Hon'ble John Hancock, Esqr.,
Moderator of a Town Meeting
at Faneuil Hall."
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.