USA > Maryland > Maryland : the history of a palatinate > Part 14
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ment, and the address to the crown; and their course was fully indorsed and themselves thanked for the able and faithful discharge of their duties.
The first of November, the day on which the Stamp Act was to go into operation, came, and there were no stamps in the Province. But the question arose, how was business to be carried on if documents on unstamped paper had no legal value? The court of Frederick County cut the knot by declaring that its business should be carried on without stamps, and when the clerk (probably as matter of form) refused to comply, he was committed for contempt, but released on his submission. Other courts fol- lowed the example, and business went on as if the Stamp Act had no existence.
This action, which gave judicial sanction to the popular wish, spread joy throughout the Province, which found expression in various ways, some of them grotesque. In Frederick- town a mock funeral of the Stamp Act was held, at which an effigy of the late stamp dis- tributor officiated as solo mourner, in an at- titude of abasement and degradation, and after a burlesque address, both were buried amid loud cheers and ruffs of the drums.
The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act was greeted throughout the colonies with an
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explosion of joy like that which hailed the fall of Quebec, and with much of the same feeling. Guns were fired, bonfires blazed, and patriotic addresses, in the finest provincial rhetoric, soared like rockets or were sent flying over to England. In Maryland, after the genial fash- ion of our ancestors, the feeling of clation found its best expression in banquets, and portentous quantities of punch were quaffed to the health of Pitt, Camden, Barre, and other advocates of colonial liberties. Fervent professions of loy- alty were made; good feeling was restored, and evon Mr. Hood, whom we last saw wagging & dolorous head in cffigy at his own unhonored obsequies, returned to Annapolis, and carried on his legitimate business, whatever it was, un- molested.
But when all this hilarity was over, men be- gun to think. Was the matter going to end here ? Would England bear this sncap without reply, and be content to concede to violence and defiance what she had refused to the hum- blest petitions ? They now called to mind that at the very moment of the repeal of the Stamp Act, Parliament had passed an Act declaring "that it was expedient to raise a revenue in America."
In England it was plainly seen that the end was not yet, and that troublous times were in
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store for tho colonies. Lord Baltimore sent out orders for the snlo of his manor lands, of which three or four hundred thousand acres were thrown on the market.
In 1767 the brilliant but rash and headstrong Townshend thought he had found the means to raise a revenue in America without exasperat- ing the Americans, in a set of duties on ten, glass, paper, and painters' colors. The duties were to be collected in the colonies by a Board of Customs, and the hateful " writs of assist- ance." were authorised, empowering the forci- ble entry of private houses and dwellings by custom - house officers in search of smuggled goods ; not like a special warrant issued on a specific charge attested on oath, but general and at the pleasure of the officers.
This was worse than the Stamp Act, and again the flame broke out. The Assembly of Massachusetts sent a circular letter to the other Assemblies, calling on all to unite in lawful op- position to this invasion of their liberties. Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State, replied by a circular letter to the colonial governors, in- structing them to do their best to counteract the effect of the Massachusetts letter upon the Assemblies. Sharpe notified the Maryland As sembly of his instructions, and exhorted them to take no notice of the letter, but "treat it
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with the contempt that it deserved." The Del- egates replied that it was a very alarming state of things when dutiful and loyal addresses to the throne were considered seditious and fac- tious documents; and that they were "not to be intimidated by a few sounding expressions from doing what they thought was right."
As to the Massachusetts letter, they said : -
" What we shall do upon this occasion, or whether in consequence of that lotter we shall do anything, it is not our present business to communicate to your Excellency ; but of this be pleased to be assured, that we cannot be provailed on to take no notice of, or to troat with the least degree of contempt, a letter so expressive of duty and loyalty to the Sovereign, aud so replote with just principles of liberty ; and your Excellency may depend that whenever we ap- preliond the rights of the people to be affected, we shall not fail boldly to assert, and steadily to endeavor to maintain them."
