USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 34
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But more serious questions were to be discussed and decided than those which related to mere matters of form. Preparations for the meeting had been previously made by Otis, and Adams, and Warren, who, at the house of the lat- Sep. 10. ter, drew up the resolves which were to be presented, and settled the order of debate.4 When, therefore, the crowd gath- Sep. 12. ered in Faneuil Hall, every thing was ready ; and the people, as they looked with a grim smile upon the burnished muskets, four hundred in number, which lay in boxes along the floor,5
1 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768. "The faction," he says, " immediately took the alarm."
2 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768; Hutchinson to -, Oct. 4, 1768, and Hist. iii. 202, 203.
3 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768.
4 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768. The governor falsely as- serts that at this meeting "it was re-
solved to surprise and take the Castle on the Monday night following."
5 " In the Massachusetts govern- ment," wrote Hamilton to Calcraft, in 1767, " there is an express law by which every man is obliged to have a mus- ket, a pound of powder, and a pound of bullets always by him ; so there is nothing wanting but knapsacks (or old stockings, which will do as well) to equip an army for marching, and
365
MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON.
entered upon the business for which they had convened. CHAP. Prayer was offered by' the eloquent Cooper, pastor of the XI. Brattle Street Church; Otis was chosen moderator ; and a 1768. committee was appointed to wait upon the governor, to inquire his reasons for supposing that troops were expected, and to request him "immediately to issue precepts for a General As- sembly." The meeting then adjourned to the following morn- Sep. 13. ing, when the committee reported that the governor had no official announcement to make relative to the troops, and had refused to call an assembly.1 A "Declaration " was then read, equalling in spirit the declaration from the same spot eighty years before. "The inhabitants of Boston," it was resolved, " will, at the utmost peril of their lives and fortunes, maintain and defend their rights, liberties, privileges, and immunities." Some counselled instant resistance, and insisted that no time was better than the present. But rashness at such a juncture might have defeated all. The prudent, therefore, gave differ- ent advice, and the people submitted. "There are the arms," said Otis, as he pointed to the boxes on the floor. "When an attempt is made upon your liberties, they will be delivered." 2 As the result of the meeting, a convention of all the towns was proposed, to be held in Faneuil Hall within two weeks; and Boston chose as its representatives Thomas Cushing, James
nothing more than a Sartorius or a Spartacus at their head requisite to beat your troops and your custom house officers out of the country, and set your laws at defiance. There is no saying what their leaders may put them upon; but if they are active, clever people, and love mischief as well as I do peace and quiet, they will furnish matter of consideration to the wisest among you, and perhaps dic- tate their own terms at last, as the Roman people formerly in their fa- mous secession upon the Sacred Mount. For my own part, I think you have no right to tax them, and that every measure built upon this supposed right stands upon a rotten foundation, and must consequently tumble down,
perhaps upon the heads of the work- men." Chatham Corresp. iii. 203, note. " This very morning," wrote Bernard to Hillsborough, July 9, 1768, " the selectmen of the town ordered the magazine of arms belonging to the town to be brought out to be cleaned, when they were exposed for some hours at the town house." See also Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768; and comp. the Vindication of the Town of Boston, p. 28.
1 Hutchinson, iii. 205; Boston Weekly News Letter for Sept. 15, 1768; Boston Gazette for Sept. 19, 1768.
2 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768.
366
THEIR PROCEEDINGS CONDEMNED BY ROYALISTS.
CHAP. Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock.1 The selectmen XI. were directed to write to the several towns, informing them of
1768. this design ; and it was recommended that all the inhabitants should be provided with firearms and suitable ammunition.2 Nor was the time-honored custom of the fathers of New Eng- land forgotten ; and a day of fasting and prayer was appoint- Sep. 20. ed, and observed by all the churches except the Episcopal.3
By royalists the proceedings of this meeting were loudly condemned. "They have delivered their sentiments," wrote Gage, "in the style of a ruling and sovereign nation, who ac- knowledge no dependence." 4 The "Sons of Liberty " were stigmatized as " Catilines ; "5 and Bernard was sure that, but for the Romney, a rebellion would have broken out. Nay, he even asserted that a design had been concerted to seize the Castle, and talked of divulging the names of five hundred who had enrolled for the service.6 "I wish I were away," he sighed, as he felt the perplexities of his situation increasing upon him ; and when the offer of a baronetcy and the vice government of Virginia was made to him, he accepted it "most thankfully," and "hoped to embark for England in a fortnight." But his hopes were dashed by the appointment of Botetourt, and he began to fear lest he should lose Massa- chusetts.7
1 " Surely," wrote Bernard to Hills- borough, " so daring an assumption of the royal authority was never prac- tised by any city or town in the Brit- ish dominions, even in the times of greatest disorder - not even by the city of London when the great rebel- lion was at the highest, and the con- fusion arising from thence most urgent for some extraordinary measures."
