USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 26
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Hicks, a lawyer of the city, the descendant of a family of Friends who had settled in Queens County in the early days of the province, was chosen mayor.
Distasteful as were these limitations to the governor, he was forced to receive them as the best that could be obtained, though he complained bitterly in his letters to the ministry of the ingratitude shown by the colonists after the gracious repeal of the Stamp Act. The answers brought him back a reprimand for yielding ; and on the 17th of November, 1766, the mortified gov- ernor communicated to the Assembly the king's positive refusal to receive the Limited Supply Bill, and the instruc- tions of Lord Shelburne in respect to their future con- duct. "I am ordered by his majesty," said Shelburne in these, "to signify to you that it is the indispensable " duty of his subjects in America to obey the acts of the "Legislature of Great Britain. The king both expects "and requires a due and cheerful obedience to the " same ; and it cannot be doubted that his majesty's " province of New York, after the lenity of Great Britain " so recently extended to America, will gratefully yield " a prompt submission."
On the 15th of the following month, the Assembly answered this arbitrary message by another as bold and decisive in tone. Insisting that, by strict construction, they could only be required to supply soldiers on the march, they declared that they had already, by the rejected Supply Bill, assumed heavier burdens than were borne by any other colony, and declared that, though they were willing to support his majesty's gov- ernment, it must be in conformity with the circumstances
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of their constituents. " And in conclusion," said they, "we cannot, consistently with our duty to these con- "stituents, consent to put it in the power of any person, " whatever confidence we may have in his prudence and "integrity, to lay such burdens upon them at his " pleasure." This bold response was forwarded to the king, and the Assembly was prorogued by the governor while waiting for an answer.
Displeasing as was the conduct of the Assembly to the ministry, it was almost equally so to the Sons of Liberty, who protested also against the Limited Supply Bill as an actual concession to the policy of the British government. But, urged on by rumors of warlike pre- parations in England, as well as by the threats and persua- sions of the governor, they finally yielded another point, and consented to grant a further appropriation of three thousand five hundred pounds for the preceding and three thousand pounds for the current year to defray the expen- ses of the soldiers quartered among them. This compli- ance, while it incensed the Sons of Liberty, was too slight to atone for their past audacity. Resolved to punish the contumacy of the daring representatives, and to humble their arrogance, both houses of parliament, with scarcely a dissenting voice, passed a law suspending the legislative power of the Assembly, and forbidding the governor to assent to any bill from them until the Mutiny Act should first be complied with.
The news of this disfranchisement produced intense excitement throughout the colonies. Letters of sympa- thy poured in from the patriots of New England and the southern provinces, and the whole country was
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roused in opposition to the flagrant injustice. The Assembly met as usual, and passed resolutions, declar- ing that any suspension of colonial legislation was unconstitutional, and therefore null and void, and pro- ceeded to appoint committees and transact business as before.
They had now a new grievance with which to con- tend-the immediate cause of the American Revolution. In 1767, almost simultaneously with the disfranchisement of the province, Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the Exchequer, under the ministry of William Pitt, Lord Chatham, had introduced a bill into parliament, imposing duties on all tea, glass, paper, painters' colors, and lead, which should henceforth be imported into the Ame- rican colonies. This new project for raising a revenue from America was strictly in conformity with the spirit of the Declaratory Act, and was unanimously adopted.
The news of the enactment raised a new tempest in the city. The Sons of Liberty met and renewed their efforts to form Committees of Correspondence through- out the colonies, and the merchants again assembled and unanimously renewed the Non-importation Act of 1765. They also wrote letters to the merchants of Boston, urging them to extend the agreement of non- importation indefinitely until every duty should be repealed. This agreement was subsequently entered . into and nominally maintained by all the colonies, but, of all these, to quote the words of the eloquent Bancroft, " New York alone remained perfectly true to her " engagements, while the other colonies continued to " import nearly half as much as before."
