TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.
[MS., American Philosophical Society; a text is in R. H. Lee, Life of Richard Henry Lee, vol. I., pp. 88-90, and a draft in in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON, April 10 1773
SIR—-
Your Letter to me of the 4th Feb last, I receivd with singular Pleasure; not only because I had long wishd for a Correspondence with some Gentleman in Virginia, but more particularly because I had frequently heard of your Character and Merit, as a warm Advocate for Virtue and Liberty.
I have often thought it a Misfortune, or rather a Fault in the Friends of American Independence and Freedom, their not taking Care to open every Channel of Communication. The Colonies are all embarkd in the same bottom. The Liberties of all are alike invaded by the same haughty Power: The Conspirators against their common Rights have indeed exerted their brutal Force, or applied their insidious Arts, differently in the several Colonies, as they thought would best serve their Purpose of Oppression and Tyranny. How necessary then is it; that ALL should be early acquainted with the particular Circumstances of EACH, in Order that the Wisdom & Strength of the whole may be employd upon every proper Occasion. We have heard of Bloodshed & even civil War in our Sister Colony North Carolina; And how strange is it, that the best Intelligence we have had of that tragical Scene, has been brought to us from England!
This Province, and this Town especially, have sufferd a great Share of Ministerial Wrath and Insolence: But God be thanked, there is, I trust, a Spirit prevailing, which will never submit to Slavery. The Compliance of New York in making annual Provision for a military Force designed to carry Acts of Tyranny into Execution: The Timidity of some Colonies and the Silence of others is discouraging: But the active Vigilance, the manly Generosity and the Steady Perseverance of Virginia and South Carolina, gives us Reason to hope, that the Fire of true Patriotism will at length spread throughout the Continent; the Consequence of which must be the Acquisition of all we wish for.
The Friends of Liberty in this Town have lately made a successful Attempt to obtain the explicit political Sentiments of a great Number of the Towns in this Province; and the Number is daily increasing. The very Attempt was alarming to the Adversaries; and the happy Effects of it are mortifying to them. I would propose it for your Consideration, Whether the Establishment of Committees of Correspondence among the several Towns in every Colony, would not tend to promote that General Union, upon which the Security of the whole depends.
The Reception of the truly patriotick Resolves of the House of Burgesses of Virginia gladdens the Hearts of all who are Friends to Liberty. Our Committee of Correspondence had a special Meeting upon this Occasion, and determined immediately to circulate printed Copies in every Town in this Province, in order to make them as extensively useful as possible. I am desired by them to assure you of their Veneration for your most ancient Colony, and their unfeigned Esteem for the Gentlemen of your Committee. This indeed is a small Return; I hope you will have the hearty Concurence of every Assembly on the Continent. It is a Measure that I think must be attended with great and good Consequences.
Our General Assembly is dissolved; and Writs will soon be issued according to the Charter for a new Assembly to be held on the last Wednesday in May next. I think I may almost assure you that there will be a Return of such Members as will heartily cooperate with you in your spirited Measures.
The most enormous Stride in erecting what may properly be called a Court of Inquisition in America, is sufficient to excite Indignation even in the Breast the least capable of feeling. I am expecting an authentick Copy of that Commission, which I shall send to you by the first opportunity after I shall have receivd it. The Letter from the new Secretary of State to the Governor of Rhode Island, which possibly you may have seen in the News papers, may be depended upon as genuine. I receivd it from a Gentleman of the Council in that Colony, who took it from the Original. I wish the Assembly of that little Colony had acted with more firmness than they have done; but as the Court of Enquiry is adjournd, they may possibly have another Tryal.
I have a thousand things to say to you, but am prevented by Want of Time; having had but an hours Notice of this Vessels sailing. I cannot however conclude without assuring you, that a Letter from you as often as your Leisure will permit of it, will lay me under great Obligations.—-
I am in strict Truth
Sir
Your most humble servt
ARTICLE SIGNED "CANDIDUS."
[Boston Gazette, April 12, 1773.]
Messieurs EDES & GILL,
PERHAPS no measure that has been taken by the Town of Boston during our present Struggles for Liberty, has thwarted the designs of our enemies more than their Votes and Proceedings on the 20th of November last.1 If we take a Retrospect of two or three Years past, we shall find that what our "PRETENDED patriots", as they were stiled in the Court Gazette, so zealously forewarn'd us of, has since turn'd out to be a Fact; that every art would be made use of to lull the people of this Province and Continent into Security, in order that the Conspirators against our Rights and Liberties might carry on their Schemes and compleat their system of Tyranny without Opposition or Molestation. The first part of their plan, they imagin'd they had finish'd; that is, the Establishment of a Revenue: And though this was far from being sufficient to answer their whole purpose, they thought that if they could put the people to sleep, they might the more easily add to this revenue, at some future time, and plead the present submission for a precedent. They therefore began upon the second and equally important part of their plan, which was to appropriate the revenue they had rais'd, to set up an Executive, absolutely independent of the legislative, which is to say the least, the nearest approach to absolute Tyranny.
The Governor, who was the first American PENSIONER, had now an exhorbitant Salary allowed him out of the monies extorted from the people: And although this was directly repugnant to the obvious meaning, if not the very letter of the Charter, much was said by CHRONUS and the Tribe of ministerial Writers in Mr. DRAPER'S paper, to reconcile it to the people. But the people, whom they generally in their incubrations treated with an air of contempt, as an unthinking herd, had a better understanding of things than they imagined they had. They were almost universally disgusted with the Innovation, while the advocates for it were yet endeavoring to make the world believe, that the opposition to it arose from a few men only, of "no property" and "desperate fortunes," who were "endeavoring to bring things into confusion, that they might have the advantage of bettering their fortunes by plunder." Little did they think that it was then known, as it now appears in fact, that those who were assiduously watching for places, preferment and pensions, were in truth the very men of NO PROPERTY, and had no other way of mending thier shattered fortunes, but by being the sharers in the spoils of their country.
Scarcely had the General Assembly the opportunity of expressing their full Sentiments of the mischievous tendency, of having a Governor absolutely dependent on the Crown for his being and support, before the alarming News arriv'd of the Judges of the Superior Court being placed in the same Situation. This Insolence of Administration was so quickly repeated, no doubt from a full perswasion of the truth of the accounts received from their infatuated tools on this side of the atlantick, that the temper of the people would now admit of the experiment. But the News was like Thunder in the ears of all but a detestable and detested few: Even those who had been inclin'd to think favorably of the Governor and the Judges were alarm'd at it. And indeed what honest and sensible man or woman could contemplate it without horror! We all began to shudder at the Prospect of the same tragical Scenes being acted in this Country, which are recorded in the English History as having been acted when their Judges were the meer Creatures, Dependents and tools of the Crown. Such an indignation was discover'd and express'd by almost every one, at so daring an Insult upon a free people, that it was difficult to keep our Resentment within its proper bounds. Many were ready to call for immediate Vengeance, perhaps with more zeal than discretion: How soon human Prudence and Fortitude, directed by the wise and righteous Governor of the world, may point out the time and the means of successfully revenging the wrongs of America, I leave to those who have been the Contrivers and Abbettors of these destructive Measures, seriously to consider. I hope and believe that I live in a Country, the People of which are too intelligent and too brave to submit to Tyrants: And let me remind the greatest of them all, "there is a degree of patience beyond which human Nature will not bear"!