They then drew up a petition to the King, in language at once manly and respectful, plant- ing themselves on the ground of their charter, and on their inalienable rights as British sub- jects, concluding thus : -
" The people of this Province, Royal Su, are not in any manner, nor can they ever possibly be, effectu- ally represented in the British Parliament. While, therefore, your Majesty's Commons of Great Britain
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continue to give and grant the property of the people in America, your faithful subjects of this and every other colony must be deprived of that most iuvalua- ble privilege, the power of granting their own money, and of every opportunity of manifesting by cheerful aids, their attachment to their king, and zeal for his service ; they must be cut off from all intercourse with their sovereign, and expect not to hear of the royal approbation ; they must submit to the power of the Commons of Great Britain ; and precluded the blessings, shall scarcely retain the name of free- dom."
The mention of "cheerful aids," in the mem- ory of events of a few years back, must have sounded like fine irony ; but on comparing this with the tone of the Assembly of 1689, which grovolled before William, thrust the charter upon him, and was anxious to Iny the whole Province under his feet, we can see how far Maryland has travelled. The Lower House is not yet a House of Commons, as it fondly thought itself a hundred years before, but it is well on the way to become one.
They returned an answer of entire concur- rence to the Massachusetts Assembly, and were butnigh'nay prorogued by the Governor, who was afraid to dissolve them, lest the new As- sembly should be worse than the old.
The colonists had now vindicated their posi-
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tion in words, but these would be but empty air if they were not backed up by acts. They had frustrated the Stamp Act by refusing to use the stamps, and they could baffle the Act for Duties by refusing to import the goods. Tyranny might find contumacy, but it could hardly find rebellion, in the mere abstention from purchase. Already some movements looking to non-importation lind been made ; but now the idea took definite shape. Asso- ciations were formed, the members of which bound themselves not to import certain com- modities, nor purchase them if imported. Tho agreement of the Maryland Associators dis- tinctly states that they are not only moved by a desire to discourage the use of foreign luxu- ries and superfluities in the interest of frugality, but also that they see that the taxes imposed are contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, and have a tendency to doprive them of political freedom ; und that therefore they will neither import nor buy any goods which have been or herenftor shall be taxed for the purpose of rais- ing a revenue ; to which they append a long list of goods which they will not buy, from jewelry and goldsmith's ware to tarred rope and pot- hooks ; nor will they deal with any person for any commodity whatever, who shall offer such goods for sale; nor will those who may have
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such goods already on hand raise their prices. They also laid a restriction on the killing of lambs, which meant that they were going to spin and weave their own cloth.
Theso Associations were spread throughout the counties, and they did not confine them- selves to words. They watched vigilantly for the arrival of any forbidden goods, and saw that they were reshipped to England. In at least one case, a vessel was sent back with all her cargo, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Governor.
This Governor, however, was not the brave and energetic Sharpe, who had been superseded by Robert Eden, the Proprietary's brother-in- law. The change was probably fortunate for the people of Maryland. Eden was a mild and amiable man, who gained the good-will of the people ; perhaps for the very cause that he had too little resolution, or too much prudence to offer resistance to the growing popular feeling. Sharpe was emphatically a man of courage and action. We have seen low vigorous were his measures when he commanded the resistance to the French, and when the disaster to Braddock seemed to be about to let the floods of destruc- tion pour over the Province. In his contention .with the delegates he upheld what he believed to be the right, with a firmness which won their
THE HISTORY OF A PALATINATE. 257 respect, though it tried their temper. The Proprietary was quite incapable of appreciating the value of such a servant, and must often have vexed his soul by his grumblings, his greed for money, and his utter indifference to all else that happened in the Province so that his revenues were duly collected and remitted. 17
CHAPTER XV. THE CONVENTION.
