<-\ *+# , # , A> „ , „ 'bK o_ * Vv s • « , " A s V ^V«* O 'o . » * *\ r0 ^> -• . » * A <\ o ^ too ^0 f Ca3 ill 2-sr-i ORIGINAL NARRATIVE OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE SoSto-n* A SHORT NARRATIVE HORRID MASSACRE II BOSTOI, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770 , XI I \J) BY SOLDIERS OF THE 29th REGIMENT, WHICH WITH THE 14th REGIMENT WERE THEN QUARTERED THERE ; WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THINGS PRIOR TO THAT CATASTROPHE. PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, AND SOLD BY EDES &. GILL, IN QUEEN STREET, AND T. & J. FLEET, - IN CORNHILL, 1770. NEW YORK : RE-PUBLISHED WITH 'NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, BY JOHN DOGGETT, JR. 1849. * I Entered, acoording to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, By JOHN DOGGETT, Jr., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the " Southern District of New York. A li S. W . BENEDICT, Stereo, and Print., 1G Spruce St. NOTE. The following pages contain the original official account of the Boston Massacre of the 5th of March, 1*7 70. It was drawn up by a committee appointed by the town, consisting of the Honorable James Bowdoin, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Samuel Pemberton, Esq. The report was submitted to a town meeting held at Faneuil Hall, by adjournment, on the 19th of March, and was ordered to be printed. It was intended principally for circulation in England, and a vessel was chartered by the town to take out copies to London. To the copies circulated in America, were added a Circular Letter, addressed by the Committee to the Duke of Richmond, and other distinguished personages in England. The frontispiece representing the massacre, is a fac-simile of an original engraving in the library of the New York Historical Society, engraved and published in Boston immediately after the event, by Paul Revere. It is supposed to give a somewhat exaggerated idea, however, of the scene it purports to represent. The sign of "Butchers Hall," affixed to the custom-house, is, of course, a fancy title. The plan of the town of Boston, copied from one published in the "Gentleman's and London Magazine," for 1774, may be useful to those unacquainted with the changes in the streets, their names, 3 removed, and the 14th regiment so disposed, and laid under such re- 34 NARRATIVE OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE. straint, that all occasion of future disturbances may be pre- vented." The foregoing reply having been read and fully considered — the question was put, Whether the report be satisfactory ? Passed in the negative (only one dissentient) out of upwards of 4,000 voters. A respectable committee was then appointed^ wait on his Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, and inform him, that it is the unanimous opinion of this meeting, that the reply made to a vote of the inhabitants presented his Honor in the morning, is by no means satisfactory ; and that nothing less will satisfy than a total and immediate removal of all the troops. The committee having waited upon the Lieutenant-Gover- nor, agreeable to the foregoing vote, laid before the inhabit- ants the following vote of Council received from his Honor. His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor laid before the Board a vote of the town of Boston, passed this afternoon, and then addressed the Board as follows : " Gentlemen of the Council, " I lay before you a vote of the town of Boston, which I have just now received from them, and I now ask your advice what you judge necessary to be done upon it." The Council thereupon expressed themselves to be unani- mously of opinion, " that it was absolutely necessary for his Majesty's service, the good order of the town, and the peace of the province, that the troops should be immediately removed out of the town of Boston, and thereupon advised his Honor to communicate this advice of the Council to Col. Dalrymple, and to pray that he would order the troops down to Castle William." The committee also informed the town, that Col. Dalrymple, after having seen the vote of Council, said to the committee, " That he now gave his word of honor that he would begin his preparations in the morning, and that there should be no unnecessary delay until the whole of the two regiments were removed to the Castle." ^NARRATIVE OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 35 Upon the above report being read, the inhabitants could not avoid expressing the high satisfaction it afforded them.* After measures were taken for the security of the town in the night by a strong military watch, the meeting was dis- solved. In the concluding paragraph of the foregoing narrative it is said, that the town-meeting was dissolved after the measures were taken for the security of the town in the night, by a strong military watch. Our implacable enemies, in pursuance of their plan of misrepresent- ation, have taken pains to misrepresent this most necessary measure, by declaring it to have been contrary to the mind of the Commander- in-Chief, and against law. This matter will be judged of, by stating the fact, and producing the law. When the Committee, who had waited on the Lieu tenant- Governor, had reported to the town that the troops would be removed to Castle Island (at which time it was near night), it was thought necessary for the safety of the town, and for preventing a rescue of the persons committed to jail for firing upon and killing a number of his Majes- ty's subjects, that there should be a military watch ; and divers gen- tlemen were desired to take the needful steps for that purpose. It being then night, it was impossible a regular notification should issue from the officers of the militia ; a considerable number of respectable persons therefore offered themselves volunteers, and did the duty of a military watch under the direction of the Lieut. -Colonel, who attend- ed that service with the approbation of the chief Colonel of the Bos- * The town of Boston