ON the 12th of November 1761, Governor Bernard made the following Speech to both Houses of Assembly, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay:

On the 24th of April 1762, his Excellency made the fol­lowing Speech to the Two Houses:

His Excellency again spoke as follows to the Two Houses of Assembly on the 27th of May 1762:

The following is a true Copy of the Message which his Majesty sent down to the House of Commons every Year, from 1759 till the Conclusion of the War:

[Page 5]Upon which the House resolved, April 30, ‘That a Sum not exceeding Two Hundred Thousand Pounds be granted to his Majesty upon Account, to enable his Majesty to give a proper Compensation to the respective Provinces in North America, for the Expences incurred by them in the Levying, Clothing and Pay of the Troops raised by the same, according as the active Vigour and strenuous Efforts of the respective Provinces shall be thought by his Majesty to merit.’

Similar Resolutions followed yearly every Message. And though this Compensation did not exceed One Fourth Part of what they expended, they were satisfied with these most honour­able of all Testimonies, that they had not been backward in contributing their Share towards the general Defence of the Empire.

His Majesty's Surveyor General of the Northern District in America, transmitted to the Lords of the Treasury in 1764, a Charge of Corruption in his Office and Collusion with Smug­glers, supported by the Oaths of credible Witnesses, against Governor Bernard; for which the Surveyor General received the Thanks of the Treasury Board, and Governor Bernard was suffered still to hold that Office he had abused, and has been admitted as the principal Accuser and Witness against the People of the Massachusetts Bay.

On the 10th of March 1764, the House of Commons re­solved, ‘That it may be proper to charge certain Stamp Duties in the colonies and Plantations:’ but did not at that Time form any Bill for the Purpose.

On the 5th of April 1764, an Act passed for imposing Duties in America by the British Parliament, for the Purpose of rais­ing a Revenue.

In consequence of these Proceedings, the House of Repre­sentatives of the Massachusetts Bay came to Resolutions, 'That the sole Right of giving and granting the Money of the People of that Province, was vested in them as their legal Represen­tatives; and that the Imposition of Duties and Taxes, by the Parliament of Great Britain, upon a People who are not re­presented in the House of Commons, is absolutely irreconcil­able with their Rights. That no Man can justly take the Property of another without his Consent, upon which original Principle the Right of Representation in the same Body which exercises the Power of making Laws for levying Taxes, one of the main Pillars of the British Constitution, is evidently found­ed: That the Extension of the Powers of the Court of Ad­miralty within this Province, is a most violent Infraction of the Right of Trial by Jury,—a Right which this House, upon the [Page 6] Principles of their British Ancestors, hold most dear and sacred, it being the only Security of the Lives, Liberties, and Pro­perty of his Majesty's Subjects. That this House owe the strictest Allegiance to his most Sacred Majesty King George the Third,—and that they have the greatest Veneration for the Parliament.

In February 1765, a Bill for raising a Revenue in America by Duties on Stamps, &c. received the Royal Assent. Peti­tious from the several Assemblies of America against the passing of this Act▪ were rejected by the Parliament, or not received, on the Pretence of a Rule, that Petitions should not be receiv­ed against a Money Bill, and this was a Money Bill.

Upon the Arrival of this Act in America, every Assembly on the Continent came to Resolutions against the Right of [...] Taxes [...] them unrepresented and without their [...]. The House of Representatives of the Massachusetts [...], observing the little Attention paid to separate Petitions, [...]. That it was highly expedient there should be a Meeting as soon as might be, of Committees from the Houses of Representatives in the several Colonies on the American [...], to consult on the present Circumstances, and the Difficulties to [...] they were reduced by the Operation of the [...] Acts of Parliament for levying Duties on the Colonies, [...] consider of a general Address to his Majesty and the Parliament [...] Relief Letters were transmitted [...] of the other Assemblies and three [...] a Congress on the Part of [...] Pro­vince.

[...] some Disturbances arose in the Town of [...]. The Represent [...] of these Disturbances was in­strument [...] in various Letters [...] of Trade, though he [...] and politely evaluated these Proceedings, as [...] of the Town:

In truth, the whole proved to be nothing more than some Injury offered to private Property, for which the Assembly afterwards voted a Compensation.

On the 25th of October 1765, there being no Stamp Papers, the Council and House of Representatives, to avoid the mis­chievous Consequences of a total Stop to all public Business, re­solved, That it might be lawful to do Business without Stamps.

The Congress consisting of a Committee of Representatives from several Provinces, met at New York the 1st of October 1765. The Motives and Views with which the Congress was called, are thus stated by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts Bay:

[Page 8]The Congress summoned upon these Principles, met and acted upon them. They resolved, ‘That the only Representatives of the People of the Colonies are Persons chosen therein by themselves, and that no Taxes ever have been, or can be, constitutionally imposed upon them but by their respective Legislatures. That all Supplies to the Crown being free Gifts of the People, it is unreasonable and inconsistent with the Principles and Spirit of the British Constitution, for the People of Great Britain to grant to his Majesty the Property of the Colonists. That it is the indispensable Duty of these Colonies to the best of Sovereigns, to the Mother Country, and themselves, to endeavour, by a loyal and dutiful Ad­dress to his Majesty, and humble Applications to both Houses of Parliament, to procure the Repeal of the Act for granting and applying certain Stamp Duties, of all Clauses of any other Act of Parliament whereby the Jurisdiction of the Admiralty is extended, and of the other late Acts for the Restriction of American Commerce.’

They also drew up a Petition to the King, in which they say, ‘Our Subordinate Legislatures are in Effect rendered use­less by the late Acts of Parliament imposing Duties and Taxes on these Colonies, and extending the Jurisdiction of the Courts of Admiralty beyond its Antient Limit: Sta­tutes by which your Majesty's Commons in Great Britain undertake absolutely to dispose of the Property of their Fel­low Subjects in America without their Consent, and for the Inforcing whereof they are subjected to the Determination of a single Judge, in a Court unrestrained by the wise Rules of the common Law, Birthright of Englishmen, and the Safe­guard of their Persons and Properties.’

‘The invaluable Rights of Taxing ourselves, and Trial by our Peers, of which we implore your Majesty's Protection, are not, we most humbly conceive, unconstitutional, but con­firmed by the Great Charter of English Liberty. On the first of these Rights, the Honourable the House of Commons found their Practice of originating Money Bills—a Right enjoyed by the Kingdom of Ireland; by the Clergy of Eng­land, till relinquished by themselves—a Right, in fine, which all other your Majesty's English Subjects, both within and without the Realm, have hitherto enjoyed.’

