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TEA SHIPS ARRIVE AT BOSTON.

an adherent of the royal cause could scarcely appear any where in safety.

Notwithstanding this alarming condition of things, had there been prudence and a spirit of conciliation in the British cabinet, the breach might yet have been repaired, and order and obedience restored: but these were lamentably wanting in the ruling powers; the duty on tea was still enforced, and that with the avowed design of upholding the right of the home authority in the very matter in dispute. The exasperation of the colonists was, in 1773, excited to the utmost intensity by letters from Franklin then in England, inclosing letters from Hutchinson and Oliver, governor and deputy-governor of Massachusetts, to the colonial secretary; recommending coercive measures against the leaders of the movement in America. How these confidential communications came into the possession of Franklin, it is impossible to determine; but the effect of them in the New England states, was to awaken to greater energy the zeal which in some measure was abating.

A committee was immediately formed, which waited on the governor, and demanded whether the signatures were genuine. Hutchinson having admitted that they were in his handwriting, the house of assembly drew up a petition to the king, charging the governor with betraying and slandering the people under his rule, by giving false information respecting them; and praying for the immediate dismissal of the governor and his deputy, Mr. Oliver, as enemies to the colony. Copies of this petition were immediately despatched by the corresponding committees throughout the continent, and served to aggravate the general disaffection to a yet greater degree.

In the midst of this ferment, two ships laden with tea arrived at Boston; when a meeting of the inhabitants was called, and a vote adopted, that the tea ships were sent from England for the purpose of enslaving and poisoning free-born Americans, and that tea which came charged with duty should not be landed, but sent back in the same vessels.

The only reply given to the petition for the removal of the governor, was the passing of "the Boston port bill," and the bill for the better regulating government in the

INDIGNATION OF THE PEOPLE.

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province of Massachusetts Bay." By the first of these measures it was enacted, that the customs, courts of justice, and all government offices, should be removed from Boston to New Salem; thus depriving the city of its trade, and reducing it to the condition of an inferior town. The design of the second measure was, to alter the constitution of the province from the plan arranged by the charter of William III.; to stop the popular elections by which every thing was decided in the colony; to take the power of the executive from the people; and to vest the nomination of the members of the council, judges, and various magistrates in the crown.

When the news of these measures arrived at Boston, in May, 1774, the rage and indignation of the people exceeded all bounds. Meetings of various descriptions were held, in some of which, language of the most violent kind was employed by the more noisy among the malcontents; the more sober inhabitants appointed days for humiliation and prayer. The matter was taken up in other places, and addresses and resolutions of sympathy with the Bostonians were forwarded from all the provinces. The diary of Washington records the excitement felt in the state of Virginia, and the days of devotion and fasting held there on account of what was felt to be the national crisis. In Boston, the British general, Gage, collected considerable reinforcements, and supplies of arms and ammunition, to be in readiness for the conflict so plainly imminent. He also, by virtue of the new act, nominated a number of persons as councillors, but could not secure their services in consequence of the menaces of the populace. The judges constituted by royal authority were equally powerless; and anarchy prevailed everywhere.

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In accordance with a determination previously formed, but delayed from time to time, the "continental congress' assembled at Philadelphia on the 5th September, 1774. Fifty-five members attended as representatives of the old colonies. All the states, from Massachusetts to South Carolina inclusive, sent delegates, with the exception of North Carolina, whose delegates did not arrive till the 14th. Amongst the members of this congress were Randolph, Washington, Lee, Patrick Henry, Bland, Pendleton,

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A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

Harrison, Rutledge, Jay, Adams, Jefferson, and others, whose names became prominent in the struggles of after years. Though the debates were not made public, the result of their deliberations was soon published.

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eyes of all America were fixed on the assembly; and it behoved its members to show that they had the firmness and the moderation, both of which were so essential at that particular juncture: and their decisions justly entitled them to the honourable designation they afterwards gained of patres patriæ. They first agreed upon "a declaration of rights," as justified by the laws of nature, the principles of the British constitution, and the several charters that had been granted them. They passed resolutions of approval and sympathy with the state of Massachusetts, and the city of Boston. They formed a non-importation and non-exportation association, which every American was required to observe. A number of solemn addresses were then prepared :—one to the king, expressive of their affection and unabated loyalty; one to the people of Great Britain, detailing their grievances, and ascribing them to a corrupt administration, which sought to enslave America as a prelude to the overthrow of the British constitution; and another to the people of Canada, urging them to make common cause with them, and join the Anglo-Americans in their opposition to the tyranny of the government. They closed their labours on the 26th October, and adjourned to May 10th of the next year.