2 Hutchinson, iii. App. L., where the letter is given in full ; also, Post- script to Boston News Letter for Sept. 22, 1768.
3 Hutchinson, iii. 203-205; Ban- croft, vi. 199.
4 Gage to Hillsborough, Sept. 26, 1768.
5 Auchmuty to Hutchinson, Sept. 14, 1768.
6 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 16, 1768. Comp. Vindication of the Town of Boston, 30. The printed copy of the former document reads, nine hundred, and of the latter, five hundred, men. Hutchinson, Hist. iii. 167, note, says, "Mr. Molineaux " was the one who " proposed, at the head of 500 men, to surprise the garrison at the Castle ; " " a strange, mad pro- posal," he adds, " if such a one were ever made."
7 Hillsborough to Gage, Sept. 16, 1768; Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 17 and 18, 1768; Captain Corner's Diary for Sept. 15, 1768, in Bancroft,
367
A CONVENTION CALLED.
Three days before the convention was to meet, Bernard CHAP. announced to the Council that two regiments were expected XI. from Ireland, and that two others had been ordered by Gen- 1768. eral Gage from Halifax, for which quarters should be provided. Sep. 19. As the mutiny act formerly stood, the civil officers had a gen- eral discretionary power of quartering troops in inns, livery stables, retailing houses, &c. ; but that act had been changed ; and the Council, in their reply, suggested that "the process in quartering should be regulated accordingly, by sending the troops to the barracks; and only in case of a lack of room there were they required to find other quarters." There was sufficient room at the barracks, they added, for a thousand men, and, consequently, enough to accommodate the two regiments from Halifax. But as for the orders of General Gage, "it was no disrespect to him to say, that no order whatever, coming from a less authority than his majesty and Parliament, can supersede an act of Parliament ; " and "if any military officer should take upon himself to quarter soldiers in any of his majesty's dominions in America otherwise than was limited and allowed by the act, he should be ipso facto cashiered, and disabled to hold any military employment in his majesty's service." 1
The convention called by the people of Boston met accord- Sep. 22. ing to appointment ; and, on the first day, about seventy per- sons appeared as the representatives of sixty-six towns. This number was increased by daily arrivals, until ninety-six towns and eight districts, nearly every settlement in the province, were represented.2 Otis was at first absent; and Thomas Cushing, the speaker of the House, was chosen moderator, and
vi. 200. Comp. Hutchinson, iii. 199. Junius describes Botetourt as a " crin- ging, bowing, fawning, sword-bearing courtier, who had ruined himself by an enterprise which would have ruined thousands had it succeeded."
1 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept.
23 and 26, 1768; Hutchinson, iii. 207, 208; Mass. Gazette for Sept. 22, 1768.
2 Boston News Letter for Oct. 6, 1768 ; Holmes's Ann. ii .; Hutchin- son, iii. 208, 209; Grahame, ii. 437 ; Bancroft, vi. 203.
368
MEETING OF THE CONVENTION.
CHAP. the clerk of the House was chosen clerk of the convention. XI. "They have committed treason," shouted the officers of the
1768. crown. " At least, the selectmen of Boston have done so." " Boston," wrote Gage, "is mutinous ; its resolves treasonable and desperate." "Mad people procured them ; mad people govern the town and the province." 1
The first step of the convention was to petition the governor to " cause an assembly to be immediately convened ; " but this petition he refused to receive, on the ground that it would be an admission of the legality of the convention, which he would by no means acknowledge; and he advised the "gentlemen assembled at Faneuil Hall under the name of a committee of convention " to separate at once, or he would publicly assert the prerogative of the crown, and they who persisted in usurp- ing its rights should be made to "repent their rashness ; " but the message was received with derision.2
The Council, as a branch of the legislature, had held meet- ings from time to time, with the consent of the governor, and had been consulted by him in their official capacity in several instances ; but when the question of quartering the troops was referred to them a second time, in order to shake their former resolution, they replied, “ We do not desire to be knocked on the head," 3 and reduced to writing their reasons for adhering Sep. 26. to the billeting act. This decision was communicated to the governor, was published in the Gazette, and a copy of the same was sent to Lord Hillsborough.4 It was the " greatest blow," in the estimation of Bernard, "that had been given to
1 Paper enclosed in Gage's letter of Sept. 26, 1768, in Letters, &c. 41 ; Ban- croft, vi. 203. For a defence of the province against the charge of trea- son, see Pownall's Speech of Feb. 1769, p. 5.
