withdrew his stipulation against copies being taken, and the House addressed a letter to Lord Shelburne 1 in vindication of that conduct of theirs which had incurred his disapprobation. Of this they offered a copy to the Governor, "when he shall desire it," at the same time repeating that application for his own letters which he had denied, and which proved equally fruitless on the repetition. 1768. Jan. But there was a more important proceeding of this Court. The House came to a Resolve to "consider the expediency of writing to the Assemblies of the other Colonies on this continent, with respect to the importance of their joining with this House in Feb. petitioning his Majesty at this time." After a fortnight, a committee was " appointed to prepare a letter to be transmitted to the several Houses of Representatives and Burgesses on the Continent, to inform them of the measures which this House have taken with regard to the difficulties they are apprehensive will arise from the operation of several Acts of Parliament for levying duties and taxes on the American Colonies." The committee (of which Otis, Adams, and Hawley were members) reported the form of a Circular Letter, which the Speaker2 was directed to sign and forward; and a committee was raised to inform the Governor that, "if he should desire it, a copy of the letter would be laid before him as soon as it could be drafted, as well as of all the proceedings of the House relative to said affair." The momentous character of this transaction will appear hereafter. The Circular Letter, after expressing the hope entertained by the House that it would" be candidly considered in no other light than as expressing a disposition freely to communicate their mind to a sister Colony upon a common concern," went on with a recital of the representa1 Journal of the House; Appendix to ditto, 23. 2 Bradford, State Papers, 134, Appendix to Journal of the House, 20–23. tions which had been made to the Ministry; as that the King's American subjects had "an equitable claim to the full enjoyment of the fundamental rules of the British Constitution," one of which was "that what a man hath honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent;" that this right was infringed by the late Act of Parliament, "imposing duties on this Province, for the sole and express purpose of raising a revenue; " that "a subordinate legislative" had been established in the Provinces, because an equal provincial representation in the imperial Parliament was, and would "forever be, impracticable;" that, apart from these decisive considerations, "it would be beyond the rules of equity that their constituents should be taxed on the manufactures of Great Britain here, in addition to the duties they paid for them in England, and other advantages arising to Great Britain from the Acts of Trade;" and that it was not consistent with their freedom, that, while their Governor was appointed by the Crown, he, as well as their judges, subject to removal at pleasure, should receive "such a stipend as the Crown should judge proper, without the consent of the people and at their expense." The House made to the other Assemblies no proposal for any action, except "to point out to them anything further that might be thought necessary." Whatever measures might be contemplated as consequent upon the circulation of this paper, nothing could be more innocuous than it was in its terms. In his speech to the Court on proroguing it, the Governor commented, with an acerbity hitherto unprecedented, on the conduct of the House, especially in relation to "the extraordinary and indecent observations which had been made upon the Secretary of State's letter." To the Council he thought different language due. "I return you thanks," he said to that Board, "for your steady, uniform, and patriotic 1768. March. conduct during this whole session, which has shown you impressed with a full sense of your duty both to your King and to your country."" At the beginning of the spring session, the Governor disallowed a portion of the Counsellors elected by the Court. The number rejected by him this year was six, one of whom was James Otis. This proceeding had been usual with him of late, and led to no remonstrance on the other part. The flood-gate of discord was opened when the Governor made a communication in which he wasted no words. "I have his Majesty's orders, he said in a message to the House, "to make a Requisition to you, which I communicate in the very words 1768. June. 1 Journal for March 4; Bradford, the House. This was too great a State Papers, 120. As late as January 30, the Governor had seen cause to write to Lord Shelburne of the "good disposition" of the House "to a reconciliation to government, of which they have given good proof since the day of my former letter. They have acted in all things with temper and moderation; they have avoided some subjects of dispute, and have laid a foundation for removing some causes of former altercations." He says that when first the proposal of the Circular Letter to the other governments was introduced, it was strongly opposed and fully debated. It was said by the opposers of the motion that this would be considered at home as appointing another Congress, and perhaps the former was not