CHAPTER XIII. 1765. XIII. The general pacification of the Indian tribes would have CHAP. been made the subject of special rejoicing by the colonists, had they not been, at this time, engaged with the mother 1765. country in a contest which seemed to portend more danger to their liberties, than the most horrible massacre ever perpetrated by the savage foe. It was in the fall of 1763, that George Grenville and Lord North first devised the plan of raising a revenue by the sale of stamps to the colonists. Grenville, however, hesitated long before pressing this measure, and it was not until the twenty-second of March of this year that the stamp act passed, and received the signature of the king. The act declared that, thenceforth, no legal instrument should possess any validity in the colonies unless it was stamped by the government.' Long before the passage of the act, the rumor that such a project was even meditated by the ministry produced a universal outburst of indignation. If parliament wished to raise any sum, said the colonists, let them employ the usual method of writing circular letters to the provinces, requesting supplies according to the ability of each. When thus applied to heretofore, the king had never found them remiss, but on the contrary-as their loyal obedience to these requisitions during the last war, had fully shown-they had always responded with alacrity. Taxation, however, without representation in parliament, was tyranny, to which they 1By this act, a ream of bail bonds stamped was £100; a ream of common printed ones, before, was £15; a ream of stamped policies of insurance was £190; of common ones, without stamps, £20." Bradford, Mass., i, 12. CHAP. Would not submit. These views were advocated with great XIII. power by James Otis in a series of pamphlets; and the 1765. public prints teemed with similar discussions, all of which were read with care and reflection. The assemblies of Virginia and New York, especially, by their protests, took firm ground against the passage of the act, but the petition. of the former body was not received in England until it was too late, while that of the latter was so intemperate in its expressions against the newly assumed pretensions of the parliament, that the agent, Mr. Charles, was unable to find any member of that body bold enough to present it. It may therefore readily be seen, that if the mere intimation that such an odious measure was in contemplation, produced so much solicitude, the passage of the act itself was not calculated to allay the growing apprehensions of the people. But it was no sudden ebulition of indignation that first manifested itself. Indeed, so amazed were the colonists at the presumption of parliament, that when the news was first received, their feelings were too deep for utterance. Hutchinson, the chief justice of Massachusetts, mistaking this for submission, hastened to write to the ministry, that "his countrymen were waiting not to consider if they must submit to a stamp duty, but to know when its operation was to commence." He knew not that this calm was but the stillness which preceded the tornado, that was soon to sweep with such desolating fury throughout the land! He was shortly undeceived. Mutterings began to be heard in every province,' which, in New England and New York, soon grew into acts of violence. On the fourteenth of August, Andrew Oliver, the brother-inlaw of the chief justice, who had received the appointment of stamp distributer for Massachusetts, was, together with Lord Bute, suspended in effigy from a tree in one of the streets of Boston. In reply to the command of the chief 1 In this discussion, Canada and Halifax are not included; both of these povinces made no resistance. XIII. 1765. justice to take down those figures, the sheriff gave a flat CHAP. refusal; and the council of the province, likewise, declined to interfere. That same night, the mob, taking the images down, carried them to the newly erected stamp office, which they immediately razed. Oliver's dwelling was next assailed, the windows and furniture demolished, and the effigies burned on Fort Hill. The next day, Oliver resigned; but he was obliged, the same evening, to make a public re-cantation at a bonfire which the populace had kindled. But having once given vent to their long pent up exasperation, they did not stop here. Urged on by a popular preacher, Jonathan Mayhew by name, who had taken for his text the previous day, "I would they were even cut off which trouble you," they destroyed, on the twenty-sixth, the records. and files of the court of admiralty, and breaking into the house of Hallowel, the comptroller of customs, broke the furniture, and freely drank of the choice wines in the cellar. To their just anger were now added the fumes of liquor, and proceeding forthwith to the residence of Hutchinson, they tore the paintings from the walls, destroyed the plate, and scattered his large and valuable library of books and manuscripts to the winds; nor did they depart until the interior of the building, even to the partition walls, was completely demolished. Happily, Hutchinson and his innocent family, having received timely notice of their danger, had escaped before the arrival of the rioters-otherwise the crime of murder might have been added to these violent and disgraceful proceedings. In Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, the popular indignation showed itself in similar demonstrations, though not of so violent a character. The effect, however, in those provinces was the same; each of the stamp distributors being forced to resign to save himself from odium, if not from death. Meantime, the assembly of Massachusetts resolved, on the sixth of June, that "it was highly expedient there should be a meeting, as soon as might be, of committees XIII. CHAP. from the houses of representatives or burgesses in the several colonies, to consult on the present circumstances 1765. of the colonies, and the difficulties to which they were and must be reduced, and to consider of a general congressto be held at New York the first Tuesday of October." To this invitation the colonies heartily responded, and in the convention, held at the time and place designated, they were all represented, except New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The three latter, however, although prevented by their governors, by continued adjournments, from sending delegates, signified by letters their willingness to acquiesce in whatever measures the convention might adopt. So also wrote New Hampshire. 1 Lieutenant Governor Colden, who had from the beginning, pronounced the convention unconstitutional and unlawful, likewise endeavored, by successive adjournments, to prevent the assembly of New York from electing delegates. But an assembly that had driven Clinton from his chair, and had successfully fought through so many years against a permanent support, was not to be thus easily foiled; and a committee appointed by them in October, 1764, to correspond with their sister colonies upon recent acts of parliament in relation to trade, now took their seats in the congress as the representatives of the people of New York. 2 Timothy Ruggles, who had been sent by Bernard, the governor of Massachusetts, to thwart the patriotic efforts of his colleagues, was chosen president of the congress, and John Cotton clerk. No time was lost. Committees were immediately appointed to draft petitions to parliament, having for their burden the stamp act; and after a harmonious session of fourteen days, the convention dissolved, having adopted a declaration of rights, a petition to the king, and a memorial to both houses of parliament -the latter being drawn by James Otis. 4 1 Why New Hampshire neglected to send delegates does not appear. This committee were Robert R. Livingston (Justice Livingston), John Cruger, Philip Livingston, William Bayard, and Leonard Lispenard. XIII. As before remarked, the people of New York were CHAP. among the most bitter opponents of the stamp act. While the riots were going on in Boston, the act itself was reprinted and hawked about the streets of New York city, as "The folly of England, and ruin of America." Secret organizations styling themselves the Sons of Liberty, met to discuss plans of resistance. Warned by the example of his brother appointees, in the neighboring colonies, Mc Evers, the stamp distributer, resigned. General Gage, at the solicitation of Colden, ordered down, in July, from Crown Point, a company of the sixtieth regiment, for the defence of Fort George, the guns of which were remounted, new ordnance ordered, and the magazine replenished with a bountiful supply of ammunition. On the arrival of the first cargo of stamps in the harbor, toward the end of October, placards were posted up in the streets and at the Merchant's Coffee House, of which the following is a copy: 66 PRO PATRIA. "The first man that either distributes or makes use of stampt paper, let him take care of his house, person and effects. "WE DARE." "VOX POPULI. Terrified at signs he could not misunderstand, the lieutenant governor had the stamps conveyed for greater security to the fort; and in great trepidation summoned the members of his privy council for their advice. But notwithstanding he sent repeated messages, and notwithstanding, also, that seven members were in the city, only three, Horsmanden, Smith, and Ried, responded to his call, and they declined giving any advice unless there was a fuller board. In this state of affairs, nothing was left to Colden but to shut himself up in the fort, and await the result. He was not long in suspense. On the first of November, the day appointed for the stamp act to go into operation, the popular indignation, which |