USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina V. I, Pt. 1 > Part 34
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1770
Hillsboro, Sept., 1770 C. R., VIII, 235, 245
Cause of discontent
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TRYONN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1765-71
1770
the crowd and addressed them. whereupon they with- drew, but immediately fell on John Williams, an attorney, who was coming into court, in such a furious manner that it was with great difficulty his life was saved by his escaping into a storehouse. Their blood being now up. they seized Colonel Fanning, who had sought shelter on the bench, and dragged him by the heels out of the door of the court-house, and were dealing him furious blows when he, too, succeeded in escaping and took refuge in a store, which the mob then attacked, demolishing the windows with stones and bricks, trying to force him from his shelter. During the uproar several approached the judge on the bench, tell- ing him with great oaths that his "turn should be next;" but Hunter and others soon informed the judge that he should not be hurt if he would proceed to hold the court till the end of the term, requiring, however, that no lawyer should be allowed to attend except alone the prosecuting officer, and saying that "they would stay and see justice impartially clone." In the meantime Thomas Hart, Alexander Martin, Michael Holt and many others had been severely whipped, and Colonel Gray, Major Lloyd, Francis Nash, John Cooke, Tyree Harris and others fled for safety. The judge did not disdain to resort to artifice. He agreed to hold the court as required ; but after four or five hours, the rage of the crowd having subsided a little, they permitted him to adjourn the court for the day, and conducted him with great parade to his lodgings. At ten o'clock that night the judge, thinking discretion the better part of valor, escaped by a back way, gained the woods and fled to his home in Granville.
Fanning, having surrendered to them, was allowed to re- turn to his home on his word of honor to attend them the next day. They decreed his death, but more humane coun- sels prevailed, and he was permitted to take to his heels and run until he should get out of their sight. They then de- stroyed his residence and household effects. For two days the riot continued, the merchants and inhabitants being run out into the country, expecting their stores and houses to be pillaged and laid waste. But besides breaking the windows of most of the houses, not much substantial damage was done, except to Fanning's dwelling.
357
THE ASSEMBLY OF 1770
1770
Judge Henderson hastened to make a report of these pro- ceedings to the governor, who convened his council ; and on C. R., VIII, October 18th the governor issued his proclamation requir- 253, 254 ing the justices to make diligent inquiry into the offences committed and transmit the depositions of witnesses to be laid before the next General Assembly. Judge Henderson's broken faith in not continuing to hold his court met with severe retribution. On the night of November 12th his barns and stables were destroyed, several horses being burned in the conflagration, and two nights afterward his dwelling house was set on fire and consumed. Contemporaneously C. R., VIII, 258-264 with the news of this destruction came the disquieting infor- mation to the governor that the Regulators proposed to come down to New Bern to intimidate and overawe the Assembly, then about to meet or to prevent Colonel Fanning from tak- ing his seat as a member. In the meantime some of the in- The Redressers habitants at the west, seeking self-preservation, entered into c. R., VIII, a sworn association under the name of Redressers to assist 274 and protect each other. Among those thus associated were Edmund Fanning, Francis Nash, Adlai Osborn, Alexander Martin, Jesse Benton, John Hogan, Thomas Hart. James Murphey, Will Mebane and others afterward prominent as citizens in that region.
On December 5th the Assembly met. There was no great Dec., 1770 change in membership. Hillsboro having been created a borough town, Fanning was returned as its member.
John Harvey, who had been speaker during the last two assemblies, was now ill at home, and in his absence Samuel Johnston proposed for speaker Richard Caswell, who was unanimously chosen. The governor received the Assembly in the new mansion, which was then finished ; and considering New Bern as the established seat of government he later, at the request of the Assembly, ordered the secretary to remove all the papers of the secretary's office from Wilmington to that town.
The governor in his address again repeated his earnest C. R., VIII, recommendation for a new system of keeping the public ac- 252 et seq. counts and inveighed strongly against the loose methods that had always been in vogue in the province. He also urged the most scrupulous inquiries into the complaints against
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TRYON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1765-71
1770
public officers, and that a clear statement should be made of the fees to which they were legally entitled. Animadvert- ing with great indignation on the mob who in contempt of the resolve of the last house had torn "justice from her tribunal and renounced all legislative authority," he urged the raising of a sufficient body of men to protect the magis- trates and civil officers in the execution of the laws. He nevertheless directed particular attention to the desirability of establishing a public seminary in the back country, and otherwise recommended that there should be general coop- eration in measures for the public good.
