The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III, Part 5

Author: Jewett, Clarence F; Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897
Publication date: 1880-1881
Publisher: Boston : J.R. Osgood
Number of Pages: 770

USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III > Part 5

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1 Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, i. 63.

2 Ibid., i. 74-77.

8 [Mr. R. II. Dana, Jr., brought this oath to the attention of the Massachusetts Historical Society, in June, 1872, their Proceedings of that date showing a fac-simile of it; the present is somewhat reduced. - En.]

4 [James Otis here showed his power of leadership. See Tudor's Otis ; Bancroft, v .; Flanders's Rutledge : Ramsey's South Carolina. - En.1

& Bancroft, v. 346. [This congress was a re- sponse to the call of Massachusetts. Its pro- ceedings are in Almon's Tracts. - En.]

THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

In the mean time there had been further changes in the ministry, result- ing in the elevation of the Rockingham Whigs to power. This announce- ment was received with great satisfaction, as it was understood that the new cabinet was more friendly to American claims. That this opinion had some foundation appears in the orders sent to the royal governors and to General Gage, commander of the forces at New York, only one week before the Stamp Act was to take effect, recommending "the utmost pru- dence and lenity," and advising a resort to " persuasive methods." 1

When the first of November came, the people were prepared to prevent the execution of the odious act by refusing as one man to buy or use the stamps. In Boston they tolled the bells of the churches and fired min- ute-guns. Vessels in the harbor hung their flags at half-mast. "Liberty, Property, and no Stamps!" was the watchword passing everywhere from mouth to mouth. Effigies of Grenville and Huske 2 were suspended from Liberty Trec early in the morning, and in the afternoon were taken down and carried to the court house and to the North End, and then back to the gallows on the Neck, where they were hung for a short time, and afterward were cut down and torn to pieces. The crowd then quietly dis- persed, and the night was entirely free from disturbance.3

As the Stamp Act had become a law, only stamped paper was legal ; and as the people were firm in their determination not to use it, they were obliged to suspend business. The provincial courts were closed ; mar- riages ceased ; vessels were unmoored ; and all commercial operations were paralyzed. Merchants in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston agreed not to import from England certain enumerated articles; and in general the people ceased using foreign luxuries, and turned their attention to domestic products. Frugality was the self-imposed order of the day, and it was not without its results.

In December a town-meeting was held in Boston, and a committee ap- pointed to request of the Governor and Council that the courts might be opened.4 At the opening of the Legislature in January, the House, in re- plying to the message of the Governor, demanded relief from the existing grievances. "The custom-houses are now open," they said, "and the people are permitted to transact their usual business. The courts of justice also must be opened, -opened immediately; and the law, the great rule of right, duly executed in every county in this province. . This stopping of the course of justice is a grievance which this Court must inquire into. Justice must be fully administered without delay."5 The Council laid this address upon the table; but, in an informal way, gave assurances that the courts

1 Massachusetts Gazette, Feb. 6, 1766; Debates in Parliament, iv. 302-306.

2 John Huske, a native of Portsmouth, N. H., who had removed to England and obtained a seat in the House of Commons, and taken a prominent part in favor of the Stamp Act.

3 Drake, Boston, pp. 707, 70%.

4 This committee was composed of Samuel

Adams, Thomas Cushing, John Hancock, Ben- jamin Kent, Samuel Sewall, John Rowe, Joshua Henshaw, and Arnold Welles; and they were authorized to employ Gridley, Otis, and John Adams as counsel. Diary of John Adams in Works, ii. 157, et seq .; Barry, P. 307.

5 Massachusetts Gazette, Jan. 23, 1766; Hutch- inson, iii. 143.

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

would be opened at the next term, and business allowed to be transacted as usual.

This bold attitude of the American people caused no little annoyance and anxiety to the Administration. The case was, morcover, complicated by the change of sentiment in England regarding the justice of the policy initiated by Grenville. The English people were not prepared to repudiate their own love of liberty, nor to force upon any of their fellow-subjects the meas- ures of absolutism against which their own glorious history had been a standing protest. Especially were the commercial and manufacturing towns in England dissatisfied with this policy; for it had reacted most un- favorably upon them, interrupting trade, injuring credit, and creating much suffering and discontent. We are not surprised, therefore, to find that both sympathy and interest prompted the nation to urge the repeal of an act which was as hostile to their own welfare as to that of America.

