^'^^i^S^^f^- Class Book •Q^'Bl^. RE-DEDICATION OLD STATE HOUSE. OLD STATE HOUSE. WEST END, lana. EE-DEDICATION OLD STATE HOUSE BOSTON, JULY 11, 1882. FIFTH EDITIOK^. Boston: PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL. 1889. Fni .OtTBin CITY OF BOSTON. Ix BoAitn OF Aldeumex, April S, 1889. Ordered, Tliat the Supcriiitcmleiit of Printing be authorized to have reprintoil an eilition of fifteen hundred copies of the Old State House Memo- rial, and that each member of tlie City Council be furnished ten copies; the expense thus incurred to be charged to the appropriation for Printing. Passed. Sent down for concurrence. April 11, came up concurred. Approved by tlie Mayor, .Vjiril l.'j, 1889. A true copy. Attest : 7 E. U. CURTIS, City Clerk. ill mill Churchill, city Printers, Bo»lou. CONTENTS. Preliminary Note Proceedings at Re-dedication Remarks of Alderman Charles H. llcrsey Prayer Oration Remarks of Mayor Samuel A. Green Remarks of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder Letter from Gov. John D. Long Letter from Com. 0. C. Badger PAGE 9 17 18 19 22 121 124 126 126 Appendix : — A. Papers relative to Town House of lfi.">7 Papers relative to rebuilding in 1711 . Papers relative to Fire in 17+7 . Note relative to the Lion and Unioorn _ Note relative to Faneuil Hall . P. Report of City Architect . G. Financial Exhibit . . . ■ Extracts from the Will of Captain Robert Account of the Fire in 1747 Painter's Bill of 1773 Relics of the Old House . The Court House, the .Tail, and the City Hall M. Prefatory Note by W. H. Whitniore Extracts from Dr. G. H. Moore's pamphlet taneum Bostoniense " Index B. C. D. E. H. I. J. K. L, Keay ne entitled "Pry 129 133 139 145 149 152 156 162 169 170 171 173 201 208 225 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Olil State House, Washington-street End Olil State House, East Knil, 1882 Olil Slate House, Interior Views. 1,S8:J •Old State House in 1791 James Otis ...... State-street Massacre .... •Samuel Adams ..... ♦Josiali Quiney, Jr. .... ♦Jolin llancoek •Thomas Gushing, Speaker, 1771 •James IJowdoin ..... Old State House in 1785 . Triumphal .Areh at the Ueception of U'asliington in 17S0 . Fae-simile of Order of Proces.-ion, in Honor of Wasliington's V 178'J •Old State House in 17!)3 . Old State House in 1799 . •Old State House in 1801 . Old State House in ISLM, bv Hales State Street and Old Slate House in 1826 Old State House, from Pemberton Hill. Sa Old State House in 1835, 1850, 1880 . Old State House in 1830, 1835. 1838 . Olil State House on Fire in 1832. Old State House in 1871!, showing .Mansard Faneml Hall in 1789 .... Faneuil Hall in 1826 .... Architect's Plan, Old State House Diagrams from Maps in IsoO and 181-1 show Court House, Court Square, 18."il Court House, School Street, erreted iu 181 Johnson Hall, School Street City Hall, 1856 Plan in 1830, by Isaiah Rogers . I'ront Hoof ing C ■ll.' \'iew, 1829 Signs, etc. ourt House PACE ispiece 17 22 03 70 82 8-t 87 88 90 9i 95 96 97 98 98 101 107 109 110 111 112 IH 116 149 151 153 190 191 192 193 190 205 • From the Mcmorlol IlUtury of Bostun, by perniUHlon. PRELIMINAEY NOTE. PEELIMTNAEY NOTE. The restoration of tho Old State House is an event of which every Bostonian niaj' Avell be proud. The history of the building is so indissolubly (-onnected with the most stirring events in the annals of the city, and of the nation also, that it is a source of peculiar gratification to know that the ancient edifice has been saved from destruction, and will be handed down to future generations in a form substantially the same as it presented when within its venerable walls "the child Independence was born." The building narrowly escaped destruction in 1876. In that year the leases expired, and an effort was made to re- move it, on the ground that it was an obstruction to the extension of Devonshire street. The subject was vigorously discussed in l)()tli l)ranches of the City Council, and re- sulted in a compromise, b}' which the portico on the east- erly end, built in IS.^0, was removed, and the space that it occupied thrown into the street. The l)uilding was then re-leased for a term of five years. At the termination of tho leases, in 1881, the question arose as to whether the building should be again leased, or whether it should bo restored to its original condition and preserved for public purposes.' The latter view pre- 'For report of hearings, see City Document 71 B, 1881 10 OLD STATE IIOrSE RE-DEDICATION. vailed, iind the result is commemorated in the following pages. The history of the Old State House is so completely related in Mr. Whilmore's oration that any further elabo- ration on the .sul)jei't appears superfluous ; but, inasmuch as attempts have been made to throw discredit upon the claims of the building to be a genuine relic of revolution- ary and pre-revolutionary times, a few words on that point may not l)e out of i)lace. Throughout all the changes that have taken place the Old State House has preserved its original form more closel}' than any other of the historic huildings of the country. The alterations that have been made from time to time were such -as did not affect the construction of the building to any great extent, and the material in it to-day is mostly that which was put in place l)y the original builders. The wcn'k of restoration consisted mainly of re- movinsT the additions that were made when the buildinsr was fitted up for mercantile uses. The new work jjlaced in the building consisted principally of interior finish, such as would naturally require renewal in course of time from the wear and tear incidental to ])nildings used for pul)lic purposes. For the purpose of more full}" illustrating this fact it has been thought desirable to present several reproductions of old prints which show the appearance of the l)uilding at different times, and prove that the exterior form of the old building has not been materially changed. The first view is that given in Paul Kevere's engraving of the lioston massacre, niaile aliout 1770. This is the OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. H earliest view extant, and is particularly interesting from the fact that it is tlie only one whicli sliows the lit)M and unicorn. The view of 178.5, taken from the cover of the " Boston Magazine " for July of that year, gives a clearer view of the lower story, and shows that the lion and uni- corn had been removed since Paul Revere's si^etch was made. The fact that an engraving of tiie l)uilding was chosen to embellish the title-page of a popular magazine indicates that it was considered of considerable importance at that time. This is still further shown by a view of tlie building being placed upon the policies of the Massachu- setts Fire Insurance Company, incorporated in 1795, a copy of which is herewith given. The view of 1801 is an engraving made for the ]Memo- rial History of Boston, from a painting by J. B. Marston, in the possession of the Historical Society. The view of 1821, from Hales' survey, shows the first extensive altera- tion. The steps had l)een removed and a large window substituted for the door under the balcony. The view of 1826, from Snow's history, shows that a clock had been substituted for a sun-dial. Chimneys also appear for the first time. Tiiey were probal)ly built when the upper portion of the liuilding was leased to the Masonic order. The view from Snow's Geography, of 18.30, shoMs the alterations made Avhen the building was fitted u]) for municipal purposes. The upper balcony was ex- tended across the building, and was supported by eight heavy columns, arranged in pairs, and resting upon a lower bal- cony. This view is the only one that shows the town-pump, which is still remembered by many of our older citizens. 12 OI,I) STATK IIOCSK KE-DKDICATION. .Salmon's piftiiro of the lire in 1832, and the view from Boweii"s voiiunt^ of 1838, both show the building un- changed. The view made by Loring, iu 1876, shows the addition of a ^Ian^■aI■d roof, and gives a correct idea of the build- ing as it appeared when given over completely to business purposes. Shortly after this sketch was made tiu; balco- nies on the easterly end were removed in order to widen the street, and \\n' building then apjjeared as shown in the view made in 1880. Turning now to the AVashington-street end, the earliest view is that of 1789, taken from the "Polyanthus." This print shows a temporary balcony, erected for Uw accom- modation of (reiicial Washington, when he reviewed the proc(^ssion in iioiior of his \isit to Boston. It sliows, also, tlic triuinph.il arcii, wiiich was thrown across AVashington .street. In this connection a copy of the programme of the procession is given, slightly reduced in size, from the original now in possession of the Public Library. The views of 17!)1 and of 179.5, both from the " Mas.sa- ohusetts ^[agazine," show no alteration in the liuilding. Tiic y Isaiah Rogers in 1S30, when the building was adapted to city uses, cxplain.s tho theory of this reconstruction. OLD STATE IIOrSE UE-DEDICATIOX. 13 Oil exuiuining these views it will be seen that the orig- inal lines of the old hiiilding have not been altered, and that the exterior walls remain intact, except where the doors and windows in the lower story were enlarged. Comparing the Old State House with other historic- build- ings, as, for instance, Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, and Faneuil Hall, the former has certamly the strongest claim to be regarded as a genuine relic. Etting's history of Independence Hall proves that the work of restoring that edifice was attended l)y far greater difficulties than were met with in the Old State House. Two views of Faneuil Hall are given. One from the "Massachusetts Magazine," showing the building as it ap- peared in revolutionary days ; the other, from Snow's his- tory, showing it after it was enlarged in 1808, or as it is to-day. A white line on the latter engi-aving indicates the outline of the old Iniilding^ and shows that the historic Faneuil Hall was a nuieh smaller building than the present one ; in fact, but a small portion of the old building re- mains ; nevertheless, no one questions the title of both In- dependence Hall and Faneuil Hall to be venerated as genuine relics of historic times. It will be noted that the present is the fifth edition of this book, the first being j)rinted in 18.S2, the second in 1S,S3, the third in 1885, and the fourth in 1887. The first two editions were substantially alike, but in the third, five appendices were added, increasing the volume from 179 pages to 216 pages. The main increase was in Appendix ^f, being a reprint of an cssa}' by Dr. George II. ^loore on the history of the building, and Appendix X, iu which ^Ir. "Whitmore replied to his ciiticisms. 14 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. In (lie fourth edition, Appendix M has been somewhat coiuU'nsed mid Appendix N omitted, thereby roiiioving the controversial parts of these articles. Appendix F, of former editions, •which was a history of the City Hall, the Court House, and the Jail, has been re-written in the light of later information, and now constitutes Appendix L. This has rendered it necessarj'^ to alter the numbering of the a[)pendices, and to make some slight changes in the position of the illustrations. J. L. H. CiTV Hall, Boston, April, 1880. PROCEEDINGS AT RE-DEDICATION. OLD STATE HOUSE EAST END, 1882. PROCEEDINGS AT RE-DEDICATION. The five yeai-s' lease of the Old State House expired July 1, 1881. In anticipation of that event it was suggested that the historic interest of the building was so gi"eat that it might be desirable to retain the control of, at least, the upper part floor of the building for public uses, and to restore the whole edifice to the appearance it wore a century ago. The City Council, after considerable discussion, voted to appropriate the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars for repairs on the building, putting the charge, as usual, in the hands of the Committee on Public Buildings, of which Alderman William AVoolley was chairman in 1881 and 1882. The work proved greater than was anticipated ; but on June 29, 1882, the committee was able to announce the sub- stantial completion of their labors (see City Doc. 100), and to invite the City Council to attend at the formal transfer of the building to His Honor the Mayor, on Tuesday, July 11. Accordingl}^ on the forenoon of that day, the following pro- ceedings took place, which are now published by order of the City Council. The ceremonies were held in the East Hall, occupied in colonial times by the Governor and Council, afterwards by the State Senate, and from 1830 to 1840 by the Board of Aldermen. Portraits of the old governors, Winthrop, 18 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. Endicott, Bellingham, and Burnet, were kindly loaned for tlie occasion, by direction of Hon. Robert R. Bishop, Presi- dent of the Senate. The Massachusetts Historical Society loaned portraits of Governors Belcher, Joseph Dudley, and Hutchinson. The Puljlic Library contributed a caricature of Governor Gage, and engravings of Governors Pownall and Andros also hung upon the walls. In the West Hall, formerly occupied by the House ol" Representatives, and later by the Common Council, were the supcrlj portraits of Samuel Adams and John Hancock, owned by the city, and Stuart's portrait of Josiah Quincy, Jr., the patriot. Other interesting pictures and engi-avings adorned the various rooms. The orator of the day delivered his address from the Speaker's desk used in the old House of Representatives, and now owned by the ]Massachusctts Historical Society. Owing to the unavoidable absence of Alderman Woolley, chairman of the committee, the assemblage was called to order by Alderman Heksey, who spoke as follows : — Mr. Mayor, Gentlemen of the City Council, Ladies and Gentlemen: — Yuu are assembled here to-day to receive the report of the committee to whom was assigned the duty of renovating and restoring the Old State House. The work is completed, of which you have the evidence before you, and I am happy to say it has been done within the estimates and appropria- tion. OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 19 The work of restoration has not been accom- plished except by much expenditure of time and thought in delving among old documents for evi- dences of what the building was in its early days ; and it presents to-day, both as to its exterior and interior, substantially the same appearance that it did in those early days of its history when the noble men, whose portraits look down upon us here walked these streets, and to the gathered citizens within these historic walls spoke the patriotic words of counsel that incited them to deeds of noble daring in defence of national liberty, and made this country a free republic. It would seem proper that, in dedicating this build- ing to purposes akin to those for which it was originally designed, we should seek the Divine favor. [ therefore Avill request the Rev. Dr. Rufus Ellis, pastor of the First Church, to ask a blessing. It would seem apiiropriate and fitting that he, the pas- tor of the church which in its early days was located in this immediate vicinity, should thus officiate. You will please give your attention whUe the Rev. Dr. Ellis asks a blessing. PRAYEK BY RUFUS ELLIS, D.D. O God of our fathers, our dwelling-place in all generations, we thank Thee for our goodly heritage. 20 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. lS"ot without Thee would we come together. Obedi- ent to Thy voice do we remember the days of old. It is our desire and prayer that by these renewals and restorations Ave may so strengthen the things that i-emain, and so bind together our best and most l)reeious hopes, and our dearest memories, that we shall grow thereby in all sweet humanities, and our city be, indeed, as a city set upon a hill whose light cannot be hid, whose light shall shine in praise and works that are just and merciful. We pray Thee that this ancient house may be for- ever a common possession, a common joy, and a common pride of all those Avhose homes and places of daily toil are centred about it, and may it be a memorial to them that they are citizens of no mean city. So may the Lord keep the city; so may its walls be salvation and its gates praise ; and so for the abundance of righteousness and love within its bor- ders, may all the walls that are builded by human hands be consecrated; and may this be to us at last, in the brighter and better and holier days, that city of our God, of which it is wi'itten, I saw no temple therein: and for the light that shines upon all and upon the house may there be nothing inicommon or unclean. "\Ve pray this prayer unto Thee in His name who bids us render unto Caisar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's, OLD STATE nOUST5 RE-DEDICATION. 21 and, in the words which He hath taught us, may Ave with one heart and one voice say unto Thee: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in licaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as Ave forgive those that trespass against us. A.nd lead us not into temptation ; but deliA'er us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the poAver, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Alderman Herset. — Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps to one member of the city government more than all others is due the credit of AvhateA'er success has attended the restoration of this building. I allude to that member Avhose duty and pleasure it will be to address you on this occasion. It gives me great pleasui-e to introduce to you Williajm H. Whitmore, member of the Common Coimcil from Ward ]2. ADDRESS OF WILLIAM H. WHITMORE. FeLlow-Members of the City Council : — We arc gathered here to-day to re-dedicate a build- ing ah-eady hallowed by the patriotic contests of jircvious generations. We are to strengthen a link in that chain of our history which connects those who resisted the despotism of the Stuarts with those who rebelled against the raisgovernment of the mother country, and again with those who so lately fought for the preservation of the unity of the nation. We arc to remember that we are henceforth the custo- dians not only of Faneuil Hall and the Old South, so universally known at the present day, but also of that older and still more revered spot, which, after a temporary neglect and decay, is now to stand pre- eminent among all the buildings in the land. I will endeavor to set forth, with due citation of authorities, the claims of the Old State House to be the spot most intimately associated with the history of liberty in this Commonwealth, and the right of the present building to assume to be, not the representa- tive of departed glories, but their actual and existing monument, — never obliterated, never changed in any OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 23 essential degree, — as fit to-day as it was a century aero to be the "rlorious theatre of immortal events. When our forefathers established this town they found that Xature had apparently marked this spot for a centre of the new settlement. A little projec- tion, of which our State street is the ridge, divided the coves lying north and south. The land reached then as far as Kilby street on the one side, and Merchants' Row on the other. On the north the Town Dock, now covered by Quincy Market and even by streets farther inland, reached to the slopes of Copp's Hill. On the south a cove, occupying Liberty square and its vicinity, severed Fort Hill from approach, except on the line of Franklin street. Directly in the range of this point the lofty height of Beacon Hill towered above the narrow plain, through which Washington street and Court street were to be stretched. Along the banks of these coves, and in the low lands between the three hills of Trimont, the houses of the little settlement were soon closely clustered. Here, on the site since occupied by Brazer's build- ing, was placed the first meeting-house, wherein from the beginning the townsmen met to consult also upon temporal aflfairs. In front of the meeting-house was a lot set apart for a market-place as early as 1634, and definitely recognized as such in the Book of Possessions in 24 OLD STATE HOUSE; RE-DEDICATION. 16io. It was, as it now is, the land enclosed by the two arms of the street, and its dimensions have never been lessened. On the southerly side of State street Capt. Robert Keayne lived, on the corner of our AVashington street, with two neighbors between him and the meeting-house, while Elder Leverett and two others owned the remaining lots. On the north side of State street John Cogan had built the first shop in Boston, on the corner of Washington street; and down the street were the lots of Rev. John Wilson and seven others. Opposite, on Washington street, John Leverett lived on tlie corner, with Rich- ard Parker soutli and west. Such were the first surroundings of this site,* until, ' In Suffolk Deeds, iii., 380, are the depositions tiiken in July, 1C60, of Willi.am Colbron, J.inies Penn. and .James Johnson, in regard to the sale of the niceting-houso lot to Uobert Thompson, of London, now of Boston. The price paid was £100 sterling. The lot is described as follows : " being sixty sixu foote long abutting upon a lane that licth betweene the same & land lately appertaining unto Thomas Leverett, elder of said church, deceased, but now belonging to Isack Addington, on the north east side ; sixty two foote broad abutting upon the great strcete wherein the Towne House standeth, on the north west side; sixty four foote long abutting partly upon the great streete aforesaid and partly upon an ally that passcth betweene the same, St. the house & land of Henry Pliilli]>a, butclier, on tlie south west side : & being sixty foote broad abutting upon a lane that lieth between the same & the land lately belonging to Uobert Scott, deceased, and now in tlie poi-- session of his relict, on the south cast side." Thus we learn that the lot had a street or an alley on each side. The north-west alley was Pudding Lane, now Devonshire street. The other nlley-ways are still represented by Congress square. In 1 708, in the list of Blreels, etc., we And : " The way Leadingc from y" Exchange in King Street, OLD STATE HOUSE EE-DEDICATION. 25 in 1640, the meeting-house, " being decayed and too small," was sold, and a new one was built on the site since occupied by Joy's Building. The site was in dispute, some wishing to put it on the Green, where the Old South stands. Winthrop, i., 318, writes: " Others, viz., the tradesmen especially, who dwelt about the market-place, desired it might stand still neai" the market, lest in time it should divert the chief trade from thence." In the meeting-house passing by Jlrs. Phillips into Water street, Pudding Lane. The way Lead- ing from King Street by the house of Isaac Addington, Esq', with y« returne into Pudding Lane, Half Square Court." In 173G, Half-square court was the lane "from Maccarty's corner turning into Pudding Lane." In 1800, Half-square court was " the way round the buildings back of the Post Office." This original purchaser, Robert Thompson, was of the family ennobled as Barons Haversham. His son or grandson, William Thompson, of Elsham, county Lincoln, had a son Robert and a daughter Mary, wife of Humphrey Edwin, of St. Albans, county Herts. The only daughter of this last, Eliza- beth Edwin, married Thomas Corbett, of Darnhall, county Chester, and 14th January, 1802, Mr. and Mrs. Corbett sold to Thomas Dawes, of Bos- ton (Suff. Deeds, lib. 205, f. 105), their building on State street, called " Boston Buildings," and also the Thompson Farm, in Chelsea. August 21, 182G (Suff. Deeds, lib. 312, f. 123), six of the Dawes' family sold an undi- vided half of a lot bequeathed to them by their grandfather, Thomas Dawes, to John Brazer, for $18,357.75. Later deeds show the purchase of the remainder at the same rate. There is a plan recorded with the deed, show- ing 2,388 feet in all, the lot having evidently been shorn of its original lines on Devonslure street and the corner on State street. Upon the death of Mr. Brazer, in 1828, this lot came to his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Brooks, who died in 18G7, and whose children own it. It is a remarkable fact, that a large lot of land on State street should have remained so long in two families. 