So far were they from any Thought or Desire to draw into question, or to deny the Sovereignty of his Majesty in his Par­liament, or to arrogate to themselves the sole Right of making Laws, that, in their Petition to the House of Commons, they declare the Reverse in these Words▪

[Page 9] ‘We most sincerely recognize our Allegiance to the Crown, and acknowledge all due Subordination to the Parliament of Great Britain, and shall always retain the most grateful Sense of their Assistance and Protection. We esteem our Depen­dence on, and Connection with Great Britain, as one of our greatest Blessings, and apprehend the former will appear to be sufficiently secure, when it is considered, that the Inha­bitants in the Colonies have the most unbounded Affection for his Majesty's Person, Family, and Government, as well as for the Mother Country, and that their Subordination to the Parliament, is universally acknowledged.’

Those Petitions however were not received, on Pretence of their being from a Body not legally assembled, and unknown to the Constitution.

In January 1766, the House of Representatives were obliged to complain of Governor Bernard's having, together with his Council, assumed a Legislative Power, in ordering an Act of Parliament, or as he stiles it an Ordinance, to be registered among the Laws of the Province; which was never done be­fore, but by Act of Assembly ^*. This just Complaint against the Usurpation of the Governor, has been invidiously re­presented as an Attack upon the Authority of Parliament ^†, whereas in truth it had no relation to the Authority.

In January 1766, Petitions were presented from the Mer­chants of London, Bristol, and Glasgow, to both Houses of Parliament, representing the great Injury that would accrue to their Property, and to the Commerce of this Kingdom, from the Operation of the Stamp Act, and praying for its Repeal.

The Repeal of it took place accordingly on the 19th March following.

The Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, upon the Repeal being known, formed and transmitted an humble Address of Thanks to his Majesty, and Letters of the most grateful Acknowledg­ment to their Illustrious Patrons and Friends in either House of Parliament. Soon after this they passed a Bill for granting Compensation to the Sufferers during the Disorders occasioned [Page 10] by the Stamp Act; agreeably to his Majesty's Recommenda­tion, in consequence of the Address of both Houses of Parlia­ment, his Majesty's Pleasure being signified to them by Mr. Secretary Conway.

The Assembly also conformed themselves to the Mutiny Act, though it touched the Privilege of granting freely their own Money, for which they had so strenuously contended. But they complied, as well from an Abhorrence of renewing the late Dispute which had given them so much Pain, as from a Confidence in his Majesty's then Servants, whom they re­garded as friendly to their Liberties and Rights.

Their Satisfaction in, and Gratitude for the Repeal of the Stamp Act, produced a conduct so studiously void of Offence, that Governor Bernard could not avoid giving his Testimony of it in his Letters to the Earl of Shelburne, Secretary of State, as follows:

Such was the Temper and Moderation with which the Peo­ple were disposed to seek Relief from the Grievances they felt. We shall presently see what Steps were artfully taken to move them from that Moderation, and compel the Mob into Riots and Tumults, which were to be visited upon the Town, and made the Pretext for introducing a Military Force.

[Page 11]The new Revenue Act passed on the 29th of June, 1767; a little more than a Year after the Repeal of the Stamp Act.

The House of Representatives, in their Petition to the King, touching this Act, expressly acknowledge the Supreme Power of Parliament. ‘With great Sincerity, permit us, (say they) to assure your Majesty, that your Subjects of this Province ever have, and still continue to acknowledge your Majesty's High Court of Parliament the Supreme Legislative Power of the whole Empire.’

In their Letters to the Ministry, they say, 'The Subjects in this Province, and undoubtedly in all the Colonies, how­ever they may have been otherwise represented to his Majesty's Ministers, are loyal; they are firmly attached to the Mother State; they always consider her Interest and their own as in­separably interwoven, and it is their fervent Wish that it may ever so remain. All they desire is, to be restored to the Standing upon which they were originally put, to have the Honour and Privilege of voluntarily contributing to the Aid of their Sovereign when required. They are free Subjects; and it is hoped the Nation will never consider them as in a Tributary State.' And again, ‘All they desire is to be placed on their Original Standing, that they may still be happy in the Enjoyment of their invaluable Privileges, and the Nati­on may still reap the Advantage of their Growth and Pro­sperity.’

That their Prayers might be more likely to obtain Success from being united with the Supplications of all the Colonies, they transmitted a circular Letter to the other Assemblies, in­forming them—'That the House had humbly represented to the Ministry their own Sentiments; that his Majesty's high Court of Parliament is the supreme Legislative Power over the whole Empire; that in all free States the Constitution is fixed; and as the Supreme Legislative derives its Power and Autho­rity from the Constitution, it cannot overleap the Bounds of it, without destroying its own Foundation. That the Consti­tution ascertains and limits both Sovereignty and Allegiance, and, therefore, his Majesty's American Subjects, who ac­knowledge themselves bound by the Ties of Allegiance, have an equitable Claim to the full Enjoyment of the fundamental Rules of the English Constitution. That it is an essential, unalterable Right in Nature, ingrafted into the British Con­stitution as a fundamental Law, and ever held sacred and irre­vocable by the Subjects within the Realm, that what a Man has honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but which cannot be taken from him without his [Page 12] Consent. That the American Subjects may, therefore, ex­clusive of any Consideration of Charter Rights, with a decent Firmness adapted to the Character of Freemen and Subjects, assert this natural constitutional Right.' They add— ‘That as they have too much Reason to believe, that the Enemies of the Colonies have represented them to his Majesty's Mi­nisters, and the Parliament, as factious, disloyal, and shew­ing a Disposition to make themselves independant of the Mother Country, they have taken Occasion, in the most humble Terms, to assure his Majesty and his Ministers, that, with regard to the People of this Province, and, as they doubt not, of all the Colonies, that Charge is unjust.’

