USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 40
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From the former course of the court in remaining at Cam- bridge, his honor "flattered himself " that he might be "soon able to hold the assembly at Boston again ; " but this message " blasted all his hopes ; " and, as ninety-six out of one hundred and two members had protested against proceeding to business, in less than four weeks he prorogued the assembly for a Jun. 25. month.3 But this did not mend the matter ; for, when the' court reassembled, they declared their adherence to their for- July 25.
1 Hutchinson, iii. App. R .; Bos- ton News Letter for May 17, 1770. Hutchinson, about this time, received notice that "it was intended he should succeed Sir Francis Bernard as gov- ernor-in-chief ;" but he was not con- firmed until some months after. Hist. iii. 288.
2 Jour. H. of R. for 1770; Brad- ford's State Papers, 206-208 ; Boston News Letter for May 31, 1770. "It was, no doubt," says Hutchinson, Hist. iii. 291, " unpleasant to the inhabitants of Boston to see the concourse of all ranks of people, which had always been assembled upon the day of elec- tion, carried to another town; and the selectmen, and many of the principal inhabitants, resolved to retain as much
of the ceremony, and to draw as much of the concourse from Cambridge, as was in their power. They therefore desired Dr. Chauncy, as senior minis- ter of the town, and zealously affected to the popular side, to preach a ser- mon in the usual place, invited many of the ministers of the country to their houses, and caused an ox to be roasted for the populace." "The ap- pearance, however," he adds, " was decent at Cambridge, though the num- ber of people was less than common." Comp. with this the Boston News Let- ter for May 31, 1770.
3 Hutchinson, iii. 305, 306; Jour. H. of R. for 1770; Bradford's State Papers, 236.
432
A GARRISON AT THE CASTLE.
CHAP. mer resolution, and were again prorogued to the following XIII. September.1
1770. July 6. In this interval intelligence was received of an order in council, of the previous July, making a beginning of martial law in Massachusetts, and preparing the way for closing the port of Boston. By the terms of this order, the harbor of Boston was made "the rendezvous of all ships stationed in North America," and the fortress which commanded it was to be delivered up to such officer as General Gage should appoint, to be garrisoned by regular troops, and put into a respectable state of defence.2 The instructions of Gage to Hutchinson were to deliver up the Castle to Colonel Dalrymple. But the charter of the province expressly reserved to the governor the command of the militia and the forts ; and, as the Castle was plainly included in this reservation, to divert the command from the chief magistrate to another person was obviously a violation of the charter as well as of usage. Fearing the dis- pleasure of the people, for a day Hutchinson hesitated - first inclining to write to the general, and to delay the execution of the order. But, conceiving that hesitation might be con- strued as a refusal, he "altered his mind," and "resolved to carry the order into execution while it was in his power to do so." Hence a message was sent to the commanding officer to remove the sentinels and guards from their posts, and to admit in their place such of the king's troops as Dalrymple should appoint. His honor then repaired to the council chamber, and, under an injunction of secrecy, disclosed his instructions ; but finding that body was " struck with amazement," he stole into a barge, was rowed to the Castle, invested Dalrymple with the " custody of the fort," and then withdrew to his country house at Milton.3
1 Jour. H. of R. for 1770; Brad- ford's State Papers, 254.
2 Hillsborough to Hutchinson, July, 1770; Bancroft, vi. 367, 369.
3 Hutchinson to Gage, Sept. 9,
1770, and to Bernard, Sept. 15, 1770, and Hist. iii. 307-310; Boston News Letter for Sept. 13, 1770 ; Bancroft, vi. 369, 370.
433
CONTROVERSY WITH THE GOVERNOR.
Upon the reassembling of the court, a day of solemn prayer CHAP. and humiliation was appointed and observed ; and the House XIII. sent a committee to the lieutenant governor, informing him 1770. that a quorum was present, and requesting that the assembly might be removed to Boston.1 But his honor declined, assign- ing as his reason that the king had expressed his " entire ap- probation " of his summoning the court at Cambridge. "I am restrained," said he, "from removing it to Boston, but am not confined to the town of Cambridge ; and I am willing to meet the court at any town in the province which shall appear to me most for the convenience of the members, and which shall not militate with the spirit of my instructions." 2 But the House was not satisfied ; and, alarmed at the new and insup- portable grievances to which they had been subjected, - which, in their opinion, should be "radically redressed," - by a vote of fifty-nine to twenty-nine another message was prepared and Oct. 13. sent to his honor, requesting to know "whether he still held command of the Castle." 3 To this message he returned an Oct. 16. equivocal reply ; 4 upon which the House renewed their inqui- Oct. 23. ry, and, being again repulsed, the Council draughted a mes- Oct. 25. sage desiring his honor to " lay before the board an authentic copy of the report and order, and so much of the letter from the Earl of Hillsborough as concerned the Council or prov- ince," that they might "take such measures as should be judged most advisable to vindicate their character, and prevent any infringements on the charter rights of the province." 5
