The destruction of major James's house, (for it was reduced to a shell) convinced the gentlemen who were standing up for the rights of the colonies, that it was necessary to have leaders to manage the mob. It was therefore contrived to call the people together. [Nov. 6.] They met in the fields; and it was proposed, that a committee be appointed to open a correspondence with the other colonies. This was a measure of so serious and important a nature, as to endanger the lives and property of the committee, especially should the stamp act be enforced and carried through; and therefore there was no one, for more than half an hour who would venture to accept. Mr. James De Lancey, who had joined the popular side, in order to secure a seat in the assembly at the next general election, was nominated; but declined, pleading his being upon the committee to converse with the lawyers, on their proceeding to business without stamps, instead of suspending it, as they appeared to intend. At length, however, captain Sears, with four others, offered and were approved. They agreed among themselves to sign all the letters with their several names, and to open a correspondence with all the colonies. The Philadelphians were requested to forward their inclosed letters to the more southern states, and the Bostonians to forward those for New-Hampshire. Here we see another set of corrosponding sons of liberty originated to strengthen the opposition of the colonies to parlia mentary taxation. The commotions beyond New-York, did not terminate in similar excesses to what had happened there, at Newport and Boston; but the exhibition of effigies in the day, the burning them at night, and other marks of displeasure, induced the stamp officers to resign. Some did it with a better grace than others. Mr. George Mercer, distributor for Virginia, arrived in the evening at Williamsburg. The people immediately urged him to resign. The next day he declined acting, in so genteel a manner, that he had the repeated acclamations of all present. At night the town was illuminated, the bells were set a ringing, and all was joy and festivity. [Oct. 3.] At Philadelphia upon the appearance of the ships having on board the stamps, all the vessels in the harbour hoisted their colours half-staff high; the bells were muffled and continued to tool till evening; and every ccuntenance added to the marks of sincere mourning. A large number of people chiefly of the presbyterian persuasion, and of the proprietary party, with William Allen, esq. the chief justice's son at their head, asVOL. I. sembled R sembled and endeavoured to procure the stamp distributor's resignation. It had been for some time warmly talked of, that he ought to resign. Mr. Hughes was obnoxious to both the presbyterian and the proprietary party; but particularly hateful to the latter as it was his interest, assiduity, and influence, in the Pennsylvania house of assembly that enabled the province to send home Dr. Franklin to present their petitions, for a change of govenment from proprietary to royal-a change highly disagrecable to each party. The body of quakers seemed disposed to pay obedience to the stamp act, and so did part of the church of England, and of the baptists not under proprietary influence. But no pains were spared to engage the Dutch and lower class of people in the opposition; and though Mr. Hughes held out long, yet he found it necessary at length to comply. Mr. Hood, stamp distributor for Maryland, that he might avoid resigning fled to New-York, and obtained protection in the fort. Upon Sir Henry Moor's arrival he left the fort, and went to Long-Island. A number of the freemen crossed over unexpectedly; surprised him; obliged him to sign a paper, declaring his absolute and final resignation; and then took him before a magistrate, to whom he read the paper, and afterward made oath to the matter therein contained. At Boston they took care to keep up the spirit of liberty, though they avoided former violence. [Sept. 21.] A new political paper appeared, under the significant title of "The Constitutional Courant, containing matters interesting to liberty, and no ways repugnant to loyalty; printed by Andrew Marcal, at the sign of the Bribe refused, on Constitution Hill, North America." It wore a more significant head-piece-a snake cut into eight pieces, the head part having N E, the initials of New-England affixed to it, and the rest the initials of the other colonies to South-CaroLina inclusive and in order, NY, NJ, P, M, V, NC, SC.The device accompanying them was, JOIN or DIE. [Nov. 1.] The morning of the day when the stamp act took place, was ushered in with the tolling of bells. The large old elm (which since the fourteenth of August, when the riots began, had been adorned with an inscription, and obtained the name of liberty tree, as the ground under it had that of liberty hall-and which gave rise to other trees being so called, upon an appropriation to popular purposes by the sons of liberty) was decorated with two effigies. They were cut down at there o'clock amid the acclamations of thousands, carried about town, then to the gallows upon the Neck, there hung up again, after a while cut down, torn in pieces, and scattered. The people Mr. Hughes's letters of October and November, 1765. repaired. repaired home; and the evening passed away quietly. But transaction took place afterward not much to the credit of the town. [Dec. 16.] Mr. Oliver was called upon by a letter from (as is was improperly signed) the true sons of liberty, to make a public resignation of his office on the morrow under liberty tree. He desired a gentleman to interpose, and procure him at least leave to resign in the town-house; but after several consultations, nothing more could be obtained than a promise of having no affront offered, and a proposal to invite the principal persons of the town to accompany him. He was obliged to repair to liberty tree; there to read his declaration in the presence of more than two thousand people; and then to swear to it before a justice, on the spot for that purpose. The cool, firm, and judicious sons of liberty must condemn this procedure toward the secretary, as mean, revengeful and cruel. It was torturing his feelings afresh, as upon a stage, in the most conspicuous manner, after having been terrified into a resignation four months before; and when it might be expected, that the bitterness of the resentment against him was ended.. The opposition to the stamp officers was not confined to the continent. The people of St. Kitts obliged the distributor and his deputy to resign. Barbadoes submitted to the