Amidst the general Anxiety the memorable Meeting was called, with Design that the Inhabitants might have the Opportunity, of expressing their Sense calmly and dispassionately; for it is from such a Temper of Mind, that we are to expect a rational, manly and successful Opposition to the ruinous Plans of an abandoned Administration: And it is for this Reason alone, that the petty Tyrants of this Country have always dreaded and continue still to dread, a regular Assembly of the People.
The desirable Effects of this Meeting, contemptible as it was at first represented to be, together with the Prospect of what may be further expected from it, my possibly be the subject of a future Paper.
Your's,
CANDIDUS.
April 10, 1773.
_________________________________________________________________ 1Volume II., page 350. [back]
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO JOHN WADSWORTH.1
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON, April 13 1773
SIR
The Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Boston have receivd a Letter from the respectable Inhabitants of the Town of Duxborough. Nothing can afford us greater pleasure than to find so noble a Spirit of Opposition to the Efforts of arbitrary power prevailing in so great a number of Towns in this province. And it gives us a particular Satisfaction that our worthy Brethren of Duxborough, who are settled upon the very spot which was first cultivated by our renowned Ancestors, inherit so great a Share of their heroick Virtues. It is as you justly observe an Affront to the Understanding of our Ancestors to suppose, that when they took possession of this Country, they consented, even tacitly, to be subject to the unlimited Controul of a Government without a Voice in it, the merciless Oppression of which was intollerable even when they had a Voice there. Your just Resentment of the Injuries done to us by the British parliament more especially in giving & granting our property & appropriating it to the most destructive purposes, without our Consent, and your resolution to oppose Tyranny in all its forms is worthy the Imitation of this Metropolis. We wish for & hope soon to see that Union of Sentiments in the several Towns throughout this province & in the American Colonies which shall strike a Terror in the hearts of those who would enslave us; and together with a Spirit of union may God inspire us with that ardent Zeal for the support of religious & civil Liberty which animated the Breasts of the first Settlers of the old Colony of Plymouth from whom the native Inhabitants of Duxborough have lineally descended. After the Example of those renowned Heroes, whose memory we revere, let us gloriously defend our Rights & Liberites, & resolve to transmit the fair Inheritance they purchased for us with Treasure & Blood to their latest posterity. _________________________________________________________________ 1Town Clerk of Duxbury.
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO EZRA WHITMARSH.1
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
[April 13, 1773.]
SIR
The Selectmen of this Town have handed to us an attested Copy of a letter directed to them by order of the ancient Town of Weymouth. As it is the particular Department of the Committee of Correspondence appointed by the Town, to return an Answer to this Letter we chearfully embrace the Opportunity; and acknowledge the Candor of our Brethren of Weymouth in giving any Attention to the proceedings of this Town. The Town of Boston are deeply sensible that our publick Affairs as you justly observe are in a critical Scituation: yet our Intention was, not to obtrude THEIR Opinions upon their Fellow-Countrymen, as has been injuriously said, but to be informd, if possible of their real Sentiments, at a time when it was publickly & repeatedly given out that this Country in general was perfectly reconciled to the measures of the British Administration. It affords us pleasure to find it to be the Sense of the Town of Weymouth that "Encroachments are made upon our Rights & Liberties," & that they are "disposed at all times to unite in every lawful & proper measure for obtaining a redress of our Grievances." Many of the Towns in this province have expressd a just Abhorrence of the Attempts that have been & still are made to deprive us of our inestimable rights. Their good Sense & generous Zeal for the common Liberty is highly animating & we would wish to emulate it. We are sensible that "much Wisdom is necessary to conduct us right," and we joyn in earnestly supplicating "that Wisdom which is from above." The Friendship to this Town expressd in your Letter lays us under great Obligations. No greater Blessing can be desired by this Community than "Peace Prosperity & Happiness," and the Enjoyment of this Blessing depends upon CIVIL & RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
________________________________________________________________ 1Town Clerk of Weymouth.
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO JOSEPH NORTH.1
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON, April 13 1773
SIR
The Votes of the plantation of Gardnerstown have been laid before the Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Boston by Mr Samuel Adams to whom you were so kind as to transmit them. The notice which your plantation have taken of the State of the Rights & Grievances of this people publishd by this metropolis gives us great pleasure. So thorough a Sense of Liberty civil & religious so early discoverd in an Infant Body, affords an agreable prospect that the good Cause will be nobly defended & maintaind by it, when it shall arrive to a State of Maturity. We wish you the Blessings of Heaven in your Settlement; and we will exert our small Share of Influence in getting you protected from the savage hand of Tyranny, with which the whole British America has so long been contending. The resolves of the patriotick Assembly of Virginia accompany this Letter, & we doubt not you will partake of the general Joy they have given to all the friends of American Independence & freedom.
_________________________________________________________________ 1Clerk of the "plantation" of Gardnerstown. [back]
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO JOSIAH STONE.1
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON, April 13 1773
SIR
Your attested Copy of the proceedings of the Town of Framingham at a legal meeting on the 15th of March last has been receivd by the Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Boston.
The just resentment which your Town discovers at the power of Legislation for the Colonists assumed by the British Parliament, and its exerting that power in raising a revenue and applying it to purposes repugnant to the common Safety, and the resolution of that town to defend our rights & Liberties purchasd with so much Blood & Treasure, must do them honor in the Estimation of all who place a true Value upon those inestimable Blessings. May HE who gave this Land to our worthy forefathers, animate us their posterity to defend it at all Hazards; and while we would not lose the Character of loyal subjects to a prince resolvd to protect us, we will yet never forfeit that of Men determined to be free.
________________________________________________________________ 1Town Clerk of Framingham.
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 203, 204.]
