ARTICLE SIGNED "CANDIDUS."
[Boston Gazette, September 30, 1771.]
Messieurs EDES & GILL,
A General Assembly, when actuated with a becoming spirit of public liberty against the attacks of arbitrary and despotic ministers, appeared to be as disgustful to Gov. Bernard, as parliaments were to James the first; with whom it was even an aphorism that the lords and commons were two bad co-partners with a monarch: Having got rid of such a troublesome assembly at least for one year, he was more at leisure, in conjunction with the commissioners of the customs and his other confederates, to attend to the plan which their hearts had been long set upon, of introducing into the province a military power for their aid. -Accordingly every little occurrence, which a man of sense who had no political designs in view would not have thought worth his notice such as frequently happen in the most orderly cities, was gathered up with uncommon industry and made the subject of representation to the ministry - He even descended so low as to give lord Hillsborough a detail of the diversion of a few boys in the street with a drum, which at no time is unusual in populous places, and pictured it to his lordship, who, it seems gave it its full weight, as a prelude to a designed insurrection, in which "persons of all kinds, sexes and ages," were to bear their part - The common amusements of children were construed rebellion, and his lordship had minute accounts of them sent to him by this busy journalist, as grounds upon which he might form measures of administration. But his letters, together with those of general Gage and commodore Hood, and the memorials, &c. of the commissioners of the customs, have already been sufficiently animadverted upon-" No one, says the town of Boston, in a pamphlet, entitled, An appeal to the World,2 can read them without being astonished at seeing a person in so important a department as governor Bernard sustained, descending in his letters to a minister of state to such trifling circumstances and such slanderous chit-chat: Boasting as he does in one of them of his over-reaching those with whom he was transacting publick business; and in order to prejudice the most respectable bodies, meanly filching from individuals belonging to those bodies, what had been drop'd in the course of business or debate: Journalizing every idle report bro't to him, and in short acting the part of a pimp rather than a governor." Sufficient however were they finally to prevail upon administration, which had before been full ready eno' to employ the military force in England, to order four regiments and part of a fifth, for the preservation of the peace in the town of Boston. The only disorders in the town that could give any colouring to measures so severe, and not more severe than unjustifiable by the constitution, happened on the 18th of March and 10th of June, 1768 - The first was nothing more than the parading of the lower sort of people thro' the streets at the close of an anniversary festivity; when no injury was offered to any person whatever, no harm was done, nor did even Governor Bernard himself pretend that any was intended. General Gage, in a letter to Lord Hillsborough, mentioned this disorder as "trifling." The other was occasioned by the unprecedented and unlawful manner of seizing a vessel by the collector and comptroller - His Majesty's Council after full enquiry into this disorder and the cause of it, declared, that it "was occasioned by the making a seizure (in a manner unprecedented) in the town of Boston on the 10th of June,1 a little before sun-set, when a vessel was seized by the officers of the customs; and immediately after, upon a signal given by one of said officers, in consequence of a preconcerted plan, several armed boats from the Romney man-of-war took possession of her." - The officers who made the seizure were insulted, some of the windows of their dwelling houses were broke, and other disorders were committed - But the council further declared, that it was "highly probable that no such disorders would have been committed if the vessel had not been with an armed force and with many circumstances of insults & threats carried away from the wharf." They also say, that the disorder "seemed to spring wholly from the persons who complained of it," and that it "was probable that an uproar was hoped for, and intended to be occasioned by the manner of proceeding in making the seizure." This representation of the matter was made by those very gentlemen, of whom governor Bernard not above 3 or 4 months before, had given this ample testimony to Lord Hillsborough; that "they had shown great attention to the support of government," and "upon many occasions a resolution and steadiness in promoting his Majesty's service, which would have done honor to his Majesty's appointment, if they had held their places under it:" And to whom he about the same time very warmly returned his thanks, "for their steady, uniform and patriotic conduct, which had shown them impressed with a full sense of their duty both to their king & their country." A representation of matters of fact, made by gentlemen whom governor Bernard had so highly applauded for their attention to the support of government, and resolution and steadiness in promoting his majesty's service, must surely meet with full credit with the friends of government; and induce a conclusion, even in their minds, that if there was a necessity of troops in the town of Boston to keep the peace, it arose not from the "madness of the people," (a decent expression of General Gage) but altogether from the extravagance of the servants of the crown; who after a preconcerted plan, according to the account given by the council, hoped for, and intended that an uproar should be occasion'd, by the manner of their proceeding with an armed force, and many circumstances of insult and threats in making a seizure. -This disturbance, after a few hours, wholly subsided, thro' the interposition of the inhabitants of the town, & no great mischief was done; yet the most aggravated accounts were given of it by the Cabal, to answer their own purposes. The Romney ship of war, had before been ordered by commodore Hood to this place, in consequence of information sent to him of a factious and turbulent spirit among