afterwards determined to celebrate the anniversary of the fifth of March, to the end that there might be an annual development of the " fatal effects of the policy of standing armies, and the natural ten- dency of quartering regular troops in populous cities in times of peace." The first anniversary was observed at the Manufactory House, that being the place where the first opposition to the soldiery was made, in October, 1768. The anniversary was observed every year until 1784, when the celebration was superseded by that of the 4th July. The names of the orators in their order were — James Lovell, Dr. Joseph Warren, Dr. Benjamin Church, John Hancock, Dr. Joseph Warren, Rev. Peter Thacher, Benjamin Hichborn, Jonathan W. Austin, William Tudor, Jonathan Mason, Jun., Thomas Dawes, Jxin., George Richards Minot, Dr. Thomas Welch. The " Boston Orations," so called, were published in a volume in 1785, by Peter Edes. — D. 36 NARRATIVE OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE. ton regiment. The next day, with two of the select men of the town, the chief Colonel went to the Lieutenant-Governor, and they informed him it was apprehended absolutely necessary for the safety of the town there sliould be a military watcli kept ; and that the Colonel then waited upon him to receive his orders. The Lieutenant-Governor declined giving any orders concerning it, but said the law was clear, that the Colonel, as chief officer of the regiment, might order a mili- tary watch ; and that he might do about it as he thought fit. In consequence of this, and knowing the law gave him such a power, the Colonel issued his orders for that purpose, and a regular watch was kept the following night. The next day the Lieutenant-Governor sent for the Colonel, and let him know, that he was in doubt about the legality of the appointment of the military watch ; and recom- mended to the Colonel to take good advice, whether he had a right by law to order such a watch. This being quite unexpected, occasioned the Colonel to express himself with some fervor. He also said, he had already taken advice, and had no doubt of his own power ; but had the preceding day waited upon his Honor as Commander-in-Chief to receive his orders ; which, as his Honor had declined giving, and left the matter with himself, he had appointed a military watch ; and judged it a neces- sary measure to quiet the fears and apprehensions of the town. The interview ended with the Lieut.-Governor's recommending again, that the Colonel would take care to proceed according to law ; and with- out his forbidding a military watch. This military watch was continued every night, till Colonel Dal- rymple had caused the two regiments under his command to be re- moved to the barracks at Castle Island. During the continuance of the watch, the Justices of the Peace in their turns attended every night ; and the utmost order and regularity took place through the whole of it. This is the state of the fact, upon which every one is left to make his own observations. Now for the law ; with respect to which nothing is more necessary than just to recite it. It runs thus, " That there be military watches appointed and kept in every town, at such times, in such places, and in such numbers, and under such regulation, as the chief military officers of each town shall appoint, or as they ma) r receive orders from the chief officer of the regiment."* This needs no comment. It clearly authorizes the chief officer of the regiment to appoint military watches. The late military watch in Boston being founded on such an appoint- ment was therefore according to law. * See a Law of the Province for regulating the Militia, made in the 5th year of William and Mary, Chap. 7., Sec. 10. APPENDIX; CONTAINING THE SEVERAL DEPOSITIONS REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING NARRATIVE ; AND ALSO OTHER DEPOSITIONS RE- LATIVE TO THE SUBJECT OF IT. (No. 1.) I, John Wilme, of lawful age, testify that about ten days before the late massacre, Christopher Rumbly of the 14th regiment, was at my house at the north part of the town, with sundry other soldiers; and he, the said Rumbly, did talk very much against the town, and said if there should be any interruption, that the grenadiers' company was to march up King-street ; and that if any of the inhabitants would join with them, the women should be sent to the castle, or some other place ; and that he had been in many a battle ; and that he did not know but he might be soon in one here ; and that if he was, he would level his piece so as not to miss ; and said that the blood would soon run in the streets of Boston ; and that one Sumner of the same regi- ment did say that he came here to make his fortune ; and that he would as soon fight for one King as another ; and that the two gaps would be stopped, said one of the soldiers ; and that they would soon sweep the streets of Boston. And further saith, that he heard a soldier's wife, named Eleanor Park, say, that if there should be any disturbance in the town of Bos- ton, and that if any of the people were wounded, she would take a stone in her handkerchief and beat their brains out, and plunder the rebels. — And further I say not. John Wilme. Suffolk, ss. Boston, March 21, 1770. John Wilme, above named, after due examination, made oath to the truth of the afore- said affidavit, taken to perpetuate the remembrance of the thing. Before, John Ruddock, Just. Peace and of the Quorum, And, John Hill, Just. Peace. (No. 2.) I, Sarah Wilme, of lawful age, testify that about ten days before the late massacre, Christopher Rumbly, of the 14th regiment, was at our house at the north part of the town, with sundry other soldiers ; and he, the said Rumbly, did talk very much against the town, and 38 APPENDIX said, if there should be any interruption, that the grenadiers' com- pany was to march up King-street ; and that if any of the inhabitants would join with them, the women should be sent to the castle or some other place ; and that he had been in many a battle ; and