BOSTON, April 22nd. 1773.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND,—-I have written you a long epistle by this conveyance, and yet as the vessel is detained by a contrary wind, I cannot help indulging the mood I am in to chat a little more with you. When I mentioned Mr. Hancock in my last, I forgot to tell you that he is colonel of a company, called the governor's company of cadets. Perhaps in this view only he was held up to Mr. Wilkes, when he was informed that he had deserted the cause. But it should be known it is not in the power of the governor to give a commission for that company to whom he pleases as their officers are chosen by themselves. Mr. Hancock was elected by an unanimous vote; and a reluctance at the idea of giving offence to an hundred gentlemen, might very well account for the governor giving the commission to Mr. H., without taking into consideration that most powerful of all other motives, AN INSTRUCTION, especially at a time when he vainly hoped he should gain him over. I have been the more particular, because I know our adversaries avail themselves much by propagating reports that persons who have signalized themselves as patriots have at length forsaken their country. Mr. Otis yesterday was engaged in a cause in the admiralty on the side of Dawson, commander of one of the king's cutters. At this some of the minions of power triumph, and say they have got over to their side the greatest champion of our cause. I have not yet discovered in the faces of their masters, an air of exultation at this event; and indeed how can they boast of the acquisition of one, whom they themselves have been the most ready to expose as distracted.
I send you a complete printed copy of our controversy with the governor, at the end of which you will observe some errors noted which escaped the press.
This letter goes under care of Mr. Cushing's to Dr. Franklin. The franks you favoured me with I shall make use of as necessity shall require.
I am yours affectionately,
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 204, 205.]
BOSTON, May 6th, 1773.
MY DEAR SIR,—-My last letter to you I sent by Capt. Symmes, who sailed a few days ago. This town met yesterday, and made choice of their representatives for the year ensuing. Enclosed is a copy of the town's instructions.1 It is a very common practice for this town to instruct their representatives; which among other good purposes serves to communicate their sentiments and spirit to the other towns, and may be looked upon as fresh appeals to the world. I perceive by the late London newspapers that the governor's first speech had arrived there, and had been very sensibly remarked upon by Junius Americanus. This warm and judicious advocate for the province I apprehend was mistaken in saying, that the supreme authority of the British parliament to legislate forces has been always acknowledged here; when he reads the answer of the house to the speech, he will find the contrary clearly shown, even from Gov. Hutchinson's history. What will be the consequence of this controversy, time must discover; it must be placed to the credit of the governor, that he has quickened a spirit of enquiry into the nature and end of government, and the connexion of the colonies with Great Britain, which has for some time past been prevailing among the people. MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PREVALEBIT; I believe it will be hardly in the power even of that powerful nation to hold so inquisitive and increasing a people long in a state of slavery.
Pray write to me as often as you can find leisure, and be assured
I am sincerely your friend and servant,
_________________________________________________________________ 1The text is in Boston Record Commissioner's Report, vol. xviii., pp. 131-134.
TO THE SELECTMEN OF BOSTON.
[W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., p. 70; printed also in the Historical Magazine, vol. vii., p. January, 20, 1863.]
BOSTON, May 14, 1773.
GENTLEMEN,—-
I must beg the favor of you to present my unfeigned regards to the town, and acquaint them that, by reason of bodily indisposition, I am unable to discharge the duty they have been pleased to assign me as moderator of their meeting, which is to be held this day by adjournment. I am much obliged to the town for the honor done me, and esteem it a very great misfortune whenever it is not in my power to render them services proportionate to my own inclination.
With all due respect, I remain, gentlemen,
Your friend and fellow-citizen,
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text with modifications is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, pp. 205, 206.]
BOSTON, May 17, 1773.
DEAR SIR/
My last went by Cap Calef, and inclosd a Copy of the Instructions of this Town to their representatives. Our General Assembly will meet next Week, what kind of a Budget the Govr will then open is uncertain; It is whispered that he intends to bring about a Coalition of parties, but how he will attempt it I am at a loss to conceive. Surely he cannot think that the Body of this people will be quieted till there is an End put to the Oppressions they are under; and he dares not to propose a Coalition on these Terms because it would disgust those who are the Instruments of & Sharers in the Oppression. Besides I am inclined to think he never will be able to recover so much of the Confidence of the people as to make his Administration easy. A few of his Letters we have seen, but are restraind at present from publishing them. Could they be made generally known, his Friends must desert him. It is a pity when the most important Intelligence is communicated with such Restrictions, as that it serves rather to gratify the Curiosity of a few than to promote the publick good. I wish we could see the Letters he has written since his Advancement to the Government. His friends give out that they are replete with tenderness to the province; If so, I SPEAK WITH ASSURANCE, they are the reverse of those he wrote before.
I send you for your Amusement the Copy of a Vote passd by this Town at the Adjournment of their Meeting a few days ago and remain with Sincerity your friend.
You cannot write me too often.
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., p. 192, under date of
June 14, 1772.]
BOSTON, June 14th, [1773.]
DEAR SIR,——-I now enclose letters written by Thomas Hutchinson and Oliver——-and others of less importance, the originals of which have been laid before the house of representatives.1 The house have already resolved, by a majority of 101 out of 106 members, that the design and tendency of them is to subvert the constitution and introduce arbitrary power into the province. They are now in the hands of a committee to consider them farther, and report what is still proper to be done.
I think there is now a full discovery of a combination of persons who have been the principal movers, in all the disturbance misery, and bloodshed, which has befallen this unhappy country. The friends of our great men are much chagrined.
I am much engaged at present, and will write you more fully by the next opportunity. In the mean time believe me to be with great esteem your unfeigned friend,
Wednesday, June 16th, 1773.—-The enclosed resolves are to be considered by the house this afternoon.
________________________________________________________________ 1See Journal of the House of Representatives, 1773-1774, under dates of June 2, 3, 10, 16, 21, 22, 26, 28, 1773; cf. Bigelow, Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. v., pp. 147- 150, 152, 153, 205-207.
