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i
COLLECTIONS
OP THE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
(iDommittee of publication.
CHARLES C. SMITH.
MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN.
ROBERT C. WINTHROP, Jr.
COLLECTIONS
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
SIXTH SERIES. — VOL IX.
■t ll)t SljaiBt el tdc IKaiKuiiuwtls Kistarial Cnut Swa.
BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.
M.DCCC.ICTO.
John Wilson and Sojc, Cambkidgk.
117811
• • ••••••••• •
• • • •••. ?••••••" • •• • •
• • • • •••, • •• •••'•-• • "
• •••••^•, -•••••• ••• •• •
• • • • -• •• •••,*■ «
•• ••.•*•• •• • • • • • • »
CONTENTS.
PAQB
Officers of the Societt, elected April 9, 1896 ... vii
Resident Members yiii
Honorary and Cobkespondino Members x
Members Deceased zii
Preface ziii
The Bowdoin and Temple Papers 3
Index 489
W
OFFICERS
OP THE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Electbd April 9, 1896.
Sttstbtnt*
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, LL.D Lincoln.
JUSTIN WINSOR, LL.D Cambridge.
SAMUEL A. GREEN, LL.D Boston.
Jlttorbfatg SiuxttBXg*
EDWARD J. YOUNG, D.D Waltham.
Cotfisponbuij Sitttttstji*
HENRY W. HAYNES, A.M Boston.
CHARLES C. SMITH, A.M Boston.
JfibniriRii*
SAMUEL A. GREEN, LL.D Boston.
Calmut-iPteptr.
SAMUEL F. McCLEARY, A.M Brookline.
Cftcntibi Commitlet of t^i Cotmcil.
ARTHUR LORD, A.B Plymouth.
EDWARD L. PIERCE, LL.D Milton.
THORNTON K. LOTHROP, LL.B Boston.
ABBOTT LAWRENCE LOWELL, LL^ Boston.
CHARLES R. CODMAN, LL.B Cotuit.
[yii]
RESIDENT MEMBERS,
▲T THE DATE OF THE PRi:«TINO OK THIS BOOK, I2r THE ORDER OF
THEIR ELECTION.
1860.
Hon. Samuel Abbott Green, LL.D.
Charles Eliot Norton, LL.D.
1861.
Rev. Edward Eyerett Hale, D.D.
Hon. Horace Gray, LL.D.
Rev. Edwards Amasa Park, LL.D.
1863.
William Henry Whitmore, A.M.
18G4.
Hon. William Crowninshield
Endicott, LL.D.
18G5.
Samuet Eliot, LL.D.
Josiak Phillips Quincy, A.M.
1866.
Henry Gardner Denny, A.M.
1867.
Charles Card Smith, A.M.
Hon. George* Silsbee Hale, A.M.
1869.
William Sumner Appleton, A.M.
Hon. Theodore Lyman, LL.D.
1871.
Abner Cheney Goodell, Jr., A.M.
Edward Doubleday Harris, Esq.
1873.
Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, LL.D.
Winslow Warren, LL.B.
Charles William Eliot, LL.D.
[viii]
1875.
Charles Franklin Dunbar, LL.D.
Charles Francis Adams, LL.D.
WiUiam Phineas Upham, A.B.
1876.
Hon. William Everett, LL.D.
George Bigelow Chase, A.M.
Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, LL.D.
1877.
John Torrey Morse, Jr., A.B.
Justin Winsor, LL.D.
James Elliot Cabot, LL.D.
1878.
Henry I^ee, A.M.
Gamaliel Bradford, A.B.
Rev. Edward James Young, D.D.
Hon. John Lowell, LL.D.
1879.
William Whitwell Greenough, A.B.
Rol>ert Charles AVinthrop, Jr., A.M.
Henry Williamson Haynes, A.M.
1880.
Thomas Wentworth Higginson,LL.D.
Rev. Edward Griffin Porter, A.M.
John Codman Ropes, LL.B.
1881,
Rev. Henry Fitch Jenks, A.M.
Horace Elisha Scudder, Litt. D.
Rev. Edmund Far well Slafter, D.D.
Hon. Stephen Salisbury, A.M.
RESIDENT MEMBERS.
IX
John Tyler Hassam, A.M.
Key. Alexander McKenzie, D.D.
1882.
Arthur Lord, A.B.
Artliur BLike EUis, LL.B.
Clemeut Hugh Hill, A.M.
Frederick Ward Putnam, A.M.
James McKeUar Bugbee, Esq.
Hon. John Dayis Washburn, LL.B.
liev. Egbert Coffin Smyth, D.D.
1883.
Rey. Arthur Latham Perry, LL.D.
1884.
Hon. John Elliot Sanford, LL.D.
Uriel Haskell Crocker, LL.B.
Hon. Roger Wolcott, LL.B.
Edward Channing, Ph.D.
1886.
Samuel Foster McCleary, A.M.
William Watson Go6dwin, D.C.L.
Hon. Greorge Frisbie Hoar, LL.D.
Rey. Alexander Viets Griswold
Allen, D.D.
1887.
Charles Greely Loring, A.M.
Solomon Lincoln, A.M.
Edwin Pliny Seayer, A.M.
1889.
Albert Bushnell Plart, Ph.D.
Thornton Kirkland Lothrop, LL.B.
James Bradley Thayer, LL.D.
Hon. Henry Stedman Nourse, A.M.
1890.
Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, A.M.
Abbott Lawrence Lowell, LL.B.
1891.
Rey. Samuel Edward Herrick, D.D.
Hon. Oliver Wendell Holmes, LL.D.
Henry Pickering Walcott, M.D.
1892.
John Fiske, LL.D.
George Spring Memam, A.M.
1893.
Edward Lillie Pierce, LL.D.
Hon. Charles Russell Codman, LL.B.
Barrett Wendell. A.B.
James Ford Rhodes, LL.D.
1894.
Hon.Edward Francis Johnson, LL.B.
Hon. Walbridge Abner Field, LL.D.
Henry Walbridge Taft, A.M.
Rt. Rey. William Lawrence, D.D-
William Roscoe Thayer, A.M.
1895.
Rey. Morton Dexter, A.M.
Hon. Thomas Jefferson Coolidge,A.M.
Hon.William Wallace Crapo, LL.D.
1896.
Francis Cabot Lowell, A.B.
Granyille Stanley Hall, LL.D.
Alexander Agassiz, LL.D.
Hon. James Madison Barker, LL.D.
Theodore Ayrault Dodge, Esq.
1897.
Thomas Corwin MendenhaU, LL.D.
Rey. Leverett Wilson Spring, D.D.
HONORARY OR CORRESPONDING
MEMBERS,
ELECTED UNDER THE OHIOINAL ACT OF INCOHPO RATION, 1794, IN THE ORDE^
OF THEIR ELECTION.
1850.
James Hammond TVumbull, LL.D.
1854.
Rev. William Scott Soutbgate, D.D.
HONORARY MEMBERS,
ELECTED SINCE THE PASSAGE OF THE ACT OF 1867.
1871.
David Masson, LL.D.
1874.
Marquis de Rochambeau.
1876.
Rt. Rev. William Stubbs, D.D.
Hon. William Maxwell Evarts, LL.D.
1880.
Theodor Mommsen.
1882.
William Edward Hartpole Lecky,
LL.D.
1887.
Hon. Carl Schurz, LL.D.
1896.
Samuel Rawson Gardiner, LL.D.
Rt Hon. James Bryce, D.C.L.
w
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS,
■LROTBD 8I1TCE THB PA88AQB OF THE ACT OF 1857.
1858.
Hon. William Henry Tresoot.
1864.
Goldwin Smith, D.C.L.
1866.
Joseph Jackson Howard, LL.D.
1869.
Charles Janeway Stills, LL.D.
M. Jules Marcou.
1870.
Charles Jeremy Hoadly, LL.D.
John Foster Kirk, LL.D.
1873.
Hon.Manning Ferguson Force, LL.D.
1875.
Hon. John Bigelow, LL.D.
Henry Charles Lea, LL.D.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, A.M.
1876.
Bev. Bichard Salter Storrs, LL.D.
1877.
M. Gustave Vapereau.
1878.
John Austin Stevens, A.B.
Joseph Florimond I^ubat, LL.D.
Charles Henry Hart, LL.B.
1870.
Bev. Moses Coit Tyler, LL.D.
Hermann von Hoist, Ph.D.
Franklin Bowditch Dexter, A.M.
John Marshall Brown, A.M.
Hon. Andrew Dickson White, LL.D.
George Washington Banck, Esq.
1880.
James McPherson Le Moine, Esq.
Bt Hon. Sir George Otto Trevelyan,
Bart, D.C.L.
Henry Adams, A.B.
1881.
Julius Dexter, A.B.
Bev. Henry Martyn Baird, D.D.
Hon. William Wirt Henry.
Vicomte d'Haussonville.
1883.
Bev. Charles Bichmond AVeld, B.D.
Herbert Baxter Adams, Ph.D.
Signor Coruelio Desimoui.
1885.
Hon. Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry,
LL.D.
Amos Perry, LL.D.
1886.
Hon. William Ashmead Courtenay.
1887.
Bt Bev. Mandell Creighton, D.D.
John Andrew Doyle, M.A.
1891.
Abbd Henry Baymond Casgrain,
LittD.
Alexander Brown, Esq.
1894.
John Nicholas Brown, Esq.
Capt Alfred Thayer Mahan, D.C.L.
Hon. Jacob Dolson Cox, LL. D.
1896.
Leslie Stephen, LL.D.
James Burrill Angell, LL.D.
William Babcock Weeden, A.M.
Bichard Gamett LL.D.
1897.
Bev. George Park Fisher, D.D.
AVoodrow Wilson, LL.D.
Joseph Williamson, A.M.
[a]
MEMBERS DECEASED.
Members who hai:e died since the last volume of Collections teas issued , Dec. 18, 1895,
atranged in the order of their election, and with date of death.
Resident.
Kev. Lucius Robinson Paige, D.D. Sept. 2, 1896.
Hon. Martiu Brimmer, A.B Jan. 14, 1896.
Francis Amasa Walker, LL.D Jan. 5, 1897.
William Goodwin Russell, LL.D Feb. 6, 1896.
George Otis Shattuck, LL.B Feb. 23, 1897.
Hon. William Steele ShuHlefF, A.M Jan. 14, 1896.
Benjamin Marston Watson, A.B Feb. 19, 1896.
Hon. Henry LUlie Pierce Dec. 17, 1896.
Honorary.
Ernst Curtius , July 11, 1896.
Corresponding,
Hon. John Meredith Read, A.M Dec. 27, 1896.
Horatio Hale, A.M. Dec. 29, 1896.
[xii]
PREFACE.
piERRE BAUDOUIN, a Huguenot of La Rochelle — by
^ tradition a man of good family and some fortune —
fled from France to Ireland at the period of the Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes, and ultimately found his way to New
England, where his name was gradually anglicized to Peter
Bowdoin. He died in Boston in 1706, leaving two sons, of
whom the elder, John, settled in Virginia, founding there
a family of much respectability; while the younger, James,
became the richest merchant of his day in Boston, where
he died in 1747. The younger of the two surviving sons
of the last-named was one of the distinguished men of
the American Revolution, a detailed account of whose
career may be found in a published Address on the Life
and Services of James Bowdoin, delivered at Bowdoin
College in 1849 by a late President of this Society.*
It is only necessary to say of him here that he was
bom in Boston, August 7, 1726 ; graduated at Harvard in
1745 ; married, Sept. 15, 1748, Elizabeth, daughter of
Hon. John Erving ; became a merchant, a member of,
the Legislature, and the intimate friend of Benjamin
Franklin ; sat in the Council of Massachusetts from 1757
to 1774, and again in 1776-1777 ; was elected in 1774
* See Addresses And Speeches by Robert C. Wintlirop, vol. i. pp. 90-133 ; and
Washington, Bowdoin, and Franklin, a subsequent volume by the same author.
XIV PREFACE.
one of the five delegates to the Continental Congress;
was Chairman of the Committee for promulgating the
Declaration of Independence in Boston ; was President of
the Convention to frame a Constitution for Massachusetts
in 1779 ; was one of the founders of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780, and its President
from that year until his death ; was Governor of Massa-
chusetts in 1785 and 1786 , and a member of the State
Convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States
in 1788. He died in Boston Nov. 6, 1790, aged 64, leav-
ing a son and daughter.
The only son of the preceding, generally known as the
third James Bowdoin, though not so distinguished as his
father, was a man of some note. Born in Boston, Sept.
22, 1752, he graduated at Harvard in 1771, and was
subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford. After devoting a
good deal of time to foreign travel, he followed the
example of his father and grandfather, and became a
Boston merchant ; married. May 18, 1781, Sarah, only
child of his uncle, Hon. William Bowdoin ; became a
benefactor of Bowdoin College, in Maine, which had been
named after his father ; sat in the Massachusetts Legisla-
ture ; was a personal friend of Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison, the former of whom appointed him
United States Minister to Spain in 1805, and subse-
quently Associate Minister to France. After a residence
of several years in Paris at a most interesting period, he
returned home in 1809, and died Oct. 11, 1811, at his
seat of Naushon Island, aged 59. With him ended the
male line of the Boston Bowdoins, but by the provisions
of his will, and the will of his widow (who became the
second wife of Gen. Henry Dearborn), the name of
Bowdoin was successively assumed by various descend-
PREFACE. XV
ants of Governor Bowdoin's only daughter, Elizabeth,
who, so far back as January 20, 1767, had married
John Temple, then Surveyor-General of Customs for the
Northern district of America, later Sir John Temple,
baronet.
This gentleman was the second surviving son of a
Captain Robert Temple, who came to this country in 1717,
founded a Scotch-Irish settlement on the Kennebec, and
ultimately established himself near Boston, where he
married a daughter of John Nelson, built a house on
Noddle's Island, subsequently acquired the estate of
Ten Hills Farm so long associated with Governor Win-
throp, and died there in 1754, leaving a numerous family.
His son John was born in Boston in August, 1732, but went
early to England, where he received much kindness from
the Grenville family, to whom he was doubly though dis-
tantly related, his father having represented a younger
branch of the Temples of Stowe, of whom Richard Grenville,
Earl Temple, was heir-general, and his mother having de-
scended from the Temples of Stantonbarry, another branch
of the same prolific stock. Through the Grenville influence
John Temple obtained, in 1760, the Surveyor-Generalship
of Customs above-mentioned, and in the following year
the less important post of Lieutenant-Governor of New
Hampshire. The spirit and activity shown by him in
detecting abuses in the Revenue Service met with general
approbation, but he incurred the enmity of Sir Francis
Bernard, then Governor of Massachusetts, whom he ac-
cused of corruption. In 1767 his office became merged
in a newly created Board of Customs for North America,
of which he was one of the five Commissioners ; but as his
colleagues were friends of Bernard, while his own inti-
macies were with the popular party, there ensued much
XVI PREFACE.
friction, and in the autumn of 1770 Temple was super-
seded, probably by the influence of Bernard, who had
returned to England. Seeking redress in London, he was
refused further employment in America, but after some
delay obtained the post of Surveyor-General of Customs in
England, with a good salary, from which, after having
held it less than two years and a half, he was summarily
dismissed in 1774, Lord North refusing him any explana-
tion. As the dismissal of Dr. Franklin occurred at the
same time. Temple was naturally accused of having been
associated with Franklin in transmitting to Boston the
famous letters of Governor Hutchinson, a charge which led
to his well-known duel with William Whately.*
For the next ten years he remained out of office. Lord
Temple and George Grenville were both dead, and the
latter's son, afterward Marquis of Buckingham, could for
the time being do nothing for him. He passed his time
chiefly in England, occasionally on the Continent, making
two separate visits to America of some duration, and all
the while endeavoring, by means of his intimacy with
leading men of both countries, to bring about a better
state of feeling between the mother country and the
colonies. He had a difficult part to play, and it is not
surprising that his effofts were unsuccessful. The son-in-
law of Bowdoin and the friend of Franklin, he was natu-
rally regarded with distrust by Lord North, while his
English associations and his relationship to the Grenvilles
inspired little confidence in Boston and Philadelphia.
After the Treaty of Peace, however, he was made Consul-
* The only reference to this duel found among these papers is in a letter from
Mrs. John Temple (dated at London. March 3, 1774) to her brother James in Italy.
In it she speaks of the distress the affair had caused her, and alludes to an account
of it which she had previously written him. Tliis account would appear to have
miscarried.
PREFACE. XVll
General to the United States with a large salary, a position
which he held for thirteen years, making his principal
residence at New York, where he exercised mucli hospi-
tality. He died there Nov. 17, 1798, aged 66, leaving the
reputation of a warm-hearted man, whose impulsive
temper had sometimes involved him in bitter controversies,
but who was a great favorite with his friends and much
beloved by his family. His elder brother Robert having
left no male issue, he had become, in 1782, the head of
his branch of the Temples, and four years later he was
notified by Lord Buckingham that their mutual kinsman.
Sir Richard Temple, seventh baronet of Stowe, had died
childless, and that he (John Temple) was next in succes-
sion.* The estate of Stowe had long been separated from
the title, but this he promptly assumed, and it is still
borne by a descendant of his in the fourth generation.
His two sons (one of whom took the name of Bowdoin)
preferred to live in England, but his widow removed from
New York to Boston, in order to be near her elder daughter,
who had married, in 1786, Thomas Lindall Winthrop,
afterward President of this Society.
Mr. Winthrop successively administered the estates of
the widow and son of Governor Bowdoin, of Sir John and
Lady Temple, and of other members of his wife's family.
He thus came into possession of a mass of Bowdoin and
Temple papers, which, with his other family-papers, passed
at his death, in 1841, to his youngest son, the late Hon.
Robert C. Winthrop. The latter, being then detained in
Congress by public business, was unable to give personal
attention to the breaking up of his father's establishment,
and the result was the disappearance of the larger part of
* For this and other letters of the Marquis of Buckingham, see Proceedings,
ToL ix. pp. 69-8a
XVlll
PREFACE.
these Bowdoin and Temple manuscripts, which were dis-
covered, more than fifty years later, by our associate,
Robert C. Winthrop, Jr., in a forgotten chest, originally
supposed to contain only probate accounts. Tliis explan-
ation is necessary in order to show why Hon. Robert C.
Winthrop did not many years ago place the whole body
of the papers at the Society's disposal, instead of content-
ing himself with communicating the selections which are
to be found scattered through our volumes of Proceedings.
The entire collection stretches over the period from 1760
to 1811. Including many letters and papers already to
be found in print in various forms, but not including
strictly family-letters, it is now contained in five large
folio volumes of original correspondence, two letter-books,
and several smaller volumes of miscellaneous papers, to
say nothing of a variety of printed matter which has been
turned over to the Society's library.*
As so many letters from this great mass of papers have
been printed in the Proceedings from time to time, very
few of which are also contained in the present volume, it
has been thought desirable to append a reference to the
places where such letters may be found. They are as
follows : —
Vol. iii. p.
.179
Vol. xii.
pp,
. 207-211
iv.
120
226-230
V.
237-248
348-356
• • •
XllL
153,154
237-240
465-485
xiv.
232, 233
vi.
356-361
2d Series iv.
66
• •
Vll.
291-297
• • •
Vlll.
60-64
* • •
Vlll.
85-87
288-290
ix.
7-12
69-80
xi.
178
• For some ftirther accouDt, see 2 Proceedings, vol. viii. pp. 59-63, and 518.
PREFACE. XIX
The letters and other documents now printed extend
over the period from July, 1756, to Nov., 1782, and relate
almost wholly to public affairs, though there are a con-
siderable number of private letters which place in a pleas-
ant light the personal relations of prominent actors in the
contest between Great Britain and the Colonies. The
important letters of William Bollan to the Council of
Massachusetts or to committees of that body are printed
from the originals, or from duplicates or triplicates, which
probably remained in the hands of Mr. Bowdoin as a leading
member of the Council. All have the autograph signature
of Mr. Bollan. Most of the answers are printed from rough
draughts, of which many are in the handwriting of Bow-
doin or with additions or corrections by him. Bowdoin's
own letters are printed from his rough draughts or from
copies made by himself in a very small and neat hand.
Mr. Temple, on the contrary, was a very careless writer,
though evidently fond of using his pen ; and many of his
copies are mere scrawls. Among the other letters in the
volume are not a few of much historical interest and im-
portance, — such as the letters to and from Thomas
Pownall, and especially the very interesting series of letters
from Thomas Whately to John Temple. It is much to
be regretted that copies of so few of Temple's letters to
Whately were preserved. As they are not in his Letter-
Book, it is probable that they were copied on separate
sheets of paper which have since disappeared.
Boston, March 15, 1897.
THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS.
THE
BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS.
GE0B6E 6RENVILLE* TO PASCHAL NELSON.f
WOTTON, July y* 18*^, 1756.
Dear Sib, — Tour letter of the end of last month did
not reach me so soon as it otherwise woud have done, as
I was then gone abroad upon a visit to Lord Egremont, &
I delayd giving an answer to it till I knew how far I coud
obey your commands. At my return from Petworth I
spoke to my brother, M' Obrien,^ who is the only person
I can easily speak to at the Treasury Board about such
busyness. He has since informd me that he has enquird
about the appointment of M' Temple, § your nephew, to
be Controller of the Customs at New York, that it is not
yet come to the Treasury, that when it does come he will
use his good offices to get it confirmd if there is no other
positive engagement made of it. I shall be very glad if
it can contribute to his success as I shall allways interest
myself in every thing that relates to you & your family, &
am very truely, dear Sir,
Your most faithfuU & obedient humble servant.
George Grenville.
Pabchal Nelson, Esq*.
* At this time Grenville was not in office, luiving been diemiMed from the lucrative poet
of Treaiurer of the Navy in November, 1755. — Eds.
t Second son of the first John Nelson (1654-1734), was a fpuduate of Harvard College
in the class of 1791. He died unmarried in London July 19, 1759. — Eds.
I Percy Wyndham O'Brien was one of the Lords of the Treanury in the administration
of the Duke of Newcastle. He was a brother of Geoi^re Grenville's wife and of Charles
Wyndham, Earl of Egremont. He took the name of 0*Brien in pursuance of the will of an
ancle. Lord Thomond, in the Irinh peera^. — Eds.
I John Temple; his mother (Mehiubel) was a sister of Paschal Nelson. —Eds.
4 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1759.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JAMES ERVING.»
Boston, Oct® 17, 1759.
S% — I rec"* your favor of the 30"" July, with an ac-
count of your arrival at London after an agreable passage,
which gave me a great deal of pleasure. I am much
obliged to you for the magazines you sent, among which
was the Royal Magazine (the 1" N**) which you'll be pleased
to send me for every month as it shall be published. I
have already acquainted you with the taking of Niagara,
Carilon, & Crown Point, and have now to congratulate
you on the reduction of Quebeck which surrendered the
17"* ult. in consequence of the glorious action that hap-
pend on the 13% when Wolfe became immortal. I need
not mention the particulars, as you must have them in
a more direct manner before this can reach you. We
had upon this occasion (the last evening) the most gen-
eral & most brilliant illumination that was ever seen in
America. t We are in hopes Gen^ Amherst will complete
this good work by the reduction of Montreal : he proceeded
down Lake Champlain the 11*^ inst. with 4,500 men to
remove the French from S* John's, where they are very '
strongly intrenched upon an island. If he succeeds there
& Gen^ Gage (who was the 8*** inst* at Oswego) should go
seasonably down Cataraqui so as to meet him at Montreal
we may expect that Montreal may be reduced ; th8
Vaudreuil, who has 10,000 men with him, if he acts with
• Mr. Bowdoin*« brother-in-law. third son of John Erring, who was one of the richest
merchants in New England. He died in the West Indies, unmarried. — £i>8.
t ** The Province-House, Court House, and the Houses in all Parts of the Town were
beautifully illuminated : and several Windows presented to View some ingenious Repre-
sentations : A Number of large Bonfires formed in a pyramidical Manner were on several
Eminences in the Town ; and an Abundance of extraordinary Fire- Works were play'd off
in almost every Street; more especially the greatest Quantity of Sky-Rockets ever seen on
any occasion. — In short, as the Consequence of such a Victor}', with which Heaven has
blessed his Majesty*s Arms, must be so happy to us in an especial Manner, so the Rejoicings
were the greatest ever known, an universal Joy appearing in Persons of all Ranks, tho* not
without some allay of Sorrow at the I^ss of the brave General by whose Means, under
GOD. Quebec was oblig'd to submit to the Britibh Government." (The Boston Evening-
Poet, Oct. 22, 1759.) — Eds.
1761.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 5
spirit and his men don't continue to be poltrons, may
greatly obstruct if not intirely prevent it, especially con-
sidering how far elapsed the season for action is. My
next I hope will inform you M' Amherst's success. All
friends send their complim^.
Y".
WILLIAM BOLLAN* TO ANDREW OLlVER.t
Leicester Square, Feb'' 12*, 1761.
Sir, — On the 20*** of last month the House of Coinons
granted £200,000 to his Majesty, to enable him to com-
pensate the respective provinces in North America their
expences of the troops they raised, in the same form of
words used in the last year's grant of the like sum. In
* William Bollan was for Kome years agent for the Province of Massachusetts in England,
and afterward agent for the Cuuncil alone. He was bom in England and came over with
Shirley, whose second daughter be nsarried in 1743. He *-* was a lawyer of eminence in his
profession, and was Advocate General when he was chosen agent for the Province and sent
to England to solicit the reimbursement of the charge in taking and securing Cape Breton.
In obtaining thi:) he discovered as much address as fidelity; he acted like a wise man who
would persevere till he gained his object/' *' In 1768 he obtained a copy of the letters written
against the town of Boston by Gov. Bernard, Gen. Gage, &c., and from this time he
became a most popular man amongst those who once could not view him with any com-
placency. Mr. Hancock declared in the House of Representatives, that there was no man
to whom the Colonists were more indebted, and whose friendship had been more sincere.*'
(See Eliot*s Biographical Dictionary, pp. 73, 74.) In a letter to Thomas Hollis, dated Oct.
17,1768, Rev. Andrew Eliot writes, — **I have been always of the opinion that if Mr.
B— II— n had been continued in his agency, many of the disputes we have had with Great
Britain, and which it is probable we shall have, would have been prevented. He was per-
fectly acquainted with our affairs, would have been able to convince the ministry of the
impolicy of their measures, if they were at all open to conviction, and would have taught
his constituents here to conduct with caution and prudence, which certainly are not incon-
sistent with a firm adherence to our rights. I freely spoke against that gentleman's dis-
mission as an imprudent step; now it is too late; othem i>ee and own it to be so. The Speaker
of the late House of Representatives hath told me more than once, that he heartily wished
they had taken my advice. Party views influenced them, as they generally do.'* (4 Mass.
Huit Coll , vol. iv. p. 430.) Mr. Bollan continued in active life until 1775, and died in the
following year. — Eds.
t Andrew Oliver was bom in Boston March 28, 1706, and graduated at Harvard College
In 1724. From 1743 to 1746 he was one of the representatives of Boston in the Ckmeral
Court; one of the Council from 1746 to 1765; Secretary of the Province from 1766 to 1770;
and Distributor of Stamps under the Stamp Act in 1765. He succeeded Hutchintmn as
Lieutenant Governor, in 1771, and died in Boston March 3, 1774. See I>rake*8 Dictionary
of American Biography, p. 671. ~ Eds.
6 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1761.
the course of my attendance to obtain this grant, on the
12*^ of Jan*^, when it was proposed at the Treasury that
two thirds only of the aforesaid sum shou'd be granted
for the last year's service, because, M' West said, the Colo-
nies had raised but two thirds of the number of troops
which they raised in preceeding years, after what passed
respecting this subject was concluded, M' West mentioned
to me the apportionment of the last year's grant ; where-
upon I informed him that I had received no accounts of
the expences of the campaign in 1759, imputing this to
the captures of several ships coming from Boston, and
acquainted him that I was fully satisfied by my instruc*
tions given by the General Court the accounts had been
dispatched, and that supposing they were miscarried in
their passage I had in Octob' advised the Greneral Court
of it, and expected others. I had some time before this
understood that the agents of other Colonies had petitioned
for an apportionment ; but I chose to let the matter rest,
without making any motion for delay until called upon,
hoping that in the mean time the accounts wou'd come to
hand ; but now of necessity I prayed that the matter
might be deferred. M' West appointed an attendance on
the next Board-day, and after several attendances, on the
22^ of Jan*^ I presented a memorial to their Lordships
praying the apportionment shou'd be postponed til the
accounts arrived, and it was accordingly deferred, tho'
several of the agents attended that day to bring it on. I
informed them that it was my purpose, if possible, to get
the service of our Province troops in keeping garrison at
Louisbourg & Nova Scotia during the winter to be con-
sidered as a service different from the campaign service,
the expence whereof was intended to be compensated by
the parliamentary grant, and consequently to get the ex-
pence of this extraordinary service paid out of some other
fund, and not out of the comon bag ; but that before the
accounts came to hand I cou'd make no motion touching
1761.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 7
this point. My proposal appearing to them reasonable,
as well as serviceable to their constituents in case of suc-
cess, they acquiesced in the desired delay. Upon consider-
ing my instructions relative to this matter, with all its
circumstances, this proposal appeared to me to be just &
equitable, as well as beneficial to the Province, being per-
suaded that this extraordinary winter service was not
within the contemplation of the Parliament when the
grant was made, at which time the service was not con-
cluded, the grant being made on the 31"^ of March ; so that
the expence of the service from that time til May is out
of the words of the grant, as well as the whole out of the
meaning of it, according to my sense of the matter;
nevertheless I have at present very little hopes of my
proposal succeeding, and not much better of that which is
mentioned by the General Court in their instructions. The
difficulties attending this a^air have been unfortunately
encreased by the want of the proper accounts, and are
further augmented by the near approach of the dissolution
of the Parliament, which with the present state of the
finances with other public affairs, and of all things relative
to this matter, leave much less room for prosecuting any
measure to effect concerning it than is desirable. On the
6*** instant I received by the penny post the account of the
charges paid by the Province for his Majesty's service in
the year 1759, and yesterday I received by way of Bristol
a triplicate of it, each of them being accompanied with a
letter from the Lieut*. Governor, wherein he informs me
that it is not possible to ascertain til the rolls are made
up the charge of the Province's keeping garrisons at Louis-
bourg & Nova Scotia ; and after mentioning divers matters
proceeds to make an estimate of it, but computation, I
fear, will not supply the place of a particular account with
proofs, and be received as a proper foundation for any
special demand, so that all things seem to conspire to
embarrass this business.
8 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1761.
I am with the greatest respect for the Great & Greneral
Court, Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant
W. BOLLAN.
BPSeSbt Oliver.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO ANDREW OLIVER.
Leicester Square, Feb^ 14**, 1761.
Sir, — My letter of the 12*** instant was dispatched
in so much haste that I omitted mentioning that the
General Court having by their instructions said, "the
Secretary wou'd furnish me with an account of what had
been advanced to such men as were raised by the Prov-
ince, and served on board his Majesty's ships-of-war up
Canada river in the year 1759, for their wages while on
board said ships, in which account wou'd be inchided the
wages of said men for a certain time from their going
from Boston to their getting on board said ships, and
from their being discharged to their arrival there," I ex-
pected to have received this account, but that it was not
3'et come to hand ; nor have I received any copies of the
muster rolls or pay rolls relating to these seamen, said
by the L* Governor, in his letter of the 14*^ of July, to be
sent to me, nor any papers respecting this demand, saving
the powers given by the seamen to the Treasurer, with his
substitutions to me, in some few of which mention is made
of the ships wherein the constituents served. Gov'
Pownall having called upon me yesterday, to decline by
reason of the state of his affairs the care of the applica-
tion for relief of the sufferers by the fire at Boston, upon
my enquiry he informed me that the agreement made
between him and Admiral Durell respecting these seamen
was made by letter, and he seem'd fully persuaded that
the Admiral's letter, or a duplicate, was lodged with the
Secretary, saying at the same time that if he had the
1762.] JASPER MAUDUIT. 9
original it was packed up together with his other papers
left in M' Hancock's hands, and that I shou'd have it
when he received it ; but the time of his receiving his
papers I perceived was very uncertain.
The sums raised within a year past for the public
service having far exceeded what was ever raised in any
preceeding year, and being found to fall very short of
what is wanted, the diflBculties relating to money mat-
ters are much increased, and will unavoidably, I fear,
in some respects affect the Province service, so that I
rejoyce at the last parliamentary grant being made so
early in the session, and desire to observe that too much
care cannot be taken in preparing and dispatching the
plainest acounts & best proofs of every demand.
I am, with the greatest respect for the Great & General
Court, Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
M> Sf.5ry Oliver.
JASPER MAUDUIT* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Th2 Hon^ James Bowdoix, Esq*.
Sir, — I have the honor of your letter of the IS*** of
May last, with a certificate appointing me agent for
the Society for propagating Christian Knowlege among
the Indians in North America. As I should naturall}'
wish success to so pious & usefull an undertaking, you
may depend upon mj^ utmost indeavours to get your
Act of Incorporation confirmd. I can with the more
propriety engage in its favour, as the design of this Act
* Jasper Bfauduit was a prominent Dissenter in England, and succeeded William Bollan
as agent of Massachnsetts, liaving been chosen by the General Conrt April 23, 1762. He
held this office for a iittle more than two years, when he resigned and Richard Jaclcson, Jr.,
waa choeen in his place. The act of the General Court incorporating the '* Society for
propagating Christian Knowledge among the Indians in North America** was passed io
Feb., 1762, and disallowed in Bfay of the following year. See Province Laws, Vol. ir,
pp. 890-533, 668, 664. — Eoa.
10 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1762.
directly falls in with that service, which the charter of
the Province of Massachusets declares to have been the
principal end of the said Plantation. The charter of W" &
Mary, by reciting this sentiment, as the principal end of
King Charles's patent adopts it as its own. I am. Sir,
with the highest regard for the gentlemen of the Society.
Your most obedient humble servant.
Jasp* Mauduit.
jLiMB Street, 27^ S^, 1762.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JASPER MAUDUIT.
Boston, Nov' 2, 1762.
Sir, — The students at our College in Cambridge having
for a considerable time past been increasing, it has become
necessary to erect a new building to accommodate such
as wanted chambers. This being represented to the
Greneral Court they granted £4,250 for that purpose ; but
the building which that sum was intended to effect not
being large enough to accommodate the whole, & a com-
modious room being wanted for a library 't was judged
expedient to build upon a larger plan, provided the
means of doing it could be had. The only means of
doing it (as a further sum could not be expected from the
General Court after so generous a grant) was by a lottery,
with respect to which, when Governor Bernard (who upon
all occasions has shewn himself a great friend to the
College) was applied to, his Excellency said he would
readily give his consent to an act for allowing a lottery,
had not the Lords of Trade expressed their disapprobation
of lotteries, and enjoined him to allow of none, but at the
same time observed that if a bill was to be prepared he
would send an abstract of it to their Lordships, and
endeavour to obtain their leave for his signing it. Accord-
ingly a bill has been prepared, & his Excellency by this
conveyance has writ fully upon it to their Lordships,
1762.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 11
whose favor, considering the good end the lottery is
intended to promote, there is great reason to hope for.
Now, Sir, what the friends of the College have to ask as
a favor of you is, that you will be pleased to exert your
influence to obtain of their Lordships a favorable answer
to Gov* Bernard's letter, that the obstacle to the passing
of the bill may be removed."* As the circumstances of
this affair require that the Governor should receive their
Lordships' answer as soon as possible, it will be look'd on
as a peculiar favor if you'd endeavour to procure it so as
that his Excellency may have it before the opening of the
spring, at which time, if no intelligence should arrive, the
small plan must be adopted. It will be taken as a great
favor if M' Jackson (the worthy gentleman concerned with
you in some affairs of the Province)! will give his influ-
ence in procuring a favourable and speedy answer to the
Governor's letter. Being but little, or perhaps not at all,
known to you (having had the pleasure of writing to you
but once before, viz., on the act incorporating a Society
here for propagating Christian knowledge in America)
I should need to apologize for the trouble this may give
you, did I not apprehend that it would be in some measure
counterbalanced by the pleasure you take in rendering the
Province any service in your power, as you will in this
case, in its literary interests.
I am, with great esteem, S', yr. most obed* serv*.
James Bowdoin.
* The desired permiuion wai promptly granted ; but it wu not nnti] June, 1765, that
the General Court passed the act authorizing a lottery' to be set up. The preamble recited
that, "considering the great expense which the General Court has lately been at in building
Hollis Hallf and also in rebuilding Harvard College, it cannot be expected that any further
provision for the college should be made out of the public treasury, so that no other resort
is left bat to private benefactions, which, it is conceived, will be best excited by means of a
lottery." Accordingly certain persons were appointed trustees to set up and carry on
A lottery to raise the sum of three thousand and two hundred pounds, lawful money, to be
expended for building a new hall for the College. See Province Laws, vol. iv. pp. 834, 835,
and the learned editor's note, pp. 868, 869. — Edb.
t Richard Jackson, Jr., was appointed by the General Court to act for the Province
in ease of the absence, sickness, or death of Jasper Siandoit. See Province Laws, vol. iv.
p. 586 and pamm, — Edi.
12 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1762.
You '11 excuse my importunity if I again request your
endeavour that the answer to the Governor's letter may
be conveyed as early as may be, and by several opportu-
nities. If none direct, by way of New York, &c.
JASPER MAUDUIT TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
(Copy.)
James Bowdoin, Esq*.
London, Dec 2i^\ 1762.
Sir, — I have the pleasure of your, letter of 2* Nov',
and having just now been inform'd that there was a ship
Ij'^ing at Spithead, I send this to Portsmouth in the ut-
most hurry, in hope of catching it before its departure.
I had receiv'd no instructions from the Colony relative to
the Lottery bill in favour of Harvard College, and ther-
fore for that & other prudential reasons have transacted
this affair with M' Pownal,* only as a private person and
a friend of the College, and not as agent for the Colony,
and in it I have had M' Jackson's kind assistance. I
have now the pleasure to tell you that M' Pownal ac-
quainted me this morning tliat the business was done, and
that he would send me a letter to the General for that
purpose, if I could get it convey 'd to him. I hope it will
reach him at the same time this does. Much was said
against lotteries in general, which I answer'd in the best
manner I was able. I congratulate you on our success,
and am willing to catch the earliest opportunity of ac-
quainting you with it, that the service of the College may
not be delay'd. I am. Sir,
Your most humble servant.
Jasp* Mauduit.
* John Pownall, Secretarj of the Bomrd of Trade; he wat the elder brother of ThomM
PownBll. — Eds.
1763.J JASPER MAUDUIT. 13
I hope that the above went safe in the Devonshire,
Cap* Hunter, though my letters which I got ready for
Portsmouth by the next post, were to my great disap-
pointment return'd, the ship being saild. I had not then
time to mention that I went with M' Jackson to present
to his Majesty the College Verses,* which are much ap-
proved of here. The dedication is a very masterly per-
formance. I heartily wish that the hint which is so
very hansomly given at the end of it could reach his
Majesty's notice to the obtaining the royal countenance
and assistance, which the College so well deservs.
The prudential reason I mentioned respects the atten-
tion which ought always to be pay'd to the Province's
independent right of legislation. At a time when the
General Court is so justly alarm'd with an attempt to
introduce a suspending clause into their acts, I could not
but think that it would very ill become me as the Province
Agent to do any thing which should give the least coun-
tenance to the sending over copies of bills previous to the
Governor's passing them, which would be just equivalent
to their passing bills with such a suspending clause. For
this reason, though at M' Pownal's request I took care
of his letters to the Governor, and sent them down to
Portsmouth to save him the trouble ; yet I wrote no letter
to the Governor with them, that I might not know any
thing of the subject of them, or contribute by any act of
mine to the establishing of so dangerous a presendent [sic].
You will be so good, if you please, to mention this to the
Governor, that I may not be thought wanting in my
respect to him. I am. Sir,
Your humble servant.
Jasper Mauduit.
The e^ Jan'ry, 1763.
* The "FictaB et GratuUtio/' printed in 1761, on the accession of George III., by Har-
▼ard College. — Ed*.
14 THK BOWDOIX AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1763.
P. S. As I appeard only as a private soUicitor for
Harvard College, M' Pownal told me that there was a fee
of two guineas due to the office for all such private appli-
cations, which I accordingly paid to him, & which the
College is very welcome to.
JASPER MAUDUIT TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, 7^ of April, 1763.
Sir, — I promised in my last, of the 23^ of March, to
give you a more particular ace* of my proceedings on the
act for promoting Christian Knowlege. But it would
more than fill this sheet if I were to go through the sev-
eral shapes which the opposition to it has assumed, accord-
ing to the several different occasions. So long ago as the
10*^ of Dec' I was told at the Plantation Office that this
act was opposed by the Archbishop & the Society for
propogating the Gospel. I ask'd M' Pownal what it was
which his Grace objected to. He answerd that he could
not well make it out. I then urged the necessity & con-
venience of a speedy confirmation, and shew'd him your
letter to me, which he read over & seem'd satisfied with,
& bad me go to S' Matthew Lamb * & get him to make a
speedy report. I did so ; but could not prevail with him
to make a report on that act singly, but he said he would
do it on all the acts together. The 3"* of Febr'y I received
notice from M' Pownall that the Lords were ready to
hear me next day upon that act. I went the next morn-
ing, & after waiting some time M' Pownal came out to
me & acquainted me that the act was not approved of
at the Board, & that it would not pass. But that upon
* An eminent English lawyer, born in 1705, and died in 1768. He sat in the House of
Commons as member for Peterborough from 1747 until his death, and was grandfather of
he second Viscount Melbourne, who was Prime Minister on the accession of Queen Victoria.
See Dictionar>' of National Biography, vol. xxxi. p. 432. — Eds.
1763.] JASPER MAUDUIT. 15
his representing to the Lords that I had frequently been
with him to soUicit the confirmation, they had consented
to hear what I had to say in its behalf. But that it was
an extremly busy day, and he wishd to know the purport
of what I had to offer. I told him that the bill spoke for
its self & proceded from a laudable design, and that the
views of the Society were clearly express'd in it. Inlarging
upon the goodness of their intention & reminding him of
your letter, he answer'd that the Lords would not dispute
the laudableness of the design, but that there were political
reasons for their not confirming it. That the title of the
act was enough to overset it ; that it was for erecting a
Society for propogating Christian Knowlege among the
Indians of North America ; that the Province had not a
right to grant charters which should extend beyond their
own jurisdiction ; that under this act their missionaries
might go among the Lidians over all North America, &
counterwork the designs of government here, as the
Quakers had done in Pensilvania ; and besides that there
was no provision made in the bill to oblige the Society to
account to any oflScer of the government, which other in-
corporated societys were always obliged to. To the first I
said, that their fund was not such as to admit of missions
of that extent ; that missionaries were imployed only to
the westward among the Mohawks ; that I did not know
that the Quakers had any such charter ; that the one col-
ony or the other if they were disposed to counteract the
designs of government here might do it without such a
private charter as this as well as with it ; that Parliament
here often granted charters to corporations without oblig-
ing them to account to any but their own members ; that
I was sure of one, Guy's Hospital, which I was a Governor
of, which set out with a capital twenty times as great as
this was, and yet accounted for it only to themselves ;
that if the Board wou'd indulge me with their objections
in writing, I would indeavour to answer them. He said
16 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1763.
he did not know whether that would be granted. He was
then sent for in to the Board, & soon after told me, —
This proves a very busy day, and I would advise you to go
home, for nothing can be done to-day ; I will acquaint the
Board with what you have said, & let me see you next
week. I went the 8% when I was appointed a hearing
on the ll**". But the 11"* happened to be a bad day with
me, & I was confined to my bed, and having no body else
was obliged to send a servant with a message of excuse.
I went again when I was well, & saw M' Pownal on the
22*, who told me, that he was sorry to acquaint me that
the act would not pass, that it was gone from their Board,
with a representation that it ought not to be confirmed.
I again ask'd, for what reasons, and he again repeated
much the same things as before. Adding that these
people might apply the money to oppose the missionaries
of the Church of England. I answerd that there was
room enough for the few which this society could main-
tain and all the Episcopal missionaries too, and that I
wishd that Society for propogating the Gospel had im-
ploy'd their missionaries more among the Indians than
they had hitherto done in North America. He answerd
that that matter would now become an object of govern-
ment. And that something was under consideration for
the whole of Indian affairs, and upon my asking him, he
told me that I could do nothing farther in this business.
I heartily wish that my indeavours had been more suc-
cessfull & was much mortified that my illness prevented
my attendance at the Board at one of the most critical
times, when 1 was largely prepared to answer the objec-
tions taken from the preamble's extending the bill to all
North America, but I am fully satisfied that nothing
which could be said or done could have prevailed to the
getting the bill confirmed. I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
Jasp* Mauduit.
1763.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 17
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JASPER MAUDUIT.
Boston, April 25, 1763.
S% — I am honoured with y' letters of 27"^ Oct% 24**'
Decf, & 6"* Jan'^. The gent" of the Society are much
obliged to you for your readiness to engage so heartily in
favor of their incorporating act, and they doubt not, not-
withstanding the opposition it was likely to meet with,
your endeavors to procure the King's confirmation would
be effectual. This opposition was least to be expected
from a Society, the end of whose institution so much
coincided with that of ours.
In consequence of your application the Governor has
received a letter from the Board of Trade with leave to
pass the lottery bill relative to the College. In behalf of
the College I return you hearty thanks for your vigorous
& successful application & for your generosity in giving
to the College the fees you paid to the oflBce. You'll
please to give the thanks of the College to M' Jackson
for his kind assistance in the affair.
I am verj'' glad to hear the College Verses have been
approved, & heartily wish with you that the hint in the
didication may be the means of obtaining the royal coun-
tenance. Your generous disposition to the College will
engage your endeavors for that purpose. Your cautious-
ness of doing any thing that might look like giving up
(as Agent) the Province's right of legislation sufficiently
justifies your not writing the Governor on the subject of
the lottery bill, an abstract of which he sent to the Lords
of Trade. I have mentioned this matter to his Excell"^
as you desired, and he is quite satisfied about it.
I am, &c.
May 9"* This day was held a meeting of the Overseers
of the College to whom I comunicated your letter of 24"*
2
18 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
Dec' & 6*^ of January, as did M' Oliver your letter to
him. They have a grateful sense of your favors to the
College, & passed a vote of thanks to y'self & M' Jackson,
which will be transmitted to you.
Yrs.
THOMAS WHATELY* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, 8"* June, 1764.
Dear Sir, — I did not imagine when we parted that it
would have been for so long a time. I thought your par-
tiality for England would have brought you soon back
again, for you had tried to leave us once, & could not help
returning. Have you married a wife & cannot come, or
will you still give us leave to expect you? You will
find us ready to meet you again in the Crown & Anchor,
tho' perhaps with respect to other avocations not quite
so much at leisure as we were. Business has come on
upon us all, but not such as to make us forget the agreable
hours we used to spend together. I often think of my
American freinds & sometimes presume to hope that
they may now & then think of me. On that presumption
I venture to remind you of your former acquaintance &
flatter myself that you will not think it an intrusion to
recal past scenes which we passed chearfully together.
Since they were over I have frequently had the pleasure of
hearing of you all. Lord Stirling, I was lately inform' d,
was well ; Hamilton has always had one nephew or another
• Thomas Whately is said to have been brought into public life by George Grenville,
who made him his private secretary in 1762, when Grenville became one of the Secretaries
of State. In 1763 he was appointed Joint Secretary of the Treasury. On the death of
Grenville he attached himself to Lord North, and was assailed with unsparing severity
by Junius. In January, 1771, he was appointed one of the Lords of Trade ; and not long
afterward he was made one of the Under Secretaries of State. He died in June, 1772.
It was to him that the Hutchinson and Oliver letters were addressed. See Grenville
Papers, pamm; N. T. Col. Docs., vol. viii. p. 277, note; Correspondence of the Earl of
Chatham, vol. iv. p. 75, note. — Kds.
1764.] THOMAS WHATELY. 19
in England, who corresponded with him. His brother
Allen too has been here the last twelvemonth, but is just
now returning to Pensylvania ; I took my leave of
him this morning. Ingersal,* I find, is expected very soon
in England. You have lost poor Morris. As to yourself,
I hear of you both in your publick & your private char-
acter. You may perhaps be surprised to find me so well
acquainted with your proceedings as Surveyor General,
but the mystery will be solved when I have told you
that I have left the bar, & am now Secretary to the
Treasury. It was with great pleasure that I executed one
part of my business not long ago, which was to signify to
the Commissioners of the Customs y* satisfaction you gave
to the Lords of the Treasury by y* spirit & activity you
shewed in the seizure you made at Rhode Island. This
specimen of your zeal to destroy the contraband trade
which is carried on there, & I am afraid in almost every
other part of America, has (without flattery I assure you)
rais'd great expectations of your success. Would all the
officers of y* revenue do their duty in the same manner
that pernicious practice would prevail no longer, so much
to the disgrace of America & to y* diminution of y* revenue,
but I hope a few such examples as you have shewn, & a
proper attention to make such regulations from time to
time as exigencies may require, will have their due effect.
1 am sure all that can be done here will be done. It is a
favourite object of y* present administration, & nothing
will be omitted that can tend to accomplish it. The
* Jared Ingenoll was born at Milford, Conn., in 1722; graduated at Tale Collep^e in 1742 ;
mnd died at New Haven in 1781. Before the beginning of the troubles with the mother
conntTT he was held in high esteem by his fellow-countrymen, and in 1757 he was agent in
England for Connecticut. He went to England in the autumn of 1764, with Joseph
Harrison. In 1765 he was made one of the Stamp Distributors. Though he formally
resigned the office shortly after his appointment he became excessively unpopular, and
was bnmed in effigy. He was obliged to leave Connecticut, and was rewarded by the
Appointment of Judge of Vice Admiralty for New York and the middle colonies. He then
went to Philadelphia, but after the close of the war he returned to Connecticut. See
8ftbiDe*8 American Loyalists, vol. 1. pp. 561, 562. — Eds.
20 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
greatest pains is taken to procure all y* information that
they can in relation to the modes by which this illicit trade
is carried on, & to apply proper remedies. As my present
situation enables me to communicate any such information
to those who will make the best use of it, I should be
greatly obliged to you if you could furnish me with any.
It must often happen that facts & observations occur
to you which you may not think of that kind as to be
officially transmitted hither, & which yet would be of
great use if they were known; if it would not be too
much trouble at a leisure hour to write me what you
may think proper on the subject, you would confer a
favour on me, as I am anxious about it, & my office
necessarily engages me in it ; & I hope our old friendship
will excuse the liberty I take in asking this favour. I
doubt the hew instructions that are preparing for the
Custom House officers will be hardly ready by this mail ;
but they will be finished before another goes, & if any
merchant ship should sail in the meanwhile will probably
be sent by her. They are [torn] not only to enforce the old
regulations but [torn] support the execution of y' great
Custom House [torn] the last session. I shall be glad to
hear what [torn] the sentiments of y* Americans upon y*
new taxes, & what they think of a stamp duty, which was
thought of but postponed to next winter out of regard to
y* Colonies, to give them time to consider of it. To us
it appears y* most eligible of any, as being equal, exten-
sive, not burthensome, likely to yield a considerable reve-
nue, & collected without a great number of officers. Do
you apprehend any material objections ? & what do you
guess it will raise, if imposed in any given proportion to y*
same duty in England ? You will pardon my inquisitive-
ness, but all these points are very interesting to me now,
& you will oblige me by any information concerning them.
Webb & Wedderburn are very well. Coll. Clarke has been
abroad, chiefly in Portugal, for some time past, & is but
1764.] JAMES BOWDOIK. 21
lately come home. I shall be happy to hear from you
whenever you will favour me with a letter, & am
Your most obed. humble servS
Thomas Whately.
Please to direct for me, at y^ Treasury.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Boston, July 2, 1764.
S', — Your last favor informed me that you had sent
my letter to M' Canton, inclosed in one of your own, V
the packet, for which I am much obliged.
When I last saw M' Winthrop I inquired of him after
iEpinus. He told me he sent it to M' Stiles of Newport,
who would convey it to you. I thank you for your
pamphlet relative to the massacre of the Indians.* You
have given in it a very entertaining account of the hospi-
tality practised even by barbarians towards their enemies,
& such as must touch the souls (if they have any) of the
perpetrators of so horrid a deed. Horrid, if it had been
committed on enemies linder the circumstances of the
sufferers, & ten fold more so as on persons that were
friends. Such diabolism (one would think) could be
committed only in the infernal regions.
The measures your Assembly have taken to rid the
Province of Proprietary influence will probably occasion
the establishment of such a government among you as
will have sufficient strength to prevent the like outrage
in future, or exemplarily to punish the authors of it if it
should happen. The pamphlet published among you
previous to the spirited resolves of the Assembly fully
obviates the objections to a change of government, & is
* " A Narrative of the late Masitacreii, in Lanca<tter Countr, of a Number of Indians,
Friends of thb Province, hv Persons unknown. With some Observations on the same.'*
It is reprinted in Sparks*s Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. iv. pp. 54-77. — Eds.
22 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
well calculated to procure a change.* The Proprietaries,
I dare say, will not think themselves very greatly obliged
to the author, especially as he has pointed out such an
easy way for the Crown to satisfy any demand they may
have on account of their present right of jurisdiction.
I am much obliged to you for the metzotinto print of
yourself, which I rec"* by M' Williams. I esteem it a
valuable present, as it exhibits so good a likeness of a
gentleman for whom I have a sincere regard.
My compliments to your good family. I am with
great respect.
Y". J. B.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Dear Sir, — The great zeal you have shewn for the
improvement of y* revenue emboldened me some time ago
to ask you some questions in relation to one branch of it,
tho' not immediately within your department. I mean
y* stamp duty, which unless unforeseen objections occur
will probably be extended next year to America. There has
not yet been time for me to receive your answer & your
permission to write to you upon y* subject, but I cannot
help presuming on your goodness so far as to address to
you some further enquiries in relation to it, the answer to
which you may be assured I shall keep very private, &
shall esteem myself greatly obliged to you for. I know
there has been a stamp act in your Colony. I should be
glad to know what was its product & on what articles it
chiefly produced. What difficulties have occurr'd in
executing it ? What objections may be made to it, &
what additional provisions must be made to those in force
* The reference is doubtless to Franklin*s pamphlet^ ** Cool Thoag:ht8 on the present
Situation of our public Affairs. In a Letter to a Friend of the Country, " in support of the
movement to make Pennsylvania a royal province instead of a proprietary government
It is reprinted in Sparka's Works of Franklin, vol. iv. pp. 78-83. — Em.
1764.] THOMAS WHATELY. 23
here ? The greatest difficulty will be to ascertain the
law proceedings that ought to be stampt. I should be
much obliged to you if you could procure me the names of
your several Courts & of y* respective instruments &
proceedings used therein, which any lawyer of your
acquaintance can readily furnish you with. Have you
any fines & recoveries ? Have you any inferior Courts
that hold plea to a certain sum only ? What appeals
have you from one Court to another ? & are your writs
y* same as are mentioned in our stamp acts ? It will be
a principal object of attention here to make this tax as
little burthensome as possible, but for this purpose it will
be necessary to know whether y* same duties as are im-
posed in England on obligations, instruments of conveyance,
& indentures of apprenticeship would be too heavy on the
Colonies. Which of y* English duties will be burthen-
some? which should be omitted? & which lightened &
why ? I should also be glad to be inform'd whether you
use stampt cards & dice, how many newspapers are circu-
lated in y* Province, & what may reasonably be expected
to be y* produce of a stamp act, should the duty be laid
at an average in any given proportion to that imposed
in England. I am ashamed to trouble you with so many
questions, but y* importance of y* subject will, I hope,
prevent their being thought impertinent, & our old
acquaintance excuse the liberty I have taken. You will
be glad after so much business to hear that our friend
Webb is made a Welch Judge, which is a place for life of
£700 ^ ann. Coll. Clarke, who has been in Spain &
France since y* war, call'd on me yesterday, just 3^ same
man & in just y* same spirits he ever was. Your other
acquaintance whom I have y* pleasure to know are all
well.
Adieu, my dear Sir, & believe me
Ever yours.
Thomas Whately.
Tbkasurt Chambkrs, 14"= Aug^, 1764.
24 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
#
Boston, 10 Sep', 1764.
Dear Sir, — I cannot express the real pleasure that
your most obliging letter of 8 June has given me. I have
often wished for the correspondence that you have so
kindly offerd, and you may depend that any thing that
occurs to me in this country that can be any way worth
your attention as Sec^ to the Treasury, of which I wish
you joy, I will constantly communicate. The approbation
that my conduct has met with from the Lords of the
Treasury cannot but afford great pleasure to one who is
sensible he has no small share of ambition, & it is in some
measure a recompence for the vast trouble and fatigue
that I have had in the service of the revenue since my
arrival in N^ America (in which I have expended the
whole income of my little patrimony in addition to the
small, too small, allowance to me from the Board of Cus-
toms, however as I told my friends that I came abroad
not to make a fortune, but to make a character, so I am
in hopes that my services in America may recomend me
to future favour at home). I think upon the whole that
things are now in such a way that all kinds of smugling
& irregular trade will in a great measure soon be at an
end. But I do not apprehend that the revenue that will
be drawn from America will any way answer what seems
to be the expectation of Ministry. I have paid all pos-
sible attention to the trade of this country, and have con-
sidered how the new act will probably operate. Molosses
is the principal article on w""** any money worth men-
tioning can be raised, & on that I fear Parliament will
find they have left too large a duty in 3** a gallon. The
trade will either decline or methods will be found out
thro corrupt officers in the West Indies to naturalize
forreign produce tJierej & introduce it to the northern Col-
onies as Brittish growth ; a most vilianous instance of this
1764.] JOHN TEMPLE. 25
I am now representing home, under cover to you, for your
private perusal, after which you'l please to seal and send it
to the Board. I could wish Parliament had left only 2^ ^
gap on molosses imported into the Colonies, & that duty to
have been general on the produce of Brittish as well as
f orreign molosses ; it certainly would have raised something
handsome, & the duty, I believe, would have been punc-
tually paid. Our own sugar planters could have no rea-
sonable objection to the duty's being general, for the
molosses they export is so very inconsiderable that 'tis not
worth mentioning, not 5,000 hh^ a year is exported from
the whole island of Jamaica, and all the other English
islands together do not export the like quantity. With
them 'tis all turned into rum, & principally sent to Great
Brittain. Had the duty extended to molosses of what
produce soever there would have been no possible means
of its escaping the duty, & 2"^ a gallon, I believe, is full as
much as the trade can bear & continue to flourish. The
other dutys laid by the new act on the several articles
imported from England will produce such trifles from the
smallness of their importation that I need not say any
thing about them, other than that the dutys may [be ?]
very proper & I believe will be punctually paid.
I come now to a more important affair, the siamp duty.
This, I will suppose, as you say, is the most eligible & may
be the most easily collected of any duty that can be laid,
& will yield something handsome. On the same footing
that it is in England, I suppose it will yield upwards of
forty thousand pound sterling ^ annum in my district (the
5 Northern Colonies). But then for a moment consider
Great Brittain & her Colonies on the larger scale, & see
whither it will be either expedient or prudent to lay such a
duty. It is a certain fact that the produce of all these
Colonies in the course of. trade goes now to Great Brittain
for her manufactories, and if they produced three times as
much as they do, it would all go for the same purpose.
26 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEBS* [1764.
Our people are extravigantly fond of shew & dress, and
have no bounds to their importation of Brittish manufac-
tories but their want of money. Suppose a stamp tax to
take place & to yield sixty thousand a year to be collected
in America & sent home, there would certainly be £60,000
worth of goods less imported from Great Brittain, besides
such a sum of money laying still in coffers for the Crown
instead of circulating in the Colonies, already very much
drained of cash.
The sudden departure of this ship & the vast hurry I
am in preparing the officers to enter upon the new act
prevents my enlarging as I shall by the next oppertunity,
and from time to time after, as things may occur. You
will see by the inclosed papers what has been dqing at
Anguilla; notwithstanding what this Gumbs & Roberts
say with regard to the clearances being forged, I have no
doubt but that the whole has been carried on under the
management & by connivance of them.* When the peo-
* Among the Temple Papers is a very volaminoos collection of letters and docnments
connected with an illegal importation of molasses into Salem from Anguilla, a small island
in the West Indies, marked on the cover, — "Mr Cockle*s Suspension, with the whole of
his & Governor Bemard^s proceedings relating to the Anguilla Forgeries, &c., &c Copied
from the Original Letters & Depositions, now in the Possession of M' Temple, the Surveyor
General, 1764.'* The first document in the series is a letter from Mr. Temple to the Com-
missioners of Customs, dated Oct. 8, 1764, rehearsing the facts in the case, and setting
forth that " since the beginning of March last upwards of two thousand hogsheads of mo-
losses and several other effects, the produce of foreign plantations/' had been imported into
Salem, and that the Collector, without the knowledge of the Sun'eyor-General, but " with
the advice and concurrence of Governor Bernard in order to obtain their shares of the for-
feitures," had compounded a suit in the Court of Vice* Admiralty, to the great loss of the
King's revenue. " By the proceedure of Mr Cookie, the whole sum compounded for,
amounting to about twenty-five hundred pounds sterling, will be shared between him, (gov-
ernor Bernard, and the Province, and his Majesty (if the composition is allowed) will loose
upwards of fire thousand pounds sterling of his revenue." And he adds, — " This method
of compounding appears to me a perversion of the laws designed for the security of his
Majesty*s revenue to a direct contrary purpose, and if it is allow'd or can be supported,
opens a door for the greatest frauds by corrupt ofiicers conniving at irregular entries, then
libelling for the forfeitures and entering into a composition, by which the}' may avail them-
selves of large sums, and the importer at the same time (as the case may be managed
between them) pay much less upon the whole than the amount of the duties, and his
Majesty be defrauded of his revenue under the sanction of those very laws which were
designed to secure it. Of this the present case affords a striking instance, where an ofiScer
of the revenue (whose conduct in other instances appears to have been grossly corrupt)
with the advice and concurrence of an officer of the Crown of the first rank here, whose
duty to his Majesty obliged him to give all the astistance in his power to secure the revenue,
1764.] JOHN TEMPLE. 27
pie who are prosecuted here for the illegal importation of
their molosses find the necessity of their declaring th«*
whole 'tis probable the offenders may be fully discovered.
I have not suspended M' Cockle, the Collector of Salem,
(althd I think he fully deserves it) as the service shall not
suffer by his continuing in office till the will & pleasure
of the Treasury be known. This officer has given me
more trouble in keeping him tollerably to his duty than
all the other officers in the district together, which he has
been encouraged to do by Governor Bernard, whose in-
satiable avarice exceeds any thing that I have ever met
with. This M' Cockle is a low, abandoned man, not pos-
sessed of one principal necessary to the trust reposed in him.
M' Bernard was instrumental in getting him appointed
to be Collector of Salem, &" it is not doubted here that he
receives the greatest part of the income of that office as
well as of the gratuitys which I have no doubt M' Cockle
has often taken. I have information of this many ways,
th6 I cannot get the partys to give me possitive proof.
In the instance of which I have now wrote the Board of
Customs the most favourable construction that I can put
on M' Cockle & Governor Bernard's keeping me a week
unacquainted with the letter that they received from
Anguilla, is that what vessells were then in port under
false clearances might escape before I could take the
necessary steps for securing them to his Majesty's use.
From Governor Bernard I have constantly met with every
interruption that he could give me in office with any tol-
lerable degree of safety to himself. In this instance you
is foand oondacting an affair of thid importance in snch a manner as to avail themselves of
considerable sums, under the colour of law, so greatly to the prejudice of the King's
revenue." In a letter to the Commissioners of Customs, dated Nov. 30, 1764, Mr. Temple
writes that under the composition "confirmed by the Court of Admiralty for Vsd part of
the estimated value of said molosses,'* '*the Governor gets about £800 ster.; Mr Cockle
about £800; the Province about X800; the Judge of Admiralty £90; the Advocate £dO;
the Marshal, Register, &c, of the Court their usual proportion, all for a composition hutried
on & finished in a few days to the prejudice of his Majesty's revenue upwards of £5000
ster." — Em.
28 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764,
will judge how faithful an ofl&cer he is to the Crown in
keeping me unacquainted with the letter from Anguilla
when he must have consider'd how necessary it was to
the King's service that I should have the earliest intelli-
gence of it, that I might inform the several Custom
House officers in America to guard against such fraudu-
lent papers, & to take all possible steps to recover the
duty from those who had already got in. M' Bernard's
interfering with me in Custom House matters (as he has
so often done) weakens my power & influence over the
officers, disconcerts me in the vigorous measures I am de-
sirous of taking for the service of the revenue & often
renders me very uneasy in an employment in which I can
have no view but that of doing my duty so as to recom-
end myself to the government for such favours as I may
hereafter meet with. For I hold myself ready on my re-
turn to England to declare on the most solemn oath to
Almighty God that I have never made one shilling since
I have been in America but the sallary that has been
given me from home, when M' Bernard's insatiable avarice
has led him to draw an income from all quarters & from
all departments in this Province in such a manner as it is
a shame to his appointment. I have directed that prose-
cutions be carried on against the importers of the molosses
so fraudulently got in. Whither the Advocate General
will be able to make any thing of it I dont know. Noth-
ing shall be wanting on my part to bring the offenders to
justice. I shall write to you again by the packet that will
sail in a few days. In the mean time I am with the most
sincere respect, dear Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
J. Temple.
1764.] JOHN TEMPLE. 29
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Boston, N. E., 3 Octo. 1784.
Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure to write a long letter
to you on the 10^ of last month, and acquainted you with
the difficultys I had met with in the execution of my office
from M' Bernard, the Governor of this Province. Since I
then wrote you I have received such proofs on oath of the
corruption of M' Cockle, the Collector of Salem, that I
have tho't it my indispencible duty to suspend him from
that office.* The steps that have been taken here with
regard to the forged clearances from Anguilla has given
me more concern & trouble then any thing I have met
with in office. The inclosed is an exact state of those
afiEairs which I have transmitted to the Board of Customs,
a copy of which I have taken the liberty to inclose to
M' Grenville. I hope my conduct will meet with appro-
bation, for I have endeavoured to do my duty as far as
possible, and am verry sorry that in the course of it I have
found so much reason to complain of M' Bernard. It
seems as if the love of money had got the better of every
good principal in this man. The suspension of M' Cockle
has no doubt touch'd Gov' Bernard in a verrj' tender point,
considering their lucrative connection. However, I have
conscientiously done my duty void of all prejudice what-
soever. This will be delivered to you by M' Harrison,
the Collector of New Haven, a very sensible, ingenious
• Mr. Templets letter suspending Mr. Cockle is dated Sept. 28, 1764, and assigns the
following reasons for the suspension, — " Having received information on oath that you
took of David Glover, master of the floop Glocester, a bribe of fifty pounds sterling, instead
of the penalty due to his Majesty for the n&'xd sloop's breaking bulk before entry in May
last; and for your keeping me a week unacquainted with a letter that you received from the
Custom House officers at Anguilla of the greatest importance to his Majesty's revenue in
America ; for your entering into a composition for the duties of near two thousand hogs-
heads of molosaa entered at your port from Anguilla, to the great injury of his Majesty's
revenue; and above all for the insult offered me by you in the tender of a bribe to pass
over such your proceedings without punishment.'* Another letter of the same date directs
Mr. Cockle to deliver to William Brown, Esq., appointed Collector, all the books, papers,
&c., belonging to the office. — Eds.
30 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
man. I have pleasure in the opportunity of recommend-
ing him to your notice. If you shou'd have occasion to
make any enquirys about this country, there are but few
men more capable of giveing better information, and I
believe his integrity may be depended upon.
As we are now setting out with greatest exactness on
the new act of Parliament, and the orders & instructions
lately received from the Board of Customs, M' Cockle's
removal may be attended with verry salutary consequences
as a warning to others, tho' I must do them the justice to
say that I do not suspect that there is now such a corrupt
officer left in my district. We have already two or three
vessells entered with foreign molasses at this port since
the act took place & the three penny duty has been duly
paid. The people seem tollerably reconciled to it. My
expectations daily increase that the revenue on that article
will become considerable. I have not yet rece'd an exact
account of the molosses that has been got into my district
under the forged clearances from Anguilla. But from a
rough estimate it will exceed 5,000 hhds., the duties of
which wou'd amount to more than £13,000 sterling.
I set out this evening for New York & y* Jerseys, a
journey of more than 700 miles out & home. It is not
possible for me to represent to you the fatigue & trouble
that falls to my share, which has already injured a very
good constitution. Do not forget to present my- sincere
respects to M' Wedderbourn, Webb, CoP Clark, & to
every member of that desirable party that I once was a
member of in the happiest period of my life. Fortune
cannot smile more on me then to bring me to such times
again, and I will yet hope for them. I am, my dear Sir,
with the most sincere esteem
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
J. Temple.
To Tho* Whatelt, £8q% Secretary to the Treasury.
1764.] JOHN TEMPLE. 31
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Boston, 4 October, 1704.
Dear Sir, — Give me leave to remind you of the favour
that I ask'd of you on the 10*^ of last month that in case
the Lords of the Treasury think proper to appoint an-
other to be Collector of Salem in the room of M' Cockle
that you will interest yourself in favour of my bro', Rob^
Temple.* Believe me there is scarce anything that I
have more at heart, for this reason (much more than for
any views of interest) that it will give me weight in my
employm* & prevent any attempt either upon my honor
or the welfare of the revenue when it is found (notwith-
standing Gov' Bernard's insinuations) that I am not only
supported in removal of a corrupt abandoned officer,
but that I have interest to get a good man in his place.
You cannot oblige me more, & I shall esteem myself
everlastingly obliged to you. I have 20/ a day in an em-
ployment in which my whole time is taken up (with the
greatest fatigue & trouble), & in which my expences
amount to double the sallary. This cannot but have
weight with M' Grenville, who acts upon principals of
equity & justice. I am, d' Sir,
Your most obd*.
Tho» Whately, Esqb.
* The letter of Sept 10, as copied into the Letter-Book, does not contain the request of
which Mr. Whately is here reminded; but at the end of the copy is a memorandum to the
effect that at the same time " a second letter " was written to Mr. Whately. Apparently
a copy of the letter was not kept. See Mr. Whately's letter under date of Nov. 5, post^
p. 86. Robert Temple, a Mandamus Councillor and a Loyalist refugee, was baptized at
Christ Church, Boston, March 10, 1728; married Harriet, fourth daughter of Governor
Shirley ; and died in Ireland in 1782. His eldest daughter married the third Lord Dufferin.
For some further aocoont of him see Sabine's American Loyalists, vol. ii. pp. 349, 350. —
Eds.
32 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.*
To THE Honorable the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament
assembled:
The petition of the Council and House of Representatives
of his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay most
humbly sheweth.
That the act passed in the last session of Parliament
intituled " An Act for granting certain duties in the British
Colonies and Plantations in America, &c./' must necessarily
bring many burdens upon the inhabitants of those Colonies
and Plantations, which your petitioners conceive would
not have been imposed if a full representation of the state
of the Colonies had been made to this honorable House.
That the duties laid upon foreign sugars and molosses
by a former Act of Parliament intituled " An Act for the
better securing and encourageing the trade of his Majesty's
Sugar Colonies in America," if the act had been executed
with vigor, must have had the effect of an absolute prohi-
bition.
That the duties laid on those articles by the present Act
still remain so great that, however otherwise intended,
they must undoubtedly have the same effect.
That the importation of foreign molosses into this Pro-
vince in particular, is of the greatest importance, and a
prohibition will be prejudicial to many branches of its
trade, and will lessen the consumption of the manufactures
of Great Britain.
* This petition appears to have orit^inated in the Council, and was brought down to the
House of Representatives, Nov. 1. 1764. It was there discussed at considerable length and
aoiendedi and was then sent back for concurrence. The next day the Council concurred
unnnimoaslj in two of the amendments, and non-concurred unanimously in a third. The
House then concurred, but added further amendments to which the Council refused to give
their assent. A Committee of Conference was subsequently appointed, through whom an
agreement was reached ; and the Secretary was authorized, in behalf of the Council, and
the Speaker, in behalf of the House, to sign a fair draught. The copy from which we print
is not signed, but is indorsed, ** Sent." See Journal of the House of Representatives, 1764,
pp. 129, 132, 133, 135.- Eds.
1764.] PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 33
That this importance dos not arise raeerly nor principally
from the necessity of foreign molosses in order to its being
consumed or distilled within the Province.
That if the trade for many years carried on for foreign
molosses can be no longer continued, a vent cannot be
found for more than one half the fish of inferior quality
which is caught and cured by the inhabitants of the Pro-
vince; the French permitting no fish to be carried by
foreigners to any of their islands unless it be bartered or
exchanged for molosses.
That if there be no sale of fish of inferior quality, it
will be impossible to continue the fishery; the fish usually
sent to Europe will then cost so dear that the French will
be able to undersell the English at all the European mar-
kets, and by this means one of the most valuable returns
to Great Britain will be utterly lost, and that great nursery
of seamen destroyed.
That the restraints laid upon the exportation of timber,
boards, staves, and other lumber from the Colonies to
Ireland and other parts of Europe, except Great Britain,
must greatly affect the trade of this Province, and dis-
courage the clearing and improving the lands which are
yet uncultivated.
That the powers given by the late Act to the Court of
Vice Admiralty constituted over all America are so ex-
pressed as to leave it doubtful whether goods siezed for
illicit importation in any one of the Colonies may not be
removed^ in order to trial, to any other Colony where the
Judge may reside, although at many hundred miles dis-
tance from the place of siezure.
That if this construction should be admitted, many
persons, however legally their goods may have been im-
ported, must lose their property, meerly from an inability
of following after it, and making that defence which they
might do if the trial had been in the Colony where the
goods were siezed.
34 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
That this construction would be so much the more
grievous seeing that in America the officers by this
Act are indemnified in case of seizure whensoever the
Judge of Admiralty shall certify that there was prob-
able cause, and the claimant can neither have costs nor
maintain an action against the person siezing, how
much soever he may have expended in defence of his
property.
That the extension of the powers of the Courts of
Vice Admiralty have, so far as the jurisdiction of the
said Courts hath been extended, deprived the Colonies
of one of the most valuable of English liberties, trials
by juries.
That every Act of Parliament which in this respect dis-
tinguishes his Majesty's subjects in the Colonies from their
fellow subjects in Great Britain must create a very sensible
concern and grief.
That there have been communicated to your petitioners
sundry resolutions of the House of Commons in their last
session for imposing stamp duties or taxes upon the in-
habitants of the Colonies, the consideration whereof was
referred to the next session.
That your petitioners acknowledge with all gratitude
the tenderness of the Legislature of Great Britain of the
liberties and priviledges of the subjects of the Colonies,
who have always judged by their representatives both of
the way and manner in which internal taxes should be
raised within the respective governments, and of the ability
of the inhabitants to pay them.
That they humbly hope the Colonies in general have so
demeaned themselves, more especially during the late war
as still deserves the continuance of all those liberties and
priviledges which they have hitherto enjoyed.
That although during the war the taxes upon the Colo-
nies were greater than they have been since the conclusion
of it, yet the sources by which the inhabitants were enabled
1764.] PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 35
to pay their taxes having ceased, and their trade being
decayed they are not so able to pay the taxes they are
subjected to in time of peace as they were the greater
taxes in time of war.
That one principal difficulty which has ever attended
the trade of the Colonies proceeds from the scarcity of
money, which scarcity is caused by the balance of trade
with Great Britain, which has been continually against
the Colonies.
That the drawing sums of money from the Colonies
from time to time must distress the trade to that degree
that eventually Great Britain must lose more by the
diminution of the consumption of her manufactures than
all the sums which it is possible for the Colonies thus to
pay can countervail.
That they humbly conceive if the taxes which the in-
habitants of this Province are obliged annually to pay
towards the support of the internal government, the re-
straint they are under in their trade for the benefit of
Great Britain, and the consumption thereby occasioned of
British manufactures be all considered, and have their
due weight, it must appear that the subjects in this
Province are as fully burthened as their fellow sub-
jects in Britain, and that they are, whilst in America,
more beneficial to the nation than they would be if
they should be removed to Britain, and there held to a
full proportion of the national taxes and duties of every
kind.
Your petitioners therefore most humbly pray that they
may be relieved from the burdens which they have humbly
represented to have been brought upon them by the late
Act of Parliament as to the wisdom of the honourable
House shall seem meet, that the priviledges of the Colonies
relative to their internal taxes which they have so long
enjoyed may still be continued to them, or that the con-
sideration of such taxes upon the Colonies may be re-
36 Tirr BOWDOIN and temple papers. [1764.
ferred until your petitioners in conjunction with the
other governments can have opportunity to make a more
full representation of the state & condition of the Col-
onies and the interest of Great Britain with regard to
them.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
6^ Nov, 1764.
Dear Sir, — I am favoured with your letters of the
10**" & 11 of September, and I received at the same time
the packett of papers relative to the affair of Anguilla
which you enclosed to me, and which I transmitted to the
Custom House. Before I sent them thither I shewed them
to M' Grenville, who had received a letter from you for
which he desires me to return you his thanks. He will be
obliged to you at all times for any information which you
think deserving his notice. He always expresses the high-
est satisfaction in your conduct, and he bids me assure
you that you may depend upon all the support he can
give you in the execution of an office which you fill with
so much spirit and ability. The papers relative to An-
guilla have since come from the Custom House officially
before the Lords of the Treasury, who have entered in
their Minutes their approbation of your behaviour and
have ordered the dismission of M' Cockle.* I have upon
this made y* application you desired for your brother to
succeed him.t M' Grenville said that he should be very
happy to hare' given you a mark of his favor, and hopes
upon some other occasion he shall have an opportunity of
doing it, but hie thinks that to fill up a vacancy made upon
your complaint with a person so nearly related to you
* James Cockle had* been collector of customs at Salem since 1760. His dismission ap-
pears to have been received with much favor in Salem and Boston. See Bowe's Diarj in
9 Proceedings, vol. x. p. 60. — Edb.
t See note, ante, p. 31. — Eds.
1764.] THOMAS WHATELY. 87
might expose you to reflections which however unjust
might rather diminish than encrease your authority, &
would at this juncture be prejudicial both to you and the
service. Had the vacancy happened by any other means,
I believe the merit you have with M' Grenville by your
conduct would have been a strong recommendation of
your brother ; it will be so should you ask for any thing
else. I am sure you must see the weight of this consider-
ation upon the present occasion. I am much obliged to
you for the information you have given me on the other
points about which I took the liberty to write to you. I
cannot help flattering myself that the duty on molasses
will not be found upon experiment so grievous as it is
represented to be ; the alarm was raised on the measures
that were taken for levying all the duties rigorously when
this was at six pence. The same clamour is continued
now that y* duty is lowered to three pence, and yet cer-
tainly there cannot be the same ground for apprehension
of mischief to the manufactory. I own I do not give en-
tire credit to all the objections that are raised on your
side of the water. I doubt they are inclined to object to
all taxes, and yet some are absolutely necessary. Tho'
" all the produce of the Colonies should go in the end to
Great Britain for her manufactures," which I wish were
more the case than it is, yet burthen' d as this coun-
try is with debt and with expence, some attention must
be had to revenue, and the Colonies must contribute their
share ; tho' I believe, as there is no idea of charging them
very highly, the part they will bear will be found much
less than their proportion. The stamp act seems the
easiest mode of collecting a considerable sum. What will
be the rate and what the subjects of the several duties
cannot yet be ascertained. They must differ in many
particulars from those in Great Britain, but in which, and
to what degree, will depend upon the information that
will be received, before the passing of the law, of the
88 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
produce to be expected from the several articles, and of
the ability of the Colonies to bear the charge upon each.
Any lights you can give me will be very welcome. I
always loved the Colonies, I am, I always was, curious
about them, and very happy when I am employed in any
business that relates to them. The present circumstances
of affairs gives me a great deal in my office, and the
House of Commons must be full of the subject. Tho*
much is done, much is still to do before that important
and now vast object can be properly settled ; but I am
confident it will be done right at last. I know that those
who are at present in administration are anxious for the
prosperity of the Colonies, and highly sensible of their
importance. The revenue to be raised there has been a
principal subject of consideration lately, and is so still ;
& all that is to be aimed at seems to be to raise as much
as the Colonies can without grievance supply towards re-
lieving the mother country of part of her annual expence,
to which surely they might contribute largely without
difficulty, and ought to do so without complaining. I
shall hope for the continuance of your correspondence
upon all occasions. I shall always be happy to obey your
commands if I can be of any service to you here.
An alteration, I believe, will be made in the districts of
the Surveyors in order to include the new conquests ; the
whole continent is to be divided into three districts. You
will by that means be relieved from the inspection of
some provinces, but your salary is to be continued as be-
fore ; you are besides to be allowed the additional clerk
you apply for. You mention the detriment it will be to
the Colonies to have so much of their money as shall be
raised by y* tax remitted home ; but when that is to be
applied to the support of troops there, and consequently
will not be sent hither in order to be sent back, that in-
convenience will be avoided. I am, &c.
Dear Sir, — Since I wrote the above I am favoured
1764.] THOMAS WHATELY. 39
with yours of 8* Oct' last, with the proofs of M' Cockle's
misbehaviour. His dismission will, I hope, be a warning
to prevent such practices for the future & give weight to
your authority over the officers in your district. An an-
swer is received from Gov' Hopkins * to your complaint
against him, which is order'd to be sent to you for you to
reply to. You will find warm expressions are laid hold '
of there, & you may depend upon it you will always be
liable to have all y* words taken notice of, & perhaps ex-
aggerated, which may drop from you in the disputes you
must be continually engaged in. I do not suppose you
ever use any that are blameable, but you will excuse me
for presuming as your friend just to hint that to men in
office nothing is of more consequence than the utmost
temperance of language. The least slip is made a matter
of complaint, & with a little heightening is retorted upon
them against the complaints they make of others, which
gives y* accused persons an advantage over their accusers.
M' Harrison, who brought me your letter, left it at my
house when I was out, & I have not been able yet to find
his lodgings, tho* I have enquired much after them.
When I can meet with him, I shall be very happy to shew
him all y* civilities which your friends may always depend
upon from me, & which his own character entitles him to
from every body. The news you sent of the taking place
of the new act & of the entry of some melasses was the
first intelligence received here concerning it, & must give
pleasure. I have no doubt that a little time & reflection
will reconcile your people to the duty on melasses, & your
account seems to promise that it will be so. Your friends
Webb & Wedderburn are well & desire their best respects
to you.
Always, with perfect esteem, your most faithful &
obedient serv*.
Thomas Whately.
Treasurx Chambers, S^ Dec^, 1764.
* Stephen Hopkins, Governor of Rhode Island. — Eds.
40 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1764.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Boston, 1" Decern', 1764.
Dear Sir, — I very much fear that I shall tire your
patience on a subject that must be dry & uninteresting to
you. But as I have troubled you with what has occurr'd,
I now send you the remainder, that you may see what a
seen of corruption has taken place in this country. Gov'
Bernard's resentment to me is great, & I believe sincere,
as 'tis generally thought I have removed the best milch
cow he had. Upon my honor I believe M' Cockle's office
produced him near as much as the honest income of his
goverment. I am now threatned with the interest of his
friends against me, which, I hear, he says he will move
to the utmost ; however that may be, on my own integrity
& the uprightness of Ministry I rely, regardless of such
threats from a man whose God seems to be money. I
have, as I apprehend, faithfully done my duty, & I shou'd
but ill deserve the trust reposed in me had I omitted any
part that I have acted. I received your last favour yes-
terday by the packet, & will not fail to comply with every
part of it, for I am, with the greatest esteem & friendship,
my dear Sir, Yours, &c*., &c*., &c*.
Inclosed is copy of M' Cockle's defence, with my
remarks in the margent, copy of my letter to the Board
of Customs, & copys of such depositions as have been since
given me, setting forth M' Cockle's corruption.
Tho" Whatley, Esq*.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Boston, 9 Dec', 1764.
Dear Sir, — I wrote you a long letter yesterday upon
business.* I hope not to be so troublesome to you again,
* The letter referred to was not copied into Mr. Teinple*8 Letter-Book. — Eds.
1766.] JOHN TEMPLE. 41
but that my letters may be such as will aflford you some
amusement. I am preparing the answer to all the questions
that you have asked me which you shall have by the next
packet. I have just now finished a letter to M' Grenville,
in which I have taken the liberty to ask his friendship to
my brother. I have not perticularly mentioned the CoUeo-
torship of Salem, tho' nothing wou'd give me more sattisfac-
tion. I wou'd have ask'd M' Grenville to give him that
place in perticular had I not myself made the vacancy,
which might look as if I had been the more desirous to re-
move an ofl&cer for the sake of having my brother provided
for. Inclosed I send you a letter that M' Grenville wrote
me some years ago ; if you think it will be of service & not
improper, I will be obliged to you to shew it to him. He
will then recollect that he once before interested himself
in my bro'*' fav', tho' unluckily it happen'd to be too late.
I am, dear Sir.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.*
Boston, N. E., 10 Jan., 1765.
My DEAR Sir, — My last to you was of the 9"" of Dec',
since which I have rec* two more depositions of M'
Cockle's corruption, and have by this oppertunity inclosed
them to M' Grenville, with seven others that I had before
transmitted home. Since the suspension of M' Cockle,
Gov' Bernard's resentm* is become almost implacable and
without bounds. He is taking much pains to find matter
against me, and for want of something more material he
is endeavouring to palm upon me every idle expression of
contempt relating to him which his own conduct has made
common in this country. Upon such materials he is
forming complaints to be transmitted home ; threatens
* This is the last letter firom Mr. Temple to Mr. Whately which was copied into Mr.
Temple*s Letter-Book. Tlie later letters in the book, which ends with April, 1768, are
almost exclusiyelj of an official character. — £ds.
42 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1766.
me with his interest, and, I am told, openly boasts that
he will engage M' Jackson and M' Secretary Pownall
against me, but of which I am not very apprehensive,
having too high an opinion of those gent" to imagine that
they will become my enemys at his request, having never
knowingly done anything that could displease either of
them. On the contrary I have always acknowledged the
obliging civilitys I rec* when in England both from M'
Jackson & M' Secretary Pownal, and as I apprehend you
must be acquainted with those gentlemen, you will very
much oblige me in presenting my best respects to them,
and believe me to be, my dear Sir,
Sincerely yours,
J. Temple.
Tho* Whatelt, £8Q\
JOSEPH HARRISON* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, Jan<7 12*i', 1765.
Sir, — I have at length the pleasure of writing to you
from London. This is my first opportunity, which I
gladly embrace agreeable to your request. Wee arrived
safe at Portsmouth after a passage of 6 weeks and 4 days
from New London. Nothing material attended our voy-
age. We had the usual variety of rough and smooth
seas, hard and moderate gales with other incidents that
generally crowd a seaman's journal, so that by good or ill
fortune (which you please) I have no wonders to relate in
a journey of 3300 miles.
I unluckily happened to get lame by an accident at
Portsmouth, which confined me there a week ; and I was
* Joseph HarriBon was at one time collector of customs at New Haven, Conn., and
went to England in October, 1764, with Jared Ingersoll. (See Conn. Col. Recs., vol. xii. p.
300, note.) In the early part of 1766 he was an assistant to Edmund Burke, private
secretary to Lord Rockingham. He was collector of customs at Boston at the time of the
destntction of the tea, and for some years previously, having been in office as early at least
mNov. 1,1766. — Eds.
1765.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 43
3 or 4 days in town before I was able to stirr abroad. My
first visits were to M' Jackson and M' Whateley, and
was by the latter introduced to M' Greenville, to whom I
delivered your letter. He made some general enquirys
relating to the late Act of Parliament, and the sentiments
of the people in America about it; but I found that
he did not like to hear that there should be any surmise
of its not being likely to produce the sum expected,
which I am affraid has been estimated much too high, and
I am very sensible will fall vastly short of the sanguine
hopes that have been entertained about it. After a short
conversation M' Greenville referr'd me to his Secretary
for any thing further I might have to communicate to
him. M' Jackson has lately been made private secretary
to M' Greenville, and generally supposed to have consider-
able influence with him, and being also your very good
friend, I concluded he would be the properest person to
depend on in the affair of the Salem CoUectorship. And
accordingly I took the earliest oppertunity after my ar-
rival here of talking to him on the subject, relating to the
application in behalf of your brother. On which occasion
I urg'd every argument I could think on that might be
likely to promote his obtaining it, particularly that in the
exercise of the commission with which you are at present
invested nothing could tend more to strengthen your
hands, and enable you to execute those powers with ad-
vantage to the Crown than an opinion of your having
influence with, and being well supported by the ruling
powers here at home, of which nothing could be a more
striking demonstration than the appointment of your
brother to this CoUectorship, whose integrity and abilities
it would have been unjust in me not to have recommended
with the utmost zeal, as I verily believe him to be one of
the best men living. I was aware that a diflBculty might
be started from a surmise that your suspending M' Cockle
might have been done with a view of making a vacancy
44 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
for your brother, &c., but this I apprehended I could effec-
tually obviate, having purposely had some conversation
with M' Inman at Cambridge on the subject of M' Cockle's
demerits, in consequence of which I was enabled to assure
M' Jackson from my own knowledge that even his friends
and most intimate acquaintance had given him up, and
that you could not with any kind of propriety or regard
for your own charracter have delay'd any longer to dis-
place him. This, I was in hopes would have had some effect,
and it was a great mortification to me when I heard that
one M' Fisher * is finally appointed to the office. M' Jack-
son will no doubt inform you of the motive for this deter-
mination, which I cannot explain, but I sincerely condole
with your brother on the disappointment.
I have not yet had any opportunity with the Commis-
sioners ; but I have been introduced to M' Corbyn Morris,
from whom I understand that your conduct is highly ap-
plauded, particularly your spirited behaviour to Governour
Bernard on Cockle's affair, concerning which I am told by
M' Whateley he will soon be called to a severe acco*. With
regard to the difficulties and ambiguities relating to the
Act of Parliament, I can't find that any body here cares
to give their opinion, but leave it to every particular
officer to put his own construction. However, I believe
some amendments will be made this session of Parliament,
particularly relating to the prohibition of carrying lumber
to Ireland which seems to have been an oversight in
drawing up the act.
The Parliament met last Thursday, and the minority
still continue their opposition, but I fancy will make no
great figure this sessions. Several party pamphlets have
been published lately, some of which I shall send you by a
ship bound to Boston. M' Otis's Rights of the British
* James Fisher was appointed in 1765 collector of customs at Salem, the duties of the
oiBce, after Cockle's dismission, having^ been temporarily discharged by William Brown.
See Felt's Annals of Salem, vol. ii. p. 380. — £db.
1765.] JOHN NELSON. 45
Colonies has been reprinted here, and I am told gives
great offence to the Ministry. The affair of the Stamp
duty seems to be resolved on ; so your people may as well
make themselves easy about it. My complim*" to your
brother, M' In man, & M' Hale. I am, S',
Yo' most obed* humble serv*.
Jos" Harrison.
I should be extreamly glad if you would favour me
with a line when you have leisure. Direct for me at
M' Sherwood's, in Warnford Court, Throgmorton Street.
London.
JOHN NELSON* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
[February, 1765.]
My DEAR Jack, — By Capt Hunter you and my friends
I hope before this comes to hand have heard perticularly
of me and my affairs. I do not send you copy by this
opp*^ as the bearer can tell you allmost every thing I have
mett with or felt; so that I do not design to pleasure
myself by repetion of the one or to discompose myself by
relating the other, but refer you to him who is a very
honest good young man ; and I have discovered so much
cleverness in him at the time of my greatest distreses,
when those I was more acquainted with, and had depend-
ence on, forsook me, that I shall ever esteem him, and I
shall be obliged to you and M' Temple if you would take
notice of him. I write no one but you by this ship.
Therefore I leave it intirely to your judgement wether
there be any occasion to introduce him to another quar-
ter, as that depends on circumstances that you must be
best acquainted with.
* John Nelson, a grandson of the well-known Colonial merchant who took a conspicnons
|»art in the New England Revolation of 1689, was horn in Boston, Dec. 12, 1730, and died
unmarried, in the island of Grenada, in 1784. — Eos.
46 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1766.
Next to that of making you known to M' Montgomery
and telling you I think him a man of strict truth, I in-
^ ^ et qn Ib«
tended this letter for the purpose of inclosing you 0. 2. 0
of Parliamentary Resolves, which according to my little
judgement of the state of the Colonies seems to threaten
allmost the destruction of some of them, considering the
heavey taxes of last year, tho' I may assure you there is
reason for hope of some releif in respect of some of those.
The most staunch f reinds to the Colonies wishes they had
not heen so obstinate in the point of Right that the Crown
had of imposing taxes. I am led to suppose they must
have been wrong, because both within doors and without
all I have heard speak on the subject at once give it
against the Provinces, and allow the Power & Right. I
have had an opp*^ of hearing much on both sides, and even
that great advocate ColP Barry* at the grand debates
fell in with the whole House in that respect, but at same
time endeavored to appologize for their so doing, giving
for reason, their distresses urged them; and in every re-
spect spoke so feelingly and like a hero for them, that
altho' it had no effect he allmost deserves a monument
among you for his attachment to America. He most
strongly reccommended that if there must be a tax laid,
tho* he could wish there was to be none, that the Provinces
might be indulged with the liberty as heretofore of furnish-
ing their quotas of any sums required and colecting it in
their own modes. He said he dreaded the consequences if
the Act should pass, and that he knew the inhabitants
trembled for fear. When a motion was made for adjourn-
ing for a few days he immediately seconded it in order to
make further inquireys and to be better prepared, but, says
he, I should with greater pleasure second a motion that it
might never be bro't on the carpet again. For altho'
Great Brittain has an undoubted right, yet he presumed
* Col. Isaac Barr6. The referancw are to his speech ia opposition to the passage of the
Stamp Act.— £d8.
1765.J JOHN NELSON. 47
its authority ought to be exercised with the same tender-
ness as parents do theirs over their children, and not lay
too heavey burthens upon them in infancy, least they
prevent their growth or deform them. In short he used
every argument in favor of the Colonys, by which he
merits their esteem. But all his eloquence and fine address
could avail nothing. The thing took such a turn the other
way that there was 240 odd against 30. Its had a second
reading, and will undoubtedly pass without amendment,
and God have mercy on you, for I do not know where
you'l get mony enough to pay even for stamps. I have
been ask'd what I thought of it. I ventured to say that
my oppinion was that all the sterl' mony circulating in the
Provinces would not be sufficient for that and paying the
late duties imposed. I could have wished that some who
knew the perticular state of each Colony, & their Consti-
tution, had some of the opp*^ that I have had ; they might
perhaps produced good effects, for I must confess I am
not so well acquainted with the different conditions and
constitutions of the several goverments as I ought to be.
Therefore it would be absurd for me to pretend to enter
on perticulars. As to trade I have spoke my sentiments,
and also by desire reduced them to writing, which I can
convey to you in a few words, by saying they are different
from allmost every article of the late Act. To make it
appear impartial I have also signifyed that by my connec-
tions in the West Indies I speake against my own interest ;
that as the act stands it would be in favor of the Islands ;
that I never expected to be in trade again, & little reason
to suppose but what it would be as likely that I took up
my residence in another part of the world as that. Every
little effort of mine shall be joined with those of the freinds
to America, and I wish that all the mites togather might
turn the ball** in favor. I wish I could say there was
any tollerable prospect, and I with every body else wish
likewiise, that instead of disputing about Right or Privi-
48 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. ri766.
ledges that the Provinces had tho*t proper to let it alone
for another time, and pleaded their inabillity, their debts,
&% &•. Its tho't that would have been productive of better
consequences. The stegs taken seemed generally resented
by the whole House of Commons, and its imagined many
have received prejudices on that acco*. There has been
many independent pamphlets, and some addresses tending
that way, which have done the Provinces no service, and
was the occasion that none of the latter was allowed to be
read. One from Virginia was begun, as one of the mildest,
with the hopes of the rest following, but it was stoped by
a great majority.
I did not think ta have wrote you so long a letter, but
to be plain with you, I had nothing this evening to do, &
I dont know that I should not add much to it but for the
clock's telling me it 's time to go to bed. Do tell my dear
Bob to think of what I wrote him, and that I think he
will hear from a person that will join a sum with him
soon, if he likes. I was at Lord Gage's the other day
when your health was given by him. Your friend M'
Steward desires his compliments, as does S' George, and
that very worthy man M' Jackson. He is very much your
f reind. Remember me to every body, and allways beleive
me, my dear S', .
Yours sincerely ;
Jn^ Nelson.
P. S. I had forgot to tell you, I have a small addition
to my income since I last wrote. A gentleman has put
an est* of 150 h*" under my care & direction, on which
there will be a commission, & but little trouble.
Some alterations in your Province is talked of. I have
taken passage in Capt. Reed bound to Madeira & Granada,
sails ab* 1"* March. I believe it more likely the 10*^.
1766.J THOMAS WHATELT. 49
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.*
[FSBRUART, 1765.]
. . . the appellation of a great measure on account of
the important point it establishes, the right of Parliament
to lay an internal tax upon the Colonies. We wonder
here that it ever was doubted. There is not a single
member of Parliament to be found that will dispute it, &
the proposition of a stamp duty seem'd so reasonable when
made last week to the House, that but 49 divided against
it, when 245 were for it, & the expediency only was de-
bated. This puts an end to all opposition to the principle
of the bill, & now the rates are the only question. I sup-
pose you must be curious to know what they are, but I
cannot gratify your curiosity with a copy of the resolutions.
I can, however, give you a general plan of the bill as it is
intended to be ofiEer'd to the House. The proceedings in
Courts of Justice are rated variously as to the proportion
they bear to the English duties ; some are as high, others
do not amount to half as much, so that I believe one with
another they may be reckoned at three fourths or two thirds
of the duties we pay, but lying in general lightest on those
you use most. The law instruments, such as deeds, bonds,
&c*, are charg'd nearly the same as the English, except
conveyances of land & bonds for the payment of money.
The former of these are upon a very difiEerent footing
from ours, being proportioned to the quantity of land con-
veyed. With us they are all rated alike whether the estate
they relate to be of five pounds or fifty thousand pounds
value. In the Colonies it is proposed that a conveyance
of 100 acres shall pay V 6*-, of 200 acres 2% & of 320
acres 2^ 6**, which is the English duty ; so that all below
that quantity is lighter taxed than here, but on the other
* The first part of this letter — probably aboat a third of the letter — has not been found.
•-Eds.
4
50 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
hand all above that quantity will be higher, as an additional
2*- 6^ is proposed to be charged upon every additional 320
acres, & this duty being applicable equally to grants, it is
hoped the effect may be some cheek to those enormous
grants & conveyances which are so detrimental to the
Colonies. Land in the West Indies being much more
valuable than with you, it is taxed just double in all these
proportions. Another difference between them & you is
ia bonds for payment of money. All theirs are charged
with the English duties ; your small bonds below £40 are
much lower. Probates of wills & letters of administration
are rated in the West Indies as high as in England ; in
North America at but half as much. Commissions &
appointments to offices are also charged as high in the
Islands as they are here ; but on the continent at no more
than two thirds ; & all commissions of the army, navy,
militia, & justices of the peace are entirely excepted.
Your annual offices too are lightly taxed. It is not so in
England. We do not propose to charge your admissions
into corporations, which would fall upon y* continent only,
& very heavy upon the charter governments. All licenses
& certificates of marriage too are exempted. Pardons &
some others of less note which pay in England are not
taxed in the Colonies. Your licences for spirituous liquors
are rated as low as our ale licenses, which is a very great
disproportion, & your wine licenses much lower than ours.
Cards, dice, newspapers, & advertisements will be the
same as here, but there are many things charged here
which are not in use amongst you, such as debentures,
conveyances of copyhold estates, &c*. On the other hand
there are but few rated in the Colonies which are not rated
here. The only one of any consequence is the cockets ;
but they are charged with no more than a 4^ duty, & that
is put on more to prevent frauds than to procure revenue.
The Anguilla clearances gave the hint of the precaution.
Indeed, many of the duties will have a like effect in other
1765.] THOMAS WHATELY. 51
instances. Your publick registers too are taxed with S**-
upon every entry, but then the deeds to be enter d are
charged with 3** less than in England. The whole money
to be raised is appropriated to the defence of the Colonies,
& will consequently never be drawn out of them ; so that
the only effect of the tax will be that we shall send so
much less than we have hitherto, & after all we shall still
send by much the greater part of the money required for
that purpose, & more than we did during y* last peace.
This is the general plan of the proposed tax. You know
it is subject to great alterations in going thro' the House,
before it will be pass'd into a law, but if it should come
out nearly as it has been first proposed, do you think
sincerely that the Colonists will have reason to complain
of a grievance, when they consider how much we are
burthen'd ? I could fill many pages with the subject, but
have not time at present. I wish only to give you facts
for you to judge whether there is a want of proper atten-
tion to the Colonies. I am sure there is no want of regard
to them. The lumber, I believe, will be allow'd to be
carried to Ireland, & all other reasonable advantages will
be given to them. Is there any truth in a report we have
of some orders issued against you in Rhode Island ? I
should be glad to know what they are. You must pardon
this hasty scrawl. It is with difficulty I find time to write
to you at all, but I could not let this oppertunity pass
without acknowledging your favours & assuring you that
I am
Sincerely yours.
T. Whately.
Ingersal * has been much with me. Gov' Hamilton is
arrived. They both dine with me to-morrow, & we shall
wish you of y* party.
- — ■ ■ ■ . . ^^ ■
* See note anttt p. 19. — Eds.
52 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1766.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Treasury Chambers, 10 May, 1765.
Dear Sir, — I am much obliged to you for the two
pamphlets you sent me on the question of the right of the
Parliament of Great Britain to tax the Colonies. The
answer to Governor Hopkins seems to me very sensible
& fully confutes his arguments. That part which is a per-
sonal attack upon him I cannot judge of as I do not know
him, & in general I wish such reflections spared ; but the
argumentative part I think very conclusive, & I am glad to
find that there are men in America who have consider'd the
true state of the case, & do not run away with y* gen-
eral current into a proposition so untenable as that an
acknowledged sovereign legislature cannot lay taxes.
The matter has been debated here tho' very weakly.
I will in return for your pamphlets send you two or three
on y* subject which seem to me the best. Our old friend
Ingersol will bring them to you from me. He proposes
soon to set out for Boston in his way home, & will, I am
sure, undertake the care of any packet I may send by him.
He returns y* distributor of stamps for Connecticut, which
M' Grenville has very freely given to him as a person very
proper to be put into the office. He has endeavour'd to
direct his choice throughout to the most proper persons.
Hitherto, except in the new colonies, he has confined him-
self to colonists, & those of the most respectable people in
their several provinces. They will find their account in
it, both as a place of emolument & of influence, as the
appointment of the under distributors will be left to them,
I believe, entirely. I have received your favours of the
gth ^ 20**^ Feb'y. The affair between you & Governor
Bernard has not, I understand, been yet decided on by the
Council. The Parliamentary business has been so heavy
1765.] THOMAS WHATELT. 53
as to engross entirely all the attention of y* ministers & of
the offices ; not that they have met with any opposition
worth mentioning. In that respect the sessions has been
as easy as it was * possible ; but I believe there never was
so much publick business transacted within the time.
Among others a bill is now before y* House which relates
almost entirely to the colonies. It is intended to remove
all reasonable objections to the act of last year ; to allow
the passage of all vessels without decks within a certain
distance of the shore & under certain descriptions without
taking out cockets ; to settle as far as we can settle, un-
informed as we are, the fees of the Custom House officers,
but this is only a temporary provision which must be
made more particular & more precise next winter, when
we shall know more exactly the state of that affair ;
to extend the liberty of exporting rice to North Carolina,
which is not included in the act of last year ; to take off
the last duty on coffee of y* growth of our own islands,
in order to encourage the cultivation of it ; to permit the
exportation of iron directly from the colonies to Ireland
as well as to Great Britain, & the exportation of lumber
not only to Ireland but also to the Madeiras, the Azores,
& any part of Europe to the southward of Cape Finisterre ;
& for the further encouragement of the Americans it is
proposed to grant a bounty of about twenty shillings on
120 deals, planks, or boards of 10 feet long, 10 inches
wide, & 1\ inch thick, with a proportionable bounty on
other timber. This to continue for three years, then to
be reduced to 15 shillings for three years more, &
for y* next period of three years to ten. This bounty
in y* present state of the trade will enable y* merchant
to bring a cargo of deals or timber, & make himself whole.