2 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 1768 ; Hutchinson, iii. 210. " It is now made a great ques- tion," writes Bernard, "in what man-
ner Great Britain will resent this pro- ceeding. It is concluded that the most probable consequence will be the forfeiture of the charter. If this is the worst, it is an event most de- voutly to be desired by every well wisher to the province."
Comp. Bernard to Hillsborough, 3 June 13, 1768.
4 Bancroft, vi. 204.
369
THE CONVENTION DISSOLVED.
the king's government." "Nine tenths of the people consid- CHAP. ered the declaration of the Council just ;" " throughout the XI. province they were ripe for almost any thing ; " and the minis- 1768. try, astonished at the storm they had raised, dared not insist further.1
The convention continued in session six days, and repeated the protest of the people against the taxation of the colonies by Parliament, against a standing army, and against the danger to the "liberties of America from a united body of pensioners and soldiers ; " and, after renewing their petition to the king, which their agent was enjoined to deliver in person as soon as possible, they dissolved.2 "Some feared, others hoped, for much more serious consequences from this extraordinary as- sembly ;" but its members, aware of the necessity of prudence, displayed in all their proceedings remarkable caution ; and when the result of their labors was transmitted to England, though many would gladly have seized upon the slightest flaw to justify their exemplary punishment, " no traces of high trea- son could be found in what had been done." 3
On the very day that this convention was dissolved the Sep. 28. squadron from Halifax, consisting of seven armed vessels, en- tered the bay, and at noon was anchored off Nantasket. But few of the members had left for their homes ; and curiosity was awakened to see with what reception the troops, which had been embarked in the squadron; would meet. Their com- mander, Colonel Dalrymple, on reaching the town, expressed great surprise " that no quarters had been prepared ; " but the Council, which was convened, declared their intention to ad- Sep. 29. here to the law. Nothing remained, therefore, but for the colonel to act in obedience to his instructions ; and he did so.
1 Bernard to Hillsborough, Sept. 27, 1768; Hutchinson to Whateley, Oct. 4, 1768; A. Eliot to T. Hollis, Sept. 27, 1768; Bancroft, vi. 204, 205.
1768, in Boston Gazette for Sept. 26 and Oct. 10, 1768, and Postscript to Boston News Letter for Oct. 13, 1768.
3 Cavendish Debates, i. 196; Hutch-
2 Letter to De Berdt, Sept. 27, inson, iii. 212; Bancroft, vi. 206. VOL. II. 24
-
370
ARRIVAL OF TROOPS IN BOSTON.
CHAP. The governor, anticipating resistance, had slipped into the XI. country ; and the colonel was left to "take the whole upon 1768. Oct. 1. himself." 1 The preparations for the landing were made with a view to prevent resistance; and the eight ships of war, which were in the harbor, including the Romney, with their tenders, were placed off the wharves, with cannon loaded and springs on their cables. Never before had the citizens of Massachusetts witnessed such a spectacle ; and the indignation of all classes may be easily imagined. Yet no outcry was made ; no resist- ance was shown. In perfect silence the crowd looked on as the fourteenth, and twenty-ninth, and part of the fifty-ninth regiments stepped on Long Wharf. The troops were all armed, and their bayonets were fixed ; and in this warlike at- titude they marched through the streets, with drums beating and colors flying, until they reached the Common, where they halted.2
As the twenty-ninth regiment was provided with field equi- page, they proceeded to encamp. For the rest there was no shelter. Application was accordingly made to the selectmen for quarters ; but, in imitation of the Council, they chose to abide by the law. As the night was cold, however, compassion prevailed, and, at a meeting hastily called, the benumbed troops were allowed to shelter themselves in Faneuil Hall. "I have got possession of the School of Liberty, and thereby secured all their arms," was the triumphant exclamation of Dalrymple. "I will keep possession of this town, where faction seems to prevail beyond conception." Nor was it difficult to carry out this threat ; for who was there to oppose ? The people stood on the defensive, and were determined not to be the aggressors. Secure in their integrity, and with the law on their side, they left the blustering officer to follow his own bent.3
Dalrymple to Hood, Oct. 4, 5, 1768.
