean time, deeming it useless to proceed to business, decided, after consultation, to suspend their sessions ; and, at a late hour in the afternoon, they left the town, and the insurgents dispersed.3
The disturbance at Taunton, in the county of Bristol, was quelled by the exertions of General Cobb, the chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and a military officer of undaunt- ed courage. Discretionary orders had been given by the gov- ernor to call out the militia in case of necessity ; but, in the absence of the Council, which was not then in session, no pos- itive instructions could be issued by his excellency. General Cobb, therefore, who had reason to apprehend that violence
* Shattuck's Concord, 135.
2 Shattuck's Concord, 135.
Worcester Mag. No. 25, for Sept.
1786; Shattuck's Concord, 135, 136; Butler's Groton and Shirley, 133.
230
PROCEEDINGS IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
CHAP. would be attempted, assumed the responsibility of ordering VI. several companies to appear, at Taunton, on the morning of
1786. the day the court was to meet, and took possession of the court house " with a field piece and thirty gentlemen volun- Sep. 12. teers." By this seasonable precaution the insurgents were intimidated ; and, although they appeared in considerable numbers, they were assured by the chief justice that he would " sit as a judge or die as a general ; " and, knowing from his character that he would be as good as his word, the malcon- tents separated without preventing the sitting of the court. Yet it was deemed advisable, here as elsewhere, to adjourn the sessions to a future day.1
In the county of Berkshire, the insurgents were equally Aug. active.2 The convention at Lenox, held soon after the con- vention at Hatfield, was composed as well of the friends of government as of the disaffected ; and their proceedings, at first, were temperate and judicious, though the general rage for reformation was displayed. Some of the acts of the ad- ministration were condemned ; but, in general, a respectful regard for authority was observed, and the members in the
1 Worcester Mag. No. 25, for Sept. 1786; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 44; Bradford, ii. 265, 266 ; Mar- shall's Washington, x. 112, note.
2 Disturbances in Berkshire seem to have commenced at a quite early date; for in February, 1779, the re- port of a committee of the General Court was presented relative to these matters, "that they have heard the members of the General Court who belong to the county of Berkshire upon the subject, and are of opinion that it is necessary to pass an act of pardon and indemnification to all riots, routs, and all assaults, batteries, false imprisonments, and trespasses against the person of a subject, com- mitted and done within the county of Berkshire before the passing such act ; and also for suspending the right of
bringing of personal actions for tres- passes against property in said county, which may have been committed in consequence of the order, resolve, or vote, either of any legal town meeting, selectmen. or committee of inspection, correspondence, &c., unless leave shall be first had and obtained of the Gen- eral Court. And that it is necessary for the peace and good order of the county of Berkshire, that there should be justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas there appointed, and justices for the Court of General Ses- sions of the Peace, and that they be directed to hold their respective courts as by law appointed ; and further, that there be an act passed for holding a Superior Court of Judicature in said county annually, which is submitted." Jour. House of Rep. for Feb. 6, 1779.
231
POSITION OF THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON.
most solemn manner pledged themselves, as a body, to use CHAP. their influence to support the courts in the exercise of their VI. legal powers, and to quiet the agitated spirits of the people.1 1786. But the insurgents were not satisfied with this; and, at the opening of the Court of Common Pleas at Great Barrington, a mob, consisting of about eight hundred persons, abused the judges, succeeded in preventing the sessions of the court, and broke open the jail and liberated the prisoners.2
The excitement was now general. In some parts, indeed, the people were quiet ; and in Boston, in particular, an address was prepared, and sent to the governor, declaring in the most Sep. 11. explicit terms their unvaried determination to cooperate in support of constitutional government. A circular letter was also sent abroad, addressed to the inhabitants of every town, reciting the dangers which had been mutual during the war, and contrasting the state of the country at present with what it would have been had their enemies conquered. The pledges which had been made in defence of their liberties were also alluded to ; and they conjured their brethren in the most feel- ing manner not to gratify the malice of their common enemies in seeking a redress of supposed grievances by other means than those which their social compact had amply provided.3
The address to the governor was favorably received, and as favorably answered ; and the replies to the circular ad- Sep. 13. dressed to the towns, though varying in character, were accordant in spirit, and evinced a pleasing union of sentiment and a readiness to aid in upholding the laws.4 But the
1 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 44; Holland's Hist. Western Mass. i. 244.
2 Minot's Hist. of the Insurrection, 45 .; Holland's Hist. Western Mass. i. 244; Hist. Berkshire, 127, 128.
3 Worcester Mag. No. 25, for Sept. 1786; Minot's Hist. of the Insurrec- tion, 46. Samuel Adams was mod- erator of the meeting in Boston ; and
the addresses were prepared by him and by James Sullivan, Dr. Charles Jarvis, Stephen Higginson, Edward Paine, Jonathan Jackson, and Jona- than L. Austin, who were appointed for that purpose.
4 The answer of the town of Rox- bury is given in the Worcester Mag- azine, No. 27, for Oct. 1786.
232
DISTURBANCES AT SPRINGFIELD.
CHAP. action of the government itself was called for, to render VI. effective the wishes of the prudent ; and, as the General Court
1786. had been adjourned from the eighth of July to the last of the following January, it was deemed advisable to convene it at an earlier date, and a proclamation was issued for calling it together on the eighteenth of October ; but the pressure of circumstances required that a still earlier date should be fixed, Sep. 27. and the twenty-seventh of September was assigned by the governor.1 In the midst of this business fresh difficulties arose. Hitherto the outbreaks had been confined almost entirely to the sessions of the Courts of Common Pleas and the Courts of General Sessions of the Peace. The Supreme Judicial Courts had not been molested. But these courts, it was well known, were properly cognizant of acts of rebellion ; and, though it was treasonable to disturb them, as it was feared by the insurgents that indictments might be presented against the more froward, it was determined, if possible, to prevent their sessions. The sessions at Springfield were to be Sep. 26. holden in September ; and the insurgents prepared to obstruct their proceedings. To defeat their designs, and at the same time to preserve order, a body of six or eight hundred of the militia, under General Shepard, of Westfield, was detached to the court house, to hold possession of it against all intruders.2
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