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On the 11th of February, 1768, the recusant Assembly was formally dissolved by the governor, and measures taken to convene a new one in its stead. The governor had previously received instructions to take care that the next should be composed of less stubborn materials, and, whether through his secret influence or from other existing causes, it is certain that it proved far more compliant than its predecessor. In the city elections, the contest ran high between the lawyers and the mer- chants. Heretofore, the former had been most largely represented in the Assembly, and had come to view it almost as a perquisite of their profession. But the scale now turned in favor of the merchants, who, backed by the ยท influence of the Sons of Liberty, won the election, and returned Isaac Low, John Cruger, John Alsop, and James De Lancey as representatives to the Assembly.
The new Assembly, which convened in 1768, com- menced their career by following closely in the steps of their rebellious predecessors. Disregarding the royal command that they should hold no correspondence with the other colonies, they received the circular of the Assembly of Massachusetts, entreating their cooperation in obtaining a redress of the common grievances, and! boldly protested against all interference in the matter. At this time, Boston was prostrate beneath the ban of the royal displeasure, and the citizens of New York: warmly repaid the sympathy which had been extended to them in their hour of trial. The patriotic journals of the day teemed with eulogies of the Boston patriots and! denunciations of their oppressors, and the effigies of the. royal governor of Boston and his sheriff were carried. in
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procession through the streets of the city, then publicly burned on the Commons. The governor, who was really of a conciliatory disposition, endeavored in vain to restrain these demonstrations and to bring back the people to a sense of their loyalty. His efforts were suddenly checked by his death, which took place on the 11th of September, 1769, and threw the government again into the hands of Cadwallader Colden.
CHAPTER XV.
1769-1773.
Change in the Assembly-Lord North's Administration-Removal of Taxes-Resumption of Importations-Conflicts about the Liberty Pole-Battle of Golden Hill.
IT was not long before Colden, through the instrumen- tality of De Lancey, won over the members of the new Assembly to the interest of the royalists. They com- plied without much reluctance with most of the require- ments of the Mutiny Act, and projected another scheme which was viewed by the patriots with much distrust, as concealing some insidious snare for the liberties of the colonies. This was the emission of bills of credit to the amount of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, to be loaned to the people, the interest of which was to be applied to the support of the colonial government. A grant of a thousand pounds from the treasury, together with a thousand more of the bills about to be issued, was made for the maintenance of the troops, and a strong disposition was evinced in favor of the royalist party.
This new scheme for raising money excited the dis
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trust of the people, and rumors were circulated that the Assembly had betrayed the country to the governor and the British ministry. On the 16th of December, an inflammatory handbill, signed by a Son of Liberty, appeared, addressed to the betrayed inhabitants of the city .* This document, which was ably and earnestly written, warned the people against the subtle attack made on their liberties by the emission of the bills of credit, as a scheme devised to separate the colonies ; and, denouncing the Assembly in no measured terms, closed with an invitation to the people to meet the next day in the fields and discuss the conduct of their representatives.
The next day, a large assemblage gathered on the Commons. John Lamb was chosen chairman of the meeting. The proceedings of the Assembly were unani- mously disapproved, and a committee was appointed, with Lamb at the head, to convey the sense of the meeting to the Legislature. The latter received the deputation with courtesy, but refused to make any change in their policy, declaring that the law was satisfactory to the mass of the people. On the follow- ing day, another handbill appeared, over the signature of "Legion,"+ written evidently by the same hand as
* For this handbill, which is too long to be given here, see Appendix, Note N. + " TO THE PUBLIC .- The spirit of the times renders it necessary for the inhabitants " of the city to convene, in order effectually to avert the destructive consequences of " the late BASE INGLORIOUS conduct of our General Assembly, who have in opposition " to the loud and general voice of their constituents, the dictates of sound policy, "the ties of gratitude, and the glorious struggle we have. engaged in for our " invaluable birthrights, dared to vote supplies to the troops without the least shadow " of a pretext for their pernicious grant. The most eligible place will be in the Fields,
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the first, and openly charging the Assembly with a betrayal of their trust. This second attack roused the ire of the body ; they at once denounced the papers as libellous, and offered a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds for the discovery of the writers, Philip Schuyler alone voting against it. Lamb was accused and brought before the bar of the House, where he boldly justified all that he had done, declaring that he had only exercised the right of every Englishman. His colleagues on the committee-Isaac Sears, Caspar Wistar, Alexander Mc- Dougall, Jacobus Van Zandt, Samuel Broome, Erasmus Williams and James Van Vaurk-seconded his defence, fearlessly avowing that they were implicated with Lamb, and. equally ready to answer for their conduct, and the charge, which had been made at the instance of De Noyellis, was finally dismissed by the Assembly. But they did not relax their efforts to discover the authors of the so-called libels. The type afforded a clue to the printing-office of James Parker, who was at once arrested, confined in the fort, and threatened with the loss of his place as Secretary of the Post-office, unless he would reveal the name of the writer. The menace produced the desired effect ; Parker denounced Alex- ander McDougall, who was at once arrested and imprisoned in the new jail, where a daily ovation was tendered him by his friends, who regarded him as a
" near Mr. De La Montaigne's, and the time-between 10 and 11 o'clock this morn- " ing, where we doubt not every friend to his country will attend.