Upon the reassembling of Parliament in January, 1766, the King, in his speech, stated that "matters of importance had happened in America, and orders had been issued for the support of lawful authority."1 The Lords responded, as usual, in terms of deference and co-operation; but in the House of Commons, which was unusually full, a debate ensued such as perhaps had never been heard before within its walls. The venerable Pitt, after an absence of more than a year, had arrived in town that morning. Though in a very fecble condition, and suffering from the gout, he took his seat while the debate was in progress, and soon after rose and made his ever memorable speech, - a masterpiece of fiery eloquence in which he de- nounced the Stamp Act, and demanded its immediate repeal. He said : -

" It is now an act that has passed. I would speak with decency of every act of this House, but I must beg indulgence to speak of it with freedom. The subject of this debate is of greater importance than any that has ever engaged the atten- tion of this House, - that subject only excepted when, nearly a century ago, it was a question whether you yourselves were to be bond or free. . .. On a question that may mortally wound the freedom of three millions of virtuous and brave subjects beyond the Atlantic Ocean, I cannot be silent."

He then proceeded to argue that as the colonies had never been really or virtually represented in Parliament, they could not be held " legally or con- stitutionally or reasonably subject to obedience to any moncy bill" of the kingdom. In replying to Grenville he said, a little later on: " The gentle- man tells us America is obstinate; America is almost in open rebellion ! I rejoice that America has resisted." Upon this the whole House started as if touched by an electric shock. Near the conclusion of his speech he said : -

" In a good cause, on a sound bottom, the force of this country can crush Amer- ica to atoms. . . . But in such a cause your success would be hazardous. America, if she fell, would fall like the strong man ; she would embrace the pillars of the State,

1 Massachusetts Gazette, March 27, 1766.

VOL. 111 -3.

THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

and pull down the Constitution along with her. . . . Upon the whole I will beg leave to tell the House what is really my opinion. It is that the Stamp Aet be repealed, absolutely, totally, and immediately ; that the reason for the repeal be assigned, be- cause it was founded on an erroneous principle. . . . " 1

Thus spoke the Great Commoner; with what effect upon the minds of the House appeared in the current of sympathy which at once turned toward him, and which, a little later on, expressed itself in the famous repeal. Toward the last of the month the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole to consider petitions for the repeal, which had been presented by the merchants of London, Birmingham, Coventry, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, and other towns. The sittings of this committee were con- tinued more than two weeks. Among others, Benjamin Franklin, then a colonial agent in London, was summoned to the bar of the House; and his minute examination concerning the feelings and wishes of the Colonies con- tributed more to his personal fame than any previous occurrence in his life ; and it is doubtful whether he ever wrote or said anything abler than his ad- mirable replies on this occasion. In all that he said he was prompt and pertinent, accurate and concise, wise and true. The House of Commons listened to him for ten days, and must have been as much astonished at his answers as the whole American people were delighted with them.2

The committee who had listened to this remarkable examination soon " reported that it was their opinion that the House be moved that leave be given to bring in a bill to repeal the Stamp Act."

The crisis came on the night of February 21, when every seat was occu- pied, and the galleries, lobbies, and stairs were crowded with eager specta- tors. The debate was opened by Conway, one of the ministry, and a warm friend of the Colonies. He was followed by Jenkinson, Burke, Grenville,

1 Bancroft, v. 382-396; Debates in Parliament, iv. 285-298.

2 As a specimen of Franklin's shrewdness, take a few of his answers : -

" Question. - Do you think it right that Amer- ica should be protected by this country and pay no part of the expense ?

" Answer. - That is not the case. The Col- onies raised, clothed, and paid during the last war near twenty-five thousand men, and spent many millions.

" Q .- Were you not reimbursed by Parlia- ment ?

" A .-... Only a very small part of what we spent.

"Q. - Do you think the people of America would submit to pay the stamp duty if it was moderated ?

" A. - No, never, unless compelled by force of arms.

" Q. - What was the temper of America to- ward Great Britain before the year 1763?

" A. - The best in the world. . . .

" Q. - And what is their temper now ?

" A. - Oh, very much altered.