that he did not know but he might be soon in one here ; and that if he- was, he would level bis piece so as not to miss ; and said that the blood would soon run in the streets of Boston ; and that one Sumner, of the same regiment, did say, that he came here to make his fortune, and that he would as soon fight for one King as another ; and that the two gaps would be stopped, said one of the soldiers ; and that they would soon sweep the streets of Boston. — And further saith not. Sarah Wilme. Suffolk, ss. Boston, March 21, 1770. Sarah Wilme, above named, after due examination, made oath to the truth of the afore- said affidavit, taken to perpetuate the remembrance of the thing. Before, John Ruddock, Just. Peace and of the Quorum, And, John Tudor, Justice Peace. (No. 3.) I, David Cockran, of lawful age, testify, that I went to the house of Mr. John Wilme, to pay him a visit in the evening, about ten days before the late massacre, and there I found four or five soldiers, and after some time the said Wilme told me not to be out in the night of such a day (though I cannot positively say what day) ; whereupon I asked him what he meant, and he told me that there would be dis- turbances, or words to that effect ; and that one of said soldiers took me by the arm, and said, the blood would soon run in the streets of Boston. — And further saith not. His Attest. Elisha Storv, David >eryetuam, &c, have been carefully compared by us with the originals, and agree therewith. Ri. Dana, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. John Hill, Justice of Peace. We do certify the like, respecting those affidavits taken before us. Ri. Dana, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. Sam. Pemberton, Justice of Peace. We do certify the like, respecting the affidavit taken before us. Ri. Dana, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. John Ruddock, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. We do certify the like, respecting the affidavit taken before us. Ri. Dana, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. John Tudor, Justice of the Peace. We do certify the like, respecting those affidavits taken before us. John Ruddock, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. John Hill, Justice of Peace. We do certify the like, respecting those affidavits taken before us. John Ruddock, Justice of Peace and of the Quorum. Belcher Noyes, Justice of Peace. We do certify the like, respecting the affidavit taken before us. John Ruddock, Justice of Peace, and of the Quorum. John Tudor, Justice of Peace. I do hereby certify, that the copy of an affidavit (contained in the annexed printed collection of affidavits,) taken before me, has been carefully compared by me with the original, and agrees therewith. Edm. Quincy, J. Pacis. By the Honorable Thomas Hutchin- [SEAL] son, Esq., Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in and over his T. HUTCHINSON. Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England. I do hereby certify that Richard Dana and John Ruddock, Esquires. are two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace and of the Quorum for the County of Suffolk, within the aforesaid Province ; and that John Hill, Edmund Quincy, Belcher Noyes, John Tudor, and Samuel Pem- berton, Esquires, are Justices of the Peace for the same County, and APPENDIX. 105 that full faith and credit is and ought to be given to their several acts and attestations (as on the annexed paper) both in Court and without. In testimony whereof I have caused the Public Seal of the Pro- vince of Massachusetts Bay abovesaid to be hitherto affixed. Dated at Boston the thirteenth day of March, 1770. In the tenth year of his Majesty's reign. By his Honor's Command, John Cotton, D. Sec'ry. J?^~ Three original certificates of the foregoing tenor, with the Pro- vince Seal affixed to them, are signed by the Lieutenant Governor, and annexed to three printed copies of this pamphlet. Two of them will be sent to London for the satisfaction of such gentlemen in England as incline to see the originals : viz, one of them to William Bollan, Esq., and the other to Dennis DeBertdt, Esq. — The third remains with the Committee. In pursuance of a vote of the Town of the 2 2d of March, the Committee sent printed copies of the foregoing Pamphlet, accompa- nied with letters, to his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and also to the Lords and other persons of character, whose titles and names follow,* viz., His Grace the Duke of Richmond, Duke of Grafton. The Right Honorable the Lord Camden. The Most Noble the Marquis of Rockingham. The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Rochford. Earl of Halifax. Earl of Dartmouth. Earl Temple. Earl of Northington. Earl of Chatham. Earl of Hillsborough. Earl of Shelburne. Lord Viscount Weymouth. Lord Mansfield. Lord Lvttleton. Peers of the Realm. * This list and the following letter are annexed to such copies only of thip pamphlet as are intended for publication in America. 106 APPENDIX. Sir John Cust, Speaker of the House of Commons. Sir Fletcher Norton, the succeeding Speaker. The Marquis of Granby. Sir Edward Hawke. Sir George Saville. George Grenville, Esq. William Dowdeswell, Esq. William Beckford, Esq., Lord Mayor of London. The Honorable Sir William Meredith. Alex. Mackay, Esq., Col. of the 64th Regiment. Richard Jackson, Esq. t^tt!.t n^Zl 't?o„ ' t Knights of the Shire for Middlesex. JOHN It LYNN, xLsq., y ° Edmund Burke, Esq. • James Townshend, Esq. John Lawbridge, Esq. Thomas Whately, Esq. Alexander Wedderburn, Esq. Members of the Honorable House of Commons. The Right Honorable Sir John Earldly Wilmot. The Society for the Support of Magna Charta, and the Bill of Rights. Thomas Hollis, Esq., F. R. S. Mrs. Catherine Macaulay. John Pomeroy, Esq., Col. of the 65th Regiment, and a Member of Parliament in Ireland. Doctor Charles Lucas, Member of Parliament in Ireland. The Committee sent like copies, and also writ, to the Gentlemen mentioned in the Town vote prefixed to the foregoing