26 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. "the general and great quarter courts are kept," wi'ote Lechford in 1G40. That is to say, our uicip- ient Legislature and primitive courts of law were there held; as, of necessity, must have been con- vened all town-meetings. At that time there were about two hundred and fifty householders in Boston, representing a population of some fifteen hundred persons. Even in 1G85 only ninety votes were cast in town-meeting to elect deputies. (Sewall, i., 67.) For more than a quarter of a centuiy from the set- tlement of the town this provision was sufficient. But in 1G56 Capt. Keayne died, and his will proved that for years he had been devising benefits for his fellow-townsmen. Keayne was one of the founders of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. His controversy, in 1G42, mth Mrs. Sherman, about a stray pig, had brought the two houses of the magistrates and deputies to such disputes that they had resolved to sit in different chambers. (Wiuthrop, ii., IGO.) He was a merchant, and had been severely disciplined by the church for trying to make a profit on his ventures beyond the amount which the clergy thought proper. (Winthrop, i., 315.) We need not suspect Capt. Keayne of extortion, for theo- logians of that date had hardly escaped from the belief that all interest was usury and all profit a breach of Christian charity. Our merchant, how- ever, submitted to discipUne, and was restored to OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 27 popular favor, being elected to the Legislatiu'e and otherwise employed by the town. For three years before his death he had been writing with his own hand that enormous will of one hun- di'ed and fifty-eight folio pages, now preserved on our probate records, by which he disposed of some four thousand pounds, — an enormous fortune in those days. "Writing laboriously and care- fully, evidently desiring that his money should be wisely expended, Keayne planned various ways of aiding his fellow-townsmen. One-half of his estate went to his son, the other to public uses. Three hundred pounds was for the Town House ; one liundred for the Granary; fifty to the Free School; fifty to the poor of his church ; one hundred to Harvard College; somewhat to the Artilleiy Company; many legacies to relatives, friends, and servants, — a whim- sical, generous, pathetic will, full of a desire to do good according to the best of his light. But the town of Boston was to receive one gift which would endure even to this day. Three hun- dred pounds were to be laid out in building a conduit and a market-place, " with some convenient room or two for the Courts to meet in both in summer and winter, and so for the Townsmen and Commissioners ill the same building or the like, and a convenient room for a library, and a gallery, or some other hand- some room for the elders to meet in ; also a room for 28 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. an armoiy." There was to be a room for merchants, masters of ships, and strangers, as well as townsfolk. All this, with much repetition and amendment, is set forth in the will ; and the main part endured.^ In February, 1656-7, the Selectmen began to take action respectuig the legacy, and at the town-meet- mg in March, 1657, "Capt [Tliomas] Savage, Mr [Anthony] Stoddard, Mr [Jeremy] Houchin and Mr Ed [ward] Hutchinson" were chosen a committee " to consider of the modcll of the towne house to bee built, as concerning the charge thereof, and the most convenient place; as also to take the subscriptions of the inhabitants to propagate such a building ; and seasonably to make report to a publick townes meeting." Keayne had suggested Mr. [Thomas] Broughton and Mr. [John] Clarke, the chiinirgeon, as good persons to devise a j)lan; but these others were trusted citizens. Although no picture or plan of this first Town House has been preserved, we can get a very good idea of it from the papers preserved by the Massa- chusetts Historical Society. These documents were published in Mayor Wightman's address at the laying * See Appendix I. for a copy of this will. His autograph is '^StAt^ 1(ef^ut OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 29 of the corner-stone of the present City Hull, and are reprinted in Appendix F of this volume. The committee of four, perhaps, reported to the town-meeting, for we find that on the 31st August, 1G57, Thomas Marshall, Samuel Cole (not Cobb, as is printed in the address), William Paddy, Joshua Scottow, and Jeremy Houchin (of whom all but Houchin wei-e selectmen), " having full power given us " to engage the town for the payment for the house, appointed Edward Hutchinson and John Hull commissioners to attend the work. These two last- named agreed with Thomas Joy and Bartholomew Bernad to erect the building for the £300 of the Keayne legacy, and a further sum of £100, to be subscribed. We find, also, that, as the work progi'essed, it was evident that more money Avould be needed, and, therefore, some hundred and four patriotic citizens contributed the sum of £367.11. As the final pay- ment was £680, evidently this list contains nearly, if not quite, all the donors. The house was to be 36 feet wide and 66 feet long, set upon 21 pillars 10 feet high, projecting 3 feet over the pillars on each side. Moreover there was a walk on the top, 14 or 15 feet wide, with two turrets, and balusters and rails round the walk. There were to be two pair half-paced stairs, and turned stairs up into the walk. We infer that there were two rooms, 30 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. one from each end chimney coming towards the centre, with a staircase at each end, and that one of these halls was subdivided into two rooms. Good floors, windows, mantel-pieces, gutters, and other details are specified, showing that the town intended to have a good building. Exactly when the first Towi House was completed and occupied does not appear by the records, though the contract with Joy andBevnad specifies that it was to be erected by June 30, 1658, and covered and shingled Avithin six weeks later. Iklay 19, 1658, the General Court passed the fol- lowing order (Kec, iv., p. 327) : — " 1q answer to the requestor the Select men of Boston, the court judgeth it meet to allow unto Boston, for and towards the charges of their town-house, Boston's proportion of one single country rate for this year ensuing, provided that sufficient rooms in the said house shall be forever free, for the keeping of all Courts, and also that the place underneath shall be free for all inhabitants in this jurisdiction to make use of as a market for ever, without payment of any toll or tribute whatsoever." Tlie Selectmen of Boston voted March 28, 1659, that no one should smoke or bring a fire or match under or about the Town House except in case of military exercise; so that the building was probably then ready. Feb. 28, 1660-01, a settlement was ordered with Thomas Joy and partner " for the building of the OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 31 towne-house stayi'e cases and Conduit" by paying therefor six hundred and eighty pounds, deducting what has been paid. Oct. 9, 1G67, the Legislature ordered " the neces- sary full and suitable repair of the Town and Court House in Boston, founded hy the late Captain Robert Keayne,^^ one-half of the expense to be paid by the country, one-quarter by the county of Suffolk, one- quarter by the town of Boston. May 31, 1671, they ordered, on the same terms, " by a firm whole wall to the bottom of the braces, with brick or stone to re- pair the Court or Town House, so that all inconven- iences by rotting the timbers &c. be prevented." Josselyn, who was here in 1663, says, in his account pi-inted three years later, that there is in Boston " a Town House built upon pillars, where the Merchants may confer; in the Chambers above, they keep their monthly Courts." John Dunton, in 1686, merely repeats the same words. From items in the town records it seems that Richard Taylor hired the shop under the stairs at the west end of the Town House in 1661, and in 1669 he obtained an extension of his term for sixty- one years. In 1666 Robert Gibbs obtained a lease of the cellar under the Town House; and in 1664 Thomas Lake and Hezekiah Usher seem to have been in possession of the east end of the cellar. In 1678 Samuel Shrimpton bought out Lake's interest 32 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICAJION. from his widow, and obtained an extension of the lease for thirty-nine years. "Oct. 28, 1(586, let to John Hayward, notary, the small shop or room in the westerly end of the Town House, lately occu- pied by Nathaniell Barnes, for 21 years at the rent of ten shillings annually." We may therefore safely assume that, as the building was raised on pillars, the lower floor was partly partitioned off for shops, leaving a large space for the daily exchange. As early as 16G1 a bell was ordered to be rung at eleven o'clock every working day, to give notice of the assem- bling there for one hour of merchants, strangers, and inhabitants. In 1()83 it was voted "that a note set up under the Town House upon one of the pillars, concerning the price of wheat, shall be sufficient notice to the leakers to size their bread by, according to law." May 11, 1(390, "agreed that the market appointed by law should be in and about the Town House, and be opened on August 11th, next." Upstairs we find that there were three rooms, one probably for the Governor and Council, and one for the Representatives; and naturally there would be also some antei'ooms. Although tlie first building covered less ground than there is in the present lot, it was probably because there was more space at the east and weet ends. The first OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. H3 house was 66 feet long, the present 110, but the exti'a space was in the street. In fact, the French niap^ by Frauquehn, made in 1693, represents the space occupied by the Town House to be as large as the present ground. The other portions of Keayne's plans did not prove so permanent. In 1684 and in 1695 mention is made of the Town's Library; but it was perhaps lost in the fire, 1711. As to his Conduit, we know that it failed m some twelve years. It was doubtless to be constructed in imitation of the structures then common in England. " They are a kind of stone cage or cap, under cover of which the conduit pipe rises to the top and then lets down its stream; sometimes openly (the cap being a cage), some- times unseen, to a reservoir near the bottom." * The waste-water was allowed to escape by paved gutters, or otherwise to seek the earth. Doubt- less Captain Keayne expected to utilize the sjirings near his house as a supply of water for daily use, and " especially in case of fire." But such open streams were unsuited to this climate; and that feat- ure of Enghsh towns could not be imitated here. In March, 1672 (Towti Records, ii., 66), it was ' A careful copy of this map is in our Public Library, and heliotypes there- from have been freely issued. * Prof. William Everett has kindly furnished the above description from his observation in England. :jl OLD STATE noUSlC liE-DEDICATION. voted that, as the work "by the Pro\ndence of God hath not proved so usel'iil as was expected and desired," by an agreement with the overseers of Keayne's will, "liberty was given to Mr. Xicholas Page to take away the bricks belonging to the place intended for a conduit at the end of the Town House, before his door, provided he immediately fill the place even with the ground about it." As Page had bought of the town its half of the new house, adjoining Keayne's old one, which K.'s overseers had given in payment of the legacy, it is clear that the conduit was planned to be on the south fork of State street, beside the Town House. The first building stood from 1G58 to 1711, when it was burned in a terrible conflagration. In it pre- sided Governors Endicott, Bellingham, Leverett, and Bradstreet, under the old charter; Andros, under the orders of King James; and Phips, Stoughton, Bcllo- mont, and Joseph Dudley under the new chaiter. Through many perils — from Indian foes, from English tyranny, and from domestic treachery — the settlement steadily increased in population and wealth during these fifty-three years. It is estimated by Shattuck that the population of Boston was, in A.D. 1680, four thousand five hundred persons; in A.D. 1G90, seven thousand persons; in A.D. 1700, OLD STATE HOUSE nE-DEDICATION. 35 six thousand seven hundred persons; in A.D. 1710, nine thousand persons. At one time, indeed, in 1G89, this To^vii House was the centre of a revolution. In April of that year the colonists, inspired by the news that William of Orange had landed in England, took the desperate resolve to rebel against King James and his gov- ernor here. It was a rash venture ; but it succeeded. Within the previous year Andros, a veteran soldier of large experience, had constructed on the neighboi- ing height a fortification, which gave its name to Port Hill. He had royal troops under his command, and a man-of-war was anchored off the shore. But the leaders of the people assembled at the Town House in Boston, supported by the bold and resolute freemen of the colony, and in a smgle day the royal authority was overthrown.* It should be forever remembered that, although a like success in England at the same time secured the immunity of these Bos- ' In Byfield's Account, reprinted in the Andros Tracts, he states that Gov. Andros, having been captured at the Fort, was " conveyed to the Council-house, where Mr. Bradstrect and the rest of the Gentlemen waited to receive him." Hutchinson, i., 381, says, "A long declaration was read from a balcony or gallery of the Towne House." Beside this there was a broadside issued, subscribed by Wait VVinthrop, Simon Bradstreet, and thir- teen others, dated " at the Town House in Boston, April 18, 1689," stating to Gov. Andros that " We judge it necessary you forthwith surrender and deliver up the Government and Fortification, to be preserved and disposed according to Order and Direction from the Crown of England, which suddenly is expected may arrive." 36 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. tonians, the actors here were then ignorant of that event, and for at least a month they were open and avowed rebels. Xor can it be doubted that the whole course of our history Avas immensely influ- enced by the fact that, when "William and Mary ascended the thi'one, they found the colony of Massa- chusetts so far distinguished from other colonies as to have fought independently for its rights. This old Town House was the first shrine of liberty; and every subsequent act can be clearly shown to be the natural and logical consequence of that first uprising of a free people. As the centre of the town this old hall must have witnessed many stirring scenes. Unfortunately, until we reach the date of Sewall's invaluable Diary, we have no warrant for the details. Sewall (i., 138) notes, mider date of May 17, 1686, " General Court sits at one o'clock, I goe thither about 3. The Old Government draws to the North-side, Mr. Addington, Capt. Smith and I sit at the Table, there not being room Came also Capt. of King's Frigot Gov'. Hinkly, Gov'. West and sate on the Bench, and the Room pretty well filled with Spectators in an Instant." May 18 he mentions a great wedding celebrated at OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 37 Mr. Shi-impton's by Mr. Randolph's chaplain, " Avhen Prayer was had at the Town House." May 20, 1686, he notes that Mr. Ratcliflfe and the Episcopalians asked to have one of the three churches to preach in. " That is dcnyed and he is ,ij:ranted the East-End of the Town House, where the Deputies used to meet, until those who desire his ^Ministry shall provide a fitter place." Dec. 20, 1686, Gov. Andros arrives, " lands at Gov'. Leverett's wharf about 2 P.M. when the President, &c., meet him, and so march up through the Guards of the 8 Companyes to the Town House where part of the Commission read." December 25, 1 686. " Governour goes to the Town House to Service Forenoon and Afternoon, a Red-Coat going on his right hand and Capt. George on his left." January 31, 1686-7. "There is a meeting at the Town House forenoon and afternoon : Bell rung for it, respecting the beheading Charles the First: Governour there." AprU 26, 1687. "Court sits. President in the Governour's seat, Mr. Stoughton at his right hand, Col. Shrimpton next him; Mr. Lynde at his left hand. Major Lidget nest him." Prom these notes we infer that before Andros's time the Deputies had the chamber on the east end. Afterwards the Supreme Court held its sessions in the room appropriated to the Governor and 38 OLD STATE HOUSE UE-DEDICATION. Council, which probably was the same East Chamber, as the Deputies were no part of the government under the Andros administration. This room, hav- ing once become the property of the Governor and Council, seems to have remained in use by them until the Kevolution. On May 14, 1G92, Sir William Phips arrived, the first governor under the Second or Provincial Char- ter." Sewall writes (Diary, i., 360) : " Sir William arrives in the !N"onsuch Frigat: Candles are lighted before he gets into Town-house. Eight Companies wait on Him to his house, and then on Mr. Mather to his. Made no volleys because 'twas Satterday night." "Monday, May 10. Eight Companies and two fi'oin Charlcstown guard Sir William and his Councillors to the Town-house where the Commis- sions are read and Oaths taken." Boston, at this date, had not far from one thousand houses and seven thousand inhabitants (Palfrey, iv., 136) ; but at the election of a representative in May, 1698, 'Palfrey (Hist., iii., 590) thus describes tlie scene: " From far anrt near llic people flocked into Boston; the government, attended by the principal pcntlcmen of the capital and the towns around, passed in procession on horseback through the thoroughfares ; the regiment of the town and com- panies and troops of horse and foot from the country, lent their pomp to the show ; there was a great dinner at the Town Uouse for the better sort ; wine was served out in the streets ; and the evening was made noisy with aiclamatiEDICATION. It is a fair inference that tliis table reached from the east window towards the door, and if so it was in conformity to our New England custom, by which the minister or other presiding officer is so mvariably placed in front of a window. To this council-chamber the deputies were sum- moned, and committees of that body were here re- ceived. At such conferences the Governor was not allowed to take part, though on one occasion at least he remained in the room. There was a " closet," probably one of the anterooms opening from the chamber, to which the Governor could withdraw for private consultation;^ and perhaps the other ante- room was needed for the accommodations of the twenty-eight councillors. It seems that in this chamber the Overseers of Har- Commissions were produced and Read, Oaths given. ... At length the Governor dictated to the Clerk to this purpose. Whether the Government was devolved on the Lieutenant Governor, the Commission of Gov'. Bur- gess nor any copy of it, not bein? arrived. It was, nemine contradiccnte, carried in the Negative." (Scwall, iii., SO.) '"Feb. 12, 171T-18. I salute Cousin Quincy in Council. . . . The Govcrnour calls me into the Closet and tells me lie would make me Chief Judge." (Sewall, iii., 168.) "Feb. 25, 1718-19. The judges meet p.m. in the Council Chamber, before the Meeting of the Council. . . . Then, in the Closet, voted it con- venient to liave two Clerks." (Sewall, iii., L'l". ) "Dec. 10, 1722. His E.\cellency took me aside to the Soutli-East win- dow of the Council Cliamber to speak to nie. . . . Dec. 21. The Governor took me to the window again looking Eastward, next Mrs. Phillips', and spake to me aijain." (Sewall, iii., 315.) OLD STATE UOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 49 yard College met at times, as did the Commissioners of the Society for propagating the Gospel among the Indians, March 27, 1729 (Sewall, iii., 395). Once, March 29, 1720 (Sewall, iii., 248), the "Inspectors of the Grammar Schools " of Boston met there. The chamber was also used as a consultation room for the judges.'" ^N'otwithstanding the order to construct a west room for the courts, it is very doubtful if this were really done. In 1717 Sewall speaks of a trial held in the old meeting-house opposite, while sentence was pronoimced in the court chamber." Was not this the chamber of the Great and General Court, that is, our House of Representatives? When the fire of 1747 took place, mention is made of the " Council Cham- ber, the Chamber of the House of Representatives and the Apartments thereof, in that Story." Another account speaks of " the Council Chamber" and "both the Lobbies," and also the " Offices kept in the Upper Story " ; but it says " the County Records and Papers belonging to the Inferior Court being deposited in an ""Feb. 13, 1718-19. All the Judges desired to be at the Governor's house at 5 p.m. Met accordingly. . . . The Judges went to the Council Chamber, &c., &c." " " May 9, 1717. Jeremy Phenix arraigned in the Court Chamber. 10. Try'd in the old Meeting-house. Mr. Auckmooty was Counsel for the Prisoner and had family with him in the Fore-seat of the Women, though he be bound over for notorious words against the Government." "May 11th. I pass'd Sentence upon Phenix, the Chief Justice being absent This was done in the Court Chamber." (Sewall, iii., 130.) 50 OLD STATE HOUSE HE-DEDICATION". Office upon the lower Floor, Avcre most of tlieni pre- served." There is i)roor that the ( 'ouiieil Chaiaher was the scene of festivities on state occasions, such as the birthday of tlie sovereign oi- his accession, the arrival of a new governor, etc.'" Here also were held jjuIj- lic funerals, as in tlie case of Fitz-John NNiiithrop.'^ From the balcony, at the east end, it was customary to proclaim the laws, with sound of trumpets and "October 5, 171G, Gov. Shute arrived in Roston. "Ministers met the Governor a little before he got to the Town House. Col. Joseph Dudley nearer, and went up and sat with the Council. Col. Tailer met the Governor at the Stairs, and took place of Lt.-Gov. Duramer : and when Dummer was sworn, gave him the place. Gov. [Shute], Lt. Gov. [Dummer] laid their hands on the Bible, and Kissed it very industriously." (Sewall, iii., 105.) The return of Gov. Shirley, Nov. 7, 1745, after the surrender of Louis- burg, was here celebrated (S. G. Drake, Hist., p. H'il), and so, also, on June 24, 174G, was the arrival of Gen. Pepperell and Admiral Warren. On the l.Htli Sept., 174;t, the indemnity voted by Parliament arrived, ainountiiij; to £183,049. At that time a pound sterling ecjUalled eleven pounds old tenor, or thirty shillings new tenor, so great had been the depreciation of paper money. ""March 23, 1714-15. Mr. Addington [the late Secretary] buried from the Council Chamber; 'twas a sad spectacle." (Sewall, iii., 41.) "Nov. 14th, 1717. Attended the Funeral of Major-General Winthrop. The Corpse was carried to the Town House tlie night before : now buried from the Council Chamber. Bearers, his Excellency the Governor [Shute], Gov. Dudley: Lt. Gov. Dummer, Col. Taylor: Crovidcd : and that the Honorable .Tosiah AVillard, Esq"'. .Secretary be allowed to make use of the Office under the stairs in Faneuil Hall which hath been inprovcd for the Naval Officer, until better provided, he payin;^ tlie same rent Mr. Overing agreed for, to commence the 12"". instant." OLD STATE HOUSE HE-DEDICATION. 