Under y* encouragement of this bounty it is hoped that the
Americans will find it worth their while to improve their
saw mills & to build ships on purpose for bringing timber,
& then y* profits will be greater, so as it is hoped to enable
54 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [17no.
the colonies hereafter to supply all the consumption of
Great Britain. This subject has naturally drawn M'
Grenville's attention very much to the state of the King's
woods, which are represented to him to have been very
much neglected, & I therefore think it very probable
that some considerable alteration may be made in that
department. Should there happen a vacancy in the oflBce
of Surveyor General of the Woods, which seems to me
very probable, it has occured to me that the place would
probably suit your brother.* You have often desired me
to mention him to M' Grenville. You may be sure I
have done so, but I could only do it in general terms,
as there was no specific oflSce in view, except that of
Collector of Salem, which you yourself saw afterwards
could not properly be given to him. M' Grenville has
always received this general application in a manner that
shew'd his good-will to your family, & I would on that
ground suggest your brother to be the Surveyor Gen* of
the Woods, in case ot a vacancy, if I knew your & his
sentiments upon it. No alteration, you may be sure,
would be thought of but with a view to have the oflSce
fiird in a much better manner than it has been hitherto.
Great attention & activity will be necessary, & as that
would occasion a change in your brother's manner of life
I cannot mention the subject without knowing his wishes
upon it. He may freely communicate them to me, as in
case no vacancy should be made, or it should be fill'd with
another, I shall take care not to say any thing about it
which he would wish not to have said, if he does not
succeed. I trust to him & to you that you will observe
the like caution, & not mention to any body on your side
of the water that it is probable Governor Wentworth may
be removed from that office, & that it is certain that the
Governor & the Surveyor of the Woods will never again
* Robert Temple. Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, was Sar-
Tevor General of the Woods. — Eds.
1765.] THOMAS WHATELY. 55
be the same person. I have had the pleasure this winter
of being acquainted with M' Neilson,* who, I understand,
is nearly related to you, & stands in the same degree of
relation as yourself to the Grenville family. M' Grenville
has appointed him Collector of Nevis, whither he is now
gone. The place, I believe, is worth four or five hundred
a year, & entirely consistent with his views of settling in
that part of the world. M' Meserve, son to the Coll., is
appointed distributor of stamps for New Hampshire;
M' Johnstone for Rhode Island; M^ M^Evers for New
York ; & M' Oliver for Massachusetts. The latter
gentleman I have known all my life by name, tho' never
personally, & I suppose there could not have been a better
person chosen. An uncle of mine of the name of
Thompson had long an estate of his in your country
under his management. A near relation of mine has it
now, & I have myself a little piece of uncultivated land
which requires no management, but which he has some-
times been troubled with, so that he is a sort of family
acquaintance. I have always heard a great character of
him, & I was glad that the office was given to so very
respectable a person. There is a gentleman, I understand,
coming over who does not know me even by name, but
of whom I have heard much, a M' Hutchinson.t I should
be obliged to you if you could contrive that I might be
acquainted with him, whilst he is here, by giving him a
letter to me, or by any other means you may think proper.
Our old acquaintance Governor Hamilton is in London,
& I am afraid but in an indifferent state of health.
He has an eruption on his nose which he fears may be
cancerous, tho', I understand, y* physicians here rather
give him hopes that it will not prove so. It is, however,
a doubtful case, & that I think a bad one, when such a
terrible distemper is the prospect. I hope to hear from
* John Nelson. He was a coasin of John Temple. See noten, antf^ p. 3. — Eds.
t Thomas Hutchinson, afterward Governor of Massachusetts. — Eds.
56 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
you by y* return of y* packet. You will hear from me
by IngersoL I am with great truth,
Your most obed* serv*.
Thomas Whately.
If your brother wishes to apply to be Surveyor of y*
Woods, you must tell me his Christian name.
13"» May, 1765.
Dear Sir, — I have been prevented by an accident
from sending this by the packet, but the opportunity of a
private conveyance has offer'd by the way of New York,
& the delay occasions the addition of a pamphlet to tell
you of the alteration intended in the Vice Admiralty Court.
It having been represented that the option of carrying all
causes within that jurisdiction to Halifax might be made
a great grievance, it is proposed to divide all North
America into three districts ; to have a Court of Vice
Admiralty for each, & to confine all causes to the Court
of y* district. The division is not yet exactly fixed,
but the places where the Courts are to sit will, I believe,
be Boston, Philadelphia, & Charles Town. Each will
have a jurisdiction over the neighbouring provinces only,
& so situated there will be no part of the continent
further distant from that which it is subject to than
many parts of England are from the Exchequer. The
Judges will have very large salaries, & great care taken
in the choice of them. They will each have in their
district the same powers as is now in the Court at Halifax
over all America, with this alteration that they will not
only have original jurisdiction, but also be Courts of
Appeal from y* Provincial Vice Admiralty Courts, all
which you will see provided for in y* stamp act, on y*
presumption that these additional Courts are to be estab-
lished.
T. W.
1765.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 57
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, June 12*^, 1766.
Sir, — The last letter I wrote you was from Bawtry,
dated April 25*^, just to acknowledge the receipt of yours
of Jan^ 10*^ which is the only letter I have yet received
from you. I have been about 3 weeks in town, where
there has lately been the strangest confused scene of riot
and disorder in the city, and political squabbles at Court,
that can possibly be imagined. So many turns and over-
turns happened during the space of a few days that it
will be impossible to give you a tollerable idea of those
several transactions within the compass of a letter, even
tho' I was well informed of all the intrigues of the
parties concerned, which is farr from being the case ;
and tho* many accounts are given of the affair, I am apt
to think the publick are yet strangers to the secret. M*
Ingersoll (who is passenger on board the ship this goes by)
can give you the common talk of the town on the subject,
and perhaps something more as he is acquainted with
M' Jackson and M' Whateley. However, every thing is
now quiet with regard to the mobbs; and by a happy
union of the two parties in the Grenville family 'tis
generally supposed the administration will be wholly
in their hands. The minority was quite out of the
question in the late disputes, which seems to have been
a tryal of strength between the favourite and the min-
istry, in which the latter have had the advantage, but
whether the victory is complete, — in other words, whether
the favourite does not yet hold his influence behind the
curtain is a doubt with many, and what time only can
determine.
M' Cockle's memorial was absolutely rejected by the
Commissioners of the Customs, and his dismission con-
firmed, which must needs be no small mortification to the
composers of that laboured performance. What other use
58 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
has been made of it I have not yet heard. I find that
M' Jackson is appointed agent for the Province of Massa-
chusets Bay, and 'tis said this was done by the influence
of Govern' B — d, and if so I conclude 'tis with a view of
engaging that gentleman in his interest, but as I have not
yet seen M' Jackson, I cannot tell what grounds there
may be for such a surmise ; in the meantime you may
perhaps pick out something from M' IngersoU on the
subject as they two were very intimate.
I have been to see M' Bollan, and I dare say he has now
no doubt but that you have been his friend. He designs
very soon for Boston.
The Commiss" of the Customs have reported in my
favour to the Treasury ; the substance of which is that
my salary shall be paid out of the American fund, and
encreased to £60 y annum, but nothing further has been
done about it, so I am yet in suspence as to the event.
My complim** to your brother, I am, S'
Yo' most obed* humble serv*.
Jos' Harrison.
Jif« Templb, Esq*.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
T&EA8URT Chambers, 12 June, 1765.
Dear Sir, — I take the opportunity of Ingersol's re-
turn to America to send you the pamphlets I promised
you, the copy of my last of 10*** & 13**" May, & this letter.
He has spent some months amongst us, I am afraid with
less satisfaction than he enjoyed in his former visit, as he
did not find the objects he has met with so striking or the
entertainments of England so amusing as they seemed on
his first acquaintance with them, & I doubt whether he
will ever allow them to allure him over again. It has,
however, given me great pleasure, that if his voyage has
not been so agreable, it has been more advantageous, &
1765.] THOMAS WHATELT. 59
has been the means of fixing him in the employment of
distributor of stamps, for which he has qualified himself
by his enquiries here with great assiduity, & I hope his
thorough knowledge of the business will prevent many
doubts & difficulties in the execution of it.
I find your people still alarm'd with the idea of their
country being drain'd of all their money by the new
taxes. The fact is that no more will be remitted from
thence hither than will just be sufficient to pay the ex-
pence of office here, which will be very inconsiderable.
Notwithstanding the aid of all these duties a very con-
siderable remittance must be still made to America for the
support of the military establishment there. For my own
part I should suppose two* thirds of what has been lately
must continue still to be sent from England, & that is
more than ever was sent in any former peace. The
Colonies certainly will not furnish one third of the present
expence, as far as I am able to calculate the probable prod-
uce of these taxes, & as the ballance will be thus greatly
in their favour, the remittance must be thither. It will be
contrived nearly in this manner. The Paymaster General
wanting to remit money for subsistence, &c', will apply to
the Commissioners of Customs or Stamps for bills or
orders upon their officers in the Colonies. These officers
will in consequence thereof pay over the money in their
hands to the deputy paymasters, & whatever sums shall
be thus advanced in America will be paid here by the
Paymaster General to the Commissioners of Customs or
Stamps, who will pay the same into the Exchequer as
American revenue in conformity to the act. Thus the
whole effect of these laws with respect to money will be
no more than this, that supposing the expence of the mili-
tary establishment in the Colonies should be £300,000 V
ann. (which is much less than it really is) and supposing
the American taxes should be £100,000 (which is more
than I expect from them), then instead of £300,000 now
60 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
remitted, Great Britain will remit but £200,000 ; but
America will remit none hither. On the contrary she
will annually receive still £200,000, & none of the
money now there or that hereafter may be sent thither
will be brought hither on account of these taxes, except,
as I mentioned before, the office expences, which will be
very trifling.
When I mention £100,000 as the produce, I take that
sum only as an instance, but do not pretend to guess that
it will be near the real one. Yet I believe that we shall
not receive more from all the taxes, & I do not hear that
any new taxes are in contemplation. To establish the
right of Parliament to impose these, & to produce an
American revenue, is a great .& necessary measure. To
explain & to enforce these laws may be y* business of some
future sessions, but I do not expect to see more taxes for
the purposes of revenue, at least for some time. As
regulations of trade, perhaps, duties may now & then be
imposed, but those must be small, occasional, & advan-
tageous to the country that pays them.
During the last sessions we heard that the fees of the
Custom House officers in the Colonies were in a very un-
settled state, the merchants complaining in some places
of exaction, & in others refusing to pay y* usual fees,
& y* newly appointed officers frequently denied all fees
whatsoever; a temporary provision was made in the
American act against this evil, but I think it very prob-
able that more may be done next sessions in order to
settle the fees upon a certain & permanent foundation.
If there should, I shall be very glad of all the information
you can give me on the subject. Perhaps the Com" of the
Customs may during the course of the summer make some
official enquiries of you, but there are many circumstances
which may be of importance & yet may not come within
the compass of such an enquiry, & for these I should be
obliged to you. In what manner do the fees differ in
1765.] THOMAS WHATELT. 61
different Colonies, & how have they been settled ? Have
they been lately alter'd? On what articles are they
paid ? What are the complaints either of the merchants
or of the officers, & in what manner do you think they
can best be adjusted ? If the subject should be brought
on next sessions I should be glad to be master of it, & I
hope you will pardon the trouble which my curiosity gives
you.
As you see so many different people in several provinces
you can judge better perhaps than any one of their tem-
per with respect to the new taxes. I hope that now they
have had time to reflect & oppertunities to examine the
right of Parliament they do not think of the proceedings
here in the same light as they were at first represented to
them. I should be glad to know their present sentiments,
& on what points they suppose they have reason to com-
plain. With us there is not a difference of opinion. The
House of Commons would not receive any petitions, how-
ever expressed, that implied a doubt of the right of Parlia-
ment to lay taxes. To receive the petitions would have
been an acknowledgment that y* right was questionable,
which we cannot admit. You will see that all our publi-
cations are on the same side. Have they any effect
amongst you ? or do your people still dispute the legisla-
tive authority ?
I have said nothing to Ingersal of what I have wrote
to you concerning the Surveyorship of the Woods. I have
not mention'd it to any body, & you will excuse my de-
siring you to observe the same caution. I am
Ever & sincerely yours ;
T. Whately.
To John Tbmplei Esqb.
62 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, July 12**, 176&
Sib, — I duly received yours of the 17*** May, and the
next morning went down to the Custom House to see
M' Hulton, who had just then received your letters and
papers, also M' Robinson's relating to the affair at Taun-
ton, &c., likewise Gov' Bernard's representation of what
passed between you and him and of his and the Council's
proceedings on the occasion, which last seems to be drawn
up with a great deal of acrimony and bitterness, and con-
tains an accusation against you of having treated the Gov-
emor with contempt and indecency ; the whole, however,
I think amounts to little more than this, — that you told
the Governor that the proclamation (I think it was) was
no better than an old tobbacco paper, and that you refused
to attend when requested by the Governor and Council.*
I have read over all the letters and papers on both sides
relating to the affair, and upon the whole it appears plain
to me that the Governor (considered as an officer of the
Crown) has been much to blame, and seems to have been
more solicitous how to save appearances in the exercise
of his authority than by a proper exertion of it to render
any effectual service to the Crown. And I dare say it
will appear so to those who are finally to judge of the
affair, the nature of which I believe is such that it must
* Among the Temple Papers is a manuscript volume marked on the cover, " Governor
Bemard*s Conduct BeUting to the Riot & Robbery at Taunton, together with the Resolves
of Council. Copied from the Original Letters and Papers now in the Possession of the
Surveyor General, 1765.** The dispute with the Governor at this time gren out of an
attempt of the owner and master of the sloop *' Polly ** to smuggle a quantity of molasses
on shore, in April, 1765, in Swanzey River. A narrative of the occurrences having been
sent to the Surveyor General by the Collector of Newport and the captain of the revenue
vessel, Mr. Temple applied to Governor Bernard for assistance, who called a Council and
the next day issued a proclamation, offering a reward for the discovery of the persons en*
gaged '*in these riotous and unlawful proceedings.** (See the Boston Evening-Post,
April 15, 1765.) This delay gave offence to Temple, and a hot dispute occurred between
him and the Governor, in which the former compared the proclamation and orders sent to
the County of Bristol to *' tobacco paper.** Subsequent occurrences added fuel to the fire;
and a full account of the afEair was sent over to England. — Eds.
1765.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 63
be laid before the Privy Council ; and if so there is no
likelyhood of any thing being done about it this long tiiofie,
they having now more important business on their hands.
For we have had an entire change in the ministry this
last week. The Marquis of Rockingham is now at the
head of the Treasury, and the Duke of Grafton and Gen-
eral Conway Secretarys of State. I shall add at the bot-
tom a list of such other alterations as have been declared
at Court. This news, I dare say, will surprize you, as I
fancy M' Ingersoll would assure you with air of some con-
fidence that M' Grenville at least was safe, and indeed at
the time he sailed there seemed to be that appearance,
but it seems the King's aversion to him and some others
was insuperable, and they say that all these changes have
been with M' Pitt's approbation.
I came to town but 3 days ago, having been down the
river at Woolwich near 3 weeks on a sailing expedition
along with S' Geo. Savile, who at present seems to stand
very high in the opinion of the publick, and is by many
reckoned one of the first characters in the kingdom. He
was much solicited to take a share in the present adminis-
tration, and might have chosen his department ; but as he
will never enter into any engagements that may [have ?]
the least tendency to influence the freedom of his vote in
Parliament, he excused himself from accepting any office
on acco* of the puny state of his health. However, he
will have great influence.
How will this change in the ministry affect Gov'
B d's interest ? and whether or no will he stand on
firmer ground than before? M' Mellish is Secretary
to the Treasury, and I shall take an opportunity of
relating the whole affair to him, as I have already to S'
Geo. Savile. A vast many warrants were sent down to
the Custom House yesterday from the Treasury to fill up
all the vacant offices, but no notice has yet been taken of
my memorial about my salary. However, I now make
64 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
no doubt but it will be settled to satisfaction. But I am
still at a loss how to proceed for obtaining payment of the
four years salary now due to me. If you would be so
kind as to send me a proper certificate by the first oppor-
tunity of their being 4 years salary due to me last Lady-
Day, and that I have not received any part of it, I may
perhaps be able to procure an order for you to grant an
impress on some other port where there are fines & forfei-
tures remaining undisposed of. Or if you know of any
better [way ?] of obtaining it should be glad you would
inform me of it. M' Powell says the salary should have
been charged as it became due, in the quarterly accounts.
I remember I once mentioned that to you, and you said it
could only be charged properly when an account should be
rendered of a seizure actually made at New Haven. But
if you now think it should be charged in the quarterly
accounts, I shall be much obliged to you if you' would give
Col. Whiting proper directions for charging it in the next
quarter's accounts he sends home. The salary is £50
ster* V ann. ; and I was sworn into my office the 28***
March, 1 761, so reckon it from Lady-Day. If any vacancy
should happen in your district that may be of more value
than what I have at New Haven, I shall be greatly obliged
to you if you would favour me with the earliest intelli-
gence of it ; for I think as matters are circumstanced I
may now stand a very good chance for something better
than what I now have.
My complim** to your brother, I am
Yo^ most obed. humble serv*.
Jos' Harrison.
P. S. I have this moment heard that your brother is
to be Surveyor of the Woods in the room of Govern'
Wentworth. I hope it is so, and shall do all I can to
promote it.
1765.]
THOMAS WHATELY.
65
List of the New Ministry.
Marquis of Rockingham.
M' Dowdeswell
Lord John Cavendish
Honble. Thomas Townsend
George Onslow, Esq'
M' Mellish
M' Lowndes
Duke of Grafton
General Conway
Earl of Winchilsea
Duke of Portland
Lord Villers
Earl of Scarborough
Earl of Ashburnham
Earl of Besborough
Lord Grantham
Henry Potts, Secretary
Sam^ Potts, Comptroller
}
First Lord of the
Treasury.
Chancellor of the Ex*
chequer.
Lords of the Treasury.
Secretaries to the
Treasury.
Secretaries of State.
President of the Coun-
cil.
Lord Chamberlain.
Vice Chamberlain.
Cofferer.
Master of the Great
Wardrobe.
Postmasters.
Post Office.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Parliament Street, 12*** July, [1765].
Dear Sir, — I wrote to you some time ago to ask
whether the office of Surveyor of the Woods would be
agreable to your brother, but as events have tum'd out
here, it is now no longer in M' Grenville's power to give
it to him. I can only assure you that he intended it if
your brother had liked it, & may probably soon have
it again in his power to serve him. At present he is a
6
66 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
private man, being dismiss'd from his Majesty's service,
& a total change of the Ministry having taken place. The
Newcastle party are now in oflBce. How long they will
continue so is another question, & we are not at all dis-
couraged. I shall hope to hear from you as usual ; but I
am no longer in office & you will therefore direct to me
in Parliament Street, where I live & where they will
always know where to find me. In great haste.
Yours entirely. T. Whately.
I have sent to the Custom House the papers I received
with your favour of 9*** May. It gives me great pleasure
to hear that the Colonists begin to see the new regulations
in a proper light. I shall be glad to know from time to
time how they go on, & by what means their conviction is
brought about, & what progress they make in it.
* Yours again. T. W.
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
(A Copy.)
London, July 15**», 1765.
D* S*, — I wrote you the 12*^ ins*, which was for-
warded by the New York mail last Saturday ; and I now
write this in hopes to save the pacquet at Falmouth,
just to let you know that I was this day at the Custom
House when a letter was received from the Collector and
Comptroller at New York to inform the Commiss" that
you had appointed your brother-in-law M' Fenton a
Deputy Collector at Albany, and that you had order'd
M' Moore, the Comptroller, up thither to assist in the
execution of the oflBce. M' Hulton informs me that the
Commiss" express a surprize that you should take this
step without giving them any notice of your intention or
writing to them at all about it, nothing from you as yet
1765.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 67
having come to hand on the occasion. I told M' Hulton
that I would venture to say you had sufficient reason for
what you had done, and hoped that no judgement would
be formed about it till your letters came to hand, which
I made no doubt would clear up the affair to satisfaction.
However, as I could perceive from what M' Hulton said,
that the countenance of the Commiss" was not favourable
to the appointment, I thought it my duty to give you
this hint as early as possible that, in case there has been
a miscarriage of letters, you may lose no time in sending
over your statie of the affair. I am
Yo' most obed* humble serv*.
Jos" Harrison.
London, Aug* 9**», 1765.
D* S*, — On the other side is a copy of what I wrote
you 3 days after the mail was sent away, in hopes it
would be in time at Falmouth to go by that pacquet.
And have now further to add on the same subject, that I
was yesterday at the Custom House, and no letters from
you were then come to hand that made any mention of
the Albany affair, which I am very sorry for, as you
will by this pacquet receive a letter from the Comraiss"
wherein they express their disapprobation of the appoint-
ment ; and with regard to the seizure made by M' Fenton
their solicitor has given his opinion that even in case of
a vessel's going from one colony to another without a
clearance, the goods only, and not the vessel, are liable
to seizure. This affair makes a deal of noise at the
New York Coffee House, and has been inserted in all the
publick papers as an article of news from Cork in the fol-
lowing words viz. : " Cork, July 25. John Fenton, Esq',
of this city is appointed Collector of his Majesty's duties
at Albany in North America." I wish with all my soul
that your account of this matter had got to hand so that
the Commiss" at least might have been satisfyd of the
68 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1765.
propriety of this proceeding, as it is grossly misrepre-
sented and may be made a handle of by M' Bernard's
friends. Your dispute with that gentlem" has lately
been resumed at the Treasury, from whence sundry papers
that had been transmitted to the Secretary of State were
sent to the Commiss" of the Customs, with a letter from
M' Lowndes directing a state of the case to be drawn up
and reported to their Lordships, which hath accordingly
been done, and will be presented to-morrow. It consists
of 6 sheets of paper and is, I think, very impartially exe-
cuted. It begins with a narrative of Cockle's dismission,
with extracts from your letters accusing M' Bernard with
countenancing and abetting him even after full proof of
his guilt in the affair of the bribe, &c. This, I think,
judiciously prefaces the account that is afterwards given
of the transactions relating to the seizure at Swanzey,
which gave rise to M' Bernard's complaint against you.
This is stated in a clear light, and the whole concluded in
the following manner. I cannot recollect the very words,
but this is the substance, viz*, — " Wee have frequently
had occasion to bear testimony in favour of the Surveyor
General as a vigilant, spirited oflScer. And as the re-
straints which the policy of the mother country has
thought proper to lay the colonies under by the Act of
Navigation and other Tjaws of Trade renders the people
there extreamly averse and disaffected to those who have
the execution of them, wee think that the principal
officers ought to be supported against all such attacks as
have a tendency to lessen their influence and importance."
M' Hulton very readily favoured me w**" a perusal of this
report as soon as it was finished, and at the same time
desired me (with his compliments) to let you know that
you would now have heard from him, but that his critical
scituation respecting this affair would render it improper
for him to have wrote to you on the subject, as he is ex
officio supposed to be indifferent to both parties. This
1765.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 69
report, I conclude, will be finally laid before the Council,
and I think from what appears on the face of things at
present you need be under no apprehensions but that the
decision will be in your favour, and in the mean time I
shall continue to advise you from time to time as any
thing new occurs on the occasion.
The Lords of the Treasury have made a return to the
report of my memorial, and have sent down a warrant
for putting my salary on the Plantation Establishment,
with an addition of £10 a year. And I am now going to
try if I can procure an order for payment of my arrears.
You will see by the papers what alterations have been
made in the several ministerial departments since I wrote
you last. M' York has accepted of the Attorney Gen-
eral's place ; fhis seems to look as tho' the present admin-
istration would stand, tho' some think it will not continue
long. The papers are full of scurrilities and low invec-
tive by the scribblers of both parties. But not one well
wrote pamphlet has yet appeared on either side or I
would have sent it to you. No alterations have yet
taken place at the Board of Customs, but 'tis said there
will be one or two removes there also.
K any thing may fall vacant within your district that
is better than New Haven I hope you will be kind enought
to favour me with the earliest intelligence of it ; for if I
should fail of getting anything this favourable opper-
tunity I must never expect to see such another.
My compliments to yo' brother. I am
Yo' most obed* humble serv*.
Jos" Harrison.
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, October 11*^, 1765.
D* S*, — I have wrote to you twice since I received
your last letter, which was dated the 17"* May, and I
70 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1766.
find there has been no despatches from you at the Custom
House since that time, which they can scarce tell how to
account for there, especially as they have yet had no
account from you of that affair relating to the fixing an
officer at Albany, &c., of which I wrote you largely in
my last.
I have lately been several times with the Marquis of
Rockingham and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (M'
Dowdeswell) with whom I dined one day last week, and
staid with him till past nine at night, and as we were
alone I had a good opportunity of talking over your
affair with M' Bernard, in which I endeavoured to do
you that justice which I think you deserve, and I hope I
may be able to render you some service in that matter.
However, I find M' Bernard is strongly supported, and
has several friends at the Board of Trade, to ballance
which the Board of Customs are entirely on your side.
And I am sorry there should have been such a long
interval in your correspondence with them, for fear they
may take it amiss.
Wee have lately had strange accounts from Boston of
the riots and disorders there and at Rhode Island.
Surely the people are distracted and infatuated. The
ministry would certainly have relieved them from those
grievances they have so much complained of had they
behaved with toUerable decency. But now they must
expect no favour. What measures will be taken is not
determined. I shall know when any resolutions are
formed ; and shall give you the earliest advice.
I must now give you some account of a late occurrence
relating to myself. About a fortnight ago the Marquis
of Rockingham sent for me, and on my waiting on him
told me that he had long waited for an opportunity to
serve me, and that he now had something to propose
which he hoped would be agreeable to me. He then
told me that M' Hanbury (the great Virginia merchant)
1765.] THOMAS WHATELY. 71
had been to inform him that he had received some
letters from Virginia advising of the death of M' Ran-
dolph, Surveyor Greneral of the Customs residing there,
which office his Lordship was pleased^ to say he had
reserved for me, tho' no less than three very powerfuU
applications had already been made to him for it. The
next day I attended at the Treasury where my appoint-
ment to the office of Surveyor General of his Majesty's
Customs for the Western Middle District of America
was entered on the books, and a warrant made out &
sign'd by the Marquis of Rockingham and all the other
Lords then present. But that very evening the same
M' Hanbury received another letter from Virginia dated
five days after the former to let him know that what had
been wrote before concerning M' Randolph's death was a
mistake, he being then in a fair way of recovery. And
thus ended my Surveyor Generalship. However, to con-
sole me for the disappointment Lord Rockingham has
assured me that I may depend on the first good thing
that becomes vacant.
My complim** to your brother & all friends at Boston.
I am
Yo' most obliged humble serv.
Jos" Harrison.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
[October 11, 1765.]
Dear Sir, — I should be much obliged to you if
you will be so good as to deliver the enclosed to your
brother whose particular direction I do not know. I
have received your favour of 24*** July. I am very sorry
for the disappointment of the reasonable expectations he
had that he should be appointed to a place perfectly agre-
able to him ; but times may mend & let us hope for y* best.
72 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEKS. [1766
I have not yet heard y particulars of the disturbances in
your Colony,* but our printed accounts make them very
great, & I am sure a little reflexion would convince the
people that there is not the least foundation for their dis-
content. I do not find that y"" tax itself is complain'd of,
but y* opposition to it arises from a dispute of the right.
Every principle of our Constitution & the uninterrupted
practise of our legislature is against them. Our politics
here are at a stand, nothing particularly doing, but all
waiting for y* winter. It will give you pleasure to be
assured that M' Grenville is entirely reconciled to every
part of his family, & the unhappy breach which their
party differences made is compleatly heal'd. I have not
time for more. I am
Most sincerely yours. T. W.
Tell me something of Ingersal,t & how his office sits
upon him.
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Rockingham House, Grosvenor Square, April 15^, 1766.
Dear Sir, — The receipt of your obliging letter of
Jan*^ 19*** gives me great pleasure, and is the only one
that has come to hand since that formerly mentioned,
dated May 17**", so that there must have been some very
extraordinary miscarriage.
Ever since the beginning of this session of Parliament
I have liv'd at the Marquis of Rockingham's, where I am
at present employed as an assistant to his private secre-
tary, M' Burke (author of the book on the Origin of our
Ideas of the Sublime and BeautifuU), and my intimate
acquaintance with American affairs has at this time en-
abled me to be particularly usefuU, so that I have the
* The Stamp Act riotA in Boston, in Aagust, 1765. — Eds.
t See note, ante^ p. 19. — Eds.
1766.] JOSEPH HARRISON. 73
satisfaction of enjoying some share of his Lordship's
favour and confidence.
I have taken care on all occasions to do you all the
good oflSces in my power with the Marquis of Rocking-
ham and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I may
venture to assure you that you stand extreamly well with
them both. Gov' B d's chief friend (Gov' P 1)
has no influence here, and I am very certain in the dis-
pute between you and M' B d, the weight of favour
is in your scale. I am so excessively hurried that I have
scarce any time to myself, or I should now have wrote
you a longer letter ; but what I have mentioned above I
hope will make you easy in that matter, and when I have
any leisure shall write you again more particularly.
As it does not seem likely that I shall be permitted to
return soon to New England, Lord Rockingham has in-
dulged me with a permission to resign my office at New
Haven to my brother ; * and a deputation for that purpose
will be sent over by the New York pacquet. On this oc-
casion I must beg leave to recommend my brother to your
favour and notice, being perfectly well assured that you
will find him not only a very honest but a very accom-
plished officer, and one that will keep up the dignity of
his station, and has tallents and abilities that will render
him very important and popular in that country, par-
ticularly his knowledge in agriculture, ship-building &
architecture, with a general acquaintance on all affairs of
trade & commerce.
I am just now called away, so that for fear I should be
detained so long as to lose the oppertunity of this con-
veyance I must conclude with my compliments to M'
Inman & your brother. I am, d' S',
Yo' most obliged and most humble serv*.
Jos" Harrison.
* In a list of the *' Establishment of the Northern District, 1 Novr, 1766/* in Temple'i
Letter>Book, Peter Harrison is named as Collector at New Haven. ^£ds.
74 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS.' [1766.
JOSEPH HARRISON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
RocKuiGHAM House, Grosvenor Square, 80*^ May, 1766.
Dear Sir, — The last letter I wrote you was dated the
14**" of last month, which was delivered to the care of one
M*" Green, a passenger in a ship that sailed about that
time for Boston.
My present scituation admits of very little leisure, es-
pecially during the session of Parliament, but I would not
omit this oppertunity by M' Nevin of letting you hear
from me, tho' I have little more to say than just to repeat
that nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have
it in my power to render you any service.
Many great and important alterations have been made
in the Acts of Trade respecting America this present ses-
sion of Parliament, the particulars of which M' Nevin will
be able to give you a circumstantial account. The bills
have passed in the House of Commons, and now lye be-
fore the Lords, where there is no doubt but they will be
assented to likewise, as in the last division in that House
the minority was no more than 16 to 57.
Some new regulations in the Custom Houses in America
are intended which I apprehend will be chiefly in the ap-
pointment of a set of under officers such as landwaiters,
tidesmen & boatmen in every port, to be on the estab-
lishment, and appointed by the Treasury with suitable
salaries.
I 'm affraid I shall fall under some blame on account
of M' Hubbard's being appointed to clear out vessels at
Stamford, which I find the Commissioners know nothing
of, nor that any such officer is appointed in the port of
New Haven. This I gathered from a private conversa-
tion with M' Hooper, and it was with some difficulty that
I avoided any explanation on the subject. However, I
thought it proper to mention this to you as a hint, which
you may make a proper use of.
1766.] THOMAS WHATELY. 75
M' Hubbard never accounted with me for any part of
the fees he received for clearing out vessels at Stamford,
which amounts to a very considerable part of the emolu-
ments of the coUectorship ; in 1763 there were 107
coasters clear'd out at New Haven, and 64 at Stamford,
which at 2 dollars each amounts to 128 dollars. As I
doubt not but you will order M' Hubbard to account to me
for what fees he has received, I shall rest the settlement
of that matter entirely with you. And in the mean time
I would advise that you would recall any powers M' Hub-
bard may have from you respecting that matter, and leave
it entirely to the present Collector. As I mentioned be-
fore, the Commissioners of the Customs know nothing of
this appointment, and it has lately been intimated to me
that M*" Hale and me will shortly be called upon to give
an account of all the officers employed, their several de-
partments, and manner of doing business at our respective
ports.
My compliments to your brother & M' Inman. I am,
d'S',
Yo' most obliged & most humble serv*.
Jos" Harrison.
The Honblb. John Temple, Esq.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
14«» Augrt, 1766.
Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure of your letter of 1**
July, which your brother was so good as to deliver me.
M' Howard of Rhode Island * did me the favour to intro-
* Martin Howard. He had made himself obnoxious to the people of Newport,
B. I., where he lived, by upholding the authority of Parliament over the Colonies. In
August, 1766, the mob carted through the streets effigies of Augustus Johnston, the stamp-
master, Howard, and Dr. Thomas Moffatt. ** Each of these images had a halter around
its neck, and all three were carried to the gallows, which had been erected near the town
house, where they were hung up to view till near night.** The next day the mob went to
Howard's house, '* where they destroyed or plundered every thing it contained, and de*
76 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1766.
duce him to me soon after his arrival. I have been since
out of town, & have therefore seen him but once, & that
for a short time ; but he has promised me his company in
the country to dinner to-day, & I shall be happy to culti-
vate my acquaintance with a gentleman whose character
I have heard so much of from so many quarters. M'
Grenville is out of town for the summer ; but I shall take
the first opportunity to introduce your brother to him, &
I am confident he will be very glad to see his relation.
At present I can be of no service to him with any Minis-
ters or any office ; but I took the liberty of hinting to
him the propriety of observing great moderation with
respect to Governor Bernard, who is at present so much a
favourite here for his conduct in the late disturbances
that no man recommends himself by appearing to be his
enemy ; & as your connections here are with a family now
in opposition, I think there is the more occasion for cau-
tion. I wish for your sake that the animosity between
you & Governor Bernard were not so great as it is ; & if it
cannot be reconciled, at least I hope that it will appear
publickly as little as possible. You will pardon me for
writing so freely, but I should betray your interests if I
did not acquaint you with the present situation of affairs
here so far as I think you concerned in them. As to our
political transactions you will have heard before this can
reach you of a change in the administration, & that the
late popular M' Pitt is now the most unpopular peer in
England. The present arrangement is no more formed
for permanency than the last. Still the abilities of the
kingdom (unless they can be supposed to center in one
man) are excluded in a great measure from y* government
molished the doors, windows, &&, leaving nothing but the bare walls standing.*' Howard
and Moffatt then fled to England. Not long afterward Howard was appointed Chief Justice
of North Carolina. His judicial functions ceased in 1774, but he remained in North Carolina
tome time longer, and then went to Rhode Island, and in 1778 to England, where he died
in December, 1781. See R. I. Col. Recs., vol. vi. p. 514, note ; Sabioe*s American Loyal-
ista, vol. i. pp. 546, 547. — Eds.
1766.] THOMAS WHATELY. 77
of it ; & that is not a state of things which can continue.
Your relations have nothing to say to it, & I think so
highly of them that I believe their services necessary to
the publick, & I hope the publick will soon avail itself of
them. You decline entering into the subject of the late
disturbances in America, & I am not disposed to dwell
upon them. They are, as I understand, quieted for the
present. I was not one of those who thought the repeal
of the Stamp Act the proper way to quell them ; nor have
I approved of any of the measures of y* Ministry during
the last year with respect to the Colonies. My opinions
on those points were settled long ago, & I have not yet
learn'd the trick of the times in changing opinions. I re-
member you once mention'd to me a pamphlet call'd The
Regulations lately made in y^ Colonies & the Taxes imposed
upon them Considered. I was guilty of writing that same
pamphlet, & you see I abide by my principles by my ac-
knowledging that work which I never own'd till lately.
I have been very happy this winter in the acquaintance
of M' Howard, another wicked author, whom I am sorry
to lose so soon ; but he is setting out for North Carolina,
where he is appointed Chief Justice, which appointment I
look upon as the best & last act of the late administra-
tion. D' Moffatt, too, his fellow sufferer, has got an office
in Connecticut.* He is so good as to undertake to convey
this to you. If I have time, I shall wish to write by the
same conveyance to Ingersoll, who, I hear, has suffered
very much & very undeservedly ; but I can send him only
condolencies, & they are hardly worth the carriage. I
shall go down to M' Grenville in a few days, & will men-
tion to him what you desire. I shall be glad to hear from
* Dr. Thomu Bloffatt was a Scotch physician, who came to America about 1746, and
settled in Rhode Island. Having incurred the ill-will of his fellow-townsmen and soffered
heavy pecuniary losses, he fled to England in 1765. He was rewarded by the appointment
of Comptroller of the Customs at New London, Conn. On the breaking out of the war, he
again went to England in a British man-of-war. See Sabine's American Loyalbti, toI. ii.
p. 85. — £d8.
78 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1767.
you whenever you have proper opportunities ; but I know
y* difiScuI ties you have all been under, & I have abstain'd
from writing to my friends in America for fear of involv-
ing them ; but I suppose the correspondence is more open
than it was, & that for the future I may hope to have
now & then a letter, in which, if it is safe to write it, I
shall be glad to read any account of y* situation of affairs
in your distant part of the world. I am, with great
regard,
Your most obed* & faithful serv*.
Thomas Whately.
KoNSUCH Pabk, 14^ Aug^, 1766.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Dear Sir, — Your brother has given me leave to trouble
you with the enclosed letter to our old acquaintance M'
Ingersol, which I should be much obliged to you if you
could find means to convey to him by a private hand;
& I beg this favour of you also to send the other letter
which I have taken the liberty to put under your cover
for M' Oliver. Your brother answers for your forgiving
me for thus trespassing on your goodness, & he has
taught me to believe implicitly whatever he says. He is,
indeed, a most respectable man, & I am much obliged
to you for giving me so valuable an accession to the
number of my American friends. We are near neighbours,
living in the same street, & very often see one another.
He likes us very well, but I do not believe he will be very
sorry to return to his home & his family. As you have
80 good a correspondent here it will not only be needless,
but almost impertinent, in me to write you the news of
the place. I dare to say he gives it you very faith-
fully ; but as he may not yet have learn'd how little our
current reports are to be depended on, & may have there-
1767.] THOMAS WHATELY. 79
fore given credit to some which I, who am more used
to them, do not build my faith upon, I will with his leave
endeavour to prevent any mistakes, & confine myself to
tell you what is not, tho' you may hear that it is, true.
I have found several of your Americans alarmed with
a notion that fifteen regiments are directly going from
hence to take possession of the great towns. The fact is
that five regiments will be sent to relieve five now in y
Colonies, who are to be brought home, according to the
settled rotation which has been observed ever since the
last peace, except in the last year, which omission makes
it the more necessary now. Another idea is, that a Board
of Customs is to be establish'd in America ; & if there
were I should sincerely wish that you were one of the
Commissioners, as it is said you would be ; but I do not
hear of any step taken towards such an establishment.
Taxes too are talk'd of in America, but I do not find any
thing of that kind in any forwardness, except perhaps
an alteration in the tea duty, which, it is said, will be
lower' d & collected in a different manner, in order to
put a total stop to smuggling in that commodity. The
stability of the present Ministry is also asserted as confi-
dently as the immediate dissolution of it. Neither is true.
That things cannot continue in their present state is
apparent. Lord Chatham, the Prime Minister, has been
out of town these three months. He is extreamly
unpopular, & the other Ministers are many of them
much disgusted at him & divided among themselves ;
but what, when, or how y change will be nobody can
say. Am I not an ill-natured politician who leave you
nothing for speculation ? I will therefore give you one
fact which you may depend upon entirely. That the
tide is entirely tum'd here with respect to America, that
the distinction between external & internal taxes is totally*
exploded, that every doubt upon the right is ridiculed &
censured whenever it is mentioned, & that the re-estab*
80 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEES. [1767.
lishment of the civil authority which has been of late
much weakened in the Colonies is now y* prevailing
object amongst men of all denominations. This you may
depend upon is the general disposition of people here, & I
dare say you will soon find all accounts from hence agree
with mine. M' Howard of Rhode Island has written to me
from South Carolina, & desired me to send ray answer by
your brother, to meet him in the spring at Boston. As I
hope & believe he will not leave us so soon, I shall take
the liberty to trouble you with a letter for M' Howard,
& will be obliged to you if he arrives before my letter,
that you will tell him my intentions. Adieu, my dear
Sir, & believe me
Ever & truly yours; T. Whately.
LOHDON, 25«» Feb^, 1767.
John Temple, Ebq.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, 2* May, 1767.
Dear Sir, — I again trouble you by your brother's
permission with a packet of letters which I am ashamed
to send you ; but he encourages me to go on, & I
shall under such encouragement be tempted now &
then to take the same liberty until you forbid me.
This time, indeed, I am under a kind of necessity to
enclose my letters to you, as I really do not know how
to direct to M' Howard, not even to what province,
as he proposed to be somewhere in your neighbour-
hood during part of the summer, but I am not sure
whether he carries his intention into execution, & of
D' Moffatt I only know that he is in the Colony of
Connecticut, but in what town he resides I cannot re-
member. You will be able to find them both, & I should
1767.] THOMAS WHATELY. 81
be much obliged to you if you will convey my letters to
them & to M' Ingersol by p-ivate handsj when you have
opportunities. I am happy at the same time to accom-
pany this trouble with my sincere congratulations on the
alliance you have lately made, & which I find to be per-
fectly agreable to your family thro' all its branches here.*
I shall soon too, 1 hope, have it my power to. follow these
with other compliments upon your appointment to an
office, of which in my last, of 24"* Feb^^, I doubted
whether the establishment would this year take place;
but I understand now that a Board of Customs will be
fix'd at Boston, to consist of five Commissioners, two of
whom are to be the Surveyors General for the northern
districts. I hope the situation will be more agreable to
you than your present employment, but in either you
will have much to do, as the measure of taxing America
is now so generally & so strongly supported here, & the
one fund which the Stamp Act was intended to create
being destroyed, it must be supplied by a multiplicity of
others, most of which will be impost duties. Many are
at present under consideration, such as duties upon wine,
oil, fruit, raisins & currants, allowing the carriage of them
at the same time to be direct from the places of their
growth to America. A salt tax is also talk'd of, with
a drawback upon such as shall be used in the fisheries.
A tonnage upon shipping is another; but all of these,
I suppose, will not take place at once, & which of them
will be laid this year is not yet absolutely settled, but
will be in a very few days, when the plan of administration
for y* Colonies will be laid before Parliament. Nothing
has yet been done in either House ; but in the House of
Lords a motion was made for an address to submit to his
Majesty's consideration the proper proceeding to be held
in regard to the Act of Indemnity annexed to the Act of
* John Temple was married to Elizabeth, only daufi^hter of James Bowdoin, afterward
Governor of Massachusetts, iu Boston, Jan. 20, 1767. — Eoa.
6
82 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1767.
Compensation by the Assembly of Massachusets Bay.*
I can hardly say who spoke of it with the most indigna-
tion, & none attempted to vindicate it ; but the Ministers
opposed y* mode of taking notice of it in an address, be-
cause they said that it seem'd to reflect a suspicion on
the King's servants, as if they could be wanting in their
duty, which they understood to be to advise the Crown to
disallow it. The answer to this objection was that the
inexpediency of an Act of Assembly was alone a sufficient
reason for disallowing it, but the illegality of this act
required more than a meer reversal. That it was an
encroachment on the prerogative, an infringement of
the Constitution, an usurpation of powers which neither
House of Parliament pretended to exercise, for that the
power of pardon was vested solely in the Crown ; the
Lords nor the Commons never attempted to indemnify
without the concurrence of the Crown, & that concur-
rence could not be had to this Act of Assembly, for the
Governor was only a corporation magistrate, & not the
King's representative in the Province of Massachusets
Bay. That in Virginia, after Bacon's Rebellion, the
Assembly there having passed such an Act of Indemnity,
the Privy Council declared it null, & in the stead of it
sent over an act ready drawn up, & under the Great Seal,
with orders to the Assembly to pass it, & it is now in their
Statute Book. That this should be treated in the same
* By an act of the General Court, passed Dec. 6, 1766, certain sums were granted to
Thonias Hutchinson, Andrew Oliver, and others, to be paid out of the public treasury, in
full compensation for their losses and sufferings during the Stamp Act riots; and by the
second section of the same act it was provided that " all riots, routs and unlawful assemblies '*
within this Province, between Aug. 1, 1765, and May 1, 1766, *' and all burglaries, felonies,
rescues, and breaches of the peace whatsoever ... be and hereby are pardoned, released,
indemnified, discharged, and put in utter oblivion ; and that all and every the person or
persons acting, advising, assisting, abetting, and councelling the^same, be and are hereby
pardoned, released, acquitted, indemnified and discharged from the same, and of and
from all pains of death and other pains, judgments, indictments, convictions, penalties and
forfeitures therefor had or given, or that might accrue, for the same; and that such indict-
ments, convictions and forfeitures are hereby declared null and void." In May, 1767, in
conformity with an adverse opinion of the law oflUcers of the Crown and a report from the
Board of Trade, the act wa« disallowed. See Province Laws, vol. iv. pp. 903, 904, and the
editor's note, pp. 931-945. — Eua.
1767.] THOMAS WHATELY. 83
manner, & the rather because a meer reversal would
answer no purpose whatsoever ; for that a criminal once
pardon'd is pardon'd for ever. The grace cannot be re-
called if it has ever been granted, & that therefore if this
Act of Indemnity should be admitted to have existed a
moment as a legal act, all the purposes intended by it
would be obtained, & all the operations designed by the
reversal would be defeated. The previous quiestion was
carried for the reasons I have given ; but as the princi-
ples held by those who were for y* motion were not con-
troverted, I make no doubt that the measure suggested by
them of declaring y* act null & void ab miiio will be adopted.
In the course of this & other debates many reflections
were drop'd upon past transactions & upon the present
state of affairs in America. The distinction between
internal and external taxes frequently occurs, not now
as a subject of debate, but a matter of reproach to those
who maintained last year that Parliament had not a right
to lay the former as well as the latter. I told you in my
last that that doctrine was then always call'd nonsensical.
It has been since said to be criminal and treasonable, &
they who defended it then disclaim it now, by alledging
that the Declaratory Act has put an end to the question,
& determin'd the law.
I overpower you with politicks : if I do, you must blame
your American brethren here who assure me that no subject
from hence can be more interesting, & to you who are in a
publick oflSce it is indeed to a degree a personal concern.
Your brother is almost my next door neighbour, & a very
good one. He makes, however, frequent excursions into
the country, which has more charms to him than London,
& has lately been to Newmarket races, where I thought
his love & knowledge of horses would have found amuse-
ment, but his honest soul was so shocked at the scene of
gaming & profligacy he saw there that he is returned
determin'd to oppose every attempt that shall ever be
84 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1767.
made to introduce regular horse-races at Boston. You will
be so kind as to present my compliments to M' Oliver
& my other friends on your side the great lake^ & to
believe me
Ever yours. Thomas Whately.
A paper currency under government security is amongst
other things now under consideration.
The Hon*" John. Temple, Ebq.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN LANE.*
Boston, Dec 13, 1767.
S", — T had your obliging favor of the 3* of Aug*, with
invoice of a carpet and fan, w**' are rec*, am** to £12.17
for which I shall credit Mess" Lane, Son & Fraser's ac-
count. I observe there are now publishing by M' Boydell
engravings done from the most capital paintings in Eng-
land, & you are kind end to invite me as a brother mem-
ber of the Society for encouraging Arts, &c., to become a
subscriber ; but you have doubtless been informed of the
plans of oeconomy w*** have lately taken place here in
consequence of proceedings on y' side the water. These
proceedings, w^ in the idea of Americans & of some
respectable persons with you are utterly inconsistent
with the rights of Englishmen & freemen, must eventually,
if persisted in, terminate in y* distress of both countries,
at least in the great detriment of both. This is foreseen &
in some degree already felt w*** respect to America, & has
necessitated the slaves of it (for to slavery we think our-
selves now damned) to adopt oeconomical plans, & every
measure that can tend to make such a state in any degree
tolerable. You will clearly see therefore the spirit of
oeconomy, so necessarily prevalent here, will not allow
* A London merchant and business correspondent of Mr. Bowdoin. — Edb.
1708] MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR BERNARD. 85
our importing such kind of articles; but this does not
hinder my expressing the obligations I am under to you
for your very kind information & the readiness you so
obligingly manifest to supply me with those or any other
articles. Your mentioning the society reminds me that I
have not rec* for some time past any of the books they
annually publish & distribute among the members. Some
of y' friends here, particularly M" Bowdoin, M' & M"
Temple, send their respectful compliments to you & y'
lady, & would be glad to have the pleasure of seeing
you here again & accompanied by her. In this pleasure
I should largely share. Pray when are we to expect it ?
I am respectfully,
Yrs, &c.
MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR BERNARD.
Gentlemen of the Council and Gentlemen of the House of
Representatives.
I hereby communicate to you an extract of a letter
from the Earl of Hillsborough, his Majesty's Secretary of
State for America, and copies of a report of the Lords
Commissioners for Trade & Plantations concerning the
constitution of an Agent for this Province. I shall be
ready to join with you in the appointment of an Agent,
either general or special as shall be thought most expe-
dient. I shall propose no one to you myself, but shall
judge freely and impartially of those who shall be sub-
mitted to me for my consent.
Fra. Bernard.
Council Chamber, May 81, 1768.
Extract of a Letter from the R Ebno^ the Earl of Eillsborough,
one of his Majesty^s principal Secretaries of StatCj to his
Excellency Q-ovemor Bernard^ dated Whitehall^ Feb* 16,
1768.
Sir, — Since my appointment to my office the Lords of
Trade have transmitted to me their representation to his
86 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
Majesty upon those, parts of your letters to Lord Shel-
burne N** 11 & 17 which relate to the claim of the House
of Representatives to appoint an Agent for the affairs of
the Province independent of the Governor and Council.
I have had the honour to lay this representation before
the King, who has commanded me to transmit to you
the inclosed copy of it, not doubting that the House of
Representatives will be induced from a consideration of
the propriety of what is set forth in it, to recede from a
claim that appears to his Majesty to be neither supported
by reason nor justified by precedent, and to adopt that
mode of appointment of an Agent which has been
adjudged upon the fullest examination to be the most
regular & constitutional in all cases, and seems in a
more particular manner to correspond with the principles
of the Charter on which the government of the Colony of
Massachusetts Bay is founded.
I am, with great truth and regard,
Sir, Your most obed* hum** servant.
Hillsborough.
GrOYERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BaT.
(Copy.)
Whitehall, Feb^ 4, 1768.
My Lord, — In obedience to his Majesty's commands
signified to us by the Earl of Shelburne, in his Lordship's
letter of the 7*^ of December last, that we should report
our opinion whether the House of Representatives of
Massachusetts Bay have a right to chuse an Agent for
themselves, and whether such Agent should be received
in a public capacity or not, and what the usual practice
of government has been in similar cases, we have pre-
pared and herewith transmit to your Lordship our humble
representation thereupon.
We are, &c. Clare.
SoAME Jenyns.
J. Dyson.
Earl of Hillsborough.
1768.] MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR BERNARD. 87
(Copy.)
To THE Kino's most excellent Majesty:
May it please your Majesty, — In obedience to your
Majesty's commands signified to us by the Earl of Shel-
burne, one of your Majesty's principal Secretaries of
State, in his letter of the 7'*" of Jan^ 1768, we have
taken into our consideration the following questions
therein referred, viz* : " Whether the House of Repre-
sentatives of Massachusetts Bay have a right to chuse an
Agent for themselves, and whether such Agent shou'd be
received in a public capacity or not, and what the usual
practice of government has been in similar cases." In
answer whereunto we humbly beg leave to represent to
your Majesty,
That we are of opinion that the House of Representa-
tives of Massachusetts Bay have not in themselves any
right or priviledge, such as they have assumed, of appoint-
ing an agent or representative residing in this kingdom
to transact here the public affairs of that Province, con-
stituted by their sole authority and retained in their
separate service and pay ; and this, as we conceive, has
ever been the opinion of the servants of the Crown in all
precedents where claims of the like nature have been set
up by this branch of the Legislature, to the exclusion of
the Gov' and Council. In particular, we find that in
the year 1709 upon an Act being passed in Barbadoes
for appointing agents to transact the public affairs of that
island, by which act the Gov' and Council were excluded
from any share in the nomination of these officers, the
matter in question came to be solemnly discussed, and
the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations then
in office, in reporting for the repeal of this law, did in
the fullest and clearest manner state their opinion in an
humble representation to the Crown, " That this pre-
tended right of the Assembly of Barbadoes, exclusive of
88 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
the Gov' and Council there, of appointing persons under
the puhlic character of agents for negociating in this
kingdom the public affairs of that island was no way
founded upon good reason, nor warranted by the like
usage in any other Plantation under his Majesty's imme-
diate governm*, but was inconsistent with the nature and
form thereof, & might tend to create jealousies and divi-
sions in the several parts of that Legislature, to the mani-
fest disquiet of his Majesty's subjects there, and to the
prejudice of that trade."
These remarks, both with respect to the invalidity of
such pretensions and the prejudices that might result
from the allowance of them, with many other arguments
and observations contained in that paper, apply them-
selves so directly to the case in question that we shall
humbly beg leave to ^nnex hereunto a copy of that
representation.
If for these reasons it shall appear to your Majesty
that the House of Representatives are not warranted in
the right they have assumed, we conceive that little
doubt can occur upon the policy of tolerating them in
such assumption. The intelligence contained in the
extracts from Gov' Bernard's letter to the Earl of Shel-
burne communicated to us by his Lordship further
inclines us to apprehend that the receiving an agent so
partially constituted, in the various offices and depart-
ments of govemm* in a public capacity, will most probably
be attended with inconvenience and embarrassment ; and
therefore tho' cases may have occur'd wherein governm*
either thro' inadvertence or from various other causes
may have admitted persons under the separate appoint-
ment of a Provincial Assembly to solicit the affairs of
such respective Province in the capacity of agents, yet as
the few precedents of this nature which either accident or
inattention have let pass cannot be construed to establish
a right, we think that your Majesty's ministers may in
1768.] MESSAGE FROM GOVERKOR BERNARD. 89
all cases where they apprehend any inconveniences from
the reception of such an agent persist in an exclusion of
him, consistently with reason & justice, and without any
infraction of the rights and priviledges of the Assembly
who are his constituents.
All which is most humbly submitted.
Clare.
SoAME Jenyns.
W" FiTZHERBERT.
Tho' Robinson.
Whitehall, Feb. 4, 1768.
(Copy.)
To THE Queen's most excellent Majesty.
May it please your Majesty, — Having received an
Act passed in Barbadoes the 16"* of May, 1709, intituled
^^ An Act appointing agents to transact the public affairs
of this island," we have considered the same, and there-
upon humbly take leave to represent to your Majesty.
That we find since the year 1660 there have been fre-
quent disputes between the Council and Assembly of
Barbadoes about the nominating and appointing agents
residing within this kingdom to transact here the public
affairs of that island, the Assembly having claimed a
right of such nomination and appointment exclusive of
the Governor and Council ; and they having for the most
part done the same by a clause in the Excise Bill, refus-
ing to grant the duty arising thereby, unless they named
the said agents in the Bill, to which the Council were
some time necessitated for the sake of the said duty to
consent ; by this means (the Excise Bill being made for
one year only) the Assembly annually nominated the
agents notwithstanding the opposition made thereunto
by the Council ; but we do not find that any of these
laws by which agents have been constituted have at any
time been confirmed by your Majesty or any of your royal
predecessors.
90 THE BOWDOIK AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
In the year 1697, when the Assembly insisted upon
their pretended rights, the then President in Council
disallowed thereof for the reasons mentioned in the
annexed paper marked A.
But not to go too far back we shall only humbly lay
before your Majesty what has passed relating to the
appointment of agents since M' Crow's arrival here.
The Assembly in March 1707/8 sent up to the Council
a new Excise Bill with the usual clause for the agents
in it; the Council upon consideration thereof gave their
reasons for not allowing the said clause ; this occasioned
several messages and conferrences between the Council &
Assembly and upon the Council's insisting to have the
said clause omitted, the Assembly on the 19"* of March
1707/8, in consideration of the great want of money there
was at that time, passed the Excise Bill without the said
clause, but made the following resolves.
" Resolved, that from the first constitution and appoint-
ing of agents in England for the public service of this
island, the right of appointing such agents was and is in
the representative body of this island.
" Resolved, that the members of her Majesty's Council
of this island by setting up a right with this House to
nominate and appoint such agents have endeavoured to
invade the right which is solely fixed in this House."
In December, 1708, the first abovementioned act for ap-
pointing agents (which is founded on the foresaid resolves,
the preamble setting forth the necessity of the inhabitants
having agents here to solicit for them, and the next clause
desiring the Governor and Council to ratify the Assem-
bly's nomination & appointment of their agents) was
brought into the Assembly where it lay till May, and
was then passed by them, and sent up to the Council ;
but whether the Council made then any objections to this
act, or no, does not appear to us, their minutes for that
time not having been transmitted, however, as this act
1768.] MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR BERNARD. 91
excludes the Governor and Council from nominating and
appointing agents, we humbly conceive that M' Crow has
not done his duty in passing the same.
But that your Majesty may have a clearer view of the
pretensions of the Assembly we further take leave to
represent to your Majesty, that in Novem', 1708, the
persons named in the first abovementioned act for agents
delivered to us as a paper, intituled some positions laid
down, that the General Assembly exclusive of the Gov-
ernor & Council may appoint agents to negociate the public
affairs of this island in England, which paper containing
some positions of a very extraordinary & dangerous con-
sequence we take leave to annex a copy thereof marked
B., and upon it to make the following observations.
We do agree that it is the undoubted right of the sub-
ject, either in his private capacity or as a body politick
to apply to your Majesty by petition, complaint or other
address so it be done in such manner as the law directs,
yet we can by no means admit it to be a necessary conse-
quence that therefore the General Assembly of Barbadoes,
exclusive of the Gov' & Council there, have a right to
appoint persons under a public character of agents for
negociating in this kingdom the public affairs of that
island by way of application to your Majesty ; such a
pretended right is no ways founded upon good reason,
nor warranted by the like usage in any other Plantation
under your Maty's immediate gover*, but is inconsistent
with the nature and form thereof, and may tend to create
jealousies and divisions in the several parts of that Legis-
lature to the manifest disquiet of your Majesty's subjects
there, and to the prejudice of that trade.
If such exclusive power of appointing public agents be
allowed to the General Assembly, with as much reason
may the Gov' & Council severally claim a like power,
exclusive one of the other, to appoint their respective
agents. For if the Gen^ Assembly cannot (as they sug-
92 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
gest) rely upon the service of any other agents than such
as are solely chosen by and intirely dependant on them,
what use can the Gov' or Council expect to have of
agents so chosen, who are intirely independant of the
Gov' & Council?
What mischief and confusion in business such distinct
agencies may occasion by their interfering and clashing
one with another, according to the several instructions
they may receive from their respective principals, is so
obvious we shall not trouble your Majesty therewith.
Among the several reasons given for allowing an ex-
clusive right in the General Assembly, some of them are
very extraordinary, they* being founded upon unjust
suppositions; that the Gov' and Council will refuse or
neglect to employ their best offices for procuring from
your Majesty a concession of whatever may reasonably
be desired for the ease, safety, or benefit of the island ;
and that they will in all matters be inclined to support
and maintain the prerogative without having a due regard
to the rights and privileges of the subject.
This is to suppose, not only that so many of the prin-
cipal inhabitants as constitute the Council have no share
in or concern for the good of their country, but that both
Gov* and Council will act contrary to the express trust
reposed in them ; and we look upon any insinuation as
tho' the interest of the Crown were separate from that of
the subject to be false and of dangerous consequence.
Wherefore we are humbly of opinion that the Gen^
Assembly of Barbadoes exclusive of the Gov' and Council
have not any right, nor ought to be allowed, to appoint
persons under the character of public agents for negociat-
ing in this kingdom the public affairs of that island ; nor
do we see wherein such appointment of agents by the
Assembly can answer the end they propose, since they
cannot reasonably expect that your Majesty will come to
any resolution upon the application of such agents in pub-
1708.] PETITION OF THE COUNCIL TO THE KING. 93
lie matters, without referring the same to the Gov', or to
him & the Council there for their opinion therein ; and
therefore we humbly offer that your Majesty be pleased
to signify your disallowance & disapprobation of the said
act for appointing agents, but in case your Majesty shall
think fit that agents may be nominated and appointed by
the joint consent of the Gov', Council, and Assembly to
negociate here the public affairs of that island, as is prac-
ticed in Jamaica and some other of the plantations, we
have no objection to it.
All which is most humbly submitted.
Stamford.
Dartmouth.
Jn^ Smith.
Phil. Meadows.
j. pultney.
Rob' Moncton.
Whitehall, Nov 9*»», 1709.
petition of the COUNCIL TO THE KING.
To THB King's most excellent Majesty.
The humble petition of the Council of the Province of
Massachusetts Bay.
We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the
Council of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, deeply
impressed with a sense of your paternal affection for all
your subjects even the most remote of them, and your
disposition to hearken to their addresses with an attention
suited to the nature of them, humbly beg leave in behalf
of your faithful subjects of said Province to represent to
your Majesty ;
That the first setlers of New England, more attentive
to religion than worldly emolument, planted themselves
in this country with a view of being secure from religious
94 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
imposition, and not with any expectations of advancing
their temporal interests which the nature of the soil
forbad them to indulge.
That they obtained a patent of this country from King
Charles the First, which though vacated in the unhappy
times of James the Second, revived in the present Charter
of the Province, which was granted in the succeeding
glorious reign of King William and Queen Mary, who by
said Charter confirmed to their subjects in this Province
divers important rights and privileges, which have been
enjoyed to the present time.
That from the length and severity of the winters, the
inferiority of the soil, and the great labour necessary to
subdue it they underwent incredible hardships.
That besides the climate and soil they had to contend
with a numerous and barbarous enemy, which made fre-
quent inroads upon them, broke up their exterior settle-
ments, and several times had nearly accomplished their
utter destruction, by which means they were kept in
perpetual alarms, and their country made the scene of
rapine and slaughter.
That nothing but the most invincible fortitude, ani-
mated by the principles of religion, could have enabled
them to sustain the hardships and distresses that came
upon them by these causes ; nothing less could have
induced them to persevere in the settlement of a country,
from which in its best estate they had only to expect a
comfortable subsistence, and that in consequence of their
unremitted labour.
That by this labour, these hardships and distresses,
they dearly purchased the rights and privileges and the
country granted to them by Charter, and which they have
transmitted to their children and successors, the present
inhabitants, your Majesty's faithful subjects of this
Province.
That the present inhabitants, though more happily
1768.] PETITION OP THE COUNCIL TO THE KING. 95
circumstanced than their ancestors, and though some
among them, especially in the trading towns, live in
affluence, yet from the operation. of the same causes (the
length and severity of the winters and the stubborness
and infertility of the soil) are now able with all their
labour to obtain but a comfortable support for themselves
and families, and many of them a very slender one ;
their cloathing, of which in this cold climate a great deal
is necessary, and which, except some small part of it
which they make themselves, is wholly made of the
woolens and other manufactures of Great Britain ; the
other necessary articles of subsistence and the yearly
taxes upon their polls and on their real and personal
estates taking up the whole, or nearly the whole, produce
of their lands.
That by their means your Majesty's dominions have
been enlarged, your subjects increased, and the trade of
Great Britain extended, all in degree envied by her
enemies, and unexpected by her warmest friends ; and
all without any expence to her till the late war.
That in the late war, without recurring to the former
expeditions against Canada, to the reduction of Nova
Scotia in seventeen hundred and ten, to the preservation
of it several times since, to the conquest of Louisbourg
with its dependent territories in seventeen hundred and
forty-five, the reddition of which was esteemed by France
an ample equivalent for all her conquests during, on her
part, a successful war, and gave peace to Europe, —
upon your Majesty's requisitions and the requisitions of
your royal grandfather this Province in the last war
yearly raised a large body of troops to assist in conjunc-
tion with other Colony troops in reducing the French
power in America, the expence of which was very great,
and would have been insupportable if part of it had not
been refunded by Parliament from a conviction of our
inability to bear the whole.
96 THE BOWDOIK AKD TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
That the loss of men in the several campains of that
war was great, and which to a young country must be
very detrimental , and could not be retaliated by grants
of Parliament, and to which those grants had no respect.
That the acquisition of so large a part of America by
your Majesty's arms, though a great national good, and
greatly beneficial to the Colonies by freeing them from
the hostilities of the French, and (in a good measure) of
the Indians that were under their influence, has in several
respects operated to the detriment of the Colonies ; par-
ticularly in diminishing the value of real estates, and
drawing our people from us to settle the new acquired
territory.
That said acquisitions have occasioned new and in-
creasing demands for the manufactures of Great Britain,
and have opened to her sources of trade greatly beneficial
and continually enlarging, the benefits of which center
in herself, and which with the extensive territories ac-
quired are apprehended to be an ample equivalent for
all the charges of the war in America, and for the
expences of defending, protecting, and securing said
territories.
That this Province in particular is still in debt on ac-
count of the charge incurred by the late war.
That the yearly taxes — excepting the present year,
on which no public tax has been yet laid by reason of a
general valuation of estates through the Province, which
could not be compleated before the dissolution of the
late General Assembly, but which will probably be re-
sumed when a new Assembly shall be called — that the
yearly taxes upon the people for lessening the said debt,
tho not so great as during the war, are nevertheless with
more difficulty paid by reason of the greater scarcity of
money.
That the scarcity of money in the Colonies is owing to
the ballance of their trade with Great Britain being
1768]. PETITION OF THE COUNCIL TO THE KING. 97
against them, which ballance without the operation of
the several acts of Parliament taxing the Colonies by
laying certain duties for the purpose of drawing a revenue
from them drains them of their monej^, so as that their
trade, which is the only source of their money, is greatly
embarrassed.
That the embarrassment is much increased by the late
regulations of trade, and by the tax acts aforesaid, which
draw immediately from trade the money necessary to
support it, on the support of which the payment of the
ballance aforesaid depends.
That the said tax acts operating to the detriment of
the trade of the Colonies must operate to the detri-
ment of Great Britain by disabling them from paying
the debt due to her, and by laying them under a necessity
of using less of her manufactures.
That by using the manufactures of Great Britain which
are virtually charged with most of the taxes that take
place there, the Colonies pay a considerable part of those
taxes.
That by several acts of Parliament the Colonies are
restrained from importing most of the commodities of
Europe, except from Great Britain, which occasions her
manufactures and all commodities coming from her to be
dearer charged, and is therefore equivalent to a tax upon
them.
That the Colonies are prohibited from sending to
foreign markets many valuable articles of their produce,
which giving to Great Britain an advantage in the price
of them is a proportionable and a further tax upon the
Colonies.
That the exports of the Colonies, all their gold and sil-
ver, and their whole powers of remittance fall short of the
charged value of what they import from Great Britain.
That in evidence of this we humbly apprehend the
merchants of Great Britain trading to the Colonies, but
7
98 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
especially such as send goods to them on factorage, can
declare their judgment, who from the difficulty of obtain-
ing remittances, from the bad debts made, and from the
rate of exchange, which is generally above par, can form
a very good one.
That if it be considered what difficulties the Colonies
encountered on their first settlement ; their having de-
fended themselves (Nova Scotia & Georgia excepted)
without any expence to Great Britain; the assistance
given by them in the late war whereby the empire of
Great Britain is so greatly extended, and its trade pro-
portionably increased ; the diminution of the value of
their estates, and the emigration of their inhabitants
occasioned by that extension ; the loss of men in said
war, peculiarly detrimental to young countries ; the taxes
on them to support their own internal government ; the
share they pay of the duties and taxes in Britain by the
consumption of British manufactures, for which such
valuable returns are made ; the restraints upon their
trade, equivalent to a tax; the balance of trade con-
tinually against them, and their consequent inability to
pay the duties laid by the acts aforesaid : If these facts
be considered, we humbly conceive it must appear that
your Majesty's subjects in the Colonies have been and
are as much burthened as those in Great Britain, and
that they are, whilst in America, more advantagious to
Britain than if they were transplanted thither, and sub-
jected to all the duties and taxes paid there.
With great humility we beg leave to lay this represen-
tation at your Majesty's feet, humbly praying your
Majesty's favorable consideration of it, and that the
Charter rights and privileges of the people of this Prov-
ince may be secured to them. And if it should appear
to your Majesty that it is not for the benefit of Great
Britain and her Colonies (over which your paternal care
is conspicuous) that any revenue should be drawn from
1768.] THE COUNCIL TO GOVERNOR BERNARD. 99
the Colonies, we humbly implore your Majesty's gracious
recommendation to Parliament that your American sub-
jects may be relieved from the operation of the several acts
made for that purpose, in such manner as to the wisdom
of your Majesty and Parliament may seem proper.
At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston,
on Thursday, July 7, 1768.
Present in Council.
His Excellency Francis Bernard, Esq., Governor.
Tsaac Royall
James Russell
Esq". Tho' Flucker >Esq".
Royall Tyler
James Pitts
John Erving
James Bowdoin
Tho* Hubbard
Harrison Gray J
M' Bowdoin from the Comittee appointed to prepare a
humble address to his Majesty, having reported the fore-
going draft, the same was accepted : and his Excellency
was thereupon unanimously desired to transmit a fair
copy of the same to his Majesty's Secretary of State,
with a request that he would be pleased to lay it before
his Majesty for his most gracious consideration; and
that his Excellency be desired at the same time to recom-
mend the prayer of the said petition.
THE COUNCIL TO GOVERNOR BERNARD.
To HIS Exc^ Fra* Bernard.
Boston, Sep' 11, 1768. SuDday, A. M.
S", — The certain intelligence your Exc^ is said to
have rec* of troops being ordered hither,* & your expec-
* It was reported that the Governor had said three regiments might be daily expected
in Boston, two to be quartered in the town, and one at Castle William; and on the petition of
a considerable nnmber of the inhabitants a town meeting was held on the 12th, *' to consider
of the most wise, constitntional, lojal and salutary measures to be adopted on such an
occasion." See The Boston Gazette, Sept. 19, 1768. — Eos.
100 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
tation of their speedy arrival, have a good deal agitated
the minds of people ; and as we apprehend it is of impor-
tance, great importance, a Coimcil should be called as
soon as may be, we desire y' Exc^ to call one at four
o'clock this afternoon when we shall be ready to attend
your Exc^, either at the Council Chamber or at the
Province House. We are very respectfully
Y' Exc^*' most obed* serv**-
John Erving.
James Bowdoin.
Tho" Hubbard.
Harrison Gray.
Tho" Flucker.
RoYALL Tyler.
James Pitts.
Sunday noon, ^ past 12 o'clock, Sept' 11. DP a letter
(of w** the foregoing is copy) to M' Baker, with direc-
tions to get a horse & carry s* letter imediately to the
Gov' at his house at Roxbury, or if not there, at the
Castle, or wherever he may be.
GENERAL GAGE* TO GOVERNOR BERNARD.
New York, Septem' 12«», 1768.
Sir, — Having received his Majesty's commands to
order troops forthwith to Boston, I am to acquaint you
* Thomas Gtis^ was the second son of the first Viscount Gage, and was born in Eng>
land in 1721. He was a Lientenant-Colonel in Braddock's expedition in 1755, and suc-
ceeded to the command on the death of the Creneral. In 1758 he was with Abercrombie in
the movement against Ticonderoga; and after the surrender of Montreal in 1760 he was
appointed militarv governor of that city. In December, 1768, he succeeded Amherst as
commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, with headquarters in New
York. In February, 1773, he sailed for England, returning in May, 1774, with the appoint-
ment as Governor of Massachusetts. His unsuccessful management of aflfairs led to his
recall, and be again sailed for England in October, 1775. He was not afterward in activo
service, and died in England. April 2, 1787. See Appleton*s Cyclopssdia of American
Biography, vol. ii. pp» 669, 670; N. Y. Col. Docs., vol. viii. p. 247 note; Dictionary of
National Biography, vtii :fix, pp. 355-357. — Eds.
1768.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 101
that in obedience thereto I have directed his Majesty's
14*^ and 29"" regiments under the command of lieu* Co?
Dalrymple to embark at Halifax and proceed to Boston as
soon as possible. One of the regiments is ordered for the
present to Castle William, the other to the town, and I
am to beg the favor of you to see that the said troops
are provided with quarters on their arrival in your gov-
ernment as by law directed. I have the honor to be,
with great regard, Sir,
Your most obed* & most humble servant.
Tho' Gage.
His Excsll^ Gov* Bebxard.
(Copy.)
proceedings of the council.
In Council, 19*^ Septem', 1768.
His Excellency communicated to the Board a letter
from General Gage of y* 12**" Sept. ins*, acquainting him
that in obedience to his Majesty's commands he had
directed the 14*^ & 29"" regiments under the command of
lieu* CoP Dalrymple to embark at Halifax as soon as
possible for Boston, one of which regiments is ordered for
the present to Castle William, the other to the town, and
asking his Excelly. to see that the said troops be provided
with quarters on their arrival as by law directed.
His Excell^ likewise communicated to the Board a letter
from the Earl of Hillsborough dated the 30"" July last,
acquainting him that transports were preparing with all
possible dispatch in order to proceed to Corke to take on
board two other regiments which are to be augmented by
draughts to 500 men each, and signified his Majesty's
commands that the Gov' do in concert with y* Command'
in Chief take every necessary step for the reception and
accommodation of these troops.
102 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
His Excell^ thereupon moved to the Board that they
would take these letters into their deliberate consideration,
and give him their best advice in what manner provision
should be made for the reception and accommodation of
the said troops.
The Board having debated the matter advised that his
Excellency give proper orders for the accommodation of
that regiment destined for the Castle, and with regard to
the other regiment the Board were of opinion, & accord-
ingly advised, that as the business in the first instance
affected the town of Boston, it would be expedient that
the selectmen of the said town should be apprized of it
that they may consider in what manner the said troops
may be accommodated with the least inconvenience to- the
inhabitants, and that John Erving, Ja' Bowdoin, Tho'
Hubbard, Harrison Gray, Tho" Flucker, Eoyall Tyler, &
Ja* Pitts, Esq**, be a committee to confer with the said
selectmen upon the subject, and that the said Committee
report to y* Gov' in Council as soon as may be.
The Committee of Council appointed the 19*** instant
notified the selectmen of Boston to meet them at the
Council Chamber at 4 o'clock, P. M. of the same day :
they met accordingly, when the Committee communicated
the copies of letters laid before the Board to the said
selectmen, who after a full conference upon the subject of
them desired the s* copies might be left with them for
their consideration, and they would report to the Com*^ as
soon as may be.
The s* selectmen met the Committee Sept. 21, and in-
formed them that the affair of quartering the troops being
wholly under the regulation of the act of Parliament rela-
tive to troops in America, and said act not making it their
particular duty to provide for the s* troops they can only
say that it wou'd be for the peace & welfare of the town
& be attended with the least inconvenience to the inhabi-
1768.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 103
tants that the two regiments expected from Halifax sbou'd
be accommodated in the barracks at Castle William, which
is part of the town of Boston, so far as they are capable
of receiving them, and they apprehend there is sufficient
room in the said barracks for that purpose, and that the
act of Parliament indispensably requires that the troops
shou'd be accommodated there, and nowhere else unless
there be a deficiency of room in the s"* barracks. With
regard to the two regiments said to be coming from Ire-
land they suppose it will be some time before they can be
here, and that there will be sufficient opportunity before
their arrival to consider how they may be accommodated.
In the name of the Com*~.
John Erving.
BoBToy, Sept' 21, 1708.
In Council, 22* Sept., 1768. Present :
His Excellency, the Governor
Sam* Danforth Ja* Russell
Jn** Erving Tho' Flucker
W"* Brattle Isaac Royall
Ja* Bowdoin Esq". Royall Tyler Esq".
Tho* Hubbard Jeremiah Powell
Harrison Gray James Pitts
The Com*^ appointed the 19*** ins* to confer with the
selectmen of the town of Boston and consider in what
manner the troops now expected may be accomodated
with the least inconvenience to the inhabitants reported
as above.
The foregoing report having been read in the Council,
and it appearing from thence that the aid or interposition
of the selectmen of the town of Boston was not to be ex-
pected in the case, his Excellency proposed to the Board,
Inasmuch as there is a large building within the town be-
104 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [176a
longing to the Province called the Manufactory House,
which is at present under no improvement in consequence
of an order of the government, and which would accom-
odate a great part of one of the regiments, that they
would authorize him to take measures for fitting up the
said building for the reception of so many of the said
troops as it will conveniently accommodate, his Excellency
engaging that if the Province will not pay the expence of
it, that it shall be done at the charge of the Crown.
The Council informed his Exc' they would give an an-
swer to the foregoing proposal to-morrow the 23**, where-
upon the Board was adjourned to 10 o*clock, A. M.
Sept. 22, Post Meridiem. The Council met by them-
selves, and after fully considering the said proposal
together with General Gage's letter, & the extract from
Lord Hillsbourough's letter, appointed a Com*** to prepare
, the draft of an answer to the said proposal, and directed
them to report it the next day at 9 o'clock, A. M., at
which time the Council agreed to meet.
Council Chamber, Sept. 23, A. M., 1768. M' Bowdoin,
M' Gray, & M' Tyler pursuant to the appointment of the
Council yesterday P. M., reported to the Board an answer
to his Excellency's proposal for the accommodation of the
troops, which answer being considered and amended is
agreed to by the Board.
The Board was informed by the Secretary that the
weather being so stormy the Governor will not be in town
to-day, and desires they will meet him at the Province
House to-morrow at 10 o'clock, A. M.
Saturday, Sept. 24, 1768. The weather continuing
stormy his Excellency did not come to town till the
afternoon, when the Council waited upon him with their
answer.
An alteration being proposed in the said answer, it was
agreed by the Council to meet Monday morning, 9 o'clock,
the 26"" instant, to consider it ; and his ExcelP^ informed
1768.] PROCEEDINGS OP THE COUNCIL. 105
the Council that their answer might then be given to the
Secretary to be delivered to him without any further
meeting thereon.
Sept. 26, A. M. The Council met & agreed to the
alteration, and then delivered the said answer to the
Secretary.
The answer follows :
The Board have taken into their further consideration
General Gage's letter and the extract from Lord Hills-
borough's letter commimicated by his Excellency on
the 19 ins^ relative to the reception and accommodation
of the troops in the said letter & extract mentioned, and
have also considered his Excellency's proposal of the
22* instant, relating to the Manufactory House in Boston,
that they wou'd authorize him to take measures for
fitting up the said building for the reception of so many
of the said troops as it will conveniently accomodate.
They have also attentively considered the act of Parlia-
ment providing among other things for the quartering
& billetting the said troops, and they find that the civil
officers in the said act mentioned and no others are
thereby empowered and " required to quarter and billet the
officers & soldiers in his Majesty's service in the barracks
provided in the Colonies ; and if there shall not be suffi-
cient room in the said barracks for the officers & soldiers,
then & in sitch case only to quarter & billet the residue "
of them in such manner as in the said act is further and
very particularly directed. Now it appears by this par-
agraph of the said act that in any Colony where there
are barracks the said officers & soldiers in his Majesty's
service shall be quartered & billetted in such barracks,
and in no other place unless there shall not be sufficient
room in the barracks. With respect to this Colony the
government of it in the begining of the late war by
'their order caused barracks to be built at Castle William
for the very purpose of accomodating his Majesty's
106 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEKS. [1768.
troops whenever it should be necessary for them to come
hither, under which order the Governor & Council
are authorized to provide quarters in the said barracks
for such troops; and these barracks are sufficient to
accomodate about one thousand men, which number,
it is said, the two regiments ordered from Halifax will
not exceed. Those regiments therefore, which are the
first expected, the said act of Parliament requires to be
quartered in the said barracks. General Gage, however,
in his letter aforesaid mentions that one of the said regi*
meuts is ordered for the present to Castle William, the
other to the town of Boston ; but it will be no disrespect
to the General to say that no order whatsoever coming
from a less authority than his Majesty & Parliament
can supersede an act of Parliament ; and it is plain the
General had no intention that the said order should, as
he concludes his letter by desiring the Governor to see
that the said troops are provided with quarters on their
arrival in this government as by law directed. The said
act also provides " that if any military officer shall take
upon himself to quarter soldiers in any of his Majesty's
dominions in America otherwise than is limited and
allowed by this act, or shall use or offer any menace
or compulsion," &c., he shall be " ipso facto cashiered,
and be utterly disabled to have or hold any military
employment in his Majesty's service." His Excellency
therefore, as the Board apprehend, must clearly see
by examining the s* act that it is not in the power of
the Board to provide quarters for the said regiments
as destined, till the barracks at Castle William and the
inns, livery stables, and other houses mentioned in the
said act shall be full (in which ^^ and no other case & upon
no other acc^ it shall & may be lawful for y* Gov' &
Council" to take the measures they are directed to
by the s* act for the reception of his Majesty's forces) ;
nor of consequence to authorize his Excellency to take
1768.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 107
measures for fitting up the Manufactory House agreable
to his proposal.
The quartering of troops in the body of the town before
the barracks are full is not only contrary to the act of
Parliament, but would be inconsistent with the peace of
the town ; whose peace & welfare, as also the peace
& welfare of the Province in general, it is the duty,
interest and inclination of the Board to promote, and
which in every way consistent with law they will
endeavour to promote to the utmost of their ability.
As the Board on the 19"" ins*, when the letters above
ment^ were first communicated to them, advised that his
Excell^ give proper orders for y* accomodation of one of
y* Halifax regiments in the barracks at Castle W", so
they now further advise that his Ex^ give like orders for
the accomodation of the other Halifax regiment in
the s"* barracks.
With regard to the two regiments ordered from Ireland
to Boston, the Board doubt not that provision will be
made for their accomodation agreable to the act
aforesaid.
That the Board might be better able to give their
advice in regard to the regiments ordered hither they
thought it necessary that y* whole of Lord Hillsborough's
letter so far as it related to the s"^ regiments and to the
occasion & design of their coming should be communi-
cated to them, and they accordingly desired his Excell^ to
communicate it. But though his Excell^ was pleased to
tell them he should very probably lay the whole of it
before the Board in such parcels & at such times as he
thought proper, yet as they apprehend the propriety of
their own conduct in a great measure depends on the
communication of y* whole of it together, they again
request his Excell^ to favor them with it.
With regard to the occasion of y* s* regiments being
ordered to Boston his Excell^ on being asked informed y*
I
108 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
Board that he apprehended the Halifax regiments were
ordered hither in consequence of y* riots in March last,
& the two Irish reg** in consequence of that of the 10*^
June last. On which the Board are obliged to observe
that they are fully persuaded his Majesty's ministers could
never have judged it either necessary or expedient to go
into such extraordinary measures as those of sending
^f> hither, unless in T rep,.senUtions made from
hence by some ill-minded persons the s* riots had been
greatly magnified and exaggerated.
With respect to what hapend on the 18 March, which
was a day of rejoicing, and on such days disorders are
not uncommon in populous places, it was too inconsid-
erable to make it a subject of representation, and could
not have been made the subject of so injurious an one
but by persons disposed to bring misery & distress upon
the town & Province.
In regard to y* riot of y* 10"* of Jime, of which the
Board have repeatedly expressed their abhorrence, and
have advised that the perpetrators of it should be prose-
cuted by the Attorney General, the Board have in their
answer to his ExcelK* representation laid before them
the 27*** of July last, given a just account of y* occasion
of that riot, and as they apprehend it necessary that
the said account together with all the proceedings at
that time should be made public they again desire his
•Excell^ will order the s* representation & answer to be
printed as soon as may be in the public newspapers.*
Sept. 29*, Castle W".
Capt. Smith, com' of his Majesty's ships at Boston, &
L* CoP Dalrymple, com' of the troops on board of the s*
* The foregoing answer of the Council was printed in a " Supplement Extraordinary
To the Boston Evening-Post of September 26, 1768/' and the proceedings of the Council
on the 27th and 29th of July are in a ** Supplement EztiBordinaxy," Oct 10, 1768. — Eds.
1768.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 109
ships, having been desired by the Gov' to attend, were
likewise present.
His Exc^ the Gov' open* the occasion of the Councirs
being summon* & acquainted the officers aforementioned
what had been the resolutions of the Council w"" regard
to quartering the s* troops. Whereupon Col** Dalrymple
acquainted the Board that his orders from the Com' in
Chief were that one of the two regiments now arrived
should be quartered in y* town of Boston, & that he could
not consider Castle Island to be the town of Boston within
the intention of his orders, & that he could not himself
depart from y* s* ord** & that he now made a requisition
for quarters accordingly. Whereupon his Exc^ desired
that the Board would reconsider the proposal he had before
made to them of fitting up the Manufactory House as
barracks for the reception of Col^ Dalrymple's regiment
w*** is the regiment destined for the town in case it can be
done at the expence of the Crown ; and in case they sh*
adhere to their former resolution that they w* assign the
reasons thereof.
To w*** the Board made the foUoW* reply :
The Board having already considered the proposal of
fitting up the Manufactory House as barracks, & his Exc^
having on application made to him this day in Council
refused them an opportunity of giving any fuller answer
than what they have already given to the s* proposal,
unless done in Council, are under a necessity (saving, how-
ever, the right of the Board in all cases in their own way
& manner to make answer to any proposal made to them)
of referring his Exc^ to the answer already given as afore-
said & which they waited upon his Exc^ with on the 24'**
instant. And whereas by the act of Parliament relative
to the providing quarters for the troops the quartering
of them before the barracks & public houses are full is only
cognizable by the civil officers in the s* act mentioned,
the Board apprehend CoP Dalrymple ought by s* act first
110 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
to apply to the majestrate & civil officers of the town of
Boston to provide such quarters.
Monday, Oct** 3, 1768. A Council held at the Province
House.
His Excellency coBSunicated to the Board a letter from
L* CoP Dalrymple acquainting him that he had rec* orders
hy express from General Gage to land the two regiments
from Halifax at Boston, & that he was under a necessity
of demanding quarters for them there, and desiring that
fuel, straw, and the other articles directed to be provided
for the troops may be got in readiness.
CoP Dalrymple & Capt. Smith desiring to be admitted
before the Board came to a determination, they were ad-
mitted accordingly ; when Col** Dalrymple took occasion
to explain the intention of his requisition, viz. ; that as
the Board could not think themselves authorized to provide
barracks in the town, inasmuch as barracks have already
been provided by the government at Castle William, he
had encamped some of his troops & was providing barracks
for the rest in the town, so that he considered them all
as in barracks, and demanded barrack provisions accord-
ingly, agreable to act of Parliament.
Whereupon his Exc^ moved to the Board that they
would appoint some suitable person or persons to make
such provision.
The Board desired time to consider the motion ; but the
Gov* refused it, insisting on an answer imediately. How-
ever, after much altercation the Gov' adjourned the Board
to Wednesday, A. M., 10 o'clock, Oct^ 5, when they gave
him the following answer :
Advised, that agreable to his Excellency's motion one
or more person or persons be authorized & appointed to f ur^
nish & supply the officers & soldiers put and placed in the
barracks with fire, candles, &a, as particularly mentioned
in the act of Parliament, provided the person or persons
80 to be authorized and appointed will take the risk of the
1768.1 JOHN TEMPLE. Ill
Province's paying to him or them all such sum or sums of
money so by them paid, laid out, or expended for the
purpose aforesaid.
And inasmuch as the Board in Co? Dalrymple's letter
aforesaid, dated the 30"* ult% and before his coming to
town, observed a suggestion that a bad spirit prevailed
here, & that in consequence of it Gen^ Gage had been in-
duced to order both the regiments to be landed in the
town ; but as Co? Dalrymple must before this time have
had the fullest evidence that no such spirit is prevalent,
& that the town is in a state perfectly peaceful and quiet,
the Board doubt not of his justice to represent it to the
General accordingly, which they cannot but apprehend
will procure from the General a recall of his last order,
and that agreable to his letter to Gov' Bernard of the 12***
ult^ one at least of the said regiments will be again ordered
to Castle William. The Board also persuade themselves
that the same reason will induce the General to order the
Irish regiments to Nova Scotia or to some other parts
where his Majesty's service may require them.
The Board desire the Governor to send by the post to-
morrow a copy of this minit of Council to Gen* Gage, with
such representations as his Excellency shall think proper
to induce the General to give such orders as will relieve
the town & Province from th.eir present anxiety and
distress.
His Exc^ nominated Joseph Goldthwait, Jun', Esq' to
be comissary for the pui*pose above mentioned ; and he
was appointed accordingly.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Boston, 4 Nov*, 1768.
Dear Sir, — Tired out with the ill-treatment I have
met with from Gov' Bernard and (through his machina-
112 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
tion) from the gentlemen joined in commission with me,
I have by this opportunity solicited the Lords of the
Treasury for leave to come to England, and shall be very
much obliged to you to forward my request if you have
any friend at the Treasury that you can now speake to on
such business.
As I expect to see you early in the spring I will not at
this time trouble you with the mention of public affairs,
further than to say, if goverment do not ere long find
itself quite aground in this country from the perfidy,
baseness, & deception of its own servants, I have entirely
lost what little judgment I may have had, & will thence-
forth acknowledge myself to be no other than a mere
dreeming idiot. D' Sir, I am
Sincerely yours.
Tho» Whatlky, Esq. J. TeMPLB.
Memorandum.* About this time ( 1 768) M' Temple dis-
covered that M' Hutchinson, in consequence of having been
informed of the paragraph in Whatley*s letter of 18 May,
1765,t (wherin he expresses his wishes for an acquaint-
ance with that gentleman) had open'd a correspondence
with hira, that Mess" Oliver, Paxton, & Rogers also corre-
sponded with him, as well as Moffatt, Howard, & Ingersoll,
all of whom M' Temple consider'd as closely united in
sentiment on the state of affairs in North America, and
most of them imder the lead or influence of Sir Francis
Bernard. M' Temple at the same time entertain'd not
even the least doubt that the representations from those
gentlemen were almost directly opposite to such as he
should have made, had he continued writing on the sub-
ject ; and considering also at the same time ihe uncommon
address of some of the gentlemen would be rather too
much for his friend Whatley (a very worthy, honest man,
* This memorandum, which is in Mr. Temple*8 handwriting, was filed with the foregoing
letter. It is on a separate paper, and was evidentlj written at a much later period. — Eds.
t See antt^ p. 55. — Eds.
1768.] SAMUEL DANFGRTH. 113
but not possessed of the largest share of penetration to
see into the designs of men, and almost absorbed in a
pasmuj if it might be so called, for American taxation, &
for every artf ull sycophant that encouraged and applauded
the measure) M' Temple declined any further correspon-
dence on the subject ; nor did he ever that he recollects
write M' Whatley another line (though he remained two
years after in America) till his arrival in England, of which
neglect he, M' Whatley, very greatly complain'd in his
letters to M' Temple's brother with whom he kept on a
correspondence.
SAMUEL DANFORTH* TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
Boston, December 5"», 1768.
William Bollan, Esq*, S*, — The Council having
heretofore experienced your abilities and good disposition
to serve the Province, and being assured of your readiness
still to render it all the service in your power, I am de-
sired by such of them as could convene upon the occasion
to send you their petitions to the two Houses of Parlia-
ment, praying for the repeal of the several acts for raising
a revenue in America, and to request the favor you will
procure them to be laid before the Lords and Commons as
soon as may be, according to their respective directions,
and to use your best endeavours that the prayer of them
may be answered.
What lead to this measure, it is needful you should be
informed of. The Council at the last session of the Gen*
* Samuel Danforth, son of Rev. John Danforth, of Dorchester, was bom there Nov. 12,
1696, graduated at Harvard College in 1715, and died in Boston Oct. 27, 1777. He was a
selectman of Cambridge 173.3-1738 and a Representative for a part of the same period.
From 1739 to 1774 he was one of the Council of Massachusetts; and in the latter year he
was named a Mandamus Councillor, but was induced to resign by the popular opposition.
He was also Register of Probate for his county, 1731-1745; Judge of Probate, 1745-1775;
and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1741-1775. See Paige's Hist, of Cambridge,
pp. 531, 532. — Eds.
8
114 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1768.
Court thought it necessary to petition his Majesty on the
subject of the said acts, but were not able to complete their
design in their legislative capacity by reason of the disso-
lution of the General Court. They, however, at a Board
of Council afterwards, viz*, in July last, agreed on a peti-
tion to the King, and desired Governor Bernard to send it
to Lord Hillsborough, to be laid before his Majesty, and
at the same time requested the Governor to recommend
the prayer of it.* This petition was sent accordingly
with a letter from the Governor; Lord Hillsborough
in answer to said letter writes the Governor, 14"" of
Septem', that his Majesty received the petition very
graciously, and that it would together with the Gover-
nor's reasonings thereon be taken into consideration.
The Council, imagining from a paragraph of the Gover-
nor's said letter a few days ago communicated to
them that the prayer of their petition might be mis-
apprehended, thought it necessary the two Houses of
Parliament should be petitioned on the same subject.
Accordingly such Gentlemen of the Council as could with
convenience assemble have agreed on a petition to the
House of Lords & another to the House of Commons, and
have desired me to sign them in their behalf, and to trans-
mit them to you to be presented as above mentioned. As
the Governor declined giving his consent for petitioning,
it occasions the petitions being in the name of the major
part of the Council only ; the other members being too
remote to be convened seasonably. They were, however,
unanimously at the last session of the General Court for
petitioning the Lords and Commons as well as his Majesty,
but were prevented by the dissolution of the Court ; and the
Council would have petitioned them last July when they
petitioned the King, but Governor Bernard not consent-
ing it was dropt. They may, therefore, be justly consid-
* See antCf pp. 93-99. — Eds.
1768.] SAMUEL DANFORTH. 115
ered as unanimous in the petitions now sent to you, which
differ in nothing essential from the petition to the King.
There is a variation, however, in the prayer of these
last petitions, which is expressly for the repeal of the sev-
eral American revenue acts ; but in that to his Majesty
the prayer runs thus, " And if it should appear to your
Majesty that it is not for the benefit of Great Britain and
her Colonies that any revenue should be drawn from the
Colonies, we humbly implore your Majesty's gracious
recommendation to Parliament that your American sub-
jects may be relieved from the operation of the several
acts made for that purpose, in such manner as to the wis-
dom of your Majesty and Parliament may seem proper."
The Council intended it should be understood to pray
for the repeal of the aforesaid acts ; but as in the Gover-
nor's letter abovementioned it was introduced in such a
way as to make it doubtful from the word drawn whether
the Council did not intend to acquiesce in the said acts and
only prayed that the revenue money arising from said acts
might not be drawn from or sent out of America to Great
Britain, it became necessary that in the petitions now sent
the repeal of those acts should be prayed for in the most
explicit manner.
From your several publications and the great pains you
have taken on the subject of American affairs, the peti-
tioners have the highest confidence that your best abilities
will be exerted to procure success to their petitions, on
which the true interest of Great Britain and that of
the Colonies so essentially depend. I am with great
respect, S',
Your most obed* hble. serv*.
(Signed) Samuel Danforth.
Indorsed by James Bowdoin : " Copy of a letter sent to W*" Bollan, £8q%
in Henrietta Street, Jx)ndoD, with petitions of the Council to the Lords &
Commons, signed by M' Danforth, President of Council, DeC^ 5, 1768.'*
116 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
JOHN WINTHROP* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Cambbidqe, 18 January, 1769.
Sir, — As you were so good as to use your influence in
procuring an observation of the last transit of Venus to
be made in North America, I take the liberty of applying
to you on account of the next. This next will be much
more sutable than the last was in the grand problem of
determining the sun's parallax & distance, for reasons
which I cannot now stay to explane, but may perhaps do it
on some other occasion. But for settling this delicate
point in the most unexceptionable manner, and with the
greatest certainty, 'tis extreamely important to have as
many observations as we can, of the whole duration of the
transit. Most places will admit of observations only of
the beginning or end ; and both these phases, and so the
whole duration, can be seen nowhere but in the great
South Sea, and in the most northern parts of Lapland,
Russia, Siberia & North America. The government at
home have sent observers to the South Sea, & 'tis said the
Czarina has sent 8 companies to the northern parts of her
empire. With us the end will not happen till above an
hour after sunset, and the nearest place at which it can
be observed is Lake Superior. On this occasion I beg
leave to lay before you an extract of a letter I lately
received from our worthy countryman D' Franklin.
"M' Maskelyne (Astronomer Royal at Greenwich)
wishes much that some of the governments in North
America would send an astronomer to Lake Superior to
* John Winthrop, son of Chief Justice Adam Winthrop, was born in Boston Dec. 19,
1714, graduated at Harvard Collefire in 1732, and died in Cambridge, May 3, 1779. He was
for more than forty years, from 1738 until his death, Professor of Mathematics and Natural
Phi!o!tophy in the College; and in this capacity he acquired a high reputation as a teacher
and investigator. He also took a considerable part in public affairs, was Judge of Probate
for Middlesex County, and in 1773-4 a member of the Council of Massachusetts. (See Ap-
pit'ton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. vi. p. 575.) For a correspondence
between him and John Adams, mainly on public affairs, see 5 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. iv.
pp. 289-313.— £ds.
1769.] JOHN WINTHROP. 117
observe this transit. I know no one of them likely to
have a spirit for such an undertaking unless it be the
Massachusetts, or that have a person & instruments sut-
able. He presents you with one of his pamphlets, which
I now send you, together with two letters from him to
me, relating to that observation. If your health &
strength were sufficient for such an expedition, I should
be glad to hear you had undertaken it. Possibly you may
have an eleve that is capable. The fitting you out to ob-
serve the former transit was a public act for the benefit
of science that did your Province great honor." Thus,
Dr. F.
'Twould be a great pity to lose so critical an opportunity,
which cannot return in above 100 years to come. It will
not be difficult to find persons that would undertake the
expedition, if any method can be found to defray the ex-
pence. M' Danforth,* our late Tutor, appears quite
willing to engage in it, and I know of no body better
qualified for it. He is young, of a firm constitution, and
of a resolute spirit that would not be baffled by any diffi-
culties in the way, and has already so much knowledge
in astronomy that he may in a short time be shown how
to make all the requisit observations in a proper manner.
M' Chadwick, who has been employed by this government
to measure the roads from Boston to Albany, and has
travell'd across the country from Penobscot to Canada,
and made a map of it, is also willing, and would be a very
proper person to accompany M' Danforth. It would be
best to join one or two others with them as assistants, and
for fear of accidents.
Their journey may be productive of great advan^ges ;
besides the transit they may make many other useful ob-
servations, such as exploring the unknown parts about
* Thomas Danforth, ton of Hon. Samael Danforth, was bom in Cambridgv, Sept. 1,
1744, graduated at Hanrard College in 1762, went to Halifax In 1776, and died in London,
March 6, 1820. ^ Edb.
118 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
the Lakes, ascertaining the longitude & latitude, not only
of their astronomical observatory, but (the latitude at
least) of the several forts they may stop at, and thereby
rectifying the geography and correcting the maps of this
country, which are at present so imperfect & so different
that there is no knowing which to depend upon, or which
to prefer. For instance, I find Popple's map & Huske*s
differ about 5 degrees in the longitude of Mishillima-
kinac, and as much in the longitude of S* Michael in Lake
Superior, & 2 degrees in the latitude. They may also
observe the variation of the needle whenever they make
any stop ; a point of great consequence, as it may affect
both private property and the divisional lines between
the several governments. They may also probably make
some useful discoveries that we have no idea of at
present.
It is not for me to point out any particular method for
promoting such an expedition. We can have no General
Court, but if the Govr. would interest himself in the mat-
ter, perhaps he might find some way to set it on foot ; or
perhaps if you & Govr. Temple will use your interest with
Gen. Gage, he may be induced to countenance the affair
with his authority. I suppose there is no doubt but that
a convoy of stores will be sent up to the western forts
early in the spring ; and if our observers might be allowed
to go under the convoy, with the General's order to the
commanders of the several forts & vessels on the Lakes to
be aiding & assisting, the thing might be accomplished
without any great expence ; and such services as those
above mentioned, I should think, could not fail of being
agreable to the Ministry, who always appear desirous of
gaining the most exact information in every particular
relating to the Colonies. Or perhaps — but your own in-
vention will suggest better than I can all the practicable
methods that can be thought of for this purpose ; & I per-
suade myself your love of the sciences is such as will
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIN. ' 119
prompt you to exert all your powers in so capital an
undertaking. With great esteem & respect, I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
John Winthrop.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS GAGE.
Boston, Jan'y 23, 1769.
S*, — As y' Extf^ is a friend to science any opportunity
to promote it, I am persuaded, will give you pleasure. I
beg leave to inform y' Exc' that M' Winthrop, Professor
of Mathematics & Natural Philosophy at our College at
Cambridge (a very ingenious gentleman) has rec* letters
from D' Franklin & M' Maskelyne, on the subject of the
transit of Venus across the Sun, which it is expected will
happen on the 3* of June next ; and those gentlemen &
others in England, &c., are very desirous it should be
accurately observed in North America. As the end of the
transit cannot be observed at any place nearer than
Lake Superior, it is much to be wished that suitable per-
sons with proper instruments could be there to make the
observation. M' Winthrop informs me, by the letter
which I have the honor of coinunicating to you, that it
would not be difl&cult to procure proper persons for this
expedition, if under your Exc^'* authority they could have
the aid and assistance of the commanders of the several
forts & vessels on the lakes. If this undertaking, which
may answer other valuable purposes than observing the
transit, should meet with y' Exc'** approbation the
undertakers would think themselves happy under your
patronage. I have the honor to be, w**" great regard,
Y' Exc^'' most obed*, hble. serv*.
His Exc' Tho' Gage, Esq', GenS &c., at New York.
120 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1760.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN WINTHROP.
Boston, Jan" 23, 1769.
S*, — By this day*s post I writ to Gen* Gage on the
subject of the letter you honored me with, & sent him the
letter inclosed in mine. His answer shall be comunicated
to you as soon as I receive it. As the purposes which
may be answered by such an undertake (beside observing
the transit) are so useful and of such public concernment,
I have hopes the Gen* will make the expence of it a con-
tingency within his own department. It will be best,
however, to be provided w^ an estimate of the expence,
that other means may be looked for to defray it in case
the Gen* cannot. I am, S',
Y" &c.
THOMAS GAGE TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
New York, Jan^ 30"», 1769.
Sir, — I have received your favor of 23* ins*, with a
letter to you from M' Winthrop, Professor of Mathe-
maticks at Cambridge, on the subject of sending some
persons skilled in astronomy to Lake Superior to observe
the transit of Venus. The gentlemen who shall be em-
ployed in this business may get to Missilimakinac from
Montreal by way of the Ottawa River with the traders,
who generally set out from Montreal the beginning of
May, or may go by Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit.
Whichever of these routes they may determine upon, they
may be assured of all the assistance in my power to afford
them.
I think it would be proper they should touch at Missili-
makinac, which is the farthest post we have in the upper
country, as the commander of that post will be able to
procure them an interpreter, and perhaps engage some
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 121
Indians of Lake Superior to accompany them, and it
would be likewise very proper that the commander should
give notice to the nations residing on the above lake of
the intention & design of the observers in going into their
country, for they are very jealous at the sight of instru-
ments, which they conceive of use only to survey lands,
and will immediately suspect us of designs upon their
lands, unless matters are clearly explained to them.
When I am informed what the observers shall deter-
mine upon respecting their operations, I shall not fail to
provide them with the necessary letters and passes. Some
gentlemen from Philadelphia made application to me
some months ago, concerning the like intentions of send-
ing some astronomers from that province to Lake Superior
to observe the transit of Venus. Perhaps they would be
glad to join those from Boston.
Permit me to enquire after M" Bowdoin and the rest of
your family, to whom I beg leave to send my best respects.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
Tho' Gage.
HoN"^ jAilf Es BowDonr.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Henrietta Street Jan^ 30*^, 1769.
Sir, — Having on the 16**" inst* received your favour
inclosing petitions of the major part of the^ Council of
the Province to the Lords & Comons, desiring their
presentation, with my endeavours for their success, I
have applied myself with diligence to this hard service.
In order to a right understanding of the present state
of your affairs,- I must observe that on the 15*^ day of
last month the Lords came to certain resolutions, whereby
they censured the Council & Representatives of the
Province, and the civil magistrates & inhabitants of
122 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. 11769.