Tryon transferred to New York The Earl of Hillsborough had some months before men- tioned to the governor that he had had an opportunity of hav- ing him transferred to New York and would have done so had he thought that Governor Tryon desired it. The gov- ernor expressed regret that the position had not been offered him. He now informed the Assembly that he had received leave of absence, but hoped that before his departure he would be able to give stability to the interior police of the country, and restore to the province the blessings of peace. At the very time he was making this communication to the Assembly, arrangements were being made in England for his transfer to New York, and on December 12th he was appointed governor of that province. In view of his ex- pected departure for England, and there being no friction at the moment over continental affairs, the relations between the governor and the Assembly were most cordial. The As- sembly warmly expressed its gratification and appreciation of his valuable services as governor and their confidence in the sincerity of his efforts to promote its prosperity and welfare, and he repeatedly declared his unchangeable purpose to use his influence under all circumstances to advance the peculiar C. R., VIII, interests of the province. "Neither time nor distance can ever efface from my mind," said he, "the just sense of the obligations I owe you for your favorable opinion of my pub- lic services." On all sides there was a purpose to enter at once on the consideration of the remedial legislation which had been interrupted by the dissolution of the previous As- sembly. Edmund Fanning, a close friend of the governor and the greatest sufferer at the hands of the Regulators,
317
Fanning active
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REMEDIAL LEGISLATION
was among the foremost in this important work. He pre- sented petitions from the Presbyterians asking that their clergy might be authorized to perform the marriage cere- mony according to their own rites, also petitions for the division of Orange County, and he otherwise sought to pro- mote the wishes of the people. A committee was raised to C. R., VIII, consider the amendment of existing laws, and Mr. Fanning 322 from that committee reported that the laws establishing fees of the various officers should be made more clear ; that the Presbyterian clergy should be allowed to solemnize the rite of marriage by a license, without any fee to the established clergy ; that the law relative to the inferior courts should be amended, and their jurisdiction and that of single magis- trates should be enlarged ; and he suggested that the com- mittee should be continued during recess. Colonel Ruther- ford was similarly active. and introduced several bills for the erection of new counties, which the people by their peti- tions requested. (The counties of Wake, Guilford, Chatham and Surry were thus established. ) The fees of officers were regulated, and the charges of attorneys-at-law were fixed according to the service rendered. The amount in every case was to be included in the bill of costs, and nothing S R. XXIII, 789 more than the law allowed was to be demanded by them; yet any client was permitted the privilege of paying more after the matter was concluded if he felt so disposed ; and if any lawyer neglected his case the court was to direct that he should pay the costs.
Because of the scarcity of money sheriffs were forbidden to sell property for less than two-thirds of the appraised value. The fees of clerks were regulated, and those thereto- fore allowed by law to the chief justice were abolished, and an adequate salary was provided for him. To encourage immigration, all persons who should come into the province directly from Europe were exempted from the payment of taxes for four years. In order to promote education Gov- ernor Tryon in his address had recommended the establish- ment of a public school in the western part of the province, and Fanning brought in a bill for that purpose ; and an act was passed incorporating Queen's College at Charlotte, a hamlet in Mecklenburg, so called in honor of her Majesty.
1770
The new , q 7/ counties /
S. R, XXIII, 782 et seq.
Queen's College
-
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TRYON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1765-71
$771
These and various other acts were intended and calculated to remove and redress the grievances of which the Regula- tors had complained.
The riot act
Jan., 1771
But the Assembly was not willing to stop there. It pro- posed that the peace of the province should not be disturbed. It passed an act introduced by Samuel Johnston to prevent C. R., VIII, tumultuous and riotous assemblies. It enacted that if ten or 481 more persons, being unlawfully, tumultuously and riotously assembled together, to the disturbance of the public peace, after being openly commanded by any justice or sheriff to disperse, should notwithstanding remain together one hour thereafter. they should be adjudged guilty of felony and suf- fer death. And it was made the duty of such justice or sheriff and such persons as should be commanded to assist to apprehend the rioters ; and if any of them in resisting should be killed the officers should not be held liable; and it was enacted that the prosecutions under that law might be in any superior court in the province. and not necessarily in the county or district where the offence was committed : and also if any bill of indictment was found for an offence under that act, it was lawful for the judges of the superior court to issue a proclamation to be put up at the court-house and at each church or chapel of the county where the crime was committed, commanding the indicted person to surrender himself to the sheriff within sixty days ; and if the person did not surrender himself according to the proclamation he was to be deemed guilty of the offence as if he had been convicted ; and it was made lawful for any one to slay such outlaw.
