USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 7
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1696. May 15.
1 New Hampshire was likewise in- cluded. Hutchinson, ii. 84.
2 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, iv. 302; Dunlap, N. York, i. 229; Holmes, Am. Ann. i. 468.
3 Mass. Rec's, and Hutchinson, ii. 103.
4 Hutchinson, ii. 103.
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64
BOARD OF TRADE ESTABLISHED.
CHAP. the American revolution to exercise an oversight of the affairs III. of the colonies ; yet as it had neither a voice in the delibera-
1696. tions of the cabinet, nor access to the king, and was often controlled in its movements by interested parties without, its course tended to involve the colonies in ever-increasing con- fusion.1
Concurrently with the establishment of this board, the laws of trade were revived, new and more stringent regulations were adopted, and, to effect their execution in the most thor- ough manner, the paramount authority of Parliament was asserted. An oath was likewise imposed on the governors of the several provinces obliging them to enforce these acts ; all statutes in conflict with the same, past or future, were declared void ; officers of the revenue, whose number was increased, were invested with the same powers possessed by the like officers in England ; and the persevering Randolph was in- trusted with the duties of surveyor general, as a reward for his loyalty.2
It is surprising that the statesmen of England had not the wisdom to foresee the consequences which must inevitably result from the adoption of such measures. The experience of the past seems to have been lost on them. How could they expect that a people who had uniformly resisted encroachments from abroad, and who had denied in the most express terms the right of Parliament to legislate adversely to their interests, should now quietly acquiesce, and bow their necks meekly to
1 Chalmers, MS. Contin. Polit. Ann. Pt. II. ; Anderson, Hist. Com. ii. 622, 623 ; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 269, 270 ; Grahame, i. 561; Dummer's Defence, 44, 46; New York Colon. Doc'ts, iii. xiii. et seq. ; Bancroft's U. S. iii. 104, iv. 17; Hildreth's U. S. ii. 197. Chal- mers, of course, applauds the action of the Board of Trade, for he was a pleader against the colonies. Hence he says, " Of this respectable commis- sion it has ever been the praise that they have exerted themselves as the
guardians of the national interests, as the patrons of the colonies, as the sup- porters of the commercial system of Britain, though their success hath not been always equal to their intentions and their efforts, because their power was not proportionate to the extent of their will." Revolt, ii. 43.
2 Chalmers, MS. Contin. Political Ann. Pt. II., and Revolt, i. 272, 273 ; Acts 7 and 8 W. and M. chap. 22; Bancroft's U. S. iii. 104, 105; Hil- dreth's U. S. ii. 197, 198.
65
LORD BELLAMONT IN MASSACHUSETTS.
the yoke of subjection, without uttering a single remonstrance, CHAP. or without evincing the least displeasure ? But the experiment III. was to be tried ; and it had been resolved to enforce submis- 1696. sion, cost what it might. Massachusetts, as usual, protested against the acts of the board ; and the merchants of Boston 1700. expressed "their indignation at the acts of navigation," and insisted, with the "spirit of pristine times," that " they were as much Englishmen as those in England, and had a right, therefore, to all the privileges which the people of England enjoyed." 1
May 26.
Upon the arrival of Lord Bellamont at Boston, he was 1699. received with unusual respect.2 Condescending, affable, and courteous in his manners, he was admirably fitted to ingratiate himself with the people. If he was flattered by the attentions which he received, he had the good sense to conceal it, and in all things conducted with that wise moderation which marks the man of the world, acquainted with its foibles, and willing to humor them for his personal benefit. "We should treat these gentlemen well, for they give us our bread," was his language to his wife ; 3 and he acted accordingly. An Episcopalian in England, he was enough of a Congregation- alist in America to attend with becoming reverence the weekly lecture at Boston ; and if he professed great esteem for the clergy of the metropolis, it was because he was sensible they. had the ears of the people. The prudent flatters whom he wishes to win.4
In consequence of this temporizing complaisance of the gov- ernor, he became generally popular. If his inclination led him to side with the opposers of Dudley, his prudence pre- vented him from neglecting his friends. Hence there was
1 Chalmers, Revolt, i. 284.
2 For a sketch of the ceremonies on this occasion, see Grahame, ii. 10; Allen's Biog. Dict. art. Bellingham.
3 Hutchinson, ii. 107.
4 The address of the ministers of Boston to his excellency, dated May
31, 1699, was printed by Bartholo- mew Green, on a small folio sheet of four pages, signed by I. Mather, for himself and his brethren; and the speech of the governor, dated May 29, was printed by the same house.
