USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 41
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An incident, slight in itself, and only important for the prin- ciple involved, may be adduced in evidence of the arbitrary
were in the opposition." The list of friends to government, in his note, gives only eight names.
1 " The subject of the governor's independency is a serious, a danger- ous, a momentous thing." J. Adams, Diary, in Works, ii. 290.
2 Jour. H. of R. for 1771 ; Brad- ford's State Papers, 302-304, and Hist. i. 408-410 ; Hutchinson, iii. App. T. Otis was chairman of the committee which draughted this pro- test.
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442
TAX BILL REJECTED.
CHAP. manner in which the governor was disposed to use his author- XIII. ity. The tax bill reported in the House this year did not 1771. exempt the estates of the officers of the crown in the province ; July 4. and when it was presented to his excellency for approval, he rejected it, on the ground that he was " expressly forbidden by his majesty's twenty-seventh instruction from giving his con- sent to such an act upon any pretence whatsoever."1 Indig- July 5. nant at this assumption, the House, in their reply, declared that " they knew of no commissioners of his majesty's customs, nor of any revenue his majesty had a right to establish in North America ;" and that to withhold his assent by "force of instruction " alone was "effectually vacating the charter, ren- dering the representatives mere machines, and reducing them to this fatal alternative - either to have no taxes levied at all, or to have them raised in such a way and manner, and upon those only whom his majesty pleased." 2
The rejection of the grants made by the court for the sup- port of their agents was another step which called forth the displeasure of the House; and they commented upon it with becoming severity.3 Nor was this the greatest grievance ; for Aug.12. during the summer, twelve vessels of war, carrying two hun- dred and sixty-two guns, and commanded by Montagu, rear admiral of the blue, and the brother of Sandwich, anchored in the harbor, and displayed their frowning batteries to the town.4 Few, after this, could doubt the intentions of the min-
1 Jour. H. of R. for 1771; Brad- ford's State Papers, 306 ; Hutchinson, iii. 344.
1771. " Monday, being the anniver- sary of the birthday of his royal high- ness the Prince of Wales, at one 2 Jour. H. of R. for 1771 ; Brad- ford's State Papers, 307. o'clock the guns at Castle William were fired on the occasion. The same 3 Jour. H. of R. for 1771 ; Brad- ford's State Papers, 308. Comp. Hutchinson, iii. 345. The cause of this rejection was the fact that the Council and House had appointed committees to correspond with their agents. Comp. Hutchinson, iii. 318. 4 Boston Gazette for Aug. 19, afternoon arrived in King Road the Hon. John Montagu, Esq., rear ad- miral of his majesty's blue squadron, in his majesty's ship, the Captain. The Lively, Tamar, and Swan, which sailed from England with the admiral, are also arrived." On the character of Montagu, see J. Adams, Diary, in 1771; Boston Post Boy for Aug. 19, Works, ii. 306.
443
COURSE OF THE PATRIOTS.
istry ; 1 and it was no easy task to persuade the people that CHAP. such an armament was necessary to insure obedience or loy- XIII. alty. The apprehension of a war with Spain, which had dis- 1771. possessed his majesty's subjects of their settlement at Port Egmont, in the Falkland Islands, and the necessity of obtain- ing satisfaction for this insult, was indeed alleged as the reason for sending such a fleet to America ; but it was easy to see through the pretext ; for why was not the fleet sent to New York ? 2
The patriots of the province beheld these proceedings with dismay ; and Samuel Adams, more than ever convinced that the time for action had arrived, revolved in his mind the project, which was afterwards matured, of effecting a general union of the colonies. "It would be an arduous task," said he, "to awaken a sufficient number to so grand an undertaking. Noth- ing, however, should be despaired of. The tragedy of Ameri- can freedom is nearly completed. A tyranny seems to be at the very door. Yet the liberties of our country are worth de- fending at all hazards. If we should suffer them to be wrested from us, millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers in - the event. Every step has been taken but one; and the LAST APPEAL would require prudence, unanimity, and fortitude. America must herself, under God, finally work out her own salvation." 3
By such stirring words did this eloquent man seek to in- fuse into others' breasts his own courageous, resolute spirit. Nor did he labor in vain ; for when, in the fall, the governor Nov. issued his proclamation for the customary day of thanksgiv-
1 " These," says Hutchinson, Hist. iii. 332, " were evident marks of the jealousy of the government."