In consequence of this, Governor Bernard laid before the House, on the 21st of June, 1768, the following Requisition:

This Letter produced universal Apprehension and Discon­tent not only in the Massachusetts Bay, but in all America. A Demand, attended with a Penalty of Dissolution, seemed a Command, not a Requisition, leaving no deliberative or dis­cretionary Power in the Assembly; and the Ground of it being a Petition to the King, guarded with a most explicit Declara­tion of the supreme Legislative Power of Parliament, it wore the severe and dreadful Appearance of a penal Prohibition a­gainst Petitioning. It was in Effect saying, you shall not even presume to complain; and reducing them below the common State of Slavery, in which, if Men complain with Decency, they are heard, unless their Masters happen to be Monsters. It warmed Moderation into Zeal, and inflamed Zeal into Rage. Yet still there appeared a Disposition to express their Grievances in humble Petitions. All the Assemblies on the Continent, in Answer to a Requisition of similar Import to that already mentioned, asserted the Right of the Subject to petiti­on for Redress of Grievances. They joined in Petitions, stating the Impositions of Taxes upon them without their Con­sent, and the Abolition, of Juries in Revenue Causes, as in­tolerable Grievances, from which they prayed Relief.

The House of Representatives of Massachusetts Bay drew up a Letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, Secretary of State, in which they vindicate their Conduct from the Aspersions thrown upon it in the Governor's Letters; and add, ‘It is an inex­pressible Grief to the People of this Province, to find repeat­ed Censures falling upon them, not from Ministers of State alone, but from Majesty itself, grounded on Letters and Ac­cusations from the Governor, a Sight of which, though re­peatedly requested of his Excellency, is refused. There is no Evil of this Life, which they so sensibly feel, as the Dis­pleasure of their Sovereign. It is a Punishment which they are sure his Majesty will never inflict, but upon a Represen­tation of the Justice of it, from his Servants, in whom he confides. Your Lordship will allow the House to appeal to your own Candour, upon the Hardship of their being made to suffer so severe a Misfortune, without their ever being called to answer for themselves, or even made acquainted with the Matters of Charge alleged against them; a Right, to which, by the common Rules of Society, founded in the eternal Laws of Reason and Equity, they are justly entitled. [Page 14] The House of Representatives of this Province have more than once, during the Administration of Governor Bernard, been under the Necessity of entreating his Majesty's Mini­sters to suspend their further Judgment upon such Represen­tations of the Temper of the People, and the Conduct of the Assembly, as they were able to make appear to be injurious. The same Indulgence this House now beg of your Lordship; and beseech your Lordship to patronize them so far as to make a favourable Representation of their Conduct to the King our Sovereign: it being the highest Ambition of this House, and of the People whom they represent, to stand be­fore his Majesty in their just Character, of affectionate and loyal Subjects.’

On the 10th of June a Seizure was made of a Sloop fastened to the Wharf, with an armed Force, and the Seizure carried by Violence to the Man of War. That this Seizure was made with every Circumstance of Violence and Insult which could irritate a Mob, is proved by the Oaths of 13 Eye-Witnesses, whose Credibility has never been impeached. Unhappily the Irritation succeeded but too well. The Collector and Comp­troller who made the Seizure in that Manner, were treated with great Indignity and personal Injury by the Mob^*.

About the same Time the Captain of the Men of War lying in the Harbour at Boston, pressed some Seamen belonging to the Town, in Violation of an Act of Parliament for the En­couragement of Trade to America, which says, ‘No Mari­ner, or other Person, who shall serve on board, or be re­tained to serve on board, any Privateer, or Trading Ship or Vessel, that shall be employed in any Part of America, nor any Mariner, or Person, being on Shore in any Part thereof, shall be liable to be impressed or taken away, by any Officer or Officers of or belonging to her Majesty's Ships of War.’

The Inhabitants of Boston, to prevent the Tumults which might be apprehended from so dangerous an Infraction of Law, were assembled, and drew up a Petition to the Governor, praying his Interposition to prevent such alarming Outrages. [Page 15] The Governor, however, refused upon various Pretexts, to interfere.

The following Words of their Petition will shew to what a State of Alarm, Anxiety, and Despair, these Proceedings had reduced them. ‘Dutiful Petitions, say they, have been preferred to our most gracious Sovereign, to which (tho' to the great Consternation of the People, we now learn they have been cruelly and infidiously prevented from reaching the Royal Presence) we waited to receive a gracious Answer, with the greatest Attention to the Public Peace, until we find ourselves invaded with an armed Force, seizing, im­pressing, and imprisoning the Persons of our Fellow Subjects, contrary to express Acts of Parliament. Menaces have been thrown out fit only for Barbarians, which already affect us in the most sensible Manner, and threatens us with Famine and Desolation, as all Navigation is obstructed, upon which alone our whole Support depends, and the Town is at this Crisis in a Situation nearly such as if War were formally declared against it.’

‘To contend against our Parent State is, in our Idea, the most shocking and dreadful Extremity; but tamely to re­linquish the only Security we and our Posterity retain of the Enjoyment of our Lives and Properties, without one Strug­gle, is so humiliating and base, that we cannot support the Reflection. We apprehend, Sir, that it is in your Option, in your Power, and we would hope in your Inclination, to prevent this distressed and justly incensed People from effect­ing too much, or from the Shame and Reproach of attempt­ing too little.’

The Riot upon the Seizure of the Sloop was exaggerated into Treason and Rebellion. The Commissioners fled from the Town in pretended Fear of their Lives; Affidavits were taken in secret and ex parte, and the Comptroller Mr. Hollo­well was dispatched Home, to give Administration the most horrible Idea of the People. Governor Bernard's Letters to the Secretary of State contained a direct Charge of Treason against Forty Persons, not one of whom was prosecuted, be­cause the whole was a Forgery, calculated to meet the Change of System which Governor Bernard has since informed us, they then knew had taken place at London, and encourage the rigorous Measures which the new System was to pursue.

Unhappily it succeeded too well. Troops were sent to Boston, where they landed the 1st of October 1768. But a Difficulty now arose, about quartering the Troops in the Town contrary to an Act of Parliament. The Governor, [Page 16] however, soon determined to cut the Knot he could not untie. He therefore issued a Commission, to dispense with the Law and establish Quarters for the Troops in the Town. I speak from his own Letter.

Thus the People saw two Acts of Parliament, made for their Protection, wantonly and with Impunity violated; while those which were to their Feelings highly unjust and oppressive, were to be rigorously executed with a Military Force. Nothing could be devised more irritating, except the Manner in which the quartering the Soldiers was executed. They filled the Ge­neral Assembly Room, the Court House, and Fanueil Hall, where the Town Meetings were assembled. When the Ge­neral Assembly met, the main Guard was planted with a Num­ber of Field Pieces at, and pointed into the very Door of the Assembly House. Every Species of Insult and Outrage was▪ as if purposely, practised to drive the People into some violent Acts, which should justify the letting loose the Military upon them.