Boston for several causes, and grafted them on an address
to the King, which supposes that the subjects in the
Colonies are liable to be taken from their proper domicil
& brought into England & there tried for treason or
misprision of treason. The resolutions & address were
afterwards sent down to the Coinons for their concur-
rence. Being at this time closely engaged in a difficult
& laborious work, I had no knowledge of this business
til some days after its transaction. On being inform'd
of it, as the resolutions & address were not inserted in
the votes of the House of Comons, and copies of them
cou'd not be had otherwise than by or under the author-
ity of a member, I desired the favour of a principal
member, & one of your best friends, with whom I had
before concerted measures for your service, to get me
proper office copies. He bespoke them with intent that
I shou'd have them before he went out of town, upon
the recess of both Houses; but he did no[t] receive
them til they came to hand at his seat in the country,
whence he sent them, desiring me to consider them well
& send him my thoughts upon them, which I did accord-
ingly. The reading of them gave me gr6at surprise
& concern, and the more I considered them, together
with the temper of the times, the more my concern
increased. I was a long time much at a loss what to
do for the advancement of the coinon cause ; at length
as no man loses his domicil by going abroad in public
service, I .determined by petition, as an inhabitant of
Boston, tho' residing here, to prevent, if possible, the
concurrence of the House of Coinons, and was busy in
preparations relative to this petition when I had the
honour to receive your letter. That House was ad-
journed to the 19**" inst*, & American affairs stood
appointed for consideration on the 23*, when your peti-
tion was intended to have been presented by M' Beck-
ford, but by a singular event he was prevented. On
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 123
the 25% after Gov' Bernard's, Gen* Gage's & Commodore
Hood's letters, which on motion made on behalf of the
Colonies had been on the 20*** brought in & laid upon
the table, were read, he presented it ; & on his behalf
M' Aid" Trecothick read it with such an audible voice
that it is supposed every member in the House clearly
understood it, and being objected to a debate ensued,
wherein the petition was nobly supported by divers
worthy members. The chief objections, I am told, for
I was not, as formerly, admited into any part of the
House, were that no Council could be convened without
the Govemour's order, and that by the constitution of
the Colony there cou'd be no President of the Council,
unless when there was no Governour or Lieut* Govern';
in answer whereto, I am inform' d, it was said that in
the present great distress of the Province no Assembly
was called, & no Council convened from time to time
with liberty to defend upon the present great occasion
the rights & interest of the Province ; and that the
objections to your petition, instead of being founded
on the principles of natural justice, equity, & the con-
stitution of the kingdom, rested in a good measure on
the representations of Gov' Bernard, the copies of whose
letters I have so lately received that I know not of their
contents, but without opening send them to you as I
received them,* in order to your receiving further infor-
mation for your future guideance than I can otherwise
give you. Upon a large debate, I understand, several
ministerial persons were enclined to admit your petition,
& it was at last without any division received & laid upon
the table, whereupon a motion was made that it should
* These letters were priDted in Boston in a newitpaper extra shortlj after they were
received here, and also in a pamphlet, presumably by Kdes & Gill, though the pamphlet
has no imprint. A second pamphlet containing additional letters and documents was
printed by Edes & Gill by order of the House of Representatives a few mouths afterward ;
and " A Third Extraordinary Budget** was published near the close of the year. Copies
of all three pamphlets are in the library of the Historical Society. — Eds.
124 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
be refered together with the other papers to a comittee
of the whole House. Upon this a new debate ensued
with a consequent division, whereon, I am told, the
number for refering it was 70, & the number against
it 133. On the next day my own petition, a copy
whereof you have inclosed, after my waiting on the
Speaker & his reading & comending it in some respects,
was presented by Sir George Saville, who in the opening
read the whole of it, and which in the course of the
ensuing debates was well supported by several intelligent,
respectable & public spirited persons, insomuch that,
altho' I believe this petition was more disliked by the
adminis" than yours, because it more directly opposed
their present measures, after a sharp debate upon a
division, a greater minority, as I am informed, appeared
in my favour than has appear'd at any time in the
present Parliam* against the adminis", to wit, 105, or
as more accurate persons say, 107 (two who came out
of the House with the others coming in after the
numbers were declared) against 136. Pray, don't mis-
take me. This advance was owing to the goodness of
your cause, rather than to my abilities. After rejecting
my petition, the House was resolved into a comittee,
and the debate at large coming on, your cause was
defended with arguments so forcible, & a spirit so noble,
that it is impossible for me in my great hurry to do
justice in any tolerable degree to the parties concerned ;
but at 4 o'clock in the morning, the admin" carried their
point by 150 against 90 upon a division. The report
is to be made four days hence, when another great
debate will come on, & new matter be advanced, and to-
morrow, when a full House is expected, a motion will
be made respecting the accompts of the revenue raised
in America at so great expense various ways, which have
not yet been brought in, according to order given upon
motion made some time past.
1769.] PETITION OP WILLIAM BOLLAN. 125
Your petition is the first that has been received since
introducing the new system of governm* for America.
One that came from Philadelphia, I am told, was oflfer'd
some time ago, but withdrawn, at the proposal of the
Chan' of the Excheq', to be presented some other time,
& I have since heard nothing of it. Having this mo-
ment received a copy of Gen* Gage's letter, which a
principal member tells me contains some important
matter, I send it inclosed.
I am, with the greatest respect for all the members
of the Council, Sir,
Your most obed* humble serv*.
W. BOLLAN.
The Ho»»" Sam"* Danfobth, Esq".
PETITION OF WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE HOUSE OP
COMMONS.
To THE Hon"*' the Comons of Great Britain in Pabliament
assembled:
The petition of W" BoUan, Esq', Agent for the
Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New
England, most humbly sheweth,
That the English American Colonies were deduced
& planted by the adventurers & settlers at their expense
in foreign inhospitable lands acquired by their vigorous
efforts, made under the authority of their princes,
granted with the encouragement proper for this spirited
& noble enterprize.
That the several princes by whose authority the
Colonies were established, and the numerous nobles, &
other worthy persons, of whom several were men of
the greatest accomplishments, endued with the wisdom
proper for obtaining & preserving empire, by whose ad-
vice, aid & concurence they were undertaken & advanced.
126 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1709.
were so far from understanding that the adventurers
& settlers who by their travail, expenses, labours, &
dangers should enlarge the public domin" should thereby,
contrary to natural justice, lessen their public liberties ;
that from the many letters pat* royal made & passed
for obtaining & regulating new domin", and the whole
history of their settlement, it manifestly appears it was
the intent of all parties that the settlers & their posterity
shou'd enjoy the same^ whereupon they became adven-
turers, and inspirited by their confidence herein, with
their long & quiet enjoyment of their public rights,
overcoming difficulties, perils, & hardships inexpressible
& innumerable, they raised the King's American empire
out of a dreary and dangerous wilderness with so great
& continual encrease of comerce that of late years it
hath given employment unto two thirds of the British
ahiping, with a comfortable support to no small part
of the inhabitants of Great Britain, and great addition
to the dignity & strength of its naval empire.
That by the stat. law of this kingdom it is clearly
supposed & in effect fully declared that the Colonists
were well entitled to the English right and the lands
they inhabit free.
That the acta regia of Queen Elizabeth & her succes-
sors whereby the acquests of new domin" were made
& established, and security given to the adventurers,
planters, & their descendants, of the perpetual enjoyment
of their public liberties, having, as your petit' presumes,
never been laid before this Hon^** House, nor the Colonies
ever yet had an opportunity to ascertain & defend their
invaluable rights, and the Hon^** House, as your petit'
is advised, now having under their consideration the
state of the Northern Colonies,
Your petitioner humbly prays that he may be admited
to appear & lay before this Hon^^ House authentic
copies of the proper acta regia, and to support the matters
1769.] JOHN WINTHROP. 127
herein contained in a manner suitable to their nature^
and to the inclinations of this Hon"* House.
W. BOLLAN.
(Copy.)
JOHN WINTHROP TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Cambridge, Febry 27, 1769.
Sir, — Your favor of the 25^^ came to my house when
I was out of town, so could not answer it by the bearer.
When I reed, from the Govr the vote of Council passed
upon your motion I was much surprised to find that I
was desired to go upon this expedition, — a thing I never
once thought of, nor can I possibly undertake it. I
should indeed do it with the utmost pleasure if my state
of health would admit of it, which I am sure it will not.
But M' Danforth may soon be shewn how to make the
observations properly, & I shall be very ready to give
him all the assistance in my power. The instruments
necessary are, 1st. A good clock. I suppose he will
readily be allow'd to take that which I carryd to New-
foundland. 21y. A good quadrant, — an astronomic
one if to be had : otherwise a Hadley's quadrant might
serve. I have heard that M' Harrison, the Collector, has
got an astronomical one, which he might probably be
willing to lend upon such an occasion. If this should
fail, a Hadley's quadrant may easily be got. Sly. A
good reflecting telescope. I suppose one may be bor-
rowd in Boston. I should think some genf* who may
own one would not be averse to lending it. It would be
best to have also as good a refracting telescope as can be
got, in order to accommodate two observers, both of the
transit & of Jupiter's satellites, for ascertaining the longi-
tude. There is one belonging to the College of 8 feet in
length which no doubt may be had, but if a longer could
be procured it would be better. Soon after the College
128 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
was burnt M' Edm* Quincy, Junr, oflEerd to sell one of
12 feet in length, as I remember. If this could be had,
or another of about that length, especially in a sliding
tube (for the convenience of carriage) it would do better.
These are all the instruments necessary for the principal
observations. But for others which may be of great use,
they may have here a barometer, by which may be
determind the real hight of the lakes above the level of
the sea; a thermometer to compare that climate with
ours, — instruments which perhaps were never seen in
that upper country ; and a compass to observe the varia-
tion of the needle.
As Mr. Hancock is waiting for the lettfer I have only
time to add that Mr. Danforth is in hopes Mr. Willard
will accompany him with the leave of the Overseers &
Corporation, & that Mr. Sewall will take care of his class.
He also expects Dr. Cobb, of Taunton, an ingenious young
gent", who is now a Senior Bachelor, & Mr. Chadwick,
who has been imployd by the govemm* in exploring &
measuring the country. These four are the whole com-
pany that is proposd to go. I have talk'd with Mr.
Rand, a young man who is well acquainted with the
country about the lakes, & is now setting out upon a
journey thither. He thinks the sooner they set out for
Albany the better ; & that it would tend very much to
insure success if the General could beforehand send up
orders to the commanders of the King's vessels on the
lakes to be in readiness to transport the company from
Oswego to Niagara, & from thence directly to Missili-
mackinaw. But, will it be best to write to the General
for such orders till the Council have finally settled the
matter ? I am not qualify'd to make any estimate of the
expence. Commodore Loring can very probably do it.
I had not the pleasure of seeing him last Saturday.
With much respect, I am. Sir,
. Y' most obed* serv*.
J. WiNTHROP.
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 129
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS GAGE.
Boston, Feb^ 26«>, 1769.
S», — The letter of the 30**^ ult% with which y' Exc^
hon"* me, I comunicated to M' Winthrop & the others
concerned. They are much obliged to y' Ex®^ for assur-
ing them of all the assistance in your power & that
you will provide them with the necessary letters & passes.
They purpose to go by the way of Albany, Oswego,
Niagara & Detroit, and hope to receive the letters &
passes and also your instructions either here or at Albany,
for which place they will be ready to set out from hence
by the 12"* of March, and will proceed as soon as they
can hear from your Excellency. It being necessary they
should be on Lake Superior some days before the Transit,
y' Extf" will perceive how essential it is they should have
all the dispatch possible at the several posts. What you
are pleased to mention to prevent or remove the jealousy
of the Indians is a most necessary measure.
The party will consist of four, — M' Danforth and
three assistants. It was hoped M' Winthrop would go
himself, but his health will probably not permit him.
They will be very glad to join with the gentlemen from
Philadelphia. In case there be two parties, M' Winthrop
thinks it w"* be best when they get to Lake Sup' they
should seperate at as great a distance as may be on the
Lake, in order that if the sun should be obscured by
clouds from one, the other may have a chance of making
the observation. The going of this party will depend on
the Gov' & Council making provision for them, of which
(from their approbation of the proposal as soon as made to
them the last week, w®^ was as soon as it could be after
the rec* of y' letter) there is the highest probability.
They referd for several reasons the determination thereon
till next Wednesday. By the Thursday post I shall let
y' Exc^ know what their determination is. In the mean
9
130 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
time I thought it needful you should be informed in
what situation this matter is^ that such measures may
be taken as y' Extf" may think the shortness of the time
makes iinediately necessary. I have this moment rec* a
letter from M' Winthrop in which he says, " it will tend
very much to insure success if the General could before-
hand send up orders to the comand" of the King's vessels
on the Lakes to be in readiness to transport the company
from Oswego to Niagara, & from thence directly to
Missilimakinac." M" Bowdoin joins me in the most
respectful compliments to y' Exc^ & y' lady. I am, &*.
March 1, 1769.
S*, — By last Monday's post I informed y' Exc^, it was
probable the Gov' & Council w* make provision to enable
M' Danforth, &c., to go to Lake Superior ; but this day
having again considered the affair they found themselves
unauthorized to engage in it, & therefore it must drop,
unless y' Exc^ sh"* think proper to undertake it in behalf
of the Crown, about which Gov' Bernard told me he
would write to y' Extf" by to-morrow's post. I am sorry
for the trouble this affair has occasioned y' Exc^, & am
most respectfully, S', Y", &c.
March 27, 1769.
S*, — Agreable to y' Exc^'' proposal in your letter of
the 13*** a subscription would have taken place but the
indisposition of the principal undertaker and shortness of
the time, w*** will not permit another to prepare himself,
would have rendered it of no avail. It is probable the
Transit will be observed at Cambridge with all the
advantage the situation of that place will admit, and it
is hoped it will be accurately observed' at New York and
Philadelphia. M" Bowdoin, M' & M" Temple join with
me in regards to y' Exc^ & lady. I am, S', Y", &c.
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 131
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Henrietta Street, March 18^, 1769.
Sir, — On the 15**^ inst* when the American mutiny
bill was moved in the House of Coinons, the Secry at
War mention'd a clause which he had prepared for pro-
viding that in case the civil magistrate shou'd not quarter
the troops according to the act, the comissary shou'd be
enabled to quarter them upon private houses. This
proposal being disrelish'd by many, the Chanc' of the
Exchequer declared he had not been acquainted with it,
& desired the Secry at War to withdraw it, tho' two of
the most intelligent members have told me they were
persuaded that this measure was concerted by the
Ministers, in order to be avow'd or disclaimed as they
shou'd find it relish'd or disrelish'd by the House, & that
the proposal was artfully made in subservience to this
design. When first informed of this affair by one of
these gentlemen I ask'd, who was to judge of the civil
magistrate's defect, to which he answer'd, the military.
It is needless to mention the observation thereupon made,
that when once the military are appointed judges over
the civil powers the game is at an end. Both these
gentlemen suppose that no future motion will be made
for introducing this clause.
The representation of New York to the House of
CofSons was presented this week by M' Trecothick &
rejected. He was seconded by M' Beckford, who says
that he did his utmost, after it had been read in the
motion, to have it brought up & laid upon the table, so
that it might be published in the votes, as your petition
had been. M' Trecothick having shew'd it me last week,
when it was intended to have been presented, I found the
whole matter was couch'd in very decent terms, & granted
all the powers of governm* that cou'd be desired, save that
132 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
of taking money out of their pockets, & for which it was
deem'd inadmissible.
Some considerable time past, when vertual represen-
tation was contended for, a man of great character
desired my opinion upon the point of taxation. After
observing that any pretended representation of the
Comons in the Colonies by men chosen by the Comons of
Great Britain was in my mind void of comon sense &
comon justice, I declined giving the opinion desired as I
had not then fully considered the matter. On subsequent
consideration it appeared that the monies raised on the
people of Great Britain originate in the free gift of the
Comons, & that the subsequent taxation by the whole
legislative authority is only the means of enforcing the
gift, and that it was incompatible with the nature of
such gift & with the imutable nature of things for the
British Comons to make a free gift of the money of a free
people in another quarter of the world, from whom they
have .no delegated authority. The knights, citizens, &
burgesses of Great Britain in Parliament give & grant their
own money, together with the money of the other British
Comons ; but the gift of the money of the Colonists is
made in exoneration of both.
The ministers, I understand, are desirous of concluding
the dispute with the Colonists, for the present at least, in
their own way, and at different times it has been said they
wou'd promote a repeal in case the Colonies wou'd
petition for it on the foot of inexpediency, relinquishing
or waving their claim of exemption from taxation ;
wliether by waving they mean a temporary or perpetual
relinquishment, or none at all, I leave to your judgment,
k likewise whether they intend such a palliative as may
prevent the stagnation of trade which they fear, &
possibly regard more than your welfare, and whereby
they may gain time to carry on other designs. If a
peiipetual & satisfactory settlement be intended, and per-
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 133
petual, I conceive, it cannot be without being satisfactory,
it appears strange that they shou'd proceed to hang a rod
over you, by searching after traitors in order to their trans-
portation & trial here, when there was no treason existing,
as what appears not is not, & behave so disagreeably other
ways. If your petition for a repeal, without mention of
taxation does not imply a relinquishment of your claim,
then their repeal on the grounds of inexpediency wou'd not
imply a relinquishment of the power of taxing; and
I have observed that they who begin a mischief shou'd
begin the reformation of it. This proceeding supposes
that no relief can be had this session. One of the British
members has mention'd as an healing expedient that the
government shou'd reserve the power of taxing, but after
determining the quota leave the raising to the Colonies.
How far this wou'd change the med'cine farther than
gilding the pill, I leave to you. What motions or
measures will take place after the holidays it is impossible
for me to say. I am with great respect, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"" Sam** Danforth, Esq».
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Henrietta Street, March 23*, 1769.
Sir, — CapV* Coleman not having taken his bag yester-
day, according to appointment, I desire leave to trouble
you so much farther as to observe that, if my memory
does not deceive me, on your taking Cape Breton in 1745,
the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State, in pursuance
of the late King's order, by letter to Gov' Shirley declared
that his Majesty highly approved of your conduct and
gave assurance of his royal favour to the Province with
direction that this, or what was written to this effect,
should be communicated to the Gen^ Court, and that the
134 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1709.
same was comunicated accordingly. The present state of
the times & parties is such that it is difficult to take any
step relative to the interest of the Colonies, after making
^ the most circumspect observations ol what concerns them ;
but my present purpose being to write & publish as soon as
conveniency & propriety will admit some farther account of
the establishment^ rights and merits of the Colonies, I desire that
you will be pleased to send me an authentic copy of what
was communicated to the General Assembly on this great
occasion, which may serve for this or some other beneficial
purpose.
Upon presenting my petition several worthy persons,
friends of the Colonies, desired it might be published, and
one of them offer'd to undertake the publication, in case I
* would consent to it, which I believe I should have done,
if the care of your depending petition had not render'd
the prudence & propriety of it doubtful, and this gentle-
man has lately said that as the publication had been so
long delay'd, and the petition wou'd without question be
printed in America, it was now best to wait for that, &
reprint it here which he intended.
The American mutiny bill has pass'd both Houses, &
will receive the royal assent to-day, without the clause for
provisional quartering of soldiers upon private houses,
which has not been moved a second time ; other clauses
have been brought in, of which two pass'd that favour'd
those Colonies whose laws received the royal sanction,
one being brought in by M' Pownal, & the other by M'
Garth. I am this instant come from the House of Coinons,
where the two clauses were read to me by one of the clerks,
but in so great hurry, as the royal assent is to be given
within half an hour, that I cannot be more particular,
but must conclude to save the ship, and am with great
respect. Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon»" Sam' Danforth, Esq*.
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 135
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DAXFORTH.
Henrietta Street, April 22^, 1769.
Sir, — Since the recess of Parliament, as well as before,
proposals have been mentioned- for partial repeal & qualifi-
cation of the measures which are so grievous to the
Colonies. I understood from a principal member, & one
of your chief friends, that M' Pownal mention'd a proceed-
ing of this kind to him, who answer'd, this tended to rivet
the chains upon the Colonists, that he wou'd oppose it if
made, but would second a motion for general relief, and
that M' Pownal afterwards enlarged his idea, & declared
he wou'd make a motion in the House on Wednesday last,
whereupon I drew up & settled with M' Bridgen, a mer-
chant in the city, who undertook the publication, a card
that was published that morning, whereof you have a copy
inclosed. Before the intended motion was considered in
the House I was well apprized of its intended rejection by
the Ministry, with their manner of doing it. However,
attending in the House to hear wlutt pass'd, M' Pownal
moved that the last act shou'd be refer'd for considera-
tion to a coinittee of the whole House on Monday next,
when he would first propose, among other matters, if I
understood him aright, that a resolution shou'd pass for
repealing this act so far as it imposed duties on British
manufactures. It was seconded by M' Aid** Trecothick,
and, after another member's speaking in support of the
motion, the Chanc' of the Exchequer rose up, opposed it,
& then moved, as I expected he wou'd, for the order of
the day, which you are sensible takes place of other mo-
tions. He objected, among other things, to the first motion,
that it was made at the close of the session. Considering
the importance of the subject, & that Parliaments had at
other times sat later than the consideration of it required,
this appear'd strange to me. It is impossible to relate all
that pass'd. A general sense seem'd to prevail in the
136 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1760.
House that this act was improper, yet there were but few
who argued for the immediate consideration of it. Colonel
Barr^ proposed a declaration that they wou'd in their
next session revise all the American acts pass'd in this
King's reign. This seem'd to be opposed with more vehe-
mence than the original motion ; whereupon the proposal
was reduced to the act in question ; but this was opposfed
by the Chanc' of the Excheq', who seem'd from first to
last determined not to admit any express declaration to be
made to the Americans containing any promise of future
consideration, and some of the expressions proposed, as it
was observed to him, plainly contain'd no promise. Much
altercation hereupon ensued, and it seem'd to be the sense
of a great part of the House that the matter shou'd cer-
tainly be consider'd in their next session, and Sir William
Meredith, who is member for Liverpool, declared that he
wou'd then move it. M' Beckford, who from first to last,
was more explicit & determinate for a general repeal than
any of the members whom I solicited, after censuring the
errors of Ministers, among other things spake to this effect,
that he had authority to declare that the Americans had
been obliged to pay far more for the duties on paper than
were imposed by the act. His first expression was that
they had paid double ; the next was that they had paid
infinitely more than they ought to have paid, wherein he
was gainsaid by nobody, and it having been objected that
the combinations of the Americans to avoid the consump-
tion of British manufactures were illegal, he observed that
every man doubtless had a right to take such order with
respect to the cloathing of his own family as he shall
think fit. The design of the Ministers, as far as I could
collect it, was to enforce quiet & obedience, with the avoid-
ance of such combinations, in order to the future consider-
ation of the last act ; but the continuance of an act which
apparently ought never to have pass'd, by way of distress
upon the Colonies, which by its operation will in my
17C9.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 137
opinion distress this kingdom more than them, is a piece
of policy which I cannot comprehend. For my own part
I have from first to last urged the necessity & utility of
considering the American grievances at large, in order to
a general remedy. Upon mentioning to M' Beckford a
motion for considering the state of America, he said he
had already made that motion, and it could not be repeated
in the same session. One of the members observed that
it would be a very meritorious thing in any man who
shou'd devise a proper method of conciliating the diflEerences
with the Colonies. There are, I conceive, no two countries
in the world better adapted for mutual welfare than Great
Britain & British America, and as Ministerial errors were
the chief source of the present calamities, I am sorry that
they who began the mischief have not been more enclined
to begin the reformation of it. I am with great respect,
Sir, Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"" Sam' Danforth, Esq.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Henrietta Street, May 6*^, 1769.
Sir, — Since my last several intelligent persons have
told me that the late motion for considering the last
American act was Ministerial at bottom. Just before it
was made a worthy gentleman, and one of your few sin-
cere friends, who was going into the House, observed to
me that the mover was a closet companion of L
H ,* considering which, with his fraternal connection,!
he had no opinion of the motion. After some doubt, I
thought it was proper to mention this matter to you, and
* Lord Hillsborough, President of the Board of Trade and Plantations. — Eds.
t Governor Pownall's elder brother, John Pownall, was Secretary of the Board of Trade
and Plantations. — F.ds.
138 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
need not say it is improper to be divulged, as thereby it
would probably be ecchoed back disagreeably here. I am,
Sir, Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"-" Samuel Danforth, Esq*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL ♦.
Boston, May 10, 1760.
Dear Sir, — I take the first opportunity of acknowledg-
ing the receipt of your agreable favor of the 3"* of Feb^.t
I coinunicated it to the gent" of the Kennebeck Company,
and with their best compliments they return you thanks
for the explanation you gave to M' Goostree of the points
on which their cause best rests, and they doubt not it will
be very useful to him & the cause. With regard to the
operation of this cause in relation to the Province Charter
1 would observe upon it, that the lawyers of the Company
were of opinion the Charter allowed an appeal to the King
in Council, as it is mentioned therein to be necessary
" that all the King's subjects should have liberty to appeal
to him," with no other limitation than that it should be
" in cases that may deserve the same." This, they said,
included cases of. every kind, real, personal, & mixed,
and consequently included the Company's case, which,
therefore, in their opinion, must be one of those specially
stipulated cases defined in the Charter. What follows
in the Charter, they said, was explanatory of what per-
* Thomas Pownall was born in Lincoln, England, in 1720 or 1722, and first came to
America in October, 1753, as private secretary to Sir Danvers Osborn, Governor of New
York. In 1757 he was appointed to succeed Shirley as Governor of Massachusetts, which
office he held until June, 1760, when he sailed for England, having been previously
appointed Governor of South Carolina, though he never assumed the government. He
was for mail}' years a member of Parliament, and a prolific writer on political subjects,
mainly connected with the Colonies. He died at Bath, February 25, 1805. See Appleton's
Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. v. pp. 99, 100; Dictionary of National Biography,
vol. xlvi. pp. 264-268. — Eds.
t Governor Pownall's letter of Feb. 3, 1769, to which this is the answer, is printed in
Proceediuiis, vol v. pp. 237, 238. — Eds.
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 139
sonal actions an appeal should be allowed in, viz., such
" wherein the matter in diflFerence doth exceed the value of
£300 st*." I have understood it was M' Pratt's opinion
that all the King s subjects have individually an indefeasi-
ble right by the English constitution to appeal to him in
all cases, and that that right would have remained the
same even th6 the Charter had in the fullest manner
denied an appeal. Besides, it is further said that the
Kennebeck grant being made to the Colony of New
Plymouth, the bounds of it are properly determinable by
the King in the same manner as the bounds of any other
Colony, about which there is any dispute. But I do not
hold myself responsible for any of these opinions. The
fact, however, particularly in Rhode Island, is said to be
that frequent appeals are made in land cases from judg-
ments of their Courts to the King in Council, whose
judgment is final and carried into execution.
With regard to Ministerial politics as relative to the
Colonies, the face of things is gloomy & disagreable.
The measures pursued for some years past have been very
prejudicial to both countries. America, however (if at all)
will suffer the least of the two ; and in the long run will
probably be greatly benefitted by the dispute, which was
very impoliticly and unnecessarily brought on. It seems
to have arisen, if national enemies are out of the question,
from a mistaken idea of the ability of the Colonies, in
which idea administration was probably encouraged by
persons here, who expected to share in the revenue by an
increase of salary or appointment to office. But it is a
real fact that the Colonies have no money among them
that can answer any national purpose of revenue. The
money that comes to them thro the several channels of
their trade is sent to Great Britain towards paying the
balance continually against them, to which balance all the
money on the English part of the continent is not equal.
The cry for paper money at New York, and in most of
140 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. £1769.
the Colonies to the southward, and their repeated applica-
tions to Parliament to take off the restraint upon them
in regard to it, demonstrate there's very little real money
among them. The complaint of the want of money has
been great here, but the experience we long had of the
evils of a paper currency has made us hitherto willing
to submit to any inconvenience rather than introduce it
again. At present, however, the complaint in some
measure subsides, as the new guardians of our liberty
and rights scatter with the pox some of their loose money.
If money is not to be had from the Colonies, more than
what is had in the way of trade, to what purpose b it to
continue the present revenue acts or to make any more ?
The account of the American revenue for 15 months,
after deducting the expence of the Board of Commission-
ers & its appendages, &c., makes a balance, I am told,
of not more than £12,000 in favor of the Crown, and the
collection of this money has been more distressing to the
trade than I could have apprehended, and will be equally
distressing whatever name the tax it arises from bears.
'Tis scarcely worth while to dispute about the nature of
the tax, whether it shall be an internal or external one,
where there is no money to answer any tax. Was the
right of Parliament to tax the Colonies acknowledged in
the fullest manner, & the Colonists as willing to pay the
tax as Parliament to demand it, the right would not be
worth six pence to the nation, for the exercise of it would
be a detriment to the nation in its trade in a much greater
proportion than the revenue would be an advantage to it.
It is therefore a national misfortune that the great pains
you have taken with Ministry to explain to them the
wisdom & necessity of returning to the old practice of
laying port duties, not (as I understand you) for the
purpose of revenue, but meerly for the regulation of trade,
were unsuccessful, at least so far as that altho they adopted
your sentiments, they could not be persuaded, on account of
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 141
the declarations, riots, & tumults in opposition to acts of
Parliament, to adopt the measure you propose.
It is manifest those riots and tumults by the representa-
tions that have been given of them have had a strong
effect upon Ministry, but they existed only in those repre-
sentations, excepting what is called the riot of the 10"*
of June.* This, notwithstand* y* representations of it,
was a trifling affair, and was not in opposition to any
act of Parliament, but sprung, as you have often heard,
from the wickedness of a certain junto here, so that those
pretended riots, when truth can gain credit, will no longer
be an obstacle to the adoption of your measure. With
regard to the declarations, it is certain, that it is the sense
of the Province and all the Colonies that Parliament has
no right to tax them, and they have declared this sense
in repeated resolutions of their respective Assemblies.
If indeed the reversal of the Ministerial measures is to
depend on the reversal of those declarations it will never
take place, and things must take their natural course.
How they will end is uncertain. But the tendency of them
will be such, & is such already, as that Great Britain in a
few years thro all its members must feel the pernicious
effects of the present system of politics, and in consequence
of that feeling universally execrate the authors and abet-
tors of it. In the political game now playing off all the
chances are against her. She can gain nothing and
may lose everything. A late Gov' of your acquaintance
[S' Danvers Osborn] is said to have left on his table the
evening of his death this line — Quern Deus vult perdere
prills dementat.
• ** \jLnt Friday ereninpf some commotions happened in this town, In which a few win-
dows were broke, and a boat was drawn thro* the streets and burnt on the Common ; since
which things have been tolerably quiet; it being expected that the cause of this disturbance
will be speedily removed." (See The Boston Gazette, June 13, 1768.) The occasion of
these '* commotions'* was the seizure of John Hancock's sloop, the Liberty, for smuggling.
The windows of John Williams, the Inspector General, and of Benjamin Hallowell, the
Comptroller, were broken ; some other officials were roughly handled ; and the Collector's
pleasure-boat was burned. See Drake's History of Boston, pp. 735, 736. » Eos.
142 THE BOWDOTN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
The measure you suggest, if you can effect it, will be a
capital one ; and (as you observe) may save all froiji
destruction, into which things are running. Your knowl-
edge of this Province in particular and America in general
qualifies you to draw a petition that would be agreable
to them, and if at the same time you can frame it so as
that it would be received by Parliament and procure the
removal of American grievances you will be justly inti-
tled to the first character among the friends of the nation
and its Colonies. If this can be done, your abilities &
application can effect it, and will be exerted. So far as
the success of such a measure may depend on the Assem-
bly here, the co-operation of your friends and the friends
of both countries, I am persuaded, will not be wanting to
procure it. But it will be necessary (as you suggest) that
they should understand beforehand that government will
receive the petition you propose should be sent for the
consideration of the Assembly here.
The whole exertions of our late Governor in the House
of Commons in favor of the town & Province have given
universal satisfaction. His speech on that occasion (with
a copy of which I am favored) is excellent, & has been
reprinted here.* To restore peace & order again (as he
justly observes) the old policy must be resumed &
directed by the spirit of commercial wisdom. This spirit
will dictate that all imposts and duties must be for the
sole purpose of regulating trade, without any view to
revenue whatever. But peace, harmony, & confidence can
never be restored even by this spirit, unless it procures
the removal of some persons here from office, and particu-
larly Gov' Bernard, in whom all confidence is lost. Tis
in vain to expect a return of harmony while he is in the
chair. From other views than national he will be putting
* In the Library of this Society is m pamphlet of sixteen quarto pages, entitled *' Tho
Speech of Th — m-^ P— im— /(, Esq.; Tjite G— v— m— r of this Province, in the H — se of
C— m — ns, in (kvor of America.'' It has no imprint, bnt in the Boston newspapers of
April, 1769, it is advertised as for sale by Edes & GUI and T. & J. Fleet ~ Eds.
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 143
Ministry up on revenue projects and other disgustful
measures, and be eternally agitating them by his repre-
sentations, in which he has a peculiar knack at making
mountains of mole hills, & idle chitchat, treason. M'
BoUan has sent to the Council an authenticated copy of
six of his many letters laid before Parliament, in which
letters he has abused the Council as immoderately as
unjustly, and has not disdained the aid of falsehood to
represent them in an infamous light. A majority of the
Council (the whole could not, by reason of the difficulty of
convening them) have wrote a letter to Lord Hillsborough
containing a vindication of the Council against the cal-
umny & misrepresentations of the Gov' & have sent it
under cover to M' Bollan to be dl* to his Lordship.
They conclude their letter by telling his L^ship that his
, Majesty's service cannot be carried on with advantage
during M' Bernard's administration.
What the town, the Province, and all the Colonies most
ardently wish, and upon which the internal peace of the
two former, and the restoration of harmony between
Great Britain and the whole of them, next to the removal
of their capital grievances, depend, is the removal of Gov'
Bernard. You cannot do a more essential service to this
Province than to procure his removal, & that service in its
happy consequences will extend to all the. rest, & to the
mother country also. If you have any inclination of com-
ing to America again, I hope you will be his successor ;
and this hope I have often heard warmly expressed by
some of the most respectable characters among us. Such
an appointment would give me great pleasure. I am with
great truth & regard, d' S',
&c., &c.
144 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH AND OTHERS.
Henrietta Street, June 21'<, 1769.
Gentlemen, — Having had the honour of receiving your
letter of the 15*^ of April, accompanied with dispatches
for Lord Hillsborough, it gave me great pleasure to find
that my endeavours to promote the public service were so
agreeable to yourselves & the Province.
The detention of letters to Ministers being deem'd dis-
respectful, after reading yours, with the papers relating
to it, I carried the packet to his Lordship's house, & he
not being at home, nor his deputy there, I delivered it to
his servant. On the second subsequent attendance being
admited, a conversation of some length & freedom ensued,
wherein his Lordship expressed great regard for the Col-
onies, and declared to this effect, that the mutual welfare
of the kingdom & the Colonies was so closely connected
that either cou'd receive no harm without the others suf-
fering, & that as little distinction as possible shou'd be
made between them. Among other things I took the
liberty of observing that the repeal of the whole Gren-
villean system, with the grafts made upon it, wou'd in my
poor opinion be a salutary measure, that if all the minutiae
of regulations & restrictions which tend to the embarras-
ment & diminution rather than the advancem* of trade
were laid aside, and the Colonies took from Great Britain
all the European & Asiatic coinodities which they con-
sume, & brought to the British market those products
which were fit for it, and their other trades were favoured,
this wou'd encrease the coinerce & navigation of both
countries, with the demand for British manufactures, and
in circuit bring far more money into the Exchequer freely
than can be done by such measures as have been lately
taken, and that the richer the Colonies were the more
they cou'd & wou'd take from the mother country, & the
better it wou'd be for them both. His Lordship seem'd to
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 145
like this plan of comerce^ but as to the total repeal I
noted neither assent nor dissent. I observed that all the
Colonies had been strangely united for the purpose of
judicature, all the offences against numerous penal statutes
comited at land being made cognizable in a new Court of
Admiralty, which proceeding according to the civil law
was moreover unconstitutional. His Lordship said that
four courts had been lately appointed, whereupon the only
gentleman present observed that the objections held
against them. His Lordship expressed a very high regard
for the conduct of Gov' Bernard, considered in relation to
this kingdom & the Province. On my enquiry, he said
your letter lay before his Maj^, and on desiring in your
name the copies you mention, he said that no copies of
state papers cou'd be given without the King's order. I
am persuaded that his Lordship has not the chief minis-
terial direction of American affairs. The result of a
political consultation had some time past, according to
my intelligence, was to advise his Maj^, 1. To support
the regal & Parliamentary authority over the Colonies ;
2. That no farther revenue shou'd now be raised there ;
and 3. That the last American act shou'd be repealed in
the next session, in case the Americans shou'd in the mean
time behave properly. Of this proceeding, I presume, you
have before this time had some notice. His Lordship
censured some publications of the Council, as inconsistent
with the duty of the King's counsellors. I was not well
enough acquainted with these proceedings to defend or
excuse them, & need not observe that unless necessity
requires, publication ought not to precede application to
government.
After meeting with unexpected difficulties, which I can-
not at present explain, I have obtain'd, and now send,
copies of all Gov' Bernard's letters laid before the House
of Comons in the former part of their late session,* that is,
* S«e note anttj p. 123. — Eds.
10
146 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEKS. [1769.
before I gave particular attention to your affairs. Your
answer to the several charges contained in the letters
formerly transmited has been well approved in point of
matter & manner by a member of the first character, to
whom alone I have yet shewn the copies. I have scarcely
had time to hear the letters now sent once read, & there-
fore can say nothing in consideration ; their contents &
bare reading astonish'd me extremely. They will prob-
ably explain the proceedings relative to your distress, &
I doubt not you will exercise all the wisdom, diligence,
& caution which your own honour & the welfare of the
Province on this occasion require.
I am at present closely engaged in an affair which I
hope will in its consequence serve you, and am so straitened
in time that, to save the ship, I must without a review of
what I have written conclude, and am, with the greatest
respect. Gentlemen,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
P. S. Several of the letters now sent contain such
charges upon the selectmen & the town of Boston, that I
desire you wou'd be pleased to let them have copies. I
intended to send to the selectmen authentic copies, and to
write to them by this conveyance, but find it impossible.
The Hon"" Sam"- Danforth, Esq*, & others.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH AND OTHERS.
Poland Street, June 23*, 1769.
Gentlemen, — Upon a careful examination of the
papers relating to your proceedings, with those of his
Majesty's Ministers & officers, civil & military, laid
before the House of Coinons in their late session, I have
1769.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 147
desired copies of sundry letters from Lord Hillsborough &
others, and copies of two memorials from the Comiss" of
the Customs, with the annex'd papers to be made out
with dispatch, in order to be sent to you by Capt. Scott,
who is near sailing. I have at present very little expec-
tation of being able to obtain any farther copies, and
those transraited cou'd not, I am well satisfied, have been
got if they had not been laid before the House of Comons,
which entitles the members to copies ; and the clerks
were so stagger'd by the contents of Gov' Bernard's
letters, of which I sent copies by Capt. Smith, & now
send duplicates, that I was obliged to get an order in
writing from M' Beckford for them.
Some days past I was favour'd with a letter from
M' Bowdoin relative to a packet sent by Capt. Bryant,
containing a duplicate of your letter to Lord Hillsborough,
with other papers and proofs. M' Bowdoin's letter
renews in your name the proposal of publication. Wh^n
I consider that all Gov' Bernard's letters, formerly,
lately, & now sent, were read in both Houses of Parlia-
ment, the public justification of the Council appears very
desirable ; but after considering this matter as well as
my present hurry & the shortness of the time will per-
mit, the present publication of your late letter, tho' it
contains so notable a defence of the Council, does not
appear to me advisable, 1. Because this letter now lyes
before the King, and an appeal to the people in that case
is improper ; 2. In consequence of your having only par-
tial information, it contains only a partial defence ; 3.
All, or most, of the principal persons, especially those
who are likely to favour your cause, are dispersed & gone,
and the freshness of a publication, made in season before
the subsequent consideration of the subject matter of it
by government, is frequently serviceable. On your re-
ceiving the copies now sent you will, I presume, with the
aid of your other knowledge of facts, well understand the
148 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
motives^ begining, & progress of those proceedings which
have brought the Province into so strange & unhappy a
condition. A removal of all unjust impressions, preju-
dicial to its Council, magistrates, & inhabitants, wou'd be
very beneficial, if obtainable, and I beg leave to submit
to the consideration of those who are able to make it, the
utility of a plain, clear, distinct & candid narrative of all
the material facts placed in their natural order, attended
with decent and pertinent observations, & a constant
regard for future as well as past proceedings. I do not
mean that the defence of the Council shou'd, in my poor
opinion, be mingled with other defences & matters, nor
pretend to be a competent judge in this business; and,
indeed, the idea of an useful narrative arising in my mind
while writing I have hastily inserted it, without consider-
ing, as I ought, whether there be time sufficient to form,
complete, and publish it before the next session.
I hope Smith & Scott will both arrive safe ; and in that
case be pleased to let the selectmen of Boston have the
authentic copies of those letters which imediately concern
them & the town, it being impossible to get other authen-
tic copies in season for their use, being so straiten'd in
time that I shall not be able to read any of the fresh
copies now sent.
It is intended that the livery of London shall in comon
hall to-morrow determine upon a petition to his Majesty,
and having seen parts of two several draughts, each
express'd a regard for the welfare of the colon*, but the
third which is settled by the comittee makes, I think, the
most favorable ment° of them, such part as relates to
them having been read to me j^esterday by the favour of
a gentleman who has the care of it. I am with the
greatest respect, Gentlemen,
Y' most obed' & most humble servant.
W. Boll AN.
The Hon»" Sam*- Danforth, Esq«, & others.
1769.] JOHN ERVIKG. 149
JOHN ERVING* TO WILLIAM BOLL AN.
Boston, July 26, 1769.
WiLiJAM BoLLAN, EsQ. : SiR, — Your letter to M'
Danf orth of the 6*** of May was rec* yesterday, & for the
intelligence contained in it the Council are obliged to
you. The motion you refer to for considering & repeal-
ing the last American act from what you was informed
concerning it, that it was Ministerial at bottom, & from
other information we have just had, was probably designed
to make the Americans believe that a repeal is really
intended at the next session of Parliament, and in con-
firmation of this it is said the Ministry have written
circulatory letters to the respective Governors of the
Colonies with directions to make such intention publicly
known. But as we are happily apprized of their views
in doing this, it will fail of working the effect they hope
for from it, namely, to induce the merchants here to set
aside the agreement with regard to non-importation from
Great Britain. By this conveyance you will have enclosed
to you the vote of the Council appointing you their agent
in G. Britain in behalf of the Province. The vote is
attested by the Deputy Secretary, the Secretary himself
being gone to New York. The Council were in hopes
you would have been appointed by the whole Court, and
in expectation of it postponed their choice till a day or
two before the prorogation of the Court, which happened
the IS*** instant. The House of Representatives were
much divided in their sentiments about an agent, many
of them were for not appointing any agent, and were
probably influenced thereto by private letters from the
gentleman you hint at as being a closet companion of
* John Ervtng, born mt Kirkwall, in the Orkneys, in 1690, came to this country a poor
sailor-boy about 1706 ; was afterward a captain in the merchant senrice, and subsequently
the richest merchant in New England. He sat in the Council of Massachusetts from 1764
to 1774, and died in Boston in 1786, aged 96. His eldest son, John Enring, Jr., was a
Mandamus Councillor and Loyalist refugee. — Eds.
150 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
L H . But a majority finally voted to continue
M' De Berdt as the agent for the House. The Governor
& the Assembly have had no good agreement this session,
and, in order to put it [out?] of their power to give to
Ministry & the Parliament a full state of the Province to
be considered with his own, he has prorogued the Court
to the 10*^ of next January, by which means, as he is
just about sailing for England, he expects to be there at
least six months before the Assembly can do any thing
further to counter-plot him in his machinations against
the Province. The Council request the favor you will
please to give your attention to all his motions & pro-
ceedings that so the Province may not suffer by his repre-
sentations before they can be notified & heard upon the
subject matter of them. This prorogation has also put it
out of the power of the Council, at least for six months,
to endeavour to effect a junction of the two agents, if
they should not be able to get j'ou appointed the sole
agent for the Province.
In the Council's letter of the 15*** of April they re-
quested you to procure and send them authenticated
copies of Governor Bernard's letters, &c., laid before
Parliament. They renew the same request, and pray
you also to procure some other letters of his ; to describe
which it is necessary you should be informed that, in the
last commission constituting a Court of Vice Admiralty,
for the trial of piracies, &c., the Council of this Province
is not named, notwithstanding by all former commissions
they made a part of that Court. Governor Bernard's
letters to the Ministry, dated between June, 1761, and
February, 1762, are apprehended to be the occasion of
this. The Governor took offence at the Council's joining
with the House in June, 1761, in measures for recovering
the Province's part of certain seizures condemned by the
Court of Admiralty ; and thereupon, as there is reason to
think, characterized the Council in said letters as inimical to
1769.] THOMAS WUATELT. 151
the said Court of Admiralty. And after the' demise of the
late King, in October, 1761, when a new commission was
necessary for such trials as aforesaid, represented it as
improper that the Council of this Province should consti-
tute any part of the new Court. The Council are very
desirous of obtaining a copy of his said letters ; and they
earnestly pray the favor that you would procure a copy
of them, which are very probably dated between June,
1761, and February, 1762, of which last date the commis-
sion is.
You have herewith a printed copy of the Council's
letters to Lord Hillsboro', with the proceedings referd to
in them. Your petition to the House of Commons, so
well written & of so great importance to Americans, was
tho't necessary to be printed with them.*
In behalf of Com*~ of Council, I am with great re-
spect, S',
Y' most obed* hbl. serv*.
John Erving.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
• London, 27"» July, 1769.
Dear Sir, — I am ashamed of so old a date as 4*^
Nov' to your letter, in which you gave me hopes of seeing
you soon here, but I have since heard nothing more of it,
& I know so little of the present administration that I
can neither give you intelligence of their designs, nor
assistance in obtaining your request.! I only know that
* The petition of Mr. BoIIan to the House of Commona is printed in The Boston Oazette,
April 17, 1769. It \n also in the appendix to a pamphlet, printed in the same year bv Edes
& Gilt, entitled 'Tetters to the Right Honorable the Eari of Hillsborongh," &c. — Eds.
t In a letter to Eari Temple, dated Sept. 22, 1769, Mr. Whatelr writes,— "I find
M** John Temple is comfnf? home; his business is partly to answer the charge now made in
form against him by the other Commissioners for favoring the popular party, and partly to
charge them, together with the Governor, with insolence, indiscretion, and perhaps abuse of
their powers." (See Grenville Papers, vol. iv. p. 460.) Mr. Temple, however, did not go
to England until more than a year afterward. (See letter to Whately, Dec. 80, 1770, pott,
152 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
they affect to make a shew of vigorous measures concern-
ing America. In some points they will not chuse,
in others they will not dare, to give way ; & my idea is
that so long as they continue, they will do as they
have hitherto done, & keep y* affair just where it is,
without much exertion or much concession. In all pro-
bability, however, they will not continue long ; y* crisis
of our affairs & y* discontents of 3^* people will soon make
the establishment of a more able administration necessary.
Your people are poor politicians in exulting as they do in
our disorders, & not seeing that from thence results the
necessity for a government equal in firmness & stability
to the occasion. The notice taken of your supposed
grievances in the petitions of London & Middlesex is as
little matter of triumph, for you will not, I believe, see y*
p. 247.) Id a meinoml to the Lords of the Treasury, dated Feb. 7, 1772, he says he had
'* humbly solicited no less than thirteen times for leave to come home to England . . .
Thus after persevering more than three years in the most disagreeable & unhappy situation,
observing at the same time the business of the revenue & (as he apprehended) the revenue
itself going fast to ruin & destruction, he ventured to come home witliout leave, trusting
entirely to your Lordships* candor & humanity for so doings seeing that il' Robinson, a
brother Commisi^ioner, & Mr Hallowell, an inferior officer, had before done the like with
impunity.*' On his arrival he ** had the mortification to hear that he had been some months
superceded in the American Commission by the same M^ Hallowell." Soon afterward he had
an interview with Lord North, ** who discovered a fair difiposition for repairing the injury
your memorialist had sustained bdth in his character & fortune." Lately he '*had the
honor of being appointed Surveyor General of the Customs in England, with £300 a year
over & above the salary established, in which station (though a degradation in rank) he
means to exert his utmost to approve himself to your Lordships for further favor when a
vacancy may happen at either the English or Irish Board of Revenue.'* And he prayed
for some compensation for his losses and expense attending the presentation of his " truely
unfortonate case," which amounted to ** near a thousand pounds of his private fortune, over
&: above the charges of his voyage & the loss he must unavoidably sustain in the disposal
of his house, furniture, slaves, horses, carriages, & by the sudden & unexpected removal of
himself, & family ** from America. It should be added that a year before the earliest of
the applications referred tn in the foregoing extract, — in the summer of 1767, — Mr. Temple
had asked leave to go to England for the recovery of his health, which, he says, in a letter
dated Jan. 25, 1768, " was graciously granted me, and with the most pleasing additionsl
circumstance, that of full approbation of my past services, not only of the Board of Customs
in England, but of the then J^rds Commissi* of the Treasury themselves.'* When he wss
about to sail, he learned that it was the intention of the government to establish a Board of
Customs in America, in consequence of which he determined to postpone his proposed
visit to England, in order to be on the spot when the newly appointed O)mmissioner8
should enter on the discharge of their duties, and to furnish them with all the information
be could give. Of this Board he was made a member; but for some reason his renewed
applications for leave to go to England were not favorably received. — Eos.
1709] JOHN SBYING. 153
example follow'd, but y* petitions of the counties will in
general omit the pretensions of the Colonies. That of
Surry, the only one which has yet been prepared, is silent
on y* subject. As to your associations against import-
ation, they can have little effect. Your merchants will
not keep to them. Every one would suffer if they did for
want of meer necessaries, & now that the greatest parade
is making about them our manufacturers feel from the
demand that your agreements are evaded. This is, I
think, y* general state of publick affairs between us. As
to private concerns I have already written to your brother
by M' Venner my sentiments upon them. I cannot
dissemble that your differences with the officers of y*
Crown are circumstances not in your favour, & in these
times, & in your situation, you must suffer while such
appearances are against you. I have, you know, always
regretted your alienation from those officers. I always
shall think it unfortunate for you, & you must excuse me
for continually expressing my concern about it. I am,
dear Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant.
Thomas Whately.
Thb Hok"' Mb. Temple.
JOHN ERVING TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
Boston, Aagnst 19, 1769.
W BoLLAN, Esq* : S^ — This only serves to acknowl-
edge the rec* of y' two favors of the 21** & 23* of June to
M' Danforth & others, accompanied with the copies of
Gov' Bernard's, &c., letters & the memorials of the Com"
of the Customs, for all which we are very much obliged to
you. As many of the letters affect the character of the
town of Boston, they will be, agreable to your desire,
comunicated to the selectmen of the town. On the
154 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
subject of those letters & memorials you will probably
hear further from the gentlemen to whom your letters
are directed, in whose behalf I am, very respectfully, S',
Y' most obed* hble. serv*.
John Erving.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Fludter Street, Westm*, Oct' 2*, 1769.
Sir, — After the tedious confinement necessary for
writing the Free Briton's Memorial,* taking care of its
publication, & puting the Council's Defence into the pro-
per course of printing, in order to be published at the best
season, I went out of town on the 24"" of Aug' & returning
on the 20"" ult™*, in consequence of M' Erving's letter of
the 26^** of July, I proceeded to take care of the printing,
tho' M' Beckford in the country & S' Geo. Saville after-
wards in town told me that in all probability the Parlia-
ment would not sit til after Christmas, with intent to
publish it some short time before their meeting, but cm
the morning of the 28*** one of the principal public papers
contained an advertisement that the whole publication
printed at Boston was reprinted here, & wou'd be published
the next morning. The close application necessary to con-
sider a constitutional question put me the day before by a
gentleman of consequence, one of your principal friends
who lately came to town, with some subsequent matters,
employed my time so that I knew nothing of this advertise-
ment til ten o'clock in the ev'ning. Early next morning
I went to M' Almon, the publisher, who told me upon
enquiry that the author of this publication was a gentle-
* This was a qaarto pamphlet of about sixty pages, published anoDTinously under the
title of " The Free Briton's Supplemental Memorial to the Electors of the Members of the
British Parliament; wherein the Origin of Parliaments in Europe, and other interesting
Matters, are considered.'* It is mainly an attack on the ministry of the Duke of Grafton,
on account of their action in regard to the Middlesex election, and only incidentally refers
to the dispute with the Colonies. — Eds.
1769.] SAMUEL HOOD. 155
man of character & fortune, who sustain'd no public
office, but was a great friend of the Colonies, and a
particular friend of mine, that on seeing my name in the
appendix, he came to my lodgings for directions how to
write to me in the country before he shou'd go on to
publish, but my clerk not being in the way he cou'd get
no information herein, & thro' the great neglect of an
inferiour servant, he had none ; and that several others
having copies which came from Boston, he had dispatch'd
the publication in order to prevent their making it. This
unlucky proceeding vexed me, 1**, because my intended
publication would in the present state of this kingdom
have been more beneficial, as your friend aforementioned
& M' Almon himself agreed ; 2, because I had for some
time purposed to publish apart my own petition, together
with a short preceding essay, but this design is now
defeated. The misfortune is not great, and I shall
endeavour to remedy it as far as may be. I am, with
the greatest respect for the Honourable the Council, Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"" Sam"- Danporth, Esq*.
SAMUEL HOOD* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Many thanks, dear Sir, for your very obliging and
also for the pamplet ; I hope and trust, and I flatter
myself with some reason, that all will be well in a
little while, and that the present breach will bring
forward most perfect and unalterable affection, between
* Samuel Hood, one of the most distinguished of the British nmval commanders in the
last century, was bom at Thorncombe, in Devonshire, Dec. 12, 1724, and died at Bath, Jan.
27f 1816. For his services against the French during the war of our Revolution he was
raised to the peerage, and for his still more con<>picuous exploits during the wars of the
French Revolution he was created Viscount Hood See Rose's Biographical Dictionary,
pp. 360, 361 ; Dictionary of KatlooAl Biographyi vol. zxvii. pp. 263-270.— £d8.
156 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
Great Britain and the Colonies^ in spite of the inflam-
matory publications the papers are still full of, which
can serve no other end, than to keep the unhappy fer-
ment alive; would it not therefore be highly praise-
worthy, in the principal gentlemen to unite, and most
cordially endeavour to put a stop to such rancorous
abuse that appears in almost every print? I perceive
an attempt at it against me could not be withheld by
some one, and though I guess the man, I wish not to
know him; if it will answer any good purpose to the
Province I hope to see it continued, and I promise you
to take not the least notice of whatever is published in
such a way, nor shall the quantity or quality of it
in any degree slacken my zeal for promoting, to the
utmost of my feeble abilities, a happy reconciliation
between the parent country and America.
I am sorry Mrs. Bowdoin has been so alarmed about
the small-pox, and hope eer this her fears are at an end
and that she is returned to her own house. Mrs. Hood
joins me in best compliments and warmest wishes to
her & you, and the several branches of the family, par-
ticularly the head of Mrs. Bowdoin's, and I beg you
will believe me with great truth & esteem, dear Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant.
Sam. Hood.
Halivax, Oet? 8^ 1769
P. S. As soon as the Sept' mail arrives the Hope
schooner will be dispatched to me, and in three days
after she comes here, I shall send her to England. If
she can be usefull to you, I shall be happy in giving you
this information.
1769.] JAMES BOWDOIK. 157
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
*
Boston, Dec'. 5, 1769.
Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure of your letter of
y^ 27^ June, & observe you staid in town to be present
at the Council Chamber when the hearing of the Ken-
nebec Company's appeal comes on. It is some time
since the O* has had a line from M' Goostrey, by w***
means they are uninformed of the issue of the appeal,
or indeed whether it has yet had a hearing. When you
see him, please to be so good as to let him know it will
give the G^ pleasure to hear from him, and to be informed
what progress is made in the appeal, and, if not already,
when 'tis likely to come to an issue. What you mention
about the legality of the appeal being founded on the
action's being personal, makes me recollect it was
originally a personal action, and intended to be so to
avoid the objection arising from the opinion that the
Charter did not allow of appeals in real actions ; but
it was said at the same time that in fact it did allow
of such appeals. However that may be, I am very glad
y* appeal stands clear of any objection from the Charter,
as I would not in my own case, and should be sorry
the Company should in theirs, do any thing inconsistent
with the rights of the Charter.
The unkind, not to say contemptuous, reception Amer-
ican petitions have met with from Parliament has effect-
ually discouraged our Assembly from petitioning further,
and all the rhetoric Ministry can command, if used for
the purpose, will never persuade them to it. Their idea
seems to correspond with yours, that it is best to let
Ministry take their own way, that the absurdity of
it may expose them, and necessitate a change of meas-
ures. There are many considerate people here who think
a change of measures, by which they mean a repeal,
either in whole or in part of the several acts for raising
158 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
a revenue in America, would be a real detriment to
America, as those acts have raised a spirit of oeconomy,^
industry and invention w""** have already produced happy
effects, and have demonstrated our capacity of being
less dependent on British produce & manufactures than
was ever before apprehended. This spirit seems likely
to continue as long as those acts ; but it may probably
abate on the rescinding of them, though it is greatly
to be wished even by the friends of Great Britain that
that spirit may continue, and the true policy would
be to direct it to objects that would not interfere with
but be beneficial to her manufactures. With regard
to American manufactures, tho' the progress of them
has not been so rapid as the warm sons of liberty has
represented on the one hand, nor so small & diminutive
as ministerial sycophants have represented on the other,
I can assure you it has been considerable and is growing,
and all you can do on your side of the water, except
the restoring things to their old course, will but increase
it. Ministry by this time know this is not a country
from which revenue can be raised, and if the revenue
acts are continued, they will also know that it is a
country that can manufacture for themselves. But
perhaps they prefer the wisdom derived from exper-
ience. Lord Hillsborough's last circular letter has been
as unsuccessful as his former; the declaration in it
that Ministry would procure the repeal of the duties
on paper, glass, & colors, instead of causing a relaxation
of the agreement for non-importation, has confirmed
it. It has been agreed anew by the merch*" of this
and most of the Colonies that they will not import
till the act of Parliament last made be wholly repealed ;
and it has been and is now negotiating not to import
till the revenue acts shall be repealed.
Since I had the pleasure of writing you last, Gov'
Bernard, you know, has met the Assembly, the transac-
1769] JAMES BOWDOIN. 159
tions of which the newspapers have informed you. He
gave me my quietus by his negative.* When he prorogued
the Court last June, he did it to so distant a time as
Jan*^, partly to prevent (as long as he could) the filling
up the seats he had vacated at Council, but especially
to prevent the Assembly doing anything further against
himself. We have had two parcels of his letters to
Ministry, with other letters, the same that were laid
before Parliament, published here. With the first, and
in answer to them, were letters from the Council to
L* HillsborO. In answer to the last, the Town of
Boston has published an Appeal to the Public. All
these papers have been sent to you. Against the authors
of those letters laid before Parliament, viz., Grov' Bernard,
Gen* Gage, the Comiss" of the Customs, the Collector
& Comptroller, the Town made complaint to the Grand
Jury, who have found bills against them which have been
just laid before the Superior Court now sitting here.
Two regiments of our new conservators of the peace
remain here ; their main guard is still posted where
it was, directly opposite to the centre door of the
Court House. The posting troops in the town, not
required by the civil magistrates, and contrary to the
mind not only of the Town, but of the whole Province,
occasioned the General Court to refuse doing business
in town, and it is probable they will continue in the
same disposition at the next session. To keep the troops
here and eke the Comiss" who applied for them, and
who have taken a great deal of pains, very needlessly
and very impertinently, to make themselves obnoxious,
can serve no other purpose than to irritate and keep
up the spirit of discontent ; unless Ministry still look
* On the first day of the senion of the Hoiute of Representatives, which began May 31,
1769, twenty-eight Councillors were duly chosen ; Governor Bernard negatived eleven of
them, including William Brattle, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, Artemas Ward, and
James Otis. Among those to whose election he consented were Samuel Danforth, John
Krving, and Samuel Dexter. — Eds.
t
160 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
on an American revenue as an object worth pursuit,
and that those are the proper means of securing it, in
both which, if they have not already, they will probably
find themselves mistaken, notwithstanding the sugges-
tions and inculcations of a certain Baronet, to whom,
it is believed, the nation & Colonies are principally
obliged for the disunion & disaffection that at present
unhappily subsist between them.
However worthy of approbation this may be, it is
said his forcing the Assembly to refuse quartering the
troops, & to express themselves so fully & plainly on
that subject, is a matter for which Ministry does not
thank him. The affair of agency stands disagreably.
The two houses had it some time under consideration
for the purpose of joining together in it. But at length
each chose its own agent ; the Council M' BoUan, & the
House M' Deberdt. There is talk of a coalition at the
next session, and appointing both by the whole Court.
But whether this will take place is doubtful, at least.
If any thing should turn up worth comunicating, I will
comunicate it, & am, with great respect, S',
Y' most obed^ &c.
James Bowdoin.
SAMUEL HOOD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Dbab Sir, — I give you many thanks for your very
obliging letter of the 4*** past, which I duely rec'd, and
am sorry you have been deprived of the use of your pen
by a complaint in your eyes. If my wishes are of any
avail you and yours now enjoy all imaginable health, with
every other blessing of life, that sincerity can suggest.
Calumny, my dear Sir, is the mark of envy in little
narrow minds, and I hope never to want a Christian's
share of it ; I am conscious of the rectitude of my own
actions and am proof against the attack of malignant
1770.] PETITION TO THE HOUSE OP COMMONS. 161
people. I can make a pretty good guess at the author
of a late publication in Edes & Gill,* but am so little
disturbed at it, that I do not desire to know for certain
who he is, nor would I give him a sixpence to prevent
his filling a page of abuse of me in every paper, for
a year to come. It is with much pleasure I acquaint
you, and I think with some degree of authority, that
a plan will soon come forth, so full of moderation, as
well as attention to America, that I flatter myself the
sensible part of his Majesty's subjects in the several
Colonies will be satisfied. It is not possible to content
the whole, for some minds are not to be satisfied and
to whom the more you grant the.more will be demanded ;
but I hope & trust the whole continent will be easy &
happy, before the end of the present year.
Mrs Hood begs her best compliments may be made
acceptable to Mrs. Bowdoin, and all of her connection
she has the pleasure to know, and I entreat you will
remember me to Cap* Erving. I am dear Sir, with great
regard & esteem.
Your most obedient and very humble Servant.
Sam. Hood.
Halifax, JanT 17"» 1770.
James Bowdoin £sq>
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
March, 1770.
To THE Hon''-", the CofioNS of Great Britain in Parliament
ASSEMBLED,
The petition of William Bollan, Esqf [appointed by the
Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, agent for
them and the Province in Great Britain.] t
* The reference is to a long letter in the Boston Gazette, Dec. 25, 1769, signed Philap
delphos, containing extracts from Commodore Hood*s letters to the Secretary of the
Admiralty. — Eds.
t The words within the brackets have been stricken out by drawing aline throngh them.
— Ed*.
11
§
162 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
Most humbly sheweth, — That in his present Majesty's
reign measures have been devised & laws made for raising
a revenue out of American comerce, the natural augmen-
tation whereof, thus prevented, would have caused a con-
tinual growing consumption of British manufactures with
a constant encrease of British navigation, the source of
their naval power ; would in circuit have enrich'd the King
& kingdom far more by consent than they could be by any
compulsion; would have preserved in its former full
strength that cordial union of the British subjects residing
in Britain & the Colonies which is apparently necessary
to their mutual & lasting welfare ; and would moreover
have augmented the abilities of the British Americans,
and given fresh spirit to their laudable inclination to
venture their lives & fortunes against the public enemies
when they shall renew their hostilities, which in point of
difficulty & danger may equal, or exceed, those that were
in the late war so happily surmounted, and which without
question, tho' with uncertain pace, are daily approaching.
That amongst other measures even British manufactures
have, contrary to the plainest principle of comerce, been
made the subjects of taxation when imported into the
Colonies.
That regulations of American comerce have been sub-
jected to military execution, fiter to extirpate than to
regulate, preserve & encrease trade, which is in its nature
so tender that touch it with a sword & it dies.
That the offenses, accusations, & litigations relative to
the several laws enacted touching the American trade &
revenue, have been subjected to civil adjudication incom-
patible with the English constitution and pregnant with
hardships exceeding all example.
That the King's causing such monies to be applied out
of certain American revenues as he shall think proper or
necessary for defraying the charges of administring justice
and supporting civil government within all or any of the
1770.] PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 163
Colonies would be such a seizure of their imediate civil
government into the King's hands as would be attended
with unspeakable difficulties and hardships, wou'd subvert
pro tanto the proper constitution of the Colonies, which
are in their nature & by their institution distinct members
of the comonwealth, established by the wisdom of former
ages, and wou'd be inconsistent with the Charter granted
to the s^ Province of Massachusetts Bay by their Majesties,
King William & Queen Mary.
That the junction of the Colonies for the purpose of
civil government is manifestly repugnant to that standing
policy of their severance whereby they have been so well
governed from the time of their existence.
That the application of monies raised in a Colony which
defrays all the proper & necessary charges of administring
justice & supporting civil government there, to pay the
charges of such administration & support in any other
Colony neglecting its duty in this behalf, would be a plain
departure from the permanent principle of natural justice.
That the new system of defending, protecting, & secur-
ing the Colonies devised & practised by his Majesty's
Ministers is likewise improvident, oppressive & dangerous
to the kingdom & the Colonies.
That in consequence of the preceding & other ministerial
measures, the British manufactures, trade, & navigation
have been discouraged, & British America reduced from a
state of quiet, with chearful & profitable obedience, to a
state of great distress & dangerous insatisfaction.
That the errors & improvidence of Ministers, with the
hostile designs & proceedings of France to undermine the
British American dominion, trade, & fishery, brought on
the late expensive & dangerous war, and British America
is now in consequence of the errors & improvidence of his
Majesty's Ministers brought into a state of invitation of
foreign war.
Wherefore your petitioner humbly prays that he may
164 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
be heard before this Honourable House, in order that he
may defend the rights & interest of the Province afore-
said, and give such necessary information as this or the
late Parliament have not received, whereby he humbly
hopes this Honourable House will be in some degree assisted
in taking those salutary measures which the prosperity &
safety of the kingdom & the Colonies at this interesting
conjuncture require.
W. BOLLAN.
(Copy.)
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAML^L DANFORTH.
Fludyer Street, March 6*^ 1770.
Sir, — Yesterday the Lord Mayor presented to the
House of Comons my petition as agent for the Council &
the Province, complaining of the new system of revenue &
government so far introduced with respect to the Colonies,
and praying to be heard in person. Ui)on reading it, with
my authority from the Council, the latter being objected
to as insufficient, it was urged that the Council alone cou'd
not appoint any such agent, more especially when the
House of Representatives was sitting, and this being the
sense of the House, the necessity of receiving all useful
information, notwithstanding any informality of proceed-
ing abroad, was then strenuously contended for, and at
length, the chief minister consenting, the House agreed to
receive my petition, upon striking out such part as related
to the agency; whereupon the Lord Mayor imediately
came out to me with the petition in his hand, acquainted
me with the matter, and that upon making the proposed
alteration, I should be called into the House, to which of
necessity I consented, and his Lordship, with my agree-
ment, having struck his pen thro' the words relating to
the agency, he directly returned, and I expected to be very
1770.] WILLIAM BOLL AN. 165
soon called in^ but debates arising and continuing I staid
waiting about seven hours, when the House coming to a
division between eleven and twelve they brake up without
calling me in, and my petition now lies upon the table.
The inclosed copy of the petition with the printed votes
will shew how it stood before the alteration made, and
how it now stands.
M' De Berdt having on the 13*^ of Jan*^ told me he
wou'd concur in any measure proper for promoting the
Province service, on the 15"* I waited on him again, and
proposed our joining in a petition to the House of Comons,
and shewed him the draught I had prepared. After read-
ing it he declined joining with me, but said he wou'd back
my petition with one of his own, to be heard by counsel,
since which I have. heard nothing from him.
The rights & interests of America seem rather to be
rising, but as they partake of the wondrous difficulties of
the times, it is certain their preservation and advancement
require the best defence. I write with much greater hurry
than is desirable, and am, with the greatest respect for
the Hon*"** the Council, Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"" Sam'* Daiyfobth, Esq*
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Flddykr Street, March 8***, 1770.
Sir, — Having lately written in haste I did not mention
the observation of some of your principal friends in the
House of Comons, that the authority given me was not
only deficient, being given me by the Council alone, but
that the expression was also improper, in empowering me
to appear & transact at the Court of Great Britain all
matters which concern them or the Province, being, they
i
166 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
said, language more fit for foreign princes or states than
for a Colony deputing a person to represent them; to
which it is necessary to add that an authority to appear
at the Court of Great Britain doth not in strictness author-
ize the party appointed to appear for his constituents in
the several Houses of Parliament. It is needless to say
that in these times the best authority is ouq of the requi-
sites necessary to make the best defence in behalf of the
Province, when open & powerful adversaries & their
numerous abetters unite with some of your pretended
friends to your prejudice. In the session comenced in the
year 1755, when a matter was depending in Parliament
which nearly concerned the welfare of the Province, my
authority was called for by some of the members ; where-
upon one of your chief friends came out of the House &
acquainted me with the necessity of my producing a suf-
ficient authority; upon which I instantly gave him a
power I had received that very day, a copy whereof you
receive inclosed, having no time to state it, which power
being carried in was agreed to be sufl&cient. But then my
instructions were call'd for ; whereupon the same member
came out to me for them, to which I answer'd, that in-
structions in their nature related only to the parties giving
& receiving them, and were oft times improper for publi-
cation, and that the power given to appear for the Province
was not conditional or dependent on the instructions,
which only directed the conduct of the person empowered,
and that this point had been so determined by the King
in Council in a great cause between the King & the Prov-
ince. This answer being carried in, all objection ceased.
I am with the greatest respect for the Hon^** the Council,
Sir,
Tour most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon'i' Sau^ Danfobth, Esq*.
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 167
JAMES BOWDOIN TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
Boston, Mar. 27, 1770.
S% — The last letter sent you in the name and in con-
sequence of the appointment of the Council was dated the
— Jan^ last, since which the Gen* Court, pursuant to a
ministerial mandate, has been prorogued by the L^ Gov'
to Cambridge where it has been sitting since the \b^ in-
stant. This the two Houses (to say nothing of the great
inconveniencies, to which they are thereby subjected) deem
an infringement upon one of the rights of the Charter,
which, after ordaining that there shall [be] held & kept a
Gen* C* every y' in May, vests the Governor for the time
being with the whole power of convening, proroguing, and
dissolving the said Court without any reference to instruc-
tions from the Crown whatever; and not only without
such reference, but in terms whereby the Crown has given
up all pretentions to a right of giving such instructions.
What has passed between the L* Gov' and the two Houses
^n this subject will be sent you enclosed herewith.
The principal thing which we think it necessary you
should be fully informed of at this time is the horrid mas-
sacre which happened here on the evening of the 5^ instant,
when eleven of his Maj^'' subjects were killed by a party of
soldiers of the 29**" regiment, their leader being Capt. Pres-
ton. The soldiers in general, and particularly of this regi-
ment, have behaved with great insolence and have comitted
many abuses upon the inhabitants of the town, for which
it were to be wished they had been duly punished when
brought before our Courts of Justice. ( But the affair
which more imediately was introductory to the said mas-
sacre was a quarrel between some soldiers of the 29"* regi-
ment and the ropemakers at M' Gray's ropewalk. In the
contest the soldiers were worsted, and this reflecting, as
they thought, on honor of the regiment, there was a gen'
combination among them to take vengeance on the town
168 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
indiscriminately. Of such a combination there is satisfac-
tory proof, and in consequence of that combination there
was on the evening of the 5*** instant a great number of
abuses committed by the soldiers on the inhabitants in vari-
ous parts of the town ; and being carried to such excess
by one party a bell at y* head of King Street was rung as
for fire, which brOt the neighbouring inhabitants into the
street, and as King Street was the last scene of that party's
exploits, a number of people collected there, about which
time the centry at the Custom House without any affront
offered to him (as it is affirmed) abused a boy by striking
him a severe blow with his gun,^ This drew a number of
persons round the boy near the Custom House, and occa-
sioned some snow balls to be thrown at the centry, who
hereupon knocked violently at the Custom House, and
speaking with somebody that came to the door, there went
from thence two persons to the main guardhouse (opposite to
the Court House) and procured Capt. Preston with a party
of soldiers to go to the centry, who (it was represented)
was in danger. Capt. Preston hereupon went from the
guard house with a party of about eight men, who passed
roughly thr8 the people and pushed some with their
bayonets, till they were posted near the Custom House.
This was resented by some of the people by throwing a
few snowballs ; soon after which the said party fired, not
all together, but deliberately, by which means eleven per-
sons were killed and wounded, as above .mentioned. There
are depositions which mention that several guns were fired
from the Custom House, and this matter is now enquiring
into. Soon after the firing the main body of the 29th
regiment appeared in arms in King Street, and were
drawn up between the Court House and main guardhouse,
and in such posture as plainly manifested a disposition to
commit a further massacr^, but by the good hand of
Providence were prevented!.
The foregoing is a short and general account of this
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 169
unhappy affair. The particulars of it are contained in a
Narrative just printed, with depositions annexed to it, one
of which will be sent to you by the Com^ of the Town.
There is great reason to apprehend that there have been
depositions taken in this affair by the procurement of the
disturbers of the peace and union which ought to subsist
between Great Britain and the Colonies, — depositions in-
tended to make the town the faulty cause of that mas-
sacre, and to make it believed that the Custom House was
then in danger of being pillaged. But if any such deposi-
tions have been sent home, the deposers have perjured
themselves ; there not being the least foundation for such
a thing to be suspected, much less to be made the subject
of a deposition. The Council desire you, and you are
hereby instructed, to use your best endeavors to procure
copies of those depositions (if any such there be) and
transmit them as soon as may be, and in the mean time
to ward off any ill impressions which such depositions are
calculated to make to the disadvantage of the town in
particular and the Province in general.
The longer continuance of the troops in town being ab-
solutely inconsistent with the safety of the inhabitants,
the Council unanimously advised the L* Governor to order
the troops from the town to the barracks at Castle Island,
and in consequence of that advice the commanding officer,
CoP Dalrymple, has removed them all thither. The pro-
ceedings of Council in this matter are sent to you herewith.
You will use your utmost endeavors that those troops be
ordered by his Majesty to be removed out of the Province,
and that no more troops be sent hither to [be] quartered
in the Province.
170 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEBS. [1770.
ALEXANDER MACKAY* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, 7*^ Ap., 1770.
Dear Sir, — I woud have done myself the pleasure of
writting you by a vessell that saild for Boston last month,
but was dissapointed by a gentleman who promised to
give me a day's notice, but forgot it. I likewise thought
of writting you after my arivall here, but as I had not
an oppertunity of seeing or conversing with any who coud
give me information, the Ministers being all in the coun-
trey, I thought it better to defer it till I coud speak with
them & know somewhat of their intentions. I have had
many conversations with some of the Ministers on the
state of America, & with truth & integrity I can say
that I have endeavord all in my power to represent per-
sons & things in their just light, to clear up prejudices,
& to shew where the remedy lay, and how to bring
matters to a state of peace & concord ; this, I give you
my honor, I did with as much sincerity & regard for one
side the Atlantick as the other ; and in justice to those I
conversd with I must do them the justice to say that I
found them all as willing & desirous to promote that end
as ever you & I was on any occasion or conversation.
With some I enterd into all the particulars which you &
I had talk'd of, & found a great willingness to comply in
every article. I mean that the regulation of commerce
shoud be the ground, & I may say the only ground, of any
tax that remaind; further than the molosses, wine, &
sugar, nothing to be thought of, & those to be considerd
* Colonel, afterward Major-General, Alexander Mackay, arrived in Boston, with the
troops from Ireland, in November, 1768, bein^ at that time in command of the G5th Regi-
ment. He returned to England in August, 1769. ** Last Saturday General Mackay sailed
for London in the Brigantine commanded by Capt. Bartlett," says the Boston Evening-
Post of Aug. 21, 1769. "Though the sending the Troops in this Town, considering the
Errand they came on, was a Measure not founded in Reason, and rs disgustful as unreason-
able: Justice, however, requires us to say. That General yfnckny^i Command of the Troops
has given universal Satif^faction ; and with Pleasure we take this Opportunity to acknowl-
edge his Merit, both as a Geutleman aud an Otficer." — Eds.
1770.] ALEXANDER MACKAY. 171
on fair & just grounds. You may say, how comes it then
that matters have stopt now with only repealing the
dutys on glass, painters' colors, &c., & not tea? I will
answer you candidly in the way I ever did, that it is owing
to the measures taken by yourselves, & the extension of
the resolutions made at your publick meetings after I left
you, where it was resolved that no importation of British
goods shoud be enterd till the dutys on sugar, wine, &
molasses & indeed till all dutys were repeald. This was
so deep a stroke that no man in his senses coud pretend
to say a word, and allow me to say, on these grounds if
any member here woud give way he woud have the
whole nation against him, and many of your warmest
friends said, that if any act was repeald on such grounds,
it was telling you that you had only to do the same again
for any purpose you pleas'd, right or wrong. I have told
you often, & I repeat it now, that those who are your
chief advisers from hence dont care a farthing for
your interest more than any other individuals in the
kingdom; their object is to overturn the administra-
tion by distressing goverment in every quarter they
can, & so far from wishing an accomodation of all
differences with America, I sincerely believe, they woud
be very sorry for it, & woud be the first to blame them,
did they find that they meant to adopt the measures they
now seem to advise. My situation in life does not call
upon me to take a Ministerial! part, nor have I views or
plans to pervert my judgment. I may err from want of
knowledge ; but what I say to you is the sincere senti-
ments of my heart, from no other motive but wishing the
generall good of the whole ; and I now declare to you
that such is my idea of the good intentions both of Min-
isters & Parliament to America, that if there was but
temper & moderation shown on your side every thing that
a reasonable man coud wish woud readily be granted,
but while they continue as at present I believe nothing
172 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
more will be done. I write you my honest & true senti-
ments for yourself only. I prolnised you I woud do so,
& accordingly have done it. And such is my sentiments
of the true politicall conduct to be observed by this king-
dom to America that no man can from principle & inclina-
tion more sincerely wish your prosperity than I do, as
1 'm convinced it is the interest of this countrey to promote
it in every particular that does not essentially interfere
with the commerce of this kingdom. I heard Comm'
Temple was on his way to this country last Feb*^. If so
I'm surprised he is not yet arived. I beg my best re-
spects & comp** to M" Bowdoin & your family, to my good
friend M' Erving, the Temples, & all friends, & that you
will all accept my best thanks for your many civilitys to
me when at Boston, & believe me to be with very sincere
regard, dear Sir,
Your most obt & humble servant.
Alex* Mackay.
I saw Sir Fr. Barnard when I landed in Sep' last,
but I have never once seen him since the meeting of
Parliament.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Fludyeb Street, April 10^, 1770.
Sir, — The bill for repealing the duties imposed on
British manufactures, after being defered from time to
time, pass'd thro' the House of Comons last week, and on
Saturday the 7*** inst' it was read in the House of Lords ;
yesterday it was read a second time, and to-day it pass'd
thro' the Comittee and will be reported tomorrow ; if the
opposition to it be renewed I expect no success. Last
week M' Aid" Trecothick gave notice in the House that
he wou'd yesterday move for leave to bring in a bill to
repeal the duty imposed on teas. He made the motion
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 173
accordingly, without regarding any discouragement, and
it was better supported than many expected, but upon a
division it was rejected by 80 against 52. I. don't at
present recollect any other material motion being made
daring the long unpleasing dependence of this affair
in that House. In the former part of the session a
gentleman who is very political told me that he wou'd
move for a total repeal of the last revenue act, for a
declaration that the Stat, of Hen. 8^ for trial of foreign
treasons does not extend to the Colonies, and for a removal
of the troops, since which I have never heard of his mak-
ing any of these motions. After approving them and
making mention of other grievances, I told him I wou'd
be concerned in no state tinkering.
Having taken great preparatory pains in order to make
a solid & lasting defence of the rights of the Province, I
was desirous of being heard before the House of Coffions ;
but on mature consideration those members who are your
principal friends as well as mine were of opinion that
being reduced to the state of an individual, a motion for
my being heard in person wou'd be altogether improper as
well as fruitless.
I am, with the greatest respect for the Hon'*^ the
Council, Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon*" Saml Danforth, £8<^.
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOTTT.
London, Albemarle Street, April 11, 70.
D* Sir, — Having almost from my first entrance into
y* H. of C. considered the mode of our proceedings there
in those matters which we consider judidaUy^ it occurrd
to me that adopting some measure on this maxim namely.
174 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
that legislation was conducted by ma/iy, judgment hyfewy
would remedy those evils which were too justly com-
plained of in our ordinary course of proceeding, & also
considering that the spirit of our constitution led to tryal
hy jury ^ I form'd a plan of tryeing & judging in our House
by forming a Committee on y* model of a jury. In y*
course of y* various debates on the Middlesex election
M"^ G. Grenville took occasion to mention our shameful 1
present mode of trying controverted elections & said he
w* with y* approbation of the House propose a remedy on
that head. The next day I calld upon him & show'd my
idea. It proved to be exactly his, whereupon I was desired
to be named as one of the gentlemen named to bring in the
bill. The bill has passed our House & will pass y* Lords & be
enacted. I send you a blank copy, because at y* time that
I had it under consideration I did also consider whether
something of this sort might be very beneficially applyed to
your Assemblies in those proceeding where they take up y®
consideration & decision of matters of property. I need
not point out to you the reason why your Assemblies
go into these proceedings, namely y* want of a Court of
Chancery proper^ established^ & I wish to avoid appeals,
which proceedings are scarce regular & constitutionally
safe in y* hands of a legislative body. However, to rem-
edy y* mischeives which may arise from them, is [it ?] not
worth while to consider y* application of some mode of
doing this business similar to the mode adopted by y* bill
which I send you enclosed. I am, d' Sir,
Yo' most obed* & most humble.
T. POWNALL.
The Hon*'' James Bowdoin, Esq*.
1770.] SAMUEL HOOD. 175
SAMUEL HOOD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Halifax, April 24«», 1770.
Deab Sir, — I am favoured with the last sheet you had
the goodness to fill to me, on the 3* & 31"* of last month,
and thank you for it very sincerely, as I do in a very par-
ticular manner for the account you sent of the truly un-
happy affair of the 5*^, which gave me very real concern.
I have read it over very attentively, and the candid man-
ner in which it appears to have been taken, together with
the moderation and attention which has been shewn by
the Town to that unfortunate man. Cap* Preston, must
reflect great honor on its inhabitants in general, and I am
perswaded that a continuance of similar conduct will have
more happy consequences than can perhaps be looked for
by those whose tempers must have been warmed, and
have more immediately felt what has happened.
I perfectly agree with you that there does not appear
the least foundation to believe that there was any design
to attack & pillage the Custom House, and therefore it
seems almost impossible that any depositions can be sent
home to that effect ; if there has, the deposers must have
been, as you justly observe, strangely misled, or facts
must have been withheld in a most extraordinary manner
from you and the gentlemen joined with you to make the
enquiry, which cannot be supposed possibly to happen, and
I think the inhabitants of the town of Boston have shewn
their wisdom by appointing so respectable a committee to
investigate truths, for truths alone are able to make last-
ing impressions. I am very much obliged to Cap* Erving
for the concern he takes in what regards me, and I entreat
you will assure him of my best wishes, and that you and
M"* Bowdoin will accept them from M"* Hood & me.
I am much distressed at hearing that the poor man
who was wounded on board the brig Pitt Packett has in
some degree lost the use of his arm, and shall be very
176 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
happy to give him a lasting and comfortable subsistence.*
There is at this time a vacancy for a cook on board one
of his Majesty's ships under my command, and I have
wrote to M' Hooper of Marblehead, in whose employ the
man was, as well as to M"" Adams, his counsel, tender-
ing him a warrant for her, if he will stop the prosecution
against M' Peacock. His pay, with that of a servant he
is allowed, will be twenty-five pounds a year, besides pro-
visions for both, and the savings he will make from the
usual perquisites of his office will be five pounds more.
This is certain as long as he lives, and must be so much
clear gains to him ; for admitting him to obtain very large
damages they can never be paid, as I am credibly informed
that M' Peacock could not raise fifty pounds supposing the
failure would subject him to a goal during his life, being
fatherless and motherless, and has nothing to support him
but his pittance of pay as midshipman of the Rose. I am
no further interested in this matter than from my feelings
for both parties, and the desire I have to relieve them,
and if you, my good Sir, will be pleased to use your influ-
ence to bring the affair to a conclusion on the terms I
have proposed, you will, I am sure do a singular act of
kindness to both, and in a very particular manner oblige
me. I am, with great truth and esteem, dear Sir,
Your most obedient and faithfuU humble servant.
Sam. Hood.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Fludyer Street, April 28"*, 1770.
Sir, — The late military violence, attended with so
great effusion of blood & disorder, in Boston, was so
* In the latter part of 1769 an attempt was made by a press-g^ng from the frigate Rose
to take some seamen fh>m a yessel owned fn Marblehead. The seamen resisted, and in the
struggle the Lieutenant of the Rowe was killed, and one of the seamen was wounded in the
arm. See Life and Letters of John Adams, voL x. pp. 204, 205. — Eds.
1770.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 177
alarming for the present, and pregnant with so great diffi-
culties respecting the future, that it was not easy to deter-
mine what was best to be done ; but on consideration one
thing appeared to me proper & necessary, which was this.
During this session different persons have at different
times mentioned an enquiry into the military power ex-
ercised among you, and for some considerable time past
Co? Gage's & other comissions have lain on the table of
the House of Coinons without any thing being done ; and
the American affairs which had been moved being carried
by so great a majority against you, some of your chief
friends seem'd to be clear in opinion that it wou'd be best
to defer this to be consider'd with other matters in the
next session, by which time it was hoped such a change
wou'd be wrought as wou'd in its consequent operations
be favourable to you. But, not to mention other things
relative to this business, on considering the late unhappy
disaster it appeared to me necessary to make a stroke at
the root of these military motions, whereupon I directly
drew up a memorandum, whereof a copy is inclosed, for
the use of the Lord Mayor & your other principal friends,
and on the 26'** inst* M' Alder" Trecothick, having moved
that the intelligence relative to the disputes between
the inhabitants & the troops, with the orders sent hence
within a certain space of time shou'd be laid before them,
in the course of debate the Lord Mayor in strong terms
charged CoP Gage's comission with being unconstitutional,
unlawful and inconsistent with your Charter, and call'd
upon the crown lawyers to support it, not one of whom,
or any other member, undertook its defence, or said one
word in its behalf in my hearing, and I continued in the
House during the debate.
With respect to the late proceedings at Boston, accord-
ing to my information, ministerial persons on the first
advice declared them to be a revolt on the part of the
inhabitants ; but they seem'd afterwards enclined not to
12
178 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
take them up in so high a key, and on the late debate
they were expressly treated as a riot & disturbance, and
it being objected that the King's troops had to their dis-
honour retreated from their post, the Secry at War, if I
understood him aright, said that they had not retreated
thro' fear, and that there was no cause of fear, but they
retreated properly on the advice of the L* Gov' & Council
of the Province ; that they were sent under expectation
that the civil magistrate wou'd on occasion assist their
operations, but being herein disappointed he did not wish
them to make that return which wou'd be inefficacious,
and he therefore proposed some provision to be made to
supply this defect of the civil magistracy, which I in the
instant understood wou'd be an infraction of your Charter
& the general rights of the Colonies. His Lordship's
speech being sometimes low, & my distance considerable,
I can only declare my own sense of what he said, wherein
I possibly may, contrary to my apprehensions, be mis-
taken. Upon the whole the ministerial members did not
seem enclined to extremities. I am, with the greatest
respect for the Hon^^ the Council, Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon»" Sam*- Danforth, Esq*.
MEMORANDUM.
1. Major Gen' Gage's coiiiission appointing him coin-
ander of all the King's forces employed in North America
was not given in time of war to impower him to lead &
coinand the King's soldiers against his enemies, but, altho'
it appears to have been taken from Maj' Gen* Amherst's
coinission, which issued in time of war, was issued in time
of peace, when by the constitution of the British empire,
whereof the Colonies are members, the public peace, order
& justice are to be maintain'd under the direction of the
laws by the civil magistrates & civil officers, without the
1770.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 179
least interposition of any military men at their discre-
tion, whose subservience to the civil power is ever to be
preserved.
2. In every Colony which hath no special regimen
formed by charter the King is Governour, and the person
whom thro' necessity of the local exercise of the powers of
government he deputes to govern for & under him is his
locum tenens and the iinediate governour of all men within
that colony, who being all to be governed by the comon
statute, or provincial law, unalterable by the power of
the Crown, as the case requires, the King by his judges
dispenses justice to his subjects there, and by his gov-
ernour regulates, orders, & directs other affairs of
government.
3. The King by letters patent appoints the Governour
of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, according to their
Charter granted by King William & Queen Mary, which
the King cannot by any comission rescind in the whole
or in part, and which unites the chief civil & military
authority in the Governour, and provides that he with
seven or more of the assistants or counsellors constituted
pursuant to the Charter may from time to time hold a
Council for the ordering & directing the affairs of the
Province.
4. Nevertheless in consequence of the coinission given
to Gen* Gage, which requires all the Governours & civil
officers in the Colonies to be aiding & assisting to him,
and of various errors, the military forces placed at Boston
in the said Province and the Governour have mutually dis-
claimed his authority over them, so that numerous bodies
of military men are now subsisting in the Colonies inde-
pendent of the civil government to the great danger of
the comon-weal.
A
180 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770-
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Fludyer Street, May 1", 1770.
Sir, — 1 have very lately been informed that measures
have been taken, the particulars whereof I cou'd not learn,
for geting the intelligence transmited for the Province
service ; how far this kind of proceeding may prejudice
that service & the parties concern'd, needs not be men-
tioned; and, on the other hand, I have been censured
for obtaining & sending copies of Gov' Bernard's letters,
altho' I obtained them in the same manner wherein from
time to time I obtained copies of papers in my former
agencies. The first parcel sent by direction of a knight
of the shire for the county of Wilts, and the second by
direction of the present Lord Mayor. The clerk wou'd
have had me receive the latter copies without his authen-
tication, which with difficulty I obtained. The point first
mentioned occasions my present writing to acquaint you
with the matter, and to desire that my letter of the 28""
ult°*** may be considered as a letter to you, whose contents
are only to be communicated to the members of the
Council, without the letter's being subjected to inspection,
or copies of it taken by any others. On signing this I
shall directly set out for Gravesend, to forward it with
the former. I am, with great respect, S',
Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
P. S. Pray do not let this matter be divulged.
The Hon. Sam"- Danforth Esq*.
1770.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 181
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANPORTH.
Fludyer Str^rt, May 11*, 1770.
Sir, — On the 8*** instant Gov' Pownall made a motion
whereof you have a copy, taken from that which he sent
me, in the progress whereof the Lord Mayor declared, as
he had done before, Gen* Gage's comiss" unconstitutional,
to which it was answered, without any avowal of its
legality, that the first comission of this sort was form'd
under the inspection of Lord Hardwick, and that the
present coffiission had six weeks before been refered to the
Attorney & Sollicitor General for their opinions which had
not yet been given.
I was unwilling to suffer in silence under censure for
obtaining and transmiting copies of those letters which so
nearlv concerned the welfare of the Province, and there-
fore drew up a petition, whereof you have a copy inclosed.
I much doubted whether it was presentable according to
the orders of the House ; but in that case it might serve
for instruction. On shewing it to the Lord Mayor, he
said it could not be presented, but wou'd answer the put-
pose aforementioned ; and in the course of the debate he
complained that you had been condemned unheard, and
that a friend of his had been censured for taking copies
necessary to your defence, and his Lordship having given
a written direction for the chief part of them, he frankly
took the matter upon himself.
The inclosed votes will shew you what was done the
next day, when the right of taxation or the present
American military comission was not mentioned. The
opposition to the Ministry being composed in part of
persons formerly concerned in measures prejudicial to the
Colonies, I was informed beforehand that they intended
to consider only the late proceedings without the least
hopes of success.
The inclosed public paper containing an essay sign'd
182 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
Creon, being said to be written by a gentleman in the
administration I send it.
From what passed on the 8"" I understood that the
troops were intended to be withdrawn; but political
measures at present are extremely uncertain, and those
lately taken have not transpired as usual. The present
state of the Province service in my humble opinion plainly
requires what I before hastily mentioned, that your intelli-
gence shou'd not be ecchoed back here. I am, with the
greatest respect. Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
Thb Hon"" Sam' Danforth, Esq'.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO JAMES BOWDOIN AND OTHERS.
Fludykr Street, Westm', May 11*. 1770.
Gentlemen, — Your letter relating to the late military
massacre at Boston, which I had the honour to receive by
express, was accompanied with such ample proofs, con-
sidered in point of number, matter, candour, propriety, &
fairness of caption, that I flatter myself they will in time
prevail, and establish the truth in the minds of all honest
men, maugre all the attempts made with art & sollici-
tude to represent the inhabitants as the aggressors. I
had some hopes of geting the authentic copies laid before
the House of Comons for consideration in this session,
with the other papers laid before them; but they are
vanished, and the Parliament will rise in a short time.
From what was openly said not long since I understood
the troops wou'd be removed, but the times abound with
uncertainty as well as difficulty. 1 have the honour to
be with great respect, and the sincerest wishes for the wel-
fare of the town. Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
1770.] BARLOW TRECOTHICK. 183
P. S. Capt" Gard'ner staid here by my directioh til this
day, in order to promote the public service by his examina-
tion in the House of Comons, or otherwise, as occasion
shou'd require.
Ja* Bowdoin, Esq* & others, a com**** of the town of Boston.
BARLOW TRECOTHICK* TO THE COMMITTEE OF i'HE
TOWN OF BOSTON.
Gentlemen, — I have already done myself the honor
to write to you by this conveyance. Just now in a con-
versation with the Duke of Richmond, his Grace (on every
occasion a constitutional friend & patron of America) sug-
gested an idea w""** if adopted must not only refute every
calumny on the humanity, but also stamp a character of
generosity & magnanimity on the inhabitants of Boston,
as well as evince their affection to the mother country &
the most sincere desire to make advances towards a full
reconciliation. The idea is this : That in case Cap' Pres-
ton & the soldiers, or any of them, should be sentenced
to death, the inhabitants do in a public town meeting
agree on an address to the Gov' to suspend their execu-
tion, & to convey to his Majesty their humble request that
he will be pleased to extend his royal mercy & pardon
them.
This procedure will be consistent w*^ every rule of
moral & religious virtue, & would afford such an oppor-
tunity to government of making ample & graceful returns
of favor as may be effectual to the case of all our sub-^
sisting differences & fully restore that cordial affection
* Barlow Trecothick was an influential merchant in London, as well as one of the
aldermen and a member of Parliament. He had been a resident in Boston, where he had
taken a prominent part in the management of the affairs of Ring's Chapel. While living
in Boston he was married, March 2, 1746-7, to Grizel, daughter of Charles Apthorp, and a
friend and corre>« pen dent of Mn». John Temple. He died in I/)ndon, June 2, 1775. See
Foote*8 Annals of King's Chapel, vol. i. p. 523; vol. ii. p. 69, note. — Eds.
\
184 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
& attachment on both sides w*** only can establish public
peace & general security. I am, with the greatest respect,
Gent",
Yo' most obed. hum. serv*,
Barlow Trecothick.
House of Commons, 16* May, 1770.
Inclosed I send you copy of resolutions to be moved for
by his Grace, supported by all y' other friends in the
House of Peers, on Fryday next. Parliament is to be
prorogued on Saturday the 19*** instant. My Lord Duke
desires me to add that he shall esteem himself particularly
fortunate if this suggestion of his is adopted, as he hopes
the greatest good might result from so generous & manly
a proceeding, & altho' he has always been attached to
Aiherica, thinking they have met with hard treatment, &
will ever be zealous that Great Britain should recover
& preserve the affections of the Americans by good usage,
w*** he thinks the only tye that can be lasting, yet if this
plan could be pursued he should think himself doubly
bound by the tie of gratitude to promote on all occasions
their true interests which must ever be the same with
those of Great Britain.
To THE Gent' of the Comittbe of the Town of Boston.
RESOLUTIONS.
1. Resolved, That in several of his Majesties Colonies in
North America, disorders have of late prevailed, prejudi-
cial to the trade and commerce of this kingdom & destruc-
tive to the peace & prosperity of the said Colonies.
2. Resolved, That the letter of the Earl of Hillsborough
of the 22* of April, 1768, to Francis Bernard, Esq', Gover-
nor of the Massachusets Bay was a common oflSice letter
without any particular mark or special direction for keep-
ing the same or any part of the same secret.
3. Resolved, that it does not appear that any direction
1770.] BARLOW TRECOTHICK. 485
of secrecy had been given in any seperate letter or paper
transmitted with the said letter.
4. Resolved, That said letter did contain an order for
dissolving the Assembly of the Province of Massachusets
Bay upon their refusal to comply with certain propo-
sitions.
5. Resolved, That Gov' Bernard did lay the said propo-
sitions before the Assembly, and did threaten the said
Assembly with a dissolution & its consequences, and did
in vindication and support of such proceedings lay before
the Assembly the said letter of the Earl of Hillsborough.
6. Resolved, That the directing the dissolution of the
Assemblies of North America upon their refusal to comply
with certain propositions operated as a menace, injurious
to the deliberative capacity of the Assemblies, excited
discontent, and contributed to produce unjustifiable com-
binations.
7. Resolved, That the Assemblies of North America hav-
ing been dissolved for not disavowing or discountenancing
certain combinations, the suffering new Assemblies to sit
without disavowing or discountenancing the said combina-
tions, was a proceeding full of inconsistency, and tending
to lower in the minds of his Majesty's subjects in America
all opinion of the wisdom & firmness of his Majesty's
councils.
8. Resolved, That Lord Botetourt, his Majesty's Gover-
nor of the Province of Virginia, was instructed by a
letter from the Earl of Hillsborough in the following
words, — "His Majesty relys upon your prudence and
fidelity for such an explication of his measures, &c."
9. Resolved, That these his Majesty's measures appear
by the said letter to be measures concerning the distinc-
tion of certain principles of taxation and the repeal of cer-
tain taxes imposed by authority of Parliament.
10. Resolved, That in consequence of the said instruc-
tions Lord Botetourt was authorised (as far as a letter of
186' THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
a Secretary of State was authority) to state these measures
as his Majesty's measures, and to explain the same accord-
ing to his notions of prudence.
11. Resolved, That Lord Botetourt did accordingly
assure the Assembly that his Majesty would rather lose
his Crown than preserve it by deceit.
12. Resolved, That this declaration is highly improper,
inasmuch as it is personally involving his Majesty in the
measures of his Ministers.
13. Resolved, That the said assurance related to the
repeal of certain taxes and the distinction of certain
duties.
14. Resolved, That it is unwarrantable, of dangerous
consequence, and an high breach of the priviledge of
Parliament to promise to the Assemblies in North America
the interposition or influence of his Majesty or of his con-
fidential servants with Parliament in any manner which
may tend to create an opinion in those Assemblies that
such interposition or influence must necessarily bring on a
repeal of any duties or taxes laid or to be laid by author-
ity of Parliament.
15. Resolved, That it is highly derogatory from his
Majesty's honor and from the freedom of Parliamentary
deliberation to pledge the faith of the Crown to the said
Assemblies for the repealing or laying on, or continuing,
or not laying of any taxes or duties whatsoever.
16. Resolved, That to give assurances in his Majesty's
name distinguishing certain principles of taxation & dis-
claiming an intention to propose any taxes within the said
description in order to establish and justify unwarrant-
able distinctions has a tendency further to disturb the
minds of his Majesty's subjects in America & to weaken
the authority of lawfuU government.
17. Resolved, That to lay before this House suggestions
of treason or misprision of treason subsisting in America
in order to bring this House into a plan for the repressing
1770.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 187
& punishing such supposed treasons & misprisions of
treason when in reality no such treasons or misprisions
of treason did subsist, or if they did subsist, no measures
whatsoever have been taken or appear to have been
intended for apprehending & punishing the persons con-
cerned in the same, is an audacious insult on the
dignity of Parliament, & in its consequences tends either
to bring a reflexion on the wisdom and justice of Parlia-
ment, or to encourage treasons and treasonable practices
by neglecting to carry into execution measures recom-
mended by Parliament.
18. Resolved, That these many ill-judged & inconsis-
tent proceedings have .been a principal cause of the afore-
said disorders.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Fludyer Street, May 19*^, 1770.
Sir, — Yesterday was appointed for Lord Chatham to
make a motion respecting the state of America ; but his
Lordship was so far indisposed that he cou'd not attend ;
nevertheless the papers laid before the House were read,
after which the Duke of Richmond proposed questions of
the same general nature with those which were proposed
in the House of Coinons on the 9*** inst^ whereupon Lord
Hillsborough made a motion to adjourn, which was sup-
ported by a great majority, so these questions will not be
enter'd in the journals. I say this wholly from informa-
tion, for the door-keeper on my application told me that
according to the orders given no Lord cou'd carry with
him any person into the House, that he cou'd not desire
any Lord to come out to any body, nor carry in any paper
to any of their Lordships. This day the Parliament was
prorogued.
188 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
The new extraordinary powers given to the Courts of
Admiralty in the colonies being, in my opinion, not only
nnconstitutional & derogatory of your provincial powers
of judicature, but likewise rendered grievous by proceed-
ings relative to execution inconsistent in several cases
with the civil as well as coinon law, according to the rep-
resentations contained in the merchants' observations, the
Province service, as well as the interest of the merchants,
I conceive, requires that authentic copies be sent of the
whole proceedings in some of the cases most notorious for
the hardships suffered by the defendants. The irregular
& groundless prosecution of M' Hancock, in order to sub-
ject him to large penalties, is plai;ily one of those cases.
Copies of the like prosecutions against M' Gray & others
may also be serviceable, with copies of the proceedings
to condemnation of the two coasting vessels for trifling
causes ; and I shall write by this ship to the comittee of
merch*" hereupon. It is needless to say that allegations
without proper proofs ready to support them rather dis-
serve than advance a cause when redress is sought from
proper authority. In a casual conversation which I lately
had with one of the Lords of Trade he mentioned a Court
of Exchequer as proper for trial of comercial offenses,
upon which I observed that your Superior Court having
proper authority, I had as counsel been concerned in ob-
taining several verdicts in such cases in favour of the
King, &c.
Some of the colonies, I am informed, have coinittees of
correspondence with their agents, in order to prevent on
occasion any of their mutual communications being made
known to their prejudise. I am, with great respect. Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"" Sam** Danforth, E8q*.
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 189
THOMAS POWNALL TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN
OF BOSTON.
London, June — , 70.
Gentlemen, — My last letters to you in answer to
yours of March were dated May 11, & were sent by Cap^
Gardiner. I hope you have received them safe, & that
they will have had their effect in recommending you to
act with moderation & mercy rather than to exact severe
justice in the case of Cap^ Preston & the soldiers. I
therein also acquainted you that as Ministry, in answer to
the arguments on which I supported my motion respect-
ing y* army establishment in America, had declared that
his M ^y had given orders to have y state of that
establishment referrd to y* Crown lawyers upon y* points
of doubt in law & government which had arisen, I thought
it would be prudent as well as just to believe that they
were in earnest & meant fairly ; to give them credit & to
hold them pledged by thus crediting ; suspending in the
mean time all opposition on that point, to meet them on
that ground of reconciliation & reunion which a revision
of that point might give. And I do verily believe that
if Lord North's good sense & integrity could have their
full operation all might be reconciled ; but, that I may not
draw you into a dangerous security by my former advice
to you to suspend all fear, I think it now my duty to say
that I have my fears that if y* case of y* franchises &
rights of the Americans & of the constitutions of their
governments is not duely stated (upon which case only so
as it is stated will a lawyer give his opinion), the opinions
of the Crown lawyers may be aberrant from truth, contra-
dictory to right, & dangerous & delusive in practice. If
what I have heard be true that the case has been once so
stated, & such opinions given thereon that it hath been
thought necessary to have a new case or fresh matter
190 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
stated, I have a right to doubt any good coming from
such opinions. And if those who should state these cases
are so uninformd of the right & actual case as to be liable
to indecision in y* stating, they may receive opinions
armed with which they may think themselves justifyed in
law when they are acting in direct violation of y* rights
& constitutions of y* Colonies as by law established, as I
think the giving the command of any land forces (posted
within y* limitts of the jurisdiction of any Province) to
any other commander than to y* King's locum tenens, the
supream civil magistrate, would be. You already know
my opinion on that head, I speak as an Englishman of
y* realm, wishing to guard my country and my country-
men here of y* realm against that most dangerous, pesti-
lential of all diseases in y* civil constitution, military power.
It is most dangerous when it first seizes y* extremities, &
more especially so, when it appears in its first symptoms as
a remedial crisis of some supposed disease in y* community,
of some supposed defect in the civil authority. In such
cases while you keep strictly within the bounds of duty,
scrupulously within y* line of law, clear (both as a body cor-
porate & as subjects in your individuality) of all possibility,
by legal charge, of imputation of non usage or abuse of your
franchises, you certainly have a right by all legal courses
in your courts of law, by all constitutional means in your
general assemblies, to oppose & object to y* establishment
of a military force within y* limitts of your Province
which is not under y* command of your Governor, the
supream civil magistrate as the King's locum tenens.
Under this general head I think some events which have
taken place in y* Province, & some stepps proposed in
consequence of them, will bring on a nice & intricate ques-
tion touching the command of Castle William, so nice &
so intricate that I do not know what terms to use in the
stating of it. Should a measure talked of ever be carried
into execution, that also would bring forward a like
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 191
difficulty under y* same question, — I mean y* building a
citadel on Fort Hill.