2 " I have learned," wrote Arthur Lee from London, Sept. 22, 1771, " with very great satisfaction, that you have determined to resist any new in- vasions of your rights, as well as to remonstrate against those that are al- ready passed. It was such vigilance
and perseverance in our illustrious an- cestors that redeemed our constitution when equally invaded ; and I trust in God that these virtues in you will be crowned with the same success.' Bradford's State Papers, 313.
3 S. Adams, in the Boston Gazette for Oct. 14, 1771; Adams to Lee, Oct. 31, 1771.
444
CUSHING URGES UNION.
CHAP. ing, and called upon the people to express their gratitude that XIII. " civil and religious liberties" were continued, the ministers 1771. of Boston, with but one exception, refused to read the paper ; and on the day appointed, instead of the prayer which they were expected to offer, they "implored of Almighty God the restoration of lost liberties." 1
1772. Jan. 21.
Nothing of importance occurred during the winter. The reunion of the colonies against importation was urged by the prudent ; and in different parts of the country it was under discussion. "I heartily wish with you," wrote Cushing to Sherman, of Connecticut, " that some measures might be come into to revive the union of the colonies. To place any great dependence on the virtue of the people in general, as to their refraining from the use of the destined articles, will be in vain. The only thing we can at present depend upon is the conduct of the several assemblies through the continent ; and however the people in general may be induced, for peace' sake, or from a sense of inability, to submit at present to what they appre- hend the usurped authority of Parliament, the assemblies ought to keep a watchful eye upon their liberties, and, from time to time, assert their rights in solemn resolves, and con- tinually keep their agents instructed upon this important sub- ject, and renew their memorials to the king for the redress of their grievances and the restoring their privileges." 2
April.
At the spring session of the legislature, Mr. Cushing, the speaker of the House, being confined by indisposition, John Hancock was chosen to his place. As a councillor, Mr. Han- cock had been often rejected by Bernard and Hutchinson ; but, in pursuance of the policy which had been commended to his notice, the latter now ventured to confirm him as speaker.
1 Life of Lee, ii. 186; S. Adams's Papers, in Bancroft, vi. 408; Hutch- inson, iii. 347. }emberton, of Bos- ton, of whose church Hutchinson was a member, was the one who read the proclamation ; and, as he began to read, the patriots of his congregation,
turning their backs upon him, walked out of the meeting in great indigna- tion. Bancroft, vi. 408.
2 T. Cushing to R. Sherman, Jan. 21, 1772, in MS. Letters and Papers, 1761-1776, 108, in Lib. Mass. Hist. Soc.
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445
NEW SESSION OF THE COURT.
A motion had been previously made by Hancock, in the House, CHAP. that a message be sent to the governor, to desire, "in consid- XIII. eration of the inconveniences attending their sitting at Cam- 1772. bridge," that the court should be removed to Boston ; and as such a message, which waived the point of right, was all his excellency wanted, he was prepared to comply ; but, unfortu- nately for his purpose, Samuel Adams rose in opposition ; a similar motion in the Council was opposed by Bowdoin, and the matter dropped.1
The new session of the court, therefore, was held at Cam- May 28. bridge ; and the claim of right was once more insisted upon.2 Say the House, in their message, "The town house in Boston May 29. is the accustomed, ancient place for holding the General As- sembly, and where alone provision is made for it. It does not appear to us that there was any necessity for convening the assembly in this place, nor can we conceive of any for con- tinuing it here. It is, therefore, our earnest request that you would remove the assembly to the town house in Boston, where we may, with the greatest advantage and despatch, transact all such public matters as are now before us, together with such others as your excellency shall propose for our consideration." 3 To this message the governor " imprudently " returned a nega- tive answer ; but, upon maturer deliberation, and after con- sulting with the Council, who favored the removal, he con- sented to yield the disputed point, and the assembly was adjourned to Boston.4 Jun. 13.
In less than a month new difficulties arose. The governor July 10. had accepted a salary from the king. This was known, and
1 Jour. H. of R. for 1771-72; Hutchinson, iii. 348.
2 In consequence of the difficulty between Hancock and S. Adams, an attempt was made at the election in Boston this year to defeat the latter ; but he was triumphantly elected by a vote of 723 against 218. Happily, a reconciliation between the parties was
soon after effected, and harmony was restored. See Hutchinson, iii. 356, and Bancroft, vi.
Jour. H. of R. for 1772; Brad- 3 ford's State Papers, 321.
4 Jour. H. of R. for 1772; Brad- ford's State Papers, 322-325 ; Hutch- inson, iii. 356, 357.
446
CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY.
