Volume II Part 17 (1/2)

The Character of Lord Dartmouth has been unexceptionable in America in point of moral Virtue; I wish it could be ascertaind of all his Majestys Ministers and Servants. It is the opinion I have of them that makes me tremble for his Lords.h.i.+p, lest in the Circle he should make s.h.i.+pwreck of his Virtue. I am well informd that he has wrote a very polite Letter to Hutchinson, in which he expresses a Satisfaction in his Conduct, & tells him he has always been of Opinion that the King has a Right to pay his Governors & other officers but surely he should have made himself thoroughly acquainted with the several political Inst.i.tutions and Charters of the Colonies as well as the nature of free Governments in general before he explicitly & officially declares such an Opinion. I wish a Consideration that he has to correspond with the most artful plausible and insinuating Geniusses, & some of them the most malicious Enemies of the common Rights of Mankind, might induce his Lords.h.i.+p to be upon his Guard against too suddenly giving full Credit to their Representations, which perhaps was the capital mistake of his predecessor in office - our Conspirators were alarmd at his Appointment & I believe are determined if they can to impose upon his Credulity, if he has any such Weakness about him.

We are now alarmd with the Advice that the Judges of our Superior Court, have Salaries appointed by order of the Crown, independent of the people. This has occasiond a meeting of this metropolis, the proceedings of which you have in the inclosed papers. At the first meeting on the Wednesday2 & at the last Adjournment on the Monday3 following, there was a respectable Appearance of the Inhabitants, tho not so full as has sometimes been on Occasions of much less Importance; owing partly to its being the Season of the year when the Town is filled with our Country folks & every one is laying up provisions necessary for the approaching long Winter, partly from the Industry of the Enemies to prevent a full meeting as they before had been to prevent any meeting at all (for they dread nothing more) & partly from the Opinion of some that there was no method left to be taken but the last, which is also the Opinion of many in the Country. However as I said before, there was a respectable meeting; and I think the Town has taken a necessary Step to ascertain the true Sense of the Country with regard to our Grievances, which being known, it will be the easier to determine upon & prosecute to Effect the Methods which ought to be taken for the Redress of our intollerable Grievances. The Tories give out, tho in Whispers, that they expect what they call a Breese before long, which they say they gather from the slow, but regular Approaches that are made. They will form what Judgment they please. Perhaps they begin to be apprehensive that the body of a long insulted people will bear the Insults & Oppression no longer than untill they feel in themselves Strength to shake off the Yoke. If this is their Determination, it is justifiable as far as the Declaration of Mr. H. himself has Weight; for I am told by a Gentleman whom I can credit, that in Conversation he said there was nothing in Morality that forbid Resistance.

In your last you expressd your hopes of the removal of Hillsborough. I could not joyn with you; for if I am to have a master, let me have a severe one that I may always have the mortifying Sense of it. I shall then always be disposed to take the first fair Opportunity of ridding my self of Slavery. There is danger of the peoples being flatterd with such partial Reliefe as Lord Dartmouth may be able, (if disposed) to obtain for them & building upon vain Hopes till their Chains are rivetted. Are they not still heaping Grievance upon Grievance, & while they remain, to what purpose would it be if his Lords.h.i.+p should get a few boyish Instructions to the Govr relaxed? Would this be a reason for a final Submission to a Tribute & Egyptian Taskmasters in Support of despotick Power! The Tribute, the Tribute is the Indignity which I hope in G.o.d will never be patiently borne by a People who of all the people on the Earth deserve most to be free.

I am astonishd that [Dr. Franklin] has written no Letter to the Speaker.

I shall write you by the next s.h.i.+p.

1 Arthur Lee to Samuel Adams, January 25, 1773: ”I have just now received your favour of Nov. 3, 1772, together with a pamphlet and some papers, for which I am extremely obliged to you. . . . I shall take the liberty of putting the first part of your letter in the newspapers here, as I think it extremely proper my Lord Dartmouth should read the excellent admonition it contains.” R. H.

Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. i., p. 226.

2 Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 88.

3 Ibid., p. 92.

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text, with variations, is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 15-l8.]