Narrative. The following is a copy of the Letter wrote by the Committee to the Duke of Richmond ; to which [excepting the last paragraph of it] the other letters, mutatis mutandis, correspond. To his Grace the Duke of Richmond. Boston, New England, March 23, lYYO. My Lord Duke, It is in consequence of the appointment of the Town of Boston, that we have the honor of writing to your Grace, and of communi- cating the enclosed Narrative, relating to the Massacre in this Town on the 5th instant. After that execrable deed, perpetrated by soldiers of the 29th Regiment, the town thought it highly expedient that a full and just representation of it should be made to persons of character, in order to frustrate the designs of certain men, Avho, as they have heretofore been plotting the nun of our constitution and liberties, by their letters, memorials, and representations, are now said to have procured depositions in a private manner, relative to the said Massacre, to bring an odium upon the Town, as the aggressors in that affair : But we APPENDIX. 107 humbly apprehend, your Grace, after examining the said Narrative md the depositions annexed to it, will be fully satisfied of the false- hood of such a suggestion ; and we take upon ourselves to declare upon our honor and consciences, that having examined critically into the matter, there does not appear the least ground for it. The depositions referred to (if any such there be) were taken without notifying the Select Men of the Town or any other persons whatever, to be present at the caption, in behalf of the Town : of which conduct as it has been justly complained of heretofore in other cases, so the Town now renew their complaint in the present case ; and humbly presume such depositions will have no weight, till the Town has been served with copies of them, and an opportunity given the Town to be heard in their defence, in this matter ; and in any other, wherein their character is drawn into question, with a view of passing a censure upon it. A different conduct was observed on the part of the Town. The Justices with a committee to assist them, made then' examinations publicly ; most of them at Faneuil Hall, and the rest where any per- son might attend. Notifications were sent to the Custom-house, where the Commissioners of the Customs sit, that they or any per- sons in their behalf, might be present at the captions : Accordingly Mr. Sheafe the deputy collector, and Mr. Green, tenant of the Cus- tom-house under the Commissioners, and employed by them, were present at many of them.* One of the said Commissioners, Mr. Robinson, in a secret manner has embarked on board Capt. Robson, and sailed for London the 16th instant, which, with three of the other Commissioners retiring from the Town, and not having held a board for some time since the 5th instant,f gives reason to apprehend, they have planned, and are exe- cuting a scheme of misrepresentation, to induce administration to think, that their persons are not in safety in this Town, in the absence of the Troops. But, my Lord, their safety is in no wise dependent on Troops ; for your Grace must be sensible, that if any evil had ever been intended them, Troops could not have prevented it. It was so apparently incompatible with the safety of the Town, for the Troops to continue any longer in it, that his Majesty's Council were unanimous in their advice to the Lieutenant-Governor, that they should be removed to the barracks at Castle Island. And it is the humble and fervent prayer of the Town and the Province in general, that his Majesty will graciously be pleased, in his great wisdom and goodness, to order the said Troops out of the Province ; and that his dutiful and loyal subjects of this Town and Province — dutiful and loyal notwithstanding any representations to the contrary — may not again be distressed and destroyed by Troops ; for preventing which we beg leave in behalf of the Town, to request most earnestly the favor of your Interposition and Influence. * See the Deposition of the Justices, page 103. f No Board has been held from the 9th of March, to the time of printing this Letter, viz.. May 16th, and it is uncertain when there will be one, 108 APPENDIX. The candor and justice of your Grace, so conspicuous in the last Session of Parliament, when your Grace was pleased to move in the House of Lords, that the Resolves then under consideration, and afterwards passed by that right honorable House, for censuring this Town and Province, should be suspended, till we could have oppor- tunity of being heard on the subject of them, — the candor and justice so conspicuous in that motion will always endear to us the personage that made it. And they give us the strongest Reason to hope for your Patronage, in everything not inconsistent with those virtues. We have the honor to be, with the most perfect regard, My Lord Duke, Your Grace's most obedient and very humble Servants, James Bowdoin. Samuel Pemberton. Joseph Warren. ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS A S HO E T IAEEATIYE OF THE HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE 5th OF MARCH, 1770. PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, MDCCLXX. NOTE. The original from which this is printed is in the Library of Harvard University. ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS. The extraordinary conduct of the Commissioners of the Customs since the 5th of March, and their perseverance in it, make it neces- sary to bestow a few observations upon it ; and upon divers matters, with which it seems to be connected.