In consequence of the various Violations of those Laws which should have protected them, the Minds of the People were in the most dangerous State of Alarm and Agitation. To prevent the destructive Commotions which might be ap­prehended from such a Disposition, the moderate and well dis­posed Inhabitants of Boston petitioned the Governor to call an Assembly, that the popular Turbulence might be quieted by their Confidence in and Respect for their own Legislature. The Governor, however, thought proper to refuse them this Relief; they therefore summoned a Convention of Deputies from the different Townships, as the only Means of composing the Agitation of Men's Minds, (from which they otherwise expected the worst Consequences,) by their Confidence in Persons deputed by themselves, to enter into a wise and cool Consideration of their Grievances, and the constitutional Means of obtaining Redress. The Select Men of Boston have expressed these Motives in the following Passage of their cir­cular Letter:— ‘Deprived of the Counsels of a General As­sembly in this dark and difficult Season, the loyal People of this Province will, we are persuaded, immediately perceive the Propriety and Utility of the proposed Committee of Convention, and the sound and wholesome Advice that may be expected from a Number of Gentlemen chosen by them­selves, and in whom they may repose the greatest Confidence, must tend to the real Service of our most gracious Sovereign, and the Welfare of his Subjects in this Province, and may happily prevent any sudden and unconnected Measures, [Page 17] which, in their present Anxiety, and even Agony of Mind, they may be in Danger of falling into.’

The Convention met on the 22d of September 1768, and drew up an humble Petition to his Majesty, imploring Relief. ‘With great Sincerity say they, permit us to assure your Ma­jesty, that your Subjects of this Province, of which we are a Part, ever have acknowledged and still continue to acknow­ledge your Majesty's High Court of Parliament the supreme Legislative Power of the whole Empire. The superintend­ing Authority of which is clearly admitted in all Cases that can consist with the fundamental Rights of Nature, and the Constitution to which your Majesty's happy Subjects in all Parts of your Empire conceive they have a just and equitable Claim.’

‘It is therefore with the deepest Concern that your humble Suppliants would represent to your Majesty, that your Par­liament, the Rectitude of whose Intentions is never to be questioned, has thought proper to pass divers Acts, imposing Taxes on your Majesty's Subjects in America, with the sole and express Purpose of raising a Revenue. If your Majesty's Subjects here shall be deprived of the Honour and Privilege of voluntarily contributing their Aid to you Majesty in sup­porting your Government and Authority in the Province, and defending and securing your Rights and Territories in America, which they have always hitherto done with the utmost Chearfulness: If these Acts of Parliament shall remain in Force; and your Majesty's Commons in Great Britain shall continue to exercise the Power of granting the Property of their Fellow Subjects in this Province, your People must then regret their unhappy Fate, in having only the Name left of free Subjects.’

The Troops which had landed at Boston without the least Opposition determined, as it was natural to expect, to make the Disturbance they were disappointed in not finding. They offered a Variety of Insults to the peaceable Inhabitants, and [...] their Officers was detected in attempting to excite the Negroes to rebel; till at last a Party of Soldiers under the Command of Captain Pre [...]on, fired upon the People on the 5th of March 1769, killing Six, and wounding many more. So intolerable an Outrage assembled the People, who were so much incensed, that it was thought prudent for the Troops to evacuate the Town.

The Removal of the Troops restored the Tranquillity of the Town and the Good-humour of the People, the principal of whom exerted themselves to palliate the Conduct of Captain [Page 18] Preston, and obtain for him a favourable Trial. To this End, he was tried separately from the Soldiers, and he was acquitted, because no Evidence could depose that they heard him give Orders to fire.—Indeed, the Noise of the Tumult was so great, that if he had given such Orders, which he denied, none could have heard him but the Soldiers among whom he stood.— When the Soldiers came to be tried, they pleaded the Orders of their Captain, which they durst not disobey. And on the Belief of this as a Truth, the humane Jury acquitted them also. An Instance of great Temper and Equity in a People so exas­perated.

It was not however intended that the Quiet of the Town and Province should continue long. New Modes of Irritation were applied, to drive the People into Violence and Despair.

Mr. Robinson, one of the Commissioners who had attempted to assassinate Mr. Otis, was dispatched to England immediately after the Affair of the 5th of March, with a Case said to be that of Captain Preston, though directly repugnant to what he had published under his own Hand. This Case had been secretly drawn up, and was secretly transmitted. The Purpose of it was to throw the Charge of being the Aggressors upon the People, and that the Soldiers fired upon them in their own De­fence, and to save the Custom House from being plundered. This Statement was accompanied by Minutes of Council fram­ed by the Secretary himself, and secretly sworn to, in which one of his Majesty's Council was represented, as declaring that there had been a premeditated Design and Plan of a general Insurrection formed by the People, of which this Attack upon the Guard was the first Step. Absurd as it was to suppose that the People had planned and began to execute an Insur­rection, and yet not a Man appear in Arms, for no such Thing was pretended, still the Example of the Success and Impunity with which Governor Bernard had accused them specifically of Treason, without being able to prove a Tittle of it, was enough to encourage Governor Hutchinson, and his Brother-in-law the Secretary, to repeat a similar Charge on this Occasi­on, which they knew would operate for the Time, and being made secretly, they trusted it would not be known, so as to meet a Refutation. Mr. Commissioner Robinson arrived In London, and his State. &c. was circulated through the Mi­nistry and Members of Parliament, and, supported by his per­sonal Applications, inflamed them against the Province. In the mean Time, the Town proceeded to draw up their Narrative of the Affair founded upon Affidavits taken openly, with Notice given to all Persons concerned to attend and cross-exa­mine [Page 19] the Witnesses. Upon this open and fair Enquiry, it appeared by the Testimony of near an Hundred Persons, that the Soldiers were the Aggressors, having fired upon the People without sufficient Provocation, and without the Intervention of, or even application to the civil Magistrate.

