After April 20, 1795

In the Year 1774 Govr. Hutchinson was superceded by Genl. Gage who came as a Military, as well as a Civil Commander in chief, & to him was committed the Exn. of the Boston Port Bill.

Accordingly, agreable to his instructions, after the General Court had met at the end of May, he adjourn'd them to meet at Salem on Tuesday the 7th. day of June. the Court as soon as met there, proceeded to Organize themselves as usual, one perticular of wch. was to choose a Committee of Nine Members to Consider & report on the State of the Province, as the Usage for many years then past had been1; the honble. T. Cushing2 having been Chosen Speaker, had to put the question on the nomination of members for this Committee, eight persons were Nominated & chosen who were considered as firm in the Opposition to British measures,3 but by the mixture of nominations from both parties in the House the Name of Daniel Leonard4 was so repeated, that the Speaker found himself Obliged to nominate him & he was chosen.

Mr. Leonard was a Gentleman of natural good Sence & Eloquence, polite & of engaging Adress & had been Chosen Several Years as member for the Town of Taunton, on the Idea of his being a firm & able freind to the Opposition in wch. his Town was so determined; but on the prevailing Address & Sollicitation of Govr. Hutchinson he had changed his principles, & considered himself now at Market to make the best of them; all this was well known to the members of the Court & the rest of the Committee more especially to his Colleague the writer hereof; it was therefore considered unsafe for that committee to enter into the consideration of the State of the Province on principles of Opposition while he was present, & as it appeared by the Port bill that the only releif from the Continual Exn. of it was the payment for the Tea that was destroy'd, the Committee turn'd their whole Attention to that; & as it was known to all but Mr. Leonard, that Another Committee of vastly more importance, form'd from Members of the house of Representatives by their own inclinations was beginning to operate in secret the committee of nine talkd very favourably of paying for the Tea, as a thing not to be compar'd with the Sufferings from the Port Bill: it would be hard to discribe the Smooth & placid Observations made by Mr. S. Adams,5 Saying that it was an irritating affair, & must be handled Cautiously; that the people must have time545to think & form their minds, & that hurrying the matter would certainly create such an Opposition as would defeat the matter; & many Observations of this kind, all tending to induce Mr. Leonard the Oblique Member of that Committee to think that matters would work terminate in Obedience to the Port Bill were made by Several other Members of the Committee, & then it was Observ'd that it was very hot, & that they had been engag'd in Court all day, & that it was unprofitable to set any longer at that time for the people must have time to bring their minds to a Compromise; Proceedings of this kind took place on the PM & Evning of three days; as soon as the Committee on the State of the Province was adjournd, all the Members except Mr. Leonard immediately repaird to a retired room where the Self Created Committee before mention'd mett, & being cornpos'd of Such members only as had Signalized themselves in their Opposition to the British Aggressions of Tyrannick Govt., they Shut their Doors & entered freely & fully on all the Subjects of Grievances; this was continued Severall Evnings during which it was fully debated Considered & determin'd to Appoint a General Congress of all the Colonies to meet on the Subject of their Grievances, a Set of Resolves were formed for that purpose, five members were chosen Vizt. James Bowdoin,6 S. Adams, T. Cushing, J. Adams & R. T. Paine. A Sum of money was voted to bear their expences, & an assessment was made on a number of Towns to raise the Same; but a Question arose, how Should this Plan (wch. was as yet a profound secret) be carried into Execution; it was Considered that the regular Method was for the Committee on the State of the Province to make report of these doings as their Report; eight of that Committee were then present, but the ninth was known to be adverse to any Such measure & therefore could not be trusted, least the whole should be defeated by the Governor; hereupon the writer hereof Undertook to carry off Mr. Leonard who with himself were practicing Lawyers in the County of Bristol; this was effected by Stating to him that it had been usual for Years past, to adjourn the Common Pleas Court at Taunton which was to set the then next Tuesday in Order that the Members of the General Court from that County might attend the General Court; but that the Neglect of it always gave uneasiness to many persons; especially the Tavern keepers, who from the great Concourse of people Collected there (the days being long & the Season pleasant) reaped great profits &c., &c., & that we might agree to Shorten the Court by Demurrers & Continuances & get back to Court in Season to attend to all important busi-546ness; accordingly on Saturday Mr. Leonard & the writer hereof rode home, Attended the Court the Next Week, & together with Col. G. Leonard7 were appointed by the Court of Sessions (the Cheif of whom were firm Freinds to the Opposition to British Aggression) a committee to Address Govr. Gage on his accession to the Chair which Address, by the desire of the Committee was drafted by Mr. Paine, on principles of political politeness & consistency as the State of Government then was & on the Saturday after they rode to Boston on the way to the Genl. Court, & on the road were informed that the Genl. Court was dissolv'd the day before on the Govr. being inform'd that they had appointed the Congress as before describ'd; after this on the 30th. day of June the Said Committee of the Court of Sessions of the County of Bristol presented their Address to Govr. Gage.