61 journal is printed in the IS^.E. Historical and Genea- logical Register for 1870, p. 72) thus describes it in tlie autumn of 1750: — " They bave also a Town House, built of Brick, situated in King's street. It's a very Grand Brick Building, Arch'd all Round, and Two Storie Heigh, Sash'd above ; its Lower Part is alwajs Open, desigu'd as a Change, tho' the Merchants in Fair Weather make their Change in the open Street at the Easterraost End. In the upper Story are the Council and Assembly Cham- bers &c. It has a neat Capulo, sash'd all round, and which on rejoycing days is Elluminated."" Capt. Goelet mentions tliat on October 30th, His Majesty's Birth-day, he " went at noon witli Capt. Wendell to the Councill Chamber in the Towne House, where [ho] drank the Loyall Toasts with the Lieutenant Governor, Councill," etc. By the records of the House it appears that Dec. 12, 1752, there was paid £6 13s. 4d. to Moses Deshon " for the arms of the Colony which he has carved, and put up in the House of Representatives." By the bill of the painter in 1773, it seems that the Colony arms still remained, while the King's arms, also then paid for, were probably in the Council Chamber. The historic Codfish was also " Jany 17, 1749-50 " voted that the Engine under the care of Mr Thomas Reed be removed to the cellar under the Town House as soon as may be, and that Mr Cooke be desired to get a Platform laid, and what else may be necessary to be done for the sumt;." — Selectmen's Records. G2 OLD STATIC HOrSE HE-DEDICATIOX. iiK'iiliuned, and variuus pic-tiire'S, of wliicli the only one nanietl is that of Gov. Burnet. Tery strangely, it ajjpcars by the "Boston Post Boy " of June Kith, 17G6, that a gallery was put in the Representatives' Hall, though it is hard to imagine where space was found for it." Chandeliers, of course, hung in each liall, and the desk of the Clerk or Speaker of the House is still preserved by the Massachusetts Historical Society."" When the work of the I'estoration was commenced last year, it was found that the framing of the timbers was such that there must have been a circular stairway in the place now occupied by it, from the first floor to the halls, and that tlie landings must have presented their present form. The same investigation showed that the Rej)re- sentatives' Hall had its easterly end curved, Avhile the Council Chamber was sqiuire. These indications coincide with a descrijjtion published in 17!)1, Avhen the halls were occupied by the Legislature of the "Hutchinson says (iii, 1G6), under date of 1767, that the House " had caused a gallery to be built and opened, that all persons inclined to it, might hear their debates; and a speech, well adapted to the gallery, was oftentimes of more service to the cause of liberty than if its jiiirposes hail been confined to the members of the house." '" Although described as llie Speaker's desk, it seems almost impossible that it could have been so used. The balusters in the new stairway are co])ied from those in Gov. Shirley's house, still standing in Ho.xbury. As he was the governor at the date of the rebuilding, in 1747, no better exemplars could be desired. Oi.i) SiAiii UuLM-, i.N 171)1. (^Fioiii tlu- ^hissllcllU^^;Us MagiiziiK'.) OLD STATK HOUSE UK-DEDICATION. 63 State, and when, apparently, no changes had been made. The Massachusetts Magazine for August, 1791, gives a south-west view of the building, i.e., one taken from the Washington-street end, and the following description is added : — "The State House is an elegant brick building, standing at tlie Lead of State Street, one mile and 297 yards from the fortification. It is 110 feet in length and thirtj'-eight in breadth. The founda- tions of the present walls were laid A.D. 1712, the former State House having been reduced to ashes in the great fire of the pre- ceding j'ear. The internal part of this building again experienced the desolating flame in 17-17, when a vast number of ancient books and early records, together with a collection of valuable papers, were destroyed, and to the ravages of this calamity we may attrib- ute the imperfect accounts that arc to be obtained of the first and second building. The ascent to the lower floor, as fronting the Long wharf, is by an elevated flight of large stone steps, railed round with neat iron balustrades. There are three other entrances : one at the opposite end, facing to Cornhill, and the other two in the opposite centres of the length. Tlie Clerks of the Supreme .Judicial Court and Court of Common Pleas hold their offices upon the first floor, which also serves in bad weather as an exchange for the mercantile part of the community. A range of Doric pillars support the floors of the second story, which is destined for the accommodation of the (loneral Legislature. The Senate Chamber is thirty-two feet square and fifteen feet in height, furnished with a convenient lobby for committees to transact business in. The Representatives' Chamber is fifty-seven and a half feet in length,'' thirty-two in breadth, and the same " This figure, fifty-seven and one half feel, is an impossibility, being more than one-half the length of the building, liiit lliirty-sevcn and one-half 64 OLD STATE HOUSE UE-DEDICATION. height iis the former, with a well-constructed lobby. The third or upper story is improved by different committees during the session, :uid has an I'^ust, West and South lobby ; beside several apartments for publick papers and records. On the centre of the roof is a tower, consisting of three stories, finished according to the Tuscan, Dorick and loiiick orders complete, and from tlieuce is a flue prospect of the Harbor and adjacent Country." The painter's bill" of 1773 also mentions the Lion and the Unicorn which crowned the east end of the exterior, the carved corner-pieces on the west front, the balcony and pediment in front at the main window of Ihe Council Chamber, and the steps, which, for a time, reached fi"om the first floor down State street.-' These features have all been reprodticed in the restored building. It was, indeed, a question wlu'ther or not to restore the royal arms uj)()n llic cast end, but a feature so distinctive, architcctiu-ally, could not be well omitted. Happily, no one will to-day misun- derstand the feeling- with which we i-eplace this me- feet would reach exactly to the line of the curved end of the hall as shown on Rogers' plans and now reconstructed. Evidently the writer put his notes of the measurements in figures, and either he or his printer mistook thirty- seven and one-half for fifty-seven and one-half. The error really ((iiitirms the exactness of the record. ''• This document is printed in .\ppendix K. '^ These steps are in the picture piiintetl in ISUl, owned by the Uis- torical Society, but were removed before the view in 1821 was taken. Ttu'v are in the view of 1785 also, and are mentioned in 17'Jl. OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 65 mento of our colonial clays, — a recognition merely of the facts of history, neither forgetful of the protec- tion which the mother country once extended, nor boastful of the change which has given us a national coat-of-arms, a national flag, and a supreme govern- ment, at least equal to those which we renounced a century ago.'-* It is certain that prioi- to the fire in 1747, the town had ceased to regard the Town House as its partic- ular pride. In 1740 Peter Faneiiil had offered to the town a building for a market and a Town Hall, and though it was accepted only by a vote of 367 against 360, the work was accomplished. On the 13th September, 1742, the first town-meeting was held there, and Faneuil Hall was solemnly so entitled. (S. G. Drake, Hist. Boston, p. 611.) On October 6, 1742, " in conformity with a vote of the Town for removing the Town's Books and papers to Faneuil Hall, voted that the Town Clerk move said Books and papers belonging to the Town, foithwith, and that Mr. Savell provide C(jal for the selectmen at their meeting there on Wednesday next." The first meeting of the selectmen there was on October 13, 1742. From this time therefore Faneuil -' In delivering tliis aililress tlio words " royal arms " were used, and are therefore retained. Evidence will be found in Appendix V) to justify the opinion that the Lion and Unieorn were the supporters to the Province coat-of-atms, and that they figured here in that eapaoity. 60 OLD STATE HOUSE UE-DEDICATION. Hall became the Town Ilall, and tlie buikling on State street became more especially the place for the Legislatui'e and Com*ts. One other vote of the selectmen at this time may be reproduced as showing the dissatisfaction of the town: "May 10, 1744. In consideration of the difficult circumstances of the Province, especially of the Town of Boston, and the little advantage in cleaning the glass at the Town House, voted that that lixpense and charge be saved for the present year." A brief account of Faneuil Hall and its vicissi- tudes will be found in Apjxiudix E. Having thus considered the history of the walls of this building, lot us review the scenes which took place therein. During the administration of Shirley (1741-1757), and of Pownall (1757-1700), the colony was undoulitedly loyal. The great expendi- tures made by England to carry out the favorite wish of the colonists, by the overthrow of tlic French power in America, had not only pleased but enriched the sea-board colonies. Many of our citizens served with (Ti'dit in llic \aiious urnrK's which attacked Canada; many others liad served in tlic navy or the transport service, and Boston especially had become accustomed to the presence of English troops and OLD STATE HOUSK RE-DEIHCATION. 67 Crown officials. Shirley had identified himself with the colony, had built a house here and reared a family amid Bostonian surroundings. His ardor in military affairs led him to be less strenuous in smaller civil matters, and he had acquiesced in such encroach- ments by the Legislature as restrained the power of the Crown or the influence of the Governor. Pownall's short rule of three years was noteworthy mainly for its military record.-* In August, 1760, Francis Bernard arrived here to succeed Pownall, and, five months later, news was received of the accession of George III. With the new King and the new Governor begins the closing chapter of our colonial history. This is not the time to attempt to describe the causes which led to the Revolution, except in so far as any important events took place in this building. Here, under this roof, indeed, were encamped the hostile forces of the civil goveniraent. In this room the Royal Governor '= John Adams says (Works, x., 241-4), " Pownall was a Whif;, a friend of liberty, a lover of his eountry, and he considered North America a part of his country as nmch as England, Scotland, or Ireland." — " Pownall, when he came into administration, thought there ought to be a good understanding between the capital and country, and a harmony between both and the government. This conciliatory and comprehensive system was too refined and too sublime for human nature in this contentious, warring world." — "Pownall was the most constitutional and national Governor, in my opinion, who ever represented the crown in this province. He engaged in no intrigues, he favored no conspiracies against the liber- ties of America." 68 OLD STATE HOUSIC KE-DEDICATION. and his geiK-rally .subsL-rviciit Council could listen to the applause which greeted the impassioned elo- quence of the popular leaders of the Representatives in the adjoining hall, as they graditally developed the ideas of " No representation, no taxation," and " No representation, no legislation," as Hutchinson scorn- fully termed them. (Hist., iii., 1G4.) How often must these lobbies and entries have been thronged l)y the citizens of Boston, anxious to catch the latest in- telligence of royal obstinacy or of popular indigna- tion ! In those days the press was so circumscribed in its province, that the news was only to be ob- tained by contact with the actors; and here was the centre of all that absorbed the attention of the com- nninity. The town-mecstings were held at Faneuil Ilall,-'^ and when more room was needed, they ad- journed to tlu' Old South Church. Yet, powerful as was the influence of Boston, the citizens could (tnly issue instructions to their representatives in tlic august body, which, in these halls, spoke in the name of tlic ciitii-e colony. It will be necessary to give a few instances of the occurrences in tliese apartments, from the evidence of tlic actors therein. "It is often forgotten that Faneuil Hall prior to A.D. lst>> w:i> nmeh snialkT tlian it now is. The iiililition of imother story und an extension on the north side added greatly to the space. Of course tliese changes have not destroyed the identity of the huilding, but they are much greater than those made in these Memorial Halls, where only one wall has been replaced in each room and in the same position. (Consult, on this point. Appendix E.) OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 09 On "Wednesday, Decembei- IG, 17G1, there was a military funeral held here, fully described in the journals. It was in honor of Major-General Edward "Whitniore,* Governor of Louisburg, who was drowned in Plymouth hai'bor on the preceding- Friday. The procession marched from the Town House to the King's Chapel, escorted by the ti'oop of IIorse-Guards and the company of Cadets. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governoi-, the Council, Judges, Justices, and Ministers followed the corpse, and "Minute Guns were fired to the. amount of 70, being the Number of Years of the General's Age." Edward Whitniore, Charles Lawrence, and James Wolfe were the brigadiers under Amherst at the capture of Louisburg, in 1758. Wolfe's division had the largest share of the fighting, but after the surrender Wliitmore was left as Governoi* of the Fort. As such he had been in constant official communication Avith Boston for over two years, and at that date was doubtless better known here than the future hero of the capture of Quebec. * Tliis General Edward Whitmore was Lieutenant-Colonel of 3Gtli Foot In 174", and Colonel of 22d Foot, 11th of July, 1757, in which post he was succeeded by Thomas Gage, afterwards our Governor. lie left several children, the oldest being Edward Whitniore, who was Captain of Iloyal Artillery, 10th of September, 1759, and died in 1804. I do not find any relationship between him and Lieutenant-Cieneral William Whitmore, 17G0, Colonel of 9th Foot, 1758-1771, whose family was of note in Shropshire. 70 OLD STATE llOCSE liK-DEDICATION. In 1761, soon after Bernard's arrival, James Otis, Jr., aroused the public by his ftunous ])lea against the Writs of Assistance. John Adams has ad- miral)ly described the scene in this hall, in a letter written to a friend in 1817. (Life and Works, Vol. X., pp. 245-248.) "The scene is the Council chamhcr in tlie old Town House in Boston. The date is in the month of Kt>l)iuary, 17G1, nine years before you entered my office in Cole lane. As this was five years before you entered college, you must have been in the second form of IMaster Lovell's school. "That Council chamber was as respectable an apartment as the House of Coinmous or the House of Lords in Great Britain, in proportion, or that in the State House in Thiladelphia, in which the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1770. In this chamber, round a great fire, were seated five judges, with Lieu- t.uant-Govemor Hutchinson at their head as Chief Justice, all arrayed in tlicir new, fresh, rich robes of scarlet Englisii broad- cloth ; in their large cambric bands and immense judicial wigs. " In this chamber were seated at a long table all the barristers- at-law of J5()ston and of the neighboring county of Middlesex, in gowns, bands, and tie wigs. They were not seated on ivory chairs, but their dress was more solemn and more pompous than that of the Koman Senate, when the Gauls broke in upon them. " In the corner of the room uuist be placed as a spectator aud an auditor, wit, sense, imtvgiuation, genius, pathos, reason, prudence, eloquence, learning and immense reading, hanging by the shoulders on two crutches, covered with a great cloth coat, in the person of Mr. Pratt, who had been solicited on both sides, but would engage on neither, being, as Chief Justice of New York, about to leave Boston forever. Two portraits, OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 71 at more than full length, of King Charles the Second and of King James the Second, in splendid golden frames, were hung up on the most conspicuous sides of the apartment. If my young eyes or old memory have not deceived me, these were as fine pict- ures as I ever saw ; the colors of the royal ermines and long, flowing robes were the most glowing, the figures the most noble and graceful, the features the most distinct and characteristic, far superior to those of the king aud queen of France in the Senate chamber of Congress — tliese were worthy of the pencils of Rubens and Vandyke. Tliere was no painter in England capable of them at that time. They had been sent over without frames in Governor Pownall's time, but he was no admirer of Charles or James. The pictures were stowed away in a garret, among rubbish, until Governor Bernard came, who had them cleaned, superbly framed, and placed in council for the admiration and imitation of all men — no doubt with the advice and concurrence of Hutchinson and all his nebula of stars and satellites. " One circumstance more. Samuel Quincy and John Adams had been admitted barristers at tliat term. John was the youngest ; he should be painted looking like a short, thick archbishop of Canterbury, seated at the table with a pen in his hand, lost in admiration, now and then minuting those poor notes which j'our pupil. Judge Minot, has printed in his history, with some interpo- lations." He then proceeds to describe the characters in the di'ama, and thns depicts the chief: — " But Otis was a flame of fire. With a promptitude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events aud dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eye into futuritj', and a torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away everj'thing before him. American 72 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. independence was then and there V)orn ; the seeds of patriots and heroes were then and there sown, to defend the vigorous youtli, the non sine DUh animosns infans. Every man of a crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take arms against writs of assistance. Then and there was the first scene of the first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there the child Independence was born." The imnicdiate result Ava.s a modification of tlie form of the writs; Imt tlie greater consequence Avas the prominence of Otis, and the attention called to the oppressive character of the English revenue laws when applied to this country. A lull succeedcil in the political atmosphere for the next two years, and the news of the peace with France, received here in May, 1763, was joyfully welcomed. Soon, however, the clouds gathered, indicative of the coming storm. The vast expense of the war rendeiid new taxes inevitable; unfor- tunately, thi' consideralion of the renewal of a tax Avhich had just expired, — one on tlu' importation of molasses into tiic colonics, — led the Gi'cnvillc ministry to determine "to raise by a stamp diilv, oi- in some other way, a sum IVom America, sufficient to ease government in part fidin llir fiilure charges which miglil ])v necessary there." (Hutchinson, iii.. In April, 1765, news was received of the passage of the act, and popular opposition was at once OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 73 excited. On the biitlulay of the Prince of Wales, Augnst 12, it was concei'ted to hang the appointed distributor of stamps in effigy. This was done two days later, the image being suspended from the Liberty Tree, which stood on the corner of Essex and Washington streets. The Council was hastily assembled, l)ut prudently advised that nothing be done, hoping that the matter would end there. " Before night the image was taken down, and carried through the Town House, in the chamber whereof the Governor and Council were sitting. Forty or fifty tradesmen, decentl}' dressed, preceded ; and some thousands of the mob followed down King street to Oliver's dock, near which Mr. Oliver bad lately erected a building, which, it was conjectured, he designed for a stamp office. This was laid flat to the ground in a few minutes. From thence the mob proceeded for Fort Hill, Imt Mv. Oliver's house being in the way, they endeavored to force themselves into it, and being opposed, broke the windows, beat down the doors, entered, and destroyed part of his furniture, and continued in riot until midniojit before they separated." (Hutchinson, iii., 121.) On the evening of August 2G a inol) collectt'd in King street, "drawn there by a bonfire, and well supplied Avith strong drink." They plundered the cellars of the comptroller of customs, and then marched to the house of Thomas Hutchinson, in Gar- den court, neai- Fleet street. whiM-e, all niglit long, undisturbed by the frightened neighborhood, tiie work of destruction went on. These inexcusable outrages were promptly disavowed in town-meeting, and most 74 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. I^robably Averc tlic work of those turbulent and law- less men who always appear whenever authority is suspended, to dishonor and injure the cause they nominally support. When the Legislature met, on October 24, 1765, Boston was represented by a new member, — Samuel Adams, — then first the recipient of high office, but already a leader among the advocates of indcijcnd- ence. Otis was in New York, attending a conven- tion of di'legates from the various colonies, which had been convoked by royal authority. The diflfer- ence in the political views of these leaders was marked, though it did not i^revent their unison in many points. Otis believed that Parliament was su- preme, but that the Colonies were entitled to repre- sentation thwein. Adams "professed principles, which he owned without reserve in pi-ivate discourse, to be independency; and, I'loni time to time, he made advances towards it in |)ublick, as far as would serve the great purpose of attaining to it. To his inlluence inav be attributed the "reat a(l\ancc nia(U' in this session." (Hutchinson, iii.. l.'U.) On the 29th of October, in tlie adjoining hall, the House passed the famous Resolves, prepared by Samuel Adams, one of whicli (Icclarcs. "That all acts made by any powi-r whatever, other than tlie General Asseml)ly of tliis Province, imposing taxes on the inhabitants, are infringements of our inherent and unalienable rights OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 75 as men and Britisli subjects, and render void the most valuable declarations of our charter." To be sure, this was coupled with a declaration of loyalty to the Crown and to Parliament; but the first resolve contained a political truth, and the last a politic profession. On May 16, 176G, the news of the repeal of the Stamji Act was received here, and caused universal rejoicing. In September the Rockingham-Shelburne ministry came into power, and was believed to be friendly to the Colonies. The Governor here had several disputes with the Legislature, the Council displayed unusual independence, and the influence of Adams, now promoted to the office of Clerk of the House,-" was steadily on the increase. The same state of affiiirs characterized the whole of the following year, 1767, until, in the autumn, news was received of the passage of an act levying " small duties on paper, glass, and painters' colors, imported into America; to take off 12d., which had been charged in England on every pound of tea exported, and to lay 3d. only, payable upon its importation into America." (Hutchinson, iii., 179.) Commissioners were appointed to enforce the customs' laws, and an *" " The office having some emolument, it had generally been filled by one of the members, who took the same share in debating and voting as if he had not been clerk, and rather acquired than lost influence by being so." (Hutchinson, iii., 1-48.) 