the people. The captain thought it his duty to acquaint the commodore of this fresh disturbance; and the Beaver sloop, being then in the harbour, and preparing for her station at Philadelphia, was remanded back to Halifax for that purpose, and with such speed as to be obliged to leave part of her provisions behind - Large packets were sent by this vessel to the commodore, and others for England, where it was proposed by the cabal she should be immediately dispatched from Halifax. The comptroller of the customs embark'd on board the same sloop very privately, by whom letters in abundance were sent to London. In these letters a number of gentlemen, who were called the leaders of the faction, were proscribed. Some of the cabal could not conceal their designs; for it was even then given out by them, that troops would probably soon arrive from Halifax, and that two regiments of Irish troops were to be sent to this town; all which accordingly took place in about four months afterwards, being the time in which they might have been expected by orders of the ministry in consequence of these letters. Indeed we have since been made certain by a publication of their own letters, that they had earnestly sollicited the sending of troops about this time. The commissioners of the customs in a letter to the lords of the treasury, acquainted that board "that there had been a long concerted and extensive plan of resistance to the authority of Great Britain, and that the seizure had hastened the people to the commission of actual violence sooner than was intended" and further, "that nothing but the exertion of military power would prevent an open revolt in this town, which would probably spread throughout the provinces." The collector and comptroller in their letters upon this occasion to the commissioners, which was laid before administration tell their honors, "that it appeared evident to them that a plan of insurrection of a very dangerous and extensive nature had long been in agitation, & now brought nearly to a crisis." But it is needless to repeat the many exaggerated accounts given by the governor and his confederates, of this occurrence, which on the part of the people was altogether unexpected; and as the Council observed, "seem'd to have sprang wholly from the persons who complained of it." - To crown all, the Commissioners pretended that "they had reason to expect further violences," and fled, Bernard says in a letter to lord Hillsborough, "were driven" to Castle William; where they represented to the lords of the treasury that the "protection afforded them by Commodore Hood, viz, the Romney and one or two sloops of war, was the most seasonable, as without it they should not have considered themselves (even there) in safety, nor his Majesty's Castle secured from falling into the hands of the people," and "that it was impossible for them to set foot in Boston, until there were two or three regiments in the town, to restore and support government." - However true it may be, that the Commissioners had rendered themselves the objects of the publick resentment, which their letters and memorials have had no tendency to abate, they never had been, to use an expression of Gov. Bernard, the objects of popular fury; not the least injury had ever been offer'd to their persons or property. They had landed without opposition, and had lived in the town many months, if despis'd and hated, yet unmolested: For this we have the testimony of his Majesty's Council; "They were not, say they, oblig'd to quit the town - it was a voluntary act of their own - there never had been any insult offer'd Them - and when they were at the Castle there was no occasion for men of war to protect them." And even after their voluntary flight, they often made excursions upon the main, for the purpose of amusement and recreation, for which, having quitted the severe exercises of their employment in the town, they now had sufficient leisure: There, they might easily have been insulted if there had been any such disposition in the people. It has long been evident that all this pretended apprehension of danger, and their flight first to the Romney ship of war, and then to the castle for protection, was intended to cooperate with & confirm the letters and memorials sent home, and to facilitate the prosecution of their design. Such were the methods us'd by a restless set of men, to hold up this town and province, to the nation and to the world, in a false and odious light. It was therefore peculiarly incumbent upon all, and those persons especially, who were entrusted by the publick, to be vigilant for it, at a time when they who were seeking its ruin, were remarkably attentive to and active in prosecuting their plans. And can any one say there is reason to think that a minister of the temper of Lord H—-h, perpetually acted upon by the implacable hatred of Bernard, has yet abandon'd, or is likely to abandon, his favorite system, while there is ONE left on this side the water who is ready to put it in execution? - No - The disputes with the court of Spain and the city of London during the late session of parliament, may have prov'd so embarrassing to A—-n as to have caus'd a suspension of the execution of it for a while; but to trust that it is therefore wholly laid aside, is a degree of credulity and infatuation, which I hope will never be impos'd by any man on this country. Great pains we know are taken to perswade and assure us, that as long as we continue quiet, nothing will be done to our prejudice: But let us beware of these soothing arts. - Has anything been done for our relief? - Has any one grievance which we have complained of been redressed? On the contrary, are not our just causes of complaint and remonstrance daily increasing, at a time when we were flattered that a change of men would produce a change of measures? Have our petitions for the redress of grievances ever been answered or even listened to? If not, what can be intended by all the fair promises made to us by tools and sycophants, but to lull us into that quietude and sleep by which slavery is always preceeded. - While treachery and imposition is the fort of any man, let us remember, there is always most danger when his professions are warmest.
CANDIDUS.
1See Vol. I., page 396. 2 See Vol. I., page 245.