from Jonathan Clarke, Esq^r., dated Boston, 17^th November last, wherein
he begs leave to refer him to you for the measures that have been
adopted at Boston, relative to the Company's exportation of tea to that
Colony, I am directed by the chairman to desire you would be pleased to
communicate to him the advices you have received from Messrs. Clarke &
Sons, for the information of the Court of Directors of the East India
Company, which will be a favor conferred on him. I am, sir,
Your most obd^t serv^t,
WM. SETTLE.
East India House, 5^th Jan^y, 1774.
Abraham Dupuis, Esq^r., Gracechurch Street.
* * * * *
LETTER FROM MESSRS. CLARKE & SONS, at BOSTON TO MR. ABR^M DUPUIS,
_Referred to in Mr. Clarke's Letter to the chairman, of the 17th Nov^r,
1773._
Boston, Nov^r., 1773.
MR. ABRAHAM DUPUIS.
Sir:
We now embrace the first leisure we have, to give you an account of the
proceedings of some of the inhabitants of this town, relative to the
expected importation of teas into this port from the Hon'ble East India
Company. As soon as it was known here that the Company had determined on
this measure, and that certain gentlemen of this town were fixed upon as
factors, there appeared a dissatisfaction in many persons. But at first
there did not appear any resentment against the supposed factors, nor
was there, as far as we ever heard, any mention made of a design to
bring them under any obligations not to execute their trust, but the
general voice among the opposers of the Company's plan was, that the
teas must not be landed, or, if landed, not sold. About three or four
weeks ago, a printed anonymous address to the Company's factors was
brought to this place by the post, either from New York or Philadelphia,
but whether it was fabricated at either of those places, or this, we
cannot determine. The design of it was, to represent a number of
gentlemen, who cannot justly be considered in any other light than
commercial factors, as Crown officers, and they, in the said paper, are
expressly put on the same footing with the late stamp officers,
doubtless with a design to render them odious to the people, and much is
said in it to dissuade or intimidate them from executing their expected
trust. Soon after this, a second anonymous address, but much more
inflammatory, appeared here in one of the newspapers from New York. Both
these were printed in one or more of the newspapers of this town, and
several other pieces were also published here, to rouse the people to an
opposition to the Company's design, and their rage against us and the
other gentlemen, factors for the Company in this place. As things were
then circumstanced in this place, we judged it might tend to undeceive
many persons that were misled, to publish some observations on the
Company's plan, to answer the objections that were made against it, and
to point out some of the beneficial consequences attending the execution
of it. Accordingly we, by the assistance of a friend, got printed in
Messrs. Fleet's Evening Post, of the 24^th October, a piece signed
Z[42], in which this affair is canvassed with as much freedom as the
temper of the times would bear, and altho' this was penned in haste, and
under the restriction of the afore-hinted shackle, we have the
satisfaction to find, that in the opinion of the most judicious amongst
us here, every objection that has been started against the Company's
plan is fully answered, and altho' this publishment does not seem to
have had its designed effect as yet, it is to be hoped, when the
_people's_ temper is become more cool, that the aforesaid piece, with
what has since, and may hereafter be published on this subject, may not
entirely fail of the design proposed.
Besides these paper skirmishes, we would inform you that we were told
that there were about two or three weeks since, several nightly
meetings, held in various parts of the town, of a large number of
persons, to consult and conclude on some method to prevent the execution
of the Company's plan, but what was fixed at these meetings we could not
learn. But we were not lost in this uncertainty long, for in the morning
of the 2^nd instant, about one o'clock, we were roused out of our sleep
by a violent knocking at the door of our house, and on looking out of
the window we saw (for the moon shone very bright) two men in the
courtyard. One of them said he had brought us a letter from the country.
A servant took the letter of him at the door, the contents of which were
as follows:
"Boston, 1st Nov., 1773.
Richard Clarke & Son:
The Freemen of this Province understand, from good authority, that there
is a quantity of tea consigned to your house by the East India Company,
which is destructive to the happiness of every well-wisher to his
country. It is therefore expected that you personally appear at Liberty
Tree, on Wednesday next, at twelve o'clock at noon day, to make a public
resignation of your commission, agreeable to a notification of this day
for that purpose.