The whole tenor of my correspondence with my f reinds
in America, & of my advice to those here who would give
me the hearing, has been trying to form some line of
reconciliation & reunion, & from time to time as y* cases
changed to advise each party by conceding somewhat to
take such ground as might meet that line. But I find
that I have been the dupe of my own good wishes. The
great men here despise my advice, & I see enough both in
the ignorance & in y* bad temper of men never more to
advise any thing but that (entrenching yourselves in y*
rights of Englishmen as your citadel & within your Char-
ter rights as works which guard that citadel in America)
you take special & more than ordinary care that no ad-
vantage is taken against you by your advancing any
works beyond y* ground that those rights extend to, nor
by y* conduct of your people, whereby it may be charged
against you that either the peace is not kept, or that you
have abused your franchises, or that the jurisdiction of
the civil magistrate is not exerted to the support of gov-
ernment, which you are bound to maintain under pen-
alty of forfeiture of those franchises. You will see how
necessary this advice is when you hear that the Privy
Council have been sitting several daies in examination of,
& in deliberation (as it is said) upon, y* affairs of Boston
& of y* Province [of] Massachusetts Bay. They have ex-
amined many persons upon oath as to y* state of the peace
& of government there. They have had, as I have heard,
an authentic copy of some incautious letter said to be writ-
ten from y* town of Boston to Salem. The persons whom
I have heard mentioned as examined are S' F. Bernard,
M' Harrison, M' Robinson, Cap* Scott, & a young man
lately come from Boston whose name is Bridgeman. The
points to which these examinations pointed were y* state
of the peace & of government at Boston, whether y* Crown
192 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
officers could find protection in carrying on the business
of the Crown^ &c. I understand that this step has been
taken in order that they may be grounded in facts when
they shall come to advise his Majesty what course to take
in these affairs, either as acting in y* executive line or as
preparing some plan of measures to be proposed to Parlia-
ment. But candor here will ask what kind of ground in
facts can such an evidence taken ex parte & founded rather
in opinion than testimony give? However upon such
like grounds they are to form their plan which is to be
hereafter proposed, & in y* mean while certain measures
are to be taken as preventive only^ Various are y* con-
jectures & rumors which are circulating as to what is
intended.
Some say y* general rendevous of the fleet is to be at
Boston, & that your trade will be putt under a restraint
more strict than usual, & more so than is observed els-
where. I can scarce credit this ; yet think it right to
mention it as a caution to you.
The fixing the Custom House at Castle Island is a
measure that hath been suggested, but this seems too
foolish, & yet I will not say but it may be true.
Now if upon y* grounds which Ministry shall take they
should be able to state it as a case. That within y* juris-
diction of the Province the peace is not preserved ; that
y* subject is not protected in his property, the servant of
y* Crown in his oflBce ; that there hath been a non usage
on one hand & an abuse on y* other of your franchises ; —
your Charter itself may be attacked by a writt of quo
warranto from y* courts, or by some act in Parliament.
Nay, if no legal prosecution wou'd lye against you, yet
on grounds of general policy & expediency some altera-
tions (as for instance in your Council) may be meditated
& advised. You ought therefore to have here a proper
agent & also a kgal atlomet/ to appear for you in the
Courts. Remember how your last Charter was lost by
1770.] THOMAS HOLLIS. 193
default of appearance. One part also of the plan talked
of, & I beleive intended, is to give to your Governors
more extensive & independent salaries. If it is meant
thereby to make y* government exterior in its principle I
need not here repeat an opinion which I have so fully
given on this head in Parliament.
However, notwithstanding all this, if you take y* com-
mon precautions & act with no more than common sense
& keep your temper, I shall have no great fears for you.
Yet to be forewarnd is y* first step to security. 1 am with
respect & affection to y* town & Province, Gentlemen,
Y' friend & serv*.
T. POWNALL.
THOMAS HOLLIS* TO JAMES BOWDOIN AND OTHERS.
Palmal, June 18, 1770.
Gentlemen,
The packet, with a duplicate letter, dated March 23,
1770, was received this day.
I shall be proud, at all times, to shew respect to the peo-
ple of the Town of Boston, and Province of Massachusetts,
believing them to be a virtuous, loyal and magnanimous
people. . But, so ordinary a person am I, and so very a
Whig, that I do not apprehend I can be of other use to
them, than to send them a few books occasionally for
their College. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen,
Your most humble servant
T. HOLLIS.
The Hon. James Bowdoin, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Samuel Pem-
BERTON, EsQm at Boston, in New England.
* Grand-nephew of the eminent benefactor of Harvard College. He was bom in 1720,
and died in 1774. He lived most of bin life in seclusion, and attended no church, though he
is d^cribed as a person of unusual piety. He was greatly interested in literature, and
made numerous and important gifts to Harvard College. At bis death he left bis property
to Thomas Brand, who took the name of Hollis. See Dictionary of National Biography,
▼ol. xxvii. pp. 176, 177; Quincy*i Hist, of Harvard University, vol. ii. pp. 144-147.
— Eds.
. 13
194 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO SAMUEL HOOD.
Boston, July 7, 1770.
Dear Sir, — The latest intelligence from England was
rec* here last evening by Capt. Gardiner, who was sent
thither express with the town's dispatches on y* subject of
the late massacre. The representations of that aflfair con-
tained in y* papers that went by M' Robson occasioned
great resentment to be expressed against y* town, and
regiments and men-of-war were at least talked of to be
sent hither in consequence of it. But on Gardiner's ar-
rival and delivering his dispatches y* resentment subsided,
and an end was put to the design of sending troops and
men-of-war. There are several letters in answer to our
dispatches, in one of which from a member of Parliament
dated May 11*** it is said that as the troops are withdrawn
from the town the ministry have given assurances that
they shall not return, unless they shall be required by the
civil magistrates, which, he adds, is a thing not likely to
happen. This will be some disappointment to the Com-
missioners who, it seems, are making one more effort
to procure troops under color of safety ; they have again
betaken themselves to the Castle, and are playing y* same
farce over again as was played off in 1768. But they
would have been as safe here as they could be anywhere ;
perhaps safer, not because they have given y* people here
reason to have any perticular affection for them, but be-
cause it was conceived they were desirous of some insult,
in order to urge therefrom y* necessity of quartering
troops upon the town, in which case there was no disposi-
tion to oblige them, and because it was apprehended their
own conduct would procure the dissolution of their Board.
You can be no stranger to their conduct since the 5**" of
March. It has been so very absurd, that 'tis thought
they were in distress for something to cover it, some at-
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 195
tack upon them, though made out of due time, to justify
it. Hence it is pretty generally believed that the break-
ing of M' H's windows at Brooklyn * and the nominal or
real assault upon M' Comptrol' P t were executed, or pro-
cured to be executed, by the outdoor people of the Custom
House. But supposing they had no previous knowledge
of it, such a trifling affair could afford no reason for the
Commissioners running away to the Castle, any more than
y* soldiers killing a number of persons on the 5**" of March
could be a reason for their removing a few miles out of
town & discontinuing their Board. What effect their
new representations will produce a few months will dis-
cover. So long as such men are continued in oflSces in
America, it may be expected animosities between Britain
and the Colonies will continue, even if all the late revenue
laws were repealed.
When I rec* y' last favour (of y* 24*'' of April) &c., ab*
M' Peacock's affair, &c.
I have y* honor to be Y", &c.
J. BOWDOIN.
To Sami* Hood, Comodore, at Halifax.
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, July 10, 70.
D* Sir, — I sitt down & write by this vessel w*** sails
to-morrow to acquaint you that I wrote to you by y*
packett; y* mail went from London for Falmouth last
* Henry Hulton, one of the CommiMionere of the Costomi. On the eyacuation of
Boston he went to Halifax with the British troops, and afterward to Enj^land, where he
died in 1790. (See Sahine*fl American Loyalists, vol. i. p. 554.) The Boston Evening-
Post of June 25, 1770, says, — *' We hear from Brookline, that on Tuesday Night last,
between 11 and 12 o*CIock, tlie Windows of the Dwelling-Hoase of Mr. Hulton, one of
the Commissioners of the Customs, were broke by Persons unknown. Upon Complaint
made by Mr. Hulton, his Honor the Lientenant-Governor, with the Advice of his Majesty's
Council, has issued a Proclamation offering a Reward of £50 for the Discovery of the
Offenders. We hear Mr. Hulton has since retired to the Castle." — Eds.
t James Porter, Comptroller-General of the Customs. He left Boston, with the British
army, in March, 1776. — Eds.
196 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS, [1770.
Saturday. I enclosed in that letter one for y* Comit-
tees of y* town of Boston who had written to me in March,
which I beggd the favor of you to communicate to them.
I shall in a few daies write by a safe hand & will apprise
you of all that has been under planning & is intended,
with my sentiments thereon. I write this only to acquaint
you that if you or any of my freinds wrote any letters to
me or to D' Franklin by y* Lydia, Cap* Scott, by y*
Thomas, Cap* Davis, or y* Susannah, C* Johnson, none are
come to hand, & to suggest to you & our freinds not to
come to any premature resolutions or decisions 'till you
are fully apprized of y* ground your affairs are likely to
be sett on, which you shall be by one who loves y* people
he was once connected with, & from a real knowledge of
your good heart & excellent head is, with every sentiment
of esteem,
Your affect, freind & ser.
T. POWNALL.
The Honi* James Bowdoin, Esq.
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, July 14, 70.
To Y' Hon"" James Bowdoin, Esq. : D* Sir, — I
wrote to you on y* 7"* instant, enclosing a letter to y*
gentlemen of y* Committees of y* Town of Boston who
had written to me on y* affairs of that Town & of y*
Province; a duplicate is enclosed under y* same cover
with this. I had been more explicit & particular than,
upon consultation with a freind, a considerable lawyer,
was thought safe, considering the exceeding maliciousness
& violence of bad men who have power, & that I am one
marked as an American partizan. I feel so much & fear
so much for general liberty, & for that of America in
particular, that, would my private domestic connections
have permitted it, I would have come this summer to
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 197
Boston to have had some communication & explanation
with my freinds there. Advice must be grounded on y*
teal & actual state of things & of measures, & yet it is
not safe alway to state y* one or to point out y* other.
This is more particularly y* case at present. However,
I think I cannot be misunderstood by my friends, nor
misinterpreted by my enemies.
I have been alway advising my freinds in America to
concessions, flattering myself that I saw some hopes that
there was a temper which w* make some here ; but I
have been deceived. Those who think themselves abso-
ItUely right do not think they could be justifyed in making
any concessions wherein they think they should give up
y* rights of government. Those of two contending par-
ties who think they have y* power will seldom have y*
candor & good sense to give up part, so as to retain y* rest
undisputed. Hence those who are weakest seldom think
it safe to make concessions, especially if such are to give
up any thing that may abate their right, or lessen their
legal ability to prosecute that right. Upon these grounds,
I tell you fairly, I have lost all hopes of any accommoda-
tion. The advice contained in the enclosed memorandum
was given & explained from some hopes which I thought
I saw in y* good sense & good disposition of L* North of
accommodation & of a wish to take reconciling healing
measures. I still retain my opinion of his good wishes &
good intentions, but alas, he has not power to do y* good
he would, while others take y* lead. I send you a copy
of it that by seing what will not be accepted here, you
may be y* better apprised what you have to trust to.
You will see that I confined my conversation, opinions, &
advice to y* three points on which my friends of y* town
& Province express their most earnest wishes, 1. y*
revenue laws ; 2. the military ; 3 y* Commissioners of the
Custom in America.
I think I may venture to apprise you that the plan
198 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
is certainly, to alter your Charter; to make y* Council
derive from y* nomination of the Crown, instead of aris-
ing from election. The dividing y* legislative from y*
Privy Council hath been talked of. The first to be qiiam-
diu se bene gesserit; y* other to be durante benh placito.
The giving your Governors, &c., independent salaries is, I
believe, certainly intended. Whether any alteration in
your Charter as to y* command of y* military is intended
I have not learned, but suspect it, & think it a most
dangerous one, if y* command is made exterior of &
paramount to the civil. And yet upon these plans of
attack & alteration, I cannot but be of opinion, that if
Ministry remember y* precedents of James y* 2*, when he
attacked y* charters of corporations, they will not venture
to bring your affairs into y* courts of law ; for they can-
not judge your charter to be vacated on any grounds
which may not extend to every charter within y* realm.
Lett them then consider what a spirit of alarm & terror
they will spread through y* land, proximus ardei Ucalegon
will make it every man's case. And if they attempt
y* moving of old boundaries & make alterations upon
subsequent ideas of expediency & policy, that will lay
open a ground on which every Charter & grant of every
kind may be dissolved. If Ministers mean thus to attack
you, & do attack you in your rights, read over y* prece-
dents in Charles y* 1"* time as to y* method by which y*
Irish attacked Ministers who attempted innovations on
their constitution, & particularly by y* military line, you
will find that they appointed commissioners ^ arm'd with
proper evidence to make good a charge against them,
when y* times permitted it. I should be glad to have
your opinion on this head. Whenever it shall be neces-
sary to appoint such commissioners & y* times permitt it
you must join some freinds here in such commission
whom you can trust & have a confidence in, that under-
stand y* mode of doing business here.
1770.] LORD NORTH AND GOVERNOR POWNALL. 199
On y* subject of alterations in your Charter, would it
not be a wise step for you yourselves to take up some
measure of incorporating by an act of your own your
townships or districts into some fomi of magistracy ^ so as
to secure y* form agreeable to yourselves & suitable to your
Charter privileges, lest some such form as w* not suit,
and such as you w* not like, might be imposed upon you
by some other act ?
I think in the present crisis of danger & difficulty, you
ought to excuse no town from sending their representa-
tives to General Court. All ought to attend.
You will hear that P Hillsborough has taken M' Knox *
as his Under Secretary. This is y* gentleman who wrote
expressly against y* Americans in a flippant pamphlet.
This cannot but be a marking symptom. Lett me hear
from you. Pray make my respects to all friends, parti-
cularly to those I used to meet at your house & to those
of your own family. I am, d' Sir,
Y' affec. friend.
T. PoWNALL.
CONVERSATION BETWEEN LORD NORTH AND GOVERNOR
POWNALL.
June y« 5»*», 1770.
Mem"" of a Conversation.
pointed out in general as
the ground & principles whereon he shou'd establish what
he afterwards spoke to, the different operation of internal
& external government.
Confin'd y* conversation in particular to the three fol-
lowing points.
* William Knox was born in Ireland in 1732, was Under Secretary of State from 1770
to 1782, and died in England, Aug. 25, 1810. He was a zealous advocate of the claims of
the mother country in the disputes with the Colonies, and published numerous tracts and
volumes on the subject. See N. T. Col. Docs., vol. viii., pp. 803, 804, note.— Eds.
200 THE BOWDOIX AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
1**. Recommended such a revision of y* laws for y* reg-
ulation of y* American trade & of those laying duties, as
that by throwing all into one on a constitutional ground
the causes of complaint made by y* Colonies might be re-
mov'd, & yet government here not dishonor'd by express
concessions, if they thought the concessions made by a re-
peal of any law such dishonor. Because such general law
form'd on a new plan, & framed & conducted on commer-
cial purposes, all y* parts in y* old laws w***" gave offence
would fall of course & yet such express repeal be avoided.
Gov^ might then on this new ground take y* line w*"** dis-
tinguishes y* imposing taxes on any property lyeing within
& being y* property of subjects of a jurisdiction lyeing &
being without the realm so imposing y* taxes, from y*
imposts & duties laid on property & being without the
limitts of that jurisdiction, & laying & being either within
& of y* realm or passing thro' y* seas whereto y* rights
of that jurisdiction do not extend & where such property
must pass under y* such regulations as y* sovereignty
there permitting & protecting it shall prescribe. That
taking this line of distinction without any express decla-
ration of rights, & leaving out all declarations w''** appro-
priate y* summs rais'd to y* purpose of revenue & for y*
support of government independent of y* grants of y* peo-
ple, &c., such a revision & such a plan of laws of trade
might lead to reconciliation & union betwixt j'* mother
country & y* Colonies.
II. That the people of America wou'd never acquiesce,
howsoever they might be reduc'd to submitt, under the
establishment of a standing army raised & kept up without
communication w*** y* will of their respective communities
& cojunianded independent of & paramount to their supreara
civil magistrate. That they wou'd alway consider such
army as foreign to their jurisdiction, as an external force,
not y^ force of the communit?/^ that the civil jurisdiction, thus
thinking, wou'd not only not aid, but from a necessary &
1770.] LORD NORTH AND GOVERNOR POWNALL- 201
constitutional jealousy wou'd by all legal courses & by all
constitutional methods obstruct & counteract that state
& establishment of the military in every line whose direc-
tion proceeded ah extra.
That y* people of these American jurisdictions conceiv-
ing that taxes were imposed on them by an exertion of
authority for purposes of revenue, independent of their
free grants, and that a military force (which was no part
of y* force of y* community) was collected ab extra^ wou'd
never be induc'd on any further occasion by any requisi-
tion whatever to raise a revenue for these same pur-
poses, nor to create a military in addition to this already
establish'd, whose establishment they do not acquiesce
under. That the attempt to maintain this establishment
of y* military wou'd involve y* government of y^ mother
country in a dispute as entangled & intricate & as obstinately
urg'd & carried to as dangerous lengths as y* dispute on tax-
ation. That all this might be avoided by putting this matter
of government on its right basis, that is, by government's
applying by requisition to y* several Colonies to raise each,
in proportion to y* necessity of the service & to their abili-
ties, a certain number of men, upon y* same terms pre-
cisely, & in y* same manner, as Ireland doth; & by
settling it as y* proper measure of Colony administration
that those several bodies of men thus rais'd by each Colony
shou'd be under y* jurisdiction while within y* precincts
of it, precisely & exactly as y* troops in Ireland are under
y jurisdiction of that kingdom, & under y* military com-
mand of y* supream civil commander. Yet, nevertheless,
wherever & in whatever manner it shou'd be necessary to
collect these several bodies into one command, that then
some civil officer in time of peace, or a military comman-
der-in-chief in time of war, might have y* same power to
command these exactly & precisely as y* state holder in
y* Seven United Provinces {mutatis mutandis) commands
y* several troops of y* several provinces, when employ'd
202 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
as y® army of y* States General, whereas y* sovereignty of
each province commands each its own troops when not so
employed. That an army so constituted wou'd answer all
the internal purposes of force added to y* aid of govern-
ment, because y* supream civil magistrate wou'd have no
scruple where force was really wanted to apply this as it
was y^ force of y* community acting upon itself, whereas
whatever may be y* necessity for force as matters now
stand, there is not a civil magistrate in that country who
will ever call in y* aid of y* military. That an array so
constituted wou'd answer all y* possible use of defence in
all ordinary cases & wou'd of course be increased as y* case
of danger encreas'd to all possible extraordinary cases.
III. That there was another point w''^ he wou'd
take up, not as a point so much respecting y* constitution
as matter of expediency & effect in practice, respecting
Colony administration. And that was the false policy of
y* establishment of a revenue board out of \f realm. He
explain'd y* reason of all y* difficulties this board mett
w**", of y* inconveniency, defect, & danger of it, & then
pointed out that the right step w* be to throw the whole
business of y* inspection & administration of y* laws of
trade in the Colonies into the old known, wise & proper
office of y* naval officer as y* deputy, subordinate to y*
Governor who was primarily responsible for y* due ad-
ministration thereof. That this office thus subordinate
to, & deriving y* power of its execution from y* Govern-
or & y* jurisdiction of y* Province or Colony, wou d act
under & with & be aided by the interior powers of the
civil jurisdiction within which it was plac'd, wou'd there
become effective & effectual & give vigour to y* regulations
of y* American trade in its due subordination to that of y*
mother country, instead of exacting by force ah extra a
rigorous execution of points w*"*" only distress it.
Tndorsod, " Mem® of a Conversation between Grov^ Pownall & Lord North,
June 5, 1770, refer*^ to in M' Pown^'* letter dated July 14, 1770."
1770.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 203
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
(Duplicate, with P. S. added.)
Fludter Street, July 16***, 1770.
Sir, — Inclosed you receive an act of Parliament passed
in the late session for incouraging plantation indico,
which contains a clause respecting the fees of the officers
of the customs & the naval officers. This clause was in-
troduced when the House of Comons was siting in a
comittee of the whole House. When introduced it was
perpetual, and much contended for to continue so by a
minister* member, with some others of the same side;
but being opposed, chiefly by the Lord May' & two other
members of my acquaintance, one of whom, tho' he often
votes with the ministry, opposed this totis viribiLS, it was
rendered temporary, as you will find it.
Divers persons having on different days been lately
examined on oath by the Privy Council touching certain
proceedings at Boston, many supposed this was done with
intent to lay a foundation of some adverse measures to be
pursued against the Province, or that town in particular,
or both, some supposing that an attempt would be made
to repeal your Charter ; others that milit*^ forces wou'd
be employed to curb & humble the capital til the con-
sideration of Parliament cou'd be had. Being indisposed
during the chief part of these motions by the hurts
received from a fall, I was obliged to some of my friends
for information. On the 9"^ inst* a gentleman who re-
ceived his intelligence in such a manner as render d it
probable, for what is certain is become very rare, came &
told me that some severe measures proposed by Lord H.
had been rejected by the far greater part of the Council.
Two days afterw*** a worthy gentleman inform'd me the
min*^ had determined naval & land forces shou'd be col-
lected & sent to Boston j the latter shou'd enter the town,
204 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
& remain there til Parliamentary measures shou'd be
taken. Alarm' d by these proceedings, on Friday, the
13% I went to the Plantation Office, and desiring to speak
with the Secry, saw him, & spake briefly to him concern-
ing this matter; but being extremely busy, he appointed
me to come there to-day, tho' I press'd for the next day.
However on that morning by a written message he let me
know he was ready to see me ; whereupon going directly
to him, I told him I had while indisposed received dis-
agreeable advice, and mentioned the particulars. After
civilly saying that if I cou'd not conveniently have come
to him, he wou'd have come to me, he in strong terms
declared against all intention of any proceeding against
your Charter; as to other measures he seem'd rather
enclined to soften the account of matters than to be at
all explicit, which I imputed to the nature of his office &
of the measures themselves, with the disposition of the
times. After saying I was by nature & policy averse to
severities, I observed that violence begat violence, and
mentioned the late military violence ; that an angry cause
required temper for its management ; that severities
against a part wou'd make a comon cause, and that there
was no difference to this kingdom between losing the
Colonies & losing the benefit of them, to which severities
tended. I am, with all due respect. Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
p. S. In the course of the debate touching the above-
ment* clause, it was said, without being gainsaid, that it
originated in a design to regulate the port of Boston.
Thb Honbu Sami- Danforth, £sq>.
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 205
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
(Private.) London, July 21, 70.
D" Sir, — Enclosed with this I send you a letter which
1 have written that you may communicate as circum-
stances & prudence may best direct. In the first place to
those friends of y* Province who are your freinds, or to
those in general who are really freinds of Liberty. There
are amongst some, some fals freinds who keep up corre-
spondencies here with people that you little suspect. It
would therefore be wise to form a circle of a few that
can be trusted with confidential communication. I beg
my respect to y* Speaker, to M' Hancock, M' Adams, &
all those particularly who were my friends when I was in
the Province. I am, d' Sir,
Y' affec^ f reind & ser.
T. PowNALL.
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, July 21, '70.
D" Sir, — I have in all my letters very distinctly
marked the ground which Ministry mean to take in their
dealings with the Americans, but especially with Boston
& the Province Massachusetts Bay. You also are ap-
prized in general of y* evidence & y nature of it by which
they attempt to establish that ground. You have also
very explicitly been informed of y* measures which are to
be taken on that ground. Permitt me in this letter
(which you may communicate to particular friends) to
suggest what grounds you ought to take on your parts.
As soon as this arrives, if you have not done it before,
you ought to apply by petition or otherwise to y* Governor
to call y* General Court to sitt forthwith. You ought to
take up y* consideration of the defense which the Prov-
206 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
ince (as a corporation) ought to be ready .prepared with,
in case the Charter should be attacked in the courts of
law. You ought forthwith to prepare such matters for
explanation, information, and defense as may be applyed
by your friends, if the Province & its Charter is attacked
in Parliament.
You ought forthwith to appoint agents (not oney but
more as you will see presently) with proper coraissions &
powers for y* purposes following. I have for a long time
& very maturely, at my leisure, considered your situation ;
& I think you ought to appoint three agents or commis-
sioners jointly under the same commission, — two from
within y* Province to be joined with one here who knows
the way of persons & things here. That one ought to be
in Parliament, so as that he may in Jus j)lace do what will
then become his duty to do, defend your cause as your
representative there. I have said three from y* apprehen-
sion that if two should differ your business might not be
at a stand ; but if you could find two persons who were in
real freindly communication, were of y* same sentiments,
& as equally in your confidence as one of your own cor-
poration & one not of it can be, two such w* do better.
If it were possible to persuade M' Bowdoin to undertake
this commission, I know one here who would, without
any pay, salary, or appointment whatever, be ready to be
joined with him, & would act unitedly and confidentially
with him in every matter that concerned your cause.
Two such would do better than more ; but upon this point
you must consult among yourselves.
The next point respects y* commissions I think your
comissioners or agents should have two different commis-
sions (all jointly appointed in each), one solely for y* pur-
pose of conducting your affairs in the courts of law;
another for the management of your affairs with govern-
ment & in Parliament. The first ought either to appoint
these commissioners as your lawfull attorneys, such as a
1770.] THOMAS POWXALL. 207
corporation is bound to have appeay for it, or to empower
them to appoint such. These commissioners ought to
have power to retain & employ counsel!, &c., & to do
every act & deed in y* name of y* corporation which shall
become necessary in a course of law, liable to such in-
structions as you may think wise & prudent to direct or
restrain said commissioners by. The other commission
ought to contain power to petition or remonstrate on one
or all matters of greivance or complaint which you may
direct them, either by y commission itself or by instruc-
tions, to exhibit & prosecute. As it is impossible for y*
Province (so farr removed from persons & things here) to
judge what may, and what may not with best improve-
ment & success be brought forward at one time or at
another as persons, ministries, & various connections shall
vary & change, your commissioners ought by their com-
missions, if possible, if not so yet by their instructions, to
be duely authorised & impowered to exhibit each matter
& thing separately & by itself, so as that it may be in their
power to treat of & negotiate upon any one matter (inde-
pendent of others) & of such from time to time as opor-
tunity offerrs or occasion calls for, or aid & assistance can
be obtained thereupon. These several matters may pos-
sibly be comprised under these different heads, — matters
respecting taxation & revenue laws ; the establishment of
y* military ; the establishment of commissioners & other
officers of exterior revenue ; all matters respecting your
charter rights, your jurisdiction, & your Province as a
corporation; all matters respecting the general rights
of American colonists (independent of, & even upon y*
supposition of y* dissolution of, Charters) such as their
right to be formed into a community (when without y*
realm) with interior powers of government & all other
jurisdictions necessary to a free community.
Both the commissions & all y* separate setts of in-
structions ought to be under y great seal of the Province.
208 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
This done, you ought to appoint by election or otherwise
a standing comittee to correspond with your agents or
commissioners with full powers as to jr* matters on which
they are empowerd to correspond. All these matters
ought to be done directly & without loss of time, that
whatever measures you agree upon to be pursued here
may be settled & known here by your agents or commis-
sioners some months before y* sitting of Parliament, so
that all proper communication & correction may be pre-
pared previous to y* sessions, & previous to the terms in y*
law courts.
Whether my advice will be approved or not, I think it
not only y* best, but absolutely necessary for y* Province,
& therefore from a sincere affection to it, I have com-
municated & written it, Uberavi anhnam meam. After this
I have nothing left but my warm & sincere wishes for y*
Province & all my freinds in it. I am, d' Sir,
Yours most affectionately.
T. POWNALL.
Thb Hon*" James Bowdoin, Esq*.
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, July 21, 70.
D* SiK, — This with all my other letters will be deliv-
ered to you by Commodore Gambire, between whom &
yourself I should be happy to form a communication of
friendship. He wishes it, & not only on your own ac-
count, but on that of your country, you will be happy to
have formd & cultivated such friendship. Whatever y*
orders & instructions are that he may receive he must
execute ; but in every thing which depends upon himself,
& in y* mode of doing it, I know, not only from his own
disposition, but from y* nature of his connections here, he
comes with every disposition to befriend y* town & Prov-
1770.] THOMAS POWNALL. 209
ince, wishes to be well with y* people, desires me to make
him so, wishes to render his command (as it ought to be)
a benefit & advantage to trade & commerce, & not a dis-
tress to & oppression of it. This is disposition which the
friends of y* Province & of Liberty ought to cultivate &
improve. Upon these grounds I beg to bring you to-
gather. I know when once you are acquainted you will
not want my recommendation to each other's friendship.
Many attempts & endeavours by malicious publications
& otherwise have been made to create prejudices against
him, to render him obnoxious to y* Provinces & thus to sett
him out on bad ground with them. He has always so
conducted himself in y* service that even y* most mali-
cious have nothing to reproach him with but with an act
that was not his own ; the affair of burning y* house at
Halifax & y' pressing y* householder. This was done at
y' absolute & peremptory orders of the late Admiral Bos-
cawen.* The Admiral paid all y* costs & damages, & so
farr was Cap* Gambire from having any personal share
in y* severity of the order that he even risqued his com-
manding officer's displeasure by a lenity and tenderness
of conduct in y* mode, for which the man who was y* ob-
ject of it acknowledged every obligation to him publickly
& repeatedly. Mention y* affair yourself to the Commo-
dore, I am sure he only wishes an opportunity of having
the real case known. I beg also to recommend M" Gam-
bire to the acquaintance of your family. She is I find a
relation of y* Temples or y' Shirleys. I am, d' Sir,
Y' friend & serv.
T. POWNALL.
To Y» HoN»" James Bowdoin, Esq*.
* ** While At Halifax in 1758| acting under orders from Boscawen, he [Garobier] de«
itrojed a number of pestilent liquor sheds, and pressed the sutlers — a piece of good ser-
vice which afterwards caused him much annoyance, some of the sutlers prosecuting him at
common law, against which he was still, two years later, claiming the protection of the
admiralty/' See Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xx. p. 893. — Eds.
14
210 THE BOWDOIK AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
SAMUEL HOOD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Halifax, August 7*^, 1770.
I AM exceedingly obliged, my dear Sir, for your kind
favour of th6 7^, as I also am in a very particular man-
ner, for your great readiness in using your influence for
compromising the affair between M' Peacock & Ryan, on
the plan I proposed, but as it is rejected by Ryan, but on
terms not possible to be complied with, M' Peacock must
submit to what the Law shall decree, and I now send a
cook to the Hussar.
My successor to the naval command in this country is
M' Gambler,* who I am afraid will not be here till the
middle of next month at soonest, which will probably
subject M" Hood to a rough, when we flattered ourselves
with having a summer's, passage. I expected to be
home in all this month, but as the old saying is, what
can't be cured must be endured. Have you, my good Sir,
any command to England in my power to execute? if
you have, I shall obey them with real pleasure, if you
will give me leave ; and I shall ever be glad to hear of
the health and welfare of you & your family. I shall be
no longer a Commodore than the day of my arrival at
Spithead. S. Hood Esq' Portsmouth, Hampshire, is my
address as a private gentleman.
M" Hood joins me in best & warmest wishes to you
& M" Bowdoin, and I desire you will remember me
very kindly to Cap! Erving
I am, with great regard & esteem, my dear Sir,
Your ever faithfull and obedient humble servant
Sam. Hood.
The Hon"" J» Bowdoin, Esq*. Boston.
• Sec Dote,/70<t, p. 285. — Eds.
1770.] SAMUEL HOOD. 211
SAMUEL HOOD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Halifax, Sept' 7% 1770.
Dear Sir, — I want words to express my concern at
the disturbance which happened on the 29^ past, by an
attempt to impress a man from a coasting vessel, which
is directly contrary to my orders, and though the officer of
the Viper informs me that he did not mean to impress,
but only to recover a man who owned himself a deserter,
I disapprove of his conduct exceedingly, and am sorry the
smallest opposition is encouraged by the masters of the
coasting vessels to the King's officers, when they must be
all sensible that if a man is at any time taken by an
officer who may be led to it from his desire of keeping
his Majesty's ship to which he belongs in condition for
service with respect to men, he will be immediately
discharged on any application to the commanding officer
at the port of Boston, and I beg to assure you, Sir, that the
coasting trade shall not be molested, but encouraged and
protected to the utmost, while I have the honor to com-
mand his Majesty's squadron in these seas.* The experi-
ence I have had of your moderation and love of order
induces me to trouble you at this time, well knowing you
will spare no pains to keep the minds of the people as
quiet as possible. I have yet no account of the appoint-
ment of my successor, so that I fear I shall not see my
native country so soon as I wish. M" Hood joins me in
♦ The Masnachusetts Gazette of Sept. 20, 1770, contains the following paraj^'aph, which
was immediately copied into the other Boston papers: — '* We are informed from good
Authority, that Commodore Hood at Halifax has expressed great displeasure at the late
attempt to impress a man from a coasting yes<iel coming into this harbour: From the same
Authority we can assure the public, that the coasting trade shall not be molested, but en-
couraged and protected to the utmost while the Commodore has the command of his
Majesty's squadron in these seas.'* We have not been able to find in any of the Boston
newspapers of the time an account of this " attempt to impress/* — Eds.
212 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
best compliments to your whole family. I am, my dear
Sir,
Your most obedient and faithfull humble servant,
Sam. Hood.
I beg to be remembered to Cap* Erving.
The Hon"" James Bowdoik.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
Boston, Oct© 22*, 1770.
Deab S', — My last, w^ I think went 1P Scott, & of
w®*" you do not make mention, acknowledged y* rec* of
your two favors dated in April last. It was principally
to thank you for y* bill for regulating controverted trials
of election & your observations thereon, and particularly
to thank you in y* name of y* Kennebeck Co. for your
attention to y* affair of their appeal, w®^ you thought w*
not be heard y* 11*^ of June, though that was y* day
appointed for it. We have not heard any thing from M'
Goosetree lately concerning it. It will much oblige y*
Co. (if y' engagements in more important business
will permit it) to know from you y* present state of y'
appeal, & when tis probable judgment will be given on
it. If there had been a possibility of setling this matter
here, y* Co. w* have chosen that it should have been done.
The land in controversy is no object with them ; the
expence of attending it is greater than it is all worth.
They must have relinquished a very considerable part of
their patent, if they had acquiesced in y* final judgment
here. This obliged them to petition for liberty to appeal ;
and if y* event should be favorable to them it will be
equally beneficial to y* people that live within y* limits
of y* s** patent by quieting them in their settlem** and
preventing a great number of interfering Indian claims,
which at present lie dormant, from ruining them.
1770] JAMES BOWDOIN. 213
I have rec* your letters of the following dates, viz.,
May 11*^ & one dated June ; both of them directed to y*
Boston Com*^, also duplicate & triplicate of y* latter.
These letters have been communicated to y* s** Com**^. I
have also rec* those of July 7, 10, 14, & 21. Several of
these letters contain very important information & ad-
vice. I have comunicated them to y* Boston Rep* and
such others of the House as I thought would make a good
use of them; and they will be a good guide to direct
their measures, with regard to which they are not yet
perfectly agreed. Some talk of petitioning y King;
some of remonstrating to Parliament on y subject of our
grievances ; and some few are for doing neither, as all our
petitions & remonstrances and those of the other Colonies
have been treated with such neglect & contempt. What
you recommend in one of your letters, to act offensively
instead of y' contrary, and to attack Ministry in Parlia-
ment for y^ grievances brot. upon us by the extraordinary
measures they have taken, struck me at first as y* best
thing that could be done, and it may be so. But what
arises as a difficulty is, that Ministry have taken y* pre-
caution to get all their measures approbated & adopted
by Parliament ; so that to complain of them is a virtual
complaining of Parliament, which, however just, would
probably only serve to raise their resentment. Nothing
will or indeed can well be concluded on till another
business previous in its nature, and about which there are
contrary sentiments, is setled, viz., whether there shall be
an agent. The Council early in y* present session, w**^
commenced y^ 26*** ult*", sent a message to y' House signi-
fying to them their readiness to join with y* House in y'
choice of an agent ; and have several times since repeated
that message ; but it has not yet worked any visible
effect. A number of y* House, & some of them leading
members, are against appointing any agent ; apprehend-
ing it to no purpose to endeavour y* altering of measures
214 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
already resolved on by those who appear to have an un-
controulable influence over Parliament. A few days will
determine this matter in y* House, probably in favor of
appointing an agent, — an agent for y* House only; for
there is undoubtedly a considerable majority in favor of
such a seperate appointment in case it is determined that
there should be an agent. The Council are very desirous
that an agent should be appointed by both Houses, &
that their present agent, M' Bollan, should be y* man,
who, if y* House refuse a junction, will be continued agent
for y* Council. Your attention to American affairs, and
those of this Province in particular, manifested by your
speeches in Parliament ; the concern you express in your
letters for our rights & liberties, and your endeavours to
prevent any infraction upon them, in title you to the
thanks of y* Province. As an individual you will please
to accept mine. I agree with you it would be a good
measure that y* Province sh* have two com" or agents if
their sentiments harmonized, and it would give me great
pleasure to see you and our friend Doctor Franklin in
that relation to the Province. There are divers other
gent" talked of, particularly Serjeant Glyn & D' Leigh, said
to be y* author of y* pieces signed Junius Americanus.*
The measures of Ministry relative to this Province
which you mention as conjectural will probably prove
realities ; for several of them, viz., the removing of y*
Provincial garrison from Castle William & garrisoning
it with y* 14*^ regiment, and y* making y* harbour of
♦ Arthur I„ee. He was boFn in Westmoreland county, Virginia, Dec. 20, 1740^ was
educated in England and Scotland, and received the degree of M. D. from the University
of Edinburgh. Returning to America, he practised his profession for a short time in Vir-
ginia, and then went again to England, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar.
He was author of the letters signed "Junius Americanus," and of numerous other political
writings. In 1770 he was appointed by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts
their agent in England, to act in case of the absence or death of Dr. Franklin. Subse-
quently he ser^-ed in various diplomatic capacities on the Continent of Europe, and was
involved in some unfortunate disputes with his colleagues in Paris. In 1780 he returned
home, and was afterward elected to Congress, and served from 1784 to 1789 on the Treasury
Board. He died in Virginia, Dec. 12, 1792. See R. H. Lee's Life of Arthur Lee. — Eds.
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 215
Boston y* rendezvous of men of war, are already carried
into execution. On y* 10"" of Sept. with great secresy
CoP Dalrymple, whose regiment ever since March last
had been quartered in y* barracks on Castle Island, took
possession of y* Castle by virtue of an order from y*
L* Gov' to Cap* Phillips, who had no previous intimation
of it whatever, & who imediately surrendered y* Castle
with all its appurtenances to CoP Dalrymple. On y* same
day and about y' time of taking possession y' V' Gov'
called a Council, and read to them several parts of a
letter to him from Lord Hillsboro dated y* 7*^ of July
last, and enclosing y* report of a com*** of y* Privy Council
with his Majesty's order in Council thereon. Agreable
to y* s^ report his Majesty is pleased to order that y*
harbour of Boston should be y* rendezvous of his ships of
war in North America & that y* Provincial garrison at y'
Castle should be removed, &c., as above. The s** report
also takes notice that there is no civil magistracy here,
and therefore recomends to his M*^ to lay before Parlia-
ment y* state of this Province, that further measures
may be taken. These measures are probably such as you
conjecture have been resolved on, viz., the vacating y*
Charter in whole or part ; at least so far as relates to y*
Council and (as other letters mention) y* sending more
regiments here. It might be expected from y* wisdom
and justice of Parliament, that before any thing further
be decreed against us we should be informed of what we
stand charged with, and heard in our defence. The said
report contains a number of reasons on which y* measures
recommended in it are grounded. But a copy of it, not-
withstanding repeated applications for it, is refused the
two Houses by y* L* Gov', who says he has an instruction
not to give us a copy of it, or communicate it by any
speech or message or in any way whereby it may be made
public, by which means we are unable to make any de-
fence. I heard y* report read, but do not retain it suffi-
216 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
ciently to give you y reasons mentioned in it : otherwise I
might probably make some observations on them. Would
it be just that an individual accused should be condemned
unheard, even if it were known his accusers had no enmity
or prejudice against him ? If it would not, can it be just
that a whole community should be so condemned, espe-
cially too when their accusers, or those that are called to
give testimony against them, are known to be not only
prejudiced, but in a high degree inimical to them ? We
are informed the testimonies on w®** y* s* report is founded
were those of Sir Fra* Bernard, M' Robinson, M' Harri-
son, and others equally unfriendly to y' town of Boston
& y* Province, aided by y* Commissioners and other per-
sons here, whose letters and y* depositions accompanying
them are apprehended to have co-operated with those
testimonies. It is not foreign from this subject to men-
tion a deposition of Sec'' Oliver, containing his minutes
of what he represents was said in Council y* 6**" of March,
and adopted by them, that there was a plan laid by
people of y* best character here to remove y* troops &
Com", and this previous to y* unhappy affair of y* 5*^ of
March. This deposition is published with others annexed
to a pamphlet printed in London & intitled "A fair
Account of y* Disturbances at Boston." The eight coun-
cellors present at that Council have given their depositions
concerning what was then said, and a com*** of Council
have since drawn up a state of that matter, and made
some observations thereon, which will be reported to-
morrow. From y* s* state (now before me) I send you
enclosed y* resolutions w*'*' y* cora'^ think y* honor of y*
Council requires they should come into. Soon after y*' s*
pamphlet arrived here y* s** deposition taken from it was
published in one of the Boston newspapers. To allay y*
Sec*^' uneasiness at this, y* L* Gov' informed y* Council
that it was at his request y* s** deposition was taken, &
that he sent it to a gent*" to be made use of in case it sh'
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 217
be necessary to justify him for desiring Col** Dalrjnnple to
remove y* troops from the town, and he afterwards men-
tioned (as he said he w* not conceal any thing from y*
Council) that he had sent it to S' Fra* Bernard.
I herewith send you a pamphlet in w*^ is collected to-
gether all that passed at y* first session of this year
between y* L* Gov' & y* two Houses on y* subject of
Gen^ Courts sitting out of Boston. These proceedings
the newspapers have furnished you with seperately, as
well as with what passed between y* L* Gov' & the House
at-y* 2* session. At the second session, as y* L* Gov'
persevered in his former sentiments, and in his speech
laboured y* subject, the Council shewed a disposition to
make an answer to his speech, and by a considerable
majority appointed a com*^ for that purpose. They re-
ported an answer; but by tampering and management
the consideration of it was postponed from time to time
till y* Court was prorogued. The Council were equally
divided on y* question, ten against ten. Your quondam
Sec"^ at War preserved a consistence of character on this
occasion, — a meer Proteus. For y' amusement I send
you y* answer as reported. In y* present session of y*
Gen* Court it was some time before y* House agreed to go
upon business. Soon after they resolved upon it they
entered on y* enquiry whether Castle W" still continued
under y* command of y* L* Gov'. What has passed
between him & y* House on that head the public papers
will inform you. Your observations relative to y* com-
mand of our Provincial forts are very just. The L* Gov''*
answer does not appear satisfactory. He repeatedly
declared on y* 6*** of March, when he was solicited to
order y* troops out of town, that he had no authority
over them. Their being at y* Castle does not subject
them to his authority, and we do not learn he has since
rec* any new authority ; therefore it is probable, now they
have got possession of y* Castle, they do and will hold it
218 THE BOWDOIK AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
independent of him. The Charter would weigh little
with General Gage to restore y* Castle, even if urged by
y* L* Gov', unless there were other reasons to induce him
to it. But y* Charter ought constitutionally to subject
Gen* Gage with all y* King's troops, while within the
Province, to the command of the Governor of the Pro-
vince. The Charter, as affairs are now managed, is as
inoperative as it would be if vacated.
' On y* lO*** inst* arrived here Commodore Gambler, by
whom I had y* pleasure of receiving your letters. Capt.
Erving, D' Cooper, and myself have been together and
paid our compliments to y* Commodore. From y* char-
acter you give of him, I doubt not we shall be very happy
in him, and that y* town & trade in general will experi-
ence him to be a good oflBcer. I have shewn your letter to
a number of persons that his character might be known ;
& that y* Halifax affair you mention might be set right
by y' representation of it.* The minds of people are so
agitated by y* treatment they have had, and by y* further
hostile measures intended against them, that they cannot
receive with complacency (however deserving in them-
selves) the persons that are to carry those measures into
execution.
In a day or two Capt. Preston's trial is to come on.
Notwithstanding y* opinion of many on your side y*
water, arising from misrepresentations from hence, I
doubt not he will have as fair & impartial a trial here as
he could have under like circumstances at Westminster
Hall. His innocence, if it be made appear, will be his
protection as much here as there. Scott will sail in a
few days. If any thing turns up worth communicating I
shall do myself y* pleasure of writing to you by him : in
y* mean time I am, with great esteem,
Y", &\
• See ant; p. 909. — Eds.
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 219
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
Boston, NoV^ 2*, 1770.
S% — By this ship, Capt. Lyde, I have wrote you a long
letter, dated y* 22* Oct% since which y* House of Rep'
have chosen (viz., on y* 25 Oct**) our worthy friend D'
Franklin their agent ; and on y* 31'* they chose D' Leigh
their agent in the absence of D' Franklin. Their further
measures are not yet ripened into act. The Council ac-
cepted y® report of y* com*** relative to the Secretary, &
came into y® resolutions recomended in y* report. This
proceeding of y* Council y* L* Gov' prophecies will
operate more strongly to procure an alteration in y* con-
stitution of y* Council than any thing they have ever be-
fore done. All the papers that relate to this matter are
with others sent to M' BoUan by this opportunity. Capt.
Preston's trial continued five days. He has been ac-
quitted, & was immediately liberated. 'Tis not doubted
he himself will allow that y* proceedings in his ajffiair
discovered no partiality to his prejudice. Please to pre-
sent my best regards to D' Franklin, w""** you'll please
also to accept from
S', Y' most obed*.
REPORT ON SECRETARY OLIVER'S PETITION*
Order of Council on Sec"^ Oliver's petition presented
y* 29**^ of October, 1770, viz.
In Council, November 14, 1770. Ordered that W°*
Brattle, James Bowdoin, Sam* Dexter, John Bradbury, &
* This report is now printed from the original rough draught in the handwriting of James
Bowdoin. It was printed at the time in the '* Proceedings of his Majesty's Council of the
Province of Massachusetts-Bay, relative to the Deposition of Andrew Oliver, Esq.,
Secretary of the said Province," which, by a vote of the House of Representatives, was
ordered to be transmitted to the Agent of the House in England, and also to *' be printed
as an Appendix to the Journals of this House." It is referred to so often in the letters now
printed, that it has been thought best to insert it here. — Eds.
220 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
Stephen Hall, Esq", be a Com*^ to take the foregoing pe-
tition into consideration & report what they think proper
for the Board to do thereon.
John Cotton, Deputy Sec"^.
The Com** on the Secretary's petition of y* 29*^ of Oct^
have taken y* same into consideration, and have made
the following observations thereon which are submitted
to the Hon**^ Board.
W" Brattle, p' order of y* Com*^.
Nov 16, 1770.
The Secretary's last petition to y* Hon^*' Board begins
with shewing ** that it so hapned he had no opportunity
to see y* report of your Com*^ and y' Honors* resolutions
thereon until some time after they had passed y* Board."
On which your Com*~ would observe that if the Sec^^ had
thought proper he might have been present, as his Dep-
uty actually was, at y* time y* s* report was made, and
while it was under consideration, whicti would have given
him a full knowledge of its contents. But his knowing
it was no wise necessary to y* Board's passing upon it,
as y* examination of y* evidences on both sides, and in his
presence, had been had some time before, agreable to his
petition, and as y* s* report, besides a summary of the
evidence and one or two incidental circumstances, con-
tained nothing but y* Com*"'* observations on that evi-
dence & the resolutions they recommended to y* consider-
ation of the Board. They would further observe that
y* Board make no secret of any of their proceedings,
which, however, in this case they might have justly done,
as the Secretary in a secret manner took minutes of what
he represents had been said in Council, and in a secret
manner gave his deposition concerning it, and will doubt-
less in a secret manner, at least without y* knowledge of
y* Board, make representations on y* subject of their pro-
ceedings in his affair, which if right or wrong the Board
1770.] REPORT ON SECRETARY OLIVER'S PETITION. 221
for that reason can neither acquiesce in or detect. On this
occasion the Com^ cannot omit taking notice of what his
Honor y* L* Gov' observed in Council upon the said report,
a few days after its acceptance by the Board, viz., that
y* King had a right to know all that is at any time said
or done in y* Privy Council considered either as a body
or as individuals ; that y* calling in question this right
would operate to y* prejudice of y* Province more than
any thing that had been yet done ; and that y* Sec*^ did his
duty in taking minutes and conducting as he did. As to
y* former part of this declaration that the King had a
right to know what passed at y* Privy Council, it is
granted, and has never been called in question by the
Council, either in y* report aforesaid or in any of their
proceedings. The King has not only a right to know,
but in fact may be said to know, whatever passes in
Privy Council, even at y* time of its passing, his Majesty
being a constituent part of every Privy Council, and
always present by his representative. There is nothing
in y* s* report which can justly be construed to call in
question that right. If such a construction has been
given to any part of it, it is forced and unnatural, and
which the Board wholly disavow. They do not therefore
apprehend that it can in y* least degree operate to the
prejudice of y* Province in any respect whatever, and
they humbly rely on his Majesty's justice and goodness
that no such operation will be y* effect of it. If his
Honor had pointed out y* clause capable of such a con-
struction, they would have rec* it as an instance of his
regard to y* Province & to them. As to y* last part of
y® declaration that y* Sec*^ did his duty in taking minutes
and conducting as he did, the Com*^ think it needless to
say any thing on this head, as the contrary is fully proved
in the report aforesaid.
The Sec"^ in y* s* petition takes exception to two clauses
of y* s** report, the first only of which needs to be noticed.
222 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
It runs thus, — **The Sec*^ himself has lately declared
before y* Board that he did not conceive M' Tyler to
mean such a preconcerted plan, and thiat he never
believed any such plan had been formed." The Sec*^ di-
vides this clause into two parts, and makes observations
on each. One of the observations is, that no one gentle-
man at y* Board would undertake to say that y* expres-
sion was precisely as abovementioned ; and another is,
that he would by no means be understood even to insin-
uate that y* " Hon^^ Board meant to put any unjust colour-
ing upon his declarations." The words whatever y^ were
were spoken by y* Sec^ before y* Board, not in conversa-
tion with any of the members, but by way of observation
on one of y* papers in his affair that had been just read to
y* Board. Now, although no one gentleman at y* Board
would undertake to give the precise words used by y*
Sec^ on that occasion, yet divers of them at y* time he
first mentioned this matter to y* Board, and many of
them since, have declared, and they do declare, that what
he said conveyed to them y* same idea as y* words made
use of in y* report and above quoted do convey. And
notwithstanding y* Sec'^ insinuates, what he says he
would by no means insinuate, " that y* Board meant to
put an unjust colouring on his declarations," yet y® Board
are wholly clear of that charge, and meant to represent
truly what y* Sec'^ said, which they still think they have
done, although it may not be in y* precise words sj^oken
by him. But it is of so little importance whether y* de-
claration above quoted was made or not, that y*" Board
would have suffered the Sec'^'" explanation of himself to
have passed unremarked on, if it had not been attended
with an implied reflection upon their veracity.
The Sec'^** petition mentions further that he did not
know that his own deposition containing his secret minutes
aforesaid was ever sent to England until he saw it in
y* pamphlet he refers to. Though y* Sec'^ did not (strictly
I
1770.] REPORT ON SECRETARY OLIVER'S PETITION. 223
speaking) know that his s^ deposition had been sent to
England, he could have no sufficient reason to doubt it.
At y* time he delivered his deposition to y* If Gov', and
also when his Honor applied to him for it, it is probable
he was informed for what purposes it was wanted. But
admitting he was not, it would be a reflection upon his
understanding to suppose he could have any doubt that
y* deposition was intended to be sent to England. His
saying, therefore, he did not know it had been sent, is
neither a proof that he did not know it was intended to
be sent, nor any justification of himself for delivering it,
especially as it was done without giving y* gentlemen
whom it respected, and whose character, as well as that
of the Province, was essentially afiected thereby, the
least notice of it.
The Sec'^'* petition further mentions, that " as y* Board
expected him to observe upon these two points only (con-
tained in y* two clauses above referred to) he will add
nothing with regard to y* other parts of y* report or
y* resolves of y* Board in consequence of it, except that
he is not convinced that he has done any thing inconsis-
tent with y* character of a man of honor, or been guilty
of any breach of trust." It is to be observed here, that
when the Sec'^ mentioned to the Board the said two
clauses, he excepted to no other part of y* report, and
when y^ Board consented he should explain himself by
something written upon them, he said he should confine
himself to those clauses only, w*'*' was acquiesced in. He
was not limited to them by y* Board, and the suggestion
that he was so limitted is without foundation.
As to what y* Sec'^ says, that he is not convinced he
has done any thing inconsistent with the character of a
man of honour, or been guilty of any breach of trust, the
Com*~ would only remark, that although the Secretary's
general character may be consistent with y^ character of
a man of honour, yet what he has done with regard to his
224 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
minutes and deposition aforesaid is in y* whole of it
altogether inconsistent with that character, and clearly
involves in it a breach of trust : all which is sufficiently
manifest by y* report aforesaid.
In Council, Nov' 16, 1770.
Read & accepted and ordered that an authenticated copy
of the Secretary's petition and of this report thereon be
transmitted to M' Agent Bollan to be made use of for
y* benefit of y* Province, as occasion shall offer.
THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.*
Sir, — The present session of the G. Court began the
26*** of Sept. last. The Council, sensible of what impor-
tance it was to the Province that (at this time in par-
ticular) there should be a Provincial agent, very early in
the session unanimously voted that we were ready to joyn
with the House in the choice of one. This vote was sent
down for concurrence, but unhappily it was not concurred,
which obliged the Council to do the next best thing, to
chuse an agent for themselves. This was done, & at a
very full Board, you was unanimously chosen their agent.
The House also voted that they would chuse an agent for
themselves; & they made choice of Doct. Franklin for
theirs, with whom we doubt not you will correspond as
the circumstances of the Province may require. We are
extreamly sorry to find by your letter of the [blank'] &
otherwise how unhappy the scituation of our publick
affairs is on y* other side of the water, & that it is prob-
able they will in the next session of Parliament be the
subject matter of their inquiry, without our being noti-
fyed to make answer to the charges exhibited against the
Province or defending the Council in particular. This is
* This letter is printed from a rough draught in an unknown hand, and with numeroua
corrections and interlineations in another hand; but it has the attestation of the Deputy
Secretary. — Eds.
1770.] THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS. 225
SO far from being constitutional, as that perfect innocence
is no protection in such a case. But yet hard as it is, un-
constitutional as it is, we make no doubt that it will be
the case, unless your active vigorous efforts prevent it,
which from the experience of your former services, we are
very confident will not be wanting.
On or about the 6"" of July last, it is very likely, you
will find that a Committee of the Lords of Council for
Plantation Affairs in their report, which was accepted by
the Lords of Council, the following advice was given to his
Majesty, that Castle W°* should be taken into his own hands,
& garrisoned by his own troops, which hath been since done ;
the castle delivered up, Capt. Phillips, the officers & privates
sent off, & now entirely in the hands of the regulars ; that
the plac^ of rendevous for the King's ships in North
America should be at Boston. Accordingly Commodore
Hood came from Halifax with his squadron. He was soon
releived by the arrival of Commodore Gambier. And
now in a time of profound peace we have a greater
number of men-of-war in the harbour of Boston than was
known in a time of war since the first settlement of the
country. The following charges were likewise reported,
& accepted by the Lords of Council, requesting his Majesty
to lay the same before the Parliament at their next ses-
sion, really, that our constitution might be essentially
altered, viz:
That seditious & libellous publications are encouraged
& go unpunished, manifesting a design to stir up the
people to acts of violence & opposition to the laws & to
the authority of Parliament :
Goods liable to duties forcibly landed without paying
those duties. Lawful seizures rescued by force. Officers
abused & treated with violence whilst doing their duty.
Illegal proceedings of the town of Boston in their meet-
ings of June 13'*^ & Sept' 12^^ 1768, and the convention
at Boston Sept' 22'> :
15
226 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
A combination not to import goods from England, &
the several resolutions & proceedings in consequence
thereof :
The declarations & doctrines inculcated by the House
of Representatives in their resolutions & messages to
the Gover'. The instructions of Boston to their repre-
sentatives :
The Council disposed to adopt those principles & to
countenance such illegal proceedings evidently manifested
in their backwardness to join with the Governor in such
measures as were necessary to prevent the same :
Their meeting and acting as a Council of State without
a summons from the Governor, and without his presence,
and printing their resolutions.
These are the charges we conjecture his Majesty by
advice of Council will lay before the Parliament in their
next session, & it is pretty certain the Lieut. Governor in
a letter from the Earl of Hillsborough hath this account.
A committee from the Council waited upon his Honor for
a copy of the letter, report & order so far as it respected
the rights of the Province & Council, but the Lieut. Gov-
ernor told the committee that by his instruction he was
strictly forbid giving one, or even to mention y™ by speech
or message to either House.
These charges the Lords of Council have looked into &
have adjudged to be facts. And therefore y* Parliament
is only to determine the punishment. Such a conduct as
this till of late is not to be paralleled ; how is English
liberty lost, how precarious & uncertain is every man's
liberty, property, & even his very life, for if they in this
way can take away the former they may deprive us of the
latter. They may as constitutionally determine that every
member of his Majesty's Council hath been guilty of high
treason, & then Parliament would make an act for y' pun-
ishment. Surely upon application for time allowed us to
answer they can't deny you, unless corruption reigns with-
1770.] THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS. 227
out controul. But still while we think of the election of a
member for Middlesex we need fear every thing. Where-
fore we will suggest a few things to you relative to the
charges afores*, so far as the charges respect the Council,
— we say, so far as they respect the Council, not because
we suppose the other charges are true & not to be an-
swered, but because the Council are not the proper persons
to do it, & it might be taken amiss if we should.
As to the 1'*, that seditious & libellous papers going un-
punished, &c. ; allowing that to be the case, where doth
the fault lye ? Not in the Council. Can they try & de-
termine these matters ? In this way they have nothing
to do with them. Why is there not a charge against the
House of Lords (which is the sum ma curia) that they do
not suppress those seditious & libellous publications at
home ? If we have any amongst us there are 50 in Eng-
land to one here. Must the English constitution then, so
far as it relates to the House of Lords, be altered because
they do not do that which by law they cannot do, & which
if they did would be an infraction upon the constitutional
rights of Englishmen ? If such publications have taken
place here & no notice has been taken of them, where
doth the fault lye ? Surely in him who acts for the
King as his attorny in his not drawing indictments, sum-
moning witnesses in support of the same, & then laying
the whole before the grand jury ; & if he hath not done it,
the fault is not the Council's, unless they had endeavoured
to prevent him, which is very far from being the case, as
will presently be shewn. It is very surprising that ad-
ministration should think so highly of the few disorders
amongst us when the provocations from themselves have
been the sole cause of all. For us to be deprived of our
rights, liberties & priviledges purchased & defended by our
ancestors at the expence of so much treasure & blood &
not by the Crown, purchased by them & granted to them
as an inheritance. And in the struggle for the preserva-
228 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
tion of them, if the people should have gone a little too
far, ought there not have been an allowance made?
Surely they ought never to be magnified, nor would they
be so by any but those who strain at a gnat & swallow a
camel, who seek nothing so much as the distruction of an
injured, abused Province at all adventures. As to the
Council's being disposed to adopt those principles & coun-
tenance such illegal proceedings, evidently manifested in
their backwardness to joyn with the Governor in such
measures as were necessary to restrain & suppress them,
there is nothing that was ever invented more groundless.
After his Honor, the Lieut. Governor, the Secretary, Judge
Trowbridge & other very respectable gentlemen were left
out of the Council, Governor Bernard apprehended that
there was no duty, no loyalty left at the Council Board, &
gave the prerogative up as lost, & this he often declared.
We say, that after this there was a message to both
Houses from the Governor relative to a libell against him
published in one of the Boston newspapers. The House
took it up for themselves. The mobbish Board, as
he had represented them, chose a committee to take s**
message under consideration. The committee reported as
you will find in the loose paper No. 1, which was unani-
mously accepted by the Council & presented by the Board
to his Excellency as their answer to his message. Upon
it the Governor was extreamly pleased & passed the high-
est panegyricks upon the Council that could be passed,
assuring them that he would write to the Secretary of
State, that he might acquaint his Majesty with the loyalty,
duty, & fidelity of his Council of the Mas. Bay.* And if
* March 1, 1768, Governor Bernard sent a messAfre to the House of Representatives in
which he said : — '* I have been ased to treat the publications in the Boston Gazette with
the contempt they deserve ; but when thev are carried to a length, which, if unnoticed,
must endanger the very being of government, I cannot, consistently with the regard which
I profess, and really have, for this Province, excuse myself from taking notice of a publica-
tion in the Boston Gazette of yesterday' ; I have, therefore, consulted the Council thereupon,
and have received their unanimous advice, that I should lay the said libellous paper before
your House aa well aa their Board.'* The House declined to take any action in the matter,
i770.] THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS. 229
he was as good as his word he did it, & his letter may be
produced. What he said of the Council then waj strictly
true. For could words express a greater abhorrence of
that libel than that answer conveyed ? Could a Council
that he is so fond of having now have done more than
they then did ? Again, can this charge on the Council be
true when he never once desired a proclamation might
issue with advice of Council, with or without a reward,
just as he was pleased to draw it or cause it to be drawn
(for the Council never drew one), but what the Council
advised to. In many cases this was done immediately
upon his hearing the story, & if it was so far against the
Province as that he could improve it to their prejudice he
never wanted faith to beleive, for immediately there was
a Council called, and advice moved for, that a proclama-
tion might issue, & in many instances that the Attorny
General should be directed to prosecute, & never once
denied.
The Council in short were so desirous that his Majesty's
honor & prerogative might be preserved, & so afraid that
he should take exceptions at the conduct of the Council,
that in sundry instances they went full far enough when
they advised to issue proclamations, & at the same time
the matter complained was scarcely worthy the notice
of a single Justice of the Peace, & once or twice when he
had obtained the advice of Council no proclamation issued.-
and two days later the}' sent a message to the Governor: — '' As it does not appear to the
House, that any thing contained in it can afifecl the majesty of the Ring, the dignity of the
government, the honor of the General Court, or the true interest of the Province, they think
they may be fully justified in their determination to take no further notice of it.'* On the
following day he delivered a speech to both branches, in which, after administering a sharp
rebuke to the Representatives, he addressed the Council as follows: — '* Gentlemen of the
Council, I return you thanks for your stendy, uniform, and patriotic conduct during this
whole session, which has shewn you impressed with a full sense of your duty, both to your
King and your country'. The unanimous example of men of your respectable characters
cannot fail of having great weight to engage the people in general to unite in proper means
to put an end to the dissention which has so long harrassed this Province in its internal
policy and disgraced it in its reputation abroad. I shall not fail to make a faithful repre-
sentntion to his Majesty of your merit upon this occasion.*' See Bradford's State Papers^
pp. 118-121. — Eds.
230 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
In these cases we suppose he did not think that we should
have advised to a proclamation, but then he intended
our refusal as an item against the Council.
During his administration there were [i/awA;] proclama-
tions issued with advice of Council, & yet it is determined
by the Lords of Council that the Massachusetts Council
is backward to joyn with the Governor in measures to
prevent disorders, nay, adopt those principles & use meas-
ures to countenance them. Farther had there been any
Justices of the Peace that Gov' Bernard thought failed in
their duty, why did he not summon a general Council, ask
the advice of Council to remove them ? This he never
did. It was therefore time enough for him or any one
else to assert these as facts when we had refused, which^
we again say, the Council never did.
And since the absence of Governor Barnard, how many
proclamations have been issued, particularly upon M' Hul-
ton, one of the Commissioners of the Customs' complaint,
or rather on the Council's first hearing that a trespass
was committed upon the windows of his house in a coun-
try town, above five miles from Boston, in the night,
when he & his family were a-bed in it, tho' at the same
time the Council had no reason to think there were
twenty persons present when the trespass was committed,
or that it would have been committed at all had he been
in Boston.* The Council are unanimously of opinion that
the better part of the town of Boston, that all the influ-
ential, leading men in it, were anxiously concerned to
preserve the Commissioners' persons from any insult or
abuse & their property from the appearance of a trespass.
Nay, we do not think the people of the town were dis-
posed to injure their persons or property, but that on the
contrary the Commissioners would have been in perfect
safety at Boston had y^ have continued y'. We perswade
* See note ante, p. 195. — Eds.
1770.] THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS. 231
ourselves that the Lieut. Governor will do the Council
justice touching those things of this nature that have
taken place during his administration.
Our surprise (if possible) still rises when we are charged
with meeting & acting as a Council of State without a
summons from the Governor, & without his presence, &
printing our resolutions. We are put to a difficulty to
make answer to this, as there is no truth, or even shadow
of truth in it. How can we prove a negative? what
method can we take to do it ? Had there been mention
made of any particular time and case, it would have eased
us of this impossibility. We can guess only at this, there
was an affair in our legislative capacity that would have
been finished in four minutes before the Governor pro-
rogued the Court, which the Governor well knew. His
Excellency did not at that time act as he & all other Gov-
ernors had done before a recess, namely, to ask the Coun-
cil whether they had any thing further to do. But
unheard, excepting by the Secretary & one or two more
that were near him, ordered the House up. An(J the
Court was then prorogued without our compleating what
we were upon in our legislative capacity. And upon sun-
dry remonstrances & arguments with the Governor, he
permitted us to finish what we were then upon ; and after
it was finished, we published it. We do not see any crime
in this, nor even in our meeting together, when the Gov-
ernor hath laid a charge against the Council, even with-
out his summons & presence. The necessity of the thing
will justify such a conduct, or else the Council of this
Province are of all men the most unhappy, more so than
any individual of his Majesty's subjects in his extended
dominions. And yet we do possitively declare the Council
never once met as a Council of State without his permis-
sion. There is an unhappy affair arising from the depo-
sition of the Secretary which was sent home & made
publick, to which the Council have made answer, & in one
232 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. 11770.
of their resolves desired you to make the best improve-
ment of, & therefore we refer you to it.*
Upon the whole, considering that our Charter differs
from m[ost] charters, — they are of grace; ours not so,
but for servic[e to] be done, & therefore is in the nature
of a deed where there [is] valuable consideration paid ;
the immense sums of money it cost our ancestors in com-
ing over & settling an [<om] wilderness & purchasing the
land of the natives ; the many bloody wars they & we
have been engaged in, all at our own cost, have now made
it a fruitful field which hath been of such amazing advan-
tage to Great Britain, both by our conquests, our fishery,
our trade, & from what of the British manufactures have
been consumed amongst us, so that in every respect we
have exceeded the most sanguine hopes and expectations
for the real service of the Crown ; — we infer that to de-
prive us of our Charter, or the liberty of chusing Coun-
cellors, which comes to the same thing, must be contrary
to law, reason, & common equity. And we doubt not of
your hearty concurrence with us in using your best en-
deavours to prevent the evils meditated & threatned,
which should they take place will work the destruction of
those rights, civil & religious, which we think have been
dearly purchased & never forfeited.
Tn Council, October 30% 1770. The Committee ap-
pointed the 25*^ instant to prepare the draft of a letter to
M' Agent BoUan reported the foregoing which was read
and accepted, and thereupon Ordered, that Samuel Dan-
forth, Esq., sign the same (as President of the Board),
and transmit it to M' BoUan accordingly.
Jn"" Cotton, D. Secry.
• See ante, pp. 219-224. — Eds.
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 233
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
To THE Hon. Tho» Pownall, Esq?
Boston, Nov! 12, 1770.
Dear Sir, — I wrote you two letters by Capt. Lyde
dated y* 22* Oct** & 2* Nov', accompanied with several
papers enclosed. The owner of y* ship, M' Dennie, gave
them to Capt. Lyde, with directions to deliver them
to you himself. I mentioned to you that y* House of
Rep' had chosen D' Franklin their agent. By this oppor-
tunity they write to him, and inform him of y* state and
circumstances of y* Province, and the grievances it labors
under, and desire him to use his utmost endeavours to
obtain redress. The mode of doing it is left to himself.
They inform him that M' BoUan is agent for y* Council,
and doubt not he will confer with him about y* measures
to be pursued for y* best good of y* Province. To y* same
purpose y® Council have wrote to M' Bollan, both by Lyde
and Scott, and particularly with a view to remove y*
impressions made to y* disadvantage of y* Council by y*
misrepresentations and unwearied endeavours of the ene-
mies of y* Province. For that end they have sent him a
copy of Gov' Bernard's speech in y* beginning of 1768,
in which he speaks in high terms his approbation of
their conduct. They have also sent him extracts from
y* Council Books, whereby it appears they have done all
that was in their power to do by advising proclamations
& prosecutions in y*xases laid before them by y* Gov',
and w"*^ y* Gov' in y* time of them thought was all they
could do.
Gov' Bernard in his letters to Lord Hillsborough w''**
are printed complains, you know, of y* Council acting as a
Council of State and independent of him, which complaint
with others is obviated in y* Council's letter to Lord
HillsborS in print ; but notwithstanding, it is renewed in
y* report of y* Privy Council of last July, which occasioned
234 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
his Majesty's order to 3^* L* Gov' to surrender Castle W"*.
On this head y* Council by this conveyance sends some-
thing further to M' Bollan to exculpate themselves ; as
they also do a duplicate of their proceedings respecting
the Secretary. The House, too, now send a copy of y* s"*
proceedings to their agent.
The L* Gov'** speech at y* opening of y* present session
informs y* Court that exceptions had been taken to y*
settlements made in y* eastern parts of y* Province to y*
eastward of Sagadahoc, on account of y* waste and de-
struction of y* King's timber occasioned by them, and that
it is expected y* remedy of this mischief should come from
y* Province. A com*~ of y* two Houses have this part of
y* speech now under consideration. I apprehend an
effectual remedy can be applied only by Parliament ; and
this in a way most judiciously pointed out by you in your
late book concerning y* Colonies. If it was made y* in-
terest of y* land proprietor to preserve y* timber for y*
King's use, there would be no danger of a waste of it ;
but from y* operation of y* acts of Parliament respecting
this matter, it becomes his interest to destroy it as fast as
he can. His having on his land a tree fit for a royal mast
subjects it to y* inroads of y* contractors' agents, who by
destroying y* smaller timber and doing other damage to
come at and carry off such a tree, for which damage no
recompence is made, make it his interest to destroy, or
any how get rid of y* tree if he cannot saw it into boards,
^ch jg ye common use such trees have been applied to
where saw-mills were handy. On y* Kennebeck Prop"'
lands is a considerable number of mast-trees which y* s^
agents are daily depriving the Prop" of the benefit of.
It is by their exertions and great expence that those lands
have been peopled, whereby it has become practicable to
procure those trees, and now those agents and their em-
ployers are reaping the fruits of that expence. In y*
Kennebeck Patent there is no reserve of trees, or any
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 235
thing else, but a fifth of royal mines. The Prop" there-
fore think they have y* absolute property of them, and
are about taking measures for securing that property.
If it should be decreed to be clearly in y* Prop", they have
no other intention than to apply or reserve y* mast trees
for y* use of y* Crown. I shall take it as a great favor if
you '11 please to procure me a copy of the contract made
with y* Crown for supplying y* navy with masts and any
necessary information relative to this business.
I have read with great pleasure your two speeches in
Parliament on y* subject of American affairs. They are
excellent, and I again thank you for them. In that w****
introduced your motion for y* total repeal of y* last
American Revenue Act, you have clearly proved among
other things that y* reasons on w''** y* s* act is founded,
and w'^ appear in y* preamble, viz., that y* support of
governm* is not provided for in the Colonies, &c., are
utterly false and are meer pretences. In y* other, of
which this Province is y* principal subject, you have clearly
shewn y* constitutional union of y* supreme military
power with y* supreme civil in y* same person, and that
this union has always subsisted in y* Colonies, and must
necessarily subsist so long as their present constitutions
subsist. But of what avail are constitutions founded
either on common law, charters, or acts of Parliament, or
all of them together, if a Governour will suffer a letter
from a minister of state to supercede them ? Your declara-
tion in Parliament that you would not have obeyed such
a letter does you great honor. It would be very happy for
this Province if a similar spirit actuated its Governor.
Such a spirit would have disdained y* arts and combina-
tions that have been practiced and entered into to distress
this Province. You intimate in one of your letters that
if your family connections had permitted, you would have
come to Boston the last summer. It would give your
friends great pleasure to see you here, either in a private
236 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
or public character, especially y* latter, and none of them
more than myself. They wish they had any good reason
to hope for it.
I am with y* most affectionate regard, d' S', Y", &c.
James Bowdoin.
turn over.
P. S. M' Temple (now or lately one of the Commis-
sioners for America, and who goes passenger to England
with Capt. Scott) informs me that by an account from the
cashire the duties, &c., on the act of the 7"" of Geo. 3**
from the 8"^ Sept% 1767 (when the Board commenced)
to the 5"" of Nov', 1770, stand thus, viz., The total of
the s* duties £16389.7.5. The total of seizures by offi-
cers & pecuniary fines £870.16.7. Total of seizures by
ships of war £1016.12.9^, amounting in the whole to
£18276. 16. 9K, which alone is at present liable to the
King's warrant or order, for payment of the support of
government, &c.
JOHN WENTWORTH* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Portsmouth, 18* Nov^ 1770.
Dear Sir, — I have night and day been forming my
dispatches, which at this season are peculiarly numerous
and extensive. However, they are at length done, and
hope will be with you to-morrow. As my letters contain
many things of various import, I have the pleasure to
inclose you extracts, wherein I have taken pleasure in
mentioning your name. If any thing more occurs to you
that I can say or do, I will gladly exert ev'ry influence
that can promote your interest, both as your friend, & as
I esteem it the cause of truth & honor. As to myself I've
ever made it my study to carry the King s service into
* Born at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1737; graduated at Harvard College in 1755; appointed
Governor of New Hampshire in 1766; went to Halifax when the British evacuated Boston;
and died in Halifax April 8, 1820. See 6 Mass. Hist. Coll. vol. iv. pp. 42, 43 n. — Eds.
1770.] JOHN WENTWORTH. 237
effect without disgusting or injuring his subjects under
my command, hitherto with success. Therefore all my
representations have been to this end, and that I've
no opposition therein. I have also mentioned that as L*
Dunmore has an independant salary, and it is reported
Gov' Hutchinson has one, that I hope this Province, being
much less able to afford a competency than either of these,
and having been perfectly quiet during all the commotions
on the continent, we might thence expect equal favor.
It is probable you'l have enquiries about the state of
that district west of Connecticut river, taken from this
Prov. & added to N. York in 1763. You may rely on it,
they are in absolute distress, their property granted, pos-
sessed & improved under patents of N. Hamps. are now
torn from them by new patents under N. York, where
they are treated with merciless cruelty, and will turn two
thousand people to starve or load the gallows. Their situ-
ation from two to five hundred miles from N. York, &
the furthest acre not one hundred & eighty miles from
Portsm% will for ever render it ruinous for that country to
be in any other than this Province. As to the petitions,
memorials & certificates that have been sent home to prove
they wish to be in N. York, they are many of them clan-
destinely obtained, — the signers knew not their con-
tents ; others are signed by the wretchedest villains on
earth, some of them by those who take the houses and
lands of the poor sufferers & will no doubt sign any thing
by which they may still hold & enjoy their rapacity.
One of their judges was convicted of horse stealing, and
was such a villain that I cou'd not let him remain a militia
captain in this Province, nor cou'd he remain in it, luiless
in goal ; besides he is a fanatic Quaker, & for this turn
calls himself a Churchman. Another Judge endeavoured
to set at liberty three trespassers apprehended for cut-
ting mast, & openly undertook their defence in opposition
to the King's service & actually caus'd £117. 10/ sterl'
238 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
to fall upon the Crown by his management ; all which
& fifty times more you may rely on to be fact, & if oppty.
permits you to offer, will be a public charity to a distressed
people, and will also promote the King's service, if it effects
the restor* to this ProvincQ^
I rely on your greatest care of the extracts herewith
inclosed. I shall impatiently wish to hear of your success
in England, and heartily hope it will be to your greatest
expectations. God bless you, my dear Sir, and may you
soon return again in great prosperity to your native
country & friends, is the wish of
Your very affectionate friend.
J. Wentworth.
Honorable John Temple, Esq.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
Boston, Nov' 19, 1770.
S*, — By Lyde I sent you two letters, with several
enclosures, dated 22* Oct^ & 2* Nov'. By Scott I sent you
a letter dated 12"^ of Nov', and I have now 3^* pleasure of
writing you a few lines by Calef, to inform you that y*
Council's proceedings in the Secretary's affair occasioned
him to present a petition relative to two paragraphs of it.
This petition was taken into consideration y* 14*'' inst., &
it was thought necessary some observations should be
made thereon, for w""^ purpose they appointed a com***,
whose report they accepted y* 16"*. From that report I
will give you one extract, & for y* whole of it, as well as
for all that has passed in this affair, w*^^ is pretty lengthy,
I beg leave to refer you to M' Bollan & D' Franklin, to
both of whom it is sent. What follows is y* extract :
" On this occasion the com*** cannot omit taking notice
of what his Honor y* L* Gov' observed in Council upon
y* s"* report [the first report in this affair] a few days after
its acceptance by y* Board, &c." (See y* report.)
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 239
It being apprehended y* Sec'^'* deposition might affect
y* Charter, which it is said will be y* subject of considera-
tion at y* approaching Parliament, y* Council th8t it
necessary to comunicate their proceedings on it to y*
House of Representatives, who judged the affair to be of
so much importance that they have sent copies of those
proceedings to their agent D' Franklin, to whom they
have wrote on y* subject.
The Court is just about rising. Their measures are not
so full as I wish they had been, and as are recommended
in your letters, which from the first of the session have
been in the hands of the Speaker of the House, & were
communicated to their committee. But I hope they will be
sufficient to prevent any alteration in our constitution, or
any further harsh measures being taken. This hope, how-
ever, is principally built on the concurrent efforts of our
friends in Parliament, among whom you will permit me
to say you stand distinguished. I have y* honor to be,
with y* most perfect regard,
¥"• &c. James Bowdoin.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO ALEXANDER MACKAY.
Boston. Nov' 29, 1770.
Alex^ Mackay, Esq*. Dear Sir, — I had y* pleasure
of writing to you in May last, since which I have received
your obliging letter of y* 7^** of April. I should have
acknowledged y* receipt of it before this time, but I did
not know where to direct a letter for you during y* recess
of Parliament. I thank you for y* information of what
passed between you and some of y* ministry on y* subject
of American affairs. I doubt not you endeavoured to
remove prejudices, and to represent persons and things in
their just light. I wish the same candour had taken place
in all those that undertook to make representations on the
240 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
same subject ; and when made that they had been better
considered, or that those affected by them had had an
opportunity of acquiescing in, or disproving y* justness of
them, in either of which cases the situation of things
would not have been so disagreeable and perplexed as at
present. But y* representations have had in part their
intended effect, and the principal representer and some of
his coadjutors instead of the proper reward of their de-
merit have had in several ways y* royal bounty bestowed
upon them. A certain baronet expected to have realised
at least £2000 p' annum, which might be the motive for
his endeavouring to procure y* establishment of a civil list
for America, a thing which by his often mentioning it in
conversation & declaring y* expediency of it, his mind
seemed invariably fixed upon, even a considerable time
before the Stamp Act existed. As he knew such a list
and his own appointment out of it would depend on a
revenue to be raised in America, is it uncharitable to sup-
pose he would use his endeavours to procure an act of
Parliament for that purpose, especially when his office, w""^
led him to a correspondence with the minister, gave him
so good an opportunity of using them ? Does his gener-
osity or any part of his conduct, either public or private,
militate with such a supposition ? Or do his letters in
particular (such of them as have been published) in any
respect militate with it ? This supposition is further sup-
ported by his occasional declarations above referred to,
and by his prophecies that such a revenue would take
place. But his letters to ministry (secret & confidential)
if they could be come at, would probably reduce to a cer-
tainty what I mention only as a supposition. He has
denied indeed that he ever used such endeavours ; he has
denied, too, that he ever wrote any thing unfavorable to
y* Province, or tending to abridge its privileges & rights.
But of this the fullest proof is exhibited in his letters lately
published. We are therefore under no necessity of receiv-
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 241
ing as infallible truth what he has said with regard to y*
other matter. Plans of revenue thus proposed have un-
happily been adopted, & have occasioned all y* uneasinesses
and jarrings between y* two countries. The mischiefs
arising from them you will probably think ought to have
fallen upon y* head of y* proposer. But now mischiefs
have happened how are they to be remedied ? The remedy
is plain, but it will be to no purpose to propose it so long
as administration entertain y* opinion that money may be
had from y* Colonies by a revenue. This opinion, how-
ever, will not appear to be well founded when it is consid-
ered that all y* Colonies (I think all), except this of Massa.
Bay, have paper for their currency ; and some of them for
several years past have been soliciting y* repeal of the act
of Parliament and of the instructions whereby they were
prevented issuing paper bills upon y* credit of y* Colony
in y* manner that had been usual ; and on w''^ bills they
declared they wholly depended for a currency to enable
them to carry on their trade. In consequence of their
representations y* s* act has lately been repealed & y* in-
structions withdrawn, so that it appears administration
was convinced there was little or no real money among
them, or that whatever they collected in y* way of trade
was sent to Great Britain tow*^ paying their debts. This
is the fact in all y* Colonies.
In this Colony y* Parliamentary re-imbursement for
taking Cape Breton in 1745 enabled us, with y* taxes that
were laid, to cancel all our paper currency, and to substi-
tute real money in its stead. It has been frequently
apprehended from a scarcity of such money that we should
be obliged to recur to paper ; but y* evils we experienced
by a depreciating paper currency have kept us from it
hitherto with y* assistance of merchants, who have been
under a necessity, in order to carry on their trade, to im-
port occasionally (tho' to their loss) Portugal & Spanish
coin, which has happily so far answered the wants of y*
16
242 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
community as to prevent a recurrence to paper. Money
in a quantity to make it an object of revenue is not to be
had from y* Colonies. What is remitted to England is by
a circuitous trade, and principally from Spain & Portugal,
all which added to the numerous articles of their own and
foreign produce sent by them to Britain, is scarcely suffi-
cient to pay for what they import from thence. What-
ever, therefore, is taken from them as revenue not only
so far prevents the paying y* debt due to Britain, but
operates to y* discouragement and lessening of their general
trade, upon which their ability to pay that debt and con-^
tinue that importation depends.
With respect to y* remedy above mentioned nothing
more or less is necessary than bringing things to y* same
state in which they were eight or ten years ago, one ex-
ception being made. But you'll ask, shall y* honor of
Parliament be given up by y* repeal of all y* American
revenue acts that have been made since that time ? It
does not appear that y* honor of Parliam^ w* be affected
by such a repeal, any more than by y* repeal of any other
acts. On commercial considerations it is for y* interest
of G. Britain they should be repealed. The repeal w** not
infer a doubt about y* right of taxing y* Colonies, which
has been the objection to it ; for as long as y* act assert-
ing that right remains such an inference cannot be made.
To this act y* above exception refers. But y* conduct of
Americans is a further objection. I will not undertake to
justify all their conduct. However wrong it may be in
some respects, the principles it sprung from will not be
condemned by Englishmen, who have been remarkably
tenacious of their liberties and rights which they now hold
by means of y* noble exertions of their ancestors. If the
question was to be determined by y* conduct of y* Ameri-
cans, is there nothing to be said in their favour ? nothing
to extenuate the alledged criminality of their proceedings ?
Have they not petitioned Parliament? repeatedly peti-
1770.] JAMES BOWDOiy. 243
tioned both Houses ? and humbly supplicated the throne,
and repeated their supplications ? Have their petitions
been attended to, or their supplications heard? When
they petitioned 3^* House of Commons on y*- subject of a
stamp duty, which was in consequence of a vote of that
House at the preceeding session for notifying y* Colonies
that such a duty was proposed, y* petitions seasonably
reached y* hands of their respective agents, who waited
upon y* ministry with them, and were informed that 3^*
proper time for presenting them would be at y* first read-
ing of y* bill in y* House, otherwise they would have been
presented before. They were presented at that time
accordingly, but immediately it was objected, that by a
rule of y* House no petition could be rec"* ag* a money bill,
& as y* s** petitions were not offered before y* bill had been
reported to y* House, they could not be rec*, whereupon
notwithstand' the vote and information aforesaid, and
notwithstanding it was urged on the occasion that this
was manifestly an exempt case w''** could not fall und' that
rule, they were rejected. This measure however wise and
just made a deep impression on y* minds of y* Americans
who did not expect it from the collected wisdom and jus-
tice of y* nation. This, with y* rejection of their other
succeeding petitions, induced them to think that they had
nothing to hope for but from themselves ; and here you
have the key which will open to you the general reason
of their conduct. Hence their plans of oeconomy and
their non-importation agreements, from some of which
real good has arisen, however inoperative they have been
to procure y* repeal of the revenue acts. Hence in part, but
principally from deliberate and planned provocations, have
proceeded the extravagances that have happened, which th6
criminal in themselves, and I heartily condemn them, have
been few, innocent, and insignificant, compared with those
that have happened in England within y* same time.
But with regard to y* repealing the s* acts, it is humbly
244 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
apprehended that y* conduct of y* Americans is out of y*
question. The proper question upon y* principles of
meerly British policy seems to be, What is for y* interest
of Great Britain ? With the interest of Britain the repeal
of those acts is so clearly connected, that Americans may
make themselves perfectly easy, if that interest is suffered
to produce its natural effect. There is in this case at least,
and if Britain will be guided by her own true interest, it
is apprehended there will be in all cases not extraordinary,
a coincidence of interests which from y* nature of things,
if nature is not counterworked, must restore and keep
inviolate y* union and harmony that lately subsisted be-
tween her and her Colonies, and which it must give to y*
real friends of either y* highest satisfaction to see brought
about. But unhappily while things are viewed through
a false medium and mole-hills appear mountains, while
men here find it their interest to be, & are rewarded for
being, our accusers, when in consequence of it they aggra-
vate trifles, and (as is highly probable) procure petty mis-
chiefs to be done to themselves or others, and then make
them y* subject of depositions & memorials; while y*
voluntary flight of y* Commissioners is believed to be y*
effect of compulsion ; while informations are taken against
us and kept secret from us, and no opportunity given to make
a defence ; & when in consequence of these things hard
measures have been taken, and are still pursuing, y* former
union and harmony is rather to be wished for than expected.
Before this reaches you, you will probably see M'
Temple in London ; he sailed in Capt. Scott y* 25^*" instant.
His honesty & fidelity have occasioned his dismission from
y* Board of Commissioners. Your good friend M' Erving
desires his particular regards to you. M" Bowdoin & all
y* family are much obliged for your kind mention of them,
& present you their best compliments. I am, with great
truth & regard, dear Sir,
Y' most obed. hble. serv*.
Jaijes Bowdoin.
1770.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 245
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
B08TON, DecS"*, 1770.
Dear Sir, — In one of y' letters you mention it as part
of the ministerial plan that y* Gov' should have more ex-
tensive and independent salaries. This has been already
carried into execution with regard to New York. Lord
Dunmore has got a warrant (a copy of which I have seen)
to receive out of y* American chest £2000 p' annum to be
paid half of it at y* end of each half year from y* date of
his commission, w*^ is y* beginning of Jan*^ last, whereby
his Lordship is intitled to receive about 1500 guineas for
y* time previous to his arrival in his government. A like
warrant will probably issue for the Gov' here. A step
tow** obtaining it has lately been taken. A grant was
made by y* House of £325 to y* L* Gov' for 6 months.
The usual grant to a L' Gov' for y* same time is £300.
The bill having in it certain words relative to the stile of
enacting which had been objected to by y* Council in an-
other bill, and concerning which several messages have
since passed between y* chair & House, the s* bill for y*
grant with divers others lay for some days on y* table of
y* House till they could know whether they w* be assented
to with those words in them. As soon as it was known
by one of s"* messages that they would not, the House
striking out the exceptioned words imediately sent y* s*
bills to y* Council, who passed them. The bill containing
the grant has not had the assent of y* chair, the reason of
which appears to be this. While y* s"* bill lay on y*
table of y* House y* L* Gov' came to Council, where were
divers papers ready for his signing ; and among them an
engrossed bill which had not y* words excepted to. He
said there was an instruction against his signing any act of
y* Gen^ Court before his salary should be provided for, but
he would by no means delay y* public business, and therfore
tho he must in that case so far disregard himself as to re-
246 THE BOWDOiy AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1770.
fuse to sign any grant made to him, he would sign y* s*
engrossed bill; and then signed it accordingly. Now
whatever might be designed by this measure y* manifest
tendency of it is to procure an independent salary for the
Governor, and will operate to promote and carry into
execution y* ministerial plan above mentioned, which (a,^
you intimate) appears intended to make y* government
exterior in its principle, and to destroy all political
liberty.
I have wrote you T Lyde, Scott, Calef, & Bryant, &
this you 11 receive ^ Hood. I am with y* most affec-
tionate regards, dear S%
Y", &C. J. BOWDOIN.
P. S. I do not know where to direct a letter for Gerf
Mackay. I take y* liberty to enclose one for him, & to
desire y* favor you will cause it to be sent to him. As
it is on American politics I leave it open for y' perusal.
Please to seal & send it.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
NA88AU Street, Soho, Dec' 20«», 1770.
Sir, — Having been favoured with your letter of in-
struction of the 2* of Nov', written by order of the Hon^**
the Council, accompanied with their renewal of my au-
thority, judicious observations, & ample proofs, mani-
festing their good conduct on many special occasions, in
the course of several years past, with the great impro-
priety of taking in secret, & publishing in this Kingdom,
affidavits derogatory to the proceedings of the Councils
held on the 6"" and 7*^ of March, I shall endeavour to
make the best use of the whole for the honour of the
Board & service of the Province.
But altho' I am of opinion that the minutes of Courts
& Councils are subject wholly to their direction & correc-
1770.] JOHN TEMPLE. 247
tion, and that the practice of disparaging them by such
affidavits wou'd inevitably produce the greatest mischiefs,
yet I think the imediate publication of the papers trans-
raited would certainly tend to prejudice, if not prevent,
the better use which I hope to make of them.
I have the pleas* to inform you that your affairs have
for some short time had so much better appearance than
before, that I am not without hopes no attempt will be
made to carry into execution the grievous measures pro-
jected & prepared against you,
I am with the greatest respect for the Hon. the CouncO,
Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
Thb Hon*!' SamI" Danforth, Esq*.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
London, 30 Dec', 1770.
My dear Sir, — I was yesterday very greatly mortified
when I called at your lodging & found you had left Lon-
don but only the day before. I was, however, much
pleased to learn you was very well. I arrived at Dover
last Fryday, much fatigued, after a very tempestuous pas-
siage of 27 days from Boston, and it being the season of
all absence from town, M' Trecothick prevailed with me
to remain a few days with him at Addington, from whence
I had the honor of paying my compliments at Hayes, &
where I had the pleasure of seeing my Lord Chatham very
well. I am truly impatient to see you, and if you do not
soon return to town I will certainly visit you in the country.
I left my brother very well & happy at Boston. He re-
tains a grateful 1 remembrance of your friendship & civillity
to him in England. I am, dear Whateley,
Most sincerely yours ;
J. Temple.
To Tho* Whatlet, Esq., at Claremont.
248 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
D* Ben J? Franklin
Boston January 2. 1771.
Dear Sir, — I take this opportunity by my son to ex-
press my own pleasure, & the general satisfaction, at your
appointment as Agent for the House of Representatives.
The Council have recommended to their Agent Mf Bollan
to consult & cooperate with you for the best interest of
the Province, which as it has distinguished itself in the
great cause of American liberty is now become the prin-
cipal object of ministerial resentment But it is hoped
your endeavours in concurrence with the other friends of
America will dissipate the cloud that seems ready to dis-
charge upon it. My son's health being precarious I have
been lately advised to let him try the effect of a voyage,
which it is apprehended may be beneficial to him. This
occasions his going to England sooner than I intended.
Permit me to recommend him to your friendship, as I
also do his uncle Mr. Stewart, who does me the favor to
take him under his care. Your advice to him, particularly
with regard to his conduct & the means of improvement,
I shall esteem a singular favor. I am with the greatest
regard, dear Sir^ Your most obed. & very hble. servant.
James Bowdoin.
My son will deliver^ you a pamphlet containing Pro-
ceedings of y* Council, w*"^ you already have had in
manuscript.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Dear Sir, — I am very sorry that I was not in town
when you did me the honour of calling at my lodgings ;
but I hope to indemnify myself by waiting soon upon
you. I will not give you the trouble of seeking me here,
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 249
where my abode is very uncertain. I may stay some
days, or I may go away to-morrow, & my motions do not
depend on myself ; but as soon as I get to town, I shall
make it my first business to pay my respects to you. I
am, dear Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble serv*.
Thomas Whately.
EsHER, 7"^ Jan'y, 1771.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Na88Au Street, Soho, Jan^ 28**», 1771.
Sir, — Upon the most mature & general consideration,
in order to the best defence of the Council & the Province
Charter, I determined to present a petition to the King in
Council, accompanied with the papers transmited contain-
ing the proofs of the Council's good conduct, and being
fully satisfied of the rectitude & utility of this measure,
resolved to proceed foiiiter in re et suaviter in tnodoj and
accordingly prepared my petition with due care as well as
justice to the Province & the Council, and when conclud-
ing it D' Franklin calling upon me, I acquainted him with
this measure, and the draught of the petition was read to
him, both which he approved. On Monday the 14^*" inst*
I carried my petition, with my authority & all the papers
put in order, to the Council Office, & delivering them to
the clerk in waiting he attentively read the petition, and
behaved with civility & candour, but not without con-
siderable reserve touching those proceedings which had
chiefly occasioned it. All the papers relating to them, he
said, were in 1/ Hillsboro*' office, & seem'd, I thought,
rather enclined that my petition shou'd pass thro' his
Lordship's office ; but waving this, & considering the
petition as lodged in the proper place, & that all things
are best understood when known from their beginings, I
observed to him that the natural amount of the new
250 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
taxation system, the primary cause of the American dis-
orders, was to disturb & starve the hen that laid the
golden egg ; and then proceeded to support the petition as
far as the occasion required, after which he appointed me
to come again on the Thursday or Saturday following;
and when waiting on the Thursday morning, he told me
that he had laid my petition with the papers before the
L* President, who gave for answer that when any thing
shou'd be moved in Council my petition shou'd be con-
sider'd, to which I replied that this was very well & satis-
factory, if nothing decisive had been done; whereupon
he said nothing decisive was done, and afterwards, a few
things intervening, wherein I declared that the Council
was very desirous to stand fair in the eyes of their sov-
ereign, he agreed that was a laudable desire, and after
observing that my petition was to be heard, if there was
occasion, said that no decisive measure had been taken
that he knew of ; wherefore I shall in course for the
future attend to such motions as may take place.
My determination to proceed in your defence by peti-
tion to his Majesty, instead of the proposed publication,
was founded, among others, upon these reasons : 1. publi-
cation being in its nature, you are sensible, an appeal to
the people is to be made rather in the last than in the
first resort ; 2. when a case is depending, the office &
interest of the parties require their proofs to be collected,
prepared, & reserved for due consideration, and when
presented fresh, fair, & entire to the competent judges
they come uno impetu with the best prospect of success ;
3. truth being ever attended with a happy coincidence of
all its parts, & the knowledge of the whole being requisite
to form a right judgment, the publication of part of the
evidence by dividing naturally weakens it, & so prejudices
the defence, instead of enforcing it; 4. as the measure
devised & prepared against you, if an attempt be made
for its execution, will in course receive its first sanction
1771.J WILLIAM BOLLAN, 251
from the King in Council, your evidence ought, I con-
ceive, from the nature of the case, to be first laid before
his Majesty ; and this being a fair & respectful proceeding,
it will facilitate rather than prevent laying the same before
Parliam*, in case a bill shou'd be brought in for a repeal
'pro tanto of your Charter, which, I have considerable
hopes, will not take place, tho' the late convention with
Spain has not, in my opinion, lessen' d the danger, and
publication, you are sensible, may afterwards be made, if
there shou'd be occasion for it ; whereas publication in the
first instance wou'd probably prevent the admission of
your evidence by the King or Parliament, and the offer
of what had been published to the world be deem'd an
offence. When I received the first parcel of pamphlets
published by the merch** of Boston, entit* ^^ Observations
on several Acts of Parliam*," &c., after perusal I carried
one of them directly to M' Almon, & desired him to print,
with the greatest dispatch, 500 copies to be deliV* to the
members at the doors of the two Houses of Par?, and
when printed & fully prepared for delivery, attending at
his shop in order to see the matter accomplished, I there
learnt that this pamphlet was published early that morn-
ing, wherefore, as I cou'd not with decency & propriety
have a paper presented to the Lords or other memb" of
Pari* which they cou'd buy of the hawkers in the lobby
for a shilling, I had these copies to pay for without being
able to make use of them. The Council having been
pleased to leave the use of the papers transmited for
defence of themselves & the Charter to my discretion, I
have troubled you with the chief reasons of my conduct,
which I hope will be approved. Inclosed you receive a
copy of my petition, with another to be communicated
to the House of Representatives, if the Council shall
think fit.
The great importance & difficult state of the Province
affairs plainly require the best defence which in some in-
252 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
teresting points cannot be made without sufficient &
unquestionable authority to appear for the Province;
wherefore the present state of the agency has given me
much concern. When 1 carried my last authority to the
Plantation Office to be enter'd, pursuant to an order made
some years past, the Secry, after reading it, asked me if I
thought the vote of the Council made me agent for the
Province, to which I answer'd that their vote made me
agent for them, & also for the Province, as far as lay in
their power ; whereupon he declared to this effect, that I
had heretofore given their Board good national informa-
tion, and they wou'd be glad to do business with me in
case I was duly authorised by the Province as in time
past, to which I replied that the Council, & every other
order of men who cou'd not appear in person when charged
with any misconduct, had doubtless good right to appoint
an agent for their defence. To this he assented and after-
wards said my authority shou'd be enter'd tit valeat quaiUum
valere potest, and I have since been informed by one of the
clerks it was enter'd, and the right of the Council to defend
themselves by their agent being allowed at the Council
Office, I am so far enabled, without question, to defend
the Charter against any attempt made to wound it thro'
your sides. As to appearance in Parliament, in case the
design form'd against both shou'd be brought there, I
presume they will not refuse my appearance in your behalf ;
and as to appearance in other cases that may arise there,
the Parliam* will doubtless govern themselves by their
own sense of the matter ; and I have observ'd to D' Frank-
lin that the best method in such case wou'd be, in my
opinion, for us to unite in a petition ; to which he agreed,
and he will doubtless acquaint the House of Repres^ with
the treatment which their appointment of him to be their
agent received from the Secfy of State, who rejected it.
The right of defence, a right comon to all bodies politic
& natural, being apparently necessary to guard & preserve
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 253
every other right, too great care cannot, I conceive, be
taken to support it & to employ all the means proper &
requisite for its beneficial use, more especially when other
capital rights are contravened or endangered, & attempts
made to subvert, control, disparage, or distress this right.
The right of defence includes a right to all the means
requisite & proper to its existence & use, and consequently
a right in the parties concerned to name, appoint & support
their own defender, when they cannot make their defence
in person ; without this it is evident the benefit of defence
wou'd be taken away. The first thing necessary to defend
the Province, you are sensible, is the appearance of a
person duly authorised, and it stil appears to me that the
constitution of a provincial agent or attorney by deed
under the province seal, made in their corporate name,
given by their Charter, to wit, the King's Province, &c.,
in like manner as the corporations in the kingdom consti-
tute their attorney, agent, or deputy to appear & act for
them, is the most proper method of proceeding, and most
free from difficulty, as by conforming to the practise of the
kingdom your proceeding wou'd be warranted, a comon
cause made, and the caution of ministers & others incited
not to prejudice it. According to my information the
present Seefy of State some time past held that the Colo-
nies had no need of agents, whose services might well be
performed by the Governours: this strange notion, so
apparently incompatible with the preservation of the rights
of the governed, needs no refutation. His Lords^ now
holds, as I understand, that your agent ought of necessity
to be appointed by an act or law pass'd for that purpose.
Now this is liable to check upon check ; for after the
Governours consent, unprevented by a minister, any such
act or law might be disallow'd & rejected here at the time
when your agent was defending some of your most essen-
tial rights. For illustration, suppose the Council & House
of Repres^" should be of opinion with me, that your Gov'
254 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
is the King's lociim tenens & his office entire ; that the chief
civil & military authority being by the British & your
constitution inseparable, the King cannot sever them;
that an independ* mili*^ tends to the utter overthrow of
the civ^ power ; and that the operations of the great seal,
which is clavis regrdy cannot be control'd by the privy seal,
the King's signet, sign manual, or signification of his
pleasure by his Sec?y, or, in other words, your Charter
infringed by any of these ; and you shou'd instruct your
agent to endeavour to the utmost to obtain a revocation
of proceedings derogatory to your Charter, — I apprehend
your agent wou'd not without reason consider himself as
standing on a bough which might with one blow be cut
off, & so let him fall with your defence to the ground.
Whatever is founded in natural justice cannot be taken
away, and your right of defence is plainly founded in
nature, reason, & the comon law, that is, when the King
creates a body politic, the law gives to that body the like
defence as to a body natural. Your Charter provides that
the Gen* Court shall anually name & settle all civil officers,
except as therein excepted, & after grant* var" other
powers provides that without the Governour's consent in
writing no orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, elections, or
other acts of government whatsoever made by the General
Court, or in Council, shall be of any force ; hence some
have supposed that the election & appointment of your
agent were herein included, whereas these provisions relate
to the government within the Province, and not to the
appearance of the incorporated inhabitants in this king-
dom, whose appearance is to be provided for by their
delegates, this provision being made not for governing
anywhere, but for defending the rights of those inhabitants
before the government here. The appointment of an
agent by deed of the corporation may illustrate this, and
the nature of the thing is not changed by the use of other
forms. The Secfy of State, it is said, has declared the
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 255
Governour to be one of the incorporated inhabitants within
the intent of the Charter, not considering, I presume, that
the Governour is the King's repres^, and that one & the
same person cannot at one & the same time be Governour
& one of the governed. To conclude this point, it appears
clearly to me that your pretensions to any rights will be
nugatory & vain, if you are not allowed a free defence for
their preservation, and therefore I have troubled you with
so much matter upon this head. How far my sentiments
may coincide with those of others I know not, but I hope
they may serve in some measure to illustrate this important
subject ; and as the great affairs of the Province require a
provincial agent, I presume he will be appointed in the
best manner that can be found practicable.
The next thing essential to your defence is a right to
pay for the services and the expenses of those who are
appointed to make it; without this it is manifest your
being allowed to defend yourselves wou'd be a mere
illusion.
The freedom of defence, & proper care to make it in the
best manner, being necessary to the enjoyment of your
public rights, & the latter lying most within your power ;
and in the course of the controversy between the King's
ministers, their supporters & adherents and the Colon',
your agency, & that of others, appearing to me to have
been in a condition unequal to the great occasion, T desire
leave to say a few things hereupon. In all civil as well
as military contests equality at least in the combat is to
be provided, if possible; now, if to superiour numbers,
rewards, power, & influence on one side, superiour knowl-
edge be added, victory will probably follow ; wherefore,
under favour, T wou'd advise the Province, whose freedom,
with that of the other Colon' & their mother country I
wish may ever endure, in all future times to provide, if
they can, an agent who has more learning & knowledge
of the origin, nature, & rights of the Colonies than any of
256 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
their adversaries, and to support him in season in a man-
ner suitable to the dignity & diflSculty of his office, so that
he may appear with grace & spirit when he represents a
free people and stands forth ready to maintain their rights
against numerous & powerful opponents ; and rewards &
punishm*" being the principal hinges of human govern-
ment, policy, as well as justice, requires that an able &
faithful agent, who in the discharge of his duty, unless
the world much amend, will be sure on great occasions to
find difficulties enough in his way, ought not to suffer in
any respect from, as well as for, the Province. For my
own part I know no language sufficient to express the
difficulties that have at different times attended the faith-
ful service of the Province, & thank God for being able to
say, what none can gainsay, that in the course of my long
& hard service I never fail'd, on every great occasion, to
discharge that duty which requires your agent to h^fideUs
Afortis in arduis. Be pleased to consider what success
attended your affairs while you reposed an entire confi-
dence in me, and being conscious that I have not only
done my duty at all times to the Province, but moreover
made great sacrifices in point of interest, health, & comfort
to the public service, & so given cause of confirming rather
than lessening the public confidence, the diminution of it
cannot in the nature of things be agreeable. However,
so long as I continue in the service I shall, God willing,
go on to maintain the public rights in the best manner
that lies in my power, well remembring that they who
wou'd have justice shou'd do justice. Some intelligent
persons have said they were persuaded that if you had
continued me in your service I shou'd have been able
to have prevented, or lessened at least, your sufferings.