Johnston's bloody bill
Drafts ordered
In anticipation of further riots and insurrections the gov- ernor was authorized to order out drafts from the different regiments of militia, who were to be paid for their services, and he was authorized to draw his warrant for the payment of such sums of money as should be necessary, which the treasurers were required to honor. And if any number of men should in an armed and hostile manner oppose the military force raised under the act, they were to be consid- ered as traitors and treated accordingly.
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THE JOHNSTON ACT
Such was the measure of repression to vindicate "the hon- or of government." "Your absence," wrote Iredell to Har- vey, "at so critical a period is much to be regretted." "This bill, I believe, you would have thought expedient, though severe; but desperate diseases must have desperate rem- edies."
It was indeed a severe penal act, but was to remain in force for only one year and no longer, and during that period it was to be read by the justices at the court-house door in every county on the second day of court, and by the minister, clerk or reader at their place of public worship immediately after divine service once every three months.
By it the Assembly proposed to maintain the authority of government, to prevent riots and suppress insurrections even at the cost of blood.
It had been said that the Regulators proposed to embody and forcibly prevent Edmund Fanning from taking his seat. Because of these threats the governor was so apprehensive that he caused a ditch to be dug from Neuse to Trent River enclosing the inhabited part of the town; and the militia of the neighboring counties were directed to oppose the insur- gents should they come. During the sitting of the Assembly James Hunter published a letter addressed to Judge Maurice Moore in the New Bern Gasette, which was deemed slan- derous. Moore was a member of the house, and the house took notice of it. and it being understood that Hermon Hus- band, also a member of the house, had caused it to be printed a committee was appointed to investigate the matter. After an examination the house resolved that Husband was guilty of gross prevarication and falsehood; and as he had in- sinuated in conversation that, in case he should be confined by order of the house, he expected down a number of peo- ple to release him, he was adjudged in contempt of the house, and was immediately expelled. The governor at once convened the council, the chief justice being one of the body, and it being considered that if Husband should rejoin the Regulators fatal consequences might ensue, they unanimously requested the chief justice to take depositions and issue his warrant for apprehending Husband, who was committed to jail and confined until he could be tried.
1771
C. R., VIII, 270
New Bern fortified
C. R., VIII, 269. 331
Husband arrested
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TRYON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1765-71
177%
C. R., VIII. 495
C. R., VIII, 490
Militia moves
C. R., VIII, 498
Husband discharged
C. R., VIII, 500-509
On January 15, 1771, the riot act was passed. A week later the governor informed the Assembly that he had received in- telligence that led him to apprehend that the insurgents were preparing for some speedy act of violence-the liberation of Husband by force. All now was in a flutter, and an appro- priation was made to enable the governor to withstand the expected assault. The public business was hurried to an end, and on the 26th the Assembly was prorogued to meet on May Ioth. Governor Tryon apparently had a disposition to try conclusions with the Regulators. He did not wish to leave the province at the end of his term in a state of an- archy and confusion, and so he rather courted a situation that would result in the speedy suppression of disaffection. The legislation of the session was calculated to disarm op- position, and he hoped that it would disorganize the adher- ents of the Regulator chieftains. After Husband had been in jail a month reports were received that the people of Orange were assembling, and on January 19th the governor appointed a special court under the riot act to be held by the chief justice on February 2d for the trial of Husband and other alleged criminals. In anticipation of an attempt at rescue, the governor ordered the militia of the neighbor- ing counties to be in readiness to repulse the insurgent force. The Wake regiment assembled at Colonel Hunter's ; that of Johnston County at Smithfield, while Colonel Caswell held the Dobbs militia at Kingston. It was reported that the march on New Bern would begin on the IIth. and a procla- mation was issued prohibiting for a reasonable time the sale of firearms and ammunition, lest they should come into the hands of the mob. On February 8th, however, the grand jury of the special court, having considered the bill preferred against Hermon Husband for libel, found it not a true bill and Husband was discharged. Being now free, he leisurely returned to the back country. In the meantime the Regulators had been active, and having embodied a large force, crossed the Haw River. and proceeded to the eastward. With that detachment were thirteen wagons, while four wagons had not yet crossed the river, when Husband reached Hunter's Lodge in Wake County, where the Wake regi- ment was assembled, and wrote assuring his friends of his
Very Truly Jours A A. Pshe
4359
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