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO ELIJAH MORTON.1
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON June 19 1773
SIR
The judicious and manly Resolves of the Town of Hatfield, passd at the Adjournment of a legal meeting on the 31 of May last, have been laid before the Come of Correspondence for the Town of Boston. It affords us very great Satisfaction to find that the Attempts of this Town to state the common Rights of this Colony & the many grievances we labor under have been judgd by our Brethren of Hatfield to be an acceptable Service; and the Thanks of that Town does great Honor to the metropolis. It has been the unremitted Endeavor of the Invaders of our Rights & the Tools they have employed, to prevail on the people to believe that there have been no Infringements made upon them; and the artful Publications which have frequently issued from one of the presses in this Town in particular, had perhaps in some degree answerd their purpose. But we have the pleasure to assure you, that the Letters we have lately receivd from every part of the province, breath the true Sentiments & Spirit of Liberty. There seems to be in every town, an apprehension of fatal Consequences from "the illegal & unconstitutional measures which have been ADOPTED, (as you justly express it) by the British ministry." Your Expression is indeed pertinent; for it has as we think abundantly appeard since you wrote, by some extraordinary Letters which have been publishd, that the plan of our Slavery was concerted here, & properly speaking "adopted by the British ministry." The plan indeed is concise; first to take the people's money from them without their Consent & then to appropriate that money for the purpose of supporting an Executive independent of them and under the absolute Controul of the Crown or rather the ministry. It was formerly the saying of an English Tyrant "Let me have Judges at my Command & make what Laws you please." And herein he judgd wisely for his purpose, for what Security can the people expect from the most salutary Laws if they are to be executed by the absolute Dependents of a monarch. The nation cannot then wonder that not only the several Towns of this province in their more private Departments, but the Representative body of the people in General Court assembled, are so greatly alarmd at this finishing Stroke of the System of Tyranny. That Union of Sentiments among the freemen of this Colony, that firmness, and Resolution to make every constitutional Stand against the Efforts of a corrupt administration which appears in the proceedings of so many Towns already publishd to the World, must afford full conviction to the Earl of Dartmouth that the opposition is not, as was represented to his predecessor in office, an expiring Faction. That the People of this province thus animated with a laudable Zeal, may be directed to the wisest measures for the Defence & Support of their common Liberty is the ardent wish of this Committee.
We are with the warmest affection for our Country, and a due regard to the Town of Hatfield
Sir your assured friends & humble Servants,
_________________________________________________________________ 1Town Clerk of Hatfield. [back]
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text with modifications is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 206, 207.]
BOSTON June 21 1773
Sir
I wrote in very great Haste a few days ago, and then inclosd a printed Copy of Letters signd Tho Hutchinson, Andw Oliver & others, with a Copy of certain Resolutions formd by a Committee and brot into the House of Representatives. Those Resolutions have been since considerd by the House and with little Variation adopted as youl see by the inclosd. Upon the last Resolve there was a Division 85 to 28 since which five of the minority alterd their minds, and two other members came into the House and desird to be counted so that finally there were 93 in favor & 22 against it. Many if not most of the latter voted for all the other resolves. A Petition & Remonstrance against Hutchinson & Oliver will be brot in I suppose this Week. I should think enough appears by these Letters to show that the plan for the ruin of American Liberty was laid by a few men born & educated amongst us, & governd by Avarice & a Lust of power. Could they be removed from his Majestys Service and Confidence here, effectual Measures might then be taken to restore, "placidam sub Libertate Quietam." Perhaps however you may think it necessary that some on your side the Water should be impeachd & brot to condign punishment. In this I shall not differ with you.
I send you our last Election Sermon delivered by Mr Turner. The
Bishop of St Asaphs I have read with singular pleasure.
I remain sincerely your friend,
PETITION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE KING.
JUNE 23, 1773.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
Province of Massachusetts Bay June 23 17731
To the Kings most Excellent Majesty
Most Gracious Sovereign
We your Majestys most loyal Subjects the Representatives of your ancient Colony, in General court legally assembled, by Virtue of your Majestys Writ under the Hand and Seal of the Governor beg leave to lay this our humble Petition before your Majesty; earnestly beseeching that in your Royal Clemency, your Majesty would . . .
Nothing but a Sense of the Duty we owe to our Sovereign, and the
Obligation we are under to consult the Peace and Safety of the
Province, could induce us to remonstrate to your Majesty, the
MalConduct of those, who, having been born & educated and
constantly resident in the Province and who formerly have had ye
Confidence & were loaded with ye honours of this People, your
Majesty, we conceive, from the purest Motives of rendering the
People most happy, was graciously pleasd to advance to the
highest places of Trust and Authority in the province.
It has been with the greatest Concern and Anxiety, that your Majestys humble Petitioners have seen Discords & Animositites too long subsisting between your Subjects of the Parent State & those of the Colonies: And we have trembled with Apprehensions that the Consequences naturally arising therefrom must at length prove fatal to both Countries.
Your Majesty will permit us humbly to suggest, that your Subjects here have been naturally inducd to believe, that the Grievances they have sufferd and still continue to suffer by the late measures of the British Administration, have been occasioned by your Majestys ministers & principal Servants being unfortunately for us, either under strong prejudices against us, or misinformd in certain Facts of very interresting Importance to us. It is for this Reason that former Houses of Representatives have from time to time prepared a true State of facts to be laid before your Majesty; but their Petitions it is presumed, have by some means been prevented from reaching your Royal Hand.
Your Majestys Petitioners have at length had before them certain Papers, from which, they conceive it2 may be made manifestly to appear that there has long been a Combination3 of evil Men in this province, who have contemplated Measures and formd a Plan, to raise their own Fortunes and advance themselves to Posts of Power Honor & Profit, to the Destruction of the Character of the province, at the Expence of the Quiet of the Nation and to the annihilating of the Rights & Liberties of the American Colonies.
And we do with all due Submission to your Majesty, beg Leave particularly to complain of the Conduct of his Excellency Thomas Hutchinson Esqr Governor, and the Honbe Andrew Oliver Esqr Lieutenant Governor of this province, as having a natural & efficacious Tendency to interrupt & alienate the Affections of your Majesty our Rightful Sovereign from this your loyal province; to destroy that Harmony & Good Will between Great Britain and this Colony which every honest Subject would wish to establish; to excite the Resentment of the British Administration against this Province; to defeat the Endeavors of our Agents & Friends to serve us by a fair Representation of our State of facts; and to prevent our humble and repeated Petitions from reaching the Ear of your Majesty & having their desired Effect. And finally that the said Thos Hutchinson & Andrew Oliver have been some of the chiefe Instruments in the Introduction of a Fleet and Army into this province to establish & perpetuate their plans; whereby they have not only been greatly instrumental of disturbing the peace & Harmony of the Government and causing unnatural & hateful Discords and Animosities between the several parts of your Majestys Dominions, but are justly chargeable with all that Corruption of Morals in this Province, and all that Confusion Misery and Bloodshed which have been the natural Effects of the posting of Troops in a populous Town.
We do therefore most humbly beseech your Majesty, to give order that Time may be allowed to us to support these our complaints by our Agents and Council. And as the said Thos Hutchinson Esqr and Andrew Oliver Esqr have by their above mentiond Conduct and otherwise rendered themselves justly obnoxious to your Majestys loving Subjects, we pray that your Majesty will be graciously pleasd to remove them from their posts in this Government, and place such good and faithful men in their Stead as, your Majesty in your great Wisdom shall think fit—————
_________________________________________________________________ 1Adopted by the House of Representatives by a vote of 80 to 11, after a motion to refer its consideration to the next session had been defeated by a vote of 73 to13. 2As an alternative to the following six words, the draft has also, interlined, "is most reasonable to Suppose." 3The draft has also "Conspiracy," interlined.