76 <>M) STATK llorsK |;K-I)KI)ICATI0X. act was passed legalizing- the writs of assistance, under wliich search was made for snnijirgled jjoods. DO O Ju February, 17C8, the Iloust- passed a bill order- ing letters to be written to the other colonies, " with respect to the imi)oitance of joining with them in petitioning Ilis Majesty at tliis time."' This was Adams' measure, — a potent weapon in the coming conflict. Another resolve was, "that this House will, by all prudent means, endeavor to discountenance the use of foreign superfluities, and to encourage the manufactures of this Province." The English government demanded the rescinding the vote authorizing the Circular Letter, but the House, Ijy a vote of 92 to 17, refused obedience. "The galleries were cleared, and all communication with the other Board or from the outside, was shut off during the debate." (Life of S. Adams, i., iii.) Even a committee of the Council, Avith certain reso- lutions of that branch, was refused admittance. The House was prorogued the same day, and dissolved the next day, l)ut not til! it liad passed an address to the king, asking for tiif removal of (Jov- eriKir Bernard. All ill-,i(l\ iscd measure at this time added to the po])ular discontent. Owing to Bernard's representa- tions, it had been decided that one or two regiments should be sent (Vmhi Halifax to lioston. On hearing of the riots here, the government in Enghuul ordered OLD STATE UOUSF, 1!E-1)EI)ICATK)X. 77 two more regiments from Ireland. The news of the first order was received in Boston about the begin- ning of September, 17G8, and, as the Legislature was not expected to meet for a year, the town-meeting of Boston took action. On learning from the Governor that the troops were soon to arrive, — one regiment for the Castle and two for the town, — the meeting voted to hold a convention on September 22, of delegates from all the other towns, '^ in order that such measures may be concerted and advised, as His Majesty's service and the peace and safety of his subjects in the province may require." As Hutchin- son says (Hist., iii., 205), "It must be allowed by all, that the proceedings of this meeting had a greater tendency towards a revolution in government than any preceding measures in any of the colonies. The inhabitants of one town alone took upon them to convene an assembly from all the towns, that, in everything but in name, would be a House of Repre- sentatives." A most just comment; and let us to-day be proud of the fact that the town thus assuming the lead was Boston. Although the result of the meeting, which was duly held at Faueuil Hall, was not as tangible as was hoped, it showed the colonists how to proceed towards a rebellion whilst preserving the forms of law. The convention ad- journed September 29, the day after the Heet and soldiers reached Xantasket. The troops, amounting 78 OI,I) STATK IlorSK I{K-l)i;i)ICATIOX. to one thousand men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dal- lymple, landed without opposition. One regiment pitched their tents on the Common; the others were marched to Faneuil Ilall, and, after some dis- pute, were sheltered there for one night. " The next day, Gov. Bernard ordered the doors of the Town House to be opened, except that of the Council Chamber; and such part were lodged there as Fan- euil Hall i-()oms would not accommodate. The Rep- resentatives' room was filled, in common with the rest." (Hutchinson, iii., 212.) Gen. Gage was summoned from New York, and the Council attempted to find a Avay to satisfy both sides. The i-esult was that houses Avere hired for the troops, but in the immediate vicinity of the TowTi House. The quartering of troops at this spot was felt keenly by the i)rovince. The next town-meeting demanded of Gen. Mackay, then in command, the removal of the troops on election day. He replied that he could not do this, but would confine them to their barracks. AV'hen the I>egislature met, in May, 17G9, its first work, after organizing, was to resolve that, "an aiinaiu'iit by sea and land investing the metropolis, and a military guaid, witli cannon ])ointed at lliai very door of the State House, wliere this As- sembly is held, is inconsistent witli tliat dignity, as well as that freedom, with wiruli we have a right to deliberate, consult, and deti-nnine." They added OLD STATE IIOUSK UE-DEDICATION. 70 that they expected the Grovemor to order the removal of these foi'ces durhig the session of the Assembly. As they refused to transact business while the troops remained, and as the Governor would not consent, he adjourned the Legislature to Cambridge. Finally, two regiments were sent back to Halifax, the 14th and 29th remaining here. Another deeply exciting trial at this time inten- sified the popular indignation. April 22, 17G9, a press-gang from the " Rose " frigate, under Lieut. Panton, boarded a ship owned by Mr. Hooper, of Marblehead, on her return from Bilboa. Michael Corbet and three others resisted, and the officer, Panton, was shot. Hence a trial in July, by a special Court of Admiralty, of these four sailors on a charge of piracy and murder. John Adams (Works, X., 205-207) says, that at the open- ing of the trial, on the presentation of the prisoners' pleas, Hutchinson moved "that the Court should adjourn to the Council Chamber." " The prisoners were remanded ; parties, witnesses, counsel, audience, dismissed; and the Court adjourned to the Council Chamber, where they remained in secret conclave till late in the evening." " The Court met again early next morning, in secret conclave in the Council Chamber." The plea of the defence was, that the act was justifiable homi- cide, and this was the deci-iion of the Court. 80 OT.D STATE HOI'SK RE-DEDICATION. Adams iidds, " One circumstance is too eharac- teristie to be omitted. The counsel for the prisoners, descending from the chaml)er where the Court sat, to the lower floor of the Court House, was met at the l)ottom of llie stairs I)y the lioatswain <>{' tlie ^ Rose.' *" Sii',' said he, ' we arc all greatly obliged to you Cor your noble coiuluct in defence of these brave fellows; yet, sir, this is the I'mployniciit in which I have been almost constantly engaged for twenty years, fighting with honest men to deprivi' them of their liberty. I always thought I ought to be hanged for it, and now I know it." Bernard was recalled, and sailed on July 31, 17G9, amid (U'liionstrations of popular joy. By his dei)ai-turc the duties devolved ujjou Thomas Hutchinson, the lieutenant-go vei'nor, a native of Boston, a man of fortune and eminent abilities, l)ut already distasteful to liis rillow-citizi-ns as the ablest defender <>[' the rovalist views in the colonv. He came to the coMHuand in times which were daily becoming more tur])ulent. and. Iiaving persistently taken the pai-1 of tlie Ci'own. he has justly forfeited all claims to the respect of the descendants of the rebels. During the autuum of 17(5!* the bitter feeling between the (•olonisi> and tlie loyalists rapidly increased. James Otis was dangerously wounded in an affray \vith a Crown officer in the British OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATIOX. 81 Coflfee House, whicli slood on State street, at the present l^o. 00. It is probable that the violence he then received completed the overthrow of his intellect, and, thenceforward, he ceased to lead in public affairs. On the 22d of February, 1770, a local riot led to the shooting, by one Richardson, of a bo}' named Christopher Snyder, the first vic- tim to the evil i)assions excited by the state of affairs. The merchants of the town had been nearly unanimous in giving effect to the popular wish to prevent the importation of English goods, although the taxes had been taken off of all imports except tea. Early in 1770, however, a new turn was given to popular thought, by what is known as the State- street Massacre. From these windows we overlook the scene of this famous event, but it has been too often described to need more tlian the briefest reference. A fight between the soldiers and the workmen at Gray's ropewalk, on March 2, 1770, had raised a resentment in the minds of the troops, which led to fatal results. On Monday evening, March 5th, the soldiers began to show signs of insubordination. In and around their barracks, in Dock square, they assailed the passers-by with threats and blows. The boys of the town rang the bell in the First Church, and the citizens began to thx'ong towards the Town House. A large 82 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. crowd gatliered in Dock square, for, in those days, a few minutes'' walk would bring every houseliolder to the centre of the town. Here a leader, pre- sumably AN illiam Molineaux, advised the people to disperse — a counsel followed by part, while others started for State street. The Custom House stood at the corner of State and Exchange streets, and there a sentinel was posted. A crowd of boys assaulted him with snowballs, until a messenger was sent hastily to the guard-house near by. Some seven or eight nun. under Capt. Preston, at once rushed to the relief of the guard, loaded quickly, and stood at bay. The mob pressed upon them, striking their muskets, and otherwise insulting them, being evidently of the belief that the soldiers would not fire. The order was given to present arms, and then to fire, though it was never dis- covered who gave the fatal word. ^V rambling tire by the guard, at these close quarters, killed three persons and wounded eight others. At once the partisans of each side rushed to the spot. The soldiers wei'c drawn up in order of battle, but rtiuaiuiil under the control of their officers. Thi' Itclls of ilic clnuclus arimsed the alarmed inhabitants, who thronged tlu' street to gaze upon tlir blood-stained snow, which testified to the awful tragedy. A few hastened to summon Gov. Hutchinson, who, " to satisfy the people, called OLD STATE HOUSE KE-DKHICA TIOX. 83 for Captain Preston, and inquiivd why he fired upon the inhabitants -nithout the direction of a civil magistrate. The noise was so great that his answer could not be understood, and some, who were apprehensive of the lieutenant-governor's dan- ger from the general confusion, called out, ^ The Town House! the Town House!' and, witli irre- sistible violence, he was forced up l)y the crowd into the Council Chamber. There, demand was immediately made of him to oi-der the troops to withdraw from the Town House to their barracks. He refused to comply, and, calling from the bal- cony, to the great body of peo])le which remained in the street, he expressed his great concern at the unhappy event, assured them he would do every- thing in his power in order to a full and impartial inquiry, that the law might have its course, and advised them to go peaceably to their several homes. Upon this there was a cry, ' Home ! home ! ' and a great pai't separated and went home." — (Hutchinson, iii., 273.) Captain Preston and the soldiers implicated sur- rendered themselves before morning, and were com- mitted to prison. This was not sufficient to satisfy the people; and a town-meeting Avas held in Faneuil Hall. The selectmen had already waited uj)on Hutcliinson, in this chaml)er, to demand the removal of the troops from the town. He repeated that he 84 OU) STATK IIOrSK l{i;-I)Kl)ICATION. liad not the power, l)iit summoned Colonels Dal- lyniple and Can- to confer with the Council. When the selectmen I'l-ached the meeting' Samuel Adams addressed it. A committee of fifteen, headed by Adams, proceeded to the; Council Chamber to repeat the demand lor the i-emoval of the troops. The committee jjresented its message and Avithdrew into another room to wait for an answer. Dah-ymple consented to Avithdraw the 29th Kegiment to the Castle, and the ('ouiicil adjourned till the afternoon, in hopes that the concession would prove enough. At three o'clock the town-meeting reassembled, but adjourned to the Old South Church to accommo- date the increasing crowds. " The committee, led by Samuel Adams, his lu'ad bared in reverence to the occasion, and his gray locks flowing in the wind, issued from the Coimcil Chamber." Through a crowd reaching to the church the coinmittee silently passed, and, in the presence of three thousand eager listeners, the pn)])(>sal of tlie royal Governor was announced. It was at (nice voted to lie insuflicient, and a new committee, witli tlic same leader, Avas appointed to make a linal (U'mand. John A.hnns {\M\' mid Works, Vol. X., ]). 249) has eloqucnlly desci'ibed the scene in t!ic following words: — " Now for the ijictiirc. Tlie theutiv ami tlie sceuery are the suiue with those :it the discussion of writs of assistance. The SAMLEL .\I)A.M.s. OLD Sl'ATK 11(11 SK 14K-I)KDiCATl()X. 85 same glorious portraits of Iviiij; C'lmrles II. aud King James II., to which miiilit lie lulilcd, ;iik1 sliould lie added, little miserable likenesses of Governor Winthrop, (iovcrnor Bradstreet, Governor Endieott, and Governor Belcher, hung up in obscure corners of the room. Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson, Commander-in-Chief in the absence of the Governor, must be placed at the head of the council table. Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's military forces, taking rank of all His Majesty's counsellors, must be seated by the side of the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the province. Eight and twenty counsellors must be painted, all sealed at the council board. Let me see — what costume? What was the fashion of that day in the month of March? Large white wigs, English scarlet cloth cloaks, some of them with gold-laced hats, not on their heads, indeed, in so august a presence, but on the table before them, or under the table beneath them. Before these illustrious personages appeared Samuel Adams, a member of the House of Representatives, and their clerk, now at the head of the committee of the great assembly at the Old South Church. " Such was the situation of affairs when Samuel Adams was reasoning with Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson and Lieutenant- Colonel Dalrymple. He had fairly driven them from all their out- works, breastworks, and intrenchments to their citadel. There they paused aud considered and deliberated. The heads of Hutchinson and Dalrymple were laid together in whispers for a long time ; when the whispering ceased, a long aud solemn pause ensued, extremely painful to an impatient, expecting audience. Hutchinson, in time, broke silence ; he had consulted with Colonel Dalrymple, and the Colonel had authorized him to say that he might order one regiment down to the Castle, if that would satisfy the people AVith a self-recollection, a self-possession, u self-command, a presence of mind that was admired by every man present, Samuel Ailaras arose with an air of dignity and majesty 86 OM) STATK IIOUSK KK-IlKI)IO.VTIl)N'. of wliicli he was sometimes capable, stretched lV)rtli liis arm, tliough even then quivering with palsy, and with an harmonious voice and decisive tone said, ' If the Lieutenant-Governor or Colonel Dalrymple, or both together, have authority to remove one regiment, they have authoritj" to remove two, and nothing short of the total evacuation of the town liy all the regular troops will satisfy tlic public mind or preserve the ijcace of the province. " 'i^hese few words thrilled the veins of every man in the audience, an^l produced the great result. After a little awkwai-d hesitation it was agreed that the town should be evacuated and both regiments sent to the Castle." Hutchinson's own account of the affair agrees substantially with this, though throwing the respon- sibility upon Col. Dalrymple. On March 10 and 11 the two i-egiinents were removed to the Castle. Surely sueli an event as this must render this hall forever memorable. Whatever I'lse had ln'cii d<^ne, at other times and ])laces, here was taken tlii' first open step toward successful rebellion. A govern- ment which removes its military force from a fort, a town, or a province, at the demand of its subjects, can hope to regain its ascendancy in the future only by the displa}^ of an irresistible ai-mament in the same place. Hutchinson, who well luiderstood the position, wrote to a friend, in Mairli, 1770: "The body of tlie people are all of a mind, and there is ^r/cij'Ci^tt/y OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 87 no stemming the torrent. It is the common lan- guage of Adams and the i-est, that they are not to be intimidated by acts of Parliament, for they will not be executed here. . . . We are most certainly every day confirming ourselves in our principles of indejjendence ; and tells me he is fully convinced that nothing but sharp external force will bring Boston into a state of due subordi- nation."' (Life of S. Adams, i., 33.3.) The Legislature was convened in March, 1770, at Cambridge, despite their protest that the writs specified that the meeting was ^ to be held at the Town House in Boston." Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, and Joseph Hawley, were the leaders in the House, ably assisted by James Bowdoin in the Council. Li October the trial of Capt. Preston and his soldiers was held in this hall, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., acting as their counsel, and Preston was fully acquitted. Two of the soldiers were convicted of manslaughter. " The trials were far from satisfactory to the prose- cutors; and, in a short time, a great part of the people were induced to believe the acquittals unjust and contrary to evidence; and the killing of the men was declared to be a hori-id massacre, with the same freedom as if the jury had found those concerned in it guilty of murder. A few days after the trial. 88 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATIOK while the Court continued to sit, an incendiary paper was posted np, in the night, upon the door of the Town House, coniphiining- of the Court for cheating the injured people with a show of justice, and calling upon them to rise and free the world from such domestick tyrants." (Hutchinson, iii., 330.) The removal of the train-l);uid from the Castle and its delivery to the royal forces, was another ground of offence to the colonists. In March, 1771, Hutchinson's commission as Governor arrived, and he met the Legislature at Cambridge as before. In the preceding year he had vetoed the election of eleven of his Council, as they were of the popular side. In this year he accepted them all, except John Hancock and Jerathmeel Bowers. The reported disagreement between Han- cock and Adams, and the fact that the latter was opposed in his eU'ction in May, 1772, by two hundred and eighteen voteo in seven liiindi-cd and twenty- three at the Boston meeting, probably influenced the Governor to allow the Legislature, in 1772, to return to its old apartments in this building. As I confine myself to what was done here, I pass over tlie various events wliidi tended to hasten the final rupture. But it was in tlie adjoining hall, after ordering the galleries to be cleared, that Samuel Adams produced those confidential letters of Hutch- inson to his English friends, which convinced the OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 89 public that thei-e was no safety for any of the opponents of the government. In 1773 it ])ecame known that the experiment was to be made of shijiping tea to this country and of collecting the duty upon it. On November 28, 1773, the tea arrived, and, as Hutchinson bitterly remarks, " while the Governoi- and Council were sitting on the Monday in the Covut- cil Chamber, and known to be consulting upon means for preserving the peace of the town, several thou- sands, inhabitants of Boston and other towns, were assembled in a publick meeting-house, at a small distance, in direct opposition and defiance." We all know the result: that, after exhausting all peaceable means for the return of the " detested herb," a body of patriots, illegally but rightly, took the responsi- bility of consigning three hundred and forty-two chests of tea to the waves of Boston Harbor. " This was the boldest stroke which had yet been struck in America. . . . Their leaders feared no consequences. . . . They had gone too far to recede. If the colo- nies were subject to the supreme authority and laws of Great Britain, their offences long since had been of the highest nature. . . . And it is certain that, ever after this time, an opinion was easily instilled, and was constantly increasing, that the body of the people had also gone too far to recede, and that an open and general revolt must be the consequence; 90 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATIOX. and it was not long before actual preparations were visibly making for it in most parts of the province.'" (Hutchinson, iii., 439.) Of course this proceeding could not be ignored by Parliament, and, in March, 1774, the Boston Port Bill, closing the port during the pleasure of the King, was passed, with other acts taking all the power from the people or their representatives, and giving it to the Crown. Persons accused of rioting could be sent to England for trial, and special orders were given for the arrest of Samuel Adams and other leaders. On May 17, 1774, Tliomas Gage, the commander- in-chief of all the troops in this coimtrj, arrived in Boston, commissioned as Governor of the province. Landing at Long "^rMiarf, he was escorted up State street by the Boston Cadets, under the command of Hancock. In this hall he was duly sworn into office, and from the balcony the usual proclamation was made. The last session of the Legislature held under the royal government Avas at Salem, on June 7, 1774. It was dissolved oii the 17th, after it had provided for the appointment of James Bov.'doin, Thomas Cush- ing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, as delegates to the Congress to be held at Philadelphia. Thenceforward the old government was extinct. In the following year a Provincial Congress, elected by the people, assembled at Water- 0L1> STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 91 town, to exercise powers acknowledged by all the citizens of the new State. In Boston, the royal Gov- ernor, with his select board of thirty counsellors, appointed by himself, kept ii]) for a while the farce of civic government. The true authority was in his hands as commanding the troops, and his official residence was at the Province House, opposite the head of Milk street. Hardly anything is on record in regard to the Town House during the siege. It is stated that it was used as a barracks ; certainly, after the evacua- tion of the town, no complaint was made of any injury done to it by the troops." On the 19th of April, 1775, the battle of Lexington Avas fought; on the 17th of June following, the battle of Bunker Hill. On the 10th October, 1775, Gage was recalled to England, and, during his absence, Gen. Howe com- ** As an eviJence of the demoralization during the last few days of British rule, when private houses were openly robbed by Crean and his Tory associates, we find that on Marcli 14, 177lj, Gen. Howe issued the following proclamation • — " The commander-in-chief, finding, notwithstanding former orders that have been given to forbiil ]>hnulering, houses have been forced open and robbed, he is therefore under a necessity of declaring to the troops that the first soldier who is caught plundering will be hanged on the spot. " The commander-in-chief, having been informed that depredations have been committed in the Town House, offers the following rewards to any person or persons who shall convict any person or persons of cutting ansl defacing the King's and Queen's picture, and destroying the records and other public papers, viz. : For the King's picture, £50 ; for the Queen's picture, £50; for other pictures, records, and public papers, £20." 92 Ol.n STATK HOrSE KK-l)KI)ICATION. manded on the sea-board, and Gen. Carleton in Canada. On the 17th of March, 1776, tlie British troops evacuated the town ; and. on thv 20th, the main body of the American army marched in. On the 29th of ]SIai-ch, the citizens of Boston held a reguhir meeting for the eU'ctidn of town officers, in tlu- Old Wv'wk Clun-cli, Faneuil Hall having been titted up as a theatre by the British officers. On the 18th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence "was made pubUc, with great parade and exultation, from the balcony on the east end." " " '• Thursday last, pursuant to tlie order of tlie Uonorable Council, was proclaimed from the balcony of the State House in tliis town the Declara- tion of the American Congress, absolving the United Colonies from their allegiance to tlie liritish crown, and declaring them free and independent States. There were present on the occasion in the council chamber a committee of council, a number of the Honorable House of Kopresentatives, the magistrates, selectmen, and other gentlemen of Boston and the neigh- boring towns, also the commission officers of the Continental regiments stationed here, and other officers. Two of these regiments were under arms in King street, formed into three lines on the north side of the street and in thirteen divisions, and a detachment from the Massachusetts regi- ment of artillery, with two jneces of cannon, was on their right wing. At one o'clock the Declaration was proclaimed by Colonel Thomas Crafts, which was received with great joy, expressed by three huzzas from a great concourse of people assembled on the occasion. After which, on a signal given, thineen pieces of cannon were fired from the fort on Fort- hill ; the forts at Dorchester Neck, the Castle, Xantasket, and Point Alder- ton likewise discharged their cannon. Then the detachment of artillery fired their cannon thirteen times, which was tollowed by the two regiments giving their fire from the thi.'leen divisions in succession. These firings OLD STATK HOUSE HE-DF.niCATIOX. 