The act called the Military Bill,. which accompanied thefe laws, and which was formed to fupport and encourage the foldiery in beating down all poffible refiftance to the other acts, it was imagined, would compleat the defign, and bring the colonies to a perfect fubmiffion. In confidence of the perfection of this plan of terrors, punishments, and regulations, and of the large force by fea and land (as it was then thought) which was fent to ftrengthen the hands of government, adminiftration repofed in the most perfeft fecurity; and ended the feffion in the most triumphant manner, and with the mutual congratulations of all concerned in thofe acts, which may be well remembered, and which we have described in our laft volume. The event, in all thefe cafes, was however very different. The neighbouring towns difdained every idea of profiting in any degree by the misfortunes of their friends in Bofton. The people of the province, instead of being fhaken by the coercive means which were used for their fubjugation, joined the more firmly together to brave the ftorm; and feeing that their ancient conftitution was deftroyed, and that it was determined to deprive them of those rights, which they had ever been taught to revere as facred, and to deem more valuable than life itfelf, they determined at all events to preferve them, or to perish in the common ruin. In the fame manner, the other colonies, inftead of abandoning, clung the clofer to their devoted fifter as the danger increased; and their affection and fympathy feemed to rife in proportion to her misfortunes and fufferings. In a word, thefe bills, (as had been too truly foretold by their oppofers at home) instead of answering the purpofes for which they were intended, fpread a general alarm from one end to the other of the continent, and became the cement of a ftrict and clofe union between all the old colonies. They faid it was now vifible, that charters, grants, and established ufages, were no longer a protection or defence; that all rights, immunities, and civil fecurities, muft vanish at the breath of an act of parliament. They were all fenfible, that they had been guilty, in a greater or leffer degree, of thofe unpardonable fins which had drawn down fire upon Boston; they believed, that vengeance, tho' delayed, was not remitted; and that all the mercy, the most favoured or the leaft culpable could expect, was to be the laft that would be devoured. part of the It may be remembered in the laft feffion, that the minifter had announced in the House of Commons, the appointment of General Gage to the government of the province of Maffachufett's Bay, and to the command in chief of the army in North-America. As this gentleman had borne feveral commands with reputation in that world; had lived many years there, and had fufficient opportunities of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the people, and was befides well approved of by them, great hopes were formed of the happy effects which would have refulted from his adminiftration; and it is little to be doubted, if his appointment had been at a happier time, and his government free from the neceffity of enforcing meafures which were generally odious to the people, but [4] 2 thefe thefe expectations would have been anfwered. The jealoufy and ill blood between the governors and governed in the province of Maffachufett's Bay, which we have formerly taken notice of, had ever fince continued. The House of Representatives had prefented a petition and remonftrance to the Governor, early in the fpring, for the removal of Peter Oliver, Efq; Chief Juftice of the Superior Court of Judicature, from his office; this request not being complied with, they exhibited articles of impeachment against him, of high crimes and mifdemeanors, in their own name and that of the province, which they carried up to the Council-board, and gave the governor notice to attend as judge upon the trial. The charge against the Chief Justice was, the betraying of his truft, and of the chartered rights of the province, by accepting a falary from the crown, in confideration of his official fervices, inftead of the cuftomary grant from the Houfe of Representatives. The refolution for carrying up this impeachment was carried by a majority of 92 to 8; from whence fome judgment may be formed of the general temper of the province, and their unanimity, even in this strong and extraordinary measure. The Governor refufed to receive the articles, and totally difclaimed all authority in himself and the Council to act as a judicatory, for the trial of any crimes or mifdemeanors whatever. The Houfe of Reprefentatives, far from giving up the matter, only changed their mode of attack; and the Governor finding that they would perfift in a profecution under fome form or other, and that every new attempt would only ferve to involve things in ftill greater difficulty, or at leaft to increafe the animofity, thought it neceflary, at the conclufion of the month of March, to diffolve the Affembly. Such was the state of things in the province of Maffachufett's Bay, when Gen. Gage arrived in his governMay 13th, ment. 1774. The hopes that upon a might have been formed change of administration, and the joy that generally attends the coming of a new