" LEGION."
The original of this and the other handbills quoted here are preserved in the library of the Historical Society.
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martyr to the cause of liberty. The ladies flocked in crowds to the cell of the imprisoned patriot, and so numerous were his visitors, that, in order to gain leisure for the defence of his cause, he was obliged to publish a card, fixing his hours for public reception. He remained in the jail from February to the April term of the court, when the grand jury found a bill against him, to which he pleaded "not guilty." A few days afterward, he was released on bail.
The Sons of Liberty, meanwhile, continued their opposition to the Assembly, watching vigilantly over the maintenance of the Non-importation Act, which the merchants, on their part, had not ceased to observe. They also attempted to substitute the vote by ballot for the old mode of the open vote, but the plan, though warmly approved by the people, was rejected in the House by a large majority. In the spring of 1770, a change took place in the disposition of the British ministry. Lord North assumed the charge of affairs, and, under his direction, the tax was at once removed from all the articles enumerated in the bill of Towns- hend, with the exception of that on tea. This, indeed, was retained rather in proof of the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies, than for any considerable difference in the revenue. But the principle was equally dear to the American patriots ; they were sworn to resist parliamentary taxation, and they resolved that they would not yield a single point which might be construed into a precedent for future oppression.
In the meantime, the contest had been renewed about the Liberty-Pole, which, for three years, had remained
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unmolested. On the 13th of January, 1770, a party of soldiers belonging to the 16th regiment attacked it, and, cutting off the wooden supporters about it, made a fruit- less attempt to blow it up with gunpowder. Failing in this, they next fell upon a knot of citizens who had gathered in front of Montagne's public-house in Broad- way near Murray street-at that time the head-quarters of the Sons of Liberty-and forced them into the house at the point of the bayonet. The besieged vainly attempted to barricade the doors, but the soldiers broke in, sword in hand, and demolished the windows and fur- niture. In the midst of the destruction, some officers came up, and ordered the soldiers back to their bar- racks.
On the two following nights, the attempts were repeated without success ; but, on the night of the 16th, taking shelter in a ruined building near by, which had formerly been used for barracks, the soldiers accom- plished their design, and, levelling the pole to the ground, sawed it into pieces, and derisively piled it up before Montagne's door.
This insult aroused the Sons of Liberty. Handbills were circulated the next day through the city,* calling on the people to meet that night on the Commons to dis- cuss the outrage. Three thousand citizens assembled in answer to the call. The meeting was quiet but earnest. Resolutions were passed, declaring unemployed soldiers
* Taking warning by the defection of Parker, to escape detection, the Liberty Boys went at night to Holt's printing-office in Broad street near the Exchange, where they set up the type and printed the handbills themselves, then circulated them by their emissaries the next day through the city.