ROBERT EDEN, the last Proprietary Gov- ernor, took his seat on June 5, 1769. The Province was still in a ferment. The ministry had notified the colonies that the King did not intend to lay any more revenue taxation upon America, and that the duties on glass, etc., would be taken off, - not because they were unjust or odious to the colonies, but because, being laid on articles of British manufacture, they were " contrary to the true principles of commerce." But the old lime was in this sack too, embittering the whole draught ; the three- pence duty on tea was left, and the preamble reaffirmed the expediency of raising a revenue in the colonies. Nay, as if the ministry were resolved that concession should not conciliate, there was a movement to revive the statute of Henry VIII., for the punishment of treasons committed out of the King's dominions, and so to construe it that persons charged with treason in America might be carried off to England for trial.
Eden saw the spirit of the people, and noti-
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fied the authorities at home that the fact that the cost of tea was really reduced by the act would have no weight in Maryland; that, on the contrary, if they laid a six-penny duty on tea in England, or refused to allow the draw- back there, the colonists would be perfectly satisfied.
But, with some of the colonies, the repcal of the duties had weight, and there seemed a grow- ing disposition to give up the non-importation associations. A sarcastic message of condolence was sent from Maryland to Virginia, " upon the untimely death of all her brave sons, who, in defence of the liberties of their country, framed the resolutions at Williamsburg in May last." As Rhode Island was violating the agreement, it was resolved to have no further dealings with her, and two vessels from that colony were sent back with their cargoes.
As colony after colony broke away, opinion in Maryland became divided as to the expedi- oncy of adhering to the agreement in all its rigor. Unless there were unanimity of action the object sought would not be gained, and the faithful would suffer to no purpose ; while to abandon it, after the removal of the dutica, was equivalent to an assertion that their point had been carried and victory won. As for the tea, on which the duty had been retained, the
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determination to refuse it was everywhere up- hold.
The destruction of tho ten in Boston harbor, and its rojection in Philadelphia and New York, brought down upon Massachusetts the wrath of England, in the shape of the Boston Port Bill and the Regulation Act. Maryland was at once in a flame. Meetings were held, in which common cause was made with Massa- chusetts, and it was recommended that a gen- oral policy of non-exportation and non-importa- tion to or from Great Britain and the West Indies should be maintained until the Port Bill was rescinded. Committees of Correspondence and other associations were formed in the sev- cral counties to carry out this policy in an efficient and organic way. The people sub- scribed liberally, poor as well as rich, for the relief of the Bostonians, and sent them ship- loads of provisions.
But something more than this had to be done : the determination of the people, the sov- creign will of the people, could not be exe- cuted by anything less than a consistent organic policy ; nor could such a policy be carried out; by Committees of Correspondence, to say notli - ing of the Proprietary government, which was antagonistic so far as it was not helpless. S? far as the assertion and maintenance of thei
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liberties were concerned, the people determined to take the attributes of government into their own hands, and for this purpose a representa- tive and executive body was required.
The citizens of Baltimore, in town-meeting, on the 31st of May, had recommended "a gen- eral congress of deputies, from all the coun- ties," to meet in Annapolis. Here was the solution of the problem. The people of the counties chose delegates, ninety-two in number, to a convention which met in Annapolis on June 22d. They passed resolutions urging unity of action, defined the attitude of the Province, and the objects sought, and recom- mended that a congress of deputies from all the colonies should assemble at an early date, to which congress they appointed Matthew Tilghman, Thomas Jolmson, Jr., Robert Golds- borough, William Paca, and Samnel Chase, as the representatives of the people of Maryland. This done, they adjourned. But from this time forth the Convention remained as the de- positary or organ of the sovereign power of the people of Maryland, so far as that power was antagonistic to Great Britain. As the an- tagonism increased the power and scope of the Convention widened, until it summed in 'itself all power, and became the government.
On October 15, 1774, the brig Peggy Stew-
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art arrived at Annapolis from England, with an assorted cargo, in which were seventeen packages of tea, consigned to James and Joseph Williams, merchants of that city. Anthony Stewart, the owner of the brig, was one of the signers of the non-importation agreement; but, in order to land the rest of the cargo, he rashily paid the duty on the tea, in which he had no interest. The people were indignant at what they considered not only treason but defiance. A guard was placed on the vessel, and the Convention was summoned, to decide what was to be done. Stewart was now thoroughly frightened, and begged to be allowed to ap- pear before a meeting of his fellow-citizens of Annapolis, and purge himself of his contempt. A meeting was called, before which the offend- ing parties appeared, with much contrition, offering to land the tea and burn it publicly ; but this proposal, though satisfactory to some, was not deemed sufficient expiation by the ma- jority.