Fail not upon your peril.
O.C."
Two letters of the same tenor were sent in the same manner to the other
factors. On going abroad we found a number of printed notifications
posted up in various parts of the town, of which the following is a
copy:
"_To the Freemen of this and the other Towns in the Province._
Gentlemen:
You are desired to meet at Liberty Tree, next Wednesday, at twelve
o'clock at noon day, then and there to hear the persons to whom the tea,
shipped by the East India Company, is consigned, make a public
resignation of their office as consignees, upon oath. And also swear
that they will reship any teas that may be consigned to them by the said
Company, by the first vessel sailing for London.
Boston, Nov^r. 1st, 1773.
O.C., Secre^y."
In this you may observe a delusory design to create a public belief that
the factors had consented to resign their trust on Wednesday, the 3^d
inst., on which day we were summoned by the above-mentioned letter to
appear at Liberty Tree, at 11 o'clock, A.M. All the bells of the
meeting-houses for public worship were set a-ringing and continued
ringing till twelve; the town cryer went thro' the town summoning the
people to assemble at Liberty Tree. By these methods, and some more
secret ones made use of by the authors of this design, a number of
people, supposed by some to be about 500, and by others more, were
collected at the time and place mentioned in the printed notification.
They consisted chiefly of people of the lowest rank, very few reputable
tradesmen, as we are informed, appeared amongst them. There were indeed
two merchants, reputed rich, and the selectmen of the town, but these
last say they went to prevent disorder. The gentlemen who are supposed
the designed factors for the East India Comp^y, viz: Mr. Tho^s.
Hutchinson, Mr. Faneuil, Mr. Winslow & Messrs. Clarke, met in the
forenoon of the 3^rd instant, at the latter's warehouse, the lower end
of King Street. Mr. Elisha Hutchinson was not present, owing to a
misunderstanding of our intended plan of conduct, but his brother
engaged to act in his behalf. You may well judge that none of us ever
entertained the least thoughts of obeying the summons sent us to attend
at Liberty Tree. After a consultation amongst ourselves and friends, we
judged it best to continue together, and to endeavour, with the
assistance of a few friends, to oppose the designs of the mob, if they
should come to offer us any insult or injury. And on this occasion, we
were so happy as to be supported by a number of gentlemen of the first
rank. About one o'clock, a large body of people appeared at the head of
King Street, and came down to the end, and halted opposite to our
warehouse. Nine persons came from them up into our counting-room, viz:
Mr. Molineux, Mr. Wm. Dennie, Doctor Warren, Dr. Church, Major Barber,
Mr. Henderson, Mr. Gabriel Johonnot, Mr. Proctor, and Mr. Ezekiel
Cheever. Mr. Molineux, as speaker of the above Com^tee, addressed
himself to us, and the other gentlemen present, the supposed factors to
the East India Com^y, and told us that we had committed an high insult
on the people, in refusing to give them that most reasonable
satisfaction which had been demanded in the summons or notice which had
been sent us, then read a paper proposed by him, to be subscribed by
the factors, importing that they solemnly promise that they would not
land or pay any duty on any tea that should be sent by the East I.