CHAP. had already been censured. But the House now took more XIII. definite grounds ; and a series of resolves draughted by Haw-
1772. ley was passed by a vote of eighty-five to nineteen, to the effect that " the making provision for the support of the gov- ernor of the province, independent of the acts and grants of the General Assembly, is an infraction upon the rights granted to the inhabitants by the royal charter, and in derogation of the constitution." 1
His excellency was displeased with these proceedings ; and, in revenge for the affront which had been put upon his dignity, not only in this particular, but in the refusal of the Court to repair the Province House, which he occupied as his residence,2 July 21. he wrote to Hillsborough that "if the nation would arouse, and unite in measures to retain the colonies in subordination, all this new doctrine of independence would be disavowed, and its first inventors be sacrificed to the rage of the people whom they had deluded." 3 But the secretary had not been idle, Aug. 7. and, on his part, announced that the king, "with the entire concurrence of Lord North, had made provision for the sup- port of his law servants in the Massachusetts Bay." 4 This was his last act as a minister of the king ; a patent for an Aug.14. carldom soothed his fall ; and William Legge, Earl of Dart- mouth, commemorated by Cowper as one
1 Jour. H. of R. for 1772; Brad- ford's State Papers, 325-329 ; Hutch- inson, iii. 357, and App. V. The gov- ernor, in his message of June 13, in- formed the House that he had received and accepted a salary from the king ; and this was the cause of the present rejoinder. Bradford's State Papers, 324, 325.
2 Jour. H. of R. for 1772; Brad- ford's State Papers, 330, 331.
3 Hutchinson to J. Pownall, July 21, 1772, in Almon's Remembrancer for 1776, 57. Hutchinson's views upon the subject of independence may be seen in his Hist. iii. 355. " After all," says he, " a new independent state
may be added to the empires of the world, with perhaps the name of a free state ; a few individuals may at- tain to greater degrees of dignity and power; but the inhabitants in general will never enjoy so great a share of natural liberty as they would have done if they had remained a depend- ent colony. Thus, for an imaginary good, and even that improbable to be obtained, we are parting with real, substantial happiness."
4 Hillsborough to Hutchinson, Aug. 7, 1772. Comp. Hillsborough to Hutchinson, June 6, 1772, and to the Board of Trade, July 27, 1772; and Bancroft, vi. 419.
447
PETITION FOR A TOWN MEETING.
" Who wears a coronet, and prays,"
CHAP. XIII.
1772.
took his place as secretary for the colonies.1
As the court was not sitting when Hillsborough's letter arrived, an informal meeting of the inhabitants of Boston was called. A petition for a town meeting was then draughted ; Oct. and, though some opposed, the people insisted that " the crisis had come," and that "from this time forward posterity must date their freedom or their slavery."2 On the appointed day Oct. 28. the inhabitants assembled, and John Hancock was chosen mod- erator.3 " We must now strike a home blow," was the lan- guage of the boldest, "or the chains of tyranny are riveted upon us." An address to his excellency was prepared and sent, requesting information of the truth of the report that " stipends had been affixed to the offices of the judges ; " but Oct. 30. the request was declined on the ground of its impropriety.4 A new petition was then draughted, declaring “ such an estab- lishment contrary, not only to the plain and obvious sense of the charter of the province, but also to some of the fundamen- tal principles of common law, - to the benefit of which all British subjects, wherever dispersed, are indubitably entitled," - and requesting that the subject might be referred to the General Court.5 But this petition was likewise rejected ; nor Nov. 2. would the governor consent that the court should meet in De- cember, the time to which it had been prorogued.6 " If," said
1 Dartmouth to the Governor of Connecticut, Aug. 14, 1772, in MS. Letters and Papers, 1761-76, 106; Belsham's George III. i. 326 ; Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. v: 320; Hutch- inson, iii. 361, note ; Bancroft, vi. 420. 2 Hutchinson, iii. 361; Bancroft, vi. 426.
3 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 2, 1772. Bancroft, vi. 426, says, Han- cock, who disapproved of what seemed to him rash measures, joined with three or four others of the selectmen of Boston, and rejected the prayer of the first petition for a town meeting,
and gives as his authority the state- ment of Hutchinson, Hist. iii. 361. But if Hancock was one of those who opposed the meeting, it seems hardly credible that he should afterwards have been chosen moderator.
4 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 2, 1772 ; Boston News Letter for Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 1772. Comp. J. Ad- ams's Diary, in Works, ii. 300, 301.
5 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 2, 1772.
6 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 9, 1772; Hutchinson, iii. 363. The at- tendance at the meetings, both of the
448
A COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE PROPOSED.