At Boston, governor Gage fortified the narrow isthmus called Boston-neck, connecting the city with the country; while the people, on their part, were universally obtaining arms, and training themselves for their use. No direct attack was yet made on the troops, but every possible annoyance was thrown in the way of the progress of the works at the Neck. The materials were burnt during the night, boats laden with bricks were sunk, timber waggons were overturned, and other proceedings of the kind were adopted. These, of course, were to be regarded as the ebullitions of popular discontent, and were not chargeable upon those who, realizing the serious character of the struggle on which they were entering, sought to delay it as much as possible by using every constitutional means within their power.

NEGOCIATIONS WITH GENERAL GAGE.

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One circumstance ought to have led the home government to salutary reflection, and that was the unanimity which prevailed amongst the various states, in their opposition to the measures of the British ministry. Virginia, the wealthiest and most aristocratic in its tendencies, fully and earnestly concurred in the determination to resist the threatened and actual despotism. New York, though hesitating for some time, at length gave its entire adherence to the national movement, and prepared for cooperation. But nothing could arouse the home authorities to see, or even suspect, the folly and injustice of their course. With many in the legislature there was doubtless a deplorable ignorance of colonial matters, and consequently an unfitness for wise legislation; but even these might have learned something from the various speeches of the opposition members, and the innumerable petitions presented by the merchants, demonstrating the serious injury which was being produced to British commerce; but the obstinacy of the monarch and the subserviency of the ministry prevailed, and a deaf ear was turned to moderate counsels, by whomsoever they were offered.

In Massachusetts the members of the assembly were summoned by governor Gage to meet at Salem, and congregated accordingly, notwithstanding a second proclamation postponing the day. As the governor was not there to administer the oaths and open the business, the meeting was clearly illegal; nevertheless, the members determined not to lose the opportunity. They therefore resolved themselves into a provincial congress, and, after adjourning to Concord, a town about twenty-five miles distant from Boston, proceeded to discuss the various matters which public events urged upon their attention. They then waited upon the governor, and expostulated with him about the fortifications, which were in course of erection at Boston-neck. He replied, that their fears about their lives and liberties being in danger from the British troops, were absurd; and that they were, by their own conduct, forfeiting the charters which they complained were being violated by the parliament of Great Britain. Refusing to be deceived, or deterred from their purpose by these representations, they adjourned their meetings to Cambridge, and appointed a "committee of safety'

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PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.

for the protection of the state. Money was raised to purchase ammunition and stores; mills were erected for the manufacture of powder, and the preparation of arms went on rapidly. Arrangements were made for calling out the militia if needed, and every possible precaution against sudden attack adopted. The governor issued his proclamation against their course, and asserted its illegality; but, treating his decision with contemptuous indifference, they collected their arms and other munitions of war in the city of Concord, and such of their number as were qualified by previous service, were selected for generals and officers of inferior rank.

The most complete system was adopted. Committees for different purposes were appointed, and the whole affair was conducted with the greatest energy.

Gage was evidently alarmed by these preparations, while he had great difficulty in completing his own. He had barracks built for his soldiers outside the town of Boston; and to prevent the cannon from being employed by the citizens, he directed them to be spiked. Unable to obtain the necessary supplies of provisions from the inhabitants, he was obliged to fetch them by sea from a considerable distance.

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The next question discussed by the provincial congress when they should attack the royal troops? This bold proposal alarmed the fears of some of the more cautious members, and they began to plead illness as an excuse for leaving the meetings. But Adams, perceiving the real state of the case, proposed that, in case of illness, members should be allowed to retire on the condition, that when they reached their homes in other towns, they should report their indisposition and cause substitutes to be delegated in their stead, that thus no town might be left without its representatives. This shrewd suggestion had the desired effect, and little was thenceforth heard of the illness so much complained of before.

It was at length resolved that twelve thousand men should be raised in the province: that the militia, or minute men as they were called, should receive regular pay. The committee next sought assistance from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, that they might raise the army to twenty thousand men; agreeing that,

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