By what appeared in Genral Court after the Absence of the said two Members, it is evident, that had Mr. Leonard not been carried off as aforsaid, he would easily have defeated the Appointing of a Congress by the General Court, which at any Rate must have delay'd the matter if it had been done at all.

MS Dft. ; probably written after Apr. 20, 1795. See continuation, following.

1.

The committee appointed this day was to consider the Measure proper to be taken by this House upon the Removal of the General Assembly from its ancient and convenient Seat to the Court-House in Salem, and report previous to the doing Business." It consisted of Samuel Adams, Joseph Hawley, Col. James Warren, Col. Edward Bacon of Barnstable, John Pickering of Salem, RTP, Dr. Samuel Holten of Salem, Nathaniel Gorham of Charlestown, and Capt. William Heath of Roxbury (Journals of the House of Representatives, 50:261).

2.

Thomas Cushing (1725–1788) was first elected to the House of Representatives from Boston in 1761 and was elected speaker in 1766. He was part of the Massachusetts delegation to the Continental Congress but was replaced by the more radical Elbridge Gerry in 1776. Cushing returned to Boston, where he served in the Council and allied with John Hancock, serving as his lieutenant governor (1781–1785), and continued in that post under James Bowdoin until his death (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 11:377–395).

3.

On June 9, another committee was appointed to consider the State of the Province, more particularly under the Operation of the Act of the British Parliament upon shutting up the Harbour of Boston, and report." This committee consisted of the Speaker Thomas Cushing, Joseph Hawley, Samuel Adams, William Phillips of Boston, RTP, Col. James Warren, Col. William Tyng of Falmouth (Cumberland Co.), Col. Daniel Leonard, and John Pickering.

4.

Daniel Leonard (1740–1829).

5.

Samuel Adams (1722–1803).

6.

James Bowdoin (1726–1790) graduated from Harvard in 1745 and was a wealthy Boston businessman whose interest in science led to a lifelong friendship with Benjamin Franklin. He became a prominent member of the Council and of the Sons of Liberty, was chosen to be the president of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1779; governor of Massachusetts, 1785–1787; and delegate547 to the Massachusetts conventions which met on Jan. 9, 1788, to adopt the federal constitution (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 11:514–550; DAB).

7.

George Leonard (1729–1819).

After April 20, 1795

But after I was appointed a Member of Congress in June 1774 I was appointed by the Court of Sessions for the County of Bristol one of Cmttee. with Coll. G.L.1 and Col. BL2 to prepare a Draft of Address to Govr. Gage according to the Usage in Such Case & as I believe on Examination it will turn out the Courts of CP&S3 then generall if not all did & I drafted it by desire of the Cmmttee. The Courts Accepted it & appointd the same persons a Cmttee. to present it, we accordingly performed the office. On our Journey we heard the Genl. Court had appointed a Congress & Chosen the Members & was dissolved. Govr. Gage must Needs know I was one, but the Address4 Containing Sentiments of Respect full as Strong as those in the Address5 of the Attornies Was read With the Usual Ceremonies of polite Civility in doing wch. I thought if by Such Customary Address Govr. Gage would be kept easy till the Congress met it could be doing Service to the public Cause.