Meanwhile, in England, Hillsborough himself, possessed with
1 Jour. H. of R. for 1770 ; Brad- ord's State Papers, 257.
2 Jour. H. of R. for 1770; Brad- ord's State Papers, 258.
3 Jour. H. of R. for 1770 ; Brad- ord's State Papers, 258. Hutchinson, fist. iii. 307, says, the " principal, if ot the only additional grievance," of which the people complained, " was he exchange of a garrison, at Castle VOL. II. 28
William, of inhabitants in the pay of the province, for a garrison of regular troops in the pay of the crown." Per- haps so ; but was there nothing pecu- liar in this exchange, which constitut- ed the grievance ?
4 Jour. H. of R. for 1770 ; Brad- ford, 259.
5 Jour. H. of R. for 1770 ; Brad- ford, 262.
434
A NEW AGENT CHOSEN.
CHAP. the fear that the American colonies were on the eve of a revolt, XIII. exerted all his power to maintain the tottering supremacy of
1770. Parliament. "No more time should be lost in deliberation," said he ; and he prepared to act.1 Hutchinson was ready to Oct. 26. aid in this work, and wrote that "no measure could have been pitched upon more proper " for the purpose " than the posses- sion of the harbor of Boston by the king's troops and ships." 2 Already had he boasted to Gage that he had "managed this affair with much prudence ; "3 and, elated at the prospect of rising to still higher dignity, he advised "a bill for vacating or disannulling the charter in all its parts, and leaving it to the king to settle the government by a royal commission." "If the kingdom," said he, " is united and resolved, I have but very little doubt we shall be as tame as lambs." 4 But his honor misjudged the temper of the people. Tameness in submitting to an infraction of their charter was no article in the creed of the politicians of Massachusetts.5
The death of De Berdt, which occurred about this time, ren- dered it necessary to choose a new agent; and Samuel Adams, with a number of others, following the advice of Reed, of Philadelphia, gave their suffrages for Arthur Lee ; but, by the influence of Bowdoin and Dr. Cooper, Franklin was chosen, Oct. 24. with Lee as his substitute in case of his death or absence.6 By this step the province was served by one of its ablest native
1 Hillsborough to Hutchinson, Oct.
3, 1770 ; Bancroft, vi. 371.
Hutchinson to Hillsborough, Oct. 26, 1770.
Bradford's Hist. Mass. i. 233, note.
4 Hillsborough to Hutchinson, Oct. 3, 1770 ; Hutchinson to Hillsborough, Oct. 8 and 26, 1770, and to Bernard, Oct. 20, 1770, in MS. Corresp. ii. 181, and iii. 22, 23.
5 " With all his advantages," says Almon's Remembrancer for 1775, 26, " he never was master of the true character of his native country, not even of New England and the Massa-
chusetts Bay. Through the whole troublesome period since the last war, he manifestly mistook the temper, principles, and opinions of the people. He had resolved upon a system, and never could or would see the imprac- ticability of it."
S. Adams to S. Sayre, Nov. 16, 1770 ; Hutchinson to Pownall, Nov. 11, 1770; Cooper to Franklin, Nov. 6, 1770 ; T. Cushing to Sayre, Nov. 6, 1770, in MS. Letters and Papers, 1761-1776. There is a portrait of De Berdt in the office of the secretary of the Board of Education, at the State House.
435
SCHEMES OF THE MINISTRY.
born sons, whose devotion to liberty was known to be sin- CHAP. cere, and whose inflexible integrity and large experience were
XIII. a pledge that his best efforts would be used in their behalf. 1770. The service demanded of him was, indeed, of the most delicate and difficult nature ; and he entered upon his duties at a criti- cal period. But, possessing the confidence of statesmen in England, genial in his manners, and with a ripened wisdom which knew how to meet difficulties and successfully surmount them, no one was better qualified to discharge the onerous yet honorable trust to greater advantage.1
In the mean time the ministry were perfecting their scheme for the reduction of the colonies ; and the project was started of producing divisions by arraying them against each other. The merchants of New York had, some time before, agreed to a general importation of all articles except tea. Most of the other colonies censured this agreement as a desertion of the cause which all were equally pledged to uphold ; but in England the tidings were received with joy.2 The tax on tea remained unrepealed ; and as assurances had been given to Hutchinson and his associates that a portion of the income derived from this tax should be appropriated to their benefit, the zeal of his honor was wonderfully increased, and he ex- ultingly cried, "I can find bones to throw among them, to continue contention, and prevent a renewal of their union." 3
1 A committee was at the same time appointed by the House to com- municate intelligence to the agent and others in Great Britain, and to the speakers of the several assemblies throughout the continent, and to con- fer with a committee of the Council appointed to correspond with their agent, as far as they should judge ne- cessary. Hutchinson, iii. 318.
