Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 2
Resolved, That the Letters signed Tho. Hutchinson, and those signed Andw. Oliver, now under the Consideration of this House, appear to be the genuine Letters of the present Governor and Lieutenant Governor of this Province, whose Hand-writing and Signatures are well known to many of the Members of this House: And, that they contain aggravated Accounts of Facts, and Misrepresentations; and that one manifest Design of them was to represent the Matters they treat of in a Light highly injurious to this Province, and the Persons against whom they were wrote.
Resolved, That though the Letters aforesaid, signed Tho. Hutchinson, are said by the Governor in his Message to this House of June 9th, to be "private Letters wrote to a Gentleman in London, since deceased," and "that all except the last were wrote many Months before he came to the Chair;" yet they were wrote by the present Governor, when he was Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice of this Province; who has been represented abroad, as eminent for his Abilities as for his exalted Station; and was under no official Obligation to transmit Intelligence of such Matters as are contained in said Letters: And that they therefore must be considered by the Person to whom they were sent, as Documents of solid Intelligence: And that this Gentleman in London to whom they were wrote, was then a Member of the British Parliament, and one who was very active 515 in American Affairs; and therefore that these Letters however secretly wrote, must naturally be supposed to have, and really had a public Operation.
Resolved, That these "private Letters" being wrote "with express Confidence of Secrecy," was only to prevent the Contents of them being known here, as appears by said Letters; and this rendered them the more injurious in their Tendency and really insidious.
Resolved, That the Letters signed Tho. Hutchinson, considering the Person by whom they were wrote, the Matters they expressly contain, the express Reference in some of them for "full Intelligence" to Mr. Hallowell, a Person deeply interested in the Measures so much complained of, and recommendatory Notices of divers other Persons, whose Emoluments arising from our public Burdens might excite them to unfavourable Representations of us, the Measures they suggest, the Temper in which they were wrote, the Manner in which they were sent, and the Person to whom they were addressed; had a natural and efficacious Tendency to interrupt and alienate the Affections of our most gracious Sovereign King George the Third, from this his loyal and affectionate Province; to destroy that Harmony and Good-Will between Great Britain and this Colony, which every Friend to either would wish to establish; to excite the Resentment of the British Administration against this Province; to defeat the Endeavours of our Agents and Friends to serve us by a fair Representation of our State of Grievances; to prevent our humble and repeated Petitions from reaching the Royal Ear of our common Sovereign; and to produce the severe and destructive Measures which have been taken against this Province, and others still more so which have been threatned.
Resolved, That the Letters signed Andw. Oliver, considering the Person by whom they were wrote, the Matters they expresly contain, the Measures they suggest, the Temper in which they were wrote, the Manner in which they were sent, and the Person to whom they were addressed, had a natural and efficacious Tendency to interrupt and alienate the Affections of our most gracious Sovereign King George the Third, from this his loyal & affectionate Province; to destroy that Harmony & Good-Will between Great-Britain and this Colony, which every Friend to either would wish to establish; to excite the Resentment of the British Administration against this Province; to defeat the Endeavours of our Agents and Friends to serve us by a fair Representation of our State of Grievances; to prevent our humble and repeated Petitions from having the desired 516Effect; and to produce the severe and destructive Measures which have been taken against this province, and others still more so which have been threatned.
Resolved, As the Opinion of this House, That it clearly appears from the Letters aforesaid, signed Tho. Hutchinson and Andw. Oliver, that it was the Desire and Endeavour of the Writers of them, that certain Acts of the British Parliament for raising a Revenue in America, might be carried into Effect by Military Force; and by introducing a Fleet and Army into this his Majesty's loyal Province, to intimidate the Minds of his Subjects here, and prevent every constitutional Measure to obtain the Repeal of those Acts, so justly esteemed a Grivance to us, and to suppress the very Spirit of Freedom.
Resolved That it is the Opinion of this House that as the Salaries lately appointed for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Judges of this Province, directly repugnant to the Charter and subversive of Justice, are funded on this Revenue; and as those Letters were wrote with a Design, and had a Tendency to promote and support that Revenue, therefore, there is great Reason to suppose the Writers of those Letters were well knowing to, suggested and promoted the enacting said Revenue Acts, and the Establishments funded on the same.
Resolved, That while the Writer of these Letters signed Tho. Hutchinson, has been thus exerting himself by his "secret confidential Correspondence," to introduce Measures destructive of our constitutional Liberty; he has been practising every Method among the People of this Province, to fix in their Minds an exalted Opinion of his warmest Affection for them, and his unremitted Endeavours to promote their best Interest at the Court of Great Britain.
Resolved, As the Opinion of this House, That by comparing these Letters signed Tho. Hutchison with those signed Andw. Oliver, Cha. Paxton and Nath. Rogers, and considering what has since in Fact taken Place conformable thereto, that it is manifest there have been for many Years past Measures contemplated, and a Plan formed, by a Set of Men born and educated among us, to raise their own Fortunes and advance themselves to Posts of Honor and Profit, not only to the Destruction of the Charter and Constitution of this Province, but at the Expence of the Rights and Liberties of the American Colonies.—And it is further the Opinion of this House, That the said Persons have been some of the chief Instruments in the Introduction of a Military Force into the Province 517to carry their Plans into Execution; and therefore they have been not only greatly instrumental of disturbing the Peace and Harmony of the Government, and causing and promoting great Discord and Animosities, but are justly chargeable with the great Corruption of Morals and all that Confusion, Misery and Bloodshed, which have been the natural Effects of the Introduction of Troops.
