USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 35
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The debate which followed was warm and animated. Lord Henly, the son of Lord Northington, in moving the address in the House of Commons, charged the Bostonians with " defying
ily early enough every morning, and the indignation they excited, though somewhat soothed, was not allayed by the sweet songs, violins, and flutes of the serenading Sons of Liberty under my windows in the evening."
1 Gage to Hillsborough, March 5, 1769. Hancock and Malcom were among those who were arrested.
2 Chatham Corresp. iii. 336-348 ; Mass. Gazette for Jan. 16, 1769; Bel- sham's George III. i. 218; Lord Ma- hon's Hist. Eng. v. 200-204; Ban- croft, vi. 214, 215.
3 Debates in Parl. v. 11, 12; Mass. Gazette for Jan. 16, 1769; Boston Gazette for Jan. 16, 1769.
376
DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT.
CHAP. all legal authority ; " and Stanley, in seconding his motion, XII. declared that the "difficulties in governing Massachusetts "
1768. were "insurmountable, unless its charter and laws should be so changed as to give the king the appointment of the Council, and to the sheriff's the sole power of returning juries." Burke replied, defending the colonies,1 and insisting that the order requiring the General Court to rescind their resolutions, under a penalty, was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional ; and in this, surprising as it may seem, Grenville agreed with him, as did also Wedderburne. Barrington " wished the stamp act had never been passed ;" yet he accused the Americans as " traitors," and "worse than traitors, against the crown." " The troops have been sent thither," he added, " to bring riot- ers to justice." Rigby spoke in the same strain ; but Beckford, who represented the city of London, suggested that "it were best to repeal the late act, and conciliate the colonies by mod- eration and kindness." At length Lord North, the organ of the ministry, gave his opinion. "I am against repealing the last act of Parliament," said he ; "I will never think of repeal- ing it until I see America prostrate at my feet." 2 This speech decided the question. The address was carried in the Com- mons without a division ; and the House of Lords readily acquiesced.3 "We shall always," was the language of this address, "consider it as one of our most important duties to maintain entire and inviolate the supreme authority of the
1 Some writers have insinuated that Burke's defence of America was insin- cere, and that, " while vague rhapso- dies about liberty decorated his ha- rangues, his object was to introduce his party to power, and, by equivocal concessions to the American people, and flattering patronage of the Amer- ican chieftains, to purchase a pacific reconciliation capable of being cor- rupted afresh into dependence." Ann. Review, and Grahame, ii. 439, note.
2 On this debate see Lee's Lee, 261, 262; Cavendish Debates, i. 32-
43, 90, 91; Johnson to Pitkin, Nov. 18, 1768; Boston Gazette for Jan. 23, 1769 ; and comp. Hutchinson, iii. 219. 3 For the address, see Debates in Parl. v. 13-15. In a pamphlet enti- tled " The State of the Nation," &c., published in Oct. 1768, Grenville ap- pears as the advocate of American representation. "The number of electors," said he, " is become too small in proportion to the whole peo- ple, and the colonies ought to be al- lowed to send members to Parlia- ment."
377
POSITION OF HILLSBOROUGH.
legislature of Great Britain over every part of the British CHAP. empire." "We will, by every means in our power, cheerfully XII. and zealously support your majesty in all such future measures 1768. as shall be found requisite to enforce a due obedience to the laws, restore order and good government where they have been disturbed, and to establish the constitutional dependence of the colonies of Great Britain, so essential to the interest and prosperity of both."