It was not until October 1770, that the Representation and Affidavit of their Secretary, Mr. Oliver, reached his Majesty's Council at Boston, in a Pamphlet which had been published in London, to justify the Proceedings of the Military on the 5th of March 1769, and accuse the People. The Member to whom he had imputed the Words, which were calculated to convey the Idea of an Insurrection having been planned by the People, publicly made Oath, that the Secretary had mis­represented his Words, and that he never knew, or heard, or even thought of any such Plan. The other Members of Coun­cil who were present also made Oath, that Mr. Oliver's Account was a Misrepresentation; and the Council came unanimously to the following Resolutions: ‘That Andrew Oliver, Esq Secretary of this Province, by secretly taking Minutes at Council, of what was said by the Members of the Council, in their Debates, also by signing a Paper con­taining those Minutes, and further, by giving his Deposi­tion to the Truth of it, has, in each and all those Instances, acted inconsistent with the Duty of his Office, and thereby is guilty of a Breach of Trust.’

Mr. Oliver, thus stigmatized, was soon after appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Province. Unhappily this wore the Appearance of rewarding for his Treachery to the Council and his Enmity to the People, which tended necessarily to diminish the Confidence and Respect due to Government, and to spread Discontent through the Province.

On the 13th of May 1770, Governor Hutchinson held the Assembly at Cambridge, obliging them to quit Boston, where all the public Records and Conveniences for carrying on Bu­siness, were lodged. The Two Houses remonstrated against this, not only as highly inconvenient and distressing to them, and an Embarrassment to public Business, but an Infringe­ment of their chartered Rights, Notwithstanding this, the Assembly was continued there for Two Sessions without any Reason being given but mere Will and Pleasure (signified in Instructions from the Minister) and then it was adjourned to Boston, not as an Act of Graciousness, but of Caprice. It was impossible but that such Proceedings must have irritated [Page 20] Men's Minds, and raised among all Ranks of People a Spirit of Discontent and Distrust ^*.

The Proceedings in England were not more conciliating.

Governor Bernard had, by various false and inflammatory Representations, concentered upon the Province the whole Force of royal and parliamentary Indignation. He had ex­pressly accused certain Persons of a treasonable Design, their Names, as he pretended, being enrolled for the Purpose, to seize the Castle and turn it against the King's Troops.

This Intelligence produced the following Address from the House of Lords to the King, on the 15th of December 1768, concurred in by the Commons on the 9th of February 1769.

‘As we conceive, that nothing can be more immediately necessary, either for the Maintenance of his Majesty's Au­thority in the said Province, or from guarding his Majesty's Subjects therein from being further deluded by the Arts of wicked designing Men, than to proceed in the most speedy and effectual Manner for bringing to condign Punishment the chief Authors and Instigators of the late Disorders, to beseech his Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to direct his Majesty's Governor of Massachusetts Bay to take the most effectual Methods for procuring the fullest Infor­mation that can be obtained touching all Treasons, or Mis­p [...]ons of Treason, committed within his Government since the 30th Day of December last, and to transmit the same, together with the Names of the Persons who were the most active in the Commission of such Offences, to One of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, in order that his Majesty may issue a special Commission for enquiring of, hearing and determining the said Offences within this Realm, pursuant to the Provisions of the Statute of the 35th Year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth, if his Majesty shall, upon receiving the said Information, see sufficient Ground for such a Proceeding.’

But Governor Bernard thus armed with all the Powers of Government, was unable to substantiate his Accusation against a single Person. The Purposes however for which the Accu­sation was devised were fully answered. An Odium had been fixed upon the People, a military Force had been sent, which promised to create the very Rebellion he had falsely declared to exist, for the Purpose of procuring that Force.

The Manner in which he proceeded in his Endeavours to stir up Resistance and create Disorders, is thus described in the Narrative of the Town, and which he has never been able to contradict.

‘Governor Bernard, without consulting the Council, having given up the State-House to the Troops at their Landing, they took Possession of the Chambers where the Representa­tives of the Province and the Courts of Law held their Meet­ings; and (except the Council Chamber) of all other Parts of that House; in which they continued a considerable Time, to the great Annoyance of those Courts while they sat and of the Merchants and Gentlemen of the Town, who had al­ways made the lower Floor of it their Exchange. They had a Right so to do, as the Property of it was in the Town; but they were deprived of that Right by mere Power.—The said Governor soon after, by every Stratagem and Method, but a forcible Entry, endeavoured to get Possession of the Manufactory-House, to make a Barrack of it for the Troops; and for that Purpose caused it to be besieged by the Troops, and the People in it to be used very cruelly; which extraor­dinary Proceedings created universal Uneasiness, arising from the Apprehension that the Troops, under the Influence of such a Man, would be employed to effect the most dange­rous Purposes; but failing of that, other Houses were pro­cured, in which, contrary to Act of Parliament, he caused the Troops to be quartered. After their Quarters were thus settled, the Main Guard was posted at One of the said Houses, directly opposite to, and not Twelve Yards from the State-House, (where the General Court and all the Law Courts for the County were held) with two Field Pieces pointed to the State-House. This Situation of the Main Guard and Field Pieces seemed to indicate an Attack upon the Constitution, and a Defiance of Law; and to be intend­ed [Page 22] to affront the legislative and executive Authority of the Province.’

The General Court, at the first Session after the Arrival of the Troops, viewed it in this Light, and applied to Governor Bernard to remove such an offence, but to no Purpose. Dis­gusted at such an Indignity, and at the Appearance of being under Duresse, they refused to do Business in such a Situation, and were removed to another Place to the great Inconvenience of the Members.

Besides this, the challenging the Inhabitants by Centinels posted in all Parts of the Town, occasioned many Quarrels and great Uneasiness. It was fully proved against Captain Wilson of the 59th Regiment, that he was exciting the Ne­groes of the Town to take away their Master's Lives and Pro­perty, and repair to the Army for Protection. To these were added various Outrages, such as the Soldiers attacking and in­sulting the Magistrates of the Town, rescuing their Fellows from the Peace Officers, firing loaded Muskets in the Streets to the great Alarm and Danger of the peaceable Inhabitants, and wounding Persons frequently and wantonly with their Bayonets and Cutlasses.

These Insults and Outrages did not, however, produce the Insurrection that was wished; but an humble Petition from the Representatives of the People to his Majesty against the Author of all those Evils, Governor Bernard.

