USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume I > Part 99
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On September 11th the Pennsylvania Assembly appointed Joseph Fox, George Bryan, John Morton and John Dickinson§ delegates to at- tend the congress to be held in New York early in the following month (see page 589), and on September 21st the Assembly adopted a series of resolutions, including the following :
"Resolved, That it is the inherent birthright and indubitable privilege of every British subject to be taxed only by his own consent, or that of his legal representatives in conjunction with His Majesty, or his substitutes. That the only legal representatives of the inhabitants of this Province are the persons they annually elect to serve as Members of Assembly. That the vesting an authority in the Courts of Admiralty to decide in suits relating to the stamp duties, and other matters foreign to their proper jurisdiction, is highly dangerous to the liberties of His Majesty's American subjects, contrary to Magna Charta-the great charter and fountain of English liberty-and destructive of one of their most darling and acknowledged rights, that of trials by juries.
"Resolved, That this House think it their duty thus firmly to assert, with modesty and decency, their inherent rights, in order that their posterity may learn and know that it was not with their consent and acquiescence that any taxes should be levied on them by any persons but their own representatives ; and are desirous that these their resolves should remain on their minutes as a testimony of the zeal and ardent desire of the present House of Assembly to preserve their inestimable rights (which, as Englishmen, they have pos- sessed ever since this Province was settled ) and to transmit them to their latest posterity."
On Saturday, October 5th, the stamped paper for Pennsylvania arrived at the port of Philadelphia, the ship which brought it having
"In a chariot of light, from the regions of day, The Goddess of Liberty came ;
Ten thousand celestials directed the way, And hither conducted the dame.
A fair, budding branch from the gardens above- Where millions with millions agree-
She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love, And the plant she named Liberty Tree ! * *
"But hear, O ye swains ! 'tis a tale most profane, How all the tyrannical powers-
King, Commons and Lords-are uniting amain To cut down this guardian of ours.
From the East to the West blow the trumpet to arms, Through the land let the sound of it flee ;
Let the far and the near all unite with a cheer In defense of our Liberty Tree !"
* * * The following account of the celebration of the eleventh anniversary of this eventful day has been taken from "American Archives," Fifth Series, I: 972: "Boston, August 15, 1776. Yesterday being the anniversary of the 14th August, 1765, the Sons of Liberty, with a number of their friends, met at Liberty Hall and erected a pole on the stump of Liberty Tree (the body of which was cut down by our worse than savage myrmidons the last Winter), where they hoisted the red flag, or flag of defiance. At twelve o'clock a number of patriotic toasts were drunk. A select number likewise met at the 'Bunch of Grapes,' in King Street, where flags were also displayed, and at one o'clock a company of the Train was paraded in King Street, with two field-pieces, which were discharged thirteen times; after which a number of patriotic toasts were drunk and three cheers given.
+ Mentioned on pages 359-362 and 369-371.
Į See Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, II : 249. § Later the author of the "Farmer's Letters" mentioned on page 548.
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been anchored for some time at Newcastle on the Delaware, under pro- tection of a man-of-war. When the two ships first appeared, coming round Gloucester Point, all the vessels in the harbor hoisted their colors to half-staff, the bells of the State House and Christ Church, muffled, were tolled until evening, and two negroes (one of whom belonged to Alderman Samuel Mifflin) beat muffled drums throughout all parts of the city during the day. All inquirers as to the why and wherefore of the bell-tolling and drum-beating were directed to repair to the State House for information ; in consequence whereof several thousand citizens had assembled there by four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Hughes, writing a few days later of the events of this day, said :
"Accordingly the mob collected, chiefly Presbyterians and Proprietary emissaries, with Chief Justice William Allen's son at their head, animating and encouraging the lower class. I am well informed that great numbers of the ringleaders and promoters of this meeting declared and vowed destruction to my person and property if I refused to gratify them in their demands."
