than certain death. The officers of the Fort presented each of 1763. them with a silver medal, descriptive of the action, which they afterwards wore in the manner of a Croix de Saint Louis.1 The Georgia Gazette was published at Savannah by James Georgia Johnston. This was the first and only newspaper published in Gazette. Georgia before the revolution.2 Benjamin Pratt, Chief Justice of New York, died, aged 54 Deaths. years.3 Jared Eliot, minister of Killingworth, in Connecticut, died, aged 78 years.1 4 1 Mante, b. 12. Trumbull, U. S. i. c. 14; Conn. ii. b. c. 23. 2 Thomas, ii. 170. 171, 372. Mr. Johnston opened a printing house early in 1762, at which time printing was introduced into the colony. He was soon printer for the government. The Gazette, though suspended in the times of the Stamp act and revolutionary war, was published by him 27 years. From a personal acquaintance with this worthy man, I believe the character ascribed to him by the historian of printing to be strictly just: "Johnston was a very honest, respectable man, acquainted with the art he professed to practise, and, in his general conduct, was a good and useful member of society." He died in 1808, aged 70 years. 3 He was born in Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard College, where he was graduated in 1737. He entered on the practice of law in Boston, where he soon became very conspicuous for learning and eloquence. From eminence at the bar he soon rose to political distinction, and was a bold and ardent friend to freedom. Having been a counsellor at New York., he was in 1761 appointed chief justice, in which office he gained a high reputation. He wrote some poetical and political essays of a very respectable character. Lempriere, Univ. Biog. Lord's edit. Allen, Biog. Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. iii. 301. 4 He was the son of the Rev. Joseph Eliot, of Guilford, who was the second son of the "apostle of the Indians," and who died in 1694. This son Jared was born in 1685, and educated at Yale College, where he was graduated in 1706. He was a member of the corporation of Yale College from 1730 to 1762. He was distinguished for his knowledge in natural and experimental philosophy, and received a gold medal from the Society of Arts in England, for the discovery of the great quantity of iron to be obtained from the black sea sand of America. The inscription on the medal was: "To THE REV. JARED ELIOT, M. A. OF NEW ENGLAND, MDCCLXII. FOR PRODUCING MALLEABLE IRON FROM THE AMERICAN BLACK SAND, &c. He was informed of the vote of the Society by a letter from "Peter Templeman, Secretary," dated “ Strand, Jan. 6. 1763,” a copy of which is in Dr. Stiles's Itinerary of that year. Mr. Eliot was the author of "Essays on Field Husbandry in New England," printed in 1760, which have passed through several editions. Eliot, Biog. Dict. PART II. BRITISH AMERICAN COLONIES. PERIOD VI.* FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS, IN 1763, TO THE DECLARATION Intentions 1764. IMMEDIATELY after the ratification of the definitive treaty of of the Brit- peace at Paris, the intentions of the British ministry to quarter ish ministry in regard to troops in America, and support them at the expense of the coloAmerica. nies, were announced in the English papers. The money was to be raised by a duty on foreign sugar and molasses, and by stamps on all papers legal and mercantile. The time had now arrived for making a direct experiment for taxing the American colonies. In March, it was debated in the house of commons, Commons whether they had a right to tax the Americans, they not being they have a represented; and the question was determined unanimously in right to tax the affirmative. Until this time, "no act avowedly for the pur vote, that the Ameri cans. pose of revenue, and with the ordinary title and recital taken together, is found in the statute book. All before stood on commercial regulations and restraints." On the 10th of March, the house of commons voted a resolution, purporting that "it was proper to charge certain stamp duties, in the colonies and plan"but this resolution was not followed, this year, by any Act of par- tations; liament for other to carry it into effect. On the 5th of April, parliament British col passed an act for granting certain duties in the British colonies and plantations in America. This was the first act of the British duties in the onies in America. *The preceding PERIOD, thus marked, should have been PERIOD V. 1 Burke's Speech on American Taxation, 1774. 2 Botta, i. 35. parliament that ever was passed, in which the design of raising 1764. a revenue was expressed.1 It was called the sugar or molasses act, from its perpetuating the sugar act of George II. Penalties incurred in America for the breach of this act, or of any other relating to the trade and revenues of the British colonies, were made recoverable in any court of record or in any court of admiralty, in the colony where the offence should be committed, or in any court of vice admiralty, which might be appointed over all America, at the election of the informer or prosecutor. This act, which might deprive a defendant of trial by jury, and oblige him to go from one end of the continent to the other to support his claim, increased the discontents and complaints, excited by the enforcing of the laws of trade the last year. setts in cial agent. The general court of Massachusetts, at its first session, drew June 13. up a letter of spirited and decisive instructions to Mr. Mauduit, Massachuthe provincial agent in England. By letters from him it appeared structions that he had misconstrued their silence respecting the tax on to provinmolasses, and the quartering of ten thousand troops in the colonies, into an assent to those measures. In their instructions they now say, "that no agent of the province had power to make concessions in any case, without express orders; and that the silence of the Province should have been imputed to any cause, even to despair, rather than to have been construed into a tacit cession of their rights, or an acknowledgment of a right in the parliament of Great Britain to impose duties and taxes upon a people who are not represented in the house of commons; and that they were still more surprised by his letter respecting quartering of an army on the colonies." After vindicating their cause, and complaining particularly of the rapid passing of acts of parliament, they conclude by observing, that the power of taxing was "the grand barrier of British liberty, which, if once broken down, all was lost; that, in a word, a people might be free and tolerably happy without a particular branch of trade, but without the privilege of assessing their own taxes, they could be neither." These instructions, with a brief state of the rights of the colonies which accompanied them, were ordered to be entered on the journals. The house then chose a committee, to sit in the recess of the court, and write to the other governments to acquaint them with these instructions, and to desire the several assemblies to join with them in the same measures for obtaining a repeal of the Sugar act, and presenting a stamp act or any other impositions and taxes upon this and the other American provinces.2 1 John Adams, Novanglus. 