CHAP. he, "in compliance with your petition, I should alter my deter- XIII. mination, and meet the assembly, contrary to my own judgment,
1772. at such time as you judge necessary, I should in effect yield to you the exercise of that part of the prerogative, and should be unable to justify my conduct to the king. There would, more- over, be danger of encouraging the inhabitants of the other towns in the province to assemble, from time to time, in order to consider the necessity or expediency of a session of the Gen- eral Assembly, or to debate and transact other matters which the law that authorizes towns to assemble does not make the business of a town meeting." 1
This reply, which invaded the rights of the little republics of New England, was communicated to the meeting, and read several times ; after which it was unanimously voted that the inhabitants of Boston "have ever had, and ought to have, a right to petition the king for the redress of such grievances as they feel, or for preventing of such as they have reason to ap- prehend, and to communicate their sentiments to other towns." 2 Then followed the step "which included the whole revolu- tion ; " and Samuel Adams, the master spirit of the times, who had matured his plans by consulting the ablest men in the province, moved "that a committee of correspondence be ap- pointed, to consist of twenty-one persons, to state the rights of the colonists, and of this province in particular, as men and Christians, and as subjects ; and to communicate and publish the same to the several towns and to the world, as the sense of this town, with the infringements and violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be, made."3 This motion was carried without a division, the vote in its favor
28th October and the 2d November, is said not to have been large - not much larger than on ordinary occa- sions. S. Adams to Arthur Lee, Nov. 3, 1772; Bancroft, vi. 427, 428.
1 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 9, 1772; Boston Gazette for Nov. 9, 1772.
2 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 9, 1772; Boston Gazette for Nov. 9, 1772.
3 Boston Post Boy for Nov. 9, 1772; Boston Gazette for Nov. 9, 1772; Bancroft, vi. 428, note, and 429.
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449
THE FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN UNION.
being nearly unanimous ; but, when an attempt was made to CHAP. raise the committee, difficulties arose. Three of the four XIII. representatives, and two of the selectmen, of Boston pleaded 1772. private business, and declined to serve;1 and their example was followed by others.2 The committee was filled, however, and, with Otis as its chairman, held its first session at the rep- resentatives' chamber on the following day, and organized by Nov. 3. electing William Cooper as its clerk.3 Thus the foundation was laid for AMERICAN UNION. " The people in every town," an " American " had written, "must instruct their representa- tives to send a remonstrance to the King of Great Britain, and assure him, unless their liberties are restored whole and entire, they will form an independent commonwealth, after the example of the Dutch provinces, and offer a free trade to all nations. Should any one province begin the example, the other provinces will follow ; and Great Britain must comply with our demands, or sink under the united force of the French and Spaniards. This is the plan that wisdom and Providence point out to preserve our rights, and this alone." 4
The first step of the committee, after its organization, was to pass a vote pledging their "honor not to divulge any part of the conversation at their meetings to any person whatsoever, excepting what the committee itself should make known ;" and
1 Cushing, Hancock, and Phillips · were the representatives who de- clined ; and Scollay and Austin were the selectmen. See Cooper to Frank- lin, March 15, 1773, in Franklin's Works, viii. 37; Hutchinson to Pow- nall, April 19, 1773 ; L. in the Boston Gazette for Nov. 9, 1772; Bancroft, vi. 429, 430. The latter, Hist. U. S. vi. 426, says, when Adams " proposed his great invention," " every one of his colleagues in the delegation from Boston opposed him." " Especially Cushing," he adds, " dissuaded from the movement, and had no confidence in its success." But the authority upon which the last statement is VOL. II. 29
based - being the assertion of Hutch- inson alone - does not seem to me sufficient to warrant the charge, espe- cially in view of the letters of Cushing advocating a union against importa- tion.
2 Comp. Boston Gazette for Nov. 9, 1772. Hutchinson described this committee as in part composed of " deacons," and "atheists," and " black-hearted fellows whom one would not choose to meet in the dark." Hutchinson to J. Pownall, Nov. 13, 1772.
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Bancroft, vi. 430.
4 Boston Gazette for Nov. 2, 1772.
150
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.