Com^y, but that they would send back the tea to England in the same
bottom, which extravagant demand being firmly refused, and treated with
a proper contempt by all of us, Mr. Molineux then said that since we had
refused their most reasonable demands, we must expect to feel, on our
first appearance, the utmost weight of the people's resentment, upon
which he and the rest of the Com^tee left our counting-room and
warehouse, and went to and mixed with the multitude that continued
before our warehouse. Soon after this, the mob having made one or two
reverse motions to some distance, we perceived them hastening their pace
towards the store, on which we ordered our servant to shut the outward
door; but this he could not effect, although assisted by some other
persons, amongst whom was Nathaniel Hatch,[43] Esq^r., one of the
Justices of the inferior Court for this country, and a Justice of the
Peace for the county. This gen^m made all possible exertions to stem the
current of the mob, not only by declaring repeatedly, and with a loud
voice, that he was a magistrate, and commanded the people, by virtue of
his office, and in his Majesty's name, to desist from all riotous
proceedings, and to disperse, but also by assisting in person; but the
people not only made him a return of insulting & reproachful words, but
prevented his endeavors, by force and blows, to get our doors shut,
upon which Mr. Hatch, with some other of our friends, retreated to our
counting-room. Soon after this, the outward doors of the store were
taken off their hinges by the mob, and carried to some distance;
immediately a number of the mob rushed into the warehouse, and
endeavored to force into the counting-room, but as this was in another
story, and the stair-case leading to it narrow, we, with our
friends--about twenty in number--by some vigorous efforts, prevented
their accomplishing their design. The mob appeared in a short time to be
dispersed, and after a few more faint attacks, they contented themselves
with blocking us up in the store for the space of about an hour and a
half, at which time, perceiving that much the greatest part of them were
drawn off, and those that remained not formidable, we, with our friends,
left the warehouse, walked up the length of King Street together, and
then went to our respective houses, without any molestation, saving some
insulting behavior from a few despicable persons. The night following, a
menacing letter was thrust under Mr. Faneuil's door, to be communicated
to the other consignees, with a design to intimidate them from executing
their trust, and other methods have since been made use of in the public
papers and otherwise, for the same purpose. The next day, being the 4^th
inst., a notification was sent thro' the town, by order of the
selectmen, for the inhabitants of the town to meet on this affair the
next day, a transcript of which, and the proceedings of the town
thereon, at their meetings on the 5^th and 6^th inst., you have a full
account of in the enclosed newspapers, which, being long, we shall only
copy the message of the town to us, and our answer, which are as
follows:--
"_Voted_, That a Com^tee be immediately chosen to wait on those gentle^n
who, it is reported, are appointed by the East India Com^y to receive
and sell said tea, and request them, from a regard to their own
character, and the good order and peace of the town and province,
immediately to resign their appointments. And the following gent^m,
viz.: the Moderator of the Meeting, Mr. Henderson Inches, Benj^n Austin,
Esq^r., and Mr. John Mason, & the select men of the town, were appointed
a com^tee accordingly."
These gent^m, all except Mr. Mason, came to our house about one o'clock,
P.M., but not having an authenticated copy of the Town's vote, we
desired to be favored with one, which was accordingly sent us, in a
short time, from the moderator, John Hancock, Esq^r., to which we
returned the following answer, viz.:--
"Boston, Nov^r 5, 1773.
Sir:
It is impossible for us to comply with the request of the Town,
signified to us this day by their Com^tee, as we know not on what terms
the tea, if any of it should be sent to our care, will come out, nor
what obligations, either of a moral or pecuniary nature, we may be under
to fulfil the trust that may be devolved on us. When we are acquainted
with these circumstances, we shall be better qualified to give a
definite answer to the request of the Town.
We are, sir, your most humble servants,
RICH^D CLARKE & SONS,
BENJ^N FANEUIL, FOR SELF & JOSHUA WINSLOW, Esq^r.
Hon'ble John Hancock, Esq^r.,
Moderator of a Town Meeting
at Faneuil Hall."
[Illustration: Signature, John Hancock
JOHN HANCOCK'S REPLY TO WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO CONGRESS, RECOMMENDING
THE BOMBARDMENT OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON.
"It is true, sir, nearly all the property I have in the world is in
houses and other real estate in Boston; but if the expulsion of the
British army from it and the liberties of our country require their
being burnt to ashes, issue the order for the purpose immediately."]
This answer, you'll see by the enclosed news paper, was unanimously
voted to be not satisfactory to the Town, and the next day, on Mr.