2 Hutchinson to -, Oct. 4, 1768, and Hist. iii. 212; Holmes's Ann. ii. ; Gordon's Am. Rev. i. 247; Grahame,
ii. 437 ; J. Adams's Diary, in Works, ii. 213; Bancroft, vi. 207; Drake's Boston.
3 Hutchinson, iii. 212; Bancroft, vi. 209.
8
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371
GAGE VISITS BOSTON.
The requisition for allowances to the troops was laid before CHAP. the Council. "We are ready," was the reply, "to comply on XI. our part with the act of Parliament, if the colonel will on his." 1768. Oct. 3. But the colonel would make no concessions, and "took the · liberty" to inform them that "he would represent the affair to the general, and would also send an express to England, to give advice of their refusal." After further deliberation, the Oct. 5. Council consented to appoint a commissary, if that person would " take the risk of being paid by the province." In this they acted warily ; for they well knew that the power of ap- propriating moneys belonged to the House ; and the legislature had been dissolved.1
At length General Gage came personally to Boston, before the arrival of the Irish regiments, and demanded quarters for the regiments in the town. "The barracks are not yet filled," was the reply ; "and we are under no obligations to make further provisions until the law has been complied with."2 Attempts were then made by the governor and sheriff to take possession of the old manufactory house, which was in a ruin- ous condition ; but the occupants had counselled with the best lawyer in the province, and, "encouraged by several of the first-rate sons of liberty," they refused to quit. A day or two after, the sheriff "entered the house by surprise ;" but the clamor against him was so great that he was compelled to leave.3 "I am at the end of my tether," said Bernard. "I can do no more." And the general was left to shift for himself.
The weather was daily increasing in severity ; and the con- dition of the troops, even of those who had tents, was far from agreeable. The commanding officer, therefore, was "obliged to hire houses at very dear rates," and to procure supplies at the charge of the crown. All that he could do, under the
1 Postscript to Boston News Let- 2 Gage to Hood, Oct. 18, 1768.
ter for Oct. 6 and 13, 1768; Boston Gazette for Oct. 10, 1768; Hutchin- son, iii. 213 ; Bancroft, vi. 210.
3 Narr. of Boston Massacre, 17; Hutchinson, iii. 215; Bancroft, vi. 210.
372
THE TROOPS QUARTERED.
CHAP. circumstances, was to threaten .; and, as a measure of intimida- XI. tion, the main guard was stationed directly opposite the State 1768. House, which was occupied by the troops, and cannon were pointed towards the rooms in which the legislature was accus- tomed to sit.1 Still, every thing was quiet; and the Council, Oct. 27. as an act of justice to the province, prepared a memorial, signed by fifteen out of nineteen, appealing to the general to testify, from his own observation, that the town was in a peace- ful state, and accusing the commissioners of giving rise to the principal riot, and of unnecessarily withdrawing to the Castle, to induce a belief that they needed protection. If, upon inqui- ry, he should find their statements to be true, and should be satisfied that his majesty's service did not require the regiments from Halifax to remain in the town, they suggested that it would be a "great ease and satisfaction to the inhabitants" if he would be pleased to "order them to Castle William or Point Shirley, and to order to the place where they were first intend- Oct. 28. ed the two regiments from Ireland."2 The reply of the gen- eral contained a partial acknowledgment of the justness of these representations ; yet, in compliance with the wishes of Bernard, he was unwilling to remove the troops, and advised barracks, &c., on Fort Hill, to command the town. Thus a military despotism was established in the province. "These red coats make a formidable appearance," said Hutchinson, exultingly. But Bernard, more timid and irresolute in his character, feared that " troops would not restore the authority of government," and urged anew a forfeiture of the charter.
1 Supp't to Mass. Gazette for Nov. 3, 1768; Narr. of Boston Massacre, 16, 17; Hutchinson, iii. 215; Ban- croft, vi. 211.
2 Address of Council, Dec. 27,
1768, in Letters, &c. 129, 134; Mass. Gazette for Nov. 3, 1768; Boston Ga- zette for Oct. 31, 1768 ; Hutchinson, iii. 215, 216.
CHAPTER XII.
MILITARY RULE. THE BOSTON MASSACRE.