What success a difference in conduct wou'd have had I
cannot say ; but it is certain that the difficulties of the
service are much encreased upon him who acts under a
partial right of appearance, the best the times will afford ;
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 257
wherefore I am surprised to find my late services have
been supposed in point of payment to commence in July,
1769, considering that I had six months before, by pre-
senting your petition & my own, check'd the torrent of
ministerial proceedings. The attempt to extend to you,
& your supposed offences the stat. for trial of foreign
treasons was surely a matter of great importance to you,
with labour & difficulty to me. My petition in point of
presentation was made upon this ground, that no man
loses his domicil by going from home in the public service,
and as to the matter of it not one of the crown lawyers
wou'd undertake to answer my arguments when call'd
upon to do it. No other person had openly appeared in
their public or private capacity to oppose this strange
attempt, and several worthy persons, I understand, have
preserved a copy of this petition as a lasting monument
of the dangerous designs form'd against you, and of my
endeavours to defeat them ; and the service continuing in
point of attendance and correspondence, among other
things, I obtained by the assistance of two worthy mem-
bers of Parliam* various attendances, examination of the
papers in the drawer of the House of Com', and, insisting
with resolution, authentic copies of Gov^ Bernard's letters.
It is needless to say they cou'd not be had at a small ex-
pense. However, waving this affair for the present, under
persuasion that I shall in time receive a just recompense
for my services & expense, I desire to proceed to the future
service of the Province, tdl desperandum ; but a victory,
you are sensible, cannot be obtained by a retreat, nor ex-
pected without th' appointment of proper combatants who
know how to take the' proper ground, & how to defend it.
Wherf ore I doubt not the Gen* Court will take proper care
in this behalf.
After taking great pains to understand the true founda-
tion, structure, & nature of the English Colonies, ray poli-
tical creed is, that in point of right, national policy &
17
258 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
lasting union, with the content, benefit, & safety of all,
universal justice & universal social liberty ought ever to
pervate the whole British dominion, and that the Colonies
by enlarging under so great difficulties the public territory
have the most meritorious claim to the perpetual enjoy-
ment of the public rights ; and that they who govern the
whole, instead of severance in point of right which tends
to severance in point of fact, shou'd take for their guid-
ance the political aphorism. Donee inseparabiles insuperabUes.
Incited by this belief, & the desire to promote the welfare
of the Province, I have endeavour'd to accomplish myself
as a state lawyer, to which the knowledge of history &
civil philosophy are confessedly necessary, a character less
frequent of late than in times past, so that I might be
able as well as ready to defend any proposition which I
shou'd advance on your behalf before the King's ministers,
the crown lawyers, or any higher powers, when the occa-
sion shou'd require & they shou d permit; and after having,
on so many greater occasions, with entire or partial au-
thority, or without any, exerted my poor abilities for your
service I shou'd take great pleasure in contributing towards
the restauration & establishment of your public rights ;
and therefore, altho' my sense of your present difficulties &
dangers seems, in some respects, to exceed your own, I
shall be willing to undertake the public service in case the
Gen^ Court shall honour me with their appointment, only
desiring that I may serve with a due regard to my own
character, justice to the Province service as well as to
myself requiring this, and that reasonable satisfaction in
point of service & expense may take place in season. I
do not mean by anything here said any aversion to D'
Franklin's being join'd with me in the agency in case the
General Court shall think the public service requires it ;
altho' I have heretofore much suffer'd and the service hath
been endanger'd by a joint agency. On the contrary I
am persuaded (which I cou'd say of few others) that we
1771.] . PETITION TO THE KING. 259
shall well agree in the measures proper to promote the
public service ; but at the same time in justice to myself
observing that the present unhappy contests are of such
nature that this junction cannot, I conceive, lessen my
labours.
I am with the greatest respect for the Hon'*'* the Coun-
cil, Sir
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
P. S. The Council having been pleased to mention their
sense of the Middlesex election, and a worthy friend in
your neighbourhood, as well as others here, having desired
my opinion of this transaction, I send it herewith enclosed
for your perusal at your leizure.
The Hon*" Sam'' Danfobth, Esq*.
PETITION TO THE KING.
[January, 1771.]
To THE Kino's most excellent Majesty ik Council:
The petition of Will" Bollan, Esq', Agent for the Coun-
cil of your Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay
in New England, most humbly sheweth :
That the Charter of this Province, whereby the Council
are from time to time constituted, was granted to the
inhabitants by their most excellent Maj' King Will"
& Queen Mary, in consideration of their distinguished
public services and their sufferings by enlarging the pub-
lic territory and defending it against the enemies of the
state.
That their preceding & subsequent services, all things
considered, exceed in no small degree the services performed
by any other European colony planted in America.
260 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
That all the colonies deduced by the modern Europeans,
in consequence of their marine discoveries, in making
them members of the state, were founded on the celebrated
plan of the Romans ; but it is presumed that in several
points of public service the merits of any one of their
immunes cohrdce^ or other numerous colonies, were not equal
to the services of the Massachusetts colony.
That their present Charter was, by royal order, formed
on the preparation or inspection of Holt & Pollexfen,
Chief Justices, and Treby & Somers, Attor^ & SoUic' Gen*,
who so far promoted & supported the revolution to which,
& to your Maj'' illustrious family, the inhabitants of this
Province have ever been firmly attached.
That in the late unexampled state of difficulty & dis-
tress which originated in ministerial errors tending to the
impoverishment of the British and American merchants &
the diminution of comerce, when daily encreasing, which
is the chief support of your Maj'' naval empire, this pro-
vine* Council have from time to time, as well as at all
other times, faithfully used their best endeavours to pro-
mote good order, with obedience to the laws, & the ad-
vancement of the royal service, with the public welfare ;
nevertheless they have been so far misrepresented that to
their unspeakable grief they are brought into danger of
suffering under your Maj'' displeasure as an order of men
unworthy of their office ; but as in absolute governments
the prince hath admited appeal from his decisions, that is,
a se male infomiato ad se bene wforniandum ; and your
Maj*' equity & goodness being equal to the mildness, jus-
tice, & excellence of the British government, which suffers
none to be censured or condemned before they are heard
& their defence considered, conscious of their own inno-
cence, loyalty, & fidelity, they with all humility confide
in your Maj'' justice & protection, and
Your Majesty's petitioner most humbly herewith pre-
sents the evidence of their good conduct, submitting the
1771.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 261
same to your Maj'' most gracious consideration, and
humbly prays that he may be heard in their farther de-
fence, if the occasion shall so require.
All which is most humbly submitted, &c.
W. BOLLAN.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
London, Feb. 5, 1771.
Dear Sir, — I am very sensible of the honour done me
by your House of Representatives, in appointing me their
Agent here. It will make me extreamly happy if I can
render them any valuable service. I have had several
conferences with Mr. BoUan on their affairs. There is a
good understanding between us, which I shall endeavour
to cultivate. At present the cloud that threatened our
Charter Liberties seems to be blown over. In time I
hope harmony will be restored between the two coun-
tries, by leaving us in the full possession & enjoyment of
our rights.
It will be a great pleasure to me if I can be any way
useful to your son while he stays in England ; being, with
the greatest esteem and respect for you & Mrs. Bowdoin,
dear Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble Servant.
B. Franklin.
P. S. Inclos'd I send you a copy of an original paper of
some curiosity now in my hands. The first part, i. e. the
Queries, you will find in the papers pertaining to the
Governor's History, but not the abstract or state given
with them to Mr. Randolph.* The old spelling is pre-
served in the copy.
* Randolph's answers to these queries is dated October 12, 1676, and is printed ia
Hutchinson's Collection of State Papers, pp. 477-503. — EDa
262 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
By Direccon of the Lords of the Committee of Plantations
It is recommended to Mr. Edward Randolph appointed
to carry his Maj.*^ Ire to the Magistrates of the Mata-
chusets in New England to informe himselfe as much as
he can dureing his stay there of the points following,
viz?
1. Where the legislative and executive powers of y? gov-
ernment are seated.
2. What laws and ordinances are now in force there de-
rogatory or contradictorie to those of England and
what oath is proscribed by the government.
3. What number of church members, freemen, inhabitants,
planters, servants and slaves there are, of what profes-
sions and estates, and how many of them are men
able to bear armes.
4. What number of horse and foot and whether they be
trained bands or standing forces, and what old and
experienced officers they have amongst them.
5. What castles and forts they have in New England and
how situated and what stores and provisions they are
furnished withall.
6. What are the reputed boundaries and contents of
land.
7. What correspondence doe they keep with theire nei-
bours the French on the North & w"" y* government of
New Yorke on y* South.
8. What hath been the originall cause of this p'sent war
w*^ y* Indians, what are the advantages and disad-
vantages occasioned thereby, and what will probably
be the finall event thereof.
9. What are the commodities of the production, growth
and manufacture of the country, and what are those
imported from other places, and particularly how the
1771.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 263
trade and navigation is carried on, whether directly
to and from England or otherwise What number
of ships doe trade thither yearly, and of what bur-
then they are and where built, and lastly, what notice
is taken of the Act of NavigaoSn.
10. What are the taxes and fines laid upon the country,
what rates and duties are charged upon goods ex-
ported or imported, what public revenue doth arise
to the gouernm**, of what nature it is and how and
by whom exacted and collected.
11. How they generally stand affected to the governm! of
England, what persons are the most popular and at
present in the magistracie or like to be soe at the
next election.
12. What is the present state of the ecclesiasticall gou-
ernment, how the Universities are at present filled
and by whome gouerned.
These and other inquiries which his discretion shall
dictate are to be made of all the provinces in generall, but
particularly of the Matachusets, and how they doe att
p'sent correspond with the confederat and other Colo-
nies, and a particular information will be likewise requisite
concerning the town of Boston, according to the former
heads, how built, fortified, inhabited, & governed, &c.
And an exact mapp of the whole country and town
of Boston, if it can be procured, will be of very great
vse and servise for a more cleare demonstration of the
premises.
And because in severall of these particulars some esti-
mat and callculation hath been made by those that are
curious, therefore the said estimat is here undermentioned
that Mr Randolph may by his inquiries be enabled when
there either to confirme or disprove the truth thereof.
264 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
An Abstract of New England.
r 120 thousand soules
There are about J 13 thousand families
i 16 thousand y* can bear armes.
r 12 ships of between 100 & 220 tuns.
There are < 190 of between 20 & 100 tuns.
1440 fisherboats of about 6 tuns each.
There are 5 iron workes which cast noe gunns.
15 merchants worth about 50,0001b, or about 5000 one
w*^ another.
500 persons worth 30001b each.
Noe house in New England hath aboue 20 roomes.
Not 20 in Boston which have above 10 roomes each.
About 1500 families in Boston.
The worst cottages in New England are lofted.
Noe beggars ; not 3 put to death for theft.
About 35 rivers and harbours.
About 23 islands and fishing places.
The three Provinces of Boston, Mayne, and Hampshire
are f of the whole in wealth and strenth. The other
4 Provinces of Plymouth, Keneticut, Rhode Island &
Kinnebeck being but one quarter of the whole in
effect.
Not aboue 3 of their militarie men have ever been
actual soldiers, but many are such soldiers as the artillerie
men att London.
Amongst their magistrates Leverett the Govern!, Major
Dennison, Major Clarke, and Mr. Broadstreet are the
most popular.
r Mr. Thatcher
And amongst their ministers < Mr. Oxenbridge
(Mr. Higgenson.
There are noe musitians by trade.
One dancing school was set up, but put down.
A fencing school is allowed.
1771.] THOMAS WHATELY. 265
All cordage, saile cloth, & netts come from England.
Noe cloth mad there worth aboue 4* yard.
Noe linnen of aboue 2* 6*.
Noe allome, nor coperas, nor salt by the sunn.
They take an oath of fidelity to the Gk)vem', but none
to the King.
The GouernT chosen by every freeman.
f Orthodox
A freeman must bee < aboue 20 yeares
[ worth about 200»
Not 12 ships of 200 tunn each.
Not 500 fishing boats.
THOMAS WHATELY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Dear Sir, — I am sorry I did not see you before I left
town, but you have assigned the true reason for it ; our
Parliamentary business left us time for no other. Your
letter has travel'd after me into the country. I return
that inclosed from M' Hughes, who, I own, seems to me,
too ready to take an alarm of the Commissioners' designs
against him, unless he has other grounds for apprehension
than appear. The idea he suggests for you I should
doubt is not easily carried into execution. I do not know
that Lord Charles will remain here ; if he should, most
probably his successor is determined, & therefore without
better information and more encouragement that [sici I
can give you I rather wish you not to commit yourself in
a pursuit which is likely to be fruitless. That of Ireland
is more likely to succeed, if the establishment there
should take place, & you give me great pleasure in ap-
pearing to be more reconciled to it than you were. I
shall have an opportunity of talking over the subject with
you very soon ; & when I return to town I will take care
266 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
to let you know that we may have some conversation on
the subject. I am, dear Sir,
Your most obed* & most humble serv*.
Thomas Whately.
EsHKR, 2* April, 1771.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Nassau Street, Soho, April 15"», 1771.
Sir, — Since my last no motion has been made in Coun-
cil or Parliament respecting the Province or its Council,
and from what was lately said to me at the Council
Office & by two of the King's ministers, with the present
state of Parliament, I take it for granted no consideration
will be had of the Province afiEairs during this session.
In consequence of the Lieut. Governour's refusing to
consent to the grant made to me, in order to facilitate
future payment, I wrote a letter to Lord Hillsboro',
whereof you have a copy inclosed. Waiting on his
Lords'^ the next day he said, he had directed M' Pownall,
who had my letter, to write me an answer, and then went
on to disclaim entirely all authoritative consideration of
the matter complain'd of, as not belonging to his office,
after which he proposed entring into conversation upon
the subject, if desired, and on my assenting spoke to this
effect, that the agencies of the Colonies had been attended
with great uncertainty & irregularity, so that sometimes
it cou'd not be known who had good right to appear ;
wherefore it was judged proper that the appearance
shou'd be made by persons appointed by acts of the several
Colonies. To this I answer'd that the inhabitants of
Mass**" Province being incorporated by Charter their
proper & lawful appearance might well & regularly be
made in like manner as the corporations in England
appear, that is, by their deed made in their corporate
name, under their corporate seal, and that th' affixing of
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 267
the great seal of the Province completed the deed con-
taining th' authority to appear for it, all prior & prepara-
tory proceedings being merged therein, to which his
Lords'* seem'd readily to assent. I agreed that th' appear-
ance under an act wou'd be good & valid, observing that
the threefold assent of the several branches of the Legis-
lature made their act, altho' it was not cast into the form
of a law, of whose nature th' appearance of the Province
before the government here did no ways partake, but, in
my opinion it was best for the Province to conform to the
mode of proceeding of the corporations here establish'd
by comon law & comon usage. Among other things his
Lords'* to my surprise said he consider'd the Council as
private persons, who might have an agent if they pleased
& pay him themselves ; whereas you are sensible they are
an order of men instituted by Charter, & were cen-
sured in their public capacity. I observed to him that
a particular charge being made upon them, their sole
authority was sufficient and proper to answer it, and that
the Council being a constituent part of the body politic,
their defence was as necessary to the good of the whole
as the care & preservation of an essential part is to the
body natural. What passed in this conversation is men-
tioned for information sake, with exclusion of all farther
use to be made of it.
Thro' inadvertence I omited mentioning in my last,
according to my intention, that the Clerk of the Council
said, jVP Oliver's affidavit was not laid before the Lords of
the CoSiittee last summer, when they enquired into the
state of the proceedings within the Province, tho' I doubt
not they were made acquainted with it.
I have for some time past, notwithstanding my several
misfortunes at sea been much enclined to take a voyage,
in order at the next session of the Gen* Court to settle &
receive my old arrears, with a proper recompense for my
late services, and to give that useful information in person
268 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
which cannot so well be given in writing ; but a tedious
cold caught in bad weather, encreased by ministerial
attendance & the confinement occasion'd by it, with the
Province service having, with the remains of a troublesome
cough, made me so tender that I have been advised not
to undertake it, especially considering the present severe
season, and moreover that the prime min' has lately in
public declared, or at least discovered, his diffidence of the
continuance of the peace, I earnestly pray that, according
to the nature of my former request, a just & amicable
settlement of my several demands may be made with all
convenient speed. I desire only to receive the like justice
from the Province which I have done to it, my conscience
bearing witness that no consideration whatever hath at
any time prevented, or in the least enclined me to forbear,
the exertion of my best endeavours to advance the wellfare
of the Province, and considering the difficult times & great
occasions of my services, and that justice requires a due
regard to be had to every thing proportionate to its nature
& importance, I conclude they will not be undervalued ;
and I have certainly made great sacrifices various ways
to the Province service, for which the Gen* Court can give
me no equivalent, and it is needless to say that in the
days of severe trial I have stood up in defence of your
rights & liberties, when no other of the numerous advo-
cates of the Colonies appeared in like manner by their
learning & fortitude to check the torrent of the most
grievous proceedings against you.
I am with the greatest respect for the Hon^*' Council,
Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
P. S. Inclosed you receive another copy of the letter
to Lord Hillsborough, to be coinunicated to the House of
Representatives, if the Council think fit. Having in the
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 269
course of ray late services had no connexion with M'
De Berdt, who on my proposal wou'd not join me in a
petition to the House of Comons, I desire my reward may
be kept distinct.
The Hon"« Sam** Daicforth, Esq*.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Nassau Strbet, Soho, May 6^, 1771.
Sir, — According to my information, received various
ways, a project has been lately form'd for making the
country lying between the rivers Kennebeck & S* Croix a
distinct province, & S' Fran* Bernard Govern'. Convers-
ing hereupon with one of the principal private owners of
lands in that country residing here he told me they had
been made to believe that the value of their estates wou'd
be much encreased by erecting this new government;
whereupon I observed that the principle on which the
claim of the Crown was founded was equally subversive
of the right of private proprietors & of the right which
the Province had to the other lands & to the government
of the whole by charter, and that my knowledge of the
nature of the claim made in behalf of the Crown was
acquired about seven years ago, when a design was form'd
of taking the country lying between Penobscot & S* Croix
from the Massa*** Province & joining it to that of Nova
Scotia. He seem'd not a little alarmed at this, tho' no
great progress has yet been made in this project. By my
letters to the Gen* Court of the 10^^ of June and 8*^ of
July, 1762, & 18**^ of April, 1763, I acquainted them with
the claim then set up for the Crown, & the grounds of it,
together with my concern & proceedings therein, and the
measure which on great deliberation, after consulting
with the gentleman employed by reason of my ill state of
health, I took in order to frustrate it ; that was by pre-
270 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
senting a petition to the King, on behalf of M' Waldo's
heirs, wherein I set forth the Province title in law &
equity to the government & soil, saving such parts as
belonged to private persons. Of this petition I sent
several copies to the Gen* Court, and my conduct herein
so far succeeded as to quiet the claim of the Crown from
that time. I have also been informed that his Majesty's
ministers have under consideration the establishment of
the Quarter Master General's staff at Castle William.
I am, with the greatest respect for the Hon^*' the Coun-
cil, Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon»" Sam** Damforth, EsqV
THOMAS POWNALL TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Albemarle Street, June 2^, 71.
The Hon*" Jambs Bowdoin, Esq?,
Dear Sir, — I duly received your several letters & their
inclosures. The points mentioned in them as matters
which required the attention of your friends engaged my
close & constant attention ; not more from what your
information gave me hints of, than from what my own
observation had led to.
As to any intention here to alter your Charter, that en-
tirely depended in my opinion upon the accounts that
Ministry shou d receive of the temper & spirit with which
you acquiesced & submitted to the military peace estab-
lishment. If you received it with that submission which
you have done, & there were no grounds on which your
friends cou'd bring forward the consideration in Parlia-
ment, all idea of any civil alteration in the charters &
constitution of the Provinces became absolutely unneces-
sary. If, therefore those who might take up these affairs
1771.] THOMAS POWNALL. 271
in opposition to Ministry, not perceiving any ground
on which to stand, nor looking to any support which
might give effect to their endeavors, did not bring them
forward in Parliament, it was clear from the begining
of the session that Ministry themselves never intended to
bring them forwards; & I believe you may be assured
that for the future the affairs of America will be kept
clear of Parliamentary ground more & more every day.
But as during the sitting of Parliament it is impossible to
say what matters may arise, or what turn may be given
to the most trifling circumstances, I defer'd writing any
thing upon the subject untill I saw the session finally
closed. And as during the whole session scarcely one
word was said, nay, hardly one idea taken up, respecting
American affairs, so now the session is ended there is
nothing to write about them. Everything depends upon
the course of events, & my real & firm belief as to the
affairs of men is, that altho' the Supreme Governor of all
things hath endowed us with principles that lead us to
interest ourselves, & to mix our actions with the move-
ments of the system, yet he directs by his counsels &
determines by his will the final events both of men &
things; in which light it may truly be said, that 'Hhe
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," but
that time & chance happeneth to all things. I think that
doctrine cou'd never be with greater propriety applied to
any circumstances & events than to the present, respect-
ing the affairs of America. At the same time that this
doctrine shews that it is not men who can command
events, but events that call forth men, it teaches us this
lesson that we shou'd be always ready & prepared to go
into action whenever events may call us forth & wher-
ever they may point the line of our conduct.
Our attention to this duty can never be in any other
way so well kept up as by the intercourse, correspondence
& mutual information of men who wish well to the inter-
272 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1769.
ests, the liberty, & the peace of mankind. Tis with
this view that I hope our correspondence will continue
uninterupted. Tis under these hopes that I shall at
all times wish to receive every matter of information and
opinion from you. Tis in the same view that I shall
be always ready to communicate every circumstance that
may come into event here, & every idea that may lead to
the existence of any measure that may any way affect the
interest of America.
You mention in your letter of Nov' 12*** a Comittee of
both Houses of your Assembly having under consideraf
the state of the masts & naval stores in the eastern parts
of the Province. If they came to any resolutions or
opinions upon that subject, I shou'd be obliged to you if
you wou'd send me the report. AVe had a Comittee
appointed here to consider the state of naval timber in
general, which is found very much to require the atten-
tion of government. I was of that Committee ; & we
came to a general report, which was to be, but is not yet,
printed.* I am of opinion the state of things must lead
government to do something herein. I shall take occa-
sions of conversing with the Secretary of the Admiralty
upon the subject ; & I shou'd therefore be much obliged
to you for your particular communication on this head,
both as to facts & opinion.
We have been so totally engaged during the sitting of
Parliament that I have been absolutely prevented from
that intercourse of social civilities which I hope, now
Parliament is up, to enjoy with your sons & the friends
you recommended to me. I hope within a few days to
have the pleasure of their company to dine with me,
which may lead to future opportunities of our being more
together. I beg my respects and particular regards to all
our mutual friends. I am, d' S',
Y' affec* friend & serv*, T. Pownall.
* If I CAD gett A spare copy yoa Bball have it ~ Marginal note by Gov. PownaU,
1771.] SAMUEL HOOD. 273
I have an ugly inflammatory cold in my eyes.
Since writing y* above I have had y* pleasure of seeing
M' Stewart. Your son I find has entered himself at X**
Church, Oxford, — a very wise & commendable step in
so young a man, & of which I think in every view he will
reap 3^ advantage. By y* little I saw of him he appears
to me to have mote of y* gentleman & of y* honest man
than one usually meets with. You are & ought to be
very happy in him. M' Temple is out of town, by which
I was disappointed y* pleasure of his company on y* King*s
birthday. ,
SAMUEL HOOD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Catherinqton, June 6***, 1771.
Dear Sir, — I have been favoured with your very
obliging letter of Jan^ 2*, and wish to have received it
from the hand of your son, from the pleasure I should
have had in shewing Jiim every mark of civility & re-
spect in my power. My stay in London was very short.
I liked not the manner in which things were going, and
therefore chose to avoid every kind of altercation respect-
ing America, from the certainty I have that there is no
washing the blackmoor white. I like not the times, and
am on that account well pleased to retire to my little farm.
Upon the prospect of a rupture with Spain I was ap-
pointed to the command of the Royal William, but as
soon as peace was settled she was again fixed in ordinary.
This comes in his Majesty's ship Captain, which wears
the flag of Admiral Montagu, who is coming to command
the King's naval forces in the room of M' Gambier ; and
I dare say you will find him ready to assist, countenance
& support the trade of the Colonies to the utmost of his
power, and I flatter myself he will be an acceptable officer
to the Province of the Massachusetts, where he is to fix
his headquarters.
18
274 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
M" Hood begs me to present her best wishes & regards
to M" Bowdoin and your daughter Temple, as well as to
our much respected friends at Ten Hills, and I beg you
will remember me to Cap* Erving & his family whom I
have the pleasure of knowing, as well as all others who
hold me in remembrance. Pray what is the fresh bustle
between you & your Governor ? It has, by the help of
your old friend Sir F., prevented the removal of the
King's ships to Halifax, which I have reason to believe
was intended. I shall always be glad to hear that you
& M" Bowdoin enjoy health & every comfort of life, and
I entreat you will believe me, with great regard & esteem,
dear Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
Sam. Hood.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO SAMUEL DANFORTH.
Southampton Street, Covent Garden, Oct' 31»*, 1771.
Sir, — Upon endeavouring since my last to gain better
knowledge of the dependance that could be had on what
was said to me touching the readiness of persons in au-
thority to meet the General Court in a good disposition
to advance the public service, I was, to my surprize, told
by the person concerned, that all that was said was with-
out any authority on his part or mine, who was not em-
powered to appear for the Province, and that the whole
that passed was intended meerly as a personal conference
between us, who wished well to the public service ; con-
sequently what did pass was improper for farther com-
munication, and in the course of a short conversation he
afterwards added, that the ministers were always so dis-
posed. However that may be, or the mistake in this case
arose, I desire that no mention may be made of this
matter, as it can do no good, and would tend to prevent
1771.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 275
those personal conferences which certainly some times
help to advance the Province service, and lay difficulties
in the way of promoting it.
Notwithstanding what has been said respecting the
agency, under favour, I cannot forbear now saying mat-
ters are brought to such a pass that it wou'd be easier to
make bricks without straw than it is to prosecute the
Province service and defend its rights & interests without
admissable authority from it, that is, an authority given
by the constituent parts of the General Court, the Gover-
nour, Council & Repres^ of it. In all controversies, you
are sensible, the proper appearance of the parties is the
first thing to be considered, and they who are to judge of
the cause or matter in question will judge of this pro-
priety, and, all things considered, it appears to me impos-
sible to shake the determination that has been made
respecting the appearance for the Province ; that under
the present state of the agency no memorial or petition
prepared & ofiEer'd to the King in Council on behalf of
the Province in maintenance of its right to the eastern
country, or on other occasions, would be admited ; that
nothing better can be expected in Parliament, or any of
the Boards, especially in case of adverse or prejudicial
proceedings; so that in short the desirable & necessary
service of the Province can by no means now be effectu-
ally carried on. It is a most disagreable state to be
provided with instructions, proofs, & other necessaries
for promoting the service, without having the authority
requisite for doing it.
I am, with the greatest respect for the Hon^** the
Council, Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon»" Sam^- Daxforth, Esq?
276 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO BENJAMIN FkANKLIN.
To Benj» Franklin, Esq. Boston, Nov' 6. 1771.
Dear Sir, — I thank you for the copy of Instructions
from the Com*^ of Plantations to Mf Randolph inclosed
in the last letter [dated FebT 5, 1771] with which you
honoured me. His answer to y* inquiries he was directed
to make (if to be had) and compared with the present
state of this Province, would probably shew in the articles
enumerated the increase since that time. In the present
year, pursuant to a late Act of the Gen! Court for enquir-
ing into the rateable estate of y* Province, lists of the
poles and other rateables have been taken in each town,
which at y* next session of the Court will be laid before
y* House of Representatives in order to y* setling y* pro-
portion each town is to bear of future Province taxes.
As this may be a matter of curiosity to you, and may
serve (compared w**" prior lists) to confirm your conjec-
ture with regard to y* increase of the Colonists, I will
endeavour to procure the sums total of the rateables
and send to you. But when this can be done is quite
uncertain, as it is uncertain when y* Gen! C* will meet,
the meeting of which, at least till the next May (w*"^ is
the Charter) session, seems to depend on instructions not
known to be yet received. With regard to instructions,
it is obvious from such as have lately operated, that
there's a plan for annihilating y* Charter by them in
a silent piecemeal manner, which if persisted in will be
as effectual for that purpose as if done by act of Parlia-
ment, as was lately intended by y* ministry.
Through y* same influence the grants that have been
made to you and Mr. BoUan by y* two Houses failed ;
and 'tis not expected that any future grants will pass till
y* agents are subjected in their appointment to the influ-
ence of instructions. I have understood that in several of
the Colonies, particularly in Virginia, the two Houses have
3771.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 277
each a seperate agent, independent of y* Gov' who without
any difficulty passes y* grants that from time to time are
made them; and that those agents are acknowledged
as such by the ministry. But in this matter I have not
been able to come at certainty.
I heartily join with you in hoping that " in time har-
mony will be restored between the two countries by
leaving us in the full possession of our rights."
I am much obliged to you for your kind expressions
with regard to my son, to whom I have recommended
it to put himself under the instruction of D' Priestly at
Warrington, on y* plan pointed out in his Essay on Edu-
cation for civil and active life. I think this will be no
unsuitable introduction to y* study of y* Law, the profes-
sion of w*** he prefers to any other. As I understand you
are well acquainted with D' Priestly, I shall be much
obliged if you'll favor him with a few lines to y* Doctor.
I purpose he should return to N. Engl* in about 12 months
with his uncle M' George Erving, who does me the favour
to be the bearer of this letter. I beg leave to recommend
M' Erving to you as a sensible worthy gentleman who will
be able to give you full information^ with regard to the
affairs and transactions in this country.
I have repeatedly had great pleasure from y* perusal
of the last edition of y' excellent letters which you did me
the honour to send me. I have already thanked you for
the book and now thank you for that pleasure. I wish it
was in my power to execute in this instance the lex
ialhnisy in which case you should receive as high a
degree of pleasure as you have communicated ; and if all
the readers of your book could carry y* same law into
execution, you would be the happiest man existing. I
wish the few letters w** bear my signature in the same
volume were more worthy the honor you have done them.
I am with y* sincerest esteem, in w'** M" Bowdoin joins
me, d' S', Yr most ob* h*^** Serv*
James Bowdoin
278 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771,
BARLOW TRECOTHICK TO LORD NORTH.
My Lord, — In January last I waited on your Lord-
ship to request leave to introduce M' Temple and to ask
what I assured myself your Lordship's justice would
grant, — the fair & full hearing of his case. I was not
admitted to 3'our presence, but was assured by M' Cooper
that your Lordship would see M' Temple in a few days.
I afterwards took the liberty of writing to your Lordship
requesting a speedy consideration of his case, & giving
my testimony (in which all impartial men who know him
will join me) of his uniformly good character & conduct
as a servant of the Crown. M' Temple has had the
honor of attending your Lordship, & of receiving from
your own mouth the assurance that had your Lordship
known sooner the real state of facts he would not have
been suspended, and that your Lordship was sorry for it.
This has been repeatedly confirmed to me by M' Cooper,
with further intimation that he would be provided for.
M' Temple has waited ever since at a great expence, &
distant from his family & domestick affairs, and now he
tells me he is offer'd the place of an Inspector of the
Customs in England, a post inferior to his former station,
& of course degrading him. Suffer me to awaken your
Lordship's feelings of humanity to the case of this op-
pressed mani, whose abilitys & worth stand sacraficed to
the machinations of a set of men whose whole conduct
has been one continued scene of absurdity & in many in-
stances of venality & wickedness, — is this man, standing
acquitted at your Lordship's tribunal to be degraded ?
And is Sir Francis Bernard, of whose delinquency I have
good assurance, & conclusive proofs are in your Lord-
ship's office, to be titled, to be pensioned, & to be honor-
ably im ployed ! Are the blundering Commissioners at
Boston to remain in that odious & to the nation an un-
1771.] JOHN TEMPLE. 279
fruitfull office! I am sure, ray Lord, all these things
cannot be with your Lordship's approbation ; at present,
however, I apply only for justice to the character & situ-
ation of M' Temple, and I shall be happy to give your
Lordship the praise of doing justice to injured merrit, and
of restoreing to the service of the publick a man who in
my eye (and I have known him from infancy) is incap-
able of swerving from his duty, & who I am sure will do
honor to your Lordship's appointment. I am, &c*
B. Trecothick.
London, 8 Nov', 1771.
The Right Hon. Lord North.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THOMAS WHATELY.
Dear Sir, — I take the earliest opportunity, after hav-
ing received what I think a definitive answer from my Lord
North, to return you my sincere thanks for the part you
may have had in endeavouring to obtain from that minister
a reparation of the injury & disgrace done my character
by my having been superceeded in the Commission of Cus-
toms for America unheard ! & even without a charge !
As all my solicitations & those of my friends for that
purpose have been altogether fruitless ! I must take upon
me to justify myself in the only way now left me. In this,
from your many declarations of friendship, I can have
no doubt you will heartily wish me honor & applause.
In the execution of this business I shall, however, have
occasion to publish extracts from some of your letters
written to me, when Surveyor General in America, to
which you can have no objection as such extracts will
appear to have been written by the direction of M' Gren-
ville, the then Minister, when you was Secretary to the
Treasury. And the obliging mode & manner in which
you conveyed his sentiments can't fail to do you honor.
280 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
When I have done this & some other little matters, I shall
lose no time in returning to N* America, from whence I
have already been too long absent. But not without first
returning many thanks for the very many & warm ex-
pressions of friendship & kindness contained in your several
letters to me abroad, as well as for the civility you have
shewn me since my last arrival in England, and at the
same time to assure you, that upon all occasions in Amer-
ica I shall have real pleasure in obeying your commands,
for that I am, dear Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
J. Temi*le.
CocKSPUR Stbebt, Fall Mall, 10^ Novem', 1771.
JOHN TEMPLE TO WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON*
London, 4tt» Dec. 1771.
Dear Sir, — I cannot let the packet go, without in-
forming you that I am well, and that I have accepted the
place of Surveyor General of the Customs in England,
about £600 a year, and 40 shillings a day when I travel.
There are County Surveyor Generals already in England,
but this is a new office, superior to them. Surveyor Gen-
eral all over England ; it is not the thing that I wished,
nor what I had reason to expect ; the Commissionership
of Ireland, was long held out to my view, but in order to
• William Samuel Johnson wan the elder son of Rev. Samuel Johnson, of Stratford, Conn.,
and was bom Oct. 7, 1727. He graduated at Yale College in 1744, and after a short expe-
rience as a lay reader in the Episcopal Church studied law. In 1761 he was chosen a mem-
ber of the General Assembly of Connecticut; and in 1765 he was a delegate to the Stamp
Act Congress. In the following year he was sent to England as Special Agent of the
Colony. In 1771 he returned home, and in May, 1772, he was appointed one of the Judges
of the Superior Court. During the war he came under suspicion of ** having correspond-
ence with the enemy,** and was arrested for treason, but subsequently released. In May,
1787, he was elected President of Columbia College, New York, which office he held for
thirteen years. His last years were passed in retirement, and he died at Stratford, Nov.
14, 1819.' See Beard8ley*8 Life and Times of W. S. Johnson. — Eds.
1771.] JOHN TEMPLE. 281
ease the Crown of a penmnj that rascal Bernard had the
preference of me. But, I believe no man ever spoke
plainer to Lord North than I did upon the occasion ;
among other things, I told him, I should as soon have
thought of the famous Jonathan Wild's being appointed a
Commissioner, as the more infamous Bernard ; finally, I
would not accept, till the salary was advanced from 400
to 600£, and pretty good assurances of my being pro-
moted to the English or Irish Revenue Board, as soon as
possible ; as things have turned out, 'tis lucky I was not
appointed to the new Excise Board in Ireland ; the Com-
mons there have voted it an useless Board, will make no
provision for its support, and it's generally thought the
institution will fail. The attempt, even, has overset
Townshend, and Bernard looks like a chagrined rascal,
as he deserves.
I hope you found all your family well and that you are
happy, happy in independent private life, which is the
best of all. I should have told you, before I accepted, I
had determined, upon Bernard's appointment, to lay my
case before the public, and retire into private life ; this
my Lords Temple and Chatham approved and said, they
would bring the affair into the House of Lords, as my
friends Meredith, Grenville, Trecothick, Stewart, Cole-
brook intended to do the same in the Commons, but I
considered, that though they would have a fine flourish, I
should be sacrificed, and so I took the other course, still
with their approbation. Things are much as when you
left us ; the Princess D. of Wales cannot live many weeks,
said to be rotten with a cursed evil; Squire Morgan mar-
ried and disgraced ; the Q. of Denmark detected in in-
fidelity; the D. of Glouster not likely to recover, and in
short, all the homed cattle into disorder.
No Bishop yet intended for America, and I hope to find
you alter your sentiments about that matter. I have con-
verted Whately, Trecothick and others ; Dr Berkely and
282 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
his family are very well ; by the last ship to Boston, I sent
you a parcel I rec'd from the old lady,* which I hope you
have received. My compliments to your father and be-
lieve me to be, with unfeigned . esteem and regard, my
dear Sir,
Your most ob* and most h^^ ser^.
John Temple.
JOHN temple to JAMES BOWDOIN.
Dear Sir, — I take the earliest opportunity (after hav-
ing a definitive answer from the Minister) to acquaint you
that I have accepted the place of Surveyor General of the
Customs in England. It is not an appointment I wished
for, nor the one I think I had a right to expect ; a Com-
missionership of Ireland was long held out to my view,
tho' without an absolute promise. The struggle was
considerable between my friends & such of the Ministry
as were desirous to ease the King of the pension given to
the meriiorions Governor Bernard, who has got that place ;
& I believe, all things considerd they would not have
ventured to have given him the preference but that they
thought I was, or soon shou'd be, necessitous, & therefore
would accept' what I have now done, which for ten days
together I absolutely refused to my Lord North in person,
& had I been a single man would at all events have reso-
lutely persisted in refusing.
I have done the best I could (with all my friends &
relations here in opposition) & tho' it will not be affluence,
yet it will make me & my family comfortable, & I hope
happy. My Lord Temple has acted the part of a real
father to me; my Lord Chatham that of an able kind
adviser, and shou'd either of them ever have ministerial
power again, I doubt not I should experience the influence
of it.
• The wife of Rev. Dr. George Berkeley. — Eds,
1771.] JOHN TEMPLE. 283
In many respects it is with great concern that I am
seperated from my native Country, which I sincerely
love, & shall always wish well to. But it seems to have
been a sine qua non with Lord H h (at the earnest
& united instance of the good Mr. Hutchinson, Oliver,
the Commissioners, & those devoted to their measures)
that Mr. Temple shou d not return to America in a public
character, & this was carried so far by his Lordship, that
the K. himself signified to Lord North that so it must be,
at least for the present, the system adopted for America
in some measure depending on it. I am however happy
in reflecting that, whatever degree of sacrifice I may
have met with, it has been on account of my supposed
partiality to the country that gave me birth ; that I have
preserved my integrity through the whole of my publick
services ; and that I am here look'd upon by both Ministry,
& those in opposition, as an honest faithful! servant of
the Crown, which I think almost as desirable as the
title of Excellency with a sacraficed, or wounded con-
science & .1600£ a year, torn from an injured people,
however justly they may be branded with being deceit-
ful to one another, & with having been shamefully pusi-
lanimous in the publick cause ! A pusilanimity & mean
acquiescence that has in some measure sacraficed every
friend they had here, from the noble Earl of Chatham
down even to a colony agent or private gentleman, which
in silent mortification is felt to the quick, and from such
experience I believe it will be with some caution that any
person of rank or consequence will ever again step forth
in their cause, or pledge themselves for American firm-
ness ! even in defence of their own freedom ; & yet I
til ink the prospect is, that they may have occasion for
them. Lord Hillsborough's disposition (from his despi-
cable opinion of their spirit) seems to be to drive the
Americans to their mettle, if they have any (which is
really doubted here) but, as *t is said, cowards provoked
284 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
will do wonders, so perhaps it may be verified in the
Colonies. A little more sincerity, & manly firmness in
the first instance would, however, have done all they
wish'd, & would have saved them a deal of exertion which
will now be found necessary to regain the high character
that North Americans once honorably sustained in this
kingdom, & indeed every where else till the unfortunate
& (I could wish) ever to be forgotten year 1770, when, with
every thing at stake, they threw up the. important game
when they had all the trumps in their own hands, &
like a Spaniel meanly cringed, & kiss'd the rod that
whip'd 'em.
I have passed my time ever since 1 left N. England in
a state of much anxiety, & it has been no small addition
to it the thought that you have been thus long incum-
ber'd w*** my family. Believe me. Sir, I have a sence of
the obligation full equal to what any body could wish or
desire, and I shall be happy to have an oppertunity of
discovering it in the strongest manner. I have written
to my brother to make the necessary preparations for
their coming home to me as soon as the season will per-
mit, & I shall not have a mind at ease untill I see them.
I would even come over myself for them, but that my ill-
health, when at sea, is so very great, that I fear I should
rather be an incumbrance than a comfort to them, &
phaps at the same time be render'd unfit for the extensive
field of business I am entering into. I cannot conclude
without once more assuring you of the gratefull sence I
have of the care & tenderness you have shewn them,
and that I most sincerely & heartily wish both you & M"
Bowdoin all health & happiness, being with every senti-
ment of respect, friendship & affection, dear Sir,
Your most obedient, and most humble servant,
J. Temple.
London, 4 Dec', 1771.
To THE HoNBu James Bowdoin Esqb.
1771J JAMES GAMBIEft. 285
JAMES GAMBIER* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Orchard street, 25 Dec', 1771.
0
Mr. G. Erving, my dear Sir, sent me this morning
your much esteemd kind letter; having receivd your
subsequent one, mentioning his sailing ten days before its
date, I was a little uneasy for his safety, till last week
Mr Temple told me he had met him. I was the next day
visited by the gout in my foot or I woud have endeavored
finding out Mr G. Erving, from the wish of embracing
every opp^ of shewing any little civility in my power to
any friend of yours. The quadrant arrivd safe ; I hopd
you woud have let it remaind with you as a memento of
our friendly converse, while I was for a short time happy
at Boston. I am much obligd to you and my other friends
for your favorable opinion and good wishes. I have all
the reason to expect redress and compensation, as I have
already been graciously receiv'd on all sides ; yet I look
back to America with pleasure as I left it with regret. I
saw Pownall well the other day ; when next I have that
pleasure, my foot being still on the couch, I shall not fail
to make your compliments. M' Bowdoin did me the favor
of a visit, & we have dind together at my friend Durell's,
who speaks very highly of him and with no more than
strict truth ; he is greatly improvd and will, believe me, do
you credit. Durell thinks as I do, that twill be critically
a great pity not to give him another year in England,
as he is in the chain & progress of improvement, which
twoud be cruel to break. My gout has prevented me
seeing him yet so often as I coud wish & I have been
amazingly hurried & my time not yet in the least my
own, but monopolized by levees, drawing rooms. Court at-
* James Gambier was born in 1723, and died in 1789. In 1778, in which year he was
made an Admiral, he commanded on the North American coast ; and he was afterward
transferred to the Jamaica station. He was father of a more distini^^ished son, the first
Lord Gambier. See Dictionary of National Biography, vol. x. p. 393. — Eds.
286 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1771.
tendance & business. Oft have I wishd myself quiet and
rationally happy at Boston again. Will ye receive me at
Boston if I quit this noisy metropolis of vanity & insin-
cerity, and Americanize in content & ease, and bid adieu to
ambition and all its gaudy allurements, unproductive of real
happiness, which after four and thirty years unremitting
service I begin to experience is not to be found in courts
or senates ? Twas with the utmost difficulty I brought
my dear M" G. alive home, given over most part of the
passage, which was indeed one continued storm. She
expected every moment to expire, children sick, maids ill
& worse than useless, and a terribly mannd ship. You
will believe I had enough on my thoughts, and little rest.
We cordially hope you & M" Bowdoin, and M" Temple &
little ones are all well & happy ; our best compliments
& good wishes attend you & them. Pray tender mine to
my much esteemd friend Col. Erving & the old gentleman
& Doctor Cooper ; his friend Dr. Franklyn was here the
other morning in health, & talks next year of visiting
America. Pray tell the ladies I deliverd safe their com-
mands. Our little Bostonian is much admird. She does
no discredit I assure you to her native country. We
trouble you w**' our regards & good wishes to Bob Temple
& his family. I hope he will make no more trips to the
southward, but stay at home and attend to domestick
happiness, and the care & education of his children.
All seems quiet here ; may harmony and universal cor-
diality reign at Boston, and may my friends there live
long ^ happy. Adieu and believe me with great regard,
dear Sir,
Your faithfuU & obedient servant.
J. Gambier.
1772.] JOHN TEMPLE. 287
JOHN TEMPLE TO THE LORDS OF THE TREASURY.
To THE Right Honorable, the Lords Commissioners of his Majestt*s
Treasury.
The Memorial of Jn*" Temple, Esq% late a Commission'
of the Customs in America, humbly sheweth :
That your Lordship's memorialist was in the year
1760 appointed Lieut* Governor of the Province of New
Hampshire & Surveyor General of the Customs in N^
America, in which last character he had the honor to
serve his Majesty under the administration of the Duke
of Newcastle, the Earl of Bute, M' Grenville, the Marquis
of Rockingham, & the Duke of Grafton as First Lords of
the Treasury. That he had the happiness to receive from
the Secretary of the Treasury (through the Board of
Customs in London) their Lordships' high satisfaction in
his conduct & deportment at the head of the Revenue of
N. America, & from some of them, the most ample & im-
mediate approbation of his faithful & unwearied services
on the most trying occasions in that country, particularly
that of the Stamp Act.
That in 1767, unsolicited & unexpected, your Lordships*
memorialist was appointed one of the new Board of five
Commiss" constituted for N*** America, two of which
number had been inferior officers under your memorialist
in the Northern District, & another (who stood first in the
commission) was taken from being the Plantation Clerk
at the Custom House in London. In this situation your
Lordships' memorialist, with the utmost zeal, fidelity, &
attention to the King's service, engaged in the business of
the new Commission, but was very early so unfortunate
as to discover a disposition & design in his brethren, not
only to traduce & depreciate his late conduct as Surveyor
General, but also by divers methods to lessen him in the
esteem of his superiors at the Treasury, which (from the
288 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
cast of the times, from the troubles in N*** America, &
from S' Fran* Bernard's known enmity to your Lordships*
memorialist for having detected him in a very close con-
nection with a notorious plunderer of the public revenue)
thej^ had but too advantageous an opportunity of effecting
to his prejudice, & in which unhappy Imsiiiess they with S'
Francis appeared to be much more earnest & intent than
(by moderation, temper & a manly, impartial use of
power) to regulate & improve the revenue under this new
form of managem^, & of conciliating as much as possible
the minds of the people in general to the same, which
might have been done to a very great degree at the first
setting out, had the Commiss" taken that line of conduct
(which your memorialist often & strenuously recommended)
rather than that of entering into ignominious cabals, unbe-
coming personal quarrels, & irritating, unnecessary disputes
with the inhabitants of every rank in that country, and
then upon the slightest or perhaps without any real occasion
discovering such extraordinary timidity as even children
ought to be ashamed of, by which all that deference & re-
spect due to the members of a public Board became totally
destroyed. Thus unhappily circumstanced your Lordships'
memorialist humbly solicited no less than thirteen times
for leave to come home to England, as will appear by his
letters of the 25 of January & 24 of November, 1768, of
the 21 of Feb^, 14 of May, 25 Oct^ 1769, and 22* of
March, 1770, to his Grace the Duke of Grafton, then
First Lord of the Treasury ; & by his letters of the 15 &
27 of May, 13 of June, 2 & 14 of July, 16 of August, 7
of Sep' & 15 of Oct', 1770, to the Right Honble. Lord
North inclosing divers papers relating to the service ; of
all which he was so unhappy as to find no notice taken,
nor was any permission granted for his coming home to
England. Thus after persevering more than three years
in the most disagreeable & unhappy situation, observing
at the same time the business of the revenue, & (as he
in2.] JOHN TEMPLE. 289
apprehends) the revenue itself, going fast to ruin & destruc-
tion, he ventured to come home without leave, trusting
entirely to your Lordships' candor & humanity for so
doing, seeing that M' Robinson, a brother Commissioner,
& M' Hallowell, an under officer, had before done the like
with impunity. But on his arrival in England your
Lordships' memorialist had the mortification to hear that
he had been some months superceded in the American
Commission by the same M' Hallowell, an inferior officer.
Soon after he had the honor of a hearing from Lord North,
who discovered a fair disposition for repairing the injury
your memorialist had sustained, both in his character &
fortune, by being thus superceded unheard & even without
a charge.
That your Lordships' memorialist hath lately had the
honor of being appointed Surveyor General of the Cus-
toms in England, with 300 £ a year over & above the
salary established, in which station (though a degradation
in rank) he means to exert his utmost to approve himself
to your Lordships for further favor, when a vacancy may
happen at either the English or Irish Board of Revenue.
That he has been more than a year in England (to the
entire neglect of his private concerns in America) attend-
ing & solliciting your Lordships on his truely unfortunate
case, and at a very great expense, near a thousand pounds
of his private fortune, over & above the charges of his
voyage, & the loss he must unavoidably sustain in the
disposal of his house, furniture, slaves, horses, carriages,
&c., by the sudden & unexpected removal of himself &
family from that country. That he humbly prays your
Lordships will take his singularly hard & unfortunate
case into consideration & grant him such compensation
from the American revenue chest or otherwise as to your
Lordships' candid judgment shall seem proper. And
your memorialist is the more encouraged to hope for
this mark of your Lordships' candour & justice as M'
19
290 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
Hallowell (an inferior ofl&cer) had an allowance of guinea
a day for the most part of the time that he was in Eng-
land, holding at the same time either the post of Comp-
troller at Boston or that of Collector at Piscataqua, & for
some part of the time the emoluments of both ; besides
an allowance from your Lordships of seventy odd pounds
for his passage to & from Boston. And all this in addi-
tion to his being constituted a Commissioner of the
American Board in the room of your Lordships' memorial-
ist, who, with all humility and as in duty bound shall
ever pray, &c.
J. Temple.
London, Feb^ 7, 1772.
WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Stratford, April 80**», 1772.
Dear S', — 1 received with great pleasure y' favour
acquainting me with the appointment you have received
of Survey' General of the Customs in England, which I
esteem far preferable' to the Irish intention, which, tho'
more lucrative, yet must have exposed you to the resent-
ment of a whole nation, a situation I would not endure
for any pecuniary consideration whatever. England too
is a more agreeable country to reside in than Ireland, &
will open to you future views of further advancement.
I sincerely congratulate you on this occasion, & wish you
every felicity that the most fond affection can suggest.
Your success must have greatly chagrined several on that,
as well as on this, side of the water. I am only sorry
that y' native country will in future be deprived of you,
but I trust your affection for it will never fail & you will
have frequent opportunities of rendering it very essential
services where you are, which I trust you will never fail to
embrace, & to make the most of upon all occasions. There
is certainly a duty owing to the country that gives us
1772.] WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON. 291
birth, & we have naturally an ajBfection for it. A wise &
good man will indulge the one & never fail to discharge
the other upon all proper occasions. You understand our
interests & our rights & will, I doubt not, advance the one,
& defend the other, to the utmost of your power. In one
thing only, that of an American Episcopate, I think you
much mistaken. I have no doubt it would be both poli-
tically useful & greatly serve the interests of religion,
the most important of all others. You will, I trust, one
day see it in that light, & will then afford your aid to
effect it. Till you are convinced it will be beneficial I do
not ask y' assistance to promote it, but let me beg you
will not oppose it until you have given the subject, as it
merits, a very mature & serious consideration. I have
no news to tell you. In this part of the world we are
very quiet & peaceable. At Boston, I see, there is yet
some agitation. For myself I am returned to my old
industrious, busy course of life. This gives me bread. I
eat it in peace, & am therewith content. I have a lovely
family about me, & in them I am blessed & happy. I
should not certainly refuse any thing that would honestly
better my external circumstances, which are indifferent
enough, but I will seek nothing by dishonourable means,
will have nothing that may not be enjoyed with peace,
reputation & the good of those with whom I live. I thank
you very heartily for the care you took of M" Berkeley's
packet. When you have opportunity, pray present my
most affectionate complim** to that good family & to their
very worthy neighbours, for whom I shall ever retain the
most sincere respect & affection, & am, d' S',
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W^ Sam^ Johnson.
John Temple, Esq^.
292 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Boston, May 9*S 1772.
Dear Sir, — We had great pleasure from y* informa-
tion given by y' letter of y* 4*** of Dec' last. Your ap-
pointment to ofBice in England in the present circumstances
of things is preferable to an appointment in America ; but
it is probable you may have an opportunity after some
time of getting an establishment here, if you choose it.
Though a Comissionership in Ireland was long held out
to y' view, it is lucky you were not appointed to it, as y*
appointment of y* new Board, if still subsisting, has given
& will give y* people there great uneasiness, and they in
return will endeavour to make the holder of it as uneasy
as they can. Gov' Bernard, who was made head of that
Board, as soon as he found it so disagreeable to y* people
there, I understand, imediately quitted it, on being assured
his pension, tho much less than y* salary of a Comissioner,
should be continued to him. In doing which I think he has
a-cted a prudent part. This gentleman's merits have been
strangely overlooked. When will he have the reward to
which they intitle him ? I cannot view the conduct of y*
Americans in a light so unfavourable to them as you seem
to. Throughout y* continent they made y* fullest decla-
ration of their rights, and still abide by it. It was backed
by associations among the merchants not to import till
those rights were acknowledged by y® repeal of the acts
of Parliament for raising a revenue from America. The
associations, with little deviation, was maintained a con-
siderable time, & so far they discovered a laudable spirit.
When they were broken, w*** first took place at N. York,
whose example y* other Colonies were necessitated to
follow, it was matter of surprize they had continued so
long ; for besides y* operation of interest there were y*
underworkings and lies of emissaries to make them jealous
1772.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 293
and diffident of each other ; to which may be added the
little effect of y* non-importation occasioned by y* de-
mands from y* Russians & others about that time for
British goods, — all which circumstances brought on the
breach, which, I think, merits no worse name than a
misfortune, and which in a like situation would have hap-
pened among any other people under the sun. I don't
mean to justify the whole of their conduct, but to intimate
that it has probably been as fit and proper as in like cir-
cumstances could reasonably be expected. We have this
consolation, that nature, whose operation is not controul-
able by acts of Parliament, will in time free us from all
unreasonable impositions, if Parliament should refuse to
do it. Capt. Phillips desired me to thank you for solicit-
ing in his favour, of which Jemmy informed him. His
being so long neglected has had an ill effect on his health.
It is an act of justice that he should be provided for in
future, and compensated for the time he has lost since his
ejectment from Castle W". Your regard for so worthy a
man will induce you to use your good offices to procure
an appointment for him. I am sorry your anxiety has
been increased from an apprehension that your family has
been an incumbrance to us. So far from it, that it has
added greatly to our happiness ; and it is with y® utmost
regret we part with our dear daughter & her charming
little boy. It is, however with y* hope of seeing them
again with you in a few years ; but if Providence should
deny us that felicity, may it grant to each of you a long
and happy life, and in y* next scene, the invisibility of
which makes it too little regarded, admit you to joys per-
manent and uninterrupted. We could not consent to part
with your little girl, & should be glad to stop Grenville,
if it would not be a disadvantage to him. With y* sin-
cerest wishes for y' prosperity, in w""*" M" Bowdoin joins
me, I am, w"" great regard & affection, d' Sir,
Y' most obed. hble. serv*.
294 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO SAMUEL HOOD.
Boston, Sept. 2, 1772.
Dear Sir, — Having so good an opportunity by Capt.
Linzey, I embrace it to express ray best regards for your-
self and M" Hood and all the branches of your family.
Capt. Linzey has just made himself happy by entering
into the connubial state,* in which I wish him as many
young Linzies as he would choose to have. My son is
returned to America much mended in his health. I am
greatly obliged to you (as he also is) for your kind ex-
pressions with regard to him. 1 observe you are not well
pleased with the times, nor y* manner in which things are
going. They are both bad enough ; and I believe very
few approve them but such as are interested in the sup-
port of y* present system, a system founded on venality
and corruption, and whose end, at least whose tendency, is
despotism. I wish y* operation of it, if it must operate,
was confined to your island, but in fact it seems as exten-
sive as the dependencies thereon, and is most certainly
felt in America. Ever since your patron, M' Pitt, quitted
the helm things have gone wrong, and I am afraid will
continue to do so till he again shall guide it, or one of
his sentiments, honesty, and abilities. But enough of
politics, since y* present system affords so little matter for
pleasing reflection. M" Bowdoin has lost her daughter,
and never expects to see her again on this side y* water.
We have just heard of her arrival in England, where M'
Temple has a handsome appointment, and where she may
be happy in seeing M" Hood. Your friends at Ten Hills
are well. They and Capt. Erving thank you for yr. kind
enquiries, and send their compliments. M" Bowdoin's
* Captain John Linzee, then commanding the Beaver, married Sosanna Inroan, Sept.
1, 1772. See 2 Proceedinga, toI. x. p. 19. — Eds.
1772.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 295
best regards & wishes wait on M" Hood, & I beg you will
permit me to accompany them. I am with great truth &
respect, d' Sir,
Yr. most obed* hble. serv*
J. B.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
Boston, Sept' 29, 1772.
Dear Sir, — You judged perfectly right, and with a
candour that has alwaya distinguished you, in imputing my
late silence to any cause rather than disregard and neglect.
These can never take place so long as I retain any remem-
brance of the civilities of Gov' Pownall. A constitutional
weakness of eyes W" always made writing painful, and a
fall from my horse, the effects of which I have not yet
got rid of, have occasioned my not acknowledging sooner
the receipt of several letters you favoured me with. As
to the proceedings of y* Gen* Court relative to timber, the
two Houses in consequence of y® Gov''* speech on that
subject, which greatly faulted the people who had setled
in the townships lately granted by the Gen* C* to y* east-
ward of Penobscot River, and w*** intimated y* propriety
of removing them, thought it necessary in y* June session,
1771, to write to their agents on that head, and accordingly
wrote them a long letter to place in a favorable light the
people who had setled in those townships, and to assist
them in obtaining the King's confirmation of the Province
grants ; and also to give the s** agents information con-
cerning the mast-trees, lumber business, &c., that they
might defend y* Province against the charge of negligence
in preserving y* King's timber. In one of those townships
(Machias) there being a disturbance among y* people a
com^ of Council was appointed to go thither, & one of
their instructions was to enquire about y* growth of mast
timber in them, and whether the setlers there wasted and
296 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
destroyed it. The com*^ went accordingly, and have re-
ported their proceedings to y* Gov' & Council. The report
was made last Sept', and a copy of it has been sent by y*
Gov' to Lord Hillsborough. This copy, I suppose, your
brother M' Sec*^ Pownall can furnish you with, as can D'
Franklin & M' Bollan with the letter above mentioned.
For several years past the lands of y* Kennebeck Prop"
have been pillaged of mast timber by y* agents of the
mast contractors which occasioned the Prop'"* com^ to
write to Gov' Wentworth, y* Surveyor Gen* of y* Woods,
to prevent it ; but he says it is not in his power,
as he is only an executive officer, that his licenses only
respect the King's woods, and that y* mast-cutters are sub-
ject to prosecution, if they cut contrary to their licenses.
As the Prop" did not incline to incur y* expence of a law
suit, they laid their case before administration by peti-
tions dated in December last, — one addressed to y* Lords
of y* Admiralty forwarded by Gov' Wentworth, a dupli-
cate of the same forwarded by Admiral Montagu, and a
second petition of the same tenor addressed to the Lords
of the Treasury, forwarded by Gov' Hutchinson to Lord
Hillsborough. To y* petitions are annexed a state of y* s**
Prop"' title, an account of their great expence & exertions to
settle that country, & extracts from y* acts of Parliament
for preservation of white pines to shew the s** acts do not
relate to pines growing within our Kennebeck purchase.
These petitions the gentlemen who forwarded them in-
formed us some time ago have been received, but we have
not learnt that they have produced the desired effect. In
y* mean time the mast cutters continue their depredations
as before ; and are now preparing, as we are informed, to
make great destruction of our property the next winter.
I suppose you can see those petitions at the Boards to
w*"*" they are addressed, and also the letters sent with
them from the gentlemen who forwarded them. If there
be any observations in any of those letters to the disad-
1772.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 297
vantage of the s* Prop"' title, which has lately been appre-
hended, I earnestly beg y' favour you will procure for
me a copy of such parts of them as contain those observa-
tions. I will replace the cost of it, be greatly obliged to
you, and subject to such injunctions concerning it as you
think proper. M' Vassall (Florentius Vassall) has a copy
of the s** petitions and papers annexed which were sent to
him by the Kennebeck com*^, and which I doubt not th^t
gentleman will readily communicate to you. By the next
vessell (if my eyes will permit) I intend myself the
honour of writing to you again, and in the mean time
with great esteem beg leave to subscribe myself, d' Sir,
Y' most obed* hble. serv*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THOMAS POWNALL.
Boston, Oct* 24, 1772.
Dear Sir, — By his Majesty*s schooner Sultana I had
the pleasure of writing to you y* 29^ of Sept'. The re-
moval of y* General Assembly to Boston, as well as from
it, has proved alike ineffectual to bring them to an acqui-
escence with ministerial measures. The air of Cambridge
& of Boston is equally unsuitable to make them view
objects as they appear in the Court medium. That of
Penobscott might have some effect upon them, the salu-
brity of which you have experienced. Would it not be
worth while for our state physicians to prescribe it ?
Perhaps it may have some quality to rectify y* defects
of vision,
" to purge from thick films the mental ray
And on their sightless eye-balls pour the day."
I believe on my conscience it would evidence the skill of
those physicians in their profession as much as some other
of their prescriptions. What past on y subject of remov-
298 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
ing the Assembly back to Boston the prints have informed
you ; and what has past since respecting y* Governor's
receiving his salary from y* Crown has been conveyed to
you thrO y* same channel. You Governors are posted
on very advantageous ground. You can attack when you
please ; are always sure of the last fire, and by that means
of coming off with advantage, or at least of retiring from
y* field of battle without the danger of immediate pursuit.
The last message, and which put an end to the session,
carried y* air of victory, which probably would have been
disputed, if opportunity had been given for it ; but that,
though generous in itself, might not be deemed a proper
act of generalship. However, 'tis possible that in y* course
of y* next campain y* battle may be renewed upon the
same ground. But to speak plain English, the Assembly
apprehend the Province Charter determines y* manner in
which the Gov' shall be supported, viz., by grant from y
Assembly; that the present mode of supporting him is
inconsistent with y* Charter ; and that he so far forth
ceases to be y* Charter Governor. If this be a just ground
for uneasiness, the support of the Judges of our Superior
Court in the same way must be abundantly more so.
Their allowance, 'tis true, is too small ; but it has been
uniformly y* same for many years. The present Bench
therefore, who well knew before their appointment the
emoluments of their office, have no reason to complain.
When y* last usual grant was made they wanted but a
single vote for the enlargement of it ; and it is probable
that at y* next session the Assembly, if not prevented by
ministerial interference, will enlarge it. In an indepen-
dent state it is proper the Judges should be independent,
as in England. But in a subordinate state, as this Prov
ince, it is not so clear that they should be independent
of its Assembly. It is easy to conceive, and we Have now
abundant facts to verify it, that a parent state by superior
power may impose taxes on, & transfer its revenue & other
1772.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 299
laws to, the subordinate state ; whence, as well as from
other sources, many cases determinable by those Judges
may arise, which shall deeply affect the rights & property
of the latter. Now, to instance in this Province, who
are likely to be appointed Judges if the Assembly has no
check upon them ? Will they not be such as the minister
shall instruct his Governor to appoint? And to such
appointment is any effectual opposition to be expected
from a Council whose existence every year depends on y*
Governor who holds his office at the will of the minister
of the foreign state? It is morally certain the Judges
will be such as the minister will approve, and in no long
time after the establishment will be such as will be sent
from the foreign state with mandamus to y* Governor to
appoint them to that office. This would probably be y*
case even if y* establishment were derived from y* Province
legislature, who ought to be, if the measure be a fit one,
the enacters of it ; and it is equally probable that such
Judges would not be very tender of the property and
rights or even the lives of the Provincials where they in-
terfered with ministerial measures, the tendency or the
end of which might be to reduce them to a state of abso-
lute subjugation. Hence it appears to me a proper infer-
ence that in the present state of things, the Judges of cur
courts, even if the Province Charter were wholly silent
about it, ought to depend for their support on grants
from the Assembly. But what shall we say if the report
be true that y* ministry have undertaken to provide for
the support of y* Judges ? Will it not be contrary to, and
so far vacate the Charter? Will it not place them in
absolute dependence on minis", and therefore unless they
will forfeit their stipends must they not in a judicial way,
which will be an effectual one, and for w''*' there will not
be wanting opportunities, endeavour to confirm & estab-
lish all the measures of ministry, however oppressive and
enslaving ? What those measures will be in their nature
300 THE BOWDOIN AKD TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
& tendency our experience in the last seven years affords
sufl&cient means to conjecture. Perhaps it may be said their
stipends were made certain to them by act of Parliament.
But are not acts of Parliam* acts of ministry ? Cannot
they alter or reverse them at pleasure ? And with respect
to Parliament itself is it not in y* hands of ministry as
clay in the hand of the potter? These questions I am
not capable of resolving ; but if those that are should find
sufl&cient reason to resolve them aflirmatively, will not y*
Judges, though provided for by act of Parliament be in a
state of absolute dependence on ministry? and will not
the evils hinted at above be the natural consequence?
What effects will be produced by these new manoevres,
added to those of a few past years, time will unfold ; as
it will that I am & always shall be, with y* most perfect
esteem, d' Sir,
Y' most ob* & very hble. serv?
James Bowdoin.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Boston, Nov 2, 1772.
Dear Sir, — Your several letters and the enclosures
relative to Capt. Phillips's appointment to be fort major
of Castle W" I communicated to him. He is very sen-
sible of the extraordinary manner in w*^*" you exerted
yourself on that occasion in his behalf, and expresses in
warm terms his obligations to you. He is lately returned
from N. York, in y* neighbourhood of which he passed y*
summer, and is much recruited in his health and spirits,
to which his re-appointment to office has very probably
contributed. He saw Gen* Gage at N. York, who gave
him his coinission and a warrant for his back-pay.
With this appointment everybody seems pleased, and I
believe it will make him very happy. I hope you'll
1772.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 301
succeed in your endeavours to procure him the former
perquisites*
Your letter accompanying the cheeses I sent with one
of them to M' Pitts, and half of the other I sent to D'
Chauncy. They thank you for them. I read to him y'
letter, as I did also your other letters. The Dr. says he
shall keep y* cheese for his best friends only, and shall let
them know it is the produce of the Earl of Chatham's
estate, & for that reason will deal it out to them very
frugally, as he means to keep it as long as he can, as a
memento of the man to whom y* nation is under infinite
obligations. Tho' such a memento is very perishable, I
was much pleased with y* warmth of y* Dr.'s expression &
his zeal to do justice to so distinguished a character. If
his L'^ship had been continued the Palinurus of y* state the
public happiness founded on the mutual confidence of
prince and people would probably not have been inter-
rupted, nor a foundation laid of y* seperation of y* Colonies
from Britain, which unless the operations of nature be
reversed, will infallibly be y* consequence of the ministerial
system now executing in America, and particularly in this
Province, and to which you can be no stranger. The new
object of uneasiness is y* dependence of our Judges on
ministry for their support, and y* making by an act of the
last session of Parliament certain offences in America
triable in England. Both of which, as well as many other
of their acts shew a total disregard to and a manifest in-
fraction on the rights of Americans in the most important
instances in w*'*' the rights of the people of England are
effectually secured to them. Such impositions and dis-
criminations will work their effect, and the effect will
appear when the balance of power shall be reversed, or
* Amon^ the Temple Papers are nameroos letters from Mr. Temple, showing the great
intere5(t which he took in the care of Major John Phillips, who was superseded in the com-
mnnd of Cai*t1e W^illism hy Col. Dalrymple. Most of them are printed in the Proceedings,
vol. xii. pp. 207-211. —Eds.
302 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1772.
the two scales shall approach nearer to an equilibrium,
which every day hastens. It seems Lord Hillsborough as
y* minister for America has made his exit. From Hudson's
Bay to Florida there will be no great lamentation on
that occasion, especially as his successor, Lord Dartmouth,
has y* character of being the friend of America, in w*'"'
character he can be no enemy to Great Britain. It gives
us joy that Grenville has got well thro' y* small pox. Y'
little girl is as plump as a partridge, & makes us all happy.
M" Bowdoin's & Jemmy's best regards to you & Betsy
accompany those of, d' S%
Y' most obed. h**** serv*.
James Bowdoin.
I send you V* Scott one of our island cheeses of last
year's growth.*
the council and house of representatives to lord
dartmouth.!
Province of Massachusetts Bat, June 29, 1773.
To Y" Right Hon»" y» Earl of Dartmouth.
My Lord, — The re-establishment of the union & har-
mony that formerly subsisted between Great Britain &
her Colonies is earnestly to be wished by the friends of
both. As y' Lordship is one of them, y* two Houses of y*
Assembly of this Province beg leave to address you. The
original causes of the interruption of that union & harmony
may probably be found in y* letters sent from hence to
administration and to other gentlemen of influence in
Parliament, since the appointment of Sir Francis Bernard
to y* government of this Province. And there is great
reason to apprehend that he and his coadjutors originally
• The island referred to is Naashon, the property and occasionally the summer resi-
dence of Mr. Bowdoin. See 6 Mass. Hist. Coll., rol. v., p. 866, note. — Eds.
t Printed from a rough draught in the handwriting of James Bowdoin. — Edi.
1773.] COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 303
recommended & laid the plans for the establishing y*
American revenue, out of which they expected large sti-
pends & appointments for themselves, and which through
their instrumentality has been y* occasion of all the evils
that have since taken place. When we had humbly
addressed his Majesty and petitioned both Houses of Par-
liament, representing our grievances and praying for the
repeal of the Revenue Acts, the like instruments, and
probably y* same, exerted themselves to prevent those
petitions being laid before his Majesty & the Parliament,
or to frustrate the prayer of them. Of this we have just
had some new and unexpected evidence from original
letters of Governor Hutchinson & L* Governor Oliver, in
which the former, particularly & expressly by his letter of
ye 20^ Dec', 1768, endeavoured in co-operation with Gov'
Bernard to frustrate a petition of a number of the Council
for y* repealing those acts and to procure his Majesty's
censure on the petitioners ; and the letters of y* latter, by
y* disadvantageous idea conveyd by them of the two
Houses of Assembly, manifestly tended to create a preju-
dice against any petitions coming from a body of such a
character, and his letter of y* ll**' of May, 1768, in parti-
cular, mentions y* petition of y* House of Representatives
to his Majesty and their letters to divers noble Lords with
such circumstances as had a tendency to defeat y* petition
and render y* letters of no effect. It is now manifest, my
Lord, what practices and arts have been used to mislead
administration, both in y* first proposal of American
Revenue Acts and in y* continuance of them. But when
they had lost their force, and there appeared under the
influence of y' Lordship a disposition in Parliament to
repeal those acts, his Exc^ Gov' Hutchinson, in his speech
at y* opening of y* last session of y* Gen* Court, was pleased
to throw out new matter for contention & debate, and to
call on y* two Houses in such a pressing manner as
amounted to little short of a challenge to answer him.
304 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778,
Into such dilemma were they brought by y* speech that
they were under a necessity of giving such answers to it
as they did, or having their conduct construed into an
acquiescence with the doctrines contained in it, which
would have been an implicit acknowledgment that y*
Province was in a state of subjection differing very little
from slavery. The answers were y* effect of necessity,
and this necessity occasiond great grief to y* two Houses.
The people of this Province, my Lord, are true and faith-
ful subjects of his Majesty, and think themselves happy in
their connection with Great Britain. They would rejoice
at y* restoration of y* harmony and good will that once
subsisted between y* parent state and them ; but it is in
vain to expect this happiness during y* continuance of
their grievances, and while their charter rights one after
another are wrested from them. Among these rights is
the supporting of y* officers of y* Crown by grants from
y* Assembly ; and in an especial manner y* supporting of
the Judges in the same way, on whose judgment the
Province is dependent in y* most important cases of life,
liberties, & property. If warrants have not yet been, or
if they already have been issued, we earnestly begy** favour
of your Lordship's interposition to suppress or recall them.
If y' Lordship should condescend to ask what are y* means
of restoring y* harmony so much desired, we sh* answer
in a word that we are humbly of opinion if things were
brought to y* general state in w*"*" they stood at the con-
clusion of y* late war, it would restore the happy harmony
that at that time subsisted. Your Lordship's appointment
to be principal Sec'' of State for y* American Department
has given the Colonies y* highest satisfaction. They think
it a happy omen, and that it will be productive of Ameri-
can tranquillity, consistent with their rights as British
subjects. The two Houses humbly hope for your Lord-
ship's influence to bring about so happy an event ; and in
y* mean time they can with full confidence rely on your
1773.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 305
Lordship that y* machinations of Sir Francis Bernard and
other known enemies of y* peace of G* Britain & her Colo-
nies will not be suffered to prevent or delay it.
This letter, w'** has been agreed on by both Houses, is
in their name and by their order signed & transmitted to
y' Lordship, by.
My Lord, yr. Lordship's most obed* & very hble. serv*.
Indorsed by James Bowdoiii : '' The Council & House of Rep" Letter to
Lord Dartmouth signed by Sec^ Flucker, June 29, 1773. Tho* Hutchinson
being Gov'."
JAMES BOWDOIN TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
^ Coffin from Nantucket. Boston, June 30, 1773.
Sir, — Yesterday y* Gen* Court was prorogued to Sep-
tember. The same day before y* prorogation y* two
Houses agreed on a letter to Lord Dartm% & ordered it to
be signed and transmitted in their name by y* Sec*^. It
will be sent by this conveyance enclosed in a cover directed
to you & D' Franklin, to be deliv** to his Lordship in such
manner as you & y* D' shall think proper.
The Com*** of Council appointed to correspond w"' you
desired me to send you a copy of it (w^** is enclosed) as they
could not meet before y* departure of y* vessel. They w**
be glad to know how y* letter is rec**, & what notice has
been taken of the proceedings of y* Gen* C in y* last winter
session. I am respectfully, S',
Y' most obed' hble. serv*
James Bowdoin.*
* A duplicate of this letter, with the enclosures, was sent July 9. Mr. Bowdoin then
added : *" The Speaker of y« House of Rep* has sent to Dr Franklin two authenticated copies
of \'« Grov* & L* Gov*" letters, and has desired y« D' to let you have one of them." Copied
on the same sheet of paper is an incomplete abstract of the letters referred to, in the hand-
writing of Bowdoin, headed : "The subject or heads of divers letters from Boston to gentle-
men in administration at London ; taken from the originals, which by the death of Goorge
Grenville, Esqr (late Secretary of State) & of Thomas Whateley, Esq^, Secretary to him,
fell into hands of gentlemen who permitted them to be sent to Boston for the perusal of a
few persons in New England. They were sent by Dr. [blank] to [blank]^ and rec^ at Boston,
March [blank], 1773." — Eds.
20
306 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
FREDERICK VANE* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
[July, 1773 ?]
Dear Sir, — I have frequently turned in my mind the
subject matter of our conversation the morning we walked
together in S* James Park, & since I came into this coun-
try I have mentioned it to my brother Darlington, whose
peculiar prudence will not suffer him to say iVb to any thing
I may think honorable for myself, but seemed surprised
at my shewing an inclination to leave my own country.
If to be made an instrument of restoring that antient
good humour & harmony which subsisted betwixt the
mother country & the Colonys, & at a time too when it
is of the utmost import to this nation, did not appear to
my mind most honorable, I would not glance an eye to
such an employment, & leave my own country & friends &
some whom I dearly love. For 'tis not want that induces
me to covet such an employment. Riches neither is, nor
ever was, the object of my wishes. And if Lord Dart-
mouth thinks so favorably of me as to recommend me to
his Majesty for the purpose of carrying abroad any heal-
ing measures, I should only hope, if I executed my trust
with fidelity, & health or any other circumstance shoud
make me desirous of returning home, I might then be
placed in as comfortable a situation as I was found in.
You know my mind noio. Was I with you I woud in
confidence say something more of my brother s sentiments.
But I must leave it entirely to you to name me again if
you think proper to Lord Dartmouth. I shoud not choose
to ask my brother to sollicite this employment. If I am
thought a proper person by his Lordship, & the offer is
made, I shall. consider myself at liberty to accept of it.
I have been told I lost Jamaica for not asking it. I know
* Second 8on of the first Earl of Darling:ton, and a lineal descendant from Sir Henry Vane,
Governor of Massachusetts, 1636-7. Ue was born in 1732 and died in 1801. — £d8.
1773.] FREDERICK VANE. 307
not that. Such an employment never enterd into my
mind till M' Fuller proposed it to me, & sayd he knew I
shoud be agreeable to the gentlemen of £he island. I de-
clined asking it on account of my family connections in
this country. The same reason holds for my not requesting
it at this time. But as I pledged myself for the accept-
ance of it, if they coud procure it for me, so if Lord Dart-
mouth considers me as capable, & desirous of going with
such instructions as we talked of, & thought most likely
to answer the true ends of government at home & the
wishes of the moderate & sober part of the inhabitants of
New England, enthusiastic as it may sound, I have that
love for Old England & its old constitution that to be of
some service to my country, woud afford me a very sensi-
ble pleasure. Of course I shall be glad to hear from you
upon this subject, & sure I do not judge amiss in leaving
this to your good sense & prudence. M" Vane joins me
in compliments to M" Temple. I am
Very sincerely your friend & humble serv?
Fred. Vane.
M' Pownal has, I hear, sayd the government are sollicit-
ing him to go over. I woud by no means set myself up
in competition with him or any other gentleman more
conversant & capable than I feel myself. I am only ready
to answer when called upon.
FREDERICK VANE TO JOHN TEMPLE,
Selaby, Aug* 22<i, 1773.
Dear Sir, — I took the liberty of writing to you a few
lines some time ago upon the subject of our conversation in
S' James Park. I now read in the papers that M' Pownal
is to go to New England ; I hope upon the conciliating
plan & to bring back that country to its ancient good
308 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
humour, I might say, good sense, for in that they seem
no ways deficient. Having glanced an eye that way I am
sollicitous to know what is realy doing, for I know little
but what I see in the papers. At the same time I cannot
expect as much of your opinion as perhaps you might have
confidence in declaring were we to converse together again
upon that subject. Our government here seem to have
much upon their hands. East Indies, Ireland, America, &,
to crown the work, a new ParP. My mind is at present
employd about farming, & I shoud leave it for the busy
world with some reluctance. M" Vane is very well. I
hope your wife & little one are the same. Excuse my
troubling you with this, & allow me to say, I am
Y' very sincere, humble serv*.
Fred* Vane.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Sohampton Street, Co\'» Garden, Sept. !•», 1773.
Gentlemen, — Since my last M' Pownall, who, you are
sensible, is not only Secry to the Plantation Board, but
likewise to Lord Dartmouth as Secry of State, took occas"
to observe to me these three things, whether by order of
his superiours or not, I cannot say : 1'*, that all the Crown
lawyers were of opinion the Stat, of Hen. 8^*" respecting
the trial of foreign treasons extended to the Colonies ;
2, that in consequence of a doubt which formerly arose at
the Coimcil Board respecting this extent, the Chief Jus-
tice, who was a member of that Board, by the King's
order, took the opin" of the other eleven Judges, who
unanimously agreed with him in opin° that this Stat, did
extend to the Colonies; 3, that the governm^ were in
poss"" of this jurisdiction, several offenders having suffered
under the exercise of it. These observations containing
some new as well as import* matter, I confess'd the au-
1773.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 309
thority was great, without giving up my opin", and after
reconsidering this arduous question as far as the time
wou'd permit, I observed to him that no man or order of
men can possibly j udge of that which is not exposed to
their judgm', that the true political state of the Colon' was
not known to the twelve Judges when they gave their opin-
ion, which is irreconcileable with it, as I hope clearly to
evince from matters of record as well as reason, as soon
as time sufficient & avocations unavoidable will allow,
and that I retained my former opinion, which seem'd, I
thought, to surprise him. Afterwards I observed to Lord
Dartmouth that cuting oflE the Colonies from the king-
dom for one purpose had a tendency to cut them oflE for
others, to which he seem'd to assent. It is needless to
add that the opin° of the Judges & lawyers hath been
confirmed by both Houses of ParP & adopted by the King
& his min", or to take notice of the time, learning &
labours requisite to oppose these united authorities, which
cannot be done in the most efficacious manner without
taking & clearing the ground proper for the defence of
your other rights, wherefore I have since applied myself
to this difficult & important business with diligence.
During the late session of ParP I used my best endeav-
ours to obtain a repeal of the grievous duty imposed on
the teas you import, of which it may not be amiss to
mention these particulars. An intelligent, worthy friend,
who is largely concerned in the tea trade, & well acquainted
with it consider'd in all its relations, having in several
conferences convinced me that this duty was prejudicial
to the India C* & the kingdom, I pray'd the favour of
him to draw up a state of the whole, to be laid before L*
Dartm** : he proceeded to do it without delay, and while
employed upon it a gentleman who formerly sat in Pari*
came out of the city, & desired him to draw up a state of
the tea trade, to be laid before L* North, to whom he
answ"* that he was then busied in making the state de-
310 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
sired to be given to Lord Dartm% and wou'd give him a
copy when completed ; this state, a copy whereof you
have enclosed, I deliv** to his Lordship; and, in order to
encline his Maj*^ & his min" to favour the desired repeal,
accompanied it with the following extract from the writ-
ings of a great min' to the late French king s " Let your
Maj*^ call to mind what pass'd at the time the business of
excess in drinking was before the [Council] board. I set
myself against it with all my power, & if the thing had
but depended upon me it had never been done. I knew
really the injustice of it, altho' they [the farmers] had
endeaV* to give it all the colours one cou'd possibly imag-
ine, and so it made such a noise in the consequence that
your Maj*^ tho* it convenient to revoke that new tax.''
My hopes of success were not inconsiderable for some
time, but at length they fail'd, for which I know no rea-
son, save that, according to my information, it was tho* fit
to continue this tax as a badge of sovereinty over you.
Some time past D' Franklin informed me one Califf was
come over to secure to the grantees the twelve eastern
townships & had applied to him for that purpose, and that
he wou'd bring him to me, adding that he understood it
was equal to the parties concern'd whether they were
continued under the governm* of the Province or not ;
whereupon I observed to him it was our duty to take care
of the right & interest of the Province, to which he readily
assented. Not long after, calling one morning at the Doc-
tor's, there I saw M' Califf, and in the course of my en-
quiry into the state of these townships, & who were the
persons concern'd in the mangem' of this affair, among
others, to my surprise, he named S*" Fra" Bernard ; where-
upon I directly said I wou'd have nothing to do with S^
Francis, and after giving back his papers left him, with-
out seeing him any more til some time after at L** Dartm**'*
levy, where he appear'd shy of me. Young AP Lane at-
tended at the same time upon this business, as his Lordship
1773.] WILLIAM BOLL AX. 311
afterwards told me. He had formerly applied, but now
said nothing to me about it. In a conference had the
same morning between his Lordship, M' Pownall & my-
self, respecting the eastern part of the Province, I was
very frankly told that D' Califf, so M' Pownall call'd him,
wanted to obtain a distinct government there. To ex-
plain this conference, you .are sensible that in the late
reign this eastern country was seized into the King's
hands, other possessions being deem'd intrus" upon the
rights of the Crown, and held until judg* was given by
her late Maj^^, as guard"^ of the kingdom, in Council, in
favour of the claimants in point of soil & jurisdict" pur-
suant to the report of two late eminent Chancellors when
Attor^ & Solic' Gen\ This judg* it was presumed was se-
cure to the Province and others for the future their
respective rights. Nevertheless, by my letter to the Gen'
Court of the 10'^ June, 1762, I gave them, y6u are sen-
sible, a partic' acco* of the claim made on behalf of the
Crown to the country lying between the rivers Penobscot
& S* Croix, with various matters respecting it & the right
of the Prov*^. The measures I took caused, as I under-
stood, a suspens" of the intended proceedings for reducing
the claim of the Crown into possession. Other proceed-
ings since had respecting this part of the Province you
well understand ; wherefore coming to the pres^ occas", the
several applica'. lately made respect' this part of the coun-
try having raised fresh attention in administra" & revived
their sense of the claim of the Crown, in order to quiet
the same & bring this embar* import' business to the best
settlem* practicable for all parties, I coinunicated to L*
Dartm"* the proposal contained in my letter to the Council
of the 18'** of Oct', 1771, of which I made such an extract
for his Lords^'' use as was suffic' to give him a clear idea
of it, and some consid*"*' time having elapsed before this
conference, which took place on the last day of his Lords^'"
seeing comp'' upon business before the usual recess, and he
312 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [177a
having comunicated the proposal to M' Pownall, who is
well acquainted with all prior proceedings relative to the
country in quest", he began by saying that the proposal
was the most equal & complete he ever saw, save its being
liable to this great objec" that the opinion of the Attor. &
Sol' Gen^, which influenced the judgem* given by the
Queen in favour of the Prov**^ was founded upon such an
error in point of fact as vitiated their opin°, the jus^ post-
Uminii whereon it was grounded being prevented from
taking place with respect to the country lying betw"
Penobscot & S* Croix in favour of the Prov*^ when their
present charter was granted, because the Fr. king, he
said, was then certainly in poss° of that country by vertue
of the cess" made by the treaty of Breda, so that the
ProV* hath no better right to it than they have to N.
Scotia. To this I made such answ' as the remembr" of
my former examina* into the sev* changes of domin"" to
which the country hath been subjected & into the nat"* of
the right whereby the Crown lands in America are held,
with my sense of the opera"* of public law & right upon
the whole matter, dictated. His Lords'" appear'd to me
rather satisf* with the answ', and M' Pownall continuing
the object" no farther, we proceeded to the consid" of the
proposal, wherein his Lords'* from first to last shew'd great
candour, and among other things observed that by em-
bracing it the Gen* Court wou'd have it ii) their power to
do justice by their new & proper grants made at their
discret" to the settlers of the twelve townships, who at
pres' have no legal title, and so in like manner the other
unappropriated lands may be granted freely by the Gen*
Court, saving such proper mast lands as shou'd be set
apart for the use of the Crown, for which purpose it was
observed that proper surveyors shou'd be appointed by
the Crown & the Prov**, and his Lords'* seem'd pleased
with the expecta" that the Gen* Court wou'd from time
to time give their assistance for securing from inroads &
1773.] WILLIAM BOLL AN. 813
trespasses the lands thus set apart for national service.
According to an account of the distance of each har-
bour & river from Boston to Louisbourg, which I brought
with me, in the year 1745, the extent of the seacoast from
Penobscot to S' Croix amounts to 49 leagues ; and altho'
in the course of this conference there was no express men-
tion made of waving the claim of the Crown to this coun-
try, yet his Lords'" having authorised me to declare to the
Gen* Court his approba" of my proposal for the settlem* of
it, in case they shall think fit to embrace it, the subse-
quent negotiation & conclus"^ of the matter will, I con-
ceive, clearly amount to a waver of this claim & secure to
the Province the future jurisdic" over the whole country,
together with their right to such land as shall not belong
to the Crown or partic' persons, with the entire avoidance
of future contests respecting the right of jurisdic" & soil,
the progress whereof, if they take place, will be attended
with difficulty and the event with danger, so that if the
pres' opportunity of quieting this interesting business sho*
not be embraced, the Prov**, all things consid*, may prob-
ably in my opin" never meet with another so favourable.
Upon his Lordsh'*'* entire agree* to the proposal he made
mention of writing to the Gov' to signify the same, but
presently after gave me author^ to declare his approba**
of it, to be laid before the Gen* Court ; and since writing
the above, in the course of a conference with M' Pownall,
the right to this part of the Province being rather casually
mentioned, he observed that the opin° of the Attor^ & Sol'
Gen* whereon the judgiu' of the Queen was founded was
condition* and proposed our going together directly to
examine the proceedings remaining in the office, in order
to clear up this point, but I avoided it, observing that Q.
Eliza*** held all the eastern country to the time of her
death, that K. James had no maner of right to grant
under the great seal of the kingdom of ScotP any lands
that he held in right of the Crown of EngP, and that K,
314 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
Cha* 2** had no right by the treaty of Breda to cede to the
French king any lands held in right of his Crown, be-
cause by public law & right all such lands are to descend
with the Crown ; but, presently puting an end to all en-
quiries of this nature, we both agreed that th' acceptance
& completion of the present proposal wou'd entirely quiet
the country for the comon benefit of all parties concern'd.
As to your civil rights & liberties, which in their naV*
& value so far exceed all other possess"*, my hopes of being
able to say something agreeable to you are frustrated,
after hav* discontin* writing this letter some time for
that purpose. When the letter of the two Houses to L*
Dartm** came to hand, his Lords'" being gone to his seat
in the country, 120 miles dist^ with intent to remain
there during the usual recess from business, we directly
transmited it to his Lords^ who did not think fit to
come to town & attend the Cabinet councils held in con-
sequence of the advices rec* by the same conveyance ;
since which having had free conversa" touch* the proper
gov* of the Colon* with an intelligent gentleman, likely
enough to know the sense of adminis", he declared in the
strongest terms the author*^ of Parliam* to be unlimited &
unquestionable. His utter exclus"" of all examina" in this
case surprised me ; however, I deliberately oppos'd this
doctrine until he waved the quest" by proceeding to other
matter, & I have not elsewhere met with any cert" mark
of the approval of that temperam*^ which is so desirable
on your behalf, but rather the reverse of late. For my
own part I confess that, upon the most careful exercise of
a free judgm*, it appears to me that nothing can be duly
determ"* without being duly consid**, & that nothing can
be duly consid** without hearing the parties concern'd, —
that unlimited author*^ doth not appert" to any of the
rulers upon earth, altho' absolute power oppresseth so
many parts of it, — that the law of nat" being the law
of God is immutable & every law of man repugn* to nat^
1773.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 315
justice void, — that the late system of taxa° & jurisprud-
ence is incompatible with your just rights, — that the
true perman* interest of the king, kingd"*, & Colon* is
inseparable, & their cord* union, by injur* & improvid*
meas"' so grievously wounded of late, requisite for their
mutual honour, safety, & welfare ; wherefore the great
quest" now is what farther can be done to check the pre-
vail* sense of unlimited author*^, which seems to have
gain'd strength upon the applicat" lately made, as well
as the other meas~" taken to restrain it. In your late
contest with the Gov', who set up a supremacy, with
invita" to the two Houses to attempt its overthrow, it is
to be observed that in the nat" of the case the scales cou'd
not be equally held, because concess" made by the Gen'
Assem^^ wou'd be understood to bind the Prov**, whereas
his concess"* made on your convincing him of any error
wou'd rest in his pers°, & in no wise bind the Crown ; and
as to the applica"* made by the House of Repres^ to the
King, having never yet seen them, nor had any knowl-
edge at all of them til D' Franklin acquainted me with
them & the proceed*^ upon them, a few days after our
joint transmiss" of the letter of the two Houses to L*
Dartm"*, a copy of whose letter to him, dated the 2^ of
June, giv' acco* of his Lords'^'* present* two petit" of the
House to his Maj% with his roy* ans' to the same, the D'
soon after sent me, all I can say is that this answ' hath
very much encreased my concern for the public welfare.
After frequently revolving the subj* matter of this un-
happy controversy in my own mind, & consider* it in all
its parts, relations & future effects, as far as I was able,
some time past I resolved to write & publish an authentic
state of the establish^ & civil rights of the Eng^ Colon*
planted in America, intend* to place those rights on the
most solid basis, and in so clear a light that no impart*
man can reject them; or rather to shew that the acta
regia of the several princes under whose auth*^ their
316 THE BOWDOIX AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
acquests of Ainer" domin" were made by the meritor* ad-
venturers & settlers had originally so placed them. You
are so well acquainted with the begining & progress
of this controversy that 'tis needless to say it doth not
subsist between the inhabit* of this kingdom & th' in-
habit" of the Colonies, whose rights & inter* are really in
substance the same, altho' their local separa", with the
conseq' differ^ in several parts of th' exter' form of gov*,
doth in certain cases occas" differ* modes of their enjoym*,
but th' inhabit** of this kingdom have not such a deep
sense of their conect" with you in point of right & inter*
as the welfare of the whole doth in my opin" require ; and
therefore it would be benefit to encrease if possible their
soUicitude on your behalf. Error being infin**, altho' an
incompetent min' began this controversy without the least
cause or possible public benefit, var" aiigraenta"*, the
mischiefs & dangers attend* upon it are spread so far &
wide, have taken so deep root, & your adversar* are so
numer*, intellig* & powerful, that for a consider^^ time I
was much at a loss to discern the best method of making
an efficaci* defence of your rights, & at length form'd a
plan so large that I know not when I shall accomplish it,
nor whether I shall be able to do it at all to my own
satisfac": however, after having nearly completed the
proper prepar^ collect"" sever^ months past, I began its
execu", & have since given as close applica" to it as avoca*"
unavoidable wou'd permit, and purpose to proceed upon
the old maxim, nil desperandum^ when the comon-wealth
is in danger.
M' Pownall lately asked me on a sudden who was
agent for the Massa*** Province, because, he said, the par-
tition-line between that & the Province of New York
being adjusted & settled by their mutual agreement had
been transmited in order to obtain the royal confirmation
of it, but the appearance of the Massacliu*** Province by
their proper agent was wanted for that purpose ; to which
1773.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 817
I answered that I knew nothing of this business, but was
agent for the Council and D' Franklin for the House of
Repres^*"*, there being no agent chosen & appointed for the
Province, whose inhabitants being by Charter incorporated,
he said, must of necessity appear by their agent deputed
imder the corporation or public seal, as other corpora-
tions always do, the seal being of course to be affixed to
the appointment upon the agent's being chosen by the
Gen* Court ; and from the whole* that hath been said at
different times, respecting the justice & necessity of the
Province's having the benefit of the free choice of their
agent in order to the defence of their rights & interests,
I apprehend the choice which the two Houses shall make
will not be frustrated, but on the contrary receive its
proper completion. If that shou'd ever be unjustly re-
fused the Province wou'd in my opinion have good cause
of complaint, and then they must of necessity appear in
the best manner they can : in the mean time my indispens-
able duty to the Province obliges me to declare that it is
impossible under the present state of the agency to con-
duct its affairs in any authoritative, regular & beneficial
manner. In case the Gen* Court shall approve of the
proposal respecting the eastern country, it will be impos-
sible to negotiate that affair on behalf of the Province
otherwise than by their agent duly authorised, and I know
not how soon there may be other occasions for the ap-
pearance of an agent with admissable authority. I am.
Gentlemen, with the greatest respect for you & the other
members of the Council,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
Gentlemen of the CoftiTTES of Council appointed to correspond
WITH their Agent.
318 THE BOWDOm AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773,
FREDERICK VANE TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Selaby, near Darlington, Sept"^ 11*^ 1773.
Dear Sir, — Ever since I received the pleasure of yours
I have been very indifferent in my health. 'Tis not for
man to complain. I only mention it as an excuse for
not returning you my sincere thanks. It certainly ap-
peared strange to me that Pownal shoud be thought of as
a proper person to conciliate matters between the Colony
of New England & this country. All the papers woud
have it so. But when I was told that he himself shoud
say government were soUicitous to have him undertake
the arduous task, I always believe a gentleman will not
dare to tell a falsehood, and that it was so. My sen-
timents are well known to you, but I can have little
expectation of L** Dartmouth's casting an eye upon me.
Men in such situations expect sollicitation. It is not that
I feel any nonsensical pride which prevents me offering
my services where they can be of any use, for to be sure
Virginia is the most desirable on every account. But I
have a delicacy with respect to my family, which I hinted
to you before, & not easy to be expressed. Does Pari*
meet in Nov' or not ? Is it the East Indies or the West
or both which will occasion the summons? Are your
Grovernors in America to come over or not ? If you can
with propriety give me a sketch of your thoughts about
it I shoud be glad to hear from you, & take no manner
of notice to a soul about it. If you have the smallest
objection, pray say not a word about them. I shall be
glad to hear M" Temple & my little favorite is well.
M" Vane is perfectly so. My confinement has not been
agreeable to her ; however, I hope to be abroad in a few
days, & do think of leaving this country sooner than I
once intended, whether for Bath, & so see our friend
Post, or for town I am not yet resolved upon. Wet
1773.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 319
weather just came in the midst of our harvest. But such
a summer I never remember. I shoud have not been
ashamed of shewing you our northern country. Trecothick
is well, I hear, & his house by this day covered in. S' W" *
writes to me in spirits, talks of the south ; the scheme for
Lancaster was defeated for the present. Possibly our
young man may stand fairer at the gen* election, which
'tis now sayd will be in the spring. Early in life I was
dipped in contest, which has made me detest the business ;
therefore I shoud never encourage it. M" Vane is gone
out, or woud, I am sure, desire her compt" with mine to
M" Temple. I am, very sincerely,
Y' friend & humble serv*.
Fred* Vane.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
CovENT Garden, Septemb' 29"», 1773.
Sir, — I take the liberty to inclose & commit to your
care my letter to the Committee of Council appointed
for correspondence, whose names have not been men-
tioned to me.
Upon considering the papers transmited, which con-
tain the particulars of the last contest between the Gov-
ernour & the two Houses, it appeared to me that the
Council had assumed the true & proper principle of defence,
and in their conduct observed the wise maxim of proceed-
iugfortUer in re et auavUer in modo, in consequence whereof
your modesty was approved by administration, altho' the
grounds of your opposing unlimited authority were not ;
and the reasoning of the House of Repres^** being more
displeasing, an inclination to measures which might in
their progress nearly affect your Charter seem'd at first
to arise on a sudden, but accompanied rather with con-
cern than asperity, and in a little time the thoughts of
* Sir William Meredith, Bart., Vane's brother-in-law. — Eds.
320 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
laying the affair before Parliam* then siting were waved,
and instead of proceeding to th' imediate use of any im-
portant measures, their suspension in order to further
consideration appeared to take place, with great reserve
since. Unlimited authority is the great fort which they
appear determined to defend; and as that comprises a
power to take money out of your pockets at the discretion
of others, to be applied to purposes you do not approve,
however mild the intention of the present ministers may
be in their use of this power, you are sensible it is ca-
pable of such exercise in future as will subject you to pay
dear for your own shackles ; wherefore the existence of
this boundless authority is the great question.
In this question all the King's American subjects &
their posterity being imediately concerned, and conse-
quentially all the British subjects with their posterity, too
great care & wisdom, patience & perseverance with pro-
priety cannot be exercised, especially considering with
whom you have to contend, whose example in point of re-
serve & preparation is, in my poor opinion, worthy of your
imitation. Here, you are sensible, your grievances origi-
nated, and here, if possible, their removal is to be obtain'd.
Many good things have been written on your side of the
water respecting your rights, injuries & dangers, tending
to excite the due sense of a coinon cause ; but the proper
united defence of the Colonies here against their adver-
saries, so far as I know of the matter, hath never been at-
tempted during this illustrious controversy. Jnnctajuvant,
and when vested with ample authority I have gone in to
the Lords of the Treasury at the head of seven or eight
agents of so many colonies, but now they seem a rope of
sand. As to your own conduct in this material part of
your defence I had much rather you shou'd take a
review of it than I shou'd state it, or the observations
of your best friends upon it, yet cannot forbear saying it
is impossible for me to approve of it, with respect to the
1773.] PETITION OF EICHARD CLARKE AND OTHERS. 321
Province or myself, and that in my poor opinion you
undervalue either the best defence of your rights here or
the learning & labours requisite to oppose the opinions
& resolutions of all the Crown lawyers, the twelve Judges,
the King's ministers, the two Houses of Parliament, &
his Majesty, and to prevent if possible the establishment
of unlimited authority, which, according to my plain sense
of it would render the future possession of all your rights
precarious ; but this strange contest is now brought to
such a pass that I desire entirely to wave every considera-
tion that doth not relate to the best preparation & actual
defence of your important interests ; and for my own part
am determined, whether well or ill paid, or not paid at
all, to exert my utmost abilities to secure your rights &
liberties as worthy members of a free state.
Prudence being, you are sensible, an essential part of
sound policy, I pray that publication may not take place
touching any thing you may think fit to coSaiit to my care,
as it tends to prejudice proper application or to assist your
adversaries in their preparations against you, or both.
Be pleased to pardon my troubling you with what pre-
cedes, which I thought more proper for a private letter,
& your subsequent coinunication, than for insertion in my
letter to the Hon***"" the CoSaittee, as I did not know the
passages to which that was liable. I am, with great
respect. Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"**" James Bowdoin, Esq*.
PETITION OF RICHARD CLARKE AND OTHERS.
To HIS Excellency the Governor and the Honorable his Maj-
esty's Council.
The petition of Richard Clarke and Sons, of Benjamin
Faneuil, and Thomas and Elisha Hutchinson.
21
322 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
That the Hon"' East India Company in London have
shipt a considerable quantity of tea for the port of Bos-
ton, and, as your petitioners are made to understand, will
be consigned to their address for sale.
That some of your petitioners have in consequence of
this been cruely insulted in their persons and property.
That they have had insulting and incendiary letters left
and thrown into their houses in the night. That they
have been repeatedly attacked by a large body of men.
That one of the houses of your petitioners was as-
saulted in the night by a tumultuous and riotous assem-
bly of people, and violent attempts made to force the
house for the space of two hours, that have greatly dam-
aged the same.
That they are threatned in their persons and property,
and further with the destruction of the said tea on its
arrival into port. And that the resolves and proceedings
of the town at their meetings on the 5 & 18 instant are
intended to be expressive of the general sense of the
town, to which we beg leave to refer your Excellency
and the Hon*^** Board.
Your petitioners therefore beg leave to resign them-
selves and the property committed to their care to your
Excellency and Honors as the guardians and protectors of
the people, humbly praying that measures may be directed
to for the landing and securing the tea until your peti-
tioners can be at liberty openly and safely to dispose
of the same, or imtil they can receive directions from
their constituents.
Richard Clarke & Sons.
Benj^ Faneuil, jun.
Tho' & Elisha Hutchinson.
A true copy.
Attest
1773.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 323
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In Council, Nov' 27, 1773. The petition of Richard
Clarke, Esq', & others (to whom the East India Company-
have consigned a quantity of their tea) being referred to
this day, the same was taken up, and after long debates
M' Danforth, M' Bowdoin, M' Dexter, and M' Winthrop
were appointed a Com^ thereon, who reported, and the
report, after debate, was refer' d for further consideration
to Monday next, ten o'clock, A. M.
Monday, November 29***, 1773. The said report was
again considered, and after some amendments unani-
mously agreed to. It is as follows :
Previous to the consideration of the petition before the
Board, they would make a few observations occasioned by
the subject of it. The situation of things between Great
Britain and the Colonies has been for some years past
very unhappy. Parliament on the one hand has been
taxing the Colonies. And they on the other have been
petitioning and remonstrating against it, apprehending
they have constitutionally an exclusive right of taxing
themselves, and that without such a right their condition
would be but little better than slavery. Possessed of
these sentiments every new measure of Parliament tend-
ing to establish and confirm a tax on them renews and
increases their distress ; and it is particularly increased by
the act lately made, empowering the East India Company
to ship their tea to America. This act in a commercial
view they think introductive of monopolies, and tending
to bring on them the extensive evils thence arising. But
their great objection to it is from its being manifestly
intended (tho that intention is not expressed therein)
more effectually to secure the payment of the duty on tea,
laid by an act passed in the 7**" year of his present Majesty
intitled ^^ an Act for granting certain duties in the British
324 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
Colonies and Plantations in America," which act in its
operation deprives the Colonists of the right abovemen-
tioned (the exclusive right of taxing themselves) which
they hold to be so essential an one that it cannot be taken
away or given up without their being degraded or de-
grading themselves below the character of men. It not
only deprives them of that right, but enacts that the
monies arising from the duties granted by it may be ap-
plied " as his Majesty or his successors shall think proper
or necessary for defreying the charges of the administra-
tion of justice and the support of the civil government
within all or any of the said Colonies or Plantations."