yet forgot. Upon the close of the debate it was carried in the negative by at least two to one. No one transaction in the House has given me so great hopes," &c. (Letter of Bernard to Lord Shelburne.) Nothing of this is to be gathered from the Journal. In a subsequent letter the Governor corrects himself. "I was too hasty in my approbation of the conduct of point to be given up. The party therefore resolved to make another effort, and . . . . moved that all the former proceedings upon this business should be obliterated out of the Journal. . . . . A letter was presently reported and agreed to." (Letter of Bernard to Shelburne of February 18.) .... The Governor revived the question of an increase of the garrison of Fort Pownall at this session, and the House partly acceded to his wish. (Journal for January 29 and February 15; comp. Journal for June 28, 29.) The House adopted Resolves "for the Encouragement of Manufactures by a vote of eighty against the single Nay of Timothy Ruggles. (Journal for February 25.) The Governor complained to the House of a libellous publication in the "Boston Gazette." The House, in reply, affirmed their respect for the liberty of the press, and their judg ment that the question whether in this instance it had been abused would be best adjudged "in the common course of the law." (Journal for March 1, 2, 3.) in which I received it. I must desire you to take it into immediate consideration, and I assure you that your resolution thereon will have most important consequences to the Province. I am myself merely ministerial in this business, having received his Majesty's instruction for all I have to do in it. I heartily wish that you may see how forcible the expediency of your giving this testimonial of your duty and submission is at this time. If you should think otherwise, I must nevertheless do my duty." He referred thus to a letter of the Earl of Hillsborough, communicated by him at the same time, in which that Minister, after severely upbraiding the unexpected caprice by which "their House, at the end of the session, should have presumed to revert to, and resolve upon, a measure of so inflammatory a nature as that of writing to the other Colonies on the subject of their intended representations against some late Acts of Parliament," went on to announce it as "the King's pleasure that, so soon as the General Court should be again assembled at the time prescribed by the charter, the Governor should require of the House of Representatives, in his Majesty's name, to rescind the Resolutions which gave birth to the Circular Letter from the Speaker, and to declare their disapprobation of, and dissent to, that rash and hasty proceeding." In a part of the letter not yet communicated, Lord Hillsborough added: "If the new Assembly should refuse to comply with his Majesty's reasonable expectation, it is the King's pleasure that you should immediately dissolve them, and transmit to me, to be laid before his Majesty, an account of their proceedings thereupon, to the end that his Majesty may, if he thinks fit, lay the whole matter before his Parliament." The next day after the Governor's message, the House referred it to a committee of nine members, among whom were Mr. Cushing, the Otises, father and son, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. At its instance the House made an application to the Governor for copies of letters which had passed between him and Lord Hillsborough. The extract last cited above he now furnished. With respect to the others he replied: "As to the letter of the Earl of Hillsborough which I communicated to the Council, I must beg leave to be the proper judge of the time and occasion of communicating any papers which I receive to the Council or the House. If I had then thought it expedient to lay it before the House, I should have then done it; when I shall think it so, I shall do it. As to your request of copies of my letters to the Secretary of State, you may assure yourselves that I shall never make public my letters to his Majesty's ministers but upon my own motion and for my own reasons. After waiting only four days, he quickened the Representatives by another message. They replied by asking for a recess to give them opportunity to consult their constituents. He told them, the same day, that they could have no recess till he had received their "answer to his Majesty's requisition." The next day their answer came to him. The House, after clearing their gallery, informing the Council that they were "entering on a debate of importance" in which they desired not to be interrupted, and ordering that no member should be called out of the House, and no messenger be admitted till further order, determined, by a majority of ninety-two votes over seventeen, that they would not "rescind the Resolution of the last House which gave birth to their Circular Letter." The same day the House sent to the Governor a full vindication of their conduct, in a message which had been prepared by their committee, and appointed a committee "to prepare and report a humble, dutiful, and loyal petition to the King, praying that his Majesty would be graciously pleased to remove his Excellency, Francis Bernard, Esq., from the Government. of this Province. "The Governor had no sooner |