" Q .- Did you ever hear the authority of Parliament to make laws for America questioned till lately ?

"A. - The authority of Parliament was al- lowed to be valid in all laws except such as should lay internal taxes. It was never disputed in laying duties to regulate commerce.

" Q. - If the Stamp Act should be repealed, and the Crown should make a requisition to the Colonies for a sum of money, would they grant it?

" A. - I believe they would.

" Q .- What used to be the pride of the Americans ?

" A .- To indulge in the fashions and manu- factures of Great Britain.

" Q. - What is now their pride ?

" A. - To wear their old clothes over again till they can make new ones." - Bigelow, Life of Franklin, i. 467-510; Sparks, Franklin, pp. 298- 300.

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

and Pitt. About half-past one in the morning the division took place, and Conway's bill of repeal was carried triumphantly by a vote of two hundred and seventy-five against one hundred and sixty-seven. Pitt and Conway were tumultuously applauded as they left the House, while Grenville 1 was greeted with hisses. The final debate on the repeal was still more decisive. In the Lords the bill was carried by a majority of thirty-four; and on the day following, March 17, it received the reluctant sanction of the King, who spoke of it as " a fatal compliance." London was delighted with the result ; the church bells were rung merrily; ships displayed their colors; the streets were illuminated; and a public dinner was given by the friends of America. In Boston the news was received with every conceivable demon- stration of joy.2 Liberty Tree was decked with lanterns; bells and guns, flags and music, illuminations and fireworks, proclaimed in unmistakable language the gratitude and loyalty of the people.3 New York voted statues to the King and to l'itt. Virginia voted a statuc to the King, and South Carolina one to Pitt. Maryland- passed a similar vote, and ordered a por- trait of Lord Camden. Boston had previously voted letters of thanks to Barré and Conway, and requested their portraits for Faneuil Hall.4

In the outburst of joy at the repeal, the public mind had not considered the full meaning of the accompanying declaratory act 5 claiming for Parliament absolute power to bind America " in all cases whatsoever." This act was a fatal mistake, and a wanton blow at the well known American principle of local self-government; for it soon became evident that the object of Parlia- ment was, after all, political subjugation. This was precisely the point upon which the colonists had taken their stand. It was not the mere pecuniary loss involved in the enforcement of the stamp tax that they were consider- ing, - they were abundantly able to pay that, - but it was the underlying question of right; and if that were not conceded, it would soon be found

1 Walpole, ii. 299, 300.

2 [Speaker Cushing had enclosed, June 22, 1766, a letter of thanks to the king, and the fac-simile on the next page is from Otis's letter lo Cushing on this vote of thanks. The original is in the Lee papers in the University of Vir- ginia Library. The principal demonstrations look place May 19, 1766. An obelisk was erect- ed on the Common and decked with lanterns ; Hancock illuminated his house and discharged fireworks in front of it from a stage; and these were responded to by similar demonstrations by the Sons of Liberty at the workhouse. Views of the obelisk were engraved by Revere, and one of them is given much reduced in Drake's Landmarks, p. 359. The earliest rumor of a re- peal had appeared in the Massachusetts Gasette, April 3, 1766, having come from Philadelphia two days before. See Thornton's Pulpit of the Revolution, p. 120, where is also Chauncy's dis- course on the repeal. - ED.]

8 [A paper by General Gage concerning the

Stamp Act and the revolutionary proceedings in Boston, is printed in Mass. Hist. Coll. iv. 367. There is in the collection of Charles P. Green- ough, Esq., of Boston (whose treasures have been very generously put at my disposal, and from which I have often drawn in this and the final volume), a letter from London merchants lo those of Boston, offering congratulations and encouragement on account of the repeal of the Stamp Act. A similar letter from business cor- respondents was contributed to the Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., March, 1876, p. 260, by Mr. T. C. Amory. - En.}

4 This was done al a town-meeting held Sept. 18, 1765. The portraits arrived in due time, and were hung in Faneuil Ilall ; but what became of them afterward is not known. They are sup- posed to have been removed when the British army had control of the town. Drake, pp. 703, 704. [Sec supplementary notes to the next chapter in this volume. - ED.]

5 6 George III. c. xii.

THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

that the repeal was only a nominal and a temporary relief. Leading Pa- triots saw in this much to excite alarm; but for the time being, and for the sake of harmony, they were willing to remain silent.1

Boston September 8th 1766.

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1 Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, i. 116-118.

No well defined sentiment of union had as yet taken possession of the public mind. Not until it became evi- dent that there was no other way of maintaining their freedom, did any of the Colonies think of measures tend- ing to united action. One of the first to anticipate this ne- cessity was Jona- than Mayhew, the patriotic pastor of the West Church in Boston, who, writ- ing to his friend Otis one Lord's Day morning in June, 1766, said : -.

" You have heard of the communion of churches ; while I was thinking of this in my bed, the great use and importance of a com- munion of colonies appeared to me in a strong light. Would it not be decorous for our Assembly to send circulars to all the rest, expressing a desire to cement union among ourselves? A good

I have the how to be

you

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

foundation for this has been laid by the Congress at New York ; never losing sight of it may be the means of perpetuating our liberties." 1

The possibility of such a union seems to have occurred to at least one English statesman at this time; for in the same month in which the above words were penned we find Charles Townshend boldly advocating in the House of Commons a radical measure aimed not only to secure a revenue, but also to prevent any such accessions of strength as the Colonies might gain by combined action. No man in the ministry was better informed than Townshend upon American affairs. He knew the resources of the people ; he anticipated their rapid development; and the scheme which he now promulgated was expressly devised to make the whole colonial power tributary to the Crown. Therefore he favored the abolition of all their charters; and the substitution of a government in which the local assem- blies should be restrained, a general congress forbidden, and the royal gov- ernors, judges, and attorneys become independent of the people.2

Townshend soon had further opportunities for prosecuting his scheme; for in the reconstruction of the ministry, which took place in the month of July, he was selected as chancellor of the exchequer by the Duke of Grafton, in the strangely incongruous ad- ministration of Pitt, now created Earl of Chatham. Townshend was the leading spirit Grafton in the new government, and availed him- self of every opportunity to urge the ad- · vantages of an American civil list. He had been, with Grenville, a firm advocate of the Stamp Act. He ridiculed the distinction between internal and external taxes. He insisted that America should share the heavy financial burden of England.3 In the ab- sence of Chatham, who was most of the time suffering from feeble health, he dictated to the ministry its colonial policy. "I.would govern the Americans," said he, " as subjects of Great Britain; I would restrain their trade and their manufactures as subordinate to the mother country. These, our children, must not make themselves our allies in time of war and our rivals in peace." With such purposes the resolute and reckless chancellor pushed his way into favor with Parliament, ignoring the scruples of his associates and defying the opposition of his enemies, until he suc- ceeded in carrying the famous Townshend revenue bill through both Houses, and obtained the royal assent. These acts levied a duty on glass, paper, painters' colors, and tea; established a board of customs at Boston for collecting the whole American revenue ; and legalized writs of assistance. The revenue was to be at the disposition of the King, and was to be chiefly employed in the support of officers of the Crown, to secure their indepen- dence of the local legislatures. "The die is thrown !" cried the Patriots of

1 Bradford, Life of Mayhero, 428, 429. [See also Mr. Goddard's chapter in the present vol- umc. - ED.]

2 Bancroft, vi. 9, 10.

Fitzmaurice, Life of William, Earl of Shek- burne, iii. 37 et seq.

THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.