93 The State governraent, which consisted of the Legislature without a Governor, still remained at Watertown. The session for 1776 begun May 29, and continued, by one prorogation and one adjourn- ment, until the 12th of November, when it was transferred to Boston. The "Boston Gazette," of November 4, announces its own removal from Watertown to the printing-office opposite the Court House, in Queen street, and in its next issue, Monday, November 11, states, "Saturday last, the General Assembly of this State adjourn'd from Watertown, to meet at the State House in this Town, Tomorrow, at Ten o'clock." On November 10, 1776, seventeen Councillors corresponded to the number of the American States united. Tlic ceremony was closed with a proper collation to the gentlemen in the council chamber ; during which the following toasts were given by the president of tlie council, and heartily pledged by the company, viz. : — " 'Prosperity and perpetuity to tliu United States of .Vmerica.' '"The .American Congress.' " 'General Washington, and .success to the arms of the United States.' " 'The downfall of tyrants and tyranny.' " 'The universal prevalence of civil and religious liberty.' " 'The friends of the United States in all quarters of the globe.' "The bells in town were rung on the occasion; and undissembled festivity cheered and brightened every face. " On the same evening, the King's .Arms, and every sign with any resem- blance of it, whether Lion and Crown, Pestle and Mortar and Crown, Heart and Crown, etc., together with every sign tliat belonged to a Tory, were taken down, and tlie latter made a general contiagraiion of in King street." — A'eut Enyiand Chronicle for July 'Ja, 1770. 94 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. signed a proclamation, ''given at tlie Council Cham- l)ri- in Boston," foi- a Thanksgiving to be observed on December 12 following. The various State officials also returned to this building, wliich eonliiiiic(l in use as the State House, for nearly twenty years. In 1780 the State Constitution was adopted, and John Hancock, the first Governor of the State, was installed here, to the great delight of his fellow-townsmen. James Bowdoin, Samuel Adams, and Increase Sumner, succeeded Hancock, and presided in this chambi'i-. In 1782 a great reception was given in tiie Council Chamber to the French fleet and army, then returning to Eur()])e. On the 2;{d of Ai)ril, 178:5. the Proclamation of Peace was received here, " and the sheritf of the County of Suffolk, Joseph Henderson, Esq., an- nounced the same from the Ijalcony of the State House, at one o'clock, before whicli a large con- course of the most respectable inhabitants of tlu' town were assembled, who demonstrated by three loud huzzas, their joy upon this occasion. After which, thirteen cannon, from the fortresses at the Castle, and the same luimber at Foi-t Hill, were fired." In 1785 tlie view of the Old Slate House here annexed was used on the title-page of the "Boston Magazine." It is interesting as showing that the JAMES BoWniilN. OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 95 Province Arms, or their supporters, had disap- peared from the eastei-ii front, but that the scrolls had not been substituted; and that the steps were then in place. It also shows tliat at that date this building was regarded as a peculiarly Bos- tonian structure, and therefore figured on the fi-ont page of a Boston book. In October, 1789, Washington visited Boston, and reviewed the procession in his honor from a balcony erected from the centre wuidow of the Representatives' Hall. Of course Washington had seen the State House in 1776, when he entered the town with his victo- rious troops ; but, on this occasion, the building was the centre of the pageant iu his honor. We copy from the "Massachusetts Magazine" for January, 1790, a view therein engraved, and the following '' Description of the Triumphal Arch aud Colonnade, erected at Boston, in honour of the President of the United States, October 24, 1789. — The Triumphal Arch (designed by Mr. C. Bulfinch) was 18 feet high, composed of a centre arch 14 feet wide, and one on each side, of 7 feet, with an lonick pilaster and proper imposts between them. The frieze exhibited 13 stars on a blue ground, and a handsome white, defitulo cornice was carried to the height of the platform; above was painted a balustrade of inter- laced work, in the centre of which was an oval tablet, 96 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DKniCATION. Avith the following inscriptions: on one side, ^ To the Man who unites all Hearts^ and on the other, ' To Columhla s favourite Son.'' At the end adjoining the State Honse was a ]);iiul decorated with a Trophy, composed of the arms of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and of our French Allies, crowned with a laurel wreath; over these an inscription, ^Boston relieved, March 17, 1776,^ — as a proof of a grateful rememhrance of the service rendered the town by the illustrious President in his military character. Over the centre arch, a rich canopy, of 20 feet in height, was erected, with the American Eagle perched above. " The Colonnade (designed by Hon. Mr. Dawes) was erected at the west end of the State House, adjacent to the Arch. It was composed of sLx large columns, 15 feet high, and a balustrade hung in front with Persian carpets, on which were wrought 13 roses. The circle of the Colonnade measured 44 feet, and projected boldly into the main street, so as to exhil)it in a strong light ' Tha man of the people.^ The central west window of the State House was the door through which the President passed to the balustrade, descending from a i)lat- form four easy steps, to th(> floor of the gallery, Avhich was furnished Avith arni-eliairs, and s])i-ead with rich carpets. On this platform was a pedestal covered with green, supporting the figure of Plenty, Proceiiiiioii. BoBTOjf, Oct. 19,- 1789. AS this town is shortly to be honoured with a visit from the PRESIDENT of the United States: In order that we may pay •our respects to him, in a manner whereby every inhabilani may see so illustrious and amiable a character, and to prevent the disorder and danger which must ensue from a great assembly of people without order, a Coniiuittee appointed by a respectable number of in- habitants, met for the purpose, recommend to th.eir Fellow-Citizens to arrani^e themselves in the following or- der, in a i O C E ION. It is also recommended, that tlie person who shall be cliosen as head of each order of Artizans, Trades- men, Manufacturers, Ac. shall be known by displayinc; a WHITE FFvAG, with some device thereon expres- sive of their several callings, and to be numbered as in the arrangement that follows, which is alphabetically dis- posed, in order to give general satisfaction.-— The Artizans, &c. to display such insignia of their craft, as they can conveniently carry in thoir hands. That uniformity may not be wanting, it is desired that the several Fiag-staiTs be SEVKN feet long, and the Flags a taed square. OKDER OF PROCESSION MUSICK. Goldsmiths and Jewellers, , No. 17. The Selectmen, Hair-Dre.s5ers, No. 18, Overseers of tht- Poor- Hatters and Furriers, . No. 19. Town 'I'reaiurer, House Carpenters, No. 20. Town Clerk. Leather Dressers, luir! Leather Breeches ) No. 21. Magistrates, .Maker?, i Consuls of France and Holland, Limners and Por'r.ii: Painters. No. 99. Tbc Officers of his MosuClirisUan M jesty's Squadron » .Masons,^ . - . . No. 23. The Rev. Clergy, .'\last-makers. . No. 24. Physicians, Mathematical bistruraent-maKcrs, _ No. 25. Lawyers, Millers, No. 26. Mcrclianis and Traders, Painters, .... . No. 27. Marine Sociely, Paper Staincr*, No. an. Masters of Vessels, Pewtcrers, . No. 29. Revenue Oflicers, Printers, Bonk.binders and Stationers, . No. 30. Strangers, who may wish to intend. Rig:;ers, ■ No. 31. Bakers, No. I. Kopc-mtkor.-', . No. 32. Blacksmiths, &c. No. 2. Saddlers. . No, 33. Rlock-makers,' No. 3. Sail-innUcrs. ... , No. 34, Boat-buildcrs, No. '1. Shipurighi?!. to include Caulkers, Ship- oiners I No. 35. Cabinet and Chair-makers, No. 5. Head-lmilden and Sawyers, Card-makers, No. (i. bugar-boilcrs. No. 36. Carvers, No. r. Tailow-Chandlcrs, &c. . No. 37. Chaise and Coacli-makers, No. 8. 'j'aiinrrs. - No, 88. Clock and VValch-Diakers, No. 0. Taylors, - No. 39. Coopers. No. to. I'in-plalc Workers, . No. 40. Coppcrimilhs, Braziers arid I'oundoi f, - No. II. Tohuccoiiist."^, - No. 41. Cordwaincrs, &c. - No. 12. Truckmen, . No. 42. Distillers, No. 13. Turners,, . . . - . No. 43. Duck Manufacturers, No. M. Upliolslcrcrs, No. 44. Engravers. No. 15. 1 W ha/ fingers, - - - - No. 45. Glaziers and Mumbers. No, IB. * UhctUvrigliU, - No. 46. Seamen, M. B. — In the above arrangenneiit, some trades are omitted — from the idea, that they would incorporate thcmielvei n-ith the branchei mentioned, to which tbey are gcncrallj attached. For in>itance~it is supposed, that under the head ot Blacksmiths^ the Armourers, Cutlers ■Whitesmithi ond other ivorkrrs in iron, would be included ; and the same with rcipoct to other trades. Each division of the aY)ove arrangement is requested to meet on such parade as it may agree on, and march into the Mall — No. I of th Artizans, &-C. forming at the Soiith-eml thereof. The Marshalls will then direct in what manner the Procession Hill move to meet th President on his .irrival in town. When the front of the Proce)i!>ion arrives at the extremity of the town, it will hall, and ihe whole wil then bo directed to open Ihe coluinn— one half of each rank moving to toe right, and the other half to the left — and then face inwards, so a to form an avenue through which the President is to j>ass, to the galeries to he erected at tlie State-House. Iris requested that the several School-masters conduct their Scholars to tho neighbourhood of the Statc-Housei and form them in suei order as the Marshallt shall direct. Tiic Marine Society is desired to appoint somopcriDn to arrange and accompany the seamen. <»^g^ 063^ o^fl. c<^ C^j» c^jKi c^» «<^ft «<^ «^^ OLD STATK HOUSE UK-DEDICATION. 97 with her Cornucopice and other emblems. As soon as the Pi-esident entei-eil this Colonnade he was saluted by three hnzzas from the citizens, and by an Ode (see our Magazini' for October, 1789, page G59), sung by a select clioir of singers, seated under the canopy erected over the arch. The whole formed an agreeable spectacle, and heightened the pleasure of the day." We aLso present a fac-simile of the Order of Exer- cises on that interesting occasion, from a copy preserved in the Boston Public Library. Finally, the project of a new State House was agitated, and the corner-stone thereof was laid July 4, 1795, with Masonic honors. It was first occupied by the Legislature on the 11th of Jan- uary, 1798, when that august body marched in procession from the Old State House to the Xew. The following description, written l)y Thomas Pemberton, a local antiquary, in 1794, was printed in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, 1st series, vol. iii., p. 2.'j0: — The State House, called the Town House. The hiiililing first erected lor governuiental business was placed at the head of King- street, and was consumed tiy fire in 1711. In the year following a new liiick building was raiseil on the same s(H)t and met with a like fate the 9th of December, 1747; whea some of the records and other public papers were destroyed. It was repaired in the year following, in its present form, and is in length 110 feet, in 98 OLD STATE HOl'SE HE-DEDICATION. breadth 38 feet, and three stories high. Ou the centre of the roof is a tower, consisting of three stories, finished according to the Tuscan, Doric and Ionic orders. From the upper story is an extensive prospect of the harbor, into the bay and of tlie country adjacent. The U)\ver floor of tlic building serves for a covered wallc for any of the inhabitants. On liiis floor are kept the offices of the clerlis of the Supreme Judicial Court and Court of Common Pleas. The chambers over it are occupied by the General Court, the senate in one and the representative body in the opposite cham- ber. The third story is appropriated for the use of the Committees of the General Court. On tlic lower floor are ten pillars of the Doric order, which supiwrt the chambers occupied by the Legislature. This building is in Cornhill, one mile two hundred and seventy- nine yards from Washington street, the late fortification entrance from the nook into the town. Its latitude is 42 dog. 21 niin. north ; the longitude is 71 deg. 3 njiu. 30 sec. west from Green- wich, in England. "We have already printed {ante, p. 63) the descrip- tion of the building, published in August, 1791, in the "■ Massachusetts Magazine." In the same magazine for July, 1793, there was ])ul)lisbi'd a larger engrav- ing, hci-c reproduced; but no explanation was given except a reference to the (•.•urn r is.snc. Aiiollur view of the Old State House at this time has been preserved to us, being engraved upon the policies of the Massachusetts Fire Insurance Com- pany. This association, the first so established in the State, was incorporated in 179o, and remodelled OLD STATE HULSK KE-DEDICATION. 99 as the Massachusetts Fh-e and Manne Company in 1799. The engraving was retouched, probably at the date of the assumption of the new title, and the sidewalk at the right was sketched in. The other details were somewhat modified, so that the second state of the plate has been jjreferred for reproduction herewith. A copy of the first impression is in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and one of the second issue is placed on the walls of the Old State House, both given by Henry C. Short, Esq., of Boston. After the Legislature had departed, the Town House fell upon evil days. The town-meetings were held in the enlarged Faneuil Hall, with which we are familiar. The courts were transfen-ed to the Court House on Court street, and the old build- ing was given up to various tenants. The records of the town and of the selectmen do not enable us to give full details of the occupants. In fact, until 1803 the title to the estate was in doubt. The State claimed the right to sell the property, and to take one-half the proceeds. To this the town stoutly de- murred, claiming the fee of the land, and a moral right, at least, to specify the uses to which the build- ing should be put. At the Town Meeting of Mai-ch 100 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 12, 1798, a committee, consisting of William Eustis, Josiah Waters, and William Smith, was appointed "to confer with a Committee of the General Court respecting the disposal of the Old State House." {Records, p. 62.) At the meeting of Nov. 5, 1798, the subject was again refeired to William Eustis, Samuel Brown, Judge Minot, AVilliam Smith, and Thomas Edwards, to report at the adjourn- ment. (^Records, p. 94.) Their report was as follows (^Records, ]>. 99) : — Town Meeting Nov. 21, \''M. " The Committee :ip|><>int('(l to consider certain resolves of the Legislature of this Common \vc;ilth rchitive to the disposition and sale of the Old Court House [in the margin " Old State House "] so called, have .attoudetl to the snliject, and take leave to rejKjrt as follows. " First. The Committee are satisfied that the fee of the Land on ■whicli the House stands, is in tiie Town of Iloston. and that they have likewise erected and repaired from time to time nearly one- half of the House ; from wiienee it results tliat the Town ought not to consent to the proposal made liy the Legislature to apix)int agents to sell the said House and Land liiereto belonging, and to place one half of the proceeds in tiie Treasury of tne Common- wealth. "Secondly — The Committee are of opinion that selling the premises to any individual ]\'rson or company will be attended with consequences very injurious lo tlic Town. The purposes for which it might and prolialily would be occupii'd would tend greatly to incumber the most frequented street in the Town, which is in its present state not of sullicicnt width for public accommodation; OLD STATU IinrsE RE-DEDICATION. 1()1 the danger from fire woiikl be very iniicli increased whether the house is appropriated for Shops, Counting-Houses, or in short from any use to which tiie interest of individuals iniglit appro- priate it. Beside the increase of real obstructions to the Streets on both sides of the House, the Committee are apprehensive that the Health of the inhabitants may be exposed by the nuisances which a complete occupation of the House would necessarily imply. " The Committee are of opinion that the Town ought to be the owners of the House and Land in order that it may be ap- propriated to no uses of whicii they shall disapprove. " As the Hon"* Legislature appear from their resolves to be impressed with an idea that one half of the premises is tlie property of the Commonwealth, and at the same time have con- sented to refer the claim together with that of the Town and of the Counties of Suffolk and Norfolk to the Judges of the Supreme Judicial Court for a final decision, " The Committee conceive that the Town should agree to the reference proposed so far as that the Judges shall finally deter- mine what part of the premises is the property of the Town. " And with respect to the other proposal of selling whether by public or private sale, that the Town should not agree to the same, but that the Representatives of the Town be instructed to represent to the Legislature the inconveniences which would result from a sale to individuals, together with the desire of the Town that they will purchase from the State such their proportion of the same as the Judges shall award, at an appraisement to be made by tln-ee impartial men, to be chosen one by the Legislature, one by ihe Representatives of the Town, the third by the two first or by lot between them if they cannot agree. "William Eustis, pr Order." The foregoing Report having been read and considered was accepted by the Town. 102 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. After some delay, at the meeting of March 1, 1802, the senators of the district and the representatives of the town were given full powers to treat with the General Court in regard to tlu- Old Town House and land. (liecords, p. 141.) Again, March 1, 1802, the Selectmen were made a committee to choose referees for a final adjustment of the claim of the State and the Town to the Old Town House. {Records, p. 193.) Finally, Feb. 15, 1803, a resolve was passed (Resolves, c. 95, of 1803), autliorizing three com- missioners to sell the Commonwealth's interest to the town for the sum of $(),0()0. A like release was obtained from the counties of Suffolk and Xorfolk, fbi- the sums of $1,923.43 and $1,176.58 respectively.*' ™The following deed, the original of which now hangs on these walls, is recorded in the Suffolk Registry, Vol. 205, fol. 207 : — Know all Men by these presents : That we, the undersigned, being ap- pointed a Committee by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, by their resolve of the fifteenth of February, one thousand eight hundred and three, "and authorized witli full [lower to make sale of all the Commonwealth's Estate, right, title and Interest, in and to the Old State House, to the Town of Boston, or such person or persons, and on such terms, as said Committee shall judge will be most for the Interest and honor of the Commonwealth and to execute good and sufficient Deed or Deeda of release thereof — and to pay the proceed! or deliver the securities which they may receive therefor, into the Treasury of this Commonwealth." For and in consideration of the sum of si-i thousand Dollars for the use of the Commonwealth aforesaid, paid by the Inhabitants of the Town of Bos- ton, in the County of Suffolk — the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowl- edge, Do by those presents, sell, release and forever quit claim unto the said Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, all the said Commonwealth's Estate, OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 103 The town then voted, May 23, 1803 (^Records, jj. 241), "on the article in the warrant, viz. what right, title and Interest in and to the building called the Old State House, situate at the lieaJ of Sfcite street, in Boston aforesaid. To liave and to hold, the ahove released premises, to the said Inhabitants of the Town of Boston and their .assigns forever. In witness whereof, We have hereunto set our liaiids and seals, in Boston, the twenty-eighth day of April, in tlic year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and three. ExocH TiTCOMB & a Seal. Aaro.n Hill & a Seal. NiCHo's TiLLiNGHAST & a Seal. Signed, sealed and deliver'd in presence of Sam. Cazxeau. Edw'd McLase. Jacob Kuhx. Suffolk, ss. Boston, April 29th, 1803. Then the above named Enoch Titcomb, .\aron Hill and Nicholas Tillinghast, Esquires, personally appeared, and in their capacity as aforesaid acknowledged the foregoing instrument by them subscribed, to be their free act and deed. Before me John .\vkkv .Tus: I'eace. A True Copy. Attest: John Avery Secretary. In lib. 205, fol. 215, is the deed, dated May 21, 1803, by which Soth Bul- lard, Thomas Williams, Jr., and Mosas Everett, commissioners appointed by the Court of General Sessions of the county of Norfolk, sold to the town of Boston all the rights of that county in the Old State House, for 81,176.58. This county was in part formed from the old county of Suffolk, which had a tiuarter interest in the buildini;. In lib. 20G, fol. 236, is a similar deed, dated July 21st, 1803, from Samuel Gardner, Ebenezcr Seaver, and Josiah Batcheldor, similar commissioners for the county of Suffolk, to sell that county's right in said building to the town of Boston. The whole title is thus clearly vested in our city. 104 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. measures shall be taken for the disposal and manage- ment of the Old State House? . . . that the Com- mittee chosen in the several Wards in April last to assist the Assessors, bo appointed a Committee to consider this article in the warrant, and to report thereon at the Adjournment." On Monday, June 13, 1803, the adjourned meeting was held and the following i-eport made: "After some debate it was moved that the sense of the Town be taken as to the expediency of leasing the same, and the question being put, it was ])assed in favour of its being leased. The repoit was taken uj), amended, and accepted by the town, and is as follows "' : — That in the opinion of the Board of Assistant Assessors, the Committee for the purpose, it would be for the interest of the Town to k-ase the Old State House for a term of time not less than ten nor to exceed twenty years, and tlie rent to he paid quarterly or nmmallv. and Ilial it lie a condition of thi' Lease tliat the house lie put into good repair and Kept so during the term for ^' The records of the Assessors is as follows, and shows that the town essentially amended the report before acceptance, in the interest of tlio pro- tootinn of the buildini; : — 1803. .\t a moetinn of the assistant assessors liold at the Selectmens Knnni by retjular notifieation to take into consideration and ait n|Min the vote of the Town, desiring this Board to make a Keport to lliein of the best mode in their opinion for the disposal of the Old State House in Boston, Tbistram Barnard, Chairman. A long conversation took place on the subject for which the meeting was called. OLD STATE IIOUSK l{K-DEDICATION. 