same reason it has appeared at least doubt-solution, but it is much to be wished, that ful, whether the crown could delegate to if possible such a measure may be avoided. you the powers of suspension and appoint- The letters received from Mr. Hutchinment to vacancies pro tempore, exercised son since you sailed from Plymouth, conin the other royal governments. In this si- tain an account of the public proceedings tuation it became the more necessary that a down to the 5th of April, at which time it lieutenant governor should be immediately does not appear that any intelligence had appointed; and the King having, upon been received in the province of the steps Mr. Hutchinson's recommendation, no- that were taking here. It was therefore minated Mr. Oliver of Cambridge to that reasonable to suppose that the conduct office, inclosed I send you his Majesty's and measures of the faction would be, as sign manual, containing his appointment. they actually were, of the same colour and complexion with those they had before pursued. There is little room to hope that every one of the persons whom his Majesty has appointed to be of his council, will be induced to accept that honour, for there can be no doubt that every art will be practised to intimidate and prejudice. I trust, however, that the number of those who decline will not be so considerable as to involve you in any difficulty on that account, or to create any embarrassment in the execution of a measure upon which so much depends. Whatever vacancies may be created, by any of the present members refusing to act, ought to be filled up as soon as possible, and therefore you will transmit to me, by the first opportunity, the names of such persons as you think best qualified for that trust, and the most likely to give weight and authority to the measures of government, taking care, at the same time, not to propose any from whom you have not received assurances of their readiness to accept the office. It is to be expected that every artifice which has been hitherto used with so much success, to keep alive a spirit of sedition and opposition in the people, will be exerted on the present occasion, to entangle and embarrass; but the King trusts that by temper and prudence on the one hand, and by firmness and resolution on the other, you will be able to surmount all the obstacles that can be thrown in your way. It is impossible to foresee what those obstacles may be. If the general court should happen to be sitting, at the time when the new constitution of the council is to take place, every advantage will probably be taken that such a situation affords, to create difficulties and throw the business into perplexity; but however that may be, and whatever may be urged, there can be no doubt that a prorogation at least will become absolutely necessary, in order to put an end to any business that may be depending before the old council. Perhaps circumstances may require a dis The impeachment of the chief justice seems to have been the favourite object of both council and assembly; but as Mr. Hutchinson had with equal firmness and discretion defeated that measure by prorogation, it is not necessary for me to say more upon so extravagant a proceeding, than that it was altogether an unwarrantable assumption of power, to which that government is not, I conceive, either in the nature or principles of it, in any degree competent. To what further extravagance the people may be driven it is difficult to say: whatever violences are committed must be resisted with firmness; the constitutional authority of this kingdom over its colonies must be vindicated, and its laws obeyed throughout the whole empire. for It is not only its dignity and reputation, but its power, nay its very existence depends upon the present moment; should those ideas of independence, which some dangerous and ill-designing persons here are artfully endeavouring to instill into the minds of the King's American subjects, once take root, that relation between this kingdom and its colonies, which is the bond of peace and power, will soon cease to exist, and destruction must follow disunion. It is not the mere claim of exemption from the authority of parliament in a particular case that has brought on the present crisis; it is actual disobedience and open resistance that have compelled coercive measures, and I have no longer any other confidence in the hopes I had entertained that the public peace and tranquillity would be restored, but that which I derive from your abilities, and the reliance I have on your prudence, for a wise and discreet exercise of the authorities given to you by the Acts which I now send you. The powers contained in the Act for the more impartial administration of jus he was obliged to do it by proclamation, on the outside of the door. I transmit your lordship the resolves they have published. The council sent me the inclosed libel, on my predecessors in this government, in an address; on which account, I refused to receive it, sending them the reasons for my refusal, which I also send your lordship. tice do, in particular, deserve your attention, for it is hardly possible to conceive a situation of greater difficulty and delicacy than that which a governor would be in, if reduced to the necessity of exercising his discretion in the case provided for; but it is a case that I trust will never occur, and I will hope, that notwithstanding all the endeavours, equally flagitious and contemptible, used by a few desperate men to create in the people ideas of more general resistance, the thinking part of them will be awakened to such a sense of their true interests, and of the miseries that await a further continuance of these unhappy disputes, as to exert their best endeavours for a preservation of the public peace, and thereby give such effect and countenance to