The Writings of Samuel Adams - Volume 3

by Samuel Adams

TO JOSEPH HAWLEY.1

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Oct. 4th 1773

MY DEAR SIR/

I can not omit this Opportunity of submitting to your Judgment, the Ideas I have of the present Disposition of the British Administration towards this Country; and I the rather do it at this time, because as Matters seem to me to be drawing to a Crisis, it is of the greatest Importance that we should have a right Understanding of their Sentiments and Designs. The "wild and extravagant Notions" (as they have been lately called) of the supreme Authority of Parliament "flowing from the Pen of an House of Representatives" has greatly chagrind them; as they apprehend it has been the means of awakning that Spirit of Opposition to their Measures, which from the Information their Tools on this side of the Water had given them, and the Confidence they had placed in the Art and Address of Mr Hutchinson, they had flatterd themselves, had subsided, & would soon be extinguished. At the same time they are very sensible, that the impartial Part of the Nation, considering that the House were in a Manner forced to express their own Sentiments on the Subject, be they what they might, with Freedom are ready to exculpate them, and lay the whole Blame, if there be any, upon the Governor, for his Imprudent Zeal in bringing a Matter into open Controversy which the Ministry had hoped to have settled in a silent Way. It is my Opinion that the present Administration even though the very good Lord Darmouth is one of them, are as fixed in their Resolutions to carry this favorite point as any of their Predecessors have been; I mean to gain from us an implicit Acknowledgment of the Right of Parliament to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever. The King who you know determines by their Advice, has expressd his Displeasure at our late petitions because they held up Rights repugnant to this Right. Some of our Politicians would have the People believe that Administration are disposd or determind to have all the Grievances which we complain of redressd, if we will only be quiet. But this I apprehend would be a fatal Delusion; for I have the best Assurances, that if the King himself should make any Concessions or take any Steps contrary to the Right of Parliamt to tax us, he would be in Danger of embroiling himself with the Ministry; and that under the present Prejudices of all about him, even the recalling an Instruction to the Governor is not yet likely to be advisd. Lord Dartmouth has indeed lately said in the House of Lords as I have it from a Gentleman in London who receivd the Information from a peer who was present, that "he had formd his plan of Redress, which he was determind to carry AT THE HAZARD OF HIS OFFICE." But his Lordship might very safely make this Promise; for from all that I have heard, his Plan of Redress is built very much upon the Hopes that we may be prevaild upon, at least implicitly to yield up the Right, of which his Lordship is as fixd in his Opinion, as any other Minister. This I conceive they have had in view from the year 1763; and we may well remember, that when the Stamp Act was repeald, our Friends in Parliamt submitted as a Condition of the Repeal, that the declaratory Act as it is called should be passed, declaratory of the Right & Authority of Parliament to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever. Till that time the Dispute had been limitted to the Right of Taxation. By assuming the Power of making Laws for America IN ALL CASES, at the time when the Stamp Act was repeald it was probably their Design to secure, as far as they could do it by an Act of their own, this particular Right of Taxation thinking at the same time that if they could once establish the Precedent in an Instance of so much importance to us, as that of taking our Money from us, they should thenceforward find it very easy to exercise their pretended Right in every other Case. For this Purpose in the very next Session if I mistake not, they passed another revenue Act, for America; which they have been endeavoring to support by military parade, as well as by other Means, at an Expence to the Nation, as it is said of more than the revenue yielded. And yet, in order to induce us to acquiesce in or silently to submit to their Exercise of this Right, they have even condescended to meet us half way (as it was artfully given out) and lessened this Revenue by taking off the Duty on Glass & several other Articles. Mr George Grenville declared that he would be satisfied with a PEPER CORN, but that he must have THREE; which shows that he had a stronger Sense of the Importance of establishing the Power of Parliament, or as his own Words were, "of securing the Obedience of the Colonies" than barely of a Revenue. The Acknowledgment on our part of the Right of Parliament has been their invariable Object: And could they now gain