act. Jamaica in general cleared out with stamps; but Kingston, as before, without. Upon the continent, Canada and Halifax submitted, The general fears that individuals were under, either of dis tributing or using stamps, was increased in one government by the following paper, pasted up at the door of every public office, and at the corner of the streets Pro Patria. The first man that either distributes or makes use of stamped paper, let him take care of his house, person, and effects. We dare Vox populi The public resentment was kept alive and lively by the contemp tuous treatment which the stamp act itself met with, being openly burnt in several places with the effigies of the officers; and by caricatures, pasquinades, puns, bon mots, and such vulgar say ings fitted to the occasion, as being short, could be most easily circulated and retained, while, being extremely expressive, they carried with them the weight of great many arguments. The resignation of the officers, and the want of persons, ei ther to undertake the delivery of stamps or to receive and use them, necessarily laid the colonists under a legal inability for do ing business, according to parliamentary law. They however ventured upon it, and risked the consequence. The vessels sailed from the ports as before; excepting that, in some instances, a certificate was given, that the person appointed to distribute stamped papers in the province, refused to deliver them, which certificate being handed by the masters to the naval officer, they were admitted to give bond in his office, and to pass through the other offices without stamps. The Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations kept their courts open the whole time, even when they were suspended in the other colonies. Toward the end of November it was agreed in Maryland and Virginia to proceed on business in the usual manner without stamps. In the Massachusetts the popular party so far prevailed, that the house of assembly resolved, January the twenty-third, 1766, "That the shutting up the courts of justice is a very great grievance; and that the judges, justices, and all other public officers in this province ought to proceed as usual." But when the superior court, opened, on the eleventh of March, the parties concerned evaded the prosecuting of business. The lawyers in a body waited, as usual, upon the judges, on the first day of the term, before they went into the court. The chief justice, Mr. Hutchinson, not being present at this meeting, Mr. Peter Oliver said he attended according to his duty, and that he understood it would be expected that he and his brethren should proceed in business in defiance of the late act of parliament: such proceeding, he added, was contrary to his judgment and opinion; and if he submitted io it, it would only be for self-preservation, as he knew he was in the hands of the populace: he therefore previously protested, that all such acts of his, if they sould happen, would be acts under duress. To which the other judges assenting, it was proposed to each of the lawyers singly, Do you desire that business should proceed contrary to the act of parliament? Every one of them answered in the negative, even Mr. Otis himself. But they said, it would be proper to try a cause or two to quiet the people accordingly one cause, which had been at issue before the stamp act took place, was tried and all other civil business was postponed to the middle of April. Though the violent and righteous proceedings, which have been noticed, were severely censured by many; and numbers in all the colonies might seem inclined to submit to the stamp act, yet the right of imposing it was universally condemned, and the colonial rights as universally acceded to by the most peaceably disposed. The resolutions of the Pennsylvania assembly, which met at Philadelphia in September 1765, were passed nemine contradicente; and left upon their minutes, "as à testimony of the zeal zeal and ardent desire of that house, to preserve their inestimable rights, which as Englishmen they possessed ever since the province was settled, and to transmit them to their latest posterity." They "resolved, That the only legal representatives of the inhabitants of this province, are the persons they annually elect to serve as members of assembly-Resolved, therefore, That the taxation of the people of this province by any other persons whatsoever, than such their representatives in assembly, is unconstitutional, and subversive of their most valuable rights-Resolved, That the laying of taxes upon the inhabitants of this province, in any other manner, being naturally subversive of public liberty, must of necessary consequence, be utterly destructive of public happiness."* There might not be so many quakers in the house as usual; the times probably occasioned a larger choice out of other denominations; but there must have been several, and these we find acquiesced. These resolutions are as much opposed to the claims of the British parliament, as are those of the Massachusetts assembly, passed October the twenty-ninth. Indeed the latter dwell more upon the unalienable essential rights of mankind, of which these cannot be divested, consistent with the law of God and nature, by any law of society; and they evidently mark it out, in their opinion, as one of those rights, that no man can justly take the property of another without his consent. They also resolved, that a representation in parliament of the inhabitants of their province, such as the subjects of Britain actually enjoy, is impracticable for the subjects in America.+— But both assemblies, though their expressions differed, agreed in resolving, that the extensions of the court of admiralty within the provinces, is a most violent infraction of the right of trials by juries. The resolves of the Maryland and Connecticut assemblics, passed, the one September the twenty-eighth, and the other November the first, breathed the same spirit.‡ [Oct. 31.] But we have now to attend to a judicious measure pursued by the New-York merchants, the more effectually to obtain a repeal of the stamp act. They resolved to direct their correspondents not to ship any more goods till it was repealed; and that they would not sell any goods upon commissi on, which should be shipped from Britain, after the first of January, unless upon that condition. They were the foremost in adopting the non-importation agreement; and recommended the like conduct to the Massachusetts, and the neighboring provinces in trade. See the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. XXXV. p. 538. Ibid. Vol. XXXVI. p. 94. [Nov. 7.] |