!'■• nil I ! iilllll ' i 'Pl' i.ii'lMlhlMiM.' "'nil !i!ilj!lli!ll!>ini !u,;.i- I 1 r iM!!!!i liliis iiiiii inii' lii>:iii:i 1! I I i:' !l!il;ll;in;.i;iii!li BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henrg W. Sage 1891 ..^..^..:2...^.Z^..^., ^./.g^ir.... 9963 3 1924 092 891 179 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092891179 THE WRITINGS SAMUEL ADAMS VOLUME II. \77Q~\JT^ Of this Letter-press Edition 750 Copies ha ve been Printed for Sale No.. January, igo6 THE WRITINGS OF SAMUEL ADAMS COLLECTED AND EDITED HARRY ALONZO GUSHING Volume II I 770- I 773 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK LONDON 37 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 24 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND ST^e Snithitbothti §KSS CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. PAGE I L, 1770. Article Signed " Vindex," January 8th Power of Governor over sessions of General Assembly. Article Signed " Determinatus," January 8th . . 4u Non-importation agreement. To the Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, March 19th 7 Memorial of town of Boston — Appointment of special justices. To John Hancock, May nth 9 Proposed resignation. To Benjamin Franklin, July 13th .... 10 Letter of town of Boston— Effect of massacre narrative- Influences upon public opinion — "Case" of Captain Preston. To the Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, Au- gust 3d . . . 191- Answer of House of Representatives — Place of meeting of General Assembly — Legal opinions— Precedents — Royal in- structions—Nature of Province Charter- Rights of House. Article Signed "A Chatterer," August 13th . . 35 Royal instructions. Article Signed "A Chatterer," August 20th . . 39- Character of office holders. Article Signed "A Chatterer," August,27th . . 43 Reply to " Probus " — Character of lieutenant-governor. To Benjamin Franklin, November 6th .. . 46 ' Letter of House of Representatives— Appointment as agent- Attitude of administration to Massachusetts— Royal instruc- tions — Admiralty jurisdiction — Salaries and appointments. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. To Stephen Sayre, November i6th .... 56 Letters of "Junius Americanus " — -Non-importation agree- ment — Trial of Preston — Royal instructions. To the Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, No- vember 20th . . 61 Memorial of House of Representatives — Vacancies in militia. Article Signed "A Tory," November 20th . . 62 Effects of present administration. To Peter Timothy, November 2 1 St .... 64 Reply to Charleston committee — Non-importation agree- ment. To Stephen Sayre, November 23d .... 66 Choice of agent — Royal instructions — Attitude of Hutchinson. To Josiah Williams, November 23d .... 69 Personal advice. Article Signed "A Chatterer," December 3d . . 70. Royal instructions — Control of troops — Custody of Castle William. Article Signed " Vindex," December loth . . . yj Trials of Preston and soldiers — Discussion of testimony. Article Signed "Vindex," December 17th . . 83 Trials of Preston and soldiers — Discussion of testimony. Article Signed " Vindex," December 24th ... 89 Trials of Preston and soldiers — Discussion of testimony. Article Signed " Vindex," December 24th . . 98 Reply to " Somebody " — Trial of soldiers. To John Wilkes, December 28th .... 100 Introduction of William Palfrey — Conditions in colonies. Article Signed "Vindex," December 31st . . . 102/,/ Action of Boston on massacre — Attitude of troops — Events of March 5, 1770— Testimony upon trial— The dead. Article Signed "Vindex," December 31st . . . 122'- Testimony upon trial of soldiers. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. 1771. PACB Article Signed "Vindex," January 7th . . .124 Trial of soldiers — Discussion of testimony. To Stephen Sayre, January 12th . . . .134 Enclosing articles on trials. Article Signed " Vindex," January 14th . . -135 Discussion of testimony — " Case " of Captain Preston. Article Signed "Vindex," January 2 1st . . . 142 Result of trial of soldiers — Discussion of testimony — Reply to Philanthrop. Article Signed " Vindex," January 28th . . -153 Discussion of testimony — " Case" of Captain Preston. To Charles Lucas, March 12th 163 Acknowledgments of Boston. To Arthur Lee, April 19th 164 Beginning of correspondence — General conditions — Designs of Administration — Royal instructions. To the Governor of Massachusetts, April 24th . . 168 Answer of House of Representatives — Action of Spain at Port Egmont — Attitude of Administration— Place of meeting of General Assembly — Appointment of Governor. To the Governor of Massachusetts, April 25th . . 171 Salary bills. Article Signed " Candidus," June loth ... 172 Place of meeting of General Assembly— Royal instructions- Attitude of Hutchinson. ArticleSigned"Candidus," June 17th . . .176 Address of clergy. To Benjamin Franklin, June 29th . . • -177 Letter of House of Representatives— Right of Parliament to tax— Revenue and tribute— Independence of officers— Rights of colonists — Position of colonial agent. Article Signed "Candidus," July 1st. . • .186 Convention of clergy. 1 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. A To Arthur Lee, July 31st 189 Conditions in London — Effects of faction and of arbitrary power — Attitude of Hutchinson — Disturbances in North Carolina. Article Signed " Candidus," August 5th . . . 193 Address of clergy — Character of convention. Article Signed " Candidus," August 19th . . . 198 Custom of " addressing " — Public opinion of Administration — Stamp Act — Events in 1768 — Character of addresses. Article Signed " Candidus," September 9th . . 204 Assertion of rights by colonists — Factions — Revenue acts. Article Signed "Candidas," September 1 6th . . 2i3 Circular letter of February, 1768 — The mandate to rescind — Letter to Hillsborough of June, 1768 — Refusal to rescind. Article Signed " Candidus," September 23d . . 222 Dissolution of General Assembly — Charter rights of General Assembly — Royal instructions. To Arthur Lee, September 27th .... 230 Remonstrance of London — Despotism in Massachusetts — Cause of colonial grievances — Possibility of impeachment — Op- position to an American episcopate — Introduction of William Story. Article Signed " Candidus," September 30th . . 237 Letters of Bernard — Disorders in 1768 — Letters of commis- sioners. To Arthur Lee, October 2d 245 Comments on William Story. Article Signed " Candidus," October 7th . . . 246 Salary of Governor — Attitude of Hutchinson. Article Signed " Candidus," October 14th . . . 250 Historic instances of slavery and tyranny — Comparison of America and Rome — Liberties of America. Article Signed " Valerius Poplicola," October 28th . 256 Acts of trade — Subjection and allegiance — Legislative power in Massachusetts — Jurisdiction of Parlif nent. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. Vll To Arthur Lee, October 31st Action of Council on "Junius Americanus" — Relationship of office holders — Attitude of House of Representatives — The " Hue and Cry." To Joseph Allen, November 7th Personal advice. Article Signed " Candidus," November nth Jeroboam as a Governor — Attitude of the clergy. To Arthur Lee, November 13th Proclamation by the Governor — Its reception by the clergy Article Signed " Cotton Mather," November 25th Salary of Governor — Provisions of the charter. Article Signed " Candidus," December 2d . Attitude, of the people — Reply to "Chronus" — Royal in structions. Article Signed " Candidus," December 9th Jealousy of liberty — Control of revenue — Powers of Governor Article Signed " Candidus," December i6th Reply to " Chronus." Memorandum, December i8th .... Alleged criticism of Hancock. Article Signed " Candidus," December 23d Effect of petitioning — Control of funds— Infringement of liberties. 1772. To Henry Marchant, January 7th, . Election in London— Activity of government agents— Policy of Crown officers. To Arthur Lee, January 14th Attitude of Government. Article Signed " Candidus," January 20th . . . Acts of trade —Power of taxation — Colonial right of legis- lation — Extent of " Dominion." Article Signed " Candidus," January 27th . Acts of trade— Magna Charta. 264 268 268 274 276 281 287 293 296 297 306 310 322 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. A List of Violations of Rights, November 20th A Letter of Correspondence, November 20th . Article Signed " Vindex," November 30th To Aaron Davis — Character of Doctor Young. To Arthur Lee, November 31st . Proceedings of Boston — Activity of public enemies— Action of Roxbury and Plymouth. PAGE To the Governor of Massachusetts, April loth . . 327 Answer of House of Representatives — Place of meeting of General Assembly^Power of Governor over sessions. Article Signed "Vindex," April 20th . . . 329 Reply to " Philanthrop Jun." To the Governor of Massachusetts, July 14th . . 331 Answer of House of Representatives — Repair of Province House. Article Signed " Valerius Poplicola," October 5th . 332 Tribute — Effect of petitions — Freemen or slaves? To Andrew Elton Wells, October 2 1st . . . 337 Family affairs — Royal power over colonial government. To Elbridge Gerry, October 27th . . . -339 Independence of judges. To Elbridge Gerry, October 29th .... 340 Independence of judges — Action of Boston. To Arthur Lee, November 3d 342 Retirement of Hillsborough — Character of Dartmouth — In- dependence of judges — Action of Boston. To Elbridge Gerry, November 5 th . . . . 346 Concert of action' — Action of Boston — Independence of judges. To Elbridge Gerry, November 14th .... 348 Activity in Marblehead — Rights as Christians — Attitude of Roxbury and Plymouth. The Rights of the Colonists as Men, as Christians, and as Subjects, November 20th .... 350 359 369 374 379 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. To Elbridge Gerry, December 7th .... 380 Acknowledgment. To William Checkley, December 14th . . . 380 Personal reflections. Article Signed " Candidus," December 14th . . 382 Criticism of Draper's Gazette — Proceedings of Boston. To Elbridge Gerry, December 23d .... 387 Proceedings of Marblehead. To Darius Sessions, December 28th .... 389 Response to request for advice — The Rhode Island commis- sion — Effect on judiciary system. To the Committee of Correspondence of Cambridge, December 29th 39^ Acknowledgment of Boston committee for their endorsement. To the Committee of Correspondence of Plymouth, December 29th 394 Acknowledgment of Boston committee for their endorsement — Character of early settlers. 1773- To Darius Sessions, January 2d . • • • 395 The issue in Rhode Island— Advice to the colony— Probabil- ities considered. To the Governor of Massachusetts, January 26th . 401 Answer of the House of Representatives— Jurisdiction of Parliament— Colonial charters— Rights of colonists— Histori- cal precedents. To the Committee of Correspondence of Lynn, February 9th 426 Acknowledgment of Boston committee — Diffusion of liberty. To Darius Sessions, February . . • • -427 Further advice upon political situation. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. To the Governor of Massachusetts, February 12th . 428 Message of the House of Representatives — Independence of judges — Attitude of Governor. To John Adams 430 On reply to Governor. To the Governor of Massachusetts, March 2d . . 43 1 Ansvifer of House of Representatives — Proceedings of Boston — Rights of King in colonies — Jurisdiction of Parliament — Historical precedents. THE WRITINGS OF SAMUEL ADAMS. ARTICLE SIGNED " VINDEX." [Boston Gazette, January 8, 1770.] — " And the Governor for the time being shall have full power and authority from time to time as he shall judge necessary, to adjourn, prorogue and dissolve all Great and General Courts or Assemblies met and conven'd as aforesaid." — ' The power delegated by this clause to the Governor was undoubtedly intended in favor of the people — The necessity and importance of a legislative in being, and of its having the opportunity of exerting itself upon all proper occasions, must be obvious to a man of common discernment. Its grand object is the re- dress of GRIEVANCES : And for this purpose it is ad- judg'd that parliaments ought to be held frequently — The people may be aggriev'd for the want of having a good law made, as well as repealing a bad one : So they may be, by the mal conduct of the executive in its manner of administring justice wrongfully under colour of law. In all these cases and many ' B. P. Poore, The Federal and State Constitutions , 1878, vol. i., p. 949. VOL. n. — I. I 2 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 Others, the necessity of the frequent interposition of the legislative evidently appears. And if either of them, much more, if all of them should at any time be justly complain'd of by the people, the adjourning, proroguing or dissolving the legislative, at such a juncture, must be the greatest of all grievances — There may be other reasons for the sitting of an American assembly besides the correcting any dis- orders arising from among the people within its own jurisdiction. — Some of the Acts of the British parlia- ment are generally thought to be grievous in their operation, and dangerous in their consequences to the liberties of the American subjects : An American legislative therefore, in which the whole body of the people is represented, ought certainly to have the opportunity of explaining and remonstrating their grievances to the British parliament, and the full ex- ercise of that invaluable and unconiroulable"R.[g\\t of the subject to petition the King, as often as they judge necessary, 'till they are removed. To post- pone a meeting of this universal body of the people till it is too late to make such application must be a frustration of one grand design of its existance ; and it naturally tends to other arbitrary exertions. — I have often tho't that in former administrations such delays to call the general assembly, were intended for the purpose above-mentioned : And if others should have the same apprehension at present I can- not help it, nor am I answerable for it. It may not be amiss however for every man to make it a subject of his contemplation. We all remember that no longer ago than the last year, the extraordinary dis- i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 3 solution by Governor Bernard, in which he declared he was merely ministerial, produced another assembly, which tho' legal in all its proceedings, awaked an attention in the very soul of the British empire. It is not to be expected that in ordinary times, much less at such an important period as this is, any man, tho' endowed with the wisdom of Solomon, at the distance of three thousand miles, can be an ade- quate judge of the expediency of proroguing, and in effect even putting an end to an American legislative assembly ; and more especially at a time when the evil spirit of Misrepresentation is become so atrocious, that even M. . .y itself is liable to be wrongly informed ! — It is for this reason that the delegation of this power to the governor for the time being, appears to be intended in favor of the people : That there might be always at the head of the province, and resident therein, as the charter provides, a person of untainted integrity, candor, impartiality and wisdom, to judge of and determine so essential a point — A point, in which I should think, no person who justly deserves this character, can be passive or merely ministerial, against his own judgment and conscience. Whenever therefore a Governor for the time being, adjourns, prorogues or dissolves the general assembly, having the full power and authority delegated to him of judging from time to time of the Necessity of it, we ought to presume that he exercises that power with freedom : That he determines according to the light of his own understanding, and not anothers : That he clearly sees that it will answer those purposes which he himself judges to be best ; having, as a man 4 THE WRITINGS OF {iTJo of fidelity in his station ought, thoro'ly revolv'd the matter in his own mind : And, that however flatter- ing the concurrent sentiments of any other man may be, he would have been impelled to do it, from the dictates of his own judgment, resulting from his own contemplation of the matter, if he had not received the " express command of his superior." Such a man " will bravely act his mind, and venture — Death." ViNDEX. ARTICLE SIGNED " DETERMINATUS." \Boston Gazette, January 8, 1770.] To the Printers. The agreement of the Merchants of this distressed and insulted continent, to with hold importations from Great Britain, it seems to be allowed on all sides, has the strongest tendency towards the repeal of the acts of parliament for raising a revenue in America without our consent. It is no wonder then, that it was oppos'd with so much vehemence at first, by the Cabal ; who knew full well, that their Places and their Pensions, and all the delectable profits which they expected to reap, and are now actually reaping, at the expence of the people in town and country, would entirely cease, if these acts, by the means of which their places, pensions and profits arise should be repealed — When they could no longer with any face call it the last efforts of a dying faction, (for the measure was so rational and pacific, that it soon spread far and wide, and was chearfully adopted by i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 5 all disinterested friends of the country thro'-out the continent) they put on the appearance of the Sons of Liberty ; and now their cry is, Where is that Liberty so much boasted of and contended for ? We hear them very gravely asking, Have we not a right to carry on our own trade and sell our own goods if we please ? who shall hinder us ? This is now the lan- guage of those who had before seen the ax laid at the very root of all our Rights with apparent complacency, — And pray gentlemen. Have you not a right if you please, to set fire to your own houses, because they are your own, tho' in all probability it will destroy a whole neighbourhood, perhaps a whole city ! Where did you learn that in a state or society you had a right to do as you please ? And that it was an infringe- ment of that right to restrain you ? This is a refine- ment which I dare say, the true sons of liberty despise. Be pleased to be informed that you are bound to con- duct yourselves as the Society with which you are joined, are pleased to have you conduct, or if you please, you may leave it. It is true the will and pleasure of the society is generally declared in its laws : But there may be exceptions, and the present case is without doubt one. — Suppose there was no law of the society to restrain you from murdering your own father, what think you ? If either of you should please to take it into your head to perpetrate such a villainous act, so abhorrent to the will of the society, would you not be restrained? And is the Liberty of your Country of less importance than the life of your father ! But what is most astonishing is, that some two or three persons of very little con- 6 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 sequence in themselves, have Dared openly to give out that They Will vend the goods they have im- ported, tho' they have Solemnly pledgd Their Faith to the body of merchants, that they should remain in store 'till a general importation should take place ! Where then is the honor ! where is the shame of these persons, who can look into the faces of those very men with whom they have contracted, & tell them Without Blushing that they are resolved to Violate the contract! Is it avarice? Is it obstinacy, per- verseness, pride, or from what root of bitterness does such an unaccountable defection from the laws of honor, honesty, and even humanity spring ? Is it the Authority Of An Unnatural Parent — the advice of some false friend, or their own want of common un- derstanding, and the first principles of virtue, by which these unhappy young persons have been in- duced, or left to resolve upon perpetrating that, at the very tho't of which they should have shudder'd ! By this resolution they have already disgrac'd them- selves ; if they have the Hardiness to put the resolu- tion into practice, who will ever hereafter confide in them ? Can they promise themselves the regards of the respectable body of merchants whom they have affronted? or can they even wish for the esteem of their country which they have basely deserted, or worse, which they have attempted to wound in the very heart. — If they imagine they can still weary the patience of an injured country with impunity. — If — I will not utter it — would not the grateful remembrance of unmerited kindness and Generosity, if there was the least spark of ingenuity left, have Influenced to a 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 7 far different resolution ! — If this agreement of the merchants is of that consequence to All America which our brethren in All the other governments, and in Great-Britain Itself think it to be — If the fate of Unborn Millions is suspended upon it, verily it be- hooves, not the merchants Only, but every individual of Every class in City and Country to aid and sup- port them and Peremptorily To Insist upon its being Strictly adhered to. Determinatus. THE TOWN OF BOSTON TO THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS.^ [MS., Office of the City Clerk of Boston.] To his Honor the Lieutenant Governor in Council The Memorial of the Town of Boston legally assembled in Faneuil Hall Monday March 19 1770 Humbly shews That with deep Concern they are made to under- stand that thro the Providence of God diverse of his Majestys Justices of the Superior Court are renderd unable to attend the Duties of their important Trust by bodily Indisposition. 1 Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and John Barret were on March 19, 1770, appointed by the Boston town-meeting " a Committee to draw up a Memorial to the Lieuvetenant Governor and Council praying that special Justices may be appointed for the Superior Court now sitting in the room of those who may be necessarily prevented by sickness from attending their duty ; that so the Tryals of the many Criminals now committed may not be postponed. . . ." At the same session the committee reported a draft, which was accepted.— ^oj/cb Record Commissioner i Report, vol. xviii., p. 15- 8 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 That there are a great Number of Prisoners now in his Majestys Gaol in the County of Suffolk, of whom fifteen are confind for Tryal for capital offences. That the Sherriff of said County has been under Apprehension of the Escape of said Prisoners as appears by his Letter to the Town hereto annexd to be laid before your honor. That there are a great .Number of Witnesses in the Cases of the late Trajical Murder in Boston many of whom are Seamen & detaind to their very great Disadvantage & possibly some of them may be under Temptation to absent themselves from the Tryal. All which the Town beg leave humbly to represent to your honor as cogent Reasons for the Tryal of the said Prisoners as early as possible in the present Term. Wherefore your Memorialists humbly pray your Honor to appoint special Justices in the Room of those taken off as aforesaid/ in order for the Tryal of the said Prisoners, or otherwise that your Honor w"^ take such Steps to prevent the Delay of Justice at this important Crisis as in your Wisdom shall seem meet. And as in Duty bound your Mem"^ shall ever pray. Signd in Behalf of the Town at the Meeting aforesaid. ' At this point the words " whom the Town reverence & esteem " were stricken from the original draft. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. g TO JOHN HANCOCK. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text with slight variations is in W. V. Wells Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i. , p. 343. J Boston May 11 1770 Dear S" Your Resolution yesterday to resign your seat gave me very great Uneasiness. I could not think you had sufficient Ground to deprive the Town of one whom I have a Right to say is a most valueable Member, since you had within three of the unanimous Suf- frages of your Fellow Citizens, & one of the negative Votes was your own.^ You say you have been spoken ill of. What then ? Can you think that while you are a good Man that all will speak well of you — If you knew the person who has defamd you nothing is more likely than that you would justly value your self upon that mans Censure as being the highest Applause. Those who were fond of continuing M"' Otis on the Seat, were I dare say to a Man among your warmest friends : Will you then add to their Disappointment by a Resignation, merely because one contemptible person, who perhaps was hired for the purpose, has blessd you with his reviling — Need I add more than to intreat it as a favor that you would alter your Design. I am with strict truth Your affectionate friend & Brother. ' At the Boston town-meeting on May 8, 1770, Hancock received, as a candi- date for representative, 511 out of 513 votes. On June 13, 1770, William Palfrey, acting for Hancock, wrote to Haley and Hopkins : " The removal of the General Court to Cambridge obliges Mr. Han- cock to be often there." John Hancock. His Book, by A. E. Brown, p. 167. 10 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 A COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. [MS., Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society ; an incomplete draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; the latter text only is in the handwriting of Adams.] Boston July 13th : 1770 Sir, It affords very great Satisfaction to the Town of Boston to find that the Narrative of the horrid mas- sacre perpetrated here on the 5* of March last which was transmitted to London,^ has had the desired effect ; by estabHshing truth in the minds of honest men, and in some measure preventing the Odium being cast on the Inhabitants, as the aggressors in it. We were very apprehensive that all attempts would be made to gain this Advantage against us : and as there is no occasion to think that the malice of our Enemies is in the least degree abated, it has been thought necessary that our friends on your side the Water, should have a true state of the Circumstances of the Town and of everything which has materially occurred, since the removal of the Troops to the ' Under date of March 23, 1770, James Bowdoin, Samuel Pemberton and Joseph Warren, as a committee of the town of Boston, wrote to Lord Dart- mouth, enclosing a narrative of the events of March 5 and a certified copy of the vote of town, on March 22, directing them to transmit the printed narra- tive. The original letter is No. 320 of Lord Dartmouth's American MSS., at PatshuU House. The text of the same letter, whigh was addressed to the Duke of Richmond and others, is in A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston^ New York, 1849. (This is reprinted, with notes by John Doggett, Jr., from a copy of the original edition of 1770, in the library of the New York Historical Society. Another reprint, with notes by Frederic Kidder, was pub- lished at Albany, 1870.) The Additional Observations to a Short Narrative, 1770, are reprinted by Doggett, pp. 109-117. Cf., Proceedings of Colonial Society of Massachusetts, April igoo, pp. 13-21. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. ii Castle. For this purpose we are appointed a Com- mittee : ^ But the time will not admit of our writing so fully by this Conveyance, as we intend by the next, in the mean time we intreat your further friendship for the Town, in your Endeavours to get the Judg- ment of the Public suspended, upon any representa- tion that may have been made by the Commissioners of the Customs and others, until the Town can have the Opportunity of knowing what is alleged against it, and of answering for itself. We must confess that we are astonished to hear that the Parliament had come to a determination, to admit Garbled extracts from such Letters as may be received from America by Administration and to Conceal the Names of the Persons who may be the Writers of them. This will certainly give great Encouragement to Persons of wicked Intentions to abuse the Nations & injure the Colonies in the grossest manner with Impunity, or even without detection. For a Confirmation hereof we need to recur no further back than a few months, when undoubtedly the Accounts and Letters carried by Mr. Rob[in]son would have been attended with very unhappy if not fatal effects, had not this Town been so attentive as to have Contradicted those false accounts by the depositions of many credible persons under Oath. But it cannot be supposed that a Com- munity will be so Attentive but upon the most Alarm- ing Events : In general Individuals are following their private concerns, while it is to be feared the ' The town of Boston, on July lO, 1770, appointed a committee of nine, in- cluding Adams, Hancock, Dana, Gushing and Joseph Warren, to prepare a " true state" of the town and of the acts of the commissioners since March 5. 12 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 restless Adversaries are forming the most dangerous Plans for the Ruin of the Reputation of the People, in order to build their own Greatness on the Distruc- tion of their liberties. This Game they have been long playing; and tho' in some few instances they have had a loosing hand, yet they have commonly managed with such Art, that they have so far succeeded in their Malicious designs as to involve the Nation and the Colonies in Confusion and distress. This it is presumed they never could have accomplished had not these very letters been kept from the view of the Public, with a design perhaps to conceal the false- hood of them the discovery of which would have prevented their having any mischievous effects. This is the Game which we have reason to believe they are now playing ; With so much Secrecy as may ren- der it impossible for us fully to detect them on this Side of the Water ; How deplorable then must be our Condition, if ample Credit is to be given to their Testimonies against us, by the Government at home, and if the Names of our Accusers are to be kept a profound Secret, and the World is to see only such parts or parcells of their Representations as Persons, who perhaps may be interested in their favor, shall think proper to hold up — Such a Conduct, if allowed, seems to put it into the Power of a Combination of a few designing Men to deceive a Nation to its Ruin. The measures which have been taken in Consequence of Intelligence Managed with such secrecy, have al- ready to a very great degree lessened that Mutual Confidence which had ever Subsisted between the Mother Country and the Colonies, and must in the i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 13 Natural Course of things totally alienate their Affec- tions towards each other and consequently weaken, and in the End destroy the power of the Empire. It is in this extended View of things that our minds are affected — It is from these Apprehensions that we earnestly wish that all communication between the two Countries of a public nature may be unvailed before the public : with the names of the persons who are concerned therein, then and not till then will American affairs be under the direction of honest men, who are never afraid or ashamed of the light. And as we have abundent reason to be jealous that the most mischievous and virulent accounts have been very lately sent to Administration from Castle Wil- liam where the Commissioners have again retreated for no reason that we can conceive but after their former manner to misrepresent and injure this Town and Province, — we earnestly intreat that you would use your utmost influence to have an Order passed that the whole of the packetts sent by the Commis- sioners of the Customs and others under the care of one M"^ Bacon late an officer of the Customs in Vir- ginia, who took his passage the last week in the Brigantine Lydia Joseph Wood Commander may be laid before his Majesty in Council — If the Writers of those Letters shall appear to be innocent, no harm can possibly arise from such a measure ; if otherwise, it may be the means of ex- ploring the true Cause of the National and Collonial Malady, and of affording an easy remedy, and there- fore the measure must be justified & applauded by all the World. 14 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 We have observed in the English Papers, the most notorious falsehoods published with an apparent de- sign to give the World a prejudice against this Town, as the Aggressors in the unhappy Transaction of the 5* of March, but no account has been more repug- nant to the truth, than a paper printed in the public Advertiser^ of the 28"" of April which is called The case of Capt. Preston. As a Committee of this Town we thought ourselves bound in faithfulness to wait on Cap' Preston to enquire of him whether he was the Author — he frankly told us that he had drawn a state of his case, but that it had passed thro different hands and was altered at different times, and finally the Publication in the Advertiser was varied from that which he sent home as his own ; we then desired him to let us know whether several parts which we might point to him and to which we took exception were his own, but he declined Satisfying us herein, saying that the alterations were made by Persons who he supposed might aim at serving him, though he feared they might have a Contrary effect, and that his discriminating to us the parts of it which were his own from those which had been altered by others might displease his friends at a time when he might stand in need of their essential Service ; this was the Substance of the Conversation between us, whereupon we retired and wrote to Cap' Preston a Letter the Copy of which is now inclosed.^ The next day not receiving an answer from Capt. ' Published in London. The " Case" was also printed in the Annual Regis- ter^ \TTi.. Cf., Boston Gazette, June 25, 1770. ' Under date of July 11, 1770. A copy is in S. A. Wells, Samuel Adams and the American Revolution, vol. i., pp. 230-232. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 15 Preston at the time we proposed, we sent him a mes- sage desiring to be informed whether we might ex- pect his answer to which he repUed by a Verbal Message as ours was that he had nothing further to add to what he had said to us the day before, as you '1 please to observe by the inclosed Certificate — As therefore Cap' Preston has utterly declined to make good the charges against the Town in the Paper called his case or to let us know to whom we may apply as the Author or Authors of those parts which he might have disclaimed, and especially as the whole of his case thus stated directly militates not only with his own Letter published under his hand in the Boston Gazette, but with the depositions of others annexed to our Narrative which were taken, not be- hind the Curtain as some may have been, but openly and fairly, after notifying the Parties interested, and before Magistrates to whose credit the Governor of the Province has given his full attestation under the Province Seal, we cannot think that the Paper called the Case of CapL Thomas Preston, or any other Paper of the like import can be deemed in the opinion of the sensible and impartial part of mankind as suffi- cient, in the least degree to prejudice the Character of the Town. It is therefore altogether needless for us to point out the many falsehoods contained in this Paper; nor indeed would there be time for it at present for the reason above mentioned— We cannot however omit taking notice of the artifice made use of by those who drew up the statement, in insinuating that it was the design of the People to plunder the King's Chest, and for the more easily effecting that i6 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 to murder the Centinel posted at the Custom House where the money was lodged. This intelHgence is said to have been brought to Cap' Preston by a Townsman, who assured him that he heard the mob declare they would murder the Centinel. — The towns- man probably was one Greenwood a Servant to the Commissioners whose deposition Number 96.^ is in- serted among others in the Narrative of the Town and of whom it is observed in a Marginal Note, that : " Through the whole of his examination he was so inconsistent, and so frequently contradicted himself, that all present were convinced that no credit ought to be given to his deposition, for which reason it would not have been inserted had it not been known that a deposition was taken relating to this affair, from this Greenwood by Justice Murray and carried home by Mr. Robinson," and further "this deponent is the only person, out of a great number of Witnesses ex- amined, who heard anything mentioned of the Custom House." Whether this part of the Case of Cap' Pres- ton was inserted by himself or some other person we are not told. It is very much to be questioned whether the information was given by any other than Greenwood himself, and the sort of Character which he bears is .so well known to the Commissioners and their Connections some of whom probably assisted Cap' Preston in stating his Case, as to have made them ashamed if they regarded the truth, to have given the least credit to what he said. — Whoever may have helped them to this intelligence, we will ■ The affidavit of Thomas Greenwood, sworn to March 24, 1770, is printed in Doggett's edition of the Short Narrative, pp. 101-103. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 17 venture to say, that it never has been and never can be supported by the Testimony of any Man of a tolerable reputation. We shall only observe upon this occasion, how inveterate our Enemies here are, who, rather than omit what they might think a lucky opportunity of Slandering the Town, have wrought up a Narrative not only unsupported by, but con- trary to the clearest evidence of facts and have even prevailed upon an unhappy Man under pretence of friendship to him, to adopt it as his own : Though they must have known with a common share of understanding, that it's being published to the world as his own must have injured him, under his pres- ent Circumstances, in the most tender point, and so shocked was Cap' Preston himself, at its appear- ing in the light on this side the Water, that he was immediately apprehensive so glaring a falsehood would raise the indignation of a people to such a pitch as to prompt them to some attempts that would be dangerous to him, and he accordingly applyed to M' Sheriff Greenleaf for special protection on that account : But the Sheriff assuring him that there was no such disposition appearing among the People (which is an undoubted truth) Cap' Preston's fears at length subsided : and he still remains in safe custody, to be tried by the Superior Court of Judicature, at the next term in August; unless the Judges shall think proper further to postpone the Trial, as they have done for one whole term, since he was indicted by the Grand Jury. Before we conclude it may not be improper to observe that the removal of the troops was in the VOL. II. — 2. i8 THE WRITINGS OF [177° Slowest order, insomuch that eleven days were spent in carrying the two Regiments to Castle Island, which had before landed in the Town in less than forty eight hours ; yet in all this time, while the number of the Troops was daily lessening, not the least disorder was made by the inhabitants, tho' filled with a just indigna- tion and horror at the blood of their fellow Citizens, so inhumanely spilt ! And since their removal the Com- mon Soldiers, have frequently and even daily come up to the Town for necessary provisions, and some of the officers, as well as several of the families of the soldiers have resided in the Town and done business therein without the least Molestation ; yet so hardy have our Enemies been as to report in London that the enraged populace had hanged up Cap' Preston. The strange and irreconcileable conduct of the Com- missioners of the Customs since the 5th of March — their applying for leave, to retire to the Castle as early as the tenth, and spending their time in making excursions into the Country 'till the 20* of June follow- ing, together with other material Circumstances, are the subject of our present enquiry ; the result of which you will be made acquainted with by the next convey- ance. In the mean time we remain with strict truth. — Sir Your much obliged and most Obedient Servants Thomas Cushing, W" Phillips, Ri Dana, W" Molineux, Sam'- Adams, Ebenezer Storer, John Hancock, W" Greenleaf. 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 19 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. [MS., Boston Public Library ; a text, with many modifications of detail, is in Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 240-248; it was also printed in the Boston Gazette, August 6, 1770.] In the House of Representatives August the 3 1770 Orderd that M' Hancock Cap Thayer M' Pickerin Cap Fuller and Cap Sumner carry up to the Hon" Board the following Answer of this House to his Honors Speech to both Houses at the opening of this Session Thomas Cushing Spk' ^ May it please your Honor The House of Representatives, having duly at- tended to your Speech* to both Houses at the Open- ing of this Session, and maturely considerd the several parts of it, have unanimously, in a full House determind to adhere to their former Resolution " that it is by no means expedient to proceed to Busi- ness, while the General Assembly is thus constraind to hold the Session out of the Town of Boston." Upon a Recollection of the Reasons we have before given for this measure, we conceive it will appear to all the World, that neither the good People of this Province, nor the House of Representatives can be justly chargd with any ill Consequences that may follow it. After the most repeated & attentive Ex- amination of your Speech, we find Nothing to induce I From this point the manuscript is wholly in the handwriting of Adams. « Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 237-240. 20 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 US to alter our Opinion, and very little that is new & material in the Controversy : But as we perceive it is publishd, it may possibly be read by some who have never seen the Reasons of the House ; and as there are specious things containd in it, which may have a Tendency to make an unhappy Impression on some minds, we have thought proper to make a few Obser- vations upon it. You are pleasd to say, " you meet us at Cam- bridge, because you have no Reason to think there has been any Alteration in his Majestys Pleasure, which you doubt not was determind by wise motives, & with a gracious Purpose to promote the Good of the province." We presume not to call in Question the Wisdom of our Sovereign or the Rectitude of his Intentions : But there have been Times, when a cor- rupt and profligate Administration have venturd upon such Measures, as have had a direct Tendency, to ruin the Interest of the People as well as that of their Royal Master. This House have great Reason to doubt, whether it is, or ever was his Majestys Pleasure that your Honor should meet the Assembly at Cambridge, or that he has ever taken the matter under his Royal Consideration : Because, the common and the best Evidence in such Cases, is not communicated to us. It is needless for us to add any thing to what has been heretofore said, upon the Illegality of holding the Court any where except in the Town of Boston : For admitting the Power to be in the Governor to hold the Court in any other place when the publick Good requires it ; yet, it by no means follows that he i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 21 has a Right to call it at any other place, when it is to the manifest Injury & Detriment of the Publick. The Opinion of the Attourny and Solicitor General has very little Weight with this House in any Case, any farther than the Reasons which they expressly give are convincing. This Province has sufferd so much by unjust, groundless & illegal Opinions of those officers of the Crown, that our Veneration or Reverence for their Opinions is much abated. We utterly deny that the Attourny & Solicitor General have any Authority or Jurisdiction over us ; any Right to decide Questions in Controversy, between the several Branches of the Legislature here : Nor do we concede, that even his Majesty in Council has any Constitutional Authority to decide such Questions, or any other Controversy whatever that arises in this Pro- vince, excepting only such Matters as are reservd in the Charter. It seems a great Absurdity, that when a Dispute arises between the Governor and the House, the Governor should appeal to his Majesty in Council to decide it. Would it not be as reasonable for the House to appeal to the Body of their Constit- uents to decide it ? Whenever a Dispute has arisen within the Realm, between the Crown & the two Houses of Parliament, or either of them, was it ever imagind that the King in his privy Council had Authority to decide it ? However there is a Test, a Standard common to all, we mean the publick Good. But your Honor must be very sensible that the Illegality of holding the Court in any other place besides the Town of Boston is far from being the only Dispute between your Honor & this House : we 22 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 contend, that the People & their Representatives have a Right to withstand the abusive Exercise of a legal & constitutional Prerogative of the Crown. We beg Leave to recite to your Honor what the Great M' Locke has advancd in his Treatise of civil Govern- ment, upon the like Prerogative of the Crown. " The old Question, says he, will be asked in this matter of Prerogative, who shall be Judge when this Power is made a right Use of ?" And he answers, " Between an executive Power in being with such a Prerogative, and a Legislative that depends upon his Will for their convening, there can be no Judge on Earth, as there can be none between the Legislative & the People, should either the Executive or Legislative when they have got the Power in their Hands, design or go about to enslave or destroy them. The People have no other Remedy in this, as in all other Cases, where they have no Judge on Earth, but to appeal to Heaven. ' For the Rulers, in such Attempts, exercis- ing a Power the People never put into their Hands (who can never be supposd to consent that any Body should rule over them for their Harm) do that which they have not a Right to do. And when the Body of the People or any single Man is deprivd of their Right, or under the Exercise of a Power with- out Right, and have no Appeal on Earth, then they have a Liberty to appeal to Heaven whenever they judge the Cause of sufficient moment. And there- fore, tho the People cannot be judge, so as to have by the Constitution of that Society any superior Power to determine and give effective Sentence in the Case ; yet they have by a Law antecedent & para- mount to all positive Laws of Men, reservd that ulti- 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 23 mate Determination to themselves which belongs to all Mankind where there lies no Appeal on Earth viz to judge whether they have just Cause to make their Appeal to Heaven." We would however, by no means be understood to suggest that this People have Occasion at present to proceed to such Extremity. Your Honor is pleasd to say, " that the House of Representatives in the year 1728, did not think the Form of the Writ, sufficient to justify them in refus- ing to do Business at Salem " ; It is true they did not by any Vote or Resolve determine not to do Busi- ness yet the House, as we read in your Honors History, " met and adjournd from Day to Day with- out doing Business " ; ^ and we find by the Records, that from the 31 of October 1728 to the 14* of De- cember following the House did meet and adjourn without doing Business ; And then they voted to proceed to the publick & necessary Affairs of the province " provided no Advantage be had or made, for and by Reason of the aforesaid Removal (mean- ing the Removal to Salem) or pleaded as a prece- dent for the future". Yet your Honor has been pleasd to quote the Conduct of that very House, as a precedent for our Imitation. We apprehend their proceeding to Business, & the Consequences of it viz, the Encouragement it gave to Governor Burnet to go on with his Design of harrassing them into unconstitu- tional Compliances, and the Use your Honor now makes of it as an Authority and a Precedent, ought to be a Warning to this House to make a determind ' Inaccurately quoted from T. Hutchinson, History of the Province of Massa- chusetts Bay, vol. ii., p. 317. 24 ■ THE WRITINGS OF [1770 & effectual Stand. Their Example, tho respectable, is not obligatory upon this House. — They lived in times, when the Encroachments of Despotism were in their Infancy. — They were carried to Salem, by the mere Caprice of Governor Burnet, who never pleaded an Instruction for doing this — An Instruction from a Ministry who had before treated them with unexampled Indignity — An Instruction which they were not permitted to see. They had no Reason to apprehend a fixd Design to alter the Seat of Govern- ment, to their great Inconvenience and the manifest Injury of the Province. We are not disposd to dispute the Understanding, Integrity, Familys & Estates of the Council in 1728. We believe them to have been such, that if they were now upon the Stage, they would see so many addi- tional & more weighty Reasons against proceeding to Business out of Boston, that they would fully approve of the Resolution of this House ; as well as of what has been lately advancd by their Successors, who are also Gentlemen of Understanding, Integrity, Fortune and Family, in the following Words ; " Gov- ernor Burnets Conduct in convening the General Court out of Boston, cannot be deemd an acknow- legd or constitutional Precedent, because, it was not founded on the only Reason on which the Pre- rogative of the Crown can be justly founded. The Good of the Community." We shall only add, that the Rights of the province having been of late years most severely attackd, has indued Gentlemen to ex- amine the Constitution more thorowly, & has increasd their Zeal in its Defence. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 25 You are pleasd to adduce an Instance in 1754 in Addition to that in 1747, which you say "makes it probable, that the House of Representatives rather chose that the Court should sit elsewhere, when a Comittee was chosen to consider of and report a proper place for a Court House at a Distance from Boston". We beg Leave here to observe, that both these are Instances of the House's interresting them- selves in this Affair, which your Honor now claims as a Prerogative : If the House were in no Case to have a Voice, or be regarded, in chusing a place to hold the Court, how could they think of building a House in a place, to which they never had been, and proba- bly, never would be called. — While the House have been from time to time, holding up to View, the great Inconveniencys and manifest Injurys resulting from the Sitting of the Assembly at Cambridge, and praying a Removal to Boston, it is with Pain that they have heard your Honor, instead of pointing out any one good Purpose which can be answerd by it, replying that your Instructions will not permit you to remove the Court to Boston. By a royal Grant in the Charter, in favor of the Commons of this province, the Governor has the sole power of adjourning, proroguing and dissolv- ing the General Court: And the Wisdom of that Grant appears in this, that a person residing in the province, must be a more competent Judge, of the Fitness of the Time, and we many add, the place of holding the Court, than any person residing in Great Britain. We do not deny, that there may be In- stances when the Comander in Chiefe, ought to obey 26 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 the Royal Instructions : And should we also admit, that in ordinary Cases he ought to obey them, respect- ing the convening, holding, proroguing, adjourning & dissolving the General Court, notwithstanding that Grant ; yet we clearly hold, that whenever In- structions cannot be complyd with, without injuring the people, they cease to be binding. Any other Supposition would involve this Absurdity in it, that a Substitute by Means of Instructions from his Prin- cipal, may have a greater Power than the Principal himself ; or in other Words, that a Representative of a King who can do no Wrong, by means of Instructions may obtain a Right to do Wrong: for that the Prerogative extends not to do any Injury, never has and never can be denyd. Therefore this House are clearly of Opinion, that your Honor is under no Obligation to hold the General Court at Cambridge, let your Instructions be conceivd in Terms ever so peremptory, in as much as it is incon- venient and injurious to the province. — As to your Commission, it is certain, that no Clause containd in that, inconsistent with the Charter can be binding : To suppose, that when a Grant is made by Charter in favor of the people. Instructions shall supercede that Grant, and oblige the Governor to act repugnant to it, is vacating the Charter at once, by the Breath of a Minister of State. Your Honor thinks you may safely say, " there is not one of us, who if he was in your Station, would venture to depart from the Instruc- tions." As you had not the least Shadow of Evidence to warrant this, we are sure you could not say it with Safety : And we leave it with your Honor to deter- i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 27 mine, how far it is reconcileable with Delicacy to sug- gest it. In what particulars the holding the General Court at Cambridge is injurious to us and the Pro- vince, has already been declared by the House, and must be too obvious to escape your Honors Obser- vation. Yet you are pleasd to tell us, that "the Inconveniences can easily be removd, or are so incon- siderable that a very small publick Benefit will out- weigh them " — That they are not inconsiderable, every Days Experience convinces us ; nor are our Constituents insensible of them : But how they can be easily removd, we cannot conceive, unless by removing the Court to Boston. Can the publick Ofifices & Records, to which we are under the Necessity of recurring, almost every Hour, with any Safety or Convenience to the publick be removd to Cambridge? Will our Constituents consent to be at the Expence of erecting a proper House at Cam- bridge, for accommodating the General Court, espe- cially when they have no Assurance that the next Freak of a capricious Minister will not remove the Court to some other place ? Is it possible to have that Communication with our Constituents, or to be benefited by the Reasonings of the people without Doors here, as at Boston ? We cannot but flatter ourselves, that every judicious and impartial Person will allow, that the holding the General Court at Cambridge, is inconvenient and hurtful to the Pro- vince ; Nor has your Honor ever yet attempted to show a single Instance, in which the province can be benefited by it : No good purpose which can be answerd by it, has ever yet been suggested by any 28 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 one to this House. And we have the utmost Confi- dence, that our gracious Sovereign, has no Desire to hold the General Court at any place inconvenient to its Members, or injurious to the province ; but rather, that he will frown upon those, who have procurd its Removal to such a place, or persist in holding it there. We are not indeed sure, that the Ministry caused the Assembly to be removd to Cambridge, in order to worry them into a Compliance with any arbitrary Mandate, to the Ruin of our own or our Constitu- ents Libertys : But we know, that the General As- sembly has in Times past been treated with such Indignity and Abuse, by the Servants of the Crown, and a wicked Ministry may attempt it again. Your Honor observes, that " the same Exception may be made to the Use of every other part of the prerogative, for every part is capable of Abuse." We shall never except to the proper Use of the preroga- tive : We hold it sacred as the Liberty of the Sub- ject. But every Abuse of it, will always be excepted to, so long as the Love of Liberty, or any publick Virtue remains. And whenever any other part of the prerogative shall be abusd, the House will not fail to judge for themselves of the Grievance, nor to exert every power with which the Constitution hath en- trusted them, to check the Abuse, and redress the Grievance. The House had expressd to your Honor their Ap- prehension of a fixd Design, either to change the Seat of Government, or to harrass us, in order to bring us into a Compliance with some arbitrary Man- i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 29 date : Your Honor says, you know of no fixd De- sign to harrass us &c. : Upon which we cannot but observe, that if you did not know of a fixd Design to change the Seat of Governm' you would not have omitted so fair an Opportunity to satisfy the Minds of the House, in a Matter of such Importance to the Province. As to-your very condescending and Hberal Professions, of exercising patience, or using Dispatch, as would be most agreable to us, we shall be very much obligd to your Honor, for the Exercise of those Virtues, whenever you shall see Cause to remove us to our ancient and establishd Seat : But these pro- fessions can be no Temptations to us, to give up our Privileges. Your Honor is pleasd to say, that "we consider \ yj^y the Charter as a Compact between the Crown and the People of this province " and to ask a Question " Shall one Party to the Compact be held, and not the other " ? It is true, we consider the Charter as such a Compact, and agree that both Parties are held. The Crown covenants, that a Great & General Court shall be held, every last Wednesday in May for ever ; The Crown therefore, doubtless is bound by this Covenant. But we utterly deny, that the people have covenanted to grant Money, or to do Business, at least any other Business than chusing Officers and Councellors to compleat the General Court, on the last Wednesday of May, or in any other Day or Year whatever : Therefore this House, by refusing to do Business, do not deprive the Crown of the Exercise of the prerogative, nor fail of performing their part of the Compact. Your Honor w"* doubtless have been 30 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 culpable had you refusd to call a General Court on the last Wednesday in May : And the House might have been equally culpable, if they had refusd to chuse a Speaker and Clerk, or to elect Councellors, whereby to compleat the General Court ; for in Case of Omission in either part, a Question might arise, Whether the people would have a Legislative. When the General Assembly is thus formd, they are impow- erd by the Charter, to make, ordain and establish a:ll Manner of wholesome and reasonable Orders, Laws, Statutes & Ordinances, Directions and Instructions, either with penaltys or without. But the Charter no where obliges the Gen' Court, to make any Orders, Laws, Statutes or Ordinances, unless they, at that time judge it conducive to the publick Good to make them : Much less does it oblige them to make any Laws &c, in any particular Session, year or number of years, whenever they themselves shall judge them not to be for the publick Good. Such an Obligation would leave them the least Color of Freedom, but reduce them to a mere machine ; to the State the Parliament would have been in, if the Opinion of the, two Chief e Justices and the three puisne Judges had prevaild in the Reign of Richard the second "that the King hath the Governance of Parlia- ment, and may appoint what shall be first handled, and so gradually what next, in all matters to be treated of in parliament, even to the End of the parliament ; and if any person shall act contrary to the Kings pleasure made known therein, they are to be punishd as Traitors" — for which opinion those five Judges had Judgment as in Case of high Treason. — Your 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 31 Honor will allow us to ask, Whether the Doctrine containd in your Question viz, "If you should refuse to do Business now you are met, would you not de- prive the Crown of the Exercise of the prerogative, and fail of performing your part of the Compact " which implys a strong affirmation, is not in a Degree, the very Doctrine of Chief e Justice Tresilian and the four other Judges just now mentiond? By conven- ing in Obedience to his Majesty's Writ, tested by your Honor, and again, at the time to which we are prorogud, we have submitted to the prerogative, and performd our part of the Compact. This House has the same inherent Rights in this Province, as the House of Commons has in Great Britain. It is our Duty to procure a Redress of Grievances, and we may constitutionally refuse to grant our Constituents money to the Crown, or to do any other Act of Government, at any given time, that is not afifixd by Charter to a certain Day, until the Grievances of the people are redressd. We do not pretend, that our Opinion is to prevail against his Majestys Opinion : We never shall attempt to ad- journ or prorogue or dissolve the General Court : But we do hope, that our Opinion shall prevail, against any Opinion whatever, of the proper time to make Laws and to do Business. And by exerting this Power which the Constitution has given us, we hope to convince your Honor and the Ministry of the Necessity of removing the Court to Boston. — All judicious Men will allow that the proper time for the House to do their part of the Business of the province, is for the House to judge of and determine. The 32 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 House think it is not, in the present Circumstances of the province, a proper time to do this Business, while the Court is constraind to hold their Session out of Boston : Your Honor is of a different Opin- ion : We have conformd to this Opinion as far as the Constitution requires us, And now our right of judging commences. If your Honors or even his Majestys Opinion concerning this Point is to prevail against the Opinion of the House, why may not the Crown, according to the Tresilian Doctrine, as well prescribe what Business we shall do, and in what Order. The House is still ready to answer for all the ill Consequences which can justly be attributed to them ; nor are they sensible of any Danger from exerting the power which the Charter has given them of doing their part of the Business in their own time. — That the Province has Enemies who are continually defam- ing it, and their Charter, is certain ; that there are Persons who are endeavoring to intimidate the pro- vince from asserting and vindicating their just Rights and Liberties, by Insinuations of Danger to the Con- stitution, is also indisputable ; But no Instance hap- pend, even in the execrable Reign of the worst of the Stuart Race, of a Forfeiture of a Charter, because any one Branch of a Legislature, or even because the whole Government under the Charter, refusd to do Business at a particular time, under grievous Circum- stances of Ignominy, Disgrace and Insult ; and when their Charter had explicitly given to that Government the sole power of judging of the proper Season & Occasion of doing Business. 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 33 We are obligd at this time to struggle, with all the Powers with which the Constitution hath furnishd us, in Defence of our Rights ; to prevent the most value- able of our Libertys, from being wrested from us, by the subtle Machinations, and daring Encroachments of wicked Ministers. We have seen of late, innumer- able Encroachments on our Charter : Courts of Ad- miraltry extended from the high Seas, where by the Compact in the Charter, they are confind, to number- less important Causes upon Land : Multitudes of civil Officers, the Appointment of all which is confind by Charter to the Governor and Council, sent here from abroad by the Ministry : A Revenue, not granted by us, but torn from us : Armys stationd here without our Consent ; and the Streets of our Metropolis, crimsondWith the Blood of our fellow Sub- jects. — These, and other Grievances and Cruelties, too many to be here enumerated, and too melan- cholly to be much longer born by this injurd People, we have seen brot upon us by the Devices of Minis- ters of State. We have seen & had of late. Instruc- tions to Governors which threaten to destroy all the remaining Privileges of our Charter. In June 1768, the House, by an Instruction were orderd to rescind an excellent Resolution of a former House, on pain of Dissolution ; ^ they refusd to comply with so im- pudent a Mandate, and were dissolvd. And the Governor, tho' repeatedly requested, and tho' the Exigences of the Province demanded a General As- sembly, refusd to call a new one, till the following May. In the last year, the General Court was forcd 'See Vol. I., p. 230. VOL. II. — 3. 34 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 to give Way to regular Troops, illegally quartered in the Town of Boston, in Consequence of Instructions to Crown Officers, and whose main Guard was most daringly and insultingly placd at the Door of the State house ; and afterwards they were constraind to hold their Session at Cambridge. The present year the Assembly is summond to meet, and is still con- tinued there in a kind of Duress, without any Reason that can be given — any Motive whatever, that is not as great an Insult to them, and Breach of their Privi- lege, as any of the foregoing. — Are these things consistent with the Freedom of the House ; or, could the General Courts tamely submiting to such Usage, be thought to promote his Majestys Service ! Should these Struggles of the House prove unfor- tunate and ineffectual, this Province will submit, with pious Resignation to the Will of Providence ; but it would be a kind of Suicide, of which we have the utmost Horror, thus to be made the Instruments of our Servitude. We beg leave before we conclude, to make one Remark on what you say, that " our Compliance can be of no Benefit to our Sovereign, any farther than as he interests himself in the Happiness of his Subjects." We are apprehensive that the World may take this for an Insinuation, very much to our Dishonor : As if the Benefit of our Sovereign were a Motive in our Minds, against a Compliance. But as this Imputa- tion would be extremely unjust, so we hope it was not intended by your Honor. We are however obligd in Justice to our selves and our Constituents to declare that if we had Reason to believe, that a 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 35 Compliance would be any, the least Benefit to our Sovereign, it would be a very powerful Argument with us ; But we are on the Contrary, fully perswaded, that a Compliance at present, would be very injurious and detrimental to his Majestys Service. ARTICLE SIGNED " A CHATTERER." ^ \Boston Gazette. August 13, 1770.] -jfc^-^ Messieurs Edes & Gill, , ... /-' " What availed the good Qualities of Galba ? He who should not have employed bad Men, or at least should have restrained or punished them, incurred the same Censure as if he himself had done it ! — It is the common Craft of corrupt Ministers to represent their Cause as the Cause Idem 69. 'Idem. 22. ^ Idem. 61. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 115 before done, as indeed some of them had threatened they would, and which would probably have bro't on a new scene of confusion. But the commanding officer, very prudently ordered the regiment to be under arms, which prevented it. If these testimonies would not have been pertinent to the issue of the late trial, I think it necessary to adduce them here, to convince the world of the wretched state this Town had been in ; the reason they had to apprehend, while such blood-thirsty in- mates were quarter'd among them ; and the necessity they were under, constantly to be on their guard, while there were even such exultations at the barbar- ous " action " of the Evening. Much was bro't into Court, to show that the Town was in a state of disorder on that Evening, and pre- vious to the Affray at Murray's Barracks ; Witnesses were admitted to testify, that they had been met by one and another arm'd with Clubs ; but nothing ap- peared there, to show the Cause and even the neces- sity of it : Thus, one of the prisoners witnesses testified in Court, that at seven o'clock, going to the South- End of the Town, he met forty or fifty in small parties, four or five in a party ; and divers others swore to the same purpose : They did not indeed say, whether they knew them to be Inhabitants ; it is as probable, that they were Soldiers, as inhabitants, if not more so ; for it was sworn before the Magis- trates, by a person of credit, that on the Saturday before, he saw the Soldiers making Clubs} Another was ready to testify in Court, that thirty of these > Idem. 4. ii6 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 Clubs or Bludgeons, were made by the Soldiers, in his own Shop. And in the part of the Town where the before-mentioned witness was going, a gentleman was early in the Evening attacked by two Soldiers, one of them arm'd with a Club, and the other with a broad Sword ; the latter struck him, and threatned that he should soon hear more of it} It was notorious, that the Soldiers were frequently seen on that Evening, arm'd with Clubs, as well as other Weapons ; and the night before, very late, it can be prov'd that forty or fifty of them were seen, thus arm'd, in several parts of the Town in terror of his Majesty's subjects : But in the judgment of some men, every party that was seen with Clubs, or in the modern term, bludgeons, to be sure, must have been inhabitants. It had been testified, that on the Saturday before the fifth of March, the Soldiers, had not only been seen making their Clubs, as is before mentioned, but from what the witness could collect from their conversation, they were resolved to be revenged on the Monday.® If they were in such danger, as some will pretend they were, pray, why were they not kept in their Barracks, especially after eight o'clock, according to their own rules? Instead of this, we find the testi- mony of a person, who was not an inhabitant of the ' Idem. 12. ' Idem, p. 4, This alludes to the affray at the Ropewalks : The Soldiers at Green's Barracks had made three attacks upon the Rope- makers, while they were at work, in revenge, for one of them being told by a hand in the Walk that " if he wanted work he might empty his Vault " : Enough, to enkindle the flame of resentment, in the breast of a common Soldier, who of all men has the most delicate sentiments of Honor . Two of the Prisoners were of the party in these noble Exploits, as was testified in Court. 177°] SAMUEL ADAMS. 117 Town : that being at the South-End on that Evening, exactly at Eight d Clock, he saw there Eleven Sol- diers ; an officer met them, and order'd them to ap- pear at their respective places at the time ; and if they should see any of the inhabitants of the Town, or any other people not belonging to them, with Arms, Clubs or any other warlike Weapon, more than two being assembled together, to order them, to stop : and if they refused, to stop them with their firelocks, and all that should take their part — The officer went Northward and the Soldiers Southward ' — Here were orders discretely given indeed ! And well becoming a gentleman, in any command over troops, sent here, as the Minister pretended, to aid the civil Magistrate in keeping the peace ; and with directions never to act without one. Will any one suppose, that the Town could be safe, even from this band of Soldiers only ; especially while under such direction and influence. This is a single instance — No wonder that when the bells soon after rang as for fire, & the people in that same part of the Town, came into the Street with their Buckets, they were told by some, as a gentle- man who was a witness in Court for the prisoners said they were, that they had better bring their Clubs than their Buckets — Such appearances were enough to put the Town in Motion — It is a glaring mistake to say, the Soldiers were in danger from the inhabi- tants : The reverse is true ; the inhabitants were in danger from the Soldiers. — With all the indulgence which was shown, and perhaps ought to have been shown to prisoners at the bar, upon trial for life, not ' Idem. p. 48. ii8 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 a single instance was prov'd, of abuse offer'd to Soldiers that Evening, previous to the insolent be- havior of those who rush'd out of Murray's Barracks, with Cutlasses, Clubs and other Weapons, and fell upon all whom they met : On the contrary, there had been many instances of their insulting and even assaulting the Inhabitants in every part of the Town ; and that without Discrimination ; which did not look, as if they design'd to seek revenge, for any former Quarrel, upon particular persons. As it was said, in Court that the unhappy Persons who fell a sacrifice to the cruel revenge of the Sol- diers, had brought their death upon their own heads, I must not omit saying, what I think ought to be said, in behalf of those who cannot now speak for them- selves — Mr. Maverick, a young gentleman of a good family and a blameless life, was at supper in the house of one of his friends, and went out when the Bells rang as for fire. Mr. Caldwell, a young seaman and of a good character, had been at School to perfect himself in the art of Navigation ; and had just re- turn'd to the house of a reputable person in this town, to whose daughter he made his visits, with the honor- able intention of Marriage : He also went out when the bells rang. Mr. Gray was of a good family ; he was at his own house the whole of the Evening, sav- ing his going to a neighbour's house to borrow the News-Paper of the day and returning ; He went out on the ringing of the bells ; and altho' a child swore in Court, that he saw him with a stick, after the bells rang, yet another witness saw him before he got into King-Street without a stick ; others saw him in King- i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 119 Street and testified that he had no stick ; and when he was shot, the Witness at whose feet he fell, declared, as is mentioned in a former Paper, that he had no stick, and his arms were folded in his bosom ; so that it is probable, the young Witness mistook the person. Mr. Attucks, it is said, was at supper when the bells rang ; he went out as others did, to enquire where the fire was ; in passing thro' Dock-Square, he saw the affray at Murray's Barracks ; and hearing a man say that if any one would join, he would drive the Soldiers into the Barracks, he join'd ; & they two were princi- pally concerned in doing that piece of service. Great pains were taken to make it appear that he attacked the Soldiers in King-Street, but the proof fail'd : He was leaning upon his stick when he fell, which cer- tainly was not a threatning posture : It may be supposed that he had as good right, by the law of the land, to carry a stick for his own and his neighbor's defence, in a time of such danger, as the Soldier who shot him had, to be arm'd with musquet and ball, for the defence of himself and his friend the Centinel : And if he at any time, lifted up his weapon of defence, it was surely, not more than a Soldiers levelling his gun charg'd with death at the multitude : If he had killed a Soldier, he might have been hanged for it, and as a traitor too ; for even to attack a Soldier on his post, was pronounc'd treason : The Soldier shot Attacks, who was at a distance from him, and killed him, — and he was convicted of Manslaughter. — As to Mr. Carr, the other deceas'd person, it is doubtful with what intent he came out : He was at the house of one Mr. Field, when the bells rang ; Mrs. Field, 120 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 and another witness who was at the house, declared that Carr went up Stairs, and got his Sword, which he put between his Coat and his Surtout, and it was with difificulty that they prevail'd upon him to lay by his Sword : They could not persuade him to keep in : It does not appear that he took any part in the contest of the Evening : He was soon shot : and tho' dead, he afterwards spoke in Court, by the mouth of another, in favour of the prisoners ; declaring among other things already mentioned, that he was a native of Ireland, and had often seen mobs and Sol- diers fire upon them there, but never saw them bear half so much before they fired as these did. The conduct of the Soldiers and of the people in King-Street, shall be the Subject of a future Paper. In the mean time, , I must desire Philanthrop, who appear'd in the last Evening Post, if he pleases, to read again what I observ'd upon the case of Killroi in particular, in this Gazette of the 1 7th Inst ; * and to consider, whether he did me justice in saying, that I had publish'd " the only piece of Evidetice producd against Killroi and argued upon that alone : " 1 then publish'd several material pieces of Evidence against him ; and upon the whole concluded, that what was called the furor brevis was, in my opinion, of rather too long a continuance, to come within the indulgence of the law. I then tho't, and I believe I am far from being singular in thinking it ; that for a man repeat- edly to say, that he had wanted an opportunity of firing upon the inhabitants ever since he had been in the Country and that he would never miss an opportunity ' See above, page 83. i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 121 of doing it; and afterwards, when forewarn'd against it, to fire upon the inhabitants, kill one man upon the spot, and then unrelentingly attempt to stab another, who had not offer'd him any injury, all which was sworn in open Court: If such a man is not, hostis humani generis, he discover'd at least, a total want of remorse at the shedding of human blood, as well as rancorous malice from the beginning. Philanthrop further says, that "there was no evidence given in Court" of the wound in Mr. Gray's head ; and "that it is, in the highest degree unjust, to blame the Court and jury for not regarding evidence which they never heard" : If he will candidly recur to the aforemen- tioned Paper he will find, that I expressly said, that the witness being out of the Province, the evidence of so savage an act of barbarity could not be produc'd in Court ; nor did I take it upon me to " blame the Court and Jury for not regarding it " — "I do not charge Philanthrop with a design " to amuse his read- ers in this, or any other instance ; but if he intends to continue the subject, I would advise him to be more cautious lest he misleads them for the future. Again he says "the impossibility of the bayonets being bloody the next morning, is demonstrable from this, that every gun and bayonet of the party was scowered clean that very night " ; but to borrow his own words " it is certain no such evidence was given in Court " : If this could have been proved, I dare say it would have been done without fail. Philanthrop may sup- pose it to be true, from its being, as he says, "the constant practice of the army after firing " ; but such a vague supposition will not invalidate the oaths of 122 THE WRITINGS OF [1770 creditable witnesses in open Court, who swore that Kill- roi's bayonet was bloody, five inches from the point. To vilify and abuse " the most amiable and respect- able characters," I detest from the bottom of my heart : At the same time, I leave it to Philanthrop, or any one who pleases, to write Panegyricks, on the living or the dead. ViNDEX. Dee. zsth. ARTICLE SIGNED "VINDEX." {Boston Gazette, December 31, 1770.] Messieurs Printers. I Desire you would correct the following mistake I made in your last paper. I said " there were two only of the witnesses in the late trial that made mention of the tall Gentleman in a red cloak and white wig, viz. Mr. Hunter and Mr. Selkrig" : In looking over my minutes, I find there was another, viz. Mr. Archibald Bowman, who also made mention of him. Mr. Bow- m,an testified, that they (the people in dock-square) " stood thick round him some time, and after cried huzza for the main guard" ; in which he agreed with Mr. Hunter : But he declared, that he did not re- member their striking their sticks at Simpson! s Store, & saying, they would do for the Soldiers, tho' Mr. Selkrig, who was with him, at the same time, declared, that those words were spoken by numbers at Simpsons Store. Mr. Selkrig rs\&nt[oW 6. nothing of their saying huzza, &c. From all which we may conclude, that these cries were not general ; especially, as other wit- i77o] SAMUEL ADAMS. 