The Convention met, and Stewart and the two Williamses came forward very humbly and contritely, and signed a paper confessing their offence, with many expressions of regret and self-condemnation, and reiterating their offer to destroy the tea in the sight of all men. As to the Williamses, this procedure seemed
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to be satisfactory, but it appeared to leave Stewart, who, as a recrennt associator, was specially obnoxious, unpunished ; so it was pro- posed that the brig, too, should be burnt, but this was negatived by the majority. The minority, however, would not be content ; and. as they avowed a determination to collect a force and burn the vessel, in spite of all oppo- sition, a riot would probably have resulted, had not Stewart, who saw there was no escape, taken the wisest course, by offering to burn his brig with his own hands. His offer was accepted : the brig was run aground near Wind- mill Point, and the owner, going on board in a boat, set her on fire as she stood, with all her sails and rigging, the crowd watching till she burned to the water's edge.
This was the tea-burning of Maryland, done openly, in broad daylight, with no concealment or disguise, by men who avowed what they did, and stood ready to face the consequences.
What had the Proprietary government been doing all this time ? It, too, had had its share of troubles, over and above the contest with England. The origin and nature of these troubles must be briefly explained.
We have seen how the tobacco-duty of 1671, amounting to two shillings on every hogshead exported, was divided, - half going to the Pro-
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prietary, and half to the support of the gor- ernment and defence of the Province. When the government was seized by the crown, this moiety of the duty was chiefly used to pay the royal Governor. After the restoration of the Province it seems to have remained in abeyance until 1733, when it was again collected. In 1739 the Assembly raised an objection to it, on the ground that it was an unconstitutional tax, levied, like Charles's ship-money, without the assent of the people; but they offered to pass an Act securing the same amount by law. To this Act, Governor Ogle refused his assent ; and though the tax was collected, it was not with- out continued remonstrances on the part of the Lower House, and was one of the standing grievances.
In 1749 the Delegates refused a new assess- ment to pay the salary of the clerk of the Council, taking the ground that they had a right to know that the tobacco-duty had been legitimately expended before they called on the people for contributions. The Upper House said that the clerk was the servant of the peo- ple and should be paid by the people. Wran- glings on this point continued for years; and in 1765 they reached a dead-lock. The usual appropriation bill was not passed, and the hold. ers of claims against the Province found them-
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selves badly off ; so to provide some remedy for this financial trouble, bills of credit were is- sued, with provisions, which need not be ex- plained here, for their redemption in 1777.
The Proprietary, as we have seen, was con- tinually tormenting the Governor to find lucra- tive places in Maryland for his connections and friends, and grumbling if there was any delay about it. The fees and perquisites of these favorites had grown to be an intolerable bur- den, and in 1770 there was an angry quarrel between the Houses, and the Assembly was prorogued without renewing the Act of 1763, fixing these fees, which expired the same year. Governor Eden, finding himself with no law to act under, took the bold step of restoring the Act of 1763 by proclamation, and thus tax- ing the people by n direct exercise of preroga- tive.
The Assembly, on meeting, determined to bring the matter at once to an issue, and im- prisoned a clerk who had drawn his fees under the proclamation, upon which they were pro- rogued by the Governor.
Coupled with this was another grievance of n somewhat similar character, but relating to the provision made for the support of the clergy. The old forty pounds of tobacco per poll, of which we have heard so much, had
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been reduced to thirty pounds in 1763, by a Supplementary Act, which modified, but did not repeal, the Act of 1702. This Supple- mentary Act expired in 1770, like the fee bill, and, like it, without renewal. Governor Eden took the ground, in this case, that, in default of other legislation, the Act of 1702 was still in force, restoring the forty pounds.