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to be dangerous to the peace of the city, while their employment by the citizens when off duty was detri- mental to the interests of the laboring classes and should therefore be discontinued. They further resolved that all soldiers under the rank of orderly, with the exception of sentinels, who should appear armed in the streets, together with all, both armed and unarmed, who should be found out of their barracks after the roll-call, should be regarded as enemies of the city and dealt with accordingly. Committees were also appointed to demo- lish the ruined building which had sheltered the soldiers in their attack on the Liberty-Pole, and to ask permis- sion of the Common Council to erect another in its stead.
The next day, three soldiers were detected by Isaac Sears and Walter Quackenbos in the act of posting throughout the city, scurrilous placards, signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot, and abusive of the Sons of Liberty .* Incensed at this proceeding, Sears instantly
* " God, and a Soldier, all Men most adore, In Time of War, and not before ; When the War is over, and all things righted, God is forgotten, and the Soldier slighted."
" WHEREAS, un uncommon and riotous disturbance prevails throughout this city by " some of its inhabitants, who style themselves the S-s of L-y, but rather may " more properly be called real enemies to society ; and whereas, the army now quar- " tered in New York, are represented in a heinous light, to their officers and others, " for having propagated a disturbance in this city, by attempting to destroy their Lib- " erty-Pole, in the fields ; which, being now completed, without the assistance of the " army, we have reason to laugh at them, and beg the public only to observe how " chagrined these pretended S- of L- look as they pass through the streets ; " especially as these great heroes thought their freedom depended on a piece of wood, " and who may well be compared to Esau, who sold his birth-right for a mess of pot- " tage. And although those shining S- of L- have boasted of their freedom,
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grasped one by the collar, while Quackenbos ? laid hold of the other. The third of the party rushed upon Sears with his bayonet and endeavored to free his comrade from his grasp, but the latter, seizing a friendly ram's
" surely they have no right to throw an aspersion upon the army, since it is out of the " power of military discipline to deprive them of their freedom. However, notwith- " standing, we are proud to see these elevated geniuses reduced to the low degree of " having their place of general rendezvous made a (Gallows Green) vulgar phrase for " a common place of execution for murderers, robbers, traitors and r-s, to the lat- " ter of which we may compare those famous L- B-s (Liberty Boys) who have " nothing to boast of but the flippancy of tongue, although in defiance of the laws "and good government of our most gracious sovereign, they openly and r-y " (riotously) assembled in multitudes, to stir up the minds of his majesty's good sub- "jects to sedition; they have in their late seditious libel, signed BRUTUS, expressed " the most villainous falsehoods against the soldiers. But as ungrateful as they are " counted, it is well known, since their arrival in New York they have watched night " and day for the safety and protection of the city and its inhabitants ; who have suf- " fered the rays of the scorching sun in summer, and the severe colds of freezing " snowy nights in winter, which must be the case and fifty times worse had there been " a war, which we sincerely pray for, in hopes those S-s of L- (Sons of Lib- " erty) may feel the effects of it, with famine and destruction pouring on their heads. " 'Tis well known to the officers of the 16th Regiment, as well as by several others, " that the soldiers of the sixteenth always gained the esteem and good will of the "inhabitants, in whatever quarter they lay, and were never counted neither insolent " or ungrateful, except in this city. And likewise the Royal Regiment of Artillery, " who always behaved with gratitude and respect to every one. But the means of " making your famous city, which you so much boast of, an impoverished one, is " your acting in violation to the laws of the British government; but take heed, lest " you repent too late-for if you boast so mightily of your famous exploits, as you " have heretofore done (witness the late Stamp Act) we may allow you to be all " ALEXANDERS, and lie under your feet, to be trodden upon with contempt and dis- " dain ; but before we so tamely submit, be assured we will stand in defence of the " rights and privileges due to a soldier, and no farther ; but we hope, while we have " officers of conduct to act for us, they will do so, as we shall leave it to their discre- " tion to act impartially for us, in hopes they, and every honest heart, will support " the soldiers' wives and children, and not whores and bastards, as has been so mali- " ciously, falsely and audaciously inserted in their impertinent libel, addressed to the "public ; for which, may the shame they mean to brand our names with, stick on " theirs.
.
" (Signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot.)" 29
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horn which happened to lie near by, hurled it with force into the face of his assailant, who reeled back from the shock, and left the Sons of Liberty to make their way with the captives to the office of the mayor.