123 nesses declared that the people also cried, home, home. Mr. David Mitchelson testified, that '' \}a.&y cried, they would go to the main guard, and that the effect soon followed " : But they went not to the main guard, nor was the main guard attack'd thro' the whole evening. He further said, the bells were ringing. — The truth is, the generality of the people of the town thought there was a fire ; but not knowing where, they natur- ally, in passing thro' the main streets, from the north and south parts of the town, stopped in dock-square, which is in the center : There, they found there was not fire ; but that the soldiers at Murray's barracks, had, if I may use the expression, broke loose. Mr. Selkrig said, that the people " made unsuccessful at- tacks upon the barracks " ; but immediately adds, " that he saw nothing " (of the attacks, I suppose ; for it was impossible he should see them, there being a stone building between the house in which he was, and the barracks) but that " they went up the alley and came back suddenly " ; which corresponds with what another of the prisoners witnesses said, who was on the other side of the stone building, and therefore could see ; viz. that the soldiers several times presented their guns at the people : Mr. Selkrig must be can- didly suppos'd to intend, that he judgd the people to have made attacks upon the barracks, and unsuccess- fully, from seeing them retreat only : But his conclu- sion might not be well grounded : It is as natural to conclude that these sudden retreats were occasioned by the soldiers attacking the people, as they had be- fore done ; and their levelling their guns and threat- ning to make a lane thro' them, as was sworn in open 124 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 court. Mr. Dickson, who was with Mr. Selkrig, and the other Scotch gentleman at Mr. Hunter s house, declared, that " a party came running down the alley, as if they had met with opposition there " ; which con- firms what Mr. Selkrig had said of their sudden •retreats, and strengthens the supposition I have now made. But the writer in Mr. Draper's paper of the 20th Instant, has not yet fulfilled his promise to "ascertain the person " in a red cloak : I am sollicitous that the publick should know the verj many and the rather, because it has been impudently insinuated, that he was a gentleman in office in this town. ViNDEX. Dec. 27. ARTICLE SIGNED "VINDEX." \^Boston Gazette, January 7, 1 771.] To the Printers. I Have taken occasion to mention the unhappy per- sons, who lost their lives on the fatal fifth of March : And I think it must appear to every candid reader, that they were totally unconnected with each other ; and that it cannot be even suspected, that either, or to be sure, more than one of them had any ill inten- tion in coming abroad on that evening ; much less, that they were combin'd together to do any sort of mischief : Nay, it is even to be doubted, whether they ever had any knowledge of each other. I will fur- ther observe, that there was not the shadow of evi- dence to prove, that any other persons, excepting the i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 125 Soldiers, had form'd a design to commit disorders at that or any other time : Unless credit is to be given in a court of law, to the hearsay of an hearsay ; the story which one man told another at sea, and months after the facts were committed : Evidence which was in vain objected to by the council for the crown ; but to the honor of one of the prisoners council was by him interrupted and stopped. This worthy gentle- man declared in open court that it was not legal, and that it ought not to have the least weight in the minds of the jurors ; upon which it was ruled, that the wit- ness should proceed no further, and he was dismiss'd. I come now to consider the tragical scene, as it was acted in King-street ; in doing which, I shall confine myself chiefly, to the evidence as it was given in court : If I vary from the truth, let Philanthrop, or any one else correct me ; it is far from my design : And I am willing to appeal for facts, to the book which Philanthrop has told us of ; provided always, that the facts are there stated with impartiality and truth : This I think it necessary to premise, because I find it advertiz'd, that the book is to be publish'd, not by the direction, but with the permission of the court : A distinction, which appears to me to be of some importance. It may be necessary, first to enquire into the situa- tion the centinel was in, for whose relief the party was said to have afterwards gone down. By the testimony given in court, by Col. Marshall, who had spent the evening at a friend's house in dock-square, it appears that at nine o'clock all was quiet there ; and passing thro' Royal - exchange lane into King 126 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Street, where the centry was, he found all as peace- able there ; " the street never clearer," was his ex- pression. It is probable that very soon after this, the difference arose between the centry and the barber's boy ; for Col. Marshall testified, that some time after, he heard a distant cry of murder ; and it is without doubt the centry struck the boy, with his gun, — It was then that Colonel Marshall saw a party turn out from the main-guard, and soon after another party rush'd thro' Quaker-lane, all arm'd — It is prob- able, that these were the Soldiers who, as they ran into Cornhill, abus'd the people there, as I have be- fore mention'd : Upon the appearance of these parties, it is said, that the barber's boy, and his fellow-appren- tice, ran either into his Master's or a neighbor's shop. — Mr. William Parker, one of the prisoner's witnesses declared, that when he came into King street, which was after the affray began at Murray's barracks, all was quiet and peaceable : But presently the barber's boy, with two or three more, came to the centry — they push'd one another against him (in resentment it is to be suppos'd for) they said, he had knock'd the boy down — In the trial of Capt. Preston, the boy himself swore in Court, that the centry had struck him with his bayonet. Mr. Parker adds, that pres- ently a number, about fifteen, came thro' Silsby's lane, which leads from Murray's barracks, with sticks like pieces of pine in their hands — The most of them small boys, i or 2 of them large lubbers, as he called them — they said, let us go to the main-guard ; by which it does not appear that they interested them- selves in the dispute with the centry, nor does it i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 127 appear that they molested the main-guard, if they went up to it — Soon after, five or six more came up Royal exchange lane, which also leads from Murray's barracks, with sticks like the others ; but neither did the witness say, that these interfered with the centry — Mr. Parker further said, that he went up by Mr. Jackson's corner, and met twenty or thirty more coming out of Cornhill, a good many men among them, some with sticks and some with walking canes — These opened the matter to him ; and told him there had been a squabble at Murray's barracks, but that the Soldiers were driven in, and all was over. — These different parties met in a cluster, at and near Quaker lane, and not long after seem'd to disperse ; and he soon went off himself, not leaving above twelve or fifteen in the street : And, just as he got home, which might not be more than ten minutes, he heard the bells ring, and the guns discharg'd — No one I believe will dispute the veracity, either of Col. Marshall or Mr. Parker. Mr. Edward Payne, a merchant of note in this town, was also summoned as a witness for the prison- ers ; and his testimony will undoubtedly be rely'd upon, by all who know him or his character. Mr. Payne came out after Mr. Parker left the street ; for he declared in Court, that at 20 minutes after nine, when the bells rang, he went out into the street, and was told, as Mr. Parker had been, that the soldiers had sallied out of their barracks, and had cut & wounded a number, but were driven in again — He declared that the centinel was walking by himself, and no body near him — so that the barber's boy and 128 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 his three or four comrades, were at that time gone off — He heard a considerable noise in Cornhill, and a noise of people coming up Silsby's alley — they were inhabitants: Fourteen or fifteen, perhaps twenty, passed by him, some with sticks, others without ; as many of the latter as the former — They cried where are they? It is necessary to connect the circum- stances, as the facts are related : Here therefore I will remind the reader, that besides the Soldiers that came out of Murray's barracks, and who now may be suppos'd to have been driven in, there was also a party that had issued from the main guard, and another party of Soldiers who came thro' Quaker- lane, all arm'd with naked cutlasses, &c. who went into Cornhill not long before, and there insulted every person they met : These were the men whom the persons mentioned by Mr. Payne, in all proba- bility refer'd to, when they cried, where are they. — Certainly no persons could be tho't blame-worthy, for pursuing a banditti, who had already put a number of peaceable people in great terror of their lives, with a design to prevent their doing further mischief : There is no foundation to suppose, that they had any other design : Yet these are the persons, who, as some would have it, were the faulty cause of the slaughter, that afterwards ensued : It was indeed unfortunate that they happened to take that rout ; for Mr. Payne added, that a lad came up and said, that the centry had knock'd down a boy, upon which the people turn'd about, and went directly to the centry : By which, one would think, that they had no design to attack the centry before : and that they i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 129 would not even have spoken to him, had they not been told that he had injured the boy : Till then, the Gentry had not been the object of their attention ; and I must insist upon it, that they had then as good right by the law, to resent the injury done to the boy, as the party from the main-guard had afterwards, to resent the injury done, if there was any, to the centry — The prudence in either case I will not undertake to vindicate — Mr. Payne further said, he was afraid of what might happen from the peoples surrounding the centry, and wished they might be taken off — He returned to his own door, which is nearly on the opposite side of the street, and there heard the people cry to the centry, fire, damn you, why don't you fire. — I have just observ'd, that Mr. Payne expressed his concern at the peoples surround- ing the centry : Mr. Henry Knox, another witness for the prisoners, a young gentleman of a very good reputation, was probably near the centry while Mr. Payne was at his own door — He testified in court, that the people were round the centry, and they said he was going to fire — That he was waving his gun — That he (Mr. Knox) told him, if he fired he must die — That in return he damn'd them, and said, that if they molested him, he would fire — That the boys were damning him and daring him to fire — That he heard one say he would go and knock him down for sweeping (his gun) — that he thought the centry snapped — He added that he saw nothing thrown at the centry, altho' he was near him till after the party came down and Mr. Payne finished his testimony with saying, that he perceived nothing VOL. II. 9. 130 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 but the talk that led him to think the Soldiers would fire. Mr. Leigh, and Mr. Frost, both witnesses for the prisoners, testified, that the barber's boy came up to the people, and pointing at the centry, said, here 's the son of a b — ch that knocked me down ; upon which one of the witnesses said, the people cried kill him — Both said, that the centry ran to the custom- house steps, knocked at the door, but could not get in — neither of them mention'd any thing thrown at him, nor any attack upon him — he prim'd and loaded his gun and levelled it ; told the people to stand off, and called to the main-guard ; upon which Capt. Preston and his party came down — Mr. Bulkly, sum- moned also by the prisoners, testified that he thought the centry was in danger, by the number of people about him, and the noise ; and mentioned no other reason for his thinking so — he said that a person told Capt. Preston, that they were killing the centry — This person was probably one Thomas Greenwood, a servant in the custom-house ; for he himself declared before the magistrates, that he was in the custom- house, and went from thence to the main-guard, and told one of the Soldiers, if they did not go down to the centry, he was afraid they would hurt him, tho' he had not seen any person insult him — This man, at the same time depos'd, that he saw two or three snow balls fall near the steps of the custom-house, but saw no person throw any stones ; tho' he had placed himself in the most convenient room in the house for observation — Mr. Harrison Gray mention'd the people round the centry, making use of opprobrious i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 131 language, and threatening ; but said nothing of their attacking him, or throwing anything at him — Mr. Hinckley declared, that the people went to the centry, and at last some of them cried kill him, but did not see any attempt to hurt him — Mr. Cornwall swore, that he saw snow balls and 2 or 3 oyster shells thrown at the centry, but did not think they hit him — he heard several young gentlemen perswading the people to go off, and believed they all would have gone off, if the Soldiers had not come down — Mr. Helyer de- clared, that he came into King-street, and saw the centry and twenty or thirty persons — some boys at their diversion — The centry wav'd his gun in a way that had a tendency to exasperate the people — Mr. Brewer saw the centry with his bayonet breast high — a number of boys, twenty or more round him, talking but doing nothing. Mr. Bailey was standing with the centry on the custom-house steps — saw 20 or 30 boys of about 14 years old — they were throwing pieces of ice at him, large and hard enough to hurt him, but did not know whether they hit him. This must appear very strange as he was so near him — his standing with him on the steps, would lead one to think he was an acquaintance of the centry ; which is confirmed by another circumstance, for he said that when the party came down, one of the Soldiers put his bayonet to his breast, and the centry told him not to hurt him — Mr. Simpson swore, that the centry knock'd at the custom- house door — that a person came to the door and spoke to him, upon which he turn'd and loaded his gun — There was one witness, and I think but one, who mention'd pieces of sea-coal thrown at the centry; 132 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 and that was Andrew a Negro — A fellow of a lively im- agination indeed ! — One, who I believe could tell as good a story even to my lord of H. and give his lord- ship as circumstantial an account of " the unhappy transaction ", as some, who have already had the honor of doing it, & who may think themselves to be Andrew's betters — he is remarkable for telling roman- tick stories in the circles of his acquaintance — And whether his fancy had beguil'd his own judgment, or whether he had a mind to try his success at painting upon so serious an occasion, or lastly, whether he was resolv'd to do his utmost to save the prisoners, I pre- tend not to say ; but he certainly made some folks believe, that the ashes made of sea-coal burnt with great savings in the adjacent offices, were like the cinders thrown out of a blacksmith's shop — Andrew's evidence, if not his judgment, was greatly rely'd upon ; and the more, because his master, who is in truth an honest man, came into court and swore to his char- acter ; and further said, that Andrew had told him, that He really believ'd the inhabitants were to blame — It is, I am apt to think, in general true, that no man knows so little of the real character of his ser- vant, as the master himself does : It is well known, that the Negroes of this town have been familiar with the soldiers ; and that some of them have been tamper'd with to cut their master's throats : I hope Andrew is not one of these. His character for in- tegrity and even for learning, for he can both read & write, has been upon this occasion wrought to so high a pitch, that I am loth even to hint any thing that may tend to depreciate^ it ; otherwise, I should i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 133 say, that there are some, whose kitchens Andrew has frequented, who will not give him quite so exalted a character, as others, who had not known him, thought he deserved. — Several others, witnesses for the pris- oners testified to the same purpose ; that the peo- ple encroach'd upon the centry ; that he loaded his gun and threatned to fire upon them ; and that they in return dared him to fire, and throw'd a few snow balls. Mr. Hall said, that he presented his gun at the people, and they threw snow balls and some oyster-shells at him ; and they hit his gun two or three times — Mr. Payne who saw the centry when he was alone, and until the party came up and fired, " perceived nothing but the talk, that he thought would have induced him or any of the Soldiers to fire " : Words are not an assault, and could not war- rant him to fire : Mr. Knox and others saw nothing thrown at him nor any attack made on him : Mr. and some others said, they saw snow balls and other things thrown at him ; but it appears very prob- able, from the course of the evidence, that if any thing was thrown at him, it was not till he had loaded his gun, threatened to fire, & waved it in such a man- ner as tended to exasperate people ; and as Mr, Knox tho't, had snapped his gun. The first assault was made by the centry himself, when upon a foolish provocation in words only, he struck the barber's boy : He renewed the assault, when he loaded his gun and presented it upon the people, threatning to fire upon them : In doing this, he put his Majesty's subjects in terror of their lives, against the law of the land ; and they would have been justified in seizing him at 134 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 least — If he had thought himself in danger, instead of threatning the lives of others, he must first, accord- ing to the law of the land, have retreated if he could, and even from his post : Other doctrine, I know, has been strongly inculcated of late, by those who would set up, or tamely yield to, an uncontroulable military power ; but I trust in God, it will never be established here : It never can, while the people entertain a just idea of the nature of civil government, and are upon their guard against the daring encroachments of arbi- trary, despotic power. The people were inclin'd to disperse, and did disperse, in the beginning of this childish dispute ; as appeared by the evidence of Mr. Parker : And notwithstanding the mutual animosity, if the reader pleases, which afterwards arose between the centry and them, they would have finally dis- pers'd, in the opinion of another witness, if the party had not come down from the main-guard. ViNDEX. Jan. I. TO STEPHEN SAYRE. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Jany 12 1771 Sir I wrote you p Capt Hall who saild about ten days ago, & then inclosd, some papers publishd in the Boston Gazette upon the Subject of the late Trial of the Soldiers. I now send you duplicates, together with others on the same Subject since publishd. I t77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 135 perceive that M"^ Hutchinson is appointed Gov'^ here,^ & it is said he is to have an independent Salary ! Is not this perfect Despotism ? What can the people of Britain mean, by suffering their great men to enslave their fellow Subjects ? Can they think that the plan is confind to America ? They will surely find them- selves mistaken. I am in haste. ARTICLE SIGNED " VINDEX. [Boston Gazette^ January 14, 1771.] To the Printers. I Have in my last, consider'd the situation and behavior of the centry, and the people that were round him, immediately before the coming down of the Soldiers from the main-guard. Some of the wit- nesses, sworn in open court, who I believe, are allow'd to be of equal credit with any of the rest, and were present thro' the whole bloody scene, declared, that they perceived nothing thrown at the centry — Nothing but the number of people and the noise they made, that led them to apprehend he was in danger — Nothing but the talk, that induc'd them to think he would fire : Others indeed saw snow balls, and other things thrown at him, after he presented ' " I find by the prints that the Commissions have been published at Bos- ton 14* Ins' constituting L' Gov. Hutch. Governor, and Secrety Oliver L' Gov. of Massachusetts." — Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles [March 22, 1771], vol. i., p. 97. "Gov' Thomas Hutchinson and Lieut. Gov' Andrew Oliver, Esq's., commissions published ; Judges in their robes, and all the Bar in their habbits, walked in procession." [March 14, 1771]. The Diaries of Benjamin Lynde and of Benjamin Lynde, Jr., p. 201. 136 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 his gun, and wav'd it in an exasperating manner, and threatened to fire: — One in particular, declared, that he saw balls of ice thrown, large & hard enough to hurt any man : It is strange, if he thought the centry in danger, that he should stand so near him, as by his own testimony it is evident he did, till the Soldiers came down : I think, upon the whole, we may fairly conclude, that but few of these things were thrown at him ; and that they were in consequence of his loading his gun, & presenting it at the people : It was the opinion of one of the witnesses for the prisoners, that the people would have dispersed, if the soldiers had not come down : It was then un- fortunate, that the soldiers were so suddenly order'd down. Whether it was regular, for a captain to take a corporal's command, or was ever done before in the army, I leave others to say, who are better ac- quainted with the art military, than I pretend to be : If not, it may be difficult to account for Capt. Pres- ton's great readiness to undertake so disagreable and dangerous a task. In the publick Advertiser, printed in London, the 28th of April last, I have seen a paper called, the Case of Capt. Thomas Preston : It was published in his name, tho' not wholly his own draft ; as he de- clared to a committee of this town, who waited upon him for an explanation of some passages in it,^ which were notoriously false, and grosly reflecting upon some of the magistrates, as well as the people of the town and province. I may hereafter particularly consider this paper, which has had its run thro' ' See above, page 14. 17 7i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 137 Britain and America ; and point out the many " faults of partiality " which are contain'd in it : The only reason why I have not already done it, was, because I agreed in the general sentiment of the inhabitants of this town, that nothing of this kind should be pub- lish'd, at so critical a juncture, lest it might be tho't to prejudice the minds of Jurors on a trial for life/ — It may be perhaps more easy, and of full as much im- portance to the publick, to ascertain the person, who several times alter'd the state of the case ; and, as Capt. Preston himself declared, even after it finally came out of his hands, as it would be, to ascertain the person in a red cloke ; which the writer in Draper's paper has been so often in vain called upon to do, in fulfillment of his voluntary promise. — In this paper, Capt. Preston, or his friend in his behalf, says, "he sent a non-commission'd ofificer and twelve men, and very soon follow'd himself :." The wit- nesses in court, on both sides declared, that Capt. Preston himself came down with the party. Again he says, he followed, " lest the ofificer and soldiers should be thrown off their guard, and commit some rash act " : But, did he restrain them from commit- ing so rash an act, as firing upon the multitude ? — He surely must have observ'd the violent temper which the soldiers discover'd, as " they rushed thro' the people " according to his own account; " upon the trot, in a threatning manner, damning the people and pushing them with their bayonets", as Mr. Knox and others swore in court : He knew their guns were charg'd with ball ; he declar'd it at the time, and ' See above, page 102. 138 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 on the spot, as Mr. Palmes testified : Should he not then, at the very instant, when he must if ever, have been apprehensive, that they would commit some rash act, at least have caution'd them, not to fire, till he himself should give the orders ? Instead of this, by his own, or his friend's account, publish'd as his own, we find no such prudent directions to the men under his command ; who by the rules of the army, would have been liable to suffer death, if they had disobey'd ! What single step did he take, to prevent their committing a rash act, for the sake of which alone, he tells us, he followed down ? Not one ac- cording to the state of his case, till after they began to fire : " Upon my asking the men, says he, why they fired without orders, they said, they heard the word, fire, and suppos'd it come from me " : It seems, it was the apprehension of the Soldiers, that he order'd them to fire ; and we must suppose, that the Soldiers were particularly attentive to their com- manding officer : But he adds, " I assured them my words were, don't fire " ; from hence it is plain that he gave them some order. I am no Soldier, and never desire to be one : But I appeal to those who are, whether the words, "don't fire," are words of command in the British army ; and whether there is not some other word which Soldiers are taught to understand, more proper to be given on such an occa- sion, or, as I chuse to express it, in the heat of action, which would have prevented such rashness, and even put it out of their power to have fired, at least to have done any mischief. These words, I well re- member, it was said were made use of in command, i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 139 at another time, and by another officer of the same regiment ; when one of the soldiers, thro' mistake, lired upon the march, in the street, and very nearly effected the death ; not to say, the murder of a worthy citizen : The soldier was soon jostled from the reach of civil power ; which was a mighty easy thing to be done, as was found by experience, at a time when the first magistrate of the province had publickly declared, that he had no authority over the King's troops, which has since been repeated : The good men of the county however, found a bill of in- dictment against the officer who commanded the party : But when the matter came upon trial before the superior court, altho' some positively swore that he gave the word, fire, yet because the soldiers swore that his words were don't fire, a doubt arose ; and a doubt you know, must turn in favor of the accused party ; for the good old maxim is, whether founded in the law of Moses, the common law, the law of na- ture and reason, or the safety of human societies, better ten villains escape than one honest, harmless man be hang'd — Whether the officer would have so luckily escaped, upon a trial before a court martial, for giving a word of command, unintelligible in a military sense, I very much doubt. — Capt. Preston further said, that "his intention was not to act offensively, nor even the contrary part, without compulsion " : That is, when he should think himself compelled, he was to act defensively ; and in what way could he or his soldiers act upon the defence, with muskets charg'd with ball, but by discharging them upon the people, which he must have concluded would have 140 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 kill'd some of them ? No matter, the people were the agressors ; and besides, " the King's money was to be protected " as well as the centinel — Here I will acquit Capt. Preston, as a man of too much honor to suggest a known falshood : It has been the con- stant practice of a certain set of men, meanly to insinuate, that the Americans in their exertions against lawless power, have always had something dishonorable in view : At present, it is the plundering the King's chest ; altho' even Greenwood himself, an hired servant in the custom-house, a dependent upon dependents, if he is to be believed, depos'd before the magistrate, that amidst the whole volley, as some would have it, of snow balls, oyster shells, ice, and as Andrew said, sea coal, thrown at the centinel, " not a single Pane of the custom-house windows were bro- ken ; nor did he see any person attempt to get into the house, or break even a square of glass " — The soldiers acted defensively, and it seems as tho' Pres- ton thought they were at length compelled to do it ; for if it was done against his orders, or barely with- out his orders, with what propriety could he say to the person of the first character in the province, " I did it to save my men," — A precise answer indeed, to the question put to him ; and therefore, I should have thought, not "unsatisfactory," or "imperfect", as it was afterwards affirmed to have been. Such were the effects of Capt. Preston's sending the non-commission'd officer and the soldiers to pro- tect the centinel and the King's money ; and of his following very soon after, to prevent their com- mitting a rash act : But if Capt. Preston had a right i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 141 to go to the protection of any man whom he thought in danger, had he or his party a right to engage in an affray, and carry into an incensed mob, as he calls it, weapons which could not be used without killing, and there make use of them as he should judge neces- sary ? Ought he not to have called upon a civil offi- cer, and put himself, and his men, if required, under his direction, before he went upon so desperate a de- sign ? Or, does the law of the land, invest every, or any military officer, even of the highest rank, with the right, above all other citizens, of making himself a party in a riot, under a pretence of suppressing it ; of carrying with him soldiers arm'd with weapons of death, and making use of them at discretion, with- out even the presence of a civil officer — This is a point of too much importance to be yielded ; for the lives of subjects are not to depend, upon the judg- ment or discretion, much less upon the will and pleas- ure, or wanton humour of his Majesty's military servants. I am sensible, I have heretofore taken up too much room in your useful paper : I shall avoid it at present ; and the rather, to afford you the op- portunity of inserting an address " to the protest- ants of the three Kingdoms, arid the colonies " ; being the preface to a late publication in London, containing a series of important letters of the Earl of Hillsborough, the Marquiss of Rockingham, and others, from a gentleman whose signature is Pliny, junior. ViNDEX. 142 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 ARTICLE SIGNED "VINDEX." \^Boston Gazette, January 21, 1771.] To the Printers. As the lives of five of his Majesty's subjects were unfairly lost on the evening of the 5th of March last, it follows that some persons must have been in fault : The unhappy sufferers, for ought that has ever ap- peared, were in the peace of God and the King ; let their memories then, so far at least as respects this matter, remain unreproach'd. It appeared by the evidence in court, that all the prisoners were present in king street ; that they all "discharg'd their musquets but one, and his flush'd in the pan ; and that the deceas'd were all kill'd by musquet balls. Six of the prisoners were acquitted by the jury, and two were found guilty of manslaughter. In ordinary cases, the publick ought to rest satisfied, with the verdict of a jury ; a method of trial, which an Englishman glories in as his greatest security : It is a method peculiar to the English ; and as a great writer observes, has been a probable means of their having supported their liber- ties thro' so many ages past : Among the most sub- stantial advantages arising from trials by juries, there is this incidental one, in this province espe- cially ; that by our laws, no man being oblig'd to serve as a juryman more than once in three years, it falls upon the freemen as it were by rotation ; by this means, the people in general are in their turns called to that important trust ; by attending in courts of law and justice, it is to be presum'd that their minds are there impress'd with a sense of justice ; and that 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 143 they gain that general idea of right or law, which it is necessary that all men in a free country should have. " It is an admirable institution, by which every citizen may be plac'd in a situation, that enables him to contribute to the great end of society, the dis- tributing justice ; and it every where diffuses a spirit of true patriotism, which is zealously employed for the publick welfare." I am not about to arraign the late jurors before the bar of the publick : They are accountable to God and their own consciences, and in their day of trial, may God send them good de- liverance. But in times when politicks run high, we find by the experience of past ages, it is difficult to ascertain the truth even in a court of law : At such times, witnesses will appear to contradict each other in the most essential points of fact ; and a cool con- scientious spectator is apt to shudder for fear of per- jury : If the jurors are strangers to the characters of the several witnesses, it may be too late for them to make the enquiry, when they are upon their seats : The credibility of a witness perhaps cannot be im- peac'd in court, unless he has been convicted of per- jury : But an immoral man, for instance one who will commonly prophane the name of his maker, certainly cannot be esteemed of equal credit by a jury, with one who fears to take that sacred name in vain : It is impossible he should in the mind of any man : There- fore, when witnesses substantially differ in their telation of the same facts, unless the jury are ac- quainted with their different characters, they must be left to meer chance to determine which to believe ; the consequence of which, may be fatal to the life of 144 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 the prisoner, or to the justice of the cause, or per- haps both. It was for this reason, that I was con- cern'd, when the council for the crown objected the notoriety of the immoral character of a witness, that he was stopped by one of the council on the other side. In a court of justice, it is beneath any charac- ter to aim at victory and triumph : Truth, and truth alone is to be sought after. While the soldiers were passing from the main guard to the custom-house, it did not appear by any of the witnesses, that they were molested by the people ; if we except what was mention'd, as having been said by Mr. Car, one of the deceased persons : His doctor testified, that he told him, the "people pelted them as they went along ". — The declaration of a dying man commonly carries much weight, and oftentimes, possibly more than it ought : This man's declaration was not made upon oath, nor in the pres- ence of a magistrate : The doctor had a curiosity, as most had, to know how matters were, and enquired of his patient who he thought could inform him ; it may be, not expecting to be called to relate it before a court, nine months afterwards, when he might have nothing but memory to recur to : No one disputes the doctor's understanding or integrity : I have before said, that others were ready to testify, that Car gave them a very different account from that which he gave to his doctor : It ought to be remembered, that the unhappy man was laboring under the pains and anxiety occasioned by a mortal wound ; and might not be able at all times to attend duly to such ques- tions as were asked him : What makes it highly i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 145 probable that he must have been mistaken, is, that among the many witnesses, not one on either side, mention'd their seeing the least ill usage offer'd to the soldiers as they pass'd from the main guard ; not even Mr. Gridley, whose declared intention was, at the request of some gentlemen, with whom he had been in company, to bring them as circumstantial an account of the matter as he could. It is agreed by the witnesses for the prisoners, who mention'd their seeing the soldiers upon their first coming down, that they loaded their guns, levelled them at the people & began to insult & abuse them, (as indeed they did upon their march) ; before any just provocation had been offer'd to them. — Mr. Hinckley saw the party come down — they loaded — push'd their bayonets and pricked the people — Mr. Wilkinson also saw the party come down ; did not see anything thrown at them, tho' he stood at two or three yards distance — Mr. Murray said they came down and cried make way — Andrew declared, that the party planted themselves at the custom-house — the people gave three cheers — he heard one of the soldiers say, damn you stand back — one of them had like to have prick'd a man as he was passing by, and swore by God he would stab him — several persons were talking with the captain, and a number pressing on to hear what they said ; one of the persons talking with the officer said ''he is going to fire" ; the people shouted and said, he dare not fire ; and then they began to throw snow balls. Even by Andrews ac- count, the people were rather curious to know what the soldiers design'd to do, than intent upon doing VOL. II — 10. 146 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 them any hurt, untill they were assaulted by them ; which I am apt to think is true ; because Newtown Prince, another Negro, of whom for my own part I conceive a better opinion than of Andrew, declared, that the Soldiers planted themselves in a circle — their guns breast high — and, the people crowded on, to speak with Capt. Preston — and further, several of the witnesses swore that they themselves talked with the Captain, and one of them caution'd him against firing — Capt. Preston himself also in his printed state of his case says, that he reasoned with "■some well be- havd persons" : To show that "as he was advanced before the muzzels of their pieces, he must fall a sacrifice if they fired " — and that his ordering them to fire " upon the half cock and charged bayonets would prove him no officer " ; all which might be true, and yet in my humble opinion not quite so " satis- factory " as the answer which he afterwards gave to the Lieutenant Governor ; for he might, I suppose, in an instant shift his station, and the soldiers, by a proper word of Command, might discharge their musquets without his falling a sacrifice or for- feiting the character of a soldier — Such a manner of reasoning upon their question, whether he intended to order the men to fire, was evasive ; and may serve to show Captain Preston's opinion, that however well behav'd these gentlemen were, they were no Soldiers. I shall now take notice of what the witnesses /or the crown testified concerning the behavior of the Soldiers, upon their first arrival at the custom-house. — Mr. Austin saw the party come down ; the captain was with them ; McCauley, one of the prisoners, 177 1 J SAMUEL ADAMS. 147 loaded his gun, pusJid at him with his bayonet and damn'd him — He did not observe the people press on — Mr. Bridgham declared, that about a dozen sur- rounded the Soldiers and struck their guns with their sticks : But he also said the Soldiers were loading at the same tim,e — He further added, that he did not ap- prehend himself or the Soldiers in any danger by any thing he saw ; from whence it may be suppos'd, that as the people struck their guns only, when they might as easily have have knocked them down, their inten- tion was not to hurt them, but rather to prevent their loading — Mr. Brewer saw the party come down — told Captain Preston that every body was about dis- persing; in which he agreed with another witness, who was of the opinion that the people would have dispers'd if the Soldiers had not come down ; Mr. Brewer added, that Killroi, one of the prisoners, struck him with his bayonet before they formed, and that he saw no blows and nothing thrown before the firing — Mr. Bayley testified, that when the party came down, Carrol one of the prisoners put his bayonet to his breast. Mr. Wilkinson stood at about two yards distance from the Soldiers all the while they were there — He saw no ice nor snow balls thrown ; in which he agreed with Mr. Austin — Mr. Fosdick testified, that he was push'd as the party came down — that afterwards they wounded him in the breast — two different bayonets were thrust into his arm — all this while there had been no blows that he saw, nor did he know the cause of their firing — Mr. Palmes saw Capt. Preston at the head of the Soldiers who were drawn up with their guns breast high and their bayonets 148 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 fixed ; and Preston told him they were loaded with powder and ball — I think I have mentioned all the witnesses, who testified in court to what they saw upon the first arrival of the party at the custom- house : And by their testimonies the reader will judge, whether the Soldiers had just provocation to fire upon the people ; or whether they were in danger of their lives or had any reason to think they were : On the contrary, whether they did not themselves first assault the people as they were coming from the main guard ; and afterwards, by levelling their guns loaded with ball in an exasperating manner at the people ; pushing their bayonets at some of them, wounding others and threatning all, even before any injury had been offer'd to them. I shall conclude what I have to say upon this inter- esting subject in my next. In the mean time let me assure Philanthrope that I am fully of his mind, that a true patriot "will not irora. private views, or by any ways or means foment and cherish groundless fears and jealousies " : But perhaps we may not be so well agreed in our determination, when the fears and jeal- ousies of our fellow citizens are groundless — It is I believe the general opinion of judicious men, that at present there are good grounds to apprehend a settled design to enslave and ruin the colonies ; and that some men of figure and station in America, have adopted the plan, and would gladly lull the people to sleep, the easier to put it in execution : But I believe Philanthrop would be far from acknowledging that he is of that opinion. The fears and jealousies of the people are not always groundless : And when they 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 149 become general, it is not to be presum'd that they are ; for the people in general seldom complain, with- out some good reason. The inhabitants of this con- tinent are not to be dup'd "by an artful use of the words liberty and slavery, in an application to their passions" as Philanthrop would have us think they are ; like the miserable Italians, who are cheated with the names " Excommunication, Bulls, Crusades" &c. They can distinguish between " realities and sounds " ; and by a proper use " of that reason which Heaven has given them ", they can judge, as well as their betters, when there is danger of slavery : They have as high a regard for George the III. as others have, & yet can suppose it possible they may be made slaves, without '''enslaving themselves by their own folly and madness " ; They can believe, that men who " are bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, born and bred among us," may, like Achan, for a wedge of gold, detach themselves from the common interest, and embark in another bottom ; in hopes that they, " with their wives and children " will one day stand and see, and enjoy, and triumph, in the ruins of their country : Such instances there have been frequently in times past ; and I dare not say, we have not at present, reason enough for "exclaiming with the roman patriot, O tem,pora, O mores". The true patriot therefore, will enquire into the causes of the fears 2Xidt. jealousies of his countrymen ; and if he finds they are not groundless, he will be far from endeavor- ing to allay or stifle them : On the contrary, con- strain'd by the Amor Patrice, and irora. public views, he will by all proper means in his ^owG.r foment and ISO THE WRITINGS OF [1771 cherish them : He will, as far as he is able, keep the attention of his fellow citizens awake to their griev- ances ; and not suffer them to be at rest, till the causes of their just complaints are removed. — At such a time Philanthrope s Patriot may be " very cautious of charging the want of ability or integrity to those with whom any of the powers of government are en- trusted " : But the true patriot, will constantly be jealous of those very men : Knowing that power, especially in times of corruption, makes men wanton ; that it intoxicates the mind ; and unless those with whom it is entrusted, are carefully watched, such is the weakness 'or the perverseness of human nature, they will be apt to domineer over the people, instead of governing them, according to the known laws of the state, to which alone they have submitted. If he finds, upon the best enquiry, the want of ability or integrity ; that is, an ignorance of, or a disposition to depart from, the constitution, which is the measure and rule of government & submission, he will point them out, and loudly proclaim them : He will stir up the people, incessantly to complain of such men, till they are either reform'd, or remov'd from that sacred trust, which it is dangerous for them any longer to hold. — Philanthrop may tell us of the hazard " of disturbing and inflaming the minds of the multitude whose passions know no bounds " : A traitor to the constitution alone can dread this : The multitude I am speaking of, is the body of the people — no con- temptible multitude — for whose sake government is instituted ; or rather, who have themselves erected it, solely for their own good — to whom even kings and 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 151 all in subordination to them, are strictly speaking, servants and not masters. " The constitution and its laws are the basis of the public tranquility — the firm- est support of the public authority, and the pledge of the liberty of the citizens : But the constitution is a vain Phantom, and the best laws are useless, if they are not religiously observed. The nation ought then to watch, and the true patriot will watch very atten- tively, in order to render them equally respected, by those who govern, and the people destin'd to obey " — To violate the laws of the state is a capital crime ; and if those guilty of it, are invested with authority, they add to this crime, a perfidious abuse of the power with which they are entrusted : " The nation therefore, the people, ought to suppress those abuses with their utmost care & vigilance " — This is the lan- guage of a very celebrated author, whom I dare say, Philanthrop is well acquainted with, and will acknow- ledge to be an authority. Philanthrop, I think, speaks somewhat unintelligi- bly, when he tells us that the well being and happiness of the whole depends upon subordination ; as if man- kind submitted to government, for the sake of being subordinate : In the state of nature there was subor- dination : The weaker was by force made to bow down to the more powerful. This is still the unhappy lot of a great part of the world, under government : So among the brutal herd, the strongest horns are the strongest laws. Mankind have entered into political societies, rather for the sake of restoring equality ; the want of which, in the state of nature, ren- dered existence uncomfortable and even dangerous. 152 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 I am not of levelling principles : But I am apt to think, that constitution of civil government which admits equality in the most extensive degree, con- sistent with the true design of government, is the best ; and I am of this opinion, because I agree with Philanthrop and many others, that man is a social animal. Subordination is necessary to promote the purposes of government ; the grand design of which is, that men might enjoy a greater share of the bless- ings resulting from that social nature, and those rational powers, with which indulgent Heaven has endow'd us, than they could in the state of nature : But there is a degree of subordination, which will for ever be abhorrent to the generous mind ; when it is extended to the very borders, if not within the bounds of slavery : A subordination, which is so far from conducing " to the welfare and happiness of the whole", that it necessarily involves the idea of that worst of all the evils of this life, a tyranny : An ab- ject servility, which instead of " being essential to our existence as a people," disgraces the human nature, and sinks it to that of the most despicable brute. I cannot help thinking, that the reader must have observed in Philanthrop s last performance, that a foundation is there laid for a dangerous superstruc- ture : and that from his principles, might easily be delineated a plan of despotism, which however uncom- mon it may be, for the laws and constitution of the state to be openly and boldly oppos'd, our enemies have long threatened to establish by violence. If Philanthrop upon retrospection shall think so, he will, like a prudent physician, administer an antidote for i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 153 the poison : If not, I hope the attention of others will be awakened to that excellent maxim, " no less essential in politicks than in morals", principiis obsta. It is impolitick to make the first attempt to enslave mankind hy force : This strikes the imagination, and is alarming : " Important changes insensibly happen : It is against silent & slow attacks that a nation ought to be particularly on its guard." ViNDEX. Jan. 15M. ARTICLE SIGNED "VINDEX." [Boston Gazette, January 28, 1771.] To the Printers. In my last, I recollected the testimonies of the wit- nesses on both sides, who related in court the be- havior of the soldiers and the people, on the fatal evening of the fifth of March last. The reader, if he pleases, will judge ; whether the people struck the sol- diers guns, or threw snow balls or any other thing, or offer'd them the least violence, from their first turn- ing out till they had march'd to the custom-house, abused, threatned, beat and wounded the people, loaded their guns with powder and ball, levelled them, and waved them in an exasperating manner, and gave out that they would fire ; for, if Andrew is to be be- lieved, he testified, that when one of the persons talk- ing with the officer, turn'd and said, " they are going to fire ", the people shouted, and said " they dare not fire ", and then they began to throw snow balls. If all these things were done by the soldiers, before the 154 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 people offer'd them any injury, I would ask, who made the first assault ? If there was an unlawful assembly, who were they ? Were the people the unlawful as- sembly, who were collected together, some from an apprehension of fire in the town, and with the neces- sary preparations, engines and buckets, to have ex- tinguish'd it, if there had been one ; others from the more alarming apprehension, that the soldiers had issued from the barracks, as indeed they had done, and that agreable to their threatnings many days before, and their correspondent behavior on that very evening, they were massacreing the inhabitants ? Were they, who bore all that insolent and irritating language from the soldiers, as they march'd from the main guard, and before they form'd at the custom- house ; who were push'd at, struck with bayonets and wounded, to be charg'd with being the aggressors, be- cause they finally, when they saw them bent upon firing against repeated warnings, took such methods as their understanding dictated to them, in the midst of such a scene, to prevent their " committing so rash an act " ? An act, which it was the duty as well as the profess'd design of their officer to have prevented ; and which, in the opinion of some, he might have pre- vented if he would : And yet we find a person of high rank and figure in this province, testifying in court in the case of Capt. Preston, that such was his opinion of the prudence of this same officer, that he should have chosen him out to have commanded upon a like occasion. I believe, that in ordinary times, if a banditti of men of violence had been seen, with guns loaded and 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 155 bayonets fix'd, trembling with rage, and ready to fire upon a multitude in the street, it would have been counted meritorious, in any man or number of men, at all events to have disarm'd them ; and if death had ensued in the attempt, perhaps it would not have been adjudg'd excuseable homicide or manslaughter. I am sensible it is said by some, that it was the duty of the soldiers to maintain their post : It was sworn by a military officer in court, that " the centinel at the custom-house, was station'd and appointed by the commanding officer, Lieut. Colonel Dalrymple ; that they could not stir from their post, and it was at their peril if they did " ; and Capt. Preston in his state of the case says, "He sent a party to protect the cen- tinel " : But this is military language ; to be used in camps and garrison'd towns, not in free cities ; in courts martial, and not in courts of common law : It is dangerous to adopt military maxims, however pleas- ing they may be to some men, and to bring them into use in civil societies : If the centinel had been in danger, as was pretended, the law of the land, to which the most distinguish'd officer in the King's army is subjected, would have protected that centi- nel : Or, if there had indeed been a dangerous mob, the law would have suppress'd it ; and no soldier should have dared to have interfered, as a soldier, without the command of a civil magistrate. Capt. Preston in his state has said, " The mob still increas'd, and was more outrageous " : And what did he say the mob did after they became more out- rageous ? Why, " they struck their clubs or bludg- eons one against another : and called out, come on iS6 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 you rascals, bloody backs, lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, we know you dare not fire, and much more such language " : But surely it will not be said, that all this would justify or excuse their firing : This was after the soldiers had insulted and wounded the people, and had loaded their guns and threatned to fire, as appears by the current evidence ; and yet hitherto, by his own account, we find no violence nor even threat offer'd to the soldiers ; nothing but hard names and daring them to fire. He adds, "while I was parleying and endeavoring all in my power to perswade them to retire peaceably — they advanced to the points of the bayonets, struck some of them, and even the muzzels of the peices " ; which corre- sponds with the testimonies of some of the witnesses in court before mentioned, who said that while they were loading, the people struck their guns ; very probably, however indiscrete it might be, to prevent their firing. He further says " they seem'd to be en- deavoring to close in with the soldiers " : This was not mention'd by any witness in court, nor does it seem to be likely : Indeed, I cannot see how Capt. Preston could imagine, that they seem'd to be en- deavoring to close in with the soldiers : He says, " he was talking with some well behaved persons, who had asked him whether he intended to order the men to fire " : Some of the witnesses mention'd the people's pressing in, and more naturally accounted for it, viz. from a curiosity " to know what was said ". Capt. Preston adds, " while I was thus speaking (with the well behaved persons, and in all likelihood at the very instant, when Andrew testified it was said, they i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 157 were going to fire) one of the soldiers having received a severe blow with a stick, stepped a little on one side and instantly fired." Upon this, says Capt. Preston, "a general attack was made upon the men": So that there was no general attack, according to his account, till after the firing ; which agrees with Mr. Bridgham and other unexceptionable witnesses in court, who declared, that " there was no danger to the soldiers from any thing they saw " — " no molestation, nor any thing which they thought could produce fir- ing " : Indeed, one of the witnesses for the prisoners, Mr. Nath. Russell testified, that " the soldiers were in a trembling situation, and seemed to apprehend themselves in immediate danger of death " ; but be- ing interrogated, whether their trembling might not be the effect of rage, he replied, perhaps it might proceed both from fear and rage. If there had been such a general attack as Capt. Preston mentions, after one of the soldiers had actually fired, and the others appear'd to be just ready to fire (for they all dis- charg'd their guns in a few minutes afterwards) it would have been such an appearance as might natu- rally have been expected ; and therefore Capt. Pres- ton, who, as he says, " followed " the party for that very purpose, should have taken more effectual care than he did to have "prevented so rash an act" — There was time enough for him to have at least pre- vented the continuance of the firing after the first gun was discharg'd, and consequently to have saved the lives of some of his Majesty's subjects ; for Mr. Bridgham testified, that there was half a minute be- tween the first and the second gun. 158 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 It seems by the evidence, that Montgomery,, one of the prisoners, was the first who fired : It is probable that he was the man, whom Captain Preston men- tions, as having received a blow : The witnesses varied in their testimonies concerning this fact : He was struck with a stick, either flung from behind or otherwise : Some say he was knock'd down ; others, that he did not fall : Capt. Preston himself said, " he stepped a little on one side " : Mr. Palmes, who gave, I think, the clearest account of this matter, de- clared, that he saw Montgomery struck ; he stepped or sallied back, he could not say which — he did not fall ; he was sure he was not knock'd down before he fired ; he could not be, & he not see it, for his hand was laid familiarly on Capt. Preston's shoulder, and the soldier stood close to the Captain ; he added, that he himself knock'd Montgomery down, after they had all fired ; and the reason was, that because even then, he was going to prick him with his bayonet. It seems, the rage of passion in the breast of this sol- dier, like that in Killroi's, had not abated, after dis- charging his piece upon the people : His thirst was not even then asswaged : Upon his attempt, after all the firing, and while numbers were dead on the spot before him, to stab Mr. Palmes, he struck with his stick, and knock'd his gun out of his hand ; and then he struck the first man he could, which hap- pened to be Preston : A circumstance related by Preston himself, with this difference ; he says he re- ceived the blow, as he turned to the man who fired, and asked him why he fired without orders ; Mr. Palmes said, it was after all the guns were fired : So i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 159 that if Mr. Palmes was not mistaken, Capt. Preston did not put that necessary question, till after all the firing was over, tho' there was half a minute's distance between the first and second gun ! Mr. Palmes spake upon oath in court ; Capt. Preston did not : Which of them was the more disinterested person, the reader will judge. Mr, Palmes mentioned a further struggle between him and Montgomery ; and the sol- dier, after the third attempt to stab him, in missing him fell to the ground, and he escaped with his life. — Mr. Danbrook saw Montgomery fire, and two persons fall — Mr. Bass also saw the same soldier fire ; was sure he did not fall before he fired ; he stood where he must have seen it ; he thought he fell afterwards, which co-operates with Mr. Palmes's testimony. — Mr. Burdick went up to one of the soldiers, whom he took to be the bald man (pointing at Montgomery) ; asked him whether he intended to fire ; he answered, yes by the eternal God ! A soldier push'd his bayonet at him, upon which he struck at him a violent blow and hit the cock of his gun ; he saw but one thing thrown, and that was a short stick ; he heard a ratling, & took it to be the knocking of the soldiers guns to- gether ; for the ground was slippery, and they were continually pushing at the people ; after the firing, while the people were taking up the dead, the soldiers began to present and cock their guns, and then the officer said don't fire any more. — Andrew declared, that the soldiers were pushing with their bayonets all the time he was there ; and that the people (being advis'd so to do before any gun was discharged) seemed to be turning away to leave the soldiers : he i6o THE WRITINGS OF [1771 gives a very minute account of three or four person's coming round Jackson's corner, with a stout man at their head — his throwing himself in and making a stroke at the officer — their paying upon each others heads — and the soldiers paying upon the heads of the people too ; and concludes this part of his narra- tive, with the soldiers firing : It seems however, to be the account of the contest between Mr. Palmes and Montgomery, after all the firing was over, as related by Mr. Palmes ; and wro't up and embel- lished, in a manner in which Andrew was said to be capable of doing, and sometimes to have done upon occasions of mirth, and to divert company. It appears from what has been said, that after the Soldiers had repeatedly put the lives of individuals in danger, by pushing them with their bayonets and stabbing them ; and had loaded their guns and threatned to fire upon the multitude indiscriminately, and the people had reason to apprehend they were just about to put their threats into execution, by a stick thrown as is most probable, Montgomery re- ceived a blow : That this was tho't by him sufficient provocation to fire upon the people, by which one of the witnesses said, two persons were killed ; that Capt. Preston, at so alarming a juncture took no method to prevent the rest from firing, if what was testified, in court is to be credited ; or, if his own account must be rely'd upon, he exerted no authority over his men, but used expostulations only : " I asked him (who first fired and as soon as he had fired) why he fired without order " ; very faintly said indeed, by a gentleman in command, and who had followed the i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. i6i party to " prevent their committing a rash act " : What ensued was enough to show, either that he had no command over the men, or that they did not ap- prehend he was much adverse to their firing ; for they soon after fired, and as we are told, without orders — That after they had all fired, Montgomery made three attempts to stab Mr. Palmes, who defended himself, and with difficulty escaped with his life — That the Soldiers had even at that time, again loaded their guns and were then., ready to repeat the bloody "action", and fire upon the people as they were taking care of the dead ! Then, for the first time, we hear of a positive order from Capt. Preston "don't fire any more " : His order before should have been, " don't fire by any means ", or some other order equivalent to the last, and more regular perhaps than either. — It further appeared by the evidence in court, that when the first gun was fired, the people began to dis- perse : Mr. Bridgham, whose testimony I presume, will not be disputed, said "they retired after the first gun " : Was it not then " such malignity as might hardly have been expected from barbarians," to con- tinue firing ! Astonishing as it may be to humanity, this they did : And being resolved to do further exe- cution, Mr. Williams, a person of known credit, testi- fied, that "they waved their guns at the people as they ran " : And what, if possible, is still more bar- barous, the last man that fired, as Mr. Bridgham testi- fied, " level'd his gun at a boy, and mov'd it along, with the motion of the lad " ; which testimony, if it needs it, is confirmed by that of Mr. Helyer : Both agreed that the lad was not wounded. VOL. II. — JI. i62 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 " I shall make no further comments ; there needs none " : I will just say, that however safely Philan- throp may speak, when he tells us, that " no indi- vidual can have a right, openly to complain or murmur " ; if the times at present were even such, as not to allow one openly to declare the utmost detes- tation of such slavish doctrine, I would still venture to declare my opinion to all the world, that no indi- vidual is bound, nor is it in the power of the tyrants of the earth to bind him, to acquiesce in any decision, that upon the best enquiry, he cannot in his con- science approve of. I pretend not to judge the hearts of men : The " temptations that some men could be under, to act otherwise than conformably to the sentiments of their own hearts" are obvious : But I would ask Philanthrop, whether, if a man should openly say, that those temptations have had their genuine effects, he would not expose himself to have a bill of information filed against him, by the attorney general, and to be dealt with in a summary way. — As it was published to the world by Mr. Draper, that the witnesses in the trial of the custom-house officers, were not credited, I may possibly hereafter, when I shall be more at leisure, make that the sub- ject of a free enquiry. ViNDEX. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 163 TO CHARLES LUCAS.' ', [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; the text is in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., p. 383.] Boston [March 12] 1771 Sir Your Letter of the i Sept 1770 has been laid before the Town of Boston at their annual Meeting & at- tended to with great Satisfaction, and we are ap- pointed a Committee to return a respectfull Answer, Accordingly we take this Opportunity in Behalf of the Town to acknowledge the kind Sentiments your Letter expresses towards us and to intreat you to employ your Abilities for our Advantage whenever a favorable Opportunity may present. We are very sensible that you have an arduous Task in resisting the Torrent of Oppression & arbitrary Power in Ire- land : a kingdom where the brutal power of standing Armies, Sz; the more fatal Influence of pensions & places has left, it is to be feard, hardly any thing more than the Name of a free Constitution. We wish you Strength & fortitude to persevere in patri- otick Exertions. Your Labour will meet with its immediate & constant Reward, in the most peaceful & happy Reflections of your own mind amidst the greatest discouragements ; and be assured that the Man who nobly vindicates the Rights of his Country & Mankind shall stand foremost in the List of fame. ' Of Dublin. Cf. Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xxxiv., p. 231. The committee which reported this letter was appointed March 12, and con- sisted of James Bowdoin, Joseph Warren, Samuel Pemberton, Richard Dana and Adams. Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 46. Franklin wrote to Bowdoin, January 13, 1772 : " In Ireland, among the patriots, I dined with Dr. Lucas." J. Bigelow, Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. iv., p. 439. i64 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 TO ARTHUR LEE. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston April 19 1771. Sir Your Letter of the 31 Dec' which I receivd by Cap Scott a few days past affords me great Satisfac- tion ; especially as it promises a Correspondence which I dare say will be carried on with an Openness & Sincerity becoming those who are anxiously con- cernd for the publick Liberty at so alarming a Crisis.^ Perhaps there never was a time when the political Af- fairs of America were in a more dangerous State ; ' Such is the Indolence of Men in general, or their Inat- ytention to the real Importance of things, that a steady & animated perseverance in the rugged path of Virtue at the hazard of trifles is hardly to be expected. The Generality are necessarily engagd in Application to private Business for the Support of their own families and when at a lucky Season the publick are awakened to a Sense of Danger, & a manly resentment is en- kindled, it is difficult, for so many separate Communi- ties as there are in all the Colonies, to agree in one consistent plan of Opposition while those who are the appointed Instruments of Oppression, have all the Means put into their hands, of applying to the pas- sions of Men & availing themselves of the Necessi- ties of some, the Vanity of others & the timidity of all. ' On January 10, 1771, Lee wrote to Adams : " Our friend Mr. Sayre has done me the favour of communicating to me your very obliging invitation to a correspondence." — R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. i., p. 249. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 165 I have long thought that a Design has been on foot to render ineffectual the Democratical part of this Gov- ernment, even before the province was cursd with the Appointment of Bernard, and so unguarded have the people been in former times, so careless in the Choice of their representatives as to send too many who either through Ignorance or Wickedness have favord that Design. Of late the lower house of Assembly have been more sensible of this Danger & supported in some Measure their own Weight, which has alarmd the Conspirators and been in my opinion the true Source of Bernards Complaint against them as having set up a faction against the Kings Authority. The 4 Judges of the Supreme Court, the Secretary & the Kings Attourny who had been Councellors were left out at the annual Election in 1 766 ; this gave great offence to the Gov', and was followd with two Speeches to both Houses perhaps as infamous & irritating as ever came from a Stuart to the English parliam?.^ Happy indeed it was for the Province that such a Man was at the Head of it, for it occasiond such a Jealousy & Watchfulness in the people as prevented their immediate & total Ruin. The plan however is still carried on tho in a Man- ner some what different ; and that is by making the Governor altogether independent of the People for his Support ; this is depriving the House of Repre- sentatives of the only Check they have upon him & must consequently render them the Objects of the Contempt of a Corrupt Administration. Thus the ' See Vol. I., pages 79, 83. i66 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 peoples Money being first taken from them without their Consent, is appropriated for the Maintenance of a Governor at the Discretion of one in the King- dom of Great Britain upon whom he absolutely depends for his Support. If this be not a Tyranny I am at a Loss to conceive what a Tyranny is. The House of Representatives did a few days since, grant the Gov' the usual Sum for his Support and it is expected that this Matter will be made certain upon his refusal of it. The Gov"^ of New York was explicit at the late Session of their Assembly, upon the like Occasion : But I confess I should not be surprisd if our good Gov', should accept the Grant & discount it out of what he is to receive out of the Kings Chest ; thinking it will be conceivd by the Minister as highly meritorious in him, in thus artfully concealing his In- dependency (for the Apprehension of it is alarming to the people) & saving;^ 1000 sterling of the revenue at the same time. While the Representative Body of the people is thus renderd a mere Name, it is . . . considerd that the other Branch of the Legislative tho annually elective, is at the same time subject to the Gover- nors Negative : A Consideration which I doubt not has its full Weight in the minds of some of them at least, whenever any Matter comes before them which they can possibly think will affect the Measures of Administration. You will easily conjecture how far this may tend to annihilate that Branch or pro- duce Effects more fatal. It seems then that we are in effect to be under the ab- solute Governm' of one Man — ostensively the Gover- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 167 nor of the province but in Reality some other person residing in Great Britain, whose Instructions the Gov' must punctually observe upon pain of forfeiting his place. So that any little advantage that might now & then arise from his happening to form Connections with wise Men in the province are totally lost. As Matters are now circumstancd he must associate with Pensioners, Commissioners of the Customs Ofifieers of the Army & Navy, Tools Sycophants &" who to- gether with him are to make such representations as to them shall seem meet, & joyntly if Occasion shall require it, execute such Orders as they shall from time to time receive. Such is to be the happy Gov- ernment of free British Subjects in America. I will however do Gov' Hutchinson the Justice to say that tho he may ^ . . . yet he has a very natural Con- nection with some of the principal Gentlemen Inhabi- tants of the province for his Excellencys own Brother is a Justice of the Superior Court, & also a Judge of the probate of Wills & he has also a Brother by marriage upon the same superior Bench. Moreover the L' Gov' is his Brother by marriage who has an own Brother & a Brother by marriage who are justices of the Superior Court. As these Gentlemen are Natives of the province it is hoped the Channells of Justice will remain unpolluted notwithstanding his Excel- lencys other Connections. ' At this point the words ' ' mar a State of Absolute Independency in both Houses of Assembly " are erased in the draft. i68 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text, with modifications, is in Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 296, 297 ; a text is also in jfournal of the House of Representatives, 1J70-1771, pp. 241, 242.] In the House of Representatives April 24 1771 Orderd that M' Hancock M' Adams M' Ingersol of Great Barrington Capt Brown & Capt Darby be a Committee to wait on his Excellency the Governor with the following Answer to his Speech to both Houses at the Opening of this Session. May it please your Excellency. The House of Representatives have given all due Attention to your Speech to both Houses at the Opening of this Session. The violent proceedings of the Spanish Governor of Buenos Ayres in dispossessing his Majestys Sub- jects of their Settlement at Port Egmont, has raisd the Indignation of all, who have a just Concern for the Honor of the British Crown. Such an Act of Hostility, we conceive could not but be foUowd with the most spirited Resolution on the part of the Brit- ish Administration, to obtain a Satisfaction fully adequate to the Insult offerd to his Majesty, & the Injuries his Subjects there have sustaind. Your Ex- cellency tells us that it is probable Satisfaction may have been made; for this Hostile act of the Span- iards : If it is so, the publick Tranquility of his Majestys Dominions so far as it has been disturbd, by this unwarrantable Proceeding, is again restored ; and therefore it seems to us reasonable to suppose, that the proposd Plan of Augmentation of Troops on the i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 169 British Establishment is already receded from ; which renders any Consideration upon that Subject on our part unnecessary. We owe our Gratitude to his Majesty for his repeated Assurances expressd to your Excellency by his Secretary of State, that the Security of his Domin- ions in America, will be a principal Object of his most gracious Care & Attention, This Province has frequently in times past expended much Blood & Treasure for the Enlargement as well as the Support of those Dominions : And when our natural & consti- tutional Rights & Liberties, without which no Bless- ing can be secure to us, shall be fully restord & establishd upon a firm Foundation, as we shall then have the same Reasons and Motives therefor as here- tofore, we shall not fail to continue those Exertions with the utmost Chearfulness & to the Extent of our Ability. As your Excellency has no particular interior Busi- ness of the Province to lay before us, it would have given us no uneasiness, if an End had been put to the present Assembly, rather than to have been again called to this Place : And we are unwilling to admit the Beliefe, that when the Season for calling a new Assembly agreable to the Charter shall arrive, your Excellency will continue an Indignity, & a Grievance so flagrant & so repeatedly remonstrated by both Houses as the Deforcement of the General Assembly of its ancient & Rightful Seat.