105 which it may be leased, by, and at tlie exi)euse of tlie Lessee, and shall be occupied for public or private offices and sucli other Voted, To ailjourn this meeting to Thursday next at 4 P.M. then to meet in thU room ami tliat the Secretary notify the members of the Board thereof. Adjourned, Attest W. W.vi.ter, See. At a meeting ■>r tlie Board of assistant assessors held by adjournuunt on Thursday Afternoon the at the Selectmens Room, when having heard tlie opinions of the several Members on the subject of the Old State House, the followin:,' Report was drawn up and adopted by a very large majority of the Board there beinR present Messrs. Tristuam Bauxauh, Wili-iam Walteh, Asa Hammond, Jno Brazier, Jno Wait, Jacob Rhoades, Joshua Hall, Jon-^ Loring, Mitchell Lincoln, Ben.j Smith, Jacob Holland, JosiAH Knapp, Jno Winslow, Nathan Webb, Francis Wrioiit, and Josiah Wheeler. The Board of Assistant Assessors whom the Town at their last Meeting Voted should take into consideration & report their opinion of the best mode for the future disposal and management of the Old State House, having attended that liusiness and very fully considered the subject, beg leave to Report : That in the opinion of this Board it would be for the interest of the Town to Lease the Old State House, for a term of lime not less than Twenty, nor to exceed Fifli/ years : the time to be at the option of the Lessee, and the rent to be paid Quarterly ; and that it be a condition of the Lease that the House be put into good Repair, and kei)t so during the term for which it may be leased, by and at the expencc of the Lessee and shall be occupied for public or private offices & such other purposes only as the Selectmen for the time being shall approve of and that no alteration be made in the external form of the Building without their approbation. And that it would be best to dispose of the Lease at Auction. Voted. That the above report bo signed by the Chairman & presented to the Selectmen. Voted, That the Meeting be dissolved. Attest, W. Walter, Sec. lUG OI.l) STATK HOUSE Ki:-1)K1)ICATI()N'. purposes only, as the Selectmen for the time being shall approve of ; and that no alteration be made in the external form of the building without tiicir approbation ; the Lease containing a clause providing that if the Rent shall not be punctually paid, according to the terms of tiic lease, or if the Lessee or Lessees, their heirs or assigns, shall not occupy the estate according to the approbation or orders of the Selectmen as before expressed ; or shall suffer it to go to waste for want of repairs, that then the Selectmen or the Town shall have a right to re-enter, and b3- the re-entry to render tlie Lease void after such re-entry ; providing however that the rights of re-entr}- be no bar to an action on the Lease against the Lessee or Lessees, their heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, if the Town consider such mode to be most eligible : and that it would be best to dispose of the lease at public auction. Tkistram Barsaru, Chairman. William AYalter, Secretary. The selectmen were instructed, March 13, 1809, to cany into complete effect the condition of the lease. It would seem tliat in IS09 a Dr. Kaiul was one tenant; in 1810 a Mr. IJurley, and also the Colum- ])iaii Insurance Co. In 1811 the olilce lately occu- pied by Mr. Park was divided into smaller rooms. In 1812 the cellars were let for three years, for 1^600, to 1?. l'^)ster, Josiah Siders, and Edward Flood, or Floyd. April 20, 1812, the County Treasurer was assigned a room adjoining westerly that of the Town Treasurer. July 8, 1812, the room lately hired by Henry Messenger, and ihcji by Samuel D. I'arker, was valued at §200 rent. In 18].'} ]SIr. Harrington's rent was reduced to $120, and :ip[)licalions for a re- 1 li I' S I \ I 1 lliii -I. [\ Ihll.' OLD STATE IIOUSK RE-DEDICATION. 107 duction were made by tlie Commercial Insurance Co., Mr. Floyd, and Mr. Siders. In the spring of 181G Mr. H. N. Rogers applied in behalf of the gen- tlemen associated at Merchants' Hall, and obtained leave to use the lanthorn of the Old State House as an observatory for ships. The rents then fixed were for Mr. Barry, |800; Mr. Rea, $800; Gilbert and Dean, |200; Beal and Hobart, $150. (Mr. William Barry kept a hat-store there in 1826.) Mr. Messen- ger declined to pay a rent of $300; and the office lately occupied by Mr. Selfridge was let to Mr. Parker, for $150. On the 20th March, 1816, the building narrowly escaped destruction by fire, as the following extract from the newspaper shows. The " Columbian Cen- tinel " for Saturday, March 22d, reports a fire in Fish street, at three o'clock on Thursday morning previous, and adds: — In the night of the above fire the Old State House narrowly escaped destruction, from fire communicating through the fo.nida- tiou of a stove to the floor and joists. Fortunately some persons who had been roused early by the preceding alarm, en- tered the house in season to extinguish the fire, and probal)Iy saved the books and documents in the County and town Treasury offices from being consumed. In January, 1817, Mr. Greenwood applied for the upper part, and was informed that the lowest rent would be $1,200. Probably this was Mr. E. A. 108 OLD STATE IIOUSK KE-DEDICATION. Greenwood, avIio opened his museinn, July 4, 1818, in Court street. We copy tlie following description from Shaw's History of Boston, printed in 181 7 : — Oi.ij State IIousu. — The building first erected for goveni- iiK'iital business was placed at the he:id of King-street, and was consumed b}- fuv in 1711. In tiic year following a new brick building was raised on the same spot, and met a like fate on the 9th of December, 1747, when some of the records and other public papers were destroyed. It was repaired in the year follow- ing, in its present form, and is in length one hundred and ten feet, in breadth thirtj'-eight feet, and three stories high. On the centre of the roof is a tower, consisting of three stories, finished according to the Tuscan, Dorick and lonick orders. From the upper story is an extensive prospect of the harbor, into the bay, and of the country- adjacent. The lower floor of the building served for a covered walk for any of the inhabitants. On this floor were kept the offices of the clerks of the Supreme Judicial Court and Court of Common Pleas. The chambers over it were occupied by the General Court, the senate in one and the rep- resentative body in the opposite chamber. The third story was apiiropriated for the use of llie committees of the General Court. On the lower floor were ten pillars of the Dorick order, which supported the chambers occupied b^- the Legislature. This building is in Cornhill, one mile two hundred and seventy-nine yards from Washington street, the late fortification entrance from the neck into the town. Dec. 28, 1819, Col. Daniel Messinger hired his room and the one adjoining, lately oceupied by Charles Bridge, for |500. or.n STATK iiorsK ke-dedicaiiox. 109 June 22, 1820, the towni voted to lease all the rooms above the lower stor}^, except two on Cornhill {i.e., Washington street), for $600, to tlic Free- masons, and llu' select men iiiadf a lease aecordingl}^ for ten years from October 1. The recoi-ds of tlu! Grand Lodge show that the last meethig was June 0, 1830. January 30, 1822, the Directors of the United States Bank, being in search of a suitable place, offered to buy the building; but the offer was not accepted. The following description fVom the first edition of Bowen's " Pictm'e of Boston," 1828-9, shows the con- dition of affairs until 1830 : — Old State House. — The building first erected for govern- mental business was placed at the head of State-street. It lias been twice burnt. The last time it was destroyed was in 1747, anii. I I'niiii SiiDw's (iciii;i-n]iliy.) City II m.i.. IS:\:>. (Kroin Bewick Cii's Mali. ) CiM II U.I,. I.'>:!s. (Uowfii's rictiirr.) OLO STATK IIOUSIO KE-DEDICATION. IH In 1830 it was decided to occupy the Old State House for city purposes. During these eiglit years the preservation of the building had been twice in doubt. In November, 1825, it came near destruction by fire, as the following ^ote shows : — la Board of Aldermen, January 23, 182(;. " It liavinjr been made knowu to the Board of Aldei'men, that, at the fire in Court street in November last, Mr. Almoran Holmes and Mr. Bcla Lincoln were instrumental in preserving tiie City Building called the Old State House, by pormittiug themselves to be let down from tiio cupola to the ridge-pole of the building, and from thence extinguishing the fire that had already rekindled upon the roof thereon : Resolved that the thanks of this board be presented to them for their distinguished exertions in preserving, with so much skill and at so much personal hazard, in the manner above stated, the property of flie city from destruction." Again, in 1826, the Washington Monument Asso- ciation was desirous of ol)tainiiig a site for Chan- try's statue, now placed in the State House. They finally decided that the l)est place would be on the site of the Old State House, in a building to lie erected for the purpose. In a report published by the trustees they stated " the reasons which induced the Connnittee to prefer the site of the Old State House had reference as much to the honor and interests of the City, to its ornament and con- venien'ce, as to the jieculiar fitness of this spot for the permanent location of a monument in honor of 112 OLD STATE HOUSK KK-DKUICATION. our First Citizen. This place was selected in tlie infancy of our State, as the seat of Legislation aiul Jurisprudence. In tlie edifice there erected, a suc- cession of firm, enlightened, and vigorous measures of resistance to the usurpations of the Jiritish ministry were devised and adopted, which must be considered as the more immediate causes of our National Independence, and it seems to be difficult to reconcile the comparatively degraded uses, to which that edifice has since been condemned, with the unifoi-m patriotism, and veneration for the found- ers of our Reiiublic, for which the City of Boston has been, at all periods of its history, so distin- guished." The committee to jircsent this ivport consisted of John Lowell, James Lloyd, John Davis, John C. "Warren, AVilliam Sullivan, and Edward Everett. Objection, however, was made by the public, and the bnilding happily escaped destruction at the hands of those who esteemed themselves its friends. The work of restoration, in 18H0, was conlided to Isaiah Rogers, and he entrusted part of the details to a young architect just beginning the series of works which makes the name of William Washburn fiuniliar to us. It Avas a time wlun classical types were in voiiiu', and, therefore, tlu' additions wcri' |)atterned on Grecian models. Heavy wooden porticos were added at eac-h end, and these hails on the second OLD STATU HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 113 floor were fitted to the uses of the City Council. In this room the Aldenncn met; in tlie Kepre- sentatives' Hall fhc Common Council. The jire- ceding extracts from Bowen and Shaw, with the accompanying pictures, fully illustrate this occu- pancy, which lasted for ten years, until 1840, and which, indeed, is recollected by many of our citizens. To complete the record we copy the following from the third edition of Bowen's "Picture," dated 1838, when there was already a discussion about leaving the building : — City IIai.l. — Tho first building for governmental business was erected at the lioail of what was then called King-street, about 1658. It has been twice burnt. The last time it was destroyed was 1747, and it was repaired in the following year nearly in its present form. The building is in length 110, in breadth 38 feet, three stories high, finished according to the Tuscan, Doric and Ionic orders. Till recently it was called tho " Old State House." The latitude of this building is very near 42 deg. 21 min. north; the longitude is 71 deg. 3 min. 30 sec. west from Greenwich, in England. After the Revolution, it was tho place of meeting for the General Court, till aftcu- the completion of the State House near Beacon Hill. From about that time, to the year 1830 (thirty years), the lower floor and cellar were used by various tradesmen. Insurance Offices, etc. On the 17th Sept., 1830, having been thoroughly repaired, it •was, by an ordinance of the City Government, called the " City Hall," — by which name it has since been designated. It stands 114 OLD STATE HOUSE KE-DEDICATION. at the head of State street and on the line of AVashington street, the Broad way of the metropolis of Massachusetts, having a tower overlooking most of the city and harhor, rising from the centre of the roof. Tlie fronts on Washington and State streets have each a portico. Being in the verj- focus of business and nearly in the centre of the city, the use to whicli this venerable pile is now devoted appears to give universal satisfaction. On the first floor are three large rooms ; that facing AVasliing- ton street is the Post-Oflice. At the other extremity, looking down State street, is Topliff's News Room, one of the best con- ducted establishments, for the accommodation of merchants, in the United States. The middle room, a lofty apartment, supported by pillars, is the Merchants' Exchange, and common thorough- fare to the public offices. From this central room is a flight of winding stairs, leading to a suite of apartments in the second story. Directly over the Post- Offlce is the Hall of the Common Council, in which tliey ordinarily meet on public business. In tlic opposite end of the building is the Hall of the Mayor and Aldermen. In this room the chief Magistrate of the city, together with the Citj' Clerk, remain through the day, in the discharge of their ordinary duties. The Board of Aldermen liold their meetings, also, on Monday even- ings. Around the circular area of the stairs are a series of Offices, viz., the Auditor's, Treasurer's, Assistant City Clerk's, Clerk of Common Council, and the Health Office, which latter accommodates the City Marshal, Superintendent of Burial Grounds, Physician of the Port, Captain of tlie Port, Captain of the Watch, Superintendent of Lamps, and the Commissioner of Streets. Another flight of stairs leads to the third story, in which is the Office of the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, City Land Commissioner, Messenger, a Committee Room, and a large Hall, ill wiiicii is a recently organized public Vaccine Institution, for the gratuitous inoculation of the poor. ViKw OK TiiK run; in If! (From Siilnion'3 Picture.) OLD STATE IIOUSK RK-DK1)ICATI0N. 115 The whole is liirhtod with gas, as well as the lamps at the four corners of the building. Besides being oniaiuental to the city, the concentration of so man}- important ofBces under cue roof renders the City Hall an object of peculiar interest. On the 21st of November, 1832, about five o'clociv in the morn- ing, this ancient building, the scene of so many interesting events, again took fire from an opposite building, under the stool of one of the Lutheran windows, which soon communicated with the under side of the roof, and had it not been for the uncommon ex- ertions of the fire department it must have been completely pros- trated in a little time. As it was, however, the damages were easily repaired. The appropriation of the Council for the purpose was $3,500.00. No papers of importance, were lost, and the curious records of the city, from its first settlement, for a third time, were safely rescued from a devouring element. In Hales' " Survey of Boston and Vicinity," the measures of distance arc reckoned from this building. Tlie building was, for a third time, put in peril, when, on the 21st of November, 1832, the fire in a building opposite was communicated to the roof of this building, but, happily, was soon arrested. Salmon's picture of the event is familiar to ns all, having been engraved on the diplomas of the Fire Department. Surely we may say of the venerable tower, almost in Longfellow's words, — " In the market-place of Bruges, stands the belfry old and brown, Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town." After the removal of the City Hall to its School- street site, this building was again abandoned to 116 OLD STATK HOUSE KE-DEDICATION. business purposes, and, in the hands of successive lessees, it rapidly deteriorated. A hideous mansard roof disfigured its external lines; new partitions obliterated for the time the fair proportions of these halls; signs, telegraph wires and jwles in countless number contributed to the shameful defacement. The annexed copy of an engraving issued at that date portrays the wreck better than any description can. So completely were the memoi-ies of the site forgotten, and so arrogant were the fancied demands of commerce, that, in 1875, it was almost decided to pull down the building. Happily better counsels prevailed, and the building Avas spared, though even then it received a fresh injury in the Ibnn of a huge stairway cut through the walls of the eastern end, as shown in the picture of that date. In 1881, the City Council authorized that work of restoration, which, on its completion, is to-day submitted to your consideration. A complete account of Avhat has been done is to be read in Appendix G, furnished by the City Architect. It will be enough to state at present, that we now behold substantially the same halls which echoed the eloquence of Adams, Quincy, Otis, and Warren, and which Avitnessed the baflled intrigues of Hutchinson and Oliver, and the lui- successful i)lans of Gage and Clinton, Howe and Burgo^^ne, OLD STATE IIOUSE RE-DEDICATION. ]17 "When, in 1830, Harrison Gray Otis, then mayor of the city, stood here to welcome tlie inauguration of his government, lie thus nikb-essed the Council in regard to this building: — It exhibits 110 pomp of architectural grandeur or refined taste, and has no pretensions to vie witli the magnificent structures of other countries or even of our own. Yet it is a goodly and veneraljle pile ; and with recent improvements is an ornament of the place, of whose liberty it was once the citadel. And it has an interest for Bostonians who enter it this day, like that which is felt by grown children for an ancient matron by whom they were reared, and whom, visiting after years of absence, they find in her neat, chaste, old-fashioned attire, spruced up to receive them, with her comforts about her, and the same kind, hospitable, and excellent cre.ature whom they left in less flourish- ing circumstances. But to this edifice there is not only a natural, but " a spiritual body," which is the immortal soul of Independ- ence. Nor is there, on tlie face of the earth, another building, however venerable for its antiquity, or stately in its magnificence, however decorated by columns and porticos, and cartoons, and statues and altars, and outshining the wealth of Orraus or of Ind, entitled in histor}- to more honorable mention, or whose spires and turrets are surrounded with more glorious halo than this unpretending building. I refer you to the day when Independence, mature in age and loveliness, advanced with angelic gr.acc from the chamber in which she was born into the same balcony, and holding in her hand the immortal scroll on wliieh her name and character, and claims to her inheritance were inscribed, received from the street, filled with an impenetrable phalanx, and windows glittering with a blaze of beauty, the heartfelt homage and electrifying peals of men, 118 OLD STATK HOirSK UE-nEniCATION. women, and children of the whole city. The splendor of that glorious vision of my childhood seems to be now present to my view, and the harmonj- of that universal concert to vil)ratc in my ear. We, gentlemen, have now become, for a short period, occu- pants of this Temple of Liberty. Henceforth, for many j'ears, the City Government will probably be here administered. May we, and those who will succeed us, appreciate the respon- sibleupss attach'^d to our places by the merit of our predecessors ; and tliough we cannot serve our country to the same advantage, may we love it with equal fidelity. And may the guardian genius of our beloved city forever delight to dwell in these renovated walls ! After the lapse of half a century Ave assemble to renew these pious labors, and to repeat his fervent prayers for their success; but tlie times are more propitious for us, since the present generation has been taught anew the necessity of perijetually culti- vating those patriotic virtues which alone can ani- mate a nation in times of adversity. Twenty years have passed since the assembled citizens of Boston were again aroused, from the balcony of this chamber, by the eloquence of those speakers Avho uttered the cry, " To arms ! " God grant tbat in our day that appeal may never again be made; but should the necessity arise, it must be made to a community which has been daily familiar with the lessons taught by the memories of these halls as well as of the " Cradle of Liberty," — Faneuil Hall. OLD STATE HOUSE RE-I)EI)ICAT10N. 119 " Here the child Independence was born ! " and Avliat untold glories in the future that birth por- tended ! The independence for which our fathci-s fought was freedom of thovight, speecli, and action in every land and in every generation. The chain which they broke Avas not sinijjly that of Great Britain over America, but the greater fetters of usurped authority over the bodies and minds of millions in other lands. To our success is to be attributed whatever liberty has been achieved for the suffering nations of Europe, or for the long-enslaved victims of unwarrantable oppression in our own land. I had thought I had recited all the stirring events connected with this building, but I pause to add that it afforded a temporary shelter to William Lloyd Garrison, as he was unwillingly rescued from the mis- guided rage of a pro-slavery mob. Let us rejoice that we to-day can assert, that, among the results of that Independence which was first proclaimed on this spot, has been the purging of the Great Republic of the anomalous stain and reproach of domestic slavery. And, surely, if we have, at so great cost of treasure and blood, expiated our national sin, we may turn, with expectant gaze, to our sister nations for a simi- lar sacrifice. The independence which we inculcate demands that, wherever, under any 2)rofessed form of law, the labor of the peasant jirofits only his master, 120 OLD STATK HOUSE UK-DEDICATION. that iniquity shall cease, — whether it l)i' in tlie familiar case of Ireland, whose wrongs meet with so prompt a response in kindred bosoms here, — or of Russia, where the lurid torch of Xihilism reveals the misery of untold millions, — or wherever else the wretched serf looks eagerly to the laud of promise on this side of the Atlantic. Fellow-citizens, so long as we maintain the sacred fires upon the altars, we may claim the right to be especially favored by the divinity. I cannot allow myself to dwell upon the ijossibility of any future surrender of these walls to any purpose less appro- priate than that we now celebrate. I cannot antici- pate any decrease in the prosperity or the public spirit of oni- beloved city. I can only predict that future generations, for centuries to come, will visit this spot and will remember us thankfully for what we have this day done. To you, Mr. Mayor, as the highest representative of the city, I now transfer the care and custody of the Old State House, felicitating you upon the hon- orable duty, and congratulating the city that it devolves upon one so well qualified, by assiduous study, to appreciate the value of this acquisition. OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. 121 At the conclusion of ISIr. ^V'liitmore's address, Ilis Honor Mayor Green said : — MAYOR GREEN'S REMARKS. Mr. Chairman : — The Old State House to-day comes back to the city, and as the chief executive officer I greet the venerable structure with a warm and hearty welcome. After an occupation of many years for purposes of general business, these halls are now to be used for the reception and preserva- tion of historical objects of local interest. The com- mittee of which you are at the head, Mr. Alderman, having this matter in charge, deserve the thanks of the community, for the way in which it has been done. I know full well that the work has fallen largely on the shoulders of the Councilman Avho has given us this morning his interesting and instructive address, and it is through his untiring zeal as an antiquary that this jilan has been brought to a suc- cessful issue. I sympathize most warmly with him in the expression that the use we now give to these halls may be the permanent one. He has told how this building was erected as a town-house, and traced its history from the earliest days to the present time. Its close connection with the various political events of our city and State makes it a conspicuous monument in our local annals. 