Governor, were, however, nipped in the bud, by the arrival juft before of a fhip from London, which brought a copy of the Bolton Port Bill; and a TownMeeting was fitting to confider of it, at the very time he arrived in the harbour. As this fatal news was totally unexpected, the confternation which it caused among all orders of people was inexpreffible. The first measure was the holding of the Town-meeting we have mentioned, at which refolutions were paffed, and ordered to be immediately tranfmitted to the other colonies, inviting them to enter into an agreement to Hop all imports and exports to and from Great-Britain and Ireland, and every part of the Weft-Indies, until the act was repealed, as the only means (they faid) that were left for the falvation of North-America and her liberties. They befides expatiated on the impolicy, injuftice, inhumanity, and cruelty of the act, and appealed from it to God and the world. In the mean time, copies of the act were multiplied with incredible expedition, and dispatched to every part of the continent with equal celerity. celerity. Thefe had the effect which the poets afcribe to the Fury's torch; they fet the countries in a flame through which they paffed. At Bofton and New York, the populace had copies of the bill printed upon mourning-paper with a black border, which they cried about the streets under the title of a barbarous, cruel, bloody, and inhuman murder. In other places, great bodies of the people were called together by public advertisement, and the obnoxious law burned with great folemnity. There was, however, a very furprifing mixture of fobriety with this fury; and a degree of moderation was blended with the excefs into which the people were hur ried. This extraordinary combuftion in the minds of all ranks of the people did not prevent the Governor's being received with the ufual honours at Boston. The new Affembly of the province met of courfe a few days after, the Council, for the laft time, being chofen according to their charter. The Governor at their meeting laid nothing more before them than the common bufinefs of the province; but gave them notice of their removal to the town of Salem, on the first of June, in purfuance of the late act of parliament. The Affembly, to evade this meafure, were hurrying through the neceffary bufinefs of the fupplies with the greatest expedition, that they might then adjourn themselves to fuch time as they thought proper; but the Governor having obtained fome intelligence of their intention, adjourned them unexpectedly to the 7th of June, then to meet at Salem. Previous to this adjournment, they had prefented a petition to the Governor, for appointing a day of general prayer and fafting, which he did not think proper to comply with. In the mean time, Provincial or Town meetings were held in every part of the continent; in which, tho' fome were much more temperate than others, they all concurred in expreffing the greateft difapprobation of the meafures which were purfued against Bofton, an abhorrence of the new act, and a condemnation of the principles on which it was founded, with a refolution to oppofe its effects in every manner, and to support their dif treffed brethren, who were to be the immediate victims. The House of Burgeffes, of the province of Virginia, appointed the ift of June, the day on which the Bofton Port Bill took place, to be fet apart for fafting, prayer, and humiliation, to implore the Divine interpofition to avert the heavy calamity, which threatened deftruction to their civil rights, with the evils of a civil war; and to give one heart and one mind to the people, firmly to oppose every injury to the American rights. This example was either followed, or a fimilar refolution adopted, almost every where, and the 1ft of June became a general day of prayer and humiliation throughout the continent. This meafure, however, procured the immediate diffolution of the Alfembly of Virginia; but before their feparation, an affociation was entered into and figned by 39 of the members, in which they declared, that an attack made upon one colony, to compel fubmiffion to arbitrary taxes, was an attack on all British America, and threatened [4] 3 zuin ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wifdom of the whole was applied in prevention. They therefore recommended to the committee of correspondence, to communicate with the feveral committees of the other provinces, on the expediency of appointing deputies from the different colonies, to meet annually in General Congrefs, and to deliberate on thofe general measures, which the united interefts of America might, from time to time, render neceffary. They concluded with a declaration, that a tender regard for the interefts of their fellow-fubjects the merchants and manufacturerers of Great-Britain, prevented them from going further at that time. At Philadelphia, about 300 of the inhabitants immediately met, and appointed a committee to write to the town of Boston. Their letter was temperate, but firm. They acknowledged the difficulty of offering advice upon that fad occafion; wifhed first to have the fenfe of the province in general; obferved, that all lenient applications for obtaining redrefs fhould be tried before recourfe was had to extremities; that