^ ' On April 3 the House had appointed a committee, and on April 4 two committees, in connection with the requests to the Governor to remove the General Court to Boston. Adams was a member of each of these committees. 17° THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Your Excellency is pleasd to acquaint us in Form, that you have receivd his Majestys Commission appointing you Captain General & Commander in Chiefe in and over the Province. Your having had your Birth & Education in this Province, and sus- taind the highest Honors which your Fellow Subjects could bestow, cannot fail to be the strongest Motives with your Excellency to employ those Powers which you are now vested with, for his Majestys real Ser- vice & the best Interest of this People. The Duties of the Governor & Governed are reciprocal : And by our happy Constitution their Dependence is mutual : Nothing can more effectually produce & establish that Order and Tranquility in the Province so often disturbd under the late unfortunate Administration : Nothing will tend more to conciliate the Affections of this People, & ensure to your Excellency those Aids which you will constantly stand in Need of from their Representatives, than, as a wise and faithful Administrator to make Use of the publick Power, with a View only to the publick Welfare : And while your Excy shall religiously regard the Constitution of this Province ; while you shall maintain its funda- mental Laws, so necessary to secure the publick Tranquility, you may be assured, that his Majestys faithful Commons of this Province, will never be wanting in their utmost Exertions to support you in all such measures, as shall be calculated for the publick Good, & to render your Administration pros- perous & happy. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 171 THE HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR.^ [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text, with modifications, is in Massachusetts State Papers, p. 298 ; a text is also in Journal of the House of Representatives, lyyo-iyyi, p. 246.] In the House of Representatives April 25 1771 Orderd that M' Sam' Adams Brig Ruggles M' Hersy Coll Bowers & M' Godfrey be a Committee to wait on his Excellency with the following message. May it please your Excellency. The House of Representatives after Enquiry of the Secretary cannot be made certain whether you have yet given your Assent to two Bills which were laid before your Excellency early in this Session : The one for granting the Sum of five hundred and Six pounds for your Services when Lieutenant Gov- ernor and Commander in Chiefe ; and the other for granting the usual Sum of Thirteen hundred Pounds to enable your Excellency, as Governor, to carry on the Affairs of this Province. And as your Excellency was not pleasd to give your Assent to another Bill passd in the last Session of this Assembly, for granting the Sum of three hundred & twenty five pounds for your Services, when in the Chair, as Lieutenant Governor, the House are apprehensive that you are under some Restraint ; and they cannot account for it upon any other Principle, but your having Provision for your ' On April 24, Adams moved that the House send a message to the Governor asking whether provision had been made for his support independently of the legislature. The motion was carried, and Adams was named as the first mem- ber of the committee to prepare such a message. On April 25, he was named as the first of a committee to present the message to the Governor. 172 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Support, in some new and unprecedented manner. If the Apprehensions of the House are not ground- less, they are sollicitous to be made certain of it, before an End is put to the present Session;' and think it their Duty to pray your Excellency to inform them, whether any provision is made for your Sup- port, as Governor of this Province, independent of his Majestys Commons in it. ARTICLE SIGNED "CANDIDUS." \_Boston Gazette, June 10, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, Benevolus, in Mr. Draper s Gazette seems to have no doubts in his mind, but that " a general air of satisfaction arising from the accounts given in the last Monday's papers of the present state of our publick affairs will shew itself universally thro' the province." I have no inclination to disturb the sweet repose of this placid gentleman ; but I must confess I see no cause for such a general air of satisfaction from those accounts, and I will venture to add, that there is no appearance of it in this town — Does Benevolus think it possible for the good people of this province to be satisfied, when they are told by the Governor, as appears by the last Monday's papers, that he is restrained from holding the court in its antient, usual and most convenient place without his Majesty's express leave ? Does not the charter say that the Governor shall have the power of acting in ' The General Court was dissolved on April 26. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 173 this matter " as he shall judge necessary " ? Is it not of great importance to the welfare of the province that the Governor should be vested with such a power, and that he should exercise it without re- straint ? While he is, or thinks himself fetter' d, by an absolute instruction to hold the assembly out of the town of Boston, to the inconvenience of the mem- bers and the injury of the people, as the present House of Representatives express it, can he be said to have the free exercise of all the powers vested in him by thf rharfqr, wHichJs-our social com pact ? Will it yield such a general satisfaction to the people as Benevolus expects, to see their Governor thus em- barrassed in his administration, and to hear him ex- pressly declaring, that he must ask leave, and be determin'd by the judgment of another in the matter in which it is his indispensible duty to act with free- dom, and by the determination of his own judgment. — Is not this power devolv'd upon him by the consti- tution of the province yiir the good of the people ? Is it not a beneficiary grant, and therefore a right of the people ? And if instructions may controul him in the exercise of one charter right, may they not controul in the exercise of any or every one ? And yet Benevolus would fain have it thought that there is a general satisfaction in the town of Boston arising from this account, and doubts not but it will run thro' the province. Does not the present House of Representatives in their Remonstrance to the Gov- ernor against the holding the assembly at Cambridge, instead of " departing from the principles " as Benevo- lus would insinuate, adopt the remonstrances of the 174 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 two houses of the last year as founded upon just principles ? Do they not tell his Excellency that the holding the assembly at Cambridge " was consider'd as a GRIEVANCE by the people in general in the prov- ince ; and that while it is continued it will have a tendency to prevent a restoration of that harmony, between the several branches of the general assembly, which is so earnestly to be desired by all good men " ? And is it so pleasant a story to be told to the people of the province, that the Governor either cannot, or will not, remove a Grievance of so fatal a tendency, though expressly vested by the charter with the power of doing it if he pleases, without asking leave to do it ? How then can Benevolus possibly entertain the least hopes that a general air of satisfaction will run thro' the province ? Is not this Instruction a novelty ? Was ever a Governor before thus restrain'd ? And is it not a mortifying circumstance that a gentleman from whom the clergy of the province, (I mean the goodly number of seventeen out of near four hun- dred in the province, full seven eighths of whom, never heard that an address was intended^ have express'd the most sanguine expectations as being born and educated among us, and who we are told accepted the government with great reluctance, should submit to be shackled with an instruction so grievous to the people while it is obey'd : And if he is as re- solv'd as any other Governor would be, to make Instruttions the rule of his governing, and give them the force of laws in this province, as he certainly ap- pears to be, what " distinguishing mark of favor " is it, or what satisfaction can it afford the people in 177 r] SAMUEL ADAMS. 175 general, that " a native of the province is appointed to preside over it " ? — Surely Benevolus must either be totally inadvertent to the accounts of the state of our publick affairs as given to us in the last Mondays papers, or he must have altogether confided in the accounts of a confused writer in the Evening-Post, who in the old stile of the hackney'd writers in Ber- nard's administration, tells us that faction is now at an end ; and with an awkward air of gravity insinu- ates, that the people, after having nobly struggled for their freedom, are, under the benign influence of the present administration, " returning to their right senses". A firm and manly opposition to the at- tempts that have been made, and are still making, to enslave and ruin this continent, has always been branded by writers of this stamp, with the name of a FACTION. Governor Bernard used to tell his Lord- ship, that it was an " expiring faction " ; with as little reason it is now said to have given up the ghost : Gladly would some, even of the Clergy, persuade this people to be at ease ; and for the sake of peace under the administration of "« son of the province" , to acquiesce in unconstitutional revenue acts, arbitrary ministerial mandates, and absolute despotic indepen- dent governors, &c. &c. But the time is not yet come ; and I am satisfied that, notwithstanding the address of a few who took the opportunity to carry it through, while only the small number of twenty-four were present, there is in that venerable order a great majority, who will not go up to the house of Rimmon, or bow the knee to Baal. Candidus. 176 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS." \Boston Gazette, June 17, I77I.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, It is not very material whether the Address of the Convention of the Clergy, as it is called by the Lay- man, in Mr. Draper's last Paper, was the Act of seventeen or twenty three Gentlemen, or whether there were only twenty-four or thirty present, when the Vote was procured. — Be it as it may, it is a Ques- tion, why this Matter was bro't on and finished so early, and when so small a Number as thirty, if so many, were present. — It is said that after the Address was Voted, the Number increased to Sixty ; and upon a Proposal to reconsider the Vote, " not above Ten of that Number voted for such Reconsidera- tion." Allowing this to be the Case, it appears, that not more than one in seven of the Congregational Clergy of this Province were at the Meeting, and in all Probability seven-eights of that Denomination never heard that an Address was intended ; for I am told, that upon a moderate Computation, their Number in the Province is at least upwards of Four-Hundred. I should be glad therefore, if the Reverend Doctor who presided at the Meeting, would inform us, with what Propriety the World is told, that this was " the Address of the Congregational Ministers of the Province." For my own Part, I pay very little Regard to Ad- dresses to Great Men : Whenever they appear to be but the Breath of Flattery, they must be offensive to the Ears of any Man who has the Feelings of Truth and Sincerity in his own Breast. — There is no Ques- tion but the Clergy have a Right to address whom i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 177 they please ; and it is not strange to find some of them ready to make their Compliments to a Gover- nor — It is in Course : But of all Men, we are to ex- pect yir^w them,, even upon i-^t^ Occasions, Examples of that Sim,plicity and godly Sincerity, which we so often hear them inculcate from the Pulpit. — I do not pretend to charge them with a Failure in this In- stance : But I cannot help thinking, that rather more of those excellent Christian Graces would have ap- peared in these Reverend Addressers, if they had ascertained the Number present. This might have prevented a Mistake in many of the distant Readers, who may possibly conceive that "so kind, so affec- tionate an Address," contained the declared Senti- ments of a Majority at least of the " respectable and venerable " Body of the Clergy of the Province ; which cannot be true, if in Fact not more than a seventh Part of them knew any Thing about it. — I am with due Veneration for " the Congregational Min- isters of the Province." Candidus THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.^ \Boston Gazette, July 29, 1771 ; a text from the Bowdoin MS. is in Proceedings of Massachusetts Historical Society, Ser. I., vol. viii., pp. 468-473.] Province of Massachusetts Bay, Sjj^ June 29, 1771. Your letter of the 5th of February '^ has been laid before the House : The contents are important and claim our fixed attention. ' Page 46, note, applies also to the authorship of this letter. 'J. Bigelow, Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. iv., p. 378. VOL. II. — 12. 178 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 We cannot think the doctrine of the right of Par- liament to tax us is given up, while an act remains in force for that purpose, and is daily put in execution ; and the longer it remains the more danger there is of the people's becoming so accustomed to arbitrary and unconstitutional taxes, as to pay them without dis- contents and then, as you justly observe, no Minister will ever think of taking them off, but will rather be encouraged to add others. — If ever the provincial assemblies should be voluntarily silent, on the Parlia- ment's taking upon themselves a power thus to vio- late our constitutional and Charter Rights, it might be considered as an approbation of it, or at least a tacit consent, that such a power should be exercised at any future time. It is therefore our duty to de- clare our Rights and our determined Resolution at all times to maintain them : The time we know will come, when they must be acknowledged, established and secured to us and our posterity. We severely feel the effects, not of a revenue raised, but a tribute extorted, without our free consent or con- troul. Pensioners and Placemen are daily multiply- ing ; and fleets and standing armies posted in North America, for no other apparent or real purpose, than to protect the exactors and collectors of the tribute ; for which they are to be maintained, & many of them in pomp & pride to triumph over and insult an injured people, and suppress if possible, even their murmurs. And there is reason to expect, that the continual increase of their numbers will lead to a pro- portionable increase of a tribute to support them. What would be the consequence ? Either on the i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 179 one hand, an abject slavery in the people, which is ever to be deprecated ; or, a determined resolution, openly to assert and maintain their rights, liberties and privileges. The effects of such a resolution may for some time be retarded by flattering hopes and prospects ; and while it is the duty of all persons of influence here to inculcate the sentiments of modera- tion, it will in our opinion, be equally the wisdom of the British administration, to consider the danger of forcing a free people by oppressive measures into a state of desperation. We have reason to believe that the American Colonies, however they may have disagreed among themselves in one mode of oppo- sition to arbitrary measures, are still united in the main principles of constitutional & natural liberty ; and that they will not give up one single point in contest of any importance, tho' they may take no vio- lent measures to obtain them. — The taxing their property without their consent, and thus appropriat- ing it to the purposes of their slavery and destruction, is justly considered, as contrary to and subversive of their orlginalsocial compact, and their intention in \y^ uniting under it : They cannot therefore readily think themselves obliged to renounce those forms of government, to which alone for the advantages im- ply'd or resulting, they were willing to submit. We are sensible, as you observe, that the design of our enemies in England, as well as those who reside here, is to render us odious as well as contemptible, and to prevent all concern for us in the friends of liberty in England ; and perhaps to detach our Sister Colonies from us, and prevent their aid and influence in our i8o THE WRITINGS OF [1771 behalf, when the projects of oppressing us further and depriving us of our Rights by various violent measures, should be carried into execution. In this however, we flatter ourselves they have failed : But / should all the other Colonies become weary of their \ liberties, after the example of the Hebrews, this ^ Province we trust, will never submit to the authority / of an absolute government. We are now led to take notice of another fatal consequence, which we are under strong apprehen- sions will follow from these parliamentary revenue laws ; and that is, the making the governors of the colonies, and other ofificers, independent of the people for their support. You tell us there is no doubt of such intention, and that it will be persisted in, if the American revenue is found sufficient. We are the more inclin'd to believe it, not only because the gov- ernor of the province of New- York has openly de- clared it with regard to himself, to the assembly there ; but because the present governor of this province has repeatedly refused to accept of the usual grant for his support, tho' he has not been so explicit as to assign a reason for it. The charter of this province recognizes the natural Right of all men to dispose of their property : And the governor here, like all other governors, kings and potentates, is to be supported by the free grants of the Representa- tives of the people. Every one sees the necessity of this to preserve the balance of power and the free- dom of any state : A power without a check, is sub- versive of all freedom : If therefore the governor, who is appointed by the crown, shall be totally inde- 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. i8i pendent of the free grants of the people for his support, where is the check upon his power? He becomes absolute and may act as he pleases : He may make use of his power, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private separate advantage, or any other purpose to which he may be inclined, or instructed by him upon whom alone he depends. Such an independency threatens the very being of a free constitution ; and if it takes effect, will produce and firmly establish a tyranny upon its ruin. The act of parliament of the 7 Geo. 3. ^ intitled, " An act for granting certain duties in the Colo- nies, &c." declares That it is expedient that a reve- nue should be raised in his Majesty's dominions in America, for making more certain and adequate pro- vision for the defraying the charge of the administra- tion of justice, and the support of civil government in such colonies where it shall be found necessary ; and, towards further defreying the expences of de- fending, protecting and securing the said dominions. — These are the very purposes for which this govern- ment by the Charter is empowered to grant taxes : So that by the act aforementioned, the Charter is in effect made void. Agreeable to the design of that act, the governor it seems is first to be made inde- pendent ; and in pursuance of the plan of despotism, the judges of the land, and all other important civil ofificers, successively : Next follows an independent military power, to compleat the ruin of our civil lib- erties. — Let us then consider the power the Governor already has, and his Majesty's negative on all our ' Chap. 46. 1 82 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 acts, and judge whether the purposes of tyranny will not be amply answered ! Can it be expected that any law will pass here, but such as will promote the favourite design ? And the laws already made, as they will be executed by officers altogether de- pendent on the crown, will undoubtedly be perverted to the worst purposes. The governor of the province, and the principal fortress in it, are probably already thus supported. These are the first fruits of the system : If the rest should follow, it would be only in a greater degree, a violation of our essential, natural rights. For what purpose then will it be to preserve the old forms without the substance ? In such a state, and with such prospects, can Britain ex- pect anything but a gloomy discontent in the Colo- nies ? Let our fellow-subjects there recollect, what would have been their fate long ago, if their ancestors had submitted to the unreasonable and uncharitable usurpations, exactions and impositions of the See of Rome, in the reign of Henry the VIII. Soon would they have sunk into a state of abject slavery to that haughty power, which exalteth itself above all that is called God : But they had the true spirit of liberty, and by exerting it, they saved themselves and their posterity; The act of parliament passed in the 25th of that reign,^ is so much to our present purpose, that we cannot omit transcribing a part of it, and refer you to the statute at large. In the preamble it is de- clared, that " the realm of England hath been and is free from subjection to any man's law but only to such as have been devised, made and ordained within ' Chap. 21. The quotation from the statute is inexact. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 183 the realm for the wealth of the same." And further, " it standeth therefore with natural equity and good reason, that in every such law humane made within this realm by the said sufferance, consents and cus- toms, your Royal Majesty and your Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons representing the whole state of your realm in this your Majesty's high court of parliament, hath full power and authority, not only to dispense, but also to authorize some elect person or persons to be sent to dispense with those and all other humane laws in this your realm, and with every one of them, as the quality of the persons and matter may require. And also the said laws and every one of them to abrogate, annul, amplify or diminish, as it shall seem to your Majesty and the Nobles and Com- mons of your realm present in parliament meet and convenient for the wealth of your realm. And be- cause that it is now in these days present seen, that the state, dignity and superiority, reputation and au- thority of the said imperial crown of this realm, by the long sufferance of the said unreasonable and uncharitable usurpation and exaction is much and sore decayed, and the people of this realm thereby much impoverished." It is then enacted, that "no person or persons of the realm, or of any other his Majesty's dominions, shall from henceforth pay any pensions, censes, portions, peter pence, or any other impositions to the use of the said Bishop of the See of Rome ; but that all such pensions, &c. which the said Bishop or Pope hath heretofore taken — shall clearly surcease, and never more be levied or paid to any person or persons in any manner or wise." — i84 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Nothing short of the slavery and ruin of the nation would have been the consequence of their submitting to those exactions : And the same will be the fate of America, if the present revenue laws remain, and the natural effect of them, the making governors inde- pendent, takes place. It is therefore with entire approbation that we ob- serve your purpose freely to declare our Rights, and to remonstrate against the least infringement of them. The capital complaint of all North- America, hath been, is now and will be until relieved, a subju- gation to as arbitrary a tribute as ever the Romans laid upon the Jews, or their other colonies : The repealing these duties in part is not considered by this house as a renunciation of the measure : It has rather the appearance of a design to sooth us into security in the midst of danger : Any species of tribute unrepealed, will stand as a precedent, to be made use of hereafter as circumstances and oppor- tunity may admit : If the Colonies acquiesce in a single instance, it will in effect be yielding up the whole matter and controversy. We therefore desire it may be universally understood, that altho' the tribute is paid, it is not paid freely : It is extorted and torn from us against our will : We bear the insult and the injury for the present, grievous as it is, with great impatience ; hoping that the wisdom and prudence of the nation will at length dictate measures consistent with natural justice and equity : For what shall happen in future, We are not answerable : Your observation is just, that it was certainly as bad policy, when they attempted to heal our differences. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 185 by repealing part of the duties only, as it is bad Surgery to leave splinters in a wound which must prevent its healing, or in time occasion it to open afresh. The doctrine, that no agent ought to be received or attended to by government, who is not appointed by an act of the general court, to which the governor has given his assent, if established, must be attended with very ill consequences ; for, besides the just remarks you made upon it, if whatever is to be transacted be- tween the assemblies of the Colonies and the gov- ernment, is to be done by agents appointed by and under the direction of the three branches, it will be utterly impracticable for an assembly ever to lay be- fore the Sovereign their complaints of grievances oc- casioned by the corrupt and arbitrary administration of a governor. This doctrine, we have reason to think, was first advanced by governor Bernard, at a time when he became the principal agent in involving the nation and the Colonies in controversy and con- fusion : Very probably, it now becomes a subject of instruction to governor Hutchinson^ who refuses to confirm the grants of the Assembly to the Agents for the respective houses. In this he carries the point beyond Governor Bernard who assented to grants made in general terms for services performed, without holding up the name of agent : But governor Hutch- inson declines his assent even in that form ; so that we are reduced to a choice of difficulties, either to ' Since the writing of this letter an Instruction of this kind is ar- rived, which has been communicated by the Governor to his Majesty's Council ; and is recorded in their Journal ! i86 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 have no agent at all, but such as shall be under the influence of the minister ; or to find some other way to support an agent than by grants of the general as- sembly. — But we are fallen into times, when governors of colonies seem to think themselves bound to con- form to instructions, without any regard to the civil constitution, or even the public safety. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, July i, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, The Layman, who again appeared in Mr. Draper s last Thursday's Gazette, is sollicitous to know why Candidus " pitched upon the specific Number seven- teen, as present at the late Convention of the Clergy, and voting for an Address to his Excellency the Gov- ernor ; and further, he asks, Whether " it was not purposely done to throw an undeserved Reproach on that reverend Body." — I will endeavour to answer the Layman in a Manner not " militating," as he charges me with having done before, " with my as- sumed denomination." — I mentioned that "specific number," because I was told by several reverend Gen- tlemen who were present at the Convention, that the Address was bro't on early, when only twenty-four had got together ; and that of this number, seventeen only voted in favor of it. I own I thought it unlucky, that the precise Number seventeen should appear to countenance the Address, because I agree with the Layman that it has of late become an "obnoxious i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 187 Number." I have Reason to think I was truly in- formed ; if it was a misrepresentation, the Reverend Doctor who presided at the Meeting, may set us right, if he thinks it worth his While. I am still of Opinion, that is immaterial to my Purpose, whether twenty-four or thirty Gentlemen were present, when the Address was carried through ; either of those numbers being very inconsiderable, when compared with the whole Number of Congregational Ministers in the Province, which is said to be at least four Hundred. — Allowing that the Number, after the Address had passed, was augmented to Sixty, and that Fifty of them were against reconsidering the Matter, it is not certainly to be inferred from thence, that all those Fifty would have voted for an Address, if they had been present when it was first proposed. But however that might be, the Propriety (to say the least) of calling it, An Address of the Congregational Ministers of the Prov- ince, when not more than about One in Seven of them were present, or in any Likelihood ever had heard that any Address was intended, yet remains a Question : And I again say, I should be glad to see it reconciled with that Simplicity and Godly Sincerity which we often hear inculcated from the Pulpit. — The Layman supposes, that it is with the Convention as "with other Corporate Bodies, convened at stated Time and Place " — Now other corporate Bodies are notified of the Matters to be transacted at Time & Place ; but no Notice was given to " the Congrega- tional Ministers of the Province " that an Address to his Excellency the Governor was to be proposed ; and as this is said to be the first Instance of an 188 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Address to a Governor ever made by the Convention, it is not likely that seven-eighths of them, who were absent, ever had it in contemplation. But after all, I would ask, "with Modesty, Decency, and Charity," and with Humility too, all which I take to be excel- lent Christian Graces, as well as Sincerity ; by what Authority is the Convention of the Clergy, as it is called, constituted " a corporate Body " ? I am never- theless, with all due Respect to the Ministers of the Congregational Churches, Your's, Candidus. p. S. Perhaps an Address of Thanks from the Convention of the Reverend & very venerable Dr. Chauncy, for his excellent Defence of their ecclesiastic Constitution, at a Time when they stood in need of so able a Defender, may be judg'd by some to be rather more in Character than a political Address to the Man in Power. C. Postscript the 2d. I am inform'd that it was first propos'd to address his Excellency at Cambridge, after Dinner on the Day of Election, and that the Reason assign'd for it was, because it had been un- justly asserted that his had stood Sponsor at a Christening — The Truth of which Assertion, however, it is also said, might have been made evident by enquiring of a worthy Clergyman of the Church of England in that Town, C. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 189 TO ARTHUR LEE. [R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. I73-I77-] Boston, July 31st, 1771. Sir, — Since I received your favour of the 28th of March, I have observed by the London papers that the lord- mayor and alderman are liberated. From the wisdom and firmness which formerly distinguished that opu- lent and independent city, we expected that when they had so fair an occasion for exerting themselves, the power which has too long oppressed and insulted the nation and the colonies, would have been made to bend. But we have seen complimentary letters and addresses to the imprisoned gentlemen, and their an- swers ; while by a stretch of arbitrary power they have been kept in confinement, till by a prorogation instead of a dissolution, they have been discharged of course. Is this my friend a matter of such triumph ? Does it not show that Britons are unfeeling to their condi- tion ? Or has brutal force at length become so formi- dable, that after having in vain petitioned those whose duty it is to redress their grievances, they are afraid to imitate the virtue of their ancestors in similar cases, and redress their grievances themselves ? Mr. Hume, if I mistake not, somewhere says, that if James the Second had had the benefit of the riot- act, and such a standing army as has been granted since his time, it would have been impracticable for the nation to have wrought its own delivery, and establish the constitution of '88. If the people have put it in the power of a wicked and corrupt ministry I90 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 to make themselves absolute lords and tyrants over them by means of a standing army, we may at present pity them under the misfortune ; but future historians will record the story with astonishment and indigna- tion, and posterity, who will share in the fatal effects of their folly and treachery, will accuse them. Has there not for a long time past been reason to appre- hend the designs of a restless faction to oppress the nation ; and the more easily to affect their purposes, to render the king's government obnoxious, and if possible put an end to a family which has heretofore supported the rights of the nation, its happiness and grandeur ? In this colony we are every day experiencing the miserable effects of arbitrary power. The people are paying the unrighteous tribute, (I wish I could say they were groaning under it, for that would seem as if they felt they are submitting to it,) in hopes that the nation will at length revert to justice. But before that time comes, it is to be feared they will be so accustomed to bondage, as to forget they were ever free. Swarms of locusts and caterpillars are main- tained by this tribute in luxury and splendour, and a standing army, (not in the city thank God, since the 5th March 1770, but within call upon occasion). While our independent governor is found to crouch to his superiors, and to look down upon and sneer at those below him, he is from time to time receiving instruc- tions how to govern this people, to govern ! rather to harass and insult his country in distress. . . . where his adulating priestlings are reminding him he was born and educated, forgetting perhaps if they ever i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 191 knew, that the tyrants of Rome were the natives of Rome. Among other edicts which have been lately sent to this governor, there is one which prohibits his assenting to any tax-bill, unless the commissioners and other ofificers, whose salaries are not paid out of moneys granted by this government, are exempted from a tax on the profits of their commissions. Nothing that I can say will heighten the resentment of a man of sense and virtue against such a mandate ; and yet our governor would have us think it is a mark of his paternal goodness. Another instruction forbids the governor to give his assent to grants to any agent, unless he is appointed by a law of the province, or a resolve of the assembly, to which his excellency con- sents. And a third requires him to refuse his assent to a future election of such councillors as shall pre- sume to meet together as a council, without being summoned by him into his presence. These instruc- tions, so humiliating to the council, the secretary by the governor's order has entered on their journals. It has been observed that the nearer any man ap- proaches to an absolute independence, the more he will be flattered ; and flattery is always great in pro- portion as the motives of flatterers are bad. These observations are so disgraceful to human nature that I wish I could say they were not founded in experi- ence. Perhaps there never was a man in this province more flattered, or who bore it better, I mean who was better pFeased with it, than Governor Hutchinson. You have seen Miss in her teens, surrounded with dy- ing lovers, praising her gay ribbons, the dimples in her cheeks or the tip of her ear ! In imitation of the 192 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 mother country, whom we are too apt to imitate in fopperies, addresses have been procured and presented to his excellency, chiefly from dependants and expec- tants. Indeed some of the clergy have run into the stream of civility, which is the more astonishing, when it is considered that they altogether depend upon the ability and good disposition of their parishes for their support. But it is certain that not a fifth part, some say not an eighth part of the clergy, were present. It cannot, therefore, be said to be the language of the body of the clergy, and all ages have seen that some of that order have ever been ready to sacrifice the rights as well as the honoured religion of their coun- try, to the smiles of the great. It is a sore mortifica- tion that the independent house of representatives, and the town of Boston have refused to make their compliments to a man, whose administration since the departure of the Nettleham Baronet, they can by no means approve of. From hence you will judge whether these addresses speak the sentiments of the people in general, or are any more than the foul breath of sycophants and hirelings. The province of North Carolina, by accounts from thence, appears to have been involved in a civil war. It is the general opinion here that the people in the back parts of that province have been greatly op- pressed, and that the governor, instead of hearkening to their complaints and redressing their grievances, has raised an army and spilt their blood. This it must be confessed, is treating the people under his government much in the same manner as his superiors have treated the nation and the colonies. But their i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 193 example may prove dangerous to be followed by a plantation governor. At this distance from Carolina we have not yet received a perfect account from thence. I hope your friends in the adjacent colony of Virginia have wrote you particularly of this impor- tant matter. Try on has arrived at New York, where he is appointed governor. He has already been ad- dressed with all the expressions of court sincerity, and perhaps he may hereafter receive the reward of a baronet for his fidelity and courage. ' When vice prevails and impious men bear sway, the post of honour is the private station.' ARTICLE SIGNED ' CANDIDUS. [Boston Gazette^ August 5, 1 77 1.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, One who stiles himself, in Mr. Draper's paper, a Lay- man, having repeatedly endeavoured in vain to make the Public believe, that the paper presented to gov- ernor Hutchinson, by about a fifth part, according to his own account, and as others say, not more than an eighth part of the congregational ministers of this province, ought still to be called " an address of the congregational ministers of this province " ; and that its being thus represented in the newspapers, did not betray any want of that simplicity and godly sin- cerity, which we have so often heard inculcated from the pulpit ; and what is still more extraordinary in a vindication of reverend addressers, having sneer'd at me for expressing my regard for these and other emi- VOL, II. — 13. 194 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 nent christian graces, which however, I have reason to hope are the peculiar ornaments of the generality of the ministers of that denomination ; I say, after all this, he proceeds to tell us, that there never has been an instance of a majority of the clergy present at any convention ; and that the individuals who compose that reverend corporate body, as he would fain have us think it to be, have never before been notified of such political or other matters as a few of them may have taken it into their heads to transact at any future time or place — Are we to infer from thence by any means, that it was fair to call this the address of the body of the congregational rrtinisters of the province ? For so it was manifestly intended to be understood, and so it is plain his Excellency himself chose to understand it, as appears by his calling it in his answer, " so kind, so affectionate an address, from so respectable and venerable a body of men " — Aye, but says the Layman, it has been customary for a mi- nority of the congregational ministers of the province, to meet in convention, and address the new govern- ors, without notifying the majority of them, (who have always been absent) of the matter. If this be true, it argues that such former addresses can no more than the last, be fairly called addresses of the body of the clergy, or be so represented or received — This Layman, as he calls himself, mentions the con- vention in one of his performances, as acting like " other corporate bodies," at the meetings of which the presence of a majority of the members may not be necessary to warrant their proceedings ; but he does not incline to answer my question, viz. When i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 195 and by whom they were incorporated ? But if they had been a corporate body, the members should have been duly warned of the matters to be transacted, as well as the time and place ; otherwise, who does not know that their proceedings must be invalid ? To be sure if, without such notification, not a sixth part of them should be present, which is the fact, no one in his senses would plead that they could with fairness be called the proceedings of that corporate body — However, thus it has been represented by the Lay- man : The reverend addressers themselves, call their address, " An address of the ministers of the congre- gational churches in the province," and his Excellency receives it very kindly, as coming from so " respect- able and venerable a body " — Whatever some of those reverend gentlemen, (I care not how small a number is supposed, for I would be tender of the character of the cloth,) I say, whether some of them might not think, that if the address was supposed to be the de- clared sentiment of the whole body of the clergy of the province, it would be further supposed, to speak the sentiments of the whole body of the people of the province, and whether they were not under this temptation to give their address so pompous an in- troduction, I will not presume to say ; I shall only in my usual way, and with my usual modesty, as the Layman witnesses, ask whether there is not reason to think it. If this was actually the case, I will just remark, that though the body of the people of this province, treat the clergy, as I hope they always will, with all due respect, yet they are not priest-ridden as in some other parts of the world, and I hope in God 196 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 they never will be — They claim a right of private judgment ; and they will always venture to express their own sentiments of men or things, of politicks or religion, against the sentiments of the clergy, whenever they think the clergy in the wrong. This indefatigable Layman threatens to " chastise " me for falshood, in saying I had heard, or "it is said " that this is the first instance of an address ever made to a governor by the convention ; but strictly speaking it was truly said, according to his own ac- count ; for if a majority of the members which com- pose the convention, have never met, nor any of the members ever been notified of time, place or matters to be transacted, how can any act be said to have been the act of the convention ? But this is not what I intended I was told, or to use my own words, it was said in my hearing, that this was the first ad- dress to a governor ever made by the convention : I understood it to be the first address ever made to a governor by any number of ministers calling them- selves the ministers of the congregational churches of this province met in convention : The Layman has convinced me that I was misinformed : Does it fol- low that I am chargeable with falshood ? a gross violation of truth ? Fie, fie, Layman ! As your client's cause requires the utmost candor, learn to ex- ercise a little of it towards others ; it is a shame for you to rail in behalf of the clergy — An instance is bro't of an address to Governor Pownal, and another to Bernard ! But in neither of these instances, as the Layman tells us, were the members of the con- vention notified, or the majority of them present. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 197 Perhaps only seventeen met, and an hour before the usual time, as was said by one of the convention to be the case, when the late address was first carried. The Layman indeed insists upon twenty-four ; it is imma- terial as I said before, since either of these numbers is inconsiderable, in comparison with 300, some say 400 ministers of that denomination in the province. If the Layman thinks it material, I am sorry the Rev. Dr. who presided at the meeting, though repeatedly requested, will not condescend to ascertain it for him — With regard to addresses to governors upon their promotion, so far as it can be presumed that they are well qualified and well dispos'd to employ their shin- ing talents, (for such they all have, if we are to be- lieve the late addresses here and elsewhere,) and to make themselves " diffusive blessings in their exalted stations," those of the clergy and others, who are so very fond of congratulating, let them congratulate, if they please. I believe many of the clergymen who congratulated the Nettleham baronet, and others be- sides, have since been fully convinced that they have no reason to pride themselves in it. The truth is, every man in power will be adulated by some sort of men in every country, because he is a man in power — Tryon arrives from the bloody scenes of Ala- mance, and receives the high encomiums of New York, the clergy as well as others, for having " saved a sister colony " by his noble exploit ; and another is flattered as being the " father of his country," and " the delight of an obliged and grateful people," by those very men who now detest the administration of Bernard whom they had before cannonized, altho' 198 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 he has assured his noble patron, and many beHeve it, that this Father of his country is just such an one as himself ; that he is pushing forward with the utmost vehemence, tho' in different modes, the same meas- ures, and that he may be depended upon by his Lord- ship equally with himself. I am with great respect to the congregational ministers, Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. [Boston Gazette, August 19, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill. It has become of late so fashionable for some per- sons to make their addresses to every one whom they call a great man, that one can hardly look upon them as the genuine marks of respect to any one who is really a good man. Their addresses seem to spring altogether from political views ; and without the least regard to the character or merit of the persons whom they profess to compliment in them. From the ob- servations I have been able to make, I have been led to think that one of their designs in addressing, is to give occasion to my Lord of H and other great men to think, or at least to say it, whether they think so or not, that the scales have at length fallen from the eyes of the people of this town and province ; and that in consequence thereof, they have altered their sentiments, & are become perfectly reconciled to the whole system of ministerial measures ; for otherwise, they might argue, could they possibly be so liberal in i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 199 their addresses and compliments to those persons who are employed, and no question, are very active in carrying those measures into execution. But I should think that if a question of this consequence, namely. Whether the people have altered their sentiments in so interesting a point, is to be decided by their ap- parent disposition to compliment this or that particu- lar gentleman, because he is employed in the service of administration in America, it would be the fairest method to call a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town, duly notifying them of the occasion of the meeting, and let the matter be fully debated if need be, and determined by a vote. Every one would then see, if the vote was carried in favour of addressing, or which upon my supposition is the same thing, in fa- vour of the measures of administration, whether it obtain'd by a large or small majority of the whole ; and we might come to the knowledge of the very persons, which is much to be desired, as well as the weight of understanding and property on each side. For my own part, I cannot but at present be of opinion, and " I have reason to believe " that my opinion is well founded, that the measures of the British administration of the colonies, are still as dis- gustful and odious to the inhabitants of this respect- able metropolis in general, as they ever have been : And I will venture further to add, that nothing, in my opinion, can convey a more unjust idea of the spirit of a true American, than to suppose he would even compliment, much less make an adulating ad- dress to any person sent here to trample on the 200 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 Rights of his Country ; or that he would ever con- descend to kiss the hand which is ready prepared to rivet his own fetters — There are among us, it must be confess'd, needy expectants and dependents ; and a few others of sordid and base minds, form'd by na- ture to bend and crouch even to little great men : — But whoever thinks, that by the most refined art and assiduous application of the most ingenious political oculist, the " public eye " can yet look upon the chains which are forg'd for them, or upon those detestable men who are employ'd to put them on, without ab- horrence and indignation, are very much mistaken — I only wish that my Countrymen may be upon their guard against being led by the artifices of the tools of Administration, into any indiscreet measures, from whence they may take occasion to give such a color- ing. " There have been, says the celebrated American Farmer, in every age and in every country bad men : Men who either hold or expect to hold certain advan- tages by fitting examples of servility to their coun- trymen : Who train'd to the employment, or self-taught by a natural versatility of genius, serve as decoys for drawing the innocent and unwary into snares. It is not to be doubted but that such men will diligently bestir themselves on this and every like occasion, to spread the infection of their meanness as far as they can. On the plans they have adopted this is their course. This is the method to recommend themselves to their patrons. They act consistently in a bad cause. They run well in a mean race. From them we shall learn, how pleasant and profitable a thing it is, to be, for our submissive behavior, well i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 201 spoken of at St. James's or St. Stephen's, at Guildhall or the Royal Exchange." We cannot surely have forgot the accursed designs of a most detestable set of men, to destroy the Liber- ties of America as with one blow, by the Stamp-Act ; nor the noble and successful efforts we then made to divert the impending stroke of ruin aimed at ourselves and our posterity. The Sons of Liberty on the 14th of August 1 765, a Day which ought to be for ever remembered in America, animated with a zeal for their country then upon the brink of destruction, and resolved, at once to save her, or like Samson, to perish in the ruins, exerted themselves with such distin- guished vigor, as made the house of Dogon to shake from its very foundation ; and the hopes of the lords of the Philistines even while their hearts were merry, and when they were anticipating the joy of plunder- ing this continent, were at that very time buried in the pit they had digged. The People shouted ; and their shout was heard to the distant end of this Con- tinent. In each Colony they deliberated and resolved, and every Stampman trembled ; and swore by his Maker, that he would never execute a commission which he had so infamously received. We cannot have forgot, that at the very Time when the stamp-act was repealed, another was made in which the Parliament of Great-Britain declared, that they had right and authority to make any laws what- ever binding on his Majesty's subjects in America — How far this declaration can be consistent with the freedom of his Majesty's subjects in America, let any one judge who pleases — In consequence of such right 202 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 and authority claim'd, the commons of Great Britain very soon fram'd a bill and sent it up to the Lords, wherein they pray'd his Majesty to accept of their grant of such a part as they were then pleas'd, by vir- tue of the right and authority inherent in them to make, of the property of his Majesty's subjects in America by a duty upon paper, glass, painter's colours and tea. And altho' these duties are in part repeal'd, there remains enough to answer the purpose of ad- ministration, which was to fix the precedent. We remember the policy of Mr. Grenville, who would have been content for the present with a pepper corn establish'd as a revenue in America : If therefore we are voluntarily silent while the single duty on tea is continued, or do any act, however innocent, simply considered, which may be construed by the tools of administration, (some of whom appear to be fruitful in invention) as an acquiescence in the measure, we are in extreme hazard ; if ever we are so distracted as to consent to it, we are undone. Nor can we ever forget the indignity and abuse with which America in general, and this province and town in particular, have been treated, by the servants & officers of the crown, for making a manly resistance to the arbitrary measures of administration, in the representations that have been made to the men in power at home, who have always been dispos'd to be- lieve every word as infallible truth. For opposing a threatned Tyranny, we have been not only called, but in effect adjudged Rebels & Traitors to the best of Kings, who has sworn tb maintain and defend the Rights and Liberties of his Subjects — We have been [77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 203 represented as inimical to our fellow subjects in Britain, because we have boldly asserted those Rights and Liberties, wherewith they, as Subjects, are made free. When we complain'd of this injurious treatment ; when we petition'd, and remonstrated our grievances : What was the Consequence ? Still further indignity ; and finally a formal invasion of this town by a fleet and army in the memorable year 1 768. Our masters, military and civil, have since that period been frequently chang'd ; and possibly some of them, from principles merely political, may of late have look'd down upon us with less sternness in their countenances than a Bernard or a . . . : But while there has been no essential alteration of meas- ures, no real redress of grievances, we have no reason to think, nay we deceive ourselves if we indulge a thought that their hearts are changed. We cannot entertain such an imagination, while the revenue, or as it is more justly stiled, the tribute is extorted from us : while our principal fortress, within the en- virons of the town, remains garrison'd by regular troops, and the harbour is invested by ships of war. The most zealous advocates for the measures of ad- ministration, will not pretend to say, that these troops and these ships are sent here to protect America, or to carry into execution any one plan, form'd for the honor or advantage of Great-Britain. It would be some alleviation, if we could be convinced that they were sent here with any other design than to insult us. How absurd then must the addresses which have been presented to some particular gentlemen, who have made us such friendly visits, appear in the eyes 204 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 of men of sense abroad ! Or, if any of them have been so far impos'd upon, as to be induc'd to believe that such addresses speak the language of the general- ity of the people, how ridiculous must the generality of the people appear ! On the last supposition, would not a sensible reader of those addresses, upon comparing them with the noble resolutions which this town, this province and this continent have made against slavery, and the just and warm resentment they have constantly shown against every man what- ever, who had a mind sordid and base enough, for the sake of lucre, or the preservation of a commission, or from any other consideration, to submit to be made even a remote instrument in bringing and entailing it upon a free and a brave people ; upon such a com- parison, would he not be ready to conclude, " that we had forgot the reasons which urged us, with unex- ampled unanimity a few years ago — that our zeal for the public good had worn out, before the homespun cloaths which it had caused us to have made — and, that by our present conduct we condemned our own late successful example ! " — Although this is alto- gether supposition, without any foundation in truth, yet, so our enemies wish it may be in reality, and so they intend it shall be — To prevent it, let us adhere TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. CaNDIDUS. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, September 9, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, Perhaps there never was a people who discovered themselves more strongly attached to their natural i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 205 and constitutional rights and liberties, than the British Colonists on this American Continent — Their united and successful struggles against that slavery with which they were threatened by the stamp-act, will undoubtedly be recorded by future historians to their immortal honor — The assembly of Virginia, which in- deed is the most ancient colony, claimed their pre- eminence at that important crisis, by first asserting their rights which were invaded by the act, and by their spirited resolution to ward off the impending stroke : And they were seconded by all the other colonies, with such unanimity and invincible fortitude, that those who, to their eternal disgrace and infamy, had ac- cepted of commissions to oppress them, were made to shudder at the thought of rendering themselves still more odious to all posterity, by executing their commissions, and publickly to abjure their detestable design of raising their fortunes upon the ruin of their country. Under the influence of the wisest admin- istration which has ever appeared since the present reign began : The hateful act was at length repeal'd ; to the joy of every friend to the rights of mankind in Britain, and of all America, except the few who either from the prospect of gain by it, or from an inveterate envy which they had before and have ever since dis- covered, of the general happiness of the people of America, were the promoters if not the original framers of it. This restless faction could not bear to see the Americans restored to the possession of their rights and liberties, and sitting once more in security under their own vines and their own fig trees : Un- wearied in their endeavours to introduce an absolute 2o6 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 tyranny into this country, to which they were insti- gated, some from the principles of ambition or a lust of power, and others from an inordinate love of money which is the root of all evil, and which had before possessed the hearts of those who had under- taken to distribute the stamped papers, they met to- gether in cabal and laid a new plan to render the people of this continent tributary to the mother coun- try — Having finished their part of the plan, their in- defatigable Randolph was dispatched to Great-Britain to communicate it to the fraternity there, in order that it might be ripen'd and bro't to perfection : But even before his embarkation, he could not help dis- covering his own weakness, by giving a broad hint of the design — ^This parricide pretended that his inten- tion in making a voyage to England at that time, was to settle a private affair of his own ; that he had nothing else in view ; and that having settled that private affair, he should immediately return, and as he express'd it, lay his bones in his native country. Full of the appearance of love for his country, he express'd the greatest solicitude to do the best service he could for it, while in England ; but unluckily drop'd a question, strange and inconsistent as it may appear to the reader, " What do you think, sir, of a small Duty upon divers articles of importation from Great- Britain ? " No sooner had he arriv'd in London, than the news was dispatch'd from the friends of America there, of a design to lay a duty upon paper, glass, painter's colours, and tea imported into America, with the sole purpose of raising a revenue — The lucrative commission which he obtain'd while 17 7 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 207 in England, in consequence of the passing of the act of parliament, whereby he was appointed one of the principal managers of this very revenue, affords but little room to doubt what his intention was in his voy- age to London, notwithstanding his warm professions of concern for his native country — It is not always a security against a man's sacrificing a country, that he was born and educated in it. The Tyrants of Rome were Natives of Rome. Such men indeed in- cur a guilt of a much deeper dye, than Strangers, who commit no such violation of duty and of feeling. There was another of the cabal who em- bark'd about the same time, but he was call'd out of this life before he reach'd London, and de mortuis nil dico — Of the living I shall speak, as occasion shall call for it, with a becoming freedom. The whole continent was justly alarmed at the parliament's resuming the measure of raising a reve- nue in America without their consent, which had so nearly operated the ruin of the whole British empire but a few months before ; & that this odious measure should be taken, so soon after the happy coalition be- tween Britain and the colonies which the repeal of the stamp-act had occasion'd ; for if one may judge by the most likely appearances, the affections of her colonists, were upon this great event, more strongly attached to the mother country if possible, than ever they had been. But the great men there had been made to believe otherwise — Nay the governor of this province had gone such a length as to assure them, that the design of the Americans in their opposition to the stamp-act, was to bring the authority of parlia- 2o8 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 ment into contempt — Many of his adherents privately wrote to the same purpose — All which had a ten- dency to break that harmony, which after the only in- terruption that had ever taken place and that of short continuance, had been renewed, and doubtless would have been confirmed to mutual advantage forages, had it not been for that pestilent few, who first to aggran- dize themselves and their families, interrupted the har- mony, and then to preserve their own importance, took every step their malice could invent, with the advan- tage they had gain'd of a confidence with the ministry, to prevent it's ever being restored. Upon the fatal news (fatal, I call it, for I very much fear it will prove so in its consequences, how remote I will not take upon me to predict) upon the news of the passing of another revenue act, the colonies im- mediately took such measures as were dictated to them, not by passion and rude clamour, but by the voice of reason and a just regard to the safety of themselves and their posterity. The assembly of this province, being the first I suppose who had the opportunity of meeting, prepared and forwarded a humble, dutiful & loyal petition to the King ; ^ and wrote letters to such of the British nobility ^ and gentry as had before dis- covered themselves friends to the rights of America & of mankind, beseeching their interposition and influ- ence on their behalf. At the same time they wrote a circular letter to each of the other colonies, ^ letting them know the steps they had taken and desiring their ' Vol. I., page 162. 'Vol. I., pages 152, 166, 169, 173, 180. "Vol. I., page 184. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 209 advice & joint assistance — This letter had its different effects ; on the one hand, in the deep resentment of my Lord of Hillsborough, who was pleased to call it " a measure of an inflamatory nature — Evidently ten- ding to create unwarrantable combinations, to excite an unjustifiable opposition to the constitutional au- thority of parliament and to revive unhappy divisions and distractions," &c. While on the other hand, the colonies, as appears by their respective polite answers, receiv'd it with the highest marks of approbation, as a token of sincere affection to them, & a regard to the common safety ; and they severally proceeded to take concurrent measures. No one step I believe, united the colonies more than this letter ; excepting his lord- ship's endeavors by his own circular letter to the colonies, to give it a different turn — But however de- cent and loyal — However warrantable by or rather conformable to the spirit and the written rules of the British constitution, the petitions of right and other applications of the distressed Americans were, they shared the same fate which those of London, West- minster, Middlesex, & other great cities & counties have since met with ! No redress of grievances en- sued : Not even the least disposition in administration to listen to our petitions ; which is not so much to be wondered at, when we consider the temper of the ministry, which was incessantly acted upon by Gover- nor Bernard in such kind of language as this " The authority of the King, the supremacy of parliament, the superiority of government are the real objects of the attack "; while nothing is more certain, than that the house of representatives of this province in their VOL, II. — 14. 210 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 petition to the king, and in all their letters, that in par- ticular which was address'd to the other colonies, the sentiment of which was recogniz'd by them, expressly declare, " that his Majesty's high court of parliament is the supreme legislative power over the whole em- pire, in all cases which can consist with the funda- mental rights of the constitution," and that " it was never questioned in this province, nor as they con- ceive in any other." They indeed in all their letters insist upon the right of granting their own money, as a right founded in nature, the exercise of which no man ever relinquished to another & remain'd free — A right therefore which no power on earth, not even the acknowledged supreme legislative power over the whole empire hath any authority to divest them of — " The supreme power says Mr. Locke, is not, nor can \ / possibly be absolutely arbitrary, over the lives and for- tunes of the people — The supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his own consent. For the preservation of property being the end of government, and that for which men enter into society ; it necessarily supposes and requires that the people should have property, without which they must be supposed to lose that by entering into so- ciety, which was the end for which they entered into it. Men therefore in society having property, they have such a right to the goods which by the law of the community are theirs, that no body hath a right to take their substance or any part of it from them with- out their consent. Without this, they have no prop- erty at all : For I have truly no property in that, which another can by right take from me when he / i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 211 pleases, against my consent " — These are the prin- ciples upon which alone, the Americans founded their opposition to the late acts of parliament. How then could governor Bernard with any colour of truth de- clare to a minister of state in general terms, that " the authority of the King, the supremacy of parliament, the superiority of government, were the objects of the attack ? " Upon the principles of reason and nature, their opposition is justifiable : For by those acts the property of the Colonists is taken from them without their consent. It is by no means sufficient to console us, that the duty is reduced to the single article of Tea, which by the way is not a fact ; but if it should be admitted, it is because the parliament for the present are pleased to demand no more of us : Should we acquiesce in their taking three pence only because they please, we at least tacitly consent that they should have the sovereign controul of our purses ; and when they please they will claim an equal right, and perhaps plead a precedent for it, to take a shilling or a pound — At present we have the remedy in our own hands ; we can easily avoid paying the tribute, by abstaining from the use of those articles by which it is extorted from us : — and further, we can look upon our haughty imperious taskmasters, and all those who are sent here to aid and abet them, together with those sons of servility, who from very false notions of polite- ness, can seek and court opportunities of cringing and fawning at their feet, of whom, thro' favor, there are but few among us : we may look down upon all these, with that sovereign contempt and indignation, with which those who feel their own dignity and freedom. 212 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 will for ever view the men, who would attempt to re- duce them to the disgraceful state of slavery. I shall continue to send you an account of facts, as my leisure will admit. In the mean time, I am yours, Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, September 16, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, I have already mentioned the circular letter written by the house of representatives of this province to the other colonies, dated the nth of February, 1768; and the very different treatment it met with from the Earl of Hillsborough and the respectable bodies to whom it was addressed. And also the circular letter which his lordship himself was pleased to send to those col- onies, wherein he recommended to them "to treat it with the contempt it deserved " — But as the sentiments contained in the letter of the house were so exactly similar to those of the other colonies, and the subject of it was of equal importance to them all, it was not in the power of his lordship to efface the impressions it made, or to disturb that harmony which was the happy effect of it — Vis unita fortior — That union of the colonies in their common danger, by which they became powerful, was the occasion of the greatest perplexity to their enemies on both sides the atlantick ; and it has been ever since their constant endeavor by all manner of arts to destroy it. In this, it must be i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 213 confess'd, they have discovered an unanimity, zeal and perseverance, worthy to be imitated by those who are embark'd in the cause of American freedom. — It is by united councils, a steady zeal, and a manly fortitude, that this continent must expect to recover its violated rights and liberties. Such was the resentment which the circular letter enkindled in the breasts of administration, that it was immediately followed by a Mandate from lord Hills- borough to governor Bernard, to require the succeed- ing house to rescind the resolution which had given birth to it, upon pain of a dissolution of the assembly in case of a refusal. — Governor Bernard added to the severity of this mandate by assuring the house in a message to them, that "if he should be obliged to dis- solve the general court, he should not think himself at liberty to call another, till he should receive his Majesty's command for that purpose." — It appeared that administration had been greatly misinformed with regard to the circumstances of this resolution of the house, particularly in a representation that it was brought on when the members present were few, and at the end of the session ; and that it was therefore a very unfair proceeding procured by surprize and con- trary to the real sense of the house — But the house made it evident in their letter to his lordship after- wards, from their own minutes and journals, that it was the declared sense of a large majority when the house -wdiS full — It was the constant practice of gov- ernor Bernard and his adherents, to represent the op- position of the house to the pernicious designs of the enemies of the colonies, which generally consisted of 214 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 full three quarters of the members and sometimes more, as the feeble efforts of an expiring faction. This direct and peremptory requisition, of a new and strange constructure, and so strenuously urg'd by the governor, was taken into consideration by the house, on the next day after it was laid before them ; and as is usual in all matters of importance, was then referred to a large committee further to consider it, and report their opinion of what was expedient to be done : As the governor had assured the house in his message, that " their resolution thereon would have the most important consequences to the province," the committee were the more deliberate in their consulta- tions ; very reasonably expecting, that after such an assurance given to the house, the governor would in- dulge them with sufficient time thoroughly to digest it. However sanguine the expectation of lord Hills- borough might be, through the artful insinuation of governor Bernard that, the "attempts of a desperate faction (as his lordship expressed it) would be dis- countenanced, and that the execution of the measure recommended would not meet with any difficulty ; " the governor himself, who was fully acquainted with the sentiments of the house, as well as of the general- ity of the people without doors, had no " grounds to hope " that the requisition would be comply'd with ; and therefore as a dissolution was to be the immediate consequence of a refusal, and as his lordship had directed the governor to " transmit to him an account of their proceedings to be laid before his Majesty, to the end that his Majesty might, if he tho't proper, lay the whole matter before his parliament," it might have i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 215 been well supposed that a longer time was necessary for them to state the reasons of their own conduct, and to set the transactions of the former house, which had been grossly misrepresented, in a true point of light, in order to vindicate themselves, when their whole proceedings should be laid before his Majesty and the parliament. But before the committee were ready to make their report, the governor sent down a message to the house, signifying that it was full a week since he had laid his Majesty's requisition before them, and that he could not admit of a much longer delay, without considering it as an answer in the negative — Upon which the house, being desirous that the sense of the people concerning this important matter might be known as explicitly as possible, which would also have determined beyond all doubt, their sense of the reve- nue acts, and the opposition made to them by the American assemblies, requested a recess of the general court, that they might have the opportunity of taking the instructions of their constituents. But though his lordship in his letter to the governor, express'd a satisfaction in "that spirit of decency and love of order which has discovered itself in the conduct of the most considerable of the inhabitants of the province ; " and the governor himself in his speech at the close of the preceeding assembly, insinuated that matters had been conducted by a party in the house ; and declared that "the evils which threatened this injured coun- try, arose from the machinations of a few, very few discontented men " — 'false patriots who were sacri- ficing their country to the gratification of their own 2i6 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 passions," and that it was " by no means to be charged upon the generality of the people" yet he did not think it proper to comply with the request of the house for a recess, that the sentiment of the general- ity of " this good people" as he calls them in this same speech, might be taken. Had he not the fairest op- portunity upon this motion of the house, if there had been any grounds for his representations that the opposition to the revenue acts was confined to 2Lfew, very few discontented men, to have made it evident beyond all contradiction ? But he dared not rest the matter upon this issue : He knew very well that it would put an end to his darling topic ; and that the determination of the generality of the people, would put it out of his power any longer to hold up an ex- piring faction to administration with success — A low piece of cunning, of which he was a perfect master, and which he had constantly practiced to induce them to a perseverance in their measures. On the 30th June 1768, the committee, having maturely considered the requisition made to the house in its nature and consequences reported a letter to the Earl of Hillsborough^ his Majesty's secretary of state for the American department, and laid it on the table ; wherein they observe to his lordship, that a requisition of such a nature, to a British house of commons had been very un- usual and perhaps altogether unprecedented since the revolution : That some very aggravated repre- sentations must have been made to his Majesty of the resolution of the former house, to induce him ' Vol. I., page 219. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 217 to require this house to rescind it, upon pain of for- feiting their existence — That the people in this prov- ince had attended with anxiety to the acts of the British parUament for raising a revenue in America — That this concern was not limited within the circle of a few inconsiderate persons ; the most respectable for fortune, rank and station, as well as probity and understanding in the province, with very few exceptions, being alarm'd with apprehensions of the fatal consequences, of a power exercised in any part of the British empire, to command and apply the property of their fellow subjects at discretion : That as all his Majesty's North-American subjects were alike affected by those revenue acts, the former house very justly supposed that each of the assemblies on the continent would take such methods of obtaining redress as should be thought by them respectively to be regular and proper ; and being desirous that the several applications should harmonize with each other, they resolved on their circular letter ; wherein they only acquainted their sister colonies with the measures they had taken, without calling upon them to adopt those measures or any other — That this was perfectly consistent with the constitution ; and that, so far from being criminal, or a measure " of an in- flammatory nature," it had a natural tendency to com- pose his majesty's subjects in the colonies, till they should obtain relief ; at a time when it seem'd to be the evident design of a party, they might have said a faction, to prevent calm, deliberate, rational and con- stitutional measures being pursued, or to stop the distresses of the people from reaching his Majesty's 2i8 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 ear, and consequently to precipitate them into a state of desperation. They therefore leave it to his lord- ship's impartial judgment, whether the representations that had been made of this resolution, were not in- jurious to the house, and an affront to his Majesty himself. And after proceeding to give his lordship a full detail of all the circumstances relating to the reso- lution which gave birth to the circular letter, and which they were required to rescind, they add, that they rely upon it that to petition his Majesty will not be deemed by him to be inconsistent with the British constitution ; that to acquaint their fellow subjects, involved in the same distress, even if they had invited the union of all America in one joint supplication, would not be discountenanced by his Majesty as a " measure of an inflammatory nature ; " and that "when his lordship shall in justice lay a true state of those matters before his Majesty, he will no longer consider them as tending to create unwarrantable combinations, or to excite an unjustifiable opposition to the constitutional authority of parliament." This is the substance of the letter ; which being twice read in the house, was accepted by a large majority of ninety-two out of one hundred and five members, and ordered to be transmitted by the speaker to his lord- ship as soon as might be. After which it was im- mediately mov'd, that the question be put. Whether the house would rescind the resolution of the last house which gave birth to the circular letter ; and the question being accordingly put, it pass'd in the negative, there appearing on a division upon the question to be seventeen yeas and ninety-two nays. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 219 Thus the house determined upon as extraordinary a mandate as perhaps was ever laid before a free assem- bly. — It is to us, said the house in their message to the governor, altogether incomprehensible, that we should be required on the peril of a dissolution of the great and general court or assembly of this province, to rescind a resolution of a former house of represen- tatives, when it is evident that such resolution has no existence, but as a mere historical fact. Your ex- cellency must know, that the resolution referred to, is, to speak in the language of the common law, not now " executory," but to all intents and purposes "executed." The circular letter has been sent and answered by many of the colonies : These answers are now in the public papers ; the public will judge of the proposals, purposes and answers. We could as well rescind those letters as the resolves ; and both would be equally fruitless, if by rescinding, as the word properly imports, is meant a repeal and nullify- ing of the resolution referred to. But if, as is most probable, by the word, rescinding, is intended the passing a vote of this house, in direct and express disapprobation of the measure above mentioned, as " illegal, inflammatory and tending to promote unjustifiable combinations" against his Majesty's peace, crown and dignity, we take the liberty to testify and publickly to declare, that it is the native, inherent and indefeasible right of the subject, jointly or severally, to petition the King for the redress of grievances. — And we are clearly and very firmly of opinion that the petition of the late dutiful and loyal house, and the other very orderly applications for the 220 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 redress of grievances, have had the most desirable tendencies and effects — In another part they say, " we cannot but express our deep concern, that a measure of the late house in all respects so innocent, in most so virtuous and laudable, and as we conceive, so truly patriotic, should be represented to adminis- tration in the odious light of a party and factious measure," and finally they say, that in refusing to comply with the requisition, " they have been actuated by a conscientious and a clear and determined sense of duty to God, their King, their country, and their latest posterity." This determination of the house gave general satisfaction, not only to the people of this province, but of the other colonies also ; as well as the friends of liberty in Britain. It was spoken of by all except the disappointed few, with great ap- plause. Indeed the essential rights of all were involved in the question : A different determination would therefore have been to the last degree infamous and attended with fatal consequences. Not only the right of the subjects yiszW/)/ to petition for the redress of grievances which all alike suffer, but also that of communicating their sentiments freely to each other upon the subject of grievances, and the means of redress, which was the sole purport of the circular letter, would in effect have been given up. I have often thought that in this time of common distress, it would be the wisdom of the colonists, more fre- quently to correspond with, and to be more attentive to the particular circumstances of each other. It seems of late to have been the policy of the enemies of America to point their artillery against one prov- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 221 ince only ; and artfully to draw off the attention of the other colonies, and if possible to render that single province odious to them, while it is suffering ministerial vengeance for the sake of the common cause. But it is hoped that the colonies will be aware of this artifice. At this juncture an attempt to subdue one province to despotic power, is justly to be considered as an attempt to enslave the whole. The colonies " form one political body, of which each is a member." — The liberties of the whole are invaded — It is therefore the interest of the whole to support each individual with all their weight and influence. When the legislative of the colony of New- York was suspended, the house of representatives of this prov- ince consider'd it "as alarming to all the colonies; " and bore their testimony against it, in a letter to their agent, the sentiments of which they directed him to make known to his Majesty's ministers. — That suspension, says the patriotic Pennsylvania Farmer, IS a parliamentary assertion of the suprem,e authority of the British legislature over these colonies in point of taxation ; and is intended to compel New- York into a submission to that authority. It seems there- fore to me as much a violation of the liberty of the people of that province, and consequently of all these Colonies, as if the Parliament had sent a number of regiments (which has since been the fate of this province) to be quartered upon them till they should comply. — Whoever, says he, seriously considers the matter, must perceive, that a dreadful stroke is aimed at the liberty of these Colonies : For the cause of one is the cause of all. If the parliament may lawfully 222 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 deprive New-York of any of its Rights, it may de- prive any or all the other Colonies of their Rights ; and nothing can so much encourage such attempts, as a mutual inattention to the interests of each other. To divide and thus to destroy, is the first political maxim in attacking those who are powerful by their union. — When Mr. Hampden's ship money cause for three shillings and four pence was tried, all the peo- ple of England, with anxious expectation, interested themselves in the important decision : And when the slightest point touching the freedom of a single Colony is agitated, I earnestly wish, that all the rest may with equal ardour support their sister. — These are the generous sentiments of that celebrated writer, whom several have made feeble attempts to answer, but no one has yet done it. — May the British Ameri- can Colonies be upon their guard ; and take care lest by a mutual inattention to the interest of each other, they at length become supine and careless of the grand cause of American Liberty, and finally fall a prey to the merciless hand of tyranny. I am, Your's, Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boslon Gazette, September 23, 1771.J Messieurs Edes & Gill, The consequence of the determination of the house of Representatives not to rescind the resolution of the former house, of which I gave you a particular account 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 223 in my last, was an immediate prorogation of the gen- eral assembly, and the next day a dissolution, agree- able to the orders of a minister of state ! — Governor Bernard in a subsequent letter to lord Hillsborough, pressed his lordship for further orders respecting the calling a new assembly ; and acquainted him that " when the usual time should come, it would be quite necessary that the governor should be able to vouch positive orders for his not calling the assembly, if he was not to do it," and he adds that, "with regard to calling the new assembly in May, it would require much consideration." By the Charter of this province, which is a Compact between the Crown and the Peo- ple, it is ordained that a General Assembly shall be called on every last Wednesday in May yearly : Did gov. Bernard then think that his lordship, to whom in one instance at least, he had surrendered the power of the governor of the province, could by another order rescind \!a.dX effectual Right of the Charter? It would in truth require much consideration with one, even of his lordship's peculiar turn of mind, before he would assume an authority to put an end to the con- stitution of the province : He had gone far enough already. — The Charter further ordains, that the as- sembly shall be held " at all such other times as the governor shall think fit!' Not as lord Hillsborough shall think fit, for he is not the governor. Could the governor think that the people were so stupid as to be satisfied with his vouching orders for neglecting that which it was his indispensable duty to do as gov- ernor of the province ; and by neglecting which, either with or without his lordship's orders, there would be an 224 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 end to the supreme legislative power ; the establish- ing of which, as Mr. Locke says, is the first and fun- damental positive law of the commonwealth. The general assembly is constituted by the charter, the legislative of the province ; having full power and au- thority to make all such orders, laws, statutes, &c. not repugnant to the laws of England, as they shall judge to be for the good and welfare of the province. — " The first framers of the government, not being able by any foresight to prefix so just periods of return and duration to the assemblies of the legisla- tive, in all times to come, that might exactly answer all the emergencies of the commonweath, the best method that could be found, was to trust this to the prudence of one, who was always to be present, and whose business it should be to watch over the com- monwealth." Hence the charter provides, that the governor who is to reside in the province, and who, being always present, must be acquainted with the state and exigences of the public affairs, shall have full power and authority to adjourn or dissolve the as- sembly, and call a new one from time to time as he shall judge necessary : But our governors have of late given up this power of judging to a minister of state ; residing at a thousand leagues distance, and therefore utterly unable to determine, if it was lawful for him to do it, at what time the necessities of the state might require the immediate exertion of legisla- tive power. This ministerial manoeuvre, to speak in modern language, which threatens the destruction of the constitution, will, it is hoped, be the subject of national enquiry, when the present confusion in Brit- 1771] SAMUEL ADAMS. 225 ain and America shall, as it must soon, be brought to a happy issue. " The legislative is sacred and unal- terable in the hands where the community has fixed it." In this province it is fixed by the community, in the hands of the Governor, Council and House of Representatives : In their hands therefore, it ought to rest sacred and unalterable ; to be sure as long as the express conditions of the compact are fulfilled. — Lord Stafford, and many lords and great men before him, suffered death for attempting to overthrow the constitution of the state. — Their crime was called, and I supposed justly called. Treason : It surely could not have been treason therefore, to have disturbed and resisted them in their mad attempts, even though they might have produced the orders of a king — What punishment awaits those who have manifestly attempted to overthrow the constitution of the Amer- ican colonies, the time which we hope for, and is hastening on, will determine. If the very being of the legislative of this province is for the future to de- pend upon the mere will and pleasure of an arbitrary minister — if he may take it upon him to dictate such measures as he pleases, and to dissolve them, or which is the same thing, order an obsequious governor to do it, upon their non-compliance with his will and pleas- ure, surely we have little to boast of in such an as- sembly. The charter may be taken away in parts as well as in the whole : And it seems by some later ministerial mandates and measures, as if there was a design to deprive us of our Charter-Rights by degrees : An attempt upon tAe whole by one stroke would perhaps be thought too bold an undertaking. His VOL, n. — 15. 226 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 lordship could not indeed have chosen a more effectual step to deprive us of the whole benefit of a free con- stitution, than by attempting to controul the debates and determinations of the House of Representatives, which ought forever to be free, and suspending the legislative power of the province, for their refusing to obey any mandate, especially when it is not only con- trary to their judgments and consciences, but, as it appeared to them, absurd. It is a pitiful constitution indeed, which so far from being fixed and permanent as it should be — sacred and unalterable in the hands of those where the community has placed it, depends entirely upon the breath of a minister, or of any man : But it is to be feared from this as well as other more recent instances, that there is a design to rase the foundations of the constitutions of these colonies, and place them upon this precarious and sandy founda- tion. — I have seen a letter from the agent of this province to the government here, dated so long ago as March the 7th, 1 750 ; wherein he says, " I am afraid there is at bottom in the minds of some, a fixed de- sign of getting a parliamentary sanction of some kind or other, if possible, to the King's instructions on this occasion ; " which was the redressing the inconvenien- cies proceeding from the paper bills. And in an- other letter of the 1 2th of April following, he writes, " Since my last, I have found too great reason to con- firm my apprehensions, that some persons of conse- quence here, are determined, if possible, to put the future use of the credit of the several governments of New England, wholly under the power of an in- struction ; and what tendency that may have to intro- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 227 duce the King's instructions into the government of the other colonies, in other instances, I need not observ-e. This design seems to be conducted with great art." The fears of that watchful agent, there is reason to apprehend, from the perfect good understanding that now exists between the ruling men in the American department, on both sides the atlantic, may very soon be far from appearing groundless. Instructions have of late been so frequent, and in every instance so punctiliously obeyed, that there is reason to fear, un- less greater attention is had to them, they soon will be established as rules of administration, not only to governors as servants of the crown, but to legislatures. The enforcing them seems to be conducted with equal art on this side of the water at present, to that with which the original design of introducing them was conducted on the other side, when that agent wrote. — They may soon therefore be regarded as fixed laws in the colonies, even without the sanction or interven- tion of parliament. Principiis obsta, is a maxim worth regarding in politics as well as morals ; and it is more especially to be observed, when those who are the most assiduous in their endeavours to alter the civil constitution, are not less so in persuading us to go to sleep and dream that we are in a state of perfect security. — What benefit is it to us to have a governor residing in the province, invested with certain powers q{ judging, and acting according to his own judgment, for the good of the people, if he submit to be made a man of wire, & for the sake of preserving the emolu- ment of a governor, with the name only, is turned this way or that, as the minister directs, without any 228 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 judgment of his own ? And of what use can a legisla- tive be to us, without the free exercise of the powers of legislation ? Liable to be thrown out of existence for not acting in conformity to the will of another ? Can there be any material difference between such a legisla- tive and none at all ? The original constitution of this province, the charter, required the convening of a new general assembly in May : The public exigencies might have required it sooner : But governor Bernard was determined in neither of these cases to convene an as- sembly, if he could but vouch the positive orders of the minister, who had no right or legal authority at all to interpose in the matter. " The using of force upon the people without authority, and contrary to the trust reposed in him that does so, is a state of war with the people ; " This is the judgment of one of the greatest men that ever wrote. "If the execu- tive power, being possessed of the power of the com- monwealth, shall make use of that force to hinder the meeting and acting of the legislative, when the original constitution or the public exigencies shall require it, the people have a right to reinstate their legislative in the exercise of their power : For having erected a legislative, with an intent they should exercise the power of making laws, either at certain set times or when there is need of it, if they are hindered by any force from what is so necessary to the society, and wherein the safety and preservation of the people consists, they have a right to rem,ove it by force." From this instance of the dissolution of the assembly of this province, as well as that of the suspension of the legislative of New York, for refusing to execute an act 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. ,229 of parliament, requiring them to give and grant away their own and their constituents money for the sup- port of a standing army, posterity will form a judg- ment of the temper of the British administration at that time : Whether a different disposition has since prevailed, will appear from the measures they have taken in general ; and particularly from the answers to the addresses, petitions and remonstrances which we have lately seen. One would have thought that the American legislative assemblies had become too harm- less bodies to have been the object of ministerial rage, since the passing of acts of parliament for the sole purpose of raising revenues at the expence of the colonists, without their consent, and for appropriating those revenues as they should think proper. The most essential Rights of American legislation, are those of raising and applying their own monies for the support of their own government, and for their own defence : By the late revenue acts, these rights are in effect superseded ; the parliament having al- ready granted, such sums as they please, out of the purses of the colonists, for the same' purposes. Thus the shadow of legislation only remains to them : Their importance is at an end. They may indeed, as the Pennsylvania farmer observes, whose works I wish every American would read over again, " They may perhaps be allowed to make laws for yoking of hogs or pounding of stray cattle : Their influence will hardly be permitted to extend so high as the keeping roads in repair ; as that business may more properly be executed by those who receive the public cash." Their substantial rights and powers, lord Hillsborough 230 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 himself should know, are as really annihilated by these acts, as they would be, if they were deprived of all existence. " Upon what occasion, says that elegant writer, will the crown ever call our assemblies together, when, the charges of the administration of justice, the support of civil government, and the expences of pro- tecting, defending and securing us, are provided for " by the parliament? " Some few of them may meet of their own accord, by virtue of their several charters : But what will they have to do when they are met ? To what shadows will they be reduced ? The men, whose deliberations heretofore, had an influence on every matter relating to the liberty and happiness of themselves and their constituents, and whose author- ity in domestic affairs at least, might well be compared to that of Roman senators, will find their determina- tions to be of no more consequence than that of con- stables." — And this will not be the utmost extent of our misery and infamy. Candidus. TO ARTHUR LEE. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text, with variations, is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 177-183.] Boston Sept 27 1771 Sir I am greatly indebted to you for your several Let- ters of [the loth and 14th of June]. To let you know that I am far from being inatten- tive to the favors you have done me I inclose you a Letter I wrote you some time past, but was prevented putting it in the Bag by an Accident. I have since been 17 7 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 231 confind to my house by Sickness & by a late Excur- sion into the Country I have fully recoverd my Health. I take particular Notice of the Reasons you assign for a whole Session of parliam' being spent without one offensive Measure to America. You account for our being flatterd that all Designs against the Char- ter of the Colony are laid aside, in a manner perfectly corresponding with the Sentiments I had preconceivd of it. The opinion you have formd of the ruling men on both sides the Atlantick, is exactly mine and as I have the most unfavorable Idea of the Heads or the Hearts of the present Administration, I cannot hope for much Good from the Services of any man who can submit to be dependent on them. I was pleasd with the petition & remonstrance of the City of London — but are not the Ministry lost to all Sensibility to the peoples Complaints, & like the Egyptian Tyrant, do they not harden their Hearts against their repeated Demands for a redress of Grievances. Does it not fully appear not only that they neither fear God nor regard Man, but that they are not even to be wearied, as one of their ancient predecessors was, by frequent Applications. What do you conceive to be the Step next to be taken by an abused people ? For another must be taken either by the ministry or the people or in my opinion the nation will fall into that ruin of which they seem to me to be now at the very precipice. May God afford them that Prudence, Strength & fortitude by which they may be animated to maintain their own Liberties at all Events. By your last letter you appear to resolve 232 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 well ; if ever the Spirit of impeaching should rise in Britain. But how is it possible such a Spirit should rise. In all former Struggles the House of Commons has naturally taken Sides with the people against op- pressing Ministers & Favorites. But whether that is the Case at present or not, is no secret to the World. We have indeed heard little of the Business of im- peaching since the Revolution. A corrupt ministerial Influence has been gradually &too insensibly increas- ing from that QEra, & is at length become so pow- erful (for which I think the Nation is particularly beholden to Sir R. Walpole) as to render it impracti- cable to have even one capital Object of the peoples just Vengeance impeachd. The proposals you were so kind as [to] favor me with, I cannot but highly ap- prove of. I communicated them to two or three in- timate & judicious friends who equally approvd of them. But they cannot be carried into Execution till the present parliam' is at an End. And if it is not to be dissolvd before the End of its septennial Duration, is it not to be feard that before its Expira- tion there will be an End of Liberty. If I mistake not there is an Act of parliam' whereby the Seats of placemen and pensioners in the House of Commons (who were not such at the time of their Election) shall be vacated, & their Electors have a right to the Choice of another if they see proper. Perhaps there never was a time when the Advantages of this Law were more apparent. Would it not then be doing the most important Service to the Cause of Liberty if the Gentlemen of the Bill of Rights, who I pray God may be united in their Councils, would exert their i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 233 utmost Influence to prevail upon the Constituents of such rotten Members to claim that privilege & make a good Use of it ? If there is any Virtue among the people, I should think this might easily be done. If it be impracticable, I fear another general Election w"^ only serve to convince all of what many are appre- hensive, that there is a total Depravation of princi- ples & manners in the Nation, or in other Words that it is already irrecoverably undone. We are in a State of perfect Despotism. Our Governm' is essentially alterd. Instead of having a Gov exercising Authority within the Rules & Circumscription of the Charter which is the Compact between the King & the People, & dependent upon the people for his Support, we have a Man with the Name of a Governor only. He is indeed commis- siond by the King, but under the Controul of the Minister, to whose Instructions he yields an unlimitted Obedience, while he is subsisted with the Money of that very people who are thus governd, by virtue of an Assumd Authority of the British Parliament to oblige them to grant him such an annual Stipend as the King shall order. Can you tell me who is Gov- ernor of this province ? Surely not Hutchinson, for I cannot conceive that he exercises the power of judging vested in him by the Constitution, in one Act of Gov' which appears to him to be important. The Gov' is shifted into the Hands of the Earl of Hills- borough whose sole Councellor is the Nettleham Baronet. Upon this Governor aided by the Advice of this Councellor depends the time & place of the Sitting of the legislative Assembly or whether it shall 234 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 sit at all. If they are allowd to sit, they are to be dic- tated by this duumvirate, thro the Instrumentality of a third, & may be thrown out of Existence for failing in one point to conform to their sovereign pleasure, a Legislative to be sure worthy to be boasted of by a free people. If our nominal Governor by all the Arts of perswasion, can prevail upon us to be easy under such a Mode of Government, he will do a singular piece of Service to his Lordship, as it will save him the trouble of geting our Charter vacated by the for- mal Decision of parliam' & the tedious process of Law. The Grievances of Britain & the Colonies as you observe spring from the same root of Bitterness & are of the same pernicious Growth. The Union of Britain & the Colonies is therefore by all means to be cultivated. If in every Colony Societies should be formd out of the most respectable Inhabitants, similar to that of the Bill of Rights, who should once in the year meet by their Deputies, and correspond with such a Society in London, would it not effectually promote such an Union ? And if conducted with a proper spirit, would it not afford reason for the Enemies of our common Liberty, however great, to tremble. This is a sudden Thought & drops undigested from my pen. It would be an arduous Task for any man to attempt to awaken a sufficient Number in the Colonies to so grand an Undertaking. Nothing how- ever should be despaird of. If it should ever become a practicable thing to impeach a corrupt Administration I hope the Min- ister who advisd to the introducing arbitrary power i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 23S into America will not be overlookd. Such a Victim I imagine will make a figure equal to Lord Strafford in the Reign of Charles, or de le Pole & others in former times. " The Conduct of the Judges touching Juries " appears to be alarming on both sides of the Water & ought to be strictly enquired into. And are they not establishing the civil Law which M' Black- stone says is only permitted in England to the prejudice of the Common Law, the Consequence of which will prove fatal to the happy Constitution. I observe that one of your proposals is that a Law may be made " subjecting each Candidate to an Oath against having used Bribery " to obtain his Election. Would there not be a danger that a Law by which a Candidate may purge himself by his Oath would ex- clude some other more certain Evidence than the Oath of one who has already prostituted his Con- science for a Seat than his own Declaration of his Innocence even upon Oath ? I am of opinion that He who can be so sordid as to gain an Election by Bribery or any other illegal means, must be lost to all such feelings as those of Honor or Conscience or the Obligation of an Oath. With Regard the Grievances of the Americans it must be owned that the Violation of the essential Right of taxing themselves is a Capi- tal one. This Right is founded in Nature. It is un- alienable & therefore it belongs to us exclusively. The least Infringement on it is Sacrilege. But there are other Methods taken by Lord Hillsbro & punc- tually put into Execution by Gov' Hutchinson, which in my Opinion would give a mortal Stab to our essential Rights, if the Parliament had not by 236 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 their declaratory Act claimd Authority to make use of our money to estabHsh a standing army over us & an host of pensioners and placemen civil & ecclesiastical, which are as terrible as an Army of Soldiers. And if the Commons of this province cannot impeach, we have nothing to rely upon but the Interposition of our friends in Britain, or the ultima Ratio. Inclosd you have a Copy of the protests of divers patriotick Clergymen in Virginia against an Episco- pate in America. It is part of the plan the design of which is to secure a ministerial Influence in America, which in all Reason is full strong enough without the Aid of the Clergy. The Junction of the Cannon & the feudal Law you know has been fatal to the Liber- ties of Mankind. The Design of the first Settlers of New England in particular was to settle a plan of gov' upon the true principles of Liberty in which the Clergy should have no Authority. It is no Wonder then that we should be alarmd at the Designs of establishing such a power. It is a singular pleasure to us that the Colony of Virginia tho episcopalian should appear against it as you will see by the Vote of thanks of the House of Burgesses to the protest- ing Gentlemen ; they declare their protest to be " a wise & well timed opposition." I wish it could be publishd in London. I had the pleasure of knowing M"^ Hewet who was in this Town about two years ago in Company with M' Eyre of Northhampton County, in Virginia, who is a member of the House of Bur- gesses. I did not then know that M' Hewet was a Clergyman. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 237 I fear I have tired your patience & conclude by as- suring you that I am in strict Truth Sir Your friend & hum^ serv' P.S, — The Bearer hereof is William Story Esq' formerly of this Town, but now of Ipswich a Town about 30 Miles East, He was Deputy Register in the Court of Vice Admiraltry before & at the time of the Stamp Act & would then have given up the Place as he declared but his Friends advisd him against it — he sufferd the Resentment of the people on the 26 of August 1765, together with L' Gov' Hutchinson & others for which he was recompencd by the Gen' Assembly, as he declares in part only. He tells me that his Design in going home is to settle an Affair of his own relating to the Admiraltry Court, in which the Commissioners of the Customs as he says declare it is out of their power to do him Justice. One would think it was never in their Power or Inclination to do any man Justice. M' Story has always professd himself a Friend to Liberty for many years past. I tell him that I make no doubt but you will befriend him as far as shall be in your power in obtaining Justice, in which you will very much oblige. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, September 30, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, A General Assembly, when actuated with a be- coming spirit of public liberty against the attacks of arbitrary and despotic ministers, appeared to be as 238 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 disgustful to Gov. Bernard, as parliaments were to James the first ; with whom it was even an aphorism that the lords and commons were two bad co-partners with a monarch : Having got rid of such a trouble- some assembly at least for one year, he was more at leisure, in conjunction with the commissioners of the customs and his other confederates, to attend to the plan which their hearts had been long set upon, of in- troducing into the province a military power for their aid. — Accordingly every little occurrence, which a man of sense who had no political designs in view would not have thought worth his notice such as fre- quently happen in the most orderly cities, was gath- ered up with uncommon industry and made the subject of representation to the ministry — He even descended so low as to give lord Hillsborough a detail of the diversion of a few boys in the street with a drum, which at no time is unusual in populous places, and pictured it to his lordship, who, it seems gave it its full weight, as a prelude to a designed in- surrection, in which "persons of all kinds, sexes and ages," were to bear their part — The common amuse- ments of children were construed rebellion, and his lordship had minute accounts of them sent to him by this husy journalist, as grounds upon which he might form measures of administration. But his letters, together with those of general Gage and commodore Hood, and the memorials, &c. of the commissioners of the customs, have already been sufficiently ani- madverted upon — " No one, says the town of Boston, in a pamphlet, entitled. An appeal to the World^ can ' See Vol. I., page 396. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 239 read them without being astonished at seeing a per- son in so important a department as governor Ber- nard sustained, descending in his letters to a minister of state to such trifling circumstances and such slan- derous chit-chat: Boasting as he does in one of them of his over-reaching those with whom he was transacting publick business ; and in order to preju- dice the most respectable bodies, meanly filching from individuals belonging to those bodies, what had been drop'd in the course of business or debate : Journal- izing every idle report bro't to him, and in short acting the part of a pimp rather than a governor." Sufficient however were they finally to prevail upon administration, which had before been full ready eno' to employ the military force in England, to order four regiments and part of a fifth, for the preservation of xh^ peace in the town of Boston. The only dis- orders in the town that could give any colouring to measures so severe, and not more severe than un- justifiable by the constitution, happened on the i8th of March and loth of June, 1768 — The first was nothing more than the parading of the lower sort of people thro' the streets at the close of an anniversary fes- tivity ; when no injury was offered to any person whatever, no harm was done, nor did even Governor Bernard himself pretend that any was intended. General Gage, in a letter to Lord Hillsborough, mentioned this disorder as "trifling." The other was occasioned by the unprecedented and unlawful manner of seizing a vessel by the collector and comp- troller — His Majesty's Council after full enquiry into this disorder and the cause of it, declared, that it 240 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 "was occasioned by the making a seizure (in a man- ner unprecedented) in the town of Boston on the loth of June,^ a little before sun-set, when a vessel was seized by the officers of the customs ; and immediately after, upon a signal given by one of said officers, in consequence of a preconcerted plan, sev- eral armed boats from the Romney man-of-war took possession of her." — The officers who made the seizure were insulted, some of the windows of their dwelling houses were broke, and other disorders were committed — But the council further declared, that it was " highly probable that no such disorders would have been committed if the vessel had not been with an armed force and with many circum- stances of insults & threats carried away from the wharff." They also say, that the disorder " seemed to spring wholly from the persons who corn-plained of it" and that it " was probable that an uproar was hoped for, and intended to be occasioned by the manner of proceeding in making the seizure." This representa- tion of the matter was made by those very gentlemen, of whom governor Bernard not above 3 or 4 months before, had given this ample testimony to Lord Hillsborough ; that "they had shown great attention to the support of government," and " upon many oc- casions a resolution and steadiness in promoting his Majesty's service, which would have done honor to his Majesty's appointment, if they had held their places under it : " And to whom he about the same time very warmly returned his thanks, "for their steady, uniform and patriotic conduct, which had ' See Vol. I., page 245. 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 241 shown them impressed with a full sense of their duty both to their king & their country." A representation of matters of fact, made by gentlemen whom gov- ernor Bernard had so highly applauded for their atten- tion to the support of government, and resolution and ' steadiness in promoting his Majesty's service, must surely meet with full credit with the friends of govern^ m.ent ; and induce a conclusion, even in their minds, that if there was a necessity of troops in the town of Boston to keep the peace, it arose not from the " mad- ness of the people," (a decent expression of General Gage) but altogether from the extravagance of the servants of the crown ; who after a preconcerted plan, according to the account given by the council, hoped for, and intended that an uproar should be occasion d, by the m.anner of their proceeding with an armed force, and many circumstances of insult and threats in making a seizure. — This disturbance, after a few hours, wholly subsided, thro' the interposition of the inhabitants of the town, & no great mischief was done ; yet the most aggravated accounts were given of it by the Cabal, to answer their own purposes. The Rom- ney ship of war, had before been ordered by com- modore Hood to this place, in consequence of information sent to him of a factious and turbulent spirit among the people. The captain thought it his duty to acquaint the commodore of this fresh dis- turbance ; and the Beaver sloop, being then in the harbour, and preparing for her station at Philadel- phia, was remanded back to Halifax for that purpose, and with such speed as to be obliged to leave part of her provisions behind — Large packets were sent by VOL. n. — 16. 242 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 this vessel to the commodore, and others for England, where it was proposed by the cabal she should be immediately dispatched from Halifax, The comp- troller of the customs embark'd on board the same sloop very privately, by whom letters in abundance were sent to London. In these letters a number of gentlemen, who were called the leaders of the faction, were proscribed. Some of the cabal could not con- ceal their designs ; for it was even then given out by them, that troops would probably soon arrive from Halifax, and that two regiments of Irish troops were to be sent to this town ; all which accordingly took place in about four months afterwards, being the time in which they might have been expected by orders of the ministry in consequence of these letters. Indeed we have since been made certain by a publica- tion of their own letters, that they had earnestly sollicited the sending of troops about this time. The commissioners of the customs in a letter to the lords of the treasury, acquainted that board "that there had been a long concerted and extensive plan of re- sistance to the authority of Great Britain, and that the seizure had hastened the people to the commis- sion of actual violence sooner than was intended" and further, " that nothing but the exertion of military power would prevent an open revolt in this town, which would probably spread throughout the provinces." The collector and comptroller in their letters upon this occasion to the commissioners, which was laid before administration tell their honors, " that it ap- peared evident to them that a plan of insurrection of a very dangerous and extensive nature had long been in i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 243 agitation, & now brought nearly to a crisis." But it is needless to repeat the many exaggerated accounts given by the governor and his confederates, of this occurrence, which on the part of the people was alto- gether unexpected; and as the Council observed, " seent'd to -have sprang wholly from the persons who complained of it." — To crown all, the Commissioners pretended that " they had reason to expect further violences," and fled, Bernard says in a letter to lord Hillsborough, "were driven" to Castle William; where they represented to the lords of the treasury that the " protection afforded them by Commodore Hood, viz. the Romney and one or two sloops of war, was the most seasonable, as without it they should not have considered themselves (even there) in safety, nor his Majesty's Czs,t[& secured from fall- ing into the hands of the people," and " that it was im- possible for them to set foot in Boston, until there were two or three regiments in the town, to restore and support government." — However true it may be, that the Commissioners had rendered themselves the ob- jects of the publick resentment, which their letters and memorials have had no tendency to abate, they never had been, to use an expression of Gov. Bernard, the objects of popular fury ; not the least injury had ever been offer'd to their persons or property. They had landed without opposition, and had lived in the town many months, if despisd and hated, yet unmo- lested : For this we have the testimony of his Majesty's Council ; " They were not, say they, oblig'd to quit the town — it was a voluntary act of their own — there never had been any insult offer'd 244 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 them — and when they were at the Castle there was no occasion for men of war to protect them." And even after their voluntary flight, they often made excursions upon the main, for the purpose of amuse- ment and recreation, for which, having quitted the severe exercises of their employment in the town, they now had sufficient leisure : There, they might easily have been insulted if there had been any such dispo- sition in the people. It has long been evident that all this pretended apprehension of danger, and their flight first to the Romney ship of war, and then to the castle for protection, was intended to cooperate with & confirm the letters and memorials sent home, and to facilitate the prosecution of their design. Such were the methods us'd by a restless set of men, to hold up this town and province, to the nation and to the world, in a false and odious light. It was there- fore peculiarly incumbent upon all, and those persons especially, who were entrusted by the publick, to be vigilant for it, at a time when they who were seeking its ruin, were remarkably attentive to and active in prosecuting their plans. And can any one say there is reason to think that a minister of the temper of Lord H h, perpetually acted upon by the im- placable hatred of Bernard, has yet abandon'd, or is likely to abandon, his favorite system, while there is ONE left on this side the water who is ready to put it in execution ? — No — The disputes with the court of Spain and the city of London during the late session of parliament, may have prov'd so embarrassing to A n as to have caus'd a suspension of the exe- cution of it for a while ; but to trust that it is there- 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 245 fore wholly laid aside, is a degree of credulity and infatuation, which I hope will never be impos'd by any man on this country. Great pains we know are taken to perswade and assure us, that as long as we continue quiet, nothing will be done to our prejudice : But let us beware of these soothing arts. — Has any- thing been done for our relief ? — Has any one griev- ance which we have complained of been redressed ? On the contrary, are not our just causes of complaint and remonstrance daily increasing, at a time when we were flattered that a change of men would produce a change of measures ? Have our petitions for the redress of grievances ever been answered or even listened to ? If not, what can be intended by all the fair promises made to us by tools and sycophants, but to lull us into that quietude and sleep by which slavery is always preceeded. — While treachery and impositiorr is the fort of any man, let us remember, there is always m,ost danger when his professions are warmest. Candidus. TO ARTHUR LEE. [R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., p. 183.] Boston, Oct. 2d, 1771. Sir, I have already written to you by this conveyance, and there mentioned to you Mr. Story, a gentleman to whose care I committed that letter. I have since heard that he has a letter to Lord Hillsborough from Gov. Hutchinson, which may possibly recommend him for some place by way of compensation for his 246 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 joint sufferings with the governor, I do not think it possible for any man to receive his lordship's favour, without purchasing it by having done or promising to do some kind of jobs. If Mr. Story should form connexions with administration upon any principles inconsistent with those of a friend to liberty, he will then appear to be a different character from that which I recommended to your friendship. I mention this for your caution, and in confidence ; and am with great regard sir, your humble servant, ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. {Boston Gazette, October 7, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, Instead of voted Aid, " Th' illegal imposition followed harsh With Execration given, or ruthless squeez'd From an insulted People." Thompson. I Think it necessary the publick should be inform'd, that his Excellency Thomas Hutchinson, Esq; Gov- ernor of this Province, has lately receiv'd, a warrant from the Lords of the Treasury in England, for the Sum of Twenty-two Hundred and fifty Pounds Ster- ling for his Services for one year and a half, being at the rate of Fifteen Hundred Sterling or Two Thousand L. M. per Ann. — The payment is to be made out of the Commissioners Chest ; wherein are reposited the Treasures that are daily collected, tho' perhaps insen- sibly, from the Earnings and Industry of the honest i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 247 Yeomen, Merchants and Tradesmen, of this continent, against their Consent ; and if his friends speak the truth, against his own private judgment. — This treas- ure is to be appropriated according to the act of parliament so justly and loudly complain'd of by Americans, for the support of civil government, the payment of the charges of the administration of jus- tice, and the defence of the colonies : And it may hereafter be made use of, for the support of standing armies and ships of war ; episcopates & their numer- ous ecclesiastical retinue ; pensioners, placemen and other jobbers, for an abandon'd and shameless minis- try ; hirelings, pimps, parasites, panders, prostitutes and whores — His Excellency had repeatedly refused to accept the usual Salary out of the treasury of this province ; which leads us to think that his eminent patron the Earl of Hillsborough, or his most re- spected friend Sir Francis Bernard, who is ever at his Lordship's elbow, had given him certain informa- tion that this honorable stipend would be allow'd to him — Whether he tho't the generous grant of a thou- sand sterling, annually made to his predecessors, and offer'd to him, by the assembly, not adequate to his important services to the province in supporting and vindicating its charter and constitutional rights and liberties ; or whether he was forbid by instruction from his Lordship to receive it, which is probable from his own words, " I could not consistent with my duty to the King " ; or lastly, and which is still more probable. Whether he was ambitious of being, beyond any of his predecessors, a Governor independent of the free grants of the assembly, which is no doubt 248 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 reconcileable with his Excellency's idea of a constitu- tional governor of a free people, are matters problem- atical. — Adulating Priestlings and others, who have sounded his high praises in the news-papers, and in the church of God, as well as in other solemn assem- blies, may perhaps echo the fallacious reasoning from one of his publick speeches, " The people will not blame {hint) for being willing to avoid burdening them with his support, by the increase of the tax upon their polls and estates," since it is now " pro- vided for -another way." In all ages the supercilious part of the clergy have adored the Great Man, and shown a thorough contempt of the understanding of the people. But the people, and a great part, I hope, of the clergy of this enlightened country, have understanding enough to know, that a Governor in- dependent of the people for his support, as well as his political Being, is in fact, a master ; and may be, and probably, such is the nature of uncontroulable power, soon will be a tyrant. It will be recorded by the faithful historian, for the information of posterity, that the first American Pensioner — the first independ- ent Governor of this province, was, not a stranger, but one ''born and educated'' in it — Not an Andross or a Randolph ; but that cordial friend to our civil constitution — that main Pillar of the Religion and the Learning of this country ; the Man, upon whom she has, (I will not say wantonly) heaped all the Honors she had to bestow — Hutchinson ! ! — We are told that the Justices of the Superior Court are also to receive fixed salaries out of this American revenue ! — ^' Is it possible to form an idea of slavery, more com- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 249 pleat, more miserable, more disgraceful, than that of a people, where justice is administer'd, government exercis'd, and a standing army maintain'd, at the ex- pence of the people, and yet without the least depend- ence upon them ? If we can find no relief from this infamous situation" — I repeat it, '■'■ If we can find no relief from this infamous situation ", let the ministry who have stripped us of our property and liberty, de- prive us of our understanding too ; that unconscious of what we have been or are, and ungoaded by tor- menting reflections, we may tamely bow down our necks, with all the stupid serenity of servitude, to any drudgery which our lords & masters may please to command." — I appeal to the common sense of man- kind. To what a state of misery and infamy must a people be reduced ! To have a governor by the sole appointment of the crown ; under the absolute con- troul of a weak and arbitrary minister, to whose dic- tates he is to yield an unlimited obedience, or forfeit his political existence .• while he is to be supported at the expence of the people, by virtue of an authority claimed by strangers, to oblige them to contribute for him such an annual stipend, however unbounded, as the crown shall be advised to order ! If this be not a state of despotism, what is ? Could such a gov- ernor, by all the arts of persuasion, prevail upon a people to be quiet and contented under such a mode of government, his noble patron might spare himself the trouble of getting their Charter vacated by a formal decision of parliament, or in the tedious pro- cess of law — ^ Whenever the relentless enemies of America shall have compleated their system, which 2SO THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 they are still, though more silently pursuing, by subtle arts, deep dissimulation, and manners calculated to deceive, our condition will then be more humiliating and miserable, and perhaps more inextricable too, than that of the people of England in the infamous reigns of the Stuarts, which blacken the pages of history ; when, " Oppression stalk 'd at large and pour'd abroad Her unrelenting Train; Informers — Spies — Hateful Projectors of aggrieving Schemes To sell the starving many to the few. And drain a thousand Ways th' exhausted Land. . . And on the venal Bench Instead of Justice, Party held the Scale, And Violence the Sword." Your's, Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, " Ambition saw that stooping Rome could bear A MASTER, nor had Virtue to be free.'' I Believe that no people ever yet groaned under the \/ heavy yoke of slavery, but when they deserv'd it. This may be called a severe censure upon by far the greatest part of the nations in the world who are in- volv'd in the misery of servitude : But however they may be thought by some to deserve commiseration, the censure is just. Zuinglius, one of the first re- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 251 formers, in his friendly admonition to the republic of the Switzers, discourses much of his countrymens throwing off the yoke : He says, that they who lie under oppression deserve what they suffer^ and a great deal more ; and he bids ^h&va. perish with their oppres- sors. The truth is. All might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought. Is it possi- ble that millions could be enslaved by a few, which is a notorious fact, if all possessed the independent spirit of Brutus, who to his immortal honor, expelled the proud Tyrant of Rome, and his " royal and rebel- lious race ?" If therefore a people will not be free ; if they have not virtue enough to maintain their liberty against a presumptuous invader, they deserve \y no pity, and are to be treated with contempt and ig- nominy. Had not Ceesar seen that Rome was ready to stoop, he would not have dared |to make himself the master of that once brave people. He was indeed, as a great writer observes, a smooth and subtle tyrant, who led themgently into slavery ; " and on his brow, 'ore daring vice deluding virtue smil'd ". By pretend- ing to be the peoples greatest friend, he gain'd the ascendency over them : By beguiling arts, hypocrisy and flattery, which are even more fatal than the sword, he obtain'd that supreme power which his am- bitious soul had long thirsted for : The people were finally prevail'd upon to consent to their own ruin : By the force of perswasion, or rather by cajoling arts and tricks always made use of by men who have am- bitious views, they enacted their Lex Regia ; whereby Quod placuit principi legis habuit vigor em ; that is, the will and pleasure of the Prince had the force of law. 252 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 His minions had taken infinite pains to paint to their imaginations the god-like virtues of Caesar : They first persuaded them to believe that he was a deity, and then to sacrifice to him those Rights and Liber- ties which their ancestors had so long maintained, with unexampled bravery, and with blood & treasure. By this act they fixed a precedent fatal to all pos- terity : The Roman people afterwards, influenced no doubt by this pernicious example, renew'd it to his successors, not at the end of every ten years, but for life. They transfer'd all their right and power to Charles the Great : In eum transtulit omne suum jus et potestatem. Thus, they voluntarily and ignomini- ously surrendered their own liberty, and exchanged a free constitution for a tyranny ! It is not my design at present to form the compari- son between the state of this country now, and that of the Roman Empire in those dregs of time ; or be- tween the disposition of Ccesar, and that of : The comparison, I confess, would not in all parts hold good : The Tyrant of Rome, to do him justice, had learning, courage, and great abilities. It behoves us however to awake and advert to the danger we are in. The Tragedy of American Freedom, it is to be feared is nearly compleated : A Tyranny seems to be at the very door. It is to little purpose then to go about cooly to rehearse the gradual steps that have been taken, the means that have been used, and the instru- ments employed, to encompass the ruin of the public liberty : We know them and we detest them. But what will this avail, if we have not courage and reso- lution to prevent the completion of their system ? 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 253 Our enemies would fain have us lie down on the bed of sloth and security, and persuade ourselves that there is no danger : They are daily administering the opiate with multiplied arts and delusions ; and I am sorry to observe, that the gilded pill is so alluring to some who call themselves the friends of Liberty. But is there no danger when the very foundations of our civil constitution tremble ? — When an attempt was first made to disturb the corner-stone of the fabrick, we were universally and justly alarmed : And can we be cool spectators, when we see it already re- moved from its place ? With what resentment and indignation did we first receive the intelligence of a design to make us tributary, not to natural enemies, but infinitely more humiliating, to fellow subjects ? And yet with unparallelled insolence we are told to be quiet, when we see that very money which is torn from us by lawless force, made use of still further to oppress us — to feed and pamper a set of infamous wretches, who swarm like the locusts of Egypt ; and some of them expect to revel in wealth and riot on the spoils of our country. — Is it a time for us to sleep when our free government is essentially changed, and a new one is forming upon a quite different system ? A government without the least dependance upon the people : A government under the absolute controul of a minister of state ; upon whose sovereign dictates is to depend not only the time when, and the place where, the legislative assembly shall sit, but whether it shall sit at all : And if it is allowed to meet, it shall be liable immediately to be thrown out of existence, if in any one point it fails in obedience to his arbitrary 254 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 mandates. Have we not already seen specimens of what we are to expect under such a govern- ment, in the instructions which Mr. Hutchinson has received, and which he has publickly avow'd, and declared he is bound to obey? — By one, he is to refuse his assent to a tax-bill, unless the Com- missioners of the Customs and other favorites are ex- empted : And if these may be freed from taxes by the order of a minister, may not all his tools and drudges, or any others who are subservient to his de- signs, expect the same indulgence ? By another he is to forbid to pass a grant of the assembly to any agent, but one to whose election he has given his consent ; which is in effect to put it out of our power to take the necessary and legal steps for the redress of those grievances which we suffer by the arts and machina- tions of ministers, and their minions here. What difference is there between the present state of this province, which in course will be the deplorable state of all America, and that of Rome, under the law be- fore mention'd ? The difference is only this, that they gave their formal consent to the change, which we have not yet done. But let us be upon our guard against even a negative submission ; for agreeable to the sentiments of a celebrated writer, who thoroughly understood his subject, if we are voluntarily silent, as the conspirators would have us to be, it will be con- sider'd as an approbation of the change. " By the fundamental laws of England, the two houses of par- liament in concert with the King, exercise the legisla- tive power : But if the two houses should be so infatuated, as to resolve to suppress their powers, and i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 255 invest the King with the full and absolute government, certainly the nation would not suffer it." And if a minister shall usurp the supreme and absolute govern- ment of America, and set up his instructions as laws in the colonies, and their Governors shall be so weak or so wicked, as for the sake of keeping their places, to be made the instruments in putting them in execu- tion, who will presume to say that the people have not a right, or that it is not their indispensible duty to God and their Country, by all rational means in their power to RESIST them. " Be firm, my friends, nor let unmanly sloth Twine round your hearts indissoluble chains. ' Ne'er yet by force was freedom overcome. Unless CORRUPTION first dejects the pride, And guardian vigour of the free-born soul, All crude attempts of violence are vain. Determined, hold Your independence; for, that once destroy' d. Unfounded Yxe&Aoxa is a morning dream." The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards : And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors : They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood ; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightned as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle ; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter 256 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 we are in most danger at present : Let us there- fore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our fore- fathers and posterity ; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath'd to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. — Instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude and perseverance. Let us remember, that " if we suifer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom." It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers in the event. Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED "VALERIUS POPLICOLA." > [Boston Gazette, October 28, 1771 ; the text is also in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., pp. 427-432.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, The writer of the history of Massachusetts Bay tells us, that " our ancestors apprehended the acts of trade to be an invasion of the rights, liberties and properties of the subjects of his Majesty in the colony, they not being represented in parliament ; and accord- ing to the usual sayings of the learned in the law, the laws of England were bounded within the four seas, and did not reach America. However, they made provision by an act of the colony, that they, i. e. the ' Attributed to Adams by Wells and by Bancroft, and also by the annotations of the Dorr file of the Gazette. i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 257 acts of trade should be strictly attended from time to time " — The passing of this law of the colony, and thus making it an act of their own legislature, he says, " plainly shows the wrong sense they had of the relation they stood in to England " — And he further adds, that " tho' their posterity have as high notions of English Liberties as they had, yet they are sensi- ble that they are Colonists, and therefore subject to the controul of the parent state." As I am not dis- posed to yield an implicit assent to any authority whatever, I should have been glad if this historian, since he thought proper to pronounce upon so impor- tant a matter, had shown us what was the political re- lation our ancestors stood in to England, and how far, if at all, their posterity are subject to the controul of the parent state. — If he had vouchsafed to have done this, when he published his history, he would have rendered the greatest service both to Great-Britain and America, and eased the minds of multitudes who have been unsatisfied in points of such interesting importance. Mr. Locke, in his treatise on government discovers \/' the weakness of this position. That every man is born a subject to his Prince, and therefore is under the per- petual tie of subjection and allegiance ; and he shows that express consent alone, makes any one a member of any commonwealth. He holds that submission to the laws of any country, & living quietly & enjoying privileges & protection under them, does not make a man a member of that society, or a perpetual subject of that commonwealth, any more than it would make a man subject to another, in whose family he found it VOL. II. 17. V 2S8 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 convenient to abide for some time, tho' while he con- tinued under it, he were obliged to comply with the laws, and submit to the government he found there. Every man was born naturally free ; nothing can make a man a subject of any commonwealth, but his actually entering into it by positive engagement, and express promise & compact. If the sentiments of this great man are well grounded, our historian before he asserted so peremp- torily that the ancestors of this country as colonists were subject to the controul of the parent state, should have first made it appear that by positive engagement, or express promise or contract, they had thus bound themselves. Every man being born free, says another distin- guished writer, the son of a citizen, arrived at the years of discretion, may examine whether it be con- venient for him to join in the society for which he was destined by birth. If he finds that it will be no ad- vantage for him to remain in it, he is at liberty to leave it, preserving as much as his new engagements will allow him, the love and gratitude he owes itj^/' He further says, " There are cases in which a citizen has an absolute right to renounce his country, and abandon it for ever " ; which is widely different from the sentiment of the historian, that " allegiance is not local, but perpetual and unalienable " : And among other cases in which a citizen has this absolute right, he mentions that, when the sovereign, or the greater part of the nation will permit the exercise of only one religion in the state ; which was the case when our ' Mr. Vattel, law of nature and nations. 177 1 J SAMUEL ADAMS. 259 ancestors forsook their native country. They were denied the rights of conscience. They left it however with the consent of the nation : It is allowed by this historian that they departed the kingdom with the leave of their prince. They removed at their own expence and not the nation's, into a country claimed and possessed by independent princes, whose right to / the lordship and dominion thereof has been acknow- , ledged by English kings ; and they fairly purchased / the lands of the rightful owners, and settled them at / their own and not the nation's expence. It is incum- y bent then upon this historian to show, by what rule of equity or right, unless they expressly consented to it, they became subject to the controul of the parent state. — The obligation they had been under to sub- mit to the government of the nation, by virtue of their enjoyment of lands which were under its jurisdiction, . / according to Mr. Locke, began and ended with the enjoyment. That was but a tacit consent to the gov- ernment ; and when by donation, sale or otherwise, they quitted the possession of those lands, they were at liberty, unless it can be made to appear they were otherwise bound by positive engagement or express contract, to incorporate into any other commonwealth, or begin a new one in vacuis locis, in any part of the world they could find free and unpossessed. — They entered into a compact, it is true, with the king of England, and upon certain conditions become his vol- untary subjects, not his slaves. But did they enter into an express promise to be subject to the controul of the parent state ? What is there to show that they were any way bound to obey the acts of the British 26o THE WRITINGS OF [1771 parliament, but those very acts themselves ? Is there any thing but the mere ipse dixit of an historian, who for ought any one can tell, design'd to make a sacri- fice to the ruling powers of Great-Britain, to show that the parent state might exercise the least controul over them as Colonists, any more than the English parliament could exercise controul over the dominions which the Kings formerly held in France, or than it can now over the inhabitants of the moon, if there be any ? By the charter of this province, the legislative power is in the Governor, who is appointed by the King, the Council and House of Representatives. The legisla- tive of any commonwealth must be the supreme power. But if any edict or instruction of any body else, in what form soever conceiv'd, or by what power soever backed, can have the force and obligation of a law in the province which has not its sanction from that legislative, it cannot be the supreme power. Its laws however salutary, are liable at any time to be abrogated at the pleasure of a superior power. No body can have a power to make laws over a free peo- ple, but by their own consent, and by authority re- ceiv'd from them : It follows then, either that the people of this province have consented & given au- thority to the parent state to make laws over them, or that she has no such authority. No one I believe will pretend that the parent state receives any author- ity from the people of this province to make laws for them, or that they have ever consented she should. If the people of this province are a part of the body politick of Great Britain, they have as such a right to be 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 261 consulted in the making of all acts of the British parlia- ment of what nature soever. If they are a separate body politick, and are free, they have a right equal to that of the people of Great Britain to make laws for themselves, and are no more than they, subject to the controul of any legislature but their own. " The law- ful power of making laws to command whole politick societies of men, belongs so properly unto the same intire societies, that for any prince or potentate of what kind soever upon earth to exercise the same of himself, and not by express commission immediately and personally receiv'd from God, or else from author- ity deriv'd at the first from their consent, upon whose persons they impose laws, is no better than mere tyranny. Laws therefore they are not which publick \^ approbation hath not made so.^ This was the reason given by our ancestors why they should not be bound by the acts of parliament, because not being repre- sented in parliament, the publick approbation of the province had not made them laws. And this is the reason why their posterity do not hold themselves rightly oblig'd to submit to the revenue acts now in being, because they never consented to them. The former, under their circumstances, thought it prudent to adopt the acts of trade, by passing a law of their own, and thus formally consenting that they should be observ'd. But the latter I presume will never think it expedient to copy after their example. The historian tells his readers that " They (the peo- ple of this province) humbly hope for all that tender- ness and indulgence from a British parliament, which 1 Hooker's Eccl. Pol. 262 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 the Roman senate, while Rome remain'd free, shewed to Roman colonies" — Why the conduct of Rome towards her colonies should be recommended as an example to our parent state, rather than that of Greece, is difficult to conjecture, unless it was because as has been observed, the latter was more generous and a better mother to her colonies than the former. Be that as it may, the colonists have a right to expect from the parent state all possible tenderness ; not only as they sprang from her, and are subjects of the same King, but as they have greatly contributed to her wealth & grandeur : And we are willing to render to her respect and certain expressions of honor and reverence as the Grecian colonies did to the city from whence they deriv'd their origin, as Grotius says, so long as the colonies were well treated. By our compact with our King, wherein is contain'd the rule of his government and the measure of our submission, we have all the liberties and immunities of Englishmen, to all intents, purposes and constructions whatever ; and no King of Great-Britain, were he inclin'd, could have a right either with or without his parliament, to deprive us of those liberties — They are originally from God and nature, recognized in the Charter, and en- tail'd to us and our posterity : It is our duty there- fore to contend for them whenever attempts are made to violate them. He also says that " the people of Ireland were un- der the same mistake " with our ancestors ; that is, in thinking themselves exempt from the controul of English acts of parliament. But nothing drops from his pen to shew that this was a mistake, excepting 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 263 that " particular persons in Ireland did pennance for advancing and adhering to those principles." The same mighty force of reasoning is used to prove that this colony was mistaken, viz. " They suffer'd the loss of the charter." Such arguments may serve to evince the power of the parent state, but neither its wisdom nor justice appears from them. The sense of the nation however was very different after the revolu- tion. The House of Commons voted the judgment against the Charter a Grievance ; and a bill was brought in and passed that house for restoring the Charters, among which that of this province was ex- presly mentioned ; notwithstanding the mistake above- mention'd was one great article of charge against it. But the parliament was proroug'd sooner than was expected, by reason of the King's going to. Ire- land. Our historian tells his readers by way of consola- tion, that "it may serve as some excuse for our ances- tors, but they were not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of the nature of their subjection " ; and he appears to be mighty glad that " so sensible a gentleman as Mr. Molineux, the friend of Mr. Locke, engag'd in the cause ". Butnve want no excuse for any supposed mistakes of our ancestors. Let us first see it prov'd that they were mistakes. 'Till then we must hold ourselves obliged to them for sentiments transmitted to us so worthy of their character, and so important to our security : And we shall esteem the arguments of so sensible, and it might justly be added, so learned a gentleman as Mr. Molineux, especially as they had the approbation of his friend Mr. Locke to 264 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 be valid, while we see nothing to oppose them, but the unsupported opinion of Mr. Hutchinson. Valerius Poplicola. TO ARTHUR LEE. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text with variations is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 184-187.] Boston Octob 31 1771. Sir I Inclose a printed Copy of a Resolve of the Coun- cil of this province, whereby Junius Americanus is censurd for asserting that the late Secretary Oliver stood recorded in the Councils Books as a perjurd traitor. You may easily suppose that the Friends of America for whom that Writer has been & is a firm & able Advocate, resent this Conduct of the Council whose Ingratitude to say nothing of the Injustice of this proceeding is the more extraordinary as Junius Americanus has taken so much pains to vindicate that very Body against the malignant Aspersions of Ber- nard & others. There was however only Eight of twenty six Councellors present when they were pre- vaild upon by an artful man to pass this Resolve. You will see by the inclosd some remarks upon the former proceedings of the Council, or rather a recital of parts of them, by which I think it appears that the Assertion could not be groundless nor malicious ; nor can it be false if their own publication is true. I can conceive that the Design of the first mover of this Resolve was to injure the Credit of all the Writ- ings of Junius Americanus, which I believe he very i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 265 sensibly feels, & also to make it appear to the World that the Council, as they had before said of the House, had departed from & disavowd the Senti- ments of former Assemblys ; and that this Change has been effected by the Influence of M^ Hutchinson. With Regard to the Council, it is hardly possible for any one at a distance to ascertain their political Sen- timents from what they see of their determinations publishd here in general, for it has been the practice of the Governor to summon a general Council at the Time when the Assembly is sitting & of Course the whole Number of Councillors is present — but in their Capacity of Advisers to the Governor they are adjournd from week to week during the Session of the Assembly & till it is over when the Country Gentle- men Members of Council return home. Thus the general Council being kept alive by Adjournments, the principal & most important part of the Business of their executive department Is done by seven or eight who live in & about the Town, & if the Governor can manage a Majority of so small a Number, Matters will be conducted according to his mind. I believe I may safely affirm that by far the greater Number of civil officers have been appointed at these adjourn- ments ; so that it is much the same as if they were ap- pointed solely by our ostensible Governor or rather by his Master, the Minister for the time being. You will not then be surprisd if I tell you that among the five Judges of our Superior Court of Justice, there are the following near Connections with the first & second in Station in the province. M' Lynde is Chiefe Justice ; his Daughter is married to the Son of 266 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 M' Oliver, the L' Gov'; M' Oliver another of the Judges is his Brother; his Son married Gov Hutch- insons Daughter; & Judge Hutchinson lately ap- pointed, who is also Judge of the probate of Wills for the first County, an important department, is the Gov" brother. Besides which the young M' Oliver is a Justice of the Common pleas for the County of Essex. M' Cotton a Brother in Law of the Gov* is deputy Secretary of the province & Register in the probate office under M' Hutchinson ; a cousin ger- man of the Gov"' was sent for out of another province to fill up the place of Clerk to the Common pleas in this County ; & the eldest Son of the Gov"^ will prob- ably soon be appointed a Justice of the same Court in the room of his Uncle advancd to the superior bench. I should have first mentiond that the Gov & the L' Gov are Brothers by Marriage. The House of Representatives, notwithstanding the Advantages which a new Governor always has in his hands I have reason to think will be so firm as at least not to give up any Right. The Body of the people are uneasy at the large Strides that are made & making towards an absolute Tyranny — many are alarmd but are of different Sentiments with regard to the next step to be taken — some indeed think that every Step has been taken but one & the ul- tima Ratio would require prudence unanimity and fortitude. The Conspirators against our Liberties are employing all their Influence to divide the people, partly by intimidating them for which purpose a fleet of Ships lies within gun Shot of the Town & the Capital Fort within three miles of it is garrisond by the 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 267 Kings Troops, and partly by Arts & Intrigue; by \ flattering those who are pleasd with Flattery ; form- ing Connections with them, introducing Levity Lux- ury & Indolence & assuring them that if they are quiet the Ministry will alter their Measures. I fear some of the Southern Colonies are taken with this Bait, for we see hardly anything in their publick papers but Advertisements of the Baubles of Britain for sale. This is the general Appearance of things here while the people are anxiously waiting for some happy Event from your side the Water — for my own part I confess I have no great Expectations from thence, & have long been of Opinion that America herself under God must finally work out her own Salvation. I have been told by a friend that a Manuscript has been sent from hence upon the Subject of the Tryals of Preston & the Soldiers, for your perusal entitled a Hue & Cry &c. Had I seen & thought it answer- able to what I have heard of it, I should have en- deavord to have had it publishd here. I wish it had been or still might be publishd in London if you have seen it & think it worth while, subject entirely to your Correction and Amendment. But after all what will the best & most animating publications signify, if the many are willing to submit & be en- slavd by the few. I wrote you about a fortnight past by Capt. Hood^ & can add nothing more at present but that I am sin- cerely your friend & h" serv' ■ See above, page 230. 268 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 TO JOSEPH ALLEN. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text is in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., pp. 342, 343.] ■pw ^7- Nov 7 1771 Dear Kinsman As you are just now setting out on the Journey of Life, give me leave to express to you my ardent Wish that you may meet with all that prosperity which shall be consistent with your real happiness. I can- not but think you have a good prospect ; yet your path will in all probability be uneven : Sometimes you must expect like all other Travellers, to meet with Difficulties on the Road ; let me therefore recom- mend to you the Advice of one of the Ancients, a Man of sterling Sense, tho a Heathen. " CEquam memento Rebus in arduis, servare mentem." In the busy Scenes of Life, you may now and then be dis- posd to drive on hard, & make rather too much haste to be rich ; you will then be upon your Guard against Temptations which if yielded to, will poison the Streams of all future Comfort : You will then in a more particular manner, impress upon your mind the advice of an inspired writer, to " maintain a Con- science void of offence." I do not flatter you when I say, you have hitherto supported a good reputation : You will still preserve it unsullied ; remembering that a good name is your Life. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. {Boston Gazette, November 11, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, We read that " Jeroboam the Son of Nebat made Israel to sin " : For this he " stands recorded " and 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 269 repeatedly stigmatiz'd, in the sacred volumn, as a "perjur'd Traitor," and a Rebel against God and his Country. However mysterious fawning priests and flatterers may affect to think it, Kings and Gov- ernors may be guilty of treason and rebellion : And they have in general in all ages and countries been more frequently guilty of it, than their subjects. Nay, what has been commonly called rebellion in the people, has often been nothing else but a manly & glorious struggle in opposition to the lawless power of rebellious Kings and Princes ; who being elevated above the rest of mankind, and paid by them only to be their protectors, have been taught by enthusiasts to believe they were authoriz'd by God to enslave and butcher them ! It is not uncommon for men, by their own inattention and folly, to suffer those things which an all-gracious providence design'd for their good, to become the greatest evils. If we look into the present state of the world, I believe this will hold good with regard to civil government in general : And the history of past ages will inform us, that even those civil institutions which have been best calculated for the safety and happiness of the people, have sooner or later degenerated into settled tyr- anny ; which can no more be called civil government, and is in fact upon some accounts a state much more to be deprecated than anarchy itself. It may be said of each, that it is a state of war : And it is beyond measure astonishing that free people can see the miseries of such a state approaching to them with large and hasty strides, and suffer themselves to be deluded by the artful insinuations of a man in power, and his indefatigable sychophants, into a full 270 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 perswasion that their liberties are in no danger. May we not be allow'd to adopt the language of scripture, and apply it upon so important a consideration ; that seeing, men will see and not perceive, and hearing, they will hear and not understand ? Jeroboam must needs have been a very wicked Governor : And he discover'd so much of the ma- lignancy of treason against his people, in making them to sin against the supreme Being upon whose power and protection the welfare of nations as well as in- dividuals so manifestly depends, and by whose good- ness that people in particular were so greatly oblig'd, that one would have thought, they would upon a retrospect of their folly, in being thus seduc'd, have testified to future generations their just resentment and indignation, by at least dethroning so impious a traitor. Perhaps they relented when they consider'd that their Governor was " born and educated among them " : But this heightened his wickedness ; as it might have convinc'd them, that he was as destitute of the common feelings of love for one's native country, as he was of religion and piety. This, and many other instances of later date may serve to show, that the people have no solid reason to depend upon every man that he will be a good Governor, merely because of his having had his birth and education among them ; as well as the folly and wickedness of priests and minions, who would from such a circum- stance endeavor to dupe the people into a perswasion of their security under any man's administration. — The sin which the people of Israel were prevaifd upon by Jeroboam the son of Nebat to commit, re- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 271 spected their religious worship on a Thanksgiving day : He had ordained a so\&va.v\. festival \.o be kept at Bethel; in which, it seems, he had a particular view to serve a political purpose : And the people knew it, although he had artfully endeavored to colour it with a plausible appearance. At this festival, through his influence, they sacrificed unto Calves ! This was the dire effect of their foolish adulation of their Governor, while they professed to observe a day set apart in honor to the King of kings. — Their thanks- giving began with prophaness 81 ended in idolatry; or rather it began & ended with both. There is no question but the priests were the vicegerents of the Governor, or his heralds to publish his impious proc- lamations to the people. But is it not strange that the people were so king-ridden and priest-ridden, es- pecially in matters which concern'd their Religion, as to look upon the joint authority of their Governor and Clergy, sufficient to justify them in sinning against the authority of God himself .• and in acting in open violation of his law, revealed to them from Heaven with signs and miracles at Mount Sinai, and register'd in their book of the law, as well as engrav'd on the tables of their hearts ! — It is no unusual thing for people to complement their Governors with the sacrifice of their consciences, after they have surren- dered to them their civil liberty, which had been the folly of that people long before ; for they grew weary of their liberty in the days of Samuel the prophet, and exchanged that civil government which the wis- dom of heaven had prescribed to them, for an absolute despotic monarchy ; that they might in that regard 272 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 be like the nations round about them. — Even in these enlightened times, the people in some parts of the world are so bewitched by the enchantments oi priest- craft and king-craft, as to believe that tho' they sin against their own consciences, in compliance with the instruction of the one, or in obedience to the com- mand of the other, they shall never suffer, but shall be rewarded in the world to come, for being so implicitly subject to the higher powers : And the experience of the world tells us that there are, and always have been various ways of rewarding them for it in this world. On the contrary, if they hesitate to declare a blind belief in the most palpable absurdi- ties in government and religion, they are sure to fall into the immediate hands of spiritual inquisitors, to be whipped and tortured into an acknowledgment of the error, or threatened with the further pains of eter- nal damnation if they persist in their contumacy. Thanks be to God, there is not yet so formidable a junction of the secular and ecclesiastical powers in this country ; and there is reason to hope there are \)W\. few of the clergy who would desire it. Yet such is the deplorable condition we are in, and so no- torious is it to all, that should any man, be he who he may, tell me that our civil liberties were continued, or that our religious privileges were not in danger, I should detest him, if in his senses, as a perfidious man. And if any clergyman should in compliance with the humours or designs of a man in power, echo such a false declaration in the church of God, he would in my opinion do well seriously to consider, whether an excessive complaisance may not have 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 273 betrayed him into the sin of Ananias and Saphira, in lying against the Holy Ghost ! This is a most weighty consideration : But the times require //«?;« dealing. We hope and beUeve, nay we know that there are more than seven thousand who will never bow the knee to Baal, or servilely submit to Tyranny, temporal or spiritual : But are we not fallen into an age when some even of the Clergy think it no shame to flatter the Idol ; and thereby to lay the people, as in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, under a temptation to commit great wickedness, and sin against God ? Let us beware of the poison of flat- tery — If the people are tainted with this folly, they will never have virtue enough to demand a restora- tion of their liberties in the very face of a tyrant, if the necessity of the times should call for so noble an ex- ertion. And how soon there m,ay be such necessity, God only knows. May W.^ grant them fortitude as well as SOUND prudence in the day of trial ! He who can flatter a despot, or be flattered by him, without feeling the remonstrances of his own mind against it, may be remarkable for the guise and ap- pearance of sanctity, but he has very little if any true religion — If he habitually allows himself in it, without any remorse, he is a hardened impenitent sinner against God and his country. Whatever '\\\?,profes- sion may be, he is not fit to be trusted ; and when once discover'd, he will never be trusted by any but fools and children. To complement a great man to the injury of truth and liberty, may be in the opin- ion of a. very degenerate age, the part of a polite and well-bred gentleman — Wise men however will VOL. II. — 18, 274 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 denominate him a Traitor or a Fool. But how much more aggravated must be the folly and madness of those, who instead of worshipping God in the solemn assembly, " in spirit and in truth," can utter a lie to Him ! ! — in order to render themselves acceptable to a man who is a worm or to the son of a man who is a worm. Candidus. TO ARTHUR LEE. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text with variations is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 187-189.] Boston Nov' 13 1771. My DEAR Sir, — Several Vessells have lately arrivd from London, but I have not had the pleasure of a Line from you by either of them. Since the Resolve of Council, by which Junius Americanus was so severely censurd, there has been a proclamation issued by the Gover- nor with their Advice, for a general Thanksgiving which has been the practice of the Country at this time of the year from its first Settlement. The pious proclamation has given the greatest offence to the people in general, as it appears evidently to be calcu- lated to serve the purpose of the British Adminis- tration, rather than that of Religion. We were the last year called upon to thank the Almighty for the Blessings of the Administration of Government, in this Province, which many lookd upon as an impious Farce. Now we are demurely exhorted to render our hearty & humble Thanks to the same omniscient Being for the Continuance of our civil & religious i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 275 Privileges & the Enlargement of our Trade. This I imagine was contrivd to try the feelings of the peo- ple; and if the Governor could dupe the Clergy as he had the Council, & they the people, so that the proclamation should be read as usual in our Churches, he would have nothing to do but acquaint Lord Hills- borough that most certainly the people in General ac- quiescd in the measures of Government, since they had appealed even to God himself that notwithstand- ing the faction & turbulence of a party, their Liberties were continued & their Trade enlargd. I am at a loss to say whether this measure was more insolent to the people or affrontive to the Majesty of Heaven, neither of whom however a modern Politician regards, if at all, so much as the Smiles of his noble Patron. But the people saw thro it in general, & openly declared that they would not hear the proclamation read. The Consequence was, that it was read in but two of all our Churches in this Town consisting of twelve besides three Episcopalian Churches ; there indeed it has not been customary ever to read them. Of those two Clergymen who read it, one of them being a Stranger in the province, & having been settled but about Six Weeks, performd the servile task a week before the usual Time when the people were not aware of it, they were however much disgusted at it. The Min- ister of the other is a known Flatterer of the Gov- ernor & is the very person who formd the fulsome Address of which I wrote you some time ago — he was deserted by a great number of his Auditory in the midst of his reading. Thus every Art is practisd & every Tool employd to make it appear as if this 276 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 people were easy in their Chains, & that this great revolution is brought about by the inimitable Address of M"^ Hutchinson. There is one part of the procla- mation which I think deserves Notice on your side the Water, & that relates to the Accommodation with the Spaniards in the Affair of Faulkland Island. This must have been referrd to under the Terms of the preservation of the peace of Europe. From what I wrote you last you cannot wonder if the Governor carrys any thing he pleases in his Divan here. His last Manoevre has exposd him more than any thing. Ne lude cum sacris is a proverb. Should he once lose the Reputation which his friends have with the utmost pains been building for him among the Clergy for these thirty years past, as a consummate Saint, he must fall like Samson when his Locks were cut off. The people are determind to keep their Day of Fes- tivity but not for all the purposes of the infamous proclamation. I beg you would omit no Opportunity of writing to me Sz; be assured that I am in a Stile too much out of fashion Your Friend ARTICLE SIGNED " COTTON MATHER." ' \Boston Gazette, November 25, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, Mucius ScAEVOLA, a writer whom I very much ad- mire, tells us, " A Massachusetts Governor the King by Compact may nominate and appoint, but not pay : For ' Attributed to Adams in the Dorr file of the Gazette, i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 277 his support he must stipulate with the people, & until he does, he is no legal Governor ; without this, if he undertakes to rule he is a usurper." — These senti- ments have given great disgust to the Governor & Council, and the publisher, it is said, is to be prose- cuted : But if he has spoken the words of truth and soberness, why should he be punished? Is there any man in the community that can procure harm in a process of law, to him who speaks necessary and im- portant truths ? If there be such a man, mark him for a Tyrant. Is there any man whose publick conduct will not bear the scrutiny of truth ? he is a Traitor, and it is high time he was pointed out. I have upon this occasion looked into the Charter of the province in which the compact between the y/ King and the people is contain'd, and I find not a sin- gle word about the King's paying his Governor. If therefore the Charter is altogether silent about it, Mucius is certainly to be justified in saying that by the compact the King may VioX. pay him ; that is, there is nothing in the Charter to warrant it. But it is asked, whether the King may not pay his Governor notwithstanding ? And ought it not to be looked upon as a mark of royal bounty and goodness, thus to save the people from being " burdened by a tax upon their polls and estates for a Governor's support ? " This is the Court language ; and great pains have been taken by some gentlemen, whose particular business it is to ride through the several counties, to spread it in every part of the province. But it has a tendency to mislead and ensnare. It no doubt sounds very agreeably in the ears of an unwary man, that by 278 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 this ministerial manoeuvre, the province have a sav- ing of a thousand pounds sterHng every year, for the support of a Governor. Let us consider the matter a little. Did not our ancestors, when they accepted this Charter, understand that they had contracted for \x a free government ? And did not the King on his part intend that it should be so ? Was it not under- stood, that by this contract every power of govern- ment was to be under a check adequate to the importance of it, without which, according to the best reasoners on government, and the experience of mankind in all ages of the world, that power must be a tyranny ? Undoubtedly it was the sense of both parties in the contract, that the government to be erected by the Charter, should be a free government, and that every power of it should be properly controuled in order to constitute it so. I would then ask, what weight remains in the scale of the democratick part of the constitution to check the monarchick in the hands of the governor, if the king has not only an uncon- troulable power to nominate and appoint a governor, but may pay him too ? If any one will point out to me a sufficient weight to balance the scale, I will differ from Mucins : But until that is done, I must be of his mind, that the king has no right to pay his gov- ernor : " For that, he must stipulate with the peo- ple ; " otherwise our civil constitution is rendered materially different from what the contracting parties intended it should be, viz. a free constitution. It places the governor in such a state of independency as must make any man formidable. — It puts it in his power in many instances to act the tyrant, even i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 279 under the appearance of all the forms of the consti- tution. The man who is possessed of a power to act the tyrant when he thinks proper, let him become possessed of it as he may, is at least an usurper of power that cannot belong to him in any free state — Power is intoxicating : There have been few men, if any, who when possessed of an unrestrained power, have not made a very bad use of it — They have gen- erally exercised such a power to the terror both of the good and the evil, and of the good more than the evil — While a governor is possessed of a power with- out any other check than that which the constitution has provided, upon a supposition that the king by charter may pay him as well as appoint him, for aught I can see, MXid,^x such an administration as the present, I mean in England, he may make the people slaves as soon as he pleases and keep them so as long as he pleases. I have heard it asked. What ! may not the king make a present to his governor of fifteen hundred sterling every year, if he sees fit ? Is not his MAJESTY allowed to be upon a footing with even a private subject? This reasoning is very plausible, but I think not just. In some respects the king is more restrained than the lowest of his subjects. He may not for instance, turn a Roman Catholic, or marry one of that religion and hold his crown : He forfeits it by law if he does. And why ? Because it has been found that the Roman Catholic principles are incon- sistent with the principles of the British constitution, which is the rule of his government. And there is the same reason why the governor who is appointed by the crown, should stipulate with the people for his 28o THE WRITINGS OF [1771 support, if that mutual check among the several pow- ers of government, which is essential to every free constitution, is otherwise destroyed. — If the king's paying or making yearly presents to his governor, renders him a different being in the state from that which the Charter intends he shall be, and that to the prejudice of the people, the king by the compact may not pay him, for in such a case, it would be inconsist- ent with the principles of our constitution — No king can have a right to put it in the power of his governor to become a tyrant, or govern arbitrarily ; for he can- not be a tyrant or govern arbitrarily himself. I beg leave to make a supposition ; If his Holiness the Pope, for the sake of once more having a Catholic King seated on the British throne, should make him a present yearly of eight hundred thousand pounds sterling, for the support of himself and his household, it would be a great saving indeed to the nation ; but would the people, think you, consent to it because of that saving- ? Should we not hear the faithful Com- mons objecting to it as an innovation big with danger to the rights and liberties of the nation ? I believe it would be in vain to flatter them that their constitu- ents would be eas'd of a burden of a tax upon their polls and estates, by means which would render their king thus independent of them, and place him in a state of absolute dependance, for his support, upon another, who had especially for a long course of years, tried every art and machination to overthrow their constitution in church and state — Would not the people justly think there would be danger that such a king thus dependent on the pope, and oblig'd 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 281 by him, would be as subservient to the admonitions of his Holiness, or his Legate in his name, as a cer- tain provincial governor, we know, has been to the in- structions of a minister of state, upon the bare pros- pect of his being made independent of the people for his support. Cotton Mather. ARTICLE SIGNED "CANDIDUS." [Boston Gazette, December 2, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, No methods are yet left untried by the writers on the side of the ministry, to perswade this People that the best way to get rid of our Grievances is to submit to them. This was the artifice of Governor Bernard, and it is urg'd with as much zeal as ever, under the administration of Governor Hutchinson. They would fain have us endure the loss of as many of our Rights and Liberties as an abandon'd ministry shall see fit to wrest from us, without the least murmur : But when they find, that they cannot silence our com- plaints, & sooth us into security they then tell us, that " much may be done for the publick interest by way of humble & dutiful representation, point- ing out the hardships of certain measures" — This is the language of Chronus in the last Massachusetts Gazette. But have we not already petition'd the King for the Redress of our Grievances and the Restoration of our Liberties? — have not the House of Representatives done it in the most dutiful 282 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 terms imaginable ? — Was it not many months be- fore that Petition was suffer'd to reach the royal hand ? — And after it was laid before his Majesty, was he not advis'd by his ministers to measures still more grevious and severe? Have any lenient meas- ures been the consequence of our humble repre- sentations of " the hardship of certain measures," which were set forth by the house of assembly in the most decent and respectful letters to persons of high rank in the administration of govv^rnment at home ? Did not the deputies of most of the towns and districts in this province met in Convention in the year 1 768, when Bernard had in a very extraor- dinary manner dissolv'd the General Assembly ? — Did they not, I say, in the most humble terms, peti- tion the Throne for the Redress of the intolerable grievances we then labor'd under? — Has not the Town of Boston most submissively represented " the hardship of certain measures " to their most gracious Sovereign, and petition'd for Right and Relief ? — Was not petitioning and humbly supplicating, the method constantly propos'd by those very persons whom Chronus after the manner of his brethren, stiles "pretended patriots", and constantly adopted till it was apparent that our petitions and representa- tions were treated with neglect and contempt ? — Till we found that even our petitioning was looked upon as factious, and the effects of it were the heaping Grievance upon Grievance ? — Have not the people of this province, after all their humble supplications, been falsly charg'd with being " in a state of dis- obedience to all law and government ? " And in i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 283 consequence of petitioning, has not the capital been filled with soldiers to quiet their murmurs with the bayonet; & to murder, assassinate & plunder with impunity} — Have we not borne for these seven years past such indignity as no free people ever suffer'd before, and with no other tokens of resent- ment on our part, than pointing out our hardships, and appealing to the common sense of mankind, after we had in vain petition'd our most gracious Sovereign ? — And now we are even insulted by those who have bro't on us all these difficulties, for uttering our just complaints in a publick Newspaper ! Point- ing out the hardships of our sufferings, and calling upon the impartial world to judge between us and our oppressors, and protesting before God and man against innovations big with ruin to the public Liberty, is call'd by this writer, "a stubborn opposition to public authority," and "a high hand opposition and repugnancy to government." For God's sake, what are we to expect from petitioning? Have we any prospect in the way of humble and dutiful represen- tation ? Let us advert to the nation of which this writer says we are a part. Are not they suffering the same grievances, under the same administration ? Have not they repeatedly petitioned and remon- strated to the throne, and "pointed out the hard- ships of certain measures," to the King himself? And has not his Majesty been advised by his minis- ters, to treat them as imaginary grievances only ? And yet after all, against repeated facts, and common experience to the contrary, we are told, that " much might be done for the public interest, by way of 284 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 humBle and dutiful representation ! " If there were even now, any hopes that the King would hear us, while his present counsellors are near him, I should be by all means for petitioning again ; but every man of common observation will judge for himself of \h^ prospect. I am not of this writers opinion that the claims of our sister colonies, New-Hampshire and Rhode-Island, were so very reasonable, when disputes arose about the dividing lines ; nor do I believe any of his disinter- ested readers will think his bare ipse dixit, however peremptory, a sufficient evidence of it. — It seems in the estimation of Chronus and his few confederates, all are " intemperate patriots ", who will not yield the public rights to every demand, however unjust it may appear. — Thus a whole General Assembly is branded by this writer, with the character of "wrong-headed politicians ", for not surrendering a part of the territory of this province to New-Hampshire and Rhode-Island, because they demanded it. It is no uncommon thing for those who are resolved to carry ■& favorite point, when they cannot reason with their opponents, to rail at them. — I shall not take upon me at present to say, whether the claims of those governments were right or wrong ; but if the governor of the province, & a majority of the two houses, whom Chronus does not scruple to call ^^pre- tended patriots ", then judged them to be wrong, their conduct in contending for the interest of the province, affords sufficient evidence, that they were real patri- ots. These instances are bro't by Chronus to show the wisdom "of scorning the influence, and i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 285 rejecting the rash and injudicious clamour of pre- tended patriots, and wrong-headed politicians," in the present assembly; who by their "indecent treatment of his Majesty's governor, are pressing him to comply with measures contrary to his instructions " : But if his Majesty's governor s instructions are repugnant to the Rights and Liberties of his Majesty's subjects of this province, and those who are elected by the people to be the guardians of their rights and liber- ties, are really of that mind ; especially if they also think that such instructions are design'd to have the force of laws ; is it reasonable or decent for Chronus, tho' he may think differently, to call them mere pre- tended patriots, which conveys the idea of false- hearted men, for protesting against such instructions, as dangerous innovations, threatning the "very being of government ", as constituted by the Charter ? — Chronus and his brethren would do well to consider, that " a high handed opposition and repugnance, ('tis a wonder he did not in the style of his friend Bernard, call it ' oppugnation ') to government ", is as dangerous when level'd at the representative body of the people, as at " his Majesty s Governor " : An attack upon the constitution especially in that silent manner in which it has of late been attacked, is more dangerous than either. — He says that those " wretched politicians ", " have made the Governor's subsistence to depend upon his compliance with measures contrary to his instructions." If this had been true, it would have been treating the Governor in a manner in which the British parliaments, when free, have treated their sovereign : No supplies till 286 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 grievances are redressed, has been the language of those " wrong headed politicians ", the British house of commons in former, and better times, than these — If the commons of this province have at any time with- held their grant for the support of a governor, till he should comply with measures contrary to his instruc- tions, they looking upon those instructions, as they have been, in fact, repugnant to the very spirit of the charter, and subversive of the liberty of their constituents, who can blame them ? They are in my opinion highly to be commended, for making use of a power vested in them, or rather reserv'd by the constitution, & originally intended to check the wanton career of imperious governors — A power, in the due exercise of which, even kings, their masters, have sometimes been brought to their senses, when they had any. But Ckronus cannot show an instance of this conduct in the house of representatives for many years past, I dare say. It must therefore be a mistake in him to suppose that this conduct of " our intemperate patriots ", has " occasion'd his Majesty to render him more independent, by taking the payment of his governor upon himself." I make no doubt but some other motive occasion'd the minister to ad- vise an independent governor in this province, which will in all probability take place in every colony throughout America. — The motive is too obvious to need mentioning — If Chronus will make it appear that a governor's being made independent of the people, is not repugnant to the principles of the' charter of this province, or any free government, he will do more than I at present think he or any other i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 287 can — Till this is done, it is in vain to flatter a sensible people with the prospect of enjoying " peace, happi- ness or any other blessing they have reason to desire," and right to expect from good government, while the measure is persisted in. Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, December g, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, "Whene'er from putrid Courts /"i^k/ Vapours rose, . . . with vigorous wholesome Gales The Winds of opposition fiercely blew, Which purg'd and clear' d the agitated State" If the liberties of America are ever compleatly ruined, of which in my opinion there is now the ut- most danger, it will in all probability be the conse- quence of a mistaken notion oi prudence, which leads men to acquiesce in measures of the most destructive tendency for the sake of present ease. When designs are form'd to rase the very foundation of a free gov- ernment, those few who are to erect their grandeur and fortunes upon the general ruin, will employ every art to sooth the devoted people into a state of indo- lence, inattention and security, which is forever the fore-runner of slavery — They are alarmed at nothing so much, as attempts to awaken the people to jealousy and watchfulness ; and it has been an old game played over and over again, to hold up the men who would rouse their fellow citizens and countrymen to a sense 288 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 of their real danger, and spirit them to the most zeal- ous activity in the use of all proper means for the preservation of the public liberty, as " pretended pa- triots" " intemperate politicians" rash, hot-headed men, Incendiaries, wretched desperadoes, who, as was said of the best of men, would turn the world upside down, or have done it already. — But he must have a small share of fortitude indeed, who is put out of countenance by hard speeches without sense and meaning, or affrighted from the path of duty by the rude language of Billingsgate — For my own part, I smile contemptuously at such unmanly efforts : I would be glad to hear the reasoning of Chronus, if he has a capacity for it ; but I disregard his railing as I would the barking of a " Cur dog". The dispassionate and rational Pennsylvania Farmer has told us, that " a perpetual jealousy re- specting liberty, is absolutely requisite in all free states." The unhappy experience of the world has frequently manifested the truth of his observation. For want of this jealousy, the liberties of Spain were destroyed by what is called a vote of credit ; that is, a confidence placed in the King to raise money upon extraordinary emergencies, in the intervals of parlia- ment. France afterwards fell into the same snare ; and England itself was in great danger of it, in the reign of Charles the second ; when a bill was brought into the house of commons to enable the King to raise what money he pleased upon extraordinary oc- casions, as the dutch war was pretended to be — And the scheme would doubtless have succeeded to the ruin of the national liberty, had it not been for the 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 289 watchfulness of the '■'intemperate patriots", and " wrong-headed politicians " even of that day. How much better is the state of the American colo- nies soon likely to be, than that of France and Spain ; or than Britain would have been in, if the Bill before mention'd had pass'd into an act ? Does it make any real difference whether one man has the sovereign disposal of the peoples purses, or five hundred? Is it not as certain that the British parliament have as- sumed to themselves the power of raising what money they please in the colonies upon all occasions, as it is, that the Kings of France and Spain exercise the same power over their subjects upon emergencies ? Those Kings by the way, being the sole judges when emer- gencies happen, they generally create them as often as they want money. And what security have the colonies that the British parliament will not do the same ? It is dangerous to be silent, as the ministerial writers would have us to be, while such a claim is held up ; but much more to submit to it. Your very silence, my countrymen, may be construed a submis- sion, and those who would perswade you to be quiet, intend to give it that turn. Will it be likely then that your enemies, who have exerted every nerve to estab- lish a revenue, rais'd by virtue of a suppos'd inherent right in the British parliament without your consent,^ will recede from the favorite plan, when they imagine^ it to be compleated by your submission ? Or if they should repeal the obnoxious act, upon the terms of your submitting to the right, is it not to be appre- hended that your own subipission will be brought forth as a precedenit in a future time, when your VOL. II. 19. 290 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 watchful adversary shall have succeeded, and laid the most of you fast asleep in the bed of security and insensibility. Believe me, should the British parlia- ment, which claims a right to tax you at discretion, ever be guided by a wicked and corrupt administra- tion, and how near they are approaching to it, I will leave you to judge, you will then find one revenue act succeeding another, till the fatal influence shall ex- tend to your own parliaments. Bribes and pensions will be as frequent here, as they are in the unhappy kingdom of Ireland, and you and your posterity will be made, by means oi your own money, as subservient to the will of a British ministry, or an obsequious Governor, as the vassals of France are to that of their grand monarch. What will prevent this misery and infamy, but your being finally oblig'd to have recourse to the ultima ratio ! But is it probable that you will ever make any manly efforts to recover your liberty, after you have been inur'd, without any remorse, to contemplate yourselves as slaves ? Custom, says the Farmer, gradually reconciles us to objects even of dread and detestation. It reigns in nothing more ar- bitrarily than in publick Affairs. When an act injuri- ous to freedom has once been done, and the people bear it, the repetition of it is more likely to meet with submission. For as the mischief of the one was found to be tolerable, they will hope that the second will prove so too ; and they will not regard the infamy of the last, because they are stain d with that of the first. The beloved Patriot further observes, "In mixed governments, the very texture of their constitution demands a perpetual jealousy ; for the cautions with 177'] SAMUEL ADAMS. 291 which power is distributed among the several orders, imply, that each has that share which is proper for the general welfare, and therefore that any further imposition must ^i^ pernicious" . The government of this province, like that of Great Britain, of which it is said to be an epitome, is a mixed government. It's constitution is delicately framed ; and I believe all must acknowledge, that the power vested in the crown is full as great as is consistent with the general welfare. The King, by the charter, has the nomination and appointment of the governor : But no mention being therein made of his right to take the payment of his governor upon himself, it is fairly concluded that the people have reserv'd that right to themselves, and the governor must stipulate with them for his support. That this was the sense of the contracting parties, appears from practice con- temporary with the date of the charter itself, which is the best exposition of it ; and the same practice has been continued uninterruptedly to the present time — But the King now orders his support out of the American revenue : Chronus himself, acknowledges that he Is thereby " render'd more independent of the people." — Consequently the balance of power if it was before even Is by this means disadjusted. Here then Is another great occasion oi jealousy in the people. No reasonable man will deny that an undue proportion of power added to the monarchical part of the constitution. Is as dangerous, as the same un- due proportion would be, if added to the democratical. Should the people refuse to allow the governor the due exercise of the powers that are vested in him by 292 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 the Charter, I dare say they would soon be told, and very justly, of " the mischief that would be the con- sequence of it." And is there not the same reason why the people may and ought to speak freely & LOUDLY of the mischief which would be the conse- quence of his being rendered more independent of them ; or which is in reality the same thing, his becoming possessed of more power than the charter vests him with ? For the annihilating a constitu- tional check, in the people, which is necessary to prevent the Governor's exercise of exorbitant power, is in effect to enable him to exercise that exorbitant power, when he pleases, without controul. A Gov- ernor legally appointed may usurp powers which do not belong to him : And it is ten to one but he will, if the people are not jealous and vigilant. Charles the first was legally appointed king : The doctrines advanced by the clergy in his father's infamous reign, led them both to believe that they were the lord's anointed, and were not accountable for their conduct to the people. — It is strange that kings seated on the English throne, should imbibe such opinions : But it is possible they were totally unacquainted with the history of their English pre- decessors. — Charles, by hearkening to the council of his evil ministers, which coincided with the principles of his education, and his natural temper, and con- fiding in his corrupt judges, became an usurper of powers which he had no right to ; and exercising those powers, he became a Tyrant : But the end proved fatal to him, and afforded a solemn lesson for all succeeding usurpers and tyrants : His subjects 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 293 who made him king, called him to account, dismisid and punish'd him in a most exemplary manner ! Charles was obstinate in his temper, and thought of nothing so little as concessions of any kind : If he had been well advis'd, he would have renounced his usurped powers : Every wise governor will relin- quish a power which is not clearly constitutional, how- ever inconsiderable those about him may perswade him to think it ; especially, if the people regard it as a part OF A SYSTEM OF OPPRESSION, and AN EVIDENCE OF TYRANNICAL DESIGNS. And the more tenacious he is of it, the stronger is the reason why " the spirit of APPREHENSION " should be kept up among them in its utmost VIGILANCE. Candidus. ARTICLE SIGNED CANDIDUS. \^Bosion Gazette, December 16, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, I Profess to be more generous than to make severe remarks upon the apparent absurdities that run through the whole of Chronuss performance in the last Massachusetts-Gazette. He tells us that " he seldom examines political struggles that make their weekly appearance in the papers". If by this mode of expression he means to inform us, that he seldom reads the papers with impartiality and attention, as every one ought, who designs to make his own obser- vations on them, I can easily believe him ; for it is evident in the piece now before me, that thro' a want 294 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 of such impartiality or due attention, to the political struggles which he examines, he mistakes one writer for another, and finds fault with Candidus for not vindicating what had been advanc'd by Mutius Scae- vola. I am no party man, unless a firm attachment to the cause of Liberty and Truth will denominate one such : And if this be the judgment of those who have taken upon themselves the character of Friends to the Government, I am content to be in their sense of the word a party man, and will glory in it as long as I shall retain that small portion of understanding which God has been pleas'd to bless me with. If at any time I venture to lay my own opinions before the public, which is the undoubted right of every one, I expect they will be treated, if worth any notice, with freedom and candor : But I do not think myself liable to be called to account by Chronus, or any one else, for not answering the objections they are pleased to make to what is offered by another man, and not by me. Whatever may be the opinion of Mr. Hutchinson, as a Usurper or a Tyrant or not, or as Governor or no Governor, if Chronus had fairly " examined the political struggles " which have ap- peared in the papers, he must have known that I had not published my sentiments about the matter ; I shall do it however, as soon as I think proper. — I would not willingly suppose that Chronus artfully intended to amuse his readers, and " mislead them to believe ", that his address to the publick of the 28th of Novem- ber, was particularly applicable to me, as having ad- vanced the doctrine which has given so much disgust to some gentlemen, and from whence he draws such i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 295 a long string of terrible consequences. Whether the denying the governor's authority be right or wrong, or whether upon Mutiuss hypothesis it be vindicable or not, it is a " maxim" (to use his own word) upon which it no more concerned me to pass my judgment than it did any other man in the com- munity. Had Chronus then a right to press me into this "political struggle," or to demand m^j opinion of what he had so sagely observed upon a subject which I had never engag'd in ? Yes, by all means ; says he, " I pointed out some of the mischiefs that would in- evitably follow upon denying the Governor s authority, if that m^axim. should be generally received " ; and adds, "what now has Candidus reply d to all this? Why truly nothing, but — altum silentium" in Eng- lish, a profound silence ; that is in the words of an honest Teague on another occasion "he answered and said nothing" — But notwithstanding the deep silence that I preserv'd when I made my answer, it seems that " I assured him that the way of peaceable, duti- ful and legal representations of our grievances had already been tried to no purpose " : With the most profound Taciturnity I " was pleas'd most largely to expatiate upon this point", & with all my ''altum- silentium^" my ''interrogations follow'd one another with such amazing rapidity, that he (poor man) was almost out of breath in repeating Xh^va." — Here, gen- tle reader, is presented to you a group of ideas in the chaste, the elegant style of Chronus, which required much more skill in the English language than I am a master of, to reduce to the level of common sense. Thus I have given you a short specimen of the taste 296 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 of Chronus, who is said to be the top hand on the side of the ministry : For want of leisure I must omit taking notice of his " method of reasoning" till another time. Candidus. MEMORANDUM. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Decbr iS 1771. This day I waited on M' Harrison Gray jun' to ac- quaint him that I had been informd that he had told John Hancock Esq' that he heard me say in a threat- ning manner that M' Hancock might think as he pleasd, M"^ Otis had friends & his (M' Hancocks) treatment of M' Otis would prejudice his (M' Han- cocks) Election. M"^ Gray declard to me that he did not hear me mention a Word of M"^ Hancocks Elec- tion — that a conversation happend between M"^ John Cotton & my self (M'' Gray being present) relative to M' Otis— that M' Cotton said M' Otis' Conduct must be the Effect of Distraction or Drunkeness — that I said I did not think so — but that it rather proceeded from Irritation — that he (M' Gray) said if M"^ Otis is distracted why should M"^ Hancock pursue him — & that I answerd that M" Hancock might be stirred up by others to do it, but I thought he had better not or it was a pity he should. This M"^ Gray declared was all that I said relative to M' Hancock, in answer to his Question as is before mentiond & that it did not appear to him that I discoverd the least Unfriendliness towards M'' Hancock. He further said he was willing 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 297 to give his oath to the truth of this his declaration. Upon which I told M' Gray that it was far from my Intention to make M'^ Hancock displeasd with him, that I was satisfied that M' Hancock understood him differently & I should let Mr Hancock know what he now said, & asked him to repeat it which he did pre- cisely as before — & told me he was freely willing that I should repeat it to M' Hancock that if M' Hancock & myself desired it he would thus explain it in presense of us both. r ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. [Boston Gazette, December 23, 1771.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, The writer in the Massachusetts Gazette, who signs Chronus, in his address to the publick, recom- mended petitioning and humbly representing the hard- ship of certain measures ; and yet before he finished his first paper, he pointed out to us the unhappy ef- fects in former times of the very method he had pre- scribed. Those " intemperate patriots " it seems, the majority of both houses of the general assembly, not hearkning to the cool advice of the few wise men within and without doors, must needs make their humble representations to the King and Council upon the claims of New-Hampshire and Rhode- Island : And what was the consequence ? Why, he says the province lost ten times the value of the land in dispute. Did Chronus mean by this and such like instances, to enforce the measure which he had recom- 298 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 mended ? They certainly afford a poor encourage- ment for us to persevere in the way of petitioning and humble representation. But perhaps he will say, the General Assembly had at that time no reason to com- plain of the incroachment of these sister colonies ; their claims were just ; and the discerning few who were in that mind were in the right. Just so he says is the case now. For he tells us that " no one has at- tempted to infringe the peoples rights." Upon what principle then would he have us petition ? It is pos- sible, for I would fain understand him, that what Candidus and others call an invasion of our rights, he may choose to denominate a Grievance ; for if we suf- fer no Grievance, he can certainly have no reason to advise us to represent the hardship of certain meas- ures. And I am the rather inclin'd to think, that this is his particular humour, because I find that the stamp- act, which almost every one looked upon as a most violent infraction of our natural and constitutional rights, is called by this writer a Grievance. And he is so singular as to enquire, " What Liberties we are now deprived of," altho' an act of parliament is still in being,'and daily executed, very similar to the stamp-act, and form'd for the very same purpose, viz. the raising and establishing a revenue in the colonies by virtue of a suppos'd inherent right in the British parliament, where the colonies cannot be represented, and there- fore without their consent. The exercise of such a power Chronus would have us consider as a Grievance indeed, but not by any means a deprivation of our rights and liberties, or even so much as the least infringement of them. 1 Mr. Locke has often been i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 299 quoted in the present dispute between Britain and 1/ her colonies, and very much to our purpose. His reasoning is so forcible, that no one has even at- tempted to confute it. He holds that " the preserva- tion of property is the end of government, and that for which men enter into society. It therefore neces- sarily supposes and requires that the people should have property, without which they must be suppos'd to lose that by entering into society, which was the end for which they enter'd into it ; too gross an absurdity for any man to own. Men therefore in society having property, they have such a right to the goods, which by the law of the community are theirs, that no body hath the right to take any part of their subsistence from them withmit-their consent : Without this, they could have no property'^tall. For I truly can have no property in—^tKat which another can by right take from me when he pleases, against my consent. Hence, says he, it is a mistake to think that the su- preme power of any commonwealth can dispose of the estates of the subjects arbitrarily, or take any part of them at pleasure. The prince or senate can never have a power to take to themselves the whole or any part of the subjects property without their own con- sent ; for this would be in effect to have no property at all." — This is the reasoning of that great and good man. And is not our own case exactly described by him ? Hath not the British parliament made an act to take a part of our property against our consent ? Against our repeated submissive petitions and humble representations of the hardship of it ? Is not the act daily executed in every colony ? If therefore the 300 THE WRITINGS OF [177 1 preservation of property is the very end of govern- ment, we are depriv'd of that for which government itself is instituted. — Tis true, says Mr. Locke, " Gov- ernment cannot be supported without great charge ; and tis fit that every one who enjoys a share in the protection should pay his proportion for the mainte- nance of it. But still it must be with their own con- sent, given by themselves or their representatives." Chronus will not say that the monies that are every day paid at the custom-houses in America for the ex- press purpose of maintaining all or any of the Gov- ernors therein, were rais'd with the consent of those who pay them, given by themselves or their repre- sentatives — " If any one, adds Mr. Locke, shall claim a power to lay and levy taxes on the people by his own authority & without such consent of the people, he thereby subverts the end of gov eminent ." — Will Chronus tell us that the British parliament doth not claim authority to lay and levy such taxes, and doth not actually lay and levy them on the colonies without their consent? This is the case particularly in this province. If therefore it is a subversion of the end of government, it must be a subversion of our civil liberty, which is supported by civil government only. And this I think a sufficient answer to a strange question which Chronus thinks it " not improper for our zealous Patriots to answer, viz. What those liberties and rights are of which we have been de- prived. — If Chronus is really as ignorant as he pre- tends to be, of the present state of the colonies, their universal and just complaints of the most violent in- fractions of their liberties, and their repeated petitions 177 1] SAMUEL ADAMS. 301 to the throne upon that account, I hope I shall be ex- cused in taking up any room in your valuable paper, with a view of answering a question, which to him must be of the utmost importance. — But if he is not, I think his question not only impertinent, but a gross affront to the understanding of the public. We have lost the constitutional right which the Commons of America in their several Assemblies have ever before possessed, of giving and granting their own money, as much of it as they please, and no more ; and appropri- ating it for the support of their own governm-ent, for their own defence, and such other purposes as they please. The great Mr. Pitt, in his speech in par- V^ liament in favor of the repeal of the stamp-act, de- clared that " we should have been slaves if we had not enjoy'd this right." This is the sentiment of that patriotic member, and it is obvious to the common sense of every man. — If the parliament have a right to take as much of our money as they please, they may take all And what liberty can that man have, the produce of whose daily labour another has the right to take from him if he pleases, and which is similar to our case, takes a part of it to convince him that he has the power as well as the pretence of right ? — That sage of the law Lord Camden declar'd, in his speech ^ upon the declaratory bill, that " his searches had more and more convinced him that the British parliament have no right to tax the Americans. Nor, said he, " is the doctrine new : It is as old aiSthe. constitution: Indeed, it is its support." The taking away this right must then be in the opinion of that great lawyer, the removal of the very support of the constitution, upon 302 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 which all our civil liberties depend. He speaks in still stronger terms — " Taxation and representation are inseparably united : This position is founded on the laws of nature : It is more : It is itself an eternal law of nature — Whatever is a man's own is ab- solutely his own ; and no man has a right to take it from him without his consent, either express'd by him- self or his representative — Whoever attempts to do it, attempts an injury : Whoever does it, commits a Robbery: //e throws down the distinction between liberty and slavery" — Can Chronus say, that the Americans ew&r consented either by themselves or their representatives, that the British parliament should tax them ? That they have taxed us we all know : We all feel it : I wish we felt it more sensibly : They have therefore, according to the sentiments of the last men- tion'd Nobleman, which are built on nature and com- mon reason, thrown down the very distinction between liberty and slavery in America — And yet this writer, like one just awoke from along dream, or, as I cannot help thinking there are good grounds to suspect, with a design to "mislead his unwary readers (and unwary they must needs be, if they are thus misled,) to be- lieve that all our liberties are perfectly secure, he calls upon us to show "which of our liberties we are de- prived of;" and in the 'face of a whole continent, as well as of the best men in Europe, he has the effrontery to assert, without the least shadow of argu- ment, that "no one has attempted to infringe them." One cannot after all this, be at a loss to conceive, what judgment to form of his modesty, his under- standing or sincerity. 177 x] SAMUEL ADAMS. 303 It might be easy to show that there are other in- stances in which we are deprived of our liberties. — I should think, a people would hardly be perswaded to believe that they were in the full enjoyment of their liberties, while their capital fortress is garrison'd by troops over which they have no controul, and under the direction of an administration in whom, to say the least, they have no reason to place the smallest con- fidence that they shall be employ'd for their protec- tion, and not as they have been for their destruction — While they have a governor absolutely independent of them for his support, which support as well as his political being depends upon that same administration, tho' at the expence of their own money taken from them against their consent — While their governor acts not according to the dictates of his own judgment, as- sisted by the constitutional advice of his council, if he thinks it necessary to call for it, but according to the edicts of such an administration — Will it mend the matter that this governor, thus dependent upon the crown, is to be the judge of Xh^ legality oi instructions and their consistency with the Charter, which is the constitution ? Or if their present governor should be possess'd of as many angelic properties as we have heard of in the late addresses, can they enjoy that tranquility of mind arising from their sense of safety, which Montesquieu defines to be civil liberty, when they consider how precarious a person a provincial governor is, especially a £Ood one ? And how likely a thing it is, if he is a good one, that another may soon be placed in his stead, possessed of the principles of the Devil, who for the sake of holding his commission 304 THE WRITINGS OF [1771 which is even now pleaded as a weighty motive, will execute to the full the orders of an abandon'd minister, to the ruin of those liberties which we are told are now so secure — Will a people be perswaded that their liberties are safe, while their representatives in general assembly, if they are ever to meet again, will be deprived of the most essential privilege of giv- ing and granting what part of their own money they are yet allowed to give and grant, unless, in conform- ity to a ministerial instruction to the governor, solemnly read to them for their direction, they ex- empt the commissioners of the customs, or any other favorites or tools of the ministry, from their equitable share in the tax ? All these and many others that might be mention'd, are the natural effects of that capital cause of complaint of all North - America, which, to use the language of those " intemperate pa- triots ", the majority of the present assembly, is " a subjugation to as arbitrary a tribute as ever the Romans laid upon the Jews, or their other colonies " — What now is the advice of Chronus ? Why, " much may be done, says he, by humble petitions and repre- sentations of the hardship of certain measures " — Ask him whether the colonies have not already done it ? Whether the assembly of this province, the conven- tion, the town of Boston, have not petitioned and humbly represented the hardship of certain measures, and all to no purpose, and he tells you either that he is " a stranger to those petitions ", or " that they were not duly timed, or properly urged," or " that the true reason why all our petitions and representations met with no better success was, because they were ac- i77i] SAMUEL ADAMS. 305 companied with a conduct quite the reverse of that submission and duty which they seem'd to express " — that " to present a petition with one hand, while the other is held up in a threatning posture to enforce it, is not the way to succeed " — Search for his meaning, and enquire when the threatning hand was held up, and you'll find him encountering the Resolves of the Town of Boston to maintain their Rights, (in which they copied after the patriotic Assemblies of the several Colonies) and their Instructions to their Representatives. Here is the sad source of all our difficulties. — Chronus would have us petition, and humbly represent the hardships of certain measures, but we must by no means assert our Liberties. We must acknowledge, at least tacitly, that the Parliament of Great Britain has a constitutional authority, " to throw down the distinction between Liberty and slavery " in America. We may indeed, humbly repre- sent it as a hardship, but if they are resolved to ex- ecute the purpose, we must submit to it, without the least intimation to posterity, that we look'd upon it as unconstitutional or unjust. Such advice was sagely given to the Colonists a few years ago, at second hand, by one who had taken a trip to the great city, and grew wonderfully acquainted, as he said, with Lord Hillsborough ; but his foibles are now " buried under the mantle of charity." Very different was his advice from that of another of infinitely greater abili- ties, as well as experience in the public affairs of the nation, and the colonies : I mean Doctor Benjamin , Franklin, the present agent of the House of Repre- sentatives. His last letter to his constituents, as I 3o6 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 am well informed, strongly recommends the holding up our constitutional Rights, by frequent Resolves, &c. This we know will be obnoxious to those who are in the plan to enslave us : But remember my countrymen, it will be better to have your liberties wrested from you by force, than to have it said that you even implicitly surrendered them. I have something more to say to Chronus when leisure will admit of it. Candidus. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Jan 7 1772 Sir I wrote you soon after your departure from hence but am lately informd by M' F. Dana that you have not receivd my Letter ; he has put me in the way of a more sure direction under an Inclosure to Mess Trecothick & Apthorp. By our last Vessells from London we have an Ac- count of the Choice of M' Nash for the Lord Mayor, & that he was brot in by ministerial Influence. It gives great Concern to the Friends of Liberty here that any Administration much more such as the pres- ent appears to be, should have an Ascendency in the important Elections of that City, which has hereto- fore by her Independency & Incorruption been the great Security of the Freedom of the nation. It is ' Attorney-General of Rhode Island. The letter was addressed to Marchant at London, where he was acting as the agent of Rhode Island. He left Rhode Island in July, 1771, and returned in the autumn of 1772. Cf., Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, vol. vii., pp. 27-31, 197. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 307 questionable however whether the Ministry would have gaind their point, if they had not according to the Machiavellian plan accomplishd a Division among those who profess to be Patriots. The same Art is now practicd by their Tools & Dependents on this side the Water. They have been endeavoring to ex- cite a Jealousy among the Colonies, each one of the others, & in a great measure brought it about by the unfortunate failure of the Nonimportation Agreement. Perhaps every Colony was faulty in that matter in some degree but neither chose to take any of the Blame of it to its self, & to shift it off each cast the whole upon the others. The Truth is there were so many of the Merchants under the Court Influence in all of them as that they were able to defeat the plan, & for that Reason I was doubtful from the beginning of the Success of it. The Agents of the Ministry have since been trying to perswade the people to be- lieve that they are sick of their measures & would be glad to recede, but cannot consistent with their own honor while the Colonies are clamoring against them — they would therefore have us to be quite silent as tho we enjoyd our Rights & Liberties to the full, & trust that those who have discoverd the greatest per- severance in every Measure to enslave us, will of their own Accord & without the least Necessity give up their Design. This soothing & dangerous Doctrine I fear has had an effect in some of the Colonies, but I am in hopes that those who have been ready to trust to the false promises of Courtiers begin to see through the Delusion. It was impossible that many persons could be catchd in such a Snare in this province, where 3o8 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 absolute Despotism appears to be continually making large Strides with barefaced Impudence. It will not be easy to convince this people that the Ministry have in their hearts any favor towards them, while they are taking their money out of their pockets, & appro- priating it for the maintenance of a Governor who because of his absolute Dependence upon them will always yield obedience to their Instructions, and a standing Army in their Capital fortress, over which that Governor I presume to say dares not exercise any Authority, tho invested with it by the Charter, without express Leave from his Masters. Adminis- tration must be strangely blind ' indeed, or they must think us the most foolish and ductile people under Heaven (in which they are greatly mistaken) to im- agine that in such a Condition we are to be flatterd with hopes of any kind Disposition of theirs towards us. The Governor & other Friends to the Ministry or rather friends to themselves would fain have it thought in England, that the People in general are easy & contented or to use the Words of his Speech at the opening of the last Session, that they are re- turnd to Good order & Government ; ^ this may tend to establish him in his Seat as one who can carry the most favorite points but Nothing can afford greater Evidence to the Contrary than the general Contempt and Indignation with which his proclamation for an annual Thanksgiving was treated, because we were therein exhorted to return Thanks to Almighty God that " our religious & civil privileges were continued to us" & that " our Trade was enlargd" — It is said ' May 30, 1771. Massachusetts State Papers, p. 300. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 309 & I believe it to be a fact, that full two thirds of the congregational Clergy refusd to read the proclama- tion, & perhaps not more of them than appeard the last Spring in favor [of] the pompous congratulatory Address, that is not a Sixth part of them took any notice of those Clauses in the religious Services of the day. It is for the Interest of the Crown Ofihcers here who are dependent upon the Ministers to make them believe that they have by their Art & policy reconciled the people to their Measures, & if the Nation is so far misled as to believe so, the Ministry may avail themselves of it, but if the Contrary should happen to be true, as it appears to me to be, such Events may sooner than we are aware of it take place, as may afford the Nation Grounds to repent of her Credulity. It may be thought arrogant for an Ameri- can thus to express himself, but let Britain consider that her own & her Colonies dependence is at present mutual which may not & probably will not be the Case in some hereafter. Why should either side hasten on the alarming Crisis. I am a friend to both, but I confess my friendship to the latter is the most ardent — they have in time past and if by the severe treatment which the Colonies have receivd, Confi- dence in the Mother Country is not in too great a Degree lost, they may still for some time to come administer to each others Happiness & Grandeur. This in my humble Opinion greatly depends upon a Change of Ministers & Measures which it is not in my power & I presume not in yours however earnestly we both may desire it, to accomplish. I wait in daily Expectation of a Letter from you. 3IO THE WRITINGS OF [1772 TO ARTHUR LEE. [R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp., 189-192 ; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston, January 14th, 1772. SlR,--- Your latest letter to me is of the loth June,' since which I have several times written to you and have been impatiently waiting for your farther favours. I suppose by this time the parliament is sitting for the despatch of business, and we shall soon discover whether administration have had it in their hearts, as we have been flattered, to recede from their oppres- sive measures, and repeal the obnoxious revenue acts. Is it not a strange mode of expression of late years made use of, that administration intends that this law shall be enacted, or that repealed ? It is language adapted to the infamy of the present times, by a nation which boasts of the freedom and inde- pendency of her parliaments. I believe almost any of the American assemblies would highly resent such an imperious tone, even in the honourable board of commissioners of the customs, who I dare say think themselves equal in dignity, at least in proportion to the different countries, to his majesty's ministers of state. A Bostonian, I assure you, would blush with indignation to hear it said that his majesty's commis- sioners of the customs (though perhaps they are of his excellency's privy council) had held a consultation at Butcher's Hall, upon the affairs of the province, and that they had come to a conclusion that the ' R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. i., pp. 215-219. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 311 house of representatives should rescind their late protest against any doctrines which tend to give royal instructions to the governor, \)a.& force of laws. This protest it is said, his majesty's wise ministers were so hugely affronted at, as to alter their determination upon a question, in which the fate of the British nation was involved, namely, whether our general assembly should sit at Cambridge or in Boston. I confess this was a question of such astonishing im- portance to the millions of Britons and their descend- ants, and decided no doubt with such refined discrimination of judgment, that is not so much to be wondered at, if all national wisdom is to be ascribed to such a bed of counsellors, who seem to have possessed themselves of all national power. But as the circumstances of things may alter, and his majesty may be obliged through necessity to have recourse to men of common understanding, when these are gone to receive their just rewards in another life, would it not be most proper that the parliament should be at least the ostensive legislature, for there is danger in precedents, and in time to come the supreme power of the nation may be the dupes of a ministry, who may have no more under- standing than themselves. It has been said that the king's ministers have for years past received momen- tary hints respecting the fabrication of American revenue laws and other regulations, from some very wise heads on this side of the water, and particularly of this place ; and perhaps Great Britain may be more indebted to some Bostonians or residents in Boston than she may imagine, however reproachfully 312 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 she may have spoken of them. . Bernard publicly- declared that he did not obtrude his advice on his majesty's ministers unasked; and therefore we may naturally conclude that my lord of Hillsborough, (sublime as his understanding is) the minister in the department, stood in need of and asked his advice, when the baronet journalized the necessary measures of administration for the colonies, which he retailed in weekly and sometimes daily letters to his lordship. On his departure he recommended Mr Hutchinson, though a Bostonian, " born and educated " as one upon whom his lordship might depend as much as upon himself ; and in this one thing I believe Bernard wrote the truth, for if they have not equal merit for their faithful services to administration, Mr. Hutchinson, I verily believe, has the greatest share. It is whispered here that the honourable board of commissioners have represented to administration that the present revenue is not sufficient to answer all demands, which are daily increasing, and there- fore it will be necessary for their lordships to establish an additional fund. This is an important hint, which may relieve their lordships, unless a new manoeuvre should succeed, of which we have an account in the Boston Gazette enclosed. By a vessel just arrived from London, the friends of govern- ment, as they call themselves, pretend that they have certain assurances from administration, that in three months we shall not be troubled with commissioners or standing armies. This, if we could depend upon court promises, would afford an agreeable prospect. But the root of all our grievances is the parliament's 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 313 taxing us, which they cannot do, but upon principles repugnant to and subversive of our constitution. If their lordships, the ministry, would be pleased to repeal the revenue acts, they would strike a blow at the root. The grand design of our adversaries is to lull us into security, and make us easy while the acts re- main in force, which would prove fatal to us. I have written in great haste, and am sincerely your friend and humble servant. ARTICLE SIGNED ' CANDIDUS. [Boston Gazette, January 20, 1772.