the civil authority, as to render any other interposition than that of the ordinary civil magistrate unnecessary. There is another American Bill for making more effectual provision for quartering of his Majesty's troops, that has passed both Houses, and waits for the royal assent, which although of general purport, is founded principally on a case that occurred in the province of Massachuset's Bay. You will remember what happened at Boston in 1770, respecting the quartering the two regiments sent thither from Halifax, and the artifices used by forced constructions of the act of parliament to elude the execution of it, and to embarrass the King's service. In order therefore to prevent the like in future, the present Bill is adopted, and inclosed I send you a printed copy of it, hoping to be able to send the Act itself by the first ship. If the dissolution will be productive of good, or not, remains to be known; but the contrivers of all the mischief in the town of Boston, I am informed, are now spiriting up the people throughout the province to resistance, as well to the Port Bill, as to three other Acts daily expected, rough draughts of which were printed here about the 4th instant, and the speeches made upon them in the House of Commons, published in the newspapers. Sensible and well-affected people have told me, they have no doubt that their intention is to try to raise the province to arms; but I hope they suspect and fear too much; and, however prone their inclinations may be to so wicked a project, I trust they want power to effect it. In Boston the greatest pains have been, and are taking, to oppose all measures tending to open the port, by flattering the people with assistance from the other provinces, promises of collections, and presents to enable them to subsist, and the happy effects of a general congress, which, they make no doubt, will force Great Britain into their own terms. On the other hand, several gentlemen who, through fear of the tyranny under which they have lived, dared not to act or speak, encourag Extract of a LETTER from the Hon. Go-ed now, by the late resolutions of governvernor Gage, to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Salem, 26th June, 1774. My lord; the general court met here on the 7th instant, and, after the inclosed protest, proceeded to business, and sent me the inclosed address. During the short sessions, several private Bills, and a tax Bill were passed. A committee of the house sat for some days, keeping their business very secret; but giving out, they were upon moderate and conciliating measures. They made their report, I am informed, on the 17th instant, when the door was ordered to be locked; but their proceedings getting abroad, I sent the secretary to dissolve them. They would not admit him, and ment, have ventured to step forth, and to comply with the act of parliament, as are endeavouring to persuade the people the only means to save their town from ruin. Till they are pinched, and find they are deceived in their hopes of support, by presents and collections, the affair will probably rest in this situation; but the Act must certainly, sooner or later, work its own way. They will not agree to non-importation, either at New York or Philadelphia, or even in this province, though I believe a congress, of some sort, may be obtained; but when, or how it will be composed, is yet at a distance: and, after all, Boston may get little more than fair words. may got the consent of council to my nomination of Mr. Justice Brown, of the in ferior court of Essex county, to succeed the late judge Ropes, as judge in the superior court, and he is appointed and sworn in accordingly. The 4th and 43d regiments encamped on Boston common the 14th and 15th instant; the latter came into the harbour the 1st instant, but their tents having, by mistake, been put into the transports of the 4th regiment, they were obliged to wait for them. Their arrival has given spirits to the friends of government, and we are looking out for the troops from Ireland: three companies, from thence, of the 5th regiment are arrived, and the remainder may be daily expected. Extract of a LETTER from the hon. Go vernor Gage, to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Salem, the 5th of July, 1774. [Received 2d August.] My lord; since my letter, No. 3, of the 26th ult. a number of the better sort of people attended a town meeting at Boston, with design to make a push to pay for the tea, and annihilate the committee of correspondence, but they were out-voted by a great majority of the lower class. The minority drew up a protest, which I transmit your lordship from a news-paper. The above committee had sent a circular letter through the province, accompanied with a paper called a League and Covenant, of so pernicious a tendency, that I judged it proper, without loss of time, to publish a proclamation to prevent the ill effects of it, as much as possible. I inclose your lordship a copy of the proclamation, together with printed copies of the letter and covenant; and also part of a news-paper, containing as much of the proceedings of the abovementioned town meeting, as the faction chose to publish, and a protest of a number of gentlemen of the county of Worcester, against all riot'ous disorders, and seditious practices. Your lordship will perceive, that the proclamation is not published with advice of council. There was no time to lose; I had a right to issue it without their con sent, as I was confident I could not obtain it. I gave notice afterwards for a council to assemble, intending to lay the letter and covenant before them; but, on the day appointed for the meeting, one who had been summoned, did not appear, so that there was not enough to make up a quorum; some of those who attended gave me to understand, that they should desire a general council