A meeting having been formally organized, "to consult on proper measures to prevent the execution of the Stamp Act," it was resolved to send a committee to Stamp Distributer Hughes (who was ill in bed at his home) to request him to resign his office. This committee was com- posed of James Tilghman, Esq., an attorney-at-law (mentioned in a note on page 489), Robert Morris, Charles Thomson (mentioned on page 354), Archibald McCall, John Cox and William Richards, merchants, and William Bradford, a printer and publisher. On the following Mon- day, at a large meeting of citizens held at Free Masons' Hall, the above- mentioned committee reported that Mr. Hughes had formally announced his resignation of the office to the Lieutenant Governor of the Province -John Penn. Some days later Mr. Hughes wrote to the Commissioners of the Stamp Office in London in part as follows* :
"I am extremely obnoxious to the Governor, and that for no other reason than that I have constantly, while I have been in the Assembly, endeavored to promote the King's interest. I am also unfortunate enough to be particularly hateful to the Chief Justice [William Allen], because I have charged him with being a rebel, upon his saying that if ever the government were changed we should find the King's little finger heavier than the Proprietors' loins. * * I also am particularly hateful to the Proprietary party be- cause it was my interest, assiduity and influence in the House of Assembly that enabled the Province to send home Doctor Franklin, to present our petitions for a change of government from Proprietary to Royal. It is my private opinion that if the Province of Pennsylvania were changed from Proprietary to a Royal government, and some person appointed to govern it that had both interest among the people and a perfect knowledge of them-so as to be able to displace the disloyal, and put in power and commission such only as could be depended on and have demonstrated their loyalty to their King-such a person, after the changes aforesaid, might easily govern this Province, preserve the peace of it and keep it in subjection to His Majesty-which I think we hardly are at this time.
"Common justice calls upon me to say that the body of the people called Quakers seem disposed to pay obedience to the Stamp Act ; and so do that part of the Church of England, and Baptists, that are not some way under Proprietary influence. But Presby- terians and Proprietary minions spare no pains to engage the Dutch and lower class of people, and render the Royal government odious. If His Majesty and his Ministers knew the pains taken by the Proprietary partizans to give a wrong bias to the minds of His Majesty's subjects, I am confident they would not suffer the powers of government to remain six months in the hands of any Proprietor on the continent."
On the 1st of October the merchants of the city of New York (under the lead of Isaac Sears, the aggressive chief of the Sons of Lib- erty) unanimously agreed that unless the Stamp Act were repealed they would refrain from importing goods from England. About that time boxes of stamped paper destined for Connecticut were forcibly taken from the sloop Minerva and destroyed by the Sons of Liberty of New
* See Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, II : 246 and 248.
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York. In no place were the "Sons" more determined or were their op- ponents more influential than in the city of New York. It was the headquarters of the British forces in America, the commander of which, General Gage, wielded the powers of a viceroy. The chief executive of the Province of New York-Lieut. Governor Cadwallader Colden- (mentioned on page 32)-also resided there, and he was fully resolved to execute the Stamp Act. The latter was printed, and cried about the streets of New York, under the title of "The Folly of England and the Ruin of America."
October 7, 1765, a congress of twenty-eight delegates from nine of the Colonies met in the City Hall, in Wall Street, New York, and organized what is known in history as the "Stamp Act Congress." It was the first Colonial Congress. Previous to the meeting of this Con- gress a committee waited on Lieutenant Governor Colden, to solicit his aid and sympathy. His answer was: "Your Congress is unconstitu- tional, unprecedented and unlawful, and I shall give you no counte- nance." The presence of the troops encouraged the Lieutenant Gov- ernor, for a moment, to take a bold stand in behalf of the law. He ordered the fortifications strengthened and proper provision made for the reception of the stamps. He talked of firing upon the people, but was warned that if he did so he would be speedily hanged on a lamp-post. Great excitement existed in the city, and a civil war was feared. McEvers, the Stamp Distributer, had disappeared, fearing the fury of the populace, and no official dared touch the stamped paper when it was delivered by the Captain of the vessel in which it had been brought from England. The Corporation induced the Lieutenant Gov- ernor to deposit it in the City Hall for safekeeping. A torchlight pro- cession, carrying images of Colden and the Devil, holding a copy of the Stamp Act, broke into Colden's coach-house, and, seizing his best coach, paraded it about town with the images upon it, and finally burned up the coach and images on the Bowling Green, in full sight of Colden and the garrison, who looked on from the Battery, speechless with rage, but afraid to interfere.