this Acknowledgment from us, tho it were but implicitly, they would willingly sacrifice the PRESENT revenue by a repeal of the Acts, and FOR THE PRESENT redress all our Grievances. I have been assured that a Question has of late been privately put by one in Administration upon whom much Dependence is had by some persons, to a Gentleman well acquainted with the Sentiments of the People of this Province, Whether the present House of Representatives could not be prevaild on to rescind the Answers of the last House to the Governors Speeches relative to the supreme Authority of Parliament; which Answers have been lookd upon as a Bar in the Way of a Reconciliation and being informd that such a measure on our part could by no means be expected, I am apprehensive that Endeavors will be used to draw us into an incautious mode of Conduct which will be construed as in Effect receding from the Claim of Rights of which we have hitherto been justly so tenacious. It has been given out, I suspect from the Secrets of the Cabinet, that if we will now send home decent temperate & dutiful petitions, even our imaginary Grievances shall be redressd; but let us consider what Ideas Administration have of Decency Temperance & Dutifulness as applyd to this Case. Our late petitions against the Independency of the Governor & Judges were deemd indecent intemperate & undutiful, not because they were expressd in exceptionable Words, but because it was therein said that by the Charter it plainly appeard to us to be intended by the Royal Grantors that the General Assembly should be the constituted Judge of the adequate Support of the Government of the province and the Ways & Means of providing for the same; and further that this operation of an Act of parliament, by which the People are taxed & the money is appropriated & used for that purpose, derogates from one of the most sacred Rights granted in the Charter, & most essential to the Freedom of the Constituion, & divests the Genl Assembly of a most important part of legislative Power and Authority expressly granted therein, and necessary for the Good and Welfare of the province & the Support and Government of the same. The Subject Matter of our Complaint was, not that a Burden greater than our proportion was laid upon us by Parliament; such a Complaint we might have made salva Authoritate parliamentaria: But that the Parliament had assumed & exercisd the power of taxing us & thus appropriating our money, when by Charter it was the exclusive right of the General Assembly. We could not otherwise have explaind to his Majesty the Grievance which we meant to complain of; and yet he is pleasd in his answer to declare that he has well weighd the Subject Matter of the petitions—and is determined to support the Constitution and to resist with firmness every Attempt to derogate from the Authority of the supreme Legislature. Does not this imply that the parliament is the supreme Legislature & its Authority over the Colonies of the Constitution? And that until we frame our petitions so as that it may fairly be construed that we have at least tacitly conceded to it we may expect they will be still disregarded or frownd upon as being not decent temperate and dutifull? We may even be allowd to claim certain Rights and exercise subordinate powers of Legislation like the Corporations in England, subject to the universal Controul of Parliamt, and if we will implicitly acknowledge its Right to make Laws binding upon us in all Cases whatever, that is, its absolute Sovereignty over us the Acts we shall them complain of as burdensome to us, shall be repeald, all Grievances redressd, and Administration will flatter us that the right shall never be exercisd but in a Case of absolute necessity which shall be apparent to every judicious man in the Empire. To induce us to be thus submissive beyond the bounds of reason & Safety their Lordships will condescend to be familiar with us and treat us with Cakes & Sugar plumbs. But who is to determine when the necessity shall be thus apparent? Doubtless the Parliamt, which is supposd to be the supreme Legislature will claim that prerogative; and then they will for ever make Laws for us when they think proper. Or if the several Colony Assemblies are to signify that such necessity is apparent to every wise man within their respective Jurisdictions before the parliamt shall exercise the Right, the point will be given up to us in Effect, that the Parliamt shall not make a Law binding upon us in any Case until we shall consent to it, which their Lordships can in no wise be thought to intend.

But I must break off this abruptly. I intend to write you further. In the meantime I must beg to be indulgd with your Thots on these matters & remain with great regard,

Sir,

________________________________________________________________ 1The political leader of Northhampton, Massachusetts. His "Broken Hints" is in Niles, Principles and Acts, p. 324.