Boston when they received the news of the passage of Townshend's bill ; "the Rubicon is passed. ... We will form an immediate and universal combination to eat nothing, drink nothing, wear nothing, imported from Great Britain. .. . Our strength consists in union; let us above all be of one heart and one mind ; let us call on our sister Colonies to join with us in asserting our riglits."1 Governor Bernard having refused a petition to summon the Legislature, a town-mecting was called Oct. 28, 1767; and the inhabitants voted neither to import nor to use certain articles of British production. A committee was appointed to obtain subscribers to such an agreement, and the resolutions were extensively circulated throughout the country. The newspapers took up the subject with great warmth, and aided in a very important degree the formation of public opinion at this critical period. Able writers contributed timely letters, among which those written by a " Farmer of Pennsylvania " 2 attained a very wide celebrity for their calm and vigorous treatment of the great constitutional questions of the day. The communications sent by the Massachusetts Legislature in January, 1768, to members of the Cabinet and to the provincial agent in London, contain the full argument respecting the claims of the colonies. These papers, as well as the petition to the king which accompanied them, and the circular-letter to the sister colonies which was issued shortly after, were all drafted by Samuel Adams, whose masterly grasp of the great political issues of the time attracted universal attention and gained a host of friends to the cause of liberty. The circular-letter just alluded to met with a very gratifying response from the other assemblies, and was a most efficient instrument in securing unity of purpose among the leaders of the people in all parts of the country. The publication of these important documents produced such an effect that the board of commissioners of the revenue immediately prepared a memorial to be sent to England, express- ing apprehensions for their personal safety; complaining of the unwarrant- able license of the American press,3 of the non-importation league, and of New England town-meetings; and asking for assistance in the execution of the revenue laws; adding, that there was not a ship of war in the province, nor a company of soldiers nearer than New York.

This memorial, together with the reports of Bernard and Hutchinson, soon drew from Hillsborough, secretary for the colonies, an order sent to all the governors, bidding them use their influence with the assemblies to

1 Barry, ii. 339.

2 John Dickinson, afterward a member of the first Continental Congress. [To a letter of grati- tude from Boston Dickinson returned a reply, which is preserved among the Charity Building papers, and is addressed "To the very respect- able inhabitants of the town of Boston;" and expresses lhe " reverential gratitude " for the late letter received by him : --

PENNSYLVANIA, April 11, 1768.

The rank of the Town of Boston, the wisdom of her counsels, and the spirit of her conduct render, in my opin-

ion, the approbation of her inhabitants inestimable. . .. Love of my country engaged me in that attempt to vindi- cate her rights and assert her interests, which your gener- osity has thought proper so highly to applaud. . . . Never, until my heart becomes insensible of all worldly things, will it become insensible of the unspeakable obligations which, as an American, I owe to the inhabitants of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, for the vigilance with which they have watched over, and the magnanimity with which they have maintained, the liberties of the British colonies on this continent. A FARMER. -ED.]

8 [See Mr. Goddard's chapter in this vol- ume .- ED.]

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.

take no notice of the " seditious" circular-letter, which was described as " of a most dangerous and factious tendency," calculated to inflame the minds of the people, to promote an illegal combination, and to excite open opposition to the authority of Parliament. The House of Represen- tatives of Massachusetts was required, in His Majesty's name, to rescind their resolutions, and to " declare their disapprobation of the rash and hasty proceeding." In case of their refusal to comply, it was the King's pleasure that the Governor should immediately dissolve them.1 At the same time General Gage, Commander-in-chief of the royal forces in Amer- ica, was ordered to " strengthen the hands of the Government in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, enforce a due obedience of the laws, and protect and support the civil magistrates and the officers of the Crown in the execution of their duty."2 Further peremptory orders were sent to Gage, in June, to station a regiment permanently in Boston; and the ad- miralty was directed to send one frigate, two sloops, and two cutters to remain in Boston harbor; and Castle William was to be put in readiness for immediate use.8

For about a month previous to this the ship of war " Romney " had lain at anchor in the harbor, and her commander had occasioned much trouble by violently impressing New England seamen, and refusing to give them up, even when substitutes were offered. The excitement arising from this was increased by the seizure of the sloop "Liberty". (June 10, 1768), belonging to John Hancock, for an alleged false entry. The popular out- break in consequence of these proceedings, though resulting in no serious injury, was magnified by the commissioners into an insurrection, and made the occasion of still further appeals for personal protection, by force of arms, in the discharge of their duties.4 The citizens, in response to a call for a legal town-meeting to consider the matter, gathered in such numbers at Faneuil Hall that they were obliged to adjourn to the Old South Meet- ing-house, where, with Otis as moderator, an address to the Governor was unanimously voted, and a committee of twenty-one appointed to present it.6 At an adjourned meeting the next day (June . 15), Otis strongly recom-

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The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III, Part 5

Author: Jewett, Clarence F; Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897 Publication date: 1880-1881 Publisher: Boston : J.R. Osgood Number of Pages: 770

Author: Jewett, Clarence F; Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897
Publication date: 1880-1881
Publisher: Boston : J.R. Osgood
Number of Pages: 770