2 Votes of the meeting at Faneuil Hall, July 24, 1770 ; J. Adams's Di- ary, in Works, ii. 364 ; Hutchinson, iii. 330 ; Bancroft, vi. 365. On Tues- day, September 4, a notification for a
meeting was posted in Boston, to be held on the 5th, to concert measures to strengthen the union of the colo- nies and support the non-importation agreement, which should be executed " with that undaunted fortitude which becomes those only who are resolved to be free." Boston News Letter for Sept. 6, 1770.
3 Hutchinson to Mauduit, Dec. 1770, in MS. Corresp. iii. 68-70; Bancroft, vi. 385. Hutchinson, by his own acknowledgment, interested him- self in encouraging the breach of the combination made by the merchants,
436
SPIRIT OF THE WOMEN OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CHAP. But the Bay Province was little disposed to second him in XIII. these views; and at the November session of the General
1770. Nov. Court resolutions were passed discouraging extravagance and the use of superfluities, and encouraging industry and frugal- ity ; manufactures in the towns were likewise fostered ; and the wives and daughters of the yeomen of Massachusetts, catching the spirit which every where prevailed, held - as, indeed, for a long time they had done - social gatherings at different houses ; and it was a point of pleasing and generous rivalry among them who should spin the most yarn or weave the most cloth.1 Nor did they stop here, but cheerfully ab- stained from the use of tea, the favorite beverage of their sex, and substituted in its place an infusion of herbs indige- nous to the soil.2 Thus were the people ripening for inde- pendence ; and the devotion to principle, the vigorous intel- lect, the clear perception, the breadth of purpose, and the executive energy, which were distinguishing traits of the sons of New England, tempered with the virtues and graces of the daughters, were excellent preparatives for the enjoy- ment of the priceless blessings of freedom.
For a few months quiet reigned in the province. The min- istry, indeed, were still pursuing their system of strengthening the power of Parliament; but with whatever steadfastness they adhered to this purpose, there were many, in both Houses, who were more than ever disposed to lenient and indulgent measures ; the raising of a revenue from the colonies ceased
and declared that, " however it might be called Machiavelian policy, it was certainly, in such a case, to be justi- fied." Hist. iii. 331, note.
1 See the Boston newspapers for 1769 and 1770, and comp. Bradford, i. 236. The following is given as a sample of numerous similar advertise- ments : " Boston, May 21, 1770. Last Wednesday 45 Daughters of Lib- erty met in the morning at the house of the Rev. Mr. Morehead, in this
town; in the afternoon they exceeded 50. By the evening of said day they had spun 232 skeins of yarn, some very fine. Their labor and materials were all generously given the worthy pastor." Boston News Letter for May 24, 1770.
2 See the papers of the day. Tea had for some time been a prohibited article - at least, that imported from England.
437
HUTCHINSON APPOINTED GOVERNOR.
with them to be an object of paramount interest and impor- CHAP. tance ; and if some inclined to assert the abstract right of Par-
XIII. liament, as an offset to the claim of exemption from its author- 1771. ity, they were indisposed to make such an application of the doctrine as to provoke resistance, and carefully avoided a sud- den collision with the prejudices of the people, which, it was evident, were too strong to be easily removed.1
At length Hutchinson, who had for some time been dallying for a commission as governor, with the doting of a lover upon the charms of his mistress, and who had affected coyness, diffi- dence, and distrust, only the more surely to accomplish his object, was unspeakably delighted at the reception of the March. parchment upon which his name was fairly engrossed, and viewed it with a complaisance which he could not conceal.2 The goal of his ambition was finally reached. He could rise no higher on this side of the waters; and as he professed attachment to the land of his birth,3 it was to him an exceed- ingly gratifying idea that he had become its chief magistrate ;
1 George Grenville, the author of the stamp act, died in the autumn of 1770. Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. v. 275. His last recorded expressions on American taxation are said to have been, " Nothing could ever induce me to tax America again but the united consent of the King, Lords, and Com- mons, supported by the united voice of the people of England. I will never lend my hand towards forging chains for America, lest in so doing I should forge them for myself." Cavendish Debates, i. 496.