BOSTON 5 Novr 1772

MY DEAR SIR

I recd with pleasure your Letter of the 2d Inst. I was sure you cd not but be of Opinion, that Unanimity in the Measures taken by the friends of the Country is of the utmost Importance. I must with great Deferrence to your Judgment, think that even in our wretched State, the mode of pet.i.tioning the Govr will have a good Effect. I was aware that his Answers would be in the same high tone, in which we find them expressd; yet our requests have been so reasonable that in refusing to comply with them he must have put himself in the wrong -, in the opinion of every honest & sensible man; the Consequence of which will be, that such measures as the people may determine upon to save themselves, if rational & manly, will be the more reconcileable even to cautious minds, & thus we may expect that Unanimity which we wish for.

I have the satisfaction of inclosing the last proceedings of our Town meeting, in which I think you will perceive a Coincidence with your own Judgment, in a plan concerted for the whole to act upon. Our timid sort of people are disconcerted, when they are positively told that the Sentiments of the Country are different from those of the City. Therefore a free Communication with each Town will serve to ascertain this matter; and when once it appears beyond Contradiction, that we are united in Sentiments there will be a Confidence in each other, & a plan of Opposition will be easily formed, & executed with Spirit. In such a Case (to return your own Language with entire Approbation) those ”who have Virtue enough to oppose the wicked designs of the Great, will have this for their boast that they have struggled for & with an honest people.”

I was at first of your Opinion ”that it wd be most proper for a Come from Boston, united with Comtes from two or three other Towns to wait on the Judges” &c. and I mentiond it to several Gentlemen of the Neighboring Towns who approved of it, but so much Caution prevails, that they suspected whether their respective towns wd stir till Boston had given the Lead, (a needless Compliment to the Capital); This turnd our Thoughts to the Measures taken by the Town, & led me to conceive hopes, that as the Superr Court wd be soon sitting at Salem, Mbl Head & other towns in that County would come into such a proposal.

I take Notice of what you observe ”that our whole dependence as people seems to be upon our own Wisdom & Valor,” in which I fully agree with you. It puts me in mind of a Letter I recd not along ago from a friend of mine of some note in London, wherein he says, ”your whole dependence under G.o.d is upon your own Virtue, (Valor).

I know of no n.o.blemen in this Kingdom who care any thing about you, excepting Lords Chatham & Shelburne, & you would do well to be watchful even of them.”

I earnestly wish that the Inhabitants of Marblehead & other Towns would severally meet, & if they see Cause, among other Measures, second this town & appoint a Come to be ready to communicate with ours1 when ready. This would at once discover an Union of Sentiments thus far & have its Influence on other Towns. It wd at least show that Boston is not wholly deserted, & might prevent ”its falling a Sacrifice to the Rage or ridicule of our (common) Enemies.”

I shall be pleasd with your further Sentiments & am in strict truth,

1 The Boston Committee of Correspondence was appointed on November 2. ”It was then moved by Mr Samuel Adams, That a Committee of Correspondence be appointed to consist of twenty one Persons - to state the Rights of the Colonists and of this Province in particular, as Men, as Christians, and as Subjects; to communicate and publish the same to the several Towns in this Province and to the World as the sense of this Town, with the Infringements and Violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be made - Also requesting of each Town a free communication of their Sentiments on this Subject - And the Question being accordingly put - Pa.s.sed in the Affermative. Nem Cont. Boston Record Commissioner Report, vol. xviii., p.93. Cf., William Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment, of the Independence of the United States of America, vol. i., pp. 312-314.

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text, with variations, is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 19-21.]

BOSTON Novr 14 1772

MY DEAR SIR

Your Letter of the 10 Inst.1 did not come to my hand till this Evening. It is a great Satisfaction to me to be a.s.sured from you that the Friends to Liberty in Marblehead are active & that there is like to be a Town meeting there. Our Committee are industrious, and I think I may promise you, they will be ready to report to the Town in two or three days; so that if your Town should think proper to make an Adjournment for ten days or a Fortnight, they will doubtless by that time if not before have an Opportunity of acting upon our Resolutions. I am sorry when any of our Proceedings are not exactly according to your Mind. The Word you object to2 in our resolves was designd to introduce into our State of Grievances ”the Chh Innovations and the Establishment of those Tyrants in Religion, Bishops” which as you observe will probably take place.