122 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATIOX. The formal dedication of a public liuilding is a custom of comparatively modern times. The found- ers of l^ew England were too busy to indulge in mere fonualities; and, even if they had the time, they were apt to look upon such observances as idle and frivolous. They regarded the various purposes to which a building Avas jjut as in themselves a sufficient dedication; and for this reason they avoided any special ceremony to emphasize its objects or iises. While it is true, then, that this structure was never formally dedicated, it is equally true that it was con- secrated by all that was high and noble in patriotic service, through the words that were spoken and the deeds that were insjjired within its walls. The political town-meeting is an outgrowth of New England life, and it has been the very cradle of American liberty and independence. It originated with the first comers and has been kept up by their successors till the present time. The freemen of the several towns came together in public meeting to dis- cuss and settle questions of general interest. They chose town ofBcers, to whom was delegated the power to manage their civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs. It was at such gatherings that a free and full recognition of popular rights was first made in this country, and the very foundation and corner- stone of our present political system laid. The best insight of the forces that developed local self-gov- OLD STATE HOUSE RE^DEDICATION. 123 ernmeiit is to be found in the action of such meet- ings. The causes that brought aljout the separation of the American colonies from the mother country were rijiening during many years, but they were kept ahve and active by these pubHc assemblages. Bos- ton was the largest and most influential town on the continent, and was always ready to take the lead in public affairs. When she spoke, her voice was heard with no doubtful sound, and she had all New Eng- land for an audience. Her utterances were given from this building as well as from Faneuil Hall and the Old South Meeting-house. These three struct- ures are full of historical reminiscences and associa- tions, and I envy not the man who can approach any one of them with ordinary feelings. Rude though they are in external form they represent in Ihi'ir ti'aditions the hig'licst form of religion and patriotism, as understood by the framers of our government. He lacks some of the human sensibilities whose heart is not tln-illed, and whose emotions are not quickened, when he enters their portals. I do not forget the fact that this building was occupied by the municipal authorities during a period of ten years. On Sept. 17, 1830, the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Boston, the City Government, under the Mayoi-alty of Harrison Gray Otis, took possession of these apartments, and used 124 OLD STATIC IIOrSK KK-DEDICATION. them until March 18, 1811. Il was under this roof that the administrations of Charles Wells, Theodore Lyman, Samuel T. Armstrong, and Samuel A. Eliot were carried on; and it Avas while Jonathan Chaj)- nian was Mayor that the city offices Avere again removed to the City Hall, standing between Court square and School street. Whatever may be the fate of other public buildings, let us cherish the hope that the Old State House may stand as a connecting link between the provincial and national periods of our country's history, and that it may continually remind us of the unselfish devotion and liard struggles of the men who laid the ibundation of our present gov- ernment. Alderman IIersey. — T i-ecognize among our honored guests to-day, the face and form of him whose memory extends far back into the past, and who, I know, can give us some personal reminis- cences connected with this ])uilding. I allude to the Hon. Marshall 1*. \\'iklcr. REMARKS OF HON. MARSHALL I'. WILDKR. I (lid not expect, ]\rr. flavor, and .Mr. Chainnan, to be called upon here to say a single word to-day. At my time of life, and under this oppressive heat, my words must be very few. But I rejoice from the bottom of my heart that I am able to be here on this OLD STATE HOUSE KE-DEDICATION. 125 consecrated spot, and participate in the ceremony of the restoration of the Old State House. I say my Avords must be few; but I desire to tender to His Honor the Mayor, and to the City Government, the thanks of the Historic-Genealogi- cal Society, in their behalf and in my own; I desire to thank you for the wisdom of makmg the appro- priation which has placed again, as we believe, nuich in its old style, this building of former days; and I desire to thank Mr. Whitmore for his energetic, entei'prising, persistent, and successful labors in bring- ing again into this form, this structure, so ancient, and so renowned in the history of this city, because of the events, so graphically described by Mr. Whit- more and His Honor the INIayor, which transpired upon this spot. Here Independence drew its first breath. This spot, now consecrated by the restora- tion of this building, will perpetuate the history of those men, who, more than any others, led in the American revolution, and gave to the world the first great, free, and independent nation on earth. The work has been well accomplished. Nothing could be more appropriate ; and the provision made for it by the City Government, I am sure you will all say, could not have been more judiciously ex- pended. For I hold that next to training the spirit for the life eternal, there is no obligation more solenm than that of perpetuating to futm-e genera- ]2G OLD STATE IIOUSK KK-DKDICATION. tions the principles and vii-tucs of those noble men who gave to the world this great republic, — principles and virtues upon which must ever rest the happiness and i)rosperity of all our peojjle. This ended the formal exercises. The following letters, addressed to the Chainiiaii of the Committee, Alderman Woolley, were not I'cad, owing to his absence ; ])ut they are worthy of preservation in the history of the celebration : — Commonwealth of Massachusetts, HxECUTivE Department, July 8, 1882. 1\Iy dear Mh. Alkekman : — I thauk you for your kiud iuvi- tation to the rc-dedieatioii of the Old State House, with its interesting associations. I am uiKil)le to accept on account of engagements at the same hour, but I beg to send in3- kindest wishes for the occasion. Very truly yours, JOHN D. LONG. Wm. Woollkv, Esq. Navy Yauu, Boston, Commandant's Office, July 10, 1882. Deak Siu: — I have hail tlic honor of receiving your kind invitation to attend at the Old State House to-morrow to partici- pate in the ceremonies of tiie re-dedication of that ancient and interesting structure. I greatly regret that my health is such that I will not be able to .attend. With many thanks to yi)U and to Mr. Wliilinori', I have the honor to be, Verj- respectfully yours, O. C. BADGER, Cuvimodore, U.S.N. William Woolley, Esq., City Council, City Hall, liostoii. APPENDICES. APPENDICES. APPENDIX A. Copies of Origrinal Papers, iu the possession of tlie 3Iassachusetts Historical Society, relatiii}r to llic Erec- tion of the Town House in Boston in 1057. 1. roWKU CONFERRED BY THE COMMITTEES FOR THE TOWN HOUSE — 1G57. Wco whose names are viulcr wrighten having full power given vs by the Town of Boston to Agree with workmen, & in their hehalfe to Engailge the Town, In tint Payment of any sum or sums for tlie liuililing Ereeting & Com- pleating of A house for the Town both for the forme & ilimentions &c. accord- ing as we sliall JuJge meet. They the s'' Towne having Engadged Iheuiselves to own & stand by vs and pforme what promises Covenants or Engadgni wee should make in order to the aeeomiilishing of the i)remises. And In facillitate the s"' worke we the s'' subseribeil doe make choyce of M Edward Hutchinson & John Hull in o hehalfe to Agree & Compound with workmen & Engadge paym' in everie respect for the s'' worke & we doe hereby oblidge o' selves to stand by, own, & performo what the s'' M' Ed; Hutchinson & Jn Hull See deputed shall doe or Engadge themselves in as iti' it was the personall act of everie one off vs & heervnto we subscribe o' hands, by this binding o' selves likewise to own what the s'' prtyes have allridy done in the s'' worke signed this ai of the 6"" month lGu7. Townesmen Commissioners ' Tuo: Marshall Samukl Colk William Paddy Josh: Scottow . Jkr: Howcuin 2. AGREEMt for the TOWN HOUSE — 1G57. IIo8ton, August 1, 1657. Wee whose names are vnder wrighten Being chosen by & in behalfe of the Towne of Boston, to bargain & Contract with some able workmen about A loO OLD STATK IKIISK KK-DKDICATION. house for the Town, we liave bargained & Contracted, & by these presents doe bnrRain & Covenant with Tliomas Joy and Hartlioloniew Bernad of Hoston ; & the s'' Thomas Joy & liarlh Bemad, are heerl)y l)ound & doe oblidfje them- selves vuto the s'' Ti>wn of ]ioston (& in vn [to] In theire behalfe) that they will Prepare & Erect, a very substantial! and C^>mely buildinf; In the place Appointed by the s'' Town ; The dimentions of w^i" Kdifiee shall be sixty six foot in Length, and tliirty six foot in Breailth from ont side to out side, set vpon twenty one Fillers of full ten foot liii,'h between Pedestall & Capitall, & well brased all four wales, placed upon foundation of stones in the bottome. T!ie whoU Buildiiij; loJetty over three foot witlu)Ut tlie I'illers everie way: The height of the s'' House to be ten foot betwixt Joynts above the Pillers, and a halfe storie above tliat with three j;al)le Endes over it vpon each side : A walke vpon the Top fourteen or 15 foote wide with two Turrets, & turned Balasters and railes, round about the walke according to A modell or draught Presented to vs, by the svered and shingled within six weekes after that. The Town find- ing all the Iron worke, as nailes hookes hinges &e. glass with glasingand Lead for the Gutters masonrie worke as the chimnies, foundation of the Pillers with stone brick & Lime belonging to the same the aflb's'' Tho: & Barth: all the other worke as affo,"'' The Town finding hel]) at the raysing. In consideration of the premises we doe lieerby oblidge ourselves (accord- ing to order & in behalfe of the s'' Town of Boston aft'ors'') To give & .Vsslgne over vnto the s'' Tho: Joy & Barthol: Bernad or to either of them or their assignes the three llund: Pounds w<^'' is that Part of the Legacy of Cap' Rob Key ne (deceased) designed & bequeathed vnto the s'' Town in his Last will for ther vse, and also one bund. Pound more we heerby oblidge o'selves to Pay or Cause to be paled vnto the s'' Thomas & Bartholomew or their .Assignes In good English goods at price Currant, and likewise t(j doe our vltmostthatone fillty pound of this above mentioiu'd ]>;iym' (viz out of the thre lliin'') maybe nwide in mony for the more lively cavsing an enil of the aflo's"" worke. 'I'he time w''' PiiynuMit shall be as foUoweth viz: one Ilund. Pound at the Bringing of the Timber to the Place -V second Ilund: at the raysing A third Ilund: at the inclosure & Covering A fourth at the finishing an(l Coinpleating vnto all these premises aboves'' we doe lieerby Joyntly&, severaly mutualy & Interchangeably bind o'selves by o'' hands vt scales this first of August, Kio". We doe also engadge that the three llund: ])ouiul in the Legacy aboves"* shall be made good vnto the s'' workmen Thonuis & Bartholomew. Witness heer vnto Josi;rii Nkwoate Edwakii Hutchinson [seal] Jasihs BitowNK John Hull [seal] Hf.NHY POWNINO • Only we alow of Two Iiicli plank fur llic Hiilrs it i-nils ahovi- tliu I'liitoi* S: iK-aincs. t There U to be both Ko(tme» from tin* ebimniee cloned on both sides and one Cross partition in one of the lioomes; beside the sUiir case. APPENDIX A. i;}i (Ol'Y OF THE SUBSCRIPTION PAPEK FOR THE FIRST TOWN HOUSE IN BOSTON, ERECTED BETWEEN 1G57 AND lOOy. Whearas thcar is piiien a considerabl sunie hy Capt Kayne towars tlie Buldini,' of a towne house w* sum will not ataine tlie HuUlinii; w='' lie inen- tioneth in his will, now consiilerin'; the vscfuUncs of such astruoture we whose names are vnder written, doe inpig or seines or lieyres executors for to giue towards the abou sd hous and alsoe a condit in the market place the severall sumes vnder written. 17. pd pd pd pd 46 s pd pd pd pd pd pd paid paid pd P<1 paid pd paid. paid paid Jo: Endecott Ri Bellingham in Country pay Edward Tyngc in Corne John Euered in goods and corne . Peter OUiuer in goods and provisions John" Barrett : in gooiis : or corne (1. 29 Aug. 1G58 .Tames Olliuer provided there be a Cundit withall in goods and provisions eqelly Will Paine in goods and provisions Richard Parker in goods and provisions Nath.aniell Williams in goods Sarah Parker in provisions Henry Powning in goods John Cogan in Corne .... [ ] five pound .... Theodore Atkinson will give in hats Tho Howjiings ..... John Hull In English goods five'" Thoniis Clarke in provision or goods Robt Turner .... Richard Cooke in provisions . Robert Swift .... Samuel Hutchinson in wheat . Josli Scottow in pvision or goods Will'" Hudson will : pay in bricks lyeme boards [ ] or timber the some of . Hezekiah Usher : will pay 2 In English Goods or equivolent, twentye : poundes, prouiso : y' y' market house bee Errected in y" markett place- & a Cunditt. W" Dauis will pay in goods & corne Fifteene pounds provided y*' market-house be eerected in y" markett place & a conduitt also raised & Finished . Thomas Buttolph James Penn ........ Jacob Sheafe in provision & goods Tho: Lake i In English-goods & 4 In provisions . Isaak Waker in English goods or provisions . John Sunderline :!£...... Robt: Pateshall, in planke or boards Thomas Matson ....... John Williams ....... Thomas Edsell ....... Thomas Bligh ....... 2—10—00 10—00—00 pd 10—00-00 pd 010:^00—00 pd 10^00-00 03—00—00 12— 0-00 pd 1.") . 00 . 00 10-00-00 pd 03—00—00 pd 05—00-00 pd 02—00-00 pd 03—00—00 pd 005 :00 :00 pd 02 0— 05—00—00 pd 04-00-00 pd 5— 0— pd 03 10 00 pd 02 . 10 00 pd 5 . 00—00 pd 5 :00— 00 pd 10=00=00 pd 20=00=00 pd 15 — — 02-00—00 05—00-00 12—00-00 09-00 :00 03—00—00 03 -00=00 05 :00 :00 1— 0— 0—10— 00—10— 00—15 00 132 OLD STATK HOUSE KE-DEDICATION. paid Richard Oridley paid Julin Jlutton .... lieiijainin Mej^iis James Kueritt in Flower Kobt Batterly paid .Tolin ('onfv .... paid Samiu 11 .Mattockc . l)aid Hioli'' StaiK'S .... )>aid Kowlaiul Story in Lewtenant Cook paid Hi Waytc .... paid I'liillip Wliorton paid Ausustcn Clement . paid Hieliard Woodde in provision [ paiaid Jo: Marshall in shoes paid Henry Alline [ ] . ))aid Hugh Drury .... paid John Collens .... paid Thomas Seotto paid Xathanell Thorn . |)aid John J'ears .... paid William Heade paid Will. Tay .... ])aid Jo". Blaeklach jiaiil tTolin (lough .... paid Sam" ])avicc .... l)aid Samnell Cole .... paid Cliristoi)her Gibson l)aid Uobert Nanney paid Henry Briilgham . paid Thonuis Waker ham orkc 11 L 02—00—00 05—00— 01—00—00 00—1.5—00 00—15—00 00— 7-00 00—10-00 01 :00 :00 02—00-00 02—00—00 1— 0— 01— 0— 03— 0— 1— 0— 00—10— 00—10— 00—10— 00—04-00 12— 0— 00—10— 01—00 . 00—10— 00 . 10-00 00-09— s4— 00 — 1.10. 01-00-00 05-00-00 10-00-00 03—00 00 03—00-00 03 . 00 . 00 02 : 00 . 00 0—10— 1— 0— 0—10— 1—00— 5— 0— Q 01—00— 002—00—00 01— 0— 01-00-00 01-00 1— 0— 1— 0— 0—10— 1— 0— 00-10-00 00—10—00 01—00—00 00—10—00 00—05-00 02—00-00 02-00-00 02—00-00 10-00-00 12—10—00 APPKNDIX B. 133 paiJ p.iiil paid paid paid paiil paid paid paid paid pd paid paid pd 10s paid paid paid paid paid pd pd 53 paid paid paiil paid Xatlianoll Rcynolls .... .lohn Ilawkines tobaco Artluir Masson ..... .Vim Carter 10s ..... .lames Dauis l)y Tlio: Joy (is v>t 4s inori; Daniel Turill ...... Thomas Fitch ..... K. 'I'licru iw on It tliiM nicniorau- dinn : •• Xole, Tliat tile Ilout'f U fur I'ublirli Mi-Vliiigs on t'ivil Occifions : f«ir tlic Province, County and Town, viz, for tlic Meeting of tho Uvucral AMcmbly, thu Uulding of Caiuiclls and CourlH of Justice, and Town inuellut;. Ari'EXDIX B. 135 In till' House of Representatives Noveiiib' 10. 1711. He.id & Conourrod And Aiidington D.^venpo^t Sam" TImxter Esqr" & Capt. I'hipps he Named for tlie otiice with libertie to the Town of Boston to joine Two Persons More John- Bcrbill Speaker Agreed to & Consented to by Jos: Dodley Geniral Courts order for Kebuilding the Town House in Boston Novem' 1711 Massachusetts Archives. Book 113. pp. G18 619. In the House of Representatives NovM)'" 1711. Resolved That tne Sum of ffortj- Pounds, be Allowed, out of the publick Treasury to il' Benj": Johns, for the use this Court makes of his House, in a year, beginning the l""": Octo' last (if they improve it so long) Fifteen Pounds thereof to be now drawn out of the Treasury, tlie Remainder as tliis C^ourt shall order. Sent up for Concurrence. John Burrill Speaker Nov' lO'h 1711. In Council Read and concurred Is*: Addington Sectr'y. Book 48 p. 420 Court Records, p. 244. Passed in House of Representatives, read and con- curred. Nov. 7 1712. Ordered th;it it be an Instruction to the Committee appointed to build the Province & Court House that tliey fit tlie East Chamber for the Use of His Excellency the (Jovernor & the Hon''''^ the Council, the Middle Chamber for the House, the West Chamber for tlic Sup' & Inf' Courts. Ordered that there be but two offices below stairs in the Province & Court House now Building in Boston one for the Secretary tlie other for the Regis- ter of Deeds in the County of Suffolk, consented to J. Dudley. In the House of Representatives. March 21 : 1711. Ordered Tliat It be an Instruction to the Committee appointed to Build the Court House or Exdiange in Boston, That It be not more than One Hundred & twelve, nor lesse than One Hundred & ten ffcet in lengtli. Sent up for Concurrence. John Burkill Speaker In Council. March 21. 1711. p. 425. Read and Concurr'd Is'^ Addington Secry .At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston upon Satunlay the 23"l of .August 1712. The Committee for overseeing the building of the Court & Town House in Boston moving for a further supply of money Advised & consented Tluit a Warrant he made out to the Treasurer to advance & jiay to M' William l':iyne of the said Committee and deputed their treasurer the further sum of Five liumlreil )>ounils over and above the Five hunilred pounds already drawn for at twice to he imploycd for and about the said Building he to be accomptable for the disposal of it accordingly. Council Records, 1708 to 1712, page 598. 130 OLD STATE IIOUSK RE-DEDICATION. At a Coiineil helil at the Council Chamber in Boston upon Friday the 15"> February 1711. The Committee for the rehuildins of tlie Town & Court House in Boston now in liand wiili, proposing to liave two hundred pounds advanced towards tlie s'' Buildinj^ to be jiut into tlie liands of M' William I'ayne by them deputed a 'J'reasurer for ))ayins of the workmen &c. Punsuaut to the Grant of tlie Genei-al Assembly, .\dvised & consented That a Warrant be made out to the Treasurer to advance and pay the sum of Two hundred pounds to the said M'' Payne for tlie use aforesaid upon Ac- compt accordingly. Council Records, page 522. At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston upon Monday, the l.s'i' of February 1711. .\ii accompt of Disbursements by the Select men of Boston in repairs of the late Town House from Se])temb'' 5"' 170'J to the time of its desolation, amounting to Eleven pounds two shillings & one penny presented and Pursuant to the Act of tiie General Assembly, Advised & considered That a Warrant be m.ade out thereupon to the Treasurer to pay Five pounds eleven shillings & one penny, 4 being one Iialf of the nfores'' Disburse to the Town Treasurer of Boston. At a Council htdd at the Council Chamber in Boston ujion Monday the 29"" of December 1712. Present His Excellency Joseph Dudley Esq' GoV Elisha Hutchinson W'" Hutchinson Andrew Belcher Peter Sergeant Esq" Penn Townsend Esq™ Edw"' Bromficld Esq" Isaac Addingtcm Esq'. The Committee for overseeing the building of the Court & Town House in Boston moveing for a further suiijily of money for that occasion Pursuant to tlie Grant of the General -Assembly. Advised & consenled Tliat a Warrant he made out to the Treasurer to ad- vance the further sum oT Five hiindreil pounds (over & above One thousand pounds already issued by several Draughts) to M' William Payne of the said Committee & deputeil their Treasurer to be employed for and upon the said Building, He to be acconiptable for the disposal of it accordingly. Council Records, page 639. At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Bostcm upon Monday the G"" of Ajiril 171.-!. Pursuant to a Resolve pass'd by the General .Vssembly at their Session in March last, that the Trcasir be directed to supply the Treasurer of the Town of Boston with the sum of Four hundred & fifty jiounds in the pulilic bills of credit to be applyed towards the carrying on & finishing the Town House or edifice now in building in Boston, as part of the Town's proportion of that charge, he taking gooil & sufficient security for the repaying of the s'' sum into the Treasury again on or before the twentyeth d.ay of February next Advised & consented That a Warrant be made out to the Treasurer to ad- vance & supply to M' .loseph Prout present Treasurer of the Town of Boston the aforesaid .sum of Four hundred & fifty pounds in Bills of jiuhlick credit for the use aforesaid taking good & suflicicnt security for the repayment of the same again accordingly. Council Records, 1712 to 1718, page 21. .\t a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston upon Wednesday April 29'i> 1713. I'resent His Excellency Joseph Dudley Esq'. Governour &s. Pursuant to the vote of the General .Assembly at their Session in October 1711 for tlie raising of a new edifice within the town of Boston in or near the place where the Town House stootl before the desolation tlu'reof by fire for Publick Meetings on civil occasions for the use of the Province County & Town the charge thereof to be borne the one half by the Province the other half by the Town of Boston &. county of Suffolk in equal proportion. AITKNDIX IS. 137 Advised & consented that a Warrant be made to the Treasurer to advance & pay M'' William I'ayno of tiie Committee for overseeing the Building of the s"' House & deputed to their Treasurer the further sum of Five hundred pounds over & ahove what has been already advaneed to hira towards that work, he to be aceomptable for the disposal of it accordingly. Council Records, 1712 to 1718, p. 32. At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston upon Wednesday, the 2L"' of July 1713. M' William I'.ayne of the Committee for overseeing the building of the Court & Town House in Boston & deputed their Treasurer moving for a further supply of money towanls defreying thj charge thereof Advised &. eonsenteil That a Warrant be made out to the Treasurer to ad- vance & jiay to the s ' William I'ay ne of tlie Committee & Treasurer as aforesaid the further sum of Five hundred pounds for that service to be employed on & about the Building he to be aceomptable for the disijosal of it accordingly. Ibid., page G8. August 27, 1713. Accompt presented by M'' W'" Payne of expenses in the Council chamber, where liis E.xcelK^ was attended by the Council officers civil & military and other Gent and on the Regiment umler tlieir arms .attend- ing bis Excellency on tlie 24"' of .Vugust currant at tlie rublieation of the I'eace between Her JIajesty & the French King amounting to Fourteen pounds & eight shilling. Advised & consented to pay tlie above sum. Ibid., p. 8G. March 10, 1713. Council Advised & consented to pay Mr. William Payne of the Committee for overseeing the Building of the Town House in Boston the sum of seventy one i)ouuds nine shillings and live pence being the balance remaining due from the Province to their part of the charge for building s'^ house according to the Ueport of the Committee for auditing the Accompts thereof accepted by the General Assembly. Ibid., page IGO. Town Records. Nov 10, 1711. Vol. 2., p. 333 Voted. A Concurrence willi the proposalls made by the (!en" Assembly .