This Petition was voted the 27th of June 1769. The Go­vernor prorogued the Assembly to January 10th, 1770, and came over to England. On the 25th of October, he present­ed a Petition to bring the Charges against him to a Hearing. In the mean time Orders were sent to the Lieutenant-Gover­nor, Mr. Hutchinson, to prorogue the Assembly to the 14th of March, which was done accordingly. Notwithstanding the Agent represented the Impossibility of the Assembly even knowing that their Petition was to be heard, much less trans­mitting Evidence in Support of the Allegations it contained, that this Impossibility was created by the very Person accused, and who, in the Face of that, called upon them to support their Charge, to which the Agent added an humble Prayer, that the Hearing might be deferred till convenient Time was given for the Meeting of the Assembly and Transmission of E­vidence: Yet the Petition was ordered peremptorily to a Hear­ing on the 28th of February, when in Default of Evidence, the several Charges in it were declared groundless, vexatious, and scandalous; and that the petitioning could only be with a View of keeping up Spirit of Clamour and Discontent in the said Province.

[Page 23]Thus the People had the Grief and Mortification to find, that whether they were the Accusers or the Accused, they were sure of being censured and condemned. This Man had been instrumental in bringing upon them the Odium of Disaffection and Rebellion; he had shut the Ear of the King and Parlia­ment against their Applications for Redress of Grievances; he had contributed to the having a military Force sent to dragoon them; he had, in Violation of an express Act of Parliament, quartered those Troops in their Town, with every Circum­stance of Insolence and Outrage; he had subjected them to the intolerable Oppression of being dragged Three Thousand Miles, upon mere Suspicion, to struggle for their Lives and Property, without Friends and without Witnesses, against all the Force of ministerial Prosecution. Yet it was conceived that to petition against such a Man could only flow from fac­tious Motives, and because his own Agency in proroguing the Assembly rendered it impossible they should even know it was required of them to support their Charges against him, those Charges were pronounced groundless and malicious. With the Feelings of Men they could not but be sensibly affected by these Proceedings, which, to speak in the Language of the Poet, preaching to Stones would make them capable.

To heighten the Colouring of these Transactions, Orders were sent in 1771 to the Governor, to refuse his Assent to any Tax Bill which should include the Commissioners of Customs. These Gentlemen, whose officious and incendiary Zeal against that Country had raised them to Office, were to be distinguish­ed more than the first Men in this Country, by an Exemption from sharing in the common Burdens of the Community.

In 1772, the Judges' Salaries were ordered to be paid out of the extorted Revenue, and not by Grants from the Repre­sentatives of the People, as had been the constant Usage. Nothing could alarm the People more than this Establishment, as it struck at once at the very Root of the impartial Admini­stration of Justice. The Inhabitants of Boston say, in their Address to the Governor, that ‘as the Judges hold their Places during Pleasure, this Establishment was big with the most fatal Evils.’

Both Governor Bernard and Governor Hutchinson had re­peatedly represented the Discontent and Opposition, as arising from a factious Few in Boston; and that the Province in ge­neral were averse to their Measures, and satisfied with their Situation. To ascertain the general Sentiments of the Peo­ple, a Committee was appointed at Boston, to represent their Sense of Grievances to the rest of the Townships, and take their [Page 24] Opinion upon them. This was accordingly done, the 2d of November 1772. The rest of the Towns concurred most unanimously in the same Sense of Grievances, and Desire of having them redressed.

On the 6th of January 1773, Governor Hutchinson, in his Speech to the Two Houses of Assembly, challenges them to a Controversy upon the supreme legislative Authority of Parlia­ment. The Assembly, in their Answer, take up the Question as a Point of Argument and Speculation refuting his Argu­ments, and controverting his Conclusions. It was a Question, which, of themselves, they had never ventured to agitate, and they entered into it now when publicly provoked to it, with avowed Reluctance.—'We have the highest Respect,' say they, ‘for that august Body the Parliament, and do not pre­sume to prescribe the exact Limits of its Authority. Yet, with the Deference that is due to it, we are humbly of Opinion, that as all human Authority, in the Nature of it, is and ought to be limited, it cannot constitutionally extend, for the Reasons we have above suggested, to the levying of Taxes in any Form on his Majesty's Subjects of this Pro­vince. These are great and profound Questions. It is the Grief of this House, that by the ill Policy of a late injudicious Administration, America has been driven into the Contem­plation of them. And we cannot but express our Concern, that your Excellency by your Speech has reduced us to the unhappy Alternative, either of appearing by your Silence to acquiesce in your Excellency's Sentiments, or of thus freely discussing this Point.’

The most charitable Construction of this Conduct in the Governor is, that it was promoted by indiscreet Zeal; the most probable Conjecture is that it was a Snare laid for the Two Houses to draw them into such a Denial of the supreme legislative Authority of this Country, as might expose them to its utmost Indignation. Whether it arose from Malice or In­discretion, most certainly it was courting the Discussion of a Question which Common Sense and Common Honesty would have wished to cover with a sacred and impenetrable Veil. But the Two Houses, though compelled into the Discussion of the Right as a speculative Point, had no Idea of drawing it into Question practically. For in March following, the House of Representatives transmitted a Letter to the Secretary of State, in which they thus state the Exercise of that Power, which was questionable as to the Right and grievous in its Operation.

[Page 25] ‘Your Lordship is well acquainted with the several Acts, by which the British Parliament have thought proper within a few Years past, to raise a Revenue in America, without our Consent. The many and weighty Reasons against, and Ob­jections to those Acts, are so well known and understood by your Lordship, that we shall not take off your Attention to the great Affairs of the Nation, by particularly mention­ing them at this Time: We only beg Leave to say that we apprehend they tend to injure our Commerce and subvert our Liberties, and therefore are unjust, impolitic, and destructive of the real Interest of the whole Empire.’

The same Temper and Moderation appears in the Letter addressed by both Houses to the Earl of Dartmouth.

In the mean time the Representatives of the People have omitted no Opportunity of laying their Griefs at the Foot of the Throne, with the most humble Supplications for Relief.

Their Petition to the King in 1772 speaks thus:— ‘The In­habitants of this Province had long shared in the Blessings of good Government under the mild Administration of your Majesty and your royal Predecessors, until your British Par­liament saw fit to pass divers Acts for the express Purpose of raising a Revenue in America, without the Consent of your Subjects inhabiting therein. It was this that filled the Minds of your Subjects of this Province with Discontent; being grieved that your Majesty's Council should advise to a Measure, which in a great Degree deprives them of the Rights and Liberties of free and natural Subjects granted to them by the Charter. The House of Representatives did, in the Year 1768, demonstrate to your Majesty this grievous Infraction of their dearest Rights of Englishmen. Our [Page 28] Hearts are too deeply impressed with Loyalty and Affection to your Majesty's Person and Family to imagine, that a Failure of the Redress then prayed for, can be imputed to any Want of paternal Regard in your royal Mind for all your Subjects. It becomes us rather to suppose, that the Petition and Complaint, unfortunately for us, did not reach the Throne.’