CHAP. this pledge was fully redeemed.1 Next, Samuel Adams was XIII. appointed to prepare a statement of the rights of the colonies ; 1772. Joseph Warren was to report upon the grievous violations of those rights ; and Benjamin Church was to draught a letter to the several towns in the province.2 The cooperation of the Old Colony was likewise sought, by advising with James War- ren, of Plymouth, who favored the scheme of union, and lent to it the weight of his influence at home.3
In about two weeks the report of the Boston committee was Nov.20. prepared ; and James Otis, the chairman, was appointed to present it. The natural rights of the colonists were claimed to be "a right to life, to liberty, and to property, together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can." " All men," say they, "have a right to remain in a state of nature as long as they please ; and, in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious, to leave the society they belong to, and enter into another. When men enter into society, it is by voluntary consent ; and they have a right to insist upon the performance of such conditions and previous limitations as form an equitable original compact. Every natural right, not expressly given up, or from the nature of a social compact necessarily ceded, remains. All positive and civil laws should conform, as far as possible, to the law of natural reason and equity. Every man has a right peaceably and quietly to worship God after the dictates of his conscience ; and, in re- gard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions
1 Bancroft, vi. 430, from the MS. journals of the committee, in his pos- session - an invaluable source of in- formation on this period.
2 Journals, in Bancroft, vi. 431.
3 According to Gordon, Am. Rev. i. 207, Warren was the first to propose " to originate and establish commit- tces of correspondence in the several towns of the colony, in order to learn the strength of the friends to the rights of the continent, and to unite
and increase their force." But Ban- croft, Hist. U. S. vi. 429, note, attrib- utes the invention of this system to Samuel Adams, and quotes the state- ments of John Adams and of Hutch- inson. It is not, however, improbable that several persons may have con- temporaneously favored such a scheme, though it was the good fortune of Adams to bring it to maturity and se- cure its benefits.
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RIGHTS OF THE COLONISTS.
thereof is what all good and candid minds in all ages have CHAP. ever practised, and, both by precept and example, inculcated XIII. on mankind. The natural liberty of man, by entering into 1772.
society, is abridged or restrained so far only as is necessary for the great end of society - the best good of the whole."
The rights of the colonists as subjects were set forth in lan- guage equally strong. "All persons," say they, " born in the British American colonies are, by the laws of God and nature, and by the common law of England, exclusive of all charters from the crown, entitled to all the natural, essential, inherent, and inseparable rights, liberties, and privileges of subjects born in Great Britain, or within the realm. The legislative power is for the preservation of society ; and it has no right to abso- lute, arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people ; nor can mortals assume a prerogative, not only too high for men, but for angels, and therefore reserved to Deity alone. An independent judiciary is likewise essential. There should be one rule of justice for rich and poor - for the favorite at court and the countryman at the plough. And the supreme power cannot justly take from any man any part of his prop- erty, without his consent in person or by his representative." 1
The "list of infringements and violations of these rights" presents a formidable array of complaints : the assumption of absolute legislative powers ; the imposition of taxes without the consent of the people ; the appointment of officers unknown to the charter, supported by the income derived from such taxes ; the investing these officers with unconstitutional powers, es- pecially the "commissioners of his majesty's customs ; " the annulment of laws enacted by the court, after the time limited for their rejection had expired ; the introduction of fleets and armies into the colonies ; the support of the exccutive and the judiciary independently of the people ; the oppressive instruc-
1 Votes and Proceedings of the see Boston News Letter for Nov. 26, Freeholders of Boston, 2-12. For 1772. an account of the meeting of Nov. 20
452
LETTER TO THE TOWNS.
CHAP. tions sent to the governor ; the extension of the powers of the XIII. Courts of Vice Admiralty ; the restriction of manufactures ; 1772. the act relating to dock yards and stores, which deprived the people of the right of trial by peers of the vicinage ; the at- tempt to "establish an American episcopate ;" and the altera- tion of the bounds of colonies by decisions before the King and Council.1
The letter to the towns was equally spirited ; and it was desired that the sense of the people should be explicitly de- clared. " A free communication of your sentiments to this town " - such was its language -" of our common danger is earnestly solicited, and will be gratefully received. If you concur with us in opinion that our rights are properly stated, and that the several acts of Parliament and measures of ad- ministration pointed out by us are subversive of these rights, you will doubtless think it of the utmost importance that we stand firm, as one man, to recover and support them, and to take such measures, by directing our representatives or other- wise, as your wisdom and fortitude shall dictate, to rescue from impending ruin our happy and glorious constitution. But if it should be the general voice of this province that the rights, as we have stated them, do not belong to us, or that the several measures of administration in the British court are no violations of these rights, or that, if they are thus violated or infringed, they are not worth contending for or resolutely maintaining, - should this be the general voice of the province, we must be resigned to our wretched fate, but shall forever lament the extinction of that generous ardor for civil and religious liberty which, in the face of every danger and even death itself, in- duced our fathers to forsake the bosom of their native coun- try, and begin a settlement on bare creation. But we trust
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