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text with modifications is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 207, 208.]
BOSTON June 28, 1773.
Dear Sir,
My last was by Cap. Collson by the way of Bristol, inclosd in a frankd Cover. I then informd you of the passing of a Number of Resolves in the House of Representatives upon certain Letters that had been under their Consideration. Since which the House have by a Division of 82/12, voted a Petition & Remonstrance to the King praying that Govr Hutchinson & Lt Govr Oliver may be removd from their Posts. A Copy of which is sent to Dr Franklin by this Vessel, who is directed to apply to Arthur Lee, Esqr and any other Gentleman as Council. Upon my motion the Dr was directed to make application to you solely; but the next Day it was questiond in the House whether you were yet initiated into the Practice of Law, and the Addition was made upon a Doubt which I was sorry I had it not in my Power to remove. However, you must be applyd to; Every Friend of Liberty, or which is the same thing, nine-tenths of the House having the greatest Confidence in your Integrity and Abilities.
You have herewith inclosd a Copy of the proceedings of the
Council upon the same Subject.
The People are highly incensd against the two impeachd Gentlemen. They have entirely lost the Esteem of the publick. Even some of their few friends are ashamd to countenance them. The Govr, as he has been one of the most obligd, has provd himself to be a most ungrateful man. He appears to me to be totally disconcerted. I wish I could say humbled.
The House are now considering the Independency of the Judges; A Matter which every day grows still more serious, and employs much of the Attention of the People without Doors, as well as of the Members of the House. I wish Lord Dartmouth & the rest of the Great officers of the Crown could be prevaild upon duly to consider that British Americans cannot long endure a State of Tyranny.
I expect the Genl Assembly will be up in a few Days.1 I will then write you more particularly. In the mean time I remain
Your Friend,
_________________________________________________________________ 1The General Court was prorogued June 29, to meet September 15; but the next session did not begin until January 26, 1774.
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF WOCESTER.
[MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON, Septemr 11, 1773
GENTLEMEN
The happy fruit of the Appointment of Committees of Correspondence in almost every Town in this province, is the Advantage that Each has of communicating any Matter of common Concern & Importance to a chosen Number of Men zealous for the publick Liberty, in any particular Town or County, where it may be specially requisite that such Intelligence shd be given. In order to support our Cause, it is necessary that we attend to every part of the plan which our enemies have concerted against it. In making Laws & raising revenues from us without our Consent, a Design is evidently apparent to render an American Legislative of little Weight; and in appropriating such revenues to the support of Governor & Judges, it as evidently appears that there is a fixd Design to make our Executive dependent upon them & subservient to their own purposes. Every method is therefore to be usd that is practicable, in opposition to these two capital Grievances, which are the fountain from whence every other Grievance flows. All the Judges of the Superior Court, except the Chiefe Justice have receivd the Grants out of the province Treasury in full; but this by no means makes it certain whether they intend for the future to depend upon the Crown for Support or upon the Grants of the Genl Assembly. Indeed one of them viz Mr Trowbridge has explicitly declared to the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he will receive his Salary from the province only, so long as he shall hold his Commission. The Chiefe Justice (Oliver) has been totally silent. So that neither of them except Mr Trowbridge has yet thought proper to comply with the just Expectation & Demand of the House of Representatives, upon which the Safety, & therefore we trust the Quiet of this people depends.
The Court is now sitting here; and the Grand Jury have presented a Memorial to them, setting forth as we are informd, the Contempt with which the Grand Juries of the province have been treated in the Letters of Govr Hutchinson & others; asserting the Independence of Grand Juries as being accountable to none but God & their own Consciences for their Conduct; claiming to themselves equal protection with the Court, & expecting that effectual measures will be taken to secure that most valueable Branch of our civil Constitution, from further Contempt. They have also represented to the Court, the great Uneasiness in the Minds of the people of this County & as they conceive of the whole province, by reason of the uncertainty that yet remains, respecting the Dependence of the Judges on the Crown for Support, & their own Doubts & Difficulties on this Account; & they pray that the Court wd come to an explicit & publick Declaration thereupon.
This is the Substance of the Matter. We shall endeavor to obtain a correct Copy, & in that Case you will see it publishd in the newspapers. In the mean time we would propose to you whether it would not be serving the Cause if every County would take similar Measures. And as the Court is to sit next in your County,1 & yours is the principal Town we have written to your Committee only on this Subject, leaving it to your Discretion & good Judgment to take such methods as shall be most proper.
_______________________________________________________________ 1Cf. Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, vol. vii., p. 58.
TO JOSEPH HAWLEY.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Oct. 4th 1773
MY DEAR SIR/
I can not omit this Opportunity of submitting to your Judgment, the Ideas I have of the present Disposition of the British Administration towards this Country; and I the rather do it at this time, because as Matters seem to me to be drawing to a Crisis, it is of the greatest Importance that we should have a right Understanding of their Sentiments and Designs. The "wild and extravagant Notions" (as they have been lately called) of the supreme Authority of Parliament "flowing from the Pen of an House of Representatives" has greatly chagrind them; as they apprehend it has been the means of awakning that Spirit of Opposition to their Measures, which from the Information their Tools on this side of the Water had given them, and the Confidence they had placed in the Art and Address of Mr Hutchinson, they had flatterd themselves, had subsided, & would soon be extinguished. At the same time they are very sensible, that the impartial Part of the Nation, considering that the House were in a Manner forced to express their own Sentiments on the Subject, be they what they might, with Freedom are ready to exculpate them, and lay the whole Blame, if there be any, upon the Governor, for his Imprudent Zeal in bringing a Matter into open Controversy which the Ministry had hoped to have settled in a silent Way. It is my Opinion that the present Administration even though the very good Lord Darmouth is one of them, are as fixed in their Resolutions to carry this favorite point as any of their Predecessors have been; I mean to gain from us an implicit Acknowledgment of the Right of Parliament to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever. The King who you know determines by their Advice, has expressd his Displeasure at our late petitions because they held up Rights repugnant to this Right. Some of our Politicians would have the People believe that Administration are disposd or determind to have all the Grievances which we complain of redressd, if we will only be quiet. But this I apprehend would be a fatal Delusion; for I have the best Assurances, that if the King himself should make any Concessions or take any Steps contrary to the Right of Parliamt to tax us, he would be in Danger of embroiling himself with the Ministry; and that under the present Prejudices of all about him, even the recalling an Instruction to the Governor is not yet likely to be advisd. Lord Dartmouth has indeed lately said in the House of Lords as I have it from a Gentleman in London who receivd the Information from a peer who was present, that "he had formd his plan of Redress, which he was determind to carry AT THE HAZARD OF HIS OFFICE." But his Lordship might very safely make this Promise; for from all that I have heard, his Plan of Redress is built very much upon the Hopes that we may be prevaild upon, at least implicitly to yield up the Right, of which his Lordship is as fixd in his Opinion, as any other