Carolina, being fenfibly affected with the great prejudice done to GreatBritain, and the abject and wretched condition to which the British Colonies are reduced by feveral A---of----lately paffed: by fome of which the monies that the colonists ufually and cheerfully spent in the purchase of all forts of goods imported from Britain, are now, to their great grievance, wrung from them without their confent, or even their being reprefented; and applied, in prejudice of, and without regard to, the real intereft of Great Britain, or the manufactures thereof, almost totally, to the fupport of new created commiffioners of cuftoms, Placemen, parasitical and novel m------ officers; and by others of which acts, we are not only deprived of thofe invaluable rights, trial by our Peers and the Common Law, but are alfo made fubject to the arbitrary and oppreffive proceedings of the Civil Law, juftly abhorred and rejected by our ancestors, the freemen of England; and finding, that the moft dutiful and loyal petitions from the colonies alone, for the redrefs of thofe grievances, have been rejected with contempt, fo that no relief can be expected from that method of proceeding, and, being fully convinced of the abfolute neceffity of ftimulating our fellow-fubjects and fufferers in Great-Britain to aid is, in this our distress, and of our joining with the reft of the colonies, in fome other loyal and vigorous methods, that may moft probably procure fuch relief, which may be most effectually promoted by strict oeconomy, and by encouraging the manufactures of America in general, and of this province in particular: we therefore, whofe names are underwritten, do folemnly promise, and agree to and with each other, that, until the colonies be restored to their former freedom, by the repeal of the faid acts, we will most strictly abide by the following refolutions.

I. That we will encourage and promote, to the utmost of our power, the ufe of North American Manufactures, in general, and those of this province in particular.

II. That we will upon no pretence, what foever, import into this province, any of the manufactures of Great-Britain, or other goods and wares ufually received from thence, other than fuch as may have been hipped in confequence of former orders, and we do folemnly promise and declare that we will immediately countermand all orders to our correfpondents in Great Britain, for thipping any fuch goods, wares and merchandizes, excepting only Negro Cloth, Duffil Blankets, Ofnabrugs, Plantation and workmens tools, powder, lead fhot, canvas, nails, falt, coals, wool cards, card wire, printed books and pamphlets: Nor fhall this agreement influence us, to raise the prices of the British manufactures or other goods and wares any of us have now to difpofe of, or of fuch as may arrive before our commanded orders get to hand.

III. That we will use the utmoft oeconomy in our perfons, families, houfes and furniture; particularly that we will ufe no mourning, nor give gloves and scarves at funerals.

And lastly, that we look on every inhabitant of this Colony, who refufes or neglects to fign this agreement within one month from the date hereof, as no friend to the true intereft of the Colony, and we will upon no account, at any time thereafter, purchase from or fell to fuch perfon, any goods or merchandize whatfoever. Given under our hands the 28th of June, 1769.

So thoroughly are the body of the inhabitants of this Province convinced of the neceffity of entering into the above agreement, that there were no less than 25 of our Reprefentatives, in their private capacities, amongst the firft figners on Tuesday, to whom (though feveral refolutions of like tendency had been taken before in different divifions of the country, which are now laid afide, and the present plan adopted) may be ascribed the honour of taking the lead in this momentous affair.

Province

Province of Maffachufett's Bay, June 22.

Tuesday laft a committee of the honourable House of Representatives, in generaĮ court affembled at Cambridge, there waited on his Excellency the Governor with the following meffage; being a Reply to his Excellency's Answer to their Meffage of the 13th Inftant. [See page 1c4 of our Register for laft month.] May it please your Excellency,

AS you have not thought proper in your reply to the meffage of this houfe, of the 13th inftant, to throw any light on the fubject, or invalidate the principles we therein advanced, your Excellency will allow us to conclude, that those principles were well grounded, and that there is no reafon for us to alter our fentiments on this interefting point.