2 " Before the arrival," says he, Hist. iii. 332, 333, " of the lieutenant governor's letters in England, desiring to be excused from any further share in the administration, the king had been pleased to direct a commission to be prepared, constituting him gov- ernor of the province in the room of Sir Francis Bernard, and to promote Mr. Oliver to the place of lieutenant governor; but Lieutenant Governor
Hutchinson's letters arriving in a short time after, a stop was put to any fur- ther progress. The secretary of state, however, condescended to inform him that an opportunity was given him for further consideration, and that there would be no appointment of any other person in the mean time. The ad- vice of so unexpected a mark of favor, with the assurances given him by his friends of support as far as should be in their power, together with the abatement of the tumultuous, violent spirit which had prevailed, caused a change of his former determination, and a grateful acknowledgment of the honor done him." For John Adams's views on the character of Hutchinson, see his Diary, in Works, ii. 278.
3 " I cannot," said he, (letter to Hillsborough, March 25, 1770,) " help an attachment to the place of my birth ; and I have some personal in- terest, 140 or 150 pounds sterling an- nual rents, besides the house I live in."
438
OPENING OF HIS ADMINISTRATION.
CHAP. and pleasing visions of a successful administration floated before XIII his eyes.1
1771.
To realize these visions, he first applied himself to weaken the influence of his political opponents.2 Otis, once the fore- most in defending the liberties of his country, was shattered in intellect, and possessed with a morbid sensitiveness and jealousy which were fast obscuring the brightness of his tal- ents.3 John Adams had withdrawn from public life, and was devoting himself principally to his farm and his office.4 But Samuel Adams remained at his post; and his vigilance in- creased, and his spirit became more daring, as the crisis approached.5 Bowdoin, too, and Cushing, and Hawley, and Warren, and Phillips, were men of such temper that the hopes of his excellency of seducing them were dashed. Upon Han- cock alone did he flatter himself that he might operate with success ; for with him vanity was so mingled with patriotism that adulation served to intoxicate and betray him. But, fortunate- ly, his sympathies were so deeply enlisted, and the generous qualities of his heart so prevailed, that he spurned the caresses which were treacherously lavished upon him ; and such was the confidence of his countrymen in his integrity, that, when the struggle came, he was the first to enroll his name on that
1 " It is very probable," says he, Hist. iii. 333, " that, notwithstanding the disputes in which Mr. Hutchinson had been engaged with the Council and the House, the major part of the people of the province was not dis- pleased with this appointment, though his principles in government were known in times past, when a member of the House, and afterwards of the Council, to be favorable to the pre- rogative." He also refers to the ad- dresses which he received from the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Baptist ministers as further evidence of the re- gard felt for his person.
The emissaries of Hutchinson were abroad in all parts of the prov-
ince, busy instilling, insinuating their notions and principles," and laboring to reconcile the people to his sway. J. Adams, Diary, in Works, ii. 285.
3 Hutchinson, iii. 347.
4 J. Adams, Diary, in Works, ii. 260. "I have stood by the people much longer than they would stand by themselves. But I have learned wisdom by experience. I shall cer- tainly become more retired and cau- tious. I shall certainly mind my own farm and my own office."
5 " Samuel Adams," wrote Hutch- inson to J. Pownall, Oct. 17, 1771, " abates not his virulence. He would push the continent into a rebellion to- morrow, if it was in his power."
--
of
439
ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE.
instrument which declared to the world that America would CHAP. be free.1 XIII.
