a vote unanimously condemned the action of the Assembly. They communicated their sentiments to that body by a committee, * when the Assembly adopted measures for the discovery and punishment of the author of the obnoxious hand-bill. Lamb was cited before the House, but was soon discharged; and the guilt being fixed upon Alexander M'Dougal (the Revolutionary general, subsequently) by the printer, he was arrested, and refusing to make any acknowledgment or to give bail, he was cast into prison, where he remained about fourteen weeks, until arraigned for trial. He then pleaded not guilty, gave bail, was arraigned before the House several months afterward (when he was defended by George Clinton), and was again put in prison for contempt. He was soon released, and was never troubled with the matter afterward. These proceedings engendered dissatisfaction. Popular opinion was with M'Dougal, and men and women flocked to the prison to sympathize with him. The growth of democratic principles was promoted by these events.
Gradually the Loyalist party gained ascendency in the Legislature, and the influence of that body was felt among the people. Non-importation agreements were disregarded, and only the Hampden Hall Sons of Liberty maintained the integrity of their principles. Disaffection appeared among the members of the general committee of One Hundred, and of the vigilance committee of Fifty-one, recently organized. The Loyalists rejoiced, and Riv-ington printed in his Gazetteer,
"And so my good masters, I find it no joke,
For York has stepp'd forward and thrown off the yoke
Of Congress, committees, and even King Sears,
Who shows you good nature by showing his ears."
Yet the great mass of the people remained sufficiently democratic to preserve a spirit of hostility to oppressive government measures. We need not here repeat the story of Britain's sins and America's endurance. New York shared in common with the other colonies, and when Tryon came from North CarolinaJuly 3, 1771 to rule the province, he found the same loathing for petty tyranny and aristocratic assumptions. Comparative quiet prevailed, however, until intelligence of Lord North's Tea Act came. The flame of excitement then burst out in New York as suddenly and fiercely as in Boston. The Sons of Liberty reorganized; the Committee of Correspondence resumed its labors; tea commissioners and stamp distributors were considered co-workers in iniquity, and in front of the Coffee House in Wall Street, an effigy of Kelly, a New Yorker in London, who had ridiculed popular indignation here, was burned.Nov. 7, 1773 The fire in Hampden Hall spread among the people, and when Captain Lockyier, of the Nancy, the first tea-ship that came, arrived at Sandy Hook, he heeded the advice of the pilot, and went up to the city without his vessel. The "Mohawks" ** were warned to be in readiness, and the people resolved that no tea should be landed. Captain Lockvier's conference with the committee satisfied him that he had no fair alternative but to return to England with his cargo. Even while he was ashore, a merchant vessel (Captain Chambers) arrived with eighteen chests of tea hidden among its cargo. The vigilant Sons of Liberty searched his vessel, cast his tea into the harbor, and advised him to leave port as soon as possible. He heeded the advice, and left New York with Lockyier, while the people crowded the wharf at Whitehall, shouted a farewell, and amid cannon peals hoisted the royal flag upon the Liberty Pole in token of triumph.
* The committee consisted of Isaac Sears, Caspar Wistar, Alexander M'Dougal, Jacobus van Zandt, Samuel Broome, Erasmus Williams, and James van Yarck (Yarick).
** When it was known that tea-ships were on their way, a notice appeared in Holt's journal, calling the "Mohawks" to action. There appeared to be the same understanding in New York as in Boston, that tea was to be destroyed, if necessary, by men disguised as Indians.
New Parties.—Meeting of Provincial Congress.—Arrest of Captain Sears.—Seizure of Arms.—Post-office.