2 Minot, ii. c. 7. Life of James Otis, 166. Mr. Otis was chairman of the committee, which prepared the letter of instructions to the agent. 1764. structions to represen tatives. The town of Boston, at its annual meeting in May, chose a committee to prepare instructions for their representatives. InBoston in- structions were prepared, and unanimously voted. The voters, as constituents, declared, among other things which they thould justly expect from their representatives: "That you will constantly use your power and influence in maintaining the invaluable rights and privileges of the province, of which this town is so great a part, as well those which are derived to us by the royal charter, as those, which being prior to and independent on it, we hold essentially as free-born subjects of Great Britain; That you will endeavour, as far as you shall be able, to preserve that independence in the house of representatives, which characterises a free people; and the want of which may in a great measure prevent the happy effects of a free government; . . we particularly recommend it to you to use your endeavours to have a law passed, whereby the seats of such gentlemen as shall accept of posts of profit from the crown or the governor, while they are members of the house, shall be vacated, agreeable to an act of the British parliament, till their constituents shall have the opportunity of reelecting them, if they please, or of returning others in their room;-we expect, in a very particular manner, that you make it the object of your attention to support our commerce in all its just rights, to vindicate it from all unreasonable impositions, and promote its prosperity.-Our trade has for a long time laboured under great discouragements; and it is with the deepest concern that we see such farther difficulties coming upon it, as will reduce it to the lowest ebb, if not totally obstruct and ruin it." Having expressed their surprise, that, after notice had been given by the agent "of the intentions of the ministry to burden us with new taxes," the court was not even called together to consult about it till the latter end of the year, in consequence of which, instructions could not be sent to the agent till the evil had got beyond an easy remedy; they proceed: "There is now no room for farther delay: We therefore expect that you will use your earliest endeavours in the General Assembly, that such methods may be taken as will effectually prevent these proceedings against us." Having adverted to the calamitous consequences that would ensue, "if our trade is to be curtailed in its most profitable branches, and burdens beyond all possible bearing laid upon that which is suffered to remain;" they subjoin: "But what still heightens our apprehensions is, that these unexpected proceedings may be preparatory to new taxations upon us; for if our trade may be taxed, why not our lands? Why not the produce of our lands, and every thing we possess or make use of? This, we apprehend, annihilates our charter right to govern and tax ourselves. It strikes at our British privileges, which, as we have never forfeited them, we hold in common with our fellow-subjects, who are natives of Britain. If taxes are laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal representation where they are laid, are we not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary slaves?" After earnestly recommending it to them to obtain, in the general assembly, all necessary instructions and advice to the agent "at this most critical juncture," that he might "be able in the most humble and pressing manner to remonstrate for us all those rights and privileges which justly belong to us either by charter or birth;" they conclude: "As his majesty's other northern American colonies are embarked with us in this most important bottom, we farther desire you to use your endeavours, that their weight may be added to that of this province; that by the united application of all who are aggrieved, all may happily obtain redress.' 1764. The celebrated essay, entitled, "The Rights of the British Otis's Colonies asserted and proved," by James Otis, of Boston, was the British Rights of published. While the writer contends for the charter privileges Colonies. of the colonies, he does not admit that the loss of their charters would deprive them of their rights. "Two or three innocent colony charters have been threatened with destruction an hundred and forty years past... A set of men in America, without honour or love to their country, have been long grasping at powers, which they think unattainable while these charters stand in the way. But they will meet with insurmountable obstacles to their project for enslaving the British colonies, should those, arising from provincial charters, be removed. It would indeed seem very hard and severe for those of the colonists, who have charters with peculiar privileges, to lose them. They were given to their ancestors in consideration of their sufferings and merit, in discovering and settling America. Our forefathers were soon worn away in the toils of hard labour on their little plantations, and in war with the savages. They thought they were earning a sure inheritance for their posterity. Could they imagine it would ever be thought just to deprive them or theirs of their charter privileges!-should this ever be the case, there are, thank God, natural, inherent, and inseparable rights as men, and citizens, that would remain after the so much wished for catastrophe, and which, whatever became of charters, can never be abolished de jure, if de facto, till the general conflagration."2 Similar sentiments were entertained by Richard Henry Lee, R. H. Lee. of Virginia. "We cannot," said he, "be deprived of English liberty, though it may appear expedient that we should be 1 Otis's Rights of the British Colonies. Bradford, Mass. i. c. 2. |