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, In the Massachusetts-Gazette of the 9th instant, Chronus attempts to prove that " the Parliament's lay- ing duties upon trade, for the express purpose of rais- ing a revenue, is not repugnant to and subversive of our constitution." In defence of this proposition, he proceeds to consider the nation as commercial, and from thence to show the necessity of laws for the regulation of trade. — In the nation he includes Great- Britain and all the Colonies, and infers that these acts for the regulation of trade, " should extend to all the British dominions, to prevent one part of the national body from injuring another." And, says he, "If laws for the regulation of trade are necessary, who so proper to enact them, &c. as the British parlia- ment, or to dispose of the fines & forfeitures arising 314 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 from the breach of such acts ? " And then he tells us, that as a number of preventive officers will here- upon become necessary, the parliament have thought proper to assign to his Majesty's revenue " the profits arising on the duties of importation for the payment of those officers ". This is Chronuss " method of reasoning ", to prove that because it is necessary that the parliament should enact laws for the regulation of trade, about which there has as yet been no dispute that I know of, and because it is proper that such preventive officers as shall be found needful to carry those laws into execution, should be paid out of the fines and forfeitures arising frorti the breach of them, Therefore, the parliament hath a right to make laws imposing duties or taxes, for the express purpose of raising a revenue in the colonies without their consent ; and that this is not (as is alledg'd by our " Patriots ") " repugnant to or subversive of our con- stitution ". Every one may easily see how Chronus evades the matter in dispute, and aims at amusing his readers according to his usual manner, by endeavour- ing, and that without a shadow of argument, to prove one point, instead of another which is quite distinct from it, and which he ought to prove, but cannot. He is indeed sensible that his artifice is seen through ; that it will be urged that " he has evaded the chief diffi- culties," and that " the objection doth not lie against the regulation of trade, but against the imposing duties for the express purpose of raising a revenue." And he is full ready to remove this objection. But how ? Why, by asking a question, which he often substitutes in the room of argument. Are we not, 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 31S says he, " fellow-subjects with our brethren at home, and consequently bound to bear a part according to our ability, in supporting the honor & dignity of the crown ? " It is allow'd that we are the subjects of the same prince with our brethren at home, and are in duty bound, as far as we are able, to support the honor and dignity of our Sovereign, while he affords us his protection. But does Chronus from thence infer an obligation on us to yield obedience to the acts of the British parliament imposing taxes upon us with the express intention of raising a revenue, to be ap- propriated for such purposes as that legislative thinks proper, without our consent ? O, says he, " there is good reason for this." What is the good reason ? Why " if we will not consent to do anything our- selves ", " our money will be taken from us without our consent." This is conclusive argument indeed. And then he, as it were, imperceptibly glides into that which has ever appeared to be his favorite topick, however impertinent to the present point, viz. an in- dependent support for the governor. He boldly affirms, what is a notorious untruth, that " we are unwilling to pay his Majesty's substitute in such a manner as should leave him that freedom and inde- pendency which is necessary to his station, and with which he is vested by the constitution : " And there- fore the parliament hath a right to enable his Majesty to pay his substitute, out of a revenue extorted from us against our consent. If his premises were well grounded, his conclusion would not follow : And the question would still remain, to which Chronus has not attempted to give any rational answer, namely, By 3i6 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 V/ what authority doth the parliament these things, and who gave them this authority ? Thus we still con- tinue to dispute the authority of the parliament to lay duties and taxes upon us, with the express purpose of raising a revenue, as " repugnant to, and subversive of our constitution ; " and for a reason which I dare say Chronus will never get over, namely, because as he himself allows, " we are not represented in it." — The English constitution, says Baron Montesquieu, ^' has Liberty for its direct object : And the constitu- tion of this province, as our own historian,^ informs us, is an epitome^ of the British constitution ; and it undoubtedly has the same end for its object : What- ever laws therefore are made for our government, either in a manner, or for purposes subversive of Liberty, must be subversive of the end of the consti- tution, and consequently of the constitution itself. — ^o free people, as the Pennsylvania Farmer has ob- served, ever existed, or ever can exist without, to use a common but strong expression, keeping the purse- strings in their hands : But the parliament's laying taxes on the Colonies for the express purpose of rais- ing a revenue, takes the purse strings out of their hands, and consequently it is " repugnant to, and sub- versive of (the end of) our constitution " — Liberty. Mr. Locke says, that the security of property is the end for which men enter into society ; and I believe Chronus will not deny it : Whatever laws therefore are made in any society, tending to render property insecure, must be subversive of the end for which men prefer society to the state of nature ; and conse- ' Mr. Hutchinson. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 31? quently must be subversive of society itself : But the parliament in which the Colonies have no voice, tak- ing as much of their money as it pleases, and appro- priating it to such purposes as it pleases, even against their consent, and as they think repugnant to their safety, renders all their property precarious, and there- fore it is subversive of the end for which men enter into society and repugnant to every free constitution. — Mr. Hooker in his ecclesiastical polity, as quoted by Mr. Locke, affirms that " Laws they are not, which th& public approbation hath not made so." This, seems to be the language of nature and common sense ; for if the public are bound to yield obedience to the laws, to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them : But the acts of parliament imposing duties, with the express purpose of raising a revenue in the colonies, have received every mark of the public dis- approbation in every colony ; and yet they are en- forced in all, and in some with the utmost rigour. The British constitution having liberty for its object, is so framed, as that every man who is to be bound by any law about to be made, may be present by his representative in parliament, who may employ the whole force of his objections against it, if he cannot approve of it : If after fair debate, it is approv'd of by the majority of the whole representative body of the nation, the minority, by a rule essential in society, and without which it could not subsist, is bound to submit to it : But the colonies had no voice in parlia- ment when the revenue acts were made ; nay, though they had no representatives there, their petitions were IX 31 8 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 rejected, because they were against duties to be laid on ; and they have been called factious, for the objec- tions they made, not only against their being taxed without their consent, which was a sufficient objection, but against the appropriation of the money when rais'd to purposes which as the Farmer has made to appear, will supersede the authority in our respective assemblies, which is most essential to liberty. Repre- sentation and Legislation, as well as taxation, are inseparable, according to the spirit of our constitu- tion ; and of all others that are free. Human fore- sight is incapable of providing against every accident. A small part of the nation may be "at sea, as Chronus tells us, when writs are issued out for the election of members of parliament " ; and to admit that they, after their return " should be exempt from any acts of parliament, the members of which were chosen in their absence ", would be attended with greater evil to the community, the safety and welfare of which is the end of all legislation, than the misfortune of their voluntary absence, if it should prove one, could be to them. I say, if it should prove a misfortune to them ; for those acts being made by the consent of repre- sentatives chosen by all the rest of the nation, it is presum'd they are calculated for the good of the whole, of which they, as a part, must necessarily partake : But the supposed case of these persons Is far different from that of the colonists ; who are, not by a volun- tary choice of their own, but through necessity, not by mere accident, but by means of the local distance of their constant residence, excluded from being present by representation in the British legislature. Chronus 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 319 allows that by means of their distance, "they are be- come incapable of exercising their original right of choosing representatives for the British parliament." If so, they cannot without subversion of the end of the British constitution, be bound to obedience, against their own consent, to such laws as are there made ; especially such laws as tend to render precari ous their property, the security of which is the end of men's entering into society. If they are thus bound, they are slaves and not free men : But slavery must certainly be " repugnant to the constitution " which has liberty for its direct object. If the supreme legis- lative of Great Britain, cannot consistently with the British constitution or the essential liberty of the colonies, make laws binding upon them, and Chronus for ought I can see, has not attempted to make it rationally appear that it can, it is dangerous for the colonies to admit any of its laws. For however up- right some may think the present parliament to be, in intention, they may ruin us through mistake arising from an incurable ignorance of our circumstances ; and though Chronus may be so singular as to judge the present revenue acts of parliament binding upon the colonies, to be salutary, the time may perhaps come, when even he may be convinced, that future ones may be oppressive and tyrannical, not only in their execution, but in the very intention of those that may make them. Chronus says, that " he has all along taken it for granted, that the kingdom and the colonies are one dominion." If so he must allow the colonies to take it for granted that they have an equal share 320 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 with the inhabitants of Britain in the rights belonging to this one dominion, and particularly in the cardinal right of being represented in the supreme legisla- ture. But that right, he says, they are " incapable of exercising," by reason of their distance. We all agree in this, and it is not their fault ? Why then should they not have the right of legislating for themselves, as well as that other part of this one dominion ? Why truly, we have " a right of choosing an assembly, which with the concurrence of his Majesty's Gov- ernor, hath a power of enacting local statutes, estab- lishing taxes, &c. — Yet still in subordination to the general laws of the empire, reserving the full right of supremacy & dominion, which are in them- selves unalienable!' If I understand his meaning in this dark expression, it is this, we have a right of choosing an assembly, but this assembly is con- troulable in all its acts, by another assembly which we have no right to choose, and which has this right of controul in itself unalienable. But the question still recurs. How came this right to be in the British parliament ? Chronus says that " admitting that we are all one dominion, there is, and must be, a supreme, irresistible, absolute, uncontrouled authority, in which must reside the power of making and establishing laws," "and all others must conform to it, and he. gov- ern d by it". But if we are all one dominion ; or if I understand him, the members of one state, tho' so re- motely situated, the kingdom from the Colonies, as that we cannot all partake of the rights of the su- preme Legislature, why may not this " irresistible, ab- solute, uncontrouled," and controuling " authority, in 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 321 which the jura summi imperii, or the rights of the government reside", be estabhshed in America, or in Ireland, as well as in Britain. Is there any thing in nature, or has Ireland or America consented that the part of this one dominion called Britain shall be thus distinguished! Or are we to infer her authority from \\&r power ? But it m.ust be, and Chronus gives us no other reason for it than his bare affirmation, that " the King, Lords and Commons of Great-Britain form the supreme Legislature of the British domin- ions". And he adds, "to say that each of the Colonies had within itself a supreme independent Legislature, and that nevertheless the kingdom and the Colonies are all one dominion, is a solecism : " Let him then view the Kingdom and the Colonies in another light, and see whether there will be a solecism, in considering them as m,ore dominions than one, or separate states. It is certainly more concordant with the great law of nature and reason, which the most powerful nation may not violate and cannot alter, to suppose that the Colonies are separate inde- pendent and free, than to suppose that they must be one with Great-Britain and slaves. And slaves they must be, notwithstanding all which Chronus has said to the contrary, if Great Britain may make all laws whatsoever binding upon them, especially laws to take from them what portions of their property she pleases, without and against their consent. I shall make further remarks upon Chronus, when I shall be at leisure. Candidus. 322 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS." [Boston Gazette, January 27, 1772; a complete draft of this article is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, I have observed from Baron Montesquieu, that the British constitution has liberty for its direct object ; and that the constitution of this province, according to Mr. Hutchinson, is an epitome of the British con- stitution : That the right of representation in the body that legislates, is essential to the British consti- tution, without which there cannot be liberty ; and Chronus himself acknowledges, that the Americans are "incapable of exercising this right": Let him draw what conclusion he pleases. All I insist upon is, that the conclusion cannot be just, that " the par- liament's laying duties upon trade with the express purpose of raising a revenue, is not repugnant to or subversive of our constitution." This doctrine, tho' long exploded by the best writers on both sides of the atlantic, he now urges ; and he is reduced to this necessity, in order to justify or give coloring to his frequent bold assertions, that " no one has attempted even to infringe our liberties," and to his ungenerous reflections upon those who declare themselves of a different mind, as " pretended patriots," " over- zealous," " intemperate politicians," " men of no property," who " expect to find their account " in perpetually keeping up the ball of contention. But after all that Chronus and his associates have said, or can say, the people of America have just " grounds still to complain " that their rights are vio- 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 323 lated. There seems to be a system of " tyranny and oppression " already begun. It is therefore the duty of every honest man, to alarm his fellow-citizens and countrymen, and awaken in them the utmost vigi- lance and circumspection. Jealousy, especially at such a time, is a political virtue : Nay, I will say, it is a moral virtue ; for we are under all obligations to do what in us lies to save our country. " Tyrants alone, says the great Vatel, will treat as seditious, those \y^ brave and resolute citizens, who exhort the people to preserve themselves from oppression, in vindication of their rights and privileges : A good prince, says he, will commend such virtuous patriots " and will " mistrust the selfish suggestions of a minister, who represents to him as rebels, all those citizens who do not hold out their hands to chains, who refuse tamely to suffer the strokes of arbitrary power." I cannot help observing how artfully Chronus ex- presses his position, that the " parliament's laying duties upon trade with the express purpose of raising a revenue, is not repugnant to our constitution." It has not been made a question, that I know of, whether the parliament hath a right to make laws for the regulation of the trade of the colonies. Power she undoubtedly has to enforce her acts of trade : And the strongest maritime power caeteris paribus, will always make the most advantageous treaties, and give laws of trade to other nations, for whom there can be no pretence to the right of legislation. The matter however should be considered equitably, if it should ever be considered at all : If the trade of the Colonies is protected by the British navy, there / 324 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 may possibly be from thence inferr'd a just right in the parliament of Great Britain to restrain them from carrying on their trade to the injury of the trade of Great Britain. But this being granted, it is very dif- ferent from the right to make laws in all cases what- ever binding upon the Colonies, and especially for laying duties upon trade for the express purpose of raising a revenue. In the one case it may be the wisdom of the Colonies, under present circumstances to acquiesce in reasonable restrictions, rather than lose their whole trade by means of the depredations of a foreign power : In the other, it is a duty they owe themselves and their posterity, by no means to ac- quiesce ; because it involves them in a state of perfect slavery. I say perfect slavery : For, as political liberty in its perfection consists in the people's con- senting by themselves or their representatives, to all laws which they are bound to obey, so perfect political slavery consists in their being bound to obey any laws for taxing them, to which they cannot consent. If a people can be deprived of their property by an- other person or nation, it is evident that such a peo- ple cannot be free. Whether it be by a nation or a monarch, is not material : The masters indeed are different, but the government is equally despotic ; and tho' the despotism may be mild, from principles of policy, it is not the less a despotism. Chronus talks of Magna Charta as though it were of no greater consequence than an act of parliament for the establishment of a corporation of button- makers. Whatever low ideas he may entertain of that Great Charter, and such ideas he must entertain 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 325 of it to support the cause he hath espous'd, it is \X affirm'd by Lord Coke, to be declaratory of the prin- cipal grounds of the fundamental laws and liberties of England. " It is called Charta Libertatum Regni, the Charter of the Liberties of the kingdom, upon great reason, says that sage of the law, because liber OS facit, it makes and preserves the people free." Those therefore who would make the people slaves, would fain have them look upon this charter, in a light of indifference, which so often affirms sua jura, suas libertates, their own rights, their own liberties : But if it be declaratory of the principal grounds of the fundamental laws and liberties of England, it cannot be altered in any of its essential parts, without alter- ing the constitution. Whatever Chronus may have adopted from Mr. Hume, Vatel tells us plainly and ^/^ without hesitation, that " the supreme legislative can- not change the constitution," " that their authority does not extend so far," & "that they ought to con- sider the fundamental laws as sacred, if the nation has not, in very express terms, given them power to change them." And he gives a reason for it solid and weighty ; for, says he, " the constitution of the state ought to be fixed." Mr. Hume, as quoted by Chronus, says, the only rule of government is the established practice of the age, upon maxims univer- sally assented to. If then any deviation is made from the maxims upon which the established practice of the age is founded, it must be by universal assent. "The fundamental laws," says Vatel, " are excepted from v their (legislators) commission," " nothing leads us to think that the nation was willing to submit the consti- 326 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 tution itself to their pleasure." " They derive their authority from the constitution, how then can they change it without destroying the foundation of their own authority?" If then according to Lord Coke, Magna Charta is declaratory of the principal grounds of the fundamental laws and liberties of the people, and Vatel is right in his opinion, that the supreme legislative cannot change the constitution, I think it follows, whether Lord Coke has expressly asserted it or not, that an act of parliament made against Magna Charta in violation of its essential parts, is void. — " By the fundamental laws of England, says Vatel, the two houses of parliament in concert with the King, exer- cise the legislative power : But if the two houses should resolve to suppress themselves, and to invest the King with the full and absolute government, cer- tainly the nation would not suffer it" although it was done by a solemn act of parliament. But such doc- trine is directly the reverse of that which Chronus holds ; which amounts to this, that if the two houses should give up to the King, any, the most essential rights of the people declared in Magna Charta, the nation has not a power either de jura or de facto to prevent it. I may hereafter quote for his serious perusal, the reasoning of the immortal Locke upon this important subject, and am, in the mean time, Your's, / Candidus. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 327 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR, APRIL 10, 1772. [Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 315, 316 ; a draft, is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] May it please your Excellency. The House of Representatives have duly consid- ered your speech ^ to both Houses, at the opening of this session. Your Excellency is pleased to ac- quaint us, that, " if we had desired you to carry the Court to Boston, because it is the most convenient place ; and the prerogative of the Crown to instruct the Governor to convene the Court at such place as his Majesty may think proper, had not been denied ; you should have obtained leave to meet us in Boston, at this time ; but that you shall not be at liberty to do so, whilst this denial is persisted in. " We have maturely considered this point ; and are still firmly in opinion, that such instruction is re- pugnant to the royal charter, wherein the Governor is vested with the full power of adjournment, pro- roguing and dissolving the General Assembly, as he shall judge necessary. Nothing in the charter, ap- pears to us to afford the least grounds to conclude, that a right is reserved to his Majesty of controling the Governor, in thus exercising this full power. Nor indeed does it seem reasonable that there should ; for, it being impossible that any one, at the distance of three thousand miles, should be able to foresee the ' The original message of Governor Hutchinson of April 8, 1772, is among the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library, and on it is endorsed, in the hand- writing of Adams, the fourth paragraph of the following reply. ^Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 313-315. 328 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 most convenient time or place of holding the Assem- bly, it is necessary that such discretionary power should be lodged with the Governor, who is, by Charter, constantly to reside within the Province. We are still earnestly desirous of the removal of this Assembly to the Court House, in Boston ; and we are sorry that your Excellency's determination thereon, depends upon our disavowing these prin- ciples ; because we cannot do it consistently with the duty we owe our constituents. We are constrained to be explicit at this time ; for if we should be silent, after your Excellency has recommended it to us, as a necessary preliminary, to desist from saying any thing upon this head, while we request your Excel- lency for a removal of the Assembly, for reasons of convenience only, it might be construed as tacitly conceding to a doctrine injurious to the constitution, and in effect, as rescinding our own record, of which we still deliberately approve. The power of adjourning and proroguing the Gen- eral Assembly, is a power in trust, to be exercised for the good of the province ; this House have a right to judge for themselves, whether it was thus ex- ercised. We cannot avoid taking this occasion, freely to declare to your Excellency, that the holding of the Assembly in this place, without any good reason which we can conceive of, under the many and great inconveniences which this, and former Houses, have so fully set forth to your Excellency, is, in our opinion, an undue exercise of power ; and a very great grievance, which we still hope will soon be fully redressed. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 329 Your Excellency may be assured, that this House will, with all convenient despatch, take into our most serious consideration, that part of your speech which concerns the establishment of a partition line between this province and the province of New York ; and that we will, with great candor, contribute every thing in our power, to accomplish the same equitable terms. The other parts of your Excellency's speech, have had the proper attention of the House ; and we are determined, during the remainder of the session, which must be short, to consult his Majesty's real service — the true interest of the province. ARTICLE SIGNED " VINDEX. \Boston Gazette, April 20, 1772.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, Philanthrop Jun. in Draper's paper of the 9th current tells us, that " For four or five years together nobody could appear in print unless he was a favourer of what is call'd Liberty," and therefore concludes, " Falshood has been imposed on the credulous readers of News-papers, and has spread through the country for truth, because no one would contradict it." What fortitude must a man be possess'd of that can offer two such sentences to the eye of the public in a paper which for that space has contained nothing else in the political way ? Again, why have we a mark of dis- tinction in the signature? Was Philanthrop senior 330 THE WRITINGS OF [iy72 a liberty writer? Was the True Patriot a liberty writer ? Were all the scribblers in Mein's Chronicle friends or favourers of what is called liberty ? Blush ! reformer blush at imposition of so gross a kind ! But what are the falshoods these credulous people have been led to believe ? Why it seems that men from Lancaster and elsewhere, have been insinuating that we laboured under grievances in commerce, legis- lation, and execution of the wholesome laws of the land, when no such thing has been seen,/^//, heard or understood among us ; and one Lancaster man in particular, has been furnished with all his prejudices from the letters of Junius Americanus, a despicable creature (as we say) who has certainly blackened some men and measures in both Englands, in such manner as defies time itself to bleach their characters. And till the officious Philanthrop engaged, every one judged the friends, at least, of those respectable men, would avoid the provocation of fresh caustics to such rankled ulcers ; but luxuriant flesh forever interrupts the efficacy of the most healing plaisters, and must be removed as fast as it puts forth. Indeed gentle- men, I myself who live in Boston, the centre of Amer- ican politicks, have suspected we had some grievances to complain of before either Junius Anglicanus or Americanus ever published a letter on the subject to my knowledge : I thought the stamp-act a grievance, I think the extension of the vice-admiralty courts a grievance, I think the captious and unprecedented treatment of our legislature a grievance ; and above all, I think the alteration of our free and mutually dependent constitution, into a dependent ministerial 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 331 despotism a grievance so great, so ignominious and intolerable, that in case I did not hope things would in some measure regain their ancient situation, with- out more blood shed and murder than has already been committed, I could freely wish at the risk of my all to have a fair chance of offering to the manes of my slaughtered countrymen a libation of the blood of the ruthless traitors who conspired their destruction. It is here I confess my fingers would fall with weight, let those of Dr. Y g, Mr. x, or even Mr. A s, fall how or where they pleased. ViNDEX. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR. JULY 14, 1772.' [Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 330, 331 ; extracts are printed in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., p. 482, with the statement that such ex- tracts were copied from an original draft in the autograph of Adams.^ ] May it please your Excellency, In answer to your message of yesterday, this House beg leave to observe, that they are not un- apprized that the Province House is out of repair, and that expense might be saved, by making such re- pairs as are necessary, as soon as may be. But, that building was procured for the residence of a Governor, whose sole support was to be provided for by the grants and acts of the General Assembly, according to the tenor of the charter : and, it is the opinion of ' On this date the Governor prorogued the General Court to meet again Sep- tember 30. The next session actually commenced January 6, 1773. " Wells also attributes to Adams the message of the House of May 29, 1772 ; Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., p. 477; Massachusetts State Papers, p. 321. 332 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 this House, that it never was expected by any Assem- bly of this province, that it would be appropriated for the residence of any Governor, for whose support,, adequate provision should be made in another way. Upon this consideration, we cannot think it our duty to make any repairs, at this time. Your Excellency may be assured, that this House is far from being influenced by any personal dis- respect. Should the time come, which we hope for, when your Excellency shall think yourself at liberty to accept of your whole support from this province, according to ancient and invariable usage, we doubt not, but you will then find the Representatives of this people ready to provide for your Excellency a house, not barely tenantable, but elegant. In the mean time, as your Excellency receives from his Majesty a certain and adequate support, we cannot have the least apprehensions that you will be so far guided by your own inclination, as that you will make any town in the province the place of your residence, but where it shall be most conducive to his Majesty's service, and the good and welfare of the people. ARTICLE SIGNED "VALERIUS POPLICOLA." ' \Boston Gazette, October 5, 1772.] Messieurs Edes & Gill, " Is there a Prince on Earth, who has power to lay a single Penny upon his Subjects, without the Grant and Consent of those who are to pay it, otherwise ■ Attributed to Adams by W. V. Wells. See above, page 256. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 333 than by Tyranny and Violence} No Prince can levy it unless through Tyranny and under Penalty of Ex- communication. But there are those who are Bruitish enough not to know what they can do or omit in this Affair." Such is the language of a great and good Historian and Statesman, a Subject of France. Had the English Politicians and Ministers been either half as honest or half as wise as he, they would never have driven the American Revenue without the Grant or Consent of those who pay it, to such a length, as to cause an Alienation of affection which perhaps may not easily if ever be recovered. By this kind of poli- tics, says the worthy Frenchman, Charles the seventh brought a heavy Sin upon his own Soul and upon that of his Successors, and gave his Kingdom a Wound which would continue long to bleed. The British Ministers, possibly, may entertain different Ideas of Morals from those of the French Historian, if indeed they have any such kind of ideas at all. However, the Nation, I fear, will have Occasion to rue the day, when they suffer'd their Politics so far to prevail, as .to gain such an Influence in their Parliament as they certainly did in the last, to say nothing of the present. The Impositions upon the French, says Mr. Gordon,^ grew monstrous almost as soon as they grew arbitrary. Charles the seventh, who began them, never rais'd annually more than one hundred and eighty thousand Pounds. His Son Lewis the eleventh almost trebled ' Rev. William Gordon, of Roxbury, author of The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment, of the Independence of the United States of America. 334 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 the Revenue ; and since then, all that the Kingdom and People had, even to their Skins, has hardly been thought sufficient for their Kings." An awakening Caution to Americans! Lest by tamely submitting to be plundered, they encourage their Plunderers to grasp at all they have. The Merchants of this Continent have passively submitted to the Indignity of a Tribute ; and the Landholders, tho' Sharers in the Indignity, have been perhaps too unconcern'd Spectators of the humiliat- ing Scene. Posterity, who will no doubt revenge their Fathers Wrongs, may also be ashamed, when in the Page of History they are informed of their tame Subjection. Had the Body of this People shown a proper Resentment, at the time when the proud Taskmasters first made their appearance, we should never have seen Pensioners multiplying like the Lo- custs in Egypt, which devoured every green Thing. I speak with Assurance ; because it seldom has hap- pened if ever, that even a small People has been kept long in Bondage, when they have unitedly and perse- veringly resolv'd to be Free. At that critical Period, we hearkened to what we then took to be, the Dictates of sound policy and Prudence. We were led to place a Confidence in those, whose Protection we had a right to claim, and we hoped for Deliverance in dry Remonstrances and humble Supplication. We have petition'd, repeatedly petition'd, and our Petitions have been heard, barely heard ! The Grievances of this Continent have no doubt " reached the Royal Ear " ; I wish I could see reason to say they had touch'd the Royal Heart. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 335 No — They yet remain altogether unredress'd. Such has been the baneful Influence of corrupt and in- famous Ministers and Servants of the Crown ; that the Complaints of three Millions of loyal Subjects have not yet penetrated the Royal Breast, to move it even to pity. Have not our humble Petitions, breathing a true Spirit of rational Loyalty, and expressive of a just Sense of those Liberties the Restoration of which we implored, been followed with Grievance upon Grievance, as fast as the cruel Heart and Hand of a most execrable Paricide could invent and fabricate them ? I will not at present enumerate Grievances ; they are known, sufficiently known, felt and under- stood. Is it not enough, to have a Governor, an avowed Advocate for ministerial Measures, and a most assiduous Instrument in carrying them on — moddel'd, shaped, controul'd, and directed — totally independant of the people over whom he is commis- sioned to govern, and yet absolutely dependent upon the Crown — pensioned by those on whom his exist- ence depends, and paid out of a Revenue establish'd by those who have no Authority to establish it, and extorted from the People in a Manner most Odious, insulting and oppressive. Is not this. Indignity enough to be felt by those who have any feeling? Are we still threatned with more? Is Life, Prop- erty and every Thing dear and sacred, to be now submitted to the Decisions of pension'd judges, holding their places during the pleasure of such a. Governor, and a Council perhaps overawed ! To what a State of Infamy, Wretchedness and Misery 336 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 shall we be reduc'd if our Judges shall be prevail'd upon to be thus degraded to Hirelings, and the Body of the People shall suffer their free Constitution to be overturn'd and ruin'd. Merciful God ! Inspire Thy People with Wisdom and Fortitude, and direct them to gracious Ends. In this extreme Distress, when the Plan of Slavery seems nearly compleated, O save our Country from impending Ruin — Let not the iron Hand of Tyranny ravish our Laws^and seize the Badge of Freedom, nor avow'd Corruption and the murderous Rage of lawless Power be ever seen on the sacred Seat of Justice ! Is it not High Time for the People of this Country explicitly to declare, whether they will be Freemen or Slaves ? It is an important Question which ought to be decided. It concerns us more than any Thing in this Life. The Salvation of our Souls is inter- ested in the Event : For wherever Tyranny is es- tablish'd. Immorality of every Kind comes in like a Torrent. It is in the Interest of Tyrants to reduce \/ the People to Ignorance and Vice. For they cannot live in an^ Country where Virtue and Knowledge prevail. [ The Religion and public Liberty of a People are intimately connected; their Interests are interwoven, they cannot subsist^aeparately ; and therefore they rise and fall togetherj For this Rea- son, it is always observable, that those who are com- bin'd to destroy the People's Liberties, practice every Art to poison their Morals. How greatly then does it concern us, at all Events, to put a Stop to the Pro- gress of Tyranny. It is advanced already by far too many Strides. We are at this moment upon a preci- 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 337 pice. The next step may be fatal to us. Let us then act like wise Men ; calmly took around us and consider what is best to be done. Let us converse together upon this most interesting Subject and open our minds freely to each other. Let it be the topic of conversation in every social Club. Let every Town assemble. Let Associations & Combinations be everywhere set up to consult and recover our just Rights. " The Country claims our active Aid. That let us roam ; & where we find a. Spark Of public Virtue, blow it into Flame." Valerius Poplicola. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Octob 21 1772 My Dear Sir I have receivd several Letters from you ; and my not having returnd any Answer to them before, is owing by no means to an Inattention to them, but to my misfortune in not hearing of the few Vessells that pass from hence to Georgia being about to sail, till I lost the Opportunity. I therefore upon the first Notice, make use of this Conveyance to assure you of my tender Regards & Affection for you as a Brother ; sincerely hoping this will meet yourself & Family in health & happiness. Indeed common Experience convinces me that there is very little Dependence upon either in this Life ; We too often mistake our ' Brother-in-law of Adams. VOL, II. — 22. 338 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 true Happiness, and when we arrive to the Enjoy- ment of that which seemd to promise it to us, we find that it is all an imaginary Dream, at the best fleeting & transitory. We have an affecting Instance of this within our own Connections ; Your amiable Sister Kitty was agreably married, and when in the daily Expectation of seeing the happy Pledge of con- jugal Affection, cutt off without a moments Warning of the fatal Stroke of Death ! Still more happy how- ever in another Life as we [have] abundant Reason to be assured ; for the Christian Temper & Behavior she constantly exhibited, when she least expected it, afford us more solid hopes of her present Happiness, than any Expressions she might have made use of, had she been permitted, at the time of her Departure. One would from this & other like Instances conclude, that to be possessd of the Christian Principles, & to accommodate our whole Deportment to such Princi- ples, is to be happy in this Life ; it is this that sweet- ens every thing we enjoy ; indeed of it self it yields us full Satisfaction, & thus puts it out of the power of the World to disappoint us by any of its frowns. Your last Letter mentioned your Expectation of the sudden Dissolution of your General Assembly, which I perceive afterwards took place. It appears still to be the determination of the ministry to en- slave the Colonies, and the Governors are to be the Instruments. It therefore behoves every Colony to be vigilant ; & agreably to the Advice of the Penn- sylvania Farmer, Each should support the others. This Province seems to be devoted to ministerial Vengeance. We have been long struggling against 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 339 the Incroachments of Tyranny, which now threatens its Completion by the Independency of the Governor & the Judges of the superior Court. If the Tribute which is by Acts of Parliament extorted from the Americans, is appropriated for making the executive Power totally independent of the People for their Support, while it is absolutely dependent upon the Crown for its being as well as Subsistence, there will be an End of freedom. In such Courts & under such an Administration, you will easily conceive what Constructions of Law & what Decisions the people are to expect. I send you two or three of our latest papers ; there may be some Speculations upon the Subject in them, which you may think proper to get republishd in your papers. You mentiond in one of your Letters your Inten- tion to send your Daughter here, than which nothing would be more agreable to us. Your Sister, my dear Betsy,^ joyns with me in Ex- pressions of Love to M"^^ Wells, & begs me to assure you that she is, as I am in strict truth Yours affectionately, TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 9, 10.] Boston, October 27, 1772. Sir, I have just now received your favour, dated this day. I am perfectly of your opinion with regard to ' Mrs. Adams. 340 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 the independency of the judges. It is a matter be- yond doubt in my mind. I was told yesterday, by one of his majesty's council, that Mr. Hutchinson has a letter by the packet, from Bernard, which advises him of it as a fact. This town is to meet to-morrow, to consider what is proper for them to do. We have looked upon it as of so interesting a nature to us, that even the report should alarm us. It is proposed by many among us to apply to the judges for their ex- plicit declaration, whether they will accept of so odious a support, and to apply also to the governour for a general assembly forthwith. I will write you on Thursday, and let you know the event. Our enemies would intimidate us, by saying our brethren in the other towns are indifferent about this matter, for which reason I am particularly glad to receive your letter at this time. Roxbury, I am told, is thoroughly awake. I wish we could arouse the continent. I write in the utmost haste. \ TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text with slight variations is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. I0-I2.] Boston Oct 29 1772 My dear Sir I wrote you in great Haste on Tuesday last. Since which the Freeholders & other Inhabit'^ of this Town have had a Meeting,' to enquire into the Grounds of the Report that the Salaries of the Judges are fixd & ' October 28, Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii. , p. 88. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 341 paid by order of the Crown, and to determine upon such measures as should be proper for them to take upon so alarming an Occasion. The inclosd paper contains a short but true Ac- count of their proceedings. It is proposd by some to petition the Govern' to order a session of the Gen' Assembly, and that the Town should expressly de- clare their natural & Charter Rights to their Repre- sentatives, and the Instances in which they have been violated peremptorily requiring them to take every Step which the Constitution prescribes to redress our Grievances, or if every such Step has been already taken, to inform their Constituents, that they may devise such Measures as they may see their way clear to take, or patiently bear the Yoke. I will acquaint you with the proceedings of the Town as they pass. In the mean time I wish your Town would think it proper to have a Meeting, which may be most season- able at this time. For as the Super' Court is to be held at Salem next Week, you will have the Opp'' of making a decent Application to them, & enquiring of the Certainty of this Report, & other matters ment"^ in your Letter to me. Which Enquiry will be more naturally made to them in Case the Gov' should decline answering the message of this Town, or do it, if I may be allowd the Expression, equivocally. This Country must shake off their intollerable bur- dens at all Events. Every day strengthens our op- pressors & weakens us. If each Town would declare its Sense of these Matters I am perswaded our Ene- mies would not have it in their power to divide us, in wh*" they have all along shown their dexterity. Pray 342 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 use your Influence with Salem & other Towns — But I am now going with our Com' to his Excellency.^ Shall be glad of a Letter from you. Your last I read to the Town to their great Satisfaction though I concealed the name of its worthy Author. TO ARTHUR LEE.^ [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text, with variations, is in R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 193-195.] Boston Nov' 3 1772 My Dear Sir/ Since my last we have Advice that Lord Hills- borough is removd from the American Department, da tho he makes his Exit with the smiles & honors of the Court, he has the Curses of the disinterrested & better part of the Colonists. Not that it is thought his Lordship is by any means to be reckoned the most inveterate & active of all the Conspirators against our Rights : There are others on this Side of the Atlantick who have been more assiduous in plotting the Ruin of our Liberties than even he, and ' Adams, Otis and Joseph Warren were members of a committee of seven ap- pointed by the Town of Boston on October 28 to present to the Governor the address adopted by the Tovra on that date. Lbid., p. 90. The address was prepared by a committee consisting of Adams, Joseph Warren and Benjamin Church. The text is in ibid., p. 89. Cf. Works of John Adams, vol. ii., p. 299 (October 27, 1772). ''Arthur Lee to Samuel Adams, January 25, 1773: "I have just now re- ceived your favour of Nov. 3, 1772, together with a pamphlet and some papers, for which I am extremely obliged to you. ... I shall take the liberty of putting the first part of your letter in the newspapers here, as I think it ex- tremely proper my Lord Dartmouth should read the excellent admonition it contains." R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. i., p. 226. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 343 they are the more infamous, because the Country they would enslave, is that very Country in which (to use the Words of their Adulators & Expectants) they were "born & educated." The Character of Lord Dartmouth has been unex- ceptionable in America in point of moral Virtue ; I wish it could be ascertaind of all his Majestys Minis- ters and Servants. It is the opinion I have of them that makes me tremble for his Lordship, lest in the Circle he should make Shipwreck of his Virtue. I am well informd that he has wrote a very polite Let- ter to Hutchinson, in which he expresses a Satisfac- tion in his Conduct, & tells him he has always been of Opinion that the King has a Right to pay his Governors & other officers but surely he should have made himself thoroughly acquainted with the several political Institutions and Charters of the Colonies as well as the nature of free Governments in general before he explicitly & officially declares such an Opinion. I wish a Consideration that he has to cor- respond with the most artful plausible and insinuating Geniusses, & some of them the most malicious Ene- mies of the common Rights of Mankind, might induce his Lordship to be upon his Guard against too sud- denly giving full Credit to their Representations, which perhaps was the capital mistake of his pre- decessor in office — our Conspirators were alarmd at his Appointment & I believe are determined if they can to impose upon his Credulity, if he has any such Weakness about him. We are now alarmd with the Advice that the Judges of our Superior Court, have Salaries appointed by 344 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 order of the Crown, independent of the people. This has occasiond a meeting of this metropolis, the pro- ceedings of which you have in the inclosed papers. At the first meeting on the Wednesday ' & at the last Adjournment on the Monday* following, there was a respectable Appearance of the Inhabitants, tho not so full as has sometimes been on Occasions of much less Importance ; owing partly to its being the Season of the year when the Town is filled with our Country folks & every one is laying up provisions necessary for the approaching long Winter, partly from the In- dustry of the Enemies to prevent a full meeting as they before had been to prevent any meeting, at all (for they dread nothing more) & partly from the Opinion of some that there was no method left to be taken but the last, which is also the Opinion of many in the Country. However as I said before, there was a respectable meeting ; and I think the Town has taken a necessary Step to ascertain the true Sense of the Country with regard to our Grievances, which being known, it will be the easier to determine upon & prosecute to Effect the Methods which ought to be taken for the Redress of our intollerable Grievances. The Tories give out, tho in Whispers, that they ex- pect what they call a Breese before long, which they say they gather from the slow, but regular Approaches that are made. They will form what Judgment they please. Perhaps they begin to be apprehensive that the body of a long insulted people will bear the In- ' Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 88. ^ Ibid., p. 92. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 345 suits & Oppression no longer than untill they feel in themselves Strength to shake off the Yoke. If this is their Determination, it is justifiable as far as the Declaration of Mr. H. himself has Weight ; for I am told by a Gentleman whom I can credit, that in Con- versation he said there was nothing in Morality that forbid Resistance. In your last you expressd your hopes of the re- moval of Hillsborough. I could not joyn with you ; for if I am to have a master, let me have a severe one that I may always have the mortifying Sense of it. I shall then always be disposed to take the first fair Opportunity of ridding my self of Slavery. There is danger of the peoples being flatterd with such par- tial Reliefe as Lord Dartmouth may be able, (if dis- posed) to obtain for them & building upon vain Hopes till their Chains are rivetted. Are they not still heaping Grievance upon Grievance, & while they remain, to what purpose would it be if his Lordship should get a few boyish Instructions to the Gov' re- laxed ? Would this be a reason for a final Submis- sion to a Tribute & Egyptian Taskmasters in Support of despotick Power ! The Tribute, the Tribute is the Indignity which I hope in God will never be patiently borne by a People who of all the people on the Earth deserve most to be free. I am astonishd that [Dr. Franklin] has written no Letter to the Speaker. I shall write you by the next Ship. 346 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text, with variations, is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 15-18.] Boston 5 Nov' 1772 My Dear Sir I rec"^ with pleasure your Letter of the 2^ Inst. I was sure you c^ not but be of Opinion, that Una- nimity in the Measures taken by the friends of the Country is of the utmost Importance. I must with great Deferrence to your Judgment, think that even in our wretched State, the mode of petitioning the Gov' will have a good Effect. I was aware that his Answers would be in the same high tone, in which we find them expressd ; yet our requests have been so reasonable that in refusing to comply with them he must have put himself in the wrong, in the opinion of every honest & sensible man ; the Consequence of which will be, that such measures as the people may determine upon to save themselves, if rational & manly, will be the more reconcileable even to cautious minds, & thus we may expect that Unanimity which we wish for. I have the satisfaction of inclosing the last proceed- ings of our Town meeting, in which I think you will perceive a Coincidence with your own Judgment, in a plan concerted for the whole to act upon. Our timid sort of people are disconcerted, when they are posi- tively told that the Sentiments of the Country are different from those of the City. Therefore a free Communication with each Town will serve to ascertain this matter ; and when once it appears beyond Con- tradiction, that we are united in Sentiments there will 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 347 be a Confidence in each other, & a plan of Opposition will be easily formed, & executed with Spirit. In such a Case (to return your own Language with en- tire Approbation) those " who have Virtue enough to oppose the wicked designs of the Great, will have this for their boast that they have struggled for & with an honest people." I was at first of your Opinion " that it w"* be most proper for a Com' from Boston, united with Com'" from two or three other Towns to wait on the Judges " &c. and I mentiond it to several Gentlemen of the Neighboring Towns who approved of it, but so much Caution prevails, that they suspected whether their respective towns w"^ stir till Boston had given the Lead, (a needless Compliment to the Capital) ; This turnd our Thoughts to the Measures taken by the Town, & led me to conceive hopes, that as the Super' Court w"* be soon sitting at Salem, M" Head & other towns in that County would come into such a proposal. I take Notice of what you observe " that our whole dependence as a people seems to be upon our own Wisdom & Valor" in which I fully agree with you. It puts me in mind of a Letter I rec"* not along ago from a friend of mine of some note in London, wherein he says, " your whole dependence under God is upon your own Virtue, {Valor^. I know of no Noblemen in this Kingdom who care any thing about you, ex- cepting Lords Chatham & Shelburne, & you would do well to be watchful even of them." I earnestly wish that the Inhabitants of Marblehead & other Towns would severally meet, & if they see Cause, among other Measures, second this town & 348 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 appoint a Com^ to be ready to communicate with ours ' when ready. This would at once discover an Union of Sentiments thus far & have its Influence on other Towns. It w"* at least show that Boston is not wholly deserted, & might prevent " its falling a Sacrifice to the Rage or ridicule of our (common) Enemies." I shall be pleasd with your further Sentiments & am in strict truth. TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library ; a text, with variations, is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i,, pp. 19-21.] Boston Nov' 14 1772 My Dear Sir Your Letter of the 10 Inst.^ did not come to my hand till this Evening. It is a great Satisfaction to me to be assured from you that the Friends to Liberty in Marblehead are active & that there is like to be a Town meeting there. Our Committee are industrious, and I think I may promise you, they will be ready to report to the Town in two or three days ; so that if your Town should think proper to make an Adjourn- ' The Boston Committee of Correspondence was appointed on November 2. "It was then moved by M' Samuel Adams, That a Committee of Correspond- ence be appointed to consist of twenty one Persons — to state the Rights of the Colonists and of this Province in particular, as Men, as Christians, and as Sub- jects ; to communicate and publish the same to the several Towns in this Pro- vince and to the World as the sense of this Town, with the Infringements and Violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be made — Also requesting of each Town a free communication of their Sentiments on this Sub- ject — And the Question being accordingly put — Passed in the Affermative. Nem. Con'.'" Boston Jiecord Commissioners' Jiepor t,\ol. xviii., p. q3. Cf, William Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment, of the In- dependence of the United States of Am^erica, vol. i., pp. 312-314. "J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 18, 19; the original is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 349 ment for ten days or a Fortnight, they will doubtless by that time if not before have an Opportunity of acting upon our Resolutions. I am sorry when any of our Proceedings are not exactly according to your Mind. The Word you object to ' in our resolves was designd to introduce into our State of Grievances " the Ch*" Innovations and the Establishment of those Tyrants in Religion, Bishops " which as you observe will probably take place. I cannot but hope, when you consider how indifferent too many of the Clergy are to our just & righteous Cause, that some of them are the Adulators of our Oppressors, and even some of the best of them are extremely cautious of recom- mending (at least in their publick performances), the Rights of their Country to the protection of Heaven, lest they should give offence to the little Gods on Earth, you will judge it quite necessary that we should assert [and] vindicate our Rights as Christians as well as Men & Subjects. The Town of Roxbury are to meet on Monday next ; and a great Number in Cambridge have sub- scribed a Petition to their Selectmen for a Meeting there. I have rec*^ a Letter from a Gentleman of In- fluence in Plymouth who is pleasd to say, he thinks the general plan adopted here will produce great Consequences if supported with Spirit in the Country ; & that he believes there will be no Difficulty in getting a Meeting there & carrying the point in seconding this town. He tells me, the Pulse of his fellow Townsmen beat high and their resentment he sup- poses is equal to that of any other Town. May God ' " Christians." 350 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 grant, that the Love of Liberty & a Zeal to support it may enkindle in every town. If the Enemies should see the flame bursting in different parts of the Country & distant from each other, it might dis- courage their attempts to damp & quench it. I am well assured they are alarmd at the Measure now taking, being greatly apprehensive of the same Con- sequences from it which our good friend at Plymouth hopes and expects. This should animate us in carry- ing it into Execution. I beg you would exert your utmost Influence in your neighboring towns and else- where. I hear Nothing of old Salem. I fear they have had an opiate administerd to them. I am told there has been a Consultation there, a Cabal in which his E y presided. Pray let me still be favord with your Letters & be assured I am sincerely Your friend, THE RIGHTS OF THE COLONISTS, A LIST OF VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS AND A LETTER OF CORRESPONDENCE.^ Adopted by the Town of Boston, November 20, 1772.' / [Boston Record Commissioners' Report, voL xviii., pp. 94-108.] The Committee appointed by the Town the second Instant "to State the Rights of the Colonists and ' A complete draft of the " Rights of the Colonists,'' in the handwriting of Adams, is in the Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library ; in the same collection is a copy of the " List of Violations," said to be in the hand- writing of William Eustis, a medical student under Joseph Warren ; also in the same collection is a draft of the " Letter of Correspondence," with corrections in the autograph of Adams. The preface to the English edition of the ' ' Rights of the Colonists " is printed in J. Bigelow, Complete Works of Benjamin Frank- lin, vol. iv., pp. 542-548, and in the Boston Gazette, May 3, X773. ' In the Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library, is the original 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 351 of this Province in particular, as Men, as Cliristians, and as Subjects ; to communicate and publish the same to the several Towns in this Province and to the World as the sense of this Town with the Infringe- ments and Violations thereof that have been, or from Time to Time may be made. Also requesting of each Town a free Communication of their Sentiments Reported First, a State of the Rights of the Colonists and of this Province in particular Secondly, A List of the Infringements, and Viola- tions of those Rights. Thirdly, A Letter of Correspondence with the other Towns. D i". Natural Rights of the Colonists as Men.- Among the Natural Rights of the Colonists are these First, a Right to Life; Secondly to Liberty ■ thirdly to Property ; together with the Right to sup- port and defend them in the best manner they can — Those are evident Branches of, rather than deduc- tions from the Duty of Self Preservation, commonly called the first Law of Nature All Men have a Right to remain in a State of Nature as long as they please : And in case of in- tollerable Oppression, Civil or Religious, to leave the Society they belong to, and enter into another. When Men enter into Society, it is by voluntary consent ; and they have a right to demand and insist upon the performance of such conditions. And warrant for this town meeting, with the original return thereon signed by the twelve constables of the town. The collection also contains the rough draft minutes of the meeting, made by the town clerk, William Cooper. 352 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 previous limitations as form an equitable original compact. Every natural Right not expressly given up or from the nature of a Social Compact necessarily ceded remains. All positive and civil laws, should conform as far as possible, to the Law of natural reason and equity.— — As neither reason requires, nor religeon permits the contrary, every Man living in or out of a state of civil society, has a right peaceably and quietly to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. " Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty" in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all Men are clearly entitled to, by the eternal and im- mutable laws Of God and nature, as well as by the law of Nations, & all well grounded municipal laws, which must have their foundation in the former. In regard to Religeon, mutual tolleration in the different professions thereof, is what all good and candid minds in all ages have ever practiced ; and both by precept and example inculcated on mankindj And it is now generally agreed among christians that this spirit of toleration in the fullest extent consist- ent with the being of civil society " is the chief char- acteristical mark of the true church" '-^ & In so much that Mr Lock has asserted, and proved beyond the possibility of contradiction on any solid ground, that such toleration ought to be extended to all whose doctrines are not subversive of society. The only Sects which he thinks ought to be, and which by all * See Locks Letters on Toleration. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 353 wise laws are excluded from such toleration, are those who teach Doctrines subversive of the Civil Govern- ment under which they live. The Roman Catholicks or Papists are excluded by reason of such Doctrines as these " that Princes excommunicated may be de- posed, and those they call Hereticks may be destroyed without mercy ; besides their recognizing the Pope in so absolute a manner, in subversion of Government, by introducing as far as possible into the states, under whose protection they enjoy life, liberty and property, that solecism in politicks, Imperium in imperio * lead- ing directly to the worst anarchy and confusion, civil discord, war and blood shed fihe natural liberty of Men by entring into society is abridg'd or restrained so far only as is necessary for the Great end of Society the best good of the whole In the state of nature, every man is under God, Judge and sole Judge, of his own rights and the injuries done him : By entering into society, he agrees to an Arbiter or indifferent Judge between him and his neighbours ; but he no more renounces his original right, than by taking a cause out^of the ordinary course of law, and leaving the decision to Referees or indifferent Arbitrations. In the last case he must pay the Referees for time and trouble ; he should be also willing to pay his Just quota for the support of government, the law and constitution ; the end of which is to furnish indifferent and impar- tial Judges in all cases that may happen, whether civil ecclesiastical, marine or military. " The natural liberty of man is to be free from any * A Government within a Government — VOL. II. — 23. 354 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man ; but only to have the law of nature for his rule." In the state of nature men may as the Patriarchs did, employ hired servants for the defence of their lives, liberty and property : and they should pay them reasonable wages. Government was instituted for the purposes of common defence ; and those who hold the reins of government have an equitable natural right to an honourable support from the same principle "that the labourer is worthy of his hire" but then the same community which they serve, ought to be asses- sors of their pay : Governors have no right to seek what they please ; by this, instead of being content with the station assigned them, that of honourable servants of the society, they would soon become Ab- solute masters. Despots, and Tyrants. Hence as a private man has a right to say, what wages he will give in his private affairs, so has a Community to de- termine what they will give and grant of their Sub- stance, for the Administration of publick affairs. And in both cases more are ready generally to offer their Service at the proposed and stipulated price, than are able and willing to perform their duty. In short it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one or any number of men at the enter- ing into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights when the great end of civil government from the very nature of its institution is for the support, pro- tection and defence of those very rights : the principal of which as is before observed, are life liberty and 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 355 property. If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renuncia- tion ; the right to freedom being the gift of God Al- mighty, it is not in the power of Man t o alie nate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave \ 2^. The Rights of the Colonists as Christians These may be best understood by reading — and carefully studying the institutes of the great Lawgiver and head of the Christian Church : which are to be found closely^ written and promulgated in the Neiv Testament By the Act of the British Parliament commonly called the Toleration Act, every subject in England Except Papists &" was restored to, and re-established in, his natural right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. And by the Charter of this Province it is granted ordained and established (that it is declared as an original right) that there shall be liberty of conscience allowed in the worship of God, to all christians except Papists, inhabiting or which shall inhabit or be resident within said Province or Territory.* Magna Charta itself is in substance but a constrained Declaration, or proclamation, and promulgation in the name of King, Lord, and Com- mons of the sense the latter had of their original in- herent, indefeazible natural Rights,f as also those of ' So printed. The draft and pamphlet edition read " clearly." '('See I. Wm. and Mary. St. 2. C. 18 — and Massachusetts Charter. t Lord Cokes Im." Blackstone, Commentaries— Vol. ist. Page 122. ' So printed. The draft and pamphlet edition read " Init." 3S6 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 free Citizens equally perdurable with the other. That great author that great jurist, and even that Court writer Mr Justice Blackstone holds that this recog- nition was justly obtained of King John sword in hand : and peradventure it must be one day sword in hand again rescued and preserved from total destruc- tion and oblivion. I 3*^. The Rights of the Colonists as Subjects «— ^A Common Wealth or state is a body politick or civil society of men, united together to promote their mutual safety and prosperity, by means of their union." The absolute Rights of Englishmen, and all freemen in or out of Civil society, are principally, personal security personal liberty and private property. All Persons born in the British American Colonies are by the laws of God and nature, and by the Com- mon law of England, exclusive of all charters from the Crown, well Entitled, and by the Acts of the British Parliament are declared to be entitled to all the natural essential, inherent & inseperable Rights Liberties and Privileges of Subjects born in Great Britain, or within the Realm. Among those Rights are the following ; which no men or. body of men, consistently with their own rights as men and citizens or members of society, can for themselves give up, or take away from others First, " The first fundamental positive law of all Commonwealths or States, is the establishing the legislative power ; as the first fundamental natural * See Lock and Vatel— 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 357 law also, which is to govern even the legislative power itself, is the preservation of the Society."'* Secondly, The Legislative has no right to absolute arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people : Nor can mortals assume a prerogative, not only too high for men, but for Angels ; and therefore reserved for the exercise of the Deity alone. — " The Legislative cannot Justly assume to itself a power to rule by extempore arbitrary decrees ; but it is bound to see that Justice is dispensed, and that the rights of the subjects be decided, by promulgated, standing and known laws, and authorized independent Judges ; " that is independent as far as possible of Prince or People. " There shall be one rule of Jus- tice for rich and poor ; for the favorite in Court, and the Countryman at the Plough." if Thirdly, The supreme power cannot Justly take from any man, any part of his property without his consent, in person or by his Representative. — These are some of the first principles of natural law & Justice, and the great Barriers of all free states, and of the British Constitution in particular. It is utterly irreconcileable to these principles, and to many other fundamental maxims of the common law, common sense and reason, that a British house of commons, should have a right, at pleasure, to give and grant the property of the Colonists. \That these Colonists are well entitled to all the essential rights, liberties and privileges of men and freemen, born in Britain, is manifest, not only from the Colony * Locke on Government. Salus Populi Suprema Lex esto— \ Locke — 35 8 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 charter, in general, but acts of the British Parliament. The statute of the 13* of George 2. c. 7. naturalizes even foreigners after seven years residence. The words of the Massachusetts Charter are these, " And further our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors, grant establish and or- dain, that all and every of the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, which shall go to and inhabit within our said province or territory and every of their children which shall happen to be born there, or on the seas in going thither, or returning from thence shall have and enjoy, all liberties and im- munities of free and natural subjects within any of the dominions of us, our heirs and successors, to all intents constructions & purposes whatsoever as if they and every of t ken; were born within this our Realm of England." | Now what liberty can there be, where property is taken away without consent ? Can it be said with any colour of truth and Justice, that this Continent of three thousand miles in length, and of a breadth as yet unexplored, in which however, its supposed, there are five millions of people, has the least voice, vote or influence in the decisions of the British Parliament ? Have they, all together, any more right or power to return a single number* to that house of commons, who have not inadvertently, but deliberately assumed a power to dispose of their lives, * Liberties and properties, then * to choose an Emperor of China ! Had the Colonists a right to ' So printed. The draft and pamphlet edition read " member." ^So printed. The draft and pamphlet edition read " than." * See the Act of the last Session, relating to the Kings Dock Yards— 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 359 return members to the british parliament, it would only be hurtfull ; as from their local situation and circumstances it is impossible they should be ever truly and properly represented there. The inhabi- tants of this country in all probability in a few years will be more numerous, than those of Great Britain and Ireland together; yet it is absurdly expected by the promoters of the present measures, that these, with their posterity to all generations, should be easy while their property, shall be disposed of by a house of commons at three thousand miles distant from them ; and who cannot be supposed to have the least care or concern for their real interest : Who have not only no natural care for their interest, but must be in effect bribed against it ; as every burden they lay on the colonists is so much saved or gained to themselves. Hitherto many of the Colonists have been free from Quit Rents ; but If the breath of a british house of commons can originate an act for taking away all our money, our lands will go next or be subject to rack rents from haughty and relentless landlords who will ride at ease, while we are trodden in the dirt. The Colonists have been branded with the odious names of traitors and rebels, only for complaining of their grievances ; How long such treatment will, or ought to be born is submitted. / A List of Infringements &" Violations of Rights We cannot help thinking, that an enumeration of some of the most open infringments of our rights, will by every candid Per- son be Judged sufficient to Justify whatever measures have been already taken, or may be thought proper to be taken, in order to obtain a redress of the Grievances under which we labour. 36o THE WRITINGS OF [1772 Among many others we Humbly conceive, that the following will not fail to excite the attention of all who consider themselves interested in the happiness and freedom of mankind in general, and of this continent and province in particular. i" The British Parliament have assumed the power of legisla- tion for the Colonists in all cases whatsoever, without obtaining the consent of the Inhabitants, which is ever essentially necessary to the right establishment of such a legislative 2^ They have exerted that assumed power, in raising a Reve- nue in the Colonies without their consent; thereby depriving them of that right which every man has to keep his own earnings in his own hands until he shall in person, or by his Representa- tive, think fit to part with the whole or any portion of it. This infringement is the most extraordinary, when we consider the laudable care which the British House of Commons have taken to reserve intirely and absolutely to themselves the powers of giv- ing and granting moneys. They not only insist on originating every money bill in their own house, but will not even allow the House of Lords to make an amendment in these bills. So tena- cious are they of this privilege, so jealous of any infringement of the sole & absolute right the people have to dispose of their own money. And what renders this infringement the more grievous is, that what of our earnings still remains in our own hands is in a great measure deprived of its value, so long as the British Parliament continue to claim and exercise this power of taxing us; for we cannot Justly call that our property which others may, when they please take away from us against our will. In this respect we are treated with less decency and regard than the Romans shewed even to the Provinces which They had conquered. They only determined upon the sum which each should furnish, and left every Province to raise it in the manner most easy and convenient to themselves ■^ A number of new Officers, unknown in the Charter of this Province, have been appointed to superintend this Revenue, whereas by our Charter the Great & General Court or Assembly of this Province has the sole right of appointing all civil officers, excepting only such officers, the election and constitution of 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 361 whom is in said charter expressly excepted; among whom these Officers are not included. 