Hutchinson's sending into the Town Meeting an answer of the same
purport, both his and ours were voted to be daringly affrontive to the
Town, but upon what reasons this vote was founded they have not been
pleased to declare. You may observe that the Town has resolved that they
will, by all means in their power, prevent the sale of the teas exported
by the East India Company, and in the preamble to this vote it is
asserted that the quantities of teas imported into this place since a
certain agreement, which we presume they designed should be understood
to commence in the fall of 1770, at which time the non-importation
agreement ceased, had been very small in proportion to what had been
usual before said agreement, and that by a few persons only. In order to
set those facts in a clear light, we obtained from the custom house an
account of teas imported into this place from the beginning of the year
1768, at which time the first teas that paid the American duty arrived
to this time, and got the same printed in the enclosed news paper, by
which it appears that the fact has been grossly misrepresented,
especially considering that this year's importation would probably be
encreased at the end of the year two or three hundred chests, if the
expected exportation on account of the East India Company had not
prevented it. Besides the public transactions relative to this affair,
before recited, we have repeated accounts of the continual nocturnal
meetings of the leaders of the mob, and we are informed that they are
determined to make the utmost efforts to prevent the sale of the teas;
that their present scheme, or part of it, is to endeavor, by all
methods, even the most brutal, to force the consignees to give up their
trust, and if they should fail in this, it is by some persons publickly
asserted that the tea shall not be landed, or if it should be, that it
shall be burnt.[44]
In our present unexpected and difficult situation, we have only to
desire you to assure the gentlemen, who may have consigned any part of
the Company's teas to our house, whom we cannot at present write to, as
we have not been advised who the gentlemen are, that we shall make use
of the best advice, and exert our utmost endeavors to carry into
execution the Company's design, which, as far as we are acquainted with
it, we judge to be beneficial to the Colonies, and to this Town and
Province especially, but whether it will finally be in our power to
accomplish our design, we are not at present certain. We beg the favor
of you, sir, to communicate the foregoing to the gentlemen who may have
had the direction of this affair. We are, with the greatest esteem and
highest sense of our obligations to them and you, sir,
Your most obedient & most humble servants,
RICHARD CLARKE & SONS.
P.S.--Mr. Faneuil writes to his friend, Mr. Brook Watson, by this
opportunity, advising him of the transactions relating to this affair.
In case of miscarriage of his letter, we desire you to communicate this
letter to Mr. Watson.
EXTRACT OF MR. FANEUIL'S LETTER TO BROOK WATSON, ESQ^R.
MENTIONED IN MR. CLARKE'S POSTSCRIPT.
Mr. Faneuil, after giving an account of the proceedings of the
inhabitants of the 3^rd instant, entirely agreeing in substance with Mr.
Clarke's relation, goes on--
"By comparing this account with what Mr. Clarke writes his friend, Mr.
Dupuis, of London, you will come at the exact state of the affair. The
Governor has given my Lord Dartmouth an account of the conduct of his
Council. I will only say that next day they voted that the
Attorney-General be ordered to prosecute the persons concerned in this
riot. The consequence, I suppose, will be, the grand jury will not find
a bill against them, and there the affair will end."
On Thursday, a letter, of which the following is a copy, was found in my
entry:
"Gentlemen: It is currently reported that you are in the extremest
anxiety respecting your standing with the good people of this Town and
Province, as commissioners of the sale of the monopolized and dutied
tea. We do not wonder in the least that your apprehensions are terrible,
when the most enlightened humane & conscientious community on the earth
view you in the light of tigers or mad dogs, whom the public safety
obliges them to destroy. Long have this people been irreconcilable to
the idea of spilling human blood, on almost any occasion whatever; but
they have lately seen a penitential thief suffer death for pilfering a
few pounds from scattering individuals. You boldly avow a resolution to
bear a principal part in the robbery of every inhabitant of this
country, in the present and future ages, of every thing dear and
interesting to them. Are there no laws in the Book of God and nature
that enjoin such miscreants to be cut off from among the people, as
troublers of the whole congregation. Yea, verily, there are laws and
officers to put them into execution, which you can neither corrupt,
intimidate, nor escape, and whose resolution to bring you to condign
punishment you can only avoid by a speedy imitation of your brethren in
Philadelphia. This people are still averse to precipitate your fate, but
in case of much longer delay in complying with their indispensable
demands, you will not fail to meet the just rewards of your avarice &
insolence. Remember, gent^n, this is the last warning you are ever to
expect from the insulted, abused, and most indignant vindicators of
violated liberty in the Town of Boston.
Thursday evening, 9 o'clock.
Nov. 4, 1773. O.C., Sec^y, pr order.[45]
To Messrs. the Tea Commissioners.
Directed to B---- F---- Esq^r."