\f^ building a House in or ne^*r the jdace when- tin* (Jld Town House stood. for the uses therein Mentioned, with an addition of these words [and all other Town affaires J as part of the tises thereof. Voted. That Thomas Brattle Escif and m' William Payn be the persons nominated & Chosen by this Town to joyn w"' the committee Raised by the Gen" Court to maiiage that affair. Selectmen's minutes. Anno 1711 : Deccmb'' 10"* p. 25. Voted. That Thomas Bratle Esq'', m' Josiah Tay, m" Eliz" Maccarty & m'^ Eliz' Powuing shall be taken into Consideration in order to Satisfaction for their Houses w^'' were Blown up in order to Stop the progress of the fire w'^'' hapened in this Town y= 2' of Octob"' Last. p. 2(i. Also .lames Meers. Martha Gwin, Sarah Dynly & Rich"* Proctor, for their Houses being blown ui>. Thorn' Brattle Esq. allowed Thirty Pounds. Isaiah Tay Thirty-five Pounds Eliz* Maccarty Sixty " Eliz' Powning Thirty five " James Meers Twenty five " Martha Gwin Twenty five " Sarah Dinidy Ten " Richard Proctor Ten " ];5S OLD STATE llOUSli JJE-DEDICATION. (From the original, in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. ) "RELATING TO Y^ TO\VX HOUSE RENTS. READ MARCH lO'i'" 1711-12." " Whereas the Rents reserved to tlic Town of Boston for several spare Rooms in, nnder, anil Adjoyning to the late Town House beside all rooms made use of there for I'lililiek Occasions, did according to the Rates they were left, or might liavc been Lett at amount to Kighty pounds P' annum. And the Great and (ien" (,'ourt of Assembly of this Province haveing lately directed. That there be a House built in or neer the place where the Old Toivn House stood, for I'ublick meetings on Civill Occasions, For Province County and Town, Vi/'. Kor the Meeting of the Gen" Assembly, The holding of CouncilKs and ("ourts of Justice and Town .Meetings, the Charge thereof to be born the Oni^ lialfe liy the Province, the Other lialfe by the Town of Boston and County of Suffolk in Ecjuall i)ri>portion, unto which proposal the Inhabitants of Boston have Voted tlieir Concurrance. And since there is prospect of as great if not greater improvem" and advan- tage by su" Town meeting y 10"' of .March 17li-12. AIM'KNDIX C. 139 APPENDIX C. I'APKUS liKLATIN'G TO TlIK KKBUILDING OF THE TOWN HOUSE IN 1747. In the House of Representatives Dec'' !), 1747. OrJered that the Select Men of the Town of Boston be desired to take care of the Materials belonging to the late Court House which are preserved from the Flames. Sent up for concurrence T. Hdtchinson Spkr. In Council Dec'' 9. 1747 Kead & Concurr'd J. WiLLAUD Secy Consented to W. Shirley Massachusetts Archives, Book 49. p. 204 In the House of Representatives Dec. 9. 1747. The House taking into further consideration the awful Providence of God this Morninij in the destruction of the Court House and great jiart of the pul>lick Records liy Fire. Ordered that thc"Speaker Col" Stoddard Col" Heath Col" Choate M' Frost Capt Partridge and Col" Otis with such as the Hon'''" Hoard shall .loyn, he a Committee to Consider and Report what is necessary to he done by the Court at this .Juncture. Sent up for concurrence T. HiJTCHiNSo.N Spkr In Council Dec 9. 1747. Read & Concurred, & Josiah 'Willanl, Sam' Walley, John Cushing, John Quincy, John Chandler & And" Oliver Esij" are joined in y" Affair J. Wir-r.ARi) Secy. Hook 49. p. 205. Committee to provide boards for the Court House Walls Dec. 10 1747. Entered In the House of Representatives Dec'. 11, 1747. Ordered that M'' Frost with such as the Hon'''" Ho.ird shall Joyne be directed to Contract for sixty thousand feet of Hoards forty thousand of them Mer- chantable and twenty thousand clear fur the Service of tlie Province and Also three thousand feet of one Inch and half clear Stuff and three thousand feet of Stuff for Window Frames Sent up for concurrence T. Hutchinson Spkr. In Council December 11"' 1747. Read and Concurr'd and John Hill Esq' is Joyned in the Affair J. Wii.LAKU Secry Hook 49. p. 20G. Consented to W. Smiui.i;v. 140 OLD STATK IIOrSE RK-DKniOATION. In tlic House of Rcprosontativos Hec'' 11"' 1747 Ordered that tlie Select Men (if Boston be desired and impowered to Secure the Walls of the late Court House from the ineonvenienees of the Weather by Causing the same to be covered with Boards in the best and cheapest manner Sent up for concurrence T. Hltciiinson Spkr In Council Dec' II 1717 liead and Concurr'd J. WiLLARD Sscry. Book 49. p. 207. In the House of Representatives March 3, 1747 Ordered that Col" Hale Col" Otis M' Boardman M'' Fore and M'' Hub- hard with such as the Hon''' Board sliall appoint be a Committee to Consider and Report a proper place in the Town of Boston for building a New Court House Sent up for concurrence T. Hutchinson Spkr. In Council March 3, 1747. Read & Concur'd ,\nd Jacob Wendell, Samuel Danforth, Sam' Watts, John Chandler, & Ezekiel Chever Esq", are joined in the Affair J. WiLi-ARD Secry Book i'J. p. 510 In the Honsc of Representatives 9 March 1747 Voted that the late (Jourt House in tlie Town of Boston be Repaired as soon as conveniently may be & that one half the Charge tliereof be borne by the Province the otlier half by the County of Suff(dk & the Town of Boston Sent up for concurrence T. Hi TcHi-Nsos Spkr. In Council, March 9, 1747 ; Read & Concur'd, .1. Wii,i-ARD Secry Consented to W. SlIIRLKY Book 49, p. 211 In the House of Representatives March 11, 1747. Whereas it has been determined by this Court that the late Court House should be repaired, and that one half the Charge should be born by the Coun- ty of .Suffolk and the Town of Boston, but the proportion between the Coun y and Town is not settled by said vote. Resolved that one quarter part of the Charge of repairing s'l House be born by the said County, and one <|uarter part by said Town. .Vlso voted that M"^ Speaker M"^ Hubbard and M' Allen with such as the llon'''^' Board shall Joyn be a Comm<'« to Purchase and Procure proper Materials to EtTeet the repair of said House agreeable to the vote of the 10"' Ciirr'. .Vlso to Prepare a Plan of the Inside Work that the room may be so dispos'd as will be most beneficial to the Province County and Town. And that they Lay the same before this Court, with an Estimate of the Charge at their next sitting Sent up for concurrence T. Hutchinson Spkr. In Council; Mar. 10. 1747; Read & Concur'd & Jacob Wendell & .\ndrew Olliver Esq'", arc Joined in the Affair .1. Wii.i.Aiii) Secry. Consented to, W. Smui.KY Book 49. 212, 313. The Committee appointed the 11 Ins' to procure Materials to effect the Re- pairs of the Court House & to prepare a Plan & make an Estimate of the Charge, have divers times met & consulted Workmen thereupon: and beg leave to report AITEXDIX C. . 141 T'h.it m obcilienco to the order of the Hon'"'" General Court, they have taken measures for procuring tlie Lumber needful tor this purpose & have actually agreed for a great part of it. The Committee herewilli present a Wan of the inside Work, which tliey apprehend will be the most eoininodious & best answer the design of the Building; and \ipc)U the best information they can ol)Iain they judge that the said Kepairs will amount to Eighteen thousand One hundred & four Pounds old ten' as by the Estimate herewith, all which is humbly submitted. Jacou Wendell by order March 31 : 1748 In Council April 7. 1747. Read & sent down. In the House of Kepresentatives 12"' .Vpril 1748 Read and Ordered that the Committee be ilirected to Proceed & cause the Court House to be rebuilt agreeable to the Plan laid before the Court with this Report. Sent up for concurrence T. Hutchinson Spkr In Council April 13, 1748; Read & Concur'd .1. Wii.r..\RD Secry. Consented to \V. Shiuley. Book 40. pp. 214, 2iri. In the House of Representatives April 8. 1848 Voted that the Treasurer be directed to Pay into the hands of the Com- mittee for purchasing .Materials for building a Court House the Sum of One hundred pounds out of the Appropriation for payment of matters & things for which there is no Establishment. The said Conmi'''' to be accountable Sent up for Secry. Consented to W. Siiim.LV. Book 49. p. 228. In the House of Representatives Nov 22, 1748. Ordered that the Sum of fifteen Hundred pounds be paid out of the Treasurv into the hands of the Comm'" app"'' to take care of the repairs of the Town House &c. They to be accountable Sent up for concurrence T. Hutchinson S|>kr. In Council Nov'. 22. 1748 Read & Concur'd J. WiLLAUD Secry. Consented to W. Shirley. Book 49. p. 238 1 12 l>I,I) STATK norSK )!K-r>El)ICATION. To 'Pile Hon'''" • Spencer Pliips Esq' : Leiv' Govcrnour and romnianiler in clRif in anil over his Majesty's Province of tlie Massacliiisetts Hay in New Entr- lanil, To the Hon" liis Majesty's (.'ouncil, and to the Honli' tlie House of IJoprcsentatives in General Court Assembled, The I'etition of Abigail llalyburton of Uoston Widow, humbly sheweth. That in the year 1747 when the Court House was consumed by Fire, his Majesty's Council took a Uoom in the House she had hired of Madam Stod- dard, for which she did not intend to trouble your Honour and tliis Hon''''' Court about, but on her Settlini; lier Accounts of Rent with said Mad'" Stod- dard lately she had obliged her to ])ay Tliirty four Tonnils old Tenor for the Rent of that House, when she had no other luiprovement for it than for his Majesty's Council to sit in as aforesaid, your Memorialist begs leave further to represent, that at the same Time at Co\" Pollard's request she was at about Eifrht Pounds old Tenor costs for I'^orms for the Council Use, and she h:xs had no Allowance for either Forms, or Uents tliereforeshe prays your Honours to take the Premises into consideration & make Iiersuch Allowance as you in your great Wisdom shall think proper and as in Duty bound shall ever pray AlilGAILI, HaM-YBUKTON Book i'J. p. 2(;2. In the House of Representatives Jan>' 10 1749 Head and Ordered that the Prayer of the Pet'"' be so far {granted as tliat the Pef be allowed out of the publiek Treasury the Sum of three j)ounds in full' for the Use of h'. 2C, 1749 Ordered that the Treasurer be directed to deliver the Committee appointed to take care of the repairs [of] the Townhouse &v. the Sum of One thousand pounds Lawful Money to be by them paid to the workmen &c Who have per- form'd that Service The said Comm''' to be accountable for their doings to this Court. Sent up for concurrence Tho' Hubbard Spkr 2'ro Tempore In Council .Ian. 2G, 1749; Read & Concur'd Consented to J. WiLi.ARD Secry. S. Puirs Book 49, p. 2fi4. In the House of Representatives Marcli .'il I'SO Onlered that the Committee apjiointed to take care of the Repairs of the Court House be directed to lay their Accounts upon the Table as soon as may be Sent up for concurrence Tiio" Hi'nnAUi), Sjikr /)>-o Tempas. In Council Marcli 31 1750 Read and Concurred .Sami. Hoi.hhook Dep'>' Secry Consented to S. Piiii-s. p. 26G. I .Am It took nitntit eleven pounds uld tuuur lu in:ikc ouu pound stcrlloKi the Couucll j>robubly ).:ilnt;itivc9 April 10, 1750 Ordered tliat the Sum of .Sixty Six pounds thirteen shillings and four jn'mre be allowed & p'' out of the |)ul)lick Treasury to the Committee for repairiuf; the Town llouse'&e in consideration of their thne & trouble in takinsj eare of said Repairs &c. to lie equally proportiond amiinft them. Sent up for eoneurrenee T IIuBB.iRD .Spkr^jro Tempore In Council .\pril 10. 1750 Read & Coneur'd Saml Holbkook Dy Secry Consented to S. Phips Book 49. p. 277. At a Great & General Court or Assembly for his Majesty's Province of tlie Massachusetts B.ay in New England, began Shehl at lioston upon Wednesday thirtieth day of May 17.")0, being called by liis Majesty's Writts. Friday Ueto'. 5. 1750 In the House of Repres"". Whereas tlie Charge of building the Town House in Boston was by the General Court ordered to be paid, one half by the Province, one quarter part thereof by the Town of Boston & the other quarter part thereof by the County of Suffolk, & it lias been resolveil by tlu^ lieneral Court that the said Town & County shall pay the same proportion in the late Repairs thereof, tlie whole Charge of which Repairs amounts to thirtyseven hundred & five pound eleven shillings & four pence Lawful money; Wherefore Ordered that the Town of Boston .aforesaid p.ay into the Province Treasury Nino hundred twenty six pounds seven shillings & ten pence, being one quarter part of the Charge of said Repairs; And the Province Treasurer is hereliy ordered & directed to jiroportion the Sum of Nine hundred & twenty six pounds seven shillings & ten pence, to and among the Towns in the County of Surtolk, according to the Proiiortion which eacli Town in saiil County bore, one to the otiier, in the last Province Tax ; .\nd the Treasurer is further Ordered to give out his Warrants to the Assessors of the Town of Boston for the year 1750 requiring them to Assess the Sum of Nine hundred twenty six jiounds seven shillings & ten pence on the I'olls & Estates in the said Town of Boston, aeconling to the Direction of the Last Province Tax Act, & also to give out his Warrants to the Assessors of the several Towns in said C'ounty of Sutfnlk, requiring lliem to assess on INdls it Estates in their respective Towns their jjroiKjrtioiiable Parts of the said sum of Nine hundred & twenty six pounds seven shillings & ten j>ence by the same Rule aforesaid : And the saicl Treasurer & the Assessors .aforesaid, and the Collectors and Constables to whom the Assessment for the Tax aforesaid shall be eonimitted, he & hereby are fully impowered & directed to act in their respective offices forthe enforcing the Payment of said sums into the Province Treasury on or before the last day of March next, in all respects, as l)y the Eaw of this jirovince, said Officers are impowered to do for the enforcing the Payments of Province Taxes. In ('ouneil ; Read & Non Coneur'd A true Copy as of Record Attest' Saml Holbhook D Secry. Book 40. p. -l^i. Dee. 0. 1747. In the House of Representatives, Ordered that M' Frost, t^.ap'. I'artridge & Col". Otis with such as the Hon'"'''. Board shall appoint be a Committee to in. (>.").) Tn delivering this address, reference was made to the I^ion and Unicorn, whicli adorned the eastern front of the buildiiio;, a.s " Royal Arms," and the words were retained, though not techni- cally correct. Correctly speakinp;, there are no arms shown on the building ; the two wooden figures being only the supporters of a shield whoso outline only is indicated. The first (luestion to eon- 146 OLD STATE HOUSK RE-DEDICATION. sidcr in deciding what this shield would natumlly be, is, '■ Does the use of the Lion :ind Unicorn, as supporters, necessarily imply the presence of the arms of Great Britain, or of the ruling fam- ily?" The answer must be in the negative. For example, good authorities state that the Dukes of Northumberland long used these supporters. The fact more to the point is, that they were often used in connection with the arms of vaiions colonies. In September, 1080, King James II. granted to the Xew P^ugland Colonies, then governed by Andros, a great seal, both sides of which are shown in the annexed engravings. In the fiijlowiiig ye;ir King .lames sxrantod a seal to New York, one side lie:iiing the IJoyal Arms. Willi thi' (iailer Crown Support- ers :ind .Mi)tl.>. with tlie inseiiption, " Sigilhim rroviiieia- Nostra- Novi Islioiaei, et<'.. in .\meriea.'" ( llistoiieal Mag., .\pril. ISC.-i.) It is lielieved that .similar grants wire niadi' to oilier eolonii s. es- pecially to New I(ani|)shire. I'nder llie Seeoiid CliMiler of Massnchusetts a change w;is neces- sary, as that provided for a •• [luliliiple seal to he aiipointed by tiie ArrENDIX D. 147 Crown." The followiii<; engravings sliow the two difrerent forms which this seal assunu'd from A.l). 1002 to the lievohiliou : — mm It lias not seemed wortli while to push this inqniry as to the exact dates of the first and last nse of each form ; but Mr. Thomas C. Amorj', iu a eareiui essay printed in the Proceedings of the JIassaeliusetts Historical Society for December, 18G7, tiiinks that tiie second form cami; into nse abonl Sei)tuml)ei', 172S, when the 8ui)plemental Charier of George I. came into efTect. At the ac- cession of George III. the seal was changed in respect to his name, bnt not otherwise. Of course this seal ceased to be used at the Revolution. It will be seen, however, that for some iifty years the seal of Massaehu-setts was a shield of the Koyal Arms, with (he T.,i()n and Unicorn for snpi)orters, and an inscriijlion denoting that they were used for and in behalf of the Province. In the interesting painter's bill, printed {ante, p. G4), it appears that within the building were carved representations of the Colony Arms as dis- tinct from the King's Arms. Although no specimen is now known of these Colony Arms, it cannot be doubted that they were the same as those on the Great Seal. 14S OLD STATE HOUSE HE-DEDICATION. It is, thcri'forn, .it least as i)rol):il)lo lliai llieso siipportors would inipl}' the Proviiiee coat-of-arms, as the Royal Arms. But in reality there w.-is no distinction between tlieui, and it would soein to be an unnecessary stretch of fane_y to insist u|)on seeini; in tlu'sc inoironsive wooden images a rcinindcr of ISrilisli rule, rather tli:ia of tlic glorious Provincial (!(ncniHicMt, lliat prccnrsor and creator of our later free State. So long as tiie emblems have at least an equal claim to be viewed as Provincial insignia, and especially ns it would be impos- sible to use any other luTaldic ornaments t(j denote that period, there seem to be sound grounds for us to retain these figures. As to their removal by our forefathers, it is necessary to say only that, at that date, such an act had a meaning. It was the visible token of the revolt against royalty, and was, therefore, right and |)iiiper. P.ut now that republicanism is established, and tlic continuance of royalty even in Kurope is so problematical, no one can fear the result of showing to the world this evidence of our former condition. The loyalty of our people to their chosen form of governmiMit does not depend upon any falsification of history. Tlic I. ion and tlic I iiicorn were the jiroperty of our an- cestors in this country, and \vi' have the right to use them in any place where their presence is instructive. The date of the removal of these figures has not been definitely ascertained. The note on p. 0.'5 makes it probable that thev did not rem;iin later tliaii .Inly b^, ITTG; but, as the American troops occupied the town four months earlier, the change may have taken place before this. The dc^struetion of royalist emblems was not so extensive as the newspaper asserts, since the King's Arms were removed from the C'ouncil C'handier by loyalists, and sent to St. John, N.15., where they ik)W decorate a church ; and the similar carving fimii the Province House is now in tlu' possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and is, temporarily, placed on exhibition in the Old State House. ' / --lis T'A'.; '■ i -SB APPENDIX K. 145) APPEXDIX E. FANEUIL HALL. As Faneuil Hall has been so intimately connected with the his- tory of Boston, it seems proi)er to insert a short account of the huililing. and especially to point out the changes which it has ex- perienced, as the comparison with the Old State House, on tiie point of genuineness, will not be to the discredit of the latter. As is well-Iiiiown, Peter Faneuil, in 1740, offered to Iniild and present to the town a market-house. On July 17th, at a town meeting, a vote of thanks for the offer was unanimously passed, but the acceptance was carried only by a majority of seven votes in a total of 727, so wedded were our ancestors to their old ways of marketing. Sept. 10, 1742, Mr. Samuel Ruggles, who was employed in building the market-house, delivered over the kej' to the select- men, and on the 13th a town meeting was held. On motion of John Jeffries, Rsq., the following vote was passed : — " Whereas, iuformation was given to this town at their meeting in July, 1740, that Peter Faneuil, Esq., had been generously pleased to offer at his own proper cost and charge, to erect and build a noble and complete structure or edifice, to be improved for a market, for the sole use, l)eniifit and advantage of the Town, provided the town of Boston would pass a vote for that purpose, and lay the same under such regulations as shall be thought nec- essary, and constantly support it for the said use. " And, whereas, at the said meeting it was determined to accept of the offer or proiiosal aforesaid ; and also voted that the select- men should be desired to wait u|)on Peter Faneuil, Esq., and to 150 OLD STATE IIOUSK RE-DEDICATION. present the tli.'iiiks of the Town lo liiiii, .niicl also lo aeqiiaiiit liira that tlie town liavc liy tlioir voti^ coiik! to a resolution to accept of his generous offer of erecting a niarki't-liouse on Dock square, according to his proposal. " And, whereas, Peter Faneuil, Esq., has in pursuance thereof, at a very great expense, erected a uolile structure far exceeding his (irst proposal, iuasniueh as it contains not only a lariz;e and sulli- cient accoinmodation for a Market place, but has also superadded a spacious and most beautiful Town Hall over it, and several other convenient rooms wliich nuvy prove very beneficial to the town for offices, or otherwise; and tiie said building being now finished, has delivered i)ossession thereof to the Selectmen, for the use of the town. It is, therefore, " Voted, that the town do with the utmost gratitude, receive and accept this most generous and noble benefaction, for tlie uses and intentions they are designed for ; and do appoint the Hon. Thomas Gushing, Esq., the Moderator of tliis meeting, the Hon. Adam Wintlirop, lulward Hutchinson, Ezekiel Lewis, Samuel Waldo, Thomas Hutehinson, Esquires ; the Selectmen and Representatives of the town of Boston, with the Hon. Jacol) Wendell, James Uowdoin, Andrew Oliver, Capt. Natiianiel Cunningham, Peter Chardon, and Charles Apthorp, Esquires, to wait on Peter Fan- euil, Esq., in the name of the Town, to render him their most hearty thanks for so bountiful a gift ; with their prayers that this and other expressions of his bounty and charity may be abundantlj' recompensed with tiie divine blessing." " It was then voted unanimously that, in testimony of the Town's gratitude to the said Peter Faneuil, Esip, and to perpetuate his memory, the Hall over the market place be named Faneuil Hall, U) be at all times hereafter called and known b^- that name. " As a further testimony of respect it was voted that Mr. Fan- euil's picture ln' drawn at full length at the expense of the '.own, and placed in the Hall, and the Selectmen were charged with the Arri:.\i)ix e. 151 commission, which was accordingly cxccutecl. " (Snow's Hist, of Boston, p. 234.) March 1-4, 1714, the town voted to purchase the Fancuil arms, elegantly carved and gilt, by Moses Deshon, to be fixed in the I lull. On Tuesday, January l.'i, 1701, during a spell of extremely cold weather, a fire lirokc out in one of the sliops opposite the north side of Faneiiil Ilall, and consumed the row of wooden buildings there. The fire "communicated itself to that stately edifice, Faneuil Hall .Market, the wiude of which was entirely eon- sunu'd, except the brick walls, w'hich are left stantling." The "records and papers, with such other things as could be con- veniently removed, were mostly saved." The first meeting at Faneuil Hall after it was repaired was on March 14, 1763, when James Otis, Jr., delivered an address. Some slight alter- ations were made in some i)arts of the work, but the size of the building remained the same. (Snow's Hist., p. 247.) The two views here given, one from the Massachusetts Maga- zine for March, 178!), and the other, from Snow's History in 182(5, show the Revolutionary huildiug and tlic present one. The white lines in Snow's view indicate the proportion of old material in Um existing Hall. In 180.") the eulargement was made donl)ling the width of the building and adding a third story. The first Hall was calculated to hold one thousand [lersons, but, as wc have noted licfore. whi'Ucvcr a laigc town meeting was held it adjonined to the ( )ld South Clmrcii for adilitional room. 152 OLD STATE HOUSE RE-DEDICATION. APPEXDIX F. CiTv Hall, Uoston, Oct. 1, 1882. Alderman William AVddllev, Cliairman of the Committee in charge of the liestorutioti of the Old State House: — Deau .Sik, — In the rceonstnictioii and restoration of auy strucluie it will lie understood that tiie result must largely depend upon the kimwleditc! at hand of its original eliaracter. In the case of th(^ Old State House, to ascertain this was not altogether an easy task, Imt with the aid of iMi-. W. II. AVhil- niore, an active ineniher of ymu' ennuniltee, and who was en- tirely familiar with its early liistory, nuich of the dilliculty was overcome in the start. The following is an authentic statement