They repeat the same Subject of Complaint in their Petition of 1773, in these Words: ‘The Parliament of Great-Bri­tain, in which your Subjects here are not and cannot be re­presented, hath exercised a Power of raising a Revenue with­in the Province, to the great Grief and Distress of your Ma­jesty's People, and, we conceive, in Repugnance to the Royal Charter. Your Petitioners did, at the last Session of this Assembly, make their humble Supplication to your Ma­jesty, praying the Interposition of your royal Clemency for the Redress of their Grievances; but we know not whether our Petition was ever laid before your Majesty.’

Besides the Causes of Uneasiness and Irritation already men­tioned, sundry Instructions have been sent to the Governor of this Province, since the Year 1770, which tended to keep the People in continual Alarm and Discontent. The Nature of these Instructions is fully explained in the following Extract, from a Letter of the House of Representatives, to the Earl of Dartmouth.

It is proper to say a single Word about Agency, Mr. De Bardt was appointed by the House only, 7th November 1765; he was admitted, without the least Question, as Agent, at the Board of Trade, under different Administrations, and Gover­nor Bernard gave his Assent to a Bill for paying his Salary so late as the Year 1768. It happened to be the Duty of the Agent soon after to convey the Complaints of his Constituents to the Throne, both against the Minister and the Governor. In this Business a faithful honest Agent was found exceedingly troublesome. Such Representations were therefore made by the Governor, and such Instructions sent by the Minister, as [Page 31] incapaciated the House from paying their Agent, unless they would have one approved of by the very Persons against whom it might be his Duty to act. This Measure needs no Com­ment. It is not in human Depravity to devise an Act of more gross Injustice, than that of debarring Men of the Means of desending themselves when accused, or of complaining when injured.

With all these repeated Disappointments and accumulated Grievances rankling in the Minds of the People, the House of Representatives received, through the Hands of their Agent, some original Letters written by their Governor and Lieutenant Governor to Persons of Influence in England. These Letters contained a most unfavourable Representation of the Princi­ples and Proceedings of the People, and of their Representa­tives. They called for Punishment upon Individuals, and Restraints upon the whole by an Abridgment of their Liberties. The Means of altering the Charter, and of new modelling the Constitution of the Colony, so as to render the Crown abso­lute, were pointed out with a malignant Ability. Strong In­junctions were added of the Necessity of finding out some Way, 'to TAKE OFF the original Incendaries,' lest they should 'continue to instil their Poison into the Minds of the People.'

These Letters were read with Grief, Astonishment, and Indignation. The People viewed the Writers of them in the most criminal Light. They considered them as the intentional Authors of all their past Calamities, and the Enemies of their future Peace and Happiness. What aggravated the Crime was, that these Men were their Countrymen, had always professed the warmest Wishes for the Welfare of the Province and of the People; and in consequence of those Professions, had ob­tained their highest Confidence and Respect. This Character was peculiarly competent to one of the Letter Writers. He was the Strafford of his Time. The secret Manner in which the Letters had been conveyed, made the Treachery Tenfold more terrible and offensive.

The House of Representatives voted an humble Petition to the King for the Removal of these Governors, ‘who had rendered themselves justly obnoxious to the People, and en­tirely lost their Confidence.’ —His Majesty's Council in the Province resolved, at the same Time, That it would be for his Majesty's Service, and the Peace of the Province to remove them.

This Petition was heard before a Committee of the Lords of the Privy Council, where an illiberal Lawyer was hired and permitted to abuse the Petitioners and their Agent, in the [Page 32] grossest Terms Scurrility could invent; and the Lords report­ed ‘That the Petition was groundless, vexatious and scan­dalous, and calculated only for the seditious Purposes of keeping up a Spirit of Clamour and Discontent in the Pro­vince. That nothing had been laid before them which did or could, in their Opinion, in any Manner, or in any Degree impeach the Honour, Integrity or conduct of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor.’

It is curious to observe that Mr. Hutchinson, in his History, has described his own Situation in that of Governor Dudley, in the Year 1705. ‘The People (says he) in general, looked upon him as an Enemy, even to the Privileges of the new Charter. Sir Henry Ashurst procured an original Letter, wrote by the Governor's Son Paul, who was then Attorney General, to Mr. Floyd, and sent it to New England, in which were these Expressions, the Government and College are disposed of here in Chimney Corners, and private Meetings, as confidently as can be—This Country will never be worth living in, for Gen­tlemen and Lawyers, till the Charter is taken away. Copies were dispersed about the Province, and the Letter was soon after printed.’

Sir Henry Ashurst was Agent for the Province, and a Man of high Character, Credit, and Honour. Mr Hutchinson passes no Censure on this Action, neither does it appear to have been censured at the Time. Not that Wedderburns were wanting, but that the Times did not countenance their Scur­rility.

In December 1773, a large Quantity of Tea, shipped by the East India Company, with the Duty imposed by Parliament to be paid in America, arrived at Boston. All the Colonies to which the Tea under the same Circumstances was destined, had publicly resolved that it should not be admitted. The Directors of the East India Company had been forewarned of its Fate, and an Offer made before it was shipped to pay the Duty here. But the Tea was destined to produce the Com­motions it occasioned, and the Offer was rejected. The Peo­ple met in Boston, and insisted on the Tea being sent back. The Governor refused to permit the Ship to return, upon which some Persons in Diguise destroyed it in the Night. It is manifest that the Governor intended to urge them to this Ex­tremity or else he would have acted, as General Haldiman writes he expected Governor Tryon would do, ‘to prevent dangerous Extremities, rather chuse to permit the Teas should be sent back to England.’ The same was permitted at Phi­ladelphia, and the Tea actually sent back on the 27th of December. [Page 33] General Haldiman declares this was the Determina­tion of every Colony. ‘The several Governors (says he) of other Provinces, will undoubtedly make your Lordship ac­quainted with the Opposition intended, and made in their respective Governments against the landing the Tea; the whole proceeding from an almost unanimous Resolution not to pay any new Duties or Taxes laid by the Parliament of Great-Britain.’