The question, after long arguments in the Assembly, was taken up by the people. Irri- tating as the imposition was, the legality of the Governor's position seemed impregnable, until an anonymous writer in the " Gazette" took a stand which startled everybody. This was nothing less than an assertion that the old Act of 1702 was itself void and of no effect, inas- much as the House which passed it, and which met on March 16th, had been elected under writs running in the name of King William, who had died on March 8th. With the death of the King, this writer held, the authority con- veyed by writs running in his name ceased, and the House thus meeting without authority was an unlawful House, and all its acts null and void.
Marylanders had by this time learned to take a high interest in legal and constitutional ques- tions ; and here were questions on which men might argue till doomsday, and full of those
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nice subtleties and refined abstractions in which the legal mind finds perennial joy. The oppos- ing champions soon grappled each other. An able article appeared in the form of a dialogue between two citizens, one of whom opposed the ground taken by the Governor, and the other, the "Second Citizen," defended it, and was made to gain the victory. The article was anonymous, but it was recognised as the pro- duction of Daniel Dulany, the Provincial Sec- retary, and a lawyer of eminent ability. Mr. Charles Carroll of Carrollton 1 now came for- ward as the " First Citizen," whose arguments had not been fairly stated in the former paper, and answered his antagonist.
Mr. Carroll was fully a match for the Secre- tary. Sprung of a line of gentlemen who had held positions of honor and trust in the Prov- ince, despite their Romanist faith, for a hun- dred years, he had received the best education that could then be given, at the Jesuit's Col- lege of St. Omer, and then at the College of Louis le Grand in Paris. Next he spent seven
1 The popular idea that Mr. Carroll added "of Carrollton " to his namo at the time of signing the Declaration of Inde- pendence is a legend of inter growth. Hle habitually signed in that stylo to distinguish himself from his equally patriotic cousin, Charles Carroll, " Barrister," and his signature with this affix is appended to the Declaration of the Associators of 1775.
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years in the study of the English law as a mem- ber of the Inner Temple, and returned to Mary- land at the age of twenty-eight.
In this contest Mr. Carroll, at least according to the popular opinion, which regarded him as the champion of freedom against prerogative, gained an overwhelming victory. The elec- tions of 1773 turned on this question, and the anti-proclamation party was triumphant. Great rejoicings were held, votes of thanks to the " First Citizen " were passed, and the procla- mation was buried in a solemn mock-funeral, a practical form of sarcasm which seems to have given great delight to our ancestors a hundred years ago.
In 1771 Frederick, the sixth Lord Baltimore, died, leaving no legitimate issue, and with him the title expired. He bequeathed the Province of Maryland to a natural son, a minor, who went by the name of Henry Hurford. In the first Assembly held in the name of the new Proprietary all the proceedings in the matter of the proclamation were declared to be illegal, un- constitutional, and arbitrary. Thus the wedge had now been driven home, and the rift was daily widening.
To recite the acts of the Continental Con- gress, nt which Maryland was duly represented, does not come within the purview of this nar-
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rative. Local committees were formed in the counties to carry out the measures that the Congress recommended, and the Convention met, as before, in Annapolis, to whom the dep- nties to Congress reported their proceedings. They already began to see in what way events wore drifting, and they pledged the Province to resist, to the utmost of its power, any at- tempt to enforce the late obnoxious acts of Par- liament against any one of the colonies. And to give notice to all men that they did not monn "moral support" merely, but proposed to act in the spirit of the motto of the P'rov- inco, they recommended n general organisation and arming of the militia. Committees were formed to see that the resolutions of Congress uuid of the Convention were observed, and to keep up correspondence with the other col- onies.
The spirit of rovolution was now fully aroused, preparations for the coming struggle woro hastoned, and wur in procinct met the eyo everywhere. An eye-witness, Mr. Eddis, writes to England in July, 1775, "Government is now alinost totally annihilated, and power transferred to the multitude. Speeches bo- come dangerous, letters are intercepted, confi- dence betrayed, and every measure evidently tends to the most fatal extremities. The sword
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