Thus war against the colonies was virtually declared. "De- pend upon it," said Hillsborough, "Parliament will not suffer their authority to be trampled upon. We wish to avoid sever- ities towards you ; but if you refuse obedience to our laws, the whole fleet and army of England shall enforce it."1 In the spirit of this threat, he communicated to the agents of the dif- Dec. 6. ferent provinces the result of a council held by the cabinet. " Administration," said he, "will enforce the authority of the legislature of Great Britain over the colonies in the most effectual manner, but with moderation and lenity." 2 De Choiseul, the French minister at St. James's, foresaw the con- sequences which must spring from such conduct ; and to the question of Du Chatelet, " Can the ministry reduce the colo- nies ?" he replied, "To the menace of rigor they will never give way, except in appearance and for a time. The fire will be but imperfectly extinguished unless other means than those of force conciliate the interests of the metropolis and its colo- nies. The Americans will not lose out of their view their rights and their privileges ; and next to fanaticism for religion the fanaticism for liberty is the most daring in its measures and the most dangerous in its consequences." 3
The question of taxation was of vital importance ; and this was the question principally in dispute. "No force on earth,"
Johnson to the governor of Con- necticut, Jan. 3, 1769; Bancroft, vi. necticut, Nov. 18, 1768; Bancroft, vi. 238.
216.
2 Johnson to the governor of Con-
3 Choiseul to Du Chatelet, Nov. 22, 1768, quoted in Bancroft, vi. 236.
378
DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND.
CHAP. wrote the governor of New Jersey, "is sufficient to make the XII. assemblies acknowledge, by any act of theirs, that the Parlia- 1768. ment has a right to impose taxes on America ;" and this dec- laration was every where echoed.1 The papers relating to the colonies, including the letters of Bernard and Gage and those of the commissioners of the customs, were laid before Parlia- Nov.28. ment towards the close of the year, and referred to a commit- Dec. 10. tee to consider and report what measures should be adopted. This subject was for several weeks under consideration ; and the debates which ensued covered a wide field.2
It is not unworthy of notice here that, at the very time Par- liament was censuring the colonies for their " riotous " beha- vior, England itself was agitated by a worse spirit. "Look at home," wrote Franklin. "I have seen, within a year, riots in the country about corn ; riots about elections ; riots about workhouses ; riots of colliers ; riots of weavers ; riots of coal- heavers ; riots of sawyers ; riots of Wilkesites ; riots of gov- ernment chairmen ; riots of smugglers, in which custom house officers and excisemen have been murdered, and the king's armed vessels and troops fired at." 3 These disturbances, how- ever, were at home ; those in the colonies were abroad ; and distance so magnified them that they became gigantic. Hence the ministry were deluded, and relied too confidently upon the exaggerated statements of Bernard and Hutchinson. Truc, some members of the House of Commons were better informed, and viewed things more calmly. " The Americans," said Beck- ford, " believe there is a settled design in this country to rule them with a military force." " Want of knowledge, as well as a want of temper," added Lord Beauchamp, "has gradually led us to the brink of a precipice, on which we look down with horror." " My heart will bleed," said Phips, " for every drop
1 W. Franklin to Hillsborough, Nov. 22, 1768.
2 Bradford, i. 174. A list of these papers, over 60 in number, is given
in the Boston News Letter for April 7, 1769, and Boston Gazette for April 3, 1769.
3 Works, iv. 293, 294.
379
DEBATE IN THE COMMONS.
of American blood that shall be shed, whilst their grievances CHAP. are unredressed. I wish to see the Americans in our arms as XII. friends, not to meet them as enemies." 1 But these prudent 1768. counsels were uttered in vain ; for, when the House divided, out of two hundred who were present, one hundred and twenty- seven voted to confine the inquiry.