A reinforcement of twenty soldiers now came up with drawn swords and bayonets to the rescue of their com- rades. The unarmed citizens, who had flocked in num- bers to the spot, wrenched the stakes from the carts and sleighs that stood about, and, surrounding their pri- soners, prepared to guard them at all hazards. Mayor Hicks now interfered, and ordered the soldiers to their barracks. Yielding a partial obedience, they retired as far as Golden Hill, in John street between William and Cliff streets, closely pursued by the citizens, where they were joined by a fresh reinforcement, headed by a pre- sumed officer in disguise, who gave the command to halt and charge upon the populace. The few of the people who had been able to secure weapons ranged themselves in front of their defenceless friends, and a sanguinary con- test ensued, in which numbers were injured on either side. Francis Field, a peaceable Quaker, who was stand- ing in his doorway watching the affray, received a severe wound in his cheek. Three other citizens were wounded, one of them being thrust through with a bay- onet. At some distance from them, a sailor was cut down. A boy was wounded in the head, and fled to a neighboring house for shelter. A woman kindly opened the door for him, when a brutal soldier made a thrust at her with a bayonet, fortunately missing his aim. One of the citizens who had been foremost in securing the prisoners at the mayor's office was attacked by two sol-
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diers at once, but he defended himself vigorously with a cane, his only weapon, and forced his assailants back to the hill. Another citizen who was standing in the door of his house was attacked by a party of soldiers who attempted to enter-but, being armed, he succeeded in beating off the intruders .*
During the whole of the affray, the citizens had con- tinued to surround the hill, and thus to keep their enemies in a state of blockade. Many of the soldiers were severely wounded, and many more disarmed ; yet this was done chiefly in self-defence ; the people stand- ing on the defensive, and contenting themselves with merely repelling the attacks, when they might easily, if disposed, have massacred the aggressors. At this junc- ture, a fresh party from the barracks came up, and called to their comrades to charge on the citizens, while they would support them by an attack on the rear, but just as they were preparing for the assault, a party of officers appeared, and ordered them to their barracks. The people at once opened their ranks and raised the siege, thus ending the first day of the contest in a drawn battle.
The next morning-the 19th-the soldiers recom- menced the conflict by thrusting a bayonet through the cloak and dress of a woman who was returning from market. This dastardly act awakened the indignation of the citizens, and knots of people gathered ominously
* Michael Smith, the last survivor of the Battle of Golden Hill, as well as of the New York Liberty Boys, died in 1847, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. A musket which he took from a soldier in the fray, and which did active service in his hands through the whole of the Revolution, is still preserved as a relic in his family.
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about the corners of the streets to discuss the outrage together with the affray of the day before. About noon, a group of sailors, who were invariably found on the popular side, came in collision with a party of soldiers from the barracks. A violent altercation ensued, from words they came to blows, and, in the conflict, an old sailor was run through the body. In the midst of the strife, the mayor appeared on the ground, and ordered the military to disperse, but the infuriated soldiers refused to obey. He then dispatched a messenger to the barracks to summon the officers, but the troops inter- cepted him, and, barring the way with their drawn bayonets, refused to suffer him to proceed. At this juncture, a party of Liberty Boys, who had been playing ball on the corner of Broadway and John street, came to the rescue and soon dispersed the soldiers, and hos- tilities ceased for a few hours.
In the afternoon, the battle commenced anew. Seeing a group of citizens assembled on the Commons in front of the New Jail, a party of soldiers approached them in a body and insultingly endeavored to force their way through, when the citizens quietly opened their ranks, and gave them free passage. Determined at all hazards to provoke an affray, they next assaulted the people, and endeavored to disarm them of their canes. This inso- lence awakened the ire of the citizens, who turned at once upon their assailants. A party of Liberty Boys in the neighborhood, on hearing of the fray, hastened to the spot, and a sharp conflict ensued, in which the dis- comfited soldiers were driven to the barracks. Several of the soldiers were disarmed by the citizens, one was
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