After eleven days' debate the Stamp Act Congress agreed, among other things, that trial by jury is the right of the British subject, and that the Stamp Act had a tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the Colonists. Having adopted resolutions, prepared an address and peti- tion to the King and memorials to the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the Congress adjourned. Special measures were taken to transmit the proceedings to the unrepresented Colonies. Meanwhile the Sons of Liberty, through their committees of correspondence, urged a Continental Union ; pledged a mutual support in case of danger ; in some instances stated the number of armed men that might be relied on, and thus evinced a common determination to resist the execution of the Stamp Act.
With the arrival of the second consignment of stamped paper for New York came the newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Province-Sir Henry Moore-"who won the affections of the people by declaring he would have nothing to do with the obnoxious papers." He further "conciliated the citizens by ordering the discontinuance of the erection of the fortifications begun by Colden at the fort, and by declar- ing that he would not meddle with the enforcement of the Stamp Act.
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He endeavored in vain to restrain the demonstrations of the people and to bring them back to a sense of their loyalty." October 21, 1765, the sixteen Justices of the Peace of the county of Culpeper, Vir- ginia, drew up and signed a protest to Lieutenant Governor Fauquier against the enforcement of the Stamp Act-setting forth, among other things, the unconstitutionality of the Act, which taxed them without the consent of their representatives and affected their lives and proper- ties without granting them a trial by their peers. At the same time the Justices resigned their commissions. Four days later, in Philadel- phia, the merchants and traders subscribed to a non-importation agree- ment, such as were then being signed all over the country. In this the subscribers agreed-"in consequence of the late Acts of Parliament and the injurious regulations accompanying them, and in justice to them- selves and in hopes of benefit from their example"-to countermand all orders for English goods until the Stamp Act should be repealed, and that no goods which had been received for sale on commission should be disposed of until after the repeal of the Act.
By this vigorous combination and resistance in the several Colonies -due largely to the energetic work secretly carried on by the Sons of Liberty-the Stamp Act was made inoperative ; and when November 1st came not a sheet of the stamped paper was to be procured, it having been destroyed, sent back to England or stowed away for safe keeping. On that date, when the Act, according to its terms, was intended to be- come operative, the day was ushered in at Boston with the tolling of bells, many shops and factories were shut, and effigies of the authors and friends of the Act were carried about the streets and afterwards torn in pieces by the populace. In November the Legislature of Rhode Island passed resolutions thanking Colonel Barré for the stand he had taken with respect to the Stamp Bill. Under date of March 8, 1766, Barré wrote to Governor Ward of Rhode Island as follows :
"I acknowledge the honor of receiving your letter of November 19th, with the reso- lutions of the General Assembly of Rhode Island. It is exceedingly flattering to me to find that my conduct has been agreeable to that body. *
* The extending of our com- merce upon broad and sound principles, the binding the hearts of our American Colonists to the mother country by the generosity and justice of our government, have been and shall continue to be the motive of my conduct." * *
In December, 1765, the New York Sons of Liberty held a meeting, whereat they resolved that they would "go to the extremity with their lives and fortunes to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act." This spirit resulted in bringing about an agreement (entered into on Christ- mas-day, 1765) between the New York "Sons" and the Connecticut "Sons" to unitedly and separately oppose in every way the obnoxious law. Apparently, at that time, the opposition to the law raged more fiercely among the "Sons" in New York and Connecticut than in Massa- chusetts ; but in February, 1766, the Boston "Sons" accepted the pro- posal that they should unite themselves with the New York and Con- necticut bodies. At the same time, in a letter to the brotherhood at Norwich, Connecticut, the Bostonians proposed to begin to carry out . plans for a "Continental Union." March 25, 1766, a meeting of the Sons of Liberty held in Hartford, Connecticut, was attended by a large number of delegates from eastern Connecticut. Col. Israel Putnam, Maj. John Durkee and Capt. Hugh Ledlie were appointed a committee to arrange for a correspondence "with the loyal Sons of Liberty in other
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Colonies." Captain Ledlie (who was then a resident of Windham) was sent as a representative to a general convention of the Order to be held at Annapolis, Maryland.