This clause of the act has already operated in some of
the Colonies, and in this Colony in particular, with regard
to the support of civil government, and thereby has
operated in diminution of its charter rights to the great
grief of the good people of it, who have been and still
are greatly alarmed by repeated reports that it is to have.
a further operation with respect to the defreying the
charge of the administration of justice, which would not
only be a further diminution of those rights, but tend in
all constitutional questions, and in many other cases of
importance, to bias the Judges against the subject. They
humbly rely on the justice and goodness of his Majesty
for the restitution and preservation of those rights.
This short state of facts the Board thought necessary to
be given, to shew the cause of the present great uneasiness,
which is not confined to this neighbourhood, bat is general
and extensive. The people think their exclusive right of
taxing themselves by their representatives infringed and
violated by the act abovementioned ; that the new act
empowering the East India Company to import their tea
into America confirms that violation, and is a new effort
not only more effectually to secure the payment of the
tea duty, but lay a foundation for the enhancing it ; and
in a like way, if this should succeed, to lay other taxes
1773.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL. 325
on America ; that it is in its attendents and consequences
ruinous to the liberties and properties of themselves and
their posterity; that as their numerous petitions for
relief have been rejected the said new act demonstrates
an indisposition in Ministry that Parliament should grant
them relief ; that this is the source of their distress, a
distress that borders on despair ; and that they know not
where to apply for relief.
These being the sentiments of the people it is become
the indispensible duty of the Board to mention them, that
the occasion of the late demands on M' Clark and others
(the agents for the East India Company) and of the con-
sequent disturbances might appear ; and we mention them
not to justify those disturbances, the authors of which we
have advised should be prosecuted, but to give a just idea
of the rise of them.
On this occasion justice impells us to declare that the
people of this town and Province, tho they have a high
sense of liberty derived from the manners, the example,
and the constitution of the mother country, have till y*
late Parliamentary taxations of the Colonies been as free
from disturbances as any people whatever.
This representation the Board thought necessary to be
made prior to their taking notice of the petition of the
agents above mentioned ; to the consideration of which
they now proceed.
The petitioners "beg leave to resign themselves and
the property committed to their care to his Excellency
and the Board as guardians and protectors of the people,
praying that measures may be directed to, for the landing
and securing the tea, &c*." With regard to the personal
protection of the petitioners, the Board have not been
informed that they have applied for it to any of the Jus-
tices of the Peace, within whose department it is to take
cognizance of the case of the petitioners, and of all other
breaches of the peace, they being vested by law with all
326 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
the authority necessary for the protection of his Majesty's
subjects. In the principal instance of abuse of which
they complain the Board have already advised that the
authors should be prosecuted according to law ; and they
do advise the same in the other instances mentioned in
their petition.
With regard to the tea committed to the care of the
petitioners, the Board have no authority to take either
that or any other merchandize out of their care, and
should they do it, or give any order or advice concerning
it, and a loss insue they apprehend they should make them-
selves responsible for it. With respect to the prayer of
the petition ^* that measures may be directed to, for the
landing and securing the tea," the Board would observe
on it that the duty on the tea becomes payable, and must
be paid, or secured to be paid, on its being landed. And
should they direct or advise to any measure for landing it,
they would of course advise to a measure for procuring
the payment of the duty, and therefore be advising to a
measure inconsistent with the declared sentiment of both
Houses in the last winter session of the General Court,
which they apprehend to be altogether inexpedient and
improper.
The Board, however, on this occasion assure your
Excellency that as they have seen with regret some late
disturbances, and have advised to the prosecuting the
authors of them, so they will in all legal methods en-
deavour to the utmost of their power to prevent them in
future.
Whereupon advised that his Excellency renew his orders
to his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, Sherriffs, and other
peace officers to exert themselves to the utmost for the
security of his Majesty's subjects, the preservation of
peace and good order, and for preventing all offences
against the laws.
1773.] JAMES BOWDOm. 327
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN TEMPLE.
P. Scott.
Boston, Dec' 13, 1773.
Sir, — Your letter on Gov' Wentworth's affair and the
pamphlet on y* same subject have been through your
brother comunicated to him.
Lord Dartmouth's letter of w**" you gave y* substance
was sent to y* Speaker of our Assembly. We are not
able to understand upon what ground his Lordship builds
his hopes that y* causes of discontent in America will be
removed, and that y* old harmony will be soon restored ;
especially as y* act empowering y* East India Company
to ship their teas to America (made but a little while
before y* date of that letter) very clearly demonstrates a
resolution, not meerly to continue but increase the causes
of that discontent. It confirms, th6 it does not mention,
the act imposing the duty on tea, and should y* tea sent
by the India Comp^ be rec** will most extensively operate
to increase the revenue complained of, and consequently
operate in y* most effectual manner to defeat the hopes of
his Lordship, — hopes which American pensioners and all
other dependents here on an American revenue have been
and are doing their utmost to frustrate. Hence, however
glossed they may be, the representations that undoubtedly
have been, and are now manufacturing at Castle W™, of
the late proceedings of people here relative to the Tea
Commissioners; and hence y* joy that appears among
a few for this new subject of representation. The s*
Com" with the Com" of the Customs have thought proper
to retire to the Castle. These last, who, I am informed,
have not held a Board in Boston since y* 1'' instant, seem
to intend to act a third time the same farce they acted
in June, 1768, and iinediately after the massacre in
March, 1770. They had then no reason at all for retir-
328 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
ing, and, if it be possible, less now. But the object of all
these manoevres is the same. They have such a predi-
lection for troops, and appear so unfriendly to the peace
and tranquility of this Province, that, judging by their
former conduct, it seems as if nothing but the ruin or
inslaving of it will satisfy them. Should troops be sent
hither, which some few wish and expect, the general
apprehension, already too well grounded, will increase to
a moral certainty, that the people of America are destined
to vassallage and servitude ; but as they have found all
their petitions disregarded, and no relief to be hoped in
that way, their only reliance must be on that Providence
w*"** superintends and governs in the societies of men.
The newspapers will inform you what uneasiness the
mulish obstinacy of the Tea Coiiiissioners has occasioned.
They, like y* father of two of them, (who has y* credit of
dictating all their measures, and holds frequent consulta-
tions at y* Castle) doubtless expect to be well pensioned
for being persecuted for righteousness sake. If they do
not, their conduct is unaccountable, for when they saw a
determination in y* people that the tea sh"* not be landed,
and that it was inipossible for them to execute their
comission, they might have made a virtue of necessity,
and declared they would have nothing to do with y* tea
any further than to send it back to the India Company.
This they were desired to do, and so far it was their
duty to interpose to prevent a greater loss to the Com-
pany, who in that case must have approved their conduct,
clearly grounded on the Company's interest, and at y*
same time they could be no object of the people's resent-
ment. But their conduct has been the reverse, which has
brot on them y* public odium in a greater degree than
they probably expected, from which they have taken
occasion to remove to the Castle, where they will have
leisure and inclination to improve it to their best advan-
tage. This conduct of theirs will scarcely be justified by
1773.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 329
the India Company, especially as they and their advisers
at the Castle are doing all in their power to prevent the
tea being sent back, which prevention it is greatly to be
feared will be the means of the destruction of it. But
although the Tea Com" may not be able to justify their
conduct, it has been asked, how y* people can justify
theirs ? A full answer to this question involves in it all
that has been said in favour of the rights of the Ameri-
cans, among which rights it has been clearly proved that
no tax on them can be legal or constitutional without
their own consent. Hence they deduce an exemption
from the duty on tea, which notwithstanding the refine-
ments and distinctions that have been made, and whether
paid in America or Britain, so long as the trade in that
article is confined to Britain, is clearly a tax on them,
which conceded to is enhanceable at pleasure, and may be
extended to every other article of commerce. A greater
power of taxing the Colonists so as to answer y* purpose
of revenue cannot be easily conceived than the compelling
them to take from Britain all the articles they want, and
these at y* British merchants' price, and at the same time
laying a duty on those articles, — a duty that has no
limitation but the will of y* imposer and the inability of
the imposee. Is it not an abuse of language to call the
exercise of such a power government, and the subjection
to it liberty ? Such a power the Colonists have felt, and
they have repeatedly petitioned and remonstrated against
it without effect. The rejection of their petitions had made
them think they are doomed to servitude, especially since
the passing of the late act of Parliament authorizing the
East India Company to send their tea to America, w**" has
eradicated their hopes of seeing Lord Dartmouth's en-
deavours for the common good take effect ; and which act
they look on as equivalent to an explicit declaration that
their petitions shall not be regarded. In such a situation
they had a choice but of two things ; to receive the tea
330 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
and infallibly be slaves ; or reject it and stand a chance for
freedom. They choose the latter. What the value of the
chance is depends in part on the generosity, or rather the
justice, of Great Britain, and can be best calculated by
the political mathematicians on your side of the water.
But whatever it is, and whatever may be the event, they
deserve to be free, and will have this consolation that
they are not slaves with their own consent.
I herewith send you the proceedings of Council on
the petition of the Tea Comissioners. The Gov', for
what reason and by what right I do not know, has for-
bidden any copy of them to be delivered from the Sec'^'*
office for publication here ; but I suppose you will think
yrself at liberty to act your pleasure with y* copy en-
closed. I hope my dear Betsy and her little boy are well
and as chearful and gay as ever.
I am, respectfully yrs.
[Dec' 17. Scott's detention by weather gives me an
opportunity to inform you of the fate of y* tea. Ever
since y* arrival of y* first parcel of it about 3 weeks ago
in Capt. Hall, the people of y* town and country round,
being determined it should not be landed, have been
endeavouring to induce the consignees to send it back,
but to no purpose. And after y* Custom House had
refused to grant any papers concerning it w*"*" y* necessity
of y* case w^ justify, and y* y* Gov' had refused a Castle-
pass, and every means of its exportation prevented (to
effect w**" exportation was y* end of y* many meetings
of the people during that time), it was last evening
destroyed ; being about 350 chests on board three ships.
The remainder on board Loring was a few days ago, with
y* vessel, cast ashore on the back of Cape Cod in a
storm.] [jiot sent.']
1778.] THOMAS FLUCKER. 331
THOMAS FLUCKER* TO JOHN ERVING AND OTHERS.
Boston, Dec 20"», 1773.
Gentlemen, — Your written request of this day for a
copy of the Tea Consignees' petition and the proceedings of
Council thereon, it would have given me great pleasure
to comply with, as I am ever ready to do every thing that
can be expected from me as a publick officer. But I must
beg you to recollect that his Excellency the Governor
declared in Council he could not consistent with his duty
to the King consent to the publication thereof, — it being
contrary to all practice & in the nature of the thing
improper for the advice given by his Majesty's Council to
his Governor to be made publick without his consent.
While I am under this injunction you will accept it as a
sufficient reason for my not sending the papers you have
requested, and believe that I am with the utmost respect,
Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble servant.
Tho' Flucker.
The Hon»" John Ebyino, W" Brattle, Ja» Bowdoin, & Ja» Pitts,
Esquires.
committee of the council to WILLIAM BOLL AN.
Boston, December 20"», 1773.
Sir, — Your letters of the l** and 29**" of September are
before us. We observe by the former that in a conversa-
tion with M' Pownall, Secretary to the Plantation Board
and to Lord Dartmouth, he introduced a subject which
we hoped would not have been again moved, viz., the
* Thomas Flucker sat in the Coancil of Massachasetts from 1761 to 1769, sacceeded
Oliver as Secretary of the Province, was sabsequently a Mandamus Councillor and a
Loyalist refugee, dying in London in 1783. His first wife was a f^ii^ter of James Uowdoin.
For some further account of him, see Sabine's American Loyalists, vol. i. pp. 428, 429.
— Eds.
332 THE BOWDOIX AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1773.
extension to the Colonies of the Statute of Henry 8***,
respecting the trial of foreign treasons. You say you
cannot tell whether this was done by order of his superiors,
but it seems not improbable that it was ; they knowing
the exceptionable nature and operation of the act lately
made, empowering the East India Company to ship their
teas to America, and expecting it would be vigorously
opposed in the execution of it, were again for holding
up in terrorem the aforesaid statute respecting treasons,
and the opinion of the twelve Judges that it extended to
the Colonies. Although the reasons contained in your
petition to the House of Commons in 1769 against such
extension were not then attended to, it might have been
expected when passion and resentment grounded on misin-
formation had subsided they would have had some effect ;
and we hope they have had, notwithstanding what was
mentioned by M' Pownall on that subject. If it was
mentioned by that gentleman from the expectation of
opposition to the act aforesaid, he will not be disap-
pointed, for there appears a very general opposition to it
in all the Colonies from which any intelligences have been
received concerning it.
The spirit of opposition was propagated hither from the
Southern Colonies, who 'tis said are determined the tea
shall not be landed ; but unfortunately the tea shiped for
this Colony arriving the first, the effects of the opposition
have here- first taken place. The newspapers enclosed
will inform you of the proceedings of the people here
relative to the Tea Consignees since the arrival of the
tea, and what has passed between them. The people in-
sisted that the tea should be sent back, and finding they
could not influence the consignees to do it, who retired to
the Castle, they obliged the owner of the tea-freight that
first arrived to apply to the Custom House for a clearance
or such papers as the necessity and unprecedency of the
case would nave justified, and also to the Governor for a
1773.] COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL. 333
Castle pass ; but they were both refused. On this refusal
being reported to the people, who in a very large body
from town and country were assembled in and round the
Old South meeting house, the assembly was dissolved.
The same evening, viz., of the 16**" instant, the tea on
board three ships, consisting in the whole of about three
hundred and fifty chests, was destroyed.
It is an act of justice due to the people to mention what
they say in justification of themselves. They say their
rights and liberties were at stake, that Parliament has no
constitutional authority to tax them ; that since the first
Parliamentary taxation they have by their representatives
repeatedly petitioned and remonstrated against it ; that
their petitions are disregarded ; that the act made at the
last session of Parliament empowering the East India
Company to ship their teas to America demonstrates that
the Ministry do and intend to persevere in their taxa-
tion system ; that their submission to the said act would
be the establishing and perpetuating that system, and
rivetting eternal shackles on themselves and their pos-
terity ; that they did all in their power to rid them-
selves of those shackles with the least detriment to the
a
India Company ; that for this purpose they urged and
repeatedly urged the consignees to send back the tea, but
to no effect ; that when the consignees denied their
assistance, they endeavoured by the owner of one of the
tea ships to procure from the Custom House and from the
Governour 'the necessary papers for exporting it ; that
these being refused, and every block thrown in the way
of sending it back, the end of their meeting, viz., the
preservation of the tea could not be effected ; that these
proceedings of theirs were no assumption of government,
but flowed from the great law of nature, self-preservation ;
and that, notwithstanding any representations to the con-
trary, they are faithful and loyal subjects of his Majesty,
of which in the late wars they have given the highest evi-
334 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
dence by co-operating with his Majesty's British subjects
in distressing and subduing his and the nation's enemies,
and this, not by compulsion, not by taxation-acts of Parlia-
ment, but freely and so much beyond the proportion and
ability of this Province, that Parliament by repeated grants
refunded a part of the expence. How far this vindication
of themselves will by administration be deemed a vindi-
cation, we do not know. But we beg the favour you
will make such use of it for that purpose as you think
proper, and that you will exert your abilities to prevent
any harsh measures being taken against the town or
Province in consequence of the proceedings of the people
and the destruction of the tea. We herewith send you a
copy of the petition from the consignees of the tea to the
Governor and Council, with the doings of the Council
thereon. The day after the tea was destroyed, the Gov-
ernor summoned a Council ; but the weather and illness
prevented a quorum meeting. The same reasons prevented
a meeting the following day. It is a misfortune that only
three of the members live in town which makes it difficult
to convene a Council. To make a quorum certain the
Governor has called a Council at Cambridge to-morrow,
the proceedings of which you will be informed of by
this ship, if her departure, which is expected, does not
prevent.
When the General Court meets your letters will be
laid before the Council. The Court stands prorogued
to the 12"* of January, but whether they will tlien meet is
uncertain. We are, with much esteem, in behalf of the
Council, who at the last session of the General Court
appointed us a Committee to correspond with you, S',
Your most obed* hum**^ serv**.
John Erving.
W" Brattle.
Ja' Bowdoin.
Ja' Pitts.
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 335
The petition & proceedings above mentioned cannot be
sent at present.
Boston, Dec' 24, 1773.
S", — The foregoing in the original went V Scott. The
petition and proceedings mentioned therein are now sent
authenticated. A Council was held at Cambridge the
21'* for advice relative to the destruction of the tea. The
result is enclosed, as also is the vote of Council appointing
the Committee to correspond with you.
The Governor with advice of Council has prorogued the
General Court to the 26 of January, then to meet for
business. We are respectfully,
S% yrs.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CovKNT Garden, Feb^ 2^ 1774.
Gentlemen, — Upon receiving & considering the pro-
ceedings of the Council relative to M' Hutchins * & M'
Oliver's letters, transmited by M' Royal with his letter
of June 26% pursuant to the direction of the Board, the
better to guard against the difficulties that heretofore at-
tended the Province papers of great importance, I lodged
them in the Plantation Office, to be transmited by a
King's messenger to L^ Dartmouth in the country at con-
siderable distance, or to be laid before his Lordship in
such manner as the dep*^ secretary shou'd think fit. His
Lordsh^*' stay in the country exceeded my expectation, &
the Parliam* not meeting til the 13"* ult"** the considera*" of
such business as wou'd admit of delay seem'd to be post-
poned. When the whole or part of the King's ministers
took into consideration the complaint of the Council &
* A mistake of Mr. BolIan*8 amaniientii for '*Hatchin»on.'* The reference ia to the
letters to Whatelr sent orer by Dr. FrankliOt and printed by order of the Hooee of Repre*
tentatives. — Eds.
336 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
House of Repres^ against the letter-writers I am unable
to say ; but on Saturday the 8**" of last month, when at
dinner, to my surprise, I received a letter from M*" Cottrell,
Clerk of the Council, therein saying he was directed to
acquaint me that the Lords of the Comittee of Coun-
cil had appointed to meet in the Council chamber on the
next Tuesday, when it was probable their Lordsh*" wou'd
take into consideration the address of the House of
Repres^ complaining of the conduct of the Governour &
Lieu* Gov', & that he was to desire I wou'd be pleased to
attend the Comittee at that time. Some hours after, D'
Franklin came & told me that in the begining of the ev'n-
ing he received a letter requiring his attendance at the
time appointed. Juncta juvanty & this sudden & precipi-
tate proceeding to consider the complaint of the House of
Repres^** singly was far from being agreeable. On Mon-
day the D' received notice that the Gov' & Lieu* Gov'
wou'd be heard by counsel, who, I doubted not, wo* come
ready to defend their clients with preparations made at
leizure ; and it was evidently impossible for the D' to be
in like manner prepared, wherefore this proceeding needs
no coment. However we concerted as proper a plan of
conduct as our strait'ned condition wou'd permit. My
chief purpose was to get time whence great benefit might
accrue various ways ; and the adverse parties coming pre-
pared to be heard by counsel served to promote this design.
When Tuesda}*^ came we were call'd in, & advancing stopt
when we came to the upper part of the room, whereupon
the D' was directed to the place where the parties & their
counsel usually stand. Before the proceeding upon busi-
ness, 1 stept up to the head of the table & observed to
their Lordships that I had lodged in the Plantation Ofl&ce,
for proper consideration, authentic copies of the proceed-
ings of the Council of the Province, containing their ob-
serva" & resolves upon the letters in question, & in order
to their defence against the unjust charges made upon
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 337
them, & the better understanding of the matter, humbly
proposed the whole might be consider'd together ; to which
the Lord Presid* answ* that they were proceeding under
the King's order of reference & so rejected my motion.
D' Franklin is at present more at leizure than myself,
and he will by this conveyance transmit a detail of the
subsequent proceedings; wherefore I shall only observe,
that M' Mauduit, the agent for the Gov' & Lieu* Gov',
attending with their counsel M' Wedderburn, the Solic'
Gen*, on the D''* producing copies of the letters, altho' he
had not, in my opinion, the least colour of right to exam-
amine the D' in any manner to the prejudice of himself or
his constituents, he made repeated attempts for this pur-
pose ; and when the copies, after enquiry made into their
authenticity, were by consent admited to be given in evi-
dence, he reserved this supposed right. Various alterca-
tions taking place touching the parties being heard by
counsel, which, standing by the D', I advised, with his
geting time sufficient for their preparation, intending in
the mean time to take my own measures in your behalf.
M' Mauduit, according to his instructions, insisting on the
benefit of counsel, this made it easy for the D' to obtain
the same, and the 29*** of last month was appointed for
the hearing.
On the next day I waited on L* Dartmouth to obtain the
King's reference of the Council's proceedings to the same
Coinittee, & observed to his Lordship that they were going
on to try the Province cause by halves. He seem'd well
enclined to promote my motion, & on that day sev' night
he told me that he had transmited the copies of the
Councirs proceedings to the Council office, so that I might
take my measures accordingly ; in consequence whereof
on the 26*** I lodged my petition to the King in Council
there, where none of the principal clerks then attending
I urged the chief of those whom I found to lay my peti-
tion before the Lord Presid* as soon as might be.
22
338 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
On the 29*** upon enquiring of M' Cottrell whether my
petition, with the Council's proceedings, had been refer'd
by his Maj^ to the Lords of the Comittee, he answ* there
had been no Council since lodgeing ray petition. After-
wards attending the hearing before the Lords of the
Com*^ I had the grievous mortification to hear M' Wed-
derburn, wandring from the proper question before their
Lordships, pour forth such a torrent of virulent abuse on
D' Franklin as never before took place within the compass
of my knowledge of judicial proceedings, his reproaches
appearing to me incompatible with the principles of law,
truth, justice, propriety, & humanity. In other respects
I was at a loss to determine whether he was more lavish
of his praises of your worthy Govern' or his censure of
persons within his government.
Inclosed you have a copy of my petition ; and being
determ*, if permited, to support in person the conduct of
the Council, with the other matters therein contained, to
the utmost of my power, I am now labouring to make the
best preparation for this purpose. I have been told by
several persons, whose intelligence did not seem to have
sufficient grounds, that I shou'd not be heard ; but speak-
ing suddenly of my proposed reference to an intelligent
person in office, he answ* that it was not the intent of a
minister whom he named that the Council's proceedings
shou'd be refer'd, adding that they had not pray'd for the
removal of the Governoiir & Lieu* Govern' ; nevertheless
at the hearing it was observed by a learned member of
the Board, who is not remarkable for his favour towards
the Colonies, that the conclusion of the two complaints
varied only in the different modes of expression, the con-
clusion of the Council's having been stated to shew the
unity of desire. Whether the conductors of the whole
affair from the begining intended to exclude the Council's
proceedings from all open hearing & defence I am unable
to say, but cannot prevail upon myself to believe that
1774.1 WILLIAM BOLLAN. 339
after what has been said in my petition touching the right
of defence it will now be refused. However I shall insist
upon it to the utmost, if any occasion shall so require.
I am, with the greatest respect for you, gentlemen, &
all the other members of the Council,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
Thk Hon"-* John Ervino, W" Brattle, Ja» Bowdoin, & Ja» Pitts,
Esq".
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
CovKNT Garden, Feb'7 19"*, 1774.
Sir, — The report of the Lords of the Comittee upon
the address of the House of Representatives, with the
royal approbation of it, sent by D' Franklin, will shew
you the temper of the present times, of whose violence,
injuries, & improvidence I can foresee no end, altho' their
chief conductors are thro' fear of consequences, I believe,
unwilling to come to iinediate extremities ; but you are
sensible that when passion & power unite in support of
errors & wrongs their future operations are often unknown
even to their authors ; for my own part I continue my
endeavours to check this torrent of folly & madness, going
on day & night with my intended vindication of the rights
of the Colonies as fast as these troublesome avocations &
the various difficulties of the work will permit. Altho*
the right of petition evidently includes the right of sup-
porting it, the chief ministers seem unwilling to grant or
refuse a hearing in maintenance of my own.
I am, with great esteem & regard. Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"*" Ja» Bowdoin, Esq*.
340 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CovKNT Garden, Feb^y 24">, 1774.
Gentlemen, — Yesterday attending L* Dartmouth I
began to complain of your Governour's preventing the
Council's having copies of their own proceedings relative
to the tea business, to be sent to their agent, but after a
few things were said hereupon, suddenly falling into a
general conference respecting the interesting . state of
American affairs, I took the liberty of censuring freely the
late system of their administration as grievous & danger-
ous to the kingdom as well as the Colonies ; and after
complaining of their being so long unheard & of the gross
abuse sustained by an agent at the first hearing; with
design to support my own petition I told his Lordship I
had form'd an axiom which appear'd to me as evident as
any in Euclide, differing only in this, that mine affects
the heart as well as the head, viz*, that no question re-
specting the right of others can be duely determined
without being duely considered, and that it cannot be
duely considered without hearing the parties concerned ;
to which he seem'd readily to assent, and in the course of
what pass'd, wherein I observed that the right of petition
to the King was founded in comon law & confirmed by
the law of the revolution, & included the right of support-
ing it, expecting my hopes that I shou'd not be put to any
new difficulties upon this occasion, he was explicit in his
supposal that I shou'd be heard, and upon his enquiry
when I had seen the L* President, I acquainted him with
my attendances & how that matter at present stood;
having indeed chosen to let it rest on my part, unless
caird upon, until such time as I had seen Lord Dartmouth,
who, I took for granted, would acquaint him with my
expectation. This conference after being continued a
considerable time, was broken off by the dep*^ secretary's
coming in upon urgent business.
1774.] WILLIAM BOLL AN. 341
I am, with the greatest respect for you, Gentlemen, &
all other members of the Council,
Your most obedient and most humble servant,
W. BOLLAN,
Thb Hon»" JoHif Ervuio, W« Brattle, Ja» Bowdoin, & Ja» Pitts, Esqbs.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
CovENT Garden, Feb'^ 24^, 1774.
Sir, — Upon my geting up yesterday to come away
when the sudden conclusion of the conference with L*
Dartmouth took place, he likewise arose, and steping
forward told me he was persuaded we both agreed at the
bottom in our sentiments respecting American affairs.
How this might turn out upon explication of particulars
I know not. His natural disposition appears to be mild,
just, & equal, but rather passive than active & spirited
for maintaining his own opinion in Council, where, I very
much fear, his influence is far less than his good intentions
or the merits of your cause require ; and having not been
long conversant in public affairs, I think he is somewhat
liable to receive impressions unawares from the crafty
designs of others, wherein your Governour seems to have
notable talents. I observed to him some time past that
every government immoderately exercised was tyranny,
to which he freely assented.
Having this instant received a strange kind of written
message from L* Gower's porter relative to my waiting on
his Lordship, I must of necessity now conclude, in order
to write to him & to complete my dispatches by the present
ship, which I am told is now sailing.
I am, with the greatest regard. Sir, your most obedient
humble servant.
W. BoLLAN.
342 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
P. S. Having upon receiving the message from 1/
Gower's servant written a letter to his Lordship, of which
you have a copy underneath, in return he sent his compli-
ments, & inform'd me that upon my sending to-morrow
any time before twelve I shou'd have an answer. After
concluding my letter to the Comittee yesterday, my letter
to you was then barely begun ; and when going on with
it to-day, I received the message, which occasions the
difference of dates.
The Hon"" Ja» Bowdoin, Esq*
(Copy)
Cov» Garden, Feb'y 26% 1774.
My Lord, — The subject's right of petition to the King,
founded in comon law and confirm'd by the law of the
revolution, in my humble opinion, including the right of
being heard to support it by proper proofs & reasons, I
pray your Lordship will be pleased to consider at your
leizure the propriety of my being heard in maintenance of
my own, and that you will favour me with the honour of
waiting upon you to receive your Lordship's commands,
when most agreeable.
I have the honour, &c.
W. BOLLAN.
The R^ Hon"* Earl Gower.
ANSWER OF THE COUNCIL TO THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
The Com** appointed on the Governor's message to the
Board of j'* 3* instant, and the papers relative to the
Chief Justice, comunicated to y* Board by the House of
Representatives, having duely considered them, are of
opinion that y* following message be sent to his Excellency
1774.] ANSWER OF THE COUNCIL. 343
on the subject of the said message and papers, which is
humbly submitted. In the name of the Committee.
James Bowdoin.
March 5, 1774.
In Council, March T'^, 1774. Ordered that James
Bowdoin, Sam* Dexter, James Humphry, Artemas Ward,
& John Winthrop, Esq", be a committee to wait on his
Excellency the Governor with the following address.
Tho^ Flucker, Sec^.
May it please your Excellency, — Your message of
the 3* instant to this Board relative to the Chief Justice
of the Superior Court, and your several messages to the
House of Representatives relative also to him (which with
other papers the House by message have laid before the
Board for their consideration) are on a subject of great
importance. They contain declarations from your Excel-
lency which we think do not comport with the spirit of
the Charter, and tend to take away or lessen the jurisdic-
tion of the Governor and Council, considered as a judi-
ciary body or Court of Justice, and therefore it is incum-
bent on this Board in faithfulness to the Province, and in
justice to themselves, to take notice of some of them.
Among those papers we find a copy of the remonstrance
of the House addressed to your Excellency and the Coun-
cil, and your Excellency's answer to it.* By the former
they pray for the removal of the Chief Justice from his
office, and by the latter you declare that in duty to the
King you are obliged to decline their request ; and you
are pleased repeatedly to decline it on their repeated
applications.
But before your Excellency had proceeded thus far, was
it not proper, as the remonstrance is addressed to the
Council in conjunction with your Excellency, that it
* Both of these docaments are printed in The Boston Evening-Posti Feb. 21, 1774. — > Edb.
344 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
should have been communicated to them for their con-
sideration of it ? Is not your undertaking to determine
solely on a matter that falls under the cognizance of the
Governor and Council jointly, and is so addressed to them
by y* House, an unkind and disrespectful treatment of the
representative body of the Province, and an infringement
on the rights of the Council ? or rather, does it not anni-
hilate the Council, considered either in their capacity of
being advising and assisting to the Governor, or as a
Court of Justice with or without the Governor ? and being
done under a profession of duty to the King, does it not
tend to alienate the affections of his Majesty's subjects
from him ? Though such be the tendency, such an effect
will not flow from it. If it had been communicated to
the Board, they assure your Excellency they would not
have done any thing concerning it inconsistent with their
duty to the King, notwithstanding any indirect or con-
structive intimation to the contrary.
Your Excellency's apprehension that your taking any
steps in this business would be counteracting his Majesty,
and inconsistent with your duty to liim, is founded on the
facts mentioned in this clause in your first message to y*
House, viz., " his Majesty having been pleased to direct
warrants to be prepared for the payment of salaries to the
Chief Justice and to the other Justices of the Superior
Court, I received as Governor of the Province tlie earliest
notice of this declaration of his Majesty's pleasure in
order, as I conceive, that as far as might appertain to me
I should conform thereto." This notice (that warrants
were directed to be prepared), which appears to be in-
tended only as an article of intelligence, your Excellency
by this and your other messages on the same subject
construes as an instruction obliging you not to do any
thing to prevent the effect of those warrants or incon-
sistent with the intention of them. But what room is
there for such a construction, or to suppose you were
1774.] ANSWER OP THE COUNCIL. 345
under such an obligation, when the Justices themselves
(at least four of them), whom this affair immediately
respected, thought themselves not obliged to take his
Majesty's grant, but at liberty to refuse it, and accord-
ingly have refused it from July, 1772 (when their stipends
were to commence) to the present time, and very lately in
the fullest & most explicit manner. As in their refusal,
which was a more effectual counteracting the intention of
those warrants than any thing your Excellency could do,
those gentlemen did not think they acted inconsistently
with their duty to his Majesty, why should your Excel-
lency think your laying before the Council the remon-
strance of the House inconsistent with your duty to him?
especially when your duty to the Province, with which
your duty to the King cannot militate, required it.
But supposing the notice of those warrants implied an
instruction, or bad been accompanied with an instruction,
that you should do nothing directly or indirectly incon-
sistent with the intention of them, why should it operate
to prevent your Excellency's even hearing the remon-
strance, and not operate to prevent your consenting to and
signing the grants made by the Assembly, not only to
those four Justices, but also to the Chief Justice, for
their services during the same time for which those
warrants were intended to pay them, and for which by
virtue of one of those warrants the Chief Justice has in
fact been paid ? Does not this give room for the appre-
hension that your Excellency was not influenced solely by
a sense of duty to the King in refusing to lay before the
Board the remonstrance of the House ?
The reasons why it was not laid before them seem to
be given in that paragraph of your message to the House
wherein you are pleased to tell them " that the Council,
except when they are considered in their legislative capa-
city, or as a Court for the Probate of Wills and granting
Administration, and for determining Causes of Marriage,
346 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
and Divorce, are by the constitution to be advising and
assisting to the Governor, and do not make one Court or
judiciary body with the Governor, but the Governor is
considered as an integral part, and has authority from
time to time at his discretion to assemble and call the
Council together." We shall presently consider whether
there be not other cases than those here mentioned by
your Excellency in which the Council make one Court or
judiciary body with the Governor, and in which the
Governor is not to be considered as an integral part, but
first beg leave to make a few observations on another
part of the foregoing paragraph.
We agree with your Excellency that the Council by
the constitution are to be advising and assisting to the
Governor. The Governor also with them, or seven of
them at the least, shall and may from time to time hold
and keep a Council for the ordering and directing the
affairs of the Province. But we humbly ask what advan-
tages would be derived to the Province from this part of
the constitution if the Governor, even in the most im-
portant cases, should refuse to hold a Council, wherein
he might be advised and assisted, and wherein also the
Governor with the Council jointly, according to the na-
ture of the case, might take the needful measures for the
ordering (that is, the well ordering) and directing the
affairs of the Province? These clauses of the Charter
were doubtless intended for some beneficial purpose.
They were intended more effectually to secure to the
Province a permanent good government, not subject to
the will and caprice of a Governor, who left to act wholly
independent of a Council might bring upon the Province
the greatest mischiefs. Happy it was for the Province
that the late Governor, Sir Francis Bernard, was not thus
independent ! But the benefits intended by the appoint-
ment of a Council would be defeated, if the Governor
should not call them together when affairs of the greatest
1774.] AKSWER OF THE COUKCIL. 347
importance to the Province demanded it ; and indeed this
would frustrate the end of their appointment in every
capacity in which they cannot act without him. To
apply this to the subject of the remonstrance, and to all
cases in which complaint is made to the Governor and
Council against officers of their appointment : It appears
to us that when complaint is thus made, and the Governor
refuses or neglects to lay it before the Council, he thereby
counteracts the spirit and intention of the Charter, which
the honor and faith of the Crown are pledged to maintain,
and gives just reason for uneasiness.
We shall pass over the intermediate messages, and
come to the last message your Excellency sent to the
House of Representatives ; on which it is necessary to
make some observations.
We find by it the House had informed you that they
had resolved to impeach Peter Oliver, Esq', Chief Justice
of the Superior Court, before the Governor and Council, of
high crimes and misdemeanors ; that they had prepared
articles of impeachment, and prayed your Excellency
would be in the chair, that they might have an opportu-
nity of laying them before the Governor and Council.
But your Excellency, after making divers observations
concerning the manner of trial for crimes & misdemeanors,
declined granting their request by declaring that " whilst
such process as the House have attempted to commence
shall appear to you to be unconstitutional, you cannot
shew any countenance to it." It is with great reluctance
the Board have entered into the consideration of a sub-
ject on which they are obliged to dissent from your Ex-
cellency. But a vindication of their right of jurisdiction
as a Court makes it necessary. The complaint and pro-
cess abovementioned are against an executive officer
appointed by the Governor and Council. Complaints of
tliis sort are no novelty. Many instances of them have
taken place since your Excellency was first a member of
348 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
the General Court ; and some of them while you were
Speaker of the House of Representatives, preferred by
the House. The Governor & Council have always been
esteemed the proper judicature before whom officers ap-
pointed by them have been triable for crimes or misde-
meanors, so far as that, when found guilty, judgment has
been given against them, with respect to their continuance
in office ; and thus far your Excellency yourself has sup-
ported the jurisdiction of that Court, which, when your
Excellency presided, gave judgment in a recent case for
the removal of an executive officer appointed by the Gov-
ernor and Council. If such cases, in order to such a judg-
ment, are not cognizable by that Court, there is no other
Court in the Province by which they are cognizable for
the purpose of removal from office. Divers such judg-
ments have been obtained in consequence of the complaint
of private persons. If private persons have a right to
complain of maladministration of officers, the representa-
tive body, who are the grand inquest for the Province,
must a fortiori have that right. But your Excellency inti-
mates that the process the House of Representatives have
now attempted to commence is unconstitutional. The
process they first attempted with regard to the Chief Jus-
tice was by remonstrance addressed to the Governor and
Council, which your Excellency, without communicating
it to the Council, thought proper to suppress. The pro-
cess next attempted was by impeachment, which you
think unconstitutional. If it be unconstitutional, it can-
not be cognizable by the Court, the jurisdiction of which
being affected by the denial of the constitutionality of im-
peachments, it becomes needful to examine the reasons
of that denial. They are given in your Excellency's mes-
sage, in which you are pleased to say, " that there are no
species of crimes committed within this Province which
are not cognizable by some established judicatory, and
that the Governor & Council have no concurrent jurisdic-
1774.] ANSWER OF THE COUNCIL. 349
tion with any judicatory in criminal cases, nor any au-
thority to try and determine any species of high crimes
and misdemeanors whatsoever/' [except at least for the
purpose of removal from office, as your Excellency might
have added.] " That if you should assume a jurisdiction,
and with the Council try offenders against the law with-
out authority granted by the Charter, or by a law of the
Province in pursuance of the Charter, you should make
yourself liable to answer for it, and his Majesty's subjects
would have just cause to complain of being deprived of a
trial by jury, the general claim of Englishmen, except in
those cases where the law may have made special pro-
vision to the contrary."
All this may be true, and yet we humbly apprehend it
will not support the conclusion that a process by impeach-
ment is unconstitutional.
The records and papers, containing the transactions of
the General Court, having divers times greatly suffered
by fire, it is very difficult to apply to them for precedents ;
nor is it necessary, for if they abounded with them, the
first precedent would be, or ought to be, grounded on the
reason and nature of the case, which still remains for a
guide. But if precedents should be necessary, the most
respectable authority (the British Parliament), as your
Excellency well knows, furnishes a multitude of them.
The Commons may exhibit an accusation to the Lords in
Parliament by petition, complaint, or impeachment. The
House of Representatives are in this Province what the
House of Commons are in Britain. The constitutional
rights of the latter (among which is indisputably the right
of impeachment) belong to the former. Between the
House of Lords and the Council of this Province there is
not so near a resemblance ; but with respect to legislation,
and so far as the Council with or without the Governor
are a judiciary body, there is a resemblance. It is now
settled by a late determination of his Majesty that the
350 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
Governor and Council are a judiciary body, with regard
to the probate of wills and granting administration, and
for determining causes of marriage and divorce ; and it is
humbly apprehended they also are with regard to the re-
moval of all officers from offices to which appointments
are made by the Governor & Council. The impeachment
made by the House of Representatives concludes with
praying that " such proceedings, examinations, trials, and
judgments may be had & ordered on the premises as may
be agreable to law and justice." This prayer is con-
sistent with the jurisdiction of the Court, who have law-
ful power to remove from office, or confirm in it, as may
be agreable to law and justice, and therefore may go
into such proceedings, examinations, and trials, and form
such judgments in and upon the premises as are incidental
and necessarily preparatory to a final decision. We hum-
bly apprehend therefore your Excellency's reasoning does
not extend to the present case ; for even though the im-
peachment had been for such high crimes and misde-
meanors as are made felony, it would not induce or
involve in it an obligation on the Court to give an extra-
judicial sentence. An executive officer appointed by the
Governor and Council may be' guilty of crimes, for which
by law he is punishable in a variety of waj's by the com-
mon law courts : if he be impeached for those crimes be-
fore the Governor and Council, it is for the purpose of
his removal from office, which the other courts have no
power to decree. As those courts cannot invade the juris-
diction of the Governor and Council, so the Governor
and Council, in any other than their legislative capac-
ity, it is presumed, will never attempt to interfere in the
jurisdiction of the other courts. It might be supposed
the Governor & Council could (and if they act at all,
they must) trust themselves in the exercise of their
jurisdictive powers ; tho your Excellency in reference
to that exercise seems unwilling to trust yourself in the
1774.] ANSWER OF THE COUNCIL. 351
case of the present impeachment, notwithstanding you
consider yourself as having a right of negative on the
judgment of the Council, With regard to the Governor's
right of negative on the Council, it operates in all acts of
government, pursuant to the Charter, " in exclusion of
judicial acts," in which it can have no operation, " it
being utterly unsuitable to the nature of a Court of Jus-
tice to consist of two branches, each possessing a negative
on the other," whereby in many cases, if such was the
constitution of the Court, it could not give a judgment,
which is incompatible with every idea of a Court of Jus-
tice. On these reasons the late determination of his
Majesty in Council with regard to the Supreme Court of
Probate, &c., was grounded ; and they extend with equal
force to the Governor and Council, considered as a Court
for hearing all complaints, remonstrances, and impeach-
ments relative to the executive officers of the government,
and giving judgment thereon, either for or against the
defendant, by acquitting him or removing him from his
office.
But it may be objected that the same power which ap-
pointed should remove. On which it may be observed
that the appointment is to a trust for the public good,
and vests a property (the lawful emoluments of the office)
in the trustee. The mode of appointment is particularly
directed by the Charter. It is by the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Council, neither of whom act
in this matter in a judicial character. But the mode
of removal, the Charter being silent about it, must
depend on the reason and nature of the thing. These
require that the removing power should be considered,
and in fact be, a Court of Justice. Property, both
public and private, being depending and to be settled
by that power, determine the nature of it to be speci-
fically judicial, or that it must be a Court of Justice,
which excludes the idea of one of its members, where
352 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
there is a plurality, being an integral part. There is
therefore an essential difference between the appoint-
ing & removing power, th8 consisting of the same per-
sons, when they act in those different characters. To
apply this to the Governor and Council, — in the first
character they have a reciprocal controul of each other,
agreable to the Charter. In the latter character, there
is no such controul, but they together do constitute a
Court of Justice, with powers to form and regulate them-
selves incidental to all courts, where law has not made
provision for that purpose. There is nothing in the
Charter inconsistent with this reasoning, but on the con-
trary this reasoning is grounded on the Charter. The
clause of the Charter that relates to the subject under
consideration runs thus, " The Governor with the Assist-
ants or Councellors, or seven of them at the least, shall
and may from timie to time hold and keep a Council for
the ordering and directing the affairs of our said Prov-
ince." The Governor and Councellors are here blended,
and together constitute a Council, which in all cases
proper for their cognizance are jointly (and not as two
branches having a negative on each other) authorized and
appointed for the ordering and directing the affairs of the
Province, except in certain cases (particularly mentioned
in other parts of the Charter) wherein seven or more
Councellors are to be advising and assisting to the Gov-
ernor. The end of this appointment, viz., the ordering
and directing the affairs of the Province, includes among
other things the removal of bad officers from office, and
consequently includes a jurisdiction to hear, try, and de-
termine on all complaints, remonstrances, and impeach-
ments for that purpose, which perfectly coincides with
the idea of a Court of Judicature, and therefore, according
to the spirit and intention of the Charter, the Governor
and Council must have that jurisdiction, without which
their power for the well ordering & directing the affairs
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 353
of the Province would be essentially deficient. Upon the
whole, we are humbly of opinion, that although " there
are no species of crimes committed within this Province
which are not cognizable by some established judicatory,"
although " the Governor and Council have no concurrent
jurisdiction with any judicatory in criminal cases, nor any
authority to try and determine any species of crimes "
[except at least for the purpose of removal from office],
it does not thence follow that " the process by impeach-
ment," or the Governor and Council's proceeding and de-
termining upon it, " is unconstitutional," nor that their
so doing ^' will be an assuming of a new or unwarrant-
able jurisdiction, and make your Excellency liable to an-
swer for it " ; nor that " his Majesty's subjects would have
just cause to complain of being deprived of a trial by
Jury." And we are further of opinion that a denial of
the right of complaining or remonstrating against, and
impeaching for, mal-administration of oflBce, and a refusal
to hear and determine on such complaint, remonstrance,
or impeachment, are unconstitutional, will have an un-
happy tendency to encourage the executive officers of the
government to deviations from their duty, and are incom-
patible with the safety and happiness of the people.
Wherefore this Board declare their readiness to hear
and determine on the impeachment above mentioned, or
to hear & determine on the charge & complaint since ex-
hibited by y* House of Representatives on y* same subject,
and desire that your Excellency with the Council would
appoint a time for that purpose.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Co VENT Garden, March 11*^*, 1774.
Gentlemen, — Late in the ev'ning of Saturday the
5^^ inst^, I received information that on Monday a message
28
354 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
from the King wou'd be sent to the two Houses of Par-
liament respecting the late proceedings in North America,
and at Boston in particular, accompanied with papers
of correspondence ; and L* North accordingly on that day
presented the following message to the House of Comons,
" His Maj*^ upon information of the unwarrantable prac-
tices which have been lately concerted & carried on in
N. America, and particularly of the violent & outrageous
proceedings at the town & port of Boston, in the Province
of Massa"" Bay, with a view of obstructing the comerce
of this kingdom, and upon grounds & pretenses iiSedi-
ately subversive of the constitution thereof, has thought
fit to lay the whole matter before his two Houses of
Parliam*, fully confiding as well in their zeal for the
maintenance of his Maj'* authority as in their attach-
ment to the coinon interest & welfare of all his domin-
ions, that they will not only enable his Maj*^ effectually
to take such measures as may be most likely to put
an iinediate stop to the present disorders, but will also
take into their most serious consideration what further
regulations and permanent provisions may be necessary to
be established for better securing the execution of the laws
& the just dependance of the Colonies upon the Crown &
Parliam* of Great Britain." In consequence of my infor-
mation, after doubting some time on Sunday what was the
best step now to be taken, & being sensible that min", after
taking as much time to prepare their own measures as
they think fit, sometimes so far hurry on execution as to
distress their opponents ; for this & other reasons, to
check in some measure if I cou'd the torrent in this case,
I resolved to prepare & publish with all possible dis-
patch my late petit" to the King, with illustrations, and
thereupon went into the city to the printer who during
some time past had been employed in my intended vin-
dication of the rights of the Colonies, a laborious work
requiring great care, after collecting numerous proper
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 355
materials ; told him he must lay that aside for the present
& prepare for printing a short pamphlet with all speed,
promising to make proper allowance to the men who
shou'd work out of comon hours, directing him to send
the next morning for part of the copy ; when going about
it & attending to it without intermission, the copy was
completed on Tuesday before dinner ; and by my clerk's
attendance, & my going to the printers in person several
times, & afterw''* going late farther into the city to two
of the principal publishers, in consequence of' M' Almon's
telling me at the printer's I was too late for the next
day's publication, I prevail'd on them to publish it on
Wednesday morning, & now send herewith inclosed
2 copies of it. On Tuesday ev'ning, having before heard
of nothing but hostile intentions, I was inform'd that
American affairs wou'd come on in the House of Comons
to-day, wherefore on Wednesday I resolved to prepare, as
far as the uncertain state of the affair wou'd then permit,
for petitioning that House; my chief intent being to
ascertain the rights of the Colonies, a point the least
objectionable, tho' in its nature efficacious, and for that
purpose gain admitance at least to lay before the House
authentic copies from the records of many letters pat*
roy* pass'd for acquiring & settling new domin** in
America, never yet laid before them, thereby proving
that the several princes, numerous nobles, & other worthy
persons who were concern'd in the settlem' of the
planta", as well as the actual settlers, were very far from
understanding that they who by their merits shou'd
enlarge the public domin" shou'd thereby lessen their own
liberties ; and after preparing a few general articles that
might possibly serve on the occasion, in order to have my
petition presented when ready & proper in point of time,
I waited yesterday morning on Gen* Conway who had in
the House denied authority of Parliam* to tax America.
On proposing the presenta" to him, he answ^, it wou'd be
356 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
more proper for him to support the petit", expressing
clearly his readiness to do it ; at the same time complain-
ing that violence & disorders in the Colonies laid diflBcul-
ties in the way of their friends obtaining the relief they
wanted. Waiting upon S' Geo. Saville, he declined the
presentation because he was in hon' obliged various ways
to apply himself closely to another business. He told me
L* North had put such an insidious question to him
respecting the measures proper for the House to take,
that after giving him a suitable answer, he directly went
out of the House, out of resentm*, as I understood.
From him I went directly to the Mansion House, where
the Lord May' very readily & kindly promised to pre-
sent my petit^ From him, pursuant to his recomenda%
I went to M' Ald° Oliver, whom I found very intelligent
& candid, & who satisfied me that my petit"* might be
presented at a more dist* day than I had supposed, when
a certain object of opposition wou'd have arisen. He told
me the W India merch** had agreed to meet on Thursday
next in order to oppose any injurious measures, agreeing
with me that this was one comon cause of all the Colon*.
I had the pleasure of being inform'd by the L* Mayor
that the spirit of resentm* in their House was abated,
and he seem'd to think in no small degree, several of the
members to whom he had spoke having changed their
minds.
I had, since being refused to be heard before the Lords
of the Comittee, made as great progress in my examina-
tion & observations on the most material parts of the
Governour's letter, with intent to complete and publish
them with my petition, as the time and avocations would
permit, when the late proceedings in Parliament began,
which obliged me to change my measures, and publish
the petition as you will find it, which, I* understand, has
not been unserviceable, and the affair of the letters, you
are sensible must give way to others more important
1774.] JOHN TEMPLE. 357
during their continuance. It is no easy matter to prepare
a petition in efficacious terms for the Province service,
& agreeable to the differing sentiments of those who are
to support it, and moreover least liable to objection from
your adversaries ; wherefore to this & the other difficulties
attending this important business I must now go on with
my preparation.
I am, gentlemen, with the greatest respect for you
& the other members of the Council,
Your most obedient & most humble servant,
W. BOLLAN.
The Hon"-* John Ervino, W" Brattle, Ja« Bowdoin, & Ja Pitts,
Esq".
JOHN TEMPLE TO JAMES BOWDOIN, JR.
Great George Street, London, 15 March, 1774.
My DEAR Jemmy, — It was with real pleasure that your
sister and I received a letter from you to-day, but we are
concerned that you had so great a cold when you wrote
it. You will before this reaches you have heard of a se-
ries of misfortunes that have befell me, and the last al-
most too great for the fortitude I possess to bear up
under. About a fortnight ago, without any previous
notice, or any cause assigned, I was (by his Majesty's
command, as I understand) dismissed from the employ-
ment of Surveyor General, and with all the interest I can
make, I cannot gain information what my fault or re-
puted fault is. Lord North wrote me in his own hand,
in answer to my letter, that Ministry did not think them-
selves obliged to assign any reason for dismissing an
officer who held his place during pleasure. You may
well think this stroke has thunderstruck me. I have
given up my house, and shall imediately dispose of the
furniture ; after that we go down to pass some time with
358 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
M' Lance,* & shall then retire to some cheap place in the
country, till it may please God that this heavy cloud be
passed over.
D' Franklin was dismissed about a fortnight before me,
but that was expected, as he confessed in private that he
obtained & sent the famous letters to Boston. Every
body else, as well as myself, are at a loss to conjecture
what I am dismissed for, imless it be that I am tho't a
friend to the American claims ; and as they are now
about to assert their authority in America, dismissing all
of that country, or who think favorably of their cause,
they suppose, may discourage the Americans, and be a
means of bringing them sooner under subjection. I have
been advised to lay still & say not a word, and perhaps
by & by his Majesty may be convinced that whoever it
be that has instiird poison into his ear to my prejudice
has done it through mallace. I apprehend it has come
from Hutchinson & them at Boston, & conveyed to the
King through Hillsborough or some secret enemy here,
but this is only conjecture.
Lord North yesterday moved for leave to bring in a
bill for the ruin of Boston, that is, to remove the seat of
government from that town, to remove all the Custom
House & other officers, & render it a place of no naviga-
tion. No vessel to be suffered to go in or out. Salem, it
is supposed, will be the capital of the Province. Casco
Bay has been talked of, but that's not probable. Poor old
Boston. How the people there will submit to this is un-
certain ; perhaps their courage may not fail them, tho'
most people think it will, & that they will cry peccavi.
You will, I suppose, be disappointed of seeing M' George
Apthorp ; as M' Trecothick had a touch of the palsey, M'
Apthorp was sent for, and is daily expected in London.
Betsey & I wish to see you, and if I get an allowance
* Mary Temple. John Temple's eldest sister, married, in 1741, William Lance, Esq.,
who bad a country residence in Kent — Eds.
1774.] JOHN TEMPLE. 359
granted me from the treasury wh [torn] soliciting for,
we have thoughts of going as fa [torn] to meet you, when
we hear you are drawing this way. Do in your next
inform us what your rout will be, & when you purpose
coming to Lond"*. Next Monday American affairs will
be considered by both Lords & Commons, & severe it is
though [t] the measures will be. Lord North's motion
which I have already mentioned was carried without a
divission. It doth not seem as if they intended to touch
any other Province at present but Boston, although Phila-
delphia & others have sent back the tea ships, tho' they
did not destroy the tea. In fact the times are gloomy ;
and in my opinion that country & this will never more
harmonize ; they may worry & crush the Americans for
a time, but they will see themselves at last amicable
measures would have held them much longer beneficial to
this country than power can possibly do. Our last letters
from Boston (late in Jan^) inform us that your father,
mother, & little Betsey were all well, but the town by no
means in a happy state. We had plann'd to ourselves
an agreable time when you came to London, having a
pretty house genteely furnished, looking into the Park
& large enough to have afforded you every accommoda-
tion you could wish, but alass ! like other human pros-
pects the vission is gonCy at least for the present, and God
alone knows what is to be my future destiny. Your
sister, who has a mind not to be met with among millions,
possesses more fortitude than I do on this occasion, and it
is one of the greatest blessings left me that she will not
be unhappy in adversity, should it please God to continue
it to me, but I will hope for the best, and that this cloud
may pass over. I have had my health but indifferent of
late, but hope retirement in the country will restore it.
Betsey & Grenville are very well, and desire to be affec-
tionately remember'd to you. When you write, direct
for me at Barlow Trecothick, Esq''*, Bucklersbury. By
360 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
all means take care of your health. Sacrafice every pleas-
ure and amusement to it : it will afford you infinite hap-
piness in reflection that you have escaped what has
destroyed the health of many. Adieu, dear Jemmy, and
believe me to be sincerely & affectionately yours.
J. Temple.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL.
CovENT Garden, March 15*^ 1774.
Gentlemen, — Having begun my petition to the House
of Comons upon a larger scale, after confering with proper
members, I reduced it to as small compass as the suflBcience
& perspicuity of proper matter wou'd permit, and now
send a copy of it. As soon as completed yesterday morn-
ing, waiting on the Lord May', in order to its presenta", I
found him less spirited for the business than before, & en-
clined to postpone the presenta", whereupon I observed
that it was uncertain what measures the min" wou'd
take, that some time past when a petit" from another
Colony was prepared & proposed to be presented in sea-
son, administra" got it delay'd, and afterwards when
offer'd objected with success that it came out of time,
and that in point of fairness to all parties, as well as
safety to my constit*", I earnestly desired my petit" might
be presented that day before the House proceeded to their
considerations at large on the state of American affairs.
He at length assented & received my petit" accordingly,
having in the course of what passed observed min" cou'd
carry any point they were set upon ; to which I answer'd
that was no sufficient reason, I thought, for ceasing oppo-
sition & despairing of the commonwealth, wherein he
agreed. Then going directly to M' Oliver's, & finding he
was gone to the House I went thither, where being in-
fonn'd that the Lord May' was not come, nor Gen^ Conway,
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN*. 361
for whose use I carried a copy of my petit", I went up
into the great comittee room to speak with Aid" Oliver,
whom I found in the chair, which, upon speaking with
him, I was satisfied he cou'd not leave in season to assist
or second the Lord May'. Then returning towards the
lobby, the under doorkeeper met & told me the Lord May*
had come out of the House & enquired for me ; where-
upon as soon as possible I got the doorkeeper to send in
a message to let his Lordsh** know I was waiting in the
lobby, where I staid a considerable time in painful sus-
pense till S' Jos. Mawbey came out & told me the Lord
May' had desired him to present my petit", being unac-
quainted with the usual proper proceeding, and after say-
ing a few things he went into the House, & soon coming
out again told me the Speaker endeavoured to throw cold
water upon my petit", but after making proper enquiry
into the nature of the Council on whose behalf I peti-
tioned he directly returned into the House with the spirit
proper for presenting it. After waiting a considerable
time he came out again, & told me he had got my petit"
so far allow'd & accepted as to be laid upon the table,
where it wou'd lye ready to be taken up when any preju-
dicial measure shou'd require it. Upon asking what
countenance the House shewed when it was read, he
answer'd, favorable by many; & the quest" being put
whether it shou'd be received, a considerable majority
ans"* in the affirmative. The min', I found, with another
member sitting on the treas'^ bench, at first rather ridi-
culed the petit" ; however he did not chuse to divide the
House upon the quest". Among other things S' Jos. told
me Gov' Pownall objected that it did not appear I was
the proper agent for the Council ; to whom he answ* my
authority wou'd be shewn when I appear'd & produced
my proofs, afterwards adding, they were once very near
calling me in. Upon the whole S' Joseph behaved ex-
tremely well, with the spirit & dispatch proper for pre-
362 THE BOWDOIK AND TEMPLE PAPEBS. [1774.
senting my petition imediately before the House proceeded
upon American affairs. The reading and admittance of
my petition in a full House is a favourable circumstance.
It is impossible for me in the present interesting state
of the Province affairs, and my concerns therein, to ac-
quaint you with many particulars otherwise desirable ;
however I must by no means longer omit mentioning
what gave me great pleasure, to wit, that when your
affairs were consider'd in the House of Lords, the right
of Parliament to tax the Americans was not only denied
by Lord Cambden, esteem'd by many the most able judge
of this question in the kingdom, but he, according to my
information, with great learning & historical knowledge
shew'd that taxation & representation were inseparable
companions, among other things reading in the House a
passage in M' Locke, heretofore cited by me in some pub-
lic essay for this purpose. In case I had in my petition
expressly opposed the parliamentary right of taxation, in-
stead of stating the rights of the Colonies incompatible
with it, in order to give proper proofs of the same, and
so laying the proper foundation of opposition, my petition
would certainly have been rejected.
March 17.
I wrote in haste on the 15*** in order to dispatch my
letter, with copy of my petit" & the dupli*~ by the Capt°*
Loyd & Scot, who, I understood, were on the point of
sailing, but going into the city at noon I found their
departure was postponed for a short time. At present I
have not much to add, & less time for doing it. On Mon-
day, having risen early, & been in a constant state of
hurry & anxiety until my petit"* was admited, I then went
away directly to get necessary sustenance, geting home
about five, having before coming away declined writing
to the Speaker, as the doorkeeper had proposed, for the
favour of leave of admitance into the House. According
to my information next morning great disappointm* took
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 363
place by the principal persons, men of the greatest weight,
in the opposition not speaking at all, and L* North's drift
seem'd to be to adopt the ancient maxim, divide & impera,
and to make the town of Boston the chief source of all
the opposit" made by the Colonies to the measures of
governm' &, by punishm* suitable to this idea, to make
an example of them in terrorem to others, supposing the
old maxim proximtis ardet wou'd not take place in the
Colonies.
Lord Cambden was not at home yesterday when I went
to wait on him, whereupon I left, to be deliver'd to him
at his return, a copy of my petition to the House of
Comons, & a printed copy of my late petit" to the King,
&c. American affairs being appointed to come on in the
House of Lords to-day, upon my waiting on him this
morning his Lordsh** told me his serv' informed him
Serg* Baldwin had left some papers for him which he
had not look'd into, & he was in such haste that I had
barely time to inform him that Calais, which you are
sensible was obtained by conq* at the expense of much
blood & treas"*, had in process of time right of election of
two members to sit in Parliam' granted by act of Par-
liam*, to which he seem'd quite a stranger, the knowledge
whereof, after making many researches in vain, I had at
length acquired. The right of taxation being hastily
ment**, he said an act of Parliam* hung over his head, and
at my coming away said he shou'd be glad to see me
any other time; and as the rain" proceed against you
by bill, that will give opportunity of course for my
waiting on him.
I am with the greatest respect for you gentlemen & the
other members of the Honorable the Council,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BoLLAN.
The Hon*" John Ervino, W" Brattle, Ja^ Bowdoin, & Ja« Pitts,
Esq".
364 THE BOWDOIX AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
PETITION OF WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE HOUSE OF
COMMONS.
To THE Hon*" the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament
ASSEMBLED.
The petition of W" Bollan, Esq', Agent for & in behalf
of the Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and
likewise of himself and the other inhabitants of the town
of Boston, most humbly sheweth :
That the *' bill for the immediate removal of the offi-
cers concerned in the collection & management of his
Majesty's duties of customs from the town of Boston in
the Province of Massa*** Bay in North America, and to
discontinue the landing, discharging, lading & shiping of
goods, wares, & merchandize at the said town of Boston,
or within the harbour thereof," at present depending
under consideration of this Hon**^ House,* contains va-
rious provisions, proposed to be enacted, inconsistent with
the ancient .& just rights, meritorious services, lawful pos-
sessions, reasonable customs, usual comforts of life, &
common social benefits, with other important interests of
all the persons in whose behalf this petition is presented,
long held in amicable conjunction with the other inhabit-
ants of the Province, and the most desirable connection
with innumerable persons employed in manufactures,
trade & navigation in Great Britain, whereby they have
been well maintain'd & prosper'd, and moreover inconsis-
tent with the general circulation of American comerce.
• This bill, commonly known as the Boston Port Bill, was introduced into the House of
Commons March 14, 1774. Mr. Bollan wrote a short letter to Mr. Bowdoin, under date of
March 18, 1774, and in a postscript, which is dated March 23, he adds: "I am preparing
in all baste my petition ag^ the Blockade Bill to be presented, if possible, to^lay before the
House goes into a Com^**, and therefore cannot add save that I can find no real abatem^ of
mini violence. Inclosed you have my last night's paper, wci» mentions the departure of
dispatches for seizing certain offensive persons. Whether true or false, 1 can neither say
nor enquire, and am far from being the first man min" w<l inform." — Eds.
1774.] COMMITTEE OP THE COUNCIL. 365
from which so great benefits are daily received by this
kingdom various ways.
Wherefore the petitioner humbly prays that he may be
heard before this Hon**** House, in order to prevent these
provisions from passing to be enacted.
W. BOLLAN.
COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.*
Boston, March 30*'', 1774.
S*, — Agreable to what we wrote you the 20**" and
24^*" December, your letter of the T* of September was
laid before the Council, who thought proper to communi-
cate it to the House of Representatives, together with
your letter of the 18**" of October, 1771, to which you
refer for the proposal contained in it relative to the east-
ern part of the Province. A joint committee of the two
Houses was appointed to consider those letters ; but the
attention of the lower House was so much engaged about
the Chief Justice and other affairs, that their committee
could not find time to enter on that business till towards
the close of the session of the Court, the sudden & unex-
pected prorogation of which prevented any thing being
done in it.
As Jjovd Dartmouth approved your proposal, and we
have not heard any objection made to it, we think it
would forward it if you were to confer with his Lordship
in order to know the situation and quantity of land proper
to be sequestered for the supply and growth of mast-trees
for the royal navy; the Province right to which land to
be transferred to the Crown, and the Crown in lieu of it
to give up all rights to trees growing or that shall grow
on all other lands in the Province, and to vest the General
* The ^ifi^Btures to this letter are aatographs. Apparently only the original was sent
to Mr. Bollnn, and the '* duplicate" remained in Mr. Bowdoin^s bands. — £x>s.
366 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
Court with the absolute right of granting all other lands
within the Province to the eastward of Sagadahoc River,
not already granted, or become private property.
The dependence of the Justices of the Superior Court
on the Crown for their support has given universal un-
easiness. Four of them have given assurances they will
receive no such support, but the Chief Justice having for
some time secretly received a stipend from the Crown,
and in his letter to the House of Representatives in con-
sequence of a resolve they sent to him, having manifested
his intention still to receive it, they impeached him before
the Governor and Council. What has past on this sub-
ject between the several branches of the General Court
we send you by this conveyance for your information.
You'll observe by the Governor's last message to the two
Houses, which put an end to the session the 9*** instant,
that he says some of their votes, resolves, and other pro-
ceedings strike directly at the honor and authority of the
King and of the Parliament. We do not know what the
Governor refers to, and are certain that nothing done by
the Council is intitled to such a high censure, or any cen-
sure at all, as you may judge by the papers. If any thing
should be attempted to the disadvantage of the Province
in consequence of the proceedings at the session, or on any
account whatever, the Council doubt not your endeavours
will be exerted to prevent it.
A grant of twelve hundred pounds sterling for your
services to July last was made to you this last session,
but has not been consented to by the Governor. The
Governor's speech at the opening of the session gave the
Council occasion in their answer to it to enter on the afEair
of your agency and the justice of your being compensated
for it. It was hoped as no reply was made that the Gov-
ernor was convinced of the reasonableness of such a com-
pensation, and that he would have signed the grant, or at
least recommended to the Ministry to give him liberty for
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 367
such a purpose ; and this last it is yet hoped he has done.
The speech and answer you have herewith.
In behalf of the Council of Massachusetts Bay we are
very respectfully, S',
Yr. most obed* serv*.
John Erving.
James Bowdoin.
James Pitts. J^Com*?.
Samuel Dexter.
John Winthrop.
William Bollan, Esq*.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO THE COUNCIL OP MASSACHUSETTS.
CovENT Garden, May 12***, 1774.
Gentlemen, — On Thursday, the 5*^ ins*, having com-
pleted my petition to the House of Lords, I waited on the
Duke of Richmond, who after kindly receiving it said he
was ready to present it without delay, at the same time
taking notice that the chief debate upon the bill wou'd
not take place til the third reading, which wou'd be some
day in this week : whereupon I observed that the intent
of my petition being to check the proceedings upon the
bill, I was rather desirous in point of fairness that the
petition shou'd be presented as early as might be consistent
with prudence in other respects, and pray'd the favour of
his Grace to present it when L* Cambden was in the House,
& to consult his Lordship upon the conduct of the petition,
having been disappointed of seeing him that morning ; to
which his Grace assented, adding that he wou'd go to the
House that day, & give notice of his having the petition
to present ; and the next day I attended at the House of
Lords until they arose, when I was informed the petition
was not presented. Waiting on the Duke of Richmond
the next morning, I understood it was thought best to
368 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS [1774.
defer presenting my petition til this week, and his Grace
told me he had given it to L* Cambden for his considera-
tion. From his Grace I went directly to L* Cambden's,
where I was inform'd he was gone into the country, & it
was uncertain what time he wou'd return on Monday ;
wherefore on that day I attended at the House of Lords
during the time of their sitting, and nothing was done,
L* Cambden not coming down. On Tuesday morning I
was again disappointed of seeing his Lordship, but attend-
ing at the House of Lords a little before they arose, the
Duke of Richm* & his Lords'* came out of the House to me,
& enquired whether I chose to be heard ; to whom I answ*,
that I came prepared for that purpose, whereupon L**
Cambden said it was proper for me to add that to the
prayer of my petition directly, so that it might be then
presented, and the Duke having given me the petition they
returned into the House, & I instantly wrote a few words,
which I thought might suffice, and sent them in by a
proper officer for their approbation or correction. He
brought for answer that they desired to see me in the
House ; upon which going in to them, they said the House
was broke up : praying the favour of their reading the
words I proposed to be added to the petition, L* Cambden
said they wou'd do very well. They told me the petition
wou'd certainly be presented the next day. Yesterday
morning, having somewhat alter'd the expression relative
to my being heard, I carried it on paper to L** Cambden,
who approving it, after satisfying his Lordship's enquirys
respecting the course of judicial proceedings in the Prov-
ince, the petition being then concluded, I waited on the
Duke of Richmond with it, who was so far persuaded of
success that he said I shou'd certainly be heard. Upon
his presenting it, after its being read by the Clerk, he
proceeded to the support of it, wherein he was well seconded
in the course of the debate, which on the part of adminis-
tration was begun, I understood, by Lord Mansfield, which
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAN. 369
I instantly thought did not bode well for your interest.
In conclusion a division taking place upon the question,
whether I shou'd be heard, 21 Lords voted for it, & 57
against it ; after which the bill being read, the debate was
renew'd, and finally the question being put, whether the
bill shou'd pass, the like number of 57 voted for it, & 21
against it.* ^
When waiting on L* Cambden this morning, I desired
to know the reason of the Lords' refusing to hear me, to
which he answ^, " the worst ; they were resolved to pass
the bill, & I came to stop their proceedings," adding that
if an angel had come from Heaven it wou'd not have
availed, tho' the minority upon the division, he said, was
greater than he expected. From his Lords'* I went to the
Duke of Richmond, who told me among other things that
the Secfy of State in the debate said it was necessary to
go on til the Colonies acknowledged the superiority of this
country ; whereupon he asked whether the right of taxa-
tion was intended to be included ; to this it was answ* that
a general submission was requisite, which in his Grace's
sense of the matter, if I understood him aright, was
certainly intended to comprize the power of taxation.
Inclosed herewith you have a copy of my petition as pre-
sented to the Lords, save that the articles of the petit**
* This was the bill '* for better regulating the government of Massachusetts Bay," under
the authority of which the Mandamus Councillors were appointed. Horace Walpole's ac-
count of what took place in the House of Lords contains some additional particulars. " On
the llth the Bostouian Bill was agitated in tlie Lords. Bolland, the agent, petitioned to be
heard, and was rejected^ as by the Commons, on a division of 67 to 20. The Duke of Rich-
mond spoke wannly for Boston; said they would be in the right to resist, cu punished un-
heard, anil, if they did resist, he should wish them success. — Lord Camden spoke out too,
though more moderately, saying he loved this country so well that, though in the wrong,
he should wish it success. He then more wannly attacked Lord Sfansjitldy tohom he treated
as author of the bills and of all the present measures, — Lord Mansfield, in a speech of an
hour and a half, very artful but very timid, returned no attack, but purged himself of the
bill, which he protested he had never seen tiUpnnted — a falsehood too gross and incredible
for any art to palliate. — Lord Sandwich and Lord Lyttelton defended the bills, and the
latter, as usual, attempted to provoke the Duke of Richmond. The House sat till eleven,
when the bill was voted by about the same number as had rejected Bolland; but to colour
the violence with more names, proxies were produced. The next day eleven lords pro-
tested.*' (See Walpole'8 Last Journals, vol. i. p. 364.) — Eds.
24
370 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
were numbered in the copy, tho' not in the original, for
my own use upon the expected hearing, so that they might
be answ"* by the like numbers given to the corresponding
proofs & reasons prepared to support the whole, article by
article. When I settled the petit** to the House of Coin'
with M' Dowdeswell, I proposed adding to the prayer ray
desire of being heard in support of it, to wjiich he answ*
in effect that my doing so wou'd be liable to this mis-
construction, that altho' the allegations in the petit*" of
the merits of the Prov~ & Council were made with intent
to strengthen the reasons of the prayer for suspending all
proceedings till the Prov~ cou'd have notice & make their
regular defence, yet upon their hearing me, at my own
desire, to weaken the force of the object" against their
precipitate proceeding without giving such notice & time
for defence, it wou'd probably be said they had heard all
I had to offer in your behalf ; wherefore it was better the
prayer of the petition shou'd stand as you rec"* it, & that
my being heard shou'd be moved for in the House as a
matter proper in its nature, wherein I acquiesced upon
consideration.
It may be some little comfort to you in your present
state of distress to be assured that sev* of the most
respectable persons in point of understanding & public
vertue in each House of Pari* have steadily contin"* from
the first your faithful friends, altbo' some others have
been less firm in their attachm* ; but I desire no ment°
may be made of the names of those noble or other worthy
pers' aforement^ who exerted themselves in the defence of
your cause upon the sharpest trials, as it may be very
disagreeable to some of them & tend, various ways, to
lessen that free coiiiunication which is frequently neces-
sary to negotiate your affairs in the most beneficial
manner.
The third bill, " for the impartial administra" of jus-
tice " considered in its nature, execu" & example appears
1774.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 371
to me pregnant with great grievance & danger ; where-
fore I must now go on with my preparations to oppose
it, tho' without the least prospect of success, having been
several ways informed that the projected measures of ad-
ministration were immutable, & that all the remaining
bills wou'd pass & be ready for the royal assent by this
day se'night ; tho' a member of ParP, who call'd upon me
yesterday noon seem'd to think the King wou'd not come
to the House til next day. L** Cambden hath already as
deep a sense of the evil nature of this third bill as you
can desire; yet his great abilities, noble spirit, & high
character, I am satisfied, will be attended with no suc-
cess, and, to use his own words, where most applicable, if
an angel was to come down from Heaven upon the pres-
ent occasion it wou'd signify nothing.
I am with the greatest respect for you, gentlemen, and
the other members of the Council,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
p. S. The Province service in the arduous course of it
hath been much distress'd, and myself with it, by the
want of Provincial authority; but in the debate that
arose in the House of Lords upon my last petition, I
understand, my authority from the Council was not call'd
in question.
The Hon»" John Ervino, W" Brattle, J a* BowDom, & J a* Pitts,
Esq".
JAMES BOWDOIN TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
Boston, Sepf 6, 1774.
Sir, — You have been informed that y* two Houses
at the last session made a grant to you of £1200 st',
which it was hoped the Gov' would sign, but he has not.
372 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
Since w**** y* act of Parliament for altering the form of
government has been rec*, and it has, as was expected,
thrown every thing into confusion. The people of this
Province are universally incensed against it, as are all
the Colonies, particularly those of New England, who
will not suffer y* act to be carried into execution, and are
determined to risk y* consequences, whatever they may
be. The Courts in several of the counties whose terms
have come about since y* arrival of y* act have done no
business, y* juries unanimously refusing to serve ; and
this will doubtless be y* case in every county in y* Prov-
ince. Town meetings go on as usual, w''*' have produced
county meetings by delegates, and these, *tis said, will
produce a Provincial meeting by com**^ from those dele-
gates. One spirit actuates the whole for the purpose of
self defence. In consequence of it most of y* new ap-
pointed Councillors have resigned their offices ; and *tis
expected all of them will do the same ; so that there will
probably not be a Council of y* new stamp at the time y*
Gen^ Court are called to meet, viz., on y* 5^ of Oct' next.
But if there should be such an one, it is next to certain
y* Rep' (for y* choice of whom precepts are just issued)
will refuse to do business with them. This is a summary
of the confused state into w""*" y* measures of Ministry
have thrown the Province ; but we have the satisfaction
to know that the other Colonies look on our case as their
own, and that they will not be tame spectators of our
destruction or insolvency. It is hoped the Congress will
propose measures that will be agreable to, and adopted
by, all y* Colonies, and to which a reasonable & intelli-
gent British Ministry can & will acceed. M' Josiah
Quincy, Jun', a gentleman of y* law, will hand to you
this letter. He can give you a particular account of y*
situation of things here, and such as may be relied on.
You will find him an ingenious, sensible, and worthy
gentleman, and as such I beg leave to recommend him
1774.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 373
to you.* In y* present situation of things I do not see
how a grant to you can be compleated, but should they
take such a turn as to make it possible I am persuaded y*
Charter Council, who are looked on as still existing, will
do their endeavour to compleat it. As a quondam mem-
ber of it my endeavours shall not be wanting for that
purpose. I hope your Vindication of y* Rights of y* Col-
onies will appear soon, and am, with y* greatest esteem
& respect, Sir,
Y' most obed* hble serv*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Boston, May 2, 1774.
D" Sir, — Your dismission from oflBce, of w""** we had
some uncertain reports, was confirmed by your letter of
y* 8"* March. It is very surprizing it should have been
without any previous notice or cause assigned. However,
as it was from a misapprehension and mistaken idea of
your conduct, if y' friends conjectured right concerning
Y* cause, and as you stand in high repute as a revenue
oflBcer, it is to be hoped you will be restored to the favour
of government. In y* meantime your consciousness that
you have not forfeited it must induce you to apply for it
by your friends, and encourage you to expect it. I think
you judge perfectly right in determining to continue in
England from that expectation. Your brother tells me
that besides a late remittance he should send you in a
short time £500 sterl', and if you should need £500
more, and my being surety for you will procure it, you
may apply ta Mess" Lane, Son, & Fraser for the loan
of it, to whom I have wrote a letter of this date, an
* Mr. Bowdoin also wrote on the tame day a letter to Dr. Franklin, introdocing Mr
Qalncy, extracts from which are printed in Proceedings, vol. xiii. pp. 153, 154. — Eds.
374 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
extract of which is inclosed. They are y^ only mercan-
tile correspondents I have in England, and y* only
persons of whom I can ask this favour. I hope my dear
daughter & her little boy are well, and that she continues
in good spirits. Whatever be your fortune in England,
she and you may depend on finding a sincere friend here
in, d' S',
Y", &c.
Sept' 10, 1774.
D" S', — The foregoing is copy of y* letter I sent you
inclosed in mine to Mess" Lane & C% w*"*" I hope you have
rec"*. The situation of things in this Province is very
disagreable, and they seem ripening to a crisis. Six
regiments are now here, and more are expected, for y*
purpose of enlightning our intellects, and convincing us
that our lives, liberty, & property are safer in y* hands
of foreigners than our own. For y* same purpose also
are intended y* acts for shutting up our port, abolishing y*
Prov** Charter, &c. But notwithstanding these impositions
and other that may arise from y* Canada acts, y* people
maintain a firmness w''*' astonishes y* exec" of those acts.
There is a remarkable spirit of union among y* Colonies,
w*"** on this occasion took place in most of them prior
to any comunications from & to each other ; and *tis
probable it will be guided in its operations by y* proceed-
ings and advice of y* Congress at Phil*, to w**" M"
Bowdoin's illness prevented my going. The measures
they shall recomend, 'tis to be hoped, will have a happy
tendency to open y* eyes of administration & bring y* two
countries once more into a state of tranquillity and
mutual confidence in each other. M' Josiah Quincy,
Jun^ whom you know very well, will deliver this to you.
He is a worthy, sensible gent", and can give you an exact
ace"" of American affairs. I beg leave to recomend him
to y' civilities. I have just returned to town from M"
Bowd"",. who is in y* country on ace"" of her health. She
1774.] CHARLES CHAUNCY. 375
sends her love & best regards to you and our dear Betsy
& her little boy, in w^ she is most affectionately joined
by, d' S',
Y' most.
^ M» QuiNCY, "^ Lyde.
CHARLES CH AUNCY ♦ TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Boston, Sept' 13*^ 1774.
Sir, — You very much disappointed me in sending no
answer to several letters I wrote you of some importance,
all w""** I suppose you received, as I took care y^ they
sh* be safely delivered.
Your friends here were grievously affected w'*" the
news of your being displaced, but we all hope a better
state of things will soon take place, w° you may again
be well provided for.
I shall write you nothing about the operation of the
Boston Port Bill and the two others y^ soon followed
upon it, as the bearer of this, M' Josiah Quincy, a young
gentleman you may not perhaps know, will be able to
give you as full and particular an account of our affairs
in consequence of them as you can desire, as also of all
other facts relative to this and the other Colonies. He is
a person of more y° common powers, of a sprightly ge-
nius, thorow acquaintance w**" the constitution and laws
of the country, and a perfect friend to the principles of
true liberty. He goes from hence to England strongly
disposed to serve this and the other Colonies, w'in he may
be able ; and he will be the better able to do this, if by
means of gentlemen of character at home, he may get
• Rev. Charles Chauncy, D D., miniKter of the Firot Church in Boston. He was bom
in Boston, Jan. 1, 1705. p^duated at Harvard Colle^^ in 1721, and died Feb. 10, 1787.
See Ellis's History of the First Church, pp. 188-208. The letter now printed was com-
municated to the Society, in October, 1893, and may be found in 2 Proceedings, vol. viii.
p. 288: hut it has been thought desirable to include it here with other letters of the same
period. — Eds.
376 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
opportunities of conversing with those, either in or out of
administration, who may have it in y' power to be ser-
viceable to us. The favor I would ask of you is only this,
that you would lend him your help in getting into the
company of such persons as these ; in particular y* you
would procure for him an opportunity and permission
to see and converse with Lord Chatham, Lord Temple,
and such others as you may introduce him to of like
character.
I suppose M' Bowdoiti will write you upon this same
occasion, and w**" the same view. I will at present add
no more, after due compliments to M" Temple, than that
I am.
Your friend and humble servant.
Charles Chauncy.
The Hon»^ John Temple, Esq*.
JOHN temple to lord DARTMOUTH.*
Bath, South Parade, 13 October, 1774.
My Lord, — A few days ago I received a letter from
M' Pownall, in which he informed me that I was super-
ceeded in the appointment of Lieut* Governor of the Prov-
ince of New Hampshire in America. I had before casually
heard such a report, but did not give any the least credit
to it ; and of all the extraordinary treatment I have met
with as a servant of the Crown for a series of years past,
without any reason assigned, this I the least expected,
• William Legge, wcond Earl of Dartmouth, was born June 20, 1731, and graduated at
Trinity College, Oxford. In July, 1705, he was appointed President of the Board of Trade
and Plantations, which office he held for about a year, until the formation of the Duke of
Grafton's ministry, when he resigned. In August, 1772, he succeeded Lord Hillsborough as
one of the Secretaries of State, and retained this office until November, 1775, when he was
made I>ord Privy Seal. On the downfall of Lord North's administration, he resigned, and,
with the exception of serving for a few months under the Coalition as Lord Steward of the
Household, he held no further political office. He died July 15, 1801. See Dictionary
of National Biography, vol. xxxii. pp. 417-419. — Eds.
1774.] JOHN TEMPLE. 377
after what your Lordship said to me on the subject. You
will remember that when I waited on you to inform you
that I was dismissed from the oflBce of Surveyor General
of the Customs, & shewed you Lord North's letter wherein
he expressly refused giving me any reason for my dismis-
sion, your Lordship expressed concern, & said you was
very sorry for it, never having heard a word of such Lord
North's intention till that morning. I then ask'd your
Lordship whither any part of my conduct had been dis-
pleasing toyouj for that I held an honorary appointment
under your department, and beg'd to know if that was
also taken from me. Your Lordship reply 'd, " It was
not, that the King had said nothing to you about remov-
ing me, & that out of regard to me you had mentiond
nothing to his Majesty concerning that appointment." I
thank'd your Lordship for such marks of your regard &
kindness which perfectly agreed with all your former
sentiments, & told you I should patiently retire into the
country till the thick clouds then gathering over Amer-
ican affairs might be dispersed, and never heard a word
of my being superceeded till some months after your
appointment had taken place. From that goodness of
heart I had always been taught to think your Lordship
possesses, I trust you will not be displeased at my thus
laying open my mind to you, as I mean it with the utmost
deference & respect. I feel myself an injured man, and
fully believe both you and Lord North will in the calm
evening of life, if not before, think I have had great in-
justice done me, and possibly from a review of things may
regret the treatment I have met with. With regard to
American affairs, on account of which, 'tis conjectured, I
have met with so much unfair & unjust treatment, the
searcher of all hearts knows it has been my most ardent
desire to contribute all in my power to prevent them from
getting to the unhappy, if not alarming, state they are
now in. From the situation I was for a long time in in
378 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
North America, I early foresaw the height those unhappy
affairs would arrise to, if not stop'd in their infancy; and
as I thought the evils were principally owing to govern-
ment's being misinformed & misled, I felt the stronger
impulse to give my superiors every usefull information in
my power. Your Lordship knows I have done it to you.
I have done it to my Lord North, & with the utmost truth
& sincerity ; and from the advantages of connection & na-
tural interest added to the official experience I have had
in that country, I am sure my intelligence has always
been well founded. And I am sincerely sorry to find so
much of what I expressed my fears about to your Lord-
ship now coming to pass. I may in point of prudence
have been too zealous & too open in those affairs ; I
always felt happy in finding, as I thought, your Lordship
in the same sentiments, and if ever a man suffered for
endeavouring to prevent great & public evils I have for
endeavouring to prevent those now rappidly approaching
to both that & this country. I love America ; it is my na-
tive country ; but I never had the most distant wish for its
advancing to a state incompatible with the honor & pros-
perity of this its parent country. And whenever the time
comes when a reconciliation shall be the object of govern-
ment, I think I have an influence there, at least in the
northern provinces, that may be usefull, and no man living
will have greater pleasure than myself in exerting it to
the utmost in contributing to bring about the desirable
event.
Had my own advancement & prosperity been alone
the object of my persuit, for several years past common
policy would have dictated to me another line of conduct
than that I follow'd, especially in M' Grenville's adminis-
tration, when I might have had any thing in his power
to give, honors as well as appointments, in preference to
those on whom they have been confer d, but then I must
have deceitfully flatter'd that minister with the probability
1774.] WILLIAM BOLLAK. 379
of success to his American plans, when in my conscience I
foresaw if persisted in they must ruin him as a minister.
I rather chose to confine myself to truth and justice in all
my letters to him & in my conduct as an ofl&cer of the
Crown in that country ; & I know M' Grenville lived to
be convinced I was essentially right in all my representa-
tions to him, & I have now the real sattisfaction to feel in
my own breast that I have conscientiously intended well
in all my subsequent conduct as a servant of the Crown.
The place your Lordship has dismissed me from was
merely honorary. I never was benefited a single shilling
by it the whole fourteen years of my appointment. I
however highly valued it as an honor done me by my
sovereign, and as an oflBce that was created purposely by
M' Pitt to give me rank in that country, there never hav-
ing been a Lieut. Governor to that province before, and it
was the first new commission his present Majesty ever
signed.
I beg your Lordship will believe me to be, with the
utmost respect,
Your Lordship's most obedient and most humble ser-
vant.
J. Temple.
WILLIAM BOLLAN TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
CovENT Garden, Dec' 6*, 1774.
Sir, — Enclosed you receive the King's speech to his
new Parliament, and the address moved for in the House
of Lords, & the proposed, but rejected, amendment of it,
with the noble protest of several dissenting Lords. Yes-
terday the address of the House of Comons, of a similar
nature, but omiting the word ^abhorence', with an
amendment proposed by Lord John Cavendish, came un-
der consideration, & upon debate the amendment was
rejected by 264 against 73, the intent of it being, like
380 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1774.
that in the Lords House, to prevent the House from
giving their sanction to any ministerial American meas-
ures, before they had received the proper evidence of
the particulars & considered them. A worthy member
informs me that the noble Lord who moved for the
address, & is generally understood to speak the sense of
the ministry, declared in support of his motion to this
effect, that the address when made wou'd not preclude
the consideration of any future measure, for instance the
abrogation of the late acts respecting your port & prov-
ince ; and several members say that the ministry declined
entering into the merits of the American dispute, & that
L* Cambden cou'd not by the most noble speech raise up
L"* Mansfield, who is understood to be min' in that House,
to give him any answer. The Coinons address was not
reported to-day, & so remains in comittee til to-morrow.
M' Quincy by his thoro' knowledge of your present un-
happy state, with its causes, & his zeal for your public
rights & interests, fully answers your recoinenda", and
upon knowing his arrival, I was desirous of his appear-
ance in the House of Comons, to ascertain the state &
disposition of the Colonies, which, you are sensible, have
been so far misrepresented. I took some preparatory
measures for this purpose, but at present do almost de-
spair of obtaining it. The King may, I conceive, take
further measures in consequence of the two addresses,
without previous application to the two Houses ; but I am
enclined to think his min" will not advise to proceed to
the last extremity without Parliamentary sanction.
After various avocations unavoidable, & great, expen-
sive changes of my first plan of proceeding, conforming
to the varying state of the times, to ascertain the rights
of the Colonies & promote their interest in the most bene-
ficial maner, I completed my defence of their civil rights,
& on the meeting of the new Parliara*, which T judged the
most convenient time, after presenting numerous copies
1775.] • JAMES BOWDOIN. 381
to noble & other worthy persons, published it under the
title of " The Rights of the English Colonies estab* in
America stated & defended ; their merits & importance to
Great Britain display*, with illustrations of the benefits
of their union & of the mischiefs & dangers of their con-
tinued dissention," and purposed to send by the Diogenes,
which will sail ere long, but not so soon as I expected,
100 copies addressed to M' Erving, to whom I pray you
will give my best compliments.
Error, you are sensible, is infinite, and error begeting
error, & violence in council violence in action, one of the
most noble empires in the world is most strangely brought
into great danger, from which I conceive, we have all
abundant reason to pray for deliverance.
I am, with great esteem & regard. Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
W. BOLLAN.
p. S. M' Quincy having undertaken to transmit this
in the most secure maSer, you will receive it under his
cover.
The Hon'i' James Bowdoin, Esq*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO WILLIAM BOLLAN.
Boston, March 80, 1775.
Sir, — This will be delivered to you by M' Dana,* a son
of your old friend dec*, and his successor in y* practice of
y* law. Our law Courts being shut, & his business sus-
pended of course, he takes the opportunity this vacation
affords him of seeing England. He is a sensible gent"
and of a veiy good character, and can inform you how
* Francis Dana, born in CharleBtown, June 13, 1743, graduated at Harvard Collefce in
1762, and died at Cambridf^c, April 35, 1811. The 8on of an eminent lawyer and patriot in
the early stafTes of the RtnifTfcle ^ith the mother country, he was himself alike eminent as
a lawyer, a statesman, a diplomatist, and as Chief Justice of Massachusetts. — Eds.
382 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [177a
things are circumstanced here. I think it w** not be amiss
to caution him against y** wiles of a certain politician on
your side of the water. Good sense will not always
guard a man against deception, especially if it happens
that he has a good opinion of y* deceiver. The tools of
ministry here have been very assiduous in their endeavors
to bring the people to an acquiescence with their measures
by applying to their passions, especially their fear ; and
they pretend to believe, and have probably represented to
their employers, that they have converted great numbers,
and in consequence of this may have urged a perseverance
in those measures from an expectation of their finally
succeeding. But Ministry will find themselves deceived
if they trust to such representations. The union among
y* people in a determined opposition to ministerial oppres-
sion is surprizing. It is prevalent throughout New Eng-
land, and there are at least appearances of their providing
and being prepared against y* worst. The same spirit is
general in y® other Colonies, not excepting New York,
where y* hirelings of Ministry, who thought they had
gained the majority by their lies & incessant scribling,
have lately had abundant evidence of y* futility of their
endeavours for that purpose. We begin to expect y* result
of y* deliberations of Parliament on American affairs.
The King s speech and y* replies to it do not promise
any thing favorable ; but it is hoped the petitions from y*
trade & from several parts of y* kingdom will produce y*
repeal of y* acts objected to, and thereby restore y* peace
of y* empire. This hope is grounded on the national
interest being connected with, and in a great degree
dependent on, such a repeal. However, if it should not
take place, or if on the contrary further severity and
injustice should be resolved on, they will only serve to
alienate y* Colonies still more, and may bring about a
dismemberment of them from y* mother state ; but it is
irksome to consider y* consequences, even if one were
1775.] ABIGAIL ADAMS. 383'
wholly uninterested in theni. What is the policy that
prevails at present? It excludes every idea of justice,
honour, and philanthropy. It is a composition of y* con-
trary qualities mixed with cruelty and ignorance or some-
thing worse. At least that is the American idea of it ;
and it has produced its genuine effects, such as were to be
expected from it. It has destroyed all confidence in ad-
ministration, and has necessitated the Colonies to provide
for their own safety by y* best means in their power.
God succeed them. Wishing them success is wishing
prosperity to y* nation, whose interests have been sacri-
ficed, in order to create a new fund for inslaving it
further.
I am to thank your for your letters of y* 6*** & 10*** of Dec%
and particularly for your pamphlet on the Rights of the
Colonies, which I have read with great pleasure. I com-
unicated it to Capt. Erving, D' Cooper, & other gentlemen,
who much approve and thank you for it. The Diogenes,
by w''** you say you shall send 100 copies to M' Erving, is
not yet arrived. With great sincerity I join with you in
hoping that the Colonies " by their wisdom & fortitude
will to their perpetual honour in these days of severe trial
promote y* comon safety and welfare," and am with great
truth & regard,
S', y', &c. J. BowDOiN.
ABIGAIL ADAMS* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Braintree, June 16'*^, 1775.
Sir, — I have the pleasure of acquainting you that I
last evening received letters from Mr. Adams, wherein he
informs me that the Congress are determined to support
* Wife of John AdamR, necond President of the United State*. This letter and the one
from Thomas Gushing, which immediately follows, will be found in 2 Proceedings, vol. viii.
pp. 61, 62. — £d8.
384 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEKS. [1776.
the Massachusetts, that there is a good spirit among them,
& that they have an amazing field of business before them ;
that it is extensive, complicated, and hazardous, but their
unanimity is as great as before ; that they have a number
of new and ingenious members ; that the military spirit
which runs thro' the continent is truly amazing. The
City of Philadelphia turns out 2000 men every day. Mr.
Dickinson is a Col* ; Mr. Reed a L' Col* ; Mr. Mifliin a
Major.
The bearer of one of the letters, Mr. Hall, is a Maryland
gentleman, accompanied by his brother; gentlemen of
independent fortunes, y* one a lawyer, the other a physi-
cian, and one of the best families in Maryland, and are
come 500 miles as volunteers to the camp, where they
intend to spend the season.
Please, Sir, to accept my most respectful regards to
Mrs. Bowdoin, and ardent wishes for the restoration of
your health, from your
humble servant.
Abigail Adams.
THOMAS GUSHING* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Philadelphia, June 21, 1775.
Dear Sir, — You will doubtless have been informed
that the Congress have unanimously appointed George
Washington, Esq', General & Commander in Chief of the
American forces. I beg leave to recommend him to your
respectful notice. He is a compleat gentleman. He is
sinsible, amiable, virtuous, modest,' & brave. I promise
myself that your acquaintance with him will afford you
* At that time one of the delcfi^ates to Conprew from Mas^achuMtts. He was bom in
Boston. March 24, 1725, graduated at Harvard College in 1744, and died Feb. 28, 1788.
From 17f>7 to 1774 he was* Speaker of the House of Roprcsentntives, and from 1779 until his
d^ath LieuteDant-GrOTernor of Massachusetts. See Drake's Biographical Dictionary, p. 237.
— Eds.
1775.] RALPH IZARD. 385
great pleasure, and I doubt not his agreable behaviour &
good conduct will give great satisfaction to our people of
all denominations. . General Lee accompanies him as
Major General ; I hope his appointment will be agreable
to our people, & that he will be received with all due
respect.
I am, with great regard,
Your most humble serv*.
Thomas Gushing.
The Hon*!' James Bowdoin, Esq^.
RALPH IZARD* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Weymouth, 2* Sept^, 1775.
Dear Sir, — I am just favoured with your letter, &
am sorry to find that G. is not in England, as I should
have been glad of a little conversation with him. He
will not be sent to any other place you may depend upon
it ; his employers know how necessary it is to have him
here. If you should hear of his return, pray let me know
of it.t General Lee's letter is one of the best I ever
read ; I have received great pleasure from it. His enter-
ing so heartily into the cause after taking a considerable
time to think of it shews that he not only approves of it,
but thinks it must be successful. His letter does him a
great deal of honour, & if he can keep himself within
bounds, he will do a great deal of good, & add much
to his military reputation, which is already considerable.
* Ralph Izard waa born near Charlerton, S. C. in 1742, and was educated at Cam-
bridge, England. He afterward returned to America, and married a niece of Lieutenant-
Governor De Lancy of New York. In 1771 he settled in Tx>ndon, but not long after the
outbreak of hostilities between the mother country and the Colonies he went on the Conti-
nent. From December 1776 to July 1780 he was in the diplomatic service of Congress ;
he then returned home, and subsequently filled various Important offices. He died near
Charleston, May 30, 1804. See Appleton*s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. iii.
p. 372. — Eds.
t The reference is presumably to General Gaire, who did not, however, embark from
Boston for England antU about a month after the date of this letter. — Eds.
26
386 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1775.
M* Burgoyne's answer is contemptible. He is of opinion
that resistance is justifiable when the kingdom is under
certain circumstances which he describes. The kingdom
is most assuredly at this time under those circumstances,
& yet he, in consequence of a royal mandate, is gone to
oppose that resistance, &, if it is in his power, to render
it ineffectual. He says that every American knows that
he may get rid of taxation for ever. I wish he had been
explicit & informed us how. He could not mean that
we should get rid of taxation by accepting of L* North's
proposition. I conceive that would be saddling ourselves
with a perpetual tax. There are contradictions & absur-
dities in the letter. He will gain no credit by it as a
writer, & his principles will offend both parties. The
King, I am sure, will not be pleased with him for pre-
suming to be of opinion that resistance is justifiable in
any case whatever. Lee has shewn himself a wise man
in declining the proposed interview.* It would certainly
have had the eiJBfect he mentions. Suspicion, or the least
want of confidence, might prove fatal. You think that
Boston will be attacked. I shudder at the thoughts of it,
as it must necessarily occasion a prodigious effusion of
blood. Should the attempt prove unsuccessful, the conse-
quences may be fatal ; but if they should succeed & the
army be beaten & taken prisoners, there would soon be
an end to the contest. M" I. joins in complim*' to you &
M" T. We are sorry that we cannot see you here ; but
expect that pleasure at Bath, where, I believe, we shall
go about the latter end of this month. Adieu.
I am, affectionately, your friend, &c.
T am sorry for Oliver's disappointment. You find his
principles are good.
* For dome account of the correspondence between Greneral Lee and General Bnrfcoyne,
see Sparks's Life of Charles Lee in Sparks's American Biography, secoi^d series, voL viii.
pp. 82-86. The letters themselves are printed at lentrth in Fonblanque*s Episodes from
the Life and Correspondence of the Right Hon. John Burgoyne, pp. 161-173. — Eos.
1775.] JOSIAH QUINCT. 387
JOSIAH QUINCr* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Braintreb, October 1**, 1775.
Dear Sir, — I have been interrupted with company all *
this evening, or this letter woud be much longer. It gave
me sensible pleasure to hear you are growing better ; and
am much obliged for your kind regards transmitted by
the bearer, who tells me he must return early in the
morning.
Deacon Palmer, who came from Watertown this morn-
ing, tells me that a vessel from Quebeck, loaded with
wheat, flour, & live stock upon deck, is taken by one of
our cruisers & carried into Salem ; that an old oflScer in
an intercepted letter to Gen^ Gage informs him "that
gov^ must not expect any assistance from Canada this
year, as Gen^ Carlton dares not venture to muster the
militia, least his orders for that purpose shou'd be diso-
beyed, for the poison of that d — d word Liberty has found
its way into Canada, and spread like a pestilence in every
part of it." A gent" of intelligence from Connecticut in-
forms that Gen^ Schuyler has sent out recruiting parties
who had inlisted two thousand Canadians into the Conti-
nental service, and expected many more wou'd inlist ; that
one of the Livingston family, settled in or near Mount-
real, has urged the General to march to S* Johns as soon
as possible, as he had engaged 300 men to cut off Gen^
Carlton's retreat from thence to Montreal ; that Gen^
Washington had recommended to the Court to fit out a
number of arm'd vessels to intercept supplies to Boston,
which, he says, will be immediately complyed with.
* Josiah Quincv, commonly called Colonel Quincy, was born in Braintree in 1709, and
gradoated at Harvard College in 1728. Sal>MqaentIv he was engaged in commerce and
ship-building in Boston ; bat at about the age of forty -seven he retired to Braintree, where
he continued to live until his death March 8, 1784. He took little fMirt in pubMc afFairs, but
was warmly attached to the American cause. See Jontah Qnincy*(i Life of Jo«iah Quincy,
Jr., pp. 3, 4; Edmund Quincy*s Life of Josiah Quincy, pp. 4-17. — Eds.
388 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1775.
You are obliged to M' E. Church for the inclosed news-
paper. He brings me the melancholly news of his brother,
Doct' Church, being taken into custody, yesterday after-
noon, upon suspicion of holding a traitorous correspondence
with the enemy. A letter in characters is intercepted,
going by way of Rode Isl**, to Boston, directed to Major
Cane, which he confesses he wrote, but says it was wrote
to his bro' in law Flemraing, & by his desire was directed
to the Major. He says it contains only exaggerated acco**
of the formidable state of our army, and the probability
of the Canadians' revolting to our side, and is in answer
to a letter from Flemming to him, but upon his brother's
asking him for a sight of that letter, he cou'd not tell what
was become of it. I fear the suspicion of his guilt is but
too well grounded.
There are perpetual desertions both from the army and
navy. A boat with 7 seamen or marines from a man of
war in Nantasket Road, being ordered with an officer to
guard George's IsP, bound the officer & run away with
the boat to Hingham last night, & past thro this town in
their way to head quarters this morning. A large ship
full of men, but no red coats visible, went into Boston
yesterday. Her bottom, sides, & sails discovered a long
passage. I suspect they are Highlanders from Scotland.
If your health will permit, I shou'd be much obliged for
your sentiments upon the present flood of paper credit.
I fear it will have a very ill effect upon our outstanding
debts.
M" Quincy & my dear daughters join in respectfull
compliments to you & your good lady, and sincere wishes
for the speedy restoration of your health, with, dear Sir,
Your most ob* hum. serv\
11 o'clock. Jos^ QuiNCY.
P. S. Your obliging 1' of 29**" of August came safe to
hand this day.
1775.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 389
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOSIAH QUINCY.
MiDBORO, Octo 3, 1775.
D* Sir, — I thank you for the intelligence contained in
your obliging letter of y* 1** inst*. What relates to y* D'
I was much surprized at, having entertained a high opinion
of his principles as a patriot. I cannot but hope that on
strict enquiry he will turn out an honest man, notwith-
standing appearances to y* contrary. Rather than think
otherwise, I have indulged a conjecture that to answer
some political purposes with regard to y* enemy, the dis-
covery of a traitorous correspondence is only pretended,
in order that by subjecting him to apparent inconveniency
on ace** of it, he might be y* better qualified to act y* part
of a spy, if disposed to undertake in so hazardous a busi-
ness. Or, may not his intercepted letter, though wrote
in characters, be his vindication when the contents of it
are certainly known ? An excellent decypherer, if there
be none nearer, may be found at Salem, I mean M' Oliver.
I really wish it were sent to him, as I cannot but appre-
hend it would serve to clear the D' from the imputation
of treachery, w"* w''*' it would give me great pain to find
him justly chargeable. If it sh** turn out so, it is probably
y* effect of ministerial bribery, in w*"** case there is no room
to doubt that the same poison has been and will be ad-
ministred to others. I hope our state physicians will
seasonably discover y* symptoms, so as to prevent a mor-
tification, or any ill consequences, by an excision of the
morbid and corrupt parts. In return for y* news coiiiuni-
cated by y' letter I w* comunicate some to you if I could.
Whether y* following be such to you you can best tell.
You have heard of CoP Gorham, the Nf'^l* Gov'*' arrival
lately at Boston from England. His business here I have
been informed is to raise and comand a regiment of rangers
390 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1775.
to distress his countrymen. My informant is one Clifford,
who was pilot of y* ship of war (Cap* Price) in w** M'
Gorham came passenger, and arrived at Boston ab* 3 weeks
ago. The pilot says he was told on board y* s* ship that
M' Gorham was to comand a regiment as above mentioned.
This pilot was master of a vessel coming this way from
Nf^P, and on George's Bank was pressed by Price into his
service as pilot. He says he was informed at y* land that
a great number of Irishmen, ab* 700, had been inlisted as
rangers to serve ag"* y* d** rebels of N. E. and supposes
that these are for a part of Gorham's regiment. The ship
you mention going into Boston full of men (not red coats)
are probably part of them. He says further the comand-
ing officers there have orders to seize all provisions and
send them to Boston, which occasion** him to move off
precipitately with his vessel soon after his arrival. Price
had 12 weeks passage from EngP, and when he was told y*
situation of things here, he swore it was a d* lie. How-
ever, on his arrival at Boston, & finding y* truth of it, he
told Gifford he w** not have come to America could he
have known how matters were circumstanced, and that
he had been assured he sh** find it in a state of perfect
quietude, by w°** he doubtless meant a perfect subjugation
to ministerial tyranny. Several men of war & transports
are gone up y* Sound. In their way they put into Holmes's
Hole, and by threatning to cannonade y* town forced y*
inhabitants to give them a few sheep. He also cannon-
aded Tarpolin Cove, but without effect. They had taken,
among others, a vessel of Col° Bowers from Jam* and a
brig of Harry Bowers from y* same place with a valuable
cargo. The latter got ashore on Eliz' Isl* and one of y*
tenders came after her, but was so warmly rec** by y* c*"
station** there that she was obllg** to make off, and our
people have since carried the brig safe into Dartm® with
6 or 8 prisoners. Paper credit we will make y* subject of
our next conversation; in y* mean time be assured of
1775.] JOSIAH QUINCY. 391
mine & M" Bowdoin's most respectful regards to you & y'
good lady & family, and believe me to be, w"* great truth,
Yrs. &c.*
JOSIAH QUmCY TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Braintrke, Dec* 11*, 1775.