The Laboured manner in wch. this Objection on Mr. Strong6 is Urged appears to come within the Observation that Arguments & Objections of Small weight long insisted on prove either that the Objector has nothing more forseable to Urge or that he is No Judge of the force of An Argument, If there was any positively disqualify'd Crimenality in signing that address by Mr. Strong under all its Circumstances it must have Attested at the time of it & must have been known to Maj. Hawley7 & who will venture to say that Majr. Hawley who Certainly was the Leader of the Revolution & the great bulwark agst. the Influence of the Abile & respectable Character of Col. Worthington8 in the Western Countys wd. have recomended & introduced to the Conduct of the Revolution a young Man of Such abilites, & who had given proof of Such principles as he is now charged with. They who will Now Say that must be Supposed to have a great Knowledge of the Characters & conduct of the Heroes of that day than was known in the time of it; & is it Supposable548that the Inhabitants of Northampton as remarkable for their Attachment to the Revolution as for Sobriety of Manners would have Chosen such a Man to represent them (& if Such Criminality attach'd to Mr. Strong when did) & with what Candor or reverence to the Dignity of a Republican Govt. can it now be brought to view or have any Influence. I must apologize for thus expatiating over my Symtoms but a regard for that Revolution with wch. I intimately acquainted Connectd from the first movement, at least enô to Know how it was conducted makes me Solicitous for that public happiness wch. ought to be the result of it & that happiness must result from a Republican Elective Govt. The only Argument agt. Such a Govt. that In my mind has any weight arises from the irrational manner of Conducting Such Elections, but even with Evil if we must have bad Rulers let them be of our own Elective & Reformation may be the Effect of Affliction & Repentance but from an Hereditary Curse there is no Redemption. Every thing overstrained is weakned & the Liberty wch. rightfully belongs to the Community at Large for want of due attention may work its own Destruction.

I did not approve of that Address & when Urged upon me at Boston together with the present Chief Jus.9 & I think two other lawyers whom I do not recollect we strenuously opposed in Barr Meeting the Signing and presenting principally because it was Set on foot & Urged by those Lawyers who exerted themselves in Opposition to our Measures & finally went off with the Enemy but it afterwards was Signd by some persons I presume inattentively as from Customary Compliment by some persons who never opposed our Measures but Supported them as soon as they were set agoing, but at the CP&S in Bristol Co. on the 14 of June I was with 2 other members of the Session appointed a Committee to draft an Address to Govr. The Cmttee. called on me & I drafted one wch. was acceptd by the Courts & the same Cmttee. were approved to present it (wch. was done by them on the 30th.). About this time I knew I was appointed one of the Members to Congress & Genl. Courts wch. I knew to be planned before I left the Genl. Ct. on the 11th. On the 30th I proceeded with the Court Cmttee. to Danvers & presented the Address wch. appears to be the day before that other Address was presented; by General Consultation it was thought that if by Such Customary Addresses Govr. Gage could be kept easy till the Congress convened it would be doing service to the public Cause.

MS Dft; on verso of a letter to RTP from Cutler and Amory, dated at Boston, Apr.549 20, 1795. Endorsed: "Narrative of proceedings in Genl. Courts on Appt. of Delegates to Congress 1774."

1.

George Leonard (1729–1819).

2.

Possibly Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810). Served his native Hingham as town clerk and justice of the peace and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1772 and 1773 and to the Provincial Congress during the next two years. Made adjutant of 3rd Regiment of Suffolk County in 1755, and by 1772 had become lieutenant colonel. During the Revolution he was commissioned major general (1777) and commanded under Washington in New York in 1780. Served as secretary of war (17811783) and lead the Massachusetts troops in suppression of Shays's Rebellion (DAB).

3.

Courts of Common Pleas and Sessions.

4.

Printed in the Boston News-Letter, July 7, 1774. The address to Governor Gage was made on Thursday, June 30, 1774.

5.

Ibid. This address to Governor Gage was made on Friday, July, 1774.

6.

Caleb Strong (1744–1819) graduated from Harvard in 1764, studied law under Joseph Hawley, and became a leading figure at the Hampshire Bar. He held many political offices serving as delegate to the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1779; the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787; U.S. senator from Massachusetts, 1789–1796; and as governor of Massachusetts, 1800–1807 and 1812–1816. Strong's signing the welcoming address to Governor Gage on July, 1774, was later held against him by his political opponents, as RTP indicates (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 16:94–110).

7.

Joseph Hawley (1723–1788) graduated from Yale in 1742, studied theology under Jonathan Edwards and served as a chaplain in one of the Massachusetts regiments against Louisbourg in 1745. Upon his return he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1749, eventually becoming one of its most distinguished members. Active in local affairs, Hawley headed the Northampton board of selectmen almost continuously from 1747 until his death. He was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in 175, 1754, and 1755 but played a minor role. Elected again in 1766 he was to be a towering figure in provincial affairs until 1776, when he became a victim of spells of insanity, a family weakness (E. Francis Brown, Joseph Hawley, Colonial Radical [New York, 1931]; Dexter, Yale Biographical Sketches, 12:709–712; DAB).

8.

John Worthington of Springfield.

9.

Francis Dana (1743–1811) graduated from Harvard in 1762, was a member of the Continental Congress, 1777–1778; minister to Russia, 1781–1783; associate justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts, 1785–1791; and chief justice, 1791–1806 (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 15:204–217).