VOL. II. 5
1
66
HIS ADMINISTRATION.
CHAP. harmony in the councils of the province. Every thing moved III. on quietly and smoothly. His lordship, indeed, had the van-
1699. ity of caste ; and, presuming from his official position that he was entitled to lead in the government, and, like a second Atlas, bear the chief burden of the state, he concerned himself directly in the debates of the court, proposed all business, and frequently recommended bills which he wished to have passed. But the court took good care to stand upon their reserved rights, and refused, in some cases, to pass objectionable bills, on the ground that " they were too much cramped in their liberties already, and they would be great fools to abridge, by a law of their own, the little that was left them."1 Yet all was done good naturedly, without giving offence ; and it is a proof of the popularity of his excellency that, though but a small sum had been assigned for the support of former gov- ernors, the grants of the General Court, during his stay in the province, amounted to the sum of twenty-five hundred pounds, lawful money - about eight thousand dollars of the currency of the United States.2
The administration of Lord Bellamont was exceedingly 1700. brief ; for the year after his arrival he left for New York, 1700-1. where he died in the following March.3 By this event the May. March. charge of the government again devolved upon Mr. Stough- ton ; but he took the chair with great reluctance. His ad- vanced age and declining health prompted him to seek for 1701. July 7. ease and retirement ; and four months after he, too, was num- bered with the dead.4
Upon the receipt in England of the intelligence of the death of Governor Bellamont, Mr. Dudley renewed his solicitations for the office of chief magistrate, and this time with better success. By fair promises to gentlemen in England and
1 Chalmers, Revolt, i. 283, and MS. 4, 5; Hutchinson, ii. 109; Chalmers, Continuation of his Polit. Ann.
2 Mass. Rec's ; Collection of Pro- ceedings of Gen. Court, ed. 1729, pp.
Revolt, i. 283.
3 Hutchinson, ii. 114; Dunlap's N. York, i. 243, 244.
‘ Hutchinson, ii. 117.
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67
APPOINTMENT OF DUDLEY.
America, and by his conduct during the probationary period CHAP. which had elapsed from his former rejection, he had ingrati- III. ated himself into favor, especially with the dissenting clergy ; 1701. and by his professions of piety he had succeeded in enlisting the sympathies of Cotton Mather, who waived all objections to his appointment, and even wrote a letter to the king favor- ing his cause.1 But his majesty professed an unwillingness to confirm his appointment while he was obnoxious to the peo- ple. A petition was accordingly procured from several of the merchants in New England, and others then resident in Lon- don ; and as this obviated the scruples of the king, his com- mission passed the seals a few months before the death of the monarch, and was renewed by Queen Anne upon her accession 1701-02. to the throne.2 Mar. 8.
Thus Mr. Dudley reached the summit of his ambition. He would be the first man in Massachusetts rather than the sec- ond in England.3 On his arrival, he was received with cere- 1702. monious respect even by his opponents. Winthrop, Cooke, Hutchinson, Foster, Addington, Russell, Phillips, Brown, Sar- gent, and others of the council which imprisoned him in 1689, were of the council at his return in 1702. They had no desire . to remind him of the past ; and it would not, perhaps, have been politic for them to have done so ; but he had not forgot- ten it, and this they soon felt.
At the first election, when the list of councillors was pre- sented for confirmation, the names of five were stricken from the list. Cooke, Sargent, Oakes, Saffin, and Bradford, were those upon whom the stroke of decapitation fell ; and, how- ever acceptable these gentlemen were to the people, it was enough for his excellency that they were objectionable to
1 Deplorable State of N. Eng., &c., p. 6; Hutchinson, ii. 114, 115, and notes ; 1 M. H. Coll. iii. 128, 129.
2 Hutchinson, ii. 115, 116. The province would have preferred Wait Winthrop for governor, and voted to
send him to England as agent, in hope of his appointment. Hutchin- son, ii. 120.
3 Hutchinson, ii. The queen's in- structions to Mr. Dudley may be seen in 3 M. H. Coll. ix. 101.
1703. May.
1
Jun. 11.
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68
ADMINISTRATION OF DUDLEY.