4* These Officers are by their Commission invested with powers altogether unconstitutional, and entirely destructive to that security which we have a right to enjoy; and to the last de- gree dangerous, not only to our property; but to our lives: For the Commissioners of his Majestys customs in America, or any three of them, are by their Commission impowered, " by writing under their hands and seales to constitute and appoint inferior Officers in all and singular the Port within the limits of their commissions " Each of these petty officers so made is intrusted with power more absolute and arbitrary than ought to be lodged in the hands of any man or body of men whatsoever; for in the commission aforementioned, his Majesty gives & grants unto his said Commissioners, or any three of them, and to all and every the Collectors Deputy Collectors, Ministers, Servants, and all other Officers serving and attending in all and every the Ports and other places within the limits of their Commission, full power and authority from time to time, at their and any of their wills and pleasures, as well By Night as by day to enter and go on board any Ship, Boat, or other Vessel, riding lying or being within, or coming into any Port, Harbour, Creek or Haven, within the limits of their commission; and also in the day time to go into any house, shop, cellar, or any other place where any goods wares or merchandizes lie concealed, or are suspected to lie con- cealed, whereof the customs & other duties, have not been, or shall not be, duly paid and truly satisfied, answered or paid unto the Collectors, Deputy Collectors, Ministers, Servants, and other Officers respectively, or otherwise agreed for; and the said house, shop, warehouse, cellar, and other place to search and survey, and all and every the boxes, trunks, chests and packs then and there found to break open." Thus our houses and even our bed chambers, are exposed to be ransacked, our boxes chests & trunks broke open ravaged and plundered by wretches, whom no prudent man would venture to employ even as menial servants; whenever they are pleased to say they suspect there are in the house wares &c for which the dutys have not been paid. Flagrant instances of the wanton exercise 362 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 of this power, have frequently happened in this and other sea port Towns. By this we are cut off from that domestick security which renders the lives of the most unhappy in some" measure agreable. Those Officers may under colour of law and the cloak of a general warrant, break thro' the sacred rights of the Domicil, ransack mens houses, destroy their securities, carry off their property, and with little danger to themselves commit the most horred murders. And we complain of it as a further grievance, that notwith- standing by the Charter of this Province, the Governor and the Great and General Court or Assembly of this Province or Terri- tory, for the time being shall have full power and authority, from time to time, to make, ordain and establish all manner of whole- some and reasonable laws, orders, statutes, and ordinances, directions and instructions, and that if the same shall not within the term of three years after presenting the same to his Majesty in privy council be disallowed, they shall be and continue in full force and effect, untill the same shall be repealed by the Great and General Assembly of this Province: Yet the Parliament of Great Britain have rendered or attempted to render, null and void a law of this Province made and passed in the Reign of his late Majesty George the first, intitled "An Act stating the Fees of the Custom-house Officers within this Province " and by meer dint of power, in violation of the Charter aforesaid, established other and exorbitant fees, for the same Ofificers; any law of the Province to the contrary notwithstanding. S*. Fleets and Armies have been introduced to support these unconstitutional Officers in collecting and managing this uncon- stitutional Revenue; and troops have been quarter'd in this Metropolis for that purpose. Introducing and quartering stand- ing Armies in a free Country in times of peace without the con- sent of the people either by themselves or by their Representatives, is, and always has been deemed a violation of their rights as free- men; and of the Charter or Compact made between the King of Great Britain, and the People of this Province, whereby all the rights of British Subjects are confirmed to us. 6"". The Revenue arising from this tax unconstitutionally laid, and committed to the management of persons arbitrarily ap- 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 363 pointed and supported by an armed force quartered in a free City, has been in part applyed to the most destructive purposes. It is absolutely necessary in a mixt government like that of this Province, that a due proportion or balance of power should be established among the several branches of legislative. Our An- cestors received from King William & Queen Mary a Charter by which it was understood by both parties in the contract, that such a proportion or balance was fixed; and therefore every thing which renders any one branch of the Legislative more inde- pendent of the other two than it was originally designed, is an alteration of the constitution as settled by the Charter; and as it has been untill the establishment of this Revenue, the constant practise of the General Assembly to provide for the support of Government, so it is an essential part of our constitution, as it is a necessary means of preserving an equilibrium, without which we cannot continue a free state. In particular it has always been held, that the dependence of the Governor of this Province upon the General Assembly for his support, was necessary for the preservation of this equilibrium; nevertheless his Majesty has been pleased to apply fifteen hundred pounds sterling annually out of the American revenue, for the support of the Governor of this Province independent of the Assembly, whereby the ancient connection between him and this people is weakened, the confidence in the Governor lessened and the equilibrium destroyed, and the constitution essentially altered. And we look upon it highly probable from the best intelligence we have been able to obtain, that not only our Governor and Lieuvetenant Governor, but the Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, as also the Kings Attorney and Solicitor General are to receive their support from this Grievous tribute. This will if accomplished compleat our slavery. For if taxes are raised from us by the Parliament of Great Britain without our consent, and the men on whose opinions and decisions our properties liberties and lives, in a great measure depend, receive their sup- port from the Revenues arising from these taxes, we cannot, when we think on the depravity of mankind, avoid looking with horror on the danger to which we are exposed ? The British 364 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 Parliament have shewn their wisdom in making the Judges there as independent as possible both on the Prince and People, both for place and support : But our Judges hold their Commis- sions only during pleasure; the granting them salaries out of this Revenue is rendering them independent on the Crown for their support. The King upon his first accession to the Throne, for giving the last hand to the independency of the Judges in Eng- land, not only upon himself but his Successors by recommending and consenting to an act of Parliament, by which the Judges are continued in office, notwithstanding the demise of a King, which vacates all other Commissions, was applauded by the whole Nation. How alarming must it then be to the Inhabi- tants of this Province, to find so wide a difference made between the Subjects in Britain and America, as the rendering the Judges here altogether dependent on the Crown for their support. 7'''. We find ourselves greatly oppressed by Instructions sent to our Governor from the Court of Great Britain, whereby the first branch of our legislature is made merely a ministerial engine. And the Province has already felt such effects from these Instructions, as We think Justly intitle us to say that they threaten an entire destruction of our liberties, and must soon, if not checked, render every branch of our Government a useless burthen upon the people. We shall point out some of the alarming effects of these Instructions which have already taken place. In consequence of Instructions, the Governor has called and adjourned our General Assemblies to a place highly inconvenient to the Members and grately disadvantageous to the interest of the Province, even against his own declared intention In consequence of Instructions, the Assembly has been pro- rogued from time to time, when the important concerns of the Province required their Meeting In obedience to Instructions, the General Assembly was Anno 1768 dissolved by Governor Bernard, because they would not consent to rescind the resolution of a former house, and thereby sacrifise the rights of their constituents. By an Instruction, the honourable his Majesty Council are forbid to meet and transact matters of publick concern as a 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 365 Council of advice to the Governor, unless called by the Gov- ernor ; and if they should from a zealous regard to the interest of the Province so meet at any time, the Governor is ordered to negative them at the next Election of Councellors. And although by the Charter of this Province the Great & General Court have full power and authority to impose taxes upon the estates and persons of all and every the proprietors and inhabitants of this Province, yet the Governor has been forbidden to give his con- sent to act imposing a tax for the necessary support of govern- ment, unless such persons as were pointed out In the said instruction, were exempted from paying their Just proportion of said tax His Excellency has also pleaded Instructions for giving up the provincial fortress. Castle William into the hands of troops, over whom he had declared he had no controul (and that at a time when they were menaceing the Slaughter of the Inhabi- tants of the Town, and our Streets were stained with the blood which they had barbariously shed) Thus our Governor, ap- pointed and paid from Great Britain with money forced from us, is made an instrument of totally preventing or at least of rendering [futile], every attempt of the other two branches of the Legislative in favor of a distressed and wronged people : And least the complaints naturally occasioned by such oppression should excite compassion in the Royal breast, and induce his Ma- jesty seriously to set about relieving us from the cruel bondage and insult which we his loyal Subjects have so long suffered, the Governor is forbidden to consent to the payment of an Agent to represent our grievances at the Court of Great Britain, unless he the Governor Consent to his election, and we very well know what the man must be to whose appointment a Governor in such circumstances will consent While we are mentioning the infringement of the rights of this Colony in particular by means of Instructions, we capnot help calling to remembrance the late unexampled suspension of the legislative of a Sister Colony, New York by force of an In- struction, untill they should comply with an Arbitrary Act of the British Parliament for quartering troops, designed by military execution, to enforce the raising of a tribute. 366 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 8"". The extending the power of the Courts of Vice Admir- ality to so enormous a degree as deprives the people in the Colonies in a great measure of their inestimable right to tryals by Juries : which has ever been Justly considered as the grand Bulwark and security of English property. This alone is sufficient to rouse our jealousy : And we are again obliged to take notice of the remarkable contrast, which the British Parliament has been pleased to exhibit between the Subjects in Great Britain & the Colonies. In the same Statute, by which they give up to the decision of one dependent interested Judge of Admirality the estates and properties of the Colonists, they expressly guard the estates & properties of the people of Great Britain ; for all forfeitures & penalties inflicted by the Statute of George the Third, or any other Act of Parlia- ment relative to the trade of the Colonies, may be sued for in any Court of Admiralty in the Colonies ; but all penalties and forfeitures which shall be incurred in Great Britain, may be sued for in any of his Majestys Courts of Record in Westminster or in the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, respectively. Thus our Birth Rights are taken from us ; and that too with every mark of indignity, insult and contempt. We may be harrassed and dragged from one part of the Continent to the other (which some of our Brethren here and in the Country Towns already have been) and finally be deprived of our whole property, by the arbi- trary determination of one biassed, capricious Judge of the Admirality. 9*. The restraining us from erecting Stilling Mills for manu- facturing our Iron the natural produce of this Country, Is an infringement of that right with which God and nature have in- vested us, to make use of our skill and industry in procuring the necessaries and conveniences of life. And we look upon the re- straint laid upon the manufacture and transportation of Hatts to be altogether unreasonable and grievous. Although by the Charter all Havens Rivers, Ports, Waters, &". are expressly granted the Inhabitants of the Province and their Successors, to their only proper use and behoof forever, yet the British Parlia- ment passed an Act, whereby they restrain us from carrying our Wool, the produce of our own farms, even over a ferry; whereby 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 367 the Inhabitants have often been put to the expence of carrying a Bag of Wool near an hundred miles by land, when passing over a River or Water of one quarter of a mile, of which the Province are the absolute Proprietors, would have prevented all that trouble. 10*. The Act passed in the last Session of the British Parlia- ment, intitled. An Act for the better preserving his Majestys Dock Yards, Magizines, Ships, Ammunition and Stores, is, as we appre- hend a violent infringement of our Rights. By this Act any one of us may be taken from his Family, and carried to any part of Great Britain, there to be tried whenever it shall be pretended that he has been concerned in burning or otherwise destroying any Boat or Vessel, or any Materials for building &". any Naval or Victualling Store &^ belonging to his Majesty. For by this Act all Persons in the Realm, or in any of the places thereto be- longing (under which denomination we know the Colonies are meant to be included) may be indicted and tryed either in any County or Shire within this Realm, in like manner and form as if the offence had been committed in said County, as his Ma- jesty and his Successors may deem Most expedient. Thus we are not only deprived of our grand right to tryal by our Peers in the Vicinity, but any Person suspected, or pretended to be sus- pected, may be hurried to Great Britain, to take his tryal in any County the King or his Successors shall please to direct ; where, innocent or guilty he is in great danger of being condemned; and whether condemned or acquitted he will probably be ruined by the expense attending the tryal, and his long absence from his Family and business; and we have the strongest reason to apprehend that we shall soon experience the fatal effects of this Act, as about the year 1769 the British Parliament passed Re- solves for taking up a number of Persons in the Colonies and carrying them to Great Britain for tryal, pretending that they were authorised so to do, by a Statute passed in the Reign of Henry the Eighth, in which they say the Colonies were in- cluded, although the Act was passed long before any Colonies were settled, or even in contemplation. 1 1*. As our Ancestors came over to this Country that they might not only enjoy their civil but their religeous rights, and 368 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 particularly desired to be free from the Prelates, who in those times cruilly persecuted all who differed in sentiment from the established Church ; we cannot see without concern the various attempts, which have been made and are now making, to establish an American Episcopate. Our Episcopal Brethren of the Colonies do enjoy, and rightfully ought ever to enjoy, the free exercise of their religeon, we cannot help fearing that they who are are so warmly contending for such an establishment, have views altogether inconsistent with the universal and peace- ful enjoyment of our christian privileges : And doing or attempt- ing to do any thing which has even the remotest tendency to en- danger this enjoyment, is Justly looked upon a great grievance, and also an infringement of our Rights, which is not barely to exercise, but peaceably & securely to enjoy, that liberty where- with Christ has made us free. And we are further of Opinion, that no power on Earth can justly give either temporal or spiritual Jurisdiction within this Province, except the Great & General Court. We think there- fore that every design for establishing the Jurisdiction of a Bishop in this Province, is a design both against our Civil and Religeous rights : And we are well informed, that the more can- did and Judicious of our Brethren of the Church of England in this and the other Colonies, both Clergy and Laity, conceive of the establishing an American Episcopate both unnecessary and unreasonable. 1 2*. Another Grievance under which we labour is the frequent alteration of the bounds of the Colonies by decisions before the King and Council, explanatory of former grants and Char- ters. This not only subjects Men to live under a constitution to which they have not consented, which in itself is a great Grievance ; but moreover under color, that the right of Soil is affected by such declarations, some Governors, or Ministers, or both in conjunction, have pretended to Grant in consequence of a Mandamus many thousands of Acres of Lands appropriated near a Century past ; and rendered valuable by the labors of the present Cultivators and their Ancestors. There are very notable instances of Setlers, who having first purchased the Soil of the Natives, have at considerable expence obtained confermation of 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 369 title from this Province ; and on being transferred to the Juris- diction of the Province of New Hampshire have been put to the trouble and cost of a new Grant or confermation from thence ; and after all this there has been a third declaration of Royal Will, that they should thence forth be considered as pertaining To the Province of New York. The troubles, expences and dangers which hundreds have been put to on such occasions, cannot here be recited ; but so much may be said, that they have been most cruelly harrassed, and even threatned with a mili- tary force, to dragoon them into a compliance, with the most unreasonable demands. A Letter of Correspondence to the Other Towns. Boston November 20 : 1772 Gentlemen We the Freeholders and other Inhabi- tants of Boston in Town Meeting duly Assembled, according to Law, apprehending there is abundant to be alarmed at ^ the plan of Despotism, which the ene- mies of our invaluable rights have concerted, is rapidly hastening to a completion, can no longer conceal our impatience under a constant, unremitted, uniform aim to enslave us, or confide in an Adminis- tration which threatens us with certain and inevitable destruction. But, when in addition to the repeated inroads made upon the Rights and Liberties of the Colonists, and of those in this Province in particular, we reflect on the late extraordinary measure in afifix- ing stipends or Salaries from the Crown to the Offices of the Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, making them not only intirely independent of the people, whose lives and properties are so much in their power, but absolutely dependent on the Crown ■ So printed. Corrected by Adams in the draft to read " that." VOL. II. — 34- 370 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 (which may hereafter, be worn by a Tyrant) both for their appointment and support, we cannot but be extremely alarmed at the mischievous tendency of this innovation ; which in our opinion is directly contrary to the spirit of the British Constitution, pregnant with innumerable evils, and hath a direct tendency To deprive us of every thing valuable as Men, as Christians and as Subjects, entitled, by the Royal Charter, to all the Rights, liberties and privi- leges of native Britons. Such being the critical state of this Province, we think it our duty on this truly distressing occasion, to ask you. What can with- stand the Attacks of mere power ? What can pre- serve the liberties of the Subject, when the Barriers of the Constitution are taken away ? The Town of Boston consulting on the matter above mentioned, thought proper to make application to the Governor by a Committee ; requesting his Excellency to com- municate such intelligence as he might have received relative to the report of the Judges having their sup- port independent of the grants of this Province a Copy of which you have herewith in Paper N. 1.^ To which we received as answer the Paper N. 2? The Town on further deliberation, thought it ad- visable to refer the matter to the Great and General Assembly ; and accordingly in a second address as N. 3 ^ they requested his Excellency that the General ' Prepared by a committee consisting of Adams, Joseph Warren and Benja- min Church. The text is in Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii. , p. 89. ' The text is in ibid. , p. 90. ' Prepared by a committee consisting of Adams, James Otis and Thomas Gushing. The text is in ibid., p. 91. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 371 Court might Convene at the time to which they then stood prorogued ; to which the Town received the reply as in N. 4.^ in which we are acquainted with his intentions further to prorogue the General Assem- bly, which has since taken place. Thus Gentlemen it is evident his Excellency declines giving the least satisfaction as to the matter in request. The affair being of publick concernment, the Town of Boston thought it necessary to consult with their Brethren throughout the Province ; and for this purpose ap- pointed a Committee, to communicate with our fellow Sufferers, respecting this recent instance of oppres- sion, as well as the many other violations of our Rights under which we have groaned for several Years past — This Committee have briefly Recapitu- lated the sense we have of our invaluable Rights as Men, as Christians, and as Subjects ; and wherein we conceive those Rights to have been violated, which we are desirous may be laid before your Town, that the subject may be weighed as its importance re- \f quires, and the collected wisdom of the whole People, as far as possible, be obtained, on a deliberation of such great and lasting moment as to involve in it the fate of all our Posterity — Great pains has been taken to perswade the British Administration to think that the good People of this Province in general are quiet and undisturbed at the late measures ; and that any uneasiness that appears, arises from a few factious designing and disaffected men. This renders it the more necessary, that the sense of the People should be explicitly declared. — A free communication of ' The text is in ibid., p. 92. 372 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 your sentiments to this Town, of our common dan- ger, is earnestly solicited and will be gratefully re- ceived. If you concur with us in opinion, that our Rights are properly stated, and that the several Acts of Parliament, and Measures of Administration, pointed out by us are subversive of these Rights, you will doubtless think it of the utmost importance that we stand firm as one man, to recover and sup- port them ; and to take such measures by directing our Representatives, or otherwise, as your wisdom and fortitude shall dictate, to rescue from impending ruin our happy and glorious constitution. But if it should be the general voice of this Province, that the Rights as we have stated them, do not belong to us ; or that the several measures of Administration in the British Court, are no violations of these Rights, or that if they are thus violated or infringed, they are not worth contending for, or resolutely maintaining ; — should this be the general voice of the Province, we must be resigned to our wretched fate ; but shall forever lament the extinction of that generous ardor for Civil and Religeous liberty, which in the face of every danger, and even death itself, induced our fathers to forsake the bosom of their Native Country, and begin a settlement on bare Creation — But we trust this cannot be the case : We are sure your wisdom, your regard to yourselves and the rising Generation, cannot suffer you to dose, or set supinely indifferent on the brink of destruction, while the Iron hand of oppression is dayly tearing the choicest Fruit ft-om the fair Tree of Liberty, planted by our worthy Pre- decessors, at the expence of their treasure, & abun- 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 373 dantly water'd with their blood — It is an observation of an eminent Patriot, that a People long inured to hardships, loose by degrees the very notions of liberty ; they look upon themselves as Creatures at mercy, and that all impositions laid on by superior hands, are legal and obligatory. — But thank Heaven this is not yet verified in America! We have yet some share of publick_virtue remaining : we are not afraid of poverty, but disdain slavery. — The fate of Nations is so Precarious and revolutions in States so often take place at an unexpected moment, when the hand of power by fraud or flattery, has secured every Avenue of retreat, and the minds of the Subject de- based to its purpose, that it becomes every well wisher to his Country, while it has any remains of freedom, to keep an Eagle Eye upon every inovation and stretch of power, in those that have the rule over us. A recent instance of this we have in the late Revolu- tions in Sweden, by which the Prince once subject to the laws of the State, has been able of a sudden to declare himself an absolute Monarch The Sweeds were once a free, martial and valient people : Their minds are now so debaced, that they rejoice at being subject to the caprice and arbitrary power of a Tyrant & kiss their Chains. It makes us shudder to think, the late measures of Administration may be productive of the like Catastrophe ; which Heaven forbid ! — Let us consider Brethren, we are struggling for our best Birth Rights & Inheritance; which be- ing infringed, renders all our blessings precarious in their enjoyments, and consequently trifling in their value. Let us disappoint the Men who are raising 374 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 themselves on the ruin of this Country. Let us convince every Invader of our freedom, that we will be as free as the Constitution our Fathers recognized, will Justify. ^ ARTICLE SIGNED " VINDEX. \Boston Gazette, November 30, 1772.'] Mr. A- — N D s. Sir, The weakness of an adversary with a man of under- standing will frequently disarm him of his resentment : Who would chuse to enter the lists, when even vic- tory is attended with disgrace ? A n D s as a Hockster of small Wares, within the Bar-room ; or laudably vending Milk and Water, might have grubbed on unnoticed, and not superlatively con- temptible ; but when he so far mistakes his proper department, as to blunder into the field of politicks, ' The four papers mentioned in the " Letter of Correspondence " are included in the pamphlet edition of the three principal documents printed by order of the town for distribution among the other towns of the province. (Cf. Boston Rec- ord Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 94.) The title page of the pamphlet edition was as follows : The Votes and Proceedings of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, In Town Meeting Assembled, According to Law. [Published by Order of the Town,^ To which is prefixed, as Introduc- tory, An attested Copy of a Vote of the Town at a preceeding Meeting. Boston : Printed by Edes and Gill, in Queen Street, and T. and J. Fleet, in Cornhill. For a claim that the " Letter of Correspondence" was written by Benjamin Church, see R. Frothingham, Life of yoseph Warren, p. 206. As to the " Rights of the Colonists," see also W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. i., p. 501. In addition to the complete draft, a preliminary draft, or outline of topics, of the " Rights" is in the Samuel Adams Papers. ^ The following note by the publishers is printed with this article : " Dr. Young's Letter to Mr. Aaron Davis, Jun. should have had a Place in this Day's Paper had we not been pre engaged with the following." 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 375 and assume a dictatorial and offensive part, we are compelled with reluctance to scourge the insect, tho' convinced 'tis but an insect still. We are informed by your fellow townsman, whom we presume must know you well, that you are destitute of feeling ; your unexampled effrontery in the publick transaction which has unhappily brought you into notice, added to the consummate assurance evidenced in the stupid composition to which you have tacked your name, are strong circumstances in favour of this position : But is your modesty truly impregnable ? cannot the weapon of stern rebuke arouse your sensibility ? must honest indignation mourn a defeat ? I intend to try the doubtful experiment, tho' you should analize a satyr to be a proof of your general consequence, and extract incense to your vanity from the blackest records of your shame. In your courageous zeal for the cause of Christ- ianity, and the Vir^n Mary, permit me to question your sincerity : It is evident from your notable per- formance, that you have been acquainted with the religious principles and immoral practices of the gen- tleman so very exceptionable to you ; for some years past : That he was then as thorough-paced an infidel, as virulent an opposer of our holy religion, as he is now : That he was doing discredit to the Bible then, or to adopt your own phrase, was undeceiving m,ankind as actively as at any time since : That you was ac- quainted with the open profanity of his conversation, and if we may take your word for it, was an ear- witness of his oaths and execrations : Why did you not commence a champion in the cause of Christianity 376 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 some months earlier? It would have had a better appearance, if in your ebullient zeal you had endeav- oured to prevent his disseminating such mischievous principles, and seasonably entered your caveat against the pernicious effects of his example. But the cause of Christianity abstracted from political concerns, was not sufficient to awaken your resentment : Will not this my dear sir ! occasion suspicions, that all your flaming professions of patriotism will neither discredit nor remove ? Doctor Young (I dare you to contradict me) has ever been an unwearied assertor of the rights of his countrymen : has taken the post of hazard, and acted vigorously in the cause of American freedom : Such endeavours and exertions, have justly entitled him to the notice, to the confidence of the people ; they, from a thorough conviction of his political integrity have united him with several gentlemen, against whom we presume you can have no just exception, to explain their rights and state their grievances ; was not your conscience so delicately offensible, I would ask such an immaculate christian, whether your ideas of repro- bation extended not only to the whole com,mittee, but to every transaction in which they could possibly be employed? If not, are you not ashamed of your capricious folly, in rejecting a cause which you pro- fess to have at heart, for the sake of an individual, against whom, your spotless purity has matter of objection. Shall I be arraigned for want of charity, if I here express my doubt of your veracity in this matter? The cloak of Christianity is the threadbare garb of 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 377 hypocrisy ; and novel cover for political apostates : I suspect 't is the cause that renders the man ob- noxious ; the infidel might have perverted the world, and your zeal been smothered in its native bosom of sanctity : in short, had not the cause of liberty found a busy advocate in the man you brand with irreligio7t, your abhorrence would probably never have found a tongue. You do not chuse to have any thing to do with measures wherein you must follow the lead of such m,en as Dr. Young: I apprehend you confine yourself here to political matters ; if so, what must those re- jected measures be ? if just, right and reasonable, the man must be an incorrigible blockhead to reject them, let them originate where they will : if on the contrary, they are improper and exceptionable ; you might have discountenanced the measure, without villifying the man. Inconsiderable and weak as I esteem you, you have still an interest in the constitutional claims of an English subject, equal to a nobleman, equal to an intelligent being : these you have no right to sacrifice even to your own predominant folly. You assert that you are, and ever have been as steady a friend to the rights and privileges of your country, as any man whatsoever, &c. what then is that exact point of difference, that chaste line of decorum, to which your love of your country will carry you, and no further? all those concerned in consulting and labouring for the redemption of their country, must be very exem- plary christians, or your patriotism hangs so loosely about you, that your country may perish rather than 378 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 you will unite for its salvation, with a man not com- pleatly orthodox : For no political measures can possibly be reasonable or just, which are not dictated by men of piety and real Christianity : The truth of this observation will appear with peculiar lustre, when we consider what a paultry figure, those antient heathenish states of Greece and Rome made in the primitive ages. You elsewhere shrewdly remark, that it has always been astonishing to the world, how any im,portant trusts came to be committed to Doctor Young; the best account that can be given for it, YOU BELIEVE is, that he has appeared ready to lead in such bold and exceptional measures, as rather savoured of faction, than boded any good to the public : which is in plain English, that because the measures he proposed, were dangerous and exceptionable. Therefore the town approved and confided in him. To wave the illiberal slander upon the town ; I question, most christian sir ! whether any article of Doctor Young's creed will shock decency and com- mon sense more than this. The present crisis is truly an alarming one to your country ; the few friends of the people have abundant necessity to have their hands strengthened : the man who deserts now, is the worst enemy of his country : You sir ! have done this, with the aggravated guilt of endeavouring to load with obloquy the cause you abandon — I scorn to keep terms with a man I esteem so base — You have provided yourself a Retreat, being assured of the smiles of power ; nay more, you are entitled to their favour, for the rank injury you meant to the oppressed people ; and we shall probably 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 379 see such baseness distinguished in the commissioned scroll of scouNDRELLS and rescinders. ViNDEX. TO ARTHUR LEE. [R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 196, ig?-] Boston, Nov. 31st, 1772. My Dear Sir, — My last letter to you was of the 3d inst. I now enclose the proceedings of this town at a meeting appointed to receive the report of the com- mittee, which is attested by the town-clerk, and pub- lished by order of the town. Our enemies are taking all imaginable pains to dis- parage the proceedings, and prevent their having any effect in the country. They are particularly endeav- ouring to have it believed, that the vote was carried at a very thin meeting ; and in the Court Gazette of last week have had the assurance to say, that there were not more than twenty persons present, and that not ten voted for it ; whereas it was much such a meeting, or rather fuller than the last. The town of Roxbury, adjacent to this, have met, and against the efforts of the whole cabal have raised a committee of nine persons to take our proceedings into consid- eration, and report at an adjournment ; having before voted the independency of the judges, " a most danger- ous innovation." Plymouth, another large town, forty miles distant, has also met, but we have not yet heard what has been done there ; ^ from the spirit of the petitions to their selectmen for a meeting, among the enclosed papers, I hope to send you an agreeable ac- count. Other towns are in motion of their accord, ' See below, page 394. 38o THE WRITINGS OF [177? for our pamphlet is not yet sent into the country- towns, Roxbury excepted. The conspirators are very sensible that if our design succeeds, there will be an apparent union of sentiments among the peo- ple of this province, which may spread through the continent. You cannot then wonder that their utmost skill is employed to oppose it. I intended to have sent my last by Capt. Scott, but having failed in that design, I herewith enclose it. I am disappointed if I do not receive a letter from you by every vessel that arrives here. Be assured that I am with great esteem sir, your humble servant. TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [J. T. Austin, Life of Ettridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 22, 23.] Boston, Dec. 7, 1772. My Dear Sir, I have just received your's of the 26th Novem- ber,^ and take the earliest opportunity to acknowledge it. I shall lay it before our committee as soon as may be. Hope you have had a happy meeting this day, and rest with esteem. Sir, your friend, Monday, 10 o'clock evening. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Dec' 14 1772 My dear Sr I am at a Loss to determine in my own Mind whether a Letter from me will be agreable to you, 'J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 21, 22. ^ Addressed, ' ' in the Customs, Providence. " Cf . Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles, vol. i., p. 58. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 381 as I have not receivd a Line from you since I wrote my last several Months ago. If any Consideration has brot you to a Resolution no longer to keep up an Epistolary Conversation with me, I must on my part cease ; but while I remember former Connections, I shall never forget the only surviving Branch of a Family I loved, and shall make my self as happy as possible, in silently wishing the best Welfare of him whose Regards I think I have not forfeited. It is not an easy thing at this time of my Life, to put me out of the possession of my self. I have been used to the alternate Frowns & Smiles of many who call themselves, & some of them in truth are my Friends. I bear it all with CEquanimity, infinitely better pleasd with the Approbation of my own mind, than I should be with the flatteries of " the Great, & in the Sunshine of power. Those who love this Country, I have the Vanity to think are in Real- ity, my friends ; for they must be convincd that the small Share of Ability which Gracious Heaven has been pleasd to bestow on me, has ever been em- ployd for its Happiness. If I have mistaken its true Happiness (which by the Way I think I have not) it belongs to the Candid to overlook it ; the Opinion of others I very little regard, & have a thorough Con- tempt for all men, be their Names Characters & Stations what they may, who appear to be the irreclaimable Enemies of Religion & Liberty. Had I not thought it would have been rather an Incon- venience to you, I should have sent you the last Week the Votes & proceedings of your native town ; If I can be informd by you that it will not be dis- 382 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 agreable, I will send you a printed Copy by the next post. Altho I have already transgressd the Bounds of a Letter to so great a Stranger, yet having a warm friendship for M" Checkley, I cannot help desiring you to make mention of my own & my family regards to her. Having said this I must beg you to believe, whatever others may have whisperd to the Contrary y that I am Yours affectionately, ARTICLE SIGNED " CANDIDUS. \Boston Gazette, December 14, 1772.] To the Printers, Notwithstanding the ministerial Tools have so often puff'd upon the Impartiality of the Court Gazette, we have had a second Instance of the Neces- sity the Selectmen of this Town have thought them- selves under to vindicate the Cause of Liberty & Truth, from the gross Misrepresentation of well known Facts that have been made in that immaculate Paper. If Mr. Draper had had the least Inclination to have ascertained the Falsehood of the Paragraph inserted in his Paper of the 26th of November, it was so notorious, that without giving the Selectmen the Trouble of it, he might have done it himself, by en- quiring of perhaps the first honest Man he had met in the Street : But it was calculated to mislead the Reader into a Belief, that " not ten Persons voted for sending the Letter of Correspondence " into the Country, and therefore it must, to answer so good a 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 383 Purpose, be inserted in that " circulating " Gazette, whether true or false; and the Publisher, very de- murely, by Way of Atonement, after the Falsehood is detected, promises the injur'd Publick " to enquire into the Foundation of it." — ! ! ! In his last Gazette he informs his Readers that he had accordingly apply'd to his Author ; who, he says, " does not deny the Number present " at the Meeting " as declared by the Selectmen when the first Vote pass'd." Now the Selectmen declare, " that a respect- able Number of the Inhabitants attended the Meet- ing through the Day, and when the Letter, after being twice read and amended in the Meeting was voted, and accepted to be sent, it appeared to them, and they are well satisfied, that there was not less than three Hundred Inhabitants present, and in the Opinion of others the Number was much larger " ; which is undoubtedly the Fact. But Mr. Draper's Author of the Note (if he had any) had said that " when the Votes pass'd for sending the letter, there was not twenty Men present besides the Gentlemen Selectmen & some of the Committee ". The Contra- diction appear'd so glaring even in Mr. Draper's eyes, as well as others, that after he had publish'd it to the World, he thought his own Reputation concern'd, as indeed it was, to enquire into the Foundation of the Report, which he ought to have done before. The Man of Verity his Author, makes a shift to tell him, that truly "it was a Vote that pass'd half an Hour after Nine o'Clock that he meant in his Note, when most of the Inhabitants had withdrawn " ; but he does not now say what Vote he meant in his Note, though 384 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 when he reported it " with some Confidence " he plumply said it was the Vote for sending the Letter. The Man who is resolv'd to serve a Party at the ex- pence of Truth, should have the best of Memories ; the want of which has render'd the Court Writers oftentimes inconsistent with themselves and with each other. But what else are we to expect from Cham- pions of a Cause which has only the feeble Props of Misrepresentation and low Artifice to support it ! As this Author reported according to Draper with some Confidence, he ought to have inform'd himself of a known Fact, that the question debated at half an Hour after Nine o'Clock, as he now says, or at about Ten as he had asserted in his Note, was not whether the Letter should be sent to the Selectmen of the Towns in the Country ; — That had been determin'd by a full Vote Nem. Con. before " most of the In- habitants had withdrawn ". It was after this Vote had pass'd, and when it is allow'd the Meeting was thin, a Question of much less Importance than the other was debated, viz. In what Manner the Letter should be sent ; upon which it was agreed that the Town-Clerk should sign and forward it by the Direc- tion of the Committee.' Accordingly, I am well as- sured, it has been forwarded to four fifths of the Gentlemen Selectmen in the Country, the representa- tives of the several Towns, the Members of his Ma- jesty's Council and others of Note, by the Direction of the Committee, in Pursuance of the Vote of the Town, with less Expence for Carriage than two Dol- lars. I have a better Opinion of the good Sense of ' Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 94. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 385 the People of this Country, than to believe they will be diverted from an Attention to Matters which essen- tially concern their own and their Childrens best Birthrights, and which ev^ry Day become more seri- ous and alarming, by the Trifles that are every Week thrown out perhaps with that very Design in the Court Gazette more especially. The Ax is laid at the Root of our happy civil Constitution : Our reli- gious Rights are threatned : These important Mat- ters are the Subjects of the Letter of this Town to our Friends and Fellow Sufferers in the Country. Whether there were present at the Meeting three Hun- dred or three Thousand, it was a legal Meeting : As legal as a Meeting of the General Assembly convened by the King's Writ or a Meeting of his Majesty's Council summoned by his Excellency the Governor : This I say with due respect to those great Assem- blies. The Selectmen, among whom is the honorable Gentleman who was Moderator* of the Meeting, have condescended to publish it under their Hands, that " a very respectable Number attended the Meet- ing through the Day " : — If it had been as thin a Meeting as Mr. Draper's Writers would fain have the Country think it was, still, being a legal Meeting, their proceedings according to the Warrant for call- ing it, would have been as legal as those of his Ma- jesty's Council when seven Gentlemen only (which Number by the Charter constitutes a Quorum) out of their whole Number, Twenty-Eight, happen to be present. If the Generality of my Countrymen shall think those Proceedings to be of any Importance to *John Hancock, Esq; VOL. II. — 3 5 386 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 them, and shall act upon them with their own good Sense and Understanding, I care not who concern themselves in adjusting the private, moral or religious Characters of Dr. Young and the Lieutenant Gover- nor. The part which each of these Gentlemen has acted upon the political Stage is well known. I would just observe to Mr. Draper, that the Name of the Gentleman who furnish'd him with the Note before refer'd to, is perhaps not so deep a Secret as he may imagine it to be. It may be, he had then no thought that a Story inadvertently told, would have been immediately work'd up by the Press : This how- ever has been done, and the Publick has been thereby abused : It should make one cautious not too sud- denly to communicate any Piece of Intelligence, espe- cially of Importance, and still more especially of political Importance, to one whose Business it is to publish what he hears. Mr. Draper may flatter himself that " the Credit of his Paper has not yet suffered " : It is sometimes not an easy thing, to perswade a Man to believe that to be true, which he wishes may not be true : It must needs be difficult to establish in the minds of impartial Men, the Reputa- tion of a Paper, the Publisher of which (to use the mild, very mild Expressions of the Selectmen) " has suffered", it may be said repeatedly, "what was so different from the fact to be inserted," before he " had Opportunity to be very particular in his In- quiries about it ; especially as it was a Matter, by his own Concession, so interesting to the People in the Country, as that "they ought to be satisfied whether the Report be true or false ". This, we hope, by the 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 387 Interposition of the Selectmen is now done ; and it was the more necessary, because the same Gentleman who furnished Mr. Draper with the Note, as he calls it, had related the story which is now detected, to a Person going, and since gone into a distant Country in this Province. Whether Mr. Draper in the Conclusion of what he inserted in his last, sign'd the Printer, had an In- tention obliquely to reflect on the Honor of the Selectmen, those Gentlemen, if they please will consider. Candidus. TO ELBRIDGE GERRY. [J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 23-25.] Boston, Dec. 23, 1772. My Dear Sir, The further proceedings of the truly patriotic town of Marblehead, together with your own esteemed favours of the i6th and 21st instant, came to my hand in due season. The proceedings I immediately com- municated to our chairman ; and from your hint that it was thought proper to suspend the publication, to- gether with assurances of letters from some other towns speedily, we agreed also to suspend the calling a meeting of our committee, which however will be done soon. Agreeably to the intimations in your last I find in the Essex Gazette ^ a, — what shall I call it ? a disapprobation, to use their own term, signed by a few men, of the proceedings of a whole town. If ' Published at Salem, by S. and E. Hall. 388 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 " in fact there was but about twenty persons who voted at the meeting" and all the rest were against the measure, I wonder much that they did not follow the example of so eminent a person as the single dis- sentient and outvote you when they had it in their power. Or why could not the twenty-nine disappro- bators have attended the meeting the second time and prevented your taking such measures from which they " are apprehensive the town will incur a great deal of public censure " ? This would indeed have been meritorious. I am a stranger to most of the gentlemen who have thus signalized themselves ; Mr. Mansfield I once thought a zealous whig, perhaps I was mistaken. After all, the whole seems to be but a weak effort ; their third reason appears to me so ex- cessively puerile, that I am surprised that gentlemen of character could deliberately set their hands to it. Your last proceedings sent to us in manuscript are attested by the town clerk. I am sorry to observe that the printed copy in the Essex Gazette is without his attestation, because an advantage may be made of it in our Court Gazette to lessen its credit and author- ity ; to prevent which I intend the next Monday's papers shall have it from the manuscript unless (which I cannot much expect) I shall be otherwise advised by you. I was thinking that you might turn the tables upon your disapprobating friends, by getting a much larger subscription from persons who were not at the meet- ing and approve of the proceedings. Whether it be prudent or worth while to try this method you must certainly be a better judge th^n I am. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 389 The tools of power, little and great, are taking un- wearied pains to prevent the meeting of the towns, but they do not succeed altogether to their wishes. I cannot help entertaining some sanguine hopes that the measures we have pursued will have a happy event. TO DARIUS SESSIONS.^ [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Deer 28 1772 Sir This day I had the Honor of receiving a Letter signd by yourself and other Gentlemen of Note in Providence. The Subject is weighty, & requires more of my Attention than a few Hours, to give you my digested Sentiments of it ; neither have I yet had an Opportunity of advising with the few among my Acquaintances, whom I would chuse to consult upon a Matter, which in my Opinion may involve the Fate of America. This, I intend soon to do ; and shall ' Of Providence, R. I. Under date of December 25, 1772, Deputy Governor Sessions, Chief Justice Stephen Hopkins, John Cole, and Moses Brown had written to Adams with reference to the Gasple aSair and to Lord Dartmouth's letter to the Governor of Rhode Island of September 4, 1772. A copy is in S. A. Wells, Samuel Adams and the American Revolution, vol. i., pp. 363-365. A copy of a letter, under date of February 15, 1773, from Sessions, Hopkins, Cole, and Brown to Adams, acknowledging the receipt of three letters from Adams in response to their letter of December 25, 1772, is in ibid., pp. 370, 371. In this letter to Adams his correspondents comment as follows : " At or about the time we wrote you, we transmitted copies of the same to several gentlemen in North America, from the most of whom we have received answers, agreeing nearly in sentiments, with those you were pleased to communicate to us ; though no one has entered into a disquisition of the subject so fully and satisfactorily as you have." The original letter is also in the Lenox Library. 390 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 then, I hope, be able to communicate to you (before the Time you have set shall expire) such Thoughts, as in your Judgment, may perhaps be wise and salu- tary on so pressing an Occasion. Thus much how- ever seems to me to be obvious at first View ; that the whole Act of Parliament so far as it relates to the Colonies, & consequently the Commission which is founded upon it, is against the first Principles of Government and the English Constitution, Magna Charta & many other Acts of Parliament, declaratory of the Rights of the Subject ; & therefore the Guard- ians of the Rights of the Subject will consider whether it be not their Duty, so far from giving the least Countenance to the Execution of it, to declare it, ipso Facto null & Void. This Commission seems to be substituted in the Room of a Grand Jury, which is one of the greatest Bulwarks of the Liberty of the Subject ; instituted for the very Purpose of prevent ing Mischeife being done by false Accusers. By the Act of Parliament of the 25* of Ed. 3'' (in the true Sense of the Words the best of Kings) it is establishd, that none shall be taken by Suggestion made to the King or his Council (which seems to me to be the present Point) unless it be by Indictment or Present- ment of good & lawful People of the same Neigh- bourhood, where such Deeds be done — And, " if any thing be done against the same it shall be re- dressd & holden for none." But certain Persons proscribd in the Colony of Rhode Island, are to be taken without such Indictment or Presentment, & carried away from the Neighborhood where Deeds unlawful are suggested to the King to have been 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 391 committed, & there put to answer contrary to that Law, which even so long ago was held to be the old Law of the Land. One Reason given in the Act for taking away that accursed Court called the Star Chamber was, because all Matters examinable & determinable before that Court might have their due Punishment and Correction by the Common Law of the Land and in the ordinary Course of Justice elsewhere. But here seems to be a stopping of the ordinary Course of Justice ; & by setting up a Court of Enquiry founded upon a Suggestion of evil Deeds made to the King & of certain Persons supposd to be concernd therein. Jurisdiction is given to others than the constituted ordinary Courts of Justice, & in a Way other than the ordinary Course of the Law, that is, an arbitrary Way to examine & draw into Question Matters & things which, by the Act for regulating the privy Council it is declared, that neither his Majesty nor his privy Council have or ought to have any Jurisdiction Power or Authority to do. In short, this Measure appears to me to be repugnant to the first Principles of natural Justice. The interrested Servants of the Crown, and some of them pensiond, perhaps byassd & corrupted being the constituted Judges, whether this or that Subject shall be put to answer for a supposd Offence against the Crown, & that in a distant Country, to their great Detriment & Danger of Life & Fortune, even if their Innocence sh** be made to appear. What Man is safe from the malicious Prosecution of such Persons, un- less it be the cringing Sycophant, and even he holds his Life and Property at their Mercy. It should 392 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 awaken the American Colonies, which have been too long dozing upon the Brink of Ruin. It should again unite them in one Band. Had that Union which once happily subsisted been preservd, the Conspira- tors against our Common Rights would never have venturd such bold Attempts. It has ever been my Opinion, that an Attack upon the Liberties of one Colony is an Attack upon the Liberties of all ; and therefore in this Instance all should be ready to yield Assistance to Rhode Island. But an Answer to the most material Part of your Letter must be referd, for the Reasons I have given, to another Opportunity. In the mean time I am with due Regards to the Gentlemen who have honord me with their Letter Your assured Friend & very hbl Serv' THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF CAMBRIDGE.^ [MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library,] Boston Dec' 29 1772 Gentlemen Your cordial Approbation ^ of our sincere En- deavors for the Common Safety, affords us great Encouragement to persevere with Alacrity in the Execution of our Trust. Our hands have been abundantly strengthend by the generous and manly Resolves of our worthy Brethren in the several ' Addressed to ' ' Capt Ebenezer Stedman & others, a Committee of Corre- spondence in Cambridge." ' Boston Gazette, December 28, 1772. 1772] SAMUEL ADAMS. 393 Towns who have hitherto acted. Should such Senti- ments, which we are convincd generally prevail through the province, be as generally expressd, It must refute the insidious misrepresentation so in- dustriously propagated on both sides of the Atlan- tick, that the people have not Virtue enough to resist the Efforts made to enslave them ! It affords us the greatest Satisfaction to find the Opportunity offerd to our Fellow Countrymen to wipe off so igno- minious a Reproach so readily embraced. We trust in God, & in the Smiles of Heaven on the Justice of our Cause, that a Day is hastening, when the Efforts of the Colonists will be crownd with Success ; and the present Generation furnish an Example of publick Virtue, worthy the Imitation of all Posterity. In this we are greatly encouraged, from the thorough Under- standing of our civil & Religious Rights Liberties & Privileges, throughout this province : The Import- ance of which is so obvious, that we are satisfied, nothing we can offer, would strengthen your Sense of it. It gives us Pleasure to be assured from you, that the meetings of the Town of Cambridge on the Occasion have been so respectable ; as, in our Opin- ion, it is an Evidence of their virtuous Attachment to the Cause of Liberty. It shall be our constant Endeavor to collect and communicate to our esteemed fellow Countrymen every Interresting Information we can procure ; in pursuance thereof we take the Liberty to inclose, a material Extract of a Letter from the Right Honorable the Earl of Dartmouth to his Honor the 394 THE WRITINGS OF [1772 Governor of Rhode Island, Dated White Hall, Sept. 7 1772; which we have good reason to assure you is genuine.' THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF PLYMOUTH.^ [MS. , Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Dec' 29 1772 Much respected Gentlemen We the Committee of Correspondence for the Town of Boston, have receivd your kind Letters in- closing the noble & patriotick Resolves of the Me- tropolis of the ancient Colony of Plymouth. It must give singular Pleasure to the friends of this Country to find in all times of Difficulty & Dan- ger, the worthy Inhabitants of Plymouth, [are] ready to assert the natural religious & civil Rights of the Colonists in general & of this by a new Charter united province in particular. Your thorough knowledge of those Rights the Sense you have of the many late Infractions thereof, the manly & becoming Spirit with which you have always expressd your selves on such Occasions, must best appear without any Comment, from your Re- solves for a number of years past ; more especially your last which are before the publick Eye. We heartily congratulate you on the return of that ' The form of signature is : " Signd by order of the Committee for Corre- spondence in Boston William Cooper, Clerk." ''Addressed to "Joseph Warren Esq & others a Committee of Corre- spondence for the Town of Plymouth.'' 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 395 great Anniversary, the landing of the first Settlers at Plymouth, & on the religious & respectful Manner, in which it has been celebrated. You may say without Vanity, and surely we may affirm without any such Imputation, that a handful of persecuted brave people, then made way for the ex- tensive Settlement of New England : That had it not been for their Efforts, Virginia would have soon been abandoned : That the French who were then settled at Quebec; & the Dutch interloping in Hudsons River with the Assistance they might have derived from the Natives, and the Aid at all times ready to be afforded, by the Crown of Spain, then in possession of South America, against the Crown of England, would have availd themselves of all the Continent of North America. And that at this very period Great Britain might have thought herself well off, with such trifling Islands as are now in the possession of the Dane. In pursuance of our Instruction from this Town to communicate any new Infractions of our Rights & Liberties we inclose an Extract of a Letter from Lord Dartmouth to the Governor of Rhode Island & shall take the earliest Opportunity to advise you of every thing Important that may occur to us. TO DARIUS SESSIONS. [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Jan z 1773. Sir, I wrote you on Monday last acknowledging the Receipt of a Letter directed to me from your self & 396 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Other worthy Gentlemen in Providence. The Ques- tion proposed was in what manner your Colony had best behave in this critical Situation & how the Shock that is coming upon it may be best evaded or sustaind. It appears to me probable that the Ad- ministration has a design to get your Charter vacated. The Execution of so extraordinary a Commission, unknown in your Charter & abhorrent to the princi- ples of every free Government, wherein Persons are appointed to enquire into Offences committed against a Law of another Legislature, with the Power of transporting the persons they shall suspect beyond the Seas to be tryed, would essentially change your Constitution ; and a Silence under such a Change would be construed a Submission to it. At the same time it must be considerd that an open declaration of the Assembly against the Appointment & order of the King, in which he is supported by an Act of the British Parliament, would be construed by the Law Servants of the Crown & other ministers such a Defiance of the Royal Authority, as they would advise proper to be recommended to the Considera- tion & Decision of Parliament. Should your Gov- ernor refuse to call the Commissioners together, or when called together, the civil magistrates refuse to take measures for arresting & committing to Custody such persons as upon Information made shall be chargd with being concernd in burning the Gaspee, or if they should issue their precepts for that purpose the Officers should refuse to execute them, the Event would be perhaps the same as in the Case of an open Declaration before mentiond, for in all these Cases it 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 397 would be represented to the King & the parHament that it was to be attributed to what they will call the overbearing popularity of your Government, & the same pretence would be urgd for the Necessity of an Alteration in order to support the Kings Authority in the Colony. As the chiefe Object in the View of Administration seems to be the vacating your Charter, I cannot think the Commissioners in case they should meet together, would upon any of the aforementiond Occasions, chuse to call upon General Gage for the Aid of the Troops or make any more than the Shew of a Readiness to execute their Commission ; for they might think the grand purpose would be sufficiently answerd without their Discussing such danger to their Reputation, if not their persons. If the fore- going Hypotheses are well grounded, I think it may be justly concluded that since the Constitution is already destined to suffer unavoidable Dissolution, an open & manly Determination of the Assembly not to consent to its ruin would show to the World & posterity that the people were virtuous though un- fortunate, & sustaind the Shock with Dignity. You will allow me to observe, that this is a Matter in which the whole American Continent is deeply concernd and a Submission of the Colony of Rhode Island to this enormous Claim of power would be made a Precedent for all the rest ; they ought indeed to consider deeply their Interest in the Struggle of a single Colony & their Duty to afford her all practi- cable Aid. This last is a Consideration which I shall not fail to mention to my particular friends when our Assembly shall sit the next Week. 398 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Should it be the determination of a weak Adminis- tration to push this Measure to the utmost at all Events, and the Commissioners call in the Aid of troops for that purpose it would be impossible for me to say what might be the Consequence, Perhaps a most violent political Earthquake through the whole British Empire if not its total Destruction. I have long feard that this unhappy Contest be- tween Britain & America will end in Rivers of Blood ; Should that be the Case, America I think may wash her hands in Innocence ; yet it is the highest prudence to prevent if possible so dreadful a Calamity. Some such provocation as is now offerd to Rhode Island will in all probability be the immediate Occasion of it. Let us therefore consider whether in the present Case the Shock that is coming upon you may not be evaded which is a distinct part of the Question proposed. For this purpose, if your Governor should omit to call the Commissioners together, in Consequence of a representation made to him by the Assembly, that the Innovation appears to them of a most dangerous Tendency ; and altogether needless, inasmuch as the same Enquiry might be made as effectually (and doubtless would be) by a Grand Jury, as is proposed to be made by the Commissioners ; which would be agreable to the Constitution & in the ordinary Course of Justice. A representation of this kind made by the Assembly to the Governor, would afford him a reasonable plea for suspending the Matter till he could fully state the Matter to Lord Dartmouth & the odious light in which the Commission is viewd by that & the other Colonies as a measure in- 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 399 compatible with the EngHsh Constitution & the Rights of the Colonists together with the fatal Con- sequences of which it might probably be productive. This perhaps could not be done till the rising of Parliament, & before the next Session a war or some other important Event might take place which would bury this Affair in Oblivion. Or if it should ever come before Parliament in this Manner, the Delay on the part of the Governor would appear to be made upon motives of sound prudence & the best Advice which would tend to soften their Spirits. And besides, its appearing to be founded not directly on the principles of Opposition to the Authority of Par- liament, the sacred Importance of Charters upon which many of the Members hold their Seats, might be con- siderd without prejudice, & the Matter might subside even in Parliament. Should that be the Case it would disappoint the designs & naturally abate the Rigour of Administration & so the Shock might be evaded. If, without being called together by Governor Wanton who is first named, the rest of the Commis- sioners should meet upon the Business of their Commission, which I cannot suppose they will do, especially if the Governor should acquaint them with the Reason of his not calling them, it would show a forward Zeal to execute an order new arbitrary & universally odious, & how far that might justly in- sence the people against them personally, & lessen them in the Esteem of all judicious Men, they would do well calmly to consider ; and how far also they would be answerable for the fatal Effects that might follow such a forwardness all the world and Posterity 400 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 will judge : For such an Event as this will assuredly go down to future Ages in the page of History, & the Colony & all concernd in it will be characterizd by the part they shall act in the Tragedy. Upon the whole it is my humble Opinion, that the grand Pur- pose of Administration is either to intimidate the Colony into a Compliance with a Measure destructive of the freedom of their Constitution, or to provoke them to such a Step as shall give a pretext for the Va- cation of their Charter which I should think must sound like Thunder in the Ears of Connecticutt especially. Whatever Measures the Wisdom of your Assembly may fix upon to evade the impending Stroke, I hope nothing will be done which may by the Invention of our Adversarys, be construed as even the Appearance of an Acquiescence in so grasping an Act of Tyranny. Thus I have freely given my Sentiments upon the Question proposed ; which I should not have venturd to do had it not been requested. I have done it with the greatest Diffidence because I think I am fully sensi- ble of my Inability to enter into a Question of so delicate a Nature & great Importance especially as I have not had that opportunity to consult my friends which I promisd my self. I hope the Assembly of Rhode Island will in their Conduct exhibit an Ex- ample of true Wisdom Fortitude & Perseverance. And with the greatest Respect to the Gentlemen to whose superior Understanding this and my former Letter to you is submitted, I remain Sir Your assured friend & humble servant 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. ^o^ P.S. I beg just to propose for Consideration whether a circular Lef^ from your Assembly on this Occasion, to those of the other Colonies might not tend to the Advantage of the General Cause & of R Island in particular ; I should think it would induce each of them, at least to injoyn their Agents in Great Britain to represent the Severity of your Case in the strongest terms. To the Hon Darius Sessions Esq"^ to be communicated THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR. JANUARY 26, 1773." [Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 351-364; also printed in ihe Boston Gazette, February I, 1773, and in The Speeches of His Excellency Governor Hutchinson (Boston, 1773), pp. 33-58.] May it please your Excellency, Your Excellency's speech to the General Assembly, at the opening of this session,^ has been read with great attention in this House. We fully agree with your Excellency, that our own happiness, as well as his Majesty's service, very much depends upon peace and order ; and we shall at all times take such measures as are consistent with our constitution, and the rights of the people, to promote • Adams was a member of the committee appointed by the House on January 8 to prepare this answer, and also a member of the committee appointed Janu- ary 26 to present the answer to the Governor. Concerning the authorship of the answer, see W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., p. 31, and R. Frothingham, Life of Joseph Warren, p. 223. For a claim adverse to the authorship of Samuel Adams, see W. Tudor, Life of James Otis, p. 411, See also below, pages 430, 431. ' Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 336-342. VOL. II. — a6. 402 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 and maintain them. That the government at present is in a very disturbed state, is apparent. But we can- not ascribe it to the people's having adopted uncon- stitutional principles, which seems to be the cause assigned for it by your Excellency. It appears to us, to have been occasioned rather by the British House of Commons assuming and exercising a power incon- sistent with the freedom of the constitution, to give and grant the property of the colonists, and appro- priate the same without their consent. It is needless for us to inquire what were the prin- ciples that induced the councils of the nation to so new and unprecedented a measure. But, when the Parliament, by an act of their own, expressly declared, that the King, Lords, and Commons, of the nation " have, 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 whatever," and in consequence hereof, an- other revenue act was made, the minds of the people were filled with anxiety, and they were justly alarmed with apprehensions of the total extinction of their liberties. The result of the free inquiries of many persons, into the right of the Parliament, to exercise such a power over the colonies, seems, in your Excellency's opinion, to be the cause, of what you are pleased to call the present " disturbed state of the government ; " upon which, you " may not any longer, consistent with your duty to the King, and your regard to the interest of the province, delay communicating your sentiments." 