You are pleafed to intimate, that much time and treafure have been fpent in determining a merely fpeculative queftion: The House regards a standing army pofted within the province in a time of the most profound peace, and uncontroulable by any authority in it, as a dangerous innovation; and a guard of foldiers with cannon planted at the doors of the state-house, while the general affembly was there held, as the most pointed infult ever offered to a free people, and its whole legislative. This, Sir, and not the queftion of your Excellency's authority to remove his Majesty's fhips out of the harbour, or his troops out of the town of Bofton, was the principal caufe of the "non-activity of the affembly." Had your Excellency felt for the Affembly and the people over whom you prefide, even though you had fuppofed yourfelf not properly authorized, you would have ufed your influence, at leaft, for the removal of this grievance; efpecially as his Majefty's council, as well as this House, had before expreffed to your Excellency their juft indignation at fo unprecedented an affront. But inftead of the leaft abatement of this military parade, the General Assembly has been made to give way to an armed force. As the only means in your power to remove the difficulty we juftly complained of, your Excellency has ordered a removal of the General Affembly itself, from its ancient feat and the place where the public bufinefs has generally been done with the greatest convenience, ease, and difpatch. It is with pain that we are obliged here to obferve, that the very night after this adjournment was made, the cannon were removed from the court-house, as though it had been defigned that fo small a circumftance of regard fhould not be paid to the Affembly, when convened by the royal authority, and for his Majefty's fervice in the colony.

You are pleased to país a cenfure upon this Houfe, in saying that, “ you cannot fit ftill and fee such a waste of time and treasure to no purpose." Thofe alone are anfwerable for any expence of time and treasure on this occafion, who have brought us into fuch a fituation, as has hitherto rendered our proceeding to bufinefs incompatible with the dignity, as well as the freedom of this Houfe. No time can better be employed than in the preservation of the rights derived from the British conftitution, and infifting upon points which, though your Excellency may confider as non-effential, we efteem its beft bulwarks. No treasure can be better expended than in fecuring that true old English liberty, which gives a relifh to every other enjoyment. These we have the satisfaction to believe are the fentiments of our conftituents, to whom alone we are accountable how we apply their treasure: And we are fully perfuaded, from what we have already heard, that, notwithstanding the apparent defign of your meffage to prejudice their minds against us, what your Excellency is pleased to call our non-activity," will receive their approbation, rather than their cenfure; for an entire fortnight fpent in filence, or a much longer time, cannot be difpleafing to them, when bufinefs could not be even entered upon, but at the expence of their rights and liberties, and the privilege of this House.

66

June 28. His Excellency the governor was pleased to fend the following mes fage to the House :

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,

I Think it proper to inform you that his Majesty has been pleased by his fign manual to fignify to me his will and pleasure, that I repair to Great Britain, to lay before him the ftate of this province; and has alfo, by his fecretary of ftate, given directions for the administration of this government during my abience.

Upon

Upon this occafion I think it neceffary to communicate to you the 53d of his Majestys inftructions, whereby he orders, that when the governor fhall be abfent from the province, one moiety of the falary and the perquifites and emoluments which would otherwise be due to the governor, fhall, during his abfence, be paid to the Lieutenant Governor for his maintance, and for the fupport of the dignity of the government.

I have always confidered the grant of the falary appointed to me to be fubject to this inftruction, although it was not fo expreffed in the act: And I have no objection at the prefent time, when the absence of the governor is forefeen, that the grant of the falary fhall be expreffed to be fubject to this inftruction.

And I must at the same time obferve to you, that as I am ordered to attend his Majefty as the governor of this province, and am made to understand that I am to be continued in that office, and am instructed for the appropriation of the falary, whilft I am abfent from the province, there is the fame reafon for the grant of the falary now as there has been at any other time. I must therefore defire that, according to his Majefty's 49th inftruction, such grant may be made to precede the other bufinefs of the feffion.

FRA. BERNARD.

This meffage produced the following answer, voted by the Houfe of Representa tives, on the 4th of July, and presented by their committee to the governor at Cambridge the 13th.

May it please your Excellency,

BY your meffage to this Houfe of the 28th of June laft, we are informed that his Majefty has been pleased by his fign manual to fignify to you his will and pleafure that you repair to Great Britain, to lay before him the state of this province. We are bound in duty at all times, and we do more especially at this time cheerfully acquiefce in the lawful commands of our fovereign. It is a particular fatisfaction to us that his Majefty has been pleafed to order the true state of this province to be laid before him; for we have abundant reason to be affured, that when his Majefty shall be made fully acquainted with the great and alarming grievances which his truly loyal fubjects here have fuffered through your administration, and the injuries they have sustained in their reputation, as well as every important intereft, he will in his great clemency and juftice frown upon and for-ever remove from his trust all thofe who, by wickedly misinforming his minifters, have attempted to deceive even his Majefty himself. Your Excellency is beft acquainted with the part you have acted; your own letters have enabled this House and the public in fome measure to form a judgment: And while you will neceffarily be employed as this house conceives in fetting your own conduct in the moft favourable light before his Majefty, we are perfuaded we fhall be able to anfwer for ourselves and our conftituents, to the satisfaction of our Sovereign, whenever we fhall be called to it.