Whereas for many Years past, Measures have been taken by the British Administration, very grievous to the good People of this Province; which this House have now Reason to suppose, were promoted, if not originally suggested by the Writers of these Letters; and many Efforts have been made by the People to obtain the Redress of their Grievances:
Resolved, That it appears to this House, that the Writers of these Letters have availed themselves of Disorders that naturally arise in a free Government under such Oppressions, as Arguments to prove, that it was originally necessary such Measures should have been taken, and that they should now be continued and increased.
Whereas in the Letter signed Cha. Paxton, dated Boston-Harbour, June 20, 1768, it is expresly declared that "unless we have immediately two or three Regiments, 'tis the Opinion of all the Friends of Government, that Boston will be in open Rebellion."
Resolved, That this is a most wicked and injurious Representation, design'd to inflame the Minds of his Majesty's Ministers and the Nation, and to excite in the Breast of our Sovereign a Jealousy of his loyal Subjects of said Town, without the least Grounds therefor, as Enemies of his Majesty's Person and Government.
Whereas certain Letters signed by two private Persons, viz. Thomas Moffat and George Rome, have been laid before the House, which Letters contain many Matters highly injurious to Government and to the national Peace:
Resolved, That it has been the Misfortune of this Government from the earliest Period of it, from Time to Time, to be secretly traduced and maliciously represented to the British Ministry, by Persons who were neither friendly to this Colony nor to the English Constitution.
Resolved, That the House have just Reason to complain of it as a very great Grievance, that the humble Petitions and Remonstrances of the Commons of this Province are not allowed to reach the Hand of our most gracious Sovereign, merely because they are presented by an Agent to whose Appointment, the Governor, with whom our chief Dispute may subsist, doth not consent; while the partial and inflamatory Letters of 518Individuals, who are greatly interested in the Revenue Acts and the Measures taken to carry them into Execution, have been laid before Administration, attended to, and determined upon, not only to the Injury of the Reputation of the People, but to the depriving them of their invaluable Rights and Liberties.
Whereas this House are humbly of Opinion, That his Majesty will judge it to be incompatible with the Interest of his Crown and the Peace and Safety of the good People of this his loyal Province, that Persons should be continued in Places of high Trust and Authority in it, who are known to have, with great Industry, tho' secretly, endeavoured to undermine, alter and overthrow the Constitution of the Province:
Therefore,
Resolved, That this House is bound in Duty to the King and their Constituents, humbly to remonstrate to his Majesty, the Conduct of his Excellency Thomas Hutchinson, Esq; Governor, and the Honorable Andrew Oliver, Esq; Lieutenant-Governor of this Province; and to pray that his Majesty would be pleased to remove them forever from the Government thereof.1
Journals of the House of Representatives
After these resolves were passed by the House, a committee was appointed "to prepare and report an humble and dutiful Petition to the King" remonstrating against the conduct of Hutchinson and Oliver and requesting their removal. The committee consisted of Speaker Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, Joseph Hawley, John Hancock, and Daniel Leonard. The Privy Council heard the petition on Jan. 29, 1774, and rejected it. For a recent study of this episode see Bernard Bailyn, The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson (Cambridge, Mass., 1974), 221–273.
Inclosed you have a copy1 of my fathers2 demands against one Josiah Winslow3 of Freetown who has treated my father very ungratefully. My father found him in England, friendless and money-less, took pity upon him cloathed & equip'd him like a gentleman & procured an ensigns commission for him in the regular service, for which he drew the bill of exchange which on my fathers return from England, was presented to Mr. James Winslow4 for his acceptance & payment, but he refused to do either, and out of tenderness the bill never was offered to a notary519 public to be protested & not a farthing of it ever paid. I am informed he is lately returned home, but in what circumstances I know not, should be glad you wou'd enquire and if possible secure this money, in doing which you will greatly oblige, not only my father, but also your friend & hume. Servant,
Not located.
Gen. John Winslow (1703–1774) served in the British army in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and in 1754 was appointed major general of the Massachusetts militia by Governor Shirley. The following year he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of a regiment raised to assist Lt. Gov. Charles Lawrence of Nova Scotia in removing French influence in that province. Winslow was placed in charge of removing the Acadian population to other British colonies and remained in military service until 1757 when he returned to Massachusetts (DCB, 4:774–775).
Probably the Josiah Winslow, son of Edward Winslow of Freetown, Mass., and nephew of Col. James Winslow (below).
Col. James Winslow (1712–1777) served Freetown as town treasurer, selectman, and justice of the peace. In 1771 he was appointed captain of the 2d Regiment of Militia of Bristol Co. (David P. and Frances Holton, Winslow Memorial: Family Records of Winslows and Their Descendants in America, with the English Ancestry as far as known, 2 vols. New York, 1877–1888, 1:139–140).