* The said Commissioners (excepting Mr. Temple) have all retired from the town : and we find, on particular enquiry, they have not held a meeting of their Board since the 9th of March. How they have disposed of themselves since that time we shall here relate. Mr. Robinson is gone to England. He sailed the 16th of March, and went not only without the leave, but, as it is said, contrary to the minds of his superiors, signified to him from home. None but the few, intrusted with the secret, knew anything of his going till after the departure of the vessel in which he went. Mr. Paxton retired to Cambridge, four miles from Boston, and for the most part has continued there. He has divers times, however, visited the town since that retiring. Mr. Hulton sometime ago purchased a place at Brooklyn, five miles from Boston, and has ever since resided there. Mr. Burch, with his wife, has retired to Mr. Hul ton's, who, to- gether with Mr. Burch (leaving their wives behind them) are now on a tour to Portsmouth, in the province of New Hampshire, where the last account from thence left them. It is now above six weeks since a Board of Commissioners Avas held : and it is utterly uncertain when there will be another. From their first establishment here, to the 11th of June, 1768, they * The copies of this Narrative, sent to England and other parts, conclude with the foregoing pages. Since they were sent, it has appeared necessary to add a few pages to the remaining copies : to do which an opportunity has been given by the restraint laid on the publishing of said narrative here. The reason of that restraint will appear by the following vote of the Town, passed at the Town-Meeting held the 26th of March, namely : " The Committee appointed to prepare the true state of facts, relating to the execrable Massa- cre perpetrated on the evening of the 5th instant, in order that the same be transmitted to Great Britain, having accordingly reported, and the Report being accepted by the Town and ordered to be printed : And whereas the publishing of the said Narrative with the Depositions accompanying it, in this county, may be supposed by the unhappy persons now in custody for trial, as tending to give an undue bias to the minds of the Jui-y, who are to try the same : Therefore, voted, That the Committee reserve all the printed copies in their hands, excepting those to be sent to Great Britain, till the further order of the Town. •'Attest, William Cooper, Town-Clerk." 112 APPENDIX. held their Boards regularly four days every week. They then retired on board the Romncy man-of-war, and from thence to the Castle : for what purpose, their letters and memorials lately published have suf- ficiently informed the world. From their re-establishment in Boston in November, 1768, to the 5th of March, 1V70, they held their Boards in the same regular manner. Since that time there have been but two Board meetings, the last of which was on the 9th of March. _ Now what do all these manoeuvres since the 5th of March indi- cate ? Is it possible to suppose they indicate anything less _ than a desio-n to take occasion from the outrages and murders committed on the evening of that day by the soldiers (assisted perhaps from the Custom-house) to represent the town in a disadvantageous light ? And does not their former conduct render this highly probable? Besides, it is a fact, that Depositions have been taken in a secret manner, relative to that unhappy affair, to the prejudice of the town ; and it is no way improbable that Mr. Robinson is gone home with memorials and letters from the Commissioners and others, accompany- ing such depositions. By some escapes, as well as by what the circumstances above- mentioned make probable, a pretty good judgment may be formed of the substance of those memorials, letters, and depositions, namely, that the Custom-house .was attacked — the revenue chest in danger, but saved by the firing upon the mob — the King's troops compelled to leave the town — the Commissioners thence obliged for their safety to quit it also — the consequent impossibility of their holding Boards — the detriment thence arising to the revenue and his Majesty's service all government at an end, and the Province in a state of rebellion. If these be, either in whole or in part, the subject of the dispatches sent home, it is very proper a few observations should be made upon them. The Custom-house attacked — a falsehood. The people drawn into Kino- street, were drawn thither by the cry of fire, and the outrages of the soldiers, which occasioned it. From the first appearance of the peo- ple in King street, to the time of the firing upon them, there had not passed fifteen minutes. It might with as much truth be affirmed, that they made an attack upon the Custom-house in London, as upon the Custom-house in Boston : of which latter there was not even a pane of glass broken. The revenue chest in danger— a falsehood. It is not probable the chest is kept at the Custom-house ; but if it be, there was, and is, at least as much danger of it from some of the out-door people em- ployed under the Commissioners, as from any body else. It is cer- tain that some of them are of an infamous character. The troops compelled to quit the town — a falsehood. They quitted the town by the orders of their commanding officer, in consequence of a request from the Lieutenant Governor who was advised by the council to pray the said officer to remove the troops. This request and this prayer was obtained by an application from the town to the Lieutenant Governor. Into what times are Ave fallen, that the govern- APPENDIX. 