1771. Mar. 5.
The fifth of March, the first anniversary of "the Boston Massacre," was observed in the metropolis with great solem- nity. The bells of the churches were tolled at noon and tolled in the evening ; an " oration " was delivered in Faneuil Hall ; and figures representing "the murder of the inhabit- ants" were exhibited from a window at the north part of the town.2 In Salem there were similar observances ; and the talented Whitaker, who officiated on the occasion, in his prayer implored that the guilt of blood might be taken from the land ; and in his sermon represented the fatal effects from the terror of an armed force over the civil magistrate, and hinted very plainly at the pusillanimity of Hutchinson at that time.3
The General Court had been prorogued in November to the following April ; and soon after Hutchinson's commission was published, he met both houses at Cambridge. In his April 3. opening address, after expressing his "sense of the honor" . which had been conferred upon him, he declared that it was " his sincere desire and resolution to employ the powers with which he had been intrusted for his majesty's service, and for' the best interests of the people ; " and that, to this end, he should " cheerfully join, at all times, with the other branches of the legislature, in such measures as might tend completely to restore and constantly to maintain that state of order and tranquillity upon which the prosperity of the province de- pended." 4 The House, however, was little inclined to notice this message without first protesting against the continuance of the court at Cambridge ; and a verbal message was sent to
1 Hutchinson to -, June 5, sive. Comp. J. Adams, Diary, in 1771, and Hist. iii. 346. The king Works, ii. 279, note, and Bancroft, vi. 407. sent word to tempt Hancock by marks of favor ; and the difference which had Hutchinson, iii. 335. 2 taken place between him and Samuel 3 Hutchinson, iii. 335 ; Felt's Hist. Salem, ii. 550. Adams seemed to favor the idea that he might be gained over; but the 4 Jour. H. of R. for 1770-71; Bradford's State Papers, 294. hopes of the governor proved delu-
440
THE COURT AT CAMBRIDGE.
CHAP. the governor, desiring the removal of the court to Boston.1 XIII. But his excellency, in reply, refused to accede to this request,
(
1771. as it would be yielding to the House "a right which would April 5. have remained in the crown if no notice had been taken of it Apr. 24. in the charter."2 Nearly three weeks elapsed before the House rejoined ; then they declared that it would have "given them no uneasiness if an end had been put to the present assembly, rather than to have been again called to this place ;" and they were "unwilling to admit the belief that, when the season for calling a new assembly should arrive, his excellency would continue an indignity so flagrant, and so repeatedly remonstrated by both Houses, as the deforcement of the General Assembly of its ancient and rightful seat." 3
May 29.
Yet the new court was convened at Cambridge; and no sooner had the House chosen their speaker than they pro- ceeded to remonstrate upon "the old subject."4 At the instance of Samuel Adams it was likewise moved that "the House should come into a resolve to do no business except in the town of Boston ; "5 but Otis, who had been chosen to represent Boston in the place of John Adams, who had changed his residence,6 opposed this motion ; 7 and as a por- tion of the members were friends to the governor and friends to the prerogative, and few were inclined to come to an open rupture while matters of great importance might claim their attention, the motion was negatived.8
1 Bradford, i. ; Bancroft, vi.
2 Jour. H. of R. for 1770-71 ; Bradford's State Papers, 295, 296.
3 Jour. H. of R. for 1770-71; Bradford's State Papers, 296, 297; Hutchinson, iii. 336, 337.
Bradford's State Papers, 299, note; Hutchinson, iii. 339.
5 Hutchinson, iii. 339.
6 He moved to Braintree in April, 1771. Diary, in Works, ii. 255, note. 7 Hutchinson, iii. 339. Comp. J. Adams, Diary, in Works, ii. 266.
8 J. Adams, Diary, in Works, ii. 263, says, "The House was very near equally divided the whole of the last session ; and these two members (Colonel Edson, of Bridgewater, and Colonel Gilbert, of Freetown) will be able to make a balance in favor of ti- midity, artifice, and trimming." Hutch- inson, on the other hand, Hist. iii. 338, represents the majority against gov- ernment as greater this year than ever before, and says, " Except in two or three instances, the new members
441
CONTROVERSY WITH THE GOVERNOR.
One such matter came before the House. It had long been CHAP. suspected, and was now publicly known, that a salary of
1771. Jun. 19.
XIII. fifteen hundred pounds per annum had been established for the governor by grant of the crown ; and this, joined to other grievances, called forth a protest against the removal of the assembly from Boston by force of an instruction from the king, and against the establishment of a salary for the chief magistrate.1 "If a British king," say they, "should call a Parliament, and keep it seven years in Cornwall, however his ministry, as usual, might shift for themselves, their master and his affairs would be irretrievably embarrassed and ruined. And a governor of this province, who, in order to harass the General Assembly into unconstitutional and unconscionable measures, should convene and hold them in the county of Berk- shire or Lincoln, would render himself and his administration justly ridiculous and odious."2 On the latter point, it will be remembered, a controversy had arisen during the administra- tions of Shute and Burnet ; and its renewal at this time shows that the same spirit animated the House, and that they were determined to resist all invasions of their chartered rights. The consolidation of power in the hands of the executive, which would naturally flow from his independence of the pro- vincial legislature, and the paramount authority given to the instructions of the king, could not but awaken jealousy and alarm ; and the disposition evinced on the part of the governor to abide by those instructions and use that power satisfied the people that his professions, as usual, were but a courtly pretence.
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