it might perhaps be right to take the fenfe of a General Congrefs, before the defperate meafure of putting an entire ftop to commerce was adopted; and that it might be right, at any rate, to referve that measure as the last refource, when all other means had failed. They observed, that if the making of reftitution to the EaftIndia Company for their teas, would put an end to the unhappy controverfy, and leave the people of Bofton upon their ancient footing of conftitutional liberty, it could not admit of a moment's doubt what part they fhould act; but it was not the value of the tea, it was the indefeafible right of giving and granting their own money, a right from which they could never recede, that was now the matter in confideration. A Town-meeting was also held at New-York, and a committee of correfpondence appointed; but they were as yet, in general, very temperate in their conduct; and Government had a much stronger intereft in that colony than in any other. The cafe was far different at Annapolis in Maryland, where the people of that city, though under a proprietary government, exceeded the other colonies in the violence of their refolutions; one of which was to prevent the carrying on of any fuits in the courts of the province, for the debts which were owing from them in Great Britain. This refolution, however, was neither adopted nor confirmed by the Provincial meeting which was held foon after; nor was it any where carried into practice. In general, as might have been expected in fuch great commercial countries, the propofal for fhutting up the ports (former refolutions of this kind having been much abufed for the private gain of individuals) was received with great ferioufness, hesitation, and coldneís; and confidered as the laft defperate refort, when all other means of redress fhould fail. In other refpects, upon the arrival of the news from Boston, moderation was little thought of any where, and the behaviour of the people was nearly fimilar in all places. At the numberless public meetings which were held upon that occafion, throughout the continent, they passed every refolution, and and adopted every measure they could for the prefent think of, to fhew their utmost deteftation of the Bofton Port Bill, and to exprefs their determination of oppofing its effects in every poffible manner. In this ftate of general diffatisfaction, complaint, and oppofition, General Gage had the temporary fatisfaction of receiving an addrefs of congratulation, figned by 127 gentlemen, merchants and inhabitants of Bofton, who were either the best addicted to government, the most moderate, or to whom the prefent measures feemed the leaft obnoxious. Befides the compliments cuftomary upon thefe occafions, a declaration of the ftrong hopes which they had founded upon the General's public and private character, and a difavowal, as to themfelves, of all lawlefs violences, they lamented, that a difcretionary power was not lodged in his hands, to restore trade to its former courfe, immediately upon the terms of the late law being fully complied with; and fhewed, that as the act stood at prefent, notwithstanding the moft immediate compliance, fo much time would be loft, before his fa, vourable account of their conduct could reach the King and Council, and produce the wifhed-for effect, as would involve them in unfpeakable mifery, and they feared in total ruin. A few days after, an addrefs from the Council was prefented to the Governor, which contained fome very fevere reflections on his two immediate predeceffors, to whofe machinations, both in concert and apart, that body attributed the origin and progress of the difunion between Great-Britain and her colonies, and all the calamities that afflicted that province. They declared, that the people claimed no more than the rights of Englishmen, without diminution or abridgment; and thefe, as it was the indifpenfable duty of that board, fo it fhould be their conftant endeavour to maintain, to the utmost of their power, in perfect confiftence, however, with the trueft loyalty to the crown, the juft prerogatives of which they would ever be zealous to fup port. This addrefs was rejected by the Governor, who would not fuffer the chairman of the committee to proceed any further, when he had read the part which reflected on his predeceffors. He afterwards returned an answer to the Council in writing, in which he informed them, that he could not receive an addrefs which contained indecent reflections on his predeceffors, who had been tried and honourably acquitted by the Privy Council, and their conduct approved by the King. That he confidered the addrefs as an infult upon his Majefty, and the Lords of his Privy Council, and an affront to himself. The Houfe of Reprefentatives, upon their meeting at Salem, paffed a refolution, in which they declared the expediency of a general meeting of committees from the feveral colonies, and specified the purposes which rendered fuch meeting neceffary. By another, they appointed five gentlemen, of thofe who had been the most remarkable in oppofition, as a committee to reprefent that province. And by a third, they voted the fam of 500l. to the faid committee, to enable them to discharge the important truit to which they were appointed. |