113 ment of the province is reduced to the humiliating condition ot mak- ing such a prayer ! But supposing the troops had been compelled vi et armis to quit the town. It would have been a measure justifiable in the sight of God and man. When the soldiers, sent hither for the declared purpose of assist- ing the civil magistrate to keep the peace, were themselves in a remark- able manner the breakers of the peace — when, instead of assisting, they insulted him ; and rescued offenders of their own corps from justice — when they frequently abused the inhabitants in the night — when they had entered into a combination to commit some extraordinary acts of violence upon the town ; and in consequence of it, on the evening of the massacre, attacked the inhabitants wherever they met them ; afterwards firing upon, and killing and wounding a number of them — when all this had been done, and more threatened, it was high time they should be removed from the town. If there had been no other means of getting rid of them, the inhabitants would have had a right by that law of na- ture, which supersedes all other laws, when they come in competition with it — the law of self-preservation — to have compelled them to quit the town. This law is radical in our nature, indelible from it, and uni- formly operating where it can operate, to the removal or destruction of every thing incompatible with it ; and is abrogable by no other law-giver than God himself, the great author of it. Therefore, al- though the resisting the King's troops in any thing they have a right by law to do, may be adjudged treason, yet when they act con- trary to law, especially in so outrageous a manner as in the present case, and retain a disposition to repeat it, whereby the lives of the King's subjects are in danger, they then cease to be the King's troops ; that is, they are not the King's troops for any such purpose, but so far become traitors ; and on the failure of other means of riddance from them, which the time and circumstances may make eligible and are lawful, they may (by the principles of all law, as well as by the great law above-mentioned," into which those principles are resolvable) be resisted and expelled ; and not to do it, where it can be done, is a species of treason against the constitution, and consequently treason in an equal degree against the King and all his subjects. The Commissioners obliged for their safety to quit the town. — If one falsehood can be more so than another, this is the greatest yet mentioned, and is as ridiculous as it is false. Their conduct and such a declaration by no means agree. Would they in that case occasionally visit the town ? Would they trust themselves in the environs of it ? Could they think themselves safe at Cambridge and Brookline ? Could they think themselves safe anywhero in the province, or indeed in Ame- rica ? Must they not know, if any evil were really intended them, it might easily overtake them any where, and every where on this side of the At- lantic ? Some other reason than their safety must therefore be looked for to account for their retiring, and discontinuing their boards. A similar proceeding of theirs in June, 1768, and their letters and me- morials lately published, give occasion at least to conjecture what that reason may be. Is it not probable it was to corroborate the said 8 1 14 APPENDIX. depositions, and thence induce administration to think it necessary, not only that the troops already here should be continued, but that a fur- ther number should be sent to strengthen and support them ? If this measure cannot be effected, and should the Commissioners be so un- fortunate as to remain here unattacked in the absence of the troops, it might naturally be thought they could have remained here without them in 1768 ; and therefore that they had put the nation to a very great expense, for no other purpose than further to alienate the affec- tions of the Americans, and to give them an additional reason to wish themselves independent of it. And hence the Commissioners might have cause to expect a national resentment against them. However in- jurious to us the effects of such policy may be, we cannot but applaud it (on the principles of the Machiavelian system) as it stands related to themselves. If they thought their own existence in danger, considered as Commissioners, how natural was it to use the means to support it ? And what fault could be found with the means, if those principles justified them ? Why need they trouble their heads about consequen- ces that would not affect themselves ? or, if they would, and such ex- istence appeared precarious without those means, was it not necessary they should be used, and the consequences disregarded '? If the means be successful to the end for which they seemed designed, it requires no prophetic spirit to foretell that the consequences may be bad enough. Whether the present Commissioners, or any board of Commissioners at all (whose appointments are fully equal to any be- nefit the nation or colonies are like to reap from them, and whose use- fulness hitherto may be valued by some of the negative quantities in algebra) are things of importance enough to hazard those consequen- ces, or any ill consequence at all, is humbly submitted to the wisdom of administration to determine. The consequent impossibility of their holding boards. — This impos- sibility was of their own creating. If they had continued in town (from whence they had not the least reason to depart, unless to an- swer purposes they would choose to conceal) they might have held their boards as usual. The detriment thence raising to the Revenue, and his Majesty's service. — If any such detriment has arisen, the fault is their own. His Majesti/s service, is a cant term in the mouths of understrappers in office. Many of them either do not know the meaning of it, or abuse it to answer their own corrupt purposes. It is used to express something distinct from the service of the people. The king and people are placed by it in opposite interests. Whereas, by the happy constitution we are under, the interest of the King is the interest of the people, and his service is their service : both are one, and consti- tutionally inseparable. They who attempt to separate them, attempt to destroy the constitution. Upon every such parricide may the ven- geance both of King and People descend. Government at an end. — This" has been the cry ever since the Stamp- Act existed. If the people saw they were going to be enslaved ; if they saw Governor Bernard (from whom they had a right to ex- A New and Accurate PLAN of the TOWN of Boston in Me wJEmglajstd . .-. - w iS'l'uN APPENDIX. 