CHAP. him.1 But if the governor, instead of Sejanus, chose to be Tibe- III. rius, he was soon made sensible that he was not omnipotent,
1703. Jun. 20.
1702. and that, if he was capable of governing without a prompter, and had the disposition of offices at his command, he could not July. delegate the affections of the people. In the summer of 1702, he visited the eastward, to negotiate with the Indians and view Fort Pemaquid ; and in the following summer, he made a second visit, and, meeting at Casco delegates from the Indian tribes, confirmed the league which had been previously made with them. The gentlemen who accompanied him on these journeys were not appointed by the court, but were selected by Mr. Dudley from among his friends ; and, as he had been instructed by the queen to insist upon the rebuilding of the fort at Pemaquid, and had promised to effect that object, at his return his friends reported in favor of that measure, and the council accepted their report ; but the house refused con- currence.2
1705. Two years later the question was again brought before the house ; but as the governor had seen fit a second time, not- 1704. withstanding the remonstrance of the house, to reject Cooke and Sawyer, who had been elected to the council, and had 1705. now negatived the choice of Oakes as speaker, that body, indignant at his interference, was in no mood to gratify his wishes, and refused to consent either to rebuild the fort at Pomaquid, or to contribute to the support of the fort at Piscataqua, or to establish the salaries of the principal officers of the government - all which subjects he had commended to their attention.3
1 Mass. Rec's ; Hutchinson, ii. 124 -126; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 329; 3 M. H. Coll. vii. 230.
2 Mass. Rec's; Collection of Pro- ceedings of Gen. Court, ed. 1729, pp. 9, 12, 16; Hutchinson, ii. 124, 125; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 315, 328 ; 3 M. H. Coll. vi. 247; Williamson's Me., ii. 34; N. H. Hist. Coll. ii. 236.
3 Mass. Rec's ; Collection of Pro- ceedings of Gen. Court, ed. 1729, pp. 15-22; Hutchinson, ii. 137-140; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 329, 332. The house refused, so early as June 25, 1702, to settle a salary upon the gov- ernor. Collection of Proceedings of Gen. Court, ed. 1729, p. 6.
69
ATTEMPT TO SUPPLANT THE GOVERNOR.
The majority of the people had always believed that the CHAP. sympathies of Mr. Dudley were wholly with the court party ; III. and that his professions of regard for the liberties of America 1705. were but a specious pretence. Cotton Mather, too, who had waived his objections to his appointment, had become suspi- cious of the sincerity of his professions of piety, and believed him to be at heart as arbitrary as ever, and as readily disposed to deeds of oppression.1 And there was much in his own con- duct, and in the conduct of his family, which justified such suspicions. "This country," wrote Paul Dudley, the son of 1703-4. the governor, and the attorney-general of the province, in a Jan. 12. letter to a " dear kinsman " in England, -" this country will never be worth living in for lawyers and gentlemen, till the charter is taken away. My father and I sometimes talk of the queen's establishing a court of chancery here. I have wrote about it to Mr. Blathwayt." 2
Is it surprising that an attempt was made to supplant one so obnoxious, and that a man of inferior ability was preferred in his stead ?3 Complaints of " unheard-of corruptions and 1707. oppressions, and unjust and partial practices " were instituted ; pamphlets were published in London charging Mr. Dudley 1708. with " treasonable correspondence ; " and a petition was for- warded to the queen, signed by a number of respectable citizens, professing their belief in the truth of these charges, and requesting his removal.4 The council and house, indeed, apparently non-concurred in this petition, and declared their belief that the accusations were " scandalous and wicked," and that they were "sensible of his indefatigable care and protection of her majesty's good subjects ; " but these votes were alleged
1 Hutchinson, ii. 135, 148, notes ; 1 M. H. Coll. iii. 129. Chalmers, Re- volt, i. 329, acknowledges that Mr. D. "looked to England for support." 2 Deplorable State of N. Eng. pp. 8, 9; P. Dudley's Original Letter to W. Wharton, printed at London, with some Necessary Queries ; Hutchinson, ii. 140; 1 M. H. C. 3, 126.
3 Sir Charles Hobby was the per- son proposed; Hutchinson, ii. 140. Grahame, ii. 15, 16, thinks the politi- cians of the province went a little too . far in this matter ; but he may not have seen all the evidence in the case. 4 Deplorable State of N. Eng., &c .; Hutchinson, ii. 145, note ; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 334.
70.
FAILURE OF THIS ATTEMPT.