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 403 But that the principles adopted in consequence hereof, are unconstitutional, is a subject of inquiry. We know of no such disorders arising therefrom, as are mentioned by your Excellency. If Grand Jurors have not, on their oaths, found such offences, as your Excellency, with the advice of his Majesty's Council, have ordered to be prosecuted, it is to be presumed, they have followed the dictates of good conscience. They are the constitutional judges of these matters, and it is not to be supposed, that moved from corrupt principles, they have suffered offenders to escape a prosecution, and thus supported and en- couraged them to go on offending. If any part of authority shall, in an unconstitutional manner, inter- pose in any matter, it will be no wonder if it be brought into contempt ; to the lessening or confound- ing of that subordination, which is necessary to a well regulated state. Your Excellency's representation that the bands of government are weakened, we humbly conceive to be without good grounds ; though we must own, the heavy burdens unconstitutionally brought upon the people, have been, and still are uni- versally, and very justly complained of, as a grievance. You are pleased to say, that, " when our predeces- sors first took possession of this plantation, or colony, under a grant and charter from the Crown of Eng- land, it was their sense, and it was the sense of the kingdom, that they were to remain subject to the supreme authority of Parliament ; " whereby we un- derstand your Excellency to mean, in the sense of the declaratory act of Parliament afore mentioned, in all cases whatever. And, indeed, it is difficult, if 404 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 possible, to draw a line of distinction between the uni- versal authority of Parliament over the colonies, and no authority at all. It is, therefore, necessary for us to inquire how it appears, for your Excellency has not shown it to us, that when, or at the time that our predecessors took possession of this plantation, or colony, under a grant and charter from the Crown of England, it was their sense, and the sense of the king- dom, that they were to remain subject to the author- ity of Parliament. In making this inquiry, we shall, according to your Excellency's recommendation, treat the subject with calmness and candor, and also with a due regard to truth. Previous to a direct consideration of the charter granted to the province or colony, and the better to elucidate the true sense and meaning of it, we would take a view of the state of the English North Ameri- can continent at the time, when, and after possession was first taken of any part of it, by the Europeans. It was then possessed by heathen and barbarous people, who had, nevertheless, all that right to the soil, and sovereignty in and over the lands they possessed, which God had originally given to man. Whether their being heathen, inferred any right or authority to christian princes, a right which had long been as- sumed by the Pope, to dispose of their lands to others, we will leave your Excellency, or any one of understanding and impartial judgment, to consider. It is certain, they had in no other sense, forfeited them to any power in Europe. Should the doctrine be admitted, that the discovery of lands owned and possessed by pagan people, gives to any christian 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 405 prince a right and title to the dominion and property, still it is vested in the Crown alone. It was an acqui- sition of foreign territory, not annexed to the realm of England, and, therefore, at the absolute disposal of the Crown. For we take it to be a settled point, that the King has a constitutional prerogative, to dispose of and alienate, any part of his territories not an- nexed to the realm. In exercise of this prerogative. Queen Elizabeth granted the first American charter ; and, claiming a right by virtue of discovery, then sup- posed to be valid, to the lands which are now pos- sessed by the colony of Virginia, she conveyed to Sir Walter Rawleigh, the property, dominion, and sov- ereignty thereof, to be held of the Crown, by hom- age, and a certain render, without any reservation to herself, of any share in the Legislative and Executive authority. After the attainder of Sir Walter, King James the I. created two Virginian companies, to be governed each by laws, transmitted to them by his Majesty, and not by the Parliament, with power to establish, and cause to be made, a coin to pass cur- rent among them ; and vested with all liberties, fran- chises and immunities, within any of his other dominions, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and born within the realm. A declara- tion similar to this, is contained in the first charter of this colony, and in those of other American colonies, which shows that the colonies were not intended, or considered to be within the realm of England, though within the allegiance of the English Crown. After this, another charter was granted by the same King James, to the Treasurer and Company of Virginia, 4o6 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 vesting them with full power and authority, to make, ordain, and establish, all manner of orders, laws, directions, instructions, forms and ceremonies of gov- ernments, and magistracy, fit and necessary, and the same to abrogate, &c. without any reservation for se- curing their subjection to Parliament, and future laws of England. A third charter was afterwards granted by the same King, to the Treasurer and Company of Virginia, vesting them with full power and authority to make laws, with an addition of this clause, " so, al- ways, that the same be not contrary to the laws and statutes of this our realm of England." The same clause was afterwards copied into the charter of this and other colonies, with certain variations, such as, that these laws should be " consonant to reason," " not repugnant to the laws of England," " as nearly as conveniently may be to the laws, statutes and rights of England," &c. These modes of expression, convey the same meaning, and serve to show an in- tention, that the laws of the colonies should be as much as possible, conformable in the spirit of them, to the principles and fundamental laws of the English constitution, its rights and statutes then in being, and by no means to bind the colonies to a subjection to the supreme authority of the English Parliament. And that this is the true intention, we think it further evident from this consideration, that no acts of any colony Legislative, are ever brought into Parliament for inspection there, though the laws made in some of them, like the acts of the British Parliament, are laid before the King for his dissent or allowance. We have brought the first American charters into 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 407 view, and the state of the country when they were granted, to show, that the right of disposing of the lands was, in the opinion of those times, vested solely in the Crown ; that the several charters con- veyed to the grantees, who should settle upon the territories therein granted, all the powers necessary to constitute them free and distinct states ; and that the fundamental laws of the English constitution should be the certain and established rule of legisla- tion, to which, the laws to be made in the several colonies, were to be, as nearly as conveniently might be, conformable, or similar, which was the true intent and import of the words, " not repugnant to the laws of England," " consonant to reason," and other vari- ant expressions in the different charters. And we would add, that the King, in some of the charters, re- serves the right to judge of the consonance and simi- larity of their laws with the English constitution, to himself, and not to the Parliament; and, in conse- quence thereof, to affirm, or within a limited time, disallow them. These charters, as well as that afterwards granted to Lord Baltimore, and other charters, are repugnant to the idea of Parliamentary authority ; and, to sup- pose a Parliamentary authority over the colonies, under such charters, would necessarily induce that solecism in politics, imperium in imperio. And the King's repeatedly exercising the prerogative of dis- posing of the American territory by such charters, together with the silence of the nation thereupon, is an evidence that it was an acknowledged prerogative. But, further to show the sense of the English 4o8 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Crown and nation, that the American colonists, and our predecessors in particular, when they first took possession of this country, by a grant and charter from the Crown, did not remain subject to the su- preme authority of Parliament, we beg leave to ob- serve, that when a bill was offered by the two Houses of Parliament to King Charles the I. granting to the subjects of England, the free liberty of fishing on the coast of America, he refused his royal assent, declar- ing as a reason, that " the colonies were without the realm and jurisdiction of Parliament." In like manner, his predecessor, James the I. had before declared, upon a similar occasion, that " America was not annexed to the realm, and it was not fitting that Parliament should make laws for those countries." This reason was, not secretly, but openly declared in Parliament. If, then, the colonies were not annexed to the realm, at the time when their charters were granted, they never could afterwards, without their own special consent, which has never since been had, or even asked. If they are not now annexed to the realm, they are not a part of the kingdom, and consequently not subject to the Legis- lative authority of the kingdom. For no country, by the common law, was subject to the laws or to the Parliament, but the realm of England. We would, if your Excellency pleases, subjoin an instance of conduct in King Charles the II. singular indeed, but important to our purpose, who, in 1769, framed an act for a permanent revenue for the sup- port of Virginia, and sent it there by Lord Culpepper, the Governor of that colony, which was afterwards 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 409 passed into a law, and " enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by, and with the consent of the General Assembly of Virginia." If the King had judged the colony to be a part of the realm, he would not, nor could he, consistently with Magna Charta, have placed himself at the head of, and joined with any Legislative body in making a law to tax the people there, other than the Lords and Commons of England. Having taken a view of the several charters of the first colony in America, if we look into the old charter of this colony, we shall find it to be grounded on the same principle ; that the right of disposing the terri- tory granted therein, was vested in the Crown, as being that Christian Sovereign who first discovered it, when in the possession of heathens ; and that it was considered as being not within the realm, but being only within the Fee and Seignory of the King. As, therefore, it was without the realm of England, must not the King, if he had designed that the Parliament should have any authority over it, have made special reservation for that purpose, which was not done ? Your Excellency says, " it appears from the charter itself, to have been the sense of our predecessors, who first took possession of this plantation, or colony, that they were to remain subject to the authority of Parliament." You have not been pleased to point out to us, how this appears from the charter, unless it be in the observation you make on the above men- tioned clause, viz.: "that a favorable construction has been put upon this clause, when it has been allowed to intend such laws of England only, as are expressly 4IO THE WRITINGS OF [1773 made to respect us," which you say, " is by charter, a reserve of power and authority to ParUament, to bind us by such laws, at least, as are made expressly to re- fer to us, and consequently is a limitation of the power given to the General Court." But, we would still recur to the charter itself, and ask your Excel- lency, how this appears, from thence, to have been the sense of our predecessors ? Is any reservation of power and authority to Parliament thus to bind us, expressed or implied in the charter ? It is evident, that King Charles the I. the very Prince who granted it, as well as his predecessor, had no such idea of the supreme authority of Parliament over the colony, from their declarations before recited. Your Excel- lency will then allow us, further to ask, by what authority, in reason or equity, the Parliament can en- force a construction so unfavorable to us. Quod ab initio injustum est, nullum potest habere juris effec- tum, said Grotius. Which, with submission to your Excellency, may be rendered thus : whatever is origi- nally in its nature wrong, can never be sanctified, or made right by repetition and use. In solemn agreements, subsequent restrictions ought never to be allowed. The celebrated author, whom your Excellency has quoted, tells us, that, " neither the one or the other of the interested, or contracting powers, hath a right to interpret at pleas- ure." This we mention, to show, even upon a sup- position, that the Parliament had been a party to the contract, the invalidity of any of its subsequent acts, to explain any clause in the charter ; more especially to restrict or make void any clause granted therein to 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 411 the General Court. An agreement ought to be in- terpreted " in such a manner as that it may have its effect." But, if your Excellency's interpretation of this clause is just, " that it is a reserve of power and authority to Parliament to bind us by such laws as are made expressly to refer to us," it is not only " a limi- tation of the power given to the General Court " to legislate, but it may, whenever the Parliament shall think fit, render it of no effect ; for it puts it in the power of Parliament, to bind us by as many laws as they please, and even to restrain us from making any laws at all. If your Excellency's assertions in this, and the next succeeding part of your speech, were well grounded, the conclusion would be undeniable, that the charter, even in this clause, " does not confer or reserve any liberties," worth enjoying, " but what would have been enjoyed without it ; " saving that, within any of his Majesty's dominions, we are to be considered barely as not aliens. You are pleased to say, it cannot " be contended, that by the liberties of free and natural subjects," (which are expressly granted in the charter, to all intents, purposes and construc- tions, whatever,) " is to be understood, an exemption from acts of Parliament, because not represented there ; seeing it is provided by the same charter, that such acts shall be in force." If, says an eminent law- yer, " the King grants to the town of D. the same liberties which London has, this shall be intended the like liberties." A grant of the liberties of free and natural subjects, is equivalent to a grant of the same liberties. And the King, in the first charter to this colony, expressly grants, that it " shall be construed. 412 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 reputed and adjudged in all cases, most favorably on the behalf and for the benefit and behoof of the said Governor and Company, and their successors — any matter, cause or thing, whatsover, to the contrary not- withstanding." It is one of the liberties of free and natural subjects, born and abiding within the realm, to be governed, as your Excellency observes, " by laws made by persons, in whose elections they, from time to time, have a voice." This is an essential right. For nothing is more evident, than, that any people, who are subject to the unlimited power of another, must be in a state of abject slavery. It was easily and plainly foreseen, that the right of represen- tation in the English Parliament, could not be exer- cised by the people of this colony. It would be impracticable, if consistent with the English constitu- tion. And for this reason, that this colony might have and enjoy all the liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects within the realm, as stipu- lated in the charter, it was necessary, and a Legisla- tive was accordingly constituted within the colony ; one branch of which, consists of Representatives chosen by the people, to make all laws, statutes, or- dinances, &c. for the well ordering and governing the same, not repugnant to the laws of England, or, as nearly as conveniently might be, agreeable to the fundamental laws of the English constitution. We are, therefore, still at a loss to conceive, where your Excellency finds it " provided in the same charter, that such acts," viz. acts of Parliament, made ex- pressly to refer to us, "shall be in force" in this province. There is nothing to this purpose, ex- 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 413 pressed in the charter, or in our opinion, even im- plied in it. And surely it would be very absurd, that a charter, which is evidently formed upon a supposi- tion and intention, that a colony is and should be con- sidered as not within the realm ; and declared by the very Prince who granted it, to be not within the juris- diction of Parliament, should yet provide, that the laws which the same Parliament should make, expressly to refer to that colony, should be in force therein. Your Excellency is pleased to ask, " does it follow, that the government, by their (our ancestors) removal from one part of the dominion to another, loses its authority over that part to which they removed ; and ■ that they are freed from the subjection they were under before ? " We answer, if that part of the King's dominions, to which they removed, was not then a part of the realm, and was never annexed to it, the Parliament lost no authority over it, having never had such authority ; and the emigrations were conse- quently freed from the subjection they were under before their removal. The power and authority of Parliament, being constitutionally confined within the limits of the realm, and the nation collectively, of which alone it is the representing and Legislative Assembly. Your Excellency further asks, " will it not rather be said, that by this, their voluntary removal, they have relinquished, for a time, at least, one of the rights of an English subject, which they might, if they pleased, have continued to enjoy, and may again enjoy, whenever they return to the place where it can be exercised ? " To which we answer ; they never did relinquish the right to be governed by laws, made by persons in 414 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 whose election they had a voice. The King stipu- lated with them, that they should have and enjoy all the liberties of free and natural subjects, born within the realm, to all intents, purposes and constructions, whatsoever ; that is, that they should be as free as those, who were to abide within the realm : conse- quently, he stipulated with them, that they should enjoy and exercise this most essential right, which dis- criminates freemen from vassals, uninterruptedly, in its full sense and meaning ; and they did, and ought still to exercise it, without the necessity of returning, for the sake of exercising it, to the nation or state of England. We cannot help observing, that your Excellency's manner of reasoning on this point, seems to us, to render the most valuable clauses in our charter unin- telligible : as if persons going from the realm of England, to inhabit in America, should hold and exer- cise there a certain right of English subjects ; but, in order to exercise it in such manner as to be of any benefit to them, they must not inhabit there, but return to the place where alone it can be exercised. By such construction, the words of the charter can have no sense or meaning. We forbear remarking upon the absurdity of a grant to persons born with- out the realm, of the same liberties which would have belonged to them, if they had been born within the realm. Your Excellency is disposed to compare this gov- ernment to the variety of corporations, formed within the kingdom, with power to make and execute by- laws, &c.; and, because they remain subject to the 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 415 supreme authority of Parliament, to infer, that this colony is also subject to the same authority : this reasoning appears to us not just. The members of those corporations are resident within the kingdom ; and residence subjects them to the authority of Par- liament, in which they are also represented ; whereas the people of this colony are not resident within the realm. The charter was granted, with the express purpose to induce them to reside without the realm ; consequently, they are not represented in Parliament there. But, we would ask your Excellency, are any of the corporations, formed within the kingdom, vested with the power of erecting other subordinate corpora- tions ? of enacting and determining what crimes shall be capital ? and constituting courts of common law, with all their officers, for the hearing, trying and pun- ishing capital offenders with death? These and many other powers vested in this government, plainly show, that it is to be considered as a corporation, in no other light, than as every state is a corporation. Besides, appeals from the courts of law here, are not brought before the House of Lords; which shows, that the peers of the realm, are not the peers of America : but all such appeals are brought before the King in council, which is a further evidence, that we are not within the realm. We conceive enough has been said, to convince your Excellency, that, "when our predecessors first took possession of this plantation, or colony, by a grant and charter from the Crown of England, it was not, and never had been the sense of the kingdom, that they were to remain subject to the supreme 4i6 THE WRITINGS OF [lyjs authority of Parliament. We will now, with your Excellency's leave, inquire what was the sense of our ancestors, of this very important matter. And, as your Excellency has been pleased to tell us, you have not discovered, that the supreme author- ity of Parliament has been called in question, even by private and particular persons, until within seven or eight years past ; except about the time of the anarchy and confusion in England, which preceded the resto- ration of King Charles the II. we beg leave to remind your Excellency of some parts of your own history of Massachusetts Bay. Therein we are informed of the sentiments of "persons of influence," after the resto- ration ; from which, the historian tells us, some parts of their conduct, that is, of the General Assembly, " may be pretty well accounted for." By the history, it appears to have been the opinion of those persons of influence, " that the subjects of any prince or state, had a natural right to remove to any other state, or to another quarter of the world, unless the state was weakened or exposed by such remove ; and, even in that case, if they were deprived of the right of all mankind, liberty of conscience, it would justify a sep- aration, and upon their removal, their subjection de- termined and ceased." That " the country to which they had removed, was claimed and possessed by independent princes, whose right to the lordship and sovereignty thereof had been acknowledged by the Kings of England," an instance of which is quoted in the margin. " That they themselves had actually purchased, for valuable consideration, not only the soil, but the dominion, the lordship and sovereignty 1 773 J SAMUEL ADAMS. 417 of those princes;" without which purchase, "in the sight of God and men, they had no right or title to what they possessed." They had received a charter of incorporation from the King, from whence arose a new kind of subjection, namely, "a voluntary, civil subjection ;" and by this compact, "they were to be governed by laws made by themselves." Thus it ap- pears to have been the sentiments of private persons, though persons by whose sentiments the public con- duct was influenced, that their removal was a justi- fiable separation from the mother state, upon which, their subjection to that state, determined and ceased. The supreme authority of Parliament, if it had then ever been asserted, must surely have been called in question, by men who had advanced such principles as these. The first act of Parliament, made expressly to refer to the colonies, was after the restoration. In the reign of King Charles the II. several such acts passed. And the same history informs us, there was a difficulty in conforming to them ; and the reason of this diffi- culty is explained in a letter of the General Assembly to their Agent, quoted in the following words ; " they apprehended them to be an invasion of the rights, liberties and properties of the subjects of his Majesty, in the colony, they not being represented in Parlia- ment, and according to the usual sayings of the learned in the law, the laws of England were bounded within the four seas, and did not reach America : However, as his Majesty had signified his pleasure, that those acts should be observed in the Massachusetts, they had made provision, by a law of the colony, that they 4i8 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 should be strictly attended."^ Which provision, by a law of their own, would have been superfluous, if they had admitted the supreme authority of Parliament. In short, by the same history it appears, that those acts of Parliament, as such, were disregarded ; and the following reason is given for it : " It seems to have been a general opinion, that acts of Parliament have no other force, than what they derived from acts made by the General Court, to establish and confirm them." But, still further to show the sense of our ancestors, respecting this matter, we beg leave to recite some parts of a narrative, presented to the Lords of Privy Council, by Edward Randolph, in the year 1676, which we find in your Excellency's collection of papers lately published.^ Therein ^ it is declared to be the sense of the colony, " that no law is in force or esteem there, but such as are made by the General Court ; and, therefore, it is accounted a breach of their privi- leges, and a betraying of the liberties of their com- monwealth, to urge the observation of the laws of England." And, further, " that no oath shall be urged, or required to be taken by any person, but such oath as the General Court hath considered, allowed and required." And, further, "there is no notice taken of the act of navigation, plantation or any other laws, made in England for the regulation of trade." " That the government would make the world believe, they ' T. Hutchinson, History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay ^ vol. i., p. 322. ^ A Collection of Original Papers Relative to the History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Boston, 1769. Reprinted by the Prince Society, 2 vols., Albany, 1865, under the title The Hutchinson Papers. ' The Hutchinson Papers, vol, ii., pp. 210 et seq. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 419 are a free state, and do act in all matters accordingly." Again, " these magistrates ever reserve to themselves, a power to alter, evade and disannul any law or com- mand, not agreeing with their humor, or the absolute authority of their government, acknowledging no su- perior." And, further, "he (the Governor) freely declared to me, that the laws made by your Majesty and your Parliament, obligeth them in nothing, but what consists with the interests of that colony ; that the Legislative power and authority is, and abides in them solely." And in the same Mr. Randolph's letter to the Bishop of London, July 14, 1682, he says, " this independency in government is claimed and daily practised."' And your Excellency being then sensible, that this was the sense of our ancestors, in a marginal note, in the same collection of papers, ob- serves, that, "this, viz. the provision made for observ- ing the acts of trade, is very extraordinary, for this provision was an act of the colony, declaring the acts of trade shall be in force there." Although Mr. Ran- dolph was very unfriendly to the colony, yet, as his de- clarations are concurrent with those recited from your Excellency's history, we think they may be admitted, for the purpose for which they are now brought. Thus we see, from your Excellency's history and publications, the sense our ancestors had of the juris- diction of Parliament, under the first charter. Very different from that, which your Excellency in your speech, apprehends it to have been. It appears by Mr. Neal's History of New England, that the agents, who had been employed by the colony ' The Hutchinson Papers, vol. ii., p. 281. 420 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 to transact its affairs in England, at the time when the present charter was granted, among other reasons, gave the following for their acceptance of it, viz. " The General Court has, with the King's approba- tion, as much power in New England, as the King and Parliament have in England ; they have all Eng- lish privileges, and can be touched by no law, and by no tax but of their own making." * This is the earliest testimony that can be given of the sense our prede- cessors had of the supreme authority of Parliament, under the present charter. And it plainly shows, that they, who having been freely conversant with those who framed the charter, must have well under- stood the design and meaning of it, supposed that the terms in our charter, " full power and authority," intended and were considered as a sole and exclusive power, and that there was no " reserve in the charter, to the authority of Parliament, to bind the colony " by any acts whatever. Soon after the arrival of the charter, viz. in 1692, your Excellency's history informs us,^ " the first act" of this Legislative, was a sort of Magna Charta, as- serting and setting forth their general privileges, and this clause was among the rest ; " no aid, tax, tallage, assessment, custom, loan, benevolence, or imposition whatever, shall be laid, assessed, imposed, or levied on any of their Majesty's subjects, or their estates, on any pretence whatever, but by the act and consent of the Governor, Council, and Representatives of the people assembled in General Court." And though ' Daniel Neal, History of New England. London, 1720, vol. ii., p. 479. * T. Hutchinson, History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol, ii., p. 64. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 421 this act was disallowed, it serves to show the sense which the General Assembly, contemporary with the granting the charter, had of their sole and exclusive right to legislate for the colony. The history says, " the other parts of the act were copied from Magna Charta ; " by which, we may conclude that the As- sembly then construed the words, " not repugnant to the laws," to mean, conformable to the fundamental principles of the English constitution. And it is observable, that the Lords of Privy Council, so lately as in the reign of Queen Anne, when several laws enacted by the General Assembly were laid be- fore her Majesty for her allowance, interpreted the words in this charter, " not repugnant to the laws of England," by the words, "as nearly as con- veniently may be agreeable to the laws and statutes of England." And her Majesty was pleased to dis- allow those acts, not because they were repugnant to any law or statute of England, made expressly to refer to the colony, but because divers persons, by virtue thereof, were punished, without being tried by their peers in the ordinary " courts of law," and " by the ordinary rules and known methods of justice," contrary to the express terms of Magna Charta, which was a statute in force at the time of granting the charter, and declaratory of the rights and liberties of the subjects within the realm. You are pleased to say, that " our provincial or local laws have, in numerous instances, had relation to acts of Parliament, made to respect the planta- tions, and this colony in particular." The authority of the Legislature, says the same author who is 422 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 quoted by your Excellency, " does not extend so far as the fundamentals of the constitution. They ought to consider the fundamental laws as sacred, if the nation has not in very express terms, given them the power to change them. For the constitution of the state ought to be fixed ; and since that was first established by the nation, which afterwards trusted certain persons with the Legislative power, the funda- mental laws are excepted from their commission." Now the fundamentals of the constitution of this province, are stipulated in the charter ; the reason- ing, therefore, in this case, holds equally good. Much less, then, ought any acts or doings of the General Assembly, however numerous, to neither of which your Excellency has pointed us, which barely relate to acts of Parliament made to respect the plantations in general, or this colony in particular, to be taken as an acknowledgment of this people, or even of the Assembly, which inadvertently passed those acts, that we are subject to the supreme authority of Parlia- ment ; and with still less reason are the decisions in the executive courts to determine this point. If they have adopted that " as part of the rule of law," which, in fact, is not, it must be imputed to inattention or error in judgment, and cannot justly be urged as an alteration or restriction of the Legislative authority of the province. Before we leave this part of your Excellency's speech, we would observe, that the great design of our ancestors in leaving the kingdom of England, was to be freed from a subjection to its spiritual laws and courts, and to worship God according to the 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 423 dictates of their consciences. Your Excellency, in your history observes, that their design was " to obtain for themselves and their posterity, the liberty of worshipping God in such manner as appeared to them most agreeable to the sacred scriptures." And the General Court themselves declared in 1651, that " seeing just cause to fear the persecution of the then Bishop, and high commission for not conforming to the ceremonies of those under their power, they thought it their safest course, to get to this outside of the world, out of their view and beyond their reach." But, if it had been their sense, that they were still to be subject to the supreme authority of Parliament, they must have known that their design might, and probably would be frustrated ; that the Parliament, especially considering the temper of those times, might make what ecclesiastical laws they pleased, expressly to refer to them, and place them in the same circumstances with respect to religious matters, to be relieved from which, was the design of their removal ; and we would add, that if your Ex- cellency's construction of the clause in our present charter is just, another clause therein, which provides for liberty of conscience for all christians, except papists, may be rendered void by an act of Parlia- ment made to refer to us, requiring a conformity to the rights and mode of worship in the church of England, or any other. Thus we have endeavored to show the sense of the people of this colony under both charters ; and, if there have been in any late instances a submission to acts of Parliament, it has been, in our opinion. 424 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 rather from inconsideration, or a reluctance at the idea of contending with the parent state, than from a conviction or acknowledgment of the Supreme Legis- lative authority of Parliament. Your Excellency tells us, " you know of no line that can be drawn between the supreme authority of Parliament and the total independence of the colo- nies." If there be no such line, the consequence is, either that the colonies are the vassals of the Parlia- ment, or that they are totally independent. As it cannot be supposed to have been the intention of the parties in the compact, that we should be reduced to a state of vassalage, the conclusion is, that it was their sense that we were thus independent. "It is impossible," your Excellency says, " that there should be two independent Legislatures in one and the same state." May we not then further conclude, that it was their sense, that the colonies were, by their charters, made distinct states from the mother coun- try ? Your Excellency adds, " for although there may be but one head, the King, yet the two Legis- lative bodies will make two governments as distinct as the kingdoms of England and Scotland, before the union." Very true, may it please your Excel- lency ; and if they interfere not with each other, what hinders, but that being united in one head and com- mon Sovereign, they may live happily in that connec- tion, and mutually support and protect each other? Notwithstanding all the terrors which your Excel- lency has pictured to us as the effects of a total independence, there is more reason to dread the con- sequences of absolute uncontroled power, whether of 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 425 a nation or a monarch, than those of a total inde- pendence. It would be a misfortune "to know by experience, the difference between the liberties of an English colonist and those of the Spanish, French, and Dutch " : and since the British Parliament has passed an act, which is executed even with rigor, though not voluntarily submitted to, for raising a revenue, and appropriating the same, without the consent of the people who pay it, and have claimed a power of making such laws as they please, to order and govern us, your Excellency will excuse us in ask- ing, whether you do not think we already experience too much of such a difference, and have not reason to fear we shall soon be reduced to a worse situation than that of the colonies of France, Spain, or Holland? If your Excellency expects to have the line of dis- tinction between the supreme authority of Parlia- ment, and the total independence of the colonies drawn by us, we would say it would be an arduous undertaking, and of very great importance to all the other colonies ; and therefore, could we conceive of such a line, we should be unwilling to propose it, without their consent in Congress. To conclude, these are great and profound ques- tions. It is the grief of this House, that, by the ill policy of a late injudicious administration, America has been driven into the contemplation of them. And we cannot but express our concern, that your Excellency, by your speech, has reduced us to the unhappy alternative, either of appearing by our silence to acquiesce in your Excellency's sentiments, or of thus freely discussing this point. 426 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 After all that we have said, we would be far from being understood to have in the least abated that just sense of allegiance which we owe to the King of Great Britain, our rightful Sovereign ; and should the people of this province be left to the free and full exercise of all the liberties and immunities granted to them by charter, there would be no danger of an independence on the Crown. Our charters reserve great power to the Crown in its Representative, fully sufficient to balance, analogous to the English con- stitution, all the liberties and privileges granted to the people. All this your Excellency knows full well ; and whoever considers the power and influence, in all their branches, reserved by our charter, to the Crown, will be far from thinking that the Commons of this province are too independent. THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON TO THE COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE OF LYNN.^ [MS., Committee of Correspondence Papers, Lenox Library.] Boston Feb'y 9 1773 SKS The Committee of Correspondence have now be- fore them the Letter of the Town of Lynn, & will, agreable to their desire, lay it before this Town. We heartily joyn with you in wishing the glorious spirit of Liberty which now animates the Inhabitants of this Province shall be diffused through the Colo- nies, & happily Effect the restoration of their Rights, which are cruelly ravishd from them. ' Addressed to Ebenezer Burrill, town clerk. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 427 TO DARIUS SESSIONS.^ [MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.] [February , I773-] Sir As I am informd the Commissioners are all now in Newport, and your Assembly is to meet this day I am anxious to know precisely the Steps that are or shall be taken by each. I hope your Governor will not think it proper for him to act in the Commission if the others should determine so to do. Will it not be construed as conceding on his part to the Legality of it ? Every Movement on the Side of the Commis- sioners & the Assembly must be important. I trust no Concessions will be made on your part which shall have the remotest tendency to fix a precedent ; for if it is once establishd, a thousand Commissions of the like arbitrary kind may be introducd to the utter ruin of your free Constitution. The promoters of minis- terial measures in this Town are pleasd to hear from one of the Commissioners that they are treated with great respect : Even common Civility will be thus colourd to serve the great purpose. Will it not be necessary at all Events for the* Assembly to enter a protest on their Journal against so unconstitutional a proceeding. This is the Sentiment of a Gentleman here whose Judgment I very much regard. Such has been the constant practice of the Assembly of this province in like Cases, for some years past. You will see by our Governors Speech what Use is made of Mistakes of this Sort; they are even improved as ' See above, page 389, note. 428 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Arguments of our having voluntarily consented to be the Vassals of the British Parliament. Indeed the Doctrine he has advancd strikes at the root of every civil Constitution in America. If it be admissible, you have no just Cause to complain of the present Measure for it is founded upon the Authority of that parliament, to the Jurisdiction of which notwithstand- ing your Charter, you remain subject. I shall receive a Letter from you by the return of the post if your Attention to the publick Affairs will admit of it, as a great favor. In the mean time I beg you to excuse this hasty Scrawl & believe me to beSc-^ THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR. FEBRUARY 12, 1773.' [Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 366, 367; printed also in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xliii., pp. 198, 199.] May it please your Excellency, Your message of the 4th instant,* informs this House, that his Majesty has been pleased to order that salaries shall be allowed to the Justices of the Superior Court of this province. We conceive that no Judge, who has a due regard to justice, or even to his own character, would choose to be placed under such an undue bias as they must be under, in the opinion of this House, by accepting ' Stated to have been written by Adams, in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., p. 47, but with no authority given. '^Massachusetts State Papers, pp. 365, 366. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 429 of, and becoming dependent for their salaries upon the Crown. Had not his Majesty been misinformed, with re- spect to the constitution and appointment of our Judges, by those who advised to this measure, we are persuaded, he would never have passed such an order ; as he was pleased to declare, upon his accession to the throne, that "he looked upon the indepen- dence and uprightness of the Judges, as essential to the impartial administration of justice, as one of the best securities of the rights and liberties of his sub- jects, and as most conducive to the honor of the Crown." Your Excellency's precaution to prevent all claim from the province for any services, for which the Jus- tices may also be entitled to a salary from the King, is comparatively, of very small consideration with us. When we consider the many attempts that have been made, effectually to render null and void those clauses in our charter, upon which the freedom of our constitution depends, we should be lost to all public feeling, should we not manifest a just resent- ment. We are more and more convinced, that it has been the design of administration, totally to subvert the constitution, and introduce an arbitrary government into this province ; and we cannot wonder that the apprehensions of this people are thoroughly awakened. We wait with impatience to know, and hope your Excellency will very soon be able to assure us, that the Justices will utterly refuse ever to accept of support, in a manner so justly obnoxious to the 430 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 disinterested and judicious part of the good people of this province, being repugnant to the charter, and utterly inconsistent with the safety of the rights, liberties and properties of the people. TO JOHN ADAMS.* [MS., Adams Papers, Quincy, Mass. ; a facsimile is in Works of John Adams, vol. ii., p. 310.] My DEAR SIR If you have had Leisure to commit your Thoughts to writing agreable to my request I shall be obligd if you will send them by the Bearer. The Gov"^ says the House have incautiously applied a rule of the Common Law ^ (see the 4"" Coll. of his Speech). The Assertion is mine, upon your Authority as I thought. If it be vindicable, pray give me your Aid in that as briefly as you please. I am sorry to trouble you at a time when I know you must be much engagd but to tell you a Secret, if there be a Lawyer in the house in Major Hawleys Absence, there is no one whom I incline to confide in. Monday Ev^ ■ Presumably written on February 22 or March i, 1773. Cf. W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., p. 41. 'Speech of February i5, 1773. Massachusetts State Papers, p. 374. See ibid., p. 387. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 431 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MASSACHUSETTS TO THE GOVERNOR. MARCH 2, I773-' \MassachuseUs State Papers, pp. 384-396; printed also in the Boston Gazette, March 8, 1773, and in The Speeches of His Excellency Governor Hutchinson, pp. 90-113.] May it please your Excellency, In your speech, at the opening of the present ses- sion^, your Excellency expressed your displeasure, at some late proceedings of the town of Boston, and other principal towns in the province. And, in an- other speech * to both Houses, we have your repeated exceptions at the same proceedings, as being " unwar- rantable," and of a dangerous nature and tendency ; " against which, you thought yourself bound to call upon us to join with you in bearing a proper testi- mony." This House have not discovered any prin- ciples advanced by the town of Boston, that are unwarrantable by the constitution ; nor does it appear to us, that they have " invited every other town and district in the province, to adopt their principles." We are fully convinced, that it is our duty to bear our testimony against " innovations, of a dangerous nature and tendency ; " but, it is clearly our opinion, that it is the indisputable right of all, or any of his Majesty's subjects, in this province, regularly and orderly to meet together, to state the grievances they labor ' Hutchinson is the principal authority for the statement that this document, as well as that of January 26, 1773, was prepared by Adams. Cf., R. Froth- ingham. Life of Joseph Warren, p. 223. W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., p. 45. An instance of the later recognition of this claim is ra Publications, Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. vi., p. 170. And see also above, pages 401, 430. " Massachusetts State Papers, p. 338. ^ Ibid., pp. 368-381. February 16. 432 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 under ; and, to propose, and unite in such constitu- tional measures, as they shall judge necessary or proper, to obtain redress. This right has been fre- quently exercised by his Majesty's subjects within the realm ; and, we do not recollect an instance, since the happy revolution, when the two Houses of Parliament have been called upon to discountenance, or bear their testimony against it, in a speech from the throne. Your Excellency is pleased to take notice of some things, which we "allege," in our answer to your first speech ; and, the observation you make, we must confess, is as natural, and undeniably true, as any one that could have been made ; that, " if our founda- tion shall fail us in every part of it, the fabric we have raised upon it, must certainly fall." You think this foundation will fail us ; but, we wish your Excel- lency had condescended to a consideration of what we have "adduced in support of our principles." We might then, perhaps, have had some things offered for our conviction, more than bare affirmations ; which, we must beg to be excused, if we say, are far from being sufficient, though they came with your Excellency's authority, for which, however, we have a due regard. Your Excellency says, that, " as English subjects, and agreeable to the doctrine of the feudal tenure, all our lands are held mediately, or immediately, of the Crown." We trust, your Excellency does not mean to introduce the feudal system in its perfection ; which, to use the words of one of our greatest histo- rians, was " a state of perpetual war, anarchy, and con- fusion, calculated solely for defence against the assaults 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 433 of any foreign power ; but, in its provision for the in- terior order and tranquillity of society, extremely de- fective. A constitution, so contradictory to all the principles that govern mankind, could never be brought about, but by foreign conquest or native usurpation." And, a very celebrated writer calls it, " that most iniquitous and absurd form of govern- ment, by which human nature was so shamefully de- graded." This system of iniquity, by a strange kind of fatality, " though originally formed for an encamp- ment, and for military purposes only, spread over a great part of Europe ; " and, to serve the purposes of oppression and tyranny, "was adopted by princes, and wrought into their civil constitutions ; " and, aided by the canon law, calculated by the Roman Pontiff, to exalt himself above all that is called God, it prevailed to the almost utter extinction of know- ledge, virtue, religion, and liberty from that part of the earth. But, from the time of the reformation, in proportion as knowledge, which then darted its rays upon the benighted world, increased, and spread among the people, they grew impatient under this heavy yoke ; and the most virtuous and sensible among them, to whose steadfastness, we, in this dis- tant age and climate, are greatly indebted, were de- termined to get rid of it ; and, though they have in a great measure subdued its power and influence in England, they have never yet totally eradicated its principles. Upon these principles, the King claimed an abso-, lute right to, and a perfect estate in, all the lands within his dominions ; but, how he came by this 434 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 absolute right and perfect estate, is a mystery which we have never seen unravelled, nor is it our business or design, at present, to inquire. He granted parts or parcels of it to his friends, the great men, and they granted lesser parcels to their tenants. All, therefore, derived their right and held their lands, upon these principles, mediately or immediately of the King ; which Mr. Blackstone, however, calls, " in reality, a mere fiction of our English tenures." By what right, in nature and reason, the christian princes in Europe, claimed the lands of heathen people, upon a discovery made by any of their sub- jects, is equally mysterious. Such, however, was the doctrine universally prevailing, when the lands in America were discovered ; but, as the people of England, upon those principles, held all the lands they possessed, by grants from the King, and the King had never granted the lands in America to them, it is certain they could have no sort of claim to them. Upon the principles advanced, the lordship and dominion, like that of the lands in England, was in the King solely ; and a right from thence accrued to him, of disposing such territories, under such tenure, and for such services to be performed, as the King or Lord thought proper. But how the grantees became subjects of England, that is, the supreme authority of the Parliament, your Excellency has not explained to us. We conceive that upon the feudal principles, all power is in the King ; they afford us no idea of Parliament. " The Lord was in early times, the Legislator and Judge over all his feudatories," says Judge Blackstone. By the struggle for liberty 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 435 in England, from the days of King John, to the last happy revolution, the constitution has been grad- ually changing for the better ; and upon the more rational principles, that all men, by nature, are in a state of equality in respect of jurisdiction and do- minion, power in England has been more equally divided. And thus, also in America, though we hold our lands agreeably to the feudal principles of the King ; yet our predecessors wisely took care to enter into compact with the King, that power here should also be equally divided, agreeable to the original fundamental principles of the English constitution, declared in Magna Charta, and other laws and stat- utes of England, made to confirm them. Your Excellency says, "you can by no means con- cede to us that it is now, or was, when the plantations were first granted, the prerogative of the Kings of England, to constitute a number of new governments, altogether independent of the sovereign authority of the English empire." By the feudal principles, upon which you say " all the grants which have been made of America, are founded, the constitutions of the Emperor, have the force of law." If our government be considered as merely feudatory, we are subject to the King's absolute will, and there is no authority of Parliament, as the sovereign authority of the British empire. Upon these principles, what could hinder the King's constituting a number of independent governments in America ? That King Charles the I. did actually set up a government in this colony, con- ceding to it powers of making and executing laws, without any reservation to the English Parliament, of 436 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 authority to make future laws binding therein, is a fact which your Excellency has not disproved, if you have denied it. Nor have you shewn that the Parlia- ment or nation objected to it ; from whence we have inferred that it was an acknowledged right. And we cannot conceive, why the King has not the same right to alienate and dispose of countries acquired by the discovery of his subjects, as he has to " restore, upon a treaty of peace, countries which have been acquired in war," carried on at the charge of the nation ; or to " sell and deliver up any part of his dominions to a foreign Prince or state, against the general sense of the nation ; " which is " an act of power," or prerogative, which your Excellency allows. You tell us, that, "when any new countries are dis- covered by English subjects, according to the general law and usage of nations, they become part of the state. The law of nations is, or ought to be, founded on the law of reason. It was the saying of Sir Edwin Sandis, in the great case of the union of the realm of Scotland with England, which is applicable to our present purpose, that " there being no prece- dent for this case in the law, the law is deficient ; and the law being deficient, recourse is to be had to cus- tom ; and custom being insufficient, we must recur to natural reason ; " the greatest of all authorities, which, he adds, " is the law of nations." The opinions, there- fore, and determinations of the greatest Sages and Judges of the law in the Exchequer Chamber, ought not to be considered as decisive or binding, in our present controversy with your Excellency, any fur- ther, than they are consonant to natural reason. If, 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 437 however, we were to recur to such opinions and de- terminations, we should find very great authorities in our favor, to show, that the statutes of England are not binding on those who are not represented in Par- liament there. The opinion of Lord Coke, that Ireland was bound by statutes of England, wherein they were named, if compared with his other writ- ings, appears manifestly to be grounded upon a supposition, that Ireland had, by an act of their own, in the reign of King John, consented to be thus bound ; and, upon any other supposition, this opinion would be against reason ; for consent only gives human laws their force. We beg leave, upon what your Excellency has observed of the colony becom- ing a part of the state, to subjoin the opinions of several learned civilians, as quoted by a very able lawyer in this country. " Colonies," says Puffendorf, " are settled in different methods ; for, either the colony continues a part of the Commonwealth it was set out from, or else is obliged to pay a dutiful regard to the mother Commonwealth, and to be in readiness to defend and vindicate its honor, and so is united by a sort of unequal confederacy ; or, lastly, is erected into a separate Commonwealth and assumes the same rights, with the state it descended from." And, King Tullius, as quoted by the same learned author, from Grotius, says, "we look upon it to be neither truth nor justice, that mother cities, ought, of neces- sity, and by the law of nature, to rule over the colonies." Your Excellency has misinterpreted what we have said, " that no country, by the common law, was sub- 438 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 ject to the laws or the Parliament, but the realm of England ; " and, are pleased to tell us, " that we have expressed ourselves incautiously." ^ We beg leave to recite the words of the Judges of England, in the be- fore mentioned case, to our purpose. " If a King go out of England with a company of his servants, alle- giance remaineth among his subjects and servants, although he be out of his realm, whereto his laws are confined." We did not mean to say, as your Ex- cellency would suppose, that " the common law pre- scribes limits to the extent of the Legislative power," though, we shall always afhrm it to be true, of the law of reason and natural equity. Your Excellency thinks, you have made it appear, that the "colony of Massachusetts Bay is holden as feudatory of the im- perial Crown of England ; " and, therefore, you say, " to use the words of a very great authority in a case, in some respects analogous to it," being feuda- tory, it necessarily follows, that "it is under the gov- ernment of the King's laws." Your Excellency has not named this authority ; but, we conceive his mean- ing must be, that being feudatory, it is under the gov- ernment of the King's laws absolutely ; for, as we have before said, the feudal system admits of no idea of the authority of Parliament ; and this would have been the case of the colony, but for the compact with the King in the charter. Your Excellency says, that " persons thus holding under the Crown of England, remain, or become sub- jects of England," by which, we suppose your Excel- lency to mean, subject to the supreme authority of ' See above, page 430. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 439 Parliament, " to all intents and purposes, as fully, as if any of the royal manors, &c. within the realm, had been granted to them upon the like tenure." We apprehend, with submission, your Excellency is mis- taken in supposing that our allegiance is due to the Crown of England. Every man swears allegiance for himself, to his own King, in his natural person. " Every subject is presumed by law to be sworn to the King, which is to his natural person," says Lord Coke. Rep. on Calvin's case.^ " The allegiance is due to his natural body ; " and, he says, " in the reign of Edward II. the Spencers, the father and the son, to cover the treason hatched in their hearts, invented this damnable and damned opinion, that homage and oath of allegiance was more by reason of the King's Crown, that is, of his politic capacity, than by reason of the person of the King ; upon which opinion, they inferred execrable and detestable consequents." The Judges of England, all but one, in the case of the union between Scotland and England, declared, that " allegiance followeth the natural person, not the politic ; " and, " to prove the allegiance to be tied to the body natural of the King, and not to the body politic, the Lord Coke cited the phrases of divers statutes, mentioning our natural liege Sovereign." If, then, the homage and allegiance is not to the body politic of the King, then it is not to him as the head, or any part of that Legislative authority, which your Excellency says, " is equally extensive with the ^ Rep. I. (1608). Referred to as "the leading case" on the subject as recently as 1897. United States v. Wong Kim Ark., i6g United States Reports, 649. 440 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 authority of the Crown throughout every part of the dominion ; " and your Excellency's observations thereupon, must fail. The same Judges mention the allegiance of a subject to the Kings of England, who is out of the reach and extent of the laws of England, which is perfectly reconcileable with the principles of our ancestors, quoted before from your Excel- lency's history, but, upon your Excellency's principles, appears to us to be an absurdity. The Judges, speak- ing of a subject, say, " although his birth was out of the bounds of the kingdom of England, and out of the reach and extent of the laws of England, yet, if it were within the allegiance of the King of England, &c. Normandy, Aquitain, Gascoign, and other places, within the limits of France, and, consequently, out of the realm or bounds of the kingdom of England, were in subjection to the Kings of England." And the Judges say, " Rex et Regnum, be not so rela- tives, as a King can be King but of one kingdom, which clearly holdeth not, but that his kingly power extending to divers nations and kingdoms, all owe him equal subjection, and are equally born to the benefit of his protection ; and, although he is to gov- ern them by their distinct laws, yet any one of the people coming into the other, is to have the benefit of the laws, wheresoever he cometh." So they are not to be deemed aliens, as your Excellency in your speech supposes, in any of the dominions, all which accords with the principles our ancestors held. " And he is to bear the burden of taxes of the place where he cometh, but living in one, or for his liveli- hood in one, he is not to be taxed in the other, be- 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 441 cause laws ordain taxes, impositions, and charges, as a discipline of subjection, particularized to every par- ticular nation." Nothing, we think, can be more clear to our purpose than this decision of Judges, per- haps as learned, as ever adorned the English nation, or in favor of America, in her present controversy with the mother state. Your Excellency says, that, by " our not distin- guishing between the Crown of England, and the Kings and Queens of England, in their personal or natural capacities, we have been led into a fundamen- tal error." Upon this very distinction we have availed ourselves. We have said, that our ancestors considered the land, which they took possession of in America, as out of the bounds of the kingdom of England, and out of the reach and extent of the laws of England ; and, that the King also, even in the act of granting the charter, considered the territory as not within the realm ; that the King had an absolute right in himself to dispose of the lands, and that this was not disputed by the nation ; nor could the lands, on any solid grounds, be claimed by the nation ; and, therefore, our ancestors received the lands, by grant, from the King ; and, at the same time, compacted with him, and promised him homage and allegiance, not in his public or politic, but natural capacity only. If it be difficult for us to show how the King ac- quired a title to this country in his natural capacity, or separate from his relation to his subjects, which we confess, yet we conceive, it will be equally difficult for your Excellency to show how the body politic and nation of England acquired it. Our ancestors 442 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 supposed it was acquired by neither ; and, therefore, they declared, as we have before quoted from your history, that saving their actual purchase from the natives, of the soil, the dominion, the lordship, and sovereignty, they had in the sight of God and man, no right and title to what they possessed. How much clearer then, in natural reason and equity, must our title be, who hold estates dearly purchased at the expense of our own, as well as our ancestors labor, and defended by them with treasure and blood. Your Excellency has been pleased to confirm, rather than deny or confute, a piece of history, which, you say, we took from an anonymous pamphlet, and by which you " fear we have been too easily misled." It may be gathered from your own declaration, and other authorities, besides the anonymous pamphlet, that the House of Commons took exception, not at the King's having made an absolute grant of the territory, but at the claim of an exclusive right to the fishery on the banks and sea coast, by virtue of the patent. At this you say, " the House of Com- mons was alarmed, and a bill was brought in for allowing a free fishery." And, upon this occasion, your Excellency allows, that " one of the Secretaries of State declared, that the plantations were not an- nexed to the Crown, and so were not within the juris- diction of Parliament." If we should concede to what your Excellency supposes might possibly or " perhaps," be the case, that the Secretary made this declaration, "as his own opinion," the event showed that it was the opinion of the King too ; for it is not to be accounted for upon any other principle, that he 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 443 would have denied his royal assent to a bill, formed for no other purpose, but to grant his subjects in England, the privilege of fishing on the sea coasts in America. The account published by Sir Ferdinando Gorges himself, of the proceedings of Parliament on this occasion, your Excellency thinks, will re- move all doubt, of the sense of the nation, and of the patentees of this patent or charter, in 1620. "This narrative," you say, "has all the appearance of truth and sincerity," which we do not deny ; and, to us, it carries this conviction with it, that " what was objected " in Parliament, was the exclusive claim of fishing only. His imagining that he had satisfied the House, after divers attendances, that the planting a colony was of much more consequence than a sim- ple disorderly course of fishing, is sufficient for our conviction. We know that the nation was at that time alarmed with apprehensions of monopolies ; and, if the patent of New England was presented by the two Houses as a grievance, it did not show, as your Excellency supposes, " the sense they then had of their authority over this new acquired territory," but only their sense of the grievance of a monopoly of the sea. We are happy to hear your Excellency say, that " our remarks upon, and construction of the words, not repugnant to the laws of England, are much the same with those of the Council." It serves to con- firm us in our opinion, in what we take to be the most important matter of difference between your Excellency and the two Houses. After saying, that the statute of 7th and 8th of William and Mary 444 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 favors the construction of the words, as intending such laws of England as are made more immediately to respect us, you tell us, -that "the province Agent, Mr. Dummer, in his much applauded defence, says, that, then a law of the plantations may be said to be repugnant to a law made in Great Britain, when it flatly contradicts it, so far as the law made there, mentions and relates to the plantations." ^ This is plain and obvious to common sense, and, therefore, cannot be denied. But, if your Excellency would read a page or two further in that excellent defence,^ you will see that he mentions this as the sense of the phrase, as taken from an act of Parliament, rather than as the sense he would choose himself to put upon it ; and, he expressly designs to show, in vindi- cation of the charter, that, in that sense of the words, there never was a law made in the plantations re- pugnant to the laws of Great Britain. He gives another construction, much more likely to be the true intent of the words, namely, "that the patentees shall not presume, under color of their particular charters, to make any laws inconsistent with the great charter, and other laws of England, by which the lives, liberties, and properties of Englishmen are secured." ^ This is the sense in which our ancestors understood the words ; and, therefore, they are un- willing to conform to the acts of trade, and disre- garded them till they made provision to give them force in the colony, by a law of their own ; saying, that " the laws of England did not reach America ; ' Jer. Dummer, A Defence of the New England Charters. London, 1721, p. 57- "/iJjV., pp. 58, 59. '/iJjV., p. 59. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 445 and those acts were an invasion of their rights, liber- ties, and properties," because they were not " repre- sented in Parliament." The right of being governed by laws, which were made by persons, in whose elec- tion they had a voice, they looked upon as the found- ation of English liberties. By the compact with the King, in the charter, they were to be as free in Amer- ica, as they would have been if they had remained within the realm ; and, therefore, they freely asserted, that they "were to be governed by laws made by themselves, and by ofificers chosen by themselves." Mr. Dummer says, " it seems reasonable enough to think that the Crown," and, he might have added, our ancestors, " intended by this injunction to pro- vide for all its subjects, that they might not be op- pressed by arbitrary power ; but being still subjects, they should be protected by the same mild laws, and enjoy the same happy government, as if they con- tinued within the realm." ^ And, considering the words of the charter in this light, he looks upon them as designed to be a fence against oppression and des- potic power. But the construction which your Ex- cellency puts upon the words, reduces us to a state of vassalage, and exposes us to oppression and despotic power, whenever a Parliament shall see fit to make laws for that purpose, and put them in execution. We flatter ourselves, that, from the large extracts we have made from your Excellency's history of the colony, it appears evidently, that under both charters, it hath been the sense of the people and of the ' Ter. Dummer, A Defence of the New England Charters. London, 1721, pp. 59, 60. The quotation is abridged. 446 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 government, that they were not under the jurisdiction of Parliament. We pray you again to turn to those quotations, and our observations upon them ; and we wish to have your Excellency's judicious remarks. When we adduced that history, to prove that the sentiments of private persons of influence, four or five years after the restoration, were very different from what your Excellency apprehended them to be, when you delivered your speech, you seem to con- cede to it, by telling us, " it was, as you take it, from the principles imbibed in those times of anarchy, (preceding the restoration,) that they disputed the authority of Parliament ; " but, you add, " the gov- ernment would not venture to dispute it." We find in the same history,^ a quotation from a letter of Mr. Stoughton, dated seventeen years after the restora- tion, mentioning " the country's not taking notice of the acts of navigation, to observe them." And it was, as we take it, after that time, that the govern- ment declared, in a letter to their Agents, that they had not submitted to them ; and they ventured to " dispute" the jurisdiction, asserting, that they appre- hended the acts to be an invasion of the rights, liber- ties, and properties of the subjects of his Majesty in the colony, they not being represented in Parliament, and that " the laws of England did not reach Amer- ica." It very little avails in proof, that they conceded to the supreme authority of Parliament, their telling the Commissioners, "that the act of navigation had for some years before, been observed here ; that they ' T. Hutchinson, History of the' Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. i. , p. 319. 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 447 knew not of its being greatly violated ; and that, such laws as appeared to be against it, were repealed." It may as truly be said now, that the revenue acts are observed by some of the people of this province ; but it cannot be said that the government and people of this province have conceded, that the Parliament had authority to make such acts to be observed here. Neither does their declaration to the Commissioners, that such laws as appeared to be against the act of navigation, were repealed, prove their concession of the authority of Parliament, by any means, so much as their making provision for giving force to an act of Parliament within this province, by a deliberate and solemn act or law of their own, proves the contrary. You tell us, that "the government, four or five years before the charter was vacated, more explicitly," that is, than by a conversation with the Commis- sioners, " acknowledged the authority of Parliament, and voted, that their Governor should take the oath required of him, faithfully to do and perform all mat- ters and things enjoined him by the acts of trade." But does this, may it please your Excellency, show their explicit acknowledgment of the authority of Parliament ? Does it not rather show directly the contrary ? For, what could there be for their vote, or authority, to require him to take the oath already required of him, by the act of Parliament, unless both he, and they, judge that an act of Parliament was not of force sufficient to bind him to take such oath ? We do not deny, but, on the contrary, are fully persuaded, that your Excellency's principles in governments are 448 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Still of the same with what they appear to be in the history; for, you there say, that "the passing this law, plainly shows the wrong sense they had of the relation they stood in to England." But we are from hence convinced, that your Excellency, when you wrote the history, was of our mind in this respect, that our ancestors, in passing the law, discovered their opinion, that they were without the jurisdiction of Parliament ; for it was upon this principle alone, they shewed the wrong sense they had in your Excellency's opinion, of the relation they stood in to England. Your Excellency, in your second speech, conde- scends to point out to us the acts and doings of the General Assembly, which relates to acts of Parlia- ment, which, you think, " demonstrates that they have been acknowledged by the Assembly, or submitted to by the people ; " neither of which, in our opinion, shows that it was the sense of the nation, and our predecessors, when they first took possession of this plantation, or colony, by a grant and charter from the Crown, that they were to remain subject to the supreme authority of the English Parliament. Your Excellency seems chiefly to rely upon our ancestors, after the revolution, " proclaiming King William and Queen Mary, in the room of King James," and taking the oaths to them, " the alteration of the form of oaths, from time to time," and finally, " the es- tablishment of the form, which every one of us has com- plied with, as the charter, in express terms requires, and makes our duty." We do not know that it has ever been a point in dispute, whether the Kings of Eng- land were ipso facto Kings in, and over, this colony, 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 449 or province. The compact was made between King Charles the I. his heirs and successors, and the Gov- ernor and company, their heirs and successors. It is easy, upon this principle, to account for the acknowl- edgment of, and submission to King William and Queen Mary, as successors of Charles the I. in the room of King James ; besides, it is to be considered, that the people in the colony, as well as in England, had suffered under the tyrant James, by which, he had alike forfeited his right to reign over both. There had been a revolution here, as well as in England. The eyes of the people here, were upon William and Mary ; and the news of their being proclaimed in England, was, as your Excellency's history tells us, "the most joyful news ever received in New Eng- land."' And, if they were not proclaimed here, "by virtue of an act of the colony," it was, as we think may be concluded from the tenor of your history, with the general or universal consent of the people, as apparently, as if " such act had passed." It is con- sent alone, that makes any human laws binding ; and as a learned author observes, a purely voluntary sub- mission to an act, because it is highly in our favor and for our benefit, is in all equity and justice, to be deemed as not at all proceeding from the right we in- clude in the Legislators, that they, thereby obtain an authority over us, and that ever hereafter, we must obey them of duty. We would observe, that one of the first acts of the General Assembly of this province, since the present charter, was an act, requiring the 1 T. Hutchinson, History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. i., p. 387. 4SO THE WRITINGS OF [1773 taking the oaths mentioned in an act of Parliament, to which you refer us. For what purpose was this act of the Assembly passed, if it was the sense of the Legislators that the act of Parliament was in force in the province ? And, at the same time, another act was made for the establishment of other oaths ne^ cessary to be taken ; both which acts have the royal sanction, and are now in force. Your Excellency says, that when the colony applied to King William for a second charter, they knew the oath the King had taken, which was to govern them according to the statutes in Parliament, and (which your Excel- lency here omits,) the laws and customs of the same. By the laws and customs of Parliament, the people of England freely debate and consent to such statutes as are made by themselves, or their chosen Repre- sentatives. This is a law, or custom, which all man- kind may justly challenge as their inherent right. According to this law, the King has an undoubted right to govern us. Your Excellency, upon recollec- tion, surely will not infer from hence, that it was the sense of our predecessors that there was to remain a supremacy in the English Parliament, or a full power and authority to make laws binding upon us, in all cases whatever, in that Parliament where we cannot debate and deliberate upon the necessity or expedi- ency of any law, and, consequently, without our con- sent ; and, as it may probably happen, destructive of the first law of society, the good of the whole. You tell us, that " after the assumption of all the powers of government, by virtue of the new charter, an act passed for the reviving, for a limited time, all the 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 45^ local laws of the Massachusetts Bay and New Ply- mouth respectively, not repugnant to the laws of England. And, at the same session, an act passed establishing naval officers, that all undue trading, contrary to an act of Parliament, may be prevented." Among the acts that were then revived, we may rea- sonably suppose, was that, whereby provision was made to give force to this act of Parliament, in the province. The establishment, therefore, of the naval officers, was to aid the execution of an act of Parlia- ment, for the observance of which, within the colony, the Assembly had before made provision, after free debates, with their own consent, and by their own act. The act of Parliament, passed in 1741,^ for putting an end to several unwarrantable schemes, mentioned by your Excellency, was designed for the general good ; and, if the validity of it was not disputed, it cannot be urged as a concession of the supreme au- thority, to make laws binding on us in all cases what- ever. But, if the design of it was for the general benefit of the province, it was, in one respect, at least greatly complained of, by the persons more immedi- ately affected by it ; and to remedy the inconvenience, the Legislative of this province, passed an act, directly militating with it ; which is the strongest evidence, that although they may have submitted, sub silentio, to some acts of Parliament, that they conceived might operate for their benefit, they did not conceive them- selves bound by any of its acts, which, they judged, would operate to the injury even of individuals. ' 14 Geo. II., chap. 37. 452 THE WRITINGS OF [1773 Your Excellency has not thought proper, to attempt to confute the reasoning of a learned writer on the laws of nature and nations, quoted by us, on this occasion, to shew that the authority of the Legislature does not extend so far as the fundamentals of the constitution. We are unhappy in not having your remarks upon the reasoning of that great man ; and, until it is confuted, we shall remain of the opinion, that the fundamentals of the constitution being excepted from the commis- sion of the Legislators, none of the acts or doings of the General Assembly, however deliberate and solemn, could avail to change them, if the people have not, in very express terms, given them the power to do it ; and, that much less ought their acts and doings, how- ever numerous, which barely refer to acts of Parlia- ment made expressly to relate to us, to be taken as an acknowledgment, that we are subject to the su- preme authority of Parliament. We shall sum up our own sentiments in the words of that learned writer, Mr. Hooker, in his Ecclesias- tical Policy, as quoted by Mr. Locke. " The lawful power of making laws to command whole political societies of men, belonging so properly to the same entire societies, that for any prince or potentate of what kind soever, to exercise the same of himself, and not from express commission, immediately and personally received from God, is no better than mere tyranny. Laws, therefore, they are not, which public approbation hath not made so ; for human laws, of what kind soever, are available by consent." " Since men, naturally, have no full and perfect power to command whole politic multitudes of men, therefore, 1773] SAMUEL ADAMS. 453 utterly without our consent, we could in such sort, be at no man's commandment living. And to be com- manded, we do not consent, when that society, whereof we be a party, hath at any time before con- sented." We think your Excellency has not proved, either that the colony is a part of the politic society of England, or that it has ever consented that the Parliament of England or Great Britain, should make laws binding upon us, in all cases, whether made ex- pressly to refer to us or not. We cannot help, before we conclude, expressing our great concern, that your Excellency has thus re- peatedly, in a manner, insisted upon our free senti- ments on matters of so delicate a nature and weighty importance. The question appears to us, to be no other, than, whether we are the subjects of absolute unlimited power, or of a free government, formed on the principles of the English constitution. If your Excellency's doctrine be true, the people of this pro- vince hold their lands of the Crown and people of England ; and their lives, liberties, and properties, are at their disposal, and that, even by compact and their own consent. They were subject to the King as the head alterius populi of another people, in whose Legislative they have no voice or interest. They are, indeed, said to have a constitution and a Legislative of their own ; but your Excellency has explained it into a mere phantom ; limited, controled, superseded, and nullified, at the will of another. Is this the constitu- tion which so charmed our ancestors, that, as your Excellency has informed us, they kept a day of solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God when they received 454 THE WRITINGS OF SAMUEL ADAMS. [1773] it ? And were they men of so little discernment, such children in understanding, as to please themselves with the imagination, that they were blessed with the same rights and liberties which natural born subjects in England enjoyed, when, at the same time, they had fully consented to be ruled and ordered by a Legislative, a thousand leagues distant from them, which cannot be supposed to be sufficiently ac- quainted with their circumstances, if concerned for their interest, and in which, they cannot be in any sense represented ? End of Volume II.