115 pect that he would do nothing to promote it) was zealous and active to rivet the chains ; and that his government, in its principles and conduct, tended to the establishment of a tyranny over them, was it unnatural for them in such a case to reluct ? was it unreasonable to refuse an acquiescence in such measures ? Did an opposition to them indicate a disregard to government ? If government, in the true idea of it, has for its object the good of the governed, such an administra- tion could not be called government : and an opposition to it by no means included an opposition to government. From such an opposi- tion has arisen the cry, that government is at an end. The sooner such government i.« at an end the better. When a people have lost all confidence in government, it is vain to expect a cordial obedience to it. Hence irregularities may arise, and have arisen. But they will cease, when the true ends of government are steadily pursued. Then, and not till then, may it be expected, that men of weight and influence will exert themselves to make gov- ernment respected. Nay, such exertions will then be needless, for mankind cannot help respecting what is in itself respectable, especially when it is at the same time so promotive of their own good as good government is. The province in a state of rebellion. — Into this state its enemies, on both sides of the Atlantic, have been endeavoring to bring it. When they could not make it subservient to their interest and views ; and when their measures had raised a spirit of opposition to them, that opposition was made the lucky occasion to represent the province in a state of rebellion, or verging towards it. To justify such a repre- sentation the more fully, they endeavored to drive it into that state : whereby in the end they might hope to gratify both their malice and avarice ; their malice by injuring it most essentially ; and their avarice, by the subjection of it to their tyranny and pillage. But nothing can be more false than such a representation : nothing more foreign from this people than a disposition to rebellion. The principles of loyalty were planted in our breasts too deep to be eradicated by their efforts, or any efforts whatever ; and our interest co-operated with those prin- ciples. It is humbly hoped his Majesty will not be influenced by such re- presentations to think unfavorably of his faithful subjects of this pro- vince : and that hope is grounded upon their innocence : of which they have the highest evidence in their own consciousness ; and of which they have given their adversaries no other cause to doubt, than what arises from an opposition to their measures. Measures, not only ruinous to the province, but hurtful to Great Britain, and destructive of the union, and commercial intercourse, which ought always to sub- sist between her and her Colonies. The foregoing Observations appeared necessary to vindicate the Town and Province from the aspersions so unjustly cast upon thenx, The few that follow refer to the present and future state of Great Britain and her Colonies : 116 APPENDIX. How happy is Britain with regard to situation and many in- ternal circumstances ; and in her connection with her Colonies ! Separated from the rest of the world, and possessed of so large a naval force, she i? secure from foreign invasions : her government (well administered) is the best existing; her manufactures are ex- tensive, and her commerce in proportion. To the two latter the Colo- nies have in a considerable degree contributed. By these means she has risen to her present opulence and greatness, which so much dis- tinguish her among the powers of Europe. But however great and opulent she may be, she is capable of being still more so ; and so much so, that she may be deemed at present in a state of minority, compared with what she will one day probably be, if her own con- duct does not prevent it. The means of this greatness are held out to her by the Colonies ; and it is in her power, by a kind and just treatment of them, to avail herself of those means. The Colonists are husbandmen, and till lately have manufactured but a small part of their clothing, and the other articles with which they had been usually supplied from Great Britain. But they have been taught by experience they can supply themselves ; and that experience (which has been forced upon them) has demonstrated most clearly, that they have within themselves the means of living conveniently, if not with elegance, even if their communication with the rest of mankind were wholly cut off. This, however, could not be an eligible state : but no one entitled to and deserving the liberties of an Englishman, can hesitate a moment to say, that it would be preferable to slavery ; to which the Colonists have apprehended themselves doomed, by the measures that have been pursued by Ad- ministration. If the Colonists might be permitted to follow their inclinations, with which at the same time their interest coincides, they would be husbandmen still, and be supplied as usual from Great Britain. The yearly amount of those supplies (as appears by the. exports from Britain) is very considerable,* and might be in future in proportion to the increase of the Colonists. * The value of the exports from Britain to the Colonies in 1766, which was less than in 1765, stood thus : — To New England, .... £409,642 New York, 330,829 Pennsylvania, .... 327,314 Virginia and Maryland, . . . 372,548 Carolina, . . . . . 296,732 £1,737,065 This is taken from " The present state of the Nation," in which there is an account of the said exports for the years 1765 and 1766 only. Now supposing the observation just, that the Colonists (whose number by the said Pamphlet is estimated two millions) double every twenty years, and the exports from Great Britain to the Colonies should increase in that pro- portion, the value of the said exports and the number of the Colonists, at'the end of five such periods after 1766, will stand thus : — VALUE OF EXPORTS. In 1766 £1,737,065 for two millions of Colonists. 1786 3,474,130 for four millions. 1806 6,948,260 for eight millions. 1826 13,896,520 for sixteen millions. APPENDIX. 