CHAP. to have been obtained by disgraceful and coercive measures ; III. and the uncompromising Sewall, satisfied that there was some- 1707. Nov.25. thing wrong, entered his dissent, and assigned as his reasons that the vote was hastily pushed by the governor, who was the interested party ; that the charges had not been sufficiently investigated ; and that the censure of the petitioners might be of "ill consequence to the province in the time to come, by discouraging persons of worth and probity to venture in appearing for them, though the necessity should be ever so great." 1 Mr. Dudley, however, had the address to allay the storm which would have overwhelmed most men ; and though Mr. Povey, the lieutenant governor, who had returned to Eng- land, wrote him that he must "prepare to receive the news of his being superseded," the matter was not further prosecuted, and the governor escaped.2
For the next few years, the war with the French so en- grossed the attention of the people that their political tran- quillity was but little disturbed. The party opposed to the 1708. governor still pursued in England their schemes for his remo- val ; but in the province, by the policy of rejecting his oppo- nents and favoring his friends, the party in his favor was perceptibly strengthening. Not that there was in reality an increase of confidence in his integrity or patriotism ; but many were wearied with the protracted struggle, and those who still held out found little encouragement at home, and less countenance abroad.3
1 Deplorable State of N. Eng., &c., § ii. iii .; Hutchinson, ii. 146, 147, notes. Comp. 1 M. H. Coll. 3, 131. Brown and Pain, two other members of the council, are said to have depre- cated, with Sewall, the haste with which the vote was passed in that body ; and in the house, it was twice negatived by a majority of the mem- bers, before it was carried through.
2 Deplorable State of N. Eng., &c .; Hutchinson, ii. 147, 148, and notes.
3 The methods adopted by Mr. Dudley to win popular favor are hint-
ed at as follows : " Besides the caress- es of the table, which are enough to dazzle an honest countryman, who thinks every body means what he speaks, the influence which prefer- ments and commissions have upon lit- tle men is inexpressible. It must needs be a mortal sin to disoblige a. governor, that has enabled a man to command a whole country town, and to strut among his neighbors with the illustrious titles of, our major, and the captain, or his worship." Deplorable State, &c., 20.
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71
CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY.
The change in the ministry, which took place in England at CHAP. this time, caused some excitement in Massachusetts, and ren- III. dered it necessary to choose a new agent. Sir William 1709. Ashhurst was first appointed, but he refused to accept ; upon which Jeremiah Dummer was chosen, and accepted. Contrary to the expectation of his constituents, however, the new agent devoted himself to the persons in power, was employed by Lord Bolingbroke in some secret negotiations, and had assurances of promotion to a place of profit; but the death of the queen blasted his hopes. In the mean time, Mr. Dudley, whose rule it was to gain his enemies, for he was sure of his friends,1 suc- ceeded in removing the prejudices of Sir William Ashhurst, and in securing his favor ; and Mr. Dummer also espoused his cause. Mr. Phips, the old agent, had for some time been friendly to him, and the governor would gladly have continued him in office had he been acceptable to the ministry ; but as he was not, he was obliged to consent to his removal. Thus Mr. Dudley had powerful allies in England ; and, as he had man- aged at home with unusual address, he felt quite secure in the position he held.2
The latter years of Mr. Dudley's administration were dis- turbed by a controversy upon the currency of the province. The wars with France, which had continued for a period of nearly twenty years, had not only burdened England with debt, but had impoverished her colonies, and weakened their resources. The bills of credit, issued in 1690, had depreciated in value ; and a large part of the specie in circulation had been drained from the country for the payment of its debts. This stringency in money affairs was seriously felt ; and merchants and politicians were busily employed in devising schemes to remedy the evil. A few advocated a return to the gold and silver currency, the only sure basis of value in their estima- tion ; others were in favor of the formation of a private bank ;
1710 to 1715.
1 Hutchinson, ii. 171.
2 Hutchinson, ii. 169-171.
72
CLOSE OF DUDLEY'S ADMINISTRATION.
CHAP. and a third party argued for the establishment of a public III. bank. A majority of the council favored the public bank ; but 1710 to the house was divided in opinion, the influence of the Boston 1715. members and others from the country rather inclining them to favor the private bank. The controversy was wide spread, and the whole community was agitated by it. Towns, parishes, and families took part in the discussion ; and for a long time it seemed doubtful which way it would be decided. The party for the public bank finally prevailed ; and a loan of fifty thousand pounds in bills of credit was agreed to by the Gen- eral Court, which were placed in the hands of trustees, and loaned for five years, at five per cent. interest, one fifth of the principal to be paid in yearly.1 This disposition of the ques- tion was far from satisfying all. If it diminished the number of the friends of the private bank, it increased their zeal ; and the resentment which defeat awakened was not only lasting, but it seriously affected the politics of the country.
1714.
Aug. 1.