to be called, be- | fore they entered upon such business. I have done all in my power to spirit up every friend to government, and the measures taken by administration encou rage many to speak and act publicly, in a manner they have not dared to do for a very long time past. Your lordship will observe, that there is now an open opposition to the faction, carried on with a warmth and spirit unknown before, which it is highly proper and necessary to cherish and support by every means; and I hope it will not be very long before it produces very salutary effects. Your lordship is acquainted with the usurpation and ty ranny established here by edicts of town meetings, inforced by mobs, by assuming influencing the pulpits; by nominating the sole use and power of the press, and and intimidating of juries, and, in some instances, threatening the judges; and this usurpation has, by time, acquired a firmness, that, I fear, is not to be annihilated at once, or by ordinary methods. A free and impartial course of justice, whereby delinquents can be brought to punishment, I apprehend to be the chief thing wanting: the terror of mobs is over, and the press is becoming free. Although I do not credit many reports and opinions sent me, yet I do not hold it prudent totally to disregard them; and, on that account, I have ordered the transports which brought the 4th regiment here, to proceed to the port of New York, and wait there for farther orders. 1 intend, if I see occasion for it, to bring a regiment here from thence; and the transports of the 43d are kept in readiness to sail for Halifax on the same er rand; these motions I hear give spirits to one side, and have thrown a damp on the other. I have, &c. THO. GAGE. Extract of a LETTER from the Hon. Go vernor Gage to the Earl of Dartmouth. Dated Boston, 20th July, 1774. Affairs continue here much in the same situation as when I wrote to your lordship on the 6th inst. though I don't find the merchants have repeated their attempt to comply with the Port Bill, with the spirit I hoped for. Materials wanted to carry on trades, I am told, begin to fail; and the carrying molasses and rum twenty-eight miles by land, is found not to answer as well as it was expected it would: but the people are kept up by the assurances of assistance from the other colonies, where their leaders have contrived to raise a flame, which has not been a little encreased by letters, speeches, and paragraphs sent from England. South Carolina has sent some rice for the support of the people here; I don't mean the province, but some disaffected persons in Charlestown: and a few sheep, it is said, have been sent from some other place; but resources of this kind are too precarious to be depended upon, and must fail them. The great object here has been to persuade the other colonies, to make the cause of Boston the common cause of America; and when the deputies for holding the general congress assemble, the Boston faction, it is probable, will pay the rest the compliment of taking their advice; and I understand it to be the opinion of most of the other colonies, that Boston should begin by indemnifying the India Company. The virulent party at New York is routed, and, we are told, that Philadelphia is moderate. I have not yet received the new Act for the better government of this province, though it is printed here; and many tell me, I must expect all the opposition to the execution of it that can be made. I hope the new counsellors and the magistrates will be firm. The fast day appointed by the faction, was kept in this town on the 14th instant, as generally, and as punctually, as if it had been appointed by authority. I might say the same of most other places, though it was not universal, for in a few places no regard was paid to it; but the league and covenant has not succeeded as the faction expected. town meeting seems to be a prelude to it. Whatever the opposition is, I will do my best to defeat it, and take every step I can to enforce the law. LETTER from the Hon. Governor Gage, to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Salem, 27th August, 1774. [Received 1st October.] My lord; I had the honour to receive your lordship's separate letter, dated 3rd of June, on the 6th instant, in which came inclosed two acts of parliament for regu lating the government of the Massachuset's Bay, and for the more impartial administration of justice in the said province, together with an additional instruction to the governor, Mr. Oliver's appointment. of lieutenant governor, and a printed copy of an amendment to the Mutiny Bill for America, relating to the clause for quartering the King's troops. No time was lost in forming the new council. I assembled all the members who could be collected, on so short a notice, on the 8th instant, and appointed the whole to meet on the 16th. The list inclosed will inform your lordship of the names of the gentlemen sworn in, of those who have refused to accept the nomination, or are wavering, absent, or dead. The 24 who have accepted the honour the King has conferred upon them, are as respectable persons as any in the province, and the lieutenant governor is generally approved of by all parties. I must defer sending your lordship recommendations to the vacancies, to another opportunity; for though I have several in my mind, I They rely here to obtain all their ends am first to be assured of their willingness on the same measures as they before to act; and the number of counsellors adopted, viz. an union of the colonies, a being considerable, gives time to look out non-importation, if their demands are not for others. Your lordship judged right, satisfied, the assistance of their friends in that art would be practised on this occaEngland, and a general clamour of the sion, to intimidate and prejudice; even merchants and manufacturers. force