Dear Sir, — Having tasted the pleasure of your friendly
correspondence, I feel myself unhappy to see it thus long
discontinued. Permit me therefore to renew it by trans-
mitting to you and your good lady our cordial compliments
of congratulation upon the safe return of your dear and
only son from his travells. We shall rejoice to hear his
health is restored & confirmed ; and that the advantages
he has reaped are equal to the opportunities he has had of
seeing and conversing with such a great variety of charac-
ters and the inumerable objects that must have come
under his observation during his absence abroad. Had
Infinite Wisdom been pleased to grant me the pleasure of
embracing such a dear object, I also should have experi-
enced the heart-felt joy which is your happj' lot, & beyond
discription ; but it was otherwise ordered by our universal
parent, to whose will without repining I humbly endeavor
to submit.!
I quite long to see and converse with you upon our new
measure of commerce established by law in all cases what-
soever upon the severest penalties. Quere : whether such
a law will not operate as injuriously as another that has
been, and still is, so zealously combatted ? Pray be so
good as to come converse with me, or write to me upon
the interesting subject. It wou'd be but an amusement
* For a letter from Samuel Adams to James Bowdoin, dated Philadelphia, Nov. 16,
1775, with Bowdoin's answer, see Proceedings, vol. xii. pp. 226-228. For a letter from
Bowdoin to Thomas Cashing, dated Dec. 9, 1775, incidentally giving some account of
General Washington, see 2 Proceedingp, vol. viii. p. 289. — Eds.
t Josiah Quincy, Jr., died within sight of land, on his voyage home from England,
April26, 1775. — Eds.
392 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1775.
to the young gentleman, your son, to be the bearer of a
letter to Braintree, pay a visit of a day or two to head
quarters, and return with a pocket full of news. I own I
am a little selfish in such a suggestion, as in such a case
I may hope for a history of his travels.
It is a grateful sense of the f aithf ull services of ray black
female servant that prompts me to take the freedom of
begging you would be so good as to enquire of CoP Sprout
in your neighbourhood whether he knows anything of a
negro man named Sharper (belonging to M' Enoch Brown)
who is husband to said servant & it's said lives w"* the
CoP. She has not seen or heard from him these two
months, and after diligent enquiry can't learn whether he
is alive or dead. If you shou'd hear of him, & that he is
coming here, please to let us have the pleasure knowing
how you all do, and that you have not forgot a family that
has, and will always rejoice to receive your friendly visits.
I am, most respectfully,
Your faithf ull & affec** serv*.
Jos^ QUINCY.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO JOSIAH QUINCY.
Middlebor6, Dec' 16, 1775.
Dear Sir, — About a week after parting with y* agre-
able company that were so politely entertained at your
house my disorder returned upon me with great violence,
and thO abated still continues to such a degree that I can
only acknowledge y* rec* of your kind letter of y* 11***.
I thank you for your congratulations on y* arrival of my
son, who last week went to head quarters to see y* gentry
there, and is not yet returned. The next tour he will do
himself y* pleasure to wait on you agreable to your
obliging invitation. Col° Sprout came to see me yester-
day. He tells me Sharper, y* person you enquire about.
1776.] ROBERT PIERPONT. 393
has been a considerable time on a trading journey to
Dartmouth & the neighbouring towns, from whence he
returned a few days ago, and he thinks has since pro-
ceded to y* camp at Cambridge. I wish you and your
good lady would give us y* pleasure of a visit, and then
we will discuss y* subject you mention. Mine and M"
Bowdoin's best regards wait on you and her and y* agrea-
ble branches of your family. I am, dear Sir,
Y' most obed. hble. serv*.
J. B.
ROBERT PIERPONT* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
RoxBURT, March 6***, 1776.
Dear Sir, — In answer to your request, would let
you know our peeple began to cannonaed the inemey at
8 o'clock last night from Cobbel Hill. This I tack was
to divert them whilst we tuck possetion of Dorchester
Hiths on the Neck ; and it answerd the purpos very well,
for alltho the enemy cept a hevey fier all night, yet never
turnd it on our grate interprize, for we had 380 teams im-
ployed to carey on the neserys, and such a set of works
prepaierd as I bleve has astonished our inemyes to a
grate deggree. For the transports which lay at Nan-
tasket are cuming up, and as they waier wooded and
watred, and all feeted with dubbel berths, I congeter thay
are going to imbark. We cannot learn what damag we
have dun them, but supose sum, as thayer was much
screeching heard when our shell thundred through the
* Ou the back of this letter is a copy, or the origiDal, in Bowdoin's handwriting, of a
letter from him, dated Middleboroufi^h, Monday erening, March 4, in which he says:
*' Being much unwell, which obliges me to keep at home, and being greatly anxions to
know the event of the attack on Boston, and how it is conducted, I have sent the bearer to
get the best intelligence he can; and I shall esteem myself much obliged to you if you will
favour me with a few lines containing the fullest account of it, and what has happened in
consequence of it, so far as hath come to your knowlege.** Lieutenant Robert Pierpont,
presumably the writer of this letter, was a person of consideration and influence in Roz-
bury. See Drake's Town of Roxbury, pp. 29, 30, 82, 327. — Eos.
394 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1776.
sentuer of the town. We have rec* no grate dameg.
God has again woonderfuley apeard for his peepel. To
him let us render our gratefull thanks. We have now
3000 men in hey sperits, well fortefyd on the hills on
Dorchester Neck. Thayer was one man kill* & 5 wounded
on Cobbel Hill ; one badley wounded on our side. Am
sorey to hear of your indesposeton of body ; hope I shall
sun have the plesuer to hear you are in the ingeoyment
of a good state of helth ; in the mean time remain
Your frind & hu. ser*.
R. PlERPONT.
p. S. The ingenear brackfasted with me this morning,
sath our peepel are well preparerd and wishing for a seley
from the enemy, which I think, if ever, will be at 11
o'clock this day, as the tide will then sute.
JOSIAH QUINCY TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Braintree, March IS***, 1776,
Dear Sir, — The bearer waiting upon you sooner than
I expected, and the present critical situation of our
military affairs, will, I hope, excuse my postponing an
answer to your friendly and obliging letter of the 29*** of
January last.* I have often revised and contemplated the
affecting sentiments it contains. They treat upon a
subject of the last importance to creatures of our rank in
the scale of beings, and should be glad to communicate
to you the impression they have made upon my mind. But
at present, I doubt not, it will be more entertaining to
give you, as far as I am able, an account of our late
military manoeuvres.
On Saturday, the 2^ ins*, about half after 10 clock in
* The letter referred to Is printed in Quincy's Memoir of Josiah Quincy, Jr., pp. 484>
487. — Eds.
1776.] JOSIAH QUINCY. 395
the evening, our army began to cannonade the town from
Roxbury, which was immediately returned with redoubled
vengeance from the lines upon the Neck. Upon this
the firing commenced from every battery of ours round
the town and from those of our enemies in it, during
which upwards of 300 teams loaded with facines, frames
for barracks, &c', escorted by 2 or 3,000 troops, passed
undiscovered and even unsuspected over to Dorchester
Neck, and there entrenched themselves upon the two
highest hills, of which works the next morning we had .
a most delightfuU prospect from the top of my house.
The successfuU opening of this scene, and the smiles of
Providence upon our labour by such remarkable fine
weather, excited in my mind sentiments of gratitude
which you will better understand than I can express.
The next morning a number of large transports which
winter d in Nantasket Road got under sail & went up to
town. There was little or no firing in the daytime, but
the cannonading began again all round the two succeed-
ing nights, very moderately on our side, but with all the
fury of disappointed malice on the part of our enemies.
One of their bombs was thrown within a third of a mile
from the College. We had two men killed, and one or
two wounded. The legs of 6 men were taken off by
a ball from one of our cannon, many wounded, and
great damage done by our bombs to the houses in
Boston.
Between one & two o'clock on Wednesday morning we
were alarmed by an express from Gen^ Washington, in-
forming me that a number of vessels with troops on
board fell down the preceeding afternoon, & desiring to
be immediately informed if they shou'd make an attempt
upon our shores. From Tuesday morning the firing
ceased on both sides. On Saturday in the afternoon
a quantity of facenes were carted to Nuke Hill (so
called) directly opposite to the fortification, in open
396 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1776.
view of the enemy ; and in the evening a few foolhardy
unfortunate wretches went & kindled a fire upon the top
of the hill. This insult provoked the enemy beyond all
bearing, which they discovered by firing some heavy
cannon on Wheeler's Point, which obliged our men to
retreat on the other side of the hill, where they were
soon fired upon from the block house upon the Neck,
& 4 of them shot dead on the spot. The firing from
different batteries was incessant the whole night ; many
hundred balls were picked up by our men the next day,
but don*t hear of any further damage done on either side.
On Sunday near 30 large transports fell down below the
Castle, all of them deep loaded (supposed) with military
stores & Boston plunder. Sunday night no cannonading,
of w*** our troops took the advantage, and opened a
battery on a small hill nearer the town, & planted therein
two heavy cannon. This occasioned a warm fire, both
from their batteries and ours. From the last mentioned
battery the enemy's shipping in all probability suffered,
for yesterday the Admiral's ship & near 40 sail of vessels,
great & small, some men-of-war, but chiefly transports,
fell down, some to King's Road, & the rest to Kantasket
Boad.
This morning we were visited by Miss Unice Paine, who
was so kind as to let me copy an extract from a letter
she rec* from Watertown the last evening, which is
annexed hereto, and will probably be more entertaining
than all I have wrote above, as it comes more directly
from the fountain of intelligence. However, I beg your
acceptance of the whole as a testimony of the esteem and
affection with which I am
Your faithfuU humble servant.
Jos^ QUINCY.
P. S. M" Quincy & M" Lincoln join me in respectfull
regards to you, your lady, & good family.
1776.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 397
Mar. 10"*. M' Murray,* a clergyman din*d with the
General yesterday, and was preaent at the examination of
a deserter, who upon oath says that 5 or 600 troops
embarked the night before without any order or regular-
ity ; the baggage was hurried on board without an
inventory ; that he himself helped the General's baggage
on board, and that two hospital ships were filled with
sick soldiers, and the utmost horror and confusion
amongst them all. The General rec** a 1' from the select-
men informing him that in the midst of their confusion
they apply'd to M' Howe, who told them that if M'
Washington woud order a cessation of arms, and engage
not to molest him in his embarkation, he woud leave the
town without injuring it ; otherwise he would set it on
fire. To which the General replyed that there was noth-
ing in the application binding on M' Howe. He there-
fore could not take any notice of it.
The deserter further says, that M' Howe went upon a
hill in Boston the morning after our people took posses-
sion of Dorchester Neck, when he made this exclamation :
" Good God ! These fellows have done more work in one
night than I could have made my army do in 3 months.
What shall I do ! "
James Bowdoin, Esq*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO MERCY WARREN.f
MiDDLEBORO, March 23, 1776.
I perfectly agree with you, d' Madam, that G. Brittain
is in a disgraceful situation, not only with regard to what
you have with great propriety instanced in, but also in
* Rev. John Marraj, chaplain of a Rhode Island regiment See 3 Proceedings, vol. iz.
p. 69. — Eds.
t Daughter of Col. James Otis, wife of Gen. James Warren, and author of a History
of the American Revolution. She was bom in Bamstable, Sept. 25« 1728, and died in
Plymouth, Oct. 19, 18U. — Eds.
398 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1776.
her sending Commissioners to treat with those she calls
Rebels. These Commissioners are probably by this time
arrived at Phil*, but how they can introduce with a good
grace the errand they are come upon is difficult to con-
jecture. We are told they will not have any thing to do
with the Congress, but will treat with the Colonies sepe-
rately. If this be their plan, it requires no great share
of the prophetic spirit to foretell they will not be able to
execute it, for it is not likely that any of the united Col-
onies will enter into a seperate treaty with them, but
undoubtedly refer them to the Congress, which represents
the whole, and which for many reasons is the only suit-
able body to negociate with them. The ministry have
hitherto refused to acknowledge that body as the repre-
sentative of the Colonies, and do not allow that the Colo-
nies conjointly can legally be represented at all; and
from hence, and also from the hope of gaining advan-
tages by seperate treaties, proceeds the disinclination to
treat with the Congress. But it appears likely they must
bring their stomachs to it, if they mean to do any thing
in a way of negociation. The Commissioners have un-
doubtedly a discretional power to act according as they
find things circumstanced ; and when they are informed
of the disgraceful precipitate flight of their troops from
Boston, the firmness & intirety of the union of the Colo-
nies and their preparedness & capacity to defend them-
selves, and therefore that the British troops can make no
great impression, they will condescend, I imagine, to
treat with the Congress. But if you should ask. Mad",
how- will the Congress conduct upon this occasion? my
answer is, extremely well ; for it is manifest by their
proceedings hitherto they are good politicians, & have
requisites for negociation, — good sense, historical knowl-
edge, and integrity. The two former of these will secure
them from imposition and circumvention, and the latter,
I trust, from bribery & corruption. If they are not cor-
1776.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 399
ruptible, we need not be distressed about the issue of the
negociation. But as ministry are said to be compleat
adepts in the practice & arts of bribery, it is highly prob-
able those they employ on so interesting & important an
occasion are not less so, and come amply provided from
the national coffers with the means of it. They are
therefore in an especial manner to be guarded against in
that view. If a treaty should be entered upon, I appre-
hend it cannot be done with dignity & propriety on the
part of America before the whole British armament, both
by sea and land, depart from America ; and this ought to
be insisted on as an essential preliminary to the negocia-
tion. In this idea some Europeans do, & all Americans
should, concur.
As to the treaty itself, in order to be lasting it must
be founded on meer interest, the mutual interest of the
parties ; the free discussion & settlement of which imply
mutual independance, without which it is in vain to
expect they can take place. In order to such a discus-
sion and settlement, does it not seem necessary on our
part there should be a declaration of independance on
Great Britain, and without such a declaration must not
the Congress enter upon the treaty with great disadvan-
tage ? as their silence upon that head will be construed to
imply an acknowledgment that the interests of America
are to be considered as subordinate to those of G. Britain,
and to be regarded no farther than they have a tendency
to promote her interests. Divers objections may be made
against such a declaration, but I would refer the objector
to that excellent pamphlet intitled "Common Sense,"
which, if he is not influenced by private interest & attach-
ment, will probably silence all his objections, and disciple
him to the author's doctrine, that an independance on
G. Britain has now become absolutely necessary to the
well-being of the Colonies. Thus, Mad", in obedience to
your command, for such I esteem the most distant inti'
400 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1776.
mation of your pleasure, I have given you some crude
thoughts on the subject of the expected negociation. I
wish they were intitled to the approbation of so good a
judge in politics. Such as they are, I beg leave to sub-
mit them to your candour, & am, with the greatest esteem^
Mad",
Your most ob*** & very hble. serv*.
We all present our best regards to you & your good
gentleman, who, we hope, is perfectly recovered. The
report of my d'r's arrival is not true.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Boston Aug« \Q^ 1776.
Dear Sir, — I rec* V M' Gerry a packet from you con-
taining a Russian book on Comets, and Vattel's Droit des
Gens.
The former agreable to your desire I have sent to M'
Oliver at Salem together with your billet. The latter
when I have looked over it I shall send to the President
of Harvard College as a present to the Library from you.
D' Cooper shewed me your letter to Lord Howe & his
L**ship's to you w*^ occasioned it. It gave me great pleas-
ure, as it has all that have seen it. His L'^ship's sensibility
must be touched with some parts of it, unless Court-man-
ners and Court-politics have benumbed it. Some persons
think they see a treaty of coinerce growing out of this
correspondence with L** Howe, and that he will take hold
of the opportunity you give him of treating with Congress
on that head. But from y* act of Parliam' authorizing
y* King to appoint Com" and from L** Howe's circular let-
ter & declaration grounded upon it, it seems very unlikely ;
especially as ministry appear very confident of success in
their military manoeuvres, and have declared by y* King's
1776.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 401
Speech at the late prorogation of Parliam^ that the force
in America with y* blessing of Providence will be sufficient
to quell the Rebels. Can you, my d' friend, with all your
philosopical gravity refrain a smile when you hear such
men talk of a dependence on Providence ?
As the enemy have by this time collected all the force
designed against New York, it is probable we shall soon
hear of a general attack. By what we learn here of the
number and state of our troops, we have reason to hope
it will be an unsuccessful one. But it is proper to pro-
vide against the worst that may happen. If nothing
decisive should take place before y* first of Dec' I am
under great concern lest the Continental troops (whose
enlistments expire at that time) or a great proportion of
them will then quit the service. The reinlistment last
year you know was attended with great difficulty, and I
am afraid it will be with much greater the present. But
as this is a matter of capital importance, there's no doubt
Congress will early take effectual care about it. As y*
giving great bounties to inlist men for a short time can-
not be supported long, we must fall upon some other
method of raising them. For this purpose, would it
do to form the militia in each town into four or five
divisions, as equal as may be as to number and circum-
stances, and require the personal service yearly of one of
these divisions, they casting lots to determine the order
or succession of their service ? If any individuals in the
division called to duty, could not attend, they should be
obliored to procure able bodied men (voluntiers) in their
stead, which the other divisions could supply. Such
voluntiers having rec** an equivalent for this extra-ser-
vice not to be excused on that ace*" from duty when called
upon with the division they belong to. Or would it do
to give a handsome bounty once for all of money or land,
on condition of enlisting for as long a time as the war
shall continue ? This last method is liable to an objec-
26
402 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
tion from desertions, deaths, & other casualties, in which
cases every campaign would make recruits and further
bounties necessary. I hope some effectual way will be
found to procure men to engage in y* service during the
war.
1 am glad to find that notwithstanding your country-
men have had so many good slices of you for these forty
years past, there's enough remaining of you to afford
them good picking still. Notwithstanding the past
regales they still expect to feast upon you, and to feast
as usual most deliciously. " Like beggars once indulged
they ask for more."
I am my dear friend, with the sincerest regard,
Y' affection** hble. serv*.
J, B.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO THE COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
to the hon'^* the council & house of representatives of the
State of Massachusetts Bay.
MiDDLEBOROUOH, May 16, 1777.
Hon"" Gent", — On the re-settlement of the govern-
ment two years ago, when I had the honour of being
again chosen a member of the Council, I thought it my
duty, tho in a very ill state of health, to accept the choice.
I was induced to this, not only from a hope of restoration
and being thereby in a capacity of attending the business
of that important trust, but more especially from a desire,
at so critical a juncture, of co-operating with the friends
of American liberty in the most effectual measures for its
defence & support. I wish my health had permitted a
more constant attendance for that purpose, and that it
would permit my attendance in future ; but as I find this
is not the case at present, nor likely to be so, I am under
a necessity from a principle of faithfulness to my country,
1777.] JOSEPH WARD. 403
whose salvation & prosperity are the objects of ray warmest
wishes, of resigning my seat at the Board, and to beg the
favour of the Hon***' the Council & House of Representa-
tives to supply it with another person.
In the mean time it is, and will be, my ardent prayer
that the Sovereign Arbiter of the fate of nations may suc-
ceed your endeavours, and the endeavours of the United
States, to establish the common liberty on the most per-
manent basis.
I have the honour to be with the most profound respect,
hon**** gent",
Y' most obed. hble. serv'.
James Bowdoin
JOSEPH WARD* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
MoRRiSTOWN, May 28*, 1777.
Sir, — As you may be retired to your country seat, out
of the way of the best intelligence, I do myself the honour
to inform you of the movements in this quarter, although
nothing important hath yet taken place. Our army has
been collecting for some days from all the remote detach-
ments and outposts, and forming an encampment near a
river called Bound Brook, about six miles from the en-
emy's lines. General Washington, with the troops which
yet remain here, will set off this day for the encampment
at Bound Brook. It is uncertain when any capital attack
will take place, as many of the troops are undisciplined,
* Col. Joseph Ward was the second son of Deacon Joseph Ward, of Newton, and was
born July 2, 1737. On the formation of the army around Boston, after the skirmishes at
Lexington and Concord, Gren. Ward appointed him secretary and aide^e-oamp. He was
afterward made Mustermaster General by Washington; and in the latter part of 1778 he
was talien prisoner by the British. He was exchanged in April, 1779, and rejoined the
army, continuing in the wrvice until Feb., 1780, when he settled in Bofttnn. Subsequently
he married and removed to Newton, which he represented in the General Court. In 1804 he
returned to Boston, where he died Feb. 14, 1812. Before the breaking out of hostilities
he was a frequent and spirited contributor to the newspapers. See A. H. Ward's " Ward
Family," pp. 60-62. — Eds.
404 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
and the number not so great as the General would wish
for. I cannot determine precisely the number now in
camp, as it varies every day, but suppose it does not ex-
ceed eleven thousand. If no general attack is made, I
expect now the armies are so near that we shall have
frequent skirmishes. Last Sunday a party of the enemy,
about six hundred, advanced from their lines towards a
scouting party of ours, and were attacked by two or
tliree hundred of our men and driven back to their
own lines with the loss of several men, among which, it
is said, was a Colonel. We had only three men slightly
wounded. We have frequent accounts from the enemy's
camp by deserters ; it appears that they have some ap-
prehensions of danger, as they are fortifying their posts
at Brunswick and Amboy ; and from all circumstances I
apprehend they are waiting for a reinforcement, and do
not intend to hazard any thing great until that arrives.
It seems probable that part of their troops in Canada will
be ordered to reinforce General Howe, and the expedition
against Ticonderoga laid aside for this campaign. As
General Howe will want all the troops as a reinforcement
to him that the British tyrant can furnish, I conceive
there is very little danger of Boston's being disturbed by
Burgoyne.*
It must give pain to every good mind that our army has
been so slow in forming. We ought before this hour to
have driven the enemy out of the Jersies ; and I am sure
it must wound the patriotic feelings of every worthy son
of America that it has not been done. The General has
doubtless been anxious to accomplish this great design,
but he has not been furnished with men in due time. As
he has now a respectable force (and delays we have ever
found attended with misfortune) it is my humble opinion
that we may attack the enemy soon with a good prospect
* For some acconnt of a letter of introduction brought by Burgojne to Bowdoin, in
1775, see Proceedings, vol. xiv. pp. 232, 233.— Eds.
1777.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 405
of success, and my wish that it may be attempted. In
war we cannot have a chance for great advantage without
the risque of loss ; and I hope American minds are now
too firm to be greatly affected by the loss of a battle, if
Providence should permit the tools of tyranny for once to
prevail. Our men are in general healthful and in good
spirits, and I persuade myself they will behave with spirit
whenever they may be called to action. If the enemy
should not have a large reinforcement this campaign, I
think we shall have a good chance to drive them out of
these United States before another winter. I have the
honour to be. Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
Joseph Ward.
The Honorable James Bowdoik, Esq*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO ARTHUR ST. CLAIR .♦
MiDDLEBORO, JuDC 20, 1777.
Sir, — M" Bowd° & I have just had the honour of your
two letters of the 28*^ ult*" and are extremely glad to hear
M" S* Clair and y' family were well when you left them.
We find the letters were intended to be deliv* by the
hand of your daughter Miss Betsy but that pleasure we
were deprived of by our having removed from Boston to
this place, to which we retired soon after the memorable
19*^ of April ; and have been here for the most part ever
since, excepting some months since y* departure of the
* Major General Arthnr St. Clair was bom in Scotland in 1784, and died at Greennbarfr*
Penn., Aug. 81, 1818. He came to America as an officer in the British army in 1758, and
in 1760 married at Boston Phebe Bavard, a niece of James Bowdoin. Two vears later ho
resigned his commission in the army, and in 1764 settled in Pennsylvania. On the break-
ing out of the war he was made a Brigadier General in the American army, and served
in various capacities nntil the conctosion of peace. He afterward filled important civil
offices, and from 1788 to 180*2 he was Governor of the Northwest Territory, during which
period ho experienced a memorable defeat by the Indians. (See Drake's Biographical Die*
tionary, pp. 792, 798.) For a long letter from St. Clair to Bowdoin, dated July 28, 1777
see Proceedings, vol. vi. pp. 8M-868. ~ Eds.
406 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
enemy from Boston. My ill state of health has obliged
me to quit public business ; but I hope y' relaxation and
the balsamic air of the country in this fine season of the
year will contribute to my restoration. In this situation
it is not in our power to be advising in y* education of your
daughter, which otherwise agreable to your desire, we
sh** have been with great pleasure ; at least M" Bowdoin,
who is much the best qualified for such a purpose, would
have given her best advice in it.* I am very glad to hear
Gen^ Washington's army is likely to be in so respectable
a condition. It is very unfortunate that y* several States
could not furnish their quotas of the army earlier, in
which case Gen^ Washington might have driven y* enemy
before this time from y* Jerseys & New York ; and con-
vinced them, that, although they can obtain a temporary
lodgment on the sea coast, they cannot make a very deep
penetration into the country.
We have been very anxious for Ticonderoga, but by the
last accounts from thence, things seam** to be so well situ-
ated there, that an attack was not dreaded. If any thing
extraordinary should take place, I sh** be very glad to be
favoured with your ace*" of it. Whenever the service will
permit, it will give us great pleasure to see you at Mid-
dleboro. It is said Gen^ Gates is to command at Ticon-
deroga. I beg you would present my respectful compl** to
him.
I am with great respect.
S% yrs. &c.
Brigad» GenV St. Clair.
• ITnder date of May 28th, General St. Clair wrote to both Mr. and Mrs. Bowdoin, with
re^nnl to sending his daughter to Boston *' for some improvement in her education/' and
desiring to place her under the general oversight of Mrs. Bowdoin. To Mrs. Bowdoin he
wrote, — "I shall esteem it as the greatest favour you can possibU* do me to advise her to
a proper place to l(»dge at, where there is a decent oeconomy in the family, without much
noise or brawling at servants, which is an example young people very easily take up, as
indeed they do insensibly the manners of those they are with, be they good or bad. I
could wish her to receive such an education as might render her useful to her family,
should she ever be mistress of one, and that might enable her to keep herself in conn-
tenance in whatever walk of life her fortune maj* throw her." — Eds.
1777.] ARTHUR ST. CLAIR 407
ARTHUR ST. CLAIR TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Manchester, July 9**, 1777.
Dear Sir, — I have just time to acknowledge receipt of
your obliging letter of the 20"" ult^ which came to hand
this moment. As the evacuating Tyconderoga must have
alarmed the country, and raised their curiosity at the
same time, permit me to give you some account of that
matter, with the reasons that induced me to propose it to
the other general officers.
The garrison consisted of about thirty-three hundred
men, of whom two thousand and eighty-nine only were fit
for duty, many of those mere boys altogether incapable of
sustaining the fatigues of a soldier, naked and ill armed,
not above one bayonet to every tenth man. The place
nearly invested and their batteries compleated ; and from
the intelligence of my spies the investiture was to be
compleated on Sunday last, the day we left it, when all
possibility of retreat or support would be cut off. The
loss of this array, small as it is, was the inevitable conse-
quence, and would have been a very great misfortune,
much greater in my opinion than the loss of the post, as
there would have been nothing left for the militia to col-
lect to in this quarter to stop the progress of an enemy
flushed with conquest. I therefore determined to attempt
a retreat whilst it was practicable, but previously consulted
the other general officers, who were unanimously of opin-
ion that it ought to be attempted without loss of time.
We accordingly prepared for it that night, and, having in
the course of the night embarked as many of our stores
and provisions as possible, marched of at break of day.
We should have got off altogether unperceived by the
enemy, had it not been for the accidental burning of a
house and the desertion of two men of the artillery who
in the hurry went of with a small boat to the enemy. The
408 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
rear of our army evacuated Mount Independance as the
front of the enemy entered ; they exchanged a few shot,
but did not offer to pursue, which I ascribe to their being
the Brunswickers that took possession. A considerable
body, however, were sent up a creek that enters some
distance into the country, who next morning attacked our
rfiar guard. They defended themselves very well, and
tho' obliged to retreat killed and wounded a great many
of the enemy, since which we have seen nothing of them.
My design was to have marched to Skeensborough, but
the enemy had got before me, wliich obliged me to change
my route, and bear this way on account of provisions,
which I shall be able to obtain tomorrow, when I shall
proceed with every possible dispatch to join General
Schuyler at Fort Edward, where I hope we shall soon have
an army of force sufficient to stop the progress of M'
Burgoyne.
I am very sorry that any cause should have obliged you
to retire from public business, but more especially ill health.
I heartily hope and wish that the country air may restore
you.
M" Bowdoin will have some reason to think me not very
polite to write you so long a letter to you, and take no notice
of hers. I really have not time, but must beg the favour
that you will make my excuse and present my most respect-
ful compliments, and assure her I shall make amends the
moment I can be settled. I am, with great respect, dear
Sir, Your most obedient humble servant.
A». S\ Clair.
The force of the enemy is seven British regiments, eight
foreign ones, and a number of Indians and Canadians ;
on the whole I think myself very happy to made my re-
treat under their nose.
The Honorable James Bowdoin, Esq*.
1777.] JOSEPH WARD, 409
JOSEPH WARD TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Head Quarters, November 12**», 1777.
Sir, — I have been long waiting for the defeat of the
British army, that I might have something to communi-
cate worthy your notice, but the wished for event is yet
to come. By acting too much on the defensive (in my
humble opinion) we have lost the fairest prospect of suc-
cess and the best opportunity for defeating the British
array. Had we attacked the enemy before they advanced
twenty miles into the country, it is probable they never
would have seen Philadelphia ; but by attempting to de-
fend the numerous fords over the River Brandywine we
were obliged to divide our force, which gave them an
opportunity to attack part of our troops with the main
body of theirs, which circumstance occasioned our defeat.
The enemy being detained several days to dispose of their
wounded men. General Washington in the mean time re-
treated over the River Schuylkill, and prepared his army
for another action. On the fifteenth of September we
recrossed the Schuylkill and moved towards the enemy,
who were on their march for the city ; the next morning
our army advanced to give them battle, the advanced
parties engaged, but before the main body came up a
heavy rain fell, which soon put an end to all firing. The
two armies lay at a small distance from each other the
remainder of the day and the following night. The
storm continued very severe until the morning of the
next day, and great part of our troops were exposed
without cover ; our tents and baggage were left behind
that the army might not be incumbered, by which means
great part of our cartridges were wet and unfit for action.
This misfortune defeated the General's design, and also
obliged him to remain inactive until he could supply the
loss of ammunition, and recruit the health and vigour of
410 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
the troops, for they suffered greatly by the storm. Be-
fore these could be effected, and the necessary dispositions
made for a general battle, the enemy arrived at Philadel-
phia. After this event the General had no other choice
but to reinforce his army and attack the enemy in their
camp, he therefore ordered great part of the troops from
Peekskills to join him, and such of the militia as could
be collected ; but before they had all arrived (one brigade
from Peekskills and part of the militia had joined the
army) proper dispositions being made for the attack, the
army moved on the evening of the third of October to
attack General Howe in his encampment at Gerraantown.
We arrived at the enemy's lines half an hour after five
o'clock in the morning, the action immediately ensued ;
our troops behaved with spirit and every thing gave way
before us ; for more than an hour we had a bright
prospect of success, and began to anticipate a glorious
triumph. But a thick fog together with the smoke ren-
dered it so dark our Generals could not so well improve
the decisive advantages they had gained, by reinforcing
where we were too weak and pushing the enemy with
more vigour where necessary ; by which means the enemy
had too much time to recover from their surprize and dis-
order, and our troops were exposed to get into disorder
and to other fatal accidents. To this cause may be attri-
. buted our failing in the enterprize. I suppose you have
seen an account of this affair published by authority, and
therefore it is unnecessary to be more particular. Not-
withstanding we left the field in possession of the enemy
and did not reap the full harvest of victory, yet impor-
tant advantages will, I trust, accrue from the enterprize.
It proved to our enemies the spirit and force of our
troops ; it proved to ourselves that the boasted discipline
and valour of the British heroes will all give way when
charged home with determined bravery. It has refuted
the false notion which too many entertained, that failing
1777.] JOSEPH WARD. 411
in a general battle would ruin us (for we have failed of
victory in two general actions, and have notwithstanding
upon the whole been, I conceive, gainers by the actions),
and it demonstrates to the sullen tyrant of Britain and
his minions the impracticability of executing their designs
without a vast augmentation of their forces. By this
action we reduced them within a single point of ruin,
and a mere casualty saved them from destruction ; and
as we may repeat the attempt without hazarding the loss
of our country, the chance is against them almost to a
certainty of ruin. As our army received a reinforcement
from Peekskills soon after the battle at Germantown, I
expected another general attack would have been made
very soon, and, I conceive it was the design of the Gen-
eral, but for certain reasons it was delayed.
The twenty-fourth of October was a day big with de-
signs. A detachment of the British army, consisting of
about two thousand men, was posted on the west side of
the Schuylkill, opposite to their main army (which now
lies two or three miles from the city) in order to throw up
works to secure a retreat, and to command the neighbour-
ing country to get provisions ; General Washington de-
tached General M'Dougall with about four thousand men
to cut off that body of the enemy ; our troops crossed the
Schuylkill fifteen miles above the enemy the preceding
day, marched down in the night and intended to surprize
the enemy's camp at day break, but by some means they
had intelligence of the design, and decamped before our
troops arrived. They left marks of great precipitation
in their retreat over the river to their main army, and
destroyed the bridge which they had before erected to
prevent our troops from pursuing. General M^Dougall
burnt their encampment and returned. Had his design
succeeded, an attack would have been made at the same
time upon General Howe's encampment ; for this purpose
two grand divisions of our army under the command of
412 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1777.
Generals Sullivan and Greene marched the same night to
Germantown (the enemy having evacuated it previous to
this time) and lay within a small distance of the enemy's
lines, waiting for Gen* M^'Dougall to begin his attack,
which was to be immediately seconded by an attack upon
G^n* Howe ; but for the reason above mentioned this well
formed design failed, and our troops returned without
accomplishing their wishes. However, our labour was
not wholly lost, for such designs keep up a spirit of
enterprize in the army and preserve the vigour of the
troops ; for they impress the idea of our spirit and power,
and that a mere casualty which no human wisdom could
forsee was the only cause of disappointment, which cir-
cumstance will not often happen. If General M'Dougall
had succeeded in cutting oflf that detachment of the
British army, as undoubtedly he would if no intelligence
had been given them. General Howe would have been re-
duced to the inevitable necessity of retreating to his
ships and reimbarking.
As I am happy in believing the day is coming when
we shall triumph over the unfeeling murderers of our
country, I wait with more patience for its arrival.
On the same day the enterprize I have been relating
was to have been executed the enemy attempted to take
Fort Mercer (one of the fortresses that commands the
River Delaware below the city) by storm. Count Donop,
with about fifteen hundred foreign troops, was to have
the honor of this enterprize; he advanced near to the
fort, and sent in a summons to the commanding officer
(Col. Greene, of Rhode Island, who had about four hun-
dred men in the garrison) to surrender, which being
answered with proper spirit, Count Donop immediately
attempted the fort by storm, but was repulsed with the
loss of about five hundred men, killed and wounded.
Himself, with many other officers, was left wounded on
the field, and is since dead. Our loss was very small.
1777.] JOSEPH WARD. 413
said to be twenty or thirty. Upwards of three hundred
stand of arms, many swords and other accoutrements
were left on the field and fell into our hands.
To facilitate Count Donop's operations several men-of-
war came up the river, and cannonaded the fort ; the fire
was returned with great spirit from the fort in consort
with our row gallies; by some means, at present not
fully ascertained, the Augusta man-of-war, of 64 guns,
took fire, and after burning some time blew up; the
other ships were obliged to sheer off, and in going down
a frigate got aground and the enemy burnt her to prevent
her falling into our hands. Thus ended this memorable
day, the events of which strengthen my hopes that we
shall keep the command of the river, which must greatly
embarrass the enemy, and render their situation critical
and precarious. If General Howe finds it impracticable
to reduce our forts, I think it is probable he may evacuate
Philadelphia and return to New York ; if he continues,
it is most certainly the duty and interest of America to
reduce him at all hazards, as his fall would be an event
the most likely to insure peace. If the people who in-
habit the country that surrounds Philadelphia were
equally spirited and warlike with those in the Eastern
States, General Howe's retreat might be effectually cut
off, and all his supplies, and he in a short time reduced
to the inevitable necessity of surrendering, but the fact is
quite otherwise.
Large reinforcements from the Northern Army are ex-
pected in a few days ; I expect some important operations
will soon take place after their arrival.
Small parties of our horse and light infantry are con-
stantly round the enemy's lines, and frequently make
prisoners of their patrolls. The ninth instant a party of
our horse surrounded a patroll near their lines, consisting
of seven grenadiers and seven light horse and made them
prisoners. The next day our light horse attacked a party
414 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
of theirs, killed their commanding officer, and drove his
party back to their lines. In such encounters our troops
are general successful. The spirit of the enemy seems
much lowered since the battle of Germantown and their
defeat at the late attack on the fort. I wish it may be a
prelude to M' Howe's sharing in the laurels of Burgoyne,
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant.
Joseph Ward.
Hon"" James Bowdoin Esq".
THOMAS POWNALL TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Albemarle Street, April 20, 78.
Dear Sir, — Permitt me to trouble you with the en-
closed letters for my friends M' Bowdoin & D' Cooper.*
I would neither risque myself in sending them nor you in
carrying them untill I had sent them to Lord North for
his inspection & permission for them to pass. His answer
so farr as respects y* letters I here copy & send you.
** Bushy Park, April 20, 1778.
" I am extreamly sorry that you wish to send such let-
ters to America, & should be glad to hear that you have
changed your resolution, but if you are very desirous of
sending them I will not throw any obstacle in your way on
the part of government, & consent that M' Temple may
carry them to their destination. I hope, however, that M'
Temple & every body elss will consider me as no party to
the contents, which I certainly disapprove. The consent
which I give is only because I wish to accommodate you
whenever it is in my power."
This consent I hope will prove mine & your passport
for these letters. I wish you & M" Temple an easy &
* Gov. Pownall's letter to Mr. Bowdoin here referred to is printed in Proceedings,
vol. V. pp. 240, 241. — Eds.
1778.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 415
safe voyage, a fortunate land-fall, & a happy sight of all
your friends. My attentions to your son at Richmond
shall not be those of compliment but real. I am, Sir,
Y' most obed. humble ser*.
T. POWKALL.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Boston, April 23, 1778.
To His Exc^ Gen"* Washington.
Sir, — M' Rob* Temple,* at whose request this is writ-
ten, waits on your Extf' to procure the favour of your
assistance in the settlement of his account against the
United States. He would be glad also to be favoured with
your permission to go to Ireland, where he has friends &
connections, and where he can employ himself to the ad-
vantage of his family in the farming way. He found his
farm at Charlestown in so ruined a state, that it will re-
quire a great length of time, and great expence upon it to
put it in a condition to answer the purpose of supporting
his family ; and it would be again, if the enemy should
attack Boston, so much in the centre of military opera-
tions, that he would have reason to expect that all his
expence upon it would be lost. He is desirous therefore
of going to Ireland with his family, where he tells me he
can procure accommodations for them on one of the sev-
eral farms, of which he had the offer of leases on advan-
tageous terms, when last there.
I give your Exc^ joy on y* good news from France, &
y' effect it appears to have had on y British ministry.
Wishing most ardently that y' operations in the ensuing
campaign may be crowned with success, I have the honor
to be with y* most perfect esteem, Sir,
Your Excy's most obed. hble serv*
* See note, anttf p. 36. — Eds.
416 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
WILLIAM PULTENEY* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, 1«* May, 1778.
Sir, — I find it will be so very inconvenient to my affairs
to pay respects to you at Portsmouth, that I am obliged to
take this method of informing you that you are to expect
from your countrymen in France every possible obstruction
to prevent your accomplishing your undertaking. These
gentlemen have an obvious interest, on account of their
own particular importance, to prevent any fair agreement,
— one of them besides retains to this hour the strongest
personal resentment of the treatment which some years
ago he very improperly received at the Council Board, on a
noted occasion, and as a proof of this I am asured by un-
doubted authority that on the day he signed the late treaty
with France, on the 6 Feb*^, he took care to dress himself
in the same coat which he had wore when maletreated at
the Privy Council. t This is so marked a circumstance that
it affords a very obvious key to his conduct & must natu-
rally induce your friends to lay out of the scale in this case
that weight which they might otherwise incline to give to
his opinions & advice, and must, I think, incline them to
judge for themselves with coolness & impartiality of the
terms now proposed by considering the real nature & im-
portance of these terms, & not merely the opinions of other
persons concerning them.
It has no doubt occurred to you that the conduct of
France with respect to America has been entirely regulated
by her own interest, & not by any wish for the interest of
• Sir William Johnstone, 6th baronet of Westerhall, took the name of Pulteney on his
marria^ to the heiress of that family, and was at one time reputed the richest commoner
in Great Britain. He owned a larj^e landed property in America, represented Shrewsbury
in the House of Commons in seven successive Parliaments, and died in London, May 29,
1806. See Burke's Peerage and Baronetaji:e. — Ens.
t It was long supposed that a suit of clothes, once belonging to Dr. Franklin, which was
given to the Historical Society in 1803, and is now in its Cabinet, is the identical suit here
referred to; but this belief does not seem to be warranted by the known facts. See Pro-
ceedings, vol. i. p. 166; vol. xvi. pp. 60, 370.— Eds.
1778.] WILLIAM PULTENEY. 417
America. The dates of the late transactions at Paris are
a proof of this. No advances were made by France
towards a treaty with America till after Lord North had
given notice in Parliament before Xmas, of his intention
to offer conciliatory propositions. France took the alarm,
& finding it necessary to abandon her policy of weakening
both England & America, she signifyed to the American
deputys that the Court of France would be ready to receive
proposals for a treaty. The proposals were accordingly
given in about the end of December, but the French min-
isters gave no answer till they knew from England, in
the end of January, the nature of the intended proposals
of Tjord North, & foresaw that America must naturally be
satisfyed with them. Then it was that France became
serious in wishing to link America to herself, & the treaty
was signed on the 6"* of Feb'^. France now finds it neces-
sary to act openly & with vigor, which America must see
proceeds from an apprehension that the terms offered by
Great Britain are so extremely favourable & advantageous
that America, if left to herself, must necessarily accept of
them. The power of France which slept whilst Britain
was hostile to Amei'ica is called forth with the utmost
vigor when affection to America resumes its place in the
parent state. Can America be so blind as to fall into such
a palpable snare ?
I cannot believe that any American in whom personal
& selfish motives have not extinguished or overpowered all
virtuous love for the public can wish in the moment of
returning affection to lay Great Britain at the feet of
France & Spain, or can conceive that the degradation
of their brethren here would tend to the permanent in-
terest of America or of Europe. I am. Sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servant.
William Pulteney.
27
418 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [177a
DAVID HARTLEY* TO JOHN TEMPLE-f
Golden Square, London, May 16, 1778.
Dear Sir, — Your letter surprized me much yesterday.
I thought you had been sailed many weeks for America.
Our friend Franklin at Paris was very well a few days ago.
I delivered your message to him which he received very
kindly, and enquired much after you. I believe now that
America is in port, " he mil readily lend an helping hand to
the general restoration of peojee^ I have endeavoured since
my return to convince the Ministry that it is folly not to
declare the independence of America without delay ; and
that any delay upon that subject will be fatal as cement-
ing the recent union between France and America. I
shall wait the event of some remonstrances that I have
made on that head, and if they do not produce the desired
effect, I think I shall take some opportunity to lay my
sentiments on this subject before Parliament. Enclosed
I send*you some heads of negotiation which I gave in to
administration as the result of what I sh* presume to ad-
vise upon the subject. I sh* be glad to have your opinion
of them if this sh* still find you at Portsmouth, but for
the sake of peace I wish you were where your interest
would have the most weight to produce it. Say for me
on the other side of the great water, that I am a friend
to peace and to the rights of mankind. I am, dear Sir,
Your most obliged friend and most obedient servant.
D. Hartley.
John Temple, Esq*.
* David Hartley, the friend and correspondent of Dr. Franklini and one of the De|;otia-
tors of the treaty of peace with the revolted Colonies, was bom in 1732, educated atOxford,
and died at Bath, England, Dec. 19, 1818. See Dictionary of National Biography, vol.
XXV. pp. 68, 69. —Eds.
t This letter and the letter immediately following it are printed from copies, on a single
letter sheet, in the handwriting of John Temple. To the first is prefixed the following
memorandum in the same hand : " Copy of a Letter from David Hartley, Esq^", member of
Parliament, to Mr. Temple at Portsmo, waiting an opportanity to embark with his family
for America. " — Eds.
1778.] DAVID HARTLEY- 41 ?
HEADS OF NEGOTIATION.
1. That America be declared independent.
2. That Great Britain and America shall engage
mutually not to enter into any treaty ofEensive to
each other.
3. That an open & free trade shall be established
between Great Britain & North America.
4. That a foederal alliance shall be negotiated between
Great Britain & North America by persons authorized for
that purpose to treat with the Congress in America.
DAVID HARTLEY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Golden Square, May 22^, 78.
Dear Sir, — Yours received. I sh* thank you much
for your opinion upon the Heads of Negotiation as soon as
convenient, because I shall have occasion to speak upon the
American subject on Wednesday next. The precise ques-
tion for Wednesday is not settled, but in effect it will be
upon the terms of settling the dispute in the present state
of it. I am sorry that you meet with any difficulties
about your passage.* If 3^ou wish for any introdiiction
to Admiral Keppel on that score, M' Walter is very well
acquainted with him, having travelled round the world
with him. No certain news of the Toulon fleet here.
Nor indeed, any other news.
Yours, in haste, &c^
D. Hartley.
To John Temple, Esq*.
* By a letter from Thomas de Grey (afterward Lord Walsingham) dated May 22, it
appears that it was intended Mr. Temple should take passage in one of the government
vessels, but that difficulty arose on account of the large quantity of baggage which he had.
By a subsequent letter (May 27) it seems that the plan was changed, and that be was to
sail in the regular packet for New Tork. — Eds.
420 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [177a
WILLIAM PULTENEY TO JOHN TEMPLE.
London, 22 May, 1778.
Sir, — I am favoured with both your letters, and have
said what I thought upon the subject, without any reserve ;
what effect it will have I know not.
I return you M' H's letter. His sentiments & mine
differ widely upon the subject. What he means by lend-
ing a helping hand to the restoration of peace is procuring
peace from France & Spain by giving up America, which
I trust in God there is no man of the least spirit in Eng-
land will consent to. I have some stake in the business,
but I would sooner sacrifice the whole than submit to so
ignominious a peace. If this country is willing to have
peace on such terms, it stands in need of no helping hand
to acquire it, but after such meanness it is not likely to
enjoy peace long, & it is much better to meet the contest
now like men & die with swords in our hands. That sort
of peace would not be for the real interest of America.
If you agree in opinion with Mr. H., you had much better
decline the business you have undertaken.
When you see my brother* be so good as to tell him
that I have added to the 5'** edition of my pamphlet D'
Franklyn's letter to a friend of mine which I gave him,
& his letter to the East India Directors concerning the tea
duty. I am. Sir,
Your most obed. servt.
William Pultenet.
If you should not go by the Lioness, would it not be
best to go by the packet which will sail the begining of
next month.
* Commodore George Johnstone, M. P., and at one time Governor of West Florida, one
of the Commissioners sent over in 1778 to treat with the Colonies. He was a son of Sir
.Tnmes Johnstone, of Westerhall, and was bom in 1730, and died May 24, 1787. See
Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xxx. pp. 75-77. — Eds.
1778.] PEREi MORTON. 421
PEREZ MORTON* TO JAMES BOWDOIN, JR.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Aug* 20^, 1778, 7 o'clo. p. m.
Dear Sir, — We have just received intelligence that
the French fleet is coming into the harbour, & I have had
the pleasure to gratify myself with the agreable sight
from a neighbouring eminence. But whilst we were there
Gen* Sullivan received a letter from the Count, informing
him that by the severity of the late storm the Admiral's
ship, the Languedoc, lost her topmasts, and another lost
her foretopmast, & a third has not yet joined the fleet
since their separation, that he had taken the Senegal,
British frigate, of 28 guns, and a bomb ship. But that
he had received so much injury from the storm he
must be obliged to go to Boston to refit his fleet. A
Council of War is this moment called, I wioffiney to con-
sult the expediency of requesting the Count to use every
effort in his power to come immediately into this harbour
& strike the decisive blow. God grant he may be pre-
vailed on so to do ; for if he should refuse I 'm too much
afraid from the propensity of our militia to go home, an
end will be put to the expedition, and the siege be dis-
honorably raised. But should the Count be willing to
co-operate with us with the force he has, I make no doubt
the enemy will be entirely in our hands in the course of 3
or 4 days. Should I survive the attack you may expect
a letter from me on Tuesday next, dated at Newport.
There has been a heavy and constant cannonade kept up
for these two days pass'd from the enemy's redoubts under
Tammany Hill upon our guards & fatigue parties. We
have so far com pleated one of the grand batteries as to be
able to open four guns upon them. This has occasioned
* Perez Morton, Mome time Attome^'-General of MasMchasettfi, was born in BoHton,
Nov. 2, 1751, graduated at Harvard CoIIefre in 1771, married Sarah Wentworth Apthorp
and died at Dorchester Oct. 14, 1837. — Eds.
422 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
a severe return from us, & through the course of this day
has provoked a more vigorous cannonade from the enemy,
which, however, has had no other effect than the killing
one of our militia men & wounding several others. I am,
with much esteem,
Your very hu^ serv'.
Perez Morton.
P. S. I beg you'd favour me with a line or two daily,
as the post are very regular.
James Bowdoin, J^, £sq^.
PEREZ MORTON TO JAMES BOWDOIN, JR.
Camp before Newport, Aug* 25^, 78, 7 o*clo. morning.
Dear Sir, — Last evening Gen* Sullivan rec* a letter in
two days from Gen* Washington, advising him that there
were 150 sail of transports in the Sound with their sails
unbent & ready to put to sea, & recommending him to
secure a retreat. This intelligence quicken'd the deci-
sions of our Council of War, and the last evening they
unanimously agreed to retreat to the north end of the
island, and there fortify & maintain. We are this mo-
ment therefore packing up our alls for the movement ;
we were busy all last night in removing back our heavy
artillery, and a thousand men were detached to Butt's
Hill in our rear to throw up the necessary works. I am
really much pleased to find that Gen* Washington has so
explicitly recommended a retreat, for our commander in
chief here certainly deserves the countenance pf every good
& great man of his country for his conduct in this expedi-
tion. And should he conduct our retreat with as much
skill & address as he has led us on into the muns of the
enemy he toill because he oiiffht to be crowned with laurels.
The Marquiss De la Fayette (a gentleman whose spirit
1778.] SAMUEL ADAMS. 423
suflElciently evinces the noble source from whence he
sprung) is so peculiarly disgusted at the very extraor-
dinary conduct of Count D'Estaing that he is determined
to lay by his sword & his commission till they or some
other fleet of his Most Christian Majesty has struck a
stroke in favour of America that shall wipe off any evil
impressions against his country which the Count's conduct
may 'have made on the minds of the people here, and will
reflect honor on the French arms. The Marquiss is a truly
amiable character, &, to give it to you in short, he is 3
quarters an American. He purposes to reside at Boston,
& is to accompany our noble General. {Sub rosa, one of
our gen* ofl&cers in the course of the debates in Council
took occasion from the Count's conduct to reflect on the
nation at large. The Marquiss was very particular in
enquiring his name, family, & rank, & determines to call
him to an account for it. Let no one see or read this
paragraph. )
In haste. I have nothing further to add, but that I
am, with much esteem & respect.
Your friend & hu* serv*.
Perez Morton.
James Bowdoin, J*, Esq*.
SAMUEL ADAMS TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Dear Sir, — A few days ago I receivd a letter from
your son in law M' Temple dated New York, August 23*,
requesting me by the first opportunity to inform you of
his & M" Temple's arrival there, & that, for particular
reasons he should be exceedingly happy if your affairs
would permit you to meet them at Philadelphia, or as
near it as might be convenient to you. He requested this
of me, because excepting that letter & another to M'
President Laurens, he had not written a line since his
424 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
arrival at N. Y., & he had still weighty reasons for declin-
ing it. He also desired me to cause it to be made as
convenient as might be (at his expence) for M" Temple
& her little boy, who had not been well since their arrival,
to get to Philadelphia. His baggage which is both heavy
& bulkey, he intended to get transported in a Flag, if any
should be suffered to pass, to Boston, or some port as near
it as might be, & hoped to see me soon in this city. His
letter to the President was read in Congress. It was short
and contained little more than to soUicit leave to come to
Philad* to pay his respects to Congress. This was refus'd
upon the idea that he might be a secret emissary from the
British Court. I think it is best for him that his request
is not granted ; for the jealousy of the people at large
would, I believe, render his residence here very uncom-
fortable. A certain Doctor Burkenhout, who came from
London in the same packett with M' T , is now in
prison in this city, committed by the authority of this
State, under the same suspicion.* I took occasion to in-
form Congress from my own knowledge of M' Temple, that
althougli he had been formerly an ofl&cer of the Crown of
Great Britain, and in the Customs, yet he had constantly
given great offence to his brother Commissioners & other
friends of that government, particularly Bernard &
Hutchinson, by his attachment to those who espoused the
liberties of America ; that he went to England seven
years ago, where, I understood, he had since lived the
greater part of the time, entirely out of favor at Court &
in private life ; and that I had reason to think his connex-
ions in Boston had long expected his return to spend his
days there. Congress afterwards orderd the Secretary
to inform M' Temple, that if it was his intention to reside
♦ Amontr the Bowdoin and Temple family papors neparatelv filed is a letter from
Helena Berkenhaupt to Mr8. John Temple, dated Richmond, June 9, 1778, in which the
writer alludes to her husband's absence, and mentions many mutual friends, amonp^ others
Gov. Pownall, a letter from whom to James Bowdoin, relative to an idea of returning to
America, dated April 19, 1778, is printed in Proceedings, vol. v. pp. 240, 241. — Eds.
1778.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 425
in any one of the United States, the same should be signi-
fied by him to the State in which he intends to reside, &
the approbation of that State obtaind before a passport
could be granted to him. Thus the matter stands in all
its particulars, a view of which I thought it proper you
should be acquainted with. I wish M' Temple had turned
his attention first to Boston. It is probable he will now
do it, and that you will soon receive a letter from him.
I am with the greatest sincerity,
Your affectionate friend, and humble servant,
S. Adams.
Philadrlphia, Sepf 8, 1778.
Hon. Jambs Bowdoin Esq*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO SAMUEL ADAMS.
MiDDLBBO, Sept. 21, 1778.
Sir, — I thank you for y' kind letter of y* 3"* instant (w^*
I have just rec*) and for the information contained in it
with respect to M' Temple & his family. It gave me the
first authentic ace** of their arrival at New York. I observe
it is his desire if my affairs would permit, that I would
meet them at Phil', but this is not in my power to do, as
my old disorder still hangs upon me, of which since I had
y' pleasure of seeing you last at Boston, I have had a very
severe fit. It is certainly wise in Congress to be cautious
how they admit strangers into any of the United States,
especially as it is manifest there are emissaries from y*
British ministry employed to corrupt the virtue of Ameri-
cans ; but by an indiscriminate refusal of all applications
for leave to visit Phil' in particular, do they not cut them-
selves oflf from a probable means of obtaining much valu-
able information ? Your letter mentions that M' Temple's
application was refused upon y* idea that he might be a
secret emissary from y* British Court. In what capacity
426 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
he is come to America I do not know ; but I should sup-
pose in a private one, & that he has brought his family to
settle here. But on y' supposition he is in the employ of
y* Ministry, if I know him, he would act on y* principles
of honour. If he could be instrumental consistently with
those principles to bring about a reconciliation, he would
doubtless be glad to have an opportunity for it ; and as I
think he w"* act an open, candid part, a meer conversation
with him by some of y* members of Congress in their pri-
vate capacity might be productive of some good, & pos-
sibly bring on a treaty, w^^ might end in a solid peace,
founded on the independence of America, and the mutual
interests of both countries. From some things dropt in
the debates in Parliament, particularly in y* House of
Lords, lately published, and by Mauduit's piece circulated
over England & transmitted hither by Mr. A. Lee, it ap-
pears probable, that y* British Ministry are inclinable to
admit y' independence of America, and therefore there is
reason to apprehend that such a conversation might have
a salutary effect. But if M' Temple be meerly a private
person, he may be able to give, & in that case w* be under
no restraint from giving, any information that might be
useful to the United States. In either case his going to
Phil"* would be beneficial. If this however sh* be appre-
hended by y* enemy in the latter case, or they sh** get
y' knowledge that Congress by granting him liberty to
visit Phil* expected such information from him, it would
doubtless occasion a stoppage to his going thither ; and
possibly be y* means of putting him into a disagreeable
situation. If therefore on further consideration, Congress
sh** think proper to grant that liberty, you will see the
fitness of its being done in such a manner as will not raise
any suspicions of him.* I beg y* fav' that when you
♦ In the ** History of New York during the ReTolutionaiy War,'* by Judge ThomM
Jones, a Loyalist refugee, is a bitter attack on John Temple, representing him to have
come to America at this time as a secret emissary of the British Ministry, while at heart a
1778.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 427
«
write to him, you will mention mine & M" Bowdoin's
sincerest and most affectionate regards to him & our dear
daughter & children, & that we hope soon to have the
pleasure of seeing them. Whether it will be in Boston (to
which we were about removing) or in the country I cannot
tell, as there has been for some days a general expectation
at Boston of an attack on that town to be made by the
enemy very soon with their whole force both by sea &
land. Count D'Estaing's squadron there is doubtless y*
motive to it & principal object of y* attack. The failure
of y* R"* IsP expedition has been productive of very ill
consequences & may be of more ; but whether it be a real
misfortune time must discover. If it should encourage
y* enemy to attempt to penetrate by y* way of Provi-
dence through y* country to Boston, it may issue in a
catastrophe similar to that which attended their army
under Gen* Burgoyne. Such be y* issue, in whatever way
y* attempt be made ! In this wish I am sure of your
concurrence, and am with real esteem, d' S',
Y' most obed. hble. serv*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Boston, Nov' 7, 1778.
To His Exc^ Gen' Washington.
Sir, — I thank y' Exc^ for y* letter you caused to be
sent to me some time ago. As it came from England I
think it proper to mention to you, that it was from M'
sympathizer with the Revolutionary party. It is also stated that, two 3'ears before, one of
Temple's brothers came from England, bringing concealed in the buttons of his coat letters
to the Continental Congress from the Marquis of Rockingham, the Duke of Richmond, Lord
Shelburne, Gen. Conway, Charles James Fox, and David Hartley! The charge that
Temple was in 1778 a secret agent of the British government " to bring about a reconcilia-
tion between Great Britain and her Colonies,*' is also in the London '* Political Magazine*'
for November, 1780. The preceding number of the same periodical describes Benjamin
Franklin as " alike a hypocrite in politics and in science.*' In Force's American Archives,
fourth series, vol. v. col. 409, is a letter dated Philadelphia, March 19, 1776, which states
that the only letter contained in the buttons of William Temple's coat was one from
Arthur Lee. — Eds.
428 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1778.
Stewart who married M" Bowdoin's sister, and beside fam-
ily matters contains nothing but a wish for the re-estab-
lishment of peace between Britain & America.
The gentleman who waits on you with this letter is
John Temple, Esq', lately returned from England, where
he has resided the last eight years. He held at different
times several respectable & lucrative oflBces under y*
Crown ; as those of Surveyor Gen* & one of y* Com"
of y* Customs in America, & Survey' Gen* of 3^* Cus-
toms in England: the first with a salary of £500 &
y* last of £1000 sterl« p' an. Of these ofl&ces he was
successively deprived for his refusal to join in y* in-
famous measures for oppressing the trade & liberties of
America ; and the last four years his continuance in Eng-
land was y* effect of ministerial persecution, from which
he was released by the mediation of the late Earl of Chat-
ham and other friends in y* minority. As he intends in
his way to Congress to pay his compliments to your Exc^,
I beg leave to introduce him to you for that purpose ; and
to mention him as a warm, steadfast, persecuted friend to
the cause of America, whose merits in that view intitle
him to the friendly notice of his countrymen. If y' Exc'
should view him in that light, you will permit me to
think it w"* gratify your benevolence to favour him with
a line of recommendation to Congress, which at the same
time I sh* esteem a particular favour. I have y* honour
to be with great respect, S',
Y' Exc^'" most ob* hble. serv*.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO SAMUEL ADAMS.*
Boston, Nov. 7, 1778.
Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure of writing to you the
21"* Sept', soon after which M' Temple with his family ar-
* For a correspondence between James Bowdoin and Samuel Adams in the summer of
1780, see Proceedings, vol. xii. pp. 229, 230. — Eds.
1778.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 429
rived here in good health. He was received with y*
utmost cordiality and friendship ; such as were due to a
man, who had given the fullest evidence of a firm and
undeviating attachment to the rights and liberties of his
country. It is needless, as you are so well acquainted
with M' Temple's political history, to give you a minute
detail of the base treatment he has received from the
British Ministry. I shall therefore only mention that
after his last dismission from office (w** was that of Sur-
veyor General of y* Customs in England, with a salary
of £1000 St' per annum) he was called upon to settle the
office accounts, which had been setled twelve years be-
fore, while he held y* office of Surveyor General in
America ; and this was done for the purpose of harrassing
him, & preventing his return to America. Being at great
expence, he was solicitous to get his family here, but all
his applications for liberty to come with them were in-
effectual, till by the influence of the late Earl of Chatham
he obtained it. Now he has got them safe here, it is his
wish to be made serviceable to his country either here or
in Europe. In what way he can be so, you can best judge.
If it should be thought adviseable that he should return
to England on the idea of his being serviceable there, he
might at the same time, in case of a change of ministry,
have a probable chance of obtaining some compensation
for the losses & disappointment he has suffered under the
present administration. You will permit me to say that
I conscientiously think his conduct to this moment
intitles him to y* good wishes & assistance of his coun-
trymen to procure him that compensation.
What I mean by his being serviceable in England is,
that if he should go thither, he would in that case have
an opportunity of representing the state of things here in
a proper light ; w**" would be very different from that
in which it probably has been & may be represented by
letters sent to England, and by persons gone, and going
430 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS [1778.
thither, from the enemy. If they should represent what
in substance has been represented in some of the New
York news papers, that the people of America in general
are tired of the war ; that they disapprove of Congress's
rejecting the proposals of the British Comissioners ;
that from the increasing quantity and depreciation of our
paper bills, the credit of them must be soon at an end ;
and that when this shall happen, we shall be destitute of
means of continuing the war ; and if by such an untrue
representation, y* British Ministry should persevere in
carrying on the war, which otherwise they might be in-
duced to bring to a speedy issue by confirming, though
reluctantly, American independence, it would be doing
an essential service to both countries to counterwork the
influence of such a representation. It is our business,
however, to attend to our own interest, and this would be
more effectually promoted if it should happen to coincide
with that of y* enemy, w''*' in the affair of peace it
might be made to do, provided that peace be setled so
as to secure our independence and be not inconsistent
with the late treaty with France. With respect to Bri-
tain y* state of her finances & other circumstances must
make it ineligible for her to continue the war with Amer-
ica, and much more so to involve herself in an European
war, w**" would probably be 3^ consequence of that continu-
ance. To prevent then their continuing the war by means
of the influence of misrepresentation and falsehood, would
it not be an happy circumstance if a proper person could,
as soon as might be, proceed from hence to England to
rectify the misconceptions of the governing people there
& give them a right idea of things ? — a person of good
sense, tried integrity, known good will to the American
cause, acquainted from personal knowledge with the
state of things here, and able to gain access to men of in-
fluence in England. It might be productive of happy
circumstances if such a person could be found. Your
1778.] JAMES GAMBIER. 431
knowledge of mankind and of M' Temple in particular
enables you to determine, whether he be such an one ; and
whether his being in England at y* time of the ap-
proaching session of Parliament might not be of advan-
tage to the American cause. If I did not think so, I
should not intimate such a thing to you. But how-
ever that may be, I have no reason to doubt your knowl-
edge of his character will procure him the happiness of
your friendship.
I am with great esteem, d' Sir,
Yours.
JAMES GAMBIER TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
New York, 7 Dec, 1778.
Sir, — Your letter brings my remembrance many happy
hours I spent during my comand at Boston, when pleasd
with your acquaintance. Painfull, very so, the idea of
what is now the reverse in the present state of affairs in
this distressd, distracted country ! shocking the reflection
to a benevolent, religious mind. Alas ! Forthwith will I
give orders for the liberating the young man you wish to
be restord to his connections. Woud I could be any way
instrumental to the restoration of happiness to this con-
tinent ! The same principles of humanity that govemd
my conduct when I had the honor to comand formerly
in North America will continue ever to actuate me to
every act of humanity and benevolence, all in my poor,
circumscribd power. Life is short and we have a much
more important object in contemplation beyond the tran-
sitory moment here.
Some little oportunities have offerd since I have been
in this comand where I coud shew comisseration & pity
to suffering fellow creatures, & I have selfishly availd my-
self of them to releive the miseries of captivity. A self-
432 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1779.
approving conscience has been a sufficient reward. I have
likewise on several occasions given liberty to numbers of
prisoners beyond the common rules & regulations literally
prescribed, in the idea that an example of charity & hu-
manity woud be followd by liberal minds, & have to hope
that on the present occasion, in the loss of the Somersett,
her captain, Curry, & officers will receive that compassion
and indulgence I have both felt and enforced in every
instance in my power to alleviate the sufferings of indi-
viduals in this most unnatural and distressing contest. I
have no doubt but the comanding officer at Boston will
take the earliest means of sending Captain Curry, his crew
& officers, and what Brittish seamen may be there to me
here, and by the shortest route to New London as the
winter season is set in, from compassionate considera-
tions. Permit me to tender my cordial best wishes to
M" Bowdoin & Temple for their happiness. I am, Sir,
Your faithfull humble servant,
J. Gambier.
Comander in Chief of all his Britan^ Maj,
ships si? in North America.
James Bowdoin, Esq*
JOHN TEMPLE TO HORATIO GATES.*
Boston, 7 May, 1779.
Dear Sir, — I fully intended myself the pleasure of
visiting you before I sh* leave America, but so good an
opportunity as that of the brig* Amsterdam, a vessell of
force, offering for Holland, I have concluded to take pas-
* Horatio Gates was bom in Maiden, England, in 1728, and served for several years in
the British army in America. After the peace with France in 1763, he bought an estate in
Virginia; and on the breaking out of the Revolution he offered his services to Congress.
In 1777 he superseded Schuyler in command of the Northern Army, and was the victor
at Saratoga. Subsequently he retired from active service; but in 1780 he was appointed
to the command of the nrmy in North Carolina, and in August of that year was totally de-
feated at Camden. He died in New York, April 10, 1806. See AppIeton*8 Cyclopedia of
Americap Biography, vol. ii. pp. 614, 616. — Eds.
1779.] JOHN TEMPLE. 433
sage in her & expect to sail in eight or ten days at farthest.
Sh* you have any commands you may depend upon my par-
ticular care & attention. Upon my arrival in Holland I
shall, before I go to England, proceed to the German Spaa,
Avhere there will be many gentlemen from England of the
first rank and consideration of that kingdom, both in &
out of the ministry ; particularly the Duke of Richmond
& my Lord Camden, I have good reason to expect will be
there, and as far as my voice can go, I shall everywhere set
forth the total impracticability of Great Britain's eflEecting
anything more than her own further distress, if not ruin,
by continuing the war against this country ; and I think
I can substantially support such my opinion from the per-
sonal observation I have made for now near a year that
I have been upon the continent, having conversed freely
with gentlemen of the first rank & character in these States,
as well as with many of their deligates in Congress ; and I
am perfectly sensible that Britain has nothing else to do,
but with the best grace she can, offer her hand to Amer-
ica upon the very terms that America herself has proposed,
& from which she never will recede. Great Britain, in my
opinion, hath not an alternative except that of " dying in
the last ditch," an exit which, however agreeable to Gov-
ernor Johnstone's turn of mind, the nation in general, I
am satisfied, are not much inclined to, though the sooner
the governing powers of the kingdom make up their minds
upon a true & faitbfull state of affairs in this country, for
they have been deceived long enough, the sooner they will
be able to turn their thoughts to the saving the nation as
far as now may be from irrecoverable ruin. Your senti-
ments, if I judge right, are nearly the same as these, and
I doubt not your letters (simeler to that you formerly
wrote to Lord Thanet, & which was read in the House of
Lords) will freely express these sentiments, & n^ay con-
tribute much to induce that infatuated country to put an
immediate end to so ruinous a war.
28
434 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1779.
That independence & happiness may attend these
united States, and that you may meet with the respect
and gratitude of a triumphant, flourishing country is
the sincere wish of, my dear Sir,
Your most obed* faithf ull servant.
J. Temple.
Major General Gates, at Providekce.
CERTIFICATE OF JAMES BOWDOIN AND OTHERS.*
Whereas certain letters written by Governour Hutchin-
son, L* Gov' Oliver and others were transmitted by Doctor
Franklin to the Hon*"*' Thomas Gushing, Esq', to be by
him communicated to the Hon*"*' Mess" Bowdoin, Pitts,
and Winthrop of the Council, and M' S. Adams of the
House of Representatives, to the Reverend Doctors
Chauncy and Cooper of Boston, and others, under ex-
press limitations and restrictions ; the intention of send-
ing which letters was that clear and undoubted evidence
might be lodged in America of the perfidious and traiter-
ous designs of the writers against their country, which
letters we afterwards were informed by the Hon**^ John
Temple, Esq', were thro his means procured by D' Franklin,
tho', as he declares, not in the way apprehended by the
British ministry ; and whereas by the eager desire of
some who properly came to the knowledge of said let-
ters to apply them to the important publick use they were
adapted to serve, the above mentiond limitations and
* The signatures to this certificate are autographs. The original date was August ; but
May was written over it with a coarse- nibbed pen, and with ink of the same color as that
used for the rest of the document. Ttiere is so much space above the signature of Gushing
as to suggest that it was expected some one else would sign under Bowdoin. Of the mem-
bers of the Council named, Mr. Pitts died Feb. 7, 1776, and Mr. Winthrop May 8, 1779.
For a long letter from James Bowdoin to Thomas Pownall, dated May 7, 1779. in which
month Temple returned to England, see Proceedings, vol. v. pp. 241-244; and for a de«
tailed account of Temple's connection with the Hutchinson letters, see a paper communi-
cated to this Society by his grandson, the Hon. Robert C Winthrop, and printed in the
Proceedings, vol. xvi. pp. 41-49. — Eds.
1779.] CERTIFICATE OF JAMES BOWDOIN AND OTHERS. 435
restrictions were transgressed, and the letters made pub-
lick, the consequence of which was that M' Temple, who had
uniformly opposed the measures of the British administra-
tion respecting America, and their tools, became strongly
suspected by them of having procured and sent said let-
ters, and was accordingly deprived of the place he held
under the British government of one thousand pounds
sterling T annum, as also his office of L* Governour of N.
Hampshire, and was otherwise for a long course of time
persecuted and distressed by the vengeance of the British
ministry even to the risque of his life. Particularly, as
we are well informed, a Ne Exeat Regnum was issued
against him, and large securities required of him not to
depart the kingdom without permission first had of the
British ministry, which restraint was continued to the
spring of 1778, when, thro' the mediation of the late Earl
of Chatham and others, he was allowed to come over to
New York, and from thence by flag of truce to this his
native country.
From all which it must appear, that while M' Temple,
in being instrumental in sending the above mentioned let-
ters under such cautions as he thought sufficient for his
own safety, not only designed, but actually rendered a
most important benefit to his country by destroying in a
great measure the influence of those who were planning
the destruction of its liberties, and by greatly aiding the
infancy of that opposition which has gradually ripen'd
into the present glorious revolution, yet that this gen-
erous service did eventually turn out to his own great
loss & distress, for which, while the services of many
others to the American cause, particularly D' Franklin's,
who had a large share in this hazardous and publick
spirited measure, have been rewarded with honours
and emoluments, M' Temple has hitherto received no
recompense.
We therefore the subscribers who are particularly
436 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
knowing to the things here recited hold ourselves bound
to declare that we consider M' Temple, so long as he re-
tains that fidelity and aflEection to his country which in
every instance that has come to our knowledge he has
hitherto manifested, as having a claim in reason and
equity to a compensation for his great sufferings in the
zealous service of it, and to be regarded by it with
particular gratitude and respect.
James Bowdoin.
Thomas Gushing.
Charles Chauncy.
Samuel Cooper.
Sam"* Adams.
Boston, May 21, 1779.
GEORGE WASHINGTON TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Head Q", Morristown, May 16***, 1780.
D* Sir, — I take the liberty to transmit to your care
a letter for Major General Heath under a flying seal.
From an apprehension that he might have left Boston be-
fore it arrived and the importance of the objects to which
it extends, I am induced to use this freedom. If the Gen-
eral has not returned to the army, I would request the
favor of you to have the letter sealed after perusing it,
and delivered to him ; and if he has, that you will have
the goodness to consider it as addressed to yourself and
to assist me in the several interesting points to which it
goes. It may be of infinite importance to obtain the in-
formation required, and I should hope it may be done.
Our very good friends & allies have it much at heart, and
view the reduction of Hallifax as a matter of great conse-
quence, as being the arsenal of support to the enemy's
fleet in those seas & in the West Indies. I very sincerely
congratulate you on this prospect of succour from his Most
Christian Majesty, which equally demonstrates his wisdom
1780.] GEORGE WASHINGTON. 437
and his great regard for us. Your own good understand-
ing, I am convinced, will lead you at once to see the pro-
priety of secrecy upon the occasion, and you will be pleased
to consider the communication as confidential. I shall be
happy, and our interest and character as a nation indis-
pensably require it, that our exertions may be proportionned
to this fresh instance of magnanimity and generosity on the
part of our ally. I confess I have my fears on this head,
as we have now, from the pernicious system of short inlist-
ments, nothing left us but the skeleton of an army, and
are under great embarrassments with respect to our finance.
Every friend to America should give his most active sup-
port to these important objects.
The accounts from Charles Town received on our part,
as I learn from Philadelphia, only come down to the 16***
of April. The enemy's batteries had then been opened
for some days, without any other effect than killing three
privates and a woman & child and firing one or two houses.
It is however reported to-day that they have received ad-
vice in New York to the 1"* instant, and that matters had
not then undergone any material changes.
I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect & re-
gard, d' Sir, Your most obed* serv*.
G"* Washington.
The Hon"** Jamrs Bowdoink.
GEORGE WASHINGTON TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Head Q", Springfield in Jersey, June 14, 1780.
D* Sir, — I have received your two favors of the 29***
& 31"* of last month, with the plan referred to, and have
to return you my warmest thanks for the same & for your
very kind & polite attention to my request. The plan &
table of reference are very intelligible and satisfactory,
and convey a clear idea of many points about which I was
uninformed before. These may be of great use, and from
438 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
the manner and the person the accounts were obtained
with respect to the fortifications, I have no doubt of their
accuracy as to those at the time to which they relate.
The place appears to be very strong & to have had much
attention paid to its security latterly. I am in hopes from
the measures General Heath has taken that he will be able
to procure intelligence of its improvements and force to a
late period.
With respect to Charles Town, although I have received
no official advices of it on our part, the loss of it seems
placed beyond doubt. The articles of capitulation are
published in a York Gazette Extraordinary by authority,
which were signed the 12 of May, with all the preliminary
negotiations between the commanders. The garrison, at
least the part denominated Continental, are prisoners of
war. This is a severe blow, but not such as will ruin us,
if we exert ourselves virtuously and as we are able. Some-
thing like it seems to have been necessary to rouse us from
the more than thrice unaccountable , state of security in
which we were sunk. Heaven grant the blow may have
this effect. If it should the misfortune may prove a benefit
and the means of saving us.
On Tuesday night the enemy landed at Elizabeth
Town point, with all the force they could draw from
New York & its dependencies, under the command of
General Knyphausen, and proceeded the next morning
into the country about seven miles, within half a mile of
this place. At night they retired to the point of debarka-
tion, where they have remained ever since. In their ad-
vance they were most spiritedly opposed by the Jersey
troops who lay in the neighbourhood, and by such of the
militia as had an opportunity from their situation and the
suddenness of the occasion to turn out, and there is reason
to believe they were a good deal galled. Brigadier Gen^
Stirling, it seems from good authority, was wounded in
the thigh by our picket soon after they debarked. This
1780.] JAMES BOWJDOIN. 439
movement of the enemy brought the army to this post on
Wednesday last. The cause which justifies this insulting
manoeuvre on their part most deeply affects the honor of
the States, a vindication of which could not be attempted
in the present situation of the army, without most emi-
nently hazarding their security, — at least as far as it
might depend upon the safety of the latter. Such is our
weak diminished condition. Our character, our interest,
our all that is dear, demand that the States should with-
out the least delay fill their battalions according to their
established complement. If this is not done, we cannot
co-operate with the force so generously coming from our
ally on any large scale, and may, however flattering our
views of success may be thought by many, easily become
a ruined and an undone people. You cannot, my dear Sir,
render a more essential service to your country than to
promote as far as it may be in your power this desirable
and all interesting work. I have the honor to be, with
very sincere respect & regard,
Y' most obed. sv*.
G"* Washington.
P. S. The enemy burnt a meetinghouse and several
dwelling houses & barnes. They lost about forty prisoners.
We have suffered but very inconsiderably in this affair ;
and I have the pleasure to add that the militia never
turned out with greater spirit than on this occasion.
HoN»" James Bowdoin.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO GEORGE WASHINGTON .♦
Boston, Jane 26, 1780.
His Exc^ Gen' Washington, at Springfield H» Q", Jersey.
Dear Sir, — By the post I had y* honour of your letter
of the 14^'' instant, and am happy to find that the plan,
* For three letters written abont this time bv Bowdoin to T^fnyette, and two letters
from Lafayette to Bowdoin, see Proceedings, vol. v. pp. 348-355. — Eds.
440 THE BOWDOI**AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
•
&c., accompanying my last was in any degree satisfactory
and may be of use. I hope the measures taken for pro-
curing further intelligence will be effectual. The loss of
Charlestown is unfortunate, and the more so if owing, as
is said to be y* case, to a want of provisions. I wish it
may be repaired the present campaign, and that the ex-
pected forces of our allies, joined with our own, will enable
your Exc^ to do something more than repair it.
The papers enclosed will shew the measures our Legis-
lature have taken to answer the requisitions made on
this State, and your Extf^ and the Com'^ of Congress
co-operating with you may be assured that nothing will be
wanting on the part of the Council of this State to carry
those measures effectually into execution. You will ob-
serve by 3^ resolution of y* 5*^ inst* that every person pro-
cured for y* service therein mentioned is to supply himself
with a good firelock, &c. This clause is vacated by a pos-
terior resolution (of y* 14*^), so far as it relates to the fire-
lock & accoutrements ; and for this reason that y* Court
apprehended that the arms stopped from our men the
last winter & spring, when their service expired, would be
sufficient to supply the men now raising. I hope the
Court were not mistaken, and that there will be found in y*
publick stores at head quarters a sufficient number of arms
for the men. Fervently wishing success to the arms of
the United States, I have y* hon' to be, with the most
respectful regard, d' Sir,
Y' Exc^'' most ob* hble. serv*. J. B.
Y' Exc^ will please to comunicate the enclosed proceed-
ings of the Gen* Court to y* honble. Com'^ of Congress.
A mem** of the papers enclosed to G* Washington, viz.
The resolve of y* 5*** June for raising 3934 men for 6
months,
do of y* 23"* for raising H of said number,
do y* 22^ for raising 4726 militia for 3 montha
1780.] ESTHER REED. 441
The resolve of y* 14**" & 24*'' appointing Cora" to receive
money f°* people as adv* for taxes.
do y* 14*** excusing the men from furnishing
themselves with arms.
do y* 20*^ appointing M' Osgood, &c., to super-
intend purchases, &c.
do y* 23* empowering s* Com** to impress
cattle, &c.
do y* 19*^ appointing Mess" Baker & Miller to
purchase cattle, & rum, &c.
do y* 24*^ erapow* M' Osgood, &c., & to displace
purchasers if necessary.
do y* 23* do Brigad'' Fellows to draw forth
y* militia of his brigade.
ESTHER REED* TO ELIZABETH BOWDOIN.
Madam, — The ladies of this State, aspiring to the
honour of giving the soldiers of the American army some
public mark of the esteem they entertain of their pat-
riotism & valour, have associated to raise a subscription
as a reward for their hardships & their virtue. Being
one of the States contiguous to the theatre of war we
hastened to form the plan, & the success has answer'd
our most sanguine expectationa But desirous to make
the subscription more adequate to the merit & number of
our brave soldiers, we take the liberty of conveying to
you, Madam, the inclosed plan which was published in
our Gazette of last month, not doubting your interest
& influence to carry it into execution through your State,
& render it by that means more general, useful, &
uniform.
• Wife of Gen. Joseph Reed, President of Pennsrlvaniii. She was the danfrhter of
Dennis De Rerdt, sometime agent of MasMchufietts in Enprland. She died Sept» 18, 1780|
at the age of thirtT-foar. (See Beed'i Life of Joseph Reed, vol. ii. p. 269.) — Eos.
442 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
M" Washington has laid the plan before the General,
& we wait his orders how the money is to be disposed of,
with which we will take an early opportunity to acquaint
you. The donations of this city amount to 290,000 dol%*
& the country will make very considerable additions.
I am, Madam, with great respect.
Your very hum. ser*.
Esther Reed.
Phila, June 30"», 1780.
Since writing the above General Washington has
expressed his opinion that part of the money will be best
appropriated to purchase linnen for the army, as the
soldiers are very destitute of shirts. Blankets also will
be very acceptable.
COUNT ROCHAMBEAUt TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
A Newport, le 8 Aonst, 1780.
Monsieur, — J'aprends par la derni^re d^pesche du
G^n^ral Washington, du 4 Aoust, que Monsieur Clinton,
qui s'etoit embarqu^ k Huntington dans Long Island
dans le dessein de venir nous attaquer icy, a fait rentrer
ses transports dans New York, et paroit avoir renonc6 h
ce dessein. J'ai profit^ de ce dernier avis tout de suitte
pour engager le G^n^ral Heath £l renvoyer sur le champ
toutes les milices extraordinaires. Je garde seule^ent icy
avec Tagr^ment de nostre G^n^ral Washington la partie
des milices qui doit servir trois mois h son arm^e pour
* At this time the continental currency had fallen so low in value, and was depreciating
so rapidly, that the amount of the donations at the time they were made probably did not
exceed $5,000 or ^,000 in Spanish milled dollars. — Eds.
t Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambean, was bom at Vend6me July
1, 1725, and died at Thor^ May 10, 1807. He entered the army in 1742, and served in
many campaigns with much distinction. In 1780 he was made Lieutenant General, and
sent to America with a considerable body of French troops. He cordially cooperated with
Washington in the operations which resulted in the surrender of Lord Comwallis. See
Kouvelle Biographie G^n^rale, vol. xlii. — Eds.
1780.] COUNT ROCUAMBEAU. 443
travailler h perfectionner un fort que nous faisons faire ^
Howland's Ferry, qui assurera toujours nostre communi-
cation avec le continent.
U me reste a vous remercier, Monsieur, ainsi que nos
bons allies de I'Etat de Massachuset, de toute Tardeur et
de tout le z61e avec lequel ils oht quitt^ leur recolte pour
accourir icy dans un nombre beaucoup plus considerable
que celui que nous avions demand^. Je dois vous dis-
tinguer le ministre Peter Thacher de la paroisse de Stili-
bourough,* qui a amen6 toute sa paroisse, y compris 3 de
ses enfants, laissant la moiti^ de ses r^coltes siir pied. Je
ne doute pas, Monsieur, que leurs courageuse resolution,
la d-marche de I'armee de nostre General Washington, et
Tardeur et la gaiet^ de nos troupes se voyants si bien
second^es, n'ait fait changer de resolution au G^n^ral
Clinton, ce dont nous sommes tons bien ikch6s.
Vous m'obligerez sensiblement de me faire passer
proraptement tous les avis que vous pourriez recevoir
de la Seconde Division, en les tenants secrets autant
qu'il sera possible pour que les messieurs qui croisent
devant nous avec leurs flotte de guerre n'en aient pas
d'avis et ne puissent pas Tinterpreter.
J'ai rhonneur d'estre au delS, toute expression. Mon-
sieur, de vostre Excellence,
Le trfes humble et tr^s ob^issant serviteur.
LE C" DE ROCHAMBEAU.
* Presumably Rev. Peter Thacher, minister of Attleborongh. He was bom in Middle-
boroagh, January 14, 1715, — or January 26, 1716, according to another account, — graduated
at Harvard College in 1737, ordained at Attleborough in 1748, and died there in Novem-
ber, 1785, "leaving a large family." See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, vol. xiii. p. 246;
xxxvii. pp. 13, 14. The body of the letter is written by an amanuensis in a very legible
hand, and the name " Stilibonrough '* is unmistakable; but it was probably copied from
some muster-roll or other document not easily deciphered by a foreigner. — Eds.
444 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
LETTER TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
To T> HofiBLB THE SENATE & HoUSE OF RePRESENTATIYXS OF THE
Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
Ho^iBLE Gentlemen, — By your message of yesterday,
and a letter from the Secretary, I am acquainted that you
had been pleased to elect me Lieutenant Governour and
a Senator of this Commonwealth, leaving it optionally
with me, as I presume, to accept of either.
I have a due sense of the honour conferred upon me,
which has excited in me the warmest sentiments of
respect and gratitude to your honourable body. But it
is my misfortune, and at this time especially I think it
a great one, that by reason of a continued ill state of
health I am under a necessity to decline accepting y*
offices, both the one and the other, to which by your
favour I have had the honour to be elected.
The recent and repeated experience I have had of the
bad effect of attention to public business has furnished
me with y* fullest evidence of the unfitness of my en-
gaging in it, and the duty I owe to the public forbids me
to engage in it while my health continues in so precarious
a state. To this I would add, that in case my health had
been no bar to it I should have been under some difficulty
about accepting either office, although conferred by so
respectable a body as the General Court, if there be any
reason to suppose from the returns of y* votes of the
several towns that the acceptance would not be approved
by the good people of the State, whose good will, without
any regard to their suffrages, it would give me the high-
est satisfaction to merit. To say so much on a subject
meerly personal would greatly need an apology at another
time, but at the present it may be proper, in order to
explain the reason of my conduct, which I cannot but
persuade myself your goodness will approve.
1780.] MR. temple's DECLARATION. 445
Most devoutly wishing the new government may be
succeeded by effecting the best good of the common-
wealth, I have the honour to be with every expression of
regard, Honble Gentlemen,
Your much obliged & most obed* hble. servant.
James Bowdoin.
Boston, Oct® 31, 1780.
M» TEMPLE'S DECLARATION.
Published in the London Courant of 6 Dec*, 1780.*
Seeipg that the abundant publications about rebellion,
treason, & treasonable practice against the state (as dis-
covered from M' Laurens's papers) have somewhat sub-
sided, it may not be amiss to rectify a few mistakes
concerning a gentleman whose name has been held out
not much to his advantage.
M' Temple did not go out with the Commissioners to
North America, as hath been generally supposed. He
did not leave England till near two months after the
Commissioners had sailed; and it was long before he
arrived in that country that they had failed in their
conciliatory attempts, the Congress having ratified the
Treaty of Alliance & plighted their faith with the Court
of France before the Commissioners arrived at Philadel-
phia, t M' Temple went to America without commission,
instruction, or even a single sentiment suggested to him
as a rule for his conduct in that country ; but he under-
* This Dechiration, includinfc the cmption, is printed from m copy in the handwriting of
Mr. Temple, and is incorrectly dated " 1781." The indorsement, which is also in his band-
writing and was apparently made at the same time, gives the correct date, '* 1780." — Kds.
t Two treaties between France and the United States were signed at Paris, Feb. 6, 1778,
the British government was formally notified of the completion of one of them March IH;
and both treaties were ratified by Congress May 4. The British Commissioners arrived
at Philadelphia in June, and on the 9th of that month wrote a letter to Congress which
was received on the 13th. On the 18th Congress voted unanimously not to treat with
the mother country except on *'an explicit acknowledgment of the independence of these
States *' or the withdrawal uf the British fleets and armies. — Eds.
446 TUE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPE^. [1780.
stood before he left England that the terms on which the
British ministers were disposed ultimately to make peace
with America were that tlie Colonies should legislate for them-
selves, and 'trade tvhere they pleased ; that the sovereignty sh**
remain for an union of force only, which terms he considered
as a surrender of the substance of independence to the
Colonies ; and having not heard of the treaty of eventual
alliance (the treaty of commerce only having transpired)
he thought it very probable that America would have
consented to such terms.
M' Temple had but very little knowledge of the Com-
missioners, Governor Johnstone was in ill health the few
weeks that M' Temple was at New York, and he never
saw Lord Carlisle & M' Eden but once, & then only for a
short visit. If (as some people have taken the liberty to
suggest) bribery & corruption was any part of their busi-
ness in that country, M' Temple was an entire stranger
to it. M' Temple may flatter himself that his character
is such that the Commissioners never could have expected
to derive any assistance from him by any dishonorable
means ; and he may be as happy in not doubting that the
people of his own country have full & sufficient confidence
in the inflexibility of his honour and of his integrity. M'
Temple went out an avowed friend to his country ; he
appeared as such upon all and every occasion while he
was there (the honourable testimonials lately published
from General Washington, the Govern" Livingston,
Trumbull, Powell, and others support the fact) and he
returned to England precisely in the same sentiments
with which he went out, all which Lord North per-
sonally knows from that gentleman.
M' Temple was no negotiator in America on the part
of the Commissioners, or of any one of them, nor did he
carry a sentiment or an idea from them, or from any
of the British ministers, when he went into the United
States, as he declared to the several powers within those
1780.] MR. temple's DECLARATION. 447
States when he was admitted. M' Temple most cordially
wished for peace, and was heartily glad when he was in-
formed that /air, honesty & honourable terms were going out
to be offered to Congress, and himself requested to pre-
cede (though unfortunately he did not) and apprize them
of it. To such terms M' Temple would have given all the
assistance that might have been in his power at a fair
meeting of the parties ; and it is to be lamented that
such terms were not sent out, and time enough to have
had a chance of success, when much blood & treasure
might thereby have been saved to both countries, and
an end have been put to a war which now bids fair to
surpass any that has happened in modern ages.
M' Temple, though an American by birth and in prin-
ciple, has never been an enemy to this country ; and he
did most sincerely wish and expect to have been in some
measure instrumental to the discontinuing the war when
he returned to England & assured Lord North, as he
did in the most express terms, on the first day of his ar-
rival, that, notwithstanding whatever his Lordship might
have heard from gentlemen who had never been without
the lines of the British army in America, the people of
that country were very much united in their determina-
tion never to return under the government of England ;
nor was there in his, M' Temple's, opinion, offered with
diffidence, any probability of the British arms effecting
that object, though the war sh* be protracted to a long &
to a distressing period.
Whether such, Mr. Temple's, sentiments were well or ill
founded, or whether Lord North was right or wrong in
giving more credit to other & opposite accounts, time only
can determine. Under such circumstances and actuated
by such a persuation, could any act a fairer or a more
manl// part than to return to England and give a just rep-
resentation of the truth ?
J. Temple.
448 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1780.
ARTHUR LEE* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Philadelphia, Dec' 25^, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I see by the newspapers your ultimate
determination to retire from business, which, th8 I lament
with regard to the public, I cannot but hope it will oper-
ate a perfect re-establishment of your health, so as to
enable you to return to the service of our country with
renewed strength. In the meantime your retirement may
be stird, with the most perfect propriety, otium cum
dignitate.
Congress is much occupied with the very difficult busi-
ness of establishing the army & their finances. They
have at length, & I fear too late, adopted the measure of
sending a minister expressly to obtain the necessary aids
from the Court of Versailles. Col. Laurens is the gentle-
man fixd upon, of whom I cannot speak higher than by
assuring you that he is the worthy son of a most worthy
father,
I have recommended three things to Congress which
appear to me most material for the honor & interests of
these States, — the appointment of a minister to cultivate
the Court of Petersburg as the head of the neutral league ;
the establishment of a Secretary of State for foreign
affairs ; & the removal of Doctor Franklin. A committee
has been appointed to consider these propositions & has
reported in favor [of] them. The two first have been
adopted accordingly, & the third is now under considera-
tion. M' Dana is named charg^ des afaires for the Court
of Petersburg, where I hope he will do his country ser-
vice & himself honor. The captains lately arrived from
L'Orient give a hopeless account of the supplies for the
army, as there has been so much & such apparently
wilfull mismanagement in the shipping them.
* See note, antej p. 214. — Eds.
1781.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 449
Please to make my respects acceptable to M" Bowdoine,
& remember me to M" Temple, your son & his lady. I
have not heard a syllable of M' Temple. Indeed the
letters received from France are of an old date & very
unsatisfactory. I have the honor to be with the greatest
esteem, dear Sir,
Y' most obed' servS
Arthur Lee.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Boston, Jan^ 1V\ 1781.
Sir, — I had y® honour of writing to you by M' Guild
some months ago.* He probably acquainted you there
was a bill then depending in our Assembly for incorporat-
ing a philosophical society. It has been compleated, and
the society formed under the name of the American Acad-
emy of Arts & Sciences. They have had several meetings ;
and at y* last several gentlemen of distinguished charac-
ters were put in nomination, and there is no doubt will be
chosen members at the next meeting. Among them is
my much esteemed friend [D' Franklin] the first ambas-
sador of the American United States, on whose election I
hope to have the pleasure at that time of felicitating the
Academy. In the mean time give me leave to present to
you a specimen of its first fruit, which though it be unripe
and imperfect and shews but an inferior power of vegeta-
tion in the particular stock from whence it fell, it is hoped
will be the harbinger of maturer and better flavoured
fruits from other stocks in y* same plantation. I am
with real affection and regard, in which M" Bowdoin &
M" Temple most cordially join with me, my dear friend,
Y' m^ ob* hble. serv*.
* The letter here referred to is printed in 2 Proceeding's, vol. viii. p. 290. — Eds.
29
450 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO ARTHUR LEE.
«
Boston, Feb^, 1781.
Dear Sir, — Your obliging letter of y* 25*^ of Dec' I
rec* by Col° Laurens, and thank you for the information
contained in it. He sailed in y* Alliance y* 12*** instant.
I hope his passage will be more fortunate than his worthy
father's, and that a better fate will attend him, especially
as he is going on so important a business. It is a pity
this business had not been more early attended to, as upon
the success of it our vigorous operations depend. With-
out money to call forth and put in exercise the other
means of carrying on the war, our operations must be faint
and inefficacious, for which reason when the French min-
ister, M' de la Luzerne, was here the last fall I represented
to him the necessity of our being supplied with a suffi-
ciency of money, in which case it might be expected that
our exertions in concurrence with theirs would be ade-
quate to the effecting the great object of the war ; but
without it we should not be able to co-operate with them
efficaciously ; that our will was good, but this necessary
mean wanting ; that the establishment of a certain regular
fund for that supply for a number of years would of itself,
without one victory gained over the enemy, bring them
to a peace founded on American independency ; it being
manifest y^ placed their greatest hopes of final success in
destroying or exhausting our finances. M' de la Luzerne
fully concurred in this representation & opinion, and said
that although he knew it would be difficult for France to
spare money for that purpose he would represent y* mat-
ter fully to y* French ministry, who he doubted not w* do
what they could, and would also endeavour to procure
money from Spain for the use of the United States. If
he sent letters at that time on the subject he will prob-
ably soon receive an answer to them, and communicate it
1781.] L. DE NEUFVILLE. 451
to Congress. It is time, if it has not been done already,
that a serious and earnest representation sh^ be made to
y* minister of France of y* inadequate ness of our finances
to carry on the war, in order that she may be led hy her
own interest to exert herself effectually, and at y* same
time enable 3^ United States strenuously to co-operate
with her, for y* purpose of securing on a permanent basis
the independency of the States.
The ladies thank you for your notice of them, and
return their respectful compliments. I have the honour
to be with y* greatest regard, d' Sir,
Y' m^ ob*.
L. DE NEUFVILLE* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Sir, — It is at the request of my worthy friend the
Honourable John Temple, Esq', that I have the honour
to address you, & it is with so much the greater pleasure
as the civilities he paid me when in London last fall de-
serve all my gratitude. M' Temple wished me to inform
you of the situation of politicks, who then allready were
very precarious, but are still much more so now. Not
the least idea could we entertain of England's' declaring
warr against this republicq, after the efforts that haughty
power had made to prevent her from acceeding to the
armed neutrality had proved fruitless, yet that was
done both unexpectedly and in a treacherous manner.
Whether the intent was of having some chief persons
among us Be Wittedy as they calVd it in the newspapers,
I will not determine; but should it have happened, it
would no doubt have pleased the English Ministery
very much, whilst they appear to make it a rule of
* Son of John de Xenfville, head of a banking-firm in Amsterdam, with whom John
Adams had frequent negotiations in regard to loans to Congress. — Eds.
452 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
politicks to divide those they hate, to bring them better
to submission.
They have not succeeded in their infernal system
with America. I hope they will not in Holland. I
can honestly assure you at least that they have by
those measures raised an inveterate hatred from the
people at large, not only against them, but also against
those who appeared to be their partizans. Russia, how-
ever, proposed a mediation which was accepted of by
their High Mightynesses, but rejected by England, & it
is supposed that the Empress willin resentment of it
join the general quarrel. We may hear about it in a
very short time; the preparations are made meanwhile
with more vigour than before ; & we must hope that the
honour of the country will be in short regained, but when
& how the quarrel will end seems yet hid in the decrees
of Providence. For my part at least I confess that I do
not see sufficiently ground to build an opinion upon, un-
less it be the general one that England will be at last
exhausted & forced to peace, but that gives not much
decision, though adding 20 millions upon 12 m. and so
on, & giving 21 for 12 in money appear the dying sighs
of publiq credit, & that lost is England sunk. I had often
the pleasure to converse with M' Temple and the worthy
D' P. & others on that subject, but the time when this
alteration should happen appeard allways doubtfull, &
the people in England seemed too much abated by Lord
Gordon's affairs to make any forcible opposition against
the ruinous measures of the government; should I now
look out for a speedy peace, I confess it is from America
& the exertions I hope that will be made there, that more
then anything else will revive us in Europe ; & Comwallis
& Arnold's situation by the latest accounts gave very
promising hopes about it. I had expected M' Temple
here before now, as he had manifested to me & some
more friends that it was his intention; but I should
1781.] L. DE NEUFVILLE. 453
suppose that the expectation since of great events &
the hopes of serving his country by holding up, when
it may be of service, the impossibility of succeeding in
this warr for Great Brittain, is what still detains him;
perhaps there may be private matters likewise. I know
at least that he did what he could to serve M' Trumbull,
who was infamously taken up against the express promiss
given by Lord Geo. Germain that he would be safe. M'
Temple had at that time himself a hard task to sustain
all the sarcasms that where thrown upon him, but he
withstood them with the greatest firmness. The inter-
course of writing being much interrupted now, I have
not heard for some time particular accounts of him, but
long to see him over here.
I join to this the newspapers he gave me for that pur-
pose, but their being so old will render them, I am afraid,
uninteresting. I wished I had others of a later date, but
unfortunately have nothing but a few ministerial papers
which could not offer much delight. I look only some
times into them, to see how they represent matters to
the people. 1 ought yet to have mentioned, I believe
that M' Temple was very anxious about some papers he
intrusted to M' Jarvis, but which I suppose this has lost
in his shipwreck.
Give me leave to end now with sincerest wishes that
the present troubles may soon subside, by the full triumph
of liberty & humiliation of that proud country which
wanted to govern the sea as a tyrant breaking thr3 all
the laws of nations, & that the similarity of birth, int-
rest, & treatment from England may produce everlasting
ties of friendship between the thirteen United States &
this republiq. I have the honour to be with the greatest
respect, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant.
L. DE Neufville, son of J°.
Amstrldam, V^ May, 1781.
454 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
P. S. I beg that you would excuse the several faults
which my copist made in this letter, using commonly one
because my own writing is rather difficult to be read. It
appears now that Russia is not much disposed to assist us,
which we must hope wil accelerate the alliance between
the two republicks proposed by H. E. M' Adams, whose
memorial is received by the people at large with the
greatest applause. I had lately a letter from a common
friend in London which mentions M' Temple's having
taken leave, thus I am in hopes of seeing him every day.
To THE Honourable J. Bowdoin, Esq^ late President of the
General Assembly, Boston.
JAMES WARREN* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Plymo, May 24^ 1781.
Sir, — I have lately received several letters from my
son, dated Feb^ & March. He left London the 1*' of FeV,
& was desired by M' Temple to inform you that he should
have wrote by him if it had been possible. My son writes
that M' Temple intended to leave England in March, but
he doubts whether he will be permitted to do it, being so
very obnoxious to the ministry, tho' at the same time he
thinks it would be good policy in them to suffer him to
leave England, as his residence there is very prejudicial to
them. He writes of M' Temple in the same stile that
Trumbull did ; expresses great resentment at the sus-
picions that have been malevolently circulated, & wishes
he was able to express his esteem in stronger language,
after he had said many things, & among them that he
* James Warren was bom in Pljmouthi Sept. 28, 1726, graduated at Harvard College
in 1745, married Mercy, sister of the younger James Otis, in 1754, and was elected a mem-
ber of the House of Representatives in 1766. serving until 1774. Subsequently he waa
President of the Provincial Congress, and discharged other important trusts. He died at
riymcmth, Nov. 27, 1808. See Drake's Dictionary of American Biography, p. 966. — £d&
1781.] JOHN TEMPLE. 455
wishd as well to the great American cause as I do. I
wish you may soon have the pleasure of hearing of M'
Temple's arrival at Paris or Amsterdam. He is very nar-
rowly watched by the ministry. My son was taken up &
examined by Justice Wright & by Lord Hillsborough;
& after being permitted to go at large, & after his Lord-
ship had condescended to wish him a good voyage to the
Continent, was again taken up at Margate, & all his papers
examined; he supposes in expectation of finding letters
from M' Temple. M' Robert Temple had been very ill in
London, went in Decem' to Dublin & the last accounts lay
at the point of death. You will please to make my com-
pliments to M" Bowdoin & M" Temple. I am. Sir, with
great respect,
Your obed' hum^ serv*.
J. Warren.
JOHN TEMPLE TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN*
[July, 1781.]
Dear Sir, — It is with no small pleasure that I have it
in my power to tell you I am now upon the Continent, &
at liberty to write an innocent letter to a friend in another
kingdom without running the risque of having M' Wed-
derburn's extraordinary tallents at constructive treason exer-
cised upon it. I have for a long time been wishing, waiting,
& in some measure expecting, that England would open her
eyes to her real interests, &, as a leading step to get out
of her perilous condition, withdraw her ships & troops &
treat for peace with America as a free & independent peo-
ple, when a general peace might soon happily take place ;
but all prospects of that kind appear to be at as great a
distance as they were several years ago. I therefore pur-
pose to get back to my own country by the first good op-
* This letter is printed from a rough draught or copy in Mr. Temple's own baud^ — Eds.
456 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
portunity, either from France, Spain, or Holland. In my
last letters from Boston M' Bowdoin expresses his earnest
wish that I would not return without seeing D' Franklin.
This he need not have mentioned, for my own inclination
to have that pleasure could not be heightened. I therefore
mean to set out from hence for Paris upon the return of
this post, when I promise myself the pleasure of receiving
a line from }'ou ; and as I have not the French language,
& shall probably travell alone, I shall be very much obliged
to you for any information that you may think will ren-
der my jurney the least troublesome, & for a pasport if it
be necessary. M' Trumbull was fortunately liberated in
England a few weeks ago, & is now here with me, but, I
believe, has at present no thoughts of coming to France.*
Man}' rumors have been propigated in England concern-
ing your ill state of health, it is with pleasure that I have
learnt since my arrival here that you are as well as you
have been for many years past. That you may for many
more continue so, is the unfeigned wish of, d' Sir,
Your most obed* & most affectionate h. s.
Your many valuable friends in Eng* retain the warmest
& most affectionate regards for you, & I am particularly
charged with the compliments of the Bishop S' Asaph,
the Dean of Winchester, D' Price, & D' Hartley, & several
others.
JOHN TEMPLE TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.f
Your obliging favor of the 15*** ins* from Passey is now
before me, and I read it with the greater pleasure as it con-
firmed what I had before heard, that you are very well &
* John Trumbull was released in the beginning of June, 1781, and immediately crossed
to the Continent. He met Mr. Temple at Ostend, and they travelled together in Holland
for several weeks. See Autobiographv of John Trumbull, pp. 78-81. — Eds.
t A nmeh draught, unsigned, indorsed by Temple : ** Copy to Dr Franklin, Amster-
dam, July 26, 1781." — Eds.