Hillsborough exulted at the victory thus gained. "The matter," said he, "is now brought to a point. Parliament must give up its authority over the colonies, or bring them to effectual submission. Legislation and taxation will stand or fall together. The notion of the Americans is a polytheism in politics, absurd, fatal to the constitution, and never to be ad- mitted." In conclusion, he proposed a series of resolutions expressive of the sense of the legislature. "If this is not suffi- cient," he added, " the hand of power must be lifted up, and the whole force of this country exerted to bring the colonies into subjection." 2 Bedford seconded these resolutions, and moved, in addition, an address to the king, to bring "to con- dign punishment the chief authors and instigators of the late disorders, pursuant to the provisions of the statute of the 35th of Henry VIII. ; " and both the resolutions and the address were adopted, with no opposition except from Richmond and Shelburne.3
In the following month the resolutions and the address came 1769. before the Commons for discussion ; and " the grand debate on the North American affairs commenced." 4 The speakers were numerous, and were listened to with attention. The ministry showed what they had done, and what they intended to do ; " that, on the representation of Governor Bernard and the
Jan. 26.
1 Bancroft, vi. 239, 240.
2 Parl. Hist. Eng. xvi. 476, 477 ; Johnson to the governor of Connec- ticut, Jan. 3, 1769 ; Bancroft, vi. 245, 246.
3 Parl. Hist. Eng. xvi. 479, 480 ; Bancroft, vi. 246.
4 Debates in Parl. v. 21; Parl.
Hist. xvi. 485, &c. Bollan presented a petition at this time against the pending resolutions, a debate ensued on the question of its reception, and it was rejected by a vote of over two to one. Debates, &c. ; Bradford, i. 175 ; Cavendish Debates, i. 185 ; Bos- ton Gazette for April 17, 1768.
380
DEBATE IN THE COMMONS.
CHAP. commissioners of the customs, they had ordered troops and XII. ships to Boston, by whose assistance every thing was now 1769. quiet ; that they intended to keep them there; that by not repealing the tax bills they would show to North America their intentions to be steadily and firmly their masters ; that, by bringing over the culpable, they hoped to strike a greater ter- ror than any trials could do in that country, where it would be impossible to get a jury not involved in the same guilt ; and several law arguments to show that the act of 35 Henry VIII. subsisted in full force against the North Americans." 1 The opponents of the resolves attacked them with vigor. "No lawyer," said Dowdeswell, "will justify them ; none but the House of Lords, who think only of their dignity, could have originated them." " God and nature oppose you," said Burke. Even Grenville scoffed at the plan as " the wisdom which fools put on." Barré declared, " The question is not of one refrac- tory colony. The whole country is ripe for revolt. If we do not change our conduct towards her, America will be torn from our side. I repeat it, unless you repeal this law, you run the risk of losing America." And Pownall, the former gov- ernor of Massachusetts, from his acquaintance with the charac- ter and feelings of the people and the state and resources of the country, expressed his conviction that they could not be coerced into submission to the laws ; that, though faithful and loyal, they might be exasperated beyond endurance ; and that conciliatory measures would be far more effectual in securing their allegiance. "The Americans," said he, " do universally, invariably, and unalterably declare that they ought not to sub- mit to any internal taxes imposed upon them by any legisla- ture wherein they have not representatives of their own elec- tion. The people of that country and the king's troops are, as it were, set in array against each other. The sword, indeed, is not drawn ; but the hand is upon it. The word for action
1 Debates in Parl. v. 22.
381
PROJECT OF SEIZING CUSHING AND OTHERS.
is not, indeed, yet given ; but mischief is on tiptoe, and the CHAP. slightest circumstance would in a moment throw every thing XII. into confusion and bloodshed. And if some mode of policy 1769. does not interpose to remove this exertion of military power, the union between Great Britain and North America is broken forever, unless - what is worse - both are united in one common ruin." 1 Eloquence, however, was of no avail. At four in the morning, " the whole House in confusion, laughing, Jan. 27. &c," the resolutions were adopted by nearly three votes to one, and the address was carried by a decided majority.2
The soldiers quartered in Boston found nothing to do but to insult defenceless females, and parade the streets with clubs in their hands as if provoking a brawl.3 But the spirit of the people was unawed. It was well known that a design was on foot to seize several of the foremost of the "Sons of Liberty," to be sent to England on a charge of treason. In the previous fall word was given out that, on the arrival of the regiments from Ireland, Cushing and sixteen others, who had been mem- bers of the convention, would be arrested ; 4 and all through the winter similar rumors were circulated.5 " I have enter- tained the opinion for a long time," wrote Oliver,6 that, if there be no way to take off the original incendiaries, they will still continue to instil their poison into the minds of the people through the vehicle of the Boston Gazette." But whatever apprehensions may have been awakened by these rumors, the ferment was increased by the conduct of the governor, who, in