In the Autumn of 1765 the Sons of Liberty at Norwich, Connecti- cut, erected in the center of the town Green a tall pole for their Liberty Tree, decked with standards and appropriate devices, and crowned with a Liberty Cap. As early as 1766 there was constructed at the foot of this pole a booth, or summer-house, called "the Pavilion"; and there, almost daily, the people assembled* to hear the news, make speeches, sing patriotic songst and encourage each other in the determination to resist oppression. Early in December, 1767, there was received at Norwich from the selectmen at Boston a copy of their famous "Circu- lar," recommending the disuse of certain enumerated articles of British production. A town-meeting, to consider the subject, was immediately convened, and a committee was appointed, composed of the Hon. Heze- kiah Huntington, the Hon. Jabez Huntington, Simeon Tracy, Maj. John Durkee, Gershom Breed, Dr. Daniel Lathrop and other prominent citizens. They brought in a report, which consisted chiefly of an agree- ment not to import, purchase or make use of certain articles produced or manufactured outside of America. The report was unanimously adopted and ordered to be printed in The New London Gazette.
The Grenville Administration survived the passage of the Stamp Act by only a few months. The King could tolerate the Ministers no longer. They had unpardonably affronted him in the Regency Bill. The Duke of Bedford was impertinent to him, and Grenville lectured him till he cried-in fact, life had become a burden to him under Gren- ville's domination. Therefore, in July, 1765, Grenville was dismissed and the Marquis of Rockingham became Prime Minister. Overtures
* See page 549.
+ Soon after the passage of the Stamp Act became known in this country many patriotic lyrics ap- peared in print, and were freely disseminated. One of the best of these was written by Dr. Prime, of New York, the author of several poems of considerable merit. It is entitled "A SONG FOR THE SONS OF LIBERTY." and the following are some of its stanzas.
"In story we're told How our fathers of old Brav'd the rage of the winds and the waves, And cross'd the deep o'er, To this desolate shore, All because they were loath to be slaves, brave boys ! All because they were loath to be slaves.
"Yet a strange scheme, of late, Has been formed in the State,
By a knot of political knaves ; Who in secret rejoice That the Parliament's voice Has resolved that we all shall be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"As the sun's lucid ray To all nations gives day, And the world from obscurity saves, So, all happy and free, GEORGE'S subjects should be-
Then Americans must not be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"Heaven, only, controls The great deep as it rolls, And the tide, which our country laves, Emphatical roars This advice to our shores- 'O Americans, never be slaves, brave boys !' etc. "To our Monarch, we know, Due allegiance we owe,
Who the scepter so rightfully waves ; But no sovereign we own, Save the King on his throne, And we cannot, to subjects, be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"Tho' fools stupidly tell That we mean to rebel, Yet all each American craves Is but to be free, As we surely must be, For we never were born to be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"Though against the repeal, With intemperate zeal, Proud GRENVILLE so brutishly raves, Yet our conduct shall show, And our enemies know, That Americans scorn to be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"With the beasts of the wood We will ramble for food, We will lodge in wild deserts and caves, And live poor as Job, On the skirts of the globe, Before we'll submit to be slaves, brave boys ! etc.
"The birthright we hold Shall never be sold, But sacred maintain'd to our graves ; And before we'll comply We will gallantly die, For we must not, we will not, be slaves, brave boys ! etc."
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were immediately made by the Government to Pitt, Shelburne and Barré-rank in the army (or anything he liked) in addition to the Vice Treasurership for Ireland, being offered to Barré; but the alliance between these three men was now firm, and all offers were refused. The Tory party was left without a backbone by the refusal of Pitt to co-operate. Shelburne and Barré, however, committed a mistake in refusing to join the new Administration. When Parliament met, Decem- ber 17, 1765, American difficulties were at a crisis. An English Parlia- ment had never listened to such accumulated insults as now assailed both Houses. A powerful Opposition, led by Grenville, strenuously urged that no relaxation or indulgence should be granted to the Col- onists. Pitt, on the other hand, rose from his sick-bed, and in speeches of extraordinary eloquence, and which produced an amazing effect on both sides of the Atlantic, justified the resistance of the Colonists. In one of his speeches he declared : "I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people, so dead to all the feelings of liberty as volun- tarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest. * * * I will beg leave to tell the House what is my opinion. It is that the Stamp Act be repealed absolutely, totally and immediately."