You are pleased to communicate to the House an inftruction for the appropriation of the falary granted to his Majesty's governor during fuch time as he may be abfent from the colony; but as we are not "made to understand that your Excellency will be continued in your office as governor of the province after your expected departure from it, the House cannot in faithfulness to their conftituents make an unprecedented grant of this money for services which we have no reason to expect will ever be performed.

Your Excellency must be fully fenfible that the people of this province have never failed in duty to his Majefty to make ample provifion for the fupport of his government. You will be pleafed to remember that you are fully paid to the fecond of Auguft next, before the expiration of which time you will embark for Great Britain. We shall then make the neceffary provifion" for the fupport of the dignity of the government ;" and when his Majesty shall be graciously pleased to appoint another governor, we truft this people will be ready, as they ever have been, to grant him an ample salary, proportioned to their own abilities, and fuitable to his ftation and merit. These are the only confiderations which ought to have any weight with this Houfe in granting the people's money for the support of a governor.---His Majefty's 49th inftruction now before the Houle, and to which you refer us, is a rule for your Excellency, but we conceive was never intended for the House of Reprefentatives: We have however the pleasure of ob

ferving

ferving, that your Excellency is not at all reftrained by it from figning any bills, or other matters that may be laid before you at any time preceding the grant of a falary for the fupport of government, and therefore we have a juft right to expect that you will not, upon that account, retard fuch public bufinefs now before you, as his Majefty's fervice and the welfare of the people indifpenfably requires.

And on the 8th of July these important RESOLUTIONS were paffed by the Rẻprefentatives UNANIMOUSLY, in a full House.

THE general aflembly of this his Majefty's province of Maffachufett's Bay, convened by his Majefty's authority, and by virtue of his writ issued by his Excellency the governor, under the great feal of the province, thinking it their duty at all times to teftify their loyalty to his Majesty, as well as their inviolable regard to their own and their conftituents rights, liberties, and privileges, do pafs the following Refolutions to be entered on their journal. RESOLVED, That this houfe do, and ever will, bear the firmeft allegiance to our rightful fovereign king GEORGE the Third, and are ever ready with their lives and fortunes to defend his Majefty's perfon, family, crown, and dignity.

Refolved, as the opinion of this house, "That the fole right of impofing taxes on the inhabitants of this his Majesty's colony of the Maffachufett's-Bay, is now and ever hath been legally and conftitutionally vested in the house of representàtives, lawfully convened according to the antient and established practice, with the confent of the council, and of his Majesty the King of Great Britain, or his governor for the time being.

Refolved, as the opinion of this houfe, That it is the indubitable right of the fubject in general, and confequently of the colonists jointly, or severally to petition the King for redrefs of grievances, and that it is lawful, whenever they think it expedient, to confer with each other, in order to procure a joint concurrence in dutiful addreffes for relief from common burthens.

Refolved, That governor Bernard, by a wanton and precipitate diffolution of the last year's affembly, and refufing to call another, though repeatedly requested by the people, acted against the spirit of a free conftitution; and if fuch procedure be lawful, it may be in his power, whenever he pleafes, to render himself

abfolute.

Refolved, That a general difcontent, on account of the revenue acts, an expectation of the fudden arrival of military power to enforce the execution of those acts, an apprehenfion of the troops being quartered upon the inhabitants, when our petitions were not permitted to reach the royal ear, the general court at fuch a juncture diffolved, the governor refusing to call a new one, and the people reduced almost to a state of defpair; rendered it highly expedient and neceffary for the people to convene by their committees, affociate, confult, and advise the best means to promote peace and good order, to prefent their united complaints to the throne, and jointly to pray for the royal interpofition in favour of their violated -rights; nor can this procedure poffibly be illegal, as they exprefsly disclaimed all governmental acts.

Refolved, as the opinion of this house, That governor Bernard in his letters to lord Hillsborough, his Majefty's fecretary of ftate, has given a falfe and highly injurious representation of the conduct of his Majesty's truly loyal and faithful council of this colony, and of the magiftrates, overfeers of the poor, and inhabitants of the town of Bofton, tending to bring on those refpectable bodies of men, particularly on fome individuals, the unmerited difpleafure of our gracious Sovereign; to introduce a military government, and to mislead both houfes of parliament into fuch fevere refolutions, as a true, juft, and candid ftate of facts must have prevented.