On Friday we had a Town Meeting. What was done there, together with our
answers and their resolves, you'll see in the enclosed news paper. Just
before the meeting broke up, several gent^n, on my telling the purport
of our answer, advised me to leave the town for that night; but I have
not yet slept out of my own house, nor do I propose to do it, till I
find it absolutely necessary. I thought it best, however, to conceal
myself for two or three hours. But nothing took place more that evening
than is usual on the 5^th Nov^r. On Friday, we received an information,
which was repeated yesterday, that a number of picked men are determined
to break into our house one night this week. I can hardly believe it,
but these continued alarms are very disagreeable. I am, gentlemen,
Your most obed^t serv^t,
BENJ^N FANEUIL, Jun^r.[46]
[Illustration: Signature, Benjamin Faneuil, Jr]
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, ON THE 5^TH & 6^TH
NOVEMBER, 1773,
_Referred to by Messrs. Richard Clarke & Sons, & Benj^n Faneuil, Jun^r.,
in their above mentioned Letters, from the news papers enclosed._
[From the Massachusetts Gazette of Thursday, Nov. 11, 1773.]
The following notification was issued on Thursday last:
The freeholders and other inhabitants of the Town of Boston, qualified
as the law directs, are hereby notified to meet at Faneuil Hall, on
Friday, the 5^th day of November instant, at ten o'clock in the
forenoon, then and there to consider the petition of a number of the
inhabitants, setting forth, "that they are justly alarmed at the report
that the East India Company, in London, are about shipping a cargo or
cargoes of tea into this and the other Colonies, and that they esteem it
a political plan of the British administration, whereby they have reason
to fear, not only the trade upon which they depend for subsistence, is
threatened to be totally destroyed, but what is much more than any thing
in life to be dreaded, the tribute laid on the foundation of that
article will be fixed and established, and our liberties, for which we
have long struggled, will be lost to them and their posterity, and
therefore praying that a meeting of the freeholders and other
inhabitants, may be immediately called, that so the sense of the matter
may be taken, and such steps be pursued as to their safety and well
being shall appertain."
By order of the Select men,
WILLIAM COOPER, Town Clerk.
Boston, Nov^r 4^th, 1773.
On Friday last there was a very full meeting of the freeholders, and
other inhabitants of this town, in Faneuil Hall, agreeable to a
notification issued by the Select men, when the Hon'ble John Hancock,
Esq^r., was chosen moderator, and the Town, after due deliberation, came
into the following resolutions, viz.:
Whereas, it appears by an Act of the British Parliament, passed in the
last session, that the East India Company, in London, are by the said
Act allowed to export their teas into America in such quantities as the
Lords of the Treasury shall think proper. And some persons, with an evil
intent to amuse the people, and others thro' inattention to the true
design of the Act have so construed the same as that the tribute of
three pence on every pound of tea is to be exacted by the detestable
task masters here. Upon the due consideration thereof,--
Resolved, That the sense of this Town cannot be better expressed than in
the words of certain judicious resolves, lately entered into by our
worthy brethren of Philadelphia. Wherefore,
Resolved, That the disposal of their own property is the inherent right
of freemen; that there can be no property in that which another can, of
right, take from us without our consent; that the claim of Parliament to
tax America is, in other words, to claim a right to levy contributions
on us at pleasure.
2^d. That the duty imposed by Parliament upon tea landed in America, is
a tax upon the Americans, or levying contributions on them without their
consent.
3^d. That the express purpose for which the tax is levied on the
Americans, namely, for the support of government, administration of
justice, and the defence of His Majesty's dominions in America, has a
direct tendency to render assemblies useless, and to introduce arbitrary
government and slavery.
4^th. That a virtuous and steady opposition to this ministerial plan of
governing America is absolutely necessary to preserve even the shadow of
liberty, and it is a duty which every free man in America owes to his
country, to himself and to his posterity.
5^th. That the resolution lately agreed to by the East India Company, to
send out their tea to America, subjected to payment of duties on its
being landed here, is an open attempt to enforce the ministerial plan,
and a violent attack upon the liberties of America.
6^th. That it is the duty of every American to oppose this attempt.
7^th. That whoever shall, directly or indirectly, countenance this
attempt, or in any wise aid or abet in unloading, receiving or vending
the tea sent or to be sent out by the East India Company, while it
remains subject to the payment of a duty here, is an enemy to America.