Early in this session of Parliament a Bill was introduced by the Government leaders in the House of Commons repealing the Stamp Act ; and side by side with this measure there was brought in a Bill which declared "That the King's Majesty, by and with the consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the Commons, of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, had, hath and of right ought to have full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the Colonies and people of America, subjects of the Crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever." Barré, co-operating with Pitt and Shelburne, acted neither entirely with the Government nor with the Opposition ; and with respect to the abovementioned Bill he moved that the words "in all cases whatsoever" should be stricken out. This measure, which was passed February 24, 1766, in its original form, be- came known as the "Declaratory Act." While the Bill repealing the Stamp Act was pending in the House of Commons Benjamin Franklin was examined before a committee of the House. Among the questions then asked, and answered by Franklin, were the following* :
"Q .- What was the temper of America towards Great Britain before the year 1763 ? Ans .- The best in the world. They submitted willingly to the government of the Crown, and paid, in all their Courts, obedience to Acts of Parliament. Numerous as the people are in the several old Provinces they cost you nothing in forts, citadels, garrisons or armies to keep them in subjection. They were governed by this country at the expense only of a little pen, ink and paper. They were led by a thread. They had not only a respect but an affection for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs and manners, and even a fondness for its fashions, that greatly increased the commerce. Natives of Britain were always treated with particular regard. To be an Old England man was, of itself, a character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among us. * *
* Q .- What used to be the pride of the Americans? Ans .- To indulge in the fashions and manufactures of Great Britain. Q .- What is now their pride? Ans .- To wear their old clothes over again, till they can make new ones."
The Bill repealing the Stamp Act was passed through both Houses by large majorities, and when, on the 18th of March, 1766, the King rode to Westminster Palace to give the Royal assent to the Bill, there was such a vast concourse of people, huzzaing, clapping their hands, etc.,
* For a full list of the questions and answers of that very interesting examination see Larned's "History for Ready Reference," V : 3192, et seq.
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that it took several hours for His Majesty to reach the House of Lords. As soon as the King had signed the Bill the merchants of London wlio traded with America despatched a vessel from Falmouth with copies of the new Act, under orders to put into the first port of the American Colonies and make known the fact of the repeal of the Stamp Act. There was great rejoicing among all classes in London; there were illuminations and bonfires, and all the ships in the river displayed their colors. The next day a procession of fifty coaches bore from the "King's Arms" tavern in Cornhill, to the House of Lords at Westminster, a large number of merchants (who did business with America) going to thank the King for signing the Repeal. Edmund Burke,* who was then serv- ing his first term in the House of Commons, subsequently described the passing of the Repeal as "an event that caused more universal joy throughout the British dominions than perhaps any other that can be remembered."
"News of the repeal of the Stamp Act was received in America with every manifestation of delight. It was regarded as a great triumph for the Colonists ; and in the victory many long-headed inen saw the dawn of independence." When, early in May, news reached New York that the Act which had caused so much ill-feeling had been repealed, the Sons of Liberty in that city celebrated the event with much en- thusiasm. A great meeting was held on "The Common," or "The Fields" (where the Post Office building now stands, in City Hall Park), a royal salute of twenty-one guns was fired and two immense bonfires were lighted. On June 4th, the King's birthday, a special celebration was organized. For the refreshment of the crowd in attendance an ox was roasted, twenty barrels of strong beer were tapped, and a hogshead of rum and other necessary ingredients were brewed into punch. A pole was erected, to the top of which were suspended twenty-five empty tar- barrels. At another part of the Common twenty pieces of cannon were ranged, and, amid their thunders, and to the music of a band playing "God Save the King," the Standard of England was displayed. As the crowning event of this day of celebrations-at which Lieutenant Gov- ernor Moore, hoping to strengthen the loyalty of the citizens, "politically encouraged them in their rejoicings"-a tall Liberty Pole was erected, bearing a flag inscribed "The King, Pitt and Liberty !"
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