Refolved, That governor Bernard in the letters before mentioned, by falfely reprefenting that it was become "neceffary the King fhould have the councilchamber in his own hands, and fhould be enabled by parliament to fuperfede by order in his privy council commiffions granted in his name and under his "feal throughout the colonies," has difcovered his enmity to the true fpirit of the British conftitution, to the liberties of the colonies; and has ftruck at the root of fome of the most invaluable conftitutional and charter rights of this province: The perfidy of which, at the very time he profeffed himself a warm

friend to the charter, is altogether unparalleled by any in his ftation, and ought never to be forgotten.

Refolved, That the establishment of a standing army in this colony, in a time of peace, without the confent of the general affembly of the fame, is an invafion of the natural rights of the people, as well as of those which they claim as freeborn Englishmen, confirmed by Magna Charta, the bill of rights as fettled at the revolution, and by the charter of this province.

Refolved, That a standing army is not known as a part of the British confti.ution in any of the king's dominions; and every attempt to establish it has been esteemed a dangerous innovation, manifeftly tending to enslave the people.

Refolved, That the fending an armed force into this colony, under a pretence of aiding and affifting the civil authority, is an attempt to establish a standing army here without our confent; is highly dangerous to this people; is unprecedented,

and unconftitutional.

Refolved, That whoever has reprefented to his Majefty's minifters, that the people of this colony in general, or the town of Boston in particular, were in fuch a ftate of disobedience and diforder, as to require a fleet and army to be sent here, to aid the civil magiftrate, is an avowed enemy to this colony, and to the nation in general; and has by fuch mifreprefentations endeavoured to destroy the liberty of the fubject here, and that mutual union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, fo neceflary for the welfare of both.

Refolved, as the opinion of this house, That the misrepresentations of the state of this colony, tranfmitted by governor Bernard to his Majesty's minifters, have been the means of procuring the military force now quartered in the town of Boston.

Refolved, That whoever gave order for quartering even common foldiers and camp-women in the court house in Boston, and in the reprefentatives chamber, where fome of the principal archives of the government had been usually depofited; making a barrack of the fame, placing a main guard with cannon pointed near the faid houfe, and centinels at the door, defigned a high infult, and a triumphant indication that the military power was mafter of the whole legislative.

Whereas his Excellency general Gage, in his letter to lord Hillsborougn of October the 31ft, amongst other exceptionable things, expreffed himself in the following words: "From what has been faid your lordfhip will conclude, That "there is no government in Boston; in truth there is very little at prefent, and the constitution of this province leans fo much to the fide of Democracy, "that the governor has not the power to remedy the disorders that happen in it.' Refolved, as the opinion of this houfe, That his Excellency general Gage, in this and other affertions, has rafhly and impertinently intermeddled with the civil affairs of this province, which are altogether out of his department, and of the internal police, of which, by his letter, if not altogether his own, he has yet betrayed a degree of ignorance equal to the malice of the author.

With refpect to the nature of our government, this house is of opinion, that the wisdom of that great prince, William the Third, who gave the charter, aided by an able miniftry, and men thoroughly verfed in the English conftitution and law, and the happy effects derived from it to the nation, as well as this colony, fhould have placed it above the reprehenfion of the General, and led him to enquire whether the diforders complained of have not arifen from an arbitrary dispofition in the governor, rather than from too great a spirit of Democracy in the conftitution. And this houfe cannot but exprefs their deep concern, that too many in power at home and abroad, fo clearly avow, not only in private converfation, but in their public conduct, the most rancorous enmity against the free part of the British conftitution, and are indefatigable in their endeavours to render the monarchy abfolute, and the administration arbitrary, in every part of the British empire.

Refolved, That this house, after the most careful enquiry, have not found an inftance of the course of justice being interrupted by violence, except by a rescue committed by Samuel Fellows, an officer in the Navy, and by the appointment of the commiffioners an officer alfo in the customs: nor of a magiftrate's refufing to enquire into, or redrefs any injury complained of: While it is notorious to all the world, that even fuch acts of parliament as by the whole continent are deemed highly oppreffive, have never been oppofed with violence, and the duties impofed and rigorously exacted, have been punctually paid.

Vol. V.

Refolved,