1 1 7 Their increase is rapid : they are daily emigrating from the old towns, and forming new ones : and if they double their numbers every twenty years, as it is said they will continue to do, so long as they can form into families by procuring the means of subsistence at an easy rate, which probably will be the case till America shall be well peopled, there will be in a short time a prodigious addition to his Majesty's subjects ; who if not compelled to manufacture for them- selves, will occasion a proportionable demand for the manufactures of Great Britain. If it be considered, too, that America, from its different soils and climates, can raise perhaps all the productions of other countries in the same latitudes ; which being remitted in exchange would most of them be rough materials for Britain to manufacture ; what a fund of wealth and power will America be to her ! Her in- habitants, of ever}'- denomination, by finding employment, and the consequent means of subsistence, will greatly increase ; and her trade and navigation be in proportion. She might then view with indiffer- ence the interdiction of her trade with other parts of the world ; though she would always have it in her power, from the superiority of her naval force, which such a trade and navigation would enable her to support, to do herself justice, and command universal respect. Connected with her Colonies, she would then be a mighty empire : the greatest, consisting of people of one language, that ever existed. If these observations be not wholly visionary, and a mere reverie, they possibly may not be unworthy the consideration of Parliament : whose wisdom will determine, whether any revenue whatever, even the greatest that America could possibly produce, either without or with her good will, would compensate the loss of such wealth and power ; or justify measures that had the least tendency to bring them into hazard : or whether for such a revenue it would be worth while to hazard even the present advantages, resulting to Great Britain from an union and harmony with her Colonies. In 1846 $27,793,040 for thirty-two millions. 1866 55,586,080 for sixty-four millions of Colonists. The last mentioned numbers are so large, that it is likely the principles oc which they are formed may be called into question. Let us therefore taks only one-quarter part of those numbers, and then the value of exports from Britain to the Colonies, in 1866, will be more than thirteen millions sterling for sixteen millions of Colonists. It is highly probable, by that time there will be at least that number of Colonists in the British Colonies on this con- tinent. Now, in case there be no interruption of the union and harmony that ought to subsist between Great Britain and her Colonies, and which it is their mutual interest should subsist and be maintained, what good reason can be given why such exports should not bear as great a proportion to the number of the Colonists as they do at this time ? If they should, the value of such exports (which will be continually increasing) will be at least thir- teen millions per annum. A sum far surpassing the value of all the exports from Great Britain at this day. In what proportion so vast a trade with the Colonies would enlarge the other branches of her trade ; how much it would increase the number of her people, the rents and value other lands, her wealth of every species, her in- ternal strength, her naval power, and particularly her revenue (to enhance which in a trifling degree has occasioned the present uneasiness between her and the Colonies) are matters left to the calculation and decision of the politi cal arithmeticians of Great Britain. AN INDEX TO THE APPENDIX, A. Adams Matthew, Allen Jeremiah, Allen Joseph, Alline Benjamin, . Allman John, Andrews Benjamin, Esq. Appleton Nathaniel, . Archibald Francis, Jr., . Atwood Samuel, 46 80 95 77 96 99 52 67 55 Bass Henry, - 49 Bass Gillam, 76 Belknap Jeremiah, .......... 53 Bostwick Samuel, 48 Bourgate Charlotte, ....... . . 75 Brailsford John, 44 Brailsford Mary, . 43 Broaders Bartholomew, 57 Brown John, . . 47 Burdick Benjamin, Jr., ...... . 61 C. Cain Thomas, 64 Calfe Daniel, 59 Cato, , .... 85 Church Benjamin, Jr., ......... 96 Coburn John , 53 Cochran David, 38 Condon Samuel, 68 120 INDEX. Copeland Asa, • ........... 43 Coster George V., . . . ..... 82 Crafts Edward, .... 94 Cunningham Peter, . . .... • -65 Dorr Ebenezer, . • . ..... 93 Drowne Samuel, 83 F. Fallass William, 95 Fenno Ephraim, 98 Feriter Nicholas, 39 Fisher, John, . 40 Fosdick Nathaniel, 68 Frizel Benjamin, 79 G. Gammel John, 75 Gardner Mary, 96 Goddard John, ... 59 Goddard Robert, 86 Gray John, 41 Green John, 99 Green Hammond, . { . . . 100 Greenwood Thomas, 101 H. Hewes George Robert Twelves, 90 Hickling John, . . 88 Hill John, Esq., 40 Hinckley Ebenezer, 66 Hobby Charles, 62 Hooton Joseph, Jr., 69 Jackson Thomas, Jr., .... .... 90 King Matthias, .... 56 Kirkwood James, Capt., ... .... 55 Kneeland Bartholomew, 51 Knox Henry, 73 INDEX. 121 L. Leach John, Jun., . 60 Le Baron William, 50 Lewis William, 50 Loring David, , .98 M. McNeil Archibald, . . . ... 42 Marshall Thomas, Esq. • 60 Mason Jonathan, . ....... 93 Morton Dimond. 78 N. Newhall William, 38 Noyes Nathaniel, . . .44 P. Palmes Richard, . . • . .70 Parker Isaac, * • 51 Patterson Robert, . 85 Payne Edward, .... 74 Peirce Isaac, . 93 Pierpont Robert, . • 47 Polley Robert, ....... ... 54 R. Read Francis, ... . ... 77 Rhodes William, . 97 Richardson Jeffrey, . .... 39 Pdordan John, . , . 91 Russell Mary, 97 S. Simpson Josiah, 80 Swan Caleb, 46 Swansborough Margaret, 46 T. Tant William, 63 Thayer Nathaniel, 51 Thayer Mary, 42 Tuckerman Abraham, . .... 92 Tyler William, . 48 122 INDEX. U. Usher Daniel, 86 Usher Jane, . 45 W. Walker Spencer, 92 Ward Richard, 45 Whiston Obadiah, . 89 Wilme John, 37 Wilme Sarah, ...... ... 37 Wilson John, 82 Wyat William, 72 i "03 H 35 89 , ^ j * ^ V\ c • • ** ♦♦ **is&*- ^ ^ •' ^ * ^ • i> t • o *^-v * > . S • • ^ J > . » * 0^ **\?* > V 4 *L^> <^ A?' •\ <-°^> y.-^kX «.»*..iife.% A <. +r?, HECKMAN BINDERY INC. /^APR 89 N. 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