Minister. This I conceive they have had in view from the year 1763; and we may well remember, that when the Stamp Act was repeald, our Friends in Parliamt submitted as a Condition of the Repeal, that the declaratory Act as it is called should be passed, declaratory of the Right & Authority of Parliament to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever. Till that time the Dispute had been limitted to the Right of Taxation. By assuming the Power of making Laws for America IN ALL CASES, at the time when the Stamp Act was repeald it was probably their Design to secure, as far as they could do it by an Act of their own, this particular Right of Taxation thinking at the same time that if they could once establish the Precedent in an Instance of so much importance to us, as that of taking our Money from us, they should thenceforward find it very easy to exercise their pretended Right in every other Case. For this Purpose in the very next Session if I mistake not, they passed another revenue Act, for America; which they have been endeavoring to support by military parade, as well as by other Means, at an Expence to the Nation, as it is said of more than the revenue yielded. And yet, in order to induce us to acquiesce in or silently to submit to their Exercise of this Right, they have even condescended to meet us half way (as it was artfully given out) and lessened this Revenue by taking off the Duty on Glass & several other Articles. Mr George Grenville declared that he would be satisfied with a PEPER CORN, but that he must have THREE; which shows that he had a stronger Sense of the Importance of establishing the Power of Parliament, or as his own Words were, "of securing the Obedience of the Colonies" than barely of a Revenue. The Acknowledgment on our part of the Right of Parliament has been their invariable Object: And could they now gain this Acknowledgment from us, tho it were but implicitly, they would willingly sacrifice the PRESENT revenue by a repeal of the Acts, and FOR THE PRESENT redress all our Grievances. I have been assured that a Question has of late been privately put by one in Administration upon whom much Dependence is had by some persons, to a Gentleman well acquainted with the Sentiments of the People of this Province, Whether the present House of Representatives could not be prevaild on to rescind the Answers of the last House to the Governors Speeches relative to the supreme Authority of Parliament; which Answers have been lookd upon as a Bar in the Way of a Reconciliation and being informd that such a measure on our part could by no means be expected, I am apprehensive that Endeavors will be used to draw us into an incautious mode of Conduct which will be construed as in Effect receding from the Claim of Rights of which we have hitherto been justly so tenacious. It has been given out, I suspect from the Secrets of the Cabinet, that if we will now send home decent temperate & dutiful petitions, even our imaginary Grievances shall be redressd; but let us consider what Ideas Administration have of Decency Temperance & Dutifulness as applyd to this Case. Our late petitions against the Independency of the Governor & Judges were deemd indecent intemperate & undutiful, not because they were expressd in exceptionable Words, but because it was therein said that by the Charter it plainly appeard to us to be intended by the Royal Grantors that the General Assembly should be the constituted Judge of the adequate Support of the Government of the province and the Ways & Means of providing for the same; and further that this operation of an Act of parliament, by which the People are taxed & the money is appropriated & used for that purpose, derogates from one of the most sacred Rights granted in the Charter, & most essential to the Freedom of the Constituion, & divests the Genl Assembly of a most important part of legislative Power and Authority expressly granted therein, and necessary for the Good and Welfare of the province & the Support and Government of the same. The Subject Matter of our Complaint was, not that a Burden greater than our proportion was laid upon us by Parliament; such a Complaint we might have made salva Authoritate parliamentaria: But that the Parliament had assumed & exercisd the power of taxing us & thus appropriating our money, when by Charter it was the exclusive right of the General Assembly. We could not otherwise have explaind to his Majesty the Grievance which we meant to complain of; and yet he is pleasd in his answer to declare that he has well weighd the Subject Matter of the petitions—and is determined to support the Constitution and to resist with firmness every Attempt to derogate from the Authority of the supreme Legislature. Does not this imply that the parliament is the supreme Legislature & its Authority over the Colonies of the Constitution? And that until we frame our petitions so as that it may fairly be construed that we have at least tacitly conceded to it we may expect they will be still disregarded or frownd upon as being not decent temperate and dutifull? We may even be allowd to claim certain Rights and exercise subordinate powers of Legislation like the Corporations in England, subject to the universal Controul of Parliamt, and if we will implicitly acknowledge its Right to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever, that is, its absolute Sovereignty over us the Acts we shall them complain of as burdensome to us, shall be repeald, all Grievances redressd, and Administration will flatter us that the right shall never be exercisd but in a Case of absolute necessity which shall be apparent to every judicious man in the Empire. To induce us to be thus submissive beyond the bounds of reason & Safety their Lordships will condescend to be familiar with us and treat us with Cakes & Sugar plumbs. But who is to determine when the necessity shall be thus apparent? Doubtless the Parliamt, which is supposd to be the supreme Legislature will claim that prerogative; and then they will for ever make Laws for us when they think proper. Or if the several Colony Assemblies are to signify that such necessity is apparent to every wise man within their respective Jurisdictions before the parliamt shall exercise the Right, the point will be given up to us in Effect, that the Parliamt shall not make a Law binding upon us in any Case until we shall consent to it, which their Lordships can in no wise be thought to intend.
But I must break off this abruptly. I intend to write you further. In the meantime I must beg to be indulgd with your Thots on these matters & remain with great regard,
Sir,
________________________________________________________________ 1The political leader of Northhampton, Massachusetts. His "Broken Hints" is in Niles, Principles and Acts, p. 324.
TO JOSEPH HAWLEY.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Octob 13 1773
MY DEAR SIR/
I lately wrote you a long Epistle upon our political Affairs; and although I fear I have put your patience on the Tryal, I can not withstand a strong Inclination to communicate more of my mind to you on the same Subject. Perhaps it may be of Service to you, as it may afford you an opportunity of exercising that Charity or Candor which "beareth all things."
I have taken some pains to enquire into the true Character of the Minister in the American Department. And I find that all allow him to be a good man. Goodness has rarely I fear been of late the Chracteristick of his Majestys Ministers; for which reason his Lordship is to be sure the more highly to be prizd. But it seems very necessary that Men in such elevated Stations should be great as well as good. The Promotion of a nobleman to this Department, who is famed in America for his Piety is easily accounted for on the principles of modern Policy. However illy we may deserve it, the great men in England have an opinion of us as being a mightily religious People. Surely than it must be supposd that we shall place an entire Confidence in a Minister of the same Character. We find it so in fact. How many were filled with the most sanguine Expectations, when they heard that the good Lord Dartmouth was entrusted with a Share in Administration? Little did they think that if his Lordship did not come in upon express terms, which however is doubted by some, yet without a Greatness of mind equal, perhaps superior to his Goodness, it will be impossible for him singly to stem the Torrent of Corruption. This requires much more Fortitude than I yet believe he is possesd of. Fain would I have him treated with great Decency & Respect, both for the Station he is in and the Character he sustains; but considering with whom he is connected, I confess that in regard to any power he will have substantially to serve us, I am an Infidel.