Governor Hutchinson's Son and his near Relation were the Consignees of the Tea, and the Persons most interested in the Sale of it. As the Consignees had refused to resign the Tea, their Windows were broke by the Mob. Upon this they ap­plied to his Majesty's Council for Protection, who came to the following Report upon the Application.

On the 18th of February 1774, the whole House of Repre­sentatives waited on the Governor with a second Petition, for the Removal of the Chief Justice, who had rendered himself incapable, by accepting a Salary from the Crown, at whose Will he also held his Place. They say, ‘Your Excellency will please to consider that this House is well acquainted with the general Sense of their Constituents in this Matter; and we can now assure you, that the Continuance of the Chief Justice in his Place, will increase the Uneasiness of the Peo­ple without Doors, and endanger the public Tranquillity. We therefore earnestly intreat your Excellency, that while we are in this Instance employing the Powers with which we are entrusted in promoting the Tranquillity and good Order of Government, "we may," agreeably to your De­claration in your Speech to both Houses, ‘find that you are ready to give your Consent to a Request of the House intended for that and other great and important Purposes:’ And that your Excellency will immediately take every Step for the Removal of the Chief Justice from the superior Court.’

The Governor returned them a positive Denial, accompa­nied with a curious Piece of Equivocation. The House had prayed that he would take the Advice of his Majesty's Council upon their Petition, conformable to the Charter.—To which he answers, That though he was by Charter to act with the Advice and Assistance of his Council, yet the summoning of the Council was in his Discretion. Thus was the protective Provision of the Charter effectually evaded.

[Page 37]This is a full and fair State of the Proceedings in and re­specting the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, from the Year 1762 to 1774.

The candid Reader will judge what Causes of Discontent have been given them, and whether they have operated beyond their natural Bounds. If they have been particularly unquiet, they have also been particularly irritated and injured. Imagin­ing ourselves in their Situation, will, I believe, prevent us from severely censuring their Conduct.

It is manifest that they have constantly expressed their Com­plaints in Petitions conceived in the most measured Language of Subordination and Respect. That they have repeatedly acknowledged the supreme legislative Authority of Parliament. That the only Instance in which they seem to have questioned it, was in a mere speculative Dispute, purposely provoked by the Governor. That the constant Subject of their Complaint, has been the having their Money taken from them without their Consent; the substituting a dependent Judge, bribed by being paid out of the Forfeitures, to determine in all Causes of Revenue, by the Rules of the Civil Law, and without a Jury; and the Violation of their Security in the due Administration of Government and of Justice, by rendering the Governor and Judges totally dependent on the Crown. That their Wish has been to return to the State in which they were before the passing these Laws and sending these Instructions, and not to become independent of Great Britain. This appears not only from their repeated and authentic Declarations, but from Go­gernor Hutchinson's Letters. ‘The Enemies of Government (so is he pleased to stile the Council, the House of Repre­sentatives, and the People) gave out, that their Friends in Parliament were increasing, and all Things would be soon on the old Footing; in other Words, that all Acts imposing Duties would be repealed, the Commissioners Board dissolved, the Customs put on their old Footing, and illicit Trade be carried on with little or no Hazard.’ The Malignity of this Reflection upon the People, will plainly appear from the following Declaration of Governor Bernard, whose Testimony in their favour will hardly be questioned. ‘I do not pretend, says he, that this Province is entirely free from the Breach of those Laws (of Trade), but only that such Breach, if dis­covered, is surely punished.’ What more can be said of the best Country upon Earth? Yet Governor Hutchinson does not scruple to charge them with having been all Smugglers, and throw an Odium upon their struggling for their Rights by the [Page 38] Imputation of their sole Object being to renew that illicit Trade with Impunity.

It must also appear from their Proceedings, that their great Crime has been their Constancy in petitioning for Redress of Grievances; which has been attempted to be repressed, even by the most unjustifiable Means of refusing them an Agent to vindicate them when misrepresented, and support their Com­plaints. While this common Right of Justice is denied them, Persons are notoriously hired here to load them in the Public Papers with every Species of Opprobrium, Falshood, and Abuse. There are two Things which deserve the most particular Attention: 1st, That whenever Affidavits were taken on the Part of the People, they were taken in public, with Summonses to all Persons concerned to attend, 2nd cross-examine the Witnesses: On the contrary, those which were obtained by the Governor and Commissioners, accusing the People, were made in secret, the Persons accused unapprized and totally ignorant of the Proceedings, they were transmitted in secret, and the injured Persons by mere Accidents, and after they had operated to their Hurt, had an Opportunity of seeing and [...]uting them. The Instances on both Sides will be found in the Affidavits taken on the Seizure of the Sloop Liberty, and the Riot, and in Mr. Oliver's Affidavit, and the Narrative of the Town, respecting the Massacre on the 5th of March. 2d, That the chief and almost only continual Wit­nesses against the People are, the Governors Bernard and Hutchinson: The former of whom has long laboured under an Accusation upon Oath of gross Corruption in his Office, the latter has been detected in the basest Plot against their Liberties; and both are at open Enmity with the People, having been petitioned against by their Representatives, as universally odious. How far the Representations of Men so circumstanced can be presumed fair and impartial, or deserve Credit, must be left to the candid to determine.

We have seen their Petitions either intercepted, or treated with a contemptuous Silence, or answered with the severest Censures. Seven Years Supplication has brought no Relief. And now, to fill up the Measure of their Misfortunes, their Port is stopt up, their Charter is to be subverted, and a lawless Army let loose upon them. They have been tried, condemned and punished, unheard and unapprized of the whole Proceed­ings. They are left to weep over their Apprehensions, re­alized in the utter Subversion of their Liberties. This Ac­cumulation of Calamities is heaped upon them, because high and strong Resentments, as they naturally must, have followed [Page 39] severe and reiterated Injuries: Because Discontent has arisen from disappointed and despised Complaints; and Violence from insulted Discontent.

Whoever will take the Trouble of reading, in the History of this most meritorious and unhappy People, the unparalleled Hardships with which they purchased those Liberties we have now torn from them; and view the deplorable, the desperate Situation, to which they are now reduced—however obdurate, however prejudiced he may be, he must think, at least, ‘One human Tear may drop, and be forgiven.’