1781.] JOHN TEMPLE. 457
in goofd spirits. The several circumstances you have men-
tioned are sufficient to have determined me not to come to
Paris, especially as the Minerva, Capt. Brown, from New-
bury, arrived here since I wrote to you, and the Capt. tells
me he expects to return to the same port in the course of
the next month. The ship you mention to be about sail-
ing is so crowded, and with such a variety of characters,
that it would not have been very agreeable to me to have
embarked on board her. But the Minerva, I trust, will be
a good and safe conveyance. My being considered where
you are as a doubtful character not a little surprized me, as I
had not the most distant idea of it. The series of trouble
& mortification I have had from the beginning of the con-
test, the sacrifices I have made, the losses & persecution I
have sustained, but ill agree with any want of friendship
for the cause of my country or my having any secret con-
nection with the English Minister. Nevertheless, to see
that same Minister, if I could, was one part of my errand
in returning from America about 2 years ago, and I did
see him, and talked to him for more than two hours, on
the first day I got to London. Let me shortly state the
matter to you. After I had been 5 or 6 months at Boston,
& in the other Northern States, the English newspapers
arrived with the examination of Galloway at the bar of
the House of Commons, & the speeches of Eden, Johnstone
& others in Parliament, all concurring & labouring to make
the people of England believe that the independence of
America could not be maintained, for that dissensions &
discord were in their councils, their paper medium ruined &
at an end, & 4/5'?** of the people disposed to get rid of the
tyranny of Congress & return under the government of
Great Britain. These, you will remember, were the sen-
timents at that time urged by the apostate Johnstone &
other Ministerialists in Parliam*, & the minority had to
contradict those sentiments. I had, before the arrival of
these speeches, been deliberately through the Northern &
458 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
Middle States, & at Philadelphia had convei-sed with some
of the first people from the Southern States, and there-
fore, personally knowing that such sentiments so advanced
by the perfidious Johnstone, Eden & others (who had never
been without the lines of the British Army) were utterly
false, proposed to my friends at Boston to return imme-
diately to England and there state the matter as I per-
sonally knew it to be, to the Minister if I could get access
to him, or, if not, to give the minority an opp*^ of bring-
ing me to the bar of the House, where I might confront
these false informations that had so basely been given by
Galloway & supported by Johnstone & Eden. M' B., D'
C, D' C, D' Winthrop & others, highly approved of the
idea of my coming, pleased with an expectation that such
an evidence as myself, who had so lately been in the
United States & personally knew the sentiments of the
people, might probably invalidate Galloway's information
& be the means of the English Ministry giving up the
contest & turning their thoughts to peace, upon a full
acknowledgement of the independency of those States. I
lost no time in getting to London &, on the first day of
my arrival there, had a free conversation with L* North
for more than two hours. My endeavours were to estab-
lish in his mind the serious truth, viz* that, to my per-
sonal knowledge, the people of America were united in
their determination never to return under the govern-
ment of Britain, and that, upon y* observation I had
made upon what I had seen & heard upon the spot, I was
clear in opinion that, however long or distressing the war
might be continued for that purpose, it would in the end
be found fruitless. This was the text upon which I des-
canted to the utmost of my abilities. His L^'ship appeared
to be both staggered & disconcerted, said he had had in-
formation almost directly opposite to what I had given,
that M' [illegible] was tired of the business & was coming
home. I was astonished at the load of misinformation
1781.] JOHN TEMPLE. 459
with which his mind was crowded, but at the same time
thought I had made no small impression upon him, but
feared that might be soon erased by those whose senti-
ments he is obliged to adopt. Since that interview I
have never seen L* North, nor have I ever had any con-
versation of any kind with any other of the Ministry, or
with their adherents. Since I have been in England my
acquaintance has been many, my intimates but few. The
D. of Rutland, David & Winchcomb Hartley, D' Price,
Dean Ogle, M' Townshend, & one or two more, composed
the circle I lived in, and I believe I did an essential
service to my country in fortifying the minds of the
minority from time to time against the false reports in-
vented by our enemies, and I have been .waiting in hopes
& expectation of the truth's prevailing at last in the mind
of the Minister, whoever he be, when peace might be the
happy consequence. Had the views I went to Eng* upon
been successful, had the truths which I carried been at-
tended to rather than Galloway's falsehoods, I think I sh*
have done a most essential service ; at any rate, my coun-
try is welcome to my endeavour. I have faithfully done
it all the good that was in my power ; I never was, or
will be, other than its friend. The cause of America is a
just one & would remain unalterably so in my mind even
if still more extraordinary & unaccountable events sh^
occur in the maintaining of it. Why should I be sur-
prized at the suspicions you mention when I see that like,
or greater, suspicions are raised on purpose to shake the
characters of the first & best friends & servants of Amer-
ica on both sides the water ? God grant that the cause,
good as it is, may not be deeply injured or disfigured by
such unaccountable suspicions ! Do not affairs begin to
wear a complexion something like the famous Salem
Witchcraft, which got to such a height that Judges,
magistrates & the best people were accused of being wiz-
zards ? You will laugh, but, upon my honor, knowing
460 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
what I know and hearing what I have heard, the resem-
blance strikes me forceably. Independent of personal re-
gard, some of the best friends to the liberty of mankind
now in England have been grieved at the attacks lately
made in the prints upon the character of D' F., a name
gone forth in glory to the world (I dont mean to com-
pliment). It is a public name, which in the history of
America must be either one of its greatest ornaments or a
disfigurement to it, there can be no medium. A sincere
frmid of yours^ who hath the most unshaken faith that
it will be the first, defended that character from an attack
in the Courant and asked the printer how he, in a paper
which he called patriotic, could publish such a piece con-
cerning such a person. He replied it was sent over to be
published by a person on this side the water whom I have
since seen squinting about this place, but w"* whom I have
never exchanged a word. I mention this to shew what
reptiles & vermin may raise a dust, what little creatures
may attack even any character ; and I do in my conscience
believe that Britain hath her incendiaries placed about for
the purpose of disseminating suspicion & distrust of each
other among the most sincere friends to the American
cause. The atrocious villain who worse than rob'd the
poor pensioners of their stipend in Eng* I have ever
thought to be in that way. I have seen your letters to
M' Hodgson in Lond"* concerning that affair & my indig-
nation was inexpressible.
The other part of my view in coming to Europe was
concerning myself principally, which M' B. urged me to.
You know we were dismissed from our several employ-
ments under the Crown of England at one & the same time
and for one & the same cause. That cause must be full
in your remembrance. Had the eight gentlemen to
whom a communication of the utmost importance to the
welfare of our country not violated the most positive
injunction from you, neither you nor I w"* have been
1781.] JOHN TEMPLE. 461
dismissed. I sh* not have lost £1000 a year sterling
and as good an interest in Eng* as p'haps any American
could then boast of, nor have been put to the risk of my
life & obliged to suffer the thousand anxieties & mortifica-
tions I have since endured. Those gentlemen, however,
for the salvation (as they thought & I believe rightly
thought) of our country, did violate the injunction that
was sent over with incendiary letters & papers, and the
consequences I have mentioned followed. It was never
in my power, after hostilities commenced, to get home
with my family sooner than I did ; but I never had a
doubt that, when I sh* be so happy as to get home, my
country would compensate my pecuniary losses. My other
sufferings it was not in their power to compensate. And
when I was in America I stated the matter to the seven
survivors of those eight gentlemen (M' Pitts died before
my arrival) who all acknowledge the unspeakable advan-
tage those letters gave them in that early stage of their
troubles, as they were the first positive proofs of the
designs & plan machinating against the liberties of the
country by men who had such unbounded influence ; but
they declared that, though they knew I had suffered in
Eng** on that acco* upon conjecture of the English Minis-
try, they never had the least knowledge or intimation of
my having had any share or hand in bringing these docu-
ments to light and to the eyes of my country. I told
them I had been privy to the whole transaction ; that it
teas through my means that you were able to obtain them;
that they tvere obtained in an honorable ivay ; but, to save an
innocent person, whose bread depended on the Ministry
& who would have been suspected, the most positive in-
junction from you, at my request, accompanyed those
letters, which injunction they thought necessary for the
public welfare to violate, and the consequences were the
dismission & losses I have mentioned. They expressed
a wonder that I returned home at that time without first
462 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
writing to you for such a statement of the matter as would
leave my claim upon them without a doubt ; for that, if
it was manifested to them that I had the claim I then
made, they in conscience sh* think themselves doubly
bound (seeing they had broke the injunction) to see that I .
was compensated to the utmost. I told them, in the first
place, it was an affair which I would never have ventured
to vrrUe a line from Eng^ to you upon, for I had feU suffi-
ciently to deter me from running the risk of making fresh
enemies; and, in the next place, that I had concluded
D' Franklin, when in America, had so clearly stated the
whole of that memorable affair that I could not fail, on
my return home, of receiving any amends that was in the
power of my country. M' Gushing, to whom the letters
& injunction were particularly enclosed, said that your
private letter to him, with the direction concerning the
documents, was lost or mislaid during the time the British
troops were at Boston, that he could not recollect precisely
what your injunction was ; but they all agreed that if I
had the share in that meritorious business which I said
I had (but which could only be ascertained from D' F.)
they sh* think themselves in honor & conscience bound to
attend to my interest, and, least any accident sh* happen
to me, for the benefit of my family they signed a paper
to that purpose before I left Boston.
Thus have I, in as clear a manner as I am able, stated
to you my views in coming to Europe, and all that I have
now to request is that you will, in your own way & accord-
ing to your own idea of justice to me, send me such a testi-
monial as you may think proper. I do not wish you to
write a word upon this business (tho' so interesting to
myself & to my children), or upon the former part of this
letter, but what conscience clearly dictates to you. You
was my fellow-sufferer & greatly suffered, but our coun-
try has made you every amends that was in its power, at
which I have sincerely rejoiced, and have detested the
1781.] LORD WALSINGHAM. 463
little envious people who have strove to deprive you of the
large share you have had in the preservation of its liberties.
I am now going home, where I hope to lay my bones, with-
out ever seeing Europe again. This last trip hath cut deep
into the remains of my patrimony. I, however, have a
bountiful friend in M' Bowdoin, and, at the same time, I
have full faith that, when testimony is borne to the jus-
tice of my claim, myself or my children will not be total
losers by the most important event of my life, an event
that a sceptre would not tempt me to experience again.
You must not expect a correct letter from me, especially
a letter intended for the eye only of a friend. I never
could write correctly, but I hope to be understood. Had
I seen you, as I wished to have done, I had many anecdotes
to have communicated, which would p'haps have been
entertaining & some, I believe, usefuU to you. Pulteney
has been a rascal both to you & to me, but both himself &
his brother Judas are now in contempt, even in England !
However desirable to me, it would be too troublesome for
you at your time of life, or even for myself at 50, to
exchange sentiments on paper upon many events that
have happened. It is more than probable now that I
shall never see you, but be assured that I most sincerely
wish you a calm & pleasant evening of life and unceasing
happiness forever after, for I am, with unfeigned esteem
& regard, d' Sir,
Your most obed* &c.
LORD WALSINGHAM* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Upper Harlet Street, Aug* 9*^, 1781.
Sir, — I have made the proper communication of the
different letters which you have written to me from Ostend
* Thomas de Grey, 2d Baron Walsingham, was bom July 14, 1748, succeeded his father,
who was an eminent lawyer and jurist, in May, 1781, and died Jan. 16, 1818. From Sept.,
1780, until some time in the following year he was one of the Lords of Trade. — £db.
464 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
in addition to those which I had received from you in
England; and I am authorized to acquaint you that no
offers will at present be made on the part of Great Britain,
lest they should be treated with the same contempt that
the Commissioners were upon a former occasion, & lest
imdue advantages should be taken in America of the lib-
eral disposition which prevails here ; at the same time his
Majesty's ministers are ready to listen with the utmost
attention to any offers that may be made by yourself, or
by M' Adams, or by M' Laurens, or by any other person
who can communicate with certainty the sentiments of
America to the Secretary of State for that department.
And you may be assured of meeting with the most sin-
cere and earnest desire to put an end to the war upon
safe, honourable, & constitutional terms. You will do
me the favor to acknowledge the receipt of this letter,
and believe me, Sir,
Your obedient humble servant.
Walsingham.
J. Temple, Esq.
Indorsed : ^* Rec^ the day I embarked from Holland for America."
JOHN TEMPLE'S DECLARATION TO THE COUNCIL OF
MASSACHUSETTS.*
Docter Franklin and M' Temple were in the Year 1774
upon one and the same day, and for one and the same
cause, dismissed from the several employments they held
under the Crown of Great Britain, expressly for their
♦ This document is printed from an attested copy to which Mr. Temple has prefixed
the following heading: " Mr. Temple's Declaration to the Council, which, at their reqnest,
was submitted in writing.'* In a volume of Historical Pamphlets in the Library of this
Society is a statement signed ** Narrator,*' printed on three sides of a newspaper sheet, in-
dorsed " A Faithfull Narrative of the Conduct of the Governor and of the Proceedings of
the General Court concerning Mr. Temple, from his Arrival at Boston in Octo^, 1781, to the
present 27*»» May, 1783." It is without imprint, and was presumably sent out with one of
the Boston newspapers. The internal evidence shows that it was written by Mr. Temple
himself. — Eds.
1781.] JOHN temple's DECLARATION. 465
attachment to the American cause ; and particularly for
their having obtained, and transmitted to the State of
Massachusetts, certain original letters & papers which
first discovered with certainty the perfidious plans then
machinating against the freedom & happiness of the then
Colonies, now independent States in North America. M'
Temple by such dismission lost upwards of a thousand
pounds sterling p' ann. besides several very honorary ap-
pointments under that Crown. Doct' Franklin's loss was
about £500 a year. Doct' Franklin soon after returnd
to America, and met with every mark of respect & grati-
tude that was in the power of the State to which he
belonged, to confer upon him. M' Temple made every
effort to obtain permission to leave England with his
family but without success, until the summer of 1778,
when he with his family, returned also, and was received
with kindness & respect by the State of Massachusetts, to
which he belonged. He was also by the Hon^^* Council of
that State, as well as by the Council of the State of New
Hampshire, by Gen^ Washington, by the Gov' of Connec-
ticut, the Governor of New Jersey, the Lieu* Gov' of Rhode
Island and by many of the most respectable private char-
acters in the Northern & Middle States, recommended in
the most handsome manner to the supreme power of the
United States.
Upon M' Temple's return from Congress to Boston, he
found by the speeches (then just arrived) of Gov' John-
stone, Lord Carlisle, M' Eden and others in Parliament, as
well as from the examination of M' Galloway & General
Robertson at the bar of the House of Commons, that it
was there asserted & maintained, that four ffihs of the
people of America were well disposed to return under the
government of Great Britain; that Congress could not
continue a resistance to the sovereign power of Britain
even for another year; that the state of their paper cur-
rency and their violent internal divisions were such as
30
466 THE BOWDOm AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
would throw the whole continent into confusion in less
than the course of a year. M' Temple, being fully per-
* suaded from personal observation upon the spot, as well
as from the sentiments of the most respectable & well
informed gentlemen of the several States he had passed
thro', that such assertions were totally without foundation,
and being at the same time personally well acquainted with
those of the minority in England who are sincere & faith-
ful friends to the independence & welfare of these United
States, who wished to know /octe in order to counteract
such false representations, immediately entertained the
idea of going back to Europe, and into England, if he
should find by some friends then at the German Spaa,
that he might with personal safety venture into that king-
dom, and there confront, & to the utmost of his power in-
validate, such misrepresentations as had been so made by
the said Lord Carlisle, Johnstone, Galloway, and others.
M' Temple's idea met with the approbation of his par-
ticular friends. He therefore embarked for Holland in
the m*" of May, and, soon after his arrival there, cross'd
over into England, and in less than twelve hours after he
got to London had an interview & a long conversation
with Lord North, when in the most express and positive
terms M' Temple assured his Lordship that the real state
of affairs in America was almost directly opposite to the
representations that had been made in the House and at
the bar of the House of Commons. Vide W Temple's
declaration published in the London Courant of 6V* Dec'
last, which, tho' not apt to attend much to out doors
clamour, he was in a manner compelled to publish at that
time when the ministerial vengeance was levelled at him
upon the disclosure of M' Laurens's letters & papers & those
found upon M' Trumbull. M*" Temple never afterwards
had any interview with Lord North or with any other of
the British Ministers, though he still continued in England
by advice and at the earnest request of the most sincere
1781.] JOHN temple's DECLARATION. 467
and able friends to America that are in that kingdom,
purposely, & for no other business than to serve his
country, by counteracting the poison that was daily dis-
seminating there and hoping from day to day that the
governing powers of that kingdom would listen to truth,
open their eyes to the precipice they were upon, see the
utter impracticability, as well as the injustice, of their
views, and at once acknowledge the independence of these
United States ; but in all this M' Temple found himself
much disappointed. He was however continually em-
ployed in invalidating the falsehoods from time to time
advanced by Galloway and other wretched fugitives from
this country, and in stating matters as they really were to
enable our friends in both Houses of Parliament to contra-
dict & oppose to the utmost such false & base assertions as
were made of the state of affairs in this country, but find-
ing, after a long & tedious waiting for the happy event
which he had hoped for, that the British ministry, regard-
less of the advice & opinion of the most able men in that
kingdom, were determined to continue the war, with these
States, even to the last stage of their own ruin rather
than (do, what in M' Temple's opinion they notv of abso-
lute necessity micst do) acknowledge the independence
of these States, he determined in his mind to return
home to Boston, but could not think of coming away
without first endeavouring to assist M' Trumbull to ob-
tain his liberty ; he felt for a worthy gentleman in con-
finement in an enemy's country with few, very few, friends
to do him any kindness further than making him a tran-
sient visit. M' Temple therefore revolved that business
in his mind & exerted his interest with his private friends
to obtain M' Trumbull's liberation, which in a few weeks
after was happily affected. M' Trumbull will gratefully
acknowledge that M' Temple was not a little instrumental
to such his releasement. The very day after M' Temple
had assurances that this business was happily effected, he
468 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
Bet out for Dover & cross'd over to Ostend ; from Ostend
he and M' Trumbull proceeded to Amsterdam in Holland,
there to seek a passage home to New England. M' Trum-
bull embarked on board the Charlestown Frigate bound for
Pliiladelphia, M' Temple on board the Minerva for New-
buryport ; he arrived at Cape Ann on the 23* ins* at
night, and on the following day came to Boston, of which
he had the honor to inform his Excell^ the Governor of
the State as soon as it was in his power after he got
to town, and also to acquaint his Excell^ that he was
charged with letters, he believed of importance, to the
Congress from his Excell^ M' Adams, minister in Holland,
and praying the Governor's advice (or direction) how they
should be disposed of. On the day after M' Temple, re-
ceived a summons, of which the following is copy.
To Mr. John Temple.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In Council Oct' 2Q^, 1781.
Ordered that M' Jn** Temple lately arriv'd in this
Commonwealth f" Europe be and hereby is directed to
attend at the Council Chamber at 4 o'clock this after-
noon.
True copy. Attest. John Avery, Sec^.
AP Temple instantly obeyed the order and, when di-
rected, had the honor to approach the Board, where he
answered to such questions as were put to him, and, as
nearly as he can recollect, to say in substance what he
hath here written. He moreover, to invalidate some
malign whispers of persons whose names were not men-
tioned to him which his Honor the President of the Coun-
cil informed him had been circulated to his disadvan-
tage,* voluntarily declared it was clearly his opinion that
* The President snid he had heard from a aomebody that, when M*" Temple was last in
America it was his wish to destroy or unhinge the alliance between France and the United
States. Hearsays & whispers from nameless somebodys are but Tissionary evidence, little
1781.] SAMUEL KIRKLAND. 469
the freedom & happiness of these United States had been
saved by their alliance with the Kingdom of France, that
he was fully persuaded Great Britain would by arms have
carried her point against this country if it had not been
for the seasonable & manly interposition of that power,
and that he hoped for the honor of his country that the
spirit of whatever treaties may have been entered into
at forming that alliance would be inviolably adherred to.
John Temple.
Boston, 30*>» Octo', 1781.
True Copy.
Attest. John Avery, Sec^.
SAMUEL KIRKLAND* TO THE MISSIONARY BOARD.
The Honorable Members of the Board of Scotch
Commissioners in Boston, Gentlemen : — It is now
about nine years since I was taken under the patronage,
& entered on the service, of the Society of Scotland, as a
missionary to the Indians, particularly those tribes called
the Six United Nations ; but was put immediately under
your care & direction for my support. For the two first
successive j^ears after my engagement I received thro'
your hands the salary allowed me by that Honorable
Body, viz., £100 ster* p' an., with the addition of £30
ster* in consideration of my being my own interpreter.
Upon the commencement of hostilities your Board were
dispersed (& one of the members in England till lately)
expected to have been met with at the Council Board ! Sach can only be answered hyJUit
negations. Let the person or persons to whom M** Temple mentioned his disapprobation
of the alliance stand forth & maintain the fact. 'Tis a base & malignant falsbood. —
Marginal note in the handwriting of John Temple,
* Rev. Samuel Kirkland was bom in Norwich, Conn., Dec. 1, 1744, graduated at the
College of New Jersey in 1765, luid was ordained at Lebanon in June, 1766. He was one of
the best beloved and most efficient of the missionaries to the Indians. He died at Clinton,
Oneida County, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1808. See a memoir of him by his grandson, Rev. Dr. S.
K. Lotbrop, in 2 Sparks's American fiiography, vol. zv. pp. 137-369. — Eds.
470 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1781.
which hath prevented any regular meeting, or your aflEord-
ing me any support.
Individual members of your Board thro' this long
interval have repeatedly advised & requested me to per-
severe in the business of my mission, tho' under great
embarrassments, & wait the event of Divine Providence
for my being supported in the usual way. I have accord-
ingly prosecuted my mission & served the real interest of
the Society, tho' not without considerable interruption,*
increasing difficulties & expence. The former means of
support being suddenly cut off by the war, application
was made to Congress in the month of Octob', 1775,
for some present relief on my behalf, that the mission
might not be wholly frustrated. They granted me the
stipulated salary for the term of one year, sincie which
I have received but a very small proportion. I am now
so reduced & involved that I cannot prosecute my mission
to any advantage, & with the shaddow of justice to my
suffering & growing family, unless I have immediate assist-
ance. Nor do I know any means by which I can extricate
myself from present pressing straits without some relief
from the Honorable Board, if it be within their reach.
The Oneidas & Tuscaroras, to whom my labors have
for some time been confined, are utterly unwilling to
have me relinquish my ministerial charge of them, altho'
I cannot constantly & so statedly reside with them during
the war as I did heretofore. They desired me to lay the
matter before the Hon*''* Board of Commissioners; and
I earnestly request your advice & kind aid in my pres-
ent situation. The disposition & circumstances of the
Indians are such that it would hurt my feelings to
immediately dissolve the connections which have so long
subsisted between us ; nor should I chuse to do it without
the knowledge and approbation of the Society.
I am not now prepared, but purpose e'er long to lay
before the Honorable Board an exact account of all the
1781.] JONATHAN TRUMBULL. 471
support I have had by charities and otherwise, with my
• expences since the year 1774 to the present day, and am,
gentlemen.
Your obedient and obliged humble servant.
Sam^ Kirkland, Miss"^.
Boston, 2* Nov, 1781.
Rev» D* Mather, Clerk.
JONATHAN TRUMBULL* TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
Lebanon, 12»*» Novem', 1781.
Dear Sir, — I congratulate you on the important
success of the allied arms at Chesapeak. L* General
Earl Cornwallis may now return to Great Britain, and
condole with L* General Burgoyne on their similar situa-
tion,— likewise on the safe arrival of the Hon**^ J.
Temple, Esq% to his native country, his family and friends.
My son John is not arrived ; am waiting with concern for
him. In a letter to me from Amsterdam, 13"" July last,
he says, — " M' Temple is come over hither from England ;
it is my duty to say, that the paragraph in the London
papers, advertising me as an incendiary, and signed with
the initials of his name, was a villainous trick of some
American Refugees to ruin him and me at once. I fear
you never received a letter which I wrote at that time,
enclosing the paragraph and explaining it. This, how-
ever, will remove all idea of his being such a person, for
on the contrary I have every reason to believe that he is
an honest friend to his country.'* I thought it might
be agreable to you to know this, and perhaps of some
service to M"" Temple. With every sentiment of esteem
and regard, I am, dear Sir,
Your most obedient, hble. servant.
JoN™ Trumbull.
Hon"*" James Bowdoin, Esq*.
* Jonathan Trumbull was born at Lebanon, Conn., Oct. 12, 1710, and died there Aug. 17,
1785, leaving a high reputation for stainless character, i^und judgment, and more than
usual ability. From 1769 to 1783 he was Governor of Connecticut. See Appleton'a
Cyclopaedia of American Biograpbj, vol. vi. p. 168. — Eds.
472 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO GEORGE ERVING.*
Boston, May 4, 1782.
Dear Sir, — I wrote you y* 12^^ March, 1781, p' M'
Ja' Jackson, since which I have not had y* pleasure of a
letter from you till yesterday, when I rec^ your obliging
letter of y* 11^^ April, 1781, enclosing duplicates of those
of y* 20'^ Sept' & 17**^ Feb^^ preceeding. I am much mor-
tified that y* letter you left for me among my books never
came to hand. I found a catalogue, and perhaps y* same
you mention, but there was no letter or anything else
enclosed in it. You have been very unlucky with regard
to y* papers & acc^ you had divers times copied & for-
warded to your father. However, I am glad I can inform
you that he rec* your letter of y* 3* Sept' last, with
accounts & a power of attorney enclosed. He commimi-
cated them to me. I observe you have joined me in the
power, and that it is your wish it might supercede M'
Sam* Hewes's agency. I told you in a former letter, and
I now repeat it with great sincerity, that it w* afford me
the highest satisfaction to render you any service, either as
y' attorney or in any other character. But it is my duty
to tell you, what you appear to be apprehensive of, that
your power will not annul M' Hewes's agency according
to the opperation of y* present laws. As agent he had
been, before y* letter of Sept' last came to hand, endeav-
ouring to settle with y' former attorney, M' Edw* Davis,
but he refer* him to y" Com*** of Sequestration, to whom,
he said, he was oblig"* to deliver y* goods he had of yours
under his care, or that they took them into their posses-
sion. On receiving y' s* letter, y' father sent for me, and
* George Erving was the second son of the Hon. John Erving, and a brother-in-law of
GrOY. Bowdoin. His fir$)t wife, to whom he was married in 1768, was Lucy, daughter of
Isaac Winslow, of Roxbury. She died in 1770, leaving one ion ; and in 1776 he was mar-
ried to Mary Macintosh, daughter of Isaac Royall, of Medford, who died childless in 1786.
Mr. Erving surYiYed her twenty fears, and died in 1806. See S Proeeedings, vol. y. p.
10. — £oe.
1782.1 JAMES BOWDOIN. 473
we thought from your recomendation of M' Hewes, &
from his gen* character, it was fortunate that so honest
& suitable a man had been appointed agent for you, and
we supposed it w"* meet with your approbation to deliver
him the s"* accounts after he had setled his own against
you. Accordingly he was told so, and he said he w"*
make out & exhibit his ace** as soon as he conveniently
could. But he has not yet done it. As soon as he does,
if no objection occurs to his ace**, it will be further con-
sidered whether it will be proper to deliver him y* s^
accounts, w***" y' father desired me to take, and they are at
present in my hands ; and I shall observe his directions
concerning them. If they are put into M' Hewes's hands,
he will receive whatever is recoverable on them, and from
the nature of his office as agent must dispose thereof
according as y* law directs, independently of your
attorneys or yourself. When I am further informed
of the state of your affairs here I will inform you.
Last Aug^ I rec** a letter from M' John Sparhawk,
written at y* request of Lady Pepperrell, enclosing a copy
of y' letter to her dated y* 24*»* Feb'^, 1781, & desiring
me as your attorney to draw, or at least endorse, bills on
you to y* am** of y* sum mentioned in y* s* letter. I
wrote in answ' that I had not rec** any power of attorney
from you, but had you authorized me expressly to draw
bills on you I sh* not be inclined to do it at y* then low
rate at w**^ bills were sold, unless I knew that you had
been previously informed of y* rate & consented to it, in
w*"^ case y* drawer could not be charged with doing what
you would otherwise have a right to think an essential
injury to you. I hope this prevented any bills from
being drawn on you, as exh* at that time was 25 8c 30 p'
c* below par, but I have not heard what was finally done.
Bills now are from 10 to 15 p' c* below par. Agreableto
y' request I will make enquiry into y* state of y' late
father M' Winslow's affairs, and let you know y* result.
474 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
Y* manuscript essay on potash is not yet found. It
was not in y* drawer of y' writing table when it came
into r hands of y' nephew, my son, to whom y' sister
Waldo presented the table in your name, for w*"^ be
esteems himself much obliged to you, and desires me
to repeat his thanks, M" Waldo will make a further
search for y* manuscript, and when found your desire
shall be complied with. We all rejoice with you in
y* restoration of Sister Erving's health, y* continuance of
y' own, and y* agreable prospects you have w*^ regard to
your son's good disposition & genius.*
The letters to me abovemention* are all I have rec"*
from you. They were enclosed to me in a letter from
my nephew, M' John Erving, Jun', rec* yesterday by a
flag from New York. He writes that you desire him to
mention to me the death of Col° Royall, that he died of
y* small pox y* 16 of Oct® last, that he left the Medford
estate together with the Walpole farm to M" Erving, the
rest of his lands in America to his grandchildren, and
that he appointed me with M' Fran' Dana, M' Oliver
Wendell, & M' Willis (Hall, I suppose) his ex" for the
management of the American estate. I am sorry for the
death of my good old friend, more especially at this time,
as it may affect yours & M" Erving's interest. How
the bequest will operate according to the present laws I
do not know. For more than a year past a libel ex-
hibited by y* Attorney Gen* has been depending in y* inf"
court of Middlesex for y* confiscation of the estate in that
county. M' Willis Hall (who has acted as attorney for
Col** Royall) by my advice employed M' Lowell to defend
the action in behalf of Col** Royall, and no judgment of
court has been yet given against the estate in thali
county, nor anywhere else that I have heard of, except
in Bristol in y* State of Rhode Island. M' Hall & myself
• George William En-inj?, afterward minister of the United States to Spain, and a Cor-
responding Member of this Society. — Eds.
1782.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 475
in behalf of CoP Royall, soon after y* libel was exhibited,
represented to y* Gen* Court his true character & conduct,
& petitioned that he might have liberty to return hither,
& that y* libel against his estate might be totally dis-
continued, or at least suspended till his arrival. The
Court have from time to time postponed y* consideration
of y* petit", but it has operated to suspend the process at
y* inferior court. M' Hall has acted all along as CoP
Royall's attorney, and living at Medford, where y* estate
is, and being a judicious, honest man & fully acquainted
with y* Colonel's affairs, I should think it adviseable that
he should act as executor, which be assured will not
prevent my doing everything in my power for yours &
M" Erving's interest. I am not capable of giving
any further information in this affair at present, only
that an authenticated copy of the will may be needful,
and that M" Hall should be furnished with money
to employ council, and do what is necessary to be
done. Y' instructions should also be given at y* same
time.
Mine & M" Bowdoin's most affectionate regards wait
on you & y' good lady, in w*^ all your other friends most
cordially join. With every sentiment of y* most perfect
esteem, I am, dear Sir,
Yrs.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO GEORGE ERVING.
Boston, July 20, 1782.
D* Sir, — The foregoing of the 4*^ of May is copy of y*
last letter I had y" pleasure of writing to you. It* went
T Trowbridge in the Firebrand by way of Amsterdam.
I this day rec** your favours of the 8^^ Dec^ (the duplicate)
& the 9**" Feb'^ last. M' Hews has not yet exhibited his
account, nor have the papers you sent been yet delivered
476 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
to him. I have made enquiry of M' Sam^ Winslow into
the circumstances of his late father's affairs, and he gave
me a very candid account of them, so far as he appeared
to be acquainted with them. He says, his father when
he left Boston took with him all his bonds & other
securities, which when he died at New York fell into the
hands of M' Isaac Winslow, one of his executors, who,
he presumes, is still possessed of them, except a few w*^^
the s"* executor sent to him, and on which he has received
some money in part of his own and his sister's share of
the estate ; that the Com*" of Sequestration took posses-
sion of the furniture and sold it, but does not know how
the money was applied; that several peices of land under
mortgage to his father, the mortgages being on record,
had been libelled in this county and would probably be
declared forfeited, but having employed a couple of
lawyers in the case, no judgment of court has yet been
obtained against them. With regard to other securities
(from persons in Massachus*") not recorded, he did not
seem apprehensive of any other danger than might arise
from the possible failure of the persons from whom they
are due ; that he has not had any administration granted
to him on his father's estate, nor had anything to do with
it farther than what is above mentioned. With regard
to his late mother's real estate, he says, it is not subject
to forfeiture ; that the Penobscot lands nothing had been
transacted about them, nor could be, as there is a British
garrison in the neighbourhood of them. The lands at
Falmouth & its vicinity he had lately administered upon,
and should do his best for the concerned. He farther told
me that while his father was in Boston during the block-
ade, he remitted a considerable sum of money on his own
account to Gov' Hutchinson in London, w*** afterwards
was put into the hands of M' Rich"* Clarke. Out of this
sum the widow has received her legacy of £1000 st*^, and
that there remains a large ballance due to the heirs. If he
1782.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 477
is not mistaken in this matter, you can probably come at
that bal* in behalf of your son. This is the substance of
the account he gave me. I desired him to write you on
this subject by this opportunity, and he told me he would.
He mentioned also that in Connecticut, in consequence
of an Act of that State, debts due to his father to the
amount of £1000 had been paid into their public treasury.
You mention that a copy of M' Winslow's will & a list of
debts were enclosed, I suppose they accompanied your
original letter, w°^ I have not yet rec*.
I have lately rec* a letter from Sir W" Pepperell, with
a copy of CoP Royall's will. The latter is in circulation
among some of the parties mentioned in it. When the
executors, M' Wendell, M' Hall, & myself, (no other of
them being in America) have had opportunity of consider-
ing it jointly, I will do myself the pleasure of writing to Sir
William ; m the mean time please to present my respect-
ful comp^ to him. M' Hall has frequently told me he has
from time to time given Col** Royall an account of his
affairs here, and I will desire him to send you an account
of them, particularly with regard to y* Medford and Wal-
pole estates. What sum he has advanced for CoP Royall
1 do not know ; but I have heard him say, he relied on
the Colonel's honour that it would be repaid to him. He
would have drawn bills on him for it, had not exchange
been at so low a rate. It is my belief that M' Hall has
acted with great care and fidelity in the Col°'' affairs, &
has managed as prudently and as well as any other man
could ; & therefore if it should turn out that the estate
should be declared forfeited (in which case no part of it
can be applied to reimburse M' Hall the expence of defend-
ing it for the Colonel & his heirs), he will have a just
demand on them for a reimbursement. No judgment of
court in Massachusetts has yet been obtained against the
8* estate, & I hope will not be ; but to prevent it, as there
has been so there must be one lawyer at least engaged, &
478 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
he will expect to be paid. This being a thing so essentially
necessary for you in particular with regard to the libels
depending against the Middlesex estate, that, was I circum-
stanced as you are with respect to it, I should think my at-
torney ought in justice to me to employ a lawyer in defence
of my right, although from my distance & consequent
unacquaintance with y* circumstances I had forbidden it.
I have consulted your father, & he approves of it. Your
honour therefore will be relied on for the payment of ne-
cessary council & attendance on this business ; and as you
desire me '' to exert myself on your behalf for the preser-
vation of this valuable interest," you may depend on my
best endeavours for that purpose. I should think it ad-
viseable for you to request your father to pay what shall
be needful in this business, or allow of bills to be drawn
on you therefor, if necessary, about which in your next
letter you '11 please to be as clear and decisive as may be.
I should with pleasure advance money for you on this
occasion, but the many calls I have for it, & the difficulty
of collecting it in these times, put it out of my power.
You are not to place any dependance on such an expence
being defrayed out of the said estate in case of forfeiture,
to prevent w''*' it is to be applied ; & in the meanwhile no
part of the income can be applied in that way, nor in any
other different from what the agent is by law directed to
apply it. The estate is at present as much out of the
power of your attornies here as any estate in Japan, & will
remain so till the libels be dismised, or till the General
Court by some act of theirs allow the will to operate, w*'*'
I will do my endeavour to have effected. If judgment be
recovered against the estate, I apprehend that no debts
will be payable out of it, but such as are due from Col''
Royall, though we would endeavour that all yours should
be paid out of it.
We are extreamly sorry you are disappointed in your
expectation of an heir to that estate, but hope you will
1782.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 479
soon have one, and sincerely rejoice with you in your dear
partner's restoration from her late dangerous state. Your
nephew, D' Shirley Erving, takes the charge of this letter.
It gives me pleasure to tell you he has made considerable
proficience in his profession, that he is a sensible, worthy
young gentleman & an amiable character. The great
number of that profession here makes it difficult to get
into business of a sudden, w*^ has occasioned him to visite
his friends on your side the water for a few months. I
wish he could meet with encouragement equal to his merit,
& if it should be in your way to put him forward, I dare
sa}" it would give you pleasure to do it. Your neice. Miss
Sally Waldo, is going to be very agreably connected with
M' Wetmore, of Salem, a sensible man & a good lawyer.
I shall engage him in your business in the affair of the
libel against the Medford estate. Having consulted your
father upon it, he much approves of the measure. This
was the more necessary as M' Lowell, whom M' Hall has
employed in this affair, is at Congress, and it is uncertain
when he will return. M" Bowdoin and your other friends
desire me to express their sincere affection & regard to
you & M" Erving, in which they are most affectionately
joined by, dear Sir,
Yours, &c.
I intended writing Mess" Lane, Son, & Eraser by this
opportunity, but from interruptions am obliged to postpone
it. I shall be much oblig* to them if they will fav^ me
with y* present state of my ace** w*** them & M*" Michael
Scott. M' Sam* Waldo has dl* me a letter for you w^^ I
have given to D' Erving. July 22^
480 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS, [1782.
JOHN TEMPLE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, ETC.*
To THE Honorable the President of the Senate and to the
Honorable the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
Honorable Gentlemen, — A direct & willful fdlsJiood
having been advanced by a writer who signs James SuUi"
van in a letter addressed to me, in the Continental Jour-
nal of Thursday the 22* ultimo, in which he says, that in
the memorial I had the honor of presenting thro* you on
the 29th of April last, to the two Houses of Assembly, I
have therin solemnly avered that I procured & trans-
mitted to this country the wel remembered treasonable &
incendiary letters of the late Gov' Hutchinson, Oliver, &
others, & that I had therein also demanded of my country
a reward for that transaction ! and the said Sullivan
having also commented upon the same, as tho' what he
had so asserted were facts ! will your Honors be pleased
to look into the said memorial now on the files of the
General Court (a copy of which I did not reserve to m}^*
self) and signify whither or not I have therein declared
that I did procure & send the said letters to this country ?
or that I have demanded any kind of reward or compen-
sation for having sent them ?
In the memorial I had the honor of presenting I believe
your Honors will find it set forth that D"" Franklin & myself
were dismissed from all the employments we held under
* This letter is printed from a rough draught, with numerous interlineations, in ink of
two colors, in Temple's handwriting and signed by him. It has no indorsement, and may
not have been sent in the precise form here given.
The volume from which these selections have been made contains much additional mate-
rial, both in print and in manuscript, relative to Temple's visit* to America in 1778 and
1781, and to the accusations brought against him in different quarters of having been either
disloyal to his sovereign or false to the land of his birth. Among other evidences filed by
him to vindicate his conduct is a voluminous document consisting of Attorney-General
Sullivan's Report to the Legislature, profusely annotated by Temple, whose counsel was
John Lowell, afterward Judge of the District Court of the United States. See also a letter
from Rev. William Gordon to Arthur Lee, dated Oct. 2, 1782, printed in the Life of Arthur
Lee, vol. ii. p. 288. —Eds.
1782.] JOHN TEMPLE. 481
the Crown of England expressly for our attachment to the
cause of our country, & particularly for having obtained
& transmitted, as the Ministry were pleased to say, to
the State of Massachusetts certain original letters &
papers written by the late Gov' Hutchinson, Oliver, &
others, which opinion of the Ministry is so notoriously
known to have been the cause of our dismission that I
imagine the most abandon'd to falshood will not attempt
to deny it, but my memorial is totally & designedly silent
by what means the letters were obtained in England, or
at whose desire they were transmitted to this country.
'Tis not yet many days since I publicly detected this
same M' Sullivan in as willful & perhaps a more malicious
falsJiood when he asserted that I & my friends were bitter
enemies to If Franklin^ who is the uniting link between
France & America ; and I then took occasion to say, that
"by what means the letters he had concerned himself
about were obtained in England, and at whose desire they
were transmitted under certain positive injunctions for
the perusal of seven gentlemen only of this common-
wealth, was an important secret not yet lowered down to
the level of M' Sullivan's rank & consideration." These
words I again repeat, and I also reassert that " when the
time comes for unfolding this secret which hath excited the
curiosity of perhaps more than half Europe, the employ-
ers of said Sullivan, their partizan, will appear in black.
I assert this from personal knowledge, because D' Frank-
lin acquainted me with every step he took in that
memorable transaction. He shewed me every line he
wrote & every line written to him upon the occasion, and
commented upon the contents of one of the letters writ-
ten to him, paliating the violation of his injunction, with
more asperity than I ever before knew him to discover.
His correspondents were the Rev* D' Cooper of Boston, &
Tho' Cushing, Esq', then Speaker of the House of R. One
or two of their original letters upon the business I have
SI
482 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
among my papers in Europe, which by mere accident of
inattention or forgetfullness was left in my hands by
D' Franklin, I am very sensible, honorable gentlemen,
that the request I have now made will be giving you
some little trouble, but that manly desire of supporting
truth, & of detecting falshood wheresoever it shall be
found, which must be prevalent in your minds will power-
fully & abundantly plead my excuse. I am, honorable
gentlemen, with all deference & respect,
Your most obedient and most humble servant.
Boston, 1 Sept, 1782. J- TeMPLE.
SAMUEL DEXTER* TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Dedham, Wednesday morning. [Sept., 1782.]
Dear Sir, — I am sorry it so happened that your let-
ter of Saturday last did not come to hand till late last
evening.
The Massachusetts Congress, as it was called, when sit-
ting at Watertown, in 1775, committed all the letters &
other papers found in Gov' Hutchinson's house at Milton
to my keeping, with a desire that I would publish from
time to time such as I tho't might be of service to the
public, either in newspapers or in pamphlets, with such re-
marks & illustrations by way of marginal notes as should
occur to me, if I thought proper. They were for a while
in the hands of D' Gordon, but they were lodged with
* Samuel Dexter, nn eminent merchant of Boston, was a son of Rev. Samuel Dexter, of
Dedbam, where he was bom March 16, 1726. At his death, which occurred at Mendon,
June 10, 1810, be left a bequest to Harvard College on which was afterward founded the
Dexter Lectureship on Biblical Criticism, now united with the Hancock ProfessorBhip of
Hebrew. From 1768 to the breaking out of the Revolution he was a member of the Coun-
cil of Massachusetts, which office he again filled for a short time after the subversion of the
British authority. He was an active and sagacious leader on the popular side, and a man
of marked abilitv. See Appleton's Cyclopsedia of American Biography, vol. ii. p. 161;
N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., vol. viii. p. 249; Quincy's Hist of Harvard University, vol.
ii. pp. 296-298; and also a letter from Mr. Dexter to James Bowdoio, dated Jan. S6, 17791
in Proceedings, vol. vi. pp. 359-361. — Eds*
1782.] SAMUEL DEXTER. 483
him only for a time, and by myself, and not by any pub-
lic order. After government was resumed, the legislative
body of Massachusetts, on a report of a committee of both
Houses, of which M' John Adams was chairman, renewed
the commitment of said letters & papers to me, to be
carefully preserved, as containing valuable documents for
future history. These things are matters of record, and
the last transaction printed in the Journals of the House
of Representatives. It is probable that those that con-
stituted the Congress at Watertown, and the General
Court afterwards, will on seeing the publication in Gill's
paper recollect that the papers were committed to me,
as a sacred depositum, and will consequently consider
me as the writer, altho' my proper signature is wanting.
Nor have I the least desire to be unknown, and am there-
fore freely willing the printer should be instructed to in-
form every one who may inquire that the paper came
from me. I am equally willing. Sir, that you should as
introductory to it in the paper, or at foot, mention its
having been handed to you by me, either by mentioning
my name, or my description as keeper of the letters &
other papers. My only motive is to render you some ser-
vice, if in my power, under the ungenerous and even cruel
treatment you have met with, which has equally excited
my grief and indignation. And my only objection to
signing my name before I sent the paper to M' Bowdoin
was on account of the pointed expressions contained in it
against a certain quondam Judge who — tho' I detest for
his malicious invectives against you and my old friend
M' Adams some time ago, yet I greatly despise as a ivriter,
and would by no means be thought to court an attack
from him. At the same time I am willing that he and
every body else should know that I sent the paper to the
press. I read all the papers except Saturday's Evening
Post. That I seldom meet with, unless in Boston, and
have not yet seen what you refer to, under the signatures
484 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPERS. [1782.
of the two gentlemen you mention. After all, if M'
Bowdoin still joins with yourself in opinion that my sig-
nature will be of any service, which the knowledge of my
being the writer without it would not, I shall not find the
least fault if it should appear. But whether it should or
not, I am desirous that these words in the introduction
to the extracts, vizt., — and as it has a malicious appear-
ance to insinuate to the contrary — should be changed for
the following, vizt., — hut as U has heen maliciously insinu-
ated to the contrary* As the bearer waits I cannot add
save, that I am with much regard, d' S',
Y' most obedient serv*.
Samuel Dexter.
I fear I am too late with this 1'. My best regards to
M'B.
Hon MB Temple.
JOHN TRUMBULL t TO JOHN TEMPLE.
Boston, 27"» September, 1782.
Sir, — Having just now learnt that M' Sullivan has
this day requested to be heard before the Hon**^ House of
Representatives in accusation of you as a man dangerous
to the community, I cannot feel myself at ease in leaving
town untill I have given you in writing the sentiments
which I gave the Hon**^* Com*** of both Houses when ex-
amined before them in May last.
♦ The ** Continental Journal " of Sept. 26, 1782, contains the communicatioD to which
Mr. Dexter's letter refers. It is signed *'Y.," and comprises several extracts relating to
Mr. Temple from Gov. Hutchinson's Letter Book; and at the foot is a note as follows:
*'The above extracts from Gov. Hutchinson's letter-book are from the honorable gentleman
to whom the custody of said letter-book was committed by the General Court in 1775."
"The quondam Judge" was James Sullivan. In the "Boston Evening Post" of Sept.
21. 1782, are a letter from James Bowdoin to Samuel Adams and one from Charles Chauncy
to John Temple — both relating to Mr. Temple — which are probably the letters Mr.
Dexter had "not vet seen." — Ens.
t Colonel John Trumbull, better known as an artist, wag bom in Lebanon, Conn., June G,
175G, graduated at Har\'ard College in 1773, and died in the city of New York Nov. 10,
184H. Hi^ autobiography contains numerous allusions to his friend Temple. See AppIeton*8
Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol. vi. pp. 168, 169. — Eds. '
1782.] JOHN TRUMBULL. 485
I declared to them, what I now repeat, that your friends
(while I had the honor of being acquainted with you in
London) I knew to be the most avow'd & most respectable
friends of America, — such as the Dukes of Richmond &
Rutland, M' Burke, Doct' Price, M' D. Hartley, Counsel-
lor Lee, &c., names which have been eminent in the pres-
ent contest, uniform in their friendship for this country, &
whose favorable sentiments have been much strengthened
by the information they deriv'd from their intercourse
with you.
I was ask'd by the Hon**^ Committee, in what light you
appear'd to be regarded by the ministerial party. I de-
clared to them, — as a man odious & suspected ; as a friend
to this country, and an effectual enemy to their measures ;
and I further mentioned, what I think it my duty to repeat,
that both parties, so far as I knew their opinions, regarded
you as a man acting under the confidential instructions of
your country, & intended by them for their resident in the
most honorable character on the conclusion of a peace.
The mode in which your examination as a dangerous man
has been hitherto conducted appears to me somewhat sin-
gular. I congratulate you that it is at length brought to
such a stage as affords a prospect of the fullest investiga-
tion, for I am convinc'd that nothing else is wanting to
give you that high place in the esteem of your country
which your services & sufferings have merited. I have
the honor to be, with sentiments of gratitude & esteem, Sir,
Your real friend & servant.
John Trumbull.
P. S. You are at liberty to make such use of this letter
as you please. I doubt n[ot] it will be equally regarded
as my affi[davit] & am ready, if any man question its
validity to make oath to it,
HoN^o John Temple, Esquire.
486 THE BOWDOIN AND TEMPLE PAPEJRS. [1782.
JAMES BOWDOIN TO SIR WILLIAM PEPPERELL .♦
Boston, Nov' 12, 1782.
Sir, — I had y* honour of your letters of y* 1"* Feb"^ &
30"* April last, with a copy of our late friend. Col* Royal's,
will accompanying y* former & an authenticated copy y*
latter. I observe by it he has appointed me one of his
ex" for his estate in this country, and you request my
acceptance of that trust. It is immaterial under y* pres-
ent circumstances of things who are y* ex", as the will in
consequence of y* laws relative to absentees & their estates
can have no operation. There has been a libel exhibited
& for some time depending in y* inf' court for y* County
of Middlesex against y* estate in that county, but
M' Willis Hall, of Medford, (who has consulted me on
matters concerning that estate & had a power of at-
torney from CoP Royall) with y* assistance of a lawyer,
has procured y* trial to be postponed from time to
time, and no trial has yet been had. M' Hall and I,
who were both included in y* Colonel's last power, some
time ago in a petition to y* G* Court gave a just ace"*
of his character, and prayed that liberty might be granted
for his return & that y* s* libel might be dismissed. The
pet° was rec"* & ord* to lie for consideration, and re-
peatedly operated as a reason for postponing y* trial, and
since y* Colonel's death another petition has been prepared,
and will be offered when necessary, in order to produce
y* like effect, M' Hall has acted very judiciously in the
Colonel's affairs, and as he is in advance on that account
* Grandson of the first Sir William Pepperell. His origiDal somame was Sparhawk,
bat by his grandfather's will he was required to procure an act of the Legislature authorizing
him to drop the name of Sparhawk and assume that of Pepperell, which he did on coming
of age. He was bom in Kitteiy, Nov. 21, 1746, and graduated at Harvard College in
1766. In 1774 he was made a Mandamus Councillor, and thereby incurred the bitter ani-
mosity of his neighbors. In the following year he went to England, and in 1778 was
proscribed and banished. He filled a prominent place among the Refugees, and continued
in England until his death in 1816. His wife, a daughter of Col. Isaac Royall, died on the
voyage to England in 1775. See Sabine's American Loyalists, vol. ii. pp. 168-176. — Edb.
1782.] JAMES BOWDOIN. 487
depends on his heirs for a reimbursement. I have at
several times given M' G. Erving a particular ace** of those
affairs, so far as I have had any knowledge of them ; and
I beg leave to refer you to him for further information. In
y* mean while I will continue to assist M' Hall in y* best
manner in my power. M" Borland,* who sent me from
New London your last letter with y* copy of y* will w***
came to hand three days ago, intends, as I understand, to
petition y* G* C* for liberty to return hither ; but from
y* failure of a like petition from M' Brattle repeatedly
urged, I fear it will be to no purpose. Most sincerely
joining with you in ardent wishes for a peace and y*
restoration of friends to friends, I am, with great
respect, S',
Y".
* Anna Vassal!, widow of John Borland, of Boston ; afterward wife of William Knight,
of Portsmouth, X. O. — £d8.
INDEX.
INDEX.
TUB KAMEB OF PER80NB FROM WHOM LSTTER8 ARE TO BB FOUND IK THIS
TOLUMB ABB PRINTED IN 8MALL CAPITALS.
A.
Adams, Mrs, Abioail. Notice of, 383 n.
Letter from, to James Bowdoin, 383.
Adams, Pres. John, 116 n., 170, 451 n.,
454. 464, 468, 483. His ** Life and
Letters" cited, 176 n.
Adams, Samuel, 205. Letter from, to
James Bowdoin, 423. Letters to, from
James Bowdoin, 425, 428. Mentioned,
434,436.
Allen, i 19.
Almon, John, 154, 155, 251, 883.
America, illicit trade in, 19, 20. New
legislation for, proposed in the House
of Commons, 53. Ministerial plans in
regard to, 79, 81, 132, 136. State of
the currencj, 241. Commercial objec-
tions to the American rerenue acts,
242-244.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
Dr. Franklin nominated as a member
of, 440.
American army, best policy to be pur-
sued about enlistments for, 401. Sub-
scription in Philadelphia as a mark of
esteem for the soldiers of, 441.
Amherst, Gen, Jefl^y, 4, 5, 178.
Anguilla, irregularities in importations of
molasses from, 26, 29 n., 80, 36, 50.
Appleton's "Cyclopasdia of American
Biography " cited, 100 n., 116 n., 138ii.,
385 n., 432 n., 47 1 n., 482 n., 484 n.
Apthorp, Charles, 183 n.
Apthorp, George, 358.
Apthorp, Miss Sarah W.. 421 n.
Arnold, Gen, Benedict, 452.
Arery, John, Secretary of Mass., 468.
B.
Baker, . 100.
Baldwin, , 36a
Barba<1oes, claim of the Assembly to
appoint an agent to reside in England,
89-98.
Barr^, Col. Isaac, his speech against the
passage of the Stamp Act, 46. Pro-
poses a reTision of all acts relating to
America, 136.
Barrington, William Shute, Viscotmt, 17a
Proposes a new clause in the American
mutiny bill, 181.
Baudoin, Pierre, ziii
Beardsley, Rev. E. Edwards, D,D,, bis
*' Life and Times of W. S. Johnson "
cited, 280.
Beckford, William, Lord Mayor of Lon-
don, 122, 131, 136, 187, 164, 164, 177,
180, 181, 203.
Berkeley, Mrs. George, 282, 291.
Berkeley, Reu. Dr, (xeorge, 281.
Berkenhaupt, Dr. — », committed to
prison on suspicion of being an emis-
sary from Great Britain, 424.
Berkenhaupt, Mrs. Helena, a friend of
Mrs. John Temple, 424 n.
Bernard, Sir Francis, Gov. of Mass,
Message to the Council and &ouse of
RepresentatiTes, 85. Extract from a
letter of Lord Hillsborough to, t6. Let-
ter from the Council to, 99. Letter
fh>m Gen. Gage to, 100. His connection
with frauds on the rerenue, 26 n., 27-
29, 40, 28a His dispute with John
Temple about the riot at Taunton, 62,
68. His relations with Temple, 76.
Recommends that the troops ordered
to Boston should be quartered in the
Manufactory House, 104. Is about to
sail for England, 150. Proposal to
make him Governor of a new Ftoy-
ince, 269. A Commissioner in Ireland,
292. Mentioned, 5n.. 10, 11, 31, 44,
52. 58, 68, 70, 78, 109-112, 114, 118, 123,
130, 142, 143, 145, 147, 158-160, 172,
180, 184, 185, 191, 216, 228, 230, 283,
240, 257, 274, 278, 281, 282, 302, 805,
311, 346, 424.
BoLLAN, William. Notice of, 6 fi. Let-
ters from, to Andrew OliTer, 5, 8;
Samuel Danforth, 121, 181, 133, 185,
137, 151, 164, 165, 172, 176, 180, 181,
492
INDEX.
187, 203, 246, 249, 266, 269, 274 ; Sam-
uel Danforth and others, 144, 146;
James Bowdoin and ottiers, 182 ; the
Committee of the Council of Massa-
chusetts, 308, 836, 340, 863, 360, 867 ;
James Bowdoin, 319. 339, 341, 879;
Earl Gower, 342. Petitions from, to
the House of Commons, 125, 161, 864;
to tlie King, 259. Letters to, from
Samuel Danforth, 113; John Erring,
149, 153; James Bowdoin, 167, 805,
371, 381 ; the Council of Massachu-
setts, 224; Committee of the Council
of Massachusetts, 331, 865. Trans-
mits copies of Got. Bernard's letters,
148, 145. Appointed by the Council
their Asent in behalf of the Prorinoe,
149. Memorandum by, with regard to
Gen. Gage's commission, 178. Urges
the appointment of a legal attome/,
192. On his serrices to the Prorince,
256-258, 268. Complains of the want
of admissible authority to act for the
ProTince, 275. Refusal of the Gorer-
nor to consent to the payment of his
•alary, 366. Publishes ** The Righu
of the English Colonies," 381. Men-
tioned. 9fi., 58. 160, 214, 219, 224, 232,
233, 238, 248, 261, 276, 296.
Borland, Mn. John (Anna Vassall), 487.
Boscawen, Admiral Edward, 209.
Boston. Letters to the Committee of the
Town of, from Barlow Trecothick, 183 ;
Thomas Pownall, 189. Rejoicings at,
on the capture of Quebec 4. Appli-
cation in England for relief of suf-
ferers l>y flre, 8. Disturbances in, 72.
Troops to be sent to, and quartered in,
101-111. Riots in. 108, 141. Charges
against the selectmen and town of,
146, 148, 153. Troops posted in the
town, 159. Soldiers fire on the towns-
people, 167-169, 176, 182. State of the
town, 191. Fleet to rendezTous at, 192.
Boston Port Bill introduced in the
House of Commons, 364 n. William
Bollan's petition against it, 864. Par-
ticulars of siege of, 892-397.
** Boston Evening-Post " cited, 4 n., 62 n.,
108 n., 170 n., 195 n., 484 n.
"Boston Gazette" cited, 99 n., 141 n.,
151 n., 161 n. Alleged libel on Got.
Hutchinson in, 228.
Botetourt, Narbonne Berkeley, Baron de,
Governor of Virginia, 185, 186.
Bowdoin, Mrs. James (Elizabeth Erring).
Letter to, from Mrs. Esther Reed, 441.
Mentioned, xiii.. 85. 121, 180, 156, 161,
172, 210, 244, 274, 277, 284. 286, 298,
294, 802, 374, 388, 391, 405, 406 n., 408,
428. 449, 455.
Bowdoin, James. Account of , xiii. Let-
ters from, to James Erving, 4 ; Jssper
Mauduit, 10,17; Benjamin Franklin,
21, 248, 276, 400. 449; John I^ne, 84 ;
Thomas Gage, 119, 129; John Win-
throp, 120; Thomas Pownall, 138, 167,
212, 219, 288, 238, 246, 295, 297 ; WU-
liam Bollan, 167, 306, 371, 381 ; Samuel
Hood, 194, 294; Alexander Mackay,
239 ; John Temple, 292, 800, 327, 378 ;
Josiah Qttincy, 389, 392; Mercy War-
ren, 897; tlie Council and House of
Representatives of Massachusetts, 402;
Arthur St. Clair, 406 ; George Wash-
ington, 416, 427, 439; Samuel Adams,
426, 428; the Senate and House of
Representatives of Massachusetts,
444 ; Artliur Lee, 450; George Erving,
472, 475 ; Sir William Pepperell , 486.
Letters to, from Jasper Biauduit, 9, 12,
14; John Winthrop, 116, 127; Thomas
Gage, 120; Samuel Hood, 165, 160,
175, 210, 211, 278 ; Alexander Mackay,
170; Thomas Pownall, 173, 195, 196,
205, 208, 270; WiUiam Bollan, 182,
319, 339, 341, 879; Thomas HoUis,
198 ; Benjamin Franklin, 261 ; John
Temple, 282 ; James Gambier, 286, 431 ;
Abigail Adams, 883; Thomas CusU-
ing, 884; Josiah Quincy, 887, 391,
894; Robert Pierpont, 893; Joseph
Ward, 408, 409; Arthur St Clair,
407; Samuel Adams, 428; George
Washington, 436, 487 ; Count Rocham-
beau, 442; Arthur Lee, 448; L. De
NeulVille, 451 ; James Warren, 464 ;
Jonathan Trumbull, 471. Certificate
of, in regard to John Temple's con-
nection with the Hutchinson-Whatelj
Letters, 484. Reports draught of an
address to the Governor, 99. Reports
an answer to the Governor's proposal
about quartering troops, 104. Nega-
tived as a Councillor, 159. Describies
the incidenu of March 6, 1770, 167-169.
On the diff'erences between the Col-
onies and the mother country, 289-244.
On the salaries of the Governor and
Judges, 298-300. Prevented from at-
tending the Continental Congress by
the illness of Mrs. Bowdoin, 374. Re-
signs his seat in the Council, 403.
Declines the ofllces of Lieutenant
Governor aud a Senator of Massachu-
setts, 444. Mentioned, 81 n., 99, 100,
102-104, 147, 206, 219, 828, 831 a., 834,
348, 869, 864 n., 866 n., 867, 873 n., 876,
891 n., 404 n., 406 n.. 414 n., 424 »..
428 n., 434 n., 439 n., 466, 468, 460, 463,
482 fi., 483, 484 n.
Bowdoin, James. Jr. Account of, xir.
Letters to, from John Temple, 367;
Perez Morton, 421, 422. Entered at
Christ Church College, Oxford, 278.
Mentioned, 248, 277, 286^ 293, 802,
891.
Bowdoin, John, xiii.
Bowdoin, Sarah, xiv.
Bowdoin, Hon. William, zir.
Bowdoin CoUege, xir.
Bowers, Col, , 89a
«
INDEX.
493
Bowen. Harry, 890.
Boydeirs En^^avings, James Bowdoin
declines to subscribe for them ou ac-
count of the political troubles, 84.
Bradbury. John, one of tlie Council of
Mass., 219.
Bradford, Alden, LL.D., his ** State Pa-
pers " cited, 229 n.
Brattle, Thomas, failure of his petition
to return to Massachusetts, 487.
Brattle, William, one of the Council of
Mass., 219, 220, 834.
Bridgeman, , 191.
Bridgen, , 186.
Brown, Enoch, 392.
Brown, William, 44 n. Appointed Col-
lector of Customs at Salem, 29 n.
Buckingliani, George Nugent-Temple-
Grenville, Marquis of^ xvii.
Burgoyne, Gen, Sir John, 886, 404, 408,
414,428,471.
Burke, Sir Bernard, his "Peerage and
Baronetsge" cited, 416 n.
Burke, Rt, Hon. Edmund, prirate secre-
tary to the Marquis of Rockingham,
42 n., 72. One of John Temple's
friends, 486.
Bute, John Stuart, Earl of, 287.
Butt's Hill, fortified by the American
troops, 422.
C.
Calais, had the right to representation
in Parliament, 363.
Califif, , 810. 311.
Camden, Charles Pratt, Earl, 302, 868,
367-860,371,380,483.
Cane, Major , 388.
Carleton, Gen. Guy, 887.
Carlisle, Frederick Howard, Earl of, one
of the commissioners to treat for
peace with the Colonies, 446, 466, 466.
Castle Will ism, Boston^ troops to be
' quartered at, 101, 103, 106-107, 109-
111. Question as to the command of,
190, 217, 226. Proposed remoTal of
the Custom House to, 192. Removal
of the Provincial troops from, 214.
Cavendish, Lord John, 879.
Chadwick, , willing to go on an ex-
pedition to observe the transit of
Venus, 117. Mentioned, 128.
Charleston, S. C, siege of, 437, 4.%.
Chatham, William Pitt, Earl of, 6:^. 70,
187, 247. 281-288, 294. 301, 376, 379,
428. Unpopularity of, 76. "Corre-
spondence of," cite<l, 18 n.
CuAUNCT, /2ev. Charles, Z>.D. Notice
of, 375 n. Letter from, to John Temple,
376. Mentioned. 301, 434, 436, 484 n.
Church, Dr. Benjamin, taken into cus-
tody, 388. High opinion of his prin-
ciples, 889.
Church. Edward. 388.
Clarke, Col. , 20, 28, 30.
Clarke, Richard, 476.
Clarke and Sons, Richard, and others.
Petition to the Governor and Council
of Massachusetts, relative to the ship-
ments of tea, 321. Proceedings of the
Council on their petition, 823.
Clifford, , 390.
Clinton. Gen. Sir WillUm, 442.
Cobb. Dr. David, 128.
Cobble Hill, 893, 394.
Cockle, James, suspension of, as Collec-
tor at Salem, 26 n, 27-31. Dismissed
from office, 86, 67. His misbeliavior,
39, 40, 41, 43, 44.
Colebrook, Sir George, 281.
Commissioners of the Customs at Bos-
ton, 81, 278. Retire to Castle WUUam,
194, 827.
" Continental Journal," letter by James
Sullivan in, 480; letter by Samuel
Dexter signed " Y," in, 484 n.
Conway, Gen. Henry S., 63, 66. 866,360.
Cooper, ,278.
Cooper, Rev. Samuel. D. D., 218, 286,
383, 400, 414, 434. 436. 481.
Cornwallis, Charles, Marquis of, 442 n.,
452, 471.
Cotton, John. Deputy Secretary of Mas-
sachusetts, 220. 232.
Cottrell, , 386.
Currency, paper, in use in all the Col-
onies except Massachusetts, 241. De-
preciation of the Continental bills,
442 fi.
Curry, Capt. , 432.
CusuiNO, Thomas. Notice of, 384 n.
Letter from, to James Bowdoin, in-
troducing George Washington. 384.
Mentioned, 206, 289, 484, 436, 462, 481.
D.
Dalrymple, Lt,'Col. William, 101, 108-
111, 216. Removes the British troops
to Castle Island, 169.
Dana, Francis. Notice of. 381 n. Ap-
pointed charg^ des affaires at StPeters-
burg, 448. Mentioned. 474.
Danforth, Rev. John, 113 n.
Danforth, Samuel. Notice of, 113 n.
Letter fh)m, to William Bollan, 113.
Tetters to, from William Bollan, 121,
131, 133, 186. 137, 144, 146, 164. 166,
172, 176, 180, 181, 187. 208. 246,249,
266, 269, 274. Mentioned. 117 n.. 823.
Danforth, Thomas. Notice of, 117 n.
Ready to go on an expedition to
observe the transit of Venus, 117.
Mentioned. 127-130.
Darlington, Henry Vane, Earl of, 806.
Dartmouth, William Legge, Earl of.
Notice of, 876 n. Letters to, from the
Council and House of Representatives
of Massachusetts, 802 ; John Temple,
870. Satisfaction in the Colonies at
^
494
IITOEX.
his appointment as Secretary of State,
804. Mentioned, d^2, 306-816, 318,
829, 831, 836, 837, 340, 841, 866.
Davis, Edward, 472.
Dearborn, Gen. Henry, sir.
De Berdt, Dennis, continued by the
House of Representatives as their
agent, 160. Mentioned, 160, 166, 269,
441 n.
De Grey, Thomas {Lord Walsingham),
419 n.
Denmark, Caroline Matilda, Qnteen of,
281.
D'Estaing, Charles H. T., C<mU, 421,
423, 427.
Dexter, Samuel. Notice of , 482 n. Let-
ter from, to John Temple, 482. Cus-
todian of Gov. Hutchinson's letters
and papers, t6. Mentioned, 219, 328,
343,367.
Dickinson, John, 884.
'* Dictionary of National Biography"
cited, 14 n., 100 n., 138 n., 166 n., 193 n.,
209 n., 286 n., 876 n., 418 n., 420 n.
Donop, Col. Carl Emil Kurt von, 412,
413.
Dorchester Heights, occupied by tlie
American troops, 398-397.
Dowdeswell, Rt, Hon, William, 66, 70,
370.
Drake, Francis S., his " Dictionary of
American Biography " cited, 6 n., 384
n., 406 n., 464 n. ; his *' Town of Box-
bury " cited, 398 n.
Drake, Samuel G., his *' History of Bos-
ton " cited, 141 n.
Dufiferin, Frederick Temple-Black wood,
Marquis of, 31 n.
Dunmore, John Murray, Earl q/*, 237,
246.
DuieU, Admiral Philip, 8, 286.
E.
Eden, William, commissioner to treat
for peace, 446, 467, 468, 466, 466.
Edes and Gill, 123 n., 141 n., 161.
Egremont, Charles Wyndham, Earl of, 8.
Eliot, Rev. Andrew, D.D., his opinion of
William Bollan, 6 n.
Eliot, Rev. John, D. Z)., his " Biographi-
cal Dictionary ** cited, 6 n.
Ellis, Arthur B., his "History of the
First Church" cited, 376 n.
Episcopate, an American, proposition to
establish, 291.
Erving, George. Notice of, 472 n. Let-
ters to, from James Bowdoin, 472, 476.
Mentioned, 277. 286, 487.
Erving, George William, 474.
Erving, James. Notice of, 4 n. Letter
to, ^m James Bowdoin, 4.
Ebviho, John. Notice of, 149 n. Letters
from, to William Bollan, 149, 168.
Letter to, from Thomat Flucker, 331.
Mentioned, 102, 161. 172, 176, 210, 218,
244, 274, 286, 294, 884, 367, 381, 383.
Erving, John. Jr., 149 n., 286, 474.
Erving, Dr. Shirley, 479.
F.
Faneuil, Benjamin,. Jr., one of the con-
signees of the East India Company*s
tea, 322, 828.
Felt, Rev. Joseph B., LL.D., his " Annals
of Salem " cited, 44 n.
Fenton, John. Appointed Deputy Col*
lector at Albany, 66, 67.
Fisher, James. Appointed Collector of
Customs at Salem, 44.
Fleming, John, 388.
Flucker, Tbomab. Notice of, 381 n.
Letter from, to John Erving and others,
331. Mentioned, 99, 100, 102, 343.
Fonblanque, E. B. de, his "Life and
Correspondence of Sir John Burgoyne"
cited, 886 n.
Foote, Rev. Henry W., his "Annals of
King's Chapel '^ cited, 183 n.
Force, Peter, his " American Archives "
cited, 427 n.
Fort Edward, N. Y., 40a
Fort Mercer, attack on, 412, 413.
Frawklin, Behjamin. Letter from, to
James Bowdoin, 261 ; Letters to, from
James Bowdoin, 21, 248, 276, 400, 449 ;
John Temple, 466, 466. Extract of a
letter from, to Prof. John Winthrop,
116. Chosen Agent in England of the
House of Representatives, 219, 224,
233. Transmits a copy of the queries
and statements sent to Edward Ran-
dolph, 261. His examination before
the Privy Council, 386-338, 416.
Transmits the original letters of Hut-
chinson and Oliver, 306 n., 434, 462,
481. Virulently abused by Wedder-
bum, 888. Clothes worn by him on
signing the treaty with France, 416.
Mentioned, 119, 196, 214,288,280, 240,
262, 268, 286, 296, 806^ 310, 316, 817,
889, 868, 418, 420, 448, 449, 460, 464.
466, 482.
" Free Briton's Memorial," 154.
Fuller, ,807.
6.
Gage, Gm. Thomas. Notice of, 100 «.
Letters from, to Governor Bernard,
100; James Bowdoin, 120. Letters
to, from James Bowdoin, 119, 129.
His commission, 177-179, 181. Men-
tioned, 4, 101. 104-106, 110, 111, 118,
128, 125, 128, 218, 300, 386, 387.
Gage, William Hall, T^ord, 48.
GaUoway, Joseph, 467-469, 465-467.
INDEX.
495
Gambieh, Admiral Jamxs. Notice of,
285 n. Letters from, to James Bow-
doin, 285, 431. MenUoned, 208-210,
218, 225, 278.
Oambier, Afrt. James, 286.
Oambier, Miss — , 286.
Garth, Charles, 184.
Gates, Gen. Horatio. Notice of, 482 n.
Letter to. from John Temple, 432.
Mentioned, 400.
Germain, Lord George, 453.
Germantown, account of the battle of,
409-412.
Gilford, ,390.
Gloucester, William Henry, Duke of, 281.
Glover, Capt. Darid, said to have given
a bribe to James Cockle, Collector at
Salem, 29 n.
Glynn, John, 214.
Goldthwait, Joseph, Jr. Appointed Com-
missary to provide for the troops in
Boston, 111.
Goostree. , 138, 157, 212.
Gordon, Lord George, 452.
Gordon, Reo. William, D. A, 480 n., 482.
Gorham, Col. , 389, 390.
Gower, Granville Leveson, Earl, 250,337,
340-842. Letter from William Bollan
to, 342.
Grafton, Augustus H. Fitzroy, Duke of,
63, 65. 154 n., 287, 288.
Gray, Harrison, one of the Council of
Mass., 09, 100, 102-104.
Gray, John, 167.
Gray, ,188.
Great Britain. Petition to the King
from William Bollan, Agent for the
Council of Massachusetts, 259. Me-
morial from John Temple to the Lords
of the Treasury, 287. Petitions to the
House of Commons fh>m William
Bollan, 125, 161, 364. Commissioners
sent to treat with Conirress, 398. Re-
lations with Holland, 451, 452.
Green, , 74.
Greene, Col. Christopher, 412.
Greene, Gen. Natlianacl, 412.
Gbkntille, Rt. Hon. George. Notice
of, 3 n. Letter from, to Paschnl Nel-
son, 3. Mentioned, 18 n., 29, 31, 36,
87, 41. 43. 52, 54, 55, 63, 65, 72. 76,
77, 174, 279, 281. 287, 305 n., 378, 379.
" Grenville Papers " cited, 18 n., 161 n.
Gay's Hospital, London, charter of, 15.
H.
Hale. , 45, 76.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, naval importance
of, 436, 438.
Hall, ,384.
Haw, Dr. ,884.
Hall, Capt. James, 880.
Hall, Stephen, one of the Council of
Mass., 220.
Hall, Willis, 474, 476, 477, 479, 486.
Hallowell, Bepjamin, 141 n., 152 n., 287,
289,290.
Hamilton, Gov. James, 18, 51, 56.
Hanbury, , 70, 71.
Hancock, ^— , 128.
Hancock, John, his opinion of William
Bollan, 5 n. Mentioned, 9, 141 n., 188,
205.
Hard wick, Philip Torke, Earl of, 181.
Harrison, Joseph. Notice of, 42 n. Let-
ters from, to John Temple, 42. 57. 62,
66. 69, 72, 74. Appointed Assistant to
Edmund Burke, Private Secretary to
Lord Rockingham, 42 n., 72. Men-
tioned, 19 n., 29, 39, 127, 191, 216.
Harrison, Peter. Collector of Customs at
New. Haven, 73.
Hartley, Datid. Notice of, 418 n.
Letters from, to John Temple, 418,
419. Mentioned. 420. One of John
Temple's intimate friends, 459, 485.
Hartley. Winchcomb. 459.
Harvard College. Lottery for the bene-
fit of, 10, 14, 17. Presentation of Col-
lege Verses to George III., 13. Astro-
nomical instruments at, 127, 128.
Mentioned, 198, 400.
Heath, Gen. William, 436, 438, 442.
Hewes, Samuel. 472, 478. 475.
Hillsborough, Wills Hill, Earl ^. Ex-
tract of a letter from, to Gov. Bernard,
86. Mentioned. 101, 104. 107, 114, 137,
143-145. 147, 150. 151. 158, 184, 186,
187, 199, 203, 216, 226. 233. 248,
253. 254, 266-268, 288, 296, 302, 368,
455.
Hodgson. William, 460.
HoLLis. Thomas. Notice of. 193 n.
Letter from, to James Bowdoin, 193.
Mentioned, 6 n.
Hood. Samuel ( Viscount Hood). Notice
of, 156 n. Letters from, to James
Bowdoin, 165. 160. 175.210.211,273.
Letters to, fh>m James Bowdoin, 194,
294. Mentioned, 128, 225.
Hood, Mrs. Samuel, 156, 161, 210, 211,
274, 294.
Hooper. ^— , 74.
Hooper, — , Marhlehead, 176.
Hopkins. Goo. Stephen, his answer to
the complaint of John Temple, 89.
Temple's answer to him, 62.
Howard, Martin. Hung in eflBgy. 75 n.
Appointed Chief Justice of North
Carolina, 77. Mentioned. 80. 112.
Howe, Admiral Richard ( Viscount Howe)^
400.
Howe, Gtn. Sir William, 397, 404, 410,
412-414.
Hubbard. , 74, 76.
Hubbard, Thomas, one of the Council
of Mass., 99, 100, 102, 103.
Hughes, — , 266.
Hulton, Henry, 62, 66-68. 280. His win-
dows at Brookline broken, 196.
496
Hnmpbrer, June*, oae of the Cottndl of
Maw., 348.
HutchiiMoD, Gov. Tbomu, 6 n., 216-217,
21&,22«,S28,234,237,246,Xl,'2ea,274,
283, 296, 808, 868, 424, 470. Tbooiu
WbHelydetirc* to become acquainted
with him, 66. To be compentated for
Ui loiie* during the Stamp Act riota,
82. Openi a correiponaence with
Thomaa Whately, ifl Pronwuet
the Qenenl Court, 167. AdTJitd hj
the Conndl to order the troops to
Cutle bland. IBS. AUeged libel on
bim io the " Boaton Oaiette," 226. la
credited with dictating all tlie mea-
\t ot the Tea Commiuioner*,
tion ot State Papen " dted, 261.
Hulchiiuion, Eliaha and Thomas, cod-
signeei irf the East India Companj')
tarn aOO tW.q Snnm nf tln^ Uiitnhkn.
Soni of Got. Uutchm-
I.
Impeachment in Haiaacbnaetti, diecui-
tion of the right of, 347-868,
Ingerioll, Jared. Notice of, 10 n. Men-
tioned, 10, 42, 61. &2,fi6-6S. 61, 63, 77.
78, 81, 112.
Inman, ,44,46.78.
Izard, RiLPH. Notice of, 386 a. Letter
from, rn John Temple, 886.
Ilard, Mri. Ralph, 386l
Jackinn, Jame*. 472.
JackfOD. Kichanj, Jr., 9 n., 11, 12, 18.
42-44. 48, 67, 68.
Jarri», , 468.
JoiiifioH, William Bamvbl. Notice of,
280 n. Letter to, from John Temple,
280. Letter from, to John Temple,
200.
Hung in efflgy, 75 n.
Jobnitone. Comtnodort George, 420. 433.
440, 467. 468, 4(16, 406.
Jonei, Thomae, hit " Hiitorj' of New
York during the Revolution " cited,
426 b.
Judgea. salariet of, 298-SOO. 804,
"Junius," aMaiUThomaa Wliately, 18 n.
" Jnniui Americanui," written b; Arthur
Lee, 214.
Krppel, Admiral Auguitus, 410.
King Street, Bettnt. aflhly Id, 168.
KiHXLAHD. Anr. SAJtUKL. Notice of,
460 ■. Letter from, to the MiMionair
Board, 460.
Knox, WUllam. Appointed Duder Sec-
retarj of State. 100. Notice of, 190 a.
KoTpbanien. Gm. WUbem too, 488.
Lafarette, Gilbert Hotbier, Margmt <U,
422, 428, 430 a.
Lamb. Sir Matthew, 14.
Lance, William, 368.
Lane, John. Letter to, from Jamei Bow-
dcHD, 84.
Lane, &on,&Frazer, ifcjar(„84,3T3,3T4.
470.
Lane, , 310,
Lanreni, Henrr, 428, 446, 464, 460.
L^arent, Col. Jtihn, 448. 46a
Las, Arthob. Notice of, 214 n. Letter
from, to James Bowdoin, 448. Letter
to, from Jame* Bowdoin. 450. Men-
tioned, 214, 219, 426, 480 ■.
Lee, Gtn. Charlei. 386, 386.
Lee. John, one of John Tem[de'i intt
male frienda, 486.
Lee, Richard H„ hi* "Life of Arthur
Lee " cited, 214 n., 480 a.
Lincoln, Urt. , 398.
Linzee, Capl. John, Marriage of, 294.
LiTtngaton, Gm. William, 446.
Locke, John, 362.
Loring, Cajit. , 330,
Loring, C'Dmiior/ore Joihiia, 128.
Lothrop, fi«. Samuel K,,t>.Z)., hia "Life
ot Samuel Kirkland " cited. 469 n.
Lowell, John, 474, 470, 480 ■.
Lowndea, Charlea, 66, 68.
Lncerue, Anne C^aat. CievalUr <U h, 460^
McDoDgall, Gat. Alexander, 411, 412.
McGrera, Jamea. Appointed Stamp Dia-
tributor for New York, 66.
Machiaa, Afaine, disturbance at, 206.
Mackat, Gtn. Alxxandbr. Notice of^
'~?n. Letter from, to Jame* Bowdoin,
}. Letter to, from Jaroe* Bowdoin,
). Mentioned, 246.
HaniSeld, William Murrar, Earl of, 868,
369 B., 380,
Manufactory Hoote. Bctlon. Goremor
Bernard tecommenda that troopa b«
quartered there. 104, 106, lOS.
Maakelvne. NeTil, 110, 119.
Maiiacnnsetta. Petition of the Council
and House of Representative* to the
House of Cnmmona, 82, Metaage from
GoTemor Bernard, 86. J'etilion of tlie
Council to the King, 93. Letter of the
INDEX.
497
Council to Gorernor Bernard, 99. Pro-
ceeding! of the Council with regard to
quartering troopn in Boston, 101. Re-
port of a Committee of tlie Council
relative to the Depot ition of Secretary
OliTer, 219. Letter of the Council to
William BoUan, 224. Letter of the
Council and House of Kepresenta-
tives to Lord Dartmouth, 802. Letters
to the Council from William Bollan,
a08, 836, 340, 368. 300, 867. Petition
of Richard Clarke & Sons to the Got-
emor and Council relative to the sliip-
ments of tea, 321. Proceedings of tlie
Council with regard to the petition, 323.
Answer of the Council to the Gover-
nor's Message relative to the impeach-
ment of the Chief Justice, 842. lletters
of Committee of Council to William
BoUan, 331, 366. Letter to the Coun-
cil and House of Representatives from
James Bowdoin, 402. Letter to the
Senate and House of Representatives
from James Bowdoin, 444. John Tem-
ple's Declaration to the Council, 464.
Letter of John Temple to the Presi-
dent of the Senate and Speaker of the
House of Representatives, 480. Claims
of the Province for compensation for
services of troops in Nova Scotia, 6.
Difficulties about obtaining the grant,
7. Act for incorporating the Society
for propagating Christian Knowledge
among the Indians, disallowed, 9.
Heavy taxation of the inhabitants of,
36, 96. The Council desires to have
authenticated copies of Governor Ber-
nard's letters, 160. Proposed altera-
tions in the Charter of, 198, 199, 270.
Charter of William and Mary prepared
or inspected by Judges Holt and Pol-
lezfen and by the Attorney-General
and the Solicitor-General, 280. Que-
ries and statements sent to Edward
Randolph by the Lords of Trade, 262-
266. Proposal to separate from the
Province the country between the
Kennebec and the St. Croix, 209. Ju-
risdiction over the eastern townships,
810-316. Impeachment of Chief Jus-
tice Oliver by the House of Represen-
tatives, 347-868. Measures adopted
by the Legislature to answer the re-
quisitions of Congress, 440. " Journal
of the House of Representatives "
cited, 82 n.
''MassachusetU Gazette ** cited. 211 n.
"Massachusetts Historical Collections"
cited, 6 n., 116 n., 236 n., 302 n.
Massachusetts Historical Society, Pro-
ceedings of, cited. 36 n., 138 n., 294 n.,
801 n^ 873 n., 376 n., 388 n., 391 n.,
397 n., 404 n., 406 a., 414 n., 416 n.,
424 11^ 428 n., 434 a., 439 a., 449 n.,
472 n., 482 n.
Mauduit, Israel, 387, 426.
BiAUDCiT, Jaspbs. Notice of, 9 n. Let*
ters from, to James Bowdoin, 9, 12, 14.
Letters to, from James Bowdohi, 10, 17.
Maw bey. Sir Josepli, 361.
Melbourne, William Lamb, Vucount, 14 n.
MelUsli, William, 63, 66.
Meredith, Sir William, 136, 281, 319.
Meserve, Georse. Appointed Stamp Dis-
tributor for New Uampsliire, 66.
Mifflin, Gen. Thomas, 884.
Missionaries of the Cliurch of England
in America, 16.
Moffatt, Ihr. Thomas. Hung in effigy,
76 n. Appointed Comptroller of Cus-
toms at New London, Conn., 77 a.
Mentioned, 80, 112.
Mohawks, missionaries among tliem, 16.
Molasses, the principal article on which
a revenue can be raised in America,
24. Duty on, excessive, 82. Impor-
tance of tlie trade, 83.
Montagu, Admiral John, 278, 296.
Montgomery, , 46.
Moore, Lambert, 66.
Morgan, Squire (Duke of Cumberland? ),
281.
Morris, Corbyn, 44.
Morris, Robert Hunter, death of, 19.
Morton, Perez. Notice of, 421 n. Let-
ters from, to James Bowdoin, Jr., about
miliury operations on Rhode Island,
421, 422.
Murray. Rev. John, 397.
N.
Naushon, island of, 302 n.
Nelson, John, xv., 8 n.
Nelsov, John, the younger. Notice of,
46 n. Letter from, to John Temple, 46.
Appointed Collector at Nevis, 6u.
Nelson, Paschal. Notice of. 8 n. Letter
to, from George Grenville, 8.
NEDFviciLE, L. DE. Notice of, 461 fl.
letter from, to James Bowdoin, 461.
Nevin, , 74.
Newcastle, Thomas Pelham, Duke of, 183.
'* New England Historical and Genea-
logical Register ** cited, 448 n., 482 n.
New Hampshire Grants. Condition of
the people there, 287.
New Haven, Conn., 29, 42 ;i., 60, 73-76.
New London, Cotin., 77 n.
Newport, R. /., expedition akainst, 421-
423, 428.
" New York Colonial Documents " cited,
18 n., 100 n., 199 n.
North, Frederic, Lord. Conversation of
Thomas Pownall with, 199. Letter
from Barlow Trecothick to, 278. De-
clines to inform John Temple of the
reason of his dismission from office,
867. Moves for \eAve to bring in the
Boston Port Bill and other bills, 868.
MenUoned, 126, 131, 136, 189, 197, 279^
82
498
INDEX.
281-283. 288, 289, 810, 354, 356, 363,
2^77, 878, 386, 414, 417, 446, 447, 458.
466.
Norton, Sir Fletcher, Speaker of the
House of CommoDS, 361, 862.
'* Nouvelle Biognphie G^^rale " cited,
422 n.
Nuke Hill, 396.
O.
O'Brien, Percy Wyndham. Notice of, 8 n.
Ogle, Uean Newton, 456, 459.
Oliver, Andrew. Notice of, 5 n. Letters
to, from William BoUan, 5, 8. Report
of the Committee of the Council of
Masaachusetts on his Petition in 1770
relative to his Deposition, 219. Ap-
pointed Stamp Distributor for Massa-
chusetts, 55. His deposition first
published in England, 216. Men-
tioned, 18, 78, 84, 112, 228, 288, 239,
267, 283, 803.
Oliver, Peter, Chief Justice of Mass. Im-
peached by the House of Representa-
tives, 347. The Council declare their
readiness to try the case, 353. Men-
tioned, 343.
Oliver, Richard, Alderman, 356, 360, 361.
Oliver, , Salem, 889, 400.
Oneida and Tuscarora Indians, 470.
Osbom, Sir Danvers, 188 n., 141.
Otis, James, Jr. His "Rights of the
British Colonies " gives great offence
to the Ministry, 45.
P.
Paige, Rev. Lucius R., Z>.D., his " His-
tory of Cambridge " cited, 113 n.
Paine, Thomas, his " Common Sense,"
899.
Paine, Miss Unioe, 396.
Palmer, Lkacon Joseph, 387.
Paxton, Charles, 112.
Peacock, , midshipman on the frigate
Rose, 176, 195, 210.
Pepperell, Elizabeth, Ladu, 473, 486 n.
Pepperell, Sir William, 477. Notice of,
486 n. Letter to, from James Bowdoin,
486.
Phillips, Major John. Delivers up the
command of Castle William, 215, 225,
203. Appointed fort-major of Castle
William, 300.
PiERroNT, Robert. Notice of, 393 n.
Letter from, to James Bowdoin, 393.
" Pietas et Gratulatio," 13, 17.
Pitt Packet, ftnV/, 176.
Pitts, James, 9l'», 100, 102, 103, 801, 334,
367, 434, 461.
Porter, James, reported assault on, 195.
Post. , 318.
Powell, , 64.
Powell, Jeremiah, 446.
Pownall, John, Secretary to the Board of
Trade, 12, 13, 14, 16, 42, 137, 204, 252,
266, 296, 808, 311-313, 316, 331. 876.
PowNALL, Gov. Thomas. Notice of,
138 R. Letters fVom, to James Bow-
doin, 178, 195, 196, 205, 208, 270; to
the Committee of the Town of Bos-
ton, 189. Letters to, from James
Bowdoin, 188, 157, 212, 219, 233, 238,
245, 295, 297; John Temple. 414.
Conversation with Lord North, 199.
Recommends that the Colonies should
adopt the principles of Grenville's act
for the trial of contested elections,
174. Expresses a desire to revisit
America. 196. Advises that the Prov-
ince should have two or more Agents
in England, 20&-208. Mentioned, 8,
73, 184, 135, 137, 142, 149, 285, 307,
318, 361.
Pratt, , 189.
Preston, Capt. Thomas, 167, 168, 175, 189.
Trial of, 218. Acquitted, 219.
Price, Capt. , 390.
Price, Rev. Richard, DJD., 452, 456, 459,
485.
Priestley, Rev. Joseph, D.D., 277.
" Province Laws of Massachusetts " cited,
9n., lln., 82ii.
PuLTENBT, Sir William Johnstoiib.
^'otice of, 416 n. Letters from, to
John Temple, 416, 420. Mentioned,
463.
Q.
Quakers in Pennsylvania counterwork
the designs of the British govern-
ment, 15.
Quebec. Rejoicings in Boston, at the
capture of, 4.
Quincy, Edmund, Jr. [H. U. 17521, offers
to sell a telescope to Harvard College,
128.
Quincy, Edmund [H. U. 1827]. bis "Life
of Jusiah Quincy " cited, 387 n.
Qdinct, Col. JosiAH. Notice of, 387 n.
Letters from, to James Bowdoin, 887,
391, 894. Letters to, from James Bow-
doin, 889, 392.
Quincy, Mrs. Josiah, 388, 391, 892, 396.
Quincy, Josiah. Jr. [H. U. 1763]. Goes
to England. 372. 374, 375. Favorable
impression created by him, 880. Death
of, 891. Mentioned, 381.
Quincy, Josiah, Pres. Harvard Colltg^,
his '* History of Harvard University "
cited, 198 n., 482 n. ; his ** Life of Josiah
Quincy, Jr." cited, 387 a., 892 n.
R.
Kand, , 128.
Randolph, Edward. Queries and state-
ments sent to him by the Lords of
Trade, 262-265, 276.
INDEX.
499
Randolph, Peter, Surveys General of
CustomB in Virginia, 71.
Rebd, Mrs, Esther. Notice of, 441 n.
Letter from, to Mrs. Elizabeth Bow-
doin, 441.
Reed. Gen. Joseph, 384, 441 n.
Beed, William B.. his *' Life of ^Joseph
Reed " cited. 441 n.
" Rliode Island Colonial Records " cited,
76/1.
Richmond, Charles Lennox, Duke of, 183,
187, 367-369, 433, 485 Resolutions
to be moved by him in the House of
Lords, 184-187.
Robertson, Gen. James, 465.
Robinson, John, 62, 152 n., 191, 216, 287,
289.
RocHAMBBAU, JsAN B. D. DB V., Comte
de. Notice of, 442 n. Letter from, to
James Bowdoin, 442.
Rockingliam, Charles W. Wentworth,
Martfuis of, 42 n., 63, 65, 70-73, 287.
Rogers, Nathaniel, 112.
Rose, Hugh James, his *" Biographical
Dictionary'* cited, 155 n.
Rowe, John, his " Diary " cited, 86 n.
Royall, Col. Isaac, his death, and difficul-
ties in settling his esute, 474, 475, 477,
478, 486. Mentioned, 472 n., 486 n.
Rutland, John Manners, Duke of, 459, 485.
Ryan, , wounded on boara the brig
Pitt Packet, 175, 210.
S.
Sabine, Lorenzo, his " American Loyal-
ists" cited, 19 n., 31 n., 76 n., 195 n.,
381 n., 486 n.
St. Asaph, William D. Shipley, Dean of,
459.
St. Clair« Gen. Arthur. Notice of,
405 n. Letter to, from James Bow-
doin, 405. Letter from, to James
Bowdoin. 407.
St. Clair, Airs. Arthur (Phebe Bayard),
405.
St. Clair, Miss BeUy, 405. To be sent
to Boston for improrement in her edu-
cation, 406 n.
Savile, Sir George, 63, 124, 154, 856.
Schuyler. Gen. Philip, 387, 408.
Scott, Capt. , 191.
Sewall, Stephen, 128.
Sharper, a negro, 392.
Shirley, Gov. William, bn., 31 n., 133,
138 n.
Skeensborough, N. Y., 408.
Smith, Capt, , 108, 110.
Society for propagating Christian
Knowledge among the Indians, 9,
14-17.
Sparhawk, John, 478.
Sparks, Jared, his " Works of Benjamin
Franklin " cited, 21 n., 22 n. ; hU *' Life
of Charles Lee " cited, 386 a.
Sprout, Col. Ebenezer, 892.
Stamford, Conn., 74, 75.
Stamp Act, proposed for America, 20,
2iS. Probable amount it would yield,
25. Provisions of the act, 49, 50.
Steward, , 48.
Stewart, Duncan, 248, 273, 428.
Stewart, ,281.
Stiles, liev. Ezra, DJ)., 21.
Stirling, Gen. Thomas, 48a
Stirling, William Alexander, Earl of, 18.
Sullivan, Hon, James, 480, 481. 488, 484.
Sullivan, Gen. John, 412, 421-423.
Swanzey River, attempt to smuggle mo-
lasses in, 62 n., 68.
T.
Taunton, riot at, 62.
Taxes, distinction between internal and
external, 83. How granted in Great
Britain, 132.
Tea. Consignees of the shipments to
Boston ask leave to resign it to the
Governor and Council, 3:^. Proceed-
ings of the Council on the petition,
323-826. Destroyed, 330, 333. Oppo-
sition to receiving it, 332--384.
Temple, Miss Elizabeth, 286, 203, 302,
359.
Temple, Grenville, 298, 302. 859, 374, 375.
Tbmplb, John. Account of, xv., xvi.
Letters from, to Thomas Wliately,
24, 29, 31. 40, 41, 111, 247, 279;
William Samuel Johnson, 280; James
Bowdoin, 282; the Lords of the Trea-
sury, 287 ; James Bowdoin, Jr., 357 ;
Lord Dartmouth, 876 ; Horatio Gates.
432; Beniamin Franklin, 455, 456;
the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives of Maifsachusetts, 481. Letters
to, from Thomas Whately, 18, 22, SO,
40, 52. 58, 65, 71, 75, 78, 80, 151, 248.
265 ; Joseph Harrison, 42, 57, 62, 66,
69, 72. 74: Joiin Nelson, 45; John
Wentworth, 236; William Samuel
Johnson, 290; Frederick Vane, 806,
307, 318 ; Charles Chauncy. 875 ; Ralph
Izanl. 385: Thomas Pownall. 414; Sir
William Pulteney, 416. 420; David
Hartley, 418 ; Lord Walsingham, 468 ;
Samuel Dexter, 482; John Trumbull,
484. Named, in 1756, as likely to be
Controller of Customs at New York,
3. His officifll conduct approved by
the Ix>rds of the Treasury, 19, 24, 36,
68, 287 ; by the merchants of Boston,
86 n. His opinion in regard to raising
a revenue fh>m America, 24. On
irregularities in importations from An-
guilla, 26. His clisputes with Gov-
ernor Bernard, 28, 40, 41, 62. 76 His
marriage, 81. His opinion of Thomas
Whately, 113. Applies for permission
500
toeotoF.DKUnd,112,IS3iL,SS8. Di»-
niiiMd, in 1770, at o» of the Commi*-
lioDtn of Ciulumt, 214, 'HO. Jamei
Uowdoiii'i tMtitnony to liit huaeiiy
■Dil Uildiiy in [listufflue, 214. ArriTM
in Eniiland [17T<J),iiit«rTie» irilli Lord
CtiMllum, ^IT. InteTTiew witli Lord
Nurtli, *27li. Appointed Survejor-Gea-
enl uf CuBlomi in ICagUiid, yiao, 2H3.
Uppiiiition lo >iij recam to Amerii:*
in a pubUc t:liar*cter, ^ti8. Hii memo-
rial lu tlie Lurdi of the Treaiur/ un
Ilie (utyevt of liii diffiuultin witli Sir
Franuis Bernard, liii Iom ot Tsriuu*
oUuei in America, and liia clmm for
CM>aipc!nia(iun. ^ST-SUO. liii intereat
in tlie MM of Majiir Phillip*, Com-
ina'ad«r at Caiiie WiUiam, ^8, 800,
301 a. DixDiiMed from the offli^ iit
SurTeyor'GeneralorCuitoiiii,S&7,4:id.
Urmunitriteii witli Lord Dartmoulli
im being lupeneded ai Lieul.-GoT. ol
New Uampaiiire, und defecidi liii po-
litiual CDurte, S7&-379. Hi> duel with
William Wlialely, xtI. Hit return
Anieric* in 177», 414, 41&-4^. »
tuied pemiliiiun to go lo Pliiladelplii
A'il^'M. Kecum mended hj Jam
Uowdoin to George Waihin)[ton ai
Samuel Adam*, 4:^8-431. Hit retu
to England in 177», 432-1S4. Ceni
caie of Janiei Bowdoiu Hnd otliei
with reference to liia cunntution wi
tlie Huidiinaon letleri and wrTlcei
rendered by liim lu Kew England, 434-
48U. Hit Tinditaiion of liii political
CD urge, in the London "Couraiit" ol
Dec. tl, 1T80, 446-447. Teitimon; In
hit fBTor by James Wa>Ten, 464; by
Jolin Trumbull, 471,484. Defeml ' "
L-ourie, and degcribei a conien
Willi Ixjrd Norlli. in a letter to F
lin, in 1781, 466-403. Ui> Inti
rnenil>inEngland,460,48S. HIa Det.'-
laratioii tu the Council of MaiaHchu
letia, 404-46». Kii attack on Jamei
tJuUivan, 480-482. Sympathy for him
expreaaed by Samuel Uexier, 488.
Mejilioned, 118, ISO, 172, 2;i0. 273,
278, 279, 286, 204, 42S-42», 481, 451-
465, 471.
Temple, Jfri. John (Eliiabeth Bowdoin).
Marriage of, 81, Mentioned, xt,, iri.,
85, 180, 286, 2B4, 302, 307, 308, 318,
81», 868, 874-370, 860, 414, 423, 424 h.,
449, 456.
Temple, Mary, 358 n.
Temple, Sir Richard, Bort., xrii.
Temple, Richard GrenTille, Earl, 151 n.,
281. 282. 370.
Temple, Capl, Robert, it.
Temple. Robert, the jounger. Notice
of, 31 n. A candidate for the Col-
lectorahip at Salem, 81, SG, 41. 43.
Mentioned, xTJi., 46, M, 66. 04, 06, 7B.
80, S3, 113, 1&3. 286, 373, 416, 466.
Temple, WllUain, 427 n.
Ten UUIt Pana, xt., -Ui, 291, 41Gl
riiacher. Bet. Peier, joint the expedition
againtl Newport, with all hi* patiah,
Thanet, Sw^rille Tufton, Earl of, 133.
407.
TowMbend, Jamea, Lord Mayor of Lou*
don, 85tS, SttO, 3el.
Townihend, , 281, 45S.
Trade, Lords of. Furbid the allowance
of iotterie* In tlie Coloniea. 10. Opin-
ion of, on the right of the Houae of
RepreaentaliTea to cliooae an Agent
for tlienueUet, 86-80. Opinion at, on
tlie claim of tlie Ataembly of Barba-
doei to appoint Agenli. B9-US.
Tbbcotbick, Bablow. Notice ot,I88N.
Leitera fh>in, to the Committee of the
Town of Boaton. 183) Loid North,
278. Mentioned, 12S, 131, 185, 172,
177, 247, 281, 358, 850.
Trecolliick, Strt. Barlow (Grilel Ap-
tborp), 188
row bridge,
the Council ol
Tbdmbull, CbI. Jobm. Notice of, Iftf n.
Letter from, to John Temple, 484.
Mentioned. 453, 464, 456,406-408, 471.
Tbuhbdll, (,'«. Jonathak. Notice of,
4T1 n. Letter from, to Jamei Bow-
doin, 471. Mentioned, 446. HIa " Am-
tcbiography " cited, 4&6 a.
Tyler, Kojali, one of tbe CoiukU of
Mau, as, 100, 102-101.
Tahb, Frbdbbick. Notice of. 806 m.
Letter* from, tu John Temple, 800,
307, 8ia
Vane, Mrt. Frederick, S07, 308, 818, SIO.
Vane, Hir Henry, 806 n.
Vaaaall, Florentiui. 207.
Vaudreail, PierrcFran90i*, Jifarjuitdt, 4.
Venner, , 163.
Venoa, plant for obaerring the trtuuit o^
In 1769, 118-121, 127-180.
Tice-Admiralty Count in Atnerica, new
powen conferred on, 33, 84. Propoeed
allerationa in, 56. UncoDititnlioDaUtj'
of the powen given to tbem, 188.
Waldo, Ma Sally. 470.
Waldo, Samuel, 479.
Waldo, Gtn. Samael, 270.
Waldo, ifrt. Samuel (Sarah BrTbig),4T4.
Walea, Augoiia, fJvmycriVianat B/; 28L
INDEX.
601
*t
Walpole, Horace, his "Last Journals
cited, 369 n.
WALSiNOHAif, Thomas dk Obbt, Baron,
Notice of, 408 n. Letter from, to John
Temple, 463.
Wnrd, A. U., his ** Ward Family " cited,
408 n.
Ward, Gen. Artemas, 848, 408 n.
Wabd, Josbph. Notice of 403 n. Let-
ters from, to James Bowdoin, 403, 4U9.
War&bii, Jambs. Notice of, 464 n. Let-
ter firom, to James Bowdoin, 454.
Warren, Mrs, Mercv. Notice of, 897 n.
Letter to, from James Bowdoin, 397.
Washinoton, Gen, Gborob. Letters to,
from James Bowdoin, 415, 427, 439.
Letters firom, to James Bowdoin, 486,
487. Mentioned, 381,387.395, 397, 408,
404, 400, 409-411, 422, 412, 446, 465.
Wasiiington, Mrs. Martha, 442.
Webb, ,20,23,80.
Wedderbum, Alexander {Lord Lough-
borough), 20, 30, 837. Virttlentljr
abases Dr. Franklin, 388.
Wendell, OliTer, one of the executors of
Isaac Boyall's wUl, 474, 477.
Wentworth, Gou. Benning, 54, 64, 296,
327.
WBNTWO&Tif, Gov. John. Notice of,
236 n. Letter from, to John Temple,
236.
West, James, Secretary to the Lords of
the Treasury, 6.
West Indies, taxes in the, 50.
Wetmore, William, 479.
Whatblt, Thomas. Notice of, 18 n.
Letters from, to John Temple, 18, 22,
36. 49, 52, 58, 65, 71, 75, 78, 80, 151,
248, 265. Letters to, from John
Temple, 24, 29, 31, 40, 41, 111, 247,
279. Wishes to learn the sentiments
of the Colonies in regard to a proposed
stamp duty, 20, 22. On raising a reT-
enue from America, 87, 59, 61. De-
sires to become acquainted with
Thomas Hutchinson, 55. Regrets the
animosity between John Temple and
Got. Bernard, 76. Did not approre
of the repeal of tlie stamp act, 77.
MenUoned, 48, 44, 57, 281, 305 n.
Whately, WiUiani, xtL
Wheeler's Point, Boeton, 896.
Whitmg, Col. , 64.
Willard, Joseph, 128.
Williams, John, 141 n.
Williams, Jonathan, 22.
Winslow, Isaac, 476.
Winslow, Isaac, Roxbury, 472 a., 478, 476^
477.
Winslow, Samuel, 476.
Winchester, Dean of, see Ogle, Newton.
WiNTHBOP, Prof, John. Notice of,
116 n. Letters from, to James Bow-
doin, 116, 127. Letter to, from James
Bowdoin, 120. Mentioned, 21, 119,
120, 129, ISO, 823, 848, 367, 434.
Winthrop, Hon. Kobert C, his address
on the life and senrices of James Bow-
doin, xiii. ; his paper on John Temple's
connection with the Hutchinson let-
ters, 484 n.
Winthrop, Robert C, Jr., his discorery of
these papers, XTiii.
Winthrop, Hon. Thomas L., his owner-
ship of these papers, xviii.
Wolfe, Gen. James, 4.
Woods, SurTeyorship of tlie, 54, 61, 61
Wright, Justice , 455.
Y.
Yorke, Ri. Hon. Charles. Accepts ap-
pointment as Attorney General, 69.
H « .
J
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