I do not agree with some of our Politicians who tell us that the Ministry are "sick of their Measures." I cannot but wonder that any prudent Man should believe this, while he sees not the least Relaxation of measures; but instead of it new Insult & Abuse. Is the Act of Parliament, made the last year, and the Appointment of Commissioners with Instructions to put it in full Execution in the Rhode Island Affair, a Ground of such a Beliefe? Can we think the East India Company are so satisfied that Administration are disposd to give up their Designs of establishing Arbitrary Power, when no longer ago than the last Session of Parliament they effected the Deprivation of their Charter Rights, whereby they have acquired so great an Addition of Power & Influence to the Crown? Or are such Hopes to be gatherd from the Treatment given to our own Petitions the last May, when they were discountenancd for no other Reason but because the Rights of our Charter were therein pleaded as a Reason against a measure which if a little while persisted in, will infallibly establish a Despotism in the End? Surely this is not a time for us to testify the least Confidence in the Spirit of the British Government, or from flattering Hopes that their designs are to alter measures, to trust to their Discretion or good Will.
I am apt to think that Ministry have two great Events in Contemplation both which in all probability will take place shortly. The one is a War & the other a new Election of Parliament Men. In order to improve these Events to their own purpose, it will become necessary to sooth & flatter the Americans with Hopes of Reliefe. In Case of a War, America if in good Humour will be no contemptible Ally. She will be able by her Exertions to annoy the Enemy much. Her aid will therefore be courted. And to bring her into this good Humour, the Ministry must be lavish in promises of great things to be done for her. Perhaps some Concessions will be made; but these Concessions will flow from policy not from Justice. Should they recall their Troops from the Castle, or do twenty other seemingly kind things, we ought never to think their Designs are benevolent toward us, while they continue to exercise the pretended Right to tax us at their pleasure, and appropriate our money to their own purposes. And this they have certainly no Thought at present of yielding up. With regard to the Election of another House of Commons, that will not take place within these Eighteen months unless a Dissolution of parliamt should happen before; which has indeed been hinted, & may be the movement in order suddenly to bring on the Election before the People are prepared for it. We are to suppose that an Attempt will be made to purchase the Votes of the whole Kingdom. This will require much Time and dexterous Management. The Ministry have in a great Measure lost the Influence of London and other great Corporations as well as that of the East India Company by their late Treatment of that powerful Body, whom Lord North now finds it necessary to coax and pascify. They will therefore be glad to sooth America into a State of Quietness, if they can do it without conceding to our Rights, that they may have the Aid of the Friends of America when the new Election comes on. And that America has many Friends among the Merchants & Manufacturers the Country Gentlemen & especially the Dissenters from the establishd Church I am so well informd that I cannot doubt. The last of these are so from generous the others from private & selfish Principles. Such Considerations as these will be strong Inducements [to] them to make us fair & flattering Promises for the present; but Nothing I think will be so dangerous as for the Americans to withdraw their Dependence upon themselves & place it upon those whose constant Endeavor for ten years past has been to enslave us, & who, if they can obtain a new Election of old Members, it is to be feard, unless we keep up a perpetual Watchfulness, will, in another seven years, effect their Designs. The Safety of the Americans in my humble opinion depends upon their pursuing their wise Plan of Union in Principle & Conduct. If we persevere in asserting our Rights, the Time must come probably a Time of War, when our just Claims must be attended to & our Complaints regarded. But if we discoverd the least Disposition to submit our Claims to their Decision, it is my opinion that our Injuries will be increasd then fold. I conclude at present with assuring you that I am with sincere regard
Sir your Friend & hbl servt,
THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF MASSACHUSETTS TO OTHER COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PRO OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY
BOSTON Octob 21 1773
GENTLEMEN
The Committee of Correspondence appointed by the House of Representatives of this Province have been not altogether inattentive to the Design of their Institution. We have been waiting for Intelligence from Great Britain from whose injudicious Councils the common Grievances of the Colonies have sprang; in hopes that a Change in the American Department would have producd a happy Change in the measures of Administration; But we are sorry to say, that from the best Accounts that we have obtaind the Ministry have been hitherto so far from radically redressing American Grievances that even the least Relaxation has not been advisd if thought of. On the Contrary, the British Parliament have been prorogud without taking the least Notice of the Affairs of America; while they have been curtailing the Charter of the East India Company in such a Manner & in such a Degree, as to indicate that they are much more intent upon increasing the power & Influence of the Crown than securing Liberties of the Subject. At the same time, this Province has had a very recent Discovery of the unalterd Resolution of the Ministry to pursue their plan of arbitrary Power, in the Kings Answer to the Petitions of our Assembly against the appropriation of the Revenue raisd from the Colonies, for the purpose of rendering our Governor & Judges dependent on the Crown. In his Majestys Answer, we have nothing explicit, but his Resolution to support the supreme Authority of the British parliamt to make Laws binding on the Colonies (altho the petitions were supported by the express Declarations of the Charter of the province) and his great Displeasure, that principles repugnant to that Right were therein held forth. Such an Answer to such a petition affords the strongest Grounds to conclude, that the Ministry are as firmly resolvd as ever to continue the Revenue Acts & apply the tribute extorted by Virtue of them from the Colonies, to maintain the executive powers of the several Governments of America absolutely independent of their respective Legislatures; or rather absolutely dependent on the Crown, which will, if a little while persisted in, end in absolute Despotism.
Such being still the temper of the British Ministry, Such the Disposition of the parliament of Britain under their Direction & Influence, to consider themselves as THE SOVEREIGN of America, Is it not of the utmost Importance that our Vigilance should increase, that the Colonies should be united in their Sentiments of the Measures of Oppposition necessary to be taken by them, and that in whichsoever of the Colonies any Infringments are or shall be made on the common Rights of all, that Colony should have the united Efforts of all for its Support. This we take to be the true Design of the Establishment of our Committees of Correspondence.