BOSTON was a garrisoned town. The people were subjected CHAP. to the evil they dreaded. Their liberties were at the mercy
XII. of a hireling soldiery. It was evident to all that it had been 1768. resolved in England to enforce the power of Parliament at the point of the sword, and that the menaces which had been thrown out were not idle.1 How soon these threats would be executed depended upon the course of the officers of the crown. Should they assume arrogant airs, or instigate the soldiery to deeds of violence, the struggle would be precipi- tated. Should they adopt a more prudent course, it might be delayed. That it must come before long few could doubt, for the signs of the times were threatening and ominous. Every one felt that the die was thrown, and that, if England did not recede from the position she had assumed, a popular outbreak would be the result. It is not in the nature of man to submit with tameness to continued encroachments upon his real or con- ceived rights. He may forbear for a time ; but when the yoke presses too heavily, an effort will be made to throw it off ; and the success of that effort rests with God. The reverent spirit with which the people of New England had been accustomed, from the infancy of their settlements, to speak of the "mother
1 " My daily reflections for two years," writes John Adams, (Diary, in Works, ii. 214,) " at the sight of those soldiers before my door, were serious enough. Their very appearance in Boston was a strong proof to me that
the determination of Great Britain to subjugate us was too deep and invet- erate ever to be altered by us; for every thing we could do was misrep- resented, and nothing we could say was credited."
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374
THE STATE PAPERS OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CHAP. country ; " the sincere attachment which they had always felt XII. to the homes of their ancestors ; the conviction which was
1768. cherished that the land of their fathers was blessed above all others in the possession of a wise and beneficent constitution, - these might lead them to weigh well the consequences of a rupture with that country, and to deprecate every step tending to disunion. But if forced to resist by a course of legislation from which relief was sought in vain, they argued, and justly, that the responsibility must rest, not with them, but with those who sanctioned that course and persisted in adhering to it. The state papers of Massachusetts commemorate the wisdom of the men who framed them. Their tone is firm, yet prudent and respectful. They were not the productions of visionary enthusiasts, ignorant of the principles of natural law. They were the effusions of an ardent and enlightened patriotism. And the men who guided the destinies of the province - those, at least, upon whom the greatest reliance was placed - were clear-headed, far-seeing, deep-thinking men. They pondered well every word they sent forth to the world. Not a hasty sentence escaped from their pens. They knew what they were doing ; had counted the cost; had looked into the future as far as was. possible ; and had formed their conclusions after mature deliberation. Hence a resolute spirit breathes through- out their acts. They wrought for themselves, and they wrought for posterity.1
The soldiers who had been quartered in Boston soon fell in love with the country, and numbers deserted.2 But there were still enough left to parade the streets, to the scandal of the town ; 3 and the officers of the customs, inspired by their pres-
1 I speak here of state papers. In newspaper effusions greater license is taken; and many of the pieces in the journals of the day were written un- der the impulse of glowing passions. Yet the prudent wrote more calmly, though even their productions were often spicy.
2 Eliot to Hollis, Oct. 17, 1768. 3 " Through the whole fall and win- ter," writes John Adams, (Diary, in Works, ii. 213,) " a regiment was ex- ercised by Major Small, in Brattle Square, directly in front of my house. The spirit-stirring drum and the ear- piercing fife aroused me and my fam-
375
SPEECH OF THE KING.
ence, ventured once more to gratify their spite by arresting, on CHAP. charges which were never established, a few who had formerly XII. resisted their authority.1 To this exceptions were taken ; but 1768. the people waited patiently for intelligence from abroad, and were especially anxious to know the decision of the king and of Parliament. By early advices they were informed that Shelburne had been dismissed, that Pitt had resigned, that the Oct. 12. privy seal had been conferred upon the Earl of Bristol, and that the Earl of Rochford, lately ambassador at Paris, had become secretary of state.2 But these changes, eventful as they were, produced less sensation than the speech of the king at the opening of Parliament, who railed at " the spirit of fac- Nov. 8 tion " which he had hoped was "well nigh extinguished," but which had broken out " afresh in some of the colonies." Bos- ton, in particular, appeared to be "in a state of disobedience to all law and government," and had "proceeded to measures subversive of the constitution, and attended with circumstances that might manifest a disposition to throw off its dependence on Great Britain." "With your concurrence and support," he added, " I shall be able to defeat the mischievous designs of those turbulent and seditious persons who, under false pretences, have but too successfully deluded numbers of my subjects in America, and whose practices, if suffered to prevail, cannot fail to produce the most fatal consequences to my colonies imme- diately, and, in the end, to all the dominions of my crown." 3
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