The close of Mr. Dudley's administration was more quiet than might have been anticipated. Upon the death of the queen, and the accession of George I., of the house of Hanover,2 it was expected that he would be displaced, and a new gov- ernor appointed ; and he seems to have prepared himself to submit with composure. Some change had taken place in public feeling towards him ; and many, who had been his greatest opposers, had been won to his interests. His friends, therefore, were in the ascendant, and would have probably acquiesced in the continuance of his government. As if, too, to do all in his power to conciliate, he had consented to con-
1 Province Laws, ed. 1726 ; Hutch- inson, ii. 187-190.
See Boston News Letter, Nos. 544, 545. "On Thursday evening, September 23," says this document, (No. 545,) " Mr. Jonathan Belcher, a gentleman who had been twice at the court of Hanover, on the occasion of his majesty King George's accession, made a very splendid entertainment
for his excellency the governor, and council, with a great many other gen- tlemen, at his house in Hanover St., where were drank his majesty's health, the prince, royal family, &c., the house being all over very finely illuminated." Mr. Belcher, whose advertisements often appear in the News Letter, was a dealer in hardware, and he was after- wards governor of the province.
73
DEATH OF MR. DUDLEY.
firm the election of Mr. Cooke, whom he had so often nega- CHAP. tived. Age was likewise creeping upon him; he was close III. 1715. upon the bounds of threescore and ten ; and few are so indif- ferent to what may be thought of them after they are dead, as not to desire to be remembered with kindness.1 Hence his last days were his best ; and when he vacated his office, and went Nov. to his rest, though he left behind many who could neither for- 1720. get his oppressions nor forgive his misconduct, he left also April 2, many who preserved their affection for his family and poster- ity, and who spoke of him in terms of general respect. His faults were the faults of an ambitious mind. He can hardly be ranked among the champions of liberty, and was far more a lover of royalty than of freedom.2
1 See his letter written in 1716, af- ter the appointment of Shute, in 4 M. H. Coll. ii. 308.
2 The eulogist of Governor Dudley says of him, " He was a man of rare endowments and shining accomplish- ments ; a singular honor to his coun- try, and in many respects the glory of it. He was early its darling, always its ornament, and in his age its crown.
The scholar, the divine, the philoso- pher, and the lawyer all met in him. He was visibly formed for govern- ment ; and under his administration, by the blessing of Almighty God, we enjoyed great quietness, and were safely steered through a long and dif- ficult French and Indian war." Bos- ton News Letter, No. 834.
CHAPTER IV.
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE FRENCH.
CHAP. IV. 1692.
FRANCE and England were early competitors in the Ameri- can seas. Their hereditary hatred, which had existed for centuries, had been deepened and intensified by repeated col- lisions ; and upon the discovery of the new world each claimed a portion of its territory, assumed jurisdiction over the country, and attempted its colonization. Differences of religion in- creased their animosity. Catholic France denounced England as heretic and apostate. Protestant England retorted the ecclesiastical anathemas of its neighbor. The nations were so opposite in their language and habits, their philosophy and government, their opinions and customs, that no very friendly feelings could be expected to subsist between them. They were rivals in the old world, and rivals in the new ; rivals in the East Indies, and rivals in the West ; rivals in Africa, and rivals in Europe; rivals in politics, in commerce, and the arts ; rivals in ambition for conquest and supremacy. Each sought its own aggrandizement at the expense of the other ; each claimed to be superior to the other in the elements of national glory and the appliances of national strength. The gayety of the former was in contrast with the gravity and sobriety of the latter. The impetuosity of the one was the counterpart to the coolness and cautiousness of the other. Time, instead of softening, had hardened their prejudices ; and for a century and a half from the date of the establishment of the first French colony at the north, the two nations, with but slight interruptions, were constantly in the attitude of opposition and defiance. (74)
1603 to 1763.
75
RIVALRY OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
England, without doubt, preceded France in the career of CHAP. discovery ; and the voyage of the Cabots gave to the former IV. her claims to the regions visited by their vessels. But the 1497. interval which elapsed between the voyage of the Cabots and the earliest authenticated voyage of the French was exceedingly 1504. brief; and the two nations, if not contemporaries, were equals in the race - neither being able to boast of any great advan- tage over the other, and neither, at the opening of the sev- enteenth century, being able to point to any permanent settle- 1602. ment northward of forty degrees as the fruit of its enterprise. Matched quite evenly in maritime skill, it was not until near the close of the reign of Elizabeth that the scale turned in favor of England. Yet under James I. the balance of power could hardly be said to incline very strongly towards England ; and France, undaunted by the prowess of her rival, continued, with indomitable courage, to prosecute her plans ; succeeded, even before England, in settling a colony to the north ; and the foundations of Quebec were laid before the landing of the 1620. 1630. Pilgrims, and before the settlement of Boston.
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