There is one thing which appears to us to be an Object worthy of the immediate Attention of the Colonies. Should a War take place, which is thought by many to be near at hand, America will then be viewd by Administration in a Light of Importance to Great Britain. Her Aids will be deemd necessary; her Friendship therefore will perhaps be even courted. Would it not then be the highest Wisdom in the several American Assemblies, absolutely to withhold all kinds of Aid in a general War, untill the Rights & Liberties which THEY OUGHT TO ENJOY are restored, & secured to them upon the most permanent foundation? This has always been the Usage of a spirited House of Commons in Britain, and upon the best Grounds; for certainly protection & Security ought to be the unalterable Condition when Supplys are called for. With Regard to the Extent of Rights which the Colonies ought to insist upon, it is a Subject which requires the closest Attention & Deliberation; and this is a strong Reason why it should claim the earliest Consideration of, at least, every Committee; in order that we may be prepared when time & Circumstances shall give to our Claim the surest prospect of Success. And when we consider how one great Event has hurried on, upon the back of another, such a time may come & such Circumstances take place sooner than we are now aware of. There are certain Rights which every Colony has explicitly asserted, & we trust they will never give up. THAT in particular, that they have the sole & unalienable Right to give & grant their own money & appropriate it to such purposes as they judge proper, is justly deemd to be of the last Importance. But whether even this Right, so essential to our Freedom & Happiness, can remain . . . to us, while a Right is claimed by the British parliament to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever, you will certainly consider with Seriousness. It would be debasing to us after so manly a Struggle for our Rights to be contented with a mere TEMPORARY reliefe. We take the Liberty to present you with the State of a Controversy upon that Subject, between the Governor of this province and the Assembly. And as the Assembly of this or some other Colony may possibly be called into further Consideration of it, we should think our selves happy in a Communication of such further Thoughts upon it, as we are perswaded will upon a . . . occur to your Minds. We are far from desiring that the Connection between Britain & America should be broken. ESTO PERPETUA, is our ardent wish; but upon the Terms only of Equal Liberty. If we cannot establish an Agreement upon these terms, let us leave it to another & wiser Generation. But it may be worth Consideration that the work is more likely to be well done, at a time when the Ideas of Liberty & its Importance are strong in Mens Minds. There is Danger that these Ideas will hereafter grow faint & languid. Our Posterity may be accustomd to bear the Yoke & being inured to Servility they may even bow the Shoulder to the Burden. It can never be expected that a people, however NUMEROUS, will form & execute a wise plan to perpetuate their Liberty, when they have lost the Spirit & feeling of it.
We cannot close without mentioning a fresh Instance of the temper & Design of the British Ministry; and that is in allowing the East India Company, with a View of pacifying them, to ship their Teas to America. It is easy to see how aptly this Scheme will serve both to destroy the Trade of the Colonies & increase the revenue. How necessary then is it that Each Colony should take effectual methods to prevent this measure from having its designd Effects.2
GENTLEMEN
The foregoing Letter was unanimously agreed to by the Committee
of Correspondence, and is in their name and by their order
Transmitted to you by your most respectfull friends and humble
Servants,
T: CUSHING S: ADAMS W: HEATH
P.S. It is the request of the Committee that the Contents of this Letter be not made publick least our Common Enemies should counteract and prevent its design.
________________________________________________________________ 1The origin of this letter appears in the manuscript journal, preserved in the Boston Public Library, of the Committee of Correspondence, consisting of fifteen members, appointed by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts. At a meeting of the committee on June 28, 1773, a sub-committee, consisting of Adams, Hancock, Cushing, Phillips, and Heath, was appointed, to write to the Connecticut Committee of Correspondence and also to the committee of each assembly. The letter to Connecticut appears to have been approved at a meeting of the sub-committee on July 4. At a meeting of the sub-committee on July 15 Adams was asked to draft a letter on general government to the committees of the neighboring governments. This letter was still unwritten on August 19, and on September 29 the sub-committee called a meeting of the full committee for October 20. On that date it was voted expedient to write a circular letter to the other committees, and in the afternoon of the same day Adams and Warren were appointed a sub-committee to draft such a letter. At the afternoon meeting on October 21 a draft was reported, read several times, and accepted; and it was voted that the chairman, with Adams and Heath, should sign the letters. The Journal is printed in Proceedings of Massachusetts Historical Society, 2d ser., vol. iv., pp. 85-90. 2The remainder is not in the autograph of Adams.
RESOLUTIONS OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, NOVEMBER 5, 1773.
[Boston Record Commissioner's Report, vol. xviii., pp. 142, 143; a draft of the preamble, in the handwriting of Adams, is in the Mellen Chamberlain collection, Boston Public Library.]
Whereas it appears by an Act of the British Parliament passed in the last Sessions, that the East India Company are by the said Act allowed to export their Teas into America, in such Quantities as the Lord of the Treasury shall Judge proper1: And some People with an evil intent to amuse the People, and others thro' inattention to the true design of the Act, have so contrued the same, as that the Tribute of three Pence on every Pound of Tea is not to be enacted by the detestable Task Masters there2—-Upon the due consideration thereof, RESOLVED, That the Sense of the Town cannot be better expressed on this Occasion, than in the words of certain Judicious Resolves lately entered into by our worthy Brethren the Citizens of Philadelphia—-wherefore
RESOLVED, that the disposal of their own property is the Inherent
Right of Freemen; that there can be no property in that which
another can of right take from us without our consent; that the
Claim of Parliament to tax America, is in other words a claim of
Right to buy3 Contributions on us at pleasure——-
2d. That the Duty imposed by Parliament upon Tea landed in America, is a tax on the Americans, or levying Contributions on them without their consent——-
3d. That the express purpose for which the Tax is levied on the Americans, namely for the support of Government, the Administration of Justice, and the defence of His Majestys Dominions in America, has a direct tendency to render Assemblies useless, and to introduce Arbitrary Government and Slavery——-
4th. That a virtuous and steady opposition to the Ministerial Plan of governing America, is absolutely necessary to preserve even the shadow of Liberty, and is a duty which every Freeman in America owes to his Country to himself and to his Posterity——-
5th. That the Resolutions lately come by the East India Company, to send out their Teas to America Subject to the payment of Duties on its being landed here, is an open attempt to enforce the Ministerial Plan, and a violent attack upon the Liberties of America——-
6th. That is is the Duty of every American to oppose this attempt——-
7th. That whoever shall directly or indirectly countenance this attempt, or in any wise aid or abet in unloading receiving or vending the Tea sent or to be sent out by the East India Company while it remains subject to the payment of a duty here is an Enemy to America——-
8th. That a Committee be immediately chosen to wait on those Gentlemen, who it is reported are appointed by the East India Company to receive and sell said Tea, and to request them from a regard to their own characters and the peace and good order of this Town and Province immediately to resign their appointment.
________________________________________________________________ 1At this point the draft includes the words, "without the same having been exposed to sale in the Kingdom of Great Britain." 2The draft reads "here." 3The town record should apparently read "lay."