was attempted on Mr. Ruggles, by Extract of a LETTER from the Hon. Goa number of people collected on the road vernor Gage to the Earl of Dart-but he made his way through them. near Worcester, with intent to stop him, mouth, dated Salem, 27th July, 1774. but he made his way through them." I left Boston the 21st instant, to meet the council at Salem, for the issuing of money to pay debts incurred; and yesterday morning received a printed notification of a town meeting to be held that day at Boston, of which I send your lordslip a copy. In my letter, No. 6, I express an expectation of opposition to the Act expected for the better government of the province; and the notification for the My former letters have acquainted your lordship, that the Acts in question had been published here, and people have had lei sure to consider means to elude them; in doing which, they are very expert. At a town meeting, held at Boston in July, in order to avoid the calling a meeting afterwards, they adjourned themselves to the 9th of August, and adjourned again on that day, to some time in October. I assembled the select men in Boston, had the clause read respecting town meetings; told them, I expected their obedience to it, that I should put the Act in force, and that they would be answerable for any bad consequences. They replied, they had called no meeting, that a former meeting had only adjourned themselves. I laid the affair of adjournments before the new council, and found some of opinion, that the clause was thereby clearly evaded, and nearly the whole unwilling to debate upon it; terming it, a point of law, which ought to be referred to the crown lawyers, whose opinion is to be taken upon it, and by which I must govern myself. Another clause of the Act is likewise referred to the lawyers, concerning the removal of sheriffs. Upon intimating to the council my desire to remove a sheriff, some immediately objected, that it did not belong to the council, for that the governor was alone impowered to remove any of the sheriffs now in office, and that the Act only required consent of council to remove such sheriffs as the governor should first appoint, by his own authority, and want to remove afterwards. It was the unanimous opinion of the council, that an assembly should be called, as early as possible, and writs will be issued for their meeting by the latter end of October. The state of the province was, at the same time, taken into consideration, and a letter read that I had received from Hampshire county, an extract of which I transmit to your lordship; and several members gave an account of the state of their respective counties, from whence it appeared, that the phrenzy had spread in a greater or less degree through all; of which I shall write more fully before closing my letter. Boston committee of correspondence to the several counties, will sufficiently evince the intention of those leaders, who, by said letter, emissaries, and other means, have contrived, while Boston affects quiet and tranquillity, to raise a flame, not only throughout this province, but also in the colony of Connecticut. The original letter is signed by the town clerk, though, from a caution lately observed, they omit his name in the newspaper, from whence the inclosed is taken. In consequence of the new plan, popular rage has appeared at the extremity of the province, abetted by Connecticut, which the extract of the letter from Hampshire, read in council, shews; it is very high also in Berkshire county, and makes way rapidly to the rest. În Worcester they keep no terms, openly threaten resistance by arms, have been purchasing arms, preparing them, casting balls, and providing powder; and threaten to attack any troops who dare to oppose them. Mr. Ruggles of the new council, is afraid to take his seat as judge of the inferior court, which sits at Worcester, on the 7th of next month, and I apprehend that I shall soon be obliged to march a body of troops into that township, and perhaps into others, as occasion happens, to preserve the peace. The delegates, as they are called, from this province, are gone to Philadelphia, to meet the rest, who are to form the general congress, and it is thought it will be determined there, whether the town of Boston is to comply with the terms of the Port Bill. It is not possible to guess what a body, composed of such heterogeneous matter, will determine: but the members from hence, I am assured, will promote the most haughty and insolent resolves: for their plan has ever been, by threats and high sounding sedition, to terrify and intimidate. Since the unwarrantable impeachment of the chief justice, I understand he has never taken his seat upon the bench, but he has promised me to attend the superior court at Boston, towards the end of the Some believe, that the congress has month; and I hope he will preside also in been consented to in other provinces, said court, to be held at Worcester in only to amuse those among themselves September, notwithstanding the threats who have been so strangely violent in supthrown out against him. I have engaged port of Boston, and to which their own to meet him at Boston, to prevent vio- provincial factions have not a little contrilence; which, from the present system, Ibuted; others fear a non-importation; do not expect to meet with there; and I believe that I must attend him also at Worcester, where I am to expect it. By the plan lately adopted, forcible opposition and violence is to be transferred from the town of Boston to the country. The copy inclosed of a letter from the and I hear the merchants are sending for double the quantity of goods they usually import; and in order to get credit for them, are sending home all the money they can collect; insomuch, that bills have risen at New York, above 5 per cent. From this circumstance your lord. |