1768. Nov. 4.
1 Pownall's Speech of Feb. 1769, p. 8; Debates in Parl. v. 21-24; Grahame, ii. 439; Bradford, i. 176; Bancroft, vi. 253, 254.
2 ' Boston News Letter for March 23 and April 20, 1769; Grahame, ii. 440; Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. v. 241; Bancroft, vi. 255. For the re- solves and address see Debates in Parl. v. 64-67. The address is given in the Mass. Gazette for April 13, 1769.
3 See the indictments of the officers
and soldiers by the justices of the peace for Suffolk, at their quarter ses- sion, and the grand jury; and comp. Bradford, i. 178, and note.
4 Frances to Choiseul, Nov. 4, 1768, in Bancroft, vi. 230.
See Hood to Stephens, Dec. 12, 1768, in Letters, &c. 113, and comp. S. Adams, in Boston Gazette for Dec. 5, 12, and 19, 1768, under the signa- ture of " Vindex."
Letter of Feb. 13, 1769, in Rep- resentations, &c. 28.
382
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST OTIS AND SAMUEL ADAMS.
CHAP. conjunction with Hutchinson, as the season drew near for the XII. choice of a new assembly, sought to prevent the election of
Jan. 26.
1769. councillors, and solicited their appointment by the ministry, furnishing for that purpose a list of persons favorable to gov- ernment.1 " There must be," said Hutchinson, "an abridgment of what are called English liberties." "If no measures are taken to secure the dependence of this people, or nothing more than some declaratory acts or resolves, it is all over with us. The friends of government will be utterly disheartened, and the friends of anarchy will be afraid of nothing, be it ever so extravagant." 2
In accordance with these views, Bernard, and Hutchinson, and Oliver, in connection with the attorney general, busied themselves in seeking evidence against the leading patriots of the town, especially against Otis and Samuel Adams ; and affi- davits were sworn to, and sent to England, attainting them of treason.3 Proceedings were likewise instituted against Edes and Gill, the publishers of the Boston Gazette and the " trum- peters of sedition ; " and through them a blow was aimed at " all the chiefs of the faction " and " all the authors of number- less treasonable and seditious writings." 4 Already had Par- Feb. 8. liament requested the king to " make inquisition for treason in Boston, and to bring over the accused to England for trial ; " 5 and, thus strengthened, the enemies to colonial freedom were encouraged to persevere. De Grey and Dunning, the attor- ney and solicitor general, had indeed given it as their opinion that the statute of the 35th of Henry VIII. was the only one by which criminals could be tried in England for offences com- mitted in America ; but they declared at the same time that
1768. Nov.25.
1 Bernard to Hillsborough, Jan. 26, and Feb. 4, 14, and 21, 1769; Hutch- inson to Williams, Jan. 26, and to Jackson, Jan. 28, 1769 ; Oliver's Let- ter of Feb. 13, 1769, in Representa- tions, &c. 29-32; Bancroft, vi. 249.
2 Letter of Jan. 20, 1769, in Rep- resentations, &c. 16.
3 Bernard to Hillsborough, Jan. 24, 1769 ; Bradford, i. 175; Bancroft, vi. 251.
4 Bernard to Hillsborough, Jan. 25, 1769 ; Bancroft, vi. 251.
5 Debates in Parl. v. 53, 67 ; Hutch- inson, iii. 221; Grahame, ii. 440.
383
DESPATCHES FROM ENGLAND.
its provisions extended only to treason ; and that there was CHAP. no sufficient ground to fix the charge of high treason upon any XII. persons named in the papers laid before them.1 To such a 1769. decision Hillsborough and his associates were unwilling to sub- mit ; and, determined to do all in their power to enforce the measures which they had long advocated, they clamored for judicial victims, and denounced the charter as encouraging sedition.
The public despatches, which informed the province of the action of Parliament and of the resolves which had been adopted, were accompanied by private letters from friends to America, assuring the people that "they need not be afraid of the statute of Henry VIII., which was held up in terro- rem only, and which even the crown lawyers did not intend should be carried into execution ; " and the opinion was gen- erally expressed that "no vigorous measures were intended ; " " lenient and healing measures " were said to be the plan ; and "it was agreed that the last act for duties on paper, &c., would be repealed, if not that session, certainly in the next." 2 These assurances were as inspiring to the "Sons of Liberty " as they were disheartening to the servants of the crown. And the events which followed convinced the former that the intelligence they had received was not mere rumor ; for the plan of altering the charter was for the present laid
1 Grey and Dunning to Hillsbor- ough, Nov. 25, 1768; Andrews's Hist. of the War, i. 97; Bancroft, vi. 233, " Thus," says Lord Mahon, 234. " was it designed to draw forth the mouldering edict of a tyrant from the dust where it had long lain, and where it ever deserved to lie, and to fling it, - instead of bread, a stone, - not merely at the guilty, but also at the innocent, whom it equally despoiled of their rightful native juries. Such a proposal, made at such a time, to me at least appears utterly unjustifiable."
2 Hutchinson, iii. 222. " The ma-
jority in the House of Commons is so great," writes a correspondent from Manchester, March 8, in Boston News Letter for May 18, 1769, "and so ve- nal, that they vote any thing they are directed ; and all our hopes of redress seem now to rest in the expectation that they will go such lengths the people will bear no longer. We hope for, nay, we doubt not, the firmness of the Americans ; that they will calmly, without the last rioting or disobedience to the laws, abide by the constitutional principles they have so universally adopted."
384
NEW LEGISLATURE CONVENED.
CHAP. aside ; 1 discretionary orders were transmitted to Gage to XII. " send back to Halifax the two regiments which were brought
1769. from that station, and to restore the regular rotation by send- ing the two other regiments to Ireland ; "2 and Bernard re- April. ceived the king's orders to leave his government and return to England.3 The tendency of these steps was to allay the fever into which the people had been thrown. But the soldiers were not immediately removed ; and disturbances between them and citizens of Boston frequently occurred. The Sabbath, too, was invaded, and its stillness was broken by the noise of drums and fifes. And the sentinels, who were posted at the barracks and at the gates of the principal officers, endangered the peace of the town by challenging passers. 4
For nearly a year Massachusetts had been without a legis- lature. At length, in April, writs were issued by the governor, in the name of the king, for a General Court to be convened on the last Wednesday in May, according to the charter. A large number of soldiers were still stationed in Boston, where the assembly was to meet, and several ships of war were lying in the harbor ; and these circumstances confirmed the belief, which was generally entertained, that the troops had been quartered in the metropolis, not only to assist in the execution of the laws of Parliament, but to influence the election, and even the votes and proceedings of the General Court. But neither the town nor the assembly was intimidated ; and their decision and firmness were never more marked than on this
1 Hutchinson to Williams, Jan. 29, onet bestowed on him; "a most 1769.
2 Hillsborough to Gage, March 24, 1769; Mass. Gazette for Jan. 9, 1769. " It is reported that some of the troops here have received marching orders from General Gage; some say they are destined for Newport and New York." Boston Post Boy for Jan. 2, 1769.
3 Hutchinson, iii. 225. Bernard had recently had the dignity of bar-
ill-timed favor," says Lord Mahon, " when he had so grievously failed in gaining the affections or the confi- dence of any order or rank of men within his province." Hist. Eng. v. 241. Comp. Hutchinson, iii. 226; London Gazette for March 23, 1769 ; Mass. Gazette for June 15, 1769.
4 Narr. of Boston Massacre, 17. Comp. Hutchinson, iii. 224.
385
DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT.
trying occasion. The selectmen of Boston requested General CHAP. Mackay, the commander of the troops, to have them removed XII. from the town on the day of the election. This request he 1769. declined, on the plea that it exceeded his authority ; but he gave strict orders for the men to remain in their barracks. After the election was over, the citizens instructed their repre- May 8. sentatives to maintain freedom of debate, which was esteemed an essential and a sacred privilege ; to require the troops to be removed from the town, as their presence was "inconsistent with the spirit and principles of the British constitution ;" to oppose the raising of money to pay for the support of the troops ; and to make diligent inquiry respecting the letters of Governor Bernard to ministers in England, in which both the town and the province had been misrepresented.1 Nor did Boston stand alone ; for Salem, Marblehead, Cambridge, Roxbury, Braintree, and other towns gave similar instructions to their representatives ; and Roxbury, in particular, recom- mended a correspondence between the House of Representa- tives and the assemblies of the other colonies.2
Before the court met the American question was again a subject of discussion in England ; and Thomas Pownall, the April 26 predecessor of Bernard in the government of Massachusetts, May 8. to introduced a motion in the House of Commons for the repeal of the revenue acts. "There is a general dissatisfaction and uneasiness," said he, " as well here as in America, at our falling back into that controversy and contest between the govern-
1 Boston News Letter for May 11, 1769; Boston Gazette for May 15, 1769; Bradford, i. 179, 180; Ban- croft, vi. 284. Of the 508 votes cast in Boston at this election, Otis, Cush- ing, Samuel Adams, and Hancock re- ceived each more than 500; and of the 92 members of the old legislature who voted not to rescind the resolu- tions of the House 81 were returned. Of the 17 rescinders but 5 were re- turned. Salem, especially, condemned the conduct of its former representa-
VOL. II. 25
tives, and in their stead substituted two of the "Sons of Liberty." See Boston News Letter for May 11, 1769, and comp. Snow's Hist. Boston, 277.
2 Boston News Letter for May 11 and 25, and June 1, 1769 ; Mass. Ga- zette for June 8, 1769 ; Hutchinson, iii. . 231; Bradford, i. 181; Bancroft, vi. 285. Of the "other towns," alluded to in the text, I find named Brookline, Spencer, Paxton, and Great Barring- ton.
-
386
SPEECH OF POWNALL.
CHAP. ment and the colonies which we were once so happily delivered XII. from. All now are convinced that there are no means of
1769. deciding this controversy ; that there are no hopes of putting an end to the contest. Every event that arises raises fresh difficulties ; nothing but power can operate, and that can oper- ate only to mischief. Power, thus used, will inflame and unite the colonies as in one common cause ; and every further exer- tion of that power will only press the people closer together, and render more intense and ardent that heat with which they are already inflamed. Times and occasions we cannot make ; when they arise, all we have to do is to profit by them. If, now, I can show that this is the proper occasion, the very crisis, in which government should interpose to extricate itself with honor and safety, - perhaps the only occasion in which it can interpose, - I shall not only vindicate myself for having made this motion, but, if I can explain this truth with that conviction with which it lies in my own breast, I shall be able also to persuade the House to act." "There have been strange violences and outrages in America ; the winds have beaten hard; the storm has been high. The state, like a ship, has been driven into extreme danger, amidst shoals and breakers. But the people are now in a state of submission ; they are in suspense ; all is peace ; there is a lull in the storm. Now, therefore, is the moment to refit your